Epilogue: Dawn of a New Day
Doctor Heart shut the door behind him.
“You wanted to see me, Princess?”
Celestia arched her neck, smiling at the doctor as he approached her bedside. She tossed her sheets aside, shifting her pose to a more regal one.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice, Doctor.”
“Of course. What seems to be the matter?”
She inched her hind leg toward the edge of her bed.
“It’s my leg. Even after two months, it still hurts.”
He frowned. In need of light, he flipped on the lamp on the nightstand. With sufficient light, he reared up beside her, running his hooves along the lithe muscle of her injured extremity. She winced when he touched her.
“So?” she asked, holding a worried hoof to her chin.
“This is only a rudimentary test, but it seems like the muscle is having difficulty healing. If I were to guess, I’d wager it’s a side-effect of Chrysalis’ poison. Have you been doing the exercises I prescribed?”
“I have. Six times a day. Just like you said.”
The doctor stepped back, tugging at his goatee.
“Is there anything you can do?”
“I can’t guarantee my diagnosis without more advanced testing. If you are able, I would like you to come down to my office tomorrow. The machinery I’ll need is there. If I’m right, I should be able to fashion a brace for you that might help with the pain.”
“Is there anything you can do tonight?” she pleaded.
“I have a spell that should numb the injury. It’ll stop hurting, but you won’t be able to walk until morning.”
“I see.” Celestia sighed. “I will be fine then, Doctor.”
“You sure?” he checked.
“Yes. I still have a few duties to take care of tonight. Wouldn’t do if I shirked my responsibilities, don’t you think?”
“Of course, Princess.”
“Thank you. That will be all tonight, Doctor. You can give the details of my appointment to Inkwell on your way out.”
He bowed and left. Before he could close the door all the way, another figure stepped inside.
“Is something the matter, Dear Sister?” Luna asked, her form wreathed by the hallway light. “I heard you sent for the doctor.”
“Still keeping tabs on me, Luna?” Celestia chuckled, rising to greet her sister.
“Of course I am.” Luna sputtered, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “You are still recovering. What kind of sister would I be if I did not constantly check on your well-being?”
“It’s not necessary,” Celestia explained.
Luna wandered toward the window, glancing up toward the moon.
“Really? I recall you fretting over me in much the same way after my return from the moon.”
“That’s different,” Celestia said, flustered.
“Do not worry, Celestia. I have already attended to my duties for the night. There is nowhere else I need to be other than here, taking care of you.”
“That is very kind of you, Luna. I’m lucky to have such a caring sister.”
“I appreciate the flattery, but do not think I have forgotten my question. Is there something troubling you?”
Celestia climbed gracefully from her bed. Unable to shift her weight onto her damaged leg, she limped over to the balcony door. With a nod, she invited Luna to follow her out onto the terrace. Together, they stood beneath the night, chilled by the dying gasp of winter.
“Your leg is still bothering you?” Luna realized.
“Yes. Doctor Heart is worried it might not be healing. I’ve set up an appointment for tomorrow,” Celestia said. “He thinks it might be an effect of Chrysalis’ poison.”
The sisters’ jovial mood darkened.
“Speaking of Chrysalis,” Luna began softly, “Have you heard anything?”
Celestia glanced down at the gardens. She followed one of the guards as he followed his patrol.
“I have. I received word from Thorax this morning.”
“Nothing good, I assume?”
Celestia shook her head.
“His changelings are refusing to let her be interred at their hive. For the moment, they are still trying to reach a compromise. The changeling sightings around Equestria may have stopped for the time being, but they left his hive in chaos.”
“Then we ought to simply bury her ourselves. She died an Equestrian hero.”
“Perhaps.”
“What about Twilight? Have you spoken with her?”
“Not for a few weeks. She’s ‘finding it difficult to reacclimate to her small castle’ as she puts it.”
