My Name is Chrysalis

by hauntu4ever

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We were seated in the middle of the hut, each with a cushion to sit on and a bowl of stew in front of us. Despite Luna's excitement at hearing where I was from, Celestia had insisted on eating the stew before hearing my tale. I didn't mind this, as the stew was delicious. I didn't need food to survive, but that didn't stop me from having a second helping.

Luna was finished first. With the speed at which she had been eating, I wasn’t surprised. The dark alicorn had been shoveling food into her mouth as fast as she could, clearly eager to be done with the meal so I could begin my tale. Celestia ate more calmly, and while her manners were by no means perfect, she did a decent job of seeming refined.

“So,” Celestia said once we were all finished eating. It was all she got out before Luna, who had been fidgeting impatiently while we finished our own meals, cut in.

“What’s it like outside the forest?" she demanded, leaning forward. "Are there other creatures like you? Or us? I bet there are villages filled with creatures out there!" At this point, she was practically bouncing in excitement, despite still being seated. Celestia gave her sister a stern look, but it was clear to me that she was just as interested.

I smiled at them. “Yes, there are villages out there. Some are even big enough that thou cannot call them villages anymore - towns, maybe, or even some cities, and every one as full as thine imaginations could make it.” Both alicorns gaped in wonder at that. I chuckled - just wait until they actually saw their first city! They would be - dismayed. Cities nowadays were barely even habitable.

Trying to shake off the gloomy thoughts, I changed the subject: “and what about in here? I haven’t been inside the forest for more than an hour, and I can already tell that it’s a lot different than outside.”

“It’s boring in here,” Luna replied quickly, “no fun at all! Not like how it sounds outside! Tell us about that some more!”

“Luna!” Celestia admonished.

“Whaaaat?” the younger filly whined.

“We can’t just ask Chrysalis to tell us about her life without telling her something in return! It’s rude!”

Luna frowned at this. “But it’s just so boring here! Nothing ever happens! I want to hear about adventure, about action and epic battles! You know, the kind of thing that never happens in the forest.”

“When you’ve had as much of adventure as I have,” I replied, “this kind of thing - living alone in a giant forest with one other pony for company - seems like a paradise.”

Luna began to look unsure. Celestia noticed it and went in for the finishing blow: “besides, don’t tell me you don’t at least have fun in here. Just think of your animal friends. I’m sure you’ve had some good times with them.”

The darker alicorn looked between the two of us before finally slumping back on her pillow in defeat. “Fine!”

I gave her a comforting smile and offered one hoof. “Tell you what: we’ll trade. I’ll tell you two something in exchange for something you can tell me.”

That seemed to brighten her spirits considerably. She reached out and shook my hoof. “Alright.” I smiled, and we all settled back into a long conversation.

Despite Luna’s arguments that their life here was boring, she was easily the most into telling the stories, often jumping up excitedly and acting out the best parts in midair. Celestia, as I was discovering she was with most everything, was calmer, simply telling the story to the best of her knowledge. Luna spent her sister’s tales miming falling asleep, or making the motions that Celestia wasn’t. At least, until Celestia got annoyed. Then she just sat down and listened. I, for my part, kept them interested with simple tales of cities and the many ponies I’d fed off - without mentioning the feeding, of course. In fact, I tried to avoid the subject of changelings entirely. However nicely they had acted so far, I doubted it would last long once they knew the whole truth.

Of course, I couldn’t avoid the subject entirely, especially once Celestia realized that I was trying to. She was perceptive to have noticed that. Once the inevitable questioning came, I knew I’d have to be careful around her. Thankfully, her lack of knowledge kept her from asking things I wouldn’t have answered. I did end up telling them our power, though, following an explanation about why my horns and legs have holes in them..

“Changelings have the ability to change into any other creature.” Luna and Celestia both gasped at this, but not in fear - actually in excitement.

“Wow!” Luna said, eyes sparkling. “Can you change into me? Or change into Celestia! Please?”

I smiled and shook my head. “Unfortunately, the magic in this forest prevents me from changing. I am limited to normal unicorn magic here.”

“Aww....”

“I will show you someday,” I promised. Luna seemed appeased by that.

Eventually, the conversation got around to the reason I was here. By then, it was just about sunset. With a quick glow of her horn, Celestia piled a few logs on the cookfire and lit it so that we weren’t sitting in darkness. “So what made you come here?” she asked as she did so.

“Yeah, what do you need our help for?” Luna questioned, sitting up from where she had been slumping on her pillow.

I sighed. “Where to start?” I asked aloud. There was much that needed fixing, and much I had to explain. After a moment’s deliberation, I decided to start with the basics. “Doth thou know what makes thee different from other ponies?” Both alicorns shook their heads. “It is the presence of both wings on thine back and a horn on thine head,” I answered. “Very, very few ponies will have both - normally, it is one or the other, or even none at all. But thou hath both, and that makes you special.”

“How?” Celestia asked. “They’re just wings and a horn. I’d imagine that it would be special to both be able to fly and use magic, but beyond that. . . .”

