Journey Of The Worst

by Cyndaquil


Our Hero's Mission. Also, Our Villains Mission

Cadance could not sleep with a contact lens in her eye, so she took to wearing a sleeping mask.

For the first few nights it was fine. She would pretend to sleep until Shinning Armour actually did fall asleep, then she would remove the lens, and levitate it into a hiding spot.

Being a former Palace Guard, Shiny would wake at dawn, letting his wife sleep a bit longer. This is how she kept her evil eye a secret.

One morning Shiny nudged her with his muzzle. “Wakey, Wakey,” he said.

“Five more minutes,” Cadance pleaded.

Unfortunately Shiny wasn’t having it. He took the mask and removed it with his teeth.

It was a close call. So surprised was she that her eyes were wide open. To her luck, the sun greeted her a little too suddenly and this second surprise caused her to immediately shut her eyes again. Shiny did not see.

Shining Armour wanted her to look. He had brought her breakfast in bed. She pretended to wipe the sleep from her eyes, knowing it would not buy her much time. Thankfully it was enough.

Lovely Gentle-Hooves, the maid, and the only pony who knows Cadance’s secret, was the one carrying in the trays. She knocked over a glass of orange juice to create a distraction.

Concerned about broken glass, and not the least bit angry, Shiny rushed to help her. This allowed Cadance to slip on her contact lens while he wasn’t looking.


It is difficult to describe the sensation of a changeling transformation.

What an outsider sees is the changeling being consumed and reshaped by an ominous green flame. This is how it happens, and can mostly be taken at face value.

First the changeling observes the essence of its target. This is an extension of the ability to steal love. To take something, you must be able to perceive it, just as you might perceive something tangible, and less esoteric. Next, they create a flame, to burn this essence into their own being.

The changeling does not have to actively focus on transforming. Fire does not need to be told to burn.

The flame burned and raged and even reached her core. She could feel the flame attempting to burn away that anger. It wanted her to let go. It promised her joy, and warmth, and…love. It promised that the transformation could go all the way, could remake her and redefine her true self.

That wasn’t true. No changeling can create a fire strong enough to burn the core itself.


There was another close call.

Shining Armour noticed something wrong with her eye.

She had to put on the lens quickly and without washing it properly. As a result, her eye was irritated, causing redness and tears. It stung horribly.

Shining saw Cadance rubbing her eye. When he moved into to take a closer look, Cadance tried to back away. Shining wouldn’t have it. He looked closely and eyed her suspiciously. It was a tense moment.

If you look close enough, can you tell that some-pony is wearing a contact lens?

Finally he spoke. “It’s probably the sleep mask. You should stop wearing that thing.”

It wasn’t easy, pretending that morning was anything other than stressful. The feeling of wanting her husband out of the way was a strange one for the princess of love.

At last she was able to resume her work. She had seen what Chrysalis was up to the night before. She saw if through her evil eye. The same one that was causing her so much trouble. Now she could see it through her good eye as well.

Interesting aside, colours look different through different eyes. Having never seen through eyes other than her own before, it hadn’t occurred to her that the experience could vary from pony to pony. She wondered if tastes where different also.

In her excitement, she entered Chrysalis’ chamber without knocking. She knew, of course, what Chrysalis was doing, and it even amused her to walk in at that moment.

Chrysalis was transformed into Cadance. In the mirror, she practiced phrases she’d heard the princess use, trying to get her expressions just right.

Cadance grinned when she caught her doing this.

Chrysalis blushed, which might not have been possible in her form proper.

“Improving your disguise, I see.”

“A transformation is no mere disguise.” Chrysalis reminded her, in a voice dripping with bile.

Before she could change back, Cadance asked, “May I try something.”

“I’m your prisoner,” Chrysalis reminded her.

Cadance nuzzled Chrysalis’ muzzle. Unconsciously Chrysalis leaned into the sensation, inviting her to continue.

“Just like me.”

“I’ve become you.”

“No, it’s still just a disguise.”

They made their way to the Chamber of the Crystal Heart. Cadance no longer wanted Chrysalis to impersonate the maid, for fear of damaging Lovely Gentle-Hooves good name. There was still a need to sneak Chrysalis from one room to another without being seen. So it was that the dreaded Queen Chrysalis was forced to become a purse pet. Cadance’s first suggestion was that she ‘disguise’ herself as a puppy. This was too far beneath her dignity, so she compromised and ‘transformed’ into a ferret instead.

On the way to the chamber, no less then three ponies wanted to see the new pet. Cadance warned them the creature might bite. She lied and said it was a rescue animal.

To the Changeling Queen’s credit, she only bit one pony.

Despite being cross about the biting, Cadance thanked Chrysalis for finally aligning the Magical Map of Love. And yes, that’s what she was calling it.

Chrysalis eyed the set-up. Sunlight passed through the crystal, refracting into five seperate points of light which each hit specific places on the map. The other day, there had only been three points. Though the message wasn’t as magically spelled-out as Twilights friendship map, both were convinced that some sort of divination was being performed.

“Is this thing why you’re keeping me around?”

