//------------------------------// // Mellifera // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Chrysalis had arrived at her location. After being pulled in by the giant swarm of locusts through the entrance hidden by the wall of wilted flowers, her destination was graced before her eyes. One she hoped she'd never come to. The locusts appeared in a throne room of sorts. One that seemed to be bleak with black and green cracks patterned on the wall. Skulls of what seemed to be ponies could be seen plastered on the side of the walls as they lit up the room with green fire coming out of their hollow eyes. And once everything was lit up, the one that Chrysalis feared to ever return to stood before her on a crooked throne with a sharp and rugged look. Her mother, Mellifera. "Chrysalis..." She spoke in a low tone as a swarm of locusts were surrounding her. The locusts suddenly zoomed forward, grabbing Chrysalis as they pinned her against the wall. "Ugh!" Chrysalis groaned. "You have a lot of nerve coming back here. Especially at a time like this." Mellifera narrowed her eyes as the locusts were plaguing around Chrysalis's body, almost reaching her mouth. "Ever since-" Mellifera suddenly coughed. "Ever since you left this land, my plans have greatly dwindled. And I have been forced to live in this lifeless land!" "G-Grr!" Chrysalis strained as she tried to use her magic to break free. But her mother's magic seemed to be superior as the number of locusts had been increased. "Why have-" She coughed yet again. "Why have you come back here?" "I-I've come here to ask you about a new kind of magic! Chrysalis yelled as the locusts almost covered her face. "Hm?" Mellifera moved her locusts away from Chrysalis as her interest was piqued. "New kind of magic, you say?" "Gh!" Chrysalis breathed in and out. "Yes...That's all. After that, I'll be gone from here." "Then speak." She coughed and hacked once more. "What is it?" "It's a magic that drains the energy out of my subjects when I feel sorrow. What kind of magic is it? You're the most well-versed in changeling magic when it comes to knowledge of it. You must know." "Hmph." The locusts placed Chrysalis down. "So it seems that your potential is finally deciding to transpire after so long. Perhaps you are just a late bloomer." "Late bloomer? You mean I was meant to have this from a young age?" "Exactly. I've waited years for it but it never surfaced. How frustrating that it would show itself now of all times...The Vitality Drain." "Vitality...Drain?" Chrysalis gasped after hearing that. She was already able to tell what it meant since she's seen her subjects experience it whenever she's down. "I would've thought your potential would forever be held back by your mental barriers. But it seems, by fate, it has finally come. And also led you to me." "This Vitality Drain...How do I erase it? For the sake of my subjects! I want to keep them all safe from any harm. Even if it comes from me." "Erase it? Hah!" Mellifera laughed as that prompted another cough to come out. "You can't erase what is a part of you, child. You were meant to have this spell and now it has finally come to you. But I can assume, you can't control it yet, can you?" "Kh!" Chrysalis kissed her teeth. "Ah, you are still young after all. But no matter. Now that you've finally unlocked your magic even further...creatures that are arguably greater than you will even be affected by your newfound Vitality Drain. Once you can find a way to control it, you'll be able to-" "I won't use it." Chrysalis suddenly interrupted Mellifera. "Not in the way you wish I would." "Hm?" The first changeling queen narrowed her eyes as she slowly approached Chrysalis. "What did you say?" "I've thrown out the old ways, mother. I've found a new way to receive love. Genuine love. Something that you never gave me." Chrysalis shoved Mellifera back with one hoof as the first Changeling Queen gave a face of disgust. "Thrown away? Genuine...?" Mellifera shook her head, trying to believe that her daughter did not just say those vile words to her face. Hearing those words, Mellifera came to a possible conclusion. "You...You've been affected by those ponies, haven't you? They've done something to you..." "No one did anything to me. It was merely my own will. My subjects and I have never been happier with our new choices." "Kuh!" Mellifera scoffed. "Whatever the reason...not only do you have the nerve to return here, but you've also betrayed the changeling ways. And you have the absolute gall to ask me for help? Not to mention the fact that you're the reason I have to live in this land now!" "I didn't come here for your petty distaste. I came here to protect my subjects. After all, you said it yourself once. I'm the only changeling that can preserve the legacy of our species, didn't you?" "And yet you'll choose to soil that legacy too?" Another cough came through when she spoke and raised her voice at Chrysalis. "That particular way of approaching love is just so horrid and...unkempt! How could you accept something that I've worked so hard to fight against?!" "That horrid and unkempt love benefits all changelings! And it's not just from us! Other species too! Such as humans, ponies and