Secrets of the Everfree

by PaisleyPerson

Chapter 82: The Changeling Queen's Return

Chapter 82
The Changeling Queen’s Return

“You found another one! But why did Kindling make such an effort to hide this one when he left the last laying out on his desk?” Char took the orb the wolf offered and turned it over in his hooves. Now that he knew just what went into making such a device, he was a bit reluctant to use it. Yet, it was already available... he turned to the carbuncle for guidance, but it only shrugged.

“How do we use one of these things? What does the book say?” They all turned back to the huge volume for reference. Charcoal skimmed the information, but didn’t see any ‘how to’ references or further instructions of any kind. The closest thing he found was a footnote at the end of the section. “‘Note: the Elements of Harmony can be used to reverse effects, see carbuncle gem.’ We already knew that, but unfortunately, it’s the Elements of Harmony we’re trying to free. How am I supposed to work this thing?” Charcoal looked over what information he did have again. Kindling’s notes involved several complicated diagrams that he couldn’t even begin to understand.

“Okay, let’s start from the beginning,” he sighed, taking a deep breath. “‘Stasis Orb. Requires manticore venom to immobilize body, compressed in sandfish egg for indefinite preservation, an outer shell of timberwolf bark for protection and structural integrity, a carbuncle gem to focus the aim and ensure all ingredients work in accord (caution: as a symbol of unity and peace, the Elements of Harmony could reverse effects of orb using the gem as a conduit. Search for substitute?) and band of bogg sprite hair to store the body out of phase.’” Charcoal reread the entire paragraph. “This seems to be the only information we have on what exactly everything does. So let’s work from there.

“‘Manticore venom to immobilize body.’ Well, we know that manticore venom paralyzes the victim, right? That must be what it means by ‘immobilize body.’ But I also happen to know it’s a neurotoxin, targeting specific brain functions to shut down the body, or something like that. Maybe when it’s combined with everything else, it also has a role in trapping the mind in the orb?

“Sandfish eggs are great at preserving things. That’s self-explanatory: Essence’s orb preserved her for a millennia. I guess it’s just to hold your mind indefinitely.

“Timberwolf bark grows back if it gets damaged. I guess if you tried to break open an orb, it would keep the contents safe when it grew back thicker and stronger. And even sandfish eggs probably don’t hold together so well after a while. Timberwolf bark would hold it all together.

“Carbuncle gems are supposed to be symbols of unity and harmony, right? Maybe they have some sort of special magic that makes everything work well together like this says. And prisms can be used to focus light. It would make sense that you could use a gem to target a certain pony.

“Then there’s that bogg sprite stuff. It confused me at first, but if the manticore venom immobilizes the body, then it kind of makes sense. I mean, you’ve paralyzed the body, but you need some place to put it- after all, the orb is only supposed to imprison ponies’ minds. What if the reason bogg sprites appear so ghost-like is because they actually exist in another phase like this says? The sprite hair could somehow be sending the bodies out to another phase for storage while the mind is trapped! Hey! That wasn’t too hard,” Charcoal proudly announced.

“But now to undo the effects. I guess first you need somewhere to put the mind, which means we’d need the body back...” he stuck his tongue out as he practiced on the orb he had, lifting the braid off in hopes he’d get an idea of what to do next. Unfortunately, he remained oblivious to the body that had just materialized behind him. The carbuncle began hissing and spitting, the sandfish scuttled to safety, and the timberwolf sounded his own alarm.

“Quiet, boy. I need to concentrate,” Charcoal scolded, still turning the orb over as he thought. “If the carbuncle gem is what makes it all work, could I just remove it? But then, there’s still a timberwolf most likely dependent on it,” he gently stroked the bark, hoping that maybe the creature could still regenerate. After all, Jasper had recovered, hadn’t he? “Well, if I can’t take the gem out, and I can’t get through the bark without it rejuvenating, maybe I can skip straight to the sandstone egg. Poke a hole in it and let the venom out? But if it really is preserving their minds, it’ll be dangerous to tamper with from that angle, too. Hmph. What’s left to dismantle?” Charcoal began pacing, still completely ignorant to the large black form slumped on the floor.

