Wish World

“So you’re sure that my wish was granted.” asked a bug-like pony exiting from Atamanna’s tent, one with a dark green and royal purple carapace.

“Absolutely,” Atamanna said, following him out, “Your wish to have your brother become a more assertive leader for the changelings has already taken effect, and when you return home, you’ll find that your king is a changed stallion.”

The Djinn had to restrain a laugh, as she knew the meaning behind her words were literal. The newly instated changeling king’s brother, Pharynx, had been one of many lined up that day, having heard of the wish granting genie’s power. He wanted his brother to be a more traditional leader, strong, capable, and willing to throw his weight around if needed. It was public information that Thorax did not have a very powerful presence, his form of leadership being weak overall. The way he put it though was that he wanted Thorax to ‘Stop being such a sissy’, but the sentiment was still the same.

How surprised Pharynx would be when he returned to his hive, to find all the changelings reverted to their former form, sapped and starving for love, his brother having consumed it all for himself. While not the only way to fulfill Pharynx’s wish, the most amusing way to make Thorax more assertive was to make him more aggressive and hostile, and the easiest way to make a changeling angry was to make them hungry.

So Atamanna simply cursed the changeling king to have an insatiable appetite for love, one that was only eased during the moment of consumption. At the moment of the wish being granted, he would have found himself so hungry for love that he would have no choice but to drain the closest love filled changeling available, and would have then proceeded to drain his kingdom, with those he fed off of joining in the ravid consumption of every drop of love held by those who had yet to be feasted on. None of these reverted changelings would ever die from lack of the love they once more craved, but neither would a normally full stomach sate them, especially not the king himself. The endless hunger would drive him to be a more ruthless and dangerous creature than even the former queen, who may have acted to some degree to provide her people with food, but that goal was always superseded by her desire to rule supremely over all of Equestria.

“Then I better get back and see how the wuss turned out.” Pharynx said, spreading his wings and flew off, not giving so much as a thanks as he left.

Atamanna didn’t mind, however, since she now owned the changeling’s soul, and knew that when he returned to his hive, he would find himself ravaged by the entirety of his people, perhaps to have the very brother he made a wish for put him into an existence of perpetual hunger by sucking every particle of love out of him. The goat couldn’t help but be pleased when the results of a wish provided the punishment without her direct influence.

“Ok, who’s next?”Atamanna asked, looking at the pony stationed at the front of her line.

At the uttering of her question, a light green unicorn with a mane of pale blue and white stepped forward, putting purpose in her step as she approached the genie. “That would be me,” she said, more brazenly than any other visitor from Ponyville, “You are the wish granter, correct?”

Atamanna, upon seeing the unicorn, raised an eyebrow, a little confused at what she saw. It took her a second to take in every aspect of this mare to notice something beyond the things that threw her off, and once that happened, she overcame the thing that perplexed her about the unicorn.

“Ah, yes, I am.” Atamanna said, “I assume that you’ve heard that I would grant any wish requested of me?”

“Yes,” the unicorn stated plainly, “And I have a wish I need granted right now.”

“Why of course,” Atamanna said, “Please, come on in, and we shall discuss your wish in private.”

The unicorn complied, making her way inside, hardly looking at the goat as she passed the threshold of the genie’s abode.

“This should be interesting,” Atamanna said softly to herself as she followed, after a brief pause to let the unicorn get out of earshot.

“Ugh,” the goat heard as she entered her home, the unicorn looking around in disgust, “How can a creature so powerful live in such meager accommodations.”

“Well, I don’t ask for anything in return for the wishes I grant,” Atamanna explained, “And my powers are incredibly limited when not used on someone who has received a wish from me.” The Djinn added, intentionally eluding that her magic could do much more to those who she granted wishes to, just to see if her guest would pick up on that detail.

“How repugnant,” said the unicorn, “But I guess my opinions of your squalid living conditions don’t matter. The only thing that I care about is that you can grant me my wish.”

“Why of course… Miss Heartstrings.” Atamanna replied.

The unicorn cocked her brow a little, before catching on to what the goat had said, “Ah, right, that’s me. Heartstrings the unicorn. Now if you don’t mind, can we get on with this?”

