//------------------------------//
// Words With a Changeling Queen 
// Story: A Touch of Chaos 
// by Written Out 
//------------------------------//

Canterlot. Normally the third-most active city in all of Equestria, after only Las Pegasus itself and the coastal city of Vanhoover, it was usually a true bastion of light and joy. During the day, ponies went about their day and would work hard under the warm and welcoming gaze of the Princess of the Sun. Once the night came about, many ponies chose to party or to spend time with their friends under the calm and sheltering shade of the Princess of the Moon. But ever since the changelings conquered the city, that had changed. Instead of the activity that had once suffused the city, filling it with life and love, a deep stillness lay over the inhabitants like a smothering shroud, filling hearts and minds alike with fear and anguish. The stillness spread to every corner of the glittering city, even to the magnificent throne room itself; or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the origin of the stillness was within the throne room itself, spreading out to engulf the city like a foul mood.

Queen Chrysalis, dark ruler of the changelings, hummed happily to herself as she languished on Celestia's throne. The large hole in her throat from her battle against Shining Armor still gaped open, an ugly green goop imperceptibly oozing from the open wound. The throne room was almost completely empty, containing a grand total of only six living creatures; the Queen herself, two changeling guards standing at the doors, a single pony noble shivering off to the side, and Chrysalis's meal ticket. The meal glared at Chrysalis, uncaring of the heavy chains wrapped around her neck that reached all the way to the base of the mighty throne.

"Oh, don't give me that look," Chrysalis said, not tearing her gaze away from the thing she held in her hooves. "It's unbefitting of royalty such as you. You should try to have a little more pride, even if there isn't much of you worth being proud about."

"How long?" Princess Cadance, or 'Meal', as Chrysalis was starting to think of her, snarled. "How long do you have to keep this up until you are satisfied? How much more do you plan for everypony to suffer?"

Chrysalis pretended to think as she gave the white ball of fluff she held a querying poke. "Oh, not much longer. I think my changelings are just about satiated." The ball of fluff, or the sixth living thing in the room, let out a sleepy meow as it curled up on Chrysalis's hoof. "I don't enjoy doing this to you, you know."

"HA!" Cadance's unamused laugh boomed through the throne room, and the kitten on Chrysalis's hoof dived underneath the changeling queen to escape the loud noise. "That's a laugh! You just revel in our pain and suffering, don't you? Don't even try to deny it!"

"Oh look at that, you scared him," Chrysalis chided, looking down at the kitten hiding underneath her. "It's okay, sweetie," she cooed, deliberately ignoring the infuriated Princess. "Mommy's here. She'll protect you from the big, scary, pathetic alicorn."

There was a rush of wind as Cadance's wings flared out to their full length. "Don't... You... Mock... Me." Her voice shook with suppressed rage and every word had to be forced out past gritted teeth.

"Do you want to hurt me?" Chrysalis's voice buzzed with a duality both light and malicious. She turned her attention away from the kitten beneath her to give the Princess of Love a smugly condescending look. "Go ahead. Do it. Do whatever you like; I won't even resist. But," her voice went cold, "keep in mind that anything you do to me, I will pay upon your precious husband tenfold. So, still think you can do it?"

Cadance's wings quivered as she struggled with the urge to just rush the Queen. She wanted to do it. She so wanted to do it. It would be rash, foolish, short-sighted, imprudent, and hurt her more in the long run, but she really, really wanted to punch that smug face over and over again until the changeling was left crying and begging for mercy. But the thought of anything happening to Shining Armour...

Chrysalis sneered as Cadance fell to her knees, the alicorn's wings falling limply to the floor. "Weak." She shifted her attention back to the kitten. "Just like all of your pony kin. Princess of Love. Ha. Love. So weak and pathetic. Where's your precious husband now? Where's your precious hope now? You're nothing more than food for your betters. Just like him. He understands, don't you?" She shifted her body so she was lying on her stomach, her forehooves crossing underneath her chin.

"Y-y-y-y-y-yes, Mistress," the pony standing by the wall stuttered out. His well-cared for blonde mane and tail shuddered with every movement he made, and it looked like the poor stallion was about to wet himself. He had his back was turned to them both with his nose pressed firmly against the wall. "W-w-w-w-whatever you say."

"Very good, pet," Chrysalis purred out seductively. The pure white stallion flushed with a mixture of arousal and disgust.

Cadance shook her head at the pathetic sight. "You're a disgrace, Blueblood," she scolded, though there was no heat in her voice.

