Pony Courtship Rituals

by Codex Ex Equus


Chapter Nine: The Ceremony, Take Two

The library in Twilight's castle was always orderly. Case upon case and shelf upon shelf of books sat peacefully, carefully arranged by whatever system Twilight had decided on that week. Subtle spell runes glowed along the shelves to keep the books safe, and others lined the walls to mute outside sounds. A quiet hush filled the room, as befit such a solemn temple of learning.

That silence was shattered, along with most of a window, as a tangle of purple and black limbs came crashing through the stained glass panes. Slamming into the floor, the clump of legs split apart, revealing itself to be bruised and battered pony and changeling.

Twilight slid across the floor, sending several tables and chairs flying before coming to a rest in a pile of furniture. Chrysalis bounced off a pillar, spinning across the room and crashing into the opposite wall hard enough to make the books on the shelves jump, even with the protective spells on them.

Wobbling, both climbed back to their hooves. Instinctively, their first action was to look over at the other, doing their best to remain circumspect, almost as though carefully making sure their partner wasn't hurt. Only then did they check themselves out, stretching out a sore limb or patting disheveled hair back into place.

Twilight attacked suddenly, sending a storm of chairs flying across the room. But Chrysalis was at the ready, and a heavy beam of magic from her horn burned them all down mid-flight.

For a moment, there was peace again as the two circled the room, heads down, stalking each other.

Once more, Twilight was the first to act, charging across the crystal floor at full gallop, her head down and horn leading the way. Chrysalis ran out to meet her, horn similarly at the ready. But just before they collided Twilight disappeared with a flash of magenta light, reappearing behind the changeling and unleashing a powerful bolt of magic from her horn. What Twilight had forgotten, however, was that Chrysalis had been obsessively following her every move over the past few years. So Chrysalis had been ready for the same tactic the then-unicorn had used against Nightmare Moon, and Twilight's magic spattered harmlessly off the shield protecting Chrysalis's back.

The Queen's sneer of triumph turned to shock as the Princess charged back across the room, rearing up and slamming her hooves into the shield. Normally, even the impact of an alicorn at full physical strength would hardly be noticeable, and Twilight was tiring out, but after the running battle the two had been fighting, both their magics were also nearing their end, and the shield cracked under Twilight's assault. With two more blows it shattered, sending Twilight crashing into Chrysalis and knocking them both to the ground.

For the next few moments they simply wrestled upon the floor of the library, hooves flailing and bodies twisting as each fought for an advantage. Twilight could get on top and try to pin the changeling down, but she never quite managed it in a way that gave her the leverage to stop the larger changeling from simply shrugging her off. Chrysalis similarly found herself unable to keep the pony in place; no matter what she did, the small pony wiggled and squirmed her way free.

They separated again, panting, each carefully watching for a moment of weakness.

Chrysalis took the first shot this time, grabbing chairs in her meager remaining magic and smashing them all together on top of Twilight even as she charged the pony. Twilight simply leapt lightly over the chairs with an assist from a flap of her wings. Chrysalis arrived as she touched down, rearing up and then slamming her hooves down.

She struck only the hard crystal floor of the library, as her hooves passed through a magenta flash. Twilight reappeared directly above where she had been, flapping her wings to hover in place as she unleashed the last of her magic in a stunning bolt at Chrysalis.

A bolt that struck only the air. Chrysalis appeared out of her own teleport in the air just above Twilight, having correctly guessed the use of the pony's favorite spell once again. Now out of magic herself, she struck down with both rear hooves, catching Twilight in the back and sending her crashing to the ground with a cry.

Chrysalis landed just behind the pony, wobbling on her hooves. Twilight looked at her with wide, fearful eyes, then turned and began to struggle away. She dragged herself along with her front hooves, managing after a moment to begin getting her hind legs under herself so she could stand up.

And as she did, Chrysalis pounced.

She landed on Twilight, sending them both crashing to the floor. Twilight struggled violently, throwing her body back and forth as she sought escape, but Chrysalis followed her every move. She crouched above Twilight, stalking along with her movements, hooves herding the pony closer and closer to her own body, cutting off her every escape attempt. Finally, Twilight could move no longer, pinned firmly under the changeling. She gave a few weak wiggles, struggling with all the might she had left, but she may as well have been trying to move a boulder.

