“I think it all started with my mother, she never appreciated the way I wanted to rule, and she would never stop nagging me about how I don’t have a mate yet.”
Cadance nodded and continued scribbling down notes on her clipboard. “So, do you think this is the cause for this behavior?”
Chrysalis sighed and adjusted herself on the bed. “I don’t even know anymore.” She craned her neck toward Cadance. “Princess, do you ever think that...well…”
Cadance put down her clipboard and frowned. “What, that you’re not good enough for your kind?” She hung her head. “Because I know how that feels too…”
Chrysalis raised her head. “Oh, don’t say that, Cadance, I’m sure you’re a great ruler...better than me...by far.” She ended with slight sarcasm in her voice.
Cadance slowly held her head back up. “W-What did you just say?”
Chrysalis smiled. “I said that perhaps you should leave the ruling to your husband, seeing as how he knows more about ruling than he does in bed.”
Cadance snapped the clipboard with her magic and threw the pieces on the ground, giving Chrysalis deja vu. “OH! So you think you’re better than me?”
Chrysalis got off the bed and rubbed her arm. “I don’t know...m-maybe...I just thought that...that” She started to trail off, mostly due to a headache she was getting.
Cadance slowly made her way to the changeling queen. “I swear, if you even...if you even...even talk about...about…” Cadance held her head and groaned, starting to feel a headache as well.
Both rulers groaned and spun around before shaking their heads, they then questioned what happened before turning around, now looking into each others eyes.
Cadance gasped. “C-Chrysalis!”
The queen dropped her jaw. “M-Mia Amore Cadenza?
“Actually, It’s Mi Amore Cadenza.” Cadance corrected before realizing the situation. “W-wait, what am I even saying. What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here? What are you doing here, this is my- wait…” Chrysalis looked around the room in astonishment. “T-This isn’t my hive.”
“This is my castle, Chrysalis!” Cadance went into a defensive stance and glared at the changeling queen. “And you shouldn’t be here.”
“Where is that colt? I know it was right next to me in that cocoon, or...on a desk...or mirror or...” Chrysalis rubbed her head again, finding it hard to remember.
“Colt? You mean that foal you brought here.” Cadance rubbed her head. “At least...I think you did…I-I know you brought something!”
Chrysalis looked back at her. “Cadenza, the only thing I brought here is probably myself, and if you can’t remember that, then I’m sure you can’t remember the rest.”
“T-the rest of what?” Cadance stepped back.
Chrysalis stepped closer, glaring daggers into the princess. “Don’t you remember, Cadance, when I brainwashed your husband, and looked just. LIKE. Y-”
*KNOCK KNOCK*
Both rulers turned to the door. Cadance could only guess it was one of the crystal guards and yelled. “Guards! There’s an intru-”
Chrysalis tackled her to the ground and quickly disguised as the pink alicorn. “N-Nothing to worry about.” She yelled in Cadance’s voice. “J-Just trying to-”
Cadance used all her strength and flung the doppelganger off her. She sat up and screamed. “Open the door alre-”
Chrysalis wrapped one foreleg around Cadance and another around her mouth. “D-Don’t open the door, I-I...uh...I’m not decent.”
“Since when are ponies not decent?” Cadance growled and smacked the back of her head into the queen's forehead. Causing both to have another headache. Chrysalis let go of her and rubbed her head in pain. Seeing this, Cadance ran to the front doors and grabbed the handle, only for Chrysalis to jump and grab her back hooves. “L-Let go! You-”
The still disguised Chrysalis stood up and continued yanking on Cadance’s legs. “I’m not letting go until you say tell the guards to-”
With a turn of the handle, the door flung open, making both fall backwards from the queen’s constant pulling. “Uhhgh…” Chrysalis groaned and stood on her forelegs. “Can’t anyling let us finish a sentence al..rea...dy...wha?”
