Author's Note

Welcome to the crazy train, Thermonuclearcurrencies!

Ocellus actually became a successor to Chrysalis, I'm talking full on evil, full changeling potential, and enslaves everyone but her friends and fellow changelings

"What happened to you?" Smolder wheezed, bracing herself against the walking stick she'd long since grown accustomed to relying upon. "Ocellus, answer me! What. Happened? "

A sickly smile snaked its way across the changeling queen's face. "Simple; I became stronger. More..." her wings buzzed for a moment. "Confident. Is that really all that bad?"

"Look around you, Ocellus! You're a tyrant! You brought Equestria to its knees from the inside out, and for what--power? Is that all you want?"

Ocellus stood up from her throne, towering nearly twice the height of Smolder herself. "Twilight Sparkle taught us that friendship is magic, didn't she? And so I thought--if I have all the friends in the world, then surely that means that I would have all the magic, too."

Smolder gestured her free arm at a chain of ponies waiting by the door, their hooves shackled and platforms mounted to their backs. "You say friends, but does that really look like a friendship to you?"

"Hmmmmmm," Ocellus turned her head with a sickening crackle of chitin against chitin. A low chuckle rose from her. "I don't know, does it?"

One of the chained ponies' eyes lit up upon sensing the changeling's gaze. "T-truly the best friend in the world! I would die for Ocellus if it means she can be happy for just another day!"

"And there you have it," Ocellus grinned. "Straight from the horse's mouth. And I pinkie promise that no magic was involved to make them say that."

Her eyes flit to Smolder's injured leg, then to the fresh bruises covering her body. "I see the guards didn't treat you kindly. I'll ensure they're... reminded appropriately when this is over of how to treat my esteemed guests of honor. As for that leg... I recall that happened some three? Four years ago?"

"Five," Smolder spat. "You had the gall to call yourself a student of Twilight Sparkle, yet what did you do? You brought the school down on the heads of your classmates. We thought at first that you weren't at fault. That it was some freak accident. But under that protective bubble you made as the building fell on top of us, you pushed out anyone that wasn't us. And all the while when you did that, half of my leg was caught outside of the bubble, crushed by debris. I saw your glowing up before the building came down, Ocellus. I... I thought it was to create the bubble."

"And it was," Ocellus bowed her head. "You're welcome, by the way."

"But your horn was already lit long before the bubble formed."

"That's unrelated."

"What do you plan to do with all this power, anyway?"

That same grin from before returned in full force.

"You'll see."

~~man this thing fell apart near the end~~