Twilight Sparkle's eyes bolted open.

She instantly knew something was amiss, even with her half-functioning senses. She didn't need eyes or ears or skin to feel this—it was a problem with her magic. Or, rather, two problems.

The first was that it... it somethinged different. Twilight couldn't come up with a verb. Tasted came close, but that had all sorts of implications that didn't feel right. Taste was external, something that you experience as the result of some actor. You put something in your mouth, and you taste it. This went far deeper than that. It was a difference in her very soul, not an overcooked cookie. She had experienced this situation only once before, at her ascension to alicorn-hood. But that was a far more subtle difference. To continue the gustatory metaphor, that was like adding some spices on top, or perhaps cooking a dish in a marginally different way. This, though—this was like putting her old magic into a soup with some other thing and letting it stew for hours. It wasn't a disturbing combination, or even an unpleasant one, but it was certainly alien.

The other problem with her magic was its quantity.

Twilight Sparkle had wielded the element of magic before. The most powerful magical object in Equestria, presumably forged by the universe itself, and she had used its power. She remembered the first time that happened, the almost overwhelming sense of energy that flowed through her body.

Just beyond her own head, Twilight sensed a magical presence several thousand times that force. A presence that she knew, instinctively, she could tap into whenever she wanted. In fact, it seemed to want her to use it—her imagination instantly came up with trying to tell Pinkie Pie (or Acone) that she wasn't hungry. It wasn't going to force its way in, but it was damn sure going to offer multiple times.

Twilight took a moment to consider the situation. As far as she could tell, she retained all willpower. She wasn't being manipulated or controlled in any way. Something was messing with her head, but it didn't seem to be necessarily malicious. Besides, it's not like she could just revert whatever changes had happened to her. For the moment, she was going to have to accept the development and move on.

The alicorn turned her attention to other matters. Specifically, she now focused on those physical sensations she intentionally deferred earlier. Instantly, she began to panic. She was underwater!

Twilight closed her mouth, holding her breath. She needed to get above water as fast as possible. Who knew how long she had been under?

Twilight kicked a hoof forward, making contact with some kind of hard material. It felt strangely organic, and extremely thin. Hm. A possible way out.

Twilight blasted the surface with magic, and it gave way. She barely had time to be pleased that she could still spellcast as the water started moving through the opening, taking her with it. She came into contact with solid ground, coughing.

Twilight took a minute to catch her breath, keeping her eyes closed. She was encased in some sort of liquid-filled chamber. She had a sneaking suspicion she knew what that was, but—

"Twilight?"

Chrysalis. Just the person she didn't want to hear.

Twilight groaned, opening her eyes and looking at her hooves. In an instant, her suspicions were confirmed. Black chitin covered the lower half of her appendages, awkwardly transitioning into fur just above her elbows.

"Why is it—"

Twilight's attempt at speech only caused more fluid to flow out of her lungs. She spent a few minutes coughing, expelling the rest of it.

"Why does this keep happening to me?" she said, staring at the ceiling. "I do a good deed, and the next thing I know royalty is making radical changes to my body! At least Celestia gave me a song first, but she still decided that I would look better with wings, without asking! I mean, I appreciate the magical upgrade, but seriously? Explaining the wings to my parents was hard enough!"

Twilight weekly turned over, getting up onto her new legs.

"You know, there's still a conspiracy theory that Celestia killed me and replaced me with a puppet," she continued. "How do you think ponies are going to react to this? Changelingification is normally used to create mindless drones, not—whatever I am now."

"Quincess," the Changeling queen replied.

Twilight blinked once, then glared at Chrysalis. "Quincess?"

"Half Changeling Queen, half Equestrian Princess," she replied, ducking her head. "I'm... not good with names."

"Fantastic," Twilight said, sarcastically. "Utterly fantastic. Now I get to be a Chimera with a stupid name!"

Twilight shook her head, causing droplets of changeling-juice to fly everywhere.

"Any reason you did this?" she asked.

"You—you spent yourself," Chrysalis responded. "Burnt yourself out. I had to recharge you, and Changeling magic is different from Alicorn magic. It was the only way!"

Twilight's eye twitched.

"You—You turned me into a Changeling to recharge me?"

Chrysalis braced herself. "Yes?"

"DID THEY NOT TEACH YOU ABOUT LEONHOOF EUNER TRANSFORMATION MATRICES?" Twilight screamed. "YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THEY TEACH UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT EVERY MAGICAL COLLEGE IN EQUESTRIA?"

"Um... No," Chrysalis said, blush rushing to her face. Well, this just confirmed her theory that she was destined to mess everything in her life up.

Twilight shook with rage for another few seconds, then let it go. "Whatever. I can just transform myself into my normal form all the time and hide this from everybody. Sounds like the plot out of one of Rarity's 'romance' novels, but I can make it work."

Chrysalis nodded. "That sounds like a good strategy."

"Glad you think so," Twilight seethed. "Now, care to explain the incredibly powerful source of magic I suddenly have access to?"

Chrysalis' ears flattened on her head. "Magic?"

"Yes, magic," Twilight stated. "A large amount of it. An incredibly large amount."

"I... I don't know," Chrysalis responded. "I've noticed it too. Not as powerful as you seem to think, but there's something about this place. It's why I haven't needed to eat, I think."

"We'll figure that out later," Twilight growled. "Right now you're going to leave this room and go get somebody else to bring me a glass of water. Got it?"

Chrysalis nodded, then practically flew out of the room. Twilight watched the door close behind her, then sat down.

Quincess. Somehow that was worse than everything else.

Author's Note

Note: This takes place in an alternate future that cuts off just after season 3, which explains Twilight not knowing where the EoH come from. Why? Because I started writing it then.

Holy shit, I should update faster, huh?

Speaking of which, I planned for this to be longer, but I realized I hadn't updated in a while, so I just split it into two chapters at a natural point.