"YOU DID WHAT!?"

by Dr Atlas


Oh hi Chryis

Chrysalis slowly made her way through the halls of the cave, her head pounding with pain and her body riddled with bandages. “Stupid children,” She said to herself. “thinking this was all they needed to do for my injuries…” She slumped on the side of the cave wall and groaned.  “Ugh...when I get my hooves on those children, I’ll-”

Her rambling was interrupted by chatter coming nearby. The queen craned her limp ear to the noise, she’d use the other, but it was currently covered in green slime. “Idiotic subjects, first I wake up to the sounds of music, then I get up from the calls of screaming, and now quiet talk...these bugs must think I’m deaaAAAF!”

Chrysalis fell to the floor after tripping her own broken leg, she growled and slowly got back up. “Can’t even fix a broken limb…or an eye” She leaned back on the wall again and slid down the cave. She scratched her bandaged right eye, feeling something strange coming from it. The noises started getting louder, so loud that she could almost make out what the voices said.

“I do.”

Chrysalis stopped rubbing and froze. “W-Wait...t-that can’t be…” She leaned her head to see an opening to another part of the cave, the same part of the cave where she gave her speeches. “If those bugs so much as touched that stage.

“You don’t have to.”

Chrysalis tripped again, her head falling just enough to peer through the opening, where she then saw a sight she never thought possible. “What in the name of…” Chrysalis stood back up, her body exhausted from the thirty minute walk. “I knew I should’ve put my room closer to this...t-this...Oh my queen…”

Chrysalis stood at the entrance, completely shocked to see what was in front of her. There, right in front of all her children, stood an all too familiar pink alicorn. The same alicorn that she swore vengeance on during the fall. Once Chrysalis recovered from her shock, she did the one thing any ruler like her would do. Yell.

“WHAT’S GOING ON IN HERE!?”

Everyone in the room turned to the door and gasped once they the bandaged queen make her way into the room. Chrysalis ignored all the children in the room and stared right at Cadance, her working eye twitching with anger. She was about to shout again, but a not so bright bug stopped her.

“OH! Hi Chrysalis!” Twig yelled out, waving one of his arms. “You sleep okay? Or was the cocoon not good enough. I know it usually isn’t but...oh yeah! We  also got you a princess for your plan...that is, if you have one. You have one, right?...R-Right?”

Chrysalis didn’t respond; she only took her first step into the room, making all her subjects step back. “I asked a question, children...what. Is going on. IN HERE!?” She stomped at the end of that sentence, causing even more fear to the children.

One changeling. Shawn, managed to get the courage to stand up and ask, “W-what can..how...w-wha...Q-Queen, h-how are you awake? T-The caretakers said that you were in a coma?”

“I wasn’t in a coma, you fools! I was knocked out from the fall! Can’t you caretakers know the difference!?” She took another step. “And I’m still waiting for an answer!”

“Um...well, uh…” Shawn looked around the room, hoping someone else had the answer.

“OH! OH! I know!” Twig yelled “We’re talking to the princess.”

“The princess?” Chrysalis continued looking at Cadance, who was now getting a bit creeped out from her good eye looking at her while the other one was covered in blood soaked bandages.

“C-Chrysalis…” Cadance started. “I-I really didn’t expect you to...well, come here.”

“Same to you…” Chrysalis sat on the floor, getting tired of keeping her whole body up. “What are you doing here, Cadenza? Last I saw you, you and your idiot husband blasted me and my children straight back home.”

One changeling stood up. “Technically, we fell a few miles away from home, but we were still pretty close to-”

“QUIET!” The changeling queen yelled, causing the bug to lay down in fear. “I don’t care about that, I care about why she came back!” Chrysalis extended her bent arm at Cadance, making her flinch. “Let me guess, you’re here to finish the job, is that it?”

“Finish the job?” Cadance said. “W-What are you talking about?”

Chrysalis stomped the ground. “You know exactly what I’m talking about!” Chrysalis groaned in an attempt to ignore the pain in her hoof and continued. “You came back to finish me off, you were gonna come right to me once you dealt with my children.”

“N-No I wasn’t!” Cadance protested. “I-I was just talking to them about-”

“About what?” Chrysalis asked. “About how you want to end our entire race in yet another one of your magic blasts?” She got back up on all fours and took a stance. “Because I will make sure that won’t happen.”

“We were talking about peace, Chrysalis!” Cadance yelled.

Chrysalis’s good eye shot open before she realed her head back and laughed. “PAAHAHA! Peace!? Really? You think my subjects want to discuss peace!? With you of all ponies?”

“It’s true.” Cadance looked at the still cowering changelings. “Go ahead, tell her.”

