The Chrysalis Letters

by A bag of plums

Chapter 13 - Seeing the Sun

The ponies didn't have much to say after that. Shining Armor and his troupe of Eclipse guards left, some of them looking disturbed by what they had heard. Psithyra watched them leave, with only Frigid Night staying behind to watch her cell. He didn’t look too unsettled.

Whatever. Psithyra thought and laid back on the bed. Her internal clock was telling her it was nearing bedtime, so she turned away from the cell door and closed her eyes.

Two days to go.

With that happy thought in her head, Psithyra let herself drift off to sleep, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

---

“What are you doing?”

Queen Chrysalis watched as Nahara magically carried a wooden box full of papers out from the secret passageway, depositing it in the main onsen room. The hot water bath had been drained and there were now a multitude of other such crates taking up the space.

"What is all this?" Chrysalis smacked a hole-ridden hoof against one of the boxes. "What could you possibly want with so much paper?"

Nahara said nothing, but plucked a sheet of paper out of a crate and magicked it to Chrysalis. The queen squinted at the minuscule writing for a moment.

"Croissant Glaze is in debt and selling under the counter illegal imported tax free sundries to make ends meet," Chrysalis looked unimpressed. "So this is all dirt on the ponies of this city?"

"That's right, your highness," Mava said as she walked past with another box. "The fruit of generations of sneaking and eavesdropping and hypnosis."

"We had it stored in the caves under Canterlot until now," Azal told Chrysalis, ever the proper manager. "If the princess returns in two days, we'll put it back. If not… these go everywhere.”

Chrysalis squinted at Azal. "And what, pray tell, is that supposed to do?"

"Cause untold chaos and anarchy in the city," Hafet supplied as she passed by. "Something similar on a smaller scale happened in Ponyville a while back. Whole town nearly exploded. Imagine what a motherload like this will do?" She cackled playfully. "Aaahh… it'll be a shame to have to leave Canterlot, though. I really like that bakery down the road and their muffins."

"You're going to destroy Canterlot?" Chrysalis asked, her expression curdling. "Why?"

"Because that is what our princess's last orders were," Salegg trotted into the room, staring at her queen with thinly veiled scorn. "If she is to fall, the city falls with her. Poetic, isn't it?"

"What? No!" Chrysalis stamped her hoof. "Canterlot is my city to conquer! If you destroy it, how am I supposed to take over it? I need the city intact and nice."

“Find another city?” Salegg shrugged and carried on. “Or just go home. The princess had worked up an amazing plan for you, your majesty, in case you’ve forgotten. And then you ruined it all.”

Chrysalis growled angrily. “Don’t take that tone with me. I am your queen, and I will not be spoken to like that. Not even from you, no matter how valuable Psithyra may think you are.”

“Clearly she thinks of us more than you do of her.” Salegg tossed a box of paper on the ground and approached her. “You just left her in there. After everything she risked to get you out.”

“Salegg, tone it down, please.” Azal stepped between them. “She’s still our queen.”

“You know what? She’s not. She’s not my queen!” Salegg prodded a hoof into his chest. “Just fry me right here and now. I will not stand another moment serving under this queen when all she does is foul everything we work so hard to do for her. Princess Psithyra is twice the ruler the 'queen' will ever be!”

“This isn’t something you can just walk away from,” Hafet said worriedly, coming closer. “Salegg, you know we can’t resign. We’re not ponies.”

“Ugh…” Salegg dropped to the ground and sighed. “Well, there’s not much more to do than to watch Canterlot burn.”

“Just get it all out here for now. That’s our first goal,” Azal said and returned to carrying the boxes. “We’ll talk about what we do next after all that’s done.”

“And you!” Salegg shot to her hooves and pointed at Chrysalis, who was slinking away, sulking. “Your own sister gave up her life for you! Yes, you’re the high and mighty overlord of the changeling hordes, but even somepony like you should be able to see when someone cares about you! Our princess, your own flesh and blood, is starving in a jail cell because she thought your life was worth more than her own! You could at least act grateful about it.”

And with that, Salegg turned away sharply and flew off towards the entrance to the caves, where the rest of the infiltrators were working, bringing up the blackmail and collected secrets.

Hafet looked nervously at Chrysalis before buzzing off after Salegg. Azal and Nahara simply said nothing and returned to work as if nothing had happened.

Queen Chrysalis stood there in stunned silence. No creature had ever spoken to her like that, in such a tone. She had half a mind to go after that insolent changeling infiltrator and rip her to shreds. How dare she imply that she wasn’t fit to rule? How dare she say that a ruler should do things for her followers? How dare she say all those things to her supreme ruler?

How dare she be right.

The changeling queen left the onsen room, wandering aimlessly into the lower depths while Salegg’s words echoed around inside her head. The tiniest flicker of conscience inside Chrysalis seemed to be telling her something, but she refused to acknowledge it. She was the queen and could do as she liked. No creature could tell her what to do.

