Chapter One: Twilight Prepares
"Well now, ain't you just the prettiest mare at the ball?"
Twilight spun around, blushing. The fact that it was visible at all was impressive, considering the rouge on her face. Adding to that makeup was light-blue eye shadow, and a darker-blue eyeliner, all of which matched the powder-blue dress she wore, a simple outfit with a bit of ruffle along the neck and a silk bow around her waist.
"Applejack!"
"No lipstick, though?" asked the farm pony, taking a few steps into Twilight's dressing room.
"No. Um… Chrysalis thinks it… tastes funny." Twilight finished in a mumble, her face now so red the rouge almost looked pale.
Applejack let out a low whistle, eyebrows rising. "I didn't know things were gettin' so hot and heavy between the two of ya."
"I-it's not like that! I mean, it kind of is I guess, but…" Twilight started shuffling her hooves on the floor, practically prancing in place. "Well, after a date, i-it's perfectly normal to kiss each other goodnight—"
"Easy now, sugar," said Applejack soothingly. "I'm not tryin' to embarrass you or anything like that."
"I know, I'm just… nervous, I suppose." Twilight turned to look at herself in the vanity mirror. The sight of herself wearing a dress and makeup did little to calm her mind, though.
"I've never seen you so dolled-up before," said Applejack, moving closer again. "It's the big date tonight, right?"
"Y-yeah. Six months since Chrysalis decided she was going to, um, 'woo' me. And I said this is when I'd give her an answer. When I'd decide…"
"Whether you feel the same way about her as she does about you," finished Applejack with a nod. "What's it gonna be, if you don't mind me askin'?"
Twilight opened her mouth, then paused, giving Applejack a glance before looking away again.
"Still?" said Applejack disapprovingly. "I mean, I'm not trying to pressure you, but you still don't have an answer after six months?"
"It's complicated!" Twilight burst out, stomping a hoof. "I got over the whole thing where she, you know, defeated my mentor in combat and tried to enslave everyone I know, but she's just so… inconsistent now. She's been acting different since this whole dating thing started. And it's not just because she actually spends time away from me now. It's like… it's like she's become a different pony. Or, well, changeling."
"How bad can it be?" Applejack inquired, with a tilt of her head. "Celestia knows I've got my issues with that Queen, but she seems stuck on you like horseflies on Granny Smith's apple pie."
Twilight was quiet for a time, then, almost inaudibly, said, "She ditched me on our first date."
"WHAT?!" Applejack's eyes blazed with fire, and she smashed one hoof into the crystal floor.
Twilight gave a small nod. "We were at a nice restaurant, nothing especially fancy. She'd picked me up, but she was nothing like herself. The whole night she was practically silent. We barely talked while waiting for our order, and when she did say something it was all monosyllables, three words at most at a time. And after the food came… we were maybe halfway through eating when she stood up and said 'I'm done', then just walked out the door. I had to pay for all the food and find my own way home. The food especially was a waste… I wasn't able to eat any more of it after that…"
Applejack was gaping at Twilight. "What… how… why would you keep this up after that?! That shoulda been an instant 'so long, hope I don't see ya again'!"
"I felt the same way," Twilight said, head down. "I was furious, and I wrote her a letter saying that if that's the way she was going to treat me, then… we were done. It was all over, and she could forget ever even talking to me again."
"I'm assumin' something changed your mind, then, but for the life of me I don't think I could guess what it was."
Twilight's head came back up, and she let out a sigh, expression dreamy. "The night after I sent her that letter, she attacked my castle."
"What?! How is that—" Applejack paused for a second, then rolled her eyes. "Oh. Right. Changelings."
"I was reading in the library… well, I was trying to, but I was still so upset about Chrysalis that I couldn't focus. Then suddenly there were changelings everywhere, and before I could even move they had me at spear-point. I could have disarmed them with my magic or even just teleported away, but then Chrysalis kicked the door open and strode in."
There was another sigh from Twilight. "She was doing the whole Queen thing, of course. I think she's taller than Princess Celestia when she stands up like that, especially with her nose in the air. Her eyes were so narrowed I was surprised she could even see enough to walk, and she had that sneer on her face she gets when she's really concentrating on something…"
"Uh-huh. Sounds real romantic," Applejack said in a flat voice.
"She stopped right in front of me, just peering down at me from under those shining eyelids of hers, and then… she got down on her knees and started pleading for me to take her back."
"Chrysalis was pleading with you?" Applejack's jaw fell open. "Queen Chrysalis?"
"Begging me. She might have even been crying, too. I think I saw tears. And… well, I couldn't refuse her, not like that. So I said I'd give her one more chance, and she immediately whisked me away on another date, this one in Canterlot."
