Queen Chrysalis had been caught and is on her way to Canterlot when she receives aid from an unexpected source. Who is this benefactor, and what plan do they have for the former Queen of the Changelings?
Queen Chrysalis had been caught and is on her way to Canterlot when she receives aid from an unexpected source. Who is this benefactor, and what plan do they have for the former Queen of the Changelings?
Queen Chrysalis sat in the darkness, unable to hear anything but the sound of her own chains rattling or her stomach growling. The only light came from a few vents in the side of the prison train car meant for air flow. She could hear the wind whipping by the vent as the train raced down the tracks, along with the infernal racket it created. She had no sense of time and wondered if they would be stopping again for a break soon, as they had a few times in the past. Judging by the glow of the vents changing from day to night, she had to guess they had been moving her for almost three days.
There was little she knew, as she hadn't been told anything when they had managed to knock her out. She had awoken in this darkness, and none had visited her or talked anywhere near her for the days she had been here. She didn't even know if this was exclusively a prison bus, but she'd have to guess not from the dampened commotion that sometimes escaped the vents whenever the train stopped.
Her stomach growled again, making Chrysalis growl back in return, though hers was rather weak. They hadn't fed her, and she imagined that that traitorous usurper, Thorax, had informed them the Changelings didn't need to eat all that often as long as they didn't use large amounts of magic. Or perhaps they learned their lesson from when she and her former hive had been trapped in that castle and she had refused any of their disgusting food.
Chrysalis, in vain, attempted to raise her right foreleg, the heavy chain rattling as she did. After only a few inches the weight became too much and she was forced to let it fall with a weak sigh. She was too tired, too hungry. She had no physical or magical strength, and was unable to even transform. With a final groan that was a mixture of frustration and defeat, she collapsed in a heap, chains coiling around her.
With nothing else to do, Chrysalis' thoughts turned to her fate. She wondered what would happen to her. If she had to guess, she was on her way to Canterlot, to face Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's judgment. She wondered what sort of audience she would have as her fate was decided by the sisters. Would that blasted Princess of Love and her little welp of a husband, the cause of her first defeat, be there with their little spawn? Would the "Princess of Friendship," Twilight Sparkle, architect of both her first and second defeats, be there, with her little bunch of "friends" and her pet dragon?
Chrysalis hissed. Would she be there? That little, cocky unicorn who had snatched what should have been absolute domination from her, when it had only been inches from her fangs? That apprentice of Princess Twilight Sparkle, whom she had sworn vengeance against, Starlight Glimmer? Her thoughts became clouded with anger as more thoughts occurred to her. What about the Usurper, "King" Thorax? Would he and rest of her former hive be there, to see the fate of the Queen that they had stabbed in the back?
And what, exactly, would that fate be? Execution would honestly make the most sense, she had attacked the kingdom thrice and repeatedly attacked their Alicorn Monarchs. She was an enemy of Equestria, which thanks to the recent branching out policies that Princess Twilight Sparkle had begun to enact, even opening up a school that had students from several other kingdoms, essentially made her an enemy of the world. It was how she had been caught: a group of Griffins had spotted her and had alerted Equestria, and it had been a dragon that had driven her into the corner that resulted in her being knocked out.
However, execution had never been something Equestria was known forward. Even in the old days, it took a lot to earn the death penalty. And she had done a lot, but she still couldn't help but wonder. Both Twilight Sparkle and her apprentice had actually attempted to reform her(HA!), so would they try again? Chrysalis shuddered as she thought about it. Would they try a program in some asylum meant to teach her how to be a "good" girl, or would they simply cast some "reformation" spell on her? Use magic to change her into a "better" person? She shuddered at that thought, honestly finding such a thing worse than execution. To have her mind, her nature, her soul even, warped and changed into something else... Such a thing truly terrified her.
Another probable fate would be banishment or imprisonment, as she knew Equestria's history was absolutely riddled with such events for its villains. She herself had been imprisoned inside the castle for several years, and prior to that, Princess Celestia had actually banished her to a volcano!
But they couldn't really banish her out of Equestria, with the world being so united. What if they banished her to another world. As much as she didn't want to think about it, she recalled that Starswirl the Beared, who according to rumors had seemingly returned from the dead a year or so back, had done that a few times. What if they banished her to a world without love? Or without magic? What would happen to her? Would she starve? Would she lose all her power?
They could also imprison her in Tartarus. She couldn't help but shudder at that thought, knowing the chances of her getting out of that place was little to none.
Groaning at her bleak future, Chrysalis finally laid her head down, deciding to try and get at least some rest and try to conserve her strength. While there was little chance, she knew that if an opportunity presented itself to her to escape, she would need every iota of her iota of strength to get out.
"And then... back to running... back to hiding..." She sighed, trying not to let her own depression overwhelm her. When had it all gone so wrong?
