Chrysalis reappeared with a pop and bright flash of light, blinking the stars out of her eyes as she shook her head clear. Once she was able to see properly again, she noticed that she was standing atop one of the largest buildings in Manehattan. The view she was afforded, gave her a perfect sight of the massive sprawling city below, along with the Equestrian landscapes far off in the distance. She glanced up to see the sun as it neared it's peak in the sky, her brow furrowing ever so slightly as she thought aloud.

"Now, if I were a weak, recently freed villain, preparing to enact my revenge on Equestria and steal all of its magic, what would I be doing right now..." She wondered, tapping in chin in thought, before a flat look crossed her muzzle, "Okay, maybe a little close to home but still... where, oh where..."

She gazed down at the city below, finding hundreds and thousands of ponies going about their day, completely ignorant of the grave threat that loomed just over their heads. Fortunately for them, they also remained ignorant of the changeling looking out for them, her elytra twitching as she surveyed the scene before her.

"Probably best to wait until nightfall. With how many ponies are out and about now, he'd most likely want to avoid confrontation. One on one, he could easily overpower any normal pony, but if he just attacked an entire city like this, he'd end up back in Tartarus before noon." Chrysalis acknowledged, nodding her head slightly.

With a flash of green flames, she quickly transformed into a smaller forest green pegasus mare with piercing blue eyes and a jet black mane. Her cutiemark consisted of a black heart with another, smaller green heart inside. She flapped her wings, as if testing the appendages to see if they felt right, before hopping off the roof and gently gliding down to the city below. She quickly landed on the sidewalk below and blended into the crowd of thousands of ponies trotting to and fro.

The hours passed rather slowly as the disguised changeling busied herself in her surroundings. She stepped into a few stores, as if perusing their wares and product, before inevitably leaving without purchasing anything as she didn't have any bits on her. She even attempted to make idle conversation with a few of the more friendly ponies that passed her by on the street. To her surprise, she even found herself turning down a few kind stallions and mares that asked her out for coffee or other small dates. Not because she was approached, as that was fairly normal for her whenever she disguised herself, no. Her surprise came from just how easily she rejected their advances.

She found herself pondering over just why such rejection was so easy for her. It wasn't because of her mission as the dates wouldn't be for at least a few days, but rather she felt as if she simply didn't want to. A feeling that was completely alien for the changeling Queen. She pushed the strange feeling aside for the time being and decided to focus on simply blending in until the sun inevitably set on the horizon.

Finding that the amount of ponies outside drastically reduced to nearly a hundredth of what was out during the day, she prayed that her assumption was correct. As Chrysalis stepped out of one of the last stores closing for the night in the district she'd found herself, she unfurled her wings and took to the sky.

As she landed atop the same roof she'd teleported to earlier, she shook off some of the condensation clinging to her wings from the humidity in the air and looked down on the city from her vantage point.

"Alright... now where would you attack somepony if you wanted to steal their magic..." Chrysalis thought aloud, before noticing several dark alleys all over the city, "Well, I suppose there would be a good start."

Her plan set, Chrysalis leapt from the building and glided down to the nearest alleyway. With her nightvision being on part with that of thestrals, she was able to easily see the few ponies walking about in the dead of the night. She stayed in the shadows, ensuring that nopony saw her or heard her as she skulked from alley to alley. Her search lasted for another few hours, until almost all the ponies still awake were either gathered in one of the nightclubs still open, or were already returning to their homes.

"Ponynapping some mare or stallion while they're drunk and stumbling home, then syphoning their magic while they're already too far gone to fight back sounds like something I'd do... so he'd probably do it too." Chrysalis quietly reasoned.

Chrysalis found her own reasoning to be quite sound, and quickly changed tactics to quietly following ponies home as they returned from the bars or nightclubs in the city. She flew back and forth across entire swathes of the city over and over, the night dragging on as she watched over dozens of ponies going home.

Finally, just when she started wondering if she was just wasting her time, Chrysalis picked up on a voice down below in the city.

"Thanks for the show tonight, Neon! That was a great performance. You really killed the crowd!" A pony happily exclaimed.

