Dissolving Assets

by Earl Grey

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Mayor Mare, Queen Chrysalis, Adventure
Length: 6296

Sent on a diplomatic mission to the remnants of the Changeling army, the Mayor of Ponyville finds negotiations to be a little more difficult than originally planned.

After their failed attempt at taking Canterlot, the Changeling army ended up in the arid desert south of Appleloosa, a place known only as the "Badlands". In a highly criticised move, Princess Celestia decides to extend the hoof of friendship to their would-be invaders by reaching a truce. The one chosen for this perilous task of negotiation? The Mayor of Ponyville, once an esteemed prosecuting attorney.

When negotiations break down however, the Mayor finds herself fighting for her life, but as the old saying goes, "Politics makes for strange bedfellows."

Published 2012-12-29 15:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-01-20 14:09:18 UTC

Monarchy

It was safe to say that negotiations had broken down.

Her advisers had scattered, fearing for their own safety over that of the group. So there she sat, alone and frightened in a burnt out shell that used to be a house, enemies lurking outside for all she knew. She had managed to crack one of the lenses in her only pair of spectacles and somewhere out there, a changeling was probably sporting a stylish collar and tie. Her coat was dishevelled and the roots of her mane were beginning to fade, revealing the much more vibrant colour hidden below.

She tried and failed to calm her breathing, knowing full well that if she kept it up, the enemy would have no problem hearing her frantically gasping for breath. Her mind kept going back to the negotiations however, the image of Queen Chrysalis emerging from the system of caves that the changelings had been forced to find shelter in after their failed attempt to take Canterlot. There was a hatred in her eyes, it was clear that she wasn't about to trust ponykind, even if they were extending the hoof of friendship. It was a tense meeting, out in the dry heat of the southern badlands, the irritation was written on every face that had gathered but she had forced her way through it, trying every negotiation tactic her many years in politics had taught her.

All of that was shattered when one changeling took offence to a look one of the ponies was giving him. An argument broke out, fighting soon afterwards. The Queen declared that the ponies had been sent to assassinate her, so they ran. They ran so far and so hard that even now she felt unsteady on her hooves. She had no idea what had happened to her advisers, they could be captured right now, they could even be dead if the changelings were willing to go that far.

The Queen wouldn't risk provoking the wrath of Canterlot so soon after her failure. If she was smart anyway. So she was sure that her fellow ponies were, at the very least, alive.

She calmed down a little after that, so she risked taking a quick glance out of the smashed window above her.

The scene that met her made her wish she'd never stopped running.

Queen Chrysalis was less than twenty metres away, somehow she had managed to stay so silent out in the middle of the desert that she had been able to sneak that closely to the house. Unbeknownst to her however, a pack of vicious looking timber wolves had beaten her at her own game, stalking up on the towering, insect-like monarch. The Mayor of Ponyville almost felt like calling out, trying to warn the changeling that she was being ambushed, with the hope that it would earn her enough points with the Queen that she could escape some sort of torture. Her mouth was dry, her throat nigh on unable to make a sound due to thirst and all that escaped was a small cough.

The sight of tough wooden fangs sinking into the changeling's neck however, that caused her to scream. The sound put the timber wolves on edge, enough that the small pack had backed off, looking for intruders. This gave time for the Queen to stifle the flow of sticky acidic green blood pouring down her neck. For a second, her horn glowed a wicked green, but it sputtered out just as quickly, the pain in her neck breaking the focus needed to cast magic.

The timber wolves rallied themselves, their prey was weak and the noise had revealed nothing, so they pressed the attack once more. Chrysalis tried to back away, but she stumbled and fell to her knees, the most she could do was back herself up against a rock and hope that she could build enough power to cast a spell. As the timber wolves closed in, the Mayor began to feel her hooves again, her body was no longer numb with aching, but instead it felt oddly light, as if she could run home without any problems. The thing chasing her was down for the count, the timber wolves would be preoccupied and she'd be safe, so why couldn't she turn herself and leave? Every time her thoughts turned to fleeing, she froze up, but when she saw a large piece of debris on the floor nearby, a crazy idea hit her. In her adrenaline fuelled state it didn't even seem that insane.

