Chapters Twilight had been languidly reading The Aggregated Agricultural Omnibus Volume 1 when the familiar belching sound coming from Spike announced the arrival of a scroll from Princess Celestia. Spike used his claw to sever the ribbon sealing the scroll, and cleared his throat, before unrolling the scroll to the heading of the scroll.
“Twilight,
I require your presence in Canterlot as soon as possible. Code Khar-aw-daw!”
Twilight froze, the book in between her forelegs falling to the floor as Twilight scrambled to the storage space beneath the stairs, as she levitated her Code Khar-aw-daw saddlebags in the event that an event of such titantic proportions should ever occur.
“Twilight!?” Spike called frantically, upon seeing his mother’s frenetic state.
“No time! Go to Fluttershy, have her look over you. Can’t talk, gotta go!” Twilight hollered, galloping towards the train station.
Spike slowed down, his stomach twisting as he watched the rapidly vanishing figure of his mother. “Oh no.” The dragon called out in a low voice. He turned himself about, running as fast as his little feet could carry him. If this Code Khar-aw-daw could put Twilight in such a state, it couldn’t bode well. Twilight’s friends would want to know what’s going on.
* * * {Asylum} * * *
Twilight rummaged into her saddlebags, removing an official letter authorizing her to commandeer any ponies, services, or buildings required to ensure that the problem which caused the Khar-aw-daw code to be activated was addressed as soon as possible. Noncompliance or rebellion to perform whatever the bearer of the letter requested or required would be seen as treason against the Crowns, and the ponies who were found guilty of treason would be punished accordingly.
“By the authority given to me by the Crown Royal, I hereby requisition the Friendship Express to deliver me to the capital city of Canterlot as swiftly as it is safe to do so.” Twilight informed, her horn alit in it’s raspberry pink color, as she unfurled the document authorizing her to do the thing she was ordering the Trans-Equestrian Railway Company to do.
“R-right! Just take that document of authorization to the train conductor and tell him what you told me. Once you’re on board, the train will depart.” The deep crimson coated mare with the brilliant raspberry mane informed, peering over her small silver rectangular shaped spectacles. She had vivid cerise irises, and crows feet at the outer corner of each of her eyes. Her mouth also had several wrinkles, and her jowl sagged slightly, indicating that she was probably about the middle age age bracket.
Twilight nodded, before scurrying to the familiar stallion who worked on the Friendship Express. “All Aboard! Celestia has summoned me to Canterlot using a Code Khar-aw-daw!” She once again used her magic unfurling the official documentation, letting the light grey coated stallion with the dark grey mane read the authorization document, his eyes becoming wide. There had only been three times that Twilight had requisitioned the Friendship Express, but Code Khar-aw-daw hadn’t been invoked for any of them. The conductors of the Friendship Express trusted Twilight to be responsible enough not to abuse her authority, so they usually were rather quick to listen when she had opined that requisitioning the Friendship Express for an express trip to Canterlot was called for.
“Sweet Beresheet!” The stallion breathed. He proceeded to unhook the cars after the first train car, before going to inform the train operator of the situation. Once he was satisfied that Twilight was as comfortable as she was going to get, he exited, and walked around the coal car, to the Friendship Express’ engine. He spoke briefly, before picking up a coal shovel in his mouth, and after adding more coal to the already hot fires, sat down near the door to the train engine, as the Train slowly lurched out of the station, the shrill whistle announcing their departure from the station.
* * * {Asylum} * * *
Twilight flew from the station, as the aerial pegasi Royal Guards spotted Princess Twilight, and flew in formation, their heads turning as they scanned for possible threats aerial or otherwise. The unicorn guards at the massive front doors saw the airborne guards and waited for the airborne party to land.
Each guard was subjected to a magical scan, as was Princess Twilight herself. It had become a common safety practice to guard against any changeling infiltration in the wake of Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor’s wedding.
“Alright, Princess Twilight. You may proceed towards the Treaty Rotunda.” One of the magically disguised unicorn guards, as five each of Earth, Pegasi and Unicorn guards formed a perimeter around her as they escorted her towards the Treaty Rotunda.
“Does anyone know why Code Khar-aw-daw was called?” Twilight inquired.
One of the Earth pony guards replied, “A detachment of guards apprehended Queen Chrysalis and the Changelings which were with her at the border of Equestria near Canturbury. Once enough guards were dispatched they were escorted to Canterlot, and promptly incarcerated to await the Princess’ decisions regarding their plea for asylum.”
“What!? Chrysalis is here!?” Twilight exclaimed, stopping momentarily, the entire guard detachment stopping abruptly, as they waited for their newest princess to resume her journey.
“Do not worry, Princess Twilight. Chrysalis is incarcerated and she and her changelings have agreed to wear magical inhibiting rings when they’re not feeding, at least until a decision regarding their request for asylum has been reached.” One of the unicorn guards replied.
They had resumed walking, and it wasn’t too long, before they had reached the Treaty Rotunda. About 20 guards patrolled the perimeter of the rotunda, as two unicorn guards scanned the entire group once again, before using their kinesis spell to open the door for Twilight, though only Twilight entered the room, the doors closing behind her with a click.
* * * {Asylum} * * *
“Ah! Twilight, it’s so good to see you, my faithful student!” Princess Celestia greeted, affectionately nuzzling Twilight.
“It’s good to see you too, Princess Celestia,” Twilight responded as she nuzzled her mentor.
“Twilight, you don’t have to add my title, when it’s not in an official setting. Aren’t we friends?” Celestia looked down at the newest co-ruler of Equestria, her mouth pulling slightly, as her cheeks framed Celestia’s mouth.
“Force of habit, sorry.” Twilight informed, her ears lying flat against her head, fearing she had offended her friend and long-time mentor.
“Thou have nary a greeting for us, young Twilight? We perceive how it is.” Princess Luna turned about, pretending to sulk, though her mouth stretched slightly, betraying her good humor.
“Sorry, sorry! I meant no offense, Luna,” Twilight hastily replied, her eyes wide and her mane slightly frizzy, as she started to panic.
“Be thou at ease, young Twilight. We wast jesting in good humor.” Luna turned about, a mischievous smile on her face.
“Cadance!” Twilight squealed gleefully, as she cantered over to her sister-in-law.
“Twilight! Ohh, it’s so good to see you,” Cadance greeted as she hugged Twilight.
“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” Both ponies cried out, as they crouched down, as though in a pouncing stance, before sitting up and clapping their forehooves together, before turning their backs to each other, and raising their rumps to each other and wriggling their rumps back and forth at each other.
The two sister-in-laws giggled upon completing their fun greeting ritual.
“Oh, Twilight. We absolutely must hang out once we’ve decided what is to be done with Chrysalis and her Changelings.” Cadance mouth tightened, as she smiled at her sister-in-law.
“I don’t see Chrysalis. Why isn’t she here?” Twilight inquired as she looked about the rotunda.
“Why did you think that she would be here, Twilight?” Princess Celestia asked, furrowing her brows and rubbing her right forehoof in the middle of her forehead.
“Because, we should have a Changeling that is familiar with Changeling behavior and society, if we’re going to properly decide on whether or not to grant asylum to Chrysalis and her Changelings. You’d want to be present if a leader of another country was going to make important decisions involving you and your ponies. I know I would. Shouldn’t we extend the olive branch, and not the hemlock?” Twilight reasoned.
