Chapter 97 - Every Empire needs a Queen
Chrysalis yawned as she stared out of the train window. Amy had hogged this seat for most of the trip, but pregnant mares needed to pee sooner or later, so the queen pounced the second she left her seat.
Unfortunately, the scenery was boring. Snow, rocks, snow, mountains… did she mention snow yet?
She really hoped Ace’s idea of a honeymoon wasn’t some survival hike or some such nonsense. That would put a dampener on things.
Then she suddenly shuddered, like she just had her face pressed into water for a moment. What the ever-loving fuck was that?
Oh, now you’re an interesting one… she heard in her head. Not like your friend at all…
There… there was a voice in her head.
…
Why was there a voice in her head?
She gulped and closed her eyes. Nope. She wasn’t going crazy. Not at all. Just… just ignore it. Yeah. That was a good plan.
You know, I don’t really like being ignored, little form-changer. I know you can hear me…
Lalalala! I can’t hear you. Not going crazy, can’t hear voices. My Little Pony~ My Little Ponnyyy~
Oh, you’re going to be like that, are you? Perhaps I should tell you who I am. I’m the Crystal Heart. It’s my job to keep the Crystal Empire safe.
You could almost hear the record scratch on Chrysalis’s mental song.
“Crystal… Heart…?”
Then she started screaming and running for the back of the train. Her screams quickly became the ones that were drowned out, though.
Because now, Amy was screaming from the bathroom. And they were screams of pain.
“What the pluck?” Aerial Ace looked at his two wives and why they had snapped. He frowned and stood up, grabbed Chrysalis and planted her between Palette and Critical. “Watch her please,” he said and moved to the bathroom. “Amy dear, what’s wrong. Are you hurt!?” He sounded rather panicked.
The only reply Amy gave him was a low groan before she started screaming again. Chrysalis, however…
I have one job above all others, the Heart said to her. I am to protect this city from darkness. Darkness which you have brought here.
Chrysalis’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “If you hurt her,” she said. “You think you know Darkness? You think you have seen evil? If you hurt my beloved Amy… then I will stop at nothing! Nothing until you and your entire Empire lays in ruin!!”
Darkness must be purged, the Heart responded. If she is strong and gives into the process, she will come out stronger for it, cleaner. If she resists…
“I swear to the Hives I will feed you to a fucking dragon…” Chrysalis growled as she moved to the bathroom. “Move Aerial.”
The griffon didn’t even get a chance to respond before Chrysalis tore the door off with her magic and stepped inside, taking Amy and holding her close. “Shhh, it’s okay,” she said in a surprisingly soothing tone as she moved a hoof through her mane. “I know it hurts. But trust me, it’ll be okay. Stop fighting. Do you trust me, love?”
“C-Chryssy,” Amy moaned as what looked like a black cloud escaped from her mouth. “It...it hurts…”
Chrysalis fought the urge to recoil, Ace seeing this and moved to the doorway, to block anypony else from coming in.
“I know…” Chrysalis said, holding her closer. “It’s okay. Just… just think of it like some icky medicine. It’s yucky now, but you’ll feel better soon. I promise.” Because that Empire will fucking burn if she wasn’t.
The Pink nymph nodded shakily, taking a deep breath, and letting out a long, shuddering cough. With each exhale, more of that black smoke was ejected from her. Chrysalis twitched and she felt sick to her stomach. What was that disgusting stuff?
She closed her eyes as her chitin was replaced with white fur, her mane switched with a full-bodied teal one and her wickedly curved horn made way for a long, white spiralled one. Her Cutie Mark, a pair of beautiful butterfly wings, shone softly as she opened her mouth and started to sing a lullaby, as her horn gave of a gentle and calming glow.
Eventually Amy fell into a nap, as the last of the black smoke was pulled from her.
Darkness has been purged, the Heart said to Chrysalis, before the cloud of blackness dissipated. No longer is she a threat.
“She was never one to begin with!” Chrysalis found herself replying. “I swear, if you’ve hurt her, or the little one she’s carrying…”
All I did was pull the taint and possibility of Dark Magic from her. This city has suffered under one such unicorn already, thank you very much. Yes, it might have been a little...proactive. But I would prefer to treat it now than to let it fester.
Chrysalis snorted and decided that ignoring this… thing, for now was the better idea. She was going to have words with Cadence though.
Words that might involve a hoof to the face.
I am sorry that you had to be greeted in such a way. But welcome to the Empire nonetheless. I hope your stay isn’t fouled by this occurrence. With that, the Heart stopped talking to her.
Fouled he says… yeah, that introduction was real smooth.
“Is she okay?” Ace finally dared speak. For all the beauty his wife had, the look she had in her eyes now… it terrified even him.
“Won’t know for sure until she wakes up,” Chrysalis sighed. ‘But I believe so. If… what I know is to be believed. Then, she should be better than what she has been for a long time…”
Once they reached the Empire, the trio bid farewell to Palette and Critical, before the Changeling Queen marched right towards that gaudy palace. Seriously, did Twilight’s come from here as well?
“Chryssie?” Ace said, walking next to her as Amy rested on the nymphs back. “The hotel isn’t…”
“We’re not going to the hotel just yet,” Chrysalis said as she continued her stride. “I have a meeting to attend to first.”
Aerial Ace blinked and then moved to stand in front of her. “Chryssie. What’s going on?”
“Oh, that’s simple~” she giggled and kissed his beak. “I just need to have a little chat with the princess is all.”
As she walked off, Ace shook his head and followed. The least he could do is stop her from doing something stupid.
Getting past the guards at the entrance had been… well, Chrysalis understood why she was able to invade Canterlot so easily.
And when she strode into the throne room, just as Cadence and Shining Armor finished a conversation about something, she resumed her changeling form and smiled.
“Hello Lovebirds~” her voice dripping with venom.
“Chrysalis?” Cadence said. “I knew you were coming, but you’d think you’d be a little at ease here. The other changelings that live and visit here certainly are…” She didn’t finish as the back of the changeling’s hoof met the side of the alicorn’s face.
