A Time to Think

by The Sonic Mage

Chapter 18: Hide Away

Chrysalis didn’t say a word as the two Changeling guards escorted her through many hallways and down a couple of flights of stairs. As they continued to go onward to whatever destination the guards had in mind, her panic continued to rise. Her eyes would dart about, as if eyes were always on her. Little beads of sweat ran down her the sides of her face. Sometimes she glanced over her shoulder, swearing that there was someone-something-behind her, following her. Sometimes her mind seemed to conjure up the idea that she was being dragged away to the dungeons of Canterlot. And what was more concerning, was that new distant voice in her head seemed to become clearer now, as it continued to speak up sporadically.

‘un…un…un…un…’

It wasn’t clear enough to understand, but it was enough to make her jump a little, or look over her shoulder more often.

After a few more minutes, the blue guard on her left spoke up. “Okay, we’re here.”

They had come to a hallway that had doors on each side in a lower section of the Hive. The air was still, and had an odd smell. Like things were locked away down here, waiting for a time when they will be let out.

Chrysalis looked around, “What…is this place?”

“This?” the green guard to her right said, “This is the storage section. We call it ‘The Vault’. This is where a lot of us put this of high value. Some of it’s inheritance, others are objects of personal value. You want something kept safe for your whole life, you lock it down here.”

Many of the doors were large. There were numbers carved into them, with gemstone handles. Presumably, they were enchanted to further check if the Changeling opening it had the permission to do so.

The trio continued walking down the hall until they stopped at an unlit door.

“Here we are,” the blue guard said, “This one’s not in use.” The green guard wordlessly walked up to it and grasped the bejeweled handle. It reminded her of the basically worthless inhibitor that she used to wear. At this point it was just a very flashy necklace, that sat on the nightstand in her room.

The door, numbered 14, was slowly pulled open, revealing the plain empty interior. The distinct scent of stale air slowly floating to the now open doorway.

For a moment, Chrysalis just stood in the doorway looking in at the space. Her attention was drawn away when one of the guards that escorted her there cleared his throat,making an obvious “Ahem”.

Chrysalis looked to the guard, as he motioned to the inside of the storage room.

“W-Wait,” Chrysalis questioned, catching on to what he meant, “In there?”

“Why else do you think we came here?” The blue guard clearly thought the intent was obvious.

Chrysalis started shaking a bit. The room was bare. And the door made her feel as if she was actually getting put in a high security dungeon.

“I…I-” Chrysalis’ nervous protest was cut off by the red guard.

“Look, it’s not going to be forever, and there’s a light in here, so you won’t be in the dark,” the guard said with reassurance and a pinch of impatience.

Chrysalis looked into the space again, “You’re…You’re sure they won’t find me here?”

“The door will register as locked,” the blue guard assured her, “So on the off chance that the unexpected tour group comes down here, this door won’t be opened.”

Chrysalis sweat a little. She knew that she had to go in there, or risk being discovered. Collecting all her nerves, and taking a deep breath, she slowly walked into the room.

As she entered, she examined her surroundings. The walls and floor were smooth and featureless. Not a single thing stood out about them. On the ceiling, a mass of bio-luminescent plant life anchored its roots. It was the most interesting thing in the room.

“Oh, before we forget,” the red guard piped up, “We got you somethings to keep you occupied.” He floated a large, hiking style pack over to Chrysalis, who took it in her own magic.

Opening the flap, she looked to see what was in it. It was a rather interesting assortment. Inside, there were a couple of books, a pillow and sleeping bag, a small bag of cookies, a drawing pad with pencils, a bottle of Love Extract, and a ball. All together, it was a recipe for a few hours worth of self-entertainment.

“One more thing,” the blue guard grabbed the handle of the door in preparation to close it, “Try to stay as quiet as possible. The door may be thick, but it’s not sound proof.”

“O-Okay,” was all that Chrysalis could manage.

“Great, see you in a bit.” The two then proceeded to push the large door closed. The sound was akin to that of a stronghold fortress gate closing and locking. The amount of outside light shrunk and shrunk until just a sliver could get in before the door shut. Chrysalis tried her best not to shake. She tried so hard not to buckle under the stress and panic. Finally, the doors closed all the way, and the plants hanging from the roof began to glow.

At that moment, she ran up to the doors. She didn’t know what she was trying to accomplish. It was far too late to back out. That, and there had been no other viable options. She heard the guards on the other side. Putting her ear to the door, she listened.

>~~~~~~~~~~<

“Alright then, that’s done.”

“You think she’ll be okay in there?”

“We gave her some stuff and told her to keep it down. That and the door is locked. It’s highly unlikely that she’ll be found.”

“If this doesn’t work, it’s your funeral.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get back to Thorax before the guests start wandering around.”

