Hard Shell

by Lyra_H_Strings

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Romance, Changelings, Queen Chrysalis, Adventure, Violence, Death, Human, Main 6
Length: 2817

Chrysalis takes over Equestria, and, now, due to research done by a certain Twilight Sparkle, has set her sights on Earth.

"Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria...
The stable harmony of friendship under Celestia's gentle rule that ponykind once knew fell prey to the greed and tyranny of Queen Chrysalis, once of the Changelings, and, now, all of Equestria. Many thought she might have been content with only Equestria, but due to some research done by a certain Twilight Sparkle, Chrysalis discovers a whole new world to conquer;
Earth."

Twilight is not an alicorn yet. It’s supposed to be set a few weeks after Canterlot Wedding, and Chrysalis tries again with something a little less... subtle. This time, Twilight slept in and was unable to stop her.

Published 2019-03-29 23:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-04-03 00:55:01 UTC

1 Chrysalis is an Evil Bug Queen

Chrysalis had finally done it. She had conquered Equestria- and, what was this? An entirely new world with more creatures to harvest love from? And its inhabitants had no magic? It was almost laughably easy to take control of them.

“My Queen?” a drone asked with the utmost respect, bringing Chrysalis out of her thoughts as she sat up on what was previously Celestia’s throne.

“What is it?” she snapped. The changeling flinched.

“I’ve brought the ponies you asked for. They’re outside.”

“Bring them in.” she ordered, standing up and adopting a smug smirk on her face.

Twilight Sparkle was not having a good day. First, her alarm clock had broken and she had woken up late. Then, Chrysalis had conquered Equestria. Or— no, that had happened a few Saturdays ago. Time since the Invasion had been… difficult to recall. Now, she, and her friends, were being brought before the Queen.

The chains around her hooves were starting to chafe, too. At least the girls were there to keep her company. She stared up at Chrysalis as she sauntered down the steps leading to the throne, coming to rest a few levels above the group of ponies.

We’re shorter than you, anyways, we look pitiful in your presence, and you still feel the need to elevate yourself. Twilight thought with disgust.

“My, my, my, what do we have here?” Chrysalis mused. “The lilac nerd and her friends, in chains. I’m sure you’ve dreamt up a plan by now, but I can guarantee you that it won’t work. I’ve taken countless measures to ensure that you would be unable to even think about attempting something.”

Twilight halted her already formulating plan to break out of the chains, buck Chrysalis in the face, and finally get that cup of tea that she’s been wanting since that morning 3 Saturdays ago to shoot a glare at Chrysalis.

“So, what happens now? Are you going to torture us some more? Shove splinters in our hooves? Drip water on our foreheads until we go insane?” Rainbow spat out.

Chrysalis chuckled. “No, no, not now. That comes later. No, now, I have a surprise for you.”

“I’m sure it’s something terribly villainous, isn’t it?” Rarity sighed.

Ignoring the comment, Chrysalis started trotting around the group of six ponies.

“I took interest in some research you were doing Twilight, and I have to say, I was intrigued. Parallel universes? Other dimensions?” Twilight’s ears pressed back against her head and her eyes snapped up to Chrysalis while her friends glanced at her with questions in their eyes.

“Such things were surely not possible within the meager talents of my drones. However, thanks to you, I have discovered a new civilization to harvest…”

Twilight gasped. “No… you wouldn’t.”

“Ah, but I would, could, and have, ‘my little pony.’” Chrysalis turned to signal to a suddenly very alert changeling, who quickly stood at attention and yanked on a rope, drawing a curtain to reveal a spacious chamber.

It was full of flashing images, and this constant drone that wormed its way into the ponies’ ears, it was already causing them some discomfort. All of this only an accompaniment, a side dish, to the main focus of this sinister theatre.

Humans, looking very odd to those present who hadn’t seen them before, restrained and being led by Changeling guards to either small chambers that were embedded in a wall, or to be chained together and made to watch the images that were being projected. Over it all, that incessant tone, never halting, even for a second.

Chrysalis let their eyes linger for a few seconds longer, before slowly drawing the curtain shut with her magic. Chrysalis circled the ponies, sneering. “How does it feel, Twilight Sparkle, to be responsible for the suffering of thousands, even millions of creatures?” Chrysalis paused, allowing for the thoughts to flow through Twilight’s mind.

Good. Chrysalis thought. Yes… think about all those helpless humans. Suffering… here we go, tears. Pitiful.

“I have more than a hundred camps, just like this one, some that are more… ‘efficient’ than the last, and do you know what I plan to do with all of these humans?” Chrysalis paused, giving the illusion that Twilight had the option to answer.

She whispered into her ear, getting very close, “I’m going to suck them dry, suck them dry of every ounce of their love, and it’s all. Thanks. To. You.” Chrysalis paused, an idea alighting on her face.

“I suppose that I should thank you, Twilight Sparkle. What you did, or, rather, what you didn’t do allowed me to take what I needed.” She pulled back, allowing Twilight to consider her words before continuing.

