After she failed attack at the wedding, the queen finds a foal in the forest with a repulsive background.
Chrysalis failed to embody the princess of love and control a good part of Equestria, and during her revenge monologue, she finds a little pony with a cruel story that even the queen could not believe.
The sequel of the story can be read here A Spark of Hope, written by Prismfire , I know you will love it as much as this one.
Featured 15-12-2022
Original image by Auroriia, I just change the foal
--------------------------------- Chapter 1 - The First Encounter. ---------------------------------
"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!" Shouted the queen as she flew out of the castle window and away from Canterlot along with her army thanks to Cadance and Shining armor's powerful spell, kicking in all directions in a futile attempt to stop.
After several seconds flying at high speed, the queen began to skim the treetops slowing her speed before coming to a complete stop and crashing to the ground shatteringly.
"Ugh!." She mumbled after being unconscious for a few minutes slowly getting up as her body was sore and brushing off a bunch of branches and leaves she had tangled in her mane.
"Stupid Cadance with her stupid hot boyfriend and her stupid love magic." The queen mumbled angrily as she continued to remove branches from her mane. "They ruined all my plans."
"My plan was perfect, PERFECT, they just didn't have to do anything, but nooooo, that intrusive mare and her goofy friends had to show up."
The queen having finished cleaning herself from the local flora and dust, began to scour the area in search of her subjects or if she could find any landmarks to know where exactly she was.
"Hey, useless fools!" Shouted the queen. "Your queen is calling you." She continued walking through the forest trying to figure out where she was. "I need to find better assistants, these wouldn't recognize a good plan even if it bit them in the face."
Chrysalis had been walking for quite a while now and was able to find a clearing and a river which served as a reference point to know that she didn't fly too far from Canterlot, so in an hour of flying she could make it back to the city, but she was too tired and sore to fly back so it would take a good couple of hours to walk back, already close to the city she was more likely to find some of her changelings.
"This is stupid, where are my minions?." The queen asked herself very annoyed. "Minions, your queen is hungry, where are you?" Shouted the queen very annoyed at not being able to find any of her subjects.
After an hour more walking much more tired and irritated the queen stopped at a stream to rest a little and drink something, seeing the sky she thought she was going to have to walk in the forest, it was going to get dark long before she arrived at Canterlot.
"Stupid Cadance, stupid forest, stupid branches, stupid Cadance." Mumbled the queen as she gathered some branches with her magic. "Stupid minions, stupid Twaila Sparky, or whatever her name is, stupid firewood."
The queen was able to gather some wood and lit her campfire as the sun was disappearing over the horizon, she had a couple of large leaves to lay on and she was able to steal the love of some small animals she found around, so she wouldn't be too hungry tonight.
Chrysalis was lying in front of the fire resting when she heard the cries of someone, very carefully she approached slowly making as little noise as possible until she found the source of such whining, it was a small unicorn of brown color, the mane, and tail of very short light blue color and still, without its Cutie Mark, it also carried a small bag hanging with the figure of Celestia on it, something repulsive for the queen.
"MAMA!." Cried the little unicorn crying as he walked awkwardly through the forest, his eyes watering profusely while he had one of his hooves extended forward, something that caught the queen's attention a little.
"MOM, WHERE ARE YOU?" Cried the little unicorn again as he stumbled over branches and small stones, he walked very slowly until he reached a tree and groped it with his hoof, then turned in a random direction and walked again.
"This is excellent, easy prey, I can either attack him and steal all his love or hide and wait for the little one's mother to show up, then I would have two prey and a lot more love to feed on, yes, I better hide and wait." The queen followed her plan and hid in the bushes without ever losing sight of the young unicorn, but after almost an hour of hiding the queen lost her patience.
Coming out of her hiding place the queen approached directly to the little one from behind imposing her presence to cause terror in the little creature when he turned around and saw that he was in front of the queen of the changelings herself, Chrysalis stopped a little more than a meter away from the unicorn.
The little being was still wandering aimlessly with its hoof pointing straight ahead, crying and calling for its mother until it turned and walked straight towards the queen, something Chrysalis expected to happen, the unicorn kept walking until its hoof touched one of the queen's paws, Chrysalis was surprised that the little unicorn wasn't scared of her presence, it's as if it didn't realize she was there.
"mom i-i-is that you?." The unicorn asked between cries as he wiped his nose with his hoof before touching the queen with the same hoof, disgusting the queen.
"No little one, I'm afraid I'm not your mother, I am the queen of the-."
"Ma'am, c-could you help me?, I'm lo-lost and I can't find my mo-mother." Interrupted the little unicorn at the queen before wiping his nose with his hoof again, but this time the queen took a step back before being touched again with a hoof full of pony snot.
"Ma'am, are you there?, ma'am ple-please help me, I'm lost." Said the little guy somewhat desperately looking in all directions and feeling the air with his hoof walking forward in the direction of the queen, who moved to the side.
The little unicorn walked passing within inches of the queen without realizing it, never lowering its hoof and looking in all directions, the queen raised an eyebrow intrigued by the little one's attitude.
"Ma'am, are you there, please help me, ma'am?." The young unicorn kept walking and calling out to the queen somewhat more desperately until he tripped over a rock and fell sharply to the ground hitting the dirt hard causing a slight chuckle from the queen at the little unicorn's clumsiness.
The unicorn lay on the ground crying harder without moving. "MOMMY WHERE ARE YOU, I'M COLD AND HUNGRY, MOMMY." The unicorn shouted before continuing to cry uncontrollably.
The queen had already gotten bored of waiting and stood in front of the young unicorn, which from her position looked at the black hooves of the queen directly, Chrysalis bent down a little and opened her muzzle to absorb the love of the little unicorn, which showed no interest in the queen and just kept crying and calling her mother.
"Little one, are you not afraid of me?" Chrysalis asked the young unicorn inches away, she wanted to know why the unicorn was not afraid of her, maybe she lost her imposing figure or it was something else, but in any case, she could get that information before stealing the little unicorn's love.
"Lady is that you?, please help me look for my mom, I'm cold and lost." Said the little unicorn standing up quickly and unintentionally hitting the queen on her nose with his horn.
"Aaaahhh!." Cried the queen from the pain taking a step back and rubbing her nose. "What's your problem, did you not see me?" Asked the queen in annoyance.
"I'm sorry." Replied the unicorn wiping his nose. "I didn't see you, I'm blind." The little unicorn sat on its haunches wiping its eyes, which the queen could see clearly for the first time, they were clear eyes with completely gray pupils.
"Are you blind, and are you here alone?" Asked the queen very surprised when she realized the state of the little unicorn.
"Yes, my mom drops me off at school every day and in the afternoons she picks me up, but today she wanted us to go through the forest to get some fresh air and she left something in the house and told me to wait for her here, and I waited for her here, and she's still not back, and I'm hungry and cold and...and...and... MAMAAAAAA!" The little unicorn again cried disconsolately in front of the queen for not finding his mommy.
Chrysalis was already too upset about what happened today to tolerate a crying little pony, let alone when it wasn't her fault, she had to stop the whining somehow.
"Stop crying already little one." Said the queen sharply to the little guy to stop crying, to which the unicorn stopped long enough to raise his head and listen to the queen. "If I promise to help you find your mother, will you stop all this whining?" The queen asked angrily.
The little unicorn wiped his tears again and nodded his head.
"Well, look... I mean... it's too late now to wander in the forest looking for your mother and I have my camp near here, we'd better spend the night there and tomorrow morning I'll help you look for your mother, ok?".
"But surely my mommy is worried looking for me now."
"Surely she is talking to some city guard telling her that you got lost and they will look for you early tomorrow morning, besides I don't want to spend the night awake looking for a mare, we'll do it in the morning."
"O-okay." Nodded the unicorn.
"Good, now follow me." Said the queen before setting off and walking towards her camp when she heard some wailing behind her.
The little unicorn had its head down and was stomping the ground in a sorrowful manner as it tried to mumble something.
"Is something wrong?" Asked the queen raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know how to walk alone, my mommy always carries me when we go out somewhere."
The queen approached the unicorn and stood in front of him. "And how is she supposed to do that?."
"She lets me bite her tail so I can follow her anywhere."
"Really?"
The unicorn nodded, and the queen watched him for a few seconds without saying anything.
"You are useless, you know that?."
"I can do a lot of things, like... math, I know the names of the capitals and other things." Replied the offended unicorn.
"All foals your age can do all that." The queen's words further lowered the foal's spirits to the point where his lips were beginning to twitch to cry again.
"Don't you dare cry again." Said the queen pointing her hoof at the little unicorn. "Open your mouth and bite my tail hard, not too hard so it doesn't hurt but don't let go."
The queen took the tip of her tail and put it in front of the unicorn's snout, who bit it without a second thought before nodding his head and mumbling something as he did so, the queen didn't understand what he said but assumed it was a sign that he was ready to go.
"Okay, let's go." Said the queen as she set off, feeling her tail pull the little unicorn who was trying to keep up with her with difficulty, the queen seeing this slowed her pace and matched it with the little unicorn's advance. "It won't take long, walk carefully and I'll show you the stones on the path."
The little unicorn nodded his head again and stammered something, then closed his eyes and continued to follow the queen without letting go of her tail.
I hope that the mare's love is gigantic because all this is making me very hungry. Thought the queen as she walked along dragging a small unicorn with her.
--------------------------------- Chapter 2 - A New Day. ---------------------------------
After a few minutes of walking Chrysalis arrived at her camp, next to the little unicorn still biting her tail, it wasn't a long trip, but the queen was forced to clear some parts of the path with her magic so her little companion wouldn't trip.
"Here we are in my camp, you can let me go now, come closer to the fire if you are cold but be careful not to burn yourself, I have no medicine with me." The queen went to her bed and lay down to rest.
The unicorn nodded his head and let go of the queen's tail, then stretched out his hoof looking for the fire until he felt its warmth and slowly approached until he was at a distance he found pleasant before sitting down in front of it leaving his bag at his side very close to the queen.
"You really can't see anything?" Chrysalis asked.
The unicorn perked his ears up as he listened to the queen. "I've been blind since birth, the doctor said something happened inside mommy and that's why I can't see."
"And what does your father think of all this?"
"I have never seen my daddy, my mommy says he works a lot in a place far away from here and that's why he can't come, but mommy always tells me that he loves us a lot and he always writes to us, sometimes I would like to meet him." Said the little unicorn regretfully.
"And does he write in any way that you can read, or do his letters have any spells in them?"
"No, Mommy always reads me the letters Daddy sends us, I can't read." Replied the unicorn lowering his head sadly. "I'm learning at school with a special ruler and some dots but it's hard."
"I understand, try to get some sleep because you will need your energy early tomorrow morning." The queen settled down on her bed of leaves and closed her eyes to sleep.
"Mmmm... ma'am, don't you have something to eat, I'm hungry."
The queen opened her eyes somewhat annoyed. "Really your mother sent you to school without food?."
The colt raised his head remembering something. "My mommy always puts an apple in my bag before I leave, I forgot." The unicorn stretched his hoof looking for the bag where he had left it, feeling some stones, the queen's paw, and finally his bag. "Here it is." He took it with his hooves and opened it with his magic, then he began to take out the things inside and leave them in front of the queen without realizing it, and from the bottom, he took out a couple of apples slightly puzzled.
"How strange, my mommy always puts only one apple, today she gave me several." The colt didn't give it much importance. "Ma'am, would you like an apple?" He asked extending his hoof into the air with an apple.
"No thanks, I'm not hungry." Replied the queen.
"That's okay, I'll leave it here in case you get hungry later." The foal left an apple in front of the queen. "At school, we were taught to always share food." He commented before biting into his fruit and eating it happily.
The little unicorn made much more noise than normal to eat a single apple, enjoying every bite, continuing after with a second, a third, and finally a fourth apple, it was noticeable that he hadn't eaten anything all day.
"I see you were very hungry."
"Yes, I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, good thing my mommy gave me a lot more fruit than other times."
"Sometimes mares have good ideas, now that you are fed go to sleep, it's late and I don't want to be awake any longer than necessary." Said the queen settling back on her bed of leaves.
"Mmmm... Ma'am, could you tell me a bedtime story." The foal asked in a low voice as if trying not to disturb his caretaker.
The queen opened her eyes again knowing that she could not sleep without fulfilling the little unicorn's wish.
"Must I?" Asked the queen well annoyed.
"Please?" The unicorn's pleading voice was a very effective attack on the changeling monarch's most sensitive nerve.
"Ugh, fine... but it'll be a short story and then you'll go to sleep, okay?"
"Okay." Nodded the unicorn happily looking in the queen's direction.
Chrysalis cleared her throat before she began.
"A long time ago there was a kingdom where its queen lived in peace and harmony with all her subjects, everyone loved her and was always eager to do her bidding, until one day while making a friendly visit to a neighboring kingdom she met the most handsome unicorn in the region and after a few days of talking and living together they were both eager to get married, but a pink mare who was consumed by her envy towards the beautiful queen tried to stop their wedding, this queen managed to stop her and lock her in a dungeon but she did not count that this mare had many allies consumed by the same uncontrolled envy."
