What's Love Got to Do with It?

Chrysalis was not in the mood.

She had been encased in stone for quite a while. A long while. A very long while. She watched as ponies walked by her, laughing at her, mocking her. Some even bullied her, and that was something to see—they came by and told her she was scum every single day. It would be daunting if she was a normal pony, but this punishment befitted a changeling deadset on taking over their daily way of life, so she was okay with it. In fact, she was so okay with it that it fueled her as much as love, although they tasted quite bitter and wasn't as filling. One pony who gave her love freely could feed her just as fast as one hundred ponies that hated her.

She mentally licked her lips and furrowed her brow. She really couldn’t do anything in this stony prison, her body just stuck in place where she was frozen when they had struck her. It was a tomb that only she could bear, while she fed on the hatred of the ponies that sought her demise.

Yet…

“Hey, Twilight, can we go see the Chrysler?”

“It’s Chrysalis, Anon. And no.”

He tilted his head at Twilight Sparkle. “Why? Why can’t I go see the statue of the love bug?”

Love… bug? Chrysalis blinked as she watched the spectacle unfolding in front of her. Twilight Sparkle groaned and threw her hooves in the air. “Because she doesn’t deserve attention!”

“Really?”

The princess bobbed her head rather harshly. “She tried to end our lives as we know it. I’m not sure why you’re so curious about her!”

Anon hummed to himself, tapping his chin with his paws. “So let me get this straight, Flagpole—”

“Flagpole!?”

He snorted and continued, “Calm yourself down, Sprinkles, it was a joke.”

“Sprinkles!?”

“Yes. Sprinkles. At least that one starts with the first letter of your last name.” He cleared his throat. “So Christopher doesn’t deserve attention, right?”

“Chrysalis, but precisely.”

“And she’s currently in stone, correct?”

“Exactly.”

“Then why is she in the gardens where every single pony in existence can walk by this exact spot and see her without any issues?”

Chrysalis felt the potent emotions spitting out of his mouth. It made her so full that she wanted to knock this statue known as her concrete jungle over and gallop out of here. Instead, she was still stuck in place, just gobbling up these emotions she received like they were a healthy full meal. Although, what bothered her was that it tasted bitter like friendship, but filling like love. What was this? A blessing in a curse?

“I don’t know why, Anon. I… I—hey!”

Anon had walked over to Flagpole—sorry, Twilight Sparkle and shoved his paw into her mane. He frazzled her mane all up, making her bat him with her forehooves. He smiled with a toothy grin. “You’re being quite silly for such a critically acclaimed Princess of Friendship.”

She snorted. “Silly is the last thing I’m doing here. I’m trying to understand your perspective and, well, my friends and I have tried so hard to become friends with her, but she kept running away and—”

“Are you sure that’s not a you issue?”

“Pardon?”

“A personal problem.”

She oooo'd before she aaaa’d, smacking him with one of her free wings. He winced as she spoke, “It’s not a me issue. It’s a her issue! She doesn’t want to work with us. She just wants to ensnare everyone and siphon them of their love!”

“What if it was freely given?”

Twilight Sparkle's ears perked up. “Freely? You would do—”

“With consent, of course. Not into getting forcibly finagled by a bug with love herpes.”

She blinked. “I guess it would be fine, but the pony who would indulge in that would either be put on a bet, or would be the most recluse pony of… all…” She gulped and muttered the last word, “Time.”

Chrysalis would laugh, but her face was not really feeling it. Her lips were numb, while her arms and limbs maintained their posture. This was her life as a statue, one so unfulfilling that led her to keep herself alive through her delicate magical resevoir. This resevoir allowed her to silently cast a spell for feeding without the ponies noticing (she hoped). It’s worked so far, as the emotional cocktail that Anon gave her seeped into her chitin. If she could actually see it, it probably looked less gray, but she could only imagine.

Unlike the situation in front of her. Anon's laughter pierced the air and the warmth he radiated gave a nice dollop of energy on top of what he already had given Chrysalis.

“Anon, are you saying you would want to be her consort?”

