Transcend - Part 1
#1 of Transcend
At first, Chrysalis loathed him; the dumb-as-a-brick woodspony who goes by the name of Evergreen. But through circumstance, he is her only savior. And slowly, she comes to love the simple pony and his way of life. But her life as a changeling keeps holding her back. Will there be a happily ever after for them? Or are they doomed for failure?
Thunder crashed overhead, rending the heavens with jagged flashes of lightning as pounding rain beat down all around the Everfree Forest.
Nestled among the gnarled trunks of the ancient forest, a little cottage shook with each rolling peal of thunder. Rainwater crashed down over the edge of the eaves, sheltering the cabin's single occupant-- but even inside there was no true escape from the vicious storm. Flashes of blinding brilliance lit the interior while the rolling crescendo of thunderclaps vibrated the very walls themselves with their vehemence.
The blue-pelted earth pony inside the cottage glanced up at a particularly loud rumble of thunder. Running one hoof through his scraggly brown mane, he sipped steaming cider from his mug and placed it carefully back on his coffee table. He turned back to his reading, flipping another page and tilting the book slightly to better catch the flickering light of his fireplace.
The stallion was named Evergreen, and he was, for want of better terms, a forager. He made his living combing through the Everfree Forest for various herbs and such that were almost impossible to cultivate outside of the forest itself. Many of the alchemical concoctions made by the ponies in Canterlot and Ponyville were only possible because of ponies like Evergreen.
Shielded by the howling storm outside by the sturdy little cottage, Evergreen continued to read. He turned another page, blissfully unaware of what was happening outside in the storm as a lone pony struggled through the pounding rain and sweeping winds that whipped the raindrops against her form with stinging force.
Chrysalis was hurt, probably dying. She had never died before...but a heart-wrenching emptiness was growing inside her. She was weak, hurting, and alone. Her army was defeated, scattered and gone into hiding, and she, the Queen of the Changelings, was struggling through a vicious thunderstorm with the last reserves of her power dwindling.
Somewhere in the back of the fallen monarch's mind--the part of her mind that wasn't focused on the growing drain on her energies--she was berating herself. She had grown cocky.
It had started so innocently. Chrysalis had seen Shining Armor and Cadance together. Needing a new source of energy, she had simply waited for Cadence to be alone, trapped the unsuspecting alicorn in the crystal chambers beneath the palace, and then feasted on the love Shining Armor had for his bride-to-be.
What a rush!
Never before had the changeling felt such an influx of energies. It had been intoxicating. Invigorating. And, ultimately, corrupting.
Chrysalis' modus operandi up until that point had been to take the energies of a target for a few days, perhaps a few weeks if it were particularly delicious. It was never good to linger overly long on a single meal. She would then wipe the memories of both parties before moving on. Her tactics were unexciting, but they worked; it was how she survived so long. But this...this had been different. The energies that infused her were so raw. So powerful. She couldn't resist them.
There was so much love in Equestria. It was just the next logical step for the queen to bring in her army of changelings and share with them the abundant love of Celestia's unsuspecting ponies. In short order Chrysalis' brood could have grown unimaginably strong.
The battered monarch could follow her own rationale from the very start, right through to the disastrous decisions that led to her new predicament. Likely her last predicament.
When Chrysalis had been found out, she hadn't cared. The persistent purple unicorn's accusations and the ponies' efforts to fight her and her army had simply been an engaging diversion, a bit of entertainment before the banquet about to be served up thanks to the Changeling Queen's master plan--or so she had thought.
Now it was obvious that such thoughts had been premature. The power coursing through Chrysalis had corrupted her focus. Had made her cocky. She realised now that they were all decisions made in an intoxicated haze, the poorly-planned-out whims of a queen who was drunk on the finest sustenance she had sampled in ages. High on the simple raw intoxicating power of such a strong love. The Queen of the Changelings had been able to defeat Celestia herself in one-on-one combat!
But then, the weak little princess that Chrysalis had thought was dealt with had returned and shattered the changeling's hold over Shining Armour. The Queen's usually oh-so-fine senses, deafened by the roar of the delicious power coursing through her, had failed to notice until far too late that the thundering river of Shining Armour's love had been dammed and diverted at the source--changed back to its true channel. To Cadance. And then, the magical blast.
What had that terrible force been? Chrysalis had never seen anything like it in all her long years. It had been so intense. It had almost destroyed her. Most certainly had destroyed most of her army. The Queen shuddered at the raw, bloody memory of her fellow changelings' screams of pain as the terrible blast of force smashed into them like the wrath of gods, crushing some to dust and throwing others tumbling into the atmosphere. It was hard to imagine more than a smattering of her children had survived.
But still the Queen of the Changelings persisted, though every movement was agonizing. It was all she had left. She couldn't just lie down and die in the rain... but her limbs were getting heavy. It was getting harder to put one hoof in front of the others. Her wings were broken, their delicate membranes mangled beyond recognition. And her magical spark was so faint it couldn't even keep her warm anymore.
Chrysalis was dying.
