Heroes, Villians and Those Who Fall Betwixt

Chrysalis, former queen of the changelings, stood silently as her manager strode angrily back and forth in front of her.

“And another thing,” the middle-aged woman began, raising a crooked finger in the air. “You need to stop getting your work done so quickly.”

“I don't understand,” Chrysalis replied. “I thought that was the goal.”

“Typical millennial, you don't understand business at all,” scoffed the manager, flicking the long strand of bleach-blonde hair that hung down her face. “You work for me, and I work for the bank, as my cleaning company, corner-to-corner cleaning holds the contract.”

Chrysalis nodded, staring dumbly forward as the slightly orange-skinned overly spray-tanned woman continued to lecture her.

“If you work slower I can bill them for more hours and if I can do that we make more money. Well you don't make any more than the minimum wage but you get what I mean,” declared the woman.nx

“I guess,” Chrysalis muttered. “But what am I supposed to stay if one of the bank executives asks me to speed things up?”

“Just pretend you don't speak English. It shouldn't be hard given that when you came to me you didn't speak anything but Mexican or whatever your language is,” the manager dismissed.

Memories of Chrysalis’ somewhat awkward attempts to speak English and occasionally slipping into Equish popped into her mind. With that memory came a hint of regret, as she had assumed that the farm hands she had met upon arrival were the dominant group. Apparently not and now she was paying for constructing an identity based upon the tanned, mexican family that had taken her in initially.

On the other hand, at least she was fluent in Spanish. Perks of being a shapeshifter.

Such a strange place. Chrysalis thought to herself. There is so much division.

“Did you hear me, Crystal?” demanded the manager.

“Yes Miss Scott,” Chrysalis muttered, biting back the figurative as well as literal venom she wished desperately to spit.

“Please just call me Brittany. Miss Scott makes me feel old,” retorted the human, wagging a finger at Chrysalis. “And don't forget it this time.”

“Yes, Brittany,” Chrysalis exclaimed.

“Good, and another thing,” Brittany began again, pacing back and forth in the small janitor’s ‘office’ that had once been the building’s boiler room. “You need to stop trying to seduce Mister Fritz.”

“I don't know what you are talking about,” Chrysalis retorted, arms crossed over her chest.

“Don't play that game with me, missy,” Brittany retorted, wagging a finger in Chrysalis’ face. “If I want to I could revoke your immigration status and send you straight back to Mexico.”

Chrysalis resisted the urge to bite the woman’s finger off or make some kind of cruel insult targeting her boss’ lumpy figure, poor makeup skills, and overreliance on expensive foul-smelling perfumes. This was not out of kindness however, as the former queen knew that humanity was a paranoid species, and Americans were doubly so. Worse yet, there were beings here called supers who had powers on par with her own, adding an extra layer of difficulty to things.

Heck, the only reason she had gotten this far was due to the kindness of that strange family who took pity on Chrysalis. The frightened shapeshifter had taken on a form similar to that of a distant relative that Chrysalis had spotted in one of the pictures. Luckily they had disappeared a few months earlier, allowing the exiled monarch to take on their identity with little effort. Sure it took the last of her magic to smooth over the inconsistencies in her story but it could have gone much worse.

The only part Chrysalis regretted was choosing the slightly portly woman in the picture as the identity she would steal. Sure she was moderately attractive by human standards, but the increased mass annoyed Chrysalis to no end, at least at first anyway. Now though, the love handles, ample bust, and wide hips were second nature to the changeling and she rarely bumped into things anymore.

“Don't think I haven't seen you trying to talk him up on your break,” Brittany continued. “You are trying to snag him out from under me and I won't let you get away with it you cheeky little minx!”

“I was not trying to seduce him, Miss Brittany, honest,” Chrysalis exclaimed, raising her hands defensively.

The changeling resisted the urge to explain that she had indeed been attempting to seduce the man. He had power, authority, and considerable sway in the bank due to familial connections higher up. Only Chrysalis to find out that he was completely fucking nuts, and was now obsessed with her, despite the queen having given up on her attempts to steal his heart.

“Just Brittany,” hissed the manager.

“Yes, Brittany,” Chrysalis corrected.

