Part I, Chapter III - The Queen's Questions

You sit yourself down on the red loveseat in your living room. You hear the springs creak underneath you as you adjust to get comfortable. "God, this thing is old."

You lean your head back and look up at the ceiling, staring into the eternal white.

Silence.

It's kind of unnerving, and you squirm a little in your seat.

Your ears start to ring, and you shake your head to get them to stop, but, unfortunately, it doesn't work.

You reach for your iPhone, open the "Music" app, and hit shuffle.

You continue staring at the ceiling, the ringing gone, and the silence now replaced with the sound of Claudio Sanchez's voice.

You close your eyes as the music continues to play.

You feel yourself drifting off, and you shake your head to keep yourself awake. "What the hell? I haven't been doing anything and I'm tired!"

After making the mental note to see what that's all about later, you look down at your iPhone's clock.

7:50 A.M..

Well, shit.

You yawn, wiping your face with your left hand, your right one expertly typing your friend's number into the phone's dialpad.

The music stops as the phone begins to dial.

One ring....two rings....three rings....

"Hello?", Tim's voice breaks in.

"Hey Tim, listen, I-"

"Dude! Why aren't you here? Boss is flippin' out!" Tim says, the panic in his voice clear as he tries not to get caught talking on the phone during work hours, as per your work's rules.

Great, just great.

You inhale deeply, weighing your options: Stay home with a creature from a cartoon show, or get yelled at, possibly even fired. You exhale.

"Well, he's your problem. I'm not coming in today", you say, tiredly rubbing the sandman's work from your eyes.

"What the fuck, dude?! You know you can't just not come in! You've already got two strikes!", he says, trying his hardest to convince you to come to work.

You sigh, remembering that fact, now certain that your decision will lead to your firing.

"Oh well."

You hang up, tossing the phone to the other side of the seat, run your hands through your hair, and lean your head back once again.

"Fuck!", you yell, the sound echoing slightly through the small apartment.

A knocking is heard from underneath you, and the muffled sound of someone saying, "Watch it!"

You hunch yourself over, resting your head in your hands, now contemplating what you'll do to keep a steady flow of income. Your mind flashes back to that show you saw the other night, but you don't particularily like the idea of standing on the sidewalk at night.

"Fast food is always an option", you think, noting the fact that there's a McDonalds not too far up the street, but dismiss the thought, realizing that working a grill for eight hours a day wouldn't nearly cover the cost of stuff like gas and amenities.

You shake your head, trying to forget about the fact that you now have to go find a job, and let the next song in your iPhone's Library wash over you.

You smile as the first few notes of the song hit you, despite the predicament you were in. "Why can't I find magic in a cup of noodles?"

The song bursts into its chorus, and you swear you hear a noise coming from the bedroom. You could go back and see if Chrysalis needs anything, but the way she treated you earlier makes you think otherwise.

Another question found its way into your head: What would you do with Chrysalis?

You know that you would't just kick her out, but with you almost-certainly unemployed now, but should she choose to stay, you would have to find a way to make even more money than you would have with just you on your own.

"Why would she want to stay?"

The way she treated you earlier was terrible, and she looks capable enough of taking care of herself out in the wild. You begin to wonder if what you heard just a moment ago was the sound of the window opening...

You hear a door creak open. You know that she is still indeed inside the room with you, but you choose to ignore her, thinking it better to let her decide when she is ready to be talked to. Out of the corner of your eye, you see her fully upright figure, and realize just how tall she really is.

She's almost as big as you for God's sake!

An earlier suspicion of her possibly having enough power to overtake you is quickly confirmed. You make a mental note not to get on her bad side in the future, as it looks like she wouldn't even have to use her long, gnarled horn or her holey wings to do so.

You eye the odd holes near the base of each of her legs, wondering what purpose they serve, if any at all. You brush it off, then continue to ignore her.

She clears her throat, but the silence resumes shortly after. "God, she's really taking her time."

The iPhone continues to play.

Finally, from beside you, Chrysalis' voice breaks the silence.

"Well?"

You choose not to speak, still wanting her to initiate conversation. You continue to stare forward, eyes locked on the space where the carpeting meets the tile in the kitchen.

She growls. "How ungrateful. I grace this world with my presence, and you choose to ignore me!"

You turn to look at her, blank expression still plastered on your face. She looks back in disgust.

"What a stupid race, you are! You don't even know royalty when it's standing right infront of you!"

Your expression changes to a quizical one, and the first question that pops into your head is, "Who are you?"

She lets out a small laugh, saying, "I am Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings!"

"Why the hell is she yelling everything?!"

The knocking from your downstairs neighbor comes once again, this time with the muffled yells of, "I swear to God! If you keep this up, I'm calling the cops!"

Chrysalis is take aback at your neighbors statement, and she quickly scans the room for him, not realizing he's down below.

"What? Who dare threatens the Queen!"

You can hold your tounge no longer.

"SHUT UP!", you yell at the top of your lungs.

She raises a hoof to what you can only assume to be her chest, letting out a gasp as she does so, shocked at your outburst.

"Shit.....sorry....", you quickly let out, this time no louder than a whisper, praying that she would brush it off. You would much rather take insults over whatever she's about to do.

"You...you..."

