Chapter 1: A Lavender Hug
Even though Chrysalis, the Changeling Queen and ruler of amorphization was evil, she still only wanted something simple. Something hardly considered tough to give: love. Although she tried to do it with force, and almost caused mass destruction upon Canterlot, the fact was that what she wanted something simple, not complicated. Getting to her hooves, her neck in horrid pains, she looked around, and wondered where all her children had gone, and what in Equestria knocked her all the way into the Everfree Forest. Though it wasn’t that hard to figure out, the Queen still contemplated the matter, only for a moment, however.
Looking around in the dead of night, fog looming around her and fear slowly but surely taking its hold on her heart, she stood, her holed hooves shuffled the dirt beneath them. She gave a wee squeak, and frantically began to gallop towards town, Ponyville, where Twilight rested safe and sound, unaware of the menacing evil that approached her quaint home.
Twilight yawned, blinked her drooping eyes and asked her assistant dragon if he was done cataloging what had just happened in Canterlot. He didn’t answer. She walked over to his location only to find the poor thing out cold and barely moving. She widened her eyes due to worry; she couldn’t see his chest moving... She even thought about poking him with a stick, just to be sure, but his sudden, silence-breaking snore assured him he was alright. Letting out a relieved sigh, the unicorn tried to magically lift the heavy snoozer, but found she was going to collapse if she tried magic; too much spellcasting the night before, but the ponies demanded more light shows! So, she left him there, lying on the desk, thoroughly lost in a random dream most likely involving Rarity.
“Ugh... forget it. I can’t even. I’ve lost the ability to even... What is an ‘even’ anyway? I mean, the foals at the party were talking about it... must be some weird saying going around schools or something... uuugh." She muttered to herself, half lost in some semi-realistic dream. Everything was twirling and spinning to her, but late night burnouts were nothing for her anymore. Twilight had gone on way longer than this, all the way till sunrise, “Why can’t I keep my eyes open...?”
All of the sudden, the treehouse’s keeper heard a noise coming from outside. She sobered up instantly, or at least as quickly as three hours of sleep would allow her, and crept over to the door. Peering out, she saw nothing. For a split second, she contemplated her lassitude was too great to cope with and realized she must have been hearing things in her head. The second noise told her otherwise. Loud and oh, so real, Twilight knew from it that this was definitely anything but her imagination.
A loud knocking on the door was the sound. For a minute, Twilight stared at the wooden designs, thinking about how that door never opened the same way whenever she or Spike used it. Would it open like any other door this time, or would it split down the lower middle? She couldn’t decide which one would work. With the second knock, and Spike shifting over and falling off of his desk to make a dent in the floorboard, she made the final choice of choosing the lower part, only to find out she chose wrong. This time, the door wished for her to exit normally.
“Typical...” She sighed, looking over at the scar Spike had on his head, “Oh, great.. I’ll have to call somepony from Floormasters to repair that.. Spike should be fine. Just some blood, that’s all. He doesn’t need to go to the hospital or anything like that. Definitely couldn’t be any kind of alarming head trauma!” The thought of Spike’s brain bouncing around inside his head sent her own mind reeling, “Ok, let’s not think about that...”
Her hoof nervously loomed over the handle, thoughts spawning about what might be on the other side. Is it some angry tax collector? She thought, A librarian from the past...? No, I returned all those books, definitely! Then again... maybe there was one or two... or ten that got left behind... no, no no! What if it’s Princess Celestia, coming to punish me for a missed letter on the magic of friendship!?
“Oh, I can’t take it anymore!”
She threw open the door, the fear of the unknown was just too overwhelming. Whatever was on the other side of the door, she’d find out then and there. It swung open. As it did, lightning struck in the distance. It wasn’t even raining moments before. The being stood there, her green, devil-like eyes scanning Twilight’s frame. The random light show behind her made things all the more frightening. As her mouth opened, a slithery tongue passed by razor sharp fangs, forcing Twilight to scream in shock. She fell backwards, knowing exactly who the intruder was.
“C-C-Chrysalis!”
The changeling lifted her eyebrows in astonishment, not knowing what she’d done wrong. Naturally, her just being there was enough to make Twilight Yelp for help. As she entered, her hoof silenced the unicorn, while her sorry gaze made Twilight’s curiosity peque. Slowly and calmly, she explained her reasons for even considering coming anywhere near Ponyville, “I’m trying to find my kids...”
