Despite what some may say, Canterlot Castle is more a symbol of Equestria’s capabilities - a tall and shining beacon of hope holding to the mountain side - rather than a construction made simply in hopes of being worthy of the nation’s benevolent rulers. However with the building’s massive size came an issue: unused space. Between the two regal sisters, the servant’s quarters, and even the barracks for the Royal Guard only about two-thirds of the castle was truly used. One such area of the castle, and arguably the least used during the buildings long history, was the castle dungeon. Sparsely used for its intended purpose and just as rarely visited by the cleaning staff, the cold and lonely sector of the fourth floor was finally given use.
All was silent within the darkened halls save for the occasional sound of hooves against stone as two ponies, both highly skilled medical practitioners, moved back and forth from their positions inside the single cell without vacancy. Normally decorated by only a single barred window and a bed, this one was occupied two ponies straight from Canterlot General Hospital and a series of medical equipment that they had had delivered ahead of time. However they had not accounted on one thing: Dullen stone.
Dullen stone was rock with very special properties. It was a dark blue, extremely heavy and extremely rare stone that absorbed magic from any source that neared it. As to how it does this exactly is beyond the knowledge of even Equestria’s highest level researchers. Because of the stone’s unique abilities, any attempt at using magic near it, let alone on it, was simply useless.
With this in mind, it was decided that the best use of this stone was to use it against imprisoned criminals; namely Unicorns. The amount of successful escapes from custody was drastically reduced the day the stone was introduced and crime rate actually began to descend due to the lightheaded feeling that the incarcerated experienced due to prolonged exposure to the stone their cells were made of. Even earth ponies, Pegasi, and other races such as the griffons reported feeling lightheaded or dazed when surrounded by Dullen stone.
“Are you sure this is really necessary?” Celestia stood outside the cell, her brow slightly furrowed and her posture stiff. Even she was not beyond the effects of the stone though it only left her feeling uncomfortable.
Dante crossed his arms and nodded once as he and the Princess watched the two ponies inside the cell inspect the body on the bed. Ever since Horrus had collapsed on the outskirts of Ponyville, he had not so much as moved an inch or even awoken. He had an idea of what had happened to the other Horseman but he wanted to make sure his assumption was correct, and that was where the two doctors came in. “I don’t want him dead. Not yet, at least. There are still a few questions I have that need answers.”
Celestia turned her head and gave the Demon beside her a dark look, “I feel I should remind you that capital punishment is illegal here in Equestria.”
Dante turned his head to meet her gaze, “And I feel I should remind you that this man was nearly responsible for the destruction of your entire kingdom.”
“You clearly doubt my ability to keep my ponies safe,”
“With all due respect, Your Highness,” He turned to face her fully, arms still tightly crossed against his chest, “With all your confidence, the talents of War and I are what saved Ponyville.”
A normal pony may have missed the way the princess tensed at his words and the slight twitch in her features that signaled a growing agitation, but Dante saw it clear as day. “Do not underestimate me-“
“And do not underestimate him!” Dante threw his arm out and pointed towards the bed in which Horrus was occupying. Celestia opened her mouth to argue further but the sound of somepony clearing their throat during their brief silence caught both of their attention and made them snap their heads towards the source of the sound.
“Excuse me,” One of the doctors, a Unicorn mare by the name of Grace, spoke up from her spot near the foot of the bed. She was happening to be standing right where Dante was pointing. “I would appreciate it if you at least got my gender right.” She smiled seeing the both of them look away and even got a small blush out of the princess. The doctor pulled her stethoscope down around her neck and took a small clipboard and held it against her chest as she approached the bars that separated them. She cleared her throat again and looked down at her notes, “From what our tall friend here has told us,” She gestured towards Dante, “And despite our lack of equipment,” She gestured towards the medical equipment that sat in the corner of the room, useless because of the Dullen, “Our patient seems to be in perfect health. No irregularities in the heart or lungs, however his body had no reaction to pain and his pupils were unresponsive to light. From what I can see, given the limited information on the species, he’s either a heck of a deep sleeper or in a coma.”
Celestia frowned and nodded, “Thank you, doctor Grace. And thank you as well, doctor Ambience.”
The second doctor, a grey Unicorn stallion, nodded to the princess before continuing to return what equipment he could back into his bag. Dante took the key to the cell from one of the nearby guards and unlocked it, pulling the gate open to let the two medical proficients exit and be on their way.
“So,” Dante slammed the gate shut and locked it once more before tossing the key back to the royal guard he had taken it from, the guard catching it in his teeth. “Your war is finally over.”
Celestia turned and began making her way towards the exit, leaving the two royal guards at attention on either side of the cell. “And I could not be more thankful. War is horrendous and I long for a day where ill will is forever replaced with peace.” She let out a long sigh of relief as she and her companion left the dungeon and the presence of the nauseating stone.
