//------------------------------// // Betrayal // Story: Transcend // by Anonymous Pegasus //------------------------------// “So...just what are yer?” Evergreen asked. He was staring at Chrysalis, looking her up and down and taking in the strange contours of her form. They were inside now, the light from the fireplace casting a warm yellow glow over their forms. It was the first time that Evergreen had gotten a look at the changeling in proper light. She was a completely different creature to the unicorn he had come to love. Chrysalis' body was smooth and black as the night, though slightly reflective. It looked as if her entire form had been lacquered and polished with the greatest of care. The wings sprouting from her back could only be described by the woodspony as ‘insectoid’. Composed of layers of thin, translucent membrane, they looked more at home on an insect, and never on anything as large as she was. Her mane and tail were the same blue as Cee’s familiar mane, but was far less styled. Instead, her mane cascaded down her neck and shoulders. The eyes were the most unnerving thing about the creature.The soft pink of Cee’s eyes were gone, replaced by a set of vivid green irises with a demonic slit-pupiled layout, devoid of warmth or emotion. “I am a changeling,” Chrysalis explained tentatively, looking up at Evergreen a moment. It was almost a shock to hear herself say the words. It was her darkest secret, the one thing she had been certain she would never tell anypony. It was difficult to just come out and talk about it without feeling as though something was wrong. “Ah know yer a changeling,” Evergreen stated, shaking his head once. “But ah don’t know what that means. Celestia didn’t come down and explain it ter the regular ponies on what exactly yer are.” The changeling paused at that, trying to phrase the words right in her mind, to better explain exactly what she was. “I’m... a changeling. I don’t know how to explain it any better than that,” Chrysalis admitted, giving an exasperated sigh. “That’s like asking a pegasus to explain to someone what a pegasus is.” “But...yer not nothing like we are,” Evergreen pointed out, raising a brow at her. “Yer a demon. And yer can change yer form.” “That is how we feed,” Chrysalis explained, lifting a hoof and waving it vaguely. “We take the form of somepony and feed from the love that others give to them.” “Yer kill them?” Evergreen asked uncomfortable. Chrysalis winced, shaking her head firmly. “No. We don’t kill those we impersonate. Not usually. We merely take their place and immobilize the original until we’re done feeding.” “And what do yer do once yer done feeding?” the woodspony asked suspiciously. “We wipe their memories, usually. And then we just... leave,” Chrysalis said, looking down at her hooves, shifting them uncomfortably. “And that’s all yer do? Over and over again?” Evergreen asked, staring at Chrysalis. The queen pondered on that for a long moment and she nodded hesitantly. “I... suppose that’s correct.” “But yer didn’t do that with me,” Evergreen pointed out. “I was dying. I used the last of my energy to change into a unicorn so that my body wouldn’t get strung up as a trophy. And then you came wandering through the storm to help me,” Chrysalis responded, lifting her gaze to his own. “I’ve never... felt this kind of connection before.” Evergreen canted his head at her words, an expression of curiosity coming over his features. “Yer never been in love before?” Chrysalis shook her head sadly for a moment. “Never before... I never let myself get close. My mother taught me ‘Never love your food’, and I can kinda see why now...” “Why?” “Well... I love you, Evergreen. And you love me. But that’s the problem. The longer I stay with you... the weaker you’ll get. You’re already sick; I’ve seen it. And it’s only going to get worse. You’ll either slip into a depression, or dementia, or just give up and commit suicide. I’ve seen it happen... I don’t want to watch you destroyed,” Chrysalis murmured, feeling fresh tears trail down her cheeks as she spoke. A shadow fell over Chrysalis’ face and she looked up in time to see Evergreen leaning in to hug her. The changeling tensed up at first, still very hesitant to let anyone touch her true form. She quivered, rigid, as the woodspony wrapped his hooves around in a firm hug. After several long moment, she managed to relax, leaning into the hug and resting her cheek against Evergreen’s neck. “We’ll find some way to make it work. Promise,” Evergreen