My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

A Changeling’s Lament

Chapter 12

Forbidden Friendship

A pick-ax cracked into a crystal and shattered a few shards off of it.

“oh, this is a whole LOT of fun.” Jax sarcastically and angrily said as she lifted her pick-ax up. “who doesn’t love being down in a mine, working your ass off to the point of passing out? Who doesn’t love being a workaholic?” she slammed her pick-ax into the ground and groaned as she fell. “now I know how the slaves felt.” Dinky was thrown into the mine and right into a mine cart. The Changeling that threw her chuckled as he walked out. “where were you?” Jax asked.

“out exploring.” Dinky groaned. “but apparently, you can’t do that during work hours.”

“I think anyone would’ve told you that.” Jax sighed. She rested her head on the crystal as Dinky walked over. She sat down beside Jax and copied what she did.

“you know, the weirdest thing happened to me.”

“What?”

“well, I was out exploring when I came across that giant monster the queen used.”

Jax opened her eyes and looked at Dinks. “Oscurita?”

“yeah, that’s his name. he was about to eat me but didn’t. he even purred for a moment. I’m not sure why. But…” she sat up and grabbed her mom’s ring. “I think it has something to do with this.”

Jax grabbed it and looked at it. “a golden ring?” she took it off the necklace and put it on. “well, doesn’t turn people invisible.”

She put it back on the chain as Dinky took it back. “when he saw it, he just let me go. I don’t know why.” she put it back around her neck and let it hang.

“Hey!” a Changeling cracked a magic whip at the two. “get back to work.”

“Okay.” Jax said in a dulcet tone.

“Sorry.” Dinky added in the same tone.

The prisoners have made their home at a fountain in the middle of a relatively less destroyed part of town. Bonfires blazed from the buildings that circled the fountain, each having close to 10 to 15 prisoners around it. Jax and Dinky, along with a good chunk of the prisoners, found shelter in what was once a donut shop. What they all did for food, however…

A tray of what was probably oatmeal landed in front of Jax. It would be edible if it weren’t for all the flies and the mold.

“Enjoy.” the Changeling sneered as he walked off.

“Gee, thanks.” Jax grabbed her trail and dumped the contents into fire, creating a small mushroom cloud.

In a corner, Dinky inadvertadly overheard the Changeling who brought their food talk to another. “…did you feed the beast?”

“no need. Chrysalis ordered that he be cut down on his meals. Besides, he had a pony earlier.”

“A pony?”

“yeah. A kid, too. Foolish filly walked into his area and became lunch.”

“oh. You know, I always wondered how they taste.”

“I heard a Dragon down south say they taste like a mix of chicken and apples.”

“Apples? Well, they do eat them a lot. Wouldn’t be a surprise.” the two Changelings laughed as they walked off. Dinky felt sorry for Oscurita. The pony must’ve been her but he didn’t eat her. He let her go, now he‘s paying the price.

Jax tossed her tray out, almost hitting a certain princess in the head. “hey. Watch where you’re throwing that.” Cadence said.

“Cadence?!” the ponies all exclaimed in surprise.

“what are you doing here?” Jax asked as Cadence sat down at their bonfire.

“I got captured. How else would I be here?” she asked.

“good point.” Jax got up and walked to the counter. “so… how’d you get captured?”

“they launched an attack on Ponyville. Mostly everyone got away but, me, Aura, Lina, and a few other ponies got captured.”

“Aura and Lina got caught?” Jax asked in surprised. She jumped over the counter and rummaged though it.

“yeah. Not sure where they are. They weren’t brought here with the rest of us.”

Aura, Jax could understand, but Lina? She’s basically a unstoppable force of nature. Well, everyone has off days every now and then. “ah. Here we go.” she said. She reached down and pulled out a tray of a dozen donuts. “saw Donut Joe hide a few of these a few days before the wedding. They may be stale now, so…”

“who cares! Better then slop.” a earth mare said as she ran over. She jumped to them but Jax raised the tray before she got close, causing the mare to hit the counter.

“no no no. we’re gonna share these with everyone.” the mare moaned where she hit. She tossed one to their group and told a Pegasus to take one to each group.

“this is… surprisingly kind of you.” Cadence pointed out.

“huh?” she looked at the princess with a confused expression. “well, I can’t be choosy at this point. I mean, I’m stuck here with you all. Got no time for hatred. Well, hatred for your kind of equines.”

“thanks. I think.” Cadence said, not really sure how to take that. Their donut was cut up into 15 pieces, which was no small feat due to it being already small, and passed out among the group of their bonfire. Cadence took a nibble of hers before sighing. “I didn’t think it was Chrysie after all this time.”

Jax dropped her piece of the donut down her gullet and swallowed it whole. “you say something?” she asked.

“I haven’t told anyone this, mostly because I forgot myself, but I befriended a Changeling when I was Dinky’s age.”

“you did, your highness?” a Unicorn asked.

“well, ask him or her if he can help.” Jax said.

