Chrysalis Wins

by Arkolo

Ch.8 "Love vs. Hate"

Chrysalis wins

Ch.8 Love vs. Hate

Crystal Ponies scurried this way and that, deathly afraid of the dark insectile equines that flew above them. This caused the queen of the changelings to roll her eyes. Little ponies scared of something new, some things never change no matter what nation you’re in it seems.

When she found town square she decided to land there. It was central and had the space for many bodies to gather. Three dozen vanguard changelings escorted their queen to this location, Shade being the closest to Chrysalis.

After her hooves made contact with the crystallized ground her horn glowed. A brief voice amplification spell was cast, and the giant changeling let her voice ring through the empire.

“Fear not crystal ponies, for I am here to aid, not enslave. If you would all gather round, I’ll inform you of the situation.”

Many of the dull colored crystal ponies milled about how unsure they were. Yet, slowly some of the more bold ponies came forward to get a good look at the new comers. The courage of some of their fellows created more confidence for others to follow. Soon there was a good number of the crystal residence gathered in the city square.

“What are you?”

A ruby colored mare stepped forward, her head was cocked to the side and she gave the group of changelings a curious glance.

“We are changelings.”

“Changelings?”

The crowd murmured nervously, were changelings good?

“We are naturally gifted shape shifters, who grow powerful from being around love.”

Chrysalis tactfully edited the word ‘feed’ out of her explanation. For some reason she thought that would made the skittish group even more doubtful. They already looked like a sad enough bunch, and changelings couldn’t feed off of sadness.

The crowd still seemed wary of her explanation, so she thought she might demonstrate.

With a flash of green fire the queen changed into a griffon with bright red and yellow plumage. This caused an immediate and audible gasp from the crowd. Chrysalis smiled at their stunned expressions, before giving her wings a few experimental flaps.

She took to the air and began to circle over the ponies. She continued her lecture to the crystal equines, while she lazily sailed through the air. Chrysalis’s form shifted again, and she was a small white dragon with blue highlights.

“Traditionally, changelings have taken on various forms in our quest to find love.”

Chrysalis changed into a purple pegasus with a brilliant golden mane.

“Though we have been a shy species in the past.”

The next form the queen took was an oversized breezie, she was a spot of green amongst the over sized wings.

“Conditions have recently changed however, and we are no longer as shy as we once were.”

A flash of green flames burned away her disguise and Chrysalis was once more in her own skin.

“I am the Queen of Equestria, and I have come to save this empire from Sombra.”

The giant changeling landed down next to her vanguard. She gave a mental command to Shade.

“Change into Sombra”

She completed the message with a well defined image of the tyrant unicorn, as observed in Celestia’s memory. The vanguard changeling obligated quickly, and turned into a tall dark unicorn, complete with battle armor and cape.

The very image of the crystal slaver sent a shiver of panic through the crowd. They did not break into hysterics immediately, but remained in awed silence as the changeling queen pushed him over. Shade submissively played along, and lay on his side as Chrysalis put a triumphant hoof on top of him.

The sight of the nightmarish tyrant put under the hoof of another equine disconcerted many. They didn’t know what to think of it. Even though a collective amnesia affected the ponies, many suddenly remembered the cruel tyrant would suffer no such indignity. Here standing before them all, was an image none of them thought they would ever see.

Chrysalis saw the crystal ponies began to formulate thoughts, perhaps she could add a catalyst in the right direction… She reached out to Shade with another mental command.

“Emphasize the point, do something, theatrical!”

Her transformed vanguard picked up the cue quickly, and he let loose a very un-stallion-like shriek. He screamed his next words in a thoroughly squealy manner.

“Oh please! Mercy! D-don’t hurt me! I’ll do anything you want!”

One pony started a nervous laugh. Slowly it caught on, and a meandering of chuckles infected the crowd. The atmosphere soon became quite mirthful. Chrysalis smiled at that, the plan to make a positive impression was well under way, such gullible ponies. Little did they know they were just food, lovely food.

“Indeed my crystal ponies, even as Sombra fueled his magic with fear and hate; mine is powered by love, and all ranges of positive emotions. It is with this message that I come, and hope to be well received by you.”

The queen of the changelings lifted the hoof she didn’t use to pin the mock Sombra, and waved it in a regal gesture to the crowd. One stallion ventured to shout loudly.

“Hail the to the Queen of Equestria!”

