My head pounded as I struggled to force my eyes open. The ground shifted strangely beneath me as I tried tried to fight the compulsion to roll over in bed and pull the covers over my face. Luckily, I had the intense dry-mouth and migraine of dehydration on my side as extra motivation to get up. It took maybe a bit more effort than should've been necessary, but I was able to push my blanket off of me and sit up.

Wait, blanket? Bed?

I looked down at the cloth that had been draped over me. Rather than a comforter or anything particularly warm like my pillows, it seemed that I'd fallen asleep and someone had draped my cat-eared cloak over me. Strangely, it seemed like there were more than a few spots of dirt, and the hem near the back had been torn. That was a bit upsetting, because I really liked wearing the cloak, and now I was probably gonna get yelled at by Rarity for taking such poor care of such a wonderful gift. The left lens on my glasses was also cracked.

A bit worryingly, I couldn't remember going to sleep on a bed, or even going to sleep at all. I remembered getting sick after being found on the road near Fluttershy's cabin, being flown back to the castle. After that... I spent the day with Starlight fussing over me. We did spend some time doing magic once my head stopped hurting, and I even got my first portable spell matrix made. All the while, I'd spent much of that time clutching my little possum plush and making excessive use of the calming enchantment. After that, though...

Such a strange bed, too. It was almost a cup or semi-egg-shape with rigid walls, but a squishy-soft interior. Almost like it was some sort of pod instead of a bed. It tickled my memory, but for the life of me, I couldn't put my finger on why that was. Something about pod people? No... Spiriting away? Fuck, but my head hurt.

Worse, I was in some sort of dimly lit subterranean cavern. What I didn't see probably worried me the most. The opossum plush that the Moon H—nay—Princess Luna gifted me was nowhere to be found. That small, friend-shaped companion was gone. It drove a spike of panic through my heart, more so than the fact that I was in a strange place. Why, though? It's just a plushy, and I'm not a little kid anymore. The answer was surprisingly obvious; although I'd been able to remain somewhat stoic about the missing time, it was mostly because I had it there with me, and it made me feel safe.

It wasn't there, though, so I couldn't rely on it for comfort. I don't need a plush to be strong, though, I decided, gritting my teeth, as the memory of my childhood plush flitted through my mind. Bastard though he was, that man raised me to be self sufficient. Can't panic, gotta figure out what happened and where I am.

Didn't I read something about changelings kidnapping ponies and sticking them in pods before the reform? Feeling a bit of a chill here in the cavern, I threw the torn cloak over my withers, fastening the clasp. Much to my surprise, the interior pockets hadn't been emptied at all. The small clay medallion that Starlight had cooked with her own magic with the light spell etched upon it still hung around my neck. My magic notes were still present in the pocket, although my pencil had snapped at some point, so I removed it from my pocket. Other than that, there was maybe a few stray candies. Whoever took me obviously didn't think I was enough of a threat to bother frisking me.

Gripping the small medallion against my chest, I used my free hoof to pull myself up to the edge of the weird pod-bed I'd been placed in. A small orb of light manifested above my head, casting the cavern into an eerie, blue glow upon pushing my magic through the grooves baked into the plate. Looking around, it wasn't a particularly large space. A bit smaller than my room, and it had a low dirt ceiling. There appeared to be tree roots poking through in places, and—if using my room for reference—where a door should have been, a boulder had been shoved into place.

"You're awake much earlier than I expected," came a voice that sounded as though more than one woman spoke in disturbing harmony. She almost sounded simultaneously impressed and disappointed. I couldn't pick out the source of he voice, however. "I was hoping to finish your cocoon before you awoke so that I could see your look of terror as I sealed you in, but you're surprisingly resilient for mere nymph." I could almost hear the sneer in her voice. "A shapeshifter you aren't, but you are a changeling of a sort nonetheless, child of another world..."

I glanced about, looking for the speaker. Suspicions of who had kidnapped me floated in the back of my mind, but I needed to verify it. It was hard, but eventually, after tumbling out of the pod and crawling closer to the centre of the room, I spotted a blackness that seemed to absorb the light of my spell nestled in one of the hanging roots. A bit shameful that I missed it, given the vivid green eyes reflecting in the glow, but... Had they actually been there on my first sweep? Or had she opened them after speaking? Looking harder, I even got the impression of a patchy dark-green mane. Her hole-ridden chitin was dull, which was probably why it wasn't reflecting light all that much.

Definitely a changeling, and given the appearance... I'd only heard the stories and seen the name in Biologia Mutabilis book, but It wasn't hard to guess who it was. None of the reformed changelings possessed such colouring or holes, and it seemed unlikely she could've produced any adult drones in the time since her defeat. None other would be so brazen as to steal a foal out from under Twilight's nose. "I am surprised, but also honoured to be in your presence, Queen Chrysalis," I said, lowering my front in as close an approximation of a bow as I could manage in a three-legged stance. Finally speaking her name, something clicked in my mind, and despite how grave a situation I knew this to be, I found myself beginning to smile. It was as though the lock-box that portions of my memory had been stuffed into had just been unlocked. Everything came flooding back to me, and it all made so much more sense. "Although, I expect this isn't the first time. If not for the tampering you did my mind, I probably would've figured you out sooner... Hailstone, ice crystal, crystal ice, Chrysalis. Looking back, it was laughably obvious."

