//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 - Old Enemy or New Ally? // Story: The Lonely Prince // by Caladis //------------------------------// One Year Later Chrysalis Queen Chrysalis was walking down the streets of Canterlot heading towards Canterlot Castle for morning court. She wore a simple disguise that was so not a disguise that it was almost painful that the ponies around her didn’t seem to recognize her. The size of a regular unicorn, she had a normal length straight horn, a black coat, teal hair, and green eyes. It was exactly her colors… just as if she had been born a unicorn instead of as a changeling. Adding insult to the intelligence of the ponies around her, when asked for her name at the Castle gates to be admitted for Morning Court, she told them her name was Chrissy. She supposed it worked as both a nickname and a shortening of her real name, although no changeling in her kingdom would dare use anything other than her full name and title. As she stood with the other ponies waiting for Morning Court to start, she felt rather than heard her stomach grumble. She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten. That, of course, was why she was here. Her kingdom was starving to death, and she had already gone to extreme measures to stabilize things only for things to continue to fall apart. Against her better judgement… she was here, in Canterlot, to throw herself upon the mercy of the ponies that had defeated her. Blueblood had walked into the throne room from a side door with a bouncing filly hopping beside him. The whole room hushed and took in the rarely seen alicorn filly, Velvet Dawn. At only 19 months old, she already had a good command of equish and was as large as a typical 5-year-old unicorn. Blueblood sat down on the throne and Velvet Dawn jumped into his lap. She turned to face the crowd and spoke loudly and clearly, spreading her wings to show her authority. “Morning Court will now begin.” ---------- Blueblood The crowd seemed overjoyed by Velvet’s presence and the line to make requests went quickly, given that nearly everypony with a request that they would rather not make in front of a 19-month-old filly had left the court. Even cuter for most of them, Blueblood would ask his daughter for her opinion on the easier requests, and she would render a final decision that was 9 out of 10 times both fair and so cute. By the middle of the court, Velvet had worn herself out and curled up into a ball to take a nap in her father’s lap. The crowd tried their best to make their requests as soft as possible, not wanting to wake up the sleeping filly, which made Blueblood smile at his subjects. Court lasted as long as it normally did, and he was just a little miffed that his wife didn’t make an appearance at all. She knew she was supposed to do one Morning Court per week as continued Royality training. Maybe he should have woken her up after all instead of letting her sleep in… Finally, the last petitioner came forward. Blueblood nodded at her. “Please state your name for the record.” The black coated unicorn nodded. “My name is Chrissy.” Blueblood looked at Raven Inkwell, who recorded the name. When she nodded, he continued. “And what can I help you with, my little pony?” Chrysalis took in a breath to steady herself when the filly yawned a big, loud yawn and stirred from sleep. Velvet Dawn got up and stretched, wiped sleep from her tired eyes and then looked around to see only her father, the guards and one remaining Morning Court pony. Velvet’s eyes narrowed at the unicorn, and she jumped up from her father’s lap, pointing a hoof directly at the unicorn. With a voice that startled everypony, she pronounced judgement. “Bug.” Chrysalis’ jaw dropped at the simple statement. Blueblood looked confused. “Bug? What do you mean, my darling Dawn?” Velvet Dawn’s horn charged in a spell, and she yelled with a voice that rivaled Royal Canterlot tones… “BUG!!!” A mana bolt shot forth and struck the bewildered unicorn, causing her form to destabilize and revealed herself as Queen Chrysalis. Velvet Dawn smiled in triumph of having cast a complicated spell. “Arrest the bug!!!” 12 Royal Guards ran towards Chrysalis with weapons raised. Velvet may have ordered an arrest, but they were out for blood, most of them having been veterans of the changeling invasion. Chrysalis was too weak to flee. Too weak to fight. She lowered her head in acceptance of her fate. Blueblood had narrowed his eyes at the scene and seemed to pick up on it immediately. He yelled a counter-order. “Everypony STOP!!!” The guards stopped in place but didn’t lower their weapons. He looked at Chrysalis. “Queen Chrysalis… I would like to apologize for the rude behavior of my daughter and her guards. I hope that you will not hold it against us as we continue our meeting.” Chrysalis’ eyes widened at the apology. She replied weakly. “Your guards have every right to hate me after I attacked the city. I’m not sure why your daughter