Chapter 7: Going Through Changes (Unedited)
Chapter 7: Going Through Changes
Chrysalis collapsed to the ground, her body no longer willing to carry the combined weight of Caduceus's limp form and her own any further. Crying out, she tried her best to crawl toward the shimmering lights off in the distance, her one beacon for survival. The colors faded around her, turning to indistinct gray shadows.
"Just a little further," she murmured. The cramping muscles in her legs curled up against her body, refusing to move any further. She could hear the howl of the wind as it sped up with the rising of the sun. The weight of the blowing sand covered them, weighing down atop her head and forcing her to bow before the desert's might. No matter what she did, she could not escape her eternal suffering.
"P-Please. Don't. Let it end. Like this..."
o.0.o
As a strange light danced across her face, a young black mare slowly stirred from her deep sleep. She was enjoying perhaps the most restful night of sleep since she was taken and would be damned if she let anything short of a cataclysmic earthquake disturb her slumber. It had been far too long since she had been able to dream without having one of the strange creatures rip her from her cot and drag her into the laboratory for the first round of "tests." But now wasn't the time to think about that, it was time to dream peacefully.
Suddenly, a voice pierced the veil, "Oh my! Lord Danaus, come look!"
The mare's body went rigid. They must have come for me, she thought. Some part of her wondered who this Danaus was and what they'd done with the females that normally came, but those questions would have to wait. Preparing for the worst, the mare did her best to get ready for a fight, but she could feel that her body was in no shape to even stand without some form of help. From her place on the cold ground she could hear the distinct sound of heavy hooves fall against stone at a steady pace. The sound grew louder and stronger until they stopped just short of where she lay.
The mare was fully awake now but did not open her eyes. This one sounded large. Not even if she were completely healthy could she take down such a stallion without the element of surprise. So she decided to wait and gather what little strength she could.
"What is it, Thysbe?" a deep male voice asked with an annoyed sigh. "I have no time for your little games."
The female's voice wavered slightly as she spoke, "My Lord, t-this is no game. Look!"
The male, who must have been Danaus, prodded an experimental hoof into her ribs causing her great pain, but she did her best to hide it, waiting for a better moment to strike. His response was highly pompous and impartial. "Why, it is another one of our subjects sleeping on the streets. Poor thing probably hasn't gotten enough to eat in a while and is likely to turn feral soon. Oh well, the best we can do is give her a swift death." The mare could hear the all-too-familiar sound of steel being drawn from its leather sheath.
"But Sir, look at her. She is not starved, she is just severely injured!" Thysbe explained. "She just needs to get to a doctor."
The young mare was confused. They used words like 'starved' and 'feral' when referring to her condition. Were they worried she had some form of disease? Well, that wouldn't be improbable, considering where she had been for Creators knew how long. The black mare felt herself being hoisted off the ground by the scruff of her neck. The protest of unwanted movement from her battered body forced a pathetic whimper past her lips.
She opened her eyes to be greeted by the terrifying sight of a rather large black stallion, his piercing gaze burning its way through her very soul. His horn, which reminded her of a curved blade, glowed eerily in the darkness that surrounded him. His nightmarish visage turned into a snarling grin, freezing her in place.
"So she does, Thysbe, but what of it?" he said, his voice nearly a growl as he spoke. "She is far too young and weak to contribute much to the people, and far too old to be trained into a hive slave. Bringing her back with us would bring nothing but a greater burden on our already broken society."
It was then that Danaus dropped her. It was not a long fall, but enough to let the laws of physics play havoc with her broken form. As her head connected with the hard stone floor, the pain was instant and severe, causing a loud, almost unbearable ringing in her ears. The muffled sounds of a rather heated argument could be heard through the noise as the mare began to search for her bearings again. From her new angle on the floor, she could see the two strange ponies completely. The smaller one, whom she had guessed to be Thysbe, was a slender, black mare with long, moss green hair. Her body and face were shielded by a large scarlet cloak with a strange golden embroidery.
