Chrysalis stepped deeper into the jungle. Vines choked the jagged bases of the palm trees, snaked along the ground. Animals of an unknown variety hissed and argued with one another in the low underbrush. What little light there was sprinkled on red blooms popping from among the dark green leaves of the underbrush. She looked behind herself. Luna hadn't caught up to her yet assuming she was following her.
She paused, listened carefully for the tell-tale trampling of hoofsteps over fallen palm fronds.
Nothing.
She waited, strained to hear hoofsteps or wingbeats, some sign that Luna was following her. Some sign that she wasn't alone. The chattering of jungle birds, the screech and howls of beasts hiding in the brush was her only companion.
Alone at last. Wasn't that what she wanted?
She stomped through the brush and fronds, blasting away a clump that stood in her way. A serpent hissed at her. She hissed back and it shot up a tree. Chrysalis threw back her head and laughed, then blasted the tree. The serpent darted to another tree as its shelter clattered to the ground. Chrysalis smirked, kept trotting. She had to sift through the memories of several lifetimes, but she knew she was walking the right path. Cracks running along the ground spewed out vapors. The silverish-white mists spewed out from the fractured earth. She gasped, tried to march on through it. All she could see was the thick wall of steam. She heard nothing except the clap of her own hooves against the rocky flesh of the earth. Not the chattering of birds nor the slithering of serpents. Only silence as thick as the fog.
A beast roared from far behind her. Some other beast roared back and the crashing of their combat rocked the jungle. There was no sound of animal life up ahead. The steam was beginning to dissipate, revealing only another long stretch of green canopy made up of palm fronds. Chrysalis listened. No birds nor snakes nor any other kind of animal. For some reason, the jungle creatures had abandoned this part.
Her wings twitched. Deep instinct told her to flee. She glanced behind her. Luna was still nowhere to be found. It was no matter. She angled her wings and jetted towards the treetops, shattering the palms as she darted into the open sky.
...
Luna laid on the sands, her belly pressed into the grainy substance. She lashed her tail. Her ribs ached from where she'd been bucked and a trickle of blood ran down her muzzle. Her body was already healing. In a few more minutes her broken bones would stitch themselves. She stood on trembling legs, lifted a hoof just to be sure then placed it down. As no jolt of pain alerted her to any lingering injuries, she began a quick trot towards the ocean. The waves caressed her hooves, lapped at the shore. The air soared through her spread wings.
She was quite done with Changeling queens.
A thermal caught her up in its gentle sway and she allowed it to carry her over the waves. She was done. Chrysalis could drink the poison for all she cared. It was obvious she did not want to be saved.
Luna flared her wings, beating up gusts of wind that struck the waves. Sprays of water struck her stomach, shocked her with the coldness. She ignored that, ignored everything except getting as far away from that island as she possibly could. The salty spray stung her eyes, salty water dripped down her lashes and wet her fur.
They had journeyed all day long, trekking among the pink flowers. Chryssi had plucked them, threaded them through her emerald locks. She plucked one, floated it over to Luna, then weaved it into her mane. Luna smiled at her friend's antics. Celestia's pink mane (it had been pink in those distant days) bounced ahead into the deep jungles.
Luna shivered though the day was warm. Memories flooded into her, stung her more fiercely than the waters stirred by her flight stung her skin.
The steam of that place had been so deep that they could not even see each other and had to keep their wings against one another in order to know that they were still together. Fear, ancient and primal, seeped into them along with the mists spewing up from the cracks of the earth. Only one question, unasked, was on their minds-what could leave such scars upon the face of Equus itself?
Luna shuddered at memories her thousand year sleep had erased. Wounds, physical and psychic that had closed hundreds of lifetimes ago split open again. She stopped flapping, allowed cool breezes to carry her along over the waves.
The beast that had ripped up from the ground-
Her mind blotted out what happened next, only blinding pain remained.
The slash of claws, blasts of magic warping the air, the buzzing of enchated wings summoning powerful breezes. Together, they had stood together, three against the demons that had stalked a world only then pulling itself from an age of chaos.
The shivering had turned into a full-blown shaking. What was she doing? She stopped, hovering in midair. How could she leave Chrysalis alone to face the monsters that stalked that place?
