The 'Reformation' of Queen Chrysalisby Princess LulamoonChaptersChapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter SixChapter SevenChapter EightChapter NineChapter TenChapter Eleven Chapter OneTwilight was busy reorganizing her library, yet again. Flying to one of the top shelves, she began putting the books she had in her magic in the proper places. She was putting last book into place when a familiar voice made her jump. "Twilight!", Spike, her assistant, called, dashing into the library, "I've got a letter from the Princess!" Twilight landed on the ground at once, meeting Spike in the middle of the large library. He held the letter in his claw, panting after his dash to the library. Taking the letter out of his claw in her magic, Twilight read it to herself. Dear Twilight, I know this is a bit of a last minute warning, but I'm on my way to Ponyville. Meet me just outside town, and bring your friends. -Princess Celestia Twilight read the brief letter again, flipping it over to see if there was anything else she didn't catch. She turned to Spike. "This is it?", she asked, heaving a sigh when the young drake gave a nod. She then perked up. Celestia's on her way! I have to meet her now!, she thought. Swiftly putting Spike on her back, she ran out of the castle. Twilight tore through Ponyville, almost literally, on a frantic search for her friends. She stopped Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner. Skidding to a stop at the door, she looked to a surprised Pinkie Pie. Pinkie tipped her head. "Twilight?", she asked, confused. "Princess....outside town... others.... we need... to go....", Twilight stammered, out of breath. "What?", Pinkie looked more confused than ever. "Just come with me, okay?", Twilight asked, having to time for questions. Pinkie looked at Spike, who said just about the same thing. Pinkie, Twilight and Spike headed off into town, looking around for any more of their friends. "Over there!", Spike called, pointing to where Rarity and Fluttershy were walking out of the spa. Giving Spike a thankful look, Twilight dashed over to them, Pinkie on her tail. Rarity saw Twilight approach, looking at her confused. "Twilight? Darling, you look simply awful right now!", she said, looking at Twilight's windswept mane in disgust. "Wh-what are you doing here, Twilight? Well, um.. you don't have to answer... if you don't want to...", Fluttershy mumbled. Spike cleared his throat getting the two mares' attention. "We've gotta go. The Princess is meeting us outside town.", he explained quickly. "Really?", Rarity asked, surprised. Twilight nodded. "Now let's go." With Rarity and Fluttershy now in the group, Twilight looked for Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Rainbow practically crashed into them, trying to fly blindfolded. With a quick apology and explanation, Dash and the rest went to Sweet Apple Acres, where they found Applejack. The six ponies, and dragon, made their way outside of town. Finally at her destination, Twilight flopped onto the ground, panting tiredly. Her five friends were just as tired, sitting down in a circle by her. After a few minutes of catching their breath, Applejack finally spoke. "Um, Twi, why in the hay are we out here exactly?", she asked, the others muttering their questions. Another voice answered Applejack's question. "Because I asked her to bring you here." Twilight shot up at once. "Princess?!", she asked, instantly looking in Celestia's direction, "Princess!" Celestia heaved a sigh, giving Twilight a quick hug. "I'm sorry for the last minute letter, once again. I was a little busy." Twilight looked to the Princess. "Wait, why did you ask us to come here, exactly?" Celestia looked behind her, to where a band of guards were flying into view, along with a larger, black figure in the midst of them. Twilight narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better view, as did the rest of her friends. Soon enough, the guards landed just behind Celestia, still flanking the figure Twilight now recognized. Twilight's ears flattened as Queen Chrysalis came into view still flanked by the guards. "Chrysalis...", Twilight snarled, glaring at the changeling queen. "Twilight Sparkle.", the Queen sneered, walking past the guards and up to the young Princess. Celestia narrowed her eyes at Chrysalis, who looked back, reluctantly stepping behind her. Twilight shot another glare at the changeling, and got a fanged smile in return. Snorting, Twilight looked away from Chrysalis. "I know it seems a bit sudden, bringing yet another villain to Ponyville,", Sighing, Celestia continued, "I despise Chrysalis just as much as you all do. With the... success, of Discord's reformation, I thought we could get another villain onto our side." "In your dreams, Sunbutt", Chrysalis smiled, snorting in laughter. Shooting a glare at the Queen, Celestia continued once more. "And maybe, quite possibly, a whole race.", the alicorn turned her gaze to Fluttershy, who was hiding behind the rest of her friends, her fearful gaze shifting from Celestia to Chrysalis, back and forth."Fluttershy?", the alicorn asked in a gentle voice. Fluttershy gulped, poking her head out a bit farther from that of her friends. "Y-yes, Princess?", she asked, her voice squeaking in fear. "You're the one who reformed Discord. You showed him true friendship, and that's what changed his ways.", Celestia reminded the shy pegasus. "Y-yes, b-but...", Fluttershy tried to object to what the Princess was about to say. "I think you'll be able to do the same with Chrysalis, no matter how difficult she will get.", she emphasized the word 'diffucult', shooting yet another glare at the Queen, who returned the glare with a cool smile. "That is, if you feel you're up to it.." FLuttershy looked at Chrysalis, her eyes wide with fear. Author's Note Well, here we are, the start of this trainwreck. This idea actually came from the synopsis, and picutures, of one of the new episodes I saw (not spoiling anything for those who don't want spoils). I've got some good ideas for future chapters of this story. I do plan on finishing it. Hopefully it doesn't take too long. Second chapter will be out shortly. Chapter TwoFluttershy shakily opened the door to her cottage, letting Chrysalis inside. She closed the door behind her, watching as the Queen claimed her place on Fluttershy's couch. That's the same place Discord sat when he frist came here... But that doesn't mean Chrysalis will turn good the same way he did, though..., Fluttershy thought. Thankfully, she can't use any of her magic to try and trick me, or anything like that... Chrysalis had a strange silver ring around the base of her jagged horn. After a long explanation from Twilight, Fluttershy learned it nullified magic, making sure Chrysalis couldn't use any. For now, anyway. Sighing, Fluttershy walked a little closer to the changeling, still a bit wary of her. "Ch-Chrysalis?", she spoke, getting the Queen's attention. Chrysalis looked over at Fluttershy. "What is it?", she asked. Fluttershy let out a small whimper as her gaze locked with Chrysalis'. "I-Is there anything you need? To make you more comfortable, anyway?" The changeling put a holed hoof to her chin, 'thinking' for a moment. "Well, this ring on my horn is really bugging me.. Maybe you could take it off..?", she asked, looking at Fluttershy with puppy-dog eyes. "I'm sorry, I can't do that, Chrysalis. M-Maybe sometime later, when I know I can trust you.", Fluttershy replied, trying to sound firm. "And why can't you trust me now?", Chrysalis asked, making herself look hurt. "Because. You've done a lot of bad things, and you just got here. I'm not too sure I can trust you just yet." Chrysalis heaved a sigh, muttering under her breath. "Well, then, I'm fine. That was a long flight here, I might as well sleep now." Without another word, Chrysalis curled up onto the couch, making herself more comfortable. Watching the Queen in fear for a few minutes, Fluttershy hesitantly stepped closer to her, making sure the Queen was really asleep. After lightly tapping her back and not getting a response, Fluttershy pulled the blanket she kept over the top of the couch, covering Chrysalis up in it. With Chrysalis out of the way for now, Fluttershy decided to tend to her animal friends. She had a tough time with her bunny Angel, who gave her an irritated look when he saw Chrysalis in his favorite spot on the couch refusing to eat. After about fifteen minutes or so of trying to get him to eat his food, specially made for him, and with a grim Stare, Angel found himself munching reluctantly on his special salad. Finally finished feeding all her pets, Fluttershy sat down on her chair, next to the couch. She almost fell asleep when a flash of bright light startled her. Discord had appeared, and was looking angrily at the changeling Queen who was sleeping on the couch. His couch. The draconequus turned to look to Fluttershy. "Dear Fluttershy, do you care to explain why Queen Cheeselegs is sleeping on my couch?", he asked, stomping his cloven hoof impatiently. "First of all, Discord, the couch isn't yours, it's mine. Second, Princess Celestia asked me to try and reform her.", Fluttershy replied angrily. Discord rolled his eyes. "Reform her? Fluttershy, you're my friend, right?", he stopped, and when Fluttershy nodded, he continued. "As your friend, I'm telling you, you're not going to reform her. You may have reformed me, but that was only because you showed me true friendship. But Chrysalis... she's heartless. Quite literally, actually. She doesn't need friends, and she really doesn't want them, either. She might seem like she'll reform, or she might act like she is reforming, but I can guarantee, it'll all be a trick. In fact, she's probably plotting some way to trick you into thinking she's going to reform right now." Fluttershy listened to Discord intently, taking in the chaos spirit's words. "Wha... How would you know? I-In fact, how do you even know Chrysalis?", she asked. Discord sighed. "It's a long story.", he replied, his eyes taking a far away kind of look. Shaking his head from old memories, he snapped his claw, making a large tray of cheese appear. Placing it on the table Discord turned back to Fluttershy. "That's for Chryssie when she wakes up. Tell her where it came from." With a snap of his tail, Discord was gone. Fluttershy looked at the tray of cheese, utterly confused. What kind of crazy past has he had with Chrysalis?, she thought. He obviously knows a lot about her... Fluttershy heaved a sigh. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought. Doubts filled her mind as she noticed the Queen yawn, her long fangs glinting in the sunlight. She slowly blinked open her eyes, her nose twitching when she smelled the platter of cheese on the table in front of her. "I'm guessing Discord was here?", she asked, looking at the tray of cheese. "How did you know?" "Well, he left a note. That, and this cheese is shaped exactly like him." Fluttershy couldn't help but laugh when she got a good look at the cheese platter. She turned her head when she saw Angel bunny hop towards the couch, glaring at Chrysalis. The Queen returned Angel's glare, letting out a menacing hiss and snapping her jaws at the small bunny. Angel hopped away, ears flat in fear, taking a place behind Fluttershy. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, narrowed her eyes at Chrysalis. "Chrysalis!" The Queen looked confused. "What?" "This is Angel's home just as much as it is yours! You shouldn't snap at him like that!" "Would you rather I ate him?", Chrysalis asked, menace in her voice. Her forked tongue slid out and she licked her lips. "Because changelings can eat meat as well as plants." Fluttershy took a step back in fear, letting out a soft squeak. Chrysalis really was going to be hard to reform. Chapter ThreeFluttershy heaved a sigh as she flew up to Rainbow Dash's house. The past three days had been awful. Chrysalis was getting no closer to becoming good, and all she wanted to do was inconvenience Fluttershy the entire day. From giving her a massage to fluffing the couch cushions, she'd asked for it all. Thankfully, Discord was willing to 'cover' for her, whatever that meant to him, to let her get out of her house. Fluttershy was dragged abruptly from her thoughts when she almost crashed into a large cloud. Sighing, and climbing to the top, she walked up to the house of Rainbow Dash. She didn't even knock on the door when it flew open, and Rainbow burst out, crashing into Fluttershy and pinning her to the ground. "Fluttershy! It's been forever!", the cyan pegasus looked down at her shy friend, a wide grin on her face. "It's o-only been three days, Rainbow...", Fluttershy whispered, hardly able to breathe with Dash's hooves on her chest. Rainbow looked at her hooves, quickly taking them off Fluttershy's chest when she noticed her friend was starting to pant. She slowly got off Fluttershy, looking her over to make sure she wasn't hurt. "Sorry, Flutters. I just got really excited to see you again..", she looked down, then back at Fluttershy. Fluttershy gave the cyan pegasus a soft smile. "That's alright, Rainbow.", she said in her soft voice, walking up to her and giving Dash a gentle hug. Rainbow smiled. "How's about we go inside and talk?", she asked. Fluttershy gave a nod, and the pair walked inside Rainbow's large house. It was much larger than Fluttershy's cottage, and she couldn't help but look up at the tall ceilings in awe. Sure, she came by Rainbow's house every now and then, but she couldn't help herself from looking up. Rainbow, on the other hoof, was quickly making her way into the living room, where she sat down in a chair, looking a bit anxious. Fluttershy trotted in behind her, taking a seat in the loveseat across from her. Why Rainbow even had a loveseat, I don't know. "So, Fluttershy, what's the sitch with your newest 'guest'?", Rainbow asked as soon as the yellow pegasus sat down. "Um... well...", Fluttershy tried to begin. Rainbow gave Fluttershy an impatient look, and she soon found her words. "Chrysalis is probably the worst house guest I have ever had.", she said hastily, looking over to her friend. "Even worse than Discord?", Rainbow asked. "Discord didn't try to eat my animals. All he ever ate was paper.", Fluttershy muttered, heaving a sigh. "So, wait, who's with Chrysalis now?", Dash looked a bit concerned. "Discord...", Fluttershy squeaked, her voice barely a whisper. Rainbow's eyes widened. "Discord?! Fluttershy, I'm gonna say this lightly. Your house is screwed." Fluttershy looked down. "Its not like anypony else has the willpower to watch her...", she murmured. "True, but still... Discord?! He'll make this even worse than any of us would!", Dash sounded like she was going to burst. "Well, when you put it that way...", Fluttershy sighed. Maybe she had made a mistake. When Fluttershy looked to where Dash was sitting, she found that the cyan pegasus was gone. Fluttershy bolted out of her seat, and out the door, where she saw Dash already flying towards her home. Knowing the way even better than Rainbow, Fluttershy took her shortcut, and somehow made it to her home before Rainbow Dash. Not long after Fluttershy landed, a rainbow streak skidded to a stop next to her. Rainbow Dash turned, looking at Fluttershy in surprise. "How did you...?", she stammered. "I have my own shortcut.", Fluttershy replied simply. "Okay, whatever.", Dash said dismissively as Fluttershy and her walked up to the cottage door. A worm of fear wriggled in her stomach when she saw all of her indoor pets outside the cottage, cowering in fear. Dash noticed the animals too, and felt more uneasy than before. Fluttershy edged up to the door, her hoof starting to shake as she grabbed the doorknob. Slowly turning it open, her eyes widened at the scene before her. Chrysalis had Discord pinned to the ground, her jaws around his throat. The draconequus had his claws on the Queen's back, trying to shove her off of him. