//------------------------------// // The Exchange, Bandaid! // Story: The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon // by Aegis Shield //------------------------------// The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon Part 16: The Exchange, Bandaid! Nightmare Moon, Princess Celestia, and an entourage of guards and other ponies waited at the southern border of Equestria. The envoy had not returned, no word of Bandaid, and the south had been quiet. Until, that is, a third messenger had appeared, bearing the white cape with Chrysalis’ seal on the scroll he bore. A quick read was all it took to send not one but both Royal Sisters to Fort South Sky, a forward military outpost that was meant to watch for changelings emerging from the Badlands. Not that they’d ever seen any, since they were changelings and all, but it was the effort that counted. Nightmare stared with unblinking eyes, southward. A dust storm had kicked up hours ago, obscuring the horizon, the jutting rocks and craggy landscape. “I know you’re worried,” Celestia sat next to her, stroking her back with a long angelic wing. “We must trust to diplomacy. If Chrysalis were to hurt or kill Bandaid, she would’ve sent us a missive to gloat or something.” The black alicorn looked at her sister incredulously. “You are horrible at making me feel better!” she said. Celestia looked awkwardly to one side. “Let us just receive my beau and be gone from this miserable dust bowl before-!” her ears perked and her head turned. “-And another thing! If you’re such a badass goddess, how come your hair doesn’t flow like the alicorns?!” A mean-sounding voice was on the wind. “I bet you can’t grow one, you armor-hided beetle-bitch! Rawrgh!” There was a sound like somepony throwing themselves against plastic-glass, “Oomph! What’re YOU lookin’ at you sorry excuse for a pill-bug?! I’ll tear your bucking face off and wipe my own flank with your bucking intrails while your MOTHER watches me fuck your sister you-agh-agh-agh-agh! Stop shakin’ this stupid thing you stupid, overgrown maggot!” Both royal sisters tilted their heads a little as Chrysalis emerged from the dust storm like an apparition. Her hair bannered wildly, the crystals of sand flecking her armored hide. Her second eyelids had clicked down so she could see and not be blinded. Next to her, floating in a bubble of pure green magic, was Bandaid. He was frazzled, covered with bruises, and swearing and flailing constantly. Now and then the changeling Queen would shake the ball when he began upsetting one of her fellow changelings, to draw his attention back to herself. Nightmare stared in horror. He looked terrible! Even frenzied, he looked as though he’d received the beating of all beatings! The black alicorn started forward to shout, but Celestia put a hoof on her chest to stop her. They were already standing on the border, and there was something else coming. Pulling miserably through the dust storm and emerging out into the fresh air at last, a quartet of Changeling drones appeared. They were pulling a sand-sled, which was carefully covered and layered like a travelling four-poster bed. Chrysalis was walking, who was in there? They came to a stop at her silent command. “Glad you could make it,” Chrysalis said. “He’s more trouble than he’s worth. Even if he is the only one you’d make such negotiations for.” “You twisted our arms rather hard. Give him over. Now!” Nightmare demanded, her wings flashing open to their midnight span. Celestia’s hoof stayed at her sister’s breast to hold her back. “Do you have our envoy there?” the white alicorn asked, nodding towards the covered travelling litter. “And the missive to close our borders?” “Yes, of course,” Chrysalis lifted a wing and held out the scroll. Celestia’s magic grasped it, but Chrysalis gripped it. “Remember what you signed, I have your word in writing,” she said with a snarl. “The river, the envoy, and the missive,” Celestia nodded twice, reaching with her hoof instead. Chrysalis came forward. The stark reality of her new size hit everypony and everyling present. She was as tall and as filled-out as Celestia. “And now, the stallion and my envoy?” she gestured. Bandaid had fallen briefly silent to peer about, but he was levitated forward and dropped like a foal in front of Nightmare Moon. She threw her arms around him with a squeal of joy. “AUGH! Hug! Don’t hug me, you bitch! I'm covered with bruises!” he shouted, squirming. “He’s had a few days to cool down,” Chrysalis said, gesturing to her drones to bring the litter forward. “One of my soldiers foolishly fed on him after I told them all not to. Old habits die hard, it seems.” “It seems,” Celestia echoed, still watching the litter and not willing to exchange barbs until every pony was safe and with the right parties. When the litter reached the border, everyling looked at Celestia. She nodded once. They crossed, and went to a nearby waiting party of ponies. The heavy curtains were pulled back. Noble Cause, armored mare that she used to be, lay comfortably in a nest of plush and velvet blankets. Her armor was in a wooden box on one corner of it all. Laying on her back was a changeling drone. His head was between her broken and wrapped wings, purring loudly. The vibration was soothing her muscles. She lifted her head tiredly, and gave a weak smile. “Hey, we made it,” she said so softly they almost couldn’t hear her over the wind. “I’m glad,” she lowered her head again, back to sleep. Her pumpkin orange mane fell over her eyes. Her purring nurse chirruped and left her, stroking her back twice before crossing back to his fellow changelings. “Care to tell us what happened?” Celestia said. “Both of them look terrible. Your message said nopony would be harmed.” “I said nopony would be harmed any more than necessary,” Chrysalis said savagely, her jowls lifting into fangs. “Or do you intend to skin me alive again? Or perhaps kill me?” She turned profile, showing her rapidly growing wingspan and nicely armored body. “Everytime you put your hoof into things, I