"Oh, don't be too hard on the poor dear," Chrysalis teased down at the chained mare. "He came at me a little while ago, shouting and crying about how things 'used to be better', and how I'm 'just a pathetic bug, and I should my place.' Then he started to whine some drivel about how I should cater to his every whim."

There was a light smack as Cadance facehooved. "Seriously?"

"Oh, yes," Chrysalis chuckled, slowly running the tip of one hoof up and down the side of the throne. "Certainly a brave one, to challenge me like that. Or maybe he was just foolish."

"I'm surprised you didn't just drain him and be done with it."

"Oh?" The dark temptress climbed off the throne, moving towards her captive. She moved slowly, confidently, secure in her power and in the knowledge that nothing could challenge her. The past few weeks had been hard, and for a while there she hadn't been sure if she was going to survive, but so much had changed. She found it a little funny, honestly. Only a week ago, she had only been interested in making sure that someone would remember her and her race once they had all died out. But now, now she held everything she ever wanted, and nothing would take that away from her.

Her cool strides quickly brought her to Cadance's side, and she circled the chained Princess in a manner similar to a shark circling its prey. "Are you actually suggesting that I drain another pony of their love? I wouldn't have thought you would wish that fate on another of your race. Or..." She swooped in, her legs wrapping around Cadance and holding her tight. Her tongue extended out of her mouth, the thick fleshy organ tracing a trail all the way from Cadance's neck, up her jawline, and all the way up to her ear, which Chrysalis stopped to nibble at. "Have you come to enjoy these little sessions of ours?" she whispered huskily before blowing into the mare's ear with all the gentleness of a lover.

Cadance shivered at the tingle on her face, familiar enough with the feeling by now to know the changeling was feeding off of her. "Get off of me," she growled out, wiggling against the Queen's hold in impotent fury.

Chrysalis only held her tighter. "You know repressing your emotions like this isn't good for you. Perhaps we should get your husband up here, hmm?" She gave Cadance another lick, leaving another trail of slime stretching across the alicorn's face. "Maybe he'd like to watch? Watch as I play with you and humiliate you like the toy you are? Or perhaps you would be the one watching, watching as he takes me and know that, no matter what you two might do together, I'd be showing your precious husband a level of pleasure that you could only dream of showing him. No need to worry, I'd use him well."

Cadance could feel her self-control slipping. She really wanted to put the hurt on the bug holding her. Chrysalis must have realized she had pushed her captive as far as she could go for now, because the Queen finally released her after one last nibble and returned to the throne. "To answer your question," Chrysalis said as she lay back down, the tiny white kitten hopping up on her back. "I was certainly tempted to drain him. Never in my life have I met a stallion so filled up with so much love."

Cadance wiped the drool off her face, never breaking her glare away from the Queen. "So why didn't you?"

Chrysalis gave an amused, dark chuckle. "Oh, I could have. Quite easily, too. But if I wanted to get all his love, then I would have needed to transform into a certain stallion." She smiled at seeing Cadance's flat expression, the Princess seeing exactly where this was going. "And in that case, it would have been easier to just point him in the direction of a mirror and be done with it. So I decided a different punishment would be more in order; that if he was going to act like a foal, than I would treat him as one."

Cadance raised an eyebrow in Blueblood's direction - having finally wiped the slobber off her face - before turning her attention back to Chrysalis. "So you made him stand in the corner."

"So I made him stand in the corner," Chrysalis agreed. "But I think I've made my point clear. You can leave now," she told the fearful Prince. "But if you ever bother me again- He can really move when he's terrified." This last was aimed at the Princess, the Prince having cleared out of the room fast enough to leave an afterimage behind him.

Cadance shook her head  before returning her glare to Chrysalis. "You're evil." 

"That was a little out of nowhere," Chrysalis pointed out. Reaching onto her back, she scooped up the tiny kitten and started to pet it, which purred as it leaned into her hoof. "Not that I really care about your opinion, but what brought this sudden realization about?"

"You love to watch as others suffer," Cadance said. "But you have no idea what it's like. You have no idea how much you're hurting everypony!" 

Chrysalis's hoof froze imperceptibly before continuing its movement along the tiny kitten's spine. "Suffering?" she asked rhetorically. "You're the one who knows nothing about suffering. You, who's lived such a privileged life. Everything always delivered to you, and you never had to do anything for it. Simply because you had the good fortune to be born with both wings and a horn, you immediately became destined for the good life."

"It's not like that!" Cadance vehemently protested. "It's nothing like that! We work hard to make life better for everypony! We suffer just as much as anypony else!"