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were unable to look away from the sight before them. Fluttershy looked at both of them, her eyes wide in fear. I have to stop them... They'll kill each other if I don't!, she thought. But looking closer at them, their fangs bared, Discord's claws ready to tear flesh, Fluttershy couldn't muster the courage. Rainbow eventually tore her eyes away from the two fighting creatures, and looked at Fluttershy, who had turned to look at her friend. "Flutters, if anyone can stop them, it's you.", she said, her voice a whisper. Fluttershy nodded. Taking a breath, and mustering up the little courage she had, the shy pegasus screamed "STOP!", at the top of her lungs. Chrysalis and Discord looked up at once. Discord tried to take the distracted changeling off of him, to no avail. Chrysalis looked at Fluttershy, her malevolent gaze meeting the pegasus'. Rainbow hesitantly stepped inside, trying to help Discord. Chrysalis took her jaws off of Discord's throat, turning to glare at Rainbow Dash, who gave her a defiant glare right back. Taking the chance to make his leave, Discord ran over to Fluttershy. "D-Discord... what happened when I was gone?", Fluttershy asked, looking at the enraged Chrysalis with a whimper. Discord put a claw to the back of his head, rubbing his neck. "Well, you see..." Author's Note Huh. I'm surprised no one noticed the subtle Kim Possible reference. Chapter Four"...and that's what happened to up until you two came.", Discord was finishing the story. "That's not what happened at all!", Chrysalis growled, stomping up to Discord. "You're the one who started that fight!" "And you're the one that almost tore out my throat. You aren't proving a good point, Chryssie.", Discord retorted, lowering himself to glare at the Queen face-to-face. "Only after you kept taunting me.", Chrysalis hissed. Rainbow Dash heaved a heavy sigh. "Will you two stop arguing?! Honestly, you're worse than a couple of school fillies!", she yelled at the arguing deities in an exasperated voice. Both Discord and Chrysalis stopped talking, but still shot each other a venomous glare. Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. "Now, can you two start from the beginning?" Chrysalis snorted. "If you insist..." Discord sat on the couch next to Chrysalis, who hissed at him as he scooted closer to the aggressive Queen. "So, Chryssie, how's your stay been?", he asked innocently. "Call me that name again, and I'll tear out your throat.", Chrysalis snarled. Discord got a mischievous look in his eye that put the Queen on edge. He sighed. "So, how's it been? Gotten any friendler recently?" Chrysalis looked away from Discord, abruptly turning her back to him. "If you're wondering if your little pegasus friend has reformed me at all, or even started, for that matter, the answer is no." Discord rolled his eyes. "That doesn't surprise me at all. A heartless creature like you could never have friends.", his voice got harder as he spoke. Chrysalis turned her head. "What's that supposed to mean?" Discord waved his paw dismissively. "Oh nothing, nothing.." Chrysalis snorted. "Though I admit it is sort of nice she cares about my comfort. She really is a kind pony." Discord cocked an eyebrow. "Are you taking a liking to her, perhaps?" "No. The only thing I really want from her is to take off this stupid magic-nullifier..", the Queen sighed, glaring at the silver ring at the base of her horn. "I doubt you could get her to take it off. Not unless you reformed for real.." "You doubt my persuasion?", Chrysalis leaned closer to Discord, her eyes green fire. "Well, duh. Of course I do.", Discord locked eyes with Chrysalis, a smug smile on his face. "Heck, I doubt those 'hunting instincts' of yours, as well." That's all it took to truly bring out Chrysalis' fury. With an enraged battle cry, the changeling Queen leapt onto a surprised Discord, clamping her jaws on the draconequus' throat. "And then that's when you two showed up.", both Chrysalis and Discord finished in unison, shooting a glare at each other afterwards. Rainbow and Fluttershy looked at each other, before Fluttershy looked to Discord and spoke. "Discord, I think it's time for you to leave.", she said gently. "I'll be making my leave then. Oh, and maybe we could have tea at Twilight's place tomorrow? I need to get my weekly fridge raid in. And I wouldn't want to stop by here and disturb her Majesty..", Discord shot another glare at Chrysalis before continuing, "So? See you tomorrow?" Fluttershy shook her head. "I know you really want to.. I do too... but I really need to stay here.. I hope you don't mind, Discord." "Oh, alright, Fluttershy.", Discord gave the yellow pegasus a quick hug before disappearing with a snap of his claw. Rainbow looked at Fluttershy, a bit awkward. "I think I'll leave too. It's getting pretty late.." As Rainbow turned to leave, Fluttershy stopped her with a hoof. "Rainbow, could you do me a favor? Um, I-if you want to, that is.." "Sure thing, Flutters." "Could you let the girls know to come by here tomorrow night? I want then to have dinner with Chrysalis.." "Like we did with Discord?" Fluttershy nodded. Dash sighed. "Well, if that's what you want. See you tomorrow, then, Fluttershy." And with that, Dash flew off, back to her own house. Fluttershy turned to her cottage door to find Chrysalis wasn't there. Oh, no... Where did she go..?, Fluttershy thought as she took a quick peek inside, not finding the Queen there. Looking around frantically, passing the woods near her cottage, flying over and through the chicken coop, and circling the cottage itself, she finally found the changeling Queen behind her cottage, looking out into the sunset. That was unexpected.., Fluttershy thought to herself, surprised. Walking up slowly, she tapped Chrysalis on the shoulder. She had been lying down, and turned her head to the pegasus looming above her. "F-Fluttershy?", the Queen looked a bit surprised. "Do you mind if I sit here? I-if you do, that's okay... I mean..." "That's fine.", Chrysalis interrupted, looking away from the pegasus and out to the sky, where the sun was being brought down. Fluttershy sat down next to Chrysalis, leaving a bit of distance between them, and heaved a small sigh. Looking at the changeling, she noticed the Queen had a long, faraway look in her eyes. "I'm not quite sure how tomorrow will go, Fluttershy... Your friends despise me, and I can tell you don't like me very much, either.", Chrysalis spoke suddenly, making Fluttershy jump. "Well...", Fluttershy sighed again. "I want to give it a try. After all, you haven't seen much of anypony since Celestia brought you here." "True enough." Fluttershy moved a bit closer to Chrysalis, putting a hoof comfortingly on the Queen's holed hoof. "I may not like you very much, but I am willing to try and reform you. And maybe, after all this is over.. Changelings and ponies can live happily together.." Chrysalis smiled a small, hopeful smile. "Maybe. Just maybe." "But please, don't try and tear my friends' throats out tomorrow..", Fluttershy joked, giggling a bit. Chrysalis snorted, stifling a soft laugh of her own. "Oh, okay. But if anything happens, they started it. Chapter FiveChrysalis and Fluttershy were busy setting the table, getting ready for their guests later that evening. Well, Fluttershy was setting the table, anyway. Chrysalis was just watching, not having any intention to help. Fluttershy rolled her eyes as she placed down silverware at each of the seats. "You could help, you know.", Fluttershy suggested, trying to sound gentle. Chrysalis put a hoof to her chin. "I could...", she walked a bit closer to the table, only to turn away again. "But I don't really want to." Fluttershy heaved a sigh, looking up from her work to give Chrysalis her best set of puppy-dog eyes. And let me tell you, it's much cuter on a pony than it is a changeling. Chrysalis tried her best to turn her head away, but she found herself quickly giving in, sliding next to Fluttershy and helping to put the rest of the silverware at the table. Within a few minutes, they were finished. "See, that wasn't that hard..", Fluttershy said to Chrysalis, who had walked back towards the couch. "If you say so...", Chrysalis muttered, heaving a sigh. She said something else Fluttershy didn't quite catch. Fluttershy tipped her head. "What did you say? I-I didn't hear you..." Chrysalis waved a hoof dismissively. "Oh, nothing. Nothing important." Fluttershy looked unconvinced, and simply shrugged. She headed towards the door, turning to Chrysalis. "I'm going to get some food for dinner. Can you stay here alone without causing any trouble?", she asked, eyeing the Queen suspiciously. Chrysalis snorted. "I'm no foal. In fact, I'm much older than you, Fluttershy. Just go. I'll be fine here." "If you're sure...", Fluttershy gave the changeling one last glance before she walked out the door. Twilight was in her castle, making sure everything was ready for her to leave that evening. Starlight and Spike were in the library, they were busy helping to organize, yet again. Twilight's OCD, honestly. Ugh. Twilight flew down onto the ground, where Starlight and Spike were sorting out books into piles. Twilight walked up to the pair at work. "Are you sure you two will be fine tonight?", Twilight asked. Spike heaved a sigh. "We've been through this already, Twilight." Starlight rolled her eyes. "Ten times, at least," she muttered under her breath. Spike said something under his breath, then continued. "We'll be fine. Now stop worrying." "It's not like the world's going to end, just because you leave.", Starlight chimed in. "I guess...", Twilight conceded. "Alright then. I'm going now." "But dinner's not for an hour yet!", Spike called as Twilight started to leave. The purple alicorn stopped, looking back at Spike. "I've got to go get the girls, remember?", she replied, and kept walking. Spike went back to Starlight, and the pair continued to sort out the books. About an hour later, a blinding white flash made both dragon and unicorn jump. Starlight and Spike shared a glance, then looked up at the figure before them. The pair simultaneously groaned. "Discord...", they said in unison, both sounding irritated. "Why if it isn't my two favorite rejects!", the draconequus said in a cheerful voice. Starlight heaved a sigh, and Spike put a hand to his face. Discord popped up between them in another flash, his arms around each of their shoulders. "What is it, Discord?", Starlight said, still irritated. Discord tried his best to look hurt. "What, I can't pop in to see how two of my dear friends are doing?", he asked, pouting. Spike sighed. "I'm guessing they didn't invite you to dinner, then?" Discord nodded. "Well, I guess they sort of had a point, seeing as Chrysalis almost tore my throat out yesterday.", he said in false resignation, looking from Starlight to Spike for any pity. "You heard about that, right?', he asked, receiving a nod from both unicorn and dragon. Starlight shoved Discord's arm off her shoulder. "So, why are you here?", she asked again. Discord looked at Starlight. "Because I want to crash the party, and I want you two to come with me." Twilight, along with the rest of her friends, excluding Fluttershy, of course, all hesitantly walked down the path to Fluttershy's cottage. They were all talking amongst themselves. "Y'all said she wasn't reformed at all really when ya saw 'er, right, Rainbow?", Applejack had asked. Rainbow nodded. "But you never know when it comes to Fluttershy.." Pinkie bounced up from behind them. "Ooh! I wonder what they're making for dinner! I hope there's dessert!", she said cheerfully, licking her lips at the thought of sweets. "Your mind would be on sweets, Pinkie. Honestly, darling, I'm surprised you're not as round as a beach ball, the way you eat.", Rarity remarked from just behind Pinkie Pie. The pink earth pony only giggled in response. The only pony who hadn't spoke was Twilight. Concerned, Applejack walked up to where her friend had taken the lead. "You alright, Twi?", she asked. Twilight, who was deep in thought, looked over to Applejack. "I-I'm fine. Just worried, is all..", she replied, her voice straining to sound calm. Despite that, her mind was racing a mile a minute. What if this doesn't go well? What if Chrysalis is even worse than before?!, she thought, trying not to panic. She stopped when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. Applejack gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't y'all worry one bit, Twi. This'll all be fine, I'm sure.", the farm pony told Twilight, giving her a bit of reassurance. "Hopefully...", Rainbow muttered under her breath. Applejack swiftly turned her head, glaring at the cyan pegasus. The group simultaneously came to a stop at the door. Twilight walked closer to it and gave it a hesitant knock. A few moments later, the door opened, and Chrysalis poked her head out. She turned, calling, "They're here, Fluttershy!", to the shy pegasus that was in the kitchen. The door opened wider, and the five ponies that were outside piled into the small cottage.Twilight looked up at the changeling Queen who had opened the door for them, and Chrysalis gave her a cool smile in return. Twilight leaned up to her ear. "I don't know what you're playing at, but it's not going to work, Chrysalis.", she hissed into the Queen's ear. Chrysalis looked down, a smug smile on her face. "I'm not playing at anything.", she whispered back. Twilight snorted, looking away. Noticing her friends were at Fluttershy's table, she walked over, sitting next to Applejack, who reassured her one last time. Fluttershy called out something from the kitchen again, causing Twilight to stand up. "I'll help her, don't worry.", Chrysalis said calmly, walking into the kitchen. Twilight was about to give her a sharp retort when Applejack gently shook her head. "I wonder what Fluttershy has planned?", Rarity thought aloud, her blue gaze looking intently at the kitchen. "I wanna know, too! I'm hungry!", Pinkie was looking at the kitchen as well, her mouth watering. Rainbow and Applejack looked at each other, both snorting in laughter. Soon enough, Fluttershy and Chrysalis walked out of the kitchen, plates in their hooves. After a second trip to the kitchen, everypony had their food. Fluttershy was a pony who didn't eat anything too out of the ordinary, so each pony had a simple salad in front of them. Well, all except Chrysalis, who didn't have anything in front of her. Twilight looked over to the Queen who had purposely decided to sit next to her. "Um, Chrysalis, why aren't you eating?", she asked, looking at the changeling suspiciously. "Changelings feed off of love, and emotion in general. Or did you forget that, Twilight?", Chrysalis sneered. Twilight gritted her teeth. "I remember that..." "And besides, our stomachs aren't made for digesting any food.", the Queen continued, looking at Twilight, who shot her a furious glare back. With that out of the way, the ponies started eating, and an awkward silence fell to the table. Chapter SixChrysalis woke up slowly, putting a hoof to her head, which hurt badly. She blinked open her eyes, looking around the living room, widening her eyes at the scene before her. Twilight and her friends, along with Discord, Spike, and Starlight, were all sprawled across the floor, deep asleep. The Queen's ear twitched when she heard somepony stir. Looking around, she saw Twilight turning on the floor. Walking over to the alicorn, Chrysalis prodded her side. Twilight sat up for a second, still half-asleep. "Just put the hay in the apple and eat the candle...", she murmured dreamily. Chrysalis rolled her eyes, prodding Twilight with her hoof again. This time, Twilight was fully awake. Well, sort of. She looked up at the changeling who had waken her, jumping up in alarm and looking around the living room. "What happened..?", Twilight asked, looking around with a confused expression. Chrysalis shrugged. "My guess is Discord happened," she replied, pointing a holed hoof at the draconequus who was still asleep on the couch, his head hanging off and resting on the floor. Twilight sighed. "Well, that figures." "Though I don't remember much after dinner...", Chrysalis muttered. "Me neither," Twilight muttered in agreement, "But I do remember Discord bursting in the door." The Queen nodded. "He had your pupil and your assistant with him, I think." "Yea, they're right over there.", Twilight nodded towards where Spike and Starlight were asleep, laying next to each other. "So now what?" Twilight shrugged, walking around the room, only to trip over a large mug. "What the?", Twilight looked down at the mug. Chrysalis then noticed the mugs littered all over the floor. "Well...", she picked a mug up with her magic, her horn lighting up in an acid green aura. Twilight looked at the Queen's horn, noticing the nullifying ring was gone. "Wait a second.. What happened to the ring on your horn?", she asked. Chrysalis shrugged. "Someone must have taken it off last night. Fluttershy must have, she's the only one who knew where the key to unlock it was." Twilight tipped her head. "Key?" The