Second Option
Chrysalis, Cozy Glow and Tirek sat beside each other around a fire, the two older beings looking away from each other ever since they sat down. Cozy Glow was munching down on a carrot she charmed off a fruit vendor by posing as a lost child. Despite the unmistakable wider variety of species and cultures Equestria had come to home, it was almost a surprise they were still the same sharing and caring society they once managed to crumble. If anything, the differences between the races seemed to be what held them together. Even if they wanted to try again, Equestria was stronger than ever.
They didn’t even have the bell with them anymore.
Cozy finished the last of her meal, munching down until there was nothing and glanced to either side. Neither of her companions needed to eat as frequently as her, despite one of them suffering from constant hunger hanging over them like a curse. Little did the filly know, the Changeling didn’t even take notice of her hunger, as something else was the reason for her emptiness that voided her cravings for anything, even love.
Neither of her older allies were saying anything, and Cozy didn’t like it. Someone had to say something. She hesitated for a bit, but forced the word out of her mouth.
“.. So? What do we do now?”
“What is there to do?” Chrysalis spoke. The usual barking tone in her voice was gone.
“We could… um..” Cozy Glow hesitated. She usually was the one to spark up the group, albeit annoying her companions, but this time, she had nothing. She turned to the centaur, hoping he would have a thought. “Tirek?”
A brief silence was her answer. Tirek had his gaze down before finally turning to them both. “You two have already done what you needed... I think it’s only best that I do as well.”
Cozy’s eyes lit up. “What do you mean?”
“Equestria was never a place I belonged. I only stayed here for as long as I did against my will. There is only one place I can go now…”
Cozy Glow’s expression took an uncharacteristic scared look. “W-Wait, you don’t mean..”
“Back home, where I came from.” He let Cozy continue in her surprised stare as he got up. “After our freedom, I’ve come to face it, Cozy. There is no place for me here anymore. If there ever was one, at all.”
“B-But wait! What will you do when you go back?”
“I don’t know yet. Maybe it’ll come to me on the way.” He turned to the filly, as the Changeling mare still had herself turned away from them. “You two can do whatever you wish to, now. It’s no concern of mine.”
“W-Wait! You can’t just-!”
“Leave him, Cozy.” Chrysalis said, keeping her head turned away from them.
“W-What?”
“We knew it was inevitable to part ways one day. He’s only taking the first step.”
Cozy looked at her with denial, turning back to her ex-mentor who was already leaving. Tirek could only offer one last glance back at the small filly. Her wings were dropped and her eyes looked.. teary. An expression she used many times to fool unknowing ponies before, but this time he saw it. This time it was genuine.
A pleading with her eyes.
Don’t go.
Despite it, Tirek followed through, and turned away, disappearing into the forest.
His walk was silent. He was used to it. The sound of lonesomeness. After his brother… left him, he had been on his own for a while. Tartarus was an eternity in near solitary. After his escape, it was all on his own again for a while until Discord. And after that…
Huh.
He spent more time around other creatures rather than with his own, despite calling himself a work-alone being. Perhaps it was because he never really missed any of his past company until...
He shook his head. Being stuck in stone was doing more of an effect than he thought. He was always on his own, despite everything. With the exception of one time, leaving whoever was with him was never hard. Their pleas meant nothing. The betrayal in their voice fell on his deaf ears.
And now he just needed to get that pink pony’s sadden expression out of his memory. She’ll be fine. Both of them will. Despite everything… he couldn’t call them weak, by any means.
Tirek tried to sway his thoughts elsewhere. Mostly, his destination. In all his years, free or otherwise he never had a need or urge to go back, but even so, he couldn’t forget its direction if he wanted to. The last he ever heard from his homeland was that it had gone under a new ruler. So clearly, his father was no longer king. And it took only little guess as to who was ruler now.
If nothing else, Tirek wanted to see what had become of it. A mild distraction to focus on when every other waking moment became about stealing magic. Afterward. He wasn’t quite sure. He’ll figure it out.
Lost in thought, Tirek thought he’d gone far enough into the forest to be alone from any creature by now. The snap of a twig said otherwise. Tirek stopped his hooves in their tracks, eyeing his sides just as a growl seemed to echo around him. The heavy swamp forest made it hard to see beyond a few bushes, but something large was undoubtedly rustling around.
Just as Tirek thought to just move pass it towards an exit, heavy footsteps rumbled up above his path, accompanied by the same growling. The rock-covered scaled-back and piercing slid yellow eyes were hard to miss. A large Cragadile slowly approached the older centaur, from his view taking his current appearance as an easy prey.
