It was an altogether not-terrible day, for Princess Twilight Sparkle, and that was all she would say on the subject.
Though, actually the day was going quite well. Better than average, really. But she had learned well of the perils of tempting fate.
She had been seen off from Ponyville with a “Bringing about Inter-species Peace” cupcake from Pinkie Pie, taken a leisurely ride, by train, to Canterlot, and was even now, as she walked the halls of Canterlot Castle, rearranging her reports for the aforementioned bringing about of inter-species peace. She already knew them to be properly sorted and had memorized most of their contents, while going over them, but she was going to a meeting with Princess Celestia. And even now, that was still enough reason for her to obsess, just a little.
Especially since she really didn't want to embarrass herself, again, in front of Chrysalis or Prince Blueblood, both of whom would also be there. Chrysalis, because even when she was trying to be-...not actively malevolent, she would still ruthlessly tease the purple princess. Which, according to Princess Celestia, was essentially Chrysalis' version of being 'nice'. Which really said quite a lot about the changeling.
And she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Prince Blueblood, because...well, he was very attractive. And a somewhat smarter, nicer stallion than he let on with most. And even when he was genuinely being a bit snobby or arrogant, it often led to a few giggles on Twilight's part...
She quickly shuffled her files again, as she noted that same stallion down the hall from her, as she reminded herself that they were there to discuss the steady integration of the Changelings with the Crystal ponies. Not Twilight's tendency for...giggling around Prince Blueblood.
She briefly noted that Blueblood seemed to be discussing some manner with a couple of ponies, before he took note of her, and waved them off. They looked like they wished to say more, but Blueblood had already cantered away.
“Ah, excellent timing, miss Twilight. I was just on my way to our little meeting. Care to accompany me?”
“It's good to see you too, Prince Blueblood. And sure, though, who were those ponies you were talking to? They seemed a bit upset, when you waved them off.”
“Oh, you saw that? Dreadful business. I've been dealing with reporters all day, on account of my personal nom de plume being uncovered.” Blueblood explained.
“You have a pen name? Wait, you write?” Twilight asked, surprised by this revelation.
“Oh, just a bit”
“Is it anything I would recognize?”
“...no. No, I don't think so.”
Twilight tilted her head at his elusive answer, before deciding to let the matter drop. She was curious, but he, evidently, didn't wish to talk about it. Plus, she would probably be able to just pick up a newspaper and find out later.
“Well anyway, by all the reports, things are going really well.” Twilight cheerfully changed the subject.
“Oh, that's a relief. I ended up missing lunch today, and not being wrapped up in all that will speed things along immensely. Hopefully, Auntie set out some snacks, for that matter.”
“I don't know why she wouldn't have brought anything out for the meeting.” Princess Celestia almost always brought some kind of snacks out for official meetings, and such. According to her, bite-sized morsels had, on more than one occasion, averted war. Twilight was sure that there was more to it than just snacks, but history seemed to favor her theory.
'Although, by that reasoning, Princess Celestia should instate Pinkie Pie as Equestria's next ambassador to the Griffin Kingdoms.'
“True enough, miss Twilight. Just bracing myself for the worst.” Blueblood chuckled at that.
Twilight blinked, thinking that perhaps she had said that thought out loud before remembering the conversation she had been having.
“Oh, right. Well, I suppose worse things could happen, than missing out on a few snacks. I'm kind of surprised by how smoothly things have been going the last couple of months.” Twilight admitted.
“Oh, be careful now, miss Twilight. You wouldn't wish to tempt fate.” Blueblood lightly teased.
Twilight actually tilted her head at Blueblood at that remark, wandering if perhaps she had been blurting out loud a lot of her thoughts around Blueblood.
'Perhaps strange minds just think alike.'
Twilight had been giving herself that warning for a while now, though apparently it still hadn't properly taken root in mind. Though perhaps that was alright. She had kind of been wary of being taken by surprise, as of late, but things really had been going well the last couple of months.
That day that she had waltzed in on the Queen of the Changelings lounging around in Princess Celestia's private study had lead to a lot of new things.