“Don't try to distract me, I’ve seen you chatting with him, and I know you are after his money but that fortune of his is mine I tell you, mine!” Brittany proclaimed, leaning forward and clenching a fist. “Interfere again and it's over for you, got it?”

“Got it,” Chrysalis muttered.

“Good, now remember what I told you. Don't work too fast and stay away from my man. I’ll be back to check up on you in a week,” Brittany proclaimed, stomping out of the room and throwing the door closed behind her.

“Augh,” Chrysalis groaned, falling into the empty office chair. “How I despise that wretched woman.”

A frown creased the tanned, freckled face of the changeling.

“How did things end up like this?”

Chrysalis sighed, and leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling as her mind wandered.

Not long ago, in another dimension, Chrysalis was fleeing through winding, ill-used tunnels originally dug centuries earlier. The gold those original tunnelers had sought was gone, leaving only dozens maybe even hundreds of corridors splintering in all directions. Though abandoned, there were signs that someone had used it relatively recently, with that person having been her only a few months ago.

“Get back here you shape-shifting jerk face!” Shouted the distant voice of Rainbow Dash.

Chrysalis cursed under her breath and poured on the speed, galloping down one tunnel then turning quickly and leaping into a side passage. Behind her, Chrysalis could sense that her pursuers were gaining on her, though thankfully they still had far to go.

“You’ve really done it this time Chrysalis! You’re going to get double Tartarus for trying to destroy Canterlot!” Yelled the biggest thorn to ever poke Chrysalis in the side, Twilight Sparkle.

Chrysalis wanted to retort with some kind of insult, personal jab, or a declaration that she would be back to try again. However, the feeling of defeat and resignation stifled even her ever-present desire to needle her enemies. Failure after failure had left the changeling with only one way out, though it wasn't one she had ever wanted to use.

Sprinting down another stone passageway, Chrysalis could see a light appear in the distance. The dim torch burned faithfully in the dark, illuminating the passage and guiding Chrysalis to her final destination. When finally she entered the wide cavern, she immediately searched the area, seeking out any sign that someone had entered her hidden sanctum.

The distant pool of dark water remained as still as death while around it, a wide spiraling rune spread in all directions. Large enough to nearly occupy the whole of the expansive space, the web of magic remained intact and whole despite how long it had been since Chrysalis had been down here. On the walls, the magical torches burned continually, lighting up the whole area in an emerald glow and revealing that nothing was out of place.

Without missing a beat, Chrysalis crossed the rune with her wings and stood next to the pool, her horn glowing brightly. She just needed one last thing and she would be home-

“Stop right there criminal scum!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “You aren't getting away this time, Chrysalis!”

“Yeah, so just come quietly before we have to do this the hard way,” Applejack added.

Chrysalis turned around and scowled as the six of her most hated enemies arrayed themselves before her.

“You are outmatched and outnumbered Chrysalis. Give up already,” Twilight demanded, stepping ahead of the others.

“You may have foiled my plans for the last time but it doesn't matter. Not anymore,” Chrysalis shouted back.

“What are you talking about, Chrysalis?” Fluttershy asked.

“You see, I’m going to escape to the one place uncorrupted by friendship,” Chrysalis exclaimed, raising a hoof triumphantly into the air. “The human world!”

“Don't be ridiculous darling. Of course, humans have friendship,” Rarity dismissed.

“Not that world. This pool is linked to an earth that no pony has ever visited and it is there that I shall rebuild my army!” Chrysalis proclaimed.

“I think she’s finally lost the last of her marbles,” Pinkie Pie added, spinning a hoof over her ear and rolling her eyes around in their sockets.

“I never thought Chrysalis would ever just give up. I’m kinda disappointed,” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“I am not crazy, and I will never give up!” Chrysalis bellowed. “I will return with an army of slaves strong enough to crush you, and the rest of Equestria!”

“Wait, Chrysalis. Your rune is unstable,” Twilight interjected. “If you go through it now the portal will close behind you. You’ll never be able to make it back.”

“I do the tricking around here, Sparkle,” Chrysalis spat. “Stay in your lane.”

