WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

THERE WILL BE GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF VIOLENCE AND GORE! IF YOU DO NOT ENJOY SUCH DESCRIPTIONS, PLEASE SKIP THESE ALTERNATIVE CHAPTERS!

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

It is widely known that in changeling culture, stealth trumps all. It's better to remain in the shadows, and pull the strings, than to engage in open combat. But when a disguise fails, changelings will inevitably resort to self-preservation. Conventional thinking might lead one to believe that these skittish creatures choose flight over fight, and that they would be all but useless in a battle. This couldn't be further from the truth, as the average drone can prove to be extremely dangerous, particularly in close quarters combat. There are numerous examples of anecdotal evidence where a spear or arrow has bounced harmlessly off a changeling's tough exoskeleton, and while the average drone's magical capabilities may be lacking when compared to a trained unicorn, they make up for this deficiency with their brutal 'rip-and-tear' fighting style: utilizing their jagged horns and naturally sharp teeth, unarmored ponies rarely stand a chance if they allow their opponent to get within striking distance. And, as witnessed in the Invasion of Canterlot, these abilities are unsurprisingly magnified in Queens. - The Rise of the Changeling Queendom, Vol. IV by Works Cited

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They glared at each other from across the field. Silently, Twilight sized up her opponent. Chrysalis looked fearsome in her armor, with the changeling apparently deciding to go all out for this battle. But outside of that, she seemed to be acting...different. Off. The arrogance was there, as always, but there was something else. She couldn't put her hoof on it, and it made her nervous. Okay, Sparkle, you can do this. No tricks this time. She hasn't put anyone under some spell, she's not pretending to be someone else, and she's not striking from the shadows. She's out in the open, and there's nothing she can do to surprise you. she thought, hyping herself up for the inevitable violence. Still, there's no reason that I can't at least TRY to end this peacefully. Inhaling a deep breath, she shouted as loudly and forcefully as she could. "QUEEN CHRYSALIS! THERE IS NO NEED FOR VIOLENCE! SURRENDER PEACEFULLY, AND YOU WILL BE GIVEN A FAIR TRIAL FOR YOUR CRIMES!" The changeling squinted at Twilight.

Wait, what is she doing? I thought the whole point of this date was SPECIFICALLY to fight! Or...wait. She must be flirting! Okay. I gotcha. Giving a cocky smirk, she shouted back. "OH, THE TIME FOR PEACE IS LONG PAST, PRINCESS! ONLY ONE OF US IS WALKING AWAY FROM THIS, AND IT WON'T BE YOU!" she yelled back. Twilight furrowed her brow at the remark. Ooo! I must have done it right, because she looks ready to go!

The alicorn lowered her head, pawing the ground with a snort. Okay. Okayokayokay. She may have armor, but she's not invincible. And you're the Element of Magic. You've got this! she thought, charging her horn. The changeling mirrored the position.

Alright. Okay. Oooooookay. You can do this. Just don't think. Let nature do its thing, and you'll have a head on your wall in no time. Just don't. Be. Nervous. Chrysalis thought, charging her horn as well.

Neither royal moved, staring at each other from across the field while silently daring the other to make the first attack. Then, seemingly out of impatience rather than an intended move, Chrysalis charged, letting out a guttural cry. She covered the ground between the two quickly, and let out a short blast from her horn a few body lengths from the Princess. Twilight winced and quickly put up a shield, and the bolt of energy bounced harmlessly off. The Queen kept charging, and to the alicorn's shock, saw the changeling's horn pierce through the arcane shield. It was like a knife through cloth, and the defensive spell dissipated as quickly as it had been created. Following through with her momentum, Chrysalis crashed into the pony, goring Twilight through the skull. The two creatures fell to the ground with a groan. The alicorn laid still and lifeless as the changeling stood up, shaking her head.

