//------------------------------// // Act 3; Past Ties // Story: Rainbow Of Fate // by Lord Drayvon22 //------------------------------// Tenderhoof Gomer has not been having a very good few days. Waking up for his shift in almost pitch darkness despite it being 8AM only to find the Castle on high alert and the return of an enemy from Equestria's very distant past (again) is almost routine by now. Being put on throne room duty due to short staffing when he has only ever patrolled the corridors and city whilst in constant fear of attack though? Having the Princesses repeatedly appear and disappear, as well as the aforementioned return enemy rush right by him earlier, certainly hasn't been helping but nearly being crushed under fifty Guards and three Princesses when he makes another routine sweep of the throne room almost breaks him. "Private!" Only years of training allows Tenderhoof to keep from cringing at the authoritative tone in his commanding officer's voice. "Yes, sir?" Silent Knight may be a Night Guard but he still has absolute authority over both branches. "Tell Solar Strike to send a division to Baltimare. The Changelings have made thier hive just outside the city." Once again, experience allows Tenderhoof to bite back any apparent worry. He'd been on duty near the School for Gifted Ponies when they attacked and never had he felt more simultaneously scared and utterly helpless. "Sir yes sir!" As Tenderhoof rushes away, almost too quickly and eagerly, Silent Knight excuses himself and his Guards to get some food. Making a three hour flight in just under half an hour and then being teleported straight to Canterlot really takes it out of you. "As if we haven't got enough problems. Will she ever stop?" Celestia gingerly places the Elements inside thier chest, all having now gone dull and looking rather dead just like they were two years ago in the Castle of the Two Sisters. Cadance looks at Luna who is equally grim. "How's she even alive? That fall should have been the end of her or at least left her badly injured. She looks perfect!y fine." Luna sighs. "If it were that simple, she would’ve been stopped a very long time ago. Changelings don't just use love to survive and for thier magic; they can use it to heal. As thier Queen, Chrysalis has the greatest healing ability we've ever seen. She can recover from any wound as long as she's still alive to do so. Even if she was completely crippled after that fall and unable to even twitch her wings, as long as she was still alive after impact, she could fully heal in just an hour by burning off whatever love she had left over after defeating Celestia. We always had a feeling that she'd be back one day, especially after multiple patrols never found a body. Changelings have never been ones to take and bury the dead; they just leave them to be consumed by nature and deem them utter failures. If she were dead, we would have found her eventually.” She sighs although whether it is wishful or regretful is hard to tell. “It’s the same reason that she’s lasted so long; her healing ability means that she can’t die from old age since she just repairs any natural decay. It’s why she was so brazened during the wedding; when you can heal almost any injury in just moments, what do you have to fear? A defeat like the one you and Shining Armour dealt her is more of an inconvenient setback than a crippling and decisive defeat. Since she knows that we aren’t barbaric enough to do her in permanently, she fears nothing." Cadence thinks for a moment. “How can we be sure it was even her? Couldn’t one of her subjects have just destroyed the body and posed as her instead?“ Celestia decisively shakes her head. “I’ve felt her magical signature many times before and I felt it again just now. There’s no doubt whatsoever that it was her.” After a long and exhaustive two days, and finally away from the ever watchful gaze of her subjects, Celestia allows herself to collapse. As it turns out, even Alicorns that can draw on the powerful fundamental energies that make life possible have a limit. "We need to rest before we decide how to handle Ponyvile. We know what we must do..." She shudders for a moment at the thought of banishing so many innocent ponies, including five of her friends. “We can’t afford to hesitate for long. Chrysalis will know we’re vulnerable without the Elements or your love attack and she’ll take full advantage of it. She has the advantage of being rested and well prepared; we’re exhausted and very vulnerable but I’ll die before I let her have the throne." Her peers nod as they also take a moment to decompress. After a few minutes of calm silence, Cadance looks at Celestia curiously. "What happened between you three? Both times now, I felt something between you. You were once friends, weren't you?" Celestia looks down with uncharacteristic shame. "Chrysalis has always been just as ruthless