Twenty years. Twenty years spent sitting on a stone plinth, with birds getting absolutely everywhere. That kind of experience can change a pony, or a changeling. As long as she stays ahead of the newspapers and mail service, that story might even hold up.
A story about grudges, love, and the power of unremitting hatred.
No particular reason for the T rating, just covering my bases with how much Chrysalis teases ponies.
Special thanks to everyone who reads my works, follows me, or just happens to look at this -- you deserve to be happy too buddy, just like all our little buggy friends and even Chrysalis herself.
Written as my entry in FanOfMostEverything's Imposing Sovereigns II contest.
Chapters (1)
Nooooooo! It's over too soon!
I need more Parole-iverse Chrysalis!
Tram's were not involved in this fanfiction, if you are here for tram's then you have come to the wrong place.
It's like you wrote this awesome one-liner, decided it was lonely and wrote another awesome one-liner for company, figured you were on a roll and kept writing them, all blended in with a nice little plot. Great story :)
No it wasn't, she shouldn't even have been sent to Tartarus, she should have been sent back to her parents/guardians, been giving counseling and kept under observation
Good.
Man, this fic makes me want more Timeskip Flurry and Chrysalis interactions. So much untapped potential.
I'm really enjoying in general all this Timeskip and onward redemption fics for the Legion of Doom. I really enjoy seeing peoples takes on things like Timeskip Flurry, Timeskip Discord and how Equestria as a whole changes in this new time period. I eagerly welcome both any future stories from you in this setting, and any other authors take on Equestria's future.
...There is no reason to assume Twilight would wait 20 years to try reforming them.
A few months in stone would be enough.
This is still a plausible headcanon:
derpicdn.net/img/view/2019/9/8/2139132.png
9934362
What episode is that pic from? The final problem?
9934396
heck, I wish
no, it's an edited screencap by an unknown uploader on derpibooru...
seriously
just that alone would have been enough...
Well that was actually pretty cool , I wouldn't mind another story in this timeline, honestly .
Has a side note , you all missed Chrysalis committing an homicide in this chapter :
No , seriously , that was a freaking murder right there.
And has another side note , there is a fault in this line :
"Flurry" is missing an L.
9934362
Discord was stuck in stone for a thousand years. Obviously not nearly the same circumstances - Celestia didn't have the resources or probably even any idea how to begin reforming him. If you want my real headcanon on this it's that Sparkle would try to reform them every time she thought she had a good angle on it.
I hope there is a sequel at some point. Great read regardless.
9934490
seconding
tsundere-to-reformation chryssy is great
9934124
...But what if her parents were part of the problem? Or, worse, the entire problem? That would make things infinitely worse.
9934124
As 9934548 pointed out, anyone who can turn out as badly as Cozy Glow did after attending a School of Friendship is probably too broken to fix, and if her parents are still alive then they're probably the cause of it.
The best part is that this is technically correct and therefore my favorite kind of lying.
Don't we all?
9934124
We're assuming she didn't kill them.
9934548
Yes it could be, but we don't know if that's the case becasue we never saw or learned anything about Cozy Glow's past or her family.
And as far as we know, her family was never sought out and she was just sent off to Tartarus where there was no way things couldn't get worse due to her getting into contact with the prisoners there (bad influences and all that).
9934561
True but, just because she attened the school doesn't necessarily mean that she was even trying to actually understand what any of the leassons were meant to teach.
She came there with a goal, and that goal was not to learn how to make friends (not really friends anyway just ponies that she tricks into thinking they are friends) and as such she probably didn't do anything beyond listening to what was being said so that she could twist and use it to trick others instead of actually trying to understand what any of it meant.
9934595
... that's pretty dark of you
I would totally read an entire series of this.
Cadance gets it. If she, of all ponies, is saying this, it's no exaggeration.
...Oh, gag... Pineapple is disgusting...
Oh, the puns! Yes!
