To Boldly Go

by Avenging-Hobbits

Act I - 07 - I Want to Break Free

The heat was the most unbearable thing about this world.

Nothing else, not the backbreaking labor that went from sunup to sundown on a world with 29 hour days, the starvation rations, or the fact that the guards did unspeakable things to her and her crew on a daily basis. No, it was the heat that got to Chrysalis the most. The ruthless, unending heat from the desert planet’s three suns. It only reminded Chrysalis of all that she had lost: The gentle autumn breeze, the seemingly endless fields of grass that stretched for miles on the surface of her beloved home Changelus, where her and her Heis’he, Chimera, would walk for hours.

But that was all gone now. Vanished in a plume of fire, smoke and dust. And who had taken it from her? That imirrhlhhse Saddle Arabian, Twilight Sparkle. It was her who had destroyed her homeworld, her lover, her children, and then flung Chrysalis halfway across the galaxy and time itself. Thrown her to a time when there was no Khitomare Accords, no peace. Instead, it was the Tr’ethla, the time when the Changeling Empire was more xenophobic and paranoid then even the Diamond Dogs.

But even all of that, all of the pain and anger that filled her soul, couldn’t have prepared Chrysalis to almost immediately captured by the Griffins. For the past twenty years, she and her crew had been shipped and solid like slaves from one ancestors-forsaken rock after the other. First, it had been the frozen outer-rim world of Rura Penthe, where the sun only barely lit the seemingly endless twilight. Then, they had been dragged to this dead and forsaken world, a burning, unstable rock in a decaying orbit that would most assuredly eventually end in one of the system’s suns near the Neutral Zone.

And if that weren’t enough, above she could aspy the beautiful, organic shape of her beloved vessel, seemingly trapped in some kind of orbit around the planet. It was so close. Her salvation. Her method of revenge, just floating, as if held aloft by an invisible thread.

I shall reclaim you, Chrysalis thought bitterly, stifling a groan as she dragged her tired, work-trodden body over to the poor excuse for a bed that lay against the far wall. I shall reclaim you, and then, we shall set forth and reap our revenge.

With that bitter thought, she rolled over, hoping to at least try to get some rest before the inevitable call to labor in an hour or so. She set her jaw and fixed her eyes to the hopeful path to escape, a simple, hand-carved series of plans on her wall.

The plan is near completion, she thought, refreshing her memory as she studied the carvings. And tonight, I shall implement it.

Four excruciatingly long hours later, the final sun sank beneath the horizon, throwing the penal colony into a five hour night where temperatures would drop into negative temperatures in seconds. As the frost began to form and the shadows slithered across the walls, smothering the room in darkness, Chrysalis reached under her pillow, pulling out what looked like a random piece of metal, apparently having been twisted and bent to vaguely resemble a key. Without a word, she reached it up to the small, tight clamp that was fastened around her horn. Ignoring the frigid cold that was now clawing at her exposed fingers, she began to methodically pick at the lock. For what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only a few moments, she worked the lock, until her ears were caressed by the wondrous sound of it coming loose. With a clink, the lock came loose and tumbled off her head. She shot her hand out, grabbing it mere inches before it hit the floor.

She let out a quiet sigh of relief, the seemingly constant pressure at the base of her horn finally being relieved as her magic began to flow properly into the horn. This was the cue for Chrysalis to act. She quickly slipped the now-useless clamp under her pillow, before closing her eyes tightly, focusing all her energy into the image her mind conjured up. A brief flicker of flame lit up the cell, clearing away to reveal a small black rat. The rat sniffed the air briefly, before scampering through the narrow bars.

It quickly ran along the filthy hallway, coming to a stop at the clear glass doorway. Behind it lounged a large griffin, who seemed more interested watching whatever it was playing on his personal video screen then on the security camera footage. The rat sniffed the air, before climbing up along the wall’s rock and dirty surface, squeezing its head through the small opening between the glass and the ceiling. It’s body followed soon after, and the rat allowed itself to drop to the floor without any more then a muffled squeak.

