//------------------------------//
// Struggle 
// Story: Inside of My Chrysalis 
// by EpicChrysalis 
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	You saw me as evil already. You've despised me already. Well, I'm not that bad. I was corrupted by rage, devastation, loss. This is really how it happened.
I'm an ordinary changeling. I'm a young filly, named 'Chrysalis' It is winter, as always in the small village I live in. It is named Noapte. Noapte was a hero in our land long, long ago. Now, he is dead and only a fairy tale and a history lesson in school. He's hardly honored anymore. His deeds are no longer in existence. Not all Changelings live in Noapte, the territory we live in is called "Trochangania". We sound like we have a strong economy, like we are rich, dignified ponies. We aren't. The queen demands very, very high taxes. You are to pay 100 bits every day your alive if you're above the age of eighteen, a poor shack to live in is worth 100,000 bits, and food is 600 bits for a slice of bread. We are starving, struggling, thirsty, poor, desperate, and if that isn't enough we are used to seeing random dead bodies lying around, which is very sad if you think about it.
Mother and I dragged our hooves across the rugged pavement. It was gray, but dust turned it brown over many years. We wore rags to keep us warm in the cold conditions. They hardly helped. I shivered, then looked behind me to see if there was a sale we'd passed by. No, but there was a rich looking stallion striding around the streets. My eyes opened wider. I forced them open. I refused to blink. It made my eyes pinkish and watery, which I've learned helps you beg. I cleared my throat so my voice cracked only the slightest bit. I walked slowly to the pony.
"E-excuse me, sir, but." I stammered shyly and hopefully. But I'm not shy, it was an act. He turned around, narrowing his eyes and lifting his head to look dignified. I lower my head, let a single tiny tear leak from my eye, and tensed my throat to make my voice quiver. "D-do you have anything, t-t-to eat?"
He grinned. "Why of course, but not for the filthy rats like you." he grunted. "For me, you moron. I come from the royal palace to deliver a message and no one here deserves royal food!" He looked up to see the whole town gathered around him, a begging in their eyes, a hope sparking inside them.
I looked at him. I couldn't snarl at him, that wouldn't help him change his mind. I couldn't keep begging more desperately either. I let two more tears fly out. I let my head drop. "Oh, okay." I said sweetly again. "That's alright, I guess." As I walked back to mother, I looked at him one last time. "We understand. I wish you a safe journey back to the palace and a wonderful life of joy and kindness." As I lowered my head back down, I hid my evil grin. I kept my chuckle silent. If this didn't win him over, nothing would.
"Oh why thank you," he said with an evil grin of his own. I looked up and smiled graciously to him. "I wish you all a hard, short, depressing life and an unbearable struggle to survive." He laughed. This made rude comments rise from the townsponies. I put my head down again to look shy.
"Oh, and I almost forgot a message from the queen. You no longer have to pay 100 bits each day, but-" He was cut off by a loud cheer. They looked as if they were about to throw a party. They should, that tax was the biggest burden of them all. "Shut up you rats!" He screamed to hush the crowd. "But there is a new tax." He grinned as faces changed from cheerful to crestfallen. "Each breath you take is 10 bits. There is a separate bag to put breath money in." He climbed back in to the royal chariot, ignoring the tears and sadness. He could care less. He opened his window just to scream to us, "Suckers!"
The breath tax left us devastated. Everypony stayed inside, and held their breath while outside. There was already fainting and suffocation occurring as far as I could tell. I finally gained enough energy to use my wings. I flew up to my bed. My family lived in a half shed half stick fort. We built it over the remains of a shed that looked like it had been struck by lightning. The shed part was for cooking and eating when we had food. It had a flat roof, so above it we built a second floor we flew up to when tired. It was a room with stained, ruined, uncomfortable pillows we found in the junkyard. The pillows were our beds. We had a hard time falling asleep. 