The Changeling queen stumbled and fell. She lay, weakening body splayed in the mud for a moment. With a groan that was almost a death rattle she rose shakily to her feet once more and trudged on. She had to keep going. She could not stop now. She--
Sheets of rain drenched the changeling's shattered body as she tumbled to the ground. Chrysalis landed heavily, the mud squelching wetly and splattering what few places on her pelt had remained clean until now. She did not rise.
There was a cottage ahead, hidden behind swaying trees, but Chrysalis could sense only one occupant. There was no one for her to take the place of. No love to feed upon. This was the end of her story; the end, perhaps, of the changelings. Defeated by the power of love, the very thing they fed upon.
It was perhaps a fitting end, the exhausted queen mused. But the thought of being discovered like this--a mud-caked corpse on display for curious pony eyes--sickened Chrysalis. She would not be found like this. She would die with dignity.
Gathering the last of her magic about herself to change her form, the defeated queen concentrated. Power flared, and the changeling's form wavered and shifted. As her shape resolved itself into a white Unicorn with a long, flowing blue mane, Chrysalis laid her head down on her forehooves and closed her eyes, letting out a long breath.
There. Any pony who found the body now would believe her to be an unknown unicorn lost to the storm, rather than the dark queen of the changelings. Closing her eyes, Chrysalis let the darkness take her.
Instead of the blissful consummation of the darkness that Chrysalis had been expecting, she was awoken rather rudely by a tug at her mane. The female's eyes slid open blearily to stare blankly at the pony tugging at her form. He was shouting something, but it was lost to the howling of the wind and the peculiar rushing in her ears.
Everything was so distant to Chrysalis, from the touch of the stallion's hooves against her mane to the rain pelting her form. The omnipresent numbness even dulled the piercingly cold shards of pain slicing into the changeling as icy rain splattered into her open eyes. Her power had left her, and now it was time to dwindle away. In a detached sort of way, she admired how the pony tried to help her in her last moments, dragging her limp form across the ground towards the front door of his cottage, gripping her mane determinedly in his mouth, aided and abetted by the slick grass and mud underfoot, while also hindered by the same.
With a rough kick, Chrysalis' would-be rescuer slammed open his door and bundled her limp form across the threshold and onto the warm wooden floorboards.
Chrysalis felt herself splay out in a wet heap--so undignified for a queen--and tried to lift her head to berate the pony for his foolishness... but the darkness gathering at the corners of her vision called to her, begging her to close her eyes and dive down into its inky depths. And so she did.
Everything hurt.
From the tip of Chrysalis' nose to the bottom of her hooves, everything hurt. There were even phantom pains in her wings, even though they technically no longer existed.
Blue eyes fluttered open and a faint, helpless groan left Chrysalis as she tried to shift, her muscles all aching as though she had sprained each one individually. Her head was pounding, and her throat was dry, and she was cold.
The warm weight of a blanket was wrapped around the changeling and she was close enough to the fireplace that steam was slowly wafting from her moist fur..
"Don't move," a concerned voice said. A mug was pressed against Chrysalis' lips, with some kind of hot, spicy liquid. Automatically, she drank even when the beverage burned her tongue and throat. The pony tried to draw the cup away when she winced, but she lifted a hoof doggedly to hold it against her lips. She took several long gulps of the burning liquid, letting it burn and singe within her chest as though a raging inferno. It hurt. Her entire body hurt. But the pain was good. The pain let her know she was still alive.
Chrysalis opened her mouth to try and frame words, but all that emerged was a weak rasp and then a ragged cough. The world tilted crazily, and she laid her head on her forehooves for a moment to try and gather whatever energy she still had remaining. Her eyelids were heavy, and the numbing, seeping coldness about her form was trying to drag her back down into blissful unconsciousness. Her shivering had stopped; not a good sign. She moved closer to the fire, and felt a small flame leap onto the blanket.
The pony gasped and beat the flame out with a hoof, pulling Chrysalis away from the fire a few inches and scolding her. She wasn't able to make out the words he was saying over the renewed rushing in her ears and she shook her head, trying to scowl up at him. How dare he use that tone with her!
As the incensed changeling looked up, her vision flickered, and the rushing in her ears rose to an all-consuming roar. Chrysalis' chin hit the floorboards, and the darkness took her once more.
Consciousness was fleeting for Chrysalis; it was so hard to stay awake, and she was so weak. It was just so easy to give into the darkness and allow it to sweep her away on gentle wings into a state of blissful ignorance of her worldly form. But her consciousness kept intruding, forcing her to wake to a world of cold discomfort and stinging pains. Yet each time, she could stay awake a little bit longer. Feel her body growing dryer and warmer. The cold of her limbs was fading, but the permeating cold inside was still there. An empty, yawning pit of need that could only be filled by a love far from her flimsy reach at present.
As coherency returned to Chrysalis' thoughts, she began to feel afraid. She was weak, powerless, and inside a strange pony's home. She felt exposed and vulnerable, like a newborn foal just taking its first steps in the world. Depending on others was not something that the Queen of Changelings was used to, or would tolerate.
The pony who had rescued Chrysalis was sitting in front of the fire as well. He was shivering, his clothes spread out in front of him to dry while he huddled up as close to the fire as he dared. The blue stallion's head was bowed and his eye closed. He might have almost looked relaxed if not for the way his entire form shook, wracked with shivering as his muscles spasmed in an attempt to get warm. The only blanket he had was currently wrapped around her form, she realised.
