Chapter Thirty
Her eyelids were drooping as she walked through the halls, emotionally and physically exhausted from everything that'd happened today. An invasion, betrayal, consequences and damage control, and a roller coaster of emotions. As far back as Celestia could remember, this felt like one of the longest days she'd experienced in a good five hundred years. This day felt like it'd lasted nearly three months, and such a length of time was absolutely ridiculous. All she wanted to do right now was wish Luna a good evening, go back to her chambers, and collapse on her bed.
"Princess Celestia."
She gave a startled yelp and faltered backward at the sudden and unexpected booming appearance of Ulquiorra directly in front of her, her exhaustion temporarily abated by the sudden surge of adrenaline that came from him giving her such a scare. Coffee would've been the preferable option for fighting off drowsiness.
"A situation has arisen," he stated calmly.
Celestia sighed and used her wings to rub her face. "Ulquiorra, I'm in no mood to be dealing with you right now. It's been a very hard, very long day, and all I want to do is go to bed. I'll tend to you when I'm better rested and not so testy; I don't wish to make any snap decisions right now that I'll wind up regretting once morning comes. I've already made enough of those, and I wish no more," she stated. He certainly had some nerve showing himself right now when she was still furious, not only with his deception, but his accusations about her being a monster bent on revenge, to the point that she'd intentionally put her subjects in harm's way just to get what she wanted. He truly had no idea just how difficult these matters were for her. Did he think she did these things for fun?
"The situation pertains to Chrysalis rather than myself. She's requesting your presence in the dungeons. Princess Luna is with her now," Ulquiorra explained.
She looked up at him. He now officially had her attention, fuzzy as it might be. "And what exactly were you doing in the dungeons with Chrysalis?" she asked. What kind of business could he have with her?
"Conducting an interrogation, in an effort to gather answers to certain anomalies that were noticed earlier in the evening. During a conversation with the holders of the Elements of Harmony, both Fluttershy and Rarity made mention to something that-" he started explaining.
"Ulquiorra. I'm sure it's all quite interesting, but to be blunt, could you please just cut to the chase? I really don't feel like standing around for a long period of time, and hear the explanation that you have to give," Celestia interrupted. Listening to him try and explain a situation was going to make her fall asleep on her hooves the way his voice was so dull and even.
He weighed his available options. Princess Celestia did need to be read in on the theory, and made aware of the circumstances that resulted in its discovery. But he doubted she had the mental focus necessary to consider the intricacies of everything. Perhaps the best option was to put it off for the night, and focus on the other matter at hand.
"Chrysalis has requested your presence in the dungeons. She wishes to attempt negotiations in order to secure the release of her hive, in exchange for her own life," he explained simply.
Celestia blinked at his words. Two thoughts immediately came to her mind. The first thought was that she was far more exhausted than she originally thought, and she simply hadn't heard him right. The second thought was that she had indeed heard him right. and Chrysalis was up to something. Whichever was correct, Ulquiorra obviously thought it was important enough to chance a meeting with her when she still hadn't summoned him yet.
"What exactly has been going on around the palace while I was away?" she asked out loud.
"That is something that would take far too long to explain at present time," Ulquiorra replied simply. "I merely came to deliver Chrysalis' message. Do you intend to grant her an audience? Or should I return and tell her no meeting will take place?" he asked.
All she wanted to do was go to sleep for the night. and enjoy a few hours of blissful nothingness. to distract her from the turmoil of the entire day. Was that really asking for too much right now?
Apparently the answer to that question was a big fat "yes", as she found her bed seeming further and further away with each passing moment.
"I'll be right there... right after I swing by the kitchen for a big cup of coffee," Princess Celestia replied with a low grumble, "I'm going to need it..."
"Very well," Ulquiorra replied before flashing out of her line of sight, the characteristic sonido boom left behind in his wake.
"That gets very annoying after a while," she muttered to herself and set off for the kitchen and her coffee... and maybe a danish for the added boost of energy the sugar would bring with it.
