The Hasbryx

by Reizthefakebrony

Chapter 2: A literal villainous rescue.

The very recurrent thought that will rang in Chrysalis mind since her previous defeats is the same: Could it be worse than that?

She couldn't even have the liberty to low her guard and take a rest for a second or three hours. Chrysalis had just woken up from her melancholic and stress induced nap then suddenly a upsetting, deadpan, creepy pony with the sunglasses managed somehow to knock out her entire army and rendered her unable to react.

Deep inside Chrysalis was a little happy that her subjects were still alive to worship her, because otherwise she would have became furiously insane and created some imaginary subject out of her despair inducing lack of servant to deceive and order around. She knew very well that such prediction was exaggerated, but she had a nightmare about that possibility during her first days after being dethroned.

With her magic being sealed and her back legs being blocked by the two magic circles, she couldn't even run or fly. Chrysalis was tempted to glare fiercely at him. It was natural for a very imposing villain to act like that to remind who tried to oppose her who is in charge. But there's pretty much nothing she could do right now since the pony in front of her can really oppose her, and how. Her own forelegs were the only free limbs at her disposal, but unfortunately he was a little far away from her range, so she couldn't even punch him or stomp him.

But defeat her wasn't in his agenda. His plan was a very sinister one.

"So," Brounchebag began with his deadpan tone. "Can you start to explain your reason to refuse Starlight Glimmer's offer?"

"The same Starlight that i want to trample and slam against the wall?"

"Take that failure as a opportunity."

"But i don't want to redeem myself. I don't care want Hasbro has ordered to do to me, such act goes against my role as a villain. I'm, after all, the hero of my story. This kind of compromise is the same thing as going Out of Character. I have my own reason to be behind this insectoid body of mine."

"Your "pseudo origins" about being from a rotten seed in a swamp under a graveyard depicted in the comic is not canon, you know?"

"My canon origins aren't established, but the other one is still good. Besides, what makes your bosses think that they will reform every single villain that they creates with they own hand?"

The mysterious pony took a moment to think about her question as a smirk marked his face before disappearing shortly after.

"Well, let me illustrate the reason of our worries regarding you and the other equestrian villains in general."

Brounchebag lifted his hoof toward the wall at his left. A strange azure light suddenly appeared, expanding until it assumed a square form. Various images from the past event started to materialize inside of the square. The weirdest part began when the images where showing Rainbow Dash during a Daring Do's convention, which made Chrysalis very perplexed.

"What is the meaning of this?" Chrysalis asked. "No, really. What has this to do with me?"

"Before your fall, that event managed to create a singularity that my superiors hadn't predicted."

"Oh, come on, is just a plebeian convention."

"The point is that by airing that episode, they had accidentally caused a phenomena that resulted the TV show and most of it's fandom's groups ceasing to exist as separate entities and becoming a single entity, just like a pastryfarian confetti monster that acted as a hive."

Upon hearing these words, Chrysalis couldn't help but feel really disturbed as her eye was twitching in response to her actual mood. Her face was contorting itself for the chilling analysis given by the pony.

"Y-you cannot be serious..." she said in a very freaked out tone.

"I'm not just saying that all the fans became one with the TV show. That would be stupid."

"Maybe your analysis is stupid." she retorted.

"Point is... We had obtained major control on both most of the factors regarding the various archetypes of fans in the fandom and the majority of the events happening in Equestria in general, including the villain's development."

"Villain development!?"

"Which has do with you, miss Alis. You should have understood that everlasting villainy will eventually result into absolute boredom."

In that moment a very horrible scenario flashed in her mind, causing her to tremble. Her captor hasn't finished his explanation yet, but she could feel through her fear the implications that he was going to expose to her.

"No.... No, you cannot possibly mean that!" she yelled, putting the emphasis on the entire sentence.

"Why is everypony taking this possibility as a plague?" said Brounchbag, still impassive. "You will not die. In fact through your redemption, in one second, your character will be recycled as a good guy after your villainy has outlived our usefulness."

"... Y-y.... your USEFULNESS?"

"After a while your villainy will have spent all it's effectiveness on the faithful fans of the show, so this kind of recycling is required."

"What make you think that ALL the people, my FANS included, would approve all of your decisions!?" she asked angrily.

"It's a matter of time. Sure, there will be some other people completely devoted to you as a villain, but, at that point, they will be just a minority. The rest would had already get used to.

Chrysalis hasn't felt so afraid and so shocked in her entire existence. "Existence" was the word that raced in her mind along with other nightmarish thoughts. That was her real first time that she was feeling like this. Her dignity could at least thank her to not having start to crying or even pleading him for her life. Chrysalis struggled to remain calm and stop the trembling, but then a very paranoid theory managed to slide under the door of her mind.

