//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Beginning // Story: Queen Chrysalis' Journey // by Frube94 //------------------------------// CHAPTER ONE The Beginning Written by Frube94 Edited by GeodesicDragon Minor Editing by AppleJack from Ponyville.co It was a dark and cloudy day in Ponyville, which was something that the town didn't have very often. But something about this particular day was a little different — and Sam couldn't really figure out what. But what Sam didn't realise was that today would be the day when things changed for him. Sam was a young colt with a dark grey coat, a black mane, a small slightly twisted horn upon his head and no special talent. Today was just like any other day for him: he would go to school as per usual, hide away from the bullies and troublemakers who always picked on him for being a blank flank, try to learn magic and almost always fail and then - after the bell rang - he would run home as fast as possible before anypony could see him. This was Sam's normal weekday — but today was different. Today was the day he decided to leave it all behind and run away. He had been planning his escape for a few weeks and now - with all of his worldly possessions hidden away in his backpack - he would leave Ponyville and never return. As Sam walked into the classroom he noticed that Miss Cheerilee wasn't in. On closer inspection, he saw there was nopony around at all — as if they had all simply vanished. Sam was quick to take advantage of the situation and ran. He knew that nopony could stop him and even if they tried he would simply stop them with his magic. After all, he was getting better at some spells he had found in an old book entitled The Ancient Powers of Dark Magic: Volume One. But it was at this point that his life would change forever, for as he ran out onto the playground he accidentally knocked down another pony. Hoping that they wouldn't cause any trouble he walked over to check if they were alright. "I'm so sorry!" Sam gasped as the filly, a small green pegasus, got to her hooves. "Are you all right?" "Yeah, I'm okay," the filly replied. "No need to worry about it. You look like you're in a hurry, so please don't let me keep you busy." "Oh right, yeah. I'm running away from this place since I really don't want to stay here anymore," Sam grumbled. "Anyway, I've got to go. Sorry again!" He started to run away, only to slow down when the filly started to follow him. "I didn't really catch your name," she said sweetly. "My name is Crystal, what's yours?" "Er.. Sam..." Sam mumbled. "It's nice to meet you, Crystal." "Can I come with you?" Crystal pleaded. "A few bullies keep laughing and caling me names, it's... actually, wait, never mind." Crystal said, Shying away slightly "Sure, why not?" Sam said with a smile. Crystal returned the gesture and the two continued running. *** As Sam and Crystal ran towards the Everfree Forest, they heard a loud explosion from behind them. They stopped in their tracks and turned around to see ponies running in every direction. Very little could be heard from anypony as Sam closed his eyes for a few seconds. "Please... No..." Darkness was all he could see at this point, but when he opened his eyes he saw neither Ponyville nor any ponies running away. What he saw instead was himself — sitting on a hillside with Crystal, the two of them holding hooves. "Lovely sky today, am I right?" As Sam tried to figure out what was happening he turned to look at Crystal and noticed that she was taller, had larger wings and that her mane had grown. "Wha.. What's going on?" Sam queried, before quickly bringing a hoof to his mouth. "Wait... why is my voice so deep?" "Silly Sam," Crystal giggled. "Your voice has been like that for quite a while now!" Sam, still unsure of what is happening, looked around and noticed that he was taller as well. His coat was thicker and his horn had grown. "Ahh, teenage years," Crystal began. "Carefree moments on the weekends before school kicks in..." "Wait, didn't we run away?" Sam blurted out. "A few moments ago, we were running away from Ponyville and then I heard screaming!" "Screaming?" Crystal cocked her head at him. "I don't remember screaming. And besides, that was years ago. Are you daydreaming again? You have a habit of doing that, you know." She paused for a moment. "We were running away, but as we got to the forest you decided to stop... you suddenly decided that you didn't want to run away any more and that you wanted to stay. So we did, and there was the start of this beautiful relationship." "R-relationship?" Sam said warily. "Oh my," Crystal cooed. "It sounds like you've forgotten everything since that day we ran away!" She laughed again. "It's okay though, Sam, you just need to relax a little. It's nice and peaceful up here — the Pegasi don't fly here very often and the Earth ponies are normally miles away... I'm so glad you found this spot." "Uhh.. no problem?" Sam shrugged and grinned weakly. The two of them sat in silence for a moment, relishing the feeling of the warm sun against their coats. The sun hung lazily in the sky, and a cool breeze ruffled the feathers in Crystal's wings. She flexed them idly before clearing her throat. "Sam..." she began. "I've been