//------------------------------// // The best laid plans // Story: Chrysalis's First Sleepover // by Chaospaladin //------------------------------// Chrysalis was late. The sleepover party was in full swing and the main guests had already arrived:  Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. Considering this was an all-mare’s sleepover, Twilight gave mercy to Spike and made arrangements to have him spend the night at Applejack’s place to hang out with Big Mac, leaving Starlight to be her support for the evening. Currently, the main party room was hosted at the council room within the Castle of Friendship. Long tables of food, cake, and various goodies were lined up on one side of the room. Vibrantly colored streamers and balloons, courtesy of Pinkie Pie, were strewn all over the room while an assortment of party supplies and games were carefully placed in the corner. “...and that’s when Daring Do pointed her hoof at all the goons and said ‘Bang’!” Rainbow Dash finished the retelling of her favorite scene, standing on the circular table in dramatic fashion. Everypony who sat at the table with her either laughed or rolled their eyes in amusement. Starlight, who had taken her seat next to Twilight, gave her a concerned glance. “Hey, are you alright?” she asked quietly, so as not to draw attention from the others who were swapping stories and jokes with each other. Twilight perked up as she was pulled out of her thoughts. “Huh? What do you mean?” “You look a little dazed and disappointed. Are you worried about, well, you-know-who?” “Um...” Twilight glanced to make sure the others weren’t listening. “Yeah. She’s over an hour late. At this rate, I don’t know if she’ll make it in time for—” “Who’ll make it in time for what?” “GAH!” Twilight jumped, nearly tumbling out of her seat at Pinkie Pie’s sudden appearance behind her seat. “D-don’t do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” “Sorry! I was just really curious about what you two were whispering about, so I wanted to listen in!” Pinkie shifted closer to Twilight, who had now drawn everypony’s attention. “Who is this ‘you-know-who’ that’s coming? Do we know her? What time is she coming? Why are you being all secretive about it?” Twilight shifted as she smiled nervously, desperately wanting to tell Pinkie to put a sock in it. “W-what? Me, being secretive? No way. It’s just a friend that I invited at the last minute.” “Oh my, you have another friend joining us? How exciting!” Fluttershy smiled softly. “Who is she?” “She, uh...” Twilight gulped. She quickly began sweating under everypony’s stares. Thanks to Pinkie, it was too late to rescind the fact somepony was coming. She didn’t want to outright lie to her friends, but she couldn’t tell them Chrysalis was the surprise guest. “S-she’s a really good friend. You guys will definitely like her.” “You’re being surprisingly vague about this, darling,” Rarity pointed out, a sly grin slowly spreading on her muzzle. “You’re acting like a filly talking about a crush. Is this a special somepony we should know about?” Twilight coughed. The implications alone on the idea of Twilight and Chrysalis being a couple was terrifying. Chrysalis was difficult enough as it was to handle without having the added mess of a romantic relationship thrown in. “It’s not like that!” “Then who is it, Sugarcube?” Applejack inquired, “Maybe Celestia or Luna?” “Maybe she’s bringing some of her other friends, like Moondancer?” Rainbow dash added. An idea coming to mind, Pinkie decided to volunteer her thoughts on the matter. “Wouldn’t it be crazy if she invited Chrysalis?” Silence. The upbeat atmosphere fizzled away in an instant, awkwardness and discomfort filling the gap. Twilight felt disheartened that the mere mention of Chrysalis always seemed to drag this mood out of them. Pinkie and Fluttershy were usually either passive or concerned about the idea, but Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash always regarded any mention of Chrysalis with hostility. “Don’t even joke about that,” Rainbow shuddered, “there’s no way Twilight would invite somepony… ling ...whatever like her to the sleepover.” Twilight felt a spark of heat in her chest. She narrowed her eyes at Rainbow. “That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?” “A little harsh?” Rainbow asked incredulously. “Are we forgetting what happened when I tried to hang out with her?” “I...well…” Twilight winced. Regardless of how much the badmouthing of Chrysalis