She grabbed the piece of debris and in the loudest voice possible, considering she had a large piece of wood in her mouth, screamed a war cry whilst charging straight for the timber wolves. Shocked, the group of scavengers scattered and fled into the distance, leaving a very tired and very scared earth pony alone with a very dirty and very angry changeling queen.

“A-Are you... okay?” The Mayor asked tentatively.

A cold glare was her only reply for a long time.

“I could get you some medical attention for that nasty wound... if that's alright with you.”

Chrysalis was still holding a spindly foreleg over her neck, it was oozing bright green blood and her face had gone unusually pale. After a few seconds of painful looking wincing, the changeling screamed in agony. “Give me your shoulder, worm.”

The Mayor wasted no time walking over and dropping her shoulder, the fact that there seemed to be a begrudging respect in the queen's voice had calmed her down considerably. “Judging by how far north I ran, we shouldn't be too far away from Appleloosa. We can find you a doctor there.”

“I don't need one of your pony doctors. I'll be fine in a few hours once the wound heals up.” Even slumped on the shoulder of the Mayor, Chrysalis was frighteningly tall, her spindly, perforated legs were almost as tall as the earth pony was. The Mayor had to crane her neck to see the pained expression on the changeling's face. Despite knowing what she had done, the Mayor couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

“You should at least get some shelter. I was hiding in that burned down house over there when, um...” she coughed nervously, “...when you were looking for me.” She walked slowly, guiding the changeling along with her. “I can't help but feel this is my fault.”

“You're just a pawn in that pathetic pony princess' pocket. Don't think I didn't know what your plans were, I knew you'd come for me sooner or later, I just didn't think you would attempt it under the guise of negotiations.”

The Mayor winced visibly, she should have expected this kind of attitude. “You have it all wrong, the Princess just wanted to make sure you knew that there were no hard feelings.”

“Hard feelings!?” Chrysalis spat at the Mayor's hooves, flecks of green getting onto the earth pony. “You call this rotten piece of wasteland a show of good faith? My children cannot survive here.” The anger seemed to drain out of her eyes, she looked defeated. It was pitiful really. Something about her look rubbed the Mayor the wrong way.

“I thought you were supposed to be a leader.” Through the cracked lens of her half-moon spectacles, the Mayor's vivid blue eyes were shining fiercely. “You tried your little piece of subterfuge, you tried your coup-d'etat and you failed. If it were me, I would have left you alone out here, I would have hoped you wouldn't survive, but the Princess? She's a little more compassionate than I am, she offered the hoof of friendship and you let your pride get in the way of the ticket to your entire species' redemption? What kind of leader does that?”

The changeling queen was slumped against one of the few surviving wooden support beams, the tan earth pony looming over her. In this state of helplessness, her magic power faded, body temporarily shut down to heal, a lowly earth pony dared to take the chance to lecture her. When she put on her best look of indignation and went to reply however, she found that the words weren't coming, the pony had made a good point. Chrysalis took a deep breath, seemingly deflating against the support beam.

“Just... just get better quickly. I don't want to die out here on your account.”

There was a long silence. A brisk wind from the west rustled up the sand around their shelter and the blackened trees, long dead from lack of water, seemed to sway back and forth ominously.

“There is something you can do to help.”

The Mayor turned to see Chrysalis looking in the opposite direction, the ugly wound was facing right at her. “Are you aware of changeling behaviour?”

“Only from what I was told after your invasion.”

Chrysalis smiled, her fangs bared. “We change our bodies into the form of another being, take their place and feed off of the love we are given. It's how we gain power, the love we feed upon is turned into a kind of energy in our bodies that we use for all sorts of things. We can still take in regular food to gain energy like you would, but the energy we gain from love is several times more potent.”

The Mayor raised an eyebrow. “Your point is?”

“My point is, I'm running very low on energy right now. I'm using what little I have for healing, but it's slow going. If I had more energy, I would be able to heal faster.” Chrysalis stared at the earth pony with a hungry glint in her eye. It didn't entirely go unnoticed.

“You want my love?” The Mayor took a step back, grimacing. “You honestly think I could? I'm not exactly fond of you right now.”

“I don't always have to be Chrysalis, changeling queen.” She climbed slowly to her hooves, reaching her full height. The wound on her neck oozed a fresh wave of green blood. “Let me look at you.” Her eyes flashed a dull green for a brief second and she smiled again, baring her fangs once more. “I think I have energy enough for this.”

