Chapter 1, Act 1
It was a dark place. The blackout blinds were drawn almost shut leaving only the thinnest blades of light slicing into the room, offering only the bare minimum of illumination. The air here was more than a little musty from the locked-shut windows that had remained so since the room received its first permanent occupant. The faded sky blue and pine tree patterned wallpaper was a tacky mess, the furniture scuffed, scratched and missing minor parts from years of use so perhaps it was best that light was unwelcome here. The darkness hid all their defects and of course; hers.
That was the odd thing for her though, she never felt ugly for her considerable differences. No matter what her harsh tongued mother and smart-mouthed older sister said. There was always a part of her calling out, telling her that the face that looked back at her in the chipped and dented mirror was how it was supposed to look, that it was beautiful in its own way, normal to some place and some thing. A few compassionate but more distant family members helped reassert those feelings.
She had come to believed it but that same part of her also liked the darkness anyway; liked to hide. That same part said a lot of things that made her feel better about herself. That the subtle punishment she had endured would make her stronger in ways unseen. That the patience she was often forced to endure would teach her to wait and see the right time to act. Whispers of something… instinct perhaps?
In the end she decided it was her. She was Chrysalis, the not quite pony, pony daughter of her daddy. So there Chrysalis sat, perhaps the oddest creature in Equestria as far as she knew simply brushing her glossy but messy mane with an ages old plastic pink hair brush missing its handle but doing it contently under the scrutiny of her eyes with their twin irises and the predatory slit like pupils they surrounded.
In addition, being coated head to hoof in tough yet not inflexible chitin made her feel strong and resilient despite her young age. As an extra it was also easy to keep clean, mud and muck slid off with little prompting unlike fur. She imagined she would feel somewhat at home in a swamp given that, as odd as it seemed. Chrysalis did rather like the appearance of frogs after all. They didn’t taste half bad either.
Her hooves and lower legs were practically made of the stuff, so much so that they could have holes clean through them and still support her without showing signs of buckling her, admittedly not considerable weight. Some of the partial holes could even act as hooks to carry bags and if she held together two of the ones in her fore legs together she found she could make a slightly uneven, heart shape with them. She chuckled remerging the vaguely jealous look on her sister’s face when she first showed it to her.
Then there was her shell that clung to her back. She honestly didn’t think she could ever find anything as beautifully coloured, the way it shifted between greens and blues as the angle of light changed. The fleshy bands around her stomach while similar in colour were upon closer inspection translucent, filed with some unknown bodily liquid.
The two pairs of gossamer wings folded to her back were similar in this way, filtering odd colours like the amalgamation of greens, purples and bronzy colours belonging to oily water. They granted her unusually manoeuvrable flight at an early age, so soon in fact that she could fly even before her older sister was able to. A bitter taste mixed with her pride at that thought. Mother didn’t like it when she outperformed her sister, as rare as that was. She wasn’t allowed dessert for a week after that incident but having it hanging over her sister’s head stopped her from mocking them and that was well worth it in the end.
There were also her more fearsome features. The jagged horn was unusual but symmetrical and proportioned well enough to be elegant in its own way. Her fangs were the one thing she probably could have done without but they were useful for scaring her sister so she wasn’t about to give them up. They also made her smiles interesting as she now observed in her fractured mirror she dutifully kept clean, having saved it from a thick layer of grime when discovered in the attic.
Normally she wouldn’t have much to be happy about, being confined to the fortunately spacious house and its large garden with absurdly high walls. But that was the point; today she was going to be free. Today she would finally be able to rid herself of the oppressively perfect and isolating household her parents forced upon her.
Today was her first day of school.
It had taken her father much time convincing her mother to let her go instead of relying on the same poorly skilled and likely overpaid private tutor for her preschool education. The tipping point was that the tutor had now failed to renew his teaching licence so as Chrysalis was a registered citizen of Equestria, under the race of unicorn oddly enough, and how the guard would come knocking at their door if she wasn’t marked off as doing so became a persuasive argument. The fact he was also the only private tutor in her quaint but back water home town left their options limited.
After that it had taken months of scavenging discarded items around the household and stealing off of her sister to get the stationaries she needed. She never felt bad about slighting her sister, she was a meanie most of the time and she never took things that would be missed or wouldn’t be assumed lost and replaced on a whim by their mother. The less than perfect room with its loose floor boards beneath an unsecured carpet helped her get away with that particular act of defiance.
Chrysalis had even carved her own ruler, decorating it with curling patterns so it was prettier and more unique than her sister’s mass-produced one that she was ‘borrowing’ at the time so she could draw on the measurements right. She had also filled in the grooves from her carving with the green gooey stuff she could spit that hardened over time so it looked like it had tinted green glass in between the patterns.
