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// I Will Not Be Stopped 
// Story: A Touch of Chaos 
// by Written Out 
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Her body thrashing wildly, Princess Cadance futilely struggled against the bonds that restrained her. Her captors watched dispassionately as she twitched on the ground, her movements restrained by the green goo that smothered her entire body. If they were even aware of her being there, they certainly didn’t show it. She had tried to engage them in conversation a few times, but had found no luck there.

The changelings seemed to ignore her for the most part, standing at her side like statues. One could be forgiven for thinking they weren’t even alive. The only reaction they ever gave was smacking her horn whenever she tried to cast a spell, breaking both her concentration and her magic. As the hours passed and the sun slowly crawled towards the horizon, Cadance felt the creeping fingers of despair claim her. Screams could occasionally be heard from outside, and Cadance knew rescue would not be coming.

Cadance groaned as she shifted her body, trying to get comfortable. The muscles in her wings were becoming cramped and she just wanted to get loose enough to give them a good stretch. As she tried to roll onto her other side, loud hoofsteps echoed in the hallway outside. The doors to Celestia’s room were thrown open with a mighty crash as the changeling Queen proudly strode through them. The Queen was humming to herself, looking happier than Cadance had ever seen her before.

Chrysalis smiled down at her captive Princess, the dying rays of the setting sun casting sharp shadows on her face and turning the smile into something wicked. “Princess Cadance,” she buzzed arrogantly, “I hope you can forgive me.”

The captive Princess looked up in confusion as the goo covering her mouth melted away, freeing it for the first time since she had been captured. “What-” Her hoarse voice rasped against her own ears, and she took a moment to lick her lips, grimacing at the taste that still lingered on them. “What are you apologizing for?”

If anything, Chrysalis’ grin widened. “Why, for not greeting you properly. I come all this way to take everything you think is important away from you, and I don’t even say hello.” Her chitinous plating shifted as her head came down, her merciless eyes staring deep into Cadance’s own. “I hope you can forgive me, my dear.”

“You’re a monster,” Cadance spat.

Chrysalis’s expression remained unchanged. “Oh come now, is that the best you can come up with? I’ve been hearing much worse insults today. Oh, that reminds me,” she buzzed, the tone of her voice remaining light and casual, as if she was only discussing the weather with a friend, “do you know any good places for executions around here? I was thinking of making an example of somepony, but there’s no point if nopony sees it. So? What do you think?

A stunned stare was Cadance’s only response, and she stared up in open-mouthed horror at the creature before her who could so easily talk about murdering somepony. Her mouth worked noiselessly as the Queen only watched in amused silence. Unknown to Cadance, Chrysalis was entertaining herself with the roiling turmoil of Cadance’s emotions.

Moving the changelings into the city had been as successful as she had hoped. Most of the citizens had locked themselves indoors as soon as they saw the changeling army walking up the street, and Shining Armor had stopped any guards from starting a fight. There had been one worrying moment with a group of pegasi wearing some blue uniforms, but Chrysalis had put a stop to that pretty quickly. The group – they had said they were called the Wonderbolds or something – had refused to listen to Shining Armor and had tried to jump Chrysalis.

“Out of the way, Shining!” The leader, an orange pegasus with a fiery orange mane, tried to break through the pink barrier Shining Armor had raised. “Why are you protecting the leader of those monsters? If we can take her down, we can end it right now!”

Inside the sphere, Chrysalis arched an eyebrow as she looked up at the five ponies striking the protective barrier. Despite wanting to give the orange pegasus a verbal lashing for calling her minions “monsters”, she chose instead to remain silent. She was curious to see how Shining Armor would deal with this.

“I can’t let you do that, Spitfire!” he yelled out, barely straining despite having to maintain a barrier against eleven strong pegasi. “She’s captured Cadance! And maybe Princess Luna as well!”

“So?” Spitfire yelled back. “The country will survive without the Princesses. We have a duty, Shining Armor, a duty to protect the country! Princess Celestia would never forgive us if we let Equestria fall or if we allowed citizens to be hurt in her absence! If you can’t do it, then stand aside, and allow the Wonderbolts to take care of it!”

