The Everfree forest was a dangerous place, even more so during at night. This particular night, though, the Everfree was quiet. Only a few nights offered this peacefulness, and a certain changeling was running through the forest. Chrysalis panted heavily, her time running through the woods finally getting to her. She wasn’t sure how long she was running for, but it wasn’t long enough for the moon to go down. Leaning against a tree, the changeling took some time to catch her breath.

She could hear the voices in her head running rampant, and placed a hand on her forehead to ease her growing headache. She looked over to her right to see nothing but more foliage in her path. The voices kept repeating a location she needed to go, and she planned on going to show that she wasn’t going to be pushed around. Her nails dug in the tree as she righted herself, and headed out to solve her problems. The comforting words that Marcus offered back at the castle gave her the courage to face her tormenters.

Chrysalis followed a breathing pattern that Moon had taught her to control her temper. The changeling could feel her body relax as she passed through a few shrubs. She had long abandoned the clothes Rarity had made her, and was now wearing the same dress she wore when she attacked Canterlot. She was thankful that Marcus was able to convince Rarity to fix it. The mare was determined to make some altercations to it, but the human refused to let it happen. Thankfully the mare had relented and fixed the dress to its former glory.

Her nerves still got to her as she wondered what the others were going to think about her. She didn’t care what the other mares thought about her, and the humans were slightly cared for about what they would think. Only one human caused her to give a slight pause at what he might think. Marcus had given everything she wanted, and now she was doing something that could easily ruin their relationship. She could easily call him friend, but there was one word she wanted to call him but couldn’t find the will to ever tell him.

Shaking away her worrisome thoughts, she saw the clearing that she was to be at. Chrysalis started to focus her magic in case they would try to jump her. With a few tentative steps, the changeling now stood out in the open. She could feel a magic presence coming from her left, and she recognized the pressure. The changeling turned to her left to see her second youngest sister, Ambrosia. Chrysalis looked around in the nearby tress to see the orange glow of her changelings.

Chrysalis stood still as Ambrosia’s changelings joined her at her side. The younger sister had to hold back a scowl as she watched the other changeling smirk at her. Ambrosia walked around her younger sister, continually smirking as she tried to gage her reaction. The changeling could see her younger sister fighting off a scowl, and she didn’t even try to suppress her laughter. Ambrosia howled her laugher through the forest as she came to a stop in front of her younger sister.

“You should really stop giving such a heavy scowl. You’ll only end up giving yourself wrinkles if you don’t. Oh wait, you already have because you’re such a failure,” Ambrosia said. Her laughing never ceased as she got in her younger sister’s face.

“What do you want, Ambrosia?” Chrysalis said with a slight growl.

“I just wanted to see how my younger sister was doing without a hive to command. You seem to be doing awfully well for somepony that failed her mission,” Ambrosia stated as her laughter died down.

“I’ve been a survivor for hundreds of years. A setback like this won’t stop me,” Chrysalis said.

“Funny you say that. From what my drones have told me, you’ve been receiving help from the ponies. They’ve also mentioned that you’ve also been living with them and a strange creature. Care to explain that,” Ambrosia said with seriousness.

Chrysalis’ strong stance faltered a little after hearing her sister mention the human. She was thankful that Ambrosia hasn’t figured out who he was, but it was only a matter of time before the orange colored changeling would attack him. The younger sister looked up at her second youngest sister, and she noticed her giving a menacing smirk. Any control Chrysalis had was lost under the devilish look Ambrosia gave.

“You should really control you emotions, Chrysalis. They really give away everything about you,” Ambrosia stated as she sensually rubbed her hand along Chrysalis’ shoulder.

Knowing that her sister was trying to get a rise out of her, Chrysalis kept her mouth shut. She could feel the orange colored changeling rubbing against her arm, and fought her urge to shiver at the feeling. The changeling focused on Ambrosia as she started to speak again.

“I wonder what that creature does with those four mares I’ve heard he hangs out with. My drones seem to believe that he gives them wondrous pleasure as they secrete tons of love. I wonder how you feel about him giving his attention towards those mares, and not you,” Ambrosia whispered into Chrysalis’ ear.

