Past And Future
Chrysalis sobbed as she bolted towards the nearest group of stunned bystanders.
“You have to help!” Chrysalis screamed, seemingly in hysterics. “He tripped and fell and it shattered and he’s not moving!”
The stunned assortment of earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi all stared at her. Chrysalis whimpered faintly, pointing with a hoof towards the shattered door. “He’s not moving!”
There was a shuffle of movement, as a stallion began to bound towards the shattered door
Chrysalis waited until the stallion grew close to stepping into the store itself before she called out. “W-wait! Don’t go in!”
The stallion paused a moment, staring back at her for a long moment.
“H-he shattered a bottle of Niteshade!” Chrysalis whimpered, shaking her head rapidly. “D-don’t go in or you’ll get poisoned as well!”
A murmur of concern rippled throughout the crowd of ponies. One of the pegasi peeled off from the group and streaked into the sky, heading for Canterlot.
Chrysalis collapsed in the street, curling into a ball and rocking back and forth, letting the tears stream down her cheeks.
“You have to save him! You have to!” Chrysalis wailed as the ponies milled around the entrance of the shop helplessly.
It was several long, tense minutes before Princess Celestia herself arrived, dropping out of the sky like a stone. Her horn glowed brightly, and a pink bubble appeared around her form before she bolted through the front door of the store. She didn’t bother opening it, just crushing the entire thing off its hinges in her haste, pushing through to the store room. There was silence outside the building, as the crowd waited expectantly, watching with bated breath.
The Celestia that emerged was much more subdued than the one that had entered. A large shape covered in a white sheet levitated in front of her, encased also in a pink bubble to keep any lingering spores from being spread throughout the crowd.
The bundle was placed on the ground and Celestia turned. She placed her glowing horn against the front of the building, causing a large pink bubble to erect around it, shielding it from the ponies.
“No one is to enter this store!” Celestia called, as the bubble surrounding herself shimmered out of existence. She pointed a hoof at Chrysalis. “You, come.”
Chrysalis lifted her tear-stained face and let her eyes meet the princess’, her ears splaying backwards.
“I-I’m s-sorry...I-It’s all m-my fault,” Chrysalis murmured, meekly starting to follow the princess, feeling her heart starting to beat faster in her chest.
Celestia led the changeling towards the largest gap in the crowd, motioning for them to open their ranks. The sheet-covered body of the shopkeeper was carried on soft magic several feet off the ground, leading the way. Celestia turned to regard Chrysalis with piercing pink eyes, asking sharply, “Your fault?
Nodding shakily, Chrysalis gave a soft whimper. “I-It’s all my fault, I-I shouldn’t h-have been arguing with him... I-I just wanted a better price for the niteshade so my uncle would be proud of me... b-but I only distracted him a-and he didn’t notice the broom. It knocked a jar off the shelf a-and he shook a little bit and then he just collapsed...”
The princess nodded as she led Chrysalis out of town. Celestia ushering her behind a stand of trees beside the road. Her horn began to glow, glimmering with energy.
Chrysalis inhaled, ears splaying backwards and heart fluttering in fear. Was this the moment? Was she found out? She tried her best not to wince or shudder as yellow magic flowed over her form. It felt like a high wind, brushing over her and sweeping through her mane and tail, picking up force and intensity as time went on. She was forced to squint into the rushing wind, and then close her eyes to protect them.
Turning her head downwards towards the flow of air, Chrysalis tried to form a better profile for the wind to rush over, instead of buffeting against her.
And then it was over. The wind died down as quickly as it started, as the princess looked her up and down appraisingly. “The pouch. Remove it\.”
Chrysalis blinked a moment, her ears splaying back. She lifted a hoof tentatively to undo the clasp of her carry pouch and place it carefully aside.
