//------------------------------// // Through the eyes of truth // Story: Psycho // by Bishibosh the Shaman //------------------------------// Chapter 37 The two hulking ponies sat at the door leading up to the surface. One kept his gaze through a small hole, Octavia just then took notice of both their matching masks. They must have been twins, but to look so rugged. The other pony stepped away from the door and approached. A deep churning in her stomach made her nauseous as his mutilated body became more and more clear. His one eye squinted as he stared directly towards her. "Octavia Melody." His deep growling voice echoed. "My kin has told me of you." Octavia raised an eyebrow at his statement. His kin? I know I am famous, but if his kin look anything like these two I am sure I would have remembered. "You look confused. Am I really so different from my children?" He asked. "Chrys..." The other twin stated. "You still look like me..." "Huh? OH!" Even through the mask, Octavia could see the embarrassment. "After spending so much time in one form, you get used to the feeling of somepony else's flesh." "Wha-" Octavia began when the hulking pony surrounded himself in green fire. The fire dispersed into smoke, and darkness of the room made it difficult to see the new being. As the smoke cleared, her form became more and more clear. Her long, slender legs. That thin aqua hair. The jagged horn. "Chrysalis!" Octavia shouted in anger. "Haven't you caused enough trouble? Now you need to attack here too!?" "Ha! Please..." the queen scoffed. "As much as I would love to feed off these ponies love, I am here on other business." "Other business? Then what's going on? Fire from the sky, monsters, loud explosions?" Octavia began until the other pony responded. "You're under attack by a greedy jackass. Probably because this planet is rich with Eridium. "Eridium? Wha-" Octavia began. "No time to explain I'm afraid." Chrysalis cut in, shifting her gaze to the crystal pony in the back of the room. "You, the one who has won my child's heart." This phrase rang in Crystal's mind, as if echoing off the walls of her soul. "I... What?" Chrysalis could feel the pony's fear, thought not of her. What she said next had to be carefully laid out, even if she did not care for ponies. The pain would be great. "A BUG! A BUZZING BIZZING BUGGY BEE! YOUR BELOVED IS A - GHAK!" Krieg was interrupted by the Queen's magic snapping his mouth shut, her glare was matched only by his own mad, gagging laughter. "You'll have to excuse him... He's an idiot..." Chrysalis sighed, then quickly resumed her explanation when she felt the cold taste of depression across her emotional glands. Crystal collapsed into the ground, causing Octavia to rush to her side. Her sobbing noises filled the room, causing concern for the three other occupants. Her hair fell from it's solid form and drained it's ruby red color away to a dirty brick shade. Chrysalis began to feel sorry for her, remembering a time when she had such heart break. "Be calm child..." The queen began. "We changelings are not your enemy, and I sense my little Carapace holds deep feelings for you as well." "I DON'T CARE HOW HE FEELS!" Crystal screamed through her sobs the continued crying. "He... He... He looks like him... WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BROTHER!?" Sudden realization filled the Queen's mind, Carapace was wearing the form of a handsome stallion when they were reunited. Damn that fool child! And damn that Hyperion scum bag! "Crystal is it..." The Queen lay next to the sobbing pony, cuddling up close. Her skin felt soft, despite being crystal. Chrysalis hated the feeling but loved it at the same time. At that moment her horn began to glow. A burning ring appeared before them. In the ring was a vision of snow, and a lone guard pony laying in the snow. Red puddles flecked behind him across the snow. Then approaching came the little black body. Chrysalis felt rage boil in her heart as she read her child's memory. An image of the Hyperion agent from afar came into view. The queen watched him lower his strange weapon and grin. The vision returned to Carapace, who now took the form of the dead guard pony. Crystal's brother. "Damn you Jack..." Chrysalis groaned. "Crystal, what has been done is unforgivable. But-" "I... I don't want to hear it..." Crystal continued to sulk. Chrysalis tried to continue but the other two ponies stepped between her and Crystal. "They are safe, but not for long..." Krieg began, cocking his jaw from her magical spell. "I can hear those machines above. We should clear them out so these two can escape." The queen sat in silence for a moment then stood, turning away from the two mares. "Yes, let us deal with the monsters outside... And Crystal... Should my Carapace return, tell him... Tell him his mother misses him." The hulking earth pony and Changeling Queen departed the two mares company into the ruined city. Hours went by for Octavia and Crystal, and finally they decided to venture out. I am going to need a long hot bath once this is over... Octavia thought. Vinyl... Come back to me alive... Gaige gazed down at her quarry, the patrol bots stomping through the streets pulling a single caged wagon. One filled with ponies. The thought of the ponies being enslaved by Jack enraged the little girls heart. She stood and turned to find the dj pony still crouched down into Death Traps chassis. Gaige felt a tint of joy as she knew it was almost done. The city burned still, even after the shield was brought up. Smoke rose towards the sky from the destroyed buildings and gathered in the barriered sky. Carapace felt worried that the smoke would suffocate everypony in the city before they could actually launch a counter attack. Counter attack, like it was so easy. The changeling prince saw Hyperion's worst in Caine and knew these ponies were no match for that kind of cruelty. A snap set his mind alarm as he jumped into a ruined store. Two pegasi approached, setting Carapace's heart at peace for a moment. One of them was one of the six that defeated his race during the Canterlot invasion. The blue one with the multi-colored hair, the other pegasus was light gray with a red mane. A red bandanna wrapped around his head and goggles over his eyes. Strapped to his back was the same sort of weapon Caine had used. Carapace stayed in hiding. He felt a sinking feeling as they passed, his keen eyes catching a feint beam of some kind of magic leaving from the distance. He followed it with his eyes towards the two ponies. If he had iris's they would be wide. Mordecai and Rainbow continued on their path to the castle, on alert for any kind of attack. The duo walked in silence, the rumbling of nearby bots and distant gunfire being the only escape from silence. Mordecai was used to the quiet, it reminded him of the many nights he spent with Bloodwing watching bandit camps and targets. Those memories made life easier. Made everything easier, even forgetting. Rainbow however was bored out of her mind. The silence was maddening, even with the constant threat of death looming over her. She was ready to get up in the air and kick flank, but Mordecai's insistence on staying silent kept her in check. Even still, she had a gut feeling something. She felt as though someone was watching them. The perfect shot, the end of an age long hunt. The agent thought as he lay in the ruins of a clock tower. His scope resting on the bright red bandanna. He licked his lips. "I got your bird, and now I will get you too..."