“Twilight’s rhetoric does proffer exceeding reasonable conjecture, mine sister.” Luna added, agreeing with Twilight’s rhetoric.
Celestia nodded and opened the door outside, and soft murmurings could be heard, before the clopping sounds of several retreating hooves indicated that the guards had gone to fulfill whatever their ruler had commanded them to do.
* * * {Asylum} * * *
“Now, we’re going to trust you to not use your magic in any offensive capacity, when we remove the ring.” Princess Celestia informed Queen Chrysalis. “Breaking our trust will ensure the magic inhibitor ring is returned upon your horn. Captain Iron Hoof, you may proceed with the removal of the inhibiting ring, before resuming post outside the rotunda.”
Iron Hoof was a unicorn stallion with a light grey coat and a silvery-white mane and his cutie mark had two silvery horseshoes threading through the other’s inner edge of the horse shoe, with the two pointing at a 45° angle to the ground. What was most astonishing were his eyes, as they were a brilliant turquoise.
“Yes Princess Celestia,” he replied, snapping off a quick salute, before using his magic on the ring, and inputting a special magical sequence to disengage the locking mechanism on the ring so that it could be removed from Chrysalis’ horn. It didn’t take too long before the inhibiting ring was once more in the captain’s possession, who placed it in a small bag around his neck.
He briefly watched Chrysalis to see if she was going to make any immediate trouble, and when satisfied that she wasn’t going to misbehave, he exited the rotunda and closed the doors behind him.
“Okay. Why should we grant you asylum?” Princess Celestia inquired, looking directly at the Changeling queen.
“Because you would want it granted to you, if our situations were reversed,” Chrysalis immediately replied.
“Soothly dost thou utter forth thy speech. What contributions might Equestria receive, assuming asylum is granted thee and thy subjects?” Luna then inquired.
“Changelings make for great infiltration agents, though our abilities can be used in entertaining ponies. Or if you need physical labor, and the ‘lings to manage the worker ‘lings. Only the sapient ‘lings have enough autonomy to not be affected by my Hive mind, to specialize in skill and ability. But I don’t know what talents or skills the sapient ‘lings have, as I tend not to micromanage the minutia of my ‘lings. I’m sure I could get a sentient ‘ling to survey all the sapient ‘lings with what skills, talents or knowledge each sapient ‘ling is strong in. It might take awhile to do, if you really want to know.”
“That would be really helpful, your Eminence. The tri-archy of Equestria would greatly appreciate if you could get such information to us,” Princess Twilight responded.
“And would you and your subjects agree to abide by the laws of the Kingdom of Equestria, should asylum be granted you?” Princess Cadance inquired. “And if a ‘ling broke a law would they be punished by you, or tried and judged by a Court of Law in Equestria?”
“If asylum is granted us, then yes we would agree to observe the laws of Equestria. As for any of my subjects breaking a law, then while I’d prefer to judge them myself, it would probably be best if an Equestrian Court of Law judge them. If I were to do so, ponies would argue that I would lightly punish the offender, or show favoritism to my ‘lings. I only ask that the judge judge justly, and not let any personal animosity in regards to my subjects for our failed attempt at overthrowing the then diarchy of Equestria,” Chrysalis expounded.
“Well, you will be free to appeal to a higher court circuit, should you feel that the ruling was not impartial,” Princess Celestia reassured. “Now, what about feeding your subjects? I am aware that you and your subjects feed on love. Can they feed only on love, or can they feed on other emotions? And are there any negative side effects to being fed on, both short term and long term? And why the fangs if you feed on emotions?”
“While we are capable of feeding on other emotions, love is the most delicious and filling of the emotions. The other emotions may have negative consequences depending on the emotions. Especially emotions like anger, hatred and wrath. ‘lings that go out of their way to feed on those emotions usually become violent and are either exiled out of the Hive, or are forced to be productive attached to some method of restraint. Usually chains and hobbles. As for short term feeding, a pony might notice feeling more tired or hungry than they might otherwise be, but otherwise there isn’t anything too detrimental to their well-being. Most ponies won’t even know they’re being fed on by a ‘ling. Long terms include extreme lethargy and procrastination, a loss of drive and passion, and an emotional ‘deadness.’ Depression and suicide are also frequently effects to long term feeding. While ponies are capable of recovering from the effects of long term feeding, it is a long, arduous and costly process. I say costly, because usually it requires psychological treatment. However, Changelings don’t like to feed too long on one pony, because of these long term effects are detectable, and can indicate that a Changeling is in the area. It’s counterproductive and not in a Changeling’s best interest towards blending in with the ponies. The ‘lings that do commit long term feedings are usually treated like the ones that feed on wrath, anger, and hatred,” Chrysalis explained.
“Please excuse us, while the other princesses and I confer and discuss whether or not your request for asylum will be granted,” Princess Celestia informed Queen Chrysalis, before moving off to the far side of the rotunda with the other princesses to debate whether or not Queen Chrysalis’ request for asylum should be granted.
* * * {Asylum} * * *
“I’d like to hear your thoughts on whether or not Queen Chrysalis’ request for asylum should be granted or not.” Princess Celestia announced, before letting the other princesses speak.
“I think we should. I mean she does have a point about how we would want an asylum request granted if our situations were reversed. Plus, they could be a valuable asset to Equestria. Also, doing so will ensure that Queen Chrysalis’ hive will be well fed, while also demonstrating us to be the ‘bigger pony,’ and eliminating any antagonistic drive or negative consequences which might arise by not granting their request for asylum,” Princess Twilight reasoned.
“Twilight’s rhetoric is well reasoned. We, however, art against it, as doing so might enable Queen Chrysalis to enact harmful schemes against Equestria and the Crowns.” Princess Luna cautioned.
“No. Just no,” Princess Cadence said.
“Is that a no as Princess Cadence, or is this a no from the Cadence whose wedding was delayed as a result of the Changeling invasion?” Princess Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow at her niece’s negative response.
“ … It’s a no as Cadence the pony. Both Twilight and Luna bring up valid arguments in favor for granting and abstaining from granting Queen Chrysalis’ request for asylum. However, barring any personal animosity that I may hold towards Queen Chrysalis or what she and her subjects tried to do, and the resulting consequences, I’m going to side with Twilight on this one,” Cadence answered, though the thinness of her lips, and the furrowing of her brow indicated that she wasn’t all that pleased with her vote.
“Alright. I have heard your reasonings. While Luna’s argument is concerning, possible intrigues by the Changeling queen isn’t enough of a basis to refuse her and her subjects request for asylum. Twilight’s had stronger logic in favor of granting Queen Chrysalis and her Changelings their asylum request,” Princess Celestia announced.
* * * {Asylum} * * *
“We, the Crowns Royal, have discussed amongst ourselves and have opined to grant your petition for Asylum. You and Princess Twilight will collaborate in drafting an official treaty, with all its appropriate stipulations and grants.” Princess Celestia announced. “You and your Changelings will be removed to Ponyville until such a time that the ensuing treaty is ready to be ratified.”
