The Mixer Chronicles

by Mixer

Rmembrance

When Twilight and the others had arrived it was already over. The changelings had been pulled into the ground by mysterious magic and Mixer was entombed in a large crystal with Chrysalis.
“Fluttershy, what happened?” she asked.
“Chrysalis just appeared out of nowhere then she was gloating over him and threatening me and then,” she stopped and started to cry. “I’ve never seen him like that.” she said.
Mixer did all this?” Applejack asked.
Fluttershy nodded.
“How, is that possible? I’ve never even heard of magic like this.” Twilight said.
Celestia and Luna landed by them followed by Sombra.
“Twilight what happened here?” Celestia asked.
“I’m not sure I even know myself.” Twilight said.
“Let me take a look at it.” Sombra said.
He studied the Crystal that Mixer and Chrysalis were trapped in. “Hmm, interesting.” he said.
“What is it.” Luna asked.
“It seems like this is a hybrid between regular crystal and shadow crystal, as well as some kind of magical barrier around the whole thing.” he said.
“What do you mean hybrid.” Twilight said.
“I mean that it was not created normally; when crystal is formed it is either regular crystal, the purest state of crystal, or shadow crystal, crystal tainted by the anger and hate of the creator.” Sombra explained, “This kind of crystal doesn’t have the qualities of either kind, it is cloudy but clear.”
“In english?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“It means that I’m not sure I can even change it, one type of crystal is resistant to the other’s manipulating force, canceling any magic attempted on it. The barrier is also fascinating, it appears to be holding power in, rather than keeping magic out.” he said.
“So what, we can’t get Mixer out?” Twilight asked.
“I’m not sure anything could affect this thing, magical or otherwise.” he said.
“So, he’s gone?” Fluttershy asked.
“I’m sorry, there’s nothing that we can do.” he replied.
“He gave his own life to protect you,” Celestia said to Fluttershy, “You, and the rest of Equestria. We will honor his sacrifice to save us all from Chrysalis.”
“What would you have us do sister?” Luna asked.
“Can we move him?” Celestia asked Sombra.
“We should be able to, yes.” he replied.
“Then we will move him to the Canterlot gardens, and make a monument to his sacrifice.” she said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celestia had the guards move the crystal to the gardens and called a ceremony.
“Citizens of Equestria, today we gather here to honor the sacrifice of the brave stallion Mixer. He sacrificed himself to protect the rest of us from the changeling queen Chrysalis. It is sad I know, but let us celebrate his memory and his actions happily and know that it is because of him that we are all safe now.” she said on her speech.
The princesses and the mane six went to the gardens after that to have a moment of silence for Mixer.
“Oh, how sad.” Discord said appearing next to them.
Discord, what are you doing here?” Celestia asked Discord.
“Why celebrating Mixer of course.” he said.
“Why would you celebrate Mixer?” Rainbow Dash demanded.
“If it weren't for him I would still be a statue.” he said.
“Calm down Rainbow Dash, he’s right. Without Mixer everything would have been different. All the way back to when he first showed up he’s been affecting all our lives.” Twilight said.
“Yes, without him I would not be here today.” Sombra said.
“And would not have had so much success in business.” Rarity said.
“And I would not have such a well supplied guard.” Celestia said.
“It, just goes to show how much one pony can do.” Twilight said.
“All this happiness is starting to rub off on me.” Disaord said, wiping a tear from his eye.
“Let us never forget his greatness.” Celestia said.
“For Mixer!” Sombra said.
“For Mixer!” the others cheered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was not like before, not the same nothingness. This time it felt as if I was in a ethereal realm while my body was inside the crystal, and I could tell I was not the only inhabitant of this realm. I could feel Chrysalis’s presence and I was sure she could feel mine.
We stayed apart for what seemed like days, although in this place time was not a factor. One second here could be an eternity in Equestria, or the opposite could be true, I could be here for centuries and only bo gone from Equestria for a few moments.
I wandered around this strange realm observing my surroundings. The whole realm seemed like it was hanging in a sea of stars, celestial formations were on every side and the invisible plane on which I walked seemed to go on forever. In time I began to grow weary of isolation so I looked for Chrysalis in the ether of this strange realm. I found her wandering, just as I was, in a seemingly endless void.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“Company.” I said walking next to her.
“And why would you seek company with your worst enemy?” she asked.
“Because, I would rather be in your company then wander this void endlessly by myself.” I said.
“I know just what you mean.” she said.
“It is odd to be talking with you like this.” I said.
“How so?” she asked.
“We never had any time to talk, no time to learn about each other.” I replied.
“Why would we, you hate me and I don't care for you much either.” she said.
“Sometimes when faced with the end, enemies find that they are not so different.” I said.
“How could we be more different?” she asked.
“Think about it. You are the queen of the changelings, you want to ensure the safety and survival of your people. I am just some unicorn, but I want to protect my friends.” I said.
“So you’re saying that concern is what connects us?” she asked.
“Yes. Imagine if the roles were switched around, you are just a citizen of equestria, but through your action you could stop all those you care about from getting hurt, but at cost to yourself. Your alternative is to do nothing and watch as a force of invaders takes away everything you care about.” I said.
“I would protect those that I cared about.” she said.
“But what if you were told that the invaders needed to invade to survive, that if you defeated them they would perish?” I asked.
“I would still protect those that I cared about.” she said.
“And now you know how I feel.” I said.
“So we are just two sides of the same coin.” so said.
“It appears so.” I said.
“How do you do that?” she asked.
“What?” I asked.
“Make your enemies allies. You made Discord help you, and you made Sombra good. I would think that you were just a myth if I did not see it for myself.” she said.
“I try to find the things that make them my enemies and get rid of those.” I said.
“So how do would you make me your ally?” she asked.
“Simple, I would remove your need to feed on ponies love.” I said.
“And how would you do that?” she asked.
“Again, you ask me easy questions, make a spell that allows you to absorb ambient love, that way you don't have to have a parasitic connection with a host.” I said.
“So would have us be bound to Equestria?” she asked.
“No. I would have you be grateful to Equestria for having given you the ability to live independent of a host.” I said.
“And who ever said that changelings would be grateful for that?” she said.
“I take it that means you won’t try to be good and live in peace with ponies.” I said.
“Who knows, maybe we will both be driven to madness before we are released from this place.” she said.
“Would you do it if it were the only way out?” I asked.
“Would you throw away your old life if it were the only way to get out of here?” she asked.
“It would not be the first time i had to leave my old life behind.” I said.
“It sounds like there is a story behind that.” she said.
“One you will never hear, one I hope that no pony ever has to hear.” I said.
“So the shining hero has a dark past.” Chrysalis said.
“Not dark, empty.” I said.
“Oh?” she said.
“It won’t work, I won't tell you.” I said.
“Aww, you’re no fun.” she said.
“How long do you think we have been walking?” I asked.
“Who can even say if we are even moving.” she said.
“I think it is time for us to part ways again.” I said.
“Aww, and we were just getting along.” she said sarcastically.
I stopped walking and she moved on into the void. Our minds separate but still connected. T
his carried on in cycles until I thought I would go mad.
Then one cycle I asked Chrysalis a question.
“If I released you would you promise to act like a pony?” i asked.
“The stars look so beautiful tonight don’t they?” she asked whimsically.
“Chrysalis, snap out of it.” I said.
“I think this dimension is getting to me.” Chrysalis said.
“Will you promise to act like a pony if I let you go?” I asked again.
“What is freedom?” she asked.
“A chance to be in Equestria again.” I said.
“Yes, I need to get out of this place. It is driving me mad.” she said.
I concentrated on my body, willing my magic to unravel itself. I could feel the fabric of the realm begin to waver and shift around us until I could feel the flesh and bone around me once again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celestia and Luna hurried toward the thunderous peal that had come from the gardens and found that the crystal that Mixer had trapped Chrysalis and himself in was breaking. Each new crack brought with it another deafening sound as the crystal slowly broke. The guards and Sombra were the next to arrive at the scene and were ready for anything. After a few minutes the crystal had cracks running all over its face. Then light shines through every crack and crevice and the crystal simply collapsed in on itself, revealing the sprawling forms of Mixer and Chrysalis.
“Guards seize her and throw her in the dungeon.” I head Celestia say. I opened my eyes and say the blurry image of Celestia standing over me.
“Mixer, you can't let them do this to me.” I heard Chrysalis cry.
“Ugh.” was all that I could manage.
“Mixer are you ok?” Luna asked walking over.
I rolled onto my back and mumbled, “Chrysalis.”
“She is being taken to the Dungeon.” Sombra said.
“No,” I started saying, “Promises.”

