Chicane was starting to tire of Baltimare.
Equestria in general was far too bright and colorful for his tastes, and it was nothing against the city in particular. It wasn’t like he wasn’t doing anything either; he’d been collecting and stockpiling love for the last week or so, all for the glory of the changeling hive. Ponies here were nice enough as well, and had he not been under standing orders to treat them as food first, he may have actually made some friends.
His real issue was with his position in general. He was immensely proud to serve his hive and his queen in any way he could, and scavenging for love was one of the most important jobs a changeling could have. Unfortunately, it meant that he would be away from the hive for weeks and even months at a time. It made him incredibly anxious the first few times he’d left to infiltrate Equestria, and even now, it distressed him that he was so far away from his fellow changelings.
Not that Chicane had the time to miss them, though, since the hive mind never shut up.
He would admit that he couldn’t possibly know what it was like to have the only thoughts in one’s head be one’s own. He was part of the hive mind from birth, and even though it meant he knew everyone in the hive very well, it also meant he had to deal with every thought that ran through their heads on a permanent basis. It was constant background noise, and even as proficient as he was at tuning it out, there were times when he longed to shut it off completely.
He couldn’t help but admire these ponies. Their thoughts were actually capable of being kept to themselves. They didn’t have to share their thoughts or get bombarded with the thoughts of others. He, in the meantime, was forced to contend with the chatter and lack of privacy. He disliked it, sometimes even detested it, and the nature of the hive mind meant that everyone else knew it.
Fantastic. He was starting to envy his food again. Another reason he didn’t like staying in Equestria so long. He wondered how long it would take before he grew too fond of his disguise and refused to shed it. He’d heard cases of that—literally heard them—and he’d seen the treatment for it. It looked extraordinarily unpleasant.
Still, though... if he could take one trait from this love-rich race, it would be the singular mind.
Chicane was suddenly struck by a quick pang of lightheadedness. In his experience, that could mean one of two things: he was running dangerously low on love, or the glorious Queen Chrysalis, his exalted ruler, had entered the hive mind to address her subjects. The growling of his stomach did little to help him decide which it was.
My loyal subjects, this is your queen. Cease your activities, because I have an important announcement.
Now that did help him decide. He looked reverently up to the monarch of the hive, as all changelings did, and if need be, he would gladly give his life for her. With the near-fasting required for him to do his extraction and collection job right, he practically was giving his life for her. Above all else, though, he admired and envied her. She could disconnect herself from the hive mind at will, a good fortune Chicane would never know. He had little way of knowing what went on in that head of hers, which almost made her feel distant and detached at times, but the urge to know how she did it tended to override any doubts.
Right now, though, his selfish jealousy didn’t matter. What mattered was his magnificent queen’s announcement. He held his breath, hanging on Chrysalis’ every word.
I am recalling all scouts stationed in Equestria, she declared. I need every single one of you for what I have planned. You will be briefed in person when you all arrive, but suffice to say, should this succeed, you will never go hungry again!
Chicane was so glad he chose a pegasus stallion for his disguise. It made it that much easier to take off over the city and charge right in the general direction of the hive without too many prying eyes monitoring him. He shed his costume the moment he was out of sight, excited just to be coming home. He could hear the other scouts rejoicing just as much as he was. Even in their heads, some of these morons had no volume control...
Regardless, Chicane was completely certain of one thing: whatever Queen Chrysalis had planned, it would be way better than wasting time in that city.
This hive-forsaken forest wasn’t any less unnerving the second time around.
Given the lack of animal encounters thus far, Chrysalis was led to assume that Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy knew a safe route to the hut that was supposed to lie somewhere in the heart of Everfree. The foreboding atmosphere created by the unchecked trees and the constant rustling sounds negated any relief she was brought, however. She didn’t see the two mares escorting her as viable protection if a confrontation did occur; Fluttershy was, for lack of a nicer term, a coward, and the worst she imagined Pinkie could do was laugh at the opposing creature and damage its self-esteem. If anything, she would need to protect them.