Tears trailed down her cheeks and she whirled around, rocketing back towards the shore. Sand exploded beneath her, the fury of her flight exploding the particles into clouds that wreathed around her. She raced towards the dense greenery of the jungle, her frantic flying slicing off the heads of the flowers, burst into the jungle.
...
Chrysalis stepped out of the fog and into perfect silence. Her each hoofstep was like a thunderclap. The scars cut deep into the grass, long, jagged cracks. No steam flowed from them. She presumed that a lava flow was further back. She bent, examined the wound in the living flesh of the earth. Those were tail cuts. Her heart squeezed in her chest and her wings snapped open of their own accord.
Flee. The thought took hold of her mind, would not let go. Some memory was clawing at her consciousness. She held her head. Pain radiated from between her eyes, pounded against her skull.
Something roared from the distance. Chrysalis's eyes sprang open just as Luna touched down, panting.
Chrysalis forced herself to straighten her back. "I thought you'd abandoned me."
"Never."
Love radiated from her. Friendship. Chrysalis sampled a bit and her headache faded. "Whatever. Why do you think every animal on the island is leaving this area untouched?"
Luna strode towards her. "Why do you think?"
Chrysalis stepped to Luna's side so they were both staring at the vast, verdant expanse. "So, that nightmare I've been having for the last several centuries isn't a nightmare?"
"I'm afraid not."
Chrysalis looked up to the sky. Luna shook her head. "Doesn't matter. He guards Pyrus's Spring to prevent demigods from doing exactly what you're about to do. He attacks all who come near, regardless of intent."
Chrysalis trembled. "He won't kill."
"No, but he'll make you very much wish you weren't alive. And don't you want to die?"
"Not like that I don't!"
Luna took a step forward. "Well, the only way out is through."
Chrysalis grunted. "For once we agree on something. Can't believe I forgot. Wish I'd brought some armor."
A wistful look crossed Luna's face. "Remember that armor we had back then? It's rusted away long ago. This will have to do." She closed her eyes, lit her horn. Shadows wreathed around both of them and when the shadows passed, they were both clad in silver bardin.
Chrysalis nodded. "Not true Changeling armor, but it'll do."
"I don't recall a single soldier during your invasion of Canterlot wearing armor."
Chrysalis strode forward. "We don't need armor against mundane threats, we have exoskeletons."
Luna raised an eyebrow. "Yet you went up against my sister."
Chrysalis shuffled her hoof. "Princess Cadence rushing in was not part of the plan and I had no time to fetch my armor."
"Nor did you during Celestia and Twilight's wedding."
"...Why don't you stop asking questions?"
Luna muttered something about overconfidence and its role in the downfall of empires. "Are you still looking forward to the rush of battle?"
Chrysalis smirked and took a step forward, lifted her chin. "First Mother help me I am. I sometimes think I might really be insane."
Luna strode up beside her. "Just like we used to be, eh old friend?"
Chrysalis pawed at the ground, waved her horn. "I'll take on whatever this jungle gives!" She barked a sharp cackle and raced away. Luna pounded her hooves against the fallen fronds littering the jungle floor, racing after her. Chrysalis spread her wings and zoomed away, stirred the dirt and leaves. The fluttering of her wings and the flapping of Luna's own broke the silence that hung like a fog over the jungle.
They stayed so close their wings nearly touched. Neither attempted to outrace the other, flying in perfect formation. Memories came unbidden to them, ancient days of their youth, soaring over battlefields or lands far to the west, icy mountains and cities of shimmering gold, the crystal fields beyond the silver valleys beyond the edge of the world. Only Celestia was missing.
They scanned the ground as they flew, noting the sinuous lines carving through the jungle. One might believe a long ago river had once flowed here and dried up. The deep cuts in the earth crisscrossed throughout the jungle. Palms had been sliced from their trunks, lay fallen on the ground in clutters of branches and splinters.
Chrysalis relaxed her wings, drifting on a thermal. "There was a battle here."
Luna nodded, examined the tracks. "That's its tracks. I don't recognize the second set."
Chrysalis shrugged. "Some demon from the Cracks of Azar no doubt. Nothing we haven't dealt with before."