The griffin’s ears briefly perked up, causing the rat to freeze in place. There was a long stretch of silence before the griffin returned to watching the video. The rat, having been holding it’s breath the whole time, slowly crept into the corner, before, in another flash of green, transformed into a doppelganger of the prison guard. The doppelganger carefully stalked towards it’s mirror, reaching it’s talons around the guard’s neck before sharply grabbing him by the throat and violently dragging him out of his chair.

The griffin was completely taken by surprise, and he began to struggle madly, flapping his wings, desperately trying to get the doppelganger to let go. The doppelganger however, clung on tightly, dragging the guard to his feet with all it’s might. Occasionally, the doppelganger’s form would shift, revealing Chrysalis, her forehead practically soaked with sweat from the effort it took to keep the powerful griffin in her clutches.

“I’ve had enough of you.” she hissed, flickering back into her griffin form, and, with a grisly twist, ripping through the guard’s throat. The guard let out a gasp before going limp, a torrent of blood spilling from his throat. Chrysalis, content that she had effectively dispatched of him, lowered his body to the ground, her breath coming out in heavy pants.

She slid into the now unoccupied chair, her breathing slowing slightly as she steadily regained her energy.

Alright. You’re in the control room now. she thought, carefully studying the dozens of security monitors that lined the wall in front of her. In several dozen of the cells, she could see her fellow changelings, all imprisoned. It was time to implement the next stage of the plan. She closed her eyes, carefully concentrating her magic to reach out to her fellow changelings.

My most loyal crew. I, Chrysalis, have found a way to secure your freedom. Simply wait for my signal, and then follow my directions, and soon, we shall be free.

A chorus of mental agreements and cheers from her people filled her mind, and with a confident smile, she eased the chair forward. She looked down at the control panel, carefully studying the complex series of buttons, lights and levers. She was glad that, as a changeling, the learning of a completely foreign language usually only required a touch, and as such, she was able to easily find the right lever.

She flicked it forwards, and a loud klaxon could be heard exploding to life. As if on cue, dozens of cell doors, all over the compound, flew open, causing the various prisoners inside to look around with varying degrees of shock and surprise. It didn’t take long, however, for all the prisoners, changelings or not, to burst forth, running amok in a wild mess, attacking guards who were obviously not prepared for such an unexpected break out.

The changelings in the group wasted no time grabbing the keys that were hanging from the various guards, quickly using them to unlock their horn-clamps. Tossing them asides, they followed Chrysalis’ mental order and quickly transformed into mirror images of the guards they were combating, quickly dispatching them.

Chrysalis leaned back in her chair with confidence. Now for the third step of her plan. With her magic now freed, she closed her eyes, mentally reaching out, searching carefully for the aura of her ship. As a changeling queen, she possessed a metal connection with her vessel. It was something she’d been planning on since the first time she saw her ship again. With the horn clamp on of course, she’d been unable to access her magic, and therefore, unable to reach out to her ship. But now she was freed from any restrictions, and was ready to break free.

She could sense the foreign bodies of dozens upon dozens of griffins, all milling about aboard her ship. She let out a frustrated grunt. There were far, far too many for her to dispatch of herself, even with her mental connection to the ship. For one thing, she had no way to access the weaponry, since it was a long established safety protocol that a changeling, regardless of rank, was only able to access the weaponry once physically aboard the ship.

Okay then...change of plan. she thought, her horn glowing to allow herself to teleport to the area directly outside the transporter area. The reason she couldn’t transport directly into the transporter area was due to the walls being lined with duophlebotinum, which made transporting impossible.

The sparks of teleportation faded away, and she found herself outside. The two griffin guards seemed to be most surprised by her sudden appearance, and she wasted no time dispatching them with a blast of magic. Their perforated bodies slouched to the floor, leaving reddish streaks on the walls. She quickly rushed over, grabbing one of the guards for a second and taking on his form. She slapped the new body’s talon onto the scanner, allowing the doors to open.

