The Merging of a Goddess

Chrysalis sighed. She laid in a bed on her back in her earth pony disguise, holding a magazine in her hand.
Right after arriving in Canterlot she and her servant went into the lower districts and rented a room in a cheap hotel. They then brought every magazine and newspaper they could get their hands on to find a noble house in need of new servants. That was three days ago. Three days without success.

The door of the room opened and Cinder Brew entered, a tired look on his face.

“Oh my, you didn’t find work again didn’t you?” she asked softly.

Money was running tight. So Cinder Brew went out to find odd jobs to get at least a little bit of income. But so far without success.

Cinder Brew was on the verge of crying, it haunted him that he was letting his beloved queen down, disappointing her time and time again by getting not a single source of bits…

Chrysalis sat up in the bed, tossing the magazine on a pile of many others.

“Oh my sweet servant, come here, come to momma~” she said, her voice soft and smooth, almost singing.

Cinder Brew did as he was told.

Chrysalis patted a spot on the bed next to her, beckoning him to sit down and he followed. His queen reached for his head and gently guided him into a kiss.
After they broke apart she petted him gently as his head laid once again in her lap.

“Don’t you worry, I will find a way, I promise you this…” she whispered.

He looked up at her with big eyes. And she couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at the thought that she made this slaver, who would sell others without remorse, into a big softy…

She opened the cleavage of her dress a bit, took out one of her breasts, and lifted Cinder’s head to it.

“Drink, while not giving you new traits, it will be nourishing…” she said with a smile on her lips. She loved the sensation of someone feeding off her breast.
Back in her hive, she would go daily to her nursery and feed personally the most promising of the larvae, no matter if they were heirs or not.

“Tell how many bits do we have left?” she asked tenderly.

Cinder Brew sighed

“I counted, with our current expenses we have a day’s worth left, maybe two if we have luck…”

Nodding, Chrysalis stood up and laid her servant in her bed and covered him with a blanket.

“Don’t worry, I will make sure that we find work.”

She had a plan, simple but effective: if there were no open spaces for new personnel for nobles, then she simply had to make some disappear.

It would be a bother, in the long run, questions of the whereabouts of the disappeared coming up, investigations, and so on. But then again… it would give Chrysalis at least one good meal…
As she strolled through the floor of the hotel, she heard a soft sobbing coming from a nearby room.

Chrysalis peaked into it and found a sobbing skinny unicorn mare with light black fur and a stylized grey mane and tail.

The mare didn’t seem to notice the chubby earth pony sneaking into her room and just keep sobbing and muttering something to herself.

“Never again, never again, I will never again go back to the Sparkles! I can’t take lady Velvet anymore!”

Chrysalis blinked. Was this mare talking about the mother of that brat Twilight Sparkle? Oh, this was just perfect.

Slowly Chrysalis crept towards the mare but had to stop as a strong scent entered her nose.

“Alcohol, this mare must be drunk… I hate drunken meals…”

She sighed.

“I guess beggars can’t be choosers…”

Chrysalis stepped in front of the drunken unicorn.
Before she could let out a word the Changeling lunged at her and shoved the unicorn's head into her mouth.

With great gulps, she swallowed the skinny mare to her shoulders.
Two more and the mare was resting inside Chrysalises belly.

Chrysalis gagged and let out a mighty burp.

“Oh I hate drunken meals…” she whined.

She turned around and left the room, heading for her own.

Chrysalis had to sneak through the hallway, as well as a chubby earth pony mare could while looking like she was pregnant with twins.
Finally, she reached her room, entered swiftly, and closed the door behind her.

Chrysalis was still thinking how lucky her find was when a loud snore interrupted her thought process.

Cinder Brew lay in Chrysalis’s bed, sleeping soundly.

The changeling queen smiled softly as she walked to him and gently stroked his head.

She opened her mouth and lit her horn.
The green mist came out and with the wave of her hands and guided by her horn the mist quickly solidified and formed the cocoon that ended Pepper Sides's life.

Chrysalis leaned over the cocoon and let the mare inside her belly out.