hates me though… she wasn’t even born yet during the Canterlot wedding attack.” He winced. “She likes history…” Chrysalis found herself smiling at the statement. “A wise ruler remembers the past to plan the future. Equestria is in good hooves, it seems.” He nodded and looked down at his daughter. “You never, ever, attack the ruler of a foreign nation when they arrive to discuss events or terms. She may have been under a disguise, but she is protected under the rules of parley, do you understand young lady?” Velvet pouted. “But daddy…” He cut her off. “No buts. Everypony deserves a fair hearing. You denied her the chance to speak. Now, go give her a hug and apologize.” Velvet crossed her forehooves and continued to pout, not wanting to follow her father’s orders. Chrysalis cleared her throat. “I’m not offended. If anything, that was a very changeling reaction. I’m honored that she saw through my disguise and acted. She doesn’t have to hug me.” Blueblood acknowledged the statement but spoke to Velvet again. “Go on, give Auntie Chrissy a hug. If we make this negotiation successful… she’ll be a great friend. You know how much your mommy likes friendship… right?” Velvet’s eyes widened at the possibility of making a new friend and hopped off her father’s lap to go run towards Chrissy and give her a hug. Velvet burst into tears, offering the best apology that she could. Chrissy, for her part, hugged the young alicorn back cautiously but also tried to soothe the fillies’ tears in the same way she had seen other pony mother’s sooth their young. Chrissy smiled and patted her back. “It’ll be okay…” ---------- Twilight Twilight hated to be late to anything. Deep down in the back of her mind, she knew she had morning court today, but she had stayed up too late studying her university assignments and had vastly overslept. She knew that Blueblood wouldn’t wake her up… and with Spike spending more time in Ponyville with Sweetie Belle, she needed an alarm clock. As she trotted towards the throne room, she hoped that there would be at least one case left for her to help her husband with but was shocked to hear a filly crying. Her pace quickened and she walked into the throne room from a back entrance that was behind the throne itself. Once she cleared the throne and was standing beside it, next to her husband, she froze in place at the sight of Queen Chrysalis holding her daughter while her husband looked on, seemingly unable to stop whatever was happening. The change was nearly instantaneous. Before she knew what was happening, she was ‘Dark Sparkle’ again. The funny thing about ascending into darkness was that even after being purified by the Elements of Harmony, you retained the ability to become that evil form at will. Even better, since ‘Dark Sparkle’ was achieved while she had the power of four alicorns… Dark Sparkle retained that level of power as well, making her far more powerful than the normal Princess Twilight… and far more powerful than any other darkness that had ever existed previously. She stomped a forehoof upon the marble floor and the boom echoed throughout the room like a storm cloud had given off a thunderclap inside the throne room. Chrysalis looked up at the pissed off Dark Sparkle and her eyes widened in absolute fear. Dark Sparkle spoke in a menacing tone. “Release my daughter or the maids will be cleaning up green goop off the floors, walls and ceiling for a week.” Chrysalis put the filly down slowly and carefully, so not to injure her and backed away three paces. Not deterred by the demands of her mother, Velvet jumped back into the forehooves of Chrysalis to finish the hug. Chrysalis closed her eyes against the tears that were forming and returned the hug. She held it for five seconds and then smiled at the filly. “I accept your apology, now… I believe your mother wants a hug too!” Velvet brightened at the prospect and bounded away, flying towards her mother at breakneck speed and tackling her with a hug. Dark Sparkle sighed at Velvet’s boundless energy and hugged her daughter fiercely, eyeing Chrysalis warily. Velvet finished the hug and smiled, pointing at Chrysalis. “Auntie Chrissy.” Dark Sparkle frowned at the Queen who seemed to hold a reserved smile, which was a sharp contrast to the haughty smile she was accustomed to. She looked down at her daughter. “Auntie Chrissy?” Velvet nodded. “Good pony. Wants to make friends.” Dark Sparkle frowned at the impossibility of the words when her daughter booped her muzzle while giggling, causing a release of held anger, and the reversion to her normal self, happened. Against all odds, Velvet Dawn was one of the few ways that Dark Sparkle could return to her natural Twilight Sparkle form. It was so easy for Twilight to become Dark Sparkle and so hard for her to change back… she secretly blamed her barrenness for long held anger and control issues, and that was something she couldn’t even confess to Blueblood. Back as the normal Twilight, she passed her daughter