. That would have been like a fairy-tale, he thought.
He looked around him; carrying enough saddle-bags for two and on the run from the Town, heading towards a mysterious destination, held captive by the very pony he had a crush on. The wind whipped at his once perfect mane and dust was in his eyes; his hooves were sore and his muscles ached.
How was he supposed to know he had tried to go out with a supposedly dead changeling queen?
His luck was the worst.
If there was one thought that went through the mind of the green-coated mare, striding in front of Feather Bangs, it was that she was Queen Chrysalis, the rightful ruler of all changelings.
She looked down at her current form; a cute little disguise she had adopted as an emergency measure. Of course she would have natural instincts that got triggered when she was in danger or unconscious. She wasn’t… certain how she had got there, but she knew it must have had something to do with Twilight Sparkle.
The last thing the Queen remembered was the feeling of… cold. Like ice, or granite. It had enveloped her, hooves first, and then rose around her legs and abdomen. She had felt her organs petrify, go stiff, and no sensory input came from any of her appendages. She had felt her body betray her, refuse her every command, and then she had seen it; stone covering her like, like, like…
It couldn’t be described, the feeling of helplessness. Chrysalis stopped in her tracks, and in that brief moment, Feather Bangs… a crude creature who she had awoken near… caught up to her. He looked at her with a look of mild concern. Her horn flashed. In his mind he saw his thoughts addled by memories of some… some pony fool named ‘Emerald’.
“Y-you okay?” Feather asked, stuttering. Was that something he would always do, or was his weak pony frame simply exhausted?
“Silence,” she instructed. “Move.”
She caught her breath, the memories subsiding. She knew roughly where she was now… that was all that mattered. On the outskirts of Equestria, far away from Canterlot… from Twilight Sparkle. How much time had passed? How had she escaped? It had to have been some plan, an emergency measure she herself in her wisdom had put in place.
Twilight would not let her go… not after everything Chrysalis had done. She was too dangerous. Twilight at least must have respected her as an enemy enough to know to never, ever release her…
Chrysalis picked up the pace, trying to catch up to Feather Bangs. She felt weak. Even her magic was lessened. It had taken more energy than she cared to admit to cast a spell of deception upon Feather. A clever trick… when unable to cast a geas, a spell of control, it was often enough to cast a weaker, less costly spell that merely convinced the target that she had.
“Pony…” she began. “How much time has passed since the day I was defeated?”
Feather looked towards her, nervous. “You mean… Queen Chrysalis?”
“That is I, yes.”
Feather scratched his head. “Um… pretty sure that was yesterday.”
Chrysalis pondered. Not much time at all had passed, then. Either a blessing or a curse, depending on context. If Twilight was still cautious, still on edge, she might notice Chrysalis’s escape. Chrysalis herself did not fully recall the mechanism of her evading petrification, and therefore was unable to guess whether she might have left tracks, whether she could be caught, or found out, or detected remotely… Then again Twilight might be celebrating, might be utterly unaware that her most vicious and devious foe was loose and travelling across Equestria.
Her and Feather walked up a rise, and from there they could overlook much of Equestria, the badlands, and in the distance… the rising smoke clouds of faraway volcanoes and lava flows. The dragonlands.
Chrysalis narrowed her eyes. She recalled in Twilights service there had been a dragon, a dragon queen no less. Powerful and strong, but… fragile, perhaps?
“What’s going on?” Feather asked. “This morning I was talking to Emerald… how is it you were Emerald?”
Chrysalis narrowed her eyes at Feather. The dumb creature was panicking. He would be useless as a servant unless she calmed him, eased his mind somehow. She summoned her magic to dull his senses, render him even more stupid than before… but the magic did not come. Instead it fizzled within her horn and died out before it could form a spell.
Chrysalis spat angrily. She was as weak as a typical, dull member of the hive. A lesser changeling, not the mighty ruler she once was. The outrage. The despicable mundanity of it all.
She would have to do things the old-fashioned way.
“There are many things that are confusing,” she told Feather. “I am not going to hurt you, however… yet. I need you calm and focussed for the journey ahead.”
Feather hung off her every word. Perhaps he hoped for answers… but Chrysalis had none. She was as confused as Feather… moreseo, even. A side-effect of the petrification, perhaps? Had it scrambled her mind?
Her mind…
Chrysalis rubbed the bridge of her nose. Well, Emerald Eve’s nose, since that was the form she was inhabiting.