tend to get seriously hurt. Why don’t you butt out for a bit?” Celestia took a measured breath, then tried again. “One of your drones fed on him, was he punished?” “He paid for it with his life,” Chrysalis said, not looking at her and instead southward, back towards the hive. “Don’t worry, there’s noling left for you to punish. Bandaid made sure of that.” She turned to meet her sister’s startled expression. “He hurt a lot of my people, sister, a LOT. Even the larva were in danger. It was very tempting to tear him in half. I certainly have the power to do so.” Chrysalis gestured to the still swearing, flailing Bandaid in the background and the black alicorn that was squeezing him like a teddy bear. “Like I said, he’s had time to cool down from his murderous rage. Now he’s just really, really surly. I wouldn’t turn my back on him if I were you.” “I see,” Celestia said softly. “How did you-- contain him like that?” “He wore himself out trying to kill me,” Chrysalis said matter-of-factly. “Unlike you and Nightie over there, I have a very high threshold for pain. His poor mortal body can only take so much. When he collapsed, I simply put him in a prison bubble, like you saw. Easy enough.” “That’s very… merciful of you. I do not know if I would have been so kind, if a strange creature had run about killing, maiming and even threatening younglings,” Celestia said softly. The veiled threat made Chrysalis narrow her eyes. “Mercy was no part of it,” Chrysalis said, nodding towards the border-missive. “Just negotiations. You have your prizes,” she turned from her sister and back towards the group of waiting drones. “Now go. I’ve a nation to build.” Celestia watched her sister for a time, the swirling dust storm howling and whistling about. “Chrysalis,” she said softly. The changeling Queen stopped, turning her head only slightly. She didn’t look at her, merely cocked an ear. “Is separation our only peace?” the day princess asked. Chrysalis frowned at her. “The last time you put your hooves on me I died.” She said simply. “And before that, I was thrown under a powerful sleeping spell. And before that, I was skinned alive,” she listed off all of her encounters with Celestia in recent memory. None of them good. “We slight each other, back and forth, and back and forth. There’s no peace.” Celestia hung her head a little. It was true. Each encounter was one slight, which had happened because of a previous slight, which had happened because of a previous slight. Perhaps only separation would end the chain, and let some wounds heal. Or let some tempers cool. “Let me give you a simple warning, Celestia, giant river-carving death beams or no,” she turned about, raising her voice for everyling and everypony to hear. “I had better not see you or anypony else in the Badlands. Ever. And if I find you or Nightie here, there will be war!” She stamped a hoof, crushing a stone beneath her. “I have an infinite food supply, a reliable water supply, and a few centuries worth of building materials to work with. Leave. Us. Alone.” A flicker of glitter ran through Chrysalis’ mane. Celestia said nothing, but it was a little frightening to see her ethereal mane already starting to emerge. Newborn goddess, indeed. “Good… goodbye,” Celestia said softly, slowly turning from her sister back to her little ponies. She went to see Noble Cause, sticking her head into the litter with a tired smile. “Glad to be home, I hope?” she said, but her eyes were soft and she couldn’t say much after that. The poor mare was laying strewn out among all the blankets and finery. The aloe-laced incense nearby wafted under Celestia’s nose, and she reached to pour out the ashes. The wind blew them away, and she looked up just in time to see the changeling Queen and all her followers disappear into the howling, swirling dust storm beyond the southern border. “How dare she insult us like that?” Nightmare had appeared nearby, Bandaid lying unconscious on her back. A quick sleeping spell had seen to him. “Let her. She wishes to be alone, we should not provoke conflict,” Celestia sighed quietly, turning back towards their waiting entourage. “If our two nations fought, you and I would certainly emerge afterward, but Equestria itself would lose. I’ve no doubt of this.” “What makes you say that?” Nightmare said suspiciously. “We’ve a standing army like any other nation!” “A nation that’s enjoyed centuries of utopia versus a nation that has only just now learned of life without desperation and starvation? We would lose. Badly,” Celestia said. “We should respect our sister’s wishes. Come. Let’s get our little ponies home.” She extended her wings, snapping them closed for comfort. That often meant, to Nightmare, that there was no more to be said. The black mare turned, looking suspiciously into the dust storm. She saw noling there, not even a single drone to watch the border. After a few uncertain moments, she shook her head and decided she did not care. If Chrysalis wished for solitude, she could have it. Now that Bandaid (and Noble Cause) had been returned to her there was mending to be done. She knew well enough of magic kisses thanks to Cadance, so that wouldn’t be an issue. But, there was coddling to be done and there would be no escape for her dear stallion. The thought made her smile giddily, and she trotted to catch up with Celestia. A few hours later, while everypony was walking back (pulling the sand-sled that bore poor Noble Cause), Celestia stopped to open the missive. Just in case. Sure enough, it was the same border-closing document that she had carefully drafted with Twilight Sparkle’s help. There was a smaller scroll inside though. It was mint-green and tied with a scarlet bow. Brow knitting, Celestia opened it with her magic and levitated it to her nose. Keeping a river is hard work. Erosion and such. I want bags of grass-seed and a few long rolls of sod for Hearth’s Warming. Let me know what you want. See you in December. ~Chryssi Celestia smiled despite herself. “Brat,” she whispered affectionately. End of Part 16