Atamanna smirked, she already knew what was going on, but it was always amusing to see a guest in her house lose their nerve. “If that is your desire,” the goat crossed her arms, looking directly at the unicorn with a glare that shot right through her, “What is your wish?”

The unicorn lips curled up into a slightly malicious smile, but quickly wiping the expression off her face when she became self aware of it. “What I want is simple,” the unicorn announced, taking a deep breath before following up with, “I wish to be the absolute ruler of Equestria!”

“Sorry, no,” Atamanna said, her own muzzle now bearing a smug smirk.

The unicorn, seeing the genie’s response, twitched her eye, rage building up inside her, “What do you mean, ‘no’? Can’t you grant any wish?”

“Oh, I certainly can,” Atamanna said, “If your wish is to be the supreme queen of this world, I could make the leaders of every nation grovel at your hooves.”

“Then do it!” the unicorn demanded, stomping her foot on the ground, her arms straight at her sides with her hands balled up into fists in frustration.

“I’m sorry, but I explained the rules to you yesterday, Miss Heartstrings.” Atamanna replied, “Each creature can only have one wish, and you already made yours.”

The unicorn was taken aback by the genie’s words, “I’ve… already…”

“Yes, remember? You wished that you could spend more time with your marefriend, and it was a wish that I gladly granted.”

The unicorn put a hand to her face, annoyed at herself that she could have made such a mistake. She had to kick herself over not thinking of this before, that the pony she was disguised as could have already asked the genie for something. Getting over that small detail though, the mare recomposed herself, and with no hesitation, dropped her disguise in a display of green fire flowing over her body. One moment she was a mere unicorn from Ponyville, and the next she was Chrysalis, the former queen of the changelings.

“Fine,” said Chrysalis, “As you can see I’m not Heartstrings, so now you should be able to grant my wish, and make me the undisputed ruler of Equestria!”

This was the point that Atamanna was steering this interaction to from the beginning, as she knew the mare in front of her couldn’t be who she claimed to be, as that mare was currently trapped in one of her pocket dimensions. Lyra, the mare Chrysalis had taken the physical appearance of, was lamenting that her lover had to leave for a while on some secret mission. The original version of Lyra’s wish was that she wished that her marefriend’s job was done, so they could spend more time together, and in a way Atamanna had fulfilled both objects of that desire.

The two were now trapped in a glass box, confined together in a cramped space with little wiggle room, face to face, arms and legs wrapped around one another as their appendages were bound together, while the more sensitive areas of their nipples, clits, and tongues were linked together part via a set of new piercings, a small length of chain joining their respective parts to the other’s match, ensuring they would never part again. As for bringing an end to Lyra’s lover’s mission, with the mare in this state, any mission she could have, present or future, were brought to a close. All either could do now was comfort one another, and perhaps share some form of intimacy by lewdly rubbing their bodies together.

Now that the facade was dropped, it was true that Atamanna could grant Chrysalis’ wish, though that was true beforehand as well. Atamanna, pleased with herself to have made the once royal changeling reveal herself, acknowledged her request for domination, and then did the only thing she could do when such a boon was demanded of her.

“No,” she said, unwavering from her previous reply.

“No?” Chrysalis said, now more confused than angry. “Why won’t you grant my wish? What is wrong now?”

“Nothing is wrong,” Atamanna said, “I simply don’t want to do it. As the one who grants the wish, I have the privilege to refuse any wish requested of me, and personally, I find your wish to be boring.”

Chrysalis had reached the end of her patience for the genie. In her mind, she was the only rightful ruler of Equestria, and that she had been defeated so thoroughly time and time again was not a failing on her part, but numerous flukes that ended up against her favor. Twilight was willing to believe she was Cadence after being scolded by Celestia, but then Chrysalis revealed herself to imprison her underground. Cadence would have never repelled her and her army away from Canterlot, had she kept her away from Shining Armor, and Starlight would have never destroyed her throne, had there not been some previously unknown changeling transformation that converted her army against her. It was all a matter of bad circumstances, and the thing she needed to correct these mistakes was denying her what rightfully belonged to her.

