FIENDship is Magic Issue 5

My Little Pony: FIENDship is Magic #5: Queen Chrysalis, titled The Many Tales of Queen Chrysalis, is the fifth and final issue of IDW Publishing's FIENDship is Magic comic miniseries. In the issue, the Mane Six visit the imprisoned Queen Chrysalis, who recounts her past exploits.

Summary
Twilight Sparkle and her friends visit the castle where they'd last defeated Queen Chrysalis, which is now under tight royal guard security. They are shocked to discover that Chrysalis is weak, refusing food, and driven to the brink of madness. The ponies can hardly believe that this is the same villain who led a series of infamous conquests in the past.

In a flashback, Rainbow Dash tells the story of Timbucktu, a cloud city inhabited by sparkly-eyed Pegasi and ruled by King Orion. Chrysalis and her changelings invaded the city, drained the love of its citizens, and seized Orion's crown, which Chrysalis remade into her own.

In another flashback, Chrysalis leads a siege on the city of Trot and overthrows Emperor Incitatus by hiding herself and her changelings inside a Trojan horse. During the invasion, Princess Celestia appeared and blasted Chrysalis with magic, creating the holes in her body. Celestia imprisoned Chrysalis and the changelings inside a volcano, but they were able to escape by tricking a dragon named Sergio into releasing them.

Twilight is still about about Chrysalis' true origins, and Chrysalis agrees to tell the story in exchange for the newest Daring Do book that Rainbow Dash brought with her. The ponies are wary about this, but Twilight and Applejack believe Chrysalis is in no state to try and deceive them. The guards open the castle door for Twilight to give Chrysalis the book, but it's revealed to be a trap; the Chrysalis that the ponies had been talking to was only one of her changelings, with the real Chrysalis waiting just out of sight. Chrysalis seizes Twilight once she steps inside.

In a final flashback, Chrysalis tells Twilight her origin story: long ago, a rotten acorn fell into a magic pond and grew into a carnivorous plant. This plant fed on insects and the bones of creatures that had fallen into the pond before. When Star Swirl the Bearded passed through and sensed something sinister about the pond, he nailed a sign to a tree to warn other passersby to stay away. The nail by which Star Swirl hung his sign formed a crack, and Chrysalis and her changelings were born from it.

Outside the castle door, the rest of the Mane Six and the royal guards attempt to break in and save Twilight, but Chrysalis and the changelings overwhelm them and escape to parts unknown.

Quotes

 * Applejack: This place still gives me the willies.
 * Rainbow Dash: Could it be because the last time we were here it was to duke it out with one of the most evil villains in Equestria?
 * Fluttershy: I bet that has something to do with it.


 * Queen Chrysalis: I will give you all my worldly possessions to take that pink monstrosity away and burn it.
 * Pinkie Pie: Hey. This is a quality piece of apparel.
 * Rarity: Oh, Pinkie, honey. It's not. Your stitching is terrible.


 * Applejack: Well, well, well. Look how the mighty have fallen.


 * Twilight Sparkle: It all started 1,000 years ago...
 * Spike: Why is it always 1,000 years ago? That must have been one heck of a year...


 * Queen Chrysalis: Queen Chrysalis has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
 * Changeling: Very nice, your Majesty.


 * Queen Chrysalis: Orion was an imbecile... The star bit makes him a legend. It's the goal of all of us to be remembered, after all.
 * Twilight Sparkle: Is that your goal? To be remembered?
 * Queen Chrysalis: If that was my goal, I've already attained it. No pony is going to forget me.


 * Queen Chrysalis: If this doesn't work I'll eat my hat.
 * Changeling: You're not wearing a hat.
 * Queen Chrysalis: My crown then.
 * Changeling: That's a crown? I thought it was a weird antennae thing...
 * Queen Chrysalis: Hold your tongue or I will throw you from this vessel.


 * Emperor Incitatus: Snookums!
 * Queen Chrysalis: How many times do I have to tell you that I was just posing as your fiance to drain you of your ardor... You twit.
 * Emperor Incitatus: But you broke through the shield just to come see me! Admit it... You still liiiiiike me!
 * Queen Chrysalis: The only pony you are capable of loving is yourself... Lucky for me, that suits my... tastes just fine.


 * Queen Chrysalis: A dragon?! Are you kidding me? The one creature that doesn't feel any love comes to call. Gah.


 * Applejack: What harm could it do? There are guards everywhere and she looks like she's about to kick the bucket.
 * Pinkie Pie: That poor bucket.
 * Rarity: It's just an expression, Pinkie.


 * Queen Chrysalis: There is no story. I was born this way.


 * Rainbow Dash: So... You going to update your report to include the day you let one of Equestria's most notorious villains escape?
 * Spike: I have a quill. I can write it in now!
 * Fluttershy: Who wants to tell Princess Celestia about this?
 * Pinkie Pie: Not it!