Chrysalis stifled a scream that fought desperately to escape from her throat, though it still came out as an aggravated gurgle. Celestia was moments away and she was completely unprepared to deal with her!
“What with all the commotion, I had completely forgotten that Twilight had said she was coming today.” Rarity stated without a hint of concern.
“Oh my gosh! I forgot too!" Pinkie shouted before rushing over to Chrysalis and dragging her into an apologetic hug. “I am so sorry, Twilight! I haven’t done anything for her party!”
“That’s okay, Pinkie.” Chrysalis really didn’t feel okay, though the trickle of love the hug was giving her was helping a little. She looked over to some of the other element bearers. “I have a backup plan, right girls?” She asked them, sounding a little more desperate than she intended.
“Of course, darling, I would never go back on my word to help out a friend, and Rainbow wouldn’t either, would she?” Rarity lightly kicked a far less enthusiastic Rainbow Dash at her side.
“Ow! Uh, yeah, I totally wouldn’t bail on you. How about you, Flutters?”
“Eep!” Fluttershy flinched at being singled out. “Oh, um...Maybe it would be best if I d...didn’t. I mean, what if I do something wrong?”
“Pfft!” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Don’t be such a scaredy cat! What’s she gonna do? Banish you to the moon?”
“You...you think she’d do that?” Fluttershy squeaked as tears formed in her eyes.
“No, she wouldn’t.” Chrysalis answered, and then continued under her breath. “At least not until after she kills me first.”
“What was that?” Applejack asked.
“Nothing.” Chrysalis lied as she removed herself from Pinkie’s embrace. “How about you, Luna? You willing to help me out with—” Chrysalis froze when she saw the death glare that the lunar princess was levelling at her.
“Why did you not tell me that my sister was coming?” Luna was fuming. “I told you that I would rather not see her right now, did I not?”
“Look, I forgot, okay? It’s been a little crazy around here, so I think it’s understandable that my mind was occupied with other things.” Chrysalis sighed in irritation. “Are you gonna help me distract her or not?”
Luna responded with a dour frown. “I fear that I do not have much choice. I doubt she’d let me leave without scolding me again.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Chrysalis put on a sympathetic face, but inside she was giddy over the turn of events. If the sisters were fighting, then that would be the perfect distraction!
“So, uh...ya gonna ask me, too, or am I not refined enough to spend time with a princess?” Applejack groused, clearly annoyed at being the only member of the group to not have been asked.
“If you want.” Chrysalis replied with a dismissive wave of a hoof, earning a slight eye twitch from the apple farmer.
Celestia, and those carting her through the sky, had evidently spotted the group down by the outskirts of Ponyville. They began their descent to a small clearing that was close by.
“Okay, Fluttershy, you should go and fetch your animals and bring them to Sugarcube Corner. If things go right, that’s where we’ll be.” Chrysalis pushed Fluttershy along, urging her to get a move on. “Don’t forget, I’m counting on you.”
“Oh, uh...okay. I...I’ll see you later then.” Fluttershy began walking on her own.
“Faster!” Chrysalis nearly screamed at her.
“Eep!” Fluttershy flinched at Chrysalis’ raised voice and broke into a gallop.
“That’s better, keep it up!” Chrysalis called after her and then sighed. That mare was much too slow if you didn’t push her. She then turned back around only to nearly step right into Princess Celestia’s chest, the owner of which was looking down at her with a disappointed frown. Chrysalis thought for a moment that she detected a hint of sadness in there too, but it was quickly hidden.
“Hello, Twilight.”
“Princess Celestia!” Chrysalis gasped as she nearly fell over her own hooves trying to back away from her long time enemy.
“That’s not a very nice way to treat your friends.”
“Oh...uh...” Chrysalis chuckled nervously, trying to stall for a few precious seconds as she tried to think of something to say. “Right, it’s, uh...not as bad as you make it seem.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “I had hoped your studies into friendship had been going well, but instead I find you pushing your friend around and yelling at her.”
“That is not fair, sister.” Luna interrupted on Chrysalis’ behalf, and she silently thanked her for it. “You see, there was an infestation of some foul creatures and it has set her plans for your visit back, not to mention caused everypony to be more than a little irritable.”
Celestia’s eyes flicked towards the gash on Luna’s cheek, the one that Chrysalis had accidentally inflicted upon her, and concern broke through her disappointed visage.
“Foul creatures? What manner of foul creatures? Are my little ponies okay?”
“They’re fine.” Chrysalis’ voice cracked. She coughed to clear her throat and repeated herself in a more level tone. “They’re fine, we’ve dealt with it. They didn’t actually hurt anypony, though Ponyville might be a little low on food for awhile.”
“If they didn’t hurt anypony, what happened to your cheek, sister?”
“Hm? Oh, this, I had nearly forgotten. Your student did this to me, purely by accident.”
“Did she now?” Celestia glanced over to Chrysalis, but only for a moment. “And what, might I ask, are you doing in Ponyville? You’re supposed to be in the castle meeting with nobles.”
“Oh, please, sister, I have had quite enough of the nobles. It’s always the same thing. ‘Are you really no longer Nightmare Moon? Are you sure you won’t try to usurp your sister? You’re not going to eat our foals like in those Nightmare Night tales, are you?’” Luna’s face contorted with disgust. “Really, I can’t believe you let such rumours of me spread in my absence, Tia! Eating foals? Do you really hate me so much?”
Celestia took a deep breath. “We can speak of this later, Luna. I haven’t come here to argue with you, I wanted to spend some time chatting with Twilight.”
“That is precisely why I am here, dear sister.” Luna countered.
“I’d prefer to spend time with her in private.” Celestia answered through gritted teeth.
“Uh...should we really be here for this?” Rainbow Dash whispered uncertainly only to be shushed by Rarity.
“Well, you’re not going to.” Luna raised her nose in defiance. “I was here first, and intend on spending time with her as well.”
Chrysalis felt awkward standing there in the ensuing silence. She had initially felt delighted by the thought of Luna being around to distract Celestia from herself, but now she was beginning to worry that they would break out into a brawl over her. As convenient as it would be for them to kill each other, removing two sources of consternation, she felt that it seemed very likely she would get caught in the crossfire.
“So! Uh...how about a friendship report?” Chrysalis suggested. Celestia blinked as she seemed to remember just where she was. She turned her attention from her sister to Chrysalis.
“Oh? Have you learned something you wish to tell me about?” Her voice sounded almost hopeful, though tinted with that sadness that she had seen earlier, she was sure of it this time.
Chrysalis immediately regretted her choice. She should have said something that sent the attention to someone other than herself, such as asking Pinkie about the party she had planned.
“Well, not exactly,” Chrysalis began hesitantly, “it’s less learning something new and more applying a previous lesson.”
“Go on.”
“As I was saying, the lesson I applied was trusting my friends and listening to them. You see, those creatures Luna mentioned were something called parasprites. Pinkie Pie was trying to gather instruments together from the moment she saw them. Instead of ignoring her because of how seemingly random her actions were, I trusted in her and helped in her search. She used the instruments we gathered to lead the parasprites out of town and into the forest.”
Pinkie Pie bounded forth. “And I learned something too! I learned that communication is important, you shouldn’t assume that everypony knows something just because it seems obvious to you.”
Pinkie Pie threw a hoof around Chrysalis and drew her into another hug. Chrysalis enjoyed another stealthy snack of much needed love as she threw a lone hoof around her in return, though far less enthusiastically as her partner had done. Celestia for her part stared at the two of them for a moment as if deep in thought before addressing the others.
“Is this true?”
“Sure is.” Applejack answered. “At least, I hope the part ‘bout Pinkie realizing she needs to communicate better is.”
“That is...good news.” Celestia’s pause was barely noticeable, but it didn’t get by Chrysalis. She was probably disappointed that Chrysalis was making progress in the stupid friendship lessons that she had assigned, making it harder for her to justify having her done away with. “Perhaps a less private session allowing for your friends to come along would be okay.”
“Wonderful!” Pinkie exclaimed cheerily. “I’ve got a cake with everypony’s names on it, or at least I will once I make it!”
Luna gave a victorious smirk to her sister before turning to follow Pinkie. “I am looking forward to it.”
Chrysalis attempted to go along with the others, but felt a gentle bit of magic on her shoulder holding her back, not enough to prevent her from moving if she so desired, but enough to catch her attention and rouse her curiosity. She stopped and looked back to see Celestia’s horn aglow as she came up next to her. Once the others were several steps ahead, Celestia leaned down and whispered in her ear so that no others could hear.
“You should stay away from my sister.” Celestia gave a serious look to Chrysalis before she too trailed after the others, removing the magic holding her in place.
The urge to snap and let her know what she thought of being threatened bubbled up inside Chrysalis. Luna had warned her that Celestia didn’t trust her, so she really should have expected something like this at the very least. Even if the princess had been arguing with Luna, it was no surprise that she would want to protect her from the big bad impostor.
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. Luna was her own mare, and near as ancient as her overbearing sister. She was perfectly capable of making her own decisions in regards to who she shared her time with, even if Chrysalis often wished that Luna would choose not to share it with her. Still, she had been useful that day, so there was at least that. She may be a creepy, jealous, unstable stalker with blackmail material, but at least she was a creepy, jealous, unstable stalker with blackmail material that tries to help her out.
As she followed after the group, she started feeling optimistic about the situation. While she certainly had not enjoyed being threatened, it did have a positive to it. If Celestia was going to kill her, or dispose of her in some other fashion, she would have no need to try threatening her to leave her sister alone. Whether she had overreacted or the princess had merely changed her mind, it would seem that Chrysalis was likely going to get out of this encounter with her hide intact. Not that she was completely out of the woods yet, though. If Celestia had changed her mind, she could certainly change it again.