Any other day, Tirek would have flickered it away. Unfortunately, every other day, he hadn’t been stripped of most of his magic power to do so. Trying his best to calm his thumping heart and breathing, Tirek did the only survival tactic he could and slowly stepped towards the side to go around, maintaining unwithering eye contact with the beast.
Not that it did any good. In an instant, the crocodile-like creature growled and charged at the centaur who skidded to the side to escape. In a swift turn, the Cragadile aimed and charged a second time. Tirek grunted mustering the most he could of magic between his horns and launched an attack towards the beast right before he could hit him, leaping to the side, but the magic power was only a mere fraction of what he once had and only blinded the monster for a second, enough time to trash a claw at his prey and sliced a part of the centaur’s leg.
Tirek groaned in pain as he hit the ground, gritting his teeth for a second before pulling his energy to get up and flee. At the exact time, the Cragadile returned to his prey and swung its tail heavily against Tirek’s more fragile body, slamming him against a tree. Tirek panted against the ground, for the first time in years his body growing weak and cold with fear. He lifted his head towards his predator, seeing its large rocky mouth opening as it was preparing to lunge at him. The sudden cold shivering fear of death ran through him as it charged at him when a loud feral hiss flew above him and landed strongly on four hooves in front of him between him and the beast.
Immediately green flames grew between them and from it emerged a Tatzlwurm, who roared down at the Cragadile. The Cragadile tried to roar back when a rock hit its head. It turned to see a pink filly pony flying in the air.
“Ha! Take that!” Cozy’s higher-pitched voice yelled back.
Almost as if sensing the mockery, the crocodile creature growled loudly at the small pink pony when its attention was quickly reared back to the giant worm-like beast with a guttural sound. The once fearsome rock monster started to inch back from the much larger predator until the Tatzlwurm reared back and thundered a roar down at the Cragadile, a threat to stay away.
With a fearful growl, the rock beast hissed and crawled back into the swap forest, giving up on its meal for the day.
The Tatzlwurm made a noise that sounded like a snort and green flames engulfed it again, growing smaller this time as Chrysalis reappeared in its spot. Cozy Glow flew down to her side holding out a hoof to her for a bump. Chrysalis only looked at her and rolled her eyes, to which Cozy pouted for a second and flew off again to scout the area, checking to see if the creature was really gone.
Behind Chrysalis, Tirek, still lying on the ground, looked up at his once two allies until one of them flew away, leaving him to gaze up at the standing Changeling wordlessly for a second.
“..You two… why-?”
Chrysalis swiftly turned to face him baring her fangs. “Be quiet! Aside from that fluttering pest, you’re the only other creature I find even the slightest bit tolerable anymore! And I was not about to let you leave me alone with her!”
Tirek looked up at her for a moment, being wise enough to know there was no point to argue when she used such a tone, but couldn’t help thinking there was more to her words than she let on.
Cozy Glow soon flustered back to them. “He’s gone, and there’s no others around, so we should be safe.” Her eyes soon landed on Tirek and his leg, her eyes widening at the gash. “Golly! That’s quite the wound, Tirek. Does it hurt?”
Despite her tone, Tirek grunted as he lifted himself from the ground. “After everything we’ve been through, a scratch like this is nothing. If I can myself a magical source, I can heal myself as I grow.”
With a head nod, Cozy and Chrysalis agreed on their next plan.
It didn’t take long to find another magical being around the forest. Cozy Glow, partly pushed by Chrysalis, acted as a bait to lure in a Timberwolf or two that was in the area, only to find themselves held up by Chrysalis’s magic to have their power absorbed by Tirek. Before long, Tirek grew more and more until he finally regained his form and size equal to the amount Grogar gave him at his lair. The gash, along with his weaker self disappeared, completely healed from his leg. Tirek took his time flexing and admiring his newly returned muscles and marked arms, flexing a hand into a fist to feel power coursing back through his being. It wasn’t much, but it definitely would do.
Chrysalis simply rolled her eyes at the display. Even when they lived together, she’d poke fun at his obsession with himself. At least he kept the arrogance minimal for the moment. It was the least he could, she reasoned, after what they did for him.
Cozy Glow flew up to the now taller centaur. “Sooo? How do you feel?”
“For one,” Tirek flexed a fist. “Not powerless.” He stared at his own palm for a moment before looking back up again. “Although… I should make clear that my decision of leaving hasn’t changed.”
“Oh, that much is clear,” Chrysalis said.
“We know,” Cozy added. “Especially now, you’re definitely certain to gain attention if you’re around like that.”
“Then… Why did you come back?” Tirek questioned.
“Isn’t it obvious?” The filly retorted in a sing-songy tone. Not understanding, Tirek looked at Chrysalis, who didn’t show much emotion beside the usual irritation, but now calmer than before.