She drew herself out of her musings and to the worn brass alarm clock with makeshift second hand gently ticking away on her bed side table. Her room was filled with second hand goods and hand-me-downs her sister no longer wanted like that. It was beginning to get on in the morning and so she deduced her mother had most likely finished breakfast and retreated to her room to prepare for a day of whatever it was she did to bring money in. Chrysalis never really understood what her mother said she did at work, something to do with auctions and passing things around for profit.
The point though, was she could now eat her breakfast in peace. The resentful glances from her mother, accusing her of some crime she knew nothing of made family meals rather awkward. However the occasional stack of pancakes or Prench bread made enduring them worthwhile.
Chrysalis exited her dilapidated room into the freakishly neat and pristine hallways of the rest of the house. It was almost like stepping between worlds for her, from a stuffy moth eaten realm to one kept sickeningly pleasant by odorous candles and furnishings that seemed to gleam to the point of incinerating dust whenever it dared to settle on it. The rest of the house was so clean and tidy even by pony standards it was almost suspicious, like the owners were trying to hide something; herself most likely.
Chrysalis still remembered when she was very young she was locked in her magically sound proofed room by her mother whenever visitors came over, much to her father’s objections. When she was older she was trusted to have it left open as long as she stayed out of sight when visitors came, though some relatives insisted on seeing her. She liked those relatives. They saw her as an oddity just like everyone else, yes, but they made good of it. Showed her how her body could be seen as a pretty thing, again in its own odd way. Her mother often gave them the cold shoulder for it.
She trotted into the kitchen and happily so; glad that her sister was also missing, probably still upstairs beatifying herself, like mother like daughter, well except when not. Chrysalis levitated open a cupboard and retrieved some muesli and some milk from the fridge. Nothing fancy, this morning was too important so no frivolous tummy stuffing foods for her!
“Good morning sweetie!” a gentle but masculine voice called to her. Chrysalis turned to see the purple coat and honey gold mane of her father, smirking happily at her. Honey Catcher’s smiles always had a bitter sweet taste to them when directed at her.
“Morning Dad,” she replied a little less enthusiastically though still smiling, the unusual second tone to her voice making her father’s ear twitch as usual. Her father loved her that much she could tell but it was always mixed in with a pain or sadness she could never pin down.
It was the oddest thing but she swore she could always taste how ponies felt about her or even about each other if the feeling was strong enough. She knew it wasn’t really taste because it didn’t come from her mouth but there weren’t any words to properly describe it.
“So, first day of school! Excited huh?” he clamoured excitedly to try and get a response out of her.
Chrysalis smiled a little more. “Yes. I finally get to go outside, make friends… I hope.”
Then an all too familiar taste reached her; thick, festering and bitter guilt. Every time her mother put her down or forbid her from some activity her sister freely enjoyed her father fell to despair inside and Chrysalis tasted the painfully bitter sensation every time. There wasn’t much she could do about it either; the mare was the head of this household, the big time earner if not quite the big time worker.
Her poor lot in life and unfair treatment by her domineering mother had long since been accepted by Chrysalis as a fact of her existence. She resented her and while she never out right said so she made no attempt to hide it either, but she didn’t need to. She could taste it all anyway. She spoiled her sister rotten with treats and gave very little to Chrysalis and usually only to placate Honey Catcher. It wasn’t a life that any five year old should suffer but it was better than being dumped out on the streets. She doubted an orphanage would even take a strange pony like her in, instead seeing some creature to call the city guards in to crush. It wouldn’t be the first time someone made such a call on her after all. That had taught her to keep her bedroom blinds down during the day.
A half-hearted chuckle escaped her father. “Well there’s not just that you know? You always did like your books… there’s a whole library in the school.”
“Yeah, I suppose. I just want to meet more ponies. Mi-Mo always says her friends are nice even if mother doesn’t let them come around.” A part of her privately giggled at the use of her pet name for her sister; at first she had liked it, simply being a fun and silly childhood nickname from when Chrysalis was still learning to talk properly, better times when there was only each other. These days she hated the name, saying it sounded like a boy’s name that sounded like a girl’s name.
Her father sighed and closed in to hug her. “Please Chrysalis, be careful. I know you want to make friends but children can be harsh sometimes. We both know you’re a very special sort of pony and so different from everypony else. Ponies don’t always react well to different.” He murmured into one of her large droopy ears.
“You mean they’ll be afraid.”
Honey Catcher stiffened up a little. “Or jealous. You may not be normal but you’re not ugly and don’t let anypony tell you, you are. I know some of the things your sister says. She only does it to wind you up and I don’t let her get away with it you know that, don’t you sweetie?” He griped her daughter a little tighter.
