“Okay everypony, no need to rush.” Celestia dictated, standing at the top of the stair case.
All five mares walked towards the front of enormous throne room, that now acted as a sermon hall for the soon to be married couple. Rarity in particular couldn’t keep her eyes away from the room, surveying it every few chances she got between practices. It all just looked so perfect.
“Okay perfect, then of course Cadence will enter.”
At that moment Cadence opened the door, how she had even heard Celestia from the other side of that room was beyond Rarity. But like all her fantasies involving a romantic nature. (Which encompassed almost every one) Even in the rehearsal everything was just perfect. Oh how stunning she had looked striding like the epitome of royalty that she was. It was almost like she had done that for a thousand years, her stride and stature was perfect.
Yes, today was going so perfectly.
And then Twilight happened.
“She’s evil!”
What had possessed her to such an act of disgrace? To say something like that to her brother’s wife, to her new, soon to be sister in law? Disregarding her every being, she was almost the unicorn equivalent of the earth pony Icarus and with the scolding of the very sun itself, she was not far off with that myth.
Shining Armour had taken it the worst yet, although, perversely he actually took it better than she herself thought she would do, if the rolls were reversed. She had to give him credit, his morals very much took after his sisters, or was it the other way around? She supposed so, given the age gap and just how much Twilight revered him, she practically told his story’s like they were sermons to be repeated in a holy sepulchre.
Oh course, somepony like that had to be, considering that he was a captain of the royal guard and everything. It helped that he was easy on the eyes as well.
Ah, if it wasn’t already obvious he had eyes for another.
Rarity giggled despite herself.
She shook her head. Now was definitely not the time nor the place. At least she could now count one prince of Equestria she would be happy to meet at the next Gala.
Her amorous merriment quickly left her as her mind played out the events once again.
“She’s evil!”
Rarity shivered. To use that word so, so liberally. She couldn’t see why Twilight would ever use that word out of context. She, like Rarity herself, knew what true evil was, she had stared down its black fur coated muzzle. Winced at the light shone off its ominous silver helm and armour, seen it smile back at her, in its twisted fanged form.
That wasn’t Cadence, sure she was a bit pushy, demanding, and to be honest blunt, bossy. But it was from a mare a day from her wedding. Not to mention she was a Princess, she literally had the cosmic magical right to be ‘a bit bossy.’
Twilight had left the mare so exposed, to yell, scream and point at her with such vigorously angry accusations, in front of all her family and piers. Twilight didn’t even have the courtesy to wait until the precedings were finished. Oh poor Cadenza, Rarity hoped she was okay. The sobbing state she was in when she fled from the room. Her heart went out for the princess. Hopefully Shinning was taking care of her, surely he would lift her spirits.
A part of her wanted to scold Twilight, but another part wanted to sit down and talk with her, see if she was okay. She loved Twilight like a sister, but like a sister, she knew that sometimes it was better to let a filly linger on what they had done wrong. Not enough time had passed, she would only add wood to that fire if she pursued it.
She tutted at herself. She was getting distracted. She still had more work to do, what with all the changes to the dresses Cadence had insisted upon. She was a little saddened that she didn’t like them straight away, for what they were. But the sadness led to understanding. Again like Shining, the mare handled things a lot better that she would have. And Rarity was not vain enough to think that her dresses were perfection incarnate, just because she had put her hoof on them.
She had respect for Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the mare knew what she wanted.
Besides, it was only a few small changes. She had to work on her friends clothes anyway, what was a little extra work?
It wasn’t like she was going to get any sleep as it was. The nap on the train had been just enough. But she had felt drained ever since she meet the girls at the Platform. And to make matters worse her headache had somehow gotten more annoying, more distracting and far more painful.
“An artist work is never complete!” She sang to herself, mostly to keep up her impetus as scissors, needles and myriads of fabric flew across the room in her magic, if she couldn’t sleep she could at least create.
She trotted towards the other side of the room and stared at the three mannequin or more accurately at the dresses they adorned.
Three.
Three faulty dresses.
It just made no sense.
She stared at Fluttershy’s first. Fluttershy had stated in her usual Fluttershy way that the dress didn’t fit her. But only after Rarity had coxed any type of criticism out of the mare. Honestly, she almost thought that Fluttershy had thought she was about to maul her if she said the lining was ill stitched.