"Thanks, but it was nothing out of the ordinary." The pony named Neon replied.

"Maybe for you, haha. Well, I'd better head home. You need any help carrying this stuff?"

"Nah, I've got it. My hotel is just down the road. Maybe twenty minutes." Neon replied.

"Oh, the Marionette?"

"Yeah."

"Well, if you cut through the alley, you can save yourself about ten minutes of walking."

"Oh, sweet. Thanks."

Chrysalis silently landed on a roof overlooking the backlot of one of the nightclubs that was finally closing for the night. Down below, she swiftly spotted the owners of the voices, one orange earth pony and one light blue unicorn with a black, spikey mane. He held an amalgamation of musical instruments and equipment in his magical grasp as he bumped hooves with the other stallion and trotted off through the open gate at end of the lot.

Her curiosity somewhat piqued, Chrysalis quietly followed after the stallion as he quickly trotted into the alleyway beneath her. For a few minutes, everything seemed to be going just as boring and painfully normal as any other pony she'd watched going home. However, that quickly changed when a hooded figure stepped out of the shadows below and cut the stallion off.

"Oh, um... excuse me, I'm just trying to get back to my hotel." Neon politely explained as he tried to step past the figure.

Even from where she was on the rooftop, Chrysalis could easily sense the massive spike in anxiety and fear in the pony, as the cloaked figure simply stared, unmoving and unflinching, back at him. The only sound to fill the air was the somewhat raspy breathing of the creature as it stared the stallion down.

Then, without warning, the figure reached out with its hand, stepping toward the unicorn as he stepped back in fear. Chrysalis watched on, part in horror and part in morbid fascination, as a beam of arcane energy was syphoned straight from the stallion's horn. His magic quickly faded, and he dropped his musical instruments before collapsing to the ground, his cutiemark gone and his eyes quickly fading from their normal color.

The figure, who was obviously Tirek, quickly grew slightly in size, his fists clenching as he gained a few inches of height, and significant muscle mass. He quickly turned his head, as if sensing another source of magical nourishment just down the alley, and was swiftly rewarded with a view of a completely oblivious tan coated stallion standing a few dozen hooves away. His eyes were closed as he levitated a box in his magic and hummed some tune to himself.

With his new target in mind, Tirek skulked down the rest of the alleyway, his eyes fixed on his prey as Chrysalis watched on from above.

Where the hay is Discord?! He should be here right now. Tirek is going to steal that pony's magic too! Chrysalis thought to herself, her wings unfurling as she quietly followed on the rooftops.

His hands reaching out, almost as if to grab and restrain the stallion, Tirek closed in, his hooves never making a sound as he approached. Twenty hooves. Fifteen hooves. Ten hooves. Five hooves. Finally, just as Tirek reached the stallion and prepared to grab him, the pony quickly turned on him, only in place of a normal pony's head, was Discord's.

"Tirek, I presume." Discord greeted, a knowing smile on his face.

Momentarily stunned by the sudden appearance of the God of Chaos, Tirek stepped back, his eyes squinting in disbelief. After a few moments, he was able to recover from his shock and addressed the draconequues.

"Discord. You're free?" Tirek questioned, still clearly struggling to process just what was happening.

In typical Discord fashion, the chaotic being immediately transformed with a flash and pop, reappearing as a crude attempt at a bird, what with his limbs and extremities still remaining somewhat the same.

"As a bird." He replied, smugly.

"I commend you on your escape." Tirek responded, bowing to the Chaos God.

Discord quickly transformed back into his normal form and fixed Tirek with a suddenly serious look, "I'm afraid the feeling isn't mutual." He said, snapping his fingers.

Another flash of magic momentarily stunned the centaur, before he looked down to see that his hands were chained together. He instantly tried to break the chains with his brute strength, his teeth grit in anger. Once it became apparent he couldn't break the chains, he fired a beam of blackish-red magic straight at Discord.

Discord merely split his head in two down the middle, allowing the blast of magic to harmlessly pass, before both sides snapped back together and he looked down on Tirek with a glare.

