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The Prince of Ponyville

by Kavonde

Chapter 18: The Prince Gets Unplugged

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By the end of the third day, they'd even eaten the goop-covered apples.

Finding one's way through a dense forest with nothing but a compass to guide you to a very specific destination was, as Shining Armor had warned when they first set out, not an optimal situation. They had been forced several times to stop, to route around an obstacle, or to wait while Rainbow Dash hauled them up and over whatever stood in their way. Every now and then, she'd take Cadance up into the sky to get a better look at what lay in front of them, leaving Blueblood standing alone and a bit nervous with the sounds of hungry creatures and rustling bushes all around him.

He wasn't scared, though, really. The curse wouldn't kill him. He was more concerned that, one of these times, a wildcat or bear would leap out of a tree and pounce on his companions as they returned. Rainbow Dash might be giving them an unfair advantage, after all, so why not rip her wings off?

Damned curse. Damned cultists. Damned divine mercy.

Fortunately, once again, Dash and Cadance failed to be torn apart as they descended. "I think we saw it," Cadance told him the moment she touched down.

Blueblood's ears perked up. "Really? How far?"

"We should be able to get there by late afternoon, but... "

"It's in the middle of a swamp," Dash said disgustedly.

The prince sighed. "Of course it is."

"I know, right? It's like how Daring Do villains are always hiding in swamps, jungles, or deserts. Why can't monsters build a nice little cottage in a field somewhere?"

Cadance rolled her eyes. "I'm sure Chrysalis would appreciate your real estate advice. Anyway, the swamp seems to be very large. There's another, slow-moving river pouring into it from the west, and we could just make out a shoreline to the east. The lair itself looks like an old sea cave, but we also saw some kind of... pods all around it. And my spell was pointing right at them."

Blueblood nodded, and his expression turned pensive. "Any sign of Armor?"

She winced and shook her head.

That couldn't be good. Armor's spell was perhaps more roundabout than Cadance's, but it was a much more efficient means of tracking. Plus, he and his group presumably hadn't been swept downriver and lost a day trying to regroup. If they hadn't arrived yet, then something must have happened to them along the way.

Or... they had arrived already. And Chrysalis had won.

"I'm sure they're fine," Dash said unconvincingly.

Cadance nodded. "Yes. Maybe... maybe they lost the trail. The changeling they were following could have drown in the river, or fallen off a cliff... "

Or the curse could have led them right into a dragon's lair and gotten them all flash-fried, Blueblood added to himself. "Well, what do we do, now? Wait for them? Try to find them?"

"I don't think we can. The longer we wait to confront Chrysalis, the stronger she'll likely be. Besides, this might not be her swarm's primary hive. She may plan to escape across the sea as soon as she's recovered."

"Are you sure?" He put a hoof on her shoulder in concern. "I know you used a lot of power to heal your wing... "

To his surprise, she recoiled at his touch. She caught herself a heartbeat later, and gently removed his hoof as she turned to him with a determined expression. "I have enough."

Rainbow Dash raised her hoof. "Hey, uh... I'm usually all for 'charge in and punch the bad guys,' but I don't think I can hold off a whole changeling army while you deal with their boss."

Blueblood raised an eyebrow. "I'll be there, too, you know."

"Yeah... but... well... you're kind of an awful fighter."

"Thanks for putting that delicately."

"Sorry, Blueblood, but it's true. And I don't think waving a burning branch around is gonna scare them that much if we're fighting in the middle of their home."

He shrugged. "Okay, a direct assault is out. But could we sneak in?"

Cadance frowned. "It would be like sneaking into an ant hill."

"Maybe," Dash said thoughtfully, "but maybe not. I mean, how much do we know about changelings, really? They're kinda like bugs, and they need to take orders from somepony, but, like, has anypony ever actually been inside one of their hives?"

Blueblood shook his head. "Not that I've ever heard of. Or read."

"Right! And if Chrysalis is hurt, and a bunch of them are hurt, maybe most of them are, y'know, taking a nap. I bet if we were careful, we could get in there without raising the alarm."

Cadance chewed her lip. "I don't know... "

"It's either that, or take the time to find Armor and the others."

She sighed and stared at the ground for a long moment with a worried expression on her face. "We're probably going to regret this, but... okay." She took a deep breath. "Let's do this."