Scowling to herself, Chrysalis summoned the effort to stand, swaying unsteadily and stumbling a moment, moving clumsily over to the pony and dropping in an untidy heap next to him. She had just enough energy to manage to push the blanket over his shoulders before she felt that all-encompassing darkness trying to muscle in and drag her back down into unconsciousness once more. She had to pause for several moments, to let the darkness pass.
Chrysalis scowled at the pony as he shivered and pressed closer to her gratefully, trying to share the warmth of their bodies together.
Chrysalis felt nothing for him, but if she could leech enough energy from him, she might survive. She would have to convince him to like her. It wouldn't be enough to keep her going for long... But it was enough to survive. And if he died of hypothermia, then she would die along with him.
Chrysalis pressed closer to the pony and laid her head on her forelegs, closing her eyes to rest. She tried to formulate a plan for a few moments before giving up and just letting the darkness take her away again.
She would roll with the punches. It was all she could do now.
Sunlight awoke Chrysalis and she groaned faintly, stirring and trying to move. Energy suffused her body more readily, and the dangerous darkness receded back from the strength of her consciousness. Full thought returned to her and she shuddered at how close she was to just losing it all.
Chrysalis had almost died. Even now she was still hovering on the precipice of a total energy failure. She had to be careful. No magic, no shapechanging. Not until she had more energy.
Chrysalis's new blue eyes regarded her savior for a long moment and she tried her best to judge him. What did he like? What would make this pony like her? Was he a submissive or a dominant personality? Did he prize feminine attributes or more masculine attributes in his partners?
An array of questions assaulted Chrysalis' mind, so difficult to answer since she didn't have a present lover to leech the information from, a pony to take cues from.. This would be difficult. But she only needed a little energy; just enough to see her through until she could take the place of someone else.
The male stirred and lifted his head, blinking the tiredness from his eyes and rubbing a hoof against his face for a moment, curling his neck to peer at her closely.
"Good mornin' there, you," he said. He had a rather broad accent: a country pony. "You feelin' okay?"
Chrysalis narrowed her eyes up at him for a moment at his condescending tone. Her tone was cold as she stated, "I am quite fine, or I would not be conscious."
The stallion recoiled slightly at the tone of her voice, edging away from her until he could worm out from under the blankets. He grabbed a block of wood from besides the fireplace and tossed it in the pit, vigorously stirring the embers with a fire poker before sitting down in front of the fire.
"Gotta thank yer, miss," The stallion said with an incline of his head towards her. He patted the place next to him. "Come up here where it's warmer."
Chrysalis stared at the dumb woodspony for a moment, mildly confused and irritated with his words and his horrible accent. She scowled as she said, "Thank me? I have done nothing of note in between my bouts of brief consciousness."
"Well, yer kept me warm last night and didn't have ter do that," the stallion pointed out. "My momma always said I should thank kindness wherever I find it."
Chrysalis shuddered as she tried to lift herself to her hooves, feeling just how heavy her limbs were now. How painful it was to move. It was a struggle to rise, but the pony was there to help her up, placing his nose under her chest to support her
An incensed growl left the changeling and she pushed at him with a hoof.
"II can do it myself!" Chrysalis hissed, outraged that the pony would dare touch her. Physical contact while in her changed forms made her feel uneasy, and the last thing to touch her true form--a rabbit--had met a grisly end at the point of her horn. Even when the changeling was rewarded with the power of love from physical contact, she still abhorred it. It was a means to an end.
The pony drew back at the mares rebuke, and nodded slightly, settling her down in front of the fireplace. Chrysalis harrumphed, trying to lower herself gently and ending up just thudding down onto her chest with a wince. She really was still weak and this oafish male wasn't helping at all! There was only a tenuous thread of energy connecting them. She had gotten stronger hits from passing stallions admiring her when she had in her guise as Cadance.
Chrysalis rested her head on her forehooves, finding it too heavy to lift any more, closing her eyes and trying to steady her breaths. She felt as though she had run a marathon.
"Yer must be one of those royalty bunch, eh?" the pony inquired, resuming his position beside her, next to the fire.
Chrysalis inched away so that his forehooves wouldn't brush her.
"I...Yes, how did you know?" Chrysalis asked, doing her best to seem admiring of his skills in deduction. If she wanted to make him like her, now was the time.
"Yer have some real trouble accepting help. Yer all high-strung and haughty, like we's all supposed to bow to your every whim, and when yer don't get yer way, yer all turn towards sweet talkin' to get it," he said. There was a faint dip in the energy she was receiving from him as he spoke, and she winced inwardly. He didn't like the simpering kind, then.
"Yes. I am royalty, and...and..." Chrysalis snarled in her mind as she tried to swallow her pride and thank this...this...country bumpkin for his kindness. But it was so hard. She almost choked on the words getting them out.
"And thank you for helping me," Chrysalis managed to get out before giving a low sigh of relief in her mind.
The connection between them swelled and she felt her form stiffen slightly as minor jolts of power suffused her. It was still tiny. But it was a start. Like a stream devoid of water, her body absorbed the affection, hungrily demanding more than the tiny trickle she was receiving.
