Death of a Queen, V2.

by Arkane12

63: It Goes Both Ways

“Lot number one-nine-two.” Twilight held the potion up to her face, staring intently at the sky-blue liquid sloshing around inside. She could still see the faint outline of a small black stone floating in the bottle. “Ineffective.” She sighed and set the bottle back down.

“In-eff-ec-tive,” Chrysalis said as she noted it down on her clipboard.

“On to lot number one-nine-three.”

“One-nine-three.”

Like before, Twilight held the bottle up. She swirled it around, scanning the bubbly pink broth. “Shows some promise. Mark it down as a possible contender.”

“Right.”

“And that’s all of them.” Twilight wiped her brow with a hoof. “How’s the breakdown looking?”

Chrysalis skimmed her notes. “Thirteen failures, eight marked as promising.”

“That’s a decent breakdown.” Twilight plucked a carrot from the serving tray on the next table over and bit it in two. “Now we’ll just have to run a few more extensive tests with those eight. And, hopefully, that will leave us with what we need.”

“Eight seems like a lot,” Chrysalis noted, offering her paperwork to Twilight. She motioned for Chrysalis to set it aside.

“We’ll keep testing until we can narrow it down to the most effective one.” She tossed the rest of her snack into her mouth. “That will still probably take a few hours. Are you still feeling okay?”

“Don’t you worry about me,” Chrysalis said, sliding into the chair beside Twilight.

Twilight snagged another carrot from her lunch before sliding the tray towards Chrysalis. “Are you hungry?”

“Not for carrots.” Chrysalis slid the tray back.

“Right.” Twilight bit the tip of the carrot. “I promise, we can . . . spend some time together tonight.” The memories of their previous night together flooded her thoughts. “Maybe there’s something more you can show me. Does that sound fair?”

Chrysalis threw her head back and sighed. “You drive a hard bargain, Twilight Sparkle.”

“I know.” Twilight chuckled. “Thanks for helping me out, by the way.”

“Not sure I had a choice in the matter.” Chrysalis shrugged.

“Of course you had a choice. What makes you say that?”

“Cadance told me about the time you fell asleep in the lab and nearly burned the place down.” Twilight looked away, whistling innocently. “As it turns out, there is at least one thing the two of us can agree on. Leaving you alone for long stretches of time is hazardous.”

“Well, that’s just unfair,” Twilight huffed. “It only happened once. Twice, max.”

Chrysalis leaned back in her seat, her shoulders heaving as she laughed.

“Don’t you make fun of me,” Twilight demanded, biting her lip to keep from snickering.

Over the course of her break, Twilight made it through the remains of her lunch. Chrysalis sat opposite her, her head in her hooves, her eye closed. The sound of the changeling’s soft breathes helped to dampen the anxiety flowing through Twilight’s veins. And yet, she could still hear her brother’s voice whispering in her mind, reminding her just how wrong all of this was. It certainly didn’t feel that way.

“Something wrong?”

Chrysalis’ voice drew Twilight back into the moment. She glanced up at the changeling. Chrysalis had her head down, using her foreleg as a pillow. Her eye searched Twilight up and down, but her thin lips betrayed no emotion. Those beautiful, slender lips.

“Yeah. I mean, no. Or . . . I’m alright,” Twilight said, a little flustered.

“Clearly.” Chrysalis chuckled. “Something you wish to talk about?”

“No.” Twilight could feel her temperature rising under Chrysalis’ gaze. “Tell you what, why don’t you just rest there for a minute. I’ll get the next round of tests set up.” Twilight rose from her seat fast enough that she nearly tripped over her own hooves.

The princess attempted to laugh it off with a carefree giggle as she made her way to her workstation. But no matter how hard she tried to bury such thoughts, she couldn’t think of anything other than Chrysalis’ thin-lipped smile.

Perhaps the cure could wait a little longer. What was a few more hours, after all?

“No!” Twilight snapped. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. Enough time had been wasted already. She couldn’t afford any more distractions. Not right now. Pulling herself back together, Twilight snatched the clipboard. Though her thoughts were still drifting, her body moved by instinct.

Glass rattled as she separated the potions into two groups. Those marked as ineffective were set aside, to be disposed of properly once her work was done. As for the successes, Twilight reset their stations with proper temperatures and timers. Finally, she retrieved a small chest from one of the nearby shelves. She set the box on the table and unlocked the latches.

Inside, the stone she used for testing rested on a velvet bed. The jagged black stone thrummed with magical energy.

“What have you got there?” Chrysalis peered over Twilight’s shoulder.