They lay there for a moment, both breathing hard. Twilight was on her back, forelegs firmly caught between her barrel and Chrysalis's, wings pinned under her own body. Chrysalis squatted atop her, hind legs trapping Twilight's body in place, her front hooves planted to either side of the pony's head.

Finally, Twilight turned her head to the side and lifted her chin, exposing her neck, and gave the changeling a meaningful look. Grinning widely, fangs on full display, Chrysalis began to lower her open mouth.

Twilight closed her eyes, just like she had the first time. She wanted to savor the moment.

She felt Chrysalis's hooves, tight around her body. She heard the changeling breathing, panting partly out of exhaustion from their fight and partly out of anticipation. She smelled the scent of Chrysalis's carapace, a faint wisp of black licorice. Just as Twilight felt hot breath upon her neck and a set of fangs brushing against her coat, Chrysalis paused. Then she pulled back, and Twilight open her eyes, looking up in confusion and worry.

"Chrysalis?" she asked nervously. "Is something wrong?"

"No," replied the changeling slowly, shaking her head, "but while I appreciate you going through a changeling wedding for me… I think I like the way you ponies end this thing better."

The pony continued to look puzzled, and Chrysalis smiled down at her. "I do," she said softly.

Twilight's confusion disappeared, and a bright, warm smile took its place. "I do," she replied.

Chrysalis started to move down again, then almost reared back in surprise as Twilight launched herself upwards, wrapping her hooves around the changeling's neck and kissing her fiercely.

This was no peck on the cheek, no hesitant enjoyment of a surprisingly tender wedding kiss, no simple kiss goodnight. Twilight melted into Chrysalis's embrace, letting herself finally express all the feelings that had been bottled up inside her for months. All the anxiety, all the fear and sadness, all the unfelt desire exploded out of her in that fiery, passionate kiss.

They paused for a moment, foreheads resting against each other as they took deep, shuddering breaths, and then, mouths still open, came together again.

Carefully, Chrysalis lowered Twilight to the ground, their bodies still wrapped together. Tentatively, almost shyly—still remembering what had happened the last time she'd kissed Twilight like this—Chrysalis's tongue poked gently into the pony's mouth. Again Twilight hesitated at the unfamiliar sensation of a forked tongue in her mouth, but only briefly, and both pony and changeling let out deep moans as their kiss deepened.

For an endless, dreamy time, the two lay on the floor of the library, exploring each other's mouths, lost in the sheer pleasure of finally being able to express their love physically, the anticipation of knowing there was only more to come only heightening their pleasure.

At some point, through the haze of joy, Twilight realized Chrysalis was silently weeping. Carefully separating herself from the changeling, she gazed sadly at her for a moment, not noticing her own tears, then moved forward and gently kissed the tears off Chrysalis's cheeks. Changeling tears had a bitter taste, but she didn't mind, and didn't stop until they were all gone. At the same time, Chrysalis saw the pony's tears, and Twilight let out a giggle as a forked tongue tickled across her face and lapped up her tears.

"I missed you so much," whispered Chrysalis hoarsely. "I thought I'd lost you forever…"

"So did I," Twilight replied breathlessly, eyes wide with wonder as she stared at the face she loved and gently stroked Chrysalis's cheek. "I thought I'd never be able to find my love for you, and then I signed those stupid papers and realized you would be gone for good…"

She stopped, letting out a shuddering breath, and then buried her face in Chrysalis's neck, kissing up and down her chitin. In turn, Chrysalis wrapped her forelegs around the pony and squeezed, taking up her favorite position with her chin resting on the top of Twilight's head.

"I love you," murmured the changeling into Twilight's mane. "You do love me too, right?"

"You know I do," Twilight replied with a happy sigh. "Would I have gone through all this trouble if I didn't? Besides, you can taste it."