Celestia’s horn began to glow once more and a rain cloud drifted down from the sky to rest above Chrysalis. A quick twist of Celestia’s head caused the cloud to empty all over the unicorn, drenching her instantly in a heavy torrent of water. She was left standing there on splayed legs, eyes wide, dripping wet.
The Princess looked Chrysalis over for a moment, sniffing once. “There. That should be adequate,”
Chrysalis stood there, dripping wet, blinking slowly.
“Are you okay?” Celestia asked, her demeanor changing a little bit, her tone softening.
Chrysalis peered up at the princess for a long moment, her ears pinned back against her skull. She was dripping wet, shivering, and cold.
“I-I don’t t-think so,” Chrysalis murmured, shaking her head.
A soft, helpless sigh left the Princess. “I’m sorry, Cee. But...these things happen, try... try not to dwell on it.”
“I watched him die...” Chrysalis replied in a quiet tone. “I watched him die and I didn’t even help...”
Celestia nodded understandingly, “You couldn’t have done anything. Niteshade is a potent poison... and he probably inhaled a great deal of it when the jar shattered. If you had tried to help, you’d likely be joining him.”.
“It...It doesn’t help me feel any better,” Chrysalis responded in a small voice.
The Princess gave a soft sound and stepped forwards to nudge Chrysalis reassuringly with her nose. “Don’t dwell on it. It will destroy you. No one is going to blame you for what happened.”
“...Promise?” Chrysalis asked hopefully, ears perking upwards.
“Promise,” Celestia confirmed, rubbing her nose against the unicorn’s soothingly. “Now... Go. Get home. Try not to... think on what happened.”
“I’ll try...” Chrysalis responded quietly as the Princess turned and began to walk down the path again, carefully holding the bundle of sheets in front of her with her magic.
“P-princess?” Chrysalis queried, before Celestia had gotten too far down the path.
Celestia paused, peering back over her shoulder.
“Y-you’re alright,” Chrysalis muttered, staring down at her hooves.
Celestia nodded and inclined her head in respect to the unicorn’s words. She smiled sadly a moment and then continued to move down the path.
It was several minutes before Chrysalis managed to get control of her heart and breathing enough to think coherently. Shivering, she leaned down and picked up her carry case. She clipped it back around her neck, and turned to head back into Ponyville.
Chrysalis wore a sad mask as she picked her way between carts and whispering ponies, but inside, she was smiling. She had duped Celestia herself. The Princess didn’t even suspect that the Queen of the Changelings was right there in front of her the entire time. And her little ‘incident’ with the shopkeeper had gone very smoothly.
As Chrysalis dug around in her carry pouch for the shopping list that Evergreen put together, she allowed herself to exult in her triumph. After that, there was no need to doubt that she was still the same queen she used to be... But then, that left the interesting question of Evergreen. He intrigued her. It wasn’t something she could put her hoof on and define, but it was certainly there.
Pondering on her feelings for Evergreen, and trying to make herself seem as traumatized as possible, Chrysalis continued her shopping.
Evergreen was nowhere to be found when Chrysalis pushed open the door to his cottage, letting herself in and dropping her small sack of goods on the bed with a low groan.
Arching her back, Chrysalis stretched her forehooves forwards, giving the lowest of moans. Her neck was tense, and hurt whenever she tried to straighten it; the constant twisting of her head from carrying the sack in her mouth all the way from Ponyville had seen to that. On top of this her legs ached, not accustomed to walking such long distances.
For a second, Chrysalis considered soothing her aches with magic before crushing the idea. She hadn’t blacked out or anything stupid like that all day, but she was still finding it impossible to gauge how much energy she had. The blast at Canterlot must have addled her magical senses; she wasn’t sure if she was brimming with the energy she fed upon or if she’d end up back at square one by so much as lighting another fire.
Just existing didn’t use much energy, especially when Chrysalis supplemented it with food. But magic, be it transforming, or lifting objects used up her energy reserves much, much faster.
