Queen Chrysalis has a Doom Citadel

by Erised the ink-moth

I find your lack of brains disturbing

Princess Cadence stood looking out through the giant pane of glass that formed her window, staring straight ahead at the giant, floating black castle as she had done for the last several minutes since it arrived. She didn't know what to make of it, let alone what to do about it. For now it seemed to just be sitting outside the Empire's shield, but it was just so menacing with its cold iron and stone and the massive green crystals that kept it afloat; it looked like something straight out of a gothic horror novel, and it was just floating there!

"Princess... what is that thing?" Glimmer Quill, her secretary and scribe asked her as she shakily got out from under the desk in the center of the room.

"I... I don't know." Cadence answered, only to realize how bad that must have sounded to somepony looking to her for hope. "But I'm going to find out. In the meantime, go send a message to Princess Celestia about this." she turned to the guards standing next to her. "You two, go tell Shining Armor to reinforce the shield around the city. No matter what happens, we can't let ponies start to panic."

*B-wump!*

Everypony present whipped around to see what had made the sound. What they saw was unlike anything they'd seen before, except for Cadence, and it terrified her. She'd recognize one of those creatures anywhere with its black chitinous shell, gleaming white fangs, and soulless blue eyes. But most of all she could feel its presence, for deep in their hearts, they were pure evil.

"Hello." a changeling said cheerfully as it pressed it's nose against the outside of the window. "We have a Doom Citadel!"

For a second, nopony knew what to say.

"W-what?" Princess Cadence was the first to speak up.

"We have a Doom Citadel!" the changeling repeated with a smile, "All your Equestria are belong to us!" it said as it slid down the glass, leaving a trail of saliva in its wake until it reached the bottom of the pane and fell off.

Cadence narrowed her eyes. "Mother of Faust."

---

Shining tore through the streets, the guards behind him galloping to match his break-neck pace. As they got nearer to the crystal tower at the center of the city, he ordered more and more of his division to break off and secure the streets, tell ponies to stay indoors, and prepare for the inevitable... whatever that may be.

Finally he was alone as he passed through the arches that supported the tower, his wife Cadence glided down from the castle to trot beside him. "Shining! It's the-"

"Changelings, I know." Shining interrupted, "One dived right into me and said something about a Doom Citadel. It flew off before I could even react. We need to raise the Empire's defenses, it's our only chance right now."

The two stopped at the Crystal Heart, and Shining wasted no time in charging his shield spell, aiming right for the giant rotating gem. Like a conductor, the Heart ate his spell as soon as he let it loose and amplified it, spreading it over its already generated force-field. The shield that protected the city from the cold outside and projected the illusion of a clear sunny sky for the inhabitants suddenly became coated in a strong pink tinge, as though someone had poured crystal-berry jelly over it all.

Shining breathed a sigh of relief, whatever the changelings were planning in their so-called Doom Citadel, at least they'd be held back. Shields were Shining's special talent; nothing could get though them when they were fully operational.

Of course, there's a first time for everything. There was a sudden and tremendous bang in the distance, and a flaming green projectile smashed a hole right through the shield like it were made of glass before streaking right towards them.

"Shining watch out!" Cadence dove into him, shoving him out of the way just in time to avoid the green flaming ball of... changeling?

With the magic fire on it's body gone, the changeling lost it's momentum, bouncing and skidding along the crystal ground until it hit its head on the pillar supporting the Crystal Heart.

"Ow..." it moaned and rubbed its head. Then it noticed them and quickly shook off its daze. "Ha HA! Your shield will do nothing to stop us this time! Our advanced cannons get us through easily! Your efforts are futile, and our glorious Queen Chrysalis shall have her revenge!" it paused for a moment as though it had forgotten something. "What was that last thing again? Oh yeah... MWA HA HA HA ha ha!"

Shining and Cadence gave each other worried expressions.

"What are we supposed to do?" Shining asked, "We can't fight her head on, it would be one garrison against however many changelings are in that giant thing. We wouldn't stand a chance."

"We'll have to stall for time." Cadence decided, "If they can getting through our shield we need to figure out some way to protect the city."

"You know, you could always just surrender." a scratchy buzzing voice spoke up.

Cadence and Shining turned to the changeling who was sitting up against the Heart pedestal. "Oh right, you're still here."

"Well my buddies shot me out of that cannon, and I delivered the message already, sooooo... I dunno what I'm supposed to do now."