However, before she could continue in her self-pity, she was shocked to watch a plume of grey smoke slip through one of the vents, entering her prison.
"Huh?" She whispered, standing immediately as the smoke made its way to her. "This is..."
The smoke condensed and turned solid, becoming scroll of parchment which remained floating and opened to reveal a letter:
Dear Chrysalis, Former Queen of the Changelings
From what my dear mentor, Princess Celestia, has recently told me: you are currently in something of a predicament, no? You've been stuffed in a train car and will soon be arriving in Canterlot to face her wrath. You are currently passing through the Everfree Forest, on the part farthest from Ponyville. To the south, you will find a cave, leading to an ancient tree known as the Tree of Harmony. Meet me there, after you've made your escape. I have an... offer, let us say, for you.
Oh, and please try not injure or kill anypony, okay? It will make my life easier and will make it easier for me to convince Princess Celestia not to worry about you as long as you don't add "murderer" to your already impressively long list of offenses against Equestria.
I bet you are wondering why I am doing this, aren't you? Well, meet me, and you'll find out. It isn't like you have anyplace else to run to, right?
From, with Love, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship
Chrysalis stared at the letter in utter confusion; both infuriation and curiosity flowing through her green blood. "What is your game, Twilight Sparkle?"
As soon as the young Alicorn's name left her lips, the letters on the scroll began to glow pink, much to Chrysalis' shock. She instantly backed up and hissed, watching the letter warily. The now pink ink began to rise off of the parchment and then dripped from it, leaving it blank as it fell to the ground. The ink, or whatever it actually was, had formed a puddle on the floor which slowly changed into the shape of a heart.
Chrysalis eyed it warly, remembering the final words of the letter: From, with Love, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship.
She laughed, wondering how Twilight had somehow managed to infuse actual love into the ink. She could sense the potent energies within it, the equivalent love of about a dozen average ponies. She tried to absorb it, but realized that wouldn't work. The ink had to be directly ingested if she wanted the love within it. With a hiss, Chrysalis swallowed her pride and dignity in favor of self-preservation. She leaned down and began to lick the ink from the floor, trying to ignore that she was lapping it up like a dog does spilled cider.
In an instant, she felt her strength return. She laughed wickedly as she stood and easily shattered the chains with nothing but her own raw strength. She pointed her horn towards the ceiling, feeling her magic racing through her blood as her horn glowed bright green and she released a devastating burst of raw magic power, her prison car exploding violently.
"Tremble in fear, ponies, the true Queen of the Changelings is free once again!"
The doors to the other train cars burst open as several guards dressed in dark armor which included fully closed helmets that had small slits for sight, giving them an appearance that would have unnerved and intimidated most.
However, Chrysalis was certainly not most. She just chuckled as she grabbed the first guard, an earth pony, with her magic and flung him off the train like a sack of potatoes. Princess Twilight Sparkle had said not to kill them or injure them too badly, and while she normally wouldn't have cared; Chrysalis saw Twilight's point that her life would only get harder if she killed or crippled any of them. She was burning with curiosity to why Twilight was helping her of all people, and until that flame had been extinguished she decided she would play along with whatever game Twilight was playing.
Four unicorns, two on each side of her, all cast the same spell. Chains made of pure magic erupted from their horns and wrapped around her limbs. Electricity erupted from them, Chrysalis gritting her teeth as she felt them attempting to seal off her magic. "Don't get too cocky, little ponies! I'm am not some little dabbler of Dark Magic, and it will take a lot more than this to bring me down!"
With her own physical strength, she jerked her right front hoof to the side. The force dragged the unlucky unicorn off his feet as she spun around and sent him swinging into the two who had chained her back legs, sending all three of them tumbling off the train into the Everfree Forest as they quickly canceled their spells due to the risk of the train rapidly carrying her away and dragging them under the train fast moving train.
Grinning at the remaining unicorn, who was admirably fearless and didn't back down as Chrysalis glared at him while baring her fangs. She leaped at him while simultaneously yanking him toward her, grabbing him by the neck and looming over him, she opened her mouth and began to greedily feed. A stream of green erupted from his mouth and into hers, and his body seemed to deflate like a water bag being drained. When she finally closed her mouth, he collapsed as his spell fizzled out.
She turned as a pegasus guard raced across the top of the train car behind her. His eyes blazed with rage as he saw what Chrysalis had done to his companion and he leaped off the train with the clear intent of trying to tackle her. Smirking, she picked up the weakened unicorn and threw her at the pegasus, who naturally caught his friend and was sent spinning into the woods. Chrysalis wasn't given a moment of rest, however, as more and more guard ponies emerged from in front and behind her.
