//------------------------------//
// But who wants it? 
// Story: Things Change 
// by Equimorto 
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"Just five more minutes..." Celestia lazily rolled around in her bed, turning her back to the guard who had woken her up before her usual time.
Being an immortal alicorn with the power to move the Sun didn't mean she didn't need to sleep, after all. She didn't, much like how she didn't need to eat, but she wasn't going to let ponies know about it. They would think she was doing it just because she was lazy.
"Princess, this is a matter of the utmost importance, it is required that Your Majesty be present. We cannot take decisions on this ourselves and the situation may not be in our control for long."
"Ugh, fine," the alicorn said, stretching her wings as she got out of the covers. She grabbed the first of her breakfasts from the tray lying near her bed and began munching down on the cake as she followed the guard. "So, what is this about?" she asked between bites.
"We were doing our usual patrol when one of us heard a window breaking. We came to see what had happened and we found her unconscious on the ground in the hall. We were about to have Your Majesty called when she woke up, and then..." the guard stopped in front of a pair of doors. "Well, Your Majesty will see for herself."
The doors opened, revealing a group of somewhat scared guards in a circle, one of them in the middle with a large black figure on top. The creature turned its head towards Celestia, two piercing green eyes staring at her, and a moment later it lunged towards the princess.
"Wha-" was all Celestia had time to say before the impact. Her mind processed what was happening when it was already too late, and she was hit and brought to fall on the ground. Her life flashed before her eyes as she laid there in shock, waiting for the end. Being a very old creature with a rather long lasting memory it took about fifteen seconds of going through her memories before she reached the first attempt at assassination she had suffered, at which point she remembered that she was immortal. The pony who had walked up to her and stabbed her in broad daylight had rather regretted not knowing that before.
Still, she would have expected to be feeling some sort of something that told her the Changeling Queen atop her was trying to hurt her. Teeth sinking in, magical blasts, her horn trying to impale her. All she felt instead was a light tugging at her mane. She opened her eyes and saw Chrysalis with a few strands of her ethereal mane between her hooves, intently looking at it.
"Hem... Chrysalis, what are you doing?"
The shape-shifter looked towards her, then around her in a confused manner, then back to the alicorn. "Oh, you're talking to me. I was looking at your mane," she said while holding it up for Celestia to see, "it's really pretty." Chrysalis then was distracted by something she noticed, and let go of Celestia's mane to look at the holes in her legs.
Celestia got up and slowly backed away, eyes locked on the changeling who was now staring at the ceiling through one of her holes. "What is happening?" she whispered to the guard at her side.
"She has been like this since we found her. She hasn't tried to harm anypony, she just tackled a couple of guards to look at them and at their armours. She answered none of our questions, but she seems to not know what any of the things around her are. We immediately requested your help. What do you believe to be the best course of action, Princess?"
Chrysalis's ears perked up and she turned to Celestia. "Princess? You're a princess?" She excitedly pranced towards the alicorn. "I've always wanted to meet a princess! Is that why your mane is so pretty? And why you're so much taller than the others? Wait, I'm taller than them too! Am I a princess?" Chrysalis began to spin around trying to get a better look at herself.
"Do you think she's faking it?" whispered Celestia to the guard.
Chrysalis stopped with her head turned backwards, looking at her wings. "What are these weird thingies on my back?"
"Chrysalis?" Celestia asked in a louder volume.
The queen looked around, and upon seeing no one else answered she turned back. "Am I Chrysalis? Is that my name?"
"Well, yes, it is," answered Celestia, somewhat taken aback by how clueless Chrysalis seemed, "do you not remember?"
"I..." Chrysalis seemed confused for a moment. "I... I don't. Where... Where am I? Who am I?"
"Well, you see, Chrysalis, you are inside the castle in Canterlot an-"
The doors to the room opened with a loud bang and Princess Luna walked inside. "Sister, I have been informed of an emergency occurring here by one of my guards, what is happ-"
Luna's question was interrupted by Chrysalis landing on her, knocking the air out of her lungs. Seconds later she was on the ground, the changeling on top of her playing with her star-filled mane.
"Sister?" Luna called, eyes alternatively darting between Celestia and Chrysalis, "What is happening?"
"Chrysalis, could you please leave my sister?" asked Celestia.
"She's your sister? Wait, does that mean she's a princess too? Oh, wait," Chrysalis walked away from on top of Luna's body, "sorry. It's just that your mane is really pretty."
Luna slowly walked to her sister's side, eyes fixed on the changeling who was now staring somewhere near her tail. "What is going on?" she whispered to Celestia.
"No idea," Celestia whispered back, "they said they found her like this."
"What are those symbols on your butts and why am I the only one without one?" Chrysalis loudly asked.
"Do you think it's a trick?" Luna asked her sister.
"Possibly. But what can we do? What if she really forgot?" Celestia turned to look in her sister's eyes. "Think about it, Luna. If she remembers nothing, maybe we can use her. Her abilities, her magic, she could be quite useful to us."
"Magic?" Chrysalis asked, her face almost pressed to Celestia's. The white alicorn stumbled backwards, startled by the changeling's movement she hadn't noticed. Chrysalis looked at her. "Does that mean I can use magic?"
The changeling turned towards one of the guards, and suddenly the poor unicorn was levitated off the ground in a green aura. "I can!" she happily squeaked.
"Off to a good start, I see," sarcastically commented Luna.
Celestia was about to retort, but more cries coming from her guards distracted her. Chrysalis was sitting on the floor, juggling them around in the air with her magic. Celestia slowly walked towards the changeling.
"I'll send a letter to Twilight," Luna said while walking out of the room.
"Put down the guards, Chrysalis. It's not nice to play with ponies without asking them first."
Chrysalis looked up to Celestia with a pair of large worried eyes. "I'm sorry. Will you play with me?" she asked, her eyes seeming to somehow get even bigger.
Celestia's heart warmed at the sight, the scared and disoriented changeling reminding her of the small foals she used to take as her students. It had been a while since she'd taught to someone, after all. Maybe she could finally turn her lifelong enemy into an ally. "Of course I will. I'll be your friend if you want to. Now please put down the guards."
The Queen's green eyes beamed with happiness. "Yes!" she said as she jumped up to hug Celestia.
The white alicorn was knocked to the ground. The changeling's smooth, cold, black and green shell pressed against her fur, the embrace almost rib-crushing. a few bugs crawled out of the Changeling Queen's tattered mane and onto her white coat. Beside her the pain-filled cries of her guards filled her ears as they fell to the ground from their position in midair, the magic holding them up being cut away.
Celestia stared up at the ceiling, water raining inside the room from the hole left by Chrysalis in the window. A spider walked over her open eyes.
"We're going to be best friends. Forever." Strange bug-like noises came from the changeling's body laying on top of her.
"What have I done?"