The changelings didn’t say a word, knowing it only took one for one of them to receive punishment from their mother, but through all of this, Stan managed to speak out, “I-It’s true, My queen, w-we were really-”

“WHAT!?” Chrysalis screamed, making all her subjects fall to the floor, leaving Cadance the only one standing up. “F-First you screw up at a simple mission in Canterlot and now you talk of peace to this...this...MONSTER!?”

Before Cadance could start, she had to ask. “Taking over a kingdom is simple?”

“You watch your tongue, princess.” Chrysalis coughed and took her first step toward Cadance.  “You forget where you are right now.”

Cadance turned to the changelings, seeing some of them shaking in fear. “Is there a reason why you treat them like this?”

“Like what, Cadenza?” Chrysalis almost fell from the next step, but she kept her balance.

Cadance narrowed her eyes. “I remember how you treated them in Canterlot, and from the way they’re acting now.” She threw her arm across the room, showing every changeling either laying in terror or shaking in fear. “I’m starting to think you rule over them in fear,”

Chrysalis chuckled. “So the mare finally gets it...Cadenza, listen, my queen, and her queen before that, and her queen before that, ruled over every single one of her subjects with an iron hoof and you think I should do it differently?”

“I don’t see why not.” Cadance said, knowing that was only half true, she knew treating anyone like this was horrible, but she still knew they were changelings that just tried to take over Canterlot and ponynapped her again.

Chrysalis took another step, now only a few yards away from Cadance. “They’re not all perfect little angels, princess. They’ve done things…”

Cadance stood her ground, knowing she still had magic to back her up if this situation took a turn for the worst. “What ‘things’.”

“For starters, the tables and chairs you see around you have been-”

“Stolen.” Cadance finished. “Or ‘borrowed without asking’ as one of them put it.”

Chrysalis turned to her children. “That’s what you told her!? How braindead are you bugs?”

“W-We’re not that stupid.” Shawn said, knowing that wasn’t true.

Chrysalis huffed. “I suppose you told her about our plan, didn’t you?”

Cadance was surprised to hear this. “Plan? What plan?”

Carson nodded. “Yeah, queen, what plan? We didn’t really have one when you went into a co- or...passed out. B-But we did try to come up with one!”

Chrysalis rolled her good eye. “I’ll give you that one. Trying to come up with something while I’m asleep, that’s loyal, but what isn’t loyal is talking to this pony.” Chrysalis continued glaring at Cadance.

Shawn took a step toward her. “B-But we were just talking about-”

“I already know!” Chrysalis yelled, making him take two steps back. “You were talking about how you want to surrender to her and every single one of her own subjects.”

Cadance raised an eye. “B-But I don’t have any-”

“Don’t lie to a liar, Cadenza! You are a ruler, and when you look at someone as weak as me, you just want to kick them down and have them begging to show mercy.” Chrysalis finally stood a few feet away from the princess, giving her a good look at the few scars on her body.

Cadance noticed most of them and asked, “I’m guessing you landed on the right side of your body?” Cadance asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

Chrysalis only continued looking down at her. “That fall broke my legs, scar the side of my body, and smashed my eye against a rock!” She pointed at said eye. “So yes, I did fall on my right side.”

Cadance gulped, knowing that was stupid, “Um...w-well, I-I’m sorry to hear that.”

Chrysalis narrowed her good eye. “I’m the only one who rules these changelings, Cadenza. And I will do as I please to every single one of them. If you think you can do better than me; you are sadly mistaken.”

Cadance shook her head, knowing that was a downright lie. “You’re a horrible queen! You risk your own children to fight and almost got them killed!”

Chrysalis only shrugged. “Sacrifices need to be made, even after a defeat.”

“Brutal…” Stan whispered.

“And at least I’m not like your precious Tia” Chrysalis yelled. “who doesn’t even plan out her own attacks, or attack at all for that matter. All I ever hear her do is laze about and wait for her ONE STUDENT AND HER FIVE STUPID FRIENDS to deal with it!”

Cadance dropped her jaw while Shawn shrugged. “Well, she’s got ya there, princess.”

Cadance was completely flabbergasted with that statement. “T-that’s not true! Celestia doesn’t-”

“If I were her,” Chrysalis continued. “I would’ve destroyed her opponents on the spot, not spare them with imprisonment! That’s the right thing to do.” Chrysalis looked away. “The only reason I spared you was for my backup plan.”

Cadance gritted her teeth. She was getting sick of how this queen thinks. “Killing Discord, o-or even her own sister, isn’t right! It’s not something that a good ruler would do! She’d show mercy!”

