Chapter by: nioniosbbbb
Drip, drip, drip, drip.
The wary mare shivered at the light wind blowing against her coat. She tried to cover herself against the cold, but her hooves disobeyed her. Like rubber, again and again they were snatched back to their original place.
Her eyes fluttered open as the unicorn groggily open her eyes.
All that welcomed her was darkness. She tried to light up her horn, green magic flaring to life only to be extinguished as it backfired. Mirage blinked as she saw her white coat soiled by green slime, her mirror cutie mark barely visible now. The same slime covered her hooves and horn.
Two teal orbs gleamed in the darkness.
She turned in the direction of the orbs, but the light had already faded, too dim to discern anything. She breathed in, and her horn flared to life once again, only to receive the same feedback.
“Your struggle is pointless, Madame Mirage.”
“Who said that?” Mirage jerked her head left and right, scrutinizing the darkness.
“You’re in my sanctum, my dear, my very domain. Resistance is useless.” The shadows shifted left, and right. The air shifted, and she felt the cold as something stalked her from inside the darkness.
“Who are you? What do you want from me?”
“I don’t answer questions to which the answer is already given.” Cold sweat rolled down Mirage’s neck, her forehead wrinkling in focus. Her eyes shot wide-open as it hit her.
“The Alicorn Amulet!”
“Yeeesss…” A chill ran up her spine. The voice crept closer, it sounded like two serpents speaking at once, echoing with magic.
A sickly green glow lit the room, revealing the host of the cave. Shadows of large, tattered, diaphanous wings stretched to the walls behind, the changeling’s form towered before her victim. Her black carapace gleamed against the dim light. And her eyes…
Elongated oval pupils pulsing with the arcane, the eyes of a predator gazed upon Madame Mirage.
Madame Mirage shivered as she said the name.
“Queen Chrysalis! You… You’re not getting away with this! I’m expected to appear tomorrow before Twilight Sparkle herself! She’ll look for me! She knows your magic, you and your changelings won’t be able to fool anyone.”
The changeling queen’s teeth glistened in response.
“Have you ever heard the tale of the ‘Skincrawler’? Quite a fascinating tale. A creature able to take the form of another by wearing their skin. Amazing don’t you think?” Mirage shook her head, her blue mane flapping in response.
The Queen leaned in breath’s distance. “What if it was true?”
Mirage looked inside the abyss that was the Queen’s eyes, she stared at it, and as she did so, the abyss stared back into her. The darkness grew, it expanded, it engulfed her.
She screamed.
This was just the beginning.
This was the location of the Amulet, she could feel it. The air was thick, the magic of many powerful wards radiated in the surrounding areas, like a dense smog. A small stone fortress revealed itself to Queen Chrysalis. Unlike Canterlot, many ponies were working here, guarding the area with magic, air support, and more.
Chrysalis had it investigated the moment she heard of it. The speed of its completion was alarming. Initially, she thought it was a prelude to the invasion of the Badlands, but through her spies in Equestria she had learned differently. Agents of the Equestrian Diarchy had been searching all across the land for mentally skilled individuals to power down the Alicorn Amulet.
The Alicorn Amulet was a fabled artifact, spoken of in rumors. Chrysalis could care less about the paranoid cautionary tales the ponies spoke of in their free time, but this one was different. There was evidence of its devastation in Ponyville, its magic still permeated the air there, but most importantly…
It had bested Twilight Sparkle.
The previous wearer of the Amulet, Trixie Lulamoon, apparently had a personal feud with Celestia’s favored. While its maximum potential was still unknown, Chrysalis knew enough. Somewhere inside the stone walls was an object of power.
It will be mine.
Stretching herself, she confirmed her control over the stolen form. She checked her saddlebags, confirming that her I.D, books, and other items she would need were all still there. She took a deep breath before trotting towards the entrance, where she was welcomed by the guards.
Nodding, they opened the first door for her, revealing a small waiting room where Twilight Sparkle was. Chrysalis stared at her hated enemy approaching her. Chrysalis masked her intent with a smile.
“Greetings Madame Mirage, I trust you are ready?” There was a pause before Chrysalis responded.
“Yes, my dear. Everything is alright here as well?”
Twilight sighed. “More or less. Our candidates don’t exactly leave intact, you see.”
“Oh dear,” Chrysalis gasped, placing a hoof on her chest, “what happened to them?”
“Why don’t I talk to you on the way? It’ll help you relax during the tests as well.” Twilight turned around, with Chrysalis following suit.
