I open my eyes, only to discover myself in an unfamiliar setting. Am I dreaming?
I take a moment to regain consciousness. What just happened? I ask myself as I cast my mind backwards through my memories. In my addled mind, the only thing I can remember are my friends... and Shiny, and the Princess... crying... and then her... and then, green fire, all around...
This isn't a dream. It's a memory. But... when did this happen?
Everything hurts... my head especially. It feels almost as if I had woken up from a long sleep. I strain to lift a hoof to my temples... but my movements are strange and sluggish, almost as if I were moving through water, or gelatin, or perhaps a non-Neightonian fluid...
I take a breath, and my lungs fill up with something that definitely isn't air.
Oh Celestia, I'm drowning.
My consciousness kicks into full throttle as dozens of reflexes all start up at once. My hooves kick, trying futilely to propel me towards the surface. My eyes fly open, treating me to a green-tinted view of the world. My horn lights up... and produces nothing, which only serves to deepen my initial panic.
It's then that I realize... I'm not drowning.
My higher-functioning brain decides to throw in its two bits as my panic gives way to scientific inquiry. Whatever this fluid is, it's keeping me alive. Could it have placed me into some sort of bizarre cellular stasis? Perhaps there is concentrated oxygen permeating the fluid - I remember reading some scientific experiments about that. And then there's magic, of course...
All of that just reminds me of the bigger question.
Where did this memory come from? And why am I remembering it now?
"Where in Tartarus am I?" I ask aloud, despite myself.
"Ah. So you're awake."
That voice... It couldn't be...
That voice... who could it be? I turn about as best as I can in the fluid, trying to discover the source of the sound - ignoring for the moment the question of acoustic dynamics through mysterious magical liquids. I push a hoof outward, only to feel a tough, yet pliable surface beneath it. It's like a... cocoon...
More like a Chrysalis.
"Who's there?" I ask again. "Can you help me?"
"There is no one here to help you, Twilight Sparkle." I hear the rapid fluttering of wings, and am met with a strange creature. She sneers at me from the other side of my... pupa?
That's oh-for-two. Past me isn't all that bright.
But I am nothing if not an inquisitive pony. "Who are you? And where am I?"
The creature hovered closer to me, looking in on me with relish. "I am Chrysalis..."
There we go.
"...the changeling queen. And you... you're exactly where I want you to be."
I let my analytical brain kick itself into gear to process this new information. This creature is Princess Celestia's size, and looks to be a cross between a pony and a beetle, exoskeleton and all. Her wings are diaphanous, and look as if they would simply remain visible, even when not in use... her horn is nothing like a unicorn's, all gnarled and twisted up like that... Her limbs are covered in holes... possibly for weight reduction? Mane and tail... vestigial. Her eyes are the thing I can call the most vaguely equine on close inspection - though even those are green and slitted, focusing on me as if to stare right through me.
I remember the old stories, about great fey creatures that would steal the shapes of ponies, just to trick their loved ones into-
Suddenly, it clicks into place. My face twists into an angry grimace. "You... what did you do to Cadance?"
I... I don't remember any of this. What is going on here?
...Wasn't I just in the library? And then, there was the buzzing... and Chrysalis's...
I have to know what's happening. Perhaps I should just... let this play out.
It all makes sense now. The pony I thought to be Cadance, all of this time... her mannerisms, ever-so-slightly off, her memories of me gone... she was nothing like I remembered her, because she wasn't the old foalsitter I grew up with... the one I loved-
I yelp as a new sensation creeps into me - a sinking feeling, just above my stomach. It feels as if a little piece of me has been ripped away and carried off. "What just happened?" I ask.
The creature named Chrysalis chuckles, paying no mind to my sudden outburst. "So. This 'Cadance' of yours..."
Without warning, Chrysalis wraps herself in emerald fire. I don't have time to blink before the green burst of flame vanishes. But Chrysalis seems to have vanished along with it - leaving something else behind. I gasp audibly, unwilling to believe it, even after seeing it for myself.
Chrysalis's black carapace has given way to soft, equine flesh, covered with pink fur. Her fluttering insectoid wings are now sweeping, feathered appendages, tipped a familiar purple. Her mane is no longer turquoise and hanging freely; it's a tri-colored yellow, pink, and purple, and it's done up in a meticulously crafted style for the wedding.
I look with shock at the perfect facsimile of Princess Cadance.