Blueblood and Cadance stood at the edge of the swamp. Brown, brackish water stretched to the horizon, muddy little hills covered with dull green grass or stunted little trees rising from it occasionally. Things moved in the water, leaving little ripples or sending bubbles floating up to the surface. Insects clicked and chirped and buzzed around them, and somewhere in the distance, a pack of coyotes yipped and howled.

High above, Rainbow Dash was trying to scout a trail for them while remaining beyond the visibility of any lookouts on the ground. Hopefully, she'd be able to find a path that would expose them to a minimal amount of leeches, crocodiles, and disease-carrying filth.

He turned away from his dour examination of the marsh and looked at his sister. She was silent, staring out over the marsh, her thoughts clearly focused somewhere else. She's worried about Armor, he thought. Wondering if the idiot got himself killed. ... I hope he's alright. For her sake.

"Cadance?" he asked after a moment.

She glanced up at him. "Hm?"

"Earlier... when I touched your shoulder... "

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Blue. You just caught me off guard."

"... I'm sorry. For everything."

"Blue, it's... it's in the past."

He shook his head. "No, it clearly isn't. Cadance... I realize, now, how... uncomfortable my feelings for you must have made you. You thought of me as a brother. I thought of you as... as, potentially, something else."

"I know that, Blue."

"I know you do, I just... I want to think that Tyranny affected my mind. That... what happened at the castle, that it was him pushing me, making me trust him, making me think that by hurting you, I could help others. But... I don't know if that's true. What if I really did resent you so much? What if I really did feel so hurt by my feelings for you that, deep down, I wanted to see you suffer?"

"Blue. Don't." She turned to him fully, her eyes locked on his. "I told you. I forgive you. You weren't... you weren't yourself. You're right, I think Tyranny did something to you. You're not to blame for what happened there. But it's all in the past. We can move on."

"Then... then why did you pull away when I touched you?"

She winced and turned away. "I forgive you, Blue. But I can't... I can't forget. Not yet. Maybe someday, but... not yet."

He nodded and sighed. "I understand."

They stood in silence for awhile. Above, Blueblood could barely make out the tiny form of Rainbow Dash, still circling the swamp, trying to find a route through.

"Blue?"

He looked up at Cadance. "Yes?"

"Do you... " She was staring at the ground, her cheeks darkened. "Do you still... think of me that way?"

He stared at her for a moment, considering. "... No," he answered, surprised at his own response. "I mean... I still think you're beautiful. And I still think your husband's a thick-headed idiot who doesn't deserve you, but... I suppose I've accepted that it will never happen. And that it probably shouldn't."

Tentatively, he put his hoof on her shoulder again. This time, she didn't pull away. "Frankly, Cadance... I'm happier having you as my sister than I ever was before."

She smiled at him, tears sparkling at the corners of her eyes, and put her hoof over his. They stood like that for a long time, until Rainbow Dash finally returned with her report.

"Okay, so... you guys are gonna have to get your hooves wet," she said without preamble. "I've found kind of a dry approach, but, y'know, it's a swamp. There're a few changeling guards out in front of the hive, too, one of 'em on lookout duty, the other two buzzin' around on patrol. I could try flyin' you guys over one at a time, but they'd find whoever went first, and besides, I don't think I could fly high enough to avoid getting spotted if I had to carry one of ya."

Cadance nodded. "Well, it's a good thing I didn't bring my slippers. Lead the way, Rainbow Dash."


As a child, Blueblood had been terrified of leeches. Their slimy, eyeless bodies, their ring-like mouths, full of sharp little fangs... He'd dreamed of falling in a filthy lake, just for a moment, only to disappear beneath the waves forever as a swarm of the vile little creatures swarmed over him and sucked free every last drop of blood in his body.

He did not take the discovery of a leech on his flank well.

"It's just one leech, Blue," Cadance told him impatiently. "It will fall off as soon as it's full."

"B-but it's drinking my blood," he whined.

"Yes," his sister agreed sagely, "this is a thing that leeches do."

"Didn't they used to use leeches in hospitals?" Rainbow Dash asked, hovering nearby. Blueblood felt a little better that she looked as alarmed and grossed-out by the vampiric little monster as he did.

Cadance nodded. "A long time ago, yes. It was widely believed that the leeches could suck the 'diseased blood' out of a patient, leaving them healthy."

"Why'd they stop doing that?"

"Well... they really just sucked out blood, period, and left patients weaker and more vulnerable to infection."

Blueblood gulped. "I don't want to die of an infection."

