Chapter 1: Going Through Changes *EDITED*

Chapter 1: Going Through Changes

As a strange light danced across her face, a young black mare slowly stirred from her deep sleep. She was enjoying perhaps the most restful night of sleep since she was taken and would be damned if she let anything short of a cataclysmic earthquake disturb her slumber. It had been far too long since she had been able to dream without having one of the strange creatures rip her from her cot and drag her into the laboratory for the first round of "tests." But now wasn't the time to think about that, it was time to dream peacefully.

Suddenly, a voice pierced the veil, "Oh my! Lord Danaus, come look!"

The mare's body went rigid. They must have come for me, she thought. Some part of her wondered who this Danaus was and what they'd done with the females that normally came, but those questions would have to wait. Preparing for the worst, the mare did her best to get ready for a fight, but she could feel that her body was in no shape to even stand without some form of help.  From her place on the cold ground she could hear the distinct sound of heavy hooves fall against stone at a steady pace. The sound grew louder and stronger until they stopped just short of where she lay.

The mare was fully awake now but did not open her eyes. This one sounded large. Not even if she were completely healthy could she take down such a stallion without the element of surprise. So she decided to wait and gather what little strength she could.

"What is it, Thysbe?" a deep male voice asked with an annoyed sigh. "I have no time for your little games."

The female's voice wavered slightly as she spoke, "My Lord, t-this is no game. Look!"

The male, who must have been Danaus, prodded an experimental hoof into her ribs causing her great pain, but she did her best to hide it, waiting for a better moment to strike. His response was highly pompous and impartial. "Why, it is another one of our subjects sleeping on the streets. Poor thing probably hasn't gotten enough to eat in a while and is likely to turn feral soon. Oh well, the best we can do is give her a swift death." The mare could hear the all-too-familiar sound of steel being drawn from its leather sheath.

"But Sir, look at her. She is not starved, she is just severely injured!" Thysbe explained. "She just needs to get to a doctor."

The young mare was confused. They used words like 'starved' and 'feral' when referring to her condition. Were they worried she had some form of disease? Well, that wouldn't be improbable, considering where she had been for Creators knew how long.The black mare felt herself being hoisted off the ground by the scruff of her neck.The protest of unwanted movement from her battered body forced a pathetic whimper past her lips.

She opened her eyes to be greeted by the terrifying sight of a rather large black stallion, his piercing gaze burning its way through her very soul. His horn, which reminded her of a curved blade, glowed eerily in the darkness that surrounded him. His nightmarish visage turned into a snarling grin, freezing her in place.

"So she does, Thysbe, but what of it?" he said, his voice nearly a growl as he spoke. "She is far too young and weak to contribute much to the people, and far too old to be trained into a hive slave. Bringing her back with us would bring nothing but a greater burden on our already broken society."

It was then that Danaus dropped her. It was not a long fall, but enough to let the laws of physics play havoc with her broken form. As her head connected with the hard stone floor, the pain was instant and severe, causing a loud, almost unbearable ringing in her ears. The muffled sounds of a rather heated argument could be heard through the noise as the mare began to search for her bearings again. From her new angle on the floor, she could see the two strange ponies completely. The smaller one, whom she had guessed to be Thysbe, was a slender, black mare with long, moss green hair. Her body and face were shielded by a large scarlet cloak with a strange golden embroidery.

The other was a large stallion, clad in armor of a strange blue-ish green materialtoo intricate and polished to be used for battle. A ceremonial piece, perhaps? The mare couldn't be sure, but she did take notice of the large blade resting on his hip. Its sheath was a blood red leather decorated with silver in the shape of a dragon's head, sending an intense chill down the mare's spine.

"Enough of this!" Danaus bellowed as he shoved Thysbe to the side, leaving nothing between him and the black mare on the ground. Out of nowhere, the large stallion drew his blade and lifted it above his head as he stared down at her, "If she cannot even defend herself, what use is she to us?!"

It's now or never, the black mare thought as she rolled towards her assailant and jumped from the ground. Then, she head-butted the stallion in his unarmored underbelly and knocked the wind from his lungs. Danaus fell backwards as he dropped his sword. Giving him no time to recover, she used what little magic she could muster to catch the weapon as it fell and level it at the armored foe's throat.

Judging by the look on his face, Danaus’ mind was still trying to process what had just happened. His look of confusion eventually turned into one of feigned satisfaction, and he gave her a cheshire grin."Perhaps she is not so weak and useless after all," he said. The black mare grunted, not as a show of dominance but a means of suppressing the agonizing pain shooting through her body. Every fiber of her being was telling her to collapse. Her muscles ached, her chest tightened with each breath, and her head pulsed as the little blood she had pumped through her skull. Still, she held the blade steady long enough for the other mare to step in.