She shook her head again.
The mid-waist was too big, it sagged and didn’t hug the withers. Not surprising for a holder of a dress, ponies figures change all the time. Rarity herself, much to her dismay and ice cream ravaging stomach, could attest to that.
But so much in a week? And from Fluttershy, she knew the mare probably ate less that her evil little rabbit she loved did, but still there was a limit.
Not to mention the wing joint was out of balance. She was at least three inches higher than what Fluttershy’s wings were supposed to be.
Now that one Rarity could only admit as her mistake. Pegasus’s wings don’t just shoot up three inches. No, the measurements were off, she had a hard time getting all her friends together for measurements to keep them accurate as it was. Her last fitting with Fluttershy had been something like a year ago at the earliest. She was still young, in fact other than Rainbow Dash, she was the youngest of the group, almost three years younger than Twilight or Rarity herself, though she often exaggerated her own age, and twenty five was still young for a mare with eyes on the fashion world… Yes of course it was.
Regardless to this, Fluttershy was still on the tail end of puberty, something like this could happen, it wasn’t like they just grew randomly?
“Do they?” She asked aloud. Then facehooved. “No of course they don’t, how silly of me, I must have measured incorrectly. Really I should have paid more attention in Biology class.” She laughs at her naivety, and silliness.
Then she paused, biting her bottom lip as she eyed the measurements again.
She would ask Rainbow Dash tomorrow, but only to prove how that was of course not true. Yes, something like that.
Then again, that could be the fault of the dresses being ill-fitting. Obviously if a dress was designed to be tight then any deviation from the measurements would throw the whole thing out of order.
Rarity levitated a sketching to her muzzle, adjusting the measurement and jotted down the changes on the labels next the picture of the dress. Left and right wing fifteen point seven inches from base of stomach. She floated the drawing back onto her desk, eyeing the next dress.
“Pinkie Pie. Even your dresses makes little sense.” She stated to the mannequin.
Almost the opposite of Fluttershy, Pinkie pie seems to have gotten bigger. Its stomach and chest seemed to have expanded at least three extra inches. The mare couldn’t even get the dress on in the rehearsals. She knew the mare survived on sweets and a mountain of cakes, not to mention she was literally a filly in a candy store. But to be fair, the mare must run at least two marathons a day. The only other mare that even meet her fitness quota was Rainbow Dash.
“She’s curvy true, but to call her chubby, no that would be an overstatement, not to mention downright rude. So why?” She analysed the drawing of Pinkie's dress. Thirty six waist. As it had always been.
Just about everything on her has gotten bigger!
Rarity sighed. Rubbing her forehead. She would say all this puzzling was going to give her a headache, but…
“No matter, I can even this out, just need to undo the stitching in the seams and then add more material, thank goodness I had the foresight to bring spare materials.” She commented, as she began to levitate what she had from when she had finished them back in Ponyville.
“Which leads me onto my next task, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity growled at the mannequin who bravely stood perfectly still under her daunting glare.
No growing or shrinking, no moving of limbs or adjustment of, *ahem* personal elements. No just one big tear from the back of the dress almost to the wing.
She had warned her not to fly in the dress. But of course the warning went unheeded.
“I would force you to a spa treatment, for such a heinous act against fashion, but we all know you secretly love them!” Rarity muttered angrily to the dress. She would find a way to get back at her friend. Pinkie was always good with the pranks, she would ask her for assistance on that account.
She looked over the three dresses again and then as if magnetized, her eyes drew themselves to her dress on the foot of her bed.
She had tried her dress on after it was made, but that was a while ago, this dress in truth was made for the next Gala. Not specifically for the wedding. It would still fit, right?
“Well…I suppose I should try on my dress first…”
“*huff* Oh Celestia *huff* Cadence that was amazing! Where did you even learn to do that thing with your tongue.” A disheveled Shining Armor stated, falling back onto the pillow blushing from the post coital aftermath.
Cadence giggled. “When you’re as traveled as I am you pick up a few things.” She proudly hinted, as she snuggled into the chest of her very soon to be husband.
