Equestria has been released from Tirek's control, but victory has come with a cost. Unlike her friends, Fluttershy has been mysteriously ill ever since unlocking her key to the chest, and everypony has gathered at her house to tend to her. However, one night, Discord witnesses her undergoing a shocking transformation that has even him confused. He's willing to just shrug it off, however, until the rest of her friends discover it and tell him that what he has just witnessed is no laughing matter, but rather something that could change everything. If the issue is not contained, Equestria could be in jeopardy only mere weeks after it was last threatened. Caught in a whirlwind of drama and questions, only one thing seems true: another villain has outconned even Discord.
And he doesn't like that one bit.
NOTE: Don't read the character list until after you read Part One unless you want spoilers. ;)
I love it. You have earned a follow, favorite, and a smiley face.
Holy crap. This sucks. For everyone. But mostly Discord.
The pony he was reformed by and trusted the most isn't who he thought she was, and she may be completely evil?! Noooo!
I can't even explain my thoughts on this.
But this plot is so convoluted, yet strangely not, it's wonderful.
This. This is Excellent. Needs more dialogue but still. You Ma'am deserve a mustache.
out five mustaches
4373138
I'm a girl, but thanks. As for the dialogue, I did it as more of a stylistic thing. I may end up changing that, though. ;)
Discord's point is best point.
This is interesting. I also like the tittle but a bit sad that the story explained it. I faved it because of that nice tittle. Oh well I'll be keeping my eye on this. As long as I don't blink.
4373618
What might you mean by his point? His POV? If so, I'd have to agree.
nice start can't what to see what happen next,
she could have been missing since the Canterlot Wedding
4378619
Here's what I think: she had to have still been there when Sombra was defeated. Why? Because:
-Chrysalis would've needed some time to regain power (as depicted nicely in the comics)
-To me, the Elements don't work quite the same way as the Rainbow Power does. The Elements are more rigid in that they have to be the right pony in order to use them. (Note how Spike can't use the Element of Loyalty in The Return of Harmony.) However, since Rainbow Power isn't matched to an exact amulet/talisman (because Twi's crown isn't an amulet by definition), they can, hypothetically, go into changeling impersonators. It would weaken them incredibly to the point where I don't even know that Chrysalis will actually be physically able to battle should a changeling invasion occur. Basically, if Elements are able to completely destroy Sombra, imagine what it'd be like to have a similar magical composition and have that essence in you constantly. It'd be the equivalent of being bedridden with a terminal illness for possibly their entire life, so Chrysalis is basically doing a suicide-fighter move.
Both will end up getting Rainbow Power, the real and the non-real Fluttershy. It will have normal consequences on the actual Fluttershy, though, except for the fact that her streaks might be a different color (I like the fact that the tealish streaks in the S4 finale Fluttershy, if darkened a tad, could pass for Chrysalis's hair. It's like her disguise is literally eaten off as she transforms.) She likely hasn't been there since shortly after the Crystal Empire episodes. Next time she goes into the Everfree Forest after that, it's not her that comes out.
I can't believe I actually put this much thought into this...
4378780
None of their elements worked in the return of harmony....
continuing... so they switch when Trixie comes with the Alicorn Amulet?
4378863
Yes, but the way I see it, Spike's still wouldn't have worked without the Discording. (Speaking of which, I'm totally going to have Discord try to do that to Chrysalis to cough up the information, and the result will be hilarious!)
Yeah, that's basically it. And now I'm laughing really hard trying to imagine Chrysalis in Fluttershy's "dangerous mission outfit."
It really was a dangerous mission outfit after all. A dangerous mission that ended in tragedy. Poor Fluttershy...
4378891 so how does Chrysalis know what's going on if that was the case?
4378950
I don't exactly know. I think at first, she had a delayed reaction to the whole Alicorn Amulet thing and didn't really understand it. Otherwise, she could've just swooped right in and bam! Ultimate power! If a villain doesn't take that advantage, something has to be wrong with them.
Then again, I think she probably figured it out later and...ohmygosh, just realized something.
-Chrysalis is incredibly weakened and stands no chance of fighting.
-Incredibly desperate.
-Chrysalis knows where they hid the Alicorn Amulet.
Watch out, characters, your author's fan-hitting sense is tingling! Hope you figure it out before it gets too bad, okay?
4378963 she must of been a way better actor this time around then if her closest friends couldn't tell the difference
4378981
That will be addressed. The changelings had a powerup that allowed them to do such by gaining benevolent magical familiars that act as moral compasses during transformation, seeing to it that nothing suspicious is done. Unfortunately, they themselves aren't created from changeling magic and are bred only to do this task, spending the entirety of their lives captured. (In this story's plotline, at least a good chunk of the Breezies are kept as a slave race for the changelings.)
