Shining's Return to the Brood 3: Unholy Matrimony

“Mnnnnghhhh… Wha… What the…”

Princess Cadance groaned tiredly as she finally came to, even though it felt like the inside of her head had been repeatedly kicked around with several pairs of steel-toed boots. But despite the splitting headache that caused her body to shiver painfully, the Alicorn was still able to slowly reopen her eyes before lifting her head. After blinking a couple of times, the first thing to catch the Princess’ attention were the thick, crystallized bars that were encased around her while she was perched on the small platform. Of course, when she tried to lift her head up and get in a seated position, Cadance accidentally hit her head against the top of her cage. She winced painfully while rubbing the top of her head, which allowed her to feel her messy mane and the thick inhibitor ring that had been strapped to the base of her horn. “Ow! Darnit…”

Unfortunately for the Princess of Love, her newfound consciousness didn’t seem to faze any of the ponies that walked past her, even as she found herself dangling from her crystal encasement as it hung off the ground like a bird cage. Instead, Cadance was left feeling rather gobsmacked as she blinked a couple more times, and finally took notice of how drastically the Throne Room had changed since she was knocked out. High above her head among the crystalized columns and chandeliers, countless insectoid cocoons had been erected and hung to leave the room with an eerie greenish glow; Cadance could see that pony-like shapes were nestled inside of those changeling-made capsules, but the thick lining of those gooey shells kept her from seeing who had been captured so far. And down below on the ground, many of the Crystal Castle’s staff and Guards were smiling mindlessly as they continued with their work, and mopped up the various globs of green ooze that had been dripping from the ceiling and splattering across the once-pristine floors.

Cadance wanted to try and catch their attention, or just start shouting for help in hopes that somepony could hear her pleas. However, the moment she got a good look at the ponies below her cage, the Alicorn was quick to take notice of the ghastly green glow that was emanating from their wide-open eyes. And even as she tried to move around within the tiny confines of her imprisonment, not a single brainwashed pony even paused to look up at her with those vacant smiles. It may have not been the same kind of mind-control that King Sombra had tried in his attempted takeover, but the end-result was still desolate enough to make Cadance’s heart sink down to the pit of her stomach.

“Aaaaaahhhhh~”

The very moment she heard that self-satisfactory hiss from behind her, Cadance felt her blood turn as cold as ice. Her head whipped around while she was hunched inside of her cage, and she grew a bloodthirsty glare upon seeing her captor face-to-face. Queen Chrysalis, who was now standing proudly without any restraints or signs of weakness, was grinning from ear to ear to fully expose her glistening fangs. And as her emerald eyes narrowed wickedly on Princess Cadance’s bound state, the Changeling didn’t pay any heed to the ponies whose heads lowered respectfully while trotting past her for their duties. Instead, all she did was tilt her head to the side like a horror movie slasher, and kept her cocky smile pointed at the Alicorn she had successfully claimed. “My, my, my… I’m not going to lie, Cadance. I wouldn’t have expected you to be so tenacious when it came to trying to muddle my plans~”

As she trotted up towards Cadance’s cage, the sounds of Chrysalis’ chitinesque hooves echoed faintly as they clacked against the crystal floors. One of the Crystal Castle Guards, who was busy mopping underneath Cadance’s cage when Chrysalis came up towards him, instantly took a couple steps back before bowing to his grinning Queen. Cadance could tell from his illuminated eyes that he was too compromised to think for himself, but that didn’t keep her from cringing painfully when she saw her officer submitting to Chrysalis without any obligation. But alas, as that sadistic Queen walked up even closer to her captive Princess’ cage, Cadance couldn’t keep her furious grimace from showing as she glared back at her.

