//------------------------------// // Awakening // Story: Torn of Harmony // by Axel_Changeling //------------------------------// The nights become more weary each passing day. I am afraid to sleep. The darkness, and the archaic chanting that haunts my dreams every night.. I cannot bear it. It only gets worse as the days go by. Twilight couldn't find anything on my affliction. I can't remember.. I need to remember.. Now here I am once again. The darkness is very real. The chanting only gets louder and louder. Now, I am just barely able to make out the words. Al.... Am..... Al.... Am....... I fly out to find the sources of the chants, but they appear to come from every direction. I feel trapped. I cannot escape. The farther I fly, the louder it gets. Al... Amu.... Ali.....n Amu....... No.. it can't be.. The memories.. they are coming back.. Alico.. Amul...t .. No.. The Alicorn Amulet.. It's power has been released! I must warn Twilight! ~~~ About a month and a half had passed since Twilight's first visit with Chrysalis. Many of Twilight's friends also came to see her. Even Rainbow Dash had managed to warm up to her eventually. Twilight was very excited since her sentence reduction was only 2 weeks away. Celestia was astonished by the positive feedback on Chrysalis, however her dreams made her weary. Twilight was disappointed at how she couldn't find any information on the nightmares that plagued Princess Celestia. She wanted to help in any way she could, but there was nothing she could do. Meanwhile, Chrysalis laid on her bed reading some of the books Twilight left for her while she munched on an apple she received from Applejack. All of the sudden, she heard hoofsteps approaching her cell. Usually her friends only visited her on Saturdays. This was unusual. The two ponies knocked on her cell door loudly. Chrysalis got startled and jumped off her bed to look out the window. Two guards were eyeing her and one of them lit up their horn. Before Chrysalis could say anything, the door to her cell was opened. The ball and chain was taken off, and the seal on her horn was deactivated. Chrysalis simply stood there in shock. “W-what's going on?” Chrysalis asked in bewilderment. “You are free Chrysalis. The Princess has lifted your sentence,” one of the guards affirmed. Chrysalis froze. She could not even fathom what she had just heard. She was being freed. However, she couldn't believe this for a second. She bit her arm to make sure she wasn't dreaming, but this was all real. “Just like that? I am free to go?” “Yes. Now follow us. Oh, and you might want to disguise yourself as one of us. We don't want to put you at risk.” Chrysalis obliged, and used the last of her magic that was left after being drained again from Twilight. She transformed herself into WhiteHoof, one of the generals. The two guards guided Chrysalis through the hallway. Chrysalis couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. She hadn't been out of her cell for a long time, and she wasn't used to being anywhere else. She bit her lip, and continued walking. The new-found sense of freedom helped calm her nerves and built up her confidence. All of the sudden, the guards opened the door to the left of the staircase. This lead to a large room filled with wooden crates. It looked to be some sort of storage room for supplies for the prisoners. Chrysalis began to feel anxious. Something wasn't right. She didn't know why she was being brought in here. She looked around, and began to see other guards appearing from behind the crates. Chrysalis broke out a sweat. She didn't know what was going on, but it didn't look good. “What is happening, why am I here?” The guards all stared at her with stern looks on their faces, and then they all burst into a bright blue light. A familiar sound echoed throughout the whole room. Chrysalis shut her eyes and winced at the blinding light. She slowly opened them again to see a whole swarm of Changelings before her. She wanted to open her mouth to let out a scream, but she couldn't let it out. “W-what? What is this? What are you all doing here? Where have you been?” Chrysalis stammered. “We came to rescue you. You are our queen, and we want you back,” One of the changelings asserted. “N-no. This is wrong. I need to go back into my cell. I'm going to get in deep trouble! I'm sorry, but I can't.” “But we need you! Our hive is in grave danger!” Another changeling hissed. “Y-you need.. me? Why? What danger? What's going on?” “There is a horde of possessed changelings coming this way to attack us and Canterlot. They have a new queen. We do not know her origins, but she is ruthless. We were lucky enough to have branched off before that evil queen possessed all of us.” “But.. why would you want me? I was a tyrant, and a despot. I used you all. You wouldn't want me as your queen,” Chrysalis's head drooped. The other changelings looked to each other in confusion, not knowing what to say. Eventually, one of them spoke up. “Perhaps you can make it up to us then. We need you to lead us Chrysalis. Without our queen, we are nothing. We beg of you.” “But what can I do? I am powerless. All my magic has been drained. I can't do anything!” “You can be here for us. You can lead us. That is all that we ask.” Chrysalis looked back at the other Changelings. She saw the solemn looks in their eyes. This was too much for her. She knew they needed her help. She had to help them. “Very well. I will return to my rightful place as Queen of the Changelings. I will put a stop to this new queen and help save the hive.” All the changeling's faces lit up. They surrounded their queen in a group hug. Chrysalis smiled happily. She finally had her hive back. She was a Queen again. But now was not the time to get emotional. She had to warn