With a burst of bright green light, the towering form of the changeling queen disappeared and the smaller, less imposing form of someone very familiar appeared in its place. The black and white stripes, the golden jewellery, there was no mistaking it. Zecora dropped to one knee, a pained expression on her usually calm face. “Please, can you help me with this? Perhaps with a healing poultice?”

The Mayor froze, she had heard of the changeling's abilities, but seeing it first hand was awe inspiring. Chrysalis had captured her perfectly, her accent, her speech patterns, everything.

“No? Just so.” With a wicked grin, Zecora disappeared in another flash of bright green light. The Mayor expected Chrysalis to reappear, but she wasn't ready for what came next.

She rolled over onto her back, her dusty blonde mane looking right at home on the sand. “Aw shoot, the farm aint made much money this month, Miss Mayor. Perhaps ah can pay you back in another way.” She flicked her tail back and forth, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Despite herself, the Mayor couldn't help but follow the red ribbon darting across the sand.

“A-Applejack, how... how did you know?” A furious blush ran across her cheeks.

“It aint no thing, ma'am.” Applejack got to her hooves, the sand stuck in her orange coat. She prowled around the Mayor, who had seemingly lost all feeling in her hooves. She would brush herself up against the tan pony every few seconds and swish her tail so it caressed her sides. “Seems ah injured myself apple buckin', dunno if it'll stop me from workin' or not. Maybe if somepony could lick it clean, make sure it don't get infected.”

“Chrysalis, please...” The Mayor was sweating and it had nothing to do with the heat.

“Ah think... ah think ah'm gettin' dizzy. 'Haps ah should lay down a while.” Applejack lay facing away from the tan earth pony, the apples on her flank gleaming as if they were the fruits themselves. She turned to look over her shoulder, one dazzling emerald eye beckoning her over.

“I-I really wouldn't want you to get an infection. Not after already saving you from those wolves.” She took a tentative step forwards and Applejack smiled. She knew that she should stop right now, that she was playing right into the changeling queen's hooves, but it wasn't Chrysalis smiling, it was Applejack. She sat by the orange earth pony's side, watching as she flicked her braid away from the wound.

“Be gentle, it's still a l'il tender.”

As the Mayor carefully licked up the first spot of red on the orange of Applejack's coat, she could feel the farmer moving. She kept at it, cleaning the bite marks to the best of her ability, when finally, she heard a soft moan come from her patient. It was a weird, almost too girly sound to come from Applejack, but it was written all over her face, she was enjoying this. Strangely enough, the Mayor found herself enjoying it as well. Before long, the wounds had disappeared entirely.

Applejack turned around, a sultry smile on her lips. “Thank ya kindly, Miss Mayor.”

She could taste the not so unpleasant metallic tang of the blood on her tongue, but there was another taste along with it. It was earthy with hints of sweat, kinda gross, but it reminded her a lot of Applejack- the real one that is.

“There, you're all better. You can go home now, can't you?” The Mayor sat as far away from the changeling as she could whilst still staying inside the broken down old house. She saw a flash of green out of the corner of her eye.

“Oh, if it were only that simple.” Her regal, arrogant voice had returned and sure enough, a much stronger looking Queen Chrysalis was stood before her. “You see, I owe you my life.” She flitted her papery wings impatiently.

“That's nice of you to say.”

Chrysalis stayed silent, not something the Mayor expected in this situation. The earth pony looked over at the changeling to see a scowl on her face. “I don't intend to just 'say' it. As pitiful as it sounds, my life is yours, changeling custom demands it.”

There was a very pregnant pause after this, as if a full eleven months had indeed passed without a single word being spoken aloud.

“I'm sorry... What?”

“I suppose I should explain.” Chrysalis let out a heavy sigh, like this was a very obvious notion to grasp. “Changeling society is rather different from what you would see as normal. As you've no doubt noticed, a changeling's outwards appearance is near indistinguishable to an outsider like yourself. You might notice some slight discolouration, or maybe a variation in horn length, but aside from that, I highly doubt you could positively identify the same Changeling twice in a row if we mixed them around. You ponies are all so colourful it's made your species blind to subtlety.”

The Mayor cast her mind back to the negotiations. Chrysalis' changeling guards all looked identical, so she had a point. Although the 'blind to subtlety' remark was perhaps a little unnecessary.

