Chapter 5
The next morning arrived just on time for Twilight. She woke a few minutes before her alarm went off, showered, brushed her mane, and headed downstairs. Chrysalis and Shining Armor were already up, nuzzling affectionately while working on breakfast and sharing a newspaper. Spike was sitting at the table across from them, half of a gem in his claw, his mouth open, a look of combined fear and disbelief on his face.
Oh, poor dragon, he thought yesterday was a dream, or nightmare, or something. He must have seen them come out of the spare room together.
“Good morning, Twilight!” Chrysalis said, eyes lighting up. “I must ask, what is that bed made of? I haven’t had such a restful sleep in ages.”
“I’m with my wife on this one. That bed was just… amazing,” Shining added.
“I… may have magically enhanced your sleep a little after I realized this was still technically your honeymoon. I didn’t want to think about… you know,” Twilight explained. Shining Armor and Chrysalis shared a look and mouthed an “oh,” before Twilight addressed Spike.
“As for you, my little dragon, snap out of it!” Twilight magicked the spines on the side of his face, snapping Spike back into reality.
“Twilight! Chrysalis! Shining Armor! Bedroom! Breakfast! Nice! Why?” Spike tried to use language and generally failed, getting out a series of subjects but no real sentences. Regardless, Twilight was used to Spike’s language breakdown when he was surprised and/or scared, and knew exactly what he was trying to say and what his questions were.
“No, Spike, yesterday was not a dream. Yes, this is Shining Armor and Queen Chrysalis. No, Shining Armor isn’t still brainwashed. No, Chrysalis isn’t evil. Yes, they’re married. Yes, they’re ok with it. Yes, they spent the night here last night. Yes, Chrysalis is nice. That better?” Twilight finished, rolling her eyes.
Spike nodded slowly, and resumed eating his breakfast, eyes never leaving Chrysalis. The black mare squirmed under his gaze, trying to hide behind the newspaper with her husband. Every time the couple turned a page though, there was Spike, staring at her.
“Is… he always like this?” Chrysalis asked Twilight, who was busy making her own breakfast. This was the Changeling Queen, the ruler of an entire race by birthright, uncomfortable under the attentions of a child. The fact that he wasn’t blinking may have affected this.
“Is he always like what?” Twilight asked, returning with a bowl of oats in her magical grasp. Upon seeing Spike, she realized exactly what Chrysalis had meant. “Spike! We’ve been over this with Rarity! Staring isn’t polite! And for the love of Celestia, blink! It’s really creepy when you don’t!” Spike merely laughed.
“Ok, Twilight. I’m sorry, Queen Chrysalis. It’s just… you’ve got pretty teeth,” Spike said, a slight smirk still adorning his face.
Chrysalis was taken aback. “You… you think my teeth are pretty?”
“Yeah!” Spike said through a mouthful of gem, nodding. “They remind me of a dragon’s teeth, a little. With the fangs and all.”
“T-thank you…”
The four ponies finished their meal in an only moderately awkward silence. When they’d finished eating, Spike took the three ponies’ dishes and brought them into the kitchen.
“Well,” Twilight began, “It wouldn’t hurt to get to Zecora’s nice and early. If it doesn’t take too long, maybe we can get you two on a train back to Canterlot tonight!”
“Thank you, Twiley,” Shining said. “Well, Chrysalis, I suppose you had better get changed if we’re going out.”
With a sigh, Chrysalis nodded, a green fire flashing over her before Cadance stood in her place. Spike’s mouth hung open a little.
“That… is really cool,” he breathed. “Can you change into any pony?” Chrysalis nodded. “Change into Twilight!” With a grin, Chrysalis obliged the baby dragon, another green flash covering her before a purple unicorn took her place. Twilight, despite knowing it was Chrysalis, was still a little disarmed, having fought changelings disguised as herself at the wedding.
“That’s so cool!” Spike practically yelled. “Do Shining Armor!”
“While changed as his sister?” Chrysalis asked, incredulous. Shining Armor and Twilight blushed profusely, but Spike didn’t understand what she thought he had asked.
“What? I mean change into him.”
“Oh, right, of course,” Chrysalis said, realizing her error. Another flash, another form – now two large, handsome, white Unicorn stallions stood side by side, one regarding the other with a look of mild concern.
“Wow, Chrysalis. You could kill me in my sleep and pretend to be me, and nopony would be the wiser. That’s… amazing, how well you can do that, truly.”
‘Shining Armor’ blushed at the compliment.
“Oh! I’ve got another idea! Chrysalis, change into me!” Spike said, eyes still wide in equal parts amazement and amusement.
“Huh?”
“Change into me! Can you change into a dragon?”
“I… I’m not sure. I’ve never tried to disguise myself as anything but a pony before. I could give it a shot, of course,” Chrysalis said, contemplating the plan. It was true – she’d never tried to disguise herself as anything other than a pony, and she’d never heard of a changeling trying to impersonate anything but a pony, not even in stories or myths. She picked up the young dragon with her magic, inspected him, and closed her eyes in concentration. She felt her form change, and when she opened her eyes again, she found herself needing to look up to observe the shocked expressions on Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle’s faces, but found herself at eye-level with Spike.