"Persistent, are you, little ponies? And here I thought swarm tactics was my strategy." Chrysalis hissed in frustration at the seemingly endless number of guards. "I must say, you certainly know how to make a villainess feel special!"
She could try jumping off the train, but there were several problems. The first being the fact that she didn't know the exact location of this "Tree of Harmony," and it would be difficult to look for it with these guards after her. She could, of course, try to lose them by transforming, but the chances of that were slim as something told her this ponies wouldn't let up chasing her.
Also, Chrysalis doubted Twilight Sparkle would appreciate her appearing at the Tree of Harmony with dozens of ponies hot on her tail. Chrysalis hadn't missed the fact that Twilight's letter had essentially destroyed itself in order to help her break free, and that also meant there wasn't any evidence pointing to her involvement. If she appeared being chased, it would be easy for her to simply pretend like nothing had happened and help apprehend her.
So, what could she do? It certainly wasn't looking good for her as more and more of the guard ponies surrounded her. How many guards are there?
However, before anypony could do anything, a howl pierced the air.
"Timberwolves!" A guard shouted as easily a dozen of the wooden canines appeared running next to the left side of the train. One of them leaped up, tackling a pony and knocking them both along with two other guards off the other side of the train.
As more of them began to either repeat the actions of the first or simply jumped up and began to growl at the guards, who warily backed up, Chrysalis noticed something: Normal Timberwolve's magic was a lime green color. These Timberwolves, on the other hand, had a very familiar purple tint to their magic.
Judging by the lack of attempt to rip the ponies apart, instead they simply batting them away or throwing of the train, Chrysalis realized the Twilight must have taken over the Timberwolves and sent them as backup.
"How kind of you, Princess," Chrysalis whispered after chuckling. Twilight was certainly going through a lot of trouble to help her escape, a fact which still confused her.
A shadow passed over, and instinctively Chrysalis looked up to see an owl flying overhead. She normally wouldn't have paid the creature any further attention, except for the fact that the owl was wearing a collar with a purple star set in its center, which would have been near impossible to normally see due to the blazing sun overhead if not for the fact that Changelings having very good eyesight in almost any conditions.
"And a guide, just perfect." Chrysalis considered the confusion around her. The Timberwolves were certainly doing work, but it wasn't quite enough. She met the eyes of one of the unicorns, and her eyes began to glow. The unicorn's eyes widened in shock as he sagged down as her spell took effect, his eye glowing green as his mind became clouded and his will was sealed away. "Attack."
With almost the same wild ferocity as the Timberwolves, the unicorn leaped at a nearby earth pony and tackled him back through the door to the train car behind hers. Chrysalis repeated this four times, and then, in the confusion, shifted into the form of a unicorn guard pony who she saw just get knocked off the train.
"Where did she go?" One of them shouted in the confusion.
"She's-" A female pegasus tried to point at Chrysalis, but a Timberwolf batted her away, knocking the wind out of her and sending her flying into a wall, slowly falling down as she lost consciousness.
"She's there!" Chrysalis pointed at a random earth pony, and immediately a unicorn wrapped her with the chain spell as another pegasus tackled her.
"Wait! I'm not the prisoner!" The unfortunate pony cried out as she was slammed into the floor.
As Chrysalis chuckled at her deception, she suddenly gasped as a Timberwolf tackled her off of the train, sending her flying into the Everfree Forest. She slammed into the ground with a grunt, the Timberwolf atop her shattering into branches.
"Well, I guess that is one way to get off the train..." Chrysalis grumbled as she struggled to stand. She wondered if the Timberwolf had been driven to do that because Timberwolf had been programmed by Twilight's magic to help her escape, or if it had simply thought she was one of the guards. It didn't really matter, she guessed, as she stood up and looked at the train which was rapidly disappearing in the distance.
Chrysalis wondered for a moment why they hadn't stopped the train, but then, this was apparently supposed to be a dangerous forest, so perhaps they didn't want to stop her. She then wondered if all the ponies who had been knocked off the tracks would be alright, but hey, they knew how to take care of themselves.
Standing and finally able to stretch her limbs in peace, she looked up at the treetops, quickly spotting the owl in a nearby branch.
"Hoo?" The owl gazed at her curiously, and CHyrsalis realized she hadn't transformed back and quickly did so. "Hoo."
"Alright," Chrysalis took a deep breath and regarded the owl, "take me to Twilight."
"Hoo?"
"Princess Twilight Sparkle."
"Hoo?"
"Your master." Chrysalis empathized, quickly becoming annoyed by the owl's antics.
"Hoo?"
"Now." Chrysalis hissed, eyes beginning to glow.
Wisely, the owl flew off without a word, Chrysalis quickly shifting into the form of a deer and chasing her, not wanting to risk being followed.