“Might I be honest with you Celestia?” Luna waited for her sister’s permission before continuing. “I am not sure Twilight should be left alone. Her relationship with Chrysalis may have been short, but it withstood many trials.”
“I will consider sending someone to keep her company.”
The leaves below shook as the breeze picked up. The two princesses looked out over their city, watching the lights that dotted the landscape flicker out one-by-one as their city prepared to slumber. While Luna basked in the glow of her nocturnal tapestry, Celestia studied her.
“Have you visited Chrysalis?” she asked.
Luna frowned, glancing toward the neighboring balcony.
“Not since we laid her in there.”
“She looks peaceful.”
“That is what bothers me. It seems like just yesterday I was chasing her around the castle trying to keep her under control. But now? She simply looks like she is asleep. I have to keep reminding myself of the truth. What about you?”
“Every night. I promised her I would.”
“Does it not bother you to see her like that?”
“Of course it does,” Celestia lamented. “But I owe her that much.”
“As harsh as it may sound, Sister, you owe her nothing.”
“That isn’t how I see it. She saved me. She saved you. I think, in a way, she even saved Twilight.”
Luna leaned against the railing.
“That should be my debt to pay, Celestia.”
“I’m not talking about the Nightmare.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
Celestia wrinkled her muzzle.
“The night Twilight left, I found a spellbook in Chrysalis’ room. Twilight’s first spellbook, to be precise. That book meant the world to her. But more than that, it was a message to me. I think she wanted me to take care of Chrysalis for her.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” Luna muttered.
“Perhaps I am simply being silly, then.” Celestia chuckled. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“If it is what you think is right, I will trust your judgment. Unfortunately, I must take my leave now. Do promise to keep me updated on everything, would you? I do not want you playing tough just to keep me from worrying.”
“I promise,” Celestia assured her.
The two sisters embraced. For several moments, they stood together. Eventually, Luna broke away. Spreading her wings wide, she took the sky, retreating up to the higher towers of the castle. Celestia watched until the dark figure disappeared before returning inside.
Taking a deep breath to steel herself, Celestia threw open her door and stepped out into the hallway. The guards stationed to either side snapped to attention.
“Do you require aid, Princess?” one of them asked, stepping forward hesitantly.
“No, thank you. This will only be a short journey.” She smiled at the both of them as they slackened their posture.
With her guards’ curiosity sated, Celestia made for Chrysalis’ room.
She studied the Changeling’s mark on the door as she pushed it open. She grew used to seeing it as she came and went from her room. The thought of painting over it left her feeling slightly hollow. She shook the thought away and continued inside.
The room was dark. Something Chrysalis had done back when still lived there. A modification to the curtains that left this as the darkest room in the castle. But it wasn’t the creeping shadows that unsettled the solar monarch.
A certain uneasiness swirled around the bedroom. At first, Celestia barely noticed it. But in the silence of the evenings she spent there, she would start to understand. It came to her as a quiet hum, barely audible buried beneath the silence. A silent song that sent a chill down her spine and – more importantly – down her wounded leg.
“Good evening, Chrysalis,” Celestial called out as she limped over to the bed. “I spoke with Thorax today. It seems you’ll be staying with us a little bit longer.” Each word left a bitter taste on her tongue. “I hope you don’t mind.”
With her magic, Celestia pulled a chair up to the bedside. Enveloped completely in the darkness, she could hardly see the bed, let alone the figure entombed within the sheets. She didn’t have to see it, though. The image already existed within her mind. Chrysalis, laying down with her eyes closed. Only the unnatural stillness around her hinted at the true reason.
“Sometimes, I still think back to our last meeting in the hive. To that broken creature that confronted me. I hoped you could be so much more than that. And you didn’t disappoint. I can only hope that you found redemption in your second chance. And I hope that wherever you are, you’re watching over—”
Celestia’s words fumbled as the balcony door behind her creaked open, allowing the roar of the wind into the room. The startled alicorn leapt from her chair. By the time she remembered her injuries, she was too late. She ground her teeth as a surge of pain echoed through her leg. She braced herself, waiting for the ache to pass.