“Where are we going?” Feather asked her.
Chrysalis was, again, unsure. What was her plan?
She had awoken in the Town, asleep on a couch, a hot towel over her head as if she was sick. Feather had been there, playing on some infernal musical instrument, his strumming hurting her ears… She only knew she needed to put some distance between her and civilisation. Get away from the Town, away from ponies, away from anypony who might report to Sparkle…
She had taken Feather with her. Why? It seemed like a less than sensible move, now. He was slow, clearly thick, and ordinary. He panicked, he lost his cool, and was unused to situations like these. Unused to running.
Chrysalis needed time to think.
“Shelter,” she told Feather. “We are going to seek shelter.”
Feather swallowed. “There’s… a cave not far.”
“A cave?”
“It overlooks the land between Equestria and the Dragonlands. I’ve been there… once. It should be empty… bears only go there during winter.”
Chrysalis did not like the sound of bears. She was weak; could she handle a bear? Could she handle any fight? If Feather were to rebel, to try to pin her down or escape, could she stop him?
Questions, questions. For now, however, shelter seemed wise, especially if she was weakened. A risk taken to prevent further risks, maybe. At least it made sense…
She didn’t enjoy the prospect of putting her faith in Feather Bangs, however.
Trust him.
Chrysalis shook her head angrily.
“Lead the way,” she snarled. “We must rest before nightfall.”
Feather Bangs sat down heavily as the whistling wind struggled to penetrate deep into the cave. He didn’t know how to start a fire… he didn’t know much about survival at all, actually. It presumably involved sticks, and… matches? He didn’t have matches. Perhaps there was some kind of alternative?
Emerald Eve… Chrysalis, rather… stared at the small mount of sticks and dry leaves harvested from shrubs outside with a critical gaze. “This is pathetic. It will hardly last an evening.”
Feather sighed. “It’s all I’ve got… There’s not much wildlife around here.”
Chrysalis sighed, and her horn flickered to life. A single spark erupted from the tip of her horn, and landed onto the dry leaves, causing a small flame to sputter and emerge.
Feather swallowed. He almost couldn’t believe that he had a geas put upon him… a spell to control and command him. Did Chrysalis have that power? Was there anything the evil queen couldn’t do?
More than that, Feather could hardly believe that Chrysalis was Emerald. Emerald had lived in the Town for close to months now, and had been miles away from the fighting when Chrysalis had allegedly been petrified in stone. It made little sense to him that all of a sudden, Emerald had awoken from her fever with those piercing eyes filled with malice.
“Are you really Queen Chrysalis?” he asked.
Chrysalis looked up from the fire. She narrowed her eyes, and smirked.
“Do you wish to behold my true form?” she asked him. “It has been known to shock ponies with weaker minds.” She chuckled. “Very well, then.”
Magic like green fire rose from around the bottoms of Emerald’s hooves, transforming into a slick, shiny chitinous armour. Her height close to doubled, and from her once smooth back emerged a set of transluscent, fragile insectoid wings, like those of a dragonfly. What attracted Feather’s attention the most were the teeth… long, fang-like, and deadly. He could all-too easily picture them collapsing around his neck, piercing through his skin, and snapping the spine underneath…
Feather took a step back, unable to control himself. To think that anypony could become something so… hideous.
Chrysalis looked at him with a faint air of confusion. “Are you not awed?”
“Um, yes!” Feather exclaimed. “Very, very awed. Uh-huh.”
Chrysalis smirked, but the smile came a split second too late to be natural. Had Feather done something wrong? He hoped he hadn’t. He didn’t know whether changelings just ate love, or whether they sometimes had to make do with eating him the old-fashioned way.
“It doesn’t matter,” Chrysalis said, and transformed back into Emerald Eve. Her form went back to the gentle, soft form that it had once been. Only the eyes, and the cruelty within, remained the same.
“What happened to Emerald?”
Chrysalis raised her eyebrow. “Who?”
“Emerald Eve. She was the pony that… you became, I think?” Feather struggled to form words. He didn’t want to anger the Queen, he couldn’t… but he needed to know.
“I don’t know her, nor do I wish to,” Chrysalis replied. “Was this pony… around for a long time before I arrived?”