“Hey, you didn’t call him ‘Your Majesty’ that time.”

“I always mess up when I’m around him!”

“Old habits die hard, my friend.”

“Come on, let’s go.” The two trotted away, their steps leaving echos that slowly faded as they left.

>~~~~~~~~~~~<

Chrysalis was slightly disappointed. She hadn’t learned anything new about the current situation.

‘No use dwelling on it I guess,’ she thought, walking over to the spot where her bag lay. She decided to sort her things and see exactly what she had.

She once again found herself looking around the room. The walls weren’t just smooth, they were solid. The general atmosphere of the whole space was rather dismal, almost prison like.

A terrifying thought then materialized in her mind: Was she being imprisoned? Was this whole situation a set up for the ponies to capture her?

As much as she hated to give her paranoia any acknowledgement, she began to consider the possibility in regards to her current position. It was a good place to catch her. An enclosed space, with only one way out. She would also be very much outnumbered.

However, upon further inspection of her current inventory, the likelihood of this being for her capture decreased. Several of the items she had could be used as weapons. The sleeping bag and pillow were more in the distractions area, but the books and bottle were definitely more viable options. If this was a set up for her capture, it was already rather poor.

Simple really, smash the base of the bottle, use the books as crude shields and instruments of smacking.

‘Magic inhibitors,’ Chrysalis’ brain spurted out, apparently thinking of every terrible thing that could happen in her current situation…again.

That was, however, quickly remedied. Magic inhibitors had to be applied manually due to the materials they were made of. One could not just levitate them on. So dodging and disarming seemed like the best strategy if things went wrong.

‘Besides, I’m strong. I’ve practiced fighting without magic. I can work with it.’ There was an edge of pride in her thoughts.

Chrysalis reached for the bottle of Extract, until one final possibility entered her conscious. ‘Drugged food’.

The bottle was centimeters from her hoof. The idea that the edibles she had been provided with made her freeze. She looked down at the food from the pack. Was it laced with sleeping powder, or something of the sort?

Only one way to find out.

Chrysalis slowly took hold of the bottle, and carefully pulled out the cork cap. This was, regrettably, one of those moments here her past experience as a tyrant and social infiltrator would come in handy.

Chrysalis was no stranger to sleeping spells, compounds, and potions. She had used them in the past to make ponies…easier to work with. Also, as a Changeling, she had a very acute sense of smell. Mix those two together, and you know exactly what drugged items smell like.

Careful not to inhale too much of the wisps from the bottle, she brought it to her nose and took a few sniffs.

As the smell hit her nose several nightmarish fantasies swirled in her head. Ideas of her quickly falling unconscious, hitting the floor as everything faded to black. She shut her eyes tight in preparation for impending unconsciousness.

…

Nothing. Not a thing.

Risking another smell, Chrysalis took a long deep sniff. Once again, nothing.

She immediately went to the cookies and any other food stuffs in the bag. Not a single thing.

‘Stupid paranoia,’ Chrysalis cursed internally. She took a swig of Extract from the bottle, and picked up one of the books that were in the pack. It was less for actually reading and more for drawing her attention away from the noise in her mind. The new distant voice most of all, as it echoed its incomplete words.

‘Ru…ru…ru…’

It wasn’t blaring, but it was noticeable if one had nothing else to focus on. And it was constantly trying to get her attention.

Chrysalis took a deep breath, and, putting as much focus on it as possible, opened to the first page of her book.

“In the beginning, there was nothing…”

Author's Note:

Ta-Da! It's here!
And just before Thanksgiving to!
Hope you enjoy it.
Bets on who our biggest trouble pony is are still open.
...Hmm...
I wonder what's the deal with "the voice" that recently showed up.

Comments

[Macdaverin]

I call Discord!

[The Sonic Mage]

9306998
Well, that’s quite the curveball.
Okay then, one for Discord.

[Starlight Nova]

How is Thorax reforming Chrysalis illegal?

[The Sonic Mage]

9307152
My thought process and rational was along the lines of: it’s not the reformation that’s illegal, it’s just that she would have to go through court appeal, mainly because of a few military orders that Shining made because part of him is an idiot.

If that makes any sense at all.

[cheetored20]

I call Chrysalis from the future.

[Alfaridwan Setiabudi]

9307240
More

[The Sonic Mage]

9314446
Well...that’s a very new one.
On the list it goes I guess.

[The Sonic Mage]

9315769
It’s coming, give it some time.
The next chapter is going to be a big one.

[Alfaridwan Setiabudi]

9316008
Thank man

[Macdaverin]

How far along are you on the new chapter?

[The Sonic Mage]

9328191
It should be up soon.

[Xeyal231]

The end line. Waa that a reference to the intro of Dark Souls?