Chrysalis had half expected Sugarcube Corner to be the same dark, quiet, seemingly dead place it had been when she had visited it earlier that day, but it was actually bright, warm and cheery. It seemed that after she had left with Pinkie to get rid of the parasprites that Mr and Mrs Cake had started up the kitchen and begun baking. The scent of fresh baked pastries, vanilla, cinnamon and any other number of typically pleasant aromas wafted through the air and started to give Chrysalis a headache. She hoped she wouldn’t have to eat anything during this visit, though a mild sense of weakness reminded her that she definitely needed to feed. She would have to keep an eye out for an opportunity to do so, Luna and Celestia’s presences be damned.
Some of the tables were pushed together to make room for the party guests, as Pinkie Pie referred to them all before hopping off into the kitchen, and everyone took a seat. Chrysalis took a seat next to Rarity and then Celestia sat on her other side, earning a short, but very noticeable, glare from Luna who sat begrudgingly next to her sister who ignored her pouting. Mrs Cake came in from the kitchen with a platter filled with baked goods, providing a welcome distraction from the tension between the princesses.
“I’m sorry to say that these aren’t very fresh.” She apologized with a bow as she placed them on the table’s center. “They’re what were left over from yesterday. Normally we would have something fresh available, but with—”
“That is quite all right.” Celestia waved off her concerns with a chuckle. “I am not so fussy as to turn down day old cupcakes.” To make her point, she levitated a yellow frosted cupcake and bit into it.
“I can wait for something fresh.” Luna stated, almost as if she refused to agree with her sister out of spite.
“O...of course, Princess. We’ll get some out as soon as possible.”
Celestia gave a disapproving frown to her sister for a moment before addressing Chrysalis. “Speaking of recent events, perhaps you could tell me in greater detail about the problems you have had of late, Twilight?”
“Problems? What problems? I’ve been hunky dory, Princess!” Chrysalis immediately denied as her nerves got the better of her. Within a moment, she realized the princess was likely not trying to imply something nefarious. “Oh, wait, you meant today with the parasprites.”
Chrysalis reported on the events leading up to the parasprite invasion and of the invasion itself. Her story, however, was rather military in approach. It was direct, to the point and left out all the unnecessary tidbits of information such as how nervous she had been about Celestia’s visit, Luna’s creepy arrival in the middle of the night, and just how attached she felt to her new pet. Her entire story had taken perhaps two minutes to tell in its entirety and, though it may have been her imagination, seemed to leave Celestia almost disappointed. Then again, with how often her face wore that expression, Chrysalis was beginning to wonder if that was just her usual demeanour.
“Psh! You call that a story, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “I could do better than that while gagged!”
Chrysalis had a momentary thought of wishing she could gag the boastful mare, but quickly remembered that her attention seeking personality was precisely why she had been invited here to begin with. Without the slightest prodding, Dash burst into her own retelling of events, with far more enthusiasm, detail and, Chrysalis did not doubt, embellishment to make herself look better. Good old, glory hog Dash, that overinflated ego of hers was proving to be a wonderful distraction. Her attempts to re-enact various aerial manoeuvres she had supposedly performed during the day only helped to eat up more time, especially whenever everybody had to help her recover from crashing due to flying indoors.
There was, however, one point that Chrysalis frowned at. Specifically, Dash did not gloss over how Chrysalis had fawned over Flitter and adopted him as her pet. Celestia’s lips curled with an amused smile as she leaned down to whisper in her student’s ear.
“You didn’t strike me as the type to grow attached to a pet, especially not for being cute.”
Chrysalis groaned lightly as Dash continued her story, undeterred and quite likely even unaware of having lost some of her audience.
“Look, it was a bad decision on my part caused by a moment of weakness. It won’t happen again.”
It was at this moment that Luna got up from the table with a troubled frown. “Excuse me, I need some fresh air.” And with that, she walked outside. Rainbow was still too wrapped up in her own story to let the literal departure of one of her audience to stop.
“I wonder what her problem is.”
“Perhaps the stress of the day has her feeling ill.” Chrysalis offered, happy to have the distraction from her short lived pet.
“Perhaps.” Celestia replied as she stared at the door where Luna had exited, her eyes narrowed and a slight frown on her face, presumably out of annoyance over her sister’s rudeness. She shook her head and gave her attention once more to Chrysalis. “Regardless, it’s not weakness to want some companionship, Twilight. There are many pets out there that are far less troublesome than these parasprites. Even I have one that is, at least usually, less troublesome.” She said that last bit with a slight twinkle in her eye.
Chrysalis felt like the princess was testing her, trying to find out if she would know something Twilight should know. She internally smiled. Celestia didn’t realize that this impostor had spent enough time infiltrating her castle to know the answer.
“You mean your pet phoenix, right? Philomena, wasn’t it?”
Celestia paused for another barely noticeable moment before responding. “Yes, of course I mean Philomena.”
Before Chrysalis could think much on what that pause could have meant, both of them were surprised by Rainbow Dash slamming the table with her forehooves to emphasize some part of the story that the two had missed, knocking over a few cups with a small clatter. Celestia gave an embarrassed chuckle and returned her attention to the one who sought it so badly.
A few minutes later, Rainbow Dash finished her story, and Chrysalis wasn’t sure whether to be glad her boastful blathering had ended, or sad that the convenient distraction was over. Dash sat back down in the seat she had vacated earlier and leaned back with a self satisfied grin, seemingly waiting for the praise to be piled onto her. Celestia obliged her with a polite compliment, and the table soon descended into general small talk.
“With all that has happened, you must be starving.” Celestia said to Chrysalis, who fought the urge to stiffen.
“Nah, I’m okay.”
“Really? Ya haven’t eaten a thing since we got here.” Applejack pointed out, much to Chrysalis’ dismay.
“I’m, uh, on a diet.” Chrysalis offered lamely.
“On a diet?” Rarity interjected. “Twilight, dear, you are quite beautiful the way you are. Well, perhaps somewhat lacking in fashion sense and grooming etiquette, but you are of a perfectly healthy weight."
Chrysalis suddenly felt uncomfortably conscious of her own appearance, not quite sure she trusted Rarity’s opinion. While she was perhaps significantly heavier in her natural form, that was purely due to being around twice Twilight’s height. She was actually much slimmer than the purple unicorn. Chrysalis internally chastised herself. This entire line of thought was stupid. Why should she care what Rarity thought of her appearance, or any other pony for that matter, especially when it was merely a disguise?
“After a day like yours, I think you’ve earned a little splurging.” Celestia levitated the last piece of food from the tray to her, a donut. “I insist you eat something, Twilight.”
“As you wish, Princess.”
Chrysalis sagged as she accepted the donut into her own magical aura. As much as she wished otherwise, she wasn’t going to get out of this. For the sake of her disguise, she shoved the entire donut into her mouth in one bite. She fought the urge to gag as she chewed, trying desperately to keep the disgust off her face. The looks of concern the others gave her as she swallowed implied that she had failed. She gave a weak laugh.
“That one may have been a little older than one day.” She offered weakly as an explanation and stood up from the table. “I think I’ll go check on Pinkie, maybe I can get something a little fresher.”
Without waiting for a response, she trotted off into the kitchen. She stopped for only a moment to locate what she was truly after before darting right past both of the Cakes and Pinkie.
“Oh, hey Twilight! The food’s almost ready!” Pinkie greeted her excitedly.
“That’s great, Pinkie!” Chrysalis forced out as she made straight for the bakery’s back exit. As the door closed behind her, she spied a small dumpster to her left. She went over to it, threw open the lid and placed her head over the opening. She was assaulted by a sickly scent of sugar, spices, and reeking garbage. Even if she hadn’t already been about to, that smell alone would have resulted in what happened next. She vomited.
As she was slamming the lid back into place and wiping her mouth with a forehoof, she heard the sound of the door opening behind her. She looked over her should to see that a concerned Pinkie Pie had followed her.
“Are you okay, Twilight?
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Chrysalis was anything but fine. She was stressed and nearly spent from the exertion of the day, her body was protesting her intake of something inedible to changelings, and she really needed a boost of love to recover.
“Are you sure? You don’t look fine.”
Chrysalis looked around and saw that it was only the two of them in that alleyway. The others inside were awfully close, but the closed door and sounds of the kitchen should block out any noises she made. She knew it was a bad idea, but she really needed her fix.
“No, you’re right. I don’t feel so good.” Chrysalis admitted, and then pretended to stumble. It had the desired effect, Pinkie rushed up to her and used her body to support her so she wouldn’t fall. A little bit of love flowed into Chrysalis from the gesture, but not nearly enough.
Chrysalis’ horn glowed a sickly green as she began casting her spell. She stared intensely into Pinkie’s eyes as they, and her own, swirled with the same green energy as her horn. Pinkie fell to her knees in a trance as Chrysalis’ tendrils of magic dug into the mare and then dragged out the love locked away inside. The changeling queen’s eyelids flickered as the pleasure of feeding filled her with much needed energy.
As the moments passed, Pinkie began to sag from the draining. With regret, Chrysalis cut off the spell. She had already taken more than she should have, any more and Pinkie might be rendered unconscious. She hastily cast the spell to wipe her memory of everything she had seen since she had first asked her if she was okay. She placed Pinkie by the door again and then waited a moment for her to come out of her trance.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She repeated. She was far more stable than the first time she had said it, so she had little doubt that she’d be believed this time.