“I…”

Oh, that wasn’t good. Shining Armor was starting to have second thoughts. Chrysalis could sense as his emotions shifted, torn as he was between his duty as a husband as his duty as a former Captain. She enjoyed feeling his torment as he was torn between conflicting loyalties, but only when she was the one tormenting him.

Her horn blazed a bright emerald green, a beam of light shooting out and catching the orange pegasus in the face. The beam passed through the barrier easily, since it wasn’t supposed to take shocks from the inside. The pegasus was sent flying into a nearby house, her blue uniform black and smoldering.

“CAPTAIN!” Ten voices shouted, and the ten other uniformed pegasi descended upon their leader, gently supporting her as she struggled to stand on her four wavering legs. Chrysalis watch as several changelings dropped on the group, quickly subduing them and pinning the eleven ponies to the ground.

“Things are going to change, Captain.” Chrysalis stated as she calmly strode out of the protective shield as Shining Armor dropped the barrier. “I think you need some time to learn that.” She nodded to the changelings restraining the pegasi. “Take them away. I’m sure the castle has dungeons somewhere. If you can’t find any, then take them down to the police station and lock them in a cell or something.”

“You’ll never get away with this,” one of the pegasi snarled as he was hefted into the air.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes at the blue pegasus. “Yes, yes. Of course I’m not. Really, is that the only thing you heroes can say? I’m getting tired of hearing those words. If it was possible for you to stop me, you would have stopped me already.” As the Wonderbolts were dragged away by the changelings, Chrysalis turned back to Shining Armor, her bright and sunny demeanor making it seem as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

“Now then, where were we?”

The changeling Queen smiled in reminiscence as she thought about the scene that had unfolded. More importantly, she needed to finish what she had come here to do.

“Let’s see…” she mused, idly tapping the floor with a hoof as she stood up straight. “Who would make a good example? What do you think?” This question was aimed at one of the changelings surrounding Cadance, but it didn’t respond. Chrysalis frowned at it for a moment before turning back to Cadance. “Well, he was no help. What about you, Princess? What do you think?”

Cadance didn’t say anything, silently glaring up at Chrysalis. 

The Queen grinned down at her before turning and striding out the patio doors. The cool evening breeze blew all around her, throwing her limp mane behind her in the dying sunlight. That’s strange, she thought idly. Shouldn’t the sun be lower than that by now?  Putting it out of her mind, she turned back to her captive.

With the sun at her back, her large shadow was projected into the room, landing on and covering the pink princess. Chrysalis smirked at seeing the mare who had once defeated her brought low. “It’s funny, really. Because of you, I nearly had to watch as all of my subjects died before my eyes. Now, you’re going to be their saviour.”

With a slight moan, Cadance shifted so she could get a better look at her captor. “Because of me… What are you saying? Shining Armor and I threw you out of Canterlot. We did nothing to you other than that.”

“And why do you think we invaded in the first place?” Chrysalis’ wings buzzed as she slowly became more and more agitated. “We had nothing. We were starving to death, and had to take drastic measures to survive.” Her eyes glazed over as she talked, focusing on a point past Cadance. Her voice took on a wistful tone as she recounted those painful days. “Ever since then, I’ve been burying my children one by one, unable to do anything to help them. Do you know how painful it is for a mother to bury her children?”

Her eyes shifted back to Cadance, and her grin returned wider than before at seeing the tears brimming in the alicorn’s eyes. “But that’s all in the past now. I will always hate you, but that isn’t important now, is it?”

“Why would you hate me?”

Chrysalis sighed, her mane fluttering wildly in the strengthening breeze, dark clouds beginning to cover the evening sky. Looks like a storm is about to hit Canterlot. “You mean other than you causing the death of my children? I know what you are. A mortal alicorn. A genetic throwback to the Golden Ages, a time when the only ponies in the world were alicorns.”

“Oh, don’t look so surprised, Princess,” Chrysalis said to Cadance’s shocked expression. “I know everything. I know the alicorns vanished one day, and the three pony tribes bearing their gifts rose in their place. I know Celestia and Luna were only foals when it happened. And I know there have been many mortal alicorns born since then – yes, alicorns just like you.”

