//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: A Different Kind of Monster // by AzelTheMantis //------------------------------// "Tell me!! I demand to know!" I shouted right at her face. My voice started trembling from the knowledge that there was a high possibility that my life as one of The Hive was going to end soon. "Bālor, you're hurt. Please stop stressing yourself" Snapper interceded, trying to snap me back to my old self. Before anybug else could react, I forcefuly grabbed Snapper by his large fang and pulled him close. He stared right into my eyes and I could see fear written all over his face. "Don't. Interfere" I sternly told him before I shoved him. Everybug's reaction was that of shock as Snapper looked back at me. I was a stranger in his eyes now but I couldn't care less. "Son, w-why are you like this?" Chrysalis asked me a rhetorical question. She knew damn well why I was going off like that. "What happened at Manechester that day?" I asked again as I jumped off the table I was laying on. Chrysalis hesitated for a few seconds, trying to decide whether or not it was the right decision to reveal the truth to me. Eventually, she gave in. "Our best scouts had discovered a Crystal Heart fragment in the small town of Manechester" she began to tell me, "We had counted on the residents knowing that they were living on top of the fragment and that they would be defending themselves. We had never been so wrong" "The residents panicked when we arrived, all 736 of us. Because of the panic, most of the ponies were killed by accidental causes although a few of their blood were on actual changeling hooves" "The battle ended with more carnage and gore than we had ever imagined. We contemplated leaving before Celestia and the others at Canterlot hear of this but we pressed on" "There was one half-burnt building just above where the fragment was buried" she said. "What building?" I asked. "The Town Hall, your home" Chrysalis replied, "Two dead bodies were found inside which we allowed the remaining flames to burn down to ashes. A few minutes of digging was all it took to get hold of the Crystal Heart fragment" "Just as we were about to leave, one of the scouts reported hearing strange noises coming from a closet. I opened the closet and saw an infant, a pony's offspring left to die in the burning town. I had never felt that much compassion before in my life and I made the decision of raising the orphan as my own". "Why didn't you leave me then? Why would you even think of taking in an outsider to rule this place!?" I was practically on the verge of breaking down after hearing my mother's story. "Because I believed you would be the key to bringing a truce upon us and the ponies", she answered with sincerity. "So I'm nothing but a damn tool to you?" "Don't twist my words, my son. Please know that it's only because of my love for you that The Hive has managed to survive this far without any other source". I stumbled back to a corner before I sat down and buried my head between my hooves. I didn't realize it at first but I was crying. I was torn between giving my mom the biggest loving hug ever and leaving her and the others for lying to me for two decades. "Then why the hell did you reveal the truth just now? And why the heck did you do it in front of Celestia and the others?" "Because I didn't think you were ready for the truth" Chrysalis replied before she began weeping again, "And I did it...because I had a hope that they might let you go if they know you're...not really one of us". "You lied to me. You made me live the life of a monster they tell their foals about at night just for your own selfish goals..." "It's not that..." "You turned me into a murderous monster when I could have been living an honest life amongst MY kind..." "Please...Bālor..." "Because of you, I can't return to the place where I truly belong because you made me a criminal..." "Stop...please..." "And as for this place of lies, I'll be back to judge what will become of it after I am done with Celestia and her son" I told her as I wiped away my tears and replaced them with a thirst for destruction and an obsession for plotting Chris' death. I changed to my true form as I began my own exile with a step out of The Hive. Craft, Snapper and the other changelings looked on in disbelief as their former prince cut off his relationship with them. "Come back, Bālor" Chrysalis pleaded. "I won't kill you. However, when the time is right, I'll be back not as your son but as your damn harbinger of desolation" I said coldly, hell bound not to even give my mother a single glance. With that, I galloped through the Spike Halls and straight out of the Hive. I needed to believe I didn't belong there and that I needed to move on and on, far away from my past. Almost as soon as The Hive was out of sight, I began making new assassination plans for Prince Christopher. But there was one thing that was gonna give him an edge over me: his alicorn magic. Not to mention his powerful allies like the princesses as well as The Elements of Harmony. I needed someone who would be able to neutralize all magic in a pinch. Someone who knew the princesses and can be a trusted. Someone like... Lord Tirek The aged centaur had altercations with Celestia and Luna in the past and if he had wanted anything, it was probably revenge for being imprisoned in Tartarus for more than a millennium. Finding the red goat face wasn't gonna be a walk in the park though. From the gossip I had heard in Ponyville, he had escaped from Tartarus a year and a half ago and was still at large so it was gonna take a lot of time tracking him down. I began the search after a day of resting, first at Appleloosa. It was quite difficult avoiding disguised changelings but it turned out quite fruitful as a rather annoying stallion sheriff notified me of a cloaked visitor they last saw headed towards Ponyville of all places. The sheriff also said that the visitor kept murmuring something about "stealing" and "magic" which raised him and his posse's suspicions. As directed, I trotted towards Ponyville, the place where my mother sent me to study. I had always thought it weird that she would even have the mind to educate a changeling. But then again, I wasn't a changeling. As I lost myself in my thoughts, I stumbled upon a peculiar carriage in the middle of the Everfree Forest. The patterns on its side made it seem like it belonged to some magician or something. My curiosity got the better of me and I found myself holding a door knob at the side. A gentle tug later, I was able to get a better look at the insides of the carriage. As I had assumed, the carriage did indeed belonged to a magician, the owner being a blue unicorn who looked vaguely familiar. She must've been quite stuck up judging from the almost countless pictures of her but then again, maybe I had just stumbled upon somepony obsessed with her. The mere thought of it made me cringe a bit. Just as I was about to leave, the magician appeared from out of nowhere, standing in front of the door and blocking my way. She seemed pissed that I had entered her supposed home but I couldn't care less. Her outfit was ridiculous though. "What the hay are you doing inside Trixie's carriage?" she asked bluntly. "Huh? Thought it belonged to you" I replied. "I am The Great and Powerful Trixie" she announced proudly, "And Trixie says you should make yourself scarce before Trixie hurts you". "Is that a bloody threat?" "It is" she smirked, charging her magic. "Well, I don't like threats that much" I shrugged before I changed into a changeling. I still had my mother's magic with me so it was a breeze changing forms. To my surprise, Trixie's smirk almost instantly disappeared and she cowered in fear when she saw me. "P-please don't take T-Trixie back to that dungeon again" she begged, not even daring to face me. "What?" I asked, surprised by the swift change in emotions. "Please, don't hurt me" she begged again. And then, an unpleasant memory returned to me.