1 - Recoverable

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Queen Chrysalis stood alone in her royal bedchambers, or what was left of them at any rate. Any semblance of royal extravagance had been long stripped away in an effort to help her little changelings. What remained was a nearly empty, cold stone room carved from the rocks of their mountainous home, with a rickety, wooden bed and a worn full length mirror tucked away in the corner. Chrysalis stood staring at herself in the mirror, contemplating the ways in which the past had gone wrong. The sharp, green eyes of the changeling queen reflected in that mirror, filled with weariness.

The last few years had been hard on her changeling empire, ever since she and her ilk had been ousted from Canterlot during that disastrous failed invasion. Security measures the land over had been increased dramatically to prevent another attack. The ponies had even set up a guarded perimeter around the entirety of the badlands. They were lucky that their city hadn’t yet been discovered thanks to being mostly hidden beneath the mountains.

It was growing harder with each passing month for her people to get into pony cities, and it showed in the possessions owned by the changelings. Many objects were difficult to come by or create with the resources available in the badlands. Wood in particular was exceptionally rare and was a tremendous luxury in their homes of stone and dirt. Her bed, though horribly worn and on the verge of collapsing, was worth a fortune. Oh how the mighty had fallen! She, a Queen, driven to sleeping on a bed not suitable for even the dungeons!

The material possessions, however, were of little concern compared to the ever dwindling reserves of love that their kind required as surely as a normal pony required food. Her little changelings weren’t quite starving yet, but they were swiftly approaching that fate. Soon they would run out of love reserves and be left with only what meagre amounts the collectors were able to gather.

The changelings were descended from predators, so to an extent they could supplement love with meat hunted from the desert’s scarce animal population. Unfortunately, even if there was enough to feed all changelings, meat alone was insufficient for a changeling to survive and would merely delay their starvation. Their kind had lost the ability to survive solely on meat long before even the solar and lunar princesses were born, and some changelings today couldn’t digest it at all.

Sometimes she wondered if it would be best to dissolve their entire civilization and try to integrate all changelings into pony society. They wouldn’t be forced to live in the squalor of their dying city and if they could find somepony that cared for them they could eat to their hearts’ content. She didn’t think she’d be able to stomach living among the ponies, but her little ones may be able to adapt.

A messenger from earlier that evening flashed in her memory, reporting on two more love collection teams being discovered and wiped out just last week. She wished she could say that it was an unusual event, but she was receiving news of her infiltrators being exterminated by the ponies every day. If the expertly trained infiltrators were being so consistently caught, then what chance did the average changeling have? They would be crushed beneath the hooves of the ponies as if they were little more than insects! The flames of fury momentarily flashed in Chrysalis’ reflection, but soon burned out and gave way to her inexorable weariness.

Had she failed her subjects? Was this all her fault? She had taken a gamble with invading Canterlot, and she had lost. But what was she to have done? Her people had lived in the shadows of those happy and prosperous ponies for far too long with only just enough to crawl through existence like the animals that survive in their harsh wasteland home. Did the changelings not deserve to experience the same prosperity as they? Did they not deserve a chance at the glory, splendour and excess that the ponies took for granted?

She could never forgive the ponies for what they had done, were doing, to her kind. If she had the strength, and changelings didn’t need them for sustenance, Chrysalis would have gladly eliminated every one of those damned ponies and ensured the safety of her children.

But it was too late. She couldn’t do it anymore. She was too tired and nearly starved for love. While her powers were far from pitiable, she was as far from the power she wielded during the invasion all those years ago as Celestia was from a newborn foal. Even if she somehow managed to regain her strength, Princess Twilight Sparkle had grown far more powerful than she could even have dreamed was possible, and Discord was now acting as a defender of Equestria as well. There was no way she could have been more than a mild nuisance to them anymore. If only she could go back in time and fix her mistakes at that wedding.

She dragged herself away from the mirror and towards her shabby, old bed. The clopping of her hooves eerily echoed off the stone floor and through the dim, empty room. She collapsed onto the mattress, not even bothering to cover herself with the blankets made from what had once been regal tapestries hanging upon her walls.

Yes. Yes, she had failed her little changelings. They hadn’t said anything about it, at least not to her face, but she had failed them in a way that they may not be able to recover from. Surely they resented her by now. Perhaps they would be better off if she stepped down as Queen. Perhaps a new leader would be able to set their nation back on its hooves. Tears seeped through her lidded eyes and trailed their way to the tattered bedding beneath her.

Despite her incredible exhaustion, Chrysalis could not fall asleep. The roiling ball of rage, sorrow and guilt deep within her chest saw to that. She tossed and turned restlessly, desperate to find release from the thoughts plaguing her. Eventually, as is wont to happen to even the most troubled minds, the Queen finally drifted off.

Unfortunately for her, she was not to remain in blissful slumber.

CRASH!

Chrysalis vaulted herself out of her bed and readied her horn for an assault, fearing that the ponies had actually found their home. She had never been the type of Queen to rely on personal guards since she had always had more power than any contingent of guards ever could in the past, but given her weakened state she probably should have reconsidered that position. What she saw reflected in the eerie, green glow of her horn shocked her. It was a large, metal...thing, and it seemed impossibly smooth too. It looked kind of like a giant box with some kind of glass covering much of the upper half of it, though she noted the glass wasn’t transparent as she couldn’t see through it. Chrysalis stood in slack jawed wonder. What in the world had found its way into her bedchambers?

Kshhh! Vrrrrrrr!

Chrysalis flinched back at the sudden sounds made by the thing and dropped back into a combat ready pose. Whatever it was, it was opening up. A rectangular segment swung up and away from the main body and blinding, white light poured forth from within. She squinted through the pain, not daring to look away from this thing lest she risk being attacked by whatever was inside.

Prepared for an abomination of a creature to charge from the container, Chrysalis was shocked when she merely saw a grey pegasus stallion with golden eyes, and a messy blue mane step through the opening and look around. She couldn’t see his cutie mark from here, but such details didn’t much matter to her. A pegasus pony had infiltrated her domain deep within the mountain.

“Well, this certainly isn’t what I was expecting from a Queen’s—Urk!” The stallion was interrupted by said Queen leaping at him, bowling him over onto his back and pinning him to the floor with her comparatively large forehooves.

“You have ten seconds to convince me not to kill you, pony!” She hissed at him, fangs bared mere centimetres from his face.

Panic spread across the stallion’s face. “I...I...uh...I’m from the future!”

Chrysalis was not impressed with this obvious lie. Even if somepony did have time travel at their disposal, they’d be insane to barge into her chambers. She let her opinion of his attempt at deception known by placing her powerful jaws around the stallion’s throat, applying just the slightest amount of pressure with her fangs.

The pony, pathetic creature that it was, began to hyperventilate and attempted to string some words together, but only managed to get out gibberish. He had better hurry up, Chrysalis thought, or she would be supplementing her diet with pony flesh. Five, four, three, two, one. Time’s up.

“I killed Princess Twilight Sparkle!” He shouted at the top of his lungs just as Chrysalis was about to bite down. That was certainly enough to catch her attention, if it were true. It was almost as unbelievable as him travelling through time, but it was worth giving him a reprieve at least. She moved her head so that she could tower over the terrified stallion and fixed him with a glare.

“Prove it.”

He swallowed loudly before he continued. “She’s in there.” He pointed to the thing he had come out of, refusing to look at it as tears streamed down his face. Chrysalis looked at the box skeptically, and then bent down to whisper in his ear.

“If you so much as move from this spot, I will tear you to pieces with my bare teeth and feed you to the desert coyotes.” Trembling, the stallion nodded his understanding.

Chrysalis stepped off of him and cautiously approached the box. After one final look back at the stallion to ensure he wasn’t trying anything funny, she stuck her head inside the opening. Inside was a room filled with a plethora of panels, levers, buttons and several other things that Chrysalis wouldn’t have been able to recognize, but those were unimportant next to the main event lying in the middle of the floor. Though it was disfigured from some great impact, the unmistakable violet body of Twilight Sparkle was right before her eyes.

After the initial shock wore off, Chrysalis was beside herself with excitement. She could hardly stand still, she wanted to dance with joy, and a smile that hadn’t graced her features in ages threatened to split her face in two while she laughed as only she was able. She hadn’t felt this way in years, she was positively giddy.

She practically pranced her way back to her hero. The adorable thing was still lying precisely where she had left him. That wouldn’t do, not at all, so she lifted him up with her forehooves and wrapped him in a crushing hug! He seemed so frail! How could such a pathetic seeming pegasus defeat a pony as powerful as Twilight Sparkle? Oh, it didn’t matter! Twilight was dead and her people would have a chance to prosper without that monstrosity aiding the ponies! She needed to reward him for this heroic deed!

“I don’t know how you did it, but you have my word as Queen that anything within my power to give you in return is yours!” She half lidded her eyes and seductively licked at the stallion’s neck before continuing breathily. “Anything.” She felt him twitch beneath her ministrations and giggled as he blushed profusely. He stammered a bit and through countless apologies and assurances that she was beautiful turned her offer down. A pity, she could have used the release and the resulting love energy, but she would not force herself onto the saviour of her people.

“What’s your name?” She asked him.

“Time Keeper.” He swiftly replied. He was still scared of her. It was cute. There was no way she would hurt him now.

“Time Keeper...” She rolled the name across her tongue. As far as pony names went, it wasn’t anything special, but circumstances led her to find it the most pleasing name she had ever heard. “Well, Time Keeper, your name shall go down in the history of the changelings as one of the greatest heroes of all time. Thanks to you, my changelings stand a chance of finding a better life. I’d offer to prepare a feast for you, but I’m not much of a cook. Different dietary needs and all.” She gave a flirtatious wink at him and squeezed his rump for emphasis. Hey, just because she wouldn’t force herself on him doesn’t mean she couldn’t have some fun.

“I’m not a hero!” Time Keeper blurted out. Chrysalis set him down and put a gentle hoof to his cheek.

“Don’t be modest, of course you are. You have saved my people.”

“I haven’t saved your people, I’ve doomed them! Them and everypony else in the universe!”

Chrysalis furrowed her brow in confusion.”What do you mean you’ve doomed us?”

“Oh, nothing much, just that the entire universe is going to implode because I caused a huge paradox by killing Twilight Sparkle before she did anything of importance!” Chrysalis stared at him skeptically. “Look for yourself, that Twilight doesn’t have any wings!”

Chrysalis humoured him and stepped back into the box to inspect Twilight’s corpse. There were no wings, just as he had said. She searched for any enchantments that could hide them, or for any indication that they had been removed by force, but it was precisely as Time Keeper said: this Twilight never had wings. Additionally, she was visibly younger than she should have been. Could he really be telling the truth about being a time traveller?

“Okay, let’s say that you’re telling the truth and you did kill Twilight from the past. Obviously nothing bad has happened, we’re all still here and nothing has changed.”

“Time travel isn’t a new thing! We’ve done studies! Changes made don’t have an immediate effect on the time lines. We have approximately twelve hours from my perspective to make things right before the space time continuum collapses on itself and destroys everything!”

“You expect me to believe that you’ve done studies on the destruction of all life?”

“Well...no, we haven’t, obviously, it’s just theoretical, but we do know that changes will ripple through time after twelve hours from my perspective, and we’ve never had this big of a change made before! Plus, I went back in time because of Princess Twilight! If she never became famous then I never had a reason to go back in time and that means she would be alive, which would mean I would have gone back in time and killed her! It’s a huge paradox and it might tear the universe apart at the seams!”

Chrysalis was beginning to get a headache from all this paradox talk. It was getting to be very hard to believe anything he said.

“So you killed Twilight Sparkle, panicked over potentially ending all existence and instead of trying to find somepony who could fix the problem, you visit me. Why?”

Time Keeper shuffled a hoof nervously. “If I told anypony in my own time I’d likely be banished to the sun,” he gulped, “or worse.”

“So you’re merely avoiding facing the responsibility for your actions?” Bile began to rise in Chrysalis’ throat. What a pathetic creature her hero turned out to be. “That still doesn’t answer why you came to me.”

“I needed to find somepony that could help me.” He hesitantly said.

“Why. Did. You. Come. To. Me?” Her booming voice echoed through her chambers.

“I need you to take her place.” He squeaked out in terror.

Chrysalis stared at the stallion with her mouth agape. What kind of crazy foal would come up with such an insane plan?

“I tried to just go a little further back in time to save Twilight from myself, but for very complicated timey wimey reasons that are way beyond my ability to understand I couldn’t! I couldn’t go back to my time and tell the guy who made the time machine or I’d be a dead stallion, so I tried to think of other ways to fix the problem. I figured that I had to replace her, but I not only needed somepony who would be able to fool others into thinking they were Twilight, but also somepony who was powerful enough to face all the trials she went through. I didn’t know anypony from my time period like that that wouldn’t kill me for what I’ve done, but I did remember that there was a being that was able to replace a princess before without getting caught in the past.”

“You want me to spend several years of my life masquerading as my most hated enemy just to get you out of trouble? Why shouldn’t I just force you back to your time to confess? You make it seem like they would be able to fix the problem.”

Tears streamed down Time Keeper’s face and he attempted to give the most adorable puppy dog eyes he could muster. Chrysalis merely snorted in response. She was a changeling, such basic manipulations would not work on her. Realizing it wasn’t having the desired effect, Time Keeper halted his attempt and chose to stare into Chrysalis’ green eyes with an air of seriousness.

“Because you gave me your word that you would grant me anything within your power. This is within your power. Please, help me.”

Silence reigned for several seconds. Chrysalis had given her word, and she had always been a mare of her word, even in spite of the lies she spewed while disguised. In fact, it was in part because of all the lies while infiltrating that she held promises made while undisguised in such high regard. Of course, she had promised under the belief that he had eliminated her greatest foe. Having her take that foe’s place defeated the entire purpose behind her offering him the boon in the first place. On the other hoof, maybe she could get away with shaping history a little more to her favour if she did agree to help.

“How accurate to the history would I have to be to avoid destroying everything? I doubt that even I could be a perfect replacement.”

“That’s okay, I understand completely! There’s no way I could expect you to get everything exactly the same, just so long as the major events end more or less the same way the space time continuum will be fine! I think.”

The little fool didn’t seem to have any idea of what Chrysalis intended to do. It was almost adorable how oblivious he was. She put on a sweet smile.

“Very well. I’ll help you.”

2 - The Switch

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“Okay, we’re almost where I hit Twilight Sparkle. We’ll stop a little bit after that, though, since we don’t want to risk running into me from a few hours ago.” Time Keeper explained as he fiddled with various levers, dials, buttons and other contraptions. Time travel seemed a terribly complex business to Chrysalis.

“And why does it matter that we don’t meet past you?” Chrysalis questioned with the borrowed voice of Twilight Sparkle. She had already taken on her disguise of the violet unicorn she was to replace.

“Because I would remember it happening if it did, but I don’t, so it didn’t so I won’t. Make sense?”

Chrysalis merely rolled her eyes in response. She could just mess with his past self’s memories if she needed to do so, it really didn’t matter if they happened to see each other, but she had no desire to argue. “Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”

His plan was simple. They were to arrive minutes after the past Time Keeper dragged off the dead Twilight Sparkle and she was to take her place and live her life to ensure that the universe didn’t collapse in on itself and kill all life. Time Keeper would show up every now and then to check up on her and let her know about major upcoming events in history and how they needed to unfold. Yeah, very simple.

“Aaaaand there!” Time Keeper announced. “Just open the door and have you take your place and we should be good to go! Time paradox and the destruction of all space and time averted!” He slammed a button with his hoof and the door swung open. Natural light flooded from outside and the sound of voices filtered through the opening.

“I’m telling you I saw it all happen! A big, metal box crashed on top of Twilight Sparkle, then a grey pegasus stallion dragged her into the box and they just disappeared!” A frantic stallion’s voice explained.

“And this happened one hour ago?” Came a regal, motherly voice in response.

“Yes, Princess Celestia.”

Chrysalis’ eyes widened at the sound of Celestia’s voice and she flattened herself against the interior wall of the time machine. “I thought you said we’d only be a few minutes after you left!” She furiously whispered.

“If I were any good at time travel I wouldn’t need your help to begin with! We’re lucky I didn’t crush Celestia too!”

“Or myself.” Chrysalis shuddered as she remembered how he had crashed his time machine into her chambers. “Okay, what now?”

Time Keeper cautiously glanced out the door at the attending royal party. “I have an idea!”

In the air floating before the eyes of Princess Celestia, a royal guard and a unicorn noble, the time machine’s invisibility dropped as it faded into view. Moments later, a screaming Twilight Sparkle fell from it to the earth below. Following this, a grey pegasus stood proudly in the opening she had fallen from.

“Behold! It is I! Zarplat of the planet Zirc! I have finished with the primitive creature known as Twilight Sparkle! Now I must return to my—hey! What are you doing! Stop that right now!”

The entire time machine was suddenly wrapped in the golden glow of Princess Celestia’s aura and it was being dragged down to the ground with ease. When ‘Zarplat’ tried to escape inside his box, he too was wrapped in the same glow, brought down to earth and forced to lay prone in the dirt beside the dazed Twilight Sparkle.

“Twily! Are you okay?”

Chrysalis groaned. She was going to kill Time Keeper for this indignity. Wait, that voice sounded familiar...

“Shining Armor?!” She bolted upright from the shock.

“Yeah, it’s me, Twi. I’m here for you.” He attempted to soothe who he believed to be his sister, nuzzling her lovingly. It had been a long time since she had last experienced Shining Armor’s nuzzling, and she couldn’t help but smile lightly at the memories of what else she had done with him.

While the two siblings were reuniting, Celestia towered imposingly over the pegasus that had kidnapped her favourite student.

“I don’t know who you are, or why you have done what you have, but I will find out. Nopony hurts my little ponies.” Her voice was cold as ice and hard as steel. Her glare could bring the strongest of stallions to their knees. The bravest of warriors would balk at the magical power crackling from her horn. Time Keeper was neither of those. He curled into a ball and quaked in abject terror.

Under different circumstances, Chrysalis would have loved to see that little fool suffering through cold blooded torture beyond his abilities to imagine. She would have gladly done it herself, but if he revealed the truth of the situation to Celestia then her cover would be blown, her chance to shape history in her favour would be ruined, and if what the insufferable insect said was true, then the entire universe would end too. At least they had had the foresight to remove Twilight's corpse from the machine and left it inside Chrysalis' chambers. With tremendous regret, she tore herself from the love that Shining Armor was unwittingly providing her to save Time Keeper.

“Princess, please don’t hurt him!”

“This is none of your concern, Twilight.” Celestia sternly informed her, not even taking the time to look away from the cowering stallion before her.

“I don’t give a damn what you think is or is not my business! I’m the one he wronged in this situation and I demand he shouldn’t be treated like this!”

All assembled ponies, minus one terrified Time Keeper, stared in shock at the young unicorn. Never before had she ever dared to speak out against her mentor, let alone with such determination and profanity. Only the snoring of a small, baby dragon filled the uncomfortable silence.

“I think I should go.” The noble stated nervously as he snuck off.

Suddenly apprehensive, Chrysalis began to wither under the combined gazes of Princess Celestia and the captain of the royal guard. Had she gone too far? She swallowed a lump that had developed in her throat. It was time for damage control.

“I...I’m sorry, Princess. I didn’t mean...” She groveled before the alicorn that she knew could easily tear her in two.

“No...no, it’s quite alright, my faithful student. I should not have ignored you on this matter. As you say, you are the wronged party and I should take your opinion on the matter into account. What would you have done with him?”

“Ummm...let him go?”

Celestia shook her head gently at the request. “While I admire your kindness Twilight, and may provide some leniency, I cannot do as you request. Even if you feel he has not caused you sufficient harm to justify punishment, he still abducted you, harmed Spike and caused considerable damage to this area. Additionally, we do not know how he did so or what this metal box of his really is. Until I can be sure he is not a threat to my subjects, I cannot let him go.”

“Oh. Of course, I understand.” Chrysalis more than understood. In Celestia’s place she would have likely had the stallion executed. “Just go easy on him for me.”

Celestia smiled warmly at her beloved pupil. “Of course, Twilight. I shall ensure he comes to no harm unless absolutely necessary. Captain Armor!”

“Yes, Princess?” Shining Armor saluted his monarch.

“Take this stallion to the dungeons. Do not harm him so long as he doesn’t attempt to cause any trouble.”

“Yes, Princess.” He gave another salute then took Time Keeper in his own magical aura and cantered off with his terrified prisoner in tow.

After watching the pair disappear around a corner, Princess Celestia turned back towards the disguised changeling in her presence. Chrysalis had also been watching the two leave, filled with trepidation over what would happen if their prisoner actually talked.

“Now, with that unpleasantness dealt with, let’s see about getting you to Ponyville to prepare for the Summer Sun Celebration.”

"Wait, what?” Chrysalis snapped out of her thoughts. Was Celestia choosing to not have her prepare for the upcoming disaster because of what had just happened? "What about Nightmare Moon? Shouldn’t I be dealing with her?"

Celestia chuckled. “Still going on about dusty old prophecies? Don’t worry about it. Just go and make some friends and it’ll be okay.”

Chrysalis opened her mouth to argue, but quickly shut it when it sank in just what Celestia meant.

“Yes, Princess.” She acquiesced.

She may not have been intimately familiar with the events surrounding Nightmare Moon’s return and her subsequent defeat, but she knew it required the elements of harmony and Twilight's friends to bear them. It was too bad that Time Keeper had yet to actually tell her the specifics, but she figured she could probably wing it. All she had to do was trick the element bearers into being her friends, and find their gaudy jewellery weapons. How hard could it be?

3 - Friendship is Hard

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Chrysalis sat in a chariot being pulled through the sky by a couple of pegasi royal guards and she was bored out of her mind. The guards weren’t much in the way of conversationalists, choosing to remain completely stoical in the face of her attempts to speak with them. She doubted that they would even react if she started making out with them, which was a shame as she could definitely have used the boost in love energy that a little romp with the two could have provided.

Her draconic companion wasn’t much better either, as he had yet to wake up from having the time machine drop on top of him, the fact that he even survived such an impact was likely a result of his hardy dragon biology. Not that she really wanted him awake. She didn’t much like the idea of carting a baby around with her. The ceaseless babble that poured from their lips, the unending neediness, and the infuriating mischief they got themselves into were far more than she wanted to deal with at that moment, or any moment for that matter.

Some might expect that having a loving infant around would be a veritable buffet for a changeling, but they would be wrong. Something about their underdeveloped bodies, minds or magic caused love taken from children to be less satiating than love taken from adults. Such love was still usable, but it was far less potent.

“Ugh...what happened? I have the biggest headache right now.” The little brat groaned as he finally roused. Chrysalis sighed.

“It’s nothing,” Chrysalis paused as she wracked her brains for what the little lizard’s name was, “little guy. Don’t worry about it.” Great. She was stuck there taking care of a baby dragon and she couldn’t even remember his name. How was she supposed to know the name of something so unimportant?

“If you say so, Twilight.” He rubbed his head, attempting to soothe the raging demons wreaking havoc in his skull. “Do you think you could use your magic to help with this headache, though? I feel like a building fell on top of me.”

“Don’t be such a baby, you’ll be fine.” Chrysalis rebuffed him and continued staring at passing clouds, causing the baby dragon to wince.

In truth, she didn’t want to waste any of her remaining love reserves. The little bit of love she had gleaned from Shining Armor earlier was nearly depleted and she was already feeling a little unsteady from the encroaching exhaustion. If she didn’t find a source of love soon, she wouldn’t make it to the Summer Sun Celebration early tomorrow morning, let alone be able to face off against Nightmare Moon.

Chrysalis’ thoughts were derailed by a gentle tap on her shoulder. She turned to see what the little irritant wanted this time only to come face to face with the full force of a baby dragon’s puppy dog eyes.

“Pleeeeease, Twilight? It really hurts!” His eyes watered as he clasped his little claws together to beg. Chrysalis noted that a baby dragon’s attempts to manipulate with cuteness were far more effective than Time Keeper’s had been. She felt her resolve to deny the little creature dissolving under his onslaught.

“Fine!” Chrysalis gave in. “But you’ve gotta do something for me first, pipsqueak.”

“Anything for you, Twilight! What do you want me to do? Take down some notes? Send a letter to the Princess? Turn the pages of a book you're reading? Your number one assistant is at your service!” He held a claw over his heart and puffed up his chest proudly, though he quickly deflated when he heard Twilight’s response.

“Hug me.”

The kid blinked a few times before responding flatly. “What?”

“Hug me and I’ll fix your headache.”

He was confused by this request. Never before had Twilight asked for anypony to hug her, let alone him. It was very unlike her. Not that she didn’t love him, she definitely cared for him a great deal, but Twilight was never a touchy, feely kind of pony. She was more the freaks out and turns you into a potted plant at unexpected touches kind of pony. He looked at her suspiciously.

Chrysalis sighed. She obviously was going to need to give some kind of explanation if she wanted to get any love out of the little thing, unless of course she forced it out of him. It would even have the added benefit of rendering him unconscious again if she took enough from him. But no, she couldn’t do that. The guards may as well not be there as far as conversation went, but she doubted they wouldn’t notice her sucking the love out of the lizard. Emotional manipulation it was, then. She let a few tears enter her eyes for effect.

“W...what’s wrong, Twilight?”

“It’s just that Celestia completely ignored my warnings about Nightmare Moon. I thought she trusted and cared for me!” Crocodile tears were now streaming down the faux unicorn's face, and they were having the desired effect on the baby dragon, who had hastened to comfort her with a hug.

“There, there, Twilight. I’m sure she has her reasons. She still cares about you, don’t you worry!”

Chrysalis enjoyed the gentle influx of love that she was absorbing from the kid, and that was certainly the only thing she was enjoying. She definitely did not appreciate having a little brat clinging to her tight enough to hinder her breathing. The warmth she felt was purely a result of a warm, fire breathing lizard pressing his body against her.

The love she siphoned wasn’t much, and she would need to find another source before she faced Nightmare Moon, but it was enough to fulfill her end of the deal. With a faint, green glow of her horn, she placed a simple charm on the little lizard for basic pain relief. He let out a light murmur of satisfaction and rubbed his face affectionately into her chest. She in turn wrapped a hoof around him and squeezed him tightly back, telling herself that it was only for the sake of her disguise.

The rest of the ride to Ponyville was uneventful. The guards remained taciturn, the wind ruffled Chrysalis’ mane, and the kid babbled as all kids do. He was rather well spoken for his age, but that didn’t change that he droned on and on about unimportant things. She found herself nodding or giving a generic grunt in response that could be taken to mean whatever the little guy wanted it to. Chrysalis was gladdened when the chariot began its descent into the small town.

She stepped out of the chariot and stretched the soreness out of her legs as she looked around. It was an unassuming place, nothing special stuck out for her. It was hard to believe that such powerful foes as the element bearers came from a place such as this.

She had to fight to keep a scowl off her face as she watched all those happy ponies milling about. What fears did these oblivious creatures know? Did they ever have to worry about where their next meal would come from? Could they possibly understand the fear of impending annihilation of their entire race at the hooves of another? She momentarily contemplated just letting Nightmare Moon win, but dismissed the idea with regret. Unending night would be just as disastrous for her changelings as it would be for all other life.

“Uh...Twilight? Are you okay?” The dragon asked with a tone of concern. Chrysalis blinked out of her reverie and forced a smile.

“Of course I am. I couldn’t be better.” She responded with exaggerated joviality. “All I have to do is stop an ancient evil monstrosity from taking over all Equestria and killing us all. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

“Aww, come on, Twilight! The Princess said that Nightmare Moon was just an old mare’s tale. I think you should trust her on this one and try to make some friends!”

Friends. Right. She needed to find the element bearers if she hoped to face the princess turned abomination and live. She wondered which should be priority: finding Twilight’s future friends, or finding a new source of love.

Her decision seemed to be made for her as she noticed a painfully pink pony with a bouncy, pink mane that was only matched by the bounce in her step. Plastered on her flank were three party balloons. It was Pinkie Pie, the element of laughter and enemy of the changeling nation. She waited for the pink pony to draw closer and then spoke.

“Greetings, I am Twilight Sparkle and—” before Chrysalis could explain that she needed Pinkie’s help in defeating Nightmare Moon, she was interrupted by said pony giving a huge gasp. She seemingly levitated in the air as if she were a pegasus, much to Chrysalis’ surprise, and then rushed off without saying a single word.

Chrysalis swallowed audibly. Could Pinkie Pie have seen through her disguise? Was she at this very moment warning the town president or whatever it was they had in this place? No, she couldn’t have. Her disguise was perfect! Even if it wasn’t, it’s not like Pinkie had known Twilight ahead of time, how could she know that something was off? Plus she had been fooled before when she was disguised as Mi Amore Cadenza. She couldn’t know. Add to that the fact that the world had yet to learn what a changeling even was and it was truly impossible. But then why had she run off like that?

“Well, that was weird.” The dragon offered forth into the awkward silence that had been left by the pink pony’s departure. “Uhh...maybe we should check on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration?”

Chrysalis looked over to the baby dragon who was holding up a piece of parchment and answered with absolutely no enthusiasm whatsoever. “Yes. That sounds like a wonderful idea. What’s first on the itinerary?”

“Banquet preparations with somepony named Applejack.”

_______________________________

The two of them walked through the gate of a white fence surrounding a big, red, farmhouse. The property was littered with sheds, fields of crops, and orchards lined with apple trees. Before the pair could set upon their task, the air was split by a boisterous shout.

“Yeehaw!”

Chrysalis’ head twisted in the direction of the voice to see an orange, blonde maned pony rushing towards an apple tree, flipping herself around and bucking it with tremendous force. Apples fell from the tree into several neatly arranged baskets set in a circle on the ground and the mare crossed her forelegs and held her nose up in the air with a smug grin upon her face.

It was definitely Applejack. From the triple apple cutie mark and the Stetson upon her head, to the well muscled legs that could smash in a changeling’s skull with one kick, there could be no mistake on that fact. She stepped up beside the orange mare.

“How long were you waiting for somepony to come by so you could show off like that?” Chrysalis asked conversationally. Applejack blushed slightly and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof.

“Aw, shucks, ya got me. I saw the two of ya comin’ down the path not two minutes ago. So, what brings ya to Sweet Apple Acres?” AJ asked cordially with a friendly smile.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle and I—“ She halted her introduction as Applejack latched onto one of her hooves and shook it violently.

“Well howdy do, Miss Twilight! A pleasure making your acquaintance! I’m Applejack—”Applejack’s eyes widened in surprise when her hoof was forcibly removed from Chrysalis’ limb by her green, magical aura. Chrysalis’ did not look happy.

“It is incredibly rude to interrupt a pony when she is talking.”

“Uh, Twilight? You just interrupted her.” Her companion pointed out.

“No, no, it’s alright. Sorry ‘bout that, sugar cube, ah guess ah got a mite bit carried away.” Her smile returned, though a little less natural than it had been earlier. Chrysalis mentally kicked herself. She needed to get this pony to like her.

“I’m sorry. It’s been a rough couple of days for me. I didn’t mean to snap at you.” With that apology, the tension relaxed between the two ponies.

“That’s okay, ah think we all know what that’s like. Friends?” Applejack proffered a hoof. Chrysalis stared at it momentarily before letting the mare shake her hoof again, thankfully less energetically than before.

“Friends.” Chrysalis agreed. That was easier than she had expected. “Well, I think I’ve got what I needed, I’ll just be on my way.”

“Really, sugar cube? Ya just came here to make friends with me? I’m mighty flattered an’ all, but are ya sure ya ain’t forgettin’ somethin’?” Applejack cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Uh, Twilight, what about the Summer Sun Celebration preparations?” The kid questioned, pulling at Chrysalis’ tail to get her attention.

“Oh, right.” Chrysalis replied in a monotone. She didn’t really care about that at all but she realized she had to do it anyway. “We’re here to check up on the banquet preparations.”

“Heck, the food is comin’ along just fine, come along and ah'll show ya!”

“That’s very nice, Applejack, but really unnecessary. I can just take your word for it.”

“Nonsense! What kind of friend would ah be if ah let ya leave without givin’ ya a taste of our cookin’?” Applejack rushed off and rang a triangle. “Soup’s on, everypony!”

The ground suddenly rumbled beneath Chrysalis’ hooves and she let out a frightened 'eep' as she was nearly crushed by a stampede of ponies. By the time the dust had settled, she was sitting at a table that she swore hadn’t been there before.

“Now, why don’t ah introduce y’all to the Apple family!” AJ motioned to the crowd of ponies that had just run Chrysalis and Spike down.

“Uhhh...” Chrysalis replied, as of yet uncertain as to what had just happened.

“This here’s Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apple, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp, Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith!”

Chrysalis’ head was spinning from the rapid fire introductions she had just been subjected to. All she could think about was how a couple of stallions were apparently delicious and that she had absolutely no idea what a brioche was. Also that at some point in time she had somehow gotten an apple in her mouth. She had no idea when that happened and reflexively spit it out in disgust.

Though she was lucky enough among her kind to be able to digest meat, no changeling had ever been able to properly consume vegetables, grains or fruits. While it wouldn’t cause serious harm to her if she did eat them, it tasted terrible and could cause some stomach pains if she ate more than a few mouthfuls.

“Well, would you look at the time, I really should be leaving.” She tried to excuse herself nervously.

“Aren’t you gonna stay for brunch?” A disappointed young voice from the crowd asked. Chrysalis searched for the owner of the voice and was met with ~~an adorable little filly~~ a despicable little brat with a yellow coat, bright red mane and a little pink bow atop her head. Her lip was quivering, her eyes glistened with the beginnings of tears and she stared directly into Chrysalis’ soul. Chrysalis had known countless experts in the art of manipulation, and this little filly was a master if she had ever seen one.

“I...uh...” Chrysalis stuttered. The little filly blinked her eyes a couple times for added manipulative effect. “Ugh...fine.” A resounding cheer went up at her concession.

This had nothing to do with the little spawn of Tartarus, she hated children. She only decided to stay because she could feel a lot of love between all the ponies and could probably use this opportunity to leech off of them. Surely that would be worth the sore stomach she’d have later from joining them for brunch, and maybe she could even get one of them alone for a more substantial meal.

“Before we get started, could somepony show me where the mare’s room is?” Chrysalis requested.

“Sure thing. Could ya show her to the bathroom, Big Mac? I’m gonna help set up brunch.” AJ responded.

“Eeyup!” A big, red stallion stepped forth. Chrysalis looked him up and down hungrily, a fact which did not escape the big guy’s notice as he gave a little smirk. He was probably at least as big as Shining Armor, farm work having toned his muscles just as effectively as guard training would have. He walked past Chrysalis, indicating with a nod of his head that she should follow him.

Minutes later, the two were alone in the Apple farmhouse. Big Mac stopped next to a door and motioned towards it before he made to walk off back to the family gathering. Chrysalis stopped him with a gentle hoof on his cheek as he was passing her by. With half lidded eyes, she stared into his startled ones. She rubbed his cheek until he relaxed and leaned into him for a kiss, which he returned eagerly.

Oh, that was more like it. The love of a full grown stallion, her favourite kind of love, trickled into her magical reserves. But, much like the kiss, it was just a taste of what she wanted. Alas, she didn’t have the time to enjoy him properly. She would have to use the more direct approach to harvesting his love.

Their lips separated as Chrysalis’ horn glowed a sickly green. She stared intently into the stallion’s eyes, her own taking on a glow to match her horn. Within seconds, Big Macintosh was entranced and kneeling before her, little more than a puppet. Without hesitation, she dug deep inside of him with tendrils of her magic and pulled forth as much love as she could. She absorbed the concentrated love energy into her horn and a low, guttural moan of pleasure escaped her lips. It had been far too long since she had done this. She could feel her powers grow to a level she hadn’t experienced in months. She was still a long way from the power she had during the Canterlot invasion, but she was at least on par with a moderately powerful unicorn.

With a little regret, she cut off her harvest. If she took any more Big Mac would show serious signs of fatigue that might make him, or his family, suspicious. She wiped his memories of everything that happened during the mind control and leaned in to give one final, gentle kiss on his nose that he would be able to remember her by.

“Twilight? Big Macintosh? Ya'll were takin’ an awfully long time, so ah came to—what are ya doin’ to my brother?!”

Chrysalis’ head snapped towards the intruder, cutting off her magical control of Big Macintosh in the process.

“Uh...nothing, right Big Mac?”

Big Macintosh blinked a couple times, clearing the cobwebs from the momentary loss of his senses. He looked over to his sister with a slight blush before responding with a singular “Eeyup.” Applejack’s eyes narrowed and a frown settled on her face.

“I guess I’ll just head back to have some brunch!” Chrysalis chuckled nervously. She trotted out the door, AJ glaring at her the entire way. Her ears wilted against her head as she bemoaned the loss of progress in getting the element of honesty to trust her.

The brunch was as pleasant as it could be, given the circumstances. The food that she could not turn down due to the steadfast, over friendly insistence of the Apples sat like a lump in Chrysalis’ belly. Big Macintosh would occasionally steal shy glances towards her and would swiftly look away with a luminescent blush when she noticed. Applejack too would occasionally glance at her, but with disapproval instead. On the bright side, she finally learned Spike’s name when he introduced himself to literally anypony that would listen to his rambling.

She leeched off of the general loving atmosphere. Without either using magic to forcefully harvest them or a physical expression of love connecting her to the ponies she couldn't gain very much of it. With the amount of food she was being force fed, she suspected that it wouldn't even be enough to sustain a strong enough pain relief spell for her stomach ache.

As the gathering began to die down and ponies left to attend to their chores, Chrysalis was finally able to excuse herself. It wasn’t until she was well away from the farm that she relaxed again.

“Well that went great.” Chrysalis muttered sarcastically.

“It really did, didn’t it?” Spike spouted enthusiastically, oblivious to her sarcasm. “The food was amazing! Could’ve used some gemstones, but I’m not complaining!”

A twinge of pain in her stomach gave a potent reminder of just how amazing the food had been for her. With regret, she delved into the love she harvested from Big Macintosh to strengthen the pain relief spell.

Could this day go any more wrong? First, Pinkie Pie runs away at the sight of her, and then Applejack caught her in the middle of feeding off her brother. What was next? Was her magic to fail her and her disguise to fall?

WHOOOOSH! WHUMPF!

Chrysalis tensed up beneath the sudden weight of a mare. She had been knocked over into a large puddle of mud and was now caked in filth. It happened so blazingly fast that it had barely even registered in her mind until it was over. Was it Pinkie Pie? Had she come back from arming herself to take her out? Had an army of guards just blindsided her? It certainly felt like they had.

A chuckle cut through Chrysalis’ thoughts. “Uh...excuse me.” More chuckling.

Beneath a layer of mud, she could see she had just been assaulted by a sky blue pegasus with a rainbow mane. It hadn’t been Pinkie Pie or an army of guards, it was Rainbow Dash, the bearer of the element of loyalty.

“Here, let me help you.”

Dash pushed a rain cloud over top Chrysalis and doused her with water, then used something she called her ‘rainblow dry’, despite her voices of protest, to dry her off. By the end of it all, Chrysalis’ mane was a big, frizzy mess and both Spike and Dash were rolling on the ground with laughter.

“You did that intentionally, didn’t you?” She growled at the pegasus.

“No!” She shouted between bouts of laughter. “I swear, it was an accident!”

“Yeah, Twilight, you should lighten up a bit, learn to see the humour in things!”

How could anypony actually like this mare? She crashes into a pony and then laughs at them? Sadly, Chrysalis would have to at least pretend.

“Fine. I forgive you. Just don’t do it again.”

“So, what’s your name? I’m Spike, and this is Twilight Sparkle!”

“I’m only the best flier in all of Equestria: Rainbow Dash!”

Chrysalis inwardly smiled as she saw a chance to mess with the mare. “Never heard of ya.”

Dash flinched at her bluntness, but refused to let that bring her down for long. “Yeah? Well you will one day, cause I’m gonna be in the Wonderbolts!”

Chrysalis was sorely tempted to press Dash’s buttons even further, but realized that she should probably try to get into her good graces. Noting how much of an arrogant blowhard she seemed to be, she knew that the easiest way to do that was by playing up to her ego.

“Really? You must really be a good flier if you’re going to join them. They only accept the best. Do you think you could provide me with a demonstration?”

Dash took the bait with eagerness to spare. “Of course! See those clouds up there? I can clear those in ten seconds flat!”

There were a lot of clouds in the sky, enough to make Chrysalis seriously doubt the rainbow pony’s claim. However, she didn’t let on that she thought as much, she was prepared to even pretend that she really did manage it after she inevitably failed.

“That's amazing! I bet all the stallions are lined up for a chance with a mare as impressive as you!”

“Well...no, they aren’t.” Dash admitted with a little disappointment.

“Hmph. They don’t know what they’re missing!”

“Yeah?” She responded with some insecurity, apparently not used to ponies actually praising her in such a fashion. “I mean, yeah! You’re right! They should be lining up for miles for a shot with me!”

“Uh...Twilight?” Spike interjected. “There’s no way she could really clear the sky in ten seconds.”

“Oh yeah?” Dash confronted Spike on his doubt.

“Yeah!” Spike responded in kind. “I bet you my dessert gems for the week that you can’t do it!”

“You’re on!”

Rainbow Dash blasted off into the sky, kicking and punching clouds as she went by. Every cloud she came in contact with burst into nothingness. The mare was clearing the skies at an incredible pace, but she couldn’t really do it all in ten sec—oh, yes. Yes she could.

“See? What’d I tell ya? Ten seconds flat! You owe me some gems, little guy.” She approached her audience of two, both of which had dropped their jaws in awe. “You should see the look on your faces! I like you guys, I can’t wait to hang out some more. Catch you later!”

“That was amazing!” Spike screamed like the excited little kid he was while Rainbow Dash flew off.

Chrysalis shook her head to throw off the daze she found herself in. That was three of the element bearers she had run into, only two were left: Rarity and Fluttershy. Unfortunately, she didn’t know where to find either of them, so she turned to her assistant for directions.

“Never mind that, who’s next on the list?”

“Oh, right! Let’s see...next is Rainbow Dash. She’s supposed to be clearing the skies.”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at the clueless dragon.

“Oh...oops.” He let out a weak chuckle at his mistake. “Uh...the real next pony is Rarity on decorations. She should be this way!”

Within minutes, the two were walking through the doors of the town hall and were faced with a grand array of ribbons, flowers, banners and other assorted decorations. Chrysalis cared little about those and was focused on the elegant white unicorn mare with a finely styled purple mane.

Chrysalis was about to approach Rarity when she was distracted by a sudden, intense outpouring of love right beside her. She turned her head to find that her companion had been so instantly and thoroughly smitten that his pupils had turned into hearts. She looked back and forth between him and Rarity a few times, concluding that his little crush could only end in heartache.

“Beautiful!” He said, clearly enchanted

“Don’t you think she’s a little bit old for you?” Chrysalis prodded in an effort to dissuade the baby dragon. Not that she actually cared about his feelings, that would be silly. She did have to live with him according to the history books, though, and a broken hearted dragon didn’t sound like a pleasant roommate.

“Don’t be ridiculous! She’s peeeerfect!”

Oh, great. Now he was floating in the air and had hearts floating up and popping like bubbles from a soda above his head. Maybe she’d get lucky and his little crush would go away on its own. Really, how long could a childish crush last? Better to ignore it and focus on the more important task: tricking Rarity into liking her.

“Excuse me, Rarity.”

“Just a moment, please! I’m in the zone, as it were!” Rarity waved a hoof to shush them.

Chrysalis waited impatiently for her to finish what she was doing. How did Twilight make friends with any of these ponies? They all seemed so self absorbed and rude. Her thoughts were interrupted as Rarity shrieked in alarm.

“Darling, whatever happened to your coiffure?!”

“Rainbow Dash did.” She replied flatly.

“Say no more! That mare can be absolutely murder on one’s mane! You simply must come with me so I can fix it for you!

“That won’t really be necessary. I can—Hey! What are you doing?”

Chrysalis found herself being pushed along by Rarity, much to her aggravation. She didn’t need help fixing her mane, her mane was just a disguise built of magic! As soon as she was alone she’d be able to fix it with barely more than a thought. Unfortunately, no amount of protestations deterred the determined mare. After a few minutes, Chrysalis gave up entirely and just followed her to her boutique.

Shortly thereafter, she was relaxing on some cushions while Rarity was busy shampooing, conditioning and several other ‘ings’ that she was unfamiliar with to her mane in an effort to tame the frizzy mess. It was heavenly. Such a luxurious bit of personal grooming was nearly unheard of back in the hive. Under her tender hooves, she could almost forget that she hated these ponies. If only all of her meetings with the element bearers had gone so pleasantly.

“Mmmm...” Chrysalis moaned with pleasure. “You’re really good at this.”

“Thank you, darling. I’m nowhere near as talented at this as Aloe or Lotus, they run the local spa, but I do like to think I have a bit of skill.”

An actual spa? Now that sounded divine. Chrysalis would need to visit them someday. If she was going to be forced to live among these ponies, she may as well take advantage of what they had to offer.

“Anyway, perhaps you could tell me a little about yourself? Are you new in town?”

“Yes, I’ve been sent by Celestia to check up on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration.”

“Princess Celestia?!” Rarity gasped in an exaggerated fashion. “You know Princess Celestia?! And closely enough to refer to her without her title even?”

Chrysalis realized that she may have made a mistake and vowed to refer to Celestia with her title in the future.

“You simply must tell me all about her, and, perhaps, if you have time, about that dashing nephew of hers, Prince Blueblood!”

“Blueblood?” Chyrsalis’ brow wrinkled in confusion. She remembered little about that pony beyond that he was truly unimportant and annoying enough for her to avoid him when she had taken on the form of Princess Cadance. “Why would you want to know about him?”

“Why, because a stallion of his stature must be so elegant and refined! A perfect gentleman and a wonderful conversationalist, not to mention impeccably dressed. Oh, but I assure you, this is a purely...professional interest!”

“Riiight.” Chrysalis raised her eyebrow skeptically. If she were any more enamoured by the fantasy she had in her head, she’d be joining Spike in floating around with hearts in her eyes.

“You don’t want anything to do with Prince Blueblood!” Spike, who had previously been in a stupor of adoration while sitting on a stool in the corner of the room, spoke up. “He’s no gentleman like I am, all he cares about is himself!”

“I’m sure he can’t be nearly as bad as you make him out to be, no doubt he's grown up learning etiquette from only the most sophisticated of ponies. Why, the very thought of such distinguished royalty being anything less than perfect is ridiculous! ” Rarity replied, completely oblivious to the little dragon’s obvious intentions while caught up in her own infatuation. “Anyway, your coiffure has been rectified, Twilight!”

“So soon? I was really enjoying that.”

“Well, then, you’ll absolutely love what’s next!”

Rarity trotted off to a pair of folding doors and opened them to reveal a wardrobe filled with clothing of all types, ranging from tuxedos to stockings, though mostly consisting of dresses. Upon opening them, she walked straight into the wall of cloth and disappeared from view. Her muffled voice could be heard from within.

“Hmmm...no...no...yes! Oh absolutely, this will look fabulous on you! No...maybe...”

Chrysalis stared at that wardrobe with concern, which apparently was much bigger on the inside than she had initially thought if Rarity was able to completely disappear within as she had. She had never much liked clothing. It had always been so restricting with how it got in the way of transformation. Have you ever tried wearing clothing a size too small for you? Well, while disguised as Twilight, she’d be wearing clothes several sizes smaller than her natural form required, and if she forgot to take them off before transforming, or worse was forced out of her disguise, she would tear right through those clothes, which was a more painful experience than one might think. If the material it was made of was particularly strong, then it could even cause serious injury. Horror stories were told of changelings that strangled themselves to death because they forgot to remove clothing from around their necks.

While Chrysalis was contemplating on whether or not it would damage her efforts of tricking the mare into liking her too much if she simply ran away, Rarity stepped back into the room with at least half a dozen different outfits trailing behind her in her magical grasp.

“Uhhh...I don’t think that’s really necessary. I don’t need any clothes, really.”

“Don’t be silly, Twilight! A mare can never have enough clothing!”

“I mean, I don’t have any money to pay for all of this!”

“Consider it a welcome to Ponyville gift, darling.”

“Is that a corset shaped like a saddle?”

“But of course! It is absolutely magnificent for helping mares such as yourself turn stallions' heads! Here, let me help you get it on!”

Chrysalis backed up a step and growled at Rarity. “I do not need help attracting stallions!”

“Of course not, dear,” Rarity answered with a disbelieving tone, “but it couldn’t hurt your chances.”

“I am not wearing that!”

“Oh, stop being such a baby! It’ll look fabulous on you!”

“I said no!”

Spike stopped imagining Rarity in that corset just in time to watch the two fighting over said article of clothing. It was being dragged back and forth through the air, one end held in the beautiful blue of Rarity’s magic (seriously, was anything about her not absolutely gorgeous?) and the other in Twilight’s typical...green magic? That was weird. He could have sworn her magic was pink. Before Spike could think more on that unusual change, a great tearing sound filled the room as the saddle corset was ripped in two. Both arguing ponies were silenced as they stared at their respective halves.

“My corset...” Rarity said in a shockingly calm tone.

Chrysalis, initially relieved that she wouldn’t have to wear the damned thing, looked up to see the tears beginning to form in Rarity’s great big, blue eyes. She realized immediately that she probably should have just put the stupid thing on. Damage control time.

“I am so sorry, I didn’t—”

Rarity pulled out a couch from seemingly thin air and collapsed onto it in tears.

“Just—” pause for an exaggerated sob, “—go!”

Awkwardly, Chrysalis did as she was bid by the distraught mare, setting her half of the corset gently on the couch beside her as she left. That was another complete failure at making friends. Why was friendship so hard? At least her meeting with Rainbow Dash hadn't ended terribly.

“She’s even beautiful when she’s crying.” Spike sighed beside her after they stepped out of the boutique.

“Really?” Chrysalis deadpanned. “You’ve got some serious issues, Spike.”

Chrysalis didn’t wait for him to respond in any fashion as she started walking in an attempt to put some distance between herself and Rarity. Moments later, Spike began running to catch up.

“Uhh...Twilight?”

“What is it, Spike?” Chrysalis answered irritably.

“Why was your magic green in there?”

Chrysalis froze in place and Spike ran into her back legs with a surprised grunt. She had never actually had anypony ask her about that before in all her years of transforming. Such a thing had nothing to do with luck, obviously, that would be ridiculous. It had everything to do with a changeling’s natural talents. When transformed, a subtle field of magical influence affected anypony within a significant radius, causing them to simply be unable to notice such a difference existed at all. It was a passive effect that changelings had no control over, she couldn’t turn it off even if she wanted to, so there was no chance she had simply forgotten to turn it on or something. One of the problems in her own time had been that ponies had found a way to counteract the effect, which made it much harder for changelings to go undetected if they used any magic. Why it hadn’t worked on Spike, she didn’t know. The best she could guess was that dragons were somehow immune.

“Is it? That’s weird.” Chrysalis gave a complete non-answer, trying to think up an excuse.

“Yeah. Why would it change like that?”

“Oh, um...” Twilight had been big on science and reading and such, right? Perhaps she just needed to make something up that sounded sufficiently brainy. “There’s a history of a pony’s magical aura changing colours after a traumatic blow to the head.”

“You took a blow to the head?!” Spike replied with considerable panic. “Are you okay?! Do you need me to get a bag of ice?”

Oh, right. Spike had been unconscious between the accident and getting to Ponyville and she had brushed off his questions on what happened rather than explaining when he had awoken.

“We both did, actually. That’s why you had such a headache earlier. Princess Celestia saved us, though, so we’re fine. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense. It explains why I don’t remember coming to Ponyville. You sure you’re okay? You must’ve been hurt really bad if it changed your magic colour.”

“I’m fine.” She answered quickly and then attempted to change the subject. “What’s next on the agenda?”

“Gimme a sec...” Spike pulled out his list. “It’s music, the last one.”

As if on cue, a chorus of birdsong filled the air in a perfect harmony.

“Well, that’s convenient.” Chrysalis observed.

The pair went towards the beautiful sound, crawling through a row of bushes to do so, until they saw a buttery yellow pegasus with an overly long and flowing pink mane and tail floating in the air and supervising a tree filled with various birds as they sang. The perfect harmony of the song was broken as one or maybe more, Chrysalis couldn’t tell the exact number, sang out of tune and the directing pegasus halted the song to make corrections.

Chrysalis figured there was no more point in delaying this any further, she needed to connect to that mare. Somewhat pessimistic after all of her previous failures, she could only imagine how terribly things would go this time.

“Hey, there!” She called out in an extremely friendly manner, hoping to avoid a repeat of her previous meetings.

Fluttershy let out a little scream, barely more than a whimper really given its volume, and all the birds flew off in fear. Fluttershy landed and turned to face the one who intruded on her time with the animals, if hiding behind one’s hair could be considered facing. Chrysalis sighed with frustration. Apparently she could do nothing right this day.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Fluttershy didn’t bother responding as awkward silence fell between the two. The shy pony kicked at the dirt with a forehoof.

“So...I’m Twilight Sparkle, what’s your name?”

“It’s...Fl...” Chrysalis couldn’t make out what she was saying through the mumbles, but decided to just pretend she had.

“Great, Fluttershy! I think we could become great friends, don’t you?”

Fluttershy’s only response was to whimper pathetically as she wilted beneath her presence.

“Is something wrong?”

More cowering greeted her words. This was starting to get ridiculous. How the heck did the real Twilight Sparkle make friends with all these ponies? It was downright impossible! Things couldn’t possibly go any worse, so she decided on a change of tactics.

“Look, I’ll level with you. I’m only really here because I need to find some friends to help me power some magical jewellery so that I can take down an ancient monster that’s coming back from the moon soon so that I can prevent the potential destruction of life as we know it. I’d really appreciate it if you’d play along and at least pretend to be my friend so that I can at least pretend I’m making some progress this day before I am inevitably cut down by a nigh omnipotent evil goddess just because I can’t get any of you damn ponies to like me.”

Fluttershy had dropped to the ground with her hooves covering her face and was quivering in absolute terror, whether at the thought of having to face down an evil monstrosity or because of the crazy pony in front of her, Chrysalis was unsure. Either way, she wasn’t exactly surprised. Did it really matter, though? She’d already screwed up with all but one of the other element bearers, what was one more failure?

“Twilight!” Spike scolded her as he rushed up to them. “Can’t you see you’re scaring her?”

Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed. “Where the heck have you been?”

“I got stuck in the bushes.”

“Of course you did.”

From behind her, Chrysalis heard a loud gasp.

“A baby dragon!”

Moments later, Chrysalis was sent flying through the air by the sudden impact of Fluttershy barrelling into her. She had to fight the urge to fly, as such a thing would completely ruin her disguise, so she endured the painful impact of landing face first in the dirt. That girl was stronger than she looked.

“I’ve never seen a baby dragon before! He’s so cute!”

As Spike and Fluttershy spoke to each other, Chrysalis was torn between wanting to ignite the pegasus’ mane and the more rational plan of using Spike to her advantage. As much as it hurt her to do so, she settled on the latter.

“Yup! He’s my dragon, all right!” Chrysalis announced as she interjected herself next to Fluttershy and threw a hoof over her shoulder. “Too bad you’re not my friend, because my friends get to spend as much time with him as they want!”

“Hey! I’m not your dragon! I’m my own person!”

“Don’t listen to him, I’m legally his guardian, so he’s my dragon.” Chrysalis told Fluttershy in response to Spike’s protest. She hoped she was right about being his guardian, because if not that might make things a little awkward.

“Well...okay, that’s true, you are my guardian, but the way you say it makes me sound like I’m some kind of pet or something...”

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.” Chrysalis denied offhandedly.

“Oh, my...I would really like to have a chance to speak with him...Maybe we could be friends, Twilight?”

“Splendid idea, why didn’t I think of that? Come on friend, let’s go spend some time at my place doing...friend...stuff. You too, Spike, come on! I need you for this!”

“Hey, whoa!” Spike protested as Chrysalis roughly levitated him onto her back.

Chrysalis walked directly to the library in which she was supposed to be spending her time in Ponyville living in. She had already known of its location thanks to her spy network in the past or future or whatever tense she should be using, but she had gotten an even better idea from when she had been flown into the town. A bird’s eye view can be great for creating a mental map, and that’s something she was very accustomed to doing.

During the journey, Spike regaled Fluttershy with his entire life story. Fortunately for Chrysalis, this involved a lot of Twilight’s life story too. While there was no way she’d be able to remember everything that he said about her, she would no doubt find the general information on Twilight Sparkle’s life invaluable if she was supposed to take her place. She couldn't just brute force her way through it and blame inconsistencies on the stress of an upcoming wedding this time. She had to keep up the ruse longer than just a couple of days, so things such as her family, her schooling and the friends she had shunned in favour of chasing after Nightmare Moon would be invaluable. Honestly, after hearing about some of Twilight’s past, Chrysalis began to understand how she could have made friends with all these ponies: Twilight was as terrible a person as any of them were. She was rude, inconsiderate, oblivious and all around neglectful of anything that wasn’t her studies or Princess Celestia. That she would have one day become princess of friendship seemed a cruel joke to Chrysalis, especially with how ruthless she was towards her changelings in the future.

Chrysalis gave off a sad sigh. Twilight was a terrible pony that had done and would do terrible things, and she was there in a position where she would be forced to recreate those things. It didn’t seem right to her. No, she wouldn’t go the same route as that hated mare. She would do things differently. She would never be the cause of her own kind’s gradual extermination. She'd deal with changing history later, though.

“Umm...are you okay, Twilight? You seem sad.”

“I’m okay, Fluttershy. Hearing all these stories has me feeling a little nostalgic, that’s all.” She lied as they approached the library’s front door. “Anyway, we’re here. Want to come inside?”

“I’d love to.”

The three of them entered the quiet library and were engulfed by darkness. It was actually kind of surprising just how little light there was in there. Sure, it wasn’t exactly bright outside what with the sun setting and all, but there still should have been enough to see by in there.

“What’s with the lights?” Chrysalis voiced aloud. Just then, a click was heard as brightness flooded the room.

“SURPRISE!”

Chrysalis was hit by a wall of sound, balloons, confetti and one of those roll up noisemakers that you blow into. Additionally, a steady stream of love was suddenly being tossed about everywhere. Fluttershy, who had followed her inside, had taken cover beneath a nearby table in shock.

“Surprise!” Pinkie Pie repeated in her face. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were you? Huh? Huh? Huh?”

“Yes, I was surprised.” Chrysalis confessed as she enjoyed the sensations of love and affection in the air. “It’s quite the intoxicating environment, I love it! Here I thought you didn’t like me with the way you reacted to our first meeting.”

The pink mare giggled. “Don’t be silly, I like everypony! You see, when I first saw you you were like 'hello' and I was like 'gasp' because I never saw you before and if I never saw you before that means you’re new, cause I know everypony and I mean everypony in Ponyville, and if you’re new that means you hadn’t met anyone yet and if you hadn’t met anyone yet you mustn’t have any friends and if you don’t have any friends then—”

Chrysalis shoved a hoof into Pinkie’s mouth. “I get it, Pinkie. Does this mean that we’re friends now?”

“Well, duh!” She answered after pulling her hoof out of her mouth. “I’m friends with everypony and I can’t well be friends with everypony if I’m not friends with you!”

Chrysalis blinked. Huh. She had thought that Pinkie Pie had been onto her or something, but now here she was offering, no, forcing her friendship onto her. That made for three of the five element bearers that she managed to befriend. That wasn’t so bad, right?

“Thanks, I could use some friends.”

“Well, I invited everypony in town, so now you’ve got lots of friends!”

The four other element bearers appeared to crawl out of the woodwork and stood there behind Pinkie Pie. Chrysalis looked between them with confusion.

“Uh...I thought that two of you hated me. I destroyed your saddle, remember?” She pointed at Rarity as she said so.

“Oh, that silly thing? Think nothing of it! I’ve already put together a new one and it is absolutely marvellous! Far better than that ratty old thing ever had been! Though I wouldn’t object to having you model it for me later, if you would be so kind.” She continued on in a sing song voice. “And let me remind you, you owe me!”

Chrysalis winced at that. If that’s what it took to get the elements of harmony working so that she could get rid of Nightmare Moon and save her changelings, then that’s the way it would have to be.

“I guess I do. What about you, Applejack? Weren’t you mad about me making out with your brother?”

“Oh ho ho!” Rarity interrupted. “You were making out with Big Macintosh, were you? Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so quick to disbelieve when you claimed to not need help with stallions.”

“Look, ah ain’t gonna say ah like what ya did, and ah ain't gonna say we're friends jus' yet, but Pinkie convinced me to give ya a second chance. Jus’ stay away from my brother an’ we won’t have a problem, ya hear? He’s a lot more innocent, naive an’ sensitive than ya think an’ ah don’t wanna see him hurt.”

Rarity stifled a laugh.

“What’s so funny, Rarity?” Applejack growled.

“He’s not so sensitive, or innocent, as you seem to think, Applejack. He’s a big boy now, he can handle himself in affairs of the heart.”

“It ain’t his heart that ah think most mares are after.”

“Mmmm...no, I'd say not.” Rarity responded with a slightly dreamy look in her eye, causing Applejack to glare at her. “Worry not, Applejack, I’m saving myself for my prince charming.”

“Umm...is this really appropriate to talk about around a baby?” Fluttershy asked as she eyed Spike.

“Hey, I’m not that young! I’m totally a mature and respectable dragon! I know all about kissing!”

Rarity giggled in a patronizing way. “Of course, kissing, that’s what we were talking about. I’m sorry for offending your manly pride.”

“That’s right! I’m as manly as they come!” He boasted, puffing up his chest and completely missing Rarity’s words for the teasing that they were. Chrysalis shook her head. That lizard was in for a world of heartbreak once he stopped being so oblivious.

“So, you girls forgive me, then?”

“Of course, darling!”

“Ah guess so.”

Chrysalis burst out laughing. It was far from the loudest laugh she had ever done, more of an extended chuckling really, but it still unnerved the five mares closest to her. Things weren’t so lost as she had thought they were, all five of them had just fallen into their role as Twilight’s friends like good little mares. Unless she was forgetting about something, all she really needed to do now was absorb a bit more love at this party and she’d be ready to face Nightmare Moon. After she dealt with that world ending threat, she could focus on shaping history to her benefit.

“Uhhh...are ya okay, sugar cube?”

“I’m wonderful, Applejack! Come on, this is a party, isn’t it? Let’s all have some fun!”

“Now that’s something I can get behind! Let’s party!” Pinkie Pie shouted at the top of her lungs.

The party went on into the long hours of the morning. As the end neared, Chrysalis was feeling giddy from a combination of all the love that was floating around like a soup and a lack of sleep. She probably should have attempted to get some rest, but she suspected it would be a losing effort to try with all the noise. She hadn’t had the opportunity to drag off anypony to get a substantial one on one meal from them, but hugs were given out to her freely as the guest of honour, so she still managed to get a decent meal regardless. After awhile, ponies began to file out of the library in large numbers.

“Hey, where’s everypony going?” Chrysalis wondered aloud, a little disappointed as the sources of love disappeared.

“It’s time to watch the sun rise!” Spike explained and then ran out the door along with several more ponies.

Oh, right. The Summer Sun Celebration. She had almost forgotten about that in her efforts to glean all the love she could. She followed after Spike and travelled along with a large group of ponies all the way back to where they had initially met Rarity: the town hall. Chrysalis hadn’t been too knowledgeable about the specifics of pony holidays, but from what she could gather from the whispers of those nearby, Princess Celestia was supposed to be raising the sun in some kind of ceremony for all to see. It sounded kind of stupid to her. The sun rose the same every day, barring some interference from a bored Discord. Why would they make a big ceremony out of it?

It didn’t really matter, though. She was aware enough of history to know that it was here and now that Nightmare Moon was supposed to appear and cast the world into a not so eternal night. She was ready to play her part in getting rid of that nuisance. She had the bearers eating out of her hoof, she had the love to keep her strong for at least a little while, and she had the...uh oh.

Chrysalis’ eyes widened as she realized she had no idea where the elements of harmony were located. How was she even supposed to find out? She was pretty sure this was information that Time Keeper would have told her had he not been captured like the little idiot he was. With a growing sense of irritation, she looked around the town hall where she was surrounded by a crowd of ponies. She was packed tightly in there, but maybe she could squeeze her way out and get back to the library and search for some information before it was too late. Just as she managed to make a little headway in getting out, she was cut off by Pinkie Pie as she somehow effortlessly cut through the crowd.

“Isn’t this exciting?! Are you excited? Because I’m excited! I’ve never been so excited in—”

“Pinkie, please, I forgot something at the library, I need to go right now.”

“Go? But we just got here! If you go now, you’ll miss the entire thing!”

Suddenly, the music began to play. It was combination of birdsong and a few other instruments from musicians near the stage. A grey maned earth pony mare with a beige coat, glasses and some kind of neck piece took the stage. She recognized the look she had, it was the 'I've got a speech' look. It was too late to go back now, she'd just have to improvise. Really, how powerful could a nigh omnipotent alicorn princess possessed by the powers of darkness be?

“Fillies and gentlecolts! As mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!” The crowd cheered her announcement, but Chrysalis only felt a sense annoyance. Any moment now, Nightmare Moon should be appearing and she was stuck here without her weapons listening to a politician prattling on. “In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise and celebrate this, the longest day of the year. And now, it is my great honour to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria: Princess Celestia!”

Were all other politicians this long winded? Listening to others monologue had always annoyed her. She was almost looking forward to Nightmare Moon showing up just so that she could stop listening to that windbag. Moments later, the curtain on the balcony was drawn to reveal...absolutely nothing. That was certainly anticlimactic. Sure, nothing still indicated that something had gone wrong, but she had expected more for all the build up she had put herself through. A few moments of ponies searching later, and Rarity walked out onto the balcony.

“She’s gone!” She announced, eliciting a wave of gasps from the crowd.

Moments later, a cloud of dark smoke coalesced on the balcony and a tall, black alicorn materialized there. She had a blue ethereal mane of stars and wore dark blue armour upon her head and chest. She cut an imposing figure up there. Chrysalis admitted to herself that, if Nightmare Moon had been a stallion, she’d actually be really hot. But as a mare? Okay, she admitted that even as a mare she was really hot. She didn’t normally go for the ladies, but damn Nightmare Moon was a fine piece of flesh. Change the wings, put a few holes in her extremities and you could almost mistake her for a changeling queen at a distance. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to let her take over Equestria if she agreed to share the country, along with a few other things, with her. If all the ponies were afraid of her, how terrible could she truly be? She could probably convince her to not harm her changelings. Probably.

Then she remembered that if Nightmare Moon wasn't stopped, then all of time and space might collapse in on itself, killing everything alive. It was so unfair that she had to put aside her own desires for the greater good, but it was something she had been doing all of her life as queen of the changelings, that wasn’t going to change now.

“Oh, my beloved subjects, it’s been so long since I’ve seen your precious, little, sun loving faces!” Nightmare Moon began to monologue.

“I’ll say it’s been a long time, you’re late!”

“What?” Nightmare Moon’s eyes narrowed as she tried to find the one who had spoken.

“Couldn’t you have come in a few seconds earlier and interrupted that long ass speech from the mayor? I thought I was going to die of boredom before you got a chance to kill me.”

Somewhere in the crowd, an anonymous pony let out a singular laugh but quickly silenced herself.

“You dare mock me?!” Nightmare Moon growled at Chrysalis. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

“Black Snooty?” Pinkie Pie suggested.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re Nightmare Moon.” The crowd gasped again. “I’m sorry I interrupted your monologue and all, I know what it’s like to want to do that, trust me, but I get incredibly bored when other ponies do it.”

“What did you do to our princess?!” Rainbow Dash demanded as she attempted to charge through the air at the alicorn but was stopped by Applejack biting down on her tail.

“What, am I not royal enough for you?”

“Stop!” Chrysalis demanded. “I said I get bored when others monologue, so can we just get this over with?"

Nightmare Moon glared with a fury to match a thousand suns at the purple unicorn that dared to keep interrupting her, then tried to continue.

“Remember this day, little ponies,” Chrysalis opened her mouth to object once again only to have a wave of magic sent her way by Nightmare Moon, which ended with her tied, gagged and blind folded all at once on the floor, the entirety of which didn't even cause Nightmare Moon to pause in her speech, “for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!”

Chrysalis attempted to pry the magical restraints from her body with her own spells, only partially aware of what was going on around her. Nightmare Moon was laughing, and lightning struck a few times, more gasps and screams. It really didn’t matter, she needed to remove those bindings. After near a solid minute of struggling, the magic weakened enough for her to break its hold on her.

“Are you all right, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.

“Where is she?” Chrysalis demanded as she looked around the room and saw that she was gone. She was either going to fuck or kill that mare, she wasn’t quite sure which, maybe both. Nobody dominated her like that. She was the one that dominated others!

“Umm...I think she flew off to the Everfree Forest.” Fluttershy muttered, slightly afraid of her new friend’s tone.

Chrysalis charged out of the building in time to see the last vestiges of Nightmare Moon’s shadow form gliding over a forest in the distance. She didn’t care that she didn’t have the elements of harmony, she’d tear her to pieces without them.

“Then that’s where I’m going.”

4 - Love is Magic

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“Now hold on jus’ one apple buckin’ minute!” Applejack’s southern accent greeted Chrysalis as the farm mare ran up next to her. “Where in the hay do ya think yer goin’?”

“I thought I made that clear, I’m going to go kill Nightmare Moon for the indignities she’s put me through.” Chrysalis growled.

Rainbow Dash flew down from the sky and landed between the two. “There’s no way I’m letting you go after her like that.”

“See? Even Dash knows that jus’ rushin’ in without a plan is a bad idea!”

“I’m coming with you!” Dash added, causing Applejack to facehoof.

“Gosh darnit, Rainbow! Ya were s’posed to be on my side here!”

“You’re coming with me too.” Chrysalis ordered as she began walking to the Everfree Forest again. AJ’s eyes narrowed.

“Makin’ out with my brother an’ now orderin’ me around like yer some kind of princess? Yer gettin’ awfully close to ruining yer chances of becomin’ my friend.”

Chrysalis froze in place facing away from her ‘friends’ and gritted her teeth. If only she didn’t need that bull headed mare for this. She turned back to face AJ with a snarl on her face.

“Fine! You win! I’m not going to chase after her!”

“No need to yell at me. Ah’m not sayin’ we shouldn’t go after her, ah’m jus’ sayin’ we need a plan.”

Something yanked at Chrysalis’ tail and she looked behind her to find Spike.

“What about—” he paused to yawn, “the elements of harmony?”

The other eventual element bearers were beginning to catch up to Chrysalis, and Pinkie Pie’s ears perked up at the mention of the elements.

“Elements of harmony? What’re those?”

“Weapons that were used to defeat Nightmare Moon.” Chrysalis answered.

“Ya knew ‘bout something that could beat her an’ ya were jus’ gonna go runnin’ after her without ‘em?” Applejack asked incredulously.

“Oh, I’m sorry, maybe you know where to find weapons that have been lost for a thousand years.” Chrysalis snapped back at her.

“Wait, this seems fishy!” Rainbow Dash declared. “You know an awful lot about Nightmare Moon, and you were just going to run off to where she is without any kind of weapons. How do I know you aren’t working for her? Are you a spy?!”

“What?! No!” Chrysalis shouted in a panic, and perhaps somewhat unconvincingly as Applejack raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “Look, I am not working for Nightmare Moon, I want her gone just as much, if not more, than all of you. That I would want to help her is ridiculous!”

“I must agree with Twilight.” Rarity came to her defence. “I saw the way Nightmare Moon looked at her for interrupting. She was absolutely furious, and I find it difficult to believe that she would react in such a fashion if they were in collusion with each other.”

“Those bindings did look uncomfortable...” Fluttershy added.

“I dunno, they looked kind of fun to me!” Pinkie chimed in happily.

“Really, darling? If you like that, I may be able to put together an ensemble to simulate such sensations for your private time...for a price, of course.” Rarity offered her services, eager to promote her business. Then she added with a slight blush when she realized her words could be misconstrued. “Of course, my services are purely of the tailoring variety, you would need to find somepony on your own to help you get in and out of it.”

“That’d be amazing!”

“Uh, girls? Ah think we’re gettin’ off topic here.”

“Oh right, sorry Applejack.” Rarity apologized.

“I’ll drop by your shop later.” Pinkie gave a conspiratorial wink to Rarity. “Now about those elements!”

“I already said that I don’t know where they are!” Chrysalis answered angrily.

“Maybe we could find something about them in the library.” Spike suggested before yawning again.

“But—” Chrysalis attempted to argue before being interrupted by Rarity.

“I’m sure the eternal night will still be around to get rid of if we take a few hours to prepare ourselves first, Twilight.”

“Will everything else, though?” Chrysalis muttered to herself under her breath so the others wouldn’t hear her.

Even if she hadn’t been privy to the details back when it happened in her own timeline, it was kind of hard to miss when the morning didn’t come, or when it finally did arrive a few hours later. She knew that the real Twilight had done this quickly, so could they really afford to waste time searching the library? Knowing how prepared that aggravating, purple unicorn had always been, she had probably spent most of the day searching for information on their location rather than wasting more time than was necessary with her ‘friends’. That brunch with the Apple family had been quite time consuming, as had letting Rarity do whatever it was she had done to her mane, not to mention the time she spent gathering love at that party. By this point in time, she probably knew precisely where to find the elements. Chrysalis couldn’t afford to search for the answers.

“We don’t have time!” She shouted at them.

“An’ what makes you so sure of that?” Applejack asked skeptically.

Chrysalis groaned with frustration. How she was beginning to miss her little changelings. If she told them that they didn’t have time to waste they would have simply taken her word for it and dashed forth into whatever danger she bid them to. She needed an excuse, one that didn’t sound as crazy as saying the universe would implode on itself if they didn’t hurry up. She glanced around for inspiration and her eyes fell on the city hall where the Summer Sun Celebration took place, giving her an idea.

“Eternal night may still be around in a few hours, but what about Princess Celestia?”

“Oooooh!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “She was missing! If Black Snooty has her, then who knows what she’s going to do to her?!”

“Exactly!” Chrysalis agreed. “We don’t have time to waste!”

“Alright, fine, ah guess ya have a point, but are ya really suggestin’ we jus’ chase after Nightmare Moon without anythin’ to help defend ourselves with?”

“I understand why you might be concerned for the Princess’ safety, but can we really hope to defeat an alicorn unarmed? We need those elements.” Rarity added.

Chrysalis’ eye twitched and she gnashed her teeth. How much did it take to get these damn ponies to move? She was half tempted to just run off without them. Maybe if she could convince them she knew where the elements of harmony were, they would finally shut up and come with her. Where could they be?

Given how short the never ending night had been, Twilight couldn’t have had time to go on a grand adventure to find the blasted things. Unless she had found them ahead of time, which Chrysalis doubted since her dragon didn’t seem to know of their location and she had taken Twilight's place shortly before she was supposed to leave for Ponyville, they had to be somewhere close by. She shut her eyes and tried to concentrate on the reports she had received from her spies that had dug up information on what happened after the fact.

“I know where the Elements of Harmony are!” She blurted out.

“But ya jus’ finished sayin’ ya don’t know.” Applejack pointed out with an accusing glare.

“I know what I said, but just listen to me. The elements were used by the leaders of Equestria to banish Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago, right? Well, a thousand years ago Equestria was ruled from a royal castle in the middle of what is now the Everfree Forest.”

“Uhhh...so?” Rainbow Dash asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Are you really that dense? The elements of harmony were left in their castle! They’re in the Everfree Forest!”

Rainbow Dash glared at Chrysalis. "I understood what you were saying, what I meant is why would they leave such a powerful weapon in some old ruins for a thousand years?"

“Rainbow Dash has a point, are you certain they would still be there?” Rarity queried.

“Yes! Look, I did some research on the whole Nightmare Moon thing before coming to Ponyville and it said that they were left in that castle. They’ve got to be there!”

Chrysalis had no idea if the legends of Nightmare Moon even mentioned the Elements of Harmony or who used them, let alone that they would be in that stupid castle in the forest that may or may not have been related to the leaders of Equestria back then. She was making things up as she went along, but where else could they be? Inside Ponyville? That seemed incredibly unlikely since they wouldn’t be lost. Maybe Twilight happened to just stumble on them inside the Everfree Forest, but she had her doubts. Her spies had said that, according to the local gossip, the final confrontation was supposedly in that castle. They had to be there.

“Well, if you are certain...” Rarity trailed off.

“Yer really gonna believe her jus’ like that? She said that she didn’t know where they were!” Applejack argued. “Ah don’t trust her.”

“I forgot.” Chrysalis lied. “But they are definitely in that castle, and guess who was last seen going into the Everfree Forest?”

“Oh! Oh! I know this one!” Pinkie Pie shouted exuberantly and waved her hoof in the air as if she were a school filly hoping the teacher would pick her.

“Nightmare Moon is probably on her way to the elements right now intent on destroying them.” Chrysalis answered her own question.

“Oh.” Pinkie Pie stopped waving her arm around. “That is so not what I was going to say.”

“So, are you girls coming or not?”

“She’s obviously lying!” Applejack shouted.

“Well, I for one am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt." Rarity offered her support of Chrysalis.

“How generous of you.” Applejack said flatly.

"Besides, if she is correct, then Nightmare Moon may be about to destroy the one thing that we can use against her.” Rarity added.

“Heck yeah I’m going! Can’t let you hog all the glory!” Rainbow Dash piped up.

“Of course I’m going! Can’t let my newfound friend go into danger without me!” Pinkie Pie giggled.

“Umm...me too.” Fluttershy added softly.

“As your number one assistant, I’m going wherever you go!” Spike was next to confirm his intentions. Chrysalis had nearly forgotten he was there. Maybe he could be the new Applejack in this timeline if she didn’t capitulate to her desires.

The six looked at the final one to not agree with expectant stares. Applejack looked between all of them as if they had just gone mad.

“Well?” Chrysalis prodded, feeling a sense of triumph. She could feel it, she had defeated Applejack in this little battle.

“Fine!” Applejack huffed. “Ah’ll come too, but ah don’t like it.”

“Perfect!” Chrysalis said with a smug smile. She turned around and began walking towards the forest only to freeze after a few steps. “Uhhh...do any of you girls know how to get to the castle in the forest?”

“Nope!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed cheerfully as she bounced past Chrysalis. Applejack snorted derisively but said nothing.

“Gimme ten seconds and I can find out!” Rainbow Dash boasted before flying off into the sky.

Chrysalis counted the seconds before she returned, and sure enough, she landed back on the ground at the ten second mark. She began to wonder if everything that mare did was over in ten seconds, concluding that perhaps that was why stallions weren’t so interested in her.

“Okay, so there’s a big, creepy castle in the middle of the forest. If we keep going in that general direction, we can probably find it.”

“I’ll be counting on you to help keep us on track with your scouting then.” Chrysalis informed Rainbow Dash.

“Sure thing!”

Spike jumped onto Chrysalis’ back eliciting a small screech of surprise from her.

“And what do you think you’re doing?” She turned her head to face him with narrowed eyes.

“You can walk faster than me, so I just figured that I’d slow you guys down less if I rode on your back.”

“Fine.” Chrysalis answered, not wanting to argue with the little thing. Sure, she could have just bucked him off and told him to get lost, but that might injure him and doing so would probably screw up the time line or something.

Soon the seven of them were at the entrance to the Everfree forest. It was a dark place, which perhaps should have been expected of a forest at night. If one had an overactive imagination, they could easily imagine that the light was somehow being dimmed by some kind of magical force. Still, it was nothing compared to the darkness of being burrowed beneath a mountain, so it really didn’t bother Chrysalis at all. It did, however, seem to bother her companions. They were jumping in fright at any random sound that the forest produced.

“Ugh...how are we supposed to beat Nightmare Moon if you’re all scared of the dark?” Chrysalis complained.

“It isn’t that it’s dark! Just look at it! It’s dreadful!” Rarity spoke with a quavering tone.

“It just ain’t natural! Folks say it don’t work the same as Equestria.” AJ added.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and responded with a generous amount of sarcasm. “Oh no, how terrible! Please oh please tell me how this place ‘ain’t natural’.”

“Noooopony knooows! You know why?” Rainbow Dash extended her words in an imitation ghostly moans from a foal's scary, campfire tale.

“Rainbow, quit it!” Applejack scolded her friend who had started approaching the rest of the group with a crouched gait.

The others had stopped in their tracks near a cliff, trembling in fear. If it weren’t causing further delays, Chrysalis might have found amusement in Rainbow’s antics. As annoying as the lot of them were, Rainbow Dash was perhaps the least annoying of the bunch. She had even proven useful with her scouting abilities, far more than she could say of the others so far.

“’Cause everypony who's ever come in has never...come...OUT!” She screamed the last word and hopped into the air for an added layer of intimidation.

Chrysalis couldn’t help but chuckle at the way that three of the others let out a squeal of fright. That chuckle soon morphed into a scream when a large chunk of the cliff side they were standing on crumbled beneath their feet. Five of them, the four non-pegasi and the dragon, fell with the crumbling earth as they panicked. Chrysalis scrambled to latch onto something, anything that could slow her tumble down the steep hill that had formed but to no avail. It wasn’t until she was half over the final edge over a very long drop that she managed to come to a halt. The jerking motion of her halt wrenched Spike from his grip on her back and he fell, managing to latch onto Chrysalis’ tail at the last second, eliciting a yelp of pain from her.

“Twilight, heeeelp!” The baby dragon screamed at her.

“Whatever you do, don’t let go, Spike!” She ordered.

“Wasn’t planning on it...” He whimpered.

“Okay...just climb back up. Easy!” She muttered to herself as she reached for an exposed root to help pull Spike and herself to safety. Unfortunately it gave way beneath her weight and she slid even further over the edge, only holding on by her hooves now.

“Hang on! Ah’m a comin’!” AJ shouted as she slid down the slope at a controlled pace, coming to a stop just within reach of the distressed duo. She grabbed hold of Chrysalis’ hooves.

Chrysalis was shocked by her rescuer. Of all the ponies she thought might be willing to help her, Applejack was the least likely. She seemed to have a chip on her shoulder over her for some unfathomable reason. Not that she truly needed the mare’s help, if it came down to it she could always fly her way to safety. She’d probably have to make up some story about a spell that allowed her to grow wings and try to convince them of the truth of such an outlandish lie, but she would survive. Spike, on the other hoof, wasn’t lucky enough to have wings.

“Hey, Spike!” Chrysalis tried to get the dragon’s attention. “Climb up my body to get to safety.

“I..I’ll try.” Chrysalis gritted her teeth in an effort to endure the pain of having her tail used as a rope as Spike began his ascent.

“As for you, Applejack, when he gets close enough, help him up.”

“But—” Applejack began.

“Just do it! Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine!”

Suddenly, the little claws that had surpassed her tail and had grabbed onto her hip slipped and the weight that had been hanging from Chrysalis faded.

“Spike!” She screamed, letting go of Applejack’s hooves and throwing herself from the cliff face. Her eyes swiftly locked onto the free falling dragon as he flailed about in a panic all the while screaming out the name ‘Twilight’. She straightened her body to minimize wind resistance so that she could gain speed and stretched out her hooves towards him.

“Gotcha!” She declared triumphantly as she pulled the terrified lizard to her chest. She prepared herself to transform, not all the way, just enough to get her wings back and avoid being smashed against the swiftly approaching ground. She hoped that she’d be able to convince the others that it was just a spell she knew. Before she could do that, though, she felt two pairs of hooves grab hold of her from either side and slow her fall to a much less death inducing speed.

“Oh...uh...thanks.” Chrysalis stumbled over expressing her gratitude to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash as they helped her get to the ground safely.

“Are you out of your mind!?” Rainbow Dash asked her. “Did you forget that we can fly and help you out? You’re not alone out here, Twilight!”

“It may have slipped my mind.” Chrysalis admitted.

“Uh...Twilight? Are ya okay?”

Chrysalis turned to see Applejack, who had somehow descended to the bottom of the cliff on her own while she wasn’t looking.

“I’m fine.” She answered brusquely. “I’m surprised you care with the way you’ve been treating me. That you helped at all, actually.”

Applejack winced at this. “Ah admit that I ain't been treatin' ya the greatest, but ya ain't exactly been givin' me much cause to trust ya. Shucks, ah still think ya lied 'bout knowin' where the elements are.”

“How kind of you to say, I like you too.” Chrysalis deadpanned.

“Jus’ bein’ honest is all. But ah can’t believe that anypony that would be so selfless as to jump after a child like that can be all bad, even if it was a fool thing to do. Ya’ve got a good heart beneath that prickly skin o’ yours an’ ya probably mean well with what yer doin’.” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow when Applejack paused for a moment. “Look, what ah’m sayin’ is that ah think we got off on the wrong hoof twice now. Ah would be honoured to be yer friend.”

“Great. Charmed. Friends. Now can we please get going? We’re behind schedule.” Chrysalis answered in an impatient tone, levitated Spike back onto her back and walked away from the hoof that Applejack had extended with her peace offering. Applejack’s eye twitched over being snubbed like that.

“She’s jus’ worried is all...she don’t mean nothin’ by it.” Applejack grumbled to herself as she set to following after the group of ponies that had started to leave her behind.

As the group went on their way, Rainbow Dash continued to provide two things to the group. First was a more or less consistent direction thanks to her ability to fly above the trees to get a bird’s eyes view. Second was a near endless stream of her ego.

“—and once Pinkie and Rarity were safe, whoosh! Me and Fluttershy looped the loop around and wham! Caught you and Spike right in the nick of time.” Dash recounted her rescue of them from mere minutes ago, with her own exaggerated re-enactment as she flew through the air above them.

“Gee...that story’s even better the third time you tell it.” Chrysalis responded sarcastically. She began to wonder if it would have been better to have her cover blown and trying to talk her way out of being a changeling than to listen to Rainbow's unending boasting. Just as she was afraid that she would go into another retelling of the story, a bestial roar split the night air.

“What the heck is that?!” Chrysalis screamed.

A monstrosity that would fit right into her dreams blocked their path. It was an oversized lion that had giant bat wings and a scorpion tail. She had never before seen a creature like that, but her mind immediately flew to the closest thing she could remember: Discord. Both were a mismatched assortment of various animals. What if Time Keeper’s intervention in the past caused Discord to be released sooner than was supposed to happen and he was about to drown the world in chaos? What if this thing was a creature created by Discord to destroy her? What if this thing was Discord himself?!

All of that raced through her mind in less than a second and she reacted purely on panicked instinct when the thing reached out with a paw to swipe at Rarity. She fired up her horn and lashed out with her magic. The end result was one incredibly surprised monster being tossed through the air into the solid rock cliff face near it and crumpling to the dirt in a heap of pained growls and mews. Chrysalis stood there staring at the cat, gasping for breath as the adrenaline pumped through her.

“NO!” Fluttershy screamed as she flew towards the creature.

“Stay away from that thing!” Chrysalis screamed back, still completely freaked out at the possibility of Discord being involved somehow.

“It’s not a thing! It’s a manticore!” Fluttershy glared icy daggers at Chrysalis before turning back to the manticore. “You didn’t really want to harm us, did you?”

“What in the world is a manticore?” Chrysalis demanded as she tried to calm her breathing.

“You’re just a big, kitten, aren’t you?” Fluttershy asked the thing as she nuzzled its paw, which was comically huge next to her face, and then gasped. “No wonder you were so grumpy! Now this might hurt a little...”

Fluttershy bit onto something that was hidden from Chrysalis’ view and yanked with her teeth. It caused the manticore to let loose with a pained sound that was half growl and half roar, more than enough to cause the rest of the ponies to flinch. It picked up its massive frame and returned to its feet, all under the smiling watch of Fluttershy. She looked like a mother that was relieved to see her foal recovering from a serious injury.

“Now, now, don’t overdo it. If you need to rest some more, you should do so.” The manticore leaned forward, somewhat unsteadily, and gave Fluttershy a long, loving lick. Chrysalis and the others watched in shock as Fluttershy gave her goodbyes to the creature and it went on its perfectly peaceful way, albeit with a bit of a limp. The yellow and pink pegasus returned to her friends, her mane completely messed up by the licking she had just received.

“How did you...?” Chrysalis’ words trailed off as she tried to comprehend what had just happened. She had never before seen a creature dealt with in such a fashion. Even if that thing hadn’t been an abomination summoned by Discord, it was still some kind of monster. Her past experiences told her that the best thing to do with potential threats was to destroy them as quickly as possible before they destroy you.

“Sometimes all you need is a little kindness.” Fluttershy answered and then turned her nose up somewhat as she continued. “Maybe if you weren’t so quick to use violence, you’d know that too.”

Chrysalis watched as Fluttershy and the other four ponies continued on their journey, thinking on what had just happened. Kindness. Was it truly such a great tool? Could it really be that simple? That a bit of kindness could disarm a potential threat just as effectively as striking it down?

“Uh...Twilight?” Spike spoke up and waved a claw in front of Chrysalis' face. “Equestria to Twilight! Are you in there?”

“Huh?” Chrysalis snapped out of her thoughts.

“We’re gonna lose them if we don’t get moving!” Spike urged her onward.

“Oh, right.”

Chrysalis followed after her ‘friends’, her train of thought completely destroyed. Her thoughts returned to the more important issue of Nightmare Moon.

“Okay, so I was thinking that once we got to the castle we should split up into teams of two and search for the elements, that way we can cover more ground while not being completely vulnerable from being by ourselves.”

“That seems a splendid idea.” Rarity responded. “One question, though...what do these elements of harmony look like, exactly?”

Chrysalis thought back to the time that she had faced off against Twilight and her friends in the past. She hadn’t seen the elements personally, choosing instead to send a legion of her soldiers to deal with them, so she could only go off of the basic descriptions they had given her.

“They’re jewels of some kind,” Chrysalis explained, “and they’re set in some form of golden jewellery. Necklaces I think.”

“Really? Where’d you find that out?” Spike asked. Chrysalis flinched, realizing that she probably shouldn’t have known that but quickly calmed herself. It was an insignificant slip, and easily explained away.

“I think I saw a drawing of them or something.” She waved off his concerns.

Suddenly, the already dim light of the forest grew even darker to the point where nothing could be seen at all. Chrysalis sighed. If this was an attempt by Nightmare Moon to stop them, she really had a low opinion of their abilities. Ignoring her companions’ complaints about the sudden blackness, she lit up her horn to provide the group with ample light to travel by. Immediately upon being able to see again, everyone except for Chrysalis screamed in terror. Chrysalis turned to face them as they huddled up together out of fear, excepting Spike who was cowering on her back instead and Pinkie who seemed to have disappeared into the darkness beyond her horn's glow.

“Seriously?” She deadpanned. “They’re just trees.”

And trees they were. Dozens of them, in fact. Sure, they were creepy as far as trees went, what with the semblance of sharp fangs lining holes that looked kind of like mouths if you squinted at them the right way, but that’s all they were. As a proper sharp fanged predatory creature herself, she felt the mockery of that image was closer to insulting than it was frightening.

“T...T...Twilight? Maybe you should step away from the killer trees? Maybe?” Spike practically begged her from his position on her back.

“Are you really afraid of a bunch of trees, Spike? Dragons breathe fire! Burn them down if they bother you so much!” She sighed when his only response was to grip her mane very tightly. “We don't have time for this...Look, trees can’t move. Just don’t get too close to them and you’ll be fine.”

“How are we supposed to not get close to trees in the middle of a forest?!” Rarity shrieked shrilly.

Before Chrysalis could respond, the tense atmosphere was split by a loud giggle. Chrysalis’ eyes were drawn to Pinkie Pie, who had suddenly shown up next to one of the fanged trees. She looked to be having a ball as she laughed and made faces at it. Oddly, the general atmosphere seemed to brighten a little, literally speaking.

“Uh...Pinkie? Are you okay?” Chrysalis asked, wondering if her fears had caused her to snap.

“Oh, girls, don’t you see?” The next words to come out of Pinkie’s mouth shocked Chrysalis far more than even having the trees coming to life to attack them would have, for those words came out in song. “When I was a little filly and the sun was going doooooown!”

“She isn’t...” Chrysalis grumbled.

“She is.” Rarity confirmed as Pinkie continued the song.

Chrysalis sat down, refusing to listen to or even acknowledge Pinkie Pie’s antics as she jumped around gaily and sang about when she was a little filly. This was ridiculous, How was singing supposed to help them right now? They should stop wasting time and get moving. At that moment in Pinkie’s surprise choreography, she went right up to a tree and laughed in its imitation of a face.

“Ha! Ha! Ha!”

It wasn’t even a good laugh. It was slow, well enunciated and so obviously faked that it was painful. This fact made it all the more vexing when the face on the tree went poof and disappeared. Chrysalis was so shocked that she had to pick her jaw up off the ground.

“How? That doesn’t make any sense!” Chrysalis argued while she watched the rest of the group getting in on the laughing action and the spooky trees turned into normal ones left and right. At one point, Pinkie Pie shoved Chrysalis towards one of the trees encouraging her to “chortle” at it.

“I refuse to dignify this insanity with any kind of laughter.” She declared as she sat down and crossed her forelegs and stared irritably at the pseudo face, causing Spike to slide to the ground. Her impromptu staring contest was cut short when he climbed up her body to balance on top of her head and let out a boyish laugh, causing her opponent to burst into nothingness just like all the others. A few seconds later, everyone else had fallen to the ground in fits of laughter while Chrysalis looked down upon them with disdain.

“This was stupid.”

“Silly, Twilight! Laughing is never stupid!” Pinkie Pie replied through her fit of chuckling.

“These trees were never a threat to begin with and we have an insane alicorn that may cause the end of the world. Nothing about this is a laughing matter!” She screamed. Pinkie’s laughter, indeed everybody’s, came to an abrupt halt.

“Oh...I see.” Was all Pinkie said as she wilted beneath Chrysalis’ glare.

“Hey! No need to be a jerk!” Rainbow Dash stood up for Pinkie.

“Yeah, Twilight, you need to lighten up!” Spike added.

“Ah know that yer worried an’ all, but that’s no reason to be so rude to yer friends!” Applejack layered on her own criticism.

Chrysalis looked between her ‘friends’ and saw both Fluttershy and Rarity nodding their agreement as they all glared at her with disapproval. She groaned with frustration. Couldn’t they see there were more important things than their feelings right now? How could they be so selfish?

“Fine! I’m sorry! Happy now?” Chrysalis caved in to their pressure. “Can we get going? We still have Nightmare Moon to worry about!”

“Hey, wait up!” Spike shouted as Chrysalis trotted off ahead of the others.

She fumed with frustration and anger. How could such an undisciplined and easily distracted group be such a threat to her and her changelings in the future? They had to have gotten better at this sort of thing before they clashed with her changelings, her pride couldn’t allow for the acceptance of anything else.

“Twilight!” Spike shouted again as he tried to catch up with her. “Are you okay?”

“Just dandy.” Chrysalis growled, refusing to look at him.

“But—”

“I said I’m fine!” Her tone made it very clear she wanted no more discussion on the topic.

“O...okay.” Spike slowed his pace, no longer attempting to keep up with his care taker. He looked up to the next pony to follow after Chrysalis with the beginnings of tears in his eyes. “Is it because of me? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, ya did nothin’ wrong. C’mon, sugarcube, ah’ll carry ya fer awhile.” Applejack knelt down to allow Spike to climb onto her back, and then trotted to catch up to Chrysalis. “We’ll see this through to the end with ya, Twilight, but once we’re done in here we’re gonna have to have a talk.”

Chrysalis ignored her. If she had learned anything in her time spent with them, it was that children weren’t the only ones to blab on about irrelevant things. How was she supposed to handle spending potentially years with these ponies? She might be driven mad and make an attempt to purposely botch the re-enactment of Twilight’s life just to end it all.

She came to a stop at a raging river. Staring at the furious rapids passing by soothed Chrysalis’ anger somewhat, possibly because she was imagining throwing her companions into it. She may not be able to do that in reality, but she could dream.

“How are we gonna cross this?!” Pinkie Pie shouted over the roar of the waters when she caught up to Chrysalis.

“Simple.” Chrysalis answered in an irritated tone. “Even you should have figured this one out. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy carry us over it. I’ll go first. Dash?”

“On it!” Rainbow Dash saluted. “Come on, Flutters!”

“Oh, umm...okay.”

The two of them latched onto her from each side, much like they had done earlier when she had fallen from the cliff, and lifted her in the air. She in turn grabbed onto Spike from his position on Applejack’s back with her magic who gave a yelp of surprise. The spray from the waters below dampened the fur of Chrysalis’ disguise, but otherwise nothing of note happened on the trip over. It seemed that for once this was going to be an uneventful obstacle where these ponies would actually listen to her. Upon returning to solid ground, she learned that she really should have known better than to think such a thing, as the others had completely disappeared from their position on the other side of the river.

“Now what?” Chrysalis grumbled.

“I dunno. I’ll see if I can find them.” Rainbow Dash flew off in search of their missing companions with Fluttershy following shortly after. Moments later, Dash indicated upriver to Chrysalis and then disappeared from view. With a defeated sigh, Chrysalis walked along her side of the flowing water until she spied a giant, purple serpent like creature that had previously been hidden by a bend in the river. This serpent happened to be flailing about as he threw a tantrum in that river.

“What a world! What a world!” He proclaimed as he thrashed about in the water.

“Relative of yours, Spike?”

“Hey! I am a dragon, and he is clearly a sea serpent!” Spike huffed indignantly from his position standing beside her.

“I dunno, are you sure? He’s a purple lizard that’s throwing a tantrum. Sounds a lot like you.” Chrysalis teased him. Spike harrumphed in faux offence, but in actuality smiled in relief that his Twilight was talking to him in a much less angry way again.

“Hey, I think I see the others!” Spike shouted and pointed at a point across the river where five ponies were standing.

“Oh you wouldn’t believe what happened!” The serpent practically screamed at the assembly of five in an overly campy voice. “I was just sitting here, minding my own business when this tacky cloud of purple smoke just whisked past me and tore half of my beloved moustache clean off! And now I look simply horrid!”

The giant serpent dropped its head and neck, or upper part of his body, or whatever the heck it was on a snake like creature, into the river as he went back to his crying. This sudden action resulted in a wave of water breaking the banks of the river on both sides.

“Oh crap!” Chrysalis cursed with widened eyes as the wall of liquid came at her. She braced herself for impact but was still knocked off her hooves when it struck. She coughed up some water that she had unintentionally swallowed during the ordeal and stood back up shakily on her hooves. She noticed very quickly that Spike had disappeared from her sight and felt a surge of panic rising in her.

“Spike? Spike!?”

“Over here, Twilight...”

“Oh, thank goodness you’re okay!” She scooped him up in a hug. He hugged her back and after a few seconds of blissful silence, spoke up.

“So...you’re not mad at me anymore?”

Chrysalis returned the little creature to her back. His weight there had grown into an oddly comforting presence.

“Don’t be stupid, Spike. I wasn’t angry at you, I was just...frustrated.”

Instead of vocally responding, Spike chose to wrap his little arms around Chrysalis’ neck. Chrysalis froze in place, though quickly relaxed when she realized it wasn’t an attempt at her life but a hug instead. She let the little nuisance do as he desired, purely for the purposes of her disguise, of course.

While she had been distracted by the small purple lizard, the large one in the river stopped his flailing about and the waters calmed dramatically. It was perhaps a little odd that a single creature could cause the river to be so thoroughly violent, but Chrysalis really didn’t feel like questioning it at that moment.

“Allow me!” The campy voice said, perhaps in answer to a conversation she had not been privy to, as he formed a sort of bridge with his body for the others to hop across. Something looked oddly out of place and familiar about his suddenly half purple moustache. Upon Rarity’s arrival on her side of the river, she realized just what it was.

“Rarity, what happened to your tail?” Chrysalis stared in shock at the ragged stump of hair that remained of what had previously been a very elegantly styled tail.

“It’s okay, I just gave it to the serpent here to fix the atrocity that was his ruined moustache!” Rarity answered with an exaggerated carefree tone. “It’ll grow back!”

Rarity was clearly bothered considerably by the loss of her precious locks, yet she had willingly given it up to help another. Chrysalis would never have guessed that such a self obsessed pony would be willing to do something so kind and generous, despite knowing that she was supposed to be the bearer of the element of generosity. What was with these ponies? For every time they did something completely infuriating, they seemed to do things that completely defied her expectations of them! Given how frightened they were by mere trees, she had half expected them to be completely paralyzed in terror at the sight of a giant sea serpent.

“Fine, let’s just get moving again.” Chrysalis finally replied. If Rarity didn’t want to make a fuss over her lost tail, then that was fine with her. Preferable, even.