"Hush. There, it just fell off."

He looked down to see the little black thing, bloated and fat, squirming and twitching as it tried to roll its way back to the water. Whinnying in disgust, Blueblood raised a hoof.

"Blue, don't-"

Blood splattered everywhere.

Cadance, her level stare never leaving her brother, pulled a bit of cloth our of her saddlebags and began cleaning her legs.

"Sorry," he said meekly.

Dash, her face turning a shade of teal, turned away from the sight. "Um. We're... almost there, guys. Just another couple of islands down."

"Thank you, Rainbow," Cadance told her, turning her attention to the mess on Blueblood. "Please be ready to strike on my signal."

A few minutes later, the royals crouched just behind the crest of a small ravine, their heads and horns obscured by a cluster of tall grass and a short, gnarled oak tree. Beyond lay the cave Rainbow Dash had described. It was carved into the side of what must have been an old river bed, back in the days before this swamp existed. The entrance was wide enough for two ponies to enter side-by-side, and tall enough for four. Some sort of strange, greenish mucus leaked out of it like pus from a wound, coating the walls, the ceiling, and the ground around it. Semi-transparent pods, just large enough to hold a young foal, were tucked here and there into crevasses and recessions along the side of the cliff. A single changeling, its black chitin shining in the fading afternoon light, sat on its haunches above the cave's entrance. It faced out to sea, never moving or looking away, though its wings buzzed occasionally.

"Eugh," Blueblood exclaimed quietly.

"Indeed," Cadance agreed. She raised her head a bit, just enough to see a bit further down the river bed. "Here comes the patrol. Are you ready?"

The prince eyed the rock at his side. It was light enough for him to throw, but should be heavy enough to incapacitate the bug. "Ready."

The sank down into the grass. Hoofsteps approached, splashing through the shallow water. They don't have to worry about leeches, Blueblood thought disgustedly.

When they were just below, Cadance leapt to her hooves, her horn glowing blue as she whipped her stone into the nearest changeling's face. It struck solidly, chitin crunching at the impact, and the thing dropped instantly. Blueblood was up a moment later, his own rock glowing turquoise as he hurled it into the other changeling's face. It smashed squarely into the bug's forehead, and the thing sagged to its knees, stunned.

The lookout's head whipped around at the noise. Its eyes widened in surprise, and it began speaking in the changelings' clicking, chirping tongue. It stopped abruptly as Rainbow Dash plummeted from the sky, moving just shy of Sonic Rainboom speed, and slammed into the thing with her rear hooves extended. It splattered much as the leech had.

The surviving changeling chittered and tried to rise. Blueblood, annoyed, levitated his rock and hit the thing again, this time laying it low.

Cadance held up a hoof, and the ponies froze, listening. No cries of alarm went up. No hornet-like buzzing of wings. They had succeeded, at least this far.

The princess nodded and started to lead the way into the cave, but Blueblood raised a hoof to stop her. "Let me lead. If there are any traps or anything... well, the curse doesn't want me dead."

She frowned at him, but after a moment, she nodded. Together, she and Rainbow Dash fell in behind him as he led the way into the changelings' lair, his horn aglow.

He immediately wanted to back out. The strange goop covering everything squished beneath his hooves, sliding and molding under his steps like soft rubber or... well, how he imagined a carpet of flesh might feel. It was a bit difficult to keep his balance, and he had to set his hooves firmly to prevent them from sliding out from under him as he shifted his weight. Plus, something in here--possibly the goo, possibly not--reeked of rotten fruit and wet sewage.

If that weren't bad enough, the membranous pods on every side were growing thicker, here, and in large clusters. As the dim light of his horn passed them, he could see shapes inside, like the little pony embryos Auntie Celestia had once forced him to see at the Equestrian Natural History Museum. Some twitched, and as they did, their pods pulsated ever so slightly. One even opened an eye to stare at him as he went by.

So entranced by the unnvering sights around him, Blueblood barely stopped himself in time to avoid sliding down a sudden, steep downgrade. He turned back to Cadance and Rainbow Dash, noticing they looked almost as horrified as he felt, and nodded towards the slope. Dash glanced over him, nodded, and glided down to the bottom. She took a quick look around, then turned back to Blueblood with an uncertain look but a hoof's-up. He nodded, set himself on his haunches, and carefully slid down to join her.