annoyed her, Twilight had to admit Rainbow did have solid grounds to be angry with her. “To be fair, she did apologize for that, and you shouldn’t have challenged her to a prank war. Besides, your mane and tail grew back, so all’s well that ends well, right?” Judging from Rainbow’s glare, Twilight knew not all was forgiven. “No offense, Twi, but I hafta agree with Rainbow on this one,” Applejack said, “this ain’t like the situation with Maud way back when. Chrysalis is not a family friendly changeling, if ya catch my meanin’.” Twilight attempted to think of a rebuttal, only to remember what happened the last time Chrysalis visited the Apple family farm. “Okay, I knew she taught Applebloom a few, er, questionable things, but she really was trying to help her feel more confident.” “Speaking of questionable,” Rarity spoke up this time, “need we forget the horrors of what transpired when I invited her to the spa?” Starlight chose this moment to intervene and help with the defense. “That could have ended a lot worse. Twilight did eventually get them to remove the lifetime ban from the spa that was placed on you two.” “I-I don’t think she’s a bad changeling,” Fluttershy offered timidly. Twilight sighed with relief. Thankfully, at least one of them hadn’t joined the anti-Chrysalis squad that seemed to be forming. “Although…” her friend continued,” she is a little intimidating and hard to talk to.” “Tell me about it!” Pinkie exasperated. “I mean, I don’t personally have a problem with her. I just wish she would accept my party invites and stop running away whenever I tried to throw a surprise party or even say hello. Sometimes I think she’s afraid of me or something. Whenever I surprise her she goes all ‘EGAH!’ and runs away.” Twilight was both relieved and surprised Pinkie and Fluttershy didn’t have some sort of crisis in dealing with her. Oddly enough, it was the only argument she didn’t have a rebuttal for. It was simply a pain in the flank to get Chrysalis to open up or attend any social gatherings. “But you still didn’t answer my question, silly. Who’s your friend that’s coming to the sleepover?” Pinkie asked. “A-ah, well...it’s…” Twilight gulped as all the curious eyes drilled into her, sans Starlight, who was unable to aid her mentor. Twilight found herself between a rock and a hard place. Outside Spike and Starlight, all of her friends were wary of the reformed queen of the changelings and more often than not avoided her at all cost. For her plan to work, they couldn’t know she was coming. But she knew they would continue drilling her and tossing speculations until they managed to pull the truth out of her. The situation was rapidly deteriorating. That was, until the doorbell rang. “Don’t mind me, I’m just going to answer the door. Just relax, and don’t follow me to the door. I’ll be right back!” Flash! In a flurry of lavender light, Twilight reappeared before the entrance. Twilight was not a fan of lying to her friends, but she was determined to have Chrysalis get over her discomfort with her friends and vice versa. The only way they would exist in the same space together would be if neither knew the other would be there. Twilight groaned at the mere thought of the copious amount of dodging from both sides. If all went well, then tonight would finally put an end to it all. Putting on her best smile, Twilight used her magic to swing open the door. “Welcome to the sleepover, Chry—” She stopped, and blinked rapidly upon discovering a young purple drake rather than the tall and dark changeling queen she was expecting. “Spike?” she asked dumbly. Spike blushed, wearing a guilty grin. “Sorry, I forgot to bring some extra games to play with Big Mac. Is it safe for me to come and grab them?” Twilight let out a relieved breath, and smiled. “Oh, is that all? Sure, go ahead and— waiiiit a second.” She had almost made a critical mistake. If Chrysalis was supposed to be arriving around this time, then this had to be her in disguise. Twilight couldn’t remember when it started, but whenever Chrysalis would visit the two would always play a game of deduction. Twilight's goal was to catch Chrysalis in disguise before she could be invited inside and set hoof in the home. Whoever won earned a ‘favor point’, where they could call in a favor. At first, Twilight was annoyed with this spontaneously created game. But eventually she began to enjoy the challenge of figuring out who was Chrysalis in disguise. That, and Twilight didn’t dare allow herself