“Twilight . . . Twiiiiiiiiiilight . . .”
Twilight opened her eyes. Some fuzzy shape took center stage in her vision. The green stripe across it clashed with the rest of the figure’s black coloring. A metallic surface rubbed against Twilight’s cheek, as cold as ice. She kept still for a moment, allowing time for her vision to clear.
“Twilight? Can you hear me?”
Chrysalis. She remembered the voice. She recognized the shape as the world reappeared around her. With the changeling’s support, she sat up, rubbing an ache at the base of her horn.
“Wha . . . What happened?” The words dripped out like grains of sand. Her lips tasted like blood. Her eyelids demanded that she close them, sending her sprawling back into the darkness of her mind.
“Doctor, I’m losing her again!”
“Watch out.” A new voice. Doctor Heart. “She shouldn’t be sitting up yet. Lay her back down.” It felt so soft. “Vitals are steady. Swelling has gone down. Those are good signs.” The stallion standing over her smelled like smoke. “Twilight, can you open your eyes for us?”
A click, followed closely by a blinding light. She tried to look away, but a strong hoof held her head still. The light moved from one eye to the other. When it pulled away, Twilight found that the room beyond looked a little more familiar.
“Chrysalis?”
“I’m here, Twilight.” She sounded worried. Twilight wondered what could have her so concerned. “And don’t worry. The doctors are taking good care of you.” A freezing cold hoof took her own and squeezed it tight.
“Where . . . ” Twilight croaked.
“We’re in your room. You’ve been out cold for a few hours.”
“Water . . .”
“Doctor?” Chrysalis asked.
“There’s a cup there. Use the straw,” the doctor answered.
She heard a chair scrape against the tile. Scratching paper? Footsteps. Water. Her senses came to her as short, curt answers, as though her mind were annoyed at having to notice them. More steps. The chair again.
“Here.” A plastic straw touched her lip. She leaned forward slightly to wrap her mouth around it. “Take small sips. You don’t want to choke. We didn’t make it this far just for you to die like that.”
With each drop that touched her tongue, Twilight felt better. She took only a few sips before releasing the straw. “Thank you.” Her voice still sounded hoarse. Though her words came slowly, she still managed to worm out a full sentence. “What happened?”
“You fainted,” Chrysalis said. “Hit your head on a table corner on the way down. Wasn’t pretty.”
She didn’t remember that. It would explain the pain in her head, though. At the very least, she managed to shake a few of her memories loose. “What happened to Celestia? The cure didn’t work, did it?”
“Easy, Twilight. Celestia is fine.” Chrysalis smiled. “Your cure worked perfectly.”
Perfectly? She didn’t remember that, either. With only the few puzzle pieces of memory she had left, she couldn’t make out the picture they formed. Too many blank spaces. She remembered being cold. She still felt cold. “It was cold.”
“What? Cold? Here.” Twilight heard rustling sheets and felt a heavy blanket pulled up all the way to her neck. “Is that better?”
“No.” Twilight shook her head slowly. “In Celestia’s room. Something was cold.” She remembered eyes. At least, she thought she remembered eyes. A shadow stretched over her thoughts.
“Twilight? Twilight, are you okay?” Chrysalis reappeared in Twilight’s obscured vision.
“The eyes. The dark. It has me. It’s a dream.”
“You’re not making any sense, Twilight.” She saw Chrysalis shake her head.
“It’s dark. I’m scared.” Twilight felt her pulse quicken. Why did she remember those eyes?
“I’m right here, Twilight.” Chrysalis squeezed her hoof. “You don’t have to be scared.”
Twilight shook her head. “It’s a nightmare.”
“Watch out, Chrysalis,” the doctor interrupted. “Let me try this.”
Cold metal. Beneath the skin this time. Whatever it was, it flipped a switch in Twilight. Her vision cleared. Her headache lessened. The world returned, allowing the alicorn to recognize her own bedroom.
“What happened?” Twilight asked, her words no longer slurring together. The two ponies in the room tried to stop her from sitting up, but she did so without issue. “That was weird.”
“Are you feeling alright?” Chrysalis asked.
“Any lightheadedness? Feeling faint? Any pain?” Doctor Heart continued.
“I feel alright.”
Doctor Heart retrieved his chart and stepped to Twilight's bedside. “Can you tell me where you are, Princess? Be as specific as you can.”
“Canterlot.” Twilight tried to reach up and massage the base of her horn, but her leg caught halfway, resulting in a sharp pain. “Ow.”
Doctor Heart reached out and held her still. “Easy. You’re still hooked up to the instruments. Don’t want to pull anything out. Can you tell me where in Canterlot you presently are?”
“My room.”
“Good.” He checked a box on his chart. “Can you tell me what you remember?”
Eyes. Something about eyes.