"I should have known you would want to have Equestria all to yourself." Tirek growled, while Discord suddenly wore a police uniform and spun a baton in his claw.

"Oh, I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing it for my friends," Discord happily replied, before quickly leaning over to Tirek, "Just between the two of us, it's mostly for Fluttershy." He whispered.

"Fluttershy?" Tirek questioned, "You're not saying you're friends with ponies!?" He questioned, sounding disgusted.

Suddenly there was a cake in front of Tirek. A cake which Discord quickly burst out of, along with confetti and streamers,

"Surprise!" Discord exclaimed.

Tirek fixed Discord with a curious look, "I am surprised that someone with your intellect does not see this 'friendship' is but a new form of imprisonment. Clearly you've had to abandon your true nature to stay in their good graces."

Discord, now playing a harp while a halo sat over his head, quickly froze and tossed the harp to the side, "I have done nothing of the sort!" He insisted, before sheepishly waving the halo away.

Tirek held up his hands, "Oh, please. I've seen this before, but he was always weak-minded," He replied, before thrusting an accusing finger at the draconequues, "You are Discord. You are Legend. You cannot fall into the same trap that claimed my brother. Help me to grow strong and be rewarded with something far greater than friendship... freedom."

Whether he wanted to or not, Discord's eyebrows suddenly rose in interest.

"Once I have stripped these ponies of their magic, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see their world turned upside-down. Who better to do so than the master of chaos, himself?" Tirek pressed.

Discord, brought his claw to his chin in thought, clearly struggling to decide what he should do.

"Join me, Discord, and reclaim your greatness. Unless of course, 'pony errand boy' is the role you've always wanted to play in this world." Tirek continued, his tone conveying his clear disgust for the title.

Discord scratched his chin as he pondered Tirek's offer. He was very clearly considering the proposition, a fact that made Chrysalis's brow furrow in concern.

"He's not really going to take that deal, is he? Tirek is the last creature on Eques that you can trust, Discord!" Chrysalis whisper-shouted, before quickly covering her mouth with her hoof.

Luckily for her, it appeared as if neither the chaos God nor Tirek heard her, but from the look on his face, Discord was quickly beginning to side with the centaur. Chrysalis felt despair well up in her heart as she watched the draconequues slowly nod.

"Well... when you put it that way..." He started, before holding his paw up for Tirek to grab, "You do make quite a tempting offer. I'd be a fool not to accept." He announced.

A sinister grin on his face, Tirek gladly grabbed and shook Discord's paw, "Excellent choice, Discord."

As she watched the deal being made from above, Chrysalis couldn't help the sick feeling in her stomach, and she quickly backed away from the ledge. Using only a tiny bit of her magic to allow her horn to form on her head with a small burst of green flames, she quickly set about writing a message in fiery green lettering in the air.

With her hasty note scribbled in the air before her, due in no small part to her lack of any actual paper to write on, she ignited her horn in a powerful whitish-green light, sending the message away in another burst of green flame. As the last wisps of fire blew away, quickly heading toward Canterlot, Chrysalis let out a small sigh of relief. Her moment of peace was extremely short lived, however, as she almost immediately heard a voice speak out from behind her.

"Well, well, well. Now this isn't who I expected to see over here. Good evening, Chrysalis, my dear." Discord's sickly chummy voice spoke up, making the blood freeze in Chrysalis's veins.

Hesitantly turning around to see the draconequues, Chrysalis put on her best attempt at a fake smile, "O-oh, Discord. There you are."

Discord raised an eyebrow as she faced him, her changeling horn starkly contrasting her pony disguise, "Last I saw you, you were in Canterlot. What changed?" He asked, curiously.

"Oh, Anon and the Princesses thought that you might like a little help dealing with Tirek, so they asked me to come along just to be sure. Speaking of, have you seen him? I only just arrived." Chrysalis lied, subtly glancing around for choice places to teleport to before Discord could question her too much.

"You've only just arrived?" Discord asked, sounding skeptical, "Then what was that little spell you just cast?" He asked, innocently.

