I’m not an artist and I don’t really know how to draw, so this picture probably isn’t very pretty, but I wanted to post it here so it wouldn’t just get lost on my hard drive.
Also, here’s a short story about how something like this could happen in the EaW universe, without any specifics:
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Having won the Great War, Chrysalis took control not only of the Crystal Empire, but also of its royal family. Tens of millions of ponies around the world could only guess what grim fate awaited Princess Cadance, Prince Shining Armor, and their young daughter. Needless to say, they were stunned when, two years later, Chrysalis announced a new royal wedding in Canterlot. Whether it was forced, a mutually beneficial deal, or genuine love, Mi Amore Cadance, Shining Armor, and Chrysalis were now bound by marriage. The Crystal Protectorate was abolished, the Empire was restored, and a royal triarchy reigned on Eques.
The very next day after the wedding, the Equestrian resistance was torn apart by internal conflict. While some ponies branded Cadance a traitor, thousands of others saw the incident as a symbol that Chrysalis had embraced harmony and that fighting her was no longer futile. It’s still difficult to say who is right, but it seems the changelings have indeed begun to soften their regime further and further.
While the resistance is in its final days, Changelingia has undergone a significant “reformation.” Many of the prohibitions and restrictions imposed on ponies have been lifted, and Laсin Cardo, who opposed Queen Chrysalis’s marriage and actively opposed Jahs’s reforms, has disappeared without a trace under unclear circumstances. Representatives of the VOPS public affairs unit merely smile mysteriously when griffon journalists attempt to inquire about the fate of the former commander of the royal guard and several dozen of his subordinates.
According to independent sources, Hivesmarshal Actia Pagala, who took over from Trimmel, was seen visiting several medical institutions that treat “love addiction”. Some journalists even reported that she paid a certain pegasus a colossal sum of money and secured her a place in the revived Canterlot Royal Guard. Although Vesalipolis officials have not commented on this information, a mare named Windbreaker, a guard major, did indeed appear on the pony military roster.
Far across the ocean, Princesses Celestia and Luna hope these changes truly signal positive developments in Chrysalis and its kingdom. On the other hoof, pragmatists like Blueblood fear this is all just one big propaganda stunt. Some even speculate that the rulers of the Crystal Empire have been corrupted by Chrysalis and have themselves become the very evil they so recently fought against. Even so, is there any force in the world willing to challenge the combined might of the Queen of Changelings and the Princess of Love?