Author's Note

I did a thing because inspiration hit.

make sure to give feedback.

hopefully this chapter has the story improve for some viewers.

also WARNING: PONIES DOING BAD THINGS AHEAD, IF YOU DON'T LIKE PONIES NOT BEING INNOCENT BALLS OF FLOOF, TURN AWAY NOW.

edit: I had a better idea for Tenten so I altered the backstory slightly.

Chapter 8: Coming To Understand. (Slightly Edited)

So, it seemed my timetable was a lot quicker than expected… then again when Chrysalis hid herself in that closet in the first place, she had a plan and the magical know-how to carry it out, would’ve hypnotised Shining the moment Cadence was in the caverns.

True she had a very shitty and not at all well-thought out plan of ‘oh hey, Equestria’s full of love, let’s violently take over and proceed to make them too scared to make any!’, I mean come on, this is like farming cows, they’re not gonna be alright with being milked unless they’re calm and happy… BUT AT LEAST SHE HAD A PLAN!

Really, one of the things she didn’t account for was some eldritch force dropping me in her place for Shits And Giggles. True there were a LOT more flaws than that but having a very flawed plan is still better than flying by the seat of your pants, and using long-term goals and knee jerk reactions to bullshit one!

I mean sure I could fake being Cadence perfectly, the moment I do the ladybug dance and reminisce with Twilight over my foalsitting days is the moment all suspicion is dropped, but I still needed an army, the warnings my former drones spoke to the princesses gave me no hope of settling this peacefully, especially now that Cadence has proven un-brainwash-able, and this shield splitting my forces in half. I’ve gotten no word of Compound’s progress on finding the spell, I can’t hypnotise Shining to weaken his grip on the shield, essentially I have no plan and what semblance of a plan I had is crumbling around me!

Wait, calm down, I know the schedule, they said they should be ready by the day after tomorrow, the actual ceremony is not meant to take place until a few days after that. I’m not being rushed, I just need to relax and keep up my cover. I can do that easy, I’m not like Chrysalis, I actually know how to act like her… maybe I could just keep it going! Get married to Shining and pretend to be Cadence forever! I mean, I’m already faking it as Chrysalis, what’s one more mask??

I immediately smacked myself, and the fact that Pony Hooves hit harder than Human Hands was very good for me. Dammit Chryssi! Get a grip, so you can’t hypnotise Cadence, there’s a way better Plan B for her… maybe…

Compound, I need help remembering something, and you’re my information expert.

I… my Queen, I wouldn’t exactly call myself an-

There’s more kisses in it for you~.

Information Expert, Compound Fracture, at your service!

I wouldn’t have happened to have made attempts to gain love from Equestria Diplomatically, did I?

No, my queen.

Fuck, okay, um… do we have anything that could justify our infiltration? Something that shows we couldn’t just reveal ourselves.

That… that got some silence… like, the buzzing harmony of the Hive-Mind had fucking stopped.

I need something to explain to Cadence why we decided to kidnap her that will have her sympathise with us. I clarified… the silence continued for a moment before Compound spoke up.

There is… far more than you would expect or be comfortable with, My Queen. Tenten could attest to what happened to her and other discovered Changelings.

Tenten? I felt her voice enter the call.

Yes, my queen?

Compound informed me that there are fates that have befallen discovered changelings, I won’t need much recollection to let you know that I was never informed of this.

Apologies My Queen, we omitted some of the reports since you were only a teenager, we did not want to burden you, since they had failed their missions anyway-

And I’ve told all of you, taking your information to your graves is stupid when I still need it, you know those reports, I can feel it! Relay them to me.

My Queen, please-

I don’t want excuses! I want to know!

At least get to the privacy of your chambers first!

I blinked, only realizing now that I had been pacing out in the Courtyard this entire time.

Right… I will message you when I have entered the sanctity of my room, I assure you, whatever you have in those memories, I’m ready for it.

I was wrong… I was so wrong. Words could not describe the horrors ponies have committed to Changelings, I was about ready to throw up by the end of it, true, Celestia would sooner have become Tirek’s magicless cockwarmer before she ever condoned the atrocities enacted upon my race… but neither Chrysalis nor her subjects ever knew Celestia or any of the heroes of Equestria before this, these groups acted by themselves, and summarily skullfucked any chance of the Changelings considering any kind of peaceful resolution, and while Chrysalis never got to see these reports herself, she was still going on their opinions and well...