Poke-" "Other?! Ugh!" Mellifera groaned, holding her throat. "So you've also decided to associate yourself with other species?! What happened to conquering and ruling all of Equestria?! Even the entire world?! You were raised for that one purpose and goal! Not to...make friends!" "Oh please! I would've probably made friends much earlier if you never sheltered me in some sort of hive prison in the first place as some sort of birdcage!" "I only did it because I saw the massive potential that you had! That special hive was meant to greatly increase your magic and bring out your latent potential! And yet, you also denied that as well! Besides, you would've never made friends either way in this land, so it would be useless." "Because you isolated me from everyone else until I was ready to rule! That hive did nothing but make me believe your own cruel ideals as if it was brainwashing me! And I actually believed you for a long time...I could've ventured out into the world and made friends of my own and-" "Enough with that friend talk?! I can't believe you and your pathetic subjects have chosen to accept something so vile and threatening that the ponies created!" "It's vile and threatening to you because you've never loved me in the first place!" Chrysalis suddenly raised her voice, making the room echo as her horn flared with magic. Mellifera stepped back after hearing what her own daughter said to her. She was a bit perplexed by those words but with her memories, she knew that Chrysalis was essentially telling the truth. Mellifera stood there frozen for a while, processing Chrysalis's words before snapping back to reality. Mellifera then let out another cough as she held her chest, wincing. "Then... in that case..." Mellifera growled as her locusts were summoned once more, circling her. "If you cannot live up to the title of Changeling Queen, then it seems I'll have to place you back into that hive...to make you remember who you are." "Huh?!" Chrysalis backed away as she saw the swarm of locusts rising. It was a clear sign that her mother was about to attack her. The swarm of locusts were sent straight towards the second changeling queen with the intention of knocking her out so that Mellifera can change Chrysalis. Not having any of that, Chrysalis put up a protective magic barrier to shield her from the swarm of locusts. Millions of locusts crashed onto the shield, surrounding and biting into it as constant buzzing could be heard from the outside of the shield. "Don't try to fight back child! You know how powerful I am! Especially with my Curse Inducement Magic!" Merfillia's voice had been raised with her eyes flashing dark green along with her horn. Chrysalis had enough strength to keep the barrier up. It was all thanks to the love she gained from the Fairy-Type Pokemon and Ash and Pikachu, her magic was stronger than ever. The swarm of locusts pushed Chrysalis's shield back, causing her to crash through the walls of the throne room as she ended up on the outside of this land. As her barrier bounced on the ground, Chrysalis finally got to witness what this land looked like in the current day. It was practically dead with nothing but dust and pebbles along with what seemed to be remnants of a previous changeling hive. Locusts were the only things that dwelled in this land, flying about. A horrible murky and dark mist was present here, similar to the dark woodland that Chrysalis came through. Very little of this hidden land remained. All that was left was the throne room that Mellifera sat in and some small plants were barely fertile and on the verge of dying out like the others. Mellifera flew out of the throne room with dust from the destroyed walls rising. She pulled her locusts back, seeing that they weren't doing anything to Chrysalis's shield. "I'm not here to fight you mother!" Chrysalis stood up with her barrier. "I just want to know how to get rid of this Vitality Drain!" "I told you... you can't get rid of it, child!" Mellifera bellowed as she made the locusts form together, creating something abnormal and horrifying. The locusts were all fusing to make one giant four-legged monster made entirely out of the swarming locusts. Due to the overwhelming numbers, the monster was nothing but darkness with green glows coming out of its eyes as it also had wings to fly. "This land was once healthy...you were the reason it stayed that way when you were still here!" "What...?" Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. "And ever since you left, look at what happened!" Mellifera showed Chrysalis the current state of this hidden land. "You were the core that was keeping this land together. And you abandoned it for some hive in the middle of nowhere! And I had to suffer alone because of you!" As Mellifera yelled with her body flaring with dark green magic, the monster ran over to Chrysalis like a wolf as it then lunged at her with claws of locusts. Chrysalis closed her eyes as the locust claws swiped the shield, having enough strength to break it as it even knocked Chrysalis back. "Ah!" Chrysalis screamed as she crashed through one of the pieces of the broken changeling hive. After hitting the ground, the locust monster lunged at Chrysalis once