The young unicorn listened excitedly to the queen's every word and wagged his little tail from place to place in anticipation.
"The queen fought bravely with her subjects and had the battle won until the envious pink mare used a tricky spell that prevented me...I mean the queen from getting married on the most perfect day of her life, finally, the queen for the sake of herself, her love, and her subjects decided to leave the kingdom and never come back, the end."
"Wow, I've never heard that story before." Said the unicorn in surprise. "And what happened to the queen afterward?"
"One day while she was strolling quietly in the forest found a very annoying companion that she couldn't get rid of."
"I hope the queen has a happy ending, thank you for the story, ma'am." Finished saying cheerfully the colt before yawning and curling up a little closer to the campfire to sleep.
"Rest up little one, tomorrow we will leave early in search of your mother." The queen settled down for the third time on her bed and was able to close her eyes to finally get some sleep.
The next morning the queen woke up early with some hunger and saw in front of her breakfast in the shape of a unicorn, completely vulnerable and ignorant of his surroundings, as she approached to devour his love the queen remembered why the little colt was in her camp and that she would help him look for his mother without telling him that she planned to steal the love of the two ponies when they met again.
Chrysalis approached the little unicorn and gently moved him to wake him up.
"Hey wake up, remember we would look for your mother." Said the queen before stretching her limbs, it wasn't one of her better nights but she was able to get some rest and regain some energy.
The little unicorn woke up from the movement and stretched his body before getting up, still very sleepy and nodding off from sleep, his mane even though it was short was very tousled and the queen without thinking used her magic to comb it and clean it a bit from the leaves.
"Were you able to get some sleep?"
The foal nodded his head as he blinked in a discontinued manner, apparently, his brain still wasn't fully functioning.
"Are you hungry?."
The foal nodded his head again giving a long yawn and wiping his eyes with his hooves.
"Wait here, I'll get you something to eat." Said the queen before walking off into the forest, the little foal nodded once more before yawning again.
Chrysalis searched near where she was and was able to find among the poisonous mushrooms and nasty grass some forage that the foal could eat, she also found a couple of birds that she was able to capture with her magic and be able to steal their love, finally, she went to the river and drank some water before returning to her camp carrying with her a good number of berries and some water in a large leaf, upon returning she saw that the foal was still sitting without moving an inch, the queen approached the unicorn who turned his head as he heard someone approaching.
"Stretch your hooves." Said the queen to which the unicorn complied without question. "Eat these berries, I made sure they weren't poisonous, it's not much but it's enough for someone your size.
The little colt opened his muzzle and ate almost all the berries in one go in a very sloppy way, smearing himself in the process and dropping some on the ground without realizing it, when he finished he licked his muzzle and wiped it with his hoof.
"Thank you, they were delicious."
"Are you thirsty?" The queen asked.
"A little."
"Here, it's water, and please don't waste it." The queen magically brought the leaf of water to the foal's muzzle and he drank almost all of it.
When he finished, the queen threw the leaf to the side and extinguished the fire with some dirt so as not to raise smoke, then picked up the things of the little unicorn and placed them inside the bag before hanging it around her neck, it was not uncomfortable to use but somewhat small for her size and of a design that she would never use.
"Good, now let's go in search of your mother."
The queen indicated to the little unicorn to bite her tail again to set off in the direction of Canterlot, and as he did so they both walked through the forest, they had already been walking for quite a while and had made very little progress, the journey was much slower than the queen had intended.
"We are doing things wrong." Said Chrysalis stopping suddenly without the little unicorn noticing and bumping her from behind. "Oh... I'm sorry."
"Is something wrong ma'am?" The colt asked letting go of the queen's tail.
"I said we are doing things wrong, at this rate we will reach the city by nightfall and if they are looking for you it will be harder for them to find you."
"And what can we do?"
The queen scratched her chin thinking of a plan and quickly came up with one, it wasn't to her liking but it was by far the best option she had at her disposal.
"I have an idea." Said the queen taking the little unicorn with her magic and placing it on her back. "I'll carry you on my back for the rest of the journey so we can cover ground much faster, just hold yourself tight so you don't fall off because I don't want to hear any more of your whining if you get hurt."
"Ok." The little unicorn settled on the queen's back and with his short hooves, he affirmed himself as best he could on Chrysalis' neck. "I'm ready."
"Well, one more thing, what's your mother's name?"
"Her name is Petal Dance, and I'm Clear Spark, it's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am, what's your name?." Replied the unicorn with a smile.
"My name is... Chrysalis." Replied the queen. "The one and only." Commented at last.
"Pleased to meet you Ms. Chrysalis, I know we will be very good friends."
"Just hold yourself tight and use that high-pitched voice of yours to call your mother."
The unicorn nodded his head and the pair set off again in search of the mother and her delightful love.
--------------------------------- Chapter 3 - Learning New Things. ---------------------------------
The couple had already been searching for hours in the forest and were closer to the city, always calling the mother of the little one and attentive if they heard someone shouting the name of the unicorn, the queen raised her head to the sky to see the position of the sun, it was already past noon and surely the little unicorn would be hungry and a little thirsty.
"Are you hungry or a little thirsty?" Asked the queen to her little companion.
"I'm not hungry, but thank you for asking." Replied the foal seconds before his stomach rumbled causing a slight chuckle from the queen.
"You don't have to lie, if you're hungry or thirsty just tell me and we'll get something." Replied the queen stopping to take out the apple she had been offered last night and passing it to the unicorn for something to eat, then the queen began to walk a little slower looking for some berries.
"In that case Ms. Chrysalis, can I have some water?". The unicorn asked as he ate the apple.
Chrysalis chuckled at the innocence of her little companion. "First we'll get you some more food and then we'll go to the river to drink some water, I'm a little thirsty too."
Seconds later the queen felt the foal call out to her tapping her shoulder to which she turned her head to find out what her little companion wanted.
"Is something wrong?" Asked the queen when she saw a hoof approaching offering her half an apple.
"Eat this Ms. Chrysalis, you haven't eaten anything since morning either." Said the unicorn with a smile.
"Don't worry, I'm not hungry." Replied the queen before walking again, but she felt her shoulder being tapped again.
"You don't have to lie to me, if you're hungry or thirsty, we'll get something." Replied the little unicorn laughing softly back.
The queen took the offered half of the apple with her magic and watched it for a few seconds with wide eyes, then popped it in her mouth and chewed it a couple of times before swallowing it, she found it delicious.
"Emmm... Thank you..." Replied the queen honestly. "...Well, let's continue." She said before continuing to look forage for the little unicorn and herself.
After they both ate some berries and the unicorn ate some leaves that the queen picked, they both headed to the river to drink before continuing the search, then the queen took the little unicorn and settled it back on her back, they both nodded and continued walking.
"Ms. Chrysalis." Said the little unicorn. "You have a family?"
"Yes, I have my min... my brothers and sisters, some cousins and grandchildren."
"And you don't have a mom or a dad?"
"I have a mother I haven't seen for years and I never knew my father."
"And you never wanted to meet him?" Asked the unicorn a little surprised.
"There was a time when I was interested but that was a long time ago, now I must worry about other things." Replied the queen.
"Like what, what could be more important than family?"
"You for example." Replied the queen without thinking and stopping as she realized what she said. "We must find your mother as soon as possible, and what is she like?." Asked the queen to change the subject.
"She is very good to me and takes good care of me, but..." Finished saying the little unicorn with some sadness.
"Is something wrong?"
"She is sometimes very sad and cries a lot."
"The life of an adult mare is sometimes a little difficult when she doesn't have a stallion by her side to help her."
"I know, but she has a lot of friends to help her when she is sad."
"It's good that she has friends that help her when she needs it."
"Yes, sometimes I hear her crying from my room and her friends stay with her all night until she stops crying, you can tell they love her very much because the next day they all wake up very happy." Replied the happy unicorn.
"Everyone?" Asked the queen raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, almost every day a stallion accompanies her until she stops crying, but sometimes when she feels very bad two or three accompany her to make her feel better, sometimes some mares also help her."
"Your mother has a social life that is very... active."
"I like that my mommy has a lot of friends to help her when she is sad."
"It's nice to have ponies that care about you..." Chrysalis understood perfectly well what Clear Spark meant when she said her mother `cried` all night and was a little glad that the foal's fragile and innocent mind was not soiled by her mother's loving sounds. "...But I would like to talk to your mother about her friends when I meet her." The queen was going to have to have a serious talk with Petal Dance about having to attend to her needs away from her son.
The rest of the day passed and it was already getting late in the afternoon without either of them giving much importance to the time, they started walking straight to Canterlot and each time they called less and less to Petal Dance until they stopped calling her and neither paid attention if someone called the colt, slowly and unknowingly each one was enjoying the company of the other and learning from each other, talking about life and their likes and dislikes.
The queen in her curiosity learned a little about comics and a lot about music.
"That's why every day when classes are over, the teacher accompanies me to the music studio and allows me to play some instrument, she says that I am by far the best at knowing if an instrument is out of tune or not and she allows me to tune them as long as I don't break them." Said the colt with a chuckle.
The queen let out a laugh in return. "And have you broken any instruments?"
"Emmm..." Hesitated the little unicorn to answer, which caused the queen to chuckle.
"Come on, you can tell me, I promise I won't tell anyone."
"Okay, but you have to keep it a secret, ok?." The queen nodded her head. "At first I was very excited by the sounds and vibrations of the musical instruments, and in the excitement, I tried to play the drum but instead of taking the drumsticks I mistakenly took a pair of flutes and when I played the drum with them, both flutes broke... and... so did the drum." Clear Spark replied somewhat chagrined.
The queen let out a laugh again.
"But I'm raising money to pay for it, I swear Ms. Chrysalis, I don't have much money right now but I'm going to do it someday."
"You're a good colt, you know that?" Said the queen.
"Thank you Ms. Chrysalis, you are also a good mare for helping me, and what do you do for a living?".
Clear Spark mimicking her caretaker's curiosity learned something about politics and a lot about botany.
"And this plant is known as poison ivy." Said the queen as she took a couple of leaves from the plant and carefully brought it close to the little unicorn for him to smell. "Beware of touching it, it is not deadly but its oil is very irritating to the skin, and never eat its fruits, those can be deadly, remember its smell." Clear Spark sniffed deeply and nodded when he finished. "It's a common plant but it has a little-known utility."
"Does it serve as some medicine?"
The queen shook her head. "Concentrate and tell me what you hear." Chrysalis paused and waited for the foal to focus all around him. "Focus and tell me what you hear, Close your eyes and analyze every sound around you."
Clear Spark closed his eyes and took slow, deep breaths as he separated and analyzed each sound. "I hear... trees and... birdsong."
"Well, what else do you hear."
"I hear some squirrels and a very distant howl."
"Excellent, your hearing is very good, I can't hear such a howl, can you hear anything else."
"I hear... a river."
"In which direction, point it with your hoof."
Clear Spark concentrated on isolating the sound of the river and raised his hoof to point to his right.
"Okay, let's investigate." The queen started walking in the direction the foal pointed and in less than a minute she found a stream.
"Good job, you found the stream and you did it all by yourself, I'm impressed."
"b-b-but how?" The foal asked in surprise. "I didn't know there was a river here."
"Poison ivy is a plant whose roots need a lot of liquid and always grow near a water source, a lake or a river."
"Wow."
"If you remember the smell of poison ivy you can always find a water source nearby."
"Thank you Ms. Chrysalis."
"It was a pleasure, now let's continue, because before we get to Canterlot I want to show you a plant that grows around here and serves as an antidote for the poison ivy."
"You know a lot about bo...but...buta...plants and stuff?."
"The word you're looking for is botany and yes I do know a lot about it, I've spent a lot of my life camping and have had to learn as I go along about plants and their uses."
"Have you ever eaten something that was bad for your tummy?."
The queen thought about it for a second. "I don't remember eating anything that caused me to be sick for more than a day or two but I do remember once touching a blue-petaled flower that grows in the swamp."
"And what happened."
"Emmm..." Hesitated the queen to answer, causing Clear Spark to let out a chuckle.
"You know we are among friends Ms. Chrysalis, and I promise I won't tell anyone." The queen chuckled as she heard the same words she said a few minutes before.
"Ok, but this stays between us." The unicorn nodded her head. "A few years back I found this flower when I was camping in the swamp and since I hadn't seen it before it caught my attention and I went over to touch it, it's a very beautiful flower and I had the brilliant idea to cut a few and make an ornament for my mane with them, one of my worst ideas I must say."
"And what happened then?"
"I woke up the next day with my mane stuck to the bed and when I tried to peel it off with my hooves they were stuck too, it took me a long time to be able to get out of bed and stand on my four legs, and it took me weeks to find a solution for my sticky mane."
"Were you able to find any plants to make a remedy.?"
"Not really, after having a pillow stuck to my head for several days, I simply took a pair of scissors and cut off my mane."
The little colt let out a laugh as he heard the story followed by a chuckle from the queen.
They both kept walking and laughing about different things until Chrysalis stopped in front of a plant with long, fat leaves.
"Come down for a second and smell this plant in front of you." The little unicorn followed the queen's instructions and brought her snout closer to smell and remember the new plant.