The unicorn slid limply into the cocoon and was soon sealed within it.

“Well now, this should make things easier…” Chrysalis thought excited. Not willing to walk across the room to Cinder’s bed, she decided to just share a bed with her servant.

When she lay beside him he pulled her into a tight hug that he wouldn’t let go, so Chrysalis just accepted her fate and quickly fell asleep.

The next day Cinder Brew awoke from distressed sounds from his queen.

He set up and looked around. On the other side of the room was his queen, in her earth pony disguise, laying on her swollen stomach.

She looked miserable and ready to puke at any moment.

He rushed to her side and knelt next to her.
“My queen, what is wrong? Can I help you?”

She shook her head.

“Melted another mare… former servant of the sparkle clan… she was drunk… hate drunken mea… uhm!”

She covered her mouth with both hands to stop herself from releasing the mush inside of her.

After a few moments of heavy breathing, Chrysalis looked up to Cinder Brew.

“When someone is drunk when they're melting, it tends to ruin the taste of the mush.
But it was worth it. As soon as I absorb this little mare we will go to the Sparkles and offer ourselves as servants. But now we need a bit to eat and rest. Go and buy yourself something nice to eat my dear, I will need time to digest my little meal…”

Cinder Brew nodded slowly and left his queen in peace.

He knew exactly what he would buy to make his queen happy.

In the evening when Cinder Brew returned, Chrysalis had absorbed the unicorn mare completely.

When Cinder Brew entered the room, he saw Pepper Side standing before a mirror, eying herself, only that she wasn’t an earth pony anymore. Now she sprouted a horn from her forehead.

“Ah Cinder brew, your back!” Chrysalis greeted him with a smile.

“My queen, how are you now a unicorn?” He asked confused. His Pepper was always an earth pony and so was the disguise of his queen.

“Well, I already told you that little Pepper is now like my second skin. Now I can change her at my leisure. Should I acquire a pegasus I can give Pepper wings and so on. In theory, I could even reform her into a different species like a dragon. But for now, I need a unicorn.”

Cinder Brew cocked his head confused.

“Why do you need Pepper to be a unicorn, till now an earth pony was just fine, wasn’t it?”

Chrysalis nodded understanding.
“Yes, but this is Canterlot. Unicorns and pegasi are most common to be hired as servants by nobles. Only a few nobles have earth pony servants on their main property. Most have them in summer- or winter mansions to tend to the gardens there.”

Suddenly Chrysalis sighed.
“Sadly this mare was drunk, so I can’t access her memories.”

“You can view memories? Even Peppers?” he asked surprised.

“Yes, as soon as I absorb an individual, all their memories, experiences and even their soul are mine, for all eternity…”

Chrysalis sat down on her bed and stretched a little.

“Come, lay down. By dawn tomorrow we will go to the Sparkles and present ourselves…”

Cinder Brew nodded, he felt tired. But before he could lay down, he reached for his bag and presented a bar of chocolate to his queen.

“For you, so you don’t have that bad taste in your mouth while you are sleeping.”

Chrysalis' eyes sparkled with joy. Chocolate was a very desired treat in changeling society. But it was hard to get and the few changelings lucky enough to bring some home from their missions in Equestria guarded them with envy or sold them for horrendous prices.

She grasped the chocolate bar tenderly, then she broke it in half, giving one half to Cinder Brew.

“Sharing is caring, as the saying goes~” she sang.

Cinder Brew took the offered half and quickly ate it. But when he looked to his queen, he saw her taking little bites, enjoying every last bit of the treat.

It took her five whole minutes to finish the bar.

“Come now, it’s time for us to sleep. We will go early tomorrow to see the Sparkles.”

Cinder Brew nodded and soon, sleep claimed the two.

In a manor in upper Canterlot, much smaller than most of the other buildings owned by the nobility, a mare was trotting in the living room in circles.
The mare was a grey unicorn with a purple, white striped mane and tail.
She wore a simple red dress. She wasn't slim to borderline skinny like other noble mares these days. One could see that she has given birth to two foals in her life.
At least her waist was evidence enough.