Princess Twilight opened the door, and rotated her hoof in a vertical circular motion, after she had caught the attention of Captain Iron Hoof. Once he stood before her, she commenced with issuing his instructions. “The Changelings are to be released from their prison, and a guard detachment are to relocate them to Ponyville. A detachment of about 500 guards are to relocate to Ponyville and commence with building barracks and fortifying the Frienship Castle. Mayor Mare is to be informed, and make an announcement to the citizens of Ponyville about the arrival of the Changeling Hive amongst them. A detachment of guards will act as riot control until the nervousness of the ponies die down, or until I can properly address the concerns of her citizens at a later date.”
“As you command, your Highness,” Iron Hoof replied, before saluting smartly. He trotted off, barking orders as a third of the Guards patrolling the Rotunda broke off their patrol and followed after him.
Twilight returned to the rotunda in time to see Princess Celestia shake hooves with Queen Chrysalis.
“Let me be the first to welcome you to Equestria, Queen Chrysalis,” Princess Celestia said.
Twilight grinned watching the awkward look and the hesitancy with which she shook her hoof with Princess Celestia’s. She didn’t know what the future might hold, but getting to live in moments like these weren’t so bad either.
Chrysalis’ mouth pulled tighter, her cheeks swelling slightly, as a slight smile graced the Changeling queen’s. She waved to ponies, friends, neighbors and ponies whom she saw frequently enough to recognize them on sight. She shook her head, likely to some amusing thought which had occurred to her.
It had been a long road, for both her and Twilight, in adjusting her social attitudes and interactions to be in alignment with the behavior which was acceptable to a member of Equestrian society. During the early part of her budding relationship with Twilight Sparkle and her slow process of learning the proper social etiquette appropriate to a member of Equestrian society, it wasn’t an uncommon sight to see her storm out of the library, the loud slamming of the door announcing Chrysalis’ frustration and anger with her etiquette lessons, with how slowly it seemed she was assimilating the lessons, and with how frequently she seemed to fail, when she had thought she had gotten a particular lesson learned.
Chrysalis had not been the only frustrated pony, as ponies got used to seeing Twilight teleporting to the base of the mountain which they had ascended to request that he find somewhere else to take his rest. Beams of her raspberry-pink magic could be seen, as Twilight used her magical spells until she either was no longer angry or frustrated, or had exhausted herself to where she was too tired to be angry or frustrated. The pegasi and resident gryphons of Ponyille had learned to avoid that particular region of airspace, after one of the pegasus ponies nearly fell to her death, when a stray bolt burned through her primaries, leaving a large arc, where her feathers had been. Twilight had fortunately heard the pained scream of the plummeting pegasus, and used her kinetic magic to rescue her from a gruesome death.
Chrysalis trotted along the winding path, suddenly finding a bouquet of coral colored roses. She counted, only finding 11 of the budded flowers, instead of the dozen rose bouquet that the Flower sisters frequently sold. She gingerly picked it up in her muzzle, and turned about to bestow the unexpected find upon her marefriend.
* * * {Serendipity} * * *
Queen Chrysalis had a large grin on her face, as upon presenting her unexpected find, Twilight had been rather … persuasive in her insistence that she show just how much she had liked Chrysalis’ gift. And that had been a couple of hours ago. It was a bit of a shame that Twilight’s room wasn’t soundproof, as after fun behind closed doors, Twilight had to deal with a traumatized Spike. Chrysalis found it rather amusing when some ponies would look her way and suddenly start blushing furiously. It was how she could tell who had visited the library during their sexy fun times during the day.
She paused, contentedly patting her swollen belly, as she had gorged herself silly on Twilight’s love during their sexy fun time earlier. She strolled along a beautiful pristine lake, and recalled that how sloppily Twilight had eaten a mango, while moaning her approval of the fruit. She chuckled, shaking her head at the memory.
Suddenly her vision was obscured, as her body felt the vibrations of something impacting her chitinous shell. She saw a burlap sack, and used her magic to open it, curious about the contents. Inside, lay the egg-shaped fruit, the skin in hues gradually shifting from a dark green to a deep burgundy red color. The sweet aroma greeted her senses. Her smile grew upon the sight of a bag of mangos. She looked about, for anypony to whom the produce might belong, but not finding anypony in sight, she picked up the sack, and elatedly cantered towards the Golden Oaks with her fortuitous find.
* * * {Serendipity} * * *
Chrysalis watched in amusement, as Twilight messily ate one of the mangos, storing the rest in the refrigerator’s crisping drawer. She swiped a chunk of mango off of the side of Twilight’s face, placing it in her mouth, and then leaning over to Twilight, stunning her marefriend, as she passed the chunk of fruit into the mouth of her marefriend, enjoying the sight of the darkening cheeks, and the sweet, tangy flavor of the mango juice.
She heard a gagging sound, as Spike walked in on the two of them ‘sucking face’ as he called it. And upon hearing a shout of ‘I can’t take it anymore!’ she heard the front door slam, feeling his tumultuous emotions fade in the direction of Carousel Boutique. She snickered, rolling her eyes at the young drakes behavior, as she started licking the mango juice off of her marefriend’s cheeks, who was as still as a statue, only her breathing indicated that she had not died.
She chuckled softly, once she was finished licking Twilight’s face clean of any of that mango juice, and figuring that it might be awhile before Twilight’s mind refocused upon the present, she trotted out the door once more.
* * * {Serendipity} * * *
Chrysalis had been walking along the edge of the Everfree, when she felt the vibrations of something colliding with her shell, her legs splayed out, watching Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo soar through the air over her head. She quickly activated her magic, casting a simple kinetic magic spell, catching the three fillies before they hurt themselves. She gathered her hooves beneath her, when a vine caught her rear left hoof, causing her to stumble and trip, impaling her horn into the trunk of a dead tree.
She struggled, grunting and cursing rather colorfully in the Changeling’s language. While she could have cursed in the equine’s language, she just didn’t feel like dealing with the drama that doing so would bring her, either from her marefriend, Applejack, Rarity and possibly Rainbow Dash.
“We’ll go get help!” Apple Bloom cried, before the sound of 12 hooves could be heard, getting fainter as they left her horn stuck in the infernal tree.
* * * {Serendipity} * * *
Applejack bucked the dead three, the trunk shearing due to its age and how rotten it had become. Rarity’s eyes grew large at the sight of a large sack containing precious gems of all sorts. Chrysalis proceeded to secrete a fluid from within her body, a green rope of what looked like drool being woven into a sturdy, yet flexible sack. Chrysalis chuckled, as she toyed with Rarity, seeing her eyes sparkle when the bag moved over towards her, and then getting a dejected look, with tears in the corners of her eyes, and biting her quivering bottom lip, with her ears splayed against her skull.
Satisfied that she had teased Rarity enough, she placed the sack before her. “I’ll let you have all these gems, on the condition that you create a stunning dress for Twilight,” she whispered into Rarity’s ear. Rarity giggled, as the Changeling queen’s breath tickled her ears, her ears flicking to rid itself of the ticklish sensation.
“Done! When I’m done, stallions and mares are going to stop dead in their tracks when they see Twilight’s dress!” Rarity squeeing rather giddily at the mental image.
Chrysalis smiled and nodded her thanks, before moving over to Applejack. “Thanks for getting me free from that tree.”
“Was only the right thing to do. After all, you protected Apple Bloom from harm, and they ‘bout near ran you over, as I’m to understand it.” Applejack glared with disapproval towards her younger sister.