"It reminds me of garlic."
"Exactly, now reach over, carefully take a leaf and break it off." Clear Spark followed the instructions and with a little work managed to pull a leaf off the plant and snap it in two.
"Ugh... it's slimy."
"This plant is called Aloe, and it is one of the best natural medicines there is, its pulp won't cure the irritation of poison ivy but it will eliminate the pain for long enough until your body eliminates the poison, plus it is a very common plant in various parts of Equestria."
After a light explanation of how to extract and use the plant, Clear Spark settled on the queen's back before continuing the journey, asking all he could about plants and more stories of how the queen learned about them, after an hour or two walking they arrived at Canterlot, and from her position, the queen could see a couple of guards at the entrance and some ponies going in and out of the city.
--------------------------------- Chapter 4 - An awkward meeting. ---------------------------------
The queen was about to leave the forest when she remembered that she was still in her true form and with what happened just recently it wasn't the best idea to present herself in front of a guard like that.
"Can you get off my back for a moment, I need to stretch a bit." Asked the queen to her companion who complied without a problem.
Chrysalis stretched her body a bit and using a quick spell transformed into a white-colored earth mare with a navy blue mane and tail, and a Cutie Mark of two tree leaves made of crystal.
"Okay, now get on." Chrysalis said as she helped Clear Spark onto her back with her hoof.
"Hmmm... Ms. Chrysalis, your back is softer than I remember." Commented the foal as he settled on the queen's back and affirmed himself on her neck.
"Surely you're imagining things, or didn't realize it before, but we'd better get into the city and find your mother."
Chrysalis walked out of the forest and headed towards the city, she approached one of the guards standing at the gate.
"Good day." Said the queen to which a guard returned her greeting. "My name is Crystal Ivy and yesterday I found this little one alone in the forest, who should I speak with to advise that he was found and call off your search?".
The guards looked at each other and said something to each other in mumbles.
"I'm sorry Miss Ivy, but we have no search warrants on a recently lost foal in the woods, but we are never told anything, if you wish you can go in and ask at the station, it's that big building at the bottom of the street." Replied one of the guards pointing to a large light blue building."
"Thank you... I guess." Replied the queen somewhat confused by the guard's response.
"That was strange." Said the queen to her companion.
"Is something wrong?" Clear Spark asked.
"It really strikes me that the guard didn't know anything about you, but it may be like he said and he was never given the order to look for you, we'd better find out at the station." Replied the queen to her little friend as she approached the station and opened the door with her hoof.
They were both sitting on a couch in front of the reception desk, Chrysalis looked around while Clear Spark drank some juice from a glass he was given, seconds later a guard approached them with a smile.
"I'm sorry Miss Ivy, but we have no record about a missing foal these days, but with Chrysalis' attack on the city our guards are working extra shifts and we haven't had time to do a lot of written records, I recommend you find this little one's mother yourself." Said the guard stroking the little unicorn's head. "I'm sorry I can't help you more, but I thank you for finding him, surely his mother at this moment is very distressed."
"I understand, I thank you for your help anyway." Replied the queen getting off the couch. "Hop in little one, let's go find your mother."
They both left the guard station and Chrysalis looked around, she knew the city very well, but she didn't know which sector her little friend lived in.
"And do you know where your house is?."
"Hmmm... no, my mommy always takes me everywhere." Answered the foal somewhat frustrated.
"I understand, don't worry, but do you remember anything near your house, any particular building, or anything flashy?."
"Sometimes my mommy takes me to the market and it's not too far from my house and it has a fountain in the middle with a statue of an old bearded unicorn, Starlord I think he is called."
"A market that has a fountain with a statue of Star Swirl?". The queen asked.
"Yes, that's the one." Replied the colt raising his voice a little.
"I know the place, we'll be there in minutes, then we can ask one of the merchants if they know where your house is."
Chrysalis walked through the streets heading north of the city, it was a very humble neighborhood for Canterlot's housing standard, but it was enough for a mother and her little foal, when they arrived at the market the queen noticed that most of the stalls were closed or were closing, so she approached a stallion who had already put away almost all his merchandise.
"Excuse me, sir." Said the queen. "My name is Crystal Ivy and I'm looking for the house where this little guy lives, do you know where it is?".
"Ohh... good evening." Replied the stallion. "Petal Dance's house?, of course, I know it, if you want to wait a few minutes and I'll take you there myself, I was going to visit her right now to help her... relax." Replied the stallion grimacing at the end.
"I thank you for your help and I wish you wouldn't make those comments in front of the foal, I'll wait for you at the fountain." With that, the queen turned her back on the trader and walked over to the fountain to sit and wait.
"Did you hear little one, you will be back with your mother very soon." Said the queen to her little friend."
"Thank you Ms. Chrysalis, really thank you." Replied the unicorn as he hugged his caretaker tightly.
A couple of minutes later the stallion signaled the queen and Clear Spark that he was ready and to follow him to Petal Dance's house to which Chrysalis put her little friend back on her back and followed the stallion.
After walking a couple of streets where no one said a word, they stopped in front of a small white house with some wilted flowers at the entrance, the stallion approached the door and knocked on it a couple of times before stepping back, moments later someone opened the door.
She was a slightly young mare for a mother, dark brown in color with a long golden mane and tail, her Cutie Mark was two roses forming a heart.
"Strong Ocean, glad you came." Said the mare coming out to greet the stallion with a hug, not noticing the mare behind him, let alone the little one on her back. "I've been waiting for you, I have something special prepared for-."
"Mommy!" Shouted the little unicorn jumping off the queen's back and running in the direction of his mother, bumping his head and hugging her.
The mare looked at her son in surprise. "b-b-but how?" She asked with wide eyes.
"Ohh mommy I missed you so much." Said the little unicorn through tears. "I was so scared."
"Hmmm, it's ok sweetie, now go to your room." Seriously replied the mare as she stroked the unicorn's head. "I'll be right in and get you something to eat."
Clear Spark nodded his head and happily went inside his house, the mare sighed approaching the queen.
"I guess I have you to thank for finding my son."
"Yes." Replied the queen with a smile. "My name is Crystal Ivy and I found yo-."
"Well, thank you for bringing my son back." Said the mare interrupting the queen before turning her back on her and approaching the stallion.
"I'm sorry Ocean, but I think we're going to have to meet another day, I wasn't expecting this."
"Then I guess we'll see you another day." Replied the stallion disappointed. "Good that your son didn't leave, he's a good boy and would have been missed by all of us, have a good night."
"Yeah, I guess you're right, see ya." Replied the somewhat annoyed mare entering the house and closing the door with her magic, the stallion approached the queen and stood at her side.
"That mare is not a good mother." Commented the stallion.
"What do you mean?" The queen asked intrigued.
"I have known Petal Dance for years and what we saw is the most concern she has given to little Clear Spark, he is a good boy and very cheerful despite his problem, but I have already forgotten the times I or someone from the market has found the little colt wandering alone in the area looking for his home, in fact, that is how I met his mother."
"Really?" Asked the queen raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, she has several times come with her son to shop at the market and I will not deny that she is a very attractive mare, but one day a few years ago I found the little Spark lying under a tree, she said his mother did not go looking for him and as I knew where she lived I accompanied him to her house, I must say that she was not very happy to see her son, in fact, I do not remember ever seeing her happy next to the little colt, but that day when she saw me she invited me to her house for a drink as thanks, and naturally we ended up spending the night together."
"And she's always been like that?"
"It's no secret to anyone in this area that Petal Dance is an easily accessible mare if you know what I mean, and many have tried to have a more serious relationship with her, and even some stallions and mares that dated Petal Dance have taken care of little Spark much better than his own mother." The stallion chuckled. "Even I learned a little braille to help the little guy with his school work, seriously he's a good boy and needs help that his mother doesn't care to provide."
"Hmmm." Said the queen.
"Many times we told Petal that if she didn't want to take care of her son, she might as well send him to his father so he could take care of him, she told us he was an important stallion with a lot of money, power and influence, all that kind of stuff, but I don't believe her much, we managed to convince her to send him to his father and a few days ago she told us she arranged things to send him by train, frankly I think that little boy would be better-taken care of by anyone else than by his mother."
"I didn't know anything about that." Said the queen. "Clear Spark told me that his mother loved him very much and was always looking after him."
"I don't know if little Spark is very innocent or can't think badly of others." The stallion turned a little and looked the queen up and down a couple of times, something that upset Chrysalis a little. " Hey Miss Ivy, since my night is ruined what do you say we go for a drink, I know a good bar nearby and a very cheap motel, my treat."
"No thanks, I prefer my dates to have a little more... class." Replied the queen to the repulsive idea.
"As you wish, anyway I should get back to my place, surely my wife will be furious if she finds out I stop by Petal Dance's place, have a good night." With that, the stallion walked and whistled off through the streets until he disappeared around a corner.
The queen also set off on her way to leave the city, she had already accomplished her goal, she had managed to reunite the little foal with his mother and now knew where they both lived, The situation was perfect, a negligent mother in charge of a blind foal, a couple of easy prey for her and a couple of changelings, now the queen just needed to return to one of the nearby hives and create a plan to return to Canterlot and capture the two unicorns.
Chrysalis as she left the city gates turned her head to see Canterlot once again, while it is true that she could not complete her invasion on a large scale, she could well capture some ponies that few would miss before leaving that place, after advancing far enough into the forest the queen dropped her disguise to return to her original form and flew in the direction of the nearest hive.
--------------------------------- Chapter 5 - New Ideas and New Feelings. ---------------------------------
A few days had already passed since Chrysalis' encounter with the little unicorn, and the queen was in one of her hives sitting on her throne, in front of her were her generals and advisors waiting for her orders for the next attack to some pony village, but the situation was of little interest to the queen since she had been sitting for hours with her head resting on her hoof while looking at the emptiness.
At first, the queen arrived with the dynamism and temperance that characterized her but with each day that passed she gradually lost interest in the problems of the hive, they had no food problems and security problems were minimal and gradually her mind wandered elsewhere, something that all the changeling began to notice but none dared to say, today was no different for the group that was in front of the queen.
The changelings looked at each other without moving or saying anything, they were afraid of interrupting the queen's thoughts and earning a punishment, but some of them were already getting a little nervous and a little hungry, one of them had to sacrifice himself for the others.
Without the queen paying the slightest attention to them, the changelings were gesturing to each other with their hooves until one of them muttered something angry, then raised a fearful hoof and opened his mouth.
"My queen, what are your orders." Said the changeling.
The queen looked down from the sky and watched the changeling for a couple of seconds, noticing that it was a little smaller than the others.
"Do you like music?" The queen asked him.
"What? What? What?" Asked the changeling very confused.
"I asked you if you like music, do any of you like music?"
The changelings looked at each other somewhat nervously not knowing what to say, the queen stood up from her throne and approached the group of changelings until she stood in front of them, her large size was imposing in comparison.
"I can't believe none of you like music." The queen commented somewhat angrily, to which a changeling slowly raised its hoof.
"I like music."
"Well, what kind of music do you like."
"I like instrumental music." The changeling began to speak, slowly getting excited about the subject. "How the instruments combine with each other to create beautiful melodies, I like how they can fill a room without distracting anyone."
"And do you know how to play any musical instruments?."
"Emmm, no."
"And why not?"
"Because we don't have any in the hives."
"And why don't we have any instruments in the hives?."
"Because you won't let us... my queen." Replied the changeling bending down a little out of fear.
"Hmmm... I understand." Said the monarch scratching her chin in thought for a few seconds. "Then you will be... the new musical entertainment manager of the hive."
"The new what?" Asked the somewhat surprised changeling.
"The one in charge of the hive music, you'll have to get some changelings to play some instruments and create some songs that everyone will like, do some auditions and stuff that musicians do."
"Can I start now?" Asked the changeling somewhat excited by the news.
"Emmm... yes, go ahead." Replied the queen motioning to him with her hoof as she turned to return to the throne.
"How nice, I already have some in mind, we'll have to steal some musical instruments but-."
"Wait!" Shouted the queen interrupting her new music manager. "You can't steal the instruments." The queen scratched her chin again in thought. `It wouldn`t work that way`. Thought the monarch.
"And how do you want me to get the instruments without stealing them, my queen?."
"Go to the room where we have the money and take out whatever you need to buy everything."
"You want me to use the money from our vaults to buy musical instruments?"
"Yes, what do we have the money for if we don't intend to use it, right?"
"I guess." Replied the changeling hesitantly.
"Well, then go, I have a lot to do." The queen dismissed the changeling again with a gesture as she walked over to sit on her throne to stare into the void again.
One of the changelings raised its hoof. "My queen, may I have a pet."
"Emmm... yes, why not."
"Thank you." Replied the changeling before almost running out of the room.
The rest of the changelings not knowing what to do or say looked at each other and slowly withdrew from the throne room one by one, the queen also didn't give much importance to whether they stayed or not.
The following days passed very quietly in the hive, with the queen giving one or another order to some changeling she found on her way, to clean someplace that was already clean or to tell her how was the general state of the hives, which apparently were in better condition than ever.
