Chapters Cinder Brew slowly opened his eyes.
“Ah my dear, you're finally awake. We just crossed the borders.”
Came the sweet voice of his queen rang through the wagon.
When he tried to get up, he noticed that his body was much heavier than he remembered. As he looked at himself, he noticed how well build his body suddenly was.
His entire body was larger and more muscular.
Even his wings have grown larger and stronger. He guessed that he had now the body build of his former boss.
“Admiring your new body, are you?” came the voice of his queen.
“I told you that I would give you a reward for your service.”
Cinder Brew quickly stood up and banged his head against the ceiling of the wagon.
“Come here Cinder~”
Cinder made his way through the wagon to the front side. On the driver seat sat Chrysalis in form of Pepper Side adorned with all of Pepper Side’s Clothes.
“Have you slept well my dear?” she asked in her melodic voice.
He just nodded.
“My queen…”
He stopped as she raised her hand.
“We are now on Equestrian soil, so don’t call me anything to do with queen. Our cover is a loving couple escaping the crimes of Klugetown. So act like it.”
Cinder Brew gulped but nodded, was he even worthy of the rank of a lover?
But if his queen wanted him to play his part, so he would do his best.
“Of course, ah… dear, whatever you say.”
Chrysalis smiled and pulled him into a kiss as two ponies walked past the wagon.
“Good boy…” she whispered into his ear when they broke apart.
As they rolled further along the road, he registered that they were in a City.
“Um, my… love… where are we?” He saw buildings so large that they reached into the clouds and more beings than he saw all his life in Klugetown.
“Well, we are in Manehatten, we landed in a seaside fort of Appleloosa and were shipped here. You slept through all of this, your body adapting to the transformation.”
Cinder sat beside his new… wife and stared at the city. At some point, they came to a giant temple, one side made out of white marble and a red roof while the other half was formed from deep blue stone with a golden roof.
“I’ve heard of the temples of the twin goddesses of Equestria…” whispered Cinder Brew in awe.
Chrysalis snorted bitterly while looking to the building.
Cinder Brew stared at her, wide-eyed. “What?!”
Chrysalis just nodded.
“Yes, all of the old structures in Equestria were built by changelings and their servants…”
She looked at Cinder Brew almost weak and defeated.
“Cinder Brew, I will answer your questions at some point, but not right now.
He just grunted, still stunned over the look of his queen.
“Ahm, my queen, I have another question… If you allow.”
She eyed him warily. “As long as it is not about the past then yes.”
He pointed at himself and all the new muscles he gained.#
“How did this happen? I mean I was not weak or something, but never in my dreams, I thought to get this buff… Was that your gift?”
Finally, Chrysalis seemed to perk up at the question.
“Oh yes, that was me. You see, I absorbed the strength of your former boss, but we changelings handle things like strength or special abilities differently than over species.”
She let out a hum while thinking of how to explain the next thing.
“Other cultures of other species see such talents as special and most of the time individuals with such special abilities become rules and leaders. We, changelings, have different thinking. We see such special abilities as resources and their owners nothing more than donors. When we either consume or absorb such an ability, we gain it as a trait. A trait that we can gift others with. So take the strength I have given you. While I let you take the strength I still hold the trait of strength within me. In theory with enough energy I could gift countless individuals with the same strength you have now without ever losing the strength myself.”
A sigh escaped Chrysalis. “But it takes a lot of energy. You alone burned a lot of my energy. It will take time for me before I can give any traits to anyone.”
They drove further into the city in silence.
They came into a large plaza with market stalls around. Merchants cried in every direction for attention for their wares.
Every kind of creature was bussing about, looking through the goods or running to get their shopping lists done.
Many creatures tried to sell stuff directly, be it some souvenir or some other, more or less legal stuff.
“My… love… what are we doing here?” asked Cinder Brew while looking with big eyes around.
“This marked is even bigger than the one in Klugetown!”
Chrysalis nodded, her red hair falling into her face.#
“It’s Equestrias biggest marked. Do you see the buildings around the plaza? They are all shopping malls for different kinds of things.”
She looked around while wiping the hair out of her face.
She leaned over to Cinder Brew and whispered in his ear.
And if on cue a voice announced itself next to the wagon.
“Ah hello there, a young couple… How wonderful! And my what a gorgeous mare you have my friend!”