“If I do take the gem out... I can still reunite it with the bark, can’t I? That’s what created you in the first place.” He still didn’t look at his little friend, or he would have noticed the source of the wolf’s racket. “Well... it’s worth a shot.” Charcoal again practiced on the orb by yanking out a green gem from the top. Right before his eyes, the sandstone egg crumbled, fluid leaked out, and only the husk of timberwolf casing remained in his hooves. “Oops,” he winced. There went another chance to save his friends down the drain.

“GAH!” He slammed the carbuncle gem back into the wooden husk in frustration and tossed both aside. It was still midair when in a flash of light, a fully grown and strongly built timberwolf materialized, the green gem encrusted in its chest plate. This time, Charcoal didn’t even flinch. At least, not until it started growling.

“You’re welcome,” he sarcastically shot back, facing the wolf. But he became confused when he realized it wasn’t growling at him, but rather, something else in the room.

“Wha... What happened?”

Charcoal jumped, not aware anypony else was present. His eyes darted around the room before finally setting on the crumpled, lumpy form of Chrysalis herself. “YAH!” Chrysalis’ head jerked up, narrow pupils scanning for the source of the yelp. She found no one as Charcoal clumsily tumbled behind the desk for cover.

“Who is there? I demand to know!” she announced, shakily standing on her punctured legs. Charcoal happened to notice this incoordination, and decided that if he was going to attack, it was now or never.

Charcoal leapt over the table, a fearsome sight as he snarled, half engulfed in flame as he transformed into a more intimidating and useful dragon form. Chrysalis recoiled with a shriek of fear, but was not fast enough to dodge Charcoal’s attack. He had her pinned to the floor in an instant.

“WHERE’S MY FAMILY?!” he demanded, still hissing and snarling.

“Ch-Charcoal?” she squeaked, obviously frightened. “What are you doing here?”

“You know what I’m doing here! So give it up. Where are they?” Chrysalis shook her head in confusion.

“Are the orbs not in the drawer?” Charcoal found it hard to believe Chrysalis would give up the information so willingly, but without many other options, got off her. He was instantly replaced by the new timberwolf, however, who would ensure that Chrysalis wouldn’t go anywhere while he checked. Charcoal dug through all the drawers in the desk, and even dumped out their contents in emphasis.

“Liar!” he accused.

“No, I’m not! I truly thought they would be there! Kindling must have moved them since imprisoning me,” she pleaded. “Please, you must believe me. He trapped me, too.”

“How’d you escape?”

“Did you not just free me?” Charcoal looked to the mess he’d made on the floor.

“Was that why it all fell apart?” Chrysalis’ eyes actually sparkled with amusement.

“Yes.”

“Oh.” Charcoal’s face flushed. Chrysalis considered the colt... er, dragon.

“You are Charcoal Stormwood,” she decided, “but in the body of a dragon. My spell only gave thestrals the ability to transform into earth ponies. And it cannot be another of your fire dancing tricks, because you’re wearing a suppressant clamp. So tell me, how is this possible?”

“I don’t answer your questions- you answer mine,” the colt angrily snapped.

“Kindling has taught you well,” she sneered. “He succeeded in appointing you as his apprentice, then?” Charcoal’s nose wrinkled in disgust.

“What do you think?” he gestured to the wrecked room. Chrysalis smirked.

“I thought not.”

“Now if you’ll excuse me, now I have to figure out what to do with you before I can go save my parents.”

“Take me with you.”

“You’ve got to be joking?!”

“We both want Kindling’s head... in a figurative sense,” she added when she noticed Charcoal’s disgusted expression. Chrysalis’ facial features were twisted with anger and pain herself. “He betrayed me... and broke my heart. Freeing the Elements may mean my imprisonment, but if I take down Kindling with me, then it is well worth the price.”

“After everything you’ve done, how do I know I can trust you?” Char growled. Chrysalis then proceeded to ignite her horn, and Charcoal felt the pinching clamp release it’s hold. He reverted back to his pony body, rubbing the sore spot and testing to make sure his ability had actually returned. He had a raging flame in no time.

“It also appears as though you have two timberwolves at your service,” she added. “If your fire is not enough to take me down, then surely one of them would step up.” The one holding her down growled agreement.

“I don’t know...” Charcoal wanted to believe her, but at the same time, this was Chrysalis he was dealing with. She was the Changeling Queen, quite literally the master of deceit. Surely she had some hidden agenda up her sleeve?

“The timberwolves are not insurance enough?” She raised an eyebrow.