“Aside from various tells, like smell and even taste, even we have trouble differentiating some changelings from others. Besides, we spend so much time spread apart feeding, that most changelings don't spend any more time with their parents than is necessary. Emotional attachments to other changelings are very rare so we tend to go where the love is, to other species.”

“Sounds like a pretty lonely existence.”

“As a species, we don't crave as much social contact as ponies do. So what you would see as lonely, I would see as normal. It's a culture thing, you won't really be able to wrap your head around it.”

The Mayor felt a strange urge to give the changeling a hug. There seemed to be a great sadness in her eyes- the loneliness of an entire species.

“There is a great lack of community spirit in changelings, due to our secluded, nomadic nature. We are so focused on the acquisition of love energy that we form an almost fanatical devotion to the concept of love itself. Therein lies the answer to your question. To a changeling, perhaps the greatest expression of love is laying down one's life to protect another for no reward. I am honour bound to serve you, in honour of the love you’ve shown me.”

“But what I did wasn't anything special.”

“Yet I would have surely died had you not intervened. I was low on energy, I was bleeding and even if the timber wolves had left without touching me further, I still would have bled out long before anyone would have come across me. You had no reason to save me, you even said yourself you wouldn't have bothered to send anyone out here to attempt negotiations if you were in the Princess' shoes, you would have left us to fend for ourselves. Yet when it came down to it, you risked drawing the timber wolves' attack onto yourself in order to stop them from killing me. Perhaps you were lucky that these timber wolves seemed to be a particularly craven bunch, but you saved me nonetheless.” Chrysalis chuckled absent-mindedly.

It seemed the situation was amusing to her, which was drastically different compared to how she was acting earlier. “You almost sound grateful. I thought you hated ponies.”

“Don't get me wrong, I'm not overly fond of your kind. At first I hated the very idea that a pony had been the one to save my life, but after speaking with you and seeing how you act, how you carry yourself, I suppose I can deal with it. You have a commanding aura, you know when to act brave, you know when to criticise and most of all you're loving. I think any pony would be lucky to be a part of your constituency.”

The Mayor smiled, perhaps for the first time that day. “That's nice of you to say.”

“It's the least I owe you.” Chrysalis chuckled and offered a hoof to the earth pony. “Just because I respect you, it doesn't mean I have to like you. I assume you have a home and it has to be better than this dry heat, so I suggest we go there. Miss Mayor?”

“Oh, I'm sorry, I think I'm still just processing all of this.” She grabbed the changeling's hoof and was pulled onto all fours.

“Process on the way, you said there was a town north of here, didn't you? Let's start there.”

Author's Note

I started this story a few weeks back, before I learned about the "Spike at your Service" episode. So imagine my surprise when my fic about a pony saving another's life when they're cornered by timber wolves turns out to be the exact plot for one of the episodes. It's a little strange to be perfectly honest. Just thought I'd point this out.

Racial Identity

“I'm not sure about you, but if I saw the Changeling Queen walking into Ponyville, I'd probably be a little scared.”

It had been a slow two hours of walking. Even though she had managed to heal herself, it didn't stop Chrysalis from being thirsty. It also didn't stop her from complaining about it. “So if I were you, I'd probably put up a disguise of some kind. The Appleloosan ponies are a friendly bunch but even they would be loathe to give aid to a known enemy.”

“What madness would make anyone set up a home in this dump? It's too hot, it's too dry and the ground is hard and probably barren.” Chrysalis kicked at the ground a few times to prove her point.

“There is an orchard somewhere nearby and the town grew around the original farm. The standard of living isn't as good as other areas of Equestria, but they have a train station to bring in whatever supplies they might need from other towns. Ponyville actually has a standing trade agreement with the town.” The Mayor readjusted her glasses. The afternoon sun had been beating down on them mercilessly and her sweaty muzzle had allowed her spectacles to drift perilously close to the end of her nose. “It's not even a lonely, out of the way place either, they get plenty of traffic every day. It's just a little warm and dry, really.”

“I suppose you've made your point, but I still don't like this heat.” Chrysalis' hair, which was lank and straight anyway, seemed especially so. Some parts were even shiny with sweat.