Luna paced uneasily outside of Chrysalis' cell. She would never admit it out loud to anypony else, but ever since Ulquiorra had departed to find her sister, she'd been unable to stop replaying the changeling's words in her mind. It had to be nothing more than filthy lies and trickery, it just had to be!
And yet she couldn't shut her brain off, and stop going over Chrysalis' words, about how she'd tried to establish residency for her hive within Equestria's borders, only to be refused time and time again over the past hundred or so years. It had to be a matter of nothing but absolute lies, her sister would never do anything like that!
And yet... what if there was even some measure of truth in Chrysalis' words? What if she truly had tried for a peaceful coexistence at some point in the past? What had gone so wrong in her absence that this proved to be impossible? Had she truly been underestimating her sister? Had Ulquiorra Cifer been right in his observation of her and her potential?
Her thoughts were -thankfully- interrupted at the sound of approaching hoofsteps and... no wait, they were muffled and in a pattern of two rather than four. Those weren't hoofsteps but rather footsteps. Ulquiorra Cifer was returning alone.
"Didst thou find our sister?" she asked as the Espada came into view.
"She will be with us momentarily," Ulquiorra replied before returning the spot he'd been standing during the interrogation in order to wait for the arrival.
"Good," Chrysalis muttered from inside her cell. She'd rather not be left waiting for an indefinite period of time, left to get her hopes up that everything would go well, and that this would actually work out for everyone involved, only to have her hopes dashed against whatever hard rocks Celestia had to throw against her. That would be absolutely cruel.
Unfortunately the growing silence made it hard to stay focused when coupled with her nerves about the coming discussion. "So do you mind elaborating on what you were discussing earlier? I believe I have a right to know, since it pertains to me in some manner," she commented.
Ulquiorra considered it. On the one hand, there was the fact that Chrysalis had resigned herself to death in order to save the lives of the other changelings. Assuming Princess Celestia accepted the terms of this agreement, her time was quite limited, and there seemed to be little reason in explaining matters to one who wasn't long for this world, as it would be a waste of breath.
On the other hand, he and Princess Luna had been willing to discuss the matter with Chrysalis in order to obtain information from her in the first place. The fact that there was no information to be had didn't really change the fact that they were sharing this theory with her. It wasn't as if there was any hard information that would compromise their current situation, even if she were to somehow get loose, which wasn't a possibility for her.
"We have reason to believe the holders of the Elements of Harmony are being targeted in a specific manner. Eight days prior to the discovery of Fluttershy's disappearance, a dragon took up residency close to Ponyville. From what I'm told, this is not an uncommon occurrence. However it is uncommon for them to be awake and alert, as if it was waiting for their arrival in order to carry out some ulterior motive," he explained.
Chrysalis' aching jaw hung open at Ulquiorra's words. Was he serious about this? "And... you think there's some sort of connection between that, and our actions here on this day?" she asked slowly to try and make sure she was understanding him properly.
"It's a possibility that can't be ruled out as of yet. There's presently no hard physical evidence to indicate such, so it's little more than theory and assumption. That was what we were trying to find out when we came to question you," Ulquiorra explained, not once directly facing the inside of Chrysalis' cell.
"'Tis indeed most disturbing to consider," Princess Luna added. She didn't want to think about the possibility of there being something worse than Discord loose in this world and causing all kinds of havoc; especially the kind of havoc that could result in death. As bad as Discord was, he was more foalish in nature, and did what he did for the sake of his own entertainment. And while she remembered the dark times more than a thousand years ago, even then Discord's actions didn't seem like they were intended to end the life of anypony.
Chrysalis remained silent at this, uncertain of what else to say on the matter. Saying nothing seemed like the best course of action right now.
Unfortunately her not talking seemed to kill off any measure of conversation that was going on. Without her contributing anything, Luna went back to pacing silently while Ulquiorra simply learned against the wall in wait. Maybe she should've added something when she had the opportunity.
"When did our sister say she would be present?" Princess Luna asked as she turned to face Ulquiorra again.
"I'm not entirely certain," Ulquiorra replied after settling in for the wait. "Sometime after coffee."