soothed, gently stroking down her back with a hoof and letting it trail along the edge of one of her wings. “But... You’ll die. And I’m a monster...” Chrysalis whispered, pulling back at stare at the woodspony. Evergreen nodded at her words. “We all die, Cee. But it’s not what we die for that matters, when yer think about it. It’s more like what we live for before we die. Any I wanna live fer you. I don’t care if yer a monster. Yer my monster.” Chrysalis stared at him, feeling tears brimming in her eyes.She wrapped her hooves around Evergreen and clung to him fiercely, holding him close. Soft, distraught whimpers left her. “It’s not fair... I only just found you and you’re going to be taken away from me, one way or the other...” The woodspony nuzzled against her comfortingly, before drawing back and sitting down, staring at her, before delicately saying; “Speaking o’ losing me...” The changeling stared at him for a long moment, her ears splaying backwards. “No. Y-you can’t be leaving.” “Ah might have ter.” Evergreen stated flatly, looking her up and down. “Ah need yer ter turn in the other changelings.” “What? No!” Chrysalis said, instantly on her hooves. “I won’t!” Evergreen stared at her solemnly, and then shook his head slowly. “Yer gotta choose, Cee. Ah can’t allow yer to let the other changelings run free and ruin relationships.” “But... I... they won’t!” the changeling protested, fresh tears starting to fall down her cheeks. “They won’t! I promise!” “Yer can’t promise me that, Cee.” Evergreen stated, shaking his head once at her, sadly. “If yer choose me... then yer would abandon the rest of the changelings, and then yer’d have no say in what they do.” “I... but...” Chrysalis trailed off. He was right, of course. If she abandoned the changelings, they would choose another changeling to lead them. And without her energy to leech from, they would quickly grow desperate. And desperate changelings were sloppy and violent. “Ah assume yer their leader,” Evergreen stated, watching her closely. “Yer wouldn’t be so cut up about having ter leave them if yer were just another changeling. They’re all relying on yer, aren’t they?” Chrysalis nodded, remaining quiet. “If yer leave em... what’ll they do?” “They’ll... They’ll eventually find another Queen to lead them. They’ll probably infiltrate Ponyville; but there’s too many of them. They’ll likely start killing off the female population. Unicorns first, and then the pegasi,” Chrysalis explained emotionlessly. There was no point mincing words. Evergreen nodded and nudged her with his nose. “Yer gotta turn em in, Cee. Yer have to. Yer can’t be my queen unless ah can be assured that the changelings won’t hurt the other ponies. Either yer turn them in, or leave with them.  Celestia’ll find a way to keep them contained.” “I know,” Chrysalis whispered, staring down at her hooves. “But... I can’t choose.” Fresh tears spilled onto her hooves, and she felt her vision blurring slightly. She tried to remain coherent; tried not to dissolve into tears at the hopelessness of it all, but she was fighting a losing battle. “Ah’m not telling you to choose now, Cee. But... yer have to choose. Before it’s too late.” Evergreen’s hoof gently slipped under her chin, pulling her gaze up to meet his own. “Ah love yer Cee, but we can’t be together if yer changelings are gonna destroy Ponyville. And yer gotta choose before the choice is made for yer.” Chrysalis nodded, and turned her head away, before laying her chin on her hooves and closing her eyes. She let her tears run down her cheeks as she tried to make the biggest decision of her long life. The changeling heard Evergreen climb up into bed, settling down to sleep, but she wouldn’t be joining him tonight. Not this time. The Changeling Queen picked her way through the underbrush with careful, deliberate strides. Her eyes glowed green in the darkness, her demonic gaze allowing her to see clearly. Delicate wings folded close to her sides to avoid getting them caught on branches, horn leading the way, she delicately pushed aside hanging vines or branches as she strode towards her changelings’ hideout. A sack was slung over her shoulder, containing the few things she needed. Chrysalis had left Evergreen’s cottage as he slept, slipping away into the night. It was easier this way. There was no way for the changeling to face the woodspony now; she couldn’t bear the thought of having to explain to him what she was doing. To inform him of her betrayal. She had made her choice, and