A Chance Meeting, Part II
"Princess Twilight?" a Guard asked as he knocked, once more, on the door to the second floor of the library. "Princess Twilight, it's time to get up."
The tumbling of hooves told the guard that the young alicorn had heard him, and his theory was proven correct as the hooves came closer as they descended the stairs.
"Oh, uh, hi. Sorry." Twilight apologized with a sheepish smile as she quickly straightened her mane and did her best to widen her eyes as to appear more awake. "Is the meeting starting, already?"
"No, Princess. The meeting isn't for another three hours." the guard explained. "However, breakfast will be served within the next few minutes in the dining hall."
"Oh, right." Twilight said, to herself, as her stomach gave a little growl. "Breakfast."
Twilight rubbed her eyes roughly before taking a deep breath and putting a smile on her face as she turned the corner into the dining hall to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna eating quietly across the table from each other. Normally, it would be Celestia's breakfast but Luna's dinner, but Princess Luna was needed, later in the day. Unlike Twilight, however, she was much better at hiding her lack of sleep.
"Twilight," Princess Celestia began, with a small sigh. "Did you stay up all night reading?"
"No." Twilight lied as she climbed into the chair with nervous and heavy eyes. "I-I mean, I stayed up reading, but I still slept. A bit."
Princess Luna gave an amused hum as she chewed her food, while Princess Celestia offered a knowing, if not disappointed, smile at Twilight. "Will you be able to be a part of the meeting effectively, later today?"
Twilight gave a little nod to Celestia as her eyes wandered down to the plate in front of her. At least four stacks of hot pancakes drizzled in delicious maple syrup sat on her plate, with several blueberries surrounding a single strawberry sitting neatly on top cause Twilight to hungrily lick her lips before she looked around for some sort of utensil with which to eat her meal.
"Lulu." Princess Celestia interrupted, catching Twilight's attention, as well. "Ten bits says I can eat these pancakes faster than you or Twilight."
Princess Luna gave a determined look towards her sister before she, as well as Celestia, slammed their snouts into the pancakes and began to sloppily devour them
Twilight shook her head clear and opened her eyes wider before she realized that what she was seeing was not, in fact, a sleep-deprived hallucination, and quickly buried her snout into her own stack of pancakes as the guards that flanked the doors remained as stoic as ever.
"I win!" Princess Luna shouted as she slammed her hooves on the table in triumph; syrup and whip cream smeared on her snout, which caused Princess Celestia and Twilight to burst out in laughter. True to her claim, Princess Luna had beaten her sister and Twilight, the former of which had nearly matched her while the latter had barely finished half.
The three ponies shared a friendly laugh as they looked upon each others' snouts, smeared with syrup or whip cream, or even both, before eyes flicked to the side and heads turned to reveal Queen Chrysalis and her bodyguards giving concerned looks at the trio at the table.
Princess Celestia and Luna's demeanor instantly changed from that of playful carelessness to respected seriousness as the two princesses cleaned their snouts with napkins and cleared their throat. But, if she looked closely enough, Twilight could still see the two ponies holding back laughter as the purple pony cleaned her own snout.
"I trust this is not an every day occurrence?" Queen Chrysalis asked, flatly, as she circled the table with her guard to take a seat opposite of Twilight, at whom she gave a glare in greeting.
"Good morning, Queen Chrysalis." Princess Celestia greeted. "I trust that you slept well, and found your way to the dining hall pleasant?"
"The bed was far too fluffy for my likes, so I slept on the floor." Queen Chrysalis began, coldly. "And we would not be late if your guards would have woken me."
"I apologize that the room was not to your liking, and that the guard did not wake you." Princess Celestia continued, unfazed. "Perhaps if your own did not appear so menacing, you would have been woken in a timely matter."
The Changeling queen did not respond to Celestia, instead quizzically poking at the pancakes with a hoof before wrinkling her nose in disgust and motioning to her guard, who rummaged through its saddlebag before producing a large glass bottle that contained a swirling pink cloud.
