The Everfree Stone

Chapters

1 Author's Note

Before you start reading, you should know this is all first draft, ~~I don't have a beta reader, I don't have an editor,~~ I don't have chapters planned in advance, and I'm making this up as I go and I'm not sure when I'll lose steam with this idea. I have a vague plan of story beats but my main goal is mostly just to finish an actual story. If it's got grammatical errors or misspellings, please tell me and I'll do my best to fix those. And any feedback on what I should do would be appreciated, thank you. UPDATE: updated chapter after feedback on many issues from a friend

1

Twilight was delicious. A princess bottling up love and suppressing it to get through work was like aged wine. She was closed off on many fronts. Even Chrysalis, pulling with all her might, wouldn't be able to drain it easily. She could only eat a sliver. She anticipated Chrysalis might try and feed from her, and had cast protection spells before Chrysalis could eat too much. She promised Chrysalis plenty of food, just not from her.

That is, if she stayed. She could do that. After all, she had stayed at the bottom of a mossy lake for over thirty years. She had also laid in wait for five while waiting for a dragon to fall asleep. She would not be motionless and ready. She would be allowed some freedom – the length of Twilight's leash remained to be tested. She would remain focused, primed for any opportunity to slip through the cracks of Twilight's defenses. She may have been set free from her stone prison but Twilight would have been right to keep her there. Chrysalis was a proud queen, strong, immortal, and she could never forget the injustice that had been done to her.

“Now presenting the Princess! Twilight Sparkle,” a stallion said as Twilight walked ahead of her.

“Thank you, Fingerprint Shield,” Twilight said to the stallion. He was likely the head of guard, his golden armor boasting more purple than the others she had seen. His grey coat resembled a shade of stone Chrysalis thought was fitting of a guard.

Twilight approached the top of the stairs above the room full of creatures that all turned their heads to look at her. To Chrysalis' surprise, the crowd was filled not only with ponies, but yaks, zebras, hippogriffs, hippos, kelpies, minotaurs, and other races Chrysalis hadn't seen for centuries even before she was imprisoned. She was only taken aback for a moment but it was long enough for Twilight to notice as she turned and beckoned for Chrysalis to walk forward with her.

Twilight laughed to herself at Chrysalis' reaction before clearing her throat. She allowed Chrysalis to stand beside her, just far enough back that she still stood in the foreground before saying, “Happy Hearths Warming everyone!” The crowded room erupted in cheers, seeming to pay no mind to the dark and rough figure that stood next to the princess.

Chrysalis followed Twilight as she started to step down the steps and into the party below. Twilight was quickly stopped when a small pink pony rushed forward to try and greet the princess, and was halted by a grey and gold blur that stopped between the princess and the little pony. Twilight looked back to Chrysalis and gave her a small smile.

The Changeling Queen took this as a signal and came closer, opening her mouth and licking the air. It was full of love, so much, she would have liked to drink it all up and feel her power surge. She was smarter than her instincts, and as she arrived at Twilight's side and felt the love falling from the small filly that approached Twilight, she began to feed.

She was careful not to feed too quickly or too much from just this one pony, hoping to avoid any inconveniences that might occur. While she was Queen, and powerful in her own right, she was drained, hungry, and her body would not be ready to defend herself even against a crowd of lowly magic-less beings.

Twilight's promise of food came quicker than Chrysalis thought it would. She had expected isolation at first, at least until she was trusted, and perhaps heavily monitored feeding to assure she hadn't harmed any of her precious subjects. Twilight had no such hang ups and allowed her to feed freely. It was unexpected, but welcome.

The small pony finished her business with talking to Twilight and the guard eased up, and let Twilight continue forward.

“Quite a bit has changed in Equestria since you last saw it,” Twilight said. “For one, it has become a melting pot of sorts. When you were imprisoned the foundation for what it would become was being built with my friendship school.”

“I remember such a building,” Chrysalis said. “It housed some pupas of my former subjects. There was a strong breed that was whisked away thanks to your teachings.”

“And changelings have, for lack of a better word, changed quite significantly over the years,” Twilight said.

Twilight guided Chrysalis through the festive crowds, stopping briefly to exchange greetings or hugs with the citizens brave enough to stand in front of the princess.

“For instance,” Twilight said, “they are no longer called changelings.”

“Nonsense.” Chrysalis said. “Changelings are proud. Even if my hive defected they would still revere their nature.”

Twilight continued, “It was because of their highly adaptive biology. Changelings were changelings for their entire history, with very little deviation. Once a change occurred in just one generation, it wasn't a slow evolution like other races. Hello Mango Bourgeois, it's lovely to see you. It was more comparable to a snowball rolling down a hill. I believe a visual example might help you understand better.”

“I have been trying to call them,” Chrysalis admitted as she walked through the crowded room. “I cannot feel any here.”

“Don't sound so down about it. If this proves too much I can allow us to slip away and you can rest.” Twilight said.

Chrysalis licked her chitinous lips, feeling the almost liquid love in the air slip through and fill her if only a little bit. “I can continue. I already knew that I would need to start over completely after my hive left me all those years ago. My hope that they would return to serve me again was my link to them, they could not separate themselves from me.”

“You weren't wrong to put your faith in them,” Twilight said. “You may have been after my head, which I have already forgiven you for, but I understand.”

“It was foolish,” Chrysalis said. “I wasted too long hoping traitors would come back to me, and I wasn't worried that they might do the same thing again.”

“The reason you cannot feel any changelings is because there are no more changelings. They have evolved the ability to hide themselves, not simply through disguise but through magical pheromones.” Twilight held a hoof up to stifle a chuckle. “I had a blast researching the development and evolution. It's such a major area of study that is so difficult to study because it's usually unable to be observed because of how slow it is but the Cuckoo's have lead to groundbreaking– ”

“Cuckoo's?” Chrysalis asked.

“Oh, yes, I suppose I should show you one. They are not rare, and you have walked past many of them that have not been wearing disguises.” Chrysalis looked back around the room trying to distinguish any race that she hadn't recognized. “You wont see them like that, they are quite good at hiding even when not intentionally doing it. It comes quite naturally. Here.”

Twilight came closer to Chrysalis and pressed her horn between Chrysalis' eyes, an act that was noticed by quite a few onlookers which worried Chrysalis. Attention was nice if it was her subjects but she was a stranger here.

With a flash of her horn Twilight sent a tingling magic through Chrysalis' eyes that sent shivers through her skull.

Twilight brought her head back with a satisfied smile. “Now I can properly introduce you.”

Looking around now Chrysalis' could see many more creatures in the room. White, scale-like fur, golden ears, and long black antennae trailing from behind their eyes down the length of their body. One, flying around, revealed that they were not a similar body shape to ponies, only appearing so when on the ground. Their scaled fur from the neck down becoming wings to reveal a black thin stick figure form underneath.

“These are Cuckoo's,” Twilight began. “They still have the ability of transformation that you and your original hive possessed, but they are much less proficient in it. They are capable of mimicking creatures of similar size, however they can only create illusions of much smaller or larger creatures. When the first of–”

Chrysalis paid Twilight no mind. No doubt that Princess had documents about this to fill a room and then some. Instead, she decided to walk up to one talking to a yak.

Chrysalis had no patience for books at the moment, and she could hear Twilight trailing behind her, continuing her speech.

The Cuckoo had purple eyes, that seemed to be the only defining features of these things Chrysalis found herself looking at. She was aware she couldn't feel them the same way she used to, but she had heard Twilight mention pheromones early on in her educational ramblings. To Twilight, they were likely just that, pheromones, smells, markers. To Chrysalis, and her old hive, it was a network where thoughts and orders were able to be transmitted instantly across short distances, and long distances if given the time. She doubted Twilight could ever understand something as complex as that even if she studied them nonstop.

She stooped behind the yak the Cuckoo was talking to and tasted the air again, a fill of love entered and begged Chrysalis to take a bite, to devour all the love in the room, but she didn't. It was difficult, but she managed to weave a thread through the love that clogged her path and send a message through the air to the Cuckoo. Just something simple, a greeting.

The message reached it's target, not being interpreted as a sound, thought, or even perceived words such as the “hello” Chrysalis had sent. It went through the senses and the Cuckoo jolted upright, eyes wide and looking around.

“Something wrong?” the yak asked.

“Uh, no, nothings wrong. I just thought I heard something.”

“Cuckoo say silly things, it's very noisy, Yak hear so much Yak cannot hear.”

“I know what you mean.” the Cuckoo said.

Chrysalis sent the message through again, louder, and with an introduction attached, a statement of rank.

This time the Cuckoo shot straight up into the air in fear, causing the other Cuckoos in the room to do the same. Chrysalis hadn't expected that kind of reaction. She could taste the fear the Cuckoo now surrounded itself in. It was becoming difficult to focus on the Cuckoo at all now.

She focused harder on sending a message through and heard a loud “EEP” before seeing the changelings that were flying disappear from her sight entirely. A slam of something solid went through the sense that linked her and the Cuckoo, and she fell asleep.

Chrysalis could feel her mind smothered by something heavy, it was similar to the connection she would have to her hive, only this was suppressing her and keeping her out. She knew what had happened, she had been deemed a threat by this new species.