“Actually, now that I think about it,” pondered Chrysalis as her head tilted the other way, and she asked Cadance with a curious smirk, “do you remember what happened before your capture? Because I know that you made it quite the challenge to take you down~”

Cadance didn’t say anything in response to her captor’s question, but she slowly reclosed her eyes before taking a deep breath to recollect her thoughts. In retrospect, the Alicorn had to admit that her suspicions regarding Shining Armor weren’t as sudden as Chrysalis likely would’ve hoped. But despite noticing how strangely her husband had been acting since she returned to the Crystal Empire, it wasn’t until he was holding his impromptu Physical Exams on the Crystal Guards that she realized something was truly amiss. Fortunately for their daughter, by the time Cadance was able to see what was really going on with the aid of some well-placed surveillance spells around the Crystal Castle and Guard Barracks, she had just enough time to teleport Flurry Heart to Twilight Sparkle’s castle for her safety. But sadly, the mare’s current predicament made it clear that despite her efforts, she wasn’t able to stop Chrysalis from completing most of her plans anyway. Nor was she able to outrun the Crystal Guards that Chrysalis compromised, which caused her to be caught in a net and tranquilized before she could leave the castle grounds.

“Honestly,” continued Chrysalis as she started to walk around Cadance’s hanging cage with a gloating stride in her steps, “considering what I had planned for you that night, I almost want to say I’m impressed by your fortitude! I mean, not many mares would be dedicated enough to actually hit their husband over the head with a baseball bat as soon as he enters the room. Although, given how I was going to have him divorce you on the spot, I suppose I can’t blame you for reacting a little preemptively~”

Cadance gritted her teeth as her pissed-off look intensified on her captor. While she may have known what Chrysalis’ plans for her brainwashed husband may have been, Cadance still had to keep herself from tearing up upon being reminded of that unpleasant outcome. The Guard who had been bowing to Chrysalis quickly stepped aside as she walked past him, and he went right back to mopping the floors while ignoring his captured Princess. Meanwhile, the Alicorn kept a deathly glare on Chrysalis while sitting in silence, not wanting to respond to the Changeling’s faux-complimentary tone. “And to think, you were able to do that after sending Flurry Heart off to your Sister-In-Law? Again, not a bad move on your part…”

Unfortunately for Cadance, Chrysalis’ tone of voice grew more malicious as she glanced back at her with an evilly wide grin, and she added venomously, “Ohhhhh, but don’t you worry, my ‘Princess’... Shining Armor and Sunburst have both been holding a strong barrier spell to encapsulate the city, so nopony will be able to break in or escape without my knowing. I also had the Crystal Guards hold an ‘Emergency Practice’ drill for the Empire, so none of your citizens are even aware of what’s going on just yet~ But by the time the trains start back up in the morning, I’ll have thousands of my slaves riding off to spread my eggs as far as they’re able to reach!”

Princess Cadance was doubtful that the Queen’s plans would come to fruition as smoothly as Chrysalis likely would’ve hoped, mostly since she made sure to send a distress message with Flurry Heart for Twilight to read. Unfortunately, as she looked over towards one of the broken stain-glass windows, Cadance tried not to wince when she saw how dark and gloomy the skies looked outside. She wasn’t aware of how far Chrysalis’ invasion progress had gotten, but she was certain that she already attained the Crystal Heart somehow. And as the chitinous fiend loomed in closer towards Cadance’s cage, her grin grew even more sinister as she said gleefully, “I’ve already taken full control of your Castle, your precious Guards, and your husband without any resistance so far. Heck, most of the ponies I’ve assimilated have even thanked me after they carried my eggs, despite how long they served under the two of you. Even if those Elements of Harmony realize what I’ve been doing, I seriously doubt any of them will be able to stop me by now~”

The last thing Cadance wanted to do was press her luck, especially when her captor effectively had her restrained without any defenses. However, as soon as she heard Chrysalis make such a boastful claim, Cadance huffed bitterly before asking, “Oh, really, Chrysalis? Do you seriously think that when Twilight learns what’s going on, that she won’t come down on your head like a guillotine?”

Even though Cadance tried to make that statement with a cold and unwavering glare on her foe, all that she received from Chrysalis was an unamused scoff and a roll of her eyes. “Oh, please!” huffed the Queen as she walked away from her captured prey, and began speaking in a more matter-of-fact tone. “Let’s be honest, Cadance. Has Twilight ever successfully stopped me? I left her completely broken-hearted the first time she tried to confront me, and the only reason I failed was because I was stupid enough to prove her right; if anything, I should’ve just had her turn on her friends and Celestia so she wouldn’t stop me. But the second time I tried to claim Equestria as my own, I managed to capture her AND every Royal pony without anyone batting an eye! And heck, none of you even knew about my attempts to tamper with the Tree of Harmony, and I did that over a year ago! So what makes you think that neurotic headcase like her intimidates me now?”