“Are you sure?” Pinkie paused and blinked blearily. “Huh, I guess you look okay. I thought you looked sick when you went through the kitchen. I coulda sworn you were facing the other—” Pinkie’s words trailed off as she yawned heavily. She shook her head in an effort to rid herself of her weariness.
Chrysalis smiled at her concern. “I was feeling a little woozy, but the fresh air has made me feel better.”
“Okie dokie!” Pinkie cheerfully exclaimed, hopping in place as she so often did. Upon landing, her legs seemed to give out on her and she fell to the ground with a thud. Chrysalis rushed forth and helped her back to her hooves, a concerned frown plastered on her face.
“Are you okay, Pinkie?”
“Owie...I suddenly feel really, really tired, and my legs are like jelly...”
Chrysalis’ frown deepened. She knew she had fed more deeply than she had intended, but she hadn’t thought she’d fed enough to cause Pinkie to collapse.
“Maybe you’re just tired from the parasprites. How much sleep did you get last night?”
“A couple hours.” Pinkie answered, earning a raised eyebrow from Chrysalis.
“Seriously? No wonder you’re falling over! Why did you get so little?”
“I was looking for instruments.”
“You should really take a nap.” Chrysalis urged her ally. She was thoroughly impressed by Pinkie’s stamina. Most ponies who had spent the majority of the last day literally running around town, getting only two hours of sleep, carrying an entire band’s worth of instruments while playing them and marching all through town for several hours, and then preparing for a party would be barely functioning for half of those activities. Add onto it being fed on by a very hungry changeling and it was a miracle she was still conscious.
“No,” Pinkie yawned again, “I still have to make sure the Princesses have a good time.”
“You’ve done more than enough, Pinkie. You need to rest.” Chrysalis horn glowed once again, and a faint aura of green surrounded Pinkie’s head.
“Twi...light?” Pinkie mumbled as she fought a losing battle to keep her increasingly heavy eyelids open. Within seconds, she was asleep and being lowered gently to the ground by Chrysalis’ magic. Unless somebody purposely roused her, she’d be asleep for at least a couple hours, long enough for a proper nap.
“Just like I’ve done with countless foals in the past.”
Chrysalis gasped at the intrusive voice and swung herself around to face it.
“Luna! How long were you standing there?”
“Just long enough to see you put a sleep spell on your exhausted friend here.” Luna walked up to and then past Chrysalis. She gazed down at Pinkie with a small shake of her head. “Some ponies just do too much for their own good.”
Chrysalis attempted to calm her rapidly beating heart. The risk of being caught by Luna was precisely why she hadn’t wanted to feed while she was nearby.
“Yeah, that’s Pinkie for you. She’d probably work herself to death for a friend.” Luna’s head swivelled to face her.
“Oh? I thought she was just your ‘ally’.” Luna teased, earning an eye roll from the queen.
“She thinks anybody she’s ever met is her friend.” Chrysalis snorted. “She probably even thought you were a friend while you were still Nightmare Moon.”
“I see.” Luna replied, her teasing smirk fading. “Is it true what Rainbow Dash says? Was one of those parasprites your pet?”
Chrysalis inhaled sharply. “Er...yes. Don’t worry about killing Flitter, though. Had I known what a pest they were I would’ve done it myself.
“I wonder.” Luna answered vaguely. “Even so, I reacted without thinking and killed your pet as a result. I apologize for my actions.”
“It’s fine.” Chrysalis assured her again. There was a short pause as Luna looked off into the sky.
“Many ponies still fear and shun me, as you no doubt saw earlier today. It can get rather lonely,” Luna’s eyes flicked over to Chrysalis at the mention of that word, and Chrysalis tried to ignore a small ache in her own chest over it, “maybe I should get a pet myself.”
“A pet, huh?” Chrysalis tried to banish the mental image of herself wearing a leash and collar held by Luna as she obediently followed her master. She was nobody’s pet, except that one time in her youth when she was really desperate to feed. She banished the image of Luna switching places with her only slightly less quickly.
“Something that appreciates my night, I think. An owl, perhaps.”
At that moment the two were interrupted by Pinkie muttering only half coherently in her sleep.
“Did she just say ‘stop that pudding’?” Chrysalis asked.
“We should probably get your friend somewhere more comfortable than the dirt back here.” Luna suggested. Chrysalis nodded her agreement and gently lifted the sleeping pony with her magic. Luna held the door open with her own magic. “After you.”
Chrysalis went through the kitchen followed a few seconds later by Luna, reassuring the Cakes and then later the party guests that Pinkie was fine as they headed for the stairs and ultimately Pinkie’s room. She laid the sleeping mare to rest on her bed, gently tucking her in beneath the blankets.
“Be careful,” Luna jokingly warned, “or I might start getting jealous of her, too.”
Chrysalis shuddered, as much at the implied threat as at the idea of romancing Pinkie. “I don’t have the mental or physical fortitude necessary to date Pinkie.” Nor did she have the stomach, or indeed the entire digestive tract, to handle all the baked goods she made and would doubtlessly heap upon her eventual romantic partner. The bakery alone was enough to make Chrysalis feel mildly nauseous, though she wasn’t going to tell Luna that. “She’s probably not into mares, anyway.” Chrysalis added, just in case Luna’s threat hadn’t been as much of a joke as she had thought. The last thing she needed was for somebody so important to the timeline to be destroyed by some jealous princess.
Shortly thereafter, the two returned to the party below. There were some fresh baked goods on the table, which Chrysalis successfully avoided eating this time, much to the relief of her stomach. Celestia seemed a little distracted for the majority of the time, though not necessarily by the distractions that Chrysalis had arranged to have present for the occasion. It seemed like something was on her mind. She had barely even touched the tea that Spike had brought for her.
After an hour or so had passed, the door swung open. At first, Chrysalis thought that Fluttershy had finally arrived with her animals, but that assumption was swiftly tossed aside as a gangly little yellow unicorn colt ran inside.
“Help! Snips is in danger!” The colt cried. Chrysalis suppressed a groan. She had just saved him that morning, what could he possibly have gotten himself into so quickly this time?
“What’s happened?” Celestia stood from the table and approached the crying foal.
“Some black pony with bug wings got him!”
Chrysalis’ blood turned ice cold. Luna gave a sidelong glance to her, her eyes very curious. What was a changeling doing attacking a foal in Ponyville? What kind of idiot would do it undisguised? She was almost certain that it had not happened in the original timeline, she had had no reason to order such a foolish attack, so why would her double order it in this timeline? Was it even a changeling associated with her double? Perhaps it was one that was unaffiliated. Whoever it was, were they trying to flush her out?
“Where are they?” Celestia urged the foal to continue.
“It was at the playground.”
Celestia levitated the foal onto her back. “Show me how to get there.”
“O...okay.” Snails replied. Celestia next addressed the others in the room.
“Those who believe themselves able to help, come with me.” Without waiting for a response, she ran out through the door, calling for the guards stationed outside to follow.
Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Luna, Spike and Chrysalis all looked at each other, their intents clear in their eyes. Rainbow Dash was the first to charge after the princess, followed shortly by Applejack and then Rarity. As Spike tried to follow, he was lifted by a green magical aura.
“You’re staying here, Spike.” Chrysalis ordered him.
“What? But I want to help!”
“You’re staying here if I have to tie you to the table.” She repeated far more aggressively. Spike growled in frustration.
“Fine.” He huffed as he sat back down, his arms crossed petulantly.
“Are you coming?” Luna asked from the doorway.
Chrysalis nodded and dashed out the door.
__________________________
“It’s just around the corner!” Snails shouted from his perch on Celestia’s back. The princess slowed to a halt and levitated the colt down to the ground.
“Thank you for your assistance, but you should stay here. Don’t come out until we tell you it’s safe.”
“Okay.” Snails nodded compliantly and sat down, causing a small cloud of dirt to billow up around him. Celestia’s halt allowed for the others who had been following to catch up, the recently fed Chrysalis in the lead while Luna had taken up the rear. One by one, they came to a stop as they reached her.
“We do not know what our foe is capable of, or if they are alone. None of you are to take any unnecessary risks that may provoke them to harm their hostage.”
“Come on, I can totally get in there and save Snips before they even know what’s going on!” Rainbow Dash argued, stretching her wings wide to emphasize her point.
“No.” Celestia rebuffed her sternly. “That can be a backup plan, but first we are to attempt negotiation. We will send one pony out to speak so as not to make them feel threatened.”
“Fine.” Dash pouted.
Chrysalis fought back the panic building up inside of her. While she had a distinct desire to punish whatever idiot changeling had decided to attack a foal, she was nearly sick with worry over what would happen to her people if they were discovered early. If this changeling was captured and interrogated, the results could be catastrophic. She would need to do everything she could to ensure that whoever it was escaped. As her mind raced, an underlying thought stretched through her mind like a thread: none of this should be happening, so why was it?
“Rainbow Dash?” Celestia addressed the impatient mare.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Sneak to the other side of the playground, stay out of sight and wait for our signal. If our negotiations fail, the rest of us will try to distract them so you can get the foal out.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Dash gave a sloppy salute. “But, uh...what’s the signal?”
Celestia thought a moment. “Tea.”
“Tea? Okay, got it!” Dash rushed off back the way they came before disappearing around the corner of the building they were hiding behind.
“Now then, onto the matter of our negotiator. I think Twilight should go.” Celestia announced.
“What?” Chrysalis’ thoughts came to an abrupt halt.
“Are ya sure that’s a good idea, Princess? Twilight ain’t exactly diplomatic.”
Chrysalis glared at the farmer who protested her candidacy and snarled at her. “Hey, I can be perfectly diplomatic!”