“You couldn’t even help your princesses when they needed you. You sacrificed the entire nation, just for a few extra hours of sleep… your alarm clock didn’t break, Twilight. You turned it off.”

Twilight fell to her knees after the verbal barrage, the world in slow motion as she reeled. She was responsible for everything that Chrysalis had done. The taking over of Equestria, the… unknown fate of Celestia, Luna, and Cadence. Well, not Cadence. Twilight knew what Chrysalis had done to her… she was still trying to forget. And above all, the decimation of the human world.

She never thought that her casual research would lead to… lead to this! She had never considered her responsibilities, she just ignored them. Like she ignored her alarm clock that morning.

She was a bad pony, Twilight realized. No— not bad, just… ignorant, right? Negligent. A one time mistake… then I’ll make a second; a third. How long until I destroy the world by going down the wrong path? She supposed that she already had. Not just one, but two, a morbid joke with the only punchline being death.

“Don’t listen to your inner monologue and that evil-weevil bug queen, Twilight! You’re not a bad pony. It’s not your fault, you couldn’t possibly have known!” Pinkie Pie said. No, she didn’t just say that. There was a slight waver of uncertainty in her voice.

Applejack spoke up, softly, with something that sounded like disbelief in her words. “Is it… true, sugarcube? Did you know?”

“No, Pinkie, Applejack, you don’t understand. If I had just… been better! Woken up! Decided not to stick my nose in otherworldly research where it didn’t belong! I never thought anything would happen… oh, Celestia… what have I done…” Twilight ceased to form comprehensible sentences and instead resorted to sobbing quietly.

While her friends just tried to be there for her, Chrysalis merely viewed the scene with a smirk, glad to see that insufferable little meddler reduced to a snivelling mess. She waved a hoof dismissively at the group of ponies. “Take that away. Pity is… unappetizing.” ordered Chrysalis to a nearby guard. She turned around to look out the glass windows behind the throne, viewing her spoils.

Sometimes, she couldn’t believe that she had done it. The princesses dealt with, her only other possible threat taken care of, and, now, she held all the cards, and it was a full house. At least, she thought it was. She had never played cards before, it was unbecoming of a Queen.
After checking to make sure the throne room had been emptied, she threw her head back in a great, evil laugh, the laugh of someling who knew she had won, and that there would be nobody to stop her.

Her mother would have been proud.

Author's Note

Wow, thanks for reading the first chapter! I hope you like evil Chryssy, because that’s what you’re getting in this story.
She’ll have some redeeming/cute moments, don’t worry. I may decide to reform her at the end, but my attitude may change.
Any constructive criticisms are welcome! This is my second shot at semi-original content. You’ll probably never see attempt #1.

2 Werther Clitt

Werther awoke to his cat, Oregano, booping his nose and meowing. Checking the clock again, if Werther didn’t leave right now, he would be late, by his calculations. He rushed to get dressed and shove some cereal into his mouth, sprinting out of his apartment, and almost throwing himself down the stairwell. Unlocking his car and immediately shoving the keys into the ignition and pressing the clutch into the floor as he got in, he shifted into gear and backed out onto the main road.

Werther breathed a sigh of relief, his console reading that only 6 minutes and 33 seconds had elapsed since he had woken up late. If he kept up this pace, he should be able to just make it.

He didn’t make it. There was an accident on the highway, and he walked into the office an entire 30 minutes late. He knew that he would have to report to The Boss, as he was called, and this simple fact filled him with dread; The Boss did not tolerate tardy employees.

“Hey there, Wert.” his coworker, Darla, turned around and whispered at him when he walked by. “You know you’re late, right? 30 minutes… third time this month.”

“Thank you, Darla, that’s very helpful.”

“Do you remember what he did to Nate? He looked so… off when he came out of the Office. Like his mom had just died, or something…”

“Yeah.”

Nathan Fillingham had gotten into an accident during his commute, totaling his car and leaving him with a nasty case of whiplash, so he had showed up an entire hour after his shift was supposed to start. The Boss was angry, but not explosive. His voice was a dangerous calm, and he had an odd habit of making a weird hissing noise, putting a little too much emphasis on the S.

Nobody knew exactly what had happened inside the Office, but when Nathan came out he seemed lackluster. He just stood there, not moving until someone asked him what happened. He just murmured something and starting gathering his things. Werther remembered helping him. All of his questions were met with unintelligible sounds, and so he just gave up on asking them.

“Good luck.” she turned around once more, resuming her typing.

Werther took a deep breath and gently tapped on the door to The Boss’s office, the only indication of it being such a plaque screwed into the door in simple, golden block letters:

THE BOSS

“You may enter now, Werther Clitt.” a dark, scratchy voice called.

Werther slipped into the room, the only light being a single desk lamp that cast little light on the features of Boss, the only hint as to his appearance being a broad, rounded nose and thin, dark lips, with the outlines of a broad forehead. His head was large, almost too large than a man’s head had a right to be.