"Wait, they fired you out of a cannon? That's how you got through my shield just now?!" Shining asked in moderate shock, that impact must have been incredibly painful. "I didn't know that was something changelings could do."

"It has been ever since we built our awesome Doom Citadel!" the changeling told him gleefully. "Hey look, here comes another."

Sure enough, another changeling streaked out of the sky in a cone of flame and skidded to a halt next to the other. "Queen Chrysalis orders for you both to surrender your kingdom and your people to her!" it told them.

Then another plummeted face first into the ground next to Shining. "She says to lower your shield, or we'll..." it started.
"Blast right through it, and take your kingdom by force." another finished as it landed.

"And don't think we-"
"Won't do it-"
"'Cause we will." another trio of changelings relayed their Queen's message as they whizzed past before faceplanting into the ground.

Suddenly another changeling fell out of the sky, only its trajectory was slightly off, which lead to it impacting the top of the archway supporting the Crystal Tower. It then peeled off and fell to the ground with its brothers.

"Boom, what are you doing down here?" one of the other seven drones asked. "You're the one that fires the cannons!"

"I did it 'cause it looked like fun!"

---

Queen Chrysalis paced back and forth with an angry sneer before looking over the edge of her flying fortress again. It was cold out, and the icy wind bit at her face as she glared down at the city below. Several of her guards stood there, shivering alongside her yet ready to answer to her commands.

"Do you think they got my messages?" she asked one of the many changelings she'd dragged out with her, some of which had been complaining the entire time about how they were freezing inside their shells.

"I can't say your highness. They don't seem capable of responding in any way." one of her changelings responded.

"They can respond by dropping their shield like I requested." Chrysalis sneered "Give me that telescope!"

As she was passed the extendable piece of bronze, she noticed the changeling giving to her a questioning look. She raised a brow at him. "You have a question?" she asked as she looked through the telescope towards the center of the city where her hated enemies stood.

"W-well... your highness. If we can get through the shield already, why ask them to lower it?" her assistant asked.

Chrysalis chuckled to herself before answering. "Ah but that's the beauty of it. It's not because we need them to, it's to force them into a show of submission." she grinned "After they thwarted me in Canterlot, I wish to savor the taste of their defeat as they lose everything they hold dear. And it begins here... at their precious city, with their precious subjects-"

"AAAAAAAHH!" *K-wump*

Chrysalis had to duck for cover as one of Shining and Cadence's precious subjects came hurtling past her and slammed into the hard stone wall behind her, as well as bowling over several of her changelings in the process. She walked over, eyeing the poor guard-stallion as the ringing in his head ceased and his vision cleared.

Though he looked terrified by the sight of her, he spoke calmly and clearly. "Their majesties Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence are delivering you a warning. You and your... ahem, Doom Citadel... are to leave the territory of the Crystal Empire immediately, or we shall be forced to use our secret weapon on you. This is your only warning."

"Secret weapon?" Chrysalis mouthed wordlessly before grabbing one of her drones and stuffing him into the end of a cannon. "Get down there and ask them what in Tartarus they're talking about!"

She lit the fuze, and there was a thunderous bang as the explosion of magic-infused powder sent the little guy towards the crystal city with such force that it punched a hole clean through the shield, only for the barrier to heal itself in a matter of seconds.

Chrysalis waited impatiently for around half a minute before another of the empire's guards was sent crashing through the shield the other way. She caught this one in her magic field, leaving the crystal pegasus dangling before her.

"Well?" she said expectantly.

"W-we h-have a giant lazer! A really big one!" he stuttered under her scrutinizing glare "And we'll use it to blast you right out of the sky! Y-you know... if we have to."

---

Meanwhile on the ground, Cadence was concentrating on the floating castle of darkness above, carefully watching Chrysalis's subtle movements through the pair of heart-shaped binoculars she'd conjured up.

"Do you think they bought it?" she turned to Shining.

"Totally! This is one of the tactical maneuvers we get taught in the guard academy. It's bound to work." he said confidently.

Just then another changeling fell out of the sky and crushed a funnel-cake cart a few feet from them. "We don't believe you guys!" it yelled before trying to free his hind quarters from the condiment section.

"Diabolical... inconceivable even!" Shining shook his head in disbelief "Nopony's ever seen through that bluff! The question is, what do we do now?"

Cadence put a hoof to her chin and thought for a moment. "If I know anything about Chrysalis, she's scheming something. It might be a long shot, but let's try and find out what she wants. If we know that, we can figure a way to defeat her without having to give in."