So then why did she feel so dejected?

Chrysalis could think of several minor reasons. She had been imprisoned, her invasion plan had failed, and now changelings were a known race to the ponies.

Yet none of these reasons could match up to the one Salegg had pointed out.

Chrysalis could feel the gears inside her head churning. She could taste the dislike that Salegg had aimed at her earlier, and none of the other infiltrators were very happy with her either, despite their words and actions. You couldn’t hide your emotions from a changeling.

Even heavier than that feeling though, was a deep pit in her stomach. She was unfamiliar with this emotion; she hadn’t felt it before in recent memory.

Chrysalis didn’t like it.

Not one bit.

So deep was the changeling queen in her ruminations that she almost missed the feeling of her horn bumping into something. It was a door. Wooden and nondescript and slightly ajar.

Curious, Chrysalis pushed it open fully. Inside, it looked like a bedroom. From the smell, Chrysalis instinctively knew that this was the bedroom of her sister, Psithyra.

Walking inside, Chrysalis looked around the space. There was a harp in one corner, and a sizeable wardrobe took up one wall. There was a bed at the far end of the room, pushed up against the wall. It was no royal suite, Chrysalis saw.

A writing desk stood on the left, with sheets of paper and parchment stacked neatly on one edge. A small collection of ink pens and quills caught her attention. Was this where her sister wrote the letters that kept them both in correspondence? Looked like it. Usually Chrysalis just magicked the words onto the paper, but her sister seemed to prefer to use actual writing implements.

Chrysalis examined the writing desk for a moment, imagining her younger sister standing here, writing her letters full of vitriol and frustration. Yes, she had gone against the plan, but that was no reason to lambast her in writing like she was a naughty grub.

Right?

The pit in her stomach grew heavier.

The changeling queen was about to turn and leave when her nose caught the faint scent of something sweet coming from the desk. She craned her neck and saw the wastepaper basket next to the desk, tucked away between a hat stand and the desk’s legs. It was nearly brimming full of crumpled up pieces of paper with writing on them.

Chrysalis leaned over and levitated up a ball of paper, smoothing it out with her magic. Her eyes scanned the first few lines and they widened. She grabbed another crumpled ball and opened it. Then another and another.

She couldn’t believe it. These were the equivalent of love letters, written by her sister and addressed to her, Chrysalis. Each note and sheet had been penned with the kindness and adoration that only someone in love could write. The bin was full of them, each one an impassioned and longing declaration of sisterly affection, sometimes going even beyond that.

Is this how Psithyra really feels about me? Chrysalis was stunned into silence. These were the kinds of letters that she had found preserved in Princess Cadance’s journal while she had been impersonating the alicorn princess, written to her during the days when she had just begun dating that stallion, Shining Armor.

Chrysalis dropped the discarded letters with a look of steely determination on her face. In light of this discovery, there was only one thing that could be done. The changeling queen felt the beginnings of an idea forming in her head, taking in everything she knew about the ponies, the guards, and everything that went on inside this spa that she had been told by the infiltrators.

Chrysalis’s wings buzzed into motion, taking her back up to the surface level where the other changelings were still unpacking the boxes of blackmail and intelligence. She landed in front of them with a clack of hooves on tile.

“I have an announcement,” Chrysalis said loudly.

“What is it?” Salegg growled. “Can you not see we are busy?”

Chrysalis once again tasted the flavor of dislike, but chose to ignore it. Right now, she had to get these six changelings on her side.

“I know that I… haven’t always done things like they should have been done,” Chrysalis forced out with no small amount of effort. “And I know that some of you prefer my sister’s rule to mine. That is… not what I’m here about. You said I left Princess Psithyra for the ponies while I made my escape. Well, for one thing, she offered to stay behind and be the distraction, so it’s not really my fault…” Chrysalis stopped herself as she felt six pairs of eyes narrow at her words. “Ahem. Anyway, I know some of you don’t think I’m a fit ruler. But I ask of you to give me one more chance. A chance to prove I’m worth your following.”

This caught the attention of the infiltrators and Chrysalis felt the mood of the room change ever so slightly. She had their curiosity, now she needed their interest.

“I have a plan to get Princess Psithyra back from the ponies,” Chrysalis pressed on. “But I cannot do it on my own. I need all your help and resources in order to make it work. Can I count on your assistance in rescuing my sister?"

There was an excruciating moment of silence. Chrysalis unconsciously held her breath, waiting to see what would happen.

Finally, Azal looked at the others, reading their feelings and faces. He then stepped forward, with resolve shining in his eyes.

“What do you need us to do, my queen?”

---

Psithyra awoke to the sound of metallic hoofsteps. A guardspony stood in front of her cell door, holding a tray of food. He slid the tray through a little slot at the bottom before walking away.