“I’m sorry, Miss Chrysalis.” Apple Bloom apologized, her eyes looking down at her hooves, and her ears were flattened against her head.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Chrysalis.” Sweetie Belle echoed, her ears also flat against her head. She nuzzled Chrysalis, looking into Chrysalis’ eyes, small beads of tears in the corner of her eyes. “Does it hurt anywhere?”
“Sorry, Chrysalis.” Scootaloo also looked ashamed, with her ears flattened against her skull and looking anywhere but at the ‘ling that she possibly might have hurt.
Chrysalis chuckled, activating her magic, and using her kinetic magic to hug each filly, before returning them to their sister’s side. Or mentor, as it was with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. The old Chrysalis would have demanded that they have been placed in the pods, until all their love and energy had been sapped from them. “No ‘ling was hurt. But girls, you really need to think about how your actions might affect another pony. Just because I wasn’t hurt this time, doesn’t mean that I’m invincible, had it been another pony, you could have really hurt them. You don’t want ponies to hurt you, do you?”
“No,” each filly responded, looking at the Changeling queen, but was otherwise silent.
“I know you want to have fun and crusade for your cutie marks, but every action has a reward that comes with it, and sometimes, that reward either isn’t what we thought it would be at the time. Or it is a reward that we do not like, but must accept, because it is the reward for our decision and actions that we had taken at that time. But you should think about your choices, and if they might hurt another pony. Because you should treat your fellow pony as you would want to be treated.”
“Okay!” Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo responded, each filly looking a little less despondent.
Every pony started to break up, each heading to their respective home, as the ‘ling felt herself enveloped in the familiar tingle of kinetic magic. Seeing the raspberry-pink magic, she relaxed, as she floated over to Twilight’s side.
“I’m fine, really,” Chrysalis protested lightly, rolling her eyes at the coddling treatment that she was receiving.
Twilight smiled, before pressing her lips in a brief, tender kiss. “Why don’t you let me verify that for myself? But, I am very pleased with how you forgave the Crusaders, while telling them why they should be more careful in the future. I love seeing you be the bigger pony.”
Chrysalis gave her a deadpan look, before a jocular smile spread on her face. “Twilight, I’m nearly always going to be the bigger pony.”
Twilight giggled, shaking her head at her marefriend’s sense of humor, as the door to the Golden Oaks library shut behind the two twitterpated ponies, with golden rays of Celestia’s sun indicating the lateness of the day. The large, fluffy clouds being dyed in brilliant oranges, yellows, reds, purples and charcoal-blues.
“Twilight, why?” gasped a bruised and bloody Princess Celestia. Princesses Luna and Cadence were in similar condition, but unconscious. Rubble and furrows in the earth, as well as the crumbled and collapsed ruins of the former beauty of Canterlot surrounded them, as crows and vultures cried raucously overhead. Dust blew through the streets, carrying the stench of sewage with it.
“Because, I came to realize that a government with multiple heads of government will eventually fall into chaos and anarchy. I don’t want that for my beloved homeland. I am grateful to you for ruling well and wisely, but I won’t sit and wait for corruption to pervert this land’s government. You wanted for me to rule alongside you, but you withheld information from me. You didn’t consult me when you were putting into place the pieces for my Ascention into an Alicorn. You didn’t consult me when deciding to use Discord to stop Tirek. You didn’t even believe me, when I tried to point out the inconsistencies between the Cadence that I remembered and Cadence as Chrysalis changed herself into! There’s an idiom; that too many cooks spoil the broth. It would seem that it can be applied to government as well.”
Chrysalis appeared from around a pile of rubble; pebbles and stones clacking as the loose debris tumbled to the base of the pile. An arrogant smile and gloating looks as she looked haughtily down upon the defeated solar princess.
“My, my Celestia. Finally learning to prostrate yourself before your betters? It certainly took you long enough. Was asking food for my subject and asking that the proper courtly etiquettes due me so much to ask? You have no one else but yourself to blame.”
”You![ You poisoned her mind against us, didn’t you?” Celestia screamed furiously, trying to get her hooves back under her.
“Poisoned? Good heavens, no! I simply opened her eyes to how you really saw her. A pretty pony puppet princess to help administer your government. She wasn’t an equal, but your pawn. Just a pretty figurehead to smile and wave to the important dignitaries. She decided to tolerate it no longer, and institute a more beneficial dictatorship style of government.”
Twilight used her magic to topple Celestia back to the ground. “And thanks to you three, I hereby pass judgment. Celestia, you are hereby stripped of your title as Princess of Equestria, as well as your magic, for using your powers in your own interests, instead of the common interest of Equestria’s citizens.”
Twilight’s horn lit up, as she cast a forbidden magical assimilation spell, absorbing Celestia’s alicorn magic within her. Celestia watched in shock, as her cutie mark vanished, much like during the Tirek affair.
Twilight moved towards the unconscious Cadence, her eyes trickling tears of sorrow. “I’m so sorry that it has to be this way, Cadence. As long as you are more loyal to Celestia than me, then it falls upon me to prevent you from retaliating against me. I can only hope that you see reason and change loyalties. Only then could I consider returning your alicorn magic to you.” She felt Chrysalis gently wipe away her tears, nuzzing Twilight in a gesture of comfort and reassurance. Twilight gave a brief small smile, before casting the assimilation magic once again, feeling her magical reservoir swell even more. It felt like eating an elephant’s weight in magic. Her magic felt over full and her reservoir felt like it was being strained, like the stomach of a pregnant mare to contain the growing foal within her.
Twilight and Chysalis moved to Luna. “I’m so sorry, Luna. I don’t want to do this, but I know that you’ll always stand by your sister. I don’t know if I can ever do your nighttime celestial artwork justice, but I’ll try and do my best, to honor your efforts and contributions to the beauty of our nighttime world.” Twilight lit her horn once again, casting the forbidden spell for what she hoped would be a final time, watching as Luna’s cutie mark vanished, like the other time it had, when they had given her their magic.
Chrysalis summoned her warrior drones, along with a sapient, issuing an order for the three to be incarcerated in a secure dungeon until the military had regained or surpassed its former might and numbers.
“Now to pick up the pieces.” Twilight murmured, looking in the direction of her home, Ponyville.”
*Six months later*
“By the consent of my fellow Equestrian ponies and by my magic, I hereby crown myself Queen Twilight of Equestria!” She levitated a fine filigreed tiara upon her head. The titanium crown’s shaped in a series of six narrow diamonds, the tip of each inset with a different gem reminiscent of those of the Elements of Harmony. Her fellow Queen and marefriend Chrysalis looked on with pleasure and approval.
Cries of ‘Long live the Queen’ resounded from all sides of Twilight’s new Crystal Palace of Friendship. She smiled and waved, as her former Element Bearers stood behind her, looking on silently. Each had been promoted in some manner or other. Rainbow Dash had been promoted to Imperial Weather Overseer of Equestria and newly inaugurated Captain of the Friendship Brigade, to replace the Wonderbolts for the premier aerial acrobatics team. Pinkie Pie had been promoted to Imperial Event Coordinator and Pâtisserie. Rarity had been promoted to Imperial Fashion Designer and Seamstress. Fluttershy had been appointed Imperial Menagerie Caretaker. Applejack had been appointed Imperial Head Chef.
“Come, Queen Twilight. Let us take our place in the Royal Pavilion so we can see the display that the Friendship Brigade has in store for us.” Queen Chrysalis smiled, pressing her barrel against Twilight’s. “What’s wrong, dearheart?” She asked, noticing Twilight’s sombre mood.