“True,” I replied. “It is not so much what they can do as it is what they represent. An alicorn, as you are called, is gifted with great strength. The last pair was able to move the sun and moon on their own. Unfortunately, they departed this world almost two centuries ago. Thou may very well be the only alicorns in the world right now.”

Luna and Celestia sat, mouths agape, at the power they had within them. “Move the sun and moon?” Celestia echoed. Luna glanced upwards, as if she could catch a glimpse of the moon through the hut’s roof.

“Yes,” I affirmed with a nod. “And as such, it is fortunate I have found you. The outside world is in dire need of somepony to return them - and everything else - to a semblance of order.” With that, I launched into explaining the situation outside - how Discord had taken control of the world from the Great Court, and how chaos had reigned since then; how whole cities had been emptied or overcrowded with a complete lack of balance; of the strange horrors and phenomena that now roamed the world; and finally, how he had wormed his way into the heart of all creatures and begun to destroy the love therein. When I was finished, Celestia was speechless with horror. Luna, on the other hand, was quick to voice her anger.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go get him!” She jumped up and raised her front hooves in a combative position. “We’re alicorns! He won’t even stand a chance!”

I shook my head. “I hath seen his power. Thou may be alicorns, but thou art untrained. Discord has been at this work for fifty years now, and there is no telling how long he has been alive. Thou couldst not win in a fight against him. Not right now.”

“Oh.” Luna floated back down to her seat, a frown creasing her features. “Then how do we beat him?”

I smiled. Luna did not doubt that we would; she just didn’t know how yet. Unfortunately, neither did I. “I am afraid I do not know. Discord is a powerful creature. I am expending all of mine race’s might on finding a way to defeat him, but there is little to go on. If there is one thing he was thorough in, it was making sure he would never be defeated.”

“But there has to be something, right?” Celestia asked.

“We will find it if there is,” I replied neutrally.

Celestia nodded, accepting the answer. “Luna and I can help. We don’t go in the castle often-” Luna snickered at that, earning a glare from her sister “-but it has plenty of books and scrolls. Maybe one of them has the answer.”

I nodded. “That would be most appreciated. I will return as often as I can to see if thou hast found anything.”

“You’re not staying?” Luna asked, as Celestia frowned.

I smiled sadly. “I run a country. I cannot just leave all my duties behind. I must return and direct the search as I can.”

Luna pouted, but Celestia nodded thoughtfully. At least she understood. “Will you at least stay the night?”

I hesitated. While I did need to return, the world outside did not have steady days and nights to measure time from. I could very well have been gone for days already in the few hours I had been in the forest. Surely a few more would not be too much of a worry. I nodded. “Alright. But I must go and find the changeling who accompanied me here. I will not have him stay alone at the edge of the forest all night.”

“Ooh, you brought a friend?” Luna asked excitedly, springing out of her seat. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? Let’s go find him!” With that, she shot out of the tent.

I watched her take off, chuckling. “She does have so much energy.” I turned to Celestia, who was watching me, her expression unreadable. What is she thinking?, I wondered. “We will be back soon - it’s not terribly far,” I said. Celestia just nodded. As I turned to leave, however, she spoke up.

“Chrysalis.” I turned to look at her again. “This world outside the forest sounds like a dangerous place.” She spoke carefully, weighing each word before saying it.

“It is not so dangerous as it sounds,” I replied. “Discord, despite having brought complete chaos to the world, does not do as much harm to ponies as it would seem, at least not physically. His greatest crimes all center around the destruction of civilization and society.”

Celestia nodded. “Then you can promise that my sister and I will be safe out there?”

I nodded. “While you are under my protection, no harm will come to you.”

She held my gaze for a moment before responding. In the flickering firelight, I saw a spark in her eyes. She wouldn’t forgive me if I broke that promise, I knew. “Alright. Thank you.”

I smiled and left to find Luna and my changeling soldier. That conversation confused me, though. If Celestia and Luna weren’t hermits, if I could think of any reason that she would be so careful with her words, then it would only be the final straw. Celestia’s comments were eerily similar to the political intrigue of the pre-Discord era. It was an untrained thing, and she was clearly inexperienced, but the spark was there. And that meant that she suspected something, possibly the secret of my race.

Hope for the best, and prepare for the worst, I thought as I caught up to Luna. These two alicorns seemed nice enough, but there had to be a limit to their kindness. The changeling food source of the love of ponies was certain to be it, not to mention the way that we harvested it. Even if it wasn’t, I needed their help too much to risk it. No, I would have to keep the subject of changeling food away from the alicorns.

Fortunately, there was an upside to Celestia’s natural perception and apparent skill with subtlety. I hadn’t stretched my political muscles in a good 50 years. I began to grin as we flew to the edge of the forest. At least it would be fun.

Comments

[1eragon33]

[Key Strix]

4th chapter! Chop-chop! Keep rollin' them out!

[hauntu4ever]

2043062 2188802
Starting chapter 4 now

[changlinggod45]

not bad u get a like