"It must have been one heck of a date to make you forgive her so easily."
"Well…"
"Is the blindfold really necessary?" complained Twilight from the chariot seat next to Chrysalis, her mane whipping in the wind.
"Of course!" replied Chrysalis. "I want this to be a surprise."
"It just kind of feels like you're kidnapping me, is all."
"I'd never do something like that to you, not anymore."
Unless… mused Chrysalis, maybe kidnapping prospective loved ones is sometimes what ponies do—a flurry of negative responses came at her from the hivemind, and one of the changelings pulling the chariot turned to look at her and shake his head firmly. Well, I'll keep that in mind as a backup plan, then.
For her part, Twilight just leaned back in her seat and sighed. She was starting to think this had been a mistake. As much as she liked Chrysalis—and after spending the last few weeks with the Changeling Queen, she had grown rather fond of her—she still didn't want to be married to her. The only reason she had waited so long to let Chrysalis know her true feelings had been that she'd accepted the marriage for political reasons. Well, and out of fear. First fear of just plain Chrysalis herself, then later out of what the changeling would do if she knew the truth, and then finally fear of hurting the feelings of her 'wife'.
That last was why she'd agreed to date Chrysalis. The Queen had been so sure that she could awaken the same feelings in Twilight's heart that she had in her own that Twilight had felt she should at least give Chrysalis the chance. But the key word there was 'chance', and as far as Twilight was concerned Chrysalis had ruined the only one she got.
Just as she opened her mouth to say so, she felt the chariot dip and start descending, and grudgingly decided to remain quiet.
The black chariot swooped down upon Canterlot, threading its way between towers until finally bouncing to a stop in the middle of a busy street. Ponies yelled and cursed, then noticed who was in the chariot and who had been pulling it, and quickly decided it was better to just move on—preferably as fast as possible and without looking back.
Chrysalis stepped down from the chariot as the team that had been pulling it disconnected themselves from their harnesses and split up, forming a perimeter around their royal charges. A rather useless perimeter, as one had already been formed by their sudden landing and had never closed up, due to the fact that nopony seemed eager to get close to a group of changelings. They may have technically become citizens of Equestria, and the wedding had made it plain that there was nothing sinister going on, but seeing changelings walking around in the open was still a new experience for most ponies. To say nothing of the fact that the Queen herself was there.
Said Queen helped Twilight down from the chariot with one hoof, then led her across the sidewalk before stopping her.
"I would have liked to wait until we were inside to take this off, but there's a lot of steps to go up," she said apologetically. "I wouldn't want you to trip. I've… hurt you enough lately."
She untied the blindfold with her magic, then stepped back, waiting with bated breath.
"Listen, Chrysalis…" Twilight said, blinking in the sudden light and looking around to get her bearings. "I think I’ve changed—"
She stopped as she realized where she was. They were in the old part of Canterlot, only a few blocks from the palace. The steps Chrysalis had been talking about were very familiar; she'd seen them often enough as a filly. Aside from her parents’ house and the palace, she was probably more acquainted with the building in front of her than any other structure in the city.
"This is… the Canterlot library?" asked Twilight breathlessly.
"And I thought maybe, afterwards, we could go to a used bookstore…?" said Chrysalis, eyes wide and hopeful. "I can buy you some books. As presents."
Twilight didn't answer for quite a long time. Chrysalis began to get worried, first darting her eyes back and forth nervously, then shuffling in place. Finally, Twilight half turned to look at her out of the corner of one eye.
"How many books?"
She let out a squeak a moment later as Chrysalis swept her up in a hug.
"Uh… oh! Sorry, I thought there was more to the story still," Applejack said into the silence left as Twilight stopped talking.
"Why would there need to be?" sighed Twilight, that dreamy look still on her face. "It was such a beautiful night. I knew she cared about me, but to show me like that, to do something so meaningful… if it hadn't been for that first date, I think I would have said yes right there."
"Look, Twi, I know I ain't no expert on romance or anything like that…" said Applejack hesitantly, "but just because you like books and she took you somewhere with books, well, that don't exactly make that an amazin' date."
"Applejack, it meant more than that!" scolded Twilight. "When my parents were dating, that was the date my mother took my father on! They told Chrysalis that story when she met them, and she did the same for me."
"Oh! Shucks, Twilight, I didn't know that." Applejack rubbed the back of her head with a hoof, an embarrassed grimace on her face. "Sorry about what I said, then. You're right, that is pretty darn romantic. I was worried that the Queen just showed you a pile of books and you fell all over yourself givin' her sloppy makeouts or somethin'. That does seem like the kind of thing you would do."
"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," said Twilight, turning away and lifting her nose into the air.