2 Author's Note

Clarification(?) I suppose, the Cuckoo are essentially moth ponies at a glance, and while flying they look like stick bugs because their coat below the neck is all wing. For a reference of this if you would like one, look up "Unraveler DragonFable" and that in pony form is essentially what I was aiming for. Also I'm probably going to fuck about while I'm trying to figure out how to actually get to the story I want, so forgive me and bear with me please. Any feedback and corrections are appreciated and encouraged. UPDATE: updated chapter after feedback on many issues from a friend

2

Chrysalis would only be out for a short while. Twilight knew she could rest for a very long time in sleep compared to dragons, but this wasn't sleeping. Chrysalis was strong. With a room full of love begging to be eaten she would be awake in no time. Twilight couldn't feel the things Chrysalis felt. She had no doubt that Chrysalis was using her incredible self restraint to not devour everything she could. It was either that, or Chrysalis was worried she would be incapable of doing so.

Twilight stood over Chrysalis and kept anyone from getting too close. There was a panic she needed to take care of and she couldn't deal with the questions about her strange guest. No creature had mentioned it to her so far but she could tell many of them had watched Chrysalis with suspicion. No doubt rumors were already in the works about the black and scaly creature no one could recognize that seemed to be buddy-buddy with the Princess.

“There is no need to panic!” Twilight said in her Royal Canterlot Voice. The chatter and panic of the room fell into hushed whispers as they all turned their attention to the princess. “Cuckoos, you are in no danger. It was an accident, there is no need to be alarmed.” One by one, the black and white insects started to reappear in the air and descended. Twilight had been worried about using her Royal Canterlot voice for that message, afraid the crowd would focus on the tone rather than her words.

Twilight said, “I apologize to everyone here for the disturbance. please, help yourself to the refreshments.” A new table of food and drinks rolled out.

In a matter of seconds the room was filled with questions about what had happened. Thankfully, none were directed at her in particular and instead focused on the Cuckoos themselves.

Twilight looked down to see that Chrysalis was already stirring, her mouth making slow chewing motions. No doubt Chrysalis was regaining strength. Chrysalis was a sleep eater, she would have to remember that.

Using her magic, she lifted Chrysalis onto her feet and dragged her back towards the entrance they arrived from making the excuse to her guard that she should be excused to handle the situation. It was a very short lived time in the party; she had walked in, and walked out. She had shown up at least.

A short time after leaving the room full of creatures Chrysalis woke up. She noted the change in scenery, jolted out of Twilight's magic, and latched onto the nearby wall. The hall wasn't long, and they had only just turned a corner from a hall that lead to the party. Chrysalis could feel the distance, and she yearned to return, and fill her stomach. She would have settled with slowly feeding herself through the night, but had she known she would have been removed prematurely she wouldn't have held back, consequences be damned.

“What did you do to me!” Chrysalis demanded. “Some trick? To keep me in place no doubt.”

“You're one of a kind now.”

“What?”

“It's what I was trying to explain to you,” Twilight said. “There are no more changelings, you're the only one left.”

“I can always make more. Those things are mockeries, imitations! I am the Queen of the Changelings, and I will not rule over those failures,” Chrysalis shouted. “They are not changelings!”

“Would you come down here?” Twilight asked with a sigh. “I know you're going through something but I cannot take you seriously when you're just latched to the wall.” Chrysalis glared. “Okay, you're throwing a tantrum. Come on Twilight, you babysat Flurry Heart for a whole year when she was a filly, you got this.” she said to herself.

“Okay, let's start with the upside, you aren't completely alone.”

“How do you mean?” Chrysalis hissed.

“Technically, you aren't alone. Because of the deal we made, you're with me and will never be alone again. And vice versa.”

“And that is meant to comfort me?” Chrysalis laughed.

“Knowing you, I didn't think so,” Twilight admitted. “It's not just us. There are dragons that remember you, and other immortals, such as Cadence, who I'm sure you remember as well.” Twilight continued. “And there is yourself as well. A version of you exists in another world. I have seen her. Time works strangely in the other world. You see, here I've been alive for centuries, while there I appear only to be in my fifties. Many of my friends that are now long dead here are also still alive over there. So while the you of that world will not nearly have your experience or age, she's still a counterpart.”

“You ramble, did you know that?” Chrysalis asked. “And all I am hearing is pure waffle, these are not changelings, and I do not care for them. Especially your, 'princess of love.'”

“The point is that there are people who know who you are. Unlike in there,” Twilight said, gesturing to the party, where all Chrysalis could see was a banquet of love ready for the pickings. “I can tell you're still hungry. We can stand outside the room until you've had you've had enough.” Twilight turned to walk.

With hesitation, Chrysalis hovered herself down to walk behind Twilight. the promise of food trumping whatever fight she had over the details of her species. They were not what upset her. It was that the moment when she tried and failed to communicate, a barrier was put up, a strong one she could get around in time. For now, she could feel no one, and the small buzz of thoughts around her were gone. She felt only silence around her.

Twilight continued to speak about the nature of Cuckoos, and of the relations of other immortals. Chrysalis didn't bother to interrupt her; it would only prolong the explanation process. Eventually Twilight talked about the Minotaurs and their obsession with cheesecake. Twilight was trying to be humorous, and failed.

The party ended with very little interruption. Only a guard or two came by to make sure everything was all right. Chrysalis ate nonstop for hours, eating more than she thought she could, but still feeling empty. Also that wall still closed her off.

“I didn't prepare a guest room for you,” Twilight said as she guided Chrysalis through the castle. The halls long and tall were meant to show Chrysalis good favor. Chrysalis knew how things worked and wouldn't be fooled by such acts. She walked past many mosaics that told stories of what Twilight had accomplished. “You'll have to do with the guest room as is. A room will be made for you if you wish. You will be allowed to request any personal touches you would like.”

Twilight continued, her formalities falling on deaf ears. Sure, Twilight thought she was being kind, but Chrysalis could only resent her kindness. Her friendship was the reason she failed. She was at the center of all her failures. Now, although she was free, she was free on a leash. She was meant to serve a purpose different than the one she knew she should serve. Now she was here to keep Twilight company, to prevent her from being lonely. She was a pet with a job.

“I still do not understand,” Chrysalis said, interrupting Twilight. “Not only do you have an affinity for me, but you chose me out of quite a few others who you would find more pleasant company with. The Princess of Love likely wouldn't turn you away. Unless being a concubine makes you feel insulted.”

“I understand your confusion,” Twilight said. “Truth be told, it is quite convoluted if you have not experienced it yourself – and you haven't. You prevented yourself from understanding anything about Friendship.”

“Because it is what took everything from me,” Chrysalis spat.

“But I decided that I respect the others too much, not out of reverence, but out of the fact that I like them.”

“Pardon?”

“I do enjoy their company a great deal, but when we are around each other we tip toe around the stones in our path. We avoid any conflict and any upsetting news that isn't necessary. We please the other and everything is peaceful,” Twilight sighed. “It's maddening.”

“I'm afraid I cannot relate,” Chrysalis said, holding her head higher and donning a smug smirk. “An endless supply of affection to feast upon sounds wonderful and like bliss.”

“I'm sure it does.” Twilight laughed. “But the issue that I have is that I cannot feast on the love they share for me. It becomes boring. And you have already proven frustrating tonight,” Twilight said with a smile.

Twilight recalled briefly the moment of temper she felt creeping up as Chrysalis yelled at her from the wall. She hadn't felt like that in a long time, at least not in a way that hurt her. The most recent was her fight with Spike, but that wasn't just frustration. It was laced with love and hurt. this was simple, and it had been too long since she had had simplicity.

Chrysalis was a villain, and Twilight knew that she would love the word for herself, another simplicity. Chrysalis didn't like her. That alone made her different from most of her citizens, from everyone she met usually. She had seen her kingdom flourish under her rule, a well oiled machine with hardly any slow downs. She had seen the machine work properly for centuries. Chrysalis was a machine designed to break.

“Your silence is worrying,” Chrysalis said.

“Oh, my apologies. I think we actually passed the guest room. They don't get used very often but the staff keeps every room clean.”

“I would expect nothing less than perfect for royalty.”

“You may keep your title,” Twilight said. “I will not take that away from you. This is your room. Have a pleasant evening. I still have a bit of paperwork to do before I can turn in myself. The guild of messengers will be expecting an owl in the morning. Oh, I suppose that's a confusing thing to say isn't it? Ignore me, I'm off.”

Chrysalis watched as Twilight closed the door behind her. The door was large with intricate rooting patters of gold on purple. The bed was large with a canopy, a red pillow larger than herself next to the bed, a vanity, again large, and a closet. There wasn't much to the room. Personalizing wasn't necessary, she thought, when it would only be used briefly.

Chrysalis walked to the wall closest to the door and flew up into the corner where it was cold and dark, her exoskeleton latching her in place. She needed to plan, to prepare for an attack, but she was filled with love and had been awake for centuries, and she needed sleep. She would plot her plan for domination in the morning, or whenever she woke up.

Chrysalis had closed her eyes and had begun drifting when she felt a breeze hit her. She kept her eyes closed but stayed awake. There were no windows in this room. At risk of looking insane only to herself she said softly, “There seems to be a draft.” She said as if she were talking to someone. And after a moment, the breeze left, and she opened her eyes.