Celestia gave a half smile. “I believe that my student is precisely who we need for this. She threw herself at an ursa minor to save a pair of foals before. I believe that kind of determination will guide her to do everything in her power to protect that foal here.”
Chrysalis stared at the princess for a second, trying to keep her suspicion from showing on her face. “I’ll do it.”
For a moment, it seemed like Chrysalis’ faux mentor was about to say something more, but a small nod was the only response she received. Under the group’s expectant eyes, Chrysalis stepped forth, feeling as if she were stepping directly into two traps at once. Once she was past the edge of the building and the playground was in view a few dozen meters away, she froze.
The area was empty, save for Snips who had been tied to the top of the supporting bar of a swing set. A moment later, the colt spotted her.
“A little help, please?” He shouted.
Chrysalis looked back to the other ponies who she was still nearly standing right next to. “Tea.” She said flatly.
Not bothering to wait for a reaction, she trotted cautiously to the swings. She untied Snips with her magic and gently lowered him to the sand below, her eyes scanning the area for threats the entire time she did so.
“You okay, kid?” Chrysalis asked.
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
“Where is the thing that did this to you?”
“I don’t know. She flew off after tying me up.”
Chrysalis' eyes rose up reactively. The skies were as clear as the grounds. The ever lingering question of ‘why’ droned on in her head. Why would a changeling do all of this only to run away? Her heart sank. It seemed a classic example of a distraction, but to what end? She looked to the others who were all cautiously searching the area, even Rainbow Dash who had come out of her own hiding spot.
“Snips!”
“Snails!”
The two foals rushed to greet each other with a hug and, for one short moment, seeing their collective relief soothed Chrysalis’ heart. She eyed Snips closely. What if the changeling wasn’t really gone?
“I got to ride on Princess Celestia!” Snails bragged to his short friend.
“Really? That’s so cool! Now we’ve both ridden a princess!” Snips shouted excitedly. Chrysalis tilted her head.
“Who did you ride, when did you ride, and where to?” Chryalis asked bluntly.
“Huh?” Snips’ face scrunched up with confusion.
“Is this really what’s important, right now?” Rarity, who had wandered close enough to overhear her words, asked. Chrysalis waved her off with a shush.
“Humour me.”
“Ooookay. Earlier today I rode on Luna, but fell off and rode you instead to Sugarcube Corner.”
Chrysalis stared at the kid. How likely was a changeling to know all these details? Not very, she figured, but she couldn’t dismiss it as impossible.
“What song did you say you could sing at Sugarcube Corner?”
“Song?”
“I really don’t see how any of this matters, Twilight.” Rarity pressed. Chrysalis rolled her eyes.
“I’m just trying to check to see if that creature injured his mind somehow.”
“If you say so.” Rarity relented.
“Thank you. Now, Snips, what song did you say you could sing? You remember, don't you? After Pinkie dropped all of those instruments to the floor?”
Snips’ eyes lit up. “Oh! I didn’t say I could sing, I said I could play the triangle!”
“Yeah, right, you don’t know how to play the triangle!” Snails butted in.
“Do too!”
“Do not!”
Chrysalis let out a relieved sigh. She was sure this was the real Snips. Well, the same Snips that she had rescued earlier that day at least. She turned away from the arguing two and was greeted by Rarity looking at her with a slightly tilted head, though she said nothing.
She wasn’t really sure why she was being paranoid about the kid being replaced. Even if one of her changelings could pull off their childish nature, there was no reason for them to bring attention to the pony that they were swapping with by using an elaborate kidnapping scheme. Standard procedure would be to get them while they were alone, whether that was by luring them to a secluded spot by taking on the form of somebody they trusted, or by sneaking in while they slept. It didn’t make sense to do otherwise. Then again, nothing about this seemed to make sense, so diligence was perhaps the wisest course.
“Whoever it was, they seem to be long gone.” Celestia observed aloud as she stepped up next to Chrysalis, her own search presumably complete.
“Indeed.” Luna confirmed.
“I’ll have my guards patrol Ponyville for the duration of my visit, and then I will arrange for some to be stationed here upon my return to Canterlot. In the meantime, let’s head back.” She let out a small sigh. “Our tea is probably cold by now.”
“Wait a second...” Chrysalis felt a renewed sense of urgency. She turned back to the gangly colt that had fetched them earlier. “Why did you go to Sugarcube Corner? Surely there were adults closer you could have asked for help!”
“Because the monster told me to get the princesses from there. She said she wanted to talk to them.” He answered simply. “I wonder where she went. It’s really weird that she’d go to all that trouble and not talk to them.”
Before anybody else could digest what was just said, Chrysalis bolted. It had been a distraction, just as she had suspected, and she feared she now knew to what end. There wasn’t much at Sugarcube Corner for a changeling to get them away from, just some baked goods, a pair of bakers, one baby dragon, and one defenceless pink pony under the effects of a sleep spell.
Minutes later, Chrysalis literally crashed through the front door of Sugarcube Corner, falling to the tiled floor as she gasped for breath. Spike was sitting where he had been left. His head had dropped to the table and he was snoring, completely oblivious to the sounds of her abrupt entrance. He was clearly in no immediate danger, so she climbed to her hooves, ignoring the pain of her scrapes and bruises, and rushed for the stairs that led to Pinkie’s room. She paused with her hoof on the door for only a moment before pushing it open.
Pinkie Pie was gone.
Chrysalis rushed back downstairs and found the princesses, Applejack and Dash, the last of which was gently poking Spike with a hoof. Rarity walked in seconds later from the kitchen.
“They’re asleep, too.” Rarity announced.
“At least they are unharmed.” Celestia replied with a curt nod. Chrysalis rushed forward and nearly shoved Rarity into the wall.
“Whoa, what are ya doin’?!” Applejack shouted.
“Was Pinkie in there!?” Chrysalis desperately pressed Rarity for answers.
“N...no.” Rarity answered, her eyes drawn with horror as she realized what her assailant was implying.
Chrysalis sagged at her words and released Rarity just as AJ tried to pull her off. She had been so stupid. She should have known that the incident with the foal couldn’t have been their main objective, it just didn’t add up. Somebody must have been watching her, saw an opportunity with Pinkie asleep, and then struck. She should have been more vigilant, and now Pinkie was paying the price.
“It’s not your fault, Twilight, you couldn’t have known.” Celestia placed the tip of her wing over Chrysalis’ shoulder in a comforting gesture.
“My sister is correct. You should not blame yourself.” Luna agreed.
Chrysalis shrugged off Celestia’s wing. She had no time for pity, she had to save Pinkie. Standard procedure for abducting a pony was for the changeling to take them to a secluded spot away from civilization until either they or another changeling could deliver them to the hive. In the case of Ponyville, most often they would be taken somewhere in the Everfree Forest, where few ponies ever visited. Unfortunately, the forest was chosen for a good reason, it had literally thousands of potential hiding spots.
“Um...hello? Is...is this a bad time? I brought my animals.”
They would need some way to narrow down the search area. If she could get away from the others, perhaps she could get something out of Skitter, assuming of course that it wasn’t Skitter who had abducted Pinkie in the first place. But, no, it probably wasn’t. Snips and Snails had called the abductor female. Not that he couldn’t have made himself appear as one if he wanted to.
“We don’t have time for your animals, Fluttershy! Pinkie’s gone, somepony took her!”
“W...what? That’s terrible!”
“I’m gonna get up in the sky. Maybe I can still spot them.”
“But, um...I...”
Or maybe she could transform into a bird, something really fast that could search a large area in a short period of time.
“Guards?”
“Yes, princess?”
“Join Rainbow Dash in searching from the skies.”
“Yes, Princess.”
“I’m sure that between Rarity an’ I, we could get half o’ Ponyville lookin’ for her.”
“Or we could...umm...never mind...”
“Sister, we should inform the mayor. I am sure she has resources that would be invaluable in our search.”
She would need to get away from the others first, though. That was the problem.
“Agreed. Fluttershy, I believe it was? You should keep Twilight company. She seems to be taking these events hard and I do not think she should be left alone.”
“But...I could...I mean...okay.”
Her decision made, Chrysalis snapped out of her thoughts to address those around her.
“We should split up and...uh...” Chrysalis faltered when she noticed she was talking to an empty room, unless you counted Fluttershy. She was so generally lacking in presence, however, that she usually didn’t count. Chrysalis shrugged and headed for the door.
“Are you going to ignore me, too?”
Chrysalis froze. She could’ve sworn she had just heard resentment in Fluttershy’s voice. That couldn’t have been right, could it? She turned to the timid pegasus who happened to have a grumpy frown to match her prior tone and raised an eyebrow.
“What did you say?”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened and she covered her mouth, and indeed much of her face, with the tips of her wings. She mumbled something, but between her soft voice and her feathers muffling her, Chrysalis couldn’t understand a word.
“I can’t hear you when you hide behind your wings. Speak up.” Chrysalis growled in irritation. Fluttershy began to tremble, the feathers of her wings shaking like the leaves of a tree on a windy day as she uncovered her face.
“I...I said I was sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude, I...I was just so—”
“Stop.” Chrysalis cut her imminent rambling off. Fluttershy bit her lip and averted her gaze. “I don’t care that you got angry, I don’t care that you think you were rude. Right now what I care about is that Pinkie Pie is missing. Is what you wanted to say relevant to finding Pinkie?”