and ambitious as she is today but she also used to be kinder and didn’t seem to have her treacherous goals. She was once a very loving, protective mother and Queen who just wanted the best for her subjects. At least, she seemed that way but even back then she showed some of the same evil she possesses today. In many ways, she was my first real friend besides Luna though she never admitted such. We have our subjects of course but it's hard to be proper friends with those who worship Alicorns and consider themselves naturally inferior to us. They’re always trying to lightly trot around us, trying not to offend us whereas Twilight and her friends saw us as that and as normal ponies." Cadance looks at her aunt understandingly but then asks the obvious. "Exactly how old is Chrysalis?" Luna shakes her head. "We don't truly know, she never told us, but she's at least almost two thousand years old. The Changelings themselves have been around at least as far back as Equestria has; they were the fourth founding tribe after all." She smiles slightly at the surprise on Cadance's face. "Given thier appearance, and what eventually happened between us, history often left them out and time has gradually forgotten about thier role. There a reason why, up until recently, they were considered a myth designed to scare foals much like we once were, ” Her tone turns momentarily humorous. “After all, how many ponies would believe that Equestria was in part founded by the same love consuming creatures that attacked us a year ago? We were the first to know about thier existence in almost three thousand years." Celestia appears to be reminiscing for a moment. "Since we've got some time, I see no harm in saying what happened." Her voice grows quieter for a moment. “About one of our greatest failures.” With a clearing of the throat, she adopts a very storyteller-like tone. "We first met Chrysalis roughly three hundred years after becoming Princesses. We had defeated Discord just a few years earlier but this was still roughly six hundred years before Sombra. When we first met Chrysalis, we were exploring the Everfree Forest near what is now Appleloosa to search for any other potential threats..." 1700 years ago; 300 ADC The eastern side of the Everfree Forest For what must be the sixteenth time in as many minutes, a much younger Princess Luna gets a thorny branch to the face. "Sister, needeth thou convey us in this direction? Thou knoweth there art easier ways than right through the forest." Physically, she is just a very slightly smaller version of how she looked immediately after being freed from Nightmare Moon. Princess Celestia laughs and pokes her sister playfully. "Cometh on, Luna. Doth thou mean to tell us thou claim to be stronger than us but cannot taketh such a minor hit?" Compared to her younger sister, Celestia is quite substantially different from how she is in the present; looking rather like a white coloured and slightly bulkier version of Princess Cadance. Neither Princess has the seemingly eternal wind in thier manes as both just look like normal pony manes and are dressed in light armour; minimal enough to be easily manoeuvrable but still thick enough to protect thier vital organs. For his part, Captain Halberd has grown to just accept that the centuries old deities of Equestria can act just like eight year old fillies sometimes. His soldiers call him jaded; he argues that it’s experience and emotional flexibility. Even so, his train of thought nearly makes him fall headfirst into a strange opening in the ground. “Thine majesties? I hath found something." Almost immediately, the two Princesses become dead serious and walk over only to stop in disbelief. "Tis just a hole, Capt-" Luna cuts herself off as they hear a faint buzzing coming from somewhere deep below. "That ‘tis... new." Celestia tries to remember if she's heard that sound before but draws a blank. "Indeed." She turns to Captain Halberd who snaps a salute. "Captain, Formation Alpha." As it turns out, Formation Alpha is "hide in the bushes and be ready to protect the hole from potential flanking manoeuvres." Even so, Captain Halberd is understandably worried and looks to his Princess who looks comparatively serene. “‘Tis fine, Captain. We wilt be okay.” With a bright flash, the Elements appear on her and Luna which seems to ever so slightly relieve some tension in Halberd’s body. “Please be careful. We may not be able to help thyselves.” The two Princesses nod before flying down below. As it turns out, the hole is actually several hundred feet deep and clearly deliberately dug instead of naturally occurring. It’s so deep that it takes almost a full minute to reach the bottom which is in and of itself a bizarre sight. The bottom of the hole is actually the entrance to a tunnel lined in this weird thick green substance. It’s similar in both appearance and texture to leather