"Oh dear," Princess Luna groaned and hung her head.
Hot coffee and a sweet danish. Usually that was a mid-morning snack for her during recess from the day court. Right now it was her fuel, to keep her alert and awake for this despicable meeting with Chrysalis that was cutting into her sleeping hours. If this was nothing more than a joke, there would be consequences for such. Tartarus would be sending a bill.
Unfortunately, with this being a meeting held in an official capacity, that meant some degree of proper decorum had to be observed. That meant finding the royal adornments that'd been abandoned in favor of tending to Twilight. And that meant spending part of her caffeine boost getting herself properly situated and halfway groomed.
Sometimes she really did wish that she had the vast powers and position that many of her subjects seemed to mistakenly believe she held, by virtue of being the one to raise the sun. If there were truly a reinvigoration spell, that could make a pony feel as awake and alert as if they'd just gotten eight hours worth of sleep, she'd have it memorized and cast it constantly. But sadly she wasn't in such a position, and instead had to settle for what was at hoof.
She made her way into the dungeons via a teleportation spell, not wanting to burn off anymore of her alertness during the walk there. A good plan, except for one glaring fact; she'd specified the destination as being the dungeons in general rather than where her sister and the others were. That meant walking the distance to find them.
"Thou art late."
Fortunately the walk wasn't an extensive one. Chrysalis' cell was on the top floor of the dungeon, while the cells of the others were on the lower levels. Unfortunately that didn't keep her little sister from being displeased with her arrival; she apparently wasn't happy with the waiting aspect of it all.
"I was a little distracted," Princess Celestia replied in as calm a manner as she could muster under the circumstances, as she approached where Luna and Ulquiorra stood, bringing her to where Chrysalis was held. "So what exactly is this situation we have on our hooves right now? I must say I still don't fully understand it."
"We doth believe a matter of trickery is at hoof. But we shalt allow the prisoner to speak for herself," Princess Luna replied and gestured in Chrysalis' direction.
"Yes that would likely be the best course of action," she replied as she turned to observe Chrysalis as she got up from where she laid on the floor to approach the bars. "So tell me, Chrysalis, what's your game this time?" she asked.
"Oh please, Celestia, I'm too tired for games right now," Chrysalis replied dismissively, "the matter at hoof is quite serious in nature, I'm sure you're aware of it." Celestia remained silent at her words. Undeterred she continued. "I'm quite certain there's no love between us, all things considered; certainly none that I can feel anyway. But regardless of what you may think of me I'm not a monster, I do care about others, especially those that're my children. Regardless of how you may feel about me specifically, I ask you not to hold anything that happened today against my hive, they were merely doing as instructed to do. If someone must be punished, then I humbly ask you to spare them, and instead direct your fury at me specifically."
Princess Celestia remained silent as Chrysalis spoke, attempting to make her case to the best of her abilities, her expression remaining neutral throughout as she listened.
Finally she was presented with a stretch of silence that she took as a cue to speak. "You'll have to forgive me if I'm having trouble with believing your sincerity on the matter, Chrysalis, you're not exactly the most trustworthy of beings I've ever had dealings with over the years. Ours isn't the most pleasant of histories together," Princess Celestia pointed out. She considered pointing out a number of examples, but decided against such as it would take up too much time. "Assume I did take you at your word. What assurance would I have that you couldn't command your hive from a distance to launch a third attack on Equestria and my subjects?" she asked.
"Because once I manage to secure the release of my hive, I plan on abdicating my rule to a new queen. With any luck, someone new to the scene can better negotiate for the peaceful integration of the changeling race into Equestria's territory than I can," Chrysalis replied. "If it'll make you feel better, you can even select the successor of your choice, to ensure that there's no trickery. There are a few hundred potential candidates to choose from, making it impossible for me to stack the deck in my favor."
"You were never known for being highly logical, Chrysalis, but you're making even less sense than usual," Princess Celestia stated. Then again maybe it was her own tired state that was responsible. For all she knew Chrysalis could be making perfect sense and she simply wasn't realizing it.