“I know that it had to be done, but everything inside me aches for Cadence, Celestia and Luna. Like I sent my own friends to rot in prison, after I robbed them even of their magic.”
“Oh, love.” Chrysalis cooed, throwing a hoof around Twilight’s barrel, and pulling her in for a hug. “It just goes to show that you have a good heart, and why I know you’ll make a wonderful Queen.”
“But, Celestia has a good heart, and yet look what I did to her!”
“That’s why you rely on your friends to advise you. Because true friends won’t be afraid to tell you when they think you’re doing something wrong. And you have me, and my experiences as a queen of my own people to draw from.”
“I know, but it doesn’t ease the pain in my heart.”
“I know. I’ll be here to support and love you through it all.”
“Thanks Chrysalis.”
“Now come on, I really want to see what Rainbow Dash and her group has in store for their aerial show!”
Twilight giggled, correcting her crown on her head, as it had taken a skewed angle, from the insistent tugging of her excited marefriend.
Twilight looked down, eyes wide, and her mouth tight, as her hooves were strapped to an operating table and an no less than 3 inhibiting rings upon her horn. Her eyes followed as Chrysalis wheeled a tray with medical instruments upon it. Scaples, clamps, and a blood clotting poultice to name the most prominent and familiar tools to Twilight.
“Are you sure this is safe?” Twilight’s voice pitched several octaves higher, indicating her nervousness.
“Surgery is never ‘safe’ my dearheart. Risk factors can be reduced, and sometimes even to the point of being a non-issue, but never eliminated.”
“Yes, that is not exactly easing my nervousness, or reassuring me any.”
“Twilight.”
“Yes?”
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
“If at any point I feel that I’m not capable of handling whatever might happen, I’ll teleport to Ponyville’s hospital, and get a doctor, by force, if I must. After all I wouldn’t want to lose you.”
“Explain to me, why are we doing this again?”
“Surely your memory can’t be that terrible, can it? I mean, we only talked about doing this last night, and I explained my reasonings then.
“You’re right. It might, however, reassure me if you went ahead and told me anyways. I want to do this for you dearheart. Really, I do. But I’m also nervous and scared. Hearing your explanations in your voice might reassure me and help me not be so nervous.”
“I want to lay a claim on your body, Twilight. Other ponies have embraced you, kissed you, spoken words into your ears, been seen by your eyes. I want to do something to you that no one else has. It’s sort of like taking your virginity, to lay claim on something that is untouched. To receive a gift that is given to no other. Letting me do this not only shows me the extent by which you trust me, but I hope will strengthen our relationship.”
“I do trust you Chrysalis. You may proceed when ready.”
A green magical field surrounded a scalpel as she gently applied a slight pressure, the flesh of Twilight’s pelt dividing before the bladed instrument. Each cut was carefully inspected to insure that no vital organs had been cut. It was a tedious and time consuming process, but necessary to make sure that Twilight’s internal organs didn’t suffer any damage from the scalpel.
Once a square flap of her flesh had been cut deep enough to get through the skin, but not damage her internal organs, Chrysalis attached several clamps, as she peeled back the flesh. Next the poultice followed to staunch the bleeding, and prevent further blood loss. Next floated an instant-print camera, as Crysalis took pictures of Twilight’s exposed organs. It was important to do this, so that she could put Twilight back together properly once they were finished.
Chrysalis’ magical field gently grasped Twilight’s intestines, taking a picture as each layer was unraveled. She made sure to number the pictures, so that she could reverse the process and put Twilight back in the same way that she was, prior to her disembowling.
After some time, Twilight’s entire intestines lay outside of her body. Chrysalis clapped her hooves in glee, as she proceeded to gently place kisses all along the length of it, as Twilight twitched and shivered at feeling something so alien, and yet it was also really perversely intimate. After the entire length of her intestines had been kissed, Chrysalis began to drag her tongue over the organ, making obscene sexual moans, grinning to see that Twilight wasn’t completely unaffected by her actions, as she noticed the fur near Twilight’s foal hole become matted down due to her vaginal secretions.
“Tha-that feels really, really weird.”
“But not unpleasant, I hope?”
“No, it is not unpleasant, but it is an alien feeling, given that my guts usually are not supposed to be touched like this.”
Chrysalis chuckled, her laughter being transmitted directly to Twilight’s intestines, causing Twilight to squirm and giggle. “Ooh! Ticklish are we?” Chrysalis’ voice sounding playful, as she leered at Twilight with a mischievous grin.
“Chrysalis, don’t you dare!”
Chrysalis paused, placing a hoof beneath her chin, stroking her hoof back and forth, as her eyes turned towards the ceiling as though seriously contemplating not doing what she was thinking about.
“Nah.” Chrysalis replied, before blowing raspberries along the length of Twilight’s intestines. Twilight laughed and giggled, helpless against her beloved’s onslaught of tickle torture. Soon she was gasping breathlessly, tears streaming from her eyes, and an occasional giggle, as she came down from her tickle high.
“It’s a good thing that Spike did not see you doing that. He would probably be traumatized.”
“Why would I―Sweet Celestia! Help! Somepony help! Chrysalis is hurting Twilight!” Spike cried, as he left the basement laboratory, as if Cerberus was after him.
“You should probably put me back together now. You should probably cast a shield spell on the door, to buy you enough time.”
“And I wanted to have some more fun.” Chrysalis sighed, as her horn glowed brighter, several magical layers being woven from her horn, as she cast her strongest shielding spell. Hopefully it would buy her enough time for her to get Twilight put back together and then explain the situation.
Grateful for the photographs, Crysalis managed to put Twilight’s intestines back in the proper place, before releasing the clamps and then sewing Twilight’s stomach closed. She removed the three inhibiting rings and released the straps just in time for the door to fly off and imbed itself in the opposite wall as the shield spell finally shattered under enough repeated assaults.
Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity came rushing down into the basement laboratory. “Don’t worry Twilight, we’ll save you!” Applejack cried.
“Get behind me, they won’t hurt me, and they can’t get to you if you’re behind me.” Twilight whispered loudly, already moving to come between her friends and her dearheart.
“I’m fine guys. See?”
“B-but your guts were all over the place, Twilight!” Spike rushed over to her, tears in his eyes, and his body shivering, as he held onto Twilight as if afraid she might slip away.
“I don’t plan on leaving you anytime soon, Spike.” She nuzzled him, as she worked to reassure him that his mother wasn’t going to die on him.
“But, she did have you spill your guts out, didn’t she? I know that Spike knows what kind of pranks aren’t appropriate, and his panic was very real.” Applejack inquired, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.
“Yes, she was a real cut-up today. But I trust her. I wouldn’t trust just anypony to surrender all of me to.”
“Yes, I’d rather be hurt, than let my beloved Twilight get hurt.” Chrysalis replied, gently pulling Twilight into a tender kiss. Spike covered his eyes, making fake gagging noises, and running upstairs to escape the scarring image of his mom kissing Chrysalis.
“Don’t hurt Twilight, or we’ll put the hurt on you for hurting our friend!” Pinkie Pie warned, as the others murmured their assent.
“Well, if you’re sure your okay, then I’ll be on my way. I’d rather not stick around when you decide to suck each other’s face.” Rainbow Dash added.
