Breaking Point
“Oof!” Chrysalis groaned as she turned to the masseuse. “Could you be a little more gentle?”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness!” The changeling bowed her head hastily as the others watched with worry. “Your back has a lot of knots and I’m doing the best I can to relieve your tension!”
Chrysalis flopped her head onto her pillow. “You wouldn’t happen to know how to also get rid of the knots in my stomach, would you?”
“Relax, Chrysalis.” Nymph picked up a chocolate truffle and tossed it into her mouth as some other changelings washed her mane and tail, no doubt relishing in the honor of feeling them with their own hooves. Why Celestia never took advantage of this room Nymph would never know. The large heated pool was big enough to fit ten full sized stallions and shined from the sunlight coming through the many glass windows, bouncing off the white tile floors and walls. “It will be just a simple speech. Nothing crazy like before.”
“You keep saying that, but I have yet to see otherwise.” Luna, sitting across from her, purred as they preened and massaged her wings. Some changelings were even collecting the feathers that came loose. “Maybe it’s just not time yet to bring Chrysalis back to the public.”
“Of course it’s time. The wedding was over a year ago and it’s time for the people to move on. Besides, we can’t let a few loud voices drown out those who have forgiven Chrysalis long ago. After all, is Equestria not about love and harmony?” Nymph turned to the changeling servants. “You all like Chrysalis, don’t you?”
“I do!” answered one.
“Me too!”
“I agree with anything the queen says!” The other changelings roughly nudged and shushed her.
“You see? It’s just ponies that are the problem. You and Celestia really need to discipline your subjects better.” Nymph lowered herself into the water until a sudden knock on the door echoed through the room.
“Hello? Queen Nymph?”
“Thorax! Come right in!” He opened the door and shyly walked in. Perhaps it was because there were so many mares in the room or because the queen, princess, and outcast were indecent, but Thorax was unable to make eye contact with anybody. “Girls, say hi to Thorax.”
“Hi, Thorax~”
“H-hello.” They all giggled and even through the steam, Nymph could spot the green on his cheeks. “Aren’t we supposed to be leaving soon?”
“We have plenty of time. It’s important that we look our absolute best for this event.”
A loud snap caused everyone in the room to jump. “Gah!” Chrysalis flopped back onto the bench with a thud. “And feel our best, too,” she mumbled.
While looking at Chrysalis with concern, Thorax bowed his head to Nymph. “Thank you again for inviting me, Your Highness. I cannot describe my excitement at visiting the Crystal Empire.”
“It is no trouble at all. You will even have the luxury of flying on my personal airship.” Nymph lifted her hoof out of the water. “By the way, did you bring your book? I’d like to see what you have so far.”
“Sure did!” Thorax opened the top of his saddlebag, revealing the purple journal within that was gifted to him by Twilight. “I have so much stuff written and Princess Twilight even helped me with my grammar and descriptions!” As he walked past one of the hoof maidens, her eyes became bloodshot. “I’ve already got tons of pages just about Ponyville, so I’m probably going to need a second book just for the Crystal Empire and Canterlot!” A second changeling loudly gagged before throwing her hooves over her mouth and nose, eyes watering. “Spike and the others have been such amazing friends in supporting me, especially Rarity for being so generous and pretty and...don’t tell anyone I said that.” The next mare he past simply collapsed onto the floor. Finally standing before his queen, Thorax proudly presented his book, unable to stop smiling. However, she did not take it. “Is something wrong?”
Queen Nymph loudly sniffed the air, which caught everyone else’s attention. She leaned closer to Thorax, carefully examining every inch of him by constantly flipping her subject around, taking notice of the lack of shine in his chitin and the dryness of his tail. “Thorax, you look and smell dreadful! When the last time you even took a bath?”
Lifting one of his forelegs, Thorax sniffed underneath. “Two days ago.”
Every mare in the room became extremely alarmed with several changelings backing away. “What!? Why in the world have you gone two whole days without bathing!?”
He scrambled back, huddled against the wall with his ears stuck to his head. “I-I usually only take one every three days because we used most of the water for drinking back in the Changeling Kingdom. There wasn’t very much to have underground to spare. Two days is okay, right?” He gave himself another sniff. “Maybe a little deodorant will help?”
Nymph loudly clapped her hooves twice and all the servants zipped to her side. “GIve him the works.” Bowing their heads, they all grabbed Thorax, dragging him into the water as he struggled.
“Hey! What are you doing!? Ow! Be careful with that brush!” One of the changelings opened a shampoo bottle and dumped it onto him. “MY EYES! Why does getting clean have to be so painful!?”
After several of minutes of scrubbing, washing, and screaming, their work was done. When the changelings parted, Nymph could see his chitin shine as if he was crystal pony himself. As a finishing touch, one changeling hung a maple leaf air freshener over his horn. Stepping out of the bath, the queen magically grabbed a towel to dry herself off. “There we go. You look like a brand new changeling! How does it feel to be purified of filth?”
“I feel pain all over my body,” he whimpered before shivering. “And yet, I still feel unclean.”
“Remember, Thorax, cleanliness is an important part of society. I can’t imagine how your friends hadn’t noticed before, but perhaps their noses are too used to being around Applejack and her farm.”
“Nymph!” Chrysalis roared, scaring her masseuse.
“So just wash myself once a day?” asked Thorax, desperate trying to change the subject before a fight broke out between them.
“That’s all you need. Oh! You will also need this.” Nymph tossed him a bottle of shampoo, which he quickly caught. “And this.” She threw him a bottle of body wash. “This is also important.” A bar of soap was added to the pile. “And this. Also this. Oh we certainly can’t forget this. This helps, so why not? This. And this can be used to entertain yourself.”
The rubber ducky was the straw that broke the pony’s back. Thorax stumbled backwards and fell over the edge of the pool, but Luna had caught him and all the items just in time. “T-thank you.” She gently set him down and he began packing all the bottles in his bag. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Princess Luna.”
“Likewise. Cherub has mentioned you before.” Luna stood up and climbed out of the water before taking a towel. “I heard you were quite the love magnet recently. I wonder if even Cadance could cause something like that.”
“Uh...maybe. Being the Princess of Love and all.”
Chrysalis climbed off the bench, her expression of relief reflecting how well of a job the changeling had done. “Speaking of Cadance, we should be on our way. I want this over with as soon as possible.”
Once dressed, Nymph exited the room and headed for the airship hangar with her company right beside her. Thorax kept vocally expressing his awe at every little sight in the palace and wrote whatever he found to be interesting, which was essentially everything, all while Luna was explaining to him some brief history of Equestria’s capital. Perhaps at the end of the day, Nymph would need to review his current material to hope he wasn’t flooding pages with things such as how nice he found the carpet to be rather than important details the princess was providing him.
However, she would allow some of those trivial facts to slide. Upon entering the hangar, Nymph proudly pointed to her vessel. “Behold! The Emerald Butterfly!” Thorax’s eyes grew before he scribbled in his book nearly fast enough to ignite the paper. “What do you think, Chrysalis? Fitting enough for a queen?”
“I’ll say,” she answered as she looked upon with wonder. “Luna, why don’t you have something like this? This is how royalty should travel!”
“Because we find airships to be a tad bit excessive for quick visits.” Behind them entered Celestia with Nymph’s guards, who didn’t seem very shocked to see the former queen this time. “I’m glad to have caught you all before your departure. Chrysalis, I wish you the best of luck this time. Cadance’s own subjects should be more understanding, but I still worry. Please be careful.”
“I’m not worried,” Chrysalis replied, although sounding a little on edge. “I still need to find a way to thank her and Shining Armor for allowing this. They are far too nice to me, in my opinion.”
“You deserve it, Chrysalis. You have come a long way.” Celestia then eyed the changeling standing beside Nymph. “And you must be Spike’s new friend, Thorax.” He only nodded in return, looking upon her glorious form. “He likes to tell me that you are quite a big fan of his.”