“And for your next move?” Dante asked, even he sounding relieved to be out of the area.
Celestia brought her hoof to her chin, “A very good question… I believe my sister and your friend are deciding that for us.”
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As the doors opened in front of her, Chrysalis had to squint her eyes just to make out anything in the dimly lit room she was being led into, a stark contrast of the hall she stood in now that was well illuminated with natural light. Her instincts were telling her not to enter and wait for her eyes to adjust but her royal guard escort had no intentions of letting her stop.
“Keep it moving!” A guard shouted, shoving the Changeling forward and earning a sharp hiss in response. Chrysalis, despite her desire to defy the pushy soldier, nevertheless knew her place while she was in the heart of a nation that hated her and did as ordered.
The doors slammed shut behind her, leaving her to simply stand there as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting provided by the few candles scattered about the room.
“Ah, you’ve arrived. Please take a seat, Chrysalis.”
Chrysalis was surprised by the presence of another being at first and more so by the fact it was able to recognize anything in the dark like this, but quickly recovered upon seeing who it was that was addressing her. In the middle of the room was a large, round marble table. On the far side, only now becoming recognizable in the darkness was none other than Princess Luna.
“Strange,” the Changeling commented, “I had assumed Celestia would be the one eager to grind my species to dust with politics.”
“My sister is preoccupied by other important matters.” Luna replied as she straightened out a few pieces of paper laid out in front of her on the table. “And as much as I’m sure my sister would enjoy the ‘grinding,’” She looked up from her papers and rested her gaze on the Changeling, “You will simply have to settle for me.”
Chrysalis sat down across from Luna and cocked an eyebrow at the princess. From the shadows came a gentle sigh that broke the silence between the two leaders and their eyes turned together to find the Demon Vice pulling back a chair from the table and taking a seat on Luna’s side.
“I’m sure that could have been worded better,” He said, resting his arms on the table and intertwining his fingers, “But the point stands; we are the ones who are going to determine how you live the rest of your days.”
“Excellent,” Chrysalis commented, the sarcasm in her tone more than evident, “The fate of my entire species lies in the hooves of the prodigal sister and the lovesick demon who gets flustered over an innuendo.”
“You’d best be happy you still have a species to care for, ‘your highness,’” Vice glared, “Ponyville will be cleaning their streets for a week because of your kind.”
“My kind did what we had to in order to survive!”
“If the slaughter of innocents is what your kind requires to survive extermination is our only option!”
“From what your friend has told me, slaughter is your forte!”
“ENOUGH!”
Both sides flinched from Princess Luna’s royal shout and the bang that came from her slamming her hooves down on the marble, and Vice was forced to cover his left ear. “Thou shall both remain silent lest I ensure more heads roll this day!”
“While both parties were slightly confused with her sudden use of more archaic words, the two resigned their arguments by relaxing back into their seats.
“Thank thee- erm, you.” Luna brought her hoof to her lips and cleared her throat quietly. “Now, back to the subject at hoof. Chrysalis, you and your Changelings have brought war to our land, destroyed our way of life, and, for many ponies, took everything they had – lives included. This is all true, yes?”
Chrysalis took a deep, slightly shaken breath. “If one were to ask us if nature had given the Changelings the short end of the deal, we would agree wholeheartedly…”
“I don’t recall asking…”
“As a species,” she continued, ignoring the Demon’s comment, “Our only source of sustenance is through feeding off an emotion; specifically, a certain emotion that many in this world cherish above all else. As much as I wish every day that it was not true, myself, as well as every other Changeling, are nothing more than parasites. We may live only through feeding off a host. Without love, our one and only source of nourishment, we will all slowly and painfully die from starvation.”
Chrysalis closed her eyes and became silent for a moment. When they opened again they shimmered slightly even in the dim lighting from the candles. “Believe what you wish, but I speak only the truth when I say I never intended for things to go so far. When my mother found me, I was a wreck, huddled against a fire in fear that the harsh cold of the north might extinguish me just as it had for the few of my kind that survived long enough to regain consciousness with me after we were expelled from Canterlot. She showed me what she had been building and what we could be become… If she had told me we would be flying into space to colonize new worlds and come back with an invasion fleet, I would have believed her and supported her; I was simply that desperate to live… It wasn’t until we took our first town that I began to realize the horror I was helping ensue. Her Changelings not only absorbed the ponies’ love, they sucked the very life from them. This twisted them, took away what little individuality they still had… they became animals, monsters even. Some would even go as far as to kill other Changelings over food.” Chrysalis blinked away any traces of water from her eyes and finally brought her gaze back to the two who held her fate. “Even if my mother had succeeded in taking over Equestria, I would give her less than a year before it all fell apart as food began to dwindle and other nations got involved.”