There was one of those black stick bug moth ponies flying now a few yards away.

“Uh, hi. I promise I'm not trying to be a creep,” It said. “But, I wanted to apologize–” There it was, that damn infectious friendly need to apologize. It made Chrysalis want to hurl.

3 Author's Note

This Chapter took a while to get out not only because I have a full time job and also do work over the weekends on top of moving, but because a friend of mine has agreed to help by leaving me notes on the chapters before I publish. If you go back to the first two you'll see they've been edited a bit to be cleaner and use proper typed English. I hope that while they'll be slow coming that you'll still enjoy reading these. And please do comment your thoughts, especially if you notice a mistake that my friend didn't. I will be happy to fix any mistakes you find.

3

“I would rather see you broken beneath my hooves before I hear you apologize,” Chrysalis said, eliciting a gasp from the “Cuckoo” before her. “Are you the one that I tried to communicate with earlier?” she asked.

“Um, I think so?” the 'Cuckoo' said. “It felt very strange. I wasn't sure it was real.”

“Do you not communicate that way? Has it been taught out of you?” Chrysalis asked, disgusted.

“Eep! Look, I just wanted to apologize about how-”

“I couldn't give a damn about what you want or your apology and I'd like you to leave. I need to rest. I'm sure if you really want an apology, that purple alicorn on the throne would be happy to accept it in my place. I'm under her care after all.” Chrysalis said with a grumble.

The Cuckoo looked her over for a bit, getting too close for Chrysalis' comfort.

“I'm sure that you aren't welcome here,” Chrysalis said. “One word from me and I can have you meet face to face with your monarch.”

“Okay, I'll leave,” said the Cuckoo, flying down to the ground. “It's just, you're so strange! Oh wait that's rude, I'm sor- I mean, You're sleeping in the corner of the ceiling, and you don't look like any creature I know.”

“I am Queen Chrysalis.” she said mustering as much authority as she could without moving. She was nestled into the wall now, stuck there, her neck rotated around. And while she could maintain that position for a very long time, it was uncomfortable to speak with her neck in such a position. “Ruler of the changelings, and future ruler of Equestria!”

The Cuckoo made a snort of acknowledgment and said, “Yeah sure, and I'm the terrible Jabwachital of the Kurshin clan,” before leaving.

Chrysalis knew that the creature didn't believe her and spouted what it believed to be equally as crazy nonsense back. Was that really what she had become now? She had to start over all over again? She couldn't recall in precise detail when she had stopped seeing casual passerbys that weren't the gardeners when she was imprisoned. That part of the garden must have been closed off at some point if she wasn't even recognized.

In a good way, no one knew who she was. No one would assume she would try and destroy them all.

Chrysalis was forcibly awoken by the same grey guard that she had seen at the party last night. He would have made a good changeling, Chrysalis thought. He had no flare to his orders, carried them out word for word, and didn't frighten when Chrysalis attempted to scare him. He repeated that he was sent to summon Chrysalis to the throne room for breakfast.

Twilight hadn't invited Chrysalis to actual breakfast. Instead she had a place for her next to the throne, a cushion. Chrysalis raised hell for a moment before Twilight explained that this wasn't meant to be a status symbol, rather, a feeding chair. Twilight would be seeing ponies today that Chrysalis could feed on as long as she didn't “overdue it”.

Three hours passed until ten in the morning came and Twilight said they were done for the moment.

“It is a shame to end this so early.” Chrysalis said, feeling smug from her feeding. “I was getting used to this steady stream of food you brought me. Shall I be getting a proper meal like this every morning?”

Twilight chuckled. “I suppose you can think of it as breakfast. I simply wanted someone there beside me so that it wouldn't be as boring as it usually is. Watching you eat has also been rather educational.”

“Educational?” Chrysalis mused. “I suppose you do seem to be irritatingly focused on details. And you could learn a great deal from me.”

“Yes, I could. For example, your teeth near the front are sharp but closer to the back they flatten out. Which gives a few ideas to the physical food you eat.” Twilight then narrowed her brows. “Although it wasn't very nice of you to do that to that poor farmer, she nearly fainted. Did you have to do that?”

Chrysalis smiled to herself as she recalled the yellow pony that had been rudely staring at her with narrowed eyes. The pony was obviously trying to see if she was a threat or not and would have made some comment about her if she hadn't scared her first. It was premature to defend herself like that, but it was necessary to avoid any ill words about her.

“You don't have much of an image to ruin at the moment so I guess it isn't too much of a problem for you. But it could prove to cause me problems later.” Twilight mused.

“Encouraging words all around,” Chrysalis hummed.

“I suppose it can't be helped.”

Twilight told Chrysalis that she had some things to attend to and to meet up with her for lunch. An odd strategy, Chrysalis thought, letting her wander on her own. No doubt she was being watched, and planned her moves carefully. She would scout around, and when mid-day came she would simply teleport back for lunch. She had eaten enough love that she was confident in using more basic magics with ease.

She hadn't gotten as much rest last night as she had hoped. There was that Cuckoo that followed her last night and troubled her sleep. Could she have become so disgusting if she had given into Starlight when she was offered the olive branch? Perish the thought, she would never have given into Starlight or friendship no matter the outcome.

Chrysalis held her head high and headed straight for the front doors of the castle. She was surprised that no one stopped her or even paid her too much mind. She could still taste the apprehension of the ponies around her as they worked. A chef had passed her with glaring eyes, not because he was offended at the sight of her, but because he wasn't informed what to cook for her.

By the time Chrysalis reached the front doors they were already beginning to open, and she had gained a traveling companion. It was that grey guard pony that was good at his job. Chrysalis said nothing to the guard and continued on aware of his presence but with no reaction. She could taste the satisfaction of this from him. He would have made a good changeling – he was very focused on his job and nothing else. Chrysalis considered asking Twilight for him later – she might not say no if the guard had no issues with it.

She walked through the palace front garden, through the front gates, and into the streets of Canterlot. Shops manned by creatures of all kinds doing business and rushing to get things done. Chrysalis had never paid mind to pony holidays but she had imagined the days following to be calmer than the days before.

Fingerprint Shield trotted closer and in front of Chrysalis, making sure that her path would be unblocked.

Chrysalis, thinking of how to have a little fun, shifted into the guards form. He had been looking forward and hadn't noticed the shift. She had only heard him speak once to announce Twilight and mimicked the same words with perfect clarity.

The crowd around them turned their heads and looked around for a few seconds before turning back to their business, imagining it just a prank. The guard didn't budge. Yes, she would ask Twilight for this one. As much as she hated ponies and the friendship they stood for she could recognize a useful drone when she saw one.

“Well look at you!” a blue salespony in a tweed jacket said as she got up close to Chrysalis. The guard successfully got between the two before they got too close. The salespony didn't take notice of the guard, no doubt used to guards and the like being background noise for the eyes. “Tall dark and handsome! You know it's a shame you haven't got any clothes on! For some that's a plus, but I can tell you that with a dress from our shop you'll be the highlight of the town!”

“Highlight? She'd be the main attraction!” a white Minotaur said from behind the blue pony. “I can assure you anything from our store, be it a hat, tie, coat, or even socks if you have a special some creature, will capture eyes from Equestria and beyond.”

“Come on down to our store and we'll get you fitted, we can even offer a discount if you buy more than three items.” the blue salespony said.

Chrysalis had worn plenty of dresses throughout her years, often as offerings, or for ceremonies where her children insisted she look more grand than usual. That was more than a thousand years ago. clothes had never suited her, and always tore at her joints where the chitin pinched.

Chrysalis lit her horn and she engulfed herself with her magic, recalling one of the dresses she had been made to wear.

At first the two had been shocked by the green flames and look concerned. It was still funny how creatures never change when they see flames, and she appreciated the connection to the destruction it could cause. Then upon seeing her unharmed and in a dress the two sighed.

“You know, Cuckoos usually tend to stay out of sight if they don't want to be sold to.” the Minotaur said.

“What's the big idea being seen anyway? You should just stick to being invisible.” The salespony grumbled as the Minotaur picked it up and placed her on it's shoulders to leave.

Chrysalis was unsure what had just happened. Sure she had intended to get them out of her way, but she was hoping to at least get a word in. She was going to mention how she didn't need their service, that a queen deserves better than what some hacks could give her, to make her status known publicly.

The town looked useless from a strategy perspective. No doubt love was in high supply here, but it was too crowded with stress and work. It didn't resemble a good place for a battle either. Compared to the castle, the buildings seemed very out of place.

None of them were falling down, but none of them were built to be grand, or beautiful – they were all made for the interest of businesses. Chrysalis couldn't understand that. After hundreds of years of the Princess of Friendship running things there was still a rat race for profit. The hive never partook in such things, they only needed to serve her and that was going to be enough one way or the other.

That reaction she had gotten from the salepony brought a good idea to mind. She should take on a disguise until she was ready to announce herself. But to her surprise she didn't need one, as those two proved.