Fluttershy nodded, but didn’t elaborate. Chrysalis sighed. She had dealt with timid changelings before who were too scared of her to tell her their ideas. For the life of her she didn’t know why. She would be the first to admit that she wasn’t the nicest person around, but she wouldn’t harm anybody for presenting a bad idea. If you had everybody afraid to present their ideas because you punished those with bad ones, then good ideas would be silenced along with them. She was going to have to adopt a gentler approach, just as if she were dealing with one of her less extroverted subjects.
“Listen, Fluttershy, I know I can seem a little scary, but I’m just worried about Pinkie. We’re friends,” Chrysalis had to fight to keep a straight face using that word, “and friends talk to each other, and listen to each other. I won’t think less of you if your idea isn’t very good, but if it is you could be the difference between success and failure. Please, how do you plan on helping her?”
Fluttershy’s eyes moistened, as if she were about to cry. Chrysalis was about to give up on her, clearly she was far too sensitive to be of any real use, but before she turned away, Fluttershy spoke. Her voice was still quiet by normal standards, but for Fluttershy it may as well have been screaming.
“One of the animals I brought with me was a dog. If he could get her scent, then he could track Pinkie down.”
Chrysalis froze for a second. A dog. That was so brilliant and obvious that she wondered why she hadn’t thought of becoming one herself.
“Perfect!” She shouted. “Let’s go get that dog.”
“W...wait for me.”
Chrysalis charged out the door, slamming it open. She heard a crack as the door hit something followed by a deep growl, and not the kind of growl that comes from some person who was a little grumpy, oh no, this was the angry growl of an animal about to tear somebody’s face off. Her eyes darted to the momentarily still open door and watched as if in slow motion as it swung closed, revealing that which was behind it. Chrysalis’ ears drooped and she instinctively began backing away.
“Nice bear...” Chrysalis cooed at it unsteadily, hoping a gentle tone would soothe the snarling beast. What the heck was a bear doing in the middle of Ponyville? It didn’t matter. Her horn lit up as she prepared to defend herself if it made any aggressive moves. On the plus side, it was only a normal sized brown bear and not an ursa minor, though her trembling body didn’t seem to care. All it knew was that bears were bad news.
“Bruno, no!” Fluttershy’s voice cut through the air and the bear not only stopped, but backed away like an ashamed puppy. The voice’s owner came out from inside, far more gently than Chrysalis had, and she approached the now shockingly docile bear. “What do you think you’re doing, scaring my friend like that? You should be ashamed of yourself!”
“Wait, that’s your bear!?”
“He’s not my bear, he’s my friend.” Fluttershy answered clearly. The bear made a series of sounds somewhere between growls and grunts. “That’s no excuse to scare her half to death. I’m sure she didn’t mean it.” More growls, and Fluttershy nodded. “Of course.” She turned to Chrysalis. “He would like an apology.”
Chrysalis stared in disbelief. Apologize to a stupid beast? It moved slightly and Chrysalis flinched. She cursed her body’s betrayal of her, but she couldn’t deny that she was afraid of that thing. She morosely suspected that her tussle with an ursa minor may have shaken her more than she had realized.
“Right...uh...Bruno was it? I’m sorry I hit you with the door.”
“There, all better now.” Fluttershy fluttered up high enough to pat the bear on its head, oblivious to the distress that Chrysalis felt over its presence. The bear leaned into her hoof, seeming to enjoy the affection immensely.
“Why do you have a...no, never mind. Where’s your dog?”
“He should be around here somewhere...” Fluttershy muttered as she looked around. “Oh, there he is! Come here, Rider, here boy!”
A golden retriever that had been napping in the shade of a tree not too far off perked up at being called and happily bounded on over to them, giving a great big lick to Fluttershy. In addition to the dog, a pair of small birds flew over from the tree and a beaver that had been next to the dog waddled its way over too.
“Okay, now we just need something that smells of Pinkie so he can get her scent.” Fluttershy explained.
“I’ll get something, wait here.” Chrysalis bolted back into the house and up to Pinkie’s room. She snatched the pillow that she had placed Pinkie’s head upon earlier, fighting back a lump starting to develop in her throat, and hurried back. “Here, this should do it.”
“Here boy, get the scent...you got it?” The dog barked at Fluttershy’s question. “Good, now go find her!”
With one more bark, Rider ran off with his nose to the ground. Without a word, the two ponies followed after him.
____________________________
“I figured as much.” Chrysalis groused under her breath. Their motley crew of ponies and animals had found themselves at the edge of the Everfree Forest and came to a momentary stop.
“At least it’s still day time.” Fluttershy attempted to cheer her before adding in a much quieter voice. “It’s much worse at night.”
“Well, if nothing else there’s no Nightmare Moon laying traps for us this time.”
“R...right...” Flutershy swallowed audibly. “W...well, let’s go, Rider. Keep going.”
Just as they took their first steps into the forest, they screeched to a halt as a shout came from the sky.
“Waaaaait!” Chrysalis was assaulted by a sudden gust of wind as a multi-coloured pegasus landed next to her.
“Hello, Rainbow Dash.” Chrysalis greeted with an annoyed monotone.
“Where the hay do you think you’re going? It’s dangerous in there!”
Chrysalis motioned to Rider. “The dog’s tracking Pinkie. She’s in the forest.”
“Really? We gotta let the others know!” Rainbow leapt back into the sky only to stop and hover next to Chrysalis. “You should wait until the rest of us get here before going any further.”
Chrysalis was about to argue that there wasn’t time, but stopped herself.
“Okay, we’ll wait right here for your return.”
“You’re lying.” Dash responded with narrowed eyes.
“What? No I’m not.”
“You looked like you were gonna argue, but then just agreed. You do that a lot, and it’s usually because you’re lying.”
“I just realized the wisdom of your words.”
“Pfft! Yeah, right. You don’t believe in anypony’s wisdom but your own.”
“Uh...girls? Can we maybe...um....stop?” Fluttershy squeaked.
“I don’t—”
Dash cut Chrysalis off. “I may not be the smartest mare, but nopony’s as dumb as you think I am. I know you don’t really like me, but that doesn’t matter right now. You do like Pinkie Pie, and you’re trying to help her and don’t want anything to slow you down. I can respect that, even if you don’t respect me.”
Chrysalis stared at Dash with her mouth agape. The idea that perhaps she was underestimating this mare was beginning to dawn on her.
“Heh, I know that face! You’ve just realized how truly awesome I am!” Dash boasted with a crushing amount of swagger. “I get that a lot. Soon enough, everypony will know the name of the amazing Rainbow Dash!”
Chrysalis shut her mouth and glared at Dash. Perhaps she hadn’t underestimated. One fluke didn’t mean anything, and she was just as frustratingly arrogant as always.
“Now, how about we skip to the part where we go into the big scary forest and kick the butt of whoever took Pinkie Pie from us?”
“Okay, let’s.”
______________________
“Ugh! Why do we gotta go so slow?!” Rainbow Dash whined for the hundredth time. Chrysalis was already regretting her choice to let her come along.
“I’m sorry...we have to let Rider follow the trail.” Fluttershy apologized.
Dash grumbled something under her breath as she continued plodding along behind the dog that led them. Chrysalis watched her with a furrowed brow. After having a little time to think, something was bothering her.
“Hey, Rainbow?”
“Yeah?”
“If you knew that I didn’t like you, why did you agree to help me with the Princess’ visit?”
“Oh, uh, that?” She chuckled nervously. “Uh, Rarity was going too and I figured she could use the help.”
“Uh huh.” Chrysalis replied skeptically. “How about all the other times you agreed to do stuff with me?”
“Come on, that ursa thing was wrecking Ponyville! And Nightmare Moon definitely needed to be stopped!”
“And all the times the world wasn’t in danger?” Chrysalis pressed.
“Oh, the other times?” Rainbow Dash gave another nervous chuckle. “Well, it was never really just you, right? It was you and the others, and it wouldn’t be very awesome of me to just ditch them, right?”
“Now who’s lying?” Chrysalis asked too quietly for Dash to hear, though the much closer Fluttershy averted her gaze.
Fluttershy had been awfully quiet since Chrysalis and Dash had revealed that they don’t like each other, not that she was ever anything but quiet. Still, she had seemed to come a little out of her shell after Chrysalis had gotten her to reveal her plan to track Pinkie down. Not that it really mattered, she mused, as long as her dog was still doing its job.
“Can’t this dog go any faster?” Dash whined for the one hundred and first time, earning a solid glare from Chrysalis.
Suddenly, the birds sitting on the bear’s back began chirping fervently. Fluttershy’s widened eyes locked onto them.
“What’s their problem?” Chrysalis asked, thankful for a distraction from Dash’s incessant complaints.
“There’s something following us!” Fluttershy gasped.
“Maybe it’s another manticore that you can tame.” Rainbow Dash teased Fluttershy. “Hey, what’s that smell?”
Chrysalis sniffed the air and her face wrinkled with disgust. “Whatever it is, I think it died a week ago.”
Fluttershy trembled violently. “It...It...It’s a t...t..timber wolf.”
“Timber wolf? Never hear of ‘em.” Chrysalis said, her eyes scanning the area, but it was hard to see much through the dense trees. “Are they dangerous?”
Fluttershy nodded, no longer able to speak through her fear. Chrysalis channelled magic into her horn and stood ready to react to the slightest hint of danger. If Fluttershy, the resident animal lover that regularly treated dangerous bears as friends was scared of timber wolves, then they were probably a serious threat.
“Whatever it is, I can handle it!” Rainbow boasted.
“Shh!” Chrysalis tried to get her to shut up for once in her life. Her ears flicked as the listened for even the slightest unwelcome sound. The forest was eerily quiet. She heard a rustle in a bush not too far off. She poured more energy into her horn, ready to strike at that spot the next time something moved there. She took one cautious step away from the movement.