“Like I said, I’m fine guys. Thanks for worrying about me. I’m so fortunate to have such great friends like you girls.”
“Group hug!” Pinkie declared, somehow wrapping her hooves around everyone gathered, as they too throw their hooves around their friend, and even Chrysalis was pulled in, much to her discomfort and awkwardness. It just felt so strange to reconcile with ponies that had been ready to attack her because they thought she had been hurting Twilight, for her own sadistic pleasures.
The other mares trotted out, leaving Chrysalis and Twilight alone in the basement.
“Shall we get the table and tools cleaned up?”
“Of course! You probably wouldn’t let me do it again if I had nothing but dirty tools on hoof.”
“No, I most certainly wouldn’t. You wouldn’t either, would you?”
“No.”
Twilight nuzzled Chrysalis, before parting with a tender kiss. “I love you, Chrysalis.”
It was the sweetest, most fulfilling taste in the world.
Chrysalis trembled, lying in a shallow crater near the Ponyville water fountain. Luminescent green ooze seeped through the cracks in her chitin, as her lips curled into a grimace of pain. She grunted as she tried to stand up, her legs wobbling like a newborn foals, before she collapsed back onto the ground. She saw ponies rushing towards her, many with wide eyes and tightly stretched lips, frowns of concern and fear. She was helpless to defend herself, and her eyelids lowered in a glower of hatred, before her world faded into blackness, her face becoming neutral upon unconsciousness.
Location: Ponyille Hospital
Crysalis awoke to a typical hospital room. What pictures that broke the monotony of the pistachio green colored walls were of tranquil scenic views, or a flower painted large. She tried to exit the bed, only to notice that her body was strapped down. She tried to access what magic she had remaining after the failed invasion of Canterlot, but nothing happened. She looked into a mirror on the far wall, to see a magic inhibiting ring on her horn.
The door opened and Nurse Tenderheart entered the room. “Ah, you’re awake. I shall go inform Lady Twilight at once.”
*45 minutes later*
Six ponies, the famed Bearers of the Elements of Harmony entered the room. Twilight moved towards Chrysalis’ bedside, looking down upon the defeated would-be tyrant. “Now Chrysalis, I want to remove your horn inhibitor, but you need to be on your best behavior and not use it to attack anypony, or attempt to escape before the doctors are ready to release you.”
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t raise my opinion of you ponies, when you take away any means I have of defense and forcibly starve me in doing so. I’m powerless and completely at the mercy of you ponies, broodmare of the Sun Princess.”
Rarity gasped, and swooned, slumping limply against Applejack, as Fluttershy blushed furiously and hid her face behind her cascading mane. Rainbow Dash hovered over Chrysalis, giving her the stink eye, while Pinkie Pie’s mane deflated and her eyes glared at Chrysalis. “Hey! Don’t be disrespectin’ Twilight!” Applejack glared back at the Changeling queen, as Rainbow Dash agreed with her.
“Yeah, what she said. Don’t be mean to Twilight! Or I’ll make you regret it!”
“Or you’ll what? Beat up an invalid? It must take a lot of courage to do that, you walking gay pride flag.”
“Enough! ” Twilight shouted. “Look Queen Chrysalis, I do not like this any more than you do, but unless you give me your word that you will behave, the magic inhibiting ring stays on.” She turned around to her friends. “You guys need to quit expecting the worst out of Queen Chrysalis, and give her a choice between behaving in a socially acceptable manner or not! She’s going through a difficult time right now, and it does not speak well for the magic of friendship, or of the pony race, if we are waiting to jump on her like hungry sharks in bloody waters at the first sign of failure!”
Queen Chrysalis stared dumbly at Twilight, before asking the foremost thought on her mind. “Why? Why are you not condemning me? Why don’t you hate me? I tried to enslave the pony race!”
“Because everypony deserves second chances. We all fail and make mistakes. That is why forgiveness is paramount towards a healthy relationship and a healthy society. Besides, who’s to say that I would not have done the same, had I had the exact circumstances and choices before me? If you’re truly remorseful regarding your attempted invasion, then I can not hold any bad blood between us.”
“I—I don’t know about remorse, but I do think that improving relations between changelings and ponies is in the best interest of my children right now. So to answer your demand, yes I vow upon my children to behave myself.”
Twilight sighed, a slight upward curve of her mouth, pleased that the Changeling queen agreed to this. She manipulated her hooves, unlatching the horn inhibitor’s clasp, and removing the ring from her horn.
Once that was off, the bucks on her restraint was removed hastily, before the Chrysalis gripped her head between her forehooves, her eyes spinnning around slightly.
“Easy. You lost a lot of blood. So you’ll want to use your magic sparingly, at least until you replace the blood you lost.” Twilight informed her.
“Right. Well, I’m starved, is there anypony willing to feed me?” Chrysalis inquired, looking about the room at the assembled ponies.
“U-um, are there any negative side effects to being fed on?” Fluttershy asked softly.
“Only if a pony is completely drained of their love, but that usually only happens with rogue changelings. It wouldn’t be very good for our disguises if emotionally zombified ponies started to pop up. We’ll drain them until just before the Depression and Listlessness stages. But otherwise, there is no negative side effects to being fed upon, as long as they aren’t drained of their love levels too far.” Chrysalis informed, looking directly at the shy pegasus.
“Y-you won’t do that to us, will you?” Fluttershy asked, her eyes opened wide in fear.
“I vowed on my children to behave, so no, I won’t drain whoever feeds me dry, or dangerously low love levels.”
Pinkie Pie’s hair poofed back up, as she hopped excitedly over to Chrysalis’ bedside. “Oh, oh! I’ll feed her!” She tilted her head, presenting her neck to Chrysalis.
“What are you doing?” Queen Chrysalis asked confused.
“Don’t you have to bite me with your vampony fangs to feed off of me?” Pinkie replied, raising an eyebrow.
“Ugh, No!” Chrysalis replied, rolling her eyes. “Stupid vampony lore.”
“Then why do you even have fangs?” Pinkie inquired, raising an eyebrow, as she stared at Chrysalis intensely.
“They’re vestigial parts from our insectoid ancestors.” Chrysalis replied, looking slightly irritated at explaining common changeling knowledge with the pink pony.
Chrysalis lit her horn, as Pinkie twitched and giggled as Chrysalis fed on the love she had inside her. “Hey! That tickles!”
“Twilight?” Chrysalis inquired, her voice sounding soft and hesitant, rather like Fluttershy’s in that moment.
“Yes?” Twilight looked up, her quill writing down as much as she could remember about what Chrysalis had said about Changeling fangs.
“I know I have no right to ask this of you, but could you send a notice poster throughout every populated region of Equestria, to inform my children of where I am..” She broke into a heartbroken sob at that point. “T-the ones that survived, that is.” Tears streaming down her ebony face. A- and could you draw up a treaty between the Equestrian kingdom and my changelings and I?” Chrysalis asked.
Twilight placed a comforting hoof over Chrysalis’ chitinous barrel. “Of course I will.”
“Will any of them even come back? I mean, their mother did fail pretty badly.” Rainbow Dash inquired.
“Rainbow Dash! Show some compassion! But to answer your question, I honestly don’t know. If they have any autonomy at all, it will end up being to each changelings decision. If they have a ‘hive’ mindset though, like that of ants, then their first priority will be to locate, care and protect their queen.” Twilight ruminated.