The changeling laughs in Cadance's voice and she taps her hooves against the walls of my prison. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake, right?" Her voice breaks into a shrill cackle.
I have never felt such rage as what I'm feeling now. I kick as hard as I can against the walls, trying to force them to break. My horn flashes again and again as I try to produce enough energy for a spark, but nothing occurs. "Let me go! I'm going to-"
My movement ceases as that sinking feeling returns, stronger than before. I clutch at my heart instinctively.
Cadance - no, Chrysalis - coos with delight. "Such a delicate flavor."
"You're... eating me?" I ask, trying my hardest to hold back the waves of nausea and panic.
Cadance's face twists into an expression of disgust - I flinch for a moment at the very sight of it. "Ugh, no. We're changelings, not barbarians... And I-" With a burst of green fire, she has returned to her original form, and is snapping her jaws at me as I struggle to keep away. "-I care not for the taste of pony flesh."
It takes a few moments for my heart to stop trying to burst from my chest. I struggle to keep my eyes on her as she buzzes around my chrysalis with her translucent wings. "Then... what did you..."
She rolls her eyes and answers as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Love." She licks her lips. "Your love for your precious foalsitter. Affection, friendship, perhaps a touch of charity... complex, aged well..."
I retch at the very thought, and press my ears flat against my head. "Stop," I protest. "Just... what are you after?"
Chrysalis quiets, raising an eyebrow. "Hm. Your brother said you were quick on the uptake. Perhaps he was wrong."
My mouth opens in shocked offense. Insult my intelligence, will you? We'll see about that.
What could she have been planning? To supplant a member of royalty, get close to my brother... wait. The threat against Canterlot! Shining's shield was meant to protect against the changeling invasion! But if Chrysalis was already on the inside... "You're weakening my brother," I finally answer, "because you want Canterlot."
Chrysalis grins. "There's the brilliance that foal of a stallion's always going on about." Chrysalis takes Cadance's form again. "I'm so proud of you," she coos, her voice sickeningly sweet.
I clutch at my chest again, trying my best to think about anypony or anything other than Cadance. "D-don't do that..."
"What?" she asks innocently. "You mean... this?" With another burst of green fire, I'm face to face with Shining Armor. I know it's not him - for Celestia's sake, he can't fly - but I'm transfixed all the same. "Aww," he says, "are you okay, Twiley?"
I shudder. How... how would she know about...
"I hate to see you in pain..." Shining closes the distance between us, placing a hoof against the outer walls of my chrysalis. "I love you, little sister... best friend forever..." I reach a hoof out to his...
I feel my love for my brother being drained from my body. It feels as if she's taking the very life from me, and I can't even lift a hoof to stop her. "Please... don't... Shiny..."
Chrysalis is back, savoring my love like wine. "The love of a brother... the first friend you ever made. Hmm."
My heart sinks into the pit of my stomach - and something splashes back up as a fleeting determination rises in me. "You won't get away with this," I snap. "My friends will..." I clap a hoof to my mouth, already knowing what Chrysalis will do. I try my best to think of something... anything other than my friends. But it's to no avail.
A hungry grimace stretches across her maw as she attacks me again. Her parasitic magic strikes at my heart six times over, and I double over as if in physical pain.
"Amazing." Chrysalis hums her approval. "True friendship. It's really a delicacy, nowadays, especially in Canterlot. Most friendships there are mere facades, or relationships of convenience. The love there is hardly worth the trouble it takes to absorb." She grins, almost gratefully. "It's been a while since I've had the... pleasure... of a good friend."
Something about the way she smiles at that point makes me want to empty the contents of my stomach. I hold it in as best as I can.
"Such complex creatures, ponies are. They're so full of love, of many kinds... perfect for feeding my swarm. Oh, the feasts we will have..."
"Please..." I stammer out. "S... stop..."
The pain in my heart vanishes. I straighten up, looking around for Chrysalis. She hasn't gone anywhere - instead, she's taken to pondering me, a hoof scratching at the back of her head. "Perhaps... I shall."
I'm dumbfounded for a moment. Without thinking, I open my mouth to voice my gratitude, but she cuts me off with a hungry grin.
"Best not to gorge myself, after all. I have Cadance's figure to maintain." With another harsh laugh, she flies away, out of sight.