to lose a battle of wits against her. Twilight had yet to lose at this game, and tonight was not going to be the night. Unfortunately for Chrysalis, disguising herself as Spike was surprisingly sloppy of her. There was no need for quizzing or deductions when she could invoke her secret weapon for this game. “Spike,” she started with a silky sweet tone, “what’s the password?” Spike stopped to think for a moment, then his eyes lit up with recognition. “Flashlight!” “Thank you, Spike! Go ahead and grab what you need.” Twilight stepped aside, closing the door behind Spike. “Almost forgot she was coming today. Good thing you’re too smart to let her catch you off guard,” Spike said. “You got that right. No way she’s going to sneak past me.” Twilight puffed out her chest proudly. “Just be careful with her. She almost had you last time.” “True. Had I not remembered that Celestia would rarely, if ever, visit during the night, she would have…” Twilight trailed off, and blinked. “Hold on. How did you know about that time?” “Huh?” “I distinctly remember you being out on an errand during that time. I never told you what happened.” Spike thrummed a claw along his chin, frowning in thought. “Could’ve sworn you told me about it. Maybe you just told me in passing.” He shrugged. Twilight thought to probe further, but she decided to ignore her instincts this time around. Spike had given her the secret password that automatically cleared him of suspicion. Still, with Chrysalis being so late, Twilight began fearing she had changed her mind or ran into a major delay. The doorbell pulled her out of her thoughts, filling her with renewed hope. This had to be Chrysalis. “Oh, this should be good. I’ll bet that’s Chrysalis right now. I wonder what disguise she’s gonna wear this time,” Spike grinned with anticipation. Twilight pulled open the door to find… … Spike? Spike blushed, wearing a guilty grin. “Sorry, I forgot to bring some extra games to play with Big Mac. I’ll just run in and—” Magenta magic suddenly wrapped around Spike’s nose in a light telekinetic pinch, causing him to yelp. “H-h-hey! Cut it out!” “Got your nose! I win again, Chrysalis!” Twilight smirked. Moments passed. Usually at this point, Chrysalis would reveal herself and go on about how she was sure this would work this time. Oddly, ‘Spike’ was still dancing in place while he tried to pull away from Twilight’s magical grip. She frowned. “You know the rules, Chrysalis:  if you messed up and I got you with good reason, you have to reveal yourself.” “Is that right, Twilight Sparkle?” Twilight froze. That reverberating voice did not come from the Spike in front of her, and the flash of green magic behind her confirmed her fears. Releasing her grip on the real Spike, Twilight turned around. “How did—” Nom. Twilight blinked, gawking at the ebony muzzle that proceeded to nom her nose. She couldn’t stop staring wide-eyed at Chrysalis, with her bright emerald eyes filled with jubilation and mischief. After a few seconds she pulled away from Twilight, her smile stretched wide across her mouth. “Got your nose, Twilight. I win.” “But I… how did you… when…” Twilight’s eyes bounced between Spike and Chrysalis, utterly lost and confused. Chrysalis cackled. “Oh, you have no idea how long I’ve dreamed of seeing you make that face! Finally, I’ve conquered you at this game!” “How in the world did you know the password? There’s no way Spike would betray my trust!” Chrysalis stopped laughing to give her a skeptical glance. “To be fair, he was not easy to crack. It took far more gems and coaxing than I expected.” Twilight’s stare turned to Spike, who cast his gaze to the ground in shame. “...They were really tasty… and she had a star sapphire too, Twilight. I couldn’t help it.” “You traitor!” Twilight admonished. Suddenly, she whipped her head to glare at Chrysalis. “Fine, you get a favor point, cheater.” “I do get a favor, don’t I? In that case…” Chrysalis’s eyes lowered as she moved closer to Twilight, giving her what she could only describe as bedroom eyes. “I’m going to claim my reward right now.” “C-C-Chrysalis? What are you— eep!” Twilight yelped when Chrysalis pulled her into a tight hug. “Now, now, Twilight,” Chrysalis whispered huskily, “this will be easier for both of us if you stop resisting and let it happen.” “...Goodnight, everypony!” Spike turned about face and made a speedy retreat, leaving Twilight to her fate. He knew how this was going to end, and was not in the mood to gain mental