I woke in a bed chamber.
“Oh good,you’re awake, the princesses will want to see you.” a maid said.
“Ok.” I said as I got up.
I was still a little groggy but I walked to the throne room where Celestia was doing the daily tasks of a princess. “You wanted to see me?” I said.
“Yes, we want to know what happened to you.” Celestia said giving me her full attention.
“How long was I gone?” I asked.
“It has been about a month since you and Chrysalis were imprisoned in that crystal.” she said.
“Only a month, it felt like centuries.” I said.
“Centuries?” she asked.
“While I was inside the crystal my mind was in another realm, a place without time. Chrysalis and I were there together in the void, talking then separating, the talking again. We almost went insane in there by ourselves.” I said.
“It sounds like you were in the Astral Plane.” Luna said entering the room.
“Yes, the Astral Plane is a place where there is no concept of space or time, a place separate from the material realm.” she said.
“If you don’t mind me asking, where is Chrysalis?” I asked.
“She is in a cell in the dungeon.” Celestia said.
“I want to see her.” I said.
“Why?” both of them asked in unison.
“I have some unfinished business with her.” I said.
“What kind of business?” Luna asked.
“The kind that I need to talk to her one on one.” I replied.
“No, I will not risk you being alone with her.” Celestia said.
“With all do respect princess, you don’t have a choice.” I said.
“What?” Celestia said.
“You have no idea what went between us.” I said.
Luna gave her sister a concerned look, “He’s right, we don’t have any idea what happened in there.”
“That’s exactly why I won’t allow it, we don’t know if she got to him.” Celestia responded.
“I can assure you, I have no intentions of releasing her, I simply need to talk with her.” I said.
“Follow me.” she said after a minute of consideration.

