//------------------------------// // Journey to Recovery // Story: Chrysalis: The Journey Of A Queen // by Foalfree Press //------------------------------// A vast red sea of sand stretched out before the two. Heat waves rolled off the surface, as a hot blast of wind blew across the sand, creating small sand vortexes. The sun above burned with a fierce heat, as it baked the desert below. And there, in the very center of this burning void, were two changelings. "Are we almost to the training grounds yet?" The smaller one asked. "Its so hot, Garnet!" "Shut up, Chrysalis!" The older one snapped angrily. "Its at the edge of the Hayseed Swamps. Now keep walking." Garnet stopped suddenly, turning to the young princess. "Well, actually," Garnet said with a malicious smile on his face, "Why keep walking, when we can rest here?" Chrysalis felt a cold ball of fear form in the pit of her stomach. Before she could think another thought, she was shot in the face with a ball of emerald magic. Chrysalis was thrown back, smacking into the scorched ground. Her head was throbbing madly, but she forced herself back up. She jumped out of the way right as another ball of magic was thrown at her. Her muscles burned as she dodged left and right, and she knew she could not do this forever. Her attempts to dodge the attack was cut short as a solid beam of magic as shot at her chest. She fell, heaving with pain as she looked at Garnet, who was now above Chrysalis. "Goodnight, little princess." He sneered, a demonic glare in his eyes. The last thing Chrysalis saw was a raised hoof come down upon her, before her vision went black. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Burning. Burning was all she could feel. Chrysalis groggily opened her eyes, only to close them again when the bright sunlight shone directly in her face. There was a pounding in her head as she tried to determine her location. It was hot, no doubt. What was she doing here? Her vision faded as she, once again, passed out. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Is she alive?! I-I don't know. Oh, she has to be, Tia! Wake her up! Luna, hush. I shall try. The gentle sound of voices rang in Chrysalis' ears. She felt a gentle prod in her side, prompting her to open her eyes. She slowly opened her eyes, but she realized that he sun was no longer in her eyes. It was sunset, and there appeared to be a form standing over her. Chrysalis slowly opened her eyes fully, revealing that there were two creatures, not one. Her eyes shot open as she realized that were not changelings. There was a large white creature with feathered wings and a straight horn. It had a pink mane, flowing in an invisible wind. The smaller one was of similar build, but had an azure mane and a navy blue coat. A fierceness burned in the younger one's eyes, while the older one's were wise, and brimming with concern. "Wh-where am I?" Crysalis managed to choke out. "Who are you? Where am I? What are you? Why am I here?" "Woah there," The blue one spoke,"What doth thou mean, what are we? We should be asking you the same question." "We can discuss this later," The white one interrupted. "You are hurt. Thou can not stay out in the badlands at night. Tis' not safe! We were just making our way to the Hayseed Swamps for the night. You shall come with us, where we shall do much explaining. Come." Chrysalis was too tired to protest. She could not remember anything from earlier, and still did not know where she was, so it was probably better to go with these beings for now. Chrysalis was enveloped in a soft golden light before being lifted from the ground. It felt good to get off the hot, hard surface. The feel of the magic was comforting, like she was being wrapped in warm rays of the sun. Wrapped in this comfort, she soon fell asleep. _________________________________________________________________________________________ It was dark when Chrysalis awoke. She was in a cave of some sorts, and was resting on a soft bed of lichen and moss. There was the flicker of shadows across the walls, while the lively flames of a camp fire burned in the center of the cave. "So, thou es awake. How doth thee fare?" It was the blue one speaking. Chrysalis just looked at her. "Let us start with introductions! My name is Celestia." The larger one announced. She turned to the smaller one. Taking this as her cue, she announced herself to be Luna. Apparently, the two were sisters, both traveling the land. They were currently on their way home to their dwelling in some place called the "Everfree Forest". "So, what es thou's name?" Luna asked. "M-my name?" Chrysalis stammered. Luna rolled her eyes. "My name is Chrysalis." Luna's annoyance turned to bemusement. "Chrysalis? Thou certainly hath a strange name. Where art thou from? It does not look like thou es from around here. Chrysalis was started by this. Where had she come from? She couldn't remember a thing. "I-I don't know where I came from. I can't remember a thing before you finding me." Chrysalis hung her head in shame. "Oh, no." Celestia said, concern in her voice. "It must have been because of that bump on thou's head. Tis' going to leave a nasty bruise, and may have made you temporarily forget thy memories. Surely they will come back, with due time. Until then, you are welcome to stay with us, right Luna?" Luna looked at Chrysalis, then at Celestia. She gave a small nod of approval. "Now," Luna said, "We have never seen a creature such as thou. What art thou?" Luna asked inquisitively. Chrysalis did not know what she was, but she could remember one word. Changeling. It seemed like a good name to her. "I'm a Changeling," she began. She was going to say more, but realized that she knew nothing about what a 'Changeling' was. It was simply what she was. "Changeling? How peculiar," Said Celestia. "But, if it is what you are, we shall not judge. Now, it is time that you know what we are. We art allicorns, the only of our kind." "The only ones?" Chrysalis asked in surprise. Am I the only one of my kind? She did not know. Celestia interrupted her train of thought. "Okay, it is time that we rest. We have a lot of walking to do tomorrow, and we need our strength. Goodnight, eveypony." _________________________________________________________________________________________ Chrysalis tossed and turned in her bed. Her mind was full of thoughts, keeping her awake. Who was she? Where was she from? Why was she in the desert? She could remember nothing. She looked to the strange bag she was previously carrying. She realized that she didn't know what was in her bag, she picked it up with her hooves. A jolt went through Chrysalis as she touched it. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Her vision came into view in a strange place. There were large black structures, each looking jagged and beautiful in their own way. Everything was fuzzy, but she could make out small, black figures. They seem to be...scared. An assult of sound hit her ear drums as she heard the buzzing. It grew ever louder, and the figures began to move. There was a scream, a flash of green, and darkness.