The owl flew at a rather leisurely pace; fast enough that they were moving quickly, but slow enough that Chrysalis wasn't struggling to keep up with him. He also kept a somewhat clear path, only making a few sharp turns which Chrysalis had to guess was to avoid predators or some other danger of the forest.
Eventually, the owl flew down into a small opening that had stairs built down. The owl flew into the cave, and Chrysalis quickly pursued.
What she found was a truly beautiful sight to behold. A massive tree that had very oddly colored bark and only five massive branches. In each of the branches was stone, and a purple star-shaped stone was set in the center of the tree's trunk.
Chrysalis had never seen them; never having had the misfortune of having the stones used against her. However, she had heard of them, heard of all the things that Twilight Sparkle and her friends had done with them. They had turned Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna with these stones and later one of their own who had fallen to the same corruption; Twilight had become an Alicorn and the Princess of Friendship with the aid of these stones; and they had defeated the centaur demon Tirik, and had created both Twilight's castle and later her school.
"The Elements of Harmony..." Chrysalis gulped as she beheld the tree that produced the fruits of Equestria's salvation.
"A beautiful sight, isn't it? No matter how many times I come here, it's beauty and awe never seems to fade," a familiar voice said behind her.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle," Chrysalis said as she turned in the direction of the mare's voice. She was surprised to find Twilight sitting at a small, a rather elegant table that looked like it belonged in some rich, fancy coffee shop that had been set up near one of the cave walls. There were several crystals that had been charged with magic and as a result glowed to provide plenty of light in the otherwise dim cavern with the exception of the tree.
There were two chairs, Twilight sitting rather lazily in one as she worked to undo the collar on the owl's neck, who lay perched on the chair's left arm.
"Owlowiscious doesn't really like collars. I only put it on because otherwise I wasn't sure if you would know I sent him," Twilight cast her a sidelong glance, "and no need for Titles and full names, Chrissy. Don't be a stranger."
Chrysalis' left eye twitched. "Do not call me "Chrissy," Twilight."
"Fine, Chris" -Chrysalis hissed- "geez. You know, for a supposedly heartless monster, you're not very lighthearted." Twilight finished undoing the owl's color, who hooed with relief before flying up and perching on the branch of the Tree of Harmony that held the Honesty Element. Twilight then turned back to Chrysalis, gesturing to the seat across from her. "Please, sit. You've had quite the fun week, haven't you?"
"Hmph, if you find be trapped in a dark, cramped cell for over three days while being chained up fun, then yes," Chrysalis grumbled as she walked over slowly and sat down, let out a breath as she was finally able to at least somewhat relax.
"Hmm, don't know, the longest I've been imprisoned was a day, and I wasn't exactly all the lucid in your little cocoon. Would better to ask Princess Luna that question; she was chained to the moon for a thousand years, after all." Twilight turned to face her and seemed to study Chrysalis for a few moments before finally speaking again. "Thirsty?"
"Yes," Chrysalis would have normally said no as most drinks didn't do much for her thirst for love, but she remembered that weird pink ink she had used, so she probably actually had something that could actually help her thirst.
From seemingly out of nowhere, though Chrysalis guessed he had been hiding under the table, behind the cloth, Twilight little dragon whose name Chrysalis had never bothered remembering appeared. However, she did notice that the dragon seemed to have wings now. The dragon placed a pair of fancy glasses, then pulled out a wine bottle and poured in the glasses. He then pulled a small vial sealed with wax. Melting the seal with a small jet of flame which looked more powerful then what she remembered, he dumped the contents into the wine glass. It was a stream of that same pink fluid that the letter's ink had been mixed with.
Noticing Chyrsalis curious gaze on Spike's alterations, Twilight elaborated, "He recently went through his first Molt, and his strength has increased in pretty much every category. It's how he was able to send the letter to you."
"it was surprisingly simple," Spike said as he finished pouring the drinks and continued to simply hover in the air with soft beats of his wings, clearly enjoying the sensation, "I remembered what it felt like when you sent that Crystal Ball through me, and simply sent the letter back along that feeling."
"Hmm..." Chrysalis realized she would have to pay more attention to the dragon's developments. He seemed to actually be becoming a threat in his own right. She lightly sipped her drink, enjoying the fine taste of the wine mixed with whatever the pink fluid was, which added a very interesting taste to it.
"What does it taste like?" Twilight asked her, a curious expression on her face as she lightly sipped her own wine.
"It tastes almost like..." She focused on the taste, trying to identify it. She realized was it was, a strange nostalgia coming over her, "Clover Tea?"
"Clover Tea, huh? Rather unusual, whenever did you have that?" Twilight asked, surprised at her answer.
"I haven't, not for a very long time. I didn't recognize it at first. What is this?"
"Love Poison, it tastes like your favorite drink."
"Love Poison." Chrysalis eyed the glass warily.