The other was a large stallion, clad in armor of a strange blue-ish green material too intricate and polished to be used for battle. A ceremonial piece, perhaps? The mare couldn't be sure, but she did take notice of the large blade resting on his hip. Its sheath was a blood red leather decorated with silver in the shape of a dragon's head, sending an intense chill down the mare's spine.
"Enough of this!" Danaus bellowed as he shoved Thysbe to the side, leaving nothing between him and the black mare on the ground. Out of nowhere, the large stallion drew his blade and lifted it above his head as he stared down at her, "If she cannot even defend herself, what use is she to us?!"
It's now or never, the black mare thought as she rolled towards her assailant and jumped from the ground. Then, she head-butted the stallion in his unarmored underbelly and knocked the wind from his lungs. Danaus fell backwards as he dropped his sword. Giving him no time to recover, she used what little magic she could muster to catch the weapon as it fell and level it at the armored foe's throat.
Judging by the look on his face, Danaus’ mind was still trying to process what had just happened. His look of confusion eventually turned into one of feigned satisfaction, and he gave her a cheshire grin. "Perhaps she is not so weak and useless after all," he said. The black mare grunted, not as a show of dominance but a means of suppressing the agonizing pain shooting through her body. Every fiber of her being was telling her to collapse. Her muscles ached, her chest tightened with each breath, and her head pulsed as the little blood she had pumped through her skull. Still, she held the blade steady long enough for the other mare to step in.
"It's okay," she whispered. Thysbe's magic gently took hold of the blade and she moved it away from Danaus's neck, allowing the stallion to rise to his hooves. As soon as she released her grip on the weapon, the black mare collapsed, her body finally giving out on her.
"Whoa there!" The black mare felt herself being wrapped in Thysbe's forelegs as she attempted to keep her from falling, but the black mare fell through her arms. With nothing left to keep her up, she fell into a rather large puddle and...
Wait, Chrysalis thought. I don't remember any puddles.
Chrysalis's eyes shot open and found herself submerged in a pool of water. Realization of her imminent drowning slammed into her chest like a rampaging minotaur and she reached for the sides of the container, pulling herself above the surface before she passed out. Bending over the edge of what she could only assume was a bathtub, Chrysalis began heaving, expunging all of the liquid from her lungs and onto the tiled floor. Out of instinct, she finished pulling herself out of the tub and propped herself up on one foreleg as her other pushed against her chest, finishing the exorcism of liquid from her body.
Collapsing to the hard tile floor, Chrysalis did her best to catch her breath as she searched her surroundings. It was a small, quaint washroom painted in a simple cloud-white color with traces of grey scattered along the walls. Just above the toilet was a wooden shelf lined with different reading materials as well as a scented candle, burning softly as it produced its incense. On the opposite side of the wall was a small sink covered in bottles and small boxes, which, judging by the red crosses she could see on their labels, were medical supplies.
The door to the room swung open, revealing a small pegasus mare with a sky-blue coat. Her mane was rather peculiar, with a blue, grey, and snow white streaks all tied together with royal blue ribbons. Her golden eyes were soft and kind, yet full of apprehension at the sight of the stranger lying on the ground before her. Chrysalis could do nothing more that stare up at the mare until she looked down into a puddle of water on the floor with a gasp. She could see herself, not as the orange earth pony she had disguised herself as, but as the Queen of Changelings. This did not surprise her since she had used every ounce of her strength to get out of the desert alive. No, what surprised her was the fact that her horn, once sharp and twisted, had become a straight, normal unicorn horn.
Her initial reaction was that of sheer panic, scrambling away from her reflection like a foal afraid of their own shadow. The longer she stared at her reflection, the more she began to contemplate how this could have happened. Did she subconsciously morph her horn once she saw the mare? Where was Caduceus? Was he alright? Was she dead, and was this some sort of fantasy that she wished would come true?
