Chapter One
Trudging through what was most certainly the Everfree Forest, Chrysalis lead her minions to the North. The forest was massive and even the Changelings didn’t know who (or what) all dwelled within. Chrysalis did know, however, that there was much civilization in the North—some village of sorts with a steadily growing population. However, this place—Ponyville, was it?—was quite a bit away, with Canterlot being even further off. On wing they could likely reach the outskirts of the forest by sunrise; however, with her Changelings being so low on energy, they would have to heal slowly, naturally, until another food source was found and depleted. Fortunately, she thought, there were many smaller stops they could make along the way.
A sudden murmur spread throughout the pack and with a start, Chrysalis jerked her head around and beamed at them with glowing, green eyes. “What was that?” she demanded, flattening her ears back against her head as she eyed them over. Silence was her only reply. “I’m certain there will be food soon, but we have to keep going,” she added bitterly before turning around and taking flight. “Keep heading North as long as you can and I will meet back up with you tomorrow. With your sustenance.” With that, the Queen departed and a sea of Changelings stirred and cheered below her.
***
Queen Chrysalis soared through the night sky, prowling the forest for any sign of sentient life from which she could feed; insects and small animals weren’t capable of creating any sort of worthwhile energy for the Changelings. A brilliant emerald aura shone from her horn occasionally as she used her magic to bend and break obstacles from her path. She had to find something—they were counting on her. They were always relying on their Queen to help them, to feed them, to protect them, and the life of a Changeling Queen was all she had ever known. Whenever she tried to picture any sort of childhood, or a time before her rule, the memories were clouded by a green haze, and it caused her pain. Growing frustrated of the migraines and spotty memory, she decided that the past was not worth worrying about, and allowed herself to assume she was always their Queen. For as long as there were Changelings, Chrysalis was their ruler, their god.
After what had to have been hours, Chrysalis felt her luck changing as she saw a soft glow in the distance. Seeing this light gave her hope and her wings buzzed furiously, propelling her at record speeds towards her target. He really fed me well, she thought bitterly, thinking back to the stallion that she had so brilliantly manipulated. Unfortunately, the very love that had fueled Chrysalis’ rampage had ultimately resulted in her demise at the castle.
As she approached the large camp, she spotted the source of the light. In the center of the many tall, dark tents was a brilliant flame of purple that gave off minimal light and no amount of smoke. It would be impossible to detect from afar without the keen predator eyes of a Changeling, but it gave off an unnaturally warm and encompassing heat. Chrysalis’ eyes grew wide as she stealthily crept about the camp, trying to investigate. There was certainly plenty of something, most likely ponies, dwelling within those warm tents, due to the intensity of the magic. It was likely the work of a unicorn—and a powerful one at that. She licked her lips as a grin slowly spread across her face. Moving as silently and carefully as possible, she approached the tents farthest from the magic flame, intending to work her way around the circle and up towards the center. She would have to be mindful of other possible magic wielders and their defenses, but thanks to Shining Armor’s strength, Chrysalis knew she could get away with a bold approach regardless.
The Changeling Queen closed her emerald eyes as she approached the first tent and her form collapsed and faded into the large shadows the tent cast upon the ground. On the inside of the tent, she began to take form, surveying its contents with hidden eyes that slowly rose from the ground as her body took shape around her. As she expected, they were ponies, although the ones in this tent were simple earth ponies. It appeared to be a family as a small filly lay at the foot of a humble “bed” composed of a few thick blankets, her parents nestled together oh so sweetly above her. She rolled her eyes; the sight of this pathetic family sickened her, but at least she had an easy target.
“Good luck in the forest, kid,” she smiled maliciously as her horn flared green for a moment. The young filly shimmered green for a brief second before she disappeared completely, leaving nothing behind but a subtle impression in the bundle of blankets. That’s my cue.
Chrysalis’ dark, twisted body appeared to shrink into itself and her features changed drastically. In an instant, she had perfectly replicated the little girl, and a moment later she had taken her place in the bed. After laying still for a few moments—and watching the parents suspiciously—she stood up with a start, flailing out and giving a kick to dad to make sure they woke up quickly. “MOMmy, DADdy, I had a bad dream!” Chrysalis whined in her stolen voice.
“OW—huh, what?” the dad groaned, sitting up and nudging his wife with his snout. “Autumn Sky, calm down.”
“Everything’s ok, my little pony,” her mother cooed, repositioning herself on the bed so that she could nuzzle the small, hazel filly. Her father sighed tiredly but patiently and joined the pair. Autumn was never a very outspoken filly and she hadn’t made any sort of fuss about a dream before. He should trust that his daughter really needed their love and support right now, no matter how tired they were from a long day of work.