“We’re coming along with you,” Chrysalis simply said, turning towards the direction of the path they were once on as Cozy followed her with a smile, leaving the centaur befuddled for a few seconds.
“W..Wha-”
“Is that a problem?” Chrysalis sharply remarked as she swiftly turned her head, pausing just as Cozy did.
It took him a moment before Tirek huffed and followed next to their path. “As I said. You may do whatever you wish.” Chrysalis hummed satisfied and he continued on. “I should be asking you that, however. I didn’t know you had any intention of leaving.”
Chrysalis scoffed and turned her head. “I could use the time away from Equestria.”
As promised, the two joined Tirek through the swamp forest until the murky environment was left behind and they could return to regular forest, albeit less heavy. The small talk was mostly about the landscape around them, warning each other of potential wild creatures and to keep on the lookout.
At some point, Cozy got tired of flying on her tiny wings and without hesitation landed to rest on Tirek’s broad shoulder. He leaned back a bit at her sudden intrusion of his space, but made no effort to get her off. To keep her from complaining or whining at him, he reasoned with himself. At least on his shoulder, he could reassure himself she was still there. And for a reason he didn’t want to let himself to dwell on, it made him at ease.
Before they knew it, the sun was beginning to set and the trio decided to set up a place to rest for the night. Two in the group could make it continuing the journey throughout the night, but a tiny yawn coming from beside Tirek told a different story.
After a bit of looking, the group found a suitable spot to set up camp for the night, working together to set up a fire and Cozy finding a comfortable spot for herself beside a lounged laid over tree trunk. The moon replaced the sun in the sky as the only light came from the crackling fire, illuminating a curled up sleeping filly and Chrysalis and Tirek who sat across from each other, simply resting in their own spots before deciding individually to sleep.
Tirek, however, was within his own thoughts.
The last time they were in the same similar position, they had just escaped the imprisonment they had shared for a good number of years. There were a lot of different emotions that went around that night. Anger. Confusion. Dissatisfaction. Fear.
Least from one of them more than the other.
They were in the same position, until Chrysalis left the two of them to find… her. Of course. After so long of taking a punishment, it was natural for them to find somebody to blame. She was so determined to find her and made it very clear. And he jabbed at her with the possibility she wasn’t alive anymore. An intentional jab to shut her down from her otherwise goal.
He knew it would hurt her, even anger her further if it was true.
And yet the way they found out was more than he expected.
Where he expected to see rage, he found her with her head and wings down. His mere assumption was correct, and he had never seen her so dejected. It really was the salt to the wound.
Tirek looked up from the fire to face the changeling sitting across from him. She looked like she was avoiding his glances towards her, as if having recognized the similarity of their setting to the previous night. The still tense expression on her face made it appear like she was expecting him to rub in her face that he was right. About her enemy. Her hive. All her losses…
But the mere thought of it made him… uneasy. He couldn’t do that to her. Not after what she did for him today.
“Chrysalis…” his voice was hesitant but firm to attempt it. “About what I said the other night… I-”
“Don’t.”
He blinked.
“I don’t need to hear it…”
Tirek sighed, an exhale of exasperation, but he understood. It had been a long day, for all of them.
“You won’t.
Accepting her request, Tirek leaned back against the standing trunk of a tree, shuffling in place to make himself comfortable before sighing of relief and slumping back to sleep for the night.
Chrysalis looked up at the resting centaur once she thought he was fully dozed off, then eyeing the pink filly already making the smallest snoring sounds that were guaranteed to grow louder. A day prior, she had envisioned herself surrounded by a different set of creatures. An entire lot of them. It was her drive. And yet, while the lingering pain of it still lingered within her aching being, it made her take a good contemplating pause to think she had a second option.
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Oh wow. Chapter. Gonna read.
It might be not my type of story, but I commend you for not leaving it and your readers hanging! You're doing great!
11533908
Ha, you fool, it's still alive!
Yeahh its back!
It returns! I'm so glad I faved this one. Another great chapter! I can't wait to see what happens further on into their journey. I do wonder though if anyone noticed that they are free by now.
So memories of the trio weren't very big? Strange.
I wonder how much "convincing" it took for Cozy to get Chrysalis to help.
Glad to see the story isn't dead, I really have been enjoying it!
I'm glad this story came to life. :D
I know that these stories are not connected, but for some reason I want to see references to "Worse Way to be Bad" :3
This is a amazing story and one of my favorites I'm really happy to see an update 💓
IT'S ALIVE!!!
This story is among my favorites, I am very happy to see that it has been updated
Happy that this is back
Wow thank you . It's great that you posted the new season