The owner of the voice was a male unicorn with dirty yellow fur and ash blond mane and tail. He wore a big jacket even though the weather was too hot for such items. Ragged jeans and a boulder hat completed the image of an unsavory person.
“What do you want?” hissed Cinder Brew. How dared this low live to insulted his queen with his petty compliments.
But before he could punch the dirty stallion a hand tapped his shoulder.
“Let me handle this…” Whispered Chrysalis.
She smiled sweetly at the unicorn.
“Oh how nice of you, thank you, kind sir!”
The unicorn let out a laugh, just as dirty as he was.
“Oh please madam, think nothing of it. I can’t help to admire beauty when I see it.”
“On the topic of beauty… Such a wonderful mare like yourself with no jewelry of her own is a crime against harmony I tell you! So how about we change this? What would you say to these beauties?”
He opened his jacket while speaking. On the inside hung gems of every color and size, though Chrysalis knew that most of them were just colorful rocks and nothing of worth. Well, everyone except one, a dark, obsidian-like stone.
Chrysalis pointed at the stone.
“What is that one?”
The unicorn got an uneasy look on his face.
“Well my dear, this is a rarity for sure. It comes from the newly build changeling kingdom and is very rare indeed…”
Chrysalis licked her lips. She could feel the power of the stone, a part of her former throne, destroyed by the wretch Starlight and the traitor Thorax. The chunk was only the size of her fist. But even that could be enough to help her future plans.
Chrysalis smiled sweetly.
The unicorn's eyes widened a bit. It seemed that he didn’t seem to believe that anyone would buy the stone.
“Well… I… I… You see… ah… the stone is, the expensive and rare?”
Chrysalis just nodded and looked to Cinder Brew.
“Say how many bits do we have?”
Cinder Brew scratched his head and reached for a satchel on his belt. He opened and counted the bits inside.
“Well, it seems like we have 300 bits, give or take…”
“So…” Chrysalis addressed the unicorn,
The unicorn licked his lips nervously and stared at the satchel.
“I think that would be enough, yes…”
With a smile, Chrysalis grabbed the satchel and tangled it in front of the unicorn's face.
With a quick motion, the unicorn grabbed the bag and tossed the stone in Chrysalis' lap. After that he tipped his hat.
“Nice doing business with ya. Name’s Slike by the way.”
Chrysalis raised a hand to cover her mouth and hide a giggle.
“See my dear Cinder? Just like that, we got what I searched for…”
Cinder Brew had a concerned look on her face.
“My queen, what do we do now? That was all the bits we have…”
She just raised a hand, silencing him. When he closed his mouth, she grabbed the stone and went inside the wagon, beckoning Cinder Brew to follow her.
“Now watch..” she whispered.
“So, now we don’t have to worry about that little thing…” Chrysalis said, patting her belly softly.
“This will at an extra layer of protection against scanning spells and some enchantments.”
She turned to Cinder Brew, who stared at her uncomfortable while a small bulge was forming in his pants.
Chrysalis laughed, strolled to him, and swiped him into a passionate kiss.
“Don’t worry dear…” she said while running a single finger down his chest.
“We will have plenty of time later to `get to know us better”
She let him go and walked slowly to the front of the wagon again, hips slowly swinging, while green flames erupted around her and gave way for the appearance of Pepper Side.
“And don’t you worry about money, I have a solution to that…”
The wagon changed its course and headed to the largest building around the plaza.
“The Vault of Heaven, the biggest bank in Equestria. Only the royal vault is bigger and safer than this building. And it happens to house a little fortune of mine.”
Cinder Brew, who had followed his queen to the head of the wagon, cocked his head in confusion.
“Why is an equestrian bank accepting money from one of his enemies?”
Chrysalis’ gaze became distant, her mind recalling better days, the height of her power.
“The first invasion of Canterlot alone took months of planning and infiltration. Over a hundred changelings alone infiltrated Canterlot as workers, securities of nobles and merchants, or new staff of the castle. One even replaced a high-ranking military officer. Most of their earnings went to a single account under the name of Sleeping Butterfly. We can easily take what we need from this.”
The wagon stopped and the two of them hopped from it.
They stood before the large building, the façade made out of pure marble. Two giant carvings of the two sisters stretched over the entire wall, each holding a hand over their heads, the sun and moon hovering above them.