“It is.” Cadance spoke with pride, seeming to miss the contempt in Chrysalis’ voice.

“You have been a princess at least several years longer then Twilight Sparkle, you used to foal-sit her, and now you are trying to imitate her. It’s pathetic. What are you going to do? A map that tracks down the lovesick teens and bickering old couples; How foolish.

Cadance braced herself. As much as she didn’t like Chrysalis right now, she was afraid of how she might feel to hear the maps true purpose.

“I’m trying to track down Ronin Changelings. They tend to cause love emergencies, the kind this map can track.”

“Huh.”

“That’s it…Huh?”

“Ronins are changelings who either abandoned the hive or were exiled. If the existence of changelings was still a secret, they would be my enemies. As it stands, they are no concern of mine.”

“Your knowledge will help me find them, and your powers will help me fight them.”

“I suppose you would need to rely on the powers of others.”

Cadance bit her lip, fighting the desire to return her insults, especially after Chrysalis provided her the perfect opportunity.

“So does this mean my next train ride will be in the section where people keep their pets.

Cadance stopped her self from laughing at the idea. “No, I’ve thought about it. I need to be able to move around more freely, maybe even covertly. I’ll need a transformation of my own. This piqued Chrysalis’ interest, though it didn’t surprise her as much as the next thing Cadance said.

“And you will need to become better at impersonating me.”


PIEBALD: A MINING COMMUNITY NORTHEAST OF THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE \

“To miracles my friends”

What seemed like a group of Colts clashed their cider mugs together in cheer.

“To miracles.”

Piebald was a harsh place to live. It was remote and isolated. Most of the community consisted of seasonal workers. Everything was expensive to import, and it was an open secret that the locals who lived in Piebald year round supplemented there diets through breaking of the taboo surrounding the consumption of animal flesh. The name references to a black and white coat on a horse. It was fitting because the rock in the mines was black, and everything else in Piebald was coated in white.

Three months ago there was a cave-in. Seven miners were believed to have been lost, leaving their wives as supposed widows. No pony had seen a body, and a few still prayed for a miracle.

Then one day the miners seemingly returned, welcomed with open hooves, and of course love.

“This was brilliant,” said Tergite, who currently appeared to be a moustachioed colt in a wooly sweater.

“Absolutely,” agreed Maxilla Pulp. “By day we feed on the husbands still trapped in the mines, and by night we feed on their wives, who think their husbands have returned to them.”

“And the husbands to all the mining for us, of course,” Cercus added.

If it is not abundantly clear at this point, these are ronin changelings, feeding on love, as well as cider and rare animal flesh.

“Don’t forget, it’s dangerous for so many of us to gather in one place.” Mandible warned.

The others reminded him that it was his idea they be here. When Mandible started to get moody, they patted him on the back, saying things like ‘there-there’ and ‘chin-up.’

“Don’t worry. This whole community is cut off from the rest of Equestria for about three months out of the year.”

“Just don’t forget we’re here for a purpose.”

“Do you really think that Chemist of yours can do what he promised.”

The reminder made Mandible cringe. He was pretending to be a mare, forgoing his male pride, for the sake of the plan. He’d lured a prominent chemist from the Crystal empire, by posing as a mare who had emotional significance to him. It disgusted the proud male.

“Do you really think he can synthesize the royal jelly.”

“It’s not magic, its just a chemical. Give him a jar, and he’ll give us a bathtub in return.”

“We still need that jar you know.”

Mandible gritted his teeth.


Mandible made his way to a cave, on the outskirts of Piebald. It was there that the female he carried affection for rested, sharing warmth with a family of hibernating vulpine.

She was in that form again. He never saw her as her true self anymore. It is like she is ashamed of it.

Spiracle, as she was called back in the hive, took the form of a pony she admired. She’d taken that form so long, she’d even gained some of that ponies unique affinity. She had a yellow coat, a pink mane, and a disgustingly kind demeanour.

Like this, she was not the creature he loved.

Four years ago, she was different. It was always in her nature to want to emulate some other creature. Many changelings are like that. Four years ago, she was fixated on Chrysalis. Maybe she was actually fixated on the concept of procreation. She wanted to breed.

To win her favour, Mandible stole a years supply of royal jelly. His plan was to keep this a secret, and do so for seven years. The hive was in an uproar. None-the-less, he thought himself sneaky enough to get away with it. He was just a dumb child back then.

Unfortunately, his need to boast got the better of him. He showed her the jar, the one jar.

It takes seven years supply to turn one female into a Changeling Queen. One jar isn’t enough. It was only enough to get them both exiled.

Spiracle said she forgave Mandible. She was too nice not to.

He wondered if she would forgive this.

Mandible roller her over, and brushed a bang out of her eye.

Once again she was sleeping with the jar. It was precious to her, even if she’d never dared taste what was inside.

He slipped the jar form her hooves.

Spiracle shuddered, as though the world had grown colder.

Mandible moved a baby vulpine into her arms, thinking it might compensate. Next he whispered into her ear.

”It’s happening. You’ll be a finer Queen then she ever was.”