At the pace I'm going, I think I'll be done with this pretty soon. By the way, this is my first time writing Chrysalis so go easy on me.

---

"Tammy!" Applejack called as she and Rarity trudged down their path. "Tammy, ya out there?"

"Taffy!" Pinkie shouted, bouncing through the forest while Rainbow Dash flew over.

"Tammy?" Discord cried out, lifting a stone. "You under there?"

Neither of them was having any luck finding their lost friend. The draconequus slumped to the ground.

"This is all my fault!"

Fluttershy laid a hoof on his paw. "Don't worry. We'll find her."

"Hey, guys!" Rainbow yelled from above. "I see her!"

Discord and Fluttershy flew up to the blue pegasus and glanced in the direction she was pointing. Sure enough, the human turned pegasus was hovering slightly above the trees.

"Tammy!" Discord exclaimed.

She looked up as the draconequus tackled her to the ground in a hug.

"I'm so, so sorry I lied to you! I didn't mean to keep you here. I mean I did, but not for too long!"

Tammy snickered. "It's okay, Discord."

"Geez, dude!" Rainbow cried as she and Fluttershy joined them on the ground. "Don't scare us like that!"

Pinkie hopped out of the trees. "Yay, you found her!"

"I'm going to get the others."

As the pegasus zoomed into the sky, Tammy wriggled out of Discord's grasp.

"I'm sorry I ran off," she said, batting her eyes.

"It's mostly my fault," the draconequus insisted.

"Tammy!" Rarity shouted as she came out of the dark, followed by Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "Thank goodness you're safe!"

"Are you alright?" Applejack inquired.

Tammy nodded. "I'm fine, though being in this forest has made me homesick." She turned to the draconequus expectantly. "Discord, I think it's time you sent me back."

"What?" he uttered. "Already?"

"Yeah. I need to get back to my dad. He's probably worried sick."

"Well, okay." Discord was about to snap his fingers but paused. "Hold on. Did you just say your dad was worried?"

"Of course. I'm his daughter. He cares about me more than anything."

The draconequus blinked. "You sure you're alright?"

Tammy scowled. "Of course, I am, you nitwit! I mean…" She smiled innocently. "Yes, I've never felt better."

"But your dad is…?"

"You going to send me home or what?!"

Discord examined her more closely and then smirked. "Oh, I'll send you back, alright…to the Changeling Forest!"

"Hey!" the girl cried out as he picked her up by the tail. "Put me down, you fool!"

"You really got to work on your acting skills, Chrysalis."

"Chrysalis?" every pony gasped.

The imposter narrowed her eyes and transformed back into the queen of the changelings.

"Nice to see you again, Dissy dear."

"A pleasure," Discord groaned.

"You know her?" Fluttershy questioned, shivering.

"We crossed paths once."

"That was before you turned into a fluffy do-gooder," Chrysalis taunted. Her ears perked up and she turned to Fluttershy. "What's this? Oh, how precious! The Lord of Chaos has fallen in love with a wimpy, little pegasus!"

She yelped as he shook her. "You insult her one more time and you're toast! Literally! What have you done with Tammy?"

"The pony-human? She's alive, for now."

"If you hurt her…"

"You'll do what? Kill me in front of your girlfriend? Ha! That would be impossible. You think I would have come here without a backup plan?"

She put her hoof to her mouth and whistled. A loud buzz filled the air. Every pony looked up to see an army of changeling swarming towards them. Discord was so surprised that he dropped the queen on her head. He lifted his fingers to snap, but they were frozen in place as Chrysalis blasted them with ooze. He tried the other hand, but she was too quick for him.

"Forget it!" he said defiantly. "I don't need to snap my fingers!"

Without warning, Discord was thrown back into a tree by the queen's magic.

"Discord!" Fluttershy cried, flying to his side.

He groaned as she lifted his head. The blow had knocked him unconscious. Fluttershy darted her eyes at Chrysalis.

"How dare you?!"

The queen only laughed. "If we can't feast on the human world, then we will feast on you instead! And this time, Cadence and Shining Armor won't be able to save you!" She looked up at the swarm. "Help yourselves, my loyal subjects! But the draconequus is mine!"

The insect-like creatures had the ponies surrounded while their leader approached Discord. Fluttershy held his head protectively.

"Don't you touch him!" she spat.

"And what can you do?" Chrysalis cackled. "You have no magic, no defenses!" She sighed contently. "Oh, keep hovering over him. Your emotion is practically leaping into my stomach!"

Fluttershy nudged her love gently. "Discord, wake up!"

"Yes, continue! I can feel myself getting stronger by the second!"

"Please, wake up! Discord!"

---

The ooze was now up to her neck. Her guards were amusing themselves by turning into her loved ones repeatedly. She could feel herself growing weaker as they fed off her.

You tell me about changelings but not how to defeat them? Tammy thought furiously. Thanks a lot, Aunt Molly!