That whole multi-tonal voice thing could probably make for some pretty singing, but it certainly didn't make for good laughter. It sent a shiver down my spine as she laughed and dropped down from her apparent roost. She strode up to me slowly, transforming once into the diminutive shape of a familiar pegasus filly in a flash of green flame, before returning to her original shape to stand before me.

She didn't speak as she loomed over me, which gave me time to get a better look at her. Her mane was ratty, full of dirt, sticks and snags. The dull chitin of her carapace looked to be cracking and flaking in places. Even her eyes, hate-filled though they were, were somewhat sunken and yellowing. She's sick... No, I don't think that's quite right. I didn't exactly expect her to have a belly like a pony, but I also wouldn't have thought she'd be this thin. She's starving.

The anger I'd felt after our last encounter flared up, and that dark desire to hurt her burned brightly within my heart. If she's sick and weakened, I might stand a chance against her. But at the same time... I knew what it was like to go hungry... the madness it'd cause. Should I dare attempt to end this peaceably? Besides, I think anything I might pull off with magic risked bringing this entire cave down on us.

"I can see why that wretch would take you under her wing," she said in amusement. "You're too smart for your own good. All of the times I lured you, fed on you, and doctored your memories, and still you were suspicious." She smirked down at me, as though remembering something. "If I pushed too much, my meddling would have been far more obvious, but not enough, and you risked triggering a memory."

She turned her back on me with a scoff. "Anonymous... It's such a strong changeling name," she ranted. "It's so deliciously ironic that Celestia would name an outsider-turned-pony like that. If but you had fallen into my hooves before that meddling whorse got her hooks into you, I could have made you one of my own." I bristled upon hearing those words, because I knew in my heart she was talking about Starlight—about my big sister—but I held my tongue. Even if she was starving, I suddenly didn't doubt that she could end me with ease. "But even if I stuffed you in a pod full of love and royal jelly, and transfigured you now, I know you would never betray them." Her sneer grew vicious, and she muttered under her breath, "Although I would love to watch you fight your nature once changed..."

Flattening myself to the floor, I waited until I was sure she was done speaking. "I don't think you have enough love stored, even if that was on the table, your Highness," I murmur in as respectful a tone as I can muster up. Oh yeah, my voice was trembling, but it's not like there's much I can do there. "You're clearly starving here, and wasting what magic you might get from me on doctoring my mind. You could be anywhere in Equestria, preying on ponies and building up your strength and undermining the government, but you're here. Why?"

She spun on her hooves, and for a moment I thought this was it. Surely she was about to crush my head with her hoof. But when I screwed my eyes shut and flattened my head against the floor, she surprised me. Instead of painting the floor with my brains, she caressed the top of my head in an almost loving manner. God, that sends shivers down my spine.

"For the same reason you wanted to kill your father, Anonymous," she crooned as her hole-ridden hoof trailed down the side of my face. "Starlight Glimmer took everything from me. My home... my children... my legacy. All of it is gone." Much to my surprise—and horror—she gently lifted me up and gave me a nuzzle. It would almost have been sweet if not for the vicious expression on her face. "What better way to get back at her than to start targeting the ponies she loves." She bared her teeth and released high, sibilant laughter that sent a chill down my spine as she clutched me to her chest in a cold approximation of a hug. "Why not start by sending your drained husk of a body back to Starlight and her Princesses, piece by piece?"

I'll admit it: I peed a little. Sure, it was about as villain cliché as you can get, but her words and her behaviour were so polar-opposite that it was eliciting a terror in me at a primal level that not even he could inspire. She was clearly not all there—not anymore—and that made her extremely unpredictable.

And yet... maybe I can...

"I don't think you'd hurt a child," I managed to get out, despite the shaking in my voice, as she set me back down on the floor. I don't know why I was even attempting this gambit, but I truly got the vibe that although she might feed on me, she wouldn't actually hurt her unless I gave her reason to. Like if I pulled a fast one on her and fucked up. "No matter what species."

That drew a look of confusion from her. "What?" It seemed as though I'd struck a nerve. She narrowed her eyes and leaned in close. "I have enslaved ponies of all ages, Anonymous. In the past, ponies lived their entire lives as livestock—being born, bred, and dying in the hive. Why would you think I wouldn't do the same to you?"

"You were the mother to your entire hive," I insisted, gaining enough confidence to steady my voice. "Even if you didn't personally birth every single one, you did your damnedest to provide for them all as though you did. I've heard the stories; your hive was starving, and you went in person to Canterlot ahead of the invasion to ensure what should've been your greatest victory." Her horn glowed threateningly as I reminded her of her failure. "A mere queen wouldn't do that. She'd delegate, rather than risking herself. You loved them once, in your own twisted way."

She retreated, flinching as though she'd been slapped. "Maybe so," she spat. The sickly glow around her horn faded, but her eyes had grown cold... hateful. "That does not explain why I wouldn't harm you."

I shrugged. "A child is capable of unconditional love up until you hurt them," I said. The memory of Apple Bloom's hug, the day I'd gotten burned while standing up for her, surfaced in my memory. "Even then, they can be quick to forgive."