“Absolutely! Oh, that reminds me!” He opened his book and skimmed to a blank page. “Could you share with me Spike’s heroic origins? Where did you find his egg? How did you know pairing him with Twilight would ensure Equestria’s future? Was he allowed to drink your divine milk? Was it your teachings that made him the brave and glorious hero that he is now?”
The princess blinked once when the barrage of questions ended before laughing. “Why yes. I believe I taught him how to save Equestria in between changing his diapers, feeding him mashed gems, and reading him bedtime stories.” Thorax scribbled in his book while Celestia walked up to Nymph. “I trust you will have everything under control?”
“I am taking this a lot more seriously than before. We will see you later today, Celestia.” Queen Nymph turned toward the ship and walked up the ramp and the rest followed, save for Luna, who was sharing a hug with her sister, and Thorax. He was so enthralled with his latest discovery that Nymph had to magically put him on the deck before they could depart. They entered the cabin and Nymph seated herself on the comfortable red couch placed before the steering wheel. Pulling a few levers, the ship began moving. As they turned toward the north, they caught one last glance of Celestia below, watching as they left Canterlot. Once she was out of sight, Nymph said, “It should only be an hour until we reach the empire, so everybody just relax and let your queen do the work.” She laid casually in her seat, barely holding the wheel with her magic. It would be a smooth voyage before they would get to the hard part of their day, but she was confident they would succeed.
As the airship slightly rocked, Chrysalis yelped and jumped onto Nymph with a grip tight enough to break a normal pony’s bones. “Sister, why does this infernal vehicle keep shaking!?”
“It’s merely just the wind.” Nymph slowly pulled off one leg at a time as she kept her eyes on the window.
“Wind!? This ship is massive! How does a little wind move this whole vessel!?” A sudden bump caused Chrysalis to reinforce her hold on Nymph, undoing any effort the queen made in freeing herself from being squeezed like toothpaste.
Thankfully, Luna intervened and effortlessly pulled Chrysalis off. “Calm down. We’re perfectly safe up here. Besides, even if something did happen, you do realize we can fly to safety?”
Chrysalis looked at her back, giving her wings a buzz. “Y-yes. How silly of me to forget.” She got back on the seat and huffed. “I sometimes forget I have them. Being a pony for so long has been a little challenging to detach from.”
“What was your life like as a pony?” Thorax asked, suddenly whipping out his quill, ink, and book.
Chrysalis magically shut his book. “I’m afraid that’s a story for another day.” Thorax frowned, slowly putting his stuff away and sitting against the wall with some of the guards. About five minutes passed in silence as Nymph managed The Emerald Butterfly with the only sound heard was the wind blowing by and the creaking wood. Chrysalis and Luna were seated beside her, occasionally fidgeting. “How long did you say it would take?”
“About an hour.”
Chrysalis slouched in her seat, something Nymph was shocked that a changeling of her royal status would even do in front of others. The former queen glanced at the armed guards sitting around, who were finding as much joy and excitement as she did. “Shouldn’t all of you all be outside to guard us or something?”
“It’s too windy outside!” one of them whined.
“Who is going to even attack us all the way up here?” asked another.
“Sky pirates?”
“Equestria doesn’t have sky pirates.”
“What’s a pirate?” asked Thorax.
“How do you know? You just moved here!”
“Well Princess Celestia would have supplied us with cannons if there were, obviously!”
“What about dragons?”
“We’re not carrying treasure. Why would they attack us?”
“Ransom the queen and princess for gold?”
“I don’t think dragons are that smart.”
“Ahem!” All the guards looked at Nymph. “Please cease your petty squabbling. It is giving your queen a headache.” Once more, the only sound was the ambience. After today, she would consider getting something like a record player or at least hire an entertainer for these long flights.
“Queen Nymph?” asked Thorax after a while. “What’s the Crystal Empire like?”
“Oh, it is absolutely wonderful. Every building is made of crystal and it has more love than anywhere else. As of now, it has the highest changeling population outside of my kingdom. Even after returning to the world, it retains most of its original appearance from a thousand years ago.”
His eyes grew and his wings started to flutter. “And Spike is a big hero there that everyone loves, right?”
“Of course. I will be sure to show you the statue they made for him.” Thorax hastily scrawled in his journal. “I sometimes wish I could live there. It’s unlike anything I have ever seen.” Nymph sighed happily. “Can you imagine a city just appearing from a thousand years ago? I hope Cadance chooses to keep it preserved in its glory. Make it a true kingdom of the past for all of us and future generation to witness and enjoy. A real jewel to the world.”
“They built a Star Bugs there,” said Chrysalis.
Nymph gasped. “No! They couldn’t!”
“Star Bugs?” one guard suddenly asked. “Oh! Can we go while we’re there? I haven’t been to one in a long time!”
“How? They built like four of them in Canterlot. They’ve been popping up all over Equestria since changelings were allowed in.”
“Really? Why don’t they build one in the palace?”
“They are not putting a coffee shop in the castle!” roared the queen, desperately trying to keep her eyes from prying from the front of the ship. “Palaces are not a tourist attraction!”
“I don’t know,” said Luna with intrigue. “Perhaps it could help the night guards stay awake. Maybe I could even find somepony to talk to during my lonely nights. I’m not at all opposed to the idea.”
“What’s a Star Bugs?”
Save for Nymph, all heads slowly turned toward Thorax, who quickly whimpered. They then exploded into simultaneous explanations while Nymph rested her head on the steering wheel. It was going to be a long flight and an even longer day.
When the massive crystal palace at last came into view, all of the changelings dashed toward the window to take a glimpse of the magnificent city their queen had described to them. Nymph conjured a windshield wiper to push them to the sides so she could see where she was going. Looking upon it once more with her own eyes filled Nymph with a glimmer of hope. A speech right in front of the statue that displayed the unity between ponies and changelings was the perfect plan for the people to see Chrysalis in a new light. Just from here, she could faintly taste the delicious love radiating from the Crystal Heart.
As they came closer and descended from the air, Nymph could see a massive crowd of ponies and some changelings gathered under the palace. “Oh dear. I wonder if Cadance has brought them all here too early.” It wasn’t long before every changeling onboard felt something that generated a visible reaction on their faces. Nymph and Chrysalis looked at each other before running outside to look over the deck. “Oh no!”
Luna flew out right behind them. “What’s wrong!?”
“It’s an ocean of negative emotion,” Chrysalis answered cautiously. “I can feel my stomach churn just from being this far.”
Guards onboard TheEmerald Butterfly stepped out to witness the scene. The ground was packed with a massive mob of angry ponies, carrying signs and chanting words Nymph could not make out, although she had an idea of what they would say. The raw fear and anger became more saturated as they entered the city, making the changelings feel uneasy. When the airship was directly above the palace, Nymph brought it it to a stop. “Some of you need to remain here to protect my ship. This could get ugly.” Several of her guards saluted her as she looked down, seeing Cadance on one of the balcony with her own guards. “Come on. The princess is waiting for us.” Nymph and the rest flew down below and the queen was the first to greet the princess. “Cadance, why is there an angry mob outside the palace!? What exactly did you tell them!?”
The smaller alicorn peered over the railing. “When I made the announcement of Chrysalis’s arrival days ago, ponies immediately started to feel uneasy about the whole thing. They don’t want her anywhere near me or Shining and many of the crystal ponies consider her to be another Sombra.”
Nymph angrily pointed to the crowd below. “Order your guards to have them disperse immediately! We cannot make this work with such hostility!”
“I can’t do that, Nymph. The ponies have the right to protest and for me to shut it down would not help our cause.” Cadance put a foreleg around her and lead the Nymph inside the palace with the rest following. “Try not to think about it. Once they calm down, we’ll have Chrysalis speak and she’ll sweep them off their hooves.”