They found themselves at the entrance to a much larger chamber. Hundreds of pods lined the walls and the domed ceiling. Stalactites covered in some sort of green crystal gave off a dim, unearthly light, and the shadows cast by the unborn changelings danced across the floor in a hideous collage of shapes. Along the lower walls were more pods, these ones much larger and filled with lumpy, spiky forms that bore only a passing resemblance to their kin. At the center of the chamber was a still pool of water, perhaps ten feet across, untouched by the slime that covered everything else. And standing at the edge of the pool, staring deeply into it, was Queen Chrysalis.

She looked frail and thin, even moreso than usual. Most of her membranous mane was gone, and what was left was a slimy, unkempt tangle. Green mucus dotted the edges of her mouth, and her eyes looked a bit unfocused and cloudy.

If she had noticed the ponies, she made no sign of it. Instead, she hissed a few words in a spidery tongue and sprinkled a bit of silver powder into the pool. The water began to glow and twist, first into a spiral, and then into an image of a dark chamber, lit only barely by a crackling, green brazier.

"Chrysalis," a voice intoned, distorted and deep. "Why do you call?"

"I believe my guests have arrived," she said. Her voice was hoarse and she wheezed as if she was having trouble breathing. "Three of my swarm were just struck down."

"Good. Then all goes according to plan."

Chrysalis' nodded. "You will fulfill your end of the bargain?"

"Of course... so long as you fulfill yours."

"For my children, I will."

The changeling queen touched a hoof to the surface of the pond; it rippled, the light faded, and the image disappeared. She raised her eyes to the ponies, still clustered about the entrance to her chamber. "Hm. Just the three of you, as she said."

Cadance stepped forward. Her horn began to glow with blue light, and her rose-hued mane began to dance and billow about her head. "We're here for Twilight Sparkle, Chrysalis."

"Well, she's not here," the changeling said with a dismissive shrug. "So if that's all, the door's right behind you."

"What?!" Rainbow Dash demanded. "She's supposed to be here! We came all this way!"

"My dear, at what point did I ever say I had her? Really, you ponies have a gift for jumping to conclusions."

"Then where is she?!"

"Elsewhere," Chrysalis said simply. She grinned at Dash's frustrated growl, and turned her amused gaze to Cadance. "I notice you're not leaving. I don't think you came here for Twilight Sparkle at all, dear. I think you came here to kill me."

She shook her head. "No, but that was always going to be a bonus."

The changeling giggled. "So violent! My, my, does sweet little Princess Mi Amore Cadenza hold a grudge? Are you still angry about the way I seduced your succulent young husband? How I made love to him, over and over again, fulfilling his darkest, wildest fantasies in ways you can't even begin to-"

Cadance's blast caught Chrysalis in the chest and hurled her against the wall; the gestation pods she hit smashed open at the impact, pouring pussy, yellow goop and the twitching embryos of some insectoid things onto the ground. Chrysalis stared at the creatures with wide, horrified eyes, then shrieked in fury and threw herself against her attacker.

Chittering screams of alarm went up all around them. Blueblood cringed as pods began to burst open of their own accord, half- or nearly-grown changelings spilling forth. Unfinished wings stretched and flexed; dripping mandibles turned hungrily towards the ponies.

"That's not good," Dash stated simply.

Above, Chrysalis' wings buzzed as she banked around another white-hot blast of flame. Cadance snarled and followed it up with a solid wall of blue energy, which the changeling queen only narrowly twisted around. She fired a bolt of green flame at the furious princess, but it sizzled against her flank without effect; Cadance's counter struck her right below the jaw and launched her, once again, into a cluster of pods. She screamed in agonized rage.

"Cadance, hurry up and take her down!" Blueblood shouted. He slammed a hoof down atop one tiny changeling as it darted towards his face, crushing it against the floor. Behind him, Rainbow Dash was using her wings to keep a swarm of newborns at bay while she twisted and dodged one of the larger creatures.

She nodded and charged forward, using her running start and remaining wing to leap across the small pool. She reached Chrysallis just as the changeling queen fell to the ground again, and struck her twice, rapid-fire, across the face with her hooves. Then, snarling, she used her magic to lift the changeling into the air over her head, and then slam her into the ground with a crunch of chitinous impact. Chrysalis, her lower body twitching uncontrollably, tried to crawl away, but Cadance caught her again and smashed her into the wall again, destroying another group of pods. Not finished, she ground the queen against the side of the chamber in a circuit around the room, destroying each and every pod left, one by one, while Chrysallis' shrieks turned to mournful, wretched sobs. Only then did she slam the changeling back to the ground and let her remain there, panting and wracked with grief. The remaining changelings suddenly ceased their attack and scrambled away, disappearing into any crack or crevice they could find.