“I was trying to cure Celestia.” Twilight’s heart fluttered. “And Chrysalis told me the cure worked.” Her monitors beeped a little faster. “It worked? Then Celestia’s alive? She’s better?”
“Calm yourself, Princess. You managed to dispel the curse on Celestia. She’s still sustained some damage and muscle atrophy. I’ve got her scheduled for physical therapy, but she should be up and walking soon.” He made another mark on his paperwork. “But right now, we’re worried about you.”
“Well don’t be. I’m feeling a lot better.” With her free hoof, Twilight tried to reach for her horn again. Though she succeeded this time, she felt the bandages wrapped around her head. Still, the massage did wonders to quell the pain in her head.
“How is she, Doctor?” Chrysalis asked.
“First impression is that she’s alright. We’ll keep her under observation for a few more days. I’m terribly sorry, but I’m afraid I must step out for a moment.” He hung the chart at the foot of her bed and started for the door. “If anything changes, you can call me using that remote I gave you.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Twilight said. He gave a quick bow as he left. Twilight lay back in her bed, taking a deep breath as she sank into the pillow.
Chrysalis grinned. “I must admit, you’ve surprised me, Twilight.”
Twilight flashed a toothy grin. “I have that effect on most ponies.”
“You succeeded. You thwarted me. Looks like I lose,” Chrysalis didn’t seem too broken up about it. “And now that I’ve lost, I’ve got nothing to do.”
“Are you referring to our talk?” Twilight asked.
“I am. I was worried you might not remember it.”
“As I recall, you weren’t sure that you wanted a new life.” She eyed the changeling carefully. “Have you made up your mind?”
“I have. I had a long talk with Celestia.” Chrysalis chuckled. “She said the same thing you did. Almost word for word.” Her smile melted into a frown. “I still don’t know if I believe either of you, but I do know that I don’t have much of a choice in the matter.”
“You always have a choice, Chrysalis.”
“Speak for yourself, Princess,” Chrysalis raised a brow. “Luna is still quite angry at me. Cadance and your brother stood up for me, though. Of all the ponies I expected to have my back, it certainly wasn’t them.” She slumped down in her chair. “I suppose I have you to thank for that.”
“You helped,” Twilight chuckled.
“No. I really didn’t. You believed in me when nopony else did.” Chrysalis paused. “Well, Thorax did, but he’s an idiot, so I don’t count that. But you had faith in me, at a time where even I had lost it. I . . . No one has ever done that for me.”
Twilight reached out for Chrysalis. “Things don’t have to go back to being that way, you know?.”
“I know.” Chrysalis took Twilight's outstretched hoof. “Actually, I . . . I had a request for you. I understand that you’ve got your own problems at the moment, but I simply have to ask. Can you take me back to Ponyville with you? I don’t know what I’m doing. As much as I hate to admit it, I think I need your help.”
Twilight felt relief sure through her. “I would be more than happy to help you.”
“Really?” Chrysalis perked up like a sunflower beneath the midday sky.
“Of course. You would hardly be the first student I’ve helped start a new life. You know Starlight used to be a villain, right?” Twilight chuckled. “And, I don’t mean to sound rude when I say this, but she almost did a lot worse than you did.”
Chrysalis blinked. “I nearly killed the princesses of Equestria. Twice.”
“Yeah.” Twilight sighed. “Starlight nearly broke time and space.”
“Oh.”
Twilight had never seen a look like that on the changeling’s face. Fear, with a healthy dose of confusion and realization. “Yeah. That was an interesting time.” She chuckled. “Get it? Interesting time?”
“Don’t push your luck, Twilight,” Chrysalis said flatly.
It only made Twilight laugh harder, eventually leading to a coughing fit. Chrysalis offered her the cup from before. Sipping on it quelled her choking. She set the empty paper cup aside. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” The changeling took a deep breath and stood. “Well, the doctor says you need to get some rest, so I’ll step out for a bit. Here.” She offered Twilight a small gray object with a red button. “It’s linked to the nurses outside. They’ll come running. Now get some sleep. I won’t have my new life get off to a bad start because my teacher’s tired.”
Twilight met her eyes, causing both of them to smile. Without another word, Chrysalis left, closing the door behind her. Twilight held the remote in her hoof as she laid back. She closed her eyes and slipped away into a dreamless sleep.
“Chrysalis?”
If the changeling answered, Twilight didn’t hear it. She had her head in her bedroom closet. She dug through the piles of junk on the floor, searching for the missing tiara. The bushy, seafoam dress she wore didn’t make her task any easier.
“Did you call me?”
Twilight pulled her head out into the open. Chrysalis stood in the bathroom doorway. Something about her looked different, though Twilight couldn’t nail it down. “Have you seen my tiara? I usually keep it on this model head, but it’s not here.”