I lied on my side and let my body sink into the pillow. I was so devastated about the breath tax. I looked up in the corner of the room. My favorite spider web was gone! Yeah, sounds dumb, but it always made me feel better when I was upset. I used to trace the strings on it's unique design with my hoof. I did that as a toddler. Now I'm ten years old. It was there yesterday. It always helped me forget stress when I followed random threads with my eyes, to see where they went. It meant a lot to me, and now that it's eight years old, it's gone. Why are so many bad things happening to me? There was a black box instead of my spider web. Mother was in town with me before it happened. That only leaves one option. Someone broke in.
But why would anyone steal from us? We have nothing, and we are missing nothing except for the spider web. And the black box is here. What does that mean? I shook my head sadly. Noapte is losing the battles of life. We are such a poor town. I couldn't sleep. I was too stressed. At least all my breaths indoors are free. I might as well stay in here the rest of my life.
When I woke up, I saw a number on the black box. Actually, two. The last one went up ten with each breath I took. No way. I though breaths indoors were secret. It was counting the bits I owed for yesterday's breath. Fifty thousand and counting. About 96,000 for the whole family. My jaw dropped. We are forever in debt. Not fair. Air should be free. I might as well die of suffocation. I grunt and go downstairs. But I float down with my wings, there's no stairs. No food still. When will I eat again?
My last official meal was 6 days ago, on Tuesday. The longest I've ever gone without food was 16 days, and I forgot manners by the time the food arrived. 2-4 days of hunger was average for our family. But the breath tax may be increasing that average to 8-10 days at the least. I did same thing I did every day. Wake up. Go outside. Beg. Rest. Go back outside. Beg more. Get nothing. Go to sleep. This continued for days. My family had 0 bits. We couldn't afford the breath tax. We were farther in debt than we'd ever been. We usually have 1-5 bits, but now, none.
It's now been 13 days since that Tuesday. I haven't eaten yet. Will I ever again? Hopefully. I see a different rich looking stallion. He seems kinder. I water my eyes, make them pink, crack my voice, and begin to shiver.
I begged for food. He said he was from the royal palace and had 1690 bits. He gave me a loaf of bread he bought for five bits. He was very kind. He said his name was Naginata. We became quick friends. He had come to collect the breath tax, but he secretly gave half back to the town. They were happy about this. Naginata was a great help to the ponies. He was popular with them and loved for his deeds.
The queen would never find out though. He had them keep quiet around her or any of her loyal servants.  When one suspicious was near, he acted cruel to them and they acted like it was devastating. He was the most cruel of all the guards to the town of Noapte, maybe because he could act. Some things he acted like he was doing were more terrible than any other guard would dare do. Naginata's false cruelty had him invited as a special guest to a party. He approved right away. I was however nervous. What if the party changed him? I carried the loaf of bread back to Mother's house.
"Mother," I said as I lowered the bread onto the table with my magic. "I'm home."
Mother woke up and trotted to the table. Seeing the loaf of bread, fresh, organic, and from the royal palace, she lifted her hood. She never lifts her hood. She remains an enigma at all times.
"Chrysalis, darling." She began. My smile grew wide. She must be so proud.
"We don't steal. Especially not from royalty."
"But Mother! I did not steal the loaf of bread. A royal guard gave it to me. Think how long it would last us!"
"Nonsense! Royal guards are at war with us." She stared me down with her remaining eye. "A war we cannot see. 	They are trying to take every last bit we have. They want us to starve and die. They want us to disappear. Once Noapte is gone, they wish to put up a bustling city over the hero's town!"
I sighed. "That's terrible! How did you find that out?"
She threw her hood back on, and though the darkness of it made her face invisible, I could feel the sinister smile curling up her cheeks. "I eavesdropped. " She chuckled as she stepped backwards into the shadows under the kitchen shelf. "I'm not nice to royalty." She laughed hard. But I rolled my eyes inside where no one would know I did. She was going to crash into the wall in the middle of her graceful enigma of a moment. As she was inches from it, I smiled. But then a thought flooded my mind. Mother was the kindest, most humble pony ever. Why was she being so sinister and superior? 	
Oh well, she's going to hit the wall. I looked up. It had been a moment since she was barely anything away from the wall. What I saw shocked me. She was going through the wall. She was halfway in. When she took off her hood, she changed into a tall, strong, beautiful, dignified changeling. My jaw dropped. Queen Nimbus.