thinking." "Yeah?" Sam's curiousity was piqued. "What about?" "Us. I was thinking... well... Ahh, never mind," Crystal said, blushing profusely. "It was a silly question anyway." "I don't mind at all," Sam laughed half-heartedly. "So go ahead and ask me!" "Well..." Crystal's blush intensified. "Have you ever... kissed another pony?" "Can't say that I have," Sam retorted, aware of what was happening. "Why?" "Nothing... no reason..." Sam blinked nervously a few times, unsure of what to say or do. He closed his eyes for a few seconds to block out the sun and think. But when he re-opened them, he found that he wasn't on the hillside anymore. "What the fu—" He started before getting cut off. "Hello?" a familiar voice spoke, accompanied by a green hoof being waved in Sam's face. "Are you there, Sam? You're daydreaming again, huh?" Sam cast his gaze along the familiar hoof and saw Crystal standing there. "Oh hey, Crystal," he said warily. "Where are we? Why are we here?" "We're in the Everfree Forest," Crystal pointed out. "At your favourite lake... don't you remember?" "Oh... right," Sam replied focusing his attention on Crystal. "I kinda wanted to talk to you about something," she said hesitantly, an awkward look on her face. "It's about us. I... I don't think it's working out between us, Sam." Sam's jaw dropped and his eyes widened in horror, the look on his face showing that he was simply refusing to believe what was happening. First of all: Every time I close my eyes I wake up in what I think is the future, he thought. And now my marefriend is abandoning me?! Why are things going so terribly wrong for me? "W-what?" Sam forcibly closed his eyes, hoping against hope that it was a joke. "I'm sorry..." Crystal said softly. "But it's not you, it's me! Things just aren't going so well and I think we both need time to think things through... surely you understand, right?" Sam shakily stands up. "This isn't happening," he whimpers. "I... I've gotta get out of here!" And with those words, he took off running. "Sam, wait!" Crystal shouted after him. "Please!" He ignored her and continued running, ignoring the sharp stings of branches striking his face. This isn't happening, he thought. I must have eaten a hallucinogenic flower or something, this just isn't true! He repeated this to himself quietly as he slowed to a trot, observing the dark grey clouds looming ominously overhead. "Looks like it's going to rain," he muttered to himself. "I'd better find some shelter." He wandered around for a while before, to his relief, he discovered a small cave. It didn't look like the cleanest place, but at least it was dry. After poking around the entrance, Sam finally decided to go inside. "Stupid horn," he grumbled. "I can cast spells to rip flowers out of the ground and throw them miles away, I can cast spells to create light and even dark magic spells... yet I can't cast a simple Anti-Rain spell?! Stupid fucking magic." As he delved deeper into the cave, he started to hear what sounded like a female voice. He froze on the spot and tried to make it out. This can't be good. "H-hello?" he shouted at the quietest volume possible. It was so quiet, even Fluttershy would have had difficulty making it out. "Hello!" he shouted at a louder volume. The cave went quiet, the only sounds being the dripping of water falling from cracks in the ceiling to the grimy floor below. I'm not sure whether I should run away or keep going, Sam thought, choosing eventually to remain still. "Well well well," a voice chirped from the shadows. "I didn't think that anypony would be sharing this cave with me, least of all you." Sam baulked at the sudden appearance of a pair of eyes which were watching him. "Who... who are you?!" Sam demanded. "Me?" the voice replied, as a green hoof reached out towards Sam. "You don't need to ask that... because you already know me, don't you?" "C-crystal?" Sam stuttered. "Yes," Crystal replied as she stepped forward. "'tis I, Crystal." "What are you doing here?" Sam snarled. "You scared me half to death!" "I'm here for the same reason you are, to avoid the rain..." Crystal trailed off, licking her lips. "Oh, my... I sense a great deal of anger and sadness within you, Sam." "Anger and sadness?" Sam scoffed. "Of course I'm angry and sad, given the fact that you've just broken my heart!" "Your light source is fading..." Crystal replied eagerly, her voice sounding different. "Looks like sh— I had an effect on you after all." "Of... of course you did," Sam said pitfully. "I loved you...." "Loved?" the voice didn't match Crystal's at all. "Or still love?" "Are... are you alright?" Sam asked tentatively, sounding extremely worried. "Of course I am," Crystal giggled. "But the real question is... are you?" She walked back into the shadows. A flash of magic engulfed her form, and soon her eyes had changed colours — from a sweet light blue to an evil and sickly dark green. "Don't be scared." Crystal continued in her newfound voice. "I don't intend to hurt you." "What... What the fuck are you?!" Sam demanded. "I am Chrysalis," Crystal replied. "Queen Chrysalis to be more specific." She stepped out of the shadows, and Sam gasped. Before him stood a tall black pony with sharp fangs, dark green eyes with elongated