//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 - Deceptions Part 1 // Story: Distorted Worlds // by Cryssy-miu //------------------------------// Shrouded in a sudden, black void, Discord could see nothing. The ominous sensation of true evil hung over him like a fog, surrounding him. The terrified draconequus quickly realized he wasn't alone, although he seemed to be alone. “Hello?” Slowly, the piercing red eyes targeted him from the darkness. Discord felt his heart start beating faster, and he cursed himself for his fear. He was the god of chaos. Whatever this was, he could take it. For some reason, whatever it was instilled a powerful fear in his heart. “Who's there?” The creature heaved a long and sad sounding sigh. “How terrible that we don't know each other. We should.” Some of the darkness was fading, enough that allowed Discord could see the demon's eyes. “Who are you?” the spirit snarled. His fur was up and bristling as the surge of fear grew stronger. “I'm not afraid to fight.” The creature rasped out a laugh, and those sinister eyes now held a mocking look of amusement. “Oh no...now I don't think that's a good idea. You are vastly outnumbered.” Several other faces were illuminated. Several, very familiar faces. Discord could only stare. His entire body washed over with a cold shock as he gazed up at the pegasus standing above him. Her beautiful, saffron coat seemed to have tarnished in color, but not in the way it did after he had corrupted her. Every pony, including her looked as if they had been bleached. Their eyes were soulless. “Fl...Fluttershy...?” the spirit could barely whisper out. The pegasus smiled, but it wasn't her normal, timid little smile she usually gave everyone around her. This smile was as cold as ice This wasn't even her. The draconequus stumbled onto his back with a wince as she advanced. He was afraid of her. He had no idea why, but he was terrified of her and everything else around him. The pony continued to strut towards him, and he backed up, still on his back in the void. His sweaty hands continued scrambling to get as far away from her as he possibly could, but the pony only gained on his every move and lurked ominously closer. At last she stopped, and he did too. He just stared up at her. She sneered at him. “Useless creature...Who could ever love a worthless abomination like you?” The wide eyed shock on his face would have been comical if not for the flicker of pain that crossed at her words. “Huh? What are you talking about?” Instead of a verbal response, he got a physical one. Discord barely felt the sting erupting over his face before the force of her hoof slammed him back a couple of feet. Wincing, the draconequus gingerly tapped his snout and drew back in shock at the blood clinging to his paw. He stared back up at Fluttershy like he was looking at a stranger. “What...what are you doing?” A trembling talon reached for her and fell gently on her shoulder. He almost cried out in shock at how cold the pony's shoulder was, as if she was dead. The cold, and emotionless statue of what used to be...his best friend, really, didn't move a muscle. She didn't even blink. “Hey, come on...” He tried to offer his paw again. “It's your favorite little draconequus, huh? The one that's always eating all your dish towels and turning your dinnerware into popsicle sticks? ...Flutter Butter?” A gust of magic power sent Discord careening backwards, and into the wall. Funny, he never knew a void had a wall. The spirit's eyes stayed tightly shut in agony, and he was terrified to open them again. He didn't want to see the dead look in the pegasus's eyes, and if he had it his way he'd tear out his ears so he'd never have to hear her words. “What's happening?” the spirit all but whimpered. Fluttershy's voice didn't answer him, but instead, that demonic hiss from before did. “They are simply embracing you for who you truly are...” A flash of anger sparked in the draconequus's eyes as he shot them open and glared, trying to find the source of the voice. The fury disslved from his face and was replaced to a look of utmost confusion as he looked around. He wasn't in the black void anymore, and he certainly hadn't the faintest idea where he was. His surroundings had become brighter and redder, and flickered in front of his very eyes. Fire. There was nothing but fire all around him. The disfigured forms of tormented creatures could be seen beyond the flames, and the black and red sky. “Where am I?” “Home,” the cruel voice answered. The black silhouette was circling him now, and the spirit's fur went up as he snarled and curled in on himself to protect himself. “You're home, Discord. You're where you truly belong...” “Right, I don't think so,” the draconequus scoffed. “Maybe fire and barbaque temperatures are your thing, but they certainly aren't mine. I have somewhere