He stopped his laughter and wiped a tear from his cheek. “Spackles, please do not change even for a second. I have only cried this much one other time before. It was when Sunhorse told me I was never going to go back home…”

Twilight Sparkle blinked rather rapidly, before her lips on her muzzle sagged. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable—”

The ears that pinned against Twilight’s head suddenly shot up when Anon interrupted with his disjointed train of thought:

“...I cried because it was so funny, I nearly fell off my dinosaur!”

“Anon? Why—”

“Unfortunately, that dinosaur was made of concrete, so I almost broke my coccyx!”

“—your cock?”

“No that’s in the front, the bone I nearly shattered is in the back!”

Chrysalis felt her eyes blink. Then she watched as the two ponies walked toward her statue instead of away from her. Wasn’t Twilight Sparkle intimidated by her presence? Why was she aiding this lovely waste of sperm right in front of her? Not that she was complaining, Anon certainly tasted delightful at the moment.

“F-Fine, Anon. Here she is.”

Anon smiled. “Was it really that hard just to walk right in front of her? I mean, she’s even prettier up close!”

P-Pretty? Even if this form? She could feel her cheeks burn up, the only thing that wasn’t numb at the moment.

"Pretty? Anon she's one of the most evil creatures in all of Equestria!”

“Pretty and evil?” Anon asked, tapping his chin with his finger. “Damn, I guess I've changed my type.”

Twilight facehooved rather violently, nearly knocking herself out. She hobbled in place while Anon looked at Chrysalis. He surveyed her more before turning to his left to see Twilight looking like she was seeing stars. He propped her up with his leg while looping an arm around her neck.

“Whoa, Springles! Who just sucker punched you?”

“M-Myself,” she said lamely, shaking her head. She blinked a bit and looked up at Anon. “Thanks, Anon.”

He smirked. “No problem. Happy I could keep you steady while you recover from your own self-made concussion.”

She snorted. “Shut up.”

Anon threw up his free arm into the air. “This is what I get for helping you out?”

“Yep!” Twilight said, puffing her chest out. She stepped away from Anon and snapped her wings down, giving him a rather stern glare. “You should know that causing your own friend to nearly knock herself out is very against the principles of friendship!”

“Blaming me for your issues is against the principles of friendship,” Anon muttered, rolling his eyes.

Twilight sighed. “Anyway, do you have any questions about her?”

Anon tapped Chrysalis… somewhere. She couldn’t feel it, but it looked like his arm went somewhere toward her leg. Or it could be her chest. She couldn’t move to see and she couldn’t even feel where his hand went but… All she could feel was the love, and the care. She hadn’t felt this in a long time, and if she was strong enough, she would bust out of this statue and probably pony—er, human-nap him. She didn’t need him to be abused by Twilight Sparkle any longer!

“Would you ever release her again?”

The question reverberated in her ear drums. And it definitely looked like it went through Twilight’s too.

“I… I’d consider it if she decided to work with us and really change for the better.”

Chrysalis, if she could be, felt gobsmacked. Twilight would consider releasing her? But she had to embrace friendship. Friendship tasted awful to her—very bitter, almost just as bitter as hate. What was she going to do with that?

Apparently, Anon was radiating with a mixture of that and more. He wanted her friendship, and she might be okay with that.

“R-Really?”

The human’s complexion painted his face dark red, like the blood of Chrysalis’ enemies.

“Although she would be stuck here for quite a while. I can’t trust her enough to let her roam free—”

“That’s great news!” Anon hopped up and looked at Chrysalis again. “You hear that love bug? You could get out of there if you stopped inappropriately touching ponies no-no zones without their permission! That shouldn’t be too hard, right?”

Chrysalis, if she could do anything, would groan, roll her eyes, proclaim that she does not non-consensually siphon anyone’s love (she just takes their hate for her and filters it into sustenance), and declare she would not kowtow to the authority of Twilight Sprinkles and her motley crew of friendship.

But here, she felt different. It must be Anon’s emotions seeping through her to the point of giving her such a contact high, that even she couldn’t think straight. Why was he so into her? Why did he feel this way towards her? It… it didn’t make sense! They’ve never met before!

“She can’t hear you, Anon.”

“Oh shove it you oaf.”

Twilight and Anon’s eyes widened simultaneously.

