A Human, a Pony Princess, and a Mistake
Chapter 30: Crystal Peace
“You do realize they’re going to kill me,” Chrysalis said conversationally to Luna on the train to the Crystal Empire.
“They’ve known where you live for almost a month now. If they wanted to seek bloody vengeance, they would have done so already,” Luna pointed out reasonably, despite wanting to call her best friend a big baby for worrying so much.
“Haven’t you heard of home field advantage, Lulu? They’re luring me to the seat of their power where they can strike me down ruthlessly and efficiently. I may have the lifespan of an Alicorn, but I’m not quite as durable,” Chrysalis made it all sound so reasonable. Luna scoffed.
“Really, I don’t think Twilight would take too kindly to her brother and sister-in-law murdering someone she ostensibly considers a friend. If you knew Shining Armor at all, you’d know he’d go to the ends of Equuis to make his sister happy,” Luna dismissed Chrysalis’ concerns.
“But what if she’s in on it?” Chrysalis asked in fake paranoia.
“Now you just sound like a conspiracy nut. If Twilight was in on it then Tom would have to be as well and I can’t see either of them condoning murder,” Luna rolled her eyes.
“I’m not mad! No, I’m the only sane one left!” Chrysalis exclaimed melodramatically.
“I’ll be there to protect you, miss ‘only sane one left’,” Luna said patronizingly.
“I don’t think I like your sass, Lulu,” Chrysalis pouted.
“Like it or not, we’ve arrived,” Luna remarked as the train’s brakes started squealing in an effort to stop the locomotive.
“Time to face the executioner. Tell my children I love them!” Chrysalis cried as she stood to exit the train.
“What a drama queen,” Luna said, not without affection. The pair exited the train and there on the platform stood Shining Armor and Cadence.
“Princess Cadence, Prince Shining Armor,” Chrysalis greeted formally when she saw them and bowed politely. While she wasn’t nearly as nervous as she had played up to Luna, there was still some trepidation in her.
“I am pleased to see you in good health, my niece, Prince Armor,” Luna said, ignoring the tense atmosphere.
“Hello Auntie, Queen Chrysalis,” Cadence was still wary of the Changeling queen, but Luna was vouching for her, so she had agreed to the meeting.
“I would like to start off by apologizing for what I did during your wedding,” Chrysalis began.
“Auntie Luna said you weren’t yourself at the time,” Cadence said graciously.
“Just because I was insane at the time doesn’t excuse what I’ve done,” Chrysalis argued. Why was she arguing? She should’ve just taken the handout, but something about that rankled her.
“Insanity is a legitimate defense, if anyone wanted to try you for your actions, you’d probably be declared not guilty based on an M’Neighten defense,” Surprisingly, it was Shining Armor who spoke up.
“Come again?” Chrysalis wasn’t familiar with all the legal proceedings of Equestria.
“Most defense attorneys would probably argue that you were insane, due to starvation, and thus unable to appreciate that what you were doing was wrong at the time,” Shining explained.
“I’ve invaded countries before what happened in Canterlot,” Chrysalis pointed out.
“Would you invade, say, the Griffons right now if you knew there would be no negative repercussions?” Shining asked insistently.
“No…I put my invading days behind me when I met Luna,” Chrysalis reluctantly admitted.
“Then you were doing something you would normally never do under what most would consider extreme mental duress if not flat out insanity. When you were plotting to take over our wedding, did you know it was wrong?” Shining continued his questioning.
“The only thing I really remember from that time was wanting to see my children fed,” Chrysalis confessed.
“Most judges would consider that as begin unable to see what you did as doing wrong,” Shining told her, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not exactly thrilled to have you here, but I’m not going to hold a grudge with someone who’s sorry for what they did and weren’t in complete control of their actions to begin with.”
“If you say so, but I still feel the need to make up for what I’ve done,” Chrysalis wasn’t completely sold on what Shining was saying, but she didn’t want to argue with him either.
“You’re helping Tom and my sister. That’s making up for it in my books,” Shining said simply.
“If that’s good enough for Shining, then it’s good enough for me,” Cadence agreed with her husband, “Let’s head back to the castle, we can talk more there.”
“You and your husband are wise, Cadence,” Luna complimented as they walked. Cadence blushed slightly.
“I’m just doing what I think is right,” Cadence replied, “Although, I do have a question. How did Chrysalis come back to her senses?”
“Ah. That. Well, I suppose electroshock therapy was before your time, but that’s the best thing I can compare it to. That Love shield you both used was like an electric current to my whole body,” Chrysalis explained.
“I have heard of electroshock, but it sounds positively barbaric,” Cadence said with disgust.
