The Black Heart

by Wooden Wheel

Back in Ponyville

Back in Ponyville, Starlight and Spike almost had a heart attack when they saw Chrysalis enter through the doors of the Castle of Friendship, surrounded by the girls. Before either of them acted abruptly (Starlight!), Twilight, just like on the floating island, island that was currently in the process of being properly anexed to Equestria (In Canterlot, everyone could hear a powerful gust of wind coming from the castle, Celestia had just sighed in relief knowing that she would not have to deal with either the griffins or the dragons for the property rights of those lands), was quick to inform them that the Changeling Queen had not come looking for trouble, but on the contrary, she was there to end the conflict. And while this is the case, Chrysalis would be welcome as a guest.

Once they arrived at the throne room, each of them took their place on their respective crystal throne denoted by their cutie mark, with Chrysalis occupying the seat to Twilight's right, a place that until then was exclusive to Spike. Luckily for Twilight, the small drake had decided to keep himself safe busy reading comics in his room, thus avoiding the possibility of her plan falling apart all because of a fight over a chair.

Once everyone was seated, Twilight decides to properly introduce and presents her plan to Chrysalis and the rest of her friends.

"As long as she wants, Chrysalis will be a guest staying here at the castle," Twilight begins, directing her gaze towards Chrysalis, aware that giving her the freedom of choice was one of the cornerstones of what she proposed to the Changeling Queen. "And she will be able to roam freely around Ponyville. And for the sake of this -let's called it- 'experiment in social experiences', Chrysalis will have daily individual interactions with all of us."

This news caused some groans of concern and dissatisfaction among the rest of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, who did not seem very happy with the premise of allowing so much freedom of movement to someone who, in their eyes, was a very dangerous and untrustworthy individual. Not to mention the fact that they would have to spend some time alone with Chrysalis. And likewise, Twilight could hear the beginnings of an angry growl coming from her right.

Twilight could feel the tension in the room rising, clearly that part of her idea hadn't sat well with at least three of her friends; Fluttershy was shaking with anxiety in her seat, but, well, that had been her state since even before the trip back to Ponyville, so it was difficult for her to say what her pegasus friend position was on the matter.

And Pinkie... Pinkie was happily bobbing her head up and down, with her eyes closed and her tongue out, as if she was licking the frosting off a cake or an ice cream. So it was impossible for Twilight to tell whether she was paying attention regarding what was being discussed or not.

Before the situation could go from growling to words, and then escalate from words to possible (and most likely) violent actions, Twilight caught the attention of those present by tapping her hoof on the surface of the table and continued in a serious voice:

"In correspondence with these concessions, Chrysalis promised not to attack anyone, neither physically nor magically, unless it is in self-defense. She will not use her powers to mentally manipulate anyone, brainwash them, charm them, or anything of the sort. She will not trap anyone in cocoons. She will not steal anyone's love, in this regard she commits to only feed on the emotions in the environment or those specifically directed at her. And finally, she will be undisguised, showing everyone her true form, at all times."

Twilight concluded, emphasizing that last condition, making it clear that it was a vital part of demonstrating the viability of her proposal.

The nerves among her friends seemed to have calmed, changing their expressions of negativity and skepticism to ones of deep thought, trying to find something that Twilight had possibly overlooked and that the Changeling Queen could take advantage of.

Having found none, they, with certain reservations, agreed to support and be part of their purple friend's plan.

At that point, all eyes turn to Chrysalis, expecting an answer from her part.

"First you talk about me having freedom, but not long after you said something that makes you and your friend sound very similar to being my jailers, mind to explain that?" hisses the Queen, almost, almost regretting all the decisions she made that led her to this point.

"Gladly!" chirped Twilight, mentally patting herself on the back, proud of herself and that all those hours she spent preparing for this moment were time well spent. "First of all, to prove, or in your case disprove, the point where I propose that you can obtain enough love to live without the need to steal it, you obviously need to interact with other creatures, don't you? I mean, you didn't think to stay locked in your room all the time until you starve to death and then use that as an excuse to invalidate it, right?"

Twilight showed her a knowing smile, a challenging smile, but above all, an innocent smile. Chrysalis didn't know whether to love that smile or to hate it. The Queen show herself flustered at those insinuations, the blush on her face only getting worse when some muffled snickers coming from the other seats reached her ears. She was undoubtedly insulted that Twilight and friends believed her capable of such foolish behavior. No sir, the Changeling Queen would never be caught imagining and carrying out such a childish tactic.

"And secondly, you shouldn't see us as jailers. Think of us more as... 'helpers', or 'assistants'." Twilight wanted to use the term 'Friends' so, so much, but she still didn't consider it safe to use that word with Chrysalis, not yet. "After all, what better way to acclimate yourself to normal social interactions than to have a group of individuals who already know you, to help you, and who can function as intermediaries between you and the rest of Ponyville's inhabitants?"

"You may not believe it, Sparkle, but I can be a social butterfly when I wanted. I do not need to be babysitted for that", Chrysalis said, proudful as ever.

"I know you can 'act' like one, but that is not the point, and you know it," Twilight refuted. "What I wish is for you to realize that you don't need to pretend to be good to get the love you want, that simply being good would be better for you."

"Fine! If this are the rules of your little foolish game, I accept to follow them. Just be ready to cry when you are proven wrong."

Seeing that Chrysalis had relented and had no further questions, Twilight turned to address her friends.

"Well, with that business out of the way, I think we're done here. Girls, you can go back to your homes."

And with that, Twilight concluded the meeting.

"Chrysalis, follow me and I will show you where you will stay and rest. We'll start first thing, tomorrow morning."

Author's Note:

This small chapter was originally going to be part of the true third one, but what was conceived and started as just a couple of lines, grew to a large enough size that I felt it appropriate to separate it and make it into its own.

What do you think? Do you believe there's something the girls didn't catch and failed to mention? Do you think Twilight's plan has legs to stand on and run, or is it destined to fall and fail?

As always, thanks for reading. And if you want to say something, even if it's just to point out a spelling error, please leave a comment.

I may not respond to all the comments, but I assure you that I will read them all.

Comments

[Matthais Unidostres]

Do you think Twilight's plan has legs to stand on and run, or is it destined to fall and fail?

Put an AU tag on this story and then we'll talk.

[Doctor_Den]

Do you think Twilight's plan has legs to stand on and run, or is it destined to fall and fail?

I actually doubt that voluntary emotions for Chrysalis will be enough to make her forget what hunger is. Everyone definitely doesn’t like her and someone’s words are not enough for this to turn into adoration.
In my opinion, Thorax succeeded in this in the Crystal Empire because this country literally lives because the artifact throws tons of love into the air.

I also completely agree with this opinion...
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[Wooden Wheel]

11730707

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Is this a confusion caused by the line "This story takes place before the beginning of Season 9" and what could its wording imply?

Because if this is the case, I apologize. My intention with this line was to set a time frame in which the story occurs and takes place, and at what point diverge from the canon, given the implicit events that the reader must be aware of that previously occurred and that, some, will be referenced in it.

With that said, I may contact a moderator in the future and ask for their opinion on the matter.

But right now, due to the exception rule in the Alternate Universe tag description, I don't think it applies to my story, regardless of how it develops and concludes.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the story from beginning to end.

[Doctor_Den]

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thanks for the detailed answer :)

The question is off topic. It turns out that in this story, events happened with the evil clones of mein six? Did Chrysalis save the purple log she talked to when she thought no one could see her?

[Wooden Wheel]

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If everything goes well, 'splinter' and the changelogs will make a cameo in a future chapter.