Unlike the outside of the massive palace, the inner halls resonated with the calm aura of the Crystal Heart and Nymph could feel her concerns subside just a little. “I’ll try to stay positive. We can work on Chrysalis’s apology until then. There’s always room for improvement.” Looking around, she then asked, “By the way…”
“Shining’s out with the guards to help calm them down,” Cadance answered casually, which contradicted the annoyance that suddenly sparked within her. “He will let us know when they are ready.”
Inside the palace, an enormous amount of guards lined each side of the halls, heavily equipped with crystal armor and weapons. As they walked by, all of their heads slowly turned, each pair of eyes locked on Chrysalis. Chrysalis herself was no doubt powerful enough to take them on alone, including the fact that the Crystal Heart could provide her with immense power, but she looked nervous. “Cadance, perhaps this is a little...overkill?”
“My ponies wouldn’t have it any other way. They were terrified for Shining’s and my safety and I couldn’t have them worrying, so I agreed to have maximum security as long as you are here. Just try not to think about them.”
“Is having me with her not enough to put them at ease?” questioned Luna, whose eyes dared the guards to try anything.
“Well I did defeat your sister,” Chrysalis answered. “I think that’s more than enough for ponies to see me as a threat to the kingdom alone. In all honesty, it feels rather odd to be compared to the likes of Discord and Tirek.”
As Nymph took careful watch of the ponies standing around them with deadly weapons, a sudden whimper caught her ears. She turned around and found Thorax shaking further down the hall, unable to take another step. Taking pity on her frighted subject, she magically picked him up and sat him on her back. “Thorax, everything’s going to be fine.” He clung to her neck, still trembling, and she sighed.
Princess Cadance lead them to the dining room Nymph remembered from when she visited the empire during the royal anniversary. “We can sit here until my husband returns.” She pulled up a seat and sat down. “I am really sorry about the crowd outside, but I did everything I could before today. We’re just going to have to make due.”
“Regardless, I cannot fully express my gratitude for your warm hospitality.” Chrysalis pulled out the chair next to the princess until many spears were suddenly pointed at her. “Uh...I think I like this spot better.” She slowly moved toward the opposite end of the table, eyes constantly bouncing to each guard. Once she was seated, the guards moved back from her. “Princess Cadance, it has been a long time since we last spoke and I have not had the opportunity to visit you and Shining Armor as much as I would like, but I thank you for allowing me this chance. Your love and understanding is an inspiration to Equestria.”
Cadance smiled at Chrysalis, a sight that disturbed all of the crystal guards. “I want to leave certain things in the past. I know Nymph loves you more than anything in the world and as her friend, I want her to be happy. My aunts have been keeping a close eye on you, especially Luna, so I know you can be trusted. Shining Armor is still coming around, but he wishes you the best today. He said that many changelings have been asking about you.”
Chrysalis looked around the room. “Now that I think about it, I don’t see any changeling guards.”
Cadance glanced to the side, tapping her hooves together as uneasiness crept on her face. “Well...many changelings were looking forward to your visit, but ponies suddenly became suspicious of them because many still think highly of you. There was a lot of tension between the guards and we even had a few fights. I have decided to keep them separated until today has concluded. I do not know if you are aware, but some guards here personally took part in the invasion and many were worried they had stronger loyalties to you than me.”
A guard set down a tray of tea and Cadance poured some to each of her guests. “Not even your love magic could handle them?” questioned Nymph as she took her teacup from the blue aura.
The princess shook her head as she took a sip. “I considered it, but changelings were becoming upset with me, saying that using magic like that was no different from how ponies were scared of Chrysalis’s mind control magic. Everything has been rather chaotic and I’ve had to personally see to the Crystal Heart to ensure it did run out of magic for the last few days.”
“In that case, we better make the most of our free time.” Luna unrolled a scroll and set it on the table. “More rehearsal couldn’t possibly hurt.”
The four mares moved their chairs closer to each get a look at the speech that was to be delivered. Nymph’s gaze then fell upon her other traveling companion, who shook as he kept looking at the guards. “Thorax, why don’t you go on and look around the palace? I’m sure you will find all kind of interesting things for your book.” He gulped and slowly trudged to the door, his breathing becoming faster and louder. The moment he grabbed the door handle, he flopped sideways, still as a statue. All she could do was sigh. “I am sorry,” said the queen as she got up, “but I promised him a day in the empire and I would hate for his first time to be so miserable.” She picked him off the floor, gave him a shake to snap him out of his trance, and set him back down. “I will give him a quick little tour of the palace and come back to help you prepare.”
“I completely understand,” spoke Chrysalis. “Just try to stay out of trouble. Everypony here is high strung.”
Nymph stepped out of the room with Thorax and closed the door behind her. “I suppose the most obvious place to start would be the throne room. After that, we can see if we find a balcony with a good view of Spike’s statue. You will have plenty to write about.” Taking a few steps ahead, she noticed that he had not moved. “Thorax?”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness.” Thorax looked at the floor while rubbing his foreleg. “I know you have more important things to do than help me and I feel so ashamed for not being brave like Spike is.”
“I wouldn’t worry so much about trying to be like him.” Nymph recalled some amusing conversations she shared with Celestia regarding when she raised Spike, such as when Twilight read him a bedtime story involving a knight slaying a dragon and how he came running into her room crying. “Besides, I don’t blame you for being so scared. You can really feel how on edge all the ponies are and even I feel intimidated by how tight security is.”
“Is your castle ever like this?”
“Never. Bugartha is always safe and I never feel as if I am in danger, but I keep many guards around for incase something does happen. A good queen is always prepared for the worst.” She gave him a gentle nudge and they were finally on their way. The halls seemed to be rather bare of any pony or changeling, but perhaps this was for the better if things were as bad as Cadance described.
It wasn’t long until they arrived at the royal throne room and found Cadance’s seat high above on a platform of crystals at the far end of the room. The room was, to their surprise, empty. Perhaps there was no need to guard the royal throne room from Chrysalis if Cadance and Shining Armor weren’t in there. “It’s so beautiful,” spoke Thorax.
“Meh. I like my throne room better. Mine has beautiful stained glass windows and is more colorful than this. Twilight mentioned that is a secret passage somewhere in here once used by King Sombra, but I do not recall where or how to open it.” Thorax continued scribbling and Nymph curiously looked over his shoulder. “How are you doing so far?”
“I don’t have a lot. I have some history written down, but almost nothing on the locations or the rulers. I wanted to interview Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor, but I think that’s going to have to wait until when things aren’t so crazy.” Nymph watched him as he wrote, but noticed his pace was slowing down and his face looked less invested in his work. Once finished describing the room, Thorax packed away his writing material, sighing. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’m in the mood to write about the empire with everything going on. Please forgive me for wasting your time.”
Right as he turned for the door, Nymph gently placed her hoof on his back. “Thorax, don’t give up so easily. I know it’s troubling with what’s going on outside, but surely there’s something else you can work on while we’re here. I will help with whatever I can.”
“Actually,” he said quietly, “there was one thing I really want to add to the book as an introduction.”
“And what would that be?”
“You.”
“Me?” answered Nymph with a faint gasp. “Well, I wouldn’t mind a little interview, but I don’t see what I have to do with your guidebook.”
“Everything!” the changeling exclaimed, finding some vigor from within. “It’s because of you that this is even possible! You did something that no other queen had ever done in the entire history of changelings and made all of our lives better. You’re the reason I was able to see everything wonderful about Equestria and meet heroes like Spike and Twilight.”
Running her hoof over the top of his delicate head, she couldn’t help but chuckle. “Aren’t you just persuasive? Very well.” Nymph flew up to the throne, making herself comfortable as Thorax stood before her. “Ask me anything you like.”
He flipped his book open with a grin on his face. “Queen Nymph, what do you plan on doing once Chrysalis has returned to the Changeling Kingdom?”
“I plan to make up for lost time between us. Truthfully, home does not feel like home with her gone. Of course, I will also start once more to look for my king.”
“Do you have any changelings in mind?”
“Sorry to say that I don’t at the moment, but had fate been kind, perhaps a certain somepony…” she loudly giggled, blushing as lewd thoughts entered her mind.