Seeing no other recourse to deal with this defiant goat, Chrysalis lit up her horn with a green aura, and shot a concussive beam at Atamanna. The beam made contact, knocking the Djinn to the floor, making a sound loud enough that the changeling queen worried that it might have alerted those waiting outside. When no one came rushing in, she relaxed and made her way to the now prone goat woman.

“I'm tired of your insolence,” the changeling said, “You will grant my wish for domination of this kingdom, or I’ll make you wish you were never born.”

The Djinn rolled over on her back, and looked up at Chrysalis, the former queen recoiling when she saw the goat’s face. Half of it had been blown off, revealing the bone and tissue beneath the skin, the rage fueling Chrysalis’ attack great enough to wound the goat. The changeling queen became immensely worried that she had just ruined her chance to rule Equestria, but as she stared at the half skeletal face of the genie, the goat began to laugh. At first, Chrysalis believed that Atamanna had gone mad, that the pain she endured had pushed her over the brink of sanity, but then she saw what was so funny to the goat.

What happened next took a few seconds to begin, but once it did the process happened incredibly fast. The goat’s face began healing, skin crawling unnaturally over the exposed bone, as the muscle restored the parts of it that had been blown away. It took little time at all for the genie’s visage to return to the way it was prior to receiving the blast, once the damage was reversed, all that remained was a wicked grin.

“What an amazing outburst,” Atamanna said, “Had I been a mere mortal, I’m certain my life would have been cut short then and there. However, that which is eternal cannot die… If it is any consolation though… That hurt like hell.”

Chrysalis stood in shock at how nonchalantly the genie brushed off her attack, until she came to a conclusion. “Very well,” She said, lifting a hoof before stomping it down on Atamanna’s ankle, getting a wince from the goat as pain coursed up through her leg and up her spine, “If I cannot threaten you with death, then I can threaten you with agony, and I’m sure I’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you can live through.”

Atamanna grimaced, looking up at the woman looming over her. She could do nothing to the changeling until she made a wish that the Djinn could manipulate, and either through careful wording or by accident, Chrysalis wasn’t saying anything that could be treated like a wish or request. At least, not one that didn’t lead back to Chrysalis becoming the ruler of Equestria. For once in the bug mare’s life, her one track mind was greatly benefiting her.

“Look,” Atamanna said, adjusting herself on the floor into a sitting position, “Before we go through days or weeks of you ceaselessly torturing me with no results, let me say this. I have no issue granting a person such as you a wish.”

“Is that supposed to be an insult?” Chrysalis said, imbuing her twisted horn with magic as she prepared another beam.

“Not at all,” Atamanna replied, a sinister tone entering her words as she spoke, “Just informing you that my refusal has nothing to do with your alignment, or your ambitions. I cater to both creatures who would be considered ‘good’ and ‘evil’. The only problem I have is that your wish is unoriginal, and has uninteresting results. If I were to grant this particular wish, then you would own all Equestria, and no one would ever be able to defy your will, which is of course what you seek. What I seek, and why I don’t charge for my services, is amusement, which such a simple wish for conquest doesn’t fulfill.”

Chrysalis glared at the goat sitting on the ground before her, pondering her words, and the sudden tonal shift of the situation. It seemed she wanted to give Chrysalis a wish, but just not one for a total one sided victory. This need for ‘interesting’ wishes was the only thing standing in Chrysalis’ way of what she rightfully deserved.

“What have other creatures with goals such as mine wished from you?” Chrysalis asked, her curiosity rising as she thought about how this creature might have aided others with goals of conquest.

“Is that information what you want?” Atmanna asked, requiring Chrysalis to at least agree that it was her desire to make it count as a wish.

Atamanna received a shot of the changeling’s magic in response, directed into the dirt right next to her. “It is what you will give, unless you want to regrow another patch of flesh.”

The djinn grumbled, and got back to her hooves. “Fine, a freebee then. One example of my work was the time I met the first Dragon Lord, or I should say, the one who would become the first Dragon Lord. He stumbled upon me by accident, as many have, and wished for a means to bring other dragons to heel, wanting to command his people with absolute authority, but knowing that his kind were too unruly and savage to ever accept the rule of another. I granted him his wish in the form of a staff, that when used could bend the will of any dragon to the wielder’s.”

“You are referring to the Bloodstone Scepter,” Chrysalis said, knowing of the object, “Are you trying to tell me that you are the one who crafted that artifact?”