“I think she’s right darling,” Rarity murmured. “That interchange matrix looks rather incomplete.”

“Enough! You will not bamboozle me, I do the bamboozling!” Chrysalis declared, igniting her horn and shooting a flash of magic at the rune. “Goodbye Equestria, next time we meet I will be a queen once more!”

Before anyone had a chance to move or say anything, Chrysalis fell backward into the pool, instantly vanishing beneath its surface. Though the changeling had never traversed the space between worlds before, she expected it would be a simple affair. She’d fall for a bit, then she would land on her hooves in a new world, none the worse for wear.

That was not what happened.

“Ow, ow, ow,” Chrysalis muttered as she hit something hard only to bounce off and slam into something else.

Chrysalis couldn't see what she was hitting but it felt hard enough to be stone. It was like she had been thrown down a flight of stairs and there was nothing she could do to arrest her fall. Her limbs flailed, and she tried to hold onto something, anything but within the infinite inky blackness there was nothing.

Only the strange angled surfaces that seemed designed to hit her where it hurt.

Her head bounced off something hard, disorienting the changeling. She didn't get a chance to clear her thoughts before she hit another wall, the whole front half of her body slamming into it. Falling backward, a foreleg clipped something and flew in another direction, leaving yet another bruise.

This continued for what felt like an eternity, with Chrysalis taking more hits than when she had been fighting the elements of harmony. Worse still her magic didn't function and the rest of her senses told her nothing. Screaming into the void in utter panic, Chrysalis simply hoped that she’d reach the other end of whatever she was trapped in before her chitin gave out.

Her wish was granted and a large opening revealed itself somewhere far below her. Between it and her was a great kaleidoscope of colors, shapes, and sounds which only disoriented the changeling even more when she fell into it. It was like the changeling was falling through a kaleidoscope, her body twisting and changing without her command.

Through the pain and confusion, she glimpsed out of the corner of her eye what looked like her reflection. No, not her reflection but rather a different version of herself, one that was missing an eye and had a metal foreleg.

“What the?” Chrysalis muttered.

Peering out into the endless shifting mass of color lay an infinite tableau of herself. She saw that there were others out there that were different species, pony, minotaur, dragon, and even others she didn't recognize. Bipedal, hairless creatures with lanky arms and forward-facing eyes, twisted creatures with too many limbs and far too many limbs. There was even a version out there that had a second head and a copy that looked almost exactly like Twilight.

“What the-”

Chrysalis’ mutterings were interrupted when her head hit the ground and she was knocked back into the darkness.

Shaking her head, Chrysalis dismissed the memory and slapped her hands against her cheeks.

“Gotta get going,” she muttered to herself. “Can't be late.”

The changeling gathered herself, gave her appearance a brief once over, and paused. The clothes she had chosen were acceptable, but the large apron adorned with her boss’s logo was, frankly speaking, hideous. Written in bolded comic sans, it alone was enough to make her entire appearance drop from a seven to a five, and that was Chrysalis being generous.

“Maybe if I added an earring or something it would draw attention away from this horrible thing,” Chrysalis remarked, only to sigh. “No point worrying about that now.”

Heading toward the door, she grabbed the cart carrying her cleaning supplies and proceeded into the hallway beyond. The work itself wasn't what she would call satisfying, but it helped her gather intelligence, as well as emotional energy.

Dragging her feet slightly and appearing more tired than she actually was earned Chrysalis a helping of pity from the front desk worker. The emotion was bitter, but filling, unlike the lust she drank from a few of the tellers she interrupted to clean out the garbage cans beneath their desks. It didn't take much, with Chrysalis merely bending over a bit too far, or flicking her hair out of her eyes at just the right time.

Male or female, they all gave the changeling a snack. It wasn't much individually but taken as a whole… well, it still wasn't a lot but thankfully Chrysalis didn't use much magical power. Her disguise was second nature at this point, with the changeling sometimes not switching back for days or even weeks at a time. On occasion, she’d wonder if she would get stuck that way but dismissed the notion as silly.

With her reserves of emotions full once more, Chrysalis moved on to gathering intelligence. The slightly round socially awkward female always found at the water cooler was a good source of superhero gossip. With only a slight amount of prompting Chrysalis was able to find out that the majority of supers in town were busy on some kind of off-world mission.