All at once, Chrysalis started to feel things. Her mouth, her teeth, her eyes, her limbs; her everything all at once. She felt pain seer through her core, making her wince and groan. Her voice, which had pierced through the statue, made it crack and break at a pace unheard of. She could wiggle her muzzle, and look down at it with wonder.

The magic that had imprisoned her was totally vanquished, and she was now standing on that mantle piece, smiling down at the two in front of her, like she just conquered them and was about to invade their personal spaces.

She should do that!

“C-Chrysalis is free?!”

Twilight’s stutter was music to Chrysalis’ ears. “Yes, I am free, somehow. You can thank him for that.”

“Me?” Anon said, pointing at himself.

“Yes, you, Mr. Question Mark. Tell me, do you always radiate so many emotions all at once?”

“First off, my name isn’t Mr. Quest—”

“Anon?! Why aren’t you freaking out?!”

Twilight’s flailing made Chrysalis laugh through her belly. It felt good to laugh now. “Flagpole—”

“NOT YOU TOO!”

Anon laughed and beckoned Chrysalis to hop down. She did, a bit cautiously, fluttering her wings as she gently landed. Only, this time, Anon wrapped his arms around her, which made her yelp. “B-Buh?”

His name burned her lips as the human smiled with glee, showing his pearly whites. “Good to know you heard everything.” He patted her on the head. “And to answer your question, it’s because I am me. No one else can do what I do.”

She felt her lips curl inward, trying to look anywhere else other than at him. “I-I see…” She was going to say more when she had to lick her lips. This was not what she expected. “It’s good to know that somepony—err, some creature looks at me like I’m not someone who should just die on the spot.”

“Totally relatable, Chronostasis. Some of the nobles look at me like that too, but I tend to just tell them to screw themselves. It usually works out, as the guards use them as practice for sparring. It’s pretty entertaining, so much so that Distrack pops out of nowhere to get me some of his chaotic popcorn. I don’t know which crevice of his chaos realm he pulls it from, but it’s really good.” He snapped his fingers and smiled. “You should join us next time!”

“Next time?” Chrysalis said with a head tilt.

“Yeah, since you’re staying at the castle. You’re going to change for the ‘better’ right?”

Her muzzle scrunched up at that one, so much so that she looked elsewhere, primarily at the blue sky. Was it always this blue? “I… I don’t know. I can’t just change in one day. Being evil tastes sooooo good. How could I put that down just yet? I—agh!” Chrysalis suddenly shouted. She wanted to turn to see who just zapped her, but she couldn’t move her head. “Who became more evil than me?”

Twilight Sparkle’s voice echoed in her ears. ”I did. You’re not going anywhere, Chrysalis!” She could hear her hooves clip-clop on the pavement. “Anon, quick, get a bucket for her!”

“Which bucket? The bucket of shit that one guard sits in, or the big bucket that you use to trans—wait, why am I asking that question?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight began as she came into Chrysalis’ view. Blast this pony and her erratic state of mind! “You just said the one that made sense last and— wait a second!” Twilight shouted, her bottom lip quivering. “There’s a guard using a bucket to defecate in?!”

“Pretend you didn’t hear that!” Anon shouted as he raced into what she presumed was the castle.

Chrysalis sucked in a deep breath. Ponies and creatures of all shapes and sizes were staring at her. She could feel their emotions, how some were fearful, and some were confused. These emotions did nothing to stave off her hunger, as that was everlasting torture that only she could bear. All she could do was stay still, rendered immobile by that blasted spell Twilight Sparkle had cast on her. The silly alicorn bested her again.

It bothered Chrysalis so much that she wanted to ask her assailant about it.

“Twilight Sparkle, why have you paralyzed me?”

“Because you admitted you weren’t going to change, Chrysalis! I can’t trust you just yet.”

Chrysalis sighed. “Understandable, given the conditions.”

“So that’s why I—wait, you’re admitting it?”

“Why wouldn’t I? It’s part of who I am. I’m a dark changeling queen—eh, I was one. Now I'm without a hive, without a home. Without my status, I am nothing. I am just as better off than I was as that statue. In fact, could you just put me back as a statue and tell Anon that you teleported me into the desert somewhere? That would be great.”