“You’re a changeling, with powerful magic. I’m a thestral with some fire ability, and you could easily encase the timberwolves in your goo.”

“I have not fed on love in years,” she said. “I don’t think my magic is as powerful as you believe.”

“Then how did you cast that huge conversion spell?” Charcoal challenged.

“You have heard of the sirens of old?”

“Heard of them? I’ve met them!” Chrysalis appeared confused, but did not request clarification.

“Then you know that their pendants absorb the negative energy their songs instill in sailors.”

“Pendant? I’ve never seen Cascade wear any jewelry,” Charcoal frowned. “In fact, I don’t think any of the hippocampi do, excepting the king, maybe.”

“Not hippocampi,” she patiently corrected. “Sirens. True sirens are, shall we say, the hippocampi’s evil counterpart. Hippocampi may train ‘sirens’ to protect their borders, merely luring boats away, or occasionally tempting them to jump overboard. Even then, they deliver the victims safely to shore. Actual sirens, on the other hoof, are dependent on energy to survive, similar to changelings. They wear pendants of special gems that absorb negative energy. All they have to do is sing the appropriate song to instil feelings of envy, rivalry, and even hatred into their victims.”

“This is all very interesting, but I fail how to see how it has anything to do with your power supply.”

“Isn’t it obvious? I managed to obtain one such pendant, and have been feeding on Kindling.”

“WHAT?! No wonder he’s so angry!”

“The gem only absorbs the negative energy, it doesn’t create it,” she interjected. “I realized that I had not been absorbing as much love as I’d expected from Kindling. Though the love ran dry, he had no end of negative energy for me to feed from- every time he threw a temper tantrum I gorged, which collected enough power for the conversion spell. Negative energy is far less nourishing than love, but it sufficed.”

“How’d Kindling feel about that?”

“Oh, I did not tell him,” she hastily assured. “I did not want to anger him further by telling him that he didn’t love me enough- he always did have quite a temper. But I couldn’t let him down either for fear of losing his love completely. Though, now it appears I never had it at all, which brings into question where the small amount of love I was receiving came from.”

“Your subjects,” Charcoal realized.

“My drones have no emotion. They are incapable of love.”

“That’s not true! Shift and Fink both have feelings!” he burst. Chrysalis was taken aback. “They both cared about you and the hive,” he angrily continued, “but you’re still too blind to see them as anything more than ‘drones’.” Chrysalis considered this. Was it possible that all this time, the love within her own hive had been sustaining her?

“If this is true, then I regret that I did not have more time to get to know each of them for who they trule are.”

“That’s all you have to say for yourself?! You’ve treated them like dirt for their whole lives, and you’re ‘sorry’?!”

“I have already wrecked the lives of thousands of ponies, myself included,” she snapped. “Just add it to the list.” Charcoal hadn’t considered that she’d never meant for things to go this far, and fell silent. Meanwhile, Chrysalis unfurled the two halves of the beetle shell atop her back. Reaching between them, she pulled out a small red gem inlaid in a golden pendant, dangling from a delicate chain. “Here. This is the siren gem I have been using to feed. Take it if you wish. I hope this is insurance enough?” Charcoal grabbed the chain. Without any other place to put it, he slid it around his own neck.

“It’s a start.”

“Just promise me you will bring Kindling to justice,” she growled, “and I will help you free the Elements, the princesses, and undo all the damage Kindling has wreaked.”

“I have a friend- the one you converted into a changeling,” Charcoal jabbed an accusing hoof. “You can start by changing him- all of them- back.” Chrysalis winced.

“The only way to reverse any of the conversions, myself included,” she apologized, “is if I find true love.” Charcoal felt lightheaded.

“So he’s a lost cause, then.” Chrysalis scowled. “You’ve been trying to reverse what happened to you for hundreds of years, and after all this is sorted, you’ll be lucky if the princesses don’t banish you to the moon!”

“Only those who control the solar entities can be banished to them.”

“You know what I mean! The point is my friends are doomed because of your actions, but you’re also my best chance at finding my parents. So for the time being, I will tolerate you, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. One wrong move, and you’re toast. Got it?” She narrowed her eyes.

“Understood.

“Then where will Kindling most likely have moved the orbs?”

“I know he stashed some of his materials in the catacombs,” she offered.

“Then let’s go.”