“Chrysalis starts getting mail from an unexpected source.”
Suggested by Frustration in Excelsis
Chrysalis stared at the pile of papers on the table before her. Her morning coffee was by her hoof, now cold and forgotten. She was only dimly aware of the sound of the front door opening and closing, and she barely glanced at the dining room's entrance when her husband stooped to enter, still coated in the sweat and dust of a hard night's work on the rock farm.
Despite his recent reveal to the rest of the town, Tirek still preferred to do most of his work in the dead of night away from gawking eyes. His morning walk home was the one small concession he'd granted himself, mostly because it had been ages since he'd had the chance to peacefully take in the sunrise. He stopped on his way to the kitchen when he saw the papers and the blank look on his wife's face. "Is something the matter?" He looked around. "Did Cozy get to school alright?"
Chrysalis slowly nodded, not taking her eyes from the pile.
"What's that?"
Chrysalis licked her dry lips. "It's... mail."
Tirek raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Mail?"
"Mail." The white changeling confirmed.
"But we don't get mail."
Chrysalis finally looked up, the confusion and bewilderment on her face now evident. "I know."
Tirek chewed the inside of his cheek, just as baffled as his wife. "Would you… like some help reading it?"
Chrysalis shook her head as she looked at the top-most letter. "No. You go on to bed." She noted his appearance. "And shower before you trail gravel through the entire house."
"Yes dear."
As her large husband abandoned his quest for morning pastries and headed for the bedroom, Chrysalis's horn lit and lifted the first envelope. Carefully, she opened the seal and slid out the contents; a single piece of paper covered in flowery cursive. She skimmed until she reached the signature and was thankful she hadn't drank her coffee. The surprise at seeing the familiar name likely would have coated the letter in scalding liquid. She returned to the top of the paper and read;
My dear Chrysalis,
...You know, I hadn't considered how strange that would look until I actually put pen to paper.
I trust the lack of news about hostile takeovers and mysterious disappearances means that you and your little family are staying true to your word in regards to starting over. I'm very pleased with this, and rest assured that my sister and I have remained true to our word as well. By that I of course mean that we have not spoken a word of you or your whereabouts to Princess Twilight Sparkle or her Council of Friendship.
We have, however, spoken to one other.
We have taken the liberty of revealing your location and chosen fate to your former subordinate (and current King of the Changelings) Thorax. We knew that he above all others would likely know what to do, especially given the current state of things. Personally, I hope that you won't take offense. Thorax has told me his intentions and I hope you'll be quite pleased.
Please give my regards to your husband and daughter, and do feel free to write me anytime. I hadn't realized how much I would miss correspondence with somepony learning about friendship until it was already too late.
Sincerely,
Celestia
An old, familiar rage flooded Chrysalis' heart at the sight of the name Thorax. The memory of her feelings at the betrayal of her treasonous spawn made her hooves shake. Emerald flames danced at the tips of her frogs, revealing flashes of black chitin that threatened to overtake the pearly white of her new form. An old inner voice whispered in her ear, reminding her of disloyalty, heartbreak, and the all-consuming desire for revenge...
"Chryssy?" Tirek called from down the hall.
Her husband's voice broke through her escalating rage like a hammer. She relaxed almost at once, the flames dying as her body returned to normal. She swallowed hard. "Y... yes?"
"Did you have anything special planned for dinner?"
"No. Why?"
"Well, Gray and his wife invited us over. I figured Cozy wouldn’t mind fending for herself for the evening."
Chrysalis seized on Tirek's ambient love for her and clung to it like a life raft. "That… that sounds nice, actually. Do we..." She took a deep, calming breath. "Do we need to bring anything?"
"I… don't know? I'm really not sure what the protocol for these kinds of gatherings would be." He yawned. "Just ask Cozy when she gets home. Love you." He called as he shut the door.
"Love you, too." Chrysalis whispered as she took another breath. "More than you can ever know." She put Celestia's letter to the side and reached instead for the next sealed envelope. Her eye twitched once more when she read Thorax's name, but she managed to retain control over her emotions this time. She pursed her lips at the return address beneath his name. "The Valley of Shift?" She sniffed. Well, she never had gotten around to naming her kingdom, had she? Shift was as good a name as any, she supposed. Simple. Elegant in its own way.