but seems to be glowing a light puke green; brightly enough that the Princesses don’t even need light spells. “ What the Tartarus ist this?!” As the two walk deeper, the weird buzzing sound from before only seems to get progressively louder until the corridor terminates in one enormous chamber. In the very centre of the room sits a very odd sight; an easily six foot tall, black insectoid… thing sitting on a throne made out of the same weird material as the walls. As they enter, the female looking creature looks up at them angrily and begins making a series of weird insectoid clicks and clacks. At once, what must be at least three hundred slightly smaller and less bulky versions of the creature pour in. Once Celestia and Luna stand flank to flank though, braced for an attack, the apparent leader makes a series of disgusting sounds that can only be described as a mix between violent choking, retching, puking, strangled choking and clearing one’s throat. “'Tis this better?” Hearing such a normal female voice come from such a creature, even if it possesses a weird clicking sound underlaying it like an accent, quite surprises the Princesses. “Thou canst speak?” The crowned insect just scowls at them. “Just because we looketh like insects, we should not be able to speak Equestrian?” Her scowl turns into a sneer. “What art the Princesses of Equestria doing down hither?” Luna looks hard at the royal insect. “Thou knoweth of us?” The insect lets out a harsh laugh before one of her apparent subjects steps forward in all too familiar armour. The two Princesses bristle angrily. “Thou wilt pay for hurting our subjects.” They begin charging the Elements to banish the royal even as the other insects poise to strike. “To maintain peace, thou must always carry thyself with professionalism and absolute integrity. Ne’er forget that and we may yet seest more of thou, Squire Halberd.” Celestia and Luna stop to stare at the armoured being. “Where didst thou hear that?!” The idea of torture to get valuable information crosses their minds but too little time has passed for that to be possible. The insect smiles a familiar but rarely seen nervous smile. “’Tis what thou told me when I first met thou, Princess Luna. I was just a mere squire’s colt at the time but thou saw potential. Thou give each recruit their own piece of counsel after all.” The two Princesses’ incredulous gaze makes him squirm for a moment though before the royal insect speaks up. “Thither ne'r was a ‘Captain Halberd.’ ‘Twas always Shell keeping an eye on Equestria for his Queen.” Captain Halberd? bows to his rulers before backing away into the crowd. “We wilt ask again; whereforth art thou hither?” Luna just glares at the apparent Queen. “We are making sure thither are nay threats to our ponies. Clearly, we were correct. Stand down or be banished," The insects close in and poise to strike but their Queen stops them with a raised hoof. “Thou know we art hither now but pray tell. What wilt thou doeth about it?” Although the Princesses are far from intimidating looking, to say that thier reputation of being both immensely powerful and very good at crushing enemies precedes them would be a severe understatement. Luna turns to Celestia who seems deep in thought. “What are thou?” The Queen huffs. “We are called Changelings and we are thier Queen, Chrysalis.” Queen Chrysalis turns back to sit on her throne. “We hast no quarrel with thou so thou hast five minutes to leave or thou wilt be treated as hostile invaders. We doeth not want a war if we can avoid it.” Whereas Luna appears ready to seal her in stone, Celestia is deep in thought. One of her lesser known and now mostly forgotten abilities is a form of minor empathy which allows her to be an excellent judge of character. She acts tough and fearless but she’s scared of us. Her subjects don’t obey her out of fear; they follow out of love and respect. Perchance we’ve found a new ally. “Wait, Chrysalis.” The Queen stops to turn with a harsh glare as Luna gives her sister a funny look.”What?” Celestia approaches with a smile. “How about an alliance?” Chrysalis just stares at her. “Thou jests.” Celestia shakes her head and extends a hoof. “We saw past thou’s appearance. Thou art a truly kind Queen that just wants the best for her subjects. We would be honoured to have thou as an ally.” Chrysalis looks Celestia in the eye for several long moments then turns to Luna. The younger Alicorn looks torn between trusting her sister and being ready to rip Chrysalis’ head off. Finally, she turns her head to her children who show absolute faith in her decision before sighing. Come what may, we must do what’s right for our subjects. “And we wouldst art honoured to accept thy generosity.” The two royals then shake hooves firmly. “You’re an empath but you didn’t recognise her sinister intentions last year?” “All Alicorns have some minor form of empathy