Ponies ponies everywhere and not a one to play with. Or mess up. Or kill. Kill? Oh no, not kill. Almost never kill. Well, not almost never. Kill if it fits. But, still no ponies anywhere...
Discord slithered along rooftops, hiding in the long shadows of the late evening light. He was surprised at how easy it was sneaking into this town, changing miniscule things, having nopony notice him.
Then again, he prided himself on his stealth. And the ignorance of the ponies, of course. He sighed. Ignorance is bliss. Bliss. Bliss is the chaotic screams and confused faces of mayhem...
Sighing again, he reached down and flicked select letters off the Country Club sign, giggling at the now crude word. He'd done similar things all around Ponyville. Changing signs, tacks hidden in the dirt for ponies to step on, broken wagon wheel. Silly little things to keep his mischievous side at bay.
Suddenly, hoofsteps to his left. His ears swiveled and he scurried into the shadow of the chimney. A pony he could handle, but it might be Chrysalis seeking him out. He'd escaped her a few hours earlier, needing space from her “iron hoof”, as she called it. Working with her was beneficial, and she did rescue him from his cement prison, but he hate, hate, hated being under her control.
“Discord, you moron.”
And he despised her voice.
Wait...what?
He peeked down from the roof and blinked. A pretty purple pony with pink and white hair and daisies on her flank stared up at him. The expression on the pony's face borderlined psychotic rage. Discord sniffed, trying to detect the scent of rotting ponyflesh that Chrysalis smelled of.
Ah ha.
There it was.
“What in Tartarus are you doing?” The sweet looking pony that was really Chrysalis hissed at him. “You're not even trying to hide yourself!”
Discord clasped his front paws together. “Oh, my little Queen. The only reason you can see me, is because you look for me. I cloak myself to those who would not expect me. And these ponies have gotten so used to peace in the past year, that not a one is looking for a handsome, ravishing Dragonequus such as myself. Therefore, I am completely safe. But, what are you doing? Disguised as a lovely pony with such a darling face, completely the opposite of what I would expect.”
Chrysalis snorted, ears flat. “I am gathering information, seeing if these ponies have any idea about their princess.”
“Princess?” Discord floated off the roof, landing beside purple Chrysalis, keeping himself in the shadows. “What princess?”
Purple Chrysalis rolled her eyes and leaned close to him. “The princess we left dying on the moon, you ignoramus.”
“Oh yes.” His mouth salivated at the memory of tearing the moon princess apart. It wasn't often he got to unleash his inner violent side. He loved his mayhem, but violence he rarely experience. And he'd loved every second of it.
His eyes drifted upwards to the sky, where the full moon still hung. It had stayed out all day, battling with the sun for position. With Luna gone, gone, gone, there was no pony to lower it.
“Ponyville hasn't noticed anything,” Discord motioned to the peaceful town. “And they won't. Have no fear, my Queen.”
Off in the distance, toward Canterlot, the shouts of a pony reached Discord's ears. He scampered back to the roof and squinted into the setting sun. A grey Pegasus with a blonde mane and tail half galloped half flew into Ponyville. She skidded to a halt in the town square, rearing up and whinnying.
“Princess Luna is injured and is starting an army to fight against something really evil!” The Pegasus cried.
Discord sunk down beside purple Chrysalis. “Well, I suppose they might notice now.”
Chrysalis stomped her hoof. “No. She can't be alive.”
Discord shrugged. “To be fair, I didn't actually kill her.”
Chrysalis shook her mane and they peeked around the corner. Ponies gathered around the Pegasus, shouting questions and concerns.
“Princess Luna said we will soon be at war and to prepare,” the Pegasus said.
“Who's attacking us?” Somepony asked.
“Neither Princess Luna or Princess Celestia said,” the Pegasus flapped in the air.
Mumbling swept the now large crowd. Discord couldn't help but giggle. Whoops. Screwed up, screwed up. Should've killed the Princess.
Chrysalis let out a strained growl. “We must move quickly, before they have any time to prepare. Go back to the cave, ready Nightmare Moon. I will be back soon to gather my army. Oh, and this pony's body I have snatched, I left her behind the schoolhouse, in the cellar. Get rid of her for me.”
Purple Chrysalis took a deep breath and trotted out into the crowd of ponies. Discord slithered toward the school house, keeping to the shadows, eyes glowing. Finally, they could move, take down these precious ponies. He snuck around the schoolhouse to the cellar. In a dark corner he found the real purple pony, her hooves wrapped in thick rope, cutting into her skin, and tape stuck to her mouth, tugging on her face. She saw him and her eyes widened. She wiggled, trying to move away from him, making small panicked noises. Discord smiled, salivating.
“Don't fret, my little pony,” he said. “I won't hurt you.”
~*~*~*~
Chrysalis trotted into the crowd, looking just as panicked as every other pony. After a few minutes of listening she determined that no pony really knew exactly what happened. But she did know that Luna was alive and well enough to be commanding an army. Damn it. She should've let Discord finish her. The ponies around her broke up, running to their houses, some immediately boarding up their windows, others grabbing pitchforks and readying themselves.
Chrysalis turned to trot back to her cave and crashed into three little fillies. Biting her tongue to keep from swearing, she looked down.
The fillies stared at her, concern on their faces. The orange one spoke first.
“Sorry, Miss Cherrilee,” she said.
