//------------------------------// // Chaos by ashi // Story: Tainted Love: A Twysalis Prompt Tag Collab // by Foals Errand //------------------------------// by ashi Chrysalis braced herself against the cold, her face practically disappearing into her woolly red scarf, wondering for the millionth time just what it was that had compelled her to agree to this chaotic little jaunt through the Whitetail Woods. The wind was fierce enough to almost knock her on to her behind, and her companion was lagging some way behind as her boots continued to stick in the deep snow. “Now would be a good time for you to grow a pair of wings, Twilight,” said Chrysalis mirthlessly, watching the girl – no, the young woman – negotiate each step like a newly-calved deer. Through gritted teeth, Twilight replied, “And now would be a good time for you to keep quiet and focus on walking.” Of all the people I could've gotten lost in the storm with it just had to be Chrysalis, didn't it? If she could've avoided taking a mouthful of snow, she would've sighed in exasperation at this point. There were few people in the world who knew how to needle her as expertly as CHS' new gym teacher did. “Let's face it,” Chrysalis said, drawing to a halt and trying to peer through the hail, “we've probably been going around in circles ever since we first got separated from the rest of the group. You of all people will know that, without the sun or moon, or any other frame of reference for that matter, it's nigh impossible to keep to a straight line.” Breathing hard, Twilight had to sprint to catch up to where Chrysalis had stopped. Their fellow hikers – composed of a mixture of students and teachers from Canterlot High school – had, so they hoped, been able to forge ahead and make it to base camp before the blizzard had become dangerous. With the countryside buried under several feet of snow, none of the markers depicted on their maps would be of any use. As much as she hated to admit it, Twilight knew that her companion was most likely correct: they were probably retracing their steps over and over again without realising it. Luck was not on their side either; the storm had shown no signs of abating, and if the way the sky was darkening, despite it still being the middle of the afternoon, was any indication it was probably only going to get worse. Twilight huddled deeper inside her jacket, wishing desperately that she'd thought to bring a few more layers. Say, nine or ten. There had been nothing on the news about this kind of weather, and all the forecasts had shown that it would be mild for the rest of the week. Twilight was under the impression that this was yet another one of those freak storms that blew in from the Everfree Forest from time to time. Someone needs to do a proper survey of that place one day, she thought irritably. So many freak happenings seem to occur around there. Of course, the Whitetail Woods weren't any better at the moment. If it hadn't been for the battering hail, the howling wind and the perilous snow, it might actually have been pretty to see the landscape swathed in an endless expanse of white. “Hey, uh.” Chrysalis frowned, suddenly unsure of what it was that she wanted to say. Not that she wanted to start thinking negatively or anything, but unless someone from CHS or the ranger service happened to accidentally stumble across them it was looking increasingly unlikely that she'd have the chance to say anything to anyone ever again. In these conditions you could barely see your own hand in front of your face, never mind find two people lost in the depths of the woods. “I, er, I want to apologise for all the crap I've given you since I got here.” Twilight paused, rather taken aback by what she'd just heard from her colleague. “You? Apologising?” She raised her eyebrow sardonically, though the fact that her face was frozen stiff made it more effort than the gesture was ultimately worth. “You don't think we're gonna make it out of this, do you?” “I'm being serious here,” Chrysalis said, her voice taking on a tone of mock-hurt as she playfully slapped Twilight on the arm. “I know I teased you a lot about being hot for teacher when Principal Celestia asked you to be her new assistant after what happened to Luna and maybe I went a little bit overboard with it.” “Yeah, you were kind of a jerk to me,” Twilight replied, inclining her head slightly in agreement, though she felt far too tired, too cold and too drained to harbour any real sense of malice toward Chrysalis for her asinine behaviour. Plus, she reflected, she just wasn't the sort of person to hold a grudge. What was the point? Besides, the huge crush she'd once held for Celestia while she'd been a student of CHS was so obvious that it was probably visible from some bizarre parallel universe. It was a crush that had gradually faded, however, much to Twilight's surprise; it had begun to disappear when Celestia had asked her to become the new vice-principal during Luna's absence. The principal had needed someone that could be relied upon as a friend, confidante, and was exceedingly thorough in every task assigned to her, no matter how trivial it may have seemed. Who better than the Princess of Books, as Twilight had been nicknamed due to her studious habits and fondness for libraries. “You'll probably end up living in a library,” was a much-loved taunt. Chrysalis extended her gloved hand in Twilight's direction. “Friends?” “Friends.” Twilight took the proffered hand with a wry smile. “So. Have you made your peace, then?” “Yup, no regrets,” replied Chrysalis. Eventually, through the endless sea of white, they were able to discern the opening to a cave; it wasn't exactly an ideal shelter, but under the circumstances there wasn't a whole lot of choice when it came to places that they could hunker down until the storm passed. Any port in a storm, as the old saying went. “Of course,” Chrysalis