She takes a few steps closer to you, and you try to curl up into a ball and disappear.

She continues to mutter "You", and your breathing intensifies.

You close your eyes for a moment, and when you look again, you find Chrysalis' right ear obscuring your vision in your left eye. You don't dare say anything as you listen to the sound of her breathing next to your ear.

Finally, she inhales, then begins speaking in nothing more than a whisper, as if to allow only the two of you to hear the conversation.

"I should kill you where you stand. Right now. It'd be quick."

Your eyes widen as fear as you contemplate whether she means what she says or not, and your breathing stops entirely, not wanting to even try and disturb her while she's talking.

"But I wont."

You let out a sigh, but keep quiet as she continues.

"You have some questions to answer."

She pulls away, her hair brushing the side of her face as she did so.

***

Minutes later, you find yourself sitting on the floor while Chrysalis rested comfortably on the loveseat. You have stayed mute ever since she pulled away from you. Chrysalis clears her throat and begins to talk.

"So...", she prods a holed hoof in your direction, almost twirling it around while she held out the word.

Your eyes widen in realization, and you quickly burst out your name, then resume being silent.

She rubs her front right hoof on her chin in thought. "I see. What a strange name."

You fight back the strong urge to yell out, "Yeah, but Chrysalis is stupider!".

She clears her throat quietly, then continues.

"As I was saying, I have some questions that need I need answered."

You nod, finally deciding to speak.

"Fire away."

"Your Queen did not give permission to speak."

You shut up instantly, mentally slapping yourself.

"First, where am I? This place doesn't look like anywhere I've seen before."

She looks at you, visibly growing impatient as you stare back at her.

Finally, she says, "Oh. Um...yes, permission granted,"

A faint blush of embaressment washed over her cheeks, or, at least what you assumed were her cheeks.

"Earth. Big, blue and green, six billion people. Ever heard of it?"

She shakes her head.

"Nay. We do not have such a place where I am from."

You open your mouth to agree, but quickly remind yourself that she is still a character from a cartoon, even if she is sitting right infront of you. You play along.

"And where exactly are you from?"

"Why do you continue to speak without per-", she stops midsentence.

She opens her mouth again a moment later, saying, "I am from the land of Equestria."

You nod your head, making your eyes go wide with faux disbelief as if this was the first time you were hearing all of this.

"We do not have any of...you...in our world. It is just my Changelings and I, and those wretched ponies."

The last word came out as if it were dripping with poison.

"What exactly is a "Changeling"?"

A light emits from her body, and you shield your eyes. When you look back up, however, Chrysalis is gone, and the loveseat now supports the yellow body of the pegasus, Fluttershy.

She looks at you, eyes wide with curiousity; her pink mane flowing over her left eye.

You feel yourself slipping into a diabeetus-induced coma,but Fluttershy's body is quickly engulfed in what looks like green flame, and seconds later, Chrysalis is once again on the couch.

"A Changeling has the ability to take another being's shape, whether they want them to or not. While in the other beings body, we can mimick them in every way."

You nod your head slowly.

"So, how did you get here? I'm sure that a world full of ponies and the like wouldn't just have portals open to come to us whenever they feel like it."

"Right you are. However, sometimes, a portal can be opened."

You let out a soft "Oh" and continue to listen.

"I had amassed my army, and our strike on Canterlot was going according to plan, until that oaf, Shining Armor, and his wife were brought back together. They banished my soldiers and I across the land."

"Uh-huh."

"When I awoke, I found myself in a bed. I did not know how I got there, or where "there" even was."

You nod once more.

She sighs, then continues.

"The last thing I remember, I was asleep. A figure approached me in a dream. It said to me, "Do you want another chance?" I nodded, and then everyhting went black. The memories resume when I awoke in your bed."

You sat there and let the information sink in.

"That's it?"

"Of course", she snaps, an agressive tone returning to her voice. "Are you accusing your Queen of something?"

"No, no, no, no", you say, waving your hands out infront of yourself. "I was just asking."

"I see", she says, eyeing you suspiciously.

"Is that all you wanted to know?"

"Actually, yes. As a Changeling, I have the ability to adapth rather quickly. I have one one final question, though. Not about this world, but about you."

You gulp, not knowing what she could ask.

"Are you at all suprised by my appearance? If this "Earth" is like how you described it, I am certain there are not Changeling Queens just walking around."

You sit there and try to think of an answer, not wanting to tell her she's a cartoon character. Finally, an answer pops into your head.

"No."

"No?"

You nod, wishing you had said something better.

"Well then, one final question. I promise this time."

You prepare answers in your head.

"Do you mind if I stay here? I may be able to adapt quickly, but if everypony out there looks like you, it may not be the best idea to leave."

Everypony?

You are about to to answer, but you realize she insulted you once more. You re-think your decision. Let her stay and be insulted, or let her fend for herself out in the cold?

You do have a soul, so insults aside, you open your mouth, nodding as you say, "Yes, you can stay here."

She smiles, leaning her head down over her two crossed front legs, and closes her eyes.

"Good. Now leave."

You stand up quietly, realizing that she's trying to settle into a nap, and head back to your room. You lay on the bed and look up at the ceiling.

"Well, maybe this'll turn out for the better."

You let your eyes drift shut, and silence takes over the apartment once more.