“Somepony?” the changeling repeated. “A pony as the king of the changelings?”
Snapping out of her fantasy, Nymph cleared her throat and maintained proper posture on the throne. “I’m just joking. I plan on keeping the bloodline purely changeling. Although, I am curious what sort of child Chrysalis will bear if she has one with her special somepony.”
Thorax leaned closer. “Who is Chrysalis’s special somepony?”
Nymph gently pressed her hoof against his lips. “Sorry, Thorax, but that’s too big of a secret. Let’s just say she’s somepony wonderful and a perfect match for my sister.”
“I see that you and Princess Cadance are on good terms.” Thorax hid behind his book, leaving only his eyes visible. “Was it awkward meeting her for the first time?”
“You have no idea. She was so scared of me and her husband was far less than friendly. And yet, she still did what she could to help my subjects. It was many months before she even felt safe near me. I am glad to have met her and consider her to be a good friend. She and I often communicate to discuss things such as love harvest and more personal matters like…” Nymph sprang onto her hooves, gasping. “GAH! I completely forgot!”
Her outburst was so suddenly that Thorax fell backwards, bouncing off the stairs below the throne and slamming on the floor. “What!? What did you forget!?”
“I...er...left something important with Princess Cadance. I should go fetch it since I’m all the way out here.” She quickly flew out of the room and snatched Thorax in her magic. “Sorry to cut the interview short, but this is absolutely important. So much is at stake!” Fortunately, Cadance’s room was not far and when they arrived, the hall outside looked as bare as everywhere else. “Strange. Usually there’s some guards by their bedroom.”
“Maybe it’s because they’re all watching Chrysalis.”
Nymph opened the door and stepped inside. The first thing that would catch one’s eye upon entering would be the big red bed with pink curtains. It certainly clashed with the blue colors of the floor, walls, and ceilings, but what color better represented romance than red? A blue wooden nightstand was placed on each side for each pony with a lamp on top of them as well as one of Shining Armor’s graphic novels. Across from the bed was the dresser, which carried only a few outfits and held a mirror above it, which Cadance often used to talk with Nymph.
“Your Highness! What are you doing!?” Thorax kept looking down both ends of the hall. “You can’t just barge into their bedroom!”
“I’m a queen, Thorax. I’m allowed wherever I want to go. Besides, we are Cadance’s guests and she was supposed to return this very important thing anyway.” She opened the nightstand drawer on Cadance’s side of the bed and dug through it, finding it lacking the item in mind. “Strange. That’s where she usually stashes them.” Nymph opened another drawer under it, finding folded lingerie. Red no doubt looked good on Cadance. “Where in the world did she leave it? Thorax, help me.”
“Okay.” He looked under the rug before asking, “What are we looking for?”
The queen snapped straight up. Foolishly she had made a big deal about finding the rough draft of her current chapter of her untitled romance novel, so there was no way she could simply dismiss it, but she absolutely could not have Thorax find out. “Uh...it’s some documents I left for her to review, but you can’t read it! If you do, there will be dire consequences!”
Thorax was frightened by the warning, but a small bit of him seemed to be very curious. “So it’s like classified government secrets?”
“Yes! That’s it! Something that a citizen such as yourself has no business in reading! I would hate to have to throw you in the dungeon for learning something you shouldn’t have.”
“I will do my best not to look, Queen Nymph!” Thorax carefully looked around the room as Nymph kept rummaging through the drawers, finding a note regarding something of a large cupcake order and a visit to Ponyville. She hoped that none of the servants or guards stumbled upon her novel chapter and took it. Such a thing would be devastating to their reputation, even if the drama involving royals writing something so naughty made it a bestseller.
Nymph looked in the closet with Thorax peeking under the bed next to her. They were both startled by the sound of the door opening as the prince of the empire in his armor stepped inside from the other end of the room. “Nymph?”
“Shining Armor!” Her hind leg instinctively kicked Thorax under the bed. “I’m glad to finally see you! How have you been?”
“Busy.” The unicorn walked to his bed to sit down and Nymph was granted the pleasant sight of him removing his armor, leaving each piece scattered on the floor. Just from where she was standing, she could smell the strong aroma of sweat that coated his fur, sending shivers of excitement through her body. “Sorry I wasn’t there to greet you all, but it’s been pretty crazy out there as you probably noticed,” he spoke in that soothing, dreamy voice of his. “Ponies are asking me left and right if you or Chrysalis have me under a spell again and I have to keep showing them that I’m not.”
“You look so exhausted,” the queen purred as she stepped closer. “I deeply appreciate you putting in so much effort for Chrysalis. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for you to stand up for her, but I find it very admirable that you would put your feelings aside to do what’s right.”
Shining Armor casually waved a hoof as she sat herself beside him. “It was hard to forgive her for a while, but I’ve been writing to Twilight about it. Twily always makes forgiveness look so easy and I can’t imagine how much strength Celestia must have to give Chrysalis or even Discord another chance.”
A sudden worrisome thought appeared in Nymph’s head. “Be honest, Shiny. Do you trust Chrysalis? You two haven’t said a word to each other in months and I get worried sometimes. You haven’t gotten to really experience the other side of her.”
He shrugged as if nothing was wrong, but he could not look her in the eye. “I guess I trust her. I mean, Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and you trust her. I’d like to get to know her more, Nymph, but we have a lot on our plate right now and we simply do not have the time to see her. Cadance and I have actually been talking about paying her a visit soon just to smooth things over. Hopefully we can soon finally put this whole thing behind us for good.”
She moved closer. “And what will be next for our lovely prince?”
A sudden surge of nervousness caught her senses. “I-I-I-I-I-I don’t know. I guess more days of being a prince and all that stuff.” His fake laugh was another dead giveaway. “Yep! More days of ruling alongside my beautiful wife with nothing special planned!”
“You can’t fool me, Shiny,” Nymph teased while giving him a friendly boop on the nose. “Cadance and I talk about everything.” She could feel his fear rising higher and even when the masculine prince was scared, he looked so dashing. “And I recall her talking about wanting to expand the royal family.”
“Mares,” Shining Armor grumbled, prompting a giggle from the queen. “Okay, yes, it’s something we have talked about, but we don’t want anypony to know, especially our family. I’m sure my parents would keep pressuring us with letters asking when they are going to be grandparents. Just look at Twilight and her lovelife. They have been writing her a lot about finding somepony and they’re still not totally convinced Trixie was just her roommate and student. And you have no idea how crazy Cadance is about finding somepony for her.”
“I can only imagine.”
“No, you really have no idea.” The way he spoke made Nymph suddenly feel uneasy. “Just...just don’t bring it up with her.”
“I promise.” Once more she subtly decreased the space between them. Being this close to him made her heart pound, her body sweat, and her breathing become louder.
The stallion darted his eyes around as more sweat dripped from his head. “Uh...are you okay, Nymph?”
“Y-yes. I’m just so nervous about today. I keep having these terrible thoughts of something going wrong.” She pressed her slim, regal body and against his sturdy, muscular chest. “It’s been so difficult trying to help Chrysalis and if this doesn’t work, I don’t know what I will do.” She pulled away and dramatically posed, leaning back with one hoof on the bed and one on her forehead. On the floor, she felt Thorax coming out from under the bed and she kicked him back under. “The thought of failing again. It’s more than my poor heart can bear!”
“Nymph, it’s going to be okay.” The prince took her hoof, a move she did not foresee and causing a faint gasp to escape her lips. It was her turn to be the nervous one, but she found the experience to be stimulating. “Everypony struggles now and then. Just look at Luna. It took her awhile before ponies felt comfortable around her. Heck, even Celestia has her bad days. Cadance told me how upset she was at herself for choosing Discord over Twilight.” He let go of her, rubbing the side of his head and suddenly looking embarrassed. “Truthfully, I know exactly what it’s like. I couldn’t do anything about Sombra or Tirek, but I try to not let it keep me down. As long as everypony is safe, then I’m happy. So even if it doesn’t work out today, just remember that you still have Chrysalis with you.” There was a pause before he coughed into his hoof. “Uh...was that too corny? I usually let Cadance do these kinds of talks.”