“Behind you!” Fluttershy screamed.
Chrysalis swivelled around just in time to see a maw full of sharp teeth barrelling down on her. She barely managed to let off a blast of magic into her assailant and it exploded into a cloud of...sticks? Yes, it was sticks, twigs, leaves and assorted wood fragments. Before she could truly comprehend the odd sight, something crashed into her from behind, dragging her to the ground. She tried kicking with a hind leg and a solid thunk greeted her ears, as if she had just kicked a bundle of fire wood. In turn, she felt claws digging into her back.
“Hey, get offa her!”
A rainbow blur slammed into the creature and knocked it clear off Chrysalis, though she could clearly feel the gashes left behind as the monster’s claws dragged along her back. Wincing, Chrysalis climbed back to her hooves and finally got a good look at the thing as it wrestled with Dash. If she had been less frantic, her jaw may have dropped at seeing a wolf made entirely of pieces of wood. No wonder Fluttershy was frightened of them. Chrysalis doubted that her animal communication extended to creatures that were more plant than animal.
Attempting to line up a clear shot at the timber wolf that Dash was wrestling with was proving to be quite difficult given all their constant movement, and no matter how tempting it was, Chrysalis wasn’t about to risk killing both. Just as she was about to try a different tactic, specifically levitating both and trying to separate them, she heard a growl.
She pivoted to see behind her and was greeted by two more of them, one was approaching her while the other was going after Fluttershy, who was cowering in fear against a tree. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the bits and pieces of sticks from the one she had blown up wiggling and dragging themselves through the grass and dirt, but before she could really contemplate why, the one approaching leaped at her.
Chrysalis took the levitation spell she had been preparing and snatched it out of the air mid leap and then, using its own momentum against it, sent it flying out of sight. She was rewarded for her manoeuvre by an animalistic yelp and the sound of wood slamming against wood. There was no time to congratulate herself on her quick reaction, she needed to help the others. Dash could probably hold her own at least for a little while, but Fluttershy seemed so frightened that she had forgotten she could have flown to safety, defending herself was out of the question. Fluttershy first and then Dash, she concluded.
Before following through on her decision, the wind was knocked out of her as she once again was pounced by another timber wolf. She was sent tumbling across the forest floor with her attacker as she heard a roar coming from somewhere nearby. Sharp fangs dug into her shoulder and she shouted in pain. She latched onto the plant monster’s jaws with her magic and with intense effort pried those jaws open. She managed to shove the thing off of her when yet another pounced at her, whether it was the one she had tossed earlier or an entirely new one she could not tell, though she had managed to erect a telekinetic barrier to deflect its deadly fangs. She scrambled to her hooves and began backing away with a very noticeable limp from the two monsters, no, three now. Somewhere in the struggle, she had lost sight of both of the element bearers, but she had no time to worry about them, she had enough to worry about on her own.
The three timber wolves were about to lunge at her when another roar nearly deafened Chrysalis. The wolves looked away just as an angry bear barrelled through the bushes and mauled the nearest one. Chrysalis took advantage of the distraction by sending a jet of fire from her horn to one of the other two. It howled as it lit up, as if screaming in pain, and ran off into the forest. The third, seeing one of its brethren burning and the other being torn to pieces by the much larger bear decided to flee as well. Moments later, the bear stood there on all four legs, breathing heavily as it looked for more enemies. Chrysalis shuddered.
“Are...are you okay?” A soft voice that Chrysalis could barely hear came from behind the bear.
“I’m...” Chrysalis paused as she took stock of her condition. She was sore from getting pounced multiple times and was bleeding from both her back and shoulder. “I’ve been better.” Chrysalis concluded for Fluttershy as she stepped into view. “How about you?”
“I’m okay. Bruno protected me.” She answered proudly as she rubbed the bear’s side. “He saved Rainbow Dash, too. She’s got a few scratches, but that’s it.”
“Lucky her.” Chrysalis replied sourly. “I don’t suppose you have some bandages, do you?”
“What’s that about bandages?” Rainbow Dash interrupted them loudly as she fluttered into view. She halted and did a double take as she saw Chrysalis. “Whoa...you look terrible!”
“Thanks, Dash.” Chrysalis grumbled.
“I...um...didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to worry you...”
“You should probably put some pressure on that bite on your shoulder, you’re losing a lot of blood.”
“I didn’t notice, Dash.” Chrysalis growled through gritted teeth.
“Look, I can fly back to Ponyville and get a med kit and be back here in ten minutes, fifteen tops. Just try not to bleed out, ‘kay?”
“Just go, Dash!”
As the rainbow mare finally left, Chrysalis searched through the plants around her for some sizable leaves. Grabbing a few, she pressed them to the wound on her shoulder and applied pressure with her magic. She took a few steps to test out her leg, wincing as she did so. She’d be slowed, but the pain was bearable.
“Where’s your dog, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy whistled and he bounded into view from wherever he had been hiding, and moments later the beaver and birds arrived too.
“Good, he’s not dead. Now let’s get a move on.”
“What?” Fluttershy’s brow wrinkled with confusion.
“Get your dog back on track so we can save Pinkie, or did you forget why we came here to begin with?”
“But you’re injured!”
“Either get that dog moving or I’m going to search this entire forest myself.” Chrysalis snarled at her. She left out how she would become a dog herself to do it. Tracking by scent was something she had never done before, but how hard could it be?
“No.” Fluttershy whispered, as if she were afraid to say the word.
“Fine.” Chrysalis shrugged, gritting her teeth as that movement caused a flair of pain. She turned to leave.
“Bruno, stop her.”
Chrysalis froze as the large animal lumbered towards her. She was soon scooped up in a literal bear hug and no amount of protests would get the animal to put her down. After a few minutes of ineffectual struggling, she gave up and waited there limply for Rainbow Dash to return. On the upside, the bear’s tight embrace kept her makeshift, leafy bandage in place.
After some more time, Chrysalis couldn’t tell how much, Dash finally flew in through the canopy above carrying a med kit in her mouth.
“Oops, nearly hit a branch there.” Dash chuckled nervously after spitting out the kit upon landing a few meters away.
“Shouldn’t you bring that closer to me?” Chrysalis snapped at her.
“Yeah, yeah, just a second.” She waved a hoof absently in Chrysalis’ direction. “Any moment now...”
“Stop wasting my time, Pinkie needs my—”
Chrysalis was cut off by a sudden flash of light and she shut her eyes against the painful brightness, unable to shield her view with her legs still pinned to her side by a bear. When her vision cleared of stars, Princess Celestia and Luna stood over the med kit. Chrysalis inhaled sharply as Luna rushed over to her.
“Are you okay?” Luna glared at the bear. “Let her go.”
The bear did as commanded, eagerly it seemed, and Luna yanked her out of his reach.
“Easy there!” Chrysalis wheezed after gasping in pain.
“This is not nearly as bad as I was led to believe.” Luna frowned.
“I’m so sorry that I’m not on death’s door, princess.” Chrysalis retorted sarcastically.
“What I mean is that I was led to believe you were grievously wounded, but your injuries are relatively minor. You are more than durable enough to survive, why you wouldn’t even need to stay at a hospital for this. I was made to worry for nothing.”
“Grievous or not, Luna, you should allow for her to be treated.” Celestia interjected with a nod towards Rainbow Dash, who was digging through the now open med kit.
“Of course.” Luna bowed her head lightly and stepped back from Chrysalis. Dash brought over a few things from the kit and sat next to her.
“What are they doing here?” Chrysalis whispered furiously.
“Hold still.” Dash ordered as she opened a bottle of something. “I saw them on my way back, so I thought I’d let them know what happened. They put some kinda spell on the kit and used it to teleport here. I said hold still!”
Chrysalis winced as Dash applied a stinging liquid to her wounds. She wanted to strangle that mare for bringing the princesses, and it took tremendous effort to hold herself back.
“We should get you back to Ponyville where you can recover.” Luna proclaimed as Dash moved onto applying proper bandages.
“What happened to my injuries not being that bad?” Chrysalis growled. Luna stared back at her, unimpressed.
“There’s a big difference between being able to survive an injury with a bit of rest and being well enough to traipse about the Everfree Forest.”
“I need to help Pinkie Pie.”
“And what good will it do anypony if you die in addition to your friend?” Luna snorted derisively at her stubbornness. “Leave the task to others.”
“I’m fine! I will not abandon her!”
“You stubborn mule!” Luna nearly shouted. “You are leaving this forest even if I have to drag—”
“Hold, Luna.” Celestia cut her sister off.
“What?” Luna fumed.
“Let me speak with my student.”
Luna’s eyes flicked back and forth between Chrysalis and Celestia, filled with fury. Her jaw was clenched and her lips were locked in a scowl. Finally, she took a deep breath and stepped back.
“As you wish, sister.”
Celestia slowly approached her student. She looked unsure of something, conflicted or perhaps even distracted, much like she had for the majority of the day. Chrysalis’ lack of understanding why irritated her, but it was hardly the time to be concerned about it. Celestia’s long neck brought her face next to hers.
“How far are you willing to go to save your friend?” Celestia whispered. Chrysalis gazed back into Celestia’s eyes unflinchingly.
“I owe her my life.” She answered, recalling how Pinkie’s plan had saved her from the ursa minor.
“That isn’t what I asked. How far are you willing to go to save your friend?”
Chrysalis blinked.
“I will risk life and limb to ensure her safety.” Chrysalis answered evenly. She had to be willing to risk her life to save Pinkie, she was integral to the time line. The question of whether or not she would be as quick to save Rainbow Dash crossed her mind, but she dismissed it. It was a pointless question, her time was better spent on other matters.