"You'll have to forgive me, the past year hasn't been kind to either myself or my children. My muzzle is likely broken, I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I'm cranky, doing my best to be diplomatic with somepony that's already made it clear they have no reason to trust me, somepony who deceived me and my entire hive, into believing we finally had a shot at a new home where we wouldn't be relegated to the shadows, and subsisting on whatever scraps of love we can come across and pick up. Eloquence isn't exactly my strong point right now," Chrysalis replied with hostility in her voice. "If you want the bottom line then it's as follows: I only want what's best for my children, that's all I've ever wanted. In all the times we've come before you, that's all we've asked for. So I ask you one last time; if you can see fit to grant them refugee status within your territory, and pardon them for what they did here today, then I'll gladly accept whatever punishment you have to hoof down in their place, even if that punishment is death."
Again Princess Celestia remained silent as she listened to what Chrysalis had to say. She focused on the changeling queen as hard as she could, studying her for any visible or otherwise perceptible signals to show that she was up to something, that she had some treacherous measure she was hiding. Unfortunately she found nothing to suggest such. Then again she too was tired and her focus wasn't in top form right now but still.
"You expect me to seriously believe your words after everything you've done?" she asked skeptically and frowned.
"Truthfully? No I really don't, you've got no reason to trust me," Chrysalis replied before going back to laying down on the floor. "But I truly have nothing left to lose. What awaits my hive is death and extinction if things continue as is. If they were merely set free. death by starvation is only a few months away unless something is done. And being banished to this accursed facility you have picked out for us... well most of my children are getting up their in years, they don't have a lot of years left to live. Unless I can give birth to a new brood, you're looking at the last generation of changelings that'll ever exist. Surely your fury towards me isn't so strong, that you'd see fit to punish all of us with extinction... right?" she asked, "you're... not a monster like I am... y-you wouldn't force a mother to watch as her children died off all around her, because she was doing only what she needed t-to save them..."
She remained firmly silent at Chrysalis' words. The changeling queen was known for treachery, trickery, deceit and subterfuge. No matter what she said, or how much appeal she put into her efforts, she needed to remain firm. She couldn't falter after everything that'd happened. She had to be strong for her subjects!
And then Chrysalis did the one thing she never thought she'd ever see the changeling queen do; she started crying. Just utter nonstop crying, tears falling freely down her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes shut and blubbered.
"Please don't let my children die! Don't punish them for what I did! I'm the one that's responsible! Do whatever needs to be done to me, but please don't hurt them! Please, Princess Celestia, please!" she bawled from her position on the floor.
It was a trick. Nothing more than a well rehearsed, carefully orchestrated display designed to play upon her emotions and leave her with deep regrets over her hostility upon seeing the redeeming qualities to a monster. It was nothing more than a sham Chrysalis was putting on, Princess Celestia was absolutely positive of it! There was no way somepony like Chrysalis could truly have such a heart, and care for anyone except herself.
So why wasn't it halting?
She was certain Chrysalis' theatrics would expire once she realized nopony was feeling any sympathy for her; not herself, or her sister, nor Ulquiorra, not a one of them was falling for it. None of them was foalish enough to believe the strangled pleas as her body was wracked by her choking pleas. All they had to do was wait for her to realize her ploy wasn't going to work. A good kick to the side of the bars to startle her out of her performance should do the trick.
Except it didn't. The clang of her metal shoe against the bars seemed to go unheard by the intended target.
How could she maintain her performance so well? How could she put so much fake passion into her acting? Why wasn't the charade letting up, when none of them were saying a word, and just letting Chrysalis wallow in her misery?
"Sister? Where art thou going?"
And why was she feeling the sudden and overwhelming urge to immediately leave the dungeons?
"I need time to think," she hastily called back in response, leaving her sister and Ulquiorra behind and standing in silence.
"... Didst thou see that one coming?" Princess Luna finally asked as she turned to face the Espada.