Queen nodded. "The ring on my horn was kind of like a cuff they put on prisoners. It can be unlocked with a key. Sunbutt gave the key to Fluttershy before I was brought here." "Oh." Chrysalis lifted the mug up towards her muzzle, licking up some of the liquid that was inside. "Huh. Tastes kind of like cider..." "What?", Twilight seemed unconvinced. Picking up another mug off the floor, which was still half full, Twilight took a sip of it, "You're right. It is cider." "So does that mean we all got drunk last night, then?" Twilight nodded. "I'm guessing that's what Discord did. I wonder if Spike drank any." Chrysalis took another mug, one that the sleeping Spike was still holding. "Doesn't alcoholic cider taste different than regular cider?", she asked. "It does. Here, let me see it.", Twilight took the mug in her magic, bringing to her muzzle and taking a taste of it, "This is normal cider, thank Faust." "Okay then. Mystery solved. Kind of. So basically, after Discord came in, just as you were finishing up dinner, he must have given us all cider, cast some sort of spell to make us drink it, and then we got so drunk we passed out.", Chrysalis said after a few minutes of silence. "How do you figure that?", Twilight asked. "It's obvious enough Discord gave us the cider. We have enough common sense not to drink it. He must have made us." Twilight put a hoof to her chin, contemplating the Queen's theory. "I wouldn't put it past Rainbow and Pinkie to hesitate when given a drink, though." "You know your friends better than I do.", Chrysalis replied, looking over at the pink earth pony and cyan pegasus, both in a deep sleep on the floor. "Well, then. I didn't expect anyone to be up yet.", a new voice remarked from behind, causing both Twilight and Chrysalis to jump. The pair turned around quickly, looking at who had just spoke. "Discord..", they said in unison, both Princess and Queen sounding irritated. Discord looked at the two of them, an innocent looking smile on his face. "What? Did I do something wrong?", he asked, sounding as innocent as he possibly could. But then, this is Discord, so he didn't sound too innocent. "....", Twilight glared at Discord, not responding. Chrysalis leaned in to Twilight's ear. "You know, Fluttershy totally should have let me tear his throat out yesterday," she whispered in Twilight's ear. "Maybe, maybe not.", Twilight whispered back. Chrysalis looked back up at Discord, her eyes ablaze. "What gives you the right to make us drink like that?!", she shouted, hovering off the ground to look Discord in the eye. "I'm the Lord of Chaos...? Does that count?", Discord asked, taking a step back from the raging Queen. Chrysalis didn't answer, letting a growl rumble in her throat. Discord gulped, snapping his claw and making a balloon bat appear in his lion paw. He held it close to his face, stepping back further until he ran into the wall. "I-I'm not afraid to use this!", he snarled. "Chrysalis, back off," Twilight said in a commanding voice, causing the Queen to lower herself back onto the ground. Chrysalis turned to look at Twilight. "But he... he...", she stammered, too angry to speak. "I know what he did", Twilight responded calmly, interrupting Chrysalis and walking closer to the Queen. Twilight's voice lowered to a whisper, "We can get him back later. Deal?" Chrysalis sighed. "Fine. Deal." Chapter Seven"I keep telling you, Fluttershy, he deserved it!", Chrysalis was snarling in defiance as Fluttershy tended to Discord, who had several bite wounds in his neck. Fluttershy had already cleaned the wounds thoroughly, and was now wrapping them in bandages. It had been roughly two days since the dinner with Twilight and the rest, and since Discord got everyone drunk. Chrysalis was still infuriated with the draconequus for the incident, and when he had came over today, the Queen couldn't control herself. "No one deserves to be hurt like this. You could have killed him, Chrysalis.", Fluttershy's voice was gentle, but stern. "Yea, you could have really hurt me, Chryssie..", Discord rasped mockingly. Chrysalis shot a glare at Discord, baring her bloodstained fangs. Fluttershy gave Discord a stern look, and then turned to look at Chrysalis the same way. The Queen said nothing else, simply snorting and turning her head. The pegasus went back to tending Discord's wounds, and finished wrapping the bandages around them. Discord smiled gently, murmuring a soft 'Thank you'. Chrysalis resorting to sitting in the chair that was near the couch, and looked at Discord. The draconequus could have sworn he saw a hint of concern in the Queen's blazing eyes, but it soon vanished. A couple hours later, Chrysalis felt a gentle hoof prod her side. Blinking open her eyes, she whipped her head to see Fluttershy looking up at her. Huh. I must have fallen asleep..., she thought, her jaws gaping in a not-so-regal yawn. Looking down at Fluttershy, she asked, "What is it?" Fluttershy was silent for a moment, as if she was trying to think about what to say. After about a minute, she spoke. "Well.. um, there's somepony who wants to see you." Chrysalis cocked her head. "Someone wants to see me? Who is it?" "Princess Celestia..." The Queen snorted. "So that fat excuse for a Princess actually came all the way here for me? I must say, I'm surprised.", she sneered, before getting up out of the chair she had been sleeping in. Looking back at Fluttershy, she asked, "So where's Sunbutt at?" Fluttershy looked a bit nervous. "O-outside.. at the door..", she whispered. Chrysalis nodded, and made her way towards the front door. Just like Fluttershy said, Princess Celestia herself was standing tall, matching the tall changeling in height. Chrysalis' lip curled in a sneer as she looked the Princess up and down, noticing the row of guards behind her. "Chrysalis.", Celestia greeted the changeling, her voice not showing much emotion. "Celestia.", Chrysalis matched the alicorn's tone, a hint of a sneer in her dual-toned voice. The Queen tipped her head. "What are you doing here?" "I came to make sure everything was going alright with your reformation. That, and I heard what happened with Discord earlier.", the alicorn explained. Chrysalis lowered her voice. "You never came here while Discord was being reformed.. But then, that idiot was reformed within a day..", the Queen muttered under her breath. Celestia overheard Chrysalis' mutterings, and heaved a sigh. "I know, I know. I would have come if I could. Duty calls. And besides, your reformation has taken much longer. You have been in Ponyville for about a week now." Chrysalis seemed confused. "And..?" Celestia took in a deep breath, letting it out a second later. "I knew from the start you would be much harder to change than Discord. I wanted to make sure you hadn't done anything to any of my little ponies." Chrysalis snorted, holding back laughter. "What was I going to do without magic? That ring was taken off only a couple of days ago. Mind you, Fluttershy was drunk, but we lost it, so there's no going back now." The Queen stopped, grinning at Celestia's confused face. "What? You didn't hear?" Celestia gritted her teeth, trying hard to stay calm. "I heard about it plenty. Twilight sent me a letter yesterday about it. Said she was recovering from a hangover.. What she didn't tell me was that the nullifying ring had been lost." "We didn't find out until yesterday morning. We were all recovering from hangovers." Celestia rolled her eyes. "That figures. So.. how have things been for you?" Chrysalis looked at Celestia in surprise. "Why would you care?" "I'm only wondering.." "Whatever. Since you're oh so curious, I've been fine.", Chrysalis replied, her voice somewhat sarcastic. Celestia narrowed her eyes. "I didn't ask for sarcasm." "I've been fine, like I already said. Fluttershy's been a great hostess." Celestia looked unconvinced, cocking an eyebrow. Chrysalis snorted. "I'm serious.", she snapped. "If you say so. Well, sorry to make this visit short-lived, but I already told Twilight I would stop by after I came here.", With those last words, Celestia spread her large white wings, flying away, her guard following suit. Chrysalis watched them go before turning and shutting the door. Heaving a sigh, Chrysalis flopped down in the chair. She was about to say Fluttershy's name when she realized the shy pegasus wasn't in the room. "Fluttershy is in the kitchen, if you were wondering..", Discord rasped from where he lay on the couch. "She's getting some food for the animals." "Oh, alright." Discord looked at Chrysalis suspiciously for a moment. "Something on your mind?" Chrysalis lied back in the chair. "Mind if I vent for a second?" Discord gave a small nod. "Sure. Just don't try and tear out my throat again, please.", he said jokingly. The Queen chuckled. "Fine, fine.", she heaved a sigh, trying to think her words out. "Do ponies trust you?", she asked after a few minutes of silence. Discord cocked a brow. "What do you mean by that?" "Do they trust you not to hurt anyone? Or, do they trust you as.. a friend?" The draconequus looked thoughtful. "Well, Fluttershy does. The others... not really. And I can't say Tia does either." "Why can't they show a little trust? They want me to reform, and stop being evil, and.. and they can't even put a little trust in me?! Don't you ever feel.. oh, I don't know, like an outcast? Or like you did something wrong?", Chrysalis' voice began to rise, her fangs bared in anger. "I think it's because we're not ponies. I mean, we both look rather menacing.. Maybe that's why?", Discord suggested. Chrysalis sighed. "I don't know. I.. I don't know." Chapter Eight"I've always thought of ponies to be a bit racist. Or is it species-ist? It doesn't matter, but the point still stands.", Discord remarked, his voice still a bit raspy with his throat still healing. He and Chrysalis were still in the living room, chatting a bit more confidently now. Fluttershy had gone outside to check on the chickens in her coop in the meantime. "You've got a point there. But at least Fluttershy seems a bit more welcoming. She is your friend, after all.", Chrysalis replied, thinking in her head, She's the only one, though... Her kindness is extraordinary, seeing as she befriended Discord of all creatures. "Yea, I guess. The others came along. Eventually.", Discord tipped his head. "Well, at least I think they did. After that incident with Tirek, I think they saw at least something." Chrysalis cocked a brow. "They did?" "Well, I don't know... They don't hate me as much now. But I still see the loathing whenever I pop up. A little." "At least they don't look at you like you just slaughtered their family every time you walk up.", the Queen muttered. "They do that?", Discord asked, a bit surprised. Chrysalis simply nodded in response. The pair stopped talking when Fluttershy walked in the door, picking chicken feathers out of her mane. Discord put his paw to his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Fluttershy sighed, picking out the last feather. "I really need to get those nests cleaned out...", she muttered under her breath. "Hey Fluttershy," Discord called, catching the pegasus' attention. "You didn't find Scootaloo in the coop again, did you?" Fluttershy shook her head. "No. I still don't understand how she would even wind up in the chicken coop.", she replied, thinking to herself an answer for her question. "She's a flightless pegasus, with a color that could be a chicken's feathers.", Chrysalis pointed out, sounding uninterested. "Right.", Fluttershy shook her head, as if to clear it. Walking over to Discord, she put a hoof on the bandages that were still on his neck. Looking up at him, she asked, "How are your wounds?" Discord shrugged. "They feel fine." "Any stinging? Or bleeding? Or-", Fluttershy was cut off by a claw to her lips. Discord smiled a soft smile. "I'm fine, don't worry. I'll let you know otherwise, I promise.", the draconequus spoke in a soft, comforting voice. "If you're sure... Do you need anything?" Discord shook his head. "We're fine here. Don't you worry. Say, don't you have a meeting with your friends today?" Fluttershy looked down at her hooves. "Well, yes, but I thought, I think, it would be better if I stay here with you two. You know what happened last time I left you alone." Chrysalis waved a hoof dismissively. "Put a little trust in us, Fluttershy. We were fine in here talking while you went to take care of your little animals. Your meeting only lasts a couple hours, right?", she asked. "Yes, but.., what if something does happen?", the pegasus asked, still worried. "Then you've got two creatures here who can teleport right to you and make sure you know.", Discord reminded her. Fluttershy sat down on the floor, heaving a sigh. After a few minutes of silence, she nodded, mainly to herself. "Alright.. I guess it would be rude to ditch my friends... even if it was for good reason.", the yellow pegasus stood back up. "You're right.", she said, confidently. Walking over to the door, she said a quick goodbye to both Chrysalis and Discord before walking out. A few seconds after Fluttershy was gone, Chrysalis turned her head back to Discord. "You know, we make a good team." "A good team? In what, convincing ponies to leave us alone? So that we can slaughter each other? Tear each others' throats out?", Discord retorted. Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "Don't be so negative, Discord. I meant we make a good team when it comes to gaining someone's trust." "I suppose. Wait, what chapter is this again? Is this the one with the shipping between us in it?", the draconequus asked suddenly. Chrysalis shrugged. "I think it's shipping fuel, for the writer, anyway. Now stop breaking the fourth wall, Discord." "But you're doing it too, Chryssie..", Discord shot back, his voice rising to a whine. "No, I'm not, anymore." Discord folded his arms, his face in a pout. "So you say." Author's Note Yea, yea, I know this is short. I just wanted to get something out before I start school again on Monday. Just an FYI, I'll be updating a bit less when school starts. Chapter NineFluttershy jumped up out of bed, letting out a startled yelp, her breathing almost panting. That was an awful dream!, she thought, trying not to think about her nightmare. All she could remember was being in the center of Ponyville, with her friends. Changelings were everywhere, terrorizing the ponies and destroying the town. But that wasn't what scared her the most. Fluttershy shuddered when she really remembered her friends' glares, the stinging words they had said. 'We should have never trusted you to reform Chrysalis..', they had said. 