//------------------------------// // The Change // Story: The Element of Corruption // by Fyronarion //------------------------------// “So, are you going to convert?” asked Chrysalis anxiously. All three of them have been waiting for about ten minutes, patiently waiting for Twilight’s decision. Finally, she looked up and nodded. “Yes. I will go.” she said. Nightmare nodded. “Very well. Follow me, both of you.” said Queen Chrysalis, turning around and opening a door behind her. She trotted in, followed by Twilight and Nightmare. They were in a dark room, but it was empty. In front of them was a large door with ornate engravings and a small keyhole. However, the keyhole was round, which looked like no normal key would fit in. Next to the hole were two hoof-like depressions. An extra security system, perhaps. thought Twilight. She was right when Chrysalis stood in front of the door. “Move back.” said Chrysalis importantly. Twilight and Nightmare Moon moved back as Chrysalis inserted her horn into the keyhole. She then raised her hooves and placed them both on the depression. The door glowed, and creaked open. Chrysalis then took her horn out and returned her hooves back to the ground, and the door hummed open. “If anypony but me tried that, they would get electrified with celestial energy.” she said smugly. “How many died trying to get in?” asked Twilight. “I haven’t checked yet.” said Chrysalis, grinning maliciously. Nightmare laughed and they followed her inside of the room... Meanwhile, in Canterlot... Princess Celestia was nervous. No word has reached her that the Elements of Harmony have stopped Nightmare Moon, nor did she receive any notifications from the Elements. She tapped her hooves against the ground, thinking about what to do. One of her guards noticed and looked at her. “Princess? Is there something wrong?” he asked. Celestia shook her head. “Nothing. Thank you for asking. Wait...actually, can you contact the Elements of Harmony and tell them to come here? I must discuss something important with them.” she said. The guard looked confused. “Contact them? But Princess, they are already here!” he exclaimed. Celestia looked at the guard strangely. “They are? What’s taking them so long-” she was interrupted when the doors barged open and a rainbow blur shot through. “PRINCESS CELESTIA! WE HAVE HUGE NEWS!” shouted Rainbow Dash, hovering. The others came in after her and bowed. Rainbow chuckled, embarrassed. “Oh yeah, forgot to bow.” she said, bowing. Celestia raised her hoof to signal them to get up. “What is it? Is this about Nightmare Moon?” she asked. The elements nodded. “Yes, and it concerns something about Twilight.” piped up Rarity. Applejack nodded, and Princess Celestia paled. “Twilight? Where is she? What happened?” she asked, standing up. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash exchanged glances with each other. “That’s the thing, Princess. She joined Nightmare Moon.” said Fluttershy quietly. Applejack and Pinkie gasped, while Rarity fainted, but was caught by a quick Rainbow Dash. Dash and Fluttershy didn’t tell them about what really happened to Twilight. “This is very bad. What could my sister have done to align Twilight to her side...?” thought Celestia out loud. “If I may interrupt, Princess, I would like to explain what she did to me last night.” stammered Fluttershy, raising her hoof. Celestia nodded. “Yes, please tell me. Maybe it can help us get her back.” she said thoughtfully. Fluttershy inhaled and started to talk... Back to Twilight... “Welcome to the laboratory.” said Queen Chrysalis, holding her hooves wide open to the room. She smirked at Twilight’s look of awe, and even Nightmare had an interested expression on her face. The entire room was filled with strange gadgets and pipes that were flowing with teal colored liquid. There was a smell of burnt rubber, and many changelings were flying around, checking the gadgets. Chrysalis beckoned them to follow her to a large machine at the end of the room. It was a huge, capsule shaped machine. Large pipes stuck out of it, either pumping or draining green liquid from it. It was humming softly, and it radiated a faint green aura from it. At the front of it was a small door, big enough for a pony to fit through. “This, is the Changeling Converter. It took us years to build it. We had to harness the powers of unicorns, earth ponies and pegasi, along with our abilities. We had many accidents and problems with this thing, but now, we will test its’ true potential.” she explained. Suddenly, one of the changelings came down in front of Chrysalis. “Your highness, the converter is fully warmed and ready to operate. However, it did not reach it’s operational level yet.” he said, reading from a list. Chrysalis glared at him, and he cowered. “Then make it reach its level. I want that machine ready to work now.” she demanded, stomping her hoof on the ground. The changeling quickly nodded and flew away. She glanced towards Twilight and Nightmare. “Sorry about that. Sometimes, my scientists are lazy don’t do what they’re told. The converter is supposed to turn on now..” she said, looking at the machine. All of a sudden, the humming grew louder and the top portion of it started to spin. Liquid began to pump inside it, and it started emitting flashing green lights. Nightmare raised her eyebrows while Chrysalis laughed with joy. “I suppose it is ready now?” she asked. Chrysalis nodded eagerly and looked at Twilight. “It is time, Twilight Sparkle. Please enter the machine.” she said, using her horn to open the door. Twilight gulped, and walked towards the belly of the beast, her hooves trembling... At the Canterlot castle... “...and that’s when she teleported away after threatening Rainbow Dash.” finished Fluttershy. All of the others were listening intently to the story. “My worst suspicions have been confirmed. My faithful student has abandoned me and have joined forces with my corrupted sister. It is time we get ready to fortify our towns and cities, and begin to plan. No doubt that Nightmare Moon will have several tricks up her hooves, so we have to be careful. Elements of Harmony, since you do not have magic on your side anymore, I am counting on you five to stop your friend and bring her back to our side.” ordered Princess Celestia. “Another mission? Yay!” whooped Pinkie, hopping around the room. “You can count on us, Princess!” promised Applejack. The others agreed with her and the Princess