There, standing in the center of the room, was a diminutive purple Pegasus stallion with a rough, green mane and a cutie mark of a quill and a piece of parchment. The stallion’s fur was hard, rather like Chrysalis natural form, emulating the little dragon’s scales nicely.
“So… this is what I’d look like as a pony, huh?” Spike said, looking over the stallion in front of him. “I’d be a Pegasus, huh? Does this mean I’ll get wings when I get bigger? Does it, Twilight?”
“I don’t know, Spike, but this is fascinating. It seems that a changeling can swap size, color, and gender all it wants, but they must disguise as a pony. I’ll send a letter to Celestia…” she trailed off as Shining Armor gave her an amused and annoyed glare. “Right, that can wait. For now, Chrysalis, if you could change back, we can head out. Spike, will you watch the library for me while we’re gone?”
“Of course, Twilight! Anything for you!”
“Thanks, Spike,” Twilight said, giving him a light kiss on the forehead. “I can always count on you.” Spike hugged Twilight and nodded.
“Alright, Chrysalis, Shining, if you could step over here? I’m guessing it would be easier to just teleport us to Zecora’s home, seeing as your celebrity status and Chrysalis’ voice problem would make a trip through town difficult and dangerous.” The two ponies nodded, and stepped to Twilight in the center of the library. A flash of purple, and the three ponies disappeared. Spike took up his position at the counter. A Pegasus, huh?
---
The three ponies reappeared in a small clearing just outside Zecora’s dwelling. Twilight trotted over and knocked on the door. She heard a soft shuffling inside, and a steady clip-clop as Zecora approached the door. It swung open, and the zebra smiled at the sight of her friend.
“Ah, come in, Miss Twilight! I wasn’t expecting you until tonight,” Zecora backed away from the door, allowing the unicorn entrance.
“Yeah, about that…” Twilight said, sidestepping and gesturing to her brother and sister-in-law.
“Princess Cadance! Shining Armor! What brings you here, with your petite chou-fleur?”
“Well, you see, Miss Zecora, Cadance and I have a bit of a problem,” Shining Armor began.
“Merely two days, and your marriage has hit a rock? Surely, this has nothing to do with the size of your –”
“ZECORA!” Twilight yelled. She’d had that image invade her mind twice in the past day, which was about three more times than she’d hoped for. The Zebra laughed, Shining Armor and Cadance joining in shortly afterwards. However, the second Cadance started laughing, Zecora stopped.
“Princess Cadance, could you speak again? I may have misheard, though, and I do not mean to offend.”
“Actually, Miss, that’s why we’re he-” Shining began, before Zecora cut him off.
“Shining, is your name ‘Cadance’? It is not your tongue I asked to dance.”
Cadance spoke. “Hello, Zecora, my name is Cadance. It’s nice to meet you.” Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor winced as her natural voice entered the hut. A few tense moments passed, before Zecora grabbed her staff and leapt across the room swinging it at Cadance. The pink Alicorn shrieked, and Shining Armor moved so fast Twilight could have sworn he teleported. Crossing into Zecora’s trajectory, he raised a leg and took the blow.
“Shining Armor, why do you block? That’s the Changeling Queen, and you let her walk?” Zecora had landed, and was still trying to force the staff past Shining Armor’s foreleg.
“Because this is my wife! I know she’s Queen Chrysalis! She told me, and I still love her. I’ll always love her,” Shining said, through gritted teeth. He was the Captain of the Royal Guard, so he was no stranger to pain, but being struck by the full force of a staff strike hurt. As if they had rehearsed it, Chrysalis assumed her natural form. The pressure against his limb vanished.
“Oh.”
Twilight gasped. She’d never heard Zecora not rhyme, much less speak a single word. Before she could comment, though, the zebra continued.
“Well… then… if that is the case, I wish you happiness, Queen of your race.”
“Actually, we could use some help with that. You see, Chrysalis is actually having a problem with her changing. Her voice won’t change anymore. Celestia herself recommended we visit you to seek a solution,” Shining Armor explained.
Zecora pondered the thought for a moment, and moved to her shelf. She grabbed a book and began flipping through it, almost as though she’d forgotten the presence of the other ponies. Shining Armor looked to Twilight for help, but Zecora spoke again. “Very well, I can whip up a spell. However it will take a week to brew, so return later, you two.”
“R-really? Simple as that?” Chrysalis asked, relief washing over her.
“Indeed it is, Queen of shifting. However, just pray no ponies turn up missing,” Zecora added, venom in her voice. “Now leave, be gone, this is something I must concentrate on.”
“Thank you so much, Zecora,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Are we still on for tonight?”
“Of course, my purple friend. We must find out how that story ends.”
Twilight smiled, and led her family out to the clearing again.
“She was… so nice, Twiley,” Shining said, the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice. “But I guess now we can see why just going public would be a bad idea. Should we go back now, Twiley?”