“Electroshock therapy was quite common before my banishment. When used properly, it was surprisingly effective. However, these days there are better drugs and magical treatments that render electroshock obsolete,” Luna commented.
“Yes, most of the horror stories you’ve probably heard about it are either from fiction or criminal misuse,” Chrysalis added. Since it wasn’t a long walk from the station to the castle, the group arrived just as Chrysalis finished her sentence. The servants led them to a conference room, where they all sat at a table prepared with snacks.
“We weren’t sure what Changelings ate besides Love, so we got a little of everything,” Cadence said sheepishly.
“We can eat most things, but get very little nutrition from anything not made with Love,” Chrysalis picked up a loaf of bread and slice of pie in her magic, “Whoever made this loaf loved what they were doing, but the pie maker seems to be just going through the motions.”
“That makes “baked with love” a whole lot more literal,” Shining quipped. Chrysalis allowed herself a smirk.
“So, I have a few questions prepared, if you don’t mind?” Cadence asked.
“Go ahead,” Chrysalis waved her on.
“What is Changeling shape shifting? There are wards on and around The Royal Palace that would dispel most illusions,” Cadence inquired.
“Changeling shape shifting is almost entirely physical. When we change, we become whoever or whatever we shape shift into. There is a minor illusory part of it, but it’s mostly to smooth out any imperfections in appearance when replacing someone wholesale. I won’t claim to know exactly how it works; only that it does.” Chrysalis answered.
“I’m sure Twilight would love to spend some time figuring it out,” Shining remarked
“I’m sure she would, but for now it’s best not to distract her with mysteries that can remain a mystery a little longer,” Luna put in and Chrysalis nodded in agreement.
“Alright, next question how did the two of you meet?” Cadence questioned as she took a pear for herself.
“It was about six months before I was banished,” Luna began.
“For me it had been about a year since my children and I had fed properly. We had just come out of a nasty skirmish with the Deer, so we were a sorry sight when Luna came across us,” Chrysalis continued.
“Equestria was still relatively young after reforming in the wake of the Chaos Years Discord ruled over. Much of what we claimed to be our territory was still largely unexplored. When reports came in from a distant village of horrible bug ponies I and a team of my guard went to investigate. I thought it would be another routine job of exterminating a monster or at worse a corrupt necromancer. We were all surprised when that turned out to not be the case,” Luna recounted with a fond smile.
“When I spotted Luna and her guard I sprang to meet them and growled ‘leave my children alone’. My children and I were all in a sorry state from the fight a scant day and a half ago,” Chrysalis added.
““You talk?” I asked bewildered. Chrysalis sneered at me and said “Of course I talk, you simpleton”.” Luna giggled.
“Of all the things you remember…” Chrysalis groaned.
“I saw they were weak and hurt, so I offered them sanctuary until they could recover,” Luna said, ignoring her friend’s complaint.
“I was naturally suspicious. Who just offers to help instead of exterminating an unknown threat? I asked as much,” Chrysalis remembered, “She said “Tis what Ponies do” I wanted to laugh at her, but my children needed help, so I took her offer and hoped I wouldn’t regret it later.”
“I took them all to our castle in the Everfree and saw to it they were fed and watered and cared for. I had learned on the journey that they subsisted mostly on Love, but could not feed on their own Love except for such miniscule scraps as to not be worth mentioning. That is how they survived their imprisonment. Chrissy squeezed every drop of Love she could from herself and kept her children in a state of suspended sleep most of the time to conserve their energy,” Luna reveled.
“Luna and many of the night staff greeted us with open arms. The day staff was slightly wary of us, but was respectful of their princess’ guest. The only one who seemed to have a real problem with us was Celestia herself,” Chrysalis sighed.
“Celestia has said that she was afraid of you and that may well be the case, but I wonder if she wasn’t also jealous of the time I spent with you,” Luna mused.
“Whatever the case, after almost a month with Luna, we were ready to return to the Hive. No sooner than we were all inside than it was sealed shut. I had no idea what had happened at the time, but I had hoped that Luna would free us swiftly. As time passed that hope faded into despair and then rage. Eventually even that rage faded to nothing more than a pathetic ember. After a thousand years passed, the seal broke and you know the rest,” Chrysalis finished the tale.
“I’m sorry you had to go through all that,” Cadence said quietly.
“It happened, it’s over, and you had nothing to do with it,” Chrysalis shrugged, “Now, we didn’t come all this way for you to hear two old mares prattling on about the past. We need to talk about the future.”
And so the two leaders began to talk about commerce, tourism, and all the other dreadfully boring things that are needed to keep two powers in a harmonious relationship.