“That, and more,” Atamanna said, “From books that give the user the ability to manipulate reality, to gemstones that could blot out the sun, I am the source of many objects that could bring Equestria to its knees.”

“You truly expect me to believe that?” Chrysalis scoffed.

“If you didn’t, then why would you be willing to waste your time prying a wish out of me?”

Chrysalis had to concede on that point. She already believed this goat was a means to gaining control of Equestria, so why was it so hard to believe that she could make these legendary items.

“I believe I see the problem,” Chrysalis said, “You don’t like results that end with no means of countering them. The First Dragon Lord was a kind soul who wanted to unite his people, but was usurped shortly after when his kindness was taken advantage of. As for the other two objects you mentioned, they were clearly not utilized in a way that made their owners' plans come to fruition.”

“You’re partially correct,” Atamanna said, “An outright win that can’t be countered would be fine, just not on a grand scale. It’s just too dull to create such a predictable ending.”

“Then how about this?” Chrysalis said, “Grant me control of the Crystal Empire. Make its current rulers and subjects bow to me, so I may have an army to conquer the rest of Equestria of my own accord.”

Atamanna sighed, as the changeling was making the same wish as before, only dumbed down. Chrysalis was taking her words too literally, and not understanding that it was the want to have an entire populace under her will with no effort was the problem. The thing was, Atamanna was beginning to take interest in Chrysalis herself, wondering what she could do if given actual power. However, if the ex-matriarch wanted to restore her title, then she would have to come up with something more creative than ‘let me rule over a kingdom’.

“Let’s take a step back,” Atamanna said, hoping to guide Chrysalis to a wish that she could agree to, “You want to take over Equestria, but despite your power and cunning, something has prevented you from achieving this goal. What could you have now that would change that outcome should you try again?”

Chrysalis dwelled on that question, understanding that her wish for the Crystal Empire was not meeting Atamanna’s abstract criteria for a proper wish. She didn’t like how the genie was directing her though, especially since there seemed to be a recurring pattern of those in her position that made a wish on this genie. Wishing for some object or relic could easily be turned against her, or be destroyed or made ineffective if her foes got hold of them. The Bloodstone Scepter was used against its owner, and her own Changeling Throne, which was her ultimate defense, was reduced to rubble.

The changeling had to come up with something less material, or at least something that was part of herself. A wish of her own, so not let this creature lead her down another path to failure. Still, there was some credibility to what the goat was saying. If she could have anything now, what would give her the advantage over those who had beaten her, and still had the power to stop her. There was one thing she wanted that could make her unstoppable, and when she thought about it, it was something that she might have wanted more than Equestria itself.

“If you refuse to give me my own kingdom, then I have a better idea.” Chrysalis said, “I wish for the power to enact my revenge on my enemies.”

Atamanna took a moment to consider the wish, liking what she heard. It was a vague wish, but she could work with a vague wish for power a lot more than she could the direct wish for control. “This wish is acceptable,” she said, satisfied.

“Then you will grant it?” Chrysalis questioned, surprised she had made some ground with the goat.

“I will, but I have a caveat.” Atamanna replied, which made Chrysalis begin to snarl, “Don’t worry though, it’s not a big one. It’s just… A person of your renown and infamy must have many enemies. In some fashion, all of Equestria could be considered your enemy, which would lead to another boring conquest wish.”

“Then what is your stipulation?” Chrysalis said, annoyed, wondering if this was just another means to refuse her desires.

To answer the changeling, the Djinn raised her hand, with three fingers extended. “Three,” she said, “Pick three creatures to suffer your unbridled wrath.”

Chrysalis’ heart skipped a beat, excitement building fast at the goat’s declaration. While she would have preferred that she was given the power to destroy anyone she considered an enemy, which was the loophole she was working for, the offer to select any three of her foes was very enticing.

“Any three?” she said to clarify, “And I’ll be able to defeat them without question?”

“Anyone you can think of, aside from myself,” Atamanna said, as she would never agree to that particular choice, “Aside from that, you could pick Celestia, Luna, and Discord themselves, and even they would be at your complete mercy, incapable of ever standing against you.”