The vanguard changeling escort bowed low to their queen, which encouraged many crystal ponies to follow suit. A general echo of cheers bounced around the city square.

“Anything to stop Sombra from returning. Hail to The Queen!”

Was the general consensus as it rumbled through the crowd. It actually became a test of wills for Chrysalis not to break into maniacal laughter, at just how easy this was. If only the rest of Equestria would so eagerly bow down this way. Though the queen knew even Canterlot wasn’t a done deal yet, as there were undoubtedly ponies that still cajoled and conspired against her there. Still she could deal with them later. For now, she had these ponies willing to help, even if they were ignorant to her real motivations.

---

“Crsssstalssss, minesssss, ssslavesss.”

Sombra’s disembodied eyes floated down the dark tunnels underneath the crystal empire. He tried to remember even simple things. He remembered hate, so much hate, utterly despicable, and destructive loathing, but for what?

The memories of the shadowy King felt clouded, and not because he was essentially a cloud at the moment.

“Celestia?!”

That bug had mentioned Celestia. It struck a chord within his jaded mental faculties. That name, that name, that name. It brought with it feelings of fear, and loss. Loss, that name, it was responsible for his loss, and he couldn’t even remember why, or how.

Everything had been dark for so long, with only a faint flicker of light now and then. When his icy cage had finally broken, and Sombra was released again to the world, it had taken him hours to figure out he did in fact exist.

Being in his shadow form had no physical sensation. There was no sense of touch, and no hot or cold, not even a sense of hunger. There was definitely emotion. It was so raw, it ate up the attention of the shambled pieces of his mind.

There occasionally came comforts in the midst of his personal confusion. The sights and sounds of the tunnels brought back tid bits of memory. He could remember slaves down here in chains. He could remember their moans of despair, and how it caused him grim satisfaction. They deserved it, they deserved it so badly. But why? He couldn’t remember why.

Shadow form Sombra growled angrily, his anger had built steadily since that bug had burned him with her barrier magic. The crystals embedded in the walls of the mine, darkened with corruption as he passed.

“Cryssstal Hearrrt, is mine.”

One memory held place in his mind clearly. That he wanted that heart shaped rock, if he had it, he could hate all he wanted, and he was full of desire to hate.

The tunnel Sombra’s ethereal body floated down eventually opened into an immense cavern. When he looked up the ceiling kept going for what seemed like miles. More bits of memory flashed through his mind. He remembered the cavern, how he stood in the middle of it, and drove his slaves to dig even deeper. That he wanted something down here, that he had more of a point than merely to dig, but that memory again escaped him.

The fickleness of the memories caused him to roar in frustration. His mighty ghostly tones shook the stale air in the long forgotten mines. If any equine had been close to the noise they would have likely jumped out of their skin, then have to crawl uncomfortably back into it, and try to forget what the experience was like.

“THE CRYSTALS ARE MINE!”

---

A faint ghostly roar rumbled through the ground of the Crystal Empire, though it was so faint most occupants didn’t hear it or disregarded. Shade was still under Chrysalis’s hoof, and he noticed it more acutely, since his ear was pressed to the ground.

“Did you hear anything?”

Shade grumbled at one of the nearby vanguard. It blinked it’s blue eyes, then shrugged. Shade still felt uneasy about the experience, but decided to let his queen finish eating up all the praise she got from the introduction

---

Sombra ascended straight up the empty space of the cavern, when a large grey hexagonal crystal captured his attention. It seemed very familiar, and he had an urge to throw magic at it.

The curved red horn on the king’s ghost face radiated purple and black energies, he directed it in a beam to this hexagonal crystal, which blackened and distorted the air around it. A portal opened just above the abyssal stone, and revealed a daunting set of stairs. This brought a small flood of memories as well.

“Sssstairssss, yesssss!”

Stairs were good, stairs were important. Stairs deterred the weak, and separated them from the strong. Make enough stairs and you could defeat any determined foes. Place enough stairs and spirits would break from the mere sight of it. If there were enough stairs, minds would melt in the tedious circular madness. To be banished to stairs was worse than Tartarus. Stairs could end life if you fell on them, and you would fall after you climbed so many of them. Nothing could beat the unbeatable stairs.

Sombra continued to gaze at the stairs.

Why in Tartarus did he remember so much about stairs? The dark clouds around Sombra’s face formed shoulders, so he could shrug them. Without the fanfare of any more stair related memories he ascended them. The limbless body of ethereal shadow climbed steadily, and relentlessly.