Feather nodded slowly. “For a few months… yes.” He struggled to breathe, Chrysalis’s stare was so piercing. “She liked talking about making music… I think. Maybe she was just pretending…”
Chrysalis grinned, her teeth… Emerald’s teeth… flashing in the firelight. “I cannot imagine anypony being interested in making music with you,” she said. “But there is no accounting for poor judgement.”
Night had fallen, and Chrysalis was still thinking. So, this ‘Emerald’ had been around for a long time, presumably whilst Chrysalis herself was off fighting Twilight? That hardly made any sense. She was Chrysalis, that much was certain… she had Chrysalis’s memories and thoughts, strategies and philosophies… but how could she have existed at the same time as, presumably, another Chrysalis?
She rubbed her forehead. Everything was still murky… every time she felt close to the truth, the feeling of stone encroaching on her very soul threatened to overtake her, to consume and burn her mind away. It was the closest she had ever come to sheer, overwhelming terror…
She forced herself through it. She was a Queen; her mind was indomitable, and would only fall prey to such weakness if and when she allowed it to. That was her way. The other changelings of the hive… the Usurper, who Chrysalis would not allow herself to even name… they had been weak, imperfect versions of her magnificence. Chrysalis was not so.
As the rock had overcome her, what had she done? What would she have done?
She would have desperately tried to escape. Yes, it was obvious. How? What devious trick had her mind come up with?
Her mind...
If her body could not escape, perhaps she would have sent her mind away?
Chrysalis began to chuckle, then snicker. Eventually it became a full-blown laugh, a cackle at her own genius. Yes, it was perfect! It all made sense now.
Feather stared at Chrysalis from the opposite side of the now dying fire, fear in his eyes.
Chrysalis had sent her mind away. She had prepared for this years ago… long in the past, when she still had full control over her hive. A contract made with a loyalist changeling, independance for Chrysalis’s security. She had given a select few loyal changelings… there must be so few of them now… the opportunity to act as vessels in the event of Chrysalis’s demise, so she could live on.
What a genius idea! Chrysalis had left her body behind, a statue in her shape, a decoy to distract Twilight and the Usurper, whilst she evaded capture, her mind freed from the prison she would have been held captive in for who knew how long. It had fled to a loyal changeling, a spy hidden from sight, and now… she was reborn.
It was perfect! Hidden, unknown, and able to take Equestria completely unawares… it was a magnificent disguise. A devious ploy! Her masterstroke…
With all the world thinking she was gone, she had the freedom to plan and plot whatever she wished.
“What’s so funny?” Feather asked.
“Oh, nothing your small mind would understand,” Chrysalis chuckled. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head over it.”
Feather made more sense now, too. He must have been in the process of being manipulated for love by this ‘spy’, who had evidently been going by the name of Emerald Eve. That explained why he was so confused and concerned for ‘Emerald’. Too bad for him that Emerald never truly existed; she was just a waiting vessel for Chrysalis to inhabit.
The only remaining question was the matter of Chrysalis’s missing power. Magic, particularly changeling magic, was dependant on the mind, of spiritual strength. So if her mind was now inside this body, where had her power gone?
It was possible that she had been damaged by the petrification. She had already considered this, after all, and it had to be admitted that this technique of surviving at all costs had not been tested, nor was it exactly reliable. Her struggle to recall her plan was perhaps evidence enough that her mind had been damaged during the trip here.
It didn’t matter. Chrysalis would regain her strength, in time.
“Feather Bangs,” she called. “Tell me; have you ever visited the Dragonlands?”
Feather shook his head.
“A pity,” Chrysalis muttered.
Dragons were… not known for their intelligence. Even weakened, perhaps Chrysalis could sow discord there… she still had the capacity to shapeshift, after all. And she was close to the Dragonlands…
Of all the places to strike, where would be the smartest location to strike? Canterlot? No, not after what had happened. She was too weak and the ponies there too prepared and ready for her. Griffonstone? Perhaps, but they were already so prone to infighting that it almost seemed counterproductive to give them any help… Ponyville? Certainly not. Never again. Crystal Empire? Also too dangerous. Too many complicating magical factors. When she was stronger, with an army, perhaps…
The Dragonlands seemed like a good place to start. There were a few reasons. They were big and strong, and probably the most likely to turn on Equestria anyway. Many of them followed the old ways, and only bent the knee to their Dragonlord because she was powerful and strong. They would be easy to manipulate. Dragons were also destructive… Chrysalis might not need much effort in order to set them loose, and in the chaos, she could set more plans in motion. And then there was Ember herself…
Chrysalis was not blind to the world, and she knew full well that Ember and the Dragonlands had a strong relationship with Chrysalis’s former hive. She would take great pleasure in undoing Ember, and in so doing, strike a blow at the Usurper. Perhaps she could use her face in order to get close to him, strike him down, take back control of the hive…
It was distant from Twilight Sparkle, far away from support, and ripe for treachery. Yes… the Dragonlands would do nicely.