but you have the strongest out of all of us. The easiest way to explain it for myself and Luna is that we get a minor inkling of thier true intent but it’s really little more than instinctive prodding. Due to our past, Chrysalis is well aware of our abilities and hid it well; only breaking character when angry. I passed it off as just stress from the upcoming wedding since that’s all I could detect. Imagine if my assumptions were wrong and I had instead confronted you for being understandably anxious. Without much more than a hunch, a very shaky hunch, I didn’t want to accuse you of possibly plotting treason. It doesn’t forgive how I treated Twilight but we can’t change the past. I paid for that mistake with my failure and I never intend to make the same mistake again.” About a month later, Canterlot Compared to its modern glory, Canterlot is much more… quaint and is barely any bigger than Ponyvile is in the present if not slightly smaller. Aside from being attached to the side of a mountain, the settlement is quite unremarkable; a spattering of buildings but no castle or even town hall. Even more unusually, the majority of residents are Pegasi as they founded it as a weather staging post around two hundred years ago. For the first time since it’s christening though, the Princesses are paying a visit to this small town to welcome Equestria’s newest residents. “Thou are sure this was a good idea, sister?” Celestia chuckles. “Thou should hast more faith, Luna. Chrysalis wants only the best for her children, we can feel it.” As the Princesses approach the rear of Canterlot though, they come across a rather stomach churning sight. “Just because the Princesses trust thou, doth not mean we doeth!” “Get out! Thou wilt be the end of us!” “Thou wilt just use us as meals!” At the sight of the two posted Changelings being harassed by an army of extremely angry looking Pegasi, who look to be about to lynch the shapeshifters. Luna snarls whilst Celestia doesn’t look much better. Luna may not completely trust Chrysalis but, if there’s one thing she hates more than anything else, it’s shortsighted and unfounded bigotry. ”ENOUGH!” The lead Pegasus, a burly looking thug with a scowl that almost looks printed onto his face, turns with a mocking laugh. “Looketh, two more of those things.” His scowl quickly turns into one a look of anger. “How darest thou impersonate thier majesties! Thou wilt-“ He is abruptly cut off as the Sun fades to almost pitch blackness for a moment before brightening back up and the entire group hit the floor in a united bow. “Princess! We-We are sorry for our rudeness. We thought they were-“ Celestia turns to Captain Halberd. “Captain, if thou please?” Halberd nods before forcing the group into marching formation. “What?! But we-“ Celestia cuts off the brute with a cold look. “We wilt not tolerate abuse of any creature, especially when they hast not earnt it. The Changelings art citizens of Equestria like each of thou. Crimes against them wilt get the same punishment as if thou were abusing a Unicorn or Earth Pony.” She gestures her head as Halberd and his men frogmarch the crowd to, ironically enough, the Changeling Dungeons as Canterlot lacks any of its own. As the Princesses follow after, getting thankful nods from each of the relieved guards, they emerge into a simply massive area. The interior of Canterlot Mountain has been converted into a colossal cavern made up of easily ten foot thick rock and small holes covered by that weird green substance. Shell quickly returns and leads them through a long series of caverns before reaching the final chamber. Aside from a few jagged ends, the chamber is rather smooth but a familiar throne looms in the very centre. “The Princesses are hither, mine Queen.” “Thanketh thou, Shell.” The Changeling exits with a deep bow. “Good e'en, we trust thine journey went well?” “Aye.” Despite her having spoken twice, the Princesses are unable to make out Queen Chrysalis seeing as she appears to have turned completely translucent. “Is everything alright, Chrysalis?” They hear the Queen chuckle before she becomes visible again but definitely doesn’t look the same as before. Instead of the black chitin and almost rotting visage, her holes have been filled in and she appears to be a bright green insect with a blue “mane” and tail around the same height as present day Celestia; making her tower over the two Princesses although she still maintains the same basic shape. “Chrysalis?!” The insect smirks playfully before speaking in the same very familiar voice. “Surprised? ‘Tis how we art supposed to look; we becometh this when we hath gained enough love. What thou saw before is how we looketh when we art starved." Her smirk turns into a frown. “'Tis not easy to obtain due to certain factions.” Luna nods. “So we saw. Some Pegasi were harassing the Guards outside.” Chrysalis nods. “We know, we felt