The moral of the hive was never higher in its history, it was full of life in every corner with changelings doing things they liked or trying new things, every now and then a small group of changelings would excitedly enter the throne room to ask the queen for something new to do, who didn't have much trouble giving her approval.
Word spread quickly to the other colonies about the positive changes in the queen's hive and slowly letters began to arrive from changelings with similar requests, to the point that a post office was created to receive and coordinate the requests to the queen, so she would only have to read a couple of letters a day and not hundreds of them asking for the exact same thing.
Most of the changelings were very happy since they could do activities they always wanted to try and somehow the queen loved to see her little changelings happy, Chrysalis thought that offering more options to her changelings besides looking for love would make them happier and it worked perfectly, but she still felt strange, she felt she had lost something and she could not know what, the queen was not happy, also among all the new things her changelings were trying she could also try something new, but nothing of what they were doing caught her attention.
The days that the queen did not spend sitting on her throne agreeing to requests or wasting time, she spent them in the nursery watching the little ones learning new things, things that older changelings could not even know, she saw them running from one place to another but she could not get rid of a feeling of nostalgia from her chest and whenever one of the little ones approached her, she hugged them with all the love of a mother but she could not avoid shedding a tear of sadness.
Almost every day the queen would try a new activity but would stop in the middle of the class and retire to her room, closing the door and not coming out for the rest of the day or sometimes for days.
Many changelings said that sometimes they saw the queen at night wandering around the hive with no apparent direction as if she did not remember where everything was until she found the maternity ward, she would stare at the door for a long time until she decided to enter and take the little sleeping changelings in her arms, they would listen to her softly sing a song while she cooed and kissed them on the forehead, told them stories and tucked them in before leaving the ward and going back to her room.
One day the queen was participating in one of the new activities that one of the new happiness managers of the hive was doing, it was a pottery class for newbies, all the changelings had already finished their clay vases but no matter how hard the queen tried she could not finish hers, slowly transforming her patience into a feeling of frustration and anger, it was one of the simplest designs but somehow the queen could not get it done.
"My queen, do you need me to help you?" Asked a changeling at her side.
"I'm fine, ok?." Replied the queen almost shouting. "Just leave me alone." Stupid vase." thought the queen.
"It's just that you seem a little complicated, and you are using a lot of force, you just have to let the movement flow in a natural wa-."
"And I just see that you are distracting me and not letting me finish this vase." Replied the very annoyed queen with a frown, seconds before the vase she was making deformed again between her hooves.
"AHHH!." Shouted the queen out of frustration before standing up from her cushion and looking at all her changelings angrily. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, IF YOU HADN'T DISTRACTED ME I WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE THAT DAMN VASE... JUST LEAVE ME ALONE."
The changelings looked at each other not knowing what to say or do, causing the queen to get angrier and kick the little table in front of her in an attempt to break it and only causing it to move a couple of inches, causing her frustration to only grow a lot.
"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Shouted the queen to no one in particular before almost running out of the room with her eyes closed.
Chrysalis had locked herself in her room for almost a full week and the changelings were very worried about her, some even thought of seeking help from one of the princesses because of the unusual mood swings of the queen but they knew that this would give them away and feared that one of the princesses would take advantage of the situation to capture the queen and imprison her for her crimes, they needed professional help and there was only one changeling among the hives that could do it.
A changeling with a brown suit and glasses walked through the hive, she carried a tablet with several sheets of paper written in a hoofwriting impossible to understand, her round but small glasses served her perfectly to read and she did not stop before any changeling that greeted her, she walked in a determined way to the queen's room.
The changeling took a deep breath and knocked on the door three times.
"Queen Chrysalis, I am Dr. Red Bug, I would like to speak with you for a moment if I may."
No response was heard from the room, to which the doctor knocked again.
"Queen Chrysalis, are you there, I would like to speak with you."
The changeling hearing no response approached the door to open it with his magic when from the other side someone opened it.
Queen Chrysalis appeared through the door, she had dark circles under her eyes and her hair had not been washed for days, also a horrible smell was coming out of the room.
"What do you wish doctor?" Asked the queen without interest.
"The changelings are very concerned about you, about your change of mood and personality these days, and would like to talk to you about it."
"Do they have any complaints about the new measures I have taken?, if it bothers them at all feel free to create new art workshops or something like that and leave me alone I wish to sleep." The queen closed the door but was stopped by one of the doctor's hooves before it was closed crushing her a little and causing her some pain.
"They have no complaints, but they are worried about your health, tell me, have you eaten well?". Asked the doctor rubbing her hoof from the pain.
"Perfectly, I still have some food that I brought on the day...." The queen closed her eyes trying to remember the date. "...What day is today?"
"Today is Friday."
"Then I brought it yesterday, on Thursday."
"That's strange because today is Tuesday and in that case, you've had the same food for days, or you haven't left the room for days, and frankly I don't know which worries me more."
"Probably the second one, but it's because I've been a little sleepier than usual these days and I'd like you to respect my authority and let me rest." The queen tried to close the door but again the doctor prevented her by placing her hoof.
"In that case, would you allow me to come in to ask you a few simple questions?, it's about some ideas I have for the hive and I would not like to discuss it standing in the hallway." The doctor said with a smile to the queen, clearly it was a lie to better see how the queen was living and how she was really doing.
"Ugh, okay, but make it quick." Said the queen somewhat annoyed stepping aside and allowing the changeling to enter her room.
The doctor entered the room covering her nose and was quickly inundated by an unpleasant scene, the room was almost completely dark, the bed unmade, a huge pile of dirty clothes in a corner with some flies fluttering around, a couple of plates with food already in bad shape that surely explained the nauseating smell and some glasses of water on a table and others on the floor.
"So doctor, what do you want to talk about?" Asked the queen.
"I honestly want to talk about your mental health." Said the doctor looking the queen in the eyes. "We are very concerned about you and I must tell you that all this..." The changeling pointed to some things in the room. "... It's not healthy at all and we don't like to see you like this, I already talked to many changelings and they are all willing to go back to the life we had before as long as you are well." Finished saying the changeling with a smile.
"Are they all crazy?" Asked the queen a little surprised. "Everyone is fine and happy, life is better than ever, they are happy, you are happy, I am happy." Replied the queen without turning her face to the doctor.
"Are you really happy?" Red Bug asked raising an eyebrow.
"Of course I am, your happiness is my happiness." Replied the queen touching her chest proudly.
"Hmmm..." Said Red Bug scratching his chin thinking about something. "Then I guess it's all in order then." He finished happily.
"Really that's all doctor?." Asked the queen somewhat surprised.
"Yeeeep." The changeling left the room with a big smile and turned to look at the queen once more. "Also if you are bored or just want to talk, may I remind you that Mr. Cuddles and I will be in my office."
"You really think a simple teddy bear is going to get me to talk to you?".
Red Bug just chuckled. "I never said Mr. Cuddles was a bear, have a nice day." And so simply the doctor retreated bending down a hallway and humming a tune.
"Pff." Said the queen with a gesture as she closed the door and returned to the bed. "Like I'm going to talk to a shrink because she has a plush animal."
--------------------------------- Chapter 6 - Sad Feelings and Unusual Memories. ---------------------------------
Chrysalis was lying on a long wooden sofa with red cushions, around her were a couple of bookcases with books that she didn't know existed, big vases with different plants made the place feel very natural and fresh, on a wall, there were frames with pictures of happy changelings with what seemed to be their relatives, On the ceiling was gently moving one of those fans with light that everyone knows but no one knows what they are called, there was also a desk with some books, many leaves and one of those decorative toys of a drinking bird but with the head of Princess Luna, on a small bench with a cushion was sitting Dr. Red Bug with a smile.
The queen had between her hooves Mr. cuddles, a large octopus of purple color, had a huge head for the proportions of its short tentacles, a pair of large eyes, and a small mouth and slightly cheerful, was soft as hugging a cloud and not forgetting that it is a hypoallergenic material, but what was most striking is that it had only seven tentacles instead of eight and where it should have its eighth tentacle had two white patches crossed with threads of various colors.
"Queen Chrysalis before we start I want to remind you that here you are in control and you can leave whenever you want to do so, you don't have to talk about anything if you don't want to but I am here to listen to you and I promise you that nothing you say will leave this office, okay?."
Chrysalis nodded her head without letting go of Mr. Cuddles.
"Okay." The doctor adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat. "This month has been very intense for everyone, lots of changes in the hives and in our way of life, everyone looks much happier than ever and I'm slowly running out of work." Commented the doctor with a chuckle. "But as long as they are fine, it doesn't bother me, you told me something similar this morning, remember?".
The queen said nothing and just hugged Mr. Cuddles tighter.
"As I've had more free time I've tried many new things and among all the things I've liked the most has been knitting wool sweaters, they are horrible and always fit me with the shortest sleeves."
"Then why do you keep making them?" Asked the queen softly.
"Because I like making them, it makes me happy to see it when I finish them and they always get a laugh out of me or my friends how ugly they are, then I just take them apart and start a new one again, but little by little I've gotten better and I hope someday to make a sweater that someone can wear."
"I can't do that, I don't like things to look bad."
"Like what happened the other day in the pottery class?" The doctor asked. "Would you like to talk about that?"
Chrysalis ducked her head a little and squeezed Mr. cuddles tighter.
"I understand, let's talk about something else, from what I see on your face you have not slept well and eaten little these days."
"The work of a queen is stressful and sometimes I would like to be left alone to rest."
"Completely understandable." The doctor began to write something in her notebook. "I have also heard that you have tried several new workshops but none of them have appealed to you, may I ask why?"
"None of them have been of interest to me." Sighed the queen in Mr. Cuddle's gentle embrace.
"That makes sense, you have lived a lot and probably have already seen or done many new things we are trying, right?"
The queen nodded her head without saying anything else, the doctor looked at the queen and knew she wanted to talk about something but didn't have the strength to start the conversation, she had to find another approach to get the queen to open up so she could talk about her problems.
"Do you think all this has to do with the invasion of Canterlot and you want to make it up to us for what happened?" The doctor had read what there was about the queen's medical history and this was the first time there was any record of such a marked change in mood and personality, so she knew Canterlot had something to do with it.
"It was a difficult process for everyone, they did well, it was my fault we failed, it was... difficult and somewhat painful, but we will get through it after all wounds heal with time... well... most of them."
The queen spoke softly sighing between words, but what the queen said and the way she said it gave her a good hoof to open up to a conversation, the doctor just needed the precise focus and seeing Mr. cuddles she thought she had in front of her just what she needed.
"You know, Mr. cuddles had a hard life when he was little, too."
"Really?" Asked the queen raising her head.
"Ohh yes, when he was a little octopus he suffered an accident and that's why he's missing one of his tentacles." The doctor pointed her hoof at the stuffed animal right where the patch was. "It wasn't easy for him, but he pulled through and made it through, he is now one of the best assistants and we always look out for each other.
The queen turned Mr. cuddles to face him and gently began to stroke him in a way to comfort the octopus.
"Some ponies are as lucky as Mr. cuddles are, to have someone to take care of him when they can't take care of themselves, others are not that lucky, some little ones are not." The queen hugged Mr. cuddles tightly again with no intention of letting go and making him feel safe.
"And why don't you better tell him, he likes to listen to others and he is the best at keeping secrets, besides I know he will feel better if you do and he would also like to be your friend and you can help me take care of him from time to time."
The queen looked peacefully at Mr. cuddles as she hugged him and stroked his huge round head, he was very soft and with an expressive face willing to listen to the queen patiently as long as she wanted, yes... the queen thought Mr. cuddles would be a very good friend.
"He really does need help sometimes doesn't he?" Asked the queen to which the doctor nodded gently. "Yes... I also met someone like that a few days ago, he was small and very scared, really a useless little guy with a big heart that he couldn't even see in front of him..." The queen was lost talking as she watched and petted Mr. cuddles.
"And this changeling lives in this hive?."
"He lives with his mother in Cant... I mean, no, he lives far, far away from here, I don't think you know him Mr. cuddles."
The doctor found it curious that the queen was referring to someone living in a busy city like Canterlot, she knew that changelings were forbidden to spend much time spying in a large city let alone live in one, by saying that he lived with his mother in the capital of Equestria, she deduced that it was someone else, but she didn't want to interrupt the queen as she spoke, she had found it hard to get her to start talking about her problems and she wasn't going to stop her now.
Chrysalis felt very confident with Mr. cuddles and began to tell him her story of a few days ago, what she did and saw, where she went, and who she met, never worrying that her story involved a little blind unicorn that she thought she would use and ended up forming a bond with him, also what had happened to him and what his mother was like.
The queen talked for a long time, sometimes pausing to wipe her eyes or sigh in the soft embrace of her pulpy new friend, the doctor asked the occasional question, but to the queen's ears, Mr. cuddles could ask her all the questions he wanted.
The doctor was a little surprised that the queen was so open and accessible to tell her problems, in her experience patients never speak so openly until the third or so session, the only thing she thought was that the queen desperately wanted to talk to someone and didn't know how to ask, and that apparently that little foal left a very deep impression on the queen.