The younger changeling shivered from the warm breath that ran across her ear. Chrysalis tried to keep her emotions under control, but after Ambrosia mentioned Marcus having sex with other mares, she couldn’t keep a certain emotion down. The orange changeling sensed her younger sister’s jealousy, and started to feed off of it. The changelings still had many secrets that the ponies didn’t know, and that was what each of the sister’s ate. Ambrosia fed off of jealousy. Mynx fed off of lust. Miasma fed off of sorrow.

Chrysalis looked up with slight worry as she saw her older sister grinning evilly at her. The younger changeling could feel her heart beat against her chest, threatening to burst out. Ambrosia’s orange eyes shimmered as she stared down her younger sister. Everything that the younger changeling tried to hide was now known to her older sister.

“Seems like a certain changeling has feelings for a certain creature. I guess you need to be taught a lesson,” Ambrosia threatened.

Chrysalis felt her sister stop caressing her arm, and gave a slight whimper in pain. Ambrosia gripped her younger sister’s arm harshly, and brought her to her knees. The younger changeling fought back her building tears as she tried to focus on a spell. Chrysalis gave a quick survey to see her older sister’s drones looking at them. The younger changeling wasn’t sure how many there were, but she only needed a few seconds in order to get away. The grip on her arm tightened, the older sister’s nails digging into her arm.

“What would mom say if she saw you doing this?” Chrysalis asked, hoping to buy some time.

“She would be glad that I’m doing her a favor. You’re the weakest link for our race. You failed in your final mission to bring back food for everypony. All your drones have either joined myself or our sisters, and the ones that didn’t died off. You have nothing left, and we’re sick of being related to you,” Ambrosia growled harshly.

The older changeling’s horn glowed a sickly orange as she prepared a spell. Chrysalis looked up, hoping to put up a shield spell to defend herself. Her reaction was too slow as her older sister hit her square in the chest. Once the spell made contact with her chest, Ambrosia released her grasp, and Chrysalis was sent back a few feet. The sound of her dress ripping along the bottom was heard as the younger changeling laid on the ground.

Chrysalis was glad that she thought ahead and focused her magic back into her chitin in case something like this happened. Ambrosia laughed menacingly as she neared her fallen sister. The younger changeling pushed off the ground, propping herself on her elbows to stare angrily at her sister. The orange changeling continued to walk forward as she charged another spell. Chrysalis grit her teeth in anger for not having enough time to channel her magic. Using whatever she was able to store up, she flashed her sickly green aura, blinding every changeling around her.

The younger changeling got to her feet as the other changelings cried in agony. Chrysalis knew her sister would recover first, and it would be soon since she didn’t have much power in her blinding spell. Turning around, the younger changeling started running. She didn’t bother flying in the forest, fear of what would attack her keeping her grounded. There were only three ways she could run, and neither of them really favored her in any way.

Her first option was to run as far away from the ponies she could. That idea was shot down as fast as it showed. The princesses were monitoring where she was at, and the moment they woke up, they would send the guards after. The second option was running to a zebra she knew lived here. The humans haven’t met her yet, but the changeling didn’t want to get the potion master involved. Her last option was returning back to Golden Oaks Library, but then she would have to explain why she was out in the dark.

She could easily come up with any lie, but Applejack could easily catch her trying. She also felt sick at the idea of having to lie to Marcus. He treated her like an equal pony after they settled their differences, and he even enjoyed her company. The human never saw her as someone that did terrible things, or even someone of royalty. The human would laugh, yell, become flustered, and even joke with her like they were really close friends. The changeling let a small smile grace her lips knowing that he actually considered her a friend.

Chrysalis saw that her body already chose her path for her. She was running straight for the library. She had a feeling that the human would forgive her for her actions when she explained herself. He would also help her if she needed it. He may have been bound by a Pinkie Promise to look after her and Moon, but he would do it out of his kindness. The others would probably be very pissed with her, but none of that mattered as long as she had Marcus’ forgiveness.