Feeling a pit forming in her stomach by the second, Chrysalis nervously gulped, "That? That was just me informing them that I've arrived. You know how they are, always wanting to know where former villains are and whatnot." She offered, putting on a fake smile.

Discord's scrutinous gaze made her anxiety climb with each passing second as he appeared to think over her story. Eventually, he gave her a sweet smile. This only made her anxiety and fear grow to exponential levels.

"Well then, you're just in time. I happen to have the centaur himself right here." Discord grinned, snapping his fingers.

With a flash and a pop, Tirek suddenly stood beside the draconequues, a mild look of confusion on his face, until he spotted Chryaslis.

"A pegasus?" He asked, sounding irritated.

Discord chuckled, "No, not a pony. The Queen of the Changelings. Come now, Chrysalis, there's no need for disguises anymore."

Carefully weighing her options as she observed the two creatures before her, Chrysalis reluctantly dropped her disguise. With a flash of green flames, she transformed back into her normal form, making Tirek's eyes widen slightly.

"The Queen of the Changelings? I hope you aren't siding with the ponies as well." Tirek spat, crossing his arms.

Chrysalis hesitantly opened her mouth to respond, but Discord quickly spoke over her, "Oh, Queen Chrysalis here has been getting on the ponies' good side, same as me. That said, I think it would only be fair to offer her the same deal you offered me." He explained.

Tirek raised an eyebrow but slowly nodded, "Ah, yes. Well, what say you, Chrysalis? Join me, help me take all of Equestria's magic, and be rewarded for your efforts by having as many ponies to feed off of as you wish." He offered.

Chrysalis looked back and forth between the two villains, her hearts hammering in her chest. Only through decades of infiltration and training, did she manage to keep from showing just how terrified the potential threats in front of her, actually made her. Even at her strongest, she would never dare to challenge Discord in a fight, which left her perilously little in the way of options.

Once more, discreetly scanning for places to teleport to for a quick escape, she slowly replied, "That's... quite a tempting offer. What exactly would be required of me?" She asked, biding for more time as all the places she found were still all too easy for the draconequues to reach.

Tirek darkly chuckled, "You're a changeling. I'm sure you can figure out a few ways to sow some disruption and disharmony among these ponies, can you not? Perhaps seeing their beloved princesses getting up to all kinds of nefarious misdeeds in the public eye? Or perhaps... luring ponies in for me to syphon their magic." He offered, his smile growing darker and darker.

Chrysalis slowly nodded, her mind racing as she not only thought of ways of escape, but also thought of whether or not to actually consider the offer.

How much of a chance does Equestria truly stand against Discord and Tirek?

Just as quickly as the question entered her mind, she was suddenly assaulted with memories of the past two weeks. Every memory came flooding to the surface, washing away any sense of consideration she may have given the offer, and replaced it with utter disgust at herself for even beginning to think about it. The dancing, the drinks, the conversations, and the time spent with both Anon and the sister alicorns filled her mind, and all she could think of was how much she enjoyed every moment of it.

Luna's helpful voyages into the dreamscape and the work she did for her changelings to help them not suffer their nightmares anymore, Celestia moving metaphorical mountains to allow them to integrate, and Anon spending every waking our of his free time with her, just making sure she was okay; memories of each crossed her mind in a flash, and with a resolute nod, Chrysalis made her choice.

"Think about it. All of Equestria, split between the three of us. It would be Tartarus for them, and paradise for us." Tirek pressed, stepping toward her.

As discreetly as she could, Chrysalis reached out to sense both Tirek and Discord's emotions. While Tirek was easy to read and projected nothing but gleeful excitement only sprinkled with a hint of distrust, Discord was another animal entirely. She sensed absolutely nothing but distrust from the draconequues, and her nerves began to fray as she locked eyes with him.

He... he knew I was here the whole time...

Almost as if sensing her unspoken thought, Discord allowed a think smirk to form on his face, his arms crossed as he looked back at the changeling Queen. A whole new series of questions filled Chrysalis's mind as she held his gaze.