Celestia closed her eyes a moment and gave a half smile.
“Perhaps there is some hope for you after all.” She stood up tall and approached Fluttershy. “Have your dog lead the way.”
“Eep!” Fluttershy jumped at being called on by royalty. “Y...yes, Princess!”
“Surely you jest, sister!”
Celestia locked eyes with Luna coolly. “I am quite serious.”
“She is in no condition to run around this forest. What if she gets attacked again?!”
“I suggest you do whatever you can to prevent her coming to harm. I know I will.”
Chrysalis’ brow furrowed. Were those two always like this? If so, she had no difficulty believing that they would have come into conflict a thousand years prior, leading to one being banished. Perhaps Luna was just irritable from a lack of sleep. It was anybody’s guess as to how long Luna had been awake before she had found herself in Chrysalis’ bedroom.
“Could you two stop fighting already? We’ve got a pony to rescue.”
“Of course, Twilight.” Celestia nodded and stepped back to Chrysalis’ side. “If you would be so kind as to lead us, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Okay, Rider, find Pinkie Pie.”
Luna stood there, gritting her teeth but saying nothing. With a small growl of frustration, she followed after the rest of the departing party.
__________________________
Dusk was approaching by the time they reached the end of the scent trail. Unfortunately, that end was at the edge of a lake with no sign of Pinkie Pie or her captor in sight.
“Well, that’s just great!” Chrysalis shouted angrily out to the placid body of water, causing Rider to cower in fear of her outburst.
“Perhaps she has been drowned?” Luna suggested darkly.
“Pinkie? Drowned?” Dash gave a forced laugh. “Nah, Pinkie would never d...she’s fine!”
Chrysalis shook her head. She didn’t believe it. She didn’t believe that one of her changelings would kill their prisoner just like that, it wasn’t the way they did things.
“Dash, you should get in the air and see if you can find any indication of them leaving the water.” Chrysalis ordered.
“Right, will do!” Dash leapt into the sky and flew along the lake shore.
Chrysalis hardly expected her to find anything, but it was still worth a shot. Changelings, being mostly from the wasteland where water was scarce, weren’t typically strong swimmers. If forced by circumstance to do so, they would usually transform into some kind of aquatic creature, but they generally preferred not to even do that. If a changeling had entered the water when they could have easily gone around, it seemed highly likely there was something in the lake that they were after.
“There might be something underneath the water.” She announced to her companions. “Like a cave, or something.”
The beaver that was still following Fluttershy began to make some grunting sounds. Fluttershy seemed to listen intently, and then her eyes lit up.
“Um...Mr Beaver says he can look around for us.”
“Mr Beaver?”
“Um...yes?”
“Bruno, Rider and Mr Beaver?”
Fluttershy fidgeted. “Not all animals want me to name them...”
“Whatever, just tell him to get on with it.”
Chrysalis paced along a short stretch of shoreline impatiently as she watched the animal swim into the lake and dive out of sight, and then she watched the calm surface of the water. On occasion, she would notice some movement only to find it was a duck, or a fish, or some other wild animal. The others made no effort to speak with her or otherwise interact in any way, perhaps because they could tell she was in no mood for conversation or for reasons purely their own. Chrysalis didn’t care either way.
After circling the lake from the sky more times than Chrysalis had considered it worth keeping track of, Rainbow Dash landed and reported her lack of results to the princesses. Celestia accepted her report and explained what they were waiting on, since Chrysalis couldn’t be bothered with the matter.
Pacing had caused the throbbing in her shoulder to grow in intensity, so Chrysalis decided to merely sit as she watched. By the time that the beaver reappeared, the sun had nearly set. Rather than waiting patiently, Chrysalis snatched the animal from the water with her magic and yanked him to the shore.
“Hey!” Fluttershy shouted, much to the surprise of pretty much every pony present, and the sole changeling too. She had a frown on her face and was trembling when Chrysalis looked at her, so she was more or less normal despite the outburst.
“Here, get this beaver to tell you what it saw.”
Fluttershy gently took the beaver from Chrysalis’ magic and comforted it.
“Hurry it up, we don’t have all day. Pinkie needs us.”
Fluttershy gave Chrysalis a dirty look, but did not say anything to her. Instead she began whispering to the beaver. “He says there’s a tunnel under water that leads to a cave.” There was a pause as she listened to the beaver some more, and her ears perked up at what he said. “Pinkie’s down there, and some kind of monster too!”
Chrysalis internally sighed. She was tired of her subjects being referred to as monsters, even if she was particularly peeved at this particular one.
“So how do we get down there?” Rainbow Dash asked the obvious question.
“I do know a spell that can allow us to breathe under water.“ Celestia offered. Chrysalis shook her head.
“I’m injured, and as much as I am loathe to admit it, swimming may be a little more than I can handle without aggravating my injuries.” Chrysalis purposely left out the part on how she was a poor swimmer at even the best of times. She eyed the med kit that had been dragged along for their journey. “How many ponies can you teleport, Princess?”
“It depends on how far you must go.” Celestia answered and then scanned the lake for a moment. “Between my sister and I, we should be able to handle all of us, unless that cave is a lot further away than I suspect.”
“Do you think your beaver could carry the med kit to the cave, Fluttershy?”
The beaver seemed to glare at Chrysalis before turning its back on her. Fluttershy whispered to it, but it didn’t move from its position.
“Um...he wants an apology.” Fluttershy relayed to her. Chrysalis raised an eyebrow.
“Seriously?”
“It...it would...make him feel...” Fluttershy mumbled, her voice trailing off so low that it was indecipherable.
“It’s just a beaver, Fluttershy.” Chrysalis pointed out, as if that explained her position perfectly. Fluttershy stiffened and a sigh could be heard coming from Princess Celestia.
“He’s not just a beaver, he’s my friend.”
It was Chrysalis’ turn to sigh. “You’re going to use Pinkie’s life as a bargaining chip to get me to apologize to a beaver? A beaver?!” Chrysalis face twisted with disgust at the idea. Were ponies really that sensitive, short sighted and callous? Maybe she should give swimming a try after all. She stared fiercely at the timid pegasus, who was biting her lip uncertainly. She seemed conflicted, so Chrysalis pushed just a little harder.
“Every moment wasted by your prissy little rodent is one minute closer to our real friend being a rotting corpse at the bottom of this lake.”
Fluttershy’s resistance crumbled at that image as tears formed in her eyes. Even the beaver slouched over, as if under the weight of guilt over his pettiness. Fluttershy spoke in a hushed tone once more with her pet, who in turn nodded. There was another deep, disappointed sigh from Celestia, which Chrysalis promptly ignored.
“He’ll do it.” Fluttershy announced as the beaver began dragging the med kit towards the shore with one of his paws.
“Good.” Chrysalis stated with a satisfied smirk. She had won. No beaver was going to humiliate her. Said beaver paused to blow a raspberry in her direction before diving into the water.
“Um...he wants you to know that he’s doing it for me, not for you.”
“Yeah,” Chrysalis rolled her eyes, “I got that.”
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash wandered a little ways off together away from Chrysalis. Luna stood in her moody silence, while Celestia walked up and sat next to Chrysalis.
“You disappoint me, Twilight.”
Chrysalis blinked. “What?”
“I said you disappoint me.” She repeated with a stern tone. “Do you know why?”
“Because I wouldn’t debase myself by apologizing to a stupid beaver?” Chrysalis regretted those words almost immediately after saying them. She had practically forgotten that she spoke with an enemy that could wipe her off the face of the planet. She tensed up. “Uh, sorry, I didn’t mean to be so snippy. I’m worried about Pinkie, and the pain of my wound has me irritable.”
“Twilight,” Celestia shook her head, “stress is no reason to treat others with cruelty as you have. Look over to your friends. What do you see?”
Chrysalis’ gaze was drawn to where Celestia pointed. Fluttershy was crying, though she had a forced smile on her face as Rainbow Dash spoke with her, one hoof placed reassuringly on the yellow pegasus’ shoulder.
“Fluttershy looks sad.”
“Yes.” Celestia nodded. “Sometimes doing what you want to do risks making matters worse, and the best course of action is to do what you don’t want.”
“So...you’re saying that I should have apologized to the beaver?”
“Think on it, Twilight.” Celestia said evasively and then left Chrysalis alone.
Think on it? What was there to think about? It was just some stupid animal. She had felt awkward enough apologizing to the bear that probably would have mauled her if she hadn’t. A beaver was just a big rat, nothing more than tree eating vermin.
And so what if Fluttershy was upset? That mare was far too sensitive, everything upset her. She needed to toughen up or the world would eat her alive. She wouldn’t have lasted a single day as a changeling.
Chrysalis snorted. Where did Celestia get off on lecturing her about doing things she didn’t want to for the greater good, anyway? She was the queen of the changelings! How often had she sent her subjects out to collect love even though it was dangerous? How many of her beloved subjects had died because of her decision to send them? And how often had she wanted to go in their stead so that she could shield them from such a fate, but had stayed behind because the loss of their queen would be too much for her people to handle? How many times had she worked through her heartbreak and carried on leading them when it would be so much easier to just give up and let somebody else lead in her stead?
Did Celestia have any idea what it was like to completely isolate herself from her people for their good? Did she know what it was to give up the rest of her life with her kind to live amongst her mortal enemies for the good of all?
