The changelings that had been picked had been put through strict training, and fed more than the rest of her subjects. Now the day had come to leave and head for the Equestrian town Ponyville. Queen Chrysalis and Queen Sap found it a little ironic. She was heading to the former home of her enemies. Though fortunately the Elements would not be in her way this time. In fact, she might even be able to get them on her side.

Chrysalis had thought about this possibility already with Sap, and they agreed. If they could, they'd get the six on their side. It wasn't just the changelings suffering. If anything, her kind was doing well in comparison to the equines. For a brief moment as she thought about this she felt a pang of sympathy for the suffering ponies. But now was not the time.

"Changelings! We have prepared for this, and now is the time to go forth. Remember your form, your cutiemark, and form the face of the equines during this time! We are not cheerful, we are scared! We are not happy, we are full of sadness! But deep down inside we are fire, a fire as eternal as a phoenix! And we will rebel and fight with all of the might of the hive!"she roared, wings buzzing.

Green and orange flashes of transformation fire blinded her as their chosen subjects transformed. Various pegasi, unicorns, and normal ponies stood in front of her now. With a brief green flash of her own, she took the form of a bright yellow unicorn with a pink mane that had a glowing coin for a cutiemark. Her talent was making objects do things and have certain properties.

Sending out a mental signal to move forward, they exited through the main tunnel. For a moment, all of them blinked in the bright light, surprised. Most had not seen it in quite a while. Though they all knew how the sky looked. Grey with darker grey and black clouds, and very few pegasi in the sky.

Quietly they crept out, tunnel sealing behind them loudly. After a brief moment of hesitation, she and her changelings began trekking across the flat ground. They were in a hidden slice of land just beyond the Everfree Forest, which they called Shifting Crack. Magic from other dimensions leaked into here, and the environment constantly changed. Magic had to be used to keep the hive from changing and make the ground be flat so they could leave. Here, the changelings had evolved and thrived. Now they left here, their old home.

"I will be towards the front. Caterpillar Hooves, Butterfly Holes, scout to the sides of us and make sure nothings heading towards us. Do not come back, send an instant mental call and hide until I can get over there and help you. We don't want to be mauled by manticores or timber wolves before we even reach Zecora's home. Avoid any patches of flowers, poison joke will probably turn you into a bug or make you pink and have heart shaped holes all over you. If you see any of Sombra's soldiers, avoid them at all costs. Our hives fate rest in our hooves. In fact, everykind might depend on us to get rid of this shadow beast. He's the worst parasite ever." With her instructions given, she went silent. The others needed no further instruction, they were taught in school to spread out a tiny bit and talk to eachother. Act like a casual group of friends. They'd do this of course, but it would probably not save or help them if Sombra's soldiers came near. Still, it made some of them a little bit more comfortable.

They silently crept through the woods, dodging plants and avoiding the castle ruins and Zecora's hut. For a brief moment Chrysalis wondered what had become of the zebra. Probably a slave who was forced to make potions for torture. The Queen gave a bit of a shudder at the idea and banished the thoughts, returning to reality to focus on their progress.

Night would've been falling by now had the princesses been free. But Sombra felt no need to have them move the sun and moon. Fortunately, time was stuck at day time, and the plants were all able to grow still. Chrysalis paused and glanced around at the trees. They would have been traveling for several hours, as the trees were more normal looking here and it was less dark. Finally.

Ponyville was in sight, and they began forming a larger group. Ponies from all around Equestria were forced to come to this one place, as Sombra enjoyed seeing everykind suffering. The buildings were gray and dull, and ponies were coming outside.

Ponies of a certain age were being herded or dragged out mainly by Sombra's soldiers, genuinely cruel ponies or ones that had been broken and twisted to serve his will through harsh training. Chrysalis couldn't help but give a silent gasp.

The ponies were utterly in despair. Their heads were lowered, ears flat on their head submissively. The ponies did not cry or even act angry. Their eyes just glanced down in silent sadness.

She wanted to scream, to put her hoof on their shoulder and tell them of her plan, to reassure these suffering ponies. Even during the attack on Canterlot she refrained from putting the ponies in too much trauma and avoided hurting them. Right now, she viewed the ponies like her subjects. They were so alone and so afraid, and even without the constant presence of everykind they loved eachother. Yet this uncontrollable love had been stripped away from them. Not even allowed to come back over time.

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes angrily, and briefly. If this had happened to her hive... She imagined she would feel like this, only worse. For some reason the pitiful ponies reminded her of her subjects. A silent vow came forth.

She would not just take the Empire, she would save every single one of them as if they were her own if it meant they would no longer suffer like this.