to be and a family to get back to.” “Oh, really?” The haunting, and sickeningly gleeful chortle of the entity made Discord's stomach do flip flops. “I don't think your family would even want to see you right now. ...Well, if they were even alive that is.” Discord was breathing heavily. His goal to keep from showing fear was definitely shot. “What...what are you talking about? Nothing has happened to them.” “On the contrary,” the voice sneered, “You have happened to them.” His breathing was even harsher if it was possible, and his voice came out sounding like a childish whine. “What? I haven't done anything to them! Nothing but maybe play with their sanity in a bit of pranking! That's all I'd ever do to them!” “Oh really? Then maybe you should take a look...” More of the surroundings were illuminated, and gradually, slowly, Discord was able to see several multicolored masses laying on the ground, that he prayed to the almighty gods and his dead parents were not his family. There they were. From the girls, to his wife and sister—all of them were on the ground, dead, and covered in blood. Discord fell to his knees, screaming hysterically and crying harder than he thought he was capable of. He couldn't even get control of his mind enough to go over to them. He could only scream. “GODS! OH GODS, NO! NO!!” The sickening laughter resonated around the room. “See what you've done? Embrace it. You can never belong with them. You are a demon, you are evil...you are meant to destroy, to kill.” “NO!!! NO!!! I DIDN'T DO THAT!! I DIDN'T!!!” The laughter continued and everything grew dark again, but not before Discord was able to catch the very brief flash of the monster in front of him, and the appearance of mangled horns before everything went black other than the pair of crimson eyes leering at him. “Open your eyes, Discord. You are who you are...you are one of us. There is no escaping what you are and where you come from. You've known who you are and what you are capable of. Now, join us.” The form leaped at him, and Discord could barely choke out another scream before it slammed him down. xxxxxxxx Discord awoke with a sudden, hysterical scream, clawing at the darkness, as if to try and rip it away so he'd see some light, or something at least vaguely familiar. Eight fearful eyes stared at him as the group was severely jolted awake by the yelling. His screams continued until he felt something lightly tap his forehead. After that, a wave of calm swept over his form and his screams turned to slight whimpers as his body heaved and shook from the trauma. Twilight's horn was dimly lit in the darkness, having obviously perfected a soothing spell over him. Discord could see the looks of annoyance and grogginess turn to looks of concern. When he wondered why (not even realizing he had been screaming), he realized his face was drenched with tears. “Discord, sweetie, sweetie...” Familiar, saffron hooves wrapped lovingly around his neck as Fluttershy nuzzled her cheek into his own. He stood there and found himself too petrified to reject or return the gesture. Chrysalis only glared at the group and rolled her eyes in disgust. Pathetic. Maelstrom was right; the draconequus really was a colt. A simple nightmare reduced him to a sniveling pile of mush as if he was only six years old. She had no idea what to think about the ponies now. It had seemed as if they didn't seem to care a great deal for the spirit before, and seeing them crowded around him and trying to soothe him was definitely confusing. “What did you dream about?” Twilight asked softly. She briefly brushed a hoof over the spirit's damp bangs, pushing them out of his eyes. “Was it about your parents again?” The ponies stared at her in confusion. “I thought you said he didn't have those nightmares anymore,” Rainbow Dash said, glancing from the heavily distraught draconequus to her friend. “You said they stopped after he told Celestia and Luna what had happened.” “That's what I thought,” Twilight said, glancing back at the draconequus. The poor thing was shaking like a traumatized leaf. “Was it about your parents?” Fluttershy frowned and clutched to the draconequus protectively. “Girls, don't pressure him right now. He's freaked out and he can't deal with all these questions.” Nopony knew how he was after nightmares better than her. “Just...you shouldn't pester him right now.” The ponies dropped the subject and reluctantly climbed back to their sleeping bags. Applejack hung back with Fluttershy and Discord and rummaged through her saddlebag. After a few moments, she pulled back with a small canister. “Here ya go, hun! Cold or not, cider is always the best thing ta have after a rough dream!” Twilight debated in her head for a moment, but then decided now wasn't the time to point out they shouldn't dip into the supplies until it was necessary. Besides, Discord