Suspicions
“Shining Armor? May I speak with you for a moment?”
Shining Armor’s stomach dropped to his gold-plated hooves. He was nervous enough as it was, en route through Canterlot Palace to tell flat-out lies to a demigod, so the voice of the Princess of the Night coming from behind him did little to alleviate the tension.
“Princess Luna! Of course!” Shining snapped to attention, a hoof automatically flying to his brow. Princess Luna approached him. As always, she seemed slightly out-of-place during the daytime. Ironically, she looked like an outsider in her own palace.
Luna regarded him with amusement. “At ease, Captain. Walk with me?”
Shining was all-too-aware of his pounding heart, convinced that Luna must be able to hear it. “Erm, I have business to discuss with Princess Celestia, I really must be going.” He half-turned, giving Luna an apologetic look. “I’m very sorry, Princess.”
“This concerns your visit with my sister. I’m sure she won’t mind you being a few minutes tardy.”
Shining glanced behind him. The doors to Celestia’s throne room were only twenty paces or so away. He came so close to Celestia without running into Luna. He felt sweat beading at his brow, and he swiped it away casually. “Of course, Princess. What do you need to talk about?”
Luna beckoned with her head, then turned and started walking away. Shining gave the throne room doors one last wistful look, then reluctantly followed Luna.
“I hear you’re to be leading the effort in rounding up any stray Changelings,” Luna said conversationally.
“T-that’s right,” Shining stammered.
“Any ideas on how you’re going to go about it?”
“Well . . . I figured we’d start in Baltimare and work our way west . . . rounding up any stragglers we find.”
“Hmm. What about Ponyville? It seems like anything exciting happening in this country is usually centered there.”
Shining almost tripped over his hooves. “Ponyville? I . . . I don’t think . . .”
“Just a thought. The Everfree Forest would be an ideal refuge for Changelings, after all.” Luna’s stride paused and she looked at Shining Armor evenly, waiting for his reaction. Shining didn’t meet her eye, instead looking up at the enormous stained glass window above her. It depicted his sister and her friends’ defeat of Nightmare Moon. For the first time, Shining was unnerved to notice the similarity between Princess Luna and her former alter ego. Her gaze held the same hard edge, the intensity that crumbled willpower like bread crumbs.
“We’ll get to Ponyville eventually, but it makes more sense to do more of a sweep than a pick-and-choose.” Shining tried to keep his voice as even and casual as possible.
Luna’s lips twitched, then she broke into a smile. “You’ve got your story straight, I’ll give you that. How’s she doing?”
Shining’s heart rate, which had been slowly decelerating back to normal, ratcheted back up. “I’m . . . I’m sorry?”
Luna sighed and glanced both ways, looking to see if they had company. The closest living beings were a pair of armored guards stationed at the doorway, far out of earshot. “We can drop the charade. Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. How’s she treating Cadance?”
“I don’t know . . .” Shining threw a look over his shoulder. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Princess.”
“What were you dreaming about last night, Shining Armor?”
The question caught him off-guard. Last night? He could hardly remember; the past few days had been more stressful than the days preceding his officer exams, even with Chrysalis sleeping through most of them. “I’m sorry, I . . . don’t remember.”
“I do.”
At once, Shining felt a hot shame wash over him. Luna could see dreams.
Chrysalis had been in his dreams. His own subconscious had given her away.
“Your dream told me that you had the queen of the Changelings sleeping in your guest room. That is not something I often see.”
“I . . . I can explain everything.”
“No need. When I saw Chrysalis in your dream, I took a look at Cadance’s as well. I know what she’s trying to do. And I commend her for it.” Luna nodded thoughtfully. “Having the capacity to forgive a being like Chrysalis for what she did is truly remarkable.”
Shining breathed a sigh of relief. “So, you’re not going to tell Celestia?”
Luna shrugged. “I haven’t decided yet. It depends largely on how successful Cadance is in her endeavor.”
“Then . . . what should I tell her?”
“Tell her what you told me. Be a little more assertive, though,” Luna added with a wink. “Even if I hadn’t seen your dreams, I would have known you were lying.”
“Sorry.”