"Woo! That was a doozy of a hit, Princess! Jeez...no one wins in a headbutt, huh?" she said, rubbing her horn. Bringing her hoof down, she found it slimy...and with some chunks on it? She sniffed it. Huh. Smelled like blood and...brains? She licked it. Yup. Definitely brains. Why would there be brains on-

"OH CRAP!" she shouted, rushing over to check the still-dead pony. She stood over her former antagonist. The once-proud alicorn laid on her back, a pool of blood forming around the head. Chrysalis gave the cadaver a nudge. "H-hey. You, uh, you okay?" No response. "Um...rub some dirt on it and walk it off?" she offered. Still no response. Walking around, she looked at Twilight's head. Just below the horn was a jagged, visceral hole. Bits of bone and brain matter surrounded the fatal wound, and small spurts of blood occasionally left where the arteries had been so horrifically torn open. The Queen winced at the sight, and she could feel her stomach convulsing in an attempt to expel its contents. Turning around, she wretched for a moment, before composing herself.

"OKAY. OOOOOOKAY. I can fix this...right? I mean, getting stabbed through the head, that doesn't kill alicorns, right?!" Turning back around to view the scene, she winced again. "Okay. Maybe it does." she said with a sigh. She was about to fly off when there was a flash.

"So! How did the battl-OH BY PRAEDO'S MAGNIFICENT BEARD, WHAT DID YOU DO?!" the Queen of Queens shrieked upon viewing the carnage. Chrysalis gave a sheepish grin.

"I may have...kinda...sorta...stabbedthePrincessthroughthehead. Accidentally. But we can fix this, right?" she answered in an optimistic voice.

"ARE YOU SERIOUSLY THAT STUPID?! NO! YOU CAN'T FIX A PUNCTURED SKULL, YOU MORON!" Dominatus screamed. "WHAT ON THE GOOD GREEN EARTH WOULD MAKE YOU THINK WE COULD FIX THIS?!" Chrysalis stuttered and stammered in place.

"W-well, I just kinda figured that if they could bring Discord ba-"

"DISCORD WAS ENCASED IN STONE FOR CENTURIES! NOT STABBED THROUGH THE SKULL!" the Queen of Queens interrupted. She looked at the corpse, whose lavender color was slowly becoming lighter and lighter as the blood continued to pour out of the wound. Twilight's eyes, open and piercing, stared into the sky. Momentarily forgetting the nigh-infinite strength she possessed from the helmet, Chrysalis attempted to gently close her opponent's eyelids, only to cave in the face. The sounds of blood squirting and bone crunching was all that could be heard. She jumped back in surprise, giving her mother a nervous smile as she wiped her hoof on the ground. Dominatus let out a frustrated sigh. "You do understand that you can't mate with her now, right? Now you have to go for Celestia or Luna, you understand this, yes?"

"Aw, c'mon! They're weird! And...I mean, if I was going to decapitate Sparkle anyway..." Dominatus took on a disgusted look.

"You're not seriously suggesting necrophilia, are you?" Chrysalis hemmed and hawed for a moment, refusing to look at her mother.

"It's just that...can the eggs really tell if the body they're injected into is alive or dead? Especially if I was going to kill her a few seconds later anyway?"

Shaking her head, her mother brought a hoof to the bridge of her snout. "You know what? If you're the future, then the species deserves to die. Better through natural extinction than whatever the heck you would have done! Give me- gimme the helmet. NOW." she scolded, removing Chrysalis' headware. "We're done. Forever. It's over. Goodbye!" And with a flash, the Queen of Queens was gone, for good.

Chrysalis never heard from her mother again, and died three days later choking on a chicken bone.

Author's Note

So! Did I hype it up too much? I feel like I hyped it up too much. But maybe not! Maybe you enjoyed it! If you did, tell me, because I'm tempted to turn this into an anthology of 'What if?' scenarios from throughout the story. I've got plenty of little odds and ends knocking around in my noggin, and if you folks enjoyed this little slice of...well, I hesitate to call it 'life,' but you get what I mean. Anyway, if you'd like to see more, let me know! If you hated it, feel free to compare me to some sort of infectious disease or horrific ailment! Really, be creative with it!

Finally, thanks for reading!