“How-how do you know that?” Cadnce gasped. “Only members of the royal family are supposed to know that!” Not even Twilight Sparkle, Celestia’s own student, should know about that!

A cheerful laugh escaped Chrysalis’ throat, continuing until she stomped one of her hooves against the ground. “I didn’t know the details, I just guessed. It’s so nice of you to confirm it for me.” At Cadance’s grimace, Chrysalis laughed again. “You’ve never been tricked like that before, have you?” The smile slid off her face as she slowly began walking towards her captive, her horn glowing as she shut the patio doors behind her, large raindrops beating against the clear glass.

“Of course you haven’t,” Chrysalis continued, a frown forming on her face. Her reflection in the rain-spattered glass frowned back at her. “You’ve always been the beloved little princess. Never having to work for anything, never having to do anything. You would just sit there and look pretty, and everything you ever wanted would be brought to you.” As Cadance’s gaze slid to the floor, Chrysalis stamped a hoof directly in front of her face. “It should have been mine.”

“What are you saying?” Cadance wheezed, slightly panting for breath. The ropes and ooze were starting to feeling really constricting, like they were crushing her to the floor.

Chrysalis’ frown vanished, replaced with a horrifyingly predatory smirk as she slowly brought her head down so her mouth was right next to Cadance’s ear. “What I am saying,” she whispered, “is that-” Lighting flashed outside, brightly illuminating the entire room in blinding white light, the roaring thunder stealing away the changeling Queen’s words. 

Cadance’s eyes widened in horror as Chrysalis stepped back, the grin on the changeling’s face broadening and darkening. “No,” Cadance murmured. “That… can’t be true. That’s… that’s a lie.”

“It’s no lie,” Chrysalis said simply. “My predecessors left records in the form of carvings on the walls of the first changeling hive.” She looked down at the still-muttering Cadance, slightly pitying the captive princess. She knew what Cadance was going through. She hadn’t believed it at first either.

Chrysalis waited for several minutes while Cadance processed what Chrysalis had told her before loudly clearing her throat. “But I think that’s enough talking about the past, wouldn’t you agree? Now we’re going to talk about you instead, and what you’re going to do to save your husband.”

Cadance came to life at that, squirming in her bonds. “Don’t you dare hurt him!” she yelled. Her horn sputtered for a moment before one of the changeling guards struck her, causing the spell to fizzle and die.

Circling around Cadance like a shark, Chrysalis continued teasing the Princess. “Oh, but what fun it would be! Just think about it. The public execution of the Crystal Prince, former captain of the Royal Guard, and the pony who had stopped my invasion force before. Thousands would come to witness it! We could make it a national holiday.”

The Crystal Princess remained silent, glaring up at Chrysalis with hatred burning brightly in her eyes. Her teeth were bared, and every word she spoke had to force itself out past her clenched jaw. “Don’t. You. Dare. Touch. Him.”

“Feisty, aren’t we?” Chrysalis asked, idly looking at the bottom of her hoof. “So then, Princess, what are you going to give me instead?”

“But I don’t have anythi-”

“I’m not asking much,” Chrysalis interrupted. “Just a token, really, a trifle. You’ll never even miss it. What I want from you is… your love.”

Cadance blinked, slowly running her tongue across her upper lip. “My love?”

“You got it, sweetie. I know that you’re the alicorn of love.” She pointed at the crystal heart proudly emblazoned upon Cadance’s flank. “You’re going to give me some of that love, and I will not publicly execute your husband. Actually, I’m in a good mood, so I will not execute anypony at all. So? Have we got a deal?”

Cadance remained silent, staring down at the floor at Chrysalis’ hooves for several minutes. A defeated expression on her face, she didn’t say anything as her horn began glowing. One of the changelings went to strike her, but Chrysalis waved him away, a greedy expression on her face.

