Tonight’s icy breath carried a candied flavor. Chrysalis sipped it in slowly, careful to restrain the power drain. Even the little bit she took made her feel lightheaded. Luckily, it seemed to be diluted by hatred. The venom tasted awful but worked to balance out the richness of it. Only one pony could manage a feat like that.
“Open this door,” Cadence commanded the sentry.
He fumbled for a key and slipped it into the lock. With a click, the door swung open, spreading light into Chrysalis’ dismal lair. Cadence strode forward over the threshold, swaying confidently as she did, a half-dozen crystal soldiers at her flanks.
“Get out here, Chrysalis.” She spat the name like an insult.
“It’s been so long, Cadence. How have you been?” Chrysalis snarled but kept her voice plump with mock cheer.
“I’ve no time for games, Changeling.” Cadence’s horn flashed bright, illuminating every shadowy edge. Her entourage visibly stirred as they noticed Chrysalis hanging from the ceiling over her bed canopy. They never took their gaze off her.
“I’m here to speak with you,” Cadence explained.
“You came all the way up here just to talk with little old me?” Chrysalis sniffled. “I’m touched.”
“Can’t we be civil about this, Chrysalis?”
“Must you ponies insist on making everything boring? Very well.” She clattered across the ceiling to an open space before dropping. The guards drew their blades, startled by the swift movement. They formed a perimeter around her, trapping her in the center of the room.
“So much for civil.” Chrysalis mused.
“Forgive me if I don’t have the most faith in you.”
“I hate to disappoint —” Chrysalis snickered. “Actually, I love to disappoint you. Nevertheless, I’m not playing a game this time, Cadence. Celestia made sure I lost before I even arrived here.”
“Is that why she’s dying in the next room? She won?”
“That was . . . an unfortunate consequence.”
“I think that’s a bit of an understatement. Don’t you?”
Chrysalis frowned. Cadence felt a hint of satisfaction at watching her squirm.
“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to get the point of this visit so? I’d like to get back to sleeping.”
“Are you comfortable here?” Cadence asked. She kept strict visual contact with Chrysalis as she wandered aimlessly about the room.
“I was.”
“That’s a shame. You see, I’m here to tell you that you’re moving out, tomorrow. We’ve picked out a nice cozy cell for you down in the dungeons. Personally, I think it’s much more your style than this.”
“What did Twilight say about this?” Chrysalis raised her guard.
“Doesn’t matter what Twilight thinks. You’re my responsibility now.” Cadence stifled a smirk.
“And our work?”
“Finished. Twilight told me she’d figured it out earlier today. Luna and I can aid her with whatever she needs from now on.”
“And the deal we had?”
“You and Twilight had a deal. I have no obligation to honor it.”
Chrysalis threw her head back and laughed uproariously. “My dear Cadence. I must say you’ve certainly changed over the years.”
“I’ve had a lot of time to think about what you did.” Cadence studied a picture sitting on the shelf. Twilight and Shining sat on stone steps outside the castle. Shining still wore the suit from his recent wedding.
“And this is your revenge? I admit, you’ve piqued my interest.”
“I’m not here to amuse you.”
“And yet here I am, thoroughly entertained.” Chrysalis shrugged.
“Enjoy it while you can; it won’t last forever.”
“I intend to.”
Cadence turned to leave, her soldiers falling back into formation as she did. Chrysalis rolled her eyes, fluttering back to her little nook above the bed.
“One last thing.” The Princess stopped just before crossing the frame.
“A good-night kiss?” Chrysalis suggested sarcastically.
“You are not to speak with Twilight again. Under any circumstances. Failure to heed this warning will result in severe punishment. Do I make myself clear?”
Though she knew Cadence could see the look on her face, Chrysalis beamed.
“Perhaps I was a little hasty in my previous judgment. Severe punishment? That’s the best you could muster?”
A small crack erupted underhoof as Chrysalis slammed to the floor.
“You think I care if you threaten my life? Threaten to kill me? I’ll let you in on a little secret: I starved. I broke. I begged. Nothing you can do to me will ever measure up to things I’ve lived with. Dying would be a kindness to me now.”
“What’s your point?” Cadence and her followers faced the changeling queen. The guards reached for their weapons as Chrysalis approached, but she didn’t falter.
“There is only one thing in this world that I still care about: the one who saved me from myself. The one who showed me that I could still be loved, even after everything I’ve done. And nothing you do to me will change that.”