The next leg of their journey was uneventful. No raging rivers with crying serpents, no crumbling ground beneath their hooves, no raging animals, nothing. Near half an hour later, the castle they were heading for was in sight. It seemed almost too good to be true.

“Finally! Let’s get this over with.” Chrysalis said.

The group didn’t get much further before they were faced with another problem. There was another cliff, a pair of cliffs facing each other creating a crevasse actually, and the bridge that connected them had collapsed at some point. A quick look down showed that it was still connected from their side and appeared to be more or less intact, or at least the extent of it that wasn’t hidden by the mist below was anyway.

“Now what?!” Pinkie shouted into the darkness of the night.

“Duh!” Rainbow Dash answered as she fluttered her wings and flew into the chasm to retrieve the fallen bridge.

“Oh yeah!” Pinkie said.

Chrysalis smiled. For once, one of her companions had actually thought of the simple solution. The fact that it had been Rainbow Dash, the one she had generally taken for being one of the least intelligent of the bunch, surprised her. She watched as the rainbow maned mare disappeared into the fog, shortly reappeared with the end of the bridge in her mouth and then landed on the other side of the chasm. Then she did something incredibly infuriating. She dropped the rope.

“Come on!” Chrysalis screamed with rage as the bridge hung there limply over the chasm, incapable of supporting anything larger than a squirrel.

The fog swirled around Rainbow Dash on the other side, growing thicker and obscuring her from view.

“Maybe she saw something?” Spike suggested. “She probably has a good reason.”

“Maybe.” Chrysalis conceded. She gave it a fifty-fifty tossup as to whether it was something legitimate or Dash just being stupid.

“Umm...do you want me to get the bridge?” Fluttershy offered.

“No, I’ve got it this time.” Chrysalis answered.

With her magic, she reached across the crevasse and grabbed the rope that Rainbow had dropped. With more difficulty than she cared to admit, she tied it to a post on the other side, securing their path across.

“Alright, now let’s go see why Rainbow Dash got distracted.”

As the six of them started crossing the bridge, the voices of Rainbow Dash and some unknown pony came into earshot.

”No, Rainbow Dash, we want you to join us, the Shadow Bolts! We are the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forest, and soon we will be the greatest in all Equestria, but first, we need a captain."

Chrysalis and the others finished crossing the bridge and found the sight of Rainbow Dash being wooed by a pegasus mare with a blue mane in a black and purple, skin tight flying suit. Just barely visible on the edges of her vision were two other similarly garbed pegasi. Rainbow Dash seemed to be complete putty in her hooves as they layered on the flattering words about her flying prowess so thickly that it put anything Chrysalis ever said to butter up ponies while in disguise to shame.

“We need...you!” The mare loudly whispered in Dash’s ear. Seriously, they were about as subtle as a shovel to the face.

“Woohoo!” Dash flew straight up into the air and cheered. “Sign me up! Just let me—oh, hi girls.”

“You do know that being the best flyers in a place where nopony actually lives is hardly impressive, right?” Chrysalis pointed out.

“What?!” The dark mare screamed and flared her wings furiously. “How did you get across?!”

“Magic.” Chrysalis tapped her horn. “I’m going to assume you’re either a conjuration of Nightmare Moon’s or that you work for her. Either way, you really need to put more thought into trying to stop us. Seriously, we have two pegasi and two unicorns, any of which could handle a broken bridge.”

The mystery mare hissed and then all three of the dark pegasi burst into clouds of magical, blue mist.

“Conjuration it is.” Chrysalis affirmed aloud with a smirk.

“Oh.” Rainbow Dash giggled nervously. “Sorry about that.”

“No, no, I get it. You were presented with something you really wanted and you were going to leave us to pursue it. I understand, I forgive you.” She dismissed Dash’s concerns as she continued on their journey.

Chrysalis’ words were sincere, she truly did understand, or so she believed. She wasn’t even angry about it, even if she knew she should be. Dash was proving to be a simple, single minded mare, and there was something about her incredible devotion to her goals that Chrysalis could respect. She could still look down on her for not seeing how obviously a trick the whole situation had been, but she hadn’t exactly had high expectations of the mare to begin with. To be honest, Dash almost reminded her of some of the changelings she knew back at the hive. Mostly the ones she’d never let out into the world because they were too innocent, naive or stupid to possibly avoid being caught by the ponies. Lucky for Dash, she wasn't a changeling that would get herself killed by being herself.

“What? No! I’d never abandon you guys!” Dash protested as she flew right in front of Chrysalis and landed, her wings spread wide in an effort to halt her march. Chrysalis rolled her eyes and walked around her. “You believe me, right?” She pleaded with the others, nearly on the verge of tears.

“Of course we do, sugar cube.” Applejack reassured her as she passed by. Rainbow Dash followed after the others, though with considerably less enthusiasm than before.

Chrysalis approached the nearby castle’s entrance and pushed open the ancient, ornately carved wooden doors. This part of the building was in rough shape, to put it mildly. At best a third of the walls’ height remained standing, the ceiling had long ago collapsed, and what did remain was cracked and crumbling. Vines grew over the floor and several pillars that lined the outer edges of the room, many of which were hewn in two at varying heights. There were at least a dozen windows, all lined with the metal framework for what may have once been rather fancifully designed glass, but not a single shard of what may have been remained in the gaping holes.

Beyond this area the castle appeared to be more intact, but this particular room was in complete shambles. It looked as if it had been torn apart by some sort of catastrophe, or perhaps a battle between incredibly destructive titans. Chrysalis could easily imagine that the final battle with Nightmare Moon might have occurred here all those years ago. Why they wouldn’t have repaired the place afterwards if that was the case, she couldn't fathom. The rest of the ponies filed in after her one at a time, gazing in awe at the ancient structure’s interior. Even in its ruined state, it was quite the sight to behold. Chrysalis could only imagine how grand the place would have looked in its prime.

“Whoa!” Applejack spoke as if for all those present.

“Hey, Twilight.” Spike paused to yawn, covering his mouth with a claw as he did so and pointing at some kind of stone structure in the centre of the room. “Do you think those are the elements of harmony?”

Beneath all of the overgrown vegetation was a stone pillar, approximately four times her current height, with a large sphere on top of it. Jutting out at various spots in the shaft of it were arms that each ended with a sort of dish. Upon each of those dishes was a stone sphere with what appeared to be imitation of gemstones carved into them. They looked unlike any of the descriptions that had been given to her of the elements of harmony. She had been told of flashy bits of jewellery with gemstones in them. The only thing that connected these to the stories she heard were the gems, and even that was a stretch as these looked to just be carved facsimiles of precious stones.

“I...don’t know.” Chrysalis admitted as she stared at the balls skeptically. “They don’t really look like I expected.”

The pegasi of the group flew up and carried them to the floor. Rainbow Dash in particular seemed eager to help, though Chrysalis was unsure as to why. Chrysalis placed a hoof on one and rolled it back and forth experimentally. She didn’t know what she expected to happen by doing so. She didn’t know what to do at all, actually.

“One, two, three, four, five!” Pinkie Pie counted the stones aloud. "How many are there supposed to be?"

“Six, I think. Perhaps these aren’t really the elements.” Chrysalis suggested. “Maybe we should stick with the original plan of splitting into teams and searching the rest of the place.”

“But what if these are the elements?” Fluttershy asked as she too poked at one of the balls.

Spike hopped off of Chrysalis’ back and stepped into the circle of balls. He let out a tremendous yawn, looking as if he could fall over from exhaustion any second now.

“You girls go ahead and look...I’ll stay and watch over these.” He assured them. His words were undermined considerably by his obvious fatigue and the fact that he tripped over one of the potential elements of harmony and landed face first on the ground.

“Right...uh...maybe Spike and I will both stay and watch over these. You girls go ahead and look around.” Chrysalis offered up as an alternative.

“That’s okay with me, Twilight.” Applejack agreed. “If the elements are somewhere else in this here castle, me an’ the girls’ll find ‘em lickety split!”

Chrysalis watched the other five mares wander off in two separate teams. When they had escaped from her line of sight, she looked back to the stones in front of her. Spike hadn’t gotten up from falling over and had in fact gone so far as to rest his little head against one of the spheres as if it were a pillow. Gentle snores filled the otherwise quiet room. She smiled absently at the sight, not even aware that she was doing so.

She returned to examining the objects laid out on the ground. They were in surprisingly good shape, considering how old they must have been. There were no noticeable cracks or chips on their surfaces and they didn’t seem to be worn down by the weather they no doubt had been exposed to inside a roofless building. Not to say they looked to be in anything resembling pristine condition, just that they were in remarkably better shape than the crumbling ruins they had been found in. She wondered if perhaps they had merely stumbled across what was intended as a fanciful sculpture inside the castle’s entrance hall that was intended to impress guests that were just arriving.

She fired up her horn and began investigating the orbs with a few spells. She could detect a faint, magical essence deep inside them, but barely. It could mean these truly were the elements of harmony that they were searching for, or it could just be the remnants of a spell that the cleaning staff had put on them all those centuries ago to keep them tidy and render their jobs a little easier. Magic as old as this was rather hard to pinpoint the purpose of with only a few seconds of examination. Even if these were the elements of harmony, one was missing, or at least she thought one was. Maybe there were really only the five of them that the others used and Twilight herself had acted as a conduit for all their destructive powers without having a stone of her own.

As Chrysalis prodded at the ancient artifacts, a starry blue cloud of energy snaked its way into the room and towards them. Upon reaching the stones, the cloud began swirling in a vortex around them.

“Seriously?” Chrysalis griped as the vortex of what was obviously Nightmare Moon’s magic grew in speed, crackling with its intense levels of energy. Within seconds, the stones were being lifted into the air and Spike along with them. She concluded that these really were the elements of harmony after all. Why else would Nightmare Moon try to take them from her in such a fashion?

“Whoa! What’s going on?!” Spike shouted as he woke up from his slumber and tumbled round in circles with the elements of harmony. “I think I’m gonna be sick!” Spike covered his mouth with his claws.

“Hold on, Spike!” Chrysalis shouted into the vortex. She tried to latch onto the elements and Spike both to haul them out of the magical field, but found that it was too strong to do so. Instead of pulling them out of the cyclone of magic, she was pulled in with them. As she too was exposed to terrifying levels of dizziness inducing spinning, she screamed.

“Hold on, Twilight! We’re comin’ for ya!” She could hear the shouts of Applejack and the sound of hooves rattling against the stone floor approaching her, though visually she could make out little more than a blur of colour as she spun around at a nauseating velocity. Before the others had a chance to help her or, perhaps more likely, get trapped themselves, the entire world disappeared in a flash of light.

The world reappeared in a plume of thick, black smoke. Chrysalis and Spike coughed as the acrid cloud filled their lungs. When the smoke cleared, it revealed another room of the castle. While far from being in good shape, it looked to be in one piece. Standing on a dais at the end of the room was Nightmare Moon, and the elements of harmony were floating in a ring around her as she laughed. Beside Chrysalis, Spike gasped.

“Go and hide,” she ordered the little dragon as she lowered herself into a combat ready stance and lit up her horn, “I’ll handle Nightmare Moon.”

The corrupted alicorn raised an eyebrow at Chrysalis’ gestures, completely ignoring Spike as he ran off behind a pillar.

“You’re kidding.” Nightmare Moon deadpanned. “You’re kidding, right?”

Chrysalis held her ground for only a moment before she halted the flow of magic to her horn and stood in a more natural stance.

“Very wise of you. What you lack in bravery you make up for with sense.” Nightmare Moon half commended, half mocked her.

“Why would I oppose you?” Chrysalis asked. “A creature as beautiful, and powerful as you are should be admired, not fought against.”

“What?” Nightmare Moon narrowed her eyes and leaned forward to get a better look at the unicorn that had just praised her.

“Who needs the sun when I could bask in the glory of this voluptuous moon before me.” Chrysalis started walking towards the confused alicorn with half lidded eyes and a noticeable sway in her hips.

Nightmare Moon blinked a few times as Chrysalis drew closer, staring at her with sultry eyes. She was so taken off guard by this change in behaviour that she involuntarily took a step back when Chrysalis took her first step up the dais Nightmare Moon stood on.

“You have such long, powerful legs, a perfect arch to your back, an elegant neck, a mane to rival the beauty of the night sky itself, and eyes that I could stare into for a thousand years and never grow weary of.”

“A...art thou trying to court me?” In her continued inability to get a proper grasp on the situation that had spiralled a direction she had never seen coming, Nightmare Moon fell into a more archaic speech pattern.

“I’m just giving you what you wanted all this time...the adulation you deserve. Now show me a smile, I want to see those fangs of yours.”

Nightmare Moon looked from side to side uncertain of how to respond at first, but her nervousness began to fade and she relaxed a little under the attention she was receiving, that she had longed for. This adoration took a form she had not expected, but she had to admit there was a certain...pleasantness to it all. Getting a little more into the spirit of the encounter, she let a toothy grin show. Chrysalis nearly closed her eyes, leaving them open but a sliver and moaned with what seemed near orgasmic pleasure.

“Ohhhh....I would love to exchange love bites with you.” Chrysalis moaned as she stared up the currently taller alicorn’s open maw. She ran her tongue over her own teeth. She continued in a breathy whisper. “You’ve shown me yours, it’s only fair I show you mine.”

With a small flash of green, Chrysalis revealed her own sharp fangs and smiled wickedly at the mare in front of her, her horn continuing to glow green long after the transformation was complete. Nightmare Moon’s eyes widened in surprise, but she held her ground, intrigued.

“Dost...Do you use dark magic as well?” She whispered in awe, suspecting that perhaps she had found a kindred spirit in that purple unicorn.

“That’s my little secret.” Chrysalis winked and then lunged forth, eagerly locking lips with the taller pony who, after a moment’s hesitation, returned the kiss with equal enthusiasm.

Chrysalis prepared herself for the expected influx of love that she would harvest from the princess turned abomination, but she could not have anticipated what she received. It was love, but barely recognizable as such. It was buried beneath a mountain of something darker. It was tainted with rage, jealousy, envy and every other negative emotion under the sun. She began to feel lightheaded and dizzy from her harvest. She had to cut off the kiss lest she fall over from absorbing such a contamination into her own body. Never before had she tasted love so thoroughly consumed by darkness, there was no way that it was natural.

“That was...pleasant.” Nightmare Moon declared with a satisfied grin, not quite aware of the reason that Chrysalis had ended their kiss.

“Twilight! We’re comin’!” The shouts of Applejack could be heard in the distance, along with a cacophony of other voices. Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis’ heads snapped to the other end of the room where five ponies could be seen entering from the stairs below.

“Hey girls, catch!” Chrysalis screamed at the mares who had just walked into view.

“What?!” Nightmare Moon screamed as the elements of harmony soared through the air towards the other end of the room where they were caught by the incoming mares, tossed by Chrysalis’ magic that had been slowly levitating them away from Nightmare Moon since just before the kiss. “You traitor!”

“Sorry to leave you all hot and bothered, princess. Consider it pay back for that little S&M show you forced me into at the town hall.”

Gritting her teeth and trembling with rage, Nightmare Moon struck Chrysalis with a backhanded swipe of her hoof. Chrysalis was sent flying several meters through the air and landed near the hooves of her companions.

“Are you okay?!” Rainbow Dash asked as she helped Chrysalis back to her hooves.

“I’m fine.” Chrysalis answered with a grimace as she rubbed the pain in her jaw. “Let’s just use these stupid things to get rid of Nightmare Moon.”

“Ah second that notion.” Applejack added as she stood defiantly facing their enemy.

“Alright, Nightmare Moon, it’s time to end this!” Chrysalis declared as she stepped just slightly ahead of the group, hoping that the conduit theory she thought of earlier was right.

“No...” Nightmare Moon uttered in fear and took a step back. She braced herself, shut her eyes tight and waited for her impending doom.

And waited.

“Twilight, darling...how are we supposed to use these again?” Rarity cut through the awkward silence with an armour piercing question. Chrysalis’ ears plastered against her skull as she realized just how much trouble they were in.

“Seriously?!” Nightmare Moon had regained her composure and was laughing mockingly at the team of ponies that come to defeat her. “You don’t know, do you? You’ve come all this way and you can’t do a thing!”

“I’ll show you who can’t do a thing!” Rainbow Dash shouted right before hurtling through the air in an attempt to dive bomb Nightmare Moon. The corrupted alicorn didn’t even flinch as she swatted the pegasus aside with a flash of magic.

“A valiant effort, I commend you all for your bravery! You may be just what I’m looking for in my own personal soldiers!”

“We'd never work for you!” Applejack spat at the floor in disgust of what Nightmare Moon was suggesting.

“You say that now, but we’ll see how long it takes to break you.”

Nightmare Moon stepped towards the group of ponies and they all either flinched, wilted beneath her terrifying gaze, or took an involuntary step back. Not even Chrysalis was able to stand her ground. This was not going the way it was supposed to. She tricked the bearers into being her friends, dragged them through that forsaken forest, located the elements of harmony and tried to use them to blast Nightmare Moon into oblivion, and yet it didn’t work! She had gone through all the steps! What did she miss?!

As the crazed alicorn lifted the six of them into the air with her magic, Chrysalis could tell that she just didn’t have the power to compete with her at that moment. She just didn’t have enough love to compare to what she had when she had taken Princess Celestia down in a one on one duel. In order to reach that level of strength, she’d have to be draining copious amounts of love every day for at least a week if she wanted to avoid killing her prey. To do so at a quick enough rate to possibly save them, she’d need around half a dozen willing victims to open up their hearts to her and practically invite her to feast on them, and she'd be running a serious risk of killing some of them before she gleaned enough power.

The magic keeping them suspended began to constrict around them, snaking across their frames and squeezing them tighter and tighter. It was getting hard to breathe. If this kept up they’d likely lose consciousness, and who could possibly guess what would happen to them then.

“Twilight,” Applejack gasped through their sudden difficulties breathing, “ah hope ya’ve got a bright idea or two...”

Near half a dozen willing prey. That was all she needed. Sure, they may die in the process if things didn’t go well, but if Nightmare Moon won now then they’d likely all die anyway in that collapse of the universe that Time Keeper had kept babbling on about. What did it really matter if they died, anyway? It’s not like they were really her friends. They were just ponies. She could always find some of her subjects to replace them if need be.

“Girls!” Chrysalis gave a strangled yell. “Think about all the ponies and things you love and open up your hearts to me!”

“What?” Applejack coughed out.

“Just do it!”

Nightmare Moon chuckled. “And what is that supposed to accomplish? I’ve already won!”

Seconds passed and the only change was the ever tightening tendrils of magic. Chrysalis sighed and closed her eyes. She had tried. Nopony could say that she didn’t try. With that last thought, she went voluntarily limp against the magic binding her. There was no point in struggling anymore.

Just then, she felt one of the mares beside her opening herself up to her. It was Pinkie Pie, that overly giggly buffoon had trusted her enough to do as ordered. Over the next several seconds, the others opened their hearts one by one. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and finally even Applejack complied with her demands. Lusting over the thought of striking back at the alicorn that had thus far dominated her spurred her on to casting the spell to harvest the love from all five of them simultaneously.

“What are you doing?” Nightmare Moon gasped at the sudden influx of green energy flowing from the five mares into Chrysalis’ horn. “Stop that!”

Chrysalis began to laugh. It was a slow, low chuckle at first. As the power surged into her body and the mares she feasted on one by one lost consciousness, her laugh grew in volume and intensity until even Nightmare Moon began to tremble at the sound of it.

Realizing that five of her captors were no longer capable of fighting against her, she abandoned her efforts to hold them in place and they dropped to the floor one by one. She refocused all of that energy onto the unicorn that howled with laughter by this point. It still wasn’t enough, she was losing grip on her captive. With a brilliant explosion of green light, bright enough that she had to avert her gaze lest she go blind, her hold on that mare was completely shattered.

When the light had faded enough for her to return her eyes forward, the unicorn that had been there before was gone. In its place was a equine like creature more than twice Nightmare Moon's own height. It had a mane of greenish blue, slits for pupils in the middle of a sea of multi hued green, and fangs to match that of the most terrifying predators around. Her fur was black...no, not her fur, for she had none. In its place was a smooth, carapace the like of an insect, which matched her gossamer wings. Scattered throughout her limbs were inexplicable holes, lending her an appearance so incredibly alien to what Nightmare Moon was accustomed to. Perhaps what shook her most was that in addition to the wings, she had a long, gnarled horn. She was an alicorn, just like herself.

“Mmmm...it feels good to be in my natural form!” Chrysalis exclaimed in her natural, dual toned voice as she stretched herself to her new full height.

“What are you?” Nightmare Moon asked, her face a mask of horror and disgust.

Chrysalis gave a wicked grin.

“I am the thing that nightmares fear.”

Spurred on by a sudden spike of panic and an overwhelming sense of dread, Nightmare Moon lashed out at the giant monster with a javelin of pure magic. Whatever this creature was, she needed it dead more than anything else in her life. The thing deflected her spell with ease using a spell of her own, chuckling in an infuriating manner while she did so.

“Oh, I haven’t felt this tremendous in years! I’d say I’m almost my old self again! Bring it on! I can take whatever you throw at me now!”

Nightmare Moon sent another javelin of dark magic hurtling across the room, which was just as easily deflected as the first.

“Oh, come on, you can do better than that, can’t you?” Chrysalis challenged the dark alicorn.

Nightmare Moon sent rapid fire bolts of magical energy, trying frantically to strike down the monster before her, but was met with only more failure and mocking laughter.

“You don’t stand a chance, princess.” Chrysalis taunted. “I have defeated two separate alicorns in one on one combat, including your sister, something that I believe you failed to do.”

“Liar!” Nightmare Moon screamed furiously.

She summoned dozens of magical javelins and hurled them all with every ounce of her power. A wall of green flame appeared for just a moment and the giant beast disappeared before Nightmare Moon's very eyes just prior to the magic tearing through the space that her adversary had previously occupied. Her magic disappeared after gouging several holes in the walls and causing a pillar to explode into a shower of stone fragments. A little, purple dragon stared in terror from his position where he had moments earlier been hidden behind said pillar before rushing off to find a new hiding spot. Nightmare Moon ignored the creature and tried to spot what had happened to her opponent. She felt a shiver running up and down her spine as she heard the whooshing sound of flames behind her. She whipped her head around and came face to face with a mouthful of razor sharp teeth and a threateningly glowing horn.

“Boo!”

Before she could react, Nightmare Moon was struck by a tremendous beam of concentrated green magic. She was knocked clear off her hooves and tumbled to the floor, unconscious. Chrysalis chuckled as she stood over her downed foe before shrinking herself back to her natural size, around the same height as Nightmare Moon.

“Just like your sister: a whole lot of power but a single blow and you’re finished. It’s almost sad, really.” She paused a moment as she thought back on the battle. “Perhaps if you had been more level headed you could have actually beaten me. Panic does you no favours in battle, princess.”

Chrysalis’ gaze wandered over to the mares she had feasted upon to attain enough power to defeat the Nightmare. A quick scanning spell showed that they were in rough shape, but none of them were in any real danger of dying. Lucky them. She had won, and nopony had died for her to do it. Things were as the timeline demanded. Or were they?

Her eyes returned to the fallen Nightmare Moon. She knew that after this event she was supposed to somehow return back to her normal form as Princess Luna. She recalled the intelligence reports she had received all those years ago saying that a bright, boastful mare claimed that it was her own doing. She only now realized that that mare was likely to have been Rainbow Dash, claiming such glory was certainly in her character. Even if she hadn’t told the entire truth, it seemed likely that she did have a part in the reformation of Nightmare Moon. How, though? Then it struck her.

The elements of harmony.

She had just defeated Nightmare Moon on her own using the power of harvested love. In the original timeline, Nightmare Moon had been defeated by the elements of harmony. The elements must have somehow cleansed her of whatever it was that had corrupted her. If she failed to cleanse her now, then would she truly have come close enough to the required events to avoid catastrophe? She needed to get rid of the darkness inside her before it was too late. Remembering the corruption that had run through Nightmare Moon’s love, Chrysalis had an idea as to how that might be possible, but she truly did not look forward to trying.

With a frustrated sigh, Chrysalis returned to her Twilight disguise. The last thing she needed was for Luna to wake up when she was finished to see a changeling and running off to blow her cover before Chrysalis had a chance to stop her. The next thing she did was cast a spell to erase Nightmare Moon's memories going back until just before Chrysalis had called for the bearers to open their hearts to her, and for good measure she did the same to the bearers themselves. She might have been able to dismiss Luna's memories as a dream and the whole heart opening business as a last ditch effort to activate the elements, but it would be much easier to just avoid having to explain at all.

After one last deep breath to steady herself, she placed her horn on Nightmare Moon's and began channelling the spell for harvesting love. The tainted love that flowed into her was even worse than last time, if that was even possible. Within moments, she dropped to her knees so that she wouldn’t fall over from the dizziness. Her belly, still a little sore from all the food she had been forced to eat since coming to Ponyville, tossed and turned violently and a headache grew until nearly all of her thoughts were consumed by pain. Her body’s natural defences went into overdrive as they tore through her supplies of non-contaminated love just to try and neutralize the harmful, tainted love she was absorbing. She could feel her powers draining at an alarming rate, and yet she could detect no change in the lunar princess. She felt almost as if she was dying, and yet she kept on with her task.

Just when Chrysalis felt she could go on no longer, Nightmare Moon began to glow with a bright white light. Chrysalis' access to her love was cut off abruptly as the light expanded to form a dome over her and pushed her away from the unconscious mare. After several seconds of swirling around her, the light gradually faded and left behind a pony very unlike Nightmare Moon in appearance. Her black fur had turned a soft blue, and her starry, ethereal mane and tail had morphed into a different simple shade of blue that would have been at home on any average pony. Adding to the complete transformation was her sudden lack of size, she barely looked bigger than Chrysalis in her Twilight disguise. She seemed peaceful as she lay there, sleeping. It had worked, or so it seemed anyway. Chrysalis had done it, she had cleansed Nightmare Moon of her contamination. Chrysalis turned her head from the sight and vomited up everything that had yet remained in her stomach.

She felt atrocious. She felt as pitiable and weak at that moment as she had felt powerful while facing down Nightmare Moon. She rolled over onto her side away from the pile of apple products she had just expelled from her body and tried to catch her breath. She hoped that she had truly gotten rid of the corruption that had plagued Princess Luna and not just inadvertently transferred it to herself. She didn’t feel corrupted, just incredibly drained.

"Twilight?" The uncertain voice of Spike the dragon greeted her ears, and Chrysalis groaned painfully in response. She forced herself back to her hooves and faced the little guy, who stared at her with a downright terrified expression. Chrysalis narrowed her eyes and stared at him, wobbling a little as she did so.

"Did you see what happened?" She asked, still out of breath. She hoped that he hadn't, she really didn't feel up to trying to dealing with him having seen her natural form. Spike trembled profusely. "Did you!?" She raised her voice, making it clear she expected a swift response.

"N..no! I didn't see anything!" Spike denied any knowledge of the situation with a frantic waving of his claws. "W...what happened to them? Are they...are they..."

"They're not dead. They're fine." Chrysalis assured him just before falling over. She barely had enough strength to ensure that she fell away from her own vomit.

"Twilight?!" Spike screamed in panic.

The last thing Chrysalis remembered before losing consciousness was the sun rising through a window.

5 - Aftermath of a Nightmare

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From his hiding spot behind a pillar, Spike listened to the confrontation between Twilight and Nightmare Moon. Things weren’t going well. The elements of harmony hadn’t worked at all, and the last time that Spike had stuck his head out from his hiding spot he had seen Twilight and the others were being suspended in the air and crushed by Nightmare Moon’s magic. He sat with his back to the pillar, cursing his own cowardice. He wanted to just rush out there and save them! But he couldn’t. His legs felt like they were giant iron weights, so he just sat there, trying and failing to hold back his tears.

“Girls! Think about all the ponies and things you love and open up your hearts to me!”

Spike’s eared perked up at those words coming from Twilight. Another pony, he couldn’t tell which one, said something that he couldn’t make out at his distance, and Nightmare Moon gloated over the victory she thought she was about to have. The corner of his lips curled upwards tentatively. The joke would be on that nasty mare, Twilight had a plan.

He peeked out for another glimpse of what was happening, he wanted to see what Twilight was going to do. He was mildly surprised by what he saw. Twilight was just hanging there limply. She looked like she had given up, but that couldn’t be right! Twilight was amazing, she always knew exactly what needed to be done! Right as Spike’s hopes began to fall, Twilight tensed against the magic that held her and green light overpowered Nightmare Moon’s dark blue. It looked like streams of green magic were flowing from five of the mares towards Twilight at the centre. What was going on?

“What are you doing?! Stop that!” Nightmare Moon demanded.

Twilight began to laugh. It sounded nothing like the way she usually laughed. Her low chuckle sounded cruel. Scary. One by one, all the mares except Twilight fell to the ground and Twilight’s laughter only grew louder. She sounded downright insane as her mirthful expression echoed through the room. It reminded him of when Nightmare Moon laughed, though even the dark alicorn seemed frightened. For a moment, he was terrified that she was being turned into a monster just like her.

Then there was a huge flash of green and Spike had to duck his head back behind the pillar. He rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the painful, bright spots in his vision. He couldn’t see anything for several seconds until his eyes readjusted to the darkness of the room.

“Mmmm...it feels good to be in my natural form!”

Spike’s spine trembled at that new voice. It didn’t sound natural. It sounded twisted and distorted next to even Nightmare Moon’s voice. He could barely even imagine what could possibly produce that kind of sound, and not a single one of the things he did imagine was anything less than horrifying.

“What are you?” Nightmare Moon’s voice shook, revealing her own fears to all within earshot.

Spike steeled his resolve and took another look at what was happening. He was not prepared for what he saw.

“I am the thing that Nightmares fear.”

Spike plastered himself to the back of the pillar, hyperventilating and with wide eyes. What was that? Nightmare Moon had been scary, but she had nothing on that giant monster. The roar and crash of magic filled Spike’s ears between taunts tossed out by that freakish voice. He tried not to pay attention to the words, as they only seemed to make things worse for him, but one line in particular he found impossible to ignore.

“I have defeated two separate alicorns in one on one combat, including your sister, something that I believe you failed to do.”

Two alicorns? Nightmare Moon’s sister? What in Equestria was she talking about? Wasn’t Nightmare Moon’s sister from a thousand years ago? How old was this monster? How powerful must she be to have defeated multiple alicorns? Why wasn’t such an ancient and powerful creature common knowledge in Equestria? Where did she come from all of a sudden, and what would she do to Twilight and the others once she finished with Nightmare Moon?

“Liar!” Nightmare Moon screamed in denial of the monster’s boasts.

Moments later, the pillar that Spike was leaning against exploded into a shower of stone fragments, many of which bounced harmlessly off of his durable, dragon scales. He openly stared for just a second at the scene before him. Nightmare Moon stood a few metres away, furious, terrified and desperately searching for something. The monster that she was facing was nowhere to be seen, though his keen eyes did happen to spy a flurry of movement towards her from a mouse.

Not wanting to risk catching the attention of anything that was in that room, he ran as fast as his little legs could carry him for a small altar of some kind with the remnants of what may have once been a beautiful statue on it. As he ran, he tried to spot Twilight in the pile of unconscious ponies nearby, but he couldn’t see her at all. He dove behind the altar, confused to say the least.

Where was Twilight? Had he just missed her in his haste to find another hiding spot? She had to be with the others! She must have passed out just like the others before that monster showed up, or maybe she fainted because of that monster! There was no way the alternative could possibly be true. There was no way that monster was Twilight.

“Boo!”

Spike clamped his claws over his mouth to stifle the scream that threatened to escape from his throat, even though he had not been the recipient of that word. He could nearly feel the impact of a magical energy beam striking something and sending its target soaring through the air and landing with a thud.

“Just like your sister: a whole lot of power but a single blow and you’re finished. It’s almost sad, really.” The monster’s voice announced the victor of the battle. “Perhaps if you had been more level headed you could have actually beaten me. Panic does you no favours in battle, princess.”

Fearing just what the creature would do if it spotted him, Spike remained as still as possible and even tried to avoid breathing. The room was silent, excepting the sound of hooves clopping against stone floor as the thing surveyed the area. Nervous sweat poured down Spike’s face, and he felt terribly cold.

A minute passed where seemingly nothing happened. Spike was nearly tempted to see if the creature had gone, but an audible sigh coming from what was undeniably that very same creature cleared any such thoughts from his head. A light, fwooshing sound came next and more clopping of hooves followed shortly after. The hoof steps sounded lighter than before, as if from somepony much smaller than the creature. Even so, he kept hidden.

It wasn’t until a couple more minutes passed that Spike’s curiosity got the better of his fears. The monster was nowhere to be seen, but he spotted Twilight immediately. She was kneeling next to the unconscious Nightmare Moon. A stream of magic was twisting its way from Nightmare Moon to Twilight’s horn, much like he had seen flowing from Twilight’s friends to her earlier. It wasn’t quite the same, though. Instead of a bright green, the stream of magic was a sickly mixture of green and black. It looked like Twilight was in a lot pain, she seemed as if she would fall over any second.

“T...Twilight?”

Twilight didn’t react in any way to his uncertain murmuring. Right as he was about to repeat himself, Nightmare Moon began to glow with a brilliant white light. The magic connecting the two ponies faded and Twilight watched what was happening with her eyelids drooping. Once the magic surrounding Nightmare Moon faded, leaving behind a pony that looked nothing like her, Twilight gave a weary smile then turned her head away from the new pony and threw up.

He stepped fully away from his hiding spot and approached her while she rolled onto her side. Lying there like that, she looked no different from all the other ponies next to her. She couldn’t really have been that monster that he had seen earlier, could she?

“Twilight?” He called out to her again, louder this time though no less unsure of himself. Twilight stumbled back to her hooves with a deep groan. She narrowed her eyes and stared at him. She looked like she was still in pain.

"Did you see what happened?" Twilight asked. She was panting for breath and could barely stand. It looked like a slight breeze would knock her over. Spike began to tremble once again. Even though she looked like she couldn’t hurt a fly in her current state, something about her tone scared him.

“Did you!?” She shouted at him, causing him to flinch.

"N..no! I didn't see anything!" Spike waved his claws in front of him to emphasize his words. It was only a half lie, he thought. He had seen something, but he wasn’t sure what it was. Even now he was beginning to question what he thought he remembered. Could he have imagined it all? His eyes fell to the ponies on the floor. He certainly wasn’t imagining them.

"W...what happened to them? Are they...are they..."

"They're not dead. They're fine." Twilight assured him with a weak smile. That smile seemed genuine and kind. He even thought he heard a bit of relief sneaking into her tone, though he wasn’t certain of that. That smile remained on her even as she fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

“Twilight!?” Spike screamed as he leapt toward his fallen caretaker. “No, no, no, no, no! Please don’t be dead!”

What was it that Twilight had taught him about checking to see if a pony was alive? There had been a lot she had lectured him on, and most of it was infuriatingly out of his mental grasp, but he did remember that he was supposed to check for a heartbeat if nothing else. He placed the side of his head to her chest and listened. It was faint, but there was the thumping of her heart. He sighed with relief. She was still alive. He had no idea what he would do if Twilight had died.

Out of the corner of his eye, Spike noticed a glowing ball of light coming in through a window where the rising sun was just barely visible. He scrambled to place himself between that light and Twilight. He didn’t know what that thing was, but he was the only one left that could protect everypony and he would sooner die than let whatever it was hurt them any further. He trembled slightly at the thought that it might be that monster coming back for him, but stood his ground.

“S...stay back!” He warned the light.

“There is no need to fear.” A familiar, kind and gentle voice greeted Spike from that ball of light. Moments later, the light transformed into Princess Celestia, standing there with her head held high and wings spread in a regal pose.

“Princess?” Spike’s voice cracked as his vision began to blur with the beginnings of tears. “Princess!”

Spike ran to the white alicorn and threw himself at one of her legs and hugged her tightly. A gentle, feathery wing folded over him, comforting him as he openly wept with relief. He had been so scared for so long now. Scared for himself, scared for Equestria, scared for his new friends, and most of all scared for Twilight.

“What happened here?” Celestia asked, her brow knitted with concern. Spike looked up to her face and tried to explain everything he had seen, but every time he tried only another ragged sob came out. He had no idea what was wrong with him, he shouldn’t be crying like that.

“It’s okay,” she spoke in a soothing coo, “you can tell me later.”

Celestia stood still while she surveyed the scene so that she wouldn’t disturb the distraught dragon. Her eyes took in the plain, stone orbs that she knew to be the elements of harmony, minus the element of magic, the six small ponies that she had foreseen should be the wielders of those same elements, and finally upon the sole alicorn of the group. Her concerned frown melted into a smile as she looked upon that little, blue mare that was so familiar to her.

The blue alicorn groaned as her eyes fluttered open. Spike let go of Celestia’s leg to see who it was that was waking up and wiped his eyes in a futile effort to make himself presentable. Celestia, freed from the young dragon’s grasp, stepped forward towards the downed alicorn.

“Princess Luna!” Celestia called out, eliciting a gasp of fear from Luna when she recognized the one who was approaching her. She shied away from the large alicorn. “It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us, we were meant to rule together, little sister. Will you accept my friendship?”

Princess Luna hesitated for only a moment before she leapt to her hooves and nuzzled her affectionately.

“I’m so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister! I don’t know what came over me!”

“I missed you too.”

“Sister?” Spike muttered to himself. “Then that means...”

“Is something the matter, Spike?” Celestia asked, still nuzzling her little sister.

Spike looked over to Twilight, still asleep right next to her five new friends. If Nightmare Moon was Celestia’s sister, than that meant the alicorn that the monster had bragged about defeating before was Celestia herself!

“You...you’re really Nightmare Moon’s sister?”

Celestia winced at the mentioning of that name. “I am Princess Luna’s sister, yes.”

Spike swallowed a lump that had grown in his throat and was preventing him from speaking further. He licked his lips nervously and looked between the two alicorns and the downed Twilight. The princess needed to know that there was a monster on the loose, but should he really tell her that he suspected that it was Twilight? What if he was wrong? But what if he was right? What if it was some kind of evil force that was taking control of Twilight that made her look like that and Celestia could find a way to help her?

“T...there was a monster here that said it had beaten Nightmare Moon’s sister in a fight.” He began, trembling with nerves. Celestia’s brow furrowed with concern.

“What did this monster look like?” Her voice had taken on a very worried edge.

“I didn’t get a very good look.” He admitted sheepishly. “I only saw her from behind, but she looked like a huge black pony with holes all over her body, and she had wings like a bug!”

Celestia closed her eyes in concentration momentarily, but opened them before long.

“Are you sure it was female?”

“I think so...its voice was weird.”

“It doesn’t really sound familiar at all. A large, dark pony sounds something like Sombra, but he’s male, doesn’t have wings and hasn’t been seen since the Crystal Empire was lost over a thousand years ago, plus he never technically defeated me. Discord had beaten me, is certainly monstrous and could theoretically make himself look like the creature described, but it doesn’t sound like his style and I’m nearly certain he’s still petrified. I can’t think of anybody else it could be, though...” Celestia’s mutterings trailed off and she focused once again on Spike. “Is there anything else you can tell me?”

Spike nodded. “She fought Nightmare Moon and won,” Celestia’s eyes darted momentarily over to her sister who seemed deep in thought herself before returning to Spike, “and...she may have been Twilight.”

Celestia’s eyes widened. “What do you mean, ‘she may have been Twilight’?”

“I...when I saw the monster, I couldn’t see Twilight anywhere.” He explained with a trembling lip. Celestia’s eyes focused on her pupil as she lay there peacefully. Spike waved his little claws in the air to get her attention back. “I could be wrong! I was running for my life, so I didn’t get a very good look! She could have been hidden behind some rubble or her friends or something!”

“Luna?” Celestia turned to her sister, who still seemed to be concentrating on her thoughts.

“What?” She asked as if coming out of a daze, she seemed slightly disoriented.

“Could you tell me what happened? Perhaps you could clear this up.”

“I...I don’t remember what happened. I don’t remember the monster at all, or how I was defeated.”

“Do you remember nothing at all?” Celestia pressed, her voice tinted with concern.

Luna scrunched up her face tightly and tapped a hoof to on her forehead in an almost rhythmic fashion. When she finally spoke, she started very slowly.

“I remember facing off against...Twilight. She distracted me with...” Luna paused with a slight blush, “She distracted me and took the elements of harmony away from me. Twilight and her friends tried to use them against me, but they didn’t work. I had them at my mercy...”

Luna’s eyes moved between Celestia and the unconscious Twilight Sparkle.

“Is that all? Do you remember nothing that can help clear this up?”

Luna paused a moment and then nodded slowly. “I remember the six of them falling to the floor, fainted from my magic. It gets fuzzy after that.”

“You don’t remember the laughter? Or the big flash of light?” Spike asked incredulously.

“No.” Luna answered succinctly.

“But you remember Twilight falling to the ground?” Celestia asked.

“Yes, she was definitely unconscious.” Luna nodded. Celestia sighed.

Spike, while finding Luna’s version of events slightly at odds with his own, was incredibly glad to find somepony that would alleviate his fears. He was over tired, and he didn’t get a very good look. Maybe he didn’t remember things properly. It would be easy for his exhausted mind to mix things up a bit.

“I’m sorry, Princess. I guess I was mistaken.” Spike apologized.

“There is no need to apologize, young one. I’m just glad we managed to clear that up. There is still the matter of the monster that you had seen. Whoever it was is still at large, and though she may have given me my sister back, I fear we cannot assume she is friendly. But before we can concern ourselves with that, we must attend to Twilight and her new friends. Do you think you are strong enough to help me teleport these girls to Ponyville, sister?”

“I do, if you could help direct me to the correct location for the spell.” Luna nodded.

“Of course.”

The two alicorns levitated the unconscious mares, three a piece, into the air next to them and Spike held onto one of Celestia’s legs. With a considerable display of magical power, the entire room flashed bright gold and blue and then was empty.

___________________________________

Chrysalis groaned as consciousness began to return to her. She was confused at first at seeing an unfamiliar ceiling above her, and feeling scratchy, clean bedding beneath and on top of her. She had thought for a second, only a second, that perhaps what had happened over the last day had been a dream and that she would wake up back in her run down chambers in her run down hive, ready to desperately try and save her people from gradual extinction.

She was incredibly sore, nearly every limb throbbed. She felt nauseous, dizzy and had a splitting headache, and even though she had just woken up, she felt exhausted. The blame for that was likely from having low love reserves, though that issue was being helped somewhat by a loving presence in the room. Only slightly, though.

“How are you feeling, Twilight?” The familiar voice of Princess Celestia rang through the room loud and clear. Normally she would feel a surge of panic over her presence, but at that moment she had more pressing concerns.

“Not so loud.” She whispered, wincing at the alicorn’s words.

“I am sorry.” Celestia apologized at a less head piercing volume.

“I am in a lot of pain...Princess.” Chrysalis answered the question, remembering only at the last moment to add her title.

“You have been unconscious for nearly a full day now. We were concerned that you may not survive. Your parents are at the hospital to see you, they only just left recently at my insistence that they needed to eat.”

Chrysalis’ eyes widened at her luck, seeing an opportunity to get some love to hopefully recover some of her strength. “I would very much like to see them.”

“And you will, but first I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“Okay.” Chrysalis replied, trying with all her might to maintain a neutral tone.

“The elements of harmony, they were at the scene where I found my sister but they had not been used. What happened with them?”

Chrysalis inwardly sighed with relief. The first question was an easy one. The truth was all she needed. First, though, she needed to feign ignorance on a certain subject.

“Your sister?”

Celestia tilted her head slightly as she observed Chrysalis. “Yes, I suppose you wouldn’t have known. Nightmare Moon is in actuality my sister, Princess Luna. Now, what about those elements?”

“We tried to use them, but they didn’t work. I think we were missing one.” She answered.

“Then perhaps you could tell me about how my sister was defeated.”

Chrysalis felt as if she were being tested and that a wrong answer would get her in some serious trouble. Celestia wouldn’t find anything useful in the answer she had already fabricated long ahead of time, though.

“I don’t know. Nightmare Moon knocked me out with a spell and when I woke up she was on the ground, unconscious.”

“I see,” Celestia nodded her head solemnly, “and you didn’t see a large, black, monstrous pony?”

Chrysalis’ eyes widened in shock at her question and her chest tightened. That damned lizard must have seen something after all and blabbed about it to Celestia. How much had he seen and, more importantly, how much did Celestia know? The way Celestia stared at her did not give her much confidence, and she realized she needed to explain her reaction to her.

“Y...you mean there was a monstrous black pony other than Nightmare Moon?”

She added extra trembling and threw in a coughing fit as if she were sick and getting overly worked up, though her pained body made it less pretend than she would have preferred, to try and sell the idea that she was terrified by the prospect of another creature there that could have killed her. She was tempted to say she thought she had seen one running off, but discarded the idea. It wouldn’t do her much good to be caught in an outright contradiction, even if she might be able to pass it off as her memory being impaired. She had to hope Celestia would read her reaction as fear of what could have happened rather than fear of being caught.

“Relax, Twilight. You are safe and I am doing all there is in my power to find the creature.”

Chrysalis gradually slowed and then ended her coughing, though she was left raggedly gasping for breath.

“I’m sorry that I wasn’t more help.” Chrysalis told Celestia, adding a few tears to the lie in an effort to sell it.

“It’s not your fault, Twilight. I’m sure you did all you could.” Celestia reassured her. “I think I will leave to inform your parents that you have awoken, though I believe I shall wait an hour before relaying the news so that they don’t neglect eating to come and see you. You should rest in the meantime.”

Though Chrysalis would have much rather they came as soon as possible, she mumbled her thanks to the receding form of the princess. While rest would surely do her some good, it wouldn’t be nearly as useful as the love that she could siphon off of Twilight’s parents. She would rather not risk contradicting Celestia’s orders, though, so she would wait. She closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep, but found it awfully difficult with the excitement of having come so close to being discovered.

As she was bemoaning the realization that she would need to do something about Spike before long, she heard the door to her room open and close as a pony stepped inside. She cracked open her eye just enough to see that it was Princess Luna that had entered. She closed her eye again, pretending to be asleep in the hopes that the mare would leave her alone.

“I know you are awake, cease your pretending.” Princess Luna ordered her. Chrysalis groaned lightly and opened her eyes. She really didn’t want to deal with another princess right now. She stared at the blue alicorn, hoping that she wouldn’t raise her voice and aggravate her headache. Luna’s next words were a mixture of bitterness and mockery.

“What? No sweet words on my beautiful legs? Or the elegant arch of my back? I know that I do not look as I did then, but am I not still attractive?” Chrysalis’ ears plastered to her skull. She really should have wiped the princess' memory further back than she had. “It is as I suspected, it was all just ruse to stall for time.”

“Not all. I meant it when I said you were beautiful.” Chrysalis admitted. She did not want to have one of the princesses angry at her for such an outright snub. If making her feel better could ease Chrysalis’ new life, then it would be for the best.

“Tis a problem with my new form, then? If that is your concern, it will be only temporary until I have regained some of my strength. I will not look the same as when I was Nightmare Moon, but I should regain most of the height and mane.”

“That’s not—”

“But I am not here to be catty with you,” Luna cut her off, “I’m here to warn you. My sister suspects you are not what you seem. I believe I have you to thank for freeing me from my darkness and as such I owe you. In accordance with my debt, I have misled my sister by saying that I remember you falling to my attacks so that you could avoid suspicion of being the monster that the baby dragon speaks of, though I suspect she doubts the truth of my claim.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m not the monster.” Chrysalis denied. Luna smirked.

“I may have few memories of our encounter, something which I imagine to be your doing, but I do recall your beautiful smile and desire to exchange ‘love bites’ with me.”

The blood drained from Chrysalis’ face. She realized that she was at the mercy of this mare in front of her, a mare whose schemes she had just foiled.

“What do you want from me?” Chrysalis whispered hoarsely.

“Want?” Luna tilted her head. “I told you that I owed you for cleansing me, did I not? Beyond that, perhaps I would appreciate permission to visit you now and then, but that is all.”

“That’s it?” Chrysalis asked incredulously.

“I shall leave any further...developments of our relationship to the future.” She answered with a wink and then turned to leave.

She watched with a sense of unease as Princess Luna walked out of the room. Was it perhaps an attachment caused by Chrysalis’ earlier flirtations that were holding her back from revealing the truth? What a weak and fragile thread that kept her from the precipice of disaster.

Despite her exhaustion, sleep would not come thanks to the dismal thoughts that swirled around in her head and the anticipation of Twilight’s parents coming to visit soon. Though she was no less exhausted when her next visitors arrived, her pain in her head had been reduced to a dull ache rather than a throbbing one.

A pair of middle aged ponies, one a blue stallion with dark blue mane and the other a grey mare with white and purple striped mane, slammed open the door as they burst into the room. Chrysalis flinched at the sudden, loud noise, and quickly recognized them as Twilight Sparkle’s parents from the wedding preparations between Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. The two of them practically fought each other to be first to be by Chrysalis’ bedside. At first it seemed like Nightlight would be first, and to his credit he technically was, but the only thing to come out of his mouth when he went to speak was a startled yelp as Twilight Velvet tossed him aside with her magic.

“Are you okay? How are you feeling?” The victor of the competition asked in a worried tone.

“Like I’ve been chewed up and spit out by a dragon.” Chrysalis answered, exaggerating her plight, though perhaps not by much, in the hopes of wringing out just a little more parental love. She gave a weak smile. “I’m sure a big hug from the best parents in the world would make me feel much better, though.”

Nightlight appeared on the other side of the bed having crawled to it from wherever it was that his wife had tossed him, and both parents looked at each other for a moment.

“Umm...of course!” Nightlight exclaimed as he leaned in to hug his daughter, followed very shortly by Twilight Velvet from the opposite side.

“You must be feeling really bad,” Twilight Velvet commented, “you’re not usually so forthcoming with affection unless it has something to do with books.”

Chrysalis sighed happily at the energizing influx of love coming from both sides and the rapidly disappearing headache. “Nothing like a near death experience to make you appreciate what you’ve got available to you.”

“We’re going to have to get you out of this backwoods hospital and into a proper one back in Canterlot.” Twilight Velvet announced.

“No!” Chrysalis shouted, causing both of her parents to separate themselves from her and give her questioning looks. “I mean, I can’t leave. I just made friends here and I’d feel terrible leaving them!”

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to stay a few more days." Velvet humoured her daughter.

"No, I mean I'm not going to go back. I'm staying here for good."

“What about your friends in Canterlot? Isn't leaving them an issue?” Nightlight tilted his head as he continued staring at her.

“That’s...I mean...these friends are different. I really like them.”

“Really?” Celestia’s voice cut through the room as she entered it. All faces turned to see her walking elegantly towards them, “I’m surprised to hear that, seeing how you still have yet to even ask about their well being.”

Chrysalis winced at the Princess’ words. Was it really so hard to believe that she had made incredibly dear friends here in Ponyville and wanted to abandon her previous life in favour of ponies she had known for only a single day? Actually, that did sound pretty hard to believe. What kind of person was Twilight to do that sort of thing? The type of person that Chrysalis would have to pretend to be.

“I knew they were fine, I examined them before I fainted.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “You examined them while you were fighting my sister?”

“No, that was the first time I fainted. I woke up after it was all over and fainted again after that.”

“I see.” Celestia said skeptically. Chrysalis chuckled nervously in response.

“I guess I was still pretty messed up when I woke up then, but I just had to see if my friends were safe.”

“That’s very considerate of you, not what I’d have exp—” Nightlight stopped mid word as Twilight Velvet glared at him in warning. “Well, it was very considerate.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Chrysalis deadpanned.

“Do you truly intend on staying here, my student?” Celestia asked.

“I do.” Chrysalis gave a resolute nod. “Facing near certain death with somepony creates a very strong bond of friendship and I wouldn’t want to leave them after all we have been through.”

Celestia sighed at those words. “If only that were true.” She nearly whispered, probably more speaking to herself than anypony else in the room. “Perhaps it is for the best if you stay here, there is much you have to learn about friendship.”

“Wait, you’re not seriously going to just let her stay here, are you?” Twilight Velvet interjected.

“Your daughter is an adult, it is up to her where she is to live. I can’t force her to change her mind anymore than you can.”

“Hmph!" Velvet turned up her nose as if to say 'we'll see about that' and turned to her child. "Twilight Sparkle, I forbid you to move to this town! You are coming back to Canterlot with me, young lady!”

“No.” Chrysalis replied simply, eliciting a jaw drop from a confounded Twilight Velvet and a few unintelligible syllables of gibberish. Much to Chrysalis’ surprise, Princess Celestia chuckled.

“She’s grown up now, my little pony. It happens to all little foals.”

“I...yes. I see that.” Velvet replied with sad, downcast eyes. Celestia transferred her focus from Velvet to her pupil.

“Even though you may no longer be living in Canterlot, you are still my student. I will expect you to continue your studies while here and to write to me at least once a week detailing what you have learned. In particular, I would like you to learn as much as you can about friendship while you are here.”

“Yes, Princess.” Chrysalis answered quickly while internally groaning. She really didn’t want to have any contact with her if at all possible. She supposed that she should consider herself lucky if that truly was all the contact she was going to be exposed to. She had her doubts that it would be, though.

“Good. Now I think I’ll go and meet these friends of yours that you hold so dear, as well as make more permanent arrangements for you to stay at the Golden Oaks Library. If all goes well, you will be able to start your new life here very soon.”

“I suppose we should go back to Canterlot and pack your things for you.” Nightlight announced with a sigh.

“Actually, I’d like it if you stayed here with me just a little bit longer.” Chrysalis insisted. Twilight’s parents gave warm smiles at her words and hugged her once again.

“Of course. We’ll stay for as long as you want, Twilight.” Velvet assured her.

“We’re glad you’re going to be alright. We love you so much.” Nightlight added.

Chrysalis grinned as she siphoned as much love as she could manage from the pair without risking being discovered.

“I love you both too.”

6 - Time Saver

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Chrysalis turned her eyes to the hospital room door as she heard it opening and watched as one of the nurses she had seen and not bothered to remember the name of filed into the room. She was pushing a cart with a plate of what was presumably supposed to be food on it. Chrysalis eyed the dish with a frown as it was set upon the adjustable table connected to the rail of her hospital bed and swung in front of her. Noticing her patient’s reaction, the nurse rolled her eyes.

“I know, I know, hospital food is terrible. You can eat whatever you want when you get out of here tomorrow, but until then you’ve got to eat what we give you.”

“Yes, nurse.” Chrysalis answered in a monotone as she poked at a mushy pile of wet, lumpy, orange...stuff. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to recognize what it was supposed to be even if she had been a creature that actually ate things regularly. She noticed the nurse staring at her expectantly and felt a small piece of herself die inside. She picked up a spoon with her magic and shovelled a portion of the goop into her mouth.

“That’s better.” The nurse said with an irritating, self satisfied smirk that made Chrysalis want to knock her straight into the wall. “I’ll be back soon to pick up the dishes. If you haven’t finished it by the time I’ve returned, I’m going to force you to eat it myself.”

Chrysalis watched as the nurse left the room and as soon as she was out of sight, she spit out the so called food back onto the plate. She found it hard to believe that it would be edible even for actual ponies. Looking at it once again, she couldn’t even tell the difference between that which she had just spit out and that which she hadn’t.

There was no way Chrysalis was going to put that slop in her body. Without a moment’s hesitation, she levitated the revolting dinner into the air by her bedside and incinerated it, letting the ashes fall into the waste basket below.

It was the evening following her having awoken in the hospital after facing off against Nightmare Moon. She had learned yesterday that her dinner would be brought in shortly before visiting hours ended and she was looking forward to the relative privacy that being outside those hours would provide her. Some of her guests, specifically Twilight’s parents, had been quite useful with the love that they provided for her, but she couldn’t do the things she needed to do with the constant threat of ponies coming in to see her, or more accurately not see her.

As Chrysalis was arranging her plans for the evening in her mind, the nurse returned as she said she would and gathered Chrysalis’ empty plate.

“I wish all our patients were as easy to deal with as you.” She commented and Chrysalis gave a distracted smile, hoping it would satisfy her. The nurse paused as she sniffed at the air. “Do you smell something burnt?”

“No.” Chrysalis lied.

“Perhaps I’m imagining things.” She shrugged before trotting towards the door.

“I’m really tired. Could you let the others know I don’t want to be disturbed?” Chrysalis asked before she left.

“I can’t stop the doctors coming in for your scheduled check up in a couple hours, but I can probably get everypony else to give you some privacy.”

Chrysalis scowled as the nurse shut the door behind her. A couple of hours weren’t going to cut it, she needed most of the night for what she had in mind. She couldn’t afford to push back her plans, either, she was going to need to make a detour. If it didn’t work out like she hoped, she’d have to come up with an excuse for her absence and hope it didn’t increase ponies’ suspicions of her. As much as she would have loved to not take the risk, she had to get that incompetent little moron, Time Keeper, out of Celestia’s clutches before he compromised her cover.

She waited a few more minutes to ensure that the nurse was well and truly gone before throwing off her blankets and leaping from bed. She stretched her legs, a little stiff from being in bed for so long, and then transformed into a small, brown pegasus mare with a mop for a cutie mark. If she were lucky, nobody would bother paying any attention to what appeared to be a janitor as she slipped out of the hospital. She cracked open the door and peeked around for anybody nearby. Seeing that the coast was clear, she walked out of first her room, and soon thereafter the hospital itself. As she had hoped, she hadn’t even been given a single second glance.

Setting foot outside for the first time in a couple of days, she took in a deep breath of fresh air. She had grown weary of the stuffy atmosphere of the hospital. Her gaze wandered about the area, momentarily settling on the mountain that Canterlot was built into, barely visible in the distance and dim dusk lighting, before returning to her immediate surroundings. She would head there soon enough, but first things first. She waved at a nearby dark grey pegasus stallion to get his attention.

“Excuse me, but could you give me directions to the Quills and Sofa store?”

“Sure thing, miss, you just go down that way until you reach the town square and take a right. From there you go straight until you see it on the left. It’s probably closed for the day, though.”

“That won’t be a problem.”

“Maybe I could show you the way myself, ya know, make sure you don’t get lost along the way, and maybe after we could—”

“No.” Chrysalis cut him off and swiftly launched herself into the air so she could fly to her destination.

“Oh, uh...okay. Goodnight, then!” He shouted at her receding form and waved goodbye somewhat awkwardly.

Chrysalis knew what he wanted, and perhaps on a night where she wasn’t so busy she would have taken him up on the offer and drained him of all the love he had available, but she really didn’t have the time to waste on an amorous stallion right then.

With his instructions, the Quills and Sofa store was easy to find. There was a sign on the door indicating that the shop was indeed closed, just as the dark grey pegasus had said it would be, though it also proclaimed that it was under new ownership and wouldn’t re-open for a couple of days.

After looking around to ensure that she wasn’t being watched, Chrysalis reached inside with her magic and felt around until she found the simple bolt lock that was keeping the door shut and pulled it into the unlocked position. She slipped inside the dim building interior. The sound of hooves clopping on the wooden planks of the second floor indicated that the occupant was home, so she made her way up the nearby stairs. As she climbed them, she could hear a stallion’s incredibly agitated voice.

“...this stupid town! They could have at least given me some notice, but nooooo! Gotta get to this Ponyville as fast as possible! Didn’t even give me time to feed off my network of established associates, and now I have to start all over again! It took me years to set that up! And what kind of shop sells only quills and sofas!? Ohhh, if the Queen were here right now I’d give her a piece of my mind!”

Chrysalis shoved open the door and stood in its entryway. A brown earth pony stallion with a slicked back brown mane and wearing a blue vest over a white dress shirt turned with a scowl at his intruder. With a growl of frustration, he stomped towards Chrysalis.

“You picked the wrong store to try and rob.” He hissed at her, though his faced warped with confusion when the glow of magic from a non-existent horn emanated from the pegasus’ forehead. “What?”

Chrysalis’ green aura lifted the pony into the air where his limbs flailed about helplessly. With a flash of green fire, she returned to her natural form.

“M...my Queen!” The stallion’s eyes widened with shock as he attempted and failed to bow down while held aloft just below the ceiling.

“Good evening.” Chrysalis greeted with the edge of her lips curled into a slight smile. She let the floundering spy down onto the floor gently where he returned to his own natural form and saluted.

“Skitter at your service!”

“I have something I need you to do for me. I need you to take the place of a mare in the hospital until I return.”

“Yes, my Queen. Lead the way!”

Ah, this was more like it. How much easier the entire event with Nightmare Moon would have been if her so called friends were even the faintest bit like her loyal little changelings. No questions, no backtalk, no hesitation, just pure obedience. Sure, he may have whined a little when he thought she couldn’t hear, but everyone needed to blow off a little steam now and then, and it didn’t stop him from serving her perfectly.

It was too bad she was going to have to wipe his memories later so that he couldn’t report her presence in Ponyville back to the hive. It wouldn’t do to have her past self discovering her. It was going to be hard enough preventing her from finding out after she inevitably learns about a changeling being responsible for Nightmare Moon’s defeat.

After Chrysalis changed back to her former disguise and without needing to be ordered to do so, her little changeling transformed into an inconspicuous looking blue pegasus and followed after her as she left the building. After a short flight back to the hospital, the two of them were walking through its corridors, well on their way to the room Chrysalis had been recovering in.

“Visiting hours are over.”

The two of them turned to face the stallion who had interrupted their journey that was standing next to a cart that contained a variety of cleaning supplies. He was an older white unicorn with a sudsy bucket of water as a cutie mark and a bushy grey moustache and mane. Chrysalis suspected that she couldn’t pass herself off as a lowly janitor to one who appeared to actually be a janitor that had already failed to recognize her as part of the staff.

“I’m sorry, it’s just that I forgot my bit purse earlier today and I was hoping I could slip back and fetch it.”

The janitor eyed the two of them warily as the two of them gave innocent smiles. “Alright, but I’m coming with you to make sure ya don’t get up to any trouble.”

“I’d rather you—” Skitter began before being cut off by Chrysalis.

“That’s perfectly understandable, sir. It should just be over this way.”

The two of them proceeded on their previous journey almost as if they hadn’t been interrupted by the pony that was now making sure to keep them in his sights at all times, whether because he believed they were up to no good or simply didn’t want them to make a mess of his pristine hallways, Chrysalis wasn’t quite sure.

“This is the room right here.” Chrysalis announced as she pushed open the door to her own hospital room and was followed by the other two.

“Alright, make it quick.” The janitor ordered them as the door closed behind him. He paused a moment as he stared at the empty bed in the middle of the room, his eyebrows furrowed with confusion. “There should be a patient in here...”

“Oh, should there?” Chrysalis feigned ignorance as she began channelling a spell. The janitor turned back to the door, opened it up and pushed his head out of it.

“Doctor!” He shouted, but before he could say anymore, Chrysalis cast a sleep spell and he fell heavily to the floor with a thud. Skitter lifted the unconscious creature in his magical field and his eyes scanned the room frantically.

“Put him into the bathroom and take his form!” Chrysalis hissed at her underling as she pulled open the bathroom door. She went up in green flames as Skitter went about disposing of the janitor and was soon Twilight Sparkle once more. Just before the main door burst open and a pair of hospital staff, both stallions, rushed into the room, the other changeling turned himself into his new disguise.

“I’m telling you, I can move about just fine. Just because I’m a patient here doesn’t mean I’m an invalid!” Chrysalis scolded Skitter. Picking up quickly on the ruse, he responded with a scowl as he reached out for his Queen and tried to drag her to the bed.

“I’ll believe it when a doctor tells me,” Skitter answered, “until then, get in the bed!”

“What is going on here?” A doctor demanded as he took in the scene in front of him.

“This stupid janitor won’t listen to me! I told him that I’m being released tomorrow and am well enough to spend some time on my hooves!”

“Hmph!” Skitter snorted. “A lot of patients lie to get what they want, I’m not taking her word for it.”

“Oh, Sudsy...” The doctor raised a hoof to his face and shook his head. “You shouldn’t be fighting with the patients, you might hurt them. If this happens again, just go get a nurse and leave the patient alone.”

“So she’s fine to walk about?” Skitter gave the doctor a stubborn stare, eliciting a sigh from him.

“Yes, she’s fine. Now leave and get back to work.”

Skitter glanced over to Chrysalis a moment before returning his attention to the doctor. “But I’m not done in here!” He protested.

“Sudsy...” He said with a warning tone.

“It’s fine. As long as he doesn’t assault me anymore I don’t mind him staying to do his job.”

“Fine, but if I hear any more complaints about you harassing her you will be disciplined.”

“Yes, sir.”

With a tired sigh, the doctor turned and walked away. After a moment, Chrysalis peeked out the door to ensure that he was truly gone, and then turned her attention to her loyal spy.

“I need you to stay here for the night disguised as the mare I am right now.”

Skitter circled around Chrysalis, studying her form. “Got it.” He declared right before transforming into Twilight Sparkle, and Chrysalis changed to her prior disguise in turn.

“Her name is Twilight Sparkle. It should be easy to impersonate her since she should be asleep in this room until I get back to take her place again. There should be a doctor coming by later to give you a checkup, but otherwise you're likely to be left alone.”

“Twilight Sparkle? Isn’t that the mare you sent me to spy on in the first place? Why would you send me to spy on her if you’re just taking her place?” Chrysalis’ eye twitched. “Never mind.” Skitter quickly retracted his words at seeing her Queen’s aversion to being questioned.

“I’ll explain everything upon my return, until then, do as you’re told.”

“Yes, my Queen.” Skitter looked over to the bathroom. “What about him? Should I send for an infiltrator to take his place?”

“No, I’ll wipe his memories and send him on his way. Now get into the bed.”

Chrysalis opened up the bathroom door to find the janitor, Sudsy if she remembered correctly, snoring lightly on the cold, tiled floor. She bent her head down until her horn touched the stallion’s forehead and cast the familiar spell to rewrite his recent memories. He would wake up in a few minutes not remembering anything about meeting either of the changelings. She had contemplated instilling a false memory that aligned with the meeting that Skitter had had with the doctor while disguised, but decided against it. Simply removing a piece of someone’s memory was a lot easier and far less prone to mistakes of the sort that led to damaging their mind permanently.

She left the stallion where he lay as she exited the bathroom, noticing that Skitter already at least gave the appearance of being asleep. Satisfied, she exited the room and strode confidently out of the hospital into the cool night air.

Her eyes wandered once again to the city of Canterlot in the distance, only visible in the darkness thanks to the luminescent glow of the far off city lights. She took a moment to enjoy a few deep breaths, then unfurled her feathery wings.

_________________________________

Chrysalis’ hooves’ landed gracefully upon the cobblestone street of Canterlot, still disguised as a pegasus. What little dim light that reached her from a nearby street lantern did a poor job of illuminating her. The brown coat of her disguise would look closer to her natural black of her chitin to any observer. As she readjusted her wings, she smiled at the lone patrolling royal guard who nodded curtly in greeting. Had he seen her in better light, he would have plainly seen the insincerity of her smile.

Canterlot Castle was a few short streets away from her current position, hence the patrolling guard’s presence. She didn’t want to risk flying directly onto castle grounds as a pegasus. While she didn’t have a high opinion of the guards, in large enough numbers they could still be more than a minor hindrance. Even if they weren’t a threat, an early alarm could easily lead to Celestia herself coming after her.

She silently stepped into an alley and ducked behind a dumpster. With an ease developed from a lifetime of practice, she transformed herself into a fluffy, black cat. After taking a moment to enjoy a leisurely stretch in her new form, she prowled out of the alley towards the castle’s main gates.

Unsurprisingly, the gate was closed and a pair of stoic guards were posted on either side, the dim lantern light giving them an almost statuesque appearance. Chrysalis ran up next to the wall a few metres away from the gate’s left side and walked along it at a casual pace, like she imagined a cat might do. She passed beneath one of the stallions, stealing a glimpse upwards as she did so before crawling through the narrow bars into the castle courtyard unseen by either of the two standing watch.

The courtyard had a cobblestone road leading directly to a large set of solid, wooden double doors, and unlike the gate she had just passed through, there were no openings between bars for her feline form to slip through. However, if she remembered correctly from her previous infiltration as Princess Cadenza, there should be several windows lining the walls, many of which would have been left open this time of year to let the night air in to cool the castle. She wandered around the castle’s exterior and within a couple of minutes, she found one that was next to a tree. Using her feline graces, she climbed it and carefully inched her way onto the branch nearest the window.

On the mental count of three, she launched herself from her perch at the opening, a small smirk on her face over how easy it was to sneak into the castle when the ponies didn’t know about changelings. That self satisfied smirk faded very quickly once she realized she had misjudged the distance and she face planted right into the stone wall mere centimetres beneath the safety of the window sill. With a short, pained mew escaping her, she fell straight to the not quite soft enough grass below.

With an irritated growl, she got back to her paws, doing her best to ignore the throbbing pain in her head, and cast her eyes around her surroundings. Finding no guards looking her way, she did what she realized she should have done in the first place and altered her form to include her natural, gossamer wings with a sudden burst of green flame. She lifted herself into the air with a buzz of her wings, a considerably different experience from using the feathered wings of a pegasus, and gently lowered herself onto the carpeted floor on the other side of the window. With another quick flash of green, her wings vanished and she appeared once more to be a normal cat.

She gave a quick survey of her surroundings and easily recognized the area as being in the servants section of the castle. It was quiet and dark, likely because most of the staff would have gone home for the night. With only a moment of thought, she began making her way through the castle halls to the dungeons, glad for her stellar memory for the layouts of places she had been before.

Though she doubted that the guards would have bothered to stop a harmless little cat, she still hid in the shadows whenever a patrol came into view until they passed her and disappeared down the other end of the hallway. Getting through the castle was proving to be no more difficult than getting through the front gate. She knew that wouldn’t last much longer, though, as there would be neither bars to slip past nor open windows to sneak through once she reached the entrance to the dungeons.

She halted as she came upon a solid, wooden door that was flanked by two more guards, one a pegasus and the other a unicorn. Her eyes flicked between the two obstacles, trying to gauge how much effort she would need to expend on them. Her conclusion? Not much.

With a loud meow, Chrysalis bolted up to the nearer of the two guards, the unicorn, and began rubbing up against his legs while purring. He looked down at her and glanced over to his companion who returned the look impassively. A smile cracked the lips of the first stallion and he leaned his head down low to nuzzle the adorable intruder and caused the other guard to roll his eyes and return his gaze to the task of watching for more serious threats than a harmless kitty.

Using the nuzzling stallion’s head to hide the glow of her magic, she cast upon him a very light form of mind control, more of a suggestion that would urge him to open the door. He blinked a few times before standing straight and looking at the door. He lifted a key hanging from a strap on his armour and opened the door with it, allowing for Chrysalis to dart inside and descend the steps to the room below.

“What are you doing?” The other guard asked, his voice laced with irritation.

“Huh?” The unicorn shook his head and looked back to his companion.

“Why’d you open the door?”

“Oh. I thought I heard somepony knocking.”

“And you just opened it? What if it had been an escaped criminal?”

“I...I’m sorry, sir. I must be more tired than I thought. It won’t happen again.”

“Just shut the door.”

“Yes, sir.”

The heavy door slammed shut behind Chrysalis with a loud thud and then a softer click. She nearly sighed at how easy that had been. Celestia’s guards had long ago been trained to not take anything living at face value in her own time. She wondered briefly if it would be too much of a change if she convinced her past self to not attack Canterlot, but she pushed that thought out of her mind. She had more immediate concerns.

Chrysalis stood at the entrance of what appeared to be a small office. Set to her left, just off centre of the room, was a desk piled with papers. Sitting at that desk and stifling a yawn with droopy eyes was a pony, perhaps the warden or perhaps just some unlucky guard that was forced to work the night shift. Beyond him upon the wall was a series of pegs, each with a key on them and small lettering above it, presumably to display which cell each key was for. On the wall straight ahead of the door she had just entered was yet another door much akin to the first one in appearance and undoubtedly just as locked.

Chrysalis returned her gaze to the pony sitting at the desk. He was poring over the paperwork in front of him while his face descended slowly to the desktop until he jerked himself to full alertness only to begin the process of descending mere moments later. If he had noticed the door opening earlier, he made no indication of it. As exhausted as he clearly was, she knew it wouldn’t take much to push him over the edge into a deep slumber. Her currently invisible horn glowed a bright green and the stallion’s head lit up in response. The next time his head dipped towards the table, it completed its descent and within moments snoring filled the small room.

With only a sleeping guard sharing the space with her, Chrysalis dropped her disguise and approached the desk. She began searching for some kind of records that would provide her with a hint as to where Time Keeper was being kept. She wouldn’t have time to search every cell, and even if she did it would undoubtedly garner too much unwanted attention. It took a few minutes, but she managed to find a ledger with the details she sought amongst the forest’s worth of paper. She was surprised to find that her quarry was listed under the name “‘Zarplat’”, the pseudonym he had given during his pathetic attempt to claim that he was an alien. It implied that he hadn’t even told them his name, drastically improving the odds that he hadn’t spilled anything important about her, either.

She swiftly levitated the keys for cell 17-B and both the doors exiting this room off their respective pegs and then knocked the rest of the keys onto the floor in a jumbled heap so that nobody could tell where her intended destination was by looking at the missing keys. She trotted up to the door leading into the dungeon proper and thought on her intended path. The ledger she had found showed there to be three wings in the dungeon. Wings A and C were to the left and right after going through a short hallway past this point, while B went straight ahead from the intersection.

If all went well, she would be back here with Time Keeper within a few minutes. Getting a pony who could not transform as she could through the rest of the castle without raising an alarm wouldn’t be so easily done, and possibly downright impossible. Maybe she could pretend to be a guard escorting him somewhere, or perhaps even Celestia herself, but that would run the risk of revealing the presence of shape shifters to Celestia. Chrysalis was going to have a hard enough time hiding the fact she wasn’t really Twilight Sparkle without that particular bit of knowledge getting out prematurely.

Chrysalis inserted one of the three keys into the lock and held the other two between her teeth so that she would be free to use the full extent of her magic without splitting her focus on levitation while doing so. She transformed herself into a cat again, nearly dropping the keys from her suddenly much smaller mouth, turned the key in the lock and gently opened the door wide.

One guard pony was stationed immediately on the other side and he turned to see who was coming inside only to see empty space. His eyes darted around searching for the phantom presence. Before he could spy the cat with the keys in its maw, Chrysalis unleashed a torrent of magic directly into his mind. The stallion’s eyes suddenly grew vacant and his mouth opened slightly. If Chrysalis was lucky, he would remain standing in a dazed stupor for a couple of hours. If he was unlucky, the damage to his mind could be permanent. If that happened, hopefully he wasn’t important to the time line.

Chrysalis bounded past him and down the hall, the metallic taste of the keys in her mouth nearly sickening her to her stomach. The interior of the dungeons appeared to be only lightly guarded, possibly because of how few criminals were imprisoned at the time. It was easy enough to get to the door of cell 17-B, needing only to use an occasional spell to generate a sound that would cause a guard in her way to momentarily turn his head away from her intended path. If they had known that 'Zarplat' had an ally, for some definitions of the word, they likely would have increased security around him.

Just as Chrysalis levitated the appropriate key into the solid iron cell door, a cry of alarm went up from near the entrance. Somebody had evidently found the vegetable of a guard she had left behind. She didn’t have time for subtlety anymore. She yanked open the door with her magic, a considerably greater effort than she would have liked due to its large mass, leaped inside and dropped her disguise.

“Hold onto these!” She demanded as she tossed the keys to the pegasus inside.

“Chrysalis!” Time Keeper nearly shouted as he jumped off of his plain, grey bed that had been built into the far wall.

“Shh! Don’t say my name, you idiot!”

Time Keeper flinched at the reprimand and then picked up the keys from the floor in front of him. “Sorry.”

“We don’t have much time, I’ve been discovered. We need to get out fast.”

As she spoke, she transformed into a new disguise, one far less capable of stealth. She was a pony, an alicorn to be precise, and a tall one at that standing what she estimated at a head above her normal form. She was thickly muscled near to being grotesque, furthering the impression of being absolutely massive. As much as she loathed doing it, she kept many identifiable features of her own, such as the colour of her mane and her insect like wings, though she made sure to change the size and style of both. That brat of a dragon had told Celestia about her and she couldn’t afford to change her form too drastically if this ruse was going to work. She couldn’t very well convince Celestia that Spike’s monster was in Canterlot while Twilight was in Ponyville if she didn’t resemble the description he had given to her.

“I’m not leaving without the time machine.”

“We don’t have time!” Chrysalis hissed in a voice somewhat deeper than her own.

“What do you think is going to happen to the space time continuum if the past gets access to advanced time travel technology?”

Chrysalis turned her head to the partially ajar cell door where she could hear nearby cells being opened and shut as guards searched for her. She didn’t have time to argue.

“Fine,” she growled, “we’ll get your damn time machine. Now come on!”

Chrysalis barrelled through the door with her large frame, making no effort to hide her actions, and gave a bestial shriek that echoed through the dungeon. Two stallions halfway down the hall of cells snapped their attention directly onto her, their eyes widening momentarily in surprise. To their credit, they hesitated barely a second before lowering their spears towards her and steadily, though with a healthy dose of caution, moved towards her. Chrysalis mused that their slower speed may have been thanks less to caution and more to moving on only three hooves, since their fourths were holding their weapons.

A smirk found its way onto Chrysalis’ lips. A lowly pair of guards who were completely unaware of who or what she was could hardly pose a threat. She near effortlessly levitated the pair of them into the air, bashed them together and then slammed them both into a wall where they crumpled to the floor with groans of pain.

Time Keeper finally stepped out from his cell, trembling fiercely and with his feathered wings held unnaturally tightly against his sides. He froze when he saw the two collapsed guards and stared wide eyed at them. Chrysalis nearly rolled her eyes. The stupid stallion had the nerves of a new born foal.

Lacking the patience to try and coax him into motion again, Chrysalis levitated the slim stallion up onto her broad back. With all that extra muscle, it wouldn’t be too difficult to carry him out of the place and it would doubtless be infinitely faster.

Chrysalis charged down the hall directly for the exit, creating a cone of magic in front of her to deflect incoming threats. As she neared the intersection connecting the three wings of the dungeon, a pair of spears stuck out from around the corners directly into her path. She paid them little heed, her magical barrier shoving them harmlessly away from her as she ran past the two surprised stallions that had braced themselves in their respective corridors.

Within seconds, she was at the door where she had left the stupefied guard and found it locked. She cursed as she realized she had left this door’s key in the lock on the other side and prepared to break it down with a large surge of magic. She really didn’t want to be wasting her reserves with such displays of force, but she didn’t have much choice. She dropped her shield and focused her energies on building up the necessary power to destroy the reinforced door. Once the air was crackling with her magic, she unleashed a torrent of green upon the barrier and, after a second of creaking beneath the onslaught, the door exploded into the next room.

Chrysalis stepped quickly through the gaping hole she had created, breathing heavily from the exertion. She immediately noticed the coughing of one nearby guard from the dust filling the air, and that another was lying on the floor trapped beneath the rubble that used to be a door and its frame. The now awoken warden was standing nearby, staring at her and wearing a sloppily donned helmet.

Fighting through the entire royal guard would have been foolhardy even if Chrysalis hadn’t just wasted a significant chunk of her love reserves breaking down that door. She created a small blade with her magic and shoved it right up against the warden’s throat, who stiffened at the sudden threat on his life.

“Lay down your weapons, or I kill him.” Chrysalis warned.

“Do as she says.” The warden croaked. The remaining guard in the room looked to his superior and then back to Chrysalis before gently laying his spear on the ground, and the sound of clattering behind her told her that the guards from within the dungeon that had followed her had done the same.

“You, open the door,” Chrysalis ordered the disarmed guard as she stepped closer to her hostage, turning so that she could see both that guard, and the ones that were behind her whom she addressed next, “and you two, go deeper into the dungeon until I’m gone.”

The warden glared at her furiously, but nodded toward his subordinates. All three of the guards did as they were told, the one opening the door stepping back so as to not impede Chrysalis’ path.

“Do you know where the metal box that belonged to this prisoner is being kept?” Chrysalis asked of her hostage.

“Yes.” He practically spat the word out, though only after she pressed the blade harder against his throat to urge him to speak.

“You’re going to take me there, understood?”

“Yes.” He answered quietly, though with no less hatred than before.

As they ascended the stairs out of the dungeons, a lone pegasus guard wearing light armor that wouldn't impair his flight was there to greet them. His eyes darted between the three of them and he tensed up.

"Stand down, Swift Charioteer." Chrysalis' prisoner ordered. The pegasus nodded slightly before immediately flying off through the halls.

The three of them marched through the castle, the captive warden leading the way with a blade at his throat, and a frightened, grey pegasus upon the back of the intimidating, black alicorn that was Chrysalis. Outside of the occasional clattering of hooves in the distance running away from them, it was a very quiet journey through the surprisingly empty stone halls. They hadn't run into a single soul since leaving the dungeons, and that had Chrysalis worried. It had been far too easy so far, this was supposed to be the hard part.

The length of their journey seemed to extend far longer than Chrysalis felt that it should have and she began to suspect that her guide was trying to delay them. Her suspicions were confirmed when he turned at an intersection that would lead right back to a spot that she knew they had already been. She growled in warning at the guard ahead of her.

“I have a better sense of direction than you think. If you lead us into a circle, I’m going to kill you.”

Her hostage froze with a forehoof in midair, then placed his hoof back to the cold marble floor. With a barely audible sigh, he turned around and began leading them the opposite way, in the general direction of the castle entrance she noted. Once they had exited the castle itself, Chrysalis' eyes darted about ceaselessly, searching for what she believed to be an inevitable ambush. The skies of the castle grounds were as devoid of pony life as the castle had been, but she knew that could change in an instant.

“Remember that if we are ambushed, all it will take is the slightest of effort for me to slice open your neck.” She warned the pony leading her. When he didn’t answer, her next words were spouted in impatience. “How much further?”

“Not far.” He answered tersely.

“Where is it?” She pressed, not wanting to be led around blind anymore.

“It was too big to bring inside the dungeons, so it was stored inside the chariot storage building.”

“Well hurry up, we don’t have all night.”

The warden obeyed and picked up the pace to a light trot. They followed a cobblestone path around the perimeter of the castle until they were near a third of the way around it. A lone, large building set a few dozen meters away from the main castle loomed in front of them. The road they travelled on went straight into a set of solid metal doors that appeared large enough to allow a small house to fit through them, no doubt requiring the use of some kind of mechanism inside, magical assistance, massive brute force or some combination of those three to open. Set near that set of doors was a much smaller one for the use of ponies rather than methods of transportation.

“Open it.” Chrysalis ordered as she once again scanned the skies for incoming threats. Still nothing.

After rifling through a ring of keys from a belt on his uniform, he did so. The three entered the building with the warden still leading the way, going past several stalls lined with various regal looking chariots gilded with gold and emblazoned with symbols of the sun. Hidden near the back in its own private stall was the large metal box that was Time Keeper’s time machine.

“Here it is.” Their guide announced dryly as he came to a halt several meters from it, and Chrysalis followed suit. She stared at the nominally familiar contraption. It looked right, but something about it felt off.

“Oh, thank you, it’s safe!” Time Keeper whispered with relief and struggled to finally get off of Chrysalis’ back, resulting in him more falling down than climbing down, but he returned to his hooves from his floored position with a quick flutter of his wings and proceeded towards the machine as if nothing had happened.

Chrysalis took a few uneasy steps after him, but the feeling that something was wrong only intensified the closer she got to the time machine. It was as if several thin strands of silk were being dragged across her body. She shivered.

Slowly, though not so slow as to avoid Chrysalis’ notice, the warden stepped backwards towards the shelter of a nearby stall wall. She turned her attention his way and was about to warn him to stay put when that tickle she had been feeling intensified several fold and she finally recognized it for the web of magic that it was, radiating from the time machine. Eyes widened in panic, she jerked her head forward to find Time Keeper about to touch the time machine.

“Stop!” She screamed.

“What?” Time Keeper turned his head to see her, confusion in his eyes and one hoof resting upon the smooth, metal exterior of the box.

Mentally cursing, she immediately formed a screen of magic and swiped the moronic stallion onto his side, covering him just in time to protect him from the ensuing explosion of mystical energy. Not having the time to create a second barrier, she dove to the floor, barely dodging a piece of debris that was sent soaring through the air.

After what seemed like an eternity, though only mere seconds had passed, Chrysalis uncovered her face from her hooves and gazed upon the wreckage that had once taken her through time. Most of one side and the entirety of its rooftop were completely obliterated, and the rest of the exterior was charred black. The interior looked to be in relatively decent shape, but only by comparison. Anything that hadn’t been bolted down somehow had been sent flying, several of the mechanical instruments had cracks or were outright shattered into multiple pieces, and presumably anything previously connected to either the missing wall or ceiling had either also perished or fallen to the floor.

“No...” Time Keeper uttered in horror. He shakily stepped inside the wreckage and desperately began pushing buttons and flipping switches. The machinery made no response of any kind to his ministrations, it was clearly dead.

“No!” He screamed in anguish as he frantically repeated pushing a series of buttons on one of the cracked panels while staring at the unresponsive black screen next to it.

Chrysalis flapped her wings and made her way over to him, hovering over the scattered bits of broken glass, metal and electronics. She landed next to him, laid a hoof on his shoulder and yanked him from the console.

“We need to get out of here now.”

“No, I can fix this and we can use it to escape!” He attempted to argue, though his voice cracked while doing so.

“It’s gone.” She said bluntly. “Let’s go.”

Time Keeper’s lip quivered and a few tears escaped his eyes. He bit his lip to halt its movement and nodded his understanding.

“Thanks for saving me.” He offered shakily.

“Just don’t expect me to do it again.”

Chrysalis noticed rather quickly that their hostage had run off while she was distracted by the explosion, not that she had expected otherwise. He’d have been stupid to not capitalize on the opportunity. She double checked to make sure that her disguise was still in place and, once satisfied, she lifted herself back into the air and flew over the debris. Upon landing on clear ground, she waited to ensure that Time Keeper had followed and then proceeded towards the exit at a brisk trot. It wasn’t long before the two of them stepped into the cool, night air and faced that which was waiting for them.

At least thirty guards were at the ready in their golden armour that glistened in the moon and lantern light. About a third of them were pegasi that were hovering in the air, ready to cut off any attempt at an aerial escape, and if those failed the several unicorns present could drag them back to the ground with their magic where the earth pony guards could overpower them with raw physical strength.

Despite the trouble presented by the sheer numbers of guards, it was not they that caused Chrysalis’ chest to tighten with fear. No, it was the tall, white alicorn with the ethereal, multi-hued mane standing right in front of all of them. Celestia herself had shown up. Standing next to her were both Chrysalis’ escaped captive and the pegasus guard they had seen when they exited the dungeon.

Celestia took a step towards the duo and Chrysalis lowered herself into a defensive stance, baring her fangs at the approaching threat.

“There is no need for that, we can end this peacefully.” Celestia informed her. That superior, calm voice that screamed ‘I am in control’ infuriated Chrysalis.

Chrysalis shot a weak beam of magic at the stones in front of Celestia’s path when she took another step towards them, causing her to pause.

“Please, tell me who you are and what you want. I would prefer that this didn’t come to violence.” Chrysalis’ didn’t respond, taking some time to think of an appropriate lie. “Are you the one who stopped Nightmare Moon?”

“Yes.” Chrysalis replied. Celestia tilted her head at the sound of her unusual voice.

“Then I may owe you a debt of gratitude for returning my sister to me,” Celestia gave a nod of appreciation, though her eyes took on a hard edge immediately after, “however, that does not excuse you taking my prisoner or harming my ponies.”

“He’s mine!” Chrysalis snapped at her.

“How so?” Celestia asked, retaining the calm voice despite her angered eyes.

Chrysalis stood up to her full height, dropping her combative stance. She wouldn’t win a fight, anyway. Any chance she had to escape was tied to her ability to bluff them. If she were lucky, she’d not only get away unscathed, but also convince Celestia there was no chance that she and Twilight were the same pony.

“He had kept me trapped in that box for years, a magical prison made just for me, but when you took him away from it, I was freed. I have destroyed the box so that I can never be imprisoned there again, and now I am going to make my jailer suffer for the indignities he has put me through.”

“And why would I let you do that.” Celestia asked, the threat clear in the heat of her voice. Chrysalis chuckled, hoping that her nervousness didn’t shine through.

“You seem rather attached to that purple unicorn back in the Ponyville hospital.”

Celestia’s eyes widened at the mention of her student and her horn lit up with barely restrained magic. Her next words were carefully controlled, though a slight tremble crept in, whether of rage or fear Chrysalis didn’t know. “What have you done to Twilight Sparkle?”

“Oh, nothing,” Chrysalis jerked her head to toss a bit of mane off her face before finishing her sentence, “yet.”

Celestia shot a beam of golden magic at the stones near Chrysalis’ hooves, much like Chrysalis had done earlier to the princess except with enough strength to leave a small, smoking crater and send bits of the street flying everywhere. Chrysalis couldn’t help but flinch as a shower of rock pelted her furred skin.

“You will answer my question.” She demanded in a low tone of barely constrained rage.

“Careful there, Princess.” Chrysalis warned, her own voice a little shaky despite her efforts to avoid it. “If anything were to happen to me, then Twilight Sparkle dies. I cast a spell on her where if either I die, or if I choose, her heart will stop beating.”

Celestia paused.

“You’re bluffing.”

Chrysalis smiled sweetly.

“Are you a gambler, Princess? The buy in for this game is your student’s life.” Celestia stared silently at Chrysalis. “Either you attack me now and Twilight dies if you’re wrong, or you let me leave unmolested with my captive and she's safe when the spell wears off in a couple of days. Your move Celestia.”

The princess stood still, tensed for combat, for what seemed like an eternity. Sweat poured down Chrysalis’ body as she waited nervously for her opponent to either call or fold. Finally, Celestia’s horn ceased glowing and she took a submissive step back, though the hatred in her eyes still burned strong.

“Stand down.” Her order rang out clearly through the night air. “Let them pass.”

Chrysalis’ face gave off a radiant, victorious grin. Time Keeper let out a surprised squeak as she latched onto him with her magic and began to drag him along through the air behind her. She stepped up next to the princess and looked her straight in the eye.

“Wise choice, Princess.” She commented with a mocking tone. Celestia looked absolutely livid. Had she been of a predatory species, Chrysalis would have expected her to lunge at her throat with bared fangs. She wouldn’t do anything, though, not with her precious student’s life on the line. How would she react if she knew that that little unicorn was already dead?

Feeling a little drunk on the power she had over the alicorn, and eager to further emphasize her dominance, she leaned forward and gave a quick kiss to her cheek. She almost went for the lips, but felt like that would be pushing her luck, even given the current circumstances. As small as the gesture had been, there were still gasps from the assembled guards and Celestia jerked her face away as if the contact had burned her.

“Goodbye.”

With that last word, her wings began buzzing and she rose into the night sky with Time Keeper in tow. A couple of minutes later, they were both out of sight.

7 - Loose Ends

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Chrysalis and Time Keeper landed just outside of Ponyville no more than an hour before day break. Time Keeper’s breath was ragged from the breakneck pace they had flown at from Canterlot, and even the far more fit Chrysalis was feeling worn out. It was only the natural exhaustion from rigorous physical exertion and not from love starvation, so she did her best to ignore it.

“You stay on the outskirts of Ponyville.” Chrysalis ordered. Time Keeper blinked and looked from side to side.

“Me?”

Chrysalis groaned. “There’s nobody else here, so who else would I be talking to?”

“Alone?!” Time Keeper’s voice cracked.

“Yes, alone.” Chrysalis growled. “Now I need to get back before any of Celestia’s lackeys arrive to check on Twilight.”

“I can’t survive out in the wild by myself!”

“If you go into Ponyville, you’ll be arrested again!”

“I’ve lived my entire life inside a city larger than Canterlot! If I stay out here I’ll starve, or get eaten by a mountain lion!”

Chrysalis stared at him flatly for a moment and then turned away, readying herself for flight. Just as she lifted off into the air, something latched onto her hind legs and she was brought crashing back to the grass with a heavy thud. Chrysalis’ long neck turned her head to gaze angrily at the irritating pegasus that had halted her flight.

“I’ll come back later with some food and water, now let me go or the mountain lions will only find a corpse to feed on.”

Trembling, Time Keeper removed himself from Chrysalis’ hind legs and nodded. Chrysalis rose back to her hooves and let out an irritated snort in his direction. He wilted beneath her glower, going so low to the ground that he almost seemed to meld with it in the darkness. She wasted no more time, lifting back into the air, transforming into a blue and pink pegasus as she did so and flew straight into Ponyville.

________________________________

Chrysalis, now a tiny cockroach, squeezed her way through the slight gap between the door and floor into her hospital room. The not quite snoring rhythmic breathing of a sleeping pony, or in this case changeling, filled the room. She had gotten lucky in that she had beaten Celestia’s minions here. She had seen a royal chariot flying above the town shortly before entering the hospital and knew she had little time to spare. As she rapidly took on the form of Twilight Sparkle, she also channelled some of her magic into the door so that it would resist attempts to open it.

She looked to the pony lying on the bed in the centre of the room, a mirror image of her current disguise. Skitter had done his job, even if it had been so easy that he literally could do it in his sleep. She paused only a moment before lifting him gently from the bed with her magic. He snorted as he was roused to consciousness and shook his head to ward off some of his drowsiness.

“I’m back.” she whispered gently to him as she set him softly upon the tiled floor.

Skitter fought back a yawn before he spoke. “What time is it?”

“Dawn. We need to switch fast. Guards could be here any minute, or perhaps even Celestia herself. You need to get out unseen and I’ll come see you later.” The thought of him writing up a report to send back to the hive and revealing her to her past self flashed across her mind. “Don’t send your report until I’ve had a chance to meet with you again.”

Skitter’s face paled slightly at the mention of Celestia possibly arriving soon, but nodded his understanding despite the sudden fear he undoubtedly felt. Scarcely another moment passed before the door knob behind Chrysalis began rattling. Both pairs of eyes darted to the door before returning to each other.

“Hurry!” She hissed.

Skitter was engulfed in green flame, turned into a fly and promptly buzzed his way to the wall just above the door where he perched himself. As that happened, somebody started banging on the door and shouting words of concern over Twilight Sparkle’s safety. Chrysalis released the spell on the door and stepped forward to open it.

As she reached for the handle, the banging stopped. Chrysalis paused a moment to listen and after hearing little, she flung the door open. She didn’t have time to react before a figure clad in golden armour charged right into her, bowling her over as both she and her sudden assailant fell to the floor.

Chrysalis gasped to recover the breath that had been knocked out of her and then shrieked at the royal guard that was on top of her.

“What are you doing?! Get off of me, you idiot!”

Rather than getting off as she had demanded, the stallion gripped onto her and squeezed tightly.

“Twily! You’re okay!” Chrysalis stiffened as she realized it was Shining Armor that was crushing her.

“Well, I would have been if you hadn’t just squashed me into a fine paste!” She scolded him. Her eyes crawled up to where she had last seen Skitter and found he was already gone.

Shining Armor winced and released her from his grip, letting her return to her slightly unsteady hooves. “Sorry. There was an attack at Canterlot Castle and Celestia sent me here to check on you.”

“Us...she sent us.” A surly voice entered the room, followed by a lithe looking pegasus guard. “Would’ve been here a lot faster had she just sent a pegasus instead of forcing us to cart you unicorns over here.”

“And if that thing really was here, would you want to face her by yourself without unicorn support?”

The pegasus’ lips drew into a tight frown, but he didn’t answer.

“‘Thing’? What 'thing'? What happened at the castle?” Chrysalis latched onto what little Shining Armor had revealed, feigning ignorance and trying to lead the conversation to where she wanted it.

“It’s nothing you need to worry about, your BBBFF will handle it.”

Chrysalis stared blankly for a second, unsure of who or what a BBBFF was. Was he talking about himself? A glimmer of concern, or perhaps confusion, entered Shining Armor’s eyes and she knew she need to say something to distract from her lack of recognition of the term.

“I’m not going to accept that as an answer!” She declared aggressively. “If it was bad enough for you to be sent to check on me, then I deserve to know.”

Shining pursed his lips together and then the two of them stared each other in the eye with mirrored steely resolve. Several seconds passed with neither side backing down until a heavy groan of frustration came from the third pony in the room.

“Oh, for the love of...Celestia believes that the same creature that defeated Nightmare Moon is responsible for breaking out the pony that abducted you earlier. Additionally, she threatened to harm you if we didn’t let her escape.”

Shining Armor’s eyes burned with anger over the other pony revealing that information. His mouth opened to reprimand him, but before he said anything he was cut off by Chrysalis’ shriek.

“She did WHAT?!?” Chrysalis forced herself to hyperventilate and Shining turned back to his ‘sister’, his look of rage warped into one of panic.

“It’s okay! She was probably just bluffing!” He attempted to soothe her.

“Probably!?”

“Definitely! I meant definitely!” He quickly backtracked. “Besides, we let her go, so she won’t be trying anyway.”

“Are you sure?” She asked as she gradually slowed her breathing.

“Absolutely, Twi! I wouldn’t lie to you like that, you’re safe.”

Chrysalis stumbled over to the bed and hopped up onto it, trying her best to look relieved.

“So the monster and the pony that took me are working together?”

“Maybe. She said she only took him because she wanted revenge against him.”

“Do you think it’s true?”

“I dunno. If she wanted to kill him, why didn’t she just do it when she found him? Why bother with the trouble of escaping with him?”

“What about Celestia? What does she think?” Chrysalis pressed.

“She hasn’t said anything to me, though she seemed...angry.” Shining shook his head and Chrysalis fought to not let her disappointment show. She had hoped to learn whether or not Celestia had believed her ruse.

It didn’t matter, she decided, whether she believed it fully or not. Unless Shining Armor was lying about why he was there, she evidently believed it enough to send guards to ensure her safety. Since she had discovered that Shining Armor was a terrible liar from her infiltration before the Canterlot invasion, she had little fear of him deceiving her, so she had to believe she was in the clear for now. She stifled a yawn and was suddenly very aware of the softness of the bed she was sitting on.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Twi? You look exhausted.” Shining asked, his brow furrowed with concern.

“All that’s happened lately has made it hard to sleep.” She answered lazily as she burrowed herself beneath the blankets, still warm from Skitter earlier, and closed her eyes.

“Oh. Well, I’ll just do the scan that Celestia requested and then I’ll let you sleep.”

Chrysalis’ eyes shot open beneath the cover of her blankets and she unintentionally held her breath. She hadn’t thought about that possibility when she claimed to have cursed Twilight Sparkle, that Celestia would have her scanned for such an enchantment. While the changeling transformation was certainly difficult to detect, and hers more so than the average changeling’s, she really did not like the idea of risking Shining Armor getting lucky and falling upon the correct scanning techniques.

“Scans? What scans?”

“Just making sure that the monster didn’t really leave any nasty magical surprises on you.”

“But you said I was fine.”

“It’s just a precaution, nothing to worry about.” Shining Armor’s horn lit up as he began casting a spell, only to be blocked by a barrier that Chrysalis had woven throughout her blankets.

“No, I refuse. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Come on, Twily, stop being so stubborn!” Shining stamped a hoof in frustration.

“I’m not letting you scan me!"

Shining Armor’s retort died on his lips as somebody new spoke up.

“Then perhaps you would allow me to perform the scan.”

Chrysalis’ blood ran cold as she recognized the voice as Luna.

“Your highness!” Shining greeted her with a bow. “What are you doing here?”

“Greetings, Captain. I have been sent by my sister as extra assurance that Twilight Sparkle is okay.” She chuckled lightly. “I had to convince her to not come herself by pointing out she still had a kingdom to run.”

Chrysalis pulled the blankets down just enough to peek out from under them at the princess. She looked no different than she had the last time she had seen her, evidently her strength had not recovered enough for the physical changes she had mentioned would come to manifest.

“Please, I wish to be alone with Twilight while performing the scans.”

“Yes, your highness.” The two guards said in near unison before leaving the room. Luna approached the bed with an amused smile.

“You’ve been quite busy.” She spoke in a hushed tone as she drew the blanket to uncover Chrysalis’ entire face.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Chrysalis flat out denied her insinuation.

“I hear it was a massive, black alicorn that broke one of the prisoners out. It’s a shame I wasn’t there. I would have loved to see her.” She gave Chrysalis a knowing look, that smile never leaving her lips.

Chrysalis, for her part, remained completely silent. Her lack of response finally wiped that smile off Luna’s lips as she gave a heavy sigh.