With that confirmation, Chrysalis went through her mental list of foes, trying to deduce which ones posed the most threat. In all honesty, most of her enemies had been defeated by her in the past, but that was when she had an army behind her. However, there was one enemy who had thwarted her, even when her final victory was all but achieved.

“The first one is obvious,” Chrysalis stated with absolute certainty, “Starlight Glimmer. I want to make her suffer more than any pony has ever suffered, and ever will suffer.”

The tip of Atamanna’s pointer finger caught flame, and in the fire was displayed the image of Starlight, currently in the library of Canterlot Castle, her eyes glued to a book. Chrysalis was surprised to see her most despised foe, and peered into the flame with hatred.

“Name the next who’s fate will be in your hands,” Atamanna said, her smile growing unnaturally large.

Chrysalis paid no attention to the goat, more focused on her wish. She knew her targets had to be strategic, but seeing Starlight, and realizing that what she wanted was really coming true, she couldn’t help but think about another pony who was more of a personal grudge than an actual threat to her.

“Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,” said the queen, calling Princess Cadence by her formal name, to make sure the genie knew who she was talking about.

The goat’s middle finger ignited, showing the alicorn princess as she was currently, spending time with her husband and daughter, walking the streets of the Crystal Empire, blissfully unaware that her life was in peril.

“One more…” Atamanna said, “One more and we can finalize your wish, and you will receive everything you deserve.”

For the last one, Chrysalis could only think of one pony who fit the bill. The pony who, if she hadn’t interfered, Chrysalis would be queen over all. With her out of the way, no pony would be able to stop her next attempt to take her rightful place as ruler of Equestria.

“Princess… Twilight Sparkle.” she said, uprooting the destinies of her greatest rival by the mere utterance of her name.

Atamanna’s ring finger caught fire, and within the flame was Twilight Sparkle, walking aside a bookshelf, eyeing the titles of each tome as she passed. “Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings, with your selection made, I declare your wish for revenge… granted.” The goat lifted her other hand, and snapped her fingers together, triggering the finalization of the wish, and sealing the contract between the Djinn and the would-be ruler of Equestria.

Chrysalis locked her eyes to the three flames displaying her greatest foes, waiting to see what the genie had in store for them. This moment filled her with a sensation she didn’t think possible, the anticipation to see what would happen next too great to bear. She expected some horrid fate to befall them, but what she saw as she stared into the flames was a set of marks appearing on their bodies. Small glyphs, appearing near the back of their necks, in the image of a demonic looking goat head, within the center of an encircled star.

“What is this?” Chrysalis asked, confused as to why the trio wasn’t writhing in sheer torment.

“You wished for the power to defeat them, remember?” Atamanna said, reaching forward, and taking hold of Chrysalis’ wrist. She pulled the arm to her, turning the bug mare’s hand palm out, and then placed the three flames into it. The fire sheered into the changelings’ carpaced skin, causing her to cry out lightly in pain. “And as you desired, they can never go up against you again. They have absolutely no power over you, while you soon will hold absolute power over them.”

Chrysalis pulled away from Atamanna, needing to make several attempts before she could retrieve her arm. She immediately checked her hand to see the injury caused by the flames, only to find not a single burnmark there. With the searing pain she had felt, she was sure that the genie had melted some skin, and even after escaping the flames, she could feel the heat.

“Absolute power, you say?” Chrysalis said, trying to ignore the burning, “Then give me it. Give me the power to strike these three down.”

“Very well,” Atamanna said, snapping her fingers once more to sound a transformation the changeling could never accomplish alone.

The sound of the two fingers acted as a signal for the pain in Chrysalis’ hand to spread like wildfire through the entirety of her body. The changeling buckled over on the spot, falling to her knees, screaming aloud as every inch of her body felt like it was engulfed in flames, despite visually being fine.

“W-What… HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!” Chrysalis yelled at the genie, assuming she had been tricked somehow, but not understanding how close that was to the truth.

“I have only done what I promised,” Atamanna said, watching the changeling struggle to get at her, falling face first into the floor. “But you could never contain the power I’m bestowing on you in your current form. Your body is now drastically changing to adapt to it, but don’t worry. You’ll retain your current appearance… for the most part.”