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Jus' worried about you, is all."
Twilight made a little 'hmph' noise and started aimlessly moving around the makeup on her vanity. Applejack watched her for a while, then tilted her head curiously.
"So if that night was all fancy and romantic, why are you havin' trouble makin' up your mind?"
Twilight stopped her fidgeting, letting out a sigh. "Because she's different somehow. Those first and second dates were just the extremes. Since then, I just never know how she's going to act. Sometimes I get the Chrysalis I know and… like. Other times I get this cold, indifferent changeling. In the same night, even!
"We might meet up for a date and she'll insult my dress—well, never straight up insult, but she makes snide comments. Then she'll pull out my chair for me at the table and order my food, and she always knows exactly what my favorite meal is, no matter what restaurant we're at!"
Her ears drooped and she looked longingly off to the side. "I miss that last Chrysalis. I miss the Chrysalis that made me feel special, like I was the only pony in the world who mattered to her. And I feel like she's doing this because I hurt her."
"Hmm." Applejack stared at Twilight through narrowed eyes, a frown on her face. "Is that really the kind of pony you'd be wantin' to spend all your life with? The kind who would do something like this just because she's upset with you?"
"I-it's not like that, Applejack, it's just…" Twilight sighed, slumping down. "I'd never believe she'd purposely act like this. But I hurt her very badly. She was devastated when I told her the truth—I could barely get through the entire confession. If she is doing all these passive-aggressive things, it must be subconscious. There's no way she's doing all of this intentionally."
Twilight let out a snort, a small smile managing to make its way onto her face. "If I'd told a pony everything I told her that night—that our 'relationship' was a misunderstanding, that I'd never loved her at all—I think they would have just slunk away and I'd never have seen them again. I would have had to hunt them down, just to make sure they weren't going to do something… unfortunate to themselves.
"But Chrysalis… she's a changeling. A Changeling Queen. And she saw my confession the same way she sees everything: a challenge to her power and respect. She hadn't been wrong all that time; I had, and so she was going to fix me."
"Okay, and I apologize for sayin' this again: that's the kind of pony you want to be married to?" asked Applejack skeptically.
"It's awfully flattering, that she thinks so highly of me she's willing to go through all this. I mean, think of how humiliating it must have been for her—she basically admitted to all of Equestria that everything she'd done had been a mistake, because she'd misinterpreted how I felt about her. She publicly admitted she'd been wrong, and that she'd spent the last few years chasing after an unrequited love because of how… well, stupid and unobservant she'd been. And she admitted all of that to let me know how much she cared about me, and how much she was willing to fight for me."
Twilight averted her eyes, a small blush forming on her face. "And I like how determined she is. How forceful she acts. She doesn't care what anypony thinks, she does what she feels like and takes what she wants. I… kind of enjoy that she treats me that way, as something that she's going to take no matter what I have to say. It's so different from how most ponies act."
"Ah, I see," said Applejack, a sly, knowing grin on her face. "You've got a thing for bad mares, don't you?"
"T-that's not… I don't…" Twilight's blush was threatening to make its way down her neck. "Well, m-maybe a little bit…"
Applejack chuckled, giving her a pat on the shoulder with one hoof. "Nothin' to be ashamed of, sugarcube. Heck, I'm hardly even surprised. Opposites attract, and all that."
"That's… well, it might be sort of accurate. It makes sense to match someone who's saved Equestria so many times with someone who's tried to take it over. I've been able to stop her from killing Celestia and Luna, at least."
"You…" Applejack's mouth fell open. "You've had to stop her from killin' the Princesses?!"
"Oh, sure." Twilight waved a hoof nonchalantly. "She's tried a few times now. She actually poisoned Celestia the first time the three of us met."
"Poisoned. Poisoned. As in, Chrysalis actually got Celestia to drink poison." Twilight nodded, and Applejack put her hooves to her head. "How… how are you okay with that?!"
"Applejack, she can't help it," scolded Twilight. "Changelings instinctively try to kill anyone they see as having more authority and power than them. She doesn't even mean it; all I had to do was ask her for the antidote and she gave it to me. Well, eventually."
"And what happens when she succeeds?" demanded Applejack.
"It's simple, she's not going to." Twilight looked at Applejack's outraged face and sighed. "Look, if she actually wanted to kill them, she would. Do you know what she did a few weeks ago? She mailed a bomb to Celestia. And then she came to me bragging about it, giving me plenty of time to intercept the bomb. She wanted me to stop her, because all she was doing was challenging me. It was… cute."
"And if you hadn't stopped her?"
"It was a small bomb… it might have damaged Celestia's office, but she would have been fine. I mean, it takes more than a simple incendiary device to hurt an alicorn, especially one like Celestia."