"Oh my." Chrysalis stared at Cadance in surprise for several long seconds. "I actually think you believe that."

"Of course I do! It's the truth!" Cadance angrily stomped her hoof, her rage at being mocked beginning to bleed through.

"Hmm." The kitten demanded scratches, and Chrysalis was silent as she gave it what it wanted. "I think I see you in a new light, Princess. I had always thought you were weak and foolish, nothing more than another pitiful pony living a soft life. I never imagined you were a blind hypocrite as well."

Cadance gasped in shock at the blunt insult. "Wh-?"

"You think you understand your subjects' suffering?" Chrysalis asked, not taking her attention away from the loudly purring kitten. "Tell me, have you ever spent a night sleeping in the dirt with nothing more than your own body heat to keep you warm? Have you never felt hunger's cruel bite, with not a bit of food in your stomach and no idea where your next meal is coming from? Have you been chased by an entire village when you were barely old enough to walk, simply because of what you looked like!? " The kitten squealed in pain from Chrysalis's hoof pushing down on it, and the angry Queen quickly forced herself to calm down. "So don't talk to me about suffering. You have no idea what real suffering is." She gave the chained Princess a speculative look. "But maybe I should show you. Maybe I should drain you of all your love, and suck you dry until your heart is as cold and black as mine."

"And become as bad a leader as you?" Cadance scoffed. "Become somepony who would lead all their followers to their destruction, and can't even see what she's doing? I would rather not."

"You don't know," Chrysalis whispered in realization. "You're completely oblivious. That’s funny. You think you're such a great leader, Princess, but you don't think of yourself as one of them. I walked the same path of death as all my kin, but you... You abandoned your oh-so precious followers. Where are you in their hour of need? Why are you here when they need you most?"

"What do you mean?" Cadance demanded. Beads of perspiration started to slide down her exterior, giving her coat a glossy shine. If her ponies were in trouble... "What have you done to them? What have you done to the Crystal Empire?"

"Absolutely nothing," Chrysalis said honestly. "But you know, I can taste it." She tilted her head back and let her mouth gape slightly open before her tongue started to flick at the air like a snake's. "Even from here, I can taste it. So very many negative emotions; all emanating from a single place in the distant north. Isn't that where your Empire is?"  She turned her head slightly. "And there's something similar off to the south, as well. Hmm, hadn't noticed that before. I wonder what it could be?"

Cadance stared at Chrysalis in shocked dismay. "What?" she repeated dumbly. "My people? My Empire? What's happened to them?"

Chrysalis shrugged. "I'm not certain. But it doesn't matter to you, does it?" She tugged on the end of the chain anchored at the base of her throne, yanking the Princess off her hooves. "After all," she hissed, "you're not going anywhere, Princess."

"My people, my ponies," Cadance muttered numbly. "They need me- NO!" She shook her head as she felt a realization sweep through her before turning a glare on the Queen that, if looks could kill, would have immediately lit up the changeling in a massive conflagration mighty enough to rival the fury of the sun. " You're just lying! This is another one of your tricks to hurt me, isn't it? You're evil, just like all your kind! You're twisted abominations; a perversion of nature!"

Chrysalis burst into laughter, one hoof pounding on the side of the throne as her joyful laughter echoed throughout the massive chamber. "Well said, Princess! There's one of those little speeches that heroes like yourself so love to give, isn't? Then I do believe I'm required to give a speech in return! You're so quick to divide the world into 'good' and 'evil'! If one would call feeding off of others in order to cling to life "evil", than what would one call giving up on life itself?! If the world would call that just, then I will fight that world with all my strength! To renounce life and choose death when the slightest possibility of hope remains is to blaspheme life itself! You call my people a perversion of nature, but there can be no greater perversion than that!"

"Your perversion of love is the greatest perversion there is!" Cadance shot back, not falling back in the slightest. "You take all that is good in the world and twist it until it's nothing more than a corrupted mockery of what it was! That's why you'll never understand the true power of love! That's why you'll never be anything more than a failure of a ruler, Queen Chrysalis!"

Chrysalis snarled. All the gentle mocking had vanished, peeled away in an instant to reveal the bubbling cauldron of emotions that bubbled just below the surface. "You go too far. I am a far better ruler to my changelings than you could ever be to your ponies. Ruling them is both my duty and my pleasure."

"Duty?" Cadance scoffed. "You don't understand the meaning of the word! I've seen what you're like! You'd throw away every one of their lives, all for your own selfishness!"