Not that it mattered anyway. The fabled shack was now in view. Much like Twilight’s library, it appeared to be built within a tree, but this tree grew without any cohesive structure, looking to only be able to support a one-story abode within its trunk. A tribal mask hung above the entrance, and the erratic branches were decorated by hanging lanterns and pouches. Its windows were misaligned, and its larger roots protruded from the ground. It looked exactly as menacing as the forest around it.
“There it is,” Fluttershy announced. “This is where Zecora lives.”
“Given the lack of other landmarks,” Chrysalis retorted, “that was a rather keen observation.”
“Oh, be nice, Chryssy!” Pinkie scolded. “Isn’t it enough that we’ll be nice and cozy indoors in a few seconds?”
“We are still in the Everfree Forest,” Chrysalis answered. “Even if Zecora is welcoming, the setting itself is not.”
“I don’t like it here either,” Fluttershy admitted. “The darkness... the trees... the noises... I’m always terrified to come in here alone, even if it’s to visit Zecora.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Pinkie asked, bouncing up to the front door and knocking on it. “Because she’s waiting for us!”
“You told her about me!?” Chrysalis cried.
“Well, duh!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“I can think of a few reasons...” Fluttershy muttered.
Chrysalis prepared to give Pinkie a serious verbal thrashing for her utter lack of forethought, but before she had the chance to speak, the door opened. On the other side was a pony with a gray, striped coat, a mane styled in a mohawk, and a number of rings worn around her neck and foreleg. Clearly, Chrysalis thought, this must be Zecora herself.
“How lovely to see you, Pinkie Pie!” Zecora greeted, then turned to the pegasus. “And to see you as well, dear Fluttershy!”
“Hello, Zecora,” Fluttershy returned. “I’m pretty sure Pinkie Pie already told you this, so I’m sorry if it sounds redundant, but we wanted you to meet—”
“The changeling queen?” Zecora interrupted, gazing at Chrysalis. “Yes, I have seen.”
Chrysalis was having a hard time reading the zebra’s expression. Her face was a picture perfect image of stoicism. It was at once alarming due to its lack of happiness or acceptance, and comforting due to its lack of hatred or malice. It seemed that this was Chrysalis’ first meeting with a completely clean slate. There was no sense in squandering this opportunity for a completely fresh start.
“Greetings, Zecora,” Chrysalis stated, holding out a hoof in front of the witch doctor. “I am Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the changelings. If it pleases you, you may simply call me Chrysalis and do away with the formality.”
Zecora lifted her own hoof to shake the queen’s. “I feel the title suits you ill. I’ve heard of all the changelings killed. Your friend Pinkie Pie has informed me of some of your recent tragedy.”
“I cannot imagine why,” Chrysalis replied, shooting a glare at the pink pony beside her, “but at the very least, it saves me the time it would take to explain.”
For a while, Zecora simply regarded Chrysalis in silence, seemingly examining her. Had she been clothed, Chrysalis would have likened it to undressing her with her eyes. And in a way, she figured the zebra may have been doing just that.
“May I ask what you’re doing?” she inquired once she felt the situation had gotten adequately awkward. No response came, however, so she simply stood there and left Zecora to her activity.
Eventually, Zecora finished looking her over. “Please come inside, Miss Chrysalis,” she offered. “I sense that nothing is amiss.” With that, she turned and walked into her home, her guests following suit.
Chrysalis leaned in towards Fluttershy. “Does she always speak in rhyme?” she whispered.
“Yes,” Fluttershy replied. “You get used to it.”
Chrysalis took the time to examine the interior of Zecora’s home. Beyond the shelves of herbs and potions, the hanging masks on the walls, and the cauldron at the center of the room, there seemed to be little in the way of conventional furnishing. All she could see was the bed in the adjacent room. Zecora enjoyed a simple life, it seemed, mostly living off the land and brewing her concoctions in solitude.
“Please, Chrysalis,” Zecora requested, “if you would, have a seat. I feel it would be nice to formally meet.”
Chrysalis seated herself on the floor, beside one of the many shelves in the back of the room. Pinkie and Fluttershy moved to join her, taking their places on either side of her.
“So...” Chrysalis began. “When did Pinkie Pie approach you about this meeting?”