Chrysalis could feel Twilight Sparkle’s gaze on her. She closed her eyes tight, while a few hoofsteps echoed in her ears. “Was that a request?”

“More like a suggestion. Anyway, unfortunately for us both, I’m not a statue anymore and you're not going to send me away like that."

"How do you know?"

Chrysalis narrowed her gaze, her brows furrowed. "You're not apt to unalive ponies, let alone discard them just like that. You’re just like Celestia: always parading around her victories like trophies in a room. And when you’re done, you try to reform them with your friendship spells."

"Friendship spells? Chrysalis, I don't use spells to make friends. It's all natural!"

"Right…” She snorted and continued, “Point being, Twilight Sparkle, thanks to you, I think this is most likely the universe telling me to change. Either that or Anon is the real changeling and I’m just a pawn in his plan to overthrow you.”

“Trust me, he’s not a changeling. I scanned him when I first found him,” Twilight said oh so matter-of-factly. “Besides, he wouldn’t do that anyway. He’s…”

She opened her eyes to see Twilight sitting down in front of her. Twilight’s voice had trailed off, but her countenance did not match. She looked up at Chrysalis with a fierce gaze, but then, as it looked like she took in Chrysalis’ words, Twilight’s head fell short, looking at the ground like it was way more interesting than her. She snorted and took in a deep breath.

“It’s interesting, Chrysalis. While you may not understand him, I think I've gotten him down for the most part. Sure, he annoys me with his nicknames, and he tends to be a bit more goofy than even Pinkie Pie, but... Anon’s a very loving guy. He's smart in such a roundabout way. It's probably because he doesn’t think too much. He just thinks enough.” She laughed. “And it’s f-funny to think how that just works for him. He loves working with me, despite me struggling to keep myself together while managing an entire kingdom as the sole princess of Equestria. All the ponies look up to me and I have to do my best to bring them the peace they’re looking for.

“And now… and now that you’re free… I’m worried. You’re a threat to that peace, the peace that I’ve worked so long on establishing. And not to mention, you're a threat to what Anon and I have. As Equestria as my witness, it's my job to not only maintain the peace, but also ensure that no pony else is harmed by you, even if it means permanently shattering your ability to do magic." She sighed and glared at Chrysalis with a thousand suns, just like Celestia would do. "How does that sound for not being apt?"

Chrysalis blinked. “Didn't hear anything about killing me, so you’re still not apt, but that is pretty realistic."

Twilight opened her mouth, but stopped herself and held her muzzle with her forehoof. She gasped. “Wait, really?”

“Of course. You’re just dealing with a threat that refuses to indulge in the ‘power of friendship’.” Chrysalis gagged after saying that, but she continued through a sputtered cough, “I hate it too, but… Anon has made me curious. Friendship has always tasted bitter to me. Is it really worth it?”

To Chrysalis’ surprise, Twilight Sparkle smiled. “Y-Yes. Yes it is. We all have our quirks, and we may disagree with each other, but friendship will always power through, even if you are evil and want to capitulate an entire country that doesn’t even do background checks on their staff.”

“Wait, you don’t do background checks on your staff?”

Twilight plugged her mouth with a hoof. She stared at Chrysalis in horror, before opening said mouth again. “Could you pretend that you didn’t hear that?”

Chrysalis’ snaggletooth wore well in her smirk. “Sure, Sprinkles.”

“Please don’t call me that.”

“I don't know. Anon's way of naming you is rather charming.”

“I can jab you with my horn again.”

“Kinky. Are you really that much of a sexual deviant, Twilight Sparkle?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Chrysalis. I will not indulge in your fantasies.”

“If you say so…”

Twilight Sparkle harrumphed as her lips tucked inward. Chrysalis could feel Twilight’s discontent roar, and it made her happy. So happy that she licked her own lips in glee.

Then, she heard hoofsteps, followed by an unceremonious clang ring out beside her. Twilight walked out of Chrysalis’ view, much to her dismay. Did Anon bring the bucket with him? And why were they using a bucket? Couldn’t they just magically hoist her above? What a goofy pair of crea—

“Anon, lift her hindlegs.”