For the first time since I'd begun encountering Chrysalis, I could actually picture my mother's face. I could see her round, tanned face smiling at me—long, black hair, dark brown eyes, and all. She'd want me to be kind rather than wrathful, wouldn't she? "I'm curious... is love that is freely given more filling for changelings?"

That hateful glint in her eye gained an edge of hunger, and it looked like she was beginning to drool. "Yes," she whispered sibilantly. "You would, too? Wouldn't you?"

With a nod, I stepped forward and turned my thoughts inward. All the love I felt towards my mother, how much I missed her and my sisters... I seized upon those feelings and pulled them to the forefront. It took some effort, but I looped the thought of the changeling queen into my thought process. I offer this to you freely, seeking nothing in return. Everything went tingly as the queen leaned down with her open mouth, her horn aglow. A vibrant pink cloud exited my mouth... and then I knew no more.

~ 19 ~

My head ached even worse when I opened my eyes this time around. It felt like I'd run a marathon, and I had no energy to speak of. Immediately, the memory of willingly allowing myself to be fed upon by the mortal enemy of Big Sis Starlight rushed back to me. How could I have been so stupid? If I'd had the energy to move, I'd have slapped myself for how stupid I'd been. Now she's probably just gonna pod me and take me away.

Rather than being back in the pod base that I'd woken up in before, I was surprised to find myself lying on my back in the dirt. My cloak was folded and was propping my head up, and there was something warm beside me. In the darkness of the cave, I couldn't see a thing, but somehow, I knew it to be Chrysalis... but how? The book had said that changelings were ectothermic—cold-blooded—entities, much like arthopods and reptiles. No, they'd be caught if they were transformed and they didn't feel warm to the touch.

"You're awake," came Starlight's voice. Wait, Starlight? "I was afraid that I had drained you completely."

Oh... Chrysalis transformed into Starlight. Why though? She hates her guts! I couldn't suppress a groan as I tried and failed to sit up. "You were afraid?" I croaked. My voice sounded awful compared to how it had earlier. "What do you mean?"

Something touched my back and eased me into an upright position. Based on the green glow now coming from behind me, the same glow illuminating the face of Starlight in the darkness, and the fact that I could see a teeny bit better overall, Chrysalis must've decided to use some magic to hold me up. "Drink," she commanded, as something pressed against my lips. It felt like the lid of a disposable coffee cup, and after a moment, the warmth of hot, albeit very sweet, coffee seeped between my lips. "As loathe as I am to admit it, not even queens are incapable of losing control. I was starved and on the verge of going feral, and then you dangled such a delectable morsel in front of me."

I sat there, drinking the coffee as she held me up. "You were not easy prey," she said in a tone that sounded almost... angry. No, she wasn't angry with me, but rather herself. "At first, I thought you were but a normal foal, but your mental defences were far stronger than most adult ponies." A dark chuckle that really didn't suit Starlight's voice escaped her. "If I had been in my right mind, I'd have given up and sought easier prey than an outsider-in-ponies' clothing, but then I saw you with the pony who took everything from me, and all sense left me. Feeding on you and doctoring your mind became a net loss, and more and more my sanity left me."

I nodded slowly, and licked my lips as I finished the last of the coffee. "Instead, you ended up drawing attention to yourself by targeting me," I offered, a muted sense of sorrow settling in my mind. "I bet Ponyville was crawling with the royal guards when you went for the coffee."

She shook her head, and surprisingly, she smiled. Is she amused? "It's been that way since I took you, several days ago," she said with a dark giggle. That said, it was definitely less insane sounding than she'd been. "After my maddened attack on Twilight's castle, it was a given. My sole joy in it was that I was able to knock the smirk off her face by taking you right out from under her nose, and she couldn't do a thing about it."

Once she was certain I'd gotten everything from the cup, she laid me back down. Once the light was extinguished, she started muttering to herself. I could feel... despair washing over me, but I couldn't be sure why. If she was more sane, she should be less inclined to hurt me, right? She wasn't giving off that whole crazy starved animal vibe now. No... it's not my despair. How though...?

My eyes flicked down to where her head had been in the darkness. If I had to guess, she's probably weighing her options, I mused. If I were in her shoes, my best options would probably be to—in exchange for leniency—turn myself in, or use me as a hostage to guarantee her safety. Would she be willing to let me go after, though?

Then there was what she'd said in her maddened state. She wanted to hurt Starlight. The best way to hurt her in this situation would be to not return me, or worse, harm me... but she wouldn't, right? After reasoning with her earlier, it didn't seem like she would hurt me. But she's cornered now—she know's she's fucked—and desperation makes people do awful things.

Is there even a way for her to get out of this? Everything was so confusing right now. Why had she started wearing Starlight's face? What did she have planned? Nothing made sense. At least runes seemed to follow a theme and made sense when you approached them with the right mindset. Wait, runes...

My mind drifted back to the notebook in my cloak's pocket. There was a particular rune that I'd sought out on a whim that stood out in my memory, and though it didn't seem applicable at the moment, it struck an idea in me. I needed to get myself out of this mess, and maybe teach this Queen Bitch not to fuck with me and my family. I actually had an idea... but I'd need to play my cards right.

"You must still be hungry," I said, trying to keep my face still. She can probably sense my feelings, so keep calm... "I don't think you really have any way out unless you have more power, right?"

