Butterfly Queen Chrysalis, preorders at $39.99!
Groaning and covered in rubble, Queen Chrysalis stared up to where the ceiling used to be. Once the seat of her power and ultimate deterrent against the ponies, her throne and the accompanying room had turned into a glorified, exterior rock garden. Her perfectly executed plan brought to ruin by… wait for it… stupid, stinking, love. Again.
Now, the princesses were free, all in one place, and looking right at her. Their time in the cocoons had been draining, but Chrysalis didn’t doubt for a second any one of them could crush her in a fair fight.
This time would be different from her previous defeats. Then, she could always retreat to her magic-dead castle and lick her wounds. No more. And when a distraction was needed, she could always shove a minion in the way. No more minions, either. Thorax showed them a chance to end the old hunger, and the ungrateful maggots leaped for it. Not that she could blame them, but it still kind of hurt that her 700-year reign just ended with a twenty-second mass desertion.
It was so damnably nostalgic. A brilliant plan to conquer Equestria is almost foiled by a plucky purple unicorn, who is then countered by Chrysalis’ superior intellect. But then, in the moment of triumph – Bam! Stupid, stinking love creating stupid, stinking explosions.
It was bad enough with Twilight Sparkle, a pony Chrysalis actually knew. But by Tirek’s short ‘n curlies, who the heck was this? She knew Discord and Thorax, and Trixie just because the mare said her own name every seven seconds. This purple tumor, though, this normal, stupid unicorn? This stupid mare? Stupid, stupid…
…Stupid.
Chrysalis turned her eyes down as the unicorn approached. If she was stupid, what did that make Chrysalis?
The defeated queen glanced to the beautiful new changelings, and looked down once more. Thinking, in those few seconds before the mare reached her, of the 700 hungry, wasted years.
The mare spoke, offering her hoof. The noise was like horseshoes on a chalkboard, but Chrysalis was too tired to be annoyed. “When Twilight and her friends defeated me, I chose to run away and seek revenge. You don’t have to. You can be the leader your subjects deserve!”
An offer of redemption. Chrysalis had heard dozens over the years, but this time was different. The sneer died in her throat. She was tired, hungry… and tired of being hungry.
Chrysalis raised her decayed, colorless hoof, and gripped the purple limb for dear life.
An explosion of light and sound rocked the assembled ponies. Even Starlight Glimmer was thrown from Chrysalis, to be caught by Cadence’s soft magic. Changeling, pony, and princess alike tried to watch, but it was like looking at the sun. A stubborn few squinted into the blaze, watching through the seconds as it slowly began to fade. A form became visible in the whiteness, growing more distinct with every instant passed. The sound ended before the light… and a gentle, breezy voice laughed out loud.
She fluttered into sight: Queen Chrysalis, and yet not. Like the other changelings, her bug-like carapace had brightened and gleamed, and her eyes lost their pupils. Soft lavender orbs now danced skyward as another laugh emerged. Her carapace had turned a reddish pink, and her wings – now large, fluffy, butterfly wings – were pearlescent white.
Her voice retained the old Chrysalis’ regality, but now had something more. A light, airy playfulness as it called, “I’m full!”
She spun in the air. “I’m full of love! This is how it feels? It’s wonderful! Thank you, Starlight Glimmer!”
Starlight beamed, and Twilight reached over and hugged her close. The changeling landed on her tip-hooves, seemingly light as a feather. “Yes, that’s your name. Starlight Glimmer. And I’m Princess Chrysalis, it’s so good to meet you all!”
Starlight raised one hoof. “Wasn’t Thorax going to be the new leader?”
“You said that,” Thorax noted. “Not me. I’m cool with this.”
Celestia swept forward, offering her trademarked motherly smile. “It’s nice to meet you too, Princess Chrysalis.”
“Celly!” Chrysalis cheered. A flap of her massive wings brought her neck-to-neck with the sun princess in a full-body hug. “Celly, Celly, Celly-my-belly, you were right! Five hundred years you’ve been telling me so. Saying, ‘Chryssi, let’s be friends, you’ll have love!’ And I was all, ‘Roar, blarg, slaves, conquer, blarg.’ Now look at me! You’ve got a lot of I-told-you-so’s to work out of your system. Ha! I could kiss you.”
She reared back, and did just that. The others’ smiles froze as Chrysalis mashed faces with a very surprised Celestia.
Hard. For fifteen seconds of dead silence from the ponies around them.
They both fell back with a gasp, Celestia blushing madly, Chrysalis using the air to push out another happy laugh. “Yes! I’m so full of love right now, and I know exactly what to do with it! I’ve had my epiphany. I know!”
“Know what?” Twilight asked, very politely.
“My purpose!” Chrysalis called out. “My princessy duty! I’m going to take this bottomless well of love within me and share it with Equestria.”
Luna gave a quiet, regal scoff. “We thank thee for the offer, but Equestria has an abundance of love. Thou said it thyself at the wedding.”
“‘Equestria,’ yes.” Chrysalis fluttered over and landed at her side. “But some Equestrians do not have the love they seek, Princess Luna. Or should I say…”
Her form shifted. Unlike the green fire of old, this transformation was marked with a flurry of rose petals as Chrysalis became fuzzy, white and tall.
“…Little sister?”