“that… would be a problem.”

“how so?”

“she’s currently in control of Canterlot right now.”

Chrysalis looked out the window to a dreary Canterlot. Cadence not remembering their old adventures together, their childhood escapades. It can hurt anyone, even the coldest of people.

The main doors creaked open and Mirror’s Edge walked in. he bowed and lowered his head. “you set for me, my queen?”

“yes. I did.” Chrysalis walked away from the stairs and grabbed the crystal she showed to Orochi and threatened Cadence’s life with. “I never told anyone this, and I’m hoping that you will keep this a secret.”

“of course. But… what is it?”

“you were friends with her?!” all the refugees exclaimed.

“I didn’t remember it until now but... Yeah. I didn’t even realize that Chrysalis was Chrysie until she pointed it out herself.”

“okay. I just have to ask…” Jax started.

“…what happened?” Edge finished.

Chrysalis sat down at the throne and rubbed the crystal. “it was 16 years ago. To the day, I think…”

*before I go any further, you should know that in my little universe here, Season 3 and Beyond never happen. Which means the Crystal Empire is, and has been, under the rule of Cadence and her family and Sombra didn’t try to turn it into hell on earth. Also, I am planning on bringing Sombra in, but not in the way you expected and he’s quite a ways away from coming in.*

16 years ago…

Young Cadence, no more then 8 and already has her Cutie Mark, laughed as she tried to catch a few butterflies as she and her friends and family sat down to a picnic. The butterflies fluttered to a small forest and Cadence ran after them.

“Don’t go to far, dear.” her mother called out.

“I know mom.” she ignored her and continued to run after the butterflies.

She ignored them and ran into the woods. She almost caught one when she heard moaning. A scared Cadence stood there as she tried to find the source.

“hello. Hello? Is someone there?” she called out.

The moaning came again. Cadence looked around in the bushes and inside tree trunks to find it. Inside a rose bush, she found the source.

A heavily hurt 9-year old Chrysalis. Cadence gasped and ran off, calling for help. “Mom! Mom!” Chrysalis looked up to see her run away before blacking out.

3 hours later…

Chrysalis woke up and found herself in a unknown location. She grunted in pain as she sat up. She was in some sort of room, with the walls entirely made out of crystal. She took off the blankets to see herself covered in bandages.

“who…?”

The door to the room opened and Cadence walked in. “oh, thank goodness, you’re up.” she sighed. “I was worried that you were beyond help.”

Chrysalis looked at her wounds then back to Cadence. “you helped me?”

“yeah. Why? Shouldn’t I not have?”

“but… I’m different then you. I was raised that ponies would never help a thing like me.”

Cadence scoffed. “then whoever told you that was a complete moron. Of course we would help you. We’d never abandon someone in need.” Chrysalis wasn’t so sure. She was raised by those beliefs and raised hard. “oh, my name is Cadence. What’s yours?”

Chrysalis didn’t want to tell this… Cadence her full name. so, she came up with a abbreviated one. “Chrysie. My name’s Chrysie.” Cadence giggled and smiled. Feeling unnatural, Chrysalis smiled back, or tried too.

Cadence and Chrysalis laughed hard when Cadence told the funniest joke in Chrysalis’ life. That got the attention of Cadence’s parents.

“So, your visitor is all better?” her mother asked as she walked into Cadence’s room.

“Much better.” Cadence happily said. “her name is Chrysie and she’s from a land far away.”

“Very far.” Chrysalis chuckled.

“oh. How far is it?”

Cadence and Chrysalis looked at each other and smirked. “as far as the moon!” they both said out loud.

2 days later…

“wow!” Chrysalis gasped as she looked at the crystal palace. “You’re a princess?!”

“yep. Next in line for the Crystal Empire throne.”

Chrysalis smirked. She couldn’t help but think of this. “you got a boyfriend?” she jokingly said.

Cadence blushed as she stammered. “w-w-what? Of course not, d-don’t be silly. Me with a boy? That’s preposterous.”

“uh-huh.” Chrysalis said, not really convinced. “So, there any other royalty I should know about in your family?”

“well, there’s my aunt Celestia. She’s the ruler of Equestria. In fact, I think she’s in town right now. You want to meet her?”

“Can I?”

“sure. She’ll be glad to meet someone like you. You are fun, after all.” Cadence trotted off, leaving behind a surprised Chrysalis.

“fun…” she muttered to herself. Nobody had ever called her fun before. She shook her head and ran off after Cadence.

Celestia and Cadence’s parents talked with each other in the drawing room.

“…yes yes. I heard about that. That poor Derpy girl disappeared. Hope you find her.” Cadence’s father said.

“me too.” a somber Celestia said.

Cadence and Chrysalis walked in. “hey mom. Hey dad.”

the Princess was caught off guard by the presence of Chrysalis. “who’s this?”

“this is Chrysie, my new best friend.” Chrysalis went wide-eyed in surprise. “she was hurt when we found her so I helped nurse her back to health.”