It bothered her that she hadn’t felt a dip in her energies when she changed her eyes to scare the shopkeeper. She drifted off for a moment, giving herself a few seconds of guilty pleasure, remembering the fear in his eyes as she choked the life out of him. It still excited her to know that she held that kind of power in her hoof. The power to choose how someone died. it was certainly satisfying.
Humming a jaunty tune to herself, Chrysalis slipped back outside to gather another load of split logs. She dragged them back inside, setting the fireplace up for a nice little blaze. She stacked several more logs around the old cauldron, ready to be set alight to heat the water for a long bath.
After that, Chrysalis had nothing to do but wait. With a faint sigh, she moved over to the fireplace again, taking down the box of matches from above it. She started to strike one, attempting to light it so she could get the fire going. She had never had to use matches before, seeing as she could just use her magic.
It took a few tries, and a few snapped matches before Chrysalis figured out how to flick her hoof just so to light the match, and then slipped the burning tip underneath the kindling. After a little while, the log caught, and began to burn merrily.
With a contented sound Chrysalis settled down in front of the fireplace, resting her head on her forehooves. Now this she could get used to. It was so simple and tranquil. It was a complete change of pace from what she was accustomed to. Her targets had always been the kinds of ponies who gravitated towards social events. The kind who were always at parties or fancy get-togethers and the like. She had never even considered trying a simpler pony, and the simpler life.
There was always pressure with her old masquerades. She always had to think how her targets would handle a certain situation, how they would react. And then there were old friendships to continue with ponies she had no interest in. She was constantly on her guard and always using magic to make sure that nothing went too awry.
But here? With Evergreen? It was so simple. She didn’t have any pressure. Sure, there was the shopkeeper, but he had been a pleasure to deal with. To feel that power in her hooves. She had destroyed him without even needing to use her magic. That made her feel powerful. That made her feel like the omnipotent Queen that she was.
But then there was just lazing here, in front of the fire. It was... something else. There was no sense of empowerment, none of the fulfilling sense of strength that she got when she was manipulating others. But... it was enjoyable. She couldn’t fathom it, couldn’t understand it. She had never really enjoyed anything for the sake of enjoying it before; everything she did had had a purpose. It was all focused on her next target, or, for that matter, her current target. Maintaining her cover, siphoning energy, and then moving on to an unrelated couple before anyone realised what was happening.
And then... there was those little wistful urges she kept getting. Just lying there, in front of the fire with Evergreen, with his hoof over her, with the warmth of his body against her own. That was pleasing. It was just as pleasing as ending the shopkeeper’s life, somehow. It made her feel content.
Chrysalis pondered on the bond itself, the bond she shared with Evergreen. She had never had this kind of link before; a natural liking for her herself. She wasn’t substituting herself for another pony and stealing the energy. She was the destination of Evergreen’s affection. And somehow, this energy was...purer than the energy that she got from others. It felt right. All of the energy she stole from others was tainted somehow in a way she couldn’t fathom or begin to understand. It was like being someone who had eaten stale bread her entire life suddenly finding a full loaf of fresh-baked bread, steaming hot and soft. They were the same, but utterly alien to each other in ways that couldn’t be readily defined. Same ingredients, same makeup, but different.
She knew that some of her kind had defected from the Changeling way of life and attempted to love each other; those forays were always short lived. It was like those perpetual motion experiments she had seen a crazy scientist performing seemingly centuries ago. A chain of motion happening with a net gain instead of loss; but there was always a loss. No matter how much two changelings loved each other, neither ever fed enough energy to the other to recoup the loss of their own. Even at a perfect balance, each spell, each movement, each breath they took ate away at the shared energy they possessed until there wasn’t enough left to sustain them and they faded away to nothing.
A soft sigh left the Changeling Queen and she found herself wishing, for just a moment, that she wasn’t what she was. She felt wistful thoughts towards just lazing with the big dumb oaf Evergreen all day, drinking his magical tea and resting with him in a large cauldron of warm water. It would be nice. Nay, it would be perfect.
