Cadance Does A Die Hard

The feeling of her soul being shoved down into another body, and this time, coughing the dust out her lungs.

Cadance's first impression of where she was now consisted of being blind, so she lit her horn to see crystal.

Now, Cadance has lived in the Crystal Empire for nearing two years. She lived in crystal, ate crystal foods, drank things named 'crystal' ect. The moment she looked at more crystal, that spark of contemptment filled back into her nose and exited with a snort of disapproval.

"Not a great track record for this."

Her voice echoed, and she looked around.

These are the crystal caverns underneath Canterlot.

It was an obvious observation, as she had once spent two weeks staring at the walls down here. Luckily, there was also a way out. Cadance took flight, and trailed down back the way she and Twilight had taken to escape the prison previously.

Call it strange, but there was some nostalgia for this prison. Cadance hadn't been 'captured' like a theoretical fictional princess would face routinely, but there was that hostage situation in Minos which she was technically a part of. Nonetheless, this was special, especially because Twilight was here, so she took the focus out of her flight to hum the song she sang when they were originally making their grand escape.

That being said, she was happy to see the marble of Canterlot Castle, which was saying something for how tired she was of looking at glittering crystals all the time. She heard buzzing, and a few moments later, Cadance saw the line of changelings flitting down the servant hallway she'd stepped into.

Loud last time, if I'm going to do this...

Some of the changelings stopped what they were doing and openly gawked at the pink Alicorn that had just wandered out of a cave. None of them seemed to know what to make of her nonchalant expression.

~Let's go silly~

She started trotting, one of the changelings hissed and stepped forwards.

Cadance inclined her head, "Evening." and kept walking. The changelings in question were distracted long enough for her to turn the corner, more guards in blue keratin. "Excuse me, sirs?" One of them dropped their spear in surprise, "Could you- oh." The other one took off down the hallway, leaving a comically shaped cloud of smoke behind them.

Cadance turned to the other changeling, still fumbling over their spear as the changelings that she'd gone past poked their head around the corner of the hallway to see what in the world was going on.

"Could you take me to Chrysalis? Please? I need to speak with her about the structural integrity of the caves beneath Canterlot." Cadance held back a laugh as the changeling's face went from fear to confusion to consternation and then back. As the changeling tried to figure out whether it should try to stab her or not, Cadance decided to go in a little more.

She put on a sickly sweet smile that was mostly real, and let the amusement sparkle in her eyes. "I'm the new inspection agent, and Canterlot is in a lot of trouble with the CSNSCA if we can't get these things straightened out."

After taking a moment to really hear the audacity of what she had just said, the changeling spoke. "CSNSC?"

"Well," Cadance let herself laugh, she'd never been a realtor before, but this must be what it feels like, "The Canterlot Stable, Neighborhood, and Street Construction Association of course!"

The changeling wilted under her enthusiasm. "Uhhh-"

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!"

Oh good!

"WE'RE MINUTES AWAY FROM STAMPING OUT A RESISTANCE AN-d you're..." Chrysalis' yelling tapered off as she turned the corner and spotted Cadance. A look of shock mixed with bafflement followed, "Didn't you starve to death in a cave?"

Cadance's realtor act dropped in a heartbeat she opened her mouth in shock, "You let me starve to death?!"

"I just assumed!" Chrysalis returned, moderately with worry, and ever growing confusion, which switched to rage on a dime. "What in Tartarus is going on here?! Is this some kind of prank? I'll have you dismembered for-"

Cadance shrugged and blasted Chrysalis through the wall.

The changelings around her got halfway through a dog pile rush before the ones at the front felt the menace radiating from the pink Alicorn, glanced at the solid marble their queen had just been projectile'd through, and thought of a better plan that specifically included not being within touch range.

"Uuuugh" Followed the shifting of rubble.

Cadance poked her head through the hole, "Did that feel like a prank to you?"

"No." More rubble shifting, "Do not do that again."

In truth, Cadance probably couldn't. She was running strictly on empty after letting loose on Sombra. She could already feel the mana burn headache coming on, and despite perpetually being in her prime due to her Alicorn nature, she still didn't exactly exercise as a princess.

Chrysalis wrapped whatever rubble was around her in the sickly green aura of her own magic and lifted it out of the way, drawing herself up and dusting off her chitin. "Who are you?" She asked, far more amicably.

Better.

"I'm me. Cadance, there's no trick."

Chrysalis flicked her tongue, "You taste the same too, what is going on."

"Time travel."

Chrysalis made a face. Her mouth opened, and Cadance visually watched the queen put the pieces together. "Oh no." Of all the responses Cadance was expecting...

Chrysalis fell back onto her rump and shoved her hooves over her face. "Not again!" She wailed, and then yelled a non-decipherable yell of frustration into the air. "You're JOKING" The hooves came down, and Chrysalis glanced at Cadance, "Please tell me you're joking."

Cadance shook her head.

Chrysalis closed her eyes slowly, very reminiscent of something Cadance would do, and then fell backwards and started burying herself in the rubble again. There was cursing, mumblings of someone's ultimate demise, and a fair length of other dramatics involved.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad is it?"

Chrysalis threw her hooves up from her half laying down position, half covered in rubble. "EVERY TIME." She raved, "This happens. EVERY. TIME."