“I’m trying, but her ass is too fat!”

Chrysalis growled. “Are you calling me fat?”

“Yes. A good type of fat. Now can you just—aaaah!”

Somehow, someway, Chrysalis mustered up some strength in her hindlegs and tried to kick him away from her.

“Anon!” Twilight shouted, probably going to see if he’s okay.

“Dude, she just kicked me in the face!”

“Wow, and you took that one to the chin. Say, do you think you could do kickboxing?”

“Equestria has kickboxing?”

“Yes, although it’s just starting. No thanks to all your UAFFSee talk.”

“Why did you say UFC like that?”

“Wait, that's how you say it?”

Chrysalis could hear a resounding smack shortly after. It was probably Anon slapping Twilight or something. That would be very evil. Would this count as her (as herself) rubbing off on Anon? It was way too early for her influence already affecting him!

She watched as the two came into view. Twilight was rolling her eyes while Anon was holding his chin still. A red mark on his cheek became very clear to her. That wasn’t him slapping Twilight, that was him hurting himself in confusion!

“Twilight Sparkle, may you humor me for a second?”

“Sure.”

“Why are you taking me in a bucket?”

Twilight pondered for a brief moment with her hoof tapping her muzzle. She then flicked her wings out and smiled. “It’s because using magic on somepony like you may cause you to absorb more magic than you should!”

“Absorb more magic?”

Anon interjected here. “Something about overloading someone who has used too much magic already. If that happens, it could cause your horn to explode.” He watched as Twilight lifted the remainder of Chrysalis into the rather lengthy bucket—how does she fit in here? “Sounds like a lot of hogwash if I’ve ever heard of any!”

“Not even, Anon! It’s true. There’s been… three cases of it.”

“Just three?”

“We only started reporting these things in the past twenty years!”

“Oh,” Anon said. He patted Chrysalis on her withers. “In that case, this makes sense. Although the bucket seems to be a pretty weird choice of container. Why aren’t we using something else, Sparkles?”

“Because it’s the closest thing I could remember. Besides, she’s all set now. Now, if you could be so kind and stop—egh—talking—agh!”

Chrysalis looked down and realized she was already airborne. Twilight had surrounded the bucket with her magic and was being very gentle in moving her. The grunting must be her trying to only focus on that and nothing else. It was great to know that being at the mercy of somepony else could be so laughably terrifying. “Be careful, Sprinkler!”

“I’m trying, Anon, just make sure no pony is in my way!”

The two 'moseyed' their way through the castle, much to the chagrin of everyone else who was visiting the castle that day.

Twilight was panting. Anon was panting. Chrysalis was… panting.

They were in a somewhat well-lit room, with a couple guards blocking the door. Noisy ponies outside were asking questions, demanding answers, and being generally unruly. The two guards were calling them goofballs.

Chrysalis could hear the sound of magic flare. A few purple flickers of dust flew by her face, and she wondered what Twilight Sparkle did now.

And then she moved her hoof.

Oh. That’s what it was.

Chrysalis looked over at Twilight. “Is this where I am to be held, Twilight Sparkle?”

“Yes, and stop using my full name. Twilight is fine.”

“O-Okay, Twilight,” Chrysalis said, feeling her words were way more coarse than usual. They sounded way better in her head. She licked her lips. That didn’t help. “So what are we going to do now?”

Twilight No-Longer Sparkles shrugged. “Well, we could talk about next steps, and to get you reintegrated with society.”

“Reintegrated?”

“Yes, reintegrated.” She slugged her way over to Chrysalis and jabbed a hoof onto her chest. "If you’re going to become a full-fledged member of my kingdom, you’re going to change. And you’re going to like it.”

“You could at least buy her dinner let alone lunch, Twiggles—”

“Anon, please put a cork in it. Just this once, please. My head’s aching and I really need to take a nap.”

Chrysalis watched as Anon gave her and Twilight a hug. “Come on, what’s with the hostility? We can become friends in no time at all, right? Right?”

Chrysalis wondered if Anon was high, or if Twilight's glare was a sign that she was about to sacrifice him to Faust.

She didn’t know. And she was, for once in her life, scared out of her wits.