'You should have never taken her in.' Fluttershy jumped out of her thoughts when she saw a pair of glowing green eyes looking at her from just outside her bedroom door. The pegasus lowered herself, covering much of her face in her blanket, looking fearfully at the door. "Fluttershy? Are you alright?", Chrysalis asked, opening the door a bit more, her horn lighting the room in a dim green light. Fluttershy looked up at the changeling, letting out a sigh of relief. She lifted herself up, letting the blanket fall out of her shaking hooves. "I-I'm fine... You startled me, is all...", Fluttershy replied, her voice a bit shaky. Chrysalis hesitated before walking a little closer to the scared mare. "Did you have a bad dream? It's still late, you know." Fluttershy nodded, noticing the sky outside her window was still dark. "I'm fine now, though.. Why are you awake?" "I went to get some water.. Then I heard you wake up, and came to see if you were okay." "Oh...", Fluttershy looked down at her hooves. Chrysalis looked at Fluttershy, still concerned. "What was your dream about?", she asked, climbing onto the bed and sitting at the end of it. Fluttershy didn't respond, only shuddered after thinking about it again. The Queen waited, and after a few moments, asked in a softer voice, "Was it about me..?" Fluttershy looked up at Chrysalis, opening her mouth, only to close it again. After a minute or two, Fluttershy softly shook her head. Chrysalis didn't probe anything else out of the pegasus, heaving a sigh. She folded her holed hooves, lying her head down on them. Fluttershy looked away from the changeling, not knowing what else to say. The two sat there, silent, for a long time. After what felt like hours, Chrysalis lifted her head back up, looking directly at Fluttershy. "Do you still think I would bring my changelings here to Ponyville?", she asked all of a sudden. Fluttershy looked surprised, and turned back to Chrysalis. "What makes you say that?" "I'm not stupid, Fluttershy. I know nopony here trusts me not to do anything like that. Distrust is an emotion, and like any emotion, I can sense it.", Chrysalis lowered her voice, speaking in a soft whisper. Fluttershy opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Chrysalis' raised hoof. "But then, who could trust a changeling?", Chrysalis snorted, her voice hardening as she looked Fluttershy right in the eye. "I...", Fluttershy was at a loss for words. "That's what I thought." Chrysalis got off of the bed, walking out of the room and abruptly slamming the door in rage. Fluttershy was about to get up and follow her, but stopped herself when she heard nothing else, other than a long, heavy sigh coming from the living room. I should go and see if she needs anything... But... I don't think Chrysalis wants to even look at me right now..., Fluttershy thought, sighing and laying back down in her bed. Closing her eyes, she found it easy to drift off to sleep. Fluttershy woke up the next morning to feel a claw prodding her side. She blinked open her eyes and looked up to see a distressed looking Discord looming above her, a small piece of paper in his lion paw. "Fluttershy, you need to read this. It's urgent.", Discord said, handing the paper over. Fluttershy, You'll obviously notice I'm gone. Bet that makes your life easier not having a menace like myself lurking around. Don't bother looking for me, either. -Chrysalis Fluttershy's eyes widened as she read the note, looking up at Discord, equally as distressed. And very regretful. Jumping up out of her bed, with Discord trailing behind, Fluttershy trotted swiftly into the living room. She turned, looking at Discord. "Chrysalis wasn't here when you came in?", she asked. Discord shook his head. "That note was the only thing out of the ordinary that was here. Where do you think she would have gone?" Fluttershy looked rather troubled as she met Discord's gaze. "I-I don't know... Princess Celestia had said she found Chrysalis with her hive.. but she didn't say where." "Do you think Chryssie may have gone back to her hive, then?" Fluttershy shrugged. "That's the most likely place. But I don't know where the hive is..." Discord looked thoughtful for a few moments, before brightening. "Didn't Twilight talk with Celestia the other day? Maybe she knows where Chrysalis' hive is." "You might be right, Discord. Let's go look." And with that, the duo was out the door and on their way to Twilight's castle. Author's Note I know, I know, this is still short. At least we're getting to a climax here! I'll make sure to make the next chapter longer than these last two. I've got great plans for this story, and I'm excited to keep writing it. Chapter TenTwilight was in the throne room of her castle, talking with the rest of her friends, minus Fluttershy. They had scheduled a meeting for the day, but the five ponies surrounding the map soon realized that their shy friend wasn't coming. They talked for a while, minutes ticking by, until an hour passed, and Fluttershy still wasn't present. Rainbow Dash spoke up. "So, Fluttershy's not coming, then? Go figure.", she blurted out. Rarity shot a glare at the cyan pegasus. "Rainbow! Just because she's a little late doesn't mean she's not coming!" Applejack sighed. "Rarity, an hour isn't a little late. Fluttershy should'a been here ages ago." Pinkie Pie shot up at once. "What if one of Fluttershy's animals are sick? Ooo, and what if she had to stay home? What if she wanted to leave, and she did, but then all the animals got sick?", Pinkie gasped. "What if they all died?!" Rarity and Applejack facehoofed simultaneously. Twilight was silent for a while, before eventually speaking. "Well, we don't know for sure if she's not coming. As much as I don't want to say it, Pinkie might be right.", she paused when Pinkie softly whispered 'yes!'. "Something could have happened, and she might not have been able to leave for a while." "You could be right...", Rainbow replied, giving a small nod. "Yea, let's not git ourselves too worried..", Applejack spoke up. Suddenly, the doors to the throne room shot open, Fluttershy and Discord rushing inside, both pegasus and draconequus panting. The five ponies turned their heads abruptly to the noise, eyes widening at the pair. Applejack sighed. "Ah stand corrected." Twilight got up out of her seat, trotting up to Fluttershy and Discord, her worried gaze looking them over. "Fluttershy, what's wrong?!", she asked. "Well, um....", Fluttershy started. "Chrysalis is gone. She bolted out the door, and left, to Celestia knows where.", Discord interrupted, handing the note the Queen had written to Twilight, who, after reading it, looked up at Discord. "Do you know where she would have went?", the draconequus asked. Twilight shook her head. "Celestia told me she found Chrysalis with her hive, but..." "Yes, but, um...", Fluttershy spoke up. "Do you guys even know where that is?", Rainbow interrupted Fluttershy. Twilight shook her head, again. "The Princess didn't tell me where it was. All she said is that she found Chrysalis there." "So, then, are y'all sayin' we have ta go to Canterlot and ask her?", Applejack asked. Twilight nodded. "Pretty much, yea." Pinkie jumped up out of her chair, bouncing to the door. "Well, then, what are we waiting for?!" Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack all got up from their seats, ready to head out. Fluttershy and Discord looked at each other, then to Twilight. The others looked expectantly at Twilight as well. Twilight sighed. "How are we even supposed to get to Canterlot? Not all of us can fly, the train would take too long, and I can't teleport all of us." Discord tapped Twilight's shoulder. "I've got you covered, Twilight." With a snap of his claw, all seven of them were gone. Moments later, the group reappeared just outside of Canterlot, in the train station. Once the group recollected themselves, Twilight lead the way into the city, where ponies roamed about, touring shops, restaurants, and other businesses. A few ponies looked at the group curiously as they trotted though the town, but the ponies, and draconequus, took no notice. Soon enough, the castle laid just ahead of them. In front of the castle doors, two guards, one a tan-ish unicorn, the other a blueish-grey batpony, were busy quarreling with each other. "Nightfall, I'm telling you, Scout stuck those tacks in your armor. It was not me!", the unicorn was saying. The batpony, Nightfall, snorted. "Sure. Whatever you say, Barley.", he retorted, rolling his eyes. "I'll have you know it took two and a half hours to get those tacks unstuck. I was late for my shift!" Barley looked away from the batpony. "You'd be late even if your armor wasn't covered in tacks..", he muttered under his breath. Nightfall whipped his head to glare at the unicorn. "What was that?", he growled. Barley didn't have the chance to reply when a group of six ponies, and Discord himself, showed up. It didn't take long for the pair to realize that the ponies were the Elements themselves, lead by Princess Twilight. The two guards dipped their heads in Twilight's presence. "Princess, what're you doing in Canterlot, if I may ask? You weren't scheduled to visit..", Nightfall asked when Twilight came closer. "It's urgent. We need to see Celestia.", Twilight replied, urgency even in her voice. The two guards stepped out of the way of the doors, simultaneously saying, "Of course.", then shot a glare at each other. Twilight said a quick thank-you and the group went inside. They found Celestia sitting in the throne room, chatting with her sister Luna. Celestia raised her head, turning to look at the group as they approached. The white alicorn noticed the group's grim expression. "Is something wrong, Twilight?", she asked. "Um, yeah! Chrysalis is gone!", Rainbow Dash blurted out before Twilight could respond. Rarity shot a glare at the pegasus, and would have said something if the situation weren't so tense. Celestia's eyes widened, and Luna looked equally as surprised. "Wait, what?", the alicorn asked. Twilight stepped forward. "Chrysalis is gone, just like Rainbow said. She must have gone back to her hive, but we don't know where that is. That's why we came to you, Princess." Celestia nodded to herself, muttering something under her breath. She signaled to Luna, who turned and left the room. "Where's she goin'?", Applejack asked, watching the night goddess briskly walk out of the room. "She's getting one of my sergeants. They're the one who found Chrysalis and her hive in the first place.", Celestia replied. The seven ponies, as well as Discord, of course, waited silently for Luna to come back into the room. A few minutes later, the moon Princess returned, a light orange pegasus at her side. The pegasus was a small, lightly built mare. Her mane was a bright gold, almost glowing in the sunlight. Her golden armor, worn by all of the Celestial guard, shone, freshly shined. Celestia turned to look at the mare. "This is Sergeant Golden Feather.", she said, introducing the mare to the group. The mare waved a hoof at the group in greeting. "Nice to meet you all." The group greeted the mare, and afterwards, Celestia looked to the group, her tone growing serious. "Chrysalis needs to be found, and if she's with her changelings, she needs to be found soon. Golden Feather, you'll lead the group to the hive. I'll let you take the guards of your choice, Sergeant." Golden Feather dipped her head. "Of course, Your Highness. We'll leave right away, as soon as I get some backup." The Sergeant was about to lead the group out, when they heard Celestia cleared her throat. "One more thing. You all come in peace. I don't want any fighting." Golden Feather nodded. "We'll keep note of that, Princess." And with that, the group headed out the castle doors, on their way to fetch some more guards. Author's Note Man, it's been over a month since I've updated this story! Don't worry, I haven't abandoned it, I just haven't been able to finish this chapter, with school and all. I'll try to post a new chapter soon! Chapter Eleven Chapter Eleven Twilight, her friends, Discord, and Golden Feather all walked out of the large city of Canterlot, flanked by a group of a dozen or so of the royal guard. Walking seemed inefficient, seeing as the vast majority of the group could fly, with the exception of the few unicorns, and earth ponies alongside them. After a few minutes of walking, the group just outside the castle, Discord started complaining. "Do we have to walk? The trip is so far... Can't we fly? Or couldn't I teleport us instead?", he suggested, his voice rising to a whine. Golden Feather sighed. "You know, I always thought of the 'Lord of Chaos' to be a bit more cooperative. Not all of us can fly, if you haven't noticed." Twilight turned her head, looking up at Discord with a curious expression. "Have you ever teleported so many ponies before? I mean, I know you teleported us to Canterlot, but that seems like a tough job, even for you.." Discord scoffed. "I am the Lord of Chaos! I can do anything, dear Book Horse." Twilight looked at Discord, narrowing her eyes a bit. "Book Horse?" Discord nodded. "It suits you." Twilight rolled her eyes. "So are you going to teleport us or not?" Rainbow Dash out herself into the conversation. "Yea, come on!" Discord grumbled under his breath. "No one asked you, Dashie.", he retorted, sighing and stretching his arms. With a snap of his talon, there was a flash of white light that surrounded the large group. For a moment, it looked as if Discord had pulled it off, until the light faded, and everyone was where they had been before. The ponies all looked around, irritated expressions on their faces when they saw they were in the same place as they had already been. "See why were walkin' now, Discord?", Applejack asked, speaking up for the first time. Discord folded his arms, not replying. Rarity rolled her eyes, and Fluttershy went up to the draconequus, whispering something in his ear. Discord said nothing else, only have a small nod. The group started moving again, with Golden Feather in the lead. After what felt like hours, the thought that Discord had been pondering in his head was finally spoken. "Um, this might just be me, but, what if Chrysalis isn't with her hive..?", he asked. Golden Feather turned. "Where else would she go? It's not like she'd go to the Crystal Empire and try to get some sort of revenge on Shining Armor and Princess Cadence." "I don't know, that bug has always had a morbid way of thinking.", Discord replied, shuddering at the thought. Golden Feather snorted briefly before continuing on her way, everyone else following behind. The familiar sights of Equestria eventually gave way to desolate wasteland as the group headed further and further towards their destination. Celestial was lowering the sun by the time everyone stopped, Golden Feather declaring they made camp for the night. Discord was obviously defiant towards the lieutenant, but was surprised to see that Twilight seemed to be letting the guard take charge. Discord walked up to the purple alicorn, who was attempting to preen her feathers. Twilight looked up from her wing, heaving a sigh. "I'll never get used to these. Oh, Discord... What is it?" Discord folded his arms. "You are a Princess. You're telling me that you're letting a simple lieutenant boss you around?", he spat. Twilight thought about her words. "Well, she's the one who knows where the changeling are. And, she is a soldier. I respect that. Besides, I'm not really... comfortable... ordering all thos3 guards around. It... Just seems like something the other Princesses would do, not little old me." Discord rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Twily." The draconequus walked off, laying his back against a small, dead tree that stood behind him. He closed his eyes for a moment, resting for a bit longer, until he heard hoofsteps. Opening an eye just slightly, Discord looked to see Fluttershy standing above him, a worried expression on her face. Discord's eyes opened at once, and he was at full attention. "Fluttershy, is there something wrong?", he asked. Fluttershy didn't reply, looking down at her hooves for a long time. After contemplating what she wanted to say, the butter pegasus finally spoke. "I'm worried about Chrysalis. What if she's all alone? What if she is starving half to death? I...I feel like an awful pony.." Discord put a claw on Fluttershy's shoulder comfortingly. "Fluttershy, you are not a bad pony. It's not your fault you were asked to reform her. She's heartless. No good inside that thick, swiss-cheese carapace." Fluttershy was about to reply when Pinkie Pie burst up out of nowhere. "Did someone say cheese?! I know, sweets are my 'thing', but man, am I hungry!", she said, kicking her lips obnoxiously, before.her stomach growled loudly. Fluttershy and Discord shared a look, a smile on each of them. Before they knew it, Pinkie was gone without a trace. "She is one odd pony. No wonder she's my favorite of your friends.", he said after a moment, a cheeky grin on his muzzle. Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "Discord..." "Sorry, sorry!", he said quickly, looking to the darkening sky. "You know, it's getting kind of dark. We should probably get some rest, like everyone else," he suggested, pointing a claw to the scattered sleeping guards and Elements on the ground,"It's been a long day." Fluttershy sighed, laying down. "I guess you're right, Discord.. Well, um, good night." Discord smiled, lying on the ground, conjuring up a pillow to sleep on. "Good night, Fluttershy." Soon after that, the draconequus was asleep, snoring loudly. Oddly enough, his snores sounded almost like sirens. Fluttershy had tried for what felt like forever to try and get some sleep, but sleep was just not coming to her. The butter pegasus sighed. "I wish I could just sleep...", she whispered to herself. Resting her head on her forehooves, Fluttershy tried yet again to fall asleep, still unsuccessful. All of a sudden, a large weight bowled her over, sending her flying, and landing a few feet away. Fluttershy's eyes widened in panic, looking around until she saw a pair a glowing green eyes boring into her. Fluttershy whimpered as she heard a voice, coming from her attacker. "So you've decided to trail me, eh?", the voice hissed. Wait, that's.... Fluttershy gasped. She knew exactly who this was. Author's Note Yay, a new chapter! Man, writing on a phone is a pain in the ass.. Anyways, predictable cliffhangers! Yay!
