Project: Chrysalis

3. Routine Inspection

In the quaint Ponyville Library, Twilight Sparkle was eagerly awaiting a response letter from her beloved mentor. Usually a reply did not take very long. While she waited, the lavender unicorn fiddled around with a quill and paper, humming to herself. She was so excited to begin her own original research and was certain the Princess would grant the filly her blessing.

Her number-one assistant Spike burped up a cloud of green fire and smoke, which soon dissipated into a rolled up scroll. Giddy with anticipation, Twilight rushed over and levitated it up, unrolled it, and immediately began reading. The contents were...less than expected:

To My Most Faithful Student Twilight Sparkle,

Your letter concerning your curiosity about the creatures known as "Changelings" was well written, and your proposal interesting to say the least. Whatever questions you have about these beings are not unfounded and perfectly valid.

Therefore I am sorry to inform you that I have no literature pertaining to the subject, and furthermore know not of any authorities on Changelings. I have searched the Royal Archives before, but produced no such material. The Royal Scientific Society's database contains no entries, and there aren't any published biological journals that contain an article about said creatures. The book on urban legends...best to ignore it. But I digress. It seems all our knowledge comes from the attack on Canterlot, for up until then they were unknown.

Now as far as your expedition proposal goes, I cannot in good conscience allow you to endanger yourself. These animals have proven to be quite strong and ferocious, and not to be trifled with. I implore you to stay as far away from them as possible, for your own safety. I do not know where they live or if they even survived the attack your brother and Princess Cadance conducted. I'm sure you must be disappointed, but rest assured, there are many more things to discover.

I trust you will respect my wishes, and as always I look forward to any new progress you have made with the magic of friendship.

Yours truly,

Princess Celestia

Twilight reread the letter several times. Still, she couldn't believe her eyes. Had the Princess really said no? Sure she was looking out for her safety, but Twilight was a full-grown mare. She could take care of herself. Celestia thought she had diffused this issue, and persuaded the purple pony to stay away. Perhaps the solar diarch merely made herself believe that is what she had done. The alicorn knew full well Twilight could not be stopped in pursuits of knowledge.

In either case, however, the Princess hoped she could delay Twilight enough, and in her spare time convince her in person.

Such an act was folly. Twilight noticed no direct order not to go on an expedition. Sure, the Princess would likely be disappointed, but the gains made would hopefully make up for it. Right? Perhaps subconsciously an act of defiance, Twilight Sparkle began making preparations, dictating them to Spike.

"Spike! Make a list please. I'm going on an adventure."

"But the Princess..." He interjected, having heard the contents of the letter when Twilight read them aloud.

"There's too much at stake! Princess Celestia will understand when I win the Equestrian Science Award!" Twilight had stars in her eyes as the young mare fantasized about winning such a coveted prize.

"Uh...yeah." Spike said, rolling his eyes. "What items do you want on the list?"

"Huh? Oh...right. I'll need food, and warm clothing, notebooks, jars, pens..." For nearly forty-five minutes she just listed of things to bring. By the time she was done, Spike had a terrible claw cramp.

"But, Twi, how do you know you're going to need all this stuff? You don't even know where to look."

"I thought you might ask that. You see Spike I ran an ad in Equestria Daily; 'Anypony who knows anything about Changelings'! "

"You've apparently given this a lot of thought." Spike said, running to the kitchen to look for a heat pack for his hand.

"I've been planning everything in my head for months! I had saved up enough money to pay for this ad. It should be in today's paper."

"How'd you get it in there so fast?"

Twilight looked at her small friend and smiled. "I have my ways."

Dr. Antlion took a weekly trip to town, several miles south of his isolated home. He came here to pick up food and other necessities, pays his bills, and get some news. Downing the rest of his hot tea, he left a tip on the diner counter and left, opening his umbrella via magic. His saddlebags were full and everything was checked off the list. Everything except a newspaper.

A paper stand wasn't far. He walked on the sidewalk, greeting anypony he knew. In such a small town, it wasn't hard to know most of the inhabitants. Its name was Felicity, named after a happy mare who was murdered back before this place became incorporated. The ponies named their settlement after her. Antlion always thought it was a dark story for such a little place.