“Then put your plan into motion. Draw Celestia’s eye away from Ponyville. It should buy Cadance enough time to do whatever she plans to do. I’ll try to help however I can, but it’s ultimately up to her.”
“Thank you, Princess.” Shining saluted again. Even though he was technically part of the royal family now, old habits die hard. “Thank you for not snitching.”
Luna smirked. “My lips are sealed tighter than the Chest of Harmony.” She turned to go.
“Erm, Luna . . .” Shining said uneasily.
“Yes?”
“When you said you watched my dreams . . . how much did you watch?”
The deep blue of Luna’s face turned slightly pink. “Too much, Shining Armor. Let’s leave it at that.”
Chrysalis liked her new hat greatly.
To be fair, it had been Prism Brush’s eyes that had picked it out, but then again, Chrysalis was Prism Brush. She wasn’t sure how the exact biology of it all worked, but she did know that certain aspects of the pony she was impersonating worked had a tendency to surface in unexpected ways. Changeling disguises were not just skin-deep.
For instance, Prism was allergic to dogs. This meant that when Applejack was talking Winona for a walk past her, Chrysalis broke down into an embarrassing fit of sneezes, drawing unwanted looks from passersby. And Cadance, as infuriating as she was, did nothing to draw attention away from Chrysalis.
It was also annoying having to deal with Prism’s eyes. Though the brain was entirely Chrysalis’s, the eyes still hinted at a personality that was entirely not―she had to drag herself away from a still-life exhibition that her eye had fixated on. Chrysalis hated painting, Prism did not.
Usually, Chrysalis was able to work around the natural urges of the body she was occupying, but she was very out of practice.
But regardless, Chrysalis liked her new hat.
Currently, she was sitting at an outdoor table across from Cadance, a tall glass of strawberry ice cream topped with a maraschino cherry placed in front of her. Chrysalis tried to keep an angry face on, but she was finding it surprisingly difficult―she simply had nothing to be angry about. And that angered her.
It was a nice day. The sun was shining but the air remained pleasantly cool. There was an energy of excitement emanating from all around―the arrival of spring had everypony buzzing. Smiles were commonplace. Auras were more vibrant. The happiness in the air was intoxicating. Infuriating.
Cadance was rubbing off on her, and Chrysalis wasn’t sure if she liked it.
“How are you feeling?” Cadance asked.
“Fine.”
“Like your ice cream?”
“Sure.”
“What do you want to do next?”
“Whatever.”
Cadance levitated the spoon out of her own ice cream and pointed it at Chrysalis accusatively. “You’re not being nearly as argumentative as usual. What’s up?”
Chrysalis shrugged in response.
“You tired?”
“No.”
“Hungry?”
Chrysalis poked at her ice cream. “No.”
“Need another kitten?”
For the first time in her life, Chrysalis had to force back a laugh.
“No,” she said, voice wavering ever so slightly. She looked down to hide her half-smile, but she feared Cadance already saw it.
“Wait a second . . .” Cadance squinted and leaned in closer. “Are you actually not angry? Has that even happened before?”
“Don’t look too far into it,” Chrysalis said. She raised her head, her customary haughtiness reasserted on her face. “You’d be wasting your time.”
“Nice try, sister. You were smiling.”
“Wasn’t.”
“Were.”
“Wasn’t,” Chrysalis insisted, half-rising.
Something cold and sweet-smelling spattered on Chrysalis’s nose. She recoiled backward, looking cross-eyed to locate the disturbance. Cadance stuck her spoon in her mouth, pretending that she hadn’t just flicked ice cream at Chrysalis, and smiled innocuously.
Chrysalis sank back into her seat, wiping ice cream off her face. “Why did you do that?” she said calmly.
“Because we’re friends, Chrysy, and friends tease each other sometimes.”
Chrysalis, infuriatingly, was not angry at Cadance. She couldn’t quite ascertain why not, but Cadance’s rationale seemed justifiable. She didn’t even bother protesting the comment that they were friends, because for all Chrysalis knew, they might actually be friends by now.