She hesitated as she made to open the envelope. Part of her screamed that she should just toss the pile of letters away or at the very least let Cozy Glow or Tirek go through them first. Who knew what kind of recriminations and mocking japes at her expense lay within? Celestia might have been wise once, but she was clearly mistaken this time. What could her former subjects possibly have to say to her now? She’d been horrible to them from birth, using them as pawns in her endless quest for world domination. Did she really need to read her sins laid bare as they worked through their past traumas?
But maybe this was exactly what she needed. Perhaps this was a necessary part of her repentance, to face the consequences of the life, and the hive, that she’d left behind.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she bit the bullet and tore the envelope open. She snatched out the letter, brought it to her eyes, and read;
Dear Chrysalis,
My former Queen
…
Mom,
When Celestia told me about what happened to you after the Battle of the Bell, I couldn't believe it. Out of all the creatures in of all of Equestria, how could this happen to somepony like you? And let me tell you...
Chrysalis braced herself.
...I'm so happy for you.
The rest of the letter became a blur. Thorax waxed poetic about how happy he was that she'd found somepony to love, how proud that she’d finally allowed herself to see the light. He told her all about the changes the hive had gone through since her flight from Equestria. He even talked a bit about how hard it was to be a ruler, and how now he understood now some of the actions she'd taken as queen for the betterment of the whole.
Chrysalis was barely breathing by the time she reached the letter's end;
I hope you don't mind if I write you back from time to time. It's nice to put some of this stuff down. After all, nocreature knows more about the challenges of leading a hive like you do.
There are things you can only talk to your mom about, y'know?
Love,
Thorax
PS: I might have told the rest of the hive to write you if they wanted to. I hope that's okay.
Chrysalis was reaching for the next letter before Thorax's had even hit the table. She nearly tore the letter apart in her haste to open it so she could read;
Dear Mom...
They were all like that. She read them all in a mad frenzy. Each one began with those two little words. Then they would talk about how happy they were for her, how proud that she'd found love. They talked about inane things, simple things, about life and love. They talked about their days and nights, about work and play. They talked about lessons they’d learned and adjusting to their new lives. And every single letter ended the exact same way;
Love,
Pharynx
All my love,
Shifter
I love you,
Doomie
At last, she reached the bottom of the pile. This one she opened with shaking hooves, her magic no longer stable enough to lift simple paper with the torrent of emotions that was pouring through her. The writing here was small, careful. Like a child's. It read;
Dear Mommy,
You probably don't remember me. My name is Ocellus, and I was barely more than a grub when the Great Change happened.
Writing to you feels so strange. My entire life, you were always the boogeymare hiding under our beds, the monster that always threatened to find us and drag us back and making us monsters again, too. But after what King Thorax told me? About how you’re doing now? How you’re not only good, but have truly found the kind of love we only read about in books?
Gosh, I really wish I'd gotten the chance to meet you.
It was finally too much. Chrysalis collapsed onto the pile of letters from her children, sobs wracking her body. Her tears fell freely on the words of those she'd given birth to, and for the very first time in her life, she knew that she'd been a mother long before Cozy Glow.
She saw what she'd had... and she wept at not having seen it sooner.
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It was afternoon when Tirek emerged from the bedroom. He stretched and cracked his neck as he started for the kitchen. He always made it a point to grab his post-nap snack and start his work-out before Cozy Glow got home. Otherwise she might entangle him in some new scheme or school project, and then he wouldn't end up hitting the gym at all until just before work. He entered the dining room and was surprised to find his wife in much the same position she'd been in when he left her that morning. "Dearest? What are you doing?"
Chrysalis looked up from the pile of papers before her. The letters from this morning were in a neat stack to her left. On her right was an inkwell, the corresponding quill held aloft by her magic. She smiled brilliantly as she put ink to paper once again and continued to write. "Just writing a few letters." She held out an empty mug. "Would you be a dear and get me a refill? Extra cream?"
Tirek smiled back, noting that there were already a few letters already done and set aside nearby. "Of course." He nodded at her project. "You know, I don't think we have any stamps. I could send Cozy out to get some when she gets home."
"Wonderful idea." Chrysalis' eyes returned to her work, but the smile remained. "And make sure she buys a lot. I have a feeling that I'm going to be writing a lot of letters from now on."