Silently, Chrysalis felt the familiar, bittersweet rush of energy seeping into her being. Manipulating the situation, Chrysalis quickly added, “But in my dream, you and daddy didn’t love me anymore. I was so scared and alone!”
“Shhh, hush now, your father and I will never leave you! We love you so very much, Autumn Sky, and we will never let anything happen to you,” her mother replied, draping an arm over what she thought was her beloved filly.
Despite the hilarious irony, the mother’s pledge fueled the Changeling Queen even more. She almost had to stop herself from laughing at the morons. The thought of these saps clinging to themselves was pathetic, a sign of weakness. All of this love, and see what it got them? They failed to protect their daughter like they blindly promised just moments ago. Though she was unharmed—as far as Chrysalis knew, anyway—the filly was teleported to a distant location in the forest and left to fend for herself. Nomad or not, she doubted the little thing had the essential skills to find her camp.
But still… there was something about the affection that Chrysalis enjoyed for a different reason, one she couldn’t quite put her hoof on. There was always the rush—it was exhilarating to feast on such strong emotions; however, she felt a different sort of warmth within her when she was the object of affection. Whatever feeling it was, it seemed foreign to her Changeling body.
She remained with the family for a while longer, allowing them to fall soundly back asleep before she sunk into the shadows beneath them and slipped back out into the night. Off to a good start, she smiled. For the rest of the night ‘til the crack of dawn when all the ponies began to stir and awake for the day, Chrysalis crept about from tent to tent hunting down the best candidates. Many ponies were left behind simply because she saw no opportunity to drain their love; others were a bit too intimidating or well set up to bother with replacing.
By the morning, she had successfully invaded nine different tents, and received a hearty fill at each. She had replaced a number of different ponies ranging from girlfriends to grandmothers, and no one had suspected a thing. Exhausted from her labors but fueled by the energy she so delicately cradled within, she leapt up into the air and quickly made her way back to meet up with her Changelings.
With her accelerated movement, she easily caught up to the pack and zoomed to the front, landing with elegance as green flames rolled off her hooves. “Come to me,” Chrysalis called, “Your Queen has provided for you.” She braced herself, closing her eyes as they swarmed like insects around her. The rolling, green flames coming from Chrysalis spread out in waves to the Changelings as they flew and crawled around her, encircling her, and draining her reservoir of energy.
She began to feel weak as the energy visibly departed from her body. The process itself caused her a great deal of pain—the energy roots itself within her body until either she expends it herself, or until the whirring, relentless Changelings used the magic in their own horns to tear it out of her. To Chrysalis, it felt like pieces of her soul getting ripped out. She would endure this pain until the excess energy had been drained, and she straightened up, opening her eyes.
“Alright, my pets, that is enough,” she said weakly, looking out to the swarm with expectant, tired eyes. But they didn’t stop. They kept circling around her, shining with brilliant green light, and they began to tap into Chrysalis’ own life essence. “That is enough,” she repeated with a more commanding tone. She grew infuriated as they once again ignored orders.
“ENOUGH!” she bellowed as a wave of pure magic shot out from her, knocking the Changelings back with a surprising force. She panted, head hanging low, with her forelock dangling over one of her furious green eyes. “You will OBEY your Queen when she commands you!” she screamed, her voice shaking, “I will personally see to it that anyone that dares touch my essence again will die a slow and hungry death!” Her fangs protruded with her threat and she hissed at them. “N-now,” she said, ears lowered back, “we will continue North like I told you earlier.”
She began to walk North, waiting for her Changelings to follow behind. The nomads provided a fair amount of energy—enough to keep them from starving for a little while, at least—but with so many of them sharing it, there wasn’t much to go around. “Now that you have been fed,” she said, adding a bitter emphasis to the last word, “you can heal yourselves and take flight.” As they gathered around her, shining green from time to time as they expended their new energy to heal themselves, she sighed a breath of relief.
“We’re going to Ponyville,” she grinned wickedly, and with that, the Changelings and their Queen ascended to the skies and made their way to the unsuspecting civilians.
***
The scene that had only moments ago been bursting with magic and crawling with winged demons now sat in absolute silence. Several minutes after all of them had departed, however, the bushes began to rustle. Before the creatures had come, a small, black and white striped mare had been in the area gathering herbs that were only found this far out into the forest. When they approached, she ducked into the brush, carefully watching this sea of unfamiliar creatures march on, before they were stopped by a larger, feminine looking one. The mare watched—and listened—in awe as the brilliant lights splashed and danced about before her.
“Before my eyes, it cannot be; are those Changelings that I see??” she gasped. “If they are truly off to Ponyville—I must warn the girls of this evil!”