"You do know I can’t digest this, right?" Psithyra said as she stared at the bread, cheese, and greens that she had just been served. “No, of course they wouldn’t know that.” At least she could drink the water.

After finishing the water and pushing aside the rest of the food, Psithyra went back to lying on the bed. It wasn’t as though there was a lot else to do in this cell anyway.

Frigid Night had left while Psithyra was sleeping. Now there was another guardspony sitting behind the desk, this one a mare with a light blue mane, split by a yellow streak. She tasted faintly of anger and concern, but it was difficult to tell while in Psithyra’s weakened state.

Time passed, and Psithyra decided to count the number of tiles in the ceiling to while away the hours.

She had just finished counting the two hundred and seventy-ninth tile when the doors to the holding area opened again.

Immediately the smell and taste of something very old and powerful wafted into the cell. Even older than Psithyra herself was. Psithyra froze. She knew this taste and scent.

“Finally decided to bring out the big lance, hmm?” She said to herself and sat up. “Let’s see how well we can do.”

She did not have to wait for very long. Coming into view in front of Psithyra’s cell was a pony that she knew from the field of battle, all those years ago. The only pony to ever decisively beat the changeling army in a fight.

Princess Celestia herself.

Escorted by Twilight Sparkle, Princess Cadance, and that baby dragon who was Twilight’s aide, Princess Celestia stopped in front of Psithyra’s cell and stood there, as if considering what to say. She looked more or less the same as she had all those years ago, Psithyra thought. Just missing the golden armor she had worn when she had fought Queen Chrysalis.

Finally, Celestia broke the silence.

“It’s been a long time,” The sun princess said plainly, without any obvious emotion.

Psithyra stood up and walked up to the bars. “Indeed it has. You’re looking… well.”

“Wait, you know this changeling?” Twilight asked Celestia, her mouth agape. "And she knows you?"

"How could I forget?" Psithyra held up one of her forelegs, displaying the perforated surface. "Our meeting was literally etched into my body. Not a day goes by that I don’t remember you, Celestia. I'm sure Queen Chrysalis is the same, O Sun Princess."

“What does she mean by that?” Spike asked Twilight. Twilight shrugged and turned her head to look at Celestia.

"That was a long time ago," Celestia said. "I suppose you would still remember." The eldest princess stood up a little straighter. "Shining Armor said he didn't make much headway with you yesterday. He didn't even get your name. Come to think of it, neither did I."

"Oh, now you want my name?" Psithyra tapped on the floor with a hoof. "Fair enough. To the victor go the spoils, after all. My name is Psithyra, First Princess of Queen Chrysalis’s hive."

"You're a princess?" Spike blurted out at the introduction. "But where's your crown and stuff?"

Psithyra looked down at Spike sternly. "My armor is my crown and my weapon my scepter. Both of which you have in your possession."

“A princess she may be, but she is a powerful warrior,” Celestia continued. “The queen’s right-hoof. She’s the one that really gets things done."

"You are a formidable fighter yourself, Celestia," Psithyra said. "Even after all these years, the marks from our last battle have not faded. The only creature to best Queen Chrysalis in open combat. I hear she paid you back at the wedding."

Princess Celestia sighed. “I admit, she proved to be a far stronger adversary than I expected. Defeating me in single combat is no mean feat.”

“Indeed,” Psithyra yawned. “So why have you come all the way down here to visit little old me? Surely you have other duties as ruler of the Day Court.”

“I know enough about Queen Chrysalis to come to the conclusion that she didn’t come up with the whole invasion plan on her own,” Celestia continued evenly. “Which means that you must have been the mastermind behind it all.”

Psithyra ran a hoof through her filmy purple mane. “Yes, it was a fine plan, wasn’t it? If not for a few minor hiccups, our positions now might be reversed.”

“By ‘a few minor hiccups’, you mean me,” Twilight stepped forward. “I saw through Queen Chrysalis’s disguise from the start.”

“And yet nobody else believed you,” Psithyra replied silkily. “I know how that feels, Twilight Sparkle. In fact, if my sister hadn’t blown her cover by sending you to the caves, everyone would have thought you to be an over possessive stick in the mud.”

Twilight scowled but couldn’t come up with a rebuttal.

“The point is, the plan failed,” Princess Cadance stepped forward. “I remember you. You were the one who kept bringing me food and water while I was stuck in the crystal caves.”

Psithyra made a show of stretching, as if bored. “Your point?”

“My point is that contrary to what the ponies in Canterlot and beyond think, you changelings are capable of kindness and decency. So why did you choose to try and conquer Canterlot by force instead of coming under the pretense of friendship?”

“I already explained this to your guard captain and husband,” Psithyra resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “You have a pony’s way of thinking. My sister has a changeling way of thinking. Both very far removed from each other. What you think is common sense might not be for Chrysalis. Understand?”