Vampire.

Monster.

Impostor.

Date-Rapist.

Succubus.

So many names they spat at my innocent drones, who before now hadn’t even begun replacing ponies to slip into their society! But the names that were really burned into my mind…

Veil, found a husband, mother of three, had one intense orgasm too many and her disguise failed, last moments were of her Stallion choking her out on their own bed while looking at her like something he stepped in.

Lilan, praised as a local hero for providing a new water supply during the town’s draught season, many foals would’ve died of thirst or disease without him, accidentally de-transformed after getting an unintended hoofball to the face, they still happily smiled at him… as he burnt on their pyre.

Dess, dear Faust, he was only a Nymph, had snuck out of the hive and infiltrated on his own to get an Equestrian Education in Canterlot, when his mother contacted him his disguise was forcibly dropped from the psychic pressure… it was the worst possible way to learn that some Ponies did eat meat, and that apparently Live Changeling Nymph meat had some demand in the black-market.

And Tenten… holy fuck she needed therapy, she was originally an infiltrator from the Blue Hive, under Queen Merlix, who had become a musical icon and binged on the adoration, having pioneered a new kind of music. She was found out when one of the light crystals on the stage overloaded and shocked her, she was captured by the crowd of stallions that came to admire her, but unlike the others, they didn’t despise her or think of her as disgusting.

No, she was still beautiful in their eyes, and that was worse, because they still considered her not a pony.

I already experienced the horror of shapeshifting without being able to shield your mind, she had to do it over and over or risk her horn being shattered or her wings torn off. Married mares, known troublemakers like Trixie Lulamoon, famous stallions in female forms, even filly versions of the princesses and the mane six. So many forms, so many personalities forced upon her just so the crowd could live out their sick fantasies before leaving her on the outskirts.

She doesn’t even remember her real name anymore, and Merlix wants nothing to do with a drone with an identity crisis, but I apparently took her in because she knows things about the Blue Hive, Ponies and how to care for the young in the nursery.

Tenten… did… did I bring you inside?

Yes My Queen, you demanded all drones for the invasion except a select few.

And… are you disguised right now? I had only just known of her trauma now, and what that psychological damage has done to her, but Chrysalis knew, and if she had...

...Yes, we are, My Queen, we haven’t used this self for a long time, she gives bad memories, but she is the one who will be noticed the least.

She had… SHE HAD! You BITCH!! You’re so lucky your consciousness is not in here with me or I would be taking a page out of our drones’ book SO HARD RIGHT NOW! MY OWN LIFE BE DAMNED!!

Tenten, you are to report to the Crystal Caves, when you are down there, you are to detransform before you start slipping again, and wait for my arrival. I ordered firmly.

My Queen, we are fine, we do not need to kill her again! She’s not being seen! She’s not-

Oh Celestia, this is gonna hurt. Compound, I want her down there, and I want her down there as a Changeling, got it?

Yes, My Queen.

NO! Please! My Queen, have mercy on her! She has a name! She has a family! Don’t do thi-

Then there was silence, I didn’t block her out, I had remained connected the entire time, listening to her, feeling my own guilt stab me up until Compound had forced her unconscious.

Well, as if my day hadn’t felt like complete shit before… but I at least have something to get Cadence on my side, the Princess of Love would surely understand my rather hostile act if no love was ever shown to our kind. Fuck, this just feels like lies upon lies, but it’s all I’ve really got at this point.

Well, if the Green Hive shows anything about Changelings, it’s that we’re good at digging holes for ourselves. At the very least, victory or defeat, I’m not going to let those individuals-

Wait… I feel a strange premonition, an echo in the hive-mind...

I lean my head out of my room, glancing to one of two ponies standing adjacent to it. “Guard, could I please have a copy of the guest list?”

“Which one, Princess?”

“There’s more than one?”

“Yes, we received a letter to add a ‘special guest’ list to bring certain select ponies to the ceremony, the letter was in your name and we were requested not to question you about it.”

“And you didn’t find that suspicious?”

“Well, it was in your hoof-writing.”

“...let me see that other list.” I requested from him in a deadpan tone.