The mechanics of friendship had always befuddled her. Not that she made any effort in trying to decipher the minutia of making friends; friend-making simply had never been pertinent to her. Now . . . she wasn’t sure if she and Cadance were friends or not. She didn’t know the requirements. How much socialization was required before they could be considered friends? And how much more would be required to reverse the adverse effects of Chrysalis’s hostile takeover of Canterlot? What she wouldn’t give for a rulebook . . .
“Whatcha thinking about?”
Cadance must have interpreted Chrysalis’s silence as deep thought. To be fair, she wasn’t wrong. But Chrysalis wasn’t about to admit that. “Nothing.”
“C’mon . . . bit for your thoughts?”
“A fool and her money are soon parted.”
“Ahh, don’t be that way. We’ve gotta establish a little trust here if we’re going to get anywhere.”
“Get anywhere?”
“Sure. I’m going to introduce you to the magic of friendship, whether you like it or not.” Cadance looked over Chrysalis’s shoulder. “Speaking of which . . .”
Chrysalis turned to follow Cadance’s gaze. Approaching the pair was a small, very familiar-looking purple unicorn. Chrysalis’s heart sank. Twilight Sparkle. The pony who she least wanted to see in all of Equestria. Though, hanging around with Cadance, it was only a matter of time before she encountered the Element of Magic.
Cadance leaned in to whisper, “Here’s the foremost expert on friendship there is.” She waved jovially. “Hi Twilight!”
Chrysalis plastered on a casual smile as Twilight approached, masking the inner turmoil that threatened to twist her features into a snarl. Rarity may have only been an accomplice to Chrysalis’s defeat, but Twilight had been the mastermind. A clumsy, awkward mastermind, but a mastermind nonetheless. And Chrysalis hadn’t yet mastered Cadance’s art of forgiveness.
Upon seeing Cadance, Twilight beamed radiantly. Upon closer inspection, Chrysalis noticed that the unicorn’s aura was a brilliant violet, and it pulsed even brighter when Cadance was introduced. She vaguely wondered if Twilight would notice if she leeched a bit of energy off. Just a tad, something to top her off.
“Cadance! Hi!” Twilight exclaimed. She stopped at their table, and dropped the teetering pile of books she was hovering at her hooves. She glanced between Cadance and Chrysalis’s disguise. “I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met.”
“This is Prism Brush,” Cadance said, giving Chrysalis a subtly smug look. “An old friend of mine from Manehattan. She’s going to be in town for another week, so I was hoping to introduce her to some of your friends.”
Twilight smiled politely and extended a hoof for Chrysalis to shake. Chrysalis complied, though her skin crawled when she made contact. “It’s very nice to meet you, Prism. I’d love to introduce you to the girls, and I’m sure they’d love to meet you.”
Chrysalis returned Twilight’s simper. “That’d be wonderful.”
Twilight turned back to Cadance. “Where’s Shining? I haven’t seen him around lately.”
“Oh,” Cadance said. “He had to run back to Canterlot.” She leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “There was some unfinished business with the Changelings.” She winked. “Not that I told you that, or anything.”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “Is he alright? Does he need help?”
“No, no. I’m sure he’s fine,” Cadance assured her. “Just a routine sweep to make sure none of them got left behind. Nothing to worry about, really. He should be back in a couple weeks.”
Twilight didn’t look reassured, but evidently decided not to press the issue. “Hmm, what a shame. I so wanted him to be there for game night tonight.”
“Game night?” Chrysalis asked, surprised at herself that she’d let even a single word escape her mouth.
“Yes, the girls―that is, the other Elements of Harmony―and I have been playing board games every Friday night recently, just for fun. But Pinkie and Fluttershy are out of town, so I was hoping that you and Shining could come fill their spots.”
“But . . .” Chrysalis started, but faltered when both Cadance and Twilight looked at her. “Erm, isn’t today Wednesday?” she finished awkwardly.
Twilight grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, but I thought we’d do it tonight instead. Because . . .” She giggled. “You may think it’s a bit silly, but I had a dream last night that basically told me to switch to tonight.”
Cadance looked thoughtful. “Could Prism come along with me instead of Shining?” Chrysalis noticed that Cadance was deliberately avoiding her gaze.