The Mayor fixed her with a fierce glare. “Don't make me tell you again. Just do your changeling thing so we don't get immediately kicked out of town.”

Chrysalis scoffed. “A long term, full transformation, without the bonus of absorbing love energy? I may be powerful but I am not omnipotent.”

“Full transformation?”

“A full transformation is a skill used when a changeling wants to feed off of love energy with the highest chance of success. It alters the look of the changeling, but also the sound, the smell, the feel and even the taste, in order to better match the target. As you can imagine however, keeping up the act for a long period of time is draining, which is why it should only be used when gathering love energy, as the losses can be compensated for.” Chrysalis paused for a moment but suddenly put on a wicked grin. “Ooh, maybe I should transform into that farm pony again.”

Despite her best efforts, the Mayor couldn't help but blush furiously. “Applejack has a lot of relatives in Appleloosa, I don't want you risking it.”

“If I can fool the captain of Celestia's precious Royal Guard, I'm sure a few farmers won't be any problem, my dear.” She laughed as if those particular memories, and not the ones that followed, made her especially happy.

“I don't care how good at acting you think you are, I'll be well-known enough without a relative of the town founders walking around as well.”

“Fine.” Chrysalis sighed heavily. “I suppose a partial transformation won't weigh on me too badly.” There was an increasingly familiar flash of green light and the Mayor looked over and almost thought that the changeling queen hadn't done anything at all. The thing stood there still had the usual dark colouring with the same blue-green hair, but it was slightly smaller, a little thicker and had far less holes.

“I'm a pony. Neigh, etcetera.” She said in a deadpan.

The Mayor looked unconvinced. “You still look the same, just more pony. You sound the same as well.”

“You don't expect me to use up too much energy do you? What if we're suddenly attacked and I don't have any way of protecting you?”

“I doubt we'll be attacked in Appleloosa. As I said, it's a friendly town.” The Mayor turned her nose north, towards the glimmer of civilisation on the horizon. “Now let's go, we're almost home safe.”

Chrysalis snorted as loudly as she dared, there was no point in antagonising her new companion. “Famous last words,” she muttered under her breath.

–

“Y'all sure are lucky. Any longer out there an' it mighta been it.”

Both the Mayor and Chrysalis, the latter safely disguised in her pony form, were greedily guzzling as much water as they could reach from their sitting positions. Having the ability to use magic however, Chrysalis could easily grab refills.

They had stumbled into town, coats dusty, breath laboured, eyes glassy, but alive. The owner of a local tavern came to investigate the noise from outside and was kind enough to allow them all the water they could drink as well as a nice meal to fill their bellies. Chrysalis seemed intent on complaining about the food, but a fierce glare from her earth pony companion soon stopped that.

“O' course, ah'll give y'all free rooms for the night, but know ah can't do anythin' more'n that.” The moustachioed bar owner smiled at them, but there was a sternness in his eyes that told them that he wasn't a stallion who reneged on his word. He quickly warmed however. “Now what might mares like you have fer names?”

The Mayor opened her mouth to quickly respond, but was cut off by a loud, high pitched and very obnoxious laugh from her disguised friend.

“Why, my fine barkeep, you may call me Chrissy.” She offered a hoof and looked strangely delicate in doing so. The Mayor couldn't help but admire her acting. “My grumpy friend here is called Franziska, Franny for short.”

The Mayor glowered. “What are you do--”

“Quiet, Franny dear, you don't want to shout in the presence of this very nice stallion who gave us a free room to stay in do you?” The smile on Chrysalis' face could only be described as sadistic.

'Franny' resettled into her seat at the bar and coughed. “Of course, you're right...” The Mayor fought valiantly against her gag reflex to expel these next words, “...Chrissy dear.” Her eye twitched in protest. “In fact, I'm feeling very tired. I might just go and have a lie down, if our lovely barkeep would deign to show me the way.”

“You go ahead, darling, I'll catch up later.” Chrysalis fetched herself another glass of water and to the Mayor, it seemed like she was having far too much fun. That couldn't bode well.

Having a moment to herself took precedence at the moment though, so she followed the bar owner between a few sets of tables and chairs towards a staircase at the back of the room. About half way up, the staircase left off at a small landing and another small staircase lead upwards again, but back towards the bar and when they arrived at the top, they were on a sort of balcony. She could see all of the ponies in the bar from up here, even Chrysalis, who was waving energetically at her.