Nymph looked into his dreamy eyes, completely lost to the world around her. The rhythm of her heart was slow but thunderous. His words rang true in her ears and she couldn’t even remember why she was so worried. “Make me your broodmare,” she whispered.
“What?”
The queen pulled back and got onto her hooves, her head feeling as if she was on the sun. “I need to get some air. Thank you for your kind words, Prince Shining Armor. You’re better at this than you think.” He sheepishly laughed and rubbed the back of his head. “I need a moment alone to think about what you said so that I can be focused today.”
“Good idea. I’m sure you got a million things on your mind right now.” He got off the bed. “Speaking of relaxing, I could use a hot shower. I’ll come see you and Chrysalis in a moment.” Shining Armor stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.
When the water started running, Thorax finally climbed out from under the bed. “Your Highness, why were you trying to hide me? I thought you said we were allowed in here.” He hesitated. “Were you...hitting on him?”
She had a hoof over on her chest, sighing happily before she realized Thorax was talking to her. “No! How dare you say I would ever do such a thing! Cadance is my best friend! We were...it’s just...nevermind! Help me find that document already!” Nymph lifted the pillows, the mattress, and then the bed. “Cadance, where did you put it!?”
“Maybe it’s in a secret room because it’s a secret document?” Thorax suggested timidly as the queen scrambled around the room.
“A secret room?” Nymph rolled her eyes as she lifted the dresser. “Don’t be ridiculous. Why would they have one?”
“Because this was Sombra’s castle and he already has one?”
It wasn’t a bad idea, but it seemed unlikely that the royal couple would have one in their bedroom or even keep it a secret. However, a bit of Nymph did feel curious. “Fine. I’ll play along.” Taking a deep breath, her horn glowed and the green light slowly covered every inch in the room. “Well? Do you see a secret room?” Thorax lifted a hoof and she quickly looked behind her. There stood the glowing outline of a door in the wall. “What’s this?” Against the wall, Nymph’s magic could feel a peculiar crystal on the other side. Upon focusing some magic into it, she was startled by part of the wall suddenly fading away.
Before her eyes was a small room with no windows, filled with books and papers pinned against the wall. “I don’t believe this. There really is a hidden room!” she squealed as she trotted in. “Sombra must have made this long ago and I’m the first person to find it since!” Looking at the papers decorating the interior, it immediately became obvious that this room was not quite as secret as the papers carried Cadance’s hoofwriting. Nymph could not imagine what Cadance would want to keep hidden, but looking at the wall behind her, the answer was clear.
A massive chart hung flooded with pictures, some crossed out, and yarn threads connecting them. At the center of it all was Twilight Sparkle with pictures of different ponies connected to her and some yarn strings were cut. Nymph saw that the pictures were each of Twilight’s friends and even two ponies she didn’t recognize. Only these two ponies and Trixie were left unmarked with a long list of bullet points, which listed positive and negative traits. One of the unknown ponies was an orange pegasus stallion guard and the other picture was a drawing of an orange unicorn mare with red and yellow hair. Nymph had a vague idea of who both of these were, but she was too overwhelmed to confirm her suspicions.
“Q-Queen Nymph? What is all of this?”
“Uh...it seems that Shining wasn’t joking when he said Cadance takes her role a little too seriously.” Looking back at the desk, she caught sight of her novel chapter. “Ah, there you are!” With grace, she picked it up, but then reluctantly put it back.
“Aren’t you going to take it?”
“I can’t. If I do, Cadance is going to know I was in here and I don’t want her to know that I know about her...hobby. I will have to ask for it if I want it back.” Her curious eyes studied the other objects laid before her until they caught something. “Oh no, what now?” Nymph picked up the stack of photos, no doubt more potential lovers for Cadance’s sister-in-law, and skimmed through them with Thorax peeking over her shoulder. Most of them were ponies she did not recognize save for a few. “Applejack’s brother? Princess Celestia!?” The next one caused her to drop the stack. “Me!?” It took a minute for her to get over the shock and return everything to its place. “I think it would be best to leave all of this as a secret, Thorax. I do not think ponies should know about the princess’s...obsession.”
“I understand.” He scribbled in his book, saying aloud, “Princess Cadance is insane.” When Thorax finished, he looked up to see Nymph’s very disapproving glare. “What? I didn’t mention this room at all!”
Right before she could scold him, she suddenly noticed that the shower was no longer running and Shining Armor would be stepping out any second. Hastily, she activated the crystal to bring back the fake wall and both held their breath as he stepped outside. Right before casting her teleportation spell, they heard the bedroom door open. “Welcome home, Shiny.” They could hear the two rulers exchange a kiss.
“It’s good to be home. How’s it going with Chrysalis?”
“She’s nervous, but otherwise fine. Luna and the guards are watching her right now. We’ve been trying to get her speech ready while waiting for you.”
“Sorry. It’s kind of hard to keep ponies calm when I’m also nervous about this. You two are getting along, right?”
“As much as we can right now. We can’t really get to know each other better with the guards standing over her, ready to pounce. But now that you’re back, we should find Nymph and head to the dining room.”
“Oh, you just missed her. She was here before I got in the shower.”
Both Nymph and Thorax felt a tiny bit of anger come from one of the ponies. “She was?”
“Yeah. I opened the door and there she was. Kinda startled me.”
“Oh.” Cadance giggled. “So she didn’t follow you in or anything. She was probably giving Thorax a tour of our room, even if it isn’t that exciting.”
“Who’s Thorax?”
The fire within the alicorn grew and Nymph could feel herself sweat. “She was in our bedroom alone?”
“She was. I even found her peeking in our closet like she was looking for something. It’s a little creepy, actually.”
Like a candle in the wind, Cadance’s rage died out. “Oh! That explains it. I need to return something I borrowed from her later.”
“Return what?”
“Just some girl stuff. No need to worry about it. But anyway, Shiny, remember that one important rule about our relationship?”
There was a pause. “The safe word is Fluttershy?”
Nymph’s head slowly looked down to the changeling next to her, who looked just as speechless as she did. “No, not that one. I mean the one about being alone with Nymph.”
The stallion loudly sighed. “I know. You always tell me she’s madly in love with me and likes to get flirty.” Thorax quietly gasped and looked up at her, but Nymph ignored him to listen. “She actually kinda got like that, but she’s really nervous and she left to get some air. I was trying to be nice, Caddy. You know what Celestia said about her being hard on herself and I just wanted her to feel better.”
“Okay. My knight gets a free pass just this once.” Nymph felt a sudden rise of love, no doubt they were doing something cute such as nuzzling each other. “Please tell me you have things under control. I don’t think Nymph can handle another failure.”
“Come on, Caddy. The people love me! Not as much as you, but still.” She heard the alicorn giggle. “I made absolutely sure the people were calm before I came back and the guards are making sure it stays that way. I want this to go as well as Nymph does.”
“I think nobody wants this any more than Chrysalis. It’s almost alien to me to see her so nervous.”
“Part of me wants to see that, but the other part says that it’s wrong to want that.” They could hear the stallion’s hoofsteps from behind the wall. “No matter how I feel, I will do everything I can for her. It would be nice for Chrysalis to go back home and love Luna as her true self rather than disguise as somepony else and keep living this lie.”
In an instant, Nymph grabbed Thorax, stuffing her hoof over his mouth, and warped out of the room, not caring where they ended up. She suddenly found herself very cramped as they appeared in a cleaning closet. The top of her head pressed against a shelf of spray bottles and her back stuck against a mop handle. She couldn’t afford to do anything about her discomfort with the pressing issue at hoof. She held Thorax against the wall as he kept making muffled noise. “Thorax, I am going to remove my hoof and when I do, I need you to be calm and quiet. Okay?” He nodded and was ungagged.