She set her head high, and started walking down the street, the guard walking close to her keeping her path clear. She had picked a direction and would go there until she had to stop or until the end of the city. Nothing she saw was of any value anyway. The high density of creatures she passed only reminded her of Twilight's current prowess. She would have a much harder time than she imagined taking Twilight down. With Celestia, god she may have been, it only took one blast from her with a full stomach to incapacitate her.

She needed intel, and a way to get it.

4

Twilight was doing her best to be stoic and regal, the way her subjects expected her to be; but it was failing, which is why she needed a break. She had to talk to someone, a friend perhaps, which was why she was on her way to Sweet Apple Acre's. The trip wasn't too long with some well placed teleportations which she had memorized over the years. She stood on the last point before she would make it there and wondered what she was going to say. The sight of the field of apples was comforting, but it also presented the fact that “she” was there, which was a can of worms she wasn't planning on dealing with.

She spread her wings and watched the apple trees, waiting for one to show signs of work being done. There was only one pony on this side of the farm who did all the work. Sure, she might be seen by the others in the family but they knew better than to come over here, unless they were young, in which case there had been pranks played that weren't very respectful.

She heard a thud and a tree shaking. She was close. She slowed her flight and got closer to the treetops and another tree shook even closer. She dived between the leaves and looked around.

There was Applejack, as young as ever, working.

Twilight didn't understand what kept Applejack around. She had theories. Perhaps the land itself kept Applejack alive and working, or maybe it was the trees, or Applejack was just special, or perhaps Applejack was being piloted by parasites – Twilight wasn't going to dissect her to find out. She knew one thing; this was Applejack's home, and she was always here.

Applejack didn't turn to look as Twilight approached from the front. It was another attempt to make a change in the routine. Almost every attempt failed. Almost. The only thing that worked was insulting apples or making moves to harm a tree in front of her.

“It's good to see you Applejack.” Twilight said to the unflinching earth pony. It felt morbid for sure, talking to her like this, but Applejack was still one of her best friends. She told herself it was no different than when she visited gravestones to talk to her other friends. “I think I'm losing my mind.” Twilight said.

Applejack bucked another tree and the apples fell perfectly into the bucket Applejack set for them. Twilight collected herself, took a deep breath, and said with all the air in her lungs, “You see I recently may have let loose a certain bug queen that if I let her could absolutely grow as powerful as me and she also hates me and I don't know why I did that really I was just so lonely at the castle and for some reason I decided not to just change my schedules and I went straight for unfreezing a villain and I didn't even talk to Screwball about it yet and I'm sure she knows oh I'm sure she knows she's just laughing her way to the bank about all this and that's not all because for some reason I told Queen Chrysalis that I want her to stay around forever which kind of has some implications and given immortality it's bound that at some point we would fall for each other because of how statistics work but I know I shouldn't rely on that I just don't know if I can fall for her at all it was kind of a dumb answer and I just hope she doesn't actually grow strong enough to take over Equestria.”

Twilight breathed. Her larger alicorn lungs certainly helped when she wanted to spout panicked rants. She quickly recovered and noticed Applejack was already at the next tree.

Twilight stretched, some joints popped and her wings fully flexed, she was ready. This, she felt, was cruel. And she never would have done it if there was another way.

Applejack went to buck the next tree, and Twilight cast a spell, preventing the tree from shaking. A small light in Applejack's eyes came back, and an eyebrow raised. She bucked again, still no reaction from the tree. Her eyes narrowed into a glare as she went to the next tree to buck.

This time Twilight floated an apple between the tree and Applejack's hoof. As the apple was crushed, Applejack gasped and looked to her apple covered hoof. The light fully returning to her eyes, along with a fiery rage.

“Now don't go thinking just because you're the princess now you're gonna get away with this Twi!” Applejack roared.

Twilight thought of this as a temporary revival, awake from whatever deep dark place Applejack's mind actually went while her body worked. Twilight was already in the air moving as quickly as she could through the trees without crashing. Applejack chased her at impressive speeds that didn't give Twilight a moment of rest. It would only last for a few minutes, before the grass cleaned off the apple from her hoof.

“So what do you think I should do?” Twilight called back.

“I think you should come back here so I can teach you what happens when you mess with apples!” AJ shouted up. “And I also think that when you propose you should already love the pony!”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. Applejack could hear her. She was always worried that one of these days that Applejack would be fully gone, that whatever was sustaining her would stop. The state of apple exports in Equestria aside, she would miss her friend.

“It's good to see you too Applejack!” Twilight shouted.

“Come back here!” Applejack shouted. Then she snorted, then burst out laughing to Twilight's surprise. Twilight turned around to find Applejack slowing. “I haven't ran this hard since Dash tried to get to the last Cider in the fridge before me.”

Twilight approached as softly as she could. “I don't remember that race.”

“Oh it wasn't really a race as much as,” Applejack looked around, “where is she anyway? She was supposed to help me today.”

Twilight watched as Applejack looked around, more frantically. No doubt confused how she got to this part of the orchard. “She's uh, at Scootaloo's.” Twilight said.

“And when did you get so tall? And when did, oh my head.” Applejack winced.

Twilight would have loved to try and get Applejack back. But she knew she couldn't, she had been dead for a long time. “It was nice seeing you again.” Twilight said. “And I'm sorry.”

She used her magic to clean off the Apple gore from Applejack's leg, and watched as her eyes went back to being hollow. Applejack's mouth made a few movements before she stood up and mindlessly went back down the Tree's, finding where she left off.

With a sigh, Twilight spread her wings and flew up through the opening of leaves. She saw the treetops replace the ground. She would be back again someday, but she didn't think she'd force applejack out again. It hurt to see her like this.

She reached a hilltop not too far away where she could overlook the entire orchard. She wouldn't feel right unless she said goodbye in a way that actually worked. She looked in the direction of the trees, Doing her best to distance herself between her and the corpse that was working, avoiding thinking about what this place meant to her. She continued to look, and she was finally brought away from the trees. There was a barn, there were mountains in the distance, the sun reflected on a stream on a hill, the large blue sky larger than anything else in her sight. All of it came together – there was more than the orchard, there was the view.

With a deep breath Twilight stood up and started making her way home.

Chrysalis had lost track of time, which turned out not to matter too much. She had attempted walking until the end of town, or the city, but she hadn't even reached a train station. It was fancy houses and businesses as far as she could go. The grey guard she was assigned had turned her around without her noticing and they arrived back at the castle on time.

Chrysalis considered whether to be offended that he would divert her from her path, or think him efficient at not letting her miss her plans. Well, Twilight's plans. And she hadn't seen any 'Cuckoo's' while on her walk, so she supposed what she was told was true. They could hide themselves with efficiency, if they were even there.

The thought of the Cuckoo's hadn't entered her mind on her walk, but the events of last night had given her a strange idea. No doubt she would look strange, but if it was just her guard then it would be alright.

While walking on the path to the castle, past the front gates, Chrysalis turned and walked into the grass. Her guard followed without any errors. She walked until she was sure that she would be undisturbed by any 'normal' castle grounds walkers. She couldn't think of any need any of them would have to come to this part of an open grass field. Feeling that she was now in a secure enough place to test her idea, she cleared her throat.

“Oh what a lovely walk that was. I sure hope that I wasn't being watched the whole time by some creature that couldn't mind their own business.” Chrysalis said. She held the silence for a moment, unsure if her bait was working. And double checking that only her guard was around to hear her she continued. “I mean you can come out now, stop hiding, this is an order from a Queen. The punishment for disobedience will be carried out by me personally. I'm sure your Princess Twilight,” Chrysalis spat, “would understand.” If she turned out to be wrong, she would look daft, and she would have to threaten the guard to forget any of this and never speak of it to anyone. Still nothing happened. “I'm going to count down from three now!”

“Ah!” A voice came from behind her. “There's no need! I'm sorry, I really am!” the Cuckoo said. It was the same one from last night that Chrysalis had observed.

“Should I expect to be followed everywhere I go?” Chrysalis asked. “Last night, and today as well. Perhaps you're a spy Twilight left to watch me.” The idea made no sense, since she already had an efficient guard at her side.

“No!” the Cuckoo said. “I'm not a spy. I'm just a student here. And I was following you because, well,” the Cuckoo scratched the back of her neck, “it's hard to explain.”

That was interesting, could the Cuckoo have sensed that she was Queen? That she was the ruler of changelings and by extension whatever inferior race Cuckoo's were? Or perhaps it was just her general appearance, strong, chitinous, an exoskeleton.

Chrysalis said, “I am scheduled to eat lunch with the one you call Princess. Is your explanation good enough to warrant changing my schedule?”

“Oh not at all.” the Cuckoo said. “Lunch with the Princess? I'm so jealous. She doesn't have lunch with anyone I hear.” the Cuckoo said more excitedly, brushing off the apprehension of the earlier moment with ease. “There's a rumor around the schools that she eats other ponies for lunch, but I know that's not true. No, I'm sure she eats the pets that go missing.”

Chrysalis laughed at this new information. There were unkind words being spread about Twilight, and these she could use. She had spread words and ideas throughout the whole of Equestria before, and she could do it again. Although, last time she had help.

That thought didn't feel like something she could brush off. Tirek and Cozy Glow were still imprisoned, and, though she hated to admit it, she felt guilty that she hadn't at least attempted taking a hammer to the statue in the middle of the night to see if that would work.