Cinder Brew had never seen such a large building and in such a good state.
One of the guards saw them and chuckled good-natured.
Cinder just nodded and followed his queen.
The inside of the bank was even more luxurious than the outside.
Finally, they came to one of the desks
He looked up from his notes and books to eye them warily.
“How may I help you on this fine day?”
Chrysalis smiled and presented a paper to the stallion.
“We would like to take something of the shared account of me and my friend, the name is Sleeping Butterfly, if you may be so kind…”
The stallion nodded slowly.
He turned around and lit up his horn. A folder flew to him and rested in his hands.
“What have we here? ” He thought.
“Account inherited by an enemy of Equestria, every attempt to raise money from this account need to be reported to the princesses themselves, in letter or person. Warning, do not show any signs of concern while in presence of the suspects. Call for guards and police as soon as possible.
A droplet of sweat was running down his brow. Right before him stood two enemies of Equestria, so dangerous that the princesses themselves wanted to be informed?
He closed the folder, put on the best passive face he could muster, and turned to face the two ponies in front of his desk.
“I’m sorry, but it appears that there is a problem with the account, if you two would be so kind to wait here for a while? I will get our chamberlain and we can correct this situation at once.”
While he was talking, he was watched closely by Chrysalis. She noticed the slightly slower voice of the banker, a clear sign of trying to appear calm.
“They know who this account belongs to in reality…”
“Oh if it is okay I will return with my friend tomorrow and we can clear the mistake together, won’t you agree?”
Chrysalis looked directly into the eyes of the banker. Her eyes shone in a weak green light, which the bankers quickly took over.
“Of course, we will see us tomorrow then. Have a pleasant day and I apologize for the inconvenience…”
“We need to get out of town quickly, this banker knows who I am.”
They climbed in the wagon and began to drive away.
They drove through the streets to the north of the city.
“My queen, where are we going?”
“To the train station. We will buy a ticket there and travel to Canterlot. We need to get to the second stage of my plan as quickly as possible!”
This shocked Cinder Brew, for his queen, sounded almost scared.
“Are you okay?”
Chrysalis sank into the driver's seat. Her voice drained and weak.
“No, I am not. Someone from my former hive must have given this account to the royal sisters. They will undoubtedly know that I was here. And we have no money to get unto the train…”
When they reached the train station sat Chrysalis almost unmoving in the guest seat, Cinder having taken over the role of driver after he saw the sorry state his queen was in.
The wagon stopped and Cinder wanted to help his queen out of the wagon as a booming voice sounded from the other side of the street.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN’T REPAIR IT!?” it was a light blue unicorn with a white mane and tail. She wore a large sorcerer hat, a white west, purple wide cloth pants and, a cape with star patterns. She stood in front of a repairing shop. Behind her were the remains of what was assumedly once a wagon. Now nothing more than a pile of more or less broken wood.
“Well,” began a burly earth pony with brown fur and blue hair. He has dressed in worker garb and a flat cap. “the fireworks damaged your wagon beyond repair. I’m sorry but it would be best to buy a new wagon.”
“Do you even know how much a new wagon costs?” cried the unicorn mare, tears forming in her eyes.
Cinder Brew nudged his queen with an opportunistic grin. “My queen, I believe our money problem just solved itself… just watch.”
He made sure that the street was clear and strolled to the now lonely unicorn mare.
“Excuse me, miss…” She looked at him, an angry look in her eyes.
“What do you want from the great Trixy?”
Cinder scratched the back of his head.
“Well, I heard that you need a new wagon…”
Trixi snorted angrily.
Cinder Brew grinned and pointed to his wagon. “As it happens we seek to sell our wagon for some money to travel to Canterlot and begin our new life there!”
He rubbed his chin while thinking.
“The wagon is in an optimal state, sturdy enough to withstand sand storms, and highly customizable. So what do you say to, let’s say 350 bits, sound fair?”
Trixi examined the wagon, her horn lighting up and sending a quick scanning spell over the wagon.
She smiled and nodded. “SOLD!” she squealed and took the hat in her hands. She lunged with one arm into the hat, far deeper when it should be possible, and brought a large bag of bits to light.
She tossed it to Cinder Brew who stood there, stunt and barely able to catch the bag. The whole bag was full of bits.