off to one of Velvet’s personal guards. “Make sure Princess Velvet gets a snack and then put her down for her mid-day nap.” The guard smiled and took the little princess. As they walked away, the guard pulled a plate of cookies out of a magical storage portal, causing the young princess to squeal in delight. Twilight didn’t even look back at the guard, still focusing on Chrysalis in front of her. “A healthy snack, if you would?” The guard hid the plate of cookies behind his back, smiling sheepishly even though Twilight wasn’t looking at him. “Of course, your highness.” Velvet sighed and let out a groan, way too mature for her age, when Twilight relented. “Fine. She can have the cookies, just not the whole plate.” The guard crammed exactly one cookie into his mouth and gave the rest to Velvet as they walked towards her room. Twilight groaned after the back door to the throne room closed. “He did the bare minimum to follow my orders… Velvet has them all wrapped around her hoof. I need better guards.” Chrysalis cleared her throat. “If I may… your guards are loyal to Velvet. They love her with a storge love that would normally belong to a little sister or daughter. I could feel their emotions… they would die for her. They would kill for her… You couldn’t ask for more loyal servants.” Twilight was rendered speechless by Chrysalis’ words. She cleared her throat to try again. “We appear to have started out on the wrong hoof and I regret jumping to conclusions. From one monarch to another, I apologize for my rash actions. What brings you to Canterlot?” Chrysalis bowed to the Princess who had helped defeat her once. “I seek peace with Equestria. I would like to open trade and borders and discuss how we might be able to help each other.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at Chrysalis. “That… is unexpected. Why the sudden change?” Chrysalis was going to explain when her stomach grumbled loudly and caused her to wrap her forehooves around herself. She looked up at Twilight with a tear dripping down on face. “We are starving… we will die without your mercy.” ---------- Blueblood He cleared his throat. “Morning Court is over. I believe that we can move this meeting to the dining hall for an early lunch, if you’d care to continue this meeting while we eat?” Chrysalis gave a weak smile. “I would like that. However… the only solid food that will help me is meat.” He nodded. “That won’t be a problem. Our chefs cook for all races… just tell me how you want it cooked.” Chrysalis nodded as she fell in step with Twilight and Blueblood, following them to the dining hall. “I like my meat cooked, but with at least a trace of blood still in it, if possible. I don’t know what you have available, so as the host, I’ll allow you to order for me.” They sat down at the table and the waiter stood by to take their orders. Blueblood ordered for all three of them. “I will have the hayburger with hay fries, Twilight will have a daisy salad and the visiting dignitary will have a manticore steak, cooked rare.” The waiter bowed and left. Blueblood continued. “The food will be out soon. Now. Tell us about your plight?” Chrysalis sighed. “The short version is that every creature in the entire world knows how Dark Sparkle killed Lord Tirek, thanks to Discord telling the story and even vividly replaying the battle as if watching a movie or a play. Lord Tirek wasn’t just a centaur. He was the centaur equivalent of Celestia… a living God. They are not all that powerful. My drones are afraid of Dark Sparkle. They don’t want to try to harvest love from Equestria if it means seeing the whole hive slaughtered like bugs. So… love collection has been cut in half. All of the elderly and the infirm committed suicide so the younger changelings could live… but it wasn’t enough. We don’t have enough love… and we are all dying of starvation. We could eat meat to stave it off… but we can’t kill ponies for the same reason. There are no manticores in the Badlands and we are too far from the Dragon Lands to hunt dragons. I doubt the Crystal Empire would even agree to meet me so our only option is peace with Equestria in the hope that we can get enough love to not die.” Twilight nodded slowly. “That sounds horrible… yet… it is still a big change in attitude very fast. I’m not sure I want to trust it.” Chrysalis bowed her head in total defeat. “Princess… it is easy to swallow your pride when you have nothing else to eat.” A lump formed in Twilight’s throat, and she looked at her husband. Of all the humbling experiences she had ever encountered, this one might take the cake. He nodded. “I think we can help. How does this sound? Open borders and open trade. We will announce that changelings are welcome in Equestria so long as they keep their normal changeling form and do not try to impersonate ponies. We will allow them to seek work, seek relationships, and otherwise harvest love as long as they are honest about it. All we ask in return is that you provide