22 - Chryssi and the Golden Tickets
Chrysalis yawned as she shambled down the stairs, zombie like, thinking the entire way that she should’ve just stayed in bed. Inside the kitchen, Spike was already at the table, eating a bowl of whatever it was that dragon ate. She could hardly be bothered to remember all the seemingly endless names of foods that ponies, or dragons, consumed on a daily basis.
“Morning, Twilight!”
“Morning.” Chrysalis mumbled as she poured herself a cup of water, absently wishing she could drink coffee without falling ill. Ponies seemed very enthusiastic about the energizing effects of the substance. She sat across from Spike, sipped her water and closed her eyes, just to give them a momentary rest.
“Maybe if you actually ate breakfast for once, you’d feel less tired.”
“What?” Chrysalis sputtered as she jolted awake, knocking over her cup of water. Spike, without missing a beat, hopped up to grab a towel and began mopping up the spill.
“I said you might be less tired if you ate breakfast.”
She stared at him. He shouldn’t be noticing that she wasn’t eating. Was the spell she cast on him starting to fade? Would he start noticing other little oddities about her behaviour? She really needed to reinforce the spell to keep him oblivious of the differences between herself and the real Twilight.
“I’m not hungry.”
“You never eat in the morning! That can’t be good for you, breakfast is the most important meal of the day! You taught me that after reading that healthy living guide, remember?”
It’d only take a few seconds. She could do it right now while he cleaned up her mess. He couldn’t hope to stop her, and he’d be none the wiser once she finished.
“I just couldn’t get enough sleep last night. I feel like I’m being watched.”
“Watched? I didn’t notice anything. By who?”
“I don’t know.” Chrysalis lied. If her past self hadn’t increased surveillance on her by now, she’d start eating breakfast. She had been more careful than before not to reveal anything too important to anyone that came to the library, but after a week she was really starting to feel drained. It was only a matter of time before she slipped.
“Do you think it could be Trixie? I don’t believe she’d just turn over a new leaf so easily.”
“I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want to be seen in Ponyville again anytime soon.”
“Maybe she got some more poison joke and is invisible again? She wouldn’t be seen, then.” He suggested as he put the towel away and returned to his chair.
“Maybe.” Chrysalis humored him, but didn’t believe it.
Spike shrugged and lifted his spoon to his mouth. As he began to chew, his eyes went wide and the spoon clattered against the table as his claws gripped the edge and moments later he let out a belch of flame. An envelope appeared in the air and before it could fall into Spike’s bowl, Chrysalis snatched it with her magic. Spike stuck out his tongue as he began to cradle his belly.
“Ugh…now I'm not feeling very hungry, either.”
“You okay?”
“I'm fine. It’s just that all I can taste now is paper.”
“We can find another way to communicate with Celestia if it’s unpleasant for you.”
“No, no, no!” He rapidly refused, waving his claws to emphasize his words. “It’s fine, I like helping you and the Princess!”
“If you say so.” Chrysalis said doubtfully. She wondered if there would be any point in asking Celestia to not send letters at breakfast anymore. She dismissed the thought for now as she tore into the envelope. Usually Celestia just sent a scroll, so this was definitely odd. She pulled out a very formal looking letter from inside, also unusual.
“What’s it say?”
“Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the Grand Galloping Gala, to be held at the Canterlot Castle. Enclosed are tickets for you and one guest of your choosing.” Chrysalis set the letter aside and peered inside the envelope to find two golden tickets to attend the gala, dated for late next month.
“The Grand Galloping Gala?” Spike’s eyes lit up for a second before realizing his enthusiasm was showing and began to badly fake disinterest. “I mean…psh! That sounds lame!”
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, wondering just how long he’d keep up the act this time.
“Yeah, I agree. I don’t want to go.”
“Yeah? I mean, yeah! Who would want to go to a fancy shmancy party in Canterlot?”
“Hmm…” Chrysalis idly spun the tickets in the air in front of Spike’s face. “Probably Rarity. She’s always talking about high society.”
“Wait, what?”
“Yeah, I’m sure Rarity would appreciate a ticket. Maybe she’ll finally get to meet Prince Blueblood.” She said with a sly grin.
“WHAT?!”
“Yup. She’ll probably get him to fall madly in love with her and they’ll be wed on the spot with Celestia overseeing the ceremony. Within a year, there’ll be little Bluebloods running all over Ponyville.”
Spike stared at the tickets as Chrysalis started floating them in a figure eight pattern.
“Th…that wouldn’t happen, right?”