But the other part of Chrysalis’ mind, the part of her that was practical, knew that it would never work. She was a changeling. Eventually, Evergreen would begin to weaken. First would come the headaches and the twitches, the fatigue and the sicknesses. And then he would waste away to nothing or, as was more often the case, take his own life in a fit of depression.
That was all Chrysalis’ future held: a constant string of partners, each of them as insignificant as the last. All she could do was glean as much enjoyment from them as possible before she moved on. Whether that be the joy of manipulating them and watching them being slowly destroyed from the inside out, or, like Evergreen, where, for the first time ever, she would be sad to leave her target.
Either she left, or she watched him die a horrible death.
It was a long way off yet, but the knowledge consumed her.
Chrysalis contented herself with lazing, staring into the flames. But her thoughts ate at her mind and her contentedness.
Suddenly, the fire didn’t seem so warm.
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...mmm good chapter, Chrysalis is taking a turn for the better!
good story so far looking forward to more.
yea good chapter...and i like how she's comin round to to the good side...sort of
Moar. This Is such an awesome story. I love it.
Welp, there goes my theory that Celestia knows who Chrysalis. Man after the finale they really did take Alicorns down a huge peg. I thought she would see right through Chrysalis disguise, especially after there being a dead alchemist, who KNOWS how to work with Nightshade. But yeah Celestia I am disappoint, I thought you were all knowing and powerful :(
Question thought, in the first chapter you describe that Chrysalis past mode of operation was that she disguises herself for a while, then leaves while wiping out both partners memories.
But in this chapter, it seems that she pretty much enjoyed watching her previous victims die as she fed on them, not just leaving them after some point and wiping their memories.
Or did I read that wrong? It is 2am in the morning
Nice analogy with the perpetual motion machine.
And you even answered my question of what would happen if a Changeling ever tried to forget he was a Changeling and live a normal pony life as someone's genuine lover. Though I wonder about a larva that was put in as replacement for a foal and was nurtured for their whole life with multiple sources of affection.
Well, she's turned out to be really nice to Evergreen. Even considering selflessly leaving him for his own good. So sad. Hope the next pony is a complete asshole, and she can judiciously murder him
NEW CHAPTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Woah hohoho! New conflict! Now there's a new hurdle to get past! And so the plot thickens...
Really great, I was refreshing pages all day today and yesterday to catch this update, and the self-contemplation part of this chapter was probably the best part of the story thus far. I felt it added a new layer, now that the pony she'd inevitably kill would be the one she'd love.
It also shifts some burden of the plot to Evergreen. If he chooses (as if there was a choice, though) to continue to love Chrysalis, he'd
a) die.
b) have to stay far, far away.
Or to try and end everything. Rather tough choices there.
All I can say is looking forward to the next chapter! Now that your steam engine has died down a little I'll be checking on the story just once a day
Muahah, Another great chapter.
You hear that? It's the sound of me hitting the refresh button!
I like how she is turning for better but her evil side of her still remains.
maybe this purer bond will not effect evergreen in a bad way?
If i'm right say u don't know what i'm talking about. If i'm wrong say u don't know what i'm talking about. i don't want any spoilers
I hope she snaps when evergreen eventually gets crushed under a falling timber tree (you know, and EVERGREEN tree!
) and kills celestia. just *WHIP-SNAP* broken neck.
502393
But...i do know what you are talking about.
Like the bond she normally had was a corrupted bond, causing harm over time
But the one she has now is pure, because it is of everfree's choice.
Aah, the artichoke thickens!