It was that question that her mind latched onto. She knew she could not have morphed her horn in her state, at least as she remembered it, and so she must be dead. Even as this confirmation began to weigh on her chest, it was thrown off by the thought that if Caduceus was not with her, he must still be alive. This thought brought a glimmer of hope to her racing mind. If she had helped him survive, it meant that she had done something noble with her existence in this world. She would never see his face again, never hear the sound of his laughter or see the sight of his smile or lay next to him beneath the stars, but the grief at this possibility was overshadowed by the knowledge that he would be safe. Thus, the thought of these fleeting moments brought warm tears to her eyes, and she cried freely before her angel, waiting for her judgment and knowing that, though she would undoubtedly pay dearly for her life of wickedness, she could at least receive some shred of mercy for that one last act of selfless good.
The sky blue mare rushed to Chrysalis's side, helping her to her hooves. Chrysalis could feel the mare's warm wing rest over her withers in a comforting embrace. It only brought more tears from the depths of Chrysalis's soul, forcing her knees to grow weaker as she returned the kind mare's gesture. They collapsed to the floor, the mare allowing Chrysalis to cry into her fur, all the while stroking the Changeling Queen's mane and quietly soothing her. If the mare was speaking words, Chrysalis could not hear them, not over the beating of her....
Heart.
Chrysalis's eyes snapped open. Wait, she thought, reaching a hoof to her chest. If I can hear my heart and feel its pulse, then I must not be dead!
"Then this is all real."
The pegasus mare pulled back slightly from Chrysalis. "Why, of course this is real," she said. Chrysalis laid a hoof on the mare's chest, using her as a support to help her sit upright. She looked up, the last remnants of her tears rolling down her cheeks. Any apprehension the strange mare might have had before had long since faded into a soft, caring smile, the same kind of smile one would show a crying foal who had just been awoken by the roar of a thunderstorm, and Chrysalis could feel those same emotions of caring that everypony in this land seemed to show for one another when in distress.
Although this was an act of kindness, Chrysalis felt sickened by it. Maybe it was because all her years in the hive taught her that such emotions were signs of pity, and were therefore used to point out one's weakness. Gently, Chrysalis pushed herself away from the mare, not wanting to offend her. With her free hoof, she wiped away her still-wet tears as she returned her curious gaze to the mare.
"I'm guessing you have some questions," the pegasus started, still holding the Queen of Changelings in her warm forelegs. "And I'd be happy to answer all of them. But right now, your coltfriend is not doing well, and I need your help."
Carefully, the two mares made their way out of the washroom and into the bedroom. The sight that lay before Chrysalis looked like an in-prompt-to surgical room; The room's curtains had been drawn, leaving a strange candle light sphere above the bed the only source of light in the room. Several tables of varying sizes and purposes had been covered in bedsheets to allow for a clean surface for what Chrysalis could only identify as Caduceus's medical supplies as well as an old leather-bound book marked with strange runes. Directly next to the bed was a nightstand with a large bowl of water and several towels, but it was when she finally saw what was in the bed that Chrysalis felt herself grow nauseous.
The sheets were stained with blood, constantly being refreshed by the stallion laying atop them. The wound in his chest had become an open, puss filled gash surrounded by dead flesh. His muzzle was caked in a mixture of sand and saliva. Were it not for the constant rise and fall of his chest, Chrysalis would have thought him a rotting corpse.
"I need to clean his wounds before they get any more infected, but he is losing too much blood for me to try anything," the mare said, drawing Chrysalis' attention from the gut wrenching sight before her. "Since you took care of him before, I need your help to stop the bleeding."
Chrysalis took a deep breath to steady herself. "I had to use some of my magic last time, but I do not know if I have enough strength to perform that spell again. It took quite a lot out of me as it was. As weak as I am right now, I am not sure if I could gather enough energy to help."
The sky blue mare's left hear lowered and she tilted her head. "What do you need? Water? Food?"