Chrysalis feigned thoughtfulness. “No, I suppose not. The Prince would never lower himself by living in a backwater town like Ponyville, so those foals would definitely be running around Canterlot, instead. We’d probably never see her again as she lives out her romantic dream far…far…far away from us.”
“No!” Spike screamed as he leapt over the table, making a grab for the tickets and knocking over his bowl in the process. Chrysalis moved the tickets just out of his reach and he landed face first in Chrysalis’ fuzzy chest. “Please, Twilight, you can’t let that happen! Don’t give that ticket to Rarity!”
Chrysalis chuckled and wrapped a foreleg around Spike in a gentle hug.
“I’m just messing with you. Blueblood is an insufferable twit. The quickest way to ensure she doesn’t marry him would be to introduce them.”
Spike looked up from her fluff, tears in his eyes. “Promise?”
“Yes, I promise. Rarity will never marry Blueblood.”
“That’s a relief.”
Several seconds passed in silence as Spike returned to his seat with a slight blush. Feeling a slight discomfort at just sitting there with nothing to say, Chrysalis got up from her chair.
“Well, I’m off to give Rarity her ticket.”
“Huh? But you promised!”
“That she wouldn’t marry him, not that I wouldn’t give her a ticket.”
“But if she goes and meets him--”
“She’ll hate him just like every other mare in Blueblood’s sad, pathetic life.”
“But, what if you’re wrong? What if they do fall in love and she leaves Ponyville forever!?” Spike chased after her out of the library.
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. It was fun at first to stoke his fears, but now this was just getting sad and annoying. “The only way that’s happening is if Rarity’s dress is made of mirrors.”
“Do you think it will be?”
Chrysalis sighed and shook her head. She was not going to dignify his stupidity with a response anymore. Unfortunately, the silent treatment did nothing to stem the flow of his inane concerns. By the time she reached Carousel Boutique, she regretted not forcing him to stay home. Ponies had been staring at them the whole way there, which really didn’t help with her feeling of being watched. The entire town and the changeling hive probably both knew about the tickets by now. Leaving her bed had been a mistake, one she would rectify upon finishing her business with Rarity.
“Please, Twilight, don’t do this! What if he kidnaps her? Do you really want to risk ruining my--I mean, her life like that?”
Chrysalis paused after they had stepped through the boutique’s door, grinding her teeth. Rather than answer, she lifted him in her magic, unceremoniously tossed him outside, and kicked the door shut behind her, which sent the little bell connected to it chiming like mad. Before he could pull it back open and just as Rarity entered from her back room, she locked it.
“Greetings, Twilight. Oh, my, you look positively exhausted. Did…you just lock my door?”
“No.” She answered flatly.
“Don’t give it to her!” Spike’s muffled protest could be heard from behind the clearly locked door.
“Was that Spike?”
“No.”
Rarity hesitated, her eyes watching through the window as Spike clearly jumped in and out of view, his little arms flailing wildly.
“Right, er…give me what, darling?”
“This.” Chrysalis floated one of the tickets to Rarity. “I received two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala and I figured that you would want to go more than anypony else.”
Rarity’s eyes lit up like stars.
“The Grand Galloping Gala? Why, I would love to go with you! All the nobles, the Princess and…him. My Prince Blueblood.” She seemed to practically melt at saying his name.
“Noooo!” Spike’s scream cut through the air, completely ignored by the two mares.
“Oh…um…did you say the Grand Galloping Gala?” A timid voice announced the presence of Fluttershy as she peeked out of the door Rarity had entered through. She was wearing a half made dress, clearly having been roped into modelling for Rarity.
“Yes, Twilight is going to bring me as her plus one, isn’t that absolutely splendid?”
Fluttershy averted her gaze and kicked a hoof at the floor.
“Um…yes, I suppose so.”
“Is something wrong?”
“It’s just that I kind of wish I could go, too.”
“Really?” Chrysalis cut into the conversation. “I didn’t take you for the party type, Fluttershy.”
“Oh, I’m not at all! But the Canterlot Gardens are home to all manner of wondrous and exotic animals! I just know that if I were to meet them, I could make all sorts of new friends.”
“Well, I don’t really want to go myself, but I was more thinking of giving the other ticket to Pinkie Pie. A party seems more her style.”
“Oh.” Fluttershy seemed to wilt for a moment, but then took a deep breath and a timid step forward. “W…W…Well, if y…you don’t want me telling anypony about--”
Chrysalis shoved the second ticket into her mouth, cutting her off. She was impressed at how timid she was while actively black mailing her. She was almost proud.