Chrysalis’ anger began to fade, she just didn’t have the energy to keep it up thanks at least in part to the minor blood loss she was suffering from. She was feeling drained and melancholic. Worst of all, her own train of thought had exposed her own hypocrisy to herself. She had spent her entire life sacrificing her own desires for the good of others and she was drawing the line at something as insignificant as apologizing to a beaver? Why? Because she didn’t like beavers? She thought it was beneath her? Because she didn’t like Fluttershy, or any of these stupid ponies?
But she needed those ponies to like her, at least enough so that they wouldn’t run her out of town and destroy the timeline entirely. That pretentious princess was right, and Chrysalis would have hated that fact if she had the energy for it.
A deep sigh escaped Chrysalis’ lips as she closed her eyes. She needed to set aside her frustrations, swallow her pride, and apologize to Fluttershy for her behaviour. She didn’t have to be sincere about it, but she still needed to do it. Her decision made, she stood up and promptly fell over from the sudden dizziness she experienced.
“Twilight!”
Chrysalis wasn’t quite sure who had called her name, perhaps it was multiple someones, but soon Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash intruded on her vision of the darkening sky. They both looked concerned.
“I’m okay.” Chrysalis mumbled as she waved them off. “Just a little dizzy.” She dragged herself back to her hooves, wobbling only slightly.
Celestia tilted her head. “It seems our little friend has reached his destination. The med kit has stopped moving.”
“Maybe he just dropped it on the lake bed.” Chrysalis grumbled as an image of her helplessly flailing under the water crept into her mind.
“Perhaps. We’ll just have to be prepared to teleport back if that happens. Everypony get in close to either Luna or myself.”
“Before we go, Fluttershy? Dash? I let the stress of the situation get to me and I took it out on you, and your animals too. I shouldn’t have let that happen, and I am sorry.”
“Oh.” Fluttershy blushed. “Umm...that’s okay. I forgive you.”
“Pfft! It’s fine, don’t worry about it!” Dash answered dismissively.
“With that out of the way, let’s save Pinkie.” Chrysalis half walked, half stumbled over to Luna, mostly because she was closer than her sister.
“You really should have gone back into town for proper medical care.” Luna said with a frown as she watched Chrysalis’ difficulties walking.
“There’re a lot of things I should have done in this life, Princess. Let’s just get this over with.”
“Are you coming, Fluttershy?” Celestia called out to the mare who was off to the side with her animals.
“Yes...I was just asking my friends if they could find their way back home without me. Um...they can.”
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Let’s just go.” She whispered to Luna. “Your sister can bring her.”
Luna nodded and Chrysalis’ world went dark. Every single one of her senses seemed as if they ceased not only to function, but even to exist for one unsettling moment, and then they all returned to her with a flash of light. Chrysalis shuddered at the new experience.
Her horn lit up as she prepared herself for combat, though anybody that actually saw the way she wobbled in place would hardly find her intimidating. She didn’t know how the changeling would react, but she figured that if she were quick enough she may be able to incapacitate them before Luna or the others could hurt them. She scanned the dark cavern, but couldn’t see anything beyond the dim, green glow of her horn. Before anything else happened, a second flash of light illuminated the cave for just a moment before it too faded and three more ponies joined them. Fortunately, the flash had come from behind Chrysalis and had illuminated her view rather than completely blinding her. She had seen Pinkie Pie for that brief second, but nobody else.
She channelled more magic into her horn to provide better light and cautiously approached Pinkie Pie, the others following suit as the princesses provided their own light. The sound of water dripping into various pools and the clack of their hooves against stone were the only things to break the silence. The cave itself continued as a tunnel for far beyond what their cumulative lights could reveal. Pinkie was laying there, dripping wet upon the stone floor of the cave and breathing deeply in her sleep. She was alone, at least as far as Chrysalis was able to tell.
“Our quarry appears to have abandoned their captive.” Luna broke the silence. “They have likely gone deeper into the cave.”
“It looks that way.” Chrysalis replied. She didn’t really believe it, though. A changeling could be anywhere and they would not notice, such was the way of a shape shifter. Some of the best at it could even appear as inanimate objects. Even the rocks could be watching them right now. Or worse, they could have taken on the form of Pinkie.
It didn’t really matter, though. If they had successfully handed over Pinkie to be ferried to the hive and replaced her, there was little she could do right now except keep an eye on the mare, and to infiltrate her old home to conduct a rescue mission if it became clear she had been replaced. If the changeling hadn’t replaced Pinkie, then there were two alicorns present, and only the most powerful or foolhardy of changelings would openly confront those odds. Even she, who she had considered to be both of those at varying points in her life, would be wary of doing it. Seeing how they hadn’t been attacked yet, it was probably safe enough.
Chrysalis let the light of her horn fade as she hobbled over to Pinkie. She shook her.
“Wake up, you stupid mare.” Chrysalis grumbled quietly. Her own limbs grew wet from touching Pinkie. She had no idea how she could have slept through becoming so incredibly drenched. Her captor must have been very good at sleep magic, if this indeed was not an impostor.
“Hey, Pinkie! Get up!” Rainbow Dash shouted from beside Chrysalis.
“Whoa!” Chrysalis teetered for a moment, knocked off balance from the shock of the sudden shout, and then fell over onto Pinkie with a wet smack, draping over the sleeping mare like a now very wet and miserable blanket.
“Ow.” Chrysalis winced at the flare of pain in her shoulder. She glared at Dash.
“Oops.” Dash forced a laugh. “Sorry.” Chrysalis sighed.
“Twi...light?” Pinkie’s head turned, her bleary eyed face coming to a rest right next to Chrysalis’ own. A smile grew on that pink face. In that moment, Chrysalis truly believed this was the real Pinkie and not some doppelganger. “Thanks for the hug, Twilight. Is it time to get up now?”
“I’m not...” Chrysalis began to object and push herself off Pinkie, but stopped. Her position was oddly similar to that of a hug, or perhaps something even more intimate under different circumstances. It was entirely a coincidence from the way she had fallen, but if it gave Pinkie some comfort, then who was she to take that from her by getting up? It was definitely a tactical decision based on getting the element of laughter to like her more and certainly not because her exhaustion was making it hard to stand back up again.
“You’re welcome, Pinkie.”
“Well, that’s quite enough of that!” Luna spoke tersely as Chrysalis felt the tug of magic on her form, pulling her away from Pinkie and into the air. “You’re coming with me, now.”
“Hey, let me go!” Chrysalis struggled futilely against Luna’s magic as she was placed on the princess’ back. It was embarrassing to be carried in such a fashion, to put it mildly, and it was made even worse by Luna still being smaller than Chrysalis was in her natural form. She was barely big enough to carry her disguised as Twilight.
“Stop resisting, or you’ll aggravate your wound.”
“I refuse to be carted about like a foal!” Chrysalis redoubled her efforts.
Luna sighed. “This is for your own good, Twilight.”
“I’ll decide what is and is not for my own...my own...” Chrysalis’ eyelids suddenly felt very heavy and an irresistible yawn was drawn from her lips. Her already nigh unbearable weariness grew tenfold and her weak resistance grew weaker still.
Blackness enveloped her.
_________________________
“Hoo! Hoo!”
Chrysalis’ eyes fluttered open at the familiar sound and was greeted by darkness. The comfort of the blankets and bed that enveloped her suggested she wasn’t in the hospital, though the proper dressing that she soon noticed her wounds had received suggested she had been there recently. She sighed and then crawled gingerly from her bed. She was back in the library.
She was sore. Sore and weak and still oh so tired, but she didn’t want to go back to sleep, not just yet. She limped over to the open window where she had heard the owl that she had concluded ages ago must have a nest in the tree. She located it in the branches and stared at it.
“Hoo!”
“Hello to you, too.” Chrysalis greeted the bird as she leaned on the windowsill, taking some of the pressure off her sore shoulder. “I hope your day was better than mine.”
“Hoo!”
She sorted through her memories of Pinkie’s abduction and the subsequent rescue, and of course upon what Luna had done to her in that cave. Chrysalis knew the touch of a sleep spell when she felt one, and Luna had definitely cast one on her. Her blood boiled at the thought of Luna forcing her to sleep when she wanted to keep going, though the rage was somewhat tempered by the knowledge that she had truly been exhausted and in need of rest. As Luna said, it had clearly been for her own good, just like when Chrysalis had put Pinkie under earlier that same day. A cavalcade of anger, admiration, indignation and fear battled within her, with no clear winner. She was either going to fuck or kill that mare, and she still wasn’t sure which.
“Hoo!”
Chrysalis flinched as a feathery intruder brushed up against one of the forelegs that she had set on the windowsill. The owl had flown down from its branch and was rubbing up against her. She relaxed and gave the creature a gentle pet with her other forehoof.
“Heh. I don’t need your sympathy.”
“Hoo!” The bird tilted its head as if to question her assertion. Chrysalis smiled faintly.
“Maybe I could use a friend, though. What do you say? Want to be friends with a treacherous impostor?” Chrysalis sighed as the owl stared at her innocently. “Maybe not. Goodnight.”
Chrysalis turned away from the window and began walking back to her bed. She froze when a shadowy figure flew over her head and landed on it first.
“Hoo.”
“Heh, heh...you really are an odd bird, aren’t you?” Chrysalis shook her head as the faint smile returned to her face.
“Hoo!”
“So, what do I call you?” Chrysalis thought about it as she crawled into bed next to him. “Owls are supposed to be smart, right? How about Sage?”
“Hoo! Hoo!”
“Sage it is.” Chrysalis yawned. Sage nestled up next to her. She didn’t think that was normal behaviour for an owl, but she wasn’t going to complain. She took a deep breath and let the comfort of her new companion wash away some of her worries.
“Goodnight, Sage.”