"Don't worry, it isn't deadly. It's just the love it causes is so all-consuming that it destroys the one who drinks it, hence why it is considered a poison, not a potion." Twilight quickly explained. "However, as you are a creature that feeds on love, I figured you would be immune to its more harmful effects and instead gain power from it."
"You figured?"
Twilight shrugged, "You never really know for sure until you try, right? Besides, that's why I had it added to the ink before and now the wine and didn't give you just it. That way if it did do something the effects would hopefully be diluted somewhat."
"That, and I imagine it isn't exactly cheap to make."
"Actually, it's a very simple recipe. The hardest thing to get is a rainbow's glow," Twilight said as she took another sip of her own drink.
Chrysalis considered her drink once more, finally deciding that it was safe and drained the glass before once again focusing on Twilight with a suspicious gaze. "So."
"So?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"So, why did you help me?"
"Why not?"
"Because I am an enemy of Equestria, and I was imprisoned by your mentor's guards."
"Hmm, yes, I do hope you didn't kill any of them like I asked."
"I didn't," Chrysalis confirmed, "though quite a few were tossed off the train."
"So a broken bone here and there, not really that big a deal. They're guards, they'll walk it off and be fine in a few days," Twilight responded. "Good, since you didn't kill it maim any of them to badly, it should be easy for me to convince me not to spend too much effort on tracking you down. The last thing I need is Ponyville being put on lockdown and having Knights swarming the Everfree Forest looking for any traces of you."
"Again, why?"
"Why what?"
"WHY ARE YOU HELPING ME!!!" Chrysalis finally roared, breathing heavily as she glared at Twilight, demanding answers.
"Alright alright, no need to yell Chris," Twilight rubbed one of her ears. "I told you why in my letter."
"You said you have an offer for me, but why go through so much trouble? And what offer could you possibly have for me of all creatures?"
"Well, not so much an offer as much as I would like to make a bet with you, a gamble, you could say," Twilight said, sitting up a bit straighter.
"A gamble? What is it?" Chrysalis asked, feeling her confusion growing.
"You remember when we faced off in the castle? You had my friends trapped and originally planned to drain me of your magic, but my skills and power made you change your mind."
"Yes," Chrysalis vividly remembered the conversation, "I offered to make you my pupil, so we could learn from another."
"Well, you can consider this my counter-offer," Twilight said with a smirk.
Chrysalis' eyes widened as she realized where Twilight was going with this. "You can't possibly mean..."
Twilight nodded, "Chrysalis, I would like you to become my pupil."
"HA! HAHAHAHAHA!" Chrysalis almost fell off her chair as she gripped her stomach, her entire body convulsing as she laughed almost madly.
When she finally quieted down and turned to look incredulously at Twilight; who much to her shock was only staring at her with a raised eyebrow. "You... You're actually serious, aren't you?"
Twilight nodded, "Completely."
Chrysalis turned to the little dragon, Spike, she finally remembered. "She's serious about this, isn't she?"
"Yep," he responded as he refilled both their glasses and added another vial of Love Poison to her, "Twilight isn't exactly the "kidding" type, if you haven't noticed."
She turned back to Twilight with a shocked look on her face. After several moments of simple silence, she finally found her voice again. "Why?"
Twilight chuckled. "You sure ask that question a lot."
"Because it makes no sense why you would do this!" Chrysalis practically screamed at her.
"It doesn't?" Twilight cocked her head to side ever so slightly, "And what exactly doesn't make sense about this? I am the Princess of Friendship, Bearer of the Element of Magic, Headmare of the School of Friendship. Is it truly so shocking that I would make an offer like this to you?"
Chrysalis' eyes narrowed. "You are trying to reform me."
"Well, there is a reason I called this offer a gamble, Chrysalis," Twilight said with a laugh.
"Explain."
"By accepting this offer, I will help you create a fake identity as my pupil. You will stay with me at my castle, and you will essentially be protected and hidden from the rest of the world; which by the way wants you either dead or imprisoned, last time I checked. So, I am basically offering you a permanent, safe sanctuary at my castle, which will be the last place anyone would think to look for you." Twilight explained with a somewhat smug expression, while Chrysalis couldn't help but grimace as she realized how tempting this offer actually was.
Ever since she had forced out of the hive, she had been on the run, never able to settle for more than a couple days before having to move on. The chance to be to actually settle down somewhat was certainly desirable, to say the least. However... "And what would I be expected to do?"
"As I said, you'll be my pupil, like Starlight" -Chrysalis hissed- "you know, you could see it as a chance to surpass her and beat her."
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You would allow such conflict?"
"Conflicts sometimes become the closest of friendships," said Twilight with a simple shrug.
"I will never be friends with Starlight Glimmer," hissed Chrysalis.