They had spent hours that day, working out a way to convince Cadence to allow Chrysalis' changeling swarm to take up residence in the Crystal Empire. Well, first they needed to convince the Princess of the Crystal Empire to let them test their idea first, then work on the bigger obstacle of getting her to take in the changelings. Of course, they hadn't cut straight to that point. Twilight had still been a bit on edge about the changelings, and knew Cadence would be, as well. So she decided that it would be a good idea to first visit with the changelings, to get to know them better as a race.
'That's right...I decided.' Twilight smiled lightly at the thought. She had almost entirely forgotten that she had originally sought out her mentor to ask about leading as a Princess, that day.
Looking back over the last couple of months, it was kind of obvious now that Princess Celestia had been ready to guide Twilight as a Princess from the outset. It had been subtle, but Princess Celestia had steadily guided her to taking the lead on this whole undertaking. And more amazingly Twilight actually took to leading.
Even Chrysalis didn't make much of a fuss about introducing Twilight to her changelings, though she had suspected Princess Celestia had greased those wheels for her, just a bit.
And her visit had been absolutely fascinating. Most of what ponies knew about changelings had come from the invasion attempt; before that, they were just obscure folklore. Sure, there were other difficult to study cultures in the world. Dragons and Diamond Dogs came to mind. But this was something else entirely.
The partially underground hive alone would have been something worthy of years of study, based on it's construction techniques alone.
And even more surprising had been the changelings themselves. She had been striving to keep an open mind before visiting, but the fear that Chrysalis was the norm for changeling behavior had been in the back of her mind. It turned out, the average changeling had more in common with Fluttershy.
The soldiers, scouts, and love-collectors were a bit closer to her expectations, if not particularly bad, just hardened. But most of the other changelings were almost...skittish around her, during her visit with Prince Blueblood. Chrysalis' presence probably helped, but even so many of them were rather soft-spoken and kept to themselves. And that had been another surprise. It seemed most of them spoke Equestrian, though with the same resonant quality that Chrysalis' voice had, and quite a few spoke other languages besides. In retrospect though, that made sense given their reliance on other sapient species, and the fact that most other folk probably wouldn't think highly of the changelings' needs.
The whole experience really helped settle Twilight's worries about what she was doing...apart from a few choice encounters that still haunted Twilight.
They even gave her gifts as Twilight was leaving.
Which led to an unfortunate moment, when she screamed upon realizing that some of the gifts were alive. Prince Blueblood forgot to mention their usage of ground dwelling creatures and insects in making their hive more livable.
Twilight suspected that Chrysalis chose to neglect to mention it because she thought it would turn out to be hilarious.
One of the gifts, in particular, was a bulbous little glowing fluid-filled insect that served as a sort of light source in their tunnels, that also doubled as a sort of security measure. When startled they would emit a particularly foul odor.
Chrysalis had indeed found the results hilarious. More worryingly, Princess Celestia seemed to have trouble containing her own amusement when Twilight relayed the story to her.
Twilight was fairly sure that Chrysalis was turning out to be a bad influence upon the Princess of the Sun.
In the end, she had decided it best to leave her souvenirs in Fluttershy's care. Partly, because she wasn't entirely sure which were critters and which weren't, and had no idea how to care for them, and partly because Fluttershy found them adorable. It seemed to really help Fluttershy get over her own concerns about the changelings, knowing that the changelings also cared for other creatures.
Also, Twilight was pretty sure that the little bulbous insect was holding a grudge against her, for screaming in it's face that first time.
And, actually, it hadn't been terribly difficult explaining the situation to her friends. Primarily, due to the fact that they had followed Twilight on her mad dash to Canterlot, by train, out of concern, and had burst in on her first discussion with Princess Celestia, Chrysalis, and Prince Blueblood.
Much like when she first stumbled upon Chrysalis in the middle of her 'not-nap' it had been a bit rocky at first. But she had managed to talk them down, explain the situation, and convince Rarity to not throttle Prince Blueblood. Twilight had even managed to extract an apology from Blueblood for Rarity, for the events that had transpired during the Grand Galloping Gala.
And while everyone had been a bit leery of the situation, apart from Pinkie Pie who wanted to throw a party for the new “nice” version of Chrysalis, the situation had been defused.
Really, their reactions to everything being revealed, had been better than Twilight's own.
In fact, just about every party concerned had surprisingly amicable reactions. Again, while the changeling soldiers had still been a bit intimidating, most of them were pretty nonthreatening, cooperative and willing to follow their Queen's course. Cadence and Shiny while both shocked and suspicious, had been convinced to test the idea, provided the changelings were closely watched and Chrysalis was both punished for her actions and stayed out of the Crystal Empire.