"I admit, I did not," Ulquiorra replied. He hadn't expected Princess Celestia to be so affected by what was unfolding here; it seemed Twilight Sparkle's reiatsu intensity wasn't the only one linked to her emotional stability. Turning his attention to Chrysalis, it seemed she too was a part of whatever percentage of the population suffered such. The fluctuations in her reiatsu were too significant to write off as a willful attempt at suppressing their natural intensity; from what he'd seen, very few in this world had the ability to consciously suppress such.
"Thou can stop thee's theatrics now, Chrysalis, our sister hath left and can no longer view thou's performance," Princess Luna stated, obviously annoyed by it all. She became even more annoyed when Chrysalis seemed to not hear her words at all, not once looking up or around her.
And the longer it went on the more uncomfortable she herself became...
"We must depart, there are urgent matters we must tend to," she stated and teleported away, leaving Ulquiorra behind with the still crying Chrysalis.
Ulquiorra gave no pretext for leaving the dungeons, settling for silently turning on a heel and walking off at a leisurely pace, leaving Chrysalis behind in her misery. There were far too many criers in this world for his tastes.
By the time Luna finally caught up with her sister, she found her leaning against a pillar for support, and trying to get her breathing under control, as if she'd just come off of a most traumatic experience imaginable. It was a terribly uncomfortable sight to see when she herself wasn't feeling all that emotionally stable right now.
So much for asking her sister directly about Chrysalis' tale about past involvements together. What she'd picked up during their confirmation suggested there was something between them, but nothing that amounted to positive proof.
"Sister," Luna said softly as she approached, "what is wrong?"
Celestia remained silent, other than the sounds of her breathing, seemingly not hearing Luna's words. She continued remaining unresponsive until she felt the soft touch of her sister's cheek brushing against her exposed wing. It was of small comfort, but right now any comfort was better than none. Without a word, she unfurled her wing and draped it across her younger sister's back.
"Sister. Please tell us what is wrong. We doth need to know," Luna stated as she moved closer.
"In my many centuries of ruling alone, I've encountered many things, Luna. Many things that've made me question my resolve during certain campaigns; campaigns that I'm not proud of. There've been so many things that occurred in your absence that I so dearly wish had occurred a different way. But this... this development with Chrysalis... I don't know what to do anymore. I just assumed it was yet another attempt at a coup, but... oh Luna what do I do now? So many things are unfolding around me right now, and I feel so lost right now, and I don't know what to do anymore!" she huffed and plopped her backside on the floor in frustration.
Why did she have to grant Chrysalis an audience when she was so tired? Why didn't she simply refuse, and not be presented with this possibility that things weren't as simple as they appeared on the surface? Why did Chrysalis suddenly have to be presented in a third dimensional manner?
"You are tired, dear sister, you need your rest. Everything will seem clearer in the morning, once you have gotten some sleep to clear your mind," Luna said as she nuzzled Celestia's neck in a comforting manner.
Celestia blinked. Luna had dropped her old world manner of speech in addressing her. That was quite unlike her. This situation must've been a lot bigger than she thought if her sister was speaking in the modern dialect so freely.
"Come, dear sister, everything will be better after you have slept. Tomorrow things will make much more sense. As always, I shall guard the night, and watch over the kingdom, and our subjects. You have done enough for today," Luna told her as she used her magic to bring Celestia back into a standing position.
Celestia sighed as Luna took the lead away from her, escorting her back to her chambers like she herself had done for her so many centuries ago, when they were both so much younger, so much more carefree. The irony of it all. Somewhere along the line, Luna had grown up and matured considerably, and wasn't hesitating to show such right now. Even if she wanted to drag her hooves, she suspected it wouldn't do any good to slow her down.
The next few minutes were a blur, Celestia barely catching what was taking place before her. Somewhere along the line, Luna had managed to bring her back to her chambers and tuck her into bed, pulling the covers up over to her neck before casting a sleep spell on her in order to guarantee she slept rather than laying up all night worrying.
"Clever little filly," was the last conscious thought to go through her mind.
"Rest, dear sister, leave everything to us..."
The throne room was empty except for his presence. Not even laborer ponies were present to fix the aftermath of Twilight Sparkle's fury.