Twilight didn’t need much more to understand her predicament. Having someone like Spike was similar to having a son of her own. An annoying, gem eating, fire breathing, constant hazard son. One can only imagine how many bits a single ruby cost, let alone a whole bag of them, and that was just his breakfast. If it wasn’t for Princess Celestia who catered to that dragon’s insane tastes, Twilight wouldn’t even bother with attempting to feed him anything close.
“You see,” Chrysalis said, gaining Twilight’s impossibly obtainable attention, “I almost feel bad now, wondering where my babies are. They’re probably alone, cold and wishing I was there with them.”
In the Blackberry woods located just a little ways beyond the Everfree Forest, a group of Changelings converged, all rolling their eyes. “Well, this was sure to happen,” one said, and all the others agreed.
“We tried to warn her, but noooo, she wouldn’t listen!”
“I just wanted to hug everypony. That’s the proper way of feeding.”
“Yeah! If she simply asked, how much you guys wanna bet those ponies would’ve agreed without hesitation? Look at us! We’re adorable, right?”
All of which, to the Canterlot citizens, were indeed cute and huggable, but the Queen refused to accept this, and demanded her army act as just that; an army. Their thoughts, which were collective, traveled to Chrysalis, finally making her come to the realization that this might’ve worked.
And why wouldn’t it still work, she thought. Visions of simply collecting love through hugs circled her thoughts. She’d never listened to her kids before, mainly because of the tyrannical power that blinded her from doing so, but worrying for them made Chrysalis listen for the first time in ages, “Uh... T-Twilight...”
The hostess blinked, glossy tiredness showing, and asked, “Chrysalis...?”
“May I... Try something?”
“That depends on what it is. If you wish to take on my appearance...”
“No,”
“Take over my life,”
“Twilight, I...”
“And completely overtake Ponyville,”
Fed up with the immediate conclusion that her deeds would repeat themselves, Chrysalis blurted out her true request. “I JUST WISH TO HUG YOU!”
Twilight sat in befuddlement, completely silenced by the random statement. The thought to decline crossed her mind; what did she owe this Changeling? She led an assault on the capital city after all. But her forgiving nature begged her raise a hoof, acting beyond her sense of logic, her sense of anger as a memory or two crept up from that time only a little while ago.
Without warning, Twilight was engulfed in a strong, powerful hug. She was amazed at how warm the mare really was, despite the chitinous skin surrounding her. Memories rose of when Princess Celestia cuddled with her after some studying, back in her foal years. She’d be so, very weary from the day’s challenges that tears often escaped. Celestia, being the motherly mare she was would soothe her student with a kind hug. Twilight’s eyes closed along with this sweet remembrance and openly embraced the hug, as if it was from the Princess herself.
She wrapped her hooves around the Queen, even smiled a bit, forgetting who was nestling her. Slowly, her love, purple in mist and only visible to Chrysalis seeped out of her fur and entered through the holes on the Queen’s hooves. Weakness was sensed, but ignored, for a hug seemed to only give a small percentage compared to other methods, like kissing.
Twilight moaned a bit, letting Chrysalis know not to tug so tightly. “Sorry Twily. I’m getting carried away, aren’t I?”
“Mmh...? No, you’re... so soft. Why didn’t you just do this in the first place, instead of attacking Canterlot?”
“I don’t know! My kids tried to tell me I was in the wrong, but... Buh, I just didn’t listen! I’m sorry... I’m just so, so sorry Twily!”
She couldn’t believe her ears. Was this the true evil that Twilight was certain would destroy an entire, heavily guarded palace? If so, it was the nicest evil she’d ever met. Hearing herself be called something only her friends chanted only made the situation that much more tender. She even felt a tear escape. Noticing the liquid drop onto her shoulder, Chrysalis realized she’d gathered enough love from Twilight, and had fed enough on it. She’d be able to return to her children and feed them plenty to keep them alive for about two more days. That would grant her enough time to encourage more ponies to hug her, and freely give her the emotions she needed.
Releasing the unicorn, Queen Chrysalis sniffled and held back her own tears. Twilight looked about ready to burst and sob from happiness, as did her guest, but Twilight was way more emotional about this. It showed her not all evil in the world remains as such. It meant there was still hope for her yet, and that everypony in all of Equestia, regardless of how corrupt they might’ve been, still had some good in them.