Any moment now, she would be completely covered. She had never given much thought to dying. Would it be painful? Would her mother be waiting for her at the pearly gates? If heaven did exist, that is.

She then thought of her mother and wished she was here to comfort her. She had always known what to do. She remembered what she had said when Tammy had been bullied at school:

"Don't you mind what they say, honey. You are special, more than you could believe. What they think of you does not matter. What does matter is how much your father, your aunts and I love you."

A tear fell down her cheek. Suddenly, a powerful feeling welled up inside of her. When she opened her eyes, the guards were shocked to see that they had turned white. A light emitted from her chest and expanded, breaking her prison and pushing the changelings back. Tammy blinked when her eyes returned to normal and glanced around.

"What the heck?"

Then she remembered that her friends were in danger and launched herself into the air.

---

The changelings had bound Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie together in green goo, while Chrysalis had encased Fluttershy and the still unconscious draconequus into a cocoon.

"You won't get away with this!" Rainbow cried, kicking furiously.

"Scream all you want!" the queen cackled. "No pony can hear you!"

"Except me!"

Chrysalis gasped as Tammy landed in front of her.

"How did you escape?"

"Doesn't matter. Now release my friends and go back to hell!"

She laughed. "You humans really are amusing!"

She shot a beam at her, but Tammy dodged it. "Come and get me, ugly!"

"Why, you little…"

She fired at her again, but the teenager avoided her shots easily. "You shoot like a girl!"

Her taunting distracted her long enough for Chrysalis to hit her. Tammy cried out as she was knocked into a tree. She fell limply to the ground. The queen of the changelings laughed in triumph.

"Yes, amusing, but also completely useless."

Tammy struggled to get up, but she was so weak. For a moment, she thought she was done for, but then a thought occurred to her. She faced the changeling defiantly.

"If humans are so useless, then how did my parents manage to defeat you?"

Chrysalis stopped in her tracks, fear flickering on her face. "They got lucky! I thought you would be a challenge just like them, but you really are worthless!"

"Then why were you so eager to get rid of me?"

She paused again.

"What is it about me that you find so threatening?"

Chrysalis shook her head. "You're no threat to me!"

Tammy thought back to what she had done a couple of minutes ago and realized that she had done something similar to Discord. What had that been all about? Did Chrysalis know the answer?

If she could repeat whatever it was she did, she might have a chance. She closed her eyes and thought. What could have caused that light to come out of her? The first time, she had wanted to get away from Discord. The second time, she had wanted to break free. Then she recalled that both times, she had been very emotional. Maybe if she channeled that emotion…

"Enough stalling!" Chrysalis bellowed. "It's time I finish you off, but first, I'll let you watch your friends suffer!"

Eyes still shut, Tammy gritted her teeth. "No one hurts my friends!" Her eyes snapped open as they turned white. "No one!"

Every pony gasped as a great pulse of light surged out of her body.

"No!" Chrysalis cried. "Not again!"

The light hit the queen and the other changelings hard, sending them hurdling out of the forest and back to their hive. The green substance disintegrated, setting the ponies free. Discord cried out as his head hit the ground. He looked in time to see the light die down and Tammy's eyes return to normal.

"What happened?" he asked, rubbing his head. "Oomph!"

Fluttershy had flung her hooves around his neck. "I thought I lost you!"

His eyes widened as she abruptly pressed her lips against his and then sighed contently. The others cringed in discomfort before turning to the human.

"How did you do that?" Applejack marveled.

"I thought humans couldn't do magic," Rarity said.

Tammy shrugged. "They don't. This hasn't happened before today. I have no idea how I did that."

"I think I can explain."

Every pony looked up to see a tall white alicorn hovering above them, Twilight and Spike at her side. As they floated down, every pony, including Discord bowed. Tammy followed their example. The majestic alicorn walked up to the girl and lifted her chin to have a better look at her.

"So you're the human, I see," she observed. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Princess Celestia, chief ruler of Equestria."

"Oh," Tammy uttered, poking her hoof into the ground. "I'm sorry I entered your country illegally, your majesty."

Celestia laughed. "That is quite alright. I understand it was not your intention." She leaned forward and examined the girl. "It's incredible how much you resemble your mother."

"You knew my mother?"

"And your father and your aunts."

"You knew humans existed?" Twilight inquired.

"Yes, but I had to destroy the bridge between our world and theirs, because it proved to be dangerous. It had nothing to do with you humans."

"Chrysalis told me," Tammy explained. "But…there's so much I don't understand. My aunts never said anything about my mom in Equestria, and she never talked about it. And…what was that thing I did just now?"

"I think the best way to answer your questions is to show you." Celestia turned to the draconequus. "Discord, I need you to take us into the past, but only to observe."

He looked at the group. "All of you?"

"Yes. I think they all need to see this."

"Um, okay, but when?"

She whispered in his ear and Discord nodded, still confused. Then he snapped his fingers and transported them all.

---

Don't worry. All will be explained in the next chapter.