The first stops they made were for small tests. I.D confirmation, metal detector, illusions detector, the last one being a prototype. Regardless, Chrysalis had been thorough in covering her deception. Even if the ponies knew how to dispel changeling transformations, this one was different, and thus anything suspicious would fly below their magical radar.
“We’ve doubled and tripled our defensive magics around this place, but I wish we had more time.” Twilight explained as she ticked another test off her checklist.
“Has anyone tried to steal it yet?” Questioned Chrysalis.
“No, but despite how confident my fellow ponies are, I can’t help but feel we’ve only scratched the surface. I mean, there are so many types of magic to guard against out there. There’s no saying we won’t miss something we haven’t studied yet.”
Chrysalis smiled inwards as they trotted through the corridors of the fortress. So far, so good.
“Alright next stop; lie detector, and mental examination.” She opened the door, and motioned Chrysalis in.
Chrysalis’s brow furrowed as she walked in. The ponies inside bombarded her with questions, riddles, dilemmas. They monitored her heart, and screened her mind. Chrysalis wouldn’t make the same mistake as the Canterlot wedding. With desire as a focal point, she disciplined her mind, calmed her heart, and soothed her soul.
They found nothing, and she moved to the bathroom for a break.
Cold water washed her face as she sighed in relief. Staring back at her reflection the Queen of the changelings gritted her teeth.
“I am perfect. I am perfect, I am perfect…” she repeated over and over. Her face contorted in focus.
“I am perfect.” She told herself.
“I am perfect.” Her hoof was trembling.
“I am perfect.” Her snout flared at the mirror.
“I am perfect.” Her eyes shone green as a toothy smile formed.
“I am—”
“Mirage?” Chrysalis peeked through the door to see Twilight waiting for her.
“I’m almost ready!” She yelled wiping her face. Fixing her mane she wore a fake, kind smile before opening the door.
“Oh good. I thought something happened to you.” Twilight breathed out in relief.
“No, just freshening myself.”
“So, no residue effects from magic or any other kind of aftermath from the tests?”
“Twilight…”
“Right, right, just asked that out of necessity.” Twilight rolled up her checklist and shrugged. “We’re done.”
“Really?” Chrysalis raised her brow. “I thought there would be more tests, more countermeasures.”
“Oh there are. Things like knockout gases, dead magic zones ready to be deployed, cameras, and other countermeasures I’m not even allowed to know about because ‘government secret’.”
“Seriously?” Chrysalis stared at her incredulously. “Are you saying that Celestia’s favored doesn’t get a pass on that?”
Twilight rubbed her neck while giving her an awkward smile. “Well, I wouldn’t exactly say ‘favored’, but there are a few reasons, not the least of which is the Amulet prodding my mind. It makes any trap unpredictable.” Twilight coughed a bit before recomposing herself. “Well, are you ready?”
Chrysalis nodded. It was finally time.
Pegasi across the sky, including the Wonderbolts. Spell cannons, unicorns, and earth ponies and royal guards. Chrysalis scrutinized her surroundings as she and Twilight approached the Amulet’s location. There were certainly more, and her mind raced to account for every detail.
It’s like they are preparing for Tartarus’ gates to open. She mused. Their fortress was a poorly sewn-together dress, and even though each individual piece was excellent, the whole thing looked like an abomination to the queen’s eyes.
The Alicorn Amulet was stored within a small temple-like structure in the center of the fortress. Dull-grey stone walls were the first of many signs hinting a complete lack of enthusiasm and enjoyment in building this structure.
Was it really that rushed, or was the Amulet somehow affecting the mood of those who built its containment? The question circled around in her head as she closed in the door. Twilight Sparkle courteously opened the door for her, but before Chrysalis could enter Twilight spoke.
“You don’t have to do this, we can still find someone else to take your place.”
“I’m fine, Twilight, really.”
“I know, it’s just standard protocol to offer this choice. We don’t want to force anyone to face this trial.”
“I appreciate your concern.” Chrysalis gave a fake smile, masking the twitch in her cheeks.
“Just give us the sign, and we’ll pull you out, alright?” She moved her hoof in and out, repeating the breathing exercises Cadence had taught her. “Good luck!”
And with that, Chrysalis made her way in. The door closed behind her. Dim, dull light shone through the small windows. She blinked twice, her eyes adjusting to the light. At first glance the only thing in the room was the pedestal with the case containing the Amulet. Chrysalis knew otherwise.