Just yesterday the only servant of her household, a unicorn mare with the name Diamond Wind, had given her resignation!

“It can’t be happening again!” muttered Twilight Velvet, head of the Sparkle Clan angrily.

“When the other nobles hear of this! It will be a scandal! Another servant that resigned!”

On a chair, next to her sat a blue unicorn stallion with a deep blue mane and tail.
He wore a simple but elegant suit and pants. He was busy reading the newspaper, giving only some glances to his wife. His name was Night Light.

“Dear calm down. We just have to hire a new servant.”

At that Velvet whirled around and stared daggers at her husband, who just continued to read the newspaper.

“Who in this city would want to be my servant at this rate? Everyone would take a big step away from us if they knew! And the worst part is that it is our turn to host the yearly meeting of the clans!”

“We will manage.”

Velvet was about to explode, as the doorbell suddenly rang.

Still boiling with anger Velvet stormed to the door.

“If it is any of these stuck-up nobles come to taunt us I will, I will…!” she rambled on and on until she reached the door.

Being a former actress she hid her anger and put a friendly smile on her face.
She opened the door, fully expecting a herd of noble-mares to wait for her, for them to jump at the opportunity to mock her. But instead, she found two ponies on the steps of her home. Both clearly not nobles and not from Canterlot.

One was a pegasus stallion, dressed in a simple white shirt and black jeans. His shirt looked like it would be ripped apart at any moment by the muscled body it tried to cover.

The other pony was a red unicorn mare. Velvet had to suppress a shudder at the sight of her.
She was plumb, that alone would earn the ire of many so-called noble mares.
They always tried to have slim bodies, trying their hardest to resemble the models in the magazines.

If the body of the mare was not enough to earn the ire of the nobles, then her clothes were more than enough.

She wore an exotic desert dress, with two long and wight sleeves, a cape made of silk falling behind her, and a thin, transparent veil covering her mouth.

At the ends of the cape and woven into the veil were little golden trinkets and symbols.

At the confused looks of the two, realized Velvet that she was staring.

She shook her head.

“Please forgive me, it is not often that we see such exotic strangers like you…”

She covered her mouth with her hand and cought a little at the awkward situation.

“Anyway… what can I do for you?”

The mare looked to her companion when he nodded encouragingly she turned her gaze back to Velvet.

“Well lady Velvet, we heard that you could use new servants. I and my husband are looking for work and hoped that we could work here…”

That surprised Velvet greatly. She didn’t put any requests into the newspapers or magazines. And yet, here stood two ponies offering their services to the Sparkle Clan.

“Please come in then. It would be best if we discuss this in the living room over a nice cup of tea, wouldn’t you agree?”
The mare nodded, Velvet stepped aside and the three of them trotted into the living room.

“Please have a seat, I will be with you shortly.”

With that Velvet went to the kitchen and set a pot of water over the stove.

“What should I do?” she thought with rising panic.

“If Diamond Wind told them anything… But if she told them anything, then why are they here?”

A troubling thought sprang into her mind.

“Could they try to extort us? Use the knowledge to blackmail us?”

Her breath began to quicken as panic and fear consumed her.

“What will my dear children say if they found out?”

Her gaze became crazed as she looked around the room.

“I will be shunned, worse! What if the princesses find out about the other things?!”

The hissing steam of the pot interrupted her train of thought.

Velvet’s glance fell on a little box on top of a shelf.
She reached for it and opened it.
With a shaking hand, she opened the box and brought its content to light.

It was a flask with a purple liquid inside it.

“If they try to blackmail us… Well, no one will miss two strangers in this city…”
She hid the bottle in the sleeve of her dress and purred the hot water into three cups, put them on a tabled, and grabbed a few bags of tee leaves.

“Let's hope they know how to make tea and won't ask for alcohol or something…”

Chrysalis sat next to Cinder Brew on a couch in the living room. When Velvet entered, a wave of anxiety from the mare hid Chrysalis.