Luna smirked. "We've dealt with worse. Together?" She held out her hoof.
Chrysalis hesitated, then finally tapped Luna's hoof. "Together for one last time."
Luna's smile faded away. "I'll try to stop you."
Chrysalis darted forward; Luna kept pace. "Did you think this conversation was over?"
Chrysalis snarled, bucked the air.
Luna deftly slid out of the way. "I'll wrap you in shadow chains and drag you back, force you to explain to your children why you were going to abandon them-"
"Shut up!" Chrysalis whirled around, shot out a blast of energy that bounced off Luna's shield.
Luna kept the shield up. "I will not allow you to take your own life."
"It's mine to take."
Luna lit her horn, yanked her back. While she squirmed like a foal, Luna teleported in front of her. "Like Tartarus it is. You have a duty to the race you gave birth to. You owe them an explanation at least. I can't imagine the trauma-"
A slap cut Luna off. She held her cheek, grit her teeth. Chrysalis glared at her. "As much as I'd like to stay and listen to you eviscerate me, in your ranting there's something you overlooked."
The smell struck Luna so hard she gagged, a cough ripping from her chest. She summoned a bubble of clean air that purified the stench. Chrysalis grunted. "That's a useful spell. Tell me something, Luna. You have borne children? I recall your son."
Luna took in a sharp intake of breath. "Yes." Her voice shook. One-thousand years had passed but for her the wound was fresh. "His family line...degenerated somewhat. Cadence is a direct ancestor due to their dalliances with the Crystal imperial line." Her lips turned up. "He died against Sombra, one of the greatest knights who ever lived. We've spoken since. He dwells in the Elysian Fields."
Chrysalis waved her hoof. "Yes, yes, your son the hero. You've never shut up about it."
Luna growled. "What is your point?"
Chrysalis paused. "You cooked meals for him? I know you preferred the hooves on approach instead of having nannies dote on him."
Luna nodded, waved her hoof. "Could you get to your point? We're not getting further from Ragnarok."
"Let's just say you prepared him a meal and it made him ill even to death." She trembled. "Let's say you thought you were doing the right thing only to find that it doomed your children." The trembling grew.
Luna reached out her wings as if to embrace her, but Chrysalis fluttered out of reach. "Contrary to what you and your sister believe, a hug and kind words do not solve everything."
She danced on the wind, beating up a wind that pushed her farther away from Luna's touch. Luna sighed deeply and followed after. "I wish I could reach you."
Chrysalis ignored her. "What do you suppose happened here?"
The land was pitted,ugly pockmarks ripped through the heart of the jungle. Gaps appeared in the canopy. They soared over piles of lumber. Giant claws had raked the soil, turning it over. The rich scents of plowed dirt drifted against their nostrils and Luna would almost believe she was approaching a farming community, but there were no farms. No signs of the civilized order that (for better or worse) accompanied the introduction of agriculture.
There were no crops, no grains glowing golden in the sun. Just broken trees and broken earth. It was a wonder to her that the island hadn't been ripped asunder. The cuts were dry. It hadn't rained recently. The only explanation was that the cuts hadn't been filled up with water as the battle had been recent. Very recent.
Chrysalis stopped so suddenly that Luna nearly rammed into her. Luna gasped. It took a few moments to process just what she was seeing. All they could do was hover in the air, staring down at the majestic beast that was fallen beneath them. Great serpents that once writhed with life and power lay in the dust, cut away from the main body of the dragon.
Chrysalis hesitated, then floated towards the fallen god. Luna grabbed her with her magic. "What are you doing?! If anything can take the C'yashra down what could it do to us?!"
Luna was knocked back by the force of Chrysalis yanking away from her grip, but she quickly regained controlled, turning her spin into a dive. The ground raced up towards her and she stumbled when she landed. Chrysalis touched the decaying deity, nodding her head as a gesture of respect. Luna did as well. "We should get off the island."
"Go if you wish." The grin that spread across Chrysalis's face showed her gleaming, venom covered fangs."If that thing could take down the all great C'yashra, it could take me as well."
"Indeed it could and that's why we should leave!"
Chrysalis shook her mane. "I could die gloriously in battle!"