had already taken the cup to his mouth. Fluttershy visibly had to help him hold it since his trembling caused it to slosh everywhere. “Thank you, Applejack,” the saffron pony said softly. “That was very kind.” Applejack nodded her head through the dark and Fluttershy turned back to the petrified Discord. “Hunny, you really need to sleep.” Judging by the wide-eyed terror on his face, getting him to sleep would be a very difficult feat, but luckily Fluttershy had done enough care taking in her day to know a few helpful tips. “Hush now, quiet now It's time to lay your sleepy head Hush now, quiet now It's time to go to bed...” Clutching the blankets to his chin like a four year old, the draconequus looked up at her. Her sweet voice washed over him and instantly soothed the terror in his nerves. The spirit found his eyes drooping as he realized just how exhausted he was. He shut his eyes as the pegasus slipped into his sleeping bag, by his side. “Drift off to sleep Leave the exciting day behind you Drift off to sleep Let the joy of dreamland find you...” xxxxxxxx Discord wasn't himself the next day, and the girls noticed it immediately. It was the early morning and the ponies still had their manes and tails; they hadn't been mismatched like yesterday. He hadn't even missed with their breakfast. “I think he's dying,” Rainbow Dash muttered to the group as they finally made their way out of the next forest and into the clearing. “Shush!” Twilight hissed. “No, this is normal,” Fluttershy assured them all, and they stared at her as if she was insane. “I mean, it's normal after one of his worst nightmares. His mind won't really be there and the littlest things will freak him out. I think during the day he has visions of the nightmares.” “Oh, that's wonderful,” Rainbow Dash drawled sarcastically. “We're on a dangerous journey with booby traps and monsters everywhere and our one protector has a case of the jitters.” “Rainbow Dash, be more sensitive!” Twilight snapped. “Haven't you ever had a nightmare that left you paralyzed with fear? Well, I was with Fluttershy a lot when he was constantly having these every night. I saw, literally saw the contents of his dreams and it's no surprise why he wakes up screaming.” The cyan pegasus's eyebrows creased a little with concern and regret, but she shook it off with a snort and flew ahead of the group. “Yes, I do admit I have a little bit of sympathy for the dog,” Rarity said. “Why, when Sweetie first started coming to stay with me at the boutique she had terrible nightmares because she wasn't used to being away from our parents, and she'd always wake up screaming and crying.” She shuddered at the memories. “But there's something that's confusing to me. If what you say is true Fluttershy and he doesn't dream about what happened to his parents, then what did he dream of?” The pegasus was silent as they walked, obviously asking herself the same question. What was he dreaming of? How could a nightmare about anything but his parents have him so distraught? If it wasn't for the fact she promised Twilight and the Queen she'd never tamper with black magic again, she'd ask Twilight to do another dream seer spell. She was extremely curious. “Ah feel bad for the varmint as well,” Applejack said, “but whether or not he's scared, we need him for protection. I hate to say it, but without him here to help us we're toast.” “With butter!” Pinkie Pie piped with a giggle. Trotting silently at the front of the line as she was excluded from the conversation, Chrysalis rolled her eyes and turned to the idiots. “That's right, I guess I forgot that I can't do magic and that I'm not capable of protecting us.” Twilight's eyes narrowed as she stood up on a tree root and stood face to face with the Queen. “And whose to say we can actually trust you? For all we know, you could be conspiring against us right now.” Chrysalis blinked for a moment. Instead of getting angry, she only smirked. “And you could very well be right mare, but what choice do you have? None. I suppose you'll have to trust me.” “I am watching you,” Twilight growled, “And you better not do anything to me or my friends.” “What would I possibly have to gain from that? I have my own intentions in this, and harming your friends are not part of them.” Yet. “Oh come on, girls!” Pinkie Pie pouted. “Why can't we just all get along?” She was cradling Chrysalis's changeling hatchlings in her hooves. “I mean, these little guys are getting along with us just fine!” She giggled as the babies started nipping at her hooves. “I think they like me!” “Darlings, spit that out,” Chrysalis told her children as they dropped the pink pony's hoof. “You have no idea where it's been.” Pinkie Pie scowled. “Hey, it hasn't been anywhere your hooves haven't! Ya know, grass and mud and sand and poop-” “What was that last one?” Rarity asked sharply. “Oh