Though none of the anxiety was visible in the behavior of the mare, for an empath it was plainly obvious.
Velvet sat in a seat across the two other ponies and placed the cups before them. She then poured hot water into them and finally added a few tea leaves.

“So how did you hear about my… situation?” asked Velvet slowly.
She sounded friendly, but Chrysalis could once again sense anxiety in the mare. That and a dose of suspicion.

She smiled, though in her head she smirked, it was so good to play a bit cat and mouse with the noble mare across her. Who would win? That was always the question. Would Chrysalis convince the mare or would she catch on to her?

In her old hive, such games were played daily, even by nymphs.

“Well, we searched for a while for any job we could find. But we hadn’t any luck.”

Velvet nodded. So far believable.

“And then just yesterday I overheard a mare, a unicorn if I remember correctly…”

That worried Velvet. So they had met Diamond Wind. That could be bad…

Velvet cleared her throat and looked directly to Pepper Side.

“What did she say?”

The red mare shrugged with her shoulders.

“She was pretty drunk. I only understood that she was quitting her service here. And working for a noble mare is just perfect for us! So we ran here as quickly as possible before we could get any competition.”

Velvet studied the two ponies before her. The mare seemed to be genuine but something was bothering her.

“I’m sorry…” she began, addressing the stallion.
“but you have been awfully quiet. Is something bothering you?”

The stallion looked surprised.

“Well, I- ah I…”

The red mare made a move that was to Velvet unmistakable. She stomped on the hoof of her companion.
He yelped and looked at her amazed. She glared daggers at him and pointed to Velvet.

He gulped but nodded.

“I’m sorry for my behavior. I’m not used to being asked directly. Where we came from she did all the business. I just sat there and was ready to step in should something go wrong.”

That genuinely surprised Velvet. And it awakened her curiosity.

“I could clearly see that you didn’t come from Equestria. In no place in our country are clothes as exodic as yours worn. So tell me where are you from? Saddle Arabia maybe?”

The pair looked at each other a bit uncomfortable. The stallion then nodded to his mate. After a deep breath turned the mare’s gaze to Velvet.

“We come from the Badlands, from a city named Clugetown…”

Chrysalis studied the eventual reaction from Velvet closely.
All the while, the gears in the head of the noble mare were turning.

Clugetown… where have I heard that before? She thought, trying to catch that fleeting memory that nagged on the edge of her mind.

Finally, she remembered. It was in a newspaper article about some drug ring her son had busted in the past.

If memory serves right, then this city is full of crimes of the worst kind. Everything from dealing with stolen goods to gladiatorial fighting pits to even slavery of any kind. And now two from this very city are sitting before me to apply as my servants, how… exhilarating!

Velvet smiled.

“Well, that is interesting.”

She led her eyes to wander over them, taking a closer look at the two.
Now she noticed a little scar on the cheek of the stallion.

“Before we talk further about your application I have to ask: Will anything of your former life make problems in the future? Can you guarantee that this family will come to no harm because of your past?”

Chrysalis paused. She didn’t know if something from her servant's life could cross her plans, but luckily she had the answers.
In her mind, she reached for the soul of Pepper Side and dove deep into the memories and experiences of the red mare.
She lived through the entire life of the mare, from her birth till her final moments in the cocoon.

All of that in the blink of an eye.

Chrysalis shook her head to answer the noble mare in front of her.

“No, we made sure to pay all debts we had.”

Velvet nodded.

“Good, good…”

Her gaze hardened suddenly.

“Then tell me, what were you doing there? And don’t tell me some good and honest work. Clugetown is widely known as the city of crime.”

She took a deep breath.

“Tell me, what crimes were yours?”

A silence fell over the room.

Cinder Brew began to drum with his fingers on the table, while Pepperside held her cub of tea nervously in her hands.

This was a clear warning bell for Velvet.

So they were in some nasty business… Let’s see where this will lead us…

Finally, Cinder Brew had enough.

“Well Lady Velvet, I want to be honest with you…”

He looked to Pepper Side, who just nodded.