"Something like that," Chrysalis said with a light sigh. While she has been slowly gathering strength from the mare's basic emotions of worry and kindness, it was nowhere near enough of what she would need to cast her spell and it was very unlikely she would get what she needed from the mare without some kind of provocation. Just then, a thought came to the Queen of Changelings. Something so simple and standard that she was shocked it was not her initial reaction to the situation.
The changeling queen's eyes quickly darted about the room, searching for something to tell her what the mare held dear to her heart. A pet, an image of a family member, or maybe even a lover or crush she had. Anything would do, but Chrysalis could not find anything except a large collection of Doctor Whooves books. She slowly walked over to the shelf and picked one of the novels at random and looked to the cover.
The image depicted a rather handsome looking earth stallion with a brown mane and blue eyes. In his mouth was a strange... glowing screwdriver? Behind him was a large blue container marked by the words, "Police Box." Clearly a work of fantasy.
Chrysalis growled under her breath. Does this mare treasure nothing but books? As great a shapeshifter as I am, even at full strength I cannot become a book!
Looking further down the shelf, she noticed a few small notebooks titled: "Fanfiction Ideas," and after opening the first one and reading the title, the blush that formed on her cheeks told her that this story was not designed for younger audiences.
"P-Please don't read that!" The sky blue mare made a move to take the work from Chrysalis, but the Changeling simply moved the novel out of the mare's reach, which caused her to tumble to the floor rather clumsily with a loud thud. Chrysalis flinched, but quickly returned her gaze to the fallen mare who looked upon her with a blush and a pair of large, pleading eyes which caused a wicked smirk to form on her muzzle.
Perhaps I can get something out of this, she thought. I just hope it will be enough.
"But it seems so interesting. I really must read it," Chrysalis cooed as she began to feel out for the mare's emotions.
"B-But it's not done! Please, dont!"
Chrysalis quickly skimmed through the chapters of the book, finally settling on one that caught her eye. "Oh! Let's start here!" she declared, clearing her throat before she began. "Chapter 5, The Lover's Embrace. I like the sound of it already!"
She could already feel a torrent of emotions begin to flow from the sky blue mare at the mere mention of the chapter. The familiar feeling of embarrassment and shame, akin to a young colt's mother finding a dirty magazine under his bed. Although the emotions were not very filling, they were satisfying enough to watch and would serve their purpose if she gathered more...
o.0.o
Chrysalis closed the small notebook and returned it to its place on the shelf, paying no mind to the now mortified pegasus mare seated before her. It was almost comical to the Changeling as we watched, but after feeling the slight tinge of anger and sadness in the mare's emotions, Chrysalis saw fit to make amends since she just read from the mare's personal fantasy diary.
Compassion... Now that completely unlike her. Danaus saw it fit to erase all emotional connections within her when she arrived at the hive. For years she was taught not to allow her emotions to become readily available, lest her energy be taken from her by one of her people. Her time in Equestria had started to remind her of the true power of emotions, and the time she spent with Caduceus over the past few weeks had reverted her back to the way she acted when she was just a little filly. It was... liberating to say the least, but seeing an errant tear make its way down the cheek of the mare before her reminded Chrysalis that not all emotions are good. She could feel an alien emotion begin to well up within the pit of her stomach which caused her to feel uneasy. Ill.
"Hey there," Chrysalis began, her tone low and comforting as she raised a hoof to the mare's shoulder. "I'm sorry for that, but I promise you that I had the purest of intentions."
The mare looked up at her with teary eyes and a contorted expression that was a mixture of anger and confusion. "I accept your apology, but I won't forgive you. Not until you tell me why I should."
"I'm sorry, but I can't explain what that means just yet. Just know that I did not embarrass you without reason."
Chrysalis then stood and turned to face Caduceus with uneasy determination. As she reached the foot of the bed, she spoke to the mare over her shoulder, "I need you to help me move him so his head is hanging off of the bed."