“At ease?” she spat. “At ease!?” Chrysalis was currently the embodiment of rage right now. “Then explain why something called The Crystal Heart, tried to kill my wife!?!?”
That was about when she found herself in a glowing pink bubble and moved far away from Cadence, thanks to Shining Armor standing nearby.
“Aerial!” Chrysalis had completely forgotten about Shining. What? He just wasn’t a memorable pony. “Do your pretty wife a favour. Tear of his horn and shove it up his a—”
That was about when Shining added a silence spell as well.
“Oh dear,” Ace sighed as he stroked the shield. “I’m sorry about that. But she is speaking the truth believe it or not. Once we passed the barrier to your country. My dear Amy found herself in excruciating pain. She has yet to awaken from the ordeal.”
His tone was polite and calm… so why did it feel like he was currently the most dangerous being in the room?
“That’s highly unlikely,” the pink alicorn said as she rubbed the side of her face. “The Heart only reacts like that when there is a presence of Dark Magic within its sphere of influence. When it detects anything like that, it does its best to purge the Dark influence from whatever it’s sensed.” She looked to the little sleeping nymph still on Chrysalis’ back. “And she seems far too cute to be any sort of dark wizard.”
“I am sworn to protect the Princesses,” Ace said. “But I warn you. Do be very careful of what you’re accusing my wife of.” He raised a fist and smacked it against the shield surrounding Chrysalis. Spiderweb-like cracks formed across it, before it shattered completely.
“Oh goodie, can I spill some blo-”
“Be good,” Ace said sternly and took Amy from her back. He walked towards Cadence with a serious expression on his face. “You have medics here yes? I want to know if my Amy is alright.”
“I’ll send for a doctor,” Cadance said. “But if what you say is true and she’s still breathing, then she should be fine. She might be a little tired when she wakes up, but the Heart primarily tries to save ponies from Dark Magic. The only real observed instance of it doing otherwise was when Sombra…”
Ech, I hate that name, the Heart whispered into Chrysalis’ mind. Memories of a time I could have done better.
“Oh shut the hell up!” Chrysalis said aloud and then looked at the ponies staring at her. “What? That snarky Heart of yours just talks and talks…”
Shining and Cadence shared a look before the pink alicorn spoke up. “Impossible, the Heart is just a very powerful artifact. It isn’t alive.”
Just because she can’t hear me...has she even tried?
“Yeah, have you even tried?” Chrysalis agreed. Then she frowned. “Oh great, now I’m agreeing with the stupid thing that hurt my Amy!”
Hey, I would like to see you treat that Dark Magic of hers any other way! Yeah, it hurt a lot taking it out of her like that, but on the bright side, now, her foal can’t be affected by its presence in her anymore!
Meanwhile, Cadance was voicing her disbelief. “I’ll take you to where the Heart is and prove to you that it’s just an artifact, if it’ll stop this ridiculous train of thought.” She turned to Ace and bowed her head. “If you take...Amy? there, to the medical floor, they’ll treat her as best as they can until she awakens.”
“Thank you, your highness,” Ace nodded and kissed Chrysalis. “Try not to do anything foolish while I’m gone?”
“No promises,” Chrysalis said and turned back to Cadence. “And… sorry for punching you. I was just really mad and… yeah, sorry again.”
“I of all ponies can understand fighting for what you love,” Cadence said with a wink. “I suppose I should have expected you to be at my throat within a few minutes of walking into my city, though.”
“I’ll lead you to the medical floor,” Shining said to Ace. “It’s the least I can do to help.”
“Thanks Captain,” Ace sighed. “I can’t believe she hit Princess Cadence…”
“Grr, Fine!” Chrysalis stomped her hoof. “You get one free shot alright, though I should take that last snide remark as one.”
“Maybe later,” Cadence said. “Come on, let’s go see the Heart and put this ridiculous notion to rest.”
“Oh, this is going to be fun,” Chrysalis muttered as she followed the alicorn.
The Heart hung there, slowly turning under the palace and surrounded by no less than a dozen guards. With a nod from Cadence, they parted to allow her and Chrysalis access to the artifact.
“See?” Cadence said as she showed it off to the changeling. “Just an artifact.”
“Ohh, so it really is just a floating crystal?” Chrysalis said. “Now, where did I put my sledgehammer..?”
Hey! the Heart said as it spun a little faster. I don’t think about overloading you with so much love that you’d explode! Do me the same favor of not trying to kill me!
“That’s odd,” the alicorn said. “It normally just hangs there, it doesn’t spin like that…”
“Because it’s begging for it’s life,” Chrysalis purred. “I do love that. You know just how to moisten me up Heart~”
I’m not joking, the Heart said. I likely could overload you with love if I thought I was in any real danger. Granted, I wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone for about a month afterwards, but I have a way to defend myself if I really think I’m in danger.
“And yet, Sombra locks you in a tower like a foalnapped Princess,” Chrysalis smirked. “Besides, you could do that… if I were still a Changeling~”
Okay, A) he used his dark magic to sneak up on me and take me out of here, where I’m strongest. And B), what are you talking about?
“You don’t know?” Chrysalis asked. “I’m something called a… what did Sparkle say it was again? I left that book behind by accident.” She tapped her chin and closed her eyes for a moment. “Oh yes! A Flutterpony.”
I haven’t seen one of those for a thousand years, the Heart said. And I’m even taking the bloody time-stop out of the equation when I say that. Goodness me, but aren’t you a rarity. I had wondered where all the Flutterponies had gone to...guess some of them became Changelings.
“What’s going on here?” Cadence finally said, getting annoyed about a one-sided conversation.
“He’s about to tell me all about Flutterhorses,” Chrysalis said.
“This is ridiculous,” the pink alicorn said. “You know how silly this seems, right? You could just be making it up to make me look bad. What proof do you have that this artifact is actually sentient?”
