“We’d better answer that,” Chrysalis said hastily.
“Don’t think you’re squirming out of that question so easily,” Twilight added, freeing herself from the changeling’s grasp.
“Twilight Sparkle!” Chrysalis pressed a hoof to her chest, her face curled in insult. “ How dare you insinuate such a thing. I think it’s simply rude to leave a guest waiting.”
“Right,” Twilight grumbled, trying to hide the growing grin on her lips.
Another knock at the door.
“Princess Twilight?”
She recognized Glaze’s shaky voice.
Twilight tugged the door handle, cracking it just enough to reveal the finicky pegasus.
“Quartz? Something up?” Twilight asked, poking her head out through the opening.
“Is Miss Chrysalis in there? I’d like to speak with her. If it’s not too much trouble, that is.” He carried his helmet in the crook of his foreleg. The red feather waved back and forth with his nervous sway.
“What’s the matter? You look nervous.”
“Yeah.” He shifted uncomfortably. “Dusti’s in a real bad mood. I decided to come here on her behalf. She’ll probably kill me if she finds out. With that said, would you mind if I spoke with Miss Chrysalis?”
“I guess there’s no harm in that,” Twilight decided, stepping back and pulling the door open the rest of the way. With a gracious nod, Glaze returned his helmet to its proper position and stepped inside.
Chrysalis had shifted back into the bed, lying on her belly, keeping her head propped up with a hoof. She studied her free foreleg between bouts of polishing it. She pretended not to notice the Crystal Guard’s arrival until he stood before her.
“Yes?” She asked, sizing up the soldier and remaining thoroughly unimpressed. Even lying the way she was, she rose nearly a head taller than him.
“I came to speak with you, Ma’am.” He bowed low enough to nearly lose his helmet.
“Then speak.”
“Right. I’m here on behalf of Lieutenant Diamond. I wanted to apologize for her actions back in the hive. I assure you that she’s usually much calmer than that—"
“Apology not accepted,” she interrupted, assaulting him with a gaze that would break a lesser spirit.
In response, he turned to Twilight, eyes searching frantically for assistance.
“Excuse me.” Twilight smiled coyly as she slid past Glaze. Her joyous demeanor vanished as she leaned in toward Chrysalis, close enough that the changeling had no choice but to see her. “What are you doing?”
“Sitting on this bed. How about you?” Chrysalis answered, trying to lean back from her companion. Twilight took advantage of her retreat, pressing forward to keep the space close.
“I meant, why are you being so mean to him. He’s trying to be friendly.”
“Twilight, being friendly with you is one thing. Your soldiers, meanwhile, will never accept me. You heard what she said to me. You saw how they reacted. For all I know, he’s probably here to make sure I didn’t kill you and escape again.”
Twilight sighed. “Look, I know there’s a lot to work out. But what about this? If you try being friendly toward them, maybe they’ll start to like you too? It worked on me. So please, for my sake, could you be a little nicer?”
“Fine,” Chrysalis groaned.
Twilight stepped back, allowing Chrysalis to roll off the edge of the bed and onto her hooves. Standing upright, she towered over Quartz, unraveling his nerve with increased ferocity.
“What is your name, Soldier?” She asked.
“Glaze. I was one of the ones who accompanied you in the hive.”
“Yes, I’m aware of the role you played in my return. I suppose you have my thanks for looking over Twilight in my absence.” Though far from courteous, her words no longer carried a venomous edge.
“Oh. That’s no problem. It’s my duty to protect the princesses.”
“You came here seeking to apologize on behalf of your buddy for what she said down in the hive, right?”
“Yes. She isn’t—”
“I don’t want an apology.”
Behind her, Twilight’s temperature ticked up a few degrees.
“Oh.” Quartz backed down.
“Let me clarify,” Chrysalis continued, far too aware of the rage boiling in the air. “I do not need an apology for the things she said. She was well within her right to do so.”
“That doesn’t make it right, though,” Glaze argued.
“True. But Twilight made a nauseatingly decent point. Most ponies despise me for what I did. The actions of my past were done out of necessity, and I will allow myself to neither regret nor apologize for them. To do so would negate the sacrifice of many of my changelings.”