Chrysalis leaned back into the shadows of the cave. Getting there might be difficult… it was a long trip, after all. A dangerous one, too… she remembered previously avoiding trying to traverse the lava flows, the volcanic landscape, the razor sharp cliffs, the scree slopes, the ash clouds…
On second thought, perhaps a safer place would be better…
She glanced over at Feather. The stallion was… humming. To himself, presumably. After all, it wasn’t as if he would be humming for Chrysalis’s own benefit.
She opened her mouth, about to snap at him for silence, but she stopped instead. Why?
It didn’t matter, Chrysalis supposed. Let him hum away… at least his tuneless noise made for a change from the wailing of the wind outside…
She gathered her wits. She had lost the ability to overcome minds in the same way as she used to. She could shapeshift, at least… that was good. There were, of course, limits to a disguise. They would not stave off discovery forever. What else? She had all of Chrysalis’s knowledge. Poisons and tricks, exploits and mind games. Those were all weapons she had at her disposal. She had no army… none worth speaking of. She looked at Feather Bangs. One weak pony, an Earth pony no less, and a musician, did not constitute a threatening force, or even a worthy distraction. He was good only for carrying bags.
“What song is that?” Chrysalis asked, referring to the tune that Feather was humming.
“It’s from a song,” Feather replied after a moment’s hesitation. “It’s called On an Adventure. It’s a little romantic song I was working on before…”
Chrysalis raised her eyebrow. “Have you ever been on an adventure, Feather?”
“N...no,” Feather told her. “I’ve always been kind of a loner…”
Chrysalis snorted. “Well, you are on one now, it seems. Though I would much rather be rid of you, I think it will be a struggle to carry all these supplies to the Dragonlands by myself.”
“To the Dragonlands?” Feather asked.
“Why yes. That is where we shall begin our little movement.” Chrysalis clicked her tongue angrily. “I mean, I shall begin. You will be fortunate enough to serve under me, if I allow it.”
Feather sighed, and looked down at his hooves gloomily. “Oh, yay…” he muttered. “A lifetime of servitude… just what I wanted.”
“I could shorten it, if you’d prefer.”
“The servitude, or my life?” Feather asked. “Nevermind, I already know the answer.”
Chrysalis lay down on her stomach to sleep. “Good. You are learning.”
She closed her eyes. She knew that Feather would not run, convinced as he was that she had a hold over him. Convinced she had control. So long as she held that illusion, she held power. Whilst the spell might be an illusion, its effects were very, very real.
She drifted off to sleep, and let her mind drift off to dream of power, and victory.
The Dragonlord was, for now, a happy dragon. Victory against evil had been found, the land was at peace once again, and she was looking at a pile of delicious, edible crystals at least as large as she was. Perfection. She dived into the pile, her claws wrapping around a large ruby, and she licked her lips in anticipation.
“Y’know,” she began, and stuffed her face full of the delicious mineral, “I’ffs a goo’ f’ng dat…”
Thorax, the Changeling King, groaned, and rested his large antlers on the table. “I… can’t understand a word you’re saying.”
Ember swallowed. “Sorry, was that rude? Anyway. I said, it’s a good thing that this whole thing has been wrapped up quickly. I don’t like leaving the dragons alone all the time; they can be a pretty grumpy bunch.”
Thorax gave Ember a look of concern. “You don’t expect they’d… rebel?”
Ember shrugged. “Well, if they do, I can always smack them over the head with the staff. And then maybe set fire to them. And dunk their heads in lava.”
Thorax sighed. Ember paused as she reached out to grab another gemstone to eat. “What? You look worried.”
“It’s probably nothing…” Thorax said, looking sheepish and shy. Ember growled. She hated it when he was being shy.
“Out with it. If it’s important, I don’t want it eating my butt later.” She frowned. “Is that the saying?”
“I think it’s ‘bite me in the butt’, actually.”