oval pupils, no cutie mark, holes in her wings and a dark green midsection. "As I said, I do not intend to hurt you." She soothed, though her voice sounded distorted. "I apologise for my sudden appearance, but I wasn't expecting visitors." "What are you and what have you done with Crystal?!" Sam was enraged, and he began charging his horn with magic. "I said I would not hurt you," Chrysalis snorted. "It's not very nice to attack somepony who isn't attacking you back." "Where is she..." Sam yelled, preparing to strike. "Tell me, NOW!" "I was simply disguised as her," Chrysalis shrugged. "It's just a trait I have." "Lies!" Sam shouted, unleashing the charged bolt of magic he had prepared. The bolt streaked towards Chrysalis, who yawned and raised a shield which absorbed the energy and then died down. "Ohh, I see that you are very skilled with the dark magic," Chrysalis grinned and placed a hoof to her chest. "But I meant it when I said I would not hurt you, so I will not retaliate." "How... How did you know what spell I used?!" Sam enquired. "I am very skilled with dark and ancient magic... all kinds of magic really. Here, watch," Chrysalis said before zapping Sam with a small white beam of light. The beam had no physical effect on him straight away, but after a few seconds he started emitting a very bright light from the tip of his horn. What the—?! I'm casting a light spell without even doing anything! The magic fizzled out after a few seconds, Chrysalis adopting a smug look. "How did you—" Sam began. "As I mentioned, I'm good with magic," Chrysalis interrupted. "Now, I am intrigued about this 'Crystal' whom you speak of. Tell me, who is she?" "She's... just a friend," Sam said awkwardly. "Just a friend?" Chrysalis scoffed. "You seemed to be very defensive of her, and your feelings are indecisive as well." "She's just a friend," Sam repeated tersely. "I can tell when a pony is lying," Chryalis replied with a small smirk. "And right now I can tell that you're spinning a big one. Honesty is the best policy, my friend, so please. Tell me." "I don't know you!" Sam snapped. "You disguised yourself as Crystal and now you've got the nerve to question me? I think you'll find that this isn't exactly the best time or place to do such a thing." "I understand I didn't exactly make a very good first impression," Chrysalis sighed. "But as I said earlier, I was not expecting visitors." Sam looked around the dank and dismal cave. "You... you live here?" He said with some concern. "What? No!" Chrysalis replied, somewhat offended. "This place is disgusting. I merely hone my skills with spells here away from everypony else. It's less distracting that way." "Everypony else?" Sam cocked his head in confusion. "Like who?" "The other Changelings," Chrysalis failed to stop a growl escaping. "They can cause problems for me at the best of times. Seriously, being a Queen isn't all that it's cracked up to be..." "There's more of you?!" Sam said, a look of shock crossing his face. "Thousands of us," Chrysalis nodded, before a look of surprise came over her. "Wait... you've never heard of a Changeling before?" "No..." Sam admitted meekly. "Oh, boy," Chrysalis moaned, bringing a forehoof to her face. "Come with me then, and I'll teach you." "Go with you?!" Sam backed away slightly. "I don't know you, you disguise yourself for unknown reasons, and now you want me to join you on some adventure?!" "I wouldn't exactly call it an adventure, Per say, I am simply showing you my throne," Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "The rain has stopped and if you choose not to come with me then I won't be offended. However if you go back to Ponyville and question everypony you see, asking them what a Changeling is then they will assume that you're one of us and either banish you to the moon or kill you." "What's wrong with being a Changeling?" Sam checked. "And why would the Ponyville ponies kill me, hmm?" "Didn't you just less than 5 minutes ago attack me for disguising myself as somepony you knew?" Chrysalis countered. "That's just a part of what we are. And they would kill you on sight." "I don't exactly trust you," Sam said hesitantly. "But I will come with you this once. Be warned though, I will kill you if you make any sudden moves, got it?" "Oh please," Chrysalis chuckled. "I could easily deflect anything you could throw at me." She paused for a moment. "But fine, If that's what'll make you comfortable, then let's go." Sam closed his eyes to see if anything would happen. When nothing did he opened his eyes and addressed Chrysalis. "Fine by me, now how far away is this kingdom of yours?" "It's... quite far," Chrysalis replied. "But if you hold on for just a moment, then I can cast a spell which will give you temporary wings." Before Sam could object he was immediately zapped again by Chrysalis and given small see-through wings with sharp edges. "There you go... now try not to cut anypony with them, will you?" Chrysalis laughed, pointing at Sam's new appendages. "Let's just go," Sam flatly stated. "I'm getting bored of this cave." He blinked just for a second and everything went dark. There was no light. There was no Crystal. There was no Chrysalis. There was nothing but darkness. And then he woke up.