Chrysalis craned her head up and gasped, seeing two crystal guards at the front doors, She tried to stand on all fours, but Cadance landed on top of her and held her down. “Guards, quick, this impostor-”
“No, this impostor tried to capture me! Get this changeling off of me and..throw...her...wait a second.” Chrysalis shoved Cadance off of her and squinted at the guards, both of them smiling at the sight. “How did-”
“W-why are you two just standing there!” Cadance yelled and pointed at her impostor. “Can’t you tell that this is the overgrown bug that tried to ruin my wedding and brainwashed-”
“That dim witted husband of yours?” The guards chuckled, making Cadance drop her jaw.
“I-Is that anyway to address your captain of the royal-”
Chrysalis changed back into her normal form and turned to Cadance. “They’re not your soldiers, princess.” Chrysalis looked back at the guards and flared her horn, forcing both of them drop their disguises. “They’re mine.”
Cadance gasped. “S-So you are planning to invade us!”
Both changelings looked at one another “Q-Queen! Why did you drop your disguise?”
“Because I’m quite concerned as to how you two are here, I don’t remember calling an invasion.” She glared at Cadance. “Well, not yet anyway.”
Cadance stepped closer to Chrysalis while the two changelings shut the door. “Chrysalis.” Cadance started. “If you think you’re going to rule Equestria, then you’re wrong! You will never-”
"Uh...queen?” One of the changelings said. “Where’s the colt?”
Both rulers turned to them. “Colt, what...oh, so there was a pony...w-wait, how do you two know I was here.”
“We got your letter.” the changeling on the right said. “It said you would come here and…” The changeling reached behind his back and pulled out said letter. “‘and bring the child for the two idiotic rulers to have while you waited for it to overpower them’” He read before looking back at his ruler, whose jaw was now dropped.
“I...I wrote a letter?” Chrysalis said. “S-Since when?”
“Since you left the hive.” The changeling on the left said. “Me and Lee came here to wonder why you were planning all of this, because from the rest of this paper.” He snatched the letter out of Lee’s hooves and looked over it. “It’s not...well, that thought out of a plan.”
Cadance stomped her front hoof. “So you were planning on invading.”
Chrysalis shook her head. “I don’t even remember writing something...at least...I don’t think I did.”
Lee shrugged. “Well, Stan here found the note in the infirmary, and it did match you hornwriting, and even though it told us not to follow, we were kinda worried.”
Cadance tilted her head. “So, you were planning something, but it was very...convoluted?” She asked.
Chrysalis sighed. “I can’t even remember, all I remember is having a plan for a changeling hybrid that your idiot husband would give me, but then something back fired and it...it...it did...something or…”
“W-wait! A hybrid? With Shining!?” Cadance ran up to her and went nose to nose. “Are you saying that you...you…”
“I what?” Chrysalis pushed her away. “Princess, I don’t think now is the time to care about how I-”
The changelings cleared their throats. “Um...I think we can kinda clear some things up.”
Chrysalis turned away from Cadance and walked up to her children. “But I don’t even know why you two are here, I mean, I can understand why you’re here, Lee, but what about you, Stan?”
The left changeling shrugged. “Lee didn’t want Clem to come here, so he chose me, plus, I think this is like my...third cameo...I guess I’m just that popular.”
Lee rolled his eyes. “As Stan and I were saying,”
“And we were gonna send Alex, but he’s way too small to handle something like this, metaphorically speaking, of course.”
“Stan...”
“And Euqinu is way too crazy for this kind of thing…”
“Stan.”
“And Lach and Luke are out gettin’ love, and I doubt they’ll-”
“STAN!”
Stan turned to Lee and said, “What? I’m just explaining to-”
“Just ex-nay on the reference-ay and tell the queen about that colt!”
Chrysalis tilted her head. “What about that colt?”
Cadance growled. “Yeah, for all I know you could be lying about-”
Both changelings turned to each other, then to the rulers. “Well,” Lee started. “We started coming up with a working theory.”
Chrysalis raised an eye. “Which is?”
