Even Changelings Wear Masks

The cool night air blew through the dark caves, adding on to the cold air already inside the stone shelter.  Chrysalis cursed the gods above as the cold draft blew over her body.  She had been cursing a lot lately.

The gods, the ponies, herself, and her stupid weakness.  Though, was it really stupid?  Or was it just how she dealt with trying to sate it?  For some time, she had been leaning towards the latter.  It seemed to fit, especially when she walked among the hundreds of injured in the caves around her.

Hundreds of thousands of changelings, injured and beaten as well as starved.  Out of all of the emotions she could have her drones feed off of, it had to be love.  It was difficult and risky to achieve while so easy and plentiful.  She should have chose pride and joy.  It was radiated and more than easy to acquire.  But her weakness played a part in that as well.  And it all led to the situation she was in now.  Sitting in a cave in the Everfree Forest, a whole hive, her hive, own the very brink of extinction, and she can't do much more.  There was one thing she could do, however.

Leave, find enough love to sustain herself, and create a new hive.  Restart her race after she oh so foolishly killed it off because of a single weakness that she let get the better of her.  If it wasn't for her weakness, she wouldn't have led the attack on Canterlot, she wouldn't have to try a find love, the most difficult to collect emotion, for an entire hive.  Restarting was her only option.  Besides, the death rates were extreme and it would only be another day or two before the population declined to around a hundred changelings.  With the next day or two, it would only be her to give birth to her race and start it off again.  Correctly.

The tall changeling sighed as she neared the entrance to the cave.  It was a cool night, the sky clear of any clouds that she could see from her position in the forest.  Luna's moon shone brightly in the night, illuminating the tree tops and the entrance in its silver light.  Chrysalis smiled lightly.  She always found the moon beautiful, it gave the perfect background to feed off of, though the act of feeding off of love disgusted her slightly, but it was her weakness and it caught up to her and bit her in the ass.

She sighed and took to the air, her insect wings spreading and taking her higher into the air as she rode the cold air currents.  Chrysalis took this flight to try and discover her position in not only the forest, but in Equestria as well.  It was up her that she found the oncoming wall of thunder heads, hidden by the tree canopy.  She sighed as she searched for the nearest path towards the nearest town.

As Chrysalis landed, she decided to start thinking of a disguise to keep herself under.  The task included figuring out a race, coat color, mane color, name, and most importantly, a talent and cutie mark.  If changelings were accepted among ponies, their very instinctive imaginative skills could be used in many ways.  Maybe even create a few famous authors.  Sadly, this was not the case in the extinct race's case.

After a while Chrysalis finished her persona and set out with a bit more power in her step knowing she had a bit more of a chance.  Though, at her point in desperation, she would risk seducing Celestia if it meant she could get a meal, no matter how short.  She cared not how she fed from or who she had sex with, as long as she could give her race a new and more deserving start than the one she gave them.

The clouds above started to rain on her, bringing down drops of rain onto her dark chitin.  Her jade eyes looked up at the falling rain.  The rain ran down her face perfectly with her tears.  She had failed an entire race and brought it to extinction.  All because of one stupid mistake she made oh so many years ago.  Now she had to try and fix it, maybe even work treaties with Celestia and the ponies if she could.  But that would be a bridge she crossed, carefully, later.  Now she needed a race to make treaties with.  Now, it was just her.

The path finally left the forest, leading her out into the open.  From her position, Chrysalis could see the town she spotted in the sky.  It was familiar and the welcome sign confirmed her suspicions.