That had been a bit of a sticking point, for a while. Neither Cadence or Shiny would budge on those points and it was hard to argue with their positions, all things considered. Both Chrysalis and her subjects had been agitated more by the idea that Chrysalis would essentially be stepping down as ruler for the changelings, than anything else. Eventually, it was agreed that Chrysalis would assign a number of changelings to coordinate everything, and stay under a sort of house arrest under Princess Celestia's supervision in Canterlot. Any internal problems that the changelings couldn't sort out themselves would be passed along via correspondence through Princess Cadence and Shining Armor and then to Canterlot. And otherwise the changelings would submit to the authority of the Crystal Empire during their stay. It added a lot logistics to the equation, but it was something that everyone managed to agree to.
Twilight had been worried when they had been trying to sort all of that out at the time. Chrysalis being her typical prickly self hadn't helped matters. She was fairly sure that it had been the Crystal ponies themselves that had saved negotiations.
They had perhaps the most surprising of reactions, when talk of the negotiations leaked out to them. They had been excited. Once the story got out to the Crystal ponies, they had immediately latched on to the idea, and while it could be because they had little knowledge of how changelings were viewed by most ponies, they had been eager to help and offer sanctuary to the changelings.
One day, after several long hours of arguing, Cadence had simply been swamped by Crystal ponies looking to help with the project. With suggestions for living arrangements for the changelings, volunteers looking to assist, many questions about the changelings themselves, and Crystal ponies wandering when their new neighbors might be arriving. They had no idea that the negotiations had been fraught with so much tension. It seemed the Crystal Ponies were eager to meet and help others, after their long ordeal.
After everyone had gotten over their surprise, negotiations had gone much smoother.
And most amazingly, it all worked. She could actually tell just by looking that the changelings were invigorated by just being in the Crystal empire. And with the enthusiastic outreach of the Crystal ponies, the changelings were almost bouncing with excitement. Not unlike Pinkie Pie after she's had a bit of coffee. Soon Shining Armor was coordinating with the changelings, expanding the area for the rest of the swarm to start moving in, and the Crystal ponies were quickly looking for things to share with the new arrivals. Even Cadence was starting to warm up to the industrious changelings.
And while they had taken measures to keep things low-key at first, the ponies in Equestria soon heard about it. And to Twilight's relief, for the most part reactions were mostly limited to quiet bemusement and curiosity.
She was feeling pretty good about all this. Twilight had helped resolve an age old conflict between two races. Princess Celestia was practically walking on sunshine. And even the most fearful of ponies were starting to relax their concerns. Chrysalis was still rather moody, but Twilight supposed that might be a natural reaction, considering that she was pretty much expected to keep her distance from her own subjects.
And Twilight was starting to grow to-...well, no she could admit to herself that she wasn't ready to say that she was 'friends' with the Changeling Queen. And she might not be for some time. Chrysalis still hadn't really taken any steps to make amends with Twilight, and didn't seem inclined to yet. But Twilight could also admit that she enjoyed speaking with the Changeling Queen; the changeling was pretty knowledgeable, by any standard, and brought an interesting view to most topics. And Twilight had gotten a bit used to her snark and teasing, and kind of enjoyed returning the favor.
Again, Twilight was pretty sure that Princess Celestia was trying to nudge the two of them to be more amicable towards one another.
“-was terrible, sir. I was sure those foals were going to do me in...I thought they were planning on eating me. One of them brought ketchup!”
“Odd. I rather enjoyed myself, Shield.”
Twilight shook herself from her thoughts, as she realized she was approaching her destination, one of the many side rooms that had been set up for just these kinds of meetings. Just down the hall, she could see the two guards stationed outside the room engrossed in conversation. One of them looked like he had been put through quite the harrowing experience.
“A-and, I think one of them may have been...a Cutie Mark Crusader.”
'That explains it.' Twilight thought to herself, even as she took in the the sight of the bruised, battered, and traumatized stallion. He even had one of his forelegs in a sling.