"Perhaps you will, perhaps you won't; but we're getting off track, Chris. As I was saying, you'll be my pupil, like Starlight. That means you'll be doing friendship lessons like her." Twilight giggled at Chrysalis' expression. "It will be necessary to sell the act, Chris. I wouldn't take another pupil just to study magic with."
Something in her mind clicked. "So this is the gamble... You're betting that I'll slowly be reformed by the lessons, much like Discord was slowly reformed when he spent time with Fluttershy and you all, and I'm betting that I will remain unchanged while also growing in power and having a very easy access to all of Equestria's most important figures."
"Correct."
"But again. why? Why make this offer to me after everything that I've done?" She still couldn't wrap her head around what could drive the Princess to this length for her.
"Why did I make Starlight my pupil?" Twilight asked, "Why did Princess Celestia make so many exceptions for Discord, after all he's done, and still continues to put up with his antics?"
"Because you are all clearly too forgiving," Chrysalis responded.
"Ha, is that really what you think! Hahaha!" Twilight giggled at her response. At Chrysalis' confused expression, Twilight smiled, but it wasn't the sort of smile Chrysalis was used to seeing on the alicorn's face. "Let me put it this way: what do you, Starlight, and Discord all have in common?"
Chrysalis frowned, thinking about it. The answer came to her almost immediately, but she couldn't believe that it the right one. "Power. All three of us are rather powerful when compared to most creatures in this world."
Chrysalis fully expected her answer to be shot down, that it was going to be some heartthrob about them all being misunderstood or some other touchy, feely nonsense. However, much to her shock, Twilight grinned.
"Bingo. We make such generous exceptions because we recognize that dangerous enemies can become powerful friends. Basically, you are worth the heartache and costs if we can get you on our side."
Chrysalis frowned, not believing for a second that the sweet little pony she had faced off against several times would have such a plot.
Seeing her disbelief, Twilight chuckled to herself, "Don't believe me, huh? Well, let me give you an example, I know the perfect one. Trixie Lulamoon, a Unicorn I faced off against several times. Despite having a supposed talent for it according to, she quite frankly sucks at real magic and is only good with stage magic. Even now that she is getting tutored by Starlight, her magic is still honestly rather pathetic. I have given her multiple chances to reform herself, and she did, but I never helped her along that path. I didn't make her pupil, didn't go out of my way to try to bring her to my side. I only gave her the second chance when she asked for it, and that was it. Her reformation was purely based on her own efforts and struggles."
She paused, letting that little story sink into Chrysalis' brain, and then continued on: "Now, let us look at Starlight Glimmer, another Unicron who I faced off against multiple times. Her, I have forgiven rather serious crimes, I mean she almost ripped a rift in time and damaged the universe, and I responded by taking her as my pupil. I have been patient with her, worked tirelessly with her, and continuously forgiven her mistakes and helped her learn from them. And what did she do at the end of it? She beat you, helped your Thorax take over your hive, and saved me, my friends and family, and even Princess Celestia and Princess Luna from your clutches. That would never have happened had I simply abandoned her to her own fate, sent her off like I did Trixie with nothing but a few words of encouragement, or punished her."
"You say this, yet you continue to bristle up against Discord, if the rumors I've heard are correct," Chrysalis pointed out.
Twilight chuckled."True, though that is due to conflicting personalities, and because as someone who enjoys making plans for everything, he is quite the wrench to have to deal with."
"Oh?"
"Hmm, think about it like this: imagine you are playing a game of chess, but there is one piece that is completely random. How it moves, whose side it on, it's all random and completely impossible to predict."
"That would be annoying," Chrysalis conceded, "though I am surprised you would think of somecreature that way, as nothing but a piece on a game board."
"We all think of other creatures as well as ourselves as pieces, with the world our grand game board. The difference is somecreatures think of others as such subconsciously, whereas those like you and I are fully conscious about our colder outlook on the world," Twilight regarded Chyrsalis seriously, "I would not talk like this to Starlight or one of my friends. They wouldn't understand and would honestly probably be hurt if they discovered how I view them."
"And how do you view them?"
"As pieces with more value than the king of the game board. I would sooner lose the game before even risked losing one of them," Twilight continued to look a Chrysalis almost emotionlessly, "But with you, Chris, it is the exact opposite. Your lifestyle of deceit has left you afraid and paranoid of being deceived yourself. It is why I am being so blunt with you, and it's why I waited until now to make my move. Had I simply found you and made this offer, or if I tried to make it the same way I made my offer to Starlight, you would without a doubt refused."
"Probably true," Chrysalis admitted. The only reason she was so relaxed and not on edge was due to how much Twilight had done to free her. It proved she was sincere in this, something Twilight clearly knew she would need for there to be even a small chance for this to work.
"So, I ask you again, Chrysalis," Twilight got off her seat and walked over to her, extending a hoof, "will you accept my offer, and become my pupil?"