Of course, Twilight allowed Chrysalis to stay for the night, confident she could be trusted. The following morning would come later than usual, but when it did, Twilight would feel no regret about housing her new friend, the Queen of the Changeling Armada.
Chapter 2: Flames For Breakfast
The morning sun graced the pleasant town of Ponyville, as well its unexpectedly kind guest. Sunlight peeked just over the mountains to the East, giving them the same majestic glow Chrysalis now donned. Golden light blinded the Queen as she opened her eyes, being unlucky enough to have fallen asleep in the lobby facing the window, but her sight’s savior came in a lift of her hoof.
The holes in it didn’t really help much, but it was a start, as her mind began to wonder; where would she go now? Twilight had been rather accepting of her wishes, but could she depend on others being anywhere near as kind?
“Twilight did have friends with her... Are they all in this town though?” she mumbled, standing up to escape the light of the sun, “Perhaps... the yellow one, Fluttershy I believe. So little information,” she grumbled, eyes moving around the library lobby. They fell on the stairs, then shifted up to Twilight’s room.
“Well, who better to ask than her friend?” She nodded at the thought; it was a good plan. If she didn’t know enough, she could always ask somepony else, a neglected fact when she first plotted the attack on Canterlot. Her eyes turned back to the sunrise while she sighed, for the town was barely awake yet. The streets outside still remained dead silent. With a shrug, she decided to waste some time in the kitchen; there had to be some treats left around.
“Changelings don’t even need to eat... shouldn’t steal from her,” the Queen grimaced; darned morals keeping her from the delicious morsels most definitely hidden in the cupboards and fridge. Suddenly, she noticed some eggs lying on the shelf in an open carton. They would probably make for a delicious breakfast, and with her debt unpaid, Chrysalis decided it would be perfectly generous to prepare Twilight a yummy and well deserved meal. If only she knew how to cook.
“I’m in a library... must be some books on cooking around here.” She exited the kitchen, curious as to where she would look for such a tome. The monolithic bookcases all stared back at her, no noticeable organization strategy having been used. The titles appeared to be in alphabetical order, but the subjects of the books jumped from magic theory, to geography, to mathematics, then back to magic theory. It was all completely random.
“Does she memorize where each of these books sit, or something? Alphabetical order doesn’t really help with hunting down a b-”
Her eyes landed on a shelf, blinking in confusion.
“Cooking For Foals. There’s a whole series of them here!” She was bewildered by it; didn’t titles vary at all in Equestria? “Well, may as well try it.”
Her magic grasped two volumes from the shelf, gently pulling them from their brethren, “Have to remember where these were... hmm.” Looking for a proper object to remind her of where the books would go, she returned to the kitchen. Numerous tools of supposed culinary origin sat on the counter, lined up and ready for use. She drew a wooden spoon from the line, thinking it would be as good a reminder as any. With a quick flick of her magic, the spoon landed perfectly in the space the books left behind; a perfect shot.
She turned back to the kitchen and moved to the counter, grabbing the carton of eggs and pulling it to her front. “Alright, eggs... what confection could you be put in?” She turned the cover of the book, staring at the print; this was a book for foals, wasn’t it?
“This print is tiny...” She leaned towards the book, focusing on the writing. “Baking, frying, stove-top cooking, fry pan use... well, aren’t you a page-filled tutor?” Her brow rose with her shrug, and she started flipping through the pages. Recipes for cupcakes, cakes, muffins - so many muffins -, omelettes, hashbrowns, potato dishes, salads... “How did they manage to fit so many recipes in this book?”
She closed the book and lifted it up, staring at the spine; it was barely bigger than a typical novel, yet the recipes contained within would fill an archive. “Those are some very thin pages...”
She returned to her quest for a proper breakfast recipe, the thought of spending weeks finding out how such a book was made scaring her away from thinking further on the issue. After five minutes and nearly making herself sick by the mere sight of a certain cupcake’s sugar content, the recipe for a basic scrambled eggs dish revealed itself.
“Perfect. We’ll start with this then!” She smiled and set to work. The recipe demanded dishes, of course, as well as a pan, oil, three eggs, a certain temperature, a stove, constant attention, a ‘spatula’, whatever that was, and numerous other things. The writer of the book likely found himself with a large hospital bill...