She could hear shuffling from behind her followed by soft hoof-steps as she watched the sky-blue mare walk over to cradle Caduceus' head with her soft wings. Chrysalis then used her magic to levitate the comatose patient and gently rotated his body into the proper position. After she released her magical grip, the changeling made her way over to the mare.
"Can you keep holding his head?"
A slight nod was the only response she received, but it was all she needed.
With everything prepared, Chrysalis closed her eyes and steadied her breath, inhaling deeply through her nostrils as she honed her focus. She could hear a gasp from the mare next to her, but Chrysalis ignored it as her spell began to take shape; her energy circulated throughout her body like fire through her veins. As it moved from each part of her body to the tip of her horn, she could feel her body growing cold, her limbs began to shake from the strain of holding up her weight, her breaths came in labored heaves, and the world seemed to blur. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of a very small green orb floating before her muzzle just as before. Satisfied, Chrysalis collapsed to the hard wood floor in a heap.
Her eyes were heavy. She wanted to just sleep but as she felt the panic and fear of the young mare, she fought the urge and forced herself to speak to her.
"D. Do not worry," Chrysalis said through gasps of air. "T-The spell. Just. Takes a lot. Out of me."
The exhausted changeling raised a hoof towards the orb floating just above Caduceus' head. "Take. Take that and. Give it to him..."
And just like that, Chrysalis passed out, giving into the darkness that had been tugging at her conscious.
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hm.... interesting. i hope to see more
WOOT!
I LIKE IT!
I hope its not some kind of "reform transformation". Its just cliche
The word you are looking for is "impromptu".
I could swear that I've read this story before...
Wait, I have. Except for some reason, I remember it being called An Affliction Of The Heart.
in-prompt-to = impromptu.
Like it so far! Just update soon, alright? Been waiting awhile for the next chapter.
I'm flailing with happiness right now. Is that wrong?
3621480 I knew this seemed very familiar.
AWW man,
3620824>>3621613
Thank you for that. I had no idea about that.
3621464
While I have no idea what that word means, I am glad that you like it.
3621703
Dungeon Master?
3621886
Only if you are in an Antique Shop (but only if it's classy)
3622001
What is it? Dragons?
3621480>>3621898
Problem with that is that my story is months older and my storyboard for this story is even older than that. It may not have been updated as quickly, but It was set up first.
3622100
Preferably not, just foreshadowing, Couldn't think of anything else
One simply does not read another mare's fanfiction!
3622285
Hurry up and finish RotDK book 2 already.
I haven't started reading it yet, because I want it to be finished before I start so I don't have awkward waiting for new chapters.
3622386
Oh, it's finished...I'm posting the next chapter tonight.
3622417
Sweet.
And thanks for informing me of that, so I know to start reading it.
3622100 no prob
3624033
The guys over at the other site didn't think so. They said it was helpful. Now you gone and hurt my feelings.
Guess imma have to cut chu
At first I read the title as
'Becoming a Whale'
... ._.
3625780
SO IT SHALL BE
fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/241/0/1/whale_dash_by_wowfluttershy-d5cv8nv.png
fast-images.picyou.com/images/4AUMgY/medium_4AUMgY.jpg
i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/543/977/ca9.jpg
3626832 Dear god my sides! buwahahahah oh god!
3626832
That Sweetie Belle one really needs to be turned into a gif.
Hooray, this is back! :)
3621480
There's probably at least ten changeling romance or pseudo romance w/pony fics, plenty involve Chrysalis. Just because Anonymous Pegasus wrote a good/interesting/likable story with similar premises doesn't make his more original or anything else somehow a cheap imitation. FIMFic is full of similar stories and in fact most, probably all, stories borrow from the same themes. Being even vaguely original on here is hard and it's likely that if you wrote such a story today, tomorrow someone will start writing a similar story or post one here they've been working on for 6+ months and suddenly you'll be accused of being shamelessly unoriginal, a total rip-off or something worse. In most cases that's a untrue and unfair assessment/claim.