Chrysalis sighed. "Is this even a choice?"
"There's always at least two choices, Chris," Twilight said, then grinned as she continued, "but sometimes one of the choices isn't really an option."
"I suppose there is some truth to that," Chrysalis grumbled. Then, she shook Twilight's hoof. "Alright, I'll accept this gamble. I will warn you though, Twilight Sparkle, I will not be as easy to reform as Discord; it will take more than a shy little pegasus offering to be my friend to change my heart."
"Good, it would be a let down if the shell around your heart was so flimsy after all you've done," Twilight laughed as she retracted her hoof. "So, where should we start? I suppose we should come up with an identity for you. I have one planned, one which my friends and Celestia will buy anyways, but you'll to try a lot harder than when you were impersonating Princess Cadence, especially since everypony will be on high alert with your little breakout."
"True, though there a few ways we can reduce such suspicions, such as how I arrive," Chrysalis said. Then, she almost coyly asked, "So, how did you control those Timberwolves? I've heard of wizards being able to conjure them and bind them to areas to act as watchdogs, but I've never seen anycreature that was able to exert such a degree of control, ordering them around as if they were nothing more than common hounds."
Twilight chuckled, "And already, the pupil wants a magic lesson. Alright, but this something that is much easier to show instead of tell."
They walked through the Everfree, Spike sitting on Twilight's back, who in response could only roll her eyes. "Old habits die hard, I guess."
"Sorry Twilight, I'm just still getting used to this," Spike flexed his claws, "It's more than just the wings, everything just feels so much stronger! I wonder if I'll grow?"
"Hopefully not too big," Twilight grumbled, "and hopefully you don't get too hungry because of it! It took a week for my castle to recover itself from Ember's little wall-eating frenzy when she visited."
Chrysalis stared at her. "Recover? What do you mean your castle "recovered" itself? You make it sound like it's a living thing."
"It is, to some degree. I'm not entirely sure how alive it is yet, but it does heal itself when damaged and has gone through several changes, almost like it's growing." Twilight explained, but then suddenly stopped.
So suddenly, in fact, that Chrysalis, who had been walking directly behind her, crashed into her backside. "What?"
"Look," Twilight said as Chrysalis walked around to her left side.
Doing as she asked, Chrysalis looked ahead and saw it. A pair of glowing, solid lime green eyes staring at them from up in a tree.
Seeing that its hiding place had been discovered, the wild Timberwolf leaped from its hiding place and landed in the ground with a loud thump, the shockwave sending the leaves around it flying.
"Now, watch," Twilight said as she took a step forward. The Timberwolf eyed her cautiously; a fatal mistake.
Twilight opened her mouth and inhaled deeply. Chrysalis was, at first, confused about what she was doing, but then she saw what exactly it was and gasped, taking a cautious step back.
Lime green light erupted from the Timberwolf and seemed to be drawn towards Twilight. With a strange, honestly rather sinister sound that sent shivers up Chrysalis' spine, the Timberwolf finally fell apart as the last of its magic was sucked out and went down Twilight's throat, who closed her mouth and let out a sigh of content.
Chrysalis opened her mouth, but Spike spoke before she could voice the questions racing through her mind, "Wait, it isn't over."
Twilight then took a deep breath and then began to exhale slowly. The lime green light, now tinted with the same purple as her aura, rushed out and back into the pile of logs. The Timberwolf quickly resembled itself, and then bowed submissively towards Twilight.
"Pretty neat, huh?" She said as she turned to look at Chrysalis, a smile on her face. "I could, of course, simply keep the magic for myself, but eventually I would start physically changing, and I wouldn't have an excuse as to why. "
Chrysalis just stared at her. "Where... Where did you learn to do that, exactly?"
"Watching Tirek during his little feast," Twilight explained, "I was originally horrified at the power, but later, I came to realize the potential such an ability had if used for better purposes"
She then gestured to the Timberwolf, "This, however, was a very pleasant accident I had when I was testing the spell and seeing if I could release the magic I absorbed. I've tamed about seventeen of these Timberwolves, and they have been most helpful making the Everfree Forest a safer place for ponies to travel in."
"Now then, magic is fun an all, but I think it's time my friends met my newest pupil, wouldn't you agree, Chris?" Twilight said with a smile.
Despite her slight irritation at the nickname, Chrysalis returned the smile. It was becoming quickly apparent that it was going to be very much worth it to become the Princess' pupil, even if that did mean she would have to endure a few friendship lessons and hanging out with the other ponies, especially Starlight Glimmer.
Who knows, she might actually be able to enjoy herself a little.
"So, where is the Headmare, Professor Egghead?" Gallus asked curiously as he lazed in his seat. "No one's seen her at all today."