it through the hive.” Her foul gaze turns to the Princesses. “And we assume they got off without any punishment?!” Celestia looks shocked for a moment before shaking her head. “Nay, they art currently in thou's dungeons.” Chrysalis breathes a slight sigh of relief before looking apologetic. “Sorry, we have just been getting this abuse almost every day since we arrived. We hast made sure to ne'r attack, that would just give them more to use against us.” Her scowl fades back into the welcoming smile after a moment. “But enough of that. We believe thou wanted to meet withal us.” Luna nods and pulls out a thick wad of legal documents. An hour later, the documents are filled out but Chrysalis invites them to a mysterious place. Exiting the throne room, they climb some stone stairs and reach a specially cut-out area of the mountain where a makeshift balcony has been constructed. “We callerh this Unity City.” Strangely enough, Unity City bears a striking resemblance to modern day Ponyvile aside from the houses encrusted with that weird leather-like substance and the abundance of Changelings. Despite this, what must be at least two hundred ponies can be seen mingling with and chatting with the Changelings like you would any other pony. More than few have become just as colourful as Chrysalis and some even now are consumed in a weird blue magical field. “A small, hidden and secluded town for our peoples to mingle and make merry without fear of judgement. We think this should art enough to satisfy thy requests.” Both Princesses nod happily and all three monarchs just stand and watch the settlement for a while. About a year later, the Crystal Empire Chrysalis flies down beside the royal carriage with a deadpan expression. “Nice abode.” With the Changelings having properly settled in, and the radicals at least quiet for the moment, the Princesses have invited her to a fair in the Empire to commemorate the newly integrated species. Since the Crystal Empire is notoriously accepting of other species, it was decided to hold the celebrations there. Luna chuckles. “Thou need a hāligdæg, Chrysalis.” Chrysalis rolls her eyes. “When our job is to help our species survive from one day to the next, we do not hast time to have a hāligdæg. She walks off further into the Empire as Luna frowns. Even though it’s been over a year, Chrysalis has yet to lighten up very much and she still seems to be in the same “us vs them” survival mentality. Celestia chooses that moment to step down from the chariot, having finished arranging accommodations for their Guards. “She wilt art fine, she might finally art able to relax now we are hither.” The two don’t get far into the Empire before finding Chrysalis who appears to be in pure ecstasy. “What is that? This place… it is… incredible.” Celestia is very confused for a few moments before smiling. “Remember the Crystal Heart?” Chrysalis nods after a moment, having been told of the artefact before coming here. “We were not joking when we said that it keeps the Empire prosperous through love and friendship.” Chrysalis nods and watches some subjects that she brought along for diplomacy mingling with the Crystal Ponies. Although the Crystal Ponies don’t treat them any differently than they would ponies, the slight anxiety on Chrysalis’ face is almost imperceptible behind her now blank expression but Luna gives her a reassuring smile. “They shall art fine. The Crystal Ponies doeth not judge others for their appearances and thy people can just feed off the Crystal Heart.” Chrysalis nods but then makes her way towards the Crystal Castle in silence. As the three royals make their way towards the Throne Room, after the Guard allow them entry. Chrysalis stops to stare at a stained glass window. “Is everything okay, Chrysalis?” She points at the image; a large pink Alicorn who is around the size of modern day Celestia blasting some very familiar images. After a few seconds, it clicks. “Thou art the Shadow Creatures?” Chrysalis nods with a slight shudder. “Queen Carapace was our grandmother. The only one who ever cared for us as a mere nymph.” About six hundred years ago, during the Crystal Empire’s founding, Princess Mi Amore Crystalia had uncovered a hive of insectoid creatures that seemed to be building an army right under their hooves. Threatened by the Alicorn, the creatures had defended their home but it had been taken as an act of war and Crystalia had responded with equal force. With overwhelming force and the element of surprise, the hive had been culled and the Queen violently struck down when she killed sixty Crystal Guards with a single attack. The species had never been identified, since the existence of the Changelings had been lost to history by then, but it’s clear to see the resemblance. Before either Princess can speak again, Chrysalis takes a very deep breath and enters the throne room. Like much of the Crystal