“Cherub is really Chrysalis!?” he loudly whispered. “I can’t believe this! I thought she was supposed to be in a prison!”
“It’s a long story,” Nymph sighed. “She was never locked up. We only said that so ponies wouldn’t be scared.”
“And now you’re lying to everybody about her!”
“Of course we are! Did you see and feel all those ponies out there!? They can’t handle the truth right now! None of us knew Cherub was Chrysalis until almost two months after she started dating Luna, so that means we’d have to tell them all that Chrysalis was around the princesses, including becoming romantically involved with one, without anypony being the wiser. We need the people to warm up to her or else it will be total anarchy!”
“I don’t think they’re going to like that you kept this a secret for so long.”
Nymph dragged a hoof down her face, grunting in annoyance. “Thorax, you have to learn trust us. We royals possess far great wisdom and judgment than any pony or changeling. Who else should be made to make this decision? A simple changeling who has only lived a fraction of my life?”
Taking a moment to think about it, Thorax had no answer of his own. “I guess you have a point.”
“No one must know until the time is right. If they did, I...I don’t want to think what could happen to my darling sister.” She sniffed. “She wasn’t good to me back then, but Chrysie has changed. I just want everyone to understand that she isn’t dangerous anymore and let her come home.” She slumped against the wall. “Family has always been the most important thing in my entire life, Thorax. The world may change, but I always had Chrysie and Mother. Those months alone after banishing her were agony. I just want her to come home and put this whole mess behind us before I can finally move on from these years of torment.”
Thorax slowly took a seat beside her, stroking her hoof. “I had no idea.”
“You’ve met her yourself several times, so you know what she’s like. Do you think Luna or Celestia would let her go around freely if they didn’t completely trust her? Do you think Cadance or Shining Armor, Chrysalis’s biggest victims, would entertain the idea of letting her speak in their empire if they believed she was still evil?”
“I guess not.”
Nymph tightly grabbed Thorax’s hoof and looked dead into his eyes. “Then promise me. Promise me that you will not tell anyone what you learned. Until we tell the people ourselves, you must take this secret to your grave.”
Just from his hoof, she could feel his whole body tremble. Perhaps this burden would be far too much for him and she wondered of what she was going to do with him. Soon, Thorax loudly gulped and nodded at her. “I’ll...I’ll keep it a secret just for you. And if possible, I’d like to do anything I can to help Chrysalis. She has been very kind to me and I’d like to return the favor.”
Overwhelming joy filled Nymph as she squeezed the little changeling against her bosom. “Oh, Thorax! You don’t know how happy you made me!”
“N-not a problem,” he replied, steadily turning blue. “Seeing you happy makes me happy.”
“Aren’t you just the sweetest little changeling?” She held him up, allowing him to breathe. “From now on, you can simply call me Nymph.”
“Really? You mean we’re...friends?”
“Absolutely.” She brought him closer to nuzzle his face, something the little changeling seemed to enjoy.
“The magic tracker is pointing this way! Chrysalis is in there!”
Nymph and Thorax snapped out of their moment of bliss. Before either for them could move, the door flew open as about twenty guards appeared, weapons ready. The fierce guards suddenly shifted out of their aggressive stances, staring at them awkwardly. The two changelings still had their muzzles pressed against each others, but neither dared to make any movement. Tense silence filled the area until one of the crystal pony guards whistled, slowly turning away and walking out of the hall. The other guards then followed his example, dissipating in a chorus of whistling until the area was silent once more.
“W-what just happened?” Thorax asked as Nymph put him back on the floor.
“I think they may have detected my teleportation spell and thought the sudden surge of changeling magic was Chrysalis’s. The security here is even tighter than I thought.” She exited the supply closet and closed the door once Thorax was out. “Either way, we need to head back. Now that the people are calm, it’s almost time for Chrysalis to speak and I need to be there for her.”
The queen looked around, trying to figure out where in the palace she sent them, until Thorax flew in front of her. “B-but wait! All those guards just saw us in the closet with our faces touching! There could be a huge scandal about us!”
Nymph chuckled. “Scandal? You cannot be serious.”
“You saw how they were looking at us!” He loudly gasped and clutched his head. “They must think I’m your secret lover! The media is going to eat me alive, asking for juicy secrets about you!”
It was amusing to Nymph to watch him bounce off the walls, spouting out his overblown fears of what was to come. “Thorax, you don’t know much about changeling royalty, do you?”
“What do you mean?”
“For our entire history, it is well known that queens employ...” she looked to the side and spun her hoof around, “special servants.”
Thorax landed on the carpet, staring at her with his head cocked. “I don’t get it. You mean like changelings who handle your PR?”
“I have concubines, Thorax. I have several changelings under my employment that I have please me time to time.” Nymph grinned and bounced her eyebrows. “In the bedroom. To put it bluntly, I have changelings simply used for sex. And I tend to use them frequently.” Thorax’s face became a lit before her eyes, turning as green as a leaf. His breathing was loud and rapid before he passed out onto the floor. “T-Thorax?” She waved her hoof over his open, blank eyes, but he did not respond. “You’re just too innocent for this world, aren’t you?” Nymph gently laid him on her back and began walking down the hall, humming softly as she braced herself for the inevitable.
Nymph returned to the room where Chrysalis and Luna sat waiting and the guards were just as threatening looking as ever. Both mares stared questioningly at the unconscious changeling and Nymph merely dismissed the issue, wondering how she was going to explain to them that she let her sister’s secret slip. Setting Thorax down on a pillow, she sat beside Chrysalis as she and Luna helped her practice her speech. Chrysalis seemed to be just as uneasy as before and she hoped her sister wouldn’t choke in front of the large, unhappy crowd. Perhaps it would actually generate some sympathy for Chrysalis, but her instincts told her such an outcome was unlikely.
As Chrysalis went through the speech again for the third time, Nymph couldn’t help but think about what awaited outside. She couldn’t sense them from within the palace as the aura of the Crystal Heart flowed through the walls, so all she could do was take the prince’s word. Picturing the intense crowd in her head and what they could possibly do to Chrysalis, a sudden option appeared in Nymph’s mind: to cancel the event. It was a very tempting idea to escape any risk of what could happen. It wasn’t cowardly. It was being reasonable. Nymph knew she wasn’t the only one who had a bad feeling about today and her luck thus far had be less than desirable.
But what then?
What would be the next step in getting Chrysalis home? None of her other ideas had worked and perhaps nothing else would given ponies screamed or fled at the mere sight of her and changing opinions had been far harder than she had expected. Nymph looked at Chrysalis and then her eyes drifted to Luna. The once feared Nightmare Moon had trouble as well, even on her own holiday, and yet here she was as a beloved princess. Celestia said getting Luna around the palace without an incident took a considerable amount of time and this would be no different. Celestia did not give up on her sister and neither would Nymph. No matter how it looked, they would press on with today. Chrysalis would speak and Nymph would stand proudly beside her.
Eventually, Cadance and Shining Armor entered and Nymph knew that it was time. As they exited the room, Thorax slowly rose up, looking groggy as he attempted to recall what happened. Nymph carried him on her back as she tried coming up with an excuse, praying that he would not remember what he discovered. However, given her luck, such an idea was laughable.
Down several stairways, they were at the exit of one of the palace legs where they had a closer view of outside. Somehow, the audience outside seemed denser than from the last time Nymph came here to speak and at this distance, she could more strongly feel their fear and anger. She looked at Chrysalis, who seemed frozen, and Luna a gently stroked her special changeling’s head with her wing. “We’re right here with you, no matter what. Now knock them dead, Chrysalis!”
“Not the right choice of words, Luna,” replied Chrysalis. It was astounding how much animosity ponies could hold, but most of it was drowned out by the Crystal Heart’s power. Hopefully it’s magic would keep Chrysalis or even the ponies calm long enough for her to speak.