“Of course you can’t admit it was you. I understand. You’re just lucky that I was able to convince Celestia not to come here herself. She is very stubborn when she wants to be. Fortunately, so am I.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I assure you I don’t need your help.”

“Of course you don’t, but my help couldn’t hurt.” Luna’s horn glowed and Chrysalis’ flinched as her magic touched her. After several seconds, she tilted her head with only the slightest of smiles. “Hmm...nothing. I’m not sure why you were so hesitant to be scanned by the captain.”

“I just don’t like being scanned. It invades my privacy.”

“I could always go for a more thorough scan.” Luna said, keeping a close eye on how Chrysalis reacted.

“Sure. Go ahead.” Chrysalis bluffed, hoping that her nervousness didn’t shine through.

“Too bad I don’t have the time for a more thorough scan.” Luna winked at her. “I think I’ll just tell my sister that there was nothing to find.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying this whole time.”

“I know. My sister would love to hear my report, I’m sure, so I should be leaving soon. But before I go, there is one more thing.”

“Oh, and what would that be?” Chrysalis asked. Luna brought her face close enough to Chrysalis’ for her to feel her breath and whispered in her ear.

“I hear rumours from the guards that you kissed my sister. You should know that I’m the jealous type and I don’t appreciate you doing so. However, I forgive you. This time.” Luna chuckled lightly and then leaned in to give Chrysalis a very light kiss on the cheek, barely a brushing of her lips. Chrysalis was left wondering if what she had said was her idea of a joke or a threat and felt sickened from the idea of an alicorn chasing her down in a jealousy induced rage. “Don’t worry, I won’t let my sister have you. You are mine. Goodbye.”

Chrysalis watched as the blue alicorn strode out of the room, leaving her completely alone. Once again, she seemed to owe her ongoing safety to the lunar princess’ apparent crush on her, though she may have edged a little too far onto her jealous nature with last night’s activities. She should probably avoid giving her cause for such feelings in the future lest she get on the darker side of her affections.

She thought that maybe somebody else would come in to check on her after the princess’ departure, perhaps Shining Armor again, but none did. She remained alone in that room and while thinking on Princess Luna, she fell asleep.

It seemed like hardly any time had passed at all when she was awoken by voices outside of her room.

“What do you mean ‘who am I?’? I’m a doctor!” A moment of relative quiet followed before the irritated voice returned, slightly more strained than before. “My business is examining Twilight Sparkle before we release her from the hospital!”

There was another moment of quiet before the door swung open and a unicorn wearing a doctor’s coat walked in, his brow set in frustration and muttering something crude under his breath about royal guards. He was followed not by Shining Armor, who was still visible standing vigil just outside the temporarily open door, but by Rarity of all ponies. She was only half paying attention to where she was going as she kept stealing glances back at Shining Armor until the door swung itself shut again.

“Rarity? What are you doing here?” Chrysalis asked.

“Hmm? Oh, I’m here to see you of course! Also to bring Spike along so he can go home with you once they release you. He’s been staying with me while you’ve been recovering.”

“Spike?” Chrysalis leaned her head over the edge of her bedside and saw the little dragon was indeed there, standing very near to Rarity’s legs.

“Hey, Twilight!” He waved a hand enthusiastically at her.

“I only agreed to let you two in here with me because you promised you would be quiet and not interrupt my examination.” The doctor complained to the white mare.

“I’m dreadfully sorry, doctor, we will be silent from this point forward until you are finished.”

The doctor grumbled a little more and then proceeded to conduct the examination. In addition to the physical check up, he asked a variety of questions on how she was feeling. By the end of it, she was suffering from a minor headache, which she informed him of.

“Probably from fatigue.” He announced. “How did you sleep last night?”

“Poorly.” Chrysalis answered truthfully before layering an untruth on top of it. “I had a lot of nightmares.”

“I suspected as much, it’s not surprising given what happened to you. You can take any over the counter pain reliever for the headaches if you’d like. If the nightmares become too much of a problem, you can come back here and I’ll prescribe some sleeping pills, though I’d prefer not to do that unless necessary. Other than the obvious fatigue, you seem to be in reasonable health. I’ve got some paperwork to do and then we can have you checked out of here within the hour.”

“Thank you, doctor.” Chrysalis said.

“I’ll be back soon. In the meantime, you can chat with your friends here.” He indicated towards Rarity and Spike with a nod, both of whom were standing patiently off to the side. Rarity’s eyes followed the doctor as he left the room, lingering once more at something on the other side of the momentarily open door. Spike, on the other hoof, threw himself onto her in a hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” Spike exclaimed.

“Me too, Spike.” Chrysalis gave a half hearted smile as she remembered just how the little guy had informed Celestia about her true form.

“So...who is that handsome stallion keeping guard over you out there?” Rarity asked as she too approached the bed ridden Chrysalis. “He looks different from the other guards.”

“He’s Shining Armor, my brother. He’s captain of the royal guard.”

“Captain, hmm?” Rarity’s eyes wandered over to the now closed door. “It’s no prince, but...”

“He’s taken.” Chrysalis interrupted her train of thought with a roll of her eyes.

“Isn’t that a shame?” She stated wistfully and turned her full attention back to Chrysalis. “I’d ask how you’re feeling, but that would seem rather silly right now, wouldn’t it?”

“A little.” Chrysalis agreed through a yawn. “So, you’ve been looking after Spike?”

“Indeed I have. He’s been an absolute darling. I’ve gotten so much work done with his assistance.”

“Anything for you, Rarity.” Spike spoke up dreamily, causing Rarity to smile and stifle a chuckle. It was apparent that she knew precisely how he felt and had been using his feelings to her advantage. While Chrysalis acknowledged that it was a jerk move on Rarity’s part, it wasn’t her responsibility to protect Spike’s feelings or to prevent his inevitable heart break. He had to learn about manipulators like Rarity sooner or later.

“Thanks.” Chrysalis said.

“Any time, Twilight.”

“Rarity’s work is amazing!” Spike gushed. “She makes the most beautiful dresses!”

“Yes. I saw myself, remember?”

“Well, I certainly try.” Rarity responded as she basked in the praise. “Speaking of which, you still owe me one session of modelling my dresses for me.”

Chrysalis’ ears wilted. “Can’t we just say that Spike’s help covered that?”

“Of course not! It’s not Spike that owes me, it’s you! To have him pay your debt would be improper. Besides, that was in exchange for me taking care of him. We can worry about scheduling a session after you’ve settled into your new home, though.”

Chrysalis sighed in defeat. “Okay, fine, but no corsets.”

“Hmm...I’m sure I could find something else for you to model if you are truly so opposed.” Rarity conceded. “Though I still think you would look marvellous in one.”

“Marvellous or not, I feel like I’m being strangled in them.”

“I suppose not all mares are willing to make sacrifices to look good.”

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes and crossed her forelegs in response to Rarity’s snobby tone. Upon noticing her reaction, Rarity’s eyes widened and any sense of haughtiness in her demeanour was replaced with shame.

“Oh, I am so sorry!” She apologized. “I didn’t mean to imply that you were somehow inferior for—”

“Well, you did.” Chrysalis cut her off grumpily.

“I...well, yes, I see that.” Rarity admitted guiltily. “However could I make it up to you?”

“Well...” Chrysalis began, making an exaggerated show of thinking about her already prepared answer.

“I’m sure you didn’t mean anything by it. Twilight’s just being grumpy because she’s been in the hospital without any books for so long, no need to make it up to her.”

Chrysalis stared at Spike with her mouth hanging open. How dare that little beast interrupt her machinations?

“Are you sure?” Rarity gave an uncertain glance to the fuming Chrysalis.

“Absolutely!” Spike nearly shouted, drowning out Chrysalis’ attempt to say otherwise, while simultaneously patting Chrysalis’ head in an infantilizing manner.

“Well, if you’re sure. Anyway, I have a business to get back to. I’ll see both of you later. Rarity waved a hoof farewell and then trotted briskly out of the room, escorted as far as the door by Spike who had jumped down from the bed where he had been snuggling up next to Chrysalis.

“You idiot!” Chrysalis hissed at Spike. “I was trying to get out of modelling for her!”

“I know.” Spike answered with a satisfied smirk. “You’re really not the type to be bothered by such a weak insult. Besides, if you really wanted to stop me, you could have done so easily.”

Chrysalis blinked. Why hadn’t she stopped him. She could have easily pushed him off the bed, or clamped his mouth shut or even just spoken over him. She brushed that question aside and focused on one she could direct away from herself.

“Why did you do that if you knew what I was doing?”

“Besides tricking her being a mean thing to do?” Spike asked with a raised eyebrow. “So that I can go with you to visit her when you model for her.”

Chrysalis shut her eyes and groaned. That was so stupid it was painful.

“We live in the same small town, Spike,” Chrysalis opened her eyes and refocused on the lizard, “you can visit her any time you want!”

After a moment to fully grasp the reality of her words, Spike’s eyes widened into saucers and his mouth turned into a sharp, toothy grin that could rival any changelings’.

“Oh my gosh!” Spike squealed with a near ear splitting high pitch. “I can see her anytime!”

“Yay.” Chrysalis said in an unenthusiastic monotone, wincing from the pain in her ears. Spike froze as he realized what he was doing.

“Oh, uh...” Spike chuckled self consciously. “I mean...Oh? I didn’t think of that. Maybe I’ll give her some company, ya know, if I have the time. I am a very busy dragon after all. I’m sure she gets lonely sewing by herself all day.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m sure you’d be doing her a great favour.”

“You think so?” Spike’s eyes began to gleam, completely unaware of her sarcasm as his cool facade melted as quickly as he had put it up.

“Yeah, sure.” She answered in the affirmative despite her true beliefs. She may not be responsible for protecting the little dragon’s feelings, but she couldn’t bring herself to be the one to crush his happy delusions. His positive, naive outlook reminded her too much of the exceptionally young changelings back home who had not yet been exposed to the harshness of the real world.

Chrysalis leaned back onto her pillow and closed her eyes, only half listening to Spike’s continued babbling. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she was jerked to full wakefulness once more by the door opening and the heavy hoofsteps of the returning doctor.

“You’re set to leave, Miss Sparkle!” He announced jovially, a stark contrast to his dour demeanour earlier when Rarity was around. Chrysalis suppressed the urge to chuckle. She could hardly blame him for feeling that way around her.

Chrysalis grunted acknowledgement of his words and began to groggily get up from the bed. In addition to the exhaustion, she was feeling stiff and sore almost everywhere from her excursion during the night, especially in her currently hidden wings. She stretched out the various parts of her body piece by piece, an occasional popping sound filling the air.

“You still look exhausted.” The doctor observed. “I suggest you head straight home and spend the rest of the day resting.”

“Will do, doctor.” She answered. After I deal with a loose end, first. She thought.

Chrysalis walked out of her hospital room one last time with Spike in tow, hoping she would never have to go back to that detestable place again.

“Hey, Twily. Leaving now?” Shining Armor asked. Chrysalis suppressed the urge to groan. She had forgotten about his presence.

“Hello, brother.” She answered. “Yes, the doctor says I’m good to go.”

Chrysalis walked past him, him following after her, and she trotted through the hallways and to the hospital exit at a brisk pace, despite her weary body’s protests. She stopped briefly at the hospitals’ front desk to confirm that she was leaving and then stepped outside into the mid day sun. She was finally free from that place. Free to be stuck living as her hated nemesis. Free to spend time with enemies of the changelings. Free to walk a tight rope of historical accuracy for potentially years. At least she could get some fresh air without either getting permission to go outside or hiding the fact that she was gone. It would need to be the small pleasures keeping her sanity in check.

Shining Armor stopped with her outside the hospital and waited patiently as she stood there enjoying the outdoors. Chrysalis looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“Don’t you have a team of guards to go run or something?”

“Normally, yeah, but the princess asked me to keep an eye on you for a couple days, just in case.”

“Really?” Chrysalis growled in frustration. Shining raised an eyebrow in response to her unhappy reaction.

“You’re not getting out of this. I’m going to stick to you like glue."

“Fine!” Chrysalis nearly shouted as she began walking again.

“Uh, Twilight?” Spike spoke up as she began walking. “I don’t think the library is that way.”

“I know.” She snapped at the dragon, still irritated over Shining’s presence. “I have something I need to do first.”

“But the doctor said—”

“He merely suggested that I go home and rest, and I will, after I deal with something first.”

“But-” Spike tried to argue but was cut off by Shining.

“Just let her do this. Trust me, you won’t win.”

Spike, though clearly wanting to continue the argument, gave in to Shining’s insistence and fell in step behind Twilight. Several minutes passed in relative silence, the young dragon and captain of the guard both quickly getting the impression that Twilight wasn’t in the mood for conversation, something Chrysalis was thankful for. Eventually, the three of them came to a stop in front of a shop.

“Quills and Sofas?” Spike read the shop’s sign aloud with a raised eyebrow. “Uh...what are we doing here?”

Chrysalis glanced over to Spike and then to the sign before closing her tired eyes for a few seconds. They were getting lamentably sore and she found she had to force them back open to avoid falling asleep where she stood.

“I need a quill.” Chrysalis gave the obvious answer, even if it was a lie.

“Even if you couldn’t wait until after you take a nap, I could have gotten it for you.” Spike pointed out, eliciting an angry sigh from Chrysalis. Spike continued, either oblivious to or completely ignoring her reaction. “Are they even open? The sign says they’re closed.”

“Only one way to find out.” Chrysalis answered, her horn alight with green energy that enveloped the door handle, giving her companions a visible target of her efforts to hide that she was simultaneously unlocking the bolt lock on the other side of the barrier. After a couple of seconds of pulling the dead bolt open, made easier by her experience of doing it last night, she turned the door handle and pushed it open.

“See? The door’s unlocked, they must be open.”

“Huh...they should really take that sign down.”

“I think I’ll stay out here and keep an eye out while you get a quill.” Shining Armor announced. Spike laughed.

“You just don’t want to be inside a musty ol’ quill shop.” He put a claw upon his chest. “I’m far more dedicated to Twilight than that.”

Spike began to follow Chrysalis inside, but was halted by a green field of magic.

“Could you wait out here with Shining? I’ll only be a few minutes, and I’m sure a child like you would rather stay out here and enjoy a beautiful day like this than spend time in there.”

“What? Why? I’m your assistant, you always bring me along to these stores to carry your stuff. What’s so different this time?”

Chrysalis closed her eyes once again and gave yet another tired sigh. That dragon never stopped being an irritant.

“I’ll get you some extra gems for dessert tomorrow above what you owe Rainbow Dash if you just do as I say.”

Spike’s eyes lit up adorably, bringing a smile to Chrysalis’ weary face. “Deal!”

Chrysalis would have much preferred to force the kid to stay outside, such a feat would be trivial for her, but she had to live with him and he would be a lot more pleasant company if she didn’t bully him, not to mention that Shining Armor would probably frown on seeing her treat him so. She entertained the thought of paying off his entire debt to Rainbow Dash for him so he could still have his precious, crystalline treats, purely for the purposes of having a happy roommate, of course. Miserable living companions tended to not keep their misery to themselves.

Chrysalis entered the store, leaving Shining and a happily humming Spike outside the door where he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet and gave a friendly wave to any ponies that happened to pass by. The main room of the store was properly lit, unlike last night, though still empty of the proprietor. She figured that Skitter was probably upstairs again, which suited her just fine. It would be best for what she had planned to not be in the room with a large window for passing pedestrians to view the merchandise and her activities.

The stairs leading up creaked a little beneath her weight. The door at the apex of the steps had been left open and she stepped through it onto level flooring to find Skitter, currently in his pony disguise from their first meeting, looking expectantly her way from his position sitting at a writing desk with a rather fancy quill was held between his teeth. He gently set the quill on the desk in front of him, got up from his seat and stepped towards his visitor, stopping half way.

“How may I help you, Miss? Do I know you?” He asked. Chrysalis smiled at his caution, not daring to greet her as his queen just in case of the unlikely event that she was the real Twilight Sparkle. She dropped her disguise and nodded to him, resulting in him dropping his own disguise and bowing deeply to her.

“I must commend you on your work last night. I’m afraid I didn’t have the time to properly do so earlier.”

"I am eternally at your service, my Queen.” He responded with a proud smile at her praise. He rose from his bow. “I was just going over my report and waiting on your arrival so that you could grant your approval before sending it to the hive.”

“Let me see it.” Chrysalis demanded.

“Of course.”

Skitter levitated the scroll of parchment from the desk he had been sitting at and brought it over to her. She held it aloft in her own magic and read through it, trying to ignore the protests of her sore eyes as she did so. It detailed much of what she had anticipated, covering his arrival in Ponyville, the little information he had gleaned thus far on the Nightmare Moon incident, and then about Chrysalis’ presence and what he had done for her.

“Does it meet your approval?”

Chrysalis glanced over the paper’s edge to look at him and gave a reassuring smile.

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll just send it, if you’d be so kind as to return it to me.”

“Don’t trouble yourself, I’ll do it.”

“Oh...thank you, your majesty. It’s an honour to have you assist me in such a fashion.”

“Good work deserves to be acknowledged and rewarded.” Chrysalis said, her smile taking on a sad edge. Casting a quick spell, she erased everything about her in the report and then sent the letter away with magical flames.

For decades the changelings had been spying on the ponies in general and Celestia specifically. That she had used a simulation of modified dragon fire to send her private letters in the blink of an eye had been discovered long ago. It had taken years for Chrysalis’ mother to get a changeling infiltrator with considerable magical prowess near enough to her often enough to analyze the spell as she cast it, but they had done so and the knowledge on how to create false dragon flames for instantaneous communications spread throughout the hive, becoming a mandatory skill for changelings going into pony society. That Celestia had provided the tools for more efficient means of spying on her had always amused Chrysalis. That amusement, however, did little to lift her spirits in light of what she knew she had to do.

“Come closer.”

“Pardon?” Skitter tilted his head.

“I said that good work deserves a reward. Come closer so I can reward you.” Skitter hesitated a moment before moving to stand right in front of her. “Now close your eyes and relax.”

He did as commanded, though trembled somewhat in anticipation, or perhaps fear. Chrysalis lifted a hoof and stroked his neck to calm him, as she would to a frightened child. When his shaking ceased and his breathing evened out, she lifted his chin with her hoof so that he would be looking up at her face had his eyes been open. She leaned down and kissed him. It wasn’t a passionate kiss, it had only basic lip to lip contact, but it wasn’t the kiss itself that was important. It was merely a means to an end, a basic loving contact to facilitate the transfer of love reserves from one changeling to another.

For most changelings, this transfer of love was a mundane activity that was downright necessary for feeding with those who relied on changeling love collectors for sustenance. Chrysalis herself had often fed in this fashion during extended time periods where she remained in the hive. This particular instance, however, did not involve her taking love, but instead giving freely of her own reserves.

As Queen of the changelings, Chrysalis almost never gave her love to others. The act of giving stored love for any changeling but the official love collectors was one of deference to the importance of the other changeling, either in a personal or official sense. As Queen, she was considered the most important changeling. For her, this was a ritual granting the highest of honours possible to one of her subjects. A changeling that received such an honour was universally respected in the hive, for they must have done something truly special to earn it. Skitter’s actions may not have been that impressive compared to the feats she usually granted this honour for, but given what could have happened if Chrysalis had been seen in Canterlot while Twilight wasn’t in her hospital room for the medical staff to see, she felt it was warranted.

A few tears ran down her face as she began to channel another spell. Her weariness must have been making her overly emotional, normally she wouldn’t so much as bat an eye at what she was about to do, at least externally anyway. In public, she had to be an iron wall for her changelings, unaffected by the hardships of reality. If she broke down, then that would only cause undue panic amongst her subjects and surely lead to ruin. Then again, they weren’t really her subjects anymore, were they? They had a queen and it wasn’t her. Or it was her, but just her past self and not really her in the here and now. She very likely wouldn’t get the chance to speak with her beloved changelings openly as herself for a long time, if ever, let alone have an opportunity to grant this honour again. Dismissing that melancholy thought, she unleashed her spell into the mind of Skitter, erasing all memory he had of her presence in Ponyville and all that he had done for her.

There was no resistance, for he was so trusting. He had no idea that she might do anything of the sort to him, no reason to even think that his beloved Queen might do anything of the sort to him. Her betrayal of that trust sat like a lump of iron in Chrysalis’ chest.

His complete lack of defences made the subsequent sleep spell she cast on him just as effortless. He began to fall to the floor, but she caught him with her magic and gently lifted him into the air. She searched the second floor, Skitter’s slumbering form bobbing calmly through the air behind her, until she found a bedroom. With tender care, she lowered him onto the mattress and pulled the blankets over his form. He would wake up in a couple hours without the slightest idea of what happened, with only an extra bit of love in reserve that he couldn’t account for. He wouldn’t remember going to bed, either, but she refused to risk damaging his mind to implant a memory for something so trivial.

At the door to the bedroom, she looked back to his sleeping form, still noticeably his undisguised changeling self. She would need to add an extra layer of protection to his home to ensure that there were no unwanted intruders who could discover his identity. She closed the door, shut her eyes and channelled yet more energy through her horn, casting the same spell she had used to reinforce the hospital room door earlier upon his, albeit with the additional condition that it is to dissipate at just about the same time as the sleep spell faded.

Satisfied with the spell, she stepped away from the door and nearly tripped over her own hooves, barely catching herself in time to avoid landing right on her face. Adrenaline pumped through her system from the close call and she worked to steady her suddenly rapid breath. She was feeling very unsteady. The exhaustion of the previous night had been bad enough, but going through that ritualistic love transfer with Skitter had pushed her dangerously close to her limits. She soon continued on her way back to her companions, taking extra special care around the stairs.

She was about to push open the front door of the store with a hoof when she noticed that the mentioned extremity was still in its natural black, changeling state. Scolding herself for her carelessness, she quickly returned to her Twilight disguise and glanced over to the store’s front window, noting that there was nobody on the other side to have seen her. Thanking her fortunes that she hadn’t been discovered, she finished pushing open the door.

“Hey Twilight!” Spike greeted her jovially. “Uh, where’s the quill?”

“Closed.” She answered succinctly.

“But the door—”

“Forgot to lock it.” She answered again, acutely aware that her headache from earlier had returned with a vengeance. Trying her best to ignore it, she began trotting to the library where she knew her bed to be.

“It’s ponies like that that make my job as a guard captain harder. Leaving his door open is almost asking to be robbed.” Shining Armor complained.

“Now where are we going?” Spike asked, exasperation in his voice.

“Home.”

“The library’s that way.” Spike pointed a direction completely different from the one Chrysalis had started on. Chrysalis jerked to a halt and thought about it, realizing with slight embarrassment that the lizard was right.

“Sorry...tired.”

“Maybe I should lead?” Spike suggested, to which Chrysalis nodded.

With Spike leading the way, the trio made it to the Golden Oaks Library without any more mistakes, though she had been nearly in a stupor the entire way there. With a sigh of relief, she walked through the door into the mildly familiar main room of the library where she had spent a few nights ago partying with the denizens of Ponyville. As she looked around, trying to remember where the bedrooms were located, she tripped once again, though this time failed to catch herself as she fell. With a crack, her face struck the polished wooden floor and a groan of pain escaped her lips.

“Twilight!” Spike shouted in alarm as Shining Armor rushed to help her back up.

“You really need to get some sleep, you can barely walk!” Shining observed, his face warped with concern. “Let’s get you to bed.”

Chrysalis tried to say that she was fine and to brush him off of her, but it only came out as unintelligible mumbling. Shining refused to be removed from her side and she stopped trying to resist his aid as he helped her up some stairs and into the bedroom, with a little directional assistance from Spike along the way. She tensed up again as she thought she had tripped once more, but relaxed considerably as she landed on soft bedding. She fell asleep almost immediately.

__________________

Chrysalis woke up to blackness and the distinctive call of an owl outside of her open bedroom window. She shivered lightly at the cool breeze that brushed over her body, which lay uncovered above the blankets. It was clearly a lot colder outside than on the night she had rescued Time Keeper, a fact that made her rather uncomfortable. She crawled out of the bed and followed the draft to its source. She noticed an owl perched on a branch just outside. It tilted its head and asked ‘who?’ Chrysalis shook her own head, ridding her mind of the silly notion that the animal could actually be questioning her identity, and shut the window.

Yawning, Chrysalis stepped slowly back to her bed. She was still a little tired and could undoubtedly benefit from some extra sleep, but she was at least capable of functioning now. The sound of rhythmic breathing, punctuated by an occasional snore, told her that she was not alone in the room. She wandered to the other side of the bed and found Spike fast asleep in what she could only describe as a pet basket. Given his objections to the idea of being a pet when they had first met Fluttershy, she was surprised that he would sleep in something meant for one. It seemed rather cruel of Twilight Sparkle to have her assistant rest in something so demeaning.

Listening to his breathing had an almost hypnotic effect. Before she knew it, Chrysalis had been standing over his form for several minutes. She closed her eyes and thought about how close to ruin she had come because of Spike having seen her. She really needed to do something to neutralize the threat he posed to her and her changelings. The changelings, she sadly corrected, not her changelings. Not anymore.

The dark room was bathed in the eerie green glow of her horn as she prepared a spell to delve into his mind. She couldn’t simply erase some of his memories, he had already revealed what he had seen to Celestia and having him suddenly not recall such things would only serve to increase Celestia’s suspicions. No, she needed a different tactic to cover up this mess.

A green tendril of magic snaked its way to the slumbering child and wrapped around his head. She focused on building up a sense of trust in his tiny psyche, attempting to hide any suspicions he had of her beneath layer upon layer of artificial conviction in her identity as Twilight Sparkle and an aversion to the idea that she might be the creature that he had seen fighting Nightmare Moon. As she completed her mind control spell, she cut off the flow of magic and the room returned to darkness.

If he were ever to be pressed, Spike would confirm that she was the same Twilight Sparkle he had always known, ignoring the little inconsistencies and contradictions he had noticed thus far. If she continued to reinforce her control of him over time with more spells, he would eventually reach the point where he wouldn’t be able to notice that she wasn’t Twilight Sparkle even if she were to appear in her natural form right in front of him, just as had been the case with Shining Armor all those years ago. She should definitely do that. It would be the smart thing to do.

Chrysalis shivered. It was still cold in the room.

“Twilight...”

Chrysalis’ ears perked up at the sound of Spike’s voice. He was still asleep, though his face had contorted into a frightened frown and he was struggling against his tiny little blanket.

“Don’t...don’t leave me...”

Chrysalis still shivered. It was really cold in that room.

“Twilight...please...”

Tears had formed on his face. His nightmare was losing Twilight Sparkle? That is what he feared? He was a fool to be so attached to her, the stupid dragon.

Chrysalis kept on shivering.

What was with this damned cold? With a light growl, she turned her back on the child and crawled back onto her bed, burying herself beneath the covers. Still it wasn’t enough. She had already closed the window and buried herself beneath a heap of blankets, what more was she supposed to do?

The sound of Spike whimpering caught her attention. A hot, fire breathing lizard, that was precisely what she needed to keep her warm. Without moving from her cozy position, she prodded the area that she knew Spike to be in and levitated him from his bed and right next to her in hers.

As Spike’s frightened trembling faded in the face of her embrace, so too did Chrysalis’ shivering and she was finally able to drift off back to sleep.

8 - Get a Griff

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Chrysalis stretched her limbs as she gradually roused from slumber. A slight movement of something rather warm at her side reminded her of Spike’s presence in her bed. With a smile she wasn’t fully aware of, she lifted the covers from herself and peeked down at her sleeping companion who had curled up like a contented cat.

Careful not to wake the child, she crawled out of her bed. Despite all odds, given the circumstances, she had had a very peaceful sleep. It easily had been the best rest she had gotten in years, or at least it felt like it to her. She concluded that it had to have been the bed, which was leagues ahead of what she had experienced in the hospital, which itself had been a considerable leg up on the dregs of a bed she had slept on back in the hive.

Her thoughts meandered unwillingly to how lousy a night Time Keeper likely had had and her contented smile slowly warped into an irritated frown. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t leave him out in the wild indefinitely. He was probably hungry too, he had been out there on his own since yesterday morning after all. With that thought, her expression finished its journey to being a fully fledged scowl.

She made her way over to the bedroom door, pausing only a moment to ensure that her disguise was still properly in place, she didn’t want a repeat of what had nearly happened at the Quills and Sofas store yesterday. As quietly as she could manage, she opened the door and checked outside. Leaning against the wall next to the door was Shining Armor. His eyes were closed and his breathing slow and steady. He was asleep on his hooves, something she remembered finding him doing several times during the period when she had infiltrated Canterlot disguised as Princess Cadenza. She had to resist the urge to feed on him as she had often done back then when finding him in such a state, something which could easily wake him, and she sneaked past. She really didn’t want to risk having him follow her and seeing Time Keeper.

She searched the kitchen downstairs for some food she could bring to Time Keeper. As she perhaps should have expected of a place that had so recently been unoccupied, the cupboards and fridge were both empty. She would need to go shopping sometime, not because she needed food, naturally, but she did need to keep up appearances. Upon further reflection, she also acknowledged that Spike and Shining Armor probably needed something to eat, too.

As she was stepping out the front door, Chrysalis nearly tripped over a large basket set just outside on the ground. Leaning against the basket was a roll of parchment. She skimmed through it to find it explained that contained in the basket were a variety of housewarming gifts from ‘all her friends’, Celestia and even Luna. It had been signed by all of the element bearers with varying qualities of penmanship.

Sorting through the basket, she found a variety of goods. A half dozen apples were clearly from Applejack, and the finely crafted saddlebags were likely from Rarity, but the rest were somewhat less clear. There was a book on the wildlife around Ponyville, a lidded container with cupcakes, and a poster of a yellow pegasus with a fiery orange mane and wearing a tight blue uniform of some kind. She had no idea who that mare was supposed to be, or why anybody would think she would want a poster of her.

Aside from those, there were two more rolls of parchment inside, one sealed with a sun and laid next to a small coin purse, and the other with a moon lay next to a dark bottle. Breaking the sun seal, she found an explanation that the purse contained Twilight’s monthly living expenses that she was to receive as Celestia’s personal student. She was glad to know she would have her financial needs taken care of, as Queen she was not accustomed to holding down a job for the sake of something as banal as money. She had always had far more important duties to keep her occupied. In a post script, it also reminded her to send letters in return on the lessons she learns about friendship.

Turning her attention to the third and presumably final letter, she broke the moon seal and read it. She nearly snorted with a laugh at what she saw. It was, or at least appeared to be, a love letter.

My Dearest Twilight Sparkle:

It has been over a millennium since I have had a suitor of any sort, and as such I am woefully out of date on the norms of courtship. Do lovers yet exchange letters professing their emotions for one another? If not, then mayhap you would indulge my old fashioned manners and do me the honour of accepting my periodic writings, and, if you are so inclined, to send a letter of your own in return now and then.

I feel I must apologize for my behaviour at our last meeting. My jealousy was uncalled for, I should know better than most the desire to show dominance over one’s opponents, especially when that opponent is my sister. Admittedly, I myself would never have thought to kiss her as a display of power over her, for what I should hope are obvious reasons. Regardless, I believe that your actions were not done out of love or lust for my sister, and as such I will put the act behind us so that we can move forwards without it clouding our relations. I do request that, if you continue to clash with her in the future, you do not harm her. I could not stand to lose her anymore than I could stand to lose you.

I have thought much of you in these days past. I yearn to be by your side again, but I know I cannot. I have much to do now that I have returned from the moon. I must learn a thousand years worth of political change, be reintroduced to the world at large, and meet with countless important political figures and families, not to mention the need to recuperate from our own little tussle in our old castle. The new castle in Canterlot is nice, but it lacks the familiarity and history of the one in the Everfree Forest.

I think back on the memories of that battle, the ones you stole from me as you had my heart. I can only imagine you did it to protect your true identity, but it is surely unfair of you to have done so. My sister and seemingly half the guard have seen your natural form, the latter of which whisper of your apparent beauty and strength. I wish to admire your true self as well. It fills me with jealousy, that of which I know is wrong of me to feel, but if I were so easily able to control such emotions I would never have been sent to the moon. I hope one day that you trust me enough to show me your real face. It would fill me with joys you could only imagine.

I must confess, I am unsure of how one ends a love letter, or even all that one puts in the body of one. I feel that my inexperience had hindered me greatly and hope you do not hold it against me. Perhaps next time I shall write some romantic poetry.

Your Love:

Luna

P.S.: I should not need to say so, but please keep these letters a secret. I can imagine the scandal of a princess exchanging love letters with one so young, a mere student of my own sister even, but I fear that such repercussions would pale next to the pains you would suffer from me speaking so plainly of your true identity.

Chrysalis didn’t know much about love letters herself, but they seemed a silly business to her. It was just paper. A changeling could neither feel the love expressed with those words, nor feed from it. Such love was woefully inadequate and completely unsatisfying. It was like dying of thirst and being given a painting of water. Though, Chrysalis thought to herself, given the source of the letter, perhaps the painting is preferable to the real thing.

With nary a second thought, Chrysalis incinerated the letter. Considering how frankly and confidently the princess had written of her not being what she seemed, Chrysalis couldn’t afford to risk it falling into anyone else’s possession. She hoped that Luna would be more discreet if she wrote future letters, or failing that, at least be very careful in selecting a messenger.

The bottle that the letter had been leaning against was filled with a rather fruity smelling, and a very strong, faintly familiar odour. She wrinkled her nose as she realized what it was and put the cork back into the opening. Alcohol wasn’t unheard of in changeling society, some of her subjects were quite fond of the drink, but it was far from commonly consumed. Alcohol was like a mixture of water and food, it could cause stomach aches similar to eating, but it tended not to be nearly as severe. The taste left something to be desired for the majority of changelings, likely a result of their carnivorous ancestry and the plant basis for the drinks. However, it was neither the taste nor the pain that prevented alcohol from seeing widespread consumption in changeling society. The thing that limited its use was the fact that a drunken changeling could not keep up a transformation. Usually any attempt to don a disguise would result in a few sparks of ineffectual magic sprouting forth from their horn and nothing more. Chrysalis had experienced the panic from an inability to use such an innate ability once in her life before she had become queen and swore never to drink alcohol again.

Chrysalis brought the rather heavy basket inside and placed it onto the kitchen counter. She took the bottle and poured it down the sink before refilling it with plain water. Next she dug out the saddlebags and placed them onto herself, leaving the straps unfastened so she wouldn’t hurt herself if she had to transform into her natural shape. It was less stable, but it was by far the lesser of two evils.

After placing the apples, cupcakes, coin purse and bottle of water into her bags, Chrysalis exited the library once more. The basket had certainly made her day easier, she wouldn’t need to go searching for food to bring for Time Keeper. There was still a need to find a way to get him out of the wilds without being caught by the guards again, though. While she wasn’t sure of where to find what she needed to accomplish that aim, she had a good idea of someone that would. With goal in mind, she set off for Rarity’s boutique.

It was early in the morning, the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. Most of Ponyville seemed to still be asleep, or at the very least were not out of their homes yet. She hoped that Rarity would be up by now. If not, she supposed she would have to return after feeding Time Keeper.

Upon reaching Carousel Boutique, her concerns were proven unjustified by the presence of a small ‘Open’ sign on Rarity's door, written in immaculate, flowing script. As she pushed her way inside, she could hear a large crash coming from somewhere deeper within accompanied by a high pitched yelp.

“Sweetie!” Chrysalis heard Rarity’s voice pierce the air.

“I’m okay.” A young voice squeaked.

“Perhaps you should just go have some breakfast instead.”

“But—”

“Sweetie Belle...” Rarity’s tone was clearly a warning.

“Fine.” The younger voice caved in with clear disappointment.

Chrysalis stood at the door somewhat awkwardly as a young, white filly with a purple and pink mane trudged out of what she remembered to be Rarity’s work room with a pouty frown. Chrysalis thought she was absolutely adorable, and then quickly rejected the idea that she ever would have thought such a thing.

“Oh, hello!” The foal greeted her cheerfully, her prior sulkiness forgotten, or at least well hidden. “Rarity! You’ve got a customer!”

“I’ll be right there!” Rarity called back. A few seconds later she too popped out of her work room, shooing the young foal away. “Oh, it’s you, Twilight! You’re up rather early!”

Chrysalis watched as the child trotted off and then turned her attention back to Rarity, giving her an appraising look.

“I didn’t know you were a mother.” Chrysalis commented. Rarity must have been older than she looked to have a foal that age.

“What?” Rarity blushed. “Oh, no! I’m not her mother, she’s my sister, Sweetie Belle.”

“I see. Do your parents live here, too?”

“No, they moved to Baltimare for work a couple years back. They felt that uprooting Sweetie wouldn’t be good for her, so she’s living with me instead.”

“And how does she feel about the matter?”

“She misses them, as I do, but is happy to not leave her home.”

“It must be hard on her to lose her parents like that.”

Rarity chuckled. “You act as if they died. They visit once or twice a month on weekends, they are still part of her life.”

“That still leaves her without them for most of the month.”

“You seem awfully concerned for her well being. Are you particularly fond of children?”

“No.” Chrysalis denied immediately, and after a moment added, “I can’t stand them.”

“Right, of course, darling.” Rarity replied with a smirk and the exact tone she had used when she had ‘conceded’ that she didn’t need help attracting stallions. Chrysalis frowned and changed the subject.

“I came here to ask some questions. Do you know where I could find some makeup and dye?”

“Do you mean dye like I use for cloth? I have plenty of that if you need some.”

“No, I mean dye for a mane.”

“Well, I don’t have any of that, I’m afraid. I could lend you some of my makeup, though it really wouldn’t match your colour. What I’d recommend is heading over to Aloe and Lotus’ spa, they sell an excellent selection of beauty products.”

“That should work. Could you give me directions?”

“I could do one better than that, I can give you a map of the town with all the shops labelled on it.”

“That’d be great.”

“There is one problem, however, it doesn’t open for a couple of hours yet.” Rarity pointed out then looked at her friend hopefully. “Perhaps you could pass the time here, modelling for me? You do owe me after all.”

Chrysalis closed her eyes and sighed. She should have seen this coming. She could make up an excuse and get out of it, but she would have to face this sooner or later.

“Fine, I’ll model for you. Just remember, no corsets!”

Rarity practically squealed with delight.

“Oh I know just what to put you in! You’ll absolutely adore what I’ve got planned for you!”

Chrysalis followed Rarity into her work room reluctantly. She was not looking forward to this.

________________________________

Chrysalis stepped out into the midmorning air, her saddlebags both heavier and tighter than when she had arrived at Rarity’s boutique. Rarity had been delighted to see her wearing the saddlebags that she had made for her, but she had been insistent on ensuring the straps were properly tightened beyond what Chrysalis would have ever thought necessary. She had also insisted on giving the dress Chrysalis had modelled to her as an extra welcome to Ponyville gift, after some adjustments to better suit her. It too felt uncomfortably tight, though Rarity had insisted that it looked divine on her. That mare seemed obsessed with tight fights.

After loosening the saddlebag straps to a less restrictive level, Chrysalis brought out the map that Rarity had slipped her and quickly found the spa, helpfully marked with a bright red circle. Once she was confident she had memorized her route, she tucked the paper back into place and went on her way.

The trip was uneventful and soon she stood inside the spa where a pink pony with blue mane and tail greeted her. Her accent marked her as clearly not being from around there, or indeed anywhere that Chrysalis had ever been.

“Greetings, I am Aloe, welcome to my spa. Might I recommend a deep tissue massage with a scented body oil of your choice?”

Chrysalis opened her mouth to decline but paused and closed it again. That massage sounded incredibly tempting. She hadn’t experienced pampering of that sort for years, not since she had disguised herself as Princess Cadenza. With regret, she finally shook her head.

“Maybe next time. I have much to do today.”

“Very well, then how may I help you?” The spa pony asked, her friendly demeanour not diminishing in the slightest.

“I hear you sell makeup and mane dye.”

“We do,” Aloe bowed her head in confirmation, “we have the best selection available to match any pony’s complexion and desires. If you would follow me.”

To the credit of both Aloe and Rarity’s words, the selection was of an impressive size. She honestly didn’t know much about makeup since she had never really needed any. If she wanted to modify her look she could always use a little transformation magic, just as any changeling could. Makeup merchants didn't really have much job security in the hive. For the dye she merely grabbed the first bottle she found, which happened to be black. After several indecisive minutes of searching through the surprisingly complex world of foundations, eyeliners, lip glosses, and countless other products that had Chrysalis’ head swimming, she asked Aloe for assistance before the swimming sensation could graduate to a headache. With her help, she managed to select a package filled with a variety of makeup that advertised itself as being the preferred choice of professional actors for hiding details on their coats, or adding new ones.

Chrysalis left the spa, declining one last offer of a massage from the pink pony as she did so. After sorting through her bags to ensure she had everything she needed, she began her journey to the outskirts of Ponyville where she had left Time Keeper. The path she took was a meandering one as she attempted to ensure that no pony was tailing her. She had to duck out of sight once to avoid being spotted by Shining Armor who seemed to be searching rather frantically for presumably her. The thought that she could have left a note for him to let him know she was okay briefly crossed her mind, but she dismissed it as quickly as it came. He was a big stallion, a little panic wouldn’t kill him.

It was taking far longer to get to her destination than she liked. It was easy to underestimate the distance between two locations when you had only travelled between them by flight previously. She was tempted to transform so she could fly the rest of the way, but chose not to. It’d be easy to explain away a walk in the countryside if she were spotted as Twilight. If a passerby happened to spy her transforming she would have a much harder time explaining herself. It was nearly noon by the time she arrived, and there was no immediate sign of her time travelling partner in crime.

“Time Keeper?” She asked the empty clearing. She stepped further in and repeated herself. Her head instinctively turned up when a flash of rainbow in the sky caught her eye. What was clearly Rainbow Dash rocketed across the sky, followed shortly behind by a brown blur. Knowing her insensitive personality, Chrysalis wondered if perhaps Dash had angered somebody too fast for her to run away from.

“Chrysalis!”

Chrysalis reacted subconsciously to the sudden shout next to her by swiping at it with her magic, sending the offender flying through a bush and into the base of a distant tree.

“Owww...” Time Keeper groaned in pain as he righted himself. His fur, mane and tail were all a rough, matted mess. How much of that was from sleeping outside and how much from his sudden, involuntary flight was a mystery to which Chrysalis didn’t much care about the answer. She casually trotted up to him and levitated the apples, cupcakes and bottle of water over to him from her bag.

“That hurt!” The nuisance whined.

“Don’t sneak up on me.” She responded calmly.

“You left me out in the wild to fend for myself!”

“Not my problem.”

“It was cold last night, I could have gotten sick and died!”

Chrysalis’ brow set itself in irritation. “Are you going to eat this food or not?”

It looked like Time Keeper was about to say more, but he choked on his words as he seemed to finally notice the food she had brought for him. Trembling, he tore into the small pile of apples, barely taking time to breathe between bites. Chrysalis stepped away and turned her eyes to the sky. She didn’t enjoy watching others eating, especially when they were as messy as Time Keeper was being. It was a rather disgusting process when one paid close attention to it. While her thoughts wandered aimlessly, her eyes were drawn to her second sighting of Rainbow Dash and the mysterious brown blur soaring through the sky, though this time the colourful mare was the one bringing up the rear.

“They’ve been at it all morning.” Time Keeper explained between his now much slower bites of apple.

“What are they doing?”

“Racing, I think.”

“Do you know who that is with Rainbow Dash?”

“That’s Rainbow Dash?” His jaw dropped as he stared at the sky in amazement. Chrysalis rolled her eyes. That kind of hero worship would only serve to worsen that mare’s already rampant narcissism.

“No, it’s some other really fast, rainbow coloured pegasus. If you didn’t even realize that was Rainbow Dash, I guess it’s stupid to think you would know who the other one is.” Chrysalis paused and then continued in a barely audible grumble. “Some guide you’re turning out to be.”

Not wanting to waste any more time, Chrysalis took out the makeup she had bought and set them on the ground in front of Time Keeper piece by piece.

“What’re those?”

“Makeup.”

“I didn’t think you were the type to wear any.”

“I don’t. It’s for you.”

“Me?” His voice cracked a little in surprise.

“You said yourself that you can’t stay out here, but if you go in as you are then the guards will just arrest you again. If we dye your mane and give you a new cutie mark, then you’ll be able to pass as a new pony.”

“Dye my mane!?” He recoiled in horror at the suggestion, touching his blue locks with a hoof. “But I like my mane!”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow as she stared at the mess of a blue mane that had become tangled with an assortment of plant matter.

“It’s not that great.” She told him bluntly and picked up the bottle of black mane dye, noticing a slight problem. “We’re gonna need to wash that crap out. Do you know where some water is?”

“Do we really need to do this?” His question was met with an irritated glare. Time Keeper continued after a dejected sigh. “There’s a stream not too far from here.”

After much time and continuous complaints, Time Keeper’s mane and tail had lost their brilliant blue lustre, replaced with black, more or less. It wasn’t exactly the best dye job, but Chrysalis was fed up with trying to get it to look any better than the streaky mess it ended up being. That she would do so poorly at something as simple as a dye job stuck at her like a thorn in her side. Hopefully ponies would assume that his mane was naturally streaky. A lot of ponies did have rather unusually coloured manes themselves, after all.

“How do I look?” Time Keeper asked uncertainly.

“Great.” Chrysalis lied. “Your cutie mark is next. Turn your flank my way.”

Time Keeper gulped in apprehension over her order, but did as he was commanded. Chrysalis opened up a jar of white cream and rubbed a generous portion of it on his watch cutie mark, as the instruction directed her. Supposedly this stuff was created by unicorns and laced with magic that would cause it to match any base fur colour once dried.

“Do I at least get to choose what my new cutie mark is?”

“You’ll get whatever I give you.” Chrysalis snapped at him, causing him to bite his lip and keep quiet.

Once the white cream had dried, in a surprisingly short minute or two, there was a blank, grey space of fur where his cutie mark had previously been. Chrysalis opened up the small box containing the products for adding details to coats. There were six sticks inside of different colours, specifically black, grey, white, red, blue and yellow. She took the black one out with her magic and pressed the pointed end against her hoof. A small flow of black liquid stained her purple hoof and quickly dried. It seemed simple enough, and she figured it would be easy for her to accomplish her task.

She floated the stick next to Time Keeper’s flank and paused. What was she going to draw? What could she draw? She was a changeling queen, not some simple artist. The stallion looked back at her nervously.

“Is something wrong?”

Unwilling to admit her own inadequacy at the task, Chrysalis jabbed the stick into his flank hard enough to elicit a satisfying yelp from him. She chastised him for moving and went about drawing on his new cutie mark. A few minutes and one colour change later, she declared herself done. Time Keeper turned his head to look at her handiwork only to have his ears droop in disappointment upon what he saw.

“It’s....three white circles.”

“They’re outlined in black, too.” Chrysalis added defensively.

“What are they even supposed to be?”

“Snowballs. Speaking of which, that’s your name now: Snowball.”

“What?! Why? Nopony knows my name, why should I change it?”

Chrysalis gave an insincere smile and answered him with faux levity.

“If I’m going to spend years of my life as somebody I’m not because of your stupidity, then so are you.” She dropped the smile. “Besides, Time Keeper doesn’t match your new cutie mark.”

“You’re a changeling, it’s normal for you to be somepony you’re not!”

“Anyway, Snowball—” Chrysalis emphasized his new name.

“You’re not going to listen to me, are you?” He interrupted, though Chrysalis didn’t even stop speaking.

“—you’re a pony from Manehattan who got tired of the big city life, so you’re looking for a change of pace by moving to the small town of Ponyville.”

“But—”

“Now, what’s your name?” Chrysalis cut him off. Time Keeper sighed.

“Snowball.”

“And why are you here?”

“I’m moving from Manehattan because I’m tired of city life.”

“Good boy.” Chrysalis cooed her praise at him as if he were a pet that had just done a trick. To further add to his humiliation, she reached a hoof up to the top of his head and patted him, causing him to flinch. Ignoring his discomfort, she next brought out her map of Ponyville and unfolded it so he could see it.

“For now you’ll have to stay at an inn right here.” She pointed to the appropriate location on the paper.

“But I don’t have any money.”

“Don’t worry about that, I have plenty courtesy of the Princess of the Sun.” She assured him in a dismissive tone. “Eventually, you’ll come to the Golden Oaks Library looking for a job and I shall graciously give you one. I could probably even convince Celestia to pay for your wages, too. If I recall there’s a basement we could set up for you to live in, that way I can keep an eye on you. I’ll let you know when you can come by, though it may be awhile.”

“Why can’t I just go there now?”

“I’d rather you did, but Shining Armor is staying there to keep an eye on me. Hopefully he doesn’t stay more than a few days.”

“Shining Armor...that was...uh...”

Chrysalis gave a frustrated sigh. “Twilight’s brother and captain of the royal guard, not to mention eventual husband of Princess Cadenza. If he sees you too soon, he may still recognize you, even with the changes we’ve made. Here.” She dumped out most of the bits from her coin purse into a small pocket of her saddlebag and tossed the purse and its remaining contents to Time Keeper. “Do you remember where you need to go?”

“I think so.” Time Keeper nodded as he lifted the coin purse from the ground.

“If not, you can just ask for directions. I’m sure somebody would be willing to help. Now I’ve got to get back, I have...things to do.” Chrysalis’ thoughts wandered over to a certain pink pony and her selection of scented oils. A nice massage sounded wonderful, especially if it meant she could leech a little love from the mare giving it. As she was about to leave, she felt a feathery touch upon her shoulder from the tips of her companion’s wing.

“What?” She asked, impatient to get to her first massage in years.

“Just...thanks. For everything. I know I complain a lot, but I want you to know I appreciate what you’ve done for me.”

Chrysalis stared at him for a few seconds. The events of the past few days flashed across her mind, ultimately settling on how she was now trapped in the past. Even if she could shape the future to the benefits of her changelings, she couldn’t truly join them. They already had a queen, and no need for a second. Part of her knew she was doing her duty and was determined to face these challenges head on using the pathetic worm for guidance. The other part wanted to tear him apart with her fangs as she screamed with fury and frustration.

“Don’t mention it.” She answered in as neutral a tone as she could muster, burying her pain as deeply as she could manage, deep enough that maybe she wouldn’t have to acknowledge it.

Chrysalis left Time Keeper to his own devices, assuming he’d be at least competent enough to find his way to the inn on his own. She trotted at a brisk pace all the way back to Ponyville and set herself on a path straight back to the spa. She was so focused on her destination that she wasn’t paying attention to the sky when something fell from it.

“Look out below!”

“What?”

Chrysalis head jerked up barely in time to see some sort of unusual flying contraption that looked like a couple of giant candy canes with a propeller stuck on it as it crashed right into her. She groaned in pain at having a flying entity slamming into her for the second time since coming to Ponyville, then tensed up when she saw just how close one of the propellers had come to her neck.

“Owwie...” A pink pile of fur on top of her that Chrysalis recognized as Pinkie Pie moaned.

Chrysalis slowly and very carefully levitated the remains of the flying machine away from her. As those dangerous blades were brought to a much less neck endangering distance, she noticed a familiar pair of rainbow and brown blurs in the sky. Moments later, Pinkie Pie bounced off of her and shook herself almost like a dog shaking water off of itself.

“Hey, Twilight, sorry ‘bout that. Hey, have you been crying?”

“What just happened?” Chrysalis demanded, ignoring Pinkie Pie’s question. She was queen of the changelings, she didn’t have time to cry, or to even acknowledge such a ludicrous idea.

“Well, you see, I was going to hang out with Rainbow Dash today, but she had a griffon friend named Gilda with her and said they had promised to do stuff together and that we could hang out later. Well, it was later, and I figured the more friends the better, right? But Gilda seemed to disagree. She popped my balloons! She told me to buzz off! Then she broke my flyro copter!”

“Wait,” Chrysalis put up a hoof to silence Pinkie Pie before she continued, “you mean that she’s why you crashed?”

“Yeah,” Pinkie nodded vigorously, “and I don’t think it was an accident, either! Gilda is REALLY mean!”

“She could have killed you!” Chrysalis glanced back to the potentially deadly propeller blades. “She could have killed me!”

“Well, it wasn’t that much of a fall...” Pinkie spoke in defence of her attacker, though she seemed a little unsure of her own words.

“Do you think it would have made a difference to her if it had been?”

“Probably?” She paused for a moment and then her ears wilted. “Probably not. But what could I do about it?”

Chrysalis thought on the massage that she had been looking forward to and quickly realized that she was going to be missing it. This griffon was a danger to Pinkie, and protecting those necessary to the timeline took priority. Besides, she could think of a few things she could do to this Gilda that could be just as therapeutic as a massage.

“I think I have an idea.”

____________________________

Chrysalis stood in wait on the outskirts of Ponyville where nobody was around to see what they were going to do. Pinkie Pie was nearby, holding a large burlap sack at the ready. They were both watching the sky.

“There they are!” Pinkie announced.

“I see them.”

Rainbow Dash and Gilda were flying across the sky once again, with the griffon lagging behind her colourful friend. Chrysalis marvelled at both of their endurances, most ponies and changelings alike would be exhausted after all that racing those two had done, even at half the speeds they were flying at. Not even Chrysalis herself would be able to do what they were doing without struggle. They must have been taking breaks between races, there was no way they could be doing this non-stop.

Biding time for the moment when Rainbow Dash passed them, Chrysalis swiftly channelled power through her horn and latched onto Gilda with her magic. A high pitched squawk could be heard as the griffon first slowed and then came to a complete stop. The halted flyer shouted for her friend, but Rainbow Dash had rocketed so far ahead that her cries went unheard.

When Chrysalis began dragging her quarry down to the ground, the flyer began flapping her wings with all her might in an effort to break free. Chrysalis had to pour a seemingly ever increasing amount of love into the spell just to keep control, but keep control she did. By the time Gilda was grounded, Chrysalis couldn’t tell which one of them was breathing heavier.

“You!” Gilda hissed when she saw Pinkie.

“Hold the bag open, Pinkie.” Chrysalis ordered.

“I don’t know about this anymore.”

“Just do it, Pinkie.” She demanded with a raised voice. Pinkie flinched and opened up the mouth of the rather large sack.

“What do you think you’re doing?! When Dash hears about this, she’s gonna—” She was cut off with a grunt of pain as she was carelessly tossed into the bag and Chrysalis drew it closed.

“I don’t like this...” Pinkie said, fidgeting nervously.

“Look, we’ve been through this, we both know Gilda is a mean person, right?”

“Right, but—”

“If she’s a mean person, then it’s only a matter of time before she hurts others, maybe even Rainbow Dash.”

“I guess that makes sense, but isn’t this going a little far? I just wanted an apology!”

“Oh, she’ll apologize when I’m through with her.” Chrysalis declared with dark glee. “Now you wait here and keep an eye out for anypony so that I don’t get interrupted.”

Chrysalis turned to walk away with her bag in tow, but found that it suddenly wouldn’t move. She turned back to see that Pinkie Pie had latched onto it and was holding her back.

“Promise me that you won’t hurt her.” She stared at Chrysalis, obstinately refusing to release their prisoner from her grasp.

“What?” Chrysalis stared right back at the Pink Pony incredulously. She had thought that Pinkie had wanted her help.

“Promise me that you won’t hurt her, or I’m going to tell Dashie about this.” After a few seconds, Chrysalis nodded.

“I promise I won’t hurt her.”

“Okay, go ahead, I’ll stand watch.” Pinkie Pie said after sighing with relief at her concession and let go of the sack.

Chrysalis trotted away with the bagged griffon dragging through the air behind her until she reached some trees that would suffice to block Dash’s view from the sky and Pinkie’s view from the ground. She unceremoniously dumped Gilda out of her sack behind a tree. In anticipation of her bolting, she used her magic to immediately restrain her against the trunk.

“Hello, there. Gilda, was it?” Chrysalis greeted the griffon with a false smile as she towered over her.

“Let me go, dweeb!” Her captive screeched as she tried to swipe at her with a talon. The attempt looked rather pathetic, if Chrysalis was being honest.

“Tisk, tisk, Gilda. You have quite the temper, don’t you?”

“Bite me!”

“You’ve not been good enough for that.” Chrysalis gave a lone, humourless laugh. “You’ve been awfully cruel to my...friend, Pinkie Pie.”

“That annoying, pink freak keeps trying to come between me and Dash!”

“And your solution is to cause severe bodily harm? I know she’s annoying, trust me I know, but crashing her flying contraption is going too far. You could have killed her.”

“And what are you going to do about it?” She puffed up her chest, fluffing her feathers to make her appear even larger in an instinctive effort to intimidate her. It was about as effective as her futile attempts to swipe at her. “I heard ya make that promise to not hurt me!” Gilda grinned triumphantly.

Without warning, Chrysalis reared up on her hind legs and slammed her hooves against the trunk on either side of Gilda’s head, just barely missing her. The Griffon flinched and her eyes grew wide with fear as she stared at the cold eyes of the pony’s face that was now only a few centimetres away from her own.

“I’ll let you in on a secret.” Chrysalis spoke softly and then leaned to her prey’s ear where she continued in a whisper. “Pinkie Pie isn’t here.”

____________________________

Pinkie Pie stood diligently, looking out for anypony that might interrupt her friend, Twilight, as she convinced that mean Gilda to be a little nicer. She was definitely looking forward to getting an apology from her and then making friends with Dashie’s old friend.

A frown found its way onto her face. Twilight had seemed awfully scary and mean herself, though. It was almost like she would hurt Gilda, and Pinkie didn’t want that to happen to anypony, or griffin for that matter. She had gotten Twilight to promise not to hurt her, but she was beginning to worry that wasn’t going to be enough. Maybe she should have made her do a Pinkie Promise.

Pinkie Pie was broken from her musings by a scream coming from the direction that Twilight had gone, and it was followed shortly by a cry for help. Pinkie froze for only a second before bolting towards the sound.

Moments later, she found the two of them. Twilight was facing away from her, and Gilda was being held by Twilight’s magic to the ground on her belly, looking towards Pinkie. The white feathers of her face and the yellow of her beak had a splotch of red on them. Gilda’s eyes focused on her pleadingly. She was crying. Pinkie quickly looked between the two. Twilight was clearly about to hurt Gilda! How could she do that? She promised!

“Twilight, stop!” Pinkie shouted as she rushed past her, accidentally shoving Twilight off balance and knocking her over. She could apologize later, though, first she needed to get Gilda away from there.

She picked up the terrified griffon off the ground, released from Twilight’s magic after she had fallen over, and ran as fast her legs could take her.

_______________________

With a groan that was equal parts pain and frustration, Chrysalis got back to her hooves. Pinkie Pie didn’t know her own strength. Neither her sudden assailant nor Gilda were anywhere to be seen. She fumed with anger over what had just happened, and just a little of something else: shame.

She put a hoof to her face and brought it away and before her eyes to find the blood that she knew would be there. That bitch of a bird pecked her! Chrysalis had been so shocked by her audacity that she had thrown her aside without even thinking. Before Pinkie had interrupted, she was going to do even more. That, of course, was the source of her shame.

Chrysalis had promised Pinkie that she wouldn’t harm Gilda, and she took her promises very seriously. She had planned on only scaring the bird in order to appease Pinkie, but her temper had gotten the better of her and she had resorted all too easily to what she had wanted to do rather than what she knew she should do. She was better than that, she knew she was. It had to have been the stress of the past few days getting to her.

She swore at herself. She was a fool. Stress was no excuse for breaking her promise. She needed to find Pinkie and apologize.

Chrysalis trotted her way back to Ponyville, assuming that the pair would likely return to town, though where precisely in said town she was unsure of. Where was it that Pinkie Pie lived? A bakery of some kind, wasn’t it? Chrysalis dug through her saddle bags and brought out her map. She had never been to Pinkie’s home, but she had received reports on all of the element bearers, perhaps seeing it listed among the other businesses would jog her memory.

“Twily! There you are!”

Chrysalis’ eyes twitched at Shining Armor’s familiar and clearly displeased voice. She put on a big smile and set her map back into her bag.

“Shining!” She greeted him with well practiced, false joviality. “How’re you doing?”

“Don’t you ‘how’re you doing’ me! Where in Equestria have you been?! I’ve been looking all over for you! Wait, is that blood?!” Chrysalis’ insincere smile quickly withered into a much more honest scowl.

“It’s nothing, but if you must know, I tripped and hit my face against a rock while I was exploring Ponyville. I figured that since I’m going to live here, I should probably try to get a little more familiar with the place.” She explained indignantly.

“You should’ve taken me with you! I’m here to protect you, remember?”

“From what? The rock, or your own snoring? You stayed up all night, I’m surprised you can even stand right now!”

“I’ve trained to deal with a lack of sleep, Twily! The princess would have my tail if anything happened to you, and I’d let her take it! I don’t want to see you hurt!”

“I’m not a foal, I can take care of myself! I’m not nearly as fragile as you or Celestia think!”

“Just kiss, already!” A shout interrupted their screaming match.

“Shut up!” Chrysalis and Shining Armor spoke in unison to shout down the mare who had bothered them only to be faced by a small crowd of ponies that had gathered at the spectacle of their argument. Chrysalis wasn’t sure which one had yelled at them to kiss, but if she had to guess, it was probably the white unicorn mare with the spiky blue mane and sunglasses. It was her amused grin and the horrified look of the grey earth pony mare next to her that tipped her off.

“I don’t have time for this,” Chrysalis growled, “I need to find Pinkie Pie.”

Chrysalis stormed through the crowd, gritting her teeth as she did so. The ponies made way for her exit, though she almost wished they hadn’t. She really wanted an excuse to hit somebody.

“What do you mean you need to find Pinkie?” Shining Armor asked as he trotted after her, using a business like tone as he fell back into his role as a guard pony. “Is she okay?”

“I—” Chrysalis paused her words to angrily kick a pebble that lay in her path, “—made a mistake. I need to apologize to her.”

“Really? What did you do to hurt your friends this time?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Excuse me.”

“What?!” Chrysalis stopped and snarled at the intruding voice. It was the same sunglasses wearing mare from before.

“Cool it, girl, I’m trying to help. I saw Pinkie not too long ago. She was at Sugarcube Corner.”

“What? No snide comments on how I should kiss my sister this time?”

“She’s your sister? That’s hilarious!” The mare burst out laughing.

“I’m glad you find it funny.” Shining responded, his face scrunched up as if he had just swallowed something absolutely disgusting.

“Lighten up, it got you two to stop fighting, right?”

“I guess...”

“Anyway, I can show you the way if you want. Consider it an apology.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Chrysalis’ tone was acidic.

“Suit yourself.” The mare shrugged. “I’m Vinyl Scratch, by the way. I’m a DJ, so if you ever need somepony slinging some records, I’m your mare! Just talk to Pinkie if you need me, she usually knows where to find me.”

Chrysalis bit her tongue as the aggravating mare trotted off. She found herself momentarily glad that this Vinyl Scratch hadn’t been an element bearer. As bad as the true bearers were, they weren’t nearly as grating as she had been. Once the mare was out of sight around a corner, Chrysalis pulled the map back out of her bag.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking for Sugarcube Corner.”

“I thought you said you knew where it was.”

“You just assumed I knew where it was, I never said any such thing.” She pointed out then gave a nod towards where Vinyl Scratch had disappeared. “Besides, do you really want to spend more time with her?”

Shining Armor grimaced. “Fair point.”

Fortunately for Chrysalis, their path to Sugarcube Corner was not met with any further interruptions. Shining Armor, though angry before, seemed more or less content now that he was able to perform his job of guarding her. As annoying as it was to have him shadowing her every move, it was nice to be able to focus her thoughts on one angry pony instead of two.

The building itself was another weird one in the same vein as Canterlot Boutique, only more so, as it appeared to be a giant gingerbread house covered in frosting and candies. The scent of fresh baked goods emanated from the place, causing a mild, sickening sensation in Chrysalis’ stomach.

“Smells delicious!” Shining observed as he took a deep whiff of the air.

“Right.” Chrysalis murmured her insincere agreement. Sometimes Chrysalis envied the ponies for the variety of foods they found palatable. She hoped she wouldn’t be spending much time here in the future. Breathing through her mouth, she stepped into the bakery.

“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! How can I help you today?” A rather scrawny, yellow stallion greeted them from behind the counter.

“I’m looking for Pinkie Pie.” She answered. “I need to talk with her.”

“Ah...right.” His eyes darted subconsciously to a set of stairs leading up before focusing back on her a little nervously. “I don’t think she’s in the mood for guests, she seemed a little upset.”

“I know, but that’s why I need to speak with her.”

“Well, I don’t—”

“It’s okay, Twilight can come upstairs.” Pinkie’s voice cut in from the direction of the stairs, though Chrysalis couldn’t see her from the angle she stood at.

“You sure?” The stallion asked, a look of concern filling his face as he spoke towards the stairs. After a pause, he continued. “Alright then. Go on up, Twilight.”

“I, uh...guess I’ll just stay down here.” Shining Armor piped up awkwardly. Chrysalis ignored him and headed straight for where she had heard Pinkie’s voice. At the top of the steps was a short hallway with a pair of doors at the end. Chrysalis approached the one that was slightly ajar.

“Come in, Twilight.”

Chrysalis pushed the door fully open and stepped into what was evidently Pinkie Pie’s bedroom. It was far more subdued than she had expected. While there were a few empty balloons and some toys strewn about here and there, it was overall rather mundane. Pinkie Pie herself sat with a slight frown on the edge of a rather messily made bed, staring at her.

“So...where’s Gilda?”

“She left to find Rainbow Dash.”

Awkward silence fell between them and Chrysalis began to fidget nervously. She was not good at apologizing. She never really did it much before.

“I’m sorry.” Chrysalis blurted out. Pinkie tilted her head slightly, as if asking her to elaborate. “I promised I wouldn’t hurt her and I was about to break that promise before you stopped me, and I thank you for doing so. I didn’t mean to hurt her, I just wanted to scare her into apologizing to you, but she pecked me and I lost my temper.”

Pinkie’s eyes darted to the splotch of dried blood on Chrysalis’ face.

“I know.” Pinkie answered succinctly. Chrysalis frowned with confusion.

“You do?”

Pinkie nodded. “Gilda told me. I don’t like that you were about to hurt her, but I understand why you were about to.”

For someone who understood the situation, Pinkie sounded alarmingly upset.

“So...are we okay, then?”

“No, we are not okay!”

Chrysalis eyes widened. She had had a hard time imagining Pinkie Pie raising her voice in anger what with her annoyingly persistent jolly personality. Seeing it actually happen was a surprisingly unpleasant experience.

“If you forgive me for nearly hurting Gilda, then why—”

“That’s not why I’m mad, Twilight!” Pinkie cut her off, “I just wanted Gilda to stop being a bully so that we could be friends, but you made me become one worse than she was!”

Chrysalis thought back on the day and remembered that Pinkie had indeed protested their course of action multiple times, and she had completely ignored her discomfort. A flash of indignation rose inside her. She had been doing it for Pinkie Pie! Should a mother not force her child to take medicine because her child did not want it? No, it had been for her own good!

“Look, she deserved what she got and more! She could have killed you! You should be thanking me for what I did!”

Pinkie Pie began to tremble and the beginnings of tears that had been on her face before turned into a steady trickle.

“You don’t get it.” Pinkie said, her voice shaking with disbelief. “You really don’t get it.”

“I just don’t understand you ponies! I try to help and you get angry at me! You ungrateful, little worm!”

“Get out.” Pinkie whispered.

“What?” Chrysalis blinked in surprise.

“I don’t want to see you anymore. Get out of my room.” Pinkie spoke slowly and clearly.

“But—”

“OUT!”

Chrysalis flinched. The rational side of her that told her to retreat fought with her instincts telling her to press the attack, and the end result was her standing in place with one hoof half raised to leave, and her mouth open to continue the argument. After a few seconds of staring at each other, Chrysalis finally wrestled her desire to fight into submission.

“Fine!” Chrysalis shouted and marched out of the room, using her magic to slam the door behind her. She snorted with frustration. That was the last time she’d try to help that stupid mare. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm down before walking to the stairs. She could hear the stallion who had greeted her before greeting another customer. She was halfway down when she heard a familiar and unwelcome voice.

“Uh...yeah..is Pinkie Pie still here? I wanna thank her before I leave town.”

“She’s not really up to seeing anypony right now.”

Chrysalis began descending again.

“Oh...could you thank her for Gilda?”

Chrysalis entered the main floor of the shop while the stallion muttered a reply. The griffon’s eyes were immediately drawn to her and a glint of fear graced her features. Chrysalis stood glaring at her. Sensing the tension between the two, the stallion beat a hasty retreat to the back of the store.

“Hey, d...dweeb! You could have really hurt me!” Gilda accused, trying to put on a brave face.

“You could have killed Pinkie.” She answered coldly, and then added the next words as if they were an afterthought. “Or me.”

Gilda’s bravado faltered and soon vanished entirely as she bowed her head in shame.

“You’re right. I wanted to see her so I could say I’m sorry about that.”

Chrysalis stared at the seemingly remorseful creature, imagining what it would be like to pluck every feather from her body and then drain her love until she was an empty husk. Oddly, the mental image failed to give her any satisfaction.

“Whatever.”

Chrysalis walked right past Gilda and straight for the exit. She wasn’t worth it anymore. She was met by Shining Armor just outside of the bakery, looking uncomfortable. He had clearly heard at least some of her exchange with Pinkie earlier.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” She cut him off before he even had a chance to ask. He merely nodded and fell in step behind her as she made her way back to the library.

With each passing step, her anger faded little by little to be replaced with more logical thoughts. She had just turned one of the element bearers into an enemy, and the consequences of such a mistake could be very dire for all. By the time the duo stepped inside the Golden Oaks Library, her concern must have shown on her face because Shining Armor decided to prod her despite her prior orders not to.

“Uh...Twily? I know you said you don’t want to talk about it, but I don’t like seeing you so miserable. What happened?”

Chrysalis sighed. The anger that remained wanted to toss him against a wall for disobeying her, but, much like with Gilda, it just didn’t seem worth the effort. Maybe he’d even have some insight on how to fix the situation. She summarized the events surrounding Gilda for him.

“I...didn’t know you had it in you. That was a little harsh, even for you, Twily.”

Chrysalis growled. “She deserved it.

“You shouldn’t have taken matters into your own hooves, you should have told me. I’m a guard, remember? I deal with this sort of thing all the time. I mean...what you did? I’ve arrested ponies for less!”

“So you’re going to arrest your little sister?” Chrysalis scoffed at the idea.

“You know I’m not going to do that.”

“How magnanimous of you.” She retorted sarcastically, eliciting a frustrated sigh from him.

“You should probably apologize and try to make it up to her.”

“How am I supposed to do that? I don’t think she’ll even see me right now.”

“Maybe not now, but later. And make sure you’re specific with your apology, don’t give a half hearted one word ‘sorry’. You need to promise her that next time you’ll listen to her.”

“I’ll think about it.” Chrysalis grumbled. “I’m going to my room.”

Shining Armor reached out a hoof to stop her.

“The Princess wanted me to remind you to write reports on what you learn about friendship. I think that maybe this would be worth writing about.”

Chrysalis shrugged him off and walked up the stairs to her room. A letter, huh? She sighed angrily. As much as she would love to cram the paper for said letter down Shining Armor’s throat, she would need to do it to avoid suspicion from the princess. She shut her bedroom door behind her, garnering the attention of Spike who had been lying in his basket with a comic book.

“Oh, hey, Twilight! Whatcha up to?”

“I’m thinking about writing a letter.” She answered, trying to keep the anger out of her voice. As annoying as he was, Spike didn’t deserve to suffer for her bad mood.

“Oh, I’ve got it!”

Spike tossed the comic aside haphazardly, leaped to his feet and ran off to a desk. Within moments, he was standing at the ready with quill and parchment in his claws. He stood in eager anticipation, and Chrysalis realized when he didn’t hand either to her that he intended to have her dictate the letter for him to write.

“Right, well...” Chrysalis paused. She was not used to having someone else write for her. She had barely even begun thinking about what she was going to say.

“Uh...Twilight?” Spike spoke up when she failed to continue. “You okay there?”

“I think I’d like to write this one myself, Spike, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh. Okay, I guess. Let me know when you’re ready to send it.”

He let her snatch the parchment and quill with her magic and trudged off back to his basket where he picked up his previously discarded comic, clearly disappointed the entire way. She took a moment to reflect on what a weird child he was before walking over to the same desk that Spike had just brought the writing implements from and began the laborious process of writing her letter. When she was finished, she read what she had wrote.

To: Princess Celestia

Today I ran into someone who, through her own cruelty and indifference to the suffering and wellbeing of others, had put the life of one of my friends in danger. I made plans to scare her into treating others better with that friend and am happy to report that my plan succeeded as she seemed to genuinely wish to apologize for her actions. However, my friend was uncomfortable with the means we used and is now upset with me. I guess I have learned that I need to listen to my friends and not force them to do things they are uncomfortable with, even if I am justified in my actions and said actions achieved the desired results.

From: Twilight Sparkle

It seemed sufficient, as far as she was concerned, even if it was a bit vague. Being forced to write a letter detailing something she had supposedly learned felt somehow degrading and she was sure that her resentment showed, but it was done. She nearly cast the spell to send it back to the hive and almost had a heart attack when she realized what she had almost done. A sudden letter from Twilight Sparkle showing up on her past self’s doorstep would surely lead to a much more thorough investigation of her than she could likely handle.

“Spike?” She called out to the lizard who quickly hopped to attention.

“Yes, Twilight? Are you ready to send the letter?”

“Yes.”

Chrysalis held the parchment aloft in front of him with her magic. Spike took a deep breath and exhaled flames, seemingly incinerating the letter.

“Thanks.”

“No problem! Do you need me for anything else?” he asked with a smile and eyes that shone with anticipation.

“No thanks. I’m going to bed.”

“Already? But it’s not even supper time.”

“I got up really early, and it’s been a long day. Maybe you could make something for Shining to eat. I’d really appreciate it if you could keep him out of my mane for the rest of the day.”

“Will do, Twilight!” Spike gave a rigid salute and ran off to do her bidding. Chrysalis nearly chuckled at his exuberance. Maybe living with him wouldn’t be all bad.

Chrysalis crawled onto her bed and lay there. She wasn’t really tired, maybe a little drained, but not sleepy. What she really wanted was to be alone. Dealing with ponies was just too frustrating for her to handle, so she attempted to calm herself by focusing on her breathing. Her troubled thoughts began to fade as the monotonous concentration on her every inhale followed by an exhale forced them out of her mind. She kept repeating her solitary meditation until long after the last light of day had faded to night and she finally was tired enough to fall asleep.

9 - Boasts 'n' Bears

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“You didn’t have to come along.” Chrysalis grumbled at Shining Armor as she plodded along.

“I told you, Twily, I’m not letting you go anywhere without me. Besides, you’ve been looking pretty tired lately, I’m afraid you’ll fall over if I’m not there to catch you.”

“Whatever. Just remember that when we get there, you can’t join us. This is a get together strictly for us girls.”

“I got it the first half dozen times, sis, I’ll stay in the lobby. You’ve been so grumpy since coming to Ponyville, it’s almost as if you’re an entirely different pony.”

Chrysalis chose to ignore his comment. He didn’t really think she was an impostor, or at least she didn’t believe he thought so, he was just worried for her well being. She would obviously keep an eye on him, though, just in case that began to change and she needed to intervene with a spell, but sincerely hoped that it wouldn’t come to that since messing with his memories could leave a noticeable mark for her past self to find in the future when she invades Canterlot.

It had been five days since the incident with Gilda, and Chrysalis was feeling very irritable, hence Shining Armor’s comment on her sour disposition. The reason for that was in no small part because of the aggravating guard pony himself. He had flat out refused to leave her alone at any time in the last few days, only giving her breathing room when she was at home in the library. His constant, watchful eye had resulted in her having a hard time feeding off of anypony. If being malnourished wasn’t enough, she had failed to convince that stubborn stallion that she had been eating sufficiently and was practically being force fed pony food at least once a day for the past three. The near constant stomach aches that resulted had made for a rather miserable time.

After several minutes of tense silence, the two of them came upon her desired destination: the spa. She had, for one reason or another, not actually visited the spa in the last few days. When Rarity had invited her to come along and visit it with herself and Fluttershy, Chrysalis eagerly accepted in the hopes that she could leech a little bit of love from a massage so to alleviate her hunger.

Filled with anticipation, she stepped through the door. She was greeted by a pony with a pink mane and tail and a blue coat. Something about her seemed not quite right, but Chrysalis couldn’t quite place what it was. She looked like Aloe, but something was a little off.

“Hello, and welcome to my spa. My name is Lotus Blossom, how may I assist you?”

“Lotus Blossom? I mistook you for Aloe.” Chrysalis admitted.

“Aloe is my sister, we run the spa together.” Lotus explained with a gentle smile. Chrysalis nodded her understanding. Being sisters would certainly explain the resemblance. She still couldn’t quite figure out what the difference was, though. Was it the colours? She could have sworn that Aloe was also pink and blue.

“I’m here to meet with Rarity. Is she here yet?”

“Indeed she is. Miss Rarity is currently relaxing in the hot tub with Miss Fluttershy. Will the gentlecolt be joining you as well?”

“No.” Chrysalis answered bluntly, refusing to even look in Shining Armor’s direction.

“Very well, this way, please.”

Chrysalis followed after the spa pony and let out a sigh of relief when Shining Armor actually stayed behind. She knew he had said he would, but he had been so persistent in every other area of her life that she was now unable to even escape him in her sleep, as a vision of him had begun following her in her dreams.

She was soon in a room with a large, stone tub filled with steaming hot water and bubbles frothing forth from its depths. Rarity and Fluttershy were both lounging about in the water, the former had her face covered in some kind of cream and had cucumber slices over her eyes.

“Here we are.” Lotus Blossom announced with a bow and then quietly exited. Rarity lifted one of the cucumber coins from her eye with a hoof and smiled widely.

“Twilight, you made it!”

“Yeah, I didn’t want to miss this.” Chrysalis answered. “To be honest, I’m mostly here just to get away from my brother, you could have been Nightmare Moon herself and I would have accepted this invitation.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed him following you around and can only imagine how draining that must be. I love my sister, but I shudder to think of having her follow me everywhere.”

Fluttershy nodded along in agreement as Chrysalis stepped into the hot tub with a relaxed sigh.

“Um…I’m glad you could make it. You seem really stressed.”

“You have no idea.” Chrysalis replied as she submerged herself up to her neck and leaned her head against the side of the tub.

This…this was really nice. Chrysalis knew about hot tubs, but she had never actually been in one before. Water was scarce in the the badlands she called home, so she and her changelings had to use it sparingly. Even basic hygiene rarely involved more than a small wash basin, a cloth and some soap. Filling an entire bathtub, let alone one this size, was a practically unheard of luxury.

“Fluttershy’s right, you look terrible. Have you been eating properly? Or how about sleep? A mare needs a proper quantity of sleep to maintain her good looks.”

“I get enough of that from Shining Armor, I don’t need it here too.” Chrysalis answered in a half daze.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry, but...” Rarity paused and Chrysalis suppressed the urge to groan. Nothing ever good came after a ‘but’. “Does it by chance have something to do with Pinkie Pie?”

Chrysalis stiffened at the mention of that name, and her blissful smile was completely eradicated. Pinkie had been actively avoiding her, going so far as to ignore her when she tried to speak with her. Evidently, the snubbing had been bad enough for the others to take notice. At first Chrysalis had been angry at her for not seeing that her actions had been for Pinkie’s own good, but now she was upset that she would refuse to speak with her for so long. She had more important things to worry about than trying to mend a relationship with one of Twilight Sparkle’s friends.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“It’s just that Pinkie is usually so friendly, and it’s really unsettling to see her-”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it.” Chrysalis repeated herself, louder this time. She was beginning to fear that this visit to the spa was a mistake.

“Well, if you insist. I just want to help.”

“I’ll deal with it on my own, don’t bother.”

Chrysalis closed her eyes and only half listened to what was going on around her as she got back to relaxing. Rarity and Fluttershy kept up a frequently one sided conversation that bounced from topic to topic, at one moment speaking of stallions, and the next about rabbits. Chrysalis would on occasion mutter something in response, but her heart clearly wasn’t in conversing, so the other two left her to her rest without trying to drag her into it.

After several minutes had passed, they were interrupted by some approaching hooves clacking on the floor.

“Excuse me, the massage tables are free if you would like to move on to those.”

Chrysalis’ ears perked up at the mention of a massage. As lovely as the hot tub was proving to be, a massage had always been the main event in her mind and the primary reason for her visit to begin with.

“I think that sounds wonderful!” Rarity answered. “Will you join us, Twilight?”

“You’d have to tie me down to make me miss it.”

Rarity chuckled. “I assure you, I have no such intentions. It is good to see you smile once in awhile.”

After toweling themselves off and following Lotus Blossom, Chrysalis found herself face down on an incredibly comfortable table with her face peeking through a hole on the bottom. She waited in eager anticipation and a lazy smile.

There were four massage tables in the room, and three of them were occupied by herself and her two companions. Three members of the spa staff were present, one being Lotus Blossom and the other two being a mare and a stallion she didn’t recognize. It seemed the stallion was going to be working on Fluttershy while she herself had Lotus, she noted with a little envy. That stallion was pretty cute. Maybe after they finished here and before meeting up with Shining Armor again, she could convince him to join her in a private closet for two.

“Shall we begin?” Lotus asked of her.

“Absolutely.” She answered without hesitation. Just as she felt Lotus’ experienced hooves touch one of her hind legs, she heard hoofsteps enter the room.

“Lotus? I need to speak with you.”

Barely after beginning, that lovely touch left her cold and alone. Chrysalis let out an annoyed sigh.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right back.” Lotus assured her.

Chrysalis waited impatiently, envious of her two companions whose massages had not been interrupted by the undesirable arrival. When she heard a gasp, she lifted her head and looked over to its source, finding Lotus Blossom standing next to a very similar looking mare, except with the colours of her mane and coat being reversed. She instantly recognized the mare as Aloe and finally understood what it was that had bothered her earlier about their similar but not quite same appearance. Ignoring that revelation, she noted that the two of them both seemed to be unsettled.

“Excuse me, everypony!” Aloe announced to the room. “We regret to announce that the spa will be closing early today due to a family emergency. We are truly sorry for the inconvenience, but we must cut short your visits.”

“What?!” Chrysalis nearly shouted as she bolted upright. “But what about my massage?!”

“We will waive any fees for today and offer all of you one free visit on our return.” Lotus Blossom stepped forward to reassure her. Chrysalis reached for her shoulders and had to force herself not to violently shake her once she had made contact.

“I. Need. This.” Chrysalis wasn’t sure if she was demanding or begging her to continue, but she didn’t care, she was so hungry.

“Please forgive me, Miss, but we have just learned that our father has been hospitalized and we need to go see him.”

Chrysalis released her and gave a forlorn sigh. She was hungry, and another day or two without a decent feeding could lead to desperation, but she wasn’t completely heartless. She knew what it was like to have an ailing parent, and to lose one. She would have to find another way to feed. If only Shining Armor had been a little more loving to his sister these past few days, a hug now and then could have helped her considerably. She would have loved to feed from him directly, but doing so would require a memory wipe to keep her identity a secret and, much like with messing with his memories to make him trust her, it could leave a noticeable trace of tampering that her past self could find later. Perhaps she would just cast a sleep spell on him later and sneak out on her own.

As she trudged back to the entrance with a frown of equal measures anger, frustration and disappointment, Shining Armor greeted her with a smile precisely the opposite of her current disposition.

“Hey, Twilight! Done so soon?”

Before he could say anymore, Chrysalis cast a spell that temporarily replaced his lips with a zipper. Shining froze for a moment, his eyes going cross as he tried to look at what she had done. Wisely, he chose to not undo the spell or unzip his lips and simply waited for her to lead the way out of there.

“Well, that certainly didn’t go the way I had planned.” Rarity observed once they were outside. Chrysalis merely stared dejectedly at the now closed down spa without saying a thing.

“I’m sorry that they shut down, Twilight. You seemed so stressed, too.” Fluttershy added. Chrysalis still failed to respond, trembling as she fought the urge to scream.

“Well, perhaps there’s another way to help you relax…” Rarity trailed off. Chrysalis’ head snapped in her direction.

“Can you give me a massage?” Chrysalis’ voice cracked and an eye twitched.

“Well, no,” Rarity answered as she took an involuntary step back, “but there is a certain event going on a little later this afternoon. It is a magic show by a travelling magician, I believe. Somepony by the name of Trickster…or Tricky, or something along those lines.”

“Are a lot of ponies going to be there?” Chrysalis asked.

“It is likely, yes. A lot of ponies seemed really excited, especially some of the foals.”

The show itself held little interest to her, she could likely do far more impressive things than any mere performer, but Chrysalis’ eyes unfocused at the thought of all the love that may be thrown around by an appreciative crowd. If she were especially lucky, she might get chosen as a volunteer to help with a trick and have some of it directed her way. It wouldn’t be as good as a proper feeding, but it could help tide her over for a little while.

“Now, I know it’s no proper replacement for a good massage, but I think you might be surprised at the good it-”

“I’ll go.” Chrysalis cut her off.

“Oh.” Rarity blinked in surprise then broke into a wide grin. “Well, that was easier than I thought it would be. The show is supposed to start in a couple of hours near the town centre. In the meantime, I have things to do, so I’ll see you then.”

“Goodbye.” Fluttershy added her own quiet farewell. She eyed Shining Armor nervously, whose attempts to appear serious and guard like were hindered by the zipper upon his lip, before she and Rarity both wandered off in separate directions.

“A magic show…” Chrysalis mused aloud to herself. “Spike would probably like to see that.”

____________________________

“Oh boy, a magic show!” Spike gushed enthusiastically as he skipped alongside Chrysalis while they made their way to the town square. “Thanks for inviting me, Twilight. I haven’t been to one of these in years!”

Chrysalis chuckled. She couldn’t help but smile at the childish excitement that the little guy displayed. He was often trying to seem so grown up and responsible as her ‘number one assistant’, but moments like these displayed his true self for the world to see.

“Don’t mention it, kid.”

“I don’t really get it.” Shining Armor interjected as he scrunched up his face. “Twilight has more magic than any unicorn we know, why get excited over a stage magician?”

“It’s not about the magic, it’s about the experience! Twilight might be strong, but she can’t work a crowd like a seasoned performer! There’s the joking, and the stories, the impractical flashiness of the spells! It’s awesome! I love a good show!”

“I’m counting on it.” Chrysalis responded with her own, less exuberant, anticipation as the group approached a growing crowd of ponies standing in front of a rather gaudy looking wagon with a stage attached to it. “Looks like we’re here. I wonder if Rarity’s around yet.”

“R..Rarity’s coming?!” Spike squeaked and his eyes went wide. “Why didn’t you tell me!? I would’ve waxed my scales!”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath. “She probably wouldn’t even notice.”

“What was that, Twilight?” Spike asked as he desperately tried to groom the spines on the top of his head.

“I said we didn’t have time for that, we would’ve missed the show.”

Chrysalis ignored whatever it was that the little dragon muttered in response as she looked for any sign of the white unicorn that had invited her. Rarity, despite her unfathomable desire to fit her into various articles of overly tight clothing, was surprisingly tolerable compared to the other element bearers. She almost looked forward to seeing her. Her ears perked up as she heard a familiar, excitable voice that she most certainly had not been expecting.

“Oooo, I haven’t been to a magic show in ages! Do you think she’s good? I hope she’s good! I mean, she’s probably good, you can’t make a living being a travelling magician if you’re not good. What kind of tricks do you think she’ll-”

Pinkie Pie clammed up the moment that her eyes met Chrysalis’ and her cheerful demeanour took on a decidedly icy edge. The other element bearers all seemed to have come along with them as well.

“Hello, Pinkie.” Chrysalis greeted with a monotone and a frown. Pinkie didn’t even acknowledge that she had said anything.

“Oh, my!” Rarity gasped with evidently mock surprise as she went and stood next to Chrysalis. “It’s Twilight! What a funny coincidence, don’t you think Pinkie Pie?”

“I’m here too, Rarity!” Spike spoke up eagerly.

“Yes, hello Spike.” She answered absently. “ Anyway, we should watch the show together, don’t you think, Pinkie?”

Pinkie Pie didn’t answer her, but did position herself next to Rarity on the side opposite of where Chrysalis stood. She kept her eyes rigidly pointed toward the stage.

“So…” Rarity spoke, breaking the awkward silence. “How have the two of you been? I haven’t seen you speaking to each other much, lately.”

“Fine.” Pinkie answered bluntly, her face frozen in an irritated scowl.

“Just dandy.” Chrysalis answered sarcastically, her own face a mirror of Pinkie’s.

“Is it jus’ me, or is it gettin’ kinda cold out here?” Applejack asked as she hesitantly joined in the tense lineup.

“Nah, it feels fine to me.” Rainbow Dash answered, as oblivious to the atmosphere as ever.

“Right…well…” Rarity bit her lip and glanced between the two feuding ponies uneasily. “Alright, I’m just going to say it. You two have been acting ridiculous these past few days. I don’t know what happened, but you can’t resolve whatever the problem is if you won’t converse with one another.”

Chrysalis groaned. She took back what she had thought earlier about Rarity being the most tolerable of the group. That honour now belonged to Fluttershy, who was cowering at the end of the line from the blatant hostility present. She barely left any impression most of the time, but at least she was quiet.

“Don’t you groan at me, Twilight! You know I’m right. And Pinkie, you’re not the type to hold a grudge, you're friends with literally everypony in town. Do you really want to ruin that because of some silly argument?”

Pinkie Pie looked over to Chrysalis, a bit of sadness entering her angry frown.

“Well--” At that moment, Pinkie Pie was cut off by a bombastic voice.

“Come one, come all, and witness the amazing magic of the Grrreat and Powerful Trixie!”

The voice was accompanied by a large puff of smoke on stage and a lot of sparkles. Once the smoke cleared at the end of the introduction, a blue mare in a star spangled blue cape and matching pointed hats stood on stage. Her mane and tail, at least what was visible sticking out from beneath her clothes, were bluish silver. Her lips were curled in an arrogant grin as she basked in the awe of the audience, though not for long as she very quickly dove into boasting, accentuating her words with flourishes of a hoof, and dramatic re-positioning that sent her cloak billowing behind her.

“Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!”

Those final words were emphasized by her rearing up on her hind legs while splaying her front two wide off to her sides and the sudden explosion of fireworks. Chrysalis had a sudden sinking feeling. She recognized this kind of mare. She was the type to monologue.

“My, my, my, what boasting.” Rarity commented with clear distaste.

“Come on, nopony’s as magical as Twilight! She should just get on with the show already!”

“I’m with Spike. I get it, she’s talented, move on.” Chrysalis growled. She doubted that any love she could garner from this event would be worth sitting through yet another long winded mare’s speeches.

Applejack grunted her own agreement. “She’s like a school filly braggin’ ‘bout all her fancy new ribbons.”

“She’s not that bad, it’s probably just an act for the show.” Pinkie grumpily pointed out. Rarity shook her head at her dour friend’s words.

“Just because she has the ability to perform lots of magic doesn’t make her better than the rest of us.” Rarity added, raising her nose in the air haughtily. Chrysalis rolled her eyes, she was really one to talk about acting better than anyone else. There was only one other mare around here who could be considered worse in that regard: Rainbow Dash.

“Especially when you’ve got me around being better than the rest of us!” The one mare who was worse in that regard spouted as if on cue only to be glared down by an angry Applejack. “Ha ha…I mean…yeah, uh…magic shmagic! Boo!” She halfheartedly tried to appease Applejack, keeping an eye on her to see if it was working.

“Well, well, well,” Trixie responded to the sudden boo, “it seems we have some neeeeeighsayers in the audience.”

Chrysalis winced at the emphasis on the neigh. Why would a pony want to emphasize such a stereotypical sound of primitive equines?

“Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do they not know they are in the presence of the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?"

Rarity blew a rather unladylike raspberry. “Just who does she think she is?”

“Well, you are interrupting her show.” Shining Armor quietly observed. Completely ignoring his point, Rainbow Dash flew up to the stage to more directly confront the show mare.

“So, Great and Powerful Trixie, what makes you think you're so awesome anyway?”

“Why, only the Great and Powerful Trixie has magic strong enough to vanquish the dreaded ursa major and…”

Chrysalis stopped paying attention to Trixie’s boasting just as she conjured up an image of herself fending off a large bear. “Come on, Spike, let’s go home. This isn’t worth it.”

“Yeah, okay.” Spike agreed in disappointment and they, plus Shining Armor, began making their way out from the crowd.

“How about you?!” Trixie shouted into the audience and pointed into the crowd at Applejack, right near where Chrysalis had been standing moments earlier. “Well, how about it? Is there anything you can do that the Great and Powerful Trixie can’t? Well, little hayseed?”

“Wait, what?” Chrysalis turned back to the stage. Was she actually pulling ponies from the audience now? She growled in frustration, she had started leaving too soon. “I can-”

“That’s it, I can’t stand for no more o’ this.” AJ declared as she stepped up onto the stage, cutting off Chrysalis in the process. “Can your magical powers do this?”

AJ pulled a lasso out from under her hat and began spinning it up and down around herself using her tail, and just generally showing off her roping skills. After several seconds of twirling, she tossed the loop at a nearby apple tree and plucked a fruit from it, which rocketed into her waiting mouth. The crowd erupted into cheers as she chewed it. Chrysalis felt a little bit of love surrounding her, the love she had sought by coming here. She needed to get up on that stage.

“Top that, missy!” Applejack challenged as she gave a little curtsy to the audience.

“Oh, ye of little talent. Watch and be amazed at the magic of Trixie!”

Suddenly, the rope that Applejack had used for her trick that had been left prone on the stage began to dance back and forth in Trixie’s magical aura. The farm pony watched one end warily as it moved while the other end lashed out at the same tree from earlier and grabbed a second fruit. Moments later, the first end rapidly coiled itself around Applejack’s legs and flipped her onto her back. To finish the humiliation of the trick, the apple was placed into AJ’s mouth as a gag. A smattering of applause and laughter came from the audience.

“Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie prevails!”

This was Chrysalis’ chance to get on stage! “Hey, I’m much-”

“There’s no need to go strutting around and showing off like that!” Rainbow Dash, like the frustrating speedster that she was, beat Chrysalis to the stage and completely interrupted her own challenge to the mare. Chrysalis grit her teeth as she tried desperately to not latch onto the blue pegasus with her magic and shake her like a rag doll hard enough to snap her neck.

“Oh?” Trixie responded with a smug grin.

“That’s my job!”

Rainbow Dash showed off her oh so impressive ability of flying fast. Chrysalis didn’t even bother paying attention to her as she did her trick, opting instead to stare with determination at the other blue mare that didn’t leave the stage. Once Dash returned to said stage, she struck a pose and a rainbow formed behind her. Chrysalis didn’t even wait for Trixie to finish humiliating her by sending her spinning away wrapped in that very rainbow before. She raised her voice loud enough to be heard above the laughter that once again rose up.

“Hey, why don’t you pick on somebody with actual magic!?”

“Yeah, like me!” Shining Armor shouted out after her, causing Chrysalis to freeze with a look of absolute fury upon her face for being interrupted a third time. As Shining Armor passed her, he whispered to her “Don’t worry, I got this, Twily.”

“And what are you going to do?” Trixie asked in a mocking tone.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’re not actually topping those ponies talents, you’re just humiliating them and saying you won!”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie beat them, therefore The Great and Powerful Trixie won.” Trixie dismissed his complaint.

“Well, how about this, then?” Shining Armor’s horn glowed and he was suddenly encased in a translucent bubble of pink. “My talent is defending others with the shields I can create. Try making a fool of me when you can’t even touch me!”

“Hmm.” Trixie took a moment to appraise the shield he had wrapped himself in. “Is that all you can do? This shall prove no challenge for the Great and Powerful-”

Trixie leaped back in shock as a giant, green, magical golf club swung right into the pink ball of magic, sending Shining Armor and his encasement flying through the air a few dozen meters before it landed on the ground and rolled away until it was out of sight, the sound of Shining Armor screaming in terror filled the air until it too faded from the growing distance.

“No! I’m doing this, not him!” Chrysalis snarled as she jumped onto the stage.

“Uh…Twilight? Is your brother going to be okay?” Rarity asked, a little frightened by her sudden outburst.

“He’ll be fine.” Chrysalis snorted. “Well, what about it Trixie? Ready to face me, or are you too scared?”

“And who are you to challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie?”

“I’m Twilight Sparkle, and I am far more great and powerful than you could ever dream!”

“Weren’t you listening? Trixie can take down an ursa major!” A gangly young colt from the audience spoke in defense of the mare.

“Yeah! She’s the strongest unicorn in all of Ponyville!” Another, chubbier colt added.

“It is true, the Great and Powerful Trixie is truly the most magnificent unicorn in this-hey, what are you doing?!” Trixie’s boast was cut short as she was lifted into the air by Chrysalis’ magic. “Put Trixie down!”

“If you’re so great, you can surely get down yourself.” Chrysalis replied smugly, enjoying a few sparse laughs from the audience.

“N...no fair, you caught Trixie off guard!”

“Hey, yeah! That’s not fair!” One of the colts from earlier echoed his agreement. Chrysalis ignored him.

“Let’s see…a trick…a trick…how about some juggling?” Chrysalis suggested as she tossed Trixie up into the air and released her from her magic, earning a scream from the now aerial unicorn. At the last second, right before she hit the ground, she caught her again only to repeat the process two more times before coming to a stop.

“Ugh…the Disoriented and Nauseous Trixie is feeling woozy…” Trixie moaned, her face looking a little green.

“It’s not really juggling with only one ball, though.” Chrysalis declared. “How about we add a couple more?” Chrysalis channeled more magic through her horn and a pair of green flames suddenly appeared on either side of a trembling Trixie.

“Those are not balls!” Trixie shrieked.

“Sure they are! Fire balls!” Chrysalis grinned maliciously. “Besides, everything’s more exciting with fire!”

“No!” Trixie was only able to get that one word out before Chrysalis began tossing her, and the two balls of fire, into the air once again, earning gasps from the audience.

“Twlight, stop!”

Chrysalis’ concentration broke. Both fireballs disintegrated and Trixie landed on the wooden stage with a heavy thud. Those were the exact same words as before with Gilda just a few days ago. She looked over to Pinkie Pie in the audience, expecting to see raging fury, but instead found concern, sadness and fear. In fact, the entire audience looked to be afraid of what was going on. There wasn’t any amount of love flowing through to her at all.

“With Gilda you said it was for my own good, but what about now? How does hurting Trixie help anypony?”

“Uh…I…” Chrysalis stammered as she tried to think up an answer, but drew a blank. She wasn’t even getting love out of this, so who was she benefiting with her actions?

“Wait, back up a second? What did she do to Gilda?” Rainbow Dash blurted out.

Chrysalis froze. Oh crap. Rainbow Dash hadn't been privy to the events concerning Gilda, and as such had not been upset with her.

“Is Twilight why she left Ponyville so suddenly?”

“Yeah.” Pinkie nodded.

“That’s barbaric!” Rarity spat those words out in horror, and the other element bearers voiced their agreement. In fact, the whole crowd began turning against her. This was not how this was supposed to go.

“No…that was just a misunderstanding! And Trixie is fine, it was just a little bit of light hearted fun, right Trixie?” She turned to the puddle of a pony on the stage for back up. Trixie, upon realizing she was being called upon by her attacker recoiled with fear.

“Stay away from me!”

Trixie scrambled to her hooves and ran for her life from the monster on the stage, and the pair of colts that had defended her earlier followed after her. Chrysalis watched in horror as everyone around left, one by one until only Spike remained. Chrysalis leaped off the stage and desperately reached for the dragon.

“You…you don’t hate me, right?”

“I…” Spike began as he looked up at his adoptive sister with clear disappointment. “I’m going back to the library.”

Chrysalis sat stunned as even Spike walked away from her, leaving her well and truly alone.

Several minutes passed in complete silence before a pony approached her. It was Shining Armor, walking very stiffly as if he were sore all over.

“Ugh…I didn’t expect Trixie to do that. Where is everypony? What did I miss?” He asked, looking around for any signs of life nearby. Chrysalis looked him in the eyes.

“I fucked up.”

________________________________

Trixie leaned her head against the brick wall that she sat against in the alley she had finally collapsed in after she finally stopped fleeing from that…incident. No, she did not flee, the Great and Powerful Trixie does not flee from anypony. What she had done was merely…a tactical retreat.

A shudder rocked her frame as she remembered what that Twilight Sparkle had done to her. She could still feel the heat of those flames as they had gotten dangerously close to her as she was so carelessly tossed into the air. Luck was all that had gotten her out of that with only a few singed threads on her glorious cape.