I watch myself for a moment, completely stymied by what I've just witnessed. Apparently I met Chrysalis, and she revealed her entire plan to me. Not for the first time, I'm wracked with curiosity. Why did I forget all of this?
A few minutes pass in silence.
The cynic in me can't help but chuckle. Turns out I was right, after all. Now all I have to do is get out of here and rub it in everypony's faces. Politely, of course, always politely.
But this isn't the time for contemplation. It's time to act.
I tap into my magical reserves once again. As before, my aura dissolves harmlessly into the green fluid surrounding me.
But... it's still there, isn't it? It's only-
But it's only dispersed, not gone. I open my Stream just a little wider, and am satisfied to feel my magic begin to surround me, dissolved and inert. I keep the pressure on, and within minutes the chrysalis itself is glowing a bright magenta, filled to the brim with a homebrewed magical cocktail.
Based on observation alone, I've put out enough mana to overcome the fluid's magical capacitance. I'm literally floating around in a supersaturated solution of my own magical energy - and I've still got magic to spare.
So I open the floodgates.
Everypony knows what happens when you add extra solute to a supersaturated solution, right?
My magic explodes outward from me, sending green slime and bits of broken chrysalis all about the area. It's a little excessive, but there's nothing wrong with a little overkill now and again.
I glance about, finally able to properly take in my surroundings. I know instantly that I'm in a cave somewhere underground... somewhere relatively close to Canterlot, from what I could subsequently guess. I can see the exit of the cave ahead, so I make a break for it.
I'm not quite sure how much time passes as I barrel down each corridor-
Shoot, I wasn't keeping track.
-but I realize that it's running short. The wedding could be happening any minute now... Chrysalis will win, and nopony will be the wiser. I start teleporting, propelling myself forward at speeds that would make Rainbow Dash proud; it isn't long before I quite literally see the light at the end of the tunnel. With a fresh burst of speed, I run and run until I taste fresh air.
A familiar face greets me outside. Her back is turned, but I'd recognize her from anywhere.
No. No, no, no.
My face splits into a grin as
No no no no no
I dash over to see her. "Applejack!" I yell. "Thank Celestia it's you."
She turns... and bares her fangs.
please no no not this not
My hooves scrabble for purchase against the stone floor as I back away from the changeling. But as I back away, I end up running right into the hooves of... Rainbow Dash?
why is this happening this can't be
The fake Rainbow picks me up by the shoulders, restraining my movements. All around, I can see Fluttershy, and Pinkie, and Rarity... the changelings surround me, wearing my friends' faces but looking more like hungry beasts as they close in...
Everything fades to black, and for the first time I'm actually thankful that I'm watching this from the outside.
Of course I'd want to forget something like that. I'm just... glad that everything worked out in the end. Now, if I can just...
"...wake up."
What... what now?
I groan and try to place a hoof against my forehead. "What... what now?" I moan. My voice sounds strange, almost as if...
I inhale a lungful of green, viscous fluid and curse my luck.
"My, my... what do I do with you?" Chrysalis is shaking her head and clucking her tongue, peering at me through the translucent green walls of my cage. "You're obviously more powerful than I gave you credit for."
"Powerful enough to stop you..." I spit, as I charge up my magic again. If I could bust out once...
Chrysalis pauses for a moment. "No, not by a long shot," she decides, waving me off with a hoof. "I've been planning this day for a long time, Twilight Sparkle. Just because one unicorn figured out my scheme doesn't mean-"
I scoff, giving her a look of disdain. "You don't know who I am, do you?" It's my turn to be smug, you self-righteous pretender. "I'm not just any unicorn, I'm the protégé of Princess Celestia herself, and-"
"Bearer of the Element of Magic, one of the legendary Elements of Harmony, et cetera, et cetera." Chrysalis dismisses me again, not even deeming me worthy of her gaze.
Her reaction takes the wind out of my sails almost immediately. "Wha-"
Chrysalis looks at me, bemused. "I may have underestimated you... but I at least knew who you were. It's only fair that I get the same in return. I'm not a stupid mare by any stretch of the imagination."
"Well, you weren't smart enough to leave Canterlot alone, were you?" I offer in riposte. "My friends will notice I'm gone, and they'll come for me... and when they find me..."
"Oh, they won't." Chrysalis smiles, and I can see the vestiges of mania in her eyes. Her horn begins to glow, and I hear something. Not a voice...