"Yes, but that's not the same as you saying it," insisted Chrysalis. "Hearing the words, hearing them come out of your mouth, knowing you mean them while seeing you actually say what I've waited so long for—"

"I love you, Queen Chrysalis," said Twilight, an adoring smile on her face. "You mean everything to me. There is nopony in Equestria, in the entire world, that I would rather be with than you. All I want to do—"

She stopped talking. She had to, as Chrysalis had begun smothering her face with kisses, and obviously she had to return the favor. Eventually, Chrysalis calmed down and settled for simply embracing the pony tightly. After only a moment of that, she raised her head.

"So what do you love about me?"

"Really?" asked Twilight dryly, raising an eyebrow.

"I spent six months telling you how much I loved you and why," Chrysalis replied with a pout. "Don't I deserve the same?"

"Well…" Twilight slowly ran one hoof up and down Chrysalis's neck. "I love your chitin. How it's so smooth, and tough yet flexible."

Leaning in closer, Twilight rested her forehead against Chrysalis's. "And I love your eyes. So many shades of green, all mixed into two perfect circles. It's like staring into a pair of the most beautiful jewels imaginable."

She lifted up one of Chrysalis's forelegs in her own. "I love your hooves, and every hole in them." She began kissing the hoof she held, and as she neared one of the holes Chrysalis suddenly snatched the leg back, something that looked suspiciously like a blush on her face.

"Oh my, they are sensitive. I see, I see..." Twilight chuckled, then, seeing the changeling's mortified expression, relented. "I love your wings, the way they shimmer in the light." Twilight ran a hoof down Chrysalis's back. "I love the softness of your shell… I love everything about you, my Queen."

A shiver went through the changeling's body at those words, but then she turned away, looking back at Twilight out of the corner of one eye. "So you're only in this because of my body, then?"

Twilight let out a groan, rolling her eyes, but obliged. "Well, I love your arrogance—"

"Confidence," interjected Chrysalis, with an offended sniff.

"And I love that it makes you refuse to admit you're wrong, even when you know you are. And I can always tell you know, because you get an adorable pouty look on your face and refuse to talk." Chrysalis glared at her, cheeks puffed out, and Twilight chuckled. "Yes, that's the one."

Chrysalis turned away with a huff, but Twilight put her hoof on the changeling's cheek and gently turned her head back to look her in the eyes. "And I love how much you care about, well, everything. Especially me. That intensity sometimes makes you do things I don't exactly approve of… but I wouldn't change it for the world."

"Thank you. That's… that's all I can say." Chrysalis smiled widely, tears shimmering in the corners of her eyes. Twilight could still remember a time when the sight of that smile would have sent her running for cover… but now all she did was smile back.

"If anything, I should be thanking you," replied Twilight softly. "If you hadn't… well, messed up so badly and started all of this, I never would have known I could feel this way. So thank you."

"We can call it a draw," Chrysalis said, with a toss of her hair and a widening of her grin.

They kissed again briefly, then pulled back to gaze into each other's eyes.

"So…" said Chrysalis after a moment, "where shall we go for our honeymoon? I was thinking of Canterlot. After all, we'll need to claim our new thrones."

Twilight turned her head sharply, gazing at Chrysalis with narrowed eyes, and the changeling threw her head back with a cackle. "Or would you prefer the Crystal Empire? Either is fine with me. Our legions should be gaining control of both capitals within the hour."

Twilight's expression softened into something that could have been called a smirk if there hadn't been so much love in it. "I wouldn't mind visiting the Crystal Empire—it's beautiful, and I can't wait to show you around—but it might be better if we avoid it for some time. At least until certain issues have been cleared up. As for our legions invading both of them… no, they aren't."

"Excuse me?" asked Chrysalis, a fearsome frown on her face. "What exactly makes you so sure of that?"

"Because," said Twilight smugly, "one of their Queens informed them that, at least for today, any such actions would have to be approved by both their Queens."

Chrysalis stared at her, mouth dropping open. Then she snapped it shut, fury blazing in her eyes. "You went over my horn?!" she snarled.

"Not exactly over… more to the side," replied Twilight, the smile still on her face. "They are my legions too, aren't they?"

Chrysalis stared at her, mouth working silently as she tried to get out some kind of response, then she turned away. "Yes," she admitted, grumbling.

"I won't do this again, Chrysalis, or at least not very often," said Twilight gently, touching the changeling's shoulder with one hoof. "But today is a very special day, and I wanted it to be all about us. No invasions, no kidnappings, just… us. In love, and married."