Stan and Lee looked at each other again before turning back to their queen. “That...uh...” Lee fidgeted, starting to get nervous from this. “that...uh, pony...child...foal...colt...thing...uh…”
Stan coughed. “W-whatever it’s called...it...uh…it...does things.”
Chrysalis crossed her forelegs while Cadance watched in confusion. “What ‘things?’” Chrysalis asked.
Lee and Stan looked at each other again. “Well,” Lee cringed. “that pony does...things that are...pretty...bad...n’stuff…”
“Yeah...n’stuff…” Stan did the same while Chrysalis facehoofed.
Cadance stepped beside her and couldn't help but ask, “What’s wrong with them?”
“They always act like this…” Chrysalis said. “I could never understand why…”
Cadance tilted her head, noticing what was going on. “You sure it’s not because they...fear you?”
“Tsh...Really princess?” Chrysalis scoffed. “My subjects fear nothing. They are trained to invoke fear into everyone they meet. Not have fear.” She turned to them and yelled, “IS THAT CORRECT!?”
Both changelings yelped, shielded their faces with their hooves and screamed in a mixture of panic and fear, “Yes queen! Whatever you say! We’ll obey! We’ll behave! Please don’t hurt us! We’ll be good! WE PROMISE!”
Chrysalis shook her head and turned to Cadance. “Well...they’re not afraid of you ponies, at least.”
Stan slowly put his hoof down, “A-Actually, I still have a fear for that pri-”
“SILENCE!”
Stan immediately dropped to the floor and bowed. “Yesmyqueen!” He silently whimpered.
Cadance stepped closer to the cowering changelings. “Look, if we’re going to figure out what’s going on, then how about you let me ask them.”
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Like I need your help.”
Cadance sighed and walked up to the still cowering changelings. “Um...Lee and Stan, was it?”
Chrysalis huffed and turned away while the changelings open their eyes. “Uh...y-yes?” Lee asked.
“Look, I’ll admit, I may still be a bit angry after what you all did.” She turned to Chrysalis. “Especially your queen.”
“Tsh, like I care.” Chrysalis responded.
Cadance ignored her and turned faced the bugs again. “But right now, helping us just might make up for it.”
Both changelings stood up. “I-It can?” They said.
“I doubt that.” Chrysalis sneered.
Cadance turned back to her and yelled, “Will you be quiet!”
“Why? They won’t even tell you anything, they are trained to not let a single piece of information leak out of-”
“The colt can change emotion.”
Both Chrysalis and Cadance raised an eye toward Stan. “W-What?” Cadance asked.
Lee scuffed the floor. “Yeah, we all thought that, with the queen constantly changing character, that the colt could've controlled emotions, sorta how Chrysalis controlled your husband into sleeping with her.”
Silence filled the room once Lee finished that sentence. Neither of the changelings noticed. “What?” Stan shrugged. “She just slept with him, nothing to-”
Cadance stomped her hoof on the ground, making the ground shake, and before anyone could react, Cadance turned toward Chrysalis with glowing white eyes. “How dare you!”
“How dare I?” Chrysalis pointed at herself. “So what if I did your husband, it’s not like it’s that big of a deal for you ponies.”
Chrysalis then felt the force of a train slam into her, causing her to crash into the wall. “You heartless monster!” Cadance yelled before charging at her again.
And just like that, another fight broke out, the changelings could only watch as their queen punched and kicked the princess while the pony did the same. Lee nudged Stan and whispered. “Hey, where is that stallion anyway?”
Stan shrugged. “Maybe he has the colt, it would explain why they're not here. Nice rhyme, by the way.” They turned back to the fight that was still going on and cringed. “Should we...help or something, they don’t seem to notice that that prince of hers isn’t even here?”
Lee started opening the door. “How about we just find the colt instead, I-I’m sure they’ll settle things out.”
Stan heard a plate smash. “Yeah...g-good idea.” With that they slowly opened the door and slid their way out of the room, just as Chrysalis flew right into it.
“Oh, you’re gonna pay for that, princess!”
“Come and get me, you back-living insect!”