Luna slowly shook her head. "You really have gone insane."
Chrysalis snorted. "Perhaps, but you will follow me. What's the make you?"
Luna trailed after her. "Not the first time my sanity's been questioned. But how do you know being around you hasn't driven me so?"
"You were insane long before you met me."
Luna did not debate the point, only keeping at her side while they crossed around the knot of giant serpents. Both of them scanned their surroundings. Chrysalis snapped a branch beneath her hoof and Luna almost jumped. She chuckled and snapped another one. Luna only glared at her. The deep jungles were only growing deeper. They stopped when they stepped down into a deep impression. Shadow shrouded the palm-frond strewn path. Thickly knotted oaks towered over them, intertwined with palm to form a canopy that blocked out all but a few sprinkles of light. New, fresh, palms were growing from the decaying bodies of their predecessors, unfurling bright greenery from their branches. Luna plopped a piece of palm fruit in her mouth.
"Want one?" She offered it to Chrysalis who shook her head.
"Suit yourself." She chomped on it, sending sweet juice splattering juice on her fur.
Chrysalis flittered into the air and shot a blast that ripped a hole in the forest canopy, sending a pillar of light down on the path. Luna frowned. "Yes, I'm certain that won't let anything know we're here. How does a Changeling not know about the element of surprise?"
She rolled her eyes and snapped her tail against Luna's side. "Of course I know about it, but I can't see a damned...thing..."She trailed off. The trees crowded against them. Leaves and branches brushed against their flanks. A deep, winding impression coursed along the bare dirt.
Luna stared at them, pressed a hoof to the imprint of a band. "Chrysalis, does this look like a snake to you?"
Chrysalis quietly nodded.
Luna sighed. "Jormungandr."
"Doubtlessly so." Chrysalis kept walking.
Luna paused. "Will you allow me to feed you? You need your strength for the fight."
"I intend to die, Luna. What would be the point?"
"I do not wish you to die."
"Then we are at an impasse are we not?" Chrysalis turned to face her.
Luna trod forward. "A wager, friend?"
Chrysalis hesitated. "Name it."
"If both of us, Slepnir's daughter and Kelpie's daughter, can defeat the world serpent, if we have that greatness within us, then surely you must live. What other greatness might you achieve?"
Chrysalis threw her head back and laughed. "My goodness, Luna! I had no idea you had such a good sense of humor! I, defeat the great Jormungandr! Even with your aid it could not be done!"
Luna shrugged. "Are you certain? Perhaps, if we worked together, the deed could be accomplished."
Chrysalis frowned. "Very well. I accept your wager-you won't be alive to collect on it."
Luna lifted her hoof. "Swear on your Power and Throne."
Chrysalis tapped her hoof. "On my Power and Throne."
Energy crackled between them, binding her to her vow. Luna reached over and touched her shoulder. "May I feed you? You should at least try to win the wager."
Chrysalis grunted. "Do as you like. And do not say feed, I am not a Labrador Retriever."
"Then what's the proper term?"
Chrysalis ground her teeth. "I suppose there isn't one. We take love, we hunt. To take willingly is strange."
Luna patted her withers. "Is strange always bad?"
Chrysalis was silent for a few moments. "No, I suppose not. Do as you wish."
Luna pressed down on her shoulder and focused on her feeling of love. Chrysalis's muscles relaxed beneath her touch and she instinctively allowed in the energy of Luna's love. It flowed through her, reached the pit of hunger deep within her and briefly masked it. She closed her eyes, felt warmth soothe her deep inside. Strawberry ice cream. She rarely ate Pony food, but if Luna's love had a taste it'd be strawberry ice cream.
Chrysalis opened one eye as Luna drew away.
Luna set her hoof down. "Was that enough?"
Chrysalis bit her lip. "Yes, certainly. Let's go."
"Are you sure? Going into battle hungry doesn't seem wise."
Chrysalis pressed a hoof on Luna's chest. "I am a proud Changeling, I do not ask, I take."
Luna wrapped a hoof around hers. "Take what you need, friend."