Empire, very little has changed from the present aside from the blues being replaced by a welcoming shade of light pink. Sitting on the throne is a frankly enormous Alicorn, easily ten feet tall and pink all over besides a bright golden mane not dissimilar to Blueblood’s. “Presenting Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Equestria and Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings!” Almost immediately upon entering, Chrysalis finds herself restrained with rather excessive force as the Princesses feel their minds being lightly but firmly probed. “So, the reports were true. Thou hast aligned thyselves withal them.” Chrysalis resists the urge to wince. Princess Crystalia’s default speech volume seems to only be a few decibels below the Canterlot Voice even though her tone is neutrally bland. “We remember thy kind well, they’re nought but troubleth.” When Chrysalis doesn’t respond, knowing that Crystalia is trying to provoke an extreme reaction, Crystalia steps down from the throne with a commanding glare. “An thou think we shall let thou taketh over Equestria or our Empire, thou have-” “ENOUGH! Queen Chrysalis is thine guest and we expect thou to treat her liketh it!” Crystalia stares at Luna for a long moment. “So art it but remember this, Luna. Greed and ambition know nay limit.” She taps her hoof six times on the crystal floor and an important looking pony enters with a deep bow. “Pen Stroke wilt beway thou to the faire.” Her glare never leaves Chrysalis until the throne room doors close. Celestia sighs. “We’re sorry for Crystalia. She-“ Chrysalis silences her by calmly raising a hoof. ”’Tis fine. Unlike those Pegasi, she has good reason to not trust us. We would not trust us either an we were in her hooves. So long as she refrains from trying to hurt us or our hive, she can think what she wants.” Despite the rather eventful entrance to the Empire, the faire itself is fairly unremarkable. Compared to Pinkie Pie’s almost two thousand years later, this one is far more generic; some small carnival-like games and a banquet mostly filled with small talk which Chrysalis mostly finds dull. To round things off, the royals are led to a large expanse of land on the edge of the Empire where they plant several colourful flowers and trees as a sign of unification and alliance. Near the end of the ceremony though, Celestia nudges Luna who looks up to see a sight that warms their hearts. A Changeling nymph is playing with a Crystal Foal like burgeoning friends, several Changelings are bantering with some Crystal Ponies and Chrysalis is smiling. They’d seen her smile a few times before but nothing quite like this. It isn’t a forced political smile, one that is the forced patient facade one wears when only half listening to somepony’s stupid request, one that screams “I’m listening but please go away”, a calculating smile, one that disguises anger or one that is sarcastic or mocking. It’s a genuine smile from the heart, the kind you give when you see one of your lifelong dreams finally come true. “That garden you planted. Was it…” “Indeed, it eventually became the Crystal Flower Garden. It started as a sign of solidarity between our three kingdoms and eventually grew into what it is today.” A few weeks later, the Dining Room For the first time in years, the Princesses have a hole in thier schedule and enjoy some nice tea with Chrysalis who’s been spending much of her time massaging relations with other ponies. “So Chrysalis, how did thy people come to be?” Chrysalis stares into the bottom of her empty cup. “None of us are quite certain but possibly some form of mutation. An our old tales are to art believed, the first Changelings were born liketh any other ponies.” Her expression turns to anger for a brief moment. “Because of how we looketh,” she gestures to her colourful form, “We were ostracised and abused until we were forced to leave pony society. Eventually, those who hated us died off and future generations grew to accept us as strange looking but friendly creatures. We e'en helped to form Equestria alongside the three ‘normal’ tribes.” She smiles at the surprise on the Princesses’ faces. “Let us just say that the Earth Pony who wrote of that meeting really did not liketh Changelings. We were born just as another Queen, the five hundredth our hive has yet seen. The best yet if we may say so.” She refills her tea with a conceited smile. “And now, ‘tis only fair that we ask thou the same question. How did thou both come to rule Equestria?” Celestia nods. “‘Tis not much to say that thou would'st not already know. We were born from the union of a powerful Earth Pony and a very capable Pegasus. I was born a Unicorn and Luna a Pegasus and we both proved powerful so Starswirl chose us as his students. We first discovered our talent when, due to Discord’s interference, Equus refused to rotate so we would hast all boiled to death had we not forced the sun to set.” She takes Luna’s hoof sympathetically. “Luna’s history has been rather… ignored by history. E’en before we gained the Elements, we were fighting Discord on a regular basis as Starswirl’s students so he decided to try and drop the Moon on us because he found the idea funny. Luna saved us by forcibly moving it back into orbit which allowed her to ascend.” After processing the information, Chrysalis nods and they continue thier small talk for the rest of the night. 