“Most… part…?” Chrysalis struggled to say, foam forming at the corner of her lips as her saliva rose up from inside her throat.

Before she could get a response from the goat though, the changeling queen saw something drop down in front of her eyes from above, and when she tracked the movement to see what it was, she was horrified. It was her horn, laying on the floor in front of her, having fallen right off her head. She felt stunned, never expecting to be in a position of such vulnerability. To be brought so low, in so much pain, with someone holding so much power over her. If the goat was to come over and stomp down on her head, she would not only be incapable of stopping it, but would find it a mercy so long as it brought an end to her torment.

Just when she thought her consciousness was fading, that her mind could take no more pain, and was going to shut it off to spare her, an intense, sharp pressure came to her awareness, the origin of which being two points on the opposite sides of her head, just above her temples. With what strength she still retained, she reached up to feel what was happening in those spots, only to be met with an eruption of bone, as two new horns appeared, jutting to the back of her skull before curling in on themselves. If not for the enchantment of the tent preventing sound from escaping it, the bestial howls the changeling made would have echoed for miles.

“Just endure it for a little while,” Atamanna said, taking in Chrysalis’ screams, bathing in her agony, “And when it's over, you’ll be a whole new mare.”

Chrysalis could hardly hear the goat over her own screams, but she could see that the goat was talking to her, which drew her gaze to the genie’s face. Through the tears starting to pour out of her eyes, a bodily function she had seldom done prior, she couldn’t tell a single word that was being said, but she could see that something about the goat had changed, as the normally rounded pupils of the Djinn’s own eyes had turned into strange looking rectangles, that felt like they were boring into Chrysalis’ very soul.

“AH!”

Cadence’s eyes shot open, her heart racing, chest heaving as she took a series of deep breaths. It was night, and she was in her bed, sitting upright, with Shining Armor peacefully laying aside her. Her senses were on edge, as she searched the moonlit room, going from shadow to shadow as if she knew something was hiding in one of them.

The princess was going through a rough day, and she wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like anything had happened, with her morning being very pleasant, since she had some time off from her royal duties to spend time with her family. Everything had been going fine, until midday when she was suddenly overwhelmed by an ominous feeling. She didn’t know what could have caused it, but she was randomly struck with a severe bout of anxiety. From that point forward, the pink alicorn couldn’t enjoy anything, feeling like there was an evil presence looming over her at all times. Shining, trusting Cadence’s intuition, had the guards search the empire, but nothing sinister was found. After that, Cadence had the castle’s physician perform a full body examination, but no ailments could be found, either natural or magical. The closest thing they could relate it to was stress, but Cadence didn’t really accept that as an answer.

For the rest of the day, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad would happen, all the way to the setting of the sun, and the raising of the moon. Shining tried to tell her to get some sleep, and that she’d feel better in the morning, but for hours she had been restless. The few moments she could enter a sleeping start, there was nothing but an unnatural darkness, which was incredibly unnatural for pony dreams, and in her last attempt, she could swear there was something staring at her from that darkness. Something with unnerving, rectangular eyes.

She had to get up, take a walk around the castle, get a drink of water. Anything really, so she could stop thinking about those eyes. Without another word, Cadence moved to the side of the bed, when she heard her husband speak to her.

“Still not getting any sleep?” Shining said, sounding very tired himself, having been directly affected by his wife's ceaseless moving about.

“No…” Cadence admitted, though she wasn’t even tired, with her senses on high alert as they were, “I just don’t know what’s come over me. It's like I feel something watching me, but each time I think I’ve found them, I look and nothing is there. It’s driving me crazy.”

“Well I’ve got my best men on patrol tonight,” Shining Armor said, “If someone is stalking you, they’ll find them.”

Cadence shook her head, “I don’t really think anypony is here,” she said, making her worry sound unwarranted, even to herself, “I can’t explain it, but it feels like I have this pressure weighing me down, while a pit of dread is forming in my heart, and my worst fears are cycling in my head on repeat.”

“Maybe the doctor was right.” suggested Shining, “Maybe it’s just stress.”

Cadence didn’t want to accept that, but what else could it be?

“I’m… going to get some air,” said Cadence, an urge to leave the room developing since she had woken up in fright.

