//------------------------------// // Chapter Two // Story: The True Shape // by ArtaFactia //------------------------------// Ecstasy like he had never known flowed through Tarnished, his mind divulging all its secrets to the creature. Everything in his mind, the things he liked and disliked, and all the accumulated knowledge and wisdom crammed in there, all of it was laid bare for the creature to sift through. When she completed her search and her presence left his mind, he came to, giggling and shivering, hooves clinging tightly to her smooth chitin. Wait a minute. Her? He lifted his head and looked up at her. There was no doubt in his mind that the creature was female. She smiled softly down at him, and, as he figured that she likely meant him no harm, he realized those fangs of hers were rather...cute. In fact, as his eyes roved over her, what he had at first found frightening and freakish he now found to be beautiful in an otherworldly way. "Tarnished Relic, are you all right?" She asked. He nodded dumbly, his brain still a little muddled, not reacting right away to the fact that she had spoken in his tongue. "I apologize for the intrusion, but we were having some trouble communicating." "Y-Yes, we...wait!" His eyes widened as it finally hit him, and he gaped at her in awe. "H-how...you...how are you..." "Talking to you? I dove into your mind to figure out your language. It took a few minutes to put it all together, but I am now fluent in your tongue. I also divined your name whilst doing so." "Oh...oh, I s-see." He was feeling somewhat embarrassed, wondering just what she had seen in his mind as she looked through it. Just like anypony else, he had things he regretted doing, things he buried and tried to forget, and he was hoping she wouldn't bring any of them up for him to explain himself. He quickly directed questions to her, looking to keep the focus on her and to gather information to satisfy his curiosity. "Who are you? What are you?" "Who am I? For now, you may call me 'Chrysalis'," she said, turning to look meaningfully at the chrysalis she had emerged from. "So...that's not your actual name, then." "Correct. The time is not now for me to say my true name. I pray you will forgive me this secret, and I hope it will not be long before I can reveal it to you." She turned back to look at him, a soft pout on her lips. Nngghh, how can I say no to that face? "I...f-fine. That's fine. And what of my second question?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow. "What am I, you ask? I am a messenger, I am an implement, I am the hoof of Xzalamat the Almighty come to set things straight." "...what?" Her answer only added to his confusion. "I don't quite follow you. Also...Xzalamat? That's not a name many know. There are very few references to her in ancient myth, and those that exist don't paint a good picture of her." "And what exactly do your myths say of her?" "Well..." He hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. He was afraid to tell her, in case it upset her. "I will not get angry, Tarnished Relic. I do not know anger. It does not exist in me." He looked at her rather skeptically, but then grudgingly nodded. "Fine. I will tell you. They say that when ponies were made, she got jealous and wanted them to look like her, but she was thwarted by other gods and her plans were stopped." Chrysalis smiled and then began to gently laugh. "What? What's so funny?" "Hahaha! What lies! It is more the opposite. You are not the True Shape. None of you ponies are. You were meant to be made in Xzalamat's image, but she was the one who was betrayed, not the betrayer. But now that you have awoken me to the True Dream I shall be able to do what I was sent here for." "Wait, hold on, 'True Dream'?" He asked, holding up his hoof. "What do you mean by that?" "I have no need for sleep, but I was placed in a state of dreaming in the chrysalis until the appointed day. Now that day is here, and I have awoken to the True Dream, which is life. I have you to thank, Tarnished Relic, for awakening me. You will be at my side forevermore." "F-forever?" He spluttered, staring at her in utter disbelief. "But...I'm not immortal. I can't live forever." "Not yet, no. But if you take on the True Shape, the shape you were meant to have from the beginning, then you can and will live forever. You will not hunger or thirst, and you will not need sleep. You will feast on joy and love, you will drink peace, and you will use your life to the full." "Uh-huh. And the True Shape looks like what, exactly?" "You are beholding it." She spun in a circle, then posed elegantly, fluttering her lashes at him. "It is perfection. It is the image of Xzalamat. I am like her, only less divine." "Look, I do think you're...um...lovely and all, but..." He bit his lip. "I don't know if I want to look like that. And I think a good many ponies would agree with me. It's just not...um..." "Beautiful?" She asked softly, and he sighed heavily, nodding again. "Xzalamat is the first and the last, she has always been and always will be, and it was her plan to make her earthbound children in her image, just as her heavenly daughters were made in her image. If she had not been betrayed, then this would be the standard of beauty. But she was betrayed, and that corrupted form you now bear has become the standard." "Corrupted? Be careful who you say that to. Some ponies might be offended." "I did not come to cause offense, only to gather all into the chitinous bosom of Xzalamat. I cannot control what others think. I can merely appeal to their hearts and minds. I am to do whatever I must to succeed, but I may not cause pain, nor may I force the change. Ultimately, each pony will have to give me permission to rework them into the True Shape." She probed his emotional energy, and saw there disbelief, doubt, and a small wisp of fear that Tarnished likely didn't even consciously notice in himself. "Do not worry, I shall not ask this change of you today, though. I will give you some time to meditate on it." She turned and looked towards the light coming in through the doors, the light outside getting dimmer by the moment. "Night is fast approaching. Do you think you will be able to travel?" "Y-yeah, I think I *yawn* can." He yawned wide, putting a hoof over his mouth, and when he pulled his hoof away and opened his eyes he saw her staring at him with a knowing look. "What?" "You are tired." It wasn't a question. "Um...yeah, a little. But I think I'd be okay if we getting going now." "That is out of the question. I know that you need rest, and rest you shall get." She lay down on the smooth glossy stone of the shrine, and gently patted the spot beside her. "Come, sleep beside me, and I shall watch over you." "I...uh...um..." "I won't bite, if that is what makes you hesitate." She giggled softly, then flashed him a gentle, motherly smile, and immediately he felt all the more drawn to her. The love and care she was willing to give to him absolutely radiated from that smile, and any lingering unease that the sight of the fangs initially caused was washed away. "Rest is what you need, and I assure you that you will rest all the better snuggled up beside me." "S-sure...all right then." He slowly and cautiously laid down beside her, and she threw a hoof around him, pulling him close. Though Chrysalis' chitin was tough, it was also quite smooth and pleasant to the touch, and he let out a happy sigh as he melted against her. "Mmm...you're quite comfy." "I am glad. Now sleep, Tarnished. Sleep, and I shall see you when you awake." "What will you do in the meantime?" "I shall pray to Xzalamat. I shall also meditate on the deeper things. And I will watch over you." She purred and leaned down to gently nibble at his ear, making him wriggle with delight. "You are too cute." She said, giggling, with Tarnished hiding his blush by burying his face against her neck. "Th-thank you." He yawned again, then softly smacked his lips, laying his head down and closing his eyes. Chrysalis gently buzzed her wings, filling the chamber with the gentle hum, and she stroked her hoof through his mane with a whisper soft touch. Chrysalis would watch over him. She would take good care of him. He had never felt so safe before in his life, not even when he was a young foal snuggling with his mother. Something more than his mother was here, something ancient and divine and powerful, and she loved him.