//------------------------------//
// The Gamble 
// Story: Queen Chrysalis' Gamble 
// by Nevermore777 
//------------------------------//

The owl flew at a rather leisurely pace; fast enough that they were moving quickly, but slow enough that Chrysalis wasn't struggling to keep up with him. He also kept a somewhat clear path, only making a few sharp turns which Chrysalis had to guess was to avoid predators or some other danger of the forest.

Eventually, the owl flew down into a small opening that had stairs built down. The owl flew into the cave, and Chrysalis quickly pursued.

What she found was a truly beautiful sight to behold. A massive tree that had very oddly colored bark and only five massive branches. In each of the branches was stone, and a purple star-shaped stone was set in the center of the tree's trunk.

Chrysalis had never seen them; never having had the misfortune of having the stones used against her. However, she had heard of them, heard of all the things that Twilight Sparkle and her friends had done with them. They had turned Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna with these stones and later one of their own who had fallen to the same corruption; Twilight had become an Alicorn and the Princess of Friendship with the aid of these stones; and they had defeated the centaur demon Tirik, and had created both Twilight's  castle and later her school.

"The Elements of Harmony..." Chrysalis gulped as she beheld the tree that produced the fruits of Equestria's salvation.

"A beautiful sight, isn't it? No matter how many times I come here, it's beauty and awe never seems to fade," a familiar voice said behind her.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle," Chrysalis said as she turned in the direction of the mare's voice. She was surprised to find Twilight sitting at a small, a rather elegant table that looked like it belonged in some rich, fancy coffee shop that had been set up near one of the cave walls. There were several crystals that had been charged with magic and as a result glowed to provide plenty of light in the otherwise dim cavern with the exception of the tree.

There were two chairs, Twilight sitting rather lazily in one as she worked to undo the collar on the owl's neck, who lay perched on the chair's left arm.

"Owlowiscious doesn't really like collars. I only put it on because otherwise I wasn't sure if you would know I sent him," Twilight cast her a sidelong glance, "and no need for Titles and full names, Chrissy. Don't be a stranger."

Chrysalis' left eye twitched. "Do not call me "Chrissy," Twilight."

"Fine, Chris" -Chrysalis hissed- "geez. You know, for a supposedly heartless monster, you're not very lighthearted." Twilight finished undoing the owl's color, who hooed with relief before flying up and perching on the branch of the Tree of Harmony that held the Honesty Element. Twilight then turned back to Chrysalis, gesturing to the seat across from her. "Please, sit. You've had quite the fun week, haven't you?"

"Hmph, if you find be trapped in a dark, cramped cell for over three days while being chained up fun, then yes," Chrysalis grumbled as she walked over slowly and sat down, let out a breath as she was finally able to at least somewhat relax.

"Hmm, don't know, the longest I've been imprisoned was a day, and I wasn't exactly all the lucid in your little cocoon. Would better to ask Princess Luna that question; she was chained to the moon for a thousand years, after all." Twilight turned to face her and seemed to study Chrysalis for a few moments before finally speaking again. "Thirsty?"

"Yes," Chrysalis would have normally said no as most drinks didn't do much for her thirst for love, but she remembered that weird pink ink she had used, so she probably actually had something that could actually help her thirst.

From seemingly out of nowhere, though Chrysalis guessed he had been hiding under the table, behind the cloth, Twilight little dragon whose name Chrysalis had never bothered remembering appeared. However, she did notice that the dragon seemed to have wings now. The dragon placed a pair of fancy glasses, then pulled out a wine bottle and poured in the glasses. He then pulled a small vial sealed with wax. Melting the seal with a small jet of flame which looked more powerful then what she remembered, he dumped the contents into the wine glass. It was a stream of that same pink fluid that the letter's ink had been mixed with.

Noticing Chyrsalis curious gaze on Spike's alterations, Twilight elaborated, "He recently went through his first Molt, and his strength has increased in pretty much every category. It's how he was able to send the letter to you."

"it was surprisingly simple," Spike said as he finished pouring the drinks and continued to simply hover in the air with soft beats of his wings, clearly enjoying the sensation, "I remembered what it felt like when you sent that Crystal Ball through me, and simply sent the letter back along that feeling."

"Hmm..." Chrysalis realized she would have to pay more attention to the dragon's developments. He seemed to actually be becoming a threat in his own right. She lightly sipped her drink, enjoying the fine taste of the wine mixed with whatever the pink fluid was, which added a very interesting taste to it. 

"What does it taste like?" Twilight asked her, a curious expression on her face as she lightly sipped her own wine.

"It tastes almost like..." She focused on the taste, trying to identify it. She realized was it was, a strange nostalgia coming over her, "Clover Tea?"

"Clover Tea, huh? Rather unusual, whenever did you have that?" Twilight asked, surprised at her answer.

"I haven't, not for a very long time. I didn't recognize it at first. What is this?"

"Love Poison, it tastes like your favorite drink."

"Love Poison." Chrysalis eyed the glass warily.

"Don't worry, it isn't deadly. It's just the love it causes is so all-consuming that it destroys the one who drinks it, hence why it is considered a poison, not a potion." Twilight quickly explained. "However, as you are a creature that feeds on love, I figured you would be immune to its more harmful effects and instead gain power from it."

"You figured?"

Twilight shrugged, "You never really know for sure until you try, right? Besides, that's why I had it added to the ink before and now the wine and didn't give you just it. That way if it did do something the effects would hopefully be diluted somewhat."

"That, and I imagine it isn't exactly cheap to make."

"Actually, it's a very simple recipe. The hardest thing to get is a rainbow's glow," Twilight said as she took another sip of her own drink.

Chrysalis considered her drink once more, finally deciding that it was safe and drained the glass before once again focusing on Twilight with a suspicious gaze. "So."

"So?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"So, why did you help me?"

"Why not?"

"Because I am an enemy of Equestria, and I was imprisoned by your mentor's guards."

"Hmm, yes, I do hope you didn't kill any of them like I asked."

"I didn't," Chrysalis confirmed, "though quite a few were tossed off the train."

"So a broken bone here and there, not really that big a deal. They're guards, they'll walk it off and be fine in a few days," Twilight responded. "Good, since you didn't kill it maim any of them to badly, it should be easy for me to convince me not to spend too much effort on tracking you down. The last thing I need is Ponyville being put on lockdown and having Knights swarming the Everfree Forest looking for any traces of you."

"Again, why?"

"Why what?"

"WHY ARE YOU HELPING ME!!!" Chrysalis finally roared, breathing heavily as she glared at Twilight, demanding answers.

"Alright alright, no need to yell Chris," Twilight rubbed one of her ears. "I told you why in my letter."

"You said you have an offer for me, but why go through so much trouble? And what offer could you possibly have for me of all creatures?"

"Well, not so much an offer as much as I would like to make a bet with you, a gamble, you could say," Twilight said, sitting up a bit straighter.

"A gamble? What is it?" Chrysalis asked, feeling her confusion growing.

"You remember when we faced off in the castle? You had my friends trapped and originally planned to drain me of your magic, but my skills and power made you change your mind."

"Yes," Chrysalis vividly remembered the conversation, "I offered to make you my pupil, so we could learn from another."

"Well, you can consider this my counter-offer," Twilight said with a smirk.

Chrysalis' eyes widened as she realized where Twilight was going with this. "You can't possibly mean..."

Twilight nodded, "Chrysalis, I would like you to become my pupil."