“Want me to come with you?” Shining asked within a yawn, concerned, but exhausted from his own day of worrying over Cadence.

“No, you get some rest,” Cadence said, putting her husband’s needs first. Though she would have felt better with him at her side, he needed his rest to operate the guard the next day, “I’ll stay in the castle, where the guards can keep an eye on me.”

“Okay…” Shining replied, placing his head back on his pillow, his eyelids closing immediately as he fell asleep.

Cadence left shortly after, heading down the hall, to the royal nursery, which was being watched over by two on duty unicorn guards. Then she turned to enter the room, they covered their norns with magical auras, ready to strike.

“Password.” said one of the guards.

“Skyla.” Cadence replied. It was a necessary precaution, to prevent those with the ability to create illusions from getting to the kingdom’s most cherished treasure.

The guards stood down, and opened the door for their princess, allowing her to enter with nary another word, and closing the doors the moment she entered.. The way Cadence was feeling, she just had to check in on her daughter, to make sure what she was feeling wasn’t about her. Thankfully, Flurry Heart was sleeping soundly in her crib, nothing threatening her peaceful slumber. The sight of her only child resting with not a care in the world got the adult alicorn to feel a little better, her love for Flurry and relief that she was still safe putting her mind at ease. If something was plotting against Cadence, the princess of love could at least take some comfort in knowing that her child was safe.

With that detail reaffirmed, Cadence gave her daughter a kiss on the head, which made the foal rustle in her sleep, but quickly go back whatever sweet thoughts were occupying her dreams. Cadence hoped, somewhat selfishly, that Luna was paying extra special attention to the youngest princess of Equestria that night.

With the knowledge that her daughter was safe, Cadence crept towards the exit, careful to not make a sound. It had taken her all day, but this small interaction with her infant child had put her mind at ease. She started to think that she really was worrying over nothing. Maybe she really had been stressed out over nothing, and all she really needed was a singular, calming moment to put her mind at ease. Keeping an eye on Flurry as she opened the door, the princess made her way out of the nursery, her heart feeling light as a feather.

That changed the second her hoof touched down outside of her daughter’s bedroom, as something immediately felt off. The sound it made wasn’t the familiar sensation of touching the crystal palace floors, instead feeling like she had just stepped on a patch of dirt. Pulling her eyes away from Flurry, she looked down to see that she had indeed done that, as she had set foot on common, earthen ground. Cadence’s head twisted around to see what had happened to her castle, only to find she wasn’t in it anymore, instead in a cave-like surrounding, with crystals protruding from the stone walls, and a single tunnel leading out from what the enclosure she had stepped into.

Immediately, Cadence turned around to get back to the nursery, only to have the entryway she had just stepped through pull away from her, the door itself having become a portal of some sort. She made an effort to get back to it, fear motivating her actions, as the area around her was bringing up traumatic memories of the last time she was in such surroundings, but she was only met with the doors closing shut, and then vanishing before her eyes.

Cadence had become trapped, unable to return the way she came, with no possibility of knowing where she was. Alone, isolated, and scared, when the sound of laughter filled the cave, she broke out in a cold sweat on the spot.

“What a sweet scene that was,” said the voice, “A mother and daughter sharing a tender moment together, neither knowing that it would be the last one they would ever share.”

Cadence, well aware that she was in danger, turned to face the tunnel, as it was the only way out of the room, and thus the only direction the voice could be coming from. If the owner of the voice wanted her, she would have to come from that direction, which would have been a mistake. Cadence could easily shoot a beam down the narrow passage, one big enough to make dodging it difficult in such a tight space. On the other hand, the area she was in was confined, but more open, and she could avoid any attacks coming her way.

The princess of love waited, nerves on edge as she kept watch for the slightest movement to act as a signal to fire. For all Cadence knew, she had one shot at this, and had to make it count. She didn’t move, didn’t blink, and at one point stopped breathing as her inhales and exhales became too heavy. The anticipation was making the synapses in her brain fire off like crazy, taking in every detail of the world in front of her eyes in a much more enhanced way than usual, the benefits of being cornered in a dangerous situation, as her instincts became powered by adrenaline. All of it was for naught though, as a form appeared behind her, manifesting from the shadows without her knowing.

“So much effort,” said the creature behind the princess.