more. Chrysalis quickly recovered as she knew that she saw the locust monster dashing right at her, ready for a potential grab from either the claws or mouth. Reacting quickly, Chrysalis fired a blast of magic from her horn which went through the locust monster's stomach. After being blasted through the stomach, the locusts that had been hit had been obliterated by Chrysalis's beam, causing the monster to fall over with the other locusts separating themselves and deconstructing the monster. Frustrated, Mellifera decided to switch from locusts to something far worse. Thorns. "Do you have any idea how much I've already lost?!" By manipulating the little amount of fertile life in this land, from the ground below, dark green thorns had emerged. These thorns had wrapped around Chrysalis's hooves and neck with their prickly and sharp texture also making contact with her. Chrysalis grunted as she was now being restrained by the thorns. "N-Not like this!" Chrysalis closed her eyes. "You've gotten stronger child. But you're still beneath me. My Curse Inducement Magic is far beyond you!" "G-Grr!" Chrysalis tried to use magic to blast the thorns, but Mellifera used the thorns to wrap around Chrysalis's horn, preventing her from doing so. "You are a greater threat than I ever imagined. That is why when I'm done reverting you to your true nature, you will live up to the Changeling Queen name and properly carry out our legacy. The way you were intended to!" "N-No...I won't!" Chrysalis roared as she was trying her best to break free from this hold. But the thorns were too great and powerful for her to overcome so far. "Yes, you will." Mellifera then summoned a gigantic cocoon from the ground, one that opened up beneath Chrysalis and the thorns. "W-What the...?!" Chrysalis gasped. "You think that hive is all I need to revert you? Wrong. I have other ways." Mellifera smirked as the cocoon opened wide, rising towards the second changeling queen. Chrysalis screamed and writhed, but that only made the thorns hurt her even further with their prickly exterior. With no hope of breaking free, the cocoon had closed, consuming Chrysalis as the thorns were pulled away to make the cocoon stay in one piece because of how sharp they were. Now within the cocoon, Chrysalis was being dragged beneath the ground of the dry and dead land. All she could see was the green appearance of the cocoon and nothing more as she tried to blast her way out of the cocoon. "Relax, daughter. Soon, I'll erase any vile memories you've received and revert you to the changeling you were meant to be." Mellifera cackled as the cocoon had vanished, residing back into the lower earth of this land. Beneath the land, the cocoon had brought Chrysalis into an underground-only area that was only accessible via the cocoon. Chrysalis was now trapped underneath here as she noticed that there were hundreds of other cocoons in this underground area. Meaning that Mellifera had a lot more in store if Chrysalis somehow dodged the first one. "Ugh...!" Chrysalis held her head while still stuck in the cocoon. It's not like it was just going to spit her out. But what it was going to do was change her very soon. Not knowing how this process would occur, Chrysalis had to think and act fast to save herself. First, she tried blasting her magic through the cocoon. But when she did, the magic had just been absorbed by the cocoon, in the end, making it clear that magic attacks wouldn't work. So, Chrysalis went for the second option. An option that was thankfully possible because of Ash. She looked into her small little bag of silk made by Ribombee, taking out the Xtransceiver that Ash had lent her in case she needed help. And she certainly needs help right now. Ash thankfully taught her how to use the Xtransceiver so Chrysalis had a saving grace with her. By activating the communication device and selecting Fluttershy's Trainer Number, the call had begun as Chrysalis was hoping this would work. And once again, with hope on her side, after 5 seconds, Fluttershy had answered the call with her face showing up on the screen. "Hello? Chrysalis!" "Thank goodness! Fluttershy, was it? I need help immediately!" "Oh my! Are you in danger?!" "Huh?!" Ash and Pikachu slid in with their faces showing on the Xtransceiver next to Fluttershy's face. "Chrysalis?! What happened!" "Pikachu?!" "Ash! Pikachu! I'm afraid I wasn't prepared for what my mother had in store." "Where are you, right now?!" "Pika?!" "Ribom!" "At the moment, a cocoon. But overall, I'm at a hidden land hidden beyond a wall of wilted flowers." "How do we get there?" Fluttershy asked. "There is a path that leads to a dark and misty woodland on the far east. Ash. You own a Dragonite, so you should be able to spot it from high above. Hurry. I'm afraid my mother wishes to change me for the worst." "Got it! We'll be right there!" Ash nodded as Fluttershy ended the call. They were already making their way towards the woodland to save their friend. "Ah..." Chrysalis sighed as she was grateful to have friends who would be there to help her. But for now, she was stuck here until Ash and the others arrive for her. The process of changing her mind wasn't going to be entirely done by the