Chapter OneTwilight was busy reorganizing her library, yet again. Flying to one of the top shelves, she began putting the books she had in her magic in the proper places. She was putting last book into place when a familiar voice made her jump. "Twilight!", Spike, her assistant, called, dashing into the library, "I've got a letter from the Princess!" Twilight landed on the ground at once, meeting Spike in the middle of the large library. He held the letter in his claw, panting after his dash to the library. Taking the letter out of his claw in her magic, Twilight read it to herself. Dear Twilight, I know this is a bit of a last minute warning, but I'm on my way to Ponyville. Meet me just outside town, and bring your friends. -Princess Celestia Twilight read the brief letter again, flipping it over to see if there was anything else she didn't catch. She turned to Spike. "This is it?", she asked, heaving a sigh when the young drake gave a nod. She then perked up. Celestia's on her way! I have to meet her now!, she thought. Swiftly putting Spike on her back, she ran out of the castle. Twilight tore through Ponyville, almost literally, on a frantic search for her friends. She stopped Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner. Skidding to a stop at the door, she looked to a surprised Pinkie Pie. Pinkie tipped her head. "Twilight?", she asked, confused. "Princess....outside town... others.... we need... to go....", Twilight stammered, out of breath. "What?", Pinkie looked more confused than ever. "Just come with me, okay?", Twilight asked, having to time for questions. Pinkie looked at Spike, who said just about the same thing. Pinkie, Twilight and Spike headed off into town, looking around for any more of their friends. "Over there!", Spike called, pointing to where Rarity and Fluttershy were walking out of the spa. Giving Spike a thankful look, Twilight dashed over to them, Pinkie on her tail. Rarity saw Twilight approach, looking at her confused. "Twilight? Darling, you look simply awful right now!", she said, looking at Twilight's windswept mane in disgust. "Wh-what are you doing here, Twilight? Well, um.. you don't have to answer... if you don't want to...", Fluttershy mumbled. Spike cleared his throat getting the two mares' attention. "We've gotta go. The Princess is meeting us outside town.", he explained quickly. "Really?", Rarity asked, surprised. Twilight nodded. "Now let's go." With Rarity and Fluttershy now in the group, Twilight looked for Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Rainbow practically crashed into them, trying to fly blindfolded. With a quick apology and explanation, Dash and the rest went to Sweet Apple Acres, where they found Applejack. The six ponies, and dragon, made their way outside of town. Finally at her destination, Twilight flopped onto the ground, panting tiredly. Her five friends were just as tired, sitting down in a circle by her. After a few minutes of catching their breath, Applejack finally spoke. "Um, Twi, why in the hay are we out here exactly?", she asked, the others muttering their questions. Another voice answered Applejack's question. "Because I asked her to bring you here." Twilight shot up at once. "Princess?!", she asked, instantly looking in Celestia's direction, "Princess!" Celestia heaved a sigh, giving Twilight a quick hug. "I'm sorry for the last minute letter, once again. I was a little busy." Twilight looked to the Princess. "Wait, why did you ask us to come here, exactly?" Celestia looked behind her, to where a band of guards were flying into view, along with a larger, black figure in the midst of them. Twilight narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better view, as did the rest of her friends. Soon enough, the guards landed just behind Celestia, still flanking the figure Twilight now recognized. Twilight's ears flattened as Queen Chrysalis came into view still flanked by the guards. "Chrysalis...", Twilight snarled, glaring at the changeling queen. "Twilight Sparkle.", the Queen sneered, walking past the guards and up to the young Princess. Celestia narrowed her eyes at Chrysalis, who looked back, reluctantly stepping behind her. Twilight shot another glare at the changeling, and got a fanged smile in return. Snorting, Twilight looked away from Chrysalis. "I know it seems a bit sudden, bringing yet another villain to Ponyville,", Sighing, Celestia continued, "I despise Chrysalis just as much as you all do. With the... success, of Discord's reformation, I thought we could get another villain onto our side." "In your dreams, Sunbutt", Chrysalis smiled, snorting in laughter. Shooting a glare at the Queen, Celestia continued once more. "And maybe, quite possibly, a whole race.", the alicorn turned her gaze to Fluttershy, who was hiding behind the rest of her friends, her fearful gaze shifting from Celestia to Chrysalis, back and forth."Fluttershy?", the alicorn asked in a gentle voice. Fluttershy gulped, poking her head out a bit farther from that of her friends. "Y-yes, Princess?", she asked, her voice squeaking in fear. "You're the one who reformed Discord. You showed him true friendship, and that's what changed his ways.", Celestia reminded the shy pegasus. "Y-yes, b-but...", Fluttershy tried to object to what the Princess was about to say. "I think you'll be able to do the same with Chrysalis, no matter how difficult she will get.", she emphasized the word 'diffucult', shooting yet another glare at the Queen, who returned the glare with a cool smile. "That is, if you feel you're up to it.." FLuttershy looked at Chrysalis, her eyes wide with fear. Author's Note Well, here we are, the start of this trainwreck. This idea actually came from the synopsis, and picutures, of one of the new episodes I saw (not spoiling anything for those who don't want spoils). I've got some good ideas for future chapters of this story. I do plan on finishing it. Hopefully it doesn't take too long. Second chapter will be out shortly.
Chapter TwoFluttershy shakily opened the door to her cottage, letting Chrysalis inside. She closed the door behind her, watching as the Queen claimed her place on Fluttershy's couch. That's the same place Discord sat when he frist came here... But that doesn't mean Chrysalis will turn good the same way he did, though..., Fluttershy thought. Thankfully, she can't use any of her magic to try and trick me, or anything like that... Chrysalis had a strange silver ring around the base of her jagged horn. After a long explanation from Twilight, Fluttershy learned it nullified magic, making sure Chrysalis couldn't use any. For now, anyway. Sighing, Fluttershy walked a little closer to the changeling, still a bit wary of her. "Ch-Chrysalis?", she spoke, getting the Queen's attention. Chrysalis looked over at Fluttershy. "What is it?", she asked. Fluttershy let out a small whimper as her gaze locked with Chrysalis'. "I-Is there anything you need? To make you more comfortable, anyway?" The changeling put a holed hoof to her chin, 'thinking' for a moment. "Well, this ring on my horn is really bugging me.. Maybe you could take it off..?", she asked, looking at Fluttershy with puppy-dog eyes. "I'm sorry, I can't do that, Chrysalis. M-Maybe sometime later, when I know I can trust you.", Fluttershy replied, trying to sound firm. "And why can't you trust me now?", Chrysalis asked, making herself look hurt. "Because. You've done a lot of bad things, and you just got here. I'm not too sure I can trust you just yet." Chrysalis heaved a sigh, muttering under her breath. "Well, then, I'm fine. That was a long flight here, I might as well sleep now." Without another word, Chrysalis curled up onto the couch, making herself more comfortable. Watching the Queen in fear for a few minutes, Fluttershy hesitantly stepped closer to her, making sure the Queen was really asleep. After lightly tapping her back and not getting a response, Fluttershy pulled the blanket she kept over the top of the couch, covering Chrysalis up in it. With Chrysalis out of the way for now, Fluttershy decided to tend to her animal friends. She had a tough time with her bunny Angel, who gave her an irritated look when he saw Chrysalis in his favorite spot on the couch refusing to eat. After about fifteen minutes or so of trying to get him to eat his food, specially made for him, and with a grim Stare, Angel found himself munching reluctantly on his special salad. Finally finished feeding all her pets, Fluttershy sat down on her chair, next to the couch. She almost fell asleep when a flash of bright light startled her. Discord had appeared, and was looking angrily at the changeling Queen who was sleeping on the couch. His couch. The draconequus turned to look to Fluttershy. "Dear Fluttershy, do you care to explain why Queen Cheeselegs is sleeping on my couch?", he asked, stomping his cloven hoof impatiently. "First of all, Discord, the couch isn't yours, it's mine. Second, Princess Celestia asked me to try and reform her.", Fluttershy replied angrily. Discord rolled his eyes. "Reform her? Fluttershy, you're my friend, right?", he stopped, and when Fluttershy nodded, he continued. "As your friend, I'm telling you, you're not going to reform her. You may have reformed me, but that was only because you showed me true friendship. But Chrysalis... she's heartless. Quite literally, actually. She doesn't need friends, and she really doesn't want them, either. She might seem like she'll reform, or she might act like she is reforming, but I can guarantee, it'll all be a trick. In fact, she's probably plotting some way to trick you into thinking she's going to reform right now." Fluttershy listened to Discord intently, taking in the chaos spirit's words. "Wha... How would you know? I-In fact, how do you even know Chrysalis?", she asked. Discord sighed. "It's a long story.", he replied, his eyes taking a far away kind of look. Shaking his head from old memories, he snapped his claw, making a large tray of cheese appear. Placing it on the table Discord turned back to Fluttershy. "That's for Chryssie when she wakes up. Tell her where it came from." With a snap of his tail, Discord was gone. Fluttershy looked at the tray of cheese, utterly confused. What kind of crazy past has he had with Chrysalis?, she thought. He obviously knows a lot about her... Fluttershy heaved a sigh. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought. Doubts filled her mind as she noticed the Queen yawn, her long fangs glinting in the sunlight. She slowly blinked open her eyes, her nose twitching when she smelled the platter of cheese on the table in front of her. "I'm guessing Discord was here?", she asked, looking at the tray of cheese. "How did you know?" "Well, he left a note. That, and this cheese is shaped exactly like him." Fluttershy couldn't help but laugh when she got a good look at the cheese platter. She turned her head when she saw Angel bunny hop towards the couch, glaring at Chrysalis. The Queen returned Angel's glare, letting out a menacing hiss and snapping her jaws at the small bunny. Angel hopped away, ears flat in fear, taking a place behind Fluttershy. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, narrowed her eyes at Chrysalis. "Chrysalis!" The Queen looked confused. "What?" "This is Angel's home just as much as it is yours! You shouldn't snap at him like that!" "Would you rather I ate him?", Chrysalis asked, menace in her voice. Her forked tongue slid out and she licked her lips. "Because changelings can eat meat as well as plants." Fluttershy took a step back in fear, letting out a soft squeak. Chrysalis really was going to be hard to reform.
Chapter ThreeFluttershy heaved a sigh as she flew up to Rainbow Dash's house. The past three days had been awful. Chrysalis was getting no closer to becoming good, and all she wanted to do was inconvenience Fluttershy the entire day. From giving her a massage to fluffing the couch cushions, she'd asked for it all. Thankfully, Discord was willing to 'cover' for her, whatever that meant to him, to let her get out of her house. Fluttershy was dragged abruptly from her thoughts when she almost crashed into a large cloud. Sighing, and climbing to the top, she walked up to the house of Rainbow Dash. She didn't even knock on the door when it flew open, and Rainbow burst out, crashing into Fluttershy and pinning her to the ground. "Fluttershy! It's been forever!", the cyan pegasus looked down at her shy friend, a wide grin on her face. "It's o-only been three days, Rainbow...", Fluttershy whispered, hardly able to breathe with Dash's hooves on her chest. Rainbow looked at her hooves, quickly taking them off Fluttershy's chest when she noticed her friend was starting to pant. She slowly got off Fluttershy, looking her over to make sure she wasn't hurt. "Sorry, Flutters. I just got really excited to see you again..", she looked down, then back at Fluttershy. Fluttershy gave the cyan pegasus a soft smile. "That's alright, Rainbow.", she said in her soft voice, walking up to her and giving Dash a gentle hug. Rainbow smiled. "How's about we go inside and talk?", she asked. Fluttershy gave a nod, and the pair walked inside Rainbow's large house. It was much larger than Fluttershy's cottage, and she couldn't help but look up at the tall ceilings in awe. Sure, she came by Rainbow's house every now and then, but she couldn't help herself from looking up. Rainbow, on the other hoof, was quickly making her way into the living room, where she sat down in a chair, looking a bit anxious. Fluttershy trotted in behind her, taking a seat in the loveseat across from her. Why Rainbow even had a loveseat, I don't know. "So, Fluttershy, what's the sitch with your newest 'guest'?", Rainbow asked as soon as the yellow pegasus sat down. "Um... well...", Fluttershy tried to begin. Rainbow gave Fluttershy an impatient look, and she soon found her words. "Chrysalis is probably the worst house guest I have ever had.", she said hastily, looking over to her friend. "Even worse than Discord?", Rainbow asked. "Discord didn't try to eat my animals. All he ever ate was paper.", Fluttershy muttered, heaving a sigh. "So, wait, who's with Chrysalis now?", Dash looked a bit concerned. "Discord...", Fluttershy squeaked, her voice barely a whisper. Rainbow's eyes widened. "Discord?! Fluttershy, I'm gonna say this lightly. Your house is screwed." Fluttershy looked down. "Its not like anypony else has the willpower to watch her...", she murmured. "True, but still... Discord?! He'll make this even worse than any of us would!", Dash sounded like she was going to burst. "Well, when you put it that way...", Fluttershy sighed. Maybe she had made a mistake. When Fluttershy looked to where Dash was sitting, she found that the cyan pegasus was gone. Fluttershy bolted out of her seat, and out the door, where she saw Dash already flying towards her home. Knowing the way even better than Rainbow, Fluttershy took her shortcut, and somehow made it to her home before Rainbow Dash. Not long after Fluttershy landed, a rainbow streak skidded to a stop next to her. Rainbow Dash turned, looking at Fluttershy in surprise. "How did you...?", she stammered. "I have my own shortcut.", Fluttershy replied simply. "Okay, whatever.", Dash said dismissively as Fluttershy and her walked up to the cottage door. A worm of fear wriggled in her stomach when she saw all of her indoor pets outside the cottage, cowering in fear. Dash noticed the animals too, and felt more uneasy than before. Fluttershy edged up to the door, her hoof starting to shake as she grabbed the doorknob. Slowly turning it open, her eyes widened at the scene before her. Chrysalis had Discord pinned to the ground, her jaws around his throat. The draconequus had his claws on the Queen's back, trying to shove her off of him. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were unable to look away from the sight before them. Fluttershy looked at both of them, her eyes wide in fear. I have to stop them... They'll kill each other if I don't!, she thought. But looking closer at them, their fangs bared, Discord's claws ready to tear flesh, Fluttershy couldn't muster the courage. Rainbow eventually tore her eyes away from the two fighting creatures, and looked at Fluttershy, who had turned to look at her friend. "Flutters, if anyone can stop them, it's you.", she said, her voice a whisper. Fluttershy nodded. Taking a breath, and mustering up the little courage she had, the shy pegasus screamed "STOP!", at the top of her lungs. Chrysalis and Discord looked up at once. Discord tried to take the distracted changeling off of him, to no avail. Chrysalis looked at Fluttershy, her malevolent gaze meeting the pegasus'. Rainbow hesitantly stepped inside, trying to help Discord. Chrysalis took her jaws off of Discord's throat, turning to glare at Rainbow Dash, who gave her a defiant glare right back. Taking the chance to make his leave, Discord ran over to Fluttershy. "D-Discord... what happened when I was gone?", Fluttershy asked, looking at the enraged Chrysalis with a whimper. Discord put a claw to the back of his head, rubbing his neck. "Well, you see..." Author's Note Huh. I'm surprised no one noticed the subtle Kim Possible reference.