The older, less battered of the two stallions soon took note of her approach and stood up a bit straighter, prompting the other to do the same. As she and Blueblood approached, he quickly saluted her. He was about to speak, when all eyes turned towards a crashing sound, taking in the sight of the younger guard on the floor. Evidently, he had attempted a salute, without considering the number of hooves he had on the ground.
Shaking his head, Stalwart Gaze returned to the formalities of his job, saluting Twilight again “Princess Twilight, Prince Blueblood. We've been told to expect your arrivals. Princess Celestia and Queen Chrysalis have already arrived and are awaiting you inside, when you are ready.
Twilight nodded at this, still concerned with the younger stallion “Thank you...is he going to be alright?”
Blueblood appraised Silver Shield, as well “Indeed. You look as if you've had a particularly nasty scrap. With a dozen angry buffalo...I speak from experience.” With that he soon offered a hoof to help the stallion up. Twilight almost rolled her eyes at how he tried to intermingle tales of his exploits with his concern for the younger stallion's welfare.
Steadily getting back to his hooves, Silver Shield nodded in thanks, before realizing who was in front of him and trying to salute again. Fortunately, Twilight caught him in her magic before he could go crashing to the floor once more. “Sorry! I mean thanks...Miss- I mean Princess Twilight and Blueblood. Prince Blueblood...I think, I might be concussed.”
“Do you think you should be on duty then, if you're so hurt?” Twilight again asked with concern.
“Oh, no. I'm quite fine. Just got to shake it off. Neither sleet, nor foal, nor floor, and all that...” Silver Shield waved off her concern, before trailing into silence awkwardly.
“Worry not, Princess Twilight Sparkle. I fully intend on keeping an eye on him.” Stalwart Gaze calmly reassured.
“Oh. Well, be sure he doesn't push himself too hard then, I guess.”
“Of course. Would you and Prince Blueblood like to enter now?”
Twilight looked over towards Prince Blueblood, who simply shrugged in response, apparently leaving the decision to her. Glancing towards Silver Shield again, she gave him a smile as he adjusted his armor, before facing Stalwart Gaze once more. Straightening out her load of files and reports with her magic “I suppose we shouldn't keep them waiting on us.”
Nodding at this, Stalwart Gaze moved to open the doors for the two royal ponies, with Silver Shield following his lead a couple of seconds later.
She thanked the two guards again, as she passed through the doors. She drew to a halt, at a most peculiar sight, with Prince Blueblood stopping at her side about half a second later before summing up her own initial reaction most succinctly.
“Oh my...”
It was a bit of a process for Twilight to figure out just what she was seeing. There was Princess Celestia and Queen Chrysalis, and they appeared to be hugging. Not too strange, though they were engaging in some very...vigorous hugging. And there were some sounds that one might not associate with hugging, also there seemed to be some lip contact...Really, there were many different ways that Twilight could react to what she was seeing.
There was the sound of a body hitting the floor.
Twilight looked back to note that the younger of the two guards, Silver Shield, was now on the floor, having apparently fainted. His superior was only sparing a glance towards him, his attention otherwise taken up with the scene in front of him.
Twilight turned back to the two rulers, both of which were now standing stock-still, limbs still wrapped around one another, staring at the sudden intrusion.
Something in Twilight Sparkle snapped.
“Really?!”
Time seemed to resume flowing for the two rulers, at Twilight's shout, as they untangled themselves and scrambled apart. Prince Blueblood jumped at the sudden exclamation, before he brought his hoof to his chest, trying to steady his breathing. Princess Celestia seemed to be the first to recover.
“Twilight, I-”
“Seriously?! You two are spending your time making out with each other, now?! Without even telling me!?”
Chrysalis tried to get in a word this time “This is hardly-”
“And right before a MEETING?!?
Twilight was breathing a bit heavily now, as the two rulers looked on uncertain as to whether or not Twilight was done. After a few more seconds of silence, Princess Celestia again tried to take control of the situation.
“Twilight, please, please try to calm yourself. I'm sure we can explain this.”
Twilight took in a deep breath at this before asking one of the many questions circling her mind. “Just how long has this been going on?”
Celestia considered this for a moment before answering “Well...just now.”
Prince Blueblood finally managed to get his voice back, as he started rubbing his head with a hoof, exasperation tinging his words “Naturally. Naturally, I would walk in on this. It's the same as Cadence, all over again. Every time...”