"It's okay," she whispered. Thysbe's magic gently took hold of the blade and she moved it away from Danaus's neck, allowing the stallion to  rise to his hooves. As soon as she released her grip on the weapon, the black mare collapsed, her body finally giving out on her.

"Whoa there!" The black mare felt herself being wrapped in Thysbe's forelegs as she attempted to keep her from falling, but the black mare fell through her arms. With nothing left to keep her up, she fell into a rather large puddle and...

Wait, Chrysalis thought. I don't remember any puddles.

Chrysalis's eyes shot open and found herself submerged in a pool of water. Realization of her imminent drowning slammed into her chest like a rampaging minotaur and she reached for the sides of the container, pulling herself above the surface before she passed out. Bending over the edge of what she could only assume was a bathtub, Chrysalis began heaving, expunging all of the liquid from her lungs and onto the tiled floor. Out of instinct, she finished pulling herself out of the tub and propped herself up on one foreleg as her other pushed against her chest, finishing the exorcism of liquid from her body.

Collapsing to the hard tile floor, Chrysalis did her best to catch her breath as she searched her surroundings. It was a small, quaint washroom painted in a simple cloud-white color with traces of grey scattered along the walls. Just above the toilet was a wooden shelf lined with different reading materials as well as a scented candle, burning softly as it produced its incense. On the opposite side of the wall was a small sink covered in bottles and small boxes, which, judging by the red crosses she could see on their labels, were medical supplies.

The door to the room swung open, revealing a small pegasus mare with a sky-blue coat. Her mane was rather peculiar, with a blue, grey, and snow white streaks all tied together with royal blue ribbons. Her golden eyes were soft and kind, yet full of apprehension at the sight of the stranger lying on the ground before her. Chrysalis could do nothing more that stare up at the mare until she looked down into a puddle of water on the floor with a gasp. She could see herself, not as the orange earth pony she had disguised herself as, but as the Queen of Changelings. This did not surprise her since she had used every ounce of her strength to get out of the desert alive. No, what surprised her was the fact that her horn, once sharp and twisted, had become a straight, normal unicorn horn.

Her initial reaction was that of sheer panic, scrambling away from her reflection like a foal afraid of their own shadow. The longer she stared at her reflection, the more she began to contemplate how this could have happened. Did she subconsciously morph her horn once she saw the mare? Where was Caduceus? Was he alright? Was she dead, and was this some sort of fantasy that she wished would come true?

It was that question that her mind latched onto. She knew she could not have morphed her horn in her state, at least as she remembered it, and so she must be dead. Even as this confirmation began to weigh on her chest, it was thrown off by the thought that if Caduceus was not with her, he must still be alive. This thought brought a glimmer of hope to her racing mind. If she had helped him survive, it meant that she had done something noble with her existence in this world. She would never see his face again, never hear the sound of his laughter or see the sight of his smile or lay next to him beneath the stars, but the grief at this possibility was overshadowed by the knowledge that he would be safe. Thus, the thought of these fleeting moments brought warm tears to her eyes, and she cried freely before her angel, waiting for her judgment and knowing that, though she would undoubtedly pay dearly for her life of wickedness, she could at least receive some shred of mercy for that one last act of selfless good.

The sky blue mare rushed to Chrysalis's side, helping her to her hooves. Chrysalis could feel the mare's warm wing rest over her withers in a comforting embrace. It only brought more tears from the depths of Chrysalis's soul, forcing her knees to grow weaker as she returned the kind mare's gesture. They collapsed to the floor, the mare allowing Chrysalis to cry into her fur, all the while stroking the Changeling Queen's mane and quietly soothing her. If the mare was speaking words, Chrysalis could not hear them, not over the beating of her....

Heart.

Chrysalis's eyes snapped open. Wait, she thought, reaching a hoof to her chest. If I can hear my heart and feel its pulse, then I must not be dead!

"Then this is all real."

The pegasus mare pulled back slightly from Chrysalis. "Why, of course this is real," she said. Chrysalis laid a hoof on the mare's chest, using her as a support to help her sit upright. She looked up, the last remnants of her tears rolling down her cheeks. Any apprehension the strange mare might have had before had long since faded into a soft, caring smile,the same kind of smile one would show a crying foal who had just been awoken by the roar of a thunderstorm, andChrysalis could feel those same emotions of caring that everypony in this land seemed to show for one another when in distress.

Although this was an act of kindness, Chrysalis felt sickened by it. Maybe it was because all her years in the hive taught her that such emotions were signs of pity, and were therefore used to point out one's weakness.Gently, Chrysalis pushed herself away from the mare, not wanting to offend her. With her free hoof, she wiped away her still-wet tears as she returned her curious gaze to the mare.

"I'm guessing you have some questions," the pegasus started, still holding the Queen of Changelings in her warm forelegs. "And I'd be happy to answer all of them. But right now, your coltfriend is not doing well, and I need your help."