After several minutes of fighting with the dishes, trying not to upset the excessively clogged pan drawer, and thinking of what a ‘spatula’ would actually be, she’d assembled her tools, thanks to a very helpful set of pictures located in the back.
“You would think they would place these pictures somewhere more useful.” She shook her head and set about her cooking. With little help of the instructions in the book, she cracked three eggs into the pan, and then dropped the shells in assuming they were part of the mixture, a layer of oil already heated to help them cook, and kept an eagle’s eye on the reaction taking place in front of her. She had to retreat several times from getting too close to the pillar of steam. After about fifteen minutes, though, black fog began to waft from the pan.
“Gah! Wha- did... I do something wrong?”
Naturally, this being her first time trying to prepare anything, she neglected to coat the pan with cooking spray. Her relying solely on the pictured was a mistake as well, for she put the temperature way too high, igniting the dish and waking Twilight abruptly. At first, she thought Spike had burped in the middle of his sleep and caught the house on fire, again. However, he was in his picnic basket, heavily lost in dreamland, and the smoke was wafting from down stairs, which could only mean one thing in Twilight’s mind.
“Chrysalis is trying to burn the house down! I knew she couldn’t be trusted!”
With great speed, not even bothering to run down stairs, she teleported herself to the lobby, only to find it filled with smoke, and no Changeling Queen to be found. She reached for the door, this time it wished to be opened from the bottom instead of the regular way, only infuriating Twilight even more. As she grunted, she heard her house destroying guest in the kitchen making odd sounds and coughing to the point of wheezing.
Twilight ran in and asked, “What did you do?!”
Without much choice, she summoned a magical vortex in the roof that sucked all the smoke in, leaving nothing but clear, purified air in the atmosphere of the house. Chrysalis, in tears and a damaged sounding voice said, “I was just trying to muh-... make you a nice breakfast.”
The unicorn’s mouth dropped at the statement. Her eyes gazed at the burnt meal in the ruined pan, and sighed. She was more relieved than mad. How could she possibly be upset with the truth? It was clear she’d misjudged the mare in the worst way. “You... tried to cook me a breakfast?”
“I’m sorry...” She collapsed and covered her head with her hooves, too embarrassed by her failure to want to be seen. Twilight walked over to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder, sitting down.
“It’s alright. The pan wasn’t... all that expensive, I can have it replaced. And only the food burned, right? None of the kitchen, or the libary, or the books!” Twilight grinned, trying to cheer her guest up; she was right after all. The pan was a twenty bit affair, and it could be replaced just like any other kitchen utensil.
Had any of the books burned, however, heads would have rolled. Then been launched into outer space as she tried to replace her beloved texts and tomes.
“W-Well... I suppose not,” Chrysalis shivered, moving a hoof away from her eyes. Only one day in this library, and you’ve already destroyed something... stupid mare... I need to get it replaced, but where should I go? Wait, perhaps... Chrysalis raised her head, looking up at Twilight, a spark of conviction in her eyes, “Twilight, if you would allow me to... I could get your pan replaced. Do you have any friends that may have a spare or two?”
“Friends? Uhh... ah, I know who. I’d say Pinkie, but she destroys that kitchen every other week, so all her pay is used on replacing pots, pans, stoves, walls, ceiling tiles, even the odd window. Fluttershy, however, keeps a nice stock of kitchenware off-hoof... not sure why, but she’s been doing a lot of cooking lately,” Twilight nodded, smiling. Great idea, Twilight! Fluttershy owes you for losing that Daring Do book anyway, a new frying pan shouldn’t be that big an investment!
“Fluttershy? I shall go to her abode immediately,” Chrysalis stood up, regaining her regal posture as she looked back at her host, “Just, erm... where does she live?”
“She lives near the Everfree Forest in a cottage. If you leave the library, take a left, right, left right, go straight for about three blocks, then take another left, follow the street to the edge of the town, then walk down the left road until the next exit, then head down that-”
“J-Just some written instructions would be appreciated, Twilight! Thank you,” Chrysalis smiled, just trying to keep her from passing out during her mad rambling. After a few minutes and the threat of another fire starting from just how quickly Twilight scribbled the instructions - that smoke trail was getting awfully wide -, Chrysalis was out the door in a new disguise; that of a blue mare with an emerald mane and tail. Completely inconspicuous and natural.
