//------------------------------// // Chapter 207 - The Drive to Canterlot // Story: Dadonequus Discord (Book 2) // by CrazedLaughter //------------------------------// Your ears were flicking your ears, relaxed, as you sat in your seat. You looked to the right to see the walls of the mountain, then looked over past Chrysalis to see the landscape that was Equestria. Chrysalis was driving the car slower than you expected. Then again, driving too fast would very well send the car hurtling from the edge of a cliff. Chrysalis actually seemed pretty serene and calm as she focused on her driving, she actually looked pretty beautiful as her mane flowed back from the wind. “Hey, Chrysalis, you’ve been kinda quiet. Don’t bite my head off or anything, but is there anything on your mind? Are you thinking about Celestia?” “Hm? Actually, I’m confident in my success, even if what I want is petty at this point. No, I was thinking about something else just now.” Chrysalis said, her gaze never leaving the mountain path. “What is it?” Huh, she was being pleasantly calm. It made you pretty curious. “Well.” Chrysalis looked to you with a gentle smirk before looking back at the road, brushing back her mane. “This place, it was some sort of show in your world, correct?” “Mhmm, yeah. Though, y’know, it was focused on Twilight and her friends.” You said, reminding her in case she wondered what exactly MLP focused on. “I have no doubt that it did. But I also know how these things go. So, was this show popular? Did it have fans? conventions?” Chrysalis asked, which made you feel kinda weird. That was an unexpected question. “You mean like Daring Do does? Er, yeah. The show was pretty popular, actually. Huh, I didn’t think you cared about any of that, Chrysalis.” You wondered where she was going with this, it seemed so out of the blue. “Well, even if I failed to take over Canterlot, I know my attempt was still featured in the show, in which I can only guess was in glorious fashion given that I fooled that idiot, Princess Celestia. So, what I’m asking is, how many fans did I have? How many humans lusted over me? Oh, what about that, ah, what do they call it? Right, fanfiction, what were those normally about?” Chrysalis looked back at you, she retained her regal composure, but the way she was speaking, you could sense some giddiness to it.  Did she actually care about that? Did she care about her popularity? That didn’t make any sense, she wouldn’t have even known had you not told her about it all that time ago. But you sat there for a moment, thinking. You started to feel a warmth in your heart. Bonding, just regular bonding, damn how you missed this with her. And over your world’s thoughts on her? Oh yeah, this is an awesome start! “Well, actually, you were pretty popular given you were only in that two parter. So, yeah, you had a ton of fans. Er, and a lot did lust over you. You don’t mind that part? You usually get pissy whenever I got lustful.” Chrysalis let out a giggle as she reached over to you to give you a gentle pet. “Well, that’s because you were usel-” But Chrysalis stopped herself for a moment, or not even a moment, she was quick to change her words without a single stutter. “Usually being less than gentlecoltly whenever you ‘presented’ yourself. In the case of having a fanbase that wants me, well, that would make them an army I could have used that would have given their life for me. I’m probably forgotten by now, but it could have been a plan if I figured out how to use your horn to rip a portal open to your dimension. Ah well, what about the fanfictions? I assume there were some of me taking over Equestria?” “Yep, plenty actually. There were a lot of humans who wanted you to win… And then you’d usually have Shining or Twilight and her friends as sex slaves. Sometimes Celestia and Luna too. When it came to sex stuff, you were pretty high up there. A lot of fans saw you as sensual and sexy.” Despite all of Chrysalis’s quick bouts of anger, especially nowadays, you felt she was content enough to have a normal conversation without fearing repercussions. The kind of conversation you wish you could have with her all the time. “Sensual and sexy you say? Hm. Well, not exactly the words I would use. But what can I say? I’m too attractive for my own good.” Chrysalis said with a joyful chuckle. “Sex slaves, hm? They missed the mark on that one, I don’t need them to please myself, only their suffering would do. Or would have done anyway, I don’t really need that any more either. This one time doesn’t count, Celestia