"Well I'll be. Never thought I'd see the day a high pony such as yerself would be thanking someone like me," the stallion said, a mild hint of smugness to his tone. "I'll not apologize fer draggin' you 'cross the grass, neither."
Chrysalis stared at him a moment, unable to fathom his motivations. He had helped her out of the goodness of his heart, where she herself would have watched with a rather morbid glee as the life faded from his stupid, country-bumpkin body. He'd then given her his only blanket and shivered in cold just so she could be warm, and then garnered apparent amusement that he had messed up her coat. He didn't add up in her mind. Farm ponies were crazy.
"You need not apologize, but I intend to make you help me clean it." Chrysalis scowled darkly. This pony would learn his place, one way or another. When she got her power back, she would use her magic to make him suffer terribly for every indignity he placed upon her.
"Yer expecting me to put my hooves on you?" the stallion asked with a snort of contempt, rolling his eyes. "I could jus' kick yer out of here and let yer wander back to Canterlot on yer own."
Chrysalis stiffened, her eyes widening slightly. If she ended up back outside--ended up alone--then she would die from lack of energy before the day was out. As much as she hated it, this...thing was her only option. Her last resort.
"Please kind sir, I must ask your forgiveness for my rudeness and beg of you at least some more of your company...?" Chrysalis asked, as modestly as she could manage. Her pride roared at her in defiance, but she smothered it with calm practicality. She would make the pony pay for each and every insult when she no longer required his affection to survive.
The bond between them strengthened slightly, and Chrysalis felt a shift in the energies that were slowly trickling into the immense darkness that was her body.
"Ohoho, Yer gonna ask me all nice like?" the pony asked, a laugh in his tone, "I like that. I could get used ter having one of you high ponies askin' me fer stuff all nice like. I'll keep yer around, sure."
The stallion rubbed his hooves together and smiled at her. "I'm Evergreen. But I want yer to call me 'Sir' Evergreen."
Chrysalis stared at the stallion once more, her eyes narrowing. She longed to blast him with her magic. She felt a burning, consuming need to harm him. But she was still weak. She needed to bide her time.
"Very well...Sir Evergreen." Chrysalis bit the word off harshly as though she could make it sting him with its vehemence.
The pony grinned at that, stoking the fire again, smirking. "Oh, I think I'm gonna like this."
Chrysalis scowled inwardly. For now, she would bide her time. But soon, she would be back.
She laid her head on her hooves once more and closed her eyes, letting the darkness take her down into its eager, welcoming depths.
Chrysalis' eyes opened slowly, staring into the dancing, flickering flames in front of her. Coherency was slow to return, but return it did.
Evergreen was dozing next to her in front of the fire, and during the brief nap, she had been absorbing energy from him. It was hardly sufficient for anything long-term... but it would do. She wasn't in immediate danger of burning out, but neither was she in the clear. If she left now, she would only survive a few hours before succumbing to the darkness again.
It made Chrysalis shudder to think how far she had fallen in a few short days. She had been about to get married, as Princess Mi Amore Cadenza no less! And now? Stuck in a cottage with a dumb-as-a-brick country bumpkin who actually enjoyed seeing her suffer.
Sensing the pony besides her stirring, Chrysalis feigned sleep. At least this way, she wouldn't have to converse with the fool and she would have no need to violate her dignity just for him.
The earth pony stretched and shuddered, rising to his hooves and arching for a moment. He ran a hoof through his mane, making a face at the amount of mud, twigs and leaves that were tangled in it. All of that just from dragging the ungrateful unicorn into his home.
In his mind, Evergreen berated himself. The unicorn wasn't ungrateful. Just those folks that lived on the hill were different from himself. They weren't raised right; they didn't feel the need to express their thanks to others. Didn't mean they didn't appreciate a little help, right? Some people just couldn't accept help, no matter how bad they needed it.
Evergreen peered at the unicorn as she slept, frowning to himself slightly. Shivering slightly in the cool morning air, he moved over to her, and adjusted the blanket around her form. He cinched it down around her shoulders and flank, so that no creeping tendrils of cold air would be able to sneak in against her fur. He was careful to not touch her body with his hooves, out of respect. He inspected his work to ensure that she would be warm, while he left and braved the cold air of the forest outside to get more firewood.
The front door opened and Chrysalis splayed her ears, instinctively drawing the blankets closer about her form as a cold draft permeated the little cottage's interior. The tension in her form began to relax as she realised that Evergreen had left for the moment.
Chrysalis had been but an inch of using the last of her magical reserves to cause him great pain. If he had but touched her once, she would have stripped the flesh from his flank and gleefully made him eat it. But thankfully for them both, he had done no such thing. She could relax and just enjoy the flickering warmth of the fire and the blanket.
It was bad enough that she had rested with her form touching his own, for hours! If he were to touch her without permission...well. She just wasn't sure what kind of punishment she would mete out upon him. The cottage was a long way from Ponyville and his screams would not carry far.