Chrysalis had reached the defensive formation, close enough that a blade pressed against her neck.
“Don’t speak to me of love, Changeling. Whatever perverted schemes you have in place for Twilight will fail. I won’t let you corrupt Twilight any more than you already have.”
Cadence and Chrysalis stood muzzle-to-muzzle, waiting for the other to move. The crystal guards tensed; their grips tightened.
“Princess Cadence?” A young stallion interrupted.
The film of tension over the world peeled away. Cadence snapped to her senses, backing away from the tall creature. Likewise, Chrysalis retreated into the shadows.
“Do you have a message for me, Soldier?” Cadence wiped a lock of her mane back into place.
“Something’s happened with Princess Celestia.”
* * *
The walls moaned as the pipes within sprang to life. Twilight shut the bathroom door while she waited for the water to warm.
She studied the figure in the mirror. In the back of her mind, she knew this all made some sort of perverted sense. Chrysalis herself admitted to herself a monster. This would be the exact kind of stunt she’d pull if she were still evil. That line of reasoning did little to ease the ache.
The edges of her reflection blurred behind the fog. Twilight drew the shower curtain close and tugged the chain hanging from the base of the faucet. The pipes shifted and the water ceased. A second later, it began again trickling from the showerhead, building slowly to a rainy drizzle. She stepped over the edge of the tub.
Water seeped into her fur. Heat settled into her muscles. Like hot butter, she felt today’s stress melt away with the rain.
She replayed the last several days in her head. This roller-coaster of emotion had plagued her long enough. She lamented how much longer it would last.
Sufficiently tired with her past, she thought about the future. When this was over, what would become of Chrysalis? Celestia had never been the vengeful type, but Twilight had also never seen a villain drag her to the edge of death. If Celestia woke and demanded justice against Chrysalis, she would do so uncontested. If she never recovered, it would be even worse.
Sheets splashed over her face, caressed through her mane as she dipped her head into the stream.
Cadence and Shining Armor took their place at the forefront of the mind. She hadn’t known what to expect from Luna. After all, Twilight had never actually seen the lunar princess rule on her own. The casual dismissal from her own family hurt.
And then there was Chrysalis.
Twilight contemplated whether she wanted to light the fuse on that firework. Even after everything that had happened between the two of them, she still couldn’t quell the nagging voice tickling her subconscious. How could she expect others to understand her when she remained a mystery to herself? The excitement of her companionship, the thrill of her smile. Were any of them real? Or had Twilight jumped at the first opportunity for comfort during her trial.
A clump of purple fur circled the basin, swirling incessantly. Each new lap inched it closer to the void-like maw of the drain.
Had Twilight ever felt love?
She blinked, her hooves ceasing their instinctive lathering in her mane. Where had that come from?
Despite her disapproval of it, she considered the question.
She loved spike, she decided. He’d been alongside her for long enough she couldn’t imagine life without him. Well, she could, she just didn’t want to.
She loved her friends. They shared their sorrows and their successes with one another. They’d performed impossible feats and seen wonders the world would never believe. Each of them felt more like true family rather than friends.
And she loved her family. Even Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, regardless of their recent choices. Siblings may grow upset with one another, but the bonds between them held stronger than any pain they could inflict.
She loved Celestia. And Luna too, she supposed. The lone princess had mentored Twilight through most of her younger life, taught her everything she knew and the tools to learn what she didn’t. Without her, Twilight would be nothing like the mare she had become.
Luna terrified her. On a primal level, every pony feared the creature once-known as Nightmare Moon. Beneath that royal veneer waited a mare of stout heart and steel courage. And below that remained a terrified filly, scared of the world and desperate to find a place for themselves in it. Even now, she sought redemption for the sins of her past.
And Chrysalis?
Chrysalis.
Chrysalis.
A knock at the door dredged Twilight from her trance. No, not a knock. It didn’t have the repetition or force to be a hoof hitting the door. Instead, it sounded like a lone thud, as if someone had piled something against the solid oak.
Twilight rinsed the suds from her coat before twisting the faucet handle. She waited for the water to peter out before shaking off the excess gathering on her. A towel snatched from the metal rack dried her head and mane before wrapping over her horn like a makeshift crown. A second the rest of her body. A heavy wool bathrobe encompassed her, tying itself in a knot around her waist.
