Chapter 22 – The Enemy of my Enemy…

After befriending the changeling commander, Trapjaw, the grateful warrior leads Ford Mustang to the hidden location of his Colony in the haunting forest north of Equestria. From there, the blue-haired Pegasus hopes to meet Queen Chrysalis, so that she can help him take down Arrogon the Destroyer within the seized castle of Canterlot as well as rescue the imprisoned Elements of Harmony.

“So, just out of curiosity…” Ford cautiously asks his new traveling companion. “Since you guys can only feed off the emotions of other creatures, how do you guys manage to do that without drawing any suspicion from everypony?”

“I’m not at all surprised to hear such ignorance spewing from that mouth of yours, pony!” the changeling scoffs with a smirk. “But very well, I shall elaborate with you! When it comes to emotions, each of them has their own distinctive flavors, which only we can taste the difference. For example, anger has a bit of a spicy kick while sadness can have a bitter taste to it. But above all else, there is nothing sweeter or more fulfilling than the taste of love!” he says in ecstasy as he licks his lips upon reflecting that delicious energy he tasted earlier. After composing himself, Trapjaw continues, “So, in order for us to survive, the Colony’s elite infiltrators go from town to town undetected as they gather up as much love as possible. Mostly, it’s easy for us to gather our daily dose of love from a large crowd, since it’s less likely for multiple hosts to faint on us. And there are several ways to approach this; usually it’s by disguising ourselves as random ponies or by using our invisibility spells.”

“And… you don’t unintentionally hurt anyone by doing that, do you?”

“Of course not!” the changeling snaps in response. “We only need the energy from their emotions, not their lives! We not as savage as you ponies have perceived us!” Once he calms down, he then states in a quieter voice, “But recently, our sources of love are extremely low for some reason. Something has filled the ponies’ hearts with constant fear and despair. So we had to result for other… desperate means.”

“You mean how you were trying to capture me?” the deadpan pony assumes.

“Y-y-yes…” Trapjaw admits with a hint of disgrace. “But I assure you, we weren’t going to harm anypony nor will we keep them imprisoned for long! We’ve even gathered lots of fruit and vegetables to help replenish their strength afterwards! And after a simple mind-wiping spell, we would set them free and it will be as if they were never here in the first place!”

After taking a moment to process all this, Ford comments respectfully with a small smile, “Well… I can’t say that I fully approve all of that, but I’m glad to hear that you took a lot of consideration for their sakes.”

Some time later, the two flyers arrive at a large tree in the center where its fruitless limbs and trunk are more twisted than the rest of the trees surrounding it.

“Ah, we’re here!” Trapjaw announces with delight.

Using his slightly gnarled horn, the trunk of the tree reacts upon the changeling’s command as it glows an oval-shaped ring of green-colored magic. As the glowing ring disappears, the cutout portion of the trunk magically vanishes as well. After the reveal of the secret entrance, Trapjaw lightly pushes the stallion to go first.

“Go on ahead, Ford, but be sure to mind your step. The drop can be quite long.”

Carefully, the pony enters the crooked tree’s opening and gentle hovers down while Trapjaw seals the entrance behind him and makes his descent as well. Eventually, they touch the soft ground as Ford gets use to the darkness they are in right now. Surprisingly, there is no need to amplify his eyesight as he spots a tunnel that’s filled with tiny, turquoise lights. Seeing Trapjaw taking the lead once more, Ford follows right behind.

As they walk within the tunnel, Ford couldn’t help but awe at the welcoming source of the pretty lights around him. Within the dark passageway, the concave walls are littered with hundreds of fluorescent fungi, all in various shapes and sizes. Also, he notices the changes on the ground and walls as he feels the smoothness of the slightly slimy floor and sees the cave's unusually organic architecture. Quite possibly, the tunnel’s ongoing construction is all made by the changelings. As for how these creatures were able to come up with the organic material to reinforce the passageway… well… the less the Pegasus knows about it, the better.

At the end of the tunnel, Ford nearly lets out awestricken gasp at sight of the massive chamber of the Colony’s hive. The central station is literally buzzing from the activity of the ever-working changelings as they travel in and out of the hundreds of entryways. Busily, the workers are either transporting cocoon-cased supplies or are in the middle mending newly constructed tunnels and chambers. It may look very foreign through the eyes of a normal pony, but through Ford’s eyes, the large, domed structure is as magnificent as a classical gothic architecture.