The kitten yowled in fright, scurrying away from the changeling Queen as fast as its little legs would carry it as Chrysalis pounced off the throne, the Queen landing in front of Cadance with a heavy thud. She started to prowl around Cadance, hunched low to the ground like a predator watching its prey. Her leg lashed out, kicking the chains tied around Cadance's throat. The chains chinked and jangled, creating a warped melody that filled the entire room, a melody that Chrysalis's dark voice quickly joined.

"Princess, at last,
I will make you feel my reign.
Your precious love
Has been replaced with chaaaainnns..."

Cadance sat strong and tall as Chrysalis circled her, only her eyes moving to follow her captor. As Chrysalis hit her last note, Cadance began singing over top of her.

"You might think that you're the victor, Chrysalis.
You may have me chained up like a slave, but then
Listen to me! You're the one who is going to lose.

You don't understand a single thing about love.
You blind yourself and you're unable to see it.
In mercy's name, your people you cannot feed!
They're all going to die, because of you.
They're all going to die,"

Chrysalis snarled at the last word, thrusting her face directly into Cadance's and loudly shouting at the Princess.

"You must think me mad!
You think you know about my fears?
I lead them to glory and gain.
That reason is why I rule."

Cadance started to move along with Chrysalis, circling the chaangeling ruler at the same time the changeling circled her, neither ruler backing down in the slightest. Both their horns sputtered and sparked as they ground against each other, illuminating the two in a mixture of pink and green light as they both started to sing at the same time, each of them trying to drown out the other.

"Believe of me what you will,"
"Your viewpoint can never change."

"There is a duty rulers are sworn to do."
"My viewpoint can never change."

"You are causing empty strife."
"No,"

"Your rule of Canterlot hangs by a thread."
"You think you're the only one?"

"You know nothing of this world."
"My duty's to my kin - you think you're right?"

"You're going to see all your changelings dead,"
"Your kind treats oddities to be shunned."

"But not before you tear the entire world down."
"Now the wheel has turned around,
All your power is nothing now."

"You talk of duty but you're not aware,"
"Dare you talk to me of pain,"

"For all your work, you're grasping air."
"And the price there is to pay."

"The power you seek is for your own set."
"My very birth was seen as a sin."

"You're placed over your sons."
"But I live because I chose my way!"

"I am warning you as a mare."
"You know nothing of me as a mare."

"How do you think you're going to fare?"
"Your precious peace has made you frail."

"If you have the will to hear,"
"I was seen as scum by those like you."

"You must do what must be done!" 
"I lived off of gutter food! "

"ENOUGH!" 

The large entranceway doors swung open with a resounding crash and a small changeling with clear, intelligent eyes leapt in between the Queen and the Princess. "My Queen, calm yourself!" the newcomer cried as she forced Chrysalis back. "You're acting like a foal!"

A maelstrom of uncontained emotion whirled inside Chrysalis as she looked down at the smaller changeling. She blinked, her eyelids falling down like shutters over the windows of her soul and the majority of the maelstrom was pushed back deep within her. "I... Thank you, Fallen Roses. What are you doing here?"

"The Element of Kindness has awoken," Fallen Roses reported. She gestured at the open doorway just as Fluttershy poked her head in. "You wanted to see her straight away."

Chrysalis's angry frown completely revered itself as she saw the shaking pegasus. To her mind, the mare exemplified everything that was wrong with the ponies' way of life. Chrysalis intended to take out each and every little bit of frustration she had in tormenting the frail caretaker. She strode right past Cadance without giving the Princess a second look and moved towards Fluttershy in a manner akin to a spider moving towards a butterfly trapped in its web.

Fluttershy tried to turn and run, seeing the Queen coming for her with a large predatory smirk, but it was too late for her. Something heavy struck her from behind, throwing her bodily into the throne room and snuffing her faint hopes of escape.

Chrysalis bared her fangs at the pony lying at her hooves in something that could very generously be called a smile. "One of the Elements of Harmony here, at my mercy. So much trouble, for such a pitiful thing. I very nearly couldn't save my children, all because of you and your friend, Twilight Sparkle." Her neck bent down and her cold voice whispered into Fluttershy's ears. "I wonder; when they arrive, will they be able to recognize you after what I'm going to do to you."

"Don't you hurt her!" Cadance yelled, her chains strained to their limits as she fought to try and get to Chrysalis. She grunted and strained as a faint flicked enwrapped her horn for a few second before vanishing completely. No matter how she tried, the glow wouldn't return. It was no good; she had been drained far too much.