Such a golden opportunity would usually excite the changeling, but she dismissed it, telling herself that it was not yet time. She didn't have any criteria for when that time would come, but she tried not to think about that, with Chrysalis brushing it off as something she’d worry about later. After a bit more prodding about heroes, and coming up empty handed she continued on to office gossip.

Who was dating who. If there were any breakups, Chrysalis made sure to make a mental note of everything even vaguely important. Those who had just suffered heartbreak were easy targets to keep in mind, while those who did the breaking would be avoided. There was only room for one emotional vampire around here, and that was Chrysalis.

All this information gathering and subtle office politicking was an interesting distraction but that was about all it was. Her recent defeat still weighed heavily on the changeling’s mind and despite time to think Chrysalis had yet to come up with a way forward. The crushing malaise of failure was like a yoke around her neck, dragging her down into the mundane drudgery of this strange world.

“Hey Crystal, how's it going girl?” Greeted a voice.

Chrysalis slipped her duster into a free pocket and turned around to find that one of her favorite people was present. Short, young, and strange even for this weird world, the girl was barely old enough to work yet was apparently head of the IT department. Chrysalis recalled that she had both earned the job due to her genius but had gotten the interview due to some kind of nepotism that no one had dared to elaborate on.

Standing five foot nothing, with a midnight black mohawk nearly a foot tall, the human fell well outside the normal dress code. A leather jacket, a strange and unreadable band shirt, plus some piercings, dark makeup, and pointy jewelry completed the look. She was also paler than any human Chrysalis had met before or since, giving the appearance of a living corpse.

“Cassandra,” Chrysalis exclaimed with a genuine smile, opening her arms invitingly. “How are you doing today?”

“Better now,” Cassandra replied, meeting Chrysalis halfway and wrapping her in a brief, tight hug.

Chrysalis smiled, savoring the moment, and relishing the genuinely friendly emotions given off by the odd girl. She wanted to hold on for a bit longer but resisted that urge, not wanting to make it as awkward as the first time Chrysalis had hugged someone.

“Busy day?” Chrysalis gently inquired.

“Oh you have no idea,” Cassandra griped, trodding across the small out-of-the-way break room to the coffee machine. “So many idiots getting locked out of their email addresses. You’d think this was the first time we had a security scare and needed them to change it.”

“I thought that kind of thing was a bit below your pay grade,” Chrysalis pointed out.

Cassandra clicked the pod into place at the top of the machine, dropped her cup into the slot, and flicked the start button.

“It is,” declared the human, turning around and hopping up, sitting at the counter’s edge. “But Steve keeps getting sick and I’m the only one who can cover for him.”

“Hopefully whatever he has, it's terminal,” Chrysalis muttered.

“No kidding. Maybe if he kicked the bucket I’d finally be able to convince management to hire someone a bit more reliable,” Cassandra remarked all the while scowling bitterly.

“Here's to hoping,” Chrysalis added.

“Yeah,” Cassandra murmured absently.

Chrysalis could feel that the girl was a bit… off and not just because of the stress. Still, Chrysalis had a job to do, so she set about dusting over top of the fridge and tidying the area up. Large enough only for a small booth, about ten square feet of standing area, a small counter, a mini fridge, and a coffee machine the room was not very big. Likely converted from an office, it was Cassandra’s favorite place to get a bit of time away from work, and everyone who knew what was good for them avoided it because of this fact.

“Say, I was thinking,” Cassandra murmured, shifting from cheek to cheek atop the counter. “Or I guess it's more apt to say that me and my girlfriend were thinking. Or talking, though we were both thinking it as well of course.”

Chrysalis paused and glanced over at the human curiously, the faint aroma of nervous anticipation and puppy love drawing the changeling’s attention like a moth to flame.

“You mean your girlfriend, the cape?” Chrysalis inquired.

“Uh yeah, she and I had like, this big huge talk and we were wondering if you uh… how do I put this?” Cassandra muttered, looking anywhere but in Chrysalis’ face.

Wait, is she attracted to me? But she has… oh this is complicated. Chrysalis thought to herself.