Twilight's hoof suddenly tightened on the shoulder, and she flipped Chrysalis over, pinning her on her back. "And don't think you're going to get away with anything like that from now on anyway," she growled in Chrysalis's face. "You're stuck with me forever, and I will stop you. Every. Single. Time."

Chrysalis blinked at her in something almost like fear, and then a smile grew on her face. "Good," she snarled, "I look forward to it."

"The changelings are busy right now, though," commented Twilight after a moment, and then smiled when Chrysalis looked at her questioningly. "They're getting ready to move into their new hive."

Chrysalis's expression didn't change for a moment, and then she gasped. "You mean… you asked them to move here? A-and build a new hive under your castle?"

"That's right. They should be here tomorrow, to start surveying the area and planning the excavation. Luckily, the castle has plenty of room for guests, and on top of that, I'm sure the Ponyville hotel wouldn't mind a few hundred extra customers for however long the construction takes."

The smile suddenly fell off Twilight's face. "Oh. That was okay, wasn't it? I know I'm a Queen now too, but I don't want to step on your hooves or anything and start ordering the changelings around all the time, and this was a pretty big move to make, telling them to abandon your current hive and all—"

"No, no, it was fine," hushed Chrysalis soothingly, stroking the pony's hair. "I told you I was planning on moving the hive under your castle, and you remembered and gave orders to that effect. I have no issue with you ordering our changelings to carry out decisions I've—we've—already made. And on top of that, you are a Queen, the same as me. Your orders are my orders, and the other way around."

One corner of her lips curled up, into a smirk. "But if you truly wish to rule as a Queen, you'll have to get out of that habit of apologizing. Royalty does not ask forgiveness; you command, and your wishes are carried out. There is no discussion afterwards."

"Well… that's something else we might have to agree to disagree on. Or, at least, it's a topic where we both have something that we can teach the other." Twilight gave her head a shake. "In any case, I may have jumped the gun a bit with that order. I don't even know if this kind of construction is allowed in Ponyville. We'll have to get official surveyors out here, look up property and zoning laws, get some permits from the Mayor's office…"

"The Mayor's office, you say…" mused Chrysalis, then looked down cross–eyed as Twilight booped her in the nose.

"You are not laying siege to the town hall again," growled Twilight.

"Bah! 'Jaywalking'... what kind of a law is that?! I will not pay a fine for simply strolling across a street that I own!"

"For the last time, you do not own Ponyville! Neither do I! And if you'd simply showed up at your court date and apologized, they would have forgiven the ticket!" A thunderous expression grew on Chrysalis's face, and Twilight rolled her eyes. "I don't mean apologize apologize. But all you had to do was walk in and explain you hadn't meant to do anything wrong. That's it.

"What you didn't need to do was bring three full changeling legions into Ponyville and attempt to storm city hall over a ten bit ticket! And you definitely don't need to do it again! Mayor Mare was very forgiving after we got it all sorted out, but pushing her goodwill is the last thing we want to do, believe me."

Chrysalis started to object, then stopped with a frown. "You may be right," she conceded. "I have to admit, the town hall's security force was much tougher than we had expected. And the Mayor herself…" Chrysalis gave a little shiver. "I consider myself lucky that the other pony officials don't have her… tenacity. Or her ferocity. If Celestia had possessed such qualities, scaled up to her size and position, my first invasion may not have ended as well as it did."

"Far be it from me to say anything against the Princess, but…" Twilight looked around guiltily before continuing, "Celestia is 'Princess for Life' of Equestria. Mayor Mare is an elected official. She has to fight for her office, and that tends to toughen a pony up pretty fast."

"Plus she doesn't just sit around on her big flank eating cake all day," pointed out Chrysalis.

"Don't say things like that!" objected Twilight, squirming uncomfortably until Chrysalis calmed her with a flurry of kisses.

"There is still one thing we need to work out, though," said Twilight seriously, as they snuggled closer on the floor.

"Oh?"

"Yes. It's… about the wedding."

"Wedding? Of course!" Chrysalis clapped her hooves happily. "We need to have another wedding in Canterlot! With all your friends and family, and all our changelings!"

