Shining Armor woke early, his now-instinctual Royal Guard training kicking in before the rest of his mind. The fact that his sister’s alarm had gone off and he was a light sleeper may have also attributed to his rising before the sun. He wasn’t particularly a morning pony, but today was one of those pleasant mornings when he woke up and was immediately alert and ready for the day – his mind was functioning clearly and processing the image before him. His wife, having fallen asleep in his hooves, lay merely inches from his face, one fang protruding cutely over her lower lip as her head bobbed gently up and down from her breathing. Shining Armor kissed her lightly on the nose, smiling as her muzzle scrunched up and twitched against the unexpected contact, before sliding out of bed. He took care to step lightly – being such a large stallion, moving quietly required a significant conscious effort – and made his way to the door of the guest bed, slipping into the entryway. He still marveled at the fact that his sister could live in a library – Shining Armor liked a good book as much as the next pony, but he genuinely worried for his sister sometimes.
It was true, they were the very best of friends when she had been growing up, but that was precisely what worried him. She’d never really had other friends besides him, and Shining Armor felt like he hardly counted as a “friend,” having been her brother. With his parents out so often, and before they had hired Chrysalis to foalsit, he had been practically obliged to be there for her, caring for her, and being everything that she didn’t go do on her own. Shining mentally reprimanded himself for thinking like that; he loved his sister deeply and didn’t regret a moment he spent helping her grow, but sometimes it felt like she was that same little socially-awkward-bordering-on-socially-incompetent filly in a grown mare’s body. Sure, she did have a half-dozen very close friends plus Spike, and had a working relationship with many of the other ponies in the town, but the way she had reacted to the news of his wedding brought him concern again. It was almost like a relapse, Twilight returning to a state where he was the only thing in the world to her besides her studies and the Princess. It scared Shining Armor, in a way most things didn’t – she had never been over-protective of him, it was rather the other way around most times, but she was always so attached. His sister’s non-existent social life had infringed on his own on many an occasion, having lead Shining Armor to bring her to watch him and his friends play hoofball, or bringing her on one of his trips to Canterlot Castle to see the Royal Guard.
He remembered that fondly, watching the Guards do their jobs. Stoic, broad-chested, sturdy stallions in golden shining armor. Heck, it was his name – Shining Armor. It was like his parents simply knew from the day he was born that he would one day want to join the Royal Guard. Many of his friends shared his dream at a young age, though most had eventually discovered their true talents lay elsewhere, and had drifted off to be writers or artists. The advent of his own cutie mark had only cemented his goal of eventually joining the Guard, the blue shield adorning his flank confirming his desire to defend not just his sister, but all of Equestria.
The sound of many small and hard somethings striking a ceramic surface broke him from his memories. The sound had come from the kitchen, and was accompanied by the telltale jingle of magic and somepony humming an unfamiliar tune. Knowing it to be Twilight, he trotted in behind her, helping himself to a bowl and intercepting the box of oats as Twilight levitated it back to the pantry. She gasped at the sudden invasion of her magic and turned around.
“Morning, Twiley,” Shining said, “your alarm woke me up, don’t worry. Chrysalis is still asleep. I take it Spike went back to sleep after you got up?”
Twilight smiled, her initial shock having subsided. “Yeah, I usually let him sleep in for a while after I get up. Usually. Sometimes I go a little overboard… I tried to force him to get up at three-thirty in the morning my first Winter Wrap Up here. I still feel bad about that…” Twilight shook her head and laughed to herself.
“Eh, don’t worry about it. That little guy loves you. You’re like a weird mash-up of a mom and a sister to him. I’m sure he forgave you a long time ago,” Shining Armor said with a genuine smile, “I hope I can do the same…” He trailed off, looking out the window. To his surprise, his sister laughed.
“Oh Shiny, you were never good at the ‘pensive, lost-in-thought’ look. Mom and Dad will have to accept you. They love you too much, and, let’s be honest, you did a horrible job of explaining the situation,” Twilight said, her tone slowly shifting from amused to stern, “You could have, no, you should have told them that it was Chrysalis from the beginning of when we knew her. Sure, knowing mom, she still would have been angry, and dad would still have been scared to death, but now, for all they know, ‘Chrysalis’ still has you under her spell. We need to get this cleared up. I’ll send a letter to Celestia, and if I absolutely have to, I can threaten to walk out, too. They understand that I’m about as level-headed as they come, if I say that, they’ll listen.”