“It’s yours.”
“Really? Thank you so much!”
“Tell anypony about what?” Rarity stared at Chrysalis.
“Nothing.” Chrysalis answered casually. Rarity eyed Fluttershy next.
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” Fluttershy added with a sweet smile. Rarity looked between the two of them, her lips in a pout.
“You can’t keep it a secret forever. I will find out.”
“Drop it, or I’m taking back my ticket.”
“Yes!” Spike shouted triumphantly.
“It’s dropped.” Rarity said.
“No!” Spike wailed in defeat.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go home and take a nap. I haven’t been sleeping very well.”
“You do look tired. Maybe I could get some of my bird friends to donate feathers for a new pillow?”
“Personally, I swear by a good cup of tea. Caffeine free, naturally. I’m sure I have some you could take with you.”
“If this keeps up, maybe I’ll take you up on those offers.” Chrysalis paused to yawn as she picked up a piece of scrap cloth that had fallen from Fluttershy’s incomplete dress. “In the meantime, I’ll just take this, if you don’t mind.”
“By all means, but how will that help you sleep?”
“It’ll cut down on the noise.”
Without further explanation, Chrysalis opened the door and Spike charged inside only to be caught by her waiting magic. His cries of protest were cut short by the fabric being shoved into his mouth. Before the other two could comment on her actions, she hurried out the door and shut it behind her. Only when they were far from the boutique did she remove the makeshift gag and set him down.
“That was cruel, Twilight.”
“You’re right, it was really cruel of me to arrange for Rarity to meet that pompous Prince. Hopefully she’ll forgive me one day.”
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”
“Enough! If I hear any more out of you about this, I’m gagging you again and taking away your gems until the Gala is over.”
“It’d be nothing compared to what you’ve already done.” Spike grumbled under his breath.
Aside from more minor grumbling, Spike mercifully kept quiet the rest of the way back home. Chrysalis eagerly opened the door, practically hearing the siren call of her bed, but immediately got a face full of confetti and balloons.
“SURPRISE!” Pinkie shouted as she threw her forelegs around Chrysalis’ neck and dragged her inside. A tortured groan escaped from her lips, but it couldn’t be heard over the sudden music playing from a record player that Pinkie had somehow gotten inside and the song that she burst into. She seemed to have choreographed an entire dance routine to go with it.
“Pinkie.”
Her song and dance continued unabated on how good of friends the two of them were, and how great parties were.
“Pinkie!”
She still sang on.
“PINKIE!” Chrysalis’ words seemed to cause the room to tremble, even knocking the record off its track, causing it to skip, and Pinkie started repeating a single word and movement in sync with its repetition. With a growl, Chrysalis pulled the needle completely off the record, breaking Pinkie from the loop she seemed stuck in.
“Yes, best buddy in the whole world?” Pinkie asked.
“What are you doing?”
“Throwing you a surprise party, silly! I thought that much would be obvious!”
“Why are you throwing a party?”
“Oh, no particular reason. Just wanted to remind you of how great of friends we are and how fun it is for us to party together, that’s all. I mean, it’s not a real party if you don’t bring Pinkie along, hint, hint!”
“This is about the tickets to the Gala, isn’t it?”
Pinkie gave an exaggerated gasp. “You have tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala!? I’m honored that you want to bring me as your guest! I’ve always dreamed of going there, it’s only the biggest most amazing party in all of Equestria!” Pinkie zipped on over to the record player and set it playing again. “You know what this calls for? A party!”
“She doesn’t have the tickets anymore.” Spike announced as he picked up a party hat off the floor.
“What?” Pinkie screeched as the record came to a scratching stop again.
“I gave them to Rarity and Fluttershy already.”
“Fluttershy!? But she doesn’t like going to parties with strangers!”
“She wanted to go. Speaking of going, I want to go to sleep, so would you please go away?” Chrysalis said, trying her best to not let her frustration colour her tone. She failed if Pinkie’s flinch was any indication.
“Oh, sorry.” Pinkie sheepishly walked out the door. “Maybe Rarity would appreciate a party.”
Chrysalis slammed the door behind her and looked down at Spike, who had placed the party hat on his head.
“I’m going to bed. I don’t care what you do, as long as it doesn’t wake me up.”
“You don’t, huh?” He paused for a moment. “Maybe I’ll go do a favour for Rarity.”