"Twilight…" said Applejack slowly, "You seem to think all of this is… adorable, in some way, but it's not. She could really hurt somepony. And I know you have at least some feelings for her and you trust her, but… she could just be doing this to get you to lower your guard so she can really kill the Princesses."
Applejack stopped, backing off a step as Twilight gave her a furious, tight-lipped glare. After a moment, Twilight looked away, letting out her breath in a long sigh.
"I understand why you would think that," she said in a low voice, head down. "Everything she's done makes her seem like a monster to you. I know that's how she used to look to me… and I won't lie, if it wasn't for the way she feels about me, you'd be right. She's a Changeling Queen, and subterfuge, sabotage, and assassination are how she works.
"But I know her, Applejack. I've spent months with her now, and I trust her with not just my life, but everypony's. I know she would never do anything to deliberately hurt me, and she knows now that means never hurting my friends. Even if she doesn't quite understand why those two things go together."
Twilight turned back to Applejack, a shy smile on her face. "Besides, when she tries to kill the Princesses… well, that's just her idea of a date. If she can sit with me in a library or listen quietly while I talk about my latest research over dinner, I can foil her attempts on the Princesses' lives."
Applejack stared back at her for a long moment. Then her lips moved, a little "Snrk!" sound escaping between them as they began to writhe. She brought her hooves up to cover her mouth, but her body began to shake, and finally it was too much. She burst out laughing, moving on to full belly guffaws before falling over and rolling around on the floor.
Twilight watched her with an irritated expression, her cheeks puffing out more and more, until finally she lifted Applejack off the floor with her magic and gave her a shake.
"And just what is so funny?" she demanded, setting the farm pony back down.
"I-I'm sorry," gasped Applejack, wiping a tear from her face. Groping around on the floor, she scooped up her hat and put it back on her head. "It's just… I think you finally answered the question of how you feel about Queen Chrysalis."
"W-what do you mean?"
"Only a pony in love could be crazy enough to think anything you just said makes a lick of sense."
Twilight managed to look furious and embarrassed at the same time, turning away and stalking off towards a corner of the room to fiddle with her dress, making grumbling noises the whole time.
"Now, don't be like that, Twi," said Applejack with a sigh, trotting up behind her and putting a hoof on her back. "I think you really care for that Queen. And I'm still a mite nervous about you letting her go around attemptin' regicide and all, but I do trust you. So if you say she's really not up to no good, then that's enough for me. And it makes me happy to see that she makes you happy. I don't quite follow how exactly she does that, but I'm still happy."
"Thank you, Applejack," Twilight said, giving her a warm smile. "The support of my friends is just what I need to help me work through this and figure everything out. I just wish… well, no offense, but I wish I could get advice from someone with a little more, um, romantic experience."
"No offense taken, Twi," replied Applejack, holding up a hoof. "I know apples and farmin' and that's about it, and right now that's enough for me. Got plenty of time for all that 'frou-frou romantic stuff', as Rainbow would say, later."
She cocked an eyebrow upwards. "Ain't you been getting' any help from that sister-in-law of yours, though? I mean, Princess of Love, think you wouldn't need to go to anypony besides her."
"Cadance hasn't been able to reply to any of my letters." Twilight gave Applejack a smile that seemed a little too bright to be sincere. "It's okay though. I mean, she's a Princess. I understand perfectly well how busy things can get. Shining Armor says she's been reading each letter, though, and he's even passed on a few words of advice from her. I guess she has some big project going on that's taking up all her time."
"It's still surprisin', though. I'd think the Princess would make time, seein' as it's her kin needing help and all. Er, not that I'm sayin' she's doing anything wrong, it's just—"
"I understand Applejack, you're not being insulting," said Twilight soothingly, "but you know how busy I've been since becoming a Princess, and I hardly even do anything when there isn't a major crisis on hoof. Cadance runs an entire empire. I can't exactly expect her to drop everything and come galloping just because I've got a… a marefriend. Besides, getting advice from the Princess of Love feels like cheating."
"Well, then you should just ask a normal pony. Ponyville's self-appointed expert on love is one of your friends, after all."
"Um…" Twilight glanced at Applejack then looked away, and the orange pony dropped her head into her hooves with a groan.
"Don't tell me Rarity still ain't talking to you?"
"I committed a 'crime against romance', Applejack," replied Twilight, making a horrible attempt at imitating Rarity's voice. "Apparently, not falling head over hooves for the first member of royalty to express an interest in you is unforgivable."
"You should bring up Blueblood when she says something like that," chuckled Applejack.
"I did. That's why she isn't talking to me." Both ponies shared a laugh.