Tell her that I’m happy all her work at producing an heir has finally paid off~
“Oh, you’re pregnant?” Chrysalis looked at Cadence. “How wonderful~”
“How did you know that?” the pink alicorn hissed. Chrysalis relished in her expression and smiled, pointing at the Heart.
“Ask him~”
“This is just insanity,” the alicorn said. “How in the world can you expect me to believe that you actually talked to the artifact keeping us all safe? How could I even verify that?”
There’s a lovely scroll down in the library, detailing a spell that rulers used to communicate with me, the Heart said.
“Spell in your library,” Chrysalis abbreviated. “I’m sure you can figure out the rest on your own. I have a wife to check on.”
“Of course,” Cadence said as she looked at the Heart one last time. It was just crazy, right? There was no way the Heart was sentient. No way at all. Somepony would have told her, surely.
In the medical wing, Chrysalis wasted no time in just teleporting directly to them, appearing right in front of Shining Armor.
“Oh, hello former lover. Are you doing well?”
“Better every day you’re gone,” the white unicorn said. “You’ll be happy to know that the pink changeling will be fine with some rest. The doctors have put her on an IV just in case she doesn’t wake up for a while. Took some doing to get one under her chitin, but we managed.”
“Good, and your wife is still alive as well, though she’s a bit confused and annoyed.” Chrysalis went to walk away, before pausing and smiling. “Oh, and congrats about that bun in her oven~”
Shining sputtered before shaking his head and walking away, muttering something about changelings knowing too much for their own good.
“Oh that’s going to be…” She paused. She couldn’t help it. It had to be said.
“Don’t forget to tell Twilight via letter once the foal is born.” she called out. There was the sound of a pony tripping down the hall.
“Hehehe,” Chrysalis giggled and walked into the room to see Amy on the bed, that ridiculous machine hooked up to her. “Well this is a fine fucking way to spend our honeymoon,” she muttered. Ace wasn’t here, and a word from the nurse said that he’d gone to procure some drinks and food. In case Amy was hungry when she woke up.
“You’d better wake up soon,” she sighed as she lay her head on the bed. “Or I’ll steal Acey all for myself.”
Remarkably, there was a slight, near-imperceptible twitch from the nymph when Chrysalis said that.
“And there’s your not-as-secret-as-you-think-it-is stash of ice-cream at home,” Chrysalis giggled. “I’ll be sure to eat that in your honor.”
Another twitch, this time of one eyelid before it closed again.
“Ooh, and our foal. I’ll be sure to raise it to be a good little overlord. We’ll rule Equestria together!”
The nymph let out a groan this time, and turned to one side, trying her hardest to stay asleep. She hurt so much…
“But none of that matters,” Chrysalis said softly. “Not without you here…”
“Chryssy, shutup,” Amy muttered. “Tryin’ to sleep here…”
“Don’t tell me to…” Chrysalis paused and blinked. Before she squealed happily and pulled the pink nymph into a hug.
“Hurts!” Amy said. Chrysalis had pinched the IV line in her haste to hug her, and it hurt! The nymph gasped and put her down, bowing her head repeatedly as she apologised again and again.
“Whats going on in here?’ Ace said was he walked in and saw Amy awake.
That was when she had to suffer through another hug. Fortunately this time, Acey hadn’t pinched anything delicate, so she simply groaned as her sore body was subjected to another hug that she was unprepared for.
And that's when Chrysalis sniffed, and started to cry.
“Acey,” Amy said. “Go cheer up Chryssy, I’m not ready for a hug just yet.”
“I was worried about you, you pink idiot!” Chrysalis sniffed as Ace put an arm around her shoulders.
“It’s true,” Ace nodded. “She carried you here all the way from the train. Oh, and she punched Cadence in the face…”
“Chryssy,” Amy moaned. “Why would you do that? Now Shiny’s gonna be on us for our whole stay…”
“It'll be alright,” Ace said and kissed his little pink mare. “We were just really worried about you is all.” He brushed her mane a little and smiled. “Would you like a drink? Something to eat?”
“I’ll tell you what I want,” Amy said. “I want you to turn off those machines and unhook me from them, so that it doesn’t hurt when I’m hugged wrong.”
Ace nodded and he reached over and flipped the switch, before taking the needle that was in her leg. “This will pinch a bit, okay?” He leaned over and kissed her, slowly removing the needle as he did. She hissed a little, but let out a sigh in relief at finally getting that out of her.
“Thank you, Acey,” she said. “Thank you, Chryssy. Now I want to drink a gallon of water and rest for a day. Whatever happened to me left me feeling drained.”
“Can do,” Ace said and poured her a glass, leaving the pitcher beside her bed. He also turned and did something she couldn’t see, and when he turned back around?
He presented her with a bowl of strawberry ice-cream.
“Aww,” Amy said, touched by the gesture. “You remembered.”
“Of course,” he replied and kissed her again.
“Still gonna smash that stupid Heart,” Chrysalis muttered. “I don’t care if he did help…”
Little one, the Heart said, speaking to both Amy and Chrysalis. Did you want to be touched by Darkness anymore? To hear the call of darker powers? All I did was remove it...but Darkness...it never relinquishes a host easily or painlessly. I did what I could to lessen the pain...but it fights me to stay in…
“Chryssy, why am I hearing a voice in my head?” Amy asked aloud as she went for the water first.
“Oh, well apparently the Crystal Empire, which is where we are coincidentally, is protected by a crystallized version of Ledger.” Chrysalis snarked.
I remember that Changeling. He was fun~ the Heart said.
“So this...Heart, it...removed the Black from me?” Amy asked slowly. “I can’t...ever go back, no matter how sad I might get?”
That is what I did, yes. And I’m sorry it hurt so badly. Apparently it really didn’t want to let go of you for some reason…
“Because Amethyst is far too cute to ever let go of,” Chrysalis added.
Then the pink ‘ling said three little words.
“I forgive you.”
Ace and Chrysalis paused and looked at her. “Well there you have it,” the griffon chuckled. “Amy can never stay mad at anyone… besides…” He leaned over and rubbed her cheek. “I'm just glad I have one less thing to worry about with her.”