“The drones, and the sentients will come back. The ones that survived, that is. The sapients will either decide to go rogue, change loyalties to a different Hive, or return to me, so they’re the only ones that I don’t know about.” Chrysalis responded.
“Well, I’ll come by tomorrow to feed you, if one of the other girls haven’t done so, and to get your opinions and feedback as I draft up a Treaty between Equestria and Changelings.” She turned to her friends. “Come on girls, let us let Queen Chrysalis get some rest.”
Twilight was the last to file out, but before she exited the room, she could hear a grateful, “Thank you.” from Queen Chrysalis. She smiled, and inclined her head in acknowledgement to the Changeling queen, before she closed the door to get started on drafting Notice papers to send to every populated city, town, and settlement in Equestria. “Get well soon, Chrysalis.” She murmured quietly.
Chrysalis leered at Twilight as the mulberry mare entered the room, looking about the room, with an apprehensive expression on her face. Her violet eyes glancing towards Chrysalis, before looking away, her cheeks flushing, though whether from embarassment, shame, or something else, only Twilight knew. It simply added allure to the already attractive mare.
“Miss Sparkle, do you know why I’m meeting with you like this?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
Crysalis smacked a magazine, the cover of which had a picture of Fleur Dis Lee bound in treated hemp rope and suspended from supports and a pulley system attached to the ceiling.
“To intentionally bring such filth onto the sacred sanctuary of knowledge and learning, to pollute the minds of your innocent peers by sharing the contents within with them, I find myself extremely appalled.”
Twilight looked at Chrysalis, her head hung low, tears collected near her tear ducts, she issued a pitiable sniffle. “I’m sorry!”
“Normally this would cause us to contact your parents and set up a parent-teacher conference do discuss such deviancy and what might be done to address the problem.” Chrysalis stroked the bottom of her chin, her eyes pointed towards the ceiling as though in contemplation and retreating inward, as she if seriously pondering the very possibility of contacting Twilight’s parents. “I wonder what your father will think, once he sees the filth you bring into his home … .”
“No, please, don’t let Daddy know about this!” Twilight cried in a panicked sounding shout, clasping her hooves together as she petitioned Chrysalis’ for mercy.
“Then what do you suggest be done, Miss Sparkle? There must be some sort of punishment for violating the school’s rules and bringing such—” Here, she gave a mock shudder, dangling the offending media from the base of her hoof, making a disgusted face, as she wrinkled her nose and averted her eyes from the abomination of graphic media.
“ … Spank me.” The offending mare suggested, her cheeks flushing into a deeper rosate hue than it had previously been.
“Surely you know how the faculty and this institution feels about faculty members dispensing corporal punishment to any member of its student body.”
“I won’t tell.” Twilight vowed.
“Not good enough, I’ve seen and heard that song and dance before, and have seen such promises broken, for whatever reason.”
Chrysalis rummaged in her faux desk, and withdrew a faux agreement, which essentially absolved Crysalis from any legal repercussions which Twilight might decide to pursue at a later date. “Sign here, if you don’t wish your father to know about your dirty, perverse fetishes.” She sneered, sliding the document over towards the student, as well as sliding her inkwell and quill over.
“O-okay.” Twilight hesitated momentarily, before signing her name in a flourish.
Chrysalis deposited the document in an anti-magical lock box, to prevent any unicorns that might have less than honorable intentions and abuse their vaunted magic powers to destroy any sensitive information within.
“Now lean over the desk, and hike your skirt up.”
“B-but … .”
“It’s either submit to your pert buttocks spanked, or I’ll be seeing you with your father and mother once a parent-teacher conference has been scheduled with them. It’s really your choice.”
“Y-yes.” Twilight, pretending to be unsettled by having a trusted faculty member of the same sex anywhere near her tush, well, one that wasn’t her family, or a licensed medical practitioner.
She bent over the desk, her hooves reaching behind towards her rump, as she flipped up her skirt, and moved her tail out of the way. She looked behind her, awaiting for Chrysalis to procure the expected measuring ruler. “Where’s the ruler?”
“Oh, It’s not much of a punishment if I use a ruler, now is it?” She purred, her voice sounding slightly husky. “No, Miss Twilight, I prefer to take a more … hooves-on approach.” With that, she raised her hoof, and brought it down, as a loud whapping sound announced in an auditory manner, the beginning of Twilight’s punishment.
But instead of another blow to her beautiful buttocks, she felt a hoof rub the flesh of her rear where she’d been smacked, the tender touch seeming to draw more of her attention towards her flanks, seeming to make them even more sensitive than before due to her teachers tender caress. That made the next blow sting more.
After awhile, Twilight’s tush was a deeper purple hue than it had previously been. Twilight’s left foreleg had slight indents in it, indicating that she had been biting on her foreleg to keep from crying out too much. Twilight lowered her skirt, her rear legs giving out from beneath her, as her rump contacted the cooler, and therefore pleasant feeling wooden floor beneath her.
“Don’t let me catch you bringing such deviant media to school, or I’ll have to be sure to punish you again.” Chrysalis admonished.
“Yes Ma’am.” the most faithful student replied, the corner of her mouth pulled slightly upwards. Clearly remedial lessons were in order.
The door to the Frienship Manor opened and closed, as Twilight’s number one assistant entered, not even having to lift a claw thanks to the servants and guards that now served Twilight, her friends and really, anyone that happened to live or visit the castle.
He opened the door to his room, and froze in shock and fear. For there, lying on top of his neatly made bed was the latest issue of The Equestrian S&M Enquirer. One hesitant step, two, three, his trembling claw reaching out for his treasured porn stash. A flash of light registered in his eyes, as he began to turn around.
“Boo.” Chrysalis grinned predatorially at him, her ebony fangs glistening in the light of the room to great effect. Perhaps even more effective was seeing her in a lycra corset, a pair of hotpants, thigh high boots, and a bullwhip coiled up in her magical aura. Spike’s eyes rolled upward, and he collapsed onto the floor in a dead faint.
Twilight levitated him up in her magic aura. “I can’t believe you did that.” She rolled her eyes at her marefriend, but unable to completely hid the smirk at Chrysalis’ antics.
“I can’t believe you didn’t join in.” Chrysalis responded, squinting her face, and sticking her tongue out playfully at her workerfriend.
“I can’t believe Spike managed to hide these from me. Either he didn’t anticipate me finding that hidden room behind the bookcase, or he’s been acquiring them from like minded friend and acquaintances.”
“He’s going to mature someday.”
“But, it’s Spike. It’s just hard for me to accept that he’s growing up, that he’s no longer the cute cubby hatchling that adored me, and followed me everywhere I went.
“You’ll always be very dear to him. You’re his mom. The way he interacts with you may change. But you’re his family, and you raised him to cherish the bonds he has with his family.”
“Thanks, I needed to hear that.” Twilight’s smile began to take a slight predatory quality to it. “So, how about you get into that nurse outfit, and see if you can’t make me feel better.”
Chrysalis watched with interest as she watched her ally Twilight Sparkle siphon the mana portions that a Changeling could create and feeding it into a rapidly swirling magic sphere with orange, reds, and yellow hues.
Once each Changeling couldn’t give any more mana, a pair of worker ‘lings would lift them to the side to rest and recover. Twilight continued forming this magical sphere growing it and growing it until it was the size of a large stallion, such as Big Mac and Shining Armor.