Chrysalis didn’t bother responding, she was so done dealing with him today. If he wanted to help Rarity, then he was Rarity’s problem now. It’s not like he could do anything to convince her to give up her ticket, she’d just have him twisted around her hoof like she always did by the end of the day. Chrysalis went up to her room and crawled into her bed under Sage’s watchful eyes. Before she could fall asleep, however, she heard the clicking of her window being pulled open followed by Rainbow Dash’s unmistakable rasp.
“Hup! Here we go!”
Chrysalis squeezed her eyes shut and beat her face against the pillow.
“How ya doing, Twi? Pillow not comfortable enough?” Dash chuckled. “Well, I’ve got just the thing to help you sleep!”
Chrysalis glared at her, sitting on top of a cloud that she must’ve brought in with her. “What do you want, Dash?”
“Whoa, they’re right, you really do look like crap--tired, I mean tired.”
“Get to the point!”
“Fine! I brought this cloud for you to nap on because they’re way more comfy than any bed. You’ve still got that cloud walking spell, right? Trust me, you’ll never want to sleep anywhere else again!”
“I don’t have the tickets anymore.”
“Oh.”
Awkward silence fell between them. Rainbow rubbed the back of her head with a hoof.
“Uh…you can keep the cloud. You look like you really need it. Bye!”
Rainbow raced back out the window. Chrysalis turned over in her bed, stubbornly trying to refuse to acknowledge the presence of either the cloud or the world outside the window. After a minute of tossing, turning, and trying to fluff her pillow in the hopes of getting comfortable, she gave up and looked over to the cloud out of the corner of her eye. Reluctantly, she got out of bed and climbed on top of it, letting herself sink into the pure bliss that it provided. Dash was right, it was pretty amazing. She gave a contented sigh, finally comfortable, and almost wishing she could have given Dash a ticket in exchange for such a thoughtful, if perhaps self serving, gift.
“So, uh…who’d you give the tickets to?”
Chrysalis’ eyes snapped open to find that Dash had flown back through the window and landed right next to the cloud. Her eye twitched as she charged up her horn. Rainbow Dash’s eyes grew wide with alarm and she made to fly away, but it was too late to avoid her wrath. Chrysalis launched her back out of the window, making sure to use a little extra magic to restrain her wings. Chrysalis crawled off the cloud and stuck her head out of the window.
“Leave me alone! If anypony else wants those stupid tickets, I already gave them to Fluttershy and Rarity, go bother them instead!” She shouted to the town at large, hoping that enough ponies would hear and spread the news.
“Ow.” Rainbow Dash said from her position on the ground where she crashed at another familiar pony’s hooves, one that was pulling a cart full of baked goods behind her. Applejack looked down at Dash with a raised eyebrow, then up at the irate Chrysalis glaring at both of them.
“Huh. Well, I’m off to see if Rarity or Fluttershy want any apple pie. Bye, Twilight!” She announced as she turned her cart in nearly the opposite direction and left.
Chrysalis shut and locked the window before crawling back onto the cloud. Maybe now that all five of the element bearers were aware that she didn’t have any tickets anymore, she could get enough peace and quiet to finally take a nap.
______________________________________________
Chrysalis awoke to her bedroom door crashing open. In a panic, she fell off her new cloud bed and landed heavily on the wooden floor. Her horn lit up as she tried to push past her disorientation.
“Twilight! Hide me!” Spike screamed as he rushed inside. Seeing the cloud, he dived straight into it, hidden by what was to him an intangible ball of fluff. Before he could pull him out and demand an explanation, there was a desperate tapping on the window, with a panic stricken Fluttershy on the other side. Confused, Chrysalis opened it for her and she was nearly knocked over by the pegasus’ rush to get inside.
“Please, Twilight! You’ve got to hide me!”
“Spiiiiike!” Rarity’s furious cry split the air. Oh fuck, what now? Fluttershy fled into the closet and slammed the door behind herself, though the tip of her pink tail stuck out from the bottom. Rarity then stormed into the room.
“Spike! Where are you?! I swear if you don’t come out this instant, I’m going to glue the laciest dress I’ve ever made onto you!”
“What is going--”
Chrysalis was interrupted by a crash as a blur of rainbow and blue tumbled across the room and knocked over Sage’s stand.
“Hoo!” Sage angrily landed on top of Rainbow Dash’s head and started pecking right between her ears.
“Ow! Ow! Hey, stop it! Ow! Oh, hey Twi, you seen Fluttershy? I saw her come in here.” Rainbow Dash asked as she brushed Sage off her head, who flew up to the top of a shelf, ruffled his feathers and gave one more angry hoot. “Hey, Flutters?! It doesn’t have to be a race, we could play cards instead!”