The sun was shining outside, every surface a bright, twinkling reflection of the sun's weak rays. The golden glow of the rising sun mocked the violence of the previous night's storm, the sun itself doing little to warm the ground or the air. Evergreen could see the condensation rising in front of his face with every puff of air from his lips.
Evergreen slipped over to the wood pile, and began to tug down blocks of wood until he found the dryer stuff underneath. The stack itself was as high as he himself, and three times as wide; he had spent a week straight gathering it all at the beginning of the year, as he did every year, and it would see him through the colder months quite adequately.
Humming a jaunty tune, Evergreen shook himself, stamping his hooves against the cold as he began loading up a small sled with bits of firewood. He then dragged it around the front of the cottage and back through the front door. The sled scraped across the floorboards rather loudly as the wind slammed the front door closed with surprising violence. Yet the unicorn still did not wake. Evergreen snorted as he moved past her, pushing open the back door to his laundry and beginning to build a stack of wood under the metal cauldron in the corner.
Evergreen moved over to the crank pump, and led a long hose into the cauldron, pumping water into it with firm presses of his hooves until it was roughly three quarters full.
Deeming his work there done, Evergreen moved back into the warmer main room of the cottage, taking a box of matches from the shelf above his bed. He cursed as he felt the soggy exterior of the casing, sliding the package open and shaking his head. All of them were wet. The howling gale the previous night must have dislodged some of the thatching on his roof, and allowed a trickle of water to penetrate his cottage.
Scowling, Evergreen moved over to the fireplace and placed the box of matches nearby so it could dry before he turned to the unicorn. Welp, it was time for her to earn her keep.
"I'm gonna need yer help there," he said rather bluntly to the sleeping unicorn.
There was a long stretch of silence and he blinked slowly for a moment.
"Oi, fancypants. I'll need yer help," he said, a little bit louder.
And still the unicorn didn't stir.
Frowning deeply for a moment, Evergreen shifted closer and began to reach a hoof out to touch the unicorn's neck to make sure she was still alive.
"And what, pray tell, do you think you're doing?" the unicorn asked, her eyes opening suddenly, staring daggers at him.
Evergreen's hoof hovered a mere inch from her neck before he withdrew it with a faint smirk. "So yer are still alive."
"Do the dead regularly address you, Sir Evergreen?" Chrysalis asked, her tone showing unbridled venom.
A low laugh left the earth pony and he shook his head.
"Yer fancy words will only get yer so far out here," Evergreen stated rather calmly. He pointed towards the back room with a hoof "Now, I need yer help. It's time for yer ter earn yer keep."
"Very well." the unicorn replied, her tone ungrateful, rising to her hooves and pulling the blanket tighter about herself, giving him a dirty look as she moved towards the door, pushing it open with her nose.
Evergreen watched the unicorn for a moment, his eyes narrowing. He knew a filly like her once; his sister, in fact. She was a strawberry farmer now, and his family had weaned her off of her haughty streak pretty quick. Them high ponies needed a strict hoof to teach them how to treat others.
Evergreen moved after her, stepping back out into the colder air of the second room.
"What is it you need?" the unicorn asked, rounding on him and scowling.
"All my matches got wet from the water roundabouts. Need yer to light that fire," Evergreen said, pointing with a hoof towards the large cauldron.
The unicorn turned towards the cauldron and her eyes went as wide as saucers.
A cauldron. A giant pile of wood underneath. Bubbling, boiling water. Alone here in the cottage with this strange pony who seemed rather eager to see her suffer.
Chrysalis peered around properly for the first time. There were a series of shelves in this room, with various herbs and flowers arrayed along them: cooking ingredients, perhaps.
A giant cauldron...cooking ingredients...
"I will do no such thing!" Chrysalis protested, taking a step backwards away from the cauldron, and away from him.
She was still weak. Her magic hadn't regenerated enough for her to fight right now and in this mare's form, she had no chance of being able to fight back against the much larger earth pony.
"Yer will do as yer told!" the pony said, pointing at the cauldron emphatically, "I'm doing this fer you. The least yer can do is light the thing."
"And next you'll tell me that you wish me to climb inside!" Chrysalis squeaked, trying in vain to keep her voice even, shaking her head vigorously and stepping backwards.
"Of course I want yer to climb inside, besotted unicorn!" Evergreen cried, exasperated.
"You will not boil me so easily!" Chrysalis declared, the blanket thrown from her form as she reared up on her back legs. Her horn glowed green, pulsing with magical energies, her eyes beginning to glow.
Evergreen's eyes widened and he began to shake.
Triumph flooded her. Yes. Let him fear her!
But then his shaking resolved into long, hearty guffaws. Chrysalis' magic faded as quickly as she had summoned it, the changeling wrong-footed by his laughter as he began to roll about, pointing at her and chortling.
"W-what?!" Chrysalis asked self-consciously.
The pony took a moment in his laughter to pause and wipe an eye with a hoof, shaking his head at her slowly.
"Yer thought ah was gonna boil yer alive!" he choked out, before dissolving into laughter again.
Scowling, Chrysalis stomped her hoof hard against the dirt floor, "You admitted your intentions!"
"Wot?" Evergreen asked, rolling to his hooves and advancing on her. "Yer think that just because I want yer to climb in ter there yonder cauldron, that I'm gonna boil yer up and eat yer like an old kids scare-tale?"