While the visually pleased Pegasus is distracted by the hive’s architecture, the majority of workers suddenly halt their progress as they gaze at the unexpected visitor. One by one, they are drawn towards the mysterious pony as they are lost in their own self-induced trance. Finally, taking notice of the multitude of changelings surrounding him, Ford is slightly startled by ravenous looks on their faces as they slowly close in on him.

“Food… Food… Food…”

Like zombies, their hunger is the only thing that’s on their minds right now as the changelings sought to consume the emotional energy of the vigilant Mustang. But before Ford prepares to respond in self-defense, Trapjaw makes a menacing hissing sound towards his famished race as his wings rattle like mad.

“Keep away, all of you!” Trapjaw barks with authority. “This one is for Royalty only!”

While some of the changelings respond to the challenge with their own intimidating sounds, Trapjaw’s display of intimidation is more effective as he hisses louder while constantly encircling the severely perplexed pony. Gradually, the sapped changelings gave up their pursuit as they reluctantly return to their posts and schedules. Once the supposed threat has passed, Trapjaw faces Ford with an apologetic expression on his face.

“Please forgive my brethren, Ford.” the commander apologizes. “They can be quite impatient when it comes to the distribution of our vital energy supplies.”

“What’s happening to them, Trapjaw?” Ford asks concerningly. “They look so… sickly.”

With a heavy sigh, the changeling turns his head and looks at the poor state of his comrades. “As I’ve stated, our sources of love have been extremely low for nearly two weeks. Because of the mysterious, grim situation, our Queen had to rationalize our reserves into very small portions. If it keeps going this way, I fear that my beloved Colony will fade into extinction.”

Following the commander’s gesture, Ford also observes the behavior of the other changelings nearby. In one corner, the observant Pegasus sees a group lining up for food. Managed by two armored soldiers, they serve tiny portions of energy of love from its special cocoon sac. But what really pulls his heartstrings is when he sees a motherly worker feeding her portion of emotional energy to her crying hatchling. It nearly breaks his heart for Ford to see this level of poverty from such misunderstood creatures.

“Trapjaw…” Ford says to him in a soft tone. “If you don’t mind, I would like to see Chrysalis at once.

“Oh yes, of course! Follow me! The Royalty’s throne room is right down this passageway!”

Refocused on their mission, Ford follows Trapjaw as they enter a much larger corridor. Towards the end of the main hallway, the two can see two green colored torches. Upon entering the next chamber, the green fire illuminates the room quite clearly. Besides each flickering torch are two armored, poised guards, who are holding their spears as they stand in place on top of the steps. And in-between them is an elongated throne that also serves as a lounge where the Queen of the Changeling herself is leisurely stretched across it and her hooves are crossed over with each other.

“My Queen!” Trapjaw announces joyfully as he bows before Chrysalis’s presence. “I have return!” Following suit, Ford Mustang shows his courtesy by bowing to the queen as well.

Briefly surprised at the return of her commander as and the pony he brought along with him, Chrysalis sits straight up as she glances between the two before a toothy smile spreads across her face. “Welcome back, Trapjaw!” she greets him in cheerful mood. “And what this? Gasp! You’ve brought me a present! Why my dear, faithful commander, you certainly know on how to please me, don’t you?”

“Y-you flatter me, your Majesty!” he staggers with a sheepish smile.

“Mmm… in fact, he looks so good right now, that I could just eat him up!” she comments alluringly at the young Pegasus before she eagerly licks her upper jaw with her tongue.

I’m not even going to ask which way she meant by that! Ford mentally shivers at the suggestive thought.

“Actually… he’s not here to resupply our food source, your Majesty.” Trapjaw restates hesitantly.

“Then why else would he be here, Trapjaw?” Chrysalis inquires confusingly.

“He’s… actually here to gain an audience with you, my Queen.” he answers nervously in a quiet voice.

It becomes quiet at first, but that silence is broken when the Queen breaks is an awkwardly amusing smile, which manages to ease some of Trapjaw’s worries. But then, Chrysalis snaps into a scowl as she uses her levitating magic to immediately drag the commander right in front of her face.