From the weak light of Cadance’s horn, a tiny stylized heart slowly drifted away from her. It gently drifted upwards, stopping directly in front of the face of the changeling Queen. Chrysalis watched it, mesmerised. She could feel the power encaged in this tiny heart, and a mad grin spread across her face.

With all the speed of a serpent, she snapped at the floating heart. Her sharp fangs pierced through the heart’s core, causing cracks to through the impaled heart. Lighting flashed at that moment, and the room was lost in the brightest of pure while light for a split second before everything exploded.

The windows all burst as a bolt of purest electricity tore through them, striking the changeling Queen like the wrath of a vengeful god. The lights ruptured, throwing the entire room into near darkness. Only the slightest amount of light from the sun trickled in through the roiling clouds, which had now covered the entire sky. The only sound in the room was the pounding rain and roaring wind, tearing through the broken windows. Then, after several seconds of relative silence had passed, another sound could be heard.

Laughter.

“Haha ahaha haaahahaha haHAhaHAAHAHAAAAHAAA!!! AMAZING!” Chrysalis stood mostly unharmed in the center of the room, the floor smouldering at her feet. “This POWER! It’s even stronger than I had imagined! It’s even stronger than Shining Armor’s love! This is far more power then I had ever dreamed of!”

Cadance lay silently weeping at Chrysalis’ hooves. Whatever happened now, it would be her fault. She knew it. Through the haze of tears, she saw the Queen blazing with a corona of power, illuminating the entire room. Three bolts of energy blazed out, hitting the three changing guards directly on their horns. All three of them fell to their knees, and as Cadance watched, she was able to see as one of the changeling’s eyes shifted.

The clear reflective blue faded and was lost, instead revealing clear green pupils much like the Queen’s own. After a few seconds, all three changelings unsteadily got to their hooves. The three looked around at the darkened room, mild expressions of surprise and interest spread on their faces. What just happened? Cadance wondered.

As for the changelings, they eventually stopped looking around and bowed to their Queen. “Your Majesty,” one said, a slight buzz barely perceptible in his voice, “what is your command?”

“Rise, Innocent Sin, Fallen Roses, and Last Breath. I-” Chrysalis’ ears flattened, and her head whipped around as she stared out the broken patio doors. “-have something I need to take care of,” she finished. Her wings buzzed as she slowly lifted off the ground. “See that our guest is taken care of. Treat her well” The changelings saluted her as she flew into the raging storm outside.

The three changelings looked at each other before looking down at Cadance. One of them shrugged – she honestly couldn’t tell which – and bent down beside her. “Princess Cadance, right?” It asked in a feminine voice. Its tone was straightforward, but not unkind. “My name’s Fallen Roses. I hope we can get along.”





Queen Chrysalis’ wings buzzed furiously as she flew through the empty streets of Canterlot. The pounding rain beat at her thick carapace, while the occasional bolt of lightning flashed in the skies above. Her wings faltered and she dropped to the cobbled streets, her hooves beating against the ground as she raced to her destination.

She had received a mental communication from one of her drones calling for her, and the sound of fighting could clearly be heard over the deafening thunder. Roaring green flames burned ahead of her, despite the best efforts of the skies above to extinguish them.

As Chrysalis reached the location of the battle, she gradually slowed to a stop. A large crowd of ponies filled the wide open space, most of them without any protection from the rains. Off to the side, a light green unicorn with a lyre emblazoned on her flank and a slightly mad look in her eyes created a haunting melody from a lyre floating before her. Madness burned in the mare's eyes, burning in counterpoint to the green blaze burning within her eyes. Either her mind had been broken by the sight of the changelings, or the invasion had affected her head in some other way.

Uninterested, Chrysalis turned away from the madpony, focusing instead on the scene before her. In front of the train station, a single white unicorn fought alone against several changelings. As she watched, he struck another changeling with the shaft of the spear he levitated alongside him. The changeling dropped, joining the others already twitching on the ground as the unicorn deflected a magical blast from another changeling.

Flying over the heads of the assembled ponies, Chrysalis landed on the roof of the train overlooking the battleground, her hooves slightly denting the metal plating. The changelings stepped back, dragging the injured bodies of their companions away and flying up to the rooftops of the nearby buildings. The white unicorn turned to look up at her, his spear gripped firmly in his magical embrace. Chrysalis casually stepped off the train, landing before the white unicorn.