When it did, she found herself facing out into the gardens. The balcony doors were blown open. With a huff, Celestia summoned her magic and shut them. She locked the latch into place to keep them from interrupting her again.
With the interruption dealt with, she returned to her seat.
“I’m sorry. Where was I? Oh, right. I hope that wherever you are, you’re looking over—”
Another breeze. Another crash of the balcony door.
This time, Celestia didn’t jump. Instead, she rose slowly. Frustrated, she didn’t bother to summon her magic this time. She pulled the doors shut and pulled the latch to lock them. Only then did the problem reveal itself.
She sparked her horn, casting a golden light across the lock.
The latch had been broken, allowing the doors to swing freely.
A thought struck the princess square across the brow. She spun around, casting her light over the whole of the room. She searched every nook and cranny, searching for the intruder. Ultimately, such a task proved fruitless. She sighed and made her way back to her seat a third time, rubbing her sore leg with her hooves.
There, as Celestia sat in her chair, her light fell across the empty bed.
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Sequel?
Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh!
I need a sequel! Thanks for the fic!
Hmm, latches tend to be in the inside, so how would one go about breaking it from the outside?
From the inside, one does not really need to break it, as one can just open it usually . .
But if you can break it from the outside, then you can also probably just open it from outside as well.
FUCKING GOOSBUMPS M8!
What an amazing journey that was easily one of the best stories I have read here! Keep the writing comin!
2 thinks is I would like to point out.
1)fucking spiteful bastards her children are.
2)SEQUEL????
10740649
10740664
10740679
Who said anything about a sequel?
*shifty eyes*
10740670
She had a headache. Easier to break it than open it.
10740686
Oh come man dont do this to us!!!!
What have we done to you!!!!???
10740705
Don't you worry none. I got you.
10740725
You are the best man!
10740686
*cue a YES! chant*
10740686
Twi did it i bet. Shes gonna do something crazy twilight related. Like necromancy. .. Maybe love necromancy? Juice the catatonic queen with enough love to kickstart her.
10740686
You just did.
That said, in the time-honored horror/mystery fashion, I think this actually is a good point to stop on for the moment. We as readers get to speculate on just what the heck happened there at the end for at least a while and you can consider yourself done with this story for the moment (and take some time to set up the sequel most of us are hoping for properly, if you’re indeed planning to do so; no pressure, of course...
), so it’s basically a win/win.
10741182
I've already got some ideas in the works for sequels. I might take a break for a while to work on another project. Not really sure yet. Thanks for the encouraging words, though.
This story is really long and it took you a long time to finish it, and it's actually very interesting and good.😉
10742985
Thank you. It took seven months. Almost exactly.
There were a few errors in grammar, it was weird how no one reacted to Twilight's injuries, when she lost her magic everyone seemed so nonchalant about it, there were a few continuity errors and the whole missing ponies thing didn't get resolved. Overall though it wasn't too bad.
10743291
I appreciate your feedback. One thing, though . . .
This was never meant to be resolved in this story.
10743318
I didn't know if you were gonna make a sequel. I didn't hear anything so I just assumed you were done, washing your hands of this story and disappear from the site. it's happened before with other authors.
10743362
I might take a bit of a break, but I definitely intend on coming back.
10743453
good to hear, looking forward to the sequel!
soloquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Motivational-Quotes-Stay-Amazing.jpg
When I read that Celestia's back leg was sore the first thought that popped into my head is Chrysalis transferred her physical body over to Celestia to repair what had been deteriorated / destroyed and, while at first glance medically and on the surface it was Celestia's body, the injured back leg was from Chrysalis's body. I'm hoping for a sequel as well because this was a good story and while a honorable death sacrificing her life to save Celestia would be a good finish for Chrysalis I find myself hoping that there's going to be a continuation of this story so that Twilight doesn't have to have that kind of heartache for long.