“Let me guess, Griffonia?” He stated with a knowing smirk. Normal ponies didn’t exactly talk about their past experiences, it was a social taboo among couples, but Shinning had learned long ago that if he was going to be in a relationship with the Princess of Love he was going to need to take into consideration that his relationship was going to be more open than most. But he didn’t mind, he loved Cadence, worshipped her even, if that meant sometimes his love did things that sometimes involved him and a third party member that would never bother him. He knew at the end of the day there love was exclusively for them. Plus, it helped that he found the perks of being in an open relationship quite thrilling at times.
“Well, they don’t have lips, so they have to be inventive now don’t they.” Cadence stated with a smirk, as she felt the blissful, quenching thirst that only love could provide. She almost felt like she would explode if she stayed around any long, his love was so sweet almost sickeningly so. But she would take the risk, a girl had to indulge herself every once in awhile. She would need all her love, should the plan take a turn for the worst.
Or even for the best, a single Changeling Princess needed a tremendous amount of love in her first few days of life.
And she was expecting two.
She would have to cut back on the drone production for a while.
Speaking of which, she still had things to do.
“Honey, why don’t you get some sleep, I’ll be back in a bit.” She whispered into his ear pushing away from the stallion.
She heard him chuckle mischievously. “Nice try sweetie, but we made a bet that I could get your mind off of the wedding for tonight and I aim to fulfill it.” He emphasized the ‘fill’ part with a terribly childish smirk.
What does that mare even see in him. Well, if her memory served the princess was just as bad as he was, perhaps worse. He was pretty skilled for only ever dating one mare, maybe that was it.
“I just need to check on one thing, before I come back, I promise I will wake you up when I get back, okay?”
He put a hoof over her shoulders moving next to her. “Ah come on honey, I keep telling you everything’s going to be fine don’t worry about it.”
His features went into one of more compassion, as he flipped himself over onto his belly laying side by side with her.
Cadence smirked, it was a tired strained one. Was Flying Fox that needy back in the day?
“I know sweetie, but I really-
He nibbled her ear. If memory served, her left one was weak to that sexual advance. Unfortunately she was not in the mood for games, she had things to do. “Let’s just stay in bed tonight, you know it’s not good to be this stressed, I know it’s too early to say, but it can’t be good for the baby.”
She moaned as he nibbled her ear, more out of irritation, he didn’t catch onto it. However as his hoof moved further down her body stroking her wing and then the middle wing muscles, she finally lost her patience.
“Oh enough of this.” She stated in her own voice, causing Shining Armor to lean back in confusion, which gave her enough time and the right position to touch his horn with her own.
It only took a second before he was face down into the mattress snoring.
“Finally.” She stated, as she shrugged off his hoof. She jumped off the bed, stretching out her body in a cat like stance. The spell was harmless and had the added effect of erasing the last twelve minutes of somepony’s memories. A spell that ever Changeling made sure to keep in their arsenal. All that would happen is that he would wake up with the embarrassing concept that he must have fallen asleep right on top of her.
Chrysalis cackled at the notion, the concept never lost its appeal.
Chrysalis mind touched the hives. Instantly a guard posted by the door opened it up and entered the room, unfazed by the passed out pony or the reek of post coitus bliss that permeated through it.
“My Queen,” He stated his head dipped into a deep bow.
“I am going to the gardens to inspect the package personally. Send a Ling to the general, tell him to meet me if the coast is clear, I want a full report of any changes that have occurred since this morning.” She commanded.
“It will be done.” The drone bowed again.
Chrysalis nodded as the guard walked out of her room, hearing it move down the hallway. Short distance hive communication was fine so long as it was just that, short in both distance and time. But to send detailed long distance messages like this, with the receiver so far away was not allowed. She did not know the scope of the Princess’s power. Would they be able to sense her magic through her hive?
She supposed not, Chrysalis had been using her changeling sorcery on Shining for almost two weeks now and the princesses had neither seen, nor hinted at it to her.
But she was taking no chances.
It was a temporary setback, the hive would go back to how it was before the great infiltration, excluding two new members that was.
Sending her magic across her body, she cut off the smell of sweat in seconds as the wave of magic washed through her fake fur and mane. A simple bodily function for any Ling. Touching up one's disguise was essential.
She had no taboos concerning sex, it was a part of her life, like breathing. But the ponies were a tad more reserved or prudish than her. For a species that was constantly naked, they seemed to dance around the topic of sex like it was a campfire.
“And they have a Princess of Love for Ashes sake.” Chrysalis muttered, rolled her eyes, was there any point making sense where there was none?