1500 years ago, 500 ADC, the Everfree Forest near the Castle of the Two Sisters Chrysalis hits the ground like a sack of bricks weighed down by a thousand castles. “Yield!” “Never!” Chrysalis fires off another green energy beam as she gets back to her feet but has to roll when it becomes overpowering. Another beam comes straight for her which she only just has enough time to harmlessly deflect with an energy shield only to then be struck from behind by another that acted like a boomerang. “Lucky hit.” Celestia smiles. “Thine turn, Luna.” If you had woken Chrysalis up that morning and told her that she would be spending the afternoon sparring with the Princesses, she would have had you thrown out on your flank. After waiting for Chrysalis to catch her breath and nod to confirm that she’s ready, Luna immediately takes to the sky to utilise her preferred method of combat; aerial warfare. Not one to let herself be so easily overwhelmed, Chrysalis follows swiftly after and so begins a long winding chase through the Forest. Although nowhere near as large as today, the Everfree is still over four miles wide and just as dense so navigating through the trees is difficult. At the same time, Chrysalis has to deflect or dodge repeated energy beams from Luna which aren’t powerful enough to injure but more than enough to knock back if they make contact. Chrysalis decides to try one of her favourite attacks; gaining as much speed as possible before overtaking Luna, banking upwards through the canopy by using her magic to destroy the branches and then using her momentum to carry herself back down to the side of Luna for a side attack. Unfortunately for Chrysalis, due to the speeds that they’re travelling at, she doesn’t notice a very thick tree in her way. Slamming into it, there is a heart stopping crunch before her momentum sends her flying backwards through several thinner branches and getting impaled on the last. “CHRYSALIS!” Luna immediately banks around and flies back to the mangled Changeling just as Celestia arrives; having been observing the fight from a safe distance. “What happened?” Luna swallows regretfully. “W-we were just flying firing magic when she tried to bank over us but hit a tree branch and was thrown back. We swear we did n-“ “Get… us… off…” The two Princesses turn in amazement to the mutilated Queen who appears to be angry with them instead of struggling for every breath. “Get… us… off… of… this… branch.” Surprised but deciding to heed her final request, Celestia gently pulls her body off of the branch which leaves a six inch hole straight through the Changeling’s chest. “Chrysalis, we art so s-“ Luna trails off and the two Princesses stare in a mix of shock and amazement as the Changeling begins shifting. Her broken back snaps back into place with only a slight grunt, a large crack in her horn closes up, the torn stump-like twigs that were once her wings regrow their feathers and bend back to normal and a twig that got stuck in her right eye during the chaos pops out as it heals. With a light snap of the neck, Chrysalis rises to her hooves and looks at the gobsmacked Princesses with the same fiendish grin she would wear much later after defeating Celestia. “Surprised?” Indeed they are. “How?!!!” Crysalis rolls her eyes. “'Tis love burning of course. It can heal any injury if we survive for long enough.” With that over and done with, the three decide to call it a day and return to the Castle of the Two Sisters for a rest before Chrysalis makes the return trip. “Thou art one of only two creatures to ever be a match for us and-” She sees Chrysalis bristle slightly although she hides it well. “Is everything okay?” “We art fine, just tired.” Despite the wording, Chrysalis realises she snapped at Luna. Although she hates herself for it, Celestia uses her empathy to probe her friend’s emotions and finds a deep seated anger hidden well by indifference. “Chrysalis, we cannot help thou an thou wilt not tell us what ‘tis wrong. Please, we can try and help thou.” Chrysalis appears surprised. “How did thou- She narrows her eyes and growls at them with a raging fire in her eyes. “NEVER doeth that again! Understand?!” Despite the extremely disrespectful tone, Celestia nods apologetically. “We art sorry but we were worried about thou. We wilt doeth anything possible to help thou.” Chrysalis’ glare eventually relents as she glares at the floor for several moments. “Fine. Doth thou remember those radicals from when we moved into Canterlot?” The two Princesses nod; that charming bunch had been banged up for the rest of their lives when they were caught about to dissect a Changeling who they had managed to knock out. “They were not the last of thier ilk. Multiple Changelings have been receiving demands to leave Equestria under threat of death.” Luna is completely outraged. “Give us names and we wilt do what we can.