//------------------------------// // The Start of a New Era // Story: Embers of Passion // by Bakmah Genesis //------------------------------// A sea of ponies.  That is the best way Chrysalis could explain what was waiting on the steps of the Castle.  Outside the castle staff set up a podium for the princesses while the guards acted as a barrier both on the ground in the air.  Journalists and bystanders stood waiting for the surprise announcement that Celestia said will take place. Chrysalis could only hope the guards could protect her from the onslaught she will receive when she steps on the podium. “Nervous?” asked Celestia, standing by the changeling as she peeked out of the crack in the doors. “Very.” sighed the changeling as she backed away from the doors.  “We are making history today, Celestia, for better or worse. It is likely there will be an outlash, I am just not sure how severe it will be.” “No matter how bad it is, we will be here for support.” said Celestia with a warming smile that wiped away most of Chrysalis’ fears.  One of the guards walked into the hall, only giving a small nod before leaving. With a sigh, Celestia motioned for Luna, Cadence, and Twilight to follow her.  “Well, it is time to change Equestria. Wait for your cue, you’ll do great.” With that, the four of them left, leaving Chrysalis alone in the hall. There was a series of flashes from cameras as the princesses walked up to the meeting area.  All Chrysalis could think of was her face on the front of the papers with captions reading ‘Chrysalis takes over Canterlot!’.  Quickly snapping out of her thoughts, Chrysalis listened to the speech. “Equestria has always strived to strengthen our ties with the other races of the world.  Be it dragons, griffons, zebras, or buffalo, or even our old enemies. Gaining allies and forgiving the deeds of others is how we will strive as a country.” “And how we will strive as a race.” mumbled Chrysalis along with Celestia.  The soon-to-be-former Queen took a deep breath as it came closer for her to enter. “As such, even though she has caused great pain to our city only five years ago, we have decided to look past that and help a race that has been in dire need and we have only looked the other way till now.” The sound the Chrysalis could hear was the sound of the double doors opening on their own.  There was a brief flash of lights as the photographers started taking pictures, but it soon died out as they realised who was walking out of the castle.  She had been in numerous wars, fought beasts twice her size, and crawled through dragon territory beaten and bloody, but nothing prepared her for the shocked silence that she was met with.  Taking another deep breath, Chrysalis steeled her nerves and began her speech. “Five years ago, the changeling race fell into a depression.  Love was becoming more difficult to come by as the generations changed, and it has brought my race into a poverty that has seemed impossible to crawl out of.  We got desperate, scrounging for whatever we could, whether it be schoolyard crushes, or a flirt from a lonely construction worker towards an attractive mare.” “Malnutrition plagued our females, causing problems with birthing and causing defects in our young.  Our species was dying and there was only one option that I tried to avoid, but I grew hasty and blind with hunger.” “The invasion of Canterlot was not our finest hour, and is a mistake I wish to atone for.  With this new peace act, our two species will live together under one country in peace. As a result, any disguised changelings will be forced to give up their disguise and live out their lives as normal citizens.  Eventually, we hope we can coexist in peace, gathering the love we need not by sneaking it by, but as the rest of you do. Making friends, lovers, and just being happy for what we have been given.” “Now, any questions?”  The silence was broken was the air was filled with multiple voices shouting at once, hooves were standing high as cameras flashed.  Chrysalis nodded to an azure mare in front, causing the ruckus to simmer down. “What will your kind do with the ponies you have captured?  Is it true that you dispose of them after their purpose is fulfilled?” “That is not true.  Ponies are normally taken peacefully and without harm, are well fed for however long we keep them for, and are returned to their homes only a week later without any indication that they were gone.  All current residents of our hive will be returned as soon as possible in perfect condition. We are not monsters, mind you. Next.” Chrysalis blinked as her senses were assaulted once again.  She pointed out again, this time to a stallion. “With the joining of the races, will you step down from the rank of Queen or are you a higher rank than the princesses?” “No, as part of our agreement, I am effectively a Princess.”  There was a slight tap on her shoulder, turning around to see Celestia motioning for her to switch places.  With a nod, she stepped back, taking a spot next to Twilight as Celestia handled the rest of the questions. “How do you feel?” whispered Twilight.  Chrysalis shook her head with a chuckle. “Like I fought off a bear with just my hooves.  I was never a speech giver, and today has just shown me why.” Chrysalis sighed.  “This seemed to go better than I expected.” “The night is not over,” stated Luna, leaning forward.  “Demons can still show their faces and bring upon us threats of things to come.” “A little ominous, Aunty Luna.” piped up Cadence.  “I think you need to lay off all those fantasy games you spend all day playing.” “Only some of the day.” said Luna with a pout.  The four of them shared a soft chuckle. The questions went on for another half hour until Celestia finally brought the conference to an end.  With a finally bow and wave, the five princesses made their way back into the castle, Chrysalis letting out a heavy sigh as the doors shut. “I am relieved that the only bad thing that happened was the fart I let go halfway through the speech.” said the changeling with a smirk.  Twilight rolled her eyes. “I never realised how un-ladylike you can be.” groaned Twilight.  “I had to keep myself to gagging the entire time.” “I agree that it all went better than expected,” said Celestia, trying to change the subject.  “But we aren’t out of the woods quite yet. By morning, every newspaper in Equestria will have covered tonight’s speech and there are bound to be some who oppose our decisions.” “Though I think that is enough excitement for me today.” said Cadence with a yawn.  “Shining should be finishing his shift soon and I would like to wind down before I head to bed.  I will definitely need my energy tomorrow.” Chrysalis found herself lying in her bed wide awake.  Looking at the sky she could tell she only had a few hours before Celestia began the task of raising the sun.  She was tired, but now matter how hard she tried she could not sleep. By the time that ponies started heading out for work, picking up their coffee and reading the newspaper, her face will be on the front page as the enemy of the country who managed to get a royalty position through pure sympathy.  Ponies will be outraged, riots are sure to happen, threats will be made, and all because of her mistakes. The door opened, startling  Chrysalis. Twilight walked into the room, candle floating by her head along with a couple books.  Before she could ask what she was doing, Chrysalis remembered that Twilight is prone to reading late into the night, sometimes to relax.  Chrysalis sighed as she eased herself back under the covers. “Couldn’t sleep?” asked Chrysalis, turning over to the mare as she set the books onto the desk.  With a sigh, Twilight set down the candle before sitting down at the foot of the bed. “Not really.  I never really been a part of Equestria’s politics.  In the many years that I lived here before Ponyville, I was never interested in the political side of things.  I focused on studying and my magic. I did not care about the nobles that tried to flirt with me because of my status as Celestia’s student.”  Twilight chuckled before continuing. “Now in the past week or so, I wrote multiple laws to bring in basically a fugitive into power as an ally.  I guess I am just nervous of how this will all play out in the end.” Chrysalis nodded quietly.  She was in the same boat as Twilight, nervous of her actions.  Thinking back to what Cadence said early that evening, Chrysalis decided this was a good chance to try and make a better impression on Twilight. “You didn’t miss much.” said Chrysalis with a smile, moving to the end of the bed.  “Politics is a nasty, twisted game that you can never fully predict. As for how things play out, we can’t predict how millions of ponies will react to something and what the consequences will be.  We can make educated guesses and theories, but in the end you just have to understand that all you can do is what you think is the best for everyone and try to adapt to the situation.” “And how about you?” asked Twilight, looking up at her.  “You were awake before I came in. You’re just as nervous as me, aren’t you?” “We all are.”  said Chrysalis with a sigh.  “We took a huge risk and it will probably end as a mistake that will make everything worse, but they have to if we are going to work to make things better.”  Chrysalis let out a chuckle, falling back onto the bed. “Out of all the beasts I have fought, of all the wars I waged, out of everything, I was more afraid on that podium tonight than anywhere else.”  Twilight looked up at her in shock. “Really?”  Chrysalis nodded. “However, despite all this, we need to support each other as equals to get through this.” said Chrysalis with a smile.  Looking out of the window, she let out a sigh. “It is getting late, we both need to sleep if we are going to have the energy for tomorrow.”  Twilight nodded as she stood, walking towards her bedroom adjacent from Chrysalis’. As the door closed, Chrysalis sighed, covering herself in blankets as she tried again to coax herself to sleep. From the adjacent tower, Luna watched the light from Chrysalis’ room die out.  Celestia walked up behind her, joining her on the balcony overlooking the courtyard.  The two of them stayed quiet, taking in the sight of the sky as the chilly wind blew past them. “Are we really prepared for what will happen in the morning?” asked Luna, turning to her older sister.   Celestia stared off for a moment, taking a sip from her coffee. “Are we ever prepared for the decisions we make?” asked Celestia.  “We both know that you can try to prepare yourself for what is to come the best you can, but it is never enough.”  Luna nodded with a sigh. “We can only hope that Twilight is prepared for what will happen.”