said, shooting Twilight a surly look, “with our luck there'll be a ravenous bear in there that'll tear us apart the second we try to cross the threshold.” “Shall I call Fluttershy? She can talk down almost anything,” replied Twilight, feeling a slight pang of regret the moment she mentioned the name. “Or Rainbow Dash? She could barrel through this snow until we got to safety.” She suppressed a sigh as she reminisced over her dear friends, all of them having long since moved on from Canterlot to new places. “Come on.” Chrysalis grabbed the recalcitrant Twilight's arm and urged her inside the safety of the cave. “You'll catch your death if you stay out there much longer.” “Oh.” Twilight shook her head to clear the sudden downpour of memories she was being deluged with. “Right.” * The cave wasn't very deep, but it was incredibly narrow, so Twilight and Chrysalis were forced into some uncomfortably close quarters in order to get far enough into the hollow that the worst of the wind and snow could no longer reach them. They placed their backpacks in front of the entrance to provide additional protection from the elements; in the end, apart from the sharp rocks digging into their legs and backs, it was actually pretty cosy. If only they'd packed a picnic … “How long d'you think this'll go on for?” asked Twilight, wishing that she could stretch out her aching joints, but was prevented from doing so by both the tightness of the cave and the proximity of Chrysalis. Any sudden moves and one of them was likely to end up maimed. “Damned if I know,” replied Chrysalis heatedly, feeling the effects of the cavern a little more acutely than Twilight. She'd hated small spaces ever since she was a child. “They average about four or five hours, but given that this is a freak storm that no one predicted …” She hesitated before adding, “Some of them have been known to last for days on end.” “D-Days?” Twilight's eyes widened in fear. Surviving five hours, even in the relative safety provided by the cave, was going to be a big ask. Putting as much teacherly authority into her voice as she could muster – which wasn't a whole lot, truth be told, because she preferred to take a more laid back, nonchalant approach both at work and at home – Chrysalis looked Twilight straight in her pretty mulberry eyes and said, “Look, all we can do right now is try to keep our spirits up. Whether it's for hours or days, we are gonna be stuck here for a while and our energy is too precious to waste on fretting.” For just a moment, Twilight looked at Chrysalis the way she used to look at Celestia. She shook her head as soon as she realised what she was doing and blushed, hoping that her companion hadn't noticed. “Right. You're absolutely right.” She took a deep breath and found, to her surprise, when she blew it out that a lot of her nervousness dissipated along with the rapidly evaporating crystals of ice. “So, uh, should we do something to pass the time?” “Like what?” “Um, we could play a game? Or tell stories? I mean, we're gonna end up going stir crazy pretty quickly if we don't find something to keep our minds occupied.” “Fancy a game of I Spy?” Chrysalis asked sarcastically. “I'm glad you haven't lost your impeccable sense of humour, anyway,” Twilight replied with a roll of her eyes. Chrysalis pulled her knees up to her chest and folded her arms around them in order to keep as much warmth in as possible; she hoped that it was too dark for Twilight to see how on edge she was, and she quickly came to the conclusion that a distraction would be welcome at the moment. “Fine. Tell me a story. How are things going with Dreamy McCuteBottom?” “With who?” Twilight's eyes narrowed as she ran through the list of people she knew; it took a moment, but then she remembered the stupid nickname some snotty girls had come up with after his, ahem, energetic dance moves during a music contest a few years back. “Flash Sentry?” “Yeah, him. You two seemed pretty tight. When you weren't swooning over Celestia, that is.” “I thought you were gonna stop that?” Twilight said darkly. “Sorry, habit. Anyway, spill.” Once upon a time, it would've been a sore subject to contemplate, but time, as it always did, had salved the wound. Her one foray into the world of dating. “He was too hung up on another girl. His first girlfriend, in fact. I suppose if I'd been a bit less naïve about romance, I would've cottoned on a lot quicker than I did that he wasn't really satisfied with me.” Twilight laughed sourly. “Actually, I haven't thought about him much lately. I mean, I was heartbroken at first, but after a while it seemed pointless to bemoan the fact that he'd ditched me for her. Honestly, I hope he and Sunset Shimmer are happy now.” She shot Chrysalis a look. “How about you? Seeing anyone?” Shifting awkwardly, as much due to the cave as Twilight's question, Chrysalis said, “Me? Nah. Free spirit. I don't go for all that mushy stuff.” “Rainbow Dash used to have that exact same attitude, you know?” replied Twilight. “Look at her now: married to a Wondercolt and expecting her first child. I don't think settling down necessarily means having to give up your freedom.” If she got out of this alive, Twilight decided that the first thing that she was going to do was look up all her old friends and arrange some kind of reunion party at Sugarcube Corner. It had been so long since they'd seen each other properly; after college, they'd promised to stay in touch, but as always real life happened and got in the way. Still, who could resist the siren call of Sugarcube Corner's hot chocolate and pastries? It would be heaven. “You're drooling,” said Chrysalis dryly. “I wouldn't mind, but you're leaking it on to my shoulder.” “Hm? Oh!” Twilight wiped away the sticky film of saliva collecting on her chin with her gloved hand and looked sheepish. “Sorry, I was thinking about Sugarcube Corner.” “Ah, say no more,” replied