“Did I misjudge you?” she asked him. “Shining Armor?”





Shining Armor gritted his teeth, the point of his spear drooping towards the ground. “This isn’t a revolt,” he murmured, just loudly enough for her to hear him. “It’s just me.”

“Then why are you doing this?”she asked. At his silence, she closed her eyes. Though he couldn’t have known it, she was reviewing the memories of the changelings that had been tailing him. She watched through their eyes as he walked through the streets, trying to pacify all the ponies that resisted against the changelings. One by one, he defused potential incidents and broke up any conflicts before they could start. After speaking to one mare and having her return to her house, he suddenly turned and attacked the nearest changeling. 

Chrysalis frowned as the mental image faded. Well, that told me nothing, she grumbled. “Playing the hero, are we?” she asked him. “Well, if your wife isn’t enough to keep you in check, how about your sister? I believe her name was Twilight Sparkle?”

Shining Armor fumbled his spear, quickly catching it again before it hit the ground. “How do you- No.” He shook his head. “You’re not going to hurt her. Either of them.” He pointed his spear directly at Chrysalis, levitating it only inches away from her face. “This is between you and me.”

She blinked, her eyes crossing slightly as she tried to focus on the spear in front of her before firmly pushing it away with a hoof. “Taking your responsibilities personally? Fine with me. Your wife already bartered for your life. I’m not going to kill you…” Her horn blazed, blasting him back with a mighty wave of green energy. Bystanders covered their faces as the roaring wind whipped past them, thrown back by the strength of the Queen’s spell. “…though you might wish I would,” she finished.

Shining Armor landed heavily in a puddle, his hooves splashing in the water that covered the area as he dashed to the side. Focusing his power, he launched his spear directly at her face. She knocked the oncoming spear aside with a blast of magic, sending it sailing away until it embedded itself in the street directly in front of some of the watchers. The wall of ponies stumbled away from the embedded spear while the music coming from the green unicorn’s lyre sped up as the battle intensified.

Firing off bolts of energy, Shining Armor tried to circle around behind the Queen. One, two, three, four, five bolts of purest magical energy tore over the cobblestones, causing the air to ripple as the blasts tore through it. Chrysalis calmly raised a shimmering green shield and the pinkish energy blasts struck uselessly against it before Chrysalis fired her own blast in return.

Hastily raising a defensive barrier, Shining Armor gasped in shock as the green energy beam struck his shield, demolishing it like it wasn’t even there. Lightning tore the sky apart as the Prince was knocked back, his impromptu flight ending when he struck a nearby building hard enough to leave cracks in the wall.

Wiping at a trickle of blood slowly seeping from a cut above his right eye, Shining Armor leapt back to the street below. His legs buckled beneath him as he landed, but years of training and service kept him on his feet.

Chrysalis calmly walked up to him, a slight smile playing on her face. “You’re not finished already?” she asked. “I’m not satisfied yet.”

“Oh, I’m not done yet.” Bringing his hoof up, he splashed a hooful of the dirty water that covered the streets directly into her face. The Queen grunted as she staggered back, a foreleg coming up to wipe at her eyes. Shining took advantage of her moment of weakness, rushing underneath her upraised leg and thrusting his horn directly into her chest.

His horn sparked as it screeched across her hard carapace, leaving a wide scratch that was unfortunately not deep enough to hurt her. Chrysalis’ raised leg came down, striking the side of Shining Armor’s face hard enough to throw him to the ground.

Reeling after the mighty backhoof, Shining Armor looked up to see Chrysalis charging up another spell, an unusually serious look on her face. Staggering to his feet, Shining Armor stepped back to get enough space to work up a spell of his own.

The unicorn prince and the changeling queen faced each other down in silence, the glow of their horns washing the street in green and pink light. The pounding rain and rumbling thunder was undercut by the melody of the green unicorn’s lyre, as the song she was playing built up to its final crescendo.

