//------------------------------// // Chapter 18 - A little chat in the dark. // Story: Chrysalis' unexpected child // by coto616 //------------------------------// --------------------------------- Chapter 18 - A little chat in the dark. --------------------------------- "They finally managed to stop the wagon before it wrecked more stuff, but no one understands how the little guys got so many rockets, let alone how they attached them to the wagon, it must have taken a lot of planning to do something like that." Both mare's laughed out loud at the story Cheerilee had told. "I would have loved to have seen Rarity's face when the wagon went through the boutique." "It was something like this." Cheerilee replied very dramatically mimicking Rarity's fainting sounds, causing them both to laugh again. One of the guards approached Cheerilee and cleared his throat next to the mare, indicating that visiting hours were over. "Thank you for coming to see me." Chrysalis said hugging her friend. "I can't help it, Clear Spark reminds me every weekend and looks forward to my return to see how you are doing." Cheerilee for her part returned the hug. "I wish I could see him again." "I know you will see him again very soon, we just need to be patient." "That's something I have plenty of in this place, take care of yourself back home." "You too." "And send my thanks to Pinkie for the cake." The queen didn't know how but that pink mare had somehow figured out her birthday and asked Cheerilee to hand her a small green apple pie. "I will." Replied the teacher. Cheerilee walked down the hallway out of the dungeon and the guard came out behind her closing the wooden door, Chrysalis could only watch as her friend retreated. The queen had been left alone once again, her only company was the sounds of the wind through her small window and the cold and dampness of the dungeon, the stallion that was her neighbor had been transferred to another prison a few days ago but another one had arrived in his place. He was a somewhat small and chubby white unicorn in a sleek black suit, he had an umbrella hanging at his side, he had told the queen a strange story about exploding toy penguins and was furious with a stallion in disguise like the night he had stopped him and foiled his plan, Chrysalis didn't know whether to think the story was completely absurd or that Equestria was a much more absurd place and things like that really did happen. He was not the neighbor the queen would like to have but she was not exactly living in a condo, nor did she have any influence over the prison cells in Canterlot castle, the rest of the afternoon was spent in silence lying on her small bed looking at the sky and contemplating the emptiness, the only thing she could do was sleep or think, but she had no desire to do either one of them. But as the hours passed her mind alone began to remember her little home in Ponyville, the colorful inhabitants and how they slowly stopped being her enemies and became her friends, when she spent the holidays with them and their birthdays, the incessant problems and adventures, she closed her eyes and only dedicated herself to remembering. Chrysalis was still in her small cell without much to do, it was already late and it was very difficult for her to fall asleep in a bed visibly smaller for her big size, no matter how she was accommodated, that bed was not useful, she could only turn from one side to the other, sometimes she got up to take a short walk that did not help her to relax or think about anything else, the stone walls and metal bars were only in the fantasies of some ponies, but not precisely in Chrysalis'. As she tried once to settle into her small bed to sleep she could hear hoofsteps in the hallway and raised her head to see who it was, at that hour she knew it could only be that a new inmate had arrived at the dungeon or it was the guard making the nightly rounds, but she did not expect to see a slender dark figure a little smaller than Celestia holding her same title, the undisputed ruler of the night and the hearts of thousands of ponies thanks to her nobility, compassion, and mysterious beauty that accompanied her everywhere. The princess of the night approached the cell where the stallion was sleeping and with a simple spell she made sure that he would not wake up, she looked at the umbrella carefully and made it disappear with her magic, then she went to Chrysalis' cell, and stopped in front of it. Chrysalis got up from her bed and approached the bars. "I am sorry for the condition you are in, had I known sooner I would have done something." Luna closed her eyes and with her magic made Chrysalis' small bed disappear, changing it to a much larger and more comfortable one, Chrysalis turned her head to see that she now had a decent bed to sleep in. "Thank you, I couldn't sleep in such a small bed." "One of my jobs as night princess is to make sure everypony can get the best rest they can." "I assume you didn't come just to see how I was sleeping." "I wish to have a word with you." Luna said calmly. "You know visiting hours are from three to six in the afternoon, don't you?." "I know." Chrysalis stood silently looking Luna straight in the eye for a couple of seconds. "What do you want to talk about." "I have been doing a separate investigation from my sister's, she is obsessed with you, and her obsession doesn't let her see other options than an invasion