Cadance growled as her expression grew more furious, and her eyes narrowed on Chrysalis like she was envisioning the many, many ways she wanted to eviscerate her with her magic. But since Cadance’s horn was effectively locked with that inhibiting ring, Chrysalis just treated the Alicorn’s bloodthirsty glare like she was being given the stink-eye by a kitten. When she finally took notice of Cadance’s miffed expression, Chrysalis just gave a condescending “Dawwwwww~” while smirking back at her. “Won’t you look at that?~ It seems wike the widdle Pwincess doesn’t wike her Qween just yet!~”

Cadance wasn’t sure which part of that response was more unsettling -- the fact that Chrysalis worded it in such a mockingly ominous way, or that her statement actually caused several of the brainwashed ponies in the room to start laughing. When she looked around the claimed Throne Room, Cadance winced as she saw how many of her former staff were still smiling so aimlessly with their minds under Chrysalis’ control. Since she hadn’t seen a single pair of those green-illuminated eyes pointing towards her, she was sure that any chance of assistance from them would be impossible. But the moment she heard the massive doors to the Throne Room opening up, Cadance instantly tried to shout through the bars for whomever was entering the tainted space. “HELP!!! WHOEVER IS THERE, PLEASE HELP ME!!! CHRYSALIS HAS THE CASTLE, AND SHE… she…”

As if the fact that Chrysalis let her try and scream wasn’t a large enough Red-Flag, the reveal of who entered the Throne Room caused Cadance to sigh painfully and save her breath. The two stallions who entered the room were Sunburst and Flash Sentry, who both had their eyes brightly lit with their Queen’s ghastly green magic. Their smiles were just as wide and thoughtless as the other ponies preparing the Throne Room, and they didn’t show any signs of alarm upon seeing Chrysalis grinning towards them. Instead, Sunburst just smiled like an idiot as he waved up at Cadance and said, “Oh, good afternoon, Cadance! We were hoping you would be awake before our Queen’s ceremony started~”

Cadance wanted to shout for Sunburst to snap out of his brainwashed mindset, but she merely sighed a second time while gripping the bars of her cage with a look of defeat. Even if she somehow was able to get to him, the idea of Sunburst being able to save her from this predicament seemed as fruitless as vacuuming a dirt road. Her situation seemed even more dire when she glanced over at Flash Sentry, who looked to be just as compromised as the Royal Crystaller. “Oh, and don’t worry, Cadance,” noted Flash with a friendly tone of voice as he smiled up at her, “Shining was only knocked out for a couple minutes, and he’s perfectly fine now. He didn’t receive any brain-damage from that strike, and he told me himself that he already forgave you.”

Despite what the Guard may have said, Cadance still groaned with her head hung low while trapped in her cramped cage. Unfortunately, the Princess’ morose state didn’t seem to strike a chord with either of the brainwashed stallions, as Sunburst lit up his horn to float up a small stack of papers. “Ummm… should we wait until later to have Cadance sign these forms, my Queen?” he asked Chrysalis while his brows were raised over his glasses. “I mean, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind having her do it during the ceremony if that pleases you.”