“Y’know, I thought so.” Ember shrugged. “Anyway, what?”
Thorax frowned. “I kind of… maybe… detected a spell. When Chrysalis got defeated.”
“A spell? Think she was trying to blast Twilight or something?” Ember asked. She threw the gem in her mouth, chewed, and swallowed it in seconds. “Well, if she did, it didn’t work, did it?”
Thorax tapped his strange little bug-like… hoof things… together. “I don’t think Chrysalis would do that, really. She’s the type who’d try to escape, I think.”
“Well, again, it didn’t work.” Ember sighed, and gave Thorax a tired stare. “Look, we won. Don’t be so paranoid; you’re just worried because she was a big deal to your hive, ruled over you, and is basically pure evil and stuff. That doesn’t mean she’s, like, invincible.” Ember pointed at herself. “If you want to think someone is invincible, then think of me. I mean, I survived, and Chrysalis didn’t. Hey, we all did.” She smiled. “So quit worrying, it’s a waste of time. Do you, like, eat things? That aren’t love?”
“I do like cucumber sandwiches, actually!”
“Sounds gross. I’m in!”
Ember grinned. Today was the beginning of a new age, an age where she didn’t have to worry about borders and monsters. She could focus on bringing glory to the dragons… to her people and homeland. Thorax could do the same. It was all looking up for both of them.
“If it’s all the same to you, though…” Thorax said as he went to the far side of the banquet hall to fetch Ember and himself some sandwiches, “I’m still going to keep a little… teensy weensy eye out, okay?”
Ember rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Just don’t infect me with your overcaution and stuff. I’m heading back home tomorrow, and I don’t want it to spread to all the other dragons.”
Morning arrived, and Chrysalis stepped to the edge of the cave entrance. Before her was the large expanse of sand and dirt that bordered Equestria, on the edge of the Town. She was familiar with this land. After her defeat in Canterlot, the first time, she had retreated to her hive, which was miles away in the distance. She narrowed her eyes. It needed to be avoided at all costs… if any changelings were to find her, and detect her, she might be outed as a rogue agent, which could potentially bring the Usurper down upon her. That would mean the end of her little adventure.
On the plus side, it meant that the dragons losing control of their borders would also affect them. That might be the chaos she needed to infiltrate and seize control again… and then it was anyone’s guess as to who would come out on top. Chrysalis, or the world…
Shatter the alliances. Break the system. Salvage the pieces worth keeping. That would be her strategy. Distrust and paranoia would be her weapons.
Feather emerged from the cave, carrying the large bags containing food, blankets, utensils, and protective gear he had lying around in his house, all scavenged before Chrysalis had ordered him to escape the town with her. Escape notice…
Was it possible that anypony would miss this Emerald? Or Feather? It could mean detection if a search party went after her… and worse, found her.
“Please let me and Emerald go…” Feather asked, pleadingly.
“Emerald Eve is gone,” Chrysalis snapped. “In fact, she was never there to start with. She was a changeling spy, a plant. You were simply one of many they fooled.”
Feather frowned, looking at Chrysalis defiantly. Chrysalis recoiled. She did not… like defiance. Too much of it, and he might try to fight the geas… and find that it wasn’t there at all. That would be too risky.
“Oh, come. Surely this ‘Emerald’ you refer to is not as great as I?” Chrysalis smiled sweetly. “I am, after all, a Queen. Emerald was a mere puppet.”
“I preferred Emerald Eve,” Feather said.
Chrysalis’s eye twitched. True, there was no accounting for poor taste… perhaps Chrysalis ought to educate this fool as to the true gap between her and regular ponies, lesser changelings.
“You hardly know what powers I have,” she told him. “Perhaps you shall see some of the many great things I can do. The power I possessed was once indescribable!” She approached Feather, still smiling with a predatory grin. “You shall see. I promise.”
Feather’s lips turned downwards in an unpleasant curl. Chrysalis turned her head angrily. Why was she even trying to convince him? She didn’t need his appreciation. Perhaps Emerald Eve had tried to use him as a cheap supply of love, but Chrysalis did not need someone so petty for that.
It still beggared belief that he thought that some nobody was greater than the mighty Queen of changelingkind, however. She snarled. He had best avoid irritating her further, or she would show him the wrath of a scorned Queen.
“We move onwards,” she snapped. “Let us go; to the Dragonlands.”