“Now ma'am, we only got the one room left, so I'm 'fraid y'all will have to do with what ya get.”

“Don't worry, your hospitality has been more than generous. We'll be fine as long as we have a roof over our heads.”

The bar owner kicked open a door at the end of the balcony and motioned for her to go on in. “Ah'm mighty glad to hear that. Now enjoy yer stay, y'hear.”

The Mayor waved him off with a courteous smile and went to inspect her lodgings for the night. At first glance it seemed clean enough, a little small perhaps but there was one glaring error. The room only had one bed. The only other thing in the room that looked remotely comfortable was a small armchair tucked away in the corner an no one could ever get a decent nights rest on something like that. The Mayor felt a lump in her throat and was compelled to swallow it, it was time she did something similar with her pride.

“I might as well get some rest, I doubt 'Chrissy' will be up here any time soon. She's enjoying herself far too much.” She climbed under the sheets, which were a bit scratchy, tried to get comfortable on the lumpy mattress and closed her eyes. The sounds of a midday Appleloosa fell away, despite her lacklustre sleeping arrangements, and she soon found the sweet embrace of sleep.

Meanwhile, downstairs in the bar, Chrysalis was regaling a few of the patrons with a story from her younger days. She was floating a drink that was most definitely not water around her head as she turned back and forth amongst the crowd. It was as if she wanted to tell a part of the story to each particular pony, not wanting any of them to miss out on a piece of eye contact. The crowd reacted in kind, keeping their eyes fixed firmly on her, gasping and cheering at all of the appropriate times.

Chrysalis herself was having a grand old time of it. Respect and admiration weren't as appetising as love, but they tasted sweet all the same.

“So who's the mare you were with earlier?” A pale yellow mare sat down in the seat next to her, a red cowboy hat resting on her bright green mane. She was smiling interestedly and there was an amber drink in a small glass in front of her.

Chrysalis was about to respond in her current cheery manner, but the question forced her to think a little. 'What is she to me?' She could hardly consider the pony a friend, at least not yet, but she was hardly a stranger. “I suppose you could call her my... employer.”

The smile the other pony wore bordered on predatory. It was a smile Chrysalis knew very well, for it was one she used a lot during her 'undercover operations'. It seemed she had managed to hook a fish without really trying. Sadly, she didn't really have any time to see it through any further.

“So what kind of work do you do, I see you don't have a cutie mark, so I wouldn't even begin to guess.”

Chrysalis took a cursory glance at her rear end. The mare was right, she was blank. She skilfully hid the shock from her face. “I work in protection. Having a visible cutie mark makes you too recognisable, so I take measures to hide it.” She always found the best lies had elements of truth to them. “Now, it pains me to leave such lovely company, but I really must see if she is doing okay.” She got up from her seat and had to suffer an especially adorable pout from the green-maned mare before she turned away.

She made her way carefully through the tables and chairs littering the tavern's main floor. She was feeling somewhat light headed, nowhere near drunk but she'd had enough that it was beginning to take its toll on her ability to focus on dodging chairs perfectly. She found the staircase that the Mayor had disappeared up and followed suit, taking the turn and arriving on the upper level. 'Now which room is ours?'

There were three doors, all of which were closed. A big part of being a changeling was infiltration and espionage, so Chrysalis felt confident that she could figure this out without having to cause a scene by opening the wrong door. She placed her ear carefully against the first door and faintly heard two voices deep in conversation. She couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but it didn't matter, it couldn't be her room. There was a similar case with the next room, so she confidently opened the door at the end of the balcony.

It probably would have just been easier if she had just asked the bartender what room she was in, but she had already made it upstairs before the thought occurred to her. She didn't want to attempt the stairs again in her current state.

The door opened without a problem, which was a good sign. When she saw the sleeping form of the Mayor tucked into the bed she smiled, revelling in her victory.

“Are you awake?” She asked, keeping her voice down. Upon hearing no response, Chrysalis crept slowly towards the bed and sank into it, her keen eyes could make out every curve of the Mayor's body even under the sheets. Carefully, she ran a hoof down her spine, making sure to keep her touch as light as possible.

