//------------------------------// // Queen Chrysalis's Story // Story: Villains United // by juststeph //------------------------------// “I suppose it might be time for someone who has faced the Elements to speak,” a changeling said in a bored tone. She sat at the side of the room, lesser changelings surrounding her. “Although, we may have been speaking already.” In a flash of green, the two changelings closest to her changed their forms to a griffon and a dragon. Another flash, and they changed back. “That wasn’t you,” Gilda said irritably. “No, it wasn’t,” the changeling queen conceded. “But I had to show you that even my subjects are more powerful than you, all of you. Once you understand our power, you may understand our story.” -- QUEEN CHRYSALIS’S STORY My subjects and I have no land of our own. We create a hive where we find food. When the food is gone, so are we. We are sure that we never truly devastate a feeding ground—ponies have a remarkable capacity for creating new love, as long as they remain alive. We settle and feed for months, perhaps years, before letting the ponies resume their lives, now devoid of love. Other creatures, we will simply devour them before moving on. Ponies are unique. We came to Canterlot after we’d spent years in Hoofstralia. The large island of ponies was already independent from the rest of the world, and once we captured the pegasi and anypony who could sail, we were safe in the hive for as long as we had food. Canterlot was different. We infiltrated slowly. My subjects waited in the clouds outside the city while I found the perfect target to capture. I took the form of many castle servants, examining the princesses. Celestia was too visible to the public eye. Luna was not visible enough. But then there was Mi Amore Cadenza, the little princess hidden away until her wedding day. Only her husband to be would know she had been replaced, and one stallion was easy to control. I had heard from listening to Celestia and Luna that underneath the palace lie the crystal caves, sealed and untouched since the princesses themselves were small. They could not even remember where the entrance was. Luckily, I have access to a bit of the same magic as unicorns. I transported myself into the caves. They were perfect. It wasn’t hard to capture the princess and seal her underground. Once I took her form, I was able to gain limited access to her memories, enough to reassure her fiancé that nothing unusual was going on. I could not understand why a princess would choose to marry a lowly unicorn, but he provided enough delicious love to my persona that I didn’t care. I relished for a few days, gorging on the love in the city until I was near to bursting. But my poor subjects were starving. Late one night, I flew to the clouds to let them know they could come and feed, a few at a time. I hadn’t realized the recluse Luna shied away from the crowds of day because she ruled the night. She saw me in my true form returning to Canterlot, and she saw a number of my hungriest subjects follow. I managed to regain Cadenza’s form before I was found, but my subjects were not as lucky. Ponies, for all their love, can be the cruelest of creatures. When I cried for my subjects, Shining Armor only saw tears from his bride to be. He ran to the Princesses with claims of a threat against Canterlot, and created a shield of energy around the city. His attempt might have worked, had I not already been inside. When we talked that night, me playing the loving fiancée, he mentioned his sister might be able to help with the invasion. She was one of the Elements of Harmony. I had faced the Elements once before, centuries ago, and I had heard they were lost to the ponies. I panicked, and in the panic, attacked Shining Armor. I had taken just enough love to regain my senses when I stopped. He had no memory of what he’d been talking about, and I claimed casting a spell to cure the headache that he now had. Unfortunately, his sister arrived the very next day, along with her friends, the other Elements. I should have remembered that ponies have a sentimental need for family on days they consider ‘special’. This wedding to Shining Armor, although a banquet of love for me, was a nuisance for the rest of my subjects. Twilight Sparkle, the supposed Element of Magic, recognized me. My limited access to Cadenza’s memories didn’t tell me that she was once her foalsitter. Twilight began doing an odd dance that I could not imitate. I simply treated her as I would treat one of my lesser subjects—not worth my time. Her disappointment was sour, but Shining Armor was still providing all the love I needed. I just had to be careful not to take too much at a time. The headaches were starting to overwhelm him. I treated all of the Elements the same way. Disdain, with just enough fake politeness that they would not know I wasn’t the true Cadenza. They continued to call me Cadance, some nickname for the princess I did not know, and I demanded they call me by Cadenza’s true name. It was all I could respond to. That night, I had a fight with Shining Armor. It was a mistake. He’d asked to wear