yeah.” The pink pony shrugged with a grin. “Manticore poop; I stepped in it a while back.” This earned a collective chorus of gags and green faces from the group, especially Rarity (who promptly fainted on the spot). “Yech! That's disgusting, Pinkie!” Rainbow exclaimed, her hoof flying to her mouth. “Why didn't you wash it off where we camped? There was a spring RIGHT THERE!” “Girls.” Fluttershy's voice was a quiet hiss, but it was strict enough to get their attention. “If you yell like that you might attract some...m-monsters...” She shivered at the thought. “Plus, I think you're freaking Discord out.” Half trapped in horrific visions with resonating screeches in his head, the spirit still managed to glare defiantly down at the pegasus. “I'm fine!” His shaking betrayed him. “Convincing,” Twilight mused sarcastically. There was still a flicker of concern on her face though. She could easily see the clouded look of fear in his eyes, and the way his pupils twitched around worriedly. Pulling the draconequus closer to the group, the ponies continued on through the rough terrain. The soft, forest grass had now become a sticky marsh, and they needed to step lightly to avoid sinking through the wet ground. It was getting increasingly harder to see as the mists lurked towards them. “Whoa, why did it suddenly become so cloudy?” Rainbow Dash gasped. “I could have sworn I was just soaring in clear skies a few moments ago!” Slowly, she descended down through the fog and folded her wings in front of the girls. “No matter how high I go, you can see nothing but mist.” “It is a peculiar weather change,” Twilight observed, “There's no dampness or cold in the air, so I can't understand where this mist came from. It's a hot day.” “Well, hay!” Applejack snorted. “When have we ever let the weather slow us down? Let's just ignore the dang mist, stick together, and get through this...foggy land!” The group started to move forward, up until a sudden sound pierced the air. Never had any of them heard such a sound. It was indescribable. It had to be the most beautiful sound, like a high pitched, crooning melody in just one note. Still confused, the group continued through the mist—up until Chrysalis stopped them. “Stop. Don't go any further.” The cold look on her face was gone, and was replaced with solid fear. Her dark skin had paled several shades of white as she froze rigid and stared, unblinking through the mist. “So it was a weird sound,” Rainbow Dash scoffed, “So what? Derpy makes weirder noises.” “Now I know where the mist came from,” Chrysalis muttered softly to herself. The group stared at her. “That sound was not just a 'weird sound' you ignorant mare,” she snapped. “That was the sound of a siren. They are perhaps one of the most dangerous creatures on this planet, even rivaling a basilisk.” Twilight tried to search her memory (and the books she had brought) for information on sirens, but there were none. “What are sirens?” “Extremely rare creatures,” Chrysalis went on grimly. “They are perhaps one of the most rare monsters in the world. They're water spirits, similar to fuaths in the way they drown their victims, but that's where the similarities end. Sirens themselves are completely harmless against a strong willed victim, but it's what they do that makes them so lethal.” “Well, what do they do?!” Twilight demanded, sick of the slow explanations. “How do they kill their victim?” “Sirens are shape shifters, but they don't just shape shift into any creature. They shift into whatever will break their victim. There's many ways they can break them. Sometimes they choose to simply change into something their victim likes, and thus lures them...or sometimes they break them by shifting into what their victim truly desires, or breaks them completely out of fear.” “Discord has already been broken out of fear,” Spike muttered, gesturing to the still slightly shaky draconequus trying to focus enough to listen. “They create the mist to make their prey easier to get to,” Chrysalis continued. “Therefore, their victim can't run and can't find its way out without bumping into the siren.” Several pairs of eyes twitched, and Rainbow scowled at the changeling. “How the hay is this thing 'completely harmless' then?” “Its power and danger level stems only from its ability to take control of its prey. If its prey is immune to its tricks then it has no power over them and can't do any harm. If it manages to break its victim, then it will completely consume it, and the victim will literally not have a chance. I'm not sure if it freezes its victim at this point; all I know is that physically, and with magic they won't be able to defend themselves. This usually happens once its lured its prey into the water.” “Alright,” Twilight said slowly, “So...if we don't fall for the mirage and stay together wouldn't we all be alright?” “It's