“So’m I!” the pink nymph chirped, now that she’d drank her fill. She then moved to the bowl of ice-cream and looked at the gryphon. “Spoon?”
He held a spoon, as did Chrysalis…
The griffon started, by taking a small spoonful and smiling. “Say ahh.” The pink nymph obligingly opened her mouth wide. The griffon fed her as Chrysalis took her spoon, waiting for the nymph to finish before she mirrored Ace’s actions.
“Y’know, if not for the whole excruciating pain bit, I think I could go for this sort of action more often,” the pink nymph observed.
“Then look forward to ice-cream in bed more often,” Ace chuckled. Chrysalis pouted and the griffon rolled his eyes. “Fine, you can have ice-cream as well.”
Chrysalis smiled and mimicked Fluttershy’s voice. “Yay~”
“Sorry for being such a downer on the first day of our honeymoon, guys,” Amy said sadly.
“Ah well, such is life,” Ace shrugged. “It just means you can make it up to us later.”
Then Chrysalis chuckled…
“Still,” Amy said wistfully. “At least now we don’t have to worry about me or the foal anymore!”
“Trust me love, you still give me plenty to worry about,” Aerial deadpanned as he fed her more ice-cream and took a bite for himself. “But yes.”
Chrysalis nodded and closed her eyes. “For what it's worth… thank you Heart.”
Just doing my job, the Heart replied. Just doing what I was made to do.
“Doesn't matter. You helped her when you could have ignored her…” Chrysalis smiled and captured Amy in another, gentler hug. “Also, have fun screwing with Candy.”
I could never ignore anypony in need of help, the Heart said, before his tone turned far more wistful. And oh, do I ever intend to mess with Cadence~
“Excellent~” Chrysalis purred as she took a bite of ice-cream and then fed it to Amy… with her mouth~
The pink nymph moaned into the kiss, enjoying it quite a bit. Both for how it tasted and who was doing it. Eventually though, it had to break. “Whew,” Amy said as she smiled at the pair of them. “So how about we get me checked out of here and we find our hotel before things get any more steamy in here?”
“You sure you're up for leaving?” Ace asked worriedly.
“I already feel a little better than when I woke up,” Amy said, stretching a little. “Now it just feels like I exercised way too much.”
The benefits of being in a love-rich environment, the Heart said. Also the least I can do by way of apology to her.
“Well, isn't that convenient,” Chrysalis mused as she gently lifted Amy and placed her on Ace’s back, amidst his soft feathers. “Let’s go then. I find pony hospitals to be a bit depressing.”
Amy demonstrated that she was already feeling a bit better by doing one simple thing.
“Mush!” she commanded Ace.
The griffon rolled his eyes again before giving a noise that was a mix between a neigh and a roar, before prancing off like a showpony. Chrysalis snorted and followed them. This week should be interesting.
Princess Cadence poured over some scrolls, rubbing at her eyes as she yawned. Studying was Twilight’s shtick.
And then she found something. A spell called Heart to Heart.
“Is this it?” she wondered aloud. It didn’t look that difficult to cast…
So she lit up her horn and cast the spell…
Finally! It only took you a bloody year to open your heart up to me! Did you never think that maybe, just maybe, I wanted to talk to you?!
Cadence responded like any other pony would.
She let out a filly-like shriek and fell off of the back of her chair.
“Owww,” she moaned, rubbing her flanks. “W-Who’s there?”
I’m the little voice in your head~ Also the little gem at the base of the castle, in case you were wondering. Hi, I’m the Crystal Heart, thanks for finally finding that scroll. I’ve been bored out of my metaphorical head until the Changelings came along. They can hear me without needing to jump through any hoops.
“Unbelievable,” Cadence thought to herself. “Was Chrysalis actually telling the truth?”
I mean, don’t get me wrong here Candy, you’ve done quite well by the residents here. And if you see that purple unicorn again, tell her good work on getting me out of that tower before Sombra took over again. But maybe, just maybe, you should have had someone go over what was in the library on day flipping one?!
“To be fair, I had higher priorities than reading,” Cadence replied. “But I am sorry. Still, we're talking now yes?” This is still so weird…
Fair enough...Like I said, you genuinely care about the ponies here, so you’re automatically good in my books. Still, the tradition was a new ruler would at least try to talk to me once they took the throne. I was waiting for so long…
“Well it didn't help that Sombra burnt a lot of the books that were in the castle,” Cadence said. “If it wasn't for the advice of my Aunt Celestia, I doubt I'd have even made it this far.”
I sort of saw what he did when he locked me away. My range was reduced to the castle, but I could still see... Don’t worry about the books, though. I’ve got a wonderful memory~ And I want to talk to this Aunt of yours, if she’s wise enough to have gotten you here when you were needed.
“Aunt Celestia is a wonderful pony,” Cadence smiled. “I'll send her a letter, I'm sure she'd love to meet you too.”
So, yeah. Hi. I’m the one keeping the cold weather out. Thanks for finally talking to me. And, uh, I’m sorry for hurting that nymph on her way in. She was touched by Dark Magic, though. Had to drag it out of her, because it didn’t want to let go. I’m sure she’s nice, but after Sombra, I’m not letting a scrap of that stuff in here if I can avoid it.
“Yes, well… apparently it's a common problem amongst them,” Cadence sighed. “Ledger suffered from it as well. But Twilight was able to heal him.”
Iiiiinteresting. Do you think you could ask her for her notes on the matter? It might help me in case any of the other little ‘lings in the city come down with it.
“I'll ask, but I'll warn you now. Twilight Sparkle is… inquisitive.” Cadence giggled and smiled. “She’s very cute though.”
I’m an inanimate hunk of rock, I can’t do any of that. Not that I haven’t watched. The stories I could tell~
“Oh?” Cadence’s eyes twinkled. “Do tell~”
Well there was this time a particularly pink pony and a white one decided to invite a changeling into their palace for a wedding-
“Okay! Not so curious now!” Cadence blushed and looked around. “Geez, seriously?”