...it's... noise, plain and simple. It's static. It's feedback. It's the ringing sensation you get after a particularly loud sound fades to silence.
Why do I know that so well?
The sound of buzzing wings comes to my ears next, and soon, a smaller creature appears. It's Chrysalis in miniature, with standard pony proportions, a twisted horn, diaphanous wings like a beetle's, and large, opaque blue eyes.
A drone.
Ha! This is the grand plot of the great changeling queen? More shapeshifting? I can't stop the laughter. "You’re making a copy of me? Come on! My friends might be a little short-sighted -" I swallow the bitterness rising up in my throat. "- but they're not stupid. They'll know she's a fake!"
Chrysalis sighs. "I already told you not to underestimate me." The changeling begins to flutter away, but Chrysalis buzzes again and the changeling returns to attention. "Allow me to explain." She lifts a hoof and taps it against my new prison. "Recently, the esteemed Princess Mi Amore Cadenza has been taking up refuge in the Star Swirl the Bearded wing of the Canterlot Archives for hours at a time."
All things considered, there are plenty of other things to worry about here.
But entering restricted sections without approval? Breaking library policy?
You're hoofing the line there, Chrysalis. Those rules are there for a reason.
"She never told anypony exactly what she was hoping to find... but find it she did."
Curiosity gets the better of me. "What were you looking for?"
"An old transformation spell... powerful enough to overcome any kind of detection." Chrysalis's eyes shine with legitimate wonder for a brief moment. "It's even older than I am, and that's saying something."
"Really?" I deadpan, "I wouldn't have put you past a century or two."
Chrysalis smirks. "Flattery will get you everywhere." The changeling flies away absently again, but Chrysalis puts it back in place with the magic in her horn.
I scratch at my ear. "But you're already inside the barrier. Shining Armor trusts you. Why would you need a stronger spell?"
"Oh, you misunderstand," Chrysalis counters. "It's not for me." When I offer no reply, she sighs. "Perhaps a demonstration is in order."
Chrysalis fires a beam of searing green fire, and her drone explodes into gooey black shrapnel. I flinch in surprise-
So do I. Something about this feels... wrong.
-as the pieces of exoskeleton and entrails don't drop to the floor, but are suspended in midair, held up by Chrysalis's telekinesis.
Scratch that. Everything feels wrong.
"Unfortunately, I don't quite have the power for this spell," Chrysalis says overdramatically. She flings a hoof over her forehead before suddenly turning her gaze to me. "For that, I'll need a volunteer."
I can see the predatory look in her eyes as she builds up crackling green energy in her horn, and I already know what she's trying to do.
"Now, if you'll be so kind..." A beam of emerald shoots from Chrysalis's horn towards me. I already know that it's not going to hurt me - no, it'll do much worse than that.
I let loose a torrent of magical energy, enough to overload the fluid's disruptive properties and put up a barrier. But a magic shield against a spell designed to drain magic is like a sandcastle at high tide. Threads of magenta trail from the outer edges of my shield into her horn, only serving to widen the power gap between us.
But I'm not going down that easy. If I can keep my shield up, just a little longer, I might be able to fight my way out of this chrysalis and regroup. I have to win. Too many ponies are counting on me.
"Impressive," Chrysalis comments.
My eyes are screwed shut, sweat dripping, teeth grinding themselves to dust. I have to hold on. For my friends, my brother, and Cadance and Luna and-
"It's as I expected... from my faithful student."
...How dare she.
How dare she?
...Celestia?
My eyes open, and I am greeted with the smiling visage of my beloved mentor, shining as brilliant as the sun.
Celestia. Princess Celestia.
The wind is knocked out of me as I clutch at my heart, unable to stop Chrysalis as she forcibly rips out a piece of my soul.
My shield shatters into dust without my will to strengthen it. Within moments, Chrysalis's spell hits me with full force, tearing my magic power from me. I'm not sure which hurts more, the pain in my chest or in my horn... but combined, it's too much. I stare weakly up at the changeling queen wearing my mentor's face.
Celestia gasps with genuine surprise. "Oh... oh, my... so much..." Her tail twitches involuntarily, swishing through the air in a very... profane way. "Pure, unadulterated devotion... and... oh, your magic..." Her eyes roll into the back of her head as she lets out short, sweet breaths.
Oh, sun and moon, I can't watch this. This is...