“It’s what I’ve been using to test my cures. It contains a serious amount of magical energy. I hypothesized that, if the mixture could negate this much energy, it would work on your venom.” She could feel Chrysalis’ presence standing over her. She imagined the feel of her fangs on her neck.

“Changeling magic, right?”

“Yup!” Twilight stepped forward from under Chrysalis’ shadow. Something was wrong with her. Something had to be wrong with her.

“Now, where would a pony like you find a relic of immense changeling magic?” Chrysalis said, baring her fangs in a sinister smile. Twilight tried to step away again, only for the changeling to follow her.

“I-I don’t know what you’re implying,” Twilight said, shivering. She backed ever closer into the corner.

“Did you think I wouldn’t recognize it?” Chrysalis lowered her voice to a whisper. “I didn’t expect you’d be using it for your experiments.”

“I-Is there something wrong with that?” Twilight stammered. “I mean,you don't have a problem with that, do you?”

“I certainly don’t.” Chrysalis laughed. “But, that would certainly explain your behavior.”

“Huh?” Twilight risked a glance toward her lab partner. Chrysalis had her head hung, snickering. For some reason, that sight sent Twilight’s heart racing. “What does that mean?”

“Did you know that it’s a bad idea to stand next to a hungry changeling?” Chrysalis asked, bringing her muzzle only inches from Twilight’s own. “Especially when you’re messing with her magic.”

“What?” Twilight blinked.

“You know what, I just had an idea of what to show you.” Chrysalis straightened up. “I’ll be waiting outside. When you’re done setting up your tests here, let me know.” With a devious smile, Chrysalis turned and walked out of the room.

As Chrysalis slipped out into the hallway, a switch flipped in Twilight’s head. Her thoughts became her own again. Her heart settled and her temperature cooled. But even as her body was freed, she was saddled with an immense longing.

As she glanced downward, Chrysalis’ words finally made sense.

The small chest held the Changeling Queen’s broken horn.

With her senses no longer muddied, Twilight could sense its magic, drawing her, enticing her. Blushing, Twilight closed the lid, dampening its call. Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment.

After a deep breath, she opened the chest again. The effects were immediate, but not as overwhelming as before. Removing the broken horn from the box, Twilight retrieved her tools. With a steady hoof, she chipped away, producing a variety of small black rocks slightly larger than those she had used in the first trial. When she was done, she returned the horn safely to its containment back on the shelf.

Even as broken as they were, the bits still radiated with Chrysalis' hunger. But Twilight’s resolve held out long enough for her to add each of the bits to their respective potions. They each hit the liquid with a sizzle. As they sank, Twilight felt Chrysalis’ grip on her loosen.

“Well,” Twilight muttered as she watched the stones sink to the bottom. “That was certainly something else.” She sighed and rubbed at the knot forming between her eyes. Now that her thoughts were finally settled, she double and triple-checked her work. In the end, the only thing her experiments needed was time.

Now, there was only one more thing to deal with.

Twilight marched over to the door and threw it open. Chrysalis was lying in the middle of the hallway, scratching and tapping her hoof against the tile. Her ears were lying flat against her mane, giving her a guilty appearance. This time, Chrysalis’ magic reverberated in the background, still obvious, but not crowding out Twilight’s own thoughts.

“Care to explain what just happened?” Twilight asked.

Chrysalis flinched. “I may have . . . miscalculated a few things.”

Twilight leaned up against the doorway, crossing her forelegs over her chest.

“You used your magic on me, didn’t you?”

“Not . . . not intentionally.”

The princess frowned. “I want an explanation. Now.”

“I . . . I don’t quite know how to explain it.” Chrysalis lowered her gaze to the floor. “I was hungry,” she whined. “And then you promised that ‘we would spend some time together’ tonight. I got a little carried away. I didn’t think you’d be able to feel it yet.”

“Yet?” Twilight cocked an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Chrysalis chewed her lip. “I knew it would only be a matter of time before you started to feel things the way I do. I just figured that we still had a few weeks before we reached that point.”

“Seriously, Chrysalis?” Twilight leaned her head back and groaned. “I’ve spent all this time trying to convince myself and the ponies around me that you’re not controlling me with your magic. Only to turn around and find you trying to control me with your magic.”

“I told you, it wasn’t intentional.” Chrysalis’ lip quivered.

Twilight should have been upset. To have her own thoughts and intentions pulled away like that without even realizing it. What would have happened if she hadn’t caught herself?

“I’m sorry,” Chrysalis mewled.