Chapter Four"...and that's what happened to up until you two came.", Discord was finishing the story. "That's not what happened at all!", Chrysalis growled, stomping up to Discord. "You're the one who started that fight!" "And you're the one that almost tore out my throat. You aren't proving a good point, Chryssie.", Discord retorted, lowering himself to glare at the Queen face-to-face. "Only after you kept taunting me.", Chrysalis hissed. Rainbow Dash heaved a heavy sigh. "Will you two stop arguing?! Honestly, you're worse than a couple of school fillies!", she yelled at the arguing deities in an exasperated voice. Both Discord and Chrysalis stopped talking, but still shot each other a venomous glare. Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. "Now, can you two start from the beginning?" Chrysalis snorted. "If you insist..." Discord sat on the couch next to Chrysalis, who hissed at him as he scooted closer to the aggressive Queen. "So, Chryssie, how's your stay been?", he asked innocently. "Call me that name again, and I'll tear out your throat.", Chrysalis snarled. Discord got a mischievous look in his eye that put the Queen on edge. He sighed. "So, how's it been? Gotten any friendler recently?" Chrysalis looked away from Discord, abruptly turning her back to him. "If you're wondering if your little pegasus friend has reformed me at all, or even started, for that matter, the answer is no." Discord rolled his eyes. "That doesn't surprise me at all. A heartless creature like you could never have friends.", his voice got harder as he spoke. Chrysalis turned her head. "What's that supposed to mean?" Discord waved his paw dismissively. "Oh nothing, nothing.." Chrysalis snorted. "Though I admit it is sort of nice she cares about my comfort. She really is a kind pony." Discord cocked an eyebrow. "Are you taking a liking to her, perhaps?" "No. The only thing I really want from her is to take off this stupid magic-nullifier..", the Queen sighed, glaring at the silver ring at the base of her horn. "I doubt you could get her to take it off. Not unless you reformed for real.." "You doubt my persuasion?", Chrysalis leaned closer to Discord, her eyes green fire. "Well, duh. Of course I do.", Discord locked eyes with Chrysalis, a smug smile on his face. "Heck, I doubt those 'hunting instincts' of yours, as well." That's all it took to truly bring out Chrysalis' fury. With an enraged battle cry, the changeling Queen leapt onto a surprised Discord, clamping her jaws on the draconequus' throat. "And then that's when you two showed up.", both Chrysalis and Discord finished in unison, shooting a glare at each other afterwards. Rainbow and Fluttershy looked at each other, before Fluttershy looked to Discord and spoke. "Discord, I think it's time for you to leave.", she said gently. "I'll be making my leave then. Oh, and maybe we could have tea at Twilight's place tomorrow? I need to get my weekly fridge raid in. And I wouldn't want to stop by here and disturb her Majesty..", Discord shot another glare at Chrysalis before continuing, "So? See you tomorrow?" Fluttershy shook her head. "I know you really want to.. I do too... but I really need to stay here.. I hope you don't mind, Discord." "Oh, alright, Fluttershy.", Discord gave the yellow pegasus a quick hug before disappearing with a snap of his claw. Rainbow looked at Fluttershy, a bit awkward. "I think I'll leave too. It's getting pretty late.." As Rainbow turned to leave, Fluttershy stopped her with a hoof. "Rainbow, could you do me a favor? Um, I-if you want to, that is.." "Sure thing, Flutters." "Could you let the girls know to come by here tomorrow night? I want then to have dinner with Chrysalis.." "Like we did with Discord?" Fluttershy nodded. Dash sighed. "Well, if that's what you want. See you tomorrow, then, Fluttershy." And with that, Dash flew off, back to her own house. Fluttershy turned to her cottage door to find Chrysalis wasn't there. Oh, no... Where did she go..?, Fluttershy thought as she took a quick peek inside, not finding the Queen there. Looking around frantically, passing the woods near her cottage, flying over and through the chicken coop, and circling the cottage itself, she finally found the changeling Queen behind her cottage, looking out into the sunset. That was unexpected.., Fluttershy thought to herself, surprised. Walking up slowly, she tapped Chrysalis on the shoulder. She had been lying down, and turned her head to the pegasus looming above her. "F-Fluttershy?", the Queen looked a bit surprised. "Do you mind if I sit here? I-if you do, that's okay... I mean..." "That's fine.", Chrysalis interrupted, looking away from the pegasus and out to the sky, where the sun was being brought down. Fluttershy sat down next to Chrysalis, leaving a bit of distance between them, and heaved a small sigh. Looking at the changeling, she noticed the Queen had a long, faraway look in her eyes. "I'm not quite sure how tomorrow will go, Fluttershy... Your friends despise me, and I can tell you don't like me very much, either.", Chrysalis spoke suddenly, making Fluttershy jump. "Well...", Fluttershy sighed again. "I want to give it a try. After all, you haven't seen much of anypony since Celestia brought you here." "True enough." Fluttershy moved a bit closer to Chrysalis, putting a hoof comfortingly on the Queen's holed hoof. "I may not like you very much, but I am willing to try and reform you. And maybe, after all this is over.. Changelings and ponies can live happily together.." Chrysalis smiled a small, hopeful smile. "Maybe. Just maybe." "But please, don't try and tear my friends' throats out tomorrow..", Fluttershy joked, giggling a bit. Chrysalis snorted, stifling a soft laugh of her own. "Oh, okay. But if anything happens, they started it.
Chapter FiveChrysalis and Fluttershy were busy setting the table, getting ready for their guests later that evening. Well, Fluttershy was setting the table, anyway. Chrysalis was just watching, not having any intention to help. Fluttershy rolled her eyes as she placed down silverware at each of the seats. "You could help, you know.", Fluttershy suggested, trying to sound gentle. Chrysalis put a hoof to her chin. "I could...", she walked a bit closer to the table, only to turn away again. "But I don't really want to." Fluttershy heaved a sigh, looking up from her work to give Chrysalis her best set of puppy-dog eyes. And let me tell you, it's much cuter on a pony than it is a changeling. Chrysalis tried her best to turn her head away, but she found herself quickly giving in, sliding next to Fluttershy and helping to put the rest of the silverware at the table. Within a few minutes, they were finished. "See, that wasn't that hard..", Fluttershy said to Chrysalis, who had walked back towards the couch. "If you say so...", Chrysalis muttered, heaving a sigh. She said something else Fluttershy didn't quite catch. Fluttershy tipped her head. "What did you say? I-I didn't hear you..." Chrysalis waved a hoof dismissively. "Oh, nothing. Nothing important." Fluttershy looked unconvinced, and simply shrugged. She headed towards the door, turning to Chrysalis. "I'm going to get some food for dinner. Can you stay here alone without causing any trouble?", she asked, eyeing the Queen suspiciously. Chrysalis snorted. "I'm no foal. In fact, I'm much older than you, Fluttershy. Just go. I'll be fine here." "If you're sure...", Fluttershy gave the changeling one last glance before she walked out the door. Twilight was in her castle, making sure everything was ready for her to leave that evening. Starlight and Spike were in the library, they were busy helping to organize, yet again. Twilight's OCD, honestly. Ugh. Twilight flew down onto the ground, where Starlight and Spike were sorting out books into piles. Twilight walked up to the pair at work. "Are you sure you two will be fine tonight?", Twilight asked. Spike heaved a sigh. "We've been through this already, Twilight." Starlight rolled her eyes. "Ten times, at least," she muttered under her breath. Spike said something under his breath, then continued. "We'll be fine. Now stop worrying." "It's not like the world's going to end, just because you leave.", Starlight chimed in. "I guess...", Twilight conceded. "Alright then. I'm going now." "But dinner's not for an hour yet!", Spike called as Twilight started to leave. The purple alicorn stopped, looking back at Spike. "I've got to go get the girls, remember?", she replied, and kept walking. Spike went back to Starlight, and the pair continued to sort out the books. About an hour later, a blinding white flash made both dragon and unicorn jump. Starlight and Spike shared a glance, then looked up at the figure before them. The pair simultaneously groaned. "Discord...", they said in unison, both sounding irritated. "Why if it isn't my two favorite rejects!", the draconequus said in a cheerful voice. Starlight heaved a sigh, and Spike put a hand to his face. Discord popped up between them in another flash, his arms around each of their shoulders. "What is it, Discord?", Starlight said, still irritated. Discord tried his best to look hurt. "What, I can't pop in to see how two of my dear friends are doing?", he asked, pouting. Spike sighed. "I'm guessing they didn't invite you to dinner, then?" Discord nodded. "Well, I guess they sort of had a point, seeing as Chrysalis almost tore my throat out yesterday.", he said in false resignation, looking from Starlight to Spike for any pity. "You heard about that, right?', he asked, receiving a nod from both unicorn and dragon. Starlight shoved Discord's arm off her shoulder. "So, why are you here?", she asked again. Discord looked at Starlight. "Because I want to crash the party, and I want you two to come with me." Twilight, along with the rest of her friends, excluding Fluttershy, of course, all hesitantly walked down the path to Fluttershy's cottage. They were all talking amongst themselves. "Y'all said she wasn't reformed at all really when ya saw 'er, right, Rainbow?", Applejack had asked. Rainbow nodded. "But you never know when it comes to Fluttershy.." Pinkie bounced up from behind them. "Ooh! I wonder what they're making for dinner! I hope there's dessert!", she said cheerfully, licking her lips at the thought of sweets. "Your mind would be on sweets, Pinkie. Honestly, darling, I'm surprised you're not as round as a beach ball, the way you eat.", Rarity remarked from just behind Pinkie Pie. The pink earth pony only giggled in response. The only pony who hadn't spoke was Twilight. Concerned, Applejack walked up to where her friend had taken the lead. "You alright, Twi?", she asked. Twilight, who was deep in thought, looked over to Applejack. "I-I'm fine. Just worried, is all..", she replied, her voice straining to sound calm. Despite that, her mind was racing a mile a minute. What if this doesn't go well? What if Chrysalis is even worse than before?!, she thought, trying not to panic. She stopped when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. Applejack gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't y'all worry one bit, Twi. This'll all be fine, I'm sure.", the farm pony told Twilight, giving her a bit of reassurance. "Hopefully...", Rainbow muttered under her breath. Applejack swiftly turned her head, glaring at the cyan pegasus. The group simultaneously came to a stop at the door. Twilight walked closer to it and gave it a hesitant knock. A few moments later, the door opened, and Chrysalis poked her head out. She turned, calling, "They're here, Fluttershy!", to the shy pegasus that was in the kitchen. The door opened wider, and the five ponies that were outside piled into the small cottage.Twilight looked up at the changeling Queen who had opened the door for them, and Chrysalis gave her a cool smile in return. Twilight leaned up to her ear. "I don't know what you're playing at, but it's not going to work, Chrysalis.", she hissed into the Queen's ear. Chrysalis looked down, a smug smile on her face. "I'm not playing at anything.", she whispered back. Twilight snorted, looking away. Noticing her friends were at Fluttershy's table, she walked over, sitting next to Applejack, who reassured her one last time. Fluttershy called out something from the kitchen again, causing Twilight to stand up. "I'll help her, don't worry.", Chrysalis said calmly, walking into the kitchen. Twilight was about to give her a sharp retort when Applejack gently shook her head. "I wonder what Fluttershy has planned?", Rarity thought aloud, her blue gaze looking intently at the kitchen. "I wanna know, too! I'm hungry!", Pinkie was looking at the kitchen as well, her mouth watering. Rainbow and Applejack looked at each other, both snorting in laughter. Soon enough, Fluttershy and Chrysalis walked out of the kitchen, plates in their hooves. After a second trip to the kitchen, everypony had their food. Fluttershy was a pony who didn't eat anything too out of the ordinary, so each pony had a simple salad in front of them. Well, all except Chrysalis, who didn't have anything in front of her. Twilight looked over to the Queen who had purposely decided to sit next to her. "Um, Chrysalis, why aren't you eating?", she asked, looking at the changeling suspiciously. "Changelings feed off of love, and emotion in general. Or did you forget that, Twilight?", Chrysalis sneered. Twilight gritted her teeth. "I remember that..." "And besides, our stomachs aren't made for digesting any food.", the Queen continued, looking at Twilight, who shot her a furious glare back. With that out of the way, the ponies started eating, and an awkward silence fell to the table.