Shining Armor had long since given up the thoughtful stare out the window and was now dejectedly munching his oats. Twilight sighed.
“Shiny, I’m sorry, I didn-”
“No, Twiley, you’re completely right. I messed that up big time. You don’t need to do anything like that, it’s my mess. I’ll clean it up.”
“Shining Armor, you and Chrysalis mean the world to me. You two were both almost as, if not equally as, important to my childhood as Mom and Dad were. I couldn’t bear to see them kick you out, and I know they love you, and they love Cadance. We just need to clarify one tiny detail that your wife is actually the ex-queen of an army that invaded Canterlot on your wedding day. No big deal. I’ll have Spike send a letter to Celestia as soon as he’s up. With luck, Celestia will get the letter before Mom and Dad can go to her, if not, oh well, she can handle it. I trust her, and she knows and trusts you and Chrysalis. Speaking of whom, good morning!”
Twilight’s tone shifted from serious but encouraging to perfectly cheerful as the Changelings’ former queen shuffled in, smiling.
“Good morning, Twilight. Morning, love,” Chrysalis said sleepily, rubbing an eye with a hoof.
“Good morning, Chrysalis. Can I get you anything?” Twilight asked.
“No thanks,” Chrysalis replied as she strolled over and kissed Shining Armor on the cheek, draping her forehooves over his shoulders from behind, “I’m full already.”
Twilight and Shining Armor shared a blush, while Chrysalis giggled at their reactions. She continued to lay across her husband’s back, watching Twilight’s blush grow, until an awkward cough from her husband pulled her back to reality.
“Erm, honey, not that I mind, but, uh… not in front of Twilight…”
“Sure, Shiny,” Chrysalis replied with a melodic tone, twirling away from her husband and pulling up a seat beside him, leaning over onto his shoulder, and nuzzling against his neck.
“You seem… extra affectionate, today. Are you feeling alright?” Shining Armor asked, wary of the jagged horn waving around in front of his throat.
“You thought I was asleep when you kissed me this morning,” Chrysalis continued in a sing-songy voice, “and that little act… you may have noticed it once or twice before, as changelings can quite literally become love-drunk. You set me off with that kiss this morning.”
Twilight shot Shining Armor a dirty look, glaring a reprimand for doing naughty things in her guest bed. Shining Armor responded in kind with an anguished droop of his facial features that conveyed an, ‘I’ll apologize, but we didn’t actually do anything’. Twilight rolled her eyes to this, and stood up from the table, walking into the main room of the library.
“I’ll see if I can find something to help clear this up,” she said over her shoulder as she trotted out.
Shining Armor brought a hoof up and placed it gently on his wife’s horn, the constant movement of the sharp object at his neck becoming too much for him to ignore. His guard training told him to move fast and strike hard, given how quickly a blade or point to the throat could end a pony, but his ever conscious thought screaming to be gentle. He pushed her away slightly, keeping one hoof on her horn, the other pressing softly against her chest to put some space between them.
“Well, we’re alone now,” Chrysalis practically growled, her voice so dripping with lust Shining could almost physically feel it. Chrysalis closed her eyes part way and dragged her tongue across her lips, before pressing them together in a way that was clearly demanding a kiss. Shining Armor then made one of the worst decisions of his life, and obliged her.
The moment his lips met hers, he knew he’d made a mistake. He tried to kiss lightly, and Chrysalis forced herself forward, knocking him off his chair and onto his back. Chrysalis stumbled as she toppled off her own chair, and landed on her husband’s stomach. Shining Armor was a very fit pony, he had to be, to be the Captain of the Guard, but that didn’t change the fact that a pony much larger than himself had just dropped most of her weight on his diaphragm. He wheezed as the air left him, the muscle in his gut refusing to cooperate as he tried desperately to call to his sister for aid. His mind registered the sudden loss of breathing control as suffocation, and a primal terror filled him as he begged himself to start cycling air once more.
When he could breathe again, he looked down himself to see Chrysalis laying where she had fallen, rocking back and forth as she laughed at her husband’s plight. Seeing him no longer in danger, however, she immediately launched back into her assault, starting to move down his body. Fighting every instinct he had as a man, Shining grabbed her head and pulled it up towards his own, trying to keep the surprisingly not-fun love-drunk goddess that was his wife from trying to start something on his sister’s kitchen floor. Wrapping one of his forehooves around her neck and another around her back, Shining twisted his head to the side to avoid Chrysalis’ muzzle and called for help.