“YOU BUMBLING FOOL!” she harshly scolds her trembling subject. “How could you lead him into our hive so easily?! I gave you a simple task, Trapjaw! ONE! SIMPLE! TASK! And that was to capture a pony alive and bring it before me!”

“B-b-but I did brought him here before you, your Highness.” Trapjaw stammers his poor excuse.

“Yes you did, Trapjaw. But you are also letting him leisurely walk before my presence WITHOUT ANY FORM OF RESTRAINT!”

After stating her grim disapproval, Chrysalis carelessly lets go of her magical grasp as Trapjaw topples before her. Shaking like a leaf, the emotional Trapjaw is unable to give a proper response to his queen’s accusations. And unable to bear his shame anymore, he drops on his knees and desperately grovels before her.

“I am sorry, my Queen! I let my own honor blinded me once again from my own sworn duties! My actions are inexcusable, and I wait on whatever punishment you plan for me! Please vent out your righteous fury onto me in anyway you see fit!” As the pitiful commander wallows in exaggerating agony, everyone else in the room just silently stares at Trapjaw’s self-proclamation of disgrace, which makes them all very uncomfortable.

Unable to bear this any longer, Chrysalis groans as she rubs her forehead, “Geez, you really know how to take the fun out of this, don’t you? Sigh… arise, my faithful commander. I shall show mercy and look past your transgression for the time being.”

A bit surprise at Chrysalis’s change of heart, Trapjaw flip-flop to the other end of his emotional spectrum as he thoroughly expresses his overwhelming joy, “Oh, my Queen! I am not worthy to receive such forgiveness from your benevolent magnificence! Truly, there are no words to express my undying gratitude towards you! But if I were to attempt such a feat, I would start out by saying--!”

“Trapjaw?” she interrupts him softly.

“Yes, my Queen?”

“As much as I would love to listen to one of your never-ending babble, I need you to do me one little favor for me.”

“Anything! Just name it, and it shall be done!”

Coldly, she commands, “Zip it, and stand beside me, NOW.”

“Y-yes, your highness.” With his head slightly lowered in shame, Trapjaw slowly gets himself up and stands right next to her. After the commander takes his place at the queen’s right side, Chrysalis redirects her gaze at the mysterious Mustang.

Realizing that she has company, the Queen bears a more pleasant smile as she greets Ford properly, “You’ll have to forgive me impoliteness. If I knew we were having guests, I would have cleaned up the place first.”

A bit at ease from Chrysalis’s greeting, Ford humbly bows once again as he responds to her, “There is no need for that, your Majesty. I am not worth for such royal treatment, and I must say it is quite an honor to meet you at last, Queen Chrysalis.”

“Ooh, cute and well-mannered! I’m starting to like him already!” the matriarch grins with great interest as she lounges on her comfy chair with her fore hooves crossed underneath her chin. “And who might you be, handsome?”

“My name is Ford Mustang, your Highness. And I humbly come before you in desperate need of your aid.”

“Wait a second… you came all this way… just for that?” she asks puzzlingly.

“Yes, that is correct.” he nods.

“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh, this should be good!” she smirks amusingly as she reclines to the other end of her chair. “Are you sure you’re not confusing me with one of your lesser princesses back home?”

While he knows that it’s just going to tickle her fancy, Ford hesitantly answers, “Unfortunately, they are unable to help me at this point.”

“And why is that if I may ask?” she inquires with a chuckling smile. “Has being a princess for so long been too much for Celestia to handle?”

Considering it as fair play, Ford replies with a sharp smirk, “No, let’s just say that somepony already beat you to the throne first!”

Her chuckling ceases immediately after hearing that sharp answer. Then, she asks the grinning pony in a baffled tone, “…Come again?”

“Oh, haven’t you heard?” Ford continues to egg her on. “There’s a new player in town, and his name is Arrogon the Destroyer!”

“Arrogon, huh? Hmph! Never heard of this pretender before!” she dismisses unimpressively.