Celestia about the coming attack. ~~~ “The Alicorn Amulet? I thought it was hidden somewhere safe!” Twilight exclaimed. “Unfortunately, it wasn't hidden well enough. Another pony seemed to have gotten their hooves on it. And whoever did, somehow managed to release it's curse into the open,” Celestia murmured. “So.. why was it haunting your dreams?” Celestia lowered her head in shame. “Twilight, I created the Alicorn Amulet.” “You what?!” “It was during my research on Alicorn magic. Before I became an Alicorn, I wanted to create my own enchantment to give myself Alicorn powers. However, the experiment backfired, and a large explosion occurred causing me to lose my memory. I found the amulet in my house, and thought someone had left it there. I sold it to a jeweler, and that was the last I heard of it,” Celestia lamented. “I only just got my memory back. I fear that whatever dark powers I once harnessed had been released and had taken a sentient form. I can sense it heading towards our kingdom.” “What can we do?” “I don't know. If the powers have been released, then they most likely can only be counteracted with stronger spells. I would suggest that..” Before Celestia could finish, Chrysalis, who was currently disguised as WhiteHoof, burst into the door, along with other disguised changelings trailing behind her. “Celestia! Changelings have been spotted flying towards the kingdom!” “What?!” Celestia and Twilight yelled. “Look out the window!” Both of the Alicorns looked out to see a horde of changelings flying towards them. They noticed a strange black cloud following behind them as well. “There it is.. that is the Specter that embodied the Alicorn Amulet,” Celestia murmured in fear. Twilight gasped in shock. Celestia opened the window and shouted commands to the guards below. “Put up the shield!” She bellowed towards Twilight. Twilight used a grand portion of her power to put up a round shaped shield to cover the whole kingdom. 'This all seems vaguely familiar,' thought Chrysalis as she smirked. Celestia turned over to WhiteHoof. “WhiteHoof, I want you to.. hey... wait a second,” Celestia eyeballed WhiteHoof closely. Chrysalis had begun to break a sweat. “Didn't I send you to work at the northern outpost? What are you doing here?” Chrysalis's mind raced for an excuse, but she failed to come up with one. “I... um..... I.....” Chrysalis's voice shook. Celestia's eyes began to squint, as she began to make a scowl. Chrysalis ground her teeth. She was done for. Then suddenly, a loud shattering noise could be heard outside. Celestia turned around to see that the shield had been broken to pieces. “That's not possible! The shield was supposed to be way more powerful than the last one!” Hollered Twilight. “Guards, go out there and fight those bastards!” Chrysalis ordered. The disguised changelings flew off and helped aid in the battle. Twilight looked down to see her friends fighting the Changelings. Only this time, they seemed to be struggling. These were no ordinary Changelings. Their eyes appeared to glow red, as well as their horns. They seemed to be twice as powerful than the last Changelings they fought. Things were looking grim. The Changelings easily mowed through all of the guards, and made their way to the top of the castle. The dark cloud seeped its way through the windows, and made it into the private chambers where the Alicorns resided. The Alicorns both stood in shock as the dark cloud slowly slithered between the cracks in the door. Chrysalis could only cower in fear from the sight. The cloud then began to take form. It molded itself into the shape of Celestia, only it had glowing red eyes, and almost it's entire body appeared to be engulfed in pitch black flames. It's wings bore the same red and black patterns on the amulet itself. “Why are you attacking us? What do you want from us?” Twilight yelled desperately. “Twilight, the specter is pure darkness. There is no use reasoning with it,” Celestia murmured. The specter let out a loud shriek, and then flew towards the Alicorns with blinding speed. Twilight dodged, and tried to fire a laser at the ghost-like entity. The laser merely reflected off of it. The specter cackled, and shot magic missiles at both Alicorns. Twilight wasn't fast enough, and got hit by one of them. Luckily, it didn't do too much damage. Twilight got up on her hooves, and both Alicorns shot a powerful laser at the specter will all their magic combined. The laser shot right through the specter. The specter appeared to howl in defeat. Chrysalis made a small cheer under her breath. However, the specter began to replenish itself. The hole that cut through the specter simply healed itself. Twilight and Celestia both took a few steps back, as looks of worry made its way onto their faces. The specter fired a homing shot at both the Alicorns. They couldn't dodge. They both got blasted by the shots and fell sideways onto the floor. Both Alicorns struggled to get up, but couldn't. The specter then proceeded to shock both Alicorns with its magic. They both began to writhe in pain. They began to call out for help. Chrysalis couldn't bear to watch this. Part of her wanted to just escape. She could flee this castle and live on her own with her own hive in the wilds. She would be safe. However, she remembered all the times Twilight helped her get back on her hooves. She remembered the bed Twilight got her, and how much it made her happy. She could never leave her friends behind. She couldn't live it down. That was when she made her decision. Chrysalis unveiled her disguise, and walked up towards the specter. Celestia and Twilight both looked up in shock to see the Changeling Queen standing in front of them. This was it. This was her chance to make everything right, once and for all.