As he climbed the high chamber that contained the stairs it grew brighter. With the patience that only an eon of nothingness could have given him, Sombra kept going. The light illuminating the space became bright as day, and the shadow king kept ascending.

One small eternity later, the king arrived at the top.

He entered the circular room where the stairs ended, and as he did so the shadows around his face whipped away. The overly large shadow head dissolved to a more natural size.

Sombra stood at the top at the highest room of the tallest building in the Crystal Empire, in his physical form. The king’s pitch black mane waved in it’s own ethereal wind, and his heavily armored body clanked as he took steps forward. The memory of walking came quickly and naturally, and he didn’t even stumble in his strides.

A loud, almost magnetic pulse came from the center of the room, and crystal tyrant’s eyes were drawn to it.

“Crystal Heart! I am back!”

His voice had gained distinct clarity, and none of the feral hissing was present.

An explosion of memories came in torrent through Sombra’s mind. All the information surging back into his mind almost overwhelmed him, and he had to brace himself to stay on his hooves. It was done in a moment, and an onlooker wouldn’t have noticed anything but a temporary shift in his posture.

A wicked, evil, sardonic smile stretched wide over the fanged unicorn's mouth. He walked up to the crystalline heart, and gave it a kiss. The ancient relic pulsed even faster than it had initially. Sombra laughed, and walked over to one of the pane-less windows. He saw a large gathering of ponies, and bug things below.

“So this Queen Chrysalis seeks to take my empire, HA! She doesn’t know what she’s gotten in the way of.”

His gaze turned to a window on the tower overlooking the empire and with a mere glance, he spotted the ones who aimed to take his empire. He sneered at their presence.

“The Crystal Empire is mine and with the Crystal Heart at my command, I will crush ANYONE, who dares to defy me.”

Author's Note:

STAIRS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comments

[Night Star the Scholar]

You are on a roll! Hope you don't burn yourself out, but I'm assuming you have already several stories ready. What I'm afraid is that you will eventually burn out & won't finish the story. There are many incomplete stories with lots of promising premises & you are left wondering how it could've ended, but the authors either canceled them or simply stopped updating them.

Not that I don't mind you are on a roll...

[Eonflare]

Someone likes stairs. Don't know why.

[Arkolo]

5889226

Why thank you for the complitment!

and you don't have to worry about burn out. I still have plenty of fire for this story the fact that so many of you have responded to it has been very encouraging! I have outlined most of what i want to do over the course of season 3 and 4's events with Chrysalis, I even plan on adding things that are generated in season 5, atleast if it's relative enough for the queen to deal with. And the story plot hasn't already made it impossible to include.

Lol, and it's a bit of a pet peeve to me as well. When authors have these awesome stories, you read through like 70k words, you're okay with being left hanging cuz the story was good! until you notice it was publish like 3-4 years ago, the updates have been irregular, and the last update was a year ago -way too many story with over 1000 likes that fall in that category- I like to read through frequently update stories, so that was my goal here. Your posting history is the credential for your consistency.

I am however going to take a break until friday to post another update. sorry to everyone looking for a daily dose of chrysalis but IRL calls, in a way that i have to focus on it for a few days. But my schedule opens up friday, and things should be back to normal then.

[TJHoofer]

I'm guessing Chrysalis will use the love of the Crystal Ponies against Sombra? That could be interesting.

Great chapter However, I kinda find the Changelings ability to change their shape and appearance at will rather OP (of course that's just my opinion )

[Inkquill]

I swear the entire time Chrysalis was addressing the Crystal Ponies, I was picturing this in my head:

[Europa]

So, Sombra's mind is healed... shit.

The best part was DEFINITELY his stairs rant. It's... disturbing how much sense that makes.

[nioniosbbbb]

5889850

Hail the queen!”

Hail TO the the queen maybe?

If there were enough stairs minds

comma after enough? Dunno.

To be banished to stairs

Wait what? Are you alluding towards the suffering of Tantalus in Hades' realm in Greek Mythology?

misanthropic

Cannot use this word in a world where humans technically don't exist. Sardonic maybe?

[psychosis]

6130380 Think you mean Sisyphus. He's the one who eternally pushes a boulder up a hill. Tantalus is the one who sits in a pool of water with fruit hanging above him, but is unable to eat or drink either. Thus the word tantalize.

[verypeeved]

i think Sombra would get along with Fluttershy. they're both masters of the stair.