Queen Chrysalis gave a short nod to her Changelings, who produced two more smaller bottles for themselves before pulling out the corks as their queen did the same; holding her lips close to the opening of the bottle and inhaling the thick pink cloud as it rose.
The three princesses watched in utter fascination as her guard followed suit, until the bottles were empty and Queen Chrysalis was left flicking her glare between the three ponies. "Yes?"
Princess Celestia and Luna turned their heads from the scene and continued to eat their breakfast in silence, respectfully, while Twilight continued to stare in bewilderment.
"If you have questions, ask them." Queen Chrysalis ordered, flatly.
"S-Sorry." Twilight stuttered, shying away from the Queen's angry gaze as she looked towards Princess Celestia for guidance, who gave her a reassuring smile and a nod.
Twilight took a small breath before turning her head back to the Changeling and clearing her throat. "W-What was in those bottles?"
"Love." Queen Chrysalis explained, unamusedly. "Or, rather, what becomes of love that Changelings store after taking it from their prey."
"W-What do you mean?" Twilight pressed.
"I mean," Queen Chrysalis sighed with a roll of her eyes. "That Changelings do not eat like you ponies. We siphon love through our magic and store it in our bodies, then we return to the hive and I dispense it to special Changelings who, in turn, spread it around our home to be consumed, like birds feeding their young."
"O-Oh..." Twilight stuttered. "I-I meant no offense..."
Queen Chrysalis gave no response other than a roll of her eyes as she chittered quietly to her guard, who quietly chittered back; flicking their tongues against their fangs and vibrating their throats as they idly talked amongst themselves.
"Mares and Stallions, Gryphons and Changelings, I'd like to personally welcome you all to Canterlot, and thank you for having the patience to attend this very important meeting." Princess Celestia began, her voice smooth and silky as a dull looking mare with her mane in a bun used her magic to rapidly click away at the keys on the typewriter that sat at the end of the table. "As you all know, I am Princess Celestia, and I rule jointly over Equestria with my sister, Princess Luna. I bring the sun for the world to wake."
"I am Princess Luna." Princess Luna stated, for the record, as she bowed her head, respectfully. "I handle Equestria's affairs during the night, while my sister, the day. I raise the moon for the world to rest."
Princess Celestia gave the purple unicorn beside her a subtle nudge after Princess Luna finished. "U-Uh, m-my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am studying the magic of friendship under Princess Celestia."
Queen Chrysalis snorted softly at Twilight's announcement, before she cleared her throat to speak.
"I am Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings." Queen Chrysalis said, simply.
The room was silent for a moment as the large brown-feathered Gryphon waited for more to be said from the Changeling, before shrugging and clearing his throat. "I am Stormfeather the Wise, of King Feathermoon's court in the Gryphon Empire. On behalf of the king, I am in attendance at Princess Celestia's request."
"I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire, heir to the Crystal Throne after King Sombra's defeat." Princess Cadance stated.
"I am Captain Carnelian of the Crystal Guard." the red, shimmering Crystal Pony explained. "I protect the Princess and serve the Empire."
"I am Captain Shining Armor of the Royal Canterlot Guard." Shining Armor began; the early morning sunlight that shone through the surrounding windows doing nothing to compliment his purple and golden armor. "I command the Royal Guard in Princess Celestia's name."
"I am Commander Nighteye, of the Lunar Guard." the grey-furred batpony mare spoke. "I command the Lunar Guard and the Equestrian armies in Princess Luna's name."
For a moment, all was silent in the sunlit room, save for the rapid tick-tacking of the typewriter keys as they smacked into the device, before they, too, fell silent as the unicorn mare flicked her eyes towards the Changeling guards that flanked their queen; clearing her throat loudly in annoyance.
"They don't speak Equestrian." Queen Chrysalis replied, darkly, with a glare at the old unicorn mare, who unamusedly flicked her gaze towards Princess Celestia for guidance.