not that simple,” Chrysalis sneered, “If it was then I wouldn't be telling you all this. The siren is going to separate us the moment we step through the mist. There is no way we will stay together. We will all have to find each other. The siren will only attempt to separate us with the mist once, so once we find each other, we'll stay together unless we're stupid enough to wander off. On our own, we have to remain strong against them. Just remember that everything you see is a mirage, and don't let it affect you.” Exchanging, final, briefly saluting glances, the group braced themselves and stepped into the mist. Instantly, a wall of white divided them, as if it had been waiting for them to enter. Actually, it probably had. Shrieks of horror were heard, and shouts as the blind equines stumbled about. “Try to stay calm, girls!” Twilight felt her own chest heaving as her bulging eyes tried to spot her friends in the mist. She couldn't see anything but clouds of white. “Just fight the mirages and you'll have the power over it!” “Twilight Sparkle?” The lavender mare spun to the very distinguishable voice behind her. Sure enough, Chrysalis was standing there and looking down at her. Despite the fact she distrusted the changeling, it was such a relieving surge of joy to see her in this void of white. “Chrysalis!” She hurried over to her. “It's you! Thank Celestia! At least we're not alone...” The queen wasn't even listening to her, and when Twilight looked up she was beyond shocked to see tears in Chrysalis's eyes as the mare spun around rapidly. “Where's my babies? Where are my babies?! They were just on my back!” Despite how rude it was, Twilight could only stare for several moments, before finally snapping to attention and trying to calm the mare down. She was still in a state of shock herself. “Chrysalis, calm down! You said that the siren is harmless unless it manages to trick its victims.” “They're babies!!” Chrysalis screamed, “They don't have any will power! They don't know any better! They're infants! The siren could just shape shift into a teddy bear and they'd go straight for it!” She inhaled a sob. For the first time Twilight didn't see the cruel and cold mare that was the changeling queen; she saw a frightened and distraught mother. That was what they always forgot though. Chrysalis was a mother, and any mother could be broken by the disappearance of their children. “Don't worry,” Twilight said gently. “I'm sure the siren will be too busy trying to break us to be interested in babies. If they're like any other monster, they'll want a challenge.” Chrysalis's voice came out as an out-of-character, fillyish whine. “You think so?” She wiped her face, and her mouth set into a straight line. “Sirens are likely to attack any prey they find, but they're likely only to kill a couple times a day. If I let the siren break me, maybe it will spare my children.” Vigorously, Twilight shook her head. “What—NO! You can't kill yourself!” Sneering, Chrysalis shot her a glare. “Why? Because you still need to use my knowledge to get to Tartarus?” “No!” Twilight snapped back angrily, stepping in front of the mare harshly, enough to stop her in her tracks. “Because I'm not just going to let you kill yourself!” “It's for my children!!” “There has to be another way!” Twilight shouted back. “And how are your babies going to survive without a mother?! If it comes down to it, then...then I'll let the siren take me.” The look of anger melted to one of shock and numbness as the taller mare stared at her. “Wh...what? You'd give your life...for them? Why would you do that?” “Because it's the right thing to do,” Twilight said, “And when you're one of the guardians of Equestria and just have a good heart, it's what you do. You don't just let someone...some ponies die, even if they are children of your enemy.” She shrugged. “You do all you can. I can't let them grow up without a mother.” Chrysalis was silent. “Let's just hope it doesn't come down to that though.” Twilight started walking on through the white haze, and Chrysalis, still in a mild state of shock, seemed to take a while to catch up to her. They walked on with cautious glances, for several minutes, but there was nothing but the white clouds and faint flecks of green under their feet from the grass. “Maybe it's not here,” Twilight suggested. “No. It's waiting for the perfect time to strike.” The mare's snake-like eyes darted back and forth, from one patch of white to the next. “It waits until its sure we aren't even slightly conspicuous, and that we've stopped searching for it.” “Clever,” she mused. Chrysalis walked further in the white void with Twilight as the two tried to see their way past the white, and at least find something that remotely looked like the sky or some trees. It seemed hopeless until she managed to see a few distant, black forms. Eyes