She sat there silently as she pondered what she would do to that mare for humiliating her in such a fashion, for she clearly couldn’t let some country bumpkin upstage her. She was certain that she could overpower the purple unicorn just as easily as the reverse had happened if she were the one to catch her off guard instead. Yes, she liked that idea. She would show the that uppity mare just who was the most powerful unicorn around.

“Oh, Great and Powerful Trixie!?” Trixie was snapped out of her thoughts by the shouting of some young colt. “Where are you?”

The lanky owner of the voice walked by the entrance to the alleyway, along with a much shorter companion who happened to look her way. When he saw her, his eyes lit up and he grabbed the shoulder of the taller colt.

“There she is, Snails!” The duo pranced into the alley where Trixie was resting, giggling as they did so. With a sigh, she got back to her hooves.

“Hmph! Are you here to laugh at the Great and Powerful Trixie?” She turned her nose up at them and they shook their heads vigorously, though she didn’t notice. “Well laugh all you want, because the Great and Powerful Trixie will have the last laugh once she gets her revenge on Twilight Sparkle!”

“Oh! You’re gonna show Twilight who’s boss?!” The short, fat one hopped in place with excitement.

“That’d be so cooooool!” The other added with a goofy grin.

“Uh huh. Please leave, the Great and Powerful Trixie needs time to make her plan.”

“Oh! I’ve got an idea!” The short one shouted. Trixie raised an eyebrow.

“Hmm? And what is your idea?” Trixie asked curiously.

“You’ll see, we’ll make you proud! Come on, Snails!”

Trixie watched as the two colts ran off without telling her their plan. What a weird duo, she thought, then dismissed them from her mind as she started crafting her own plans. They surely wouldn’t do anything of real impact, anyway.

________________________

After night had fallen that day, Chrysalis lay in her bed atop her covers, panicking over the situation she had fallen into. It had been bad enough when she had only Pinkie Pie angry at her, but now she not only had all of the element bearers hating her, but half the town too. This was not how it was supposed to go at all. Time Keeper was going to be rightfully pissed at her for messing up the time line as much as she had. It might even have been better had he tried to take Twilight’s place himself with how poor a job she was doing.

Yet, despite all the mistakes she had made, despite how wrong history was turning out to be, the fact that she, and indeed the entire universe, was still completely in tact suggested that Time Keeper’s panic had been misplaced. Unless she somehow completely turns this around in the near future, something which Chrysalis doubted that she was going to be able to do, it seemed that her actions had had no adverse effects. Perhaps she didn’t really need to pretend to be Twilight at all. Perhaps she could rewrite history to the benefit of her changelings without worrying about destroying everything.

“Twilight?” Spike’s voice travelled through the empty bedroom as he poked his head through the cracked open door. “Are you okay?”

A small smile graced Chrysalis’ lips. “I think I’m actually better than I’ve been in a long while.”

Spike entered the room, closing the door behind him. “You don’t have to pretend for me. I’m sure that they’ll forgive you if you give it time.”

Chrysalis shook her head, imperceptible to Spike from his position on the floor.

“I don’t think it matters anymore, Spike.”

Chrysalis chuckled. Perhaps she should actually get in contact with her past self after all. Even if she couldn’t be leader of the changelings anymore, she could still guide them to a much more successful invasion. Actually, why couldn’t she be leader of the changelings anymore? If all she had done hadn’t caused the destruction of the universe, who’s to say that deposing her past self and assuming control of the hive wouldn’t work the same way?

She rose from the bed. First things first, she needed to feed. She wondered where Shining Armor was. Since she no longer had any intention of hiding from her past self, there was no longer any point in worrying about leaving behind evidence of her interference in Shining’s memories.

“What do you mean? Are you saying that your friends don’t matter?” A hint of anger found it’s way into Spike’s voice. “You can’t mean that! The Twilight I know and love wouldn’t say that!”

“Oh no, Spike…my true friends matter very much to-” Chrysalis was suddenly interrupted by an earsplitting, magically amplified voice that shook the very foundations of the library.

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE, COME OUT THIS INSTANT! ALL SHALL SEE THAT YOU ARE INSIGNIFICANT BEFORE THE MIGHT OF THE GRRREAT AND POWERFUL TRRRIXIE!”

Chrysalis hissed as she flattened her ringing ears. This was not what she needed right now. She had little doubt that she could trounce Trixie with ease, but she didn’t want to waste any more love until she had resupplied herself. She trotted over to the window and peeked outside to find Trixie wandering about in the streets with a cone of magic in front of her mouth. As she saw Trixie take in a deep breath, Chrysalis braced herself for another round of magical shouting.

“TRIXIE SHALL NOT STOP UNTIL TWILIGHT SPARKLE COMES OUT OF HIDING!”

“Ugh…if that’s how she acts, maybe she deserved what you did to her.” Spike grumbled as he plugged his ears.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes at Trixie's insistence on being destroyed. She would give that idiot mare what she wanted, but not until she had fed from Shining Armor. She was under no obligation to put a quick end to her disturbance of any pony’s sleep that evening. She would refill her reserves of love, then go out and incinerate the fool and then continue her plans for how to overthrow her past self, if that was indeed what she would end up doing.

She was about to leave to find her meal when Spike leaned out of the window.

“Hey! Be quiet out there! Ponies are trying to sleep!”

Chrysalis’ eyes widened and she reached to drag the little dragon from the window. “Shut up, Spike!” She hissed, but it was too late.

“AHA! THERE YOU ARE, TWILIGHT SPARKLE! COME DOWN AND FACE YOUR HUMILIATION!”

Chrysalis put a hoof to her face and let out a big sigh before she leaned out the window herself. “Look, Trixie, I’m really not in the mood for humiliating you again. How about you just go away before-”

She was interrupted by a sudden jerking sensation that yanked her from her perch and all the way out of the window, painfully cracking her head against the frame as she went. The culmination of this was her free falling to the hard ground below with a painful thud.

“The only one who is going to be humiliated is you, Twilight Sparkle.” Trixie smirked at the pile of groaning pony in front of her.

Chrysalis attempted to get back to her hooves, but fell over as she did so. The world was spinning and her head felt like an egg that had been smashed upon a rock. Trixie chuckled at her inability to stand,

“Perhaps if you were to grovel before her and admit your inferiority, then Trixie might show you some mercy.”

Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed as she fought through the pain and forced herself to stand. “Fuck off, bitch.”

The cocky grin warped into a snarl. “Then let all of Ponyville witness the superiority of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

All of Ponyville? Chrysalis finally noticed that a large number of ponies had come out of their homes and were watching them. This momentary distraction, however, proved to be a mistake.

Chrysalis felt the tingle of a magical aura latch onto her once more and she was thrown back into the bark of the Golden Oaks Library, her already splitting headache amplified ten fold as her skull struck the hard wood and her vision exploded with stars. She tried to force a defensive spell through her horn and the agony, but her swimming mind refused to cooperate.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie didn’t expect much, but she expected more than this. Just give up already.”

“I’m…just getting started.” Chrysalis forced through gritted teeth.

Trixie shrugged and pointed her horn at Chrysalis, charging up for another attack. Realizing her magic wasn’t cooperating, Chrysalis leaped at the blue mare, hoping to break her concentration and force her into a physical fight rather than a magical one. All she would need was to let a little of her natural strength as a changeling queen shine through to easily overpower her. As she tried to launch herself with her back legs, she gasped as a sudden pain in one of those legs momentarily blinded her. She collapsed back to the ground, breathing heavily. She must have landed on her leg wrong after Trixie’s last attack.

With neither her mind nor body obeying her commands, Chrysalis had little choice but to weather out the upcoming attack and afterwards she would admit defeat, if she were even still conscious to do so. It would be humiliating to lose to such a pathetic unicorn, a truly powerful one would have easily knocked her unconscious in her already weakened state by now, but shame wouldn’t kill her and she could always get her revenge later.

With her path chosen for her, Chrysalis closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

The pain she expected never came. In its place, the sound of a nearby surface being struck with a thunderous crash, the warmth of an embrace and the accompanying trickle of love into her. Chrysalis opened her eyes to see a translucent pink bubble encasing her, and Shining Armor holding onto her protectively.

“How dare you get in the way of the Great and Powerful Trixie’s moment of triumph!” Trixie screeched furiously. Shining Armor gave a squeeze to Chrysalis and then stood up, dispelling his shield and placing him between Trixie and his sister.

“In the name of Princess Celestia, I, Captain Shining Armor of the Royal Guard, command you to cease your hostilities.” Shining Armor declared loud and clear for all to hear.

Trixie’s eyes widened and she took a step back.

“C…captain of the Royal Guard?”

“I hereby place you under arrest for the assault of my sister. You’ll be lucky if you don’t get attempted murder slapped on top of that.”

“M...m..murder?!” Trixie stuttered in a panic. “N..n..n..no! This is all just a misunderstanding! Trixie was merely having an agreed upon duel with Twilight Sparkle!”

A sudden gust of wind announced a new presence that placed a reassuring hoof on Chrysalis’ shoulder. She looked up to see that Rainbow Dash of all ponies had flown to her aid.

“That’s not how I remember it.” Rainbow Dash contradicted Trixie’s claim. “I saw everything. Twilight refused to fight, and then Trixie yanked her out of her home and then pummelled her to pieces!”

“Right…well, that was…uh…” Trixie stammered in an effort to defend herself.

“What are you doing?” Chrysalis whispered to Dash as she helped her back up, letting her lean on her for support. “I thought you hated me.”

“I’m not gonna pretend I like what you did, but Pinkie filled me in and I get it. I’m gonna have a long talk with Gilda when I see her again. Just, next time, keep me in on the loop on this kind of stuff, it’s what friends do.”

Chrysalis' head swam. With all the physical trauma she had just suffered, she was having a hard time wrapping her head around what was happening.

“Oh, and sorry for not coming to help earlier. I actually kinda thought you could take this show off until I saw your leg give out beneath you. How is it? Your leg, I mean.”

Chrysalis tried putting weight on said leg and let out a hiss of pain, immediately halting her attempt.

“Messed up.” Chrysalis admitted, but pushed Dash away anyway. It hurt her already injured pride to rely on another pony to move. “But I think I can walk, I’ll just have to do it on three legs for a bit.”

“You sure?” Dash’s brow wrinkled with concern, earning a nod from Chrysalis as she limped a few steps to prove her words. “If you say so. I’m going to go get a doctor just in case.”

“Yeah. That’s probably a good idea.” Chrysalis admitted with a grimace and watched as Rainbow Dash flew off.

“But Trixie can’t go to jail! Think of the fans!” Trixie whined.

“You should have thought of that earlier.” Shining Armor dismissed her concerns coldly.

“Great and Powerful Trixiiiiie!” A sudden scream pierced the air, accompanied by a shaking of the ground

“What now?” Shining Armor groaned.

“HEEEEEELP!”

All eyes turned to the source of the scream and most were locked immediately onto the giant, starry blue bear that was lumbering into town with an angry roar. It wasn’t just a large bear, giant was no hyperbole. This ursine was easily the size of the houses in Ponyville. Chrysalis’ eyes, however, were not focused on the bear, but on the two little colts that were being chased by it.

“What the heck is that?!” Spike’s voice screamed in terror from his perch at the window above them.

“Spike!” Shining Armor shouted at the dragon. “Send a letter to Celestia for help!”

“R…right!” Spike responded fearfully as he disappeared into the building.

“Everyone stay back, I’ll handle this! Huh? Twilight?!”

Unnoticed at first by the others, Chrysalis had spent the time Shining Armor had to recruit Spike’s assistance to take what little love she had just gained from Shining’s earlier embrace to place a magical brace on her hind leg and sprinted straight for the oncoming calamity. She was already three quarters of the way there by the time he had finally seen her.

“I hate foals-ow! I-ow-hate foals! I hate-ow-foals!” Chrysalis reached out with her magic and swiped the two colts to the side with as much force as she could muster. They’d be hurt by her actions, but a far cry less so than if that bear caught them.

“Leave the kids alone!” Chrysalis shouted at the bear as its eyes began to follow the two colts, and she smacked its nose with a bit of her magic for good measure. She swallowed nervously as the bear came to a halt in front of her and stared down at its new prey. She really hated foals.

“Uh...hi there. Don’t suppose you’d like to talk about this?” The bear raised a paw in anticipation of mauling her. Chrysalis gulped. “Didn’t think so.”

Chrysalis channelled through her horn for another spell, but didn’t have much hope for the result. That little tap on the monster’s nose had been near her full strength, and it did little more than get his attention. She was just too low on love and far too injured to put up a proper fight. She shot a thin stream of green flame at the creature, but it disappeared in a puff of smoke as its claws roared through it on its way to either crush or dice Chrysalis where she stood.

Right before it came in contact with her, she was once again surrounded by a pink sphere of protective magic. The paw struck the magical orb and suddenly the world went spinning around her and she was jerked into one side of the barrier as she and the shield both went flying through the air, like a big volleyball that had just been served. Chrysalis crash landed a few dozen meters away, and the shield shattered into a million pieces before disappearing entirely.

Chrysalis bit her tongue in an effort to distract herself from the pain throbbing through her entire body as she struggled back to her hooves, careful not to put weight on her injured leg. Shining Armor was facing down the giant bear back where she had just been, deftly dodging his larger opponent’s attacks, or deflecting them with a well placed shield. It was almost as if he were dancing around it, and the bear in turn was following his every move.

Moments later, a rainbow streak flew through the sky and rammed right into the forehead of the behemoth, staggering it momentarily.

“No, stop! I’m trying to lead it away!” Shining screamed at the rainbow mare.

Rainbow Dash reacted quite sluggishly, seemingly dazed herself from head butting a skull that just might be thicker than her own. She said something that Chrysalis couldn’t quite make out and gave a sloppy salute to the stallion.

“Look out!” Shining screamed once more.

Dash looked back to the giant bear they had confronted just in time to see a giant paw soaring through the air at her. Shining channelled a spell, and Dash herself attempted to fly out of its path, but both were a fraction of a second too slow. The bear struck a glancing blow against Dash and she was sent spiralling to the dirt. Shining Armor leaped in front of the grounded pegasus and erected a barrier to protect her from any further assault. Unfortunately, being forced to stay in place meant his shields were taking the full force of the blows from the monster, and it was only a matter of time before he too would fall.

Chrysalis swore under her breath. That idiot mare had just messed everything up. It would serve her right to get snacked on, but she had just stood up for Chrysalis when Shining Armor had saved her from Trixie. She owed Rainbow Dash. She began limping as quickly as her battered form could allow. Maybe she could get close enough to drag Rainbow Dash away while Shining Armor kept the bear distracted.

“Twilight?!” Shining Armor gasped when he saw Chrysalis biting down on Dash’s tail and beginning to drag her off. Unwilling to waste time spitting her tail out to speak, she angrily growled at him and jerked her head towards the bear, hoping he got the message. He nodded wearily and returned his focus to his fight. “Come on, big and ugly! Follow me!”

Shining dropped his shield after the next slam against it and began dancing around the bear again, noticeably more sluggish than before. Even so, it was working. He was keeping its attention off of the retreating Chrysalis and unconscious Rainbow Dash. That sluggishness, however, would prove his downfall.

The bear lunged forth with its maw agape. Shining tried to leap out of the way, but the bear caught onto one of his hind legs and bit down. Shining screamed in pain as the bear shook him like a dog with a toy in its mouth. Moments later, he was thrown from the bear’s mouth and sent flying through the air where he crashed into the roof of a distant building, breaking through it and disappearing inside.

It didn’t take long for the bear to notice the next nearest potential prey: Chrysalis and Rainbow Dash. Chrysalis redoubled her efforts, even putting her injured leg into use, despite the screaming agony it brought her. It didn’t matter. One injured mare, even if she hadn’t been dragging a second one behind her, could not outrun such a giant. Her looming death lumbered towards her at a speed she could not possibly hope to match. If only she had enough love to cast a spell strong enough to save them.

“BONZAAAAAI!”

A blur of pink whooshed past them through the air, and only came to a recognizable halt once it came in contact with the bear’s face. Chrysalis blinked in surprise as the bear came to a full stop. Pinkie stood in front of the monstrosity, who now had the remnants of a giant pie with apple filling dripping from its face. It licked at the gooey dessert, wiping itself clean. Once it reached all it could with its tongue, it focused its attention onto Pinkie Pie.

“Pie me, Rarity!” Pinkie Pie shouted.

Chrysalis then noticed a steady line of pies floating through the air, held up in the blue glow of Rarity’s magic. Pinkie snatched one and threw it at the bear.

“Come at me, bear!” She taunted with a giggle and began running towards the outskirts of town, throwing pies as she went, luring the giant beast as she went, and both Applejack pulling a cart of pies behind her and Rarity floating the pies from said cart followed.

Rainbow Dash groaned. “Am I dreaming? I think I just saw a giant bear being drawn away by Pinkie Pie throwing pies at it.”

Chrysalis, realizing she still had a mouthful of rainbows, spit out Dash's tail. Chrysalis tried to scrape off the strands that had been left behind on her tongue. She was going to be tasting that for hours.

“No, it’s really happening.” A soft voice answered, and Fluttershy trotted into view. “Are you two okay.”

“Never better.” Rainbow Dash answered with another groan.

“I’ll live.” Chrysalis answered right before allowing herself to collapse right next to Rainbow Dash.

“I…umm…I think I should go find your brother, he could be seriously hurt. Will you two be okay by yourselves? A doctor should be here soon.”

Chrysalis waved her off with a hoof. To be honest, now that the adrenaline had begun to wear off, she wasn’t sure that she would be able to move if she had wanted to. Hopefully the doctor that came for them was a loving and tender one rather than detached and clinical.

Sometime during the wait, Chrysalis must have dozed off, because the next thing she remembered was being shaken awake by a sleepy looking pony she didn’t recognize that introduced herself as doctor something or other. It was a little hard to focus. She wasn’t the only one that was there, though. Shining Armor was lying unconscious on the ground next to her, and Chrysalis’ breath caught in her throat when she saw him.

He was a broken and bloody mess. He was bleeding from several minor cuts all over his body, likely incurred when he went through the roof of that building. Worst of all, however, was the leg that had been bitten. It was heavily lacerated, and bleeding profusely. No, lacerated seemed to be an understatement. It looked like it was just short of having been torn off. She looked away from the grisly mess as the doctor quickly set to work tending his wound.

Several minutes passed and the element bearers that had led the giant bear out of town returned, cheering triumphantly as they did so, though they quickly stopped their celebrations once they saw the shape that Shining Armor was in. Not even the blood soaked bandages that were attempting to staunch the flow of blood loss could hide the extent of the damage.

“That…that is absolutely grisly.” Rarity observed, looking a little ill. In fact, most of the element bearers looked little better except for, oddly enough, the timid Fluttershy. She was even helping the doctor tend to him.

“Uh…Fluttershy, how is it that you can do that?” Applejack asked, staring in disbelief at her.

“Oh…um…I sometimes see injuries like this with some of the animals I take care of that have been attacked by predators.” She explained.

“And how does that usually turn out?” Applejack pressed. Fluttershy averted her gaze and didn’t answer. Her silence was very telling.

Before anybody else could say anything, a huge flash of light lit up the area, blinding all present. Chrysalis lifted a hoof to shield her eyes and attempted to look at the source. Once her vision had readjusted to the dark, she saw Princess Celestia herself standing near the library not too far off. She was tense and ready to spring into action as she surveyed the area for any threats, her horn glowing brightly. Upon seeing no threats and instead some injured being tended too, her horn stopped glowing and she galloped towards them. Seeing the normally calm and regal Celestia galloping was a strange sight, even to Chrysalis who rarely ever saw her.

“What happened?” Celestia demanded as she came to a halt next to them and gazed aghast at the three wounded.

Rainbow Dash explained the situation leading up to when the bear attacked. At that point, she was interrupted by a couple of excited young colts.

“Twilight was awesome!” A short, plump colt shouted enthusiastically as he screeched to a halt after running up to them.

“Yeah! She totally saved us from the ursa major!” The taller one gushed.

“Ursa…major? Ain’t that the thing that Trixie was supposed to have fought off before?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy confirmed, “but that wasn’t an ursa major, that was an ursa minor. It was just a baby.”

“That was only a baby?” Rarity gasped, her pupils shrinking down to pinpricks.

Celestia’s eyes widened and she stared at Chrysalis, but otherwise showed no other physical reaction.

“But I thought Twilight had been injured.” She pointed out.

“She was!” Rainbow Dash interjected back into her own story. “I can confirm that, she could hardly walk!”

“And she ran straight for the ursa major to save you two?” She asked of the foals, who nodded vigorously.

“And then he,” Snips pointed to Shining Armor, “saved Twilight and fought the ursa major-I mean minor-all by himself!”

“Until I came in and knocked it senseless!” Rainbow boasted.

“You got knocked out pretty quick if I recall,” Chrysalis pointed out, “and my brother nearly killed himself trying to stop it from killing you.”

Rainbow Dash rubbed a hoof on the back of her head and chuckled nervously. “Uh…yeah.”

“And then Twilight was even cooler! She ran in again and pulled Rainbow Dash away while he kept it distracted…but then it bit him and threw him into a house!” The tall colt continued, only to be interrupted by his friend.

“And then it looked like it was over for Twilight and Rainbow, but then Rarity threw Pinkie Pie with a giant pie at the monster with her magic and Pinkie pied it in the face! They kept throwing pies at it until they drew it out of Ponyville! They were so coooool!”

Celestia looked between all of the element bearers until she stopped once again on Twilight, staring at her as if she had never seen her before. Chrysalis averted her eyes from the princess and focused on the bearers.

“How did you know that would work?” She asked.

“That was all thanks to Flutters, here!” Pinkie Pie announced as she pulled the yellow pegasus into a hug, drawing out a small ‘eep’ in the process. Fluttershy blushed profusely from the praise.

“I only knew that ursas liked apples. It was Pinkie Pie and Applejack that got the pies.”

“Aw, shucks. Rarity’s the one that kept Pinkie loaded with ammo.”

“And you pulled the cart full of pies, darling. Take the praise you deserve.”

“Regardless of who deserves the most credit-”

“Twilight!” The two colts shouted in unison. Chrysalis sighed at their suddenly developed hero worship of her.

“Ahem…it seems all of you are heroes this night.” Celestia praised them all. “I do have one question, however. What was an ursa minor doing in Ponyville to begin with?”

“Oh, uh…” the short colt stammered as both of them fidgeted nervously and avoided eye contact.

“What did you do?” Chrysalis growled at them.

“Well, you see…we kind of wanted to help Trixie prove she was the strongest unicorn around, so we thought we would bring an ursa major for her to fight like she did in her stories.”

Chrysalis snorted. “There’s no way she actually fought one of those things.”

“Speaking of this Trixie, where is she?” Celestia asked.

“We tried to get her to help, but she ran away.” The short one said with a frown.

“Well, I certainly can’t blame her for not trying to fight an ursa, but she is still a criminal. Are there any pictures of her around?”

“I’ve got some of her posters at home. You can have all of ‘em.” The tall one offered, and then continued somewhat acidly. “I don’t want them any more.

“Yeah, mine too!” The short one echoed the sentiment.

“Thank you, my little ponies, I shall make copies and have the distributed among the guards. What are your names?”

“I’m Snips!”

“And I’m Snails!”

“Thank you, Snips and Snails. I shall remember this.” She turned her attention over to Shining Armor. “How bad is it, doctor?”

“I’ve done all I can. I stopped most of the bleeding, but he’s going to need a hospital. He should survive if he gets to one, but his leg may be beyond saving. They’ll likely have to amputate it.”

There was a collective wince at the proclamation that he would lose his leg.

“I’ve sent for help from the Ponyville Hospital, we’ll get him there, but I recommend he transfers to the Canterlot Hospital as soon as possible for the operation.”

“Understood. I can let them know upon my return to send some ponies out to transport him. And how about you two, how are you?”

“Psh! I’ve had worse crashes doing tricks! I’m fine!” Rainbow Dash boasted.

The doctor made a noise of disapproval, and Celestia quickly picked up on it.

“I order that you report to the hospital and submit yourself to a full examination. You are to do precisely what the medical staff suggest.” Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves from her sitting position.

“Yes, princess.”

Celestia’s gaze landed on Chrysalis, who had yet to answer, and she withered a little beneath those eyes.

“Not so good.” She admitted. “I could really use a hug right now, to be honest.”

“Awwww! Why didn’t you say so?” Pinkie Pie leaped towards her and wrapped her in a crushing hug. “Anything for my amazing friend!”

Chrysalis bore the pain patiently in order to get at the sweet, sweet love that was trickling into her. She gave a sigh of satisfaction and leaned into Pinkie’s embrace.

“So…you forgive me?”

“Yupperooni!”

“I think that after all you’ve done tonight, you’ve earned a little forgiveness from all of us.” Rarity answered as she too came forward and hugged Twilight.

One after the other, the other bearers voiced their agreement and added themselves to the group hug until the trickle of love became a steady stream. Chrysalis’ head was spinning. Much to her disbelief, she had somehow repaired her relationship with the element bearers and set history back on its proper course, and almost immediately after breaking from it. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she hadn’t irreversibly shattered the past as she had thought. Maybe if she did do too much to have things develop the way she wanted, the universe would still destroy itself.

Then again. Maybe not.

“All right, all right, get off of her.” The doctor waved the bearers off of Chrysalis. “I’d like to get a look at her before you guys hurt her further. You can start hugging her again after I’m certain she’s not going to keel over because of it.”

Much to Chrysalis’ disappointment, the ponies embracing her did as they were told and the love that had warmed her was cut off.

“It seems that I have misjudged you.” Celestia announced as she watched Chrysalis being tended to. “Perhaps I need not have a guard watching over your every move, provided of course that you have your friends by your side. You all have proven to be just as capable as the captain of my guards, if not more so.”

“Heck, yeah! We’re awesome!” Rainbow Dash shouted, pumping a hoof as she did so.

Chrysalis smiled weakly. Her ‘friends’. The ponies she had spent a lifetime plotting against. The ponies that she had been planning on turning into slaves to feed her hive just before Trixie had attacked her. The ponies that had just worked together to save her life.

No, they weren’t her friends, and they never would or could be, but she did owe them. If not for them, she would be in the belly of a giant bear right now. The least she could do was postpone any plans for betraying them until she had paid them back.

“I should get going with these two to get those pictures, and once I have those, I’ll head back to Canterlot and inform the hospital there of the situation.” Celestia announced, indicating Snips and Snails.

Before they left, Snips and Snails looked over to Twilight, one pawing at the ground nervously with a front hoof while the other chewed his lip.

“It’s kinda our fault that this happened, isn’t it?” Snips asked.

“Yeah.” Chrysalis gave a tired nod.

Both of their ears wilted.

“We’re sorry.” Snails said, tears beginning to form at the corners of his eyes.

Chrysalis eyed them sternly.

“Are you two going to do something this stupid again?”

“No, ma’am.” They answered in unison. Chrysalis’ features softened, though she didn’t realize it.

“Are you two hurt?”

“No.” Snips answered, and Snails soon echoed that word for himself. Chrysalis sighed.

“Then that’s all that matters. Now go, you’re keeping your princess waiting.”

At her bidding, the two ran off, eager to assist their beloved leader. Celestia didn’t immediately follow them.

“Before I go…Twilight?”

“Yes, princess?” Chrysalis replied with slight trepidation.

“I’m proud of you.” She finished, her face far more grim than such words were usually delivered with, and then she turned to leave with Snips and Snails. “Come along, my little ponies, let’s see these posters of yours.”

Chrysalis watched while one of her worst sworn enemies disappeared into the night and shuddered. She felt as if she had just dodged an oncoming train.

As the doctor poked and prodded at her, a squad of ponies dressed up in the attire of the hospital staff approached, carrying stretchers with them. Chrysalis closed her eyes and sighed once more.

It was going to be another long night in that damned hospital.

10 - A Changeling in Ponyville

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Chrysalis stretched out her sore hind leg as she stood outside of the Ponyville Hospital upon being released from their custody…again. With a chuckle that was as much sad as it was mirthful, she thought to herself that if she was a patient here any more often they might just give her a loyalty card of some kind. Stay at our hospital three times and get upgraded to the comfy hospital bed free of charge! She snorted. The premise was ridiculous. There were no comfy beds in the hospital.

On the plus side, during her two night stay she had been able to get one of the doctors alone for long enough to have a proper feeding. Add that to the bit of love she was able to passively siphon from the element bearers coming to visit her and she wasn’t feeling hungry for the first time since Shining Armor had been assigned to keep an eye on her. She wasn’t completely satiated, but she was comfortable.

She began walking through the town, though at a very casual pace. While there had been no long term damage to any part of her body, her leg hadn’t quite fully healed yet and she walked with a limp. She wasn’t about to complain about it, though. She could have easily been as poorly off as Shining Armor. She had received word that the operation to amputate his leg had been successful, though he would be hospitalized for quite some time to heal, and then even longer to learn how to properly walk with a prosthetic limb.

But Shining’s fate didn’t really concern her. He was still alive and capable of being involved in the necessary future events, and her past self had little need for his leg. No, what concerned her now was getting to Sugarcube Corner to meet up with Pinkie Pie. That mare had made her promise to get in contact with her when she was released from the hospital so that she could start preparations for a party to celebrate the two of them reconciling. A party for her sounded like a convenient way to siphon a bit of love with minimal effort.

The town seemed oddly empty that day, Chrysalis noted. It wasn’t early in the morning when ponies might still be asleep, as it was close to noon. At first it hadn’t bothered her, but the longer it went on the more unsettling it seemed. It was almost as if the ponies were hiding from something.

A small foal was standing on the doorstep of a building, staring at her as she passed. It was the first pony she had seen for the past five minutes. Chrysalis waved a hoof at the kid, and she began waving back only to be abruptly dragged inside by an adult, leaving Chrysalis alone again.

Chrysalis stopped for a moment and scratched the side of her head. It was like they were afraid of her. Could it be because of the Trixie incident? She thought that had been resolved and that most ponies would have forgiven her by now, but perhaps she was wrong. She certainly hoped that was the case, and it wasn’t something as bad as them finding out her identity as a changeling.

As Chrysalis walked by the entrance to Sugarcube Corner, once again blasted by the sickly sweet smell of baked goods that made her feel sick, she noticed a pony in the distance wearing a brown cloak that covered most of their features. No, Chrysalis noted, not a pony. Sticking out from beneath the cloak were limbs that had the distinctive striping of a zebra. She hadn’t seen one of those in many, many years. They weren’t exactly a common species in Equestria.

“Psst!”

"Huh?” Chrysalis attempted to find the source of the voice.

“Psst! Twilight! Come here!”

Chrysalis looked to the entrance of the Sugarcube Corner, and saw Pinkie Pie waving at her from behind the open top half of the door.

“Come here! Hurry! Before she gets you!”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes at the pink pony’s theatrics, but did as Pinkie Pie bid and followed her inside the bakery. Much to her surprise, hiding in the place with the lights turned off were all of the element bearers and Applejack's little sister, Apple Bloom. Either they were involved in an incredibly morally questionable orgy that involved a minor, or they were doing something really stupid that was going to give her a headache.

“Okay, I’m probably going to regret asking, but,” Chrysalis put a hoof to her forehead, trying to prepare herself for whatever the answer was going to be, “what are you all doing in here in the dark?”

“We’re hiding from her!” Applejack answered in a wavering voice as she pulled a curtain on a window back. Chrysalis looked through the window to see the same zebra she saw earlier. She was digging at a patch of dirt with a hoof.

They were hiding from a zebra? Chrysalis groaned. How had she and her armies lost to these shining bastions of bravery?

“Did you see her, Twilight? Did you see Zecora?” Apple Bloom asked her.

“Apple Bloom! I told you to never say that name!” Applejack scolded her little sister.

“What? Is she supposed to be able to hear her from all the way over there?” Chrysalis asked incredulously.

“Maybe.” AJ’s eyes shifted between the window and Chrysalis.

“Ugh…whatever.” Chrysalis threw a hoof up in surrender to the stupidity.

Given her track record with visitors to the town lately, it might be best for her if she didn’t get involved. If the ponies of Ponyville wanted to be afraid of a lone zebra, then she wasn’t going to try and change their minds. She sat herself in a corner and just watched as the ponies kept on yapping about this Zecora. Most notably, Apple Bloom argued with her sister, seemingly unafraid of the visitor. A faint smile of amusement graced her lips at seeing the foal of the group acting the most mature of the bunch. At some point while Chrysalis was massaging her sore leg rather than paying attention, Pinkie Pie burst out into song and she danced about the room, accosting all those present one by one.

“She’s an evil enchantress!
She does evil dances,
And if you look deep in her eye,
She’ll put you in trances
Then what will she do?
Mix up an evil brew,
And she’ll gobble you up
In a big tasty stew!
Sooo, watch out!”

The responses of the assembled ponies varied, though most were clearly stunned, except for Applejack who was shaking like a leaf in the wind. The changeling of the group, however, burst out laughing.

Normally, Chrysalis would just roll her eyes at being subjected to another Pinkie song, but something about this one was different. It was so unpolished, even for Pinkie. The movements that normally seemed to naturally flow in her other songs was stilted and jerky. The tune was repetitive to the point of incompetence, and the voice matched the tune. The worst offender, however, was the atrocious lyrics.

“Hey!” Pinkie pouted. “It’s a work in progress!”

“I’m sorry, Pinkie, just…really? An evil enchantress?”

“She could be!” Applejack spoke up, still quaking where she stood.

“She can’t be an evil enchantress any more than you, Applejack. Zebras can’t use magic like unicorns. Also, zebras are herbivores, just like you. They don’t eat meat so they aren't going to cook you up in a stew.”

“Maybe she’s got some magic potions that turns ponies into apples and then she eats you!” Pinkie shouted as she grabbed onto AJ and shook her. Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. She had a sudden inkling that maybe Pinkie Pie was just trying to scare her friend.

“Oooooh…I hadn’t thought about that.” Chrysalis decided to play along, putting a hoof to her chin in faux thoughtfulness. “You know, you could be right.”

“R…r…really?” Applejack’s teeth were chattering fiercely by now. Chrysalis smirked.

“What? Is the big, strong Applejack afraid?”

“I..I’m not afraid o’ nothin’!” She boasted through her obvious trembling. “I’m jus’ concerned about Apple Bloom is all!”

“Speaking of which, where is Apple Bloom?” Rarity asked.

“What do ya mean, where is she? She was right here!” Applejack practically shouted as she frantically searched the room. Upon not finding her, she looked out the window and her pupils shrank. “Oh no…Apple Bloom!”

She ran out of the bakery, crashing through the front door as she did so. Chrysalis sighed. If Apple Bloom had gone out to meet with Zecora, then she really doubted that anything bad was going to happen to her. Still, as she watched each of the other element bearers run after their hasty friend in nearly as much panic as Applejack, she resigned herself to following after them, though at a slightly slower pace.

She couldn’t see either Zecora or Apple Bloom outside, but that didn’t seem to stop the others. They headed for the outskirts of town, taking the occasional pause to quickly search an area just in case Apple Bloom had changed her mind about following Zecora. After awhile, they passed the outskirts entirely and the Everfree Forest began to loom in the distance.

“So, why are we headed for the Everfree Forest now?” Chrysalis asked, her face set in a frown because of her aching leg. She had had to abandon her slower, less pain inducing speed just to keep up.

“Zecora lives in the Everfree Forest.” Fluttershy, who had stayed in the back near Chrysalis, explained.

“Well, that’s a little creepy.” Chrysalis admitted. “Who in their right mind would live in there?”

“An eeeevil enchaaaantress!” Pinkie Pie popped out of seemingly nowhere, waving her forehooves in an attempt to seem spooky.

“Riiiight.” Chrysalis rolled her eyes. The zebra probably just liked her privacy, and who could blame her with ponies like these around?

There was one issue, she begrudgingly admitted. If Zecora lived in the Everfree Forest and Apple Bloom followed her into it, then she could be in trouble. If she kept close enough to Zecora then she’d probably be fine, but if she got lost? With a sigh, she increased her pace to catch up to Applejack who was in the lead. Seeing Chrysalis joining her and taking the loss of her sister seriously, AJ gave a nervous, though appreciative, smile.

They came across a trail leading into the forest, different from the one they had entered when they had chased after Nightmare Moon. Half of the path was covered with a beautiful, blue flower patch, and on the other side of that path was the little filly they were searching for, standing there and looking a little indecisive.

“Apple Bloom! You get back here right now!” Applejack shouted at the foal who froze in place. For good measure, Chrysalis reached out and gently levitated her to ensure that she didn’t go any further.

“No going into the Everfree, kiddo, it’s dangerous.” Chrysalis called out to her while stepping through the blue flowers. Before she could reach the kid, Applejack blasted past her and lifted Apple Bloom from her magic and forced her onto her back.

“Beware! Beware, you pony folk! Those leaves of blue are not a joke!” A heavily accented voice floated to them from the direction of the hooded Zecora further down the path.

“Don’t worry, Zecora!” Chrysalis assured her. “We have no intention of bothering you, just here to stop a kid from doing something stupid. We’ll leave you to your privacy.”

“Beware! Beware!” Zecora bellowed at them once more before disappearing into the darkness of the forest behind her. Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. That was certainly weird. Maybe the ponies were onto something in being wary of her. Chrysalis suddenly felt very glad about her decision to not get involved with the stranger.

“You and your curse are the ones that should beware!” Rainbow Dash shouted into the forest ineffectually before grinning as if she had actually accomplished something.

“I’m sure the trees are very intimidated.” Chyrsalis said sarcastically. She turned to the others, all of which had joined her amongst the blue flowers. The Apple sisters were arguing as Chrysalis often observed siblings do, even if she had never had a sibling herself to experience such bickering with.

“I think we’ve got what we came for, let’s get out of here.” Chrysalis announced. With a smattering of nods from her companions, they did precisely that.

____________________________

Chrysalis approached the Golden Oaks Library late that afternoon. The party that Pinkie Pie had planned to celebrate her release from the hospital would sadly have to wait for the next day since she had promised the owners of Sugarcube Corner that she would look after the bakery for the day. Chrysalis had just accepted her excuse, not even bothering to point out how that responsibility hadn’t stopped her from running out on the store to chase after Apple Bloom earlier. She supposed that searching for a missing child was perhaps slightly more important than selling a few cakes. Still, it was a pity, she had been looking forward to the meal she could get at her party.

“I’m back!” She shouted as she pushed open the door only to freeze when she saw a grey pegasus stallion with a streaky black mane sitting at a reading couch across from Spike while the two of them sipped from teacups. It took a moment for Chrysalis to remember that it was Time Keeper with a bad dye job.

“Hey, Twilight!” Spike greeted her cheerfully. “This is Snowball, he’s been here pretty much all the time these last couple of days reading books!”

“Uh…hello…Twilight.” Time Keeper greeted, his words incredibly stilted. “I’m, uh, new in town and was hoping I could maybe get a job here?”

“Really? I don’t know, the library isn’t really all that busy, I don’t think we need to hire anybody.” Spike said.

“Please? I could really use the work.” Time Keeper pleaded with Spike, causing Chrysalis to roll her eyes. Why was he focusing on the dragon? “I, uh…I’ve always wanted to work with…books.”

“Well, it’s up to Twilight, not me.” Spike admitted, pointing at the purple unicorn in the room.

“Right.” Time Keeper laughed nervously and then gulped. “So, can I have a job?”

“I dunno. I’m going to have to do an interview to make sure you’re suitable.” Chrysalis said and then looked at Spike. “Alone. Come on, Snowball, let’s go into the basement and we’ll talk.”

“Sure thing.” Time Keeper said with a pathetic attempt to appear happy.

The two of them descended a set of stairs, closing the door at their apex behind them as they went. The basement was one large, dim room, currently lit by a lone window just above ground level at the top of the far wall. It was incredibly dusty from years of disuse, and the only furniture present was an old, sagging couch and a pair of empty, rickety looking shelves.

“You really suck at lying.” Chrysalis bluntly informed him.

“Well, sorry if I haven’t spent an entire lifetime lying to everybody I know.” He responded acidly. Chrysalis benevolently decided to ignore the jab.

“You’re going to have to get better at it, or I’m going to have to get rid of you for the sake of myself and your precious future.”

“What happened with Trixie?” Time Keeper stared at her with a serious expression.

"That stupid blow hard?" Chrysalis waved a dismissive hoof. “She’s been dealt with, the guards will arrest her soon enough. I’m surprised you even know who she is.”

“Trixie is important to the time line!” He nearly shouted, barely able to hold back to avoid having Spike hear them above.

“You’re joking.”

“No! She’s supposed to become friends with Twilight Sparkle’s future apprentice! She can’t do that if she’s in jail!”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Chrysalis stared at him. “So I’m supposed to be taking an apprentice now?”

“No, not now, a few years down the road. Oh and because apparently I need to tell you not to act like a monster, don’t kill a pony named Starlight Glimmer, either!”

“Maybe if you actually acted like the guide you’re supposed to be, we could avoid these problems!” She hissed at him.

“I couldn’t get anywhere near you because of a certain captain of the guard!” He hissed right back. “Speaking of which, I heard that he lost his leg!”

“He’ll live. It’s not like he needs his leg to be brainwashed by my past self.” She casually dismissed his concern. “Anyway, you’re here now, so maybe you can be a little less useless. What’s the next big thing I have to worry about?”

“Well…I can’t think of anypony really important you should be meeting any time soon. I think the next big thing is Discord in about a year. Shouldn’t be a big deal, just find the elements of harmony again and use them on him.”

“Right, about that…” Chrysalis paused for a moment. “I couldn’t get them to work.”

“Wait, what?” Time’s eyes bulged. "What about Nightmare Moon? How did you deal with her if you didn’t use the elements?”

“I absorbed all of her tainted love, got pretty sick doing it too.”

“And that worked?!”

“Yeah.”

“But…how are you going to defeat Discord without the elements of harmony?”

“I’ll figure something out. Right now, I’m feeling hungry.” Chrysalis gave him a predatory gaze, which he ignored as he began examining the room.

“Fine, whatever, go have something to eat. I’m just going to stay here and panic about the future.” He trotted over to the couch and wrinkled his nose as he investigated it. "Ugh...what a mess."

Chrysalis followed after and shoved him, causing him to fall onto the old sofa and sending a storm of dust swirling through the room.

“Wait, what are you doing?” His voice cracked as he tried to crawl away from the approaching, disguised changeling, horror inundating him as he realized just what ‘eating’ entailed for her.

“Getting some dinner.” Chrysalis answered right before her eyes and horn both began to glow. Time Keeper’s own eyes began to glow in response, and his body went limp. Finally, that moron would actually prove useful for something. She dug deep into his mind, dragged out the wondrous love that hid beneath, and fed.

Once she finished, she went back upstairs, leaving him asleep on that dirty old couch. She informed Spike that she had hired him, that he would be staying in the basement, and that he was tired so would be taking a nap, ordering him to go down and put a blanket over him. She had consumed far more deeply of him than she had with Big Macintosh on the day she had arrived, and he would likely be out of it for a couple hours. With a sense of content, she spent the rest of the day browsing through some of the books available to her from the library’s vast collection.

____________________________

Chrysalis yawned as she woke up the next morning. She stared lazily at the roof of her bedroom, listening to the rhythmic breathing of Spike in his own little bed next to hers. An entire year where nothing important happens. That’s what Time Keeper had told her, at least. She would feel relieved if she wasn’t worried that she would die from boredom in that time. Maybe she could spend it trying to think of a way to help her hive.

She threw her blankets off of her and immediately noticed something wrong: her body was black, and her limbs were full of holes. She froze in momentary panic, then looked over to Spike to find that he was still asleep. She hadn’t fallen out of her disguise while sleeping in years, not since she was a foal learning to control it. With a flush of embarrassment, she focused her horn in preparation of returning to the form of Twilight Sparkle.

It didn’t work.

With her breath catching in her throat, she tried again. And again. And again. No matter how many times she cast the spell to transform, she remained stubbornly black. Worse yet, she noticed something else was off. Her limbs, while decidedly changeling, did not look familiar to her. As quietly as she could, she crawled out of bed and made her way to a mirror. It took all of her effort to avoid screaming.

She was a changeling, but not herself. She was a normal, everyday kind of changeling, just like any one of her subjects. A fin like mane instead of her usual long one made up of hair, a tail equally lacking in hair, a short, curved horn, eyes that were near solid blue and lacked in any recognizable pupils, and she stood at best half her natural height.

She experimentally buzzed her insect like wings, and tried to levitate a nearby brush off of the counter top that the mirror was placed on. Both seemed to work fine. She tried to transform once more, this time into her actual natural form, but the image in the mirror remained as it was, staring in bewilderment at her for her failure.

A sudden crashing sound from the first floor of the library beneath her room caused her to flinch. What in the world had that been? Fortunately, Spike hadn’t woken from it, so she sneaked over to the door and quietly opened it.

“Twilight? Where are you?” Rarity’s voice drifted from below, followed by another crash. “Rainbow Dash! You can walk, you know! You really shouldn’t be flying in your condition!”

Chrysalis attempted to calm her rapid breathing and silently shut the door, cursing the fact that there was no lock on the stupid thing. What were Rarity and Rainbow Dash doing in the library? Why of all days did they choose today to come? And most importantly, why, oh why was she stuck as an ordinary changeling? She realized she had little time to contemplate the matter when she heard steps coming up the stairs.

She needed to hide, and fast. Her eyes went first to the window. As tempting as it was to flee, she could easily be seen by the town ponies, and she wanted to avoid that if possible. There was a knocking on the door behind her and she leaped into the air in fright, levitating a moment as her wings buzzed noisily.

“Twilight? Are you in there? We need to talk.” Rarity’s muffled voice came through the door. She sounded concerned.

Chrysalis’ eye twitched as she noticed Spike began to stir. She let out a sigh when he didn’t actually rise from his bed.

“Yeah, open up!” Rainbow Dash demanded as she pounded violently at the door.

A whimper escaped from Chrysalis’ lips as Spike bolted upright in his bed, wide awake. Without thinking, Chrysalis snatched the blankets he was under with her magic and yanked them up over his face, wrapping him up in a cocoon of cloth.

“Hey, what’s the big idea?!” Spike complained, more annoyed than alarmed.

Chrysalis took advantage of his momentary blindness by flying straight to a nearby closet, throwing it open, crawling inside it and nearly slamming it closed.

“Spike? Is something wrong?” Rarity asked, her voice laced with concern. “I’m coming in!”

Chrysalis watched through the thin slats of the closet door as Rarity and Rainbow Dash entered. Her head tilted in confusion at their appearance. Rarity’s hair had grown long enough to drag along the floor as she walked all over her body, and it looked incredibly frizzy. Dash seemed normal at first glance, but after a moment she realized that her wings were on upside down. What in the world happened to them?

“Spike?” Rarity asked the ball of struggling blankets. “Is that you?”

“A little help, please!” Spike’s muffled voice escaped his prison. Rarity’s gentle blue magic lifted him up and soon had him unwravelled.

"How’d that happen?" Dash asked the little dragon as she chuckled.

“I think Twilight was playing a prank on me.” Spike explained.

“Speaking of Twilight, where is she?” Rarity asked, looking around the room. Or at least Chrysalis thought she was looking around, it was hard to tell beneath all that hair.

“Huh…I dunno.” Spike admitted as she too saw the place was empty. “I could’ve sworn I heard her moving around a minute ago.”

The three of them began searching the room. Rainbow Dash went to the window, while Rarity began checking around the bed. Spike, on the other hoof, went straight for the closet. Chrysalis held her breath until he walked past it and, presumably, to the out of sight mirror she had been at earlier. She let out the breath she had been holding, a momentary sensation of relief filling her. Still, it would only be a matter-

The closet doors swung open, and Spike was staring wide eyed at her huddled up into the corner of the closet. She stared back, then timidly waved a hoof at him. He waved a claw back at her uncertainly and then slowly closed the door.

“Girls?” He called out a moment later. “There’s a monster in the closet!”

“Pfft! Yeah, right!” Rainbow Dash scoffed.

“Darling, you know that monsters don’t spend time in closets, it’s just not a practical form of housing for them.” Rarity explained.

“I’m telling you, there’s a monster in the closet!”

“And I’m telling you that there isn’t. I’ll show you!”

Rarity trotted towards the door and swung it open.

“See, there’s nothing to be afraid-” Rarity froze and her eye twitched, then she slammed the door shut again. “Rainbow, would you be a dear and get the others?”

“Why?” Dash asked with a raised eyebrow, clearly having not seen Chrysalis through Rarity's body.

“Because there is a monster in the closet.” She said in the same tone one would say they need to buy eggs.

Well, this is it, Chrysalis thought as Rainbow Dash blitzed out of her bedroom to get backup. She had thought of a million ways that this entire venture could fail, but crushed by the element bearers in a closet was not one of those ways.

“You, uh…monster!? Don’t you even think about trying anything. We ponies are much tougher than you might think! And we don’t taste very good, either!” Rarity called out to her. Chrysalis would be amused by the unicorn's fear, if she herself weren’t so afraid of what was coming.

Three other element bearers ran into the room along with, oddly enough, Apple Bloom. Through the slats, she could see that Pinkie Pie’s tongue was sticking out of her mouth, all swollen and spotted. Fluttershy and Apple Bloom seemed normal, though. Pinkie Pie tried to say something, but all that came out was an indecipherable bit of gibberish thanks to her swollen tongue.

“Okay…my friends are here, monster, so don’t try anything stupid.” Rarity warned. “What have you done with Twilight Sparkle?”

“Is there really a monster in there?”Apple Bloom asked, which was followed by a high pitched squeaking sound.

“Yes, and I suspect it might have done something to Twilight.” Rarity nodded.

Chrysalis was out of time. She had to do something or she was going to be a bunch of bug guts sprayed across her bedroom soon. She took a deep breath and hoped she was right about none of them knowing what a changeling was.

“Hello, Rarity. Girls.” She spoke, her voice neither her own, nor Twilight’s, but a dual toned voice to match her unusual changeling form. “It’s me, Twilight.”

The girls looked at each other, confused. Rarity cautiously opened the door to reveal Chrysalis, and those who hadn’t yet seen her reacted in a variety of shocked manner, ranging from flinches to gasps.

“Is that really you, Twilight?” Dash asked, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“Yup” Chrysalis confirmed. “Remember when we first met you crashed right into me, cleaned me up with a rain cloud, and then made a bet with Spike about whether or not you could clear the skies in ten seconds? Or when I met you Rarity, I still had my mane all messed up because of Rainbow Dash and you dragged me off to your boutique to fix it and then I tore your corset in two, which you held over me until I modelled for you.”

The girls looked to Rainbow Dash and Rarity expectantly.

"It is true." Rarity admitted.

“Yeah, I guess it is you. Geeze, it looks like you got it even worse than the rest of us. Even worse than Applejack, even!” Rainbow Dash said, pointing to Apple Bloom. No, not to Apple Bloom, Chrysalis realized, but to her back where a tiny Applejack stood and the high pitched squeaking sound that kept cropping up was coming from.

“Rainbow is right. I thought I looked bad, but you look absolutely hideous!” Rarity added.

“Hey!” Chrysalis shouted indignantly. She didn’t much like her current form, either, but that was purely because it wasn’t actually her own form and because she couldn't get out of it. Her changelings were beautiful, far more so than the vast majority of ponies.

“Now, now, it’s not your fault that you look like a rejected Nightmare Night costume, I know.” Rarity continued to lather on the insults.

“And you look like a bitch.” Chrysalis retorted with narrowed eyes.

“Hey, that is uncalled for! And there is a foal present!” Rarity whined.

“Ya know, she’s right. Ya look a lot like a big, shaggy dog.” Apple Bloom pointed out with a chuckle as she let her older sister off onto the reading desk.

“A dog?” Rarity’s voice faltered beneath her mop of hair, and she swayed a little bit as if she were about to faint. “I…we must break this curse at once!”

“Curse?” Chrysalis asked, her head tilted.

“If ya haven’t noticed, we’re all a little messed up right now.” Applejack shouted, though it was still barely audible to Chrysalis from her position in the closet. Feeling a little awkward, she stepped out of it.

“Well, all except Fluttershy here.” Rainbow Dash pointed out, but Fluttershy shook her head. “Wait, are you saying you’re messed up too?”

Fluttershy nodded. Pinkie Pie tried to say something completely unintelligible and let out a muffled scream of frustration when all she got were confused looks.

“I think that what Pinkie Pie was trying to say was what is wrong with you?” Rarity translated to the eager nods of Pinkie Pie.

Fluttershy shied away from her friends’ curious gazes.

“Well, what is it?!” Rainbow Dash pushed.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” The deepest, most masculine voice that Chrysalis had ever heard poured forth from Fluttershy’s lips. Chrysalis’ jaw dropped along with most other jaws in the room. One exception, however, was Spike.

“This is hilarious!” Spike roared with laughter. “We’ve got Hairity, Flutterguy, Appleteeny, Rainbow Crash, Spitty Pie and...uhh…” Spike stopped in his tracks at Chrysalis.

“Say something and you’re not getting any gems for the rest of your life.” Chrysalis warned with a hiss.

“Ahem…and Twilight.” He finished quickly. “That’s really creepy the way you talk right now.”

“And those eyes…they are quite unsettling.” Rarity added.

“Hey, you got wings!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Can you fly with them?!”

Chrysalis nearly answered in the affirmative with a rather rude remark, but stopped herself. It would be awfully stupid to reveal such information.

“I dunno.” She lied and pretended to concentrate hard. After a few seconds of faking, she gave her wings a quick buzz and floated a few centimetres off the floor before falling back down, feigning surprise.

“Awesome!” Rainbow gushed as she too lifted herself into the air. “We should totally go flying together!”

Rainbow Dash began flying in the general direction of the window, though missed it by at least a metre and crashed with a sickening thud into a wall.

“I don’t think you’re fit to fly in your current condition.” Chrysalis pointed out.

“No, I’ve got this, I just gotta get used to it!” Dash quickly crashed into a bookcase, knocking two full shelves onto the floor. She tried to move again, but was quickly halted by a green aura.

“Rainbow Dash! You stop flying this instant or I clip your wings! You’re going to destroy my home!”

“Oh, uh, sorry.” Rainbow Dash winced, and when she was set down she stayed put. “Maybe when we’re outside?”

“Fine, when we’re outside I’ll try flying with you.” Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Okay, so we’re cursed? How the heck did we all get cursed?”

Pinkie Pie jumped in and started miming some actions that Chrysalis vaguely remembered her doing before during her song.

“Zecora?” Chrysalis asked. “You think Zecora did this? How? Zebras don’t have magic!”

“Can you think of anything else that could have caused this?” Rarity asked. “We all saw her yesterday, and that’s the only thing we did differently than normal.”

“This is ridiculous!” Chrysalis shouted in disgust. “Apple Bloom got even closer than any of us, and she’s fine, right Apple Bloom?”

The assembled ponies looked around to find that Apple Bloom was gone.

“Maybe Zecora’s curse turned her invisible?” Dash suggested.

“Did it turn her into a mute too?” Chrysalis asked rhetorically. “No, she must’ve left while we were talking.

“Applejack’s gone too!” Rarity announced.

“See? They probably just left together.” Chrysalis explained.

“But where would they have gone?” Dash asked.

“You don’t think they would have gone to find Zecora, do you?” Fluttershy’s silky smooth baritone filled the room.

Chrysalis’ face darkened and a scowl settled upon her lips.

“Of course.” Chrysalis said bitterly. “I just told her yesterday not to go into the Everfree Forest! Why don’t kids ever listen to me? Come on, let’s go save the brat.”

Upon stepping outside of the library, Chrysalis immediately drew fearful looks of the ponies walking through the area. She froze in place and began thinking about going back inside to grab a sheet or something that she could cover herself with. Before she could follow through with the thought, she was knocked off her doorstep as Rarity bumped into her while shuffling out of the door.

“I’m sorry, Twilight, I didn’t see you there.” Rarity apologized. “It’s this awful hair! It makes it so hard to see!"

Chrysalis swallowed nervously, discarded her idea of getting a sheet, and set a path running directly for the Everfree Forest, trying to ignore all the looks she was getting. She had an awful feeling, as if the ponies would set upon her and tear her to pieces if she stayed in one place for too long. If she was lucky, being with the element bearers would stop them from bringing out the torches and pitch forks.

“Come on, Twilight, I thought we were going to fly together!” Rainbow Dash complained.

“We’ve got a missing child, I think we have more important things to do.” Rarity chastised her.

“Come on, flying would be so much faster!”

Before Rarity could respond, Rainbow Dash crashed into a sign hanging from the side of a store they were passing. Chrysalis snatched her up with her magic and dragged her along behind her.

“You should probably stick to running,” Chrysalis suggested, “or you’re going to slow us down.”

“Fine, just put me down!” Rainbow Dash pouted. Chrysalis cut off her spell and Dash fell to the ground with a sudden thud. She fell behind her friends momentarily before she caught up again. “I said put me down, not drop me!”

“Less whining, more running.” Chrysalis scolded her.

Dash huffed, but did as she was told, at least for awhile. As they approached the edge of the Everfree Forest she leapt into the air and began flying again, and swiftly crashed into several bushes and trees, going so far as to break off the limb of one of those trees before disappearing from Chrysalis’ view. If she was going to be stupid, Chrysalis wasn’t going to bother with her. The four of them that remained blasted through the patch of blue flowers from earlier and down the path they had seen Zecora going down the day before, hoping it would lead to Apple Bloom.

Thankfully, the path they were on had been clear of any dangers and did not fork at any point. At some stage of their journey, they were rejoined by Rainbow Dash who was being ridden by the tiny Applejack that she must have found at some point. Amusingly, she was being led through the air upside down guided by AJ using reins and bridle made of vines and sticks. Kinky.

They had to slow down due to the dim light and rough nature of the path they were treading, but they still found a twisted looking tree with a door and window amongst a patch of clearly maintained vegetation. The area was decorated with several somewhat creepy looking tribal masks, and Chrysalis shuddered as she imagined them watching her. It looked like a dark mirror of the Golden Oaks Library that she was temporarily calling home.

“Ugh, I look horrible!” Rarity moaned as she stumbled towards them, chunks of vegetation stuck in her excessive hair. Pinkie Pie said something which Chrysalis could have sworn was ‘Your face looks terrible,’ before she raised Rarity’s thick rolls of hair from her eyes. “Oh my, that place really does look horrible.”

Chrysalis gave a sidelong glance to Rarity before rolling her eyes and then pressed forward cautiously. The others followed closely behind, all except for Rainbow Dash and Applejack who had gone missing again after yet another crash. They crept up to the window and peered inside to find even more tribal masks adorning the otherwise rather dull walls of the home, along with a few shelves filled with an assortment of objects. In the centre of the room was a big, cauldron with a bubbling, green liquid.

Perhaps the most important thing to be seen was Zecora herself, of course. She held a bottle in her mouth and shook some of its flaky contents into the bubbling brew. After setting the bottle aside, she began to seemingly chant something in a tongue completely foreign to Chrysalis.

Pinkie leaped back from the window and angrily sprayed the mares with spit as she tried to shout something while pointing at Zecora inside.

“She…stole your song?” Rarity asked, somewhat puzzled, to which Pinkie nodded vigorously.

“Riiight.” Chrysalis spoke sarcastically and turned back to the window, hoping to spot Apple Bloom. If she wasn’t there, then it seemed likely that she got lost along the way and she’d be a lot harder to find. She was pulled from her search by Pinkie Pie literally pulling her from the window and glaring at her. Chrysalis raised an eyebrow expectantly and Pinkie looked down at her swollen tongue before tossing herself at Fluttershy’s hooves and giving her puppy dog eyes. With an irritated sigh, Fluttershy sang Pinkie’s earlier song with her silky, smooth voice and a complete deadpan stare into nothingness. It still sounded nothing like what Zecora was doing, but Chrysalis didn’t bother to point it out lest she start an argument with Pinkie and end up drowning in spit.

“Well, if we can’t break this curse, at least Fluttershy can have a future singing in jazz clubs.” Chrysalis commented before looking back through the window. “Wait, why am I doing this? I’m going in there to ask her if she’s seen Apple Bloom.”

“Wait! You can’t do that!” Fluttershy objected, uncharacteristically forceful. “She might…uh…cook you in her cauldron!”

“I told you, zebras are herbivores! You ponies are being ridiculous!” Chrysalis shoved her way past the others and made her way around to the other side of the building where the door was. Just as she was about to open it, she flinched because of a scream tearing through the sky that sounded a lot like Rainbow Dash.

“I’m comin’ for ya, Apple Bloom!” Applejack shrieked from atop her rainbow mount, and Chrysalis barely had any time to leap out of the way before the two of them crashed through the door.

Chrysalis groaned and watched in horror as Rainbow Dash and co crashed into everything inside the small dwelling to the protests of its occupant. She walked into the room, dodging the flying missile until she managed to catch the duo with her magic, halting her in place, though not until after she had destroyed half a dozen pots and jars and knocked over the cauldron. Chrysalis stood next to a puddle of mystery liquid that had spilled from a couple of those jars that had been knocked off a shelf that held several more similar containers. Zecora’s eyes went wide with shock as she stared at Chrysalis, then something behind her before settling back on her. Chrysalis' eyes followed hers to the jars on the shelf and noticed that they were glowing a sickly green in her presence and she held her breath involuntarily for a moment.

“What a shocking thing…you are-” Zecora began but was interrupted by the other three ponies barging into her abode and Applejack leaped from Dash onto Zecora’s head where she wrestled the zebra’s ear.

“Gimme back my sister!” Applejack cried.

“And remove this curse you put on us at once!” Rarity shouted. “You made me look ridiculous!”

“You made me sound ridiculous.” Fluttershy added.

Realizing that Zecora had clearly recognized what she was, Chrysalis chimed in as well.

“And you turned me into some kind of monster!” Chrysalis certainly didn’t believe that Zecora was the least bit responsible, but she needed to do whatever she could to convince her that she wasn’t a changeling. She also walked over to the others side of the room away from the contents in those jars and upon the floor, both of which returned to a more natural colourless state.

“And gimme back my sister, ya striped varmint!” Applejack repeated.

Zecora looked between the group of ponies, her brow furrowed in confusion and alarm, before settling once again on Chrysalis.

“What is it here that you do? Can’t you see the monster in your crew?” She asked while pointing at Chrysalis.

“That’s Twilight, she’s our friend, not a monster no matter how terrible she looks,” Rarity stood up in her defence, “and if you would be so kind as to remove your curse, she would be back to normal! We all would!”

Zecora tilted her head, causing AJ to nearly lose her grip and fall. “A friend to you, could it be true?”

“Hey, Zecora! I think I got all the things ya asked for!” Apple Bloom's voice cut through the tension as she walked through the door and froze as she took in the chaotic scene. “What in Ponyville is goin’ on here?”

Applejack gasped and paused in her ear wrestling. “Apple Bloom, you’re okay!”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Apple Bloom asked with an amused smile.

There was a moment of silence before Pinkie Pie jumped forward and pointed at Zecora, making all sorts of unintelligible sounds.

“Uh…what?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I believe that Pinkie Pie is saying that she’s an evil enchantress that cursed us.” Chrysalis explained, eager to keep the conversation on anything except herself at that moment. Apple Bloom and Zecora both laughed at the accusation, though Zecora’s seemed somewhat more reserved than the young foal’s.

“Oh, Twilight, is Pinkie still going on ‘bout that? You know there’s no such thing as a curse, right?”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but I seriously doubt zebras, creatures without the ability to use magic, could put a curse on anybody.” Chrysalis answered.

“If you’ll remember back, the words I spoke were quite exact.” Zecora spoke as Apple Bloom walked right up next to her and looked up to her with a grin. “Beware, beware you pony folk, those leaves of blue are not a joke.”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, wondering if she always spoke in rhyme. She had been certain she hadn’t when speaking in her native tongue earlier, assuming it was her native tongue, so perhaps it was just something she did with other languages.

“It was a warnin’, about that blue plant.” Apple Bloom helpfully translated since Zecora’s words weren’t as clear or exact as she claimed. “It’s called poison joke.”

“That plant is much like poison oak, but its results are like a joke.” Zecora elaborated.

“Gee, that would have been a lot more useful than that vaguely worded warning.” Chrysalis grumbled. A joke, huh? It was a really unfunny joke to make a changeling unable to transform, and even less funny to make a queen look like a normal changeling.

“What in the hay does that mean?” Applejack asked, pushing aside Zecora’s mohawk styled mane to be seen more clearly.

“It means that this plant does not breed wrath, instead this plant just wants a laugh.”

After another pause, Applejack spoke up again. “Will somepony please talk normal?”

“She means that the blue flowers we walked through earlier did this to us.” Chrysalis clarified for the farmer and then addressed Zecora. “Now maybe you could tell us how to get rid of these jokes.”

“Well, actually, we were makin’ the cure before you came.” Apple Bloom pointed to the cauldron. “We were puttin’ all these herbal ingredient in for ya. Ya just gotta take a bubble bath!”

“And then the curse will be lifted?” Chrysalis pressed, looking at the spilled contents of the cauldron with annoyance.

“Yup!” Apple Bloom answered with a bright grin.

“So…could you maybe mix up another batch of the cure?” Chrysalis asked of Zecora, who eyed her warily.

“Mix it up I certainly will, yet I am missing an herb from Ponyville.”

“But whenever Zecora comes to town, all the shops are mysteriously closed.” Apple Bloom explained.

“Girls?” Chrysalis looked over her companions. “Perhaps you should see what you can do about that.”

________________________________

Chrysalis was hiding away in a private room inside of Aloe and Lotus’ spa next to a small tub filled with water and an assortment of medicinal ingredients. She had rushed back into Ponyville after borrowing one of Zecora’s cloaks to hide her identity and ran straight for the spa, the location at which they as a group had decided to have their cleansing baths. The others had dealt with the issue of getting the pony folk of the town to stop running in fear of the zebra so that they could find the last of the ingredients, though Chrysalis had refused to join them on account of ‘how monstrous she looked’. Rarity had said she understood perfectly and let her leave without any fuss.

After ensuring that the door was locked, she climbed gingerly into the restorative waters and dunked herself beneath the surface. Within moments, she felt a chain reaction in her body not unlike the feeling of her own intentional transformations and suddenly the room and tub both seemed a lot smaller. She looked at her now elongated limbs, still full of holes, and shook her head until a bit of her bluish green mane fell over her eyes. She was back to normal as a changeling queen, just as she had expected. It would not have done any good to have her supposedly restored in front of the others only to appear as a different variant of the same monster the poison joke had forced onto her. She attempted to change back into Twilight Sparkle and sighed with relief when she was immediately in the guise of the purple unicorn.

Careful not to slip on the water that had been displaced onto the floor when she had grown several sizes, she stepped cautiously out of the tub and opened the door leading out. She wandered down a hallway until she came across a large room with an even larger tub, filled with the element bearers, many of which were chuckling as they splashed each other playfully. Pinkie Pie noticed her entrance.

“See, Zecora! There she is, and she doesn’t look like a monster anymore!”

“So it seems to be, as I can plainly see.” Zecora answered as she watched Chrysalis approach them.

“Are we all okay, now?” Chrysalis asked them, earning nods and general vocal confirmations. “Good. I hope I never have to see that thing I was in the mirror again.” Chrysalis said with simulated relief, hoping that Zecora would buy her act.

All of them chatted for quite some time until the water turned cold, laughing jovially as they looked back on the silly pranks that the poison joke had played on them now that the pain of actually experiencing them had passed. Chrysalis waited impatiently the entire time, feigning interest in their conversations but all the while thinking of something else. She had something important she had to do.

________________________________

Chrysalis crept up to Zecora’s home in the Everfree Forest in the dead of night, still disguised as Twilight Sparkle. Ever since she had been cured of the poison joke, her mind had been preoccupied with what she had seen earlier. It looked so much like something from her own past and this world’s future that she had to go see it again. Had to destroy it.

Strictly controlling her breathing, she pushed open the door from a distance with her magic and peered into the darkness from outside. Seeing nothing, she stepped inside and immediately she was bathed in an eerie green glow. A quick glance told her that the wall surrounding the door had been coated with the substance from earlier and was reacting to her presence. She winced as she heard hoofsteps approaching from further within, and soon the form of Zecora came into view, her own face aglow with the liquid that had been painted on in some sort of tribal markings.

“I knew it was not a joking thing, you truly are a changeling.” She pronounced solemnly.

Zecora stood there, seemingly at ease despite the accusation she had just made, a stark contrast with how tense Chrysalis was. Her first instinct was to attack the zebra, to wipe her memories of what she had seen and do what she had come to do, or perhaps something more permanent. Something, however, seemed to hold her back. The recent events surrounding her interactions with Gilda and Trixie flashed before her eyes. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. This was different. Nothing could link what happened here with her, yet she still didn’t act.

“I didn’t come here to hurt you.” Chrysalis stated evenly.

“I feel very little surprise, and suspect you came for a different prize.” Zecora stepped aside and pointed to a table where sat several jars, barely visible in the glow of the liquid that was actually close enough to react to Chrysalis’ presence.

“I need to destroy those. They have the potential to completely ruin my people. We could be hunted into extinction if that stuff becomes common knowledge.” Chrysalis didn’t mention that it already nearly had in her own time line. She had never known where the ointment that reacted to the presence of changelings by glowing had come from. She had never dreamed that she would have the chance to avert that particular disaster at its source by becoming Twilight.

Zecora stepped aside, leaving a clear path for Chrysalis to take to the jars. Chrysalis eagerly smashed them from a distance, setting the liquid within ablaze with her magic until she was sure that their contents were all gone. Zecora chuckled humourlessly.

“Do with my supplies as you will, as long as I live I can produce more still.”

Chrysalis eyed Zecora warily. Why would she admit such a thing? Why would she goad her like that? Did she want to die? Zecora stared at her, her face a mask of neutrality.

“The inevitable will only meet delay, if killing me is your path today.”

Chrysalis swallowed. Perhaps the zebra was right, perhaps killing her would only delay the ointment from becoming public knowledge. She couldn’t do nothing, though. She considered killing Zecora once more. A delay was better than nothing. She could think of several ways to do it, too. As thoughts of murder filled her head, they were interrupted by a memory of Apple Bloom looking up at Zecora earlier that day.

“Apple Bloom…really admires you.” She stated quietly. Zecora did not react. With that thought, Chrysalis made up her mind.

“What do I need to do for you to get you to not spread this stuff around?” She asked seriously. She was prepared for whatever she asked. Pretend to be a long lost loved one, help her integrate with the ponies of Ponyville, or even be a guinea pig for her alchemical experiments if need be. No matter what she asked, she would at least give it serious consideration.

For the first time since Chrysalis had arrived. Zecora smiled.

“It is not what you can do for me, but instead what you do not, you see.”

Chrysalis blinked in confusion. “What? Stop speaking in riddles!”

Zecora smirked. “Those ponies proclaimed you as a friend, that you seek not a malicious end, but such a thing is easily said when changelings have put lies in a head. What is it that you do here, with those in Ponyville who find you dear?"

Chrysalis stared. "You want to know why I'm in Ponyville?" Zecora nodded. Chrysalis thought carefully of her next words, of how much she was willing to tell the zebra. "I'm here to fix a mistake that a pony made."

"And will the fixing of this mistake, result in your friends' heartache?"

"Believe it or not, what I do may save their lives." Chrysalis answered vaguely, uncertain if even she believed that at this point. Time Keeper's lack of competence gave considerable cause to doubt his claim that the universe would destroy itself if she didn't help.

"So you have no intentions to cause them pain, you will leave them healthy, happy and quite sane?"

"I don't know about the sane part, they seem pretty crazy already, but I have no intentions of causing them more pain than necessary." What she deemed necessary, Chrysalis did not say.

"Then prove it true that you mean no harm, and from me you need not feel alarm.”

“So…I just need to be a good little changeling and you'll keep the formula from those who might harm us?”

“Do nothing to give me cause and mass production’s forever on pause.”

“What of my friends?” Chrysalis pressed. “Will you tell them of my secret? That I’m a changeling?”

“I suspect you fear I may say yes, but frankly it’s none of my business.” Chrysalis nearly cringed at her mispronunciation of that last word just to make it rhyme better with ‘yes’. Still this was far better than she could have hoped for, and she didn’t even have to use violence, lies or manipulation to get what she wanted. It was…a rather unusual feeling.

“Thank you…Zecora.” Chrysalis said, the words feeling almost as odd in her mouth as had the sensation of using such a different method to resolve her conflict.

“You are welcome, my dear, now would you please get out of here? Since it seems that I shall not soon be dead, I would much like to rest my weary head.”

“Oh, right.” Chrysalis awkwardly ushered herself out of Zecora’s home at her urging. It was awfully late, and she too was getting tired.

As Chrysalis walked through the Everfee Forest, she began to think that perhaps she could use her experiences this day to write to Celestia, pretending that she had learned something about friendship. While she tried to avoid tripping over vines, she constructed what she would write in her mind.

To: Princess Celestia

Today I had met somebody new, a zebra. The town had been quite frightened by her and I had felt that it wasn’t worth the trouble to try and convince them that she wasn’t worth fearing. However, circumstances surrounding an unusual plant and a foal running off into the Everfree Forest led to a confrontation with her anyway. I will not bore you with the details of the encounter, but I learned that perhaps it is not always best to stick with the ways in which you are most comfortable. By going out of my comfort zone and actually opening up to her, our situation was resolved amicably and I may have earned a new ally, perhaps even a friend.

From:

Twilight Sparkle

______________________

A letter was placed down upon a table, the one who had held it having just finished reading it. She thought long and hard about what it contained, and what it could possibly mean. It held very unexpected news, to say the least. Queen Chrysalis’ eyes flashed green as they reflected the torchlight of her royal chambers.

There was a changeling in Ponyville that she was unaware of, if her spy in that town was to be believed. A changeling that not only was not one of her own, but had walked brazenly through the town undisguised. Skitter had done his job and asked around for information, learning that the changeling was supposedly Twilight Sparkle cursed by some plant, the same pony that had somehow been involved with the defeat of Nightmare Moon. A defeat by the hooves of what sounded suspiciously like a very powerful changeling.

The Queen resolved to keep a close eye on this Twilight Sparkle.

11 - Swarm of a Different Colour

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“Hey, Twilight! Do you think that the Mechanized Murder series should be filed in the mystery or science fiction section?” Spike called from behind a stack of books on a reading table.

“I dunno. What’s it about?” Chrysalis asked.

“It’s a murder mystery series set in a world where the characters are robot ponies.”

“That hardly sounds like science fiction. Mystery.” Time Keeper voiced as he absently leafed through a book of his own before placing it on a bookshelf.

“Really? Robots that commit murder sounds pretty sci-fi to me.” Spike argued.

Time Keeper stopped what he was doing and blinked a couple of times. “Riiight, robot ponies. Totally not a thing that exists! Uh…ask Twilight.”

“I was already doing that.” Spike grumbled under his breath.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Just put it with the mystery books.”

One week. It had been one week without anything of note happening whatsoever and Chrysalis was bored out of her mind. She was so bored this particular afternoon that she had decided to start reorganizing the library with Spike and Time Keeper in the vain hope that it might keep her mind occupied. It wasn’t helping much.

“Are you sure it was a good idea hiring him?” Spike whispered to Chrysalis. “He asked me how you turn the book on a few days ago.”

Chrysalis gave an aggravated sigh. “I’m sure that he’ll prove himself useful…eventually.”

“If you say so.” Spike gave a half-hearted response, heading off to the mystery section with a stack of that robot murder series in his claws.

Chrysalis reached out for the next book on her own stack, resisting the urge to incinerate it for some semblance of excitement. She didn’t know what librarians were usually paid, but if this mind numbingly boring work was typical, it could never be enough.

A sudden belch coming from her young companion drew her attention away from her menial task. She caught the tail end of magical flames and the sudden appearance of a scroll floating in the air. She dropped her book back onto the stack, her boredom quickly turning to an uneasy apprehension. Only Celestia used that method to speak with Twilight Sparkle, and Chrysalis was not exactly thrilled at the thought of communication with her.

“What’ve you got there, Spike?” Chrysalis asked as Spike unfurled the scroll and began to read aloud.

“Dear Twilight: It has come to my attention that we have not had time to speak in a casual setting since before you had left for Ponyville, something of which I deeply regret. I have discovered that I have a moment of freedom within my schedule tomorrow afternoon and as such have decided that I shall be visiting you for a nice private cup of tea and a chat. I do hope you can forgive me for such short notice. I look forward to seeing you, there is much I wish to discuss.” Spike rolled the parchment up and smiled at Chrysalis. “That’s nice. I’ll have to go see if I can find her favourite tea at the market before she arrives.”

“What?” Chrysalis croaked as she froze in terror.

“Oh, uh,” Spike rubbed the back of his head with a claw as he looked around at the piles of books that had yet to be reshelved, “if you’re okay with that, Twilight.”

“Right…of course, you go do that.” Chrysalis made a shooing motion with a hoof and watched as the jovial little lizard walked out the front door. Her panicked eyes locked onto Time Keeper.

“Are you okay?”

“No, I am not okay!” Chrysalis shouted at him. “Celestia is coming here!”

“Is that really such a problem? She said she’s just coming for tea.”

“She said she had something to discuss with me!”

“And you think she’s going to do what? Throw you in a dungeon for some awkward conversation?”

“Luna said that she suspected me. What if she is coming here to confront me? She wanted to see me in private, right? What if she uses that privacy to strike me down where there are no witnesses!?” Chrysalis' breathing quickened as her mind raced.

“No witnesses? What are you talking about? She’s literally the beloved dictator of all Equestria, if she wanted to arrest you, then no amount of witnesses would matter.”

Chrysalis ignored him. His words were unimportant. Getting her alone, away from any allies that could help defend her, and then striking while she’s vulnerable was just the sort of thing that a pony princess would do. She couldn’t let that happen. She would need a distraction, something to keep her from attacking her. Her eyes settled back on Time Keeper. First things first, though.

“We need to get you out of here.” She declared flatly as she lifted him up unceremoniously with her magic. “Go hide in the forest until she’s gone.”

“Hey, put me down!” He latched onto the arms of the couch next to him, trying desperately to avoid being taken away. After a few seconds and a little more effort from Chrysalis, the couch began to drag along the floor with a screeching noise.

Unnoticed by either of them as they both struggled, the library door opened and Davenport stepped inside.

“Hello, I’m here to find a bo—” He stopped mid word as he saw the scene before him. “Uh…did I come at a bad time?”

“Stop struggling! We can’t have you around when Celestia arrives!”

Davenport tensed up and he silently mouthed ‘Celestia’. He let out a nervous chuckle. “I can see you’re a little busy…I, uh…just remembered I have other things to do.” And with that, he bolted away, slamming the door behind him as he went.

Chrysalis leapt up in terror as she heard the door slam, dropping Time Keeper as she turned around, half expecting Celestia to already be standing right there. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

Time Keeper stood up with an irritated grumble. “She isn’t supposed to be here until tomorrow. Relax, I’ll go into the forest in the morning before she arrives. I’d rather not be here when she is, either.”

“Fine.” Chrysalis grumbled in turn. Back to the original problem, she couldn’t let Celestia have that ‘private chat’ that she wanted. Her worried frown twisted into a small smile. Who else could she possibly go to for a distraction other than Pinkie Pie?

“Finish cleaning up this mess,” Chrysalis ordered as she indicated the various piles of books, “I’m going out.”

Within relatively short order, Chrysalis was in the kitchen of Sugarcube Corner speaking to Pinkie Pie as she ran about with a flurry of baking activity.

“So let me get this straight,” Pinkie paused a moment as she kicked an oven door closed after pulling out a tray of muffins, “the Princess is coming soon and you’re freaking out because she might be disappointed if you don’t show her a good time, and you want my help making it absolutely perfect?”

“Uhh…more or less?” Chrysalis eyed her suspiciously. How did she know that? All she had told her is that she needs Pinkie’s help. Was she spying on her? “How did you—”

“Gummi told me!”

“Who?”

“Gummi!” Pinkie pointed out a tiny alligator just standing on the counter, seemingly oblivious to its surroundings. It gave a yawn and Chrysalis saw it had no teeth. How could a little thing like that tell Pinkie anything?

“Pinkie! How’re those apple cinnamon muffins doing?!” The sound of Mr Cake shouting from the front of the store carried through the hot kitchen.

“Comin’ right up!” Pinkie shouted back enthusiastically and trotted towards the kitchen’s exit with a tray of muffins balanced on her head. “Wait right here, Twilight, I’ll be right back!”

Chrysalis continued to stare at the little lizard on the counter. She stepped towards it and gave it a little nudge with her forehoof, her brow furrowed with continued confusion.

“Are you a changeling?” She asked uncertainly, and immediately felt foolish doing so. This thing couldn’t be a changeling, she’d know about it, right? She should know better than to question Pinkie’s weirdness by now.

“Is he a what?” Pinkie asked innocently as she pronked back into the kitchen, sans the muffins.

“I asked if he was changing? You know, his colours?” Chrysalis hastily lied, earning a giggle from her pink companion.

“Don’t be silly, he’s an alligator, not a chameleon, he can’t change colours!” She froze for a moment and then stared intently at her pet. “Or caaan you?” A few awkward seconds passed and Pinkie went back to her baking with a bounce in her step. “Nope, guess not!”

“So, uhh…Pinkie?”

“Mm?” Pinkie mumbled through through a mouth occupied with carrying a bag of flour from a cupboard.

“Do you think you can help me with Princess Celestia?”

Pinkie set the flour on the counter. “Princess Celestia is coming? I thought it was supposed to be Princess Luna!”

“What? Why would you think that?”

“Because Gummy told me Luna is coming for you in a dream last night, and I thought that since dreams are Luna’s thing, it was probably true.” Pinkie gave a carefree shrug. “I guess it was just a dream after all.”

“Dreams aside, Princess Celestia is visiting me tomorrow afternoon and I would like your help setting up a party for her.”

“Oooooo! That sounds like a lot of fun!” Pinkie nearly squealed with glee at the prospect. “Just let me see if Mr Cake will let me take some time off from the bakery to do it!”

She rushed out of the kitchen, and after a few seconds of awkwardly standing there being stared at by the creepy counter top alligator, Chrysalis followed after her.

“Thanks!” Pinkie Pie was hugging Mr. Cake tightly, clearly having gotten permission to skip out on the rest of her work. Chrysalis found it rather odd that her boss would just give her time off at such short notice, and said so. Mr Cake gave a warm smile and ruffled Pinkie’s mane affectionately.

“Pinkie may be a baker by trade, but she’s a party pony by passion. I couldn’t keep her from doing what she’s destined to do.”

“Aww, thanks!” Pinkie Pie blushed at his words, a decidedly unusual sight from her. “I’ve got so much to do!” She exclaimed before dashing up the stairs to where Chrysalis remembered her bedroom being. Mr Cake chuckled and leaned in to whisper to Chrysalis.

“Besides, where do you think she gets all the baked goods from for her parties? It’s great advertisement for our store. Now just imagine what it’ll be like if we can say that the Princess herself loves our food?”

Chrysalis gave a grunt of acknowledgement. Doing something for self gain, that was something she understood.

Not wanting to leave before she could confirm that Pinkie Pie wouldn’t need her help, nor wanting to interrupt any preparations she was making while in her bedroom, Chrysalis sat down at one of the tables set out for customers to eat their orders at. Her mind raced over thoughts of what might happen the next day, with warring sides telling her to panic or to relax now that she had Pinkie’s help. As she waited, the chime of the door opening rang many times as ponies came and went from the establishment. One time, however, the chime was accompanied by a soft, familiar voice.

“Oh…umm…sorry.” Fluttershy meekly apologized as she stepped out of the way of a stallion that was leaving the store at the same time she was entering. She took a step towards the ordering counter, but stopped when she spotted Chrysalis sitting by herself. Her nervous face brightened considerably and she changed directions to join her friend.

“Hello, Twilight.” She greeted her with a gentle smile and a lack of her usual stuttering and stammering.

“Hey, Fluttershy.” Chrysalis responded, not quite sure whether she was annoyed at her interruption, or happy for the diversion from her thoughts. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m just getting some more food for my hungry little friend here. It’s okay, you can come out now.” Fluttershy urged something from inside her mane to come out of hiding. A little, blue ball of fuzz with wings popped out and stared at the two of them, but before Chrysalis could say anything, two more popped out, one brown and one yellow.

Chrysalis was about to make a snarky remark about Fluttershy’s poor math skills, but stopped herself as she gazed into the eyes of the brown one as it blinked cutely at her. Chrysalis forced her hoof to a stop when she realized that she had raised it as if to touch the creature, but before she could lower the proffered hoof, the thing flittered over and landed on it, nuzzling her as it did so. Chrysalis strangled an ‘aw’ that was rising through her throat. It was so soft!

“Awww, I think he likes you.” Fluttershy observed, not having the same hesitations that Chrysalis suffered from. “Maybe you should take him with you. Though I wonder where he came from. I was sure that there was only one before…”

A thought came unbidden to Chrysalis: she would call this little thing Flitter. With a gentle gesture, she brought her new pet up to her head where it happily hopped off, rubbing up against her horn affectionately.

“Uck! Is that a parasprite?” Pinkie’s usually cheerful voice cut through the air with disgust. Chrysalis’ head turned as a crash came from the same direction and she found a small pile of party supplies on the floor where Pinkie stood.

“No, there’s three of them, see?” Chrysalis indicated to the others that were still by Fluttershy.

“Want one?” Fluttershy added.

“Three?!” Pinkie screeched. “Ugh! No, I don’t want one! Now I have to go find a trombone!”

“Uhh…for the Princess’ party?” Chrysalis asked, confused and completely ignored by Pinkie as she stormed out of the bakery. She had an awful, sneaking suspicion that she may not have been talking about helping out with her princess problem.

Fluttershy gasped. “The Princess is coming here?”

“Yes.” She confirmed, thinking about what she could do if Pinkie wasn’t going to help her. Pinkie had said she was going to help, and Chrysalis knew she was supposed to trust Pinkie Pie more, but what if? She eyed the cute sprites, as Pinkie had called them, and got an idea. “Hey, how about you come over tomorrow and show her these new creatures you found? And maybe some of your other animals, too! I’m sure she’d be delighted.”

“Oh…umm…are you sure?” Fluttershy rubbed one of her legs with a hoof nervously at the prospect.

“Absolutely! It’d be great!” Chrysalis pushed.

“Oh, ummm…” Fluttershy paused to take a deep breath and gave a timid smile. “If that’s what you want, I’ll do it.”

“Perfect!” Chrysalis exclaimed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I need to go see what’s wrong with Pinkie. Be sure to be at the library by noon.”

Not waiting for a response, Chrysalis darted out the door and looked wildly about for Pinkie Pie, but she was nowhere to be seen. It had only been a few seconds since she had left, how could she have moved completely out of sight so quickly? Shrugging off the now irrelevant question, she set to searching Ponyville for the missing party pony.

Hours passed without any sightings of her, at least not by Chrysalis herself. Plenty of ponies mentioned having just seen the mare moments earlier and gave direction to Chrysalis’ otherwise directionless search, but Pinkie always seemed one step ahead of her. Not even Rarity, who had roped a frustrated and incredibly grumpy looking Rainbow Dash into modeling a hilariously frilly dress for her at the Carousel Boutique, could properly direct Chrysalis to her quarry. Though, oddly, Chrysalis had discovered that her one sprite had become three while there, just like what had happened to Fluttershy. Both Rainbow Dash and Rarity had each taken one of the new sprites before she left the boutique in exchange for their promises to both come to the library tomorrow to meet with Princess Celestia.

Mildly frustrated by her inability to find Pinkie Pie, Chrysalis went back home as sunset approached. She pondered idly on why Pinkie could have had such a negative reaction to little Flitter, as well as why they seemed to multiply so quickly. It was probably some kind of pheromone that they exuded that attracted them to each other or something, because surely nothing could possibly be reproducing at such speeds, especially without a mate.

Regardless, it was a minor concern when placed next to the issue of Celestia’s upcoming visit. It could undoubtedly be dealt with later when she could spare more thought to the matter.

“Hey, Twilight!” Spike cheerfully greeted her as she stepped through the door. “I got the tea!”

“Yes…that’s great, Spike.” Chrysalis responded despondently. “Good job.”

“Is something wrong?”

Chrysalis blinked, banishing away her morose thoughts. It was going to be okay. Pinkie was going to help her, and even if she didn’t, she had three others coming too as a backup.

“No, it’s fine. I’m just tired, that’s all. I wanted to get all sorts of preparation done so that tomorrow will be just perfect after all.”

“Relax, Twilight, the Princess loves you, just be yourself and I’m sure she’ll be happy.”

Chrysalis subconsciously looked away from Spike a moment and decided she needed to change the subject. She raked through her mane for Flitter and presented it to him.

“Hey, Spike, meet my new pet: Flitter! Fluttershy gave him to me.”

“Oh my gosh, it’s adorable!” Spike squeaked excitedly at the sight of the cute critter, but swiftly made a very hard one eighty into clearly faked nonchalance. “I mean, it’s alright.”

Chrysalis chuckled at his display and wondered a moment if she had looked just as childish as him when she first saw Flitter. She probably hadn’t fooled anybody with her tough act, either. Not that being tough was an act for her, nope, definitely not.

“But wait, isn’t there already a pony named Flitter in Ponyville?”

Chrysalis shrugged indifferently as she gently stroked Flitter with a hoof. “I’m sure he’ll be fine sharing his name with some random pony.” She tore her gaze away from her new pet. “Have you seen Snowball?”

“He went to bed already. Said he had to get up early.”

With the mention of beds, Chrysalis realized how tired she was and stifled a yawn. Reorganizing a library and then running all around the town took a lot more out of her than she would have expected. Her sedentary lifestyle lately seemed to be having an adverse affect on her stamina and she would need to correct that soon, but not that night.

“Alright, little guy,” Chrysalis addressed the sprite, “let’s see about getting you something to eat and then look into going to bed ourselves.”

“Oh! Can I feed him?” Spike piped up perkily.

“Sure. I don’t know what he eats, though. I hope he’s not a picky eater.”

Spike ran off ahead of Chrysalis into the kitchen. “Maybe he likes gems!” As she stepped in after him, she saw him kneeling on the counter and reaching into a little cookie jar she had bought to store his treats, and moments later he hopped down with a small, green gemstone in his claw.

“Here ya go, Flitter, try this!”

The sprite fluttered around the shiny stone and sniffed it twice before looking to Spike with a vacant expression, blinking.

“I guess he doesn’t eat rocks.” Chrysalis remarked with only a slight bit of mockery. She didn’t even eat and even she knew that eating gemstones was weird. She stepped over to the pantry and swung open its doors, eyes scanning its contents. “Maybe something in here would be better.”

Chrysalis reached up for a tin that she thought contained some old pasta, but accidentally bumped it into a rather precariously positioned large bag that seemed to move in slow motion as she watched it tip over, and then fall directly onto her face, exploding in a big puff of white powder. Chrysalis opened her mouth to cry out with shock, but inhaled a lungful of the stuff and descended into a coughing fit that lasted until long after the cloud had settled and vision had been restored.

“You—” Spike paused as he suppressed a laugh, “—you’re all white! You look like a ghost!”

“I’m glad you’re having fun.” Chrysalis replied acidly. She rubbed her neck in an effort to alleviate the newfound soreness she felt. She groaned. Now she’d have to clean this up. “Hey, Spike, can you get the broom?”

“Sure thing!”

Spike ran out of the kitchen to do as he was bid. Chrysalis’ eyes scanned her surroundings, surveying the damages. The bag's label declared itself to be something called flour. Having no real ideas on how to cook, she wasn’t entirely sure what it was for. She was pretty sure she had seen some at the bakery while Pinkie Pie was working, but she hadn’t exactly been concentrating on what that mare was doing, so its actual use eluded her. She had only bought it to make it seem like she was a normal pony with normal dietary needs.

A sudden flurry of movement from beneath some of the powder on the floor caught her eye, and she watched as Flitter crawled out from under the flour, his usual brown colour a shocking white. Chrysalis smiled. Spike was right, it was kind of funny seeing something else affected like she had been.

“I guess we still need to see about feeding you, too.”

Flitter looked up at the sound of her voice and then moments later stuck out his surprisingly long tongue and cleaned his entire body of the flour. He made a happy little chirp and then, moving almost too fast for Chrysalis to follow, he flew around the kitchen, practically inhaling the powdery substance. She jumped in shock when she felt the little thing do the same to the flour on her body and was about to demand he stop, but stopped herself as he had already finished cleaning her off and had settled itself upon the top of her head and was nuzzling against one of her ears.

Chrysalis stood still. She looked to what had previously been a mess and blinked. She looked up to her new pet, who was making a sound similar to a cat’s purring, and blinked again. A few seconds of quiet contemplation later, she just shrugged. While it had been weird, it was definitely convenient. She wondered if it would eat other foods with as much gusto. It would certainly make disposing of the food she’d been buying to keep up appearances easier. She would definitely be having a bath before bed, however.

Spike hurried back into the kitchen, a broom in one claw and a dustpan in the other. He stopped in his tracks, brow furrowed and jaw dropped as he stared at the now mostly clean kitchen. He poked at the empty broken bag that had once contained the flour with the broom handle. He turned to Chrysalis in search of answers. Chrysalis smirked.

“Good job, Spike.” She patted him on the head with a chuckle and then left him to his bewilderment. “I’m going to have a bath and then head to bed.”

Not long afterwards, she was curled up in her bed with Flitter nestling itself in her mane. She muttered a goodnight to the sprite and quickly drifted off to sleep.

_______________________________

Chrysalis’s sleep was troubled by a sense of foreboding, almost to the point of feeling nauseous. A sudden, distant scream of surprise caused Chrysalis to bolt out of her bed, her horn glowing, ready to destroy any threat to her hive. Immediately she regretted that action as she slammed face first into something big and blue and a shrieking agony tore through her skull. Chrysalis groaned in pain, nearly drowning out a steady stream of unfamiliar expletives from whoever she had just head butted.

Chrysalis turned to the intruder in her room with a scowl, though the heat of her rage was doused immediately by ice when she saw who it was.

“Luna!?” Chrysalis’ voice cracked.

Luna stood next to her bed, looking noticeably larger than she was upon their last meeting, though at best half way to the form that Chrysalis was most accustomed to from the future. She was rubbing a spot on her cheek where a little blood was dripping from a small gash. She took a deep breath.

“Your horn is sharper than it looks.” She observed. “You’re lucky I turned away from you thanks to that scream, or you would have hit mine.”

“What are you doing here?!”

Luna’s gaze turned to the slightly open door where the scream had come from. “I think that perhaps we have more pressing concerns than my presence.”

“Twiliiiiiiiiight!” As if on cue, her door was slammed the rest of the way open as Spike and Time Keeper fought each other to get inside her room. Before either Luna or Chrysalis could demand an explanation, they were followed by a swarming wall of multicoloured fuzz balls. Chrysalis’ eyes widened and her ears wilted right before she was consumed by the onslaught, nearly knocking her over.

“What the—” Chrysalis’ protestations were cut short as one of the creatures flew directly into her mouth, causing her to cough as she spit it out. Moments later, a small, brown fuzz ball was nuzzling against her cheek.

“Flitter?” Chrysalis asked in confusion, finally realizing that all of these creatures were sprites, just like her pet. Flitter chirped happily and kept nuzzling her.

The next thing Chrysalis knew, she heard a groan of frustration and a chain reaction of light scattered throughout the room as one by one, each and every sprite in sight burst into flames. She watched as Flitter, completely unaware of what was happening, burst into a ball of heat and light before falling to the floor as little more than ashes. Chrysalis’ jaw dropped and she stared at the sooty splotch on the floor that had been her pet.

What had once been a chaotic flurry of noise from all of the sprites was now silent outside of a heavy panting coming from Princess Luna as she tried to catch her breath.

“Nasty things.” Luna spouted venomously between gasps for breath, sagging from the exertion of her spell. She straightened her posture and looked to Chrysalis. “That took more out of me than I thought it would, I’m still a long way from my full power. It’s good there weren’t more, I don’t think I could do that again for awhile.” She paused again and looked around at the ash covered room. “I tried to avoid it, but I may have damaged some of the books in your room.”

There was a sudden gasp from Time Keeper. “P...Princess Luna!” He seemed for a moment unsure of what to do, his eyes darting back and forth between her and the exit. Seemingly decided, he spoke again. “I am Snowball, Princess.”

Luna’s tired gaze turned from him to Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “Right. Pleased to meet you…Snowball.”

Chrysalis snapped out of the stupor caused by her sudden loss, realizing there were more important things at stake at the moment.

“He’s some hired help for the library.” Chrysalis explained, hoping she’d buy it. Realizing the potential for another dangerous assumption, she hastily continued. “We’re not a couple. He’s a pathetic loser and I have absolutely no interest in him whatsoever.”

"Hey!"

Luna chuckled. “I have no doubt of that. Somepony like him is clearly beneath those like us.” She looked over him with a smirk, and he sweated bullets as he wilted beneath her gaze. “Go ahead. Leave. I know you want to.”

“Yes, Princess!” Time Keeper gulped and did as he was told, at first moving slowly before breaking into a gallop. She watched him leave, her smirk never leaving her face.

“Now that we are alone,” Luna turned her attention back to Chrysalis with a slight frown, “you haven’t answered my letter.”

“Oh…uh, right.” Chrysalis chuckled nervously. “Uh, you see…we need to be discreet, right? Well, I don’t trust the postal service. What if they see that I’m writing to you and read the letter? Would you want us to be outed because some mailmare got curious?”

Luna tilted her head slightly, though her frown did not lessen. “No. I suppose you are right. We will need a safer way to communicate.”

“Uh, Twilight?”

“Who’s there?” Luna’s eyes widened in surprise and she scanned the room, her horn glowing faintly.

“It’s just Spike, calm down.” Chrysalis explained with an eye roll. “He won’t tell anybody, will you, Spike?”

Spike crawled out from under Chrysalis’ bed. And brushed himself off casually. “Won’t tell anypony what? That you two are friends?”

Chrysalis ignored the question, choosing to change the subject. “What was it you wanted to say?”

“Oh, right!” Spike’s eyes lit up. “Didn’t you say that you got that thing from Fluttershy?”

“Yeah.” Chrysalis frowned at the memory of receiving her now dead pet.

Spike blinked as if he expected more from her. “Aaaand?”

“And what?” Chrysalis' eye twitched as she finally got what Spike was getting at. “Oh no…” She groaned in frustration.

“What? What is it?” Luna asked, irritation at being left out of the revelation evident in her tone.

“I only had one of these last night, and three of my friends had at least one each.”

Luna’s pupils shrank as she contemplated the ramifications of that sentence. “It would seem I picked the wrong time to visit.”

Though Chrysalis believed that any time at all would have been a bad time for Luna to visit her, she simply nodded in agreement.

“Maybe theirs didn’t multiply like yours did?” Spike offered hopefully.

_____________________________

“Or maybe they did.” Spike retracted his prior optimism as he clamped his claws over his ears, trying to block out the high pitched wailing coming from Rarity as she cowered in the middle of her boutique atop a stool. Hundreds of sprites were flying about, knocking things over, carrying things off and just generally being a nuisance.

“Twilight, do something!” Rarity screeched in panic, her usually divinely kept mane a frazzled mess. “Have you seen how they reproduce? They spit out new ones! It’s disgusting! Just get rid of them!”

Chrysalis winced at Rarity’s shrill demands. She wasn’t sure how that was anything worse than the way that ponies reproduced, or changelings for that matter. The rate at which they multiplied, however, was certainly an issue. She turned to Luna.

“Are you sure you can’t incinerate all of these ones too?”

Luna shook her head, her ears plastered against her head to ward against the screaming. “I wish I could, but I doubt it. If I tried, I’d surely faint from the exertion. Even if I succeeded, there’s no way I could do it for any more infestations we find. We need another solution, unless of course you think that you can do it.”

Chrysalis said nothing as she thought. That would be a lot of love she burned to burn these bugs, certainly more than she had at the moment to spare. She could try feeding off of the element bearers again, but she didn’t know where most of them were. Even if that wasn’t a problem, the idea of feeding while Princess Luna was present nearly made her ill with the worry of being discovered. Chrysalis shook her head in turn.

“Same here. I’d probably end up in the hospital all over again if I tried.”

“Maybe we could get Princess Celestia’s help.” Spike suggested. Luna inhaled sharply.

“I…would rather not bother my sister. We have been arguing lately.”

“Less talking, more helping!” Rarity shouted at them.

“Yes, ma’am!” Spike, seemingly galvanized by her interrupting them, rushed into the fray of sprites flicking about, futilely attempting to chase them down.

“Quit your whining, Rarity, we’re trying to think of a way to get rid of them.”