“Yesterday morning!” Pinkie answered. “I talked to her in the marketplace when she came by for her ingredient run. This was all before you met the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”
“I did not ask you,” Chrysalis groaned. “Though I assume she is unaware of the events between then and now.”
“All I know of you was told to me by her,” Zecora explained, “so I know not of the events to which you refer.”
Chrysalis breathed a sigh of relief. The incident in the hospital would not play into Zecora’s opinion of her, at least not as the media reported it. This first impression was more or less untarnished.
“Excellent,” she declared. “Then discussion can commence.”
“Then with a simple inquiry I would like to begin,” Zecora replied, “about the Canterlot invasion, your original sin.”
Chrysalis sighed again, this time in exasperation. “Pinkie Pie did not tell you everything, then. Very well. From the top...”
For the next hour or so, Zecora sat in complete silence, listening to Chrysalis as she told her tale of woe, with Pinkie and Fluttershy interjecting every so often to tell their own parts. All she’d been told prior was that the changeling queen was in Equestria, staying at Ponyville’s library and hoping to make peace after the royal wedding and the mass deaths of her subjects. Chrysalis herself seemed to be keeping her composure remarkably well, considering the content of her story. She was clearly very used to telling it, almost to the point where it sounded rehearsed.
Zecora would be inclined to believe that, too, if Chrysalis’ eyes were not telling the same story. Reptilian eyes for a pseudo-insectoid form, and yet there was as much emotion in them as in any pony’s eyes. Combined with the testimonies of the mares beside her, there was little to make her doubt the truth in their words.
Finally, it sounded like Chrysalis was wrapping up her story. “...and I have resided in the library ever since, as I believe you know.” She sighed. “I have stayed within its walls, for the most part, for fear of making enemies amongst a populace I have no further quarrel with.”
Zecora nodded. “I know the persecution rather well, from my first days visiting Ponyville. The ponies acted like I spelled their doom... with the sole exception of—”
“Apple Bloom,” Chrysalis finished. “She told me a similar story when I met her. It must have been a dreadful experience.”
“Over time,” Zecora explained, “I learned to simply dismiss it. Of course, with it gone, I cannot say I miss it.”
“You still should not have had to deal with such intolerance,” Chrysalis countered. “It baffles me that you would still show your face in public with pure intentions when the townsfolk harbored such negative feelings for you.”
“I would come seeking ingredients for my brews,” Zecora replied, “and there seldom were other locations to choose.”
"Your brews?” Chrysalis asked. “These potions and elixirs are truly worth the sacrifice of your good image?”
“My natural remedies can do quite a lot,” Zecora told her. “They can wake the unconscious, and they can ease the trots. In my life, there is nothing more that I need than to see ponies’ smiles when the cures succeed.
“Besides...” she continued, exchanging glances with the two other mares. “If I went elsewhere or worked under cover of shade, I would never have confronted the friends I have made.”
Chrysalis saw Pinkie beam radiantly and Fluttershy blush meekly at the compliment Zecora gave them. It was almost inspiring, hearing how much these ponies had touched her life despite how much they once feared her. In a way, it reminded her of the way Chrysalis herself had met them, having to win their sympathy before they would give her the slightest chance. It eventually worked on them all, some sooner than others, and she was thankful every moment for it.
Zecora’s situation was not the same, however. She had only faced the prejudiced judgment of ponies who had no prior exposure to her whatsoever. There was nothing in her actions that could create any sort of hatred for her. Chrysalis, however, had let her starving changelings loose on an entire city in the middle of a royal wedding, an unprovoked invasion that a less forgiving ruler would have declared an act of war. She’d made an impression that Canterlot was still trying to clean up, and her recent spat with the doctor ensured that they still remembered it vividly.
She sighed. Her method worked fine one-on-one. Once Twilight returned to Ponyville, she would find a way to make it work with a crowd.
Wait a moment. What did she just say about her brews?
“You said ‘wake the unconscious,’” Chrysalis stated. “Exactly how unconscious would the pony, or whatever other creature, have to be for it not to work?”
Fluttershy gasped. “Chrysalis, are you suggesting that we could use one of Zecora’s potions to—”
“To rouse Chicane from his coma,” Chrysalis finished. “Can it be done?”