Rainbow Dash's left eye twitched slightly at the student's nickname for her. "Don't know. She said she had business to attend to, and that she would be back in a bit."
"Oh, is she on a friendship mission? Where'd she get to go to this time?" An excited Silverstream asked.
"No no, she isn't on a friendship mission!" Rainbow Dash hurriedly said to the excited hippogriff, "She said this was purely personal, and that she shouldn't be gone too long."
"What sort of business do you think she went out on?" Ocellus asked, head cocked slightly to the side in wonder.
"Again, I don't know. She didn't say much, just raced into the Everfree Forest."
"Maybe Headmare go to Zebra hut?" Yona wondered.
"Doubt it, she didn't go along any of the paths that would have taken her there," Rainbow Dash frowned as something occurred to her. "Actually, the path she took was the one to the Tr- You know what? Never mind. Curiosity can be both a blessing and a curse, and you shouldn't be nosing around in others affairs."
While the others all nodded at their teacher's advice, Gallus' eyes narrowed as that curiosity proved to be quite the curse indeed. What was down that path Twilight had taken, and why was it such a secret that even Professor Egghead, the Queen of Boasting, wanted to keep it a secret?
Suddenly, there was a buzzing sound that filled the classroom as a small purple gemstone high up on one of the walls began to brightly glow, and a familiar voice echoed throughout the classroom:
"This is Headmare Twilight Sparkle speaking: would all five teachers as well as Guidance Counselor Starlight please report to Friendship Castle Map Room after classes end. I repeat: all main staff members please report to the Map Room after classes end? Thank you."
"Hmph, guess she's back," Rainbow Dash muttered as her eyes flickered to the clock. There was about a quarter of class left.
"That was quick, wonder what she was doing?" Smolder asked.
"It isn't nice to pry into your other's private affairs," Rainbow Dash lightly scolded. "Now then, let's continue our lesson."
"Aye aye, Professor Egghead!" Gallus said with a lazy salute, the rest of the class giggling at the griffon's antics.
"Oh, and Gallus?" Rainbow Dash grinned. "I would like you to prepare a little presentation for tomorrow on when nicknames are appropriate and when they aren't, okay?"
The class' giggles erupted into laughter, while the griffon in question could only sigh in defeat.
"So, what's the egghead's big announcement?" Rainbow Dash asked as she lazed in her chair.
The other four of the five bearers who were currently present all sat in their chairs and were equally confused as to why Twilight had called them there.
"I have no idea," Starlight responded, "She left in such a hurry this morning I honestly thought she would have been gone a little longer."
"Yeah, did she tell any of y'all why she was going in' the Everfree Forest in the first place?" Applejack asked.
"Well, know she took Spike with her," Raidty said. "And yesterday he was talking about Twilight having to meet an old acquaintance."
"Wonder who's she talking about," Applejack considered, frowning, "and why in Equestria is she meeting them out in the Everfree? It ain't exactly a prime place for a picnic."
"Well, the path she was heading down was the one to the Tree of Harmony," Rainbow Dash pointed out.
"You don't think she showed this old acquaintance of hers the Tree, right? Ain't we supposed to keep that a secret?" Applejack said, frown deepening as confusion set in.
"True, Applejack, we are supposed to keep it a secret," a voice they all recognized said as a familiar Alicorn opened the main doors to the Map Room, "and I have decided to let her in on the secret."
"Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly. "So you went and met somepony, right? Are they moving to Ponyville? Should I start planning a party?"
"Now hold on for just a minute, Pinkie," Applejack said, before staring at Twilight. "Where the hay have you been all day, Sugarcube? And who exactly did you let on the Tree's location?"
"Now now, Darling, no need to get so aggressive with Twilight," Rarity said, Applejack rolling her eyes in response. "I sure she was getting to that part, right?"
"Correct, I am." Twilight said, stepping to the side, "Everypony, Starlight especially, I would like you to meet an old acquaintance of mine; one whom had recently decided to accept my offer to become my second pupil."
"Second pupil?!" Starlight's eyes widened at this revelation, wondering who it could be. She stared at the door as a figure slowly walked into the room.
She was, perhaps unsurprisingly, a unicorn. She looked to be around Twilight's age, maybe a couple years older; and she had an almost noble air around her. Her mane was a dark shade of cerulean and it was long and straight, yet lacked any sort of distinct style. Her coat was deep green color mixed with a hint of grey, and her cutie mark was a simple, yet elegant masquerade mask.
"Everpony, I would like to introduce you to Regalia, Regalia Alias."
She looked up, the hair covering her eyes falling away to reveal their bright green color. She smiled, but Starlight noticed that her eyes seemed to lack any real warmth to them at all. They were familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place where she recognized them.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, everpony," she said, her voice smooth and lacking any discernible emotions, "And please, there is no need to be formal, just call me Regalia."