Luna looked at the Changeling in confusion, “As tragic as that all sounds… I fail to see how it properly answers the question given.”
“I plead guilty.” Chrysalis stated simply, looking the lunar princess dead in the eyes with sudden newfound adamance. “I plead guilty to leading my forces from town to town. I plead guilty to destroying homes and lives. I plead guilty to crushing your very way of life and intending to take the crown for the second time.”
The Changeling’s eyes traded between her judge and jury. Luna leaned forward in her seat, propping her head up with her hooves and waiting to see where the former queen was going this time. Vice remained stoic, leaning back in his slightly-too-small chair and unconsciously fingering the end of one of the weapons strapped to the outside of his arm.
“As well,” she continued, “I plead guilty to putting everything I could towards the survival of my people. Everything I did, I did for my children…”
“Murder in the name of a cause is still murder-“ Vice began but was swiftly cut off.
“I am no murderer!” Chrysalis shouted at the Demon, “nor are my Changelings! I had forbidden it and without my prohibitation then I feel certain I can say that not a single pony would have survived our raids!”
“Your Changelings?” Luna asked calmly despite the former queen’s outburst.
“Indeed,” Chrysalis’s voice was still a tad louder than needed and she glared daggers at the Demon for his insinuation. “While some of your kind may think me otherwise, I am no fool. With my initial invasion of Canterlot on its way, I ordered no less than two hundred Changelings to remain behind. A failsafe in case things were to go horribly wrong… which they did. I left behind enough that, should the very worst happen and casualties be extreme, our population could slowly but comfortably return after some years. But then I was reunited with my mother and learned of her plan and, like an idiot, agreed to help her in hopes of getting some kind of revenge… Instead, I lost the only close family I still had and lost about a hundred more Changelings from my own hive. But as I had said, of the Changelings that were under my direct command, I forbade them from going any further than necessary.”
“Out of fear?” Vice asked, “Or in hopes of keeping a clear conscience?”
“As much as I would love to protest the claim, my kind are indeed parasites. We live only through our hosts. No hosts means no survival. It is my firm belief that it would have been easier to coexist with our hosts rather than usurp and enslave-“
“I may not have been a part of the resistance you met when you tried to destroy my niece’s wedding, but I certainly saw the aftermath.”
“That was different!” The Changeling shouted, “My people were starving, on the brink of death! I had no other option! If I had not acted then, I would not be sitting here before you!”
“But you did act, and now you still sit here as queen of a dying race. Leader of half the numbers you had before.” Vice’s voice rose to match the Changeling’s and, to his slight surprise, she backed down. Her posture fell and she bit her lip.
“…Such is why I am no longer fit of that title.” Her eyes turned to the princess across from her. She swallowed and got up from her seat and made her way around the table, stopping once in full view and nearly dropped to the floor as she bowed before the Alicorn. “If my mother were still alive then she would have me beheaded for what I am about to say, but… You are my kind’s last hope for survival. Our fate is in your hooves, princess. I care not for what happens to me any longer, but as for my children… I have failed them as a ruler, I cannot fail them as a mother. Please… Spare their lives. I would gladly have my blood spilled upon the floor or splattered on the wall if it means they might live. Parade my corpse through the streets, but allow them another chance at life… This I beg of you…”
Luna furrowed her brow and opened her mouth to speak but she found no words. Her expression slowly relaxed as she saw streaks running down the once so arrogant queen’s cheeks and small droplets falling upon the cold floor despite the soft glow of the candles being the only source of light. Part of the perks of being princess of the night was a better sense of vision in the dark and such was the reason for the faint lighting in the first place. She believed others would be more expressive and honest with their reactions if they believed they couldn’t be seen. She wasn’t expecting it to work so well on the first try though…
“If you will excuse me,” Princess Luna said plainly, pretending to have not noticed the queen at her weakest with her face practically against the floor. Luna got up from her seat and began towards the door, opening it only just enough to slip through as not to blind the others with the more prominent light. She turned her head and gestured for Vice to follow as she exited, to which the Demon obeyed. Chrysalis did not appear to move as the two exited the room and once the door shut, Luna dropped to her haunches and let out an exasperated sigh.
“I knew I should have done as my sister had asked and waited for her…”
“Do not sell yourself short,” Vice said, crossing his arms and leaning so his shoulder was against the wall. “You are just as much a ruler of this land as your sister is.”
“Yes, but still… I suppose I had not realized I was deciding whether an entire race lives or dies today when I suggested I be the one to discuss the surrender with Chrysalis.”
Vice simply nodded and waited for the princess to continue. He already knew where he stood on what to do with Chrysalis and the Changelings, but this was not his decision to make.