"I'm sure what happened with Greenblood didn't help much either," Applejack said after a moment.
Twilight rolled her eyes. "I told Chrysalis to just use a drone, or maybe a gatherer for him, but nooooo, she wanted an infiltrator. 'Only the best for my love's friends', she said. And what happens? He gets way too into the part, and now for all intents and purposes we have two Bluebloods running around. And he's so conceited they've become best friends and teamed up! I keep asking Chrysalis to recall him just so Canterlot can get some peace, but he's a 'method actor' and he 'is' the role now, and she refuses!"
"Well, if you ever decide to listen to Chrysalis and take over Equestria, you can just get a few more of them to turn into Bluebloods," said Applejack with a smirk. "I'm sure an army of those could bring Canterlot to its knees in a couple hours."
"Don't even joke about that!" Twilight gave a shudder. "Chrysalis has told me what happens when a meme infects the hivemind. Apparently the last time that happened… it was Prench maid outfits."
"Prench…" Applejack's jaw dropped, then she brought a hoof up to smother her chuckle. "Well, I sure would have liked to see that. A whole hive full of ponies dressed up like maids?"
Twilight shook her head. "Not ponies. They only wore them while undisguised."
Applejack froze as that image took root in her mind, a look of horror and disgust on her face, and she made a retching noise. Suddenly realizing what she was doing, she began to stammer out an apology.
"I-I, uh, didn't mean—"
"It's alright Applejack, I understand. I'm used to them now, and I still wouldn't want to see one wearing an outfit like that. For that matter, Chrysalis loves her changelings as much as she loves me, and she doesn't want to see that either. That's why she banned them from traveling to Prance."
"Okay, then I don't feel as bad," Applejack said with a giggle. A thought struck her, and she cast a sly glance over at Twilight. "Imagine Chrysalis wearing an outfit like that."
Twilight's body went rigid, her eyes widening and wings twitching.
"Well, I think we have bit more evidence about what you feel for Chrysalis," sang Applejack teasingly.
"You get out of here!" huffed Twilight, blushing furiously as she pushed her friend out of the room. "I-I need to finish getting ready."
Applejack was still chuckling when Twilight slammed the door behind her.
Finally, Twilight finished her preparations for the date, taking one last look in the mirror before she headed out.
After much thought, she'd decided to wear her mane up. Not all the way, not in her 'official Princess business' style, but she'd at least twisted the end of her mane into a simple braid and pinned it up, and brushed her bangs to give them a bit of a curl.
A plain silver chain had gone around her neck, with a smaller one on the end of one foreleg. She'd also given her wedding ring, kept on a stand on the dresser, a long look. She'd felt... something as she'd looked at it, a kind of fluttering in her stomach. Having no time for introspection, she'd turned away shaking her head and continued her preparations.
At least perfume wasn't something she had to worry about. She'd tried it once, only to find that such intense and prolonged exposure to the scent had thrown off Chrysalis's pheromone senses, disorienting her. While it might have been amusing to watch Chrysalis miss a door and walk into the wall, Twilight had only been concerned at first, and then upset when she'd realized what she'd done. At the least, Twilight had spent the rest of the night taking care of Chrysalis, so it hadn't ruined the date.
While it was possible something in that specific perfume had been the problem, Twilight hadn't wanted to experiment, and had eschewed any scents from then on… which had led to Chrysalis rather uncomfortably mentioning her appreciation of Twilight's natural scent, but that had been a different issue.
With a nod to her reflection, she left the dressing room, making her way through the halls of her castle and pushing open the main doors. The train was going to leave soon, and if she missed it she'd either have to be late to the restaurant or fly herself, which would leave her messy and exhausted—
She stopped two steps down from the entrance to the castle, staring with wide eyes.
Off to one side, waiting patiently, was a chariot with two pegasi harnessed to it. It wasn't just any chariot, though; it was Princess Celestia's personal chariot, complete with golden filigree, velvet plush throne, and drawn by armored royal guards.
Directly in front of Twilight, though, was a group of all her friends, plus Discord, and all standing under a banner that read 'Good Luck on Your Date!'
"Good luck, Twilight!" they all cheered when they saw her, waving their hooves, jumping up and down and basically doing their best to make as much noise as possible.
"Girls…" said Twilight, making her way down the last few stairs and walking over, "Thank you… I…" She stopped talking, unable to get the words out of her throat as tears welled up in her eyes.
"What, you didn't think we'd be here to see you off?" asked Rainbow Dash, rolling her eyes. "It may be mushy stuff, but you're still our friend."
"Shoot, I had to go up there and distract you so they could finish setting all this up," Applejack said with a grin, "and I did, even if that was awful close to lyin'."