widening, the changeling mare charged towards the sight. Twilight cautiously followed. “My babies!” Chrysalis cried with relief. There, floating in front of her merely ten feet away were her children. Chrysalis could hear the frantic buzzing of their wings as they hovered in the air. It was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. “Oh, Mommy is so happy you're safe!” There was something odd about the infants. It was something that Chrysalis didn't manage to catch on to, because with her utter relief and just yearning so badly to believe anything as long as they were safe, she didn't notice anything. Twilight did. The way they hovered, the way they didn't seem excited, and how they weren't even moving towards her. “Chrysalis, NO!!” She tackled the mare to the ground and sent the two of them tumbling, seconds before the mare had managed to scoop them up into her hooves. The queen was too shocked to react for a few moments, but she finally snapped her head up to glare at Twilight. “What in Tartarus's name was that for?!” the seething, and angrily buzzing changeling spat. “Let me up to my children!” “Chrysalis, those aren't your children!” The two mares lifted their heads and looked over to where the form of the infants glowered in rage, furious at having its plan thwarted. Sure enough, the disguise melted off instantly, and took the form of the siren. It was a gorgeous beast, however fierce it was supposed to be. It reminded Twilight of a mare and a dolphin. “Those...weren't my children.” The spark faded from Chrysalis's eyes. “Then they are still missing. What if the siren has them?” “It's more likely one of the girls have them,” Twilight tried to gently reassure. She wasn't too certain herself, but the last thing she wanted was for the queen to go into full blown hysterics; a frightening sight indeed. “We should just keep walking.” Closing her eyes and nodding in mournful agreement, Chrysalis followed. xxxxxxxx Fluttershy's limbs shook, her teeth chattered, and she squeaked out in fear at the sound of every twig snapping as she walked. Her bravery (whatever the girl had of one) was complete mush at the notion that the siren could be anywhere. The only thing soothing right now was the fact she was not alone. Only moments ago, she had found Chrysalis's babies wandering aimlessly, and they now lay draped over her back. It was strange to her. Fluttershy had a fear of the changelings; she saw them as a cruel and wicked race, but these little children had not yet become what their species had. They were only innocent, young children. “Keee-kee...” an infant said softly, tugging on Fluttershy's ear. “I know,” Fluttershy agreed quietly, “I'm worried for everyone too.” She stared up pleadingly at the heaves, tears flooding into her desperate, cyan eyes. “Discord, where are you?” Certainly she was concerned for all of her friends, but none more than Discord right now. As dangerous as the siren was, she knew her friends had the willpower to fight it, and they wouldn't be fooled by any clever mirages. Discord, however, was a different story entirely. Normally nothing could get past the god, and his judgement would easily give him the advantage over this demon, but not today. Not after his nightmare. In the state he was in, Fluttershy didn't even trust him to be alone right now. If the siren found him, the siren would have him. The worst of the mist seemed to be lifting now, which gave Fluttershy hope. Maybe the siren was giving up on them. She could finally start to see a little bit of the distance, and the surroundings around her. Even though it was very faint, Fluttershy could tell there was a set of trees in front of her, and as she walked closer, they became more clear into view. There was a dew platted, grassy hill under the trees...and something else curled in the shade. “Oh my!” Fluttershy softly gasped. There, lying, crippled on its side, was a small badger. “Oh no...” As the pegasus got closer she was able to see the blood caking the trembling animal's fur. It was badly injured. “Oh dear...” She began inching closer to the creature. “It's okay, little one,” she shushed, as the animal backed away in fright. “I want to help you.” In this case, her typical, nurturing instincts were overriding her own common sense, but not the changelings'. The infants chirped and buzzed frantically as they tried tugging back on her hair, sensing with their intuitive baby sense that something wasn't right. Fluttershy only scolded them to stop it and turned back to the animal. “You poor thing...how did you manage to get in such bad condition?” She knelt down in front of the badger, and it looked up at her with watery, heart breaking eyes, and pleadingly reached out a paw. Fluttershy was taken aback by this, as the common instinct for a wounded animal was to distrust anyone trying to help them, but