“So it was her sister…” Shawn said to himself. “Not her own nightmare…”

Stan started shaking. “Y-You mean, S-She didn’t kill Discortalentilo? B-But the twins said-”

Shift snickered. “Oh yeah, I remember that story.”

Lift nodded. “You mean the story of how Discortalentilo fought the hatchling eater.” He laughed. “Yeah, I remember how we told it. That was awesome.”

Chrysalis laughed. “Oh, I doubt I would show this ‘mercy’ you speak of, I am a ruler of vengeance, one who doesn’t care who she steps on, only caring if they die under her hooves.”

Cadance felt a chill run down her spine from that small speech. “Y-You’re evil…y-you don’t deserve to wear that crown! Y-You don’t deserve to be a ruler!”

Chrysalis only adjusted her crown and snickered. “You forget, Cadenza.” Chrysalis inhaled deeply and said, “I’m the only ruler they’ve got!” The queen yelled before hacking right in front of Cadance’s face.

Cadance wiped the changeling’s spit of the side of her face. “Then how about they get a new ruler!” Cadance yelled back.

Every changeling in the cave raised their eyes. “W-We can do that?” Twig asked, standing back up on all fours.

“No! You can’t!” Chrysalis yelled. “It’s just me, myself, and I who rule over all of you!”

Twig grabbed Shawn by the scruff of his neck of hoisted him to his hooves. “But Shawn did a pretty good job of leading us. Right Shawn?” Shawn answered with a yelp and hid behind Twig. “Is that a yes?”

Shawn was about to say no, but Chrysalis flared her horn and dragged the scared changeling right in front of her bandaged face. “Is it?” She said coldly.

“U-U-u-u-h...uh...I...I’m...a-uh…” Shawn was too afraid to answer, knowing whatever he said, the queen would most likely do something even worse than what the alicorn would do.

“You need to understand something, you RUNT!” Chrysalis grabbed him by the throat, making everyone gasp. “I’m big; you’re small; I’m smart; you’re dumb; I’m right; and you’re wrong...and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it, so...” She threw him back into the crowd, landing right in front of Cadance. “I suggest you listen to what I say, learn your place in this swarm, and make this alicorn wish she never stepped hoof in this cave.”

Shawn tried getting up, but Cadance did that for him with her magic; getting him off the floor and into a sitting position next to her. “Believe it or not, Chrysalis, I didn’t bring myself to this cave, it was one of these changelings who brought me here.”

Chrysalis was surprised by this. “Really now, a subject did something smart for once? Who?”

“I brought her here with that bag.” Twig said while pointing at said bag. “Oh yeah, that reminds me!” He then ran over to it and dug around inside.

Chrysalis smiled. “It seems that the dumb one followed my orders without me even asking.”

Once Twig heard that, he poked his head out of the bag. “W-What?”

“Orders?” Shawn said. “A-Are you saying that you were gonna make us ponynap her again.”

Chrysalis laughed. “And here I thought Twig was the stupid one.”

“S-Stupid…” Twig said in a tone of sadness.

Shawn looked back and forth at the queen and Cadance, knowing a fight would soon follow. “Come on, Shawn.” He thought. “Use that stupid bug brain and think of...stupid?” Shawn turned to Twig, seeing him cradle some shiny brass object in his hooves.

Shawn slowly stepped out of the way of Chrysalis’s path and walked up to Twig. “Twig, you okay?”

Twig sniffed. “She...she still thinks I’m...I’m…”

Shawn patted his back. “Twig, I need you to listen to me, okay?”

Twig gulped. “O-Okay…”

While they talked, Chrysalis continued making her way to Cadance. “Now that we have her,” Chrysalis continued. “we can start our plan once again!”

Cadance rolled her eyes. “And what brilliant plan do you have in mind, Chrysalis?”

“We just try again,” Chrysalis said. “but this time, with planning.”

“W-Wait, what?” Carson said as Shawn shoved Twig out of the crowd.

“That’s right, this plan will work the second time! The first time was just a fluke, and with careful planning, it will succeed!” She yelled as Twig smiled at Shawn.

The changelings, and even Cadance, looked at her in confusion. “Um…” Cadance inspected the queens head. “You didn’t hit yourself too hard on the head when you fell, did you?”

Chrysalis just laughed. “You really think I’m joking?” Cadance nodded, making Chrysalis laugh again as Twig started walking around the crowd. “I being serious, Cadance, I reformulated this plan and made sure it will work! All I need is a princess as my hostage.” Chrysalis pointed at Cadance, who only looked at her in utter disbelief. “Then, with you out of the way, I will be the new ruler of the empire!”