Chapter SixChrysalis woke up slowly, putting a hoof to her head, which hurt badly. She blinked open her eyes, looking around the living room, widening her eyes at the scene before her. Twilight and her friends, along with Discord, Spike, and Starlight, were all sprawled across the floor, deep asleep. The Queen's ear twitched when she heard somepony stir. Looking around, she saw Twilight turning on the floor. Walking over to the alicorn, Chrysalis prodded her side. Twilight sat up for a second, still half-asleep. "Just put the hay in the apple and eat the candle...", she murmured dreamily. Chrysalis rolled her eyes, prodding Twilight with her hoof again. This time, Twilight was fully awake. Well, sort of. She looked up at the changeling who had waken her, jumping up in alarm and looking around the living room. "What happened..?", Twilight asked, looking around with a confused expression. Chrysalis shrugged. "My guess is Discord happened," she replied, pointing a holed hoof at the draconequus who was still asleep on the couch, his head hanging off and resting on the floor. Twilight sighed. "Well, that figures." "Though I don't remember much after dinner...", Chrysalis muttered. "Me neither," Twilight muttered in agreement, "But I do remember Discord bursting in the door." The Queen nodded. "He had your pupil and your assistant with him, I think." "Yea, they're right over there.", Twilight nodded towards where Spike and Starlight were asleep, laying next to each other. "So now what?" Twilight shrugged, walking around the room, only to trip over a large mug. "What the?", Twilight looked down at the mug. Chrysalis then noticed the mugs littered all over the floor. "Well...", she picked a mug up with her magic, her horn lighting up in an acid green aura. Twilight looked at the Queen's horn, noticing the nullifying ring was gone. "Wait a second.. What happened to the ring on your horn?", she asked. Chrysalis shrugged. "Someone must have taken it off last night. Fluttershy must have, she's the only one who knew where the key to unlock it was." Twilight tipped her head. "Key?" The Queen nodded. "The ring on my horn was kind of like a cuff they put on prisoners. It can be unlocked with a key. Sunbutt gave the key to Fluttershy before I was brought here." "Oh." Chrysalis lifted the mug up towards her muzzle, licking up some of the liquid that was inside. "Huh. Tastes kind of like cider..." "What?", Twilight seemed unconvinced. Picking up another mug off the floor, which was still half full, Twilight took a sip of it, "You're right. It is cider." "So does that mean we all got drunk last night, then?" Twilight nodded. "I'm guessing that's what Discord did. I wonder if Spike drank any." Chrysalis took another mug, one that the sleeping Spike was still holding. "Doesn't alcoholic cider taste different than regular cider?", she asked. "It does. Here, let me see it.", Twilight took the mug in her magic, bringing to her muzzle and taking a taste of it, "This is normal cider, thank Faust." "Okay then. Mystery solved. Kind of. So basically, after Discord came in, just as you were finishing up dinner, he must have given us all cider, cast some sort of spell to make us drink it, and then we got so drunk we passed out.", Chrysalis said after a few minutes of silence. "How do you figure that?", Twilight asked. "It's obvious enough Discord gave us the cider. We have enough common sense not to drink it. He must have made us." Twilight put a hoof to her chin, contemplating the Queen's theory. "I wouldn't put it past Rainbow and Pinkie to hesitate when given a drink, though." "You know your friends better than I do.", Chrysalis replied, looking over at the pink earth pony and cyan pegasus, both in a deep sleep on the floor. "Well, then. I didn't expect anyone to be up yet.", a new voice remarked from behind, causing both Twilight and Chrysalis to jump. The pair turned around quickly, looking at who had just spoke. "Discord..", they said in unison, both Princess and Queen sounding irritated. Discord looked at the two of them, an innocent looking smile on his face. "What? Did I do something wrong?", he asked, sounding as innocent as he possibly could. But then, this is Discord, so he didn't sound too innocent. "....", Twilight glared at Discord, not responding. Chrysalis leaned in to Twilight's ear. "You know, Fluttershy totally should have let me tear his throat out yesterday," she whispered in Twilight's ear. "Maybe, maybe not.", Twilight whispered back. Chrysalis looked back up at Discord, her eyes ablaze. "What gives you the right to make us drink like that?!", she shouted, hovering off the ground to look Discord in the eye. "I'm the Lord of Chaos...? Does that count?", Discord asked, taking a step back from the raging Queen. Chrysalis didn't answer, letting a growl rumble in her throat. Discord gulped, snapping his claw and making a balloon bat appear in his lion paw. He held it close to his face, stepping back further until he ran into the wall. "I-I'm not afraid to use this!", he snarled. "Chrysalis, back off," Twilight said in a commanding voice, causing the Queen to lower herself back onto the ground. Chrysalis turned to look at Twilight. "But he... he...", she stammered, too angry to speak. "I know what he did", Twilight responded calmly, interrupting Chrysalis and walking closer to the Queen. Twilight's voice lowered to a whisper, "We can get him back later. Deal?" Chrysalis sighed. "Fine. Deal."
Chapter Seven"I keep telling you, Fluttershy, he deserved it!", Chrysalis was snarling in defiance as Fluttershy tended to Discord, who had several bite wounds in his neck. Fluttershy had already cleaned the wounds thoroughly, and was now wrapping them in bandages. It had been roughly two days since the dinner with Twilight and the rest, and since Discord got everyone drunk. Chrysalis was still infuriated with the draconequus for the incident, and when he had came over today, the Queen couldn't control herself. "No one deserves to be hurt like this. You could have killed him, Chrysalis.", Fluttershy's voice was gentle, but stern. "Yea, you could have really hurt me, Chryssie..", Discord rasped mockingly. Chrysalis shot a glare at Discord, baring her bloodstained fangs. Fluttershy gave Discord a stern look, and then turned to look at Chrysalis the same way. The Queen said nothing else, simply snorting and turning her head. The pegasus went back to tending Discord's wounds, and finished wrapping the bandages around them. Discord smiled gently, murmuring a soft 'Thank you'. Chrysalis resorting to sitting in the chair that was near the couch, and looked at Discord. The draconequus could have sworn he saw a hint of concern in the Queen's blazing eyes, but it soon vanished. A couple hours later, Chrysalis felt a gentle hoof prod her side. Blinking open her eyes, she whipped her head to see Fluttershy looking up at her. Huh. I must have fallen asleep..., she thought, her jaws gaping in a not-so-regal yawn. Looking down at Fluttershy, she asked, "What is it?" Fluttershy was silent for a moment, as if she was trying to think about what to say. After about a minute, she spoke. "Well.. um, there's somepony who wants to see you." Chrysalis cocked her head. "Someone wants to see me? Who is it?" "Princess Celestia..." The Queen snorted. "So that fat excuse for a Princess actually came all the way here for me? I must say, I'm surprised.", she sneered, before getting up out of the chair she had been sleeping in. Looking back at Fluttershy, she asked, "So where's Sunbutt at?" Fluttershy looked a bit nervous. "O-outside.. at the door..", she whispered. Chrysalis nodded, and made her way towards the front door. Just like Fluttershy said, Princess Celestia herself was standing tall, matching the tall changeling in height. Chrysalis' lip curled in a sneer as she looked the Princess up and down, noticing the row of guards behind her. "Chrysalis.", Celestia greeted the changeling, her voice not showing much emotion. "Celestia.", Chrysalis matched the alicorn's tone, a hint of a sneer in her dual-toned voice. The Queen tipped her head. "What are you doing here?" "I came to make sure everything was going alright with your reformation. That, and I heard what happened with Discord earlier.", the alicorn explained. Chrysalis lowered her voice. "You never came here while Discord was being reformed.. But then, that idiot was reformed within a day..", the Queen muttered under her breath. Celestia overheard Chrysalis' mutterings, and heaved a sigh. "I know, I know. I would have come if I could. Duty calls. And besides, your reformation has taken much longer. You have been in Ponyville for about a week now." Chrysalis seemed confused. "And..?" Celestia took in a deep breath, letting it out a second later. "I knew from the start you would be much harder to change than Discord. I wanted to make sure you hadn't done anything to any of my little ponies." Chrysalis snorted, holding back laughter. "What was I going to do without magic? That ring was taken off only a couple of days ago. Mind you, Fluttershy was drunk, but we lost it, so there's no going back now." The Queen stopped, grinning at Celestia's confused face. "What? You didn't hear?" Celestia gritted her teeth, trying hard to stay calm. "I heard about it plenty. Twilight sent me a letter yesterday about it. Said she was recovering from a hangover.. What she didn't tell me was that the nullifying ring had been lost." "We didn't find out until yesterday morning. We were all recovering from hangovers." Celestia rolled her eyes. "That figures. So.. how have things been for you?" Chrysalis looked at Celestia in surprise. "Why would you care?" "I'm only wondering.." "Whatever. Since you're oh so curious, I've been fine.", Chrysalis replied, her voice somewhat sarcastic. Celestia narrowed her eyes. "I didn't ask for sarcasm." "I've been fine, like I already said. Fluttershy's been a great hostess." Celestia looked unconvinced, cocking an eyebrow. Chrysalis snorted. "I'm serious.", she snapped. "If you say so. Well, sorry to make this visit short-lived, but I already told Twilight I would stop by after I came here.", With those last words, Celestia spread her large white wings, flying away, her guard following suit. Chrysalis watched them go before turning and shutting the door. Heaving a sigh, Chrysalis flopped down in the chair. She was about to say Fluttershy's name when she realized the shy pegasus wasn't in the room. "Fluttershy is in the kitchen, if you were wondering..", Discord rasped from where he lay on the couch. "She's getting some food for the animals." "Oh, alright." Discord looked at Chrysalis suspiciously for a moment. "Something on your mind?" Chrysalis lied back in the chair. "Mind if I vent for a second?" Discord gave a small nod. "Sure. Just don't try and tear out my throat again, please.", he said jokingly. The Queen chuckled. "Fine, fine.", she heaved a sigh, trying to think her words out. "Do ponies trust you?", she asked after a few minutes of silence. Discord cocked a brow. "What do you mean by that?" "Do they trust you not to hurt anyone? Or, do they trust you as.. a friend?" The draconequus looked thoughtful. "Well, Fluttershy does. The others... not really. And I can't say Tia does either." "Why can't they show a little trust? They want me to reform, and stop being evil, and.. and they can't even put a little trust in me?! Don't you ever feel.. oh, I don't know, like an outcast? Or like you did something wrong?", Chrysalis' voice began to rise, her fangs bared in anger. "I think it's because we're not ponies. I mean, we both look rather menacing.. Maybe that's why?", Discord suggested. Chrysalis sighed. "I don't know. I.. I don't know."
Chapter Eight"I've always thought of ponies to be a bit racist. Or is it species-ist? It doesn't matter, but the point still stands.", Discord remarked, his voice still a bit raspy with his throat still healing. He and Chrysalis were still in the living room, chatting a bit more confidently now. Fluttershy had gone outside to check on the chickens in her coop in the meantime. "You've got a point there. But at least Fluttershy seems a bit more welcoming. She is your friend, after all.", Chrysalis replied, thinking in her head, She's the only one, though... Her kindness is extraordinary, seeing as she befriended Discord of all creatures. "Yea, I guess. The others came along. Eventually.", Discord tipped his head. "Well, at least I think they did. After that incident with Tirek, I think they saw at least something." Chrysalis cocked a brow. "They did?" "Well, I don't know... They don't hate me as much now. But I still see the loathing whenever I pop up. A little." "At least they don't look at you like you just slaughtered their family every time you walk up.", the Queen muttered. "They do that?", Discord asked, a bit surprised. Chrysalis simply nodded in response. The pair stopped talking when Fluttershy walked in the door, picking chicken feathers out of her mane. Discord put his paw to his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Fluttershy sighed, picking out the last feather. "I really need to get those nests cleaned out...", she muttered under her breath. "Hey Fluttershy," Discord called, catching the pegasus' attention. "You didn't find Scootaloo in the coop again, did you?" Fluttershy shook her head. "No. I still don't understand how she would even wind up in the chicken coop.", she replied, thinking to herself an answer for her question. "She's a flightless pegasus, with a color that could be a chicken's feathers.", Chrysalis pointed out, sounding uninterested. "Right.", Fluttershy shook her head, as if to clear it. Walking over to Discord, she put a hoof on the bandages that were still on his neck. Looking up at him, she asked, "How are your wounds?" Discord shrugged. "They feel fine." "Any stinging? Or bleeding? Or-", Fluttershy was cut off by a claw to her lips. Discord smiled a soft smile. "I'm fine, don't worry. I'll let you know otherwise, I promise.", the draconequus spoke in a soft, comforting voice. "If you're sure... Do you need anything?" Discord shook his head. "We're fine here. Don't you worry. Say, don't you have a meeting with your friends today?" Fluttershy looked down at her hooves. "Well, yes, but I thought, I think, it would be better if I stay here with you two. You know what happened last time I left you alone." Chrysalis waved a hoof dismissively. "Put a little trust in us, Fluttershy. We were fine in here talking while you went to take care of your little animals. Your meeting only lasts a couple hours, right?", she asked. "Yes, but.., what if something does happen?", the pegasus asked, still worried. "Then you've got two creatures here who can teleport right to you and make sure you know.", Discord reminded her. Fluttershy sat down on the floor, heaving a sigh. After a few minutes of silence, she nodded, mainly to herself. "Alright.. I guess it would be rude to ditch my friends... even if it was for good reason.", the yellow pegasus stood back up. "You're right.", she said, confidently. Walking over to the door, she said a quick goodbye to both Chrysalis and Discord before walking out. A few seconds after Fluttershy was gone, Chrysalis turned her head back to Discord. "You know, we make a good team." "A good team? In what, convincing ponies to leave us alone? So that we can slaughter each other? Tear each others' throats out?", Discord retorted. Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "Don't be so negative, Discord. I meant we make a good team when it comes to gaining someone's trust." "I suppose. Wait, what chapter is this again? Is this the one with the shipping between us in it?", the draconequus asked suddenly. Chrysalis shrugged. "I think it's shipping fuel, for the writer, anyway. Now stop breaking the fourth wall, Discord." "But you're doing it too, Chryssie..", Discord shot back, his voice rising to a whine. "No, I'm not, anymore." Discord folded his arms, his face in a pout. "So you say." Author's Note Yea, yea, I know this is short. I just wanted to get something out before I start school again on Monday. Just an FYI, I'll be updating a bit less when school starts.