deserves it.” No anger over the sex slaves thing. And goddamn, she actually sounded pretty endearing over the petty revenge she did want. “Well, we only did only have a two parter on you, people went with what they could gather from that and let their imagination do the rest.” “And I suppose I can’t blame them for that. Though I somehow doubt fanfictions of my victory weren’t the only things written about me.” Chrysalis sighed, this time she didn’t sound so joyful. She sounded distant with this one, a little sad over it. “I can also assume they wrote the opposite about me as well. Some, despite knowing nothing about me like you do, wanted to see me reformed anyway, didn’t they?” “Yeah, they did. Some created their own mythos about you just to get that done. Like I said, you became pretty popular after your debut, I think you were even more popular than Discord until the fanfictions started coming describing him and Fluttershy being together. I mean, there was also Sombra and Tirek as far as villains go, and nobody really liked Tirek so… Yeah, you were the most popular villain, so you had all kinds of stories written about you, even reformation ones.” You explained before relaxing back on your seat. “Are you really worried about that though? It’s not like it ever happened. You’re you, and we’re friends, and nuts to Celestia if she has anything to say about it.” “No, I’m not worried about it at all, I was simply curious. Which makes me wonder, what about you?  What did you contribute to the fandom?” Chrysalis asked you. “Oh well, nothing really.” You said with a shrug. “I mean, I kinda wanted to write this super long, two million word plus story that could have worked. Y’know, a human living in Equestria. But I never got to it, considering I ended up just coming to Equestria.” You say with a light hearted chuckle. “I guess you can say I’m writing my story right now.” Chrysalis shook her head in shame from that response. “Anon, Anon, that’s terrible.” “What? Why?! I thought you liked that kind of dedication.” What was she talking about?! “I like that kind of dedication towards me. But to write what is effectively a form of escapism?” Chrysalis shuddered at the thought of it. “That’s just… I can’t even say it. Were you even going to be paid for it?” “Well, no. I just wanted to entertain other fans with my amazing writing skills. Why is that a bad thing?” Come on, you and her were getting along so well, why did she have a problem with that? “I could answer that question in so many ways, but I don’t want to hurt your feelings, so…” Chrysalis stops to think for a moment, making sure she was focused on the road as she hummed to herself. “Okay, I have it. So imagine that idiot Shining Armor for a moment. When I first switched places with Princess Cadance, I had him remind me of a few things about himself so I could further bring him under my control without anypony being the wiser. One of the things I had to suffer through to achieve this was spell checking for him a response letter to some comic book publication company I could care less about. Anon, it took me two agonizing weeks to fix.” What in the fuck?! Wut?! “Holy shit! I didn’t know he was that bad at spelling.” “Oh no, he actually barely made a mistake. It was just that the letter could fit three books.” Chrysalis suddenly tensed as she became angry, her body nearly bursting into green flames. “Words upon words of useless drivel, about characters that didn’t exist, at least in this Equestria, for no reason other than useless worship! Two weeks, TWO WEEKS! I didn’t even understand half the things he was explaining, it was so dumbfounding I almost gave up my plans to take over Canterlot just from that. But do you want to know what the worst part is? Well, I’ll tell you. The letter he got back was a single tiny little sheet of paper saying ‘thank you’, and that was it. THEY DIDN’T EVEN BOTHER READING HIS LETTER, ANON! AND YET HE WAS HAPPY JUST TO RECEIVE THAT STUPID REPLY! NEVER MIND THAT I HAD TO DISGUISE MY OWN DISGUISED EYES AS THEY HAD TURNED RED AND DRY!” Chrysalis was growling, her disguised wings changing into their glorious seraphim form as she lost focus. But then, as suddenly as she got angry, she calmed down, and then looked at you as she pointed and poked at your forehead. “That’s what you sounded like just now. An idiot stuck in some delusion of worship.  