"I... I can't believe what i'm going to think but.... That cannot be denied.... Is this story going to tell me that the entire Equestria was inside a computer for this whole time and all of the events in this world's history and the decisions taken by Hasbro were just taken by emotionless entities, controlling every episodes of the show, lore of the series and the various sides of the Internet at their vantage.... That is ridiculous. The last thing that could happen is me being the one and then BANG, i would have gone Out of Character..."

Chrysalis shuddered about the last part of her reflection and slowly returned her attention to the stallion.

"What are you trying to obtain? Appealing the audience?" she sarcastically asked.

"Not exactly," corrected Brounchebag. "though that is also part of the job. The point is that we cannot afford some villain's death in our series. And, no, we are not under Disney jurisdiction... except for the movie with the Storm King, obviously. But here, in the main show, we have to ensure to have the villains being defeated and then being eventually reformed since the series has a established Harmony to maintain. Discord is a good example of reformed villain."

"Hey, that doesn't explain almost everything. By the way, let me tell you, insipid invader. Nightmare Moon has a very legit reason to be reformed, but even thought that death isn't allowed, that doesn't mean that every single villain has to be reformed... or recycled, though that word is till freak me out at this point."

"You don't see the picture, miss Alis. Even overused villain turned into good guys has their own purpose."

Chrysalis suddenly burst out in laughter for a brief moment. Brounchebag remained impassive and yet he couldn't even hide his aura of confusion. Not even his sunglasses.

"Miss Alis, i understand the crude meaning behind these words." he said. "But why laughing in despair already?"

"Ahahah-woo." Chrysalis barely contained her laugh. "No, you don't get it. I'm laughing because you screwed up on a little detail. Could we talk about Sombra, the one villain that had been killed off by Princess Cadence activating the Crystal Heart and disintegrating him through a shockwave?"

"What are trying to demostrate?"

"Well, he died and yet he managed to resurrect himself through some shadows mcguffins in the comic universe. He even joined forces with me, which is not canonic, and was almost owning Twilight and her friends. But in the end, after i fled because of one of his controversial decisions, he was then reformed."

"Yes, but-"

"I know, not canonic." interrupted Chrysalis. "But remember, he died in the main series and you don't say nothing about that, despite you claiming to keep villain death out of the show. What i don't understand was you way to use his character."

"..."

"Why your superiors had reformed him in the comic universe and not in the main one?"

Brounchebag doesn't respond. The stallion kept his silence as the glowing square and the depicted images disappeared from the their sight.

"Well?" she sarcastically asked.

".... Sometimes Hasbro can be very glitchy."

Chrysalis gently hoof face palmed and groaned at that lame justification, which was made even worse by Brounchebag take his own said excuse very seriously. As she was just about to answer another question, a little sharpened pain was stinging on her chest.

She looked down and saw a needle made of energy piercing her before disintegrating itself into fading light particles, leaving no wound what so ever.

"Hey, what are you-AAAH!"

Chrysalis was suddenly interrupted by a surge of magic infesting her head, slowly rewriting her mind. She suspected about his sinister measures about her reformation, but she couldn't imagine that he would take even the extreme ones.

"I'm sorry to use this barbaric method but i don't have the whole day." he nonchalantly said.

"Oh, really?! I that your gimmick?! Maybe i.... i was wrong about my decision. I should ask Starlight-NO! Chrysalis, whatever is infesting your mind, do not fall for it.... However Thorax wasn't wrong about shari-Nooooo...... Phew, that was close."

Chrysalis was struggling to resist this mental alteration and keep her identity in one piece. She fiercely glared at him with a very angrily disgusted expression.

"Y-You won't.... get... ah... away... arrg... from this!" she muttered.

"But just think about it, miss Alis. What does villainy truly means to the other ponies. Like Twilight, like you or any of us."

"What?"

"What reason has villainy to exist if it cannot be purified, corrupted and then purified again together into the equilibrium of after rather than in the now."

"Can you just shut up? Is that forced brainwash even enou-"

"Have you considered, miss Alis, how many possibility you could possibly obtain from that particular moment of there?"

Chrysalis could feel her mind loosing to that unwanted forced redemption. She could see it in her mind. Her inner being transformed into something very inappropriate and disgusting against her nature. Like a mirror, she could see her face and body transforming inside her subconscious. That was her identity being screwed up. Her whole being was about to crumble, but then a mysterious force halted the brainwashing magic as darkness engulfed her entire mind.