The Cuckoo kept talking.

“Look.” Chrysalis said with finality. “I'm afraid I must leave, so if you plan to bother me again give me your name.”

“Oh! The name's Alprecha Secundis! Friends call me Alp, or Alpie,” Alprecha said with a smile, the hexagons of her eyes shaking a little.

“Good,” Chrysalis said. “I will take pleasure in telling the Princess that I have been accosted by a Cuckoo named Alprecha then.”

“Huh?” Alp said shocked. “Wait, NO DON'T! PLEASE!” she shouted as she chased after Chrysalis and the guard.

Author's Note

Now to me this chapter sounds mostly like waffling, which it is, think of it as filler I guess if that makes sense. I would have had it posted sooner, but like I said I am now waiting for a friend to get back to me after editing it, for which I am eternally grateful. Trust me, the editing is necessary. As always I hope you enjoyed reading it, and I would appreciate it if there's any comments you have about the story so far, or mistakes I made, that you please tell me. Also just to let people know who don't read the comments, I don't think I will actually make Tirek or Cozy Glow into characters in this. Not out of dislike, but simply for the fact that I want to write specifically about Chrysalis.

5 Author's Note

Sorry this one took a while to come out. I didn't want to post it before my friend could edit it and they had some things going on that kept them from doing something as small as this. Trust me the editing was necessary, I make so many obvious mistakes without their help. And because I know my naming process is stupid, FingerPrint Shield is obviously named after the shield from Elden Ring, and Alprecha is named after Alprecha from Adventure Quest Worlds Darkon Saga. If you notice a mistake that my friend didn't please tell me, and comment, I really enjoy reading them.

5

Twilight waited patiently at the table wondering if she should have asked Sunset for some food from the other dimension. She had never seen Chrysalis eat physical food, and the topic was only spoken about through Twilights own speculation. She never thought to ask about it all those years ago when the changelings first transformation was fresh. She had an idea that Chrysalis didn't like pony food though, and was thinking some hot dogs might have been better.

Sunset wouldn't mind if she called just for a sudden food run would she? Sunset could be here within the half hour if she asked, and it was good to see one of her friends after all. On the other hand, she might have to explain why she needed the food so quickly and she didn't want to have to explain that to Sunset right now. She was too busy for that talk.

Twilight looked over the long table that her workers had prepared much earlier in the day. She could even see some lingering ponies that wanted to see who she had invited to lunch. Their curiosity likely wouldn't end once they saw the Queen. She was a strange presence in Equestria after so long, and one that hopefully wasn't making too much of a fuss.

That was why was why she couldn't help but chuckle to herself as she was immediately proven wrong. The shouts she could hear from down the hall told her that much. It was nice that Chrysalis decided to show up. She half expected the Queen to run away and return in a few days or weeks after seeing the state Equestria was now in.

“Why have the guards not stopped you yet?! Leave!” Chrysalis' shouts came through clearer as they got closer to the entry doors. The familiar voice of Alprecha came back, pleading over something Chrysalis no doubt threatened.

“Twilight!” Chrysalis screamed as she slammed open the doors. “Is this your doing?” Chrysalis pointed at the bug flying beside her before it disappeared with an “EEP!”

Chrysalis said, “It has refused to leave me alone and stalked me while I explored the town. Surely there is something in your pony laws that punishes the accosting of royals?”

Twilight chose not to respond, instead lifting up a cup of tea and drinking with an audible slurp. She then set the tea glass down, the room silent as Chrysalis awaited a response. “Would you like some pudding?”

Chrysalis glared at Twilight as she slowly moved to sit down. “At least make sure that this creature doesn't disturb me again. She even snuck into my bedchamber last night.” Twilight's eyes widened in shock.

“Is that true Alprecha?” Twilight asked into the open air to her right side. Chrysalis watched as Twilight continued to stare at the spot, a surge of jealousy came over her. Not only could she not feel them, but Twilight could. The extent of how far her abilities with the Cuckoo's went frustrated her. Twilight couldn't connect to the hivemind that was for certain, but she could see past whatever wall they put up to hide?

“I'll need time to think about what to do with her,” Twilight said. “In the meantime she will be confined to her room.” As Twilight said that, her horn lit up for a brief moment before a pop was heard. Chrysalis assumed it was intended to send Alprecha away. “I'm sorry about her, she's always had a nasty streak of invading peoples personal space. I've tried to work it out of her but she's just never caught on.”

“I take it she's a regular around the castle?” Chrysalis asked.

“Yes she is,” Twilight said. “She's a student here at the castle. She's very proficient in magic and the like and I am often asked by the professors to demonstrate magic for the more exceptionally fast learning students. I would love to sit in on the lectures myself but I already know almost everything they teach. That, and I am too busy to usually attend.”

“I expected you would be dull,” Chrysalis said. “It turns out I was right about you. I wish I wasn't. Do you always ramble on about every little thing?”

Twilight was about to say something but cleared her throat. She took a moment to think before she opened her mouth again. “You already know I have been lonely. You are possibly the first other creature I have spoken fully openly to in many years. I'm going to look into accommodations for you soon, do you have any requests as of right now?” Twilight asked, changing the topic.

“Aside from your death or imprisonment or subjugation? Weapons, perhaps?” Chrysalis asked sarcastically. “But if I am going to be staying here, a bare room would do fine. One with no paint or decoration, just a stone room. I can perform the modifications myself.”

“That can be arranged, not by tonight, but it can be done,” Twilight said with a smile. “Anything else?”

Chrysalis thought, a memory from before coming back to her. “The guard,” Chrysalis said. “He does his job like a proper drone, I would like him.”

Twilight chuckled. “Fingerprint Shield? He takes his work way too seriously, which is why he is my personal guard. I'm not sure I can hand him over unless you can give me something as good or better.”

“Well, tch, that's unfair! You know I have nothing!” Chrysalis shouted.

“For now,” Twilight said. “Remember I'm letting you do your own thing for a while, I'm sure that the Queen of Changelings can figure something out.”

Chrysalis was working herself to exhaustion. Not only did she not get enough to eat while in town that day, she had been practicing connecting to the Cuckoo's since lunch. The Cuckoos skill of invisibility was impressive to say the most. She thought of it as a failure of the species' ability to imitate for the most part, but as a skill in the back pocket it could be useful. There were spells she knew that could make her invisible. She had studied them back when they were first being made. With the right amount of love she was capable of any spell. This invisibility that the Cuckoos did wasn't entirely magical – it felt more like the same pheromones she used to communicate with the hivemind.

She had been attempting to manipulate her own pheromones which was much more difficult when she had no other changelings to assist her in her tests. What she had been doing was more comparable to stretching. Her abilities were sore and atrophied from centuries of non-use.

Not to mention she was also in a bit of a panic. That Cuckoo from earlier had made her uneasy. In the lawn this morning she had only been guessing. She didn't have any reason to do that. She was lucky. That mental wall Cuckoos could put up was strong, which meant she would have to find a willing one to test with. She would have to train her efforts in learning the new way the hive worked, if it was even a hive anymore.

Feeling a bit of fatigue Chrysalis decided she would take a break. She made her way to the door and opened it a crack. There were a few ponies walking the hall. If there were any Cuckoos, she couldn't tell.

They wouldn't mind if a window or two was broken right? It didn't matter to her any as she prepared her horn to blast one to shards. She needed a quick way to get outside and having an exit right outside her door was perfect.

Chrysalis paused as she heard the loud thundering rattling of a cart being pushed down the hall. A cream colored unicorn was pushing it and wore a white smock. The pony noticed Chrysalis and looked embarrassed.

“Sorry about the noise,” The cream colored mare said, pausing. “They always say they're gonna replace this old thing and they never do. I don't think I've seen you around here before.”

“I've been here before plenty of times,” Chrysalis said as she approached the cart. A dinner tray with a lid was the sole rider. “What do you have here?”

“Oh, not much, just some of the Princess' medicine,” The cream pony said. “Normally she asks for coffee but she asked for tea tonight, and when she asks for tea she also wants a bit of tranquilizers to go with it. Puts her right to sleep.”

“Oh this is so easy!” Chrysalis said with glee, resisting the urge to trot in place. “Does every creature in this age just run their mouth without thinking?” The cream colored pony looked shocked and offended at the suggestion. “No, don't tell me, I shouldn't make any expectations just yet,” She said, looking up and down the hall.

“Well I suppose that was the princess' private matter.” the pony said.

“I'll take over from here,” Chrysalis said. A faint foggy glow came from her horn and into the pony's eyes, causing the mare to collapse softly against the marble floor. Chrysalis tossed the pony onto the bed in her room with no regard to the ponies safety and in a burst of green fire changed her form to that of the pony's. “I'll be sure she gets her medicine.”

Twilight yawned as she went over the documents of the day. On any normal day doing paperwork would have been heaps of fun for her. The idea of signing papers, reading the fine print, figuring out the loopholes and correcting them, it should have been fun. Twilight had been too stressed to enjoy the activity. She wasn't willing to admit just yet that paperwork had become more tedious than fun a few centuries ago. That had been something that Celestia had even warned her about. Her response to Twilight's indignation at the idea was just “We'll see about that”. It would be too much of a blow to her pride to admit she was wrong about “egghead stuff”.