“Twilight! Twilight, I never thought I’d say this but I need you to keep me from having sex with my wife!”
A sudden purple flash.
Chrysalis stopped her forceful attempts to kiss her husband and pulled away from Shining Armor abruptly, blushing.
“Twilight, what did you just do?”
“Anti-inebriation spell,” Twilight said, blushing furiously at the intertwined lovers on her floor. “I found it in a book a friend gave to me, though I didn’t think I’d ever need it, and I wasn’t sure it would work. Now that that’s out of the way… Chrysalis, I suppose if you’re here, I have to ask – have you ever heard of another Changeling losing their powers?”
Chrysalis perked up, eyes rolling back as she thought. “Not that I can recall. I mean… unless… that was thought to be a myth, though…” Chrysalis trailed off, trying desperately to remember exactly how the story had gone. “There was… oh ponyfeathers. I don’t know.
“It is said that the origin of the changeling’s ability was a form of self-preservation, to disguise as a loved pony so as to be able to feed, and that eventually our race harnessed the ability to shape shift at will. As such, a legend, that became myth, that became fairy tale, began, told to young changelings, warning them to never drop their disguise in front of ponies, because if they did, they would lose their ability to shape shift. The fairy tale was nothing more than an attempt to keep our race as secret as possible, but the legend it was based on told that one time, long, long ago, a Changeling Queen fell in love with the lover of her disguise. The legend says that she, like me, grew tired of living a lie, and shed her disguise. Like Shining here, her lover accepted her for who she was, and the Queen lost her ability to shape shift, because it was no longer necessary for her survival. No changeling has ever believed though, as the concept of it even being possible to lose our ability to shape shift is… terrifying. Though it seems there may have been some truth to that after all…” Chrysalis trailed off, redirecting her attention to her husband. “Shining, honey, if I can’t shape shift anymore, we’re going to have to either tell the public about me or find some other way to hide it. You know which I’d prefer, but I know which would be wiser…”
“I know, Chryssy, I know,” Shining Armor said, pulling her into a hug and giving her a tight squeeze.
Twilight was still busy digesting the information – shape-shifting was not just an inherent talent but an actual survival mechanism, to feed off the love given to other ponies, and a changeling could lose that ability if somepony loved them for who they really were. Suddenly, something clicked in her mind.
“Chrysalis, you’re probably going to stop being able to shift altogether soon. In fact, if the legend is as true as it appears to be from what’s been happening to you over the past couple days, I’m surprised my brother didn’t break your magic years ago. I would say he loves you more than you could ever know, but that’s just not true in your case.”
“You really think that… his love is strong enough?”
Twilight opened her mouth to answer, but Shining Armor interrupted her.
“She doesn’t need to think so, because I know so. I love everything you ever were, everything you are, and everything you ever will be. Queen Chrysalis, you are my wife, and I love you with every ounce of my being, and you know that,” Shining turned towards her as he spoke, their eyes locked. He emphasized the statement with a lingering kiss, one so romantically charged he knew he could never top it.
“That may be the mushiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Spike! Way to ruin the moment!” Twilight scolded the dragon, despite the furious blush that had invaded her face.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry.”
“However, you could make it up to us… if you would kindly take a letter,” Twilight offered, sensing the hurt in the little drake’s voice. As she knew he would, he perked up immediately, zipping across the room and snagging a quill and a piece of parchment.
“As you wish.”
“Thank you, Spike. Dear Princess Celestia…”
Holy shit a Update :D
And I loved it!
It lives!
This chapter...
th04.deviantart.net/fs70/200H/i/2012/118/7/b/sated_queen_chrysalis_by_yanoda-d4xu81x.png
This is alive! Haha
ABOUT TIME!
2123025
The entire point of that story was to teach young changelings to never drop their disguise in front of a pony, in order to keep the changeling race a secret. The thought of any changeling losing their ability to shape shift would be bad, but the idea that even their queen, the most powerful of them all and the person that they look to for leadership, could would terrify them. Thus ensuring that the story's message stuck into the changeling's mind and ensuring that they remain a secret.
Oh to see a love-drunk Chrysalis.
And here I thought Chrysalis had temporarily lost her ability to shapeshift because she was pregnant.
Love-drunk. That's an interesting concept.