A partial truth, and reason enough to reform. But you say nothing about coming to care for those who actually like you, Chrysalis?
I love this and I want to see so much more.
I am not sure we will, but I want to anyway.
I want her to go on scheming, but because she slowly develops a friendship with Flurry, she always is stopped at the last minute.
Not from anyones actions, but because she can't become queen of the world without hurting Flurry. Which at that point kinda ruins it all.
Nice story
By any chance, was your title inspired by “Street Car Named Desire?”
I must agree with several other commenters - this was great, and I really want to see more!
9934610
Me too.
Btw I tottally think that if she got redeemed it would happen this way.
This writing is sharp as hell.
I'm trying not to want more because you pretty much covered the necessary ground, but... it's not working? I just don't know what else there is to do. I guess Flurry, Chrysalis and Luster Dawn could go on some kind of adventure (step one, give Luster a personality). Or Chrysalis helps Flurry Heart navigate the world of romance behind Cadance's back. Or she has to chaperone Flurry Heart at the Friendship School, probably in disguise because having to interact with Starlight is her worst nightmare at this point.
Man. I think the real lesson here is that some fics should be allowed to end. I can think of a couple fics around here that, while great, could have stopped halfway through and it would have made for a better story. If y'all like this writing, read The Witch of Canterlot or any other MagnetBolt fic. Trouble in Tiatarta is written by someone else, but it's got a semi-but-not-really reformed Chrysalis just like this fic and it's well done.
That rare Chrysalis redemption fic that doesn't make me roll my eyes. Excellent story.
Only if they wear restraining bolts as part of their parole. Seriously, G5 writers tickle belts. Use them.
Zanzebrica Land? Isn't that the place with the venomous hamsters?
I love the explanation for changeling naming conventions.
Wow. What's next, is she going to kill them to death?
Brilliant work. Chrysalis redemption isn't the easiest concept to make work, but you pulled it off here. Interesting choice in keeping her in black by the end, even after shoving her hoof in that running blender, but it does make some sense. This was a grudging, one-time-only act, not something she's embracing with all her being. All told, great stuff... though I do have to wonder how they broke out. Still, thank you for it and best of luck in the judging.
9935162
But They have the High Ground!
And she obviously hates sand.
George Fetlocks is no longer allowed to write dialogue.
Cadence is officially worst mom. What kind of psychopath eats a pizza with cutlery? Disgraceful, disharmonius I dare say!
All kidding aside, this was a great read. Definitely going into my favorites. 10/10.
9934362
OK.
I'm gonna be honest: I was waiting for you to comment on this one. I knew you would, and if I'd known you would be just after me I would have waited.
You've been asking this question (or, more accurately, making this statement) on pretty much every story that features the Legion of Doom post Timeskip. And I'm going to answer it for you.
Why would Twilight wait 20 years (and it's just now occurring to me that it never actually said 20 years in show IIRC and yet I didn't even notice that in your comment because for some reason 20 years was how long I automatically assumed it was too) to attempt to reform the Legion of Doom?
Simple answer: It's more interesting that way.
That's really all there is to it. We already have stories of these characters reforming in the present. Those already exist. It's simply more interesting to jump to the future, to see how that is, and see how these villains react to it. They become an audience surrogate of sorts, getting to see the changes to the world at the same time we do.
You totally could have had the three of them get redeemed off screen between their defeat and Twilight coronation. But that wouldn't be nearly as interesting. In fic form, that's just something we've already seen for Chrysalis many times, and it's true Tirek and Cozy Glow have had less time in that spotlight, it doesn't really bring anything new to the table. And if they actually were reformed off screen, well, (and anyone else, please correct me if I'm wrong) as far as I know, you are literally the only person (that I've seen) who would have been happy with that outcome.