She turned back from the mirror, content that everything was in order she trotted out the door.
Immediately two guards flanked her marching in time with her.
“You, make certain that the left wing squadron have secured their area and are ready with the cocoons, they are to meet up with me only if I have not sent word otherwise at exactly two pm understood.”
“Yes my Queen!” The Stallion marching next to her saluted, before turning on point and marching down the left corridor.
She didn’t think she would need the cocoons, but if all else failed she would be able to snatch a few hostages in the process, for leverage purposes. That, and they would also serve as an excellent source of nourishment for her girls in the coming days.
“You, send word to the sergeant, have him send word to the main forces. Same as I told the other Bull, if I haven’t sent word by two pm, they are to secure all the barracks and the key towers around the Canterlot walls, nopony gets in or out. All trains are to be halted and if possible without raising suspicion, sent away. And do not drop your disguises. If any Ling needs more love there are fountain cocoons situated across the town. Last thing we need is a battalion of Unicorns reinforcing the city watch.”
“What about the shield, your majesty?” The guard asked.
Oh, she had almost forgot the shield, she hadn’t seen much of the outside world for the past few day. She felt a hint of anger flare up inside her as she remembered the Changeling that had made that little slip up. She had that Ling punished severely for that, she could have ruined everything. Thank the mothers Chrysalis had most of her infiltrators inside the castle before the shield went up. She was so angry at the Ling at the time that she even left the isolation ring on her horn, even after it went mad from being severed from the hive. She hated hurting her children like that, but the lives of her daughters was not something she was above sparing the rod for, and now her children know that perfectly.
She would extract the she-lings Hive imprint and pheromones later and have her re-birthed once she had the time. She was not that cruel to her children. However, she would re-birth her with the knowledge of her punishment embedded in her mind, lest she forgot. There was no use for a defective drone in her hive.
"I will deal with the shield, when the time comes, I'm the one closest to its epicenter." Hopefully that could be solved when the preceding ends and in the confusion of the celebration She and the real Shining Armour could be replaced by two drones, then she could work at commanding the real Shining reverse the Shield. It would be simple enough, if she had a quiet space to work. But if it came down to it and she had to kill the stallion, so be it.
She made her way down to the gardens, as she entered she felt the presence of her children around the fields and under them, almost all of the guards were hers, she didn’t even need to expand her sense too far to know that. Her General was a master at infiltration, and guerrilla warfare. There was no oversights, if she wanted all of the guards in the gardens to be hers then it would be done.
It didn’t take her long to locate the package. She had gotten the directions from the little drone in her chambers mere hours after she had asked.
“To leave it so, so unprotected. Was it her hubris or did it truly not occur to her that anyone would come seeking it.”
It wasn’t like it was a national secret. It was in books, even foals history books. The first time she had read anything about it, was from a filly’s guide to Equestrian history. One of her Ling infiltrators had brought it back to her. The drone herself, posing as a small filly at a local orphanage, run by and paid for by Chrysalis herself. The best way to get love was to start them early. A couple gets a foal and it gets free love for itself and the hive. It was laughably silly how easy it really was.
She had done her research on the package. Months and years she had gotten any and every piece of information on it. She wanted to know exactly what she would be dealing with, once it was released. The problem was that its literal meaning of existence in Equestria was to not be understood. The most the sources could do is pose possible theories about its origins and delve a little into the rules of engagement with the creature.
The books written by the Princesses were a little more enlightening. She was lucky that soldiers guarding the forbidden wing at the Canterlot library had been having a near eight month dry spell, and had a fetish for librarians with glasses. It was almost too easy.
The books seemed to state stuff that was obvious to Chrysalis and anyone who had unfortunately made a run in with the creature. It was cruel, it was probably insane and it was tricky. Very tricky indeed. It would be almost apt to say it was smart and cunning if it wasn’t for its childish tendencies and belief in its own hubris.
There was one thing the book shed light on. The creature oddly enough set rules and stuck to them for the most part, but there was always a twist in the clause. She would have laughed at the author if it were anyone else. Every creature that had ever run into the beast would think that to be total speculation and nonsense.
How could anyone truly believe it followed rules?
But Celestia and Luna knew that creature far better than even she did.