Hey, I see everything in the city. Including what you and your husband get up to. There is quite literally nothing I can’t see if I don’t look. And for the longest time, I was just following you around, waiting for you to actually talk to me. I might look around now that that’s happened.
“You mean… you saw… when we… in the throne…” Cadence’s speech devolved into splutters and squeaks as her blush grew.
I have to say, I approve of the way you broke in your new throne room~ And in case you were wondering, you are far from the first.
“Dammit,” Cadence coughed and shook her head. “Right. So, now what? Are we permanently linked, or something like that?”
Oh, no, not at all! But now if you want to talk to me, you know the spell. And I can actually send a message to you through any ‘ling in the city if I find something I think you need to know and want to talk to you!
“Just don't bug them too much, I think most of them have short tempers.” Cadence stifled a giggle. Maybe she could give one a job as the Official Translator for the Heart.
I know, they think I’m just a spooky ghost...something I may or may not have done just as a prank...that really backfired. Most don’t even respond to my calls anymore.
“Well that'll teach you,” Cadence giggled. “I should get going. I have a lot of work to do now…” She paused and looked in the Heart’s direction. “And no more spying on my time with Shiny!”
I’ll try not to, but you’re just so amorous...I am going to pay attention when there’s something going on, of course, but I apologize in advance if I happen to see something.
“Well, maybe I'll put on a show~” Cadence replied in a husky tone and cut the spell before the Heart could reply. Hee, won't Shiny be surprised to learn of this.
Well, the Heart thought to itself. My life just got a lot more interesting~
Ace, Amy and Chrysalis finally arrived at their hotel, a very fancy place with a rather courteous steward. When they were shown to their room, Ace saw a large bed expertly created from cloud.
“Never seen a place use cloudbeds before,” he mused.
“One of our previous guests came up with the idea,” the steward replied. “We've employed the idea ever since.”
“Clouds are fun,” Amy said from atop Ace. “Remember our first date?”
“How could I ever forget?” Ace replied, pecking her cheek.
“Never slept on a cloud before…” Chrysalis said. The griffon chuckled. She was in for quite the treat.
“Should you require anything, do not hesitate to ask,” the steward said courteously. He bowed his head and left after Ace passed a few bits his way.
“Well, shall we rest for a bit?” Ace suggested.
“Resting on a cloud bed sounds good to me,” Amy agreed.
Chrysalis looked at the bed and frowned. “Can… can a changeling actually sleep on clouds?”
“A fair point,” Ace said. “Amy… or rather, Cherry was a pegasus at the time.”
“Only one way to find out!” Amy said. “I know you’ll catch me if I fall through, so go on and put me on there, Acey.”
“Here we go,” Ace replied as the nymph sunk into the clouds, before they sprung back, allowing the mare to rest comfortably on them.
“Hee, this bed is nice and comfy,” the nymph said, giggling a little. “Just like how I remember it. C’mon on Acey, Chryssy.” She patted the bed on either side of her. “Plenty of room here~”
Ace wasted no time in climbing on as Chrysalis placed a hoof against it and pressed. The cloud seemed to resist…
“Well… here goes,” she murmured and climbed on, wobbling a little before falling down next to Amy.
“And now we’re starting this honeymoon off right,” Amy said as she drew her griffon and nymph into a hug.
“A few bumps along the way,” Ace nodded. “I wonder if Ledger passed his usual troubles off onto us?”
“Sparkle totally cursed us,” Chrysalis nodded. “I think the cure lies in cuddles, kisses and… other things~”
“I’ll say yes to the first two, but I’m still pretty sore and ready to nap to recover from what happened,” Amy said. “I might just nod off while cuddling you two, actually.”
“Fair enough,” Chrysalis nodded and kissed her passionately. “A little taste of later~”
“You know, I think stallions are onto something here,” Ace nodded. “Two mares making out is pretty hot.”
“Mm, don’t let me stop you if you want some time alone with Acey, Chryssy,” Amy said as she hugged the larger nymph. “I can scoot out of the way and watch the show~”
“No, it’s not fair to you,” Chrysalis said with a shake of her head. “Plus, I kind of want to know more about my new form before rutting like ponies in heat with it.”
“So, cuddles then?” Amy offered.
She got her response as she was snuggled between the two larger beings, fur and feathers nestled her softly. She sighed and closed her eyes, and soon the sound of soft snoring came from between them as she slept her ordeal off.
They wound up sleeping right through until the next morning and when Amethyst Cream awoke. She didn’t feel good…
She felt amazing!
“Oh wow,” she said to herself. “Is this what it’s like to not have to worry about that icky Blackness taking me over?
Something like that, she heard in her head. Now that you’re not burdened by dark magic, you’ll have a lot more energy.
“Oh geez,” Chrysalis groaned as she awoke to the Heart in her head. “Are you serious? She was bad enough…”
“I feel great!” Amy said as her wings buzzed into life, lifting her off the bed as she started darting around. “I wanna see everything this shiny city has to offer! I wanna give the Heart a hug!” Settling for her husband and wife, the nymph landed back on the bed and gave them a powerful hug instead.
“Bones… breaking… lungs… crushed…” Chrysalis wheezed as she gasped for air. Ace didn't even wake up.
“I want to see and do it all!” Amy buzzed as she let go and zoomed around the room, before landing in front of Chrysalis and giving her a half-lidded gaze. “And then we’re coming back here...and we’re all going to have a good time~”
“Oh… kay?” Chrysalis blushed as she looked at that smouldering gaze.
Ace just continued to snore.
“But first!” Amy proclaimed with an upraised hoof. “Breakfast!”
“What about the overgrown catbird?” Chrysalis asked, poking the unconscious griffon.
Amy drew close to him and whispered in his ear. “Acey~ I’m stealing your scarf~”
She only had to blink before the griffon awoke and pinned her to the bed.
“Mine~” he growled and nipped at her neck.