Chrysalis closed her eyes, letting her head hang as she continued.
“But I will concede that my actions were terrible. I can not excuse the anger and hatred that resulted from them. And until the day when I’m no longer bound by the scars of my past, I will bear their hatred for me. Is that clear?”
“I-I think so,” Glaze said.
“Good. Then I believe we are finished here.” Chrysalis clambered back into the bed, returning to the same position she had been in when he entered.
Nodding weakly, Quartz bowed and made his way toward the door. Before he could exit, he stopped, glancing back over his shoulder at the lounging changeling.
“You know, not every pony hates you.”
With that, he stepped out, shutting the door behind him.
Chrysalis rolled onto her back, staring upward at the upside-down visage of Twilight. “Happy? I tried being nice.”
“I definitely believe you tried.” Twilight shook her head. “Not entirely sure if you succeeded, though.”
“You didn’t ask me to succeed at being nice.”
“I guess that’s true,” Twilight noted, rather disappointed.
“Look, I’m sorry. I’m not used to being nice.”
Twilight sensed sincerity in her words.
“You’re nice to me?”
“You’re . . . different.”
The princess raised an eyebrow, prompting Chrysalis to continue.
“You . . . saw past a lot of the things I said. The things I did. You found me at my most vulnerable moment. You might be one of three or four beings in existence that can say that. When you live a life of subterfuge and trickery, you kind of forget how to trust anyone. You reminded me.”
“Let’s work on it together, then,” Twilight suggested. “You can sit in on some of Starlight’s friendship lessons. I think that would do you some good. And she could definitely use someone to practice with.”
Chrysalis snorted, leading into a small fit of laughter.
“What?” Twilight demanded, her cheeks reddening, though she didn’t know why.
“You’re very lucky I like you, Twilight.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. Even Thorax couldn’t have gotten away with ordering me around like that.”
“I didn’t order you to do anything,” Twilight argued. She plopped down at the edge of the bed, resting her chin on the scratchy fabric.
“For my sake, could you be a little nicer?” Chryis mocked.
“That’s not ordering you to do it.”
“It might as well be. You know full well I can’t say no to that.”
“Yeah. I know. But, strictly speaking, it wasn’t an order.” A mischievous grin crawled across Twilight’s lips.
“Now you want to get technical on me?”
“Oh, would you just shush and get some sleep already?”
Chrysalis scoffed, defeated.
“Fine. But I’ll do it for my benefit, not yours.”
She fluffed the pillow, slamming her head into it in a paradoxical display of angry restfulness that made Twilight giggle.
“You’re adorable.”
“Now you’re just being cruel.”
The alicorn shrugged.
For a while, the two sat in comfortable silence. Eventually, Chrysalis’ eyes started to close.
“Twilight?”
“Hmm?”
“There’s still room in the bed.”
Chrysalis tapped at the empty space beside her.
“I don’t know if it will hold us both.”
“It can’t be that expensive to replace this cheap thing. At least, not compared to the armor.”
Unable to think of a better excuse, Twilight squirmed into the bed without lifting her head. She didn’t feel tired until her cheek hit the pillow.
“Oh. I didn’t tell you about that, did I?”
“About what?”
“We crashed the ship into your hive.”
Twilight felt the cold chitin on her back heave as Chrysalis broke into a hearty laugh. “You did what?”
“We crashed the ship into your hive?”
“Why?” she asked between fits of laughter.
“Well, we didn’t do it on purpose!”
Twilight scooted closer to Chrysalis. The disparity in their sizes left the princess with the perfect space to slot herself. Chrysalis wrapped one of her forelegs protectively around Twilight’s middle as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Although the act brought her comfort, she couldn’t shake the nervousness coursing through her from that single cold touch. Her body felt tense, as though the simple rise and fall of her breathing would shatter this fragile moment. Eventually, she relaxed, lulled by the simple rhythm of Chrysalis’ breathing.
As her eyes closed, Twilight thought of her lavish quarters back in Canterlot. Of her silk sheets and feathery pillows. Suddenly, this lumpy little mattress felt far more comfortable than any other bed in Equestria.