Chrysalis jerked away. "Stop doing that! Stop being so damned nice, it's annoying!" She couldn't help but notice the holes in her leg had filled up. Once more she pressed her hoof to Luna's chest, seized more of that store of love Luna held within her. It flooded her so suddenly that she drew away. More of her holes were filling up, knitting themselves back together. The eternal hunger was gone. No, not entirely. There was still an echo of it, a distant throbbing.
She wanted more, seized it. Luna held her hoof and, for a second, Chrysalis leaned into the touch. Then she drew away. More holes had been filled up. She shook out her mane. "Let's go. Do you need to rest?"
Luna shook her head.
"Of course. You gave willingly, I didn't rip it out of you."
Luna sailed into the air, Chrysalis joining her. Above the treetops the two soared, warm wind pushing up their wings. The jungles below them were broken, trees knocked aside by what they now recognized as the writhing of a massive serpent. The earth was slashed, his scales having cut deep into the dirt. When the rains came (and clouds were already on the horizon), those gouges would fill with rain and rivers would flow through the land. His very presence had altered the landscape. A shiver passed through her. Her heart raced.
"Excited. You're excited." Chrysalis looked over at her. "We come from that age, don't we? Better death in battle that death on a straw bed."
Luna did not reply. Chrysalis bumped her. "Perhaps, you even miss those days. Days of blood and steel, fire and glory."
"I still see cities burning in my dreams. I still hear screams. Glory is just an excuse for a death wish. Nay, Chrysalis. Give me days of peace and plenty, with companions and song."
"I recall your ferocity then." Chrysalis allowed the wind to carry her along, past Luna.
Luna pumped her wings, reached her. "I waged war so that there might be peace."
Chrysalis snorted. "You enjoyed those days, don't lie to one who can sense your emotions."
"And if I did? What of it?" She sailed beneath a winding oak branch. "I was very young and the very young are often known for being very stupid."
Chrysalis's laughter floated on the wind. "So, did your Ponies ever figure out they were being led by an adolescent?"
"After the Discord Era, a foal could have led them."
That made Chrysalis's smile vanish. "I still don't understand how your sister could possibly forgive Discord."
Luna smirked at her. "You count yourself more righteous than he?"
Chrysalis jetted away, sliced through a tree branch in her path. Wood chips sprayed in her wake as the branch ripped away from the oak. Luna put up a shield against the splinters. "You could just fly around the branches."
She blasted another one. "What's the fun in that?"
The land shifted, sloping upward into dry mountains. The jungles vanished, but the depressions did not. A trail of cracks snaked through the rocky ground. A cave mouth yawned like the jaws of some ancient predator, opening into the heart of the great mountain. The peaks were ringed with clouds, circling a clear lake that was as grey as the clouds beginning to fill the sky.
Luna and Chrysalis flew towards the clouds, shivering as they ascended through the cool, fluffy material. Luna settled on the surface of the cloud bank. Chrysalis remained standing. After a while, Luna stood as well. "Here we come to the end of our journey."
"So it is. Why have we stopped?"
The clouds flashed blue as lightning rippled through its grey surface. Beneath them, the surface glowed with cerulean light while lightning rippled and rolled. They opened and rain poured down, beating on the rock below them like the drums of war.
"We are going up against a dangerous foe, Chrysalis."
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "I'm aware of that."
Luna swished her tail. "And I don't trust your mental state right now. I believe we can defeat-or strike a serious blow-against Jormungandr, but only if we work together."
Chrysalis huffed. "Another friendship speech? Spare me."
"It is not about the magic of friendship-it's the magic of common sense which you seem to lack in abundance."
Chrysalis' lips curled back. "For someone trying to keep me from suicide, you sure do enjoy cutting me down."
Luna's shoulder slumped. "I do not enjoy it, but you've made me very frustrated. I don't want you charging into the fray without any proper planning or strategy."
Chrysalis stomped. "Who exactly do you believe you're talking to?"
"Someone who might commit suicide by proxy because they've so fully immersed themselves into the mythology of a glorious death in battle."
"Weak. You've become weak."
Luna snorted. "Oh, you believe I'm weak do you? Very well. Let's go and I will show you how weak I am when I have smashed the world serpent against a wall."
Chrysalis flared her wings. "I'll believe it when I see it."
Without another word, both dived toward the ground.