//------------------------------// // Alterations Ch.2 // Story: Alterations // by Battlemuffins //------------------------------// Alterations Chapter 2 No pony could believe it; it just couldn't be true! How could their friend be a changeling? Sure, she had been acting a little strange, but that was to be expected since the whole ordeal with Chrysalis. Rainbow and Applejack had noticed some weird things but thought nothing of it. For one, Twilight would never use their names; she would simply address whoever she was looking at. She always looked deep in some sort of thought and she would be seen at some odd places around town close to Sugarcube Corner. But no pony ever thought anything of it. That's how this had gone perfectly; the changeling had gotten to where it needed to be with no problems. All the while feeding off of the love these ponies held for Twilight Sparkle. It was now more than powerful enough for this, with all of the power built up inside. While this was happening, the changeling hoped it was doing its Queen proud. Little did the changeling know that not only had it gotten to where it needed to be, but it was being watched as well. ------ In the land of Similaria, Chrysalis stood in the dungeons of her castle looking into a pool of green water. In the scrying pool, she watched as her minion transformed back into its original form. “Good” she thought, “Things are coming together perfectly.” Celestia and her guard captain believed they had defeated her with their repelling spell, but things were falling perfectly into place. "You'll never get away with this!" yelled a voice from behind her. She turned slowly and smiled, "But my dear Twilight Sparkle, I already have." Everypony thought that Twilight escaped the crystal dungeons of Canterlot with Cadence, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Twilight had been sent here to Similaria and a changeling had replaced her to escape with Cadence and get close to the Princess. Chrysalis then used all of her excess magic to shield this changeling from the spell that sent all of the other changelings back to their land. How better a way to infiltrate than to use the Princess’s star pupil?   "My friends will bring Princess Celestia here and save me!" "Why don't you just use your magic to escape dear? Oh that's right; only changelings may use magic to get through the bars.” she taunted. It was true. There was no way for Twilight to escape unless somepony with changeling magic let her out. "We are getting closer to unlocking the power of the magic scrolls, dear Chrysalis.” said a familiar and ominous voice. "Perfect, continue working." she replied. "Why yes of course." said the voice. Twilight looked as the figure stepped from the shadows. She could not believe her eyes; this was not possible! She watched, as none other than Discord walked into the room and looked directly at her.   "Hello Twilight,” he smiled, "Surprised to see me?" "How?” was all Twilight could muster. "Well my dear. Between you bickering with your friends, your brother, his fiancée, and Celestia, enough disharmony had occurred to reawaken me. It's odd to see how such an insignificant pony like yourself could awaken me. But this time my dear, I'm taking a less direct approach. I've decided to help Queen Chrysalis here and.." "Don't tell her the plan Discord. That's what got you defeated the last time you escaped." said Chrysalis sharply. "Yes m'lady” he said. Then he flew up and flew in a tight small circle and disappeared leaving only smoke and laughter to prove he was ever there. "What are you planning Chrysalis?” Twilight demanded more than asked. "All in due time Twilight, but for now, I have things I must attend to. None of this could be possible without you dear. You should really learn to control the mumbling you do in your sleep.” she smiled. "What? What mumbling?” asked Twilight. What could she have said to help this evil Queen? Chrysalis merely laughed and exited the room through the large door frame. It was true, almost every night, Twilight had mumbled things about the powerful magic of Starswirl the Bearded and where his scrolls were. Chrysalis then sent Discord to obtain them. Three scrolls with unrivaled ancient power. Discord had unlocked the power of one of the scrolls; this let her absorb her minions and gain their power. But it was a difficult spell and could only be used once every hour with permission from the minion. Of course the minions were more than willing, and if they weren't they were forced to be. With her power ever growing, she would soon have the power to perform the other spells. ------ Discord, being the spirit of chaos and disorder, was tasked with reading the jumble of words left behind by the great wizard. The words were written in a long forgotten text, with a spell over them that has varying effects. Right now it was making him forget how to see. On top of the protecting spells and the forgotten text, it was only partially written; some was drawn and it was all written in riddles. Discord had used riddles before. He created them and broke them, but never had he encountered any as difficult as these. It took all of his power and concentration to get through the spell and even more to attempt to decipher it. Of course he had tried to write down translations but, no matter what, the ink always disappeared. There was no way to copy it. So far, he had gotten to: ‘Replicate the desire of flowers on the plains’'. It wasn't much, but it was a start. Discord was very eager to get his revenge on Celestia and the six ponies that thwarted him the last time. "Them and their precious Elements of Harmony….Pah!” he said aloud as cotton candy rainclouds began forming above him. He was given his own living quarters in the castle, but since they were much too boring for his tastes, he ‘chaosed’ them up a bit. Instead of a bed, he slept on a soft and giant muffin. He had a sundial hanging from the ceiling that told time by how much water there was in the room. The list goes on and on and always changing, as Discord liked change, and was very prepared for the big change about to happen.   