Becoming Whole

by Chivalry

Chapter 10: Paint it Black (Unedited)

The stranger gave Chrysalis no time to think on his words as she was shoved through the door. Mindful of the blade against her throat, Chrysalis allowed the stranger to spin her around before shoving her into a chair.

"Lock the door and place the seal," the stranger said to something in the darkness as he strapped her down with deft hooves. Before she heard the slam of the door, Chrysalis was assaulted by a bright light directly in front of her eyes.

She squinted, trying to shield her eyes before she spoke, "What are you-"

The stranger held a strange, rather unassuming metallic rod between the two of them. After a twist of the hilt, the base of it gave way to two prods as strange blue runes lit up along the sides of it, pulsating with magic. The prongs sparked to life as a large bolt of electricity jumped from side to side, cracking the air around it before the stranger prodded her foreleg.

The moment it touched her fur, the current of pain surged through her body, lighting her very bones ablaze and setting her blood to boil. The Queen’s body convulsed as she let out a breathless howl, the pain so excruciating, it tore the very air from her lungs. It was just a few seconds that the mysterious pony held the device there, but it felt like an eternity before he finally pulled back.

After the ordeal every muscle went limp and her head hung low, shallow breaths were all her lungs could muster. Her vision flickered, unable to focus on either the light or the stranger who had assaulted her, but it slowly returned to normal.

"You see this?" the stallion said as he played with the device in his hooves.

"This is a stun rod; modified to give varying degrees of electric shock based on the number this little dial is on." he then tapped somewhere on the hilt, his shadow being the only indicator of movement.

"It is currently set on the lowest setting. Now, Patient Zero, I am going to ask you some questions. Each time you lie to me, I will increase the voltage and shock you again."

Chrysalis did her best to quell her shaking body, not wanting to give her aggressor the satisfaction of knowing he had gotten to her. How did he know what she was? Why was he taking such precautions with her? Either way, her guise had clearly not worked, so she decided to drop her façade and use her true form to her advantage. She had learned many intimidation methods from the knight-commander back in the hive.

"First question, what have you done with my doctor?"

Chrysalis closed her eyes, the floodlight far too bright for her to adjust as the stranger began to circle her, "He is recovering from his injuries."

"Elaborate."

"He was poisoned by the maw’s tail and I was not able to treat his wound properly before we made into town," Chrysalis stated, being sure to be as monotone as possible.

The stallion cast a glance over his shoulder, "Is she telling the truth?"

A voice then came from the shadows of the room. Most likely from the other individual who had closed the door as the stallion tied her to the chair. It was a deep rumble, yet strangely feminine, "Yes."

Is that a voice alteration spell? Chrysalis looked down to her side, opening her eyes slightly as she felt the stranger's shadow eclipse the light. Is this someone new, or someone I have met before? Unfortunately for her, the only two ponies she had seen in her true form since the wedding had been Caduceus and Scribes... While she had not detected any feelings of trepidation in them, there were many spies who are trained to abandon such trivial emotions when the time calls for it. In fact, she had to undergo such training before impersonating Princess Cadence, since her fiancé might see her uneasiness as fear for the marriage and ruin their plans.

"Next question," the stranger interrupted. "Where is he?"

"I do not think that is very important right now. After all, he told me not to trust you."

While this was not a total lie, she refused to tell him where Caduceus was. She had no idea what he intended.

The stranger paused before letting out a light humph, “Typical. Now, where is your master?”

Chrysalis stared daggers through the shadowy figure. “I am Queen of the Changelings and sole ruler of the Hive! I have no master,” she spoke, venom dripping from her every word. While she knew better than to rebuke this pony, her pride had gotten the better of her.

The stranger struck her in the stomach and, while he only held it there for a moment, the pain was far more excruciating. Her stomach spasmed as the electricity ate through her insides, her heart felt as if it was being torn from her chest by a hand of lighting. She doubled over in an attempt to protect herself from further harm but the restraints held tight, bitting deep into her ankles. She could hear a metallic click as the stranger increased the voltage on the device.