Sufficiently clean yet hardly soothed, Twilight pulled the brass handle on the door. When it didn’t open, she leaned a little into it. The material groaned in protest, held in place by whatever weight had been slumped against it. Short on patience, Twilight allowed herself a little room to build up speed. With a running start, she threw her body against the obstacle, sending her sprawling out onto her bedroom floor.
“Sheesh. Take it easy, will you?” Shining Armor lay in a heap nearby, rudely interrupted from his rest and rubbing the first stages of a bruise behind his ear.
“What are you doing in here?” Twilight demanded.
“I came to talk to you.” He explained.
“I’m not in the mood for talking.”
“Yeah, Cadence told me the same thing. That’s why she asked me to leave you alone.” A stack of seasoned wood had been piled into the fireplace. After a brief search, Shining found a matchbook tucked away beneath a framed picture of their parents.
“Then would you please leave? I’d like to get some sleep.”
“You talk to mom and dad?”
“Not nearly as much as I should.” Twilight frowned.
Shining plucked a match with his magic, striking it. He hovered it gently through the air, stepping back once the first few embers caught on the dry bark.
“I was thinking about going to see them tomorrow. Catch up a bit. Would you like to come?”
“Shining, this is my last warning. You can leave voluntarily through the door, or you can leave involuntarily through that window.” Twilight motioned toward the thin crescent moon hanging low in the starless sky.
At this point, neither of them could accurately judge the legitimacy of the threat. Taking his chances, Shining Armor tapped the open space on the couch beside him, challenging his sister to sit.
“You’re awful. Do you know that?” Twilight capitulated, dragging herself over to join him.
He defused her snark with a cocky grin.
“Did you enjoy your shower?”
“No.”
“How come?”
“I thought having some time to myself to think things through would help put me at ease a little bit. I’m not making that mistake again. I’m not sure how much more of this I can take. I almost raised my voice at Cadence and Luna tonight.”
“That’s why I try my best not to think.” Shining shrugged.
Twilight glared at him, but the stupid look he returned forced a giggle from her. Amused by her response, he joined with a hearty chuckle of his own.
“I’ve missed you, Shiny.”
“I’ve missed you too, Twily.”
She scooted closer to him, resting her head on his broad shoulder.
“It feels like the whole world was turned upside-down. I feel like I can’t catch my breath.”
“You’re tougher than you think, Twilight. I can’t imagine many ponies who would have lasted this long under all that stress.”
“Thanks . . . I think.”
“Tell me what’s been bothering you, Twilight.”
She rubbed the back of her head against him, scratching the itch behind her ear.
“Everything. Everything has been bothering me. Celestia’s dying, Luna’s got probably a few more days before she snaps, and all of Equestria is relying on me to fix all of it.”
Shining hooked a foreleg over her neck.
“Shouldn’t Equestria relying on you to save the day be old news by now? I mean, Celestia’s running out of space to hang new murals in the throne room. We might have to build another wing of the castle for all the artistic representations of you saving the world.”
“I usually have help.”
A light blue magic shifted a piece of wood, swelling the flames.
“You’ve got Luna. Cadence and I are here for you too.”
“You three are part of the problem.” Twilight snapped.
“What about your other friends?”
Twilight exhaled slowly. “Fluttershy visited the other day.”
“And?”
“I was happy to have her here . . . at first. She made it tougher to choose.”
“Did she say something to you?”
“She reminded me of what Chrysalis really is.” The problem becomes blindingly obvious. Twilight wiped her face with a foreleg.
“And so, we get to the root of the problem.” Shining nodded. “Chrysalis.”
“Yes.”
Shining Armor pulled his sister in tight.
“It’s just me here. Go ahead and let it all out. It’s alright.”
Twilight buried her face into his coat, the soft white hairs tickling her skin. She started to tremble as her defenses wore away, letting her emotions pour free. She held her brother as the tears streaked down her cheeks.
“A princess . . . isn’t supposed to cry,” Twilight whispered when she stopped to breathe.
“Well, I don’t see any princesses around here.” Shining felt warm drops soak into his fur. “Just my little sister. The same sister whose crib I stood guard at during the night. The same sister who used to wake me up in the middle of the night and make me check for monsters under the bed. The same little sister I’ve loved more than anything since the moment my mom and dad brought her home.”
He ruffled Twilight’s mane.