Felicity was so small, in fact, that it didn't even have its own newspaper. Instead, Equestria Daily was the only newspaper the residents had to read. Every week the doctor would gather all seven papers published, to stay up-to-date. The newspaper vendor always kept the papers from the previous week just for Antlion. Handing the vendor some bits, the tan unicorn found a table nearby and placed the papers on it.

Nothing too new. International relations; looks like the griffons and minotaurs were having border tensions...again. Manehattan stock exchange was up 0.5%...some fab diets to take some weight off your flank...nothing special. He found it calming to know something about the outside world, but not much of it affected him. However, one ad was printed in the paper dated for today. A certain miss Twilight Sparkle was asking for anypony who knew something about the Changelings.

What was a Changeling...oh that's right...they called these black insect-like creatures that name in the article about the attack on Canterlot during some wedding. There wasn't much on what these things were; in fact the article was very small, especially for an attack on the capital. A lone photograph showed a changeling, VERY similar to the specimens he had at home. Were they one and the same?

The contact information was for Ponyville, another small town, but much closer to the heartland of the country. He traveled back home and began drafting a letter. When it was completed, Antlion used a skill he seldom ever practiced. With a flash of his horn, the letter was transformed into a cloud of smoke and hopefully on its way to the recipient.

The spell was taxing and Antlion went to lie down to rest. The letter could come at any moment. He would read it once he woke up. On his soft couch, using magic to grab a blanket, the doctor closed his eyes and took a nap.

East of a little inconspicuous house, past some hills was Lab 28. Uniformed ponies armed with rifles stood guarding the perimeter of the compound. Coming onto the horizon was a white figure, soon discerned to be that of Princess Celestia. A suited pony stood waiting, a serious look on her face. Once the Princess landed, the guards saluted, and the bespectacled old mint green mare stepped forth.

"Princess Celestia, I trust your journey went well."

"Let's not dwell on pleasantries, Chairpony Vixen. I want details. What is going on here?"

The two ponies proceeded through the doors leading into the concrete structure.

"There has been an attack on the lab. The laboratory chief has reported three pones dead, and one more suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder."

"W…what has attacked them? Let me see the bodies."

"Of course." Vixen led the Princess into the main lobby. There on the floor were the bodies of two ponies, or what may have once been ponies. The first one had obviously been thrashed around, and its limbs were bent in all sorts of unnatural positions. Its abdomen was cut wide open, revealing an empty cavity. The ribcage was broken and looked like pieces were removed, though the heart and lungs remained. Blood was encrusted all across the chest, and the face bore a horrified expression. The second body looked even more gruesome, for it was entirely red and shiny, like it had fallen into a vat of blood.

Celestia inched forward, trying to examine this corpse more. Upon closer inspection, the Princess realized the body wasn't covered in blood, but rather uncovered; whoever this pony was had the misfortune of being skinned alive, and died from shock.

The alicorn had to back away, for the stench was too overpowering. She turned to the Chairpony. "This is truly horrible. But I thought there were three deaths?"

"There were. Look beside the skinless one."

Indeed to the right of the skinned body was a pile of red bones, many of the broken. "They found this in a different location. Almost all the bones there are flat; no tubular bones like femurs or humeri. The ones that remain are devoid of marrow."

"And...and do you have any idea what could have done this?" Celestia got a worried look on her face. Was everypony in the building in danger?

"Whatever was attached to this. It was recovered from the scene with the only survivor." She led the diarch towards a cart holding a long black object. It was hard and shiny, and thick on one end, but tapered to a sharp, serrated point on the other.

Celestia' eyes widened at what she saw. "And where is the survivor?"

The Chairpony motioned over to corner, where a young stallion was curled up in a blanket, muttering to himself. The Princess approached him, and called out. He didn't respond. She tried again. Still nothing. Finally she placed her horn to his forehead and used a spell to calm him down. She asked him again.

"Please, my little pony. Tell me what happened." She smiled softly.

Still jittering, the colt answered. "I...I...I saw it...it took them...into the shadows...I could b...barely see what was happening. It cut one of them open and gutted him...she tried to stop it but...but...it grabbed her and tore off her...sk...skin. I managed to...lower the shudder. Its leg was cut off, but I could not save them...I'm so sorry...forgive me...forgive me..." The pony was crying, rocking back and forth and continued to mutter.

