An Exercise in Inter-Universal Politics

"I don't see why I have to do this."

Chrysalis folded her forelegs. The doctor unfolded them, gently, but did not comment on the action.

"I bet it's a death trap," Chrysalis said, glancing at the man behind the glass again. "Going to kill me painfully."

"Chrysalis, you just watched me take one." Twilight groaned. "You stared at me for the full four hours."

"Doesn't mean it wasn't a trap!"

"Look. Let me explain this to you, one more time." Twilight took a breath, then continued. "The humans want medical data on how your species work. I'd like to see the numbers myself. We've never actually dissected a dead changeling before."

"Oh, god, it's a dissection machine!" Chrysalis shouted, pretending to faint. "You're going to murder me!"

"It's not. It's just an extremely advanced scan," Twilight said. "I bet I'll even learn about alicorn physiology, when they let me see the pictures of mine. But they want one of you."

"Why do they need one?"

Twilight twitched. "Because they want to see how you guys can shapeshift! Celestia, I want to see that!"

"I doubt they'll find anything," Chrysalis muttered. "But I consent to a scan."

"Good," Twilight said, sitting back in her chair.

A doctor walked up to Chrysalis, tapping the side of his clipboard with a pen.

"Ok. No metal on your person or anywhere in your body, right?" he asked.

The Changeling shook her head.

"No adverse effects when exposed to strong magnets?"

Another head shake. The doctor wrote two sentences on his clipboard, then gave the technician behind a nearby counter a thumbs-up.

"Ok. Good to go."

Chrysalis grimaced as the table started moving on its down. Celestia, these creatures. There was something so unsettling about the technology they used. Moving slowly into a white tube... it was eerily reminiscent of certain Changeling funeral practices. Plastic instead of a special pod, yes, but similar just the same. Chrysalis took deep, long breaths, trying to keep calm.

It's okay. she thought. It's not going to light on fire.

Outside, Twilight tapped her hoof on the ground. What she would have given to have this machine back in Equestria. Scans of this caliber would probably make all sorts of magical aliments treatable. Not to mention how they could be combined with medical scans and surgical techniques. It would be a revolution.

If she was thinking about it, almost anything these humans had would be a revolution. They were so far ahead of Equestrian science in basically everything but magic.

Twilight was interrupted from her thoughts by the technician speaking.

"Miss Sparkle. You need to see this."

Twilight's wings ruffled as she walked behind the counter. The humans had told her she'd get to see the scans after they did some processing to them. Not right away. Perhaps he had found something particularly interesting about Changelings and couldn't wait to share.

Twilight squinted. Celestia, the humans weren't kidding when she bragged about the accuracy. She could see every lobe in Chrysalis's brain, each fiber in her horn. It was simultaneously disturbing and fascinating. Like a dissection without any cutting. The man moved a wheel on a device in his hand, scrolling through layers of her head like he was taking slices off. He stopped suddenly.

"There," the man whispered, pointing at the screen. "Is that normal?"

Twilight tilted her head. He was pointing at where Starswirl's cavity should have been—the chamber in the back of the brain where magical energy first flowed from.

"Can you make it bigger?" Twilight asked. The man tapped a few buttons and zoomed in.

Twilight squinted. There was some kind of extra organ. It looked sort of like her bones did on the screen, but a bit darker. The man shifted the picture, moving down her spine. The organ followed along the spinal chord for a while, until eventually—

Sweet Celestia.

At regular intervals, the thing had tiny spikes, jutting into her spinal chord. Each one went an inch or two deep into the organ, straight in like nails. The organ continued along her spine until it got to the bottom of her rib cage, where it ballooned into a small sack, about an inch in diameter, pushing her stomach to the side.

"I don't..."

Twilight took a deep breath.

"This could be what allows her to shapeshift," Twilight whispered back. "But... I don't know."

"Ask her," the technician commanded. "There's no blood vessels or anything on this. It looks... Well, look. I'm not jumping to any conclusions. But this does not look natural."

Twilight swallowed. Ok. Probably not a crisis situation. Just a special changeling organ. She trotted around the counter, walking to the entrance to the machine.

"Chrysalis?" Twilight called, trying to sound cheerful.

"Is this almost done?"

"No," Twilight replied. "We just had a question. Uh... Do you happen to have an organ that starts in your brain, goes along your spinal chord, and randomly intrudes into your nervous system?"

Twilight listened to the hum of the machine for a second, holding her breath.

"Sparkle I swear to god, if you are screwing with me I will manage to drain you before they kill me."

Chrysalis' voice was surprisingly level.

"Might not be able to kill you but I'm sure Celestia won't like a Princess with a magical lobotomy."

"I'm, uh—We can talk after the scan is done."

"NOW, Sparkle!" Chrysalis screamed. Twilight bit her lip.

"I think... those creatures might have done something when you were unconscious," Twilight said. "Something rather intrusive."