scars. Again. Chrysalis roughly nuzzled Twilight, who was kicking off a fit of futile wiggling and squirming. “H-hey, take it easy! I’ll feed you later!” she squeaked. “I haven’t had a decent meal all day. Mommy needs her medicine, Twilight.” “I know it's been awhile, but just relax and— ah-AH! -hey, don’t do that! My wings are sensitive!” “Exactly! And also delicious.” “If you would please stop and turn around for a second, you will see that we’re being watched!” “By Starlight, right? Don’t worry about her. I’ll bet she likes to watch.” “For the love of all that is decent, phrasing!” “Open yourself to my will, my faithful student.” “You’re doing that on purpose! And please don’t say that using Celestia’s voice!” “You know you like it when I—” Chrysalis stopped just as her mouth hovered an inch away from nomming Twilight’s neck, staring wide-eyed at the sight she caught at the corner of her eye. Rainbow, Pinkie and Applejack were slackjawed, their muzzles burning red. Rarity had fainted on a conveniently placed divan, while Fluttershy hid her face behind her hooves, though Chrysalis questioned the point when she saw her peeking through an opening. Starlight stood out amongst the sea of speechless mares, crimson-faced and facehoofing out of embarrassment. With Twilight on her back and Chrysalis lying on top, only Starlight could tell the queen had merely been acting playful and needy with Twilight. That knowledge did not make what she or anypony else witnessed seem any less innocent. Even Chrysalis was caught utterly flathoofed, dark tints of red piercing her muzzle. It was one thing for her to mess around with Twilight and make her uncomfortable, but another to do it when her friends, barring Starlight and Spike, were gaping at them. The silence that stretched was more than enough to not only kill the mood, but completely unsettle her. “H-how silly of me!” Chrysalis attempted to laugh off as she scrambled away from Twilight, though her laugh came off rather manic and forced. “Our, um, diplomatic conference was due for next saturday, not this one! Please, forget I was here… and what you heard… and saw…” As Chrysalis’ nerves began to unravel, she knew there was no other choice. She had to use that. “Discord!” Chrysalis cried out and pointed behind the gawking audience. “Please refrain from showing such lewd pictures of Celestia and Shining Armor!” All but Twilight and Starlight turned around. Rarity shot up from the couch like a bullet. Twilight, who had recovered from her prone position, facehoofed hard, while Starlight added a groan and another hoof to her facehoofing. The distraction was just long enough for Chrysalis to make her daring escape. Straight into the closed door. The loud thump refocused everypony’s attention on the hissing and swearing Chrysalis, who sat with her forehooves clutching her wounded muzzle and pride. “This… isn’t the way I’d planned for all of us to meet, but it will have to do.” Despite Twilight’s face burning red from being flustered and her mane disheveled from her tussle with Chrysalis, she seemed surprisingly calm. Almost too calm. “Twi, mind tellin’ us what in the heck is goin’ on here?” Applejack inquired. “Yeah. What is SHE doing here?” Rainbow jerked her hoof at Chrysalis, who merely scoffed. “I invited her to this sleepover, just as I invited you all. While I know it was wrong, I made sure to keep it secret that you all would be meeting each other.” It was Chrysalis’ turn to gawk at Twilight in shock. “You said it would just be you, me and Starlight at this sleepover! How could you lie to me so blatantly?” Twilight’s answer was a quirked eyebrow aimed in her direction. Chrysalis returned her gaze with a flat stare. “My question is still valid, Sparky.” “Don’t throw stones in glass houses, Chryssi,” Twilight snarked. “Truly, Twilight, this is rather surprising of you to arrange things this way. Why didn’t you just tell us Chrysalis would be attending the sleepover?” Rarity asked. “I only did this because you guys keep avoiding each other, and I’m tired of seeing my friends treat each other as though we were still enemies. So tonight, I decided to solve this problem once and for all. Surely, you all could stand to spend one night together and find a way to bond, right?” Twilight asked hopefully. The two sides gave each other concerned glances, Chrysalis and Twilight’s other five friends respectively. Chrysalis felt especially stressed from the emotions she could sense from Fluttershy, Rainbow, Rarity