The younger changeling continued to run as she passed a tree she remembered. The tree told her that she was still a fair bit of distance from Ponyville. The changeling risked a look over her shoulder to see nothing chasing after her. Chrysalis kept her guard up, knowing that even though she couldn’t see them, they were following her. The changeling adjusted her wings to help gain a burst of speed in her running. Tress whizzed past her as brown blurs as she poured everything she had into running.

Hope began to fill the changeling’s heart as she believed she would make it back. Sadly her hope came crashing down when something landed in front of her. Chrysalis made to attack her sister, but was stopped by her sister blocking her punch with an open palm. Rage burned behind Ambrosia’s orange irises as she gripped her younger sister’s fist. The younger changeling could feel her older sister crushing her, trying to break through the chitin, and then her bones. Tears started to form in Chrysalis’ eyes as she looked at killer.

“Yes, dear sister. Radiate your fear so I can enjoy this so much more,” Ambrosia taunted.

“Fuck you,” Chrysalis spat, using the humans’ language.

“What was that?” Ambrosia asked. The older changeling lifted her leg and stomped on Chrysalis’ right knee.

The younger changeling whimpered as she felt the chitin break off, and her knee became dislocated. Chrysalis fell to her other knee, fighting back her urge to scream. She refused to give her older sister the satisfaction of seeing her in so much pain. Drawing as much strength as she could, she looked up at Ambrosia. A smirk was plastered on the younger changeling’s face as she gave a low laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Ambrosia growled as she threw her sister against a tree.

Chrysalis let out a muffled yelp as she felt her wings break from the impact. The younger changeling couched up some blood as her green eyes shimmered with slight tears. She was able to fight through the pain as she continued to laugh. She could see the moon high in the sky as her life played before her. Noting but pain filled the beginning of her flashback until her attack on Canterlot. Her flashbacks slowed as she remembered everything about every human, and everything they did.

Seeing each of the humans gave her a sense of happiness she hadn’t felt for a long time. Each human offered a caring smile, and their own friendship to the changeling. She saw the fun times she had with each one when they went to do something. It didn’t matter if it was mundane or even a simple walk. They treated her like a friend and helped whenever she needed it. Several more flashes passed by, a few making her blush, until settling in on another human. Seeing this human allowed her to give a bigger smile.

She replayed every reaction he ever made while she was around. His reaction would always being with a small frown before turning into a smile. She would always sense his true happiness when he smiled, and it made her feel prideful that he cared about her. One last image played where the human extended a hand towards her, showing he was going to help. The younger reached out to accept his help before the image ceased. The changeling felt her heart break after seeing the image disappear.

A few tears escaped the changeling as she held her hand against her chest. She gave soft sobs as she wished for this nightmare to end. Her musings were stopped when she heard something shuffling in front of her. Chrysalis looked up at her enraged sister as she walked towards her. Rage still burned behind the older changeling’s eyes as she waited for an answer. The younger changeling smirked as she planned of having the last laugh.

“To answer you first question, I used something I learned from my friend,” Chrysalis said. Her smirk never faltered as she sensed Ambrosia’s anger increase. “The answer to your second question is that even after you kill me, you’re going to be destroyed.”

Ambrosia had enough of her younger sister’s antics and focused her magic into her hand. The older changeling reeled back her arm and struck Chrysalis across the face. The sound of chitin breaking off reverberated in the silent forest. The younger changeling didn’t whimper a sound as she turned back to her older sister, her smirk still plastered on her face. Chrysalis could sense Ambrosia’s rage increase as she refused to let her sister see her suffer. The orange changeling lost herself in a blind rage.

Ambrosia’s hands glowed their sickly orange color as she beat her sister against the tree. The orange changeling was tired of playing of these games, but she wanted to have Chrysalis suffer more. Blow after blow landed on the younger changeling, chitin cracking or breaking off as she was assaulted. Blood trickled down Chrysalis’ face and body as she sat on the ground. Ambrosia continued her barrage, making sure she destroyed enough chitin before finishing her sister off.

After a few more punches, Chrysalis was now in a tattered mess. Her dress was caked in her own blood. Pieces of her chitin were all around her as more fell from her broken shell. She panted heavily as her vision started to space in and out. The younger changeling looked up at her sister to see her remove the magic from her hands. Chrysalis knew this was the finishing blow, and looked up at her with no regrets. Ambrosia closed her eyes as her magic moved from her hands and concentrated in her horn.