"We're so excited, Twilight." Fluttershy smiled widely, looking up at Discord. "Even Discord came to wish you good luck."
"Yes, yes, have fun with your bug waifu or… whatever," he replied, waving one hand dismissively. Fluttershy elbowed him in the side, and he rolled his eyes and turned to Twilight. "Okay, okay, I hope you figure out how you feel about that Queen and are happy. Alright? Is that good?"
Fluttershy smiled approvingly, and he let out a sigh. "Good. And tell Chrysalis to keep her changelings away from me! I don't like it when I turn a pony into something and they just change back. It's… disconcerting. Not to mention a waste of my talents."
"You've been turning ponies into things again?" asked Fluttershy with a stern glare, turning to Discord.
"Oh no, look at the time!" he cried, pulling back the sleeve of the coat he was suddenly wearing and looking at his bare wrist, as grandfather clocks fell out of the coat. "I have to go launder my dishes, goodbye!" The draconequus snapped his fingers and disappeared, along with all the clocks.
"He really is very happy for you, I promise," said Fluttershy with a bright smile.
"Uh-huh. I'm sure." Twilight rolled her eyes, happening to catch sight of the banner again as she did so. "I know I shouldn't be surprised, Pinkie, but you managed to get this banner put together fast. I think I only finished talking to Applejack a few minutes ago!"
"Haha, you know me! I can put a party together like that!"
Twilight, though, was well versed in Pinkieness by this point, and caught the almost infinitesimal glance Pinkie threw at a nearby bush. Pinkie tried to block her, but she managed to juke around the party pony, and found a pile of banners on the ground behind the bush.
"Oh, so you just made a banner for each of the three possible outcomes?" Twilight used her magic to pick up a banner that read 'Congratulations on Your Marriage to Queen Chrysalis!'
"Yep! Just those three, so there's no need to…"
Pinkie trailed off as Twilight, not listening, picked up the third banner. This one said 'Sorry Things Didn't Work Out'. That gave her odd feelings that she wasn't prepared to deal with but that she had become proficient at suppressing, so she quickly put it aside without much thought.
"Wait, why are there more than three?" She held up the next banner, unfolding it and revealing the words 'Congratulations on Your Marriage to Fluttershy!'
"What?!" she cried, as there was a squeak from Fluttershy.
"I know you're still thinking things over, but it would be a huuuuuuge favor for me if you could marry her," said Pinkie pleadingly. "The marriage doesn't even have to last that long! It's just that I had her in the pool that Cadance and Shining Armor set up, and I could really use a win right now—"
"No. I mean, not that there's anything wrong with you Fluttershy, you're a great friend and I really like you, but—" Twilight threw the banner off to the side, then stared down in shock. "How are there more?!"
She lifted another banner. 'Congratulations on Your Three-Way Marriage to Queen Chrysalis and Princess Celestia!'
"What?" said Pinkie, as Twilight glared at her. "Everyone's been saying that's how all this should end anyway."
Twilight began throwing banners in every direction, muttering to herself as she went through them.
"This one's ridiculous… I mean, I like him, but not like that… no… no… I don't even know who he is… her either… I think that one's probably illegal… well, Gilda turned out to be not too terrible, I suppose… alternate universe me?!"
She glared at Pinkie, who just smiled back. "She's the perfect match! I mean, you like all the same things, you basically have the same friends…"
"Pinkie, that's sick! It's like… it's like incest!"
"Silly Twilight, it can't be incest if it's with yourself!" Pinkie chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Why do you think a month passed between when I first found the mirror pool and that day I accidentally created too many clones?"
Twilight stared with her mouth open, then quickly folded all the banners back up, placed them neatly in a pile, then moved away.
"Okay, somepony else. Anypony else. Starlight Glimmer!" She trotted over to her house-guest, newest friend and first student. "So, how are you doing? Glad to see you're here. I mean, I wasn't expecting you not to be, but I would have understood if you weren't. You and Chrysalis have had your… differences ever since she basically moved in."
"She set my bed on fire—with green fire—and then threw me out of the castle so hard I flew three miles before I was able to catch myself with my magic," said Starlight, eyes flat, but then a smile cracked her face. "But hey, anypony who tries to take over Equestria can't be all bad, right?"
"Thank you, Starlight," said Twilight, pulling the other pony into a hug.
"Just promise me one thing?" replied Starlight, and Twilight cocked her head inquiringly. "Invest in a silence spell for your bedroom during your honeymoon. We might be fond of you, but there are some things Spike and I don't want to hear."
"Spike! Time to talk to Spike!" Twilight turned to the small dragon as Starlight snickered into a hoof. "Say, where's your friend? You two have been almost inseparable."