regardless, she reached out her hoof to the creature. Right before the pegasus barely brushed her hoof against the fuzz of the animal's paw, a sudden pain ripped up her wing. Crying out, Fluttershy whirled around to see Rainbow Dash lightly, but still firmly jerking the base of her wing. “Fluttershy, step back from that animal!” Rainbow Dash shouted, and yanked her friend's tail, dragging her back in case she didn't get the point. “I don't think that's a real animal.” “No, it is!” the pegasus cried, trying to get back to it. “Rainbow, let me go!” She whimpered as the animal started pitifully crying and squeaking in desperation, trying to get her back to it. “Dashie!” the pegasus sobbed. “I have to help it or it will die!” “No, Fluttershy! Trust me, it isn't real!” Rainbow was astonished by the strength the pegasus had in her as she tried crawling her way back to the badger. Geez, when was Discord when she actually wanted him? That draconequus would be able to lift the stubborn pegasus by the tail as if she was a tiny stuffed animal. Finally, with a furious snort, Rainbow Dash rammed her hoof against the badger, and sent it slamming into the tree. She heard Fluttershy scream in horror as it tumbled back down to the ground, but it vanished before Fluttershy could lay into her friend. “See? A mirage, and it almost had you.” Rainbow Dash lightly rubbed her friend's back for a moment to calm her, and looked at her. “I told you to trust me.” She blinked as the pegasus threw her hooves around her and cried. “Oh Dashie, thank Celestia you're here...! It was terrible being all alone...” Rainbow blinked, uncomfortable being squished to death and just being hugged in the first place. Still, she smiled and patted her friend's back. “It's no problem, Flutters. Now let's get the hay out of here and find out if our friends are safe.” xxxxxxxx The walk through endless white was silent between the two. This was the first time they had been alone without the others, and the first time neither felt like insulting and hating each other in their state of worry. Twilight decided to break the silence. “My book on mythical creatures should have information on every creature in this land, so why doesn't it have anything on sirens?” “They are very rare.” “So are basilisks.” “Yes, well, they are rarer than basilisks. There is believed to be only two or three sirens left, but there is probably plenty of basilisks in Tartarus, just few that have been seen.” Twilight nodded quietly. It seemed to make sense to her. She looked over at Chrysalis. “How do you know about them then?” “I read it in a book,” Chrysalis told her. She could tell Twilight didn't seem to really buy that, and who would? If sirens had almost never been seen how would anyone have the knowledge? “My family was friends with another family...that is probably known well in this land, and known well by you, Twilight Sparkle. The stallion had seen many things in his time. He had...helped create the world we live in.” That's when Twilight stopped in her tracks. Chrysalis's back was turned to her, but she could tell it had clicked in the mare's head and she didn't even see her mouth gaping. “Helped create the world...a family I know of... the King and Queen's family? Discord, Celestia, and Luna's parents? You were friends with them?” “Indeed,” was Chrysalis's response. It was curt and it indicated she didn't want to say anymore, but Twilight certainly did. “How did that happen? How were you friends with them if you hate each other so much now?” “As far as my knowledge proceeds me, Celestia and Luna hated Discord for a while and they had been close in the past.” “Yes, but...” Chrysalis snarled quietly to herself, but decided that the least she owed the stupid unicorn for saving her life and offering to give her own for her children was maybe to answer a few questions she had. “We changelings weren't always the way we are now. In fact, we were not even named changelings back in a time. We were a different, prospering species, and we helped the world rather than use them for our victims. The power and life we had was determined by how much love we managed to uphold in our kingdom and outside of it, rather than just sucking it out of others.” “Were you shape shifters back then?” “No, that came much later with the name of our species. We had a daintier appearance back then as well. Our coats were lighter, and our wings were larger and glimmered with patterns and spots, like a species of a butterfly. The kingdom was a paradise. Everything was pastel colored and enchanted. You so much as stepped into the grass and glitter would be all around you.” Twilight stared up as Chrysalis's eyes shut from the memories. She wasn't sure if the changeling missed or hated them. “So what changed?” “My mother changed it. She became consumed with power, greed, and lust. I was young