The Mayor twitched and Chrysalis had to fight with herself not to burst out laughing. She did it again, ruffling the Mayor's coat and making it stick up on end. When she reached her withers, she brushed away the mane, revealing the Mayor's neck. Chrysalis stuck out her tongue, a long pink thing that seemed far too big for her mouth, and dragged it the wrong way along her tan neck.

This time, the Mayor's eyes flew open and she would have screamed if she wasn't so horrified as to seemingly lose her voice. In her struggle to extricate herself from the bed, she fell to the floor and landed heavily on her flank.

Chrysalis stuck her head over the side of the bed and giggled at the earth pony, who had gotten herself tangled in the bed sheets. “What are you doing down there?”

“What am I doing!?” The Mayor pointed an accusatory hoof at the changeling queen. “I could ask you the same question!”

“You certainly could, although the same is true of anyone. You are entirely too serious, Franny.” The look of mock concern on the pony Chrysalis' face served only to infuriate further the Mayor further.

“You're impossible!” She sagged onto the floor and pulled the bed sheets over her head. “Please, I can't deal with you right now...just leave me alone.” She said in a quiet voice.

Chrysalis sighed, she honestly didn't mean to make her angry. “Look, Franny, I'm sorry. I've never really had someone who wasn't a subordinate before. I was born a queen, taking my mother's place as soon as I was born. The rest of my mother's short life after that was devoted to training me to become a ruler. I thought that maybe you of all people might be able to know what that was like, if only even a little.” She paused for a few seconds and took a deep breath.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is... I’ve never really had a friend before or at least anyone I could perhaps be friends with. I’m not sure how to act around you yet.”

The Mayor poked an eye out from beneath the bed sheets, the anger visibly gone, or at least lessened. “Why would a nomadic race like the changelings even need a queen?”

“Huh?” It was an odd question considering the circumstances, but at least she was talking. “I, er... well, ahem. We are nomadic by necessity, small compounds and colonies exist all over Equestria and even beyond. The queen serves as a centre of order and governance, she serves to represent the changeling race as a whole because if the queen didn't exist, the colonies would be smaller and weaker. She brings the colonies under one banner.”

The bed sheets fell onto the floor and the Mayor reached for her glasses, one of the lenses still cracked, and put them on. “So I guess at heart, you're no different from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”

“Except I managed to do it on my own!” She said proudly. “What brought that on anyway? It was rather weird considering what was going on.”

“It had just been bugging me for a while... also, I'm sorry as well.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “For shouting at you.”

“I was being... impolite. Your anger was justified.”

“Thank you.” The Mayor laughed, bringing some cheer to her previously grievous countenance. “I have one more question for you though. If the changeling queen is so important, then what will happen to the colonies now that you're with me?”

Chrysalis paused for a moment, then she just fell backwards onto the bed, her head hitting the pillow with a soft thump. “I have no idea. I don't think I could motivate myself enough to go back even if they wanted me to. I've lived every moment of my life for them and Canterlot was just the last straw, I'm done. I don't want to be Queen of the Changelings any more, I just want to be Chrysalis.”

“I will admit that there are days when I feel something similar, I do know what you're going through. I never really had many friends, but when I became the Mayor of Ponyville, the ones I had drifted away and any new ones I try to make just see me as the Mayor, somepony above them that makes the decisions that affect their lives. It's hard, I know, but that doesn't mean I could just throw that away. I have a job to do, one that I chose for myself and I'm obligated to see it through to the end.” She climbed back onto the bed and sat down next to Chrysalis.

“That's the thing, I never chose to be Queen of the Changelings, I was forced into it by birth. In a way, you were the excuse I was looking for. A reason to stop caring.” Chrysalis' horn glowed green for a moment and sure enough, the slender pony Chrysalis had turned into before had returned. “I might as well give up on being a changeling as well.”

“Are you really sure you need to go that far? I mean, it will definitely help your disguise, but--”

At that moment the door to their room burst open. Two Appleloosan stallions stood in the entrance, staring daggers at the Mayor. “Release our Queen immediately!”

Chrysalis stared, her eyes wide. She could recognise changeling magic by sight enough to know that things were about to get complicated.

Author's Note

I said I was a slow writer... I'm very sorry.

Also, Pony Chrysalis for anyone interested. That took roughly 1000 hours in photoshop and definitely isn't just a recoloured Fleur de Lis vector. Nope, no siree.