"Oh, Thorax had to go back to the hive. Chrysalis was—"
"Spike, you know his name is K85-348IL," admonished Twilight. "I wasn't too comfortable with it at first either, but that's just how changelings do things. They have reasons for it, and we need to respect that."
"I-I know, Twilight, but he really likes the other name!" Spike looked up at her, eyes wide and pleading. "Maybe… it can be a nickname? One only his friends use?"
Twilight glared at him for a moment longer, then lowered her head and sighed. "Alright, Spike, I think that might be okay. But if Chrysalis has a problem with it, we're all going to have to sit down and have a discussion."
"Okay, thanks! Anyway, Chrysalis called all the changelings back to the hive. She's going all out for tonight." Spike beamed proudly, gesturing over his shoulder. "That's why I sent a letter to Celestia and got her to let us borrow the chariot."
"Spike… thank you."
"Well, you know, Thorax is my friend, and he really wants Chrysalis to marry you… so I wanted to help too…" He looked up at her shyly. "Is Chrysalis going to be living with us now?"
"Things are… complicated, Spike," Twilight said with a sigh. "I really like her, and I know you do too…"
"She lets me do whatever I want!" Spike said happily. "I just have to ask, and she says okay!"
"Yes, well, I don't think she knows how to deal with a baby dragon as well as she does with a swarm of changelings," said Twilight, chuckling, "but even if we both like her… marriage is a serious thing. Just liking something isn't enough, it has to be love… and that's a tricky thing to figure out."
"Okay… but I'm sure you'll figure it out! After all, you always do." He gave her an encouraging smile, and she returned it.
"Thank you, Spike." She gave him a quick hug, then trotted towards the chariot, turning her head to address her friends. "Thank you all. It makes me so happy to know that you—"
She stopped, having nearly walked straight into the fuming white unicorn that stood between her and the chariot.
"Oh! Rarity! Um…"
"Twilight…" Rarity let out a growl, leaning forward to plant a hoof on Twilight's chest. "You go to that changeling, and you make her your Queen, or I'll never forgive you!"
"She's already a Queen, Rarity, and I'm still not sure about—"
"Twilight, you do what I say!"
"Okay, okay, I'll… I'll try?" Rarity held her glare, and Twilight shied away. She looked back and forth, trying to find a route to the chariot. Finally, she circled gingerly around, keeping a wide berth between herself and the bristling fashionista, and climbed into the chariot.
"Goodbye!" she called, turning to wave over the edge of the chariot. "Thank you all, for everything!"
"Good luck, Twi!"
"Go get her!"
"We're all rooting for you!"
"I swear, Twilight I will find a way to end you if you disappoint that Queen!"
Twilight sat back in her seat with a happy smile on her face. As always, her friends had cheered her up. While she might still be unsure of exactly how she felt and what she should do, she could at least count on their support no matter what happened. Thanks to them, the cloud of butterflies that had taken up residence in her stomach seemed to have flown back to their usual home. Instead, she now felt only a solid sense of confidence, and the trepidation that had slowly filled her heart over the last few days had been replaced by excitement and anticipation.
Whatever happened, this was going to be a night to remember.
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Hey it is finally there
HYYYYYYYYYYPE
Ive only read the title description, and already im having a hard time not laughing. Let us begin X)
about half way through the chapter starting at ...
The entire chapter goes into BOLD TEXT.
Ya may want to fix that
The bold broke in the chapter somewhere.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaannd here's the sequel we've been waiting for! Watch as it hits the feature box in about an hour.
Alright, the sequel has arrived!
I'm so psyched but over half of the chapter is bolded! Makes it really hard to read could you fix it please?
Can't wait until the next chapter, keep up the good work!
Shouldn't it say it's the sequel on the top of the story?
What a great start. I can't wait to see what happens next!
Finally, this has come out. I've wanted this for a while, but it's going on the
read it later listscratch that, it's going on the tracking list so I can actually remember to read the first chapter.And it's amazing how badly you screw up afterwards, isn't it Chrysalis? I mean, trying to drain Twlight's magic made her go to absolute town on your ass, if I recall. She beat you to a freaking pulp. And recently you got owned by Thorax, a lowly Changeling drone.
Seriously Chrysalis. At least Sombra managed to be slightly more competent.
Oh well. Let's look at this story and see what's up and up. By the way, the author's avatar makes me chuckle heartily.
you should probably use the actual sequel marker. i thought this was some kind of plaguarized version until i realized you were the same guy who wrote the other one, and THEN read past the end of the description to see that this was, in fact, a sequel.