she would stick with it through to the bitter end. But avoiding Evergreen was the only way to compartmentalise. The queen’s tears had long since dried. She had steeled herself for her decision. She had faced loss before; faced hard times. This was no different. She would just have to try and forget... And hope the memories didn’t drag her down. Chrysalis had thought long and hard about what she was to do. There was only one logical path she could follow, especially with the facts. She was madly in love with Evergreen and Evergreen was madly in love with her. But she was a monster, a demon. His love was literally his end. A few weeks would be all the time they would have together before he was gone. Her army, however, would find a new leader were she to leave. Worse. It might splinter without leadership and the individual changelings would likely resort to desperate violence to attain a new source of sustenance. The most desperate would commit the cardinal sin: killing a pony, hiding the body, and taking their place. Such destructive practises had been stamped out a generation ago by Chrysalis’ mother, the former queen. It was a destructive way of acquiring a partner, and ultimately it thinned the numbers of the very ponies whom the changelings fed upon. A ‘no kill’ mandate had been set, and any changelings found in violation of the rule were executed. But desperate changelings had been known to violate the rule. And no doubt, without a queen to enforce the rules, they would not hesitate to kill to survive. Even turning the changelings over to the guard was dooming them to a slow, grim death of starvation. There was no feasible way to feed a single changeling, let alone seventeen. And if the changelings were turned in, then Chrysalis herself would be exposed as well. Chrysalis only had one choice. One option to retain her sanity. But the thoughts of what she was doing almost broke her. She wanted to run back to Evergreen and to cry into his shoulder until the world faded away and only the two of them remained. All at once, the Queen was struck by just how dependent on the woodspony’s presence she had become. She could no longer think about the future without him there. Everything was just... bleak and meaningless to her without him. Chrysalis’ thoughts, instead, turned to the future, to what she had to do to make sure that Ponyville was safe. The hollowed-out tree came into view, and Chrysalis almost turned around then and there. The sheer knowledge of what she was about to do cut at her heart in ways that she couldn’t have comprehended a mere month ago. Chrysalis’ heart told her that there was still time to turn around, to flee back to Evergreen’s cottage and into his hooves where everything would be okay. But her mind, the ever-practical mind of a Queen, knew the truth of the matter. This had to be done. A rustle from the treetops jogged Chrysalis from her thoughts, and she looked up to where Messenger was sitting, watching her. “Your Queen has returned!” she called up to the changeling as she strode over the entrance of her kingdom. It was harder to get inside in this form, as the unicorn was so much smaller than her regular self. Inside, her beautiful children were waiting for her, looking up at her expectantly. “I must apologize, my children. I cannot feed you this night. But I have a plan to enact that will ensure that none of you will hunger ever again,” Chrysalis assured with a painted smile. Inside, her heart was breaking with each word. Taking a deep breath, Chrysalis stepped past her disappointed subjects and began to climb the inside of the tree to the topmost branches where Messenger sat, waiting for her. “My Queen. You come,” he said, bowing respectfully. “Yes, I come indeed,” Chrysalis responded, moving to sit besides her changeling and looking out over the canopy for a long moment. She entertained the idea that she could see the glow of Evergreen’s cottage in the distance, but she knew that she was just imagining things. Her heart was breaking as she tried to keep her composure. What was a few weeks, anyhow? It was nothing. It was nothing more than a collection of days. A collection of days marking how long she would have with Evergreen if she went back to him... “What are your plans, my Queen?” Messenger inquired, his tone respectful. Chrysalis turned to regard him for a long moment. “I... I’m afraid I had to leave my current target.” “Do you have a new partner to feed upon, my Queen?” came the immediate query. The Changeling