“I’m not whining, I’m—”

Rarity was cut off by the front door slamming open, revealing Pinkie Pie, who dashed into the boutique. Rarity’s face lit up.

“Finally, somepony that might actually help me!” Pinkie Pie marched straight past both Rarity and Spike, who was being dragged around helplessly by one of the sprites he happened to capture in his claws. “Wait, where are you going?” Her brow furrowed with confusion as she disappeared deeper into the home.

Chrysalis shared an aside glance with Luna, who raised an eyebrow. Moments later, Pinkie Pie came rushing back into view with some kind of silver coloured tube held between her lips. Tears began to form in Rarity’s eyes as Pinkie continued ignoring her and went straight for the exit, and then Rarity began wailing just as loudly as before.

“Uh, Pinkie?” Chrysalis prodded as she went by.

“Hi, Twilight, hi, Princess Luna! No time to talk, I’ve got to find a banjo!” Pinkie hollered, with unclear diction due to the tube in her mouth, at them without even slowing down or looking back as she exited the building.

“What in Equestria is that mare doing?” Luna questioned.

“I have no idea,” Chrysalis admitted, “but I think I need to find out.”

“Don’t we have more pressing issues to attend to?” Luna nodded towards Rarity and the sprites that were tearing the place apart.

Chrysalis was sorely tempted to dismiss Pinkie’s antics as Luna was suggesting, but she felt a nagging sensation that doing so would be a bad idea. The last time that she refused to pay attention to Pinkie Pie, things didn’t go very well, and it was Pinkie’s quick and unorthodox thinking that had saved her from the ursa minor. Perhaps this was a similar situation.

“I just have a feeling that Pinkie is doing something more important than it seems. You should help get Rarity out of here and look for another solution to these creatures, just in case I’m wrong.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “That’s quite presumptuous of you to order a princess around.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. She didn’t have time for this nonsense. “Just do it.” She ordered, for a moment seeing the princess as if she were one of her drones to command. After a moment, Luna echoed Spike’s words from earlier.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Chrysalis darted out of the boutique in hopes of catching up to Pinkie while Luna watched her go with a slight smirk. Fortunately, Pinkie was not as quick to disappear as she had been the day prior.

“Pinkie!”

“I told you, I have no time to talk, Twilight!”

“Is what you’re doing about the sprites?”

Pinkie came to an abrupt halt, the silver tube, which Chrysalis now saw to be some kind of wind instrument, falling from Pinkie’s mane and clattering to the ground.

“Sprites!?” She screeched with frustration. “First parasprites and now sprites too!? Ugh! I sure hope the parasprites haven’t eaten all of Applejack’s apples, we’re gonna need them!”

“Wait, parasprites? Are those things back at Rarity’s parasprites?”

“Well, duh! What did you think they were?”

“Sprites?”

Pinkie leaned in uncomfortably close as she looked Chrysalis in the eye. “So there are no sprites?"

“Uh...No?” Chrysalis instinctively backed away from the unusually aggressive mare.

Pinkie let out a sigh of relief. “Good, now I need to get that banjo!”

“Let me help!” Chrysalis shouted as Pinkie dashed away again, picking up the instrument she had just dropped. She stopped and turned back to her.

“Really? Everypony I ask keeps saying they don’t have time to help!” She pulled out a roll of paper hidden within her mane and tore it in two, handing one piece to Chrysalis. “Find the instruments on that list and bring them to Sugarcube Corner!”

Chrysalis looked over the list. An oboe, cymbals, and some bongos. She was pretty sure she knew what cymbals and a bongo were, but she had no clue as to what an oboe was. Assuming that she trusted Pinkie to know what she was doing, and Chrysalis had decided to do so, she had to guess that the parasprites somehow reacted to music. If these were only part of the list of instruments that Pinkie hadn’t already gathered, then it looked like she was putting together an entire band. She hoped that Pinkie wasn’t expecting her to be part of it. While she was a great singer, not as common for a creature that could change their voice at will with a little transformation as you might think, she had never learned to play an instrument.

She looked up from the list to get Pinkie to clarify the matter, but she was already gone. With a shrug, Chrysalis went searching for ponies to ask about finding the instruments on her list.

___________________________________

It was just before noon, two full hours after Chrysalis had begun searching for those instruments. In that time, what had previously been an infestation contained to a few households had clearly escaped confinement and spread throughout the town. Ponies ran around in a panic, trying to hide themselves, their loved ones and their food from the ravenous swarm. The parasprites reminded her of ponies, actually, they were annoying, pastel coloured, balls of fur that always seemed to be eating and were absolutely everywhere she looked. If she could feed from them, then they would effectively be the same.

She darted through Ponyville with her instruments floating behind her, dodging ponies, overturned carts and any exceptionally thick groupings of parasprites as they feasted on scraps of food that had been abandoned by those who fled from them. Chrysalis was about to dodge out of the way of a large, grey stallion when she heard a child’s scream. Her head snapped towards the source of the distressed cry by reflex, causing her to misstep and collide directly into the stallion with a loud crack, followed shortly by the crash of cymbals as they fell to the ground.

“Watch where you’re going!” Chrysalis snarled as she picked herself off the ground only to find that the stallion hadn’t even slowed after barreling into her smaller frame. She grumbled to herself about how he wouldn’t have been able to do that if she were in her normal form, and what she would have done to him if she weren’t trying to keep hidden.

“Heeeelp!”

Chrysalis’ thoughts were stopped in their tracks by the continued cries of the foal. Her eyes locked onto the source, her prior anger forgotten. It was a chubby, little colt hiding beneath a bench with his forehooves held protectively over his head, a colt she recognized as one of the two that had gotten into trouble with the ursa minor, Snips if she remembered correctly. He was being poked and prodded by dozens of parasprites.

Chrysalis groaned. Couldn’t that blasted child stay out of trouble for once? She really hoped that his needing rescue wasn’t going to become a regular thing.

“I’m coming!” She shouted to Snips, lifting the bongos into the air as she charged forward, swinging the instrument at the flying pests. The parasprites bouncing off the bongos created a beat, though less akin to proper music and more like what a toddler might create trying to imitate what they had seen an older, more experienced, musician do. The parasprites in the area who had not been hit seemed to pause whenever that irregular beat sounded, though Chrysalis barely noticed, merely taking the opportunity presented to swat them with her improvised weapon, too. With the larger parts of the swarm around Snips dealt with, she dropped the bongos and brushed the few that remained from his fur with a gentle hoof.

“Come on, Snips, let’s get you somewhere safe.”

“Thanks, Twilight.” He responded with a sniffle. He crawled out from beneath the bench and then reached back under it for a plain, brown bag.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what’s that?” Chrysalis asked as she noticed parasprites beginning to return, going not for the child, but the bag he now held.

“It’s my granny’s cookies.” Snips answered before noticing three parasprites that had attached themselves to his bag. He shook it violently. “Hey, get off! Those are mine!”

Chrysalis tried desperately to hold back a groan. She snatched the bag from the colt with her magic and lobbed it a few dozen meters away. Most of the parasprites followed after it as it sailed through the air.

“Hey!” Snips shouted as he tried to chase after his treat, but Chrysalis held him back. Within moments, the cookie bag was lost from view as it was swarmed.

“Those weren’t after you, they were after your cookies. They’re not worth getting hurt over.”

“But—”

“Your granny wouldn’t want you to get hurt because of her. She can always make more cookies, she can’t make another you.”

Snips bit his lip and held back some tears, but nodded his understanding. Chrysalis suddenly felt a little awkward at overstating the danger of these creatures. She didn’t really think these things were going to kill anybody, except maybe through indirect starvation by eating all their food, but at least it got the point across.

Chrysalis looked around to see if there was anypony around that she could trust to take the foal somewhere safe and was taken aback when she spied a familiar shade of blue through a smokescreen of parasprites standing a fair distance back the way she had come.

“Luna?!” Chrysalis called out to the princess, causing her to jump in surprise at being spotted. “Get over here, I could use your help!”

Luna trotted over with a slight blush. “Sorry, I was just coming to find you when I saw you having a moment with this child, and I didn’t want to interrupt.”

Chrysalis grunted, only half caring about what she was saying. “Lucky you found me, then.”

“Quite.” Luna responded.

“Take the kid, or grab some instruments, I don’t care which. We’re headed to Sugarcube Corner.”

Luna paused a moment as she looked to the foal, then lifted him up and set him upon her back. Snips was wearing a delighted, goofy grin.

“Oh my gosh, I’m riding Princess Luna! Snails is gonna be so jealous!”

Chrysalis fought back a snort of laughter, though not well enough to avoid being noticed by Luna, who rolled her eyes at her immaturity. She took a step forward and appeared to stumble, causing Snips to slip from her back with a cry of surprise.

“Whoa!” Chrysalis threw herself to the ground beneath the falling colt, giving him something soft to land on. She winced as the pudgy thing hit her back, but otherwise showed no visible or vocal indication that the event had hurt her in the slightest. She glared at Luna from her position on the ground.

“Oops, I tripped over my own hooves.”

“Maybe I should take Snips.”

“Aww…” Snips voiced his disappointment, much to Chrysalis’ unwanted irritation. She shouldn’t care that Snips would rather go with Luna, she should be glad that the pest wanted to be with somebody else, and yet it still bothered her. Not that she was going to let either Luna or the ungrateful little brat know that.

“Very well.” Luna leaned down and whispered breathily into her ear. “I find a mare that cares for foals very...appealing.”

Chrysalis shivered at her words, and feared that she may be blushing. The knowledge that such a tame line had no right to instill such a reaction from her did not help alleviate the sensation.

“I don’t like—” Chrysalis began her habitual denial of liking foals, but stopped when remembered that Snips was still present and would probably be hurt by the denial. Princess Luna playfully raised an eyebrow, practically taunting her to finish that sentence. “I don’t think this is the time for that, Luna.”

Luna gave a wistful sigh. “It never is.”

The three of them travelled through Ponyville to Sugarcube Corner mostly uneventfully, if you ignored having to dodge parasprites and the occasional pony that was more freaked out over seeing the former Nightmare Moon than they were of the parasprites. Chrysalis knew how they felt. Even now she had to fight an underlying fear of her. Luna was helping her right now, but she was still a very powerful enemy of her changelings and could effectively blow her cover.

Upon arrival at the bakery, it appeared to be shut up tightly, and any attempt to open the door ended with failure.

“Pinkie? Let us in! We’ve got the instruments!” There was no response.

“Maybe she’s not here?” Snips suggested from her back.

“Maybe.” Chrysalis echoed absently. Not wanting to wait any longer outside amongst the parasprites, she began feeling around blindly on the other side of the door for the lock with her magic. Moments later, there was a click and the door swung open slightly. The three of them stepped inside quickly, but one parasprite made it inside with them despite their efforts to avoid it. Chrysalis inhaled sharply when she noticed and reactively sent a blast of magic at the creature and it burst into flame, much like had happened earlier in the library, just on a much smaller scale.

“I thought you said you couldn’t do that.” Luna stared at her accusingly.

“I just meant that I don’t think I could do that with all of them. I’m not strong enough.”

“Are you sure? You were plenty strong enough to be able to defeat me at my full power, were you not?”

“You beat up Princess Luna!?” Snips gasped as he hopped off of Chrysalis’ back.

“No, it was Nightmare Moon.” Chrysalis corrected him almost automatically.

“At least you’re willing to admit it was you now.” Luna grinned smugly. “It’s progress.”

Chrysalis winced. Sure, Luna had already as good as known that she was responsible for that, but she would still rather not have done that. She really needed to be more careful, who knew what else Luna might be able to drag out of her with her prodding.

“I just meant I fought Nightmare Moon,” Chryalis explained to Snips, “I didn’t actually beat her up, she was way too strong.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense.”

“Right, of course it was that tall, dark and mysterious mare that beat up Nightmare Moon.” Luna played along, looking directly into Chrysalis’ eyes. “I would love to meet her one day. I think we would have a wonderful time together.”

Chrysalis averted her eyes and cleared her throat. “Where is Pinkie Pie?” She asked nobody in particular.

“You seem to have much faith in your friend.” Luna observed. “Do you really think she and these instruments can save the day?”

“When you’re in a tough spot, you need allies. As weird as she may be, Pinkie has proven she is reliable and worthy of my trust.” Chrysalis explained, carefully avoiding calling her a friend. “She is worthy of being my ally.”

Luna nodded slowly. “Yes, I see. Well then, I hope you can one day see me as being just as worthy of being your ‘ally’.”

Feeling decidedly uncomfortable with the subject matter, Chrysalis began pacing in the poorly lit room.

“Where is that Pinkie Pie?!” She growled. She had half expected the mare to show up after being mentioned, but alas, she seemed to miss her cue.

Chryalis continued pacing for several minutes, impatiently waiting as the other two watched her. She felt like prey being eyed up by a hungry predator and her young. It was a tremendous relief when she finally heard the click of the door opening.

“Oh hey, it’s not locked!” Chrysalis heard Pinkie’s voice and watched as its owner stepped inside. “Hi, Twilight, Luna and Snips! Do you have the instruments?”

“Yes.” Chrysalis nodded towards the pile that Luna had set on the floor between dining tables.

“Great! I brought mine too!” Pinkie Pie reached into her mane and several instruments poured out onto the floor.

“How does she—” Luna began only to be interrupted.

“Don’t ask.” Chrysalis and Snips said in unison, earning a surprised blink from the princess. Chrysalis had definitely spent enough time around Pinkie to know not to question her oddities now.

“Sorry I’m late, I would have been here earlier, but I was trying to get the others to help me find more instruments, but they were too busy trying to herd the parasprites away to bother listening to me. Like that would ever work.”

“Did you tell them why you needed the instruments?”

“Why would I do that? Isn’t it obvious?"

“No.” Luna answered for Chrysalis as she stared at the pile.

“But…wait…really?” Pinkie’s face went through various stages of thought and confusion. “Doesn’t everypony know you can lead parasprites away with music?”

“We didn’t even know what they were, remember Pinkie? I called them sprites.” Chrysalis pointed out.

Pinkie stared blankly as the gears continued cranking in her head. “Oooh…that would explain a lot.” She bounced out of her moment of thought. “Oh well, no point worrying now. Just give me a second to check on the Cakes and then I’ll be riiiight back to get rid of those parasprites!”

Pinkie seemingly disappeared before Chrysalis’ eyes and the sound of hooves clambering on stairs notified them of where she had gone.

“She seems…unique.” Luna observed.

“She’s exhausting.” Chrysalis responded with a tired sigh. She looked over the instruments. “I can’t play any of these, can you?”

Luna shook her head. “I learned as a foal how to play many instruments, but I’ve had over a thousand years to forget.” She gave a bitter smile. “Not many instruments on the moon, I’m afraid.”

“I can play a triangle!” Snips butted in. A triangle was not on the pile.

“Well, that’s one down, a dozen more to go.” Chrysalis ruffled Snips’ mane with a hoof. As she was doing that, Pinkie bounded back down the stairs.

“Hey, Pinkie, who’s going to play all of these? We’re not exactly musicians here.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered!” Pinkie assured them.

"Are the Cakes going to play some?"

"Nope, just me!"

“You know how to play all of them?” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow.

“Yuppers!”

“Okay, which are you going to play first?”

“First?”

“Yeah, first. Not like you can play them all at once.”

“Wanna bet?” Pinkie’s eyes had a mischievous glisten to them. Chrysalis opened her mouth to say she did, but swiftly thought better of it.

“No.” She admitted. She had no idea how, but if Pinkie Pie said she could play all of them at once, then she believed her.

____________________________

“I can’t believe this!” Luna gawked in astonishment, eyes glued to Pinkie as she somehow not only carried enough instruments to potentially crush Big Macintosh, but actually managed to play them all at the same time. Almost as unbelievable was the sight of any and all parasprites that Pinkie ran within earshot of falling in line behind her and bobbing up and down to the beat through the air, as if they were part of one huge, freakish conga line.

“Yeah, it sure is impressive.” Applejack replied. They had run into her and the other remaining element bearers as they were futilely trying to deal with the swarm without them. “Wish she’d have let me know, ah coulda brought out my ma's old guitar.”

“How is this even possible?” Luna continued, ignoring AJ. “She isn’t even a unicorn, everything should just fall to the ground!”

“Yes.” Chrysalis agreed succinctly.

“You really shouldn’t question Pinkie, Princess. She just…does things.” Rainbow Dash added.

“I think I’m beginning to understand that.” Luna said with an annoyed frown.

Over the relatively short span of a single hour, Pinkie Pie managed to get rid of every last parasprite in Ponyville, or at least every one they could find. If she had somehow missed some, then she still had her one pony band to deal with the situation. If Pinkie was unavailable for some reason, then undoubtedly there were other musically apt ponies they could turn to.

Chrysalis, Luna and the element bearers watched the entire procession of parasprites to completion. The bewilderment they had first felt at seeing the latest in Pinkie’s antics had worn off surprisingly quickly, something which Chrysalis felt she should probably be concerned about, but was not.

Left in bewilderment’s place was a mixture of irritation, relief and exhaustion. She should definitely feed soon. Hopefully Luna wouldn’t be there much longer, because she still didn’t want to feed while she was around. Her stomach still churned from the memories of when she had fed on Nightmare Moon, so feeding from Luna and wiping her memories again didn’t exactly appeal, either.

Perhaps the oddest feeling she had while watching the march of the parasprites was one of sadness. They had been an incredible pain, if not quite as dangerous as many had treated them as, but she still felt some misplaced affection for the one that had been her pet for a short while, her little Flitter. For a moment, just one short moment, Chrysalis entertained the thought of swiping one of them and taking it back with her. Naturally, she didn’t. Even if she could do so without being caught, it would be sheer lunacy to risk another massive infestation just to alleviate some of her loneliness. She grimaced as she realized what she had just thought to herself. Lonely? Her? Being cut off from her subjects for so long was making her soft.

“You look down.” Luna observed. She had followed right next to Chrysalis the entire time. Chrysalis sighed.

“I’m just tired. It’s been a long couple of days.” Chrysalis finally turned away from the element bearers as they showered Pinkie with praise for saving the day. “I’m going home.”

“Yes, perhaps that is for the best.” Luna nodded with a yawn as she followed. “I am quite spent myself. At least it is over and you’ll have time to rest.”

“Hmm? What’s that?” Chrysalis paused to look back when she heard Rarity say something clearly unrelated to the saccharine words she had been piling on Pinkie. “Isn’t that Princess Celestia’s chariot up there?”

Chrysalis’ breath caught in her throat at those words. Her weariness disappeared in an instant as fear induced adrenaline kicked in. Her eyes locked onto the golden chariot streaking through the Ponyville skies.

She had completely forgotten about Celestia.

12 - Double, Double, Tea and Trouble

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Chrysalis stifled a scream that fought desperately to escape from her throat, though it still came out as an aggravated gurgle. Celestia was moments away and she was completely unprepared to deal with her!

“What with all the commotion, I had completely forgotten that Twilight had said she was coming today.” Rarity stated without a hint of concern.

“Oh my gosh! I forgot too!" Pinkie shouted before rushing over to Chrysalis and dragging her into an apologetic hug. “I am so sorry, Twilight! I haven’t done anything for her party!”

“That’s okay, Pinkie.” Chrysalis really didn’t feel okay, though the trickle of love the hug was giving her was helping a little. She looked over to some of the other element bearers. “I have a backup plan, right girls?” She asked them, sounding a little more desperate than she intended.

“Of course, darling, I would never go back on my word to help out a friend, and Rainbow wouldn’t either, would she?” Rarity lightly kicked a far less enthusiastic Rainbow Dash at her side.

“Ow! Uh, yeah, I totally wouldn’t bail on you. How about you, Flutters?”

“Eep!” Fluttershy flinched at being singled out. “Oh, um...Maybe it would be best if I d...didn’t. I mean, what if I do something wrong?”

“Pfft!” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Don’t be such a scaredy cat! What’s she gonna do? Banish you to the moon?”

“You...you think she’d do that?” Fluttershy squeaked as tears formed in her eyes.

“No, she wouldn’t.” Chrysalis answered, and then continued under her breath. “At least not until after she kills me first.”

“What was that?” Applejack asked.

“Nothing.” Chrysalis lied as she removed herself from Pinkie’s embrace. “How about you, Luna? You willing to help me out with—” Chrysalis froze when she saw the death glare that the lunar princess was levelling at her.

“Why did you not tell me that my sister was coming?” Luna was fuming. “I told you that I would rather not see her right now, did I not?”

“Look, I forgot, okay? It’s been a little crazy around here, so I think it’s understandable that my mind was occupied with other things.” Chrysalis sighed in irritation. “Are you gonna help me distract her or not?”

Luna responded with a dour frown. “I fear that I do not have much choice. I doubt she’d let me leave without scolding me again.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Chrysalis put on a sympathetic face, but inside she was giddy over the turn of events. If the sisters were fighting, then that would be the perfect distraction!

“So, uh...ya gonna ask me, too, or am I not refined enough to spend time with a princess?” Applejack groused, clearly annoyed at being the only member of the group to not have been asked.

“If you want.” Chrysalis replied with a dismissive wave of a hoof, earning a slight eye twitch from the apple farmer.

Celestia, and those carting her through the sky, had evidently spotted the group down by the outskirts of Ponyville. They began their descent to a small clearing that was close by.

“Okay, Fluttershy, you should go and fetch your animals and bring them to Sugarcube Corner. If things go right, that’s where we’ll be.” Chrysalis pushed Fluttershy along, urging her to get a move on. “Don’t forget, I’m counting on you.”

“Oh, uh...okay. I...I’ll see you later then.” Fluttershy began walking on her own.

“Faster!” Chrysalis nearly screamed at her.

“Eep!” Fluttershy flinched at Chrysalis’ raised voice and broke into a gallop.

“That’s better, keep it up!” Chrysalis called after her and then sighed. That mare was much too slow if you didn’t push her. She then turned back around only to nearly step right into Princess Celestia’s chest, the owner of which was looking down at her with a disappointed frown. Chrysalis thought for a moment that she detected a hint of sadness in there too, but it was quickly hidden.

“Hello, Twilight.”

“Princess Celestia!” Chrysalis gasped as she nearly fell over her own hooves trying to back away from her long time enemy.

“That’s not a very nice way to treat your friends.”

“Oh...uh...” Chrysalis chuckled nervously, trying to stall for a few precious seconds as she tried to think of something to say. “Right, it’s, uh...not as bad as you make it seem.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “I had hoped your studies into friendship had been going well, but instead I find you pushing your friend around and yelling at her.”

“That is not fair, sister.” Luna interrupted on Chrysalis’ behalf, and she silently thanked her for it. “You see, there was an infestation of some foul creatures and it has set her plans for your visit back, not to mention caused everypony to be more than a little irritable.”

Celestia’s eyes flicked towards the gash on Luna’s cheek, the one that Chrysalis had accidentally inflicted upon her, and concern broke through her disappointed visage.

“Foul creatures? What manner of foul creatures? Are my little ponies okay?”

“They’re fine.” Chrysalis’ voice cracked. She coughed to clear her throat and repeated herself in a more level tone. “They’re fine, we’ve dealt with it. They didn’t actually hurt anypony, though Ponyville might be a little low on food for awhile.”

“If they didn’t hurt anypony, what happened to your cheek, sister?”

“Hm? Oh, this, I had nearly forgotten. Your student did this to me, purely by accident.”

“Did she now?” Celestia glanced over to Chrysalis, but only for a moment. “And what, might I ask, are you doing in Ponyville? You’re supposed to be in the castle meeting with nobles.”

“Oh, please, sister, I have had quite enough of the nobles. It’s always the same thing. ‘Are you really no longer Nightmare Moon? Are you sure you won’t try to usurp your sister? You’re not going to eat our foals like in those Nightmare Night tales, are you?’” Luna’s face contorted with disgust. “Really, I can’t believe you let such rumours of me spread in my absence, Tia! Eating foals? Do you really hate me so much?”

Celestia took a deep breath. “We can speak of this later, Luna. I haven’t come here to argue with you, I wanted to spend some time chatting with Twilight.”

“That is precisely why I am here, dear sister.” Luna countered.

“I’d prefer to spend time with her in private.” Celestia answered through gritted teeth.

“Uh...should we really be here for this?” Rainbow Dash whispered uncertainly only to be shushed by Rarity.

“Well, you’re not going to.” Luna raised her nose in defiance. “I was here first, and intend on spending time with her as well.”

Chrysalis felt awkward standing there in the ensuing silence. She had initially felt delighted by the thought of Luna being around to distract Celestia from herself, but now she was beginning to worry that they would break out into a brawl over her. As convenient as it would be for them to kill each other, removing two sources of consternation, she felt that it seemed very likely she would get caught in the crossfire.

“So! Uh...how about a friendship report?” Chrysalis suggested. Celestia blinked as she seemed to remember just where she was. She turned her attention from her sister to Chrysalis.

“Oh? Have you learned something you wish to tell me about?” Her voice sounded almost hopeful, though tinted with that sadness that she had seen earlier, she was sure of it this time.

Chrysalis immediately regretted her choice. She should have said something that sent the attention to someone other than herself, such as asking Pinkie about the party she had planned.

“Well, not exactly,” Chrysalis began hesitantly, “it’s less learning something new and more applying a previous lesson.”

“Go on.”

“As I was saying, the lesson I applied was trusting my friends and listening to them. You see, those creatures Luna mentioned were something called parasprites. Pinkie Pie was trying to gather instruments together from the moment she saw them. Instead of ignoring her because of how seemingly random her actions were, I trusted in her and helped in her search. She used the instruments we gathered to lead the parasprites out of town and into the forest.”

Pinkie Pie bounded forth. “And I learned something too! I learned that communication is important, you shouldn’t assume that everypony knows something just because it seems obvious to you.”

Pinkie Pie threw a hoof around Chrysalis and drew her into another hug. Chrysalis enjoyed another stealthy snack of much needed love as she threw a lone hoof around her in return, though far less enthusiastically as her partner had done. Celestia for her part stared at the two of them for a moment as if deep in thought before addressing the others.

“Is this true?”

“Sure is.” Applejack answered. “At least, I hope the part ‘bout Pinkie realizing she needs to communicate better is.”

“That is...good news.” Celestia’s pause was barely noticeable, but it didn’t get by Chrysalis. She was probably disappointed that Chrysalis was making progress in the stupid friendship lessons that she had assigned, making it harder for her to justify having her done away with. “Perhaps a less private session allowing for your friends to come along would be okay.”

“Wonderful!” Pinkie exclaimed cheerily. “I’ve got a cake with everypony’s names on it, or at least I will once I make it!”

Luna gave a victorious smirk to her sister before turning to follow Pinkie. “I am looking forward to it.”

Chrysalis attempted to go along with the others, but felt a gentle bit of magic on her shoulder holding her back, not enough to prevent her from moving if she so desired, but enough to catch her attention and rouse her curiosity. She stopped and looked back to see Celestia’s horn aglow as she came up next to her. Once the others were several steps ahead, Celestia leaned down and whispered in her ear so that no others could hear.

“You should stay away from my sister.” Celestia gave a serious look to Chrysalis before she too trailed after the others, removing the magic holding her in place.

The urge to snap and let her know what she thought of being threatened bubbled up inside Chrysalis. Luna had warned her that Celestia didn’t trust her, so she really should have expected something like this at the very least. Even if the princess had been arguing with Luna, it was no surprise that she would want to protect her from the big bad impostor.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. Luna was her own mare, and near as ancient as her overbearing sister. She was perfectly capable of making her own decisions in regards to who she shared her time with, even if Chrysalis often wished that Luna would choose not to share it with her. Still, she had been useful that day, so there was at least that. She may be a creepy, jealous, unstable stalker with blackmail material, but at least she was a creepy, jealous, unstable stalker with blackmail material that tries to help her out.

As she followed after the group, she started feeling optimistic about the situation. While she certainly had not enjoyed being threatened, it did have a positive to it. If Celestia was going to kill her, or dispose of her in some other fashion, she would have no need to try threatening her to leave her sister alone. Whether she had overreacted or the princess had merely changed her mind, it would seem that Chrysalis was likely going to get out of this encounter with her hide intact. Not that she was completely out of the woods yet, though. If Celestia had changed her mind, she could certainly change it again.

Chrysalis had half expected Sugarcube Corner to be the same dark, quiet, seemingly dead place it had been when she had visited it earlier that day, but it was actually bright, warm and cheery. It seemed that after she had left with Pinkie to get rid of the parasprites that Mr and Mrs Cake had started up the kitchen and begun baking. The scent of fresh baked pastries, vanilla, cinnamon and any other number of typically pleasant aromas wafted through the air and started to give Chrysalis a headache. She hoped she wouldn’t have to eat anything during this visit, though a mild sense of weakness reminded her that she definitely needed to feed. She would have to keep an eye out for an opportunity to do so, Luna and Celestia’s presences be damned.

Some of the tables were pushed together to make room for the party guests, as Pinkie Pie referred to them all before hopping off into the kitchen, and everyone took a seat. Chrysalis took a seat next to Rarity and then Celestia sat on her other side, earning a short, but very noticeable, glare from Luna who sat begrudgingly next to her sister who ignored her pouting. Mrs Cake came in from the kitchen with a platter filled with baked goods, providing a welcome distraction from the tension between the princesses.

“I’m sorry to say that these aren’t very fresh.” She apologized with a bow as she placed them on the table’s center. “They’re what were left over from yesterday. Normally we would have something fresh available, but with—”

“That is quite all right.” Celestia waved off her concerns with a chuckle. “I am not so fussy as to turn down day old cupcakes.” To make her point, she levitated a yellow frosted cupcake and bit into it.

“I can wait for something fresh.” Luna stated, almost as if she refused to agree with her sister out of spite.

“O...of course, Princess. We’ll get some out as soon as possible.”

Celestia gave a disapproving frown to her sister for a moment before addressing Chrysalis. “Speaking of recent events, perhaps you could tell me in greater detail about the problems you have had of late, Twilight?”

“Problems? What problems? I’ve been hunky dory, Princess!” Chrysalis immediately denied as her nerves got the better of her. Within a moment, she realized the princess was likely not trying to imply something nefarious. “Oh, wait, you meant today with the parasprites.”

Chrysalis reported on the events leading up to the parasprite invasion and of the invasion itself. Her story, however, was rather military in approach. It was direct, to the point and left out all the unnecessary tidbits of information such as how nervous she had been about Celestia’s visit, Luna’s creepy arrival in the middle of the night, and just how attached she felt to her new pet. Her entire story had taken perhaps two minutes to tell in its entirety and, though it may have been her imagination, seemed to leave Celestia almost disappointed. Then again, with how often her face wore that expression, Chrysalis was beginning to wonder if that was just her usual demeanour.

“Psh! You call that a story, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “I could do better than that while gagged!”

Chrysalis had a momentary thought of wishing she could gag the boastful mare, but quickly remembered that her attention seeking personality was precisely why she had been invited here to begin with. Without the slightest prodding, Dash burst into her own retelling of events, with far more enthusiasm, detail and, Chrysalis did not doubt, embellishment to make herself look better. Good old, glory hog Dash, that overinflated ego of hers was proving to be a wonderful distraction. Her attempts to re-enact various aerial manoeuvres she had supposedly performed during the day only helped to eat up more time, especially whenever everybody had to help her recover from crashing due to flying indoors.

There was, however, one point that Chrysalis frowned at. Specifically, Dash did not gloss over how Chrysalis had fawned over Flitter and adopted him as her pet. Celestia’s lips curled with an amused smile as she leaned down to whisper in her student’s ear.

“You didn’t strike me as the type to grow attached to a pet, especially not for being cute.”

Chrysalis groaned lightly as Dash continued her story, undeterred and quite likely even unaware of having lost some of her audience.

“Look, it was a bad decision on my part caused by a moment of weakness. It won’t happen again.”

It was at this moment that Luna got up from the table with a troubled frown. “Excuse me, I need some fresh air.” And with that, she walked outside. Rainbow was still too wrapped up in her own story to let the literal departure of one of her audience to stop.

“I wonder what her problem is.”

“Perhaps the stress of the day has her feeling ill.” Chrysalis offered, happy to have the distraction from her short lived pet.

“Perhaps.” Celestia replied as she stared at the door where Luna had exited, her eyes narrowed and a slight frown on her face, presumably out of annoyance over her sister’s rudeness. She shook her head and gave her attention once more to Chrysalis. “Regardless, it’s not weakness to want some companionship, Twilight. There are many pets out there that are far less troublesome than these parasprites. Even I have one that is, at least usually, less troublesome.” She said that last bit with a slight twinkle in her eye.

Chrysalis felt like the princess was testing her, trying to find out if she would know something Twilight should know. She internally smiled. Celestia didn’t realize that this impostor had spent enough time infiltrating her castle to know the answer.

“You mean your pet phoenix, right? Philomena, wasn’t it?”

Celestia paused for another barely noticeable moment before responding. “Yes, of course I mean Philomena.”

Before Chrysalis could think much on what that pause could have meant, both of them were surprised by Rainbow Dash slamming the table with her forehooves to emphasize some part of the story that the two had missed, knocking over a few cups with a small clatter. Celestia gave an embarrassed chuckle and returned her attention to the one who sought it so badly.

A few minutes later, Rainbow Dash finished her story, and Chrysalis wasn’t sure whether to be glad her boastful blathering had ended, or sad that the convenient distraction was over. Dash sat back down in the seat she had vacated earlier and leaned back with a self satisfied grin, seemingly waiting for the praise to be piled onto her. Celestia obliged her with a polite compliment, and the table soon descended into general small talk.

“With all that has happened, you must be starving.” Celestia said to Chrysalis, who fought the urge to stiffen.

“Nah, I’m okay.”

“Really? Ya haven’t eaten a thing since we got here.” Applejack pointed out, much to Chrysalis’ dismay.

“I’m, uh, on a diet.” Chrysalis offered lamely.

“On a diet?” Rarity interjected. “Twilight, dear, you are quite beautiful the way you are. Well, perhaps somewhat lacking in fashion sense and grooming etiquette, but you are of a perfectly healthy weight."

Chrysalis suddenly felt uncomfortably conscious of her own appearance, not quite sure she trusted Rarity’s opinion. While she was perhaps significantly heavier in her natural form, that was purely due to being around twice Twilight’s height. She was actually much slimmer than the purple unicorn. Chrysalis internally chastised herself. This entire line of thought was stupid. Why should she care what Rarity thought of her appearance, or any other pony for that matter, especially when it was merely a disguise?

“After a day like yours, I think you’ve earned a little splurging.” Celestia levitated the last piece of food from the tray to her, a donut. “I insist you eat something, Twilight.”

“As you wish, Princess.”

Chrysalis sagged as she accepted the donut into her own magical aura. As much as she wished otherwise, she wasn’t going to get out of this. For the sake of her disguise, she shoved the entire donut into her mouth in one bite. She fought the urge to gag as she chewed, trying desperately to keep the disgust off her face. The looks of concern the others gave her as she swallowed implied that she had failed. She gave a weak laugh.

“That one may have been a little older than one day.” She offered weakly as an explanation and stood up from the table. “I think I’ll go check on Pinkie, maybe I can get something a little fresher.”

Without waiting for a response, she trotted off into the kitchen. She stopped for only a moment to locate what she was truly after before darting right past both of the Cakes and Pinkie.

“Oh, hey Twilight! The food’s almost ready!” Pinkie greeted her excitedly.

“That’s great, Pinkie!” Chrysalis forced out as she made straight for the bakery’s back exit. As the door closed behind her, she spied a small dumpster to her left. She went over to it, threw open the lid and placed her head over the opening. She was assaulted by a sickly scent of sugar, spices, and reeking garbage. Even if she hadn’t already been about to, that smell alone would have resulted in what happened next. She vomited.

As she was slamming the lid back into place and wiping her mouth with a forehoof, she heard the sound of the door opening behind her. She looked over her should to see that a concerned Pinkie Pie had followed her.

“Are you okay, Twilight?

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Chrysalis was anything but fine. She was stressed and nearly spent from the exertion of the day, her body was protesting her intake of something inedible to changelings, and she really needed a boost of love to recover.

“Are you sure? You don’t look fine.”

Chrysalis looked around and saw that it was only the two of them in that alleyway. The others inside were awfully close, but the closed door and sounds of the kitchen should block out any noises she made. She knew it was a bad idea, but she really needed her fix.

“No, you’re right. I don’t feel so good.” Chrysalis admitted, and then pretended to stumble. It had the desired effect, Pinkie rushed up to her and used her body to support her so she wouldn’t fall. A little bit of love flowed into Chrysalis from the gesture, but not nearly enough.

Chrysalis’ horn glowed a sickly green as she began casting her spell. She stared intensely into Pinkie’s eyes as they, and her own, swirled with the same green energy as her horn. Pinkie fell to her knees in a trance as Chrysalis’ tendrils of magic dug into the mare and then dragged out the love locked away inside. The changeling queen’s eyelids flickered as the pleasure of feeding filled her with much needed energy.

As the moments passed, Pinkie began to sag from the draining. With regret, Chrysalis cut off the spell. She had already taken more than she should have, any more and Pinkie might be rendered unconscious. She hastily cast the spell to wipe her memory of everything she had seen since she had first asked her if she was okay. She placed Pinkie by the door again and then waited a moment for her to come out of her trance.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She repeated. She was far more stable than the first time she had said it, so she had little doubt that she’d be believed this time.

“Are you sure?” Pinkie paused and blinked blearily. “Huh, I guess you look okay. I thought you looked sick when you went through the kitchen. I coulda sworn you were facing the other—” Pinkie’s words trailed off as she yawned heavily. She shook her head in an effort to rid herself of her weariness.

Chrysalis smiled at her concern. “I was feeling a little woozy, but the fresh air has made me feel better.”

“Okie dokie!” Pinkie cheerfully exclaimed, hopping in place as she so often did. Upon landing, her legs seemed to give out on her and she fell to the ground with a thud. Chrysalis rushed forth and helped her back to her hooves, a concerned frown plastered on her face.

“Are you okay, Pinkie?”

“Owie...I suddenly feel really, really tired, and my legs are like jelly...”

Chrysalis’ frown deepened. She knew she had fed more deeply than she had intended, but she hadn’t thought she’d fed enough to cause Pinkie to collapse.

“Maybe you’re just tired from the parasprites. How much sleep did you get last night?”

“A couple hours.” Pinkie answered, earning a raised eyebrow from Chrysalis.

“Seriously? No wonder you’re falling over! Why did you get so little?”

“I was looking for instruments.”

“You should really take a nap.” Chrysalis urged her ally. She was thoroughly impressed by Pinkie’s stamina. Most ponies who had spent the majority of the last day literally running around town, getting only two hours of sleep, carrying an entire band’s worth of instruments while playing them and marching all through town for several hours, and then preparing for a party would be barely functioning for half of those activities. Add onto it being fed on by a very hungry changeling and it was a miracle she was still conscious.

“No,” Pinkie yawned again, “I still have to make sure the Princesses have a good time.”

“You’ve done more than enough, Pinkie. You need to rest.” Chrysalis horn glowed once again, and a faint aura of green surrounded Pinkie’s head.

“Twi...light?” Pinkie mumbled as she fought a losing battle to keep her increasingly heavy eyelids open. Within seconds, she was asleep and being lowered gently to the ground by Chrysalis’ magic. Unless somebody purposely roused her, she’d be asleep for at least a couple hours, long enough for a proper nap.

“Just like I’ve done with countless foals in the past.”

Chrysalis gasped at the intrusive voice and swung herself around to face it.

“Luna! How long were you standing there?”

“Just long enough to see you put a sleep spell on your exhausted friend here.” Luna walked up to and then past Chrysalis. She gazed down at Pinkie with a small shake of her head. “Some ponies just do too much for their own good.”

Chrysalis attempted to calm her rapidly beating heart. The risk of being caught by Luna was precisely why she hadn’t wanted to feed while she was nearby.

“Yeah, that’s Pinkie for you. She’d probably work herself to death for a friend.” Luna’s head swivelled to face her.

“Oh? I thought she was just your ‘ally’.” Luna teased, earning an eye roll from the queen.

“She thinks anybody she’s ever met is her friend.” Chrysalis snorted. “She probably even thought you were a friend while you were still Nightmare Moon.”

“I see.” Luna replied, her teasing smirk fading. “Is it true what Rainbow Dash says? Was one of those parasprites your pet?”

Chrysalis inhaled sharply. “Er...yes. Don’t worry about killing Flitter, though. Had I known what a pest they were I would’ve done it myself.

“I wonder.” Luna answered vaguely. “Even so, I reacted without thinking and killed your pet as a result. I apologize for my actions.”

“It’s fine.” Chrysalis assured her again. There was a short pause as Luna looked off into the sky.

“Many ponies still fear and shun me, as you no doubt saw earlier today. It can get rather lonely,” Luna’s eyes flicked over to Chrysalis at the mention of that word, and Chrysalis tried to ignore a small ache in her own chest over it, “maybe I should get a pet myself.”

“A pet, huh?” Chrysalis tried to banish the mental image of herself wearing a leash and collar held by Luna as she obediently followed her master. She was nobody’s pet, except that one time in her youth when she was really desperate to feed. She banished the image of Luna switching places with her only slightly less quickly.

“Something that appreciates my night, I think. An owl, perhaps.”

At that moment the two were interrupted by Pinkie muttering only half coherently in her sleep.

“Did she just say ‘stop that pudding’?” Chrysalis asked.

“We should probably get your friend somewhere more comfortable than the dirt back here.” Luna suggested. Chrysalis nodded her agreement and gently lifted the sleeping pony with her magic. Luna held the door open with her own magic. “After you.”

Chrysalis went through the kitchen followed a few seconds later by Luna, reassuring the Cakes and then later the party guests that Pinkie was fine as they headed for the stairs and ultimately Pinkie’s room. She laid the sleeping mare to rest on her bed, gently tucking her in beneath the blankets.

“Be careful,” Luna jokingly warned, “or I might start getting jealous of her, too.”

Chrysalis shuddered, as much at the implied threat as at the idea of romancing Pinkie. “I don’t have the mental or physical fortitude necessary to date Pinkie.” Nor did she have the stomach, or indeed the entire digestive tract, to handle all the baked goods she made and would doubtlessly heap upon her eventual romantic partner. The bakery alone was enough to make Chrysalis feel mildly nauseous, though she wasn’t going to tell Luna that. “She’s probably not into mares, anyway.” Chrysalis added, just in case Luna’s threat hadn’t been as much of a joke as she had thought. The last thing she needed was for somebody so important to the timeline to be destroyed by some jealous princess.

Shortly thereafter, the two returned to the party below. There were some fresh baked goods on the table, which Chrysalis successfully avoided eating this time, much to the relief of her stomach. Celestia seemed a little distracted for the majority of the time, though not necessarily by the distractions that Chrysalis had arranged to have present for the occasion. It seemed like something was on her mind. She had barely even touched the tea that Spike had brought for her.

After an hour or so had passed, the door swung open. At first, Chrysalis thought that Fluttershy had finally arrived with her animals, but that assumption was swiftly tossed aside as a gangly little yellow unicorn colt ran inside.

“Help! Snips is in danger!” The colt cried. Chrysalis suppressed a groan. She had just saved him that morning, what could he possibly have gotten himself into so quickly this time?

“What’s happened?” Celestia stood from the table and approached the crying foal.

“Some black pony with bug wings got him!”

Chrysalis’ blood turned ice cold. Luna gave a sidelong glance to her, her eyes very curious. What was a changeling doing attacking a foal in Ponyville? What kind of idiot would do it undisguised? She was almost certain that it had not happened in the original timeline, she had had no reason to order such a foolish attack, so why would her double order it in this timeline? Was it even a changeling associated with her double? Perhaps it was one that was unaffiliated. Whoever it was, were they trying to flush her out?

“Where are they?” Celestia urged the foal to continue.

“It was at the playground.”

Celestia levitated the foal onto her back. “Show me how to get there.”

“O...okay.” Snails replied. Celestia next addressed the others in the room.

“Those who believe themselves able to help, come with me.” Without waiting for a response, she ran out through the door, calling for the guards stationed outside to follow.

Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Luna, Spike and Chrysalis all looked at each other, their intents clear in their eyes. Rainbow Dash was the first to charge after the princess, followed shortly by Applejack and then Rarity. As Spike tried to follow, he was lifted by a green magical aura.

“You’re staying here, Spike.” Chrysalis ordered him.

“What? But I want to help!”

“You’re staying here if I have to tie you to the table.” She repeated far more aggressively. Spike growled in frustration.

“Fine.” He huffed as he sat back down, his arms crossed petulantly.

“Are you coming?” Luna asked from the doorway.

Chrysalis nodded and dashed out the door.

__________________________

“It’s just around the corner!” Snails shouted from his perch on Celestia’s back. The princess slowed to a halt and levitated the colt down to the ground.

“Thank you for your assistance, but you should stay here. Don’t come out until we tell you it’s safe.”

“Okay.” Snails nodded compliantly and sat down, causing a small cloud of dirt to billow up around him. Celestia’s halt allowed for the others who had been following to catch up, the recently fed Chrysalis in the lead while Luna had taken up the rear. One by one, they came to a stop as they reached her.

“We do not know what our foe is capable of, or if they are alone. None of you are to take any unnecessary risks that may provoke them to harm their hostage.”

“Come on, I can totally get in there and save Snips before they even know what’s going on!” Rainbow Dash argued, stretching her wings wide to emphasize her point.

“No.” Celestia rebuffed her sternly. “That can be a backup plan, but first we are to attempt negotiation. We will send one pony out to speak so as not to make them feel threatened.”

“Fine.” Dash pouted.

Chrysalis fought back the panic building up inside of her. While she had a distinct desire to punish whatever idiot changeling had decided to attack a foal, she was nearly sick with worry over what would happen to her people if they were discovered early. If this changeling was captured and interrogated, the results could be catastrophic. She would need to do everything she could to ensure that whoever it was escaped. As her mind raced, an underlying thought stretched through her mind like a thread: none of this should be happening, so why was it?

“Rainbow Dash?” Celestia addressed the impatient mare.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Sneak to the other side of the playground, stay out of sight and wait for our signal. If our negotiations fail, the rest of us will try to distract them so you can get the foal out.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Dash gave a sloppy salute. “But, uh...what’s the signal?”

Celestia thought a moment. “Tea.”

“Tea? Okay, got it!” Dash rushed off back the way they came before disappearing around the corner of the building they were hiding behind.

“Now then, onto the matter of our negotiator. I think Twilight should go.” Celestia announced.

“What?” Chrysalis’ thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

“Are ya sure that’s a good idea, Princess? Twilight ain’t exactly diplomatic.”

Chrysalis glared at the farmer who protested her candidacy and snarled at her. “Hey, I can be perfectly diplomatic!”

Celestia gave a half smile. “I believe that my student is precisely who we need for this. She threw herself at an ursa minor to save a pair of foals before. I believe that kind of determination will guide her to do everything in her power to protect that foal here.”

Chrysalis stared at the princess for a second, trying to keep her suspicion from showing on her face. “I’ll do it.”

For a moment, it seemed like Chrysalis’ faux mentor was about to say something more, but a small nod was the only response she received. Under the group’s expectant eyes, Chrysalis stepped forth, feeling as if she were stepping directly into two traps at once. Once she was past the edge of the building and the playground was in view a few dozen meters away, she froze.

The area was empty, save for Snips who had been tied to the top of the supporting bar of a swing set. A moment later, the colt spotted her.

“A little help, please?” He shouted.

Chrysalis looked back to the other ponies who she was still nearly standing right next to. “Tea.” She said flatly.

Not bothering to wait for a reaction, she trotted cautiously to the swings. She untied Snips with her magic and gently lowered him to the sand below, her eyes scanning the area for threats the entire time she did so.

“You okay, kid?” Chrysalis asked.

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Where is the thing that did this to you?”

“I don’t know. She flew off after tying me up.”

Chrysalis' eyes rose up reactively. The skies were as clear as the grounds. The ever lingering question of ‘why’ droned on in her head. Why would a changeling do all of this only to run away? Her heart sank. It seemed a classic example of a distraction, but to what end? She looked to the others who were all cautiously searching the area, even Rainbow Dash who had come out of her own hiding spot.

“Snips!”

“Snails!”

The two foals rushed to greet each other with a hug and, for one short moment, seeing their collective relief soothed Chrysalis’ heart. She eyed Snips closely. What if the changeling wasn’t really gone?

“I got to ride on Princess Celestia!” Snails bragged to his short friend.

“Really? That’s so cool! Now we’ve both ridden a princess!” Snips shouted excitedly. Chrysalis tilted her head.

“Who did you ride, when did you ride, and where to?” Chryalis asked bluntly.

“Huh?” Snips’ face scrunched up with confusion.

“Is this really what’s important, right now?” Rarity, who had wandered close enough to overhear her words, asked. Chrysalis waved her off with a shush.

“Humour me.”

“Ooookay. Earlier today I rode on Luna, but fell off and rode you instead to Sugarcube Corner.”

Chrysalis stared at the kid. How likely was a changeling to know all these details? Not very, she figured, but she couldn’t dismiss it as impossible.

“What song did you say you could sing at Sugarcube Corner?”

“Song?”

“I really don’t see how any of this matters, Twilight.” Rarity pressed. Chrysalis rolled her eyes.

“I’m just trying to check to see if that creature injured his mind somehow.”

“If you say so.” Rarity relented.

“Thank you. Now, Snips, what song did you say you could sing? You remember, don't you? After Pinkie dropped all of those instruments to the floor?”

Snips’ eyes lit up. “Oh! I didn’t say I could sing, I said I could play the triangle!”

“Yeah, right, you don’t know how to play the triangle!” Snails butted in.

“Do too!”

“Do not!”

Chrysalis let out a relieved sigh. She was sure this was the real Snips. Well, the same Snips that she had rescued earlier that day at least. She turned away from the arguing two and was greeted by Rarity looking at her with a slightly tilted head, though she said nothing.

She wasn’t really sure why she was being paranoid about the kid being replaced. Even if one of her changelings could pull off their childish nature, there was no reason for them to bring attention to the pony that they were swapping with by using an elaborate kidnapping scheme. Standard procedure would be to get them while they were alone, whether that was by luring them to a secluded spot by taking on the form of somebody they trusted, or by sneaking in while they slept. It didn’t make sense to do otherwise. Then again, nothing about this seemed to make sense, so diligence was perhaps the wisest course.

“Whoever it was, they seem to be long gone.” Celestia observed aloud as she stepped up next to Chrysalis, her own search presumably complete.

“Indeed.” Luna confirmed.

“I’ll have my guards patrol Ponyville for the duration of my visit, and then I will arrange for some to be stationed here upon my return to Canterlot. In the meantime, let’s head back.” She let out a small sigh. “Our tea is probably cold by now.”

“Wait a second...” Chrysalis felt a renewed sense of urgency. She turned back to the gangly colt that had fetched them earlier. “Why did you go to Sugarcube Corner? Surely there were adults closer you could have asked for help!”

“Because the monster told me to get the princesses from there. She said she wanted to talk to them.” He answered simply. “I wonder where she went. It’s really weird that she’d go to all that trouble and not talk to them.”

Before anybody else could digest what was just said, Chrysalis bolted. It had been a distraction, just as she had suspected, and she feared she now knew to what end. There wasn’t much at Sugarcube Corner for a changeling to get them away from, just some baked goods, a pair of bakers, one baby dragon, and one defenceless pink pony under the effects of a sleep spell.

Minutes later, Chrysalis literally crashed through the front door of Sugarcube Corner, falling to the tiled floor as she gasped for breath. Spike was sitting where he had been left. His head had dropped to the table and he was snoring, completely oblivious to the sounds of her abrupt entrance. He was clearly in no immediate danger, so she climbed to her hooves, ignoring the pain of her scrapes and bruises, and rushed for the stairs that led to Pinkie’s room. She paused with her hoof on the door for only a moment before pushing it open.

Pinkie Pie was gone.

Chrysalis rushed back downstairs and found the princesses, Applejack and Dash, the last of which was gently poking Spike with a hoof. Rarity walked in seconds later from the kitchen.

“They’re asleep, too.” Rarity announced.

“At least they are unharmed.” Celestia replied with a curt nod. Chrysalis rushed forward and nearly shoved Rarity into the wall.

“Whoa, what are ya doin’?!” Applejack shouted.

“Was Pinkie in there!?” Chrysalis desperately pressed Rarity for answers.

“N...no.” Rarity answered, her eyes drawn with horror as she realized what her assailant was implying.

Chrysalis sagged at her words and released Rarity just as AJ tried to pull her off. She had been so stupid. She should have known that the incident with the foal couldn’t have been their main objective, it just didn’t add up. Somebody must have been watching her, saw an opportunity with Pinkie asleep, and then struck. She should have been more vigilant, and now Pinkie was paying the price.

“It’s not your fault, Twilight, you couldn’t have known.” Celestia placed the tip of her wing over Chrysalis’ shoulder in a comforting gesture.

“My sister is correct. You should not blame yourself.” Luna agreed.

Chrysalis shrugged off Celestia’s wing. She had no time for pity, she had to save Pinkie. Standard procedure for abducting a pony was for the changeling to take them to a secluded spot away from civilization until either they or another changeling could deliver them to the hive. In the case of Ponyville, most often they would be taken somewhere in the Everfree Forest, where few ponies ever visited. Unfortunately, the forest was chosen for a good reason, it had literally thousands of potential hiding spots.

“Um...hello? Is...is this a bad time? I brought my animals.”

They would need some way to narrow down the search area. If she could get away from the others, perhaps she could get something out of Skitter, assuming of course that it wasn’t Skitter who had abducted Pinkie in the first place. But, no, it probably wasn’t. Snips and Snails had called the abductor female. Not that he couldn’t have made himself appear as one if he wanted to.

“We don’t have time for your animals, Fluttershy! Pinkie’s gone, somepony took her!”

“W...what? That’s terrible!”

“I’m gonna get up in the sky. Maybe I can still spot them.”

“But, um...I...”

Or maybe she could transform into a bird, something really fast that could search a large area in a short period of time.

“Guards?”

“Yes, princess?”

“Join Rainbow Dash in searching from the skies.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“I’m sure that between Rarity an’ I, we could get half o’ Ponyville lookin’ for her.”

“Or we could...umm...never mind...”

“Sister, we should inform the mayor. I am sure she has resources that would be invaluable in our search.”

She would need to get away from the others first, though. That was the problem.

“Agreed. Fluttershy, I believe it was? You should keep Twilight company. She seems to be taking these events hard and I do not think she should be left alone.”

“But...I could...I mean...okay.”

Her decision made, Chrysalis snapped out of her thoughts to address those around her.

“We should split up and...uh...” Chrysalis faltered when she noticed she was talking to an empty room, unless you counted Fluttershy. She was so generally lacking in presence, however, that she usually didn’t count. Chrysalis shrugged and headed for the door.

“Are you going to ignore me, too?”

Chrysalis froze. She could’ve sworn she had just heard resentment in Fluttershy’s voice. That couldn’t have been right, could it? She turned to the timid pegasus who happened to have a grumpy frown to match her prior tone and raised an eyebrow.

“What did you say?”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened and she covered her mouth, and indeed much of her face, with the tips of her wings. She mumbled something, but between her soft voice and her feathers muffling her, Chrysalis couldn’t understand a word.

“I can’t hear you when you hide behind your wings. Speak up.” Chrysalis growled in irritation. Fluttershy began to tremble, the feathers of her wings shaking like the leaves of a tree on a windy day as she uncovered her face.

“I...I said I was sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude, I...I was just so—”

“Stop.” Chrysalis cut her imminent rambling off. Fluttershy bit her lip and averted her gaze. “I don’t care that you got angry, I don’t care that you think you were rude. Right now what I care about is that Pinkie Pie is missing. Is what you wanted to say relevant to finding Pinkie?”

Fluttershy nodded, but didn’t elaborate. Chrysalis sighed. She had dealt with timid changelings before who were too scared of her to tell her their ideas. For the life of her she didn’t know why. She would be the first to admit that she wasn’t the nicest person around, but she wouldn’t harm anybody for presenting a bad idea. If you had everybody afraid to present their ideas because you punished those with bad ones, then good ideas would be silenced along with them. She was going to have to adopt a gentler approach, just as if she were dealing with one of her less extroverted subjects.

“Listen, Fluttershy, I know I can seem a little scary, but I’m just worried about Pinkie. We’re friends,” Chrysalis had to fight to keep a straight face using that word, “and friends talk to each other, and listen to each other. I won’t think less of you if your idea isn’t very good, but if it is you could be the difference between success and failure. Please, how do you plan on helping her?”

Fluttershy’s eyes moistened, as if she were about to cry. Chrysalis was about to give up on her, clearly she was far too sensitive to be of any real use, but before she turned away, Fluttershy spoke. Her voice was still quiet by normal standards, but for Fluttershy it may as well have been screaming.

“One of the animals I brought with me was a dog. If he could get her scent, then he could track Pinkie down.”

Chrysalis froze for a second. A dog. That was so brilliant and obvious that she wondered why she hadn’t thought of becoming one herself.

“Perfect!” She shouted. “Let’s go get that dog.”

“W...wait for me.”

Chrysalis charged out the door, slamming it open. She heard a crack as the door hit something followed by a deep growl, and not the kind of growl that comes from some person who was a little grumpy, oh no, this was the angry growl of an animal about to tear somebody’s face off. Her eyes darted to the momentarily still open door and watched as if in slow motion as it swung closed, revealing that which was behind it. Chrysalis’ ears drooped and she instinctively began backing away.

“Nice bear...” Chrysalis cooed at it unsteadily, hoping a gentle tone would soothe the snarling beast. What the heck was a bear doing in the middle of Ponyville? It didn’t matter. Her horn lit up as she prepared to defend herself if it made any aggressive moves. On the plus side, it was only a normal sized brown bear and not an ursa minor, though her trembling body didn’t seem to care. All it knew was that bears were bad news.

“Bruno, no!” Fluttershy’s voice cut through the air and the bear not only stopped, but backed away like an ashamed puppy. The voice’s owner came out from inside, far more gently than Chrysalis had, and she approached the now shockingly docile bear. “What do you think you’re doing, scaring my friend like that? You should be ashamed of yourself!”

“Wait, that’s your bear!?”

“He’s not my bear, he’s my friend.” Fluttershy answered clearly. The bear made a series of sounds somewhere between growls and grunts. “That’s no excuse to scare her half to death. I’m sure she didn’t mean it.” More growls, and Fluttershy nodded. “Of course.” She turned to Chrysalis. “He would like an apology.”

Chrysalis stared in disbelief. Apologize to a stupid beast? It moved slightly and Chrysalis flinched. She cursed her body’s betrayal of her, but she couldn’t deny that she was afraid of that thing. She morosely suspected that her tussle with an ursa minor may have shaken her more than she had realized.

“Right...uh...Bruno was it? I’m sorry I hit you with the door.”

“There, all better now.” Fluttershy fluttered up high enough to pat the bear on its head, oblivious to the distress that Chrysalis felt over its presence. The bear leaned into her hoof, seeming to enjoy the affection immensely.

“Why do you have a...no, never mind. Where’s your dog?”

“He should be around here somewhere...” Fluttershy muttered as she looked around. “Oh, there he is! Come here, Rider, here boy!”

A golden retriever that had been napping in the shade of a tree not too far off perked up at being called and happily bounded on over to them, giving a great big lick to Fluttershy. In addition to the dog, a pair of small birds flew over from the tree and a beaver that had been next to the dog waddled its way over too.

“Okay, now we just need something that smells of Pinkie so he can get her scent.” Fluttershy explained.

“I’ll get something, wait here.” Chrysalis bolted back into the house and up to Pinkie’s room. She snatched the pillow that she had placed Pinkie’s head upon earlier, fighting back a lump starting to develop in her throat, and hurried back. “Here, this should do it.”

“Here boy, get the scent...you got it?” The dog barked at Fluttershy’s question. “Good, now go find her!”

With one more bark, Rider ran off with his nose to the ground. Without a word, the two ponies followed after him.

____________________________

“I figured as much.” Chrysalis groused under her breath. Their motley crew of ponies and animals had found themselves at the edge of the Everfree Forest and came to a momentary stop.

“At least it’s still day time.” Fluttershy attempted to cheer her before adding in a much quieter voice. “It’s much worse at night.”

“Well, if nothing else there’s no Nightmare Moon laying traps for us this time.”

“R...right...” Flutershy swallowed audibly. “W...well, let’s go, Rider. Keep going.”

Just as they took their first steps into the forest, they screeched to a halt as a shout came from the sky.

“Waaaaait!” Chrysalis was assaulted by a sudden gust of wind as a multi-coloured pegasus landed next to her.

“Hello, Rainbow Dash.” Chrysalis greeted with an annoyed monotone.

“Where the hay do you think you’re going? It’s dangerous in there!”

Chrysalis motioned to Rider. “The dog’s tracking Pinkie. She’s in the forest.”

“Really? We gotta let the others know!” Rainbow leapt back into the sky only to stop and hover next to Chrysalis. “You should wait until the rest of us get here before going any further.”

Chrysalis was about to argue that there wasn’t time, but stopped herself.

“Okay, we’ll wait right here for your return.”

“You’re lying.” Dash responded with narrowed eyes.

“What? No I’m not.”

“You looked like you were gonna argue, but then just agreed. You do that a lot, and it’s usually because you’re lying.”

“I just realized the wisdom of your words.”

“Pfft! Yeah, right. You don’t believe in anypony’s wisdom but your own.”

“Uh...girls? Can we maybe...um....stop?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“I don’t—”

Dash cut Chrysalis off. “I may not be the smartest mare, but nopony’s as dumb as you think I am. I know you don’t really like me, but that doesn’t matter right now. You do like Pinkie Pie, and you’re trying to help her and don’t want anything to slow you down. I can respect that, even if you don’t respect me.”

Chrysalis stared at Dash with her mouth agape. The idea that perhaps she was underestimating this mare was beginning to dawn on her.

“Heh, I know that face! You’ve just realized how truly awesome I am!” Dash boasted with a crushing amount of swagger. “I get that a lot. Soon enough, everypony will know the name of the amazing Rainbow Dash!”

Chrysalis shut her mouth and glared at Dash. Perhaps she hadn’t underestimated. One fluke didn’t mean anything, and she was just as frustratingly arrogant as always.

“Now, how about we skip to the part where we go into the big scary forest and kick the butt of whoever took Pinkie Pie from us?”

“Okay, let’s.”

______________________

“Ugh! Why do we gotta go so slow?!” Rainbow Dash whined for the hundredth time. Chrysalis was already regretting her choice to let her come along.

“I’m sorry...we have to let Rider follow the trail.” Fluttershy apologized.

Dash grumbled something under her breath as she continued plodding along behind the dog that led them. Chrysalis watched her with a furrowed brow. After having a little time to think, something was bothering her.

“Hey, Rainbow?”

“Yeah?”

“If you knew that I didn’t like you, why did you agree to help me with the Princess’ visit?”

“Oh, uh, that?” She chuckled nervously. “Uh, Rarity was going too and I figured she could use the help.”

“Uh huh.” Chrysalis replied skeptically. “How about all the other times you agreed to do stuff with me?”

“Come on, that ursa thing was wrecking Ponyville! And Nightmare Moon definitely needed to be stopped!”

“And all the times the world wasn’t in danger?” Chrysalis pressed.

“Oh, the other times?” Rainbow Dash gave another nervous chuckle. “Well, it was never really just you, right? It was you and the others, and it wouldn’t be very awesome of me to just ditch them, right?”

“Now who’s lying?” Chrysalis asked too quietly for Dash to hear, though the much closer Fluttershy averted her gaze.

Fluttershy had been awfully quiet since Chrysalis and Dash had revealed that they don’t like each other, not that she was ever anything but quiet. Still, she had seemed to come a little out of her shell after Chrysalis had gotten her to reveal her plan to track Pinkie down. Not that it really mattered, she mused, as long as her dog was still doing its job.

“Can’t this dog go any faster?” Dash whined for the one hundred and first time, earning a solid glare from Chrysalis.

Suddenly, the birds sitting on the bear’s back began chirping fervently. Fluttershy’s widened eyes locked onto them.

“What’s their problem?” Chrysalis asked, thankful for a distraction from Dash’s incessant complaints.

“There’s something following us!” Fluttershy gasped.

“Maybe it’s another manticore that you can tame.” Rainbow Dash teased Fluttershy. “Hey, what’s that smell?”

Chrysalis sniffed the air and her face wrinkled with disgust. “Whatever it is, I think it died a week ago.”

Fluttershy trembled violently. “It...It...It’s a t...t..timber wolf.”

“Timber wolf? Never hear of ‘em.” Chrysalis said, her eyes scanning the area, but it was hard to see much through the dense trees. “Are they dangerous?”

Fluttershy nodded, no longer able to speak through her fear. Chrysalis channelled magic into her horn and stood ready to react to the slightest hint of danger. If Fluttershy, the resident animal lover that regularly treated dangerous bears as friends was scared of timber wolves, then they were probably a serious threat.

“Whatever it is, I can handle it!” Rainbow boasted.

“Shh!” Chrysalis tried to get her to shut up for once in her life. Her ears flicked as the listened for even the slightest unwelcome sound. The forest was eerily quiet. She heard a rustle in a bush not too far off. She poured more energy into her horn, ready to strike at that spot the next time something moved there. She took one cautious step away from the movement.

“Behind you!” Fluttershy screamed.

Chrysalis swivelled around just in time to see a maw full of sharp teeth barrelling down on her. She barely managed to let off a blast of magic into her assailant and it exploded into a cloud of...sticks? Yes, it was sticks, twigs, leaves and assorted wood fragments. Before she could truly comprehend the odd sight, something crashed into her from behind, dragging her to the ground. She tried kicking with a hind leg and a solid thunk greeted her ears, as if she had just kicked a bundle of fire wood. In turn, she felt claws digging into her back.

“Hey, get offa her!”

A rainbow blur slammed into the creature and knocked it clear off Chrysalis, though she could clearly feel the gashes left behind as the monster’s claws dragged along her back. Wincing, Chrysalis climbed back to her hooves and finally got a good look at the thing as it wrestled with Dash. If she had been less frantic, her jaw may have dropped at seeing a wolf made entirely of pieces of wood. No wonder Fluttershy was frightened of them. Chrysalis doubted that her animal communication extended to creatures that were more plant than animal.

Attempting to line up a clear shot at the timber wolf that Dash was wrestling with was proving to be quite difficult given all their constant movement, and no matter how tempting it was, Chrysalis wasn’t about to risk killing both. Just as she was about to try a different tactic, specifically levitating both and trying to separate them, she heard a growl.

She pivoted to see behind her and was greeted by two more of them, one was approaching her while the other was going after Fluttershy, who was cowering in fear against a tree. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the bits and pieces of sticks from the one she had blown up wiggling and dragging themselves through the grass and dirt, but before she could really contemplate why, the one approaching leaped at her.

Chrysalis took the levitation spell she had been preparing and snatched it out of the air mid leap and then, using its own momentum against it, sent it flying out of sight. She was rewarded for her manoeuvre by an animalistic yelp and the sound of wood slamming against wood. There was no time to congratulate herself on her quick reaction, she needed to help the others. Dash could probably hold her own at least for a little while, but Fluttershy seemed so frightened that she had forgotten she could have flown to safety, defending herself was out of the question. Fluttershy first and then Dash, she concluded.

Before following through on her decision, the wind was knocked out of her as she once again was pounced by another timber wolf. She was sent tumbling across the forest floor with her attacker as she heard a roar coming from somewhere nearby. Sharp fangs dug into her shoulder and she shouted in pain. She latched onto the plant monster’s jaws with her magic and with intense effort pried those jaws open. She managed to shove the thing off of her when yet another pounced at her, whether it was the one she had tossed earlier or an entirely new one she could not tell, though she had managed to erect a telekinetic barrier to deflect its deadly fangs. She scrambled to her hooves and began backing away with a very noticeable limp from the two monsters, no, three now. Somewhere in the struggle, she had lost sight of both of the element bearers, but she had no time to worry about them, she had enough to worry about on her own.

The three timber wolves were about to lunge at her when another roar nearly deafened Chrysalis. The wolves looked away just as an angry bear barrelled through the bushes and mauled the nearest one. Chrysalis took advantage of the distraction by sending a jet of fire from her horn to one of the other two. It howled as it lit up, as if screaming in pain, and ran off into the forest. The third, seeing one of its brethren burning and the other being torn to pieces by the much larger bear decided to flee as well. Moments later, the bear stood there on all four legs, breathing heavily as it looked for more enemies. Chrysalis shuddered.

“Are...are you okay?” A soft voice that Chrysalis could barely hear came from behind the bear.

“I’m...” Chrysalis paused as she took stock of her condition. She was sore from getting pounced multiple times and was bleeding from both her back and shoulder. “I’ve been better.” Chrysalis concluded for Fluttershy as she stepped into view. “How about you?”

“I’m okay. Bruno protected me.” She answered proudly as she rubbed the bear’s side. “He saved Rainbow Dash, too. She’s got a few scratches, but that’s it.”

“Lucky her.” Chrysalis replied sourly. “I don’t suppose you have some bandages, do you?”

“What’s that about bandages?” Rainbow Dash interrupted them loudly as she fluttered into view. She halted and did a double take as she saw Chrysalis. “Whoa...you look terrible!”

“Thanks, Dash.” Chrysalis grumbled.

“I...um...didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to worry you...”

“You should probably put some pressure on that bite on your shoulder, you’re losing a lot of blood.”

“I didn’t notice, Dash.” Chrysalis growled through gritted teeth.

“Look, I can fly back to Ponyville and get a med kit and be back here in ten minutes, fifteen tops. Just try not to bleed out, ‘kay?”

“Just go, Dash!”

As the rainbow mare finally left, Chrysalis searched through the plants around her for some sizable leaves. Grabbing a few, she pressed them to the wound on her shoulder and applied pressure with her magic. She took a few steps to test out her leg, wincing as she did so. She’d be slowed, but the pain was bearable.

“Where’s your dog, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy whistled and he bounded into view from wherever he had been hiding, and moments later the beaver and birds arrived too.

“Good, he’s not dead. Now let’s get a move on.”

“What?” Fluttershy’s brow wrinkled with confusion.

“Get your dog back on track so we can save Pinkie, or did you forget why we came here to begin with?”

“But you’re injured!”

“Either get that dog moving or I’m going to search this entire forest myself.” Chrysalis snarled at her. She left out how she would become a dog herself to do it. Tracking by scent was something she had never done before, but how hard could it be?

“No.” Fluttershy whispered, as if she were afraid to say the word.

“Fine.” Chrysalis shrugged, gritting her teeth as that movement caused a flair of pain. She turned to leave.

“Bruno, stop her.”

Chrysalis froze as the large animal lumbered towards her. She was soon scooped up in a literal bear hug and no amount of protests would get the animal to put her down. After a few minutes of ineffectual struggling, she gave up and waited there limply for Rainbow Dash to return. On the upside, the bear’s tight embrace kept her makeshift, leafy bandage in place.

After some more time, Chrysalis couldn’t tell how much, Dash finally flew in through the canopy above carrying a med kit in her mouth.

“Oops, nearly hit a branch there.” Dash chuckled nervously after spitting out the kit upon landing a few meters away.

“Shouldn’t you bring that closer to me?” Chrysalis snapped at her.

“Yeah, yeah, just a second.” She waved a hoof absently in Chrysalis’ direction. “Any moment now...”

“Stop wasting my time, Pinkie needs my—”

Chrysalis was cut off by a sudden flash of light and she shut her eyes against the painful brightness, unable to shield her view with her legs still pinned to her side by a bear. When her vision cleared of stars, Princess Celestia and Luna stood over the med kit. Chrysalis inhaled sharply as Luna rushed over to her.

“Are you okay?” Luna glared at the bear. “Let her go.”

The bear did as commanded, eagerly it seemed, and Luna yanked her out of his reach.

“Easy there!” Chrysalis wheezed after gasping in pain.

“This is not nearly as bad as I was led to believe.” Luna frowned.

“I’m so sorry that I’m not on death’s door, princess.” Chrysalis retorted sarcastically.

“What I mean is that I was led to believe you were grievously wounded, but your injuries are relatively minor. You are more than durable enough to survive, why you wouldn’t even need to stay at a hospital for this. I was made to worry for nothing.”

“Grievous or not, Luna, you should allow for her to be treated.” Celestia interjected with a nod towards Rainbow Dash, who was digging through the now open med kit.

“Of course.” Luna bowed her head lightly and stepped back from Chrysalis. Dash brought over a few things from the kit and sat next to her.

“What are they doing here?” Chrysalis whispered furiously.

“Hold still.” Dash ordered as she opened a bottle of something. “I saw them on my way back, so I thought I’d let them know what happened. They put some kinda spell on the kit and used it to teleport here. I said hold still!”

Chrysalis winced as Dash applied a stinging liquid to her wounds. She wanted to strangle that mare for bringing the princesses, and it took tremendous effort to hold herself back.

“We should get you back to Ponyville where you can recover.” Luna proclaimed as Dash moved onto applying proper bandages.

“What happened to my injuries not being that bad?” Chrysalis growled. Luna stared back at her, unimpressed.

“There’s a big difference between being able to survive an injury with a bit of rest and being well enough to traipse about the Everfree Forest.”

“I need to help Pinkie Pie.”

“And what good will it do anypony if you die in addition to your friend?” Luna snorted derisively at her stubbornness. “Leave the task to others.”

“I’m fine! I will not abandon her!”

“You stubborn mule!” Luna nearly shouted. “You are leaving this forest even if I have to drag—”

“Hold, Luna.” Celestia cut her sister off.

“What?” Luna fumed.

“Let me speak with my student.”

Luna’s eyes flicked back and forth between Chrysalis and Celestia, filled with fury. Her jaw was clenched and her lips were locked in a scowl. Finally, she took a deep breath and stepped back.

“As you wish, sister.”

Celestia slowly approached her student. She looked unsure of something, conflicted or perhaps even distracted, much like she had for the majority of the day. Chrysalis’ lack of understanding why irritated her, but it was hardly the time to be concerned about it. Celestia’s long neck brought her face next to hers.

“How far are you willing to go to save your friend?” Celestia whispered. Chrysalis gazed back into Celestia’s eyes unflinchingly.

“I owe her my life.” She answered, recalling how Pinkie’s plan had saved her from the ursa minor.

“That isn’t what I asked. How far are you willing to go to save your friend?”

Chrysalis blinked.

“I will risk life and limb to ensure her safety.” Chrysalis answered evenly. She had to be willing to risk her life to save Pinkie, she was integral to the time line. The question of whether or not she would be as quick to save Rainbow Dash crossed her mind, but she dismissed it. It was a pointless question, her time was better spent on other matters.

Celestia closed her eyes a moment and gave a half smile.

“Perhaps there is some hope for you after all.” She stood up tall and approached Fluttershy. “Have your dog lead the way.”

“Eep!” Fluttershy jumped at being called on by royalty. “Y...yes, Princess!”

“Surely you jest, sister!”

Celestia locked eyes with Luna coolly. “I am quite serious.”

“She is in no condition to run around this forest. What if she gets attacked again?!”

“I suggest you do whatever you can to prevent her coming to harm. I know I will.”

Chrysalis’ brow furrowed. Were those two always like this? If so, she had no difficulty believing that they would have come into conflict a thousand years prior, leading to one being banished. Perhaps Luna was just irritable from a lack of sleep. It was anybody’s guess as to how long Luna had been awake before she had found herself in Chrysalis’ bedroom.

“Could you two stop fighting already? We’ve got a pony to rescue.”

“Of course, Twilight.” Celestia nodded and stepped back to Chrysalis’ side. “If you would be so kind as to lead us, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Okay, Rider, find Pinkie Pie.”

Luna stood there, gritting her teeth but saying nothing. With a small growl of frustration, she followed after the rest of the departing party.

__________________________

Dusk was approaching by the time they reached the end of the scent trail. Unfortunately, that end was at the edge of a lake with no sign of Pinkie Pie or her captor in sight.

“Well, that’s just great!” Chrysalis shouted angrily out to the placid body of water, causing Rider to cower in fear of her outburst.

“Perhaps she has been drowned?” Luna suggested darkly.

“Pinkie? Drowned?” Dash gave a forced laugh. “Nah, Pinkie would never d...she’s fine!”

Chrysalis shook her head. She didn’t believe it. She didn’t believe that one of her changelings would kill their prisoner just like that, it wasn’t the way they did things.

“Dash, you should get in the air and see if you can find any indication of them leaving the water.” Chrysalis ordered.

“Right, will do!” Dash leapt into the sky and flew along the lake shore.

Chrysalis hardly expected her to find anything, but it was still worth a shot. Changelings, being mostly from the wasteland where water was scarce, weren’t typically strong swimmers. If forced by circumstance to do so, they would usually transform into some kind of aquatic creature, but they generally preferred not to even do that. If a changeling had entered the water when they could have easily gone around, it seemed highly likely there was something in the lake that they were after.

“There might be something underneath the water.” She announced to her companions. “Like a cave, or something.”

The beaver that was still following Fluttershy began to make some grunting sounds. Fluttershy seemed to listen intently, and then her eyes lit up.

“Um...Mr Beaver says he can look around for us.”

“Mr Beaver?”

“Um...yes?”

“Bruno, Rider and Mr Beaver?”

Fluttershy fidgeted. “Not all animals want me to name them...”

“Whatever, just tell him to get on with it.”

Chrysalis paced along a short stretch of shoreline impatiently as she watched the animal swim into the lake and dive out of sight, and then she watched the calm surface of the water. On occasion, she would notice some movement only to find it was a duck, or a fish, or some other wild animal. The others made no effort to speak with her or otherwise interact in any way, perhaps because they could tell she was in no mood for conversation or for reasons purely their own. Chrysalis didn’t care either way.

After circling the lake from the sky more times than Chrysalis had considered it worth keeping track of, Rainbow Dash landed and reported her lack of results to the princesses. Celestia accepted her report and explained what they were waiting on, since Chrysalis couldn’t be bothered with the matter.

Pacing had caused the throbbing in her shoulder to grow in intensity, so Chrysalis decided to merely sit as she watched. By the time that the beaver reappeared, the sun had nearly set. Rather than waiting patiently, Chrysalis snatched the animal from the water with her magic and yanked him to the shore.

“Hey!” Fluttershy shouted, much to the surprise of pretty much every pony present, and the sole changeling too. She had a frown on her face and was trembling when Chrysalis looked at her, so she was more or less normal despite the outburst.

“Here, get this beaver to tell you what it saw.”

Fluttershy gently took the beaver from Chrysalis’ magic and comforted it.

“Hurry it up, we don’t have all day. Pinkie needs us.”

Fluttershy gave Chrysalis a dirty look, but did not say anything to her. Instead she began whispering to the beaver. “He says there’s a tunnel under water that leads to a cave.” There was a pause as she listened to the beaver some more, and her ears perked up at what he said. “Pinkie’s down there, and some kind of monster too!”

Chrysalis internally sighed. She was tired of her subjects being referred to as monsters, even if she was particularly peeved at this particular one.

“So how do we get down there?” Rainbow Dash asked the obvious question.

“I do know a spell that can allow us to breathe under water.“ Celestia offered. Chrysalis shook her head.

“I’m injured, and as much as I am loathe to admit it, swimming may be a little more than I can handle without aggravating my injuries.” Chrysalis purposely left out the part on how she was a poor swimmer at even the best of times. She eyed the med kit that had been dragged along for their journey. “How many ponies can you teleport, Princess?”

“It depends on how far you must go.” Celestia answered and then scanned the lake for a moment. “Between my sister and I, we should be able to handle all of us, unless that cave is a lot further away than I suspect.”

“Do you think your beaver could carry the med kit to the cave, Fluttershy?”

The beaver seemed to glare at Chrysalis before turning its back on her. Fluttershy whispered to it, but it didn’t move from its position.

“Um...he wants an apology.” Fluttershy relayed to her. Chrysalis raised an eyebrow.

“Seriously?”

“It...it would...make him feel...” Fluttershy mumbled, her voice trailing off so low that it was indecipherable.

“It’s just a beaver, Fluttershy.” Chrysalis pointed out, as if that explained her position perfectly. Fluttershy stiffened and a sigh could be heard coming from Princess Celestia.

“He’s not just a beaver, he’s my friend.”

It was Chrysalis’ turn to sigh. “You’re going to use Pinkie’s life as a bargaining chip to get me to apologize to a beaver? A beaver?!” Chrysalis face twisted with disgust at the idea. Were ponies really that sensitive, short sighted and callous? Maybe she should give swimming a try after all. She stared fiercely at the timid pegasus, who was biting her lip uncertainly. She seemed conflicted, so Chrysalis pushed just a little harder.

“Every moment wasted by your prissy little rodent is one minute closer to our real friend being a rotting corpse at the bottom of this lake.”

Fluttershy’s resistance crumbled at that image as tears formed in her eyes. Even the beaver slouched over, as if under the weight of guilt over his pettiness. Fluttershy spoke in a hushed tone once more with her pet, who in turn nodded. There was another deep, disappointed sigh from Celestia, which Chrysalis promptly ignored.

“He’ll do it.” Fluttershy announced as the beaver began dragging the med kit towards the shore with one of his paws.

“Good.” Chrysalis stated with a satisfied smirk. She had won. No beaver was going to humiliate her. Said beaver paused to blow a raspberry in her direction before diving into the water.

“Um...he wants you to know that he’s doing it for me, not for you.”

“Yeah,” Chrysalis rolled her eyes, “I got that.”

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash wandered a little ways off together away from Chrysalis. Luna stood in her moody silence, while Celestia walked up and sat next to Chrysalis.

“You disappoint me, Twilight.”

Chrysalis blinked. “What?”

“I said you disappoint me.” She repeated with a stern tone. “Do you know why?”

“Because I wouldn’t debase myself by apologizing to a stupid beaver?” Chrysalis regretted those words almost immediately after saying them. She had practically forgotten that she spoke with an enemy that could wipe her off the face of the planet. She tensed up. “Uh, sorry, I didn’t mean to be so snippy. I’m worried about Pinkie, and the pain of my wound has me irritable.”

“Twilight,” Celestia shook her head, “stress is no reason to treat others with cruelty as you have. Look over to your friends. What do you see?”

Chrysalis’ gaze was drawn to where Celestia pointed. Fluttershy was crying, though she had a forced smile on her face as Rainbow Dash spoke with her, one hoof placed reassuringly on the yellow pegasus’ shoulder.

“Fluttershy looks sad.”

“Yes.” Celestia nodded. “Sometimes doing what you want to do risks making matters worse, and the best course of action is to do what you don’t want.”

“So...you’re saying that I should have apologized to the beaver?”

“Think on it, Twilight.” Celestia said evasively and then left Chrysalis alone.

Think on it? What was there to think about? It was just some stupid animal. She had felt awkward enough apologizing to the bear that probably would have mauled her if she hadn’t. A beaver was just a big rat, nothing more than tree eating vermin.

And so what if Fluttershy was upset? That mare was far too sensitive, everything upset her. She needed to toughen up or the world would eat her alive. She wouldn’t have lasted a single day as a changeling.

Chrysalis snorted. Where did Celestia get off on lecturing her about doing things she didn’t want to for the greater good, anyway? She was the queen of the changelings! How often had she sent her subjects out to collect love even though it was dangerous? How many of her beloved subjects had died because of her decision to send them? And how often had she wanted to go in their stead so that she could shield them from such a fate, but had stayed behind because the loss of their queen would be too much for her people to handle? How many times had she worked through her heartbreak and carried on leading them when it would be so much easier to just give up and let somebody else lead in her stead?

Did Celestia have any idea what it was like to completely isolate herself from her people for their good? Did she know what it was to give up the rest of her life with her kind to live amongst her mortal enemies for the good of all?

Chrysalis’ anger began to fade, she just didn’t have the energy to keep it up thanks at least in part to the minor blood loss she was suffering from. She was feeling drained and melancholic. Worst of all, her own train of thought had exposed her own hypocrisy to herself. She had spent her entire life sacrificing her own desires for the good of others and she was drawing the line at something as insignificant as apologizing to a beaver? Why? Because she didn’t like beavers? She thought it was beneath her? Because she didn’t like Fluttershy, or any of these stupid ponies?

But she needed those ponies to like her, at least enough so that they wouldn’t run her out of town and destroy the timeline entirely. That pretentious princess was right, and Chrysalis would have hated that fact if she had the energy for it.

A deep sigh escaped Chrysalis’ lips as she closed her eyes. She needed to set aside her frustrations, swallow her pride, and apologize to Fluttershy for her behaviour. She didn’t have to be sincere about it, but she still needed to do it. Her decision made, she stood up and promptly fell over from the sudden dizziness she experienced.

“Twilight!”

Chrysalis wasn’t quite sure who had called her name, perhaps it was multiple someones, but soon Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash intruded on her vision of the darkening sky. They both looked concerned.

“I’m okay.” Chrysalis mumbled as she waved them off. “Just a little dizzy.” She dragged herself back to her hooves, wobbling only slightly.

Celestia tilted her head. “It seems our little friend has reached his destination. The med kit has stopped moving.”

“Maybe he just dropped it on the lake bed.” Chrysalis grumbled as an image of her helplessly flailing under the water crept into her mind.

“Perhaps. We’ll just have to be prepared to teleport back if that happens. Everypony get in close to either Luna or myself.”

“Before we go, Fluttershy? Dash? I let the stress of the situation get to me and I took it out on you, and your animals too. I shouldn’t have let that happen, and I am sorry.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy blushed. “Umm...that’s okay. I forgive you.”

“Pfft! It’s fine, don’t worry about it!” Dash answered dismissively.

“With that out of the way, let’s save Pinkie.” Chrysalis half walked, half stumbled over to Luna, mostly because she was closer than her sister.

“You really should have gone back into town for proper medical care.” Luna said with a frown as she watched Chrysalis’ difficulties walking.

“There’re a lot of things I should have done in this life, Princess. Let’s just get this over with.”

“Are you coming, Fluttershy?” Celestia called out to the mare who was off to the side with her animals.

“Yes...I was just asking my friends if they could find their way back home without me. Um...they can.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Let’s just go.” She whispered to Luna. “Your sister can bring her.”

Luna nodded and Chrysalis’ world went dark. Every single one of her senses seemed as if they ceased not only to function, but even to exist for one unsettling moment, and then they all returned to her with a flash of light. Chrysalis shuddered at the new experience.

Her horn lit up as she prepared herself for combat, though anybody that actually saw the way she wobbled in place would hardly find her intimidating. She didn’t know how the changeling would react, but she figured that if she were quick enough she may be able to incapacitate them before Luna or the others could hurt them. She scanned the dark cavern, but couldn’t see anything beyond the dim, green glow of her horn. Before anything else happened, a second flash of light illuminated the cave for just a moment before it too faded and three more ponies joined them. Fortunately, the flash had come from behind Chrysalis and had illuminated her view rather than completely blinding her. She had seen Pinkie Pie for that brief second, but nobody else.

She channelled more magic into her horn to provide better light and cautiously approached Pinkie Pie, the others following suit as the princesses provided their own light. The sound of water dripping into various pools and the clack of their hooves against stone were the only things to break the silence. The cave itself continued as a tunnel for far beyond what their cumulative lights could reveal. Pinkie was laying there, dripping wet upon the stone floor of the cave and breathing deeply in her sleep. She was alone, at least as far as Chrysalis was able to tell.

“Our quarry appears to have abandoned their captive.” Luna broke the silence. “They have likely gone deeper into the cave.”

“It looks that way.” Chrysalis replied. She didn’t really believe it, though. A changeling could be anywhere and they would not notice, such was the way of a shape shifter. Some of the best at it could even appear as inanimate objects. Even the rocks could be watching them right now. Or worse, they could have taken on the form of Pinkie.

It didn’t really matter, though. If they had successfully handed over Pinkie to be ferried to the hive and replaced her, there was little she could do right now except keep an eye on the mare, and to infiltrate her old home to conduct a rescue mission if it became clear she had been replaced. If the changeling hadn’t replaced Pinkie, then there were two alicorns present, and only the most powerful or foolhardy of changelings would openly confront those odds. Even she, who she had considered to be both of those at varying points in her life, would be wary of doing it. Seeing how they hadn’t been attacked yet, it was probably safe enough.

Chrysalis let the light of her horn fade as she hobbled over to Pinkie. She shook her.

“Wake up, you stupid mare.” Chrysalis grumbled quietly. Her own limbs grew wet from touching Pinkie. She had no idea how she could have slept through becoming so incredibly drenched. Her captor must have been very good at sleep magic, if this indeed was not an impostor.

“Hey, Pinkie! Get up!” Rainbow Dash shouted from beside Chrysalis.

“Whoa!” Chrysalis teetered for a moment, knocked off balance from the shock of the sudden shout, and then fell over onto Pinkie with a wet smack, draping over the sleeping mare like a now very wet and miserable blanket.

“Ow.” Chrysalis winced at the flare of pain in her shoulder. She glared at Dash.

“Oops.” Dash forced a laugh. “Sorry.” Chrysalis sighed.

“Twi...light?” Pinkie’s head turned, her bleary eyed face coming to a rest right next to Chrysalis’ own. A smile grew on that pink face. In that moment, Chrysalis truly believed this was the real Pinkie and not some doppelganger. “Thanks for the hug, Twilight. Is it time to get up now?”

“I’m not...” Chrysalis began to object and push herself off Pinkie, but stopped. Her position was oddly similar to that of a hug, or perhaps something even more intimate under different circumstances. It was entirely a coincidence from the way she had fallen, but if it gave Pinkie some comfort, then who was she to take that from her by getting up? It was definitely a tactical decision based on getting the element of laughter to like her more and certainly not because her exhaustion was making it hard to stand back up again.

“You’re welcome, Pinkie.”

“Well, that’s quite enough of that!” Luna spoke tersely as Chrysalis felt the tug of magic on her form, pulling her away from Pinkie and into the air. “You’re coming with me, now.”

“Hey, let me go!” Chrysalis struggled futilely against Luna’s magic as she was placed on the princess’ back. It was embarrassing to be carried in such a fashion, to put it mildly, and it was made even worse by Luna still being smaller than Chrysalis was in her natural form. She was barely big enough to carry her disguised as Twilight.

“Stop resisting, or you’ll aggravate your wound.”

“I refuse to be carted about like a foal!” Chrysalis redoubled her efforts.

Luna sighed. “This is for your own good, Twilight.”

“I’ll decide what is and is not for my own...my own...” Chrysalis’ eyelids suddenly felt very heavy and an irresistible yawn was drawn from her lips. Her already nigh unbearable weariness grew tenfold and her weak resistance grew weaker still.

Blackness enveloped her.

_________________________

“Hoo! Hoo!”

Chrysalis’ eyes fluttered open at the familiar sound and was greeted by darkness. The comfort of the blankets and bed that enveloped her suggested she wasn’t in the hospital, though the proper dressing that she soon noticed her wounds had received suggested she had been there recently. She sighed and then crawled gingerly from her bed. She was back in the library.

She was sore. Sore and weak and still oh so tired, but she didn’t want to go back to sleep, not just yet. She limped over to the open window where she had heard the owl that she had concluded ages ago must have a nest in the tree. She located it in the branches and stared at it.

“Hoo!”

“Hello to you, too.” Chrysalis greeted the bird as she leaned on the windowsill, taking some of the pressure off her sore shoulder. “I hope your day was better than mine.”

“Hoo!”

She sorted through her memories of Pinkie’s abduction and the subsequent rescue, and of course upon what Luna had done to her in that cave. Chrysalis knew the touch of a sleep spell when she felt one, and Luna had definitely cast one on her. Her blood boiled at the thought of Luna forcing her to sleep when she wanted to keep going, though the rage was somewhat tempered by the knowledge that she had truly been exhausted and in need of rest. As Luna said, it had clearly been for her own good, just like when Chrysalis had put Pinkie under earlier that same day. A cavalcade of anger, admiration, indignation and fear battled within her, with no clear winner. She was either going to fuck or kill that mare, and she still wasn’t sure which.

“Hoo!”

Chrysalis flinched as a feathery intruder brushed up against one of the forelegs that she had set on the windowsill. The owl had flown down from its branch and was rubbing up against her. She relaxed and gave the creature a gentle pet with her other forehoof.

“Heh. I don’t need your sympathy.”

“Hoo!” The bird tilted its head as if to question her assertion. Chrysalis smiled faintly.

“Maybe I could use a friend, though. What do you say? Want to be friends with a treacherous impostor?” Chrysalis sighed as the owl stared at her innocently. “Maybe not. Goodnight.”

Chrysalis turned away from the window and began walking back to her bed. She froze when a shadowy figure flew over her head and landed on it first.

“Hoo.”

“Heh, heh...you really are an odd bird, aren’t you?” Chrysalis shook her head as the faint smile returned to her face.

“Hoo!”

“So, what do I call you?” Chrysalis thought about it as she crawled into bed next to him. “Owls are supposed to be smart, right? How about Sage?”

“Hoo! Hoo!”

“Sage it is.” Chrysalis yawned. Sage nestled up next to her. She didn’t think that was normal behaviour for an owl, but she wasn’t going to complain. She took a deep breath and let the comfort of her new companion wash away some of her worries.

“Goodnight, Sage.”

13 - Somewhere Over the Rainboom

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Chrysalis let out a satisfied sigh for what seemed like the millionth time as she walked next to Rarity through Ponyville.

“I need to do that more often.” Chrysalis spoke dreamily. Rarity chuckled.

“You’re welcome to join Fluttershy and I on our weekly visits.”

“I might have to take you up on that, I haven’t felt this good in years.”

“I told you that Aloe and Lotus are masters of their craft, at least when they’re not interrupted by a family emergency. It is nice to see you so relaxed. You have been terribly tense since moving to Ponyville. Not that I can blame you, I’ve never seen a mare attract more trouble than you.”

“Can we not talk about trouble? I’d just like to ride this wave of good feelings for awhile.” Chrysalis requested.

“Of course, darling. Whatever should we speak of then?” Rarity’s eye took on a mischievous gleam. “Perhaps love?”

“Love is wonderful.” Chrysalis replied breathily, enjoying all of the love she had gleaned from her spa day.

“Well then, a couple weeks ago when the Princesses came for tea, I could not help but notice the way that Princess Luna looked at you.”

Chrysalis stopped in her tracks and shut her eyes tight for a few seconds as she gave a far less contented sigh. There went the wave of good emotions. When she opened her eyes, Rarity had stopped as well and was looking at her with an excited expression.

“So it’s true then? You and Princess Luna?”

“Shh!” Chrysalis shushed her before she could go any further. “Not so loud! It’s supposed to be a secret!”

“Whatever for? I think it’s wonderful! Why, the idea that the Princess could fall in love after all the terrible things in her past! It’s almost like a story book, a villainess redeemed by love!”

“Well, there’s the age difference for one, I’m barely an adult and she’s—”

“Over a thousand years old. Nopony in the world is anywhere near her age, except her sister, and I don’t think that’s happening. What is she supposed to do? Marry a dragon?”

Chrysalis’ chest tightened at the mention of marriage. Entertaining the idea of a relationship was frightening enough, the idea of marrying one of her mortal enemies was terrifying beyond belief.

“Okay, she doesn’t want to go public yet. She’s from a different time with different values. Also, she’s worried about Princess Celestia disapproving of the relationship.”

“Hmm…”

“Look , can we just not talk about this? It’s a secret, end of story.”

Rarity laughed at her distress, causing Chrysalis to scowl. “Sorry, Twilight, I don’t mean to laugh at you. Don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret, even if I do think the two of you should just be open about it.”

“Rarity…” Chrysalis glared warningly at her.

“Not another word, I promise!” Rarity conceded.

“Good.” Chrysalis began walking again. “Now maybe I can go back to enjoying the memories of our trip.”

Before she had gone even ten steps, she heard a scream rocketing towards her.

“Waaaaatch ooooouuuut!”

Chrysalis’ eyes turned to the wailing and widened with panic. Rainbow Dash was spinning through the air on a small cloud and headed straight for the two of them. Without thinking, she shoved Rarity out of the way and jumped at the incoming missile, attempting and failing to leap over it. Instead, she landed belly first, half on the cloud and half on Rainbow Dash with her head next to the other’s cutie mark. The two of them screamed in unified terror as their cloud skidded across the ground, their world an indecipherable blur, until they both crashed into a tree.

Chrysalis groaned in pain. The world still seemed to be spinning and she fought back the urge to vomit. Perhaps wisely, she chose not to try and stand.

“Dash?”

“Yeah, Twi?”

“What the fuck are you doing, Dash?”

Rainbow stood up and shook herself off. “I was—”

“Are you two okay?!” Rarity interrupted frantically as she finally caught up to the runaway duo.

“Pfft! I’m fine!” Rainbow Dash brushed off her concern. “I can’t expect to win the Best Young Flyer’s Competition if I can’t handle one little wipe out during practice.”

“Little wipe out?” Rarity nearly screeched. “You’re lucky you didn’t break your wings!”

The mention of broken wings earned a wince from the brash mare, but she quickly recovered. “Aw, you worry too much.”

“What about you Twilight? Are you okay?”

“As soon as the world stops spinning, I’m gonna kill her.”

“See, she’s fine!” Dash said as Rarity helped Chrysalis to her hooves.

“Well, I suppose.” Rarity replied somewhat hesitantly. “By the way, what were you doing to cause such an accident?”

“As I said, I was practicing for the Best Young Flyer’s Competition.” Dash broke into a grin akin to a child opening a present on her birthday. “The grand prize winner gets to spend a day with the Wonderbolts!”

“Oh my, that sounds wonderful! Perhaps we could go and cheer you on.”

“Nah, it’s up in Cloudsdale, cloud walkers only. Fluters’ll be there though. I mean, not that I need a cheer squad, I’ve got this in the bag! Still, a little practice never hurt anypony, right?”

“Except for me.” Chrysalis grumbled under her breath.

“Speaking of practice, I’d like to get a little more before I head to Cloudsdale for the contest. Seeya later!”

“Goodbye and good luck!” Rarity cheerfully waved at the receding form of Rainbow Dash. Chrysalis merely gave a relieved sigh. “I know you don’t really like her, Twilight, but would it kill you to pretend to be nice to her?”

Chrysalis flicked her tail and began walking again. “Maybe.” Rarity sighed and followed after her.

“Anyway, thank you for saving me back there.”

“Huh?” Chrysalis turned her head to look at her.

“When you pushed me out of Rainbow’s way back there.”

“Oh, right.” Chrysalis only now just realized she had done so. That was weird, why did she do that? “What are friends for?”

“So…I wasn’t quite sure how to broach the subject, so I’ll just ask outright. How did you ride that cloud instead of falling straight through? I thought only pegasi could do that.”

Chrysalis stumbled, nearly falling, but managed to recover and continue on. Rarity looked at her with concern.

“Uh, sorry, I guess I’m still shaking off that accident.” She explained, stalling so she could come up with a reasonable excuse. She had forgotten that she wasn’t supposed to be able to cloud walk as a unicorn. All changelings could do it inherently, much like any pegasi, and also knew they weren’t supposed to do it when they weren’t disguised as a pegasus. It was easy to forget, though, considering how rarely unicorns and earth ponies came in contact with clouds.

“As for the cloud thing, it’s a spell I’ve been working on. I kinda forgot I even had it on me.”

“A spell? For walking on clouds?” Rarity asked with a glimmer in her eyes.

“Uh…yes?” Chrysalis suddenly wished she could have given a different explanation for her unusual ability.

“Oh, ho ho! So perhaps we can go and cheer on Dash after all!” Chrysalis cringed. “I should go get the others, I’m sure they would be delighted to join us!”

“We can’t!” Chrysalis blurted out.

“Why ever not? You do have a spell for letting ponies walk on clouds, don’t you?”

“Of course I do! I just…can only cast it on myself!”

“Really? I would think there must be a way to cast it on others, Twilight.”

“I’m sure I could figure it out, but by the time I do, the contest will be over.”

Rarity frowned as she opened the library door. Chrysalis hadn’t even noticed that they had arrived. “Well, if that’s the case, it can’t be helped.” Chrysalis relaxed with her lie accepted, but her relief was short lived. “It appears that you will just have to do it without us.”

“What?! No!”

“Do what by herself?” A third voice asked. Chrysalis’ eyes darted to the couch inside the library they had just entered to find Time Keeper looking up from a book.

“She’s going to cheer on Rainbow Dash at the Best Young Flyer’s Competition.”

“Best Young Flyer’s Competition? Why does that sound familiar?” Time Keeper wondered aloud.

“Really? That’s great!” Spike’s head popped up from behind the couch as he climbed over the back.

“No, not really!” Chrysalis denied fiercely, staring daggers at the one who had volunteered her.