By this point, the klaxon from her cellblock was quite noticeable, and she could hear the sounds of dozens of guards running and shouting. She slipped into the transporter bay, only to halt when a voice called toward her.

“What’s going on? What are you doing here?” Chrysalis turned to see a rather bookish looking female griffin, surprisingly not wearing a mask, giving her a quizzical look from her position behind the transporter controls. “You’re prison security, you don’t belong in the transporter bay.”

Chrysalis’ eyes widened slightly, and she swallowed. “I was sent to guard this area, in case any prisoners attempt an escape.” she quickly replied. The other griffin merely gave her an incredulous look, her feathers visibly bristling.

“Now look here yo--” Whatever the griffin was about to say was cut off by Chrysalis whipping out her new body’s blaster and blasting the other griffin directly in the chest, sending her slamming into the wall with a bloody splurt.

“Apologies, but I really must be moving.” Chrysalis muttered, stepping behind the control console and dialing in the location of her ship. She tentatively ran her tongue over her body’s beak, watching as the large machine whirred to life. She quickly bound over towards the quickly forming beam of light, feeling the distinctive tingle of the transporter causing her particles to briefly disperse.

With a bluish glow, she found herself standing in a dark and musty corner of the cavernous space craft. She let out an involuntary sigh of relief, reverting back to her changeling form. The sound of footsteps caused her halt, ducking into shadow as a pair of masked griffin guards walked by.

No way I can make it through here in my normal form. she thought bitterly, letting out a mild grumble as she transformed into a small rat for the second time in as many hours, furious to have been reduced to scurrying out her own ship in the form of a pest. Don’t worry...you won’t suffer this indignity for long, she thought, scampering through the air ducts, the interior of her ship having long since been committed to memory, like any self respecting ship commander. You shall soon reach the control room, and once there, free yourself and your people from bondage. Just a few hundred meters and you’ll have your freedom.

It seemed that the interior of the air ducts, normally a place rather inhospital and cold, had fallen into disuse, if the scads of cobwebs and dust bunnies was any indication. Every so often, another creature, usually a rat or some sort of space flea, would skitter by. Chrysalis ignored them though, scampering down the pipes and ducts. Every so often, she would peer through the slatted cover of one of the vents in order to deduce her location.

Below, usually milling about in a lackadaisical manner, were the burly forms of griffin troops, who usually just seemed bored with their current tasks. Chrysalis let out a growl, her determination hardening. Her ship was a noble one, a vessel of might and power, not a place were ignorant, backwards beak-faces milled about, leaving garbage and junk in their wake. She skittered down the airduct, finally reaching her destination. Directly below her position in the air vent, was the captains chair.

Chrysalis felt a wave of nostalgia run through her at the site of her dearly beloved chair. It was a place where she was respected, a place where she held power and was in control. She supposed it was probably for the best that it was covered with a tarp, as at least that meant none of the filthy griffins were contaminating it with their mere presence. However, there were still guards in the room, as their bodies would briefly past underneath the air vent, apparently just wandering around the room.

Chrysalis leaned back to sit on her rat body’s haunches, glancing towards the sharp tips of the primitive-yet-practical screws that held the panel in place. A paw moved to scratch her chin, as she planned her next course of action. A part of her wondered if the prison break she’d started below was still in full swing. She’d hoped that the prison break would cause the security forces to dispatch every available security force to the prison, hopefully leaving the ship unguarded. It was plainly evident however, that the griffins weren’t as stupid as they looked, as the ship was still obviously fully guarded.

No matter. I have the advantage here. Once I make interface with the ship, I can just transport them elsewhere. she reassured herself, moving to start gently unscrewing the screws holding the panel in place. It was now that she wished she could simply blast the panel off with magic, but her rat body, the only form small enough to fit in the duct while still being able to do anything. At least her paws could grip the screw, and with several forceful terms, she managed to get it loose. She quickly loosened the second screw, knowing that once the panel was loose, it was fly open, and she would most likely plummet a good twenty feet straight down.