The older changeling chanted an old incantation as she gathered all of her magic. Ambrosia may have failed getting her sister to beg for mercy, but she could make sure that no speck of her was left in the end. The orange changeling could feel her power surge as a few sparks emitted from her horn. The younger changeling gave a curious look to her older sister as she felt the magical pressure she was emitting.

Chrysalis was aware of what spell she was focusing on, and looked up at the moon again. She gave a pained smile as she felt a lot of weight lift from her shoulders. She was a little saddened that she wouldn’t be around the human anymore. She knew that he would be very upset at her passing, but he had great friends that would help him through it. She may not have gotten along with everyone, but she could see they were all great friends with each other. Everything would work out for them, and they would be able to move on in their lives.

The younger changeling was pulled from her musings when she saw larger sparks coming off her sister’s horn. Ambrosia grinned at Chrysalis as she prepared to blast her with her charged spell. The younger changeling closed her eyes, and looked up towards the direction of the moon. She released a calm breath as she waited for the impact of the spell. The spell made a thunderous explosion as it was launched from the older changeling. Another boom sounded as it made contact with its target.

Smoke filled the area as Ambrosia laughed triumphantly. Pride filled the older changeling’s body at finally finishing off her sister. A victorious grin spread across her face as she felt a new wave of euphoria. The orange changeling couldn’t wait to tell her other sisters about her accomplishment. Ambrosia didn’t even wait to return to the hive as she summoned a communication spell. The changeling’s orange aura came off her horn, creating a communication mirror. The center was black for a second before two more changelings appeared.

“Ambrosia, what can I help you with?” Mynx asked.

“I just wanted to let you know the good news,” Ambrosia said. Her smile never leaving her lips.

“What good new do you bring us, dear sister?” Miasma asked in an authoritative voice.

“I have finished off out pathetic sister,” Ambrosia proclaimed.

“That is good news indeed. Would you like me to get mother so you can tell her?” Miasmas asked, pride filling her voice.

“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble,” Ambrosia offered.

“It shouldn’t be too much trouble for her, especially with great news like this,” Mynx said as she left to retrieve their mother.

“Did you make sure there was nothing left of that disgusting vermin?” Miasma asked with a raised brow.

“Please, Miasma, you know that I all get things done properly,” Ambrosia boasted a little.

“I have to make sure so there aren’t any further complications,” Miasma said.

“You worried that somepony might come after us?” Ambrosia asked.

“Reading your reports, I wouldn’t push that thought aside. We know next to nothing about those other creatures, and who knows how much Chrysalis blabbed to the ponies,” Miasma said a little worriedly.

The two sisters were going to continue conversing when they saw their sister return. Behind their pink sister stood their mother. The changeling was getting on in her years, but her beauty still remained. Her mane and tail were a deep crimson, her irises sharing the same color. Her wings were unfolded, intimidating anyone that spoke with her. Her ample bust was made perky from the tight fitting red dress she wore. Ambrosia quickly bowed, not looking up until addressed to do so.

“Hello, Queen Lacera,” Ambrosia greeted.

“Rise, my daughter. I was told that you have some news for me,” Lacera said in an even tone.

“I do, mother. I would like to say that I’ve taken care of our failed sister. There is nothing left of Chrysalis’ hive,” Amrisoa said with a slight smile.

“You’ve done well, daughter. What other plans do you have?” Lacera asked, giving a slight nod to her daughter.

“With your permission, I would like to continue watching those strange creatures in Ponyville. If not, then I will return back to the main hive, and await further orders,” Ambrosia said.

“You may continue your reconnaissance. I’m curious about these creatures that stopped my youngest daughter’s invasion, and see if they can be persuaded to join. If they refuse, then we’ll just kill them off with every other pony,” Lacera said.

“Thank you, mother. I won’t let you down,” Ambrosia said.

“You better not,” Lacera said before closing off the spell.