and Applejack. She had a feeling they would attempt to stay because of Twilight, and that in itself was admirable, but Chrysalis considered an alternative plan to both ease her tension and avoid dealing with the ponies. “I suppose I can stay if you wish it, Twilight,” Chrysalis bared her pearly fangs in a hungry grin, “I’m pretty famished, so I could use a good meal.” To complete the intimidation tactics, she winked at the nervous mares who stood across from her. Suddenly, everypony began speaking at once. “Just remembered I have to practice some new moves—” “N-now that I think about it, I believe Sweetie belle—” “I-I-I should check on the animals—” “I gotta wake up early to take care of the farm and—” “Do ponies taste like cake? Do you like cake? Oh, oh, what if I was eating cake while you—” The sound of the door locks clicking in place robbed their attention. They looked to see Twilight’s magical grip on the castle’s massive double doors. “Chrysalis, I know you’re only saying that to get away from everypony, so knock it off. Nopony’s going anywhere.” Twilight shot the queen a pointed look. “Worth a shot,” Chrysalis shrugged, “besides, if I really wanted to leave, I could just use a teleportation spell to do it. Like this!” In a last ditch effort to escape the awkward event, Chrysalis sparked her horn with green energy, focusing her magic to relocate her beyond the castle walls. Nothing. For reasons Chrysalis could not fathom, her magical reach could not penetrate the walls. A suppressive force blocked all attempts to reach the outside, like attempting to push through an immovable pillow fort. Now that she realized it, her connection to the hive was also severed the moment the door closed, something that required a substantial amount of power. Was it just her, or did Twilight… Chrysalis’s eyes widened. “You there, Marshmallow!” After a few seconds of hesitation, Rarity realized Chrysalis was referring to her. She huffed. “How rude! I have a name, and it is—” “Try to teleport outside the castle walls!” “Teleport? I suppose I can try, but I’m not sure why you suddenly asked me to… oh!” Rarity’s horn, alight with blue magic, faded moments after igniting. “How odd. I can’t feel my magic beyond these walls,” she noted in confusion. Starlight bit her lip nervously. “That’s because there are magical suppression enchantments placed all over the castle. We can’t teleport out of the interior.” A sense of dread washed over the sleepover attendees. Twilight decided to answer the unasked question for them. “I’m the one who decided to place the barrier enchantments. And as Rainbow Dash will soon find out, there are military grade security locks and barriers placed on all windows and exits.” “WHAT!?” Everypony gasped in horror. Just as Twilight said, it was only now they noticed a dusty outline where Rainbow had stood only seconds ago. Rainbow rushed back into the area out of one of the nearby rooms, eyes wide with alarm. “Girls! There are some crazy strong gates everywhere! I don’t think anypony can get out!” Distress began to spread among the ponies in the room, except for Starlight, who wore a look of uncertainty and guilt. It was clear nopony was going to be able to leave unless Twilight deemed otherwise. She hated to get her own student involved in all the preparations, including preparing all the intricate locking and isolation spells that could stop a being as powerful as Chrysalis, but failure was not an option. “Um, Twi? Don’t ya think this is a little, I dunno, extreme?” Applejack asked. “Tell me about it,” said Chrysalis, who tossed Twilight an appraising look. "This seems like something I would do. Perhaps I've been a bad influence on her. Can't say I disapprove…” “I'm only doing what's best for everypony. Now, this is what’s going to happen, everypony.” Small portions of Twilight’s mane and tail turned frazzled and came undone, giving her a manic disposition. “We are all going to head back to the party room. Then, we’re going to find a way to enjoy ourselves and have a normal, fun, bonding sleepover. Is that clear?” Everypony, Chrysalis included, gulped as they nodded. “Great! Then let us go back to the room and engage in some fun activities.” Twilight trotted happily to the party room, while the rest of the party guests were stunned into silence. “...You know,” Chrysalis remarked, “Twilight’s pretty cute when she goes crazy.” “I know, right?” Pinkie piped up. Starlight groaned. “Chrysalis, Pinkie, just… no. Please stop.”