2123302
It was an extraordinary coincidence that Chrysalis happened to be there. Whether or not you can believe that is your decision, but as the author, I say that is how it happened. Chrysalis had been mimicked as a pony at the time, and she's intelligent enough not to say, "Oh look, there's a gaping, bloody hole in this pony's side, I guess that's just how she's supposed to be." She knows what a pony is SUPPOSED to look like, and given the generally simplified anatomy of a pony, it wouldn't be too hard to extrapolate what the pony was supposed to look like as long as the body was in one piece. As for the body, Chrysalis explained that she moved it, and later she, Celestia, and Luna returned to give the real Cadance a proper burial. Cadance did live long enough to pass on some information to Chrysalis, but mainly the wish for the Changeling to pretend to be Cadance. As for your previous comment, about the new changelings being love-starved, I don't really have an explanation for that without delving into further detail on the actual abduction. A simple way I could explain it would be like this: you are walking down the street one day, when suddenly, a man steps up behind you and puts a knife to your throat. You are strong, fit, and know how to defend yourself, and could easily take this man in a fight. However, all that doesn't change the fact that if you try to resist (at that moment), he will slit your throat and you will die. Something similar may have happened with the abduction of Cadance. As for keeping her locked up, I headcanon the existence of magic-inhibiting devices, some form of shackles or a pill or something that prevents or severely limits the use of magic by an Ali/unicorn.
2123372
On the one hand... yes, you have a valid point, that this isn't the Chrysalis we know from the show. On the other hand, that kind of is the point - the Chrysalis who invaded Canterlot was not the real Chrysalis. My personal explanation for why the Princesses did not inform SA was that by the time 'Cadance' and SA were in a relationship, it had been long enough that Chrysalis as Cadance was the norm for the Princesses and they didn't think anything of it. Additionally, Chrysalis wanted to tell SA herself, not have the Princesses tell him. You know, how most people find a lie easier to forgive if the liar fesses up, not finding out from a third party. As for why the body wasn't noticed, see above - Chrysalis moved the body of the real Princess. I guess it is sort of wish-fulfillment in a way, but yeah, you have valid complaints.
2123447
I make lots of references to things I've never seen, somehow. I've never read Dune so I didn't consciously make that reference, in the same way I didn't intentionally reference Titanic in Shipwrecked (as I've never seen it), and that I didn't intentionally reference Doctor Who in another fic.
B- but...
Drake [noun] \ˈdrāk\
A male duck
I hate it when Spike turns into a duck
Yes.
Commence read.
Interesting take on changeling transformation.
Now for the public to find out. First, a letter!
2123177
I was just fixing grammar, man. Still, I think the part that's unlikely is the fact that no pony saw a dead alicorn.
“Twilight! Twilight, I never thought I’d say this but I need you to keep me from having sex with my wife!” at first I was like but then I was man you are a freaking genious!!!
2123033
Dat picture.
“Twilight! Twilight, I never thought I’d say this but I need you to keep me from having sex with my wife!” that line had me laughing my ass off
2123594
1) Drake is a type of European dragon or similar draconic creature.
2) A Drake (fairy) is a type of fairy found across Germanic and Northern European Folklore.
3) In conclusion, 'Nope!', try again!
God damn, Vash. I love your pic. Wish i had found it sooner
Great lovey dovey chapter for Hearts and Hooves Day.
fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/145/b/0/shiningxchrysalis_you__er_so_cute_by_creamecream-d511dca.jpg
For new chapter
2123172
Ignorance has blessed you my son.
Protip: shut up when adults are talking.
2125314
Oi. If you don't think love exists get the hell off a romance fic.
1987091
Right. And he achieved that position being so young because... Because... the fuck if we will ever know The magic of friendship I suppose
2125592 yeah because i haven't written a bunch of them... oh wait... yes i have! it is exactly because it is fiction that i write about and that i read about it. much in the same way you probably watch anime to get these stories and experiences that real life just doesn't or can't offer. sorry mate, but you can't challenge my superior intellect <3
2125930
... Congratulations on being the first person I've met online that I have genuinely felt honest-to-God pity for.
2125863
Or maybe because being a guardian is his special talent? I mean, certainly other members of the Guard have similar special talents, but my assumption is SA's Cutie Mark/Special Talent gave him just that little extra knack for leadership and defense strategy that was needed to become a/the Captain of the Guard. We also don't know how old SA is - Faust said the Mane 6 are in the 18-22 range, and SA looks to be probably 8-10 years older than Twi given his appearance during the BBBFF flashback, so he's probably in his late twenties or early thirties now. So, say he went to Guard School at 18, was there for six years, and came out an officer, like real-world US Military academies work (I think, I might have the duration off on that). So it's been probably 5-8 years since his graduation. Combine that with the fact that he is inherently really goddamn good at being a Guard and I could see how he quickly climbed the ranks. I understand that even then it is a very fast ascension from low-ranking officer to the leader of the Guard, but I still feel like it is feasible in the FiM universe.