“Of course!” Twilight exclaimed. “We’d love to have you!” She turned around, digging through her saddlebags for something. “You’ll have to do a little reading, I hope you don’t mind, but I guarantee you’ll have a great time. Cadance has done it before, so she can answer any questions you have.” She withdrew two hardcover books and plopped them down on the table in front of Chrysalis, causing her ice cream to teeter threateningly. “We’ll meet at my house at seven. It's the big tree in the middle of town. See you then!”
Twilight waved, picked up her stack of books, then continued on her merry way.
Cadance waved after Twilight, blissfully oblivious to the scorching stare Chrysalis was giving her. “So that’s Twilight for you,” she said, turning to meet Chrysalis’s eye. “Doesn’t even hesitate to invite a complete stranger to game night.”
“I really don’t like you, Cadenza,” Chrysalis muttered angrily.
“Cheer up, Chrysy, game night is a perfect way to break the ice. Just keep an open mind about it. Oh, and you should read up before we go.” Cadance pointed to the books in front of Chrysalis. “Its . . . what, about one o’clock now? So you have six hours to do your homework. Plenty of time!”
Chrysalis looked down at the books, sliding the first off the other to read the title. “Monster Manual? Player’s Handbook?” she said skeptically. “What did you just sign me up for?”
“Oh, you have a whole new world waiting for you, Chrysy. Just wait and see.”
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This chapter in a nutshell.
Shining Armor: "Enemy friendship okay?"
Luna: "Yes! Let the friendship double!"
&
Chrysalis: "Do I friendship?"
Cadence: "Yes! All aboard the friendship train!"
Twilight: "I don't know who you are Prism Brush, but come with me if you want to friendship!"
I had a feeling Luna would find out this way.
Wasn't expecting them to be that kind of dreams though.
Luna you meddler. Bless you.
6628486 I lost it at "come with me if you want to friendship", and now my wife has kicked me off the couch
Totally loving this! Can't wait for more. :D
Oh dear lord...so who's the DM in this little gaming group, I wonder....
6629393 Twilight of course since any sane DM would go crazy with her OCD of organisation and rule-quoting. That said, if it was poker-night, Chrissy -er, Ms.Prisim would clean them out of bits since she could see through any bluff. Oh yes, she would certainly enjoy taking all their bits, heh.
6628486 Prefect summary.
Chryssie and DnD. MY BODY IS READY!
Cya
Raziel-chan
6629601 Oh...I dunno. I do agree that Twilight could well be a very difficult player, but at the same time a DM has to be able to respond quickly and well to all their carefully laid plans being completely derailed (or just go plan-less and fly by the seat of their pants). Really, I think of that particular group, Spike would probably make the best DM. He's still very organized because of living with Twilight, he loves the fantastic and unusual (his comics), but he seems much more able to improvise.
You don't start a new player with the Monster Manual! That's how you get Half-beholder, Half-dragon Shadowtouched Were-vampire Barbarian War Hulks!
Cadance is totally going to wrangle Cryssie into playing a good, old-fashioned, vanilla Paladin.
Reading this, I can't help but wonder what if any relation prism would have with dash. How would you react if you saw your great grandma walking through town one day, looking only middle-aged?
Otherwise, it's been interesting.
Why do I get the feeling that Chrysy is gonna turn into a diehard Ogres & Oubliettes fan?
Actually, now that think about it, a role-playing game is kinda perfect for changelings.
There is nothing more terrifying to me than inviting a method actor to play a variant of D&D. The only saving grace is that she is already Prism.
I doubt that will keep her from trying to sabotage Twilight in game though.
*Alondro hmms* So they must perform a very thorough scan of the subject, right down to mimicking aspects of even the heavy chain configuration of IgE antibodies! This is quite useful knowledge. A scan that deep must take time and could leave traces in the aural imprint... we could tell who's been in close proximity to cherngelerngs and what forms the cherngelerngs might take!
Soon ve shall be able to destroy zhe cherngelerngs, vonce and for all! MUWAH HA HA HA HA!!
6630250 nearly everytime I see this game Twilight is always mentioned as the Dm. heck one had it where she was cruel enough to have a troll EAT fluttershy's character.
In real life, that would be a miracle. In writing? PLOT DEVICE! Courtesy of Princess Luna