"Err..." Despite intending this level of shaboingery, Cadance wasn't sure what to do with herself now that she'd arrived in this moment. She also wasn't sure what was happening.

"Every time I'm winning! It's... AAAAAAAGH" Chrysalis tantrumed in the rubble turning it into more rubbled rubble. Cadance dodged a rock that flew past her head.

Oh... OOoooh... So that's what's happening.

After she calmed down a little more, Cadance asked "So you don't have your memories from before?"

"No." Chrysalis grumbled back in response. "Despite being immortal, I'm not Eternal, I don't get to barrel through the rules of the universe like you do."

"Oh. Sorry about that."

"How far back?" Chrysalis asked, "I'm assuming whatever time travel spell altered history fairly recently. I only took over... barely a year ago. I'm uncertain."

"It's close to that, yes."

Once again, Chrysalis, at least after the initial display of brief insanity, continued to display how normal she was. Conversationally, a least.

"Ugh." Chrysalis took another breath, "What happened? Celestia covering up another screw up of hers?"

Cadance, still not sure of what she was doing, answered honestly. "Not Celestia. According to Discord, Twilight is dealing with someone who cast the spell as we speak."

Chrysalis made a face like she snorted, but without the snort, "Who?"

"Uh- Twilight Sparkle?"

Chrysalis stared at her.

"Right, no memories. She's a filly I used to foal sit, I married her older brother?"

Recognition crossed over her green eyes, "Shining Armor's younger sister?"

"That's the one."

Chrysalis rubbed a hoof on her chin. "Can't say I remember much about her... At all... which is strange. Probably the spell altering my memory. Fantastic." Her hoof went back to her face. "Ugh. This is so disappointing."

"For what it's worth, I'm really sorry about this."

Chrysalis sent her an 'oh, yeah, I totally believe that' eyebrow raise.

"No really." Cadance argued, "I used to be pregnant before this. It... really freaked me out too, I turned King Sombra into a bucking bag."

Chrysalis 'snrked' "Now that, I believe. That old failure of a disguise could never fight for it All."

"So... What happens now?"

Another eyebrow raise, "Why are you asking me? In however long it takes for this to get fixed, I'll be dead. My consciousness doesn't continue when everything returns to normal. I'll just go back to being who I was supposed to be."

Cadance's ears folded down. "That's... Grim."

Chrysalis shrugged, "You get numb to it. Can I kiss you before I go? I've got thi-"

"Oh? Yeah!" Cadance hopped forwards, "I remember, your 'immortal' hobby. Silver told me about it, I've actually kissed you already."

Chrysalis's muzzle twisted in discomfort, "Never mind. I didn't think you'd be so excited about it."

"What... You don't too?" Cadance plastered her face with fake hurt.

"No." Chrysalis monotoned. "If I already did it, it counts, I don't want your... furry lips on me. No thanks." She shuddered.

"Sooooooooo~" Cadance tapped her hoof, and stepped into the rubble. "I don't suppose..."

"No. My lips are sealed." Chrysalis rolled her eyes, "And I don't even remember who you are. Mostly..."

"Well it's good to see you again anyways. Even if you won't remember. Do you mind if I talk to you about it later?"

"Probably."

Cadance rolled her eyes, "I know you're waiting to cease, but you really could be a more interesting conversation partner right now."

Chrysalis laughed at the hilariously insensitive accusation. "You've got some bite to you, Princess."

"I try!" The smile on her face could have melted a puppy at thirty hooves.

Chrysalis laughed again. "Seems like this future I'm about to head off to may not be so bad. Am I still a queen, at least?"

"Well, you lost at the battle of Canterlot, for one."

"You know what, never mind. I don't want to hear it."

Cadance shrugged and Cadance noticed the emotional absence and pressure of some incoming space. After a few moments passed, Celestia stuck her head through the wall, looking at the scene of Cadance and Chrysalis calmly sitting together in a pile of marble dust.

"Great."

"Hi Auntie."

"Cadance, where is your baby?" She asked, without concern or curiosity.

Good to know that was the first thing on her mind at least.

The anxiety fluttered in Cadance's mind, "Oh you know," She waved a hoof, except she didn't have anything to say; her smile strained as she waved her hoof a few more times and waited for someone else to say something so she didn't have to think about it.

Chrysalis, probably sensing the deep unease, decided to make it go away. "Anyways, how'd you get here?"

"I exploded the throne room, and the pod I was in." Celestia stepped in through the hole. "I take it this is a time loop? I was just in a battlefield encampment less than nineteen minutes ago."

"That's what she told me."

Celestia talking in a deeply monotone voice, perfectly enunciating every word without even the hint of an expression was incredibly unnerving, but still somehow fitting. "Unfortunate. I was looking forward to a relaxing stay in that pod. Once you repaired the throne room, of course."

"Relaxing?"

Celestia nodded, "They have deeply effective healing properties. Ask Chrysalis for one of the newer designs after you give birth, it'll do you wonders."

Cadance looked to Chrysalis, who pressed her hoof to the throbbing spot between her eyes and sighed deeply.

So much like me.

Cadance felt something in the air change.

"It's coming." Celestia said, and turned towards Cadance, "I'll see you in a few days, Cadance."

Before she had time to question the time frame of that, reality warbled as time pressed down over itself and folded Cadance's Everything into spaghetti, winding it down towards an unfathomable destination.