Chrysalis fired off her spell first, a mighty bolt of green energy that blazed a hole through the rain, cracking the cobbled street beneath it. Shining Armor responded with a double layered barrier, angled towards the sky. He knew he wouldn’t be strong enough to stop Chrysalis’ spell, so he could only deflect it. 

The ground shook and heaved under the stress of the two magnificent spells clashing, several of the watching ponies losing their footing and falling into the wet street. Windows of buildings for blocks around quivered before shattering, screams filling the air as ponies fled the falling glass.

Shining Armor gritted his teeth, the heavy stress of the spell forcing him down to his knees. His horn shining a brilliant pink, he cried out in pain as Chrysalis’ spell slid along his barrier before finally shooting past it. Successfully redirected, the green beam shot towards the sky, tearing off the second story of a building that had been unlucky enough to be in the way. Silence reigned as all present watched the rapidly dwindling spell fly into the sky and vanish into the clouds above.

A green shockwave tore the sky asunder, emanating from where Chrysalis’ blast had vanished. A rapidly expanding circle blew the clouds away, disintegrating the ferocious storm in seconds. The last cloud disappeared, revealing the evening sky behind it. The sun hung in the sky, unmoved from where it rested upon the horizon.

Moans filled the streets of Canterlot as ponies slowly forced themselves to their feet, water dripping off of their fur and running in streams through the cobblestones. Sunlight reflected off the water that covered the streets, filling the world with light.

Shining Armor lay on his side, panting for breath. His horn glowed weakly and his dropped spear flew to his side. Forcing himself to his hooves, his legs shook as they tried to collapse beneath him, and he leaned against his spear for support. His eyesight blurring and the world seeming to tilt beneath him, he was able to make out a black blur standing before him.

Chrysalis’ reverberating voice shook through his body, her sibilant hiss coming from directly in front of him. “I’m impressed you’re still standing,” the Queen’s voice said. “But it’s over. Give up.”

“No,” Shining Armor muttered, his voice barely audible. “I’m… not finished…  not yet. I… will protect…” Images of his little sister and wife flashed before his eyes, and he lost his grip on the world before him. The last thing he knew was the feeling of his chin hitting the cobbled street, splashing in the quickly draining puddles.





“Back, foul monster!” The little filly’s voice came from behind a large pile of books, carefully built into the shape of a wall. After a few seconds, a tiny purple unicorn popped out, throwing a pillow at a small white unicorn colt.

Shining Armor took the pillow to the face before shaking it off. “Wraaaaar!” he roared. “The monster’s going to get you!” Throwing his legs out and making himself as big as possible, he stomped towards the fort of books. The little filly shrieked in laughter before disappearing within the fort again, coming out with another pair of pillows.

The two combatants stared at each other for several seconds before Shining Armor was struck in the side of his head by another thrown pillow. Looking over in the direction the pillow had been thrown from, he saw a radiant pink alicorn smiling innocently at him. At her side sat a tiny purple dragon with a light green underbelly wearing a diaper. The dragon was sucking on its tail like it was the most important thing in the world, ignoring the rambunctious ponies around him.

“Get him now, Twilight,” the alicorn mare said, the innocent smile on her face not changing one whit. Taking advantage of his distraction, Shining Armor’s little sister abandoned her fort and leapt on her big brother, whapping him upside the head with one of her pillows and knocking him to the ground. Landing astride him, she took the opportunity to pummel him with the pillows as many times as she could before he managed to get a hoof in under her ribs and tickled her into submission.

Cadance watched the laughing siblings, a wide smile playing on her face. The baby dragon stopped what he was doing to look at what the noise was before shrugging and going back to sucking his tail.

Eventually, the two finished their roughhousing, both flopping on the ground on their backs side-by-side. Twilight snuggled up to Shining Armor’s side as he wrapped a hoof around her.

“I love you, BBBFF,” she said, cuddling against his white coat and burying her muzzle in his blue mane.

“I love me too,” he teased, earning him a jab to the kidneys.