“Then, perhaps you should step outside more often, your Majesty.” Despite earning himself a couple frowns from the queen and her guards from that remark, Ford continues while displaying a witty grin towards them, “As of now, it’s been over two weeks since this 'pretender' has taken over Canterlot. In fact, he is the cause on why you can’t obtain enough love to feed your precious Colony. From what I’ve understand, your race is facing a shortage of food because Arrogon’s forces is driving fear into the hearts of ponies; making it difficult for you to gather enough love to sustain your livelihood. And as you continue to shy away from the outside world while your subjects starve to death, it will only be a matter of time before he plunges the world into complete darkness and turmoil; thus destroying the very kingdom you treasure so dearly!”

After listening attentively to Ford’s remarks, Queen Chrysalis’s temper begins to boil as her sharp hooves nearly dig into her cushiony chair. As she tries to keep her calm composure, the Queen insists in a growling voice, “If all you’re here for is to rub all this into face, then you better have a good excuse as to why I shouldn’t take out my frustration over your pitiful carcass right now!”

Satisfied at getting the queen’s undivided attention, the smirking Pegasus begins his proposition, “Well, the way I see it, we both share a common enemy here. And while I may not look like it, I happen to possess an extraordinary power that may help take down Arrogon. In fact, I’ve even managed to overpower the mighty Inferno Dragon King, Wagner, of the Talos Mountains recently. Surely even you must know of his fearsome reputation.” This confirms Ford’s speculation as he sees the subtle horrified looks on the changelings’ faces. “Just ask your commander over there. He witnessed firsthoof on what I can do when he tried to capture me earlier.”

With stallion’s fore hoof pointing at the startled Trapjaw, Chrysalis sternly turns her stern gaze at her flabbergasted commander before asking, “Is that true, Trapjaw?”

Not willing to hide the truth from his queen, he stammers, “Y-y-yes, your Majesty. As shameful as it is to admit it, he managed to best me in combat. And… if I didn’t know any better, I would have to say that he was holding back just for my own pitiful sake.”

“I see…” she says as she gazes back at Ford. “If you’re already this powerful, then why do you need my help in all of this?”

“Because I need something that can give me an edge to overthrow that mad tyrant! Something he would never suspect at all! And who better to turn to for such cunningness than you, O’ Queen of Deception?”

Pleased at the compliment, she says with a contented smile, “Mmm… You certainly have a way with words, don’t you?”

“As far as I know, you are the only one who has managed to sneak into Canterlot without raising so much suspicion within the castle, including Princess Celestia herself! So, that’s why I am here, Queen Chrysalis. And now that I have explained the situation to you, will you lend me your support against Arrogon along with myself and my allies?”

Without an immediate response, the impassive queen slouches on her chair as she ponders deeply in her own thoughts. After a brief moment to herself, Chrysalis is finally ready to respond to the Pegasus’s request. But to Ford’s perplexity, she displays an all-knowing yet devious grin that stretches from cheek to cheek.

“Hmm… You’ve certainly brought some very interesting points to my attention. But you forgot to answer the most important question of all?”

“And what’s that, your Majesty?” he insists respectfully.

“What’s in it for me?” she asks simply with a tricky smile.

“Umm… getting back at Arrogon and knowing that you’ve helped save the world?” he assumes with a sheepish grin.

“Good try… but no. Vengeance and recognition is nice and all, but that’s not the answer I want to hear from you.”

“I hope you’re not expecting the right to rule over Equestria afterwards!”

“Oh, what a shame!” she pouts exaggeratedly. “You’ve already saw it right through me! Perhaps I can change your mind with a little persuasion!”

As soon as she emphasis her last word, her tall horn radiates a green aura as her magic wraps around the startled pony’s head. Feeling her headache-inducing magic gradually seeping in, Ford immediately counteracts that by expanding his golden aura to block out the intrusion of changeling’s spell. With the glaring pony’s aura shielding him, Chrysalis begins to wince from having to struggle with the overpowering force of Ford’s mysterious Draconian Magic.

Having enough with these mind games, Ford’s golden energy shield expands rapidly as it nearly knocks the changelings out of their positions while also breaking away Chrysalis’s concentration! As their queen pants in near exhaustion from facing such overwhelming power from a lone stallion, the guards point their jagged spears at him, while Ford glares intensely at them.