Even though she was right beside me, her voice—or rather, Starlight's—sounded so far away. "I'm not so ungrateful as to drain you dry, Anonymous," she warned, a hint of a growl in her voice. "For if I feed on you so soon after, you shall surely perish. Then I'm left with no bargaining chips, and at least one enraged alicorn who will not rest until I'm brought down."

I sat up on my own, strenuous though it was, and held my hoof to the medallion at my neck. "You don't have to feed on me, but I might have an idea that could get you out of this," I said, allowing myself a bit of a smirk as the cave lit up once more. "You know what this is, right?"

She seemed almost surprised that I was back up again and able to use magic so soon. For that matter, I'm surprised that I didn't feel more tired in doing so. "That is old magic you wield, child," she said evenly. "Runes were old even when I was a nymph. You can't possibly mean to tell me that you have received sufficient training as to use your magic to augment my own. What would you even get out of it?"

With a shrug, I turned and pulled my notebook out of the pocket of my robe. "It just so happens that ponies cutie-marks seem to cheat at times," I said with confidence. "Without my mark, I never would've been able to separate us on the road to the Everfree that. I used a spell then I'd never even seen before. I couldn't even intentionally replicate it right now."

When I turned back to face her, I was startled to find she'd wound up looming over me. She'd also reverted to her natural state, so at least she wasn't wearing Starlight's face anymore. "And you think you can use this... cheat to do what, exactly?" she asked, eyeing me with well-deserved suspicion. Huh, the jaundice is gone from her eyes. "Create a spell that can get me out of Ponyville unmolested? Or perhaps you wish to get the drop on me and escape?"

I looked at her blankly. "You had the power to kill me when you were starving; no way I'd be stupid enough to try that after feeding you," I scoffed, putting the book on the ground and flipping one-hoofed through the pages to my notes from the other day—was it really a week ago now? "Anything I tried involving elements would just get me killed and leave you pissed off. Earth magic? Cave collapses. Air magic? I risk blowing out my eardrums with air-pressure changes at a minimum. Water? Fuck knows, I don't wanna drown. Fire would just sap all the air from here and we'd probably die from carbon monoxide poisoning."

Jabbing my hoof down at the rune for love, I grinned. "What if I could conjure all the love you could need to escape?" I asked. "I've got all the basic building-blocks already on hand for the spell in here. I'd just need some time to inscribe it. As long as you let me go after, I don't mind."

It almost seemed as though a shiver ran down her carapace, and her eyes darted to where the boulder blocked the cave entrance. "You have thirty minutes," she said after a moment's consideration. "After that, what happens next is up to the ponies."

I nodded, trying my damnedest not to sneer. I got to work etching my spell structure into the dirt floor with the end of a broken pencil. First went the conjuration base. Where I would've written light, I instead wrote out the moon-glyphs I'd seen represent Queen Chrysalis in Biologia Mutabilis, followed by a compounding rune and the rune for love. After that, I etched out the positional details: one metre in front of me. I wanted to buy some time, so I started etching out the safety conditions from the transcribed light spell in my notebook, that way, if there was backlash, I probably wouldn't die.

Should I really do this, though? I wondered, looking over my work. If this doesn't do what I expect, I'll have empowered her, and then she might decide I'm too valuable to let go.

"I'm ready when you are, Your Majesty," I said, sitting up right to place my free hoof above the array. I'd never tried casting two separate arrays before, and ideally, I wouldn't do this sort of thing without supervision from Starlight or the boss. That said, I had no guarantee that Chrysalis wouldn't double-cross me. She'd managed to take me and hold me captive for six days before I'd awoken. What was to stop her from fucking me over? Only me fucking her over first. "Now, I have a vague idea of how this'll work, but I think if we both focus on the things we hold dearest in this world, even those things we've lost, it should work."

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion, but she nodded nonetheless. "Do it."

I extend my hoof-field out to caress the array. Almost immediately, a large portion of my reserve rushed out through my hoof, leaving me reeling. Still, the array glowed and held. A heart of pure magic appeared before me, flickering blue for a few moments before assuming a sickly green colour. Chrysalis visibly winced for a moment, but made no comment.

The moment her eyes locked on that heart, she started to salivate. She shuffled forward, as if in a trance. Once her horn began to glow, just as it had when she fed upon me, she leaned forward. A vibrant pink cloud started to seep from the heart floating between us, flying straight into her mouth.

At first, she looked as though she was in absolute bliss. The expression on her face was almost indecent, and I felt as though I were intruding on something private. I could even hear a low moan coming from her. I'm sure if I could see the back half of her, I'd have seen her tail flagging. Thankfully, there was a magic heart between us that she was feeding upon.

That look of bliss quickly devolved into a look of terror. She tried to pull away, but however her feeding process worked, she was no longer in control. All at once, the magic surged into her throat, the rest of the heart vanishing. Beneath my hoof, the runic array caught aflame. Yikes.

"What have you done?" she shrieked as her body began to levitate. Wisps of pink seeped from her mouth, wrapping her in a vibrant cocoon. "You didn't! You couldn't have!"

As the last of the magic finished encasing her, I grabbed my shit and hurled myself into the incomplete pod. I held my hooves over my head as the air began to whine with some sort of magical build-up. As an afterthought, I folded my ears shut and braced myself.

Krak-boom!