I understand you have issue with the finale. That's OK. But you seem to be so intent on this belief that the Legion should have been reformed pre-coronation that you're ignoring the cool ideas and character interactions of these post-Timeskip stories. To paraphrase Reggie Fils-Aimé: "If it's not interesting, why bother? And as far as I'm concerned, that picture you linked? The story that implies, that three of Equestria's greatest villains were reformed off screen, is just about the least interesting outcome I could think of.
Separate comment to keep from tagging you in the previous post
9935162
I really want to see Zanzebrica Land now. Now that I think about it, Solid Snake is a pretty pony-ish name. What if that's this version's real name and his code name is David?
I want a sequel. It was really fun.
This was very, very good, and I think it may have earned a place in my top 5 here on this site.
I would have been totally fine with Chrysalis just being a dick for a few thousand words since you wrote it so brilliantly, but then you hit me with a really awesome redemption tale that I don’t think could have had a better final line.
Well done!
This was briliant. Maybe a little tropey with the "prove your loyalty through dramatic twist!" bit, but this really just goes to show that it can be used well, and very much has been in this case.
I especially love the name of the fic; beyond being just the reference to the play, the reference to the trolley problem is actually really interesting because the fic does have an actual train in it. You could extrapolate from Chrysalis' responses and personality throughout what her answer would be, but more importantly, why she'd answer that way, before and after spending time with Flurry Heart.
Chrysalis would, before this fic, have absolutely not pulled the lever; not out of responsibility, but because it'd be ponies on the tracks. (If given the third option, she'd likely pick multi-track drifting, same reason.) But over the course of the fic, we see a couple more creative interpretations. She's not comfortable with sending Shining Armor into the trap because she likes him, but some guard named Flash Sentry, she doesn't care a whit about. If Flurry hadn't been the one to investigate the train, she would have let Flurry and Tirek continue their mayhem on the train line.
Even after the events of this, she likely would not have pulled the lever. Unless, as an additional detail, it was Flurry, Shining, or one of the Glitterbugs on the tracks. Or if she knew they were watching, and judging her, showing that she does have a conscience. Motivated purely through self-interest and selfishness, true, but even that means she does have the capacity for good if properly motivated. It's not reformation, because her chitin remains black, and nor should it be... but it shows can learn, and can change, even if she really doesn't want to and doesn't feel like she really has to.
I just had to speak up and compliment you on an absolutely gorgeous title and an absolutely magnificent story description.
(May not get the time to read it tonight, but I am definitely looking forward.)
........so close, Chryssi.
I ended up reading this a few times since you posted it yesterday. The comedic timing was great with just enough narrative descriptions to keep the scene's flowing without it becoming ponderous, and while I wish there had been more I understand this was a near perfect delivery for a comedy like this. The funny scenes with Flurry and the extremely touching and sad scene with the reformed changelings were excellent. And the whole "not reformed, just hating some more than others" aspect is a great note to finish on for this character.
Bravo, I hope you place well in the contest. Of all the entries, this has been my favorite so far.
9934124 Um, she committed multiple counts of assault, theft, kidnapping and treason, plus insurrection and attempted a coup against a standing government, with full knowledge of what she was doing. Only condemning her to Tartarus was being (far too) merciful.
Hahaha already in tears
And that's what went down in the history books, much to Twilight's eternal irritation.
I totally agree with that sentiment. That Shirley Temple Pegasus is very easy to loathe.
Oh, I love this.
Great approach to Chrysalis's character. Outright redemption would never fit the character that Chrysalis was built to be across her five appearances, so playing with the grey area of making her a bit of an anti-hero trope is very enjoyable to read.
Super solid~ I love it!
This is stupidly good.
Chrysalis, Shining and Cadance hanging out just has this inherent sitcom-ness to it and you really don't waste that potential. Flurry added a great layer to all of this as well.
That bit about the origins about changeling naming conventions really got to me haha, It was really sweet.
From start to finish, this whole thing was marvelous.
This fic understands what leads a villain to redemption. They have something to lose.
I was really hoping for a trolley problem.