Queen looked Messenger up and down. He had a one-track-mind. His entire focus was his next source of energy. It was still too dangerous for them to venture forth and find sources of energy themselves, and they were reliant on her. Her burden as Queen. “Messenger...” Chrysalis started, and watched as her beautiful changeling lifted his head attentively to better catch her words. She leaned down to rub her nose against his own. “How could I ever choose someone over you?” Chrysalis murmured quietly, as though to herself. Messenger pricked his ears upwards at that. “My Queen?” Chrysalis shook her head, to clear it. She closed her heart to outside influences, becoming an emotionless automaton. A hoof lifted to gently stroke along Messenger’s cheek as she whispered; “My beautiful child... I will always love you.” A low chittering croon rolled from Messenger’s throat as he leaned into his Queen’s caresses  Chrysalis let the shifting of his weight push his form closer to her own. One of Chrysalis’ perforated hooves lifted to wrap around Messenger, holding him against her side as she stroked gently at his delicate, membranous wings. He was beautiful. Her child in all but blood. “Come, little one. I have something to show you.” The tree burned in the distance, a beacon in the night, a pyre for the changelings who had perished there. Chrysalis was slumped in the grass, weeping, sobbing helplessly into her hooves. She had collapsed there a few minutes previously as the full realisation of what she had done hit home. She had killed them. She had killed them all. A slideshow of horror flickered across her mind’s eye as she remembered what she had done. First came the candles, those same, herb-infused candles Evergreen had used in the flower field. Once her army was under the effect of the candles, she had stalked among their sleeping forms, and held a jar filled with nightshade against their noses until their breathing ceased. Last of all had been messenger, his beautiful green eyes looking up at her as she opened the jar with a shaking hoof to move near his nose. Even as the deadly niteshade invaded his system, he had watched her, his confusion and alarm suppressed by the soothing nature of the herbs in the candle. And she had killed him. She had held the niteshade to his nose and killed him, all while whispering a broken rendition of ‘hush now, quiet now’ to her beautiful child in between broken sobs. His green eyes, slowly glazing over in death as his heart stopped beating, would haunt her forever. A rustle in the grass nearby alerted her to the presence of Evergreen. Chrysalis drew herself up into a sitting position to stare at him, her face streaked with tears. He had followed her. Of course he had followed her. She realised now that it was stupid to believe that he didn’t know when she left the cottage. The woodspony moved to hug her, and she pushed at him with her hooves in resistance as she screeched, “No! No! I hate you!” Evergreen drew back for a moment, staring at her wordlessly, and she snarled at him vehemently. “I killed them! I killed them all for you, you stupid oaf!” Chrysalis roared, her horn beginning to glow with angry green magic. Demonstrating bravery that Chrysalis knew she could never match, Evergreen ducked in underneath chin and pulled her into a firm, rough hug. Chrysalis tried to bite him, to hit him, to make him hurt like she did, but he held on doggedly throughout her violent anger until she wore herself out against him. Chunks of his mane fell as she tore at him with her teeth, and blood streaked his hide where she had gotten a lucky flash of teeth against his neck, but still, he just held her close, weathering her anger. And then she was done, dissolving into pained sobs against him, limp in his grasp. “I-I killed them! I killed them all!” Chrysalis wailed, beating against his shoulder weakly with a hoof. “I killed them a-all and it’s your fault!” The woodspony stared down at her for a long moment, and then off towards the burning tree in the distance. His tone was soft as he murmured, “It had to be done, Cee.” Evergreen didn’t say anything else. He didn’t say that he hadn’t wanted this. He had wanted them turned into the guard, not just... wholesale killed and destroyed. But it was over now, and there was nothing to do but comfort the one he loved. Chrysalis didn’t reply, weakly beating at Evergreen’s side with her hoof until she went still. The Changeling Queen collapsed limply against him and wept for all that she had done.