Cadence spun around to face her assailant, horn filled so full with magic that the glow filled the cave’s enclosure, prepared to fight for her life. However, any attempt she would have made was cut short, as a solid metal ring formed around the base of her horn, the grip of it stifling her casting abilities on the spot.

Cadence was shocked to find her magic negated so easily, but was ready to take a physical approach, despite fighting through fists not being her fort’e. She raised her hand, going for a punch, and as she sent a fist forward, the alicorn found she couldn’t move it an inch. Her hostile actions were brought to a quick end as a metal cuff wrapped around her wrist, holding her in place, as duplicates of the object went around her other wrist and and her ankles. She put all her might into trying to move her limbs, but it was as if the items were affixed in space, impossible to move by any means.

“Princess Cadence, you really should relax,” the creature in the shadow said, her voice holding a womanly and wicked tone to it. “I would hate for you to tire yourself out before you meet your proper end.”

The shackles on the alicorn’s appendaged started to move on their own, pulling Cadence’s arms straight up, lifting her a foot off the ground, while the ones at her ankles did their best to reach the floor, while not moving the wrist shackles an inch. The result of this was that Cadence was being forced into a stretched out, straight line, incapable of bending any part of her body, as she was held suspended off the ground. It was as if she had been placed within a torture rack, except she was made to ‘stand’ vertically, as the pressure on her limbs was just short of causing her limbs to pop out of their sockets.

“Now hold still,” said the voice, as if the princess had an option.

Using whatever magic the creature had, it caused several of the crystal formations to grow, coming down from the ceiling, and popping up from the ground, to reach Cadence where she was, and wrap around her hooves and hands. They kept going beyond that, traveling over her forearms and biceps, squeezing them tightly as it became clear to the alicorn that these were to become her bonds, holding her in place so that her attacker didn’t have to keep fueling the shackles with magic. With the rock formations in place, and the ring around her horn, she would be incapable of escaping, and completely vulnerable to whatever this creature had in store for her.

“Coward!” she yelled, “Not even brave enough to show yourself!”

It really didn’t matter if the creature revealed itself or not, but creatures often had an instinctual desire to know who wronged them. In this aspect, Cadence was fortunate that her attacker was happy to fulfill this curiosity, and stepped into the light.

A black, female creature came into her view, one with the appearance of a demonic goat. At least that was Cadence's first impression seeing her kidnapper, but the more she looked at the goat-like female, the more she noticed other features. The creature’s head was the most caprine part of her, with horns like a ram that spiraled out to the back of her head, originating from her forehead. The horns, however, were missing parts of them, like sections of them had been punched out in holes.

Cadence’s eyes traveled to the goat’s body next, which was very ‘womanly’ in appearance, with sizable breasts, and shapely hips that might have made the Princess of Love jealous, had she not been preoccupied with her peril. There was a thin layer of fur coating this hyper sexualized body, which the princess could easily see as the goat wore no clothing to speak of, perversely displaying her lewd form, but strangely the creature also seemed to have spots where a chitinous shell-like material poked out.

But the one feature that gave Cadence a major cause for alarm was when she noticed that this creature had wings. Not feathered wings, like a pony, gryphon, or hippogriff would have, or bat wings, like something looking as demonic as this creature would be expected to have, but a set of tattered, buglike wings that she had only seen before on Changelings. Not just any changeling either, as only one changeling had those kinds of wings now.

“Chrysalis!” she said, peering into a set of green eyes, that still retained the buggish qualities that they held before the Changeling Queen’s transformation. “What happened to you?!”

“Oh this?” Chrysalis said, proudly showing off her new body, turning around to show off her newly acquired goat tail, while displaying that her arms and legs still had the holes in it that indicated that there was something missing from her being, “Do you like it? I decided to follow the example of my former subjects, and undergo a metamorphosis to better myself. Oh, but before we go forward…”

Chrysalis, returning her body to its former position to face Cadence once more, reached for the alicorn, grabbing her by the front of her royal gown, before using it to pull herself in close, since Cadence couldn’t be budged an inch.

“Chrysalis doesn’t exist anymore…” she said, going face to face with her captive, getting so uncomfortable close that the princess turned her head away, “I am Succubus.”