"I am not a patient stallion, Zero. Where is he?"

Again she was struck by the device, the voltage too high to determine the point of contact. Her mind tried to blackout to spare her the pain. Oh how she wished she could just fall unconscious and be rid of the burning current that tore all throughout her body like a thundering tempest, leaving nothing but agony and death in its wake. The moment he pulled away from her she went completely limp, her muscles exhausted from the constant state of tension and desperate for a respite.

Slowly her senses began to return to her. The smell of burnt hair and blood mixing in the air. She could feel a dull throb in her limbs where the straps held her and hear the faint drip of liquid on the stone floor. Using what little energy she had left, she opened her eyes to see that restraints had bit into her ankles freeing the blood from her burning veins as it slowly pooled on the floor. She was surprised that the wound had not been cauterized by the burn she could still feel pulsing through her veins. Were it not for how much heavier her body felt as her chest rose and fell, she would not even think that she was breathing.

The stranger threw her chair back, slamming her onto the cold ground. Her head bounced off the floor with a loud thud as haze clouded her eyes and ears. Unwilling to give his prisoner the time to recover, he lifted her muzzle to meet his gaze. "Tell me where he is now! There are far worse things I could do to make you talk," he said holding up a syringe filled with a glowing green liquid. His cold breath pricked at her folded ears as he pressed his hoof into her chest and he leaned in close. "I won’t lie. This is going to hurt, and it’s going to hurt a lot."

Her breath hitched in her throat as her eyes turned to pricks once more. Memories of her previous imprisonment flooding back to her as he leveled the needle to her neck. She was no longer Chrysalis… She was just a creature; an animal who had been cornered and all but defeated.

Several sounds escaped her quivering lips, but none of which satisfied the stallion looming over her.

"Ice that is enough!"

Chrysalis' head shot up as a familiar male voice cut through the room. Her eyes started to water as she saw Caduceus standing in the doorway, some sort of staff in his hooves. The stranger sighed before pushing off of her with his hoof in her chest, causing Chrysalis take a sharp exhale.

Ice shambled towards the door, the light from the hallway finally bringing definition to his figure. From her position on the floor, Chrysalis could see his black coat with white fur around his fore hooves, the rest of his body was concealed by the dancing shadows. When her gaze finally found its way to his muzzle, she blinked twice.

Just as Caduceus had warned, he had a rather strange... muzzle of metal and glass, like something you would put on a dog with a nasty biting habit. It had strange metallic passages connecting his nose with two small glass tubes filled with a clear liquid and partially covered by frozen condensation. Each breath he took she could see bubbles forming in the containers and, when he exhaled, a thick vapor lingered in the air. Finally, his eyes were a cold blue with a dangerous glint about them and partially covered by errant silver strands from his slicked-back mane.

“Caduceus,” he said in a harsh whisper. “I would invite you in, but I am currently entertaining a guest.”

“O-Oh sweet Celestia…” Chrysalis’ ear turned towards the voice of Scribes who had moved behind Caduceus. “M-Miss Black!”

Her voice was muffled and distant, drowned out by the swan song playing in her ears. Chrysalis began to drift, floating between the shores of consciousness and the brink of death. As with her hearing, her vision blurred into white light before she finally closed them. Then, there was nothing but the light pounding of her heart growing ever fainter.

“Chrysalis,” an unfamiliar voice beckoned from somewhere beyond, becoming clearer the longer it spoke. “Chrysalis, you must open thine eyes and listen to my words. There is much I must tell you.”

Chrysalis obeyed the words without hesitation, revealing the same white emptiness as she was in before with the exception of a single deep navy blue figure sitting before her in a large black armchair. Her midnight blue and violet mane seemed to flow in an ethereal breeze. Upon closer inspection, Chrysalis also noticed the twinkling lights that dotted her mane like stars in the night sky. This was clearly Princess Celestia’s younger sister…

“It is impolite to gawk at royalty,” Princess Luna stated, her unwavering blue eyes locked on the confused changeling.