She wasn't sure if thank her for saving her mind and sanity or yell at it for the sudden intrusion in her psyche. She hasn't the time to ask what is going on two eyes, resembling that of a crude snake, glanced on her. A very dark female voice started to talk inside her head.

"Just in time. Another minute and your character would have been killed for good... which is really disgusting."

"H-Hey! Just because you saved my mind doesn't mean that i would thank you!" shouted Chrysalis inside her head.

"Is understandable that you react like that since you're a villain, but not get cocky with me. Besides, i will take the presentations for later after this travesty."

"What do you want from me!? I don't know what is you plan and what kind of pawn i may be to you, but i will not fall for that!"

"Is agent Brounchebag with you?"

"Yes, he is. He managed to beat my entire army and made me powerless in every single way, which is far more humiliating. This impudent pony struck me with a strange needle and now it's magic is brainwashing me. What's worse is that he ignored my suffering while making some nonsensical speeches instead to talk to me like a real po-ehm... queen."

"That's enough. Now if you want escape, there's a solution."

"I can believe that i'm having this conversation."

"You better believe it."

"And what is this solution?"

"He said he came from you know what?"

"Well... Yes. So what?"

"Brounchebag is obsessed with Hasbro's logic. However he's also bound by the logic by another company that is partnered with the same one, so you have to exploit it against it."

"Can you see that i'm at his very mercy right now?"

"But you have your hooves. That is what you had to do: Pick up the object beneath you and put it in front of you face. My protection doesn't have the whole day, so you better hurry."

After that, Chrysalis instantly returns to her senses as the annoying menace continued to spout speeches at random. The good thing was that the brainwash was blocked by that mysterious force from before. A black aura started to rise from the ground beneath her as Brounchbag was even noticing that. He continued to talk, spouting any nonsense possible while struggling to give them some senses. Chrysalis looked down, gazing upon the source if the black aura. It dissolved from her sight, revealing the most improbable thing that should not even appearing in Equestria: the card of Akroma, Angel of Fury from Magic The Gathering being standing in vertical position.

Chrysalis' expression instantly became a very baffled one with a vein suddenly popping up. The situation was already ridiculous, but that piece of cardboard that the voice inside her head had considered "the solution" just made this whole thing even demented.

"You cannot be serious." Chrysalis commented irritated as she looked toward Brounchebag and then back to the card again. "Well... i guess i have no other alternatives."

She took the card with her hooves with was very perplex and mistrustful face. This whole scene was something that even herself could find even ridiculous, but then she has to confront this surreal reality. The queen of the changelings has no choice, but doing this "very moronic" leap of faith. Or, in her case, a card of faith.

"Here we go." Chrysalis said with a very resigned tone.

"What do you mean?" said him. "I'm not finished yet."

Chrysalis lifted the card in front of her face with the Magic's logo pointed toward her captor and closed her eyes to not see anymore ridiculous things or her eventual demise. She was expecting him to laugh, but instead he flinched in shocked confusion.

"Oh no. I can't believe the queen can pull it off." he said, still with his own deadpan tone. "Miss Alis was there, and now is gone.... But maybe she used a Instant to make herself invisible, otherwise i could not explain this card being here."

"What is he talking about?"

"Maybe i should check what card is."

He walked toward Chrysalis, who was hiding her face behind the card while keeping her eyes closed. She slowly opened one eye, looking at Brounchebag as he tried to reach the piece of cardboard through the use of his secret magic, but then the pony stopped his magic and started to complain in denial.

"Aaaarrgh! That would be against Planswalker's commandment. She must be somewhere else." he muttered.

Chrysalis quickly opened her other eye as he was trotting out of the room. Much to her surprise this demented plan worked, which success was made obvious by the magic circles dissolving into nothingness, releasing her back legs. She glanced at them and then back to the corridor. Chrysalis could even feel her magic returning to herself, so she wanted to confirm that until she was interrupted by her captor's voice.

"Miss Alis!" his deadpan voice and the clopping of his hooves were echoing through the halls. "I'm not finished yet! We have some many things of you that i need to fix! Just tell me where you are, because i don't have the whole day!"

Chrysalis slowly released the piece of cardboard from her grasp and let it fall. She slowly walked away from her pseudo throne, only to stop in reflection. Her face was a really shocked one, really fitting the situation. Chrysalis couldn't even believe that her captor fled and accidentally set her free so easily.

"I can't believe it that he followed such stupid logic..... It's a moron." she said surprised.

Chrysalis couldn't even take a break that a dark portal started to manifest itself in front on her light.

"Now wha-AAHH!" she couldn't end her obvious question that the brainwashing surge from before was kicking in once more.