Chrysalis gave her a disparaging look. "Just stay there and stay quiet. You can watch what I'm about to do to your husband's sister's friend, knowing there's nothing you can do about it." Calmly, confidently, she swung her head back towards Fluttershy and received something she could never have expected. 

Over her years as a caretaker of animals, Fluttershy had dealt with many fearsome beasts, including the formidable Manticore, the ravenous Vampiric Jackalope, the mystical Ursa, savage Timberwolves, and the terrifying Jackalope. Her time spent with these beasts had given her an almost sixth sense regarding the most fearsome animals known to ponykind, and an unmatched ability to read them and understand their feelings. To her, Chrysalis's emotions, brought to the fore by the Princess of Love, might have well been an open book. She didn't understand what Chrysalis was feeling; all she knew was that the monster in front of her was hurt in some way and she had no idea what to do. Chrysalis was enough like a pony that she was almost outside of Fluttershy's field of expertise.

Fluttershy wanted to help Chrysalis. At that moment, to her, nothing else mattered. She didn't see what everypony else saw. She didn't see a terrible monster that intended to cause pain and suffering to her and all her friends. In her eyes, she only saw something that needed help. She wanted to help her, but she had no idea what to do. She wanted to do make the dark Queen smile, and in her desire to so, she reached for the experiences of a close friend of hers, one who knew better than anypony else how to bring a smile to a face.

She thought to herself, what would Pinkie do?

Boop.

Chrysalis stared at Fluttershy in shocked disbelief. Her hoof slowly moved up to rub at her nose, which had just felt the presence of the pegasus' own petite hoof. "Did... did you just boop me?"

"Um... yes, sorry." Her moment passed, all of Fluttershy's fear and crushing self-doubt rushed to the fore. "I just wanted to help you..."

"Uh oh," Fallen Roses muttered inaudibly. While no one was paying attention, the changeling slunk over to Cadance's chains and started to work on the solid iron.

"Help? Me?" Chrysalis repeated. "You wanted to help me? You wanted to HELP ME!?" She roared like an erupting volcano, with enough force to shake the mighty chandelier hanging suspended from the ceiling high above them. "I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP! I DON'T NEED ANYONE'S HELP!! I'VE DONE THIS ON MY OWN! ME! I TOOK OVER CANTERLOT WITH NOTHING BUT MY OWN WILL, AND I WILL DO THE SAME TO ANYONE WHO TRIES TO CHALLENGE ME! DO YOU HEAR ME?"

Poor Fluttershy was curled up into too tight of a ball to answer. That's right, a surprisingly sarcastic part of her mind considering the circumstances thought. Pinkie would cause an international incident.

There was a snapping of metal as Cadance's chains broke free. "Well, you saw the Element of Kindness, sonowIguessit'stimeforustogo." Fallen Roses dashed past Chrysalis, barely stopping to scoop up Fluttershy before sprinting for the doors, Cadance following after her. "Gogogogogogogogogo." The trio sprinted out the open doors before the heavy iron portals swung shut with a final thud.

Chrysalis panted for air in the empty throne room; even her guards had sprinted out rather than remain and face her rage. "Deep breaths, deep breaths." She forced herself to calm down. "Can't lose control. Gotta keep it together. Must remain calm. They're all watching; everyone's watching. To lose yourself to your emotions is to lose yourself. That's what she- Hmm?" She was distracted from her musings by a tiny meow from behind the ornate throne at the back of the room. A tiny pink nose poked out from behind the oversized chair, and Chrysalis took a moment to consider the diminutive feline.

It was a tiny thing, and one of her changelings had found it wandering the streets and had brought it to her. Chrysalis had originally taken it in on a moment of inspiration; should the Element of Kindness prove to be intractable, Chrysalis had fully intended to kill the little ball of fuzz in front of her. If there was one trait these ponies shared, it was that they couldn't bear to see something innocent hurt in front of them. That was such a usable trait.

Well, that idea was now a wash. Chrysalis lay on the steps to the throne so that she was looking at the kitten as the kitten was looking at her. The kitten stared at her with its large, curious, and above all, trusting eyes. It was still scared, but it wasn't running from her anymore. Chrysalis reached out her hoof towards the kitten, which only watched as the black object that outmassed its body many times over approached. When the hoof got close enough, a small rough tongue lashed out, licking at the tip of Chrysalis's hoof. Chrysalis laughed at the ticklish sensations, a light girlish giggle, and, unconcerned if there was anybody watching, gently poked the kitten's nose.

"Boop."