How the changelings and their dark queen came to invade Equestria.
The changelings nearly succeed in their invasion of Equestria. But who is Queen Chrysalis? Where did the changelings come from? And why do they feed of another being's love?
More secretive than the dragons, colder than the griffons, as strong, fast and powerful as the three pony tribes; the changelings are all these.
The legends say it began with an alicorn in love. She fell for the stallion of her dreams, but he was betrothed to another. Jealousy boiled within her like balloon ready to burst, until one day she killed the thieving mare in a fit of rage.
Murder was virtually unheard of in the alicorn city, but she felt no remorse. The stallion was rightfully hers, after all.
Taking the victim’s place was a simple trick of magic. Finally, she had her stallion. But she knew the love he felt was for the mare she posed as, not herself. She needed to feel that love directly.
So another spell was crafted, one of darker origin that would allow her to directly tap into the energy of his love. These magics did not sit well together, and slowly, she became an abomination of dark magic, as twisted as her own desires.
She was not blind to their effects. But the love – the pure, sweet love – was wonderful beyond anything she had ever experienced. She was an addicted monster, but if this was the reward, she loved every moment of it.
But the façade was not to last. For her crimes, she was banished to the wastelands, never to see her alicorn brethren, never to feel the stallion’s love ever again.
And so it was that Chrysalis the Changeling Queen was born.
Chrysalis wandered for years in the wilderness. There was no point in stopping; food and drink no longer satisfied. All she longed for was to taste another being’s love once more.
It was by luck that she came across the lone pony. Desperate to ease her hunger, she pounced the mare, sinking her teeth into her neck in the hope of sucking her every emotion dry.
The meal was quick and tasteless. When she released the mare in disgust, she was barely alive.
And then, through another unforeseen effect of her magic, the mare became like her.
She was smaller, of course, and was without pupils or a mane. But she had Chrysalis’ same desire, and obeyed her every word.
Over a thousand years, Chrysalis worked hard to perfect the art of deception and emotional siphoning, whilst building and army of children at her beck and call.
And now, those children were hungry.
She had sent thousands of small groups into the world to infiltrate various species over the years, but now, her hordes demanded much more.
If her children were to be fed, it would demand nothing less than full scale invasion.
She had entertained the idea before and had dismissed it as foolish. But that had been before her children numbered in the hundred thousands.
Even with the wide selection and vast differences, it was easy to decide which specie to devour.
The griffons were too violent to provide satisfactory nourishment and would fight to the last chick. The dragons were too big for her children to take their form. The zebras and buffalo simply had too few numbers to be a viable food source.
But the ponies were ripe for the taking. Most of her children had been ponies once; it would be easy for them to mimic their mannerisms. Their defense fell to a royal guard concentrated in one city that rarely saw use beyond the mundane. Whatever resistance they encountered would be no challenge to defeat.
But most important was their love. Those who had been sent to Equestria before reported an unprecedented amount of love to feast upon. In no other race was there such a goldmine just waiting to be sucked dry. They had the potential to feed her children for hundreds of years to come.
And if she was lucky, Chrysalis would taste alicorn once again.
Getting into Canterlot had been simple. But someone, likely the alicorn Celestia, had detected her and made proper arrangements.
As the shield went up and the guards were sent out, Chrysalis at first thought her disguise was working exceptionally well against these ponies. But as she watched the soldiers wander their patrol lines and announcers make reference to an indistinct “threat,” the truth became clear.
Celestia knew she was in Canterlot…but she had no idea who or what she was.
And that position had her running scared.
It was a fortunate turn of events. The plan would need to be altered, of course, but it was better to have the ponies wary now than when the attack was to actually commence.
All that was left was to secure the control of the pony behind the shield…who, as luck would have it, was about to be married.
If Chrysalis had to describe Cadance’s body in one word, it would be disgusting.
She was, by pony standards, just too perfect – thin body, long flowing hair, all that pink – it was such a violent contrast to her own dark ensemble that it made her want to vomit.
But nonetheless, she played the part very well. She pretended to enjoy their tasteless food, partook in their pointless games, sang their stupid songs. She even suffered that purple unicorn and her friends.
Worst of all, she pretended to love him.
He was like Cadance in that he was also dreadfully perfect. But his love – oh, how wonderful Shining Armor’s love tasted. It was like all those years ago with her first prey – yet something about these ponies made it so much more.
After the invasion, the rest of Equestria would be fair game for her children. But Shining Armor was hers – to enjoy, to partake, to consume for as long as she wished.
Celestia had been a fool to trust one stallion with the protection of the city, Captain of the Guard or not. It was almost too easy – she simply had to marry him as Cadance, and slowly convince him that the threat had passed and there was no need for that silly shield anymore. Once it was gone, her children would come in and claim the city as their own.
It hadn’t gone quite so smoothly – Twilight Sparkle’s discovery of the real Cadance had forced her to reveal herself prematurely. But Shining Armor had been firmly in her hoof, and his love was strong enough that even Celestia couldn’t stop her.
Chrysalis looked out over Canterlot and saw her children at work. No waiting, no subtlety, no mind games. Canterlot would be forcibly routed, and the rest of Equestria, whether through might or deception, would soon follow.
Shining Armor was free now, but it mattered little; he was too weak to activate the shield again. When Cadance declared that her love would strengthen him, she scoffed. Love was food for her and her children, nothing more.
Too late, she felt the magic growing behind her. A wave of energy hit her like a charging manticore, casting her and her children back to the wastelands from where they had emerged.
The changelings had been defeated, but they were not gone forever. Chrysalis would wait as she always had. She would bide her time and plan all the while.
And when her hunger grew too much to bear, she would strike again.