“Come on, you really should do this.” Time Keeper glared at her, as if to say ‘you know why’.

Chrysalis felt a hoof draw her head away from Spike and Time Keeper and came face to face with Rarity, any closer and their lips would touch. She smiled sweetly.

“Please?” Rarity batted her eyelashes seductively. “Do it for me?”

Chrysalis wrenched herself from Rarity’s hoof. “Are you trying to manipulate me by flirting?”

“Is it working?”

“You’re straight.”

“You’re not.”

Chrysalis blinked at how brazen Rarity was being. She reminded her of some of the more ambitious changelings in her hive. She couldn’t help but laugh.

“So…is that a no?” Rarity asked, frowning now.

“I’ll do it.” Chrysalis conceded grumpily. “I won’t like it, but I’ll do it.”

“Thanks, Twilight.” Rarity winked at her.

“Yeah, yeah. If you try that again I’m going to hurt you.”

“Duly noted.” Rarity acknowledged with a laugh. “Thanks for doing this. Dash may seem brash and confident, but I’m sure she’s actually very nervous. She could use all the support she can get.”

“You don’t have to keep convincing me, I’ve already agreed to it.” Chrysalis replied sourly, earning another chuckle from Rarity.

“Regardless, I appreciate it. Anyway, I should probably head back to the boutique. Sweetie Belle has probably cut apart one of my dresses to make a costume by now and I’ll need to fix it.”

“Yeah, you do that. Goodbye, Rarity.”

“Farewell, Twilight, Spike and Snowball.” Rarity waved before leaving, and a mumbled farewell could be heard from the other denizens of the library.

Chrysalis turned back to face the others. Time Keeper had a bit of a blush on his face, and Spike was hanging off the back of the sofa while biting his lip. The former cleared his throat.

“Hot.”

“Please don’t steal Rarity from me, Twilight.” Spike begged, nearly in tears. Chrysalis rolled her eyes at both of them.

“It’s not happening.”

“Not happening as in you’re not interested in her, or you’re not going to grant my request?” Spike’s tears caused his wide eyes to glisten.

Chrysalis sighed. “I can’t believe I agreed to go to Cloudsdale so easily. I don’t suppose you two would like to forget you heard me, would you?”

“No. You need to do this. You’ve messed up your relationship with Rainbow Dash enough, and you need to do something to fix it.”

“Yeah, yeah, I wasn’t actually going to bail anyway.”

“No, seriously, which way did you mean that, Twilight?! I really need to know!” Spike had gotten right in front of Chrysalis and had grabbed the end of her snout, pulling it down so that she would be forced to look directly at him. With a hoof, she smacked his claws away from her face.

“I’m not gonna fuck Rarity, okay?” She growled at the dragon, and he blushed at her phrasing. Time Keeper gave her a disapproving stare.

“Uh…good.” Spike sighed with relief.

“How long before the competition starts?” Time Keeper brought her back on track impatiently.

“I don’t know, actually.” Chrysalis admitted. “Dash said she was going to train for a little while before going, though.”

“So today? We should definitely get going right away so that we don’t risk missing it.”

“We?” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’m coming with you.”

“Uh huh…yeah, no you’re not.”

“If there’s anything I’ve learned living with you, it’s that if I give you the chance to screw up your relationships, you will. I’m going there to keep you on track.”

“I don’t need your help.” Chrysalis said through gritted teeth.

“I’m going to be there, whether you like it or not. You can’t stop me from coming.”

“Uh…guys?” Spike tried to interrupt the two. At some point, they had gotten right up in each other’s faces.

“I could tie you up before I go.” Chrysalis threatened.

“Spike’s too nice, he’d untie me.”

“I could tie him up too.”

“Wait, what?” Spike yelped in alarm. “Please leave me out of this!”

“And leave a poor, defenseless kid bound for who knows how many hours? The ropes digging painfully into his scales, his body cramping up, unable to eat or drink and left in his own filth as his under developed bladder fails him?” Time Keeper raised his nose defiantly.

“You…you wouldn’t really do that, right?” Spike asked with a nervous chuckle, noticeably having taken several steps back from his guardian.

Chrysalis’ eyes darted over to the frightened dragon and her heart ached, though she tried to not let it show. She glared back at Time Keeper for a few seconds more before backing down.

“No. I wouldn’t.”

Spike let out another nervous chuckle. “That was a g…good joke, Twilight. I didn’t believe for a second that you’d actually do it!”

Time Keeper smirked triumphantly, and it weighed heavily on Chrysalis’ nerves. She hated that that moron had made her look a fool. Chrysalis’ scowl slowly transformed into a mischievous grin.

“If we want to get there in time, we’d better hurry and rent a chariot.”

“A chariot?” Time raised one eyebrow suspiciously.

“I’m a unicorn, I can’t exactly fly to Cloudsdale, now can I?”

“Oh, right.” He relaxed a little. “A chariot ride does sound pretty nice.”

Chrysalis’ smile widened. “It really does.”

__________________________________________

“I don’t know what your problem is, I’m having a wonderful time!” Chrysalis taunted her companion.

“You did this on purpose!” Time Keeper shouted between gasps for breath as he pulled a small, red chariot through the air.

“Not at all, I swear that I thought I had enough to rent both a chariot and somepony to fly us up there.” Chrysalis shouted back from her reclined position on the chariot.

“Fuck you, Chrysalis!”

“Now, now, Snowball, you had your chance and turned it down, you’re not getting a second. Also, you know not to call me that, it’s Twilight, remember?”

“Shut up…Twilight…”

Chrysalis chuckled and then proceeded to hum a happy little tune. As much of a roller coaster this day was proving to be, and how certain she was that she would soon enter another low point, at this particular moment she was flying high.

Her humming gradually faded as Cloudsdale appeared in the distance. A city in the sky made of clouds. It sounded all too unstable to her. She was used to the rigidity of the stone and earth that made up her hive, or even the wood that many ponies built with. Sure, she could walk on clouds and manipulate them like any pegasus, but cloud was still such a flimsy building material.

“Over there, I think that’s where visitors are supposed to park.”

Chrysalis pointed to a busy parking lot manned by several pegasi in valet uniforms. Time Keeper didn’t answer as he gasped for breath, but the chariot jerked towards the lot. They soon landed somewhat roughly behind another chariot in a line to enter, and Time Keeper collapsed to the clouds beneath his hooves. One of the valet ponies approached them and eyed the fallen stallion with concern.

“Is he okay?”

“He’ll be fine.” Chrysalis dismissed his concern.

“Very well, ma’am.” He shrugged and focused his attention on her. “Oh, a unicorn. I’m sure you have, but it’s standard procedure to ask, have you imbibed a cloud walking potion or in some other way attained the ability to avoid falling through the clouds?”

“Yes. A spell.”

“And this spell will last for the duration of your stay?”

“Yes.” Chrysalis answered impatiently. The valet pulled out a long piece of paper from his vest.

“Okay, I’ll need you to sign here, here and here. It’s a legal document saying that you won’t hold anypony other than yourself accountable if at any point in time you fall from—”

“Yes, yes, I get it!” Chrysalis snatched the paper from him and signed as Twilight Sparkle where he had indicated.

“Very good. How long will you need to be parking today?”

“As long as the Best Young Flyer’s Competition is.”

“That’ll be four bits.”

“But we don’t—” Time Keeper began to say, finally standing up.

“Here you go!” Chrysalis replied cheerfully as she counted out four coins from her nearly full coin purse.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

The valet accepted the coin and then helped remove the harness from Time Keeper and then placed on himself before pulling the chariot to the parking area. The entire time, Time Keeper glared at Chrysalis.

“Is something wrong?” She asked innocently once the valet was out of earshot.

“You. Bitch.”

Chrysalis’ only response was a cruel laugh. Maybe next time he’d think twice before trying to make her look the fool. She turned away and walked into Cloudsdale proper, and he followed shortly after her, scowling the whole time.

It wasn’t long before she had to admit that she was lost. While there had always been a few spies embedded in the cloud city, it had never really factored into any of her schemes, so she had never bothered to learn its layout.

“Do you know how to get around here?” Chrysalis asked Time Keeper.

Keeper narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips for a couple seconds and then looked around to see if anybody was close by. Seeing that nobody was immediately next to them, he leaned in close.

“I grew up here, but that’s a thousand years from now. A lot has changed.” He whispered harshly. “So, no, I don’t know my way around.” He stepped back and muttered something under his breath that sounded an awful lot like him calling her an idiot. Before she could say anything, she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Twilight?” Chrysalis flinched and she fought to prevent her ears from flattening against her skull in annoyance.

“Hello, Dash.” She answered flatly as she turned to see the rainbow maned pegasus.

“What are you doing here? Sightseeing?”

Time Keeper looked between the two mares with concern. “She’s here to—”

“Shut up, Snowball, I can speak for myself.” Chrysalis covered his mouth with her magic and turned away from him so that she wouldn’t see his irritating gestures of objection. “I’m here to cheer you on in the Best Young Flyers Competition.”

“Really?” Dash’s seemingly relaxed attitude melted away and in its place she seemed almost like a hopeful puppy, at least for a second before she put up her walls again. “I mean, I thought you’d be the last pony to come cheer for me.”

Chrysalis felt a sudden, sharp pain in one of her hind legs. She looked back to see Time Keeper, his mouth still blocked by her magic, nodding towards Dash and then staring at her expectantly. It almost reminded her of the looks her mother would give her when she had obstinately refused to apologize for something as a child. Chrysalis sighed.

“Look, I know I’m a jerk, but I can see this is really important to you. As frustrating as you can be, I don’t actually hate you, so I’m not gonna leave you hanging here without any support.”

Rainbow’s face softened again and her eyes glistened as tears began to form, thought not enough for any to fall.

“Thanks, Twilight. That actually means a lot to me.” She blinked her eyes to force away the shameful fluids and put on a cocky grin. “Heh. What am I getting all sappy for? Be sure to cheer real loud in the third part of my performance, it’s when I’m gonna do my sonic rainboom! It’s gonna be awesome!”

“No doubt.” Chrysalis agreed with a smile and a laugh, both insincere.

“Anyway, I gotta go to the coliseum. I’ll see you there!”

“Wait, before you go—” Dash flew off before she could finish her question, “—could you give us directions? Ugh…I hate that mare.” Time Keeper walked into her field of view and pointed angrily at the magical seal on his lips. Chrysalis sighed and removed it. “If you expect an apology, forget it.”

“Say it ain’t so.” He deadpanned and then looked to the sky where Dash had flown off. “Something about what she said is bugging me, but I can’t figure out what it is.”

“Uh huh.” Chrysalis rolled her eyes and started walking. “Come on, let’s go find somepony to give us directions.”

________________________________

“I’m just saying that if you had been a little bit nicer, we could have found this place much sooner.” Time Keeper whined.

“He insulted my mother.”Chrysalis replied coolly.

“You lit his mane on fire!”

The ponies in the coliseum lobby noticeably stepped away from the duo upon hearing their conversation. Time Keeper gave a frustrated sigh.

Chrysalis growled. “Nopony insults my mother.”

“And you wonder why I worry you’re going to screw up.”

“You’re one to talk about screwing up. I’m only here to clean up your mess, remember?”

“Whatever. Let’s just go find some seats.”

The two of them drove through the crowds with Time Keeper in the lead, the space afforded to them unfortunately disappearing in the face of an ocean of excited ponies. The two got separated, not that Chrysalis was worried or even really cared. She was sure that irritant would show up again whether she wanted him to or not. Just to give herself a few blissful minutes longer, she slowed her pace so she wouldn’t catch up.

The crowds began to thin once she got through the door bottle necking the ponies and emerged in the stands. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Time Keeper seated next to a pretty, pegasus mare. She was sitting a lot closer to him than a stranger typically would sit, and gazing at him intently as they chatted. She even seemed to giggle at something he said and nudged his shoulder playfully with a wing tip. Chrysalis groaned before marching over to them.

“He’s not available, buzz off!” She announced brusquely to the mare.

“What?” The pretty mare and Time Keeper said in near unison.

“I said he’s taken, now leave before I launch you all the way to Canterlot!” Chrysalis lit up her horn to emphasize her threat.

“Um…right. I think I should go.” The mare said as she awkwardly skirted around Chrysalis in her escape.

“What are you doing?!” Time Keeper barely held himself back from shouting.

“What am I doing? What are you doing?!” Chrysalis hissed back.

“What? I…” Time Keeper sputtered. “She was really nice, I think she liked me! Why would you do that?”

Chrysalis planted a forehoof on her face. With how she had been all over him, she wouldn’t be surprised if that was one of her changelings picking out an easy mark for some love. She offered a silent apology to her if that was true, and sat down beside Time Keeper. She stared at him like he was an idiot.

“Are you really that stupid?” She whispered. “You don’t belong here in this time. The last thing we need is for you to become your own great great grandpa.”

“But—”

“No buts, especially ones that you could have a foal with. You’re not so much as to look at a mare, got it?”

“I…” Time growled with frustration, but she could see in his eyes that he understood her point. “Fine!”

Out of the corner of her eye, Chrysalis noticed a rather large, and very fit stallion walking up the aisle past them. She openly stared at him and as he walked by, he gave a wink to her. Once he was past, he flicked his tail, giving her a tantalizing peek.

Chrysalis returned her eyes forward only to find Time Keeper staring at her with his jaw wide open.

“What?” She snapped at him.

“Seriously?” He pointed at the receding figure she had just ogled.

“What?”

“Right after telling me I can’t so much as look at a mare, you do that?”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and lowered her voice. “My past self already exists, I can’t mess up my own birth. Besides, unless he’s a changeling under there, no pregnancy is happening.”

“This is so not fair!”

“If it makes you feel better, I haven’t had sex since coming here, either.” Chrysalis grumbled.

“Only because you’re afraid of what Luna would do if you did!”

“I’m not afraid of Luna.” Chrysalis hissed. “If I wanted to, I could and would fuck every stallion in Ponyville.”

Time Keeper’s eyes drifted away from Chrysalis’ face and focused on something behind her.

“Hello, Princess Luna.” He greeted evenly.

Chrysalis yelped in surprise and turned to face Luna, prepared to apologize profusely. All that was there was one confused looking blue pegasus mare.

“Uh…I think you’re mistaken.” The mare said before hurrying on her way. Chrysalis’ face contorted into a grim scowl and she turned on her companion.

“You son of a bitch. When did you get so mouthy?”

Time held her gaze, unfazed. “I’m learning from an expert at using her mouth.”

Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed.

“Are you trying to insinuate that I’m a slut?”

“If the horseshoe fits.” He huffed. “I mean, you did offer to do anything I wanted minutes after we met.”

Chrysalis’ eye twitched and she gritted her teeth. That bastard was getting really close to finding out why you shouldn’t mess with a changeling queen.

“Not to mention you drool at every stallion in Ponyville, and half the mares too. I’m not the only one who thinks that you’re a wh—”

Time Keeper’s words were cut off with a choking sputter. An attentive pony might have noticed a subtle ring of green wrapping around his neck. His eyes bulged as panic began to set in. Chrysalis leaned in close and threw her hooves around his neck in a gentle embrace, hiding any chance for somebody to see the magic choking him and his pained face both.

“You just saw me light a stallion on fire for angering me. Do you really need a second demonstration for why that’s a bad idea?” She whispered into his ear. He tried to shake his head, but she tightened her magic. “Don’t move. You’re lucky we’re not alone, or I’d do far worse than this. I am the most dangerous creature alive in this world. I suggest you remember that the next time you get the desire to antagonize me.”

Time Keeper began to spasm, but otherwise did not move.

“Umm…is this a bad time?” A familiar, timid voice could barely be heard over the general chatter of the crowd around them. Chrysalis shoved Time Keeper away and turned to greet Fluttershy with a big smile as he fell to the cloudy floor, gasping for breath.

“Not at all, Fluttershy! We were just having a little chat, isn’t that right, Snowball?”

“Yeah.” He answered hoarsely as he returned to his hooves. “I’m…I’m just gonna go to the bathroom.”

Fluttershy stood awkwardly as Time walked past her.

“Well, sit down!” Chrysalis moved over and offered the seat she had been sitting in, right between her new spot and Time Keeper’s.

“Oh…thank you.” Fluttershy smiled slightly as she took the offered spot. She then bit her lip and faced rigidly forward, trying to pretend she wasn’t staring at her. Chrysalis sighed.

“What is it?”

“That didn’t seem like a very friendly conversation.”

Chrysalis sighed again. “No. It really wasn’t.”

“He…he called you a…a…” Fluttershy’s cheeks grew flushed as she stuttered.

“He called me a slut, yes.”

Fluttershy flinched on the word being voiced. “W…why would he call you that? I mean…you’re…um…definitely not…” Her sentence faded into indecipherable mumbles.

“Look, it’s not that he accused me of sleeping around a lot, there’s nothing wrong with that, it was the intent behind his words. He did it purely to disrespect me, and I’m not going to take that kind of attitude from him of all ponies.”

Fluttershy wilted to the point of nearly hiding herself in the cloud she was sitting on. That seat would definitely need some reshaping later. Just one example of why clouds made for lousy building materials, Chrysalis thought.

“Can…can we talk about something else?” Fluttershy squeaked, her face radiating heat from her blush.

Chrysalis fought the temptation to torment the mare with continued sex talk. As annoying as her timidity often was, sometimes it was awfully cute. That shyness provided quite a paradox, she thought. It was undoubtedly both the reason why many a stallion would want to bed her, and precisely the reason why none of them would. Chrysalis shrugged. It was Fluttershy’s loss.

“Sure.” Chrysalis conceded. “You here to support Rainbow Dash, too?”

Fluttershy nodded with an appreciative smile. “Yes. I’ve been practicing my cheering.”

“Really? You cheering?” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “You don’t seem the type.”

“I’m not.” Fluttershy shuddered. “That’s why I’ve been practicing. Rainbow’s been teaching me.”

“Ah, now that I’d believe. That mare would do anything to stroke her own ego.”

“That’s not it…” Fluttershy denied quietly.

“Excuse me.” Time Keeper spoke as he returned. The two mares moved out of the way to let him return to his seat.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure she convinced you it was your idea.”

“Oh no, it was her idea, but I agreed to it because she needs me here.” Fluttershy looked at her earnestly. “She acts all confident so others don’t worry about her, but she’s really nervous…I think.”

Chrysalis eyed Fluttershy, trying to determine if she really believed her own words.

“Hmph. Rarity said the same thing and I think she’s crazy too. You’ll see. Dash’ll do her little rainboom, bask in the praise of the audience, and forget all about us as she goes on her merry, egotistical way.”

“Did you know that she hasn’t once been able to the sonic rainboom during practice?”

Time Keeper, who up to that moment had been trying his best to ignore them, turned his full attention to Fluttershy, his mouth hanging open and eyes wide.

“She hasn’t?” Chrysalis’ brow wrinkled. “Why would she put something in her routine that she can’t do?”

“She did it once…when she was really young.” She explained. “I thought that maybe if I cheered loud enough, she could actually do it again.”

The two fell silent. Faced with Fluttershy’s words, Chrysalis wondered what that meant for her assessment of Rainbow Dash. Rarity said she was wrong. Fluttershy said she was wrong. Even she herself had, on rare occasions, exceptionally rare mind you, felt that perhaps she might have misjudged her. The tears that had been in Dash’s eyes when Chrysalis had told her she was there to cheer her on came to mind, and how she had, without hesitation, attacked a timber wolf that had leaped onto her. Maybe beneath all the abrasive bluster was a pony worth reevaluating. Not to say that she would be worthy of respect, but at least another chance.

“Twilight! Why won’t you listen to me!?”

“Um…Twilight? I think Snowball wants to talk to you.” Fluttershy whispered. Chrysalis shook her head of her thoughts and turned to him.

“What is it?” She growled at the pony that most certainly didn’t deserve a second chance.

“We need to talk!”

“Then talk.” Chrysalis snapped back.

“Alone.” He urged. “It’s about that.”

Chrysalis held his gaze for a moment before addressing Fluttershy. “I’m afraid I need to go speak with him in private, if you’ll excuse us.”

“Oh…um, okay.”

She stood up and dragged Time Keeper away, leaving the stands for the now much less busy, yet still far from empty, lobby. Where she was going to find privacy in such a crowded place, she wasn’t sure. She spied a door nearby with a symbol indicating it was a bathroom and decided it would have to do. She yanked him into the mare’s room only to be greeted by two startled faces.

“Hey, he’s not allowed in here!” The first one objected with a nasally voice that irritated Chrysalis.

“Leave.” Chrysalis demanded.

“But we’re not—” The second began.

“I’m about to bend him over the sink and fuck him up the ass with a dildo of magic, now get the fuck out of here before I decide to do it to you too.”

The two mares looked at each other with disgust and made a beeline for the door.

“I swear, you hear about this sort of thing happening all the time in places like this, but I never thought—” The mare’s voice was cut off as the door shut behind her. Chrysalis cast sound dampening and locking spells on the door to give them a little extra privacy.

“You’re…not really going to—”

“What’s the big idea?!” Chrysalis cut him off, holding back the urge to strangle him. She wouldn’t be able to get answers from a corpse. “You said there was nothing major again until Discord comes back!”

Time Keeper flinched. “Well…nothing major for Twilight…”

“Meaning?”

“Well, Rainbow Dash is supposed to do her first sonic rainboom in years today.”

“And that has what to do with me?”

“She only succeeded in doing it to save Rarity and the Wonderbolts from falling to their deaths.” He spilled out as quickly as he could.

“What?” Chrysalis replied flatly.

“Rarity was supposed to have wings from one of Twilight’s spells. She entered the competition, something went wrong and both she and the Wonderbolts end up in trouble because of it. Rainbow Dash rescued them with a sonic rainboom.”

“But Rarity’s not here!”

“I know!”

“This really would have been good to know about earlier!” Chrysalis screamed, hoping that the sound dampening spell she used had been strong enough. “I mean, it’s too late to get Rarity now! Even if it wasn’t, I don’t know how to give her wings!”

“I’m sorry! It wasn’t part of the tour of Twilight’s life! I mean, I only remember it from history books!” Time Keeper stopped to take a few deep breaths. “Maybe you can just take on Rarity’s form and enter in her stead?”

“I think it’s a little late for new entries, they’ve probably already started by now!” Chrysalis in turn took a deep, calming breath. “Okay, maybe it’s not that important. Maybe it won’t matter if she never does a rainboom.”

“Her entire life revolved around two things. Rainbooms and Wonderbolts.” He began with tightly controlled volume, only to continue with a shriek. “Both of which are supposed to start here!”

“Fine, I’ll fix this!” Chrysalis grumbled. “Can you be a little more specific as to what’s supposed to happen?”

“Just what I said already. Rarity joins the competition, something goes wrong, and Rainbow Dash does the rainboom to save her and the Wonderbolts. I don’t even know what a sonic rainboom is! The textbooks didn’t explain it very well and there were no pictures!”

Chrysalis sighed. He really was a useless guide.

“I know what a rainboom is.”

“What is it?”

“Doesn’t matter, does it? Either you’re going to see it today and find out, or it’s not going to happen and you won’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“That’s not very reassuring.” Time Keeper whined.

“Neither is having you as an ally.” Chrysalis retorted. “Now go back to Fluttershy and make up some excuse for why I’m not there.”

“You have a plan?”

“Yes.” Chrysalis lied.

_________________________________

Chrysalis nervously tapped a large black hoof against the cloud she was hiding on. She was an uncomfortably long distance above the arena, not because she feared she would fall, but because of how long it would take to get there when the time came. She didn’t have much choice, unfortunately, since any stray clouds that drifted too close to the contest below were swiftly removed by the staff.

After Time Keeper had left, she had transformed into a pegasus, left the stadium and found a cloud she could sneak a little closer to the action with. Once she was in position, she donned the same changeling like disguise she had worn when she had rescued Time Keeper from Celestia’s dungeon. She had contemplated becoming a dragon for this, but reluctantly discarded the idea. It was probably bad for the timeline to risk accidentally sparking a war between Equestria and the dragon nation. Even if that weren’t an issue, her subjects couldn’t feed from the ponies if they were all slaughtered by dragons.

She peeked over the edge as another pony began their routine in the stadium. It, like the several before, was not Rainbow Dash. Chrysalis’ nerves were only getting worse as time passed. She was not happy with the plan she had devised, if she could even really call it a plan.

Her idea was to wreak havoc during Dash’s performance. She would superficially attack some ponies, destroy some flimsy cloud architecture, and goad the Wonderbolts into attacking her or, failing that, attack them herself. She’d send them into a nosedive towards the ground and hopefully Dash would perform her stupid trick to save them while she made her own getaway. It was risky and had far too many points it could fail at, but she was having a hard time thinking of better given how little time she had and the pressure gnawing away at her.

A flash of rainbow far below informed her it was time. Chrysalis pushed her thoughts aside, took a deep breath and dived from her perch with her wings tucked close to her body. Air rushed past her, blocking all sound from her ears. Through watering eyes, she could see Dash spinning out of control on one of her tricks. A voice in her head warned her to slow down, changelings weren’t meant to fly this fast, but she ignored it. She charged up her horn and moments later crashed through a section of the arena, setting off a large, bright green explosion of magic that, while certainly visually impressive, was ultimately harmless to anything more than nearby cloud structures.

She flared her wings and used some extra magic to assist her deceleration, moments later rising like a dark phoenix from the crater she had just created. As she hovered in the center of the arena, thousands of eyes upon her in either fear or confusion, the world seemed to freeze for one picturesque moment before the screams and panicked fleeing began.

Chrysalis scanned the crowds rapidly in search of her targets, her eyes falling on a set of blue uniformed pegasi streaking through the air towards her. The Wonderbolts were playing their parts beautifully. She charged up her horn in anticipation of dealing with them, but before she could strike, she herself was struck from the side by what felt like a freight train.

A cry of pain escaped Chrysalis’ lips as she redirected her magic to tear whatever had hit her off and fling it away. She cursed when she saw the rainbow tail of Dash trailing through the air, and cursed again when she righted herself and charged straight back at her with a furious scream. She created a net of magic, snaring the mare and bringing her to a halt in front of her.

“Stay out of this!” Chrysalis hissed with her artificially deepened voice. Rainbow glared at her as she struggled to break free.

“I won’t let you hurt anypony!” She shouted back defiantly. Chrysalis internally groaned, this wasn’t the time for her stubborn heroics! Couldn’t she have waited thirty seconds before trying to play hero?

Just then, she was struck by another flying missile, and the spell holding Dash in place fizzled out as Chrysalis was sent involuntarily soaring through the air. She saw the next pony coming for her from the opposite direction too late to do anything about it and was struck again, sent hurtling to the floor of the arena as stars filled her vision. She crashed into the middle of her crater, for once glad for the softness of cloud structures.

Despite the relatively soft landing, Chrysalis gasped in pain, but she had no time to catch her breath. A third pony with a fiery mane was diving straight down to deliver the next blow. Chrysalis erected a magical barrier and the fire maned pony struck it not even a second later, skidding off its surface and curving back up into the air. She could vaguely hear one of them shouting that their enemy was an alicorn and to be cautious.

It was far more painful than Chrysalis cared to admit for her to climb back to her hooves, but her injuries weren’t nearly as bad as they could have been. The plan could still be salvaged, she just had to keep an eye on all of them and not get blindsided again. Yeah. Just keep an eye on four of the fastest fliers in Equestria who had already shown a tendency to split up and attack from multiple directions. Chrysalis wondered if perhaps it was too late to reconsider her decision against becoming a giant dragon for this.

“Halt!”

Chrysalis tensed as she heard that familiar, magically amplified voice cut through the screams of the crowd. While the fleeing spectators certainly had not obeyed the order, the pegasi attacking her obeyed the royal decree. How could Chrysalis have not noticed her presence? Her eyes locked onto Princess Celestia as she flew down to join her in the crater.

“Why are you doing this?” Celestia demanded, fire in her eyes. Chrysalis paused for one moment.

“I’m doing what must be done.” She finally answered.

Celestia tilted her head as she stared. When she was offered no further explanation, she spoke again.

“Wonderbolts, help evacuate the crowds. I shall deal with her.”

“Are you sure, Princess?” The fiery maned one asked.

“Go.” Celestia repeated firmly.

Chrysalis watched with minor alarm as the Wonderbolts dispersed into the crowds, and the major alarm over being confronted by Princess Celestia prevented her from chasing after them. This was a disaster. How had she not noticed she was in the crowd? Her thoughts were torn between fleeing, how to salvage the situation, and charging straight at the princess.

“We are alone, now.” Celestia announced. “Will you not reconsider speaking with me?”

Chrysalis’ eyes flicked over to where she last saw the Wonderbolts. There was little chance of using them now as a catalyst for the rainboom. Her eyes returned to Celestia, whose own gaze had followed hers. A glimpse of rainbow tail, or perhaps mane, was visible jutting out from behind part of the course set up for the tournament in the background and told her that at least Dash was still around.

The thought of finding a place to hide and transforming into one of the Wonderbolts so that she could take the dive herself briefly crossed her mind, but she dismissed it. Even if she could get away from Celestia and Dash long enough to do it, it would only be a matter of time before they would discover there had been two of the same pony around. It was bad enough that she was revealing a form similar to that of actual changelings, it would be far worse if she confirmed that she was a shape shifter, too.

She needed a new victim to spur Rainbow Dash into a rescue. As nervous as she was about it, that victim was staring right at her.

Chrysalis lowered her shield and relaxed her stance. Celestia smiled. Chrysalis smiled. Chrysalis swiftly channeled another bright green explosion through her horn, blasting a hole through the bottom of the crater she stood in and causing her to fall through to the open air below.

There wouldn’t be much time before Celestia and Rainbow Dash recovered from that blinding flash and followed, so she flapped her wings hard as soon as she was clear of their lines of sight, forcing her way into the bottom of the massive cloud layer that supported Cloudsdale where she hid herself, ready to strike.

Despite having been further away, Rainbow Dash was the first to appear through the hole. Chrysalis growled from her hiding spot. She needed a chance to get at Celestia without Dash’s interference, but her speed was proving to be quite the problem.

She channeled a spell through her horn, one that she was not very familiar with. In the air beneath her, not obscured by the clouds of her hiding spot, a blurry illusion formed that looked vaguely like her current disguise, clearly not real on close or even moderately distant inspection but close enough at range, especially if it were moving quickly. With a thought, she sent the illusion soaring through the sky away from her and, like an obedient puppy chasing a stick, Dash followed after it. The distraction likely wouldn’t last more than fifteen seconds, she figured, but hopefully it would be enough.

Moments after Dash had chased after the illusory Chrysalis, Princess Celestia dived through as well. She too saw the bait and began to give chase, but Chrysalis cast another spell, a simple one so as to not lose the illusion she had to maintain. Thin bands of green energy coiled around Celestia’s barrel, strapping her wings down to her sides. A flash of panic graced Celestia’s features as she began to fall and a small scream of surprise escaped her lips. However, before she could truly even begin to plummet, her own horn shone its radiant gold and Chrysalis’ relatively weak restraints were shredded by the stronger alicorn magic.

Celestia’s determined countenance scanned the area, only for her eyes to go wide with alarm as Chrysalis’ large, black body crashed straight into her. Both of them tumbled through the air and started to fall.

Chrysalis internally cursed. She had been aiming for the Princess’ wings, but she had seen it coming and twisted her body just enough before impact to protect them. She held no delusion that she could beat her in a straight fight, not at that moment with her mediocre love reserves, but even an alicorn would fall without her wings to support her.

The two struggled against one another, one trying to damage the other’s wings with hoof, horn, fang or magic, while the other tried to force herself free from her attacker. Chrysalis saw an opening and lunged forth with her maw open, sinking her teeth into the base of Celestia’s wing and then jerked her head back to cause as much damage as she could before releasing.

With a toothy grin, she shoved against Celestia, splitting off from her, but her grin quickly faded upon hearing a sharp crack and felt an intense agony from one of her own wings. She tried to flap them and bring her free fall under control, but the pain only intensified with nothing to show for her efforts. She looked to her back and one of her delicate, insect like wings was bent over itself in a very unhealthy looking manner. Whether by accident or by intent, the Princess had damaged one of Chrysalis’ wings too.

The urge to panic rose, but Chrysalis fought it back. Panic wouldn’t do her any good. She would have time to panic and bemoan the damage later, she needed to focus on survival first. As much as she hadn’t wanted to, she would need to transform and risk discovery. If she waited until the last moment, just before she hit the ground, then maybe they wouldn’t notice and assume she had fallen to her death. She twisted her neck to look straight to the ground below. She didn’t have much time.

Just then, an explosion went off above her. Reactively, she looked up to see an expanding ring of rainbow light spreading through the sky, and a much smaller trail of rainbow tore through the air as it descended from the explosion at a speed that Chrysalis had barely thought even possible. She saw it reach Celestia above and smiled. She had done it. Mission accomplished. A panic that she had previously forced down forced its way back up as the rainbow streak altered direction slightly, coming straight for her next. Before she could even brace for impact, she too was scooped up by Rainbow Dash and her vision became a blur of blinding rainbow hues. The forces of her new, ludicrous speed threatened to tear her skin from her body and sent lightning bolts of pain from her injured wing through her.

An eternity of speed and pain later, Chrysalis was unceremoniously dumped on the clouds back inside the arena she had been in only a minute earlier. She breathed rapidly as she attempted to make the world stop spinning, though with little success. To make matters worse, she had landed on her broken wing.

Rainbow Dash had saved her. Her. An enemy of Equestria that had just destroyed much of an arena in Cloudsdale, terrified countless ponies, and directly attacked the leader of their nation, had just been rescued. Why? Any sane person would have let her fall, unless…of course. Her intent was to interrogate her. Chrysalis shook her head, gritted her teeth and tried to flip herself over so she could get to her hooves, only to have a leg come down on her belly, forcing her to remain prone.

“Stay right where you are!” A stallion’s deep voice commanded. It was one of Celestia’s royal guard. Who knows where he had been earlier, probably helping the evacuation for that bleeding heart of a princess.

“My wing…” Chrysalis gasped in only mildly exaggerated pain, hoping he would ease up and give her a chance to escape without needing to hurt him. “it’s broken! You’re hurting me!”

“You’ll live.” Was his only response. Wrong answer. Chrysalis’ horn began to glow only for Celestia to come into view with her own horn glowing menacingly.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The princess warned. “I do not take kindly to my little ponies being hurt.”

Chrysalis glared at both of them and, realizing she was clearly outmatched, cut off the flow of magic to her horn.

“Take your hoof off her.” Celestia ordered. “Her wing is broken, she wasn’t lying about that.”

The guard nodded and did as ordered, lifting considerable pressure from her injury. With the opportunity presented, she flipped onto her belly and let out a sigh of relief. She could hear a sharp intake of breath from the guard.

“Never seen wings like that on a pony before, but even I can tell that’s bad.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. It was a little late for sympathy, he’d already made her injury worse. Fortunately, though rather delicate by pony standards, a changeling’s wings were significantly faster to heal by comparison. She might not be flying on her own wings for a week or so, but she could still transform into a creature with a perfectly functional pair. Even so, Chrysalis sorely wished that she could get through one of these events without hurting herself for once.

“That was amazing!” A new, female voice arrived and Chrysalis looked over to see it was that fire maned Wonderbolt. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Rainbow Dash!” Came the confident answer.

“Well, Rainbow Dash, I think we’ve found our winner of the competition.”

“Really?”

Chrysalis laid her chin against the clouds and ignored the rest of their conversation. Good for Dash, she won. Chrysalis had more important things to think about, specifically escaping from her imminent incarceration, preferably before anybody noticed that Twilight Sparkle was missing.

Before long, a chariot pulled up nearby, pulled by two royal guards. Chrysalis was clapped in chains and herded onto it by her captors. Much to her consternation, Celestia sat down beside her, though not before whispering something to the ones pulling their transport. Soon thereafter, Cloudsdale was fading into the horizon.

“Do you still insist on keeping quiet?” Celestia asked suddenly. “Is ‘doing what must be done’ all the explanation I am to receive?”

Chrysalis’ eyes shifted to look at her for a moment before returning forward in silence. Celestia sighed.

“That is disappointing.”

Suddenly, the chariot began to descend and Chrysalis blinked in confusion. They were nowhere near Canterlot, or anywhere else for that matter. They were above a bunch of wild lands, no settlement in sight. Not wanting to give Celestia the satisfaction of seeing her confusion, she remained aloof as she could muster.

“I hope you don’t mind if I continue speaking.” Celestia said. “I have a hard time deciding on a motive for your actions today. Last time you were clearly trying to help out your little friend.”

Before Chrysalis could suppress it, a growl arose in her throat. Celestia gave her a sidelong glance, with a raised eyebrow and an infuriating smirk. Chrysalis took a deep breath, resisting the urge to lash out at her, and said nothing.

“Well, you can keep him, if he’s that important to you. I would love to have some answers from ‘Zarplat’, but I suspect I will get them from you instead. Eventually.” Celestia gave a short, unconvincing laugh. “Zarplat. What was your friend thinking? I haven’t heard such an obvious fabrication in…”

Celestia’s brow furrowed as she seemed to think back on what was undoubtedly a very long life.

“Well, ever really. Not one I was meant to believe, at least. Regardless, back to the matter at hoof. I really don’t know why you attacked today. You clearly weren’t rescuing anypony, nor did you seem focused on harming anypony, outside of myself, of course. I’d say you there to make an attempt on my life if you hadn’t been so shocked, and dare I say frightened, when I confronted you. You don’t seem the type to cause wanton destruction to no end, either, at least I don't think so. Even if you were, I doubt that you’d destroy easily repaired cloud structures to satisfy such an itch.”

Celestia paused, closely examining Chrysalis’ face.

“Perhaps your efforts today were meant as a distraction from your true goal? A distraction from an ally of yours that conducted business elsewhere? Though, probably not the one you had rescued. He seems, to put it bluntly, a little incompetent for covert operations.”

Chrysalis fought back a chuckle at her assessment of Time Keeper, though her lip did curl slightly in amusement. Celestia herself did not hold back her own mirth at seeing the reaction.

“You try so hard to keep your emotions hidden, but you’re not nearly as good at it as you’d like to be. I can see it in your eyes that you hate me, though for the life of me I can’t understand why. I truly would appreciate it if you would open up to me. I think that if you did so, we could be good friends rather than enemies. Despite your seemingly villainous actions, not a single pony has been permanently harmed by you, and you did save Equestria from Nightmare Moon. We could put the destruction of property behind us as a misunderstanding if you would just speak with me.”

Silence.

Celestia sighed.

“I don’t suppose you have anything to say about what happened in Ponyville recently where a being with a description quite similar to yours abducted a pony?”

Chrysalis held her lips firmly together. She wasn’t going to admit it wasn’t her that was responsible. No matter how much she detested that particular changeling’s actions, they were still a changeling, and it was her duty to protect them.

Celestia gave a sad smile. “No. Of course not.”

The princess looked to the sky, seemingly deep in thought, as the chariot landed in a field. She stepped out onto the ground and took a few steps through the grass that reached as high as her knees and then stretched.

“Come on, get out of there.” Celestia urged cheerfully. Chrysalis hesitated. “You’re not going to make me pull you out of there myself, are you?”

Chrysalis warily descended from the chariot, though kept her distance from her captor. Celestia took a deep breath and smiled radiantly.

“It’s always nice to get out into the middle of nowhere to appreciate nature, don’t you agree?” She nodded to the guards that had taken them there and they began to move again. Chrysalis jumped in surprise as they lifted off the ground. “Nopony around to bother you, you’re free to do as you please with no judgments.”

Chrysalis tensed. Something about Celestia’s voice had changed, taken on a hard edge, and her smile held of hint of malicious intent.

“If I wasn’t your target, there was nopony to rescue, and wanton destruction not the point, then I can only see one thing of importance happening as a result of your actions. One of my student’s friends performed an amazing feat, one thought by many to be a mere myth. The problem is that you’d have no way of knowing that would happen, unless you could see into the future, or,” Celestia loomed over Chrysalis’ chained form menacingly, “if the two of you were working together. Set up an emergency where she could play the hero and ingratiate her with some very important ponies. I want answers, and you will give them to me.”

Chrysalis fought very hard to stand her ground, but it was a very difficult battle. She was almost certain she was trembling. Celestia placed a hoof on Chrysalis’ chest and shoved, forcing her to fall on her rump. Her horn glowed as she leaned her head closer until Chrysalis could feel her breath on her face. Suddenly, she heard a click.

“Gotcha.” Celestia whispered playfully and then stepped away. “I’m sure we’ll meet again, so until then, goodbye. Hopefully you’ll be more receptive to my offer of friendship next time.”

Chrysalis looked down to see both pairs of manacles binding her hooves together had been undone. She looked back up to the princess.

“What are you doing?” Chrysalis asked with a confusion that finally burst past her desire to keep it hidden from the princess.

Celestia spread her wings, examining the one that Chrysalis had bitten as she flexed the muscles beneath the sea of feathers. She looked over to Chrysalis with a patient smile.

“I’m doing what must be done.”

With those last words, Celestia flapped her wings mightily and soared up into the sky, leaving Chrysalis alone in the field.

14 - Sticks and Stones

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Not too far into the Everfree Forest, though certainly deeper than most ponies ever dared to venture, was Chrysalis. Though it was dark, that was not why she couldn’t see. Though it was quiet, that is not why she couldn’t hear. With a look of shock on her face, she stood stone still amongst the trees, literally. Though her entire body was turned to rock, one part of her yet functioned. That one part was her mind, and one thought in particular rose above all others:

I’m going to kill that chicken.

__________________________

Chrysalis strode through the streets of Ponyville alone. It was a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky, though it was beginning to cool as it grew late in the afternoon. Despite the pleasant weather, she was far too distracted to enjoy it.

It had been over two months since she had taken Twilight Sparkle’s place at the Summer Sun Celebration. Over two months of being deep undercover and what had she to show for it? A timeline that had not collapsed in on itself and nothing more. While most would consider that a success, she did not.

She had been ruminating over what to do about it for hours alone in her bedroom. Each option presented its own problems and she had become very irritable through her contemplation. At the suggestion of a somewhat perturbed baby dragon, she went for a walk to try and calm herself. It wasn’t working.

The simplest solution was to aid in her past self’s invasion of Canterlot so that her changelings won, but if anything could completely destroy the timeline that would certainly do it. Next option would be to use her position as Twilight Sparkle to convince Equestria to leave the changelings alone. That was naturally the most ludicrously impossible task she had ever thought of and clearly off the table. The most obvious choice outside of those would be to prevent the invasion altogether.

Twilight and her friends had plenty of feats to their names outside of defending Equestria from her past self, so in theory there should still be the time travelling tours of her life in the future. The first major problem with that would be that without her having taken Princess Cadenza’s place, Time Keeper wouldn’t know about her ability as a shape shifter, and wouldn’t know to contact her about taking Twilight’s place.

This could potentially be solved by sending some kind of message to him in the future, but the logistics of sending a message one thousand years from now to one specific pony and actually have that message stick in their mind was migraine inducing. If she had an immortal messenger she could probably get it done, but she only really knew of Celestia and Luna that fit the bill. Celestia was clearly out of the question, but maybe if given enough time she could manipulate Luna’s affections for her into acting out the part. Failing that, she might just have to reveal herself and herself alone in some way that would be remembered by the history books for Time Keeper to learn about, though she’d have to convince her past self to be in an area that he could be aware of for un indeterminate length of time, because there was no way she would reveal the location of her hive in that scenario.

Chrysalis sighed. Convincing her past self. Therein laid perhaps one of her greatest challenges. Chrysalis’ hubris was one of her greatest flaws, even she was able to recognize that. Though those faults had been somewhat tempered by several years of failures, her past self had yet to go through those humbling experiences.

Could she reveal the truth of being from the future? Being prideful, arrogant and stubborn already made it unlikely enough to work, but she was also highly suspicious of others. Show her true form and her past self may very well assume she’s some upstart trying to impersonate her, or worse, replace her. Reveal details that only she should know and the flames of paranoia would only be fanned. She’d be as likely to throw her into a cell as to listen, and likely be complimented on her skills as a spy either way. Oh, she’d be well taken care of, as she would do with any changeling, but her freedom would be gone and her charade of a life as Twilight Sparkle would be over, or at least put on hiatus. The timeline could very well be doomed before she could convince her past self to release her.

She shook her head and took a series of deep breath and took in her surroundings for perhaps the first time since leaving the library and found she was in front of Sofas and Quills, the shop where Skitter was staying undercover. She gave a humorless laugh. Perhaps her subconscious had directed her here in an effort to solve her dilemma. Skitter could certainly be used to at least ease the introduction, though it would hardly solve all her problems.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER EYE SPY CHAMPIONS!”

Chrysalis leaped out of her skin at the cacophonous shouting. She attempted to calm her rapid breath and heartbeat, hoping that nobody had seen her fright.

“Um…girls? Maybe we shouldn’t—”

“I spy with my little eye…something that’s purple!” A cute southern drawl challenged.

Chrysalis’ eyes landed on a quartet of ponies on the other side of the street, three of which she recognized. It was Fluttershy and three little fillies, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and a third orange filly with a purple mane.

“Is it my mane?” The unidentified one asked.

“Nope!”

“Oh, Twilight!” Fluttershy gasped when she saw the distressed Chrysalis.

“Aw, guess that was too easy.” Apple Bloom pouted.

“Hey, no fair! I didn’t know her name!”

“Ya coulda still pointed at her.”

“Are you okay, Twilight?” Fluttershy inquired, though Chrysalis could barely hear her as the fillies continued their game.

“Just a little—” Chrysalis winced as the trio screamed some more. “They’re really loud.”

Fluttershy averted her gaze. “I’m sorry. I thought that a nice, calm game of eye spy would quiet them down, but it only made it worse.”

Chrysalis eyed the mysterious, unnamed filly. “Is that your sister?”

“Oh, no, that’s Scootaloo. I’m just looking after them for a sleepover tonight since Rarity couldn’t.”

“You’re going to take care of three hyperactive foals all night long? Call me a cynic, but I don’t think you can handle that.”

Fluttershy gave a frown that somehow conveyed equal measure of uncertain timidity and resentment.

“I…I can handle them! I’m great with animals, how hard could three fillies be?”

Chrysalis swallowed the laughter that fought to break out of her chest. That mare’s naiveté was almost adorable.

“Right, of course. I’m sure you have it completely under control.” She lied with a straight face and then indicated the Quills and Sofas shop. “Anyway, I have some errands to run, so I’ll let you be on your way.”

“Oh right, of course.” Fluttershy looked around for her charges only to realize they had run off without her. She let out a small ‘eep’ and hurried to catch up with them.

Chrysalis shook her head in amusement as she turned back to the task at hoof. That mare was in way over her head, not that it was any of her business. She had her own issues to worry about. She stepped towards the store but paused moments later.

Fluttershy’s cottage was near the Everfree Forest. If she lost control of those children and they wandered off, they could get into serious trouble. Chrysalis closed her eyes and sighed. It wasn’t any of her business. She turned away from Quills and Sofas and chased after Fluttershy.

____________________________

Chrysalis ruffled her feathers as she roosted upon the window sill of the room where the three fillies were being put to bed. She had spent the last couple of hours circling around Fluttershy’s property disguised as an owl, keeping vigil against any threats that sneaked through the night from the forest, or on the perhaps even greater chance that the foals burned down the cottage and would need rescuing from themselves instead.

Once in awhile, she would alight upon a window sill to see what was happening inside, as she was doing now. Chrysalis never would have described what Fluttershy had done as keeping control of the fillies, but to her credit, she managed to limit their hi-jinks to minor property damage, and here she was now tucking them into bed.

Chrysalis, tense from the entire night, began to let herself relax. It seemed she had been worried for nothing. Against all odds, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were going to get through this night safely. Fluttershy was even beginning to sing a lullaby to send them off to sleep. It was quite soothing. Fluttershy had a really pleasant singing voice. Not as good as her own, of course, but—

“HUSH NOW! QUIET NOW! IT’S TIME TO LAY YOUR SLEEPY HEAD!
HUSH NOW! QUIET NOW! IT’S TIME TO GO TO BED!”

Chrysalis let out an undignified sound somewhere between a hoot and a screech and fell backwards from her perch at the sudden shockwave of sound coming from Sweetie Belle inside. As she turned her unexpected fall into awkward flight, she could hear the sound of items crashing and breaking inside, far louder than she had heard at any other time in the night. The exact words of the song were difficult to discern over the sounds of destruction.

The noise grew even worse as many of the animals that Fluttershy kept in her yard woke up and added their own bellowing to the night, the worst offenders being the chickens as they squawked incessantly. Chrysalis landed on a nearby tree branch and promptly covered her ears as best she could with her wings. She watched as the chickens scattered away from their coop and ran around like the stupid creatures they were.

The cacophony from within the cottage faded and its four inhabitants burst out from the door. The fillies chased after the chickens, seemingly trying to help, though only making matters worse. Chrysalis scanned the area from her perch, just in case some monster decided to choose this moment to show itself. Luckily none did and Chrysalis didn’t even need to leave her branch. On reflection, she was hardly surprised. That supposed lullaby would have been enough to scare an army away.

There was one unusual moment that Chrysalis noticed, however. Fluttershy somehow managed to get all the panicked chickens to obey her by giving them an intense stare. Chrysalis herself felt nearly entranced, it was so out of place on the typically timid pegasus, and found herself leaning forward unconsciously as if to get a closer look until she nearly fell out of the tree. She shook her head to regain her senses. That was weird.

Once the chickens were back in their coop and calmed, Fluttershy escorted the fillies back into the cottage and into bed. There seemed to be a bit of an argument of some kind, but it didn’t last long and the three were left alone to sleep.

Chrysalis sighed with relief. Finally. She was getting tired herself and really wanted to get back to her own bed, or perhaps find some lone wanderer out at night to siphon a midnight snack from first. Once the three were asleep, she would finally be free.

Out of the corner of her eye, she detected movement and she tensed back up, though a quick glance revealed it to just be one of the chickens. It was wandering its way towards the Everfree Forest. Chrysalis mentally shrugged. If it wanted to get itself killed, that was no concern of hers. She returned her attention to the distant window and her heart skipped a beat.

The bed was empty and the three fillies were nowhere to be seen.

Some frantic flapping later, she was back on the window sill and her new vantage point soothed her jumpy nerves. They had crawled out of bed, but were still in the room. One of them even seemed to be approaching the window where she was. By the time she realized what was coming, it was too late.

THWACK!

“Did you just hit something?” Sweetie Belle’s voice carried through the now open window.

“I dunno.” Apple Bloom replied. “Come on, we gotta go get that chicken!”

An owl’s battered body lay on the ground next to the window, dazed after it slammed into her upon opening. If her current body were capable, she would have been groaning in pain. Birds were not meant to take much blunt force trauma, and Chrysalis was really wishing she had chosen a different disguise. What came next was a mystery to her as her vision faded to black.

Chrysalis returned to consciousness and significant pain. Her brain felt a little foggy and it was hard to focus. She transformed back into Twilight Sparkle.

“Ow.” She stated plainly from the ground. It was good to be able to vocalize her pain again. A cursory investigation of her body revealed that no serious damage had been done, or at least nothing appeared to be broken this time around.

She leaped to her hooves upon remembering what had happened. Those three morons had just chased after a chicken, a chicken that Chrysalis had seen running off into the Everfree Forest! They were nowhere in sight. She had no idea how long she had been out, but hopefully it hadn’t been anything more than a few minutes. If it had, it may already be too late to help those fools. She growled in frustration. Why couldn’t children understand how dangerous their actions could be? Wincing with every step, she ran into the forest after them.

Pony eyes weren’t all that good in the dark, so she could barely see where she was going. Without missing a beat, she transformed back into an owl. She flew through the forest, deftly dodging branches, vines and any number of other obstructions as if they were in bright daylight. Her chest tightened with every passing moment that she couldn’t find them until she heard a voice calling into the night air.

“Scootaloo!”

It was Apple Bloom’s voice, and it held a definite mocking tone. Chrysalis altered directions to head straight for that voice.

“Hey, quit it! That’s not funny!” Scootaloo replied.

They were close now. She could get small glimpses of them through the trees in the distance. She swooped down behind one tree not far behind them and rapidly transformed into Twilight again.

“Hey, did you two see that?” Sweetie Belle asked nervously.

“See what?” Scootaloo asked, glad for a distraction from Apple Bloom’s teasing.

“I thought I saw a green flash behind us.”

“I didn’t see nothin’.” Apple Bloom replied dismissively. “Yer probably just imaginin’ things.”

“No, I swear, I saw something!” Sweetie Belle insisted with a squeak. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes.

“There’s nothin’ there, see?” Apple Bloom trotted up to where her friend had indicated. “Maybe I should start calllin’ Sweetie Belle instead o’ Scootaloo.”

“A…Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo stuttered as she pointed behind her friend. Apple Bloom turned around to see a menacing figure in the darkness looming over her.

“AAAAHHHH!” The three fillies screamed in unison as they scrambled to get away. Moments later, all three were scooped up in a green magical field.

“What are—” Chrysalis winced as the three screamed again. “Shut up!” She shouted, and the three’s screams were reduced to relatively quiet whimpering.

“What are you three idiots doing here?! You’re going to get yourselves killed!” Chrysalis brought the three closer to her face so that the light of her magic would illuminate her face for them to see better.

“T…Twilight?” Apple Bloom whispered. “Is that you?”

“Yes, and you’re lucky it’s just me! Do you know how often I’ve nearly died in here? We need to leave now, before you get hurt. A chicken isn’t worth the risk.”

Chrysalis turned to leave but came face to face with what at first she thought was the missing chicken. It certainly had the head of one, but its body was of some kind of lizard, maybe even a dragon if its wings were an indication. It had an almost demonic appearance in the green light of her magic, especially with its red eyes.

“What the heck…?” Chrysalis uttered in surprise.

Suddenly, she felt a stiffening of her hind legs and her eyes went wide when she realized she could no longer move them. She tried to look away from the beast, but could not. In a panic, she threw the three fillies away from the thing.

“Run!” She screamed at them.

Chrysalis tried to channel another spell to strike at the monster with, but it was too late. Within seconds she had been turned entirely to stone.

_____________________________

Chrysalis had no idea how long it had been since she had been petrified. Hours? Days? Longer? It was difficult to tell the passage of time when one had no senses to rely on. Nothing she tried to do seemed to work. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t cast spells. She couldn’t transform. Nothing.

Her complete inability to do or experience anything had paved the way for boredom to wash over her. She never would have guessed that boredom of all things would be a major feature of being petrified. Still, it had allowed her to push aside the panic, even if only momentarily, and so she clung to it like a drowning mare to a raft. Panic peered in from the edges of her thoughts, waiting for the moment of weakness that would herald its triumphant return. For the first time, she felt like she could understand what Discord had gone through. How would her mind fair after a thousand years passed? Maybe it already had. It was so hard to tell the passage of time.

What if something happened to her body? What if some wild animal knocked her over and she shattered into a thousand pieces? Would she even be able to tell? She tried to reassure herself that stone was not glass, she wouldn’t shatter so easily. She’d just lose a limb. A leg, or a horn, or perhaps she’d have her entire head knocked off by a falling tree.

And what about being weathered by wind, water and snow? Her features slowly fading as the centuries passed, her face smoothing in the face of inexorable time until she was little more than a vaguely pony shaped hunk of rock.

Chrysalis renewed her fruitless struggle, attempting to move any part of her body, to cast any spell. How long had it been? It had to have been decades. Or maybe without her guiding the timeline the entire universe had been destroyed and time no longer had any meaning. She could be all that was spared because she was a mere slab of inanimate marble overlooked by time’s annihilation. She could at that very moment be floating through the infinite cosmos. Alone.

What had become of her subjects? Her sweet, little changelings? Was it too late to save them? Had they been swept up in a temporal dustbin along with the rest of reality? Had she failed?

No, it couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be too late! She screamed as loud as was possible, which is to say not at all, in the vain hope that somebody could somehow hear her silent cries and free her from that horrifying prison. She imagined begging into the empty void until her throat was raw, and tried desperately to remember the pain that would cause and greedily held onto that reminder of what it was like to be alive. Help! Please! Somebody! I can’t let them die! Please…

Chrysalis gasped for breath and collapsed to the ground. Her eyes blinked rapidly as they tried to adjust to the night around her. Tears coursed down her face like little rivers. She let out a mixture of sobbing and nervous laughter. She was alive.

“Twilight! Are you okay?!”

“F…Fluttershy?” Chrysalis’ voice was unsteady as she looked up to see her. “How did you…?” Her voice trailed off.

“It was awesome!” Another voice answered. For a second, Chrysalis thought it was Rainbow Dash, but it was just Scootaloo standing off to the side along with the other Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Yeah, she stared the cockatrice in the eye, and she was turning into stone—” Sweetie Belle continued before she was cut off.

“An’ she actually made it back down! It stopped turnin’ her to stone an’ she then made it turn Elizabeak an’ you back to normal!” Apple Bloom finished the tale.

Chrysalis’ eyes landed back on Fluttershy in amazement. How could a mare like her have the guts to stare down such a monster?

“How long was I like that?”

“An hour maybe, why?” Scootaloo answered.

Her eyes widened. A mere hour? Chrysalis had felt desperation far greater than ever she had felt in her life. She had been terrified that she had been trapped for millennia. She was at that very moment still weeping like a foal over the relief that her ordeal was over. One hour.

Legs of thankfully only metaphorical lead fought against her efforts to stand and she soon found a yellow hoof offering assistance. After a moment of hesitation, she accepted that offer.

“Thank you.” Chrysalis shakily said as she wiped away her tears and tried to steady herself. As awkward as those words had felt coming out of her mouth, she found that she truly meant them.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Fluttershy asked again, genuine concern lining her face.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m okay.” Chrysalis lied and gestured towards the foals. “What about you? I didn’t hurt you when I threw you, did I?”

“Well actually, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a bruise on my wing and—ow!” Scootaloo screeched as Apple Bloom kicked her. “Uh, I mean I’m fine.”

“Good.” Chrysalis sighed with relief.

“Um…thank you for helping save the girls, but what are you even doing out here?”

Chrysalis opened her mouth to tell her the truth, that she had been keeping an eye on them because she didn’t believe Fluttershy could handle it on her own, but stopped herself. She had been wrong, and she didn’t want to insult her by saying so. Not after what she had just done for her.

“Oh, I was just going for a walk when I saw these three go into the forest, so I chased after them.” Fluttershy looked a little skeptical of the claim, so Chrysalis quickly changed the subject. “Let’s get out of here before some other monster attacks us. I’ve had enough excitement for one night.”

“Right” Fluttershy nodded. “Come along, girls.”

The three fillies voiced their assent and the five of them marched back to Fluttershy’s cottage.

_____________________________________

Chrysalis sat with her eyes closed in the living room of Fluttershy’s cottage, trembling fiercely. The owner of said cottage had left to tuck the three foals into bed once again, leaving her alone. Though she had been through countless life threatening situations, she had never felt as frightened as she had earlier that night and she was struggling to keep control of herself.

Hoofsteps signaled the return of Fluttershy and Chrysalis stood to attention, trying but failing to halt her quivering. Upon seeing her condition, Fluttershy stopped.

“Are you okay?” Fluttershy softly asked for the third time that night from the doorway then averted her eyes. “I mean…of course not. Um…do you…want to talk about it?”

Upon realizing that her attempt to appear strong had failed, Chrysalis sat back down with a frown.

“I…I’ve never felt like this before.” She began, staring down at the floor in shame. “I’m stronger than this.” Fluttershy drew closer and hugged Chrysalis.

“It’s okay.” She whispered soothingly. “It was very traumatic, anypony would be scared.”

“I’m not anypony, I’m…” Chrysalis trailed off, having nearly said that she was the Queen. She couldn’t say that. She let Fluttershy’s gentle influx of love calm her nerves, if only a little. After several seconds of silence, Chrysalis spoke again.

“I was aware in there. I couldn’t see, or hear or feel, but I could think. I thought I had been trapped for years. I thought that maybe I was falling to pieces and wasn’t able to tell. I thought that the world could have ended around me and that I would never know. I thought about all those I’d never see again. I believed that I had failed.”

Tears once again flowed down Chrysalis’ face.

“It’s okay,” Fluttershy repeated, “let it all out.”

Pride had always been something Chrysalis had in abundance, even when she was completely alone she tended to let her pride dictate her actions. But she wasn’t alone, and it was hard to hold onto your pride when you had somebody soothing you as if you were a child all the while tears fell uncontrollably from your face. As odd as it seemed, being held by Fluttershy reminded her of the sweet, gentle kindness of her own mother holding her when she was young and afraid. Though a small voice in the back of her head warned her that showing weakness now would lead to blackmail later, she just didn’t care.

Chrysalis openly wept into Fluttershy’s shoulder. She wept for the terrors of that night. She wept for her loneliness. She wept for the pressures of having the universe’s fate hanging over her head. She wept for the years of helplessly watching as her people were slowly ground into dust. She wept until she had no more tears left to spill.

“Feeling better?” Fluttershy asked with a kind smile.

“Mostly I just feel tired.” Chrysalis replied blearily.

“Do you want to stay here tonight?”

Chrysalis nodded wordlessly.

“I’ll let you have my bed. I’ll take the couch. This way.”

“Fluttershy?” Chrysalis stopped her host as she turned away.

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For everything.”

Fluttershy smiled gently.

“Any time, Twilight.”

_____________________________

Chrysalis stared down at the blank sheet of parchment on her desk. She was back at the Golden Oaks Library. Spike had been worried when he had woken up that morning to find her missing, and then even more worried when she finally arrived home and said that she had spent the night with a friend. He had only calmed down when she assured him that it had been Fluttershy and not Rarity that she had been visiting. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his paranoia in regards to his hopeless crush.

That blank sheet taunted her. She knew what she wanted to say, but didn’t know how to say it. A near full wastebasket next to her attested to that fact. She took a deep breath and lifted the quill with her magic.

To: Princess Celestia

I had an eye opening experience recently that I believe is perfect for one of these reports.

Chrysalis paused, contemplating for the hundredth time just how much detail about her run in with the cockatrice she really needed to go into. It was bad enough with Fluttershy knowing all about it, she didn’t really want to spread it around more than necessary.

The specifics of the event are unimportant next to what I have learned. Suffice to say, somepony that I had previously dismissed underestimated due to matters of her personality helped me out of a bad situation at great risk to herself. She displayed great courage and ability that I had assumed she lacked. I feel ashamed guilty it was unfair of me to judge her prematurely as I had done and now know that I should investigate a pony’s character more thoroughly before making such hasty assumptions. Perhaps next time I may be just as pleasantly surprised as I am at this moment.
From: Twilight Sparkle

Chrysalis set aside the letter. Good enough. She would ask for Spike to send it later.

“Hoo!”

Chrysalis smiled and lazily petted Sage’s head. She was amazed at how sorely she had misjudged Fluttershy, which had certainly not been a lie. With a weary sigh, she couldn’t help but wonder…maybe Rainbow Dash, too.

15 - The Great Apple Caper

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“Are you sure, Twilight? I can pay for myself, if you want…” Fluttershy bit her lip as she scanned the menu at an outdoor diner.

“Think nothing of it, what are friends for?” Chrysalis assured her with an insincere grin from her own position opposite the pegasus. “And later we can go to that…pet…place…shop you wanted.”

“Well, Angel does want a new sleeping basket…”

“Wonderful, it’s yours. Or his, rather.”

Fluttershy fidgeted. “What’s gotten into you? You’re not usually so…nice.” She hesitantly met Chrysalis’ gaze. “It’s almost like you’re trying to…bribe me or something.”

Chrysalis inhaled deeply. So the usually timid mare decided to cut through the song and dance routine and get straight to the point, quite atypical of her. She looked to either side to ensure nobody was listening and leaned in to whisper.

“You haven’t told anypony about me crying at your place, right?”

“What?” Fluttershy looked aghast at the thought. “Of course not! I know you wouldn’t want that, so I’d never!”

“And if it stays that way, you can look forward to more outings like this one.”

“You don’t…ummm…have to…do...” Fluttershy paused even longer than normal as she chewed her lip indecisively. “Well, it would be nice to spend more time with you.”

“And you shall, as long as you can keep a secret.” Chrysalis leaned back in her chair, a satisfied smirk gracing her lips.

“Okay…I can do that.” Fluttershy went back to searching her menu, though kept stealing glances back at Chrysalis.

“What?”

“Aren’t you going to order something too?”

Chrysalis stared at the untouched menu on the table in front of her with a frown.

“I’m…still on a diet.” She replied lamely.

“You’re always on a diet. I don’t even remember the last time I saw you eat.”

“I have a very sensitive stomach,” Chrysalis added, surprising herself with how honest her intended lie turned out to be, “most foods make me ill, so I try to only eat things I’ve prepared myself. I don’t like talking about it.”

“Oh…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to touch on such a painful subject.”

“Just…keep quiet about it. I don’t have the resources to bribe everypony into silence.”

“You really don’t need—”

Fluttershy’s protestations were cut short by a loud crash and a scream, spurring her into diving beneath the table for cover.

“Oops, sorry!” A familiar, squeaky voice came from the same general direction. Chrysalis looked over to see Sweetie Belle tangled up in the legs of a waiter, and a platter of food strewn across the ground. Her two compatriots, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, were attempting to untangle her from the stallion all the while he scolded them. Chrysalis rose from her seat and approached.

“What are you doing here?” Chrysalis asked, half annoyed and half amused. The three froze and stared back at her wide eyed for just a moment.

“She’s spotted us!” Scootaloo shouted.

“Quick, crusaders, run!” Apple Bloom shrieked in turn and the three scattered in different directions.

“Seriously?” Chrysalis asked with a chuckle. She looked back to her table to find Fluttershy peering out from beneath the table cloth. Rolling her eyes, Chrysalis used her telekinesis to pull the waiter back onto his hooves and tossed him a few bits from her saddlebags.

“Use this to cover whatever the mare under that table wants.” She ordered, not bothering to even look at him as she did so.

Given that Apple Bloom worked on a farm, and Scootaloo appeared to be an athletic child, Chrysalis assumed Sweetie Belle would be the least fit of the three and so chose to chase after her. Not that Chrysalis believed it would be hard to keep up with any of them given their short legs, but she didn’t feel like breaking a sweat if she didn’t have to. She trotted after her at a modest pace. While she wanted answers for what they were doing and why they felt they had to run from her, she was in no particular hurry. Even if she somehow lost the foal, she knew where Sweetie Belle lived and was near certain she could rely on her sister’s assistance.

She followed the little filly as she darted for the outskirts of town towards Sweet Apple Acres, or so Chrysalis assumed. A little while after they passed the last building of the town proper, Sweetie Belle tripped and tumbled across the dirt path in a rather painful looking fashion. Concerned, Chrysalis picked up the pace.

“Are you okay?” She asked as she levitated Sweetie Belle into the air and began inspecting her for injuries. Sweetie struggled futilely to break away from her magic, so she at least seemed to be okay.

“Please don’t hurt me!”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “I nearly died saving your life in the forest, why would I hurt you now?”

“Because we were spying on you?”

Chrysalis’ eye twinkled with amusement. “Oh, were you now? Here’s a tip from an expert, if you’re going to spy on somepony, don’t forget to pay attention to your surroundings.”

Sweetie Belle blushed as she went limp in her magic. “Noted.”

“So, what did your little mission uncover? Anything juicy?” She asked as she set the filly back down.

“That you’re dating Fluttershy.”

A peal of laughter tore through the mid morning air. “You’re as bad as your sister.”

“What? No I’m not!” She protested.

“She’s not my type. She’s much too timid for my tastes.”

“Then why were you at the restaurant with her?”

“I owed her for saving me from the cockatrice, remember?” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow.

“Ooooh…right. That makes more sense.”

Chrysalis chuckled. Kids.

“Come on, let’s get you home.”

“But I was supposed to meet with the others at Sweet Apple Acres!”

“To Sweet Apple Acres, then.” Chrysalis shrugged. It was closer than Carousel Boutique, at least. Suddenly her ear twitched. “Wait, what’s that noise?”

The noise in question came from further down the road, but she couldn't tell what it was on account of the curved path and trees blocking her view. Whatever it was, it was big, loud and starting to make the ground shake.

“I think we’d better start running again.” Chrysalis told Sweetie.

“Right.” She replied with a small tremble in her voice.

Knowing full well that Sweetie wasn’t nearly fast enough, Chrysalis scooped her up with her magic once more and broke into a full sprint back towards Ponyville.

“Cows!” Sweetie screamed over the rising roar from her aerial vantage point.

Chrysalis groaned when she stole a glance behind them to see a herd of cows stampeding around the corner. After all the things that Chrysalis had been through, a bunch of dim witted, cowardly bovines constituted a threat now?

The fences on either side of the road were keeping them on the path, Chrysalis noted, so at least it would be easy enough to get out of the way. She swerved to the side and dashed for the nearest fence. With what she intended to be a majestic leap, she attempted to clear the barrier. Almost immediately she realized it had been less a leap and more a desperate hop. Her trajectory was completely off and with a heavy thwack she slammed right into the top wooden board and painfully bounced backwards. The shock of the impact made her drop the spell holding Sweetie aloft, and her momentum catapulted her right over as she screamed. Chrysalis grumbled to herself. Had she been in her true form, she would have nailed that jump.

She shook off the impact only to find it was too late to try getting over the fence again before the cows would be upon her. Reflexively, she put up a shield to protect herself and braced for impact. With luck, the stampeding creatures would go around the little green dome she had created rather than over her prone form, but the immediate strain on her horn told her it was a futile hope. Dozens of incredibly heavy cows trampled over her shield in quick succession and she knew that her protections were in serious danger of giving out.

Despite the growing migraine she suffered, Chrysalis forced more power into her shield, expanding it so she could stand. So far so good, she thought as she panted for breath. The cows had stopped climbing over her now that she was a greater obstacle than a small mound of dirt. She gradually moved back to the fence, inching her protective bubble along with her. With a smug grin, she reached for the wooden slats and readied herself to climb.

“Yeehaw!”

“Huh?” Chrysalis’ head jerked towards the familiar sound of Applejack’s shouting but couldn’t find her through the sea of cows. She did however see the bull that was charging straight for her rather than flowing around as the smaller cows were doing. She inhaled sharply. It was unlikely that her shield could take a head on collision like that anymore, so if she wanted to survive she’d have to be quick. As the animal crashed into her barrier, Chrysalis diverted all the magical energy she could muster in half a second into her horn for one desperate blast. Just as she began to unleash her attack, she felt a sharp yank at her throat and her vision filled with blue sky and clouds, then soon after the green of grass as she landed face first and fell into a coughing fit.

“Are you okay, Twilight?” Sweetie Belle screeched in terror.

“What—” Chrysalis paused as she descended into another fit of coughing. She felt her neck and found a loop of rope around it. “What just happened?”

“Applejack lassoed you and yanked you out of the way of that bull!”

“Oh.” Chrysalis answered succinctly as she rolled onto her back and lay there, trying to calm her breathing. She was lucky that AJ hadn’t snapped her neck, but equally lucky to be out of that mess. However lucky she may be, she was in tremendous pain. There was definitely blood in her mouth. She spit it out. Blood and grass.

“We should get you to a doctor.” Sweetie Belle’s urgent whine was like a spike being driven into Chrysalis’ skull. She meant well, though, so she nodded and held her tongue.

Unsteadily, she rose to her hooves and noted the stampede had passed them by. She had no idea where they were now, but that was Applejack’s problem now.

“Come on, let’s go.” Chrysalis addressed Sweetie Belle, and then began hobbling her way towards medical aid.

___________________________

“So, are you going to the ceremony thanking Applejack for stopping the stampede yesterday?” A doctor conversationally asked as he held up a small light. “Follow the light with your eyes, please.”

“There’s a ceremony now?” Chrysalis sighed as she followed his instructions through a series of small tests, the purposes of which she didn’t really know.

“Yup.” He affirmed as he set the light stick back in the pocket of his doctor’s coat. “Got a trophy for her and everything.”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “Do they have stampedes so often that they give out trophies for stopping them?”

“Nah,” he chuckled, “I think it’s some old bowling trophy that they repurposed. Not really ‘bout the trophy, really, it’s just to show we appreciate all she does for Ponyville. Anyhow, you’re good to go. You have amazing recuperative abilities, and a good thing too with how often you’re in here.” He gave a cheeky wink. “We’ll keep your bed open for your next visit.”

She scowled at that, eliciting a chuckle from the doctor. “If I’m here any more often, I might bother to remember your name.” She retorted grouchily.

“Oof, that hurts!” He responded with a jovial laugh. “Well, I’ve got other patients that don’t remember my name to see to. Have a splendid day, Miss Sparkle. Oh, and you should really go to that ceremony.”

Chrysalis threw the uncomfortable hospital pillow from next to her at his receding form, ineffectively hitting the door that closed behind him. She sighed and slid off the edge of the bed, her hooves clacking on the tiled floor. The doctor was right, she should go to AJ’s ceremony. She had to thank her for getting her out of the stampede.

_________________________________

Chrysalis approached the crowd of ponies surrounding a stage outside of the town hall. From the looks of it, she estimated that about a third of Ponyville had shown up to celebrate Applejack. She scanned the horde for the guest of honour, but couldn’t find her. She did, however, spot Rainbow Dash who promptly flew to her side. Chrysalis suppressed the urge to groan.

“Hey, Twilight!” Dash greeted her with an excited smile. “You here to celebrate how awesome Applejack is, too?”

“Er...I’m just here to thank her for saving me from that stampede.”

“Yeah, that’s great, too.” Dash nodded along and Chrysalis wondered if she had even listened to a single word. “She’s gonna help me out with some tricks later!”

Chrysalis winced. “Aerial tricks?”

Dash let out a singular laugh. “Are there any other kind?”

“Just promise you won’t crash into me this time when you inevitably wipe out.”

“Pfft! That only happened once!”

“Twice.”

“Huh?”

“Once while you practiced for the Best Young Flier Competition, and once when we first met.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about when we met.” Dash chuckled. “Your mane looked so ridiculous!”

“Yes.” Chrysalis said coldly. “I remember.”

“Where were you after the competition, anyway? I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“I ran when the arena was attacked and got lost in Cloudsdale.”

“Really? Fluttershy said you left before—”

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes. “I was in the bathroom. Something I ate gave me diarrhea. Happy now?”

“Oh, uh…not really.” Rainbow Dash grimaced.

The two stood next to each other in awkward silence among the otherwise energetic crowd. Awkward for Rainbow Dash, anyway. Chrysalis was actually quite pleased at how effective her lie had been in shutting down her prying, obnoxious inquiries. Her satisfaction, however, was short lived, quickly fading as time passed and Applejack continued to not be present. The mayor had been on stage with a plastered on smile for several minutes, but her eyes were nervously darting about.

Chrysalis sighed irritably. She was about to leave when she heard a commotion from the crowd. Following their collective gaze, she saw Applejack finally approaching. Something was off about her, though. Her gait was different, she was as much stumbling as she was walking. Chrysalis shrugged. Perhaps she had started her own celebration a little early with some hard apple cider. She figured it wasn’t important as she approached the mare of the day, alongside many others who had the same intention.

As Chrysalis got closer, the orange mare only seemed to look worse and worse. She seemed almost lost as she looked from excited to face to excited face. She had dark, heavy bags beneath her eyes and seemed to be struggling to keep them open. Her face did brighten upon seeing Chrysalis, though.

“Twilight!” She greeted warmly. “It’s great to see ya!”

“Hello Applejack.” Chrysalis nodded politely. “I wanted to thank you for saving me from that stampede the other day.”

“What’s that about stamps? If you need stamps, ya should head to the post office!”

Chrysalis blinked. “Uh…right.” Maybe she hadn’t heard her clearly over the noise of the crowd? She spoke again, louder this time. “I said thank you for helping me with the stampede!”

“Oh, right! Shucks, yer welcome, Twilight. Any time!” An amplified voice called for AJ from the stage. “I think that’s my cue, I gotta go, Twi.”

Chrysalis watched as Applejack struggled through the onlookers towards the stage where the mayor waited expectantly with a trophy. She seemed to be far past being just a little drunk, but it still wasn’t any of her business. With her goal accomplished, Chrysalis turned away from the celebration and headed home.

__________________________

The acrid smell of smoke hung in the air of Chrysalis’ bedroom as she incinerated yet another roll of parchment. Spike had brought a sizable stack to her desk when she had arrive back home and she was getting dangerously close to needing more.

The last few hours had been spent attempting to write a letter to her past self. One letter would say too much, another too little, or lack sufficient urgency, and several more seemed to press too hard. As her frustrations grew, she began noticing a trend of increasing aggression in her letters’ tones. She groaned and rubbed a temple with her hoof, then cursed as she realized she used the one that was stained black from ash and spilled ink.

Chrysalis leaned back in her chair, stared up at the ceiling and took a few deep breaths. Maybe she was going about it all wrong. Instead of trying to impress upon her past self the importance of halting the invasion, she needed to first establish a relationship with her unrelated to her ultimate goal. Perhaps a simple letter of introduction first, using an alias of course, was in order. She’d try to gain her trust over time and convince her to change her plans once she was in a better position. There was still plenty of time before the attack, after all.

She put quill to page yet again and made a quick draft. In it she explained that she was an independent changeling who had heard of her eminence and her hive and was interested in establishing communications. In it she proclaimed great proficiency at intel gathering, mentioning her knowledge of the upcoming Canterlot invasion as evidence of that, and offering her services.

Chrysalis leaned back in her chair once more as doubts filled her mind. Maybe she should leave out any knowledge of the invasion. Sure, it would display her skill, but also implicate her in spying on her past self and risk imprisonment.

She contemplated burning it as she had all its predecessors when a large crash shook her entire room, causing her to lose balance and for her chair to tip over backwards. Her limbs flailed about wildly and a sharp pain filled her left hind leg from kicking the desk. A second crash was heard as the chair and back of her head struck the floor. Moments later, her form was blanketed by dust, debris and several pieces of parchment that drifted down like a gentle snowfall.

An unmistakable groan of pain greeted Chrysalis’ ears and rage bubbled up inside her.

“Dash!” Chrysalis screeched as she scrambled to her hooves, spitting out dust and bits of parchment.

“Ugh…hey, Twi.” Rainbow Dash greeted her with a pained voice. Chrysalis spotted her jutting half way through the ceiling. She latched onto her with some magic and began pulling. “Ow! Watch it, that hurts!”

“When I said don’t crash into me, I didn’t mean crash into my house instead!” She growled through gritted teeth.

“It’s not—ow—my fault!”

An urgent thumping could be heard approaching throughout all of this and her door burst open, admitting Spike, Time Keeper and Davenport into the room.

“What happened here? Are you okay?” Spike asked as all three of them surveyed the mess.

“I’ll be fine as soon as I can get this stupid bit—” Rainbow Dash popped out of the hole she was stuck in and rocketed straight into Chrysalis, both falling to the floor in a tangled heap.

“Twilight!” Spike shouted as he rushed to help. The two stallions approached a little more cautiously.

“Do you need some assistance?” Davenport asked tentatively, kicking aside some of the parchment in search of safe footing.

“I’ll be fine once I get rid of this reckless fool!” Chrysalis grunted as she let Spike help her up.

“It wasn’t my fault this time!” Rainbow protested. “AJ launched me—whoa!”

“I don’t care!” Chrysalis cut her off by swiping her up with magic and dragged her to the open window, throwing her through it. “Now get out!”

The three males in the room stared awkwardly as she launched Rainbow Dash. Chrysalis turned to glare at them.

“I, uh…think I’ll look for a book another day.” Davenport said with a forced smile and hurried his way from the room. Spike followed suit.

Time Keeper braved her glower as he looked up at the hole Dash had left behind. He shook his head.

“You know what? I’m not even gonna scold you for that. You have every right to be pissed. I’ll see if I can find somepony who can fix this, you just try and wind down.”

Chrysalis’ eye twitched as he too trotted off. Her gaze fell to the mess of parchment and broken bits of her ceiling that littered the floor. With a cry of frustration, she ignited all the writing materials, imagining it was Dash as she watched it all burn to ash.

________________________

It was the next day and a repair pony had chased her out of her room so that he could fix the damage Rainbow Dash had caused. Not wanting to spend time hanging around with Time Keeper in the Library, she decided to go for a walk with the eventual goal of finding out what Pinkie Pie was up to that day. She hadn’t spent much time with the obnoxious filly lately, and for some weird reason felt a desire to change that.

After near an hour of mostly aimless wandering, Sugarcube Corner rose up in her sights, along with a large, ominous tent that had been erected in front of it. Moans of pain came from within and a number of familiar faces from the hospital were milling about. Chrysalis paused one moment to soak in the sight before marching right into the impromptu shelter. Though part of her enjoyed the satisfaction of not being the one in need of treatment for once, a greater part of her felt a sense of foreboding over who might be in her place.

Inside she was slammed by a wall of rank odour from the vomit of well over a dozen sick ponies who lay in cots. Chrysalis had to fight back a rising sense of nausea.

“Oh no, not another one!” A worried voice cut through the wailing. “Come this way, we’ve got a nice cot for you to relax on.”

Chrysalis shoved the nurse’s guiding hoof aside. “I’m fine, I just got caught off guard by the smell. What happened?”

“A bunch of ponies got a severe case of food poisoning after eating some baked goods.” She explained.

“Not baked goods—” Pinkie Pie began to shout from somewhere near the back of the tent but was interrupted by her own retching, “—baked bads!”

Pinkie Pie looked terrible. No, worse than terrible. She looked like Chrysalis would after eating a ten course meal of fruits, sugary goods, and vegetables. Her face had literally turned green, her mane was even more frazzled than normal, and bits of vomit were splattered across her body.

Overcoming her immediate revulsion with raw anger, Chrysalis hurried to her friend’s side. Even if she couldn’t eat it without getting sick, she knew that Pinkie and the Cakes’ baking couldn’t be responsible for making normal ponies so ill.

“Who did this to you?” Chrysalis growled.

“Applejack…she was helping me with the baking.”

Chrysalis’ eyes scanned the tent for the offending mare to find that she was conspicuously absent. She hadn’t thought the farmer to be the type to poison ponies, but she had misjudged at least one of the element bearers before. If she even was AJ anymore, her past self may very well have replaced her with a changeling in response to her own meddling by this point. Rainbow Dash had mentioned that AJ was responsible for the damage to the library, too. Maybe she owed the technicolour pegasus an apology.

“Don’t worry, Pinkie, I’ll handle her.”

_____________________

Chrysalis blew past a row of apple trees and zoned in on the loud thunk she had just heard. A scowl lined her face and her horn glowed in anticipation of a violent confrontation. Not that she assumed there would be violence, she had cooled down enough to acknowledge some restraint was warranted, especially if AJ had been replaced by one of her changelings, but she wanted to be ready just in case.

She halted in her tracks when she finally spotted her. Applejack stood there, teetering back and forth, her head drooping and her eyes so near closed that she thought she may have fallen asleep standing. She only knew for certain that she hadn’t when she weakly kicked at the desiccated, gnarled remnant of a tree behind her.

Any remaining anger drained from Chrysalis. She knew that look. That she hadn't realized it yesterday at the ceremony caused a pang of shame in her chest. That look had been reflected back at her a multitude of times when she had run herself ragged in service of her changelings. She didn’t know what had caused this exhaustion, but AJ needed rest, not somebody to yell at her for her mistakes. She stepped closer and placed a gentle hoof on her back.

“Huh?” The farmer flinched at her touch and her eyes opened to properly see her guest. After a few confused seconds passed, a weak smile of recognition came to her lips. “Twilight! It’s mighty—” she paused to yawn, “—mighty good to see ya!”

“Come on, girl, you need rest. Let’s go to the house and set you up for a nap.” Chrysalis urged with a soothing voice and guiding hoof, only to receive a glare from Applejack who jerked away.

“A nap?! Whattaya think I am? A foal? I have apples to harvest.”

The embers of anger, previously quenched, began to stir. Still, Chrysalis tried to keep control of her temper.

“The apples will still be here after you sleep. You need a break.”

“Like hay I do! I was doin’ just fine ‘fore you interrupted me!”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow in irritation and pointed to the dead tree behind the mare. “Oh, were you? I guess we have different definitions of ‘fine’.”

AJ looked behind her, blinked blearily a couple times and then looked back to Chrysalis. “That don’t mean nothin’!”

“In what reality does that mean nothing?! You’re so tired you didn’t even realize you weren’t doing your job! Just take a break and let your brother handle this for awhile!”

“Big Mac’s hurt, an’ anyway, I was just practicin’ on that tree. Gotta warm up before the real thing.”

How was this mare and her blatant lies supposed to represent the element of honesty? She took a deep breath before continuing in a firm tone. “You need rest.”

With a huff, her words were ignored. Applejack picked up an empty bucket from beside the tree. Chrysalis knocked it out of her mouth.

“Hey!” AJ shouted, fire in her stubborn eyes.

“You hurt Pinkie!” Chrysalis shouted, blocking her path.

“I think I’d remember that.”

“She’s laid up getting medical treatment from your baking right this moment! We can go and prove it right now! Just promise you’ll get some rest after you see the truth!”

“Musta been that funny new recipe she was tryin’, hardly my fault. Honestly, who ever heard about usin’ worms an’ potato chips in bakin’.” She narrowed her eyes. “Now outta my way!”

“No.” Chrysalis narrowed her own eyes in turn.

“I said,” AJ placed her forehead upon Chrysalis’ and shoved, “outta my way!”

Chrysalis shoved right back. “Go! To! Bed!”

“I’m not gonna rest ‘til I’m done! These apples need to be picked ‘fore the season’s over!”

The two stared into each other’s eyes for several tense seconds. Chrysalis contemplated just putting her to sleep with a spell, but recalled the lesson she had learned with Pinkie about not listening to her friends. Finally she let up and stepped back.

“Fine!” Chrysalis conceded, earning a triumphant grin from AJ. That grin faded when Chrysalis picked up a bucket between her teeth and walked off to a nearby tree full of ripe apples.

“What do you think yer doin?”

Chrysalis spit the bucket out and reached for the apples with her magic.

“If you won’t rest until the job is done, and you’re brother can’t help, then I’ll do it myself.” She gave a satisfied smirk as she filled the first bucket of apples, having found a way to solve the problem and make everypony happy. Grin turned scowl once more when the bucket and its contents went tumbling several meters from a well placed kick by Applejack.

“Hey!” She screamed indignantly.

“Ain’t nopony gonna do this but me! It’s my job, I said I can do it on my own an’ I ain’t gonna let nopony prove me wrong!”

Chrysalis’ jaw dropped in equal measure shock and disgust. “I thought I was stubborn.”

“Ain’t nopony as stubborn as me.” AJ beamed with misplaced pride. Chrysalis couldn’t tell if she truly believed that was something to be proud of or if the exhaustion had addled her brain.

“Fine, you win. You can keep on working yourself into an early grave if that’s what you want, but you need to stop trying to help everypony else until you've rested properly. I don't want you hurting anypony else.”

“I ain’t hurt nopony, an’ you ain’t gonna stop me from helpin’ others, neither! Fluttershy’s countin’ on me for tomorrow’s bunny census!”

Chrysalis stared at her coldly and then turned away to leave. There was no point in talking with her anymore, she had to find another way to fix this. Fortunately, Applejack had revealed that she wouldn’t be at risk of ruining any other pony’s lives until the next day, so she had some time. Even better, she already had a good idea of what she would do.

______________________________

Chrysalis leaned against a wooden fence post outside of Sweet Apple Acres. It was just after dark, and she doubted she had much longer to wait. Minutes later, Rainbow Dash landed quietly next to her.

“Is she gone?” Chrysalis asked.

“Yeah. She just fell asleep in the orchards and I helped Granny Smith and Apple Bloom get her to bed.” Dash reported and Chrysalis smirked.

“Good. I’ll meet you there.”

Dash saluted and flew off. Chrysalis trotted down the path onto the farm and straight for the orchards. The plan was a simple one: wait until Applejack fell asleep and then harvest all the apples in the night, or at least enough to let the stupid farmer have some time to rest.

There were far too many apples for Chrysalis to possibly harvest on her own, but that’s where Rainbow Dash came in. She figured that her speed and athleticism would be of great help, and having been wronged by AJ herself she would be eager to fix the problem too. If anything, Chrysalis had underestimated Dash’s enthusiasm, she seemed downright thrilled to be part of the plan.

“Here, I got the buckets. There’s even more in the barn if we need them.” Dash explained as Chrysalis approached.

“Perfect.” Chrysalis purred in satisfaction. “Now let’s get to work. She won’t be hurting anypony else after this.”

“Right!” Dash earnestly replied. “And, uh, thanks for trusting me to help with this. I know you don’t think too much of me.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Don’t get all mushy on me, girl, we have a lot of work to do.”

___________________________

The sun crept up over the horizon as Chrysalis levitated the last bucket of apples into the barn. They were done, finally. It had been an incredibly long and exhausting night, but she and Rainbow Dash had managed to get almost the entirety of the orchard picked clean. While there was a small section they hadn’t gotten to, they didn’t have any more time. Applejack would likely be up soon.

“Come on, Dash, we gotta book it.”She shouted at her partner in crime. She flittered down and landed next to Chrysalis.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired.” Dash said with a yawn. “I don’t know how AJ does this.”

“Poorly, it seems.” Chrysalis yawned in turn and began her trek away from the farm.

“Yeah, I can’t argue with that.” Dash chuckled. “Well, this year. Usually she’s fine.”

“Maybe with her brother’s help.” Chrysalis suggested.

“Well, I’m gonna go find a cloud to nap on before I need to do my weather duties.”

Chrysalis nodded absently, but said nothing. She wanted to go back home and rest herself. She smiled at what she had accomplished. She had won, and Applejack had lost.

“Twilight!”

Chrysalis’ ears flattened against her skull at the piercing scream and groaned. It seemed that she wasn’t destined to escape Applejack’s ire. Why couldn’t she have slept in for just a few more minutes? She plastered on the best innocent smile she could muster.

“Good morning, Applejack! How are you today?”

“Don’t you ‘how are you today’ me, missy!” She snarled. “Ya harvested my apples when I explicitly told ya not to!”

“What?” Chrysalis’ brow furrowed with feigned confusion. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I know it was you, Twilight! Not only do I find you right outside my farm, but ya tried to harvest them yesterday too!”

“Coincidence.” Chrysalis sniffed dismissively. “Maybe you harvested your stupid apples in your sleep.”

“Stupid apples?!” AJ screeched furiously. “My entire family’s livelihood depends on those stupid apples!”

“I know, they’re all you seem to care about! Not me, not your friends, not the ponies of Ponyville, just your apples!”

AJ faltered for a moment. “That hurts, Twi. I care ‘bout every pony in this town as if they were my family.” Her eyes narrowed. “Maybe if you actually paid attention to anypony but yerself, ya might have known that.”

“Oh, you hypocritical hick! Do you have any idea how many ponies you’ve hurt these past few days because you haven’t been awake enough to pay attention to them?”

“At least I try! But you wouldn’t know what that’s like, would ya? You jus’ keep pushin’ everypony away with your rudeness an’ lies!”

“Stooooop!”

A streak of rainbow nearly crashed into the ground between them. After steadying herself, Rainbow Dash turned to face Applejack.

“I can’t stand watching anymore! Twilight’s innocent, I did it! I harvested your apples last night!”

Applejack narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Why would you harvest my apples? Yer practically allergic to hard work.”

“Hey! I work real hard training to be a Wonderbolt!”

“Uh huh.” AJ gave her a flat look.

“Besides, because you’ve been so tired you launched me into Twilight’s library…through the roof! Why wouldn’t I want to stop that from happening again? You can’t help me practice properly like that, so I figured I’d lend a hoof so we can hurry it up and you can rest.”

“And Twilight had nothin’ to do with it?”

Dash puffed up her wing feathers, making herself look just a little bit bigger, and retorted with what Chrysalis hoped was exaggerated swagger, but feared was not.

“Psh! Naw, it was all me! Maybe if you were in better shape you wouldn’t need me to show you how it’s done.”

“I’m in better shape than your cat nappin’ behind!”

The pegasus laughed in AJ’s face. “Yeah? In your dreams!”

“I’ll prove it! I challenge you to an ironpony competition!”

“You’re on! We start tomorrow at dawn,” Rainbow smiled mockingly, “unless you think you’ll still be too tired!”

“You’ll be eatin’ those words, just you wait!”

Chrysalis stood there with her mouth agape as she watched Applejack storm off, having completely forgotten about her.

“What just happened?” She asked. “Why did you interrupt? You could have gotten away with it entirely.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged with a smile. “I couldn’t leave ya hangin’ there to take the blame like that. You did a good thing, you shouldn’t get yelled at for it.”

“But you getting yelled at is fine?”

“What, that?” Dash waved a hoof with a laugh. “AJ and I butt heads all the time, it’s fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“What are friends for?”

“Yeah.” Chrysalis paused. “Yeah, what are friends for?”

“Anyway, I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty tired. I’m gonna go take a nap. You wanna come to the competition tomorrow morning?”

Chrysalis wasn’t entirely sure what an ironpony competition was, but given the context she had some guesses as well as some ideas on how to help pay Dash back for her kindness.

“I think I will.”

16 - Cheating Heart

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Chrysalis covered a yawn with a hoof. She had slept through most of the previous day and as such had difficulty sleeping last night. Unsurprisingly, she was rather tired as she walked on over to Sweet Apple Acres for the ironpony competition. At least she was better off now than after she had harvested the orchards the previous night.

Spike and Time Keeper had come along with her, both intrigued by the prospect of the competition and wishing to spectate. Chrysalis had been tempted to forbid it, but in the end didn’t even bother trying. She was too tired to argue, and they wouldn’t have listened anyway. The two were chatting excitedly to one another and she was perfectly content to be left out. She stifled another yawn.

It didn’t take long to find the athletes of the day upon arrival. Rainbow Dash’s boasting could be heard from the gates and led them straight to the other side of the barn where they were setting up a line of barrels, slightly staggered.

“No, no, Dash! It needs to be over here just a little more!”

“Why does it even matter? Here, there, on the other side of Ponyville, it’s all the same. I’m gonna win no matter where it’s put!”

“We’ll see ‘bout that.” AJ retorted. Upon noticing Chrysalis, her eyes lit up. “Twilight! Good timing, we’re just about ready to start and we—”

“And we need somepony who can judge the events to make sure it’s fair.” Rainbow Dash cut off AJ, who glared at her.

“A judge?” Chrysalis blinked.

“Yeah, if we were to judge each other it’d be too easy to cheat. We want somepony impartial to do it.”

“Oh, oh, can I do it!?” Spike jumped up and down, waving his arms.

“No, Spike, I’ve got this.” Chrysalis shut him down. She could’ve laughed at how easy AJ was making it for her to help out Dash and teach her a lesson.

“Awww…” The little dragon slumped with disappointment.

“Don’t worry,” Time Keeper comforted him. “it's better to just relax and watch the show, anyway."

“Okay.” Spike replied with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. Chrysalis felt sorry for the pathetic thing and considered finding something more for him to do. Her thoughts of the dragon, however, were cut short by Rainbow Dash shoving a stopwatch in her face.

“First up, we need you to time us through the barrel weave.”

“Ya jus’ count down for the start, and stop the timer when we cross,” AJ paused as she walked over to indicate a line in the dirt, “this line, and lastly add five seconds for each barrel we hit along the way.”

“Sounds easy enough.” Chrysalis said as she examined the watch. “Who goes first?”

“I’ll step up.” AJ volunteered, sauntering up to the starting line with a confident grin that could have just as easily fit on Dash.

“Ready?”

“You bet.”

“Three, two,” Chrysalis started the timer, “one, go!”

Applejack shot through the barrel weave expertly at a pace that shocked Chrysalis. She noted that she bumped into one of the barrels with glee and stopped the watch as she crossed the finish line.

“Eighteen seconds, plus five for hitting a barrel.” She announced.

“Shucks, well, it’s still a good time. Beat that, Rainbow.”

“Right, uh, easy.” Dash replied with a hint of uncertainty as she took her place.

Seeing her lack of usual swagger, Chrysalis became concerned. She had no doubt that Dash was faster, but she was also very clumsy. It’d be a miracle if she didn’t end up crashing into the side of the barn, let alone hit a couple barrels along the way. Perhaps she should've given her even more of an advantage to come out on top.

“Ready? Three, two, one, go!” Chrysalis pretended to start the timer in case anybody was watching before subtly starting it for real a couple seconds later.

The event went much the same as it had for AJ, minus the hitting of a barrel, much to Chrysalis’ surprise. She looked to the watch as Rainbow Dash crossed.

“Sixteen seconds!” She announced. If she had hit a barrel and Chrysalis hadn’t cheated for her, it would have been a very close race. She wasn’t sure who would’ve won that match.

“Sixteen? That’s mighty fast.” AJ whistled in astonishment.

“Ha! Was there any doubt that I’d win? You should give up now, farm girl!”

“Hold up, it’s only one event, there’s a lot more to go before we declare the winner overall.”

Rainbow tossed her mane. “Yeah, whatever. Bring it on.”

The group proceeded to a nearby area of the farm where an event for measuring strength was set up, the kind of which you’d find at any carnival where you strike a target with all your might to launch a bit of metal up along a pole to ring a bell.

“Alright, rules are simple: buck the target here with a hind leg to ring the bell.” AJ explained.

“I got this!” Rainbow Dash said cockily. Chrysalis sighed. How could this be deemed a fair contest? Applejack’s job was literally bucking at trees as hard as she could all day long during the harvest season. She had a lifetime of experience doing exactly this.

Before Chrysalis had thought of a way to help her, Dash had already kicked the target and a satisfying ding came moments later.

“Nothin’ to it!”

“Yeah, not bad. Near as good as Apple Bloom can do.”

“You think you can do better?!”

“Just you watch an’ I’ll show ya how it’s really done.”

Chrysalis cringed. She probably couldn’t change the outcome without being discovered, but she had to at least try. She stepped closer to the equipment and pretended to examine the stop watch held aloft with her magic, so to hide what she was really doing. As Applejack wound up for a kick, she began pulling down on the weight, though she swiftly realized how futile the effort was. The weight broke through the extra resistance as if it were being held back by tissue paper, and the bell was struck with enough force to leave a sizable crack in it. Chrysalis had to fight back the image of one of her own changelings’ heads in place of the bell. How many changelings had fallen to those mighty legs in the real time line?

Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped as AJ swaggered past her. “I credit that to years of apple buckin’.”

To emphasize her point, she kicked the tree Dash was sitting under and several apples fell upon the pegasus’ head.

“Come on, Twi, I got an idea for the next event an’ we’re gonna need Spike’s help.”

“Me!?” Spike jumped up from the sidelines excitedly.

_________________________________

“This is not what I had in mind when you said you needed my help.” Spike groused.

The dragon was sitting on Applejack’s back inside of a pen for the event of bronco bucking. The two competitors would take turns trying to unseat Spike from their backs, and the one who could manage it the quickest would be declared the winner. A classic rodeo style event, which Chrysalis figured was once again unfairly biased in the farmer’s favour. She was beginning to wonder if AJ had done her own cheating in advance by picking events that would lean into her own strengths rather than having a fair competition. She shook her head. She’d just have to tip it back into Dash’s favour.

“You wanted to help, right?” Chrysalis asked Spike.

“Yeah, but…”

“I’ll make it worth your while. You get extra gems tonight.”

“Deal!”

“Ready, Spike? Applejack?”

“Ready!” They said in unison.

“Three, two, one, go!”

Applejack bucked around wildly, looking quite at home with this activity just as Chrysalis had feared. After a mere ten seconds of desperately holding on, Spike was tossed aside like a candy wrapper.

“Ow…”

“Ten seconds.” Chrysalis announced as she ran up to Spike. “You okay?

“I guess.” He answered as he dusted off his scales. He really was a durable creature.

“Remember the extra gems tonight? I’ll double it if you let Dash win.” She whispered. Spike raised an eyebrow.

“Isn’t that cheating?”

“I’ll double it tomorrow, too.”

“Deal!”

“Attaboy!” Chrysalis grinned and then turned to the others. “He’s okay! Come on, Rainbow, your turn!”

Rainbow took her place and Spike climbed atop her.

“Three, two, one, go!”

Immediately, before Dash had even begun moving, Spike leaped from her back and belly flopped onto the dirt. Chrysalis’ jaw dropped.

“Oh no! I’ve fallen!” Spike announced with an insincere monotone. Chrysalis squeezed her eyes shut and put a hoof to her face.

“But I didn’t even start yet!”

“Now hold on one gosh darn minute, why are ya cheatin’ for Dash? We want a fair match!”

“That was, uh, totally…fair…I…” Spike sighed beneath the withering glowers from both competitors. “Twilight bribed me to let Dash win.”