“Where am I?”

“We are where all ponies go to live out their wildest fantasies or their most harrowing nightmares: The Dreamscape.” Luna rose from her chair and turned away from Chrysalis, her attention drawn to something out in the nothingness. “My sister has told me much about you.”

Chrysalis let out a low chuckle, “Oh? Has she told you how easily I defeated her at the royal wedding?”

Suddenly, the white void burst alive with color and life, painting a living portrait of the ceremonial chamber of Canterlot Castle at the moment of Celestia’s defeat with every pony in attendance.

“W-what is this?!”

Luna sighed before stepping through the visage of Twilight Sparkle like she were smoke, each purple wisp flowing around the matron of the night before reforming after she had moved. “As I said before, we are in the Dreamscape. More specifically, the small pocket of it that you have dominion over. Your memories, your desires, your fears… All are laid bare here.”

Again, the room changed. This time becoming the very room she was being interrogated in, everypony seemingly frozen in the exact moment she lost consciousness. Chrysalis turned to the princess, mouth slightly agape at how she had been able to pull this moment from her memories.

So she can see into my memories by using the Dreamscape? That is… troubling, she admitted, knowing that she would be unable to keep any secrets from Luna.

“I am sure you have a lot of questions...” the alicorn started as she walked over to the figure of Ice, reaching out and placing her hoof gently on his jawline. “But I am afraid that I do not have much time. Your companion is currently trying to resuscitate you and the moment he does, our connection will be lost.”

Chrysalis turned her muzzle up at the princess, “What is there for us to talk about? Are we not enemies?”

There was a slight pause as Luna walked towards Caduceus, causing the changeling to turn a cautious eye toward the two. She looked over the stallion with a strange curiosity before deciding to face her and speak again. “Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend?’”

“What are you getting at, Princess?” the changeling said, raising an annoyed eyebrow at the mare walking towards her.

“I have seen your dreams, Chrysalis,” Luna said, eyes staring through her very soul as if searching for something in particular. “You have suffered more than anypony should ever have to even before you took the crown of your people. You were abandoned as a filly, left for dead roaming the streets of an old mining town for scraps of food to survive on before one kind old nag took you into her home. Then you were taken from that home by a group of strangers whose master experimented on you until there was nothing left but flesh and bone. The few memories of your life before are fleeting, but slowly returning to you, as are the memories of your imprisonment.

“With my powers, I can help you find the answers you seek, find the life you once led, and identify the griffin who had tortured you for so many years. All I ask is that you trust me enough to share these memories with me and your findings on his organization’s wearabouts.”

A dumbfounded look was plastered upon Chrysalis’s face, unsure of how to react for a time. Eventually, she shook herself from her stupor before asking the princess her questions. “Why would you help me? What would you get out of this?”

“When I returned from my one-thousand year banishment, my sister informed me on many of the happenings of the recent millennia. One of the events she told be about was a plot by the Griffin’s Republic of Dawnwing to create a legion of spies and super-soldiers to overthrow Equestria and the other Griffin nations. My sister and her Elite Guard found and destroyed the old laboratory believed to be their base of operations and apprehended many of the higher-ranking officials within the organization, but never finding their leader...”

Luna turned on her heel and walked over to a bookshelf in the room, pointing a hoof at a rather ragged-looking journal resting on the center shelf. “This book has the tools to help me bring that griffin to swift justice and stop him from completing his work.”

“That still didn’t answer my question,” Chrysalis sneered, not pleased by the reminder of her lost past and the painful memories that stood out from them.

In a moment, the Alicorn of the Night was once again right in front of the changeling’s muzzle, her fiery gaze burning into her. “If he succeeds, he will pose a far greater threat than you or any number of your changelings ever could and, from the stories my sister has told me about him, he will not just stop at Equestria.”