The changeling knew that the queen was not merciless, much less cruel, she was strict and somewhat harsh with her subjects, but she always cared about them, she loved every one of them differently and even if she tried not to show it, everyone knew when she was worried about one of her changelings if they were sick or very hurt, so knowing that a mare showed so little interest for her son, moved the foundations in the bottom of the monarch's heart.
"And that's the story Mr. cuddles, I hope I haven't bored you." Said the queen.
"Mr. Cuddle's job is to be present and listen to stories, and I now understand why your personality has changed so abruptly." The doctor replied.
"What do you mean?" The queen asked, looking up.
"You unwittingly reflected the love you feel for us in that little being you found in the forest and when you left that foal and saw that his mother did not reciprocate that love in the same way for her son, it caused your heart to fracture and now you are trying to fill that guilt by trying to make our lives better."
"It's a mother's job to take care of her children."
"And you think she doesn't take care of her child?"
"I don't think so, I know." Replied the queen.
"And how can you be so sure."
"Because a mother without thinking about it must care for them, it's something that comes with the job, it's something her heart understands when she sees them." The annoyed queen tapped her chest where her heart was.
"So that's why you always go to maternity to see that the little ones are well and nothing happens to them?"
"Yes... I mean no... they're fine, I know they're fine, it's my job to make sure of it, it's a mother's job to take care of her child, not to abandon her foal in the woods to its fate."
"That little guy left a very strong impression on you."
"He was just a unicorn, an innocent, cheerful dam who deserves so much more and now he lives with a mother who doesn't love him."
"Leaving that colt with her broke your heart, didn't it?"
"Look, he was a simple unicorn, and I've accepted it." Contented the queen shouted angrily. "I'm the reason he's suffering now, it's all my fault."
Dr. Red Bug silently and calmly looked at the queen as she slowly turned her anger into sadness, as her hooves began to shiver and her breathing quickened along with her watery eyes.
"What do you mean?" The doctor asked softly.
"I should have done something...no...I shouldn't have left him with her." The queen replied in a broken voice.
"What could you have done differently than you did?" Red Bug asked.
"I don't know..." The queen was trying to hold back tears in a battle she was slowly losing. "I had to do something...I should have offered him something better...he deserves better.... no one deserves a mother like that." The queen had almost lost the battle and found herself sobbing.
"Even when we do something with the best intentions and we do everything right, sometimes bad things happen to good ponies who don't deserve it, things that are out of our control, and even if it pains us to accept it, sometimes we feel..."
"Powerless." Said the queen already crying in a very low voice.
Chrysalis stood up in tears throwing Mr. cuddles to the ground unconcerned. "But I don't want to be like that... I should... She shouldn't... I had to help him somehow... he needed."
"How?"
"I don't know... I don't know... I just... I... I... I..." Chrysalis murmured with tears in her eyes. "Doctor...I need help, I don't want to feel like this...please...help me...I...I need."
"Admitting that... it's a start we can work with..."
--------------------------------- Chapter 7 - A Tough Road. ---------------------------------
It had been a couple of weeks and Chrysalis was slowly recovering from her illness, it was a slow process and she needed the help of everyone in the hive but you could see that the queen was committed to getting out of the hole she was in, The clinical report made it clear that Chrysalis suffered from a strong feeling of abandonment that triggered a severe depression and Dr. Red Bug gave her a routine that the queen tried to follow to the letter, it was a slow process and Chrysalis had an occasional emotional crisis when she could not do something simple, but little by little she began to feel better and her weight also returned to a normal level.
Today, the queen attended her weekly therapy session like every Tuesday, before she had to attend private sessions on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, but with the progress, she had shown and in order not to put so much pressure on the queen, Dr. Red Bug lowered the sessions to one group session per week, but Chrysalis did not attend alone, her new pet was sleeping on her back.
When the queen entered the room she saw in front of her the usual support group that she now considered her friends and on a stool, a little further back was Dr. Red Bug.
"Queen Chrysalis, how good of you to arrive." Greeted the doctor followed by the rest of the group. "Today's session is going to be a little different, please take a seat and I will explain to everyone."
Chrysalis nodded her head and moved to the seat she normally uses, she took her obese pet with her magic and placed it on her lap.
"Well, we've all been going through some tough times lately but I've noticed that most expect me to be the topic, today I want you to talk to each other and not have to resort to me as your only emotional outlet, we all know each other here and we're practically friends, and a lot of times talking to a friend and telling them your stuff helps a lot more than talking to me in private."
They all looked at each other and some looked much more nervous than other times, but the doctor knew how to break the ice of the situation.
"Remember last time I asked you all if you could start some new project or participate in some new workshop?". Most nodded in agreement. "Okay, I want you to talk to each other about your new experience, what did you think, did you like it or not, did you find it easy or difficult, remember that no one is obligated to talk but it would be nice if you would give it a try, okay, well, I'll start." The doctor settled in a bit before continuing. "Last week I participated in the agriculture class, it was a really bad idea if I must say so." The doctor chuckled.
"Did something bad happen to you, doctor?". Asked a changeling raising his hoof.
"To tell the truth, it was one of the worst weekends of my life, it turns out that when the teacher was explaining the types of plants and that each one needs different levels of water and minerals, it was a much more technical subject than I imagined, a bee appeared from among the flowers and landed on one of my hooves, the teacher took advantage of the moment to explain the function of bees in pollination and why we should take care of them, and without realizing it the bee stung me with its stinger, it hurt a lot to be true."
"And that was too bad?" Asked another changeling.
"In my case, it's really very bad, I didn't know it but I'm allergic to bees and they had to admit me to the medical wing to treat me with a special antidote."
"I guess you wouldn't want to try something like that again would you." Commented a changeling lowering his gaze.
"Not at all, to be honest, it was exciting, kind of scary but exciting and I'm looking forward to this weekend to try another activity, maybe I'll try the cooking class, although I hope this time I'm not allergic to garlic or anything like that." The doctor chuckled again. "If we don't try new things we will never be able to enjoy what life has to offer, maybe the result we expect is not always the best, but that doesn't have to stop us from trying."
The changelings nodded in agreement.
"Well, anyone else wants to continue? Asked the doctor with a smile.
"I...I...I...I...I." Said a very excited little changeling raising his hoof frantically.
"Go ahead Leaf Storm."
"Yes thank you, ummm... This weekend ummm... tried ummm... tried a painting class... ummm... and I liked it ummm... a lot to be true... ummm it helps me to concentrate... on one thing ummm... and I can express myself in ummm... a positive way and create ummm... new and beautiful things."
The changeling unwrapped a painting he had behind his stool and astounded everyone in the session with the impressive quality of the painting.
"Ummm... I made this painting ummm... and I called it... I called it ummm... Summer Farmers... it has ummm... it has a little house... ummm... some changeling farmers and ummm... and some mountains with a river..."
"Wow Leaf Storm, your painting is awesome, I didn't know you were so talented." Commented another changeling at her side buzzing his wings.
"Thanks... ummm the teacher wants... wants me to... ummm wants me to hang my painting... in the library... ummm... and I don't know if I should do that." Finished saying the changeling and looking at the doctor in a way that gave her approval.
"I think you should ask your friends here for their opinion and not me, but remember that the final decision is yours, Leaf Storm."
The changeling turned his head looking at everyone in the group waiting for their answers.
"I think you should do it." Said one.
"Yes, it's very good, I'm sure everyone will like it." Commented another.
"Still, I'm sure more than a few of them will want you to make them a painting for their room." Said a third with a chuckle, causing the group to laugh a little as well.
"Thank you... and ummm... I think... I'll think about it... ummm... a little before ummm... before I decide."
"I know many will like your painting Leaf Storm, but don't feel pressured by anyone to make a decision." The changeling nodded his head before putting his painting away again.
"See, this is a good example of what can happen if you try new things, if my bad experience stopped me from moving forward in my life, I would never have known that I like to sew, or Leaf Storm would never have painted that beautiful painting, do you think it's worth it to lock yourself into only the negatives of life thinking that the worst will always happen." Asked the doctor to the group in general, to which several shook their heads.
"Who wants to continue?" The doctor asked.
"I would like to introduce someone." Said the queen raising her hoof.
"Go ahead Queen Chrysalis."
Chrysalis cleared her throat and took her furry friend between her hooves to show him to everyone.
"This is my new pet, I named him General Whiskers, because since I am a queen I must have generals, he is a somewhat chubby white cat and a bit lazy, but he helps me in the mornings to get up, he literally bites me and licks my nose until I get up to give him his food." The group laughed softly at what the queen was saying. "I like to brush his fur and I always take him outside when he has to do his...cat stuff, we also walk around the hive, even though his idea of walking is to lay on my back while I do my work, I also like to take him between my hooves and make him cuddle and he likes it too, he's a good cat." Finished the queen scratching her obese white feline's belly as he purred.
"Can I take him?" Asked the changeling at the queen's side.
"Emm, go ahead, but be careful, I don't know how he'll behave with other changelings."
The queen took the fat cat and passed it to the changeling, to which the feline simply lay back down to sleep, the changeling began to pet the cat and it began to purr.
"That's a very nice cat Queen Chrysalis, I think I'm going to get a pet too."
"I wish you luck because General whiskers is the best cat in the hive."
"I don't think it's a cat, I like chameleons, their eyes are weird and they look everywhere at the same time."
"Anyone else wants to share their week?" Asked the doctor with a smile.
Most of the changelings raised their hooves and began to talk to each other in turn, after a couple of minutes the doctor no longer had to intervene in the conversation for the next changeling to talk or interact in the support group, little by little they began to forget that they were there out of necessity, and little by little they began to enjoy the company, the laughter and the conversation, unknowingly little by little they were beginning to heal.
Without the group knowing it, the therapy session had ended hours ago, and they were so immersed in their conversations that they forgot the passage of time, the doctor did not want to distract them either, today many had made great progress, but the night was falling and most had schedules to meet, so the group said goodbye with hugs and each went on their way.
Red Bug walked down the hallway to her room, and at her side walked the queen with her pet on her back, both were heading to rest after a long day.
"I am glad to see you so cheerful Queen Chrysalis, you have made a lot of progress in a short time." Said the doctor as she walked beside the queen.
"I didn't like the path I was following, I needed a reality check and I thank you for helping me."
"I just pointed you down a path, you did the work to follow it, and tell me...why did you decide to get a pet...a cat to be specific."
"Cats have always been independent and energetic animals, able to take care of themselves perfectly well and unlike dogs, they don't depend on a changeling to feed or go to the bathroom, I wanted a pet a long time ago but I didn't want something that required a lot of work, so a cat was the best choice."
"I guess General Whiskers didn't get that memo." The doctor said with a chuckle as she watched the cat sleep on the queen's back.
"Things don't always turn out the way you expect." Replied the queen laughing back.
"And you are feeling better, how are you doing with the medications?".
"I still haven't been able to sleep without taking a couple of pills at night, but the doctor said my weight is slowly coming back on and I've been feeling more energetic these days."
"That's good to hear." Red Bug stopped in front of a door. "Well, we'll see you next week, good to hear you're feeling better."
"It feels good to be back to a normal life again."
"Have a good night Queen Chrysalis."
"Rest well doctor." Both figures said their goodbyes and Red Bug entered her room and closed the door behind her.
Chrysalis walked down the hallway accompanied by her pet, at this hour few changelings were awake and the queen also had to sleep, she had a rest routine she had to follow if she wanted to fully recover, so she walked to her room, opened the door with her magic and closed it behind her.
It was a completely different vision from a while ago, there were no longer the dirty clothes piled up, now in that place was a bowl of water and a one of cat food, there were also no glasses or dirty dishes, they were replaced by a brush for the queen's mane and a small mirror, the nauseating smell was also gone and in its place, a more pleasant smell of lilacs could be felt coming from some vases, and the curtains were open allowing the moonlight that peeked over the horizon to come in.
The queen left General Whiskers on the bed and stretched a little, then went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and brushed her mane, finally she took a couple of sleeping pills prescribed by the doctor and lay down to sleep next to her cat.
Slowly the queen entered the world of dreams and slowly regained her life.
--------------------------------- Chapter 8 - A Fresh Start and Hard Choices. ---------------------------------
It had been more than a year since Chrysalis had found the little unicorn and the emotional crisis it caused her, now she was in a very good state, she only went to the doctor once a month to check her mood and lower her use of medication if necessary.
Even though she sometimes missed the little unicorn, she understood that what happened to her was a maternal love for a helpless being and she could not be influenced by memory or strange feelings, she knew it and had accepted it, now that little being was slowly transforming it into a memory.
The measures that the queen had taken to increase the happiness of the hive had worked better than she thought since unknowingly the changelings could generate a little love when they were happy and the others could feed on that love, and that made their raids in search of food by capturing ponies in cocoons less necessary, lowering the number.
Even though the queen missed her old way of life, they had found an alternative source of food, not as effective as abducting ponies, and seeing the numbers on a large scale she realized that even though they had a large food reserve, it was slowly dropping and she had to go back to abducting new victims if she didn't want to have a food crisis in the future.
She discussed it with her generals, including General Mustache, and most of them agreed about the possible food crisis and that they should increase the raids on villages in search of food, this was not going to please her minions but she was the queen and she knew what was best for her changelings, besides it was not their job to question her decisions.