changelings to assist our spy core with gathering information on the other kingdoms and generally keep the peace. We will do all we can for our allies… if that’s what you wish to happen. What say you?” Chrysalis was wary but accepted without much push back. “I trust the changeling spies will be treated well?” Blueblood nodded. “As well as any other member of the Equestrian military.” Chrysalis nodded, pleased by the equally beneficial agreement. “I will sign a treaty that says that. How quickly can one be drawn up?” Blueblood looked at a pocket watch. “Raven Inkwell can draw it up today and I’m sure it can be signed tomorrow. We can’t sign it though. Auntie Celestia and Luna will have to sign it. I’m sure that we can convince them. Of course… you will have to negotiate with the Crystal Empire separately. They may be ruled by an Alicorn, but they are a separate nation. We can send a recommendation with you to help you with future negotiations, but you will have an uphill battle with Princess Cadence.” Chrysalis sighed. “I guess I should have expected as much. The Crystal Empire is small compared to Equestria… maybe I could sweeten the pot by agreeing not to mess with them at all.” Twilight frowned. “With the birth of Flurry Heart… I’d say there’s more love in the Empire than there is in Equestria. Your compromise might get Celestia to sign the treaty faster, but it doesn’t help your people at all. Are you sure you want to give that trade off?” Chrysalis fixed Twilight with a meaningful look. “There are several old sayings that would explain my viewpoint. ‘Half of something is better than all of nothing.’ Or ‘Don’t fight a battle that you can’t win.’ Or my favorite, ‘One victory doesn’t win a war.’ My changelings are dying. Literally dying. I will trade whatever it takes to secure their future. I know you don’t like me, and I know you don’t trust me, but please… show me some mercy. I am not a tyrant! I only ever wanted what was best for my lings.” Chrysalis started to dry-heave from the stress and hunger that she was under, causing looks of concern from both Twilight and Blueblood. The waiters brought out their food and everypony started to eat. Chrysalis dug into her steak with the zeal of a starving pony, not even caring if it was cooked properly. Twilight ate her salad while Blueblood enjoyed his Hayburger. They ate in silence and waited until everypony was done before moving the conversation forward. Chrysalis looked better from the cooked meal but also still looked hungry. Twilight frowned. “Did you want another portion? The chef won’t mind.” Chrysalis shook her head. “There is only so much meat I can eat before it makes me sick. Like any other creature, I can’t overgorge. This will prevent me from dying in the short run, but I need love to no longer be hungry. Preferably enough love to share with the rest of the hive.” Twilight smiled as a wicked thought came to her. “Perhaps we can help each other in a more meaningful way.” Blueblood’s eyes widened as he instantly knew where this was going. “Dearest… I beg you to think this through completely before making a deal that you might regret…” Twilight winked at Blueblood, causing him to sigh. She continued. “As it happens… I am infertile after the birth of my filly, and I am doing reproductive research to try to fix it. I’m sure I can get you the love you need… if you are willing to let me examine you magically and physically afterwards to add to my research.” Chrysalis’ mouth watered at the possibility of pure love given to her so freely but asked two serious questions. “I am willing to consider it… but first… I must know. How invasive will the exams be? And… who will you get to perform such a serious act on such short notice?” Twilight released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “The tests are no more invasive than giving birth, and a lot faster and less painful. As to the stallion…” Twilight looked at Blueblood and raised an eyebrow. Chrysalis followed Twilight’s gaze and her jaw dropped as the meaning became clear. “You would give your husband for this? Why?” Twilight sighed. “I don’t give him enough affection. I’m always so busy. Trying to fix my fertility issues is taking a lot more time away from my family than I wished that it would. This kills multiple birds with one stone. You get your love. Blueblood gets tail. And I get super valuable research data. As a bonus… this will seal our treaty. You will know that our intentions can be backed up with actions and I expect the same in return from you as time passes. Do we have a deal?” Blueblood sighed. “You once accused me of cheating on you with a pegasus and now you’re throwing me to a changeling, literally, as a meal. Are. You. Sure? Once this happens it can’t be undone.” Twilight nodded. “I love you Bluey, I really do, but I need to fix my issues. You don’t deserve to be lonely, and Chrissy can’t die if we want this treaty. And I need this data. I’ve never studied a changeling before.” Chrysalis