“What are you--”
“Never mind, found her!” Dash ignored Chrysalis and trotted over to the closet. “Come on, I know you’re in there, your tail is sticking out.”
Chrysalis’ brow furrowed in confusion. That pink tail didn’t look like Fluttershy’s.
“SURPRISE!”
The closet door practically exploded open and PInkie’s party canon blasted Dash in the face with confetti, who doubled over coughing because her mouth had been wide open. Pinkie cartwheeled out of the closet, singing a song as Fluttershy meekly followed after her and tried to help the coughing pony.
“Aha! There you are, Spike! I knew you were here somewhere!” Rarity announced triumphantly as she pulled Spike from the cloud with her magic.
“Twilight? Heeeeelp!”
”Hey, y’all, I heard a party goin’ down and figured ya might like some food to go along with it!” Applejack walked through the door, carrying a variety of apple based goods on a tray on her back.
“Hey, get your own turf! I always bring food to my parties!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she pulled a cream pie out of seemingly nowhere and threw it at AJ, hitting her square in the face and sending the tray she was carrying to the ground with a crash.
“What in tarnation, Pinkie, I worked hard on makin’ those!”
Everybody in the room spoke over one another, creating a crescendo of noise until Chrysalis could no longer make out anything that they were saying.
“QUIET!”
The cacophony of noise died, the last thing to be heard outside of Rainbow’s coughing being Pinkie saying some nonsense about oatmeal.
“Will somepony please explain what in Tartarus is going on?”
The assembled ponies and dragon looked at each other awkwardly for a moment, but soon Rarity stepped forward with Spike still held aloft in her magical aura, at least until she dropped him onto the floor.
“Your assistant here volunteered to help me, as he often does, and then when my back was turned, he stole my ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala!”
Spike chuckled nervously and winced beneath Chrysalis’ glower. “You did say you didn’t care what I did, right?”
Fluttershy spoke next while rubbing rainbow Dash’s back, who had finally stopped coughing.
“Rainbow Dash was pressuring me to race her for my ticket.”
“It didn’t have to be a race.” Dash hoarsely whispered in her defense. “And what was that, Pinkie? Were you trying to kill me!?”
“Of course not, I just thought I could convince somepony to give me their ticket if I threw them an amazing party to remind them of how a party isn’t really a party without Pinkie!” She stared at AJ with a shocking amount of resentment. “But somepony here was trying to steal my thunder!”
“Yeah, guilty.” Applejack admitted as she wiped cream from her face. “I thought I could get a ticket by trading some of my delicious apple desserts.”
“ I can’t believe this…” Chrysalis muttered as she face hoofed. “ Spike?”
“Yes?”
“Ticket. Now.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He went back to the cloud and pulled it out from within. Rarity stepped forward, eager to take it back.
“Thank you, Twilight. Maybe now I can get back to designing my gala dress.”
Chrysalis’ horn glowed and she snatched the ticket from Spike’s claws before Rarity could take it.
“No.” She glared at Rarity. “You too, Fluttershy.”
“Oh, um…okay.” She pulled out her ticket and handed it over too, and Chrysalis held both tickets aloft in her magic.
“I see that none of you can be trusted to handle this situation like adults.”
“I’m not actually an adult.” Spike interjected.
“And I didn’t really do anything wrong.” Rarity protests. Chrysalis silenced both with a glare.
“Since these tickets have led to all of you fighting over them like children, it falls to me to do the mature thing and put a stop to it.”
With a little more power channeled through her horn, the tickets burst into flames, leaving only a small pile of ash on the floor. There was a collective gasp.
“Well, I reckon that’s probably for the best. I guess I’ll head on back to the farm.”
“Hold it!” The ponies who had started lining up for the door froze. “I’m about to write a letter to Princess Celestia explaining what just happened, and each and every one of you will write part of it apologizing to her for letting her generous gift drive you to such bad behaviour.”
“But--” Dash began, but was cut off.
“No buts! Spike, fetch a scroll.”
_________________________________
An hour later in the main room of the library, the seven of them were just finishing signing their names to the letter. It was a mess of different penmanship since she wanted them all to personally write their own part rather than letting them dictate to Spike. She really wanted to hammer home for each of them how upset she was over them fighting over the tickets and disturbing her sleep, having Spike do it for them just wasn’t enough for her. She skimmed through the letter one last time and was about to get Spike to send it when she remembered something. She added a post script, requesting that Celestia refrain from sending letters until after breakfast outside of emergencies for the sake of Spike’s appetite.
