Viva Las Chrysalis

by Aureane

V: Recess for Six

Two mischievous giggles work their way about as the combined villains hear some hoofsteps gaining in volume. "Okay... wait here," Paradigm whispers.

RUMBLE! KABLAM!

Sssshhhh... tap. tap. tap. Creeeeaaak.

Creeaak. Click.

Starlight shuts the door, both her and Twilight holding two unamused frowns, as well as soaking wet manes. "Since when does a ginormous thunderstorm appear out of nowhere, especially in the middle of a clear sky?!" Starlight questions with a shiver, her mouth evolving from misfortune to irritation as she directs her anger to Twilight.

Before the alicorn can respond, somepony throws two heated towels onto their faces. "Well, aren't you two quite the sight?"

Twilight recognizes that voice. When she dries herself off, she peeks from behind the towel. The same green fur and short blue cut, that charming white smile, except this time, her adventurous hat covers a single eye. "Paradigm," Twilight calls out.

"You refer to me like I'm doing something wrong, 'dear'," Paradigm paces the room, her Rarity impression nearly spot on, with the exception of her sneaky little accent. She plays around with a pouch, adding bouncing properties to it so that she can paddle it on the floor with her horn's magic.

When Starlight finishes drying herself off, tail included, she looks forward, quirking her lips at the sight of the treacherous mare. "Paradigm... nope, never heard of you. Let me guess; you want to take over Equestria and gain the power of the elements of harmony."

Paradigm places a hoof on her chest. "Please. Why would I want a bunch of brummagem stones that can only shoot a rainbow when six ponies are together?" She turns her attention to the alicorn. "It's a bit... cliche, don't you think?"

"You know, for once... I didn't think anyone would actually agree," Starlight remarks, joining the rogue's direct stare at Magic.

Twilight looks about- both Starlight and Paradigm expecting an answer. She looks so confused, the odds having turned against her like this. "W-well... it's what Celestia--"

"Celestia this, Celestia that," Starlight mocks. "It's been a thousand years, for equine kind's sake! She's probably had eight or nine other princesses already. Even more!"

Paradigm raises a hoof. "Now now... no need to be lashing at your friend. Say..." She opens up the pouch, tosses the shell away, and up reveals a pegasus statue. "You're looking for this, aren't you, Starlight?" She teleports them to the friendship map, Twilight in her original seat, and Starlight in Spike's seat.

Starlight looks down at the altered, darkened map, the three lights and the x in the same exact places. "No way," she mutters. "Only I have access to this part of the map. How did you find this?"

Paradigm leans her flank onto the table as she crosses her forelegs. "Tell 'er, Twi; will ya?"

Twilight mutters. "She is you."

"What?" Starlight leans in as Paradigm turns the statue this way and that, yawning to herself.

"She is you. She has your cutie mark, your power, your knowledge... add all of that to her own skills."

"Why is she here?"

"No clue..."

"So, she doesn't want to take over Equestria?"

"Not that I know of. But, listen... she's working with you know who."

"Who?"

"You know... long horn, bug features..."

Paradigm chomps on a Disc-vine as the two go along. "Are you two going to whisper on all day? Because otherwise, I'll just be taking this statue with me."

Starlight stares the rogue straight in the eye. "Where is she?"

"Where is who?" Paradigm turns and places a hoof on her chin, batting the statue in the air.

"Chrysalis."

"I don't know. But, have you thought of ever asking yourself: what if I am her?" Paradigm shapeshifts into Chrysalis, the same long hair and horn evident from when she was defeated by Thorax and the gang. Starlight's, even Twilight's eyes widen as they see the true villain before them. "Pretty nifty, eh? Looks like your little group isn't around to see you fall this time." When Chrysalis releases her classic, evil laugh, the two protagonists ready themselves to fight.

Meanwhile, the actual Paradigm and short-haired Chrysalis are leaning back on a massive cruise liner somewhere, awaiting their destination to retrieve the second statue. Paradigm is in her 'Dime' form, laid across the fallen queen's belly, tapping at her hind legs while she holds up a visual lapse of the imposter fighting around. "How long do you think this clone will last, Chrysalis?" She asks.

Chrysalis's short hair almost seems to bounce around under the sunlight, adapting to the ship's rocking as it sails through the ocean. "Quite a while," she responds with a toothy smile as she lifts her sunglasses up. She signals the captain to stop, rising from the beach chair, and the captain's eyebrow nearly tangles up as to what exactly he's stopping to. With a closer look through an eyeglass, it's not an island, nor is it a random piece of land formation out in the middle of nowhere... it's... a hatch. A small piece of land with a hatch. The captain shrugs, and before they know it, Chrysalis and Dime are left to the hatch.

"Celestia wasn't always the best in her hiding spots, was she?" Dime asks. Chrysalis smirks, opening it up with her horn, and the two hop in.

~

"So you aren't actually me!" Starlight yells as she ducks under a laser beam. No matter what you do, we'll be able to stop you."

"Stop me? How? With Destiny?! Haha! Your friends have already been taken care of." The clone laughs insanely as she blabbers more useless things about taking over Equestria and stuff like that.

Twilight's heart breaks. "No way. How?!"

~

"Wee! This is fun!" Pinkie grabs onto the rail. "HELLO OCEAN!" Then she turns to look at the others. "Aw, no echo."

"I have to admit, getting a free tour around Equestria is pretty flattering. Who did you say was responsible for this again, Rainbow?" Rarity sips away at a glass of lemonade, ice cubes steady as her pink-outlined sunglasses shift to her.

"Dunno. I would think it's Twilight, though. Or, no- maybe Spitfire? Oh well. Gives me some good time to catch up on this." She holds up Daring Do and Things She Didn't Quite Yet Do.

"Oh, well. I suppose I can make with a book, myself. Applejack, Fluttershy, how are you two doing over there?"

The final two of the five are too busy hanging on to the rails, trying to get over their seasickness.

"It's okay, Fluttershy, deep breaths, deep breaths."

"I'm tr-trying," Fluttershy makes out through her gasps.

"Oh dear... I'll go over and help them." She turns to Rainbow, who pretty much has the book to her face, and Pinkie, who is still trying to make the ocean echo back at her. After a sigh, Rarity looks to Spike, who isn't really doing anything, except for staring at her gorgeous body. "Spike, why don't you help Fluttershy and Applejack calm down?"

Spike shakes himself back to reality, the hearts above his head disappearing. "Oh. Sure thing, Rare!" He gets up, and as he does so, Rarity pulls out her copy of Nine-hundred Ninety-nine Fashion Tips, but behind the cover, she's actually reading Tactical Warfare and the Art of Global Defense.

"Yup, this is the life," Rarity says as she takes another sip of the lemonade.

Meanwhile, Pinkie is still at the other end of the ship, screaming out to nowhere in particular. "OCEAN!! OCEAN! HELLO?"

"You said it," Rainbow reclines back in her chair and tosses a hoof behind her head.

"Look at the dolphins, Shy. Look at the dolphins..."