at the time, and we had some issues going on in the kingdom. A passing pony tribe that we had welcomed in had left a sickness, and the sickness spread. Our subjects were getting sick, so my mother wrote a letter to Aegeus and Astraia. As I said, our families were tight at the time, and so Aegeus and Astraia were happy to help out. They sent us a book, that you're probably familiar with. It's called Alicorn's Power...” And right there, Twilight felt all shades of purple wash off her body as she was practically bleached white, frozen rigid at the terribly familiar name. She didn't say anything, and only stared blankly. “...I'll take your silence as a yes. The book has many spells that I'm sure you're aware of. It's filled with white and black magic. My mother used a strong healing spell to save our kingdom. Aegeus and Astraia told her she could borrow the book for as long as she needed it. ...That was a mistake. As the book has many pure spells, I'm sure you know just from how Aegeus and Astraia died, that it also carries many dark ones. My mother started reading from the book, and she started practicing its black magic. I'd wake up at night to the sound of her chanting in the next room. She used Alicorn's Power to change our species. She found the way we gathered our power and kept the kingdom alive too weak. Our home was open to any species in the land, and we often got many, many travelers just because of our land's beauty. We welcomed that because making them feel at home and earning their love was how we got our own power. Mother changed the rules. Instead, we were to feed from our guests. We were supposed to lull them into a sense of security as we slowly drained them to nothing. The way we now got the power of love and emotions was to take them. Our species changed, and the lands changed. Everything became darker and grimmer. There were always storm clouds or gray skies above our land, and we lost the identity of who we once were.” Taking in all this information, Twilight stared gown at the ground. Just how many more lives did that book have to ruin? Finally, she looked back up at her. “And so your relationship with the royal family fell apart?” “No. That was to come a little later. As I said, our land changed. Soon we didn't have any guests because no one wanted to come see us. They were afraid of us. Still, we needed to get our power from somewhere, so mother ordered us to move out. She was very old at this time. Changlings now had a much longer life span, and we could live for up to 2000 years before we'd die of old age.” Aegeus and Astraia had long since demanded back their book, which mother gave back without a fight. She didn't need it anymore. They confronted us, and tried to be civil. They tried to hold onto the hope that Mother would redeem herself and accept help, but she didn't. She fought them instead. Being her daughter and her slave for the better part of my life, I fought as well." "Did your mother even care about you?" "No, she didn't. She hardly did before she changed, and she certainly didn't after. I was her slave. Aegeus and Astraia killed Mother and injured me, and they swore that they'd kill us all if we threatened their kingdom. This was shortly before they died, but we didn't want to take any chances against Celestia and Luna. My species worked in secret, and subtly, trying to find lands with enough food for us before we finally decided to attack Equestria...only months ago. The wedding was the first time I had seen Celestia and Luna in over a thousand years. The last time we saw each other was before we became changelings, when I still had my grayish-blue coat and large, shimmering wings. The last time we had seen each other was when we were friends, Discord included, and playmates in my land.” Silence stretched between the two as Chrysalis finished her story. “Does that answer your questions?” the changeling asked. “I....I guess so,” Twilight breathed. “But don't you ever miss the way things were? Don't you miss being a beloved species...and friends with Celestia, Discord, and Luna?” “No, I don't,” the mare said coldly. “Love is weakness, and we were never destined to be friends. It's just the way it was supposed to be. Nothing can change that.” She cleared her throat. “Now, I don't feel like answering anymore questions. Just be grateful I answered that one. Can we just keep moving?” “Sure,” Twilight sighed. “Let's get to the rest of my friends before the siren does.” xxxxxxxx (Wow, guys ,you all probably hate me for the month wait, but I hope this chapter makes up for it. Originally the entire battle with the siren was going to be an entire chapter, but I realized Discord's battle with it is long enough to stand as its own chapter. I am immensely proud of the backstory I invented for Chrysalis, and a little fact: everything in this universe ties to that book.)