I can't help but watch, transfixed with equal parts disgust, hatred, and fascination as Celestia's perfect serenity gives way to something more... base. "It's so good... so..." Her passionate moaning resonates through the cave as she shudders in ecstacy and goes limp, tumbling down out of the sky for a brief second.
Chrysalis... I will end you.
I want to tear her limb from limb. Turn her to dust. Turn her dust into dust, recursion be damned. But I'm reduced to spurting out platitudes instead. "Monster... How dare you defile the Princess like that..." I say weakly. "You won't get away with this..."
My words seem to rouse Chrysalis from her pleasure-induced stupor. Still wearing Celestia's face, she leers at me with hungry eyes as a grimace stretches from ear to ear. I press back against the far wall of my cocoon, trying to put as much distance as possible between myself and the horror.
A shrill cackle erupts from her open mouth, destroying any resemblance the faux-Celestia shared with the genuine article without having to abandon her disguise. "The best part is yet to come, Twilight!" she cries out. Chrysalis's horn shimmers with green and magenta - my magenta - as she restores herself to her original form.
I don't have time to react before she blasts me with another spell. I flinch, bracing for the impact... but it doesn't come, at least, not in the way I expected. I feel an aura of magic surround me, tracing every curve of my body, and I can't help but shudder at the almost oily sensation.
The floating changeling entrails suddenly move of their own volition, wrapped in the same aura that encircles my body. The pieces liquefy and meld together, forming a vaguely pony-shaped mass of biological material.
I watch as two spires of ivory bone of form at the hind end. They divide and divide again - I see the femur, tibia, fibula, and tarsal bones. They take form and set, only to be immediately swallowed up by flesh, skin and keratin. The fully formed legs sprout fur dyed a very familiar shade of purple... and I can't help but gape as a very distinct cutie mark decorates the flanks.
The sight is all at once fascinating and disturbing. Chrysalis copied me... somehow... but why can't I remember-
Bones, muscle, flesh continue to build up, bit by bit, up the spine and out, forming a torso. A pair of forelegs. A neck.
Upon the fully-formed neck, a lower jaw bone. Upon that, the pieces of a skull.
Within the skull, a brai
Wh-where'd the picture go? That can't be it. Why did it stop like that?
I concentrate, trying to will my memories back into place. I have to know what happened next.
...even if I regret it.
I wake up on the floor, shaking off waves of fatigue. My entire body aches. I take in a breath... only to realize I'm not in the chrysalis anymore.
Where am I? Where is Chrysalis?
"Ah. Success." Her voice is coming from above me, where she looks to be... appraising me. Sizing me up.
I appraise her the same way. Chrysalis's drain spell had taken most of my magic, but I've had time to recover, just a little bit. I have enough magic power for one good shot.
One is all I'll need. I light my horn, grinning at the familiar magenta glow.
Chrysalis begins to laugh. Why would she be laughing? "I don't know what you did, Chrysalis," I snap, "but I'm not going to let you get away with it!"
All I need to do lead my target a little bit. Aim for where she's going and hope for the best. She's still hovering next to the chrysalis where I was imprisoned-
No.
It's not possible.
no no no no nononono
There is something in there. Something lavender, the size of a pony. It's slamming its hooves against the inner walls and screaming its lungs out. Screaming with my voice.
My knees get weak. "Oh... Celestia... I'm the..."
A buzzing, like the sound of bees. I immediately lift my head to the noise, standing at attention. Chrysalis is gliding towards me, her horn buzzing with strange magic.
Her lips do not move, but I can feel the force of her will.
You will sleep. You will forget.
"Sleep... forget..." Of course. I must always follow the will of my queen. I will forget everything. I will...
-it stop it stop it this can't be I can't be the-
...
"Hello? Is anyone there?" I set my horn alight, trying to make sense of my strange new surroundings. I'm greeted with the sight of my own face, reflected in magenta light.
A harsh, sharp laugh resonates throughout the entire room.
"Where am I?"
Cadance's face reflects itself in the crystalline walls. "The caves beneath Canterlot, once home to greedy unicorns who wanted to claim the gems that could be found inside. And now, your prison."
Why, Cadance? Why would you do this? I begin a frantic search for the exit. "Help! Help!"
But all I hear is the buzz of her laughter, echoing against the walls...
The memories end there of their own accord. I shudder as I feel myself returning to consciousness, but I keep my eyes closed tight.
Because when I open them, I know I'll be waking up to a lie.