“Here ya go, now Trixi wants her wagon!”
Baffled Cinder could only stutter.
“H-how?”
Trixi just laughed.
“A magician never reveals her secrets… So now shush! The next train to Canterlot will leave shortly!”
With the bag of bits in his hand’s Cinder Brew rushed to Chrysalis, grabbed her hand, and together they ran to the station.
“Why are we running Cinder?” she cried surprised.
“I just sold the wagon and now we have a large amount of money!”
Chrysalis grinned at the news. As she heard a joyous cry behind her she saw a certain blue unicorn.
Chrysalis couldn’t help it and laugh whole-heartedly.
The irony was just too good, one of her enemies helped her in her revenge…
Later in the train
Chrysalis and Cinder Brew sat together in a cabin of the train, having brought this section of the train for themselves.
Cinder was counting the bits on a bench while Chrysalis laid in her bed was making plans in her mind.
Finally, she let out a sigh and rolled over to look at her servant.
“Cinder Brew, How much do we have left?”
“I counted 190 bits. The tickets consumed a good portion of our budget.”
Chrysalis hummed while running numbers in her head.
“I see, we need to find a cheaper hotel to stay for the time being then…”
The thought of his queen being forced to sleep in some cheap hotel send a chutter down Cinder’s spine.
“What will we do then?” he asked
Chrysalis grinned wickedly at him.
“We will find ourselves jobs… We will try to get into some noble house as servants and slowly bring the nobles under my control.
Canterlot Castle
In a luxuriously decorated room lay a big, white pony on her bed.
“So Chrysalis has appeared again? Oh my, what a brilliant opportunity this is…”
Chrysalis sighed. She laid in a bed on her back in her earth pony disguise, holding a magazine in her hand.
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.
“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.
“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…
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.
With great gulps, she swallowed the skinny mare to her shoulders.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Suddenly Chrysalis sighed.
“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.
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.
“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.
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.
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?”
“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.
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…”
“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.
“So how did you hear about my… situation?” asked Velvet slowly.
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.
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 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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A sight of relief escaped Velvet as she stood up. Pointing with her hand to the stairs she asked
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!”
(Edited) A new day, a new chance
The merging of a goddess
A new day, a new chance
Chrysalis seethed with rage, not only did her second attempt of taking Equestria failed, but her subjects betrayed and abandoned her! HER! Their own Mother!
Now an outcast she stumbled through the Badlands, growing ever more hungry for love. Her once shining black carapace was now dull and beginning to crack on some parts. Her formerly poison green hair was now nearly grey. Was her body being once curvy and the definition of thickness, was now spiderly thin and weak. Her wings hanging useless on the side. The only thing that was keeping her stumbling through the wasted land was her thirst for revenge. Her only hope to reach civilization, a town, or a city to try and feed again to gain strength.
“No matter what happens, I will have my vengeance… on all… of them…” she muttered, again and again, and again. It was her mantra, ever since her failed invasion of Canterlot a hatred for the purple unicorn and her friends had manifested in her. It had consumed all her thoughts and every action and plan was to bring Equestria to its knees.
“Will get revenge… will get…”
How did it get all so wrong? How did she lose two times in the height of her victory when everything seemed to be perfect?
“All their fault, Twilight, and friends… two princesses… Equestria… Was so close… nearly succeeded… nearly… nearly…”
For long days she stumbled through her former kingdom, never resting, never stopping, just marching on and on through the blazing days and icy nights.
“Princesses trying to mock me… trying to end me with the heaven… want me to return and beg… beg for… their mercy… But I will be the victories one… I will be... I will be…”
As the days rolled by and the sun boiling her chitin and the moon freezing her insides, the former queen’s strength was fleeting from her body.
Her mind slowing dissolving in hasty images of her foes… most importantly her main targets: the princesses of Equestria, with the new addition of a certain former purple unicorn.
“Will bring them down… Will capture them… will… will… ascen…”
Weeks past and Chrysalis began to see the four alicorns in every rock, plant, and animal.
She would waste the little strength she had left to rip the plants apart and try to catch the animals with maniacal laughter until her voice was raspy and her breathing became ragged.
Finally after long days and nights, after visions and hallucinations. After endless marching and wasting of her strength, Chrysalis' body gave up even though her mind and will wanted to go on. In a final and desperate act of rebellion she let out a blood boiling scream:
“Celestiaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!”