Well, that was what she thought as she began her walk, horn lit to carry the thirty step set of instructions to get to Fluttershy’s cottage, but the strange looks from ponies around her made her rethink her disguise.
Why are all these ponies staring at me? Is it my coat? No, blue is quite natural... my horn? I made it as straight as I could, but maybe there’s still a sharp coil to it. What about my teeth? No fangs... her eyes turned up to her mane, a faint glow coming from its glorious green, My mane looks perfectly fine! Matches my eyes.
Finding nothing out of the ordinary, she simply carried on her march to the abode, eyes all around watching her every move. Mares’ jaws dropped, stallions felt themselves dragged toward her, even colts and fillies around felt trapped by her form and angelic glow.
Alright. Go right after one block, left after one block, right after one block, left after one block, then go straight to the edge of town. Then, we turn left and walk to the next exit and walk up the hill into Everfree Glades. After that, it’s a set of turns and a winding path, and I just need to follow the sound of birds to get where I want to go... hm, simple. Very long winded, but simple!
After about half an hour of following the meticulous directions to the letter, the Queen found herself at the entrance to the fearsome Everfree Forest. The trees stood gnarled and tall over her head, a few streams of light barely poking through the canopy of interlocking leaves, as if the forest grew specifically to produce a dark environment. As she wandered onto the covered path, her eyes moved up to the leaves, all fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.
“This forest always was strange... Hydras banging on the walls of the hive as they slept in the bog, manticore threats, the dangers of the plant life itself... it’s no wonder we moved near Neighagra Falls,” Chrysalis mumbled, remembering the troubles of maintaining the Everfree Hive. Every single day, a new problem would arise, from a manticore following a patrol back home, to a few of the foals running off to hunt down a mighty Hydra, to so many problems with the Hive’s structure itself from the numerous, massive creatures both slumbering in Froggy Bottom Bog, and the equally massive, hostile plants whose roots burrowed so deep, it was amazing they hadn’t struck gold.
“I still remember when we had that one gigantic Venus fly trap grow into the Hive... that was a troublesome affair for the Court indeed,” she grimaced a bit, thinking back to her children trying to burn the invading monster with their magic. Thankfully, no lives were lost, but two of the drones did lose their exoskeletons in the process... a horrific sight that nopony should ever have to endure. Her spine froze at the memory, and she frantically shook her head rid her mind’s eye of it, “I never want to see something like that again...”
Her mind began to swim despite her resistance, thinking back to the rampant starvation in the Falls Hive... it turned her stomach, seeing so many of her children wasting away. I should have listened to them... should have simply let them leave the Hive, find love on their own, even requested help from the monarchy. I was blind enough to believe their starvation would drive them to be effective soldiers, but that all blew up in my face about as well as that stupid shield Shining Armor and his wife cleared us all out of Canterlot with. That’s the last time I ever ignore the wishes of my Changelings.
Far off in Fillydelphia... or rather, under it, a new hive was growing under the leadership of a Changeling soldier, he and his workers all listening to the thoughts of their Queen.
“She finally gets it. Took long enough!” One of the workers grumbled, chewing on a stubborn rock as he tried to cut a path towards the new nursery.
“She was working at it, just be thankful that she’ll listen to us more,” Another cried out, lounging against the wall as he waited for his next work shift to start.
“Listen to us? Please. Her Highness always believes she’s in the right, no matter what her followers say,” yet another cried out, chucking rocks at the wall as she listened for a hollow section. There’s gotta be a cave here somewhere... tunnels are so natural under cities!
“All of you be quiet and keep working. We’ve gotta figure out a way to get food ourselves if Queen Chrysalis fails,” the soldier shouted, the workers falling silent under his bellow, “Just believe in her, and we’ll see this through.”
“Aye aye!” The workers cried out, and they all carried on with their work.
“Now where is that cottage?” Chrysalis raised her eyebrow as she dropped the disguise, looking at the instructions trapped in her green aura, “I followed every single note here to the letter. Did I get lost or something?”
Her eyes wandered, trying to pick out a branching path from the single, curved one she’d been following for quite a while. There hadn’t been any turns since the start of her walk, the instructions simply marking which trees to pass through onto another path, but in every direction she looked, there were just more irritatingly tall trees.
But something echoed through the forest that guided her ears, though her eyes were unable to follow their leadership. Is that... somepony singing?