“Twilight? How is it that there are no Royal Guards attacking us? I mean, it’s pretty hard to miss a patrol of changelings out here just off the main trading route,” inquired Queen Chrysalis.
“What? Oh! That’s easy! I just simply used an enviro-meld illusion spell and combined it with a perception aversion spell. As long as they don’t bump into any’ling under the combined spells, then they’re essentially rendered invisible to the pony eye,” Twilight explained, vastly simplifying the more complex and technical parts so that Chrysalis could understand. It wasn’t that she thought Chrysalis was stupid, by no means. But the time that she spent with her friends taught her that not everyone could understand the same complex ideas and verbose vocabulary as she did.
“Another question then. Why haven’t any of the wagons and caravans detected what you’re doing on the road?” Chrysalis asked Twilight.
“Because I’m using the same spell as I am on the ‘ling patrol,” Twilight explained succinctly.
“Okay, then why hasn’t anypony felt anything or raised an alarm when passing through it? For that matter, why hasn’t anypony been blasted yet?” Chrysalis asked, still gazing in wonderment at the complexity of Twilight’s magical spellweaving.
“Well, because I’ve disguised the magical frequencies to match that of a natural mana node. As for why it doesn’t go off, it’s because I haven’t yet woven in the magical targeting algorithm. No target set, it’s not armed, and if it’s not armed, then it doesn’t have any reason to trigger the explosion,” Twilight explained.
“I don’t understand you, Twilight. Why would you help us Changelings after the attack on Canterlot Castle during your brother’s wedding day?” The Changeling queen asked and raised a brow as she continued to watch Twilight at work.
"I was upset, really upset. I wondered why you would attack the castle with such numbers, with such swiftness and then bind or place in pods the captured ponies. It got me to asking myself why you would chose to reveal the Changeling race when before we hadn’t even known what a Changeling was, or even what one might look like! Why come out of the shadows in which you remained hidden? I would find myself asking questions like these quite often over the next several days. Then, while I read a book about domestic and foreign military tactics, then I started having a thought. I thought to myself, ‘Twilight, what if this was a supply/ demand problem for the Changelings? What if they only attacked because their demand was greater than their current supply? As a ruler of a kingdom, would their attack on Canterlot make sense as a desperation tactic? A sort of gambol on the success of the offensive operation, and thereby claiming spoils of war to help a hungry nation? So, while I disagreed with your execution, I am not unsympathetic to the plight of you and your ‘lings,” Twilight expounded to Chrysalis.
“Okay, that still doesn’t answer why you would abandon your subjects to aid the Changeling cause. Nor of why you would even bother to find me,” Chrysalis asked Twilight.
“I don’t exactly see what I’m doing as a betrayal or abandonment of my subject or my kingdom, but rather that I’m a pioneer in favor of establishing healthy Equestrian-Changeling relations and alliances. As for finding you? That was sheer dumb luck,” Twilight explained as she continued to siphon one of the last six ‘lings for their mana to feed into her spell.
“Explain,” Chrysalis requested.
“Well, after the majority of the changelings were ejected from Canterlot, the Royal Guards captured some Changelings that hadn’t gotten blasted away. They were taken as prisoners of war and then Celestia, Luna and I studied Changeling physiology and their arcane matrices in order to try to discover a way to ‘decloak’ them, without them being aware of their having been discovered. I have to say that many of your soldiers held out, even unto death. You should be proud of how loyal they were to you and their fellow ‘lings. Still, hunger can break even the mightiest warrior, so we had enough Changelings who showed us their bio-arcane disguising methods. Also, we discovered that a Changeling’s body temperature is not the same as ponies, so really it was far easier to repurpose a thermal vision spell for catching disguised changelings. I merely had mine active to determine how many changelings there might remain in Canterlot. So, I had it active when I encountered you. So, from your size and your temperature matching mostly with that of a Changeling, then while my encountering you was mere chance, I knew with a lot of confidence that you were likely Chrysalis in disguise,” Twilight continued her verbose and informative explanation to her ally.
She had just finished siphoning the last ‘ling and proceeded to weave the targeting spells as well as the activation spells along with some guidance spells and an anchoring spell. “Alright, every’ling, retreat into the forest line!” Twilight commanded.
The Changelings looked to their queen, getting a nod of confirmation, and so every’ling retreated into the forest, the bushes and shrubs hiding them from plain sight.
“Still, doesn’t this kind of tactic go against your attempt to establish peaceful Equestrian-Changeling relations and alliances?” Chrysalis asked.
“As much as I’d like to jump straight to peaceful negotiations, do you really think that the ruling Sisters of Equestria will really welcome you back to Canterlot with open hooves after an attack by you and your ‘lings against them and their subjects?” Twilight asked.
“... Most likely not,” Chrysalis admitted.
“That’s why, this time we focus on attacking their supply routes and caravans. Then there will be less goods and distribution, eventually leading to a similar state of deprivation and starvation that the Changelings faced. Then as they weaken, they may be more sympathetic to your plight and be more willing to establish a truce or alliance between the Equestrian nation and the Changeling one,” Twilight reasoned.
“So how does this spell of yours work?” Chrysalis interpreted for one of the ‘lings who asked Twilight.
“Just watch, here comes a caravan now. Be prepared to loot and plunder every’ling!” Twilight responded.
Once the leading wagons of the caravan was dead center, there was a wagon sized explosion of fire. The cloaked spell moved to the next cart setting off another explosion and it continued until the end of the wagons in this caravan. It looked like a fiery serpent from a distance. There could be smelt the disgusting odor of ponies being burned alive, others screaming in pain, their coat and hide seared with severe burns. Others were running to and fro trying to extinguish the burning wagons.
“Go, go, go, go! Leave none alive!” Twilight shouted as Changelings burst out from the forest, like a raiding band of brigands. They transformed into unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies. Pegasi fought with Changeling pegasi ponies. Unicorns fought against Changeling unicorns. And earth ponies fought against Changeling earth ponies. While all this was happening Twilight was casting a Deluge spell to extinguish the fires of the caravan, so that no all of the supplies would be lost.
Chrysalis had been helping to defeat the unicorns, and then the earth ponies. Once they had been slain, then all of the remaining ground-bound Changelings shed their disguises and helped slay the remaining pegasi.
“Right! Let’s unload the wagons, see if there is anything salvageable. We take it if it is, or we’ll burn it with the wagons if it isn’t,” Twilight instructed, a hoof gingerly touching her over-worked horn and wincing from the aching throb it gave.
The Changelings went to work with a will, as they salvaged what could be salvaged, or they moved the stuff that couldn’t be salvaged into a pile, the charred remains of the wagons encircling the pile.
Many of the Changelings conversed animatedly with their fellow lings’ in their unique inequine tongue, filled with hope and the rush of being victorious.
The Changeling Queen looked over to the slumbering form of Twilight, carrying her to their camp in the woods, and using the hivemind to instruct her ‘lings to carry the loot to the camp and that several should light the pile of the unsalvageable goods and wagons on fire until there was nothing but ash.
“I don’t understand you, Twilight Sparkle, but thank you for giving me and my children a second chance.”
The Changeling queen felt something within her carapace. It was a warm and happy feeling. It surprised her, because surely Changelings couldn’t generate emotions … . Could they?
Author's Note
Been awhile for a Twisalis prompt. So here's something fresh off the press!