And with that, she fell to the ground and as her vision went dark, she heard the squeaking of stopping wagon wheels. Just before the darkness consumed her, she saw a shadow looming above her.
“Well seems like we found us another one!” spoke the shadow as two others came to him.
And Chrysalis new no more…
The first thing Chrysalis felt was warmth, not the blazing heat of the waste but the nice warmth of somewhere inside. The next thing was the sound of rumbling and soft-spoken, whispered conversations. After that her senses returned to her, she felt the soft bumping and shaking of her surroundings. Finally, she opened her eyes. She starred at a wooden ceiling. This information combined with the others left just one possibility: she was in a wagon. She lay on a makeshift bed made of hay and fabric.
Around her were crates piled up.
“Must be some kind of Carawan ” she thought, maybe her luck hasn’t run out just yet.
“Ah, so your awake.” Came a deep voice from behind her.
As Chrysalis tried to sit upright and look for the owner of the voice, she groaned as a great deal of pain shot through her whole body.
“I would advise against that… you’re in no shape to do anything just now.”
A large earth pony stallion moved in front of Chrysalis, he had brown fur and white mane and tail. His body was well-toned with muscles. A large scar crossed his face. He wore simple jeans that obscured his cutie mark. He had nothing on his upper body that left a truly drooling sight to behold.
“You saved me?” croaked Chrysalis weakly, oh how she hated that.
The large stallion leaned forward and grinned wickedly at Chrysalis.
“Well, saving is a bit generous. Yes, we saved you, but now you owe us a debt.”
He grinned. “You’re a changeling are you not? We could use someone like you… A mare that can take the shape of everything our `customers´ desire…”
Slavers… of course it was slavers.
“How dare they to think I would work and act like a whore for their amusement and gain!? ” She thought furiously.
“But then again this could be usefully, or rather they could be useful… ”
She tried to say something but her throat was too dry to speak properly.
“Water…” she rasped and looked, as much ashamed she was to admit it, pleading to her `savior´.
He raised an eyebrow but walked away to return shortly with a cup of water in his hand.
“Just so you know it, in the desert, water is a luxury so you will work off any cup of water we give you. Starting with this one.”
She just nodded so he sat down and gave the cup to her. She took it and drank deeply. Greedily she gulped down the water, every last drop of it.
When she emptied the cup, she gave it back to the stallion.
He took it and grinned.
“Don’t forget you will work for this water.”
He was surprised when Chrysalis grabbed his hand with an unsuspected strength.
“Oh, don’t worry, I will work, on my revenge!”
He was unable to pull his hand away from her. Suddenly she lunched at him and sank her fangs deep into his thick neck.
He tried to fight her off, tried to move his free arm to punch or shove her away from him, but he couldn’t move. His entire body was paralyzed. But that was not the worst, the worst was that his body began to shrink, his muscles disappearing, his strength waning and his body shriveling to a husk. All the while Chrysalis body was gaining a bit of its former glory back. Her chest no longer flat but fuller and her ass was better toned. Her body became thicker and a bit hourglass-shaped. This was but a shadow of her past greatness. However, this would do the job for now. When the stallion had no longer any life left in him, she found the strength to stand up.
As she did the door behind her opened. She turned around to find a pegasus stallion staring at her. This stallion had a light brown fur and dark brown mane and tail he wore simple jeans and a leather west. His blue eyes glued to her, for a simple reason.
Now one important thing about changelings is that they don’t care to wear clothes in their natural form. She smiled as she noticed the bulge in the pegasuses pants.
“Oh, what have we here? Come now dear, don’t be shy. I am unarmed and surely such a strong stallion like you is not afraid of a defenseless mare like me…” She sang sweetly, her song like a siren luring the stallion and clouding his mind.
She could see him licking his lips nervously.
Chrysalis smirked insight. Stallions were sometimes just so easy.
The stallion, almost like in trance began to walk to her. A dreamy smile on his face.
When he reached her, pulled Chrysalis him in a passionate kiss.
His eye white was replaced with a poisonous green.
But it soon disappeared. The only change visible was a tiny green heart in the iris when one would look closely.
He kneeled before her.
“What is your desire my queen?” he asked with utter devotion.