She could taste it and it tasted so good. Not only that but she felt more awake and energetic then before. Chrysalis loved it when her father, those other caring relatives and very occasionally her sister loved her. She had tried to explain how it made her feel but they always passed it off as just good feelings coming from the heart. She noticed the differences though when her mother and father did the same with Mi-Mo; it just wasn’t the same for her. Not that it was faked or any less… well less, it just didn’t fill her up with that peaceful energy the same way it did for Chrysalis.
“Okay Daddy, I’ll be careful.” She murmured as she hugged him back.
“Good, now finish your breakfast. Wouldn’t want to be late to school on your first day.” He chortled before trotting off to get on with her own preparations for the day.
Chrysalis smiled and began to finish her breakfast. She doubted she would need to eat for the rest of the day; she never ate as much as the rest of her family so she doubted she would need her lunch money. Her daddy knew that and told her to take it anyway, to consider it her pocket money.
Her dad loved her, Chrysalis just wished he would let go of whatever was eating at him and so more freely.
“Morning Daddy!” A delightfully repulsive sing-song voice rang out. If Chrysalis had hairs besides the rather odd ones in her mane she was fairly certain the ones on the back of her neck would be standing up on end right now.
“Ah, Cadenza, good morning!” Honey Catcher replied joyfully from another room. “I need to speak with you in a second; I just need to take care of something first... Tartarus damned smoker,” he murmured, clearly fiddling with his bee-keeping gear again.
Eye contact became imperative to avoid and the air became saturated with nervousness and apathy. Chrysalis did her best not to cringe at such. Out of all the emotions she could taste apathy was the worst. It wasn’t bitter, sour or even spicy but instead it seemed to sap everything else out of the air leaving an indescribable greyness.
The source? Her three years senior sister. Their mother’s perfect little princess who could do no wrong. It was the garishly pink alicorn; Mi Amore Cadenza.
To many an alicorn popping out of a normal unicorn pony like their mother was a confusing prospect but only due to their ignorance of one of the few ways alicorns could come to be. It was not in fact unheard of for one of the immortal hybrids of all three pony races to occasionally be born but it required the once in every other century occurrence of a mother capable of birthing them to appear and as a mother who was blessed as such, Smitten Relic would always birth them.
The down side however was that it put enormous pressure on these mares to have as many foals as possible, not to mention the bulkiness of alicorn foals leading to issues during pregnancy and birthing. Cadance for example was already past two thirds as tall as their father, though her features still had childlike proportions.
How Chrysalis had come about however was still an enigma. There was much speculation over the matter by the few private doctors involved, payment courteously of the crown who wanted to cause as little fuss over such events as possible, but fortunately their mother’s contacts and well-paid and royally subsidised lawyers had managed to stop the rumour mill before it had even started.
She looked to her sister Cadenza in slight irritation. It wasn’t that she thought her sister a bad pony but years of teasing and emotional detachment had certainly divided them, not to mention a controlling mother who sought to keep it that way.
Though, if Chrysalis was honest with herself she couldn’t really hate her sister. Chrysalis could taste every ounce of joy that came from their mothers affections and every pang of sorrow that came with mother’s disappointment when she caught them interacting on a positive level.
Now her mother on the other hand, Chrysalis could hate. Every bitter taste, every burst of anger or loathing that she gave her was so strong it made her insides churn with repulsion.
“Morning Mi-Mo,” Chrysalis murmured cheerfully but with a subtle undercurrent of mocking between spoonfuls of cereal.
The only response was a blush and a glare from the sulky eight year old. Chrysalis returned to her a playful smile filled with fangs. Cadenza, used to the sight when it wasn’t lunging out of a closet at her, ignored it and simply went about making her own breakfast.
Honey Catcher re-entered the room from whatever morning chore had momentarily distracted him. “Cadenza!” he greeted once more as he closed in to hug his eldest daughter from behind.
“Dad…” the young mare groaned in return when a kiss landed upon the top of her head, but none the less a smile broke loose.
Her father naturally smiled back but at the same time locked her in a serious gaze. “Cadenza dear, come sit. I need to talk to you,” he asked as he took up a chair around the table. “I need you to promise me something; something very important.”
His older daughter chose to give him an apprehensive look while Chrysalis listened on curiously, tasting the tense emotions in the air, spoonfuls of milk mechanically coming to her mouth with her mind now focused on her father and sibling.
“I know you and your sister have your differences and you don’t always get along but I need you to promise me something,” he continued, tone growing sterner. “I need you to promise me you will stick by her. No arguing. Some ponies… they don’t take kindly to those who are different, especially those with features of your sister’s variety.” An apologetic glance was tossed in Chrysalis’s direction along with the corresponding emotions. “If you find her being abused, being called names or being hurt I want you to stick up for her or tell the teachers if necessary.”
Cadenza’s expression morphed into a distinctive frown. “But if I do that’ll make me a tell tail, they’ll just pick on me instead,” she responded sharply.