“You think I would take it? I have a full crown, and it is far nicer than your little trinkets,” Chrysalis boasted. Twilight finally realized what had changed. A combed mane and polished chitin. “Did you try checking to see if it fell off?”
“Yeah, I looked. I cannot lose that. Do you know what Celestia does to princesses that lose their tiara?” Chrysalis’ unimpressed face didn’t phase Twilight. “I mean, I don’t know what she’ll do, but I doubt it’ll be something good.”
“Calm down, Twilight. When was the last time you remember having it?”
Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “Well, I remember wearing it at the Gala. That was . . . three months ago? Has it really been three months?” Twilight looked to changeling for confirmation, but Chrysalis was gone. Twilight glanced around, but didn’t see her anywhere. With an annoyed sigh, she turned back to the closet.
“Got you!”
Chrysalis sprung from the shadows. She draped herself over Twilight’s body.
“What are you doing?” Twilight asked.
“Playing.”
Twilight stood beneath Chrysalis, the changeling’s lithe limbs paralleled her own. The small alicorn fit snugly beneath the taller pony. As much as Twilight had grown in the last five months, she still wasn’t large enough to escape Chrysalis’ clutches.
“Hey, let go,” Twilight cried. “We have to get ready.”
“I’m sure Celestia won’t mind if we’re a little late.” Chrysalis nuzzled at Twilight’s neck, sending a chill through her. “Besides, you’ve been so busy lately. We never get to spend time together anymore.”
Twilight squirmed, but Chrysalis held tight. “You’re not even close to ready. Where did that dress go that Rarity gave you? She wanted you to wear it tonight.”
“I’m a changeling, Dear. I can look however I want. I don’t need a dress.”
“Rarity made it especially for you. She’d be devastated if you didn’t wear it.”
Chrysalis laughed. “I can’t believe that she actually went through with that. I was being sarcastic when I told her I’d love a dress. I don’t think she realized that, though.”
Twilight’s fur bristled wherever Chrysalis’ warm breath touched. “Well, Rarity isn’t known for half-measures. Which is why you need to find that dress.” If Twilight’s head weren’t pinned beneath Chrysalis’, a lightbulb would have appeared over her. “Tell you what, I’ll make you a deal. If we make it to the party on time, and if you can behave yourself tonight . . .”
Chrysalis brushed her cheek against Twilight’s. “And if I can? What do I get in return?” She whispered the words in Twilight’s ear.
“Then we can go home early. Then we can snuggle all night long. Fair?”
Chrysalis released Twilight and stepped back. She wore a contemplative look on her face. “Alright, but I want to add a condition. I want to feed tonight. Think you can handle that?”
Twilight pursed her lips. “You drive a hard bargain, but I think I can manage that.”
Chrysalis’ eyes glimmered with emerald light. “Deal.” Her wings started to buzz, lifting her into the air. She flew back to the bathroom. From inside, Twilight could hear the rustling of fabric.
“Alright. That’s one problem taken care of tonight, but where’s . . .” Twilight stuck her head back into the closet. Her body tensed. Her tiara sat atop the model, exactly where she kept it. She blinked a few times. No matter what excuse she told herself, she knew it wasn’t there before.
Why was she thinking about that creature’s eyes? Why was she thinking about that creature in general? What creature was she even thinking about? A shadow passed over the princess, making her head fuzzy.
“Alright, I’m ready.”
Chrysalis tugged Twilight’s head out from the closet, simultaneously pulling her from her trance. The changeling wore a long, golden gown. She licked her lips, changing her lipstick to match the color of her clothes.
“Did you feel that?” Twilight asked.
Chrysalis stole a glance at the closet. “Feel what?
“I don’t know. It was like . . .” What was it like? “Nevermind. Just got confused there for a second. I’m alright. You look lovely tonight, by the way.”
Chrysalis tilted her head. “Are you implying that there’s a time when I don’t look lovely?”
“You’re always lovely,” Twilight assured her, her lips curling into a smile. Twilight retrieved her tiara from its place. She stared at her reflection in the gem. Though she hated to admit it, she looked old. She felt old. She wasn’t a spring filly anymore. She bowed her head and set the crown atop her head.
“How do I look?” she asked, moving to admire herself in the mirror.
Chrysalis grinned. “Like a dream come true.”
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Chrysalis asked.
“Yeah.” Twilight leaned over, resting her head on Chrysalis’ shoulder. “I had my doubts when you said we should come here for vacation. But, I guess I never really stopped to look at it when I was studying here.”
The duo stood on a balcony, overlooking the waterfalls behind Canterlot. Over the railing, the world dropped away, falling into a lake miles below. But Twilight wasn’t looking at that. She preferred to focus on the water as it cascaded down the mountainside, emitting the lullabic sound of rushing water. The setting sun set the scene ablaze, only adding to the beauty.