Twilight had sent for her tea a while ago. While she wasn't one to get upset about such things, there was still a time limit to her patience. Twilight thought whoever was in charge of bringing her her drink might have gotten caught up in a conversation with someone else, which kept her from getting too upset. After all, she was the Princess of Friendship first, thirsty monarch last – a thirsty, exhausted, tired monarch.

Just as Twilight was getting ready to go see what the hold up was, the door to her room opened. “Tea, Princess!” The voice of Whitecollar rang out. “I'm sorry I'm late, got a bit held up.”

“It's no problem,” Twilight said, resuming her work on the papers in front of her. “Although if it happens again I might have to demote you to coffee duty.” She laughed at the sound of fear the pony made. “I'm only kidding.”

“Right, of course Princess,” Whitecollar said, placing the tea and bottle of medicine on Twilight's desk. “Um, how many, pills was it again?” She asked. “I'm a bit out of it today.”

“That's alright Whitecollar, Last night was Hearths Warming. I expect plenty of the staff is in a similar state. I'll take care of it myself, you're dismissed.”

“If you say so, Princess.” Whitecollar said before leaving the room.

Whitecollar continued her way back down the halls until she reached the guest room. Once inside she detransformed with a burst of green fire, an evil laugh escaping her the whole time.

It was perfect, and it happened so fast. There were no more worries about how long it would take to amass an army. Once Twilight was unable to become conscious again in the morning she would declare herself as the temporary ruler, only able to rule until Twilight woke up. Only she would never let the purple alicorn wake up, ever! The bottle had suggested only two tablets for instant sleep. She had used most of the bottle, everything was going so smoothly!

Twilight yawned again, this time losing the war and letting it spot her vision, a clear sign she needed to go to bed. She lifted her tea over as well as the bottle. She read the label to make sure it was the right one, and emptied the last two tablets into her tea.

6 Author's Note

SORRY SORRY SORRY, it's been a long time and I'm sorry Doctor_Den and nautica for this taking so long. But between my friend having school and not being able to edit for me for a bit and my own personal family issues that came up, yeah. and there's like five more chapters already written up and waiting for my friend to edit and that's pretty much all you're waiting on at this point. I still haven't gotten to the point in the writing I want to get to but don't worry, the original goal of actually finishing a story is still there. I will not abandon this story I promise you. Even if it becomes an actual garbage fire I will at least write it to it's completion. Please comment, I'd love to hear what you think of the chapters and am welcome to feedback.

6

Chrysalis had a big day ahead of her. This plan of hers to impersonate Twilight was make or break. She had only seen Twilight in court just yesterday, the one time. She hadn't had time to get to know her mannerisms and the way she normally acted. She may have been the Queen of the Changelings, but even she admitted her acting skills weren't quite on the level some of her drones had. The only thing she lacked in that department was experience.

She made her way around the castle disguised as the same pony she had impersonated the night before. She was making her way slowly but surely to Twilight's chambers, facing very little resistance along the way. A guard here and there stopping her for a second or two to ask what she was doing, but nothing else.

Her plan had worked, Twilight was in a deep sleep by the time Chrysalis arrived. It was still early in the day, an hour before she had been woken up by the guard pony the day before. Chrysalis spent a minute getting the disguise just right, the flowing starry mane being the most difficult part of the transformation.

She was ready to start restraining the princess when her sleeping form started to stir. Chrysalis had a very faint hope that the pills would have just killed Twilight and let out a sigh when she saw that wasn't the case. Testing another theory, she retrieved a pair of scissors from a nearby vanity. She held them high in the air with her magic, and with the speed of a Fulgur Buck, she drove them into the sleeping alicorns form.

The crumpled scissors gave Chrysalis her answer. Twilight was, in fact, a real immortal, which meant she would have no easy time taking over and that she would no doubt recover soon.

There were no actual restraints that Chrysalis could put on Twilight that would work at this point. Her magic was still too weak and unfed to overpower Twilight or bind her. And ropes would do nothing but make things a little awkward when Twilight woke up. No doubt there was a cleaning staff as well that would come by to tidy up the Princess' room, which meant she would have to hide Twilight.

The closet? No, too obvious and awkward. Somewhere in the garden? No, groundskeepers would find her. The dungeon? She didn't even know if there was a dungeon! Her safest choice was to keep her right where she already was, in a comfy bed. The best she could hope for was a full day. At worst? Just a few hours.

Clearing her throat, confident she had her disguised form perfect, she added a few layers more to the bed, and walked out of the room. Chrysalis saw two guards already stationed outside the room, no doubt suspicious where the medicine pony had gone.

It gave Chrysalis a brief pause, if the guards were intelligent enough to think for themselves they might have wondered where the pony had gone.

As it was, neither of them gave a second thought to anything when the Princess was involved.

“Find Fingerprint Shield and bring him here,” Chrysalis said, almost forgetting who she was supposed to be imitating. “Please.” The guard to the left of the door was already on his way by the time she remembered to add the nicety to her demand. The guard she had requested was there in no time at all. She had plenty of patience left before she would have gotten upset. “Good, you're here. There's a pony in here I've allowed to take a rest in my room. She seemed very overworked. I want you to make sure that no one enters this room,” she lied.

The grey guard saluted her and took his place in front of the door.

Chrysalis was panicking a little by this point. She didn't have much time and there were quite a few things that needed to be done. But what should be handled first? Disrupting the creature relations? She had had help when she turned the different ponies on each other and there was little she could do while in this position. Perhaps she could deal with her current lack of love. She had had a buffet the other night but it would have been dangerous to eat it all then. An upset stomach full of love was not a pretty sight. Or she could deal with the general state of the surrounding city.

That was it, she decided as she sat down in the throne room. She would deal with the general state of the city and its lack of love. She wouldn't be able to find enough love and eat it all fast enough before Twilight woke up. So she would have to play the long game. She was prepared to do that from the beginning but this opportunity was too good to pass up.

“The first thing today is the zoning laws around physical contact sports arenas,” A tall yellow unicorn said from the center of the throne room. “As you are aware there have been injuries caused by certain species being at severe disadvantages and a complaint has been filed by-”

She allowed the unicorn to continue. She didn't want to show her hand too soon, allowing a sense of innocence to exist if she was found out too early. If Twilight had come upon her now she would see Chrysalis continuing the day without any trouble, an act that would not constitute punishment. In some small chance it could even be praiseworthy. It was too soon to tell with these things, having only had a day free from her prison. With the sappiness of Equestria, good deeds would no doubt be rewarded in some fashion.

The unicorn continued. There had been issues brought up with multiple businesses and some laws that had to be cross examined with the complaints. Following the rule of three which had appeared to be an actual force in the world she was in, she allowed there to be two cases brought before her, both of which wasted her time by being dismissed by a law that negated the complaint. Perhaps it was pity she had for the princess but she told herself to suggest a vetting group to go over these sorts of things before they reached her. That way when she took over she wouldn't have to deal with this nonsense.

The yellow unicorn opened his mouth to present the third charge when Chrysalis decided to put her plan into motion.

“More gardens,” Chrysalis said, startling the yellow unicorn into silence. A stunned look over his face, no doubt instances of interjection being rare. Perhaps to the ponies and creatures beneath the princess, an interruption in this manner meant something more. Perhaps it meant that the Princess was upset, or something was urgent, or any other number of things. She couldn't gauge the tension that entered the room without looking suspicious however and left the wide eyes that all focused on her to do the talking.

“It isn't anything that serious, there's no need to worry about it,” Chrysalis continued. “I was just thinking about the state of Canterlot, and how I could improve it.”

“The, state of Canterlot, your highness?” The Unicorn cleared his throat. “Is there a problem with Canterlot?”

There was a wavering tone to his voice. Chrysalis couldn't ignore it, and was intrigued. So there was precedent for when The Princess interrupted a meeting, and it was perhaps something to be afraid of, despite her saying otherwise.

“Calm down, it's nothing big, it's not like I'm announcing a war,” she said with a chuckle, attempting to lighten the mood. The unicorn gave an awkward laugh before letting out a sigh she almost missed.

The others in the room had similar reactions. It was interesting, but that could wait until she was more prepared.

A word Twilight had used before came back to her: “Conquered.” She would have to look into how accurate Twilight had been in her word choice. Something told her from how overly descriptive the princess was with every detail that words were chosen with precision.

“As a personal project of mine I have been looking into the citizens of the city and have come to a conclusion. They are being stifled. The buildings and businesses are perfect for generating the money we need but it has gotten out of hand,” Chrysalis said, getting her plan over and done with. “I would like if any empty buildings were removed and the plot of land replaced with a public garden. Perhaps a park where it appears good to have one. My concern for the quality of life for all the creatures living in Equestria fuels this decision, if you have any complaints.”

The yellow Unicorn shook his head, the worry in his eyes showing the frustration this would cause him later down the line. He dreaded the work he was now tasked with. She had experienced that feeling a million times over whenever she presented the hive with a task. The work always gets done, no matter how frustrating it may seem to deal with. Any whining or moaning done by this pony would not be felt, making the choice much easier than it had ever been.