“Welcome back to the land of the living, love,” Amy purred before flipping him thanks to her abundance of energy. “We were waiting for you~”
“How the… what?” Ace blinked as a mare a little over half his size and weight did that without magic. “What?”
“I’m all better now,” she said, pecking his beak. “And I feel like I could take on a dragon and win! I might do that!”
“You are not fighting a dragon!” Chrysalis said adamantly. “Now let's go eat… and you Missy, are getting decaf coffee.”
“Don’t I always?” Amy said before hopping off the bed and actually prancing out of the room.
“She is going to be utterly insufferable,” Chrysalis sighed as she followed, pinching the nymph’s flank with her magic. Amy paused in her prancing to shoot Chrysalis what could only be termed as a lusty gaze.
“Later~” she whispered before darting out of the room at nearly-sonic speeds, ready to start the day off her way.
Ace blinked and then shrugged, turning over to go back to sleep. He suddenly squawked and barely had time to grab his scarf before Chrysalis dragged him out of the room with her magic. She had a kitchen to save.
“I cannot believe you ate that much,” the nymph sighed at her wife and husband. “There should be a limit to how much an individual can consume.”
“I’m hungry,” Amy said with a shrug. “Have to keep up with all the energy I’m burning somehow.”
“And I always eat that much,” Ace nodded as he rubbed Amy’s shoulder, kneading it with his claws gently.
“Your food bills must be monstrous,” Chrysalis muttered.
“We usually eat out,” Amy pointed out. “That way, we know we’re getting good-sized servings. Though, the Chop Shop has stopped letting Acey do their challenge. They say they can’t afford the loss anymore.”
“A pity,” Ace sighed. That steak was delicious~
“Maybe I'll cook sometime,” Chrysalis mumbled.
“Think you can keep up with our appetites?” Amy grinned. She’d apparently heard that.
“I'm beginning to doubt that,” Chrys sighed. They'd wandered into the markets. And Amy noticed one thing…
So. Many. Shiny things!!!
“This empire is officially the greatest!” she cheered as she fired up her wings to dart from stall to stall, examining their wares for herself.
Several crystal ponies… like, all of them were giving her a curious look. They'd never seen a Changeling before.
Then she found the store that sold Flugelhorns…
“Oooh, these look like fun~” Amy said as she looked them over. “How much for two?”
“That’ll be 40 Bits or 5 gems,” the stallion replied. Amy pulled out a sack of bits from...somewhere, and poured out forty onto the counter before putting the sack back and picking up two Flugelhorns.
“Thanks!” she chirped before zooming off to the next thing. One for now, and one for when they’d confiscated it from her.
“I’ll buy some painkillers later,” Chrysalis sighed.
“Appreciated,” Ace nodded.
During her whirlwind visit, she stumbled across a stall that sold the most wonderful paintings. And manned by a very familiar stallion and mare.
“Critical! Palette! Hi again!” Amy said as she waved to them both. “It’s so nice to see you again!”
“Are...you okay, Amy?” Critical said, backing up a half step. “You look a little...pinker than usual.”
“She’s not usually this pink?” Palette asked, worried that she’d damage his paintings by accident. “And… undisguised?” He looked at Critical. “Told you nopony’d care if you did.”
“I do,” she shot back. “Maybe if you actually marry me one day, I’ll do it like my brother did and go au natural. And can’t you see how her color is practically...pulsing?”
Indeed, if either of them looked at Amy, she was practically glowing pink by now. “I feel awesome thanks to the Heart doing what it did to get rid of that icky Blackness from me,” Amy said. “I bet I could totally take Cadence in a hoof-wrestle.”
“I'd pay to see that,” Chrysalis said as they finally caught up.
“We'll get married,” Palette grumbled and folded his legs while pouting. “Gave you that ring didn't I?”
“True,” Critical said as she looked at the ring on her horn, before turning to Ace and Chrysalis. “Do you need a leash for your nymph? I can think of a few shops you could visit…”
“Oh, do tell~” Chrysalis purred. She’d leash that nymph, in public too.
“Yipe!” Amy said, before darting off again, though not without bidding Critical and Palette a farewell over her shoulder.
“Yeah, I think I'll need that leash,” Chrysalis sighed as she moved to follow her wife.
Ace just shrugged and bid the two farewell before following.
Pretty soon, Amy had reached the one place she thought she could hide. The very center of town itself! Surely they wouldn’t think to look anywhere near the Crystal Palace!
And coincidentally, near the Crystal Heart itself.
Chrysalis and Ace were still searching the marketplace, so they were hopelessly lost.
“Ooooh,” Amy said as she watched the Heart spin. “Shiny…”
Well, thank you for the compliment, but don’t you have a wife and husband to be getting back to?
Amy shook her head at the voice before nodding a few times. “Right, right. Gotta go surprise them. Hmm...Yeah, aerial attacks usually work!”
With that, the nymph was off again, taking to the air so she could see her significant others and get the drop on them.
Life is interesting indeed… Hey! No flash photography!
Ace and Chrysalis sighed. Amy had darted off to Celestia knows where, so the two decided to take a seat at a nearby cafe and get a milkshake.
A single one with a loveheart-shaped straw~
“Amy’s gonna be mad she missed this,” Ace chuckled.
“Serves her right for running off,” Chrysalis said as she sipped the drink.
Then the two of them suddenly felt like they were being watched.
“You… feel that?” Ace asked.
“Mhmm,” Chrysalis nodded and slurped her milkshake again.
There was a moment of silence as Amy got a little closer to her target.
“She certainly thinks she's sneaky,” Ace whispered.
“Mhmm,” More slurping.
And then the pink nymph flew out from the crowd, ready and primed to hug Chrysalis as she flew directly at the nymph, forehooves outstretched. There was a flourish of magic, and a clicking sound.
Amy found herself in Chryssie’s lap, with a collar and leash around her neck. “I warned you,” the mare chuckled. Amy pawed at it with a forehoof before turning her pouty eyes on full blast.
“But...why would you do this to me, Chryssy?”