“What do you think we should do?”
Vice sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Your Highness, I don’t believe it’s my place to-“
“Yes, yes, I understand it is not your responsibility, nor your decision to make… but I do not believe this is a decision to make all on my own and certainly not without at least a second opinion.”
The Demon turned so his back was against the wall. “Then you should be requesting help from some sort of adviser, or your sister. I’m not exactly the best one to be making world-changing choices.”
“But from what I understand, you are some kind of adviser or other high-ranking member of your world!” Luna argued, “Surely your voice has had some kind of impact…”
“High-ranking member of society…” Vice nearly laughed the words aloud. “I wasn’t chosen to be a Horseman because of my charm or silver tongue. Though I assumed that was obvious enough,” He traced his fingers over some of the daggers tied to his chest. “If you wanted a diplomat, you should have asked Dante. He’s more the talkative type than I.”
Luna sighed again and lowered her head. “Then what am I to do? An entire race’s fate lies in my hooves… If I cannot ask you what the choice should be, may I at least ask what you would do in my place?”
“Your Highness, please understand that I am not some kind of advisor.” Vice pushed himself off the wall and turned toward the princess. “I am a Horseman because of my ability to kill swiftly and efficiently, nothing more. My voice may hold more weight than most, but it is still only a drop compared to the ocean that is – was – my superiors.”
“A single drop is all it takes to disturb the calm ocean, dear Horseman-“
“And in this case, you are the ocean and you are far from calm. Please, breathe, and think. This decision is yours to make, but it does not need to be made right away. Chrysalis isn’t going anywhere.”
Luna nodded and closed her eyes. She counted down from ten, visualizing the numbers in her mind as each one came. Her features and postures relaxed and even the ethereal wind that seemed to possess her mane appeared to slow.
“You’re right. I’m princess of the night, and the night is all if not calm.” She opened her eyes and gave the Demon a small smile in thanks before beginning to pace the hallway, her hoof tapping her chin as she went. “Chrysalis is a criminal; there is no doubt about that. Even without everything that has happened over the last month, she is still guilty of nearly destroying my niece’s wedding, attacking my sister, and taking over Canterlot – if only for a short while. But you say she attacked Madora-“
“And myself,”
“-at the battle of Ponyville to try and stop her? Is she telling the truth about being blinded by revenge and only then realizing all that she had done, or is she quickly trying to remove herself from the losing side in homes of escaping punishment?”
“Whatever her reasoning for changing teams, is it safe to keep her alive?”
Luna ceased her pacing, “There is no death penalty here in Equestria. Unless the nation itself is directly endangered, we try to preserve life wherever we can.”
Vice shrugged. “I’ll rephrase then: is it safe to keep her around? Can she, or her ‘children’ for that matter, be trusted within your nation’s borders?”
Luna sighed quietly and continued her pacing a little slower this time. “We pushed Chrysalis outside Equestria before and it resulted in the death of ponies and Changelings alike. If we do so again, it could spell their extinction…”
“Keep in mind that extinction is what was planned for you as well.”
“By her mother alone, if what Chrysalis claims is to be believed. Besides, if the likes of Discord can be reformed then I am confident the same can be said for Chrysalis.”
“Reformation is not the biggest problem, however,”
Luna nodded and rubbed her temple. The Demon was right; reformation would be the easy part. The hard part would be integration. Changelings destroyed entire towns and took the lives of innocent ponies. To simply tell her citizens that the same Changelings that left their fillies and foals cowering in fear would now be living just next door would leave to outrage and possibly even riots if the subject wasn’t treated delicately.
Perhaps if she simply spoke to the ponies, they might understand. Chrysalis claimed that she refused to allow those under her direct command to kill or take any more love than necessary. If this was true then there could be a chance everything might work out. It wouldn’t happen overnight, but at least it would be something…
“If only we knew whether or not Chrysalis was telling the truth…”
Vice nodded in agreement, “It would certainly make things easier. But who is there that is both trustworthy and can give us the information we need? Madora is dead, and the Changelings themselves wouldn’t admit to slaughter.”
“Hm… What about your former friend? While he may be a traitor, he might be able to shed some light on Chrysalis’s intentions.”
“I’m afraid that will be impossible.”
Both Vice and Luna turned to the sound of the voice to find Dante approaching with his hands tucked inside his coat’s pockets, Celestia following closely behind. “Horrus nearly killed himself trying to bring War back to life. With how weak his soul is, I doubt he’ll be waking up any time soon.”
“I’m honestly surprised you let him live this long.” Vice crossed his arms as he turned to face his fellow Horseman.
“Only because there are some questions I need answers to. Though it would seem I’m not the only one… Speaking of War, where is he? I haven’t seen him since we arrived.”
Luna and Vice shrugged together.