a sash for the wedding, and, acting as a princess bride to be should, I told him no. The ponies consider the wedding to be the bride’s day, and the groom should have made no decisions. He went behind my back and showed off the sash to Twilight, despite my objection. I took more love than usual from Shining Armor that night—a mistake, because his sister saw. I had to convince the pony that she hadn’t seen what she thought. I left Shining Armor and rushed to find the other Elements. They had fallen so sincerely for my act that they would do anything I asked. Cadenza’s old bridesmaids knew her too well, and so I’d hidden them in the caves the first chance I could. This left an opening for new bridesmaids—a role the Elements would fit nicely. The next day, it appeared my plan had worked perfectly. Twilight accused me of being evil, and no one believed her. If they were smart, they would have. I played the dumb little princess, crying at the terrible accusation and fleeing the room. Outside the hall, I could hear them yelling at Twilight. Perfect. I went back to Twilight once she was alone. She had proven to be too much of a threat. For a moment, she acted as though she believed my disguise, but I couldn’t trust her. I brought her to the caves. When she awoke underground, I was down with her. I taunted her for a while, letting her know that she was right and there was nothing she could do about it. Cadenza was sealed. Twilight was trapped. I had won. I retired to Cadenza’s room. The wedding was about to begin. The sky was clouded with my subjects waiting for the shield to dissipate. The threats against me had vanished. The day was going to be perfect. I walked down the aisle, going through the motions of the wedding. As soon as Shining Armor and I retired to our home, I would be draining him of all his love, enough to destroy the shield that surrounded the city. My subjects would finally be free to feed. But then the real Cadenza appeared, tailed by that pesky Twilight. She knew exactly what I was. I should have figured a princess would have learned about our changeling race. The ponies had forgotten about us, but the princesses who lived for centuries would of course remember. Not that it mattered. They were too late. Shining Armor and his shield were weak. In a last attempt to save the precious ponies, Celestia herself tried to fight me. She’d been exhausted from protecting her kingdom, and I was strong with the love Shining Armor still gave me. I brushed her aside with ease. The ponies were shocked, as if no one could touch their princess. Fools. I drained the last bit of love from Shining Armor. He became useless, and so did his shield. My subjects swarmed the city, feeding as much as they could. Ponies were captured and drained. Perhaps a few of them went too far, but I could not blame my poor subjects. They had been hungry for far longer than they had known. I sealed Celestia and Cadenza in the throne room, rendering them unable to stop us. I directed a few of the stronger changelings to guard the Elements of Harmony, which the bearers would attempt to use to stop us. They managed to effectively barricade the Elements’ hiding place and capture the bearers, even taking a few nips of love as they took the form of their friends. The Element bearers were returned to me. Cadenza had somehow escaped her trap. She gave Shining Armor love, enough to revive him, but not enough to strengthen his magic. She claimed her love would strengthen his magic enough to defeat me and my subjects—a ridiculous thought, coming from just a little pony. It took me days to take Shining Armor’s love, and I am the Queen of the changelings. Perhaps in a few years, he would have enough love to cast us out, but we would have fed our fill by then. I don’t know how Cadenza did it. Her love had more power than I had ever known a pony to possess. Looking back, perhaps I should have taken Shining Armor’s form and fed on Cadenza, but I couldn’t reconsider my plan as the barrier returned, forcing myself and my subjects out of the city. We were thrown to the badlands south of Equestria. But we’d taken enough love to continue to survive, and we found ourselves very near a country full of unsuspecting burros. Not as loving as ponies, but we would not starve. We would survive, and we will return. -- “That had nothing to do with the Elements of Harmony. Trixie fought the Elements more directly!” “You got in a yelling match with one of them and ran away,” Gilda pointed out. “Princess Candenza is now related to the Element of Magic,” Chrysalis reminded her audience. “If you forget that, you will forget a powerful ally to your enemies.” “I don’t believe you,” Diamond Tiara said stubbornly. “Your story was good but then it was really boring. There’s no such thing as love having power.” “Poor little foal,” Chrysalis said with a wide grin. “If you don’t believe in its power, then you would not mind if I took some from you. I am hungry, after all.” The filly’s eyes widened. “No, no, I believe you!” Chrysalis glanced around the room. “Does anyone else doubt my story?” Every other creature wisely remained silent.