"It is alright. You're safe now." She turned back to Vixen. "Where in the complex did this happen?"

"In the specimen storage area. The whole area's been sealed off. We originally thought a specimen escaped, but THAT," she pointed to the leg, "has debunked that theory. Security is now assembling to explore the area in question."

"Whatever attacked them, make sure it's stopped. Understand?"

"Of course Princess. And no need to worry about PR. We've managed to make the media believe the increase in activity here was merely a...routine inspection."

"It's your job as Chairpony of the RSS to make sure the media doesn't know about ANYTHING, let alone something as serious as this. On an unrelated note, how much progress have you made?"

The Chairpony walked towards another door and opened it. Inside was room full of tanks lit by blue lights. Inside each tank was a small pony-like body. All were distorted in some way, such as multiple limbs, exposed organs, and numerous tumors.

"These are this year's batch. All failures. #428 looked promising, until it went into cardiac arrest. The scientists tried to save it." The tank marked 428 was mangled beyond and kind of recognition, with metal tubes and devices grafted into its flesh. The skull was partially cut open to allow a tube inside the brain. All efforts had been made to keep this one alive, but to no avail. "But you see, Princess, all serums have proven fatal. None of the subjects are strong enough. And without Dr. Sableheart, or his research, we cannot replicate the phenomenon."

Celestia was visibly angry. "Chairpony Vixen, I give you millions every year, and every year you hand me a report saying the same thing. Some nosey politicians are becoming wise to my embezzlement. Even Princess Luna has her suspicions. It's been nearly two decades. How much more of my time are you willing to waste?"

"Please, your Highness. We are very close to breakthrough."

"I choose to believe you for now. Do not make me regret it. I ask this too often for the same answer: have you at least dealt with the Changeling Swarm?"

"We have tried numerous times, but they were too strong. None of our forces returned. But I can assure you the swarm is gone."

"So you finally succeeded?"

"...Not quite. An unknown agent killed them. The other day a scouting party was sent to prepare for the next attack, but when they arrived, every changeling was dying, decaying."

"And Chrysalis? A beehive can continue with a queen"

"Her fate is unverified.”

"At least some good news came from this visit. Now those creatures can fade away into history, as they should have long ago. I never figured they would have the gall to attack Canterlot. We should have destroyed them when the swarm was young. But I suppose lesson learned. What killed them, by the way? Should I be concerned?"

"We're not sure. A changeling was recovered and placed in the specimen center. Once whatever attacked those ponies is dead, a thorough examination will be conducted."

"Good." The two mares returned to the lobby. There two older looking doctors were staring at the remains of their fellow scientists.

A short one spoke up first. "I know we're both thinking it...we recognize this feeding pattern..."

"You're not saying..."

"I pray I'm wrong."

They both stepped out of the way as the Princess walked through the room. She had overheard their conversation. "As do I, doctor." She whispered, bowing her head. The solemn moment was interrupted by the survivor. He yelled at the top of lungs, finally snapping out of his trauma.

"I'm going to tell everypony! They need to know! LAB 28 IS NOT SAFE!!"

The Chairpony tried to catch the colt, but he was too fast. He ran for the door but a couple of guards restrained him. He thrashed, and the grip on him was loosened. Falling forward to the ground, the stallion crawled, desperately attempting to stand. He made it to the slippered hooves of a white pony. He looked up and smiled.

"Please, Princess Celestia. Help me...I need to tell everypony..."

The Co-Ruler of Equestria however did not smile back, but instead frowned as she lowered her head to meet the pony's eyes. Her horn began flashing as she spoke.

"I'm afraid I cannot let you do that." A burst of magical energy shot from her long, thin horn, forming a beam. The laser went straight through the colt's skull, killing him instantly. He collapsed, the skin on his face fried. Celestia walked nonchalantly to an unfazed Vixen. "Too many innocent ponies have died. I'm warning you, you have one more year. If I don’t get any results, I'm shutting this whole fucking place down, and ensuring all who participated cannot divulge anything."

"Duly noted. Let me direct you to your quarters, Princess." The nervous Chairpony replied.