7658263 I also thought someone was trying to rip you off, lol.
Told you so
Welcome back to the feature box
this is so odd, today i was thinking about reading Changeling Courtship Rituals again again, then when i go to read it again, i find this story X3
note: Chrysalis x Twilight is my fav ship X3
Two Bluebloods tag-team! It is a miracle that Canterlot is still standing!
Fire.
Green fire.
Burning everywhere.
Pinkie's right you know, when it's a clone, it's not incest. Technically, it's masterbation.
I must say, you are a master of writing story descriptions.
Here's hoping the story behind it is just as amazing and hilarious!
oh gods twilight, why did you have to think that?!
I reread your last story but could not find a scene in it where twilight wants to put her hoof through chrysalis's holes was that your story or another changeling story? I might just be making stuff up again. lol Anywho glad to read more of this.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS THE SEQUEL!!!!!!
FINALLY!
Ooh, it's here. I am happy.
Getting a major Deja Vu here, but I'll give it a read.
Time for Chrysalis to learn about the other side of the dating coin.
Okay, you have my attention. This can only end hilariously.
Let's Fucking GOOOO
Best news EVER!!!
I'm crying of joy QwQ
7658313 ship Bruh!!! *0*
Woohoo! Sequel!
I think Chryssi is rubbing off on Twilight a little more than Twilight realizes...
7658241 Actually Chrysalis was doing pretty well that second time... until she threatened to turn a love-drained Twilight on her friends. Then Twilight flipped her lid.
And the shenanigans begin anew!
I think may like this story more than the actual show!
Going to fave it now and haven't even read it yet!!
After last story I know it will be good!
Long synopsis is looooooooooooooong...
7658145
Yes, I got a PM about that within an hour or so and fixed it. I blame the google docs import (and also the fact that I only ever looked at the story on this site in editing mode).
7658193
Good point, changed it.
7658263
Is there a sequel marker somewhere? I see one for prequels, but nothing for sequels. This is actually the first time I've posted a sequel here, so pardon my ignorance. In any case, the description now says it's a sequel at the very top.
I... Excuse me. I think this explains my reaction better than words or emoticons ever can. Hit it Joker!
Overreaction? Probably, but I found this far funnier than I probably should have.
So, this seems like the start of something amazing. So much was funny in this first chapter and then pinkie's comments and Twilight being adorable and...
Yep, definitely going to track this.
7658868 Here's how you mark something as a sequel:
Put the link to the first story (in this case, Changeling Courtship Rituals) in the slot marked for prequel.
...
Hahah! Busted!
7658868 If you're talking about where it says "prequel story" between "Title" and "Short Description" that's where you put the number for the prequel story to the one you are writing. You don't put the whole link in it, just the number. In this particular case: 288955 . When you next save, then go to a fresh page of your story, it will include the link to the previous story.
YES!!! It's finally here!!!
I was laughing my ass off as soon as I saw the coverart, and the rest didn't disappoint.
I wonder what happened on that first date...
Prince Greenblood? Nuh can't resist, resistance is futile!
fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/255/c/4/spock_by_jennieoo-d5ei0vg.png
i.imgflip.com/18qhty.jpg
This seems apt for their history
derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/1/11/520933__safe_twilight+sparkle_animated_queen+chrysalis_changeling_artist-colon-mrponiator_stupid+sexy+twilight.gif
ohhh man, I kind of hoped it picks up where it stopped last time, or not that much later.
Not sure if Starlight was there last time, but even if Starlight is one of my favourites, I don't like it if storys are just updated to a certain point, because the show keeps showing new stuff.
I don't like it, but other storys do it worse if they suddenly try to add a certain element that would actually have to happen much later or stuff like that.
Now it is just Rarity being Rarity, but I seriously hope that this isn'T starting to sound like Twilight wants to please Rarity. I actually would like her to talk back to her one time, or havin Chrysalis to do it even if she likes Twilight, I believe she would notice if Twilight don't exactly likes that.
I'm happy for this sequel, and even if the first chapter was a bit weird with all the new stuff, the flashback or whatever I should call it, it wasn't exactly bad. 5/10 I guess.
I thought the thing with Greenblood was stupid, at least how Chrysalis explained it again, but I respect how she does things in this story for the most part.
I totally loved it when Chrysalis came back pleading to Twilight.
What is Cadance teaching Chrysalis? I mean that she tried to act like Twilight wouldn't mean anything to her on that first date? I hope it takes more for her to make her really loving Chrysalis, and not some sort of clichee that would make Rarity happy.
However it takes more to take the fun from this story, I'm really happy that I'm finally get to read more.
This will be a beautiful disaster. I'm on board with this already.
The fallout when Twilight finds out Chrysalis has been getting dating advise from Cadence and that Cadence appears to have been trying to sabotage their relationship is going to be epic.