Chrysalis smiled, her powers of mind control were returning to her.
“How many of you slavers are in this caravan?”
He looked up at her with a joyous grin.
“With me, we are five, four stallions and a mare.”
Chrysalis considered her options and next steps carefully.
“Tell me why is a mare here?”
“She is a recruiter´ for new femalepersonnel´ for our business.”
Chrysalis nodded. “So, she lures females in as new slaves… Tell me is she pretty?”
The stallion nodded vigorously.
“Yes, she is very beautiful, but not as perfect as you, my queen.”
That made Chrysalis laugh. She loved that blind admiration from her subjects and victims. She looked down at the stallion.
“Tell me your name, my dear.”
The stallion looked like a foal on heartwarming eve.
“My name is Cinder Brew, my cutie mark is a bottle with cinder in it, I am the cook of this caravan.”
“This is just perfect… ” Chrysalis thought with glee.
“Who is the boss around here?” She asked while gently patting Cinder Brew's head.
“Well, our boss should be in here, he wanted to `test our new product himself´”
“So one hurdle is already taken care of… Tell me Cinder, why did you come here?”
Without hesitation, he gave the answer. “I came to give the crew their water for the day. Only I as the cook and the Boss are allowed to touch the water.”
It just got better and better. Her wings bussed with anticipation.
“Where is this water?” Cinder brew pointed to a few barrels in a corner of the wagon.
Chrysalis slowly walked over to one of the barrels and opened it.
Inside was the cool, deep blue water. A few runes on the side of the barrels were runes carved, probably to keep it cool and refreshing.
With a hand, she grabbed her left breast and began to slowly massage the green nipple. Soon a rush of pleasure overcame her.
Finally, with a moan from her, a golden substance dropped from her breast into the barrel. As soon as the golden liquid touched the water it lost its color and mixed with the water.
“Here, take this water to the rest of the crew it will bend their minds to my will, at break of the night wake me up, understood?”
“It will be done, my queen! At once!” He shouted, grabbed the barrel, and hurried to do his task.
“And try to act normal!” She yelled after him.
She sights and lays down on the makeshift bed and quickly falls asleep.
“Queen…. Up! Wake up, my queen!”
Chrysalis slowly opened her eyes at the sound of her new servant’s voice.
He kneeled beside her while three overs stood behind him.
“We build our camp and awaiting your orders, your majesty.”
Chrysalis nodded and looked at her new toys.
Her gaze swiftly fell on the mare of the bunch.
She was an earth pony and had red fur and brown mane and tail. Her eyes were green.
She wore a kind of dress made out of wide red cloth.
And the best thing? She was deliciously plumb.
“You will do my dear,” Chrysalis said
“You other three wait outside for me and make me a meal. You...”
She turned to the mare, “will stay with me.”
As the stallions left the mare stood behind with a dreamy gaze.
Now came the hard part of her plan. With so little strength left in her body in comparison to her former glory, doing the next step will be tedious.
She opened her mouth and her bladed horn lit up. A sickly green mist emerged from her mouth, surrounded by her green magic and woven by her hands to a green cocoon, similar to the ones all the princesses were in a time ago.
“Get all your clothes off and get in the cocoon!” And without hesitation, the plumb red mare stripped away all her clothes and climbed into the cocoon.
As she lay there Chrysalis formed again the mist from her mouth to conceal the mare and her fate.
Chrysalis went and climbed out of the wagon to find her servant and the two other toys sitting around a campfire.
When they noticed her, all jumped to their feeds and quickly knelled, their heads low.
“Good, good~” Sang Chrysalis.
“Cinder Brew, you proved your worth and shall be my servant…”
Cinder Brew smiled as if he got his live wish fulfilled.
“You other two are livestock, you will sustain me until we reach civilization and you die, understood?”
The two stallions nodded. With that, they were of no further interest to her, not even studying their appearance.
“Good now give me something to eat and tomorrow we set course to Equestria…”
All nodded and Chrysalis began her feast.
A week later
Cinder Brew quickly ran through the wagon to answer the summon of his queen, one of her toys (as it was quickly established by Chrysalis that they were not worthy of names anymore), brought him the order from his queen to see her in the provision wagon at once. As he ran through the door, he saw his queen standing before the cocoon that housed Pepper Side, his former love as now his queen was the only one that his love was devoted.