It was a good thing that the incomplete pod itself had been built against the wall of the cave. The resulting explosion would have otherwise sent the construct tumbling with me inside of it. Instead, I was free to look up as the ceiling of the cave as it blew out, raining dirt, bits of tree stump, and what looked to be a portion of a shed. The cave flooded with daylight once the debris cloud settled.

There was an uncomfortable ringing in my ears while I just lay there in the pod, staring up at the sky. It only took a short while for the shapes of three ponies to appear at the edge of the hole in the ceiling. The first to drop down was a familiar looking bat-pony in dark plate armour. She looked around for a moment, before calling up through the hole, "We're clear!"

Next down through the hole, was Princess Twilight, and shortly after, Starlight Glimmer levitated herself down. "Anon!" they cried as they spotted me peering over the edge of the pod at them. Immediately they rushed over, pulled me from the pod, and embraced me in a warm hug. I didn't feel the normal touch-apprehension right then, so I just sagged into their grips. "You're alright!"

The same could not be said for either of them. Twilight's eyes were red and sunken from lack of sleep, and her mane was a mess and slightly crispy. Starlight, on the other hand, looked as though someone had attempted to brain her with a frying pan—she had a gash above her eye that had been stitched and already healing. Both of them looked like they needed their coats brushed out and given a trim.

"I uh..." I rubbed the back of my neck with a hoof, grinning. "I can explain."

From beneath a pile of rubble along the opposite wall, there came a groan. "You had better, child!" The voice struck me as familiar, but it wasn't exactly the same unearthly two-tone voice I'd heard from Chrysalis previously. "For the first time in a millennium, I don't feel the ever-present hunger. What have you done to me?"

The rubble shifted, and Corporal Evening Script threw herself between us and the pile, just in time to witness something incredibly strange. Rather than the black chitin-covered changeling queen I expected, stood a white fuzzy creature that, at first, I almost mistook for Princess Celestia. The mane was all wrong, though. Rather than cerulean, it was a vivid cyan, fading away to gold near the tips. Where her jagged, crooked horn should have been, two fluffy-white antennae stood. Around her neck, a ruff of fluffy white-gold fur hung where a seam in her chitin once looped around to her elytra. Finally, where once there were two hole-ridden wings stood a pair of beautiful, glimmering moth-wings.

We all just stared in shock at Chrysalis, who in turn was staring at me with what seemed to be shock and anger. She'd once been an intimidating, almost terrifying figure. Now, the dread queen of the changelings was almost... adorable. Admittedly, the dirt from the rubble ruined the effect somewhat. My gambit... It actually worked!

Twilight looked from Chrysalis to me, and then back to the changeling. "Anon," she whispered in a manic voice that did not make me feel very comfortable. Is it just me, or she starting to smoke from the ears again? "What in the fuck did you do?"

I tittered nervously. I don't remember if I'd ever heard Twilight drop an F-bomb before, but it sent weird shivers down my spine. "Oh, you know," I flippantly said, waving a hoof. "Just a little 'redemption' and violation of Rule #8."

~ 19 ~

I don't know who was ultimately more surprised when Chrysalis didn't end up resisting being arrested. After my declaration, she just sorta shut down. As much as I'm sure Twilight wanted nothing more than excuse to squash the bug, she wasn't about to attack or kill a prisoner. In fact, after the initial rage outburst, she seemed almost in as much shock as the changeling. Instead, Chrysalis let herself be carted away to the Ponyville guard station until she could be extradited to Canterlot.

In the meantime, I was drug off to Ponyville General once more. I know that I was held hostage for a little over six days, but don't you think you all are fussing over me a bit too much? After all, I was kept in a magical slumber for most of it. I mean, I'm not complaining that Starlight and Twilight won't let me out of their sight—at least not yet—but it could get a bit annoying.

So here I was sitting in an exam room in the hospital, regaling Starlight, Twilight, and the unicorn doctor introduced to me as Doctor Horse with the story of my adventure. "See, when she revealed herself to me, I could see that she was starving and maybe more than a little sick," I explained as a vial of blood was being taken for testing. "Her chitin was dull and flaking off of her, and while that didn't mean much, the way her eyes were sunken and yellow told me she wasn't well. Heck, she was starving."

The doctor nodded, taping some gauze over where my blood had been drawn. "Jaundice in ponies would indicate liver damage," he confirmed. "I don't know enough about changeling biology, but I imagine the starvation was causing something similar."

I shrugged. "Regardless, she was kinda insane, and raving about how she was going to drain me until I was nothing but a husk and then send me back to you piece by piece. I know what it's like to starve, how much it screws with your head, so I figured—" I swallowed nervously, catching a look from Twilight. "—I may as well offer to feed her willingly." When everyone, the doctor included, shouted out in unison, I couldn't help but flinch. "I figured, as old and wily as she may be, she might be more... amenable and willing to see reason." The hungry look on the queen's face was still fresh in my mind, and I couldn't help but shiver. "It was stupid, I know. Still, after I woke up again, she was a lot more lucid. She even went out while I was unc—er, recovering, and got me a coffee while wearing Starlight's face."

They all just stared at me. It was another of those moments of stunned silence that shouldn't mean 'please continue', but I knew that I must. "I remembered what you said about Thorax and how he transformed, Starlight, and I got this really really stupid gambit in my head," I explained. "I offered her all the love she could need to make her escape in exchange for my freedom." Twilight glared at me, but I ignored it. "When she took the offer, I hacked together this stupid 'Conjure Love' spell that definitely shouldn't have worked... only it wasn't just 'Conjure Love'; it was 'Conjure Queen Chrysalis' Love'."