She could feel that tingling sensation in her spine, the eyes of the cameras watching her, following her every hoofstep. The air was saturated with mana flowing wildly into the wards placed on the walls, and into small vents that led to outside the building. They were ready to knock her out should this go sideways.
This will not do, she thought.
The first thing that had to go was the cameras. She poised herself in front of the pedestal and stared at the Amulet. Or so the cameras showed. The real her smiled as her horn shone teal behind the translucent bubble she had cast. She could not alter the data feed the cameras had, nor could she risk suspicion by disabling them, and thus she had implemented a bubble that looped the previous five seconds on the outside. She’d have to feed her illusion often, and it would drain her, but she wasn’t intent on staying long here.
Now to the locks. They were tied to triggers into multiple traps, and she’d have to enhance her bubble to block any, but—
There was an exasperated sigh. She had her work cut out for her.
Mystic codes, runic spells, faux-wardstones, and so much more. As she untied one knot, another ten appeared, taking its place, filling the gap. She mumbled beneath her teeth, continuing her effort to break more seals. One mistake pushed her back to the beginning, having to re-break the rebuilt, randomized seals.
A magical authenticator. No doubt Twilight Sparkle’s idea. She’d have an easier time breaking into Canterlot again.
“Need some help?” Chrysalis jerked her head behind her.
Inside her bubble was a male royal changeling with long white hair. Chrysalis stared at his red eyes.
“Well?” he asked again.
“Who in the Nine Hells of Tartarus are you?”
In response the changeling bowed respectfully and announced himself. “I am the incarnation of the Amulet. I am the truth of the universe. I am… power.” He lifted his head, smiling towards the queen. “And I am here to serve Queen Chrysalis of the changelings.”
There was silence for a moment. Queen Chrysalis stared intently at the newcomer, but he didn’t flinch.
“Serve, me?”
“You have no idea how much I’ve waited for you, my Queen, how I’ve longed for your presence before me. All the others before you… they were nothing! They had a conscience, they lacked vision, they lacked determination! But you…” A smile crept up his face.
“But me?”
“You have potential unlike any other. You are capable, smart, cunning. Everything I ever wished for to find me is here! How can my heart resist?” He put a hoof towards his chest.
“You would give yourself to me?” Chrysalis continued, looking down at the changeling in front of her.
“Yes! I am the truth of the universe! I serve the strong, the mighty. Weakness is a sin,” he said spitting to the side. “The weak cannot dream, the weak have no power to change destiny. I don’t serve them, and ultimately lead them to their destruction.” He rose up, his teeth gleaming with a toothy smile.
“Suppose I believe you, how do you plan on getting us out of here? How do you plan on escaping your own prison?” Chrysalis’s face remained tense in focus, refusing to relax.
“Just make a pact with me, and I will annihilate all our enemies in an instant. I can level this fortress with nary a thought!” He extended his hoof towards the Queen. “If you don’t believe me let me show you… how much power I command!” The Queen stretched a curious hoof, and as they touched everything vanished within a flash of light.
Chrysalis now stood at the top of the temple, wearing the Amulet on her chest. The phantasmal presence of the other changeling stood behind her. “Their fate lies in your hooves,” he whispered, stretching his hoof, showing her the encroaching armies.
“Accept your desires! Be honest with yourself, if not with me.” Crimson rage filled the queen’s mind as her horn rained flaming destruction upon her enemies. The sweet scent of their burning flesh filled her nostrils, the symphony of terror their screams made was music to her ears, their dreams crumbled before her.
You know you are destined for this, echoed the voice in her mind.
Chrysalis gasped, her eyes shot wide-open. Back in reality she checked her hoof. Instinctively she’d pulled it back. She shook it and pressed against the ground, snuffing the trembling she had seen.
“This is your destiny, and I will be by your side all the time. Like King and Queen.”
Chrysalis looked at her hooves his last words echoed in her mind. Her mane was in disarray hiding her face.
King and Queen.
“Hehe…” Her teeth bared, her fangs gleamed in the shadow of her mane. “Pffft!” Chrysalis put a hoof in her mouth, but it wasn’t enough to muffle the noise she had made.
“Hmmm?”
“PFFFFFT!” She continued, but it was all in vain.
“PFFFFTAHAHAHAHAH! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAH!” She burst into laughter. She laughed, and laughed, and laughed. Tears started forming down her eyes.