Twilight turned with shock at these words, though Celestia was able to grab Twilight's attention before she could process what she had just heard much further.
“We were simply passing a bit of time, as we awaited your reports. We had just started talking-”
“Arguing.” Chrysalis corrected.
“-debating, and the discussion got a bit...heated. One thing lead to another, and Chrysalis-”
“You aren't seriously blaming me, are you?”
“Chrysalis, you were the one that...initiated contact.”
“That hardly matters! You're the one that has been mooning over me for the last two centuries!”
“W-what? What are you talking about?”
“Don't try playing dumb with me!”
“I'm not!”
“That's even worse!”
Blueblood once more tried to play the voice of reason. “Ladies, ladies! I think we all need to take a moment to-”
Chrysalis quickly snapped “Pipe down, Princess Purple Prose!”
Everything quickly fell silent again in the room, as everyone's attention turned towards Prince Blueblood. Twilight turned towards Blueblood, her brow furrowed in confusion. “Princess Purple-”
Before Twilight could finish her question, she was interrupted by a banging sound at the door. Turning her attention to the double doors, she saw the older of the two guard ponies attempting to drag the unconscious stallion past the threshold, with limited success. As Silver Shield mumbled after bumping into the door, Stalwart Gaze looked up to note all the eyes on him.
“He's blocking the doors...it can wait, though.”
Rather than draw any more attention, he let Silver Shield lie where he was, while he simply took his earlier position outside.
Twilight turned back towards Blueblood “Your pen name, is Princess Purple Prose?”
Chrysalis looked between the various surprised faces before asking “Am I the only one here that follows news in the literary world?!”
Ignoring Chrysalis' question, Blueblood tried to explain “Before you judge! A pen name is supposed to provide anonymity. I thought it would throw them off! And I was merely trying to provide a parody of the genre! I can't be blamed if mares everywhere decided to take it seriously!”
That actually helped a few more connections form in Twilight's mind “Wait. The Princess Purple Prose? The pony that's always writing those trashy, romance nov-”
“Trashy?!”
For a second, Twilight had thought it had been Blueblood contradicting her assessment of his writing, before she realized that Blueblood's mouth hadn't moved. And it wasn't his voice. And Blueblood was now staring at the pony that had chosen that moment to interject.
Twilight, Blueblood and Chrysalis all turned towards Princess Celestia, questioningly.
“...That is to say, I could not imagine that a pony with my nephew's education could write anything that could be considered trashy.”
“Oh, Auntie. Say it isn't so.”
“And while I was unaware of my nephew's pastime, I am all too happy to encourage his-”
Chrysalis cut in at this point, with a mixture of sudden understanding and annoyance “And now it all makes sense.”
“Chrysalis, this has-”
“Yes, now it's clear that you really were just completely oblivious. With your Oh-so-perfect love for ponies everywhere, your centuries of repression, and now with your clear obsession with romantic drivel-”
“It was meant to be satirical.” Blueblood interjected briefly.
“-it's no wonder you couldn't realize when you were actually attracted to someone.”
“I don't know why you believe-”
“Queen. Of the. Changelings. Why do you need me to remind you that I can sense love, like ponies can sense baked goods?”
That actually brought Princess Celestia short, as the sense of Chrysalis' words took root.
It was actually Twilight that managed to respond next, in wonder as the pieces all started to come together “...and then you started to realize that you loved her back.”
Chrysalis and Celestia only managed to turn towards Twilight, as she started voicing her thoughts “But her love for you wouldn't be enough for your subjects, so you felt you had to choose. And when you came back after the invasion...you could tell right away that she still loved you.”
Chrysalis actually took a step back at that, shocked by the young alicorn's insight.
“And-...that's why you were so cruel towards Cadence, when you took her. You were jealous of what she was able to have.”
Chrysalis fell silent for a few moments after that, when Celestia stepped forward “Is what Twilight's saying the truth, Chrysalis?”
Taking the changeling's silence as a confirmation “Chrysalis, I had no id-”
“Of course, you didn't. Clearly, nothing would have made you realize any of that, short of an overwrought declaration, out of some cheesy story or me slathering myself up in cake frosting.”
Twilight rubbed the bridge between her eyes at the last part, before complaining “I thought we agreed to not bring that up anymore.”