“Because pet,” Chrysalis leaned down and smirked. “You look so adorable~”
“Chryssy,” Amy whined. “This is embarrassing…”
“Should have thought about that sooner,” Chrysalis purred as several ponies whispered as they walked past. Ace sighed and reached over, removing them and placing them in his bag.
“Be nice,” Ace said and looked at Amy. “Have fun did you?”
“Yeah-huh!” Amy said with a nod. “I saw all sorts of things! Mostly shiny ones!” Then she took notice of the milkshake and pouted. “Awww…I missed out on milkshakes?”
“Yes,” Ace nodded and rubbed her mane. “You ran off without telling us pet. We were worried.”
“I’m sorry,” Amy said. “I just had so much energy and had to see everything…”
“We have a week,” Ace laughed. “Plenty of time to see it all.” He pulled her over into his lap and nuzzled her. “I believe I know a way to burn off that energy~”
“Mmm, tonight,” Amy said. “I’m gonna be counting on the both of you to help me burn it all off.”
“You better believe I'm using that collar and leash on you,” Chrysalis purred and offered her straw to Amy.
“Yay!” The nymph said before taking a sip. Ace smiled and rubbed her belly as he murred.
“I'm glad this one will be okay as well,” he said and placed a kiss on her belly. “He or she is going to grow to be a fine warrior.”
“You’d better believe it!” Amy said with a nod. “Nothing’s gonna put me down for long, and I’d expect no less of our foal!”
“Really?” Chrysalis asked, genuinely surprised. “I’d have thought you’d want he or she to follow your hoofprints. Make candy or ice-cream, or become a school teacher or something.”
“Just because I’m a pink doesn’t mean I don’t know how to fight,” Amy said. “It takes a lot to get me angry, though.”
“You?” Chrysalis snorted. “You know how to fight? Sweet, adorable little Amy?”
“I’m a master of the Thunder Hoof style,” Amy said. “I just don’t use it much.”
Now Ace and Chrysalis were gaping at her. “Seriously?” they said together.
“Yup,” Amy said with a nod. “Going through the motions is really relaxing. Helps when I’ve had a stressful day.”
“You’ve never even told me that,” Ace pouted and sipped his end of the milkshake.
“I am suddenly very glad I did not invade Las Pegasus,” Chrysalis muttered.
“Aww, I’m sure you would have lasted a whole minute against me,” Amy said with a smile that was more teeth than it should be.
“I’m suddenly very afraid for any domestic fights we’ll have later down the line,” the older nymph muttered and stared at her hooves.
“Don’t worry dear,” Ace laughed. “I’ll protect you from the big bad Pink.”
“Yeah, you’d have to really get me mad for me to pull out my skill,” Amy said before slurping on the milkshake again.
Chrysalis decided to wisely drop this subject and Ace brought up a new one.
“So,” he asked as he licked a bit of milk from Amy’s lips. “Who’s looking forward to our dinner at the Royal Palace tomorrow evening?”
“I am!” Amy said. “When did we get invited?”
“At the wedding, I just figured I’d at least let you know about this one in advance,” Ace replied and Chrysalis groaned. Dinner with Cadence and Shining Armor. Oh yes, what could possibly go wrong there?
“And we didn’t even bring dresses,” Chrysalis muttered.
“They seem like cool ponies,” Amy said as she finally relinquished the milkshake. “I’m sure they won’t mind if we don’t show up in fancy attire.”
Ace let out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding. “Huh. And here I expected you to go crazy and take Chrysalis on her very first shopping trip…”
Chrysalis facehooved.
“That’ll be tomorrow,” Amy said with a wave of her hoof. “We’ll go out, see the sights, bond a little. It’ll be fun~”
Chrysalis frowned and looked at her. “You’re being-”
“-Remarkably reserved,” Ace finished. “Has all that Pink in you worn off already?”
“Nah, I just realized I was neglecting what you guys wanted to do,” Amy said. “So the rest of today is alllll you.”
Chrysalis and Ace looked at each other… before the pink nymph found herself smooshed into a three-way hug as they nuzzled her.
“Aww, I love you guys too,” Amy said, doing her best to return it. “Seriously though, what do you guys want to do today?”
There was a pause, neither of them had really thought about it. Ace wouldn’t mind checking in on the Crystal Guard at some point. He was curious as to their level of training.
“I still want to know more about this ‘Flutterpony’ thing,” Chrysalis said. “The Heart seems to know something, but I suppose I could ask it at anytime.”
“So, no real plan?” Amy asked.
“None whatsoever!’ Chrysalis declared gleefully.
Ace rolled his eyes and put Amy on his back. “Let’s just look around and see what this place has to offer. We could scout a few locations for places to eat too.”
“Sounds good to me!” Amy chirped. Chrysalis pouted as they walked.
“How come you never carry me around?”
“I could if you truly wish,” Ace mused and clicked his beak. “You’re not that heavy. And seeing you blush as I cart you around in public would be adorable~”
“I revoke my request,” Chrysalis muttered and blushed.
“Mush!” Amy said from the back of Ace. “We have scouting to do!”
“Yes Ma’am,” Ace saluted and then smirked as he reared up and then bounded down the street. Chrysalis watched them go and shook her head before following at a much more reasonable pace.
Amy woke up feeling refreshed and rested. The very first thing she did?
Take the collar and leash off herself and slip it onto Chrysalis, unhooking the leash from it in the process. She wanted her little pet flutterpony to wear this all day~
Ace was the next to wake up and looked over, seeing what Amy had done. “You know she’s probably going to kill you right?” he griffon chuckled, looking at the black collar stand out against the mare’s white fur.
“She can kill me later,” Amy chirped. “Do we have a camera?”
“Somewhere in that bag,” Ace motioned to one of his cases. “It was a present from Miss Narrow.”
Amy bounced over to it and began rooting around, looking for the device so that she could remember this moment forever.
Chrysalis begun to stir just as she found it. “Say cheese!” Amy said as she held up the device, making sure to get Chrysalis in the view before pushing the obvious button. The device fashed and clicked, just as Chrysalis awoke and rubbed her eyes.