"Right! Boys, you heard the Princess. Who wants to ask what they want from us?" Shining asked.

His guards didn't answer give an answer, but each of them took a single step backwards. All save for one.

"Twitchy! Way to stallion up!" Shining walked forward and gave him a solid pat on the back. "You've got a lot of guts for a new recruit. I respect that."

"What? Who? Me? NOW?" Twitchy said spastically "What'd ya want from me cap'n?"

"Easy Twitch. Just go up there, and ask what they want." Shining told him before hoisting him up over his head like a javelin "Up, up and away!"

"No. Wait. What? AAAAAAAAAHHHH..."

---

Coffee Cookie, or Twitch as his friends called him, was seriously beginning to question his choices in life. He questioned his choices most strongly when he smashed through the city's defensive barrier head first. "Be a guard, they said. Protect the Empire, they said. It'll be fun, they said. You don't even need to take an arrow in the kneee, they said. Worst career choice ever." he lamented as he sailed through the frigid air "I should have kept making frappechinos for stuck-up business ponies in Manehatten.

"Oh no, here it comes-AAAHHHHHH- oof!" Twitch screamed, ending with a grunt as he landed, feeling as though he nearly broke something from that last impact.

He looked up to see a freakishly tall changeling with a long blue mane looming over him.

"So little pony..." she spoke to him in an eerily distorted tone as she lifted his chin to her eyes "Have you come to tell us that you surrender?"

He stared at her, not knowing what he was even looking at. And he kept staring for a moment too long.

Chrysalis gritted her teeth. "Well? Are you here to-"

"WHAT ARE YOU?!" he shrieked, pointing a trembling hoof in her face.

Chrysalis's expression was a mixture of surprised and insulted, but she quickly returned to her normal demeanor. "What's the matter pony? Have you never seen a changeling before?" she asked Twitch, breathing on his face slightly "Well you're in luck, for you're about to see us in all our glory! After I exact my revenge on that Princess and her pet husband, we'll harvest the love from every pony in the Crystal Empire, and Conquer all of Equestria with our marvelous Doom Citadel!" she gave her big villain speech, breaking into stereotypical maniacal laughter immediately afterwards.

"Whoa, okay. No. Not good. Very not good! Don't want. Do not want!" Twitch belted out before he could gain control of his breathing again. "Okay wait. Just... wait a second. Okay?"

All eyes were on him, the changelings manning the ramparts, his fellow guards that had been detained, and especially the Queen. It made him nervous, but he did his best to stop another panic attack, at least long enough to get some full sentences out.

"Okay... so you want to take over Equestria, and you want to start with this city so you can get revenge on Princess Cadence and Captain Shining. Okay. Not okay, but okay." he said as calmly as he could muster. "But this is hardly the way to do it. I mean, look at yourself; you're a big, powerful... intimidating... changeling Queen... yeah? But you're sending messages back and forth, using us I might add. You should be staring your enemies in the eyes, talking to them face to face while you um... break their morale? Or something? Right? Am I right guys?"

Twitch looked to the other two guards who had been sent up before him, and to the changelings next in the cannon queue. "We don't want to get in the way of important evil talks... right guys?" he stressed that last part.

Nods and murmurs of agreement came quickly from both parties.

"I dunno. I like being a part of things." One changeling spoke up.

That changeling was thrown over the wall.

Chrysalis thought on it all for a second, and realized her the pathetic quivering guard before her had a point, not that she'd ever admit it though. "And what do you suggest, pony?" she asked.

"Uh, I don't know. Maybe... just set your flying castle-"

"DOOM CITADEL!" Chrysalis barked.

"Right! Sorry! Doom Citadel. Anyway, you could just like, set it down and meet with the Princess so the two of you can just talk without having anypony else to go between." Twitch finished, giving an awkward cough at the end.

Chrysalis worked over the details in her mind, forming a sinister smile as she did. "Acceptable." she decided "Go back and tell those two festering thorns in my flank to meet me aboard the Doom Citadel so we may discuss the terms of their surrender.

She then grabbed Twitch in her magic and tried to stuff him inside the cannon.

"NO! No more of that! I can just walk down there! Please!" he begged her.

"Oh fine." She rolled her eyes and set him back on the floor "Ruin all the fun."

Comments

[TotallyNotASpy]

From the description, at first I thought the doom citadel would look like the Necron monolith from Dawn of war: dark crusade.