This time it's magic was so strong that the world around her was spinning too. She was holding her head, shaking it in desperation, trying to remind herself who she is. The ruler of the changeling was on the point to loose her sanity before loosing her identity. This until the dark female voice started to talk again.

"Imbecile. Just jump through this portal already."

Without wasting time, she immediately jumped through the portal, falling into a seemingly endless abyss. After a while she crashed against the ground, taking only little damages and a headache despite the fall being really deep. Chrysalis rose up and massaged her head to alleviate the pain a little. Chrysalis looked around, nothing but pitch black except for the illuminated part where she is now. Then a painful sensation burned from the back of her neck.

"AAARGH! What the..... Oh?" Chrysalis could feel her head being relaxed. The brainwashing surge was somehow completely removed from her mind. She sighed deeply in relief, but remained still annoyed for the whole thing that was happening to her.

There was nothing else in this place but silence, until it was filled by the multiple sounds of clopping hooves coming toward at her. Chrysalis wouldn't try any reaction, so she remained still and looked around, just to see what happen next. Most of sounds suddenly stopped, leaving only a few ones to continue that noise.

After a short time, two ponies appeared in front of her as they stepped into the illuminated part that revealed their oddly appearances. One of them was a very tall black mare with her face being colored in light gray, resembling a alicorn. Alicorn wasn't the correct word since she has black and purple dragon wings instead of the feathered ones and has two curved dragon horn pointed toward the backside while not having any unicorn like horn at all. Her height was slightly surpassing Chrysalis's.

The other one was a young stallion wearing a archdeacon dress and hat and is at the size of a normal, average pony. Chrysalis could try to take a good look at them, but there's one detail that was bothering her and made her questioning about their intentions: Both of them were wearing sunglasses.

"Oh, please. Not again." Chrysalis quietly complained before shouting. "What are plotting now."

"YOU STUPID IDIOT!" shouted with a demonic voice the taller mare, showing very sharpened teeth and almost scaring her. "GET DOWN FROM YOUR HORSE FOR A SECOND AND TRY TO LISTEN TO ME!"

They remained silent for a bit. The taller mare was looking at Chrysalis with a very annoyed tone. The insectoid queen could feel her gaze piercing most of her will. The fact that the intimidating gaze of the fake alicorn was hidden by the sunglasses wasn't helping very much.

"What the..." Chrysalis murmured.

"Let's just get down to business already." said the taller mare with a normal and yet still dark voice."

"L... look, i'm having a very bad day. Just tell me who you are."

"We are villains like you, coming from different worlds... Who had refused to reform themselves."

"What? There are others?!"

"You cannot even imagine how numerous are our ranks."

"You see," the stallion began. "We are facing a very dreadful and demented menace: the pretense to take a villain that i good in his role and turning into a good guy. You world is facing a very scary example: the pretense to reform villains non stop to not killing them, recycling them as other characters and turning them into some almost soulless abominations."

"Ehmm.... What about that insipid pony?" asked Chrysalis.

"That is the one leading this insanity." said the taller mare.

"Can you just announce yourselves?"

"That was my intention. My name is Malefeus, and this stallion on my left is my partner, Frollity."

A very awkward silence fell upon them. Chrysalis was looking at the taller mare with a very "what the heck" expression. Her predictions seemed to came to reality. And that was the problem.

"Seriously?" Chrysalis asked in disbelieve. "These are your names? Could you at least be original?"

"At least i am not calling myself Starlight Glimmer." retorted with a tranquil, formal tone Malefeus.

"Hey, don't even remind me of her! I'm still infuriated after that!"

"..."

"So, let me guess. You will ask me to join in your cause. Look, i-"

Chrysalis realized to have left something important in her castle. The source of her self centered royalty and the only thing who can worship her.

"NO!" she shouted. "My children... Don't tell me-"

"Yeeeeah, that is really messed up." said Frollity with a dismayed and yet monotone tone. "Brounchebag would had already reformed them or worst of all... assimilated."

"W-w-what?... Assimilated!?"

"It means having them turning into him and make them do his same job... Well, at least they weren't walking around while quoting "resistance is futile"."

The queen of the changeling could feel something inside her head snap, metaphorically. Broken by the loss of her servants, covered her face with both her hooves and started to emit a very suffocated scream.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrghhh!"

"I know. It sucks." Frollity commented.

"Shut up." muttered Chrysalis, suffocating her words.

"If you stop behaving like a wanka, maybe you'll any possibility to take back your subjects." Malefeus said, causing Chrysalis to lower her hooves away from her face.

"Really?"

"What you had to do is following me."

"..... I knew it. And what do you want me to do?"

"Continuing you path as villain which is your destiny."

"Could this day be even worst!?"