Ignoring Twilight's objection, Chrysalis continued “But look. We've got Princess Purple Prose here to write us up some dialogue. And you even brought cake.”
Twilight did note that Celestia had, as she had guessed, brought snacks to the meeting. In this case, cake.
Chrysalis waved her hoof towards Blueblood “Well, your up. We'll be needing some "romantic" dialogue for the moment, after all.”
“Uhmm...well, this is rather spur of the moment...I mean you can't rush art and-”
Celestia tried to calm the irate changeling “Please, try to calm down, Chrysalis. There is no need to become hysterical.”
Blueblood looked towards Princess Celestia with incredulity “Oh, Auntie. You are bad at this.”
To all appearances, Chrysalis didn't seem bothered by Celestia's, arguably poor, word choice, and seemed to just wave it off “Not exactly poetry, Blueblood. So perhaps we need to improve the mood some other way.” Punctuating her remark, by lifting up a plate with a generously sized slice of cake. “So would you like the first bite, Celestia?”
It took a moment to put together what Chrysalis intentions were, before Celestia said in a warning tone “Chrysalis...let's just take a breath and-”
Celestia was cut off by the slice of cake hitting her in the face.
The following silence was briefly interrupted by the sound of Silver Shield stirring. As Twilight watched the strange standoff between the two, she instinctively placed a hoof on Blueblood's shoulder, warning him against trying to get involved again.
As the crumbs and icing fell from Celestia's face in bits, she blinked before steadily taking a deep breath. Chrysalis seemed to be winding down from her little rant by this point.
Calmly wiping away the majority of the confection, she finally spoke “You may be right, Chrysalis...And if you are quite done, I'd like to talk about all of these revelations. Calmly.”
Everyone present seemed to let out a held breath. Apart from Silver Shield, who, while still dazed, was quickly being lead from the room by Stalwart Gaze.
“So, did I just see what I think I saw?”
“That depends on who you're talking to, Shield...But, I think so.”
“...And was that not the strangest thing you've ever seen?”
Stalwart Gaze considered this for a moment as he handed the younger stallion an ice pack. Shrugging he responded as resumed his post “It's probably somewhere in the top ten.”
“What?” Chrysalis responded articulately, not quite having expected that response.
Princess Celestia took a breath before clarifying “I said, you may be right, Chrysalis. While I'm certainly not repressed, it might very well be the case that I...don't examine my own feelings very closely. It's been a long time since I thought to view somepony in that light, and I'd like to apologize for any heartache this may have caused.”
Chrysalis was staring at this point, more than a bit flabbergasted “...ok.”
“Though, frankly, I think we could have avoided a lot of trouble, if you had opened up to me before about this. Do you understand where I'm coming from, Chrysalis?”
The Queen of the Changelings seemed to still be having trouble processing this turn of events “...ok.”
At this Celestia smiled a bit before cantering forward, causing Chrysalis to tense a bit, and avert her gaze “And...considering our reactions earlier, it would not be unreasonable to examine these feelings a bit more closely. We will probably be spending a fair amount of time around each other. Wouldn't you agree?”
She punctuated this question by using her hoof to guide Chrysalis to meeting her gaze again. Chrysalis still a bit speechless, actually seemed to blush.
'I've got to remember to ask how a carapace can blush.' Twilight could admit that her mind could end up focusing on some very strange things at times.
Chrysalis eventually blinked, before again settling on a fairly brief response “Ok.”
Celestia smiled once more, before holding up her hoof “I'm glad to hear that you agree. But there are two more points I would like to address, before anything else. First...”
A second later a slice of cake wrapped in Princess Celestia's magical aura slapped into the side of Chrysalis' face, causing her to step back and stare in shock for a moment “You-”
“And secondly, while I'm not ruling it out, I'd appreciate it if you didn't bring up any marriage-talk for a while.”
Chrysalis again stared for a moment, as a bit of the cake slid off her cheek “What?! I never- Who said anything about marriage?!?”
Celestia continued as if Chrysalis hadn't spoken up “Of course, it would have to be a lavish affair, with a great deal of planning, anyway. I can't imagine you would be that interested in the catering though. Also, by then we would need to broach the topic of foals.”
“Foals!?!”
“Or, hatchlings, I suppose. In the changeling parlance.”