“Hmmmmm…” Chrysalis rubbed her chin in contemplation as she lit up her own horn, and snatched up that stack of divorce papers Shining had previously shown to her as a Thank-You gift. She grew a devilish smirk as she looked between the officiated forms, and the sight of Cadance’s defeated state while she sat silently in her cage. Even though the idea of having the Alicorn perform such a mortifying act would’ve been entertaining, Chrysalis eventually shrugged and tossed the papers aside. “Ehhhhh, you know what?” she said with a casual smirk before eyeing Cadance maliciously. “I already have her caged-up, and took away everything she has. As far as I’m concerned, I already won~”

Cadance wanted to be grateful she wasn’t being forced to sign those divorce papers, but still gritted her teeth while glaring at Chrysalis with murderous intent. But to Sunburst and Flash Sentry, their former leader’s peeved expression didn’t keep the two from bowing respectfully before the Changeling. “Well, a victory is still a victory, my Queen,” said Flash pridefully, which caused Cadance to cringe with her eyes clenched shut; but sadly, she still heard him say without any remorse in his tone, “And we couldn’t be happier that you’ll be in charge from now on, Chrysalis~”

“Daaaawwwww, such a little hoof-kisser, you~” Despite that demeaning term, Chrysalis still smiled warmly as she leaned down towards Flash’s bowing stance, and patted the top of his helmet like he was an obedient pup. The Queen then added with a more mischievous smirk that widened across her muzzle, “But still, I appreciate your enthusiasm, soldier. Maybe after I finish up with Shining and Cadance, I’ll give you another filling of my brood~”

Cadance’s eyes widened in fear after hearing what her captor said, and her worrisome gaze turned towards the Queen while she was preoccupied with her two slaves. While Sunburst’s tail wagged about excitedly in his bowed position, Flash looked like he just won the lottery from how wide he was smiling up at Chrysalis. “R-Really?!” he asked with a downright giddy tone of voice, and his body already squirming in need before his Queen’s hollow hooves. “Do you really mean that, my Queen?”

Chrysalis chuckled under her breath while grinning evilly down at her soldier. “Why, of course I do~” she purred with a wickedly-wide smile, which was then pointed towards Cadance so she could witness the Queen’s true abilities. “Although… I’m fairly certain that Cadance wouldn’t mind seeing how much you two wish to be my Brood-Stallions~”

Without any prompting, Chrysalis had her hoof presented both Flash and Sunburst while grinning back at their former leader. “Gentlecolts~” she said as she narrowed her eyes maliciously on Cadance and her worried-looking stare, “give my hoof a good polishing while I talk to the prisoner~”

“Yes, my Queen!” shouted both of the ponies at the same time, before they instantly lunged in and began to desperately lick their Queen’s hoof. Cadance’s jaw dropped as she gawked at the sight of one of her top soldiers, and her Royal Crystaller shamelessly licking the hoof of a previously sworn enemy. And while the two stallions kept trying to push each other aside and lick more of that glistening chitin, Chrysalis just reeled her head back while laughing maniacally from her perverted display. Meanwhile, all of the other castle staff didn’t even bat an eye to what was happening, and just trotted past Chrysalis with mops and carefree smiles on their faces.

“Ooooooh, you still feel confident about your friends, Cadance?~” she asked mockingly while giving the Alicorn a shit-eating grin. “I had your husband doing this for me less than five minutes after he tried to confront me in the caves by himself! I also had him swear his allegiance to me before he helped capture Sunburst, and even he couldn’t resist my eggs after I did the same with him! I managed to overtake your military forces in less than a day, and you REALLY think you can stop me?! Look at where I’m at right now!~”

Cadance may have despised the Changeling Queen with every fiber of her being, but her clenched muzzle still trembled a bit from the looming fear that was settling in. Meanwhile, Chrysalis continued to stare the Princess down while keeping her hoof extended out, and making her see the two stallions fighting to lick her hooves so shamelessly. “And you know what else I managed to do?~” asked Chrysalis as her smile grew more meticulous, and Cadance’s expression grew more terrified with each passing second, “I also had a very loyal associate back in the Changeling Kingdom working under me without Thorax knowing a thing! And he just informed me that the traitorous King has just been taken down himself! And you know what that means?~”

Cadance’s eyes shot wide-open, and her breaths grew slightly hiccupped due to the mortifying implications which came from Chrysalis’ claim. She didn’t want to believe that King Thorax had been compromised as well, but she couldn’t see any hint of dishonesty in Chrysalis’ fanged grin while she eyed Cadance. But while the Princess’ face started to pale in worry, her captor pulled her hoof away from Sunburst and Flash’s muzzles so they could speak again. “Gentlecolts!” barked Chrysalis with a randy grin while her hoof was coated in a thick sheen of their combined saliva. “Would either of you mind telling Cadance what Thorax’s capture means for us?~”

Sunburst was the first to speak after he took a deep breath, and then looked over at Cadance with a content-looking smile. “It means that the Changeling Kingdom is under our Queen’s control again!~” he said with an overzealously cheerful tone. “AND, we were able to revert the traitor Thorax so he’s a Brood-Incubator too!”