“Sorry, Chrysalis, but I won’t be persuaded so easily!” he frowns with disapproval.

After her latest attempt for fun is met with unforeseen resistance, Chrysalis raises a hoof, which signals the guards to lower their spears away from the stern Pegasus. In any case, she relaxes and leisurely reclines back on her throne while resting her right fore hoof on her cheek.

“Hmph… it seems we’ve reached an impasse, haven’t we?” she remarks with an amusing smirk. “You need my help in order to infiltrate Celestia’s Castle, yet you won’t give me what I want in return! So, what do you suppose we should do about that, hmm?”

Ford is at a loss for words. He thought he was in control of their conversation, but Chrysalis managed to turn the tables around. He can’t think of anything that he can offer for her. Plus, it would go against his nature to get what he wants through sheer force unless it is absolutely necessary, especially when he will have to confront Arrogon again.

As the speechless Pegasus ponders on this matter to himself, Trapjaw carefully leans to his queen as he whispers something into her ear, “Your Majesty, if I may be so bold…”

“By all means, be bold!”

“Before we arrived here, Ford here was generous enough to offer me his emotional energy in order to save my life from starvation!”

“Please tell me you didn’t swear your eternal allegiance to him already!” she groans lightly.

“Of course not, my Queen!” he reassures hastily. “You are the only one I shall serve until the end of my days!”

“Glad to hear that! Continue!”

“And from what I can presume, this stallion might have plenty of energy to feed an entire army! It could be because of his stamina being amplified by his dragon-like magic!”

“And how do his emotions taste exactly?” she asks with keen interest.

“Honestly, it’s so good, that there are no words to describe it!” he answers ecstatically with a bit of drool dripping on his chin.

“Really? That scrumptious, eh?” Surprised by the description of the pony’s energy, she glances back at Ford before smiling widely at an alternative she just came up with. “Well Ford… it appears that there is something you can offer for me after all!”

“And that is?” he asks with a raised eyebrow despite disliking on what her suggestion might be.

“It’s quite simple actually! What I need from is… your love.” she answers with a hungry smile as she licks her lips in anticipation.

Briefly caught off-guard by the change in his proposition, Ford chuckles awkwardly, “I hope you’re not going to brainwash me and force me to become your new husband because I’m already spoken for!”

“Don’t flatter yourself, pony!" she giggles at Ford's discomfort. "You’re cute, but not that cute! No, what I need from you is the raw, emotional energy that dwells within you! Perhaps in addition of my special skills, you want to enlist the aid of my army, correct? Well, I need to feed my army first if you ever seek an alliance with me! So tell me, Ford Mustang… will your love be enough to satisfied our hunger?”

While Chrysalis takes joy out of this, Ford takes a moment to consider before making a deal with the supposed she-devil. While he believes that he has enough firepower thanks to his alliance with Wagner and his dragons, Chrysalis may be the only one capable to sneak into the castle without alerting Arrogon. This is important to him because it will give Ford the opportunity to rescue Rainbow Dash as well as the rest of her friends. With the Elements of Harmony back on his side, they can stand a better chance to bring an end to Arrogon’s reign swiftly. Then, all of a sudden, he reflects to that poor starving hatchling he saw earlier. If he give up some of his energy, he can at least do some good for the changelings here, and thus earning their trust as well.

Through careful considerations, he asks the amused queen with caution, “If I agree to this… how do I know that you will not take advantage of me once I am weakened? For all that I know, you would only just give yourself more power!”

“Why, Ford! I’m hurt!” she gasps in mocking distress. “Don’t you trust me?” she lures with her rapidly bashing eyelashes.

“Ehhhh… no.” he replies flat out in a humorless tone.

Seeing how skeptical the pony is to trust her, Chrysalis sighs with a bored expression and attempts to compromise in a more serious manner, “Oh, alright! Guards, bear witness on what I have to say here!”

Right away, the soldiers, including Trapjaw, pay close attention to their queen as she places a fore hoof over her chest before she makes her monotone pledge, “As Queen of the Changelings, I give Ford Mustang my word that I will not betray him or his friends in the midst of our struggle against Arrogon and his forces!”

“Well… at least until all this is over.” she mutters that with a sly smile.