"That's not what I—"

"We can have another bachelorette party, and Rarity can make us new dresses..."

"I wasn't—wait, why would we need new dresses? Our old ones are perfectly fine still! It's only been six months!"

"We can't wear old dresses to our wedding!" gasped Chrysalis in horror. "Besides, it's for real this time! It needs to be perfect."

"You've been spending too much time with Rarity," Twilight groaned. "Okay, fine, new dresses. She won't mind anyway. And we can work out all the other details later. But… that wasn't the wedding I was talking about."

Chrysalis looked at her in puzzlement, and Twilight took a deep breath. "I meant the first wedding. The one where we met."

"Oh." Chrysalis shifted uncomfortably. "You still want me to apologize. Even though I was just doing what I had to do."

"I do want you to apologize, yes," said Twilight, nodding. "I'm not going to argue about whether or not everything you did was necessary. We've been over that. I would still like for you to apologize for what happened, though."

She held up a hoof. "But. I want you to mean it, Chrysalis. I don't want you to say you're sorry just to make me happy. You need to truly understand what you did, how it made me feel, how it made us all feel. If you understand that, if you actually do regret what you did, then say so. But I don't want an apology you don't mean.

"And… don't think you have to do this. I won't love you any more than I do now if you do, or any less if you don't. What you did was terrible, but… at least you had reasonable motivations, even if your actions can't really be called good or well-intentioned. And I think I forgave you for what you did a long time ago. Even when someone does something horrible, it's hard not to forgive them when they do it out of love and duty.

"So I'd like you to apologize. But you don't have to, and I don't want you to if you don't mean it."

Silence reigned in the library for a time. Twilight could almost feel Chrysalis struggling to come to a decision—in fact, she actually felt the changeling shift in place, and take a breath to give a reply before halting and then letting the breath out in an almost silent sigh. Finally, just when Twilight had resigned herself to the thought that Chrysalis wouldn't be giving her an apology that day, the changeling raised her head. As she did, Twilight's horn glowed briefly.

"Twilight…" she said slowly, her eyes not quite meeting the pony's, "I'm… sorry.

"I'm sorry I didn't just talk to you, to any of you. If I'd known what I know now, I could have just talked to you and let you know how I felt, or maybe even tried negotiating with Celestia. Even though conquest is just and honorable, and the way I do things—the way I prefer things—I could have saved so much time and effort and heartbreak if I'd just asked.

"And… I'm sorry for what I did to Cadance. I-I felt like I was going to die when I lost you, and Cadance must have felt something like that when I replaced her. A little bit, at least. On top of that, I didn't need to do it all on her wedding day. That made it personal, and there was no reason to do that.

"Most of all… most of all, I'm sorry for what I did to you and everyone you love. You were all there for a special day, and I ruined that. I hurt you and your family, and that hurts me."

She let out a defeated sigh, giving a lackluster shrug of her shoulders. "So… there. An apology. A real one, probably the first one I've ever given that wasn't directed at my changelings."

"Thank you, Chrysalis." Twilight's horn lit up again as her hooves encircled the pained-looking changeling and squeezed tight. "You have no idea how happy it makes me that you did that for me."

Chrysalis sighed, but hugged back. "I have at least some idea. Only someone who loves me and is this happy with me could taste like you do right now."

"And just think!" said Twilight excitedly. "This is just the first of many, many apologies you'll be giving over the rest of your life! You are going to make a wonderful Pony Princess, my dear heart."

"What?!" Chrysalis's head snapped upright. "You are out of your little pony mind if you think I am ever going to apologize again for what I've done or what I will do!"

"Not even to my friends and family for the wedding, like you just did to me?" asked Twilight with a pout.

"Especially not for that!"

"Well, that's fine." Twilight's horn began to glow, and a set of crystals floated up from a nearby desk wrapped in her magical aura.

In the middle was a large, dark purple crystal, roughly egg-shaped and covered in a multitude of facets. A faint shimmer came from deep within its surface, where motes of light danced. Surrounding it were four other, smaller crystals. These four were white and translucent, almost empty looking.