cocoon. Instead, it would be done by Mellifera herself who had entered the underground area without using the cocoon. Chrysalis could hear her mother's hoofsteps as she put the Xtransceiver away. Mellifera lit her horn up, giving light to this dark underground area she gave a death stare to her daughter while approaching her. "Now...to bring the true changeling queen back once more," said Mellifera. "Mother! You can't do this!" Chrysalis pressed her hooves on the cocoon's inner shell. "I've made my decision and you cannot just take it away from me!" "Silence! I don't want to hear anything from you, daughter! I don't even recognize you anymore. Ever since you left this land to suffer I knew that you would spawn some unfortunate luck along the way." "What are you saying? And why is it that you keep on bringing up this land specifically? How am I the cause of its current condition?" "How? Ever since you left this land, fertility and life have been slowly dying off day by day, year by year. Because of you...because of you...!" Mellifera suddenly closed her eyes as her anger was building up. But more than that, Mellifera was finding it difficult to finish her sentences as she coughed once more. "All by myself...in this land with no one else...!" "Mother?" Chrysalis noticed that something was off with her mother. More than usual. "But now that you're here...Everything will come back. It has to! And you will stay here with me!" Mellifera's horn lit up as the cocoon was responding to her magic. This was a clear sign that the Revertion was about to begin. Chrysalis's body was also covered in this green magic as she could feel her body being paralyzed all of a sudden. As if something had just shocked her out of nowhere. "Agh!" Chrysalis screamed as her head was mostly being affected by her mother's magic. "I don't know what it is...but aside from your Vitaly Drain, there is a second form of magic within you. One that affects the land itself! And one that will restore me!" Chrysalis's mind was being afflicted by her own mother's magic. But, it wouldn't be that easy for Mellifera. Chrysalis, with what she had within her, was able to resist her mother's spell with her own magic, pushing it back. "W-What?!" Mellifera gasped. "I won't let you take away all these precious memories from me!" "Rid yourself of them already!" Mellifera increased the force of her magic, trying to get through to Chrysalis. But Chrysalis's resistance was one to admire. She would be able to keep her own mother's control at bay for possibly hours. "Ash...Pikachu...Hurry!" She cried out for her friends. "No one will come for you or find you. I won't-" Mellifera hacked as she had lost her concentration. Because of this abrupt cough, not only did she stop the spell with zero focus, she also began aggressively coughing. This time it was different. She could barely find time to stop coughing. She lowered her head, finding it difficult to even maintain her balance as she kept hacking. Chrysalis stopped to see how her mother was currently expelling a horrible sound from her mouth, straight from her throat. The last time she saw her mother, she was not in this state. "Mother...are you alright?" Chrysalis asked. "T-This is all your fault..." Mellifera started walking back, deciding to leave the underground area to seemingly heal so that the repeated coughing can end. At least for now. "What could I have possibly done...?" Chrysalis thought to herself. Aside from impersonating Cadence and working alongside Ghetsis and Empress Twilight, she couldn't really recall anything horrible that she had done to her mother or this land. Mellifera's throne room. Still coughing and hacking, the first changeling queen returned to her broken down throne room. Each time she coughed, she would stutter on the spot, slowing her down. Mellifera was already a bit slow because of her age, but the coughing wasn't making it any better. She sat down on her throne room to recover. Unfortunately, Mellifera did not have much to counteract this horrible cough she was experiencing. Not much at all. "Curse it all." She said, slumped on the throne. "I don't have much longer at this point. I need Chrysalis to restore everything at once." Her throat was growling as the thick air of this land wasn't helping at all. Mellifera was finding it difficult to breathe. And to make matters worse, there was poison in the corner of the throne room due to the air being very unhealthy. The locusts then appeared before Mellifera as they were here to inform the first Changeling Queen about something important. "What?" Mellifera coughed. "What is it?" The locusts buzzed as they were able to communicate with Mellifera. They were informing her about potential newcomers that were heading in the direction of this hidden land. The locusts operate in both the hidden world and all of Equestria on the outside. The ones they were sensing coming this way were Ash, Fluttershy and their Pokemon. "Newcomers, you say? Coming-" Mellifera broke out into yet another violent cough as she almost fell off her throne. "Coming here? They must be the ones Chrysalis mentioned...Deal with them. I don't want anyone taking her away. Ever again." As the journey continues. Chapter368 End.