The doctor, was seemingly done with me, so he moved off to start working some paperwork, while I continued to tell them about my bullshit ploy. "It took an award winning bluff, but she took the bait. Hook, line, and sinker," I said with a laugh. "Don't think she ever thought I'd be stupid enough to try and fuck her over. My only complaint about the plan was that when she was feeding on her own love for everything she held dear and lost, she was moaning like a total whore."

God, I wish they'd been drinking water while I was telling them that part, because that totally would've earned a spit-take. Still, the embarrassed looks on their faces was hilarious. "That, uh," Starlight stammered, clearing her throat. "That sounds like it would've used up a lot of magic. You're sure you feel alright?"

I could only grin as I thumped a hoof against my chest. "Like a million bits."

~ 19 ~

The ensuing 'Welcome-home-and-I'm-glad-you're-not-bug-food!' party from Pinkie Pie the moment we entered the foyer was a bit unexpected, and a bit unwanted, but I tolerated it. Sure, I wanted nothing more than to take a bath and have a nap—even if I'd spent nearly a week in a magical slumber, I was starting to feel a bit knackered from that spell—but I understood the why of sticking about. It wasn't even just the fact that Pinkie's parties were apparently inevitable.

See, it wasn't just the self-titled Cutie Mark Crusaders, Twilight's friend group, and the guards that'd been invited by the pink party-mare. Everyone from the class was present, despite the fact I'd only been with them the one day. The two fillies that read together off the one novel while I'd caught up with the class—I think they were called Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon—were accompanied by an older pink mare. Twilight later told me she was Diamond's mom, Spoiled ~~Bitch~~Rich, and based on the fact that she wore an expression as though she had stepped in something foul, she probably wasn't a good person. The twins Ebony and Ivory Crescent were there with their parents. Hell, it was apparently late enough in the afternoon that even Ms. Cheerilee was free. Even some of the ponies I'd interacted with at the shops and market were there.

It was a bit overwhelming, and I didn't want to be under any more scrutiny than I likely already was after being kidnapped by a changeling. It was for that reason that, while Twilight and Starlight were in earshot, I'd told an altered account of the day's events. Rather than me stupidly feeding Chrysalis and then attempting to trick her with an untested spell and no back-up plan, I played Starlight and Twilight up to be the big damn heroes. It was more believable that two of the most powerful Equestrian magi of their time had pacified Queen Chrysalis than it was that an earth pony filly with only very basic runic magic training had done so. Not like anyone other than Twilight, Starlight, and that guard pony would ever believe me.

That wasn't the only reason I minimised my role in events, however. I could... I dunno, feel? Yeah, that's an apt descriptor. I could feel some animosity or something between Cheerilee and Spoiled Rich, and given the looks the latter kept shooting me, I got the impression she didn't like me. The only thing I could think of that I had even done to piss her off was kicking Ebony and Ivory's asses that day. Maybe she was on the school board and was responsible for the policy that insisted I be punished? Wouldn't surprise me if she saw me as a threat to Diamond. If that was the case, coming off as someone dangerous enough to take on a changeling queen and come out on top would only make her want to keep me away from 'normal' foals like her daughter even more.

There was plenty of food and games present as well, although not really anything that interested me. 'Pin the Tail on the Pony' wasn't really my style, and the piñata didn't last very long. Apparently you're not supposed to take a swing at it like you're playing baseball. Still, despite the two-legged stance, I could somehow feel that the foals all loved the way candy ended up spraying all over the lobby. I think a piece of wrapped hard candy even hit Mrs. Rich in the back of her head, much to her consternation. Everything that I felt seemed to be an amalgamation of what the others around me felt, rather than simply my own muted feelings, and it only served to make everything harder to enjoy.

Alas, all parties must come to an end, and after a nice hot bath, I was free to retreat to my bedroom. Ideally, I would have gone to have supper before a rest, but after all the pigging out and being surrounded by friends and well-wishers, my emotional stamina was drained. It was probably the lingering effect of being fed upon by Chrysalis. All I wanted to do was cuddle my possum pal in my pillow pile, so that was exactly what I did.

~ 19 ~

The next day—that it was Saturday, the fifty-sixth of September, already felt surreal—I went with Twilight to the guard station. She tried to dissuade me from coming, but I needed to see Chrysalis before she was transported to Canterlot. My own feelings still felt rather muted, but that desire to see her still outweighed the fear that she might want me dead for what I did. I did rob her of the choice to move onto this new life stage of being a changeling, after all.

Lieutenant Moondust, having recently been promoted, was on duty when we arrived. Almost as soon as we were in the door, she started giving a status report from a desk well behind the front counter. "Chrysalis's status is unchanged, Your Highness," she explained as she got up. Her horn glowed slightly, and a wooden partition gate separating the civilian and guard spaces swung open. "After some quiet muttering when she was brought in, she's been entirely unresponsive."

Twilight arched an eyebrow as we followed the guard into a hallway off to one side. "There have been no attempts to escape at all?" she questioned with a shake of her head. "That doesn't sound like her."