"What… is that?" wondered Chrysalis, as Twilight's magical manipulation produced a brighter light inside the larger crystal. The light gathered in the crystal's facets, and then flowed out, forming four beams that connected to the smaller crystals.

"Oh, it's this amazing artifact I found in the Crystal Empire after we defeated Sombra," said Twilight happily. The light in the bigger crystal disappeared, leaving the smaller crystals glowing faintly purple.

Twilight's horn glowed a bit brighter, lifting one of the small crystals higher. She let out a pulse of magic from her horn, and an image sprang to life in the air.

"Twilight…" said the ghostly, floating Chrysalis, "I'm… sorry."

The real Chrysalis's mouth fell open as a perfect recreation of her apology played out in the air before her.

"Isn't it fascinating?" asked Twilight giddily, talking over the replay. "The main crystal can record any event that takes place in a cube up to fifteen feet across, and then play it back with complete accuracy at any time. And as many times as you want! And the smaller crystals can copy anything the main one has recorded, so you can distribute perfect copies of a recorded scene to as many ponies as you have crystals!"

"N-no…" stammered Chrysalis, futilely trying to get to her hooves as the copied crystals floated away. She managed to get her legs under her body and reach the crystals just as they disappeared in a flash of magenta light.

"No! No no no!" Chrysalis reared up, hooves flailing wildly through the air where the crystals had been, "W-where'd they go? Bring them back! Bring them back now!"

"I sent them away, to some safe places that only I know about," replied Twilight. "I'm going to show one copy each to my parents, Cadance and Shining Armor, my friends, and the Princesses. Then I'll erase each recording."

Chrysalis turned around, raw fury and panic burning in her eyes. "You can't. You… you can't!"

"I can, Chrysalis," Twilight said soberly. "I want them to see you. The real you, not the monster who's attacked their kingdom repeatedly and ruined a wedding. It may only be once, but I want them to see what you're really like. To understand that while you willingly did every single horrible thing they experienced… that's not all you are. They can learn to tolerate you over time, maybe even like you, but if they can see you apologizing for what you've done it will make everything quicker and so, so much easier."

Breathing hard, one eye twitching, Chrysalis began to advance on Twilight one lurching step at a time.

"But… if you don't want me to, if you really don't want me to, I won't. I know how important your image is to you, and I know you think being seen apologizing will make you look weak. If this is something you really object to, I'll destroy those recordings.

"I just want you to know, it's important to me that you let me do this. I love you, and I want everyone in my life to know exactly why that is. I know you'd never show them willingly, and that's why I… well, I tricked you, a bit. I was even planning to wait to ask you for the apology if I didn't have something handy to record it with when we ended our wedding.

"I'm only doing this because I love you, *hiss chitter chirp*. And I want to keep things between you and my other loved ones as peaceful and happy as possible. I've let you do a lot of things I didn't agree with—like trying to murder all my friends at one time or another—because I love you, and I understand it's just something you do.

"So… if you love me, truly, then please. Let me do this."

Chrysalis had made it to where Twilight still lay upon the ground, standing at her hooves. Now she stared down at the pony, eyes wide and blinking.

"You... " she rasped. "You're… blackmailing me? You're using our love to force me to do something against my will?!"

"I'm not, Chrysalis," said Twilight with a smile, shaking her head. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. I'll still love you regardless."

"You are!" insisted Chrysalis hoarsely, pointing a shaking hoof down at Twilight. "It's not a choice if you say I'll do it if I love you!"

"That's not what—" Twilight cut off with a squeak, though she kept her smile, as Chrysalis's hoof pressed down on her throat with a not-inconsiderable amount of force.

"You're lying there, blackmailing me into going along with your little plan to make me look weak," growled Chrysalis, leaning forward, breath coming in ragged gasps. "You're using your love as leverage, forcing me to do what you wish against my will…"

She started to shake, and a snarl began to rise in the back of her throat.

"You… you…"

Chrysalis suddenly lunged forward, her fangs snapping shut close enough to the pony's muzzle to ruffle the fur on her coat, and Twilight didn't even flinch, the smug smile staying unmoved on her face.

"You… are going to make a spectacular Changeling Queen," declared Chrysalis finally, and kissed her.

The End