“Hey!” Ford shouts with a scowl.

“Relax! I was only kidding on that last part!” she chuckles as she defensively holds her fore hooves in the air.

“And I should take your word on that?” he frowns with a raised eyebrow.

“Why do you think I have my guards overseeing this? Tell him, Trapjaw!”

“It’s true, pony!” Trapjaw reassures greatly to the doubtful Pegasus at the queen’s request. “When the Royalty gives her word, she is bound to it for all eternity! It’s one of the laws that must be upheld by the Queen herself!”

Chrysalis then says with disinterest, “So even if I do betray you, Trapjaw won’t shut up about it until I redeem myself, right the wrongs I have made, and blah-blah-blah! You know how he is about ‘honor’ and stuff! So then, are you ready to give me your energy now?”

Even though he hasn’t met Trapjaw for long, Ford can at least trust his honorable remark compare to Chrysalis’s. And making that pledge didn’t sound so pleasing for the Queen to pull off, considering that she had to push her playfulness aside over royal responsibilities.

Maybe Chrysalis is serious about this. he assumes within his thoughts.

Finally ready to take this chance, Ford breathes out heavily and says to Chrysalis, “Okay… I’m ready whenever you are.”

“Excellent!” she states with excitement as she props herself in a proper sitting position before commencing her spell. “Now just relax. Since this may take a bit longer, I’ll try to be as gentle as possible. Who knows… you might actually enjoy it yourself!” she teases with a wink and a grin.

“Doubt it.” he responds with a slight smirk before he closes his eyes and gradually falls into a calm, submissive state.

Just like with Trapjaw before, Ford Mustang can feel the changeling queen’s magic tingling around his head. At the very least, it isn’t the same as when Chrysalis tried to toy with his mind. Intially, he starts to feel lightheaded, but he can easily shrug that off. However, as time passes by, his body starts to get really tired over the longer period. Despite his fatigue, the struggling pony keeps maintaining his consciousness for as long as he can.

As Queen Chrysalis is in the middle of her energy absorption spell, she can mentally see the memories of the voluntary participant due to her psychic abilities. Focusing on absorbing as much love as possible, she unintentionally sees glimpses at the source responsible for his nearly endless supply of love: his heartfelt relationship with Rainbow Dash! In the beginning, they grew into fast friends as they would tend to each other through sickness and health. Soon that friendship began to sprout into some more such as Rainbow’s birthday and their first, unintended date at the fair. At last, their love comes into full bloom after a fateful night at the Grand Galloping Gala. For the next year, they had their share of struggles within their commitment due to the complex schedule of the newly admitted Wonderbolt, but they still managed to persevere as their love is as fruitful as the first time they confessed their feelings for one and another. And when Ford Mustang was about to make the ultimate decision in their relationship, Arrogon intervened and painfully splits them apart from each other. Despite that devastating seperation, Ford continues to have high hopes on finally being able to reunite with Rainbow Dash once this is all over!

In the midst of reliving those memories, the distracted Chrysalis can taste all kinds of emotions: fear, grief, anger, guilt, and hope. But all these minor emotions are nothing compared to the exquisite taste of Ford’s love for Rainbow Dash! It is so strong and so sweet, yet not overpowering due to mixture of the other emotions! Somehow, the complex emotions are blended perfectly as it produces the ultimate flavor for a changeling’s palate! Just as Trapjaw has said: there are no words to describe it!

Having enough love to absorb, Chrysalis slowly ends his energy-sapping spell as her eyes uncontrollably shed tears to no end. Even Trapjaw and the two guards are surprised by their queen’s rare display of her soft side. Still dazzled by what she just experienced, she mutters simply with tears continuously running down on her face, “So… delicious!”

“My Queen… are you alright?” Trapjaw asks softly.

“Huh? Oh, y-y-yes! I’m quite alright!” she stammers sharply as she hastily wipes away her tears.

After regaining her regal composure, Chrysalis looks at the charitable pony as she is shocked to see Ford is still awake after enduring such an extensive energy-draining session. However, his struggling consciousness comes at a price as he not only feels extremely tired, but he is even hungrier than he was before he even met Trapjaw.