“What the… Amy? What are you doing?”
“Making memories~” the nymph sang.
Chrysalis frowned and stared at the non-sensical mare. “And what’s that supposed to…” She reached up to scratch and itch… and found something around her neck. “Amy. Give me that camera so I may burn it.”
“Nope!” Amy said with a smile. “Good little Flutterponies don’t burn things~”
“You lost that bet remember?” Ace reminded her and Chrysalis's eyes widened. “Seems you’re a little pony pet today~”
“Oh buck me,” she groaned.
“Later!” Amy chirped. “For now, we have breakfast to get, then shopping to do!”
“Aww, and here I was hoping to play a little,” Ace sighed. “After all, our pet was a little neglected last night~”
“Truuuue…” Amy said. “Tell you what. I’ll go get some room service. You two can play while I’m gone!” The nymph jumped off the bed and smiled at Chryssy. “You are to do everything he says while I’m gone, understand? And if he says you haven’t been a good little Flutterpony, I’ll just make our shopping trip longer.”
Chrysalis blinked as Amy pranced out of the room and turned to look at Ace, who was already licking his beak. “Um,” she asked as he brought her closer. “Be gentle?”
“Mm, nope,” he smirked.
Stats
Page generated in 0.052 seconds
Total duration
1,040 users online
1,794,062 hits today, 2,571,732 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
It's literally Ledger.
!!! the 2nd herd on their honymoon, i like it
the heart is epic, with him to talking to candy :P
7272499 Half the characters are either Ledger or are on the way to becoming Ledger. The other half is either Midnight or will eventually become her.
7272584
My God Tier, it's the frickin' Heart Aspect from Homestuck all over again.
You are everyone, and everyone is you.
nice i like acey he broke shinys sheld
7272629 even the strongest things have a weak point. take an egg for instance. squeeze it, and nothing. throw it agenst the wall(or someones car) and splat. lol
7272499 Now wouldn't it be an interesting twist to find out that the Heart and Ledger are actually related somehow? The snark singularity might be devastating(ly hilarious).
I was wondering how far along is Middy ? How many months are left to go? :3 I can't wait for little "parasite " as Middy call it to be born. I'd love it if she ended up with twins .
Heaven help any bullies that pick on Amy and Ace's Griffinling. I can totally see a little pink blur bouncing around a bunch of bullies chanting a rhyme and evading all their blows until their dad or mom tells them to leave the silly bullies alone.
And is it wrong I want to see Amy break out the Thunder Hoof style on something while they're in the Crsytal Empire????
Aww...and I was hoping that the could talk to Cady forever
Also wonder how it wowould react to being smashed via scream hee hee hee
Nice chapter, glad to see Amy healed.
Chryssie's still scary when someone endangers her loved ones. And downright adorable when flustered.
Hah, the crystal heart is awesome.
If Cadance screamed that much already, what 'bout when Flurry Heart breaks it?
That'll be an interesting topic...
The Crystal Heart hasnt even Begun to see, Intresting.
Especially now that combat styles are now in.
If Amy is Thunder Hooves, does this mean that someone, if not Lyra, is Still Way, and someone, if not Berry, is Drunken Hoof?
And Pinkie, is 4th Wall?
Wonder what Mauds speciality is.
aww such a perfect chapter I love it.
ok now question time Flutterpony ? witch gen are they from?
33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5hoqlbtwq1rx78iqo1_500.gif
I am not sure I think gen 2
ok after checking I am going to say gen 1.
from the wiki.
Flutter Ponies are ponies with tiny bodies, curly hair, longer legs than regular ponies and fairy-like wings. They were first released in 1986. The Flutter Ponies may appear delicate, but in truth, they possess a powerful ability called the Utter Flutter, which allows them to blow away everything in their path by flapping their wings in a rapid speed. They are rarely seen, preferring to live in seclusion, usually in Flutter Valley. Honeysuckle, Morning Glory and Rosedust were the only notable ones in the first My Little Pony series.
7272999 What's with Lyra and Still Way? Where did that come from anyway?
And I personally prefer Echonarch Metamage style. It's more fitting for a musician like Lyra in my personal opinion.
7272999
I know of one story ware Lyra uses the Still Way it is a bunch of story's running the same line. the savage Skye story line if I remember right there is now 10 huge story in the line.
This is what i am imagining Ace and Amy's chick will look like
pre03.deviantart.net/58bd/th/pre/i/2014/197/a/5/pinkie_pie_griffon_by_farewelldecency-d7qwa6p.png
Image by Farewelldeceny
I'd just like to point out that the next chapter is rather likely to break 1kk word milestone for this fic. Just saying...
And this is where they release an 8025 word chapter just to screw with me~
7272992 I can hear the Heart's screams now
7272999 Maud would probably be Rock Breaker or Mild One Punch.
7275940
Given Ledgers spell, better 8051 and not 8088 .
Then again, heavens help us if it ever hits 68000, the spell would break the 4th wall and make the site sentient.
7276709 pinkie is no changeling. mentioned by author in earlier chapters in comments. but she is still a pink regardless of the fact shes no changeling.
7272650 right here. warning! clopaclypse
7276202 your right... during a crystal empire event, it did say it was alcoholic... using alcohol as a catalyst for the emotions to be put in a drink and to make the mind a bit less... willing to speak agenst sex. error... error,,, brain.exe has terminated.
oh, that reminds me of another of my favorites...an earth pony named "Long Path" studied magic and figured out a trick that enabled him to gather energy in his hooves and create shock waves when he kicked the air! after using this trick to defeat a griffin in a duel he got the nickname "thunderhooves".
I am extremely pissed at the fact that after going 97 chapters into this, I only now found The Lost Stanzas.
8775672
What are the lost stanzas?
Who, who exactly would have told you about that
Roleplay for some juicy looove 👍
Definitely Scope.
The Crystal heart sure is something else.
Great character!
I wonder if we ever get a sequel? Unlikely but one can hope.