Fucking idiots, apparently it’s not limited to Changelings.

He produced the scroll from under his armor and hoofed it to me. Back in the privacy of Cadence’s quarters, I unfurled it, reading out the names…

Oh. My. Celestia.

It was them, every single pony that had done those changelings wrong, their names burned into the minds of so many brothers and sisters because of the horrors they inflicted on those that had come to trust and care for them.

They had been invited to the wedding, they had all RSVP invitations and every single one had been confirmed, they’d be attending, in the crowd when I stride up the altar.

...okay, just because I may want to kiss you right now doesn’t mean I forgive you for putting Tenten through that again, but oh boy, I could use this.

With my mood noticeably improved, I decided to head off to the altar area, overlooking the rather peaceful city, apparently this place was where Celestia would meet with dignitaries and various noble houses for important matters, where she could look out at the city in all its calm, civilized beauty and calm her nerves… how fitting this place would be home to new beauty.

The beauty of vengeance for my swarm.

Woah! Cool it Chryssi, your Kerrigan is showing.

Alright everyling, I need to learn a spell.

Along with Similo Duplexis?

No, no, it’s one of ours this time, I need to learn one of our transportation spells, you know, the one that makes a ring of fire.

...The… Phase Sphere, My Queen? One particular ling spoke up.

Yes, that one, thank you! Um…

Charax, My Queen.

Charax! Yes! Please teach me the spell again.

I couldn’t help but visualize a progress bar indicating the ‘download’ process into my head, I mean, that’s what it felt like, the information was filling up my head, but it wasn’t accessible yet because it wasn’t finished.

Thankfully, Hive-minds aren’t as finicky as bandwidth, so I was able to get the spell, cast it, and phase down from the floor, straight into the crystal caves underneath Canterlot. It was fortunate my hunch was correct, as I found myself falling into the same area Twilight would’ve shown up, instead of the other theories of it being a form of Teleportation, or that Chrysalis intentionally dragged her to just outside of Cadence’s prison.

...if that was the case, she might’ve wanted Twilight to actually mistake Cadence for her, and then… I had to visibly shudder as I recalled that particular fate for the Princess.

That bad-end comic still gives me nightmares, thanks a lot, hyperactive imagination.

I mean… clearly this Chrysalis wouldn’t want one of the two lovers she wanted to claim to be murdered by her future sister-in-law, but it’s nice to have confirmation of the little things. For example, the now visible confirmation that the Changelings I had tasked with keeping Cadence healthy and fed were doing their job as they buzzed around the tunnels, feeling at home here as they would back at the Hive.

And there was Tenten, at the wall of Cadence’s prison alongside Compound, the blue-tinted equinoid curled in on herself, sobbing as she mourned the ‘death’ of her disguised self. I wouldn’t joke, the wounds from Katara were still fresh, and seeing her like this only made me more aware of my own pain.

“Compound… please,” she perked up at that word. “Help her, I’ll need her calm and collected for what I need her for.”

“I… of course, My Queen.”

“Thank you.” I then turned to address two of the other Changelings. “You, guide me to this Prison’s entrance, and you, inform the Princess of my visit.”

“Yes, My Queen.” they said, one rushing through the wall with a Phase Sphere to inform Cadence while the other guided me to the hidden entrance so I could go in without using up any more mana.

My Subjects had taken the liberty of requisitioning a table, chairs… and a tea set, along with the appropriate snacks.

Wow, that looks expensive… some noble’s gonna be pissed-ooh! Cake!

{Meanwhile with Celestia}

“WHO THE BUCK STOLE MY TEA TABLE!?”

{Back with Chrysalis}

“Hello, Cadence.” I greeted, sitting opposite of her as she stared me down.

“Hello in return. ‘Cadence’.”

“Huh?” I look down. “Whoops! Forgot I was still wearing this.” I drop the disguise, giving a stretch that only my proportions were able to handle. “Mmm! Muuuch better.” I groaned in delight.

“If you’re expecting me to blush, I assure you, I have heard worse.”

“...Touche, Mi Amore Cadenza, so… since you are not blasting me in the face, let’s talk.”

“Yes, I want some answers myself.” she replied with a cold look.

Oh boy, this was gonna be a trial.