"Queen Chrysalis, forgive me, but I specifically told you to bring guard that could speak Equestrian, for the records." Princess Celestia explained, politely. "If they cannot understand what is being said in this room, they will have to wait outside."
Queen Chrysalis did not move, save for her eyes to hold their glare, before she turned her head slightly down towards one of her guard with a slight nod.
The armored changeling cleared its throat before parting its lips as it spoke with a raspy, scratchy voice. "I am Er'Atz of the Changeling... Guard. I serve the Queen until my dying breath."
The unicorn mare began typing once more as the other Changeling began to speak. "I am Or'Val of the Changeling 'Guard'. I serve the Queen until my dying breath."
Princess Celestia nodded her head, once, respectfully to everyone in the room before she spoke, again. "As I have said, before, welcome to Canterlot. Stormfeather, I'm sure you're wondering why this meeting is taking place in the first place. You see, three weeks ago, a changeling came to my court disguised up until its meeting with me, at which point it revealed it was a courier, rather than an assassin as my guard had believed. It told me that its Queen wished to enter parley with the Equestrian nation, to which I agreed."
"As you can see, this is the culmination of that message." Princess Celestia continued. "We are here to discuss the terms in which the Changelings will cease all deceptive activities within Equestrian borders, and the terms in which the Equestrian nation will offer its help to the Changelings."
"But, first," Princess Luna continued for her sister. "We must know more about your kind in order to know what can be offered from our side. Lets start with the wedding of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor."
Queen Chrysalis remained silent as she studied the faces of Cadance and Shining Armor, whose snouts remained stoic and neutral to an untrained eye, but to Chrysalis's keen eyes they revealed themselves to be nearly seething with anger. "What would you like to know?"
"Perhaps you should begin with why you came to Canterlot at the time." Princess Cadance said, her voice suggested, calmly.
"We came to Canterlot because it would be the biggest outlet of love I had ever seen." Queen Chrysalis explained. "Love between you two, from parents to children, brother to sister, and from stranger to celebrity. That much love could have fed the hive for eons. We just needed to be there to harvest it."
"So you came for food." Princess Cadance stated.
"I do believe that's what I said, yes."Queen Chrysalis smiled.
"But then why impersonate me? Why not just be a part of the crowd?" Princess Cadance asked.
"Siphoning love out of magic requires one to be in close proximity." Queen Chrysalis explained. "My changelings were in the crowd and among the Guard, but their love is petty compared to that which oozed out of Shining Armors' magic, dear Cadance. I couldn't just take his love from the sidelines, I had to be right there next to him to siphon it out. Plus, why would I have stopped there? He loves you so much, that faucet alone could keep me alone going for a few years."
Shining Armor shifted slightly under his armor in anger, just enough to alert Queen Chrysalis, who gave a toothy grin in acknowledgement. "Not the answer you were hoping for? What, did you want to try and take pity on me? Play me out as the mother to several thousand starving children, just trying to feed them all?" Queen Chrysalis laughed.
"But you were starving." Princess Celestia interrupted, carefully. "When you imprisoned me in that cocoon, I started to change. That was its purpose, right? To turn me into a Changeling? For a time, I could hear the voices of hundreds of starving mouths, crying for food as close as Canterlot and to somewhere far beyond. It's a hivemind."
Queen Chrysalis's laughter faded away to be overtaken by the familiar glare as Princess Celestia continued. "You're a mother to them all, and you love each one dearly, but you couldn't bear to see any more of them starve to death."
Queen Chrysalis remained quiet as her glare carefully burned through Princess Celestia's fur.
"Queen Chrysalis," Princess Celestia began to break the silence. "We understand your desire for privacy. Whether it be true or a clever ruse, you've come to us because you feel as though your kind will not survive. Your children are starving. You are starving. Despite our past interactions and what tall tales have been spun and spread, we are all here in this room because we want to help. But we cannot help you if you do not want it."