The book had been the only form of enlightenment Chrysalis could find. No other book had given her anything like this. With just a few lines she at least had something to balance her ultimately flimsy reassurances that her daughters were okay. The reassurance had faded over time as time had want to do with all things. But this had strengthened that collapsing tower of thought far longer than it ought to have stood.
It was the only thing she had. Especially after one thousand years had passed and not one of her daughters had returned to her. It was the only thing that she had kept repeating to herself.
It keeps its promises. The creature keeps his promises. Discord keeps his promises!
After the first year past the thousand years since their engagement in the woods, she had had enough of sitting back saying that.
The only thought that she could surmise was that his imprisonment had kept him from not breaking such rules.
So she was left with nothing but one answer to that.
She would break him out.
Chrysalis stopped by the statute. She gazed up at its mocking face it had pulled mere seconds before its incarceration. She found it oddly endearing, she didn’t harbour so much distaste for the creature as she once did, now that she knew everything that could be learned about the creature she had come to perversely appreciate the thing. Ultimately it was only doing what nature had intended it to do; Just like herself. Evil was a label, others put the meaning to it. If she was evil for keeping her hive and daughters alive through lies and deceit then so be it, she was evil. She would not fight the accusation, the word meant little to her now anyway.
Either way she had to at least appreciate the statue for how it stood. She would say he was to have the last laugh. Quite literally.
“Soon.” She whispered, as she slumped her head against the cold hard stone podium the statue was propped up atop of.
“P-Princess?”
Chrysalis eyelids shot open, flicking her ear up to the side she turned. Looking down at a small Pegasus mare. Chrysalis eyed the mare up and down, a small scrawny thing, she had a nice figure, good model material. Ponies like scrawny little things like her.
“Are you okay?” She asks, in a soft demure way. The mare was obviously diffident, Chrysalis disliked her immediately, she wasn’t a fan of weak, it had no place in the hive and should have no place in the real world. Ash these ponies are soft, something primal in her mind screamed prey to her, an easy meal, leap on it and take it. She pushed it down, she was being silly.
“Why are you here, I thought staff in this castle had a curfew while the shield was up?” She asked, more in a hope to dismiss the mare offhandedly than to get a response.
The mare shrank back, a small blush adorned her face as she looked down and to the side, letting that fortress of hair fall over the left of her muzzle. “A-actually I’m not staff, I’m invited to the wedding, I’m the one that’s organising the song bird choir for you.”
Chrysalis turned her whole body around this time giving the mare her full attention, as she looked her up and down again, before her mind clicked with the image of the pony in front of her. “Oh, Fluttershy was it? Yes you’re the one that can command those animals to do your bidding. Quite an impressive feat.” she said with a hint of admiration in her voice.
The mare looked up at her in shock, fleeing from her pink walls of hair, her sapphire eyes alight with a panicked expression. “N-no I don’t control them, I-I just talk to them and ask them nicely, I-I would never do anything to animals if they don’t want to do it!”
Chrysalis refrained from rolling her eyes, instead she slowly turned back to the statue, she did give credit where it was due, the mare had a very useful skill indeed. One she wished she had. Dogs and oddly Owls for some reason or another had a terrible habit of sniffing out Changeling disguises. It wasn’t that surprising for Dogs, given their application in the royal force for sniffing out Spectres and Wraiths.
But Owls?
Life was strange and confusing sometimes.
The two divulged into an awkward silence. Chrysalis too enraptured in her lamenting and Fluttershy not sure how to get out of the conversation she had just engaged herself in. Should she be trying to comfort the bride to be? From what she could only surmise the mare was out here alone because of some pre-wedding jitters, did she need someone to talk to, oh what would Rarity do, should she just leave her be? She tried desperately to convince herself that was the right response, but, as always her inner element got the better of her and she crossed the social no man’s land slumping her body a few hooves away from the Princess.
The disguised Chrysalis grunted in annoyance as she heard the approaching footsteps. “I am fine you know, I don’t need coddling, I’m just…thinking.” It was technically true, lamenting was a form of thinking.