Flash Sentry shuddered with a jealous blush, and said with a flustered smile, “Man, I’d give anything to be in his position right now~ He’s almost as lucky as Shining!”

With how optimistically both stallions sounded while saying such horrible things, Cadance was growing more uneasy as she frantically looked around her tiny cage. But even as the Alicorn tried to pull on the crystal bars with urgency, none of her efforts seemed to worry the Changeling Queen grinning at her. Instead, all that Chrysalis did was turn away from her two mindless subjects, and leaned in close to Cadance’s cage to say with an especially cocky purr, “Ohhhhh, and don’t you worry, Cadance… By the time I fill your womb with the same eggs I impregnated your husband with, you’ll be begging me to do the same with Flurry Heart~”

That terrifying thought caused the Alicorn to freeze up for a split-second in her cage, before she went absolutely nuts and tried to break free. “HEEEEELLLLLLPPPP!!! SOMEPONY HELP ME!!! PLEASE, PLEASE GET ME OU--MMMPHHH!!”

Without warning, a thick black muzzle guard was floated out with the aid of Sunburst’s magic to instantly wrap around Cadance’s face. Much like when she and Shining had been overthrown by King Sombra, the Princess had no way to scream out for help the moment that leather cup was tightly clasped over her mouth. And even as the Princess tried to trash and squirm away from her Crystaller’s magic, Sunburst maintained a surprising amount of focus as he latched the restraint over his former leader’s muzzle. “Aaaaaaaand, there!~” With the straps tightly bound in place, and an additional spell placed on the latches so Cadance couldn’t undo them herself, Sunburst beamed pridefully as he smiled back up at Chrysalis. “There you go, my Queen! Did I do good?~”

“Oh, you did absolutely wonderful!~” While Cadance continued to try and shriek muffledly through her gag, Chrysalis patted the top of Sunburst’s head while he had himself bowed before her. Meanwhile, Flash Sentry turned his focus away from his Queen upon hearing something, and glanced back at the still-open doors of the Throne Room. Upon seeing the Guard’s reaction, Chrysalis stopped petting Sunburst’s head to ask, “Is something the matter, soldier?”

“I certainly hope not,” chirped Flash with a smile, before he looked back at Chrysalis and said cheerfully, “Because I think Shining is ready to begin!~”
As he and others turned their attention towards the entrance, Cadance’s eyes widened upon catching the unsettling glow of Chrysalis’ Changeling magic that was fully illuminating the stallion who used to be her husband. Meanwhile, Shining Armor didn’t show any discomfort as he waddled his massively swollen form down the middle aisle of the Throne Room with a blissful smile. Cadance nearly wretched when she caught sight of her Ex-Spouse’s enlarged and lumpy barrel, which was leaving his torso hanging mere inches from the floor due to the sheer weight of his Queen’s fertilized brood. However, as the stallion lumbered in closer towards Chrysalis and her subjects, it didn’t take long for Cadance to notice that his stomach wasn’t the only part of his body that was altered due to his Queen’s influence.

With each step Shining took down the aisle, the flabby flesh around his backside jiggled due to the added girth which was given to his rump. Instead of the slender and muscular physique that Cadance remembered him for, Shining now had a much wider form that accentuated his plump cheeks, and made his voluptuous waist sway back and forth like a mare in a rap video. Due to the high volume of luminescent eggs inside of Shining’s body, Cadance was able to see how much the stallion’s body had been altered due to his stomach glowing his features like a nightlight. Of course, as the Prince-turned-Slave came in closer by her cage, Cadance gawked upon seeing the many, many ropes of drying cum that clung to the fur across Shining’s full-bodied form.

