"Twilight Sparkle, I thank you for saving our people from the dark forces of the Ponymorphs!" Mayor Mare said to Twilight as she handed her a medal. The crowd cheered. Twilight hadn't felt so happy since the day she got her wings. Speaking of wings, they sort of tensed up from nervousness of the crowd a bit. Twilight was nervous too. But not as much as she was happy. Pinkie Pie, the local party pony and best friend of Twilight Sparkle, launched her trademark party cannon. With a bang, confetti was sprayed everywhere. Some even got in the princess's mouth, to her embarrassment. Twilight chuckled anyways. Suddenly a sound like an explosion was heard upwards. It was Rainbow Dash performing a sonic rainboom just for the occasion. Rainbow winked at Twilight as she flew into the clouds and made a picture of Twilight in them. Twilight blushed at this, everypony was doing this for her. She didn't want to be selfish, but this is one of the best things that Twilight had experienced in a long while.
"Ok, just like we rehearsed. One, two, three, four." Fluttershy instructed to some birds. Twilight looked to the left of her and saw the yellow pegasus directing some birds in singing a song. It was the same song that Twilight had sang randomly when she went outside the day she got her wings. She wondered just what compelled her to spontaneously sing like that. Oh well. Twilight very much enjoyed the song.
"This is for you Twi! Straight from the tree!" Applejack said to the right of Twilight, pulling a cart of freshly picked apples.
"Wow Applejack! Thanks!" Twilight said picking a apple from the cart. She took a bite of the apple of her choice.
"Mm! This is delicious!" Twilight exclaimed as she swallowed her piece of the apple.
"Aw! It's nothin'!" Applejack said taking off her hat.
"Dear Twlight, I made these just for you!" Rarity said pushing a rack of dresses.
"Oh thank you Rarity! These look just beautiful!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Well, anything for our galaxy-saving heroine!" Rarity said.
"I-I just don't know what to say! Everything you've done is just fantastic! It's like it could only come from a-"
"-dream!" Twilight said as she sat up on her bed. She just knew all of that had to be too good to be true. Celestia had already raised the sun. Seeing this, Twilight went over to Spike's bed to wake him up. His bed was covered with his blanket. "C'mon Spike! I already know you're hiding!" Twilight said playfully. However, when she pulled the blankets off, she had a less happy face on. "S-Spike? Where did you go! This isn't funny Spike!" Twilight yelled.
Twilight trotted into the kitchen to see if Spike was making breakfast. Unfortunately, he wasn't there either. Twilight checked every corner of her castle but she had no luck in finding her dragon companion.
"That's it! He must be at Rarity's house!" Twilight exclaimed. With that theory, Twilight opened the door and left her castle. Greeting her was...nopony. The stores were empty, the market was empty and every single house's window was pitch black. "Hello?" Twilight yelled, producing an echo. "Is anypony there!?" Twilight yelled again. "Did I wake up that early?" she muttered to herself. Twilight then checked to see if Rarity, or anypony else for that matter, was at the Carousel Boutique.
"Rarity!?" Twilight yelled as she opened the door. To her surprise, there was no sign of her white unicorn friend. "This is just getting weirder and weirder." Twilight said to herself. She exited the Carousel Boutique and headed over to Sweet Apple Acres to see Applejack. If she was there that is.
Now would usually be the time where Pinkie surprised Twilight by singing a song, but it just never came. Twilight started to feel depressed. What if she really was the last Ponyvillian? She then saw the same thing as before: Nothing. Applejack and her family were nowhere to be found.
"Oh come on! She's gone too!? Is anypony here!? I don't care! Send me anypony! ANYPONY!" Twilight screamed towards the sky but there was no response. "So...everypony is gone huh? For good?" Twilight muttered. She wondered if everything she ever did was for nothing. What good was the "magic of friendship" if there was nopony to be friends with?
"Are you starting to feel it now?" asked a distorted voice. Behind Twilight was a black skeletal pony, who emerged from a sea of green flames.
"What do you mean? Wait...I remember you! You're the phony Cadence!" Twilight said charging up her horn.
"Yes I thought you might remember me as your enemy but now I am here as your guide." the pony said soothingly through her distorted voice. Twilight stopped charging her horn. Her only companion and guide was somepony she tried to save Equestria from.
"My...guide? But...just who are you." Twilight asked.
"My name, is Queen Chrysalis: Queen of the Changelings." Queen Chrysalis said.
"Just why exactly are you here?" Twilight asked suspiciously. Queen Chrysalis looked to the ground sadly. Then back up to Twilight.
"To save you from the same fate I had." Queen Chrysalis said sadly.
"W-what!?" Twilight said.
"Do you ever wonder how changelings are made? Fate takes the most happiest of ponies and turns them into changelings. Do you see what cruel fate has done to me?! Do you see what is has done to all changelings!" Queen Chrysalis screamed at Twilight while showing her the holes in her legs. "Fate has tuned us into disgusting creatures, only to give us the power to change into anypony we want, but not our original forms." Queen Chrysalis said much more calmly. Queen Chrysalis then shed a tear. "You are now one of these victims. But not the same as all changelings. Your brain is stronger than most and your power in magic is unmatched. So instead you are simply in this simulation of your home and challenged with the task to live without the care of the ones close to you without going insane. Needless to say...I failed." Queen Chrysalis said.