Twilight stomped her hoof. “Is that what you did to my brother?”

The changeling’s eye went wide. “No! I wouldn’t do that to you, Twilight.” She shrank. “At least, not on purpose.”

Putting her head in her hooves, Twilight glanced up and down the hallway. As far as they could tell, they were alone. But that didn’t stop the growing sense of exposure she felt standing here. “Get inside. We need to talk.”

Chrysalis’ movements were slow, but she did as she was commanded. She avoided Twilight’s stare as she passed by. Twilight watched as she crossed the room and climbed into her nest before burying herself beneath the sheets. With her broken stance, she hardly resembled the once-noble Changeling Queen anymore.

“I’m not mad,” Twilight declared as she pulled a seat up beside Chrysalis.

“I know. But you’re certainly not happy with me,” Chrysalis said. “I don’t need my magic to tell that.”

“You . . . you scared me. I just want to know what you did. So, take a deep breath and explain it to me as clearly as you can.”

Chrysalis took a few deep breaths. With each one, she regained a bit of composure, but never fully recovered herself. “Do you remember that night we spent together. When I claimed you as a mate?”

Twilight thought of a few more cheeky answers before defaulting to a somber. “Yes.”

“I said it links our souls.”

“I remember.”

“That’s what you just experienced.”

“Your soul?”

“My thoughts. My emotions. My . . . desires. You felt them.”

“Without any input from you, whatsoever?” Twilight asked incredulously.

“Like I said, it’s not that simple.” Chrysalis poked her head out from beneath her covers. “When I let you in, when I shared my memories with you, it formed a link between us. With my magic, I could always feel your emotions, understand how you felt.” Chrysalis squirmed a little. “But with that link, you just got your first glimpse into mine. I’m sorry that had to be your first experience.”

“And somehow, me feeling your desires completely overtook my own free will? That’s what you're saying?” It sounded less like a clarification and more like an accusation.

“Yes,” Chrysalis rested her chin on the box.

Twilight scowled. “If that’s true, why doesn’t it affect you like that?”

Chrysalis’ ears perked up. “It does! That’s exactly how it feels for me when I sense your emotions. I’ve just had centuries of practice controlling it. The truth of the matter is, you just felt exactly what a changeling does when we taste another creature's emotions.

Twilight gave an exhausted groan and lurched back in her seat. “You couldn’t have warned me about it, at least?”

Chrysalis gave a heavyhearted chuckle as she wiped her eye with the back of her hoof. “How could I have known?” Twilight started to respond, but was cut off by another sharp laugh. “You think you’re the only one that’s new to all of this? I’ve only ever done this once before. And that . . .” She sniffled. “And that was taken away from me before I ever had the chance to know it.”

Twilight found herself sliding forward in her seat. She reached a hoof out toward Chrysalis, wrapping it tightly around hers. “I’m sorry, Chryssy, I didn’t mean to . . .”

“It’s all spiraling out of control, Twilight.” She shook her head, her cheeks darkening with a blush. “I’ve tried to keep it together. I really have. But I can’t keep doing this, Twilight. I’m sorry.”

Twilight rose from her seat and knelt beside Chrysalis’ nest. “For what?”

“Ever since the night you told me you loved me, I’ve tried to put on a brave face.” Chrysalis refused to meet Twilight’s gaze. “I told myself that you didn’t mean it, that you were just confused. I tried to keep a stiff upper lip. To be the port in the storm that you needed while everything fell apart around you.”

“Chrysalis . . .”

The changeling’s tears flowed freely now. “I’ve always been good at lying, Twilight. Even to myself. But I can’t deny the truth any longer. I’ve tried.” She reached out, gently cupping Twilight’s cheek. “It’s rare for anypony to treat me with kindness and understanding the way you did. And it worked. But now, seeing you work. Seeing you so close to your goal . . .”

“Chrysalis, it’s alright.”

“I’m scared, Twilight.” Chrysalis pulled the alicorn tight, her tears soaking into the pony’s fur. “I don’t want this to end. I don’t want to lose you. But after tonight . . . after everything is said and done, no matter what happens, things won’t be the same.”

“Chrysalis–”

“No. Let me speak.” Chrysalis squeezed Twilight tighter. “I need you to know this. Even if it’s selfish. Even if I don’t have the right. I need you to know that I want to be with you, Twilight. I want to spend my life by your side, helping you. I want to share in each victory with you, and be happy for you.”

“I know.”

“But deep down, I know I can’t. And it hurts.”

“I know.”