Chrysalis backed away, trying her best not to cower in front of the larger earth pony. She couldn't afford a confrontation, but this pony was just begging for someone to put him in his place. "You want me to make a fire under the cauldron so that you can boil the water while I'm in it!"
Evergreen lifted a hoof and prodded her right on the nose with it, rather sharply. Sparks began to build at the end of Chrysalis' horn as she felt that thing touch her.
How dare he!
"Yer gonna be in the water, princess, because before it boils, it gets a nice temperature up fer a bath, yer idiot!" he growled and then jabbed his hoof towards the cauldron. He spoke the word 'princess' with as much annoyance and vehemence as he could. "Now light the sodding thing. Or do you like being cold and muddy?"
Chrysalis bit back the words she was longing to say. She wanted to correct him. She needed to force this creature to bow to her wishes. She needed to break him under hoof. But it was rash, thoughtless actions like that that had led to her being here in the first place. She needed to swallow her pride.
"Touch me again, and I shall remove your hoof," Chrysalis stated through clenched teeth, sidestepping the stallion before giving him her dirtiest look. Leaning forwards, she directed her horn at the built-up wood, a crackle of magical energies crossing the distance and causing a fire to catch in the tinder.
"Well whaddya know. Yer good fer something after all," Evergreen said with an appraising nod.
Chrysalis swayed slightly in place, her eyes wide. There was a roaring in her ears again, and the darkness was gathering at the edges of her vision. She stared listlessly at the dancing fire. Such a simple magical spell had robbed her of the strength she had earned from that thing's feelings.
"Woah princess," Evergreen said, catching her before she could fall face-first into the dirt. "Are yer alright?"
Evergreen's voice was echoing from far away again, and Chrysalis struggled to retain her coherency. Her mind was screaming at her, trying to force the words from her throat, Get your filthy hooves off me! But her mouth wasn't working. Her body just wasn't obeying her commands any more.
Chrysalis was weakening rapidly. She could feel it. Cold was rushing in to consume her very essence as the last of her energy reserves tried to battle the growing weariness. The great queen undone by a simple fire spell?
Her eyes flickered, and her head drooped.
Chrysalis was vaguely aware of Evergreen shifting to help ease her down onto her side. His voice was low and slow, echoing as though from down a long hallway. "Oi! Oi! Princess!"
Chrysalis tried to lift a hoof to push him away. One last act of defiance before the end, but all she managed was a weak scrabbling at the stallion's chest. A poignant footnote to end the reign of the Dark Queen of the Changelings.
But then, Chrysalis felt it--tendrils of power beginning to suffuse her form. Beads of energy trickled along those tendrils, energising her.
Focus returned to her, and she took a deep, shuddering breath. Her entire form shook. She had been so close to the precipice of total failure.
"Cripes, Princess. If I had of known yer were so weak, I wouldn't have asked," Evergreen was saying, sounding worried.
Chrysalis tried to rebuke him, to prey on his insecurities, but her body still wasn't under her complete control.
Chrysalis had never been this weak before. She didn't understand her limits. Then and there, she decided that she would not be using her magic at all. She couldn't afford another episode like like this. She couldn't count on Evergreen providing her enough energy when she was so close to death.
"Princess? Yer okay?" the pony asked, nudging her once with his nose.
"G-get your f-filthy h-hooves off me," Chrysalis rasped weakly.
Evergreen gave a hearty laugh, and Chrysalis felt the bond between them strengthen and increase the flow of energy to her side of their link. "Yer back, alright,"
he said, as he gently laid her down and stepped away, picking up the blanket and laying it over her form gently. As he moved away from her, heading towards the cauldron, he said, "I'll get yer bath ready, ma'am. I'll not ask yer to use yer magic again. Thank yer."
In the back of her mind, Chrysalis was amazed at this pony. She had never met a personality quite like his. He seemingly enjoyed her suffering--liked her more as she suffered. And he was thanking her, even though she had given him no acts of kindness? His pride must be non-existent.
Chrysalis watched him with narrowed eyes for a long moment, and it was several seconds before she realised that she was envious. Her pride governed her actions, and this creature had no such limitations. He could accept help from anypony, beg kindness from others.
With a scowl, Chrysalis resolved to study the study oaf. She would learn to act as he did: without pride. It seemed as if it were the only way she could survive long enough to find a more substantial energy source. And that's all that mattered right now..
Survival.
"Oh...Ohhhh myyyy..." Chrysalis breathed as she was submerged in the warm water, sinking in it up to her shoulders. With a heavy groan, she rested her chin on the edge of the cauldron, giving the faintest whimper of delight. The steaming water enveloped her form and chased away the resounding soreness in them.
"There. Not so bad, is it?" Evergreen asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"This...this is acceptable," Chrysalis managed to murmur, feeling herself drifting off. Unlike the cold darkness that had been threatening to sweep her away on black wings, this was a pleasant, lulling, soothing sensation. It was paradise. Ah, the joys of warm water.
"Tell you what," Evergreen said, slipping over to the shelves on the walls. "You aint gonna like this, but it'll stop you from gettin' sick."