Twilight just looked on in astonishment. She had never really wondered about how changelings were made, but she never thought it would be this horrifying.
"But...this is a rare occasion. This almost never happens to regular ponies. Just allicorns. I am queen of the changelings as you know. So I decided to tweak the rules a bit. You now shall have me for company. I know I am not the best guide you could have hoped for but I am the one pony standing in the way of you and insanity." Queen Chrysalis explained.
"So how long do I have to survive?" Twilight asked.
"Three days." Queen Chrysalis answered.
"Then let's get to it." Twilight exclaimed
Tea With The Mistress Of Evil
"Hello"
"AH!" Twilight screamed as she saw the changeling queen stand over her bed. It would be a pretty horrifying sight a day ago, but considering the events of yesterday, she wasn't nearly as surprised. "You know most ponies would knock when they enter."
"Is that so? Well it appears I am not most ponies. I also happen to be your only companion." Queen Chrysalis said. "Now come on. You should get down for breakfast." With a flash, Chrysalis teleported downstairs to the kitchen.
"Breakfast?" Twilight said confused. A pony...well not exactly a pony, who once tried to kill her and everyone else in Equestria, was serving her breakfast. Was she taking pity on Twilight? Who knew. All Twilight knew is that she was hungry and that breakfast was waiting. Twilight walked down to find Spike was cooking her breakfast.
"Oh hi Spike. Wait...Spike? You aren't...huh?" Twilight said scratching her mane. This wasn't right. Spike and everyone was gone. At least to her knowledge.
"It shouldn't be hard to figure out Twilight Sparkle. After all I am a changeling." "Spike" said.
"Wait...you?" Twilight said with amazement.
"Mhm. Yes. Me. And this is your breakfast." "Spike" said handing Twilight some eggs. "I figured that the Big Bad Changeling Chrysalis was too scary for you. So I chose a form you would recognize. Happy?"
"Can you act like Spike?" Twilight asked with a brow raised.
"No."
"Then I'm not satisfied."
"Get used to it. This is the only Spike you'll see for three days." "Spike" said drinking some tea. "Its easier than taking over a kingdom."
"I don't understand how you can be this way."
"You do what you have to do as a queen. You feed off of emotions or you die. Though frankly the latter is tempting considering," the queen looked at the holes in her hoof, "the circumstances. You do something that seems like a giant monopoly, everypony thinks you're the bad guy."
"But you're just so...sadistic when you do things. It's unnatural."
"Be honest princess. When you defeat your enemies, how many times do you grin?" This question caught Twilight off guard and prompted her to change the subject.
"So. How's life as a changeling queen? I mean, if I fail I had better be prepared right?" Twilight said awkwardly. Chrysalis took another sip of her tea.
"You didn't answer my question. You can't avoid it princess. You and I, we are one and the same. We both do what we must to protect our people. Most of the time, it ends up hurting others." The queen smirked as she transformed herself into Twilight and back.
"I am different than you! I don't enslave people!" Twilight said as she dropped her fork.
"Do you? If I recall, you 'redeem' your enemies. Show them the 'magic of friendship'. Truth is they're prisoners of war. They're captives. They have no choice but to follow you or they die. Pretty sad life if you ask me. To follow someone against your will. It's even worse when you're immortal. So ask yourself now princess, who is evil?" Twilight stared not knowing what to say next. "Trixie. You know the name yes. You should because you ruined her life. And now she is one of us because she had nothing left to live for."
"That's not true! We made up! She apologized!" Twilight slammed the table.
"Silly princess! Apologizing doesn't mean she was scorned by nearly every single person she met!"
"I-I never knew! I-"
"Discord! You turned him to stone when all he wanted to do was have a little fun! Then you forced him to obey your precious princess of the sun. He even escaped later on! How much proof do you need?"
"You! You're twisting my actions!"
"You killed King Sombra!"
"No!"
"Nearly every single pony you and your friends don't like has ended up having their lives ruined or they became a changeling! How do you feel about that?!"
"Stop! Please! Please!" Twilight said as she broke down sobbing.
"Stop? Stop telling you the truth when you lie? I'm just pointing out facts! You act like we are villains! When the real villain is..."
"Noooooo!" Twilight screamed. The room was silent. The queen thought she made her point.
"I'm sorry. I may have taken this a bit too far." The queen apologized as she put down her tea.
"No I'm sorry. I was wrong to judge you." Twilight said. "So how are the ponies you mentioned?"
"Actually, they can't take their mind off you. They mostly blame you for their lives. One actually just hates your friends. Particularly the blue one"
"Who would that be?"
"I think you've known enough for one day. I'm supposed to help your sanity not destroy it."
"I suppose so. You can turn into anyone is that right?"
"Yes, that is correct. I can also mimic their voices as you are hearing now."
"Could you, mimic my mom and dad?" For the first time, Chrysalis delivered a real genuine smile.
"Gladly." Chrysalis's skeleton was covered up by a white skin with a mane mixed between purple and white. "Some party trick huh?"
"Yeah, some party trick..."