She knew that if she forced her entire race to return to their old way of life it would cause a devastating drop in morale, causing a very low production in love harvesting, and if she left the new way of life, it would cause an inevitable food crisis down the road, so she had to find a way to balance the two lifestyles.
With a little work, she was able to find a way to maintain the new lifestyle without giving up foraging for food. The changelings were going to have a weekly quota of love gathering for the hive and when they finished they would have the rest of the week off, that way the changelings would stay in shape, trained, and would try their best to complete their weekly quota if they wanted to do their favorite activities the rest of the days, this way they would keep the numbers green and the morale of the hives high, all the changelings would have to complete a quota and she to set an example, was not going to be an exception.
The first raid would be made by the queen with a group of her best soldiers and she wanted to make her example the best possible, she saw many options and the only one she found valid was the very capital of Equestria, Canterlot, the place where it all began and it would be the best place to start again, she could not enter the city and capture any pony she saw, that would be stupid, it was very likely that she would capture without realizing it someone important and would activate again the alarms of Equestria if someone noble disappeared, so she had to change her objectives.
The best place for the job was the poorest area of Canterlot, a place at the edge of the city with some houses built in a very bad way, on the edge of overcrowding, it was the place where the criminals lived, the poorest and the unwanted of the city, the queen knew the power of the monarchy and the nobility of Equestria, and knew that they would not move a hoof to look for that kind of ponies, for a noble pony they had a very low level of morals.
In a couple of days, she had everything ready to leave, the raid should not be long, it would take her twenty minutes in the worst case to enter and leave the city, they would only capture twelve ponies, one per changeling, including her, she had already studied the map of the area, where to enter, where to go and where to leave if there were problems, she had everything ready and perfectly planned, they would leave at dawn to reach Canterlot during the afternoon and rest a little until nightfall.
The queen was in the forest about fifty meters from Canterlot, she reviewed the map and her plan of attack one last time before starting and when there were no doubts she began the attack, one of the changelings silently placed himself on the wall indicating to the others when they could enter and one by one they entered the city under the cover of night, one group transformed into unicorns to look for the victims and trap them in cocoons while the other group would take them out of the city to hide them in the forest, simple and effective.
The plan worked perfectly, the changelings walked through the streets looking through the windows of the houses looking for lonely sleeping ponies to capture them, everything was going very well and they already had about ten ponies when the queen began the search for the next one.
Walking through the streets it was hard to believe the contrast of lives in a city as impressive as Canterlot, while some lived in opulence, others lived in absolute filth, stinking streets full of garbage everywhere you looked, small houses made by hoof with materials they could find, many were made of cardboard with tarps tied to form roofs and sheets hung where there should be doors, abandoned and broken liquor bottles everywhere, the makeshift streets if they didn't have a drunk pony on a corner, had a bunch of rats eating a mound of garbage, occasionally a stallion could be seen offering services without explaining what they were but listening to the moans coming from the alleys it was easy to imagine, Chrysalis could just walk in her real form and possibly no pony would care.
Without further thought the queen approached one of the supposedly unlit houses and moved the curtain to the side to enter and capture her next victim, she waited a moment in the darkness attentively to see if there was anyone inside, but hearing no sound she turned on her horn to look around.
The place was a dump, there was a pile of dirty dishes on a table next to a huge jar of water with a very bad smell, on the side a pot with oatmeal still warm on what seemed to be a makeshift kitchen, some buckets with water and some candles stacked in a corner, it was asking too much that these houses had drinking water or lighting, The queen raised one of her hooves when she felt something touching her and when she lowered her head she saw that it was a rat that passed very close to her and was heading towards a sack of oats where other rats were trying to open it with their teeth, on a table you could see some books, many blank pages, and some feathers, the whole place was very humid, cold and bathed by the incessant moans of love coming from one of the houses on the side where the wall of plastic and cardboard did not serve at all to isolate it.
The queen in her curiosity approached the table and checked it quickly, she found it curious that the books were completely blank and had protruding dots where the letters should be, perhaps a new code to write spells thought the queen before dropping the book, when she moved the sheets marked in the same way she found among everything something that she could read, a parchment, she took it in her hoof and lit her horn more to see its content better.
It has cost me a lot to make this decision but I think it is the best for everyone, I am sorry for the situation you are in now, but I can't stand it anymore, I never wanted this and much less do it alone, I never wanted to have a child, I never wanted to be a mother, I never wanted to be awake night after night taking care of something I didn't ask for, maybe if I remembered who the father is I would have tried, but I don't want to be the mother of a foal like this anymore, I am not going to take care alone forever of something that can't take care of itself, I was told that being a mother was the best thing in life and that his illness would unite us more, but it is a lie, I have spent many nights crying and thinking what have I done to suffer this, I want to travel and see the world, go out to parties and have fun with mares and stallions every night as I have always done, but this thing won't let me do it, this thing led me to live where I am now, it is his fault that I am like this, it is his fault that I can't live the life I deserve, I don't want to be a mother and I never did, so take care of this foal, or abandon it in an orphanage like the other hundreds of unwanted ones, frankly the decision is yours and I don't care in the least what you think about doing, I don't want to do it because I don't want to have to fill out papers and forms in a filthy orphanage, good luck.
The queen left the note without giving it much importance and went back to check the table in case there was something else that caught her attention when she heard someone coughing at the back of the house, Chrysalis raised her head and slowly approached a curtain that divided the front of the house with the room, she put her ear closer and she could hear someone mumbling on the other side, it was the sound of her next victim.
On the other side of the curtain, there was someone awake, not like the other victims she found sleeping, there was someone who could see her from the front, someone she could terrify before attacking him and putting him to sleep inside a cocoon, it was a sensation she missed and wanted to enjoy it as much as possible.
Chrysalis lowered the glow of her horn and she could feel the adrenaline going up her spine when she slowly opened the curtain and entered the room, the place was dark but she could distinguish someone on a bed, the queen approached slowly, only her silhouette could be distinguished with the low glow of her horn when she stood in front of the figure that was muttering something, she formed a sinister grimace on her face and turned on her horn slowly so that her victim could see himself face to face with the queen of the changelings, but she did not imagine who was the victim in front of her.
On a bed made of boxes and sheets was a small equine figure of brown color, somewhat dirty, mane and tail of unwashed light blue colors, somewhat thin and still without Cutie Mark, the colt murmured something while with his hoof touched the points in the book in front of him, He didn't need to turn on his horn to see what he was reading, his eyes wouldn't let him anyway, the colt coughed from time to time, in front of the queen was his new innocent victim, in front of the queen was Clear Spark.
Chrysalis did not expect this, she was over him, she knew it, she was sure of that, but in front of her was the foal that changed her lifestyle forever, the foal she knew and loved, the foal that when she left him with his mother only left an emptiness in her heart, the foal that almost destroyed her life, she knew that if she did nothing she would fall back into that dungeon of anguish and pain, she knew that if she fell again she would not be able to get out.
The queen knew what she had to do, she knew she only had one way out, many would say she didn't have to do it, others might say it was a bad idea, and others would comment that it would have been better to leave him in the house, some would say it was necessary, but she knew what she had to do, she knew she couldn't do anything else.
Without thinking twice or saying a word the queen lit her horn and launched a magical lightning bolt hitting the little colt in the chest knocking him out before wrapping him in a cocoon and taking him to the hive.
--------------------------------- Chapter 9 - A Bad Idea was the Only Idea. ---------------------------------
The queen was in the medical wing of the hive waiting patiently in silence for the doctor to appear and give her some information, next to her was Dr. Red Bug on the verge of a nervous breakdown, some of her generals a bit confused, and some changelings that went to the mission with the queen, They were all murmuring among themselves trying to understand the situation or the reasons that made the queen take this decision, nobody dared to ask the monarch but one of them could not stand it anymore and approached Chrysalis to know why this had happened.
"Queen Chrysalis, I don't understand why you did this, I thought you were over it, you said yourself you were over it." Red Bug said.
"Relax doctor, everything will be fine." Replied the queen.
"But this is wrong... this... this... this... he shouldn't be here, you can't just go and fillynap a foal just like that."
"A changeling fillynapping a pony, who would think." Replied the queen sarcastically. "It's part of our job, it's been our way of life for generations, I don't see what the problem is."
"The problem is that this will be disastrous, he is passed out and will wake up at any moment, he should have stayed in a cocoon so we could absorb his lov-."
"Are you questioning my decisions, doctor?" The queen asked annoyed, standing up and looking at the little changeling directly.
"N- no... I was just... saying... that." Red Bug stammered, clearly intimidated by the monarch.
"Don't forget your position doctor, and that I am the monarch of the changelings, I appreciate all that you have helped me but I will not allow you to question my decisions, especially when it comes to Clear Spark, he deserves a better life and I am going to give it to him." The queen sat back down to wait patiently for the doctor to appear through the door.
Red Bug calming down a bit was able to watch the queen closely, her breathing was a bit rapid, her pupils dilated, and her ears attentive, she was settling in every moment and wiggling her hooves impatiently, clearly, the queen was nervous and distressed, the doctor took a deep breath to calm herself and sat down next to what was now her friend.
"Was it that bad of a situation he was in when you found him?."
"At least before he had a real roof over his head, his mother took that away and somehow is blaming him for her bad luck."
Chrysalis was still waiting accompanied by Red Bug at her side, while in the back the rest of the changelings were muttering about what had happened, in a moment the door opened and a leader changeling of the medical wing appeared from the other side.
"How is he?" The queen asked worriedly.
"I'm sorry to tell you that we only have basic knowledge about medicine and pony biology, we don't know what diseases the foal has but we could find out some things."
"So what can you tell me, doctor."
"Well, for starters he has a degree of malnutrition, his coat has some spots and bites apparently from rodents, one of his ears is warmer than the other surely from some infection, his breathing is somewhat strained and his lungs make a weird sound when they move, I think it may be pneumonia but I have no way of knowing for sure, and finally the problem with his eyes, which are not getting any light at all."
"Do you think you can treat his illnesses here?"
The doctor shook his head.
"If we had the instruments and the medical knowledge we could try, but all we can do is treat his superficial wounds, feed him, and hope he recovers on his own, but if he gets worse I'm afraid there is nothing we can do, we have medicines and the knowledge to treat our changelings, but in his case, we can't do more."
"I understand, when you are ready move him to my room and I will see what to do."
The doctor nodded and retreated back to the medical wing, the queen for her part also retreated leaving the group of changelings behind, Red Bug quickly trotted up to catch up with the queen and stand at her side.
"Emmm, Queen Chrysalis, may I ask what you intend to do?" The changeling asked.
"You heard it too, we can only treat changelings here, to treat a pony we need a pony specialist."
"You're not thinking of-."
"Exactly." Interrupted the queen. "Little Clear Spark will go to a hospital, but I need a place farther away, a small place, a town that won't attract attention."
"I think I have some ideas that might interest you." Red Bug replied.
Chrysalis was in her room sitting in front of the bed where the little colt was still sleeping, she was happy because now she had done something for her little friend, she could give him the life that his mother was not interested in offering him, she could provide him with love and a future, she just had to make him understand his new way of life.
The little colt stirred a little as he woke up, he was still dizzy, very tired, and struggled to be able to sit up, he was a little confused as he didn't know what had happened.
"I see you woke up."
"Uh, who's there?" The colt asked stretching his hoof forward.
"Don't you remember the sound of my voice?"
The foal tried to remember the tone but could not.
"Maybe you remember what I taught you in the forest about plants and how to find them."
"Ms. Chrysalis?" Foal asked somewhat surprised.
"The original and only one." He said with a chuckle. "I'm glad you woke up, I wanted to tell you something important."
"Where am I?"
"You're at my house, in my bed to be exact, I brought you here after hit... after you fell asleep."
"And my mommy, where is she?" Asked the foal somewhat nervously coughing.
`Your mother doesn't love you and she was planning to abandon you again somewhere or in the forest like the last time I found you`, was what the queen's thoughts and it was an idea of what she was planning to tell the little unicorn but it would break his heart.
"Your mother... she's a little sick and asked me to take care of you for a while while she recovers."
"What happened to my mommy, is she going to be okay?" The colt asked sadly.
"She's going to be okay, remember you told me that...she cried at night and some friends visited her?"
The colt nodded his head as he wiped his eyes.
"She told me that to recover from her sadness she is going to have treatment with a special doctor and won't be able to take care of you for a while and since I did a good job last time she asked me if I could take care of you while she recovers." This was the best the queen could say.
"And why can't I be with mommy, doesn't she want me around?"
Chrysalis dreaded that question, she did not know how to answer, there was no way to tell a foal that his mother did not love him, no way he could understand, he loved his mother very much, but she...
"Your mother... she... she... she... cares about you but... she can't take care of you right now, so I will... in her place for a few days, is that okay with you?." Chrysalis was nervous and didn't want to lie to her new...hive member, she would take good care of him, and she would make him happy.
The colt lowered his head sadly, he wanted to be with his mother, he loved her, and he didn't want to be separated from her, Chrysalis stood up and sat by his side stroking his head.