Zecora went silent for a moment, looking contemplative. Chrysalis supposed she had never been approached about comatose ponies before, not that many would have approached her at all in earlier years.
“It would take extra effort,” Zecora finally said, “but it can be done indeed. If you’d be so kind as to help, there are some things I will need.”
A smile spread instantly across Chrysalis’ face. “Nothing would please me more.”
“We can help too!” Pinkie shouted, breaking her impressively lengthy silence. “It’ll be like a potion party! It is a potion we’re making, right?”
“Yes, a potion will be the final result,” Zecora confirmed, smiling warmly. “First, I will require some smelling salts...”
In what felt like no time at all, the four had managed to concoct their elixir. It was a muddy blue solution, unlike anything most of them had ever seen. It bubbled slightly, still rather warm to the touch as it was extracted from Zecora’s cauldron, and it smelled strongly and strangely like citrus. Pinkie moved to taste-test it, but Zecora backed her away, telling her that it was meant as an inhalant rather than a beverage. Pinkie’s grimace and exclamation of “Yuck!” when she snuck the taste test anyway was enough to confirm that suspicion.
“How long does it take for this stuff to work?” Fluttershy inquired, gathering some of the brew in a small flask.
“He’ll be feeling fine in three hours’ time,” Zecora assured her.
Chrysalis’ smile widened to a degree that would make the pink earth pony proud. Her beloved subject would be returned to the waking world before day’s end. And when Chicane finally awoke, he would be so elated to know that his queen survived as well!
She was so pleased with this development, in fact, that when Twilight and Spike burst through the door to Zecora’s home, she completely failed to register the urgent distress on their faces.
“We need to get you back to town,” Spike declared.
“I’m so glad I caught you before you left,” Twilight added, “because I have no idea what would’ve happened to you if you tried walking back to the library. The only safe way back is to teleport.”
“What’s happening?” Fluttershy asked frightfully. “Is everypony okay?”
“They’re fine for now,” Twilight responded. “I just don’t know how long they’ll stay calm before—”
“Then it’s not urgent,” Chrysalis dismissed. “The important thing, Spike, is that you are here to send a quick package to Celestia.”
“Twilight just said it’s not safe to walk back to town!” Spike shouted. “How is that not urgent!?”
“It’s simple,” Chrysalis answered. “It is occurring away from here, it does not directly involve any of us at the moment, and it does not involve Chicane at the moment. In addition, nopony has been harmed by it.”
“What kind of reasoning is that!?” Twilight demanded.
“It doesn’t matter. I am in far too good a mood to allow you to ruin it, and I will not leave this hut until your assistant takes a letter and sends this flask.”
“Why can’t this wait until we—”
“Just do it,” Chrysalis ordered. “Getting this to Chicane and Cadance is all I care about.”
Twilight sputtered a string of incoherent, apparently unconnected words, having become very visibly exasperated. Chrysalis felt somewhat bad for riling her up, especially considering the mare’s recent attempts to rein in her more extreme emotions, but if it got her closer to reviving the unconscious changeling, it would be worth it.
Eventually, Twilight ran out of steam and groaned in defeat. “Spike, I don’t think we’re going to change her mind. Just take her letter.”
Dear Princess Celestia,
The potion I am sending to you is to be given to Cadance immediately. I have also enclosed its list of instructions and effects, which she must also receive posthaste. If Zecora is correct, it will return Chicane to full consciousness, hopefully lightening her burden by a significant degree and allowing me to speak with him once more.
I understand if you are skeptical of this potion’s effectiveness. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy have faith in the witch doctor’s abilities, however, which is all I need to have faith as well.
Your friend and ally,
Queen Chrysalis
Chrysalis watched with a great deal of satisfaction as the elixir was engulfed by the dragon’s emerald flames, the smoke trailing out through a window to deliver its cargo to Celestia in Canterlot. She knew the transfer from princess to princess would go just as smoothly.
“Now then,” she stated, her good mood completely incorruptible. “What brings you two here?”
Twilight’s response came after a few deep breaths. It was brief, but it was all it took to bring Chrysalis’ joy crashing down in an instant.
“It’s Ponyville. They’re starting a riot.”