Honey Catcher didn’t frown or tell her off, he just gave her a knowing look. “Cadence, when a pony is robbed what do they do? When another pony hurts them who are they supposed to go to?” her father asked with a gentle but serious look.
“Uh, a doctor…?” Cadenza answered, smiling unsurely at her own answer.
“They go to the Guard sweetie. They tell someone so the bad ponies are punished and they can’t hurt or steal from anyone else,” Honey Catcher instructed sternly. “If ponies do bad things it’s important that you tell a grown up. You would want someone to stick up for you if they were hurting you right Cadenza?”
His daughter began to shy away from the pressure. “Yeah… I-I think I would…”
“Exactly. Now, please, promise me Cadenza.” Her father cast a pleading look upon her daughter, one not easily resisted.
Cadenza sighed. “Okay Dad, I’ll tell if anything bad happens to her.”
Honey Catcher drew Cadenza in close, nuzzling her beside her horn and embracing her further. “That’s my girl.”
Chrysalis could not help but feel a little awkward watching this from the side lines. It was so distracting she failed to realise that only the barest of dregs was left of her cereal. To limit her embarrassment she promptly disposed of it before scampering back out of the kitchen, up the stairs and into her room, inadvertently only drawing more attention to herself.
Sitting there in mild shock she simply let her mind wonder… straight into the events of sixty seconds ago.
“What… what just happened?” she asked herself quietly.
Occasional affection was one thing from her sister but a promise like that? Even under the prompting of their father it was something special. It felt nice, even if it was done for Honey Catcher rather than her directly.
A low ticking noise drew her attention back to her clock however. Looking from her empty saddle bags to the clock and around her room she found herself a little short on breath.
She sighed. “Celestia damn it…”
She had forgotten to pack. Of course, having it all ready and waiting helped but she now only had a couple of minutes and a prayer that she wouldn’t miss anything in the mad rush.
“Chrysalis!” a harsh call cried out. “Come quickly or I will leave you behind!”
Chrysalis found a small shiver of dread run up her spine at the voice; mother.
She rapidly scooped up her bags and rushed out. Reparation would be light given the circumstances but Chrysalis wanted to avoid them anyway. She was sure she was still going to get told off anyway. Sure enough, that’s what happened.
The alabaster figure of her mother stood taping her hoof. Green eyes obscured by a pair of shades and vibrant pink hair still a little damp from a shower, meanwhile Cadenza was standing to one side looking bored. Her mother was impatiently taping her hoof despite the fact nothing had altered her schedule. All that had changed was now she had an extra filly to ferry to school but that filly being Chrysalis…
She looked down on Chrysalis and gave an unsatisfied grunt. “You really need to be quicker than this Chrysalis. If I were late for work I would quickly find myself losing out on deals and even coming home empty hooved.” Her mother continued to chastise her as she put on her coat. “You in turn could get expelled and I don’t need the trouble of finding another school to take you. Now come along.”
Even if Chrysalis felt it unjustified she still found herself cowed from the scolding. “Sorry mother,” she said calmly with head hung low.
She froze for a moment and looked deeply at Chrysalis, silent as some unknown passed through her mind. “Sorry won’t change the past. Just try to make up for it and don’t let it happen again,” she replied neutrally with an unreadable excretion. “Now come on already, we are starting to run late as it is.”
Chrysalis didn’t know what she tasted; she still didn’t understand a lot of the things she did taste but whatever it was it didn’t taste nice. She sighed under her breath as she trotted out the door, wishing she at least knew why mother was like she was.
However there was little to be gained so Chrysalis drew herself out of her pointless wishing and turned her thoughts to Cadenza and her promise to take care of her. She felt like she needed to do something, to acknowledge it maybe? To thank her? She nodded to herself as she walked, yes she needed to thank her, let her know she appreciated it. Make it mean something.
So she waited for the right moment so just when Cadenza started falling behind Chrysalis approached. “Cadenza?”
Her sister snapped her head around to see Chrysalis, clearly her mined had been elsewhere. Her surprise faded however and turned to irritation. “Yeah?”
The abrasive attitude hardly helped Chrysalis. “Tha- thank you. For promising that is. Well promising to… to look out for me,” she explained brokenly, doing her best to appear small.
Cadenza was taken aback for a moment but quickly settled. “Yeah, well… don’t think about it. It’s nothing.”
Chrysalis just stated to smile. “But it is something. It means a lot to me. Thank you… big sis.”
This time Cadenza actually blushed, examining Chrysalis’s expectant happy gaze. Finally she sighed. “Okay… but don’t think I’m going to pull you out of the fire for every little problem. I’ll only help if you actually need it.”
Chrysalis nodded. “That’s fine. I can handle myself, most of the time. I think.”
So with a buzz of her wings, resulting in a flinch from her mother, and a skip in her step Chrysalis made her way to her first day of school, confident in the coming experience it would bring.