Chrysalis knowingly. “I would commit murder to get at one of their pecan pie slices right about now.” A hideous, echoing rumble filled the cave at that moment, and for a split-second Chrysalis was afraid that the bear she'd prophesied earlier had come for them. “What the …?” “Uh.” Twilight blushed and patted her stomach gently, wishing that she'd been in charge of the backpack with the food in it. “Maybe we shouldn't discuss food?” “Good plan,” Chrysalis said sagely and changed the subject. “So. Sunset Shimmer, eh? She was kind of a Queen Bee, from what I heard around the school, and I'm not talking about the insect variety.” “You're one to talk. Ow.” The Ow had been elicited from the younger woman by a sharp poke in the ribs courtesy of Chrysalis' bony elbow. The older woman shot her companion a toothy smirk. “You deserved that.” “Fair enough,” said Twilight, wincing slightly and feeling as though Chrysalis had overreacted. She shook her head. “But yeah, Sunset Shimmer was a little bit difficult in the beginning. Once you got to know her, though, she was actually quite a nice person. She'd had kind of a rough childhood and liked to keep people at a distance unless she felt she could trust them. It took a lot for anyone to get close to her, though she finally mellowed out during her last couple of years at school. Mostly, the kids just remember her worst aspects, unfortunately.” “I didn't have such a great childhood either. It doesn't give you a license to treat people however you wish,” Chrysalis replied. “People will use any excuse for their behaviour, but it's ultimately up to them how they choose to act.” “What was it like? Your childhood, I mean?” Off Chrysalis' look, Twilight said, “You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, of course. I was just curious.” Like I am about everything. I should just learn to keep my big trap shut. “Oh, it wasn't anything terrible, really. I was just kinda … forgotten about, I suppose.” Chrysalis rubbed the back of her neck, unsure as to how to put her difficult thoughts into words. It wasn't something she'd ever spoken about before, and hadn't ever expected to. Still, that look from Twilight Sparkle was difficult to ignore. What impressed her was the knowledge that it wasn't even politeness, or the sympathy a teacher was expected to display when confronted with a problem, but the actual, genuine empathy that a person had to be born with. “What you say to me doesn't leave this cave,” Twilight said, putting her hand on Chrysalis'. “My parents,” Chrysalis continued, taking Twilight's hand in her own, “they were always fighting, and it was pretty obvious from a young age that they hadn't been happy with each other in a long time. Hardly a day went by without one of them threatening to leave the other, and I soon began to see this as normal.” Her chest felt heavy and the beat of her heart quickened. “I learned later that it was all my fault. My father was on the cusp of leaving when he discovered that my mother was pregnant with me. He couldn't bring himself to abandon us, but he, uh, made it repeatedly clear that he blamed me for the situation and for ruining his dreams.” “I'm so sorry that you had to go through that.” People had this crazy notion that verbal abuse wasn't as harmful as physical, but they were so wrong; the scars it left often ran deeper, too, and could affect someone long into adulthood. Twilight realized that her own formative years had been, for want of a better word, perfect: her parents never argued, at least never about anything serious; her older brother was always looking out for her, even rushing to her aid whenever she was bullied at school; and her former babysitter, now sister-in-law, was about the sweetest, kindest soul on the planet. Add to that, five of the best friends one could ever hope for, and the most loyal, attentive dog it was possible to imagine. “Naturally, I got out of there as soon I as could,” Chrysalis went on, “and I ended up getting myself into one bad relationship after another.” Names and faces flashed before her eyes: Tirek, Sombra, Discord. She seemed to attract the worst possible men. Manipulative, emotionally-needy, cruel. “They'd start out all right at first, but as soon as they got what they wanted from me, they were quick to turn into monsters. That's why I've not been in a relationship for a long time. I don't want to take the chance on giving my heart to someone only for them to step on it.” She let out a pent-up sigh. “Sorry for dumping all this on you.” That said, Chrysalis did feel a lot better for having got this off her chest at last. “I just wish I could do something to help,” Twilight said. “If you ever want to talk more, I'll be there for you.” “If you really wanna help, you could let me use you as a pillow,” Chrysalis said, arching her back until a satisfying click reverberated through her spine. “I'm bushed.” “Yes, Your Majesty,” said Twilight with a slight shake of her head. She lifted up her arm to allow Chrysalis to rest her head against her side, however; with nothing else for it, once the woman had gotten herself into a snug half-sitting/half-lying position, she let the arm go around Chrysalis' shoulders. “Comfy?” “Eh, it'll do,” Chrysalis, who was already beginning to nod-off, replied with a tired smile. “You might want to get some shut-eye, too. From the sound of things, this storm's going to be an all-nighter.” So wrapped up had she been in Chrysalis' story, Twilight had completely forgotten about the storm raging outside; she shifted her legs until they were a bit more comfortable, and less prone to having her legs jabbed by the plethora of stones dotted around the cave floor, then placed her head atop Chrysalis'. The wind blowing past, coupled with Chrysalis' light breathing, was oddly comforting and the sounds lulled Twilight to sleep. Just before drifting off, she heard two words, “Thank you.”