Fluttershy recoiled but stood her ground, “I-I know. I just thought you might like someone to listen to you, I-I just want to say Twilight adores you and even after everything that happened I’m sure she didn’t mean what she said ,she was very stressed that she wasn’t told about the wedding, maybe this was her way of venting... Either way the Twilight I know would never want her soon to be sister-in-law to be sad the day before her wedding, s-so as her friend it’s only right I help her soon to be Sister-in-law while she’s not here.” Fluttershy muttered almost lapsing into silence speak as her words got quieter and quieter towards the last part. She meant what she had said, but even after all this time she still wasn’t used to being around royalty, or new ponies for that matter. This was an entirely new experience for her and she just prayed she was saying the right thing.
Chrysalis gave an inward laugh. Sadness, this mare knew no depth to the very word. Truthfully, the only feeling she had felt for the mare called Twilight before she threw her in the same Tartarus heap she had placed real Princess Cadence was anger and a sweet helping of vengeance for almost destroying her plans.
But actors must play their part.
It wasn’t hard for Chrysalis to act disheartened and unhappy, she already was.
“It’s not what you think. Somethings can’t be overcome simply by talk.” She stated, was she talking in character or was she talking about herself, the question almost applied to both situations. She immediately wanted to recant the statement. she should have just stayed quiet. She was an expert judge of character, she new that this mare was a social mess, and that if she had just toughed it out and stayed silent, the mare would have left eventually.
Right?
She didn’t even know why she was indulging this little mare with talk, it seemed that something in her did in fact want somepony to hear her words.
“I, I know so little about you, I don’t know what troubles you’ve been through. But I know that doing something like talking has to be better than not talking, right?”
“Not if you’ve just murdered somepony.” Chrysalis quipped back, earning a fearful look from the mare.
“That was a joke.” Chrysalis deadpanned after a few awkward seconds.
The mare blushed laughing forcefully as she lowered her posture back down from the scared cat pose it had subconsciously placed itself into. Most ponies were not lax on morbid jokes, it seemed Cadance was not like most ponies. “Oh right, haha… Sorry it’s just a little weird hearing a princess say that. Celestia and Luna are usually so much more conservative around us… Oh sorry, I didn’t mean that to be offensive, it’s nice that you’re not so conservative, I like that I can actually get to know you. Not-Not like that though, you’re getting married that would be strange… I …. I should just go.”
Chrysalis watched this odd pony descend into nonsense, with great mirth, it was oddly hilarious to watch this mare tripping over her words, like a newborn foal tripping over its own four hooves.
She fought back a grin as she once again turned her head to look at the little mare. “Sit back down. Before you stutter yourself into a fit.” Chrysalis commanded lightly.
Fluttershy immediately complied, sitting down and blushing furiously, as she scraped her hoof on the floor.
“Not all ponies are who they appear to be by the way, Celestia maybe the holier than though matriarch of the country, but you would be a fool to think she hasn’t had all four hooves up in the air screaming someponys name once or twice in her life.”
Chrysalis smiled as she saw the mare's face light up in a brilliant red glow. Could faces get that red?
“S-she would never.” The very thought made Fluttershy almost shut down. Celestia in bed, with another pony, doing the… Her mind wouldn’t even let her think the very thought, she replaced the moment with kittens, like she always did when the subject came up. But this time it just wasn’t working.
“Ha, you don’t think so? Perhaps when I walked in as a young filly I was just seeing some stallion fixing her back.” She cackled again, she ‘Chrysalis’ had never actually witnessed this, but she was almost certain Cadence, the rumour that there were more screams from the Canterlot castle living quarters than there ever was from its dungeons, was not always a myth.
Think of the kittens, Think of the kitties, Oh Sweet Apple aches thing of the lovely fluffy kittens! Fluttershy was at this point close to shutting down completely.
Chrysalis stared at the mares face again as she went into overdrive. Oh Ash, she looks like facsimile of a freshly picked tomato. Chrysalis couldn’t contain herself, the fussing the mares complete break down, she could almost see what the mare was currently seeing in her head and when this Fluttershy finally let out a wailing squeal, Chrysalis could contain herself no longer. She collapsed into a world of laughter, almost rolling around on the floor, she could barely contain herself, it wasn’t even so much the joke or the mare, after a while she released she was laughing now, because she was laughing, how long had it been since she had even experienced this odd almost alien emotion with any meaning? And in front of some common pony no less.
Fluttershy for her part just managed to find the diversion she needed as she watched the royal alicorn fall, she turned her head in puzzlement as the royal mare fell into some deep laughing fit, like she had just lost her mind. Did this mean her plan worked? Had she made Cadence feel any better? Well she was laughing sure it looked a bit more scary than heart-warming, but at least she wasn’t sad anymore.