“B-but- That-”
As Chrysalis sputtered, Celestia quickly leaned in and ended her protests with a quick kiss. A relatively tame one compared to before. As she pulled back from the confused changeling, she simply tilted her head and smiled.
“Gotcha.”
Chrysalis seemed to consider this turn of events for a few moments, before finally getting her thoughts straight. Shooting a quick glare towards Celestia, she simply nodded “Well played, Celestia.”
“I thought so...And Twilight, Blueblood?”
Shaken from their own awe at what had just responded, both quickly faced the the Princess of the Sun with rapt attention.
“I think it might be best if we postponed this meeting for another time. Don't you agree?”
It didn't take long for Twilight to quickly come to a decision, as she scooped her files up and began to lead Blueblood to the doors. Putting on a smile for Princess Celestia's sake “Nope, not a problem. Just...send a message to Spike, and we'll try another time.”
Celestia still smiling “Excellent.”
Twilight quickly shuffled through the doors.
Nodding to the two guard ponies, as she passed them by, she quickly pulled the door closed behind her. She took a couple of steps forward, dragging Blueblood with her, before facing them “Uhm, I think Princess Celestia and Queen Chrysalis are probably going to be in...private talks for a while, and probably shouldn't be disturbed.”
Stalwart Gaze merely nodded, before saluting “Understood, Princess Twilight.”
Silver Shield almost saluted again, before stopping himself. Grinning a bit “Lesson learned there. Understood, Princess Twilight.”
Blueblood having finally gathered himself “Well, not the meeting I expected, to be sure. Still quite...revelatory though.”
Twilight wasn't particularly aware of Blueblood's comments, having been struck by Silver Shield's own offhoof comment. About having learned a lesson.
'It's been as if I've had to start relearning everything I've ever known, since I became a princess.'
She had been put through so much, these last couple of months. She had found out so much about her mentor, and a race that she had thought to be nothing but monsters, changing how she looked at so much. She was starting to learn how to lead as a Princess, to help others, and overcome obstacles. But there was another aspect, she was beginning to appreciate about being 'Princess Twilight Sparkle'.
It was starting to dawn on her that she might be around for a very, very, long time.
And in all likelihood, she may very well have to deal with the same issues she had been witness to, between the two nigh immortals in the other room.
Would she eventually have to say goodbye to her friends someday? Forever?
Watch as the world changed all around her?
Would it eventually get to the point that the only others that she could relate too would be those that were similarly long-lived?
...Would she eventually become isolated? That thought quickly centered on Chrysalis and Princess Celestia. They had buried their feelings for centuries.
'But...not anymore.'
Twilight had helped them get past that. To move past their worries and...
Twilight was the Princess of Magic. The Magic of Friendship. Of that wonderful bond, formed through Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, and Loyalty.
She wouldn't let herself fall into that, and she wasn't going to let anyone else. She would be there for others and herself. She'd live day-by-day, and never stop forming bonds with others. She would seize the initiative. She would...
Twilight's train of thought trailed to a halt, as her gaze wandered towards Prince Blueblood. The very handsome stallion, that had turned out to not be as much of a witless lout, as she had thought. The stallion she had spent a great deal of time with lately, and...
“Uhm, Blueblood?”
“Hm? Oh, I'm sorry. Still a bit distracted by...recent events. Is there something you needed?”
“I was thinking, that I'd still like to go over all these reports with somepony. And neither of us really got anything to eat earlier. So...perhaps we should go have lunch somewhere?”
Prince Blueblood blinked at this, as it became clear what Twilight was suggesting. “Well, I-”
“That's a marvelous idea, Twilight. We can make it a double date.”
Both Twilight and Blueblood turned to see Princess Celestia stepping through the doors into the hallway, her face cleaned, with Chrysalis a couple of steps behind her. Still wiping her own face, Chrysalis managed to ask the question on the tip of Twilight's tongue first “What?”
Celestia, seeming quite upbeat, answered “A double date. It'd be a great opportunity for everyone to sit together in a more casual setting. And I'd love to see how these two do together. I was beginning to worry that my nephew would be forever single.”
Chrysalis simply shrugged at the idea. This time it was Twilight's turn to ask the most pertinent question “Wh-what?”
Celestia smiled again “In fact, there is this cafe that I've been meaning to visit for some time, just a little ways from the castle.”