"Celestia is right. The future of your children is dependent on what happens in this room, over the next few days. I know how hard it can be to swallow your pride, but if you continue being snarky and 'shutting down' when we hit at soft spots or show that we know more about your kind than you thought, these peace talks will only lead to your children starving."
The room fell silent as the tacking of keys subsided, before a gentle snore was heard from the nose of a certain purple alicorn. All eyes fell on Twilight as she snored softly in her sleep; Shining Armor holding his pose as Cadance held back a little groan and Princess Celestia let out a small sigh as she nudged her student awake.
"Mmn... W- I mean yes, I completely agree." Twilight stuttered as she awoke. "Why is everypony staring at me?"
"I'm so sorry, Princess Celestia!" Twilight whined as she thumped her head against the wall of the hallway.
"Calm down, Twilight." Princess Celestia cooed as she lay a hoof across her student's back to comfort her. "I actually thought that was quite well timed. It gives Chrysalis time to decide if she wants to continue these talks or not. Did you sleep at all, last night?"
"N-No..." Twilight admitted. "I tried to, but I found this really good book..."
Princess Celestia chuckled softly and sighed with a smile. "You need to learn when it's time to read, and when it's time to sleep, dear Twilight."
Twilight Sparkle didn't respond right away. She had stopped thumping her head against the wall for a moment, instead pressing her horn against the cool marble surface as her mind rolled around before she pulled her head away from the wall and opened her mouth. "Princess, do you think Chrysalis really wants our help?"
"Deep down, she does." Princess Celestia explained. "But she has too much pride and anger. She believes that she is all powerful and all knowing. The fact that she was willing to enter parlay in the first place, however, shows that she realizes how dire her situation is. But she doesn't know anything other than that pride."
"Why do you think she's angry?"
"I do not know." Princess Celestia said, her voice trailing off, slightly, as her eyes focused on something out of time. "But I can hear it with every word, hidden behind snide and sarcasm."
The two ponies stood in silence for a moment before Princess Celestia turned her head down towards Twilight's. "You should use this time to take a nap. If you're not too hungry, you can sleep through lunch, as well, but it is important that you be awake to hear all that is said during this meeting, Twilight." Princess Celestia explained, sternly yet motherly at the same time.
Twilight nodded her head, ashamed, before trotting determinedly off to the library and, in turn, her bed.
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Was the meeting a dream?
That ain't DD.
6387996 No, the meeting is real.
6388138 Shhhh, I gotta catch my ideas as they come.
6388991 What's DD? Also why did the meeting stop there.
6389025 DD is Darkest Darkness, another story in development by me but not open to the public. The meeting isn't over, they just took a break.
6389041 Oh it just seemed so sudden.
6389265 The meeting is the underlying story, and will continue, but I felt that it was time to start into Golden Crescent's story.
6389393 Is it related to changelings?
6389465 Golden Crescent's story has nothing to do with Changelings, but the underlying story, the meeting between the nations, does.
6389493 Oh. I wonder how you will connect them.
6389629 All in due time.
6389812 Hmmm do you have any hint on when the next update will be?
6389990 Nope. I have no schedule and fluctuating motivation. Could be today, could be in a month.
6390376 Oki doki loki! Eagerly awaiting.
Twilight is such a sleepy Princess... It seems to be the main new trait she got from the job, both on the show and here. I can't complain, as it's pretty adorkable... As Twilight should be!
Some fun characterization in this, and a really nice leisurely set up so far! I'm enjoying it and look forward to more.
Nice....please do continue
Hmm, interesting so far. For a moment I thought Golden Crescent would be Chrysalis or her ancestor (dunno if you're headcanon makes it do that Chrysalis is like the princesses, an immortal ruler, or just a long-lived one and there were other queens before her) in disguise.
One note, in one of the dialogues someone refers to Celestia as Clestia.
Cya
Raziel-chan