The unicorn guard led us past several barred cells that, aside from one passed out stallion who reeked of alcohol and urine, were empty. There, opposite of where we'd entered, was a heavy metal door. Above it was a metal plate with Magic Containment. "No ma'am," Moondust agreed. "At last check-in, she was just staring at the ceiling of her cell."

Huh, did I break her? Nah, it's probably some sort of ruse. I couldn't hide the slight smirk spreading across my face. "She's probably thinking she can lull you into a false sense of security and get you when your guard's down," I suggested. The guard lieutenant winced, as if she'd only just noticed my presence. "Either that, or she's overwhelmed by conflicting emotions after being subjected to the same sort of transformation as the rest of her kin." She only shot Twilight a wary glance in response.

Upon reaching the heavy iron door, Lieutenant Moondust paused. "Ma'am, are you sure you want her here?" She sounded like she desperately wanted Twilight to say no, and to send me off to wait in the lobby. "This goes against all protocols and regulations."

Without even looking me, Twilight let out a sigh. "I know, lieutenant," she agreed, "and the part of me that wants to protect her as though she were my own daughter insists I should never have brought her here." My ear twitched at that. Her own... "That said, Anon made a compelling argument for being permitted to see Chrysalis in private before her transfer. She is restrained, correct?"

A disapproving, defeated look crossed the guard's face as she conjured up a key and slid it into the lock. "You have five minutes, Anon," she warned, sliding the massive door open. "If there is trouble, kick the door. Please don't make me regret this."

I nodded and stepped into the containment cell, my eyes on the floor. No sooner than I was through than I felt the door slide shut behind me, narrowly clipping my tail. This is such a stupid idea, and I don't know how I actually got her to agree to this. Maybe she actually agreed that I needed closure?

Steeling myself with a deep breath in through my nose, I looked up to the changeling queen—or was that former queen now? Chained to the far wall, she looked as though she hadn't even been hosed down on intake, as she still appeared to be covered in dust and grime. That said, her eyes were red-rimmed, and it appeared as though there were tracks running down her cheeks where tears had once flowed.

Upon hearing my breath, her eyes snapped down to lock gazes with me. A plethora of emotions radiated off of her, even as she did her best to reign in her facial expression. Rage, confusion, grief, and sorrow were chief among the most prominent, but none I felt more clearly than the unfettered hate she felt for me. It was like a physical slap that caused me to recoil slightly... a reaction that she seemed to take note of, as well.

"I should have bled you dry and followed through with my threat," she hissed, leaning forward until the chains restraining her went taught, and the shackles began to cut into the surprisingly fluffy looking coat adorning her new body. "You suggested before that I never would have harmed a child, and maybe you were right." With an angry sneer, she spat at me, covering my face clear spittle. "But you are no child. You are a monster."

I shrugged, leaning myself against the door. "Probably," I answered, and a look of shock wiped the sneer from her visage. "Are we all not but the results of our environments and circumstances?" Shaking my head, I gave her a soft smile before slowly wiping her saliva from my face. "You know, it's funny. I still haven't really forgiven the Sun Horse and Harmony for robbing me of my natural form—even in the name of saving me."

I clicked my tongue in disappointment. "Goes to show, I'm no better." I broke eye contact with her, returning my gaze to the floor. "I had a good idea of what I was doing to you, and whether it was to save myself or to save you... It makes no difference. Even trying to rationalise it, I'm still a massive hypocrite."

The transfigured queen was staring at me. I didn't even need to look at her to tell; I could just feel it, y'know? "So what?" she demanded. "You've come seeking forgiveness?" She snarled, turning away from me. "You can save your breath, because as long as I still draw breath, you will never get the satisfaction."

I nodded, looking up. "I don't expect you to," I agreed, reaching my hoof up to knock at the door three times. As the door slid open, I stood and turned my back to Chrysalis. "You can hate me for this all you want. Just, after you've faced your punishment, maybe you should try to reconnect with your people. See all that they've become and accomplished without famine and the hate of every other species hanging over their heads."

I gave Twilight a nod as I stepped out. "Changelings are good at change, and ponies seem big on redemption." I turned to regard the bug horse one last time. Her head was turned slightly, and I could see her watching me from the corner of her eye. "Despite all you've done, I don't think you're past redemption. Show the world you're more than just a hunger fae and that you're worth redeeming. I believe in you."

~ 19 ~

I was kinda surprised that Twilight didn't end up wanting to have a discussion with the queen. She seemed fully content to leave with me, sticking close by my side as we left. Rather than heading back to the castle—back home—we headed to Sugarcube Corner. Once there, I secured us a booth, while she ordered some beverages and treats.

She looked like she had something on her mind during the trip. I think we both did. She was probably a bit perturbed to hear that I thought my pony transformation was something that Celestia should need forgiveness for. Or maybe it was the fact that I'd encouraged Chrysalis to seek redemption?

On my side of things, Twilight had said part of her wants to protect me like I'm her own daughter. I'd definitely begun to think of her as family, but Mom she would never be... Still, in that moment, I'd decided I was ready to let her in. I had to ask one thing of her first.

"Do you think what I did to her was wrong... evil, even?" I asked when she returned with a black coffee, a cappuccino and a tray of cupcakes? She set the cappuccino before me, and I barely waited for her to set down two of the cupcakes in front of me before seizing the cup to take a drink. "Was it wrong of me to steal from her the freedom to choose her own fate?"