Evergreen reached up for a bright blue flower, holding it by the stem and moving over towards her. "I'd ask yer not to struggle, but yer gonna anyhow."
Chrysalis stared up at Evergreen for a moment in a stupor. She was completely unprepared for it as he snapped the stem and then wrapped a hoof around the back of her head. He was touching her again!
Evergreen's grasp was surprisingly strong and Chrysalis was helpless to resist it. By the time it even occured to her to struggle, the stem was pressed against her nose. The strongest, most acrid scent she'd ever known invaded her senses. It was overpowering, and it burned. It broke her out of her lull instantly as it seared its way down into her lungs and a sharp sensation of pain flared in her temples. Her sinuses cleared, seared clean in an instant, and she was aware of an ease in breathing. She hadn't even realised how congested she had been, the beginnings of a sickness from being out in the pounding rain and the elements followed by the cold wetness from the night.
Chrysalis tried to shape a rebuke to the pony, but her limbs were so heavy, and she just couldn't summon up the energy. With a low groan, she rested her chin on the edge of the cauldron.
"Eugh," Evergreen murmured as he snapped the stem off up higher and wrinkled his nose deeply, before leaning in and inhaling hard. He took the horrible, overpowering scent deep into his lungs and held it for several seconds, letting it out in a heavy cough, taking several long, deep breaths to filter out the overpowering scent. Evergreen then moved back over to the cauldron and began to peel the flower petals off into the warm water, leaving them floating there at the surface.
"You're cooking me..." Chrysalis accused, her voice distant and eyes unfocused.
"Is just the petals, ma'am. They'll not harm yer, and they taste as bad as they smell, trust me. But you'll not get sick," he pointed out as he tossed the broken stem away. "Yer stay there and soak long as yer need. I gotta go earn me bits."
Chrysalis didn't acknowledge his words in any way. Instead she sighed faintly, resting with her head on the edge of the cauldron.
The front door opened, and then closed. And she was finally alone.
True coherency took a long time to return to Chrysalis, her sensed muddled by the spicy aroma of the flower rising up from the warmed water. She belatedly noticed that a towel had been laid out for her to dry herself when she was ready.
A bubble of panic began to permeate the calm that the bath was giving Chrysalis. He had left. She felt the tendrils of energy between them fray and dissolve. She shuddered, realising that she was cut off once more from any source of energy. She took stock of her situation. She had energy still. The brief flare in his fondness for her had given her a mild boost, but the magic before that...She had no experience with being drained like this, she had always had energy to spare.
But ever since that spell had hit her, her energy reserves had been...different somehow. It was harder to retain energy, and her magic definitely used more than before. It was as though her reserves were tainted--poisoned. She had be careful not to over-extend herself.
Chrysalis was mildly afraid. If Evergreen was gone too long, she would most definitely be back to a state of no energy. At this rate, she'd be stuck here quite some time.
A faint sigh left the Queen and she rested her chin back on the edge of the cauldron. There was no point to worrying. The oaf would return when he returned, and if she frayed her energy reserves worrying about it, that would benefit nopony, least of all herself.
Closing her eyes, Chrysalis dozed.
Rustling movement broke Chrysalis out of her trance-like state. She just lay there for several long moments, resting and unwilling to move.
Chrysalis felt the bond re-establish. And then, strangely, it began to strengthen, slowly but surely transferring more energy by the moment. It was still tiny amounts, but the flow was growing wider, just faintly.
Chrysalis' eyes slowly opened and she found Evergreen standing in the doorway, watching her doze in the tub, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Her voice was thick as she asked, "What are you leering at?"
"Jus' tryin' mah best to be as creepy as can be, watchin' yer sleep and whatnot," he said with a playful grin at her.
"You have succeeded admirably," Chrysalis murmured, closing her eyes again. The bath was cooler than it had been, but it was still a pleasant warmth that suffused her form and lulled her into a state of unthinking bliss.
"Yer gonna have to get out of there soon," Evergreen stated calmly. He picked up the rope for the sled and began to drag it back through the house.
A noncommittal sound left the changeling and she rested her chin back on the edge of the cauldron.
The front door opened, closed, opened again, and she heard the sounds of firewood being stacked beside the fireplace, and then the front door opening again. When Evergreen returned, he dragged the sled back in the room and began stacking blocks under the cauldron once more.
"Time for you to git out, ma'am," he said, poking at the embers at the base of the cauldron with a stick, to get the fire burning again.
"Must I, Sir Evergreen?" Chrysalis simpered faintly.
"Yes, yer must." Evergreen rolled his eyes for a moment. "C'mon, git out and go sit in front of the fireplace, or yer'll shrivel up like a dried prune."
"I do not believe warm water to be capable of such an act," Chrysalis stated by way of rebuke.
"Oh come on," Evergreen growled. "Yer can git back in the bath when I'm done. But ah'm cold, shivery, covered in mud, and I wanna be clean, and yer are stopping me."
Chrysalis' eyes blinked open, and she huffed a moment.
"...Very well." Chrysalis scowled, rising to her hooves. She shuddered as the cool air hit her form, and swayed slightly as she slowly pulled herself out of the cauldron.