“But not to you?” Cadance asked quietly.

Psithyra glanced aside at the pink alicorn. “Whatever makes you say that?”

“You have an unusual amount of care for pony lives,” Cadance insisted. “Shining Armor told me that when you were fighting his guardsponies, you took special care to make sure you didn’t kill any of them, even when you could have to make things easier on yourself. And you could have just killed me instead of keeping me as a prisoner in the caverns. I’m a fairly good judge of character, and I can tell you aren’t as heartless as the public thinks your kind to be.”

At this, Psithyra said nothing.

“If you’re so different from your sister, why do you continue to help her?” Twilight asked earnestly. “If she’s willing to listen to you about things, why not try to steer her in a more peaceful direction?”

“You’re a fairly well-read pony, are you not?” Psithyra replied. “What do you know about changelings?”

Twilight grimaced slightly. “Not much,” she admitted.

“Then maybe you should ask your Sun Princess about the nature of changelings. We can’t change our nature, as much as we might like to. My kind will always be opposed to you as long as Queen Chrysalis is the ruler.” Psithyra raised her head with a hint of pride. “And so long as I live, I will not tolerate any other changeling in charge. That is just the way things are, Twilight Sparkle. Even your friendship magic cannot solve every problem.”

“But it can!” Twilight insisted forcefully. “If you would just give it a chance, maybe you could lead the changelings in a better direction!”

Psithyra looked down at the lavender unicorn with scorn in her eyes.

“That,” she said calmly. “Is a typical pony idea. “I am unfit to lead our race, just as you are unfit to rule Equestria. What you are asking is simply impossible on multiple levels. Go back to your books, little pony. You clearly haven’t studied enough to talk to me about this.”

Twilight bristled, but held her tongue out of respect for Celestia and Cadance.

Psithyra smiled inwardly at the reaction. Here was clearly a pony who prided herself in knowing a lot about things, and it felt good to knock her confidence down a peg. And in one day, the whole city of Canterlot would be ablaze with the raging flames of chaos.

“Now, unless you have other pressing subjects to bother me with, I would like to rest. Your food is plain indigestible to me and I would prefer to save my strength. No doubt you’ll have more inane questions to bother me with on the morrow.”

The changeling princess returned to her bed and lay down on it, staring up at the ceiling. She didn’t need to be watching as one by one, Celestia and her fellows walked away, smelling of pity and frustration.

Not long afterwards, Captain Frigid Night came back. He said nothing, but sat down at the desk with a couple of scrolls that he unwrapped, squinting at them as he unrolled each one.

Eventually, Frigid Night came up to Psithyra’s cell to inspect it.

“What in the world are you checking for?” Psithyra asked as he pressed his face up to the cell bars. It would have been easy for Psithyra to reach out and throttle him, but she didn’t have the strength for such a maneuver at the moment. All she could do was sit up on her cot and give the pony a questioning look. “I haven’t gone anywhere.”

Frigid Night looked up into Psithyra’s eyes.

“I’m just looking to make sure the cell hasn’t been tampered with,” He said. “In two days’ time, I have orders to have you moved to a more secure facility.”

“And where might that be?” Psithyra asked lazily. “I was under the impression that the Canterlot Castle dungeons were already prime real estate for creatures that the princesses want locked up.”

“And we thought so, until you showed up to break Queen Chrysalis out of here,” Frigid replied sternly. “We don’t want to take any chances, so you’ll be relocated to somewhere that you’ll have a much harder time escaping from.”

“And where might that be?”

Frigid Night walked away from the cell, seemingly satisfied.

“Tartarus. You might have heard of it.”

Psithyra had indeed heard of it. She didn’t fancy her chances in that hellhole, but it was all immaterial anyway. Moved in two days? Come tomorrow, she would be old news, and the ponies of Canterlot would tear each other apart.

---

Comments

[The Weaver]

“Tartarus. You might have heard of it.”

Yes, I have.

1. It has one guard. Singular.

2. The guard cannot communicate meaningfully with ponies.
(Except Fluttershy?)

3. A prisoner (Tirek) can be missing and no one notices.

4. Two "high security" prisoners can be missing for prolonged periods of time and no one notices until they are dancing on the ponies heads.

5. It's entire prison status is only maintained by individual cages and one guard. Without said guard it might as well an "early release program" into the middle of the wilderness.

6. Those in the "prison" seem to gain free longevity and immunity to thirst & starvation?

I would be delighted to be Imprisoned; one screw-up and I'm back at villainy.

[MoonlightRift]

..Damn. Her ass is going straight to Tartarus 💀

Liked this chapter, glad to see Chrysalis finally growing as a character, something not seen even in Servant of the Queen. Although the implications of incest are uhh.. not for me, but it is what it is. Interested to see where the story is going as usual.