Library

Eris quickly flew back to the library, hoping to get the others up before Chrysalis went too far into the forest. The draconequus pooped out of existence and appeared in the library foyer. She looked around to see everyone asleep, and floated towards Marcus. Being careful of the four mares pinning the human to the ground, she shook him a bit.

“Marcus, wake up. We have a problem,” Eris whispered.

“What is it?” Marcus asked.

“It’s about Chrysalis,” Eris said, shaking the human a little more.

“What about her. She should be asleep with Moon,” Marcus said. He tried shrugging away Eris’ hand, but she kept shaking him.

“She’s not,” Eris said as she grew frustrated with the human.

“Then where is she?” Marcus asked. His annoyance laced his tone.

“I don’t what she’s doing, but she entered the Everfree forest,” Eris whispered harshly.

This got the human’s attention as his eyes opened wide. He turned a little to the draconequus to see her giving a worried expression. The human lifted his hand to have her repeat what she said. He noticed the chaotic being give a nervous swallow before speaking again. He took in her shaking form along with the slight sweat that started to form on her brow.

“She left for the Everfree forest,” Eris repeated.

“WHAT?!” Marcus exclaimed as he shot up to his feet.

Marcus’ loud outburst disturbed everyone present as they jumped to their feet. Some were actually able to jump to their feet while nine humans got a nice surprise. The rope around Brandon’s ankle tightened, and then pulled him straight into the air. The bucket of water poured on Andrew’s head, and as he got up, he ended up hitting his head on the bucket. Drak slapped the shaving cream into his face as he tried to wipe away his sleep.

Blake threw out his left arm, causing the lamp to fly towards him. The lamp shattered against the back of his head, making him fall face first to the floor. Alex jumped to his feet, but soon fell on his butt with a painful thud. The human grabbed his butt as he rolled on the floor in pain. Jaeden got up to have his head enter a pink cloud. He was confused about the puffy pink thing in his face until he smelled something repulsive. The cloud soon rained down its contents on the poor human.

Luke jolted awake, only to have his head hit the floating metal pipe. He groaned in pain as he rubbed away the slow forming headache. As the throbbing in his head calmed, he got up again, thinking the bar was gone. He was proven wrong when he made contact with the metal bar again. He let out a low growl as his headache returned in intensity. Ryan and Callie woke up to see each other wrapped closely together. Both humans screamed at the top of their lungs, causing Luke to sit up again and hit his head on the bar for a third time.

Despite the seriousness of the situation Eris had mentioned, she couldn’t hold back her laughter. Marcus couldn’t contain it either as he and the draconequus roared in laughter. The nine other humans looked at the laughing duo who were clutching their sides in pain. Their eyes had tears from the strong laughter. They laughed for a few more seconds before getting under control. Once their laughter was finished, they looked at the other humans to see them glaring at the two of them.

“What was that all about?” Luke asked as he rubbed his head.

“There’s a very simple explanation for it all,” Marcus said in a calm tone.

“What kind of explanation?!” Brandon yelled.

“It’s called payback,” Marcus said as he crossed his arms.

“What are you talking about? Payback for what?” Ryan questioned as he averted his eyes from Callie.

“This was for having me go to the Grand Galloping Gala,” Marcus said.

“You didn’t like going to that?” Lyra asked a little hurt.

“It’s not my type of gathering. It was fine being there with my friends, and at the end was interesting because I can’t wait to see what the harpies are going to try next,” Marcus said as he gave a devilish smirk.

“Can someone just get me down, please?” Brandon asked a little woozily from the blood rushing to his head.

“Eris, let him down, then I want you to get me a pair of clothes and my knife,” Marcus said.

The female draconequus nodded her head as she snapped her fingers. The rope around Brandon’s ankle disappeared and he fell to the floor with a hard thud. Rose moved to the fallen human’s side and helped him to his feet. The human gave a small scowl at the draconequus before turning to his friend. Seeing that the human was fine, Eris snapped her fingers again, and a pair of clothes appeared on Marcus. Marcus looked at the knife he was gifted from his mares before putting it in its sheath.

“Okay, Eris. Which way did she go?” Marcus asked.

“She was heading through the Everfree from the north side,” Eris said.