“Okay, Spike, send it.” Spike obediently took the letter and blew his magical dragon flame onto it, and moments later it was gone.
“I’m sorry, Twilight.” Rarity spoke up. “While Spike stealing my ticket was certainly worthy of getting upset over, I should have handled my response with more dignity and maturity than to chase him halfway across town and into your bedroom, screaming and threatening the whole way.”
“You already apologized.”
“In the letter, perhaps, but I felt it prudent to say aloud to you.”
Chrysalis gently rubbed her temple with a hoof while the others came forth one at a time to offer their own verbal apologies. She had already read all of this, they didn’t say anything new, but she supposed it was at least a touching sentiment on their parts.
“Look, I forgive you. Just don’t do this again, at least not when I’m this tired.”
There was a belching sound and soon a new envelope appeared through Spike’s fire, identical to the first one sent that morning.
“Huh, that was fast.” Spike observed as he opened it up and began to read the letter inside.
“Ahem…Dear Twilight Sparkle. While I appreciate that you were able to solve a problem regarding the tickets I sent you and your friends, you really should have just told me. Enclosed you will find seven new tickets, one for each of you. I look forward to seeing all of you there. Signed Princess Celestia. PS: I will be sure to not spoil Spike’s breakfast going forward.”
“Seven new tickets?” Rarity asked eagerly. Spike dumped out the envelope onto the reading table they had been using to compose their letter to find exactly that, seven new golden tickets. A cheer went up between the ponies, and even Spike seemed happy.
“Alright, alright! Grab your ticket and get out! I still want to go back to bed.”
One by one, they did just that, thanking her as they left, until only Chrysalis and Spike remained. He was holding his ticket up and smiling at it.
“Why are you so cheerful? I thought you’d be upset that Rarity was going.”
“Not if I’m going, too!” A wicked grin spread across his face and he chuckled darkly. “I can make sure their meeting goes poorly, and then I’ll be there to comfort her broken heart!”
“Yeah,” Chrysalis yawned, “I’m sure that’ll work.”
She walked past him for the stairs. She didn’t feel like explaining to him why that was a bad idea, though she was willing to admit it had a slightly better chance of working than the chance that Rarity and Blueblood would actually fall in love. Barely.
In her room, she dragged the blanket from her bed, tossed her own ticket into the wastebasket next to her nightstand while she was there, and then crawled onto the cloud still near the window, pulling the comforting fabric over herself. That combined with the nearly noonday sun shining through the window warmed her to a heavenly toasty temperature. It was nearly as good as sunbathing in the badlands on a hot summer day.
Suddenly, the warmth of the sun disappeared and the light cut out.
“Oh, come on!” She shouted, hopping out of her bed, ready to destroy whatever had blocked her window. She froze when she realized that she couldn’t even see the outline of her window, or her room for that matter, only darkness. Chrysalis tensed for a fight, but before anything else could happen, the darkness coalesced into a solid form.
“Luna! You’ve got to stop that!”
“My apologies.” Luna said, holding back a laugh.
“Never should’ve let you know some ponies like being scared. You’re having way too much fun with that.”
“If you wish, I could refrain from practicing on you.”
“Please. Anyway, what brings you to Ponyville?”
“The Grand Galloping Gala. I finally have some tickets of my own to hand out, and I wish to invite you.”
“Okay, but your sister has already sent me a ticket.”
“I am aware, but I wished to invite you personally.”
“I don’t know, I don’t really want to spend a whole night that close to your sister.”
Luna stepped closer with an impish grin.
“Then how about a night close to me, instead?”
“Uhhh...” Chrysalis looked up into Luna’s half lidded eyes.
“I have thought of a way with which to bridge the power gap between us so that you no longer need to fear me.”
Chrysalis’ ears perked up at this pronouncement.
“And what would that be.”
“Not yet. You’ll have to come to the gala to find out.” Luna leaned her face closer and spoke in a breathy whisper. “If you accept my proposal then, I promise I’ll make sure it’s the best night ever.”
Chrysalis’ head felt a little foggy looking into Luna’s eyes. She closed her own eyes and raised her lips to meet with Luna’s, though came in contact with something hard instead. She opened her eyes to find Luna’s hoof on her mouth. She felt a little nauseous. Dirty hooves were not her thing at all.
“Not until the Gala, my little changeling.” She said with a twinkle in her eye. “Now enjoy the rest of your midday nap.”