Sure enough, a heavenly chorus drifted on the breeze, the Changeling happily following the auditory trail. She kept to cover, hiding behind trees and bushes so she could at least get a sight of the singer. Wouldn’t do to scare this pony off... but my goodness, that’s a marvelous sound.
A clearing suddenly broke the pattern of trees appearing after trees, revealing the sound she’d meant to listen for from the instructions; the sounds of birds singing. Well... I think I found her. Hopefully.
Her eyes quested across the clearing, first spotting a cottage built into the side of a hill. It reminded her of her own hives, but it was much more homely and wooden, rather than being built of ichor and rock. We should get some carpenters in our Hive, make the place a bit more liveable...
Eventually, the emerald eyes fell upon a buttercup pony, the ears pointing toward them as well. Pegasus, pink mane and tail... that’s definitely her. Need to think of how to do this though. How do I approa-
Her mind locked up as she saw the path leading away from the cottage, a clear view of Ponyville as well as a swath of a path cut through to the edge of town. I was going to the wrong way! Alright, note to self, ask Twilight to dumb down any directions she writes for me... it was hard enough following those directions. Curse my bad sense of direction!
A quick shake of her head set her eyes back on the objective at hoof, and she receded into the bushes. A careful approach is necessary... hmmm... just how do I approach her though? What can I use? Darn it. She ran a multitude of ideas through her head; injured Changeling, using one of her friends as a disguise, simply going up to her, even taking on the form of an animal! It all didn’t suit her needs, or move away from lying or forcing to get her way. Direct approach would scare her off, injured animal or pony would plant me on my flank for weeks as she treated me, or worst case, send me off to the hospital, and the injured Changeling would just result in the same as the first approach!
Her teeth scraped together in aggitation, and the singing suddenly stopped. Oh... shoot.
“I-Is somepony there?” The pony looked around, wings flitting slightly, “P-Please, come out... I don’t like it when ponies hide...”
The idea of simply walking out slowly came to Chrysalis’ mind, but her logic stopped the thought short. The attack was only a few days ago! What reason would she have for trusting me? But I can’t lie, either... well, here goes everything. With a heavy gulp, the Queen stepped out into the sunlight, moving slowly so she didn’t disturb the serenity of the scene. The birds stopped chirping, squirrels stopped scampering about, and even the pony herself froze up... everything just stopped, as eyes slowly turned to the Changeling.
“W-W-Who’s-” Fluttershy’s head turned slowly, but as soon as her eyes set upon the black devil advancing from the edge of the forest like a hungry predator, she felt her muscles seize completely. Her mind was completely blank as her pupils shrunk, terror ravaging every bastion and defense in her thoughts. Run... I-I have to run... legs, move, please...
The Changeling looked around the meadow as if it were a scene frozen in time, birds floating stationary as they stared at her. She felt uneasy with the observers, but forced her eyes back to the target of her goal, and made her slow advance. She softened her expression to as gentle a look as she could, but the shivering pegasus merely stood, frozen.
“P-Please... d-don’t hurt me...” tears ran down the poor pony’s cheeks as her emotions took over, wobbling slightly as her muscles started to shut down. “J-Just l-l-leave me a-alone...”
“I’m not going to hurt you... your name is Fluttershy, yes?” Chrysalis kept her voice as level and quiet as possible, stopping a good distance away from the pegasus. Any kind of aggressive movement, and she’s going to pass out...
“Y-Y-Yes... a-and y-you’re C-C-Chrys-s-salis...” Fluttershy could barely keep her voice stable, bottom lip quivering as she willed her legs to move... but the dragon’s eyes of the Changeling were almost hypnotic, like a snake ready to snatch the defenseless mouse from its den... and devour her whole.
“Yes. Queen Chrysalis... I’m not here to harm you, or disturb anything here. I just require something of you...”
“W-W-What d-do you w-want with me?”
“I just... I’m trying to find my children, and bring home enough food to help them... but in order to do that, I first need to gather enough love.”
“Y-Y-You want t-to c-control my mind, j-just like the Captain...” Fluttershy’s legs twitched, control returning.
Shoot, she’s starting to move! C’mon, Chrysalis, reassure her! Her panic merely resulted in a quick blink as she thought of something to say, “No, no, honest... there’s just one thing I want from you. I just...”
“W-What?”
“I just want a hug,” Chrysalis’ brow rose slightly. No devious grin, no twinkle in her eye, no glint from her waiting fangs... nothing. She didn’t even take a step forward, as if relying on her words alone.