Her ears flattened, and I found her looking out the window towards Canterlot. She'd heard me talking to Chrysalis, and she knew exactly who the Sun Horse referred to. "I don't believe there is a black-and-white answer to that question, Anon," she whispered. "I don't think what you did was good, but to condemn would be tantamount to calling my mentor, and Harmony itself, evil."

I understood what she meant. After all, Celestia had been like a second mother to her, and just as I had forced change upon Chrysalis, she had forced a change upon me. "Some of the most important, world-changing choices, are morally grey, unable to wholly be categorised as good or evil," I agreed. "If I hadn't been here as a convenient target for Chrysalis, who knows what might've happened? For all we know, she might've eventually teamed up with a rogues-gallery of villains from your past and tried to destroy the world once and for all. Now, she might eventually become an ally like that Spirit of Chaos that everyone keeps mentioning."

Her eyes got really wide for a moment, and she looked around nervously. Wait, no, that was fear. Oh, is that a sort of 'Speak of the Devil and he shall appear,' sort of deals? We'll probably meet eventually if he hangs out here in Ponyville. I think I might even have seen him once. When it became clear that nothing was going to happen, she settled down and began to sip at her coffee. Still, she was regarding me with an inscrutable expression.

Removing the liner from the bottom of a cupcake, I quickly stuffed it into my mouth before washing it down with some cappuccino. "I suppose what I'm trying to get at is... did you mean what you said to Lieutenant Moondust?" I probed, reaching my hoof out. "Are there really times where you think of me like a daughter?"

The mare almost choked on her beverage, and I think she was making a visible effort to not shower me with coffee. "I..." she stammered. Slowly, she placed her own hoof over top of my own. "Well... There are a lot of qualities in you that I saw in myself when I was your age. You're diligent, intelligent, and you've a seemingly insatiable curiosity—not just about magic, but the world. You're clever, and very sociable when you want to be. I see those traits in you, it it makes me want to nurture your growth, so that you can become your best self... I—"

"You don't need to explain yourself," I interjected. It was kinda funny seeing her ramble and getting flustered, but that wasn't the point of the question. "Feelings are just weird like that." I smiled at her and just shook my head. "As weird as it sounds, you, Starlight, and even Spike... You guys are the closest thing I've had to family in a long time."

Twilight looked taken aback by that statement. There's no doubt in my mind that she knew on some level that I'd basically adopted Starlight as a big-sister figure. That said, I'd always tried to keep myself distant from her, calling her boss and the such, and yet she was still there for me in my biggest moments of weakness. When I broke down after the first time Chrysalis had snatched me, she'd been there, comforting me just like my mother would. She was showing me unconditional love, in spite of how I behaved and how much trouble I brought her.

"I'm still not entirely happy being a pony, and I'm not sure I'll ever come to grips with the fact that I'll never see my sisters again," I murmured. Placing my other forehoof atop hers, sandwiching it between them, I met her gaze. "I'm ready to accept that I don't have to be alone, though. I might not be ready to call you Mom—I might never be—but I gotta admit... Auntie Twilight has a nice ring to it."

Author's Note

So we come to the end of the ~~鬼隠し/Onikakushi~~Changeling Arc. I'm sure a lot of you aren't entirely satisfied with the way this arc was resolved, but this was my end-goal from the moment I conceived this arc. The chapter itself was actually started in part shortly after Entry 14.

I'd always planned on having Anon confronting Chrysalis, although there'd been a few different outcomes. In one iteration, Anon wilfully fed Chrysalis every last bit of her love, triggering the transformation in the queen, while simultaneously causing her own transformation into a juvenile queen. Another iteration had Anon transforming, or being transformed by Chrysalis, into a juvenile queen and escaping, trying desperately to prove that she really is Anon.

Both of those didn't sit well with me, because anon becoming a buggo so soon after being turned into a pony would've been convoluted. Plus, it would've taken away from her schtick of being an earth pony able to use the old magic. After all, buggos can cast their own sorts of magic.

One thing that probably flew under the radar given the limited exposure of it was the enchanted opossum plush. Although the little stuffie did indeed have a calming enchantment, it was not its sole purpose. I'm sure it's not hard to guess its actual purpose from contextual clues during the previous encounter with Chrysalis, but its use was intended to be more prolonged. That said, it occurred to me during the last chapter that the arc was starting to drag on, and between Anon having guards and being tracked through her gift, it would've become increasingly hard for Chrysalis to make her move. Thus, we have the short time-skip via magical sleep and an off-screen kidnapping.

That said, I wanted anon to walk out of this arc with something to show for herself. Since anon prided herself on her ability to read others while gambling, and already being somewhat empathetic of a person, an augmented degree of passive empathy seemed like a good trade-off for having her own emotions feasted upon so much. My explanation is because magic, and because she'd wilfully opened herself up to the bug queen.

There'll be a short hiatus after this chapter—no more than a few weeks at most, and then I'll be back to writing the next chapter. That said, keep an eye out for my blogs, as I'll be looking for some reader input on a few things for the Anon-a-Miss arc. Also expect a 'short'. time-skip. We're at Saturday, 56th of September, so we'll be starting up again, say, Monday, 14th of October.