“What’s going on?” Moon asked.

“Apparently Eris spotted Chrysalis heading for the Everfree forest. I’m not sure for what, but I’m going to find out. Also, Eris, please get everyone else dressed so we can go get her,” Marcus said.

Giving a slight eye roll at being commanded by the human, she gave another snap of her fingers. Everyone present was now fully clothes, and the other humans had their weapons on them. Giving a slight nod, Marcus headed for the door. He was turning the handle, but stopped when he saw no one was following him. Quirking an eyebrow in confusion, he turned to face everyone.

“Aren’t you coming?” Marcus asked.

“We weren’t actually thinking about going to save her,” Blood admitted as she looked at the floor in shame.

“What do you mean that you’re not going to save her?” Marcus asked with a raised voice.

“We just don’t see a need to go and save her. She attacked Canterlot, and along with that, she even attacked your friends and marefriends,” Vinyl said.

“Yeah, and you seem to forget that I promised to watch over her while she stayed here in Ponyville,” Marcus shot back.

“You got hurt because of her attack. I nearly lost you because she wouldn’t surrender,” Rainbow defended as she walked in front of the human.

“I may have gotten hurt, but I wasn’t forced to protect her. I stepped between an attack made by Celestia so she wouldn’t get hurt. You also know very well that she did that out of desperation,” Marcus said as he stared down his girlfriend.

“She also made her choice to leave for the forest. You may have promised to watch out for her, but she apparently wants to do her own thing. That seems to be enough to not go and find her,” Rose said.

“You know what? I don’t care anymore. You can come up with as many reasons as you want about why you don’t want to save her, but Moon and I are going to get her,” Marcus said as he looked at the dark alicorn.

“You don’t need to ask me twice, Marcus. I would have alone to bring my friend back,” Moon said as she followed the human to the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Drak asked.

“Like I said. I’m going to bring her back,” Marcus answered as he turned to his friend.

“Just you and Nightmare Moon?” Drak pressed.

“No one else seems to want to go,” Marcus said as he gestured to everyone in the room.

“Jumping to conclusions there, aren’t you?” Drak asked as he gave a soft shake of his head.

“Many of you seem pretty adamant about not wanting to save Chrysalis,” Marcus said as he crossed his arms.

“Dude, we’ve always got your back. It’s a little disappointing to hear that our mares aren’t so fond of Chrysalis, but I’ve enjoyed her company,” Brandon said while giving a glare at Rose. The flower mare turned her head away from the human.

“I also helped you to figure out Chrysalis’ problems. True that she didn’t tell you anything, but she must have her reasons,” Callie offered.

“We are coming with you, and hopefully while we’re gone, Pinkie and the princesses will explain to the mares the error of their thinking,” Luke said as he followed his friend.

“Thanks guys. Sorry I assumed that you weren’t going to help,” Marcus apologized as he rubbed the back of his head.

“We all have our moments, Marcus. I made my mistake already when I went after Wrath. I’m not going to let it happen again to any of my friends,” Drak offered with a comforting smile.

“Then let’s get going!” Marcus shouted as the humans and Moon ran out the door.

The door closed with an audible slam. The noise amplified by the deep silence that filled the room. The mares looked at the three princesses, and faltered under their harsh gaze. The only ponies to avoid the princesses’ gazes were Pinkie and Pinkamena. The attention of the other mares were brought up when Luna cleared her throat. Eris could see that there was going to be a serious discussion, and decided to step away from it.

The draconequus knew she would have enjoyed watching the mares get told off by their princesses, but it seemed wrong to do so. She thought that Marcus would have probably wanted her to leave the area in case the conversation did happen since it didn’t really pertain to her. The chaotic being floated into the kitchen, and looked around to see what she could make for breakfast. Donning a chef’s hat, Eris snapped her fingers to start looking through a cookbook.

“Make yourselves comfortable because we have a lot to discuss,” Celestia said.

The mares nodded their heads as they pulled up seats they could sit in. The mares’ eyes were still averted from the princesses’ own as they felt shame wash over them. Their attention was brought up once again when Molestia cleared her throat.