“I SAID, ANSWER ME!!!”, Chrysalis repeats to the group.
Twilight turns back towards the former changeling queen, once again struck by the site of the latter’s pock-marked wings pulsating like so many cutie marks. Cautiously, she lowers her protective shield while retaining focus.
Seizing an opportunity, Rainbow Dash flies right up to Chrysalis and stares her down as she addresses her, face-to-face: “We’re not afraid of you anymore, you know! The changelings have changed. They have a new leader; one that cares for their well-being and wants to contribute to society!”
Chrysalis takes in the pegasus’s defiant message for a second. In an instant, her horn shoots out a flash that strikes Rainbow and sends her flying into the back wall. Rainbow crashes to the ground, causing the five students to rush to her side; she brushes them off and shakes off the cobwebs. Twilight re-raises a shield over the group as the other ponies stare daggers at the former queen.
“You stupid nag,” Chrysalis declares. “You think I’m unaware of the power you ponies now possess. You honestly believe I’ve come to defeat you, knowing how little power I now have?”
Twilight turns to Rainbow, who acknowledges her lack of injury, then turns back to Chrysalis as she again lowers the shield. As she does, Starlight cocks her head in confusion. “Wait,” she starts, “then why did you come here? You couldn’t have known to come here just because your wings started flashing.”
“That is NOT of your concern!”
“We can’t answer your question if you don’t provide any further details,” Twilight calmly replies.
Chrysalis groans. “Oh, fine,” she mutters before morphing into a typical pony, her cocoon-shaped cutie mark flashing as per usual for those ponies summoned by the map. “It’s all I can do these days to live off the emotions of the occasional victim. Disguising myself in, *uggh*, this form allows me to get close enough to take what I need. And when this happened,” she continues as she indicates her flank, “every sickingly-sweet pony nearby got all excited, telling me I was being called by some map and to come here.”
One flash later, and Chrysalis reverts back to her standard form, her wings still pulsating in the company of the others. “You still haven’t answered my question … What did you DO to me?”
“But that’s just it,” Twilight quickly responds. “We didn’t call on you; the Tree of Harmony did. That’s how the Tree calls on ponies for … well …” She stumbles over her next words. “… well, for a friendship quest.”
Chrysalis mouths the phrase ‘friendship quest’ to herself, apoplectic at Twilight’s explanation. “You can’t be serious about this,” she quietly fumes.
“She ain’t lyin’ to ya,” Applejack counters. “Jus’ take a look at the map an’ see for yourself.”
Chrysalis eyes the group of ponies and nonponies, then takes several steps towards the cutie map. Her eyes focus on the group of miniature creature heads circling a particular section of the map, circling with both Starlight’s cutie mark and her own head.
In a burst of anger, she fires off a blast from her horn towards the map; it absorbs the blast as the images wave briefly before reverting to normal.
“HEY, what did that map ever do to you?” Pinkie Pie shouts.
“Oh, shut up!” Chrysalis retorts. She sighs as she attempts to process the image before her. “This cannot be happening,” she says out loud to no one in particular.
“Maybe it’s a sign,” Starlight starts, “that you really are capable of transforming who you are and—”
“Spare me your saccharine,” Chrysalis states, her eyes still focused on the map. “What if I refuse to do whatever it is this ‘map’ of your wants of me.”
“Gee,” Twilight says. “Nopony has ever refused to go on a quest before.”
The question jogs Rarity’s memory: “Oh, but it may not be in your best interest to say ‘no’, if the Tree of Harmony is anything like the syndicate in one of the Shadow Spade books I’ve read.”
Chrysalis turns to Rarity. “What are you going on about, and why should I care?”
“Well … in one mystery, Shadow Spade comes across a group of criminal ponies known as ‘the syndicate’. There’s a leader in that group, who asks ‘favors’ from those who come to him. One such pony asked the same thing you just did, and he got the reply ‘the leader never asks a second favor when refused the first.’ As if to say, you never even get a chance for redemption; your fate is already sealed.”
Chrysalis continues eyeing the unicorn. “Again, what does that have to do with anything?”
Applejack quickly intercedes: “It means the Tree of Harmony ain’t gonna give you another shot if you say ‘no’ to this. Though Ah guess you ain’t never seen what the Tree is capable of … but if it’s anythin’ like what happened to Cozy Glow …”
The changeling muses over Applejack’s words, her thoughts returning to her showdown with those backstabbing servants she created … and how the Tree of Harmony took matters into its own … branches? She begins pacing around the room, muttering to herself about how this really cannot be happening as the rest of the group continues eyeing her. She halts and turns back towards the ponies.
“You win,” she acknowledges, ire still in her eyes. “Anything to stop this ridiculous flashing. What do I need to do?”
“We,” Starlight corrects, “need to go to Griffinstone and rescue one of our students.”
“From what,” Chrysalis drolly replies, “falling down a well?”
“Our friend’s been possessed,” Smolder declares as she flies closer to Chrysalis. “Just like the rest of us,” she continues as she waves a claw in the direction of the other students. “We all got possessed by some weird-colored logs.”
Weird-colored logs??? Taking a new-found interest in the conversation, Chrysalis’s focus shifts from the other ponies to Smolder. “Tell me more,” she simply asks, careful not to reveal her own knowledge of the logs.
Sandbar walks up to accompany Smolder. “We found a pile of logs near the …” He catches himself, remembering who he’s speaking to. “… in a cave. They were colored like our professors, so we thought they belonged to them in some way. We each picked one, and some evil spirit took control of us.”
Chrysalis takes in the new information with great interest. “Go on,” she requests, as the remaining students come forward to join Smolder and Sandbar.
“Yona made to feel like Mary Net. Yona not like being pushed away from own body.”
“But thanks to our professors,” Silverstream adds, “those evil spirits were banished from our bodies.”
“But our friend Gallus left us before he could be cured,” Ocellus continues. “Now he’s back in Griffinstone, and we’re being sent there by the Tree of Harmony to rescue him from … whatever’s possessing him.”
Chrysalis suppresses a gag upon getting an up-close look at Ocellus. “This ‘Gallus’ you speak of,” she carefully asks, “what color log did he possess?”
“Purple,” Ocellus replies, “like Headmare Twilight.”
She’s still alive, that treacherous huss …
Chrysalis abruptly turns and trots towards the entranceway.
“Wait,” Starlight calls out, “where’re you going?”
Chrysalis stops in her tracks. “Where do you think I’m going?” she responds without turning back. “Griffinstone.”
“You’re not supposed to go alone; we’re supposed to do this together.”
“I know what has to be done … and I don’t need you or your little band of critters to help.”
“But the Tree—”
“Ought to be pruned!” Chrysalis answers before bolting from the chamber.