3650133
You're right. Maybe what I said was a little unfair. I was in a particularly spiteful mood that day, for reasons I won't elaborate on. Sorry for my quip about that.
By the way, what you said about originality... try out my story These Flowers Never Bloom.
Just a suggestion. Hell, go a step further and try the sequel!
3622100
As above, I apologise. I really wasn't myself that day. I'm sure your story has its own merits. Sometime, I may give it a fair chance.
Edit: March to the Scaffold is one such brilliant story.
3650133
This rings true, but what is also a factor is that sometimes, a more popular author who writes a story similar to another will most likely have his/her story gain far more popularity (upvotes) because his/her 1k+ follower base will upvote it because it was written by said author whom they follow. It's kind of sad, really; especially if the story is horribly written. I don't read pony fic because of the "false positive" that really popular stories can have. Just because 2,500 people upvoted it, doesn't mean it's good.
3675127
This story is the only reason any of you know my name. I went from five followers to over 100 with this story alone, and I am very happy with that. Because of this, I really want to make this story as perfect as I can in terms of fulfillment and looks. That has also been where some of my faults have come in as well. In my quest to impress all of you, I have made a few mistakes, jumped the gun once or twice, and almost tanked my chances during my stride.
I want to thank you all for following me, supporting me, and also giving me a swift kick in the groin when you see fit (sometimes I need it tho). You guys are honestly some of the best around and I hope to keep you interested long enough to see what happens in the end of Act 2. I have a lot planned.
3675219
Just to clarify, I don't follow you, and this is the first time I've heard of you and your story. I wound up here from a group that advertised your story, saw the comment by 3650133 and felt the need to input my "two cents", as it were. That being said, your reply to my comment struck a chord in my heart. Especially this part here:
You remind me of myself in a sense, although I feel like a "nobody", even though people say having 187 followers with only one story is good. I'll cease my rambling now; feel free to send me a PM at any time if you want to chat.
An interesting story with a lot of potential. I hope to be able to read more of it soon.
Ok, just read this chapter.
No.
So the whole 'origin of the changelings' story from the previous chapter was false and Chrysalis is actually an experimental test subject? But it's implied she remembers the D-guy. So who told her the fake story... and why were the changelings rejected if the Alicorns knew that they were once Farie ponies... no one tried to help them... why didn't the Elements revert them to normal?
Ugh, the pieces are not coming together here. It just feels like random ideas being thrown together without any clear notion of where any of them are leading or what ties them all together.
I can smell the stale melodrama.
3730811
Hmm... I might make this change. I can see why making the nature of the Faire ponies the opposite would be more of Discord's style seeing as he had already done that with the elements of harmony.EDIT: After reading over it AGAIN, I digress my earlier comment and point you to how everyone received Discord as a whole. A disfigured creature who was able to be turned to good once someone treated him the common kindness that all beings deserved as well as finally being able to be called someone's friend.
3730882
You're thinking far too hard about this, and throwing out too many mixed insults for me to truly understand your point. To understand how this story is going to play out, you need to know a little something about me.
I am a meat and potatoes kinda guy; nothing too fancy or intricate, but full of potential and flavor.
Now that you know this, take another look at everything as well as your comments and how I see this from my end.
3731602 I wrote that comment more than a year ago...
How - any why - did you dig it out?
Caught up to here. Glad I did finally.
Want more. Will I be satisfied? Ever?
Dragon
3736845
Blast from the past...
3750402
Will you? Well, that is a question that only you can answer. Better question is; Will this guy ever update his story in a timely manner so as not to lose my interest?
The answer: Only time will tell.
So the new mare has to kiss him... unless if it was not necessary to begin with.
"we", where did that come from? I don't think that word was mentioned yet outside of dialog.
Hyphen, not a period, and with repeated sounds, the second letter is no capitalized. "D-do not worry,"