I'd also like to put out a general apology for letting this sit for nearly a month - I'm very sorry it was that long between updates. I didn't realize I had been neglecting this for so long, and I hope to resume a more normal pace of updates roughly every 8-10 days. I'm really sorry about that, everyone.
Dear, Princess Celestia
Stop being terrible. Shiny and Chrysalis do not wish to live like Jason Bourne. Plus the longer they stay with me the bigger risk there will be of me accidentally seeing more of my brother and my sister-in-law than I ever want to see. You need to sober the F**K up and keep the world from turning into crap. You need to also stop using me and my friends as the damn Planeteers, do some weight training, cut down on the cake and solve your own damn problems. In addition to that, I talked to The Doctor and says that there is something called "gravity" that can control the sun and moon, so if you want keep being ruler of Equestria shape up.
Your pissed off student Twilight Sparkle!!!
P.S this is Spike. I need to start getting paid for my work as the town librarian, because while Twilight and her friends are goofing off, I am stuck in the library signing out books, putting books away and collecting late fees. Sweetie Belle mentioned that I should get paid at least minimum wage.
OK, you explained the age factor. Although I care very little for your explanation about Shining's meteoric ascent. Because, if I have to take it for granted, I also have to assume that the royal guard has ver very lack standars.
Also, a while ago I learned that if a writer doesn't care to explain/imply something then neither should we
because I don't know about you, but I liked to think that the two guards standing next to the royal had the might of a power lantern...
I just read the newest comic and well...
This story gets a little harder to imagine after seeing queen Chrysalis kill a kitten thing in front of the cmc...
I just read the newest comic and well...
This story gets a little harder to imagine after seeing queen Chrysalis kill a kitten thing in front of the cmc...
2124136 Exactly!
That....is....retarded! Survival instincts and mechanism don't just disappear like that the moment you don't need them! I'm sorry, but you need a much better explanation than that! Not too mention it takes one of the unique aspects of the character and destroys it.
2129578
Well, that's the explanation I'm going with. I know survival mechanisms don't disappear over a week or a month IRL, but hey, we're talking about maical talking semi-equine beings here that can fly. If we're going to pick at realism we can pick at Pegasus wings. It also doesn't destroy the one thing that makes her unique - it destroys one OF the things that make her unique, but not the ONE thing.
2130381
No, just one of the chief things that makes her unique being that she's a changeling. Hell it doesn't even make a good explanation at that as it doesn't explain shit about why she sudden;y losing the ability to transform, it's just happening just because.
2130412
Yes, she is losing the power to transform. She is not, however, losing anything else that makes her a Changeling, namely her understanding and control over love and love magic. Also, as for why she's losing her powers to shape-shift now? Well, she just revealed her true form to those she loves a few days ago in the story's timeline. Personally, I think the fact that her powers are going away so quickly after having just revealed her true form is a testament to just how much SA loves her.
About this story...i.qkme.me/3p7pi9.jpg
2156141 Yes, but now you're offering an explanation that the story doesn't have. It should not be up to the reader/audience to fill in plot holes.
I would also assume that the Changelings have ways of sensing each other. It seems a necessity for a race of shape-shifters to be able to tell who's who without changing back to their normal forms.
Thus, Chrysalis would have felt him... kinda like the Force. Chrysalis, "I sense something... a presence I have not felt since..."
2157661
2157661 plot holes?
Best line ever.
Cya
Raziel-chan
6621622 that reminds me of a line in a comic "DMFA": "i never thought i'd say this, but, get this woman off me!"
2157661 Hive Mind, they can distinguish each other in the hive mind.
2157661
Also probably Chrysalis cut herself off from the hive after she left.
2126269
Who the bucking hell do you think you are? Bloody Einstein? A person's I.Q. isnt everything about intelligence, and even if you were a straight up genius prodigy, why would that give you the right to talk to anyone like you are?
I loved it!! Great article, Many people are very interested in the dragon creature. Most of the information we know about it is in novels, movies, etc. The dragon has always been given a mysterious color, symbolizing power and nobility. In addition, everyone has different views on the strength of the dragon. The East believes that the dragon is one of the creators, representing the sky and the earth, and the West believes that the dragon represents darkness, power and destruction.