“Put what? Exactly,” Chrysalis gently pressed.

“I er I guess I mean we were thinking that if you were free this Saturday that I-no we would uh-” Cassandra muttered, stumbling her way through her sentence with all the grace of a drunken elephant. “Oh, I’m so bad at this.”

Chrysalis opened her mouth to reply only for all the lights on the entire floor to go out all at once. Before anyone had a chance to speak, illumination returned, only dulled somewhat as if the whole bank was running on half power.

“Some idiot villain must have taken out another power line,” Cassandra muttered.

“I’m not so sure,” Chrysalis murmured, glancing out the window.

The world outside looked normal, at least at first glance anyway. Chrysalis peered out of the third-story window to see that the world continued to move without them. No one on the street seemed to notice the eerie half-light the whole building was shrouded in. Not only that, but Chrysalis could tell that surrounding the structure was an inky film not unlike-

“Illusion magic,” Chrysalis muttered. “Only, different somehow.”

“Did you say something?” Cassandra asked.

“No, just speculating on what's going on,” Chrysalis replied.

“Well whatever it is, it brought down the network, and not just the wifi,” Cassandra remarked, turning her phone around and revealing that she had no reception. “All signals are getting blocked somehow.”

Chrysalis tugged at the window, trying to open the thing but was stopped by some invisible force. Pulling on it harder did nothing but annoy the changeling as it didn't budge so much as a millimeter.

“There's a barrier over the whole place too,” Chrysalis added. “There's no escape.”

“Wait… this has to be bank robbers right?” Cassandra suddenly exclaimed. “Power outage, barriers, a perception filter placed over the whole place…”

Cassandra snapped her fingers.

“It's the blackout bandits,” proclaimed the girl.

“The who and the what now?” Chrysalis muttered.

“The blackout bandits,” Cassandra repeated. “My girlfriend talked about them. Apparently a small group of about five people or so have been breaking into banks all over the city and getting away scott-free.”

“Are they violent?” Chrysalis inquired.

“No major injuries have ever been reported, only minor electrical burns. Supposedly they always have an inside person,” Cassandra added, leaning in close. “Once this is over, the local justice society is gonna be all over us.”

Chrysalis resisted the urge to gulp or show any emotion at all.

“That is… unfortunate,” Chrysalis muttered.

“Why do you say that?” Cassandra pressed, peering intently at the other female.

“Because I…” Chrysalis paused for a moment, hastily concocting a half lie. “Because I’m not here legally.”

“Oh… oh!” Cassandra exclaimed. “That does complicate matters.”

“I’m going to stop them, but I’m going to need your help,” Chrysalis declared.

“What? Are you insane? These are professionals we are talking about. They’ve got powers, likely a whole slew of them, and were just two normal people!” Cassandra proclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

“Correction, there is one normal person present,” Chrysalis offered.

“What do you…” Cassandra’s jaw hung open.

Chrysalis was suddenly engulfed in green flames, her form melting away to reveal an identical copy of Cassandra. Fire quickly obscured the changeling once more, falling away to show that she had returned to what was quickly becoming Chrysalis’ standard form.

“Holy shit,” Cassandra muttered. “You can shapeshift?”

“Yes, but that's not the point right now,” Chrysalis exclaimed, stepping toward the woman. “If I get discovered it's gonna be bad news I tell you.”

“No shit. An undiscovered and undocumented super would be big news,” Cassandra muttered.

“Exactly, and I like it here. Well, sorta. The point is that I don't want that kind of attention especially not now. Which is where you come in,” Chrysalis continued, fixing Cassandra with a firm look.

“What, me?” Exclaimed the human, pointing to themself.

“You know what these guys are capable of. You know this building, and you know how to get in contact with the good guys. I need you,” Chrysalis stressed, adding extra emphasis to the last three words as she stepped towards the other woman.

“You uh… but I…” Cassandra muttered, only to frown. “This isn't going to be easy. You better be capable of more than just turning into attractive people.”

“I turned into you didn't I?” Chrysalis teased.

Cassandra chuckled.

“Fair,” she began, hopping down from the counter. “Alright, so this is what we're gonna do.”