“Aaaahhhh, there’s my fertile Slave!~” After giving the briefest nod of acknowledgement down at the bowing Sunburst, Chrysalis turned her attention towards Shining as she went up towards him. With the way Shining beamed so happily upon seeing his Queen, Cadance winced painfully from how genuine his smile appeared. Even though she knew that he was thoroughly brainwashed to serve that chitinesque fiend, Cadance couldn’t do anything to stop him from bowing his head, and allowing Chrysalis to pet his mane like she had done for the other slaves. “And I must say, the Guard Medic’s regenerative spells worked wonderfully, Shining! I can’t even tell where that bat hit you~”

“Th-Thank you, my Queen,” said Shining with a sheepish smile before he pulled his head back up, and tried to stand pridefully before Chrysalis. However, since his spouse was still seated in her cage just a few feet away from them, Shining’s smile faltered a bit as he looked between his Ex and his current Leader. “Ummm… Permission to make a request, Chrysalis?” he asked her with a worrisome look, which seemed to be enough to make Chrysalis sigh with a sympathetic roll of her eyes.

“You know what? Considering how you look right now, I’ll grant permission.” Chrysalis then bent her head in, which allowed Shining to lean in and whisper something into her ear. The Queen’s brows rose up in surprise, and she gave a brief glance back at Cadance who was still glaring murderously in their direction. Even though she gave a smug-looking smirk back at the fallen Princess, she didn’t try to stop Shining as she nodded to his request, and then watched as he turned his attention towards Cadance in the cage.

“Cadance, I… I truly didn’t want things to end this way…” Shining carried a genuinely honest and remorseful tone as he looked up at the cage, and tried not to look too hurt from the nasty glare Cadance was silently shooting him. But despite knowing she likely wasn’t too willing to hear him out, Shining sighed with his eyes closed before speaking more optimistically. “But… If it means anything, I just want you to know that Chrysalis really has made me feel better about myself. I know it’s a silly thing to say out loud, but… but becoming her Brood-Stallion has really given me a better purpose in life! And if… and if you really love me, you’ll be able to accept that this is what I really want for myself~”

Cadance looked far too appalled by her Ex’s current state to really show much sympathy for his “apology,” and just narrowed her eyes on him while seething bitterly. Unfortunately for the Alicorn, her pissed-off expression barely seemed to faze Shining as he looked up at her with a blissfully vacant smile. In an unexpected twist, Chrysalis used her magic to temporarily undo Cadance’s muzzle guard, and freed her mouth so she could give a fitting response. Even though she didn’t want to dignify Shining’s excuses by saying anything, that last comment he made caused Cadance to tilt her head and ask disapprovingly, “Oh, so being a husband wasn’t good enough for you?! Being a FATHER wasn’t good enough?!? You just had to surrender to your literal RAPIST, and throw away everything to be her egg-sack?! IS THAT IT?!?”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes with an offended scowl, clearly not a fan of the ‘R’ word being used in reference to herself. As for Shining, who blushed rather deeply out of embarrassment, he sheepishly looked away from his former spouse before giving an uneasy shrug of his shoulders. “I mean… When you word it like that, it sounds pretty bad, but…”

Cadance gritted her teeth as she groaned hard from such a pathetic response by the Ex-Prince. Meanwhile, Chrysalis stepped in to place a comforting hoof on Shining’s shoulder, and spoke in a faux-reassuring tone while eyeing Cadance intently. “Oh, don’t worry about her, Shining… As soon as our marriage ceremony is concluded, I promise she’ll be more accepting after I impregnate her myself~”

Cadance’s eyes widened as she gasped in shock, and she reeled back from the two quickly enough to hit the back of her cage. Her hooves were trembling in fear, and she looked around in horrified realization upon seeing what was going to happen. Not only had Chrysalis compromised Shining enough to make him divorce his wife, but she was somehow able to get him to remarry her in front of Cadance like some sick cuckold fantasy. But despite how dire her situation may have looked, Cadance tried her hardest to remain vigilant as her voice struggled not to quake. “Y-You… You won’t get away with this! As soon as Twilight and my Aunts find out--”