Evergreen moved forwards to help her, supporting her weight out of the cauldron and down onto the dirt floor. A towel had been placed so she wouldn't muddy her hooves and trek it back through the cottage.
"I can do it myself," Chrysalis huffed down at him as he helped her, but she didn't make any move to stop him.
Chrysalis felt a rage building in her at his brazenness in touching her. The uncouth pony was so physical. She would beat that out of him before she left his cottage.
Staggering slightly, Chrysalis took a few moments to regain her balance. Chrysalis stopped, picking up the towel and neatly throwing it over her shoulders to help dry out her coat as she pranced towards the fireplace haughtily.
Chrysalis felt an increase in their bond as she did so, and paused to look over her shoulder, head canting to the side. Evergreen was watching her, smiling faintly.
Harrumphing, Chrysalis flicked her mane and then moved to sit besides the fire, resting in front of it to allow its warming effects to permeate her body. She exulted in the increase in energy from their growing bond. It felt different. There was something...strange about this bond.
Perhaps it was because she was experiencing the bond from its infancy, instead of just jumping in on somepony else's bond and sucking up all that lovely energy. Or perhaps it was the poisoning of her energy from the blast that almost killed her that made new bonds feel so strange. But it was definitely different, yet...not unpleasant.
It was only a trickle, but it was...fulfilling. Contenting. Before the spell, the energy she consumed was like a drug; it was intoxicating and powerful. It begged her to take more and more, to consume as much as she could and to gorge herself on the addicting sensations. But this...this was like that bath in the cauldron. It was warm and mellow--accepting. It didn't make demands of her senses. It just...was. It was a unique, novel sensation for the Changeling Queen, and it made having to suffer that oaf of a pony a little more bearable.
If all bonds felt like this from now on...Well, she would be a content queen indeed.
Chrysalis' thoughts were broken by the sound of the door opening and the pony stepping into the room. He towelled distractedly at his mane, looking clean and much less like a crazed woodspony.
Chrysalis stared at him for a long moment, her eyes narrowing.
Evergreen paused as he felt her gaze on him, and he shifted uncomfortably. "...Wot?"
"You were barely in the bath for ten minutes," Chrysalis stated.
"Ah'm clean now," Evergreen responded calmly, shaking his head once.
Chrysalis rose to her hooves, scowling. "No. You are not.
"Wot do yer mean I'm not?" he asked defensively.
"I mean, get. Back. In. The. Bath," Chrysalis said flatly, advancing on Evergreen and taking a deep breath as she pushed at him with her shoulder.
"What the Discord has gotten into yer?" Evergreen asked as she pushed him back into the room. He stumbled, leaning against the cauldron for balance.
"You are filthy," Chrysalis spat, huffing at him, her eyes narrowing.
In truth, the pony was clean. Just as clean as she was; but if he had forced her from the bath then he was surely going to spend more than ten minutes in the thing!
"Ah'm not!" Evergreen protested, pushing at her with a hoof.
"You are. Now get back in there," Chrysalis said, pointing resolutely at the cauldron.
"Ah'm not going to," Evergreen replied flatly, sitting back on his rump, crossing his hooves and turning his head away.
Chrysalis' eyes flashed and narrowed further, and she growled, "You will get back in that bath, Evergreen."
Something in her tone or stance must have alerted Evergreen to a growing threat. His ears splayed backwards as he gazed up at her meekly for a moment. "Geeze woman. I'm going, I'm going!"
Evergreen splayed the towel out on a rack to dry as he heaved himself back into the cauldron with a splash. He sank himself down into it, glowering at her. "Yer happy now?"
"No, But it is a start," Chrysalis stated, as she turned to the shelves, eyes sparkling with a sudden idea. She moved over to the shelf he had taken the flower from, scanning the various herbs and other plants arrayed out before spying the same flower he had used. She picked it up and moved back towards him, an evil grin on her face.
"Wot're you doing?" Evergreen asked uncertainly, ears pinning back.
"Make sure you don't get sick, Sir Evergreen," Chrsalis simpered, as she grabbed the back of his head in a hoof. She neatly snapped the stem of the flower with a twist of her hoof, and then shoved the broken stem against his nose, forcing him to inhale the scent from point-blank.
The pony began to cough and sneeze, and Chrysalis gloried in her power over him, enjoying the way he squirmed and struggled in her grasp, obviously in quite some discomfort.
Chrysalis pulled the stem back, smirking at him, beginning to peel the petals of the flower off and dropping them into the water. "You will remain in the bath until you are clean."
The mare drew back, and then said in her sweetest, honeyed tone, "and if that is less than an hour from now, I will pick you up and throw you back in."
The stallion pinned his ears back once more, and nodded meekly. "Yes ma'am."
Chrysalis turned towards the door and strode through it, beginning to close it behind herself, when she heard a 'Thank yer, ma'am.' from the other side, making her pause and blink.
Chrysalis shook her head, breaking herself from her thoughts, and responded in a simpering tone, "You are quite welcome."
She closed the door and strode back over to the fireplace, grinning as she stared into the dancing yellow flames, feeling the bond between them growing even stronger. She had Evergreen right where she wanted him. Soon, it would be time to destroy him.