Blinking the rain out of his eyes, Shining Armor fought his way back to consciousness. Most of the world was lost in a white haze, and what little he could see was horribly blurred. His heart pounded in his ears, nearly robbing him of his hearing. He could just barely hear the sound of that changeling he had been fighting saying something above him. What had been her name? He couldn’t remember. The only thing he knew was that he couldn’t stop fighting.

His rough breath wheezing through his throat and his body suffering under extreme magical exhaustion, he struggled to his hooves once again. The Queen had her back turned to him, and she didn’t notice as he picked up his spear and slowly approached her. All the surrounding ponies watched in silence as he staggered his way to the speech-making Queen, none of them wanting to say anything to alert her to his presence. With a pained wheeze, Shining Armor hefted the haft of his spear in his magical grip, stabbing the spear at her neck as hard as he could.

Chrysalis turned when she saw something flickering out of the corner of her eye, spotting the spear thrusting at her just in time. Grabbing the spear in her own magical aura, she stopped Shining Armor’s final thrust only a few inches away from her exposed throat. “I know something about defeat,” she said somberly to the haggard unicorn. “It’s time you accepted yours.”

The glow of Shining Armor’s horn sputtered and died as he lost his grip on his spear. Wavering where he stood, he unsteadily raised one hoof above his head. As the crowd watched, he swung his hoof down, aiming for the butt of the spear held in Chrysalis’ grip. Realizing too late what he intended, her scream of denial was countered by his anger-filled yell.

His hoof struck.

Hit.

Pierced.

The spear, propelled by the force of Shining Armor’s punch, broke through the strength of Chrysalis’ magical grip. As the Prince dropped into unconsciousness, collapsing on the street, the spear finished its intended course, stabbing the changeling Queen directly in the throat. With a horrifying noise, the head of the spear pierced through her carapace, erupting out of the back of her neck in an explosion of green and black.

The crowd was silent, the music of the lyre finally coming to a close. Nopony was sure what to do as they stared at the sight before them. The Prince lay on his side, roughly gasping for breath despite being unconscious. The Queen stood proud and tall, a shocked expression on her face as she stared down at the spear going right through her neck.

The surrounding changelings remained unresponsive, their blank blue eyes not revealing any of their thoughts. The Canterlot ponies began muttering among themselves, wondering what they were supposed to do now. Before the spectators could figure out what to do, a single voice tore through the noise, leaving behind an utter silence in its wake.

“That was impressive,” Chrysalis said, looking down at the unconscious Prince.





Chrysalis tapped at the spear in her neck for a moment, wondering what would be the best way to remove it. Her horn glowing brightly, she began forcing the spear the rest of the way. After several excruciating seconds, where she could hear the sounds of several of the surrounding ponies losing their supper, she finally managed to force the spear all of the way out. The spear, covered in changeling goo, dropped to the wet streets at her hooves.

Poking at the hole in the center of her neck, she let a slight frown crease her face as she checked the damage. It would take her a while to recover, but the wound would one day fade. However, she would be unable to transform until the scar had completely disappeared. As it was, the only reason she was still alive was because changelings lacked any sort of internal organs. If she tried to change into another form, the wound would remain and would probably kill her on the spot.

She turned to the assembled ponies, most of them looking at her with horrified fear in their eyes. Here, now, at her moment of triumph, she thought back in amusement at how everything had all started, and how everything had come back full circle.

In particular, her mind went back to that moment that she had first explained herself to anyone, and how it had been to that strange creature who had appeared outside her hive. “Let me tell you how the changelings came to be,” she had said.

“We weren’t always like this. Once, we were something else. I don’t know what happened, but the words of the first changeling Queen make the picture clear. We were not always a race of insect like creatures. We used to go by another name, before we were transformed. Or changed, I suppose. Cursed.”

Her mouth cracked open, and she began to speak. Her horn glowed brightly, casting a spell that would allow every pony in the entire city to hear her words.

“Once… we were called ‘Alicorns’.”

“By the ancient rights bestowed upon me,” Chrysalis proclaimed, her voice echoing throughout the entire city. “I, Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings, do proclaim myself, here and now, the sole ruler of Canterlot and the surrounding country of Equestria!”





END PART 2