She waited for him to continue. To ask another question or offer some insincere platitude telling her everything would be okay. Such beliefs didn’t last in his line of work. Instead, he let Twilight mourn at her own pace.
The fire grew to its apex before burning out. As the fuel lessened, the flames fell cold, leaving only a few sputtering embers among the ash. Only then, did Twilight’s anguish finally drain, compelled by the desperate cry for air from her lungs and stinging in her eyes.
“Feel better?” Shining asked, once the tears had stopped.
“A bit. I’m not any closer to sorting this mess out, though.”
“One step at a time. Do you feel well enough to talk about it?”
Twilight rubbed her face, only exaggerating the wet streaks in her fur. “If I tell you, you’ll hate me.”
“Like how you thought I’d hate you when you tore that page from my comic book. You spent all night crying and trying to fix it because you were afraid of what I’d say.”
“You bought two new copies. One for each of us.” A faint joy flickered as the scene played out in Twilight’s head.
“So, are you going to tell me, or are you going to make me guess?”
“It’s Chrysalis.”
“I gathered that much. What did she do that made you this upset?” Shining leaned forward for a clearer view of his sister’s face.
“She didn’t do anything. I did.”
“And what did you do?”
“I . . . “ Twilight swallowed hard. “I fell for her.”
Shining Armor had trained for the Royal Guard since he was old enough to dream. Every day brought intense training and new hurdles to overcome. He ran until his legs broke; he slung spells until his horn blackened. He loved every moment of it. Shining Armor was born to be a soldier. But no training regimen or battlefield trauma could ever match the agony of those three words.
“You . . . fell for her?”
Twilight sat up straight. “I like her.”
“Chrysalis. The changeling Chrysalis.”
“The very same.”
She peeked at her brother in the corner of her vision, the pain on his face clear as day.
“What did she do to you, Twilight?”
“And there’s the reason I didn’t want to talk about it. I shouldn’t have wasted my breath.”
“What did she do, Twilight?”
The princess started at the beginning, telling the story of Celestia’s sudden departure, of Twilight finding the two injured creatures in the changeling hive, of saving her life from Luna’s wrath. The night she made her offer to Chrysalis. Her betrayal in the Gardens. Carrying Twilight to her room after the accident. She told him of the changeling’s regret and solitude, and of the softer side she observed over their time spent together. Of the struggle Twilight felt between her own desires and the desires of those around her.
Shining drank it all in with a stone-faced grimace worthy of a Royal Guard.
“She’s exploiting your weakness, Twilight.”
“She cares about me, Shining.”
“She just wants you to believe she cares about you.”
“How do you know?”
“I’m your older brother . . .” Shining gestured madly. “I just know, okay. I’ve seen what she can do, Twilight.”
“And you’ve seen what I can do. I can get through to her. I can help her.”
“This isn’t up for debate.”
“I thought you had my back?”
Shining flinched. “It’s more important that I protect you, Twilight. And Equestria.”
“And what if she really has changed?”
“She hasn’t,” He frowned.
“You don’t know that.” Twilight crossed her arms.
Twilight watched the last orange charcoal grey, blending into the cold around it. She chewed her tongue thoughtfully, slowly digesting the blend of emotions on her mind. Shining had helped her, though probably not the way he’d intended.
“Are you going to tell Cadence about this?” she asked. “I’m sure she’d love the chance to be disappointed in me, too.”
“She wouldn’t . . . I’m not . . . ?” he clambered desperately for the right words. “I have to tell Cadence. She needs to know you’ve been compromised like this. In the meantime, the two of us will be handling affairs with Chrysalis. Is that understood, Twilight?”
“I think I love her, Shiny.”
Shining Armor stopped. He stopped breathing, blinking, thinking, feeling. Everything stopped. Years could have passed in the silence. Twilight didn’t look at him and he wouldn’t have noticed if she did.
A knock at the door echoed. “Princess Twilight? Captain Armor? Luna requested your immediate assistance in Celestia’s quarters. There’s been a change in her condition.”
Twilight stumbled off the couch, pushing past her brother with a shoulder bump.
The force stirred him from his stupor. He took in the view of her face as she brushed past, expecting bitterness. Instead, he saw the lines etched into her features, the bags under her eyes, the stiff upper lip. Twilight had matured, had grown older in both body and spirit.
But behind that, he saw the worry, the kindness, and the determination he knew far too well as his little sister, Twilight Sparkle.