“Oh, did she now?” Rainbow Dash growled as Chrysalis tensed up.

“Yup. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“Good enough for me! Twiliiiight!” Applejack shouted.

Chrysalis groaned. “I can explain!”

“I don’t need no explanation, I understand jus’ fine!” She pointed furiously at both her and Rainbow Dash. “Both of ya worked together to clear my orchards ‘gainst my will and now yer workin’ together to make a fool of me!”

“Wait, I—” Rainbow tried to defend herself.

“I ain’t gonna listen to these lies no more!” She turned away from them and stormed off to her house. Dash looked at Chrysalis, the sting of betrayal in her eyes.

“Were any of the competitions fair? Did you cheat for me in all of them?”

“Well…” Chrysalis began to lie, but decided against it and sighed. “I owed you for taking the blame for the orchards, so I thought I’d help you win.”

“Not cool, Twilight.” She said and then flew off. Chrysalis looked back and forth between her two retreating companions, unsure of what to do.

“So, uh…I still get my extra gems, right?”

She glared at Spike for a moment and then marched away without a word.

_______________________________

Chrysalis flopped over in her bed for the hundredth time. Spike’s gentle snoring nearby taunted her with his ability to fall sleep, drilling into her skull and making her already unrestful night even more difficult to bear.

Sleep had been difficult to attain when she had first retired, but it had come, though it hadn’t lasted long. She awoke in the middle of the night to the sounds of Spike’s snores, and had been tossing and turning ever since. She had no idea what time it was and had stubbornly refused to go check, telling herself that removing herself from the warm blankets would only serve to fully rouse her mind and make it truly impossible to fall asleep. Surely only a few more minutes and she’d drift off again. Yes, she had been wrong the first couple dozen times, but surely this time her obstinance would pay off. Grunting in irritation, she beat her pillow. Why was it so uncomfortable lately? She rolled over and forced herself still once more.

A tapping sound from her window caused her head to jerk involuntarily. It continued with only brief pauses. Tap, tap, tap! Pause. Tap, tap, tap! With a groan of frustration, she threw off her blankets and rose to investigate.

Sage awaited her on the other side of the glass, staring up at her as she approached before pecking at it again. She had closed the window last night because the early autumn air had been colder than normal, completely forgetting that her pet was still out there. She opened it and the owl hopped inside, the sudden burst of cold air chilling her to the bone. She shivered.

“Sorry.” She whispered to him. “I hope your night was better than mine. Catch any juicy mice?”

“Hoo!” Sage responded and then flew over to the perch she had bought for him at Fluttershy’s recommendation.

As she shut the window once more, she noticed the sun beginning to peek over the horizon. Of course it was morning already. Despite her weariness, she suddenly didn’t feel like going back to bed. With a yawn, she left her bedroom, quietly so as to not wake Spike.

Chrysalis checked to see if the local newspaper had arrived yet and found it on the doorstep. She had fallen into the habit of reading it most mornings just to learn of any recent events that needed her attention, especially anything that she knew wasn’t supposed to happen. She hadn’t found anything of true interest yet, but it gave her a small sense of awareness that she had lacked since leaving her people. Even if it paled in comparison to having a proper spy network feeding her news each day, it was still better than nothing. Barely.

Little feet approached as she opened the paper. “Mornin’, Twilight!”

“Morning, Spike.” Chrysalis answered limply, not even bothering to look away from the paper held in front of her face.

“You okay?”

“Tired. Couldn’t sleep.”

“Ah, that sucks.” He answered casually as he climbed onto the counter to pour himself a bowl of cereal. “Maybe you should go back to bed, I can handle the library for awhile.”

“Later.”

“Suit yourself.” He shrugged.

Spike carried his bowl to the table and dug into his breakfast, humming cheerfully between bites. Chrysalis flipped to the next page and did her best to ignore his crunching. A few minutes later, the third denizen of the library entered the kitchen.

“Morning, Snowball!” Spike spoke through a mouthful of his breakfast.

“Morning, Spike.” Time Keeper answered through a yawn.

Chrysalis paused her reading in anticipation of being greeted herself, but no such thing was forthcoming. She took a deep breath. Of course he wasn’t going to say hello to her, why would he? She adjusted the paper’s positioning so she wouldn’t have to see him even out of the corner of her eye.

Time Keeper poured his own cereal, joined them at the table and began eating. Slowly. She could just see it in her mind. He would barely pay attention to his food as he stared at her with disapproval, while sharing a knowing look with Spike as he too joined in. She blinked as she reached the end of the page, realizing she had no idea what she had just read.

“Well, I’m gonna go reshelf the returned books.” Spike announced as she pushed his chair from the table. A moment later and it was just her and Time Keeper.

More time passed and he sighed. Chrysalis twitched. How his stare had not burned a hole through her paper, she had no idea. He spent every waking moment criticizing her over every little detail of every little thing she did, but was he ever truly helpful? No! He literally begged her to clean up his mess for him, and here she was, a fool in her own right helping the fool. Did he have any idea how much pressure it was being her pretending to be Twilight Sparkle for such a long period? And yet he stared, oblivious and uncaring of her plight, silently judging her. Well, she had had enough for one morning.

Chrysalis slammed her paper against the table and shot up from her chair. Her sudden movement startled Time Keeper into spilling his milk and cereal all over himself.

“What the fuck, Twilight?! Why did you—”

“I know what you’re going to say. You’re gonna say I fucked up real bad this time and I’ll never be able to fix things with Rainbow Dash or Applejack, not with how socially incompetent I clearly am! You can’t believe that somebody like me can even function in society! You’re gonna say that I should throw myself at their hooves and beg for their forgiveness, but I won’t! I did nothing wrong, and I refuse to degrade myself! So stop staring at me!”

“What?! No! I wasn’t going to say any of that!”

“Then why are you so angry at me?!”

“Because you just spilled my cereal all over me!”

“Oh.” Chrysalis’ said. She sat down and returned her paper to its prior position and hid behind it. She couldn’t believe she had done that. She could’ve sworn that he was staring at her.

“Ugh, I’m gonna need to take a bath now. Wait.” Time Keeper paused from cleaning up the mess. “You feel guilty.”

“What?”

“Oh, sweet Celestia,” he laughed, “I didn’t think it was possible! You feel bad about how you treated them!”

Chrysalis slammed the paper down again.

“No, I don’t!”

“You look terrible. How much sleep did you get?”

Chrysalis brought a hoof up to her face. Did she really look that bad? She hastily lifted up her paper again. “None of your business.”

“It’s awfully hard to sleep with a guilty conscience, isn’t it?”

Chrysalis didn’t respond.

“Look, it was just a stupid competition between two bloated egos that began because of an even stupider reason. Sure, you shouldn’t have cheated for Dash, but you shouldn’t lose any sleep over this, either. Friends fight over dumb things all the time, but that doesn’t mean they hate each other. Just leave it a week or two and it’ll all blow over. Heck, you’ll probably all laugh about it.”

“I don’t feel guilty.”

“Okay.” Time Keeper stood up from the table. “You can keep on not feeling guilty without my staring, right? I need to go clean myself up.”

Chrysalis listened to him leaving, his hoofsteps gradually fading as he went. The idiot had no idea what he was talking about. She wasn’t feeling guilty. As she reached the end of the page, she realized she still had no idea what she had just read. With a growl of frustration, she abandoned the article and turned to the next one.

The new headline announced next week’s annual Running of the Leaves in bold print. From what she could gather, it was a race through Ponyville and the surrounding areas that was intended to shake the leaves from the trees in anticipation of winter. The idea sent a shiver running up her spine. She hated winter.

As she turned to the next page, she paused and turned back to read about the Running of the leaves again. She set the paper down gently and stared into space for a moment before getting up and exiting the library.

_________________________________

“Thanks for helping me, Pinkie. I don’t think they’d have come if I invited them.”

“No problem-o! I’m always ready to help out my friends.” Pinkie Pie assured Chrysalis with a wide grin. “Especially if it means I can get them to stop fighting.”

The two were inside of Pinkie’s room. The room’s owner nibbled on a chocolate chip cookie from a plate set on her bed and watched Chrysalis as she paced back and forth.

“Are you sure they’ll come? What if they realized that I’m involved?”

“Relax, Twilight! Nopony can resist my cookies!”

“Right.” She stopped pacing and forced a deep breath. Why was she so nervous? She was being stupid.

“Pinkie!” Mr. Cake shouted from downstairs. “Rainbow Dash is here!”

“Okie dokey!” She hollered back and winked at Chrysalis. “Wait right here!”

Chrysalis didn’t wish to gamble on the promise of cookies being enough to get Rainbow Dash to overcome her current aversion to her, so she stepped to the side of the room out of the line of sight of the doorway and waited silently.

“In your bedroom? Huh. Usually we do this downstairs.” Dash could be heard as she walked down the hall.

“This is gonna be a more intimate kind of party, Dashie!”

“I, uh, see. Oh, hey, cookies!” Dash stepped through the door and went straight for the treats. As she lifted one to her mouth, the door slammed shut behind her. “Huh?” She spoke through a mouthful and turned to find Chrysalis inside with her.

“Hello, Dash.”

The pegasus swallowed her cookie and gave a sigh.

“Well, that’s a relief. Hey, Twi.”

Chrysalis’ brow furrowed in confusion. “A relief?”

“Yeah. With the whole ‘intimate’ setup in her bedroom, I was worried she was about to confess she loved me. I mean, I love her and all, but not like that. I can’t. I’m, uh, not into girls.” She chuckled a little. “Would’ve just been my luck, first pony to confess to me being a girl.”

“I’m surprised you’re being so open with me after what happened.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m still annoyed at you, but I’m not gonna stop being friends with you because of it.”

“We’re…friends?” Chrysalis’ brow furrowed again, and Dash gave a nervous chuckle.

“Uh…aren’t we?”

Chrysalis blinked. Was Time Keeper right? Was this all just going to blow over if she had left it alone? She shook her head. This wasn’t the time for such ridiculous thoughts. Even if Dash was okay, Applejack was another issue entirely.

“Oh…I see.” Dash wilted a little.

“What?” It took a moment to realize that her prior head movement could be construed as a ‘no’. “No, no, no, that was about something unrelated. Yes, we are friends.”

“Oh.” She brightened and then held a cookie up for Chrysalis. “Want one?”

“No.”

“Alright, more for me.” She shoved the treat into her mouth and continued conversationally as she chewed. “You know, I still need to prove to AJ that I’m a better athlete than her.”

“Well, then I have something you might be interested in.””

“Oh?”

The door opened.

“Uh…intimate? Look, Pinkie, I love ya an’ all, but not like—whoa!” Pinkie Pie shoved Applejack inside and then slammed the door behind her. “What the hay, Pinkie?!”

“Hello, Applejack.” Chrysalis greeted.

“Oh. It’s you.” Her eyes narrowed and she turned to open the door. Upon finding that it wouldn’t open, she banged against it with a hoof. “Open this dang door, Pinkie!”

Pinkie’s response was muffled. “Not until you three talk!”

“Don’t make me break down this door! Ya know I can!”

“Come on, AJ, that’s a little excessive.” Rainbow chided her. “Do you really want to have to replace her door? Or explain to the Cakes why you damaged their property again?”

She paused, hoof halfway to the door, and glared at Dash. With a growl, she sat down against the barrier.

“Fine, I’ll listen, but I’m still angry at y'all!” She raised her voice on that last part to ensure Pinkie could hear it too.

“I understand that you’re angry at me, and I understand why. You hate me for going behind your back to harvest your apples—”

“So now ya admit it?”

“I helped, too.” Dash piped in.

“You won’t believe me if I lie now. Yeah, I did it, and so did she. We were justified, no matter what you think.”

“Hmph!” She turned her face away with a pout.

“And you’re angry because I cheated for Dash in the ironpony competition. Dash is angry at me for it too.”

“I am.” Dash confirmed with a nod and frown.

“I ain’t heard no apology yet.”

“I have better.” Chrysalis smirked. “Next week there’s a race called the Running of the Leaves. The two of you can compete against each other and I’ll stay in my library all day. I can’t cheat for either of you if I’m nowhere near the race.”

“Huh.” Rainbow Dash tilted her head thoughtfully. “I kinda like that idea. I can finally show you that I’m the better athlete!”

Applejack snorted. “Long as it’s actually running, no flying, and ya don’t cheat, I’d leave ya in the dust.”

“Dream on! Even without my wings you couldn’t beat me! I’m all about speed, it’s practically my name!”

“So, are we agreed?” Chrysalis interrupted, smiling at how she had diverted their attentions back to their rivalry. AJ stared at her with pursed lips.

“Not just yet.” She stood up and approached her.

“Why not?” Chrysalis scowled. It was perfect! The two of them would get to have their stupid contest with a guarantee of no funny business from her and they could all put this behind them.

Applejack prodded her chest with a hoof. “Yer gonna race, too. Without magic.”

“What? Why would I agree to that?”

“Yeah, why’re you challenging her? She wouldn’t even beat you, let alone me.”

“Hold it, I—”

“Yeah, yer right, Dash. She’s too slow, she’d finish dead last for sure.”

“I said—”

“Better she sticks to what she’s good at, like puttin’ books on a shelf.”

“Only in moderation, though. Wouldn’t wanna strain her delicate body.”

“I’ll do it!” Chrysalis shouted over their insults and immediately the door swung open.

“Good.” AJ said with an amused, yet cruel smile. “I look forward to makin’ you look like a fool for a change, Twi.”

“See ya at the race, Twi!”

The two mares trotted out the door, leaving Chrysalis behind. What did she just agree to? Pinkie Pie bounced into the room.

“That went well!” She said with a broad smile.

________________________________________

“You really should have just apologized.” Time Keeper told Chrysalis as she slapped a number onto her flank. “You’re just making a fool of yourself.”

“Yeah, I don’t really think you can win this.” Spike echoed the sentiment.

She was loathe to admit that they were right, so she didn’t. Part of her still screamed at her that she was being stupid and should walk away, and that she was just letting herself be manipulated by her 'friends', but that part agreed with those two morons and as such had been ignored.

“You’re confidence in my abilities is inspiring.” She replied flatly.

“Just being realistic. It’s not too late, you could still drop out and just say you’re sorry.”

“Don’t you have something of your own to fuck up elsewhere?” Chrysalis asked with a sweet smile. “Don’t worry you can come running to beg me to clean that mess too.”

Time Keeper rolled his eyes. “You know what, I’m glad you’re not listening this time. I’ll enjoy your humiliation as much as they will. Come on, Spike.” He looked behind Chrysalis as he spoke, and then walked away with Spike following after.

“I’m surprised you bothered to show up!” Rainbow Dash teased Chrysalis, who gritted her teeth in response.

“Yeah, I figured the only runnin’ she’d be doing is runnin’ away!” AJ added with a laugh. Chrysalis turned to glare at both of them.

“Prepare to eat those words.”

“Maybe ya should eat ‘em yerself so you have a little more energy.” AJ smirked. “We all know how little ya eat, ya ain’t even gonna make it to the halfway point!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll come back from the front and carry you to the finish line, and still win by a mile. I could use the handicap to make this fair.”

“Yer as dumb as she thinks you are if you believe I need a handicap to beat you in a hoof race.”

Chrysalis blinked. Was her opinion of Dash really so obvious that multiple ponies had realized it? Maybe Celestia was right, she wasn’t nearly as good at hiding her feelings as she thought. She shuddered at the idea.

Before any of the boasting could escalate into an actual fight, they were interrupted by the announcement calling for all participants to the starting line. Chrysalis took her position alongside all the others and tensed herself in anticipation of beginning. Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s complete dismissal of her as a non threat flashed through her mind and her eyes narrowed.

“Ready! Set! Go!”

The path beneath her blurred as she launched herself forward. Several ponies disappeared from her peripheral vision as she passed them, but not all. A few that she didn’t know pulled ahead of her, and ahead of them were both Applejack and Rainbow Dash. They were remarkably fast. There was a chance that she’d have a hard time keeping up even if she had the longer stride of her natural form. She dismissed such pessimism and gritted her teeth, focusing on running harder.

Up ahead, AJ took a nasty looking tumble. Chrysalis smirked at her misfortune as she, and all the other racers, passed.

“You’re supposed to hit the ground with your hooves, not your face!” She taunted as she went by. She couldn’t make out her response, but she was clearly angry.

The jab was childish, even Chrysalis knew that, but it still soothed her agitated pride. If she were lucky, the farmer would have suffered an injury that would slow her down for the whole race, effectively removing her from the competition. It would serve that stubborn mule right.

As Chrysalis fantasized about Applejack’s humiliation, something slammed into her from behind and she tumbled into the dirt painfully.

“Right back at ya!” Applejack shouted as she charged past.

“Oooh, that was a nasty wipeout!” Pinkie Pie’s amplified voice rang through the air from up above. Chrysalis looked up to see that both she and Spike were flying in a hot air balloon.

“Yeah, that was quite the accidental bump Applejack gave Twilight Sparkle as she passed!” Spike added to the commentary.

Chrysalis’ jaw dropped. That couldn’t have been an accident, no matter what Spike said. Applejack, the element of honesty and the one so furious with her over cheating, had just sabotaged her. Growling with frustration, she scrambled to her hooves and gave chase.

She was far behind now and couldn’t afford to take it easy, so she ran as hard as her legs would take her. Her lungs were burning as she finally began to catch up to the other racers. While she darted past one of the several piles of leaves, evidence of her competition’s passing, her hoof caught on something and she took another fall face first into the ground and tumbled forward into some bushes. Thorny bushes. She could hear the crinkling of half dead leaves from behind her and a cry of frustration.

“I can’t believe that Applejack would cheat like that!” Rainbow Dash shouted and then charged forth.

Chrysalis’ eye twitched. She thought that of the two competitors, Dash was the lesser upset about her cheating and yet she was willing to hold back to hide in a pile of leaves just to trip her. Worse yet, she blatantly lies by blaming it on Applejack. Had they teamed up specifically to humiliate her? If those two morons wanted to cheat so badly, then there really was no need to hold back on her end, was there?

From her position hidden away in the bushes from the prying eyes of Pinkie Pie and Spike above, she transformed. It was a minor change, just an increase to the length of her legs. It wasn’t enough to be noticed at a distance, or so she hoped, but it would certainly give her a leg up on the competition. Additionally, she cast a pain relief spell on herself so that she’d be better able to ignore the agony of overexerting her body. Once the spell faded, the pain would likely be nigh unbearable, but that wouldn’t be until after the race was over and she had a chance to gloat over AJ and Dash’s loss.

With her newfound advantages, Chrysalis burst out of the bushes and hurried down the path. Catching up took much less time than after Applejack had knocked her over, and though she ran just as hard as before, the pain in her limbs and lungs were a mere irritant.

By the time she reached the White Tail Woods, she had passed all but her two true rivals in the race and was gaining on them. She wasn’t the least bit surprised when she saw Rainbow Dash, who had at that moment a small lead, pull on a low hanging branch she was passing and release it to spring right back into Applejack’s face, which stopped her cold for a couple of seconds. AJ in turn climbed onto the branch and began pulling it back, as if to use it as a catapult. Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. Would that even work? With a smirk, she decided to ensure that it didn’t. A little magic channelled to the base of the branch caused a loud crack and AJ dropped to the ground with a thud and shout of pain as the branch broke beneath her.

That was one foe overtaken, only one to go. Dash was awfully far ahead, but perhaps within range of another spell. She channelled power into her horn and conjured an illusion of a bear ahead of Dash, half obscured by some bushes on the side of the path. Thinking back to the ursa minor incident, she had it roar at her when she got close.

With a short scream, Rainbow Dash stumbled over her own hooves as she tried to come to an abrupt halt. Moments later she had flown up into a nearby tree and hid. If Chrysalis had the breath for it, she would’ve laughed at the sight. Before she could pass her second opponent, the first one surpassed her once again. Chrysalis glared wordlessly at her and directed the illusion at her next. Much to her frustration, she didn’t even slow down.

“I know what a real bear looks like!” Applejack shouted over her should up at the tree while passing the somewhat blurry imitation.

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash said in surprise. She flew down to investigate the animal which disappeared as Chrysalis cut the spell. “Wait, what?”

Dash stared at Chrysalis as she ran past, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. Chrysalis heard a roar of anger from behind her and moments later Rainbow Dash was soaring past her in flight above her. With a growl, Chrysalis cast another spell and bands of green energy bound the pegasus’ wings to her side. With a scream, Dash crashed into a sign at a fork in the path ahead. She laid there moaning in pain atop the broken sign.

Applejack was still within sight, but Chrysalis was barely gaining on her. She began to channel more magic in anticipation of pulling on her tail, but a sudden kick at a bucket by AJ as she went by it and she had to repurpose the spell to deflect the incoming metal missile. Behind her, she could hear the thud of it hitting a new target followed by a cry of pain and disgust. She looked back for a moment to see Rainbow Dash covered in some kind of sticky liquid and struggling to move. There was another thunk from ahead and she returned her attention forward just in time to take a second bucket to her face. The impact knocked her backwards and right into the struggling Rainbow Dash.

“Get off of me!” Chrysalis shouted as she tried to extricate herself from Dash and the sticky substance. She didn’t know what this stuff was, but it smelled sweet and turned her stomach.

“I’m trying! Don’t you have some kind of magic to get rid of this stuff?”

“I’m not supposed to use magic.”

“Didn’t stop you earlier!”

“I guess not.” Chrysalis admitted. She used her magic to apply a small flame to the substance found it thinned easily with its exposure. “I have an idea to get back at Applejack for cheating. I’ll get us unstuck from the ground and then you fly us right into her.”

“I’m not supposed o fly.”

“Didn’t stop you earlier.”

“I guess not.”

Seconds later, the two of them as one big blob of goop and ponies were flying straight at Applejack.

“Take this!” Dash screamed.

“What in tarnation?”

With a gooey splorch, they impacted and the ball tumbled along, picking up sticks, dirt and fallen leaves as they went until they came to a full stop.

“What’s the big idea?!” AJ shouted while struggling to break free. Dash spit out some leaves.

“Ha! How do you like being covered in sap!?"

“I wasn’t tryin’ to hit you, I was tryin’ to hit Twilight!”

“Yeah, right! You’ve had it out for me all race!”

“Me?! What about you? You tripped me!"

“No I didn’t, you tripped me!”

“Wait, where’d Twilight go?”

“Huh?”

Chrysalis laughed as she ran far ahead of the other two. While Dash had been flying them to Applejack, she had been working on freeing herself, and the impact with Applejack had provided enough force to tear her the rest of the way.

A short couple of minutes later, the finish line was finally in sight. The pain relief spell wasn’t enough for her to ignore the pain anymore. Her lungs felt like they could explode any second, and her legs as if they were about to fall off. It didn’t matter, though, she was almost done. She had nearly beaten those two blowhards. They wouldn’t be belittling her abilities after this.

Suddenly, her world turned upside down and she skidded painfully to a halt. She groaned and tried to get back to her hooves only to have her legs give out from beneath her. She was right at the end, she couldn’t falter now! The hooves of many of the other racers pounded the dirt as they ran by. It hadn’t been the two she cared about, though, these ones didn’t matter. She didn’t need to win, she just needed to beat Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Grinding her teeth, she forced herself back up and took one shaky step after another.

Then she heard it. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were arguing with each other and approaching fast. She had to hurry. She picked up her pace as much as possible, but was barely moving faster than a walking pace. Stupid legs, why wouldn’t they move faster?

A heavy impact from behind sent her spiralling once more as her two rivals bowled over her while practically brawling. She winced in pain as the breath was knocked from her lungs and those two tumbled past her.

Chrysalis closed her eyes. She gave up. It just wasn’t worth it anymore. Her stupid pride had forced her to participate in this moronic race and even while cheating she couldn’t match up with Rainbow Dash or Applejack’s speed and endurance. It was all so pointless. It’s not like she’d ever have a confrontation with them past, present or future where it even mattered that they could outrun her. She was a creature of raw magical power and deceit and had always relied on those strengths, not her speed. She laughed as she heard the two arguing over who had won, though regretted it thanks to the pain it brought her chest.

“And with that we have a draw for second last between Applejack and Rainbow Dash with Twilight Sparkle taking last place, yet to even cross the finish line! The race is over folks!” Spike announced from the balloon.

“Second last!?” AJ and Dash screamed in unison.

Tenderly, Chrysalis crawled back to her hooves and walked slowly across the finish line over to the other two.

“Snowball was right.” Chrysalis said. “This was stupid of me.”

Rainbow Dash stared at her.

“Uh…did you have a growth spurt?”

Chrysalis grimaced, remembering her little trick. “A magically induced one that I used to try and even the odds. It’ll wear off. Couldn’t even win while cheating.”

“Well, neither did we.” AJ said.

“Yeah, last place, second last, not really much of a difference there.”

“Look,” Chrysalis paused, barely believing what she was about to do, ”I’m sorry. Sorry I cheated today, and sorry I cheated for Dash during the ironpony competition.”

“Really? Ya mean it?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t have the energy to pretend right now. Yes, I’m sorry.”

“Never thought I’d see the day.” AJ said.

“Yeah, laugh it up.” Chrysalis said sourly.

“We’re not laughing, Twilight.” Dash assured her. “I’m sorry too.”

“An’ me too. ‘Bout everything. Cheatin’, tryin’ to humiliate you, an’ for all I did while trying to harvest my apples alone. Hey, don’t look at me like that! I realized I was in the wrong right quick, I was jus’ too darn stubborn to admit it.”

“And I was too stubborn to apologize or admit I was wrong, either.” Chrysalis said, as much to herself as to the others.

“Shucks, I guess we ain’t all that different, are we?” AJ looked back and forth between Chrysalis and Rainbow Dash.

“What’re you looking at me for? I didn’t do anything this time!”

“Ya cheated.”

“Oh, yeah.” Dash chuckled. “I guess I was too stubborn to accept losing?”

“Well then, it sounds like the three of you have all learned a valuable lesson about friendship.”

Chrysalis nearly jumped out of her skin at the intruding voice while Dash and Applejack kneeled.

“P…Princess Celestia!” She gasped. She was getting really sick of how often she was able to sneak up on her like that.

“Hello, Twilight” Celestia smiled warmly in greeting. “The ability to recognize one’s own stubbornness and to make amends for it is a very important element of a healthy friendship. I am delighted to see you learn of it, and hope to see you applying the lesson to future situations.”

“Right.” Chrysalis swallowed nervously. “So, uh…what brings you out to Ponyville, Princess?

Hoofsteps approached and Chrysalis finally noticed the second royal intruder. Her ears flattened against her skull.

“My sister is here because she quite enjoys the autumn season. I am here because she had insisted I come along in the hopes that I’d be more open to her attempts at bonding if she stole me away from the frustrating hordes of nobles and bureaucrats.”

“Not quite how I worded it, but yes.”

“Oh, uh…did you enjoy the race?” Chrysalis asked, her nervousness causing her voice to raise an octave.

“It was…interesting.” Celestia answered, looking over to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “Especially the after race show.”

AJ laughed nervously. “Glad ya liked it. I promise we’ll both be better behaved next time.”

“Rise, my little ponies.” Celestia said to the two. ”No need for such formalities, this is an unofficial visit. I’m glad to see you grow closer to your friends, Twilight. Keep hold of them. Friendship is more valuable than you could imagine.”

“I have a pretty good imagination, princess.” Chrysalis replied and immediately regretted it. What was that line supposed to accomplish other than sounding stupid and hinting that she knows things that she shouldn’t? Fortunately, Celestia merely laughed with a slight twinkle in her eye.

“No need to be so nervous, Twilight. I’m your friend, too, so I’m not going to turn on you if you say something wrong.”

“Right, I’ll remember that.”

“Anyway, it looks to me like there are a lot of leaves still left on the trees. Perhaps the three of you could redo your race, fairly this time?”

Rainbow Dash smirked. “Yeah, I kinda like that idea.”

“We’ll see how ya like it after I win!” AJ said.

Dash laughed good naturedly. “You coming, Twi?”

Rather than answering, Chrysalis collapsed back on the ground.

“Guess not. Come on, Rainbow!”

Celestia chuckled as she began to walk away. “Come, Luna, let’s watch this rematch together.”

“How can they have so much energy?” Chrysalis wondered aloud.

“I would have hoped my love had more endurance.”

Chrysalis tensed. She hadn’t realized that Luna did not follow her sister. The princess lowered her head to whisper in her ear.

“I’ve noticed how close you are getting to those two. Congratulations. Just don’t get too close. Remember, I’m a very jealous mare.”

Chrysalis laughed nervously. “Who? Them? They’re mere pawns to be manipulated in my plans! We’re not close at all, no need to worry about them!”

Luna smiled. “You’re so sweet when you lie.”

She leaned in even closer and planted a quick kiss on Chrysalis’ cheek. She had an immediate sinking sensation and her head began to spin. If she hadn’t already been on the ground, she’d likely have fallen over. She looked with fear from Luna’s face to the crowds now in the distance that had begun to leave.

“We’re in public!” Chrysalis hissed. “I thought we were supposed to keep our relationship secret! Anypony could have seen that!”

Luna straightened to her full height and gave a bitter laugh. Chrysalis hadn’t noticed before, but she was nearly as tall as she remembered from her original timeline, though her colouration remained as it had since her defeat at the Summer Sun Celebration.

“My sister is not looking, and I can deal with a few errant rumours from the rare ponies who would choose gossip of my love life over me being a monster. Besides, they all pay attention to their precious princess of the sun over me, I’d be surprised if any are bothering to glance my way except to ensure I haven’t stolen away the sun.”

Chrysalis looked once more to the ponies and, sure enough, the ones that remained were gathered around Celestia and she could only notice an occasional, frightened glance directed Luna’s way. In her own timeline she had always thought of Luna on the same idolized level as her sister and was uncomfortable realizing that perhaps she had been seen by her own ponies in much the same way that Chrysalis herself had seen her: a tremendous threat.

“If anypony were to ask, I’d merely state I was speaking of important political matters. You are an important figure in Equestrian politics, given how close you are to my sister.”

“I don’t think everypony would believe that.”

“No, I suppose not.” Luna smiled. “But would that be so terrible? I’ve been thinking about how to bring our relationship to the public.”

“You want to go public?” Chrysalis’ chest tightened at the thought. If they were public, then she’d have no excuse to push away her advances.

“Not right away, perhaps, but yes. A few rumours could be quite exciting in the lead up to the big reveal, don’t you think? Doesn’t it sound exhilarating to be the consort of the big, bad, lunar tyrant?” Luna subtly stroked the side of Chrysalis’ face with a hoof, sending a shiver down Chrysalis’ spine. She couldn’t tell if it was anticipation or fear that caused the reaction, and her uncertainty had her feeling queasy.

“I’ve always been fond of tight secrecy.”

“Hmm…don’t I know it, but I’ll learn your secrets one day, too. Until next time, farewell. I’m sure my sister is waiting for me.”

“Bye, Princess.”

“Oh, and one more thing before I leave…might I suggest you refrain from attacking any more sporting events? As entertaining as it was hearing of you battling my sister, there’s no guarantee she’ll be so forgiving next time. Be careful around her and her offers of friendship. Were I you, I don’t think I’d be comfortable making friends with one who was so eager to send her only sister to the moon.”

Luna finally walked away, leaving Chrysalis shivering uncontrollably.

17 - Night Mare Games

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Chrysalis grumbled as she heard a knock on the door of the library, interrupting her reading. She still didn’t understand why ponies knocked on the door of a public building like that. Maybe it was some foal looking for candy for Nightmare Night, though she hadn’t expected that to start quite so soon.

Nightmare Night was one of those pony holidays that she was actually aware of, though had never gotten involved with. Some of her subjects used the night of costumes and frights to their advantage in mingling with ponies for love or information, though never in their natural forms. Even if they might be able to get away with saying it was a costume, it was still too great of a risk.

The knock came again, more insistent this time. With a sigh, Chrysalis set her book aside and rose from her comfy couch. Upon opening the door, she openly stared at what she saw.

“Hello, Twilight!”

“What are you wearing, Rarity?”

“I…am Nightmare Moon!” She raised her hoof to caress Chrysalis’ cheek and continued in a seductive tone. “Do you like it?”

Chrysalis knocked her hoof to the side with a growl. “What did I say about flirting with me?”

“That you would hurt me if I did it to manipulate you. I’m not manipulating you, I’m trying to get into character, you and Luna are madly in love, after all.”

“You may be following the letter of my rule, but you are certainly violating the spirit of it, and you know that.”

Rarity smirked. “That’s what you object to? So, you admit that the two of you are madly in love?”

Chrysalis blushed. Merely out of embarrassment over being caught in Rarity’s little trap and certainly not because she had feelings for Luna, or because her love letters had been getting gradually bolder and more sensual.

“I admit nothing.”

Rarity laughed. “I’m just teasing, pay it no mind. Now, where is your costume?”

“I’m not getting involved in this silly tradition.” She said with a scowl. She was perfectly happy leaving it to Spike, who had already gone out to spend the day with foals, or to Time Keeper in his silly alicorn costume, though which alicorn he was trying to emulate she had no idea.

“Well, that certainly won’t do! Fortunately, I anticipated as much.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you’re coming with me.”

“No, I’m not.”

Rarity grinned cruelly as her horn began glowing blue.

“I don’t recall saying you have a choice in the matter, honey.”

Chrysalis yelped as her hooves were lifted from the ground and she started floating within Rarity’s magical grasp.

“Hey, put me down!”

“Mwa ha ha! I think not! You are within the clutches of Nightmare Moon now, and I shall never let you go!”

“What is wrong with you?!” Chrysalis shouted as she flailed her legs in defiance, nearly clocking Rarity in the head.

“As I said, I’m merely getting into character! I’m sure Nightmare Moon would not let her victim, or her lover, go, and I think you qualify as both right now!”

“You’re fucking crazy!”

Somewhere within the library, a door creaked open.

“Uh, is something wrong?”

Chrysalis twisted her neck to look behind her and saw Time Keeper had stepped out from the basement. He had a fake horn attached to his forehead, wigs of a long, flowing silver mane and tail, aesthetic contact lenses of a cloudy grey and a new fake cutie mark of an hourglass with sand flowing backwards overlaid on top of a spiral.

Rarity smiled warmly at him and spoke as if everything were normal. “Nice costume.”

“Thanks?” he looked between Nightmare Rarity and the floating Chrysalis uncertainly. He gestured vaguely at them with a questioning look.

“Oh! I’m just taking her to see her costume.” She stopped to chuckle. “She’s being a little stubborn.”

Time Keeper stifled an outburst of laughter.

“This isn’t funny! Help me, you moron!” Chrysalis hissed.

“No, I think Rarity’s got this handled. I wouldn’t want to go up against Nightmare Moon, after all.”

“Traitor!”

Time Keeper laughed as he went back downstairs, closing the door behind him.

Chrysalis shivered in the cool autumn air as Rarity dragged her through Ponyville. So, this is what that felt like, being dragged along through the air by a unicorn. She had done it so many times to others, Spike more often than not. It was an odd combination of relaxing and embarrassing.

“Put me down, this is humiliating.”

“If I do that, you’ll run away.”

“We both know that I could force you to put me down, so let’s avoid that, shall we?"

“Hmmm…” Rarity waved at a passerby.

“I promise I won’t run away, I’ll look at your costume.”

“I think you mean your costume.” Rarity corrected. “I wouldn’t want you to worm your way out of this on a technicality.”

Chrysalis sighed. “I’ll look at my costume, happy?”

“We could have saved so much trouble if you had just said so in the first place, darling!”

With a smile, Rarity gently lowered her to the ground. Chrysalis scowled at her, but it was mostly for show. She wasn’t really all that angry at her, and she was curious about the costume she had made. As frustrating as she sometimes was, Rarity was top notch at that sort of thing. If it were half as good as the Nightmare Moon costume she had on, it would be a sight to behold.

Chrysalis followed her inside the Carousel Boutique and followed Rarity upstairs to her room. The entire building had been decorated suitably for the holiday inside and out with spider webs complete with spiders, pumpkins carved with the image of Nightmare Moon, tombstones with the names of her family and friends, and much more.

“Here it is, Twilight! I think you are going to love this!” Rarity came out of her walk-in closet with a black, folded up costume in her magical aura.

Curiously, Chrysalis took it from her and unfolded it. It took her a moment to realize what it was, but when she did, she tensed up and had to suppress a scream. It was a costume meant to cover nearly her entire form from head to tail, with a body she would step into and zip up and a mask to cover her entire head and neck. It was almost entirely black, except for the large blue eyes on the mask and stretch of navy blue on the back where a pair of insectoid wings were attached. Its tail was short, mane a thin fin like membrane, curved dark horn on the forehead, had limbs full of holes, and the opening the wearer was intended to look out of representing its mouth was full of pointed teeth.

“It’s that creature you became when you were exposed to poison joke! I figured there would be little better to strike fear into ponies tonight than that hideous monstrosity! Do you like it?”

“Love it.” Chrysalis’ eye twitched as she lied through her fake smile. This was a catastrophe! Of all the things Rarity could have made for her, she had to make her a changeling! She almost laughed, remembering what Spike had dressed as. The dragon would be dressed as a dragon, and the changeling a changeling.

“Perfect!” Rarity exclaimed as she pushed her behind a changing screen, either oblivious to Chrysalis’ distress, or ignoring it entirely. “Put it on! Put it on!”

Chrysalis stood staring at the costume for several seconds, not moving. Maybe if she told Rarity that she was still traumatized from the poison joke incident she would let her get out of wearing it? Surely, she wouldn’t be so cruel as to force her to wear it, would she?

“Is there something wrong? Does it not fit? I used the measurements I have on file, but I imagine it could be a little loose if you’ve lost weight thanks to your constant diet. I assure you that I can make some quick adjustments if needed!”

Chrysalis pursed her lips. Rarity was so excited about this. She’d definitely be disappointed if she refused to wear it. She looked over the costume one more time. It’s not like she’d actually be a changeling, and refusing to wear it would be just as suspicious if not more so, right? With a sigh, she began putting it on. After doing up the last surprisingly well hidden zipper, and levitating the mask onto her head, she stepped out and gave her best attempt at a reassuring smile, though she was sure she failed. Rarity still didn’t seem to notice though, if her squeal of delight was any indication.

“Oh, it fits perfectly! I’d dread to have your metabolism. You barely eat a thing and haven’t lost a pound, have you? The moment you stop you are going to blow up like a balloon!”

“Then I won’t stop.” Chrysalis grumbled. Not like that would be difficult.

“Oh, I’m sorry, that was probably rude of me. You look fantastic the way you are, you don’t need to lose any weight! And the costume looks marvelous, too! Truly a frightening monster you have become once more!”

“Thanks.” Chrysalis said acidly. Would it be too much to ask for just one pony to see the inherent beauty of her changelings?

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure there’s nothing—”

“Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, you’ll have to excuse me.”

Rarity trotted downstairs to the front door, and Chrysalis slowly followed after her. The former was handing out candy by the time she caught up.

“One for you, for you, and even for you, Pinkie.”

Chrysalis stood behind Rarity and couldn’t help but smile at the foals dressed up in their little costumes. She especially like the little colt dressed as a pirate. Pinkie was amongst them, costumed as a chicken. When her eyes fell upon Chrysalis, they went wide and she half screamed, half made incoherent chicken noises.

“It’s just me, Pinkie.”

“Monster! Run away or she’ll gobble us all up!”

With a cacophony of childish screams, the small group stampeded away.

“That’s it, I’m taking this off!” Chrysalis reached for the zipper with her magic, but was halted by Rarity.

“Oh, please don’t! It’s Nightmare Night, you’re supposed to frighten ponies!”

“I don’t want to scare children!”

“Oh, don’t worry about them, it’s just because of Pinkie working them up. She loves being scared on Nightmare Night, so she exaggerates for the fun of it. Your costume is great, but my work isn’t that good. Please, keep it on, for me.”

Chrysalis closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath.

“Fine, but I’m going home.”

“I’ll accompany you.”

Chrysalis walked through Ponyville, a frown frozen upon her face. She tried her best to ignore everything around her. Rarity, however, seemed eager to convince her to do otherwise.

“Oh look, there’s Applejack in a wonderful scarecrow costume!”

“Hi, AJ. Bye, AJ. I’m going home.” Chrysalis greeted and farewelled without even slowing down.

“Uh…hi and bye, I guess?” Applejack responded in bewilderment.

“Don’t be like that, Twilight! We should at least stop to play her game of apple bobbing!”

“Not interested.”

“Well, how about the pumpkin launch? You try to catapult a pumpkin at a target, it’s fun!”

“No.”

“Then perhaps—”

“I said no.”

“Is that Rainbow Dash I—”

“You really don’t lis—”

Chrysalis was interrupted by a sudden crash of lightning that struck right next to her and she leaped away from it in fright.

“Bwahahaha!"

Chrysalis glared up at Dash wearing a shadowbolt uniform as she sat on a solitary thunder cloud. With nary a moment’s hesitation, she knocked her off the cloud with her magic.

“Whoa!” Dash recovered from the fall and began hovering, but Chrysalis was satisfied to have gotten her message across. “Lighten up, Twi! It was just a prank!”

Ignoring her protest, Chrysalis stomped past.

“Geeze, what’s her problem?”

Rarity gave an apologetic look as she chased after her grumpy friend.

“Twilight, I know you’re upset thanks to Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, and perhaps you don’t like that the costume I made for you is so frightening, but this is a festival, you should really at least try to mingle and play some games!” Rarity protested as Chrysalis reached the library doorstep.

“How many times do I have to tell you that I have no interest in this stupid holiday, I just want to spend a quiet evening reading at home!” She yanked open the door and saw Luna inside. She was as tall as she remembered her being from the future with her mane and tail blowing in an ethereal breeze, just like her sister’s, and her colouration had turned to much darker hues. Even from behind she was clearly as irritated as Chrysalis felt, if not worse. She slammed the door shut and faced Rarity.

“So…about those games?”

Rarity narrowed her eyes. “Why don’t you want to go in there?”

“Is it so hard to believe that I changed my mind?”

“Yes.” Rarity began to pull open the door with her magic, but Chrysalis pushed her body up against it to keep it shut.

“You don’t want to do that.”

“You mean you don’t want me to do that. Who’s in there?”

“Nopony!”

“Do you really expect—” The door slammed open from within, sending Chrysalis tumbling forward into Rarity and both of them fell to the ground in a heap. “Ow. Would you be a dear and get off of me?”

Princess Luna stood in the door frame, gazing down upon the two, scowling.

“Twilight?” Luna’s scowl transformed into a smile when she realized who the one in the full body costume was.

“Hello, Luna.” Chrysalis groaned through the pain.

“Princess Luna? What an honor it is to see you again!” Rarity fumbled awkwardly into a bow as she got up from the ground. Luna’s face darkened once more upon seeing who Rarity was dressed as. Rarity, noting her change in demeanour, looked down at her costume and chuckled nervously. “Well, this is certainly awkward.”

“Do you try to mock me with your dress?”

“No, certainly not. Um…imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?”

“Given the other ponies’ reaction upon my arrival, I sincerely doubt that was your intention.”

“Ha…ha…my choice of attire was perhaps a tad bit insensitive. I think I’ll just leave you two love bugs alone and slip on home and into something a little less offensive.”

Chrysalis internally cursed as she watched Rarity run away, removing the one thing that was distracting the princess from her. Said princess’ attention once again returned to her.

“Love bugs?”

“I think it was a joke based on the costume she made me wear.”

“She knows about us? I thought you wanted to keep us a secret.” Her eyes narrowed accusingly. “Perhaps you have begun to agree with the idea of going public?”

“I didn’t want her to know, she’s very observant and found out on her own. She promised to keep it secret.”

“A secret between two is hard enough to keep, one between three will not be a secret for long. But, no matter, come along. It is plenty private enough inside.”

Chrysalis found herself lifted into the air by magic for a second time that evening, and was forcibly brought inside as she swallowed her screams. She found herself gently lowered onto the sofa in front of a standing Luna who examined her closely. Thanks to the boost from her furniture, they were practically eye to eye. Luna, seemingly satisfied with her investigation of her appearance, gave a lopsided grin.

“Not quite what I was expecting for your true form. I take it Rarity has seen it?”

“No, she hasn’t. She’s merely seen a lesser version of my kind.” Chrysalis said, leaving out that the lesser version had been her stuck as a normal changeling.

“Oh? There are others of your kind and they are lesser than you in some way? What would that make you to them?”

Chrysalis bit her lip. She had already told her more than she had ever told a pony before, was there really any more harm in revealing more, especially if it could keep a potentially psychotic princess from splattering her insides across the walls? She suppressed the voice that told her to clam up about changelings and continued after confirming they were truly alone.

“I’m kind of like the alicorn version of my kind.”

Luna smiled. “It is oddly comforting to hear that I had been bested by the best of your kind, at least. However, I can’t help but notice that your costume has both wings and horn.”

“The alicorn analogy isn’t perfect. We’re not ponies, we all have those.”

“Fascinating. An entire race capable of magic and flight. One capable of hiding in plain sight as they take on any form they desire. Your kind sounds straight from a horror story.” Chrysalis opened her mouth to protest, but Luna shushed her with a hoof over her lips, causing an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Or a bawdy one.”

Luna removed her hoof and leaned forward for a kiss, and Chrysalis’ unease ramped up to near stomach churning fear. In a panic, she lit up her horn and pulled upon the door to the basement as violently as she could, causing a sudden bang.

“Time Keeper?” Chrysalis half shouted in a bluff as she ducked beneath Luna’s muzzle and jumped from the bed to investigate the open door and meet a pony that was never there. “Huh, weird. I could have sworn I saw him. He must’ve run off when he saw us.”

Chrysalis turned back to Luna only to be greeted by fiery eyed fury.

“You are avoiding my affections.” She accused in a level voice that did not match her expression.

“What? No, I—”

“Not just now, but in past encounters as well. You have always shied away from my touch.”

“You’re just imagining—”

“You are afraid of me.” Luna’s horn lit up and Chrysalis stepped back in alarm.

“No, I’m—”

“You are afraid of me.” She repeated, louder, as she took an even larger step forward.

“I swear I’m not!”

Luna slammed Chrysalis against the wall with her magic, and her eyes began to glow a terrifying white.

“DO NOT LIE TO ME!”

Chrysalis flinched at the incredible volume of Luna’s voice. Half of Ponyville had likely heard, and if she were to say anything about her identity like that, then her cover would be completely blown. Lying to her was only making things worse, as impossible as it seemed, so she prepared to do the one thing that was usually left as a last resort when dealing with ponies: admit the truth. She took a deep breath.

“Yes. I am terrified of you.”

“YOU ARE JUST LIKE THE OTHERS, YOU THINK I AM A NIGHTMARE STILL AND WILL DESTROY YOU!”

“No, I don’t fear that.” Chrysalis closed her eyes as she trembled, then forced them back open. Speaking with eyes shut could be seen as suspicious, and she needed Luna to believe her. “I’m afraid because you know what I am and at any moment could reveal my true identity to the ponies, ruining my life completely, and quite possibly the lives of all my kind. We rely on secrecy to survive, and being exposed could kill us all.”

Luna’s eyes and horn went back to normal and Chrysalis dropped to the floor with a loud thud. With a sudden look of horror, she started to approach the fallen changeling, but stopped herself mid step.

“I…I am sorry.” She apologized with downcast eyes. “I have been frustrated lately by the treatment I have received since returning from the moon, and I have just taken it out on you. Being treated as a monster day in and out has put me on edge.”

Chrysalis smiled weakly as she painfully got back up on her hooves. “I think I can relate. My entire species is out of a horror story, right?” Chrysalis noticed there was a tear at one of the leg holes of her costume. Rarity would not be pleased.

“I apologize for that as well. It was a poor attempt to ‘be flirty’, as I have overheard some of the maids gossiping of in our castle.”

“It…wasn’t that bad of an attempt.” Chrysalis tried to reassure her. She figured it would be best to do anything within her power to soothe the crazy mare’s mind. Being slammed against a wall by an alicorn’s magic really hurt, and she was eager to avoid a repeat performance.

“You do fear me, then.”

Chrysalis nodded.

“In hindsight, it should have been obvious.” Luna mused sadly.

“It’s a problem with me, not you.”

“Thank you for your kind words, but that is another lie. The fault is my own, I have been in a position of such frightening power over you from the beginning, with control over the fates of not only you, but your entire species it would seem, and if that were not enough, shortly before trying to woo you I had tried to kill you.”

“To be fair, shortly before trying to kill you, I tried to woo you. You’re too hard on yourself.”

“We do not exactly make for a healthy model of a relationship, do we? But no, I am not hard enough on myself. I practically forced myself on you when you were too frightened of the consequences of saying no.”

Chrysalis began to object, but closed her mouth. Luna was right. If she had believed that Luna wouldn’t retaliate over being rejected, would she have ever gone along with any of this? She doubted it.

Luna shook her head. “That is not the kind of relationship that I wish to have, one where my partner is only with me out of fear.”

“Are…you breaking up with me?” Chrysalis was unsure of how to feel about the idea, relief or disappointment?

“I am merely making a temporary retreat. I have no intention of giving up, but until I find a way to bridge this power gap between us so that we can proceed as true equals with no cause for fear, I will not force our relationship forward.”

“Oh.”

Awkward silence fell between them for several seconds, interrupted only by the jovial laughter of foals in the distance.

“Uh…maybe we could start with something simple, like going out there and playing some of the games they’ve set up together?”

Luna sighed. “It is probably ill advised. I came here tonight in part to convince the ponies of your village that they need not fear me, but they all ran or cowered in place from my presence.”

“So? That’s their problem. You’re just going to play some games with a friend. Advice from one nightmare to another, don’t let the fears of stupid ponies get in the way of what you want. Letting yourself be bothered by them will only overwhelm you.”

“I…had not thought of it that way. While I would prefer they love me as they do my sister, perhaps I can be content with your love.” Luna winced. “I apologize. I should not be so presumptuous.”

Chrysalis laughed. It was almost like night and day between how Luna was acting now and when she had slammed her against the wall minutes ago.

“Don’t worry about it, come on.”

The two of them left the library, and almost immediately ponies were going out of their way to avoid them. Luna, despite her earlier words, couldn’t help but frown. Chrysalis sighed. Maybe she should try to do something about that before trying to play any games.

“If they really bother you, maybe we should hit up Rarity first.”

“The one who mocks me by dressing as Nightmare Moon?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. She might have a costume you can use.”

Luna’s face brightened. “A disguise! What a novel idea! If they do not recognize me, I can get close to them and show that I am not to be feared! Then, once they love me, I can throw off the disguise and they will realize they were wrong to recoil at my presence!”

“Er…yeah.” Chrysalis didn’t bother to say that no costume was likely to properly disguise the giant pony in their midst, and she was mostly hoping that wearing a silly costume would make her seem less scary. She didn’t want to dampen her enthusiasm.

The pair arrived at Carousel Boutique and entered.

“Rarity?! I’ve got a fashion emergency for you!”

Rarity entered the shopfront from within the back, notably wearing a witch costume instead of the Nightmare Moon one she had on earlier.

“Oh, hello again, Twilight, Princess Luna. Sorry about earlier, I have changed into a much less objectionable attire, I hope. I usually loathe to wear a repeat of last year’s costume, but it seemed prudent to do so given the circumstances.” She looked over Chrysalis. “I see, you’ve already damaged the costume. Worry not, I can have that fixed in a jiffy!”

Chrysalis waved her off. “Not that. We need a costume for Luna. She wants to be a little less frightening.”

She looked Luna up and down.

“Hmm…I don’t have much in your size.” She continued in a half mumble. “Perhaps something I had designed for Princess Celestia?”

“You made something for Celestia?” Chrysalis asked.

“It was more a proof of concept, an experiment resulting from a sudden inspiration you could say. Wait right here, I’ll be right back.”

Luna looked at the retreating Rarity with some apprehension.

“I am unsure if I am comfortable wearing something intended for my sister.”

“I don’t think we have much in the way of options. How bad could it be?”

Fifteen minutes later, Luna was wearing a long, flowing dress of white with gold trim that was emblazoned with representations of Celestia’s sun cutie mark. Luna’s face was fixed in a scowl that would put Rainbow Dash’s expression when forced to model for Rarity to shame.

“There we go. It’s a little big for you, but it’s the best I could do on such short notice.”

“My sister is known for being exceptionally large.” Luna said acidly.

Chrysalis burst out laughing. That was exceptionally catty of her, and Chrysalis loved it. Somebody willing to speak ill of that frustrating busy body was a breath of fresh air.

“Er…right…the princess’ dimensions aside, I think this should help…uh…I’m sorry, I can’t. This clashes terribly with your coat and is clearly too large for your frame.” Rarity admitted.

“I look ridiculous.”

“Like a filly trying to wear her mother’s dress, I’m afraid.” Rarity confirmed.

“Now, now, it may not look great on you, but looking like that should get ponies to fear you less.” Chrysalis assured her.

“I do not wish to replace fear with mockery! I am no court jester and will not be laughed at!”

With no further warning, Luna bit into the dress and with a mighty pull, tore it off in one go.

“No, my…never mind.” Rarity sagged as she watched Luna destroy her work before her very eyes. At that moment, with a representation of Celestia’s cutie mark between Luna’s teeth, Pinkie Pie busted down the door and charged in with a group of foals.

“Rarity! Nightmare Moon is in Ponyville and—” She paused when she saw Luna. “She ate Princess Celestia and is in cahoots with the bug monster! Run for your lives!”

Luna spit out the fabric. “No! I did not!”

Luna’s protests came too late as the newcomers all ran back out the door screaming. Chrysalis rolled her eyes.

“They’re already gone.”

“I…see.”

“Don’t pay Pinkie any mind, Princess. As I told Twilight, she likes to exaggerate her fears. She thinks it’s fun.” Rarity tried to soothe her.

“Well, I do not.”

“Just forget about them, this was a waste of time. Let’s just go back to plan A, ignore them and focus on playing some games.”

“I suppose.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more assistance. I just don’t have anything that would suit you on such short notice. I hope you can at least enjoy the rest of your date.”

“It’s not—” Chrysalis paused. “Huh. I guess it kind of is.”

The admission brought a small smile back to Luna’s face.

“What sort of games do they play?” Luna asked. Chrysalis tried to remember some of the things Rarity had been babbling about earlier, but failed.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, “but I’m pretty sure I know somepony who’s running one. We could ask her about it.”

“Is this another one of your friends that helped you defeat me?”

“Yes.” Chrysalis said after a moment’s hesitation. No sense lying, she’d find out soon enough.

“It’s not the pink one, is it?” Luna asked darkly. “I hate the pink one.”

“Pinkie…takes some getting used to, but no, it’s not her.”

“Good.”

It took some time for Chrysalis to retrace her steps and find Applejack, mostly because when she stopped to ask for directions, the ponies cowered at the presence of Luna rather than helping. Noting the princess’ frustration over their reaction, she decided it was best to not try again or interact with any ponies at all until they had a suitable distraction available.

“Applejack, finally I found you!”

AJ chuckled. “Ain’t exactly hard to find, I’ve been here all night. Not even that far from the library. Nice costume, by the way. I remember that thing, real scary stuff.”

Chrysalis suppressed a sigh.

“Forget about my costume!” She nearly shouted before lowering her voice. “The Princess here is feeling down because of the way that ponies are treating her and I want to distract her with some games.”

The two looked over to Luna who had stopped to greet a pair of foals, only to have them run away screaming.

“I…see. Shame, really, she ain’t that bad. She seemed okay at that tea party we had with Princess Celestia. Maybe a little grumpy, though.”

“Applejack, focus! Games!”

“Oh, right, sorry. Well, ya can always start with my game, bobbin’ for apples.”

“How does one…bobbin’ for apples?” Luna asked, finally rejoining Chrysalis after her failed attempt to mingle.

“It’s real simple, ya see this tub filled with water here?”

Chrysalis eyed the apple filled water with trepidation. She didn’t think she would like this game.

“Yeah.” Chrysalis said, trying to hide her unease.

“You just stick your head in and try to get an apple with your mouth. Best part is that you can eat any apple that you get. Fun, nutritious and delicious!”

Chrysalis winced. “So, uh…feel like trying this one, Luna?”

“It seems overly simple for a game, but very well.”

Luna stepped next to the tub and took a deep breath before dunking her face into it. Seconds later, she rose back up with a shiny, red apple between her teeth, face dripping with water and the tiny bit of her ethereal mane that had fallen in was plastered to her forehead, having lost its unnatural billowing. Her eyes crossed as she looked at the apple before taking a big bite out of it and removing the rest of it from her face with her magic.

“Your friend is quite right, this is most certainly delicious.”

“Course it is, it’s straight from my farm. Best apples in all of Equestria!”

Luna took another bite and chewed with a blissful smile. After swallowing, she looked at Chrysalis.

“Your turn. I want to see you get soaking wet. It’s only fair, after all you’ve already seen me.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow.

“Uh…right.” Chrysalis frowned as she traded places with Luna by the tub.

“Hold up, might wanna take off the head of yer costume, I doubt Rarity would appreciate you gettin’ it wet, right?”

“Right.” Chrysalis gladly took the opportunity to stall by lifting the fake changeling head from her real one, setting it aside on the ground. A cool, autumn breeze struck her now exposed face, made even colder by the sweat that had built up beneath the warm costume piece. She shivered and tried to ignore just how close winter was getting.

With one quick breath, she dunked her face into the water, and if she thought the wind had been cold, it had nothing on the water. She involuntarily gasped, inhaling some of it, jerking her head back and entering into a coughing fit. She shoved AJ off as she approached with a worried look.

“That’s fucking cold!” She said once she could finally breathe again.

“Language, Twilight.” Luna scolded her. “There are foals around.”

“Right, sorry.”

“Well, maybe it’s a little cool, but it ain’t that bad. You sensitive to the cold or something?”

“I just don’t like it.” She denied the accusation, even if it were true, and stepped away from the tub.

“Are you not going to finish the game?” Luna asked.

“And stick my head back into that ice bath? No thanks.”

The corner of Luna’s lip rose in a smirk. “Well, then, it would appear that I win.” She boasted as she took a final bite from her apple and tossed the core into a waste basket Applejack had provided.

Chrysalis’ eye twitched.

“Uh, Twilight? I don’t like that look, this ain’t that kinda game, you didn’t lose.” AJ tried to calm her friend as she returned to the side of the tub with a scowl. “Remember what we just learned at the Running of the Leaves?”

“Shut up, Applejack!”

Luna’s smirk grew into a wide grin.

“Alright, just sayin’ this is a bad idea. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Chrysalis slammed her face back into the freezing pool and violently sloshed her way through its contents in search of an apple. The first few proved elusive, slipping away from her, but finally one stuck to her teeth and she rose from the water, holding her trophy high and proud, her entire head, neck and mane were completely drenched along with a large radius surrounding the tub, its waterline visibly reduced. Applejack had taken several steps back to avoid the splash zone and several nearby ponies looked at her with concern. Ha! She hadn’t lost to this stupid game!

Applause from a singular source came from behind her, and she turned to see Luna sitting on her haunches and clapping her forehooves together while wearing the head of Chrysalis’ costume, ill fitting on her as it was. Out of the corner of her eye, Chrysalis could see a mare leading her child away from the scene. She was suddenly very aware of the sickening, sweet juice from the apple oozing onto her tongue.

“Bravo!” Luna cheered.

Chrysalis awkwardly removed the apple from her mouth with magic and blushed lightly in embarrassment. “Uh, thanks.”

“Are you not going to eat that?” Luna asked. Chrysalis looked around, noting that ponies were still giving them a wide berth. She stepped closer and spoke in a hushed tone so that only Luna could hear.

“My kind don’t eat pony food. It can actually make us sick.”

“Oh?” Luna grinned mischievously. She took the apple from Chrysalis with her own magic and, while maintaining eye contact, slowly licked the juices with her very large tongue from the holes that Chrysalis’ teeth had made and then took a bite. Chrysalis blushed harder.

“So, fair Applejack, what other games are there tonight for our amusement?”

AJ blinked. “Oh, uh, right. Well, there’s the spider toss game over there. You toss a rubber spider at a web and try to get it as close to center as you can. There’s also the pumpkin launch, where you use a catapult to launch a pumpkin at a target.”

“Tests of accuracy, splendid! Come along, Twilight, we shall continue our competition at the spider toss! You took two tries to bobbin’ for apples, so I am still in the lead!” Luna trotted off towards the mentioned game and AJ stepped next to Chrysalis.

“So…you an’ Luna, huh?”

“Shh! We’re trying to keep it a secret.”

“Coulda fooled me, she ain’t exactly being subtle.”

“No, she isn’t.” Chrysalis grumbled. It would appear that not pushing the relationship forward did not preclude Luna from flirtation.

“Is that why you ain’t chasin’ Big Mac anymore? I know you ain’t really the type to stop just ‘cause I told you to.”

“It was just one stupid kiss, I wasn’t chasing him! I just thought he was cute!” Applejack sighed at her words.

“Well, I guess ya ain’t the only one who thinks so. I know it don’t mean much now since, well, ya know,” AJ nodded towards Luna, “but I’m sorry. I over reacted. Yer rough ‘round the edges, but ya ain’t all that bad. Big Mac could do worse than you.”

“Didn’t you already apologize for that back at the Summer Sun Celebration party that Pinkie threw?”

“Honestly? I can’t remember.”

“Well, thanks anyway. It means a lot to hear it, first time or not.” Chrysalis said honestly. Sure, she had only ever seen Big Macintosh as a source of love, but the sentiment still meant something.

“Are you coming?” Luna called out from next to a basket filled with fake spiders, one of them held aloft in her blue aura.

“Go, your marefriend awaits.”

Chrysalis trotted over to her ‘marefriend’.

“About time. Have a nice chat with your marefriend?”

Chrysalis’ eyes went wide with alarm, remembering her boasts of being a very jealous mare. “What? No, I…Applejack’s just a friend, I swear! She’s probably not even into mares!”

Luna giggled. “I merely jest. Come, let us play!”

The princess flung the spider she held only for it to fall horribly short of the goal, barely two thirds of the way there.

“You missed.”

Luna scowled. “It’s not my fault! Spiders make a terrible projectile! They are horribly non-aerodynamic!”

Chrysalis took some ammunition of her own and tossed it at the target, landing directly on the center of the web. She smirked.

“Looks like I win this time.”

“That was merely a practice round! I shall try again!”

Luna took another spider and hurled it at the web, putting far too much force into it this time. The spider flew right over the target and nailed a passing, dark grey pegasus stallion in the head, knocking him over with a cry of shock and quite possibly pain. A small crowd of ponies gathered around the poor stallion, glancing fearfully at the source of the attack.

With a cocky smile, Chrysalis casually tossed her second spider. While it missed the center, it still stuck to the edge of the web rather than pelting an innocent bystander.

“Looks like I still win.”

Luna growled. “I will not be outdone!”

Her horn glowed and engulfed the entire basket and then her magic disappeared. Chrysalis’ brow wrinkled in confusion as nothing happened at first. Finally, the spiders began to move as if alive, crawling from the basket in droves. Ponies screamed in fright and ran in terror as they crawled over every centimeter of all three webs that had been set up in the distance. Luna pumped a hoof triumphantly, seemingly unaware of the terrified ponies around her.

“Now how many points do I receive?”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow.

“I’m pretty sure that’s cheating, so none.”

Luna’s triumphant grin faded. “Hmph! Well, we are merely tied, then. We still have one more game to go!”

Chrysalis chuckled as she followed the huffy princess. Cheating or not, that had been amazing.

“Did you actually bring those spiders to life?”

“It is merely a spell to temporarily animate non living entities, they are no more alive than my shadowbolts were in the Everfree Forest.”

“Well, alive or not, I’m impressed. Do you think you could teach me that spell?”

“Perhaps later, first we have a competition to complete!”

Moments passed and the two were loading their first pumpkins at the conveniently, but not coincidentally, abandoned pumpkin launching station. Chrysalis admired the little, repurposed siege weaponry. It was awfully crude, but even if it were just being used in a simple game, it was still an implement of war. With an excited grin, she looked over to Luna.

“Ready for battle, general Luna?”

“Fire when ready, private Twilight.”

Chrysalis and Luna slammed their hooves simultaneously on the trigger mechanisms of their respective catapults. Two giant, orange fruits soared through the air. One hit the target, but just barely, while the other sailed past it and crashed into a parked cart full of hay bales, knocking it over and painting the area with pumpkin guts.

“Looks like I’m ahead again.” Luna boasted.

“The war has only begun!” Chrysalis shouted with a twinkle in her eye, and another pumpkin already ready to go.

Luna eagerly reloaded her own weapon, and they both fired in unison once more. Both projectiles missed their targets this time, each landing on either side of a pink pony dressed in a chicken suit, splattering her and the foals accompanying her and eliciting screams from them.

“Nightmare Moon is laying siege on Ponyville! Quick! Get the royal guard! Save the foals before she eats them all!”

“Hmph. I missed.” Luna said with a mischievous smirk.

“There’s plenty more pumpkins.”

After losing track of time and running out of pumpkins, the two of them were completely covered in pumpkin innards, matching everything in sight. Rarity would surely be pissed at her for ruining the costume, but she didn’t really care. The two laughed joyously, a sound not heard by anybody else since all the other ponies had long since fled the scene of the fruity assault.

“I have not had such fun in over a thousand years!”

“I told you to stop worrying about what stupid ponies thought of you.”

“You were right, I should have listened.” Luna answered with glistening eyes. “Perhaps it is not so terrible to be feared, as long as I have somepony they fear along side me.” She leaned a little closer to Chrysalis.

“That’s the spirit.” Chrysalis leaned forward, tilting her head up and her lips opened slightly. Right before their lips touched through the toothy maw of a mask the princess still wore, Luna broke away.

“No, the problem of the disparity in our positions has not been solved. I will not press forward with our first real, mutual kiss. I would not wish for you to do something you regret.” Luna placed a gentle hoof on her cheek.

Chrysalis opened her mouth to say something, but stopped as a shiver overtook her. What was she doing? She had let the fun of the night make her forget how quickly this mare could ruin everything for her. No…another voice in her mind told her that Luna wouldn’t do that, she wasn’t as frightening as she had been led to believe in her original timeline, not to mention the boost to her love reserves would be phenomenal. The first voice scoffed at the idea that she wasn’t so cruel, reminding her of the damage she had personally caused to her people in the original timeline. Luna had been particularly fierce in hunting down her changelings. Chrysalis had never felt so conflicted before in her life.

“I see your hesitation. As sad as it may be, I believe I have made the right decision. Besides, we are in public. You do still wish to maintain secrecy, unless I am mistaken.” She declared, removing her hoof from Chrysalis’ cheek.

“I…suppose so.” Chrysalis’ disappointment oozed from her words. It was probably too late to worry about ponies not suspecting their relationship given their behaviour tonight. Maybe she really did enjoy the idea of rumours spreading ahead of going public, as she had said during their last meeting. Luna smiled sadly.

“Do not fret, I shall find a way to bridge this divide and silence all objections that remain in your mind. Now, let us find another game to enjoy.”

Chrysalis looked around at the carnage. “I don’t think any other games survived the war.”

Luna did the same. “We…may have gone a little overboard. Oh, over there, your little dragon companion comes. Perhaps he knows of more activities we could partake in!”

“Hey, Spike, over here!” Chrysalis beckoned the dragon over, and he jogged up to them in his equal parts amusing and adorable dragon costume.

“Hi, you two. What the heck happened here?”

Chrysalis coughed. “We have no idea.”

Spike gazed skeptically at the two of them, standing there still covered head to tail in the evidence of the battle.

“Dearest Spike, we seek more entertainment from this night. Do you know of further events we could partake in?”

“Well, it’s getting kind of late, so there’s not too much left, at least for those my age. I was just on my way to the candy offering ceremony.” Spike lifted up the bag held in his claws, presumably filled with candy.

“Candy offering ceremony? What’s that?” Luna pressed curiously.

“It’s where all the foals gather around a statue of Nightmare Moon and offer her candy so that she fills her stomach on that rather than them.

Luna sighed.

“I still can’t believe my sister allowed such vile rumours of me to spread. I would never eat foals, or any pony for that matter.” She said with mild irritation, which was certainly a step up from how Chrysalis would have expected her to react.

“I know that, and the foals do too. They just like being scared sometimes, it’s all in good fun!” Spike explained.

“They like being scared? I have heard it already this night, but I find it hard to believe.”

“Well, it’s true. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some candy to offer and I don’t want to miss it!”

Chrysalis watched as Spike ran off, a plan forming in her mind.

“Princess…do you have a sweet tooth?”

“Yes, I do quite enjoy sweets now and then. Why?”

Chrysalis smiled.

_______________________________________

Chrysalis stood off to the side of a crowd of ponies, mostly foals, that were gathered next to a statue of Nightmare Moon. Zecora seemed to be regaling the children with spooky tales of Nightmare Night, much to their delight. She looked quite attractive in that costume of hers with her mane made silky smooth and parted so that it fell to either side of her face with fake spiders ornamented on it. She wore a fancy dark cloak that was accentuated with golden trim. Chrysalis didn’t know if she had dressed to impress any pony in particular, but she certainly was impressing her. Under different circumstances, she might have made a pass at her, but as strange as it was to admit, she was already taken. Sort of. She also reflected on how she was finding herself attracted to yet another mare that held the fate of her species in her hooves and wondered if that said something about her personal tastes.

A little foal stepped up to the statue of her sort of mare friend. She recognized him through the smears of pumpkin as the colt dressed as a pirate that had been with Pinkie this night. She smiled absently as he overturned his bag and dumped out his offering. He was so small, even for a foal, and really cute.

Just then, the wind picked up and lightning flashed, courtesy of the pegasi part of the alicorn behind it. Nightmare Moon in the flesh appeared from a thundercloud above the statue, eyes glowing bright white.

“CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE, YOU WERE WISE TO BRING THIS CANDY TO ME! I AM PLEASED WITH YOUR OFFERING! SO PLEASED THAT I MAY EAT IT INSTEAD OF YOU!”

With mad laughter that sent a shiver up Chrysalis’ spine, Nightmare Moon swooped down upon the crowd of ponies, letting loose a couple extra cracks of lightning for effect. She doubled back as the crowd fled with screams and landed next to the large bowl filled with candy at her statue. With a mischievous grin, she popped a piece of candy into her sharp, fanged mouth.

Chrysalis approached her, admiring the disguise. It looked exactly as she remembered from when she had first interrupted the Summer Sun Celebration all those months ago, and what she remembered was really hot. Scary as fuck, but hot. She remembered her vow from back then that she would either fuck or kill that mare, and she figured that she knew which it would be now. Perhaps it would not be for awhile yet, but one day.

Upon Chrysalis’ arrival, Luna changed back to her normal form with a flash of white light, and smiled at her with perfectly flat teeth.

“That was hilarious.” Chrysalis said with a chuckle. “And that disguise was amazing.”

“I may not have your proclivity for it, but I do have some spells for transforming myself. Thank you, Twilight. This has been a most enchanting night.”

“Princess Luna?” A small voice interrupted them.

“Hmm? Why hello their, my little pony.” Luna smiled warmly at the same pirate costumed colt from earlier, who had evidently been brave enough to return. Chrysalis tried to ignore how eerily like Celestia she had just sounded with that greeting.

“This was only my first Nightmare Night ever, but it was the best Nightmare Night ever! Do you…do you think you can come back next year?”

“You…enjoyed my presence here tonight?”

“Uh huh. It was scary, but fun!”

“Well then, I’ll just have to return to make the next one even better!” Luna announced, raising her voice so all the foals that had not been quite so brave could hear too, though thankfully not approaching the volume of her magically amplified voice from earlier. Chrysalis didn’t think her ears could have survived much more of that.

“Thanks, you’re my favourite princess!”

“Better than my sister?”

“Way better!” He shouted as he hugged the much larger mare’s leg before running off. Tears began to form in Luna’s eyes as the rest of the foals cheered for the good news.

“It may be just one foal, and one night a year, but I finally am better than my sister. Thank you again, Twilight, you have no idea what this means to me.”

“Hey, keep working at it and I’m sure the rest of Equestria will realize just how great you are, too.”

“Yes…one day they will all see the beauty of my night.”

“And of you, too.”

_______________________________________

To: Princess Celestia

I have much to report on tonight. First is perhaps something I should have known already, but have always found so incredibly difficult to put into practice. Being honest about how you feel about those you are wary of can lead to dramatic improvements in one’s relationship with them, since it allows for a correction of the issues that plague said relationship. Second is that sometimes you must forget about what others think of you in order to find happiness in who you are. Third is that even a single friend can help you get through personal struggles that are nigh impossible to overcome on your own. Fourth and most importantly, if Rarity’s scolding is anything to go by, it is nearly impossible to remove pumpkin stains from whatever materials that she uses to make her costumes.

From: Twilight Sparkle

18 - Hearth Attack

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Chrysalis rolled over in her bed with a groan, trying to ignore the knock at her door. She hadn’t been asleep for hours but she had refused to get out from beneath her warm blankets for as long as possible, and the reason for such lethargy was the white powder covering everything that could be seen outside of her window. She really hated winter.

A voice was added to the incessant knocking, calling her false name. It was Time Keeper. She wondered idly if she had renamed him Snowball because of its association with winter. Chrysalis buried her head with a pillow to block him out. He couldn’t get in to bother her, she had been sure to lock the door after Spike had gone down for breakfast.

The minutes passed and the pounding finally ceased. With a smile, she rolled over once more. She had won and was going to remain in her bed where it was toasty and comfortable.

Had Chrysalis been paying attention, she may have noticed the sound of somebody fiddling with her window. Had she not rolled to face away from it, she may have seen Time Keeper hovering just outside as he tried to pry it open. Had she remembered to lock it she might have avoided what came next.

“Fuck that’s cold!” She screeched, tumbling out of bed in a tangled mess of quilt and sheets. She lashed out with her magic, trying to shut the open window and stave off the icy gale that had invaded her inner sanctum, only to find that Time Keeper had already closed it behind himself.

“Next time open the door.”

Chrysalis glared in response, barely visible within the pile of bedding.

“I’ve never met a pony who hated winter as much as you.”

“I’m not a pony.” She reminded him sourly. “Changelings don’t do winter.”

“That may be, but you’re Twilight Sparkle right now, and Twilight Sparkle has been a complete recluse for weeks! You need to go out and spend some time with the element bearers.”

“Is something supposed to happen soon?”

“No, her first winter in Ponyville was uneventful, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to cut yourself off from them. You’ve worked hard to cultivate your relationships with them and I don’t want to see it all go to waste because you neglect them all winter.”

“That’s awfully charitable of you.” Chrysalis said, suspecting that at least one of them was being sarcastic, but couldn’t quite figure out which.

“What can I say, tis the season.” His smile was forced.

“Fine, I’ll go spend some time with the bearers. Maybe I can convince Rarity to make me some warm clothes.”

“If you had actually paid any attention, you would have known that she already dropped a coat off for you to try last week.”

“Well, why don’t you go find it for me. I’ll be right down once I finish putting my bed back together.”

“If it means you'll actually listen to me for once, fine, I'll go get your stupid coat.” Time Keeper said as he trotted out of the room.

“I assure you, I can listen when I want to,” Chrysalis followed him to the door and slammed it behind him, “I just don’t want to.”

The door rattled uselessly as he tried to open it again.

“Come on, really?” His voice was muffled, but his frustration came across clear through the barrier. Eager to close off his other entrance, Chrysalis headed for the window and with a triumphant grin locked that too.

“Whatcha doin?”

“I’m locking Snowball out of my room, Pinkie.”

“Ah, I getcha! Your room is your private throne room, emphasis on the private. I like my privacy sometimes too, but wait, throne rooms aren’t really all that private—”

“Pinkie?!”

“Hi, Twilight!”

“How did you get in here?”

“The window was open.”

“What?" Chrysalis could've sworn it it had only been open long enough for Time Keeper to get in, but realized it wasn't worth questioning Pinkie's disregard for reality. "Ok, why did you come through my window?”

“I saw Snowball going through it and figured that’s just what we’re doing now.”

“I…but…” Chrysalis paused to take a deep breath. Still not worth questioning. “Not that I don’t like seeing you, but maybe next time try using the door. Let's just go downstairs.”

“Okie dokey!”

They descended to the first floor, finding an irate Time Keeper glaring up at her.

“Don’t start.” Chrysalis warned. Seeing that Pinkie Pie was following behind her, he shrugged and wandered into the basement. Even he knew not to question Pinkie Pie by now.

“Okay, Pinkie, why did you come here?”

“I came to invite you to a Hearth’s Warming Eve party tomorrow night!”

“Hearth’s Warming Eve?”

“I know it’s a little early, but I get so busy with baking when we get closer to the big day, plus we haven’t seen you in weeks so I figured we could all get together at Sugarcube Corner after closing tomorrow and have some fun!”

“Right.”

“Here you go!” Pinkie shoved an envelope at her taken from her mane. “It’s your official invitation! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go invite the others!”

Without waiting for a response, or even for her to open the envelope to read it, Pinkie bounded towards the exit.

“See? Using the door just like you asked! Bye, Twilight!”

“Wait, Pinkie!” Chrysalis tossed aside the invitation on a reading table and chased after her, but upon stepping through the door she was already gone. Sometimes she couldn’t help but wonder if Rainbow Dash was kidding herself when she boasted that she was the fastest pony in the group.

She returned inside, all too aware of the chill she had let in. The envelope contained one letter, its contents which cordially invited her to join Pinkie and friends for a Hearth’s Warming Eve celebration at Sugarcube Corner at 8pm the next evening. She set it back down, frowning and looked over to the bookshelves lining the walls. She trotted over to the “H” section in the hopes of learning what Hearth’s Warming Eve even was.

_____________________

Chrysalis stood shivering as she knocked on the door to Sugarcube Corner. She didn’t know why she was there. She shouldn’t have come. She had been uneasy ever since reading up on Hearth’s Warming Eve. For ponies, it was a celebration of the peace brought by the pony tribes coming together to found Equestria and their ability to fend off the windigos that fed off their hatred and anger. She, however, could only think of it as a celebration of the ponies’ ability to force an entire species of creature that fed off their emotions into starvation. Hardly a story comforting for a changeling. Yet, she had gone anyway.

She heard a pony shout from within that they were coming. Moments later, light streamed out into the dark night as Pinkie Pie opened the door.

“Hi, Twilight, happy Hearth’s Warming! I’m so glad you’re here! Come on in, everypony else is already inside!”

“Thanks, Pinkie.” Chrysalis responded through chattering teeth and followed her inside the bakery.

“Here, let me take your coat!”

“Later, I’d like to keep it on for a while, I’m freezing.”

“Suit yourself. Feel free to help yourself to some of the snacks on the table, and if you’re thirsty there’s punch over there, too!”

Chrysalis’ gaze followed where she pointed, noting with little interest the sprawl of colorful foods, as well as two bowls filled with liquid, one green and one red.

“The green one is safe for foals, while the red one is for the adults that want a little something extra that just might warm them up, if you catch my drift.” Pinkie winked.

“Something that could warm me up does sound nice.”

Chrysalis headed straight for the drinks and poured herself a cup of the red one. It had an overpoweringly unpleasant fruity smell, with just the slightest hint of something vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place a hoof on what it was. Did it really matter, though? Whatever ingredients Pinkie had put into this stuff, she already knew she would hate it, but if it would warm her up as she suggested then maybe it would be worth the stomach pain. Wrinkling her nose, she downed the entire glass.

“You look absolutely marvelous in that coat!”

“Are you complimenting me, or your own work, Rarity?”

“Oh, I can surely appreciate my own craft, but the model is just as important as the outfit!”

Chrysalis stared at her. “Is this going to be another attempt at convincing me to eat more?”

Rarity laughed. “Well, aren’t you the suspicious one? Not this time, I know you wouldn’t listen if I tried. Regardless, come join us, we were about to play cards. Old Mare, I believe.”

“I don’t know how. I didn’t have much opportunity to play cards growing up.”

“Oh, you poor thing! Don’t you worry, we shall rectify that tragedy soon enough!”

Chrysalis shrugged and followed her to a table where the others were already sitting. Applejack was shuffling a deck of cards and glaring at a smirking Rainbow Dash. Chrysalis rolled her eyes. She didn’t need to have been there to know those two were getting overly competitive again. As AJ began dealing, Rarity explained the rules to her.

“Now, the game is simple, all the cards are dealt and we place any pairs we have on the table. Once that’s done, we take turns taking one card from the player to our left until only the joker remains, and whoever holds that card at the end loses.”

Chrysalis gave a vague response as she picked up her cards and found the joker in the mix.

“Ha! Somepony doesn’t have much of a poker face!” Dash laughed.

“What?” Chrysalis started.

“You’ve got the joker. Your face gives it away.” Applejack explained.

“I do not!” Chrysalis answered indignantly. “My…poker face is impeccable!”

“Um…maybe we shouldn’t tease her, she’s only just learning.” Fluttershy suggested.

“Perhaps this should be a practice round so that Twilight can get used to the game?” Rarity suggested.

“Yeah, sure, we can show her how it’s done. First tip? Try to keep it a secret if you have the joker, especially if somepony’s about to take it out of your hand.” Dash said.

“I can keep secrets far better than any of you!” Chrysalis snarled.

“We’ll see.” Dash smirked.

There was a clink as Pinkie set a glass full of red punch in front of her.

“Here you go, Twi! I noticed you finished yours already, so I got you a refill!”

“Thanks, Pinkie.” She deadpanned. AJ and Dash chuckled.

“Yup, a true master at hiding your feelings.”

The night progressed, and game after game Chrysalis somehow kept losing. She was growing frustrated, and the stomach ache she was getting from politely sipping the drink that Pinkie kept refilling wasn’t helping her mood.

"Ha! You lose again!" Dash taunted her as she laid down the last pair of the game.

“You guys are cheating!” Chrysalis shouted as she threw the joker onto the table.

“Maybe we should play something else.” Rarity said.

Chrysalis closed her eyes and rubbed her temple with a hoof. She was starting to feel a little woozy and her head was pounding. Concentrating was getting harder by the minute, and even maintaining her disguise was beginning to put a strain on her despite usually being effortless. Was she getting sick? She knew she shouldn’t have gone out into the cold. She reached for her drink, eager to hide her frustration behind the glass for a moment even if it meant imbibing more of the disgusting stuff, but accidentally knocked it over instead.

“Fuck.” She muttered.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you another!” Pinkie hopped up from her seat only for Rarity to pull her back into it with her magic.

“I think she’s had quite enough.”

“A real light weight, huh?” Dash snorted. “There’s barely any alcohol in that stuff.”

Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed as she stared at her, the words barely recognizable in her altered state. “Alcohol?”

“Oh dear, didn’t Pinkie tell you? The red one has alcohol in it.” Fluttershy explained.

Time froze as the gravity of the situation sank in. With nearly violent force, she shoved her chair backwards and stood up.

“I need to go!”

Chrysalis took one step only to stumble and fall. Applejack rushed to her side and helped her up.

“Whoa, you okay there, sugar cube?”

The world was beginning to spin and she could feel a pressure on her horn. She was running out of time. She physically shoved AJ away, mumbling something unintelligible as she did so, and stumbled for the first door she saw. She threw it open, practically fell through it and slammed it shut behind her, thankful to find a lock which she swiftly used.

It was a bathroom, with barely enough space for a toilet and a sink. She sat on the former, closed her eyes and focused on her throbbing horn. She could handle this. She was powerful. She was a master of control and there was no way she would let a little alcohol make her out to be a foal.

With an audible crackling of magic, a blindingly painful constriction upon her body and a tearing sound, she knew she was wrong. She opened her eyes, looked in the mirror above the sink and stifled a wail of frustration. She had lost control of her disguise and sat there in the full splendor of her natural, changeling form. She stared aghast at the torn remnants of the beautiful coat that Rarity had made for her scattered on the floor. A gentle knock drew her attention.

“Twilight? Are you okay? Do you need some help?” Rarity called through the locked door.

“I’m fine.” She blurted without thinking and shoved a hoof into her mouth, realizing what she had just done.

“That…didn’t sound like Twilight.” Fluttershy said.

“Hey, Pinkie, who else is here?” AJ asked.

“Nopony. Mr. and Mrs. Cake are out visiting family right now.”

“Then who’s in there with Twilight?” AJ again.

There was a heavy pause where all Chrysalis could hear was her own breathing, and the frantic beating of her heart. The door began to rattle.

“Twilight? Who’s in there with you?” Rarity’s voice was heavy with concern.

Chrysalis stared at her image in the mirror and frantically focused on transforming. A loud, crackling noise arose as a small shower of green sparks spewed from her horn.

“What was that?!”

“Outta the way, Rarity!” There was a heavy thud as something crashed into the door. “Ow…”

“Don’t be so rash, Dash, lemme handle this!”

“Hey, the Cakes are going to be reeeeal angry if you break another one of their doors!”

“Sorry, sugar cube, I’ll send Big Mac to help you fix it, but right now we need to help Twilight!”

Chrysalis’ eyes darted around her tiny prison and fell upon an even smaller window. It would be a tight squeeze, but she could probably fit through it. Probably. She opened it with her magic, thankful she at least could still control that, and struggled climb up to it. She had barely gotten her head and a single foreleg through before realizing that she was horribly mistaken. Before she could do anything else, the door splintered into pieces from the thunderous force of Applejack’s mighty legs. There was a collective gasp and Chrysalis sheepishly extricated herself from the window.

Both sides stood in silence staring at each other, Chrysalis awkwardly sitting on the toilet and the bearers crowded around outside the shattered door. The silence was broken as she began to giggle uncontrollably. What a ridiculous situation. Her, a changeling queen, stuck in a bathroom trying to escape from her “friends” through a window several sizes too small for her. Said “friends” shared worried looks with each other and Rainbow Dash stepped forward to confront the laughing monster.

“Where’s Twilight?!” Rainbow’s jaw was set so stiffly, and her tone so serious.

“So angry, so protective, so scared for your friend. Do you even really know her? Would you still care if you did?” Chrysalis thought aloud through her giggles, barely aware that she did so. They were all so scared, she was well acquainted with such body language. It was hilarious, all that emotion and effort over the one they cared for, yet they were blind to see that the one they were frightened of was that very same pony. Her chest began to hurt, probably from the laughter. No. It wasn’t from the laughter. For some reason she didn’t feel like lying to herself right then.

“Answer me!”

Chrysalis leaned into her laughter, ramping it up to near maniacal levels. If all they saw was a monster, then she’d play up the part.

“I have abducted Twilight, fools! You’ll never see her again, for she is mine now!”

“What? But how—” Rarity’s voice was drowned out by shouts of panic as Chrysalis charged at them. Most dove out of the way, and the ones that didn’t were easily shoved aside by her greater bulk. Moments later she had crashed out the front door and was fleeing into the cold night.

Upon reaching an intersection, she slid to a halt. Where was she going? Back to the library? No, she couldn’t let anypony see her going there like this. How about the hospital, she always seemed to end up there when she was unwell, and she certainly felt sickly, but no, too many ponies there that would see her. How about Applejack's farm? There weren't many ponies there, and she could easily hide in the rows upon rows of trees or something. Yeah, that sounded good.

Wait, did she just tell them that they'd never see Twilight again? What was she thinking? That was the dumbest thing she could have said! The pounding in her head made it hard to think of what she should have said, but it definitely wasn’t that.

“There she is!”

Before Chrysalis could react, a blur of fur and feathers rammed into her, sending her and the living missile that struck her to the ground, where they both slid across the ice. A flurry of hooves stomped down on her, sending waves of pain through her body. She grabbed onto the one who was pounding her with her magic and flung her away. Seeing that Rainbow Dash was now hurtling toward the wall of a nearby building, she snatched her out of the air without even thinking and set her on the ground gently before she could be injured by the impact.

“Huh?” Dash blinked in confusion.

“Uh…” Chrysalis tried to say something, but couldn’t make sense of what her racing mind was trying to push out of her mouth. Instead, she chose to light up her horn once more and agitated the snow on the roof of the building next to Dash, causing a miniature avalanche to bury the pegasus, who cried out in surprise.

Chrysalis took advantage of the others' efforts to dig Dash out from the snow to flee. Where was she going again? Oh right, the Apple family farm.

Her breathing was ragged by the time she reached it. She had neither seen nor heard from her pursuers in ages, so she slowed to a gentle walk through the snow that had piled up between the dormant, leafless trees. She frowned. She had forgotten, it was winter and the trees had no leaves. There went most of her potential cover. She began to shiver now that the exertion of her running no longer kept her warm, the white clouds formed by her breath giving a constant reminder of the low temperature. For some reason she didn’t really seem to care about the cold at that moment.

She came to a halt and kicked at the pristine, powdery snow in front of her. It was so pretty with the way it sparkled in the moonlight. If only it could snow while it was warm and then she might’ve been able to appreciate it more. Why did something so beautiful have to be so bitterly cold? Using her magic, she scooped some up and compacted it into a sphere. She sent it into a gentle orbit around her head as she contemplated the further mysteries of snow. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a lone, desiccated leaf adorning a solitary tree branch. With a thought, she launched the snowball at it, missing horribly, and then giggled at the pointlessness of what she just did.

She looked beyond the solitary leaf at the star filled sky, clear of any clouds. The same sky that perhaps some of her changelings were looking at that same moment. The thought provided her with bittersweet comfort. Hopefully they were having a better Hearth’s Warming than her, not that they actually celebrated the holiday. Changelings had no place in the mythical tales of Equestria’s origins. It was about fighting off creatures that fed on their emotions, not welcoming them into their midst.

She heard shouting in the distance behind her, and when she turned to look, her heart sank. An obvious trail in the snow led straight to her. Why hadn’t she flown? This night was just one bad decision after another, starting with actually attending that stupid party.

She shook her head. No time to dwell on that now. She buzzed her freshly remembered wings, lifting herself in the air and flew straight for the barn that was up ahead, yanking the door open and then more crashing than landing inside. Much to her delight, it was warmer there. Unfortunately, the stench of farm animals that it was heated for nearly caused her to vomit.

She scanned the dark interior with her excellent night vision for a good place to hide, spotting some sleeping pigs. She tried to change into one of them only to send another loud shower of sparks from her horn. A solitary pig woke and stared at her as if to ask her what she thought she was doing. Right. If she could do that, she wouldn’t be there in the first place.

Up above in the rafters, she spied a series of thick support beams running from one side of the barn to the other. They looked sturdy enough to hold her weight, so she flew up to one and balanced herself on it. It wasn’t exactly a comfortable place to sit, but if she were careful, she could avoid falling at least.

Maybe half a minute later, the barn door creaked open and a glowing light spilled inside. Chrysalis froze in place, doing her best to not move a muscle.

“We’ll check in here!” Pinkie shouted as she hopped inside, startling the pigs awake.

“But—”

“We’ll be fine, dear, go check on your family!” Rarity cut Applejack’s protest off. If there was anything more said between the two, Chrysalis couldn’t make it out. Moments later, Rarity walked inside, the glow of her horn nearly blinding her.

“Oooo, piggies!” Pinkie Pie rushed over to the formerly sleeping swine who now squealed their displeasure while running from the invasive pony.

“I think we have more important concerns than,” Rarity gave a very slight pause as she wrinkled her nose, “piggies.”

“Right, serious face time.” Pinkie’s smile vanished in favor of an almost comically exaggerated scowl.

“That’s better, I suppose.”

Rarity shook her head at the other’s antics and cast her eyes around. The light of her horn didn’t reach very far, so Chrysalis’ hiding place thankfully remained draped in shadows. The minutes passed agonizingly slowly as their search continued below.

“Looks like she’s not here.” Pinkie said.

“So it would appear.”

Chrysalis let out a sigh of relief as she watched Pinkie trot out the door. Her legs were getting sore, so she adjusted her positioning slightly as Rarity made to follow her.

CREEEAK

Chrysalis’ heart stopped at the sound the beam she was resting on made. Her eyes were glued on Rarity as she stopped half way out of the building, and then backed up inside with her brow furrowed suspiciously. Her head was tilted up, and her eyes searched the dark rafters until they settled on an area that felt dangerously close to where she was sitting. It was so hard to tell where exactly she was looking from that distance. Could she see her? Seconds passed. If she could, why was she just standing there in silence? Why didn’t she cry for help, or shout at her? Seconds passed. If she couldn’t, why didn’t she leave? Why was she staring so?

A nearby fluttering of wings caught Chrysalis’ attention, and Rarity’s too. A barn owl, likely irritated by the nightly visitors, flew from its perch on the same beam that Chrysalis sat on and over to another a few meters away, giving off an annoyed hoot as it landed. Rarity’s eyes focused on the new area for a few more seconds before momentarily returning to the spot the owl had come from. She nodded to herself and left the barn once more, closing the door behind her with a thud.

Chrysalis waited several seconds before relaxing, silently thanking the owl for its intervention. That was much too close. She didn’t really want to blast a hole in the roof of AJ’s barn so that she could escape again, even if she had the energy to keep going. She let her legs dangle over the edge of either side of the beam and laid her head on the dusty wood in between. She would rest a couple of minutes before finding a safer hiding place. Just a few minutes she thought as she closed her eyes.

_______________________________

Chrysalis awoke with a groan. She didn’t know what hurt worse: her body or her head. Where was she? It smelled like pig manure and old, dirty hay. Each and every grunt from the animals below felt like spikes being driven into her skull. Wait, below?

Chrysalis nearly fell off in a panic as she realized that she was hanging from a length of wood near the ceiling of a barn. After taking a moment to calm her breathing, she flew down to the ground. How did she get there, and why did her brain keep trying to break through her skull to run for freedom?

“Twilight?!” A young voice called out, recognizably Apple Bloom. Her call was soon echoed by the much deeper voice of Big Macintosh.

“Twilight?! Answer if you can hear us!”

Memories of what had happened flooded back and she groaned once more. She had thought that her last encounter with alcohol had gone poorly, but it had nothing on last night. Now she had to find a way to explain her sudden reappearance as Twilight to the bearers after saying that they’d never see her again.

First things first, though, she had to ensure that she could transform again. With a quick flash of verdant flame, she turned back into Twilight. So far so good. Next step was to get out of the barn unseen and find a more sensible place for her to return from. She was about to place her ear upon the door when it swung open and she was face to face with two thirds of the Apple siblings and a nastily bright view of the rising sun. There went her hopes of going unnoticed.

“Twilight!” Apple Bloom screeched and Chrysalis winced.

“Could you—”

“Where have you been?” Big Mac interrupted her.

“The whole town’s been looking for you!”

Chrysalis stared at her dubiously. The whole town looking for her? Yeah, right. The kid seemed to get the wordless skepticism.

“Well, maybe not the whole town, but a lot.” Apple Bloom’s eyes widened. “Is she in there?”

“Who?”

“The one who took you! Sis’ tells me that she was real big and ugly, all black and full of holes!”

Chrysalis inwardly sighed at the insulting description but set those feelings aside. She had to come up with some kind of explanation fast, but the pounding of her head was making it so hard to think of something. Screw it, she’d just play dumb and hope for the best.

“What happened to me? All I remember is getting really drunk last night at Pinkie’s party and then waking up here with the pigs. I just thought I made a fool of myself or something.”

“Really? You don't remember the thing that took you?”

“Really, Apple Bloom.”

“Oh.” The filly seemed disappointed at not being able to see the monster. Chrysalis smiled in spite of herself.

“Don’t worry, next time you’ll get to kick her butt for sure. Now, maybe you could be a little quieter, I have a massive headache from last night.”

A deep, rumbling chuckle escaped from Big Mac’s lips. “Can’t hold your liquor, can you? Don’t worry now, we’ll get you up to the house with some hot, black coffee and a warm bed.”

“I think just a bed would be nice.”

Big Mac shrugged and turned to lead her away.

________________________

Chrysalis was half asleep in their guest room when the door opened and five ponies squeezed their way inside. Her headache had mostly diminished by this point, but she had a feeling it was about to come right back again. Slowly, she sat up in the bed and faced them.

“Twilight, are you…?” Rainbow Dash’s voice cracked as her words trailed off.

“I’m fine. Just tired and—”

The air was knocked out of her lungs as Dash crushed her with a tight hug.

“Don’t you ever do that again!”

“I’m sorry?”

Chrysalis was confused as one by one the other ponies joined in a group hug with her at the center. When they finally let go, Chrysalis noticed the dark bags beneath their eyes. Clearly they hadn't slept at all last night.

"You guys look worse than I feel."

Rarity grimaced. "We've had better nights."

“Big Mac says you don’t remember what happened?”

Chrysalis shook her head at Applejack’s question. “I think I just blacked out from drinking too much. I woke up in your barn of all places.”

“The barn?” Rarity tilted her head. Chrysalis laughed, hoping it would come across as embarrassed rather than nervous.

“Yup. Crazy, right? Pinkie?” She addressed another pony in the hopes of deflecting to another topic.

“Yes?”

“Promise to never let me drink again, I clearly can’t handle alcohol at all.”

“Right. Sorry. I promise.” She nodded with downcast eyes.

“And I’m sorry, too! I let her get away!” Dash added. “If I had just…”

“Stop beating yourself up over this, it wasn’t your fault. I may not know the details, but I’m sure you gave her so much trouble that she’ll think twice before messing with you again.”

“Yeah…yeah, she better not try that again or I’ll really hurt her next time.”

Chrysalis winced from the memory of Dash’s violence last night. Her attack was probably the biggest part of why she was so sore this morning. She really needed to stop putting herself in positions where that mare had the chance to hurt her.

“You guys really should go get some rest.”

“That is probably for the best.” Rarity nodded as she tried to hide a yawn. Soon everyone was yawning.

“I don’t really want to leave her. What if she disappears again?” Pinkie said.

"Really, I'm fine, just go."

“Me neither.” Dash added despite her protests. Fluttershy and Rarity voiced their agreement as well and they all looked to Applejack.

“I guess I could pull out some blankets and sleeping bags.”

Fluttershy smiled weakly. “That would be great.”

Within half an hour, all five of them were sleeping soundly on the floor in makeshift beds, even Applejack who had her own room just down the hall. Though she had tried to get them to leave, she was actually glad to have them stay. Hearing them sleep so close by was oddly soothing. She could almost imagine they were a group of her little changelings scattered about as they hid from winter’s frosty bite. With that thought in mind, she slowly let herself drift off to a comfortable sleep.

_____________________________

To Princess Celestia:

Winter sucks. Alcohol sucks. I got drunk and hurt my friends. I am never drinking again.

From: Twilight Sparkle

19 - Changeling Seasons

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“Here you go, Twilight!” Spike announced as he handed the daily newspaper to Chrysalis while she sat at the kitchen table, sipping on a cup of hot water. It was a habit she had gotten into after she fell ill following the Hearth’s Warming Eve party. She didn’t know if it was from the alcoholic punch, the extended exposure to the cold, or sleeping in a pig feces ridden barn all night, but she had been bedridden for a whole month, or at least that’s what she told others. In truth she had recovered within two weeks and just pretended to still be ill the other two so that she could avoid going outside into the cold again, and the element bearers had been kind enough to actually leave her alone this time. Even Time Keeper hadn't bothered her. It had been a good month.

Chrysalis thanked him absently, taking the proffered paper. She skimmed over the front page which had an article about the yearly Winter Wrap Up going on that day. She smiled. That was entirely the reason why she had chosen to stop feigning illness. Winter had been going on forever, it was about time they changed seasons. Why couldn’t they just do what the changelings did and leave it hot all year?

With images of sunshine and trees full of leaves dancing through her head, Chrysalis began humming a happy little tune and moved onto the next article. It was about some antique store in Canterlot being broken into in the middle of the night, and an ancient magical artifact being stolen. It was certainly a curious event, and if she had access to a spy network, she definitely would have sent some changelings to investigate. However, she failed to see how her presence could have caused the theft, and she didn’t remember anything of it from her first time through the time line, so figured that it probably didn’t really matter.

She was torn from her reading when the library door slammed open from outside, she noted with no small amount of pleasure that a mere cool breeze entered with the pony rather than a freezing gust. She was less pleased to see Time Keeper was the pony who had entered, but was in too good of a mood over the imminent season’s change to start anything with him. Instead, she gave a polite, if somewhat forced, smile and went back to her paper while he closed the door.

“Good morning, Twilight!” Time Keeper greeted her with uncharacteristic enthusiasm.

“Morning.” She responded. It seemed she wasn’t the only one in a good mood that day. Maybe they could avoid fighting for once.

“So, I just finished signing us up for this year’s Winter Wrap Up. I’ve never lived in a place that was actually small enough for everypony to take part if they wanted, and half of it all back home has been automated anyway.”

“Automated?” Spike spoke up as he sat down with a bowl of cereal, confused. “Where were you from again?”

“Uh…”

“Manehattan.” Chrysalis answered for him, rolling her eyes. Of course he wouldn’t remember the cover story she had given him.