Why isn't he telling Tirek? What is he waiting for?

As the seconds ticked by in complete silence, Tirek grew impatient, waiting for a response, "Well?"

Startled out of her stupor by the sudden question, Chrysalis's gaze narrowed.

"Discord... why are you siding with Tirek?" Chrysalis asked, bluntly.

Discord merely shrugged, while Tirek raised an eyebrow, "Isn't it obvious? Being the errand boy for a bunch of ponies isn't quite the lot in life I wanted for myself. I can do better, and so can you." Discord replied, predatorily.

Chrysalis gulped, "So the reason you haven't attacked me yet?"

"Didn't I already say that it was only fair to offer you the same deal that I was offered?" Discord replied, simply.

Tirek's eyes flicked back and forth between Discord and Tirek, until a look of realization hit him, "You are siding with the ponies, then." He stated, looking at Chrysalis.

"Let's let her decide that for herself?" Discord offered, holding out his paw in a placating manner.

With no other options in sight, and both centaur and draconequues looking at her expectantly, Chrysalis sighed.

"This is wrong." She stated, quietly.

"Come again?" Tirek inquired, leaning forward ever so slightly.

Chrysalis looked him dead in his eyes, "This is wrong. The ponies and my hive have a new understanding, and I won't betray that trust." She stated, firmly.

Tirek held her gaze for a few moments, his eyes holding a distinct level of contemplation that felt in complete opposition to the anger flaring up inside of him. Chrysalis knew she had little time to act before either the centaur or Discord would strike her down, and with each passing second only serving to heighten the tenseness in the air, she moved first.

Her horn quickly flaring in green magic, Chrysalis teleported away to the building standing tall behind Tirek and Discord. While Tirek was slightly stunned by the sudden teleportation, Discord merely yawned and snapped his fingers, appearing beside the changeling Queen instantly. Much to his surprise, however, she was already turning on him and spitting out green slime that rooted him in place.

"Ewww..." Discord groaned.

Without a word, Chrysalis teleported away again, appearing in one of the alleyways a few block away from the building and opened her elytra. She quickly buzzed through the alley toward the street and toward the center of town. Whether she was being followed or not, she couldn't tell, but she knew that she had to get back to Canterlot as fast as possible, no matter what.

Her wings buzzing in an extreme effort they hadn't endured in years, Chrysalis flew through the center of town and straight toward the outskirts of Manehattan. She kept her altitude low, buzzing between buildings and under rooftops to make it as hard for Discord to pinpoint her as possible. She quickly reached the edge of the city in just a few minutes, her hearts beating in both relief and from exertion.

However, just as she reached the open plains next to Manehattan, a spiderweb popped into existence before her, and even though changelings were extremely agile in the air, she simply had no time to react as she flew right into the trap. Slamming into the sticky substance, Chrysalis gasped in surprise and struggled to free herself. However, to her horror, she quickly felt movement on the strings, and glanced up to see Discord shaped like a spider, crawling down to her.

"Now, I don't think that was the best of ideas, do you?" He asked, snarkily.

Chrysalis growled at the spider-like draconequues, but before she could cast a spell or try to escape in any other fashion, she heard a pop from behind. She quickly glanced back to find Tirek standing behind her, a sadistic smile on his face as he quickly approached the helpless changeling Queen.

Chrysalis tried to teleport, but as soon as she reappeared elsewhere, she immediately teleported back to the spiderweb. Her brow furrowed in both confusion and horror, Chrysalis glanced back up to Discord to see him shrug.

"I'm afraid I can't have you go and help the princesses, my dear little changeling friend." He stated, sweetly.

Swallowing back the vile and angry response she wanted to say, Chrysalis simply closed her eyes as Tirek steadily approached, his mouth already open and syphoning her magic.

Uh oh... that's not good.

Hope you guys enjoyed this one. Things are about to get a lot more intense these next several chapters. Hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am.

Oh! For anyone interested, I have finally made a discord server! If you want to chat with me, hang out and play games or watch me stream art and such, feel free to join :D

https://discord.gg/zSB8EUuA