502131
To be fair, it's not Celestia's fault that her portrayal in the season 2 finale doesn't live up to inflated fan expectations. She's never so much as actually claimed to be the all-seeing, all-powerful goddess parts of the fandom want to see her as (in fact, religion doesn't really ever seem to come up at all), and neither she nor Luna (not even as Nightmare Moon) have ever really displayed abilities that would indicate that they belong anywhere near that level on the show. Raising the sun and the moon, while visually impressive, doesn't actually count if "Hearth's Warming Eve" is historically accurate in that regard and the same tasks were once upon a time performed just fine by perfectly mortal unicorns.
So...yeah, I can picture Celestia not automagically seeing through Chrysalis's disguise just fine. It's possible that there is not even a spell for that (yet, anyway -- I'd imagine that after the attack on Canterlot, the princesses would have every royal wizard available start researching suitable detection and unmasking spells if at all feasible), in which case...she'd be simply forced to fall back on her own senses and smarts just like every other pony.
Very good story, really enjoying it.
I would point out, though, that Chrysalis's thoughts in the chapter clearly state that it's when two CHANGELINGS that love each other try to feed off each other they fail, not a changeling and a PONY. Also, she was worried that she would drain Evergreen to death- clearly, she nor any other changeling has experienced real, freely given love from a pony. If draining stolen love gradually kills a partner, there's no guarantee that feeding her freely given, unconditional love would kill him, that's an assumption on her part.
So there is a way this could work out.
that was some skilled acting from her part, she fools celestia ones again.
and she is starting to warm up to Evergreen but its good to see that your not making her 100% gentle and soft and that she still have questionable morals left when it comes to everyone except Evergreen.
so far i think you done a grate job, this is one of the few Chrysalis shippings i actually like so i really commend you on this, job well done indeed
For future chapters i hope you expand the story a bit, maybe have some more slice of life aspect in it, she could meet one of the main 6 how all played a big role in her defeat, her meeting twilight who also be interesting sens she alone played the biggest role in her deffet, who'd be interesting how she who handle that meting while still stay in character.
but im not fisking for anything special, just hope you introduce more of a slice of life and maybe some adventures aspect to it, tho the later one who'd be hard to include,
but you get my point hopefully.
anyways fun story so far
God, you write her flawlessly. You paint her as sympathetic without portraying her as any less evil; She is still a sadistic murderer that (almost) never feels remorse for her actions. And then you have the big "Oh God what have I done" moment, where she realizes that this hollow life of parasitism and subterfuge is all she will ever amount to. Beautiful.
I'm with the others on the freely given love thing, before she was feeding, now she is being fed. She's not draining Evergreen, it's a passive energy transfer, like normal love would work in equestria. I mean, Shiny and Cadance aren't killing each other.
The evil queen has become less evil... well kinda. Her killing the salespony made her feel odd because she actually killed someone for a non-self serving reason. Yes she felt power, but it was Evergreen being cheated that started her hatred for him. Rather than it being "just a job" it was personal.
Great writing, and I really enjoy the discussions they have. She is learning alot about her ways.
Me thinks the "evil" queen is growing a conscience and a heart.
That chapter was kind of a downer. It was great don't get me wrong, but still, I'm sort of sad now.
So she feeds on love constantly, and since love apparently can not continue to be generated by ponies and is instead a finite pool of some kind Evergreen would eventually die.
I sort of figured that as long as Evergreen loved her she would be fine, especially if she kept magic to a bare minimum and also loved Evergreen, which would...I don't know. Do something I guess.
I'm not a big fan of bittersweet endings bro, but this is simply too good to stop reading. Can't wait for more dude!
... Well, aside from the whole 'killing' thing, she's getting better, perhaps, though, personally, this is also pat of why she's so distant. She KNOWS that they age, and that she (apparently) does not. Call me crazy, but I'm not sure I'd be able to stay sane/good like that, watching person after person you love die, and not being able to save them. Yes, you can just find someone new, but that's not quite as easy as some would like to claim it is, since she'd have spent (hopefully/ideally) decades with them...