She was entering the town of Ponyville, home of the Elements of Harmony.

~~~~~~

Twilight Sparkle was the town's librarian and apparently the go to pony for every crisis in the small earth pony town of Ponyville.  The lavender unicorn mare seemed to have a talent for attracting and solving trouble.  As did the other five elements, apparently.

The star pupil of none other than Princess Celestia sat in the library living quarters at her desk.  A book was wide open on her desk, describing different theories for transformation magic.  Ever since the changelings attacked Canterlot and showed themselves, Twilight was obsessed with how the creatures were able to transform into other ponies on a will, just a thought.

So far, however, here research has turned up nothing worth note and was not hard enough to risk harming herself or others to see if it worked.  From what she could tell, the changelings used a more natural and instinctive magic only found in changelings to transform into another form.

As for ponies, they had to do a more difficult spell that needed more expirence in the field of magic as well as more understanding in the science nature of magic.  Thankfully she had both.  There was also the fact that to cast the spell correctly, you had to have a good idea of what you wanted to transform into.  This included coat color, mane and tail color, eye color, and cutie mark.  You also had to know how the pony usually looks and sounds like to give the full appearance a full effect.

What Twilight was missing was one small equation to put it all together and create the full effect.  Right now, the equation was enough to change only one thing.  She could manipulate voices, colors, and styles, but not all at once.  That was what she needed to figure out to make it all successful.

A knock on her front door broke Twilight out of her thought process.  She frowned and looked up at the clock.  Quarter after midnight.  Twilight sighed and placed a bookmark in her tome before walking down the stairs to greet her visitor, even if it was past midnight.

"I'm coming, hold on to your hooves." said Twilight as the knocking continued.  She opened the door to the library to reveal a cold and tired red pony, her mane a light pink with a pair of jade eyes.  Her cutie mark was of a triplet of small pink hearts.  Twilight refrained from frowning as she picked up an aura of green magic surrounding the mare.  She forced a smile on her face as she gazed through the disguise to the changeling underneath.

"Good evening, how may I help you?" Asked Twilight.  Her magic finally broke through and allowed her to see the changeling.  Queen Chrysalis stood in front of her, her expression was sad and slightly pained although her disguise was smiling despite her tiredness.  Chrysalis' eyes were glazed over as if she had been crying and her gaze was distant.

"Good evening, my name is True Hearts.  I got lost and I was wondering if I could stay the night."  The mares voice was peppy even though the changeling underneath was anything but.  It was unsettling.  Twilight would have loved to throw her to the nearest dungeon, but something stopped her.  Something about the helpless look on the changeling queens face made her pause at the idea.

"Of course, come right in." said Twilight.  Chrysalis smiled weakly.  She walked into the library proper, yawning as the door closed behind her.  She looked around the room before turning to the mare.

"So ponies found a way to find us." said the queen.  The magic aura faded, signaling her disguise was dropped.  Twilight dropped her own magic and glared at her.

"What is it you want?  You are just lucky I let you in but if you make the wrong move I-"

"I'm rebuilding, Twilight."  Silence covered the room.  The changelings sad, distant expression returned.  What exactly happened after the invasion?

"What do you mean 'rebuilding'?  You had over five thousand changelings when you invaded, how could you possibly need to rebuild?" Asked Twilight.  The changeling sighed and sat down on the floor.

"I made a mistake when I became Queen.  I had a choice to keep the emotion we already fed on or another.  As it should be obvious now, I chose another.  Because of this, we quickly starved and I had to invade.  This only worsened the situation I dug us in.  All because I have a weakness for love.

"I find it beautiful, sad, compelling, fearful.  It has attracted me to it and out of pure foolishness I chose to feed on it.  Only problem is that while it is extremely plentiful, it is the most difficult to retrieve.

"Tell me Twilight, if you were in my hooves and you knew you had a hoof in killing an entire race, what would you do?" Asked the changeling, looking up at the unicorn.  Twilight looked away and sighed.

"Try to make it better in any way possible."  She said with a sigh.  Chrysalis nodded.

"Then you understand why I am here.  I'm here to feed off of love, not steal it.  Then I will find a stallion or mare to mate with an rebirth my race that way.  It will take time, but in the end I hope to have my race back on its hooves, maybe a few relations with ponies if I can get that far without somepony tearing my heart out." said Chrysalis with a grim laugh.  Twilight was in a tough position.  Here was the creature that trapped her sister-in-law in the crystal caves underneath Canterlot, impersonated her, stole love from her brother, attacked Celestia, and led a full scale invasion on Canterlot.  But now, she knows that this was all out of a desperate attempt to feed a dying race.  She didn't know wether to trust her completely, but the way the changeling looked, talked, and acted contradicted how she knew Chrysalis was at the wedding.

"No hurting ponies and you keep your disguise up your entire stay except in the confines of the library.  Of you break any of these, I will have you locked up faster then you can react." said Twilight as she walked up the stairs.  Chrysalis smiled and stood up, following her up the stairway.

"You will stay here.  Spike makes breakfast early so try to stay in here so we can try to explain this without him trying to set you on fire." said Twilight as she opened the door to the guest room.

"Fire breathing dragon wakes up early, breakfast, try not to scare or I become fried Chrysalis, got it." said Chrysalis as she made her way to the guest bed.  She sighed happily as she fell onto it.  It was a nice change from cold stone floors.  Twilight thought for a moment before walking in and closing the door behind her.

"How exactly do you feed?" Asked the mare as she sat across from Chrysalis.  Chrysalis sat up and pondered for a moment.

"Love, and other emotions, flow from ponies such as an aura.  Changelings can sense these and digest it.  We can force it out for a better effect, copy a lover for even more, or both for even more than that.  However, to get maximum, we have to love and be loved." said Chrysalis, tapping her chin as she recalled the information.  She nodded to herself when she was sure her information was correct.

"So, can't you find another changeling and feed off of that?" Asked the studious mare.  Chrysalis shook her head.

"Nope.  Changelings do not flow emotion.  So we have to gather from other races.  Ponies seem to be the most loving so it makes sense to feed off them." said Chrysalis, leaning up against the wall.

"Well, how do you breed then?"  It was a very unexpected question and an odd one for Chrysalis. She would expect it to be common knowledge on how breeding works.  But, in hindsight, not many ponies would actually know how changelings actually breed.

"Well, um, same the way as ponies, I guess.  We find somepony, have sex, and the female gets pregnant if the stallion isn't wearing protection or if the mare ain't on the pill.  So, I guess the same way as any other creature." said Chrysalis, blushing madly.  Twilight blushed as well as she realized what she just asked.  What kind of pony asks how someone breeds?  Twilight apparently.

"I guess that was a stupid question, huh?" Asked Twilight, scratching behind her neck.  Chrysalis started to giggle.  Her giggle turned into a chuckle and her chuckle turned into full blown laughter.  It wasn't like how she laughed at the wedding.  No, this was genuine, joyful, laughing.  This mare was no longer the same desperate mare ready to invade a country because of her mistakes, this was a mare who was bent on making up for her mistakes and rebuilding her extinct race.  If only there were more ponies like her in this world, then it would paradise.  Though, that was probably the exhaustion talking.

"You know, it might not be that bad here.  As long as I stay out of sight, feed enough, this might work well." said Chrysalis, smiling,

"Well, how are you going to find a pony to...well....you know." said Twilight, blushing. Chrysalis shrugged.

"The traditional way.  Go looking, find a good mare or stallion, and date them as True Hearts and see how it all works out.  This won't be a quick stay.  I'm going to need a job, a house, a lively hood, all while making sure this stays between the three of us." said Chrysalis, tracing the edge of the bed with her hoof.  Twilight sighed and stood.

"Well, tomorrow, we will look for a work place and a decently priced home.  I will help you pay it off and move in but then I will just stand by, helping when needed." said Twilight, walking to the door.

"I will leave Spike a note to prepare extra for breakfast and we will deal with him later.  Get some sleep.  I think we will all need it."  With that, Twilight bid Chrysalis good night and made her way to her own room.

True to her word, Twilight wrote a letter to Spike and set it where he was sure to see it when he woke up, long before she did.  Snuffing out the candle, Twilight put a ward on the door and crawled into her bed.   She laid there for a few minutes, trying to figure out how she wanted to go about this.  Finally, she let sleep take her, lulling her into its depths of nether.

