Journey Of The Worst

by Cyndaquil

Chrysalis Tries Again

It was a dark and stormy night. Princess Cadance looked outside and grinned. So many great adventures started this way. Perhaps that made it a bit cliche, not that Cadance cared in the least. If something works then it will be done again. Even if something doesn’t work, you try again, until you’re sure it’s the concept and not the execution that failed. Perseverance is how progress is made after all. Stories and art were a little different. They had that give and take relationship between the needs for novelty and consistency.

She was getting lost in her thoughts again. This wasn’t a story. Later it would be a story. Right now, it was the start of an adventure.

A clap of thunder was not the thing that interrupted her musings, what did that came after.

Little Flurry Heart began to cry.

Cadance crawled next to her, allowing the baby to snuggle against the warm fur, and listen to her mothers heartbeat.

A guard knocked on her chamber door.

“I told you I was not to be disturbed.” Cadance reprimanded.

There was a pause. No pony expects so curt a reply from the normally kind princess.

“Orders from the prince. I was sent to inform you that he won’t be returning until late. He is investigating a possible security breach. There’s some broken fence in sector 12.”

Shining Armour was wasting his time. Anything from sector 12 can only be a distraction. It would be foolish to actually invade from there. Besides, doesn’t he know that she can just fly over fences?

“Fine, now go.”

The guard left, though he left wondering if her behaviour was strange enough to warrant a report.

Flurry Heart was crying once again, and Cadance did what she could do to comfort her.

There was a crack of thunder. At that same instant, the window shudders flew open. With the sudden change in air pressure, every lantern in the room lost its flame. There were twelve lanterns, and Cadance new they couldn’t have all gone out under natural circumstances.

She made a light with her unicorn magic, only to find herself face to face with someone who had invaded her castle.

“Scream and I’ll kill you!” Chrysalis whispered, holding her finger up to Cadance’s lips, in order to shush the princess.

“Hold Flurry for a minute, will you.”

Chrysalis looked at Cadance incredulously. The baby was crying, so she rocked her gently, then morphed her hoof into a type of appendage that members of her brood liked to suckle on.

Cadance proceeded to close the window, and light three lanterns. She then inspected the window, to make sure there was no broken glass. Finally she went back to Chrysalis, and took her baby.

“I could have hurt the infant.”

“You’re a mother.”

With a flash of green flame, Chrysalis transformed herself. “I’m going to steal your identity, and feed. The ponies that love you will be reduced to empty husks.”

Though she now looked like Princess Cadance, her voice still had the deeper echoing quality.

“Somethings off.”

“Excuse me.”

“When you impersonated me before, the disguise was better somehow.”

Chrysalis seethed. “It’s a transformation, not a mere disguise, and it is a perfect transformation.”

Cadance made a mocking smirk. “Okay, so step outside, and see if any pony thinks you’re me.”

Chrysalis decided to do just that, only first she gagged Cadence, then tied her up, then stuffed her in the closet. Flurry laughed, as thought it were all a fun game.

There was a sound of annoyed grunting. A few minutes later, she returned to the closet, and slipped off the gag.

“I can’t walk through the door.”

Cadance explained: “Oh yes, I remember now, there is a magic barrier on the door, its one of Shining Armour’s new security measures.”

Cadance neglected to mention that Chrysalis shouldn’t have been able to pass through the window either, unless she herself had lowered the barrier.

“How do you get through the door?”

“Most ponies have badges, I however have a security talisman built into the gold necklace I always wear.”

In a spurt of green flame, the fake necklace Chrysalis had been wearing disappeared. With her mouth, she unclasped the one on Cadance’s nape. She used something akin to Unicorn magic to drape it around her own neck.

As soon as she put it on, something happened. Cadance, the real Cadance, her left eye transformed. It became an evil eye that resembled Chrysalis’s eye when she was in her natural form.

Chrysalis eyed her suspiciously.

A pink light began to emanate from Cadance’s unicorn horn.

The necklace reacted. The band slithered like a snake. It wrapped more snuggly around Chrysalis’s neck. The pendant of the necklace slithered upwards, as though readying itself to stab Chrysalis in the eye. Then the necklace crackled with a purple magic. Interesting side note, the original concept for the magic necklace was to have it choke Chrysalis when she misbehaved. Cadance decided that was too cruel, and opted instead for a purifying magical energy, that would cause pain to any evil thing without doing physical harm.

Chrysalis demanded Cadance release her from whatever magic this was, then she pleaded. Soon she was convulsing on the floor, and begging for mercy.

When she saw that Chrysalis was about to pass out, the glow on Cadance’s horn dimmed and the pain subsided.

“Untie me,” Cadance ordered.

When she was well enough to walk, Chrysalis complied. She untied the Princess, and let her go.

Chrysalis tried turning into a snake, and the necklace shrunk into a little bow wrapped around her neck. She turned into a fly, then an amoeba, then changed directions and turned into a hippopotamus. That last one was a mistake. Though the necklace could transform to become smaller, it wouldn’t grow bigger. It was also, quite unbreakable. Chrysalis’s hippopotamus face turned blue, and she quickly returned to her bug like changeling body.

“What is this horrid magic?”

“While you’re wearing that necklace I will be aware of all that you do.” She pointed a hoof at her now evil looking eye. “If you misbehave, then I can reprimand you.”

This next part Cadance spoke very intentionally, yet she tried to sound like it just slipped out. “I was a bit worried for a second. The necklace recognizes me as its master. If your transformation was indeed perfect, then you would have been able to fool it’s magic. Obviously your transformation is incomplete.”

Hearing that last part made Chrysalis seethe with fury once more.

“Now that you’ve enslaved me, Princess of Love, what do you plan to do with me?”

Comments

[techyhalo]

Why is the first thing I think of ether have Chrysalis watch flurry or do court when Cadence is done the teaching part

[Cyndaquil]

10327602
Well, if no pony wants the job, then I guess a princess could just draft a babysitter.

[link4]

more alarming part, cadence captured chrysi without exerting effort outside of making the necklace... yet shining is losing sleep following smoke

[keybounce]

So why does Cadence have a changeling eye?

Here's a scary thought: this is an independent changling that has out-Cryssied Cryssie.

[Cyndaquil]

10461847
That is scary.

The eye is how she sees whatever Chrysalis is doing.

[PonyDragon]

Cadance made a mocking smirk. “Okay, so step outside, and see if any pony thinks you’re me.”
Chrysalis decided to do just that, only first she gagged Cadence, then tied her up, then stuffed her in the closet. Flurry laughed, as thought it were all a fun game.

Cadance: "Well, it is a fun game..."