After a moment of making notes on his own documents he opened his mouth to speak again. “Would you like this project to be done by your personal groundskeepers staff?”

“No,” Chrysalis said. “There are plenty of businesses in Canterlot. Find one that can get the job done and hire them instead.”

“Very well. Was there, anything else, your highness?”

“One more thing,” she said. “A personal guest of mine was offended while taking a visit to Canterlot. A Unicorn and a Minotaur, in tweed jackets, running a clothes store. Perhaps they should learn a thing or two about polite manners in regards to Cuckoos.” She spat the word, feeling unclean as she feigned a defense against the deformed evolution of her beautiful changelings.

The yellow unicorn made a small sound of fear, and quickly nodded his head before leaving the room as fast as possible. The only ones left in the room were the few guards that lined the walls.

A sense of unease came over her. An intangible feeling she couldn't trace to a physical source or logical conclusion. Perhaps she had sensed that Twilight had awoken and was on her way. She didn't like that idea. And she couldn't taste anything. She was curious if she was being watched the same way she was in the garden, and she couldn't test further with the guards in the room.

Chrysalis sighed before saying, “I'd like everyone out of the room, now.” She didn't yell the demand, just put it in her voice that it was a final order. The guards didn't have to be told twice. A pink Pegasus pony that had been sitting behind the throne to the side that she hadn't noticed flew out of the room carrying a heavy black bag with her.

Taking the same risk she did just yesterday Chrysalis changed back into her majestic opal black, chitinous form. She stretched herself out, limbs creaking and cracking as she moved. She had sat on the throne similar to how a pony would, making it quite uncomfortable. Back in her hive her throne was a large stone throne, cold and perfect for laying down and resting. There was no need to sit up straight and lock her joints for hours when she could lay comfortable and give orders throughout the hivemind. The pillow underneath her didn't help any either, the softness only made her sink into an uncomfortable height where her plot fell too low for her front legs to properly support her.

Having taken a moment for herself and taking in a few relaxing breaths that shuddered her whole body, she decided to test her theory.

“Alprecha, was it?” Chrysalis spoke into the empty room.

“How do you keep doing that?!” The white pony shape said as it appeared at the bottom of the steps. She was almost where the yellow Unicorn had been.

Laying down, appearing nonplussed by the appearance of the Cuckoo, Chrysalis tucked her legs under her and rested her chin on the floor. “You knew it was me then?”

It wasn't a question. That much was obvious to Alprecha. This dark creature that impersonated the Princess had cleverness in her voice. A certain part of her knew that this wasn't a Cuckoo, or anything she had ever seen before. The introduction of being Queen of the Changelings was absurd.

“You knew it was me and did not reveal me,” Chrysalis said. “Why is that?”

Alprecha had thought about calling Chrysalis out earlier. All throughout the presenting she had considered when would be a good time to do so, passing up every opportunity almost against her will. “I was going to.”

“But you didn't.”

“I waited too long.” Alprecha had an idea as to why Chrysalis doing this could be good. She had been instructed to look for the good in things first, no matter how many times she failed to do that. Perhaps Twilight just wanted a day off, and this creature could fulfill the role. But that was stupid, she knew it was stupid and was just waiting to see what would happen. She promised herself that at the first sign of trouble she would reveal the truth and expose the goings-on of this Chrysalis.

There was a thudding sensation against the inside of her skull. Alprecha stuttered in place as the sensation got stronger until her vision shook. There was a din in her ears that seemed to be almost recognizable sounds before it all let up in an instant.

“What...” Alprecha recovered herself, looking up at the smug face that laid on the floor above her. “what was that?”

“Call it, incompatibility,” Chrysalis said. “I suspected I was too weak before but now I realize that we are entirely different. There is not only a wall between us mentally that your kind can create, it is also a different language,” she lied. That small taste told her that it would be difficult, but she could use what the Cuckoos had.

“What are you talking about?” Alprecha pointed an accusing hoof at Chrysalis. “What were you even trying to do?”

Chrysalis blew a puff of hair out of her face. “I was only trying to greet you. Seeing how it went at the party made me curious. But that's not important.” Chrysalis said as she stood up slowly. “Do you plan on revealing me now?”

“What did you do with Princess Twilight?!” Alprecha shouted, the main issue coming clear at seeing Chrysalis' upright imposing form.

“Nothing harmful I assure you. I would not have dared try and harm her.” Chrysalis said. “She is only asleep in her bed, and when she wakes, she will come here, and I will step aside.”

“Why would you do that?” Alprecha asked, unsure of what to do next.

“To give her the day off, to let her sleep in,” Chrysalis lied. “Think of it, as an act of kindness.”

7 Author's Note

I know it's been a while, at this rate the year will be over and I wont have accomplished my new years resolution to actually finish a story I write, so I'm gonna ask, and please answer. Should I just upload the chapters once their done? because the number one reason chapters aren't getting put up quickly and the reason I'm slowing down is I don't want to go too far ahead of my friend who has been very helpful for editing my stuff. They're in college and I have a job where I can sit and read books all day, it's not fair for them. But also, I hope you enjoy the chapter, also just roll with the "debt" thing, I just did that to try and get the ball rolling. Please leave a comment, I enjoy reading them.

7

Alprecha was smart, smart enough to be one of the students Twilight took a particular interest in, and she was proud of that fact. She had always struggled in the friendship department of her studies, which she didn't like considering to be a study in the first place. She read the books and had given the correct answers for her tests, but was always asked to explain the answers she gave and came up short. That was the only reason she had a blemish on her record; she couldn't explain in her own words why she knew what was right. She couldn't quite find it in her now to find what was wrong with Chrysalis' statement. An act of kindness was something that was covered in her friendship lessons, and there was always an air of doubt in her mind when it came to that stuff. She knew for sure that Chrysalis was somehow conniving and sinister, but did she know enough about being kind to refute her statements? She said nothing to Chrysalis on that note, instead trying to find other avenues to find out what was going on so she tried the impossible; she asked.

“What are you planning?” Alprecha asked, a white fuzzy hoof pointed at the dark queen.

Chrysalis began to stroll down the steps, closer and closer to Alprecha, until they stood not even a foot apart. Chrysalis' dark chitin reflected the light in awkward directions making it hard for Alprecha to look for very long at one spot. Alprecha's white feathers cloaked her body.

“I am going to lunch,” Chrysalis said, turning back into Twilight. “The real Twilight will wake up sometime today, so until then, call me Twilight.” Alprecha looked up into the face of her princess. She couldn't refuse the Princess, and even knowing that it wasn't her made it difficult to. She wasn't planning on refusing, and she had already set her sights on watching this newcomer. “And do try not to ask any problematic questions while others are around. I already don't like you as it is. Can you taste love?” Chrysalis asked as nonchalant as she could manage as she headed for the door.

“Taste love?” Alprecha said, confused. “No? I don't think so?”

If it wasn't for her disguise then instead of the calm face of Twilight, ponies would instead have seen the scowl that had replaced Chrysalis' features. Eyes narrowed as sharp as blades and mouth disappointed and regal.

Twilight woke up feeling more refreshed than she had been in quite a long while. The sun was high in the sky shining in on her, keeping her warm under the blankets. She started to open her eyes and stopped when the sun blinded her almost back into sleep. She was secure in her blankets and used a bit of effort to push her wings out and in front of her, blocking the sun.

She was so refreshed that when she opened her eyes and coherent thought came back to her she almost panicked. She never slept in, and she never felt this refreshed. It was obvious what had happened, Chrysalis had made a move.

That thought was exciting. She had known Chrysalis would do, something, sooner or later. Any action by Chrysalis could be planned to impede her rule or usurp her. She brought Chrysalis back to make things less monotonous after all. She supposed Chrysalis was doing just that.

With a small bounce in her gallop, she went to tidy up. She would have to look good for her “AHA” moment. When she came upon Chrysalis to reveal she was fine, and would be able to take her down for the first time since her release. She was creating a speech in her mind as she thought about what to say. She could work in something about honesty into it, if she could figure out how. It had been so long since she had given an impromptu speech, better if it was one about friendship. It had been so long since she had felt it strongly enough to speak on it with any authority.

But now would be the day she made a comeback. She looked out at the general direction of the sun and found it was noon. She could take a guess as to where Chrysalis would be right now. Lunch time was lunch time after all, and they weren't lost, they were in the castle, where plenty of guards and chefs were around to cook meals, and where there was no real reason to miss a meal unless, for some reason, you got lost.

Twilight shook her head again, doing her best to banish the thought process of Celestia from her mind. Steeling herself, Twilight walked through the doors, doing her best to ignore the surprised non-reaction from Fingerprint shield.

“Where is she?” Twilight asked.

“Lunch,” He said, understanding who she was referring to.

“She eats this stuff?” Chrysalis said with glee as she lifted her head out of Twilight's bowl of salad. “It's delicious!”

“I don't know what this is,” Alprecha said as she held the small sifting can with brown flecks inside. “The label says Bacon, but I haven't heard of any plant like that. Maybe those rumors about her eating pets are right.”

“Whatever it is, it's delicious!” Chrysalis shouted. “The salad is alright but these hard chunks are divine, and I should know a thing or two about divinity!” She said as she drove her face back into the salad.