Celestia curiously looked at Chrysalis, who got really worried and intimidated by the princess. She could feel her power emanating off of her. “she’s certainly… interesting.”

“Cadence, if you don’t mind, we have important stuff to talk about.” Cadence’s mother said.

“Okay, dad. Come on, Chrysie.” Cadence ran out, Chrysalis not far behind her.

Celestia watched them leave, curious by the black filly. “who was that black one?”

“Don’t know. She never said much of where she’s from.” Cadence’s father said. “so, you were saying about upping our borders?”

“oh, right. There’s word that there’s something happening in the arctic north. There’s some unexplained dark clouds swirling there.”

2 days later…

Chrysalis and Cadence stood at the same spot Cadence found her.

“Do you really have to go?” Cadence sadly asked.

“yeah. My parents must be worrying about me by now. But I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

Cadence smiled. “I’ll hold you to that.” Cadence used her magic to bring forth a small crystal. “take this. Something to remember me by.”

Chrysalis gingerly grabbed it and smiled. “Thanks. I’ll cherish it forever.”

1 and a half years later…

Cadence and Chrysalis, both at age 10, held their sides as they laughed their heads off. “and then, and then…” Cadence gulped. “…the Diamond Dog says ‘this diamond isn’t shiny. This is a…’ then the thing exploded and covered them both in sap.”

Chrysalis laughed her head off but eventually stopped to take a breather. “oh, that was too funny.” Cadence laughed and sighed as she laid back in the grass. Chrysalis laid beside her and sighed as well.

Cadence lamented if she should tell Chrysie this. “Chrysie.”

“hmm?”

“next week, I leave for Canterlot. I’m gonna be the foal-sitter for my aunt’s new protégé. She’s supposed to be pretty powerful and pretty cute.” Chrysalis whined a bit, getting the attention of Cadence. “I’m sorry but when Celestia gives you a direct order, you gotta do it. Besides, I still got a week before I leave. So we got a lot of chances to break out and party, huh?”

“that sounds good.” a distrat Chrysalis said.

“Great. Meet me back here at 8 tonight. I’ll invite everyone I can and we’ll party our plots off.”

That cheered Chrysalis up even more. “Great.”

6 hours later…

Chrysalis arrived at the same field she and Cadence were earlier, dressed up and ready to party. There was no one there for now so she figured they were just getting ready like her.

{Chrysalis} [Cadence]

“{I waited all night for Cadence to return. When she didn’t show up, I figured she was caught up with something and continued to wait.}”

“[I guess she never realized that I unexpectedly left for Canterlot that night. My parents surprised me with the trip earlier then expected.]”

“{I waited for days and days, though rain and wind I waited. It was in that heartbreaking moment that I realized that…}”

“[I don’t know how long she waited but I guess in that course, she came to a realization that…]”

“{[Ponies aren’t to be trust.]}”

Present Day.

Chrysalis looked at the crystal and sighed. “it was then that I realized that Ponies aren’t to be trusted. They will take your heart after a lifetime of happiness and smash it into a million pieces.”

“if you say so, my liege.” Edge said, not really sure why Chrysalis told him that story. “but… why would you tell me this? I’m not friends with a Pony.”

The Purge worked better then she expected. “it’s… just in case you do happen to become friends with one.” Chrysalis placed the crystal back on the pedestal and sealed it in it’s magic barrier. “know that they will do anything to become your friend then shatter it completely.”

Cadence finished telling the story, leaving the refugees with somber faces. While she didn’t show it, Jax did feel sorry for the Changeling Queen.

“So she’s doing all this out of resentment; out of spite and vengeance.” Jax concluded.

“that’s what I came to, too.” Cadence sighed.

Nobody noticed that a small pink unicorn had disappeared from the place.

Dinky tip-toed over to Oscurita, carrying the trail of gunk and her donut shard.

“hey!” she loudly whispered. Oscurita stirred in his sleep and moaned. “Hey!” Oscurita stirred awake and lazily looked in her direction. “I heard that you didn’t get any food on account of me and I felt sorry for it so I brought you my food. It’s not much but it’s better then nothing.” Oscurita snorted and angrily looked at her. “forgive me for actually looking out for you. You spared my life and I want to make it up to you. So…”

Oscurita sighed and sat up. She was going to insist on this and won’t back down. He reached over, grabbed the tray between his thumb and pinkie, opened his mouth, and dropped it in. he gagged and coughed. The taste was more then he could take.

“tastes bad, doesn’t it?” Dinky joked. “Should’ve warned you about that.” the sound of a fallen rock scared Dinky and made Oscurita look in that direction. “Listen, I’ll come back as soon as I can.” she started to run off but stopped and looked back at him. “see you later.”

She ran off, leaving him behind. He lightly smirked at the thought that someone cared about him. Legitimately cared about him. And something about her felt familiar and it wasn’t that ring. He fell asleep, trying to figure out why she felt familiar.