At this point, Stalwart Gaze stepped forward, saluting “Would you and your companions like an escort, your highness?”
Celestia merely shook her head “No, I think it would be best to go incognito today. Thank you. You may consider both of yourselves relieved for the day.”
Twilight was about to ask what her mentor meant by incognito, when Celestia underwent a sudden transformation. Her hair fell to her side, a soft pink color, instead of the usual floating rainbow that it normally appeared as. She shrank by a fair bit, till she was nearly the size of an average mare. And in a puff of magic, her horn disappeared from sight. Her Cutie mark was unchanged, but it wouldn't stand out too much on an apparent pegasus.
Blueblood soon noted the obvious problem with Chrysalis “I think she may still draw-”
Chrysalis merely rolled her eyes, before transforming into a pony of similar dimensions to Celestia's form. With a black coat, a mane and tail of teal, green cat-like eyes, and a matching Cutie mark, she would probably still turn a couple of heads, but would probably blend easily enough.
Blueblood, coughed as his objections had been seen to “Right. Changeling.”
Celestia nodded at Chrysalis' transformation, before turning to Twilight and Blueblood once more “Well, shall we set off?”
And without waiting for a response, she began cantering down the halls, Chrysalis in tow. Blueblood glanced towards Twilight before shrugging helplessly and following as well, Twilight a few steps behind him.
As the two guards watched the group disappear down the hallway, Stalwart glanced towards the stunned Silver Shield, before muttering “That'll probably bump this day into the top five.”
Silver Shield looked over at his superior before adjusting his ice pack. “Maybe, I should do a rotation in the Night Guard. It's got to be less stressful than this.”
As the two stragglers caught up with the two disguised rulers, Celestia chose that moment to address an earlier topic with Chrysalis.
Smiling as she looked towards the changeling “And just to wrap up our interrupted conversation from before, I accept.”
Chrysalis merely tilted her head, not quite following "What?"
"Your apology. I accept." Celestia cheerfully clarified.
"I-I never apologized!" Chrysalis denied.
"No. But you were trying very hard to do so." Celestia replied.
"We were arguing if you recall." Chrysalis reminded.
"So, you're a bit indirect. Personally, I find it rather charming, how you get all embarrassed when your busy trying not to apologize." Celestia teased.
"You're being ridiculous." Chrysalis accused.
"And you're being charming again." Celestia countered.
Blueblood and Twilight looked on, both sporting varying degrees of bewilderment with the interactions of the two rulers. Celestia chose to simply carry on, not giving any attention to their apparent befuddlement “Though, I still expect you to find a way to make up with Twilight and Cadence, at least...and I don't think spontaneously making out with them will do the trick.”
Twilight almost stumbled as she caught what was said. She did stumble when she heard Blueblood deliver his two bits.
“I'm not entirely sure it would hurt things, Auntie. Provided it was cleared with Shining Armor first...Cadence has always been a 'fan' of...physical love.”
“What?!” Twilight quickly got back to her hooves, and stared after the others. Noting her pause, the others stopped, as well.
Blueblood clarified “Not that there's anything wrong with that...though, she could have been a bit more discreet at times...I don't think your brother ever took issue with that, as I did.”
Twilight honestly did not know how she kept ending up in this kind of conversation.
Chrysalis quickly added her own input “That would explain quite a bit actually. The only time I ever earned any suspicion from him, was when I turned Shining Armor's advances down. I eventually had to tell him that I was waiting till the honeymoon.”
As usual, Chrysalis was not helping Twilight's situation.
She thought she had been saved from this terrible conversation topic, for a moment, when she heard a couple of ponies calling out to her and Blueblood. Obviously, she would be proven wrong.
They seemed to be reporters.
“Princess Twilight, how do you respond to rumors that you are, in-fact, the real Princess Purple Prose?”
“Is it true that Prince Blueblood is taking credit for your works, without your permission?”
“When are you releasing your next book?”
“Are these two mares providing research material for your next release?”
Twilight closed her eyes, and took a calming breath.
“I'm on a double-date with Princess Celestia, the Queen of the Changelings, and Prince Blueblood. They're discussing Cadence's, my sister-in-law's, sex life. And now, I've been mistaken for the writer of a series of books that could qualify as marital aids...I was wrong. I want the status quo back. Seizing the initiative was a terrible idea.'