"Relax, we'll have fun together, think of this as..." The queen scratched her chin in thought. "...Like a vacation, you'll get to visit new places, meet new things, learn a new culture, I know you'll love it, my little one, I know you'll love it." The queen approached the unicorn and kissed his forehead lovingly.
" All right." Said the foal a little sad but with a slight smile before coughing which worried the queen. "So what are we going to do now?" She ended up asking.
"First we'll take you to a doctor, I don't like that cough you have and I don't want them to think I'm a bad mo...a negligent mare."
Chrysalis disguised as Crystal Ivy carried little Clear Spark on her back and walked happily through the streets of a colorful town, full of colorful ponies, there was a town hall, a small market where they sold fruits and vegetables grown on the local farms, a bakery that looked like it was made of candy, a train station, a school, a spa, there was also a tower with a clock that was too far away and Chrysalis thought it would be much more useful in a place where it could be seen, there was even a bowling alley and a store that sold only quills and sofas, who knew such a small town would need a store that sold only quills and sofas.
You could really get everything in such a small town and Chrysalis was fascinated by the idea that Clear Spark could know every store, but she had another establishment in mind, she was heading with her little colt to a specific place, and she stopped in front of the building and saw its name before entering, 'Ponyville Hospital'.
Chrysalis was sitting on a stool in a patient care room, in front of her was Clear Spark on a special seat for patients, the little colt was rubbing one of his paws because he had been pricked to take a blood sample for analysis and he looked a little nervous.
"Calm down, the nurse will come soon and tell us exactly what is wrong-."
A door opened interrupting the queen, it was a nurse with a clipboard in her mouth, she had a serious and worried look on her face, she sat down in front of her desk and took a deep breath looking at the queen and the foal before saying something.
"We were able to run all the tests and we know exactly what Clear Spark has." The nurse looked over the notes and began to read them aloud. "He has a mild degree of malnutrition that with a balanced diet can recover in a couple of days, he also has otitis but we have the antibiotics for that and he can be cured in about two weeks, the forced breathing and strange noise are pneumonia, it's a bit complex but we can also treat it...and..." The nurse looked over the rest of the sheets mumbling things to herself. "...The bites on his hooves are from rodents but blood tests came back negative for rabies, disease, or parasites, he has other minor problems but those are the most worrisome, it's not very complicated and will take a little time but in a month or two he will be completely healthy."
the nurse lowered her notes and looked the queen in the eyes in a serious way.
"Yet there is another issue that worries me much more, I did a triple check on his blood in case of error but finally came to the conclusion that Clear Spark has never received any mandatory vaccinations against diseases that Equestria asks for, how is that possible?"
"His mother...has had some problems and I...offered to take care of him for an indefinite time until she recovers." Replied the queen.
"Everyone has problems, but I've never heard of such a disinterested and neg-."
Chrysalis with her magic stopped the nurse before she spoke any more about the foal's mother and gave her a stern look giving her understanding that if she said anything about the foal's mother not caring for her son, she would not wake up alive the next day.
"I said his mother is sick and I will take responsibility for Clear Spark, I do care about his health and that's all that should matter, don't you think so?." The queen watched the mare with fury with every word she said.
The poor nurse out of fear just nodded her head.
"Excellent." Said the queen calmly with a smile. "Now a question, should we go back to the hospital to do her treatments, or can I do them at home?."
"Just-just-just give him these medications and pre-pre-present yourself at the hospital once a week for a check-up, then we'll see about his vaccinations." The nurse stretched out a fearful hoof presenting a list of medications to administer to the foal.
"One other thing nurse, I would like our conversation not to be made public...I would hate to come back and have to discuss this issue with you if you know what I mean."
The nurse fearfully and without opening her mouth nodded her head again.
"Then have a good day nurse, we'll be back in a week." Chrysalis walked over to the colt and stepped to the side to get him on. "Come on little one, we have other places to see before we go back."
The foal with his hoof sought out the queen's back and settled on top of her before nodding his head and walking out of the hospital.
The pair had been walking for a couple of minutes in silence through the streets of the town, Chrysalis checked the houses looking for one with a specific sign, she saw some interesting options but she wanted something a little further away from the center of town, she should check more thoroughly the next day.
"Ms. Chrysalis." Said the colt causing some ponies to turn at the sound of the name but were confused not to see the mare belonging to such a name. "What did the nurse mean that mommy was disinterested?".
"That she... was selfless about... her... her... her... her time... she was selfless about her time with you, the nurse meant that your mother sacrificed her time to recover before you go back to her, but don't think about those things, now we must see one more place before we go back to the hive, I mean home."
"Where are we going now.?"
"Now let's get you enrolled in school."
Chrysalis said that last part when in the distance she could see a red building with a bell tower.
--------------------------------- Chapter 10 - New Places and New Friends. ---------------------------------
Chrysalis was sitting on a stool too small for her size, at her side was Clear Spark, and across from her sitting at her desk was Cheerilee, one of Equestria's best and most beloved teachers, outside the classroom and playing in the courtyard were the students whom the teacher asked to come out and play for a few minutes so she could talk quietly with a tutor and possibly new student.
"I'm glad you chose our little town to live in Ms. Ivy, I know Clear Spark will love it too." Said the teacher with a chuckle. "We have lots of fun activities each year and there is always something interesting going on around here, plus, as little Spark told me about his interests I must tell you that nearby lives a zebra who is probably the best botanist in Equestria and we also have three excellent musicians who would be more than willing to bring out the little one's musical taste."
"Thank you Professor Cher-chere-cherril..." Replied the colt trying to remember the name of his new teacher that somehow escaped his mind.
"It's Cheerilee, try to remember it if you want to be in my class." Replied the teacher with a smile.
"In that case, it's all set, isn't it?." Asked the queen with a smile. "When can little Spark start in your classes?".
"He can start tomorrow if you wish, but first I need some registration papers."
"Papers?" Asked the queen feigning surprise, she supposed something like this could happen and she was sure it would be simple. "Sure, I surely have everything with me."
"That's excellent, not many mares are so prepared and it's normal for them to forget one or two important papers."
"That's understandable, bureaucracy is a stone in everyone's hoof."
Cheerilee chuckled. "That's true, then I'm going to need you to provide me with the birth certificate of the minor and the legal guardian, a certificate of parentage, a certificate of study of the last course passed, a certificate of residence for both of you, and a medical certificate about little Spark's state of health."
The queen was surprised at the number of papers she would have to get, she could get the medical certificate and the residence certificate, as she planned to live in the village so that little Spark would have his school nearby, Clear Spark's study and birth certificate she could get with a little work, but his birth and parentage certificate was impossible for her to get unless she forged them and that would take too much time.
"Most of these papers you can get at the town hall and it wouldn't take more than a week to get them all, and the medical certificate you can simply ask for it at the hospital, meanwhile little Spark can be in class as a listener until we can finish the formalities."
This was overcomplicating the future the queen wanted to offer to her beloved little one, she needed another solution, she needed a more... aggressive approach.
"Ms. Cheerilee, could I speak with you alone for a moment?, I wouldn't want my little Spark... to be bored more than necessary with our conversation." The queen asked with a smile.
"Ohhh, of course, just give me a second." The teacher stood up from her seat and walked to the window and called a group of fillies to come over, opening the door to let them in."
"Is something wrong teacher?" Asked a small white unicorn.
"Nothing serious, but I need you to help me." The teacher approached the small unicorn and stood at her side. "This is Clear Spark, he'll be our new classmate and I'd like you to show him around."
"Great, a new buddy." Said all three in unison well excitedly running up to the colt and stopping in front of him.
"My name is Scootaloo, this is Sweetie Belle and this is Apple Bloom, what's your name?"
"Scoot." Said Apple Bloom rolling her eyes. "The teacher already told us his name, he's called Clear Spark."
"You'll have to excuse Scootaloo, she's kind of impulsive and we like having new classmates, and...what's wrong with your eyes?" Sweetie Belle asked raising an eyebrow and cocking her head slightly.
"Uhmmm, I've been blind since birth, I can't see anything." Replied Clear Spark a little nervously.
"Nothing at all?" Apple Bloom asked
"I can't see absolutely nothing."
"Then you can't see if I do this?." Scootaloo slowly brought his hoof close to one of the little unicorn's gray eyes only to have his hoof hit hard by Apple Bloom inches away from making contact with his eye.
"Scoot, what's wrong with you, you can't poke a blind pony's eye." Shouted the little pony.
"I wasn't going to, I just wanted to know if he could see it or not, and you didn't have to hit me so hard." Replied the pegasus angrily.
"Then don't try to poke his eye."
"I told you I wasn't going to."
"You were."
"'I wasn't.'"
"You were."
Cheerilee giggled for a moment as she watched the energetic trio of friends argue over something so simple before gently catching their attention.
"So girls, can you show our new classmate around the school?".
"Of course teacher, leave it to us." They nodded vigorously. "Cutie Mark Crusaders school tour, Yaaaay!" Shouted the trio before jumping up and bumping their hooves in the air.
"Come on Clear Spark, we have a lot to show you." Scootaloo said as she pushed the still nervous colt towards the schoolyard."
The trio closed the door and finally, Chrysalis and teacher Cheerilee were alone so they could talk more quietly.
"Will he be all right?" The queen asked.
"Perfectly, now what would you like to discuss?." Replied the teacher.
Now being alone with the pony, Chrysalis could use her best weapons, she slowly stood up from her seat and approached the teacher with a serious look, trying to impose her presence as much as possible, and turning on her horn added a better effect to the image she wished to create."
"Professor Cheerilee, you know I would hate to have to do all that paperwork, I want my little one to have the best education possible and..." Chrysalis with her magic cast a quick spell to remove some of the lights in the room, produce some scary noises and shake the place a bit. "...I don't like the idea of you getting in the way."
Chrysalis had a sinister grimace, she wanted to intimidate the teacher and she was succeeding, Cheerilee slowly removed her smile and changed it to a much more serious face, the queen was getting what she wanted, in seconds the pony would break and agree to her request.
"Do you agree with me, teacher?."
"No." Cheerilee replied nonchalantly.
Chrysalis was surprised by the answer opening her pupils and causing her magic to pop like a balloon. "Wh-what-what thing did you say?."
"I said no, I know what you're trying to do but I'm not going to overlook you not doing your paperwork, I'm a responsible mare and I can accept little Clear Spark in my class as a listener until you manage to get them all."
The seriousness with which the teacher spoke left no room where the queen could work.
"But-but how come you're not intimidated, why aren't you afraid, I'm the best at that?" Chrysalis asked still surprised.
"I'm a teacher, handling annoying parents is half my job." Cheerilee replied without changing her gaze.
"I understand, then I'll have to raise the stakes."
Chrysalis used a smile again as she walked around the desk and got closer and closer to the teacher until she was located inches away from her, finally she dropped her costume showing her true form, the form of the original and only queen of the changelings, one of the worst villains in all of Equestria, with a malicious grimace and turning on her horn she brought her face closer to the teacher's until she almost touched it, showing her teeth along with her red and long tongue, ready to absorb her love.
"So, what do you think now?" Asked the queen breathing on Cheerilee's face, who only turned her head and raised an eyebrow.
"I assume it's going to take longer than I had intended?, because I can give you more time, but I'm going to need those papers."
The fearful image the queen wanted to impose on the little pony was popped like a balloon a second time, startling her a second time and leaving her speechless a second time.
"Bu-b-but how can you not be afraid, I am Chrysalis, the queen of the changelings, you should be terrified on the ground, begging me for your life, how is this possible?". Asked the queen in awe of the stoic pony in front of her, even the princesses themselves feared her power.
"I told you, I am a teacher working in Ponyville, and this..." Cheerilee said pointing at everything around her but nothing in particular. "...This is just another day in my life, a slow one to be true."
"Hmmm!." Chrysalis scratched her chin in thought, scaring the teacher wouldn't do any good, and taking her away wouldn't be a long-term solution either, she needed another approach, maybe targeting her more sensitive threads would help.
"In that case, I'll use another strategy on you."
"Go ahead, let's see what you have to offer to change my mind."
Chrysalis walked to sit on a stool but seeing that she was much bigger, she preferred to sit on the floor in front of the teacher.
"I need your help." Said the queen calmly.
"Go ahead." Cheerilee replied.
Chrysalis sighed deeply and from a small bag she had on her back under her wings she took out a couple of scrolls and passed one in specific to Cheerilee, who took it with her hoof to see its content.
____________________________________________________________ To whom it may concern
It has cost me a lot to make this decision but I think it is the best for everyone, I am sorry for the situation in which you are now, but I can't stand it anymore... ____________________________________________________________ And as the teacher read the letter, Chrysalis began to tell her story.
"A little over a year ago after the failed attack on Canterlot, I was in the forest and saw little Clear Spark, all alone..."
Cheerilee was shocked by the queen's story, her face reflected no lies, and the letter along with the medical diagnosis and the medicines Chrysalis had bought for Clear Spark, could not put in doubt that the queen's story was true, she had heard of mothers who cared little for their children, but never of one who would rather abandon him in a forest to his fate than take him to an orphanage or foster care.