“What do you think's going on?” The pale yellow one shivered. “Applejack's been gone all day, I hope it's nothing as serious as everypony's sayin'”
The three of them kept staring, and Chrysalis realized they were waiting for some sort of supportive comment. She should not have picked a teacher to Change to.
“There, there, children,” she tried. “Everything will be fine. Run along home. Now.”
The fillies exchanged concerned glances, but turned and scampered down the street. Chrysalis trotted toward the outskirts of town, dodging galloping ponies and abandoned street carts. As she reached a safe place to Change into herself, she stopped as the pale yellow filly's words sunk in.
Applejack.
Why did that name sound familiar?
She racked her brain, thinking back to a year ago.
Then it hit her.
Orange pony. Hat. Accent. Celestia's palace. Element of Harmony.
“Oh, clever girl,” Chrysalis hissed. She expected the Elements to show up, but for them to probably be at the palace already meant the Princesses were moving quickly.
Chrysalis let down her Glamour, Changing to her true form once more. Powering her horn, she teleported back to her cave. As soon as her magic cleared, she heard arguing from the main room.
Great, now what?
Nightmare Moon jumped at her as soon as she walked in the room.
“What is the meaning of this?” She asked.
Snorting, Chrysalis peered around Nightmare, eyes widening at what sat beside Discord. The pony Chrysalis had just Changed from, still bound and gagged, glared at the trio.
“Discord!” Chrysalis cried. “I said get rid of her. That can be taken many ways, but this is certainly not one of them.”
Discord gazed down on the purple pony. “I thought she could provide information-”
“No, you don't think,” Chrysalis reared. “Put her in the dungeon for now. I'll figure something out later. I have to check on the army.”
She stormed away, grunting in frustration. How hard was it to follow such a simple plan? Stay put, wait a little bit, then they could do whatever the hay they wanted to.
Stay calm, Chrysalis. Soon the plan will be put into action and sooth the two restless souls in her cave. She just hoped to keep them settled enough to last that long.
She passed through a thin, glowing barrier and continued down the hall, entering her minion's cave. It opened up to a large room, passages branching off every which way. Feeding and watering troughs lined the walls, soft hay piled everywhere. Some minions slept, others play fought with each other, and some milled about, waiting to change shifts with the next working herd. They all stirred at her presence, nickers echoing off the dank walls. She walked through them, nostrils filling with their rotting scent. They'd more then quadrupled in numbers since their last attack on Canterlot. With their numbers, their strength had grown as well. Trotting down the largest passage, she reached the newborn cave.
Hundreds of translucent yellow-green bubbles covered the cave floor. Each one housing a growing Changling. The stench of burning pony flesh floated through the room, leaving a green haze settling at knee height. Chrysalis peered into a few bubbles, smiling at the Changlings. Some almost full grown, others, little fetuses, thin skin pulsing quickly with the beat of their tiny hearts. Each Changling suspended in the thick goo filling the bubble, veins and arteries connecting and gathering at their stomachs.
A bursting sound came from one corner of the cave. Chrysalis hurried to the small gathering of three Changlings, the bubble they stood at cracked, goo bubbling and seeping out. The Changlings paw and kicked at the bubble, helping the newborn. The crack grew, the newborn flailing in panic. It reared its head, letting out a silent cry, glowing aqua eyes opening. After one last good kick, the newborn spilled onto the cave floor, the goo flowing around him, the bubble deflating.
Crinkling her nose at the overwhelming smell of burnt hair and rotting flesh, Chrysalis stepped forward and dipped her head to the newborn.
“Welcome, my sweet little one,” she said, touching her nose to the newborn. It blinked and nuzzled her, nickering softly. She smiled and licked a chunk of goo off the newborns nose.
“Get him cleaned and straight into training,” she said to her three minions.
They immediately nudged the newborn, forcing him to his feet. Chrysalis trotted away, deeper into the cave. Two of her minions came around the corner, stopping when they saw her. She nodded to the back room.
“Have any of them hatched?” She asked.
Both minions flicked their ears back and lowered their heads. Chrysalis snorted and let them pass. She was growing impatient. She could go one or two days into their attack without them, but no longer.
She entered the back room, slowing her steps, letting her scent and presence sink into the large bubbles. A few dozen stuck to the cave floor, each one towering above her, double her height at least. They all glowed golden, each housing her prized experiment. It had taken months of magic and trial and error to finally perfect them.
Her Changling Monstors.
Years of traveling, trying to infiltrate different species, Chrysalis realized her minions could Change to virtually any animal roughly the size of ponies. Which meant any hoofed animal, and, depending on the size, most griffons.
But dragons and other monsters were just too large and required too much magic for her minions to handle.
Her Monstors, however, were more twice the size of her minions, resembling giant, beefed up ponies. Their scaled black bodies bulky, full of muscle. Razor sharp steel blades lined their necks like a mane, a bunch hanging down like a tail. The scales on each leg faded into thick, tuft fur, ending in silver cloven hoof.
The Monstor Chrysalis admired looked almost ready to hatch. As if sensing her presence, it moved its giant, draft-pony head. Like its legs, the scales moved to a gleaming onyx coat, thinning at the nose, a hint of black bone showing around the wide nostrils. A thick, swirled horn protruded a few feet above each eye, four smaller horns lining each cheek. Once hatched and able to open its eyes, they'd be slitted, constantly glowing crimson. Its mouth, full of pointed, serrated teeth, could easily tear through tough dragon hide if need be.
Chrysalis stared with pride. “Soon, my darlings. Soon you will be free to wreak havoc on this pathetic little world.”