Chapter NineFluttershy jumped up out of bed, letting out a startled yelp, her breathing almost panting. That was an awful dream!, she thought, trying not to think about her nightmare. All she could remember was being in the center of Ponyville, with her friends. Changelings were everywhere, terrorizing the ponies and destroying the town. But that wasn't what scared her the most. Fluttershy shuddered when she really remembered her friends' glares, the stinging words they had said. 'We should have never trusted you to reform Chrysalis..', they had said. 'You should have never taken her in.' Fluttershy jumped out of her thoughts when she saw a pair of glowing green eyes looking at her from just outside her bedroom door. The pegasus lowered herself, covering much of her face in her blanket, looking fearfully at the door. "Fluttershy? Are you alright?", Chrysalis asked, opening the door a bit more, her horn lighting the room in a dim green light. Fluttershy looked up at the changeling, letting out a sigh of relief. She lifted herself up, letting the blanket fall out of her shaking hooves. "I-I'm fine... You startled me, is all...", Fluttershy replied, her voice a bit shaky. Chrysalis hesitated before walking a little closer to the scared mare. "Did you have a bad dream? It's still late, you know." Fluttershy nodded, noticing the sky outside her window was still dark. "I'm fine now, though.. Why are you awake?" "I went to get some water.. Then I heard you wake up, and came to see if you were okay." "Oh...", Fluttershy looked down at her hooves. Chrysalis looked at Fluttershy, still concerned. "What was your dream about?", she asked, climbing onto the bed and sitting at the end of it. Fluttershy didn't respond, only shuddered after thinking about it again. The Queen waited, and after a few moments, asked in a softer voice, "Was it about me..?" Fluttershy looked up at Chrysalis, opening her mouth, only to close it again. After a minute or two, Fluttershy softly shook her head. Chrysalis didn't probe anything else out of the pegasus, heaving a sigh. She folded her holed hooves, lying her head down on them. Fluttershy looked away from the changeling, not knowing what else to say. The two sat there, silent, for a long time. After what felt like hours, Chrysalis lifted her head back up, looking directly at Fluttershy. "Do you still think I would bring my changelings here to Ponyville?", she asked all of a sudden. Fluttershy looked surprised, and turned back to Chrysalis. "What makes you say that?" "I'm not stupid, Fluttershy. I know nopony here trusts me not to do anything like that. Distrust is an emotion, and like any emotion, I can sense it.", Chrysalis lowered her voice, speaking in a soft whisper. Fluttershy opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Chrysalis' raised hoof. "But then, who could trust a changeling?", Chrysalis snorted, her voice hardening as she looked Fluttershy right in the eye. "I...", Fluttershy was at a loss for words. "That's what I thought." Chrysalis got off of the bed, walking out of the room and abruptly slamming the door in rage. Fluttershy was about to get up and follow her, but stopped herself when she heard nothing else, other than a long, heavy sigh coming from the living room. I should go and see if she needs anything... But... I don't think Chrysalis wants to even look at me right now..., Fluttershy thought, sighing and laying back down in her bed. Closing her eyes, she found it easy to drift off to sleep. Fluttershy woke up the next morning to feel a claw prodding her side. She blinked open her eyes and looked up to see a distressed looking Discord looming above her, a small piece of paper in his lion paw. "Fluttershy, you need to read this. It's urgent.", Discord said, handing the paper over. Fluttershy, You'll obviously notice I'm gone. Bet that makes your life easier not having a menace like myself lurking around. Don't bother looking for me, either. -Chrysalis Fluttershy's eyes widened as she read the note, looking up at Discord, equally as distressed. And very regretful. Jumping up out of her bed, with Discord trailing behind, Fluttershy trotted swiftly into the living room. She turned, looking at Discord. "Chrysalis wasn't here when you came in?", she asked. Discord shook his head. "That note was the only thing out of the ordinary that was here. Where do you think she would have gone?" Fluttershy looked rather troubled as she met Discord's gaze. "I-I don't know... Princess Celestia had said she found Chrysalis with her hive.. but she didn't say where." "Do you think Chryssie may have gone back to her hive, then?" Fluttershy shrugged. "That's the most likely place. But I don't know where the hive is..." Discord looked thoughtful for a few moments, before brightening. "Didn't Twilight talk with Celestia the other day? Maybe she knows where Chrysalis' hive is." "You might be right, Discord. Let's go look." And with that, the duo was out the door and on their way to Twilight's castle. Author's Note I know, I know, this is still short. At least we're getting to a climax here! I'll make sure to make the next chapter longer than these last two. I've got great plans for this story, and I'm excited to keep writing it.
Chapter TenTwilight was in the throne room of her castle, talking with the rest of her friends, minus Fluttershy. They had scheduled a meeting for the day, but the five ponies surrounding the map soon realized that their shy friend wasn't coming. They talked for a while, minutes ticking by, until an hour passed, and Fluttershy still wasn't present. Rainbow Dash spoke up. "So, Fluttershy's not coming, then? Go figure.", she blurted out. Rarity shot a glare at the cyan pegasus. "Rainbow! Just because she's a little late doesn't mean she's not coming!" Applejack sighed. "Rarity, an hour isn't a little late. Fluttershy should'a been here ages ago." Pinkie Pie shot up at once. "What if one of Fluttershy's animals are sick? Ooo, and what if she had to stay home? What if she wanted to leave, and she did, but then all the animals got sick?", Pinkie gasped. "What if they all died?!" Rarity and Applejack facehoofed simultaneously. Twilight was silent for a while, before eventually speaking. "Well, we don't know for sure if she's not coming. As much as I don't want to say it, Pinkie might be right.", she paused when Pinkie softly whispered 'yes!'. "Something could have happened, and she might not have been able to leave for a while." "You could be right...", Rainbow replied, giving a small nod. "Yea, let's not git ourselves too worried..", Applejack spoke up. Suddenly, the doors to the throne room shot open, Fluttershy and Discord rushing inside, both pegasus and draconequus panting. The five ponies turned their heads abruptly to the noise, eyes widening at the pair. Applejack sighed. "Ah stand corrected." Twilight got up out of her seat, trotting up to Fluttershy and Discord, her worried gaze looking them over. "Fluttershy, what's wrong?!", she asked. "Well, um....", Fluttershy started. "Chrysalis is gone. She bolted out the door, and left, to Celestia knows where.", Discord interrupted, handing the note the Queen had written to Twilight, who, after reading it, looked up at Discord. "Do you know where she would have went?", the draconequus asked. Twilight shook her head. "Celestia told me she found Chrysalis with her hive, but..." "Yes, but, um...", Fluttershy spoke up. "Do you guys even know where that is?", Rainbow interrupted Fluttershy. Twilight shook her head, again. "The Princess didn't tell me where it was. All she said is that she found Chrysalis there." "So, then, are y'all sayin' we have ta go to Canterlot and ask her?", Applejack asked. Twilight nodded. "Pretty much, yea." Pinkie jumped up out of her chair, bouncing to the door. "Well, then, what are we waiting for?!" Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack all got up from their seats, ready to head out. Fluttershy and Discord looked at each other, then to Twilight. The others looked expectantly at Twilight as well. Twilight sighed. "How are we even supposed to get to Canterlot? Not all of us can fly, the train would take too long, and I can't teleport all of us." Discord tapped Twilight's shoulder. "I've got you covered, Twilight." With a snap of his claw, all seven of them were gone. Moments later, the group reappeared just outside of Canterlot, in the train station. Once the group recollected themselves, Twilight lead the way into the city, where ponies roamed about, touring shops, restaurants, and other businesses. A few ponies looked at the group curiously as they trotted though the town, but the ponies, and draconequus, took no notice. Soon enough, the castle laid just ahead of them. In front of the castle doors, two guards, one a tan-ish unicorn, the other a blueish-grey batpony, were busy quarreling with each other. "Nightfall, I'm telling you, Scout stuck those tacks in your armor. It was not me!", the unicorn was saying. The batpony, Nightfall, snorted. "Sure. Whatever you say, Barley.", he retorted, rolling his eyes. "I'll have you know it took two and a half hours to get those tacks unstuck. I was late for my shift!" Barley looked away from the batpony. "You'd be late even if your armor wasn't covered in tacks..", he muttered under his breath. Nightfall whipped his head to glare at the unicorn. "What was that?", he growled. Barley didn't have the chance to reply when a group of six ponies, and Discord himself, showed up. It didn't take long for the pair to realize that the ponies were the Elements themselves, lead by Princess Twilight. The two guards dipped their heads in Twilight's presence. "Princess, what're you doing in Canterlot, if I may ask? You weren't scheduled to visit..", Nightfall asked when Twilight came closer. "It's urgent. We need to see Celestia.", Twilight replied, urgency even in her voice. The two guards stepped out of the way of the doors, simultaneously saying, "Of course.", then shot a glare at each other. Twilight said a quick thank-you and the group went inside. They found Celestia sitting in the throne room, chatting with her sister Luna. Celestia raised her head, turning to look at the group as they approached. The white alicorn noticed the group's grim expression. "Is something wrong, Twilight?", she asked. "Um, yeah! Chrysalis is gone!", Rainbow Dash blurted out before Twilight could respond. Rarity shot a glare at the pegasus, and would have said something if the situation weren't so tense. Celestia's eyes widened, and Luna looked equally as surprised. "Wait, what?", the alicorn asked. Twilight stepped forward. "Chrysalis is gone, just like Rainbow said. She must have gone back to her hive, but we don't know where that is. That's why we came to you, Princess." Celestia nodded to herself, muttering something under her breath. She signaled to Luna, who turned and left the room. "Where's she goin'?", Applejack asked, watching the night goddess briskly walk out of the room. "She's getting one of my sergeants. They're the one who found Chrysalis and her hive in the first place.", Celestia replied. The seven ponies, as well as Discord, of course, waited silently for Luna to come back into the room. A few minutes later, the moon Princess returned, a light orange pegasus at her side. The pegasus was a small, lightly built mare. Her mane was a bright gold, almost glowing in the sunlight. Her golden armor, worn by all of the Celestial guard, shone, freshly shined. Celestia turned to look at the mare. "This is Sergeant Golden Feather.", she said, introducing the mare to the group. The mare waved a hoof at the group in greeting. "Nice to meet you all." The group greeted the mare, and afterwards, Celestia looked to the group, her tone growing serious. "Chrysalis needs to be found, and if she's with her changelings, she needs to be found soon. Golden Feather, you'll lead the group to the hive. I'll let you take the guards of your choice, Sergeant." Golden Feather dipped her head. "Of course, Your Highness. We'll leave right away, as soon as I get some backup." The Sergeant was about to lead the group out, when they heard Celestia cleared her throat. "One more thing. You all come in peace. I don't want any fighting." Golden Feather nodded. "We'll keep note of that, Princess." And with that, the group headed out the castle doors, on their way to fetch some more guards. Author's Note Man, it's been over a month since I've updated this story! Don't worry, I haven't abandoned it, I just haven't been able to finish this chapter, with school and all. I'll try to post a new chapter soon!
Chapter Eleven Chapter Eleven Twilight, her friends, Discord, and Golden Feather all walked out of the large city of Canterlot, flanked by a group of a dozen or so of the royal guard. Walking seemed inefficient, seeing as the vast majority of the group could fly, with the exception of the few unicorns, and earth ponies alongside them. After a few minutes of walking, the group just outside the castle, Discord started complaining. "Do we have to walk? The trip is so far... Can't we fly? Or couldn't I teleport us instead?", he suggested, his voice rising to a whine. Golden Feather sighed. "You know, I always thought of the 'Lord of Chaos' to be a bit more cooperative. Not all of us can fly, if you haven't noticed." Twilight turned her head, looking up at Discord with a curious expression. "Have you ever teleported so many ponies before? I mean, I know you teleported us to Canterlot, but that seems like a tough job, even for you.." Discord scoffed. "I am the Lord of Chaos! I can do anything, dear Book Horse." Twilight looked at Discord, narrowing her eyes a bit. "Book Horse?" Discord nodded. "It suits you." Twilight rolled her eyes. "So are you going to teleport us or not?" Rainbow Dash out herself into the conversation. "Yea, come on!" Discord grumbled under his breath. "No one asked you, Dashie.", he retorted, sighing and stretching his arms. With a snap of his talon, there was a flash of white light that surrounded the large group. For a moment, it looked as if Discord had pulled it off, until the light faded, and everyone was where they had been before. The ponies all looked around, irritated expressions on their faces when they saw they were in the same place as they had already been. "See why were walkin' now, Discord?", Applejack asked, speaking up for the first time. Discord folded his arms, not replying. Rarity rolled her eyes, and Fluttershy went up to the draconequus, whispering something in his ear. Discord said nothing else, only have a small nod. The group started moving again, with Golden Feather in the lead. After what felt like hours, the thought that Discord had been pondering in his head was finally spoken. "Um, this might just be me, but, what if Chrysalis isn't with her hive..?", he asked. Golden Feather turned. "Where else would she go? It's not like she'd go to the Crystal Empire and try to get some sort of revenge on Shining Armor and Princess Cadence." "I don't know, that bug has always had a morbid way of thinking.", Discord replied, shuddering at the thought. Golden Feather snorted briefly before continuing on her way, everyone else following behind. The familiar sights of Equestria eventually gave way to desolate wasteland as the group headed further and further towards their destination. Celestial was lowering the sun by the time everyone stopped, Golden Feather declaring they made camp for the night. Discord was obviously defiant towards the lieutenant, but was surprised to see that Twilight seemed to be letting the guard take charge. Discord walked up to the purple alicorn, who was attempting to preen her feathers. Twilight looked up from her wing, heaving a sigh. "I'll never get used to these. Oh, Discord... What is it?" Discord folded his arms. "You are a Princess. You're telling me that you're letting a simple lieutenant boss you around?", he spat. Twilight thought about her words. "Well, she's the one who knows where the changeling are. And, she is a soldier. I respect that. Besides, I'm not really... comfortable... ordering all thos3 guards around. It... Just seems like something the other Princesses would do, not little old me." Discord rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Twily." The draconequus walked off, laying his back against a small, dead tree that stood behind him. He closed his eyes for a moment, resting for a bit longer, until he heard hoofsteps. Opening an eye just slightly, Discord looked to see Fluttershy standing above him, a worried expression on her face. Discord's eyes opened at once, and he was at full attention. "Fluttershy, is there something wrong?", he asked. Fluttershy didn't reply, looking down at her hooves for a long time. After contemplating what she wanted to say, the butter pegasus finally spoke. "I'm worried about Chrysalis. What if she's all alone? What if she is starving half to death? I...I feel like an awful pony.." Discord put a claw on Fluttershy's shoulder comfortingly. "Fluttershy, you are not a bad pony. It's not your fault you were asked to reform her. She's heartless. No good inside that thick, swiss-cheese carapace." Fluttershy was about to reply when Pinkie Pie burst up out of nowhere. "Did someone say cheese?! I know, sweets are my 'thing', but man, am I hungry!", she said, kicking her lips obnoxiously, before.her stomach growled loudly. Fluttershy and Discord shared a look, a smile on each of them. Before they knew it, Pinkie was gone without a trace. "She is one odd pony. No wonder she's my favorite of your friends.", he said after a moment, a cheeky grin on his muzzle. Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "Discord..." "Sorry, sorry!", he said quickly, looking to the darkening sky. "You know, it's getting kind of dark. We should probably get some rest, like everyone else," he suggested, pointing a claw to the scattered sleeping guards and Elements on the ground,"It's been a long day." Fluttershy sighed, laying down. "I guess you're right, Discord.. Well, um, good night." Discord smiled, lying on the ground, conjuring up a pillow to sleep on. "Good night, Fluttershy." Soon after that, the draconequus was asleep, snoring loudly. Oddly enough, his snores sounded almost like sirens. Fluttershy had tried for what felt like forever to try and get some sleep, but sleep was just not coming to her. The butter pegasus sighed. "I wish I could just sleep...", she whispered to herself. Resting her head on her forehooves, Fluttershy tried yet again to fall asleep, still unsuccessful. All of a sudden, a large weight bowled her over, sending her flying, and landing a few feet away. Fluttershy's eyes widened in panic, looking around until she saw a pair a glowing green eyes boring into her. Fluttershy whimpered as she heard a voice, coming from her attacker. "So you've decided to trail me, eh?", the voice hissed. Wait, that's.... Fluttershy gasped. She knew exactly who this was. Author's Note Yay, a new chapter! Man, writing on a phone is a pain in the ass.. Anyways, predictable cliffhangers! Yay!