“You do? I- I'm not even gonna ask.” Alprecha said, casually sifting some flecks of bacon into her hoof and shoving them into her mouth. Her eyes went wide, her long thin tongue went spastic inside her mouth. Heaven alive, she thought, she had never had something that tasted so good. She considered chewing but left them sitting in her mouth waiting to see if they would lose flavor after a while. Finally she swallowed. They felt like sharp sand going down but the taste made it easier. She hadn't even noticed her eyesight had gone for a brief moment. Shaking her head, looking at the sifting cup, and making a snap decision, she tucked it under her fur in the nook of her collarbone and her stick thin neck.

“Oh that tastes good too,” Chrysalis said, making Alprecha look up. “Love for food isn't quite as delicious as love for other creatures, unless you're a baker, but simple love tastes fine.”

“You can actually eat love?” Alprecha asked, shocked.

“Of course, that is what it means to be a Changeling, and I am the Queen of Changelings, despite my disguise.” Chrysalis added on, looking at her purple form.

“So does that like, make me love less or-” Alprecha asked, considering her words.

The conversation went no further as the doors to the dining room were thrust open by the tall and regal form of the true Princess of Equestria. The hall was empty save for Chrysalis and Alprecha. Chrysalis offered a roll of her eyes as greetings while Alprecha dove under the table muttering apologies.

Twilight expected more. She expected that Chrysalis would have a harem of her favored guards and workers surrounding her, feeding off the love they felt for herself. It didn't feel good to be proven wrong. In fact she was looking forward to making a scene. It had been so long after all. But this scene of herself seeming to do nothing more than eat her food was a let down.

“Alprecha?” Twilight called. The Cuckoo being present was a surprise. She had after all, grounded, her. It was more surprising that Chrysalis had allowed Alprecha to hang around her after her supposed irritation with her. “Did you have something to do with this?”

“I'm Sorry!” Alprecha wailed, shooting out from underneath the table. Twilight had to fight back her old urge to swat at that spindly black bug shape that flew around the room. “Here, have it back!” Alprecha placed the bacon sifter on the table in front of Twilight. “I- I wont tell anyone, I don't even know what it is!”

“You clearly aren't that ashamed of it, otherwise I wouldn't be able to see you right now.” Twilight said.

Alprecha sucked in a breath of air. That was true, but she doubted that would do any good in the first place. Twilight always seemed to know where she was and Chrysalis seemed to be able to tell as well, and disappearing after Twilight already saw her at the table wouldn't do any good anyway.

“I was hoping you would wake up later,” Chrysalis said with a sigh. “I guess even a whole bottle of tranquilizers doesn't keep an alicorn out for very long. I happened to enjoy this morning without you around, the morning proceedings were much easier to sit through.”

“I plan to learn everything you did in my absence.” Chrysalis mouthed Twilight's words while moving her hoof up and down. “Whatever you did, I will protect my citizens from-”

“Blah Blah Blah, I know the routine. You aren't the first in the last hundred thousand years to be a hero you know,” Chrysalis said, biting on some salad she floated to her mouth. “And nothing happened. I have a witness. Right Alprecha?”

Twilight turned her gaze on the Cuckoo who was now standing on the table, seemingly unaware of how rude that was. She scratched her hooves in shame.

“I was going to stop her,” Alprecha said. “I swear, the moment she did anything I was going to stop her. She just, didn't do anything for me to stop. It was really boring.”

“I... see.” Twilight said with a sigh. She had wanted a fight, she wanted a rush. This blindsided her with the realization that she would have to find something else to do today. Like go back to work like usual, she didn't want to do that though.

Twilight had wanted a fight for a few reasons. The first was that she just wanted a fight for a fights sake. The second was that parts of the castle could do with a bit of remodeling and blasting away parts of the castle would not only have been cool, but would have been an excuse to do a bit of architectural work. A fight would also have allowed for a bonding moment between her and Chrysalis. She thought that maybe, up close and physical, she would start to feel something for the bug Queen, and vice versa. As it was, they had nothing to bond over that Chrysalis was accepting of. She thought maybe she was a bit insensitive to bring up the absence of changelings first thing. It wasn't like Chrysalis had had any positive thing to say about her in the first place. She was going to have to turn nothing into something – a much more difficult task than most creatures realized.

“What is this bacon stuff anyway?” Chrysalis asked, changing to her usual black and sharp form.

Twilight smiled. That was right, she still had other options, a fight was just one of them. They could still bond over more than just violence and power. Her best guess was that Chrysalis didn't know how wary to be of her in a fight yet, and wasn't going to risk it.

“I was planning to surprise you with it,” Twilight said, trotting around to the far end of the table next to the Queen. She sat down next to her with an offended look from the Changeling. “It's my- oh.” Chrysalis got up to move away, and Twilight was going to use a line she had gotten from Rarity.

Clearing her throat Twilight started, less energetic this time, but still trying to sound endearing. “I get it from a friend from a different dimension. It tastes better there than here, but a little bit of it goes a long way. Fingerprint Shield, come, sit down, have some with us.”

The grey guard made the first expression Chrysalis had seen, chipping away her fantasy of a perfect guard by just a little. He hesitated for a second, eyes darting around the room before approaching like he hadn't hesitated.

“So, I'm not in trouble?” Alprecha said, drawing Twilight's attention. The Princess' eyes narrowed, her starry mane seeming to rise a little as Twilight thought.

“Sit down,” Twilight said before turning back to Chrysalis. “I want us to be friends before anything else.” the message went through loud and clear, the roll of Chrysalis' eyes confirmed that much. “so how about a gift?”

“What did you have in mind?” Chrysalis asked. She didn't trust the Princess. She hadn't even inquired as to what she was up to this morning, and she could taste Twilight's attempts at forced love. No doubt the alicorn didn't know that even false love had a flavor to it, a sour non-filling thing.

There was a strange thing in it. When Chrysalis was first released from her stone prison, she had tasted love – real love. It was a small thing, but it was there. Somehow, Twilight had loved the idea of Chrysalis and she was now forcing herself to love the real thing.

“What you asked for,” Twilight said. “Alprecha will be punished for this, and I think I know what the punishment should be.” Chrysalis could hear the whimper that came from the Cuckoo. “Her punishment will be a debt to you.”

“A debt.” Chrysalis repeated, the word heavy on her mouth. A word that fell like a rock but twisted her lips into a scowl and left her glaring at Twilight. “Do not. Whatever it is you are about to do, don't. Let me pick the punishment if it's going to be a gift.”

“Alprecha will be bound to you for half a year. She will help you adjust to this new time period in my stead while I am busy with work. And after her debt is over she will no longer be forced to do as you command,” Twilight said.

“That is no gift!” Chrysalis hissed. “You would chain me to that annoying little, living malfeasance!”

“I've got problems with this too!” Alprecha spoke up.

“SHUT IT!” Chrysalis shouted back, sending the Cuckoo back to sitting. “I am starting to consider banishment to the sun. I would prefer to hibernate for a thousand years, than have that attached at my hip. I will have a public image to build and, That, will only be a tumor.”

“We'll have to do something about the way you talk about others,” Twilight said. “And no, that wasn't your gift, that was her punishment.”

“It's hardly her being punished!” Chrysalis whined.

“Oh hush. As I was trying to say, I will leave Fingerprint shield at your side only for as long as Alprecha is debted.”

Chrysalis shot a glance at the grey guard, who ate his salad, not reacting to the conversation at hand if he cared enough to do so. “Fine!” Chrysalis snapped. “Am I also allowed to leave Canterlot?” she mocked.

Twilight however opened her eyes a bit, then raising her hoof to her chin in thought. “I suppose if I didn't I would be a jailer, sort of what you already went through. And it might even help me. Oh what the hay, why not.”

“In that case,” Chrysalis said, not fully trusting Twilight's words, “Alprecha, Shield, pack your things tonight, we leave first thing in the morning.”

A gasp escaped Alprecha. Her worries were soon soothed over by her Princess. “Well that's not quite what I meant,” Twilight said. “Alprecha still has a bit of work to do at the school. Though I suppose the new semester hasn't started yet. I can pull a few strings but her education has to come first. Top of her class and all, can't go wasting that talent.”

“Second place is not top of the class.” Alprecha groaned.

Twilight just laughed. Chrysalis ignored the continued attempts at conversation from the princess. In a stroke of irony it was one of the few things that was easier done than said. Her own bowl of salad had plenty more of that bacon stuff to find and the search for that interesting flavor was too distracting. Alprecha whined the rest of the time and the grey guard ate his salad in total silence.

She had her own guard now, and a test subject. Maybe Twilight hadn't realized how big a boon having a Cuckoo around was for her, despite the annoyance she felt for the current one. She could learn plenty about how this new hive worked, and how she could control it. Perhaps by the time the next six months were up she would understand it enough that Alprecha could be stripped of those annoyances and stay with her, wanting and willing.

“So what is Bacon anyway?” Alprecha asked, sneaking the sifter back into the crook of her collarbone. “Do you really eat pets?”

“Do I eat pets?” Twilight repeated, shocked. “Why in the world would you think I eat pets?”

“It's just that, there's been a rumor going around you eat attractive dogs.”