Luna went stock-still. A raspberry blush stained her cheeks as the image of Celestia licked her ear. It was an imperfect copy – this one wore an enhanced posterior that now squished against Luna.
The assembled ponies had no time to recover before Chrysalis danced away, changing back in another puff of rose petals. “Changelings are natural empaths. We can sense the deepest of desires, and alter our form to match.”
“Really?” Pinkie asked, excitedly bounding face-to-face with the new princess.
“Really-really, silly filly!” Cheese Sandwich’s voice responded. The image of the orange stallion met Pinkie’s face with a kiss, and she bounced back, giggling.
While Twilight glanced nervously to the assembled ten-thousand changelings, Rainbow closed the distance to one of them. “Can all changelings do that?”
The changeling took Rainbow’s form, grinning and posing sultrily. “You bet, Rainbow Dash #1.”
“Oh, wow. This is amazing!” Rainbow grabbed her clone and immediately rubbed her neck along its wing. “You’re amazing! Like, way past cool!”
“Not as cool as you!”
“Naw, you’re super-cool! And a hundred percent hawt, if I do say so myself.”
“Chrysalis!” Celestia’s practiced smile was just a little strained as she stepped past her still-frozen sister. “Perhaps we can take a step back and plan things out first. We, ah, don’t want to rush things.”
“We won’t rush anything that ponies don’t want rushed!” Chrysalis not-agreed cheerfully. With another puff of flowery magic, she appeared in front of Celestia with three things gripped in her horn’s glow: two pairs of fuzzy hoofcuffs, and a long feather. Celestia staggered backwards with a goose-like honk as Chrysalis wiggled them before her nose. “Tonight, for instance, we’ll take things nice. And. Slow.”
Celestia’s rump hit the ground, her eyes like dinner plates. Chrysalis turned to the next closest pony and hugged her, taking the shape of an effeminate stallion from Fluttershy’s manga. The yellow pegasus met her embrace with a wild grin.
“That’s right! We changelings have a gift for the world, and that’s to make the impossible come true! From this day forth, no pony shall go unkissed on Hearts and Hooves Day! No secret kink shall be left unspoken out of shame, for we love it all, and love to share it with you!”
Twilight was still trying to count the changelings. She yelped and hurled to the sky as Chrysalis’ hoof slapped her butt. Twilight hovered and glared down, stammering as her brother’s image winked up at her. Chrysalis turned without a missed beat and posed before Starlight in a sexy nurse outfit, wearing Sunburst’s face without the beard. The changeling queen then leaped and tackled Applejack, and…
…Pouted. She reached over, grabbed Rarity, and pushed the two of them together.
“Seriously.” Chrysalis gave a tut, then turned her manic gaze on the Crystal couple. She grinned and stalked cat-like towards them.
“Whoa, hey.” Shining Armor waved his hooves frantically before him. “No need for that, Miss Princess Ma’am. We’re good.”
Cadence’s visible sweat belied her fierce glare. “Don’t even, Chrysalis.”
“Thorax? On my mark.” The changeling obeyed Chrysalis’ words, and the duo pounced. The married couple recoiled, eyes closed as lips met theirs.
…Familiar lips. Cadence blinked to find herself kissing the image of Shining Armor, while her husband looked up to see Cadence. Chrysalis resumed her own form, wrapped one hoof around each of them, and squeezed the lovebirds into a tight embrace. “You two are so cute! Remember, I’m here to give love, not ruin it! But mark my words, your long business trips are going to get a lot less lonely.”
With a final kiss to each of their cheeks, Chrysalis turned grandly to the assembled changelings and threw out her hoof. “Let the rejected and lonely rejoice, for the changelings are coming as they have never come before! Now, with love in your hearts – fly! Fly my changelings, and find where you are needed! Be the embrace for the unloved orphan! The nice girl for the awkward nerd! The responsible boyfriend for the teen mother! The sub for the shy dominatrix! Fly! Fly and bring joy across the land. So says I, the Princess of Love!”
“Hey,” Cadence snapped. She was barely heard above the thousands of wings lifting off from the ground as the changelings began their flight to Equestria.
“Oh, right.” Chrysalis cocked her head. “Um… affection? I could be the Princess of Affection.”
Cadence glanced behind her, but saw no support. The others were all staring at the great migration with equal parts wonder and trepidation. The only exception was Luna, still blushing and frozen.
“Come on,” Cadence huffed. “Affection is just another word for love.”
“Yeah, and ‘friendship’ is a form of platonic love. Are we really gonna split hairs?”
“Point,” Cadence conceded. “Affection, it is.”
“Farewell then, my fellow princess!” Chrysalis abruptly raised her voice to its regal max. “But when evil rises once more, we shall meet again in council!”
“See you Monday,” Cadence agreed. Chrysalis saluted and gave one more joyful, innocent laugh before flying up to join her swarm.
She caught Celestia’s eye as she ascended, and quirked a fanged smile. She dove back down to press noses, whispered, “Tonight,” and rocketed back into the sky. With a last cheerful wave, Chrysalis turned and resumed her flight north – to Equestria, the strange land of love and ponies. It was about to get a little more loving, and a very great deal more strange.
Author's Note
I know this sort of looks like the start of a massive multi-chapter clopfic, but it's definitely not. Just an idea that popped into my head and was written out on the same day. I'm told that's a thing the cool fanfic writers do.
Thanks for reading.