“Please mister, go on. No one will judge your honesty. It is an important virtue of our `oh so fair´ country.”

Chrysalis was surprised.

Is that spite I hear from the mother of one of the greatest heroes of Equestria?
Well. That is interesting indeed…

Cinder Brew cleared his throat and sighed.

“Lady Velvet. We, um, how can I describe it? I…”

He clearly searched for words. Since it appeared that he was too troubled with the truth, Chrysalis took over.

“We were slavers.”

That sentence hung heavy over their heads.

Velvet looked at them in disbelieve.

Pepper Side nodded.
“We had a variety of contracts and different jobs throughout our life in Clugetown.
But the slave caravans were always the most paying, and if you didn’t get robbed by some bandits or found by Equestrian guards, it was the most secure. You see, we were parts of a strong crime family. Being a member granted us protection and a good life here. Though I must admit that I was originally from Equestria.”

He took a deep breath.

“When Pepper and I met, it was love at first sight. We started dating and a year after I asked for her hand...”

Velvet couldn't help to let out a little coo. She always had soft spots for romances.

“But we both wanted to live in peace from the constant crime there. So we made sure to pay our debts and called in a few favors to get new identities and the needed paperwork for us to live as normal citizens.”

Velvet sat quietly in her chair.
Her mind was going through all the good and bad things this situation could bring.
And it all spun around the other nobles.

She didn't fear the mobsters and criminal bosses, if need be her son could handle everything they could throw at her and her two precious children.

Well on one hand the other nobles will see it as a scandal and the rest of my reputation could be sundered... Then again, these two souls are foreigners with no place to turn to.
I’m sure that this will increase my esteem and respect for some of the more powerful nobles like Fancy Pants and his wife.
Mhhh decisions, decisions...

Then something else came into her mind.

They did mention operations in Equestria. If anyone is corrupt enough to deal with slavers and drug barons it would be my fellow nobles...

A smirk formed on Velvet’s muzzle.

“Well you seem to have quite a lot of stories to tell, maybe you would be willing to share a few of them in the future…”

Pepperside looked at Velvet, her surprise written on her face.

“So you will consider hiring us?”

Velvet shook her head giggling.

“No dear I don’t consider it, I wish to employ you immediately!”

“We would be very happy to work for you!” shouted Cinder Brew excited.

Velvet nodded happily.

“Well, at last, I want to know your talents and specialties.”

Pepper Side smiled and laid a hand over her chest.

“I am good at dancing the traditional dances from Saddle Arabia and I worked too as a bellydancer in Klugetown. As for my other specialties, well, I am fluid in equish, arabian and abbyssian.”

Cinder Brew shrugged.
“I’m just a guard, worked as a bouncer in one or two clubs before but nothing exciting.”

Pepper Side laughed and pushed him playfully.

“C’mon, we’re not in Klugetown anymore, tell her about your hobby!”

Cinder Brew just sighed, looking to the side.
“All right, I like to cook in my free time…”

Velvet was ecstatic.

“Well, my husband and I will be more than happy to have finally a good cook again in our family. You two will be a great addition to this house!”

Chrysalis grinned behind her façade.
Could it be better than infiltrating the home of some of my greatest enemies!

She coughed politely.

“Yes we would be very happy to work under you, but we have nowhere to stay, till now we resided in a cheap hotel in the lower districts of Canterlot…”

Velvet nodded understanding.

“Don’t worry, as servants of a noble house, it is expected from us nobles to give you a living place near our homes, in the case of house Sparkle: we always have rooms prepared. But sadly, only one of them is ready…”

Chrysalis let out a short laugh and shook her head.
“Don’t worry Lady Velvet, we are comfortable sharing a room. We are married after all.”

A sight of relief escaped Velvet as she stood up. Pointing with her hand to the stairs she asked
“Would you two please follow me and I will show you your room?”

Both Cinder Brew and Pepper Side both jumped to their feed and followed their new Lady.

Behind Pepper Side’s mask grinned Chrysalis.

“The downfall of Equestria begins with the family of one of the most important heroes… how delightful!”