The final screw fell loose, falling to the ground with a quiet metallic plink. However, the panel stayed in place. Chrysalis let out a grunt of frustration. Panel must be rusted shut. She thought, angrily slamming a paw into the panel. There was a creek of metal, and the panel visibly loosened. A grin broke out across Chrysalis’ face, and she returned to pounding on the panel.

Come on now, loosen up you foolish-- her thought was cut off by the panel giving away unexpectedly, sending her sprawling forwards as her footing was lost. She let out a sharp squeak, grabbing onto the end of the panel and hanging on for dear life. She looked down, her eyes wide. This was probably going to be the absolute most disgraceful way to die she’d ever seen. Trapped in the body of a rat, and falling down to the ground like a lead weight.

Her paws grip, despite her best efforts, slipped loose and she plummeted straight to to--the smooth, plastic-like tarp that lay over her captains chair. She let out a grunt of pain, rolling onto her back, staring at the ceiling in shock.

I lived.

Not wasting any time, Chrysalis rolled back onto her feet, her eyes darting about. Apparently, either the guards here were all deaf, stupid or bored. It seemed to be the final option, as she spotted one of the guards idly sitting in one of the crew chairs, twiddling his talons, occasionally muttering something to the guard next to him. Chrysalis didn’t have the time to mentally translate what he said, as she instead focused on burrowing under the heavy plastic tarp and to her chair.

With a flickering of green, she morphed back into her natural form, tearing off the tarp as the chair recognizing her biological signature and whirred to life. The griffin guards, which had obviously grown apathetic in their time watching over a life less hulk of a ship, turned in shock, but it was too late.

For them.

Chrysalis had already scanned the ship for any life forms that weren’t of Changeling origin, and with the flick of a switch, promptly beamed them into the vacuum outside her window. She could see their bodies struggling violently against the vacuum of space outside, and she only let out a dismissive snort.

“Serves you right.” she spat, unconsciously rubbing her wrists, which had noticeable scarring due to being consistently worn raw by the cuffs. Refocusing her attention back to the control panels on her chair, she scanned the barren world below for changeling lifeforms, quickly beaming them aboard.

In a series of bright white glows, her crew appeared, in various states of combat or confusion. Ajax, the tallest of them and her most loyal servant, looked towards her with wide eyes.

“Your majesty.” he said reverently, bowing down. Chrysalis merely beckoned him to stand.

“No time for formalities, Ajax. The Griffins will be quick to report this to their homeworld. Man the GR-21 and make sure that doesn’t happen. We must cover our tracks. Leave no trace.”

Ajax saluted smartly, spinning on his heels to repeat the order. “Battle Stations, everyling.”

The various changelings all nodded, darting off to their positions like clockwork, leaving a few behind, who took their places at the ship’s controls. Chrysalis felt the ship groan to life, the monstrous moan of metal gears slowly turning ebbing from directly beneath her chair.

A cold, confident grin spread across her face as the beam of energy shot out from below her ship, heading straight to the planet below. Almost as soon as the beam impacted the surface, massive fissures and cracks began to appear, spreading throughout the planet like a spider-web, glowing bright red with an otherworldly energy. Eruptions of magma started exploding from beneath the crust as the planet below began to actively tear itself inside out.

Chrysalis steepled her fingers, mentally signaling to the ship’s pilot to start the engines. The pilot nodded, and the ship lurched forwards as it pulled away from the rapidly-disintegrating planet.

She let out a content sigh at the sight of the rapidly disintegrating planet, and she glanced towards the helm.

Go. She commanded the helm, and the Bellerophon jumped to warp with a lurch.

As the stars streaked past the main viewscreen, Chrysalis let out a long, tired sigh. A slow, ebbing ache started to spread through her body as she readjusted to her normal height. Having to compress the mass a near eight foot frame into the body of a six inch rat had taken an extreme amount of effort, and her body was now paying the consequences. She was low on energy, and needed to rest, but that didn’t matter right now.

She, and her people, were free.