Sensing Chrysalis’s hesitation, Cadance stepped forward. “Chrysalis, let me speak to them first.” The former queen nodded, still focused on the countless eyes looking back at her. Cadance stood behind the podium and waited for the noise of the crowd to die down. “Hello, citizens of the Crystal Empire. It has come to my attention that many of you are scared and outraged by Chrysalis’s arrival. However, I would like you all to let her speak before judging her. I believe you will find her words to be enlightening.” She stepped aside and looked toward Chrysalis.
With every step the changeling made, boos from the crowd became louder. Nymph turned toward them, outraged, but held back any words. Chrysalis still managed to hold her head high and once she was behind the podium, she spoke. “Hello, everyone,” she said over the angry crowd. “I know I’m the last changeling any of you would want to see, but I-”
Out of nowhere, a loud chant erupted from the mob. “Don’t forgive Chrysalis! Don’t forgive Chrysalis! Don’t forgive Chrysalis!”
“Please! I know I made a big mistake, but I-”
“How dare you show your face to our kind rulers!” an angry crystal mare roared. “You’re just as bad as Sombra!”
“Chrysalis was doing something she thought was best for her people!” countered a changeling next to her. “You can’t understand our struggles!”
“Of course a changeling would stand up for her! They can’t even feel love and have to steal it from other ponies like parasites!”
“Hey, my wife is a changeling and she has more love in her than you!”
“I bet she also supports Chrysalis for wanting to invade and then enslave us!”
Nymph rushed to the microphone. “Could you all please just settle down!? Chrysalis is trying to give a speech!”
“Discord betrayed us before and Chrysalis will do it too! Stop believing her lies and just lock her up!”
“Let’s make her a statue and put her next to this one!”
A sudden change in the air prompted Chrysalis, Nymph, and Cadance to turn around. The Crystal Heart, floating above the statue, flickered and a sudden chill could be felt. Upon seeing this, Luna leapt in action. “ALL OF YOU CEASE THIS ARGUING!”
Her words fell on deaf ears as the crowd continued shouting accusations and insults at one another. The overwhelming tidal wave of anger was too much for Nymph to take as her head began to hurt. She attempted to make another plea to the enraged audience until she felt Thorax tightly wrap himself around her leg. “Nymph! I...I wanna go home! This feels really dangerous!”
“I can understand doing something for a noble cause, but what’s so noble about stealing a bride and marrying her groom!?”
“I thought ponies were supposed to be about love and tolerance!”
“What’s to love about this heartless queen!? This is obviously part of her plot for revenge!”
“She was a good queen who did everything in power to keep her subjects from starving!”
“If you really believe there’s any good in Chrysalis, then you are just as bad as she is!”
Before their eyes, the combat of words transformed into physical combat. Ponies and changelings began piling onto each other and the brawl spread through the rest of the crowd like wildfire. Nymph could only watch in horror as the riot erupted before her eyes and her trance was only broken by some spells and objects being flung at the barrier Shining Armor put up. The next thing that came to her attention was a sudden gust in the air and she whirled around, gasping.
The light of the Crystal Heart was at last extinguished.
“No!” Cadance flew before the heart and channeled a beam of magic into it in a desperate attempt to reignite it.
“Men! Get every available guard and have them contain this riot!” The soldiers saluted Shining Armor and charged into the crowd. “Princess Luna! I need you to take Chrysalis and Nymph out of here at once!”
“What!? We can’t leave! We were supposed to-”
“Nymph, now is not the time!” Before she knew it, Luna warped them onto TheEmerald Butterfly. Nymph stepped forward to fly back down, but the alicorn stopped her. “What are you doing!? We must depart at once!”
“But we can’t just flee! We were supposed to help Chrysalis! Luna, we had expected to be some problems-”
“But not a riot! Do you think having Chrysalis stay here would be a wise idea in any sense!? Staying here will do no good if the citizens are fighting amongst themselves! Either fly us out of here or I will do it myself!”
Nymph looked down onto the empire below. The colorful mob was going at each other with such fury and never before had she felt such powerful anger and fear. Once more she felt the northern winds blow and she could see her own breath. If the story of the Crystal Heart and the empire was true, then a blizzard would soon come to envelop the empire. When she turned around, she saw her guards anxiously awaiting for her answer, Luna tightly clinging to Chrysalis’s hoof, and Thorax laying on the floor, covered in sweat as he desperately tried to breathe. She hurried into the cabin and took hold of the wheel, setting a course for Canterlot. The airship slowly rotated and she moved it forward as her passengers retreated into the cabin, shivering.
Everyone entered the cabin and once the door was closed, Luna flung herself onto Chrysalis. “Are you okay?”
Chrysalis tenderly hugged Luna back, still shaking. “Yes, but I’m worried about the Crystal Empire. I feel like we just abandoned her.”
“Cadance is strong. She will keep the empire protected until things calm down.”
“I didn’t mean for this to happen. I’ve already put her and Shining Armor through so much and I just ended up causing them more misery.” Chrysalis sat down beside Nymph, rubbing her forehead. “You don’t think they will blame me for this, do you?” The queen silently gazed at the window before her. “Do you?”
“How could this have happened?”
“Nymph?”
“How could everyone just explode like that!?” Nymph kicked a crystal next to the steering wheel that placed her ship on auto-pilot and stood to pace around the cabin. “All Chrysalis wanted to do was speak and they wouldn’t even give her a chance! Is it so hard for people to just be silent for five minutes just so that someone can give their side of the story!?”
“Please understand that ponies are still afraid, especially the crystal ponies,” spoke Luna. “They had long suffered under-”
Nymph stomped the floor hard to enough to leave a hole in the wood. “Who cares!? That was so long ago! Do they believe that Cadance is a fool for allowing Chrysalis into her empire? Do they think that she’s an idiot and they have to make the right choice for her!? She is their princess and if it is her will to have Chrysalis speak, THEN THEY SHOULD KEEP THEIR MOUTHS SHUT AND OBEY!” Nymph stomped out onto the deck and slammed the door hard enough to leave a crack in the middle of it.
The howling winds did nothing to cool her temper as she flew on top of the cabin, looking back to the empire in the distance. Once a beacon of hope and love, the sight made her feel sick. No matter how disgusted she felt toward it, the Changeling Queen could not tear her eyes away from it until it was completely out of sight. Slowly turning around, she could see the mountain where Canterlot stood ahead.
For once, Nymph got a grasp of why Chrysalis thought conquering ponies would be more reasonable than befriending them.
“That is so messed up,” Dash complained while hovering about the others with her forelegs crossed. “They didn’t even let you get a word out?”
Popping off the cap of a beer bottle, Chrysalis replied, “What can I say? Ponies certainly know how to hold a grudge.” It was hard for Nymph to stomach watching her drink cheap booze, but if it helped her feel better, then so be it. “Maybe I should just hide out as Cherub and when everyone who lived during the wedding dies, I can try making another comeback.”
“That’s kind of a disturbing idea, but I see where you’re coming from,” commented Spike as he helped himself to another slice of the depressing blue cake with a frown printed on the top. Pinkie had prepared a backup party for in case today did not go as plan. Rather than her usual party assortments, Fluttershy helped design a more calm party for moments such as this, which included only the cake and a banner that read, “Better luck next time!” These items barely covered the main room of Cupid’s Arrow, but hopefully they were enough to bring some comfort to Chrysalis.
“M-m-m-m-m-more cake, C-C-C-C-Chrysie?” Pinkie held up a paper plate with a slice that was becoming drenched from the river of tears falling from her eyes.
“No, thank you.” Chrysalis watched as her friend depressingly took a bite out of the soggy cake slice and rather let that continue, the matchmaker held her forelegs out. “Come here, Pinkie.” The pony wasted no time and jumped into her embrace, bawling.
“Pinkie is taking it a lot harder than I thought,” commented Luna before suddenly looking worried. “Or perhaps I’m not being emotional enough. Chrysalis knows I care, right?” Celestia patted her sister on the back.