Luna pushed against her face with that hoof, and Chrysalis seemed to sink through the floor beneath her, watching hazily as she floated lazily into the rest of the library and then into the earth beneath it until she landed in the bed of her old royal chambers, surrounded by her subjects. They were all begging her for help or blaming her for failing them as Luna waved her farewell from way up above.
Chrysalis jerked awake, still on her cloud bed. The window was open, and set on the blanket in front of her was a single golden ticket for the Grand Galloping Gala.
_______________
Queen Chrysalis sat perched on top of the tree that made up the Golden Oaks Library, disguised as the traitor’s pet owl. She ruffled her feathers. It was so weird to be covered by them, no matter how many times she had disguised herself as a bird of late.
The Queen stared at the golden ticket in her talon. She had nearly been caught digging through the wastebasket by that damned princess of the night when she sneaked in to leave a ticket on the traitor’s sleeping form, but Chrysalis had gotten her prize and they were none the wiser. She didn’t know what or why, but she had a feeling that something she wouldn’t want to miss was going to happen at the Grand Galloping Gala.
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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Hell yeah, when I saw this update I got excited. This story has been a pretty fun ride and I've been enjoying the hell out of Chrysalis and the ways she's handled the different situations from the show.
I am nothing short of amazed and delighted by the chaos that resulted from Chrysalis simply getting rid of the tickets at the first opportunity.
Also, sleep-deprived bug mom being the responsible one for a change and making everyone apologize in writing. The parental vibes were strong in this one.
Nice new chapter. It's going to be a little odd and confusing having two Chrysalis' running about.
Whoa.
Nearly got away with not going to the gala Chrysalis, but not quite.
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So short. It is so hard to find stories that are fun for me to read. I guess I just need to do my best to enjoy what we will have.
Luna has successfully entered Chryssi's dreams. I don't think hiding things from the Princess of the Night is an option any longer... not that it had been much of one recently, anyway. Chryssi really should just confess in full to her regardless of the prospects of dream-espionage; Luna knows all of the nastier details (like the death of the original Twilight, and the whole "ruler of a shapeshifting predatory species" thing) already, and saving her species from destruction seems like something Luna could maybe help with.
I'm really excited to see what Luna's "solution" to the power gap is, because I have not an inkling what it might entail.
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About "power gap" thing. Wouldn't it widen even more if Luna gifted Chrysalis? Chrysalis would owe her, thus unbalancing it more than ever.
Chrysalis comes off as almost maternal with her friends here, I suppose it's not that different from riding herd on her changelings. It's a nice detail. Similarly, I like her relationship with Spike. It's not too different from Twilight's canon relationship, just a bit more teasing (and with a lot more snark directed at other people during her conversations with him).
Luna is so freaking smitten.
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This comment confuses me. I guess my question is how does trying to help speed along the process of catching a criminal imply a autocracy? As far as I am aware all that happened was she said that the posters would be given to the guards because they lacked pictures to distribute to identify the suspect. Along side that trixie did just attack "twilight" while her brother was there. Now it could be argued that "twilight" attacked her earlier however there did not seem to be any law enforcement there at the time and if there was what really are the odds of them getting involved after that scene. And as for shining he is her brother so you could make the arguement of favoritism, yes it is corruption, but not a autocracy. I Might be overanalyzing tho.
this luna doesn't acts like typical luna. and she's too spineless to be nightmare moon.
it feel like one of more common chrysalis's personality in out there. while this chrysalis is pretty unique. she can be renamed and present as ruler of random oc race and i wouldn't notice it.
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the fact that princesses are perceived as gods. and can overide any order no matter what is guaranteed its status as autocrat.
i'll give examples for both cannon and this fanfic's version of equestria
canon equestria, trixie's crime wasn't pursuit because twilight and the gangs just forget about her.
and if crimes were to be pursuit, it would come from those in power. like cozy got thrown into tartatus and housed together with tirek, the bad influence himself.
this equestria, author blushed out problems that should involve law enforcements if equestria is first world or developing nations. like public and private property damage, accidents that involved hurt bystanders, psychological trauma, blatantly power abuses.
as such, i concluded that both equestrias are lawless autocrat nations.
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You're entitled to your opinions, but you do realize that you called it a lawless nation and then in the same sentence said that laws get enforced by the princess, right? Even if laws are selectively enforced and only by the princess' will, which I don't believe you can justify, the fact that there are laws being enforced at all by definition makes it not lawless.