"Celestia, Cadance," Blueblood breathed. "A-are you okay?"

"She won't hurt anypony, ever again," his sister said firmly. She strode over to Chrysalis and put a hoof against her chest, glaring down at her. "Will she?"

The changeling queen's sobs mixed with mocking, wheezing laughter. "You... had better kill me, little girl," she gasped. "Because if you don't... you will pay for this. For every one of my children... I will make... one of your little ponies... suffer."

"You can try." Cadance shoved her to the ground and stepped away, though she paused to look over her shoulder. "But if you'd like to spare the rest of your 'children,' you will never set hoof in Equestria again. You will abandon whatever plans you have, and you will find a new home for yourself and your kind. Because if I ever see you, or any one of your changelings again, I will find you. I will track you to the ends of the world. And I will end you."

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and let her head sink back against the stone. "So... melodramatic."

Cadance turned and marched out of the chamber. Rainbow Dash watched her, gave Chrysalis a concerned look, and fluttered out after. Blueblood frowned after both of them, then turned back to the changeling queen.

"She's making a mistake by letting you live," he said.

"Oh, yes."

"I should kill you. I know why she couldn't. She's too good. But me... well, I've always been damned, haven't I? Thanks to you."

"Yes," Chrysalis agreed. She giggled. "Embracing your... destiny, little prince?"

"Yes. But not the destiny you put in front of me." He took a step towards the prone changeling.

"I could tell you where she is."

He paused. "Twilight?"

"Yes. I could tell you how to... find her. You could be her handsome, dashing Prince... Charming. Carrying her away from... the villains who captured her."

"So tell me."

She giggled again, though it trailed off into a raspy cough. "I want your word, prince."

"That I won't kill you?"

"No." She waved a chitinous hoof down at her broken form. "I'm... dead already. I've been dead since... since the wedding. It has just... taken awhile to happen. No, little prince. I want your word that you will kill me."

"Blueblood?" Cadance called, her voice distant and echoing.

He closed his eyes. "Fine. You have it. Where is Twilight Sparkle?"

Chrysalis smiled. "Where it all began for you, little prince. Where your mother anointed you. Where you were blessed. Where you received your destiny."

"So... I'll be on the lookout for subterranean chambers with ritual circles on the floor, then."

She wheezed another attempt at a giggle. "Canterlot, boy. It began in Canterlot. And it will end in Canterlot."

Blueblood's eyebrows rose. "What? She's in Canterlot?! Under Auntie Celestia's nose?!"

"Yes. Where we have always been." Chrysalis gasped and fell into another coughing fit. As it receded, she tilted her head, exposing the brittle chitin around her neck. "And now... your end of the bargain."

He swallowed. He stared down at the helpless queen. This... this seemed wrong. Who was he to determine if anypony should live or die, even one so wretched as this?

The ghost of Tyranny's laughter floated across his memory.

No. He would not make his aunt's mistakes.

"Goodbye, Chrysalis," he said, stepping beside her. Slowly, ponderously, he raised his hoof.

"Goodbye, my king," the queen replied. Her eyes flashed green. Her horn glowed with energy. Before Blueblood could react, she jabbed the jagged appendage into his foreleg. Her body stiffened as a rush of energy flooded out of her and into the prince. Blueblood screamed and tried to pull away, but it was too late. He felt his body go rigid. A green glow enveloped him. His turquoise eyes began to burn with light. He felt something deep inside his soul break, like a dam under too much pressure, and suddenly... suddenly he was calm. He was controlled. Like never before in his life, he... understood.

A monster? He would never have become a monster. He would have become a god.

He opened his eyes and stared at his own hooves in amazement. He'd never felt such strength in them before. He could... he could fix everything. He could stop Nightmare Moon. He could protect his friends. He could fix the mistakes Celestia and Luna had been too timid to. He could reshape the world as he saw fit.

"What... " He trailed off, staring at the changeling queen in amazement. "What did you do?"

"My... gift to you," Chrysalis gasped. "I broke your chains. I set you... free."

Her head fell back against the stone. She took in a final breath. "The eclipse... "

Blueblood paid no attention to the rest. Filled with purpose, he stood and turned away.

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