“We’re gonna fix this, right?” asked Applejack. “Ah don’t know about the rest of ya’ll, but Ah’m too mad to let this go. Chrysalis has broken her back tryin’ to improve and we can’t let this stop us. She’s got a home waitin’ for her.”
“I’m afraid this is as far as this will go.” Celestia stood next to Nymph and put her hoof on her shoulder. “We all want what’s best for Chrysalis, but after today, I have decided, as much as it pains me to say it, that this will be the last of Chrysalis’s public appearances.” Nymph said nothing in return. “I may allow brief visits in the castle provided you inform everypony ahead of time, but other than that, she must remain as Cherub from now on.”
“I understand.”
“Nymph,” said Chrysalis, “don’t think for even a second I blame you for this. I agreed to do this and none of us could have foreseen what was going to happen. You are completely blameless in all of this.”
As difficult as it was, the queen managed to form a faint smile on her lips. “Thank you, Chrysalis.” In truth, it was not herself that Nymph blamed, but she was still grateful for her sister’s words.
“I’m sure Cadance and Shining Armor feel horrible about what happened,” spoke Twilight. “Have you heard from them yet?”
“No, but I’m sure we will tomorrow,” answered Celestia. “I have received a report that the incident was handled in about an hour with minimal damage save for a few windows, streetlights, and other things. Chrysalis, could you write to them tomorrow and tell them you’re not upset with them?”
“First thing,” she answered.
“Thank you.” Celestia stepped away from the others. “I wish to stay, but things in Canterlot are becoming chaotic and I must ensure everything is under control. Luna, stay as long as you wish.” In a bright light, the princess vanished.
“What are we to do now?” asked Rarity while passing Pinkie a box of tissue. “Surely we cannot give up on Chrysalis.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Luna sighed. “This is a volatile issue and we need to wait until things blow over, which may not be for a while.”
“No doubt this is what’s going to be on everyone’s mind tomorrow,” said Chrysalis. “Because of this, Cupid’s Arrow is staying closed tomorrow.”
“But Chrysie!” Pinkie protested.
“No buts. I’m not even in the mood anyway.” Chrysalis slowly sat up and wrapped a foreleg around Luna and Nymph. “And girls, I know what you’re thinking, but I suggest you quit while you’re ahead.”
Looking toward the ponies, Nymph could feel their sorrow and frustration, but deep within, she felt some determination. “What exactly are they thinking?”
“That we wouldn’t be very good friends if we just gave up,” answered Fluttershy, her voice emanating her strength.
“But you heard Celestia,” warned Luna. “Are you truly going to go against her will?”
“Actually,” said Twilight, “she said there would be no more appearances from Chrysalis, but she didn’t say anything about trying to generate support ourselves.”
Pinkie suddenly leapt up as well as her mane. “Hurray for loopholes! I’m gonna throw a party next week to tell everypony that Chrysalis is a really nice changeling!”
“A party would not be the best way to get the idea across,” warned Rarity. “Perhaps it would be simpler to try to change one mind at a time or simply show that we don’t hold anything against Chrysalis. I doubt we could tell anypony the truth about Cherub without them panicking and spreading word, so it is critical we keep that detail to ourselves.”
“Thorax knows.” Every head in the room turned toward Nymph. “It just slipped out earlier today, but don’t worry! He has promised to keep it secret.”
“It slipped out?” Luna asked with a firm glare. “How does one accidentally reveal one of Equestria’s biggest secrets? And when were you planning on telling us?”
Chrysalis held up her hoof. “Enough, Lulu. I will talk with him tomorrow.”
Rainbow Dash landed on the floor and sat next to Applejack on the couch. “What was he even doing in the Crystal Empire anyway?”
“I brought him with us to the empire as a way to make up to him for a certain...mishap last week.”
The pegasus took the time to think before she suddenly cracked up. “You mean the horny love train that ran through town?”
Rarity immediately covered Spike’s ears. “RAINBOW DASH! Could you refrain from such vulgar language!? Especially when our friend is in a time of need?” Looking at Chrysalis, they could see her laugh slightly.
“Couldn’t you scramble his brain with your changeling powers?” asked Spike as he pulled Rarity’s hooves off.
“I’m afraid not. Similar to how we changelings cannot detect the emotions of one another, my powers to alter minds are ineffective against my own kind. As Twilight said before, it seems that changelings are truly designed to be somewhat…” Nymph flinched and forced the remaining words out, “parasites.” She pulled Chrysalis’s foreleg off of her and stood. “Mind if I grab a drink to refresh myself?”
“My home is your home,” Chrysalis replied.
Nymph entered the kitchen as the ponies went over possible ideas to show their support for Chrysalis. Nymph opened the refrigerator and poured herself some lemonade, despite her body demanding something stronger for the pain. Sitting on the table, she took a small sip and stared into her cup, vaguely making out her reflection. She could easily make out the shape of her crown on her head and took it into her hooves. The small crown of the Changeling Queen was barely the size of her hoof and she found herself transfixed on it.
“I can only imagine what went through your head when you thought you were better suited for my destiny, but it hasn’t been working out very well, has it? Your own subjects will not listen to their queen. Every second you wear that crown, you are tarnishing everything it represents.”
She could still hear the angry voices that drowned out anything Chrysalis tried to say today. She was so useless in quenching the fury around her that she was forced to retreat. What sort of queen runs away from a crowd with her tail between her legs? A weak one. One unfit to rule. One that was a disgrace to the throne. She gripped the crown tightly and pulled back her foreleg holding it.
“Nymph?”
She quietly gasped and saw Luna standing in the doorway. “Are you...alright?”
“Y-yes.” Queen Nymph put the crown back on her head and left her hooves on her lap. “I’m just...not feeling myself right now. What are you doing here?”
“I am getting something for Chrysalis and myself.” One of the cabinets opened and a bottle of vodka and two shot glasses appeared in a blue aura. “Truthfully, I think you could use some, too.” Nymph held up her drink and Luna poured a bit into the glass. Nymph wasn’t sure if this was a good combination, but she was certain it would hurt less than how she felt now. “Be honest, are you feeling well? You are sitting alone rather than staying with your sister.”
“No, I am not doing well at all.” Nymph took a sip, finding it to be satisfying. “Those ponies, Luna. How could do such a thing? My sister meant no harm and they did that to her. They are subjects of the Princess of Love and yet, they showed none to her.”
The princess pulled up a chair next to her and rubbed her hoof against Nymph’s back. “I am also frustrated, but you have to understand how they feel. Almost no pony knows Chrysalis like we do and after what happened with Tirek and Discord, it is not unreasonable for them to be afraid.” Her hoof gripped tightly onto her shoulder. “Even I, after knowing her for some time, refused the truth and lost myself to emotion. You were also scared of her for a while even after you two reunited. Is it truly unfair for a pony to be afraid?”
A bitter grunt was the first response Nymph could muster. She did not like to believe she was somehow similar to those ponies, but she could not deny the truth. “I suppose not.”
“Remember that she will always be here in Ponyville as Cherub, safe and with those who care for her. She is not imprisoned or lost or scared for her life. So cheer up. It will be okay. I promise you that she will be home one day.” Nymph nodded and they hugged tightly. “Come on. There’s no need to hide away. Come join us and let’s try to forget about what happened. Be with your sister.”
Nymph got off her chair and followed Luna back into the main room, taking the vodka bottle with her. They found Chrysalis still sitting in her couch, smiling warmly as she listened to her friends discuss more ideas and holding Pinkie against her. Chrysalis took her drink from Luna and then quickly pulled in Nymph right as she sat down. “Everything is going to be fine, Nymphie.” The Changeling Queen made herself comfortable by laying her head on her sister’s shoulder as a more cheery Pinkie tried to lift everyone’s spirits with some light hearted jokes. As the day went by, Nymph was able to find some solace in the company of those she loved.
But no matter how she tried, her frustration towards the ponies of Equestria only gripped her heart tighter.