Also, believe it or not, "first world nation" is a modern term, invented during the cold war, and it initially meant a country that was allied with the United States (by extension, 2nd world was allied with the USSR and third world simply meant neutral). Even if you decide to use it in a more colloquial sense of the term as a well developed country for technology, infrastructure, finances and culture, as many do, it wouldn't apply to a setting like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. While they show a range of technologies, often times very anachronistic in implementation, they seem to be significantly further back in their relative time period than our cold war era. Equestria in generation 4 is not a modern country, so they would not be a first world nation by even our everyday usage of the term, and bringing it up is completely nonsensical in this context. Literally nobody claims that Equestria is a first world country.
Not that there's really much point in saying any of this. From the two comments on your profile, one of which is from you, it seems like you've already developed a reputation as a troll despite only having an account since December (did you have to start a new one because too many people had blocked your old account?). That one comment of yours has more dislikes than most popular comments on stories now a days, and the other comment accusing you of being a troll is almost as popular as your comment is unpopular.
Feeding trolls is generally unwise, but sometimes I do it anyway. Regardless, feel free to troll if that's your desire. I'm not going to block you or delete your comments unless you truly flood my comment section with your drivel, but I'm also not going to respond to you going forward unless you actually say something interesting.
Hot damn this is good. I know its mostly a continuation of the episode but Im lookingnforward to more cryssi hijinks
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Knowing how many guns chekhov has left sitting around in this story I would not be surprised if that happened. Personally my prediction is that attack happens earlier during the gala. Maybe using the amulet to get around the lack of power provided by love used during the wedding. Maybe it is even when the elements activate for the first time, who knows.
Well, I'll be, Chryssie being the most level-headed for a change.
Sheit's about to go down.
I really like this story
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1. Equestria is both lawless and autocratic the same way fallout's wasteland is. laws only enforced seriously at the very top of society. the rest of the population can live with flexible rule-based common sense and human nature. uncontrolled power abuse and mob mentality can be seen everywhere. it's just that ponies are good and kind in general that the Equestria feels inviting.
2. Definitions always change. people from centuries ago would have a different idea from you when you asked them to describe cockpit, air conditioner, speaker, or flashlight. my "firstworld" definition is from economic youtuber: investors, brokers, and crystobros.
3. standard of the real world can definitely be applied to a fantasy world. because fantasy is written by real-life people for real-life people. it has to be related to real life somehow. reality can have an impact on fiction and vice versa also true.
4. as a non-American, I have noticed many America-specific cultures in MLP:FiM. it's very obvious that Equestria was designed to be relatable to American viewers. kinda like Japanese fantasy novels and their obsession with school, katana, and foods.
5. I wrote complaints or opinions mostly. a novel where I complain about some chapters means everything else that I don't comment on is already perfect. the ones where I quote on every chapter mean I find it ridiculous and amusing.
6. I am in the process of cleaning up this account. are you going to update this story in the future? please answer if you are bothered or something.
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You know what he's convinced me give me my dolar back.
In all honesty though I do think I get the perspective being described here. I disagree with the idea of it being a lawless state, however a comparison could be made to feudalism in Europe in a way based on the form of government being a absolute monarchy. Laws do in theory exist and are punished, it is just that the problem is as it is a kids show we don't have any good examples of it. Also don't remember seeing police at any point so maybe it is just the guard that deals with crime, meaning cities have a easier time that areas away from cities dealing with crime well the more rural areas are left open. Who knows. I also don't fully agree with changing definitions but I do get your point, for example the word racist was originally used by the Soviets to identify enemies of the state. That said there are first world countries that are authoritarian. Aka China and Russia. (Maybe Australia depending who you ask). I agree that it is mostly western centric, most likely because the west is a big market. Either way I hope you manage to deal with the stigma around your account and manage to clean it up. Also they take a while on updates, sometimes people are busy and in the end this is a free story they are providing that is rather well written, so I think we should give them the time they need and worst case we got a lot as is. That said without them conforming they won't continue this I would just make it so you are notified on updates and check in every once and a while. I have found updates are most common around during winter myself though.
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I stand corrected.
Absolutely love this story! Can’t wait for the next chapter!
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Is The Story Being Countined?
Very much liked this story, hope author would not abandon it. Very solid Chrysalis, just right amount of pride, fear, loneliness and rudeness.
Sad, there's no recent update, this is really a very hood concept of a story
Loved reading this fic so far and I’m excited to see where the story goes next! Chrysalis being forced into a situation in which she has to make friends makes for such an interesting story, and explores facets of her character that i wish were shown in the show.