//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: Metallic New Life 
// Story: Mechaniquus 
// by DougtheLoremaster 
//------------------------------//

I did…What?
Chrysalis was stunned. Never in her wildest dreams, had she fathomed killing the Celestial Sisters. True, she had kidnapped and tortured them, but she never actually wanted them dead. If anything, she had only wanted to rule over them. How? Why would she…What caused the ‘her’ of this world to go so far?
With a clattering of metal plates, Twilight’s wings flared to their full six hoof-lengths in width; something Chrysalis recognized quite well. She braced herself, as Twilight roared at Starlight; now furious at her comment.
“Don’t say that, Starlight! She isn’t-”
“I know she isn’t. Cool your circuits.”
Mid-sentence, Twilight’s ferocity fell away, her wings lowering slightly and her eyes softening as she watched her partner’s reaction. Starlight’s eyes had hooded over, and she scuffed a metallic hoof on the floor, before slowly walking towards Chrysalis. She spoke to the Changeling, her tone hesitant and her words carried her pain.
“I know you aren’t her.”
Levitating a jar of pulsing liquid silvery ooze, she passed it to Chrysalis, before turning away from her. 
“This is liquid plating, you’ll need this. Twilight can help you apply it.”
Lifting the flap to the tent and preparing to step through it, Starlight paused before adding.
“I know you aren’t her, but it’s hard seeing that face again. It’s hard not to see her when I look at you. I’m gonna go recharge, I’ll see you both later.”
Chrysalis watched her, still stunned by what she had said. Starlight slowly walked out of the tent, calling back.
“Oh, and, don’t bother telling Twilight you don’t want to. Twilight wants this to happen, and when she wants something, she gets it. Heh.”
After Starlight had gone, Twilight once more shuttered her wings, with a slight squeal of metal on metal, letting out a sigh. Turning back to Chrysalis, she rustled her feathers and went back into a roosting position. She spoke wistfully to her.
“You’ll need to forgive the Princess for her fierceness, she’s under a lot more stress these days.”
Completely at a loss, Chrysalis struggled to find any words.
“Princess?”
Nodding, Twilight slowly stood back up and walked over to her.
“Yes. The Princess of Friendship, or at least she was.”
Using her magic, to pick up the jar and slowly unscrew the lid, she mused out loud.
 “Once she ruled over all of Equestria, That was before the coup. Now she just commands the rebellion against the Overlord,”
Overlord? Princess? Starlight is the Princess? Huh? What is this? Chrysalis watched as the silvery ooze left the jar and touched her forehoof. In amazement, she watched as it slowly crept up her hoof, and everywhere it touched was transformed into metal. 
“Starlight has a lot on her mind, so I ask you to forgive her animosity towards your arrival.”
Startled, Chrysalis was frozen in awe at the sight, watching, paralyzed as her foreleg took on a metallic sheen and she felt her bones change into rods; her toned muscles and nerves became gears and circuit boards. Twilight, seemingly noticing her fear, spoke calmly and gently to her, in her distorted way.
 “There is no need to worry, just breathe. It’s almost over. Just relax, you may be a little disoriented at first, but I’m here, just breathe.”
Chrysalis let her muscles relax, as the liquid metal picked up speed, swiftly enveloping her entire body, she could feel her veins and arteries turn into tubes, and as her face was covered by the strange slime, she blinked.
One moment, she saw Twilight plainly and the next, her eyes seemed different. She could clearly see Twilight, like before. However now she could also see gauges and figures indicating everything from physical to magical strength. And what she saw terrified her. 
Twilight’s physical status was nothing special, but the magical potency gauge was maxed out, and still trying to go higher. According to her display, Twilight possessed enough magic to rival the Celestia and Luna of her realm. 
Chrysalis opened her mouth to scream in surprise, only for her to feel the strange sensation of her jaw, teeth, and tongue being made of an unknown metal. She closed her jaw and opened it again, hearing the distinct sound of a hinge moving.
Twilight chuckled as Chrysalis noticed the gauges stated Twilight’s destructive potency was almost non-existent. How strange. Is this what she sees?
“I remember when I went through the transmutation, quite strange isn’t it? You wear it quite nicely, as well.”
Her eyes glowed for a moment and she grew serious again.
“Though you can’t leave the tent, not like that. If the members of our rebellion saw your face, all Tartarus would break loose. What to do?”
Chrysalis, however, wasn’t really paying attention. Instead, she was busy inspecting her new limbs; slowly lifting and moving her legs. This is so strange, is this really my foreleg? My hoof?
 She could hear her every movement, and she could feel the weight of the solid metal, but it felt completely natural, almost like she had been an automaton her entire life. Fully immersed in the motion, she asked offhandedly.
“So, Starlight is the Princess of Friendship in this world?”
Chrysalis blinked; the ocular receptors that now comprised her eyes turning off and on again. Is that my voice? Her words sounded odd to her; like they were being spoken through a filter; distorted and metallic, like she now was. 
Twilight looked at her with a curious expression.
“Well of course she is, who else would it be?”
Awkwardly, Chrysalis tried to run her hoof through her shimmering teal mane only to discover it passed right through. A hologram? How? Still contemplating this strange new reality, she responded hesitantly, still attempting to touch her mane.
“Well, in the world I came from, you… were.”
Twilight laughed, her metallic tone strangely conveying her joy at the statement.
“That’s amazing! No, I’m not the Princess of Friendship. I’m the Princess of Empathy. My specialty is understanding and comforting others. You’ll have to tell me all about the Twilight of your world, she sounds fascinating, but first I need you to do something for me.”
Sitting down to try and touch her now-holographic tail with her hoof, Chrysalis looked up as she continuously poked at it.
“What’s that?”
Smiling sweetly, Twilight made her request.
“We can’t have Overlord Chrysalis walking around the camp. Would you mind using your Changeling magic for me?”
Chrysalis placed her hoof under her chin, as she voiced her thoughts out loud.
“Overlord? And did you have a form in mind, Princess of Empathy?”
Twilight answered in a gleeful tone, causing Chrysalis to feel uneasy.
“Funny you should ask. I have the perfect idea in mind…”
Twilight’s eyes glowed with a bright amethyst as her mouth formed into a wide grin.
“…Chrysi.”