“Yeah, of course, Shining. That took less time than I expected it too – you might even be back in Canterlot tonight!” Twilight squealed, horn glowing with energy as she prepared to teleport the trio.
“Don’t you think it might be a good idea-” Chrysalis began, before they disappeared.
---
“- for me to change back before… we… teleport…” Chrysalis finished, shrugging. “Well, I guess that’s alright.”
It would have been alright, if Spike had been the only one in the library.
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Well, this won't end well.
Welp, things went surprisingly well with Zecora .... just in time for it to go unsurprisingly badly with everyone else!
This.... Isn't what it looks like?
1779668
the only thing for it is to go FFFUUUUU and wait until that next chapter comes out.
Oh Murphys law, you never disappoint me.
DAMN IT!
Need the next chapter now.
(Is about to decide to go to bed. Sees update.)
Aw, screw sleep. I don't have to get up in the morning anyway.
Well, Zecora has a dirty sense of humor. But, she's bad@$$, so we'll let it slide.
And now we have someone else in the library. DARN YOU MURPHY!!
i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/454/048/f86.jpg
Here comes the pain...
Well looks like you won't be needing the potion anymore
1779875 Technically, it's Finagle. Murphy is related to decisions, Finagle to the universe in general.s3.amazonaws.com/files.posterous.com/pourmecoffee/y0Mtvy595Evs9MXLATZDpNVs9Uv2Rd6uthcGBe19q5IEcao6jKl9ZUFLBYZj/the_more_you_know2.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJFZAE65UYRT34AOQ&Expires=1355206984&Signature=%2BJxTq2qB11mVq4CAG3PkPUUipHI%3D
cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/29526447.jpg
Don't mind me. Just hanging off this cliff here.
Warning. Warning. Identity Stability decreasing. Citizenry Panic increased.
Recommending immediate detainment of all witnesses. Recommending informing immobilized, muted witnesses of situation.
If witnesses continue to panic, forced slumber may be required.
Oh Zecora, you and your rhymes.
cdn.derpiboo.ru/media/BAhbB1sHOgZmSSIrMjAxMi8xMi8wMi8xOV8wNF8zNV84OV8xNzA2MzhfX1VOT1BUX18GOgZFVFsIOgZwOgp0aHVtYkkiDDI1MHgyNTAGOwZU/170638__safe_image-macro_cheerilee_oh-boy-here-we-go.png
MOAR! X1000
God... damn it... Twilight.
You prepare overly for everything, but don't let anyone else do so.
1779884 I miss that show...
Oh dear...
Captain, engage emergency Deus Ex Machina!
WE'RE AT DEFCON LEVEL 2!! REPEAT!! DEFCON LEVEL 2!!! EVACUATE THE LIBRARY!!
1781250
No, you fool!
Witnesses are in the library, if we evacuate them, panic will spread!
Initiate library lockdown!
1781357
GAH! You're right!! GAME OVER MAN!!! GAME OVER!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!! REPEAT THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!
Dammit Twilight.
WHY YOU NO HAVE PATIENCE?
Also, another good update, write on, dear author!
I will like it as long as you promise NO CLOP
1782344
I can promise no clop. It's rated Everyone and I intend to keep it that way. I might imply things here and there, but I'll avoid coarse language and I definitely won't be writing clop.
1780172
*spychecks*
Damn, you aren't a RED Spy disguised as a BLU. How am I supposed to relieve my cliffhanger stress now?
... Did the library catch on fire instead? Oops.
1782349
thank you, foreplay is fine, but i personally dont find reading about it as intertaining.
i.imgur.com/fAgF3.png
Ho boy...
Hoo boy!
Dun. Dun. DUNNN!
Ah S
t.
Get down.
Well this is gonna suck.
I smell disaster.
Objection, yer honor. Zecora has, in fact, neglected her couplets exactly once in the series. I refer you to her first line in that episode with the Parasprites:
"Have you gone mad?
However, I will concede that she has not had any lines confined to a single word.
When I read that, it reminded me of this:
th08.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2012/195/1/6/rainy_days_by_veggie55-d574ovo.png
WOW! That was unexpected!
1779727 Wrong.
Aaaaannnd methinks that Twilight needs some brain-bleach.
Great chapter.
I have had a terrible cough these past few days.
This line nearly killed me.
>Twilight Sparkle and shining Armor winced as her natural voice entered the hut
Shining Armor should have a capital S
Well, good job Twilight.
“That’s so cool!” Spike practically yelled. “Do Shining Armor!”
“While changed as his sister?” Chrysalis asked, incredulous. Shining Armor and Twilight blushed profusely, but Spike didn’t understand what she thought he had asked.
I couldn't drink my fruit punch for a good 20 seconds
I love the humor here. some caught me so by surprise i ended up doing a spit-take all over my computer screen. Hat's off to you good sir.
Because I think I need my ribcage splinted after that one.
Of course Bucking Tatarus
uh oh, it seems as though the secret is out, how will this play? we must figure out.
zecora has influenced meYou fucking meme
I hope this is setup for something.
sounds like a great name for a roadside bed & breakfast