“Oh, I guess it is pretty big there, it’d be really hard for everypony to take part.” Spike mused as he took a bite of his breakfast. “Do they really automate it there, though?”

“Absolutely.” Time Keeper nodded with faux confidence. Honestly, Chrysalis had no idea if it was true or not, but it wasn’t like they were going to travel there to check any time soon. She turned to the next page. Wait a second, what was it he had said?

“Did you say ‘us’?” Chrysalis forced herself to only gently set the paper down on the table.

“Yup. You, me, and even Spike, all out there helping these ponies clean up winter! Just imagine!”

“When you say you and me, do you mean together?”

“Oh, fuck no!” Time Keeper winced as Chrysalis glared at him and indicated the child in the room. “Uh, sorry Spike.”

“Don’t worry about it.” The child shrugged off his profanity.

“We’ve been cooped up together all winter and I want a break from that, so I’m going to try my hoof at helping Rainbow Dash with the weather team, something which you won’t be doing since you can’t fly. You can, I dunno, just go mingle with your friends or something and find something to help with on the ground, and I’ll stay well clear of you up in the air.”

Chrysalis mulled over the information. She had been pretty reclusive again after the Hearth’s Warming Eve party due to her illness, both real and faked. She had barely seen the element bearers since then beyond when they dropped in to say a quick hello or offer a container of hot soup which she invariably never ate. She shuddered as she realized she was actually starting to miss them. How lonely must she be getting if she was willing to even admit that to herself? Though she did not like Time Keeper volunteering her in the slightest, she couldn’t help but think it would be a good excuse to visit them. If that wasn’t enough, she would at least be able to take part in the destruction of one of her most hated foes: winter.

“Okay, how about this, you leave right now and don’t bother me all day, and I’ll pretend that you didn’t try to manipulate me into spending time with my friends again. Deal?”

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me in months!” He gave a sloppy, possibly mocking, salute and a lopsided grin before trotting back outside, slamming the door behind him just as loud as when he had arrived. Chrysalis and Spike looked at each other.

“So,” Spike paused to swallow his food, “Does this means I can’t just sit around and read comics all day?”

“No.”

“Fuck.” Spike’s winced as he realized that Chrysalis was glaring at him. “Uh…Don’t worry about it?”

_______________________________

“Come on, Twilight! No gems for a week is way too harsh! How about half the gems? A quarter? One gem a day!? Please, you can’t do this to me, I’m just an innocent child, I learned it from Snowball, blame him not me!”

“Oh, don’t you worry, he’s going to get what’s coming to him tonight.”

After giving Time Keeper a half hour head start, most of which primarily consisted of her scolding Spike, Chrysalis had left the library wearing the new coat that Rarity had made for her after the old one was destroyed during the events of a party she refused to think about. Spike was coming along for the ride atop her back and was sulking over the punishment she had settled on for him.

Chrysalis didn’t really know a lot about Winter Wrap Up outside of what she had read from the newspaper that morning. She had already known that it was a day when ponies personally cleaned up winter in preparation for spring, and from the paper she learned that they were split up into three groups dedicated either to the weather, animals, or plants. She also knew that Ponyville didn’t use unicorn magic as a matter of tradition, stemming from the fact that the town had been founded by earth ponies. It seemed silly, considering that they were perfectly willing to use pegasus magic to manipulate the weather, but it hardly mattered to her. If the ponies wanted to be needlessly inefficient, then that was their business.

She was wandering around practically at random as she looked for something that she might help with when a familiar voice called to her from the sky. Chrysalis’ eyes rose to find Rainbow Dash flying down to her and she gave a smile and wave.

“Hey, Twilight! Spike. Finally feeling better?”

“Hi, Rainbow. Yeah, I’m not one hundred percent, but I was going stir crazy cooped up in there.” Chrysalis greeted cheerfully while Spike just grumbled something.

“What’s his problem?”

“I caught him swearing and he doesn’t like the consequences.”

“She’s depriving me of gems for a week! A whole week! I’m a growing dragon, I need those!”

“Really, dude? That’s it?” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Just one little swear and you cut him off like that? Seems a little harsh.”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “And what did your parents do when they caught you swearing?”

“You’re not my parent.” Spike grumbled indignantly beneath his breath.

“Uh…I’d rather not talk about it.” Dash rubbed the back of her head with a hoof.

Chrysalis sighed. Maybe she was being too harsh. Since when did she really care about a little swearing? She swore all the time. Probably in front of Spike, even. Still, it felt wrong for the little drake to be doing it.

“Anyway, it’s great that you’re better now, I was starting to worry that you were just avoiding us.”

“Nah, she was definitely sick. And if she was avoiding anything, it was the cold.” Spike answered for her.

“Oh, is that all?”

“Yes, what else would it be?” Chrysalis confirmed.

“Well, the girls and I thought that maybe after what happened at Pinkie’s party, that maybe you, ya know, wanted a little time to yourself. Well, except for Pinkie, she said we should just let you hibernate. Not sure why, just Pinkie being Pinkie, I guess.”

“Oh.” Chrysalis tensed. Were they the ones trying avoid her? Why would they do that, unless…no, it couldn’t be. “No, I was just stuck in bed from whatever disease crawled out of Tartarus and made its home in me.”

“So, the party isn’t a sore spot for you? Awesome, ‘cause I’ve been thinking about it and want to get your opinion on something.”

Chrysalis internally cursed herself as a nearby songbird began to cheerfully sing its mockery of her.

“I was wondering about that creature that kidnapped you. What was it trying to do? What was its goal?”

“I’m not sure how I would know, I’m not exactly psychic, I can’t read its mind.”

“I mean, she said we’d never see you again, and then bam! You show up right in Applejack’s barn the next morning, no fuss!”

“Well, okay, yes that’s odd, but—”

“And when we were chasing her, I tackled her and she threw me off, but before I crashed into something she saved me!”

“Man, you’re not kidding, that does sound weird. Any ideas, Twilight?” Spike added from his position on her back.

“Uh, no, I…”

“It makes no sense! Why would she try to avoid hurting me like that? I feel like I’m missing something obvious that’s right under my nose.”

“Hmmm…” Spike rubbed his chin. “Maybe she sees you as a friend? She wouldn’t want to hurt you then, right?”

Chrysalis’ heart sank. “No!” She stopped to clear her throat out of embarrassment over shouting. “I mean, that’s ridiculous, she kidnaps me and runs away from you guys and somehow she’s supposed to be your friend? That makes absolutely no sense!”

“Yeah, Spike, I don’t think that’s it.”

“I guess not.” Spike went cross eyed to look at a small bird that had landed on the spine on top of his head. “Hey, little guy.”

Chrysalis’ eyes darted around, desperate for a way out of the current conversation, spying a pair of arguing pegasi up in the sky. “I think you’re needed back up there.”

“Huh?” Dash looked behind her and sighed. “I guess I am. They’ve been arguing all morning about what order to do things in and I’ve had to deal with it as the leader of the weather team. It’s been a real headache. Sorry about unloading all that party stuff onto you, I guess you really wouldn’t know what with being blackout drunk and all. I just thought you might be able to come up with something because you’re an egghead.”

Egghead? She shook her head, dismissing her indignation over the insult. Better to be called egghead than be grilled on her drunken escapades.

“I’ll be sure to think on it. Good luck with the weather team.”

“Oh right, I almost forgot! Have you seen Snowball? He was supposed to be helping me and I haven’t seen him all morning!”

“Not since he left to go meet you earlier, I’m surprised he hasn’t gotten here yet.”

“Huh. Maybe he got lost or something. If you do see him, be sure to send him my way, we need all the help we can get if we want to finish on time this year.”

“I’ll be sure to do that. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Yeah, later!” Rainbow Dash flew back up to the arguing pair, adding her own shouting to the mix. That hardly looked like it was helping, she clearly wasn’t very good at organizing a team.

“Do you think that something happened to Snowball?” Spike asked, reaching up to pet the bird on his spine and looking disappointed when it flew away.

“Nah, he’s probably just trying to get out of doing work.” Chrysalis dismissed as she started trotting away from Rainbow Dash.

“If you say so.” He said absently as he watched the bird fly off. “Uh, Twilight? You know how you have Sage?”

“Yeah.”

“You think maybe I could have a pet too?”

“I think we can discuss it after you’re done with your punishment.”

Spike sighed, but didn’t say anything.

Chrysalis breathed a sigh of relief when Rainbow Dash didn’t make any attempt to follow after them. She had hoped to put that disastrous party behind her, but it seemed that Dash wasn’t so willing to let leave it in the past. The thought arose in her mind that she should try to wipe her memory of that night, but the idea made her suddenly nauseous. Why would she would have such a visceral reaction to it now when she had already modified her memory in the past?

“Hey, are we headed to Rarity’s?!” Spike’s eyes lit up when he recognized the path that they were taking.

“Yeah, I figured I should at least thank her for this new coat.”

“Why didn’t you tell me we were going to go see her!? Are my scales clean? How’s my breath?!”

“About the same as usual. Anyway, she might not even be there, so don’t get too excited.”

“Me? Excited? Nah, I’m cool!” He reclined against her neck as he tried to act casual.

“Hello, Rarity!”

“Wait, already!? Ahhhh!”

Chrysalis burst out laughing at Spike as he panicked and fell from her back to the muddy path below. Rarity was nowhere in sight.

“Yuck!” Spike tried to wipe some of the mud from himself. “That was mean, Twilight!”

Chrysalis smirked. “Your scales aren’t clean, by the way.”

“Gee, I didn’t notice.” He pouted.

“I’m sorry, Spike, I couldn’t resist. How about you forget this happened, and we can forget about your punishment?”

“Really? Does this mean I can have a pet, too?”

“Yeah, sure. We can ask Fluttershy about it later.” Chrysalis smiled at him warmly and resumed trotting down the path.

“Hey, wait up!” Spike stumbled after her. “Come on, stop, let me up!”

“Nuh uh, you’re not getting on my back with all that mud. Rarity would kill at least one of us if we got that all over my new coat.”

“Ugh, meanie!” He pouted, eliciting a chuckle from Chrysalis.

She found Rarity at a table just outside the front doors of Carousel Boutique. Several piles of twigs were scattered across the table, and she seemed to be focusing on combining them into something.

“Uh, maybe I should’ve gone home to clean up first.”

“Don’t be silly, Rarity won’t think any less of you for being a little dirty.” She assured him honestly. Whether he showed up caked in mud, or in the finest of suits, Chrysalis knew Rarity would never see him as anything more than a child. “Hello, Rarity!”

“Ah!” Rarity jumped in surprise, whatever she was putting together falling to pieces.

“Sorry.”

“Twilight? Twilight! It’s so wonderful to see you well again! And you too, Spike, thank you again for your assistance in crafting that wonderful new coat she’s wearing.”

“Aw, it was nothing.” Spike blushed.

“Yeah, I wanted to thank you for that, and I guess I should be thanking Spike too. Thanks, both of you, it’s beautiful.”

“No, really, it was nothing. Rarity is the one who really deserves all the credit!” Spike insisted.

“Oh, hogwash! Your assistance was and always is very much appreciated.” Spike blushed even harder at her praise, and Chrysalis had to fight back a chuckle at his expense. “Anyway, you are quite welcome, Twilight. Honestly, I’m not sure that it really turned out as well as the old one, but I wanted to try out something new after the…uh…” She trailed off awkwardly. Weird.

“So, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, I’m on the animal team and am crafting nests for the birds returning from their migration.”

“Crafty. Sounds like it would suit you, though it would probably be a lot easier if you could use your magic.”

“It certainly would be, but tradition is tradition, and sometimes there is a distinct satisfaction in completing a task with only one’s hooves.” She smiled proudly. Chrysalis wondered if she’d be so big on tradition knowing that changeling tradition would have been to kidnap her and use her as a food source.

“I see. Do you want some help?”

“That would be lovely, darling!” Rarity shuffled over to make space for the two of them and pushed some of the sticks in front of them. “Now, it’s quite simple, just watch for a moment and I’m sure you’ll have it down.”

Chrysalis did so, and sure enough, it was as simple as Rarity had foretold. Within a couple of minutes, Chrysalis was well on her way to completing her first nest. There was, surprisingly, a distinct lack of conversation coming from the usually chatty mare and dragon. On her left, Spike was spending less time working on his nest, and more time making googly eyes at Rarity, which she realized was to be expected. Rarity, on her right, oddly enough was falling behind as well, casting her own furtive glances over at Chrysalis every few seconds and then pretending to be focused on her project whenever she caught her. Clearly this was not an ideal team makeup, and a proper bit of organization would separate the group, but that was hardly her business. Rarity’s staring at her, though?

“I think I’ve got this, Rarity, you don’t need to stare at me so much.”

“Oh, it…it’s not that, I am certain you are perfectly capable. I was just thinking…never mind.”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow suspiciously. She didn’t like the sound of that. “What is it?”

“Well…no, I shouldn’t.”

“If you don’t speak up and just keep on pretending to not stare at me, I think you’ll drive both of us crazy. Spit it out, already.”

“If you insist. I was thinking about Pinkie’s Hearth’s Warming Eve Party. How did…”

Chrysalis froze. Upon noticing, Rarity stopped mid sentence and focused back on her nest.

“No, I shouldn’t have brought it up. It’s not important and you are clearly distressed by it. Just, uh…try to be careful with the new coat, I wouldn’t want you to tear it apart again.”

A small bird landed in Chrysalis’ nest and chirped at her.

“Oh look,” Chrysalis chuckled nervously and stepped away from the table, “my nest is done! Come on, Spike, we’re leaving!”

“Already? But I haven’t finished my nest!”

“You weren’t going to anyway. Come on, let’s go.” She levitated him into the air. “Goodbye, Rarity.”

“Whoa, put me down!” Spike shouted. “Uh, bye Rarity?”

“Uh, goodbye?” Rarity looked puzzled watching Spike get magically dragged through the air by Chrysalis as she dashed off.

Why did all of her friends want to talk to her about that night? Was it too much to ask that they leave the past in the past?

“Whoa, slow down!” Spike practically begged. “I think I’m gonna be sick!”

Chrysalis gradually slowed to a stop and set the poor dragon down. “Sorry, Spike.”

“What’s the big idea? I was having fun making nests!”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “You mean you were having fun staring at Rarity.”

“You saw tha—I mean, was not! I was just, uh…I wasn’t sure what I was doing, so I was watching her to learn!”

“She was barely making any nests, either. My presence was distracting her from her work, she’ll get more done without me there.”

“Doesn’t mean I couldn’t have stayed.” Spike grumbled.

“Clearly we would both be of better use elsewhere.”

As they continued wandering around Ponyville, she found herself on the path to Sweet Apple Acres. Undoubtedly, Applejack was going to be doing something at her farm, but given how her previous two encounters had gone, she really didn’t want to go there. AJ of all ponies would want to talk details about the night that led straight to her home, and however pleasant the little sleep over had been after it was all said and done, she wasn’t exactly eager to return to that place. Her stomach churned just imagining the foul odour of that barn.

“Hey, I think I see Fluttershy!” Spike announced.

Chrysalis’ gaze followed where he pointed, seeing the mare in question wandering off the beaten path around the snow banks, bushes and trees. Fluttershy was certainly an option, she was generally too timid to actually say much of anything. There was still the risk of awkward silence as she avoided the subject like Rarity, but that would be easily ignored since half of all her interactions with anybody would be described as awkward silence. With a shrug, she trotted over to meet with her.

“Hey, Fluttershy, what are you doing out here by your lonesome?”

Fluttershy smiled warmly at seeing her friend. “Oh, I’m not alone, not at all. I’m helping the animals wake up from their hibernation.” As if to demonstrate the fact, a little bird landed in her mane and snuggled up inside it for warmth. “Aw, you must be back from the south already, rest up little one, you deserve it after that long journey.”

Chrysalis bit her tongue to resist the urge to gush over the image before her. Fluttershy was typically one of the cuter mares around, but seeing her cooing over a tiny bird nesting in her mane was downright adorable.

Fluttershy’s brow furrowed. “Oh dear, if you’re back already, then I must be falling behind. I hope I can still get done before Rainbow Dash clears the clouds to melt the snow, I wouldn’t want my friends to have their homes flooded while they’re still asleep.”

“You don’t know how the other teams are doing? That seems a little odd, shouldn’t somepony be keeping in touch with you about that?”

“That would be really helpful.” She admitted as she averted her gaze.

“Who is leading this mess? There should be constant communication between the different groups!” Chrysalis raised her voice in mild frustration. Honestly, it was like nobody here had ever been in a position of leadership. Communication was key for any large group effort with separate cells working on different tasks. She shuddered to think of how short lived her people’s efforts to infiltrate pony society would have been if they had communicated as poorly as this.

“Um, I guess that would be Mayor Mare? She was the one who accepted volunteers and made that big speech at the start.”

“Well, that mare needs to learn some organizational skills.”

“Maybe you could teach her?” Spike suggested. Chrysalis rolled her eyes.

“I don’t need that headache. Besides, I barely know anything about wrapping up winter.”

“Oh.”

Chrysalis sighed at her clear disappointment. “But maybe you could be of assistance to Spike here.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I’m in the market for a pet!”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up. “That’s wonderful! What kind of pet are you looking for? Oh, but I’m a little busy today. Maybe you could come visit me tomorrow?”

“Yeah, that sounds good. It’ll give me some time to think about what I want.”

“Well, perhaps in the meantime we could help you here?” Chrysalis asked.

“Could you?”

“Yeah, I guess. What kind of animals are you working with here?”

“Just the ordinary kind. There’s racoons, frogs, bunnies, bees—”

“Wait, bees?” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow.

“Uh huh, and squirrels, bears—”

“Bears?!” Chrysalis and Spike shared worried glances.

“—bats, turtle, and skunks, you know, just the usual types.” Fluttershy paused as she noticed that Chrysalis had gone pale. “Um, Twilight? Are you okay? Are you still sick?”

“Nope! Nuh uh, no way, no no no no no no no nope! I am out of here!”

“Hey, Twilight! Don’t leave me here!” Spike screamed as he ran after the galloping form of Chrysalis.

“Um…was it something I said?” Fluttershy asked the bird in her mane. It gave one chirp and then flew away.

“Good…call…on that one!” Spike acknowledged between gasping breaths as he caught up to Chrysalis.

“That girl is crazy! How can somepony so timid be that comfortable handling bears and skunks?”

“Maybe…we could slow down?”

“Uh, sure.” Chrysalis stopped to let the little thing catch his breath. It was easy to forget that he couldn’t run as fast as her.

“Thanks.” Spike promptly fell over into a snow bank with a wet plop. Chrysalis shuddered just watching.

“Isn’t that really cold?” Chrysalis’ nose scrunched up.

“Feels kinda nice after all that running. You should try it.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so.”

“Hi, Twilight!”

Chrysalis screamed in fright at the very sudden and very loud greeting from behind her, losing her footing and falling face first into the snowbank right beside Spike.

“Hi, Pinkie.” Spike waved. “See? Not so bad, is it?” Chrysalis didn’t respond. “Uh…Twilight?”

“Oopsies, sorry! Lemme just,” Pinkie bit Chrysalis’ tail and pulled her out of the snowbank, “there ya go!”

Chrysalis shivered uncontrollably. “Th…thanks P…Pinkie.”

“Sooo,” Pinkie swayed back and forth on a set of ice skates, “you’re done hibernating then?”

“W…what are you talking about?” Chrysalis asked through chattering teeth. Somewhere nearby, a bird chirped as if to accentuate her question.

“Well, I figured since you said you weren’t a pony that you were probably something else, and if you were something else, then maybe you hibernate, which would totally explain why we haven’t really seen you all winter, oh and I’m so sorry that I made you come out to my party when you should have been sleeping!”

“She said what now?” Spike sat up in the snow as Chrysalis internally screamed while trying to not physically show any surprise. She doubted that she succeeded.

“She told Snowball that she’s not a pony!” Pinkie answered with a big smile.

“I…what? No! When did I say that?!”

“Back when I gave you your invitation to my Hearth’s Warming Eve party! You and Snowball were arguing again, he said he’d never seen a pony that hated winter like you did, and you’re all like ‘I’m not a pony, changelings don’t do winter’ from under your blankets, and looking back I figured that probably meant that you were supposed to be hibernating.” Pinkie explained, doing a surprisingly good imitation of a grumpy Chrysalis. “So, what’s a changeling?”

Chrysalis’ jaw had dropped and didn’t respond to her attempts to make any words. The only sound was the suddenly wild chirping of the bird.

“Uh, Pinkie? I think you’re mistaken. I mean, come on, Twilight is obviously a pony! I’ve lived with her all my life!” Spike came to her defense, and a corner of Chrysalis’ mind realized it was probably because of that spell she had cast on him all those months ago.

“Spike’s right, I’m pretty sure I’m a pony, last I checked, I just don’t like the cold. Clearly you misunderstood. I wasn’t saying that I’m not a pony in the sense that I’m some other creature, I meant that I’m not just any pony, I’m me. I don’t even know where you got this…changing thing from—”

“Changeling.” Pinkie corrected, much to Chrysalis’ consternation.

“Uh, right, changeling. You said I was under a bunch of blankets, right? I think you misheard me, my voice was probably awfully muffled under there, it would be really easy to miss some of what I said, too. Maybe I said I wasn’t going anywhere until the weather’s changing and that I don’t do winter?”

Pinkie shut a lone eye, tilted her head and tapped her chin with a skate. “Hmmm…I suppose.”

“I’m sure it is as simple as that. Now, you haven’t gone around telling ponies about what you misheard, have you?”

“No, why? Well, I guess I told the girls that you were probably hibernating, but they didn’t bother asking why. For some reason, ponies don’t really ask me to explain things.”

“Well, I’m just thinking about how the town reacted to Zecora, if you started spreading false rumours around town that I’m somehow not a pony, then that might cause some troubles.”

“Ohhhhhh!”

“Yeah, you can see my issue.”

“Don’t you worry, Twilight! I’ll make sure everypony knows that you are definitely a pony! Wink, wink!”

“I don’t think you’re actually supposed to say ‘wink’.” Spike pointed out, only to get a giggle from her.

Chrysalis debated finding a time later to wipe Pinkie’s memory of that encounter. Unlike with Rainbow Dash, this was an imminent threat to her cover. She didn’t relish the idea of doing so to Pinkie, either, though.

“Do you Pinkie Promise?”

“Uh huh. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie went through the motions of her by now famous promise and Chrysalis was able to relax. It wasn’t really that bad, it’s not like she actually knew what a changeling was, and there was no way she was going to break a Pinkie Promise. She should be fine.

“Anyway, you look freezing! You should probably get home and have a nice, hot bath to warm up!”

“That actually sounds like a really good idea.” Chrysalis admitted, realizing that she was still shivering fiercely.

“Oh, but no alcohol, no matter how much it warms you up! Wouldn’t want a repeat of last time!” Pinkie winked at her.

“I’ll remember not to, thanks. I’ll just stick with the bath.”

“Okie dokie! See you later, Twilight, I’ve got some ice to score!”

“So…are we done?” Spike asked.

“Yeah. I think I’ve had enough Winter Wrap Up to last a life time.”

Both of them drenched with half melted snow, Chrysalis and Spike made their way back to the Golden Oaks Library.

_______________________________________

Chrysalis moaned in pleasure as she eased herself into the steaming hot water of her bath. No more snow, no more questions about that stupid party. No more risks of being exposed. Just sweet, blissful warmth.

The day’s events reminded her of just how poorly she had planned things out back then. Maybe if Big Mac hadn’t found her, she could’ve transformed into some other disguise, made her way to the Everfree Forest, turned back into Twilight there and claimed that she had escaped from her captivity. They might’ve set up a search party to find their perceived monster, but it’s not like they could actually find her. They might get hurt if they went inside that forest, though. Maybe it wasn’t that much better of a plan.

She closed her eyes and frowned. When did she start caring so much if they got hurt? Why should she care? They were the single greatest threat to her wellbeing, and if them getting a little scuffed up would help keep her secrets safe, then that should be an obvious trade. Yet…

A loud thud jerked her out of her thoughts. She strained her ears. She could have almost sworn that she had heard Spike shouting too, but only for a second. Was she imagining things? There was another thud.

She stood in the tub, the rush of water from her body splashing back into the pool below, overpowering any attempts to listen for more noises. Cautiously, she stepped out onto the wooden floor. There was that thud again. What was that noise? Snowball hadn’t been back when she and Spike returned, and Spike had been quietly reading comics in their bedroom since after wiping himself of the mud from earlier.

She cracked open the bathroom door and peered outside. The hallway was empty. Quiet. Taking care not to let her hooves make much noise, she crept through the hall, leaving wet hoof prints behind as she continued dripping. She reached her bedroom door and almost called out Spike’s name, but couldn’t bring herself to break the eerie silence.

She held her breath as she engulfed the door handle with her magic. One. Two. Three! Chrysalis tore open the door and charged in, horn alight and ready for anything.

“Hey.” Spike greeted casually from atop her bed, a Power Ponies comic held open in his claws. He raised an eyebrow. “You’re all wet. Were we out of towels or something?”

“What was that noise?”

Spike blushed. “Oh…heh…I may have knocked over some books trying to get this comic. Multiple times.” He pointed over to a toppled pile of books. Chrysalis sighed. She had worked herself up over nothing.

“I’m going back to my bath. Make sure to clean up your mess before I finish.”

“Will do.”

Thud.

Spike’s eyes widened. That had come from the closet. Chrysalis narrowed her eyes and smirked at the dragon.

“Knocked over some books, huh? Okay, what are you hiding in there?”

“Nothing! Absolutely nothing! You most definitely should not check out the closet!” He had tossed his comic aside and waved his hands desperately.

Chrysalis chuckled and started walking over there.

“Oh, come on, what is it? Did you let in a stray dog or something? Maybe one of the animals Fluttershy was waking?”

“Nope!” Spike chuckled nervously. “Not a dog, I totally wouldn’t do that!”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. Could he really not wait until tomorrow? She didn’t care that he had brought home a pet early, but she was curious as to what kind of animal it was. Without any hesitation, she threw the closet door open and her amused grin vanished.

Inside was a struggling Spike, bound, gagged, and blind folded. With a sharp pain in the back of her skull, Chrysalis’ world went dark.

20 - Changeling Spaces

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Chrysalis awoke in a very familiar, and yet worrisome place. She hadn’t seen it in several months, and not in its current form for several years. Regal tapestries hung from the wall in all their glory, rather than being tattered, improvised bedding. A large, wooden chair covered with royal purple fabrics and cushioning sat a few meters directly in front of her. Above that upon the wall was a painted portrait of her late mother, the previous queen of the changelings, and upon that throne sat the current one, staring at her in stillness. Upon seeing her prisoner rouse from her unnatural slumber, the Queen smiled. It wasn’t sincere.

“Welcome home, my little changeling. I apologize for the rough treatment in getting you here. We would have been gentler, but…well, I did tell you not to look in the closet. Feel free to drop your disguise, it is not needed in these halls. Now, who are you?”

“Where’s Spike?” Chrysalis demanded, very much maintaining her disguise as Twilight Sparkle.

The Queen frowned. “Perhaps I misspoke. That was not truly a request. Drop your disguise.”

“Spike first.” Chrysalis growled.

“You are remarkably brave to go against your Queen.”

“Cut the bullshit, where is he?”

“Hmph. We have little use for children, he has not been harmed.”

“Where. Is. He?”

The two queens stared at each other for a long moment. After seemingly forever, Chrysalis’ younger self relented. “He is in that tree you reside in. He won’t remember a thing when he wakes up.”

“I suppose you’ve replaced me with one of your spies.”

“For now. She has been instructed to bequeath her position back to you, if you return. Now drop your disguise.”

Chrysalis glared for a moment. Knowing how far this place was from Ponyville, he likely had woken up hours ago. Even if she were to leave right now, she wouldn’t be able to get back until partway through the day after Winter Wrap Up, assuming she had been awoken immediately after her arrival and not hours later. On the plus side, it seemed like her past self was at least considering letting her go back rather than just throwing her into a dungeon cell.

“Drop the disguise!” The Queen snarled. “I will not say it again!”

Working against the inner voice that urged her to needle at the one making demands and to vie for dominance, Chrysalis went up in green flame and took on the form of a basic changeling, one very different from her true form. She knew that the one before her would not take well to seeing an older version of herself.

The Queen eyed her from top to bottom skeptically. “This…is your true form?”

“Yes.” She lied evenly.

“What is your name?”

“You wouldn’t recognize it. It would take a very long time for you to get to where I’m from.”

“Then there’s no harm in telling me.” She pressed irritably.

“Chrysalis.” Chrysalis smirked. She couldn’t entirely ignore her inner voice, even if she knew it was a bad idea. She wouldn’t believe her, anyway.

“Do you think you’re funny? I could crush you with barely a thought.” The Queen stood from her throne and her horn glowed menacingly.

“You won’t. I know you better than you might think. You don’t hurt changelings if you can avoid it.”

The Queen’s eyes narrowed once more. Instead of incinerating the defiant changeling before her, she levitated a piece of parchment from nearby and glanced over it. “I suppose that knowledge is a result of your ‘proficiency at intel gathering’, Twilight Sparkle?”

Chrysalis’ raised an eyebrow. That sounded far too familiar for her comfort.

“You recognize the wording. Good. You wrote it after all.” She tossed the parchment to the floor at Chrysalis’ hooves. “Read it.”

Chrysalis recognized the contents immediately, right down to the signature of Twilight Sparkle, and the blood drained from her face. It was one of the scrapped letters she had written, intending to send it to her past self in the hopes of establishing a relationship that she could then later use to convince her to not invade Canterlot.

“How did you…?” Chrysalis trailed off as realization struck. “Skitter.”

It was her past self’s turn to smirk.

“You wished to establish communications with me. Congratulations, you’ve succeeded. Communicate with me. How did you know about the invasion?”

Chrysalis froze in place. This was bad. She hadn’t sent that letter for a reason, and now her poorly planned out mess had come to bite her in the ass. She specifically wanted to avoid mentioning her knowledge of the upcoming invasion to dodge this very conversation. She had planned on working her way into her past self’s good graces so that she could gradually convince her of the folly in attacking Equestria, but that boat had now clearly sailed. Her past self had forced this encounter on hostile terms, and there was no way she would have the chance to get close to her now.

“I’m waiting.” The Queen growled impatiently.

Chrysalis took a deep breath. It was now or never.

“I have seen the future of our people, and the invasion of Canterlot is going to fail. If you go through with your plans, you will expose our race and doom us all to extinction.”

“And how have you seen our future?”

“I…have been having visions.”

“Visions?” The Queen’s tone seemed almost on the verge of derisive laughter.

Chrysalis nodded confidently so as to hide her worry. There was no way this was going to work. She didn’t believe in prophecies.

“Bullshit. I don’t believe in prophecies. I think what we truly have here is a changeling attempting to undermine my efforts to help our people because she doesn’t want me hurting her,” she paused very slightly and spit the next word out in disgust, “friends.”

“They are not my friends!” Chrysalis snarled in denial. “My first concern is and always has been for my changelings!”

“Your changelings? And how many of your changelings do you have in that little town you’ve been holed up in? Clearly you can’t be talking about the ones under my command. Every one of your actions thus far has only put us at greater risk!”

“Of course I am!” Chrysalis said through clenched teeth. She didn’t know what infuriated her more, her current self’s slip in referring to them as her changelings, or her past self insinuating that she didn’t care about them. “You have no idea what I have sacrificed for our people.”

“And you think it can compare to my own sacrifices? You should learn a little humility, little one.”

“I already have, more than you can imagine. You, however, can’t see past your own bloated ego to realize you are going to be responsible for the destruction of our people!”

“I will be the saviour of our people!” The Queen’s scream echoed through the throne room. “You haven’t seen what I have, living out among the ponies as you have. My little changelings are suffering. There’s barely enough love to go around, families are stifled from growth for fear of their new children starving. We live off the dregs of pony society as they live in blissful excess. What I am doing will change everything! We will finally be able to thrive once we have taken Equestria for ourselves! You are threatening that future with every action you take!”

“I—”

“You revealed yourself when confronting Nightmare Moon.” The Queen interrupted her. “I can, perhaps forgive that due to the grave threat that she posed to us all. But what of the myriad of other offenses? You assaulted Celestia’s dungeons in a changeling form! You were spotted traipsing about Ponyville not long after with nothing more than a hooded cape to hide your identity!”

“That was because of poison—”

“Silence! We were lucky that your friends believed it was merely the effects of that plant! Almost as lucky as when one of ‘your’ changelings abducted that pink pony so that you could play hero. Or the time you attacked an entire colosseum in Cloudsdale, right in front of Celestia herself!” The Queen had walked right up to Chrysalis and towered over her with fangs bared. “You’re going to get us all killed! Your friends are on the verge of discovering who you are! I watched as the pink one asked you what a changeling was!”

“You saw that?” Chrysalis tensed. Wait, did she just insinuate that her past self had nothing to do with Pinkie’s abduction?

“You’re lucky that I wiped her memory for you after you left so that she won’t remember you saying you aren’t a pony, or even the word ‘changeling’. Consider yourself lucky I didn’t do it to the others.”

“You did what?!” Chrysalis took a step forward so that her face, twisted with rage, was mere centimeters from the face of the taller changeling. Her horn crackled with energy just waiting to be released into this bitch, tearing her to shreds. Before she could do anything more, a pair of changeling guards stepped forward and pointed spears at her, pressing their tips into her neck from either side.

“I believe what you meant to say was ‘thank you for cleaning up my mess’.”

Chrysalis stood shaking with rage, staring at the weapons held to her neck by her own loyal soldiers. She reminded herself that they don’t know what they do. It’s not their fault. Her eyes locked back on the cold gaze of their current Queen. It was hers. How dare she touch Pinkie Pie like that?

“I may not harm changelings if I can avoid it, but I assure you that I am perfectly willing to destroy you if you try to attack me.”

Chrysalis’ chest heaved with her furious breaths. Why was she so angry? Her past self was right, she had just cleaned up one of her messes. She knew she should have wiped Pinkie’s memories, but she had been too cowardly to do it for some reason. No, she knew the reason, even if she didn’t want to admit it. She closed her eyes and, with tremendous regret, powered down her horn.

“That’s better. You may not believe me, but I would much rather not see you come to any harm.”

She felt the spear points being removed from her throat. She was starting to feel awfully small with all of her failures being dragged out in front of her, both in coming so close to exposing herself and her weakness in being unwilling to wipe the memories of the ponies around her. She had nearly tried to kill her past self over those fucking ponies and risk blinking out of existence or causing some stupid time paradox. What was wrong with her? Her past self was just doing what was necessary to protect her people, exactly as she would have done. How frightened would she have been back then to see a rogue changeling acting so carelessly as to risk everything?

Chrysalis stepped back and bowed her head out of genuine remorse and respect. “I’m sorry for all that I have done. Thank you for cleaning up my mess. Please believe me when I say that the last thing I want is for our changelings to come to harm. That is why I beg of you to halt all plans for the invasion. It will only end in tragedy.”

“I don’t get it. Everything you’ve done screams to the world that you don’t care in the slightest about our people, and yet something about you makes me want to believe your words. That you truly do care.”

“I do, and if you truly care about them as I know you do, you will cancel the invasion.”

The Queen shook her head. “I can’t do that. It would be damning our race to a gradual death. If you truly had seen our future, you would do everything in your power to help us succeed.”

“I can’t do that.” Chrysalis answered with downcast eyes.

“No. Of course not. You choose ponies over changelings.” The Queen said bitterly.

Chrysalis had to face an uncomfortable idea. Was the invasion inevitable? Were changelings and ponies so at odds that the only two long term options were the death of her people, or the subjugation of the ponies? The changelings were too ambitious and desperate to stay in the shadows forever, and there was no way the ponies could accept them into their midst. Something had to give. It was enslavement or extinction, and the time line likely wouldn’t survive enslavement.

“I know it’s hard, but we must persevere. There must be a better path, we just need time to find it.” Chrysalis spoke gently, as if she were soothing a frightened child. She didn’t know which version of herself she was trying to convince.

“And what would that be? Peaceful coexistence?” The Queen shook her head ruefully. “Even you, who are more pony than changeling at this point, live in fear of being discovered. No, there is only one path for us. If you will not tell me how you’ve come to know of the upcoming invasion, or even your true name, I will not force it from you. Even if you reject me, you are still one of my little changelings.”

Chrysalis’ heart sank. She had failed. She should have known from the start that she would not be able to convince her past self to stay in the shadows. She contemplated revealing her true form, revealing that she was from the future. No, she concluded that there was little chance that would work either, just like the last time she had considered it. Without solid evidence there was little chance her past self would believe she wasn’t just posing as her. She was a very public figure in changeling society, nothing of her personal life couldn’t be discovered without sufficient spying or educated guesses. She herself wouldn’t have believed any of this time travel nonsense if Time Keeper hadn’t had Twilight Sparkle’s dead body and a working time machine with him. Revealing the truth, much like with the ponies, could only be a last resort. She needed to find some other way, she just had no idea how.

“You are free to return to Ponyville. One of my scouts can show you the way.” The Queen said as she returned to her throne. The door behind her was opened by one of the guards, and he ushered in a considerably smaller changeling.

Chrysalis nodded and gave a deep bow. “Please take my warning to heart, my Queen. I only want what is best for our people.”

The Queen’s gaze hardened from atop her throne. “Take my warning to heart. Do not interfere with the invasion, or take any more unnecessary risks that could expose your identity. I will not be so lenient next time.”

“Come along.” The small changeling ordered and Chrysalis followed him out of the throne room.

______________________________

Queen Chrysalis watched as the traitor left her throne room. She snorted. It seemed that friendship was like a disease, softening and weakening that girl, causing her to turn her back on her own people. She chastised herself, that was no way to think of the poor, lost child. She was still one of her little changelings and was in as much need of help as any other of her subjects. She would set her right one day and bring her into the fold.

Misguided or not, she could hardly believed that ‘Twilight’ had had the gall to lie to her face like that, and to add further insult by claiming to share a name with her, not to mention refusing to show her true form as she did. She either had to be very brave, very stupid, or very powerful to be willing to do that. It seemed more and more likely that the news she had heard of what had happened in the dead of winter were true. There had been a very interesting tale told to her of a changeling appearing at a party that Twilight Sparkle had been drinking at. A very large changeling, one that sounded suspiciously like a changeling queen. It wasn’t the only instance of a changeling queen being seen, in fact more often than not the sightings involving Twilight were as one, but those instances could be dismissed as mere disguise. However, a changeling could not maintain a disguise while under the influence of alcohol. If the story were true, Twilight must be a queen.

Being a queen would certainly account for the power that she must have had in order to have defeated Nightmare Moon. Perhaps she was from a hive in a far off land that had been wiped out due to her own failed invasion? It could certainly explain the girl’s fear of her invasion failing and leading to extinction. Queen Chrysalis was not her, though. Her invasion would not fail.

If she were a queen, and had a few of her own subjects left, then they may have been the ones to gather information on the upcoming invasion by infiltrating the hive. There must be other changelings working with her, whether they are her own subjects or merely her allies, for Twilight’s whereabouts had been accounted for quite clearly for the entire time she lived in Ponyville, she had had no time where she could have been personally infiltrating the hive, unless it were in the freezing winter, but that letter had come far before snow blanketed the lands.

The Queen rose from her throne and marched from the room. That was all speculation, though. If Twilight would not reveal her secrets willingly, there were always other methods to bring them into the open. Guards bowed low as she arrived at her destination and then opened the door for her. The traitor may have been right, that she wouldn’t harm one of her own kind unless absolutely necessary, but not everyone was so lucky. She stepped inside to find a grey pegasus stallion with a streaky black mane hanging from the wall in chains, and though at first she thought he must have been a changeling too, he was most certainly not. A large, muscular changeling standing next to him turned to face her with a salute.

“Has he revealed anything yet?”

“Nothing of importance, just that his real name is Time Keeper. He is surprisingly tight lipped.”

Queen Chrysalis stepped forward and raised the stallion’s chin with a hoof and smiled gently at the hatred in his eyes. The smile was fake, of course, but she still smiled.

“We don’t get much pony food down here, and what we do have is best served to ponies who cooperate with us. As any changeling could tell you, hunger is an especially cruel torture. Save yourself the pain and just tell us who you and Twilight Sparkle really are, and how you know of the invasion.”

The stallion spit at her, but Chrysalis blocked the projectile with a magical barrier. This was far from the first prisoner she had interrogated.

“That wasn’t very nice.” She mocked as she rubbed the offending fluids into the fur of her captive’s face. “But hardly unexpected.”

She released his chin and stepped back, looking over to the changeling. “Contact me by dragon flame letter if he says anything.”

“Of course, my Queen.” He bowed respectfully, far more sincere than anything that Twilight had done during their meeting.

Chrysalis examined the prisoner once more. Grey fur, a clearly dyed mane and tail, three snowballs for a cutie mark that had been partially wiped off to reveal the hourglass beneath the makeup.

She had personally captured Twilight because she had suspected that she was a queen. She couldn’t have in good conscience sent one of her much more delicate subjects to capture one so potentially dangerous. It would be equally dangerous moving forward to have one of them spy on her, for what would happen if the spy were discovered? She may have rules against harming changelings, but could the same be said for Twilight?

With a flash of green flame, she stood as an exact replica of the stallion before her, except with the snow ball cutie mark solidly in place. She smiled at him as he looked on in horror.

“If you won’t talk, I’ll just have to find out for myself.”

21 - Revenge

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“There it is.” The changeling escorting Chrysalis announced as Ponyville came into view. They were flying through the air at an irritatingly casual pace, disguised as random pegasi.

“It’s about time. I could have gotten here faster on my own.” Chrysalis grumbled. It was already dusk on the day after Winter Wrap Up, they could easily been there hours ago.

“There was no need to strain ourselves, you will not be missed.”

Chrysalis’ ear flicked in irritation at his assurance, and resisted the urge to snap back at him. He was probably referring to how they had a spy taking her place and not on how little anybody cared about her, and as much as she hated to admit it, if the spy had merely stayed locked up in her bedroom, then nobody would ever know the difference.

The changeling signaled for her to land, and Chrysalis followed as he glided to the ground.

“I suppose you’ll be following me in, on your Queen’s orders.”

“Our Queen, and no. I’m just a scout, not a spy. I am not trained in infiltration.”

“But there will be spies. More than just Skitter.”

“I can not speak to that.” He answered evasively.

“No. Of course not. Leave, then. You wouldn’t want to get caught near here. Pinkie Pie has an eerie tendency to know when somebody new is in town.”

“Noted.” The changeling nodded and leapt back into the air, flying back the way they came.

Chrysalis stared at Ponyville in the distance and sighed. She had little doubt their slow pace was intended to give whatever new spies they were sending time to establish themselves. Who would they try to replace? Probably not one of the element bearers, far too risky for a long term infiltration given how familiar she was with them by now. Maybe if she were a normal pony who didn’t know about changelings, but she wasn’t. A headache was creeping its way into her skull from thinking of how she’d have to be suspicious of every single visitor to the library going forth. She’d need to inform Time Keeper of the increased surveillance so that the idiot wouldn’t reveal too much in front of hidden changelings.

However, that all could be dealt with later. First she had to reclaim her stolen identity from the one that had taken her place. She couldn’t just waltz into town as Twilight if there already was a Twilight present. Settling on taking the form of Sage, with a flash of green flame she appeared as her pet. She ruffled her feathers, it was so weird to be covered in them, and flew towards home.

Chrysalis mentally scoffed at noticing the ponies had yet to finish wrapping up winter. Two whole days and they were at best half done, so much for their goal of completing it all in a single day. If they were this far behind, she didn’t think that even proper organization could have saved them. Oddly enough, she didn’t even notice any ponies outside trying to finish the job. It seemed as empty as the time that Zecora had first come to town. They must’ve already given up for the day.

Upon reaching the library, she landed on the window sill just like the real Sage had so often done. Her bedroom appeared mostly empty, no sign of Spike or the spy. Sage was inside sitting on his perch. Chrysalis looked around to ensure there truly was nobody around to see her, and then used her magic to open the window. Sage looked at her curiously.

“Hoo?”

Chrysalis transformed back into Twilight. “It’s just me.”

“Hoo.” Sage turned his gaze back to wherever he had been looking before, not caring about such a miraculous transformation in the slightest. Chrysalis walked up to him and gave him a gentle pat.

“Why couldn’t she have just been in here, huh?” She asked her pet rhetorically. “We could have just swapped places right now and been done with it. Now I have to worry about running into visitors downstairs.”

Sage just titled his head at her.

“Oh well, no sense complaining. At least Spike is still enchanted to not question it.”

She quietly stepped over to the door and cracked it open. The hallway seemed empty, though she did hear voices coming from down the stairs. She crept forward just enough to see at least some of the room below. Her jaw dropped at what she saw.

Princess Celestia was tied to a chair. She was gagged much as Spike had been the day before and had a metal band on her horn. It was such an unexpected sight that it took several seconds to properly sink in. What the fuck happened?

“You’re letting the fan droop!” A familiar voice complained from somewhere just out of view. “Pick up the pace!”

“Yes…mistress.” Time Keeper’s voice drifted from below, filled with barely restrained fury.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie does not like your tone!”

“Sorry, mistress.” He answered, his improved attitude clearly forced.

“Better. Not good, but better.”

What. The. Fuck? Trixie was back? Celestia was tied up, and apparently Time Keeper was serving her? Okay, that last one made sense, he lacked the spine to stand up against a wet napkin, but the rest? She had to get a better view. She crawled closer to the railing and looked between its columns to the scene below. Trixie was wearing a black, dark grey and red amulet around her neck, though she couldn't make out details at this distance, and was lounging on the couch, reading a book while Time Keeper fanned her with a large palm frond. She had no idea where he could have gotten one, but it barely registered next to the rest of the insanity in the scene. Had Trixie defeated Celestia? Why? Why were either of them here in the first place? And how was Chrysalis supposed to feel any pride in having bested Celestia in battle if a weakling like Trixie had done the same? She must have sucker punched the princess, just like she had done to Chrysalis all those months ago.

The door creaked open and she saw Spike entering nervously. “Uh, I couldn’t find any grapes, mistress Trixie.”

“Well, Trixie suggests you look harder!”

“We just got through winter! There’s no fresh anyth--” Spike paused as he noticed Chrysalis’ face poking through the railing upstairs.

“Hm? What were you saying? Why did you stop?”

“No reason! I was just saying there’s no fresh fruit because winter just ended.”

“Hmm…” Trixie’s eyes wandered up to where Spike’s had been moments earlier. Chrysalis considered hiding, but dismissed it. She had to confront her sooner or later, so why bother stalling?

“It’s me, Trixie.” She announced and began descending the steps. Trixie tossed aside her book, which landed open, face down in a way that clearly bent several pages. Chrysalis’ eye twitched. Books were an important resource for both information and recreation, one that changelings valued.

“Twilight Sparkle! So the coward finally returns!” Trixie held her nose up arrogantly. “Trixie thought you would not come back after our last meeting!”

Chrysalis took a deep breath. So, at least she knew what happened to her replacement, she had turned tail at the first sign of trouble.

“You mean the one where you ran away in terror from an ursa minor? I seem to recall a puddle of piss left where you had been standing.”

Trixie’s self assured smile turned into a scowl. “You will take back those words! The Great and Powerful Trixie is no coward!”

“More like the Tiny and Trembling Trixie.”

Time Keeper’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head as he stared at Chrysalis, and she remembered what he had said about Trixie being important to the timeline. She sighed, mentally preparing herself for the humiliation of what she was about to do.

“Look, I’m sorry, I’m just a little irritable lately. Not just about what I said now, but about our entire encounter back when you first came to Ponyville.”

All four other residents looked on in shock at her words, but none as much so as Celestia, despite being bound and gagged.

“You’re…sorry?” Trixie stared in disbelief.

“Yes. We clearly got off on the wrong hoof. I humiliated you, and then you assaulted me, but if you’re willing to forgive me, I’ll forgive you. What do you say? Let bygones be bygones?” Chrysalis stuck out her hoof as a peace offering. Time Keeper had dropped the palm frond to face hoof, Spike was shaking his head and arms wildly while mouthing the word ‘no’ from behind Trixie, and Celestia was focusing closely on Chrysalis' face. Chrysalis ignored them all.

Trixie stared at her hoof for a few seconds in silence. A smile snaked its way onto her lips and she confidently bumped hooves with Chrysalis. Chrysalis smiled in turn. Never let it be said that she was unwilling to try diplomacy. Trixie’s horn and eyes glowed red.

“No.”

Immediately, Chrysalis was blasted halfway back up the stairs by a powerful wave of magic. She ground her teeth, trying to ignore the pain now throbbing through her entire body. That was it. She tried being nice for once and this bitch just sucker punched her. AGAIN.

With a scream of fury, Chrysalis leapt from the stairs, intent on tackling Trixie to the ground. Magic was too good for her, she wanted to feel her crushed beneath her hooves. With a smirk, Trixie snatched her out of the air with her red aura.

Wait, red? Didn’t she have a blue aura before? Before Chrysalis could dwell on it further, Trixie tossed her aside, breaking through the stairs’ banister and slamming into the chair that Celestia was tied to, knocking her over. The princess looked over to her in alarm. She was screaming something through her gag that sounded a lot like ‘run’. Chrysalis shook her head, trying to clear her suddenly blurry vision, and struggled to return to her hooves. Before she succeeded, she was lifted once more into the air.

“Forgive you? You haven’t the slightest idea what I have endured thanks to you. I could never forgive what you’ve done to me.”

“I…” Chrysalis struggled to speak.

“You’ve ruined my entire life, Twilight Sparkle! I was made out to be a lowly criminal. My entire life, all I ever wished for was to travel the world and perform for crowds of adoring fans, all in awe of my magical prowess! I was living my dream until you made a foal of me and branded me a criminal! A mare wanted by the law cannot perform in front of crowds of cheering ponies, she can’t find any honest work at all! I had to resort to theft just to survive, while you kept living in comfort inside your little library. Do you have even the slightest idea what it’s like to live like that?”

Chrysalis’ chest tightened at her words, and even Time Keeper seemed contemplative. She knew all too well what that was like. She may as well have been describing the life of a changeling. Trixie stepped face to face with Chrysalis.

“All I had left to me was the thought of revenge, but I knew I could not get that the way I was, so I did a little research and learned of this little trinket!” Trixie thrust her chest forward and seemed to regain a small measure of composure. “With this Alicorn Amulet, The Great and Powerful Trixie is unstoppable!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Trixie already told you, you’re apology is meaningless!”

“Not for that.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. Chrysalis closed her eyes and channeled magic into her horn as quickly as possible, casting a simple spell for providing light to her horn, except amplified several times over. A very sudden, and very bright flash filled the library.

“My eyes!” Trixie screamed in pain and Chrysalis was dropped from her magic, landing hooves first and bolting for the door, straight through the disoriented Trixie who fell to the floor with a crash. She needed time to come up with a plan and recover if she wanted to defeat her. As she began pulling the door open, a red glow slammed it back shut.

“Oh, no you don’t! You won’t get away from Trixie that easily!”

Chrysalis turned to face her only to see Spike leaping onto Trixie’s back and clawing at the amulet’s chain. The magic blocking the door disappeared.

“Twilight, run!”

“Foal! Do you really think that you can remove this amulet?!”

Chrysalis did not want to see how it ended between the two, knowing full well it was at best a temporary distraction. It would be senseless to waste it by staying to help, even if her stomach churned with worry for Spike. He was a dragon, they were notoriously tough, he would be okay. Hopefully.

“What kind of idiot tries to make peace with a crazy bitch like that?! Did you not see that she’d overpowered Celestia!?”

Chrysalis scowled. Oh great, Time Keeper just had to follow after her, and he was still whining about how she did things as if she hadn’t even been missing for two days. Was it too late to go back to the hive and ask her younger self to lock her up? Or better yet, lock him up?

“You were the one who told me I should have been nicer to her last time, so shut the fuck up and run!”

In the distance, Chrysalis saw her first indication of ponies outside since arriving. Applejack and Big Mac were coming towards her, the latter of which was pulling a cart behind him. The two farm ponies stopped when they realized who was running madly in their direction.

“Twilight?!” AJ nearly shouted.

“No time to talk, Trixie is insane, super powered, and after me!”

“Eeyup.”

“Tell us somethin’ we don’t know. Quick, hide in the cart!”

In no mood to chat further, Chrysalis climbed in. The cart was filled with various jars, pastries and a pile of finely crafted cloaks. She dived for the clothing and buried herself beneath the fabric, and was joined moments later by Time Keeper.

“Hey, find your own hiding spot!” She hissed at him as he practically lay on top of her.

“What am I supposed to do? Hide in a pie?” Chrysalis’ stomach churned at the thought and smell of the freshly baked goods sitting practically right next to them. “Now shut up, she’s almost here!”

“Evenin’, Trixie.” Applejack spoke to an approaching set of hoof steps with faux cheer.

“That’s the Great and Powerful Trixie to you!”

“Er...evenin’ the Great and--”

“Shut your hick mouth for one second! Where is Twilight Sparkle?!”

There was a pause.

“I ain’t seen her since…well, it’s been at least a week. You seen her, Big Mac?”

“Nope.”

Hoof steps approached the cart.

“Hmm…what have we here?”

“Just what you told us to get you.”

“Trixie doesn’t recall asking for jars of anything.”

“Well, we couldn’t really get any fresh fruit given the time of year, but we had jars of jams and preserved fruit. Plus there’s the stuff baked at Sugar cube Corner, and the cloaks ya asked for too.”

There was a clinking followed by a low pop right next to her. Chrysalis held her breath, and she could feel Time Keeper do the same.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie finds your tribute acceptable…barely.”

“We appreciate yer generosity.”

“You’d better. Oh, and if you have been lying, Trixie will destroy that pathetic farm house you call a home, plus the bakery and tailor shop for good measure.”

“We haven’t seen her.” AJ repeated resolutely.

“Nope.”

“Hmph!”

Trixie’s hoof steps started up again and soon faded off in the direction they had originally come from. Chrysalis finally released the breath she had been holding, almost simultaneously with Time Keeper.

“She’s gone, ya can come out now.”

Chrysalis used her magic to lift the stallion from atop her and tossed him off the side of the cart where he landed in some mud with a heavy thud.

“Ow! What the fuck was that for!?” Time Keeper yelled indignantly.

“I’m sure you deserve it.” Chrysalis dismissed his concern before focusing on Applejack. “I can’t believe you lied to her for me. She said she’d destroy your home, Pinkie’s, and Rarity’s.”

“It’s just stuff, sugar cube. It’s not like she threatened my family. If I had to pick between my home or my friend, I’d pick my friend every time, and I’m sure the others would agree.”

Chrysalis fell silent. One would think that she would have grown accustomed to the element bearers’ ways after all this time, but it still threw her off how even the prickliest among them would still show her kindness.

“Thank you.”

“You’d do the same for me.”

Unseen to either of them, Time Keeper made a gagging motion.

“I hate to break up this tender moment, but we still have a crazy unicorn looking to kill us.”

“Right.” Chrysalis took a deep breath. “I can’t stay here in Ponyville, I need to get out of town and prepare for our next encounter.”

“Any ideas on how to deal with her? Dash found out pretty quick that nopony can take off that amulet except her. Took hardly any proddin’ for her to boast about it.”

“And she’s clearly too powerful to just face head on.” Time Keeper added.

“Hmm…” Chrysalis stared at the jars inside of the cart. “Can I take one of these?”

“I suppose, but what’re ya gonna do with some preserved apple slices?”

Chrysalis frowned. Is that what they were? They looked even more disgusting than usual apples. She shook her head and lifted up one of the jars in a hoof.

“Nothing.” With her magic, she twisted off the top with a dull pop and poured its contents onto the ground “I just need the jar. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a trip to the Everfree Forest to make.”

____________________________________________________________

“So, what’s this plan of yours?” Time Keeper asked as they travelled through the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. Looking around to be sure they were definitely alone first, Chrysalis turned to him with a scowl.

“You said that nothing important was supposed to happen until Discord was released! What the fuck was that?!”

Time Keeper blinked stupidly.

“Answer me!”

“Well…” Time Keeper paused, choosing his words carefully. “Clearly, that wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Really? That’s all you have to say? A crazy blowhard gains super powers and takes over Ponyville and that’s all you’ve got to say? It’s like you’re trying to be completely useless!”

Time Keeper’s eye twitched.

“Well, you’re the one that fucked her over. Maybe if you weren’t an incompetent piece of shit, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Oh, you ungrateful mother fucker! I’m the one cleaning up the mess you made, remember!? I’m putting my neck on the line over and over living a life that isn’t mine, making enemies with my own people, all so that you can avoid getting in trouble with your people back home! Do you have any idea how hard this is on me!?” Chrysalis laughed hysterically and trembled, which metamorphosed into sobs as tears ran down her face. No, she couldn’t be crying like this. Not in front of this worm. She took a deep breath and forced her tears back.

Time Keeper stared at her with a hint of sorrow in his eyes.

“I…didn’t know you felt this way. For what it is worth, I’m sorry for what you’ve had to endure.”

Without warning, Chrysalis lashed out with her magic, pinning Time Keeper to a tree.

“Don’t give me your bullshit sympathy! You don’t even understand what empathy is! You killed Twilight Sparkle and all you could think about was your own hide! You could have gone back, faced the consequences and fixed things properly, but no! You came to me begging for help so that you don’t get punished! You are a loathsome, despicable, selfish monster!”

Time Keeper gritted his teeth, any sympathy he had had replaced with furious contemplation. After a few moments, he spoke in a low tone.

“You agreed to help me. What does that make you?”

Chrysalis’ breath caught in her throat and her vision blurred as the tears threatened to return despite her efforts to block them. She released him and turned away. In the end, he was right. She was the same as he was. She agreed to help cover up the murder. They were a perfect pair, stuck in an endless loop of barely restrained hatred and antagonism, punishing each other for their mutual crimes. Well, no more. She would put a stop to that.

“Leave.”

“What?”

“If I ever see your face again, I will tear your throat out with my teeth, just as I should have done when you first crashed your stupid box into my chambers.” Chrysalis stood silently with her back to him for several seconds, waiting for him to make a decision, half hoping he chose to keep arguing and give her an excuse to make good on her threat. Perhaps inevitably, the silence was finally broken by Time Keeper turning tail and galloping away.

Chrysalis forcefully exhaled, as if to remove any remnant of even the air they had shared from her presence. She was finally free of those shackles. She no longer had to put up with his constant disapproval, or his hypocritical holier than thou attitude. She could live her, or more accurately, Twilight’s life as she saw fit. With head held high, she trotted further into the forest.

The sun had set, an action that she noted Luna must be doing with her sister indisposed as she was, by the time she reached her destination. It was the clearing where she had been infected by poison joke all those months ago. It was completely buried in snow, and while that was not exactly unexpected, it was a little disappointing. She had hoped to find the snow melted and a few patches of the plant blooming early. Oh well, it had been worth a shot, and she hadn’t been counting on it anyway. She zeroed in on a moderately well worn path through the snow and followed it to her next destination.

Nearly half an hour later, she approached Zecora’s hut, a glowing beacon of relief in the night. She promptly walked up to the door and knocked, impatiently dancing back and forth to try and ward off some of the cold. A few moments later, the door opened and Zecora’s tired face became visible.

“Ah, what does this night bring, but an encounter with a changeling?” She opened the door wide and stepped aside. “My energy may wear thin, but it would be rude to not invite you in.”

“Thank you.” Chrysalis nodded with appreciation as she stepped into the small hut, blissfully heated by a roaring fire, which the two huddled around. Chrysalis felt as tired as Zecora looked. Flying from the Badlands to Ponyville, getting tossed around by Trixie, and then retreating to the Everfree Forest all made for one exhausting day, not to mention the events just before that.

“Though I was about to retire, I fear what brings you must be dire.”

Chrysalis took a deep breath while staring into the crackling embers. After putting her thoughts in order, she explained the situation with Trixie, even summarizing their first encounter to give Zecora better context. It’s not like they didn’t have time for explanations, she had no intentions of leaving that warm hut until morning.

“And so, I came here to rest, but also to see if you have any poison joke preserved around here.”

“I do have some poison joke, and will fetch it once we’ve awoke, but I warn that it is unpredictable stuff, an unlucky effect and your trial’s no less rough.”

“I know,” Chrysalis sighed, “but I don’t exactly have a better idea right now. Only she can remove the amulet, according to Applejack, but I don’t know how. Something tells me taking on the form of her mother and scolding her won’t do the trick.”

The light in the room cut out suddenly and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees, even though the crackling of the unseen flames continued unabated. Chrysalis shot to her feet, confused but prepared to defend herself. Moments later, the darkness seemed to coalesce into the form of Luna, standing on the other side of the room.

“Perhaps I have an idea.” Luna announced.

“What the fuck, Luna? You almost gave me a heart attack!”

Luna blushed slightly. “Sorry, I have been practicing for next Nightmare Night. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.”

“You were following me?” Chrysalis’ mind raced as she tried to remember if she had said anything especially incriminating during her argument with Time Keeper.

“Yes. Quite the interesting conversation you had with that pegasus, but that is not relevant now.”

Chrysalis swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn’t think she had said anything about time travel, but she knew for certain that she had mentioned the death of the real Twilight Sparkle. Chrysalis’ heart sank, knowing full well that mare suddenly had even more blackmail material on her.

“Do not worry, your secrets are safe with me. Regardless, I followed my sister to Ponyville after she received a letter from Spike detailing Trixie’s attack and how you had gone missing. My sister did not know that I had followed her, but I saw her confront this Trixie and get easily overcome. As amusing as it was, it certainly posed a problem. I had been contemplating how to succeed where my sister had failed when you mysteriously returned, and now with your story, I believe I know how.”

“And how might you do that?” Chrysalis prodded when she didn’t immediately reveal her plan. Luna slightly tilted her head.

“You said that Trixie had chosen to threaten your friends’ property rather than their lives, correct?”

“Yeah, so what?”

Luna smiled wickedly.

“I think I could use a little more practice for Nightmare Night.”

__________________________________

Nightmare Moon marched openly through Ponyville as the sun reached it’s highest point. Even the few ponies who had been brave enough to venture outside after Trixie’s arrival could be seen fleeing into their homes, not that she paid them any mind. She had more important matters to attend to.

She stopped a few meters away from the Golden Oaks Library and squinted up at the sun with a frown. She bowed her head, closing her eyes as she did so, and her horn lit up with tremendous magical power. Ponies the nation over gasped in fear as they looked to the sky and saw the sun reverse direction, within seconds it had fallen beneath the horizon and the moon had taken its place in the newly night sky. From within the library, a voice could just barely be heard as lights flickered on.

“What’s going on?” The door opened and a solitary figure stepped outside. “The Great and Powerful Trixie does not appreciate--” Trixie’s voice caught in her throat upon noticing the grinning alicorn awaiting her and she immediately disappeared back inside, slamming the door behind her. Nightmare Moon chuckled. With barely a thought, she channeled some of her power into the door, tearing it from its hinges and launched it inside where it landed in a mangled heap, almost, but not quite, torn in two pieces. She stepped inside.

Her eyes immediately were drawn to Princess Celestia, her dear, sweet sister, all tied up on that chair and with a magic inhibitor ring placed on her horn, powerless to even do her natural duty of raising the sun. She smirked at her look of horror before turning her attention to the slightly trembling form of Trixie.

“Who...who are you? How dare you attack me…I mean the Great and Powerful Trixie!?”

“You know who I am. You would not be trembling with fear if you didn’t.”

“Trixie is not trembling in fear of some two bit costumed freak!” Her voice was unsteady. “Trixie is trembling with rage!”

As if to prove she wasn’t lying, Trixie’s horn lit up. Before she had a chance to unleash her tremendous, yet unfocused power onto her, Nightmare Moon’s much more practiced horn rapidly turned herself into living shadow and dispersed through the room with a malevolent chuckle. Trixie’s red blast of magic soared through the spot she had been a moment earlier and through the open door.

“I am no pretender.” A hushed whisper seemed to resonate through the entire room as the lights were extinguished. “The night is my domain, and within it, not even you and your little amulet stand a chance. Perhaps you recognize me now?”

“N…Nightmare Moon!? But you’re just a story meant to scare foals!”

The darkness whispered from behind Trixie, right into her ear.

“And everything you’ve heard about me is true.”

Trixie jumped with a small shriek at the oppressive presence behind her. She turned and backed away only to trip on something unseen in the darkness, landing harshly on her rump. The lights came on, nearly blinding her, and Nightmare Moon towered over her with a terrifying, sharp toothed grin.

“And what do you want with Trixie?” She crawled further back, realizing she had tripped over Celestia’s hoof. The Nightmare stepped forward to stand in front of her sister.

“To admire your work.” She casually flicked Celestia’s horn with a hoof. “Such outright evil, I am impressed. You’ve inserted yourself as dictator over an entire town, ruling over it with an iron hoof as you hold its residents in the grip of terror.”

“I…I…evil?”

“Oh yes, a mare right after my own heart. It’s a little small time for my tastes, but a mare has to start somewhere, right? However, if you expand too far, you will most certainly infringe on my turf.” She frowned and lowered her voice. “You do not want that.”

Trixie swallowed. “What do you want? Why do you bother Trixie? Merely to threaten her?”

“No, of course not.” Nightmare Moon’s horn lit up and Trixie flinched. Instead of the attack she had expected, an image filled the space between them. Trixie gasped.

It was of Twilight Sparkle. She was collapsed, barely even breathing. Her horn was broken, a limb bent in an unnatural direction, and covered in blood. She barely looked alive. Nightmare Moon let the image hang there for several seconds, allowing for her audience to fully appreciate what they were seeing. Tears coursed down Celestia’s face as she stared, unable to look away. Trixie hardly fared any better, with horror plastered clearly on her face.

“She told me as I snapped her leg like a twig about how the Great and Powerful Trixie had taken over Ponyville, how she was hurting her friends. Well, more like she screamed it, but that hardly matters now. She told me between sobs that my dear sister had been one of your victims, tied up helplessly in the library. Told me that you were desperate to get your hooves on her.”

“Why did you torture her?” Trixie’s trembling was back in full force.

“Torture?” She shook her head and laughed darkly. “Oh no, no, no. You know the stories. I wasn’t torturing her, I was tenderizing her.”

“You…ate Twilight Sparkle!?”

“Well, I was going to, but after hearing how much you want her, I felt there was a better use for her. I came to you as an equal, one nightmare to another, to strike a bargain.”

Trixie’s eyes darted to Celestia.

“You wish to trade for your sister?”

Nightmare Moon caressed her sister’s cheek absently as she stared down at Trixie.

“No. I am quite content seeing her in chains. Just remember that if she ever gets free, you will face the consequences for your crimes. You would never set hoof outside of a prison cell ever again, unless of course she banishes you to the moon. She’s quite fond of that one."

“Then what--”

“If she were to die under your care, then I would technically become the sole ruler of Equestria. As such, I could grant you a full pardon for your crimes.”

“You want me to kill your sister?!”

“If you make it painful and let me watch, I might even reward you. But that’s a side matter for later discussion. I can offer you Twilight Sparkle on a silver platter, literally and in pieces if you so desire, and what I want in exchange is that pretty little amulet around your neck.”

Trixie’s gaze fell to the alicorn amulet.

“Make this deal and I will let you keep this backwater village for yourself, you may rule it as an official princess. We shall be equal in deed and title, then. Do we have a deal?”

Nightmare Moon extended a hoof with a smile and Trixie’s eyes darted between it, Celestia, and the face looming over her. She lifted her foreleg that trembled like a leaf in the wind, tentatively reaching for that hoof. The Nightmare’s eye twitched at this, though Trixie did not notice.

“I…I…”

Trixie unleashed the built up energy in her horn, launching Nightmare Moon into a bookshelf where she was buried beneath an avalanche of books. She lifted the magical inhibitor from Celestia’s horn with her magic and struggled to undo her bindings, only to be gently stopped by Celestia’s own magic as she freed herself with her restored powers.

“I’m sorry! I’m not like Nightmare Moon, I swear! If this thing makes me her equal, then I don’t want it! Take it!”

She reached for the amulet with a hoof and tore it from her neck, shoving it towards the now unbound princess.

“I believe you, my little pony, but we have no time to lose, we must stop my sister and save my student before it is too late!”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Chrysalis trotted through the hole that used to be the front door with an amused grin and a jar with a dried blue blossom inside. She had been waiting outside and heard the whole thing. She went straight to the pile of books and pulled some off of the princess beneath.

“Ow. That hurt.” Luna said plainly as she stood, returned to her usual form.

“Luna?” Celestia asked with concern.

“Indeed, it is I. The Nightmare Moon routine was merely a ruse to convince Trixie to remove her amulet.”

“Trixie has been tricked?”

“Yes.” Luna nodded. “I really had to lay it on thick, didn’t I? The way things were going, I thought for sure you were going to accept the deal. Not that it would have mattered. Either you would take it off out of disgust at what you were becoming, or you gave it up in exchange for Twilight.”

“Or if none of that worked, I would come in and try to hit her with this here poison joke.” Chrysalis set the jar containing the dangerous flower on a table and looked over to Celestia. “But she took it off and tried to make amends instead. I think that might warrant a little bit of forgiveness, don’t you, Princess?”

“Perhaps you are right.”

“Trixie does not believe she deserves forgiveness.” Trixie whispered.

“I wish to drop all charges from when she assaulted me. Both times.”

“Why would you do that? Trixie hurt you so much!”

Chrysalis sighed. She couldn’t really tell her the real reason was because Time Keeper told her she was important to the timeline. She suppressed the urge to sigh. Even with him banished, he still influenced her actions. No. She couldn’t let this be about him. Searching for a new personal justification, she quickly settled on one and was almost disturbed by it.

“I believe you truly regret your actions, so what would be gained from punishing you? We’ve all done things we wish we could undo, myself included. If I can forgive you, then perhaps I can forgive myself, too.”

The three ponies in the room stared at the changeling with varying expressions. Trixie wept tears of gratitude. Luna tilted her head curiously. Celestia stared with a sad, yet proud smile. The last of the three nodded.

“Very well. For your actions in defending the land against Nightmare Moon, I hereby declare you pardoned for your crimes.”

“But…Trixie did nothing! There was no threat!”

“Perhaps not, but you did not know that.”

“Trixie…” Trixie paused. “I thank you.”

Celestia smiled. “Just learn from your mistakes and do better next time.”

“I will. Trixie promises.”

________________________________

For the rest of the day, Trixie had gone through Ponyville, personally apologizing to every single resident, and then she had helped them finally finish wrapping up winter. Many of the town ponies were leery of her, but equally as many welcomed her change of heart. Somewhere in the mix, she had somehow come in contact with poison joke and had been rendered both invisible and mute. Chrysalis had no idea who that strange pony that had infected her was, or how she had gotten hold of that jar of poison joke that she had left in the library, and she most certainly hadn’t been Chrysalis in disguise. By complete and total coincidence, and totally not because Chrysalis had informed them ahead of time, Aloe and Lotus had already had the remedy bath prepared. Trixie, while not amused at first, seemed to take the prank in good humour.

Once winter had fully been wrapped up, Trixie prepared a fireworks show for after the sun had set. In gratitude, some of the ponies showed her where the cart she had left behind when she had fled on her first visit to Ponyville had been kept. Eager to return to her passion as a travelling performer after months as a fugitive, she had hitched herself up to it and left town.

Chrysalis was saying her farewells to the princesses, who had also stayed to help clean up the mess that Trixie had caused. As Luna left to enter the sky chariot that would return them to Canterlot, Celestia paused at the freshly repaired library door.

“Should I write a letter about what I learned today?” Chrysalis asked, half joking. Celestia laughed.

“No, I think I’ve witnessed it for myself this time. Once again, you push for forgiveness rather than punishment, though I feel this was more sincere than past instances.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“If ever you wish to talk, I will always be ready to listen. Whatever it is that burdens you, I am willing to share that burden. I am not just your mentor, I am your friend, and whatever it is you believe you have done that is so unforgivable, I will forgive you, just as you should forgive yourself.”

Chrysalis gave a singular, humorless laugh. If it were only so easy. The damage Trixie had caused was a molehill next to Chrysalis’ mountain. Could Trixie say she had invaded the entirety of Equestria? Or that she had doomed an entire species? Even now as she tried to change the past, it seemed she was destined to watch herself make the same mistakes all over again. How could she possibly forgive herself for such twice borne failure?

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Chrysalis lied and then changed the subject before Celestia could press her further. “What’s going to happen to the alicorn amulet?”

Celestia sighed with disappointment.

“I will bring it back to Canterlot Castle where it will be locked up somewhere safe and studied. Only by those I trust entirely, and even then only with my supervision.”

“Maybe we should just destroy it?” Chrysalis suggested.

“It is incredibly dangerous and clearly a corruptive influence, but I fear it would be a mistake to merely destroy it. All too often with powerful magics, such attempts only make matters worse.” Celestia gave a tired smile. “I must leave now. Be proud of yourself this day.”

Chrysalis shuddered as she watched Celestia join her sister and be pulled into the night sky. That artifact disturbed her. If it could turn a weakling like Trixie into a credible threat, what would happen if it were to be held by somebody with actual power?

22 - Chryssi and the Golden Tickets

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Chrysalis yawned as she shambled down the stairs, zombie like, thinking the entire way that she should’ve just stayed in bed. Inside the kitchen, Spike was already at the table, eating a bowl of whatever it was that dragon ate. She could hardly be bothered to remember all the seemingly endless names of foods that ponies, or dragons, consumed on a daily basis.

“Morning, Twilight!”

“Morning.” Chrysalis mumbled as she poured herself a cup of water, absently wishing she could drink coffee without falling ill. Ponies seemed very enthusiastic about the energizing effects of the substance. She sat across from Spike, sipped her water and closed her eyes, just to give them a momentary rest.

“Maybe if you actually ate breakfast for once, you’d feel less tired.”

“What?” Chrysalis sputtered as she jolted awake, knocking over her cup of water. Spike, without missing a beat, hopped up to grab a towel and began mopping up the spill.

“I said you might be less tired if you ate breakfast.”

She stared at him. He shouldn’t be noticing that she wasn’t eating. Was the spell she cast on him starting to fade? Would he start noticing other little oddities about her behaviour? She really needed to reinforce the spell to keep him oblivious of the differences between herself and the real Twilight.

“I’m not hungry.”

“You never eat in the morning! That can’t be good for you, breakfast is the most important meal of the day! You taught me that after reading that healthy living guide, remember?”

It’d only take a few seconds. She could do it right now while he cleaned up her mess. He couldn’t hope to stop her, and he’d be none the wiser once she finished.

“I just couldn’t get enough sleep last night. I feel like I’m being watched.”

“Watched? I didn’t notice anything. By who?”

“I don’t know.” Chrysalis lied. If her past self hadn’t increased surveillance on her by now, she’d start eating breakfast. She had been more careful than before not to reveal anything too important to anyone that came to the library, but after a week she was really starting to feel drained. It was only a matter of time before she slipped.

“Do you think it could be Trixie? I don’t believe she’d just turn over a new leaf so easily.”

“I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want to be seen in Ponyville again anytime soon.”

“Maybe she got some more poison joke and is invisible again? She wouldn’t be seen, then.” He suggested as he put the towel away and returned to his chair.

“Maybe.” Chrysalis humored him, but didn’t believe it.

Spike shrugged and lifted his spoon to his mouth. As he began to chew, his eyes went wide and the spoon clattered against the table as his claws gripped the edge and moments later he let out a belch of flame. An envelope appeared in the air and before it could fall into Spike’s bowl, Chrysalis snatched it with her magic. Spike stuck out his tongue as he began to cradle his belly.

“Ugh…now I'm not feeling very hungry, either.”

“You okay?”

“I'm fine. It’s just that all I can taste now is paper.”

“We can find another way to communicate with Celestia if it’s unpleasant for you.”

“No, no, no!” He rapidly refused, waving his claws to emphasize his words. “It’s fine, I like helping you and the Princess!”

“If you say so.” Chrysalis said doubtfully. She wondered if there would be any point in asking Celestia to not send letters at breakfast anymore. She dismissed the thought for now as she tore into the envelope. Usually Celestia just sent a scroll, so this was definitely odd. She pulled out a very formal looking letter from inside, also unusual.

“What’s it say?”

“Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the Grand Galloping Gala, to be held at the Canterlot Castle. Enclosed are tickets for you and one guest of your choosing.” Chrysalis set the letter aside and peered inside the envelope to find two golden tickets to attend the gala, dated for late next month.

“The Grand Galloping Gala?” Spike’s eyes lit up for a second before realizing his enthusiasm was showing and began to badly fake disinterest. “I mean…psh! That sounds lame!”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, wondering just how long he’d keep up the act this time.

“Yeah, I agree. I don’t want to go.”

“Yeah? I mean, yeah! Who would want to go to a fancy shmancy party in Canterlot?”

“Hmm…” Chrysalis idly spun the tickets in the air in front of Spike’s face. “Probably Rarity. She’s always talking about high society.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, I’m sure Rarity would appreciate a ticket. Maybe she’ll finally get to meet Prince Blueblood.” She said with a sly grin.

“WHAT?!”

“Yup. She’ll probably get him to fall madly in love with her and they’ll be wed on the spot with Celestia overseeing the ceremony. Within a year, there’ll be little Bluebloods running all over Ponyville.”

Spike stared at the tickets as Chrysalis started floating them in a figure eight pattern.

“Th…that wouldn’t happen, right?”

Chrysalis feigned thoughtfulness. “No, I suppose not. The Prince would never lower himself by living in a backwater town like Ponyville, so those foals would definitely be running around Canterlot, instead. We’d probably never see her again as she lives out her romantic dream far…far…far away from us.”

“No!” Spike screamed as he leapt over the table, making a grab for the tickets and knocking over his bowl in the process. Chrysalis moved the tickets just out of his reach and he landed face first in Chrysalis’ fuzzy chest. “Please, Twilight, you can’t let that happen! Don’t give that ticket to Rarity!”

Chrysalis chuckled and wrapped a foreleg around Spike in a gentle hug.

“I’m just messing with you. Blueblood is an insufferable twit. The quickest way to ensure she doesn’t marry him would be to introduce them.”

Spike looked up from her fluff, tears in his eyes. “Promise?”

“Yes, I promise. Rarity will never marry Blueblood.”

“That’s a relief.”

Several seconds passed in silence as Spike returned to his seat with a slight blush. Feeling a slight discomfort at just sitting there with nothing to say, Chrysalis got up from her chair.

“Well, I’m off to give Rarity her ticket.”

“Huh? But you promised!”

“That she wouldn’t marry him, not that I wouldn’t give her a ticket.”

“But if she goes and meets him--”

“She’ll hate him just like every other mare in Blueblood’s sad, pathetic life.”

“But, what if you’re wrong? What if they do fall in love and she leaves Ponyville forever!?” Spike chased after her out of the library.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. It was fun at first to stoke his fears, but now this was just getting sad and annoying. “The only way that’s happening is if Rarity’s dress is made of mirrors.”

“Do you think it will be?”

Chrysalis sighed and shook her head. She was not going to dignify his stupidity with a response anymore. Unfortunately, the silent treatment did nothing to stem the flow of his inane concerns. By the time she reached Carousel Boutique, she regretted not forcing him to stay home. Ponies had been staring at them the whole way there, which really didn’t help with her feeling of being watched. The entire town and the changeling hive probably both knew about the tickets by now. Leaving her bed had been a mistake, one she would rectify upon finishing her business with Rarity.

“Please, Twilight, don’t do this! What if he kidnaps her? Do you really want to risk ruining my--I mean, her life like that?”

Chrysalis paused after they had stepped through the boutique’s door, grinding her teeth. Rather than answer, she lifted him in her magic, unceremoniously tossed him outside, and kicked the door shut behind her, which sent the little bell connected to it chiming like mad. Before he could pull it back open and just as Rarity entered from her back room, she locked it.

“Greetings, Twilight. Oh, my, you look positively exhausted. Did…you just lock my door?”

“No.” She answered flatly.

“Don’t give it to her!” Spike’s muffled protest could be heard from behind the clearly locked door.

“Was that Spike?”

“No.”

Rarity hesitated, her eyes watching through the window as Spike clearly jumped in and out of view, his little arms flailing wildly.

“Right, er…give me what, darling?”

“This.” Chrysalis floated one of the tickets to Rarity. “I received two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala and I figured that you would want to go more than anypony else.”

Rarity’s eyes lit up like stars.

“The Grand Galloping Gala? Why, I would love to go with you! All the nobles, the Princess and…him. My Prince Blueblood.” She seemed to practically melt at saying his name.

“Noooo!” Spike’s scream cut through the air, completely ignored by the two mares.

“Oh…um…did you say the Grand Galloping Gala?” A timid voice announced the presence of Fluttershy as she peeked out of the door Rarity had entered through. She was wearing a half made dress, clearly having been roped into modelling for Rarity.

“Yes, Twilight is going to bring me as her plus one, isn’t that absolutely splendid?”

Fluttershy averted her gaze and kicked a hoof at the floor.

“Um…yes, I suppose so.”

“Is something wrong?”

“It’s just that I kind of wish I could go, too.”

“Really?” Chrysalis cut into the conversation. “I didn’t take you for the party type, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, I’m not at all! But the Canterlot Gardens are home to all manner of wondrous and exotic animals! I just know that if I were to meet them, I could make all sorts of new friends.”

“Well, I don’t really want to go myself, but I was more thinking of giving the other ticket to Pinkie Pie. A party seems more her style.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy seemed to wilt for a moment, but then took a deep breath and a timid step forward. “W…W…Well, if y…you don’t want me telling anypony about--”

Chrysalis shoved the second ticket into her mouth, cutting her off. She was impressed at how timid she was while actively black mailing her. She was almost proud.

“It’s yours.”

“Really? Thank you so much!”

“Tell anypony about what?” Rarity stared at Chrysalis.

“Nothing.” Chrysalis answered casually. Rarity eyed Fluttershy next.

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” Fluttershy added with a sweet smile. Rarity looked between the two of them, her lips in a pout.

“You can’t keep it a secret forever. I will find out.”

“Drop it, or I’m taking back my ticket.”

“Yes!” Spike shouted triumphantly.

“It’s dropped.” Rarity said.

“No!” Spike wailed in defeat.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go home and take a nap. I haven’t been sleeping very well.”

“You do look tired. Maybe I could get some of my bird friends to donate feathers for a new pillow?”

“Personally, I swear by a good cup of tea. Caffeine free, naturally. I’m sure I have some you could take with you.”

“If this keeps up, maybe I’ll take you up on those offers.” Chrysalis paused to yawn as she picked up a piece of scrap cloth that had fallen from Fluttershy’s incomplete dress. “In the meantime, I’ll just take this, if you don’t mind.”

“By all means, but how will that help you sleep?”

“It’ll cut down on the noise.”

Without further explanation, Chrysalis opened the door and Spike charged inside only to be caught by her waiting magic. His cries of protest were cut short by the fabric being shoved into his mouth. Before the other two could comment on her actions, she hurried out the door and shut it behind her. Only when they were far from the boutique did she remove the makeshift gag and set him down.

“That was cruel, Twilight.”

“You’re right, it was really cruel of me to arrange for Rarity to meet that pompous Prince. Hopefully she’ll forgive me one day.”

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”

“Enough! If I hear any more out of you about this, I’m gagging you again and taking away your gems until the Gala is over.”

“It’d be nothing compared to what you’ve already done.” Spike grumbled under his breath.

Aside from more minor grumbling, Spike mercifully kept quiet the rest of the way back home. Chrysalis eagerly opened the door, practically hearing the siren call of her bed, but immediately got a face full of confetti and balloons.

“SURPRISE!” Pinkie shouted as she threw her forelegs around Chrysalis’ neck and dragged her inside. A tortured groan escaped from her lips, but it couldn’t be heard over the sudden music playing from a record player that Pinkie had somehow gotten inside and the song that she burst into. She seemed to have choreographed an entire dance routine to go with it.

“Pinkie.”

Her song and dance continued unabated on how good of friends the two of them were, and how great parties were.

“Pinkie!”

She still sang on.

“PINKIE!” Chrysalis’ words seemed to cause the room to tremble, even knocking the record off its track, causing it to skip, and Pinkie started repeating a single word and movement in sync with its repetition. With a growl, Chrysalis pulled the needle completely off the record, breaking Pinkie from the loop she seemed stuck in.

“Yes, best buddy in the whole world?” Pinkie asked.

“What are you doing?”

“Throwing you a surprise party, silly! I thought that much would be obvious!”

“Why are you throwing a party?”

“Oh, no particular reason. Just wanted to remind you of how great of friends we are and how fun it is for us to party together, that’s all. I mean, it’s not a real party if you don’t bring Pinkie along, hint, hint!”

“This is about the tickets to the Gala, isn’t it?”

Pinkie gave an exaggerated gasp. “You have tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala!? I’m honored that you want to bring me as your guest! I’ve always dreamed of going there, it’s only the biggest most amazing party in all of Equestria!” Pinkie zipped on over to the record player and set it playing again. “You know what this calls for? A party!”

“She doesn’t have the tickets anymore.” Spike announced as he picked up a party hat off the floor.

“What?” Pinkie screeched as the record came to a scratching stop again.

“I gave them to Rarity and Fluttershy already.”

“Fluttershy!? But she doesn’t like going to parties with strangers!”

“She wanted to go. Speaking of going, I want to go to sleep, so would you please go away?” Chrysalis said, trying her best to not let her frustration colour her tone. She failed if Pinkie’s flinch was any indication.

“Oh, sorry.” Pinkie sheepishly walked out the door. “Maybe Rarity would appreciate a party.”

Chrysalis slammed the door behind her and looked down at Spike, who had placed the party hat on his head.

“I’m going to bed. I don’t care what you do, as long as it doesn’t wake me up.”

“You don’t, huh?” He paused for a moment. “Maybe I’ll go do a favour for Rarity.”

Chrysalis didn’t bother responding, she was so done dealing with him today. If he wanted to help Rarity, then he was Rarity’s problem now. It’s not like he could do anything to convince her to give up her ticket, she’d just have him twisted around her hoof like she always did by the end of the day. Chrysalis went up to her room and crawled into her bed under Sage’s watchful eyes. Before she could fall asleep, however, she heard the clicking of her window being pulled open followed by Rainbow Dash’s unmistakable rasp.

“Hup! Here we go!”

Chrysalis squeezed her eyes shut and beat her face against the pillow.

“How ya doing, Twi? Pillow not comfortable enough?” Dash chuckled. “Well, I’ve got just the thing to help you sleep!”

Chrysalis glared at her, sitting on top of a cloud that she must’ve brought in with her. “What do you want, Dash?”

“Whoa, they’re right, you really do look like crap--tired, I mean tired.”

“Get to the point!”

“Fine! I brought this cloud for you to nap on because they’re way more comfy than any bed. You’ve still got that cloud walking spell, right? Trust me, you’ll never want to sleep anywhere else again!”

“I don’t have the tickets anymore.”

“Oh.”

Awkward silence fell between them. Rainbow rubbed the back of her head with a hoof.

“Uh…you can keep the cloud. You look like you really need it. Bye!”

Rainbow raced back out the window. Chrysalis turned over in her bed, stubbornly trying to refuse to acknowledge the presence of either the cloud or the world outside the window. After a minute of tossing, turning, and trying to fluff her pillow in the hopes of getting comfortable, she gave up and looked over to the cloud out of the corner of her eye. Reluctantly, she got out of bed and climbed on top of it, letting herself sink into the pure bliss that it provided. Dash was right, it was pretty amazing. She gave a contented sigh, finally comfortable, and almost wishing she could have given Dash a ticket in exchange for such a thoughtful, if perhaps self serving, gift.

“So, uh…who’d you give the tickets to?”

Chrysalis’ eyes snapped open to find that Dash had flown back through the window and landed right next to the cloud. Her eye twitched as she charged up her horn. Rainbow Dash’s eyes grew wide with alarm and she made to fly away, but it was too late to avoid her wrath. Chrysalis launched her back out of the window, making sure to use a little extra magic to restrain her wings. Chrysalis crawled off the cloud and stuck her head out of the window.

“Leave me alone! If anypony else wants those stupid tickets, I already gave them to Fluttershy and Rarity, go bother them instead!” She shouted to the town at large, hoping that enough ponies would hear and spread the news.

“Ow.” Rainbow Dash said from her position on the ground where she crashed at another familiar pony’s hooves, one that was pulling a cart full of baked goods behind her. Applejack looked down at Dash with a raised eyebrow, then up at the irate Chrysalis glaring at both of them.

“Huh. Well, I’m off to see if Rarity or Fluttershy want any apple pie. Bye, Twilight!” She announced as she turned her cart in nearly the opposite direction and left.

Chrysalis shut and locked the window before crawling back onto the cloud. Maybe now that all five of the element bearers were aware that she didn’t have any tickets anymore, she could get enough peace and quiet to finally take a nap.

______________________________________________

Chrysalis awoke to her bedroom door crashing open. In a panic, she fell off her new cloud bed and landed heavily on the wooden floor. Her horn lit up as she tried to push past her disorientation.

“Twilight! Hide me!” Spike screamed as he rushed inside. Seeing the cloud, he dived straight into it, hidden by what was to him an intangible ball of fluff. Before he could pull him out and demand an explanation, there was a desperate tapping on the window, with a panic stricken Fluttershy on the other side. Confused, Chrysalis opened it for her and she was nearly knocked over by the pegasus’ rush to get inside.

“Please, Twilight! You’ve got to hide me!”

“Spiiiiike!” Rarity’s furious cry split the air. Oh fuck, what now? Fluttershy fled into the closet and slammed the door behind herself, though the tip of her pink tail stuck out from the bottom. Rarity then stormed into the room.

“Spike! Where are you?! I swear if you don’t come out this instant, I’m going to glue the laciest dress I’ve ever made onto you!”

“What is going--”

Chrysalis was interrupted by a crash as a blur of rainbow and blue tumbled across the room and knocked over Sage’s stand.

“Hoo!” Sage angrily landed on top of Rainbow Dash’s head and started pecking right between her ears.

“Ow! Ow! Hey, stop it! Ow! Oh, hey Twi, you seen Fluttershy? I saw her come in here.” Rainbow Dash asked as she brushed Sage off her head, who flew up to the top of a shelf, ruffled his feathers and gave one more angry hoot. “Hey, Flutters?! It doesn’t have to be a race, we could play cards instead!”

“What are you--”

“Never mind, found her!” Dash ignored Chrysalis and trotted over to the closet. “Come on, I know you’re in there, your tail is sticking out.”

Chrysalis’ brow furrowed in confusion. That pink tail didn’t look like Fluttershy’s.

“SURPRISE!”

The closet door practically exploded open and PInkie’s party canon blasted Dash in the face with confetti, who doubled over coughing because her mouth had been wide open. Pinkie cartwheeled out of the closet, singing a song as Fluttershy meekly followed after her and tried to help the coughing pony.

“Aha! There you are, Spike! I knew you were here somewhere!” Rarity announced triumphantly as she pulled Spike from the cloud with her magic.

“Twilight? Heeeeelp!”

”Hey, y’all, I heard a party goin’ down and figured ya might like some food to go along with it!” Applejack walked through the door, carrying a variety of apple based goods on a tray on her back.

“Hey, get your own turf! I always bring food to my parties!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she pulled a cream pie out of seemingly nowhere and threw it at AJ, hitting her square in the face and sending the tray she was carrying to the ground with a crash.

“What in tarnation, Pinkie, I worked hard on makin’ those!”

Everybody in the room spoke over one another, creating a crescendo of noise until Chrysalis could no longer make out anything that they were saying.

“QUIET!”

The cacophony of noise died, the last thing to be heard outside of Rainbow’s coughing being Pinkie saying some nonsense about oatmeal.

“Will somepony please explain what in Tartarus is going on?”

The assembled ponies and dragon looked at each other awkwardly for a moment, but soon Rarity stepped forward with Spike still held aloft in her magical aura, at least until she dropped him onto the floor.

“Your assistant here volunteered to help me, as he often does, and then when my back was turned, he stole my ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala!”

Spike chuckled nervously and winced beneath Chrysalis’ glower. “You did say you didn’t care what I did, right?”

Fluttershy spoke next while rubbing rainbow Dash’s back, who had finally stopped coughing.

“Rainbow Dash was pressuring me to race her for my ticket.”

“It didn’t have to be a race.” Dash hoarsely whispered in her defense. “And what was that, Pinkie? Were you trying to kill me!?”

“Of course not, I just thought I could convince somepony to give me their ticket if I threw them an amazing party to remind them of how a party isn’t really a party without Pinkie!” She stared at AJ with a shocking amount of resentment. “But somepony here was trying to steal my thunder!”

“Yeah, guilty.” Applejack admitted as she wiped cream from her face. “I thought I could get a ticket by trading some of my delicious apple desserts.”

“ I can’t believe this…” Chrysalis muttered as she face hoofed. “ Spike?”

“Yes?”

“Ticket. Now.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He went back to the cloud and pulled it out from within. Rarity stepped forward, eager to take it back.

“Thank you, Twilight. Maybe now I can get back to designing my gala dress.”

Chrysalis’ horn glowed and she snatched the ticket from Spike’s claws before Rarity could take it.

“No.” She glared at Rarity. “You too, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, um…okay.” She pulled out her ticket and handed it over too, and Chrysalis held both tickets aloft in her magic.

“I see that none of you can be trusted to handle this situation like adults.”

“I’m not actually an adult.” Spike interjected.

“And I didn’t really do anything wrong.” Rarity protests. Chrysalis silenced both with a glare.

“Since these tickets have led to all of you fighting over them like children, it falls to me to do the mature thing and put a stop to it.”

With a little more power channeled through her horn, the tickets burst into flames, leaving only a small pile of ash on the floor. There was a collective gasp.

“Well, I reckon that’s probably for the best. I guess I’ll head on back to the farm.”

“Hold it!” The ponies who had started lining up for the door froze. “I’m about to write a letter to Princess Celestia explaining what just happened, and each and every one of you will write part of it apologizing to her for letting her generous gift drive you to such bad behaviour.”

“But--” Dash began, but was cut off.

“No buts! Spike, fetch a scroll.”

_________________________________

An hour later in the main room of the library, the seven of them were just finishing signing their names to the letter. It was a mess of different penmanship since she wanted them all to personally write their own part rather than letting them dictate to Spike. She really wanted to hammer home for each of them how upset she was over them fighting over the tickets and disturbing her sleep, having Spike do it for them just wasn’t enough for her. She skimmed through the letter one last time and was about to get Spike to send it when she remembered something. She added a post script, requesting that Celestia refrain from sending letters until after breakfast outside of emergencies for the sake of Spike’s appetite.

“Okay, Spike, send it.” Spike obediently took the letter and blew his magical dragon flame onto it, and moments later it was gone.

“I’m sorry, Twilight.” Rarity spoke up. “While Spike stealing my ticket was certainly worthy of getting upset over, I should have handled my response with more dignity and maturity than to chase him halfway across town and into your bedroom, screaming and threatening the whole way.”

“You already apologized.”

“In the letter, perhaps, but I felt it prudent to say aloud to you.”

Chrysalis gently rubbed her temple with a hoof while the others came forth one at a time to offer their own verbal apologies. She had already read all of this, they didn’t say anything new, but she supposed it was at least a touching sentiment on their parts.

“Look, I forgive you. Just don’t do this again, at least not when I’m this tired.”

There was a belching sound and soon a new envelope appeared through Spike’s fire, identical to the first one sent that morning.

“Huh, that was fast.” Spike observed as he opened it up and began to read the letter inside.

“Ahem…Dear Twilight Sparkle. While I appreciate that you were able to solve a problem regarding the tickets I sent you and your friends, you really should have just told me. Enclosed you will find seven new tickets, one for each of you. I look forward to seeing all of you there. Signed Princess Celestia. PS: I will be sure to not spoil Spike’s breakfast going forward.”

“Seven new tickets?” Rarity asked eagerly. Spike dumped out the envelope onto the reading table they had been using to compose their letter to find exactly that, seven new golden tickets. A cheer went up between the ponies, and even Spike seemed happy.

“Alright, alright! Grab your ticket and get out! I still want to go back to bed.”

One by one, they did just that, thanking her as they left, until only Chrysalis and Spike remained. He was holding his ticket up and smiling at it.

“Why are you so cheerful? I thought you’d be upset that Rarity was going.”

“Not if I’m going, too!” A wicked grin spread across his face and he chuckled darkly. “I can make sure their meeting goes poorly, and then I’ll be there to comfort her broken heart!”

“Yeah,” Chrysalis yawned, “I’m sure that’ll work.”

She walked past him for the stairs. She didn’t feel like explaining to him why that was a bad idea, though she was willing to admit it had a slightly better chance of working than the chance that Rarity and Blueblood would actually fall in love. Barely.

In her room, she dragged the blanket from her bed, tossed her own ticket into the wastebasket next to her nightstand while she was there, and then crawled onto the cloud still near the window, pulling the comforting fabric over herself. That combined with the nearly noonday sun shining through the window warmed her to a heavenly toasty temperature. It was nearly as good as sunbathing in the badlands on a hot summer day.

Suddenly, the warmth of the sun disappeared and the light cut out.

“Oh, come on!” She shouted, hopping out of her bed, ready to destroy whatever had blocked her window. She froze when she realized that she couldn’t even see the outline of her window, or her room for that matter, only darkness. Chrysalis tensed for a fight, but before anything else could happen, the darkness coalesced into a solid form.

“Luna! You’ve got to stop that!”

“My apologies.” Luna said, holding back a laugh.

“Never should’ve let you know some ponies like being scared. You’re having way too much fun with that.”

“If you wish, I could refrain from practicing on you.”

“Please. Anyway, what brings you to Ponyville?”

“The Grand Galloping Gala. I finally have some tickets of my own to hand out, and I wish to invite you.”

“Okay, but your sister has already sent me a ticket.”

“I am aware, but I wished to invite you personally.”

“I don’t know, I don’t really want to spend a whole night that close to your sister.”

Luna stepped closer with an impish grin.

“Then how about a night close to me, instead?”

“Uhhh...” Chrysalis looked up into Luna’s half lidded eyes.

“I have thought of a way with which to bridge the power gap between us so that you no longer need to fear me.”

Chrysalis’ ears perked up at this pronouncement.

“And what would that be.”

“Not yet. You’ll have to come to the gala to find out.” Luna leaned her face closer and spoke in a breathy whisper. “If you accept my proposal then, I promise I’ll make sure it’s the best night ever.”

Chrysalis’ head felt a little foggy looking into Luna’s eyes. She closed her own eyes and raised her lips to meet with Luna’s, though came in contact with something hard instead. She opened her eyes to find Luna’s hoof on her mouth. She felt a little nauseous. Dirty hooves were not her thing at all.

“Not until the Gala, my little changeling.” She said with a twinkle in her eye. “Now enjoy the rest of your midday nap.”

Luna pushed against her face with that hoof, and Chrysalis seemed to sink through the floor beneath her, watching hazily as she floated lazily into the rest of the library and then into the earth beneath it until she landed in the bed of her old royal chambers, surrounded by her subjects. They were all begging her for help or blaming her for failing them as Luna waved her farewell from way up above.

Chrysalis jerked awake, still on her cloud bed. The window was open, and set on the blanket in front of her was a single golden ticket for the Grand Galloping Gala.

_______________

Queen Chrysalis sat perched on top of the tree that made up the Golden Oaks Library, disguised as the traitor’s pet owl. She ruffled her feathers. It was so weird to be covered by them, no matter how many times she had disguised herself as a bird of late.

The Queen stared at the golden ticket in her talon. She had nearly been caught digging through the wastebasket by that damned princess of the night when she sneaked in to leave a ticket on the traitor’s sleeping form, but Chrysalis had gotten her prize and they were none the wiser. She didn’t know what or why, but she had a feeling that something she wouldn’t want to miss was going to happen at the Grand Galloping Gala.

Chrysalis: Saviour of Time

by Robo Bro

0 - Prologue

1 - Recoverable

2 - The Switch

3 - Friendship is Hard

4 - Love is Magic

5 - Aftermath of a Nightmare

6 - Time Saver

7 - Loose Ends

8 - Get a Griff

9 - Boasts 'n' Bears

10 - A Changeling in Ponyville

11 - Swarm of a Different Colour

12 - Double, Double, Tea and Trouble

13 - Somewhere Over the Rainboom

14 - Sticks and Stones

15 - The Great Apple Caper

16 - Cheating Heart

17 - Night Mare Games

18 - Hearth Attack

19 - Changeling Seasons

20 - Changeling Spaces

21 - Revenge

22 - Chryssi and the Golden Tickets