Twilight felt something in the air. Something she couldn’t even begin to explain. Yet, it was something her mind knew, even if she didn’t. It was fear. Sorrow. Bitterness. These were the things that Chrysalis felt.

“It’s like . . . it’s like a dream.” Chrysalis tried to take a breath, but it caught on a sob. “A dream that I don’t want to wake up from. I don’t want to go back to how things were before. I don’t want to be alone. I can’t. Not again.”

“You won’t be,” Twilight cooed, stroking Chrysalis’ mane with her free hoof. Chrysalis shook her head as best she could in Twilight’s grasp. “Hey, are you listening to me?” Twilight asked, her own tears starting to well up. “You won’t be alone. Even if they try to take you, I won’t let them.”

“You’ll lose everything because of me.”

“Maybe. But I won’t lose you.”

Twilight laid her head atop Chrysalis’. She could feel the changeling trembling. With a teary-eyed smile, she reached down and took Chrysalis by the chin, forcing her to look up to her.

“I won’t leave you alone. I promise.”

Chrysalis’ lip trembled. She pressed her cheek against Twilight’s hoof as hard as she could.

“Thank you, Twilight.”

They let the moments pass, the silence broken only by Chrysalis’ sobs and the ticking timers on Twilight’s experiments.

“Hey, Chrysalis?”

“Yeah?”

“We’ve still got some time left.”

“Yeah.”

Twilight bent low, putting her muzzle right up to Chrysalis’ ear.

“So, why don’t we make the most of it?”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight yawned and tried to roll onto her back, only to find herself trapped beneath Chrysalis. The changeling was snoring softly, but even while asleep, she kept her grip on Twilight firm, keeping the princess pinned in place with a strict embrace.

Despite being relegated to the same status as a child’s toy, Twilight smiled. There were definitely worse ways to wake up than being tangled with her love beneath the warm woolen bedsheets.Or perhaps her jovial mood had more to do with her lightheadedness and extreme lethargy. Even if she weren’t trapped, the leaden weight of her limbs would have been more than enough to keep her snuggled up in Chrysalis’ makeshift bed.

Exhaustion was nothing new to Twilight. Long nights of studying had left her in such a sorry state more often than she cared to admit. But those rarely left her with the feeling of satisfaction she felt right now. That was something she had only experienced once before, on that first night she allowed Chrysalis to feed off her.

As she squirmed into a more comfortable position and closed her eyes, Twilight finally noticed what had interrupted her rest in the first place. A single shrill ringing hung in the air. It reminded her of one of those front desk bells, the kind she might see at a hotel, but stretched out over the course of minutes. And that could only mean one thing.

She craned her neck for a better look outside. There, she could see the violet and orange vestiges of an impending sunset. She must’ve been asleep for longer than she thought. Long enough that her experiments had finished their tests in the meantime.

“Shoot. Chrysalis, wake up.” She prodded the changeling’s muzzle with a free hoof.

“No,” Chrysalis muttered, tightening her grip. As soon as the words were gone from her lips, she returned to snoring.

“Chrysalis! Come on, this isn’t funny. I need to get up.”

This time, her pleas didn’t even warrant a response from the snoozing beast.

Twilight huffed and gathered her magic. In a flash of light, she blinked over to her workstation. The cost of the spell compounded on her already existing headache, forcing her to grit her teeth and breathe through the pain. Once that had passed, she managed to shift her focus onto the line of bottles still hooked up to their individual experiments.

Despite the trouble Chrysalis’ magic caused earlier, Twilight found it helpful now. As she studied each potential cure, she could feel the remnants of Chrysalis’ magic reaching out to her from the bottle. Each of them had been weakened by their time bathing in Twilight’s potions, but with the aid of her own magical sense, she could feel obvious differences in their power.

One-by-one, she eliminated the bottles with the least effect. Which brought her down to two. Both had managed to completely disperse the bit of Chrysalis’ horn that had been placed within them. However, only one managed to do so without leaving any trace of the magic behind.

Twilight took the winner from its burner and brought it to her workstation. She set it on the table and pulled up a seat for a closer inspection. As she noted earlier, the shard of Chrysalis’ horn was nowhere to be seen. More impressively, Twilight couldn’t even feel an echo of the shard’s power remaining. In fact, it was beyond Twilight’s wildest expectations.

Unless she simply forgot to add the shard.

No. She wouldn’t have forgotten something so important.

Right?

“Something wrong?”

Twilight glanced over to where Chrysalis was lying. She had rolled over onto her stomach and was rubbing her temple.