He smiled his sinister smile and scratched his goat-like pony chin with his eagle claw. He was once again able to see and resumed his work on the scrolls. Every piece of the puzzle was falling into place. Soon they would have what they wanted; revenge, wealth, power and chaos. Two things were missing from their perfect plan, namely Celestia and Luna. With them out of the way, they would be unstoppable. All they needed was time. Discord didn't really understand changelings, what he did understand though is their desire for change. That was something he could relate to. He wanted it, he needed it and perhaps this is why he decided to join forces with them. After all, as the ‘Spirit of Chaos and Disorder’, the changelings didn't have to hang around forever once the world was theirs. "Blasted scroll!” Discord yelled as the words begin to dance around on the page and sing. He was all for oddities, but he was working! He thought that perhaps he would go check on his little friend Twilight. He put the scroll back into its drawer and glided out of the room. He slunk his way down the spiral staircase and into the corridor that lead to the east wing, he crossed the dining room and found the steel door that lead to the dungeon. A bit drab he thought, but he left it alone for now. He opened the giant door, went in and it closed behind him. He figured he would have a little fun with this, so he turned invisible and slithered in. There was Twilight, sitting in her cell looking defeated and alone (oh the poor girl, if only she had some hope). As she looked away to view the sky from her cell, he slowly turned the bars to the cell invisible. Twilight let out a huge sigh and looked down. How would she ever make it out of this dreaded place? She desperately needed a way to contact her friends, a way out, something! She felt so helpless in here. If only she could do something. She turned to look at the green scrying pool that Chrysalis liked to peer in to.   The look on Twilight face was priceless as she turned back to the bars. Discord had never seen such a drastic change in emotion. It almost made him burst into laughter. It only got better as Twilight stood up and readied herself to charge to the doorway and make her escape before anypony realized she was gone. She kicked off with her back legs and broke into the fastest gallop she could muster.   This was the fastest she had ever galloped. She was halfway there. She knew she would make it. She was free and the door was right..*SLAM* She smashed into the invisible bars and fell to the ground. She looked up in tears as Discord turned visible again, laughing so hard he nearly fell. As he became visible, so did the bars and Twilight realized what had happened. She was so hurt, physically and mentally. "You didn't think it was going to be that easy did you? There had to be some part of you that just knew this was a trick.” he said tauntingly as she rose up from the ground. This could be her chance. If she couldn't escape, perhaps she could at least try to learn their plans. "What do you want Discord?” she said, trying to sound as broken and defeated as she could (it wasn't hard). "Oh I just came to pay you a little visit.” he replied, "How are things?" He knew perfectly well how things were. She did not dignify this with an answer.   "Oh come now, don't be that way…” he said, "Is there anything I can get you dear?"   Twilight thought about this; all she needed was to get him talking. "Well, I am pretty hungry." she replied solemnly. He snapped his fingers and a plate of candy appeared before her. Not exactly what she had in mind, but she took it. "See, now that wasn't so bad." he cooed, "Now is there anything else?" He decided he would do one more thing for her and then toy with her some more. "What are you and Chrysalis planning?" she instantly replied. Discord grew enraged, "Why on earth would I tell you that?" Discord wondered if she really thought he was that stupid. Twilight thought for a second, "Well it’s not like I could do anything about it from inside this cell." Discord thought long and hard about this; it's true, there was nothing she could do from this cell. After all, what was the point of having his genius plan if no pony even knew about it? He cooled down and let out a sigh, "Tell you what I'm gonna do." He vanished and reappeared inside the cell with Twilight. He leaned against her. "How did you get in here?” she asked surprised, due to the fact that only changeling magic worked with these bars. "I'll tell you, but I'm going to tell you my way," he smirked and flew upwards.   “Twilight, oh Twilight the plan is this, my dear. To bend and to break you, fill every heart with woe and fear. Chrysalis and I, we hunger for revenge, and will stop at no end; you will not win again. So be wary dear one, for the time has begun. The destruction of Equestria; the downfall of your dear Celestia…” Twilight followed, “The Princess, but how? She defeated you before, so why not now? Things may not go as you’ve planned; I just need a little help from all my friends.”   ”Ha! Your friends will never find you. The Princess and the world is ours, with a little help, mind you.“ Discord finished his last line and then expanded until he exploded (he was a big fan of dramatic exits after all). Twilight was baffled. How does he plan to do all that? It's not like the Princess would just give up.   He didn't tell her much, but it was a start. She had complete faith that her friends would find and save her. A bright light had suddenly appeared behind her, so she turned to look. A door had appeared in the wall. But she just bowed her head and lay down, as she knew it was just another trick.