of Equestria, on the other hoof, I like to have as much information as possible before making a judgment or taking an action, I know perfectly well where obsessions can take you and I don't intend to make that mistake again." "Understandable and very reasonable, but that doesn't answer my question...." Chrysalis sat back on her haunches before continuing. "...What do you want to talk about." "Why are you doing this?" "What do you mean?" "You are a very cunning mare with centuries of experience in many arts, such as warfare, espionage, and treachery, you know how to disappear and reappear at the least opportune moment, you have loyal subjects and I can't remember an occasion that you didn't have a backup plan or a way of escape when you are in some kind of trouble, but still and all, you are here." "And what is your question then." "I want to know what happened." "Do I have any legal obligation to confess to my crimes?" "I'm not my sister, and that talk about legality doesn't work on me." "It was worth a try, but even if you want me to tell you everything, I have no desire to, I have something to protect and every second I can do that is a second he is safe." Luna watched the queen carefully for a long time analyzing all her body language, the princess knew that many times the lack of words said much more than a direct conversation. "Then I'll tell you my theory so far and you tell me if I'm right, after all, I know you like this kind of games." "That's right, let's hear what you have to say." Luna opened the cell gate with her magic and walked in to sit across from Chrysalis. "I don't have the whole puzzle but I managed to connect some very interesting dots about all of this, and ultimately it all falls on one individual." "If you mean me I should tell you that-." Luna shook her head indicating she meant someone else. "The failed attack on Canterlot forced you to retreat to an unknown location making it difficult for us to track you, and you disappeared for a long time, then mysteriously the disappearances of ponies by changelings dropped considerably, and then a mysterious mare appeared in Ponyville, named Crystal Ivy along with Clear Spark, considering the fact that teacher Cheerilee is the only one who comes to visit periodically, I can assume that she was the one who helped you settle in the town and checking her past, I know she was the one who got you the false maternity and birth papers, and now she is in charge of little Spark while working at the school and looking for a way to get you out of here, I am grateful that with her tumultuous past, she is looking for a legal way to do it and not looking for a more... explosive ways. " "Interesting theory but that doesn't take away from any of my previous attack plans." "Clear Spark's mother's name is Petal Dance, and she shows no sign of distress over her son's disappearance, that's something I don't understand, I know Cheerilee is not a changeling and there are no threats or spells on her to motivate her to help you, I don't understand that either, the changelings stopped causing terror in the ponies of Equestria and now they manufacture stuffed animals with their shape, and I know that they come from one of your hives because I followed the commercial distribution lines and I know that the stuffed animals don't have any spell on them, I don't understand that either, I know that some changelings have been spotted all over Equestria but none have shown any signs of any invasion and they openly participated in large numbers in Nightmare Night, another thing I don't understand either, you lived almost two years in Ponyville peacefully and contributed several times in the community, helping in parties and fighting monsters, and you acted directly in the last problem they had. " "And what would that be?" "By stopping an altercation you got directly involved in a hoof fight with a nasty Ponyville mare for the simple fact that she offended Clear Spark, causing you to reveal yourself and try to escape with Clear Spark on your back, which leads me to believe that you're doing all this for him, and that... that's the last thing I don't understand, and I want to understand why." Chrysalis looked directly at Luna and how in such a short time she was able to deduce much of what had happened but she didn't have all the information and Chrysalis internally was thankful she didn't know the most important thing. "You know I'm not going to tell you why I do or don't do my stuff." "I know, but it pleases me to know that my deductions were correct." Luna stood up and walked out of the cell. "I know you didn't do all this with bad intentions, talking to Cheerilee and reviewing Clear Spark's medical records, I know you care about him, there is something special about the colt that makes you care about him, I don't know what it is but I can understand that your feelings are real." Luna walked away unconcerned that she had left Chrysalis' cell open. "You're not worried about me escaping from here?". Chrysalis asked with intrigue. "You can do it, but I know you won't, try to sleep, I'll make sure you have a pleasant dream." Luna knocked twice on the wooden door and a guard opened it allowing the princess of the night to retreat before closing it again. Chrysalis watched the open door to her cell for a few seconds before grabbing it with her hoof and closing it, then went to her new bed to rest and quickly fall asleep.