“Oh, now you’re up.” Twilight rolled her eyes.

Chrysalis shrugged. “I felt your panic. What happened?”

“This.” Twilight held up the bottle. “Feel anything?”

“If you’re asking about the chunk of my horn you put in there, then no. It’s gone. Completely.” Chrysalis’ plates clicked and popped as she stretched. “Isn’t that what it was supposed to do?”

“Yeah?” Twilight set the potion down. “Actually, it’s beyond anything I hoped would happen. If it really works that well, then it should work well against Celestia’s ailment, too.”

A section of chitin on Chrysalis’ back opened up, allowing her wings to stretch. “Glad to hear it. I guess we’d better–” Her wings buzzed. “If?”

“If.” Twilight nodded. “I’m not sure I actually put the shard in there.”

Chrysalis stifled a laugh.

“What are you laughing about?” Twilight asked. “It’s your fault. You distracted me.”

“Let me see it.”

Twilight put the bottle in Chrysalis’ outstretched hoof. “Here.” She sighed. “I guess we’re going to have to set up another test. I was really hoping we’d be able to cure Celestia tonight. Silver linings, though, at least we get to spend a bit more time–”

Twilight’s speech was interrupted by an angry hissing. Chrysalis had poured a generous bit of the potion on her leg. The medicine burned on contact like an acid, bubbling and hissing as it dripped down her shell.

“There. Works like a charm.”

“What are you doing?” Twilight rocketed up from her seat, retrieved the cleanest looking towel she could find, and started to wipe away the trickling pink liquid.

“Testing your cure.”

“You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“Twilight, please.” Chrysalis took the cloth from Twilight and wiped her leg clean. Where the liquid had been, her shell had been polished to a dull gray. “It ate through the magic on my shell. See. It works.”

“That violates so many rules of the lab,” Twilight said.

“On the bright side, it doesn’t seem to work on you that well,” Chrysalis noted, pointing out a bit of the potion Twilight had spilled on her fur. “Looks like its also safe to use on ponies. I think that makes it ready to use.”

“That’s . . . I don’t . . .” Twilight collapsed back into her seat. Chrysalis set the bottle back on the table beside her. “Why did you do that?”

“You said we needed to test it again.”

“I had some of your broken horn left, we could have just–”

“Would have taken too long. You said you wanted to help Celestia as soon as possible, right?” Chrysalis hopped down off her boxes. “Well, now we don’t need to waste more time.”

“I mean, yeah, I said that. But you could have seriously hurt yourself,” Twilight said, stepping in front of Chrysalis. “And we could have spent more time–”

“Twilight, listen to yourself,” Chrysalis pet Twilight’s cheek. “You’re stalling.”

“With good reason,” Twilight shrieked.

“Maybe so, but I had a better idea.”

“That was not a better–”

“So, you can stand here and lecture me, or we can go use this on Celestia and save her. Your choice.” Chrysalis challenged Twilight with a raised eyebrow.

“A-alright. Fine. Let’s go.” Twilight stepped aside, allowing Chrysalis to pass. “We’ll have to take it Luna first. She’ll want to be there for this.” Twilight took only a single step toward the door before stopping. “Hey, Chrysalis . . .”

“Yeah?” The changeling turned to face Twilight.

“You know, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to be there.”

“And miss out on your big moment?” Chrysalis sneered. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Alright.” Twilight managed to eke out a smile, but she could feel Chrysalis’ emotions echoing off the walls around her. Pain. Fear. Sorrow. She was putting on a tough face, but Chrysalis was ready to crack. “Hey, Chryssy?”

“Yeah?” She turned to face Twilight again, quicker this time.

“Thank you. I never could have done this without you.”

“We both know that isn’t true.”

“No. I don't know that.” Twilight shook her head. “When I was ready to give up, ready to break, you were there for me. Sometimes, it felt like you were the only one there for me. And I appreciate that.”

“Well,” Chrysalis turned away and cleared her throat. “You’re welcome.”

“And I know you’re scared. I’m scared, too. But whatever happens after tonight, I want you to know that I appreciate it, and that I’ll have your back all the way, just like you had mine.”

“I’ll try not to cause you too much trouble, then.” Chrysalis smiled. A genuine smile, if her bond with Twilight was to be believed. “Now, enough stalling. Let’s go.”

“Yeah.” Twilight nodded. “Let’s go save Celestia.”

Author's Note:

You guys don't know how difficult it was to not include a 'horny' joke in the title for this chapter.

Comments

[oblivion2k]

Here we go. It's HAPPENING!