We went down into a part of the castle I was not familiar with. It was dimmer her and the air was stale.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“The dungeon, we haven’t used it in centuries. Before peace settled over Equestria there were criminals that were thrown in here to serve out a sentence.” Celestia said.
“Then the crime simply dried up, and we stopped coming down here.” Luna said.
“But we are using it for Chrysalis now.” Celestia said.
“This place, it sucks all the hope out of you.” I said.
“Here we are.” Celestia said walking up to a heavy wooden door with two guards. “You have two minutes with her.” Celestia said.
“Ok.” I said.
One of the guards unlocked the door and let me in. The door shut behind me with a thud, followed by the turning of the locks. Chrysalis was asleep on the opposite wall.
“Chrysalis wake up.” I said.
“Mixer, is that you?” she asked groggily.
“Yes it’s me.” I said.
“You’ve got to help me,” she said falling on me, “I’m going to starve to death in this place.”
had a wild look in her eye and her voice was heavy with desperation.
“Celestia will never just let you leave, I might not even be able to convince her to.” I said.
“You’ve got to do something, I don’t want to die.” she said.
I have an idea to help you, but I can’t promise that you will be set free.” I said.
She flopped down on the ground, “Thank you.” she said as she went back to sleep.
“I’m done.” I said through the door.
“Stand back.” the guard said.
The door swung inward and I walked out into the hall.
Celestia, could you gather some things for me?” I asked.
What are you planning?” she asked.
“I want to get some equipment set up so that I can run experiments.” I said.
“What kind of experiments?” Luna asked.
“I want to study changelings.” I said.
“You what?!” they asked.
“I want to use Chrysalis as a test subject.” I replied.
They looked at each other, and finally came to a conclusion, “Very well, we will get you the equipment you want.” Celestia said.
“Fantastic.” I said.

I set up my lab in an empty room down the hall and immediately began taking samples from Chrysalis. I found the very thing I feared had happened, Chrysalis’s atrophy was affecting me as well. I started experimenting with distilling love’s essence into a potion to halt her deterioration. After many failures I finally perfected the process, but it was draining to me to be the source for the emotion. I went down the hall and asked the guards to let me in. They let me pass and I found that Chrysalis was in bad shape.
“Here drink this.” I said crouching next to her.
She took the potion and sipped from the bottle.
“Ah,” she gave a sigh of relief, “I can already feel my strength returning.”
I told you that I had a plan, and besides, even you don’t deserve to starve to death.” I said.
“Thank you.” she said downing more of the potion.
I left when she finished it and went back to my lab. I continued giving daily doses to Chrysalis for the next week. The last day of the week Celestia dropped in while I was making the potion.
“What are you brewing?” she asked.
“Nothing.” I said.
“The guards tell me that you have been in to see Chrysalis more frequently, why?” she asked.
“I needed data for my research.” I said.
“And what are you brewing a potion for?” she asked.
“Research.” I said.
“I know you have been giving her potions Mixer, don’t try to hide it.” she said, “Now tell me, what are the potions?”
“They are a supplement, to ensure that Chrysalis does not starve.” I said.
“So you are making a love potion?” she asked.
“It’s not quite that simple.” I said.
“Why are you helping her?” Celestia demanded.
“Because, even she doesn’t deserve to starve to death in a dark dank dungeon, I thought that you might understand that, but I guess I was wrong.” I said.
Celestia stared dumbfounded at me.
“And what’s more, I can't believe that you, of all ponies, would give such a harsh punishment to someone who had lost their people.” I said.
“What would you have me do?” she said in a despondent tone, “I can’t just let her roam free in Equestria, she is a changeling. But you are also right, it is not right to let her starve in the dungeon.”
“Leave her to me.” I said.
“No, you can’t handle this. Look at yourself, you look ragged from making the potions.” she said.
“What else is there for me? I made you all think I was gone for good, then I return trying to help Chrysalis. Why would anypony trust me after that?” I asked.
“Your friends. Sombra was so worried about you when you first got out of the crystal, Luna had to make him sleep so he did not exhaust himself. Twilight had been researching a way to break the crystal for weeks. Even Discord was sad when you were trapped.” she said.
“I didn't just try to help Chrysalis, I made a deal with her. When we were trapped I found knew that I could break the crystal at any time, but I wanted to keep Chrysalis imprisoned as well. When we were on the verge of madness I made a deal with her that if I released us she would renounce being a changeling and act like a pony.” I said.
“I know that you keep the promises you make, but this seems too hard, even for you.” she said.
“Thus my self isolation, so that no one will know if I fail.” I said.
“I cannot promise that I will release Chrysalis, but I will consider it. In the meantime, Twilight and her friends are on their way to see you.” she said.
“What?” I said.
“That is the reason I came down here in the first place, to tell you that your friends are coming to see you.” she said.
“How soon will they be here?” I asked frantically.
“This afternoon.” she said.
“I need to see Chrysalis.” I said, and pushed my way past the princess.
The guard opened the door for me and I rushed inside Chrysalis’s cell.
“Mixer, what is it?” she asked.
“Here, take this,” I said handing her a potion.
“But you already gave me one today” she said.
“I won’t be able to give you any more of these. I have to stop my work.” I said.
“What?” she asked.
“I told Celestia about our deal and she said she would consider it, I can do no more from here, you have to convince her yourself.” I said. I heard the locks turning behind me, “You are the only one with the power to save yourself now.” I said in a rush before turning to intercept the door.
“And what did you have to do in there?” Celestia asked.
“Give Chrysalis a potion for tomorrow.” I replied.
Alright, now go and clean yourself up, you don’t want to look like a mess when Twilight and her friends get here, do you.” she said.
I straightened out my mane and got some of the dirt out of my coat and prepared to face my friends.