“I must say, I am impressed!” Chrysalis smiles at Ford’s accomplishment. “You’ve managed to stay awake after all this! Nopony has ever remained conscious for that long!”

“Oh, lucky me.” Ford grunts out sarcastically from his exhaustion as he weakly tries to stand up. “So, I fulfilled my end of the bargain. Will you do the same for me now?”

Impassively, the queen and weakened Pegasus stare at each other for a brief period of time, but then, Chrysalis lets out a gentle sigh as she concentrates once again before her glowing horn generates an amorphous shape of brightly colorful energy. Like blowing a bubble, the incased energy expands significantly before it nearly takes up the entire space of the royal chamber’s ceiling. The floating bubble of energy is mostly a pink color with specks of various colors.

“Did… my emotions… do that?” Ford gapes with shrunken pupil as he wondrously stares at the enormous bubble of emotional energy.

“Yes, they did.” Chrysalis answers with a small smile. “This is only half of the energy I have absorbed, which derives from your love. This is by far something I haven’t tasted in years, not even from my brief takeover at the Canterlot Wedding."

Using her magic once again, the queen levitates closely to her loyal commander as she issues an order, “Trapjaw! Take this and divide it amongst our comrades! We’re going to need our troops well-fed if we’ve got an upcoming fight on our hooves!”

“At once, my Queen!” he obeys gleefully as his magic grasps the colossal bubble before he hovers out of the queen’s chamber and miraculously squeezes the energy bubble of out the entryway.

“Guards!” she issues her next command. “Fetch some food for our honored guest here! I believe this calls for celebration over our newfound alliance here today!”

“Yes, your Highness!” the guards say respectfully before they quickly leave in search of nourishing food for the immensely starving yet thoroughly pleased stallion.

As soon as the first batch of food arrives, Ford Mustang loses all senses of etiquette and instinctively gorges on the various bounties of fresh fruit and vegetables. Despite them being slimy from being transported in cocoon storages, Ford couldn’t care less as he truly enjoys the food’s freshness thanks to their changeling’s special storage systems. As the Pegasus is lost in his self-indulgence, Queen Chrysalis couldn’t help but giggle at how cute the pony is when he is eating.

“Thank you so much for all the food you have provided for me, Queen Chrysalis!” he gratefully says while he is still stuffing his mouth rapidly. “I haven’t eaten like this in a long while!”

“The pleasure is all mine, Ford!” Chrysalis comments cheerfully with a broad smile. “It warms my heart to see my guests completely satisfied! Especially when it comes to fatten them up!” she teases with an evil smirk.

Abruptly, Ford pauses from his eating as he stares at the grinning queen with disbelief. “…Wha--?”

“Your Majesty!” a changeling soldier interrupts as she rushes in and bowing before the queen. “I have some urgent news to report!”

“Speak, soldier!”

“Our scouts have confirmed an unknown force of dark magical creatures emerging from Canterlot and are invading the towns nearby!”

Startled at this announcement, Ford hesitantly asks the soldier with a hint of worry, “Wait! Does that… include Ponyville?”

“Yes, sir!”

After hearing the suddenly disturbing news from the soldier, Ford is deeply concerned for his hometown as well as for his friends that live there. As much as he wants to challenge Arrogon right away, he can’t leave Ponyville unintended if his friends are not able to face the unknown monstrosities that the despicable tyrant has unleashes upon the world.

No longer hunger anymore and with a new important destination in mind, Ford stands up and bows to the queen while he says to her respectfully, “Your Majesty! I want to thank you for your kind hospitality, but I must return to Ponyville at once!”

After blinking her eyes from hearing the pony’s urgent need to leave, Chrysalis simply grins and asks, “Well, in that case… mind if I tag along?”

Author's Notes:

Other than his upcoming allies from his pony friends back in Ponyville, the Changelings are the last race Ford Mustang will come across before the ultimate battle will begin! I've already talked to a respectful writer over other possible allied races such as Minotaurs (Iron Will) and Zebras (Zecora), but I informed him that I can't figure out any good sub-plots to go with those ideas, and I didn't want to waste anymore time with this story, both literally (in delaying the climatic showdown) and figuratively (in produced more chapters). So if you were expecting any more characters to make major appearances in the rest of the story, sorry!