The reason for why the Boss kept his office so dark was beyond the employees there. Nobody had actually seen his face, even those who had been working there for years. Some rumored that he never went home, that he lived, ate, and slept at the office. It was unsure whether or not he did eat. His name was unknown, and he simply ordered them to call him, “Boss.”

“I, am, ah, terribly sorry- you see- well, there wa-” Werther stammered, before being interrupted.

“Sssit down.” the Boss ordered.

Werther complied.

“I am sure you know why you are here, Clitt.” Boss prompted.

“Yes, Boss.” Werther replied, nervously.

“The third time thisss month.” the Boss stated.

“Yes, Boss.”

“Thisss behaviour can not go unchecked, Clitt. How can I continue to hire an employee who can’t even bother to show up to his job on time?”

“Yes, Boss.” Werther said out of reflex.

“‘Yesss, Bosss.’” the Boss mocked. “Isss that all you can sssay? You sssound like a ssskipping record, Clitt.”

“No, Boss.”

Boss sighed. “At leassst you have ressspect, I can commend you for that.” He leaned forward, just barely revealing his now half-open, scowling eyes that Werther never realized were closed. What he saw in those eyes was almost… inhuman. They were a solid blue, seeming to fade to a lighter shade in the middle. Werther could lose himself in them, if he continued staring too long.

“The truth isss, you are an efficient employee and a diligent worker. You don’t asssk quesstions, you don’t asssk for a raisse, you just do your job and go home. You do not… annoy me. Pleassse do not fail to arrive on time again, Werther. You know that the work we do isss important.” Werther heard the creak of the chair as Boss leaned back once more, closing his eyes and breathing out.

“And you will not ssspeak about what you sssaw in here today. Am I correct in this ssstatement, Werther Clitt?” Boss prompted,

“Y-yes, Boss.” Werther replied, hurriedly standing up to leave.

“Return to your ssstation and resume work. Close the door on your way out.”

Werther breathed a sigh of relief as he gently shut the door to Boss’s office.
That was close. He thought about what Boss had said. He thought about what Boss had done. He thought about what had happened today in the office, and he knew that it would never be the same after this.

As he was walking back to his cubicle, Darla leaned back again. “So, when do you leave?”

“You might not believe it, but he gave me another chance.” Werther replied ecstatically.

Darla blinked. “Huh, didn’t think that would happen. You know how lucky you are, right? Take care, Wert.” She went back to work, taking a sip of coffee.

Werther continued onwards, sitting down and powering up his computer. Today would be short.

Eight hours later, Werther collapsed onto his bed, not even bothering to drag a blanket over himself or undress. When he got home he had taken only the time to make a pot of Ramen noodles, to satisfy his other biological need. Those eight hours had been the longest of his life; Exhaustion was his fever, and the only cure was more sleep.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Ugh. Werther thought. Will you shut up?

He groped to turn off his alarm clock, missing and instead knocking a box of tissues across the room. He reached again, successfully smacking the sleep button, but the beeping still didn’t go off. Sniffing, he frowned. Was that smoke? Bolting up in bed, his eyes flew open as he scanned the room. He noted the time, 02:47, and swiftly got out of bed, running to his door and grabbing the door handle.

He let go in shock; the handle was hot.

My apartment is on fire… Werther thought. The thought came as first a trickle, then a rushing river, until his brain processed it and the words reached his mouth.

“My apartment is on fire!” Werther exclaimed, grabbing an old shirt, wrapping it around the handle, and throwing open the door, where he was met by a wave of heat and a raging inferno.

He had left the stove on. The kitchen had been consumed by flames… where the fire extinguisher was. He needed to act quickly. There was no saving his apartment, now. Running frantically through the room, grabbing a backpack, he started shoving things inside; His cash he kept around the house, a blanket and a pillow, a bottled water, and an assortment of other important objects. He scooped his cat up as well, fleeing his apartment.

Running down the stairs, he burst outside to find… nobody. He had expected fire crews, or perhaps some curious onlookers. But there was not a soul in sight. A single plastic bag wafted through the parking lot, rustling lonesomely.

He whipped out his cell, only for there to be no service. Closing the flip phone, he shakily unlocked his car to have a seat and to toss his bag in the back seat. He put Oregano down in the passenger seat next to him, the cat meowing and climbing into his lap, where she received methodic strokes.

Werther had nowhere to go when his building burned down. He was now homeless. At least he had a car, and a few things, here and there, but he knew this couldn’t last. He sat there, clutching his cat and what possessions he had left, rocking back and forth.

Werther had no idea what to do, and it scared him.

Author's Note

Ore-Ayy-Gano. Speaking of which, I would watch that cat. She’s actually the main character, gonna tell you now.
All ‘seriousness’ aside, here it is, Chapter 2. Our first glimpse of what life in the human world is like! Not quite set in modern day, think early 2000s-late 90s. Not the most exciting thing, yet. We’ll get back to pony soon enough, don’t worry.