Then again he wasn't entirely certain how anyone would go about repairing this degree of damage. The fact that the marble structure along the floor had been melted indicated a significant amount of heat involved with her attack; over fifteen hundred degrees Fahrenheit was necessary to perform such a feat, and leave behind nothing but a long trail of polished stone as smooth as glass.
Perhaps Twilight Sparkle truly could have killed him in that instant if he was in his present state. If she had focused such a wide beam into a concentrated area, he had doubts that his hierro would've been able to withstand the sheer cutting force behind it. It would seem he'd managed to escape death yet again.
Or, considering the intensity of Twilight Sparkle's rage, at the very least he'd managed to escape having his skin peeled/burnt from his frame all the way down to his musculature.
"What's the current state of Princess Celestia?" Ulquiorra asked without even turning from his crouching position, as he continued inspecting the floor, causing Princess Luna to stumble in surprise. Did she truly think she could sneak up on him? Surely she would've learned to give that up by now.
"Currently asleep and getting the rest that she ist in desperate need of," Princess Luna replied and sighed, also feeling tired from the day's events. She'd been awakened far too early, and gone through a great deal herself. She'd be retiring early this evening, maybe leave a note asking her sister to lower the moon for her due to exhaustion. But first, there were other matters at hoof to deal with. However, her sister's past with Chrysalis was not one of them. She would more thoroughly question her at a later time when they were both more rested than currently, and less likely to snap at one another. "How do we proceed from this point?" she asked as she stepped closer to him.
"How do you mean?"
Princess Luna blinked at his words. "What doth thou mean by how do we mean? Hast thou ceased thine investigation into this matter already?" she asked.
"I have not. However at current time I'm without any leads to follow up on, and a proper investigation can't be carried out while confined to the palace and on my own. My intellect doesn't render me unstoppable," Ulquiorra explained.
"Thou art not alone in the matter. Even if the Elements of Harmony art away in Ponyville, we art still here to assist thee," Princess Luna stated.
Ulquiorra slowly stood up from his crouching position and turned to face her, studying her closely at her words. He truly hadn't seen this one coming. "You still trust me, despite everything that's happened here today? Even when Princess Celestia does not?" he asked flatly, finding the notion difficult to believe.
"Our sister didst initiate much that occurred on this day. We didst warn her that things could go wrong in her gamble. She doth share part of whatever blame doth go around. Rest assured, we art not at our happiest with thee's actions today. Thy deception, while warranted based upon what we hath heard others speaking of, hath left us with a measurable uncertainty and unease. But thou hast protected our friends at least twice, and saved them from harm. We art willing to ignore the less than tasteful actions thou hast engaged in, in recognition of such feats," Princess Luna responded. "Furthermore if there truly is a threat worse than Discord loose in this world, we shalt need all the help we can get, in vanquishing it to protect Equestria from future harm. This situation, 'tis bigger than all of us. We cannot bicker about unimportant matters if we are to be successful."
It was a highly logical way of looking at the situation. Princess Luna certainly had no real reason to trust him after everything that'd happened. Yet she recognized that the nation itself might be under the threat of siege, and was willing to set her personal feelings aside in favor of the greater good. That would be quite beneficial in this situation. There was no need to be "friends" to accomplish this goal; he certainly hadn't been "friends" with the other Espada, and it hadn't interfered with their ability to accomplish their assigned tasks.
"Thou might not be permitted beyond these palace walls, but there art more ways than one to communicate with the outside world, and our subjects within it. Art thou interested?" Princess Luna asked.
"More magic I assume?" Ulquiorra asked. He hadn't seen any signs that would indicate this world possessed anything similar to telephones or computers, and he had his doubts about the mail services at this hour; surely the dragon Spike didn't serve as the community mailbox at all hours of the day.
Now that he thought about that, it still seemed strange how he could be used to send and receive letters via enchanted blasts of fire. Even after he'd seen a demonstration, it still seemed preposterous.
"Magic like thou hast never seen before. Prepare thyself for journey Ulquiorra Cifer, for the world thou art about to see is unlike anything else this world will have to offer..."