I finally got a chance to finish and oh my sweet Celestia! Amazing!!! Just I have so much to say but it is late and I need to work in the morning so will say more soon! Just wow! Can hardly wait for that sequel!!!!
10759973
I look forward to hearing what you have to say!
Oh. My. God. This was amazing. I have never seen a story so in depth before. I honestly hope theres a sequel one day.
10768522
I'm taking a bit of a break, but a sequel is planned.
when will the sequel be?🤔
Well, as long as you can reveal when it will be.🙂
10771362
I've been wanting to take a bit of a break while I set up the sequel.
On that front, though, I know how I want the story to begin, but I'm still filling in a few of the details. I'm hoping it will be toward the end of April or beginning of May.
Wow! Intriguing story that had me hooked from start to finish. I can't recall but didn't Chrysalis say that she wouldn't survive? Now we know she lied, but what for? Can't wait for the next part.
Has chrysalis body disappeared???🤔🤔🤔
10809176
I mean, dead bodies don't usually just get up and walk away . . .
Greetings, have a review!
I have completed the review. I hope it's to your liking.
I really did not expect this story to end the way it did for the reasons it did.
Following will be spoilers, so don't read unless you're okay with getting spoilered.
At the very start of chapter 17, I expected everything about Celestia to be a distraction, a ruse for what was actually going on, with the real story being untold until the last moments of the story. Chrysalis being fixated on heat, so that she could get access to a fireplace so that she could disguise the fact that she was becoming paler and paler, taking all those baths to hide the fact she's making everything seem normal with herself. Nothing working and the slowly but surely declining vital signs of Celestia being to ensure the ponies stay more focused on curing her than on Chrysalis starting to behave oddly. The befriending of the ponies being to lessen their vigilance over her actions and location. The culmination of all this being Chrysalis's only chance at guaranteed freedom from the sufferings of a lonely immortal, ie. her own death, the slowest and most changeling-esque suicide of all-time, with Celestia waking up shortly after just fine and dandy, sans the stab wound.
Instead what happened in this story was that Chrysalis found penance, and decided to save Celestia after the cure was shown to be insufficient, if not created and administered far too late to make everything well again.
11434684
Thanks for sticking with the story all the way through to the end.
Tell me, how do you feel about it ending the way it did? Would you have preferred the ending you were expecting?
11434858
I was only mildly disappointed, as I consider the ending taken to be a more predictable and normal one, one you could expect from a disney movie or something. Still, it is a good ending, and in my opinion that's all that really matters. Greatly enjoyed the story for what it did, even if it was a romance story instead of a mind-game thriller.
Besides, it is unintentionally an absolutely fantastic "Deceit 101" for the first half of the story, and is something I will with joy refer to when applicable :y
11434950
Yeah. Hopefully the sequels will get to lean in a bit more to the “thriller” idea. Things tend to get complicated when Changelings are involved.
I'm a bit confused by the synopsis. Has the story been fully rewritten at this point? I see no chapters listed with a version 2. If it has been rewritten, does it now work with the sequel? I want to read this but I want to know how I should be prepared.
11476259
The new version hasn’t been posted yet. Still working on editing. The few chapters of the sequel that exist for now are going to be deleted. The new chapters for the sequel will follow off the new ending. Hope that clears some things up for you.
11476691
I'm interested, but since I don't want to get confused I'll just bookmark this for later. Good luck on the rewrite. Sounds like an exhausting endeavor.
Thoroughly enjoyed the story, and I am looking forward to the rewrite!
The characterization of Chrysalis is pretty solid and believable. You did a good job of balancing her spiteful personality with a more caring side hardly seen in the show.
Also as a twisalis shipper, i have to say the romantic scenes were very cute, well done :3
11686582
Glad to hear you enjoyed it. The rewrites are on hold for a little bit, as my editor is out. But I look forward to getting that done.