“What’s so funny? I’m offering you everything you ever wished for!” said the changeling before her.
“—ahahahah! That’s… ahahahaha… that’s not what’s funny.” Chrysalis held her breath, then coughed before clearing her throat.
“E-hem! That’s not what’s funny. The funny thing is that you said, and I quote, ‘like King and Queen’. It’s been a long time since someone has said that and didn’t look like a complete fool to me.” Chrysalis smiled coyly. She raised her hoof, and watched as a small green glow grew on it.
“There can’t be two suns in the sky, and just like that, only one may rule the world.” She continued, the glow became a flame and the flame grew moment by moment.
“But, this is what you wished for! Everything you ever strove to attain!” Rebutted the changeling.
“Oh it is true. I’ve longed for the time I would be as powerful as a goddess. I’ve dreamt of the perfect day ponykind would grovel at my hooves for mercy, and I in my magnanimousness would grant it to them.” Her hoof now held a growing green fireball.
“But you presume one thing, knave.” Her eyes now hosted a maelstrom of power, her face contorted, her expression morphed into one of anger. Fangs bared, a predator ready to sink her teeth into prey.
“THAT I WOULD SHARE MY GLORIOUS MIND WITH YOU!” She threw the fireball at the changeling, forcing it to recoil away from her.
“Wait! Chrysalis, think about what’s at stake, about everything I could do for you! I am a a gift! You can’t just reject me. You—”
“You said before, ‘weakness is a sin’,” she interrupted. “All I see before me is the trembling echo of an artifact begging me to take it. You lack the one thing I demand from my followers.” There was a pause. “Pride in servitude!” she growled with all her might as everything was engulfed in an emerald inferno.
In the end nothing remained, not the image of the Amulet, nor had she alarmed anyone else so far. The Amulet had lured her into the world of illusions without her knowing. It now laid in the case before her, flickering as its potent swirl dissipated just a bit.
“Tsk! Worthless trinket,” she grunted, dispelling her bubble.
She went straight for the exit. There was nothing for her here, nothing at all. Even so, the queen kept her grumpy look as she was discharged from the fortress.
I am perfect, I am perfect, I am perfect, she repeated again in her thoughts. The Alicorn Amulet was right, power was the truth of the universe. Power was authority, power was justice! Power was the tool for her to make her dreams a reality.
I don’t need you, nor ponies, nor changelings, nor anything! she thought adamantly. She was still strong, she was cunning, she was quick. All the things that could help her attain victory were already in her hoof.
Spies were already set in Equestria for gathering information on the Alicorn Amulet. She just had to dream bigger, better, faster, and stronger. She’d go further than anyone else before, she’d achieve more than any predecessor, and destroy any and all opposition.
Standing outside the fortress she moved towards the forest, and once out of sight her form blazed in green flames. A malevolent parasite, the queen’s changeling form left the unicorn trembling, struggling to stand up.
Madame Mirage shivered, her body barely holding her up. She backed away against a tree, and finding her balance she turned against the queen.
“You failed,” she declared after looking at the queen’s neck. “You have no Amulet, and no power.”
The queen didn’t so much as flinch at her words.
“You won’t have Equestria, you won’t have Twilight Sparkle, so why continue this path? What do you gain from all these fail—”
The queen’s sharp horn pressed against her neck, backing her towards the tree. Mirage winced as it pushed, a single drop of blood falling from it.
“I never fail,” Chrysalis said, withdrawing her horn from her victim. Gasping, Madame Mirage held her chest.
“So, what now?”
“Now…” The Queen paused. “I suggest you flee. I will allow you ponies some time to recover from the thought that I so easily pierced all your defenses. Then, sometime in the future I will strike again. It’ll be the final blow, the one that will make Equestria mine.”
“Why tell me all this? Why give away your plan?” asked Mirage, bewildered.
“Because I want you to be ready.” The Queen’s eyes shone with sinister purpose. “I want you to be on your best, so when I beat you none will question my authority. None will dare stand up to me.” She flapped her wings, rising. “When paranoia claims your mind, when you look in your back only to find nothing there, then only and only then will I strike!” She laughed, the wind blowing wildly around her, her magic gathering force.
“FOR I AM THE QUEEN OF THE CHANGELINGS! I am power, I am justice, I am the victor of story, the name with which the fairytales end!” A booming thunder, her form flashed green. Mirage cowered before the Queen disappeared in a thunderous boom with one last parting word.
“Chrysalis.”