And as I worked on an essay for a class, "Tainted Love" was playing on the radio, and I find that it surprisingly matches the mood of the story at this moment.
Okay, I think I know why Chrysalis can't keep up the charade anymore. The Rainbow Box or whatever it's called did affect Fluttershy negatively like Discord initially surmised. But that's because she's actually Chrysalis, not Fluttershy, that it made her sick. Frankly, I'm surprised Chrysalis was able to get the Rainbow Key and get superpowered by the Box. I would think the Rainbow Box wouldn't work for someone that isn't really a friend. Then again, if Chrysalis had taken Fluttershy's place before Discord's reforming, I suppose the Rainbow Box (that's what I've decided to call it) wouldn't know the difference, unlike the Elements of Harmony.
4380255
A lot of your theory is discussed in the comments. Also, keep in mind what happened to Sombra after just ONE BLAST of harmony magic. Now imagine a villain having that in them constantly while still staying alive. Yeeeeaaaah...
4380308
I didn't read many of the comments. I rely on the fic itself to convey information. I was just speculating.
But yeah, Chrysalis is a badass.
4374388 Forgot. I remember taking it from somewhere in the chapter....
Huh. So, is the romance between Chrysalis, and Discord, or Fluttershy and Discord?
Or, is it a secret?
Okay, I really want to know how long Chrysalis has been impersonating Fluttershy. Is this your fanon explanation of why Fluttershy has become less shy over the last year?
I find Zecora easy to work with
my latest completed story 'Magic Paint Brushes' I've done a lot of her talking. One chapter is even a quarter (i think) of her saying NMM hasn't won yet.
But that's all I'm saying.
4407406
Later in the story, it starts becoming much more about Discord and Fluttershy's romance. Discord actually hates Chrysalis, but he has to act like nothing's changed. On the other hand, Chrysalis has her own plans for him, so...
4408001
I've basically decided that it's been since the beginning of S3. And actually, that never came to my mind; I'd rather think of it as character development. But interestingly enough, later in the story, we find that Fluttershy (the real one) thinks she's experienced everything Chrysalis has experienced due to the spell she's being kept under. If that isn't too confusing...
4409459
Then you should mention that as soon as possible. A lot of people don't bother reading the comments or even author's notes, so they can easily miss any extra information that wasn't in the story.
Okay, sure. But then why is Fluttershy-Chrysalis acting so incredibly OOC now? She's been keeping up a perfect facade for nearly a year now. What changed?
That's WAY too much of a cop-out. It eliminates almost all sense of drama. Oh, who cares that Fluttershy was imprisoned for an entire year? She has memories of the entire time she was lost, so nothing will be changed by Fluttershy retaking Chrysalis' place.
4410201
Thanks for your opinion on the idea for the future part. I'm glad I mentioned it as, now that I realize it, it is a cop-out. The thing is, though, that I'm not doing it to be this way. Since much of the changeling magic is built off of illusion, I wanted to have Fluttershy being kept in a sort of "mirage realm" in which she suffers from at least some form of delusion. She doesn't know she's being held captive. I'd like to keep that idea, as I find it interesting and it provides an explanation as for why she hasn't tried to escape all this time (she thinks she's with her friends), but I'll try to tinker with it so that it isn't as much of a cop-out. Perhaps it could be something more along the lines of her having seen something that would make her fear leaving or a similar sort of thing.
Also, I'd like to think that Chrysalis went OOC in this part because, at least the way I interpret it, being within a certain radius of the Alicorn Amulet can mess with your head. Thankfully, Trixie didn't outright try to tackle the guy when she saw it at his shop, but as Zecora said before, it'd have a greater effect on Chrysalis. So basically, its power just started pulling on her to a point where she lost her stealth and just started acting the way she would if she didn't have a disguise. So even before it's put on, it still increases aggression, especially if the other side is putting up resistance and not letting you just take it.
4410806
But she's lived near the Alicorn Amulet ever since Magic Duel, which has been many months. Again, why is it affecting her now?
No, sure, that's fine. Go with that. A lot of fics have ponies being cocooned as having what amounts to sweet dreams, either living a normal, happy life or having their fantasies come true. It makes sense that to feed on love you must make the pony feel love in turn. Just don't go the whole "has experienced same memories as Chrysalis" schtick. That would be very bad.