“Ah so you’re here my dear…” his queen said.
“You have been wondering what your little love was doing inside the cocoon.”
Cinder Brew slowly nodded; his gaze fixed on the cocoon.
“Do you want to see?” She asked gently to which he nodded again.
With one gesture of her hand, the cocoon lost its green color and became translucent.
But inside was no mare, only a big heap of red mush.
“Yes, this mush is or was your little mare. You see we changelings have some unique abilities… like this one…” She caressed the cocoon lovingly.
“We put our prey in there and let the cocoon do its work. It functions pretty much like a stomach, dissolving the prey, their meat, and bones and turn it all into rich sustenance for us changelings. More importantly, it gives us all the knowledge and powers of the victim when we consume the mush.”
She looked to Cinder Brew.
“Tell me, was she wanted for any crime in Equestria or in any way famous or infamous?”
Cinder shook his head.
“She was just some earth mare from the street that could talk people into doing her bidding.”
“Perfect!” purred Chrysalis.
“Most importantly this technic gives us the ability to change into the former pony without using any energy. Now look closely…”
With that, she slowly walked to the cocoon and with one swift strike cut the cocoon in the lower half. Before any mush could escape, she put her mouth other slid. Her jaw unhinged in an angle that no pony could do. As the mush flowed into Chrysalis, she took great gulps without ever taking a break.
Her green belly, transparent, filled with mush and stretched out far beyond anything that should be possible.
As the minutes ticked by Cinder could tare away his gaze from his ever-larger queen.
Finally, the last drop of mush entered her belly and the cocoon fell apart.
Chrysalis rested on her extremely swollen belly.
She smiled and gently petted her swollen gut.
“Ah, I love the sensation of a well-filled belly.” She sighed
“Um, my queen please answer my question…”
Chrysalis looked at him but then shrugged.
“I’m satisfied so I will grand your question, ask away.”
Cinder Brew gulped nervously. “Could you swallow an entire pony?”
Chrysalis nodded. “Yes, but then I would need to deal with what comes after every meal… With the cocoon, the mush is one hundred percent used by the body. No leftovers.”
She yawned “Now leave me alone while I absorb my meal.”
When the night came, Cinder Brew went to check on his queen.
As he entered the provision wagon, he stopped in his track.
In the cart stood his love, completely unharmed and naked.
“Pepper Side, is that you?”
The plumb red earth pony mare turned to him and a laugh came with her melodic voice, but he knew the laughter from his queen.
“Oh, sweet Cinder Brew, my lovely servant. Have you forgotten that I am a shapeshifter? I can take the form of any creature if I wish. But Pepper Side is now a part of me, my second natural form so to speak…”
She smiled and strolled to him, her hips swinging with every step.
She circled around him until she stood in front of him, muzzle near the muzzle.
“She is now mine, now and forever, even her soul.” She grasped with her left hand the pegasus head and gently guided his head to her left breast.
“You have proven to be a good servant, so you will get a reward.
Com now, don’t be shy, nourish yourself on my breast~” she sang in her sweet, alluring tone. And Cinder Brew did just as he was told, his mouth carefully sucking on the big breast his queen covered him. And soon enough the sweet nectar of his queen flowed into his mouth. With greedy gulps, he tried to get as much of the liquid as his queen was willing to give him.
After a while, he couldn’t drink anymore, his belly full of the golden liquid. And his mind and loyalty completely hers
“I see you enjoyed my little gift, did you?” She gently asked while stroking his mane, while he lay on her lap.
“Yes, thank you, my queen!”
Her smile was gentle and warm. “Don’t worry, when my plan begins to take shape, you will get many more gifts from me. Now sleep my child, sleep and let me take care of things.”
He groaned with effort and looked up to his queen. “My queen, we will arrive at the Equestrian border in a few hours…”
“Good, then it’s time to get rid of the last of my toys. Don’t worry much, mother will do her part.”
As Cinder Brew fell asleep, looked Chrysalis to the horizon, where, in the distance, one could make out a fortress, the equestrian flag on top of each tower. The equestrian border was in sight and a plan for revenge could be plotted to bring down the alicorns.
“Then Equestria and the power of its goddesses will be MINE~”
Author's Note
Since it seems that my grammar is not as good as I thought I want to make things a bit clear.
Little update: