//------------------------------// // In the caves beneath the castle // Story: The Black Heart // by Wooden Wheel //------------------------------// Once they agreed on what they would do when they got out of this situation (if they got out of this situation), Chrysalis and Twilight gave each other the space and time to rest and tend to their wounds; the Princess never losing sight of the Queen, always keeping her in sight, in reach of the light of her horn. While Twilight could only rub the places where she felt pain, casting only the most basic of healing spells on herself, she could see how Chrysalis tended to her own, cleaning the wounds with her forked tongue and mend them with a regurgitated sticky goo. Her mind fought against her stomach, to see which of the two showed more control over her, one wanting to know the possible antiseptic properties of that substance, while the other, for how much longer it would be able to retain the morning daisy sandwich she got for breakfast. It was quite surprising to Twilight how well that changeling body blended and became one with the darkness, creating an unnerving effect in which a pair of disembodied green eyes seemed to flicker in and out of existence every time Chrysalis blinked. Several minutes passed, in which Twilight could swear that Chrysalis had read her mind and had begun slow her blinks in order to upset her. "It's time to go," Twilight said, standing up, not wanting to prolong that experience any longer. "Come, stay close to me." "Oh, Twilight, are you afraid I'll leave you down here, alone?" Chrysalis said in a mocking tone, also getting on all fours, walking slowly towards her. "I just think it would be better if we stayed together, that way we reduce the risk of suffering an accident," Twilight replies matter-of-factly, not taking the Queen's childish bait. Also, although she would not admit it, she was afraid of losing sight of the Queen and becoming a victim of one of her traps. "You have nothing to worry about me, Twilight. I'm always sure where I put my hooves," Chrysalis said. And as if the Lord of Chaos itself had heard her and wanted to make fun of her, she immediately stumbled while simultaneously a creaking sound could be heard coming from one of her front legs. The Queen was sure that she had placed her hoof on a stone, but stones do not make a loud crack when they break, and she had definitely never come across a stone that was hollow. Chrysalis looked down, feeling that something had become lodged inside her hoof, while something else trapped part of her leg. Feeling through her hoof, she tried to identify what was underneath. It was something hard, but with a somewhat smooth surface. Raising her leg in view of both of them, to see what thing had dared to make her look like a fool in front of the Princess of Friendship, pony and changeling gives a silent gasp when they were immediately able to identify the offending object as a skull. Horrified, Chrysalis turned to look at Twilight, who shared a similar expression. Then look back at the skull, then at the pony and finally back at the skull. This was a most delicate situation, which the Queen had to resolve quickly and in a way that would allow her to get out on top of the pony. And so, displaying a control over her emotions as only a master like the Changeling Queen could, Chrysalis let out an unqueenly scream and began to run madly around, shaking her leg violently, waiting for the skeletal remains to fall off of her. "Chrysalis, wait!" Twilight shouted, trying to keep an eye on the hysterical Queen, but her erratic movements ended up causing her to wander out of sight. "Chrysalis, where are you?" Twilight asked, her concern increasing when she stopped hearing the Queen's screams, afraid that in her race she would end up falling over the edge of the plain, into the abyss. Fortunately for his nerves, she managed to hear the faint sound of some grunts of effort, then the sound of a skull crashing to the ground in the distance, and finally the panting that signaled the conclusion of a tiresome task. Enough clues to find and bring the Queen back in to the light. When Chrysalis finally caught her breath, she turned to look at Twilight. "You will speak to none of what you just saw, do you understand!?" The Queen said embarrassedly, trying to sound intimidating and commanding. Twilight managed to stifle a giggle and just nodded, signaling to the Queen that they should move on. Through some probing around, Twilight managed to find a path of sort that led up and, hopefully, to an exit from this cave. After observing some frighteningly not-so-ancient remains of enormous creatures, and sharing the terrible sensation of being watched, they both concluded that for now it would be best to remain silent and not attract unwanted attention. Soon the path became narrower and narrower, to the point that for a large portion of the stretch, they had to walk (or rather climb) along a rocky slope, resembling the mountain goats that live in the famous Alps, to the south of Prance. According to Princesses Celestia and Luna, who, to the young Princess's confusion, have recently started talking as if they were planning to take a long vacation, they are a very friendly and attentive group of bovines, proud of their climbing ability and their cheese based cuisine, although short-tempered. A rock fell under Twilight's hoof, receiving colorful recommendations on how to be more careful and words of encouragement from the Queen, who was almost hit by it. Holding her breath, the Princess waited to hear the piece of sediment hit the bottom, but the sound never came. Twilight was the first to reach an open space, stretching out a foreleg to help Chrysalis ascent. For her part, the Queen preferred to be prideful (or stubborn in Twilight's eyes) and climb on her own. They weren't close to reaching the outside yet, but rusty mining tools, a railroad, and an abandoned wagon told them they were on the right path and, with a little luck, close to an exit. Walking along a wider and less steep path, old timbers supported the tunnel. All this time Twilight never let the light from her horn rest, struggling not to look exhausted, still not feeling safe, trapped underground with Chrysalis. But if they didn't reach the exit any time soon, she would be forced to ask for a stop and to take a break. A few minutes later, a roar was heard and the tunnel and everything inside it shook violently, putting them both on alert. "What was that?" the Changeling Queen asked, trying to let her annoyance mask her concern. "It sounded like an explosion," Twilight replied, her eyes darting around at high speed, not bothering to hide her nervousness. "I know what I heard! What I want to know is why was there an explosion!?" "The treasure hunters," Twilight said as the horrible realization of what was happening hit her. "Some of the treasure hunters must have found an abandoned path into the castle and are using explosives to..." Another larger explosion interrupted Twilight's explanation, shaking the inside of the tunnel even more violently. Removing her legs from her still-buzzing ears and opening her eyes, Twilight could see Chrysalis, lying on the ground in a similar dazed state, but also the cracks in the logs above her. Knowing what was about to happen, the Element of Magic ran towards her and pushed the Changeling Queen just in the nick of time to save her from the roof landslide. Regaining consciousness, Twilight found herself trapped (fortunately not crushed) under one of the wooden beams. "Chrysalis, are you okay? Can you help me?" ask the Pony Princess desperately. A toxic neon green light emanates from a jagged horn, dimly illuminating the dark tunnel. Beneath the horn a pair of eyes that share a similar glow rest on her, observing -appreciating- everything on their sight. Twilight can see this, she can see the thoughts of success, of victory, that cross Chrysalis' mind, as an evil smile forms on the Queen's face, enjoying of Twilight defenselessness. Frightened, Twilight tries to get up, to pull herself out, to use magic and lift the wooden beam even a little, but to no avail; by this point she's exhausted, all of her strength is gone and there's nothing she can do. She became overwhelmed by thoughts of sadness, thinking of her family and all her friends whom she would never be able to see again and whom she would not even be able to say goodbye to; despair, over her current -final- situation; and, above all, of regret, regret of having helped Chrysalis and believing that someone like her was capable to reform. To Twilight's confusion, instead of feeling her head being crushed by a black hoof, or her neck torn by sharp teeth, she began to feel a lightness on her back. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Twilight watched in surprise as Chrysalis pushed the wooden beam away from her back. "Y... you help me, but... why?" ask the Princess of Friendship in disbelief after standing up and catching his breath. "I am Queen, did I not? I told you I would give you a chance to prove your ideals to me. And my word is golden," replied the Queen in an imperial tone. Twilight smiles, trying hard not to smile too much in order not to make the Changeling Queen uncomfortable. With new and growing hopes of convincing Chrysalis of the value and importance of harmony and, if things go better than expected, making a new friend of hers. "If it was not obvious, for a moment there I thought that you were going to kill me. You know, you seemed very happy and willingly to work on that thought." "I'm not going to lie and pretend I didn't enjoy the moment," truthfully said the changeling. Risking the current mood between the two, Twilight leans her body towards Chrysalis for support. To her surprise once again, the Queen does not push her away, nor recoil in disgust or annoyance, she did not even protest her actions. Instead, the Queen simply appears to have rearranged something within her elytra. She's just putting her wings in a more comfortable position, thought Twilight as she realized that the side she was leaning on belonged to Chrysalis' damaged wing. And to add another pleasant surprise, after a couple of steps, the Queen also leans on her. And so, in that way, they both moved towards the exit. Outside the buried fortress, on the slopes of the mountain, five mares were anxious, after how unexpected, sudden and terrifying it was to experience those explosions in such proximity. They were a unicorn whose coat was white in color and purple mane; two earth ponies, one light orange with a stetson over her blonde mane, the other was a pink cotton candy in almost a literal sense of the word, and two pegasus, although from the way one of them walked It would be hard to believe; one was blue with a rainbow mane, and the other, who looked like a trembling jelly, was yellow with a pink mane. "I still can't believe that mule of a girl left us behind and ran off to chase that Changeling varmint on her own," Applejack said, letting her annoyance be heard through her country accent. "Calm down Applejack, dear. You know how Twilight feels about everything related to that deposed Queen. We shouldn't be surprised that the moment she saw her, forgot everything and ran after her," with a posh voice, Rarity responded, trying to put order on her mane, removing the leaves and branches that lodged in it after the explosions. "What I can't believe is that they allowed to bring dynamite to those dumb Daring Do wannabes," Rainbow Dash said, flying low, close to his friends, shaking his head, trying to get rid of the ringing in his ears. “Let's consider ourselves lucky that the royal guard stopped their dangerous act before anyone got truly hurt.” "I think it was quite funny how the earth shook under our legs," Pinkie said happily, moving as if she had springs instead of hooves. Surprisingly, the fact that Fluttershy clung to her like it was a second coat of hers didn't hinder her jumping. "Argh! Could we hurry now? We have to find Twilight quickly and help her against that evil bug villain," Rainbow Dash tried to hurry her companions, annoyed at how slow she felt they were moving. "Now, now, Rainbow, all of us are as worried about Twilight as you are, but if we acted so hastily, without knowing exactly which path our dear friend took, moving quickly will only mean we won't find her." "And what do you suggest we do, that we stay in this place, doing nothing and wait for Twilight to appear in front of us?" "Uh, uh, uh, I know what we can do!" Pinky exclaimed, shaking her hooves frantically to get her friend's attention. "And what could that be, Pinkie?" "We could just ask Chrysalis where Twilight is," Pinkie suggested. That response got the attention of all of her friends. "And do you know where she is?" "Yes, she's over there!" Pinkie pointed to a peculiar direction on the mountain. From a pile of half-dead bushes they saw a black chitinous hoof breaking the planks that centuries ago blocked the entrance to that particular mining tunnel. Seconds later, the full body of the Changeling Queen emerged from the hole. "Let's get her!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, flying to meet her, followed in second place by Applejack. Rarity ran in third place, trembling at the thought of what all this fast galloping on this rocky terrain will do to her delicate hooves. Tied on last place, Pinkie was jumping happily, with Fluttershy still clinging to her. After a few deep breaths, Chrysalis saw the group of angry ponies coming for her. At first she was taken aback by this, but instead of cowering, she adopted a fighting stance, ready to face them all together. Rainbow Dash and Applejack narrow their eyes at this, ready to clash with the Changeling Queen, and likewise, the Changeling Queen does the same. But before the two sides collided, a purple blur materialized in the middle of them both. "STOP!" Twilight shouted. "Girls, stop!" "I'm fine, she's fine, everything is fine now!" Applejack and Rainbow pull the brakes and crash among themself, but manage to stop inches away from making a sandwich out of Twilight between them and the queen. The rest of their friends soon join them. After giving her the opportunity to take deep breaths, rest a bit and drink water from a bottle that Rarity pull out of her Hoity Toity travel bag, Twilight explained everything that had happened since she had separated from them. How she had discovered Chrysalis' presence on the island, hows she followed her into the castle, their first confrontation, how they found and subsequently lost The Black Heart, the discussion and agreement they had deep in the depths of the castle caves, their journey out, how she saved Chrysalis's life and how she in turn saved hers. Throughout the entire explanation, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, and on some occasions Rarity, direct looks of disbelief and distrust at the Changeling Queen, who decided to put as much distance from them as they did from her. When Twilight finished her story, the first to speak was Rainbow Dash: "Okay, what did you do to Twilight? Are you mentally manipulating her? Did you brainwash her or what? There's clearly something bad going on in her mind." "He, he, he," Chrysalis chuckles mockingly. "I assure you, whatever mess that exists inside your friend's mind, it is of it's own doing."