Don't misunderstand me, I really want to like this fic. I think it's a very interesting premise, and would like to see where it goes. I just don't want it to fall flat on its face like so many other fics with promising premises. I'm criticizing it and pointing out holes in the plot so they can hopefully be fixed before they have the potential to become bigger and ruin the story.
4413648
She hasn't outright tried to get it until now. She's incredibly desperate because she realizes how low on power she is. Desperation can make people (or ponies, or changelings) do some pretty out-of-character things.
4409448 Alright. That's all I needed to know. Thank you!
4418761
I'm actually really happy to be able to write Chrysalis like this, because years ago, when I first started getting ideas for a novel, I had a character named Kaine to act as a villainous love interest, and the instant I saw A Canterlot Wedding, I started joking in my head about how similar the two characters were. (Kaine, in actuality, is actually closer in demeanor to both Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis if they had both been one character.)
Anyway, to cut to the chase, Kaine was one of my favorite characters from my outside projects until one day, I just stopped being able to write her. She just started stumping me, and I wasn't able to get her character head-on like it used to be back when she was one of my easiest characters to write. Then I started working on this, imagining Discord and Chrysalis's exchanges with one another and realized that the way I was writing Chrysalis was the way I'd used to write Kaine. So then I thought to myself, "Oh my gosh, I can still write her well, it was just a slump after all!"
Sorry if this is a bit of a rant, but this makes me really happy.
4421358 It's fine. ^-^
It's great when you find that a previous problem was just a hint of bad luck/mojo. I definitely know how that feels.
And, by all means, rant away. I certainly don't mind.
Why act good until now? Why go after the amulet? Why even get sick while in Rainbow Power?
4710895
You'll see...
4711198 It made no sense for her to generally drop the act. Oh and... Discord X Chrysalis please?
4711272
She was merely attracted to the amulet's power. I see it as her starting to realize that the light magic in the Rainbow Power may kill her and deciding to go for it and potentially risk her identity as a suicide move. She isn't exactly in her right mind right now.
Also, Chrysalis will try to get together with Discord in order to benefit her own kind (not so much out of love), but Discord, of course, will reject. But, in a dream world, there will be some Fluttershyx(reformed)Sombra.
4711398 Aaaaw... Discord should be able to realize that it might have been something true down there. He likes Fluttershy sure but... Could Chrysalis have reformed him without wanting to? I mean during all that friendship talk somewhere in Chrysalis something must have changed.
And the plot thickens...
>Roxanne10
my thoughts exactly.
Wow damn it took you more than year to update, I completly forgot what this was about gonna need to reread it
Welp discord shall be like and chrissy is navi
Zizi!
But seriously, thanks for the update. I'm excited that the story is picking back up 
I don't exactly understand... can you explain a bit? Fluttershy was possesed by QC who is like a demon lich or something that possesed Princess Amore sister of Cadance???
6033586
How do you "uptade"?
6037660
Writing at near night hours, thats how you do this
6038638
LOL
6033956
Never played the game, but know enough of it that someone would make that reference eventually.
6035719
Sorry I haven't been on to answer, but...it's pretty convoluted actually. Fluttershy was more of a straight kidnapping and replacing, which is something any changeling is able to do. She isn't possessed, but that doesn't mean she isn't untouched by changeling spells. On the other hand, Chrysalis is the only one capable of possession, and she did do that to Amore. "Chrysalis" is like the soul of the changeling being we know, while "Amore" is more of a bodily vessel that gets no real say in the matter. While she did want to help the changelings willingly, she didn't want to go to evil levels before Chrysalis took over.
A lot more of this will be explained later, but Amore carries love magic with her like her sister and is therefore likely the host that has matched the most to Chrysalis's basic energy source. The problem with using Amore is that, while she's pretty weak-willed and easy to control on most circumstances, if Chrysalis pushes one of the few buttons she has, she will break free for just long enough to weaken her. Cadance is a huge one, which could explain anywhere from why Chrysalis wasn't as good at disguising herself during the wedding to why she was so easily defeated. If the mission would've just been to use Canterlot as a love source, Amore could've been very easily controlled, but as the only real pony that was with her through everything, bringing Cadance in made it nearly impossible to rein her in.
As soon as Chrysalis realized how much power she was receiving from Amore and how she had a sister who'd been studying the same sort of magic for a longer amount of time (considering that Amore ran away young and all), she's had her sight set on Cadance. If the changelings won, she would end up coming out of Amore, leaving her to die, and possessing Cadance instead. As for what would've happened then, well...let's just say that Cadance!Chrysalis would be cataclysmic.
Sorry for the long explanation.