“ Chrysalis smiles slightly. “We thank thou. ‘Tis much appreciated.” She spreads her wings and heads to the balcony. “We grow tired of this, goodnight. Grammercy for the duel. It was the most fun we hast had in years." She flies off but the Princesses still exchange a worried look. They know this can only go one way and are almost helpless to stop it. 1100 years ago, 900 ADC, The Castle of the Two Sisters' throne room Princess Luna scowls deeply. "An thou art suggesting what we think thou art, we art sure that Queen Chrysalis would love to hear what thou hast to say." Duke Red Tape returns the scowl with a noise not dissimilar to a puking sound. "I doeth not seeth how thou can stand those abominations. They are leeches who mean to destroy everything we hast built!" Clearly seeing that he's getting nowhere, and seeing the Guards ready to throw him into the dungeon, the Duke of Canterlot exits with a sneer. "I was hopeful that thou would seeth greater senseth than thy almighty sister but thou art both deluded. Thou hath not heard the last of me.” After the throne door slams behind the Unicorn, Luna sighs as she lowers the Moon. Within minutes, she has closed court and goes to eat supper with Celestia. The elder Alicorn looks up with a smile when she enters. "Good e'en, Luna. How goes our kingdom?" Her smile falters as she sees that her sister is wearing a look as if she just tasted something absolutely foul. "Not well then." Luna nods. "Red Tape decided to try and 'resolve our problems' by going behind thine back and appealing to us instead." Celestia's expression turns into an uncharacteristic scowl. Of all the nobles Equestria has ever seen, Red Tape has got to be one of the most vile and unpleasant; making the very stuck-up Blueblood look like Pinkie Pie if she was crossbred with a cuddly teddy bear. If regular nobles are known for thier conservatism, Red Tape is known for his bigotry and corruption and has proven to be about as likeable as Tirek. Known for his lavish buck-backs and excessive lobbying to benefit no-pony but himself and his friends, the noble is very powerful and had to eventually be kicked out of power by the Princesses themselves when he tried to block a motion for Changelings to gain the same legal protections as ponies. Every pony deserves the right to have thier say but they can’t allow it to make around a third of the total population suffer. "Did he say anything else?" Luna shakes her head. "Only that we are both foals for not listening to him and that we hast not yet seen the end of it." Celestia's scowl deepens. "We hast to warn Chrysalis." "She already knows." As the two Princesses turn to a chair which had been drawn for Luna earlier, the air shimmers and reforms to reveal a visibly stewing Chrysalis. "Doeth not worry about hearing from him ever again. He shant be seen after tonight.” Celestia shakes her head at the livid Changeling. "An anything were to happen to him, his like-minded compatriots would hast everything they need to unleash a war on-" Chrysalis slams her hooves down on the table. "And we would respond in kind! Just as thou did not tolerate the likes of Discord and Tirek attacking thy subjects, we wilt not tolerate him tormenting us." She turns to leave. "in the interest of both of our peoples, I wilt overlook this once. The next timeth however, we wilt doeth what we must. What we should hast done from the start." As the Changeling warps away, Luna turns to her grim looking sister. "This is not going to end well." "Agreed. The question is, who will give first?" "But... why? Why would anypony act like that?! They didn't do anything!" "At the start, as disgusting as it sounds, it made some level of sense. Most of our subjects had lived through the chaos that Discord had brought and were wary of strange creatures they'd never seen before. Letting such creatures that look like they do into their midst where they can strike at any time, and knowing that any form of love and friendship will only make them stronger, many were understandably wary. However, those Pegasi and some especially disgusting nobles were just the vocal minority and almost all ponies grew to accept the Changelings over time." "If things had stayed that way, the invasion would probably have never happened. What happened next was nothing but absolutely disgusting. It all started to go horribly wrong about two hundred years later...”"