Unless you’re worshipping me, then you’re no better than him.” Christ, you never actually thought about how long and hard Chrysalis had to work to even get that close to Shining in the first place. No wonder her heart had no place for him at all, he really is an annoying fuck. “Okay then, noted. Geez, I didn’t know you had to go through stuff like that when you were disguised as Cadance.” “Oh yes, it was terrible. The things I had to do just to get him deeper into my clutches. That wasn’t even the worst of it. Sometimes I had to sit around and watch him and the other guards play some stupid game called ‘Ogres and Obuilettes’. Hours and hours of acting like they were somepony else, the clattering of dice, and relentless argument over stupid rules. Which, by the way, they didn’t even fully understand! They did this one campaign against a cluster of changeling hives  and they somehow forgot changelings could become objects. It was insulting! And a changeling king?! Whoever heard of a changeling king?!” Chrysalis groaned as she put a hoof to her forehead and shook her head. “I get a headache just thinking about it.” Wait… “But isn’t Thorax a changeling king?” “Anon?” Chrysalis’s head suddenly slowly turned to you, giving you the creepiest and most unpleasant smile you’ve seen from her yet. “Uhhh... “ Oh god no, you already knew where this was heading. “Chrysalis, please don’t drive the car off a cliff.” “Off a cliff? Never, I just wanted to ask if you’re capable of fitting this entire mountain up your rear. Because I cannot fathom why you would EVER remind me of that particular thing.” Chrysalis said, her fangs clenching tighter and tighter, her smile shaking. “I… Okay, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, that was actually pretty insensitive of me. But come on, I didn’t mean it in a way that’d piss you off. I hate that guy too, he’s a fucking pussy.” You tell her, hoping that some mutual agreement will calm her. And somehow, it did, she just sighed and went back to focusing on her driving. “I know you do, my captain does, I’ve known it since he was born, and I don’t like to be reminded that somepony like him rules my kingdom now. So… I’m asking you not to remind me of that again, can you do that?” Chrysalis almost sounded like she was going to die saying that last part, it was nearly polite with the way she said it, if a little strained. “Yeah, I can do that.” You say with a nod, surprised that she restrained herself there. “Chrysalis?” “Yes?” Chrysalis says, wondering what you wanted. “Considering Fluttershy was the one who helped you get free in the first place, can I ask if you’re okay with her? If you can consider her at least some sort of friend? Y’know, kinda in a familial way, like when you were Nymous.” You wondered if she liked Fluttershy at all, or if she only cared about the fact that Fluttershy had helped free her. “I can do that.” Chrysalis answers in a simple fashion. Wut? “Re-wait, really?” “If it means that much to you, then yes, I can do that. Just don’t expect it to be the same way as it is with her and Discord. If I’m going to live freely in the forest without anypony bothering me, then I understand that I’m going to have to compromise on a few more things than I previously thought, and if that requires some degree of friendship, then so be it.  And besides, I’ll have to learn some more of the town’s local customs if I plan to decimate the competition during the Sisterhooves Social. So as long as she doesn’t annoy me, I’d not mind learning a few things from her that I may not understand yet. We’ll just call it another form of changeling infiltration and that’ll be that.” Chrysalis says before giving you a hard stare. “And I’ll hear nothing more on that either. I’m already doing this for Twilight and Celestia, I don’t need to hear about how nice I seemingly am becoming. It is all merely a means to an end.” “I know. But, y’know, thanks Chrysalis. I really mean that.” You tell her, glad to know that deep down inside, she’s really changed. “Hmm…” Chrysalis murmured as she shrugged off your thanks. “I can see the meadow that leads to the city’s bridge. We’re nearly there.” Chrysalis presses a button, which closes the roof of the car. “I’m going to tell you right now, Anon, I want to ride this car as fast as I am able through the city, I want to make a real show of it. Nothing you can say can stop me, but I will try to be careful.” “You really want to make a statement, huh? Okay, if you’re gonna be careful then let’s do it. I have my own beefs with Celestia, and I wanna see her face when she sees us.” Here we go, it was time. “I’m glad to hear that.” Chrysalis snickered as she made the engine roar. “Look out, Canterlot! True royalty is coming through!”