Her jaw clenched and her powerful voice boomed in the changeling’s ears, “After he has finished with us, he will search for the creatures that allowed him to gain such power and ensure that no other country could possibly learn what he has. He will destroy your people, Queen Chrysalis. Will you allow them to become extinct; nothing but a footnote in history?”

Chrysalis continued to stare down the Alicorn Princess with just as much vehemence, but her words eventually forced a conceded sigh from the Changeling Queen. “Very well, Princess Luna, I accept your offer. What do you need of me?”

The alicorn slowly backed away, her stern expression softening into a slight scowl. “I will need you to acquire that journal and return to Colterville. I shall meet you at the tavern there in four nights and we shall find the answers together.”

There was a dull throb in Chrysalis’s chest, growing with every beat of her heart as if it was about to burst from her ribs. A small smirk wormed its way onto Princess Luna’s face. "It appears that our time is up," she said, her voice and visage slowly fading into nothing as a darkness crept from the sides of the changeling's vision.

"Before you go, I must tell you what the stallion needs to know before he will free you," she said barely above a whisper. "Tell him to return to the beginning to seek the end."

Finally, Luna faded into the darkness as Chrysalis finally returned to the waking world with a gasp for air. Her eyes shot open to a sight that caused a warm blush to her cheeks. Caduceus was currently standing over her, lips puckered and eyes closed with his hooves on her chest.

Instinct told her to quickly shove him away so that she would not be caught in such a compromising position by any possible onlookers. A quick flex of her forelegs told her that this would be impossible, however, and the hunger in her stomach told her that she needed to feed. Not to mention that she desperately wanted to feel his lips against hers again. The first time that she had ‘kissed’ him, she was far too focused on saving his life than enjoying the moment.

Carefully, Chrysalis met the unsuspecting stallion with a gentle peck on his lips just before he reached her. She could feel so many emotions flowing from him; worry, anger, grief, desperation, and… and something that she dare not admit to herself, but sent a jolt of energy surging through her body. Her body’s natural instincts took over and put the energy she had gleaned from Caduceus to use repairing her ravaged body. While it was not nearly as potent as the healing potions he had given her before, it was enough to fix the damage caused by the device.

The stallion pulled back abruptly, forcing a slight whine from the changeling, covered up by a slight chuckle. “Shame on you, Caduceus, taking advantage of a mare like that,” she said groggily.

His cheeks turned a dark red as he fumbled back for a moment. “C-Chrysalis,” he stammered. “I-I wasn’t trying to do anything. You stopped breathing, s-so I was trying to give you muzzle-to-muzzle resuscitation, th-that was all.”

She let out a light giggle despite the protest her muscles gave at every movement. “Relax,” she cooed, laying back to relax her neck. “I was just tea–”

“I thought you were dead…” he said in a somber tone, causing Chrysalis’s right ear to twitch.

A silence hung over the room as neither pony could find the right words to say or even look directly at the other. It was not until the door to the room creaked open that either of them moved.

"Ah, I see you were successful in reviving your patient," the stallion known as Ice stated. Upon hearing his haunting voice, Chrysalis clenched her jaw and turned to face him with a glare that would peel the paint from the walls around him.

Just as Chrysalis was about to speak, Caduceus turned to face the intruder. "You have got a lot of nerve coming in here, Ice," he said with surprising ferocity.

Ice's eyes lazily shifted to him, feigning interest in his words. "Scribes needs your help dealing with a bar fight upstairs."

"If you think I'm going to leave you alone with her, think again!" Caduceus spat with a flare of his wings and a snarl, moving between him and the mare laying on the small cot in the back of the room. His display of power, however, was completely ignored.

"Ruby will be keeping us company and–"

"You mean that other mare that watched you torture me before?" Chrysalis asked weakly, refusing to lay on her back in front of her assailant.

"Yes, but after Caduceus explained your... situation to us, she gave me a rather thorough thrashing and wishes to apologize to you," he said, finally averting his gaze to the left of the doorframe.

Caduceus stood there for a moment before sighing, "Give me a moment with Chrysalis, then she can decide whether or not you two can speak with her."