~~~~~

A few hours after she had fallen asleep, her wards woke her up, alerting her of an intruder in her room.  She kept still as she faced the window, waiting for Chrysalis to attack so she could counter.

Her hoofsteps came close to the bed before stopping.  Twilight tensed and waited, her magic slowly charging her horn without lighting it.  She heard Chrysalis take a shuddering breath.

"Are you awake, Twilight?" She whispered.  Twilight nodded slowly.  Chrysalis sighed and sat on the bed.

"I'm sorry.  I couldn't sleep.  I keep having nightmares of some of the changelings I knew closely and what I did.  C-can I sleep her tonight?"  A mental war was raging in Twilight's mind.  This was a changeling.  They fed on love.  But she knew very well now that they are just like ponies.  And this very changeling was haunted by one single mistake.  Now, she was asking to sleep with her

Spike could wake up and find them together in bed and jump straight to conclusions, but then again he hardly payed any attention after waking up.  That's why her letter was on the fridge downstairs, his first stop in the morning.  Twilight bit her lip but lifted the covers of the bed with her magic, inviting the changeling into the bed.

"Thank you." said the changeling, quiet enough to barely be heard.  The weight shifted as Chrysalis took her spot in the bed.  Twilight expected her to stop there.  However, to her suprise, Chrysalis proceeded to nuzzle up to Twilight from behind.  Twilight's cheeks burned crimson from the intimate contact from the changeling.

Twilight laid there in the Changeling's hooves, her mind racing faster than she could expect.  Her mind fell away to just the two of them in the bed, caught up in an intimate position usually shared by lovers.

It was a silly idea, her and Chrysalis.  She was the Element of Magic and Chrysalis was a Changeling Queen.  It could possibly never work, right.  And this was only because the queen was scared and Twilight was the comfort.  They had only met that night, it's not like Chrysalis could have adopted feelings for her in that time.  Or did it not start her, not tonight?  What if It started all the way back to the wedding.  Was that were this really started?

Twilight started taking deep breaths, calming herself.  It was foolish.  This was nothing.  She should just sleep and take what challenges would come their way in the morning.  Hopefully Chrysalis just didn't pick out and discover her feelings before she herself could figure them out.