“That’s what you get for doubting me,” Chrysalis said, returning Twilight’s affections.
“You know, in the morning, I’ll have to actually tell Celestia I’m here.” Twilight didn’t even need to look to know the Canterlot Castle stood behind her, its spires scraping at the clouds as they drifted by. “The last thing we need is her going to Ponyville to find me, only to learn that I was standing in her backyard.”
“Do you have to? We’re here to relax. Whatever happens, I’m sure Celestia can handle it.” Chrysalis frowned. “Then again, I guess she didn’t do that much when I tried to ruin your day.”
“Give her more credit than that,” Twilight said, swatting playfully at Chrysalis. “She runs this country every day. She deals with all the boring beaurecrating things so that I don’t have to. I think she’s a saint.”
“That’s fair, I guess.”
At Canterlot’s mountain elevation, the air always felt at least a little cold. Even here, feeling the occasional spray of the snow’s runoff only made the chill more biting. Luckily for her, Twilight had grown used to the touch of cold over the past few years. She nuzzled Chrysalis’ neck.
“Do you remember how we met?” Chrysalis asked.
“I think you tried to kill me,” Twilight shot back.
“Okay, bad choice of words. Let me rephrase that.” Chrysalis started to hum. “Do you remember when we had to take care of Celestia? Back when I was a prisoner at Canterlot Castle?”
“Of course I remember. What kind of a question is that?”
“I don’t know if I ever properly thanked you for that.”
“For arresting you?”
“For saving me. You could have left me at the hive to die. You could have handed me over to Luna. You could have left me behind when you returned to Ponyville. So many times, you saved my life.” Twilight felt something wet drip into her mane. Too warm to be from the falls. “And I don’t know if I ever made it up to you.”
Twilight leaned away. She put her hooves on Chrysalis cheeks, wiping away the tears that ran down them. Seeing them caused Twilight’s eyes to mist up sympathetically. “You’ve given me some of the greatest years of my life. That’s more than enough to cover that.” The alicorn closed her eyes and leaned forward, pressing her lips to Chrysalis’ cheek.
“I’m happy you feel that way. That makes this much easier,” Chrysalis said under her breath. Twilight couldn’t be sure she heard it right beneath the roar of the waterfall.
“What’s easier?” she asked.
Chrysalis hesitated. “You know that ornithology book you were reading the other day? Did it have anything like that in it?” Chrysalis’ hoof raised onto the horizon. In the distance, an avian shape stood out against the fiery backdrop.
“Let me look.” Twilight split away from Chrysalis, raising the binoculars around her chest up to her eyes. She studied the beak shape, the color of the feathers, and even the overall shape. “Chrysalis, that’s a raven.”
“Twilight.”
“At least, I think that’s a raven. It’s kind of hard to tell from here.”
“Twilight,” Chrysalis repeated, louder this time.
Twilight turned to where Chrysalis had stood only a moment before to find nothing but empty space. She followed the voice, turning completely until her back was to the falls. The binoculars dropped from her grasp.
“Chrysalis . . . what are . . .” Twilight struggled to find words.
“I was serious, Twilight. You saved my life all those years ago. Not only did you take me in and teach me how to live, you taught me how to love. And I mean real love, not that dribble that I used to talk about.” Chrysalis swallowed hard. “These last few years I’ve spent with you were the best of my long life. To wake up beside you every day, to fall in love more and more every day. I couldn’t be happier. And I never want that happiness to end.”
Tears dribbled down Twilight’s face. She didn’t even try to stop them.
“I want to stay by your side,” Chrysalis continued. “Together, we’ve already faced the world. But there will be more challenges ahead. And I want to face them by your side, hoof-in-hoof. I want to spend the rest of life with you, Twilight.”
Chrysalis was down on her knees. She held a small black box between the two of them. The case was smaller than a hoof, but shook unsteadily as though it weighed tons. “Twilight Sparkle? Will you marry me?” She opened the box, revealing a diamond pendant.
Twilight’s knees went weak. Her heart hammered against her chest loud enough that Chrysalis could probably hear it over the rushing water. Her head swam. Her breathing became labored. As the silence dragged on, Chrysalis’ smile turned from joy to worry.
“Yes.” Twilight poured every ounce of energy she could muster into a smile. “Yes, Chrysalis. I will. I will marry you.” The teary-eyed alicorn collapsed forward. Chrysalis moved to catch her, only for Twilight to pounce onto Chrysalis’ knocking the jewelry box aside. She held the changeling tight enough that she worried she might break something.
“Thank you, Twilight.”
The two lovers held each other tight as the sun sank below the horizon. Stars stared down at them, twinkling silently. Twilight’s body felt weightless. “Today has been perfect, Chrysalis,” She whispered.
“Yeah.” Chrysalis kissed her princess. “A dream come true.”