watched the back and forth with both amusement and dread. She needed this. But she also wouldn’t take it by force. She watched the conversation play out. Blueblood threw his hooves into the air. “This is the first time you’ve asked me to make love to another pony or creature for your research. What’s next? Are you going to find volunteers for me to lay with an earth pony, unicorn, pegasi and crystal pony next? Why stop there! Let’s just convince my aunts to lift their tails too while we’re at it!” Twilight had pulled a parchment and quill from a magic storage portal and was taking notes. “That’s a good idea! I’ll round up volunteers.” Blueblood’s face went pale as his counter argument failed to hit the point he was trying to make. He gulped. “I suppose you have a good reason for wanting to study my seed in interactions with other mares?” Twilight nodded, still taking notes. “Your seed made an alicorn, but it also made me infertile afterwards. Maybe I haven’t fixed this yet because I’m only studying one side of the problem. I have to know… please… do it for science!” Blueblood sighed. “And if I get a mare pregnant?” Twilight shrugged. “The royal treasury can pay for it. If the mare doesn’t want the foal, I’ll raise it. It may not be mine but as long as it’s yours… I have no issues.” Blueblood looked at Chrysalis. “Can you take Twilight’s form?” Chrysalis nodded. “I can take any form you want. I suppose it’s sweet that you want your wife more than any other pony.” He nodded. “Let’s get this over with before I change my mind.” ---------- Twilight Twilight sat in a chair in the corner and was taking notes while her husband rutted Chrysalis, perfectly disguised as Twilight. As a twist… Blueblood had requested Twilight’s old unicorn form, which Chrissy was more than willing to provide. Blueblood had managed to overcome his reluctance in order to give Chrysalis the love that she so badly needed, given that doing this half-heartedly would do no good and be wasted for both of them. With a final sigh of passion, they both collapsed onto the bed. Blueblood rolled out of the way and left immediately to take a shower, allowing Twilight to do her examination. 20 minutes later, Twilight was done and sighed at the mixed results. Chrysalis was left worried. “Is something wrong with the sample, Twilight?” She shook her head. “It’s not what I expected. I’ll have to do more tests on it in my lab but I’m still very grateful for this opportunity.” Chrysalis nodded slowly. “May I be honest with you for a moment, Twilight?” Twilight cocked her head. “Of course… what’s on your mind, Chrissy?” Chrysalis sighed. “I’m so full that I don’t know what to think. It normally takes four or five lovemaking sessions to harvest this much love. I would go so far as to say that Blueblood loves you more than your brother loves Cadance. I would know… now being able to compare both.” Twilight gasped at the revelation, but Chrysalis held up a hoof to forestall a counter claim. “If I could, I’d get my changelings to become Equestrian marriage counselors because they can feel love and would be the best at fixing love problems, almost as good as Cadance herself. May I give you some advice… one immortal to another?” She nodded slowly and Chrysalis continued. “You have an amazing daughter and an even better husband. But… he is a mortal husband. While I’ve now heard the story about the twelve foals promise, I feel that you are wasting your best years on this. Your husband will die someday. Maybe you should just cherish the time you have with him and then worry about fixing this in like 80 years when you’re looking to get remarried after Blueblood’s passing.” Twilight protested. “But my promise…” Chrysalis cut her off. “…Is meaningless if he thinks you no longer love him! Do you have any idea how awkward it is to feel a reluctant lover? It’s almost like rape. Thank Celestia for getting his head in the game and really giving it to me, or this would have been awful. Let me impart the best advice I can… Spend time with your family while you can. Your daughter will always be there for you… but Blueblood won’t. Don’t wake up one day regretting that you spent 50 years in a dusty laboratory instead of at your husband’s side. And for fucks sake… don’t consider more mating experiments. This pushed Blueblood to his limits… having him do this with 4 or 5 other mares might break him.” Twilight sighed. “That… makes more sense than I would care to admit. Thank you for your honesty. Is there anything I can do for you?” Chrysalis shook her head. “You’ve given me more than I expected, and I’m more than grateful. I feel like I need to give you more. Is there anything I can do for you?” Twilight considered the request thoughtfully before answering. “Yes… there is one thing. Send out your spies and find a unicorn by the name of Starlight Glimmer and have her brought to me. She is a villain of Equestria… but I need her help.” Chrysalis nodded. “Consider it done.” ----------