shooed them away, telling them to train and practice before that day comes. At the Changeling Laboratory... “Can you hear me?” shouted Nightmare from outside. Twilight was encased in the capsule, and the door was closed. The floor was glowing with green lights, and small pipes were sticking out from the inside. “Yes!” replied Twilight. She couldn’t see anything outside, due to the capsule not having any windows. “We are starting the conversion process. Twilight, I advise you not to move a single muscle. Also, it hurt a little bit, but don’t worry.” said Chrysalis’ voice, muffled through the capsule. “Got it.” muttered Twilight. She slowly exhaled, waiting for the machine to start. “Starting conversion.” said a voice. The space inside her started to become brighter, and the noise became deafening. The walls started to spin, and the pipes that were in the capsule space started to come near Twilight. She closed her eyes, her heart beating furiously as she prayed that it would be successful. The pipes turned into needles and they quickly dug into her hide. Twilight bit her lips in pain as she felt a dozen needles sticking out of her body. A moment later, she felt a cool sensation. She opened one eye to see dark green liquid being pumped inside of her, moving sluggishly within the pipes. This continued for a few minutes, until the flow shut off and the needles retracted from her, still dripping with the strange liquid. Twilight look at it interestingly. “Huh, so it didn’t hurt me that much. I guess Chrysalis was wron-OW!” she yelped. Her body felt like it was on fire, as the liquid flowed within her veins. She collapsed on the ground, screaming from the pain. Her veins were burning from the liquid, and Twilight felt something growing on her back. She blinked tears and saw her hooves starting to dull. A moment later, they turned from purple to black, with holes in them. “It’s happening...” she groaned. She looked back to see wings sprouting from her back. They were designed like the wings of a fly. As she held her horn, she felt it become rough and it turned black. “ARGHHH!” she screamed when a surprise cramp hit her. She staggered around in the capsule, banging against the walls. About a minute later, the pain subsided and Twilight was on the ground, breathing shallowly. She heard something unlatching and the door swung wide open. She heard a couple of gasps and yells of joy as she was gently lifted up and taken out of the converter... One day later... Twilight groggily opened her eyes. She was in a small bed with a blanket tucked over her. She got up and looked at the room. It was white, with a small chair. Other than that, it looked bland. The door squeaked open. Nightmare and Chrysalis walked in. When they saw Twilight, they broke into a huge grin. “How are you feeling?” asked Nightmare, kneeling next to Twilight. She raised her hooves and looked at it. Holes and jet black. “Different. The pain is gone, but I feel really different.” she said. Luna nodded. “Yes, you do feel different. You ARE different. Chrysalis, give her the mirror.” ordered Nightmare. Chrysalis levitated a small mirror towards Twilight. She quickly grabbed it and looked at herself. She almost fainted. Her mane was still there, with it’s signature purple streak. But now it has a small green streak on it, and it looked singed. Her eyes, while retaining the original purple color, had a teal tint behind it. She also had small fangs, and her hide color changed from purple to black. Twilight stood up and let the mirror reflect on her body. Her tail also had the purple color followed by a green stripe. And her cutie mark disappeared altogether. “Do you like it?” asked Nightmare. Twilight hesitated, and nodded. “Yes. I’ve always wanted to fly, and I’m happy that I received a magical boost.” she said, excitement creeping up in her voice. “That’s not even all of the features. Try morphing.” said Chrysalis. “Um..how do you do that?” asked Twilight. “Just close your eyes and think about who you want to morph into. When you feel a warm breeze around you, open your eyes again and you’ll be transformed into somepony else.” she instructed. Twilight nodded and closed her eyes. She thought about turning into her past form. She felt something warm licking her body, and a moment later, she opened her eyes to see herself back in her pony form. She grinned, looking at her original self. “Is there any difference in me being my previous self?” asked Twilight, looking at Chrysalis and Nightmare. Chrysalis nodded. “Yes, but very small. The only change is the small green pupil in your eyes. Other than that, you’re the same old Twilight.” she said confidentially. Twilight nodded and transformed back to her changeling form. “Now to see if you can fall for love.” said Chrysalis, moving out the way as five changelings walked into the room. They looked at Twilight and smirked. Green fire illuminated the room as all of them morphed into Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy. Twilight's eyes widened with surprise and she took a step back, hooves over her mouth. “Come back to us, Twilight.” begged Fluttershy. “Yeah! We miss you!” said Rainbow Dash. “C’mon, Twilight! We’ll have fun and party all day long if you come back!” said an excited Pinkie. Applejack and Rarity nodded. Twilight looked away from her friends. Even though they were changelings playing as them, she still felt a connection. Yet, she didn’t want to see them anymore. She felt something inside her growl, and she quickly turned around, her horn glowing. All of a sudden, the fake Elements of Harmony started glowing, and their forms shimmered. They burst into dust and Twilight quickly absorbed them with a hungry expression on her face. The changelings who were training her quickly morphed back and looked at her in terror. Chrysalis cocked her head in confusion. “What was that about?” asked Chrysalis. But Nightmare was laughing. “I think she is much more resistant to love. It looks like she just ate their emotions and feelings. She gets a bit stronger by eating their dark secrets and emotions. Chrysalis, I think we produced a new breed of Changelings.” said Luna, snickering. Chrysalis looked stunned but a smile slowly spread across as her face as she looked at Twilight, who was looking down on the ground. “Time to bring another friend into this party. Chrysalis, you promised to help.” said Nightmare. Chrysalis nodded as all three of them walked out the room...