“A... hug?” Fluttershy turned to the Changeling, wings out in preparation. S-She’s lying... she just wants you so she can feed... she’s a monster.
But with each look into those worried, pained eyes, Fluttershy felt her own accusations lose ground. “You... j-just... want a hug, right?”
“Yes. That’s all I want.” Chrysalis nodded as she spoke, gently sitting down on the grass below her. She made no movement beyond that, simply looking at the grass before Fluttershy’s hooves, waiting for the pegasus to decide on her own. I can’t get anything from her if I force it... so, if it’s going to happen... it will simply happen. Hopefully. She quirked her mouth slightly, I’m putting a lot of trust in this mare...
Fluttershy simply blinked at the submissive Changeling, looking around at the forest edge. Nothing blinked back at her, no bushes shuddered with a creature trying to hide from her gaze, none of the trees held any shadows. She knew the glade she lived in like her hoof, all the hiding places, all the concealing shadows, even where the darkness would appear at each time of the day. She had to...
She often used those places to hide herself. Every single competent hiding place, however, revealed nothing to her inspective eyes; they were all empty. Chrysalis was alone. Why’d she come alone...? Isn’t she trying to feed on love? Or...
Her eyes fell back to Chrysalis, feeling a bit more sure of herself. “You came alone...?”
“Yes. It’s just me here. My goal is simply to receive love the way my children wanted to... and I’m hoping you will be kind enough to grant me what I desire.” She remained still as a statue.
“Well...” Fluttershy bit her lip, taking a step toward the Changeling. Chrysalis held down any twitches or random movements, though her heart couldn’t hold back from showing her excitement, beating faster. The pegasus made step after tentative step, slowly building her courage, as well as the strength in her tense wings; trust was something she couldn’t give, not yet... but she did have a way of testing her. “If... you’re honest, then you can do something for me.”
Chrysalis’ brow fell a bit, noticing a change in the pony’s voice. Is that... authority in her tone? Strange... “What would you have me do?”
“Just look into my eyes.”
“What will that accomplish?”
“Honest ponies look each other in the eye... well, while they’re speaking, anyway.”
A twinge of worry hit her, inexplicably, but she looked up into Fluttershy’s cerulean eyes. There was certainly something... different in them. Instead of the gentle, shy look that she was used to from the wedding, this was more of a soul-piercing stare into her mind, wordlessly demanding everything...
“Tell me... why you came here...” Fluttershy whispered, her brow falling further as she burrowed into Chrysalis’ eyes. The Changeling blinked, unable to break the stare, but her gaze remained unchanged.
“I came for a hug. That’s it,” she said flatly, keeping her stare as non-aggressive as possible, but she felt her own emotions boil below her heart. What’s she trying to do with that look? Control yourself, Chrysalis, control yourself...
“Honest?”
“Yes. Perfectly.”
The glare held itself, strengthening as Fluttershy sought some hint of a lie, some fracture in Chrysalis’ armor, a crack she could pull open and see into her purest intentions. But no chink or opening revealed itself; either the Changeling was one of the world’s best liers, or she was honest... eventually, the Stare fell away, and the pegasus let out a sigh. “Well, alright... just, don’t grab me, ok?”
The Queen nodded, and the shy pony walked up. The movement was labored, but she wrapped her forelegs around the black chitinous neck, a gentle hug held around her. Chrysalis sighed, not moving as the hug tightened slightly, and she could feel the warmth added to her own.
“Wow... you’re actually... warm,” Fluttershy blinked in surprise; it felt like she was hugging a soft blanket, rather than a hard plate of steel as the exoskeleton appeared in the light. She felt something leaving her as the red mist rose from her body, sucked away into the holes on the Changeling’s legs. Comfort washed over her mind, pulling worry away in the advancing tide, and she simply relaxed into the hug.
The Queen smiled, feeling quite proud of herself for this recent victory. I did it... I convinced the shyest pony in Equestria to give me a hug. Hehe... really should have tried this before the invasion. Much more fulfilling... she closed her eyes and brought her own leg around, returning the loving hug.
A quiver raced through her, one of appreciation and joy; far more than the Chrysalis of the past had felt during that fateful battle... and the two stayed in that meadow for a time; the request for the pan could come later, after all. For now, Chrysalis merely stored the love for her children.