With a nod Ice closed the door, leaving the two ponies alone once more.

"I can't believe you are even considering leaving him alone with me..." Chrysalis accused, sitting completely upright.

"Ruby will be the buffer between you two. Don't worry, she will protect you–"

As if on cue, the door to the room opened just a crack, a lone eye peering into the room. "Um, Caduceus, I think she would be more ok with the idea if she got to meet me first," the strange voice said. Just as before, Chrysalis could not tell who or what the voice belonged to, only that the creature was female.

With a simple nod from Caduceus, the door swung wide to let in one of the most peculiar creatures Chrysalis had ever expected to see. The first thing that she noticed was that Ruby was bipedal and stood so tall she had to crouch through the doorway with front paws nearly the size of an average pony's head. She could see that Ruby's fur was a deep autumn red with tinges of gold as the light reflected off of her and grey-white along her muzzle, chest, and underbelly. As she came closer, Chrysalis could see her slitted green eyes, looking more like a dragon's than any diamond dog she had ever seen before.

"Hello, Queen Chrysalis, my name is Ruby. It is a pleasure to formally make your acquaintance," she said with a bow, causing a small smirk to worm its way onto the changeling's muzzle.

"Why don't you ever bow to me like this Caduceus?" she cooed before returning her attention to the diamond dog. "Were you with Ice during my interrogation?"

Ruby's head bowed lower, "Yes, your grace. I was the one who let him know if you had lied, but I refused to watch."

"Why?"

"Because I do not find any joy in spectating a torture, your grace..."

Each stroke of her royal ego caused Chrysalis's grin to grow ever wider. I like her!

"... but over the years, it has kept Ice and I safe from those who would have us in cages again," she finished, finally lifting her gaze to meet Chrysalis.

The grin that had been forming on the changeling's muzzle ran from her face, replaced by a scowl. "I beg your pardon, but who are you talking about?"

Ruby shot Caduceus a glance before returning to Chrysalis, "That is something that Ice and I were hoping you could tell us. Caduceus has told us that you have had nightmares about your imprisonment and we think that these dreams are the key to learning the organization's current whereabouts."

Chrysalis raised a brow at this. "How can dreams from who knows how long ago help us now?"

The diamond dog shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea, but Ice seems to think that you may have seen something that can help him crack a code we found in the journals," she said, walking over to the door. After a moment's pause, she opened the door and ushered in Black Ice who strode in without a word. He pulled a small stool from under the cot that Chrysalis was laying on and placed it next to her.

"Before I take my seat," he said, one hoof on the stool and the other wrapped around his cane. "I need to send Caduceus off to assist Scribes upstairs. Do you trust Ruby enough to protect you from me?"

His last words were snide and boastful, his prideful eyes staring down at her. Chrysalis ground her teeth, but soon smirked to hide her anger.

"I believe that she will break you in two should you try anything again."

It was at that moment that Ruby placed a firm paw on his withers and sat him down before turning to Caduceus, who had a strangely concerned look on his face.

"Do not worry," the dog said. "She is safe with me. Please, go help the librarian."

Before he left the room Caduceus turned to Chrysalis, mouthing a simple phrase that put her a little more at ease; "If you need me, just holler."

The moment the door clicked shut, Ice clicked his tongue. "I have not seen the good doctor act that way towards any pony for a long time," he said with a sneer which earned him a glare from both Chrysalis and Ruby. "You must be something special to have him protect you from me the way he did."

"Enough," Chrysalis hissed through gritted teeth. "The sooner you tell me what you need the sooner I can be done with you, so spit it out already!"

"Very well," he sighed as he pulled a small leather book out from the left side of his cloak and tossed it onto the bed. The way he grimaced made her think that holding it as long as he did had burned him.

