//------------------------------//
// Unexpected Aid 
// Story: Queen Chrysalis' Gamble 
// by Nevermore777 
//------------------------------//

Queen Chrysalis sat in the darkness, unable to hear anything but the sound of her own chains rattling or her stomach growling. The only light came from a few vents in the side of the prison train car meant for air flow. She could hear the wind whipping by the vent as the train raced down the tracks, along with the infernal racket it created. She had no sense of time and wondered if they would be stopping again for a break soon, as they had a few times in the past. Judging by the glow of the vents changing from day to night, she had to guess they had been moving her for almost three days.

There was little she knew, as she hadn't been told anything when they had managed to knock her out. She had awoken in this darkness, and none had visited her or talked anywhere near her for the days she had been here. She didn't even know if this was exclusively a prison bus, but she'd have to guess not from the dampened commotion that sometimes escaped the vents whenever the train stopped.

Her stomach growled again, making Chrysalis growl back in return, though hers was rather weak. They hadn't fed her, and she imagined that that traitorous usurper, Thorax, had informed them the Changelings didn't need to eat all that often as long as they didn't use large amounts of magic. Or perhaps they learned their lesson from when she and her former hive had been trapped in that castle and she had refused any of their disgusting food.

Chrysalis, in vain, attempted to raise her right foreleg, the heavy chain rattling as she did. After only a few inches the weight became too much and she was forced to let it fall with a weak sigh. She was too tired, too hungry. She had no physical or magical strength, and was unable to even transform. With a final groan that was a mixture of frustration and defeat, she collapsed in a heap, chains coiling around her.

With nothing else to do, Chrysalis' thoughts turned to her fate. She wondered what would happen to her. If she had to guess, she was on her way to Canterlot, to face Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's judgment. She wondered what sort of audience she would have as her fate was decided by the sisters. Would that blasted Princess of Love and her little welp of a husband, the cause of her first defeat, be there with their little spawn? Would the "Princess of Friendship," Twilight Sparkle, architect of both her first and second defeats, be there, with her little bunch of "friends" and her pet dragon?

Chrysalis hissed. Would she be there? That little, cocky unicorn who had snatched what should have been absolute domination from her, when it had only been inches from her fangs? That apprentice of Princess Twilight Sparkle, whom she had sworn vengeance against, Starlight Glimmer? Her thoughts became clouded with anger as more thoughts occurred to her. What about the Usurper, "King" Thorax? Would he and rest of her former hive be there, to see the fate of the Queen that they had stabbed in the back?

And what, exactly, would that fate be? Execution would honestly make the most sense, she had attacked the kingdom thrice and repeatedly attacked their Alicorn Monarchs. She was an enemy of Equestria, which thanks to the recent branching out policies that Princess Twilight Sparkle had begun to enact, even opening up a school that had students from several other kingdoms, essentially made her an enemy of the world. It was how she had been caught: a group of Griffins had spotted her and had alerted Equestria, and it had been a dragon that had driven her into the corner that resulted in her being knocked out.

However, execution had never been something Equestria was known forward. Even in the old days, it took a lot to earn the death penalty. And she had done a lot, but she still couldn't help but wonder. Both Twilight Sparkle and her apprentice had actually attempted to reform her(HA!), so would they try again? Chrysalis shuddered as she thought about it. Would they try a program in some asylum meant to teach her how to be a "good" girl, or would they simply cast some "reformation" spell on her? Use magic to change her into a "better" person? She shuddered at that thought, honestly finding such a thing worse than execution. To have her mind, her nature, her soul even, warped and changed into something else... Such a thing truly terrified her.

Another probable fate would be banishment or imprisonment, as she knew Equestria's history was absolutely riddled with such events for its villains. She herself had been imprisoned inside the castle for several years, and prior to that, Princess Celestia had actually banished her to a volcano!

But they couldn't really banish her out of Equestria, with the world being so united. What if they banished her to another world. As much as she didn't want to think about it, she recalled that Starswirl the Beared, who according to rumors had seemingly returned from the dead a year or so back, had done that a few times. What if they banished her to a world without love? Or without magic? What would happen to her? Would she starve? Would she lose all her power?

They could also imprison her in Tartarus. She couldn't help but shudder at that thought, knowing the chances of her getting out of that place was little to none. 

Groaning at her bleak future, Chrysalis finally laid her head down, deciding to try and get at least some rest and try to conserve her strength. While there was little chance, she knew that if an opportunity presented itself to her to escape, she would need every iota of her iota of strength to get out.

"And then... back to running... back to hiding..." She sighed, trying not to let her own depression overwhelm her. When had it all gone so wrong?

However, before she could continue in her self-pity, she was shocked to watch a plume of grey smoke slip through one of the vents, entering her prison.

"Huh?" She whispered, standing immediately as the smoke made its way to her. "This is..."

The smoke condensed and turned solid, becoming scroll of parchment which remained floating and opened to reveal a letter:



Dear Chrysalis, Former Queen of the Changelings

From what my dear mentor, Princess Celestia, has recently told me: you are currently in something of a predicament, no? You've been stuffed in a train car and will soon be arriving in Canterlot to face her wrath. You are currently passing through the Everfree Forest, on the part farthest from Ponyville. To the south, you will find a cave, leading to an ancient tree known as the Tree of Harmony. Meet me there, after you've made your escape. I have an... offer, let us say, for you.

Oh, and please try not injure or kill anypony, okay? It will make my life easier and will make it easier for me to convince Princess Celestia not to worry about you as long as you don't add "murderer" to your already impressively long list of offenses against Equestria.

I bet you are wondering why I am doing this, aren't you? Well, meet me, and you'll find out. It isn't like you have anyplace else to run to, right?

From, with Love, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship



Chrysalis stared at the letter in utter confusion; both infuriation and curiosity flowing through her green blood. "What is your game, Twilight Sparkle?"

As soon as the young Alicorn's name left her lips, the letters on the scroll began to glow pink, much to Chrysalis' shock. She instantly backed up and hissed, watching the letter warily. The now pink ink began to rise off of the parchment and then dripped from it, leaving it blank as it fell to the ground. The ink, or whatever it actually was, had formed a puddle on the floor which slowly changed into the shape of a heart.

Chrysalis eyed it warly, remembering the final words of the letter: From, with Love, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship.

She laughed, wondering how Twilight had somehow managed to infuse actual love into the ink. She could sense the potent energies within it, the equivalent love of about a dozen average ponies. She tried to absorb it, but realized that wouldn't work. The ink had to be directly ingested if she wanted the love within it. With a hiss, Chrysalis swallowed her pride and dignity in favor of self-preservation. She leaned down and began to lick the ink from the floor, trying to ignore that she was lapping it up like a dog does spilled cider.

In an instant, she felt her strength return. She laughed wickedly as she stood and easily shattered the chains with nothing but her own raw strength. She pointed her horn towards the ceiling, feeling her magic racing through her blood as her horn glowed bright green and she released a devastating burst of raw magic power, her prison car exploding violently.

"Tremble in fear, ponies, the true Queen of the Changelings is free once again!"