“Mixer!” Twilight said excitedly.
“We were so worried that wwe would never see you again.” Applejack said.
“You are too good to me.” I said, tears forming in my eyes.
“Why are you crying?” Rarity asked.
“You saved the day, you’re a hero.” Rainbow Dash said.
“But I left you all behind,” I began through the tears, “I left all of you without so much as a word.”
“Yes, but it doesn’t matter now you’re back.” Twilight said.
“But I let I come to that..” I said in almost a whisper.
“It’s not your fault, no one could have known that Chrysalis was going to have a two part attack.” Applejack said.
“How’s Fluttershy?” I asked in a weak voice.
There was a pause, “How bad was it?” I asked.
“She was pretty broken up about it for a few days.” Rainbow Dash said.
I hung my head, “So I let her down.” I said almost inaudible.
“No, you didn't let anypony down.” Fluttershy said.
I looked up to see her walk in. “I understand that you did what you did to protect me and all of Equestria, and I don’t blame you for it at all.” she said to me.
broke down crying, “I couldn’t ask for better friends.” I said.
“Neither could we.” Sombra said, walking in with Luna.
“You’ve saved Equestria twice now, we could not thank you enough for your help.” Celestia said.
“I was just protecting my friends.” I said, regaining my composure.
“And for that we all thank you.” Celestia said, “and to thank you or your service I hereby release you from any previous duties you have in service to me, to spend time in Ponyville with your friends.”
“Thank you.” I said.
“Thank you Mixer.” Luna said.
“For everything you’ve done.” Sombra added.
“And I hope that you continue to do so in the future.” Celestia finished.
"Now lets go home.” Twilight said.
“That sound nice.” I said.

“So what ever happened to Chrysalis?” Rainbow Dash asked as we walked towards the train.
“Celestia took care of her.” I said.
“What was it like in there?” Pinkie asked.
“It was wonderful and terrible all at the same time. I was separated from my body and roamed the Astral Plane. It is beautiful, there are stars all around and it goes on forever, ever changing patterns of light. But it was also terrible, it is a desolate place, devoid of anything that you could call life.” I said.They were all listening intently to my story. “There is no sense of time in the Astral Plane so even though I was only gone for a month, it felt like I was trapped in there for centuries.” I said.
“How could you just wander around for hundreds of years?” Rarity asked.
“I talked with Chrysalis.” I replied.
“About what?” Twilight asked.
“Sometimes we argued, sometimes we asked each other a series of hypothetical questions, sometimes we would just walk in silence, but we would always part ways again.” I said.
“That seems like it would drive me crazy.” Applejack said.
“It almost did.” I said, “That’s why I released us.”
I continued to tell them about the Astral Plane until we arrived at Ponyville. I said my goodbyes and goodnights to everypony then went home to get some sleep before returning to the life of a normal pony.