She glanced over the small tome with a roll of her eyes. "I take it this is the journal I was told so much about?" she asked, but she was surprised to see that Ice was no longer looking at her. Instead, his eyes were glued to the journal, watching it as if the book would jump up and attack him. She grinned at his uneasiness but upon glancing over at Ruby and seeing the same look of creeping dread crawling into her eyes, Chrysalis quickly returned her attention to the small leather-bound journal laying before her.

Carefully, Chrysalis picked up the journal and took note of how Ice further tensed as she moved it to her lap. For a moment, she just stared at it, taking her time with this clearly dangerous item. She took a deep breath as her hooves caressed the coarse cover that bound the journal together. The gilded griffin claw on the front was faded and cracked as the paint was worn down, and the rest of it was not in any better shape. As she felt each snag and rough texture, the changeling felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something about merely touching it felt wrong... in a way that she could not explain with words. Her instincts told her not to open it, to just return it to Ice and never speak of it again, but she knew her morbid curiosity would best her in the end. Reluctantly, her right hoof found its way to the edge of the cover and slowly pulled it open. The stench of sterilizing chemicals, dried blood, and fermented alcohol wafted into her muzzle, causing her lungs to spasm uncontrollably as they tried to purge the putrid air from her body. Once her coughing fit had ended, her eyes scanned the writing on the first page, sending a shiver of anxiety down her spine:

Field Journal of Subject # 000(1): Base Subject Zero

Recorded By: The Shepard

Chrysalis lay curled in a ball on the small cot in dead silence, the roar from the crowd above long since silenced as the patrons headed home. It had been about ten minutes since she had finished reading the journal and the others had left her alone to her thoughts and, with everything she had just learned, she definitely needed the space. The changeling had long since removed her clothes and now clutched at her stomach and forelegs to both sooth her nausea and her crawling flesh. Just thinking of every electric shock, every probe, every injection, every cut, and... and every single hoof that had touched her made her feel violated: worthless. She wanted to scream and cry till her body collapsed. She wanted to lash out and strike at the next thing she saw. She wanted to do something but her body would do nothing but quake as her mind reeled the longer she stared at the black leather journal on the floor in front of her, a few pages strewn about from when she dropped it there; most notably the diagram that had been drawn of her during the “tests". It felt as if she were staring into pure darkness and it had welcomed her like an old friend. It was more than unnerving, it was maddening.

It made her want to die.

The silence was broken by a soft knock at the door, causing her ears to perk and eyes to finally shift. Through clouded eyes, Chrysalis could just barely make out the form of the pony she trusted more than any other. She did not need to see his face; his comforting presence alone was enough to break down the very last of her emotional barriers. Her body curled tighter as her sobs racked her body and her wails tore through her throat. In a flash, Caduceus was by her side, picking her torso up in his forelegs and cradling her as best he could with her head resting on his chest. The moment he touched her she tried to pull away, his hooves more than she could take, but it was a poor fight and after a weak push, she collapsed in his embrace.

Time was a non-factor to the weeping mare. Days could have passed and it still would not have been long enough for her to release her all of her anguish, but a sleepless night of tears in the arms of somepony who cared would have to suffice for the time being.

"Chrysalis," she heard him whisper, his hooves still caressing her mane. "are you going to be alright?"

The mare took a moment to clear her throat before she tried to choke out a response. Sadly, all she could manage at the time was a rough cough and a slight shake of her head. She felt weak, her mind exhausted and finally done processing all of the information and the memories. Her natural reflexes kicked in and she tried to feed, her magic reaching out to the stallion holding her like a foal. It did not take long for her to feel the genuine love and care he had for her, only slightly amplified by the situation they were in. She cared deeply for him and it seemed that he also cared for her just as much.

Before Chrysalis knew what she was doing, her legs wrapped around him in a tight embrace and her head rested in the crook of his left foreleg. She could feel his heart beating a steady rhythm and the warmth of his body as she held onto him. It was at this moment she realized the tragic truth; she could never tell him what had happened to her. If he knew all of the unspeakable things that had been done to her, all of the unthinkable torments she had been forced to endure... He would not love her anymore.