ANYHOOF... YAY! CHAPTER! *Waits eagerly for the next chapter*
I want to see pinkie pie do something very reality breaking. Pinkie pie does a party for cee, or Pinkie just shows chrysalis just how pinkie pie she really is.
502761
Well I didnt think that because thats what fans thought, I wanted Celestia to be all powerful. Guess I cant have that XD
503908
Pinkie totally would throw "Cee" a party at the earliest opportunity; it's what she does for every new pony in town, after all.
Fourth-wall-breaking conversation between Pinkie and the author about whether she's supposed to know that Cee is Chrysalis optional.
504173
Fair enough.
MOOAR!
Yes I agree, more.
Great chapter as always!
503908
504235
I don't think introducing a fourth wall-breaking Pinkie would be a wise move. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for random comedies, but the author speaking or anypony breaking a 4th in this story would be a disaster, if you will. It simply doesn't fit well with this kind of fic. We're in a middle of a dramatic realization, some serious character development, and having Pinkie waving out to the readers would simply kill the whole setting (at least in my opinion).
That said, there's nothing wrong with a party thrown by Pinkie. But I personally think the emphasis should be on Chrys, as she tries to avoid blowing her cover and overcome her hatred (Twilight would be there at the party as well). A few in-universe jokes would be okay (it's a party, after all), but breaking the fourth wall? In my subjective opinion, that'd kill the whole setting's mood.
On an unrelated note, I don't know if it was deliberate, but this chapter addressed my remarks about the previous chapter pretty well.
awesome chapter, can't wait to see how this turns out, update soon!
A wonderful bout of inspiration hit me while reading your work, and for that, I thank you.
503654
I'm guessing that changelings age in a very different way than normal. Perhaps that when they are feeding their mates age slightly faster, but prevents them from aging, and when they can't find anything to feed on, or must feed on each other, is when they age normally?
504757
(But since Cee doesn't actually live IN Ponyville, Pinkie is probably going nutzo trying to find where she lives and is wheeling her party-cannon all over town. 
)
damn straight! Interestingly I could see Pinkie having noticed Cee during her false flip-out though, and reacting similarly to the first episode.
Also I wonder if Cee can do the memory spell like Twilight, she's old enough to have come across such things. It would certainly avoid an awkward conversation if she could simply show Evergreen her side of the events. (ie she shows Evergreen the alchemist having seen her freaking out because of Celestia, putting 2+2 together, and when he slaps down the newspaper with only two bits the front page now reads that a prince whom looks similar to SA was killed and Celestia herself is looking for the murderer, then his 'illicit proposition')
That right there would prolly not only put her in the clear but make her and Evergreen CLOSER since he gets all uppity and self-righteous about abusive stallions.
502131
I know how to work with knives still been cut though. Accidents happen, especially when you plan it right
A few nitpicks:
You'd think the victims bruised throat and blue face would tip off Celestia as to his real cause of death. Also, does Celestia personally respond to every crime that occurs in Equestria?
2197597 I think Celestia already put 2 and 2 together, after all she did give her a menacing stare I think is how it was stated, but I think what stopped her from breaking her face or anything was the fact she was apologizing and maybe was interested to see that maybe she might be reforming; idk, maybe after I read the rest of this I might get my answer
2197597 Nightshade asphyxiates. The victim would look like that.
That is pretty personal. I hope Celestia isn't called for every single case of "accidental death".
She is operating very well for having been scared shitless the previous day by Celestia.
Ligature marks could still form, though the pony's coat will hide it.
Hello Chrysalis, this is your conscience. It have been a long... oh who am I kidding, we are meeting for the first time!
Was murdering the stallion really necessary? Murder should never be anyone's first thought; just overpower him and escape, if you can. If you can't, wait for rescue.
The shopkeeper did blackmail chrysalis for inappropriate favors, so he is irredeemable in my eyes. If Chrysalis told Celestia the truth about the situation, then it wouldn't be as bad as she would've thought.