“Yes, as soon as they find out~” Chrysalis said in interruption before looming in closer towards Cadance. As the Alicorn tried to keep her muzzle from quivering in fear, her captor’s grin grew even wider as she spoke in a cockily venomous voice. “But right now, your precious Princesses won’t be able to stop me. The barriers around this city are crafted by Shining himself, and can’t be broken without Changeling interference. And since Thorax has already been compromised in the Changeling Kingdom, that means that there’s no way for anypony to break through and try and save you. And by the time any help does arrive…”

By the time she made that pause, Chrysalis’ muzzle was peeking through the bars of Cadance’s cage while she showed off her glistening fangs. Cadance could’ve easily kicked her in the face, but she had grown too petrified in fear to move from her huddled stance away from her. Because of that, Chrysalis smirked smugly with a huff before pulling away from her cage, and looking back at Shining with a smile. “Slave? Would you mind telling Cadance what will happen to her by the time Twilight shows up?”

Cadance made the mistake of looking at her Ex-husband, who was still smiling disturbingly wide as he replied to his Queen without any worry in his voice. “Well... you’ll certainly have some more babies for Twilight to spoil~” he noted with a cheeky shrug, not seeming to notice how much that comment terrified Cadance to hear. “In fact, you’ll probably be holding more Changeling eggs than I have! And just to think, when Chrysalis helps you see the light, you’ll probably be ordering Twilight to give Flurry back as well! I know she could use som--”

“NOOOOOOOO--MMMPH!!” Cadance tried to scream out against Shining’s plans for their daughter, but Chrysalis was quick to reapply her muzzle-guard and muffle her pleas once more. Shining’s ears pulled down a little out of worry, but he seemed to be put at ease when he looked back at Chrysalis and saw her confident grin. Even as Cadance thrashed around in her bindings and tried to free herself, her fruitless efforts were of no interest to the Queen who enslaved her. Instead, Chrysalis turned her attention back towards Sunburst and Flash, who were still standing obediently for her approval and attention.

“Sunburst?” she asked with a brow raised curiously towards him. “Are the pheromone canisters ready to disperse?”

“Yes, my Queen!” chirped the unicorn with an enthusiastic nod that matched his smile. He pointed a hoof towards the equally elated-looking Flash Sentry before adding, “He just placed all of them around the streets himself!”

“Excellent!~” After giving both of the stallions some much-appreciated head-pats with her hoof, Chrysalis grinned obscenely wide as she looked back at Shining and said, “If that’s the case, then I don’t see any reason not to begin the festivities a little earlier than expected~”

Shining and the other brainwashed stallions all gasped excitedly, with the former Prince smiling like a colt who was just given an early birthday present. “R-Really?!” he asked with an unbelievably happy tone, which caused Cadance to gawk at him in disgusted shock. “You really mean that, my Queen?”

“Absolutely~” Chrysalis could tell that Cadance was staring at both of them in growing dread and worry, but her eyes remained pinned on the stallion she claimed from her as she spoke in a broodingly eager tone of voice. “Since your former spouse is already awake, I feel like she should witness first-hoof how effectively I can overthrow the Crystal Empire on my own~”

The Changeling Queen then looked back at Cadance with an especially gleeful grin, before she said maliciously, “And for starters… Let’s see just how well your subjects will respond when I have your precious Shining Armor surrender to me publically~”

Before Cadance could take a moment to process what Chrysalis was planning to do specifically, she felt herself being lifted up as Sunburst’s magic took hold of her cage. As the stallion smiled vacantly and lifted up his former Leader, Shining had to take a breath to keep from growing too overwhelmed in joy. Fortunately, the Ex-Prince kept his composure as he heard his Queen say with firmer authority, “SHINING! Dispel the Emergency Tests, and issue out an order for all the Crystal Ponies to wait at the Crystal Heart!”

While Cadance stared at Chrysalis in horror, and Shining beamed up at her excitedly, the Queen’s evil grin was at its absolute widest as she said with a satisfied purr, “Since today is the day of my Coronation, it seems only fair for you to lead the proceedings with a parade~”