Cadance started feeling like she did with the changelings, being more concerned than intimidated with her. “Um, Chrysalis, are you sure you’re head is alright? I don’t think you’re thinking stra-”

“I will rule over the land once I’ve regained my power!” Chrysalis interrupted, standing as tall as she could. “I will take control of everypony in this world, I will bring fear and terror to all across the land, I will be queen of Equestria!” Chrysalis’s eye burned in anger as Twig came up behind her.. “AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I’M GONNA BE!?”

*THANG*

Everyone gasped as Chrysalis fell to the floor, revealing Twig behind her; his tongue stuck out of the side of his mouth with a saxophone in his hooves. “Sleepy?” Twig asked the now unconscious queen.

In the mists of shock, Shawn was able to say, “Nice job, Twig.”

“Did I get em, Shawny?” Twig asked.

“T-T-Twig!?” Stan yelled. “W-Why did you just knock out our queen!?”

“Because our new leader said so.” Twig pointed at Shawn, who laughed nervously.

Cadance walked to the unconscious Chrysalis. “I’m guessing you told him to do this?” She asked Shawn, who looked up to the ceiling innocently.

“Maybe. I was just doing what everyone else was thinking.” He pointed at Chrysalis. “I’ve never seen Chrysalis act this crazy before. None of us have, right?” Shawn looked over all his siblings, almost every single one of them nodded. “Exactly. She wouldn’t come up with a plan like that. She’d start from scratch and try something new, not tweak it.” He came up to Cadance. “And you were right, princess.”

Cadance only smiled. “I was right about what?”

“About us being helpless without a leader, about us doing things wrong...and about her.” Shawn pointed at Chrysalis, whose ear flicked afterwards. “She isn’t a good ruler, and I don’t think anything will ever change that.”

“Are you sure?” Cadance asked as Chrysalis began to open her good eye. “Maybe there’s some good in her.”

“I’m positive.” Shawn said. “The only good thing in her was-”

“Mhhhmhhgr…”

Cadance and everyone else stepped away from the now rising changeling queen, her head was leaning down and her body was finding it hard to get up. “Whoops,” Twig said. “didn’t knock her out in the knockout spot. heheh...uh, is that bad?”

“Very.” Shawn said. “Twig, You need to-”

Chrysalis raised her head, making everyone gasp once they looked at her face. “Ugh...C-children?” Chrysalis said in a much softer tone of voice. “Wha...w-what’s wrong?”

Shawn stepped back. “Q-Queen?”

“Yes, child, what is...oough…” She stumbled to the floor again. “Why is my head so...so clear now…”

“Clear?” Shawn looked at his siblings, all of them looking at their queen in amazement. Seeing that her bandage had fallen off her eye, revealing it to be a different color.

“Um...Chrysalis?” Cadance said. “Are you okay? Why’s your broken eye purple?”

“Cadenza?” Chrysalis stood over the alicorn, her face plaster with shock. “I-Is that you?”

Cadance looked back at Shawn. “What’s wrong with her?”

The changeling shook his head. “I-I dunno, her eye is really weird.”

“Hey…” Shawn looked at Twig. “you don’t think…”

“I never think.” Twig said proudly.

Without warning, Chrysalis wrapped her bandaged arms around Cadance and pulled her in for a hug. “I-I-I’m sorry...I’m sorhehehheeeeh...I-I didn’t I...I wasn’t...I...I…” The queen closed her eye and did something none of her subjects had ever seen her do.

“Is she...crying now?” Stan said.

“I...I think so…” Twig cocked his head. “I don’t think eyes water like that unless you’re flying really fast or sad about something.”

“Twig, I think you hit her soft spot.” Carson whispered.

“There’s a soft spot on her?” One changeling asked.

“Apparently.” Shawn continued looking at Chrysalis in amazement, wondering how she switched from being angry at everyone to sobbing at the spot.

While the embrace between the changeling queen and pony continued, Cadance started thinking “If she’s really like this...then maybe…” She smiled. “Hmmm, I think this could work.”

Chrysalis pulled away and rested her hooves on Cadance’s shoulders. “W-What could work?”

Shawn walked up to them. “Yeah, Princess, what are you talking about?”

Another changeling sat up. “Weren’t you talking about us going somewhere?”

“Or having some plan?” Another asked.

“Or were you just making it up?”

Cadance grinned, knowing full well that Chrysalis probably wasn’t herself anymore, but someone better, someone who would listen to her, someone who could help, not only her children, but others. she then looked at all the changelings, seeing every single one of them were waiting for her to speak.

So, with no time to spare, Cadance said something that she’d never thought she’d say in her life.  “Queen Chrysalis; changelings, I have a proposition for all of you.”