Fluttershy went with the latter idea, happy that she had done something good for the princess.
“Well, Y-you seem better already.” Fluttershy stated as the laughter died down.
The words cut through whatever was left in Chrysalis happiness, an icy realisation for her, and the mare was right, she was feeling better. Quite a bit actually, blinked twice she stood up. She wanted to be mad for allowing this to happen to her but she simply couldn’t, she felt content at this moment or distracted at least. She wouldn’t concentrate on it too much, it had helped regardless.
She sighed with a tiny hint of a smile on her face. “Yes I suppose I am, I expect you wish to gloat now?”
“Why would I do that?” She asked sincerely.
Chrysalis gave her an odd look, why would I? Why wouldn't you? She shook her head “Silly pony. Never mind it’s late and there is much to be done. You should get some sleep.”
Fluttershy looked at the moon, oh, it is getting quite late now, she wasn’t exactly tired, she was to anxious to be tired. But she had just been commanded by a Princess to go to her room, she couldn’t just say no.
“O-Okay then, have a good night Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.” She finished with a bow, before trotting off.
“Y-yes and to you to.” Chrysalis finished awkwardly as the words left her almost before she could catch herself saying them.
She bit her lip watching the mare go, the distaste for the mare left her slightly. She begrudgingly had to admit, she found the pony somewhat acceptable. It was far better than what she felt for the rest of them. She would actually make a conscious effort to insure that she didn’t at least kill that one, if it came to it.
Now then, where is my General?
Pinkie had been pacing in her room, occasionally she stopped to look up at the door. All she had to do was open it, walk over to Twilight and tell her.
How hard could it be, Twilight was her friend, she would understand, right?
Pinkie leaned her head low to the ground and sighed.
If she didn’t even have the courage to go to Twilight, the smartest, most helpful, most understanding mare she knew, where could she turn?
Understanding, well now there was a joke that even Pinkie didn’t find very funny. Today had been a moment of revelation that she had not wanted to ever witness. It was like she had seen a new darker side to Twilight, she never thought she would ever see. One of her superdy duperdy best friends, one she had awesome fun adventures with and shared almost everything about herself with. How could she just do something like that? To her brother, her teacher and her foalsitter.
It was just so, so not Twilight.
Pinkie couldn’t help but wonder, if she had said something before all this went down, would she be in Cadences position right now? Crying and crushed by her friend and her anger.
Another question graced her mind, would the other girls do what they did in the room, or would they side with Twilight, would they turn and yell hurtful things to her?
Pinkie felt her mane deflate.
Of course they would, Cadance was innocent in all this. Not like her, she knew she did something bad.
She kept a bad bad secret and now she was going to pay for it. They were going to find out very soon, she was sure of that. Twilight was always so inquisitive and Rarity always knew when something happened with her friends. She wouldn’t say her friend was a gossipy gabber, that was a bit mean. But she did have a keen eye and even keener ears.
Pinkie sniffed back a tear. This was what she deserved, she was a bad pony. No, pony implied she had some sort of genetic moral compass. She was just bad.
And to make it worse she didn’t have the dignity to tell somepony. Was she any better than what Twilight was doing?
She found she wasn’t able to support herself on her hooves, she sank to her belly.
The plan hadn’t changed, she knew this. It was going to go down tomorrow after the wedding ceremony, maybe in all the commotion and antics her friends wouldn’t find the energy or peace of mind to judge.
It was a flimsy logic, but it was the only one she could think of. It was better this way for her to tell them straight up instead of letting them find out the hard way. It was like her mommy said. Hard truths are like plasters, it’s better to rip it off straight away, instead of pulling it off slowly and writhing in the pain.
Okay her mommy was a bit weird and draconian, but it was how she was raised and Pinkie loved her mommy and daddy. At least she knew that if all this was over she would still be able to go back to them. They would accept her regardless, she knew that as the underlining fact. She just wished it wasn’t the only other choice.
She would miss Ponyville.
Miss Sugarcube Corner.
Miss the Cakes.
And at the utmost she would miss her best friends.
But with something like this she knew there would be sacrifices. Actions, especially bad ones, always had consequences, and she would reap what she sowed.