'I mean, how could he?' she thought. 'Nopony could ever live a normal life with something like me.'

Gently, she pushed herself upright, pulling away from his warm embrace. Chrysalis wiped her eyes and cleared her throat. If she continued to say nothing, he would likely pry and unravel what little dignity she had left.

"I-I'll be fine," she lied through choked sobs. "It was just. It was a dreadfully boring read."

Caduceus smirked at her attempt at sarcasm, glad to see that she was ready to speak to some degree. "You don't have to put on a brave face, it's just you and I right now," he said barely above a whisper.

She shivered, the warmth of his voice and emotional energy made her question her resolve. Thankfully, fate decided to deal her an out in the form of some pony knocking on the door.

"I'm sorry to intrude," Ruby said, slowly opening the door. "but Ice says it's urgent that you two get dressed and ready to move."

Chrysalis raised her brow before sliding onto her hooves. "And why does he think that he can send you down here to interrupt us?"

Based on how Ruby shrank and shook before her, she realized that her voice had been more callous than she had intended. Ruby had allowed Ice to do subject her to torture and then had been a little to encouraging for her to finish the book. Still, she did not deserve the Queen's spite. The changeling made a mental note to apologize later.

"W-Well," the diamond dog started, taking a moment to swallow her nerves. "There are several strange griffons asking around for the good doctor and his 'female companion.'"

How do they even know about me? Caduceus and I only just came into town less than a day ago, and I was in disguise most of the time.

While Chrysalis tried to reason out how they knew of her, Ruby walked over to the journal and gently scooped it up.

"Don't you DARE touch that thing!"

Ruby froze, as did Caduceus; they both stared at her, eyes wide with shock. It took Chrysalis a moment to realize why, but not only had she just yelled at the diamond dog, but also had lowered her head and was nearly snarling. However, Ruby seemed to understand and gently placed it back on the floor before taking a step back and moving to the desk and grabbing her own things. Without even sparing a glance to Caduceus, the changeling picked up the journal and tucked it into her robes on the bed before donning it and her hooded scarf. With a flick of her magic, Chrysalis took the form of Arcana Black and moved out the door and up the old stairs.

As she reached the red curtain leading to the bar, her ears twitched as she realized just how quiet the bar was. From the light she could see around the frame, the windows were exposed and the sounds of the streets as everyone went to work should still be heard at this early hour but there was only silence. Cautiously, Chrysalis peered around the cloth and caught a glimpse of the entrance to the bar. The streets were clear and there were three large griffons in the dining area of the bar all cloaked in large black robes from beak to claw, each with a gilded griffon claw insignia holding it together; the same insignia that was on the cover of the journal.

Chrysalis nearly jumped as she felt a hoof on her shoulder.

"Wrong way, Zero," Ice whispered in in his unnatural voice. "We must use the back entrance if we do not wish to be caught."

She jerked away from his unwelcome touch, "Fine then. Lead the way."

The stallion moved down the stairway without making a sound. She followed him into the bedroom where the other two waited for them.

"Ruby, they are already here," he said as he locked the door behind them. "We need another way out. Did you finish the tunnel?"

With a nod of her head, Ruby moved the cot to reveal a small wooden hatch. "It'll be a tight fit, but we will come out right behind the library. Hopefully there won't be any guards over there."

It took the group most of morning to navigate the tunnel and find Scribes before heading out to the train station. Thankfully, most of the griffon guards had gone to raid the bar and scout out the tunnel network Ruby had made which allowed them to board the train with little effort. As the steam engine screamed to life, Chrysalis could feel the lurch of the old wooden boxcar as it set off to the heart of Equestria. She heaved a deep sigh as she watched the small town fade into the distance before looking down at the small leather book tucked under her wing. She wanted to just throw it off the train and run away but something made her hold onto it even tighter. No, she would not cower in fear of the actions of some crazed scientist. She would stop him no matter the cost and the first step to doing so was to meet the Princess in three days at the old inn.

Three days...