"Does anyone else know about this?" Cheerilee asked.
"Only the changelings in my hives and you, I haven't dared to tell my little Spark either, I don't know how to tell him that his birth mother doesn't love him, I can't do that to him."
"I understand." Cheerilee thought for a moment in silence. "But I'm afraid I can't help you with the papers Clear Spark needs to study."
Chrysalis looked down in disappointment, she had no other options to give her beloved little one a quality education, perhaps a special tutor at the hive would do, but she would have to fillynap another pony for that.
"But I know someone who could."
Chrysalis raised her head and looked directly at Cheerilee with a giant smile, the teacher nodded softly.
"An ex-boyfriend of mine has a job... not very legal and I still have contact with him, he could get Clear Spark and your birth and parentage certificates, and he could make it on paper that you are the mother of the little one, it won't be completely legal, but it will be more than enough for what we need."
Chrysalis nodded her head and couldn't help but flutter with excitement.
"The medical certificate you can easily ask for it at the hospital, and the residency certificate you can get when you buy your house, for my part, I can do a simple oral exam to Clear Spark to see his level of education and do the certificate the same day, but remember I'm going to do this for Clear Spark, not for you."
"That's fine by me, I really appreciate it."
"Then show it like you say you will, take care of that little one the way he deserves, give him the love his mother didn't want to give him."
"I will, I will be the mother he needs, but first I need a place to live." Replied the queen walking over to the window to watch her little foal talk animatedly with the rest of the students.
"I think I know just the place." Cheerilee commented, approaching the queen. "It's a bit out of town, but it's nice and quiet with few neighbors."
Chapter 11 - A Small House and Great Expectations.
--------------------------------- Chapter 11 - A Small House and Great Expectations. ---------------------------------
With Cheerilee's advice, Chrysalis was looking at houses she could buy on the edge of town and near Everfree Forest, it was perfect for what she needed, well away from the center, with few neighbors, Clear Spark could go to school without problem and had a quick escape to the forest if needed, she didn't need to ask for more and the prices were in what she expected.
There were not many houses, five or six houses, and only one of them was occupied, a cottage built next to the river and with hundreds of birds, not many ponies liked to walk to town, most of the unoccupied houses were one story and only one was two-story, they were cozy but the rooms somewhat small, only the two-story house fulfilled what the queen wanted, it also had the clock tower very close and a river just a few meters away.
Chrysalis was not an expert in real estate but her time being the princess of the Crystal Empire taught her a thing or two about that profession, like always checking the plumbing and the insulation of doors and windows, the noise of the stairs also indicated the final quality of the construction, if the stairs made a lot of noise when using it, it was surely because of some unevenness of the floor or the construction in general and could cause many problems in the future, it also indicated the humidity level of the area, but the most important thing is that the construction price of the house was always close to half of the final sale price listed in the market, so she had a lot of room to work her counter offer.
After haggling the price with the real estate pony along with the promise to change some windows, the queen paid in cash and wanted to tour her new future home one more time before going for Clear Spark to school, the little one was very excited talking with his new classmates and the queen did not want to take him at that moment, interpersonal relationships are something very important for a minor.
The place was small but cozy, a hall that also served as a dining room, a kitchen that for the large size of the queen was somewhat small, a cellar, a bathroom, two very large rooms on the second floor, and a gigantic backyard bounded by a wooden fence, the queen could easily grow her food in that place and all fully furnished, it was functional furniture but the queen did not like the designs so surely she would change them over time, she also had to paint the place, the cream color was not to her liking.
But the queen was satisfied with what she had achieved, she was used to gigantic constructions and hundreds of minions willing to all her wishes, she was the queen of a whole race and many could only dream of what she had, this was a huge contrast to her past life.
Now she lived in a small house, in a small town, she had no servants, now she had someone to serve, she had no one to do her work either, she had to get a job, though maybe that part could be avoided, after all, she had the money to support herself and Clear Spark for decades, she didn't know why but she was happy, maybe that's why ponies were always so happy, they never wanted to have a lot of money or power, they just had a simple life in a cozy house with the ones they love, coming back to a warm place after a long day knowing that someone was waiting for you was enough to warm their hearts, the queen always cared about her minions and that they never lacked food, but centuries ago they were not as happy as they are now, maybe the queen always had her priorities wrong?.
Chrysalis wearing her pony costume fixed her hair a little, adjusted a bag to her body, and went out into the world in search of little Spark, the town was a couple of minutes away from her new home and the queen walked happily listening to the sound of the wind and the singing of the birds, She passed quickly through the town without worrying about the other ponies but the market stalls caught her attention, making her remember to buy something to cook for her little Spark, but she could buy things when they walked back to the house, it would help her to get to know the town a little more and talk more on the way.
Already in front of the school the queen noticed that all the students had left but she could see light inside the building, peeking through a window she saw that Cheerilee was in front of Clear Spark reading a book and asking him some questions, Chrysalis approached the door and knocked on it a couple of times, she heard someone walking and seconds later the teacher opened the door showing a smile.
"Good afternoon teacher, sorry I'm late, I didn't think it would take so long to buy a new house."
"Ohh, not at all, I was just about to finish taking the leveling test to Clear Spark, but where are my manners." Cheerilee said with a chuckle. "Come on in, we'll be done in a minute, and how did it go with the house purchase?."
"Excellent, it's just what I was looking for, and how's my little guy doing with the test?".
"Very well to be true, apparently his lack of vision somehow made his memory develop in a great way, he still needs to improve in math and oral expression, but it is completely understandable with his condition, but what is history, he could argue face to face with several teachers without problem, it is impressive the level of detail that he handles, I had to look for some data in books to corroborate it."
Clear Spark waited patiently on his stool when he turned his head as he heard a pair of footsteps approaching.
"Clear Spark, Ms. Ivy came to pick you up."
"Who?" The foal asked, he remembered the name but couldn't associate it with someone.
"It's me." Commented the queen.
"Ms. Chrysalis?" Clear Spark asked getting a little excited.
"The one and only." Replied the queen with a chuckle.
"And then why did Ms. Cheerilee call you Ivy?."
"Crystal Ivy is the name I use when I go out on the street because I'm a very famous mare, and Chrysalis is the name my friends, family, my... children can use."
"Kind of like a model or like princesses?"
"Something like that, but better."
"Wow!" The colt commented impressed. "Then I'll call you Ms. Ivy when we're out on the street."
"That would be best for both of us."
"So if you'll wait for us for a second ummm..... Chrysalis?" Cheerilee asked looking at the queen to see if it was correct for her to call her by her real name, to which the queen nodded her head. "If you'll wait a second I'll finish the exam."
Chrysalis nodded her head and started pacing the room, she wasn't looking for anything specific but had no desire to sit and wait in silence, about five to ten minutes later, Cheerilee finished giving the oral exam to Clear Spark, she sorted out all her notes and called the queen to come over.
"All ready, when I get home I can compare the answers with the national standard, and tomorrow I can do little Spark's study certificate."
"Thank you, then I will come early to drop my little Spark off for his first day of school."
"Nine o'clock, don't forget."
"I'll see you tomorrow then." Chrysalis walked over to the colt, helped him onto her back, and settled him before leaving the school.
"Goodbye Professor Cheerilee." Clear Spark shouted goodbye.
"Where are we going to go now, Ms. Ivy?" Asked the colt cheerfully.
"Now we are going to our new home, but first I have to get some things at the market, we have the furniture, but we have no dishes, no food either and I'm not going to let you sleep on an empty stomach, so... let's go to the market and buy those things."
"And what are we going to eat?" Clear Spark asked.
"Hmmm... I don't know, what you want to eat." Replied the queen.
"I want to eat lots of fruit." Replied the foal.
"Then fruit it is." Finished saying the monarch.
Upon entering the village the first things the queen wanted to buy were the dishes and some kitchen items that she would use today, buying everything she needed to live would take much more time, and now she did not have the time and money, so seeing a store of kitchen items the queen bought a dark green crockery that fascinated her, a teapot and a set of cutlery, the rest she would buy early tomorrow, then she went to the stalls where they sold specifically fruits and began to walk around looking at the merchandise.
She bought a couple of grapes, oranges, bananas, and pears, she didn't want to take too many things but she wanted to take something else, something she ate a while back and wanted to eat again.
"Do you want to eat apples too?".
"Of course, my friends say they sell the best apples in all of Equestria here."
"We'll have to take their word for it."
Walking through the stalls in search of some apples, the queen couldn't find any, even though some merchants were already closing, most were still open and you could find all kinds of fruits and vegetables, but nowhere to be seen as the delicious red fruit she craved so much.
"Clear Spark, over here!" A filly shouted from a fruit stand.
The queen upon hearing her little one call out moved closer so Clear Spark could return the greeting.
"Sis, sis, this is the pony I was telling you about, his name is Clear Spark and he will be our new classmate, he is very very smart and likes music and plants, come sis, hurry up." Said excitedly the filly to a mare who was on her back ordering some things inside a cart next to a huge red stallion.
"It's okay sis, I'm coming, you don't have to yell so much, I'm half a meter away from you." The mare settled her hat and approached the queen and her little companion.
"It's a pleasure, my little sister has been telling me all day about your son, it seems she is very excited to have a new companion."
"Uhhh..." Was all the queen could say out of surprise when she realized who she was talking to.
"But where are my manners, my name is AppleJack, and I live with my brothers and Grandma Smith at Sweet Apple Acres, the best apple farm in all of Equestria." Said the mare proudly.
"Ummm... my name is... Crystal Ivy... and I started... we started living from... from today in... here... in Ponyville... nice to meet you." It took a lot of self-control power for the queen not to undo her disguise and tear off with Clear Spark into the forest.
"It is also my pleasure to meet you, darling, my little sister also spoke very highly of your little one." Said a female voice approaching from behind the queen's back.
Chrysalis turned to see who was speaking to her and found a milk-white figure with a purple curly mane and tail, blue eyes, and a three-diamond Cutie Mark, next to her came Sweetie Belle, the queen's surprises were only increasing in number.
"Hello Rarity, what brings you here?". AppleJack asked.
"I'm here with my dear little sister for some ice cream at Sugarcube Corner, would you like to come along?."
"I'd love to, let me finish helping Big Mac tidy up the cart and I'll join you, I'd like a drink after a long day's work."
"Can I come too?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Of course sis, are you coming Mrs. Ivy?."
Chrysalis was confused by the situation, at how she got to that place, and didn't know what to answer, her whole plan was in jeopardy, in a second she went from being a pony of the crowd to interacting directly with her biggest enemies, she needed an excuse, any excuse, and having to hurry back to cook was the perfect excuse.
"Can we go too?" The colt asked excitedly.
"Ummm..." The queen replied as she thought carefully about her answer and knew exactly what to say.
--------------------------------- Chapter 12 - Sweet treats and unexpected talks. ---------------------------------
At a small table specially made for the little ones of the city and with lots of ice cream, Clear Spark, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were talking very animatedly, it was not very clear what they were talking about between the laughter and the movements of their paws in all directions, but apparently, it was something about Cutie Mark and a camp, at least that was the only thing the queen could hear from her position.
The monarch was extremely nervous and had a hard time hiding it, in front of her and with a big smile was the incarnation of the element of generosity together with the element of honesty, dangerous mares that without work could discover her lies, the adrenaline was constantly going up and down the queen's spine and she was attentive to the slightest noise around her.
Without much work they had locked her into a situation with no escape, something she didn't expect to happen today or ever, something she wanted to avoid as long as possible, a pleasant conversation between a group of mares drinking coffee and eating muffins, finally she couldn't help herself and had to accept it, after all, she was doing all this to give Clear Spark the life he deserved, she could stand a cup of coffee now and then for the sake of her beloved little one.
"And so Ms. Ivy, what motivated you to live with your son in our little town?". Rarity asked.
Chrysalis quickly turned her head towards the white unicorn, who was looking at her with big, curious eyes.
"Ohh... ummm... I wanted to give a... quiet life to my little Spark, because of his condition he is going to have a hard life and I want to help him as much as possible to integrate into society, he deserves a better life and I am going to give it to him."
"You talk like a mother but by the way, you refer to the little foal you had problems with before?, with his father maybe?."
"Rarity, stop questioning her so much, she's not a criminal or anything like that, just a mother with a son, nothing more." AppleJack said a little annoyed.
"AJ, you offend me if you think I'm gossiping about our new inhabitant's past life, I'm just engaging in friendly conversation, nothing more." Replied the unicorn hiding her face and intentions behind a sip of coffee.
"Rarity, I've known you for years and you always do the same thing, you want to know everything about everyone, did you ever think that maybe it's a delicate subject for her?"
"If it was a sensitive subject, she would have told us, don't you think so."
"At what point would she have told you if we met her less than ten minutes ago."
"I don't think it's a sore subject, but she's not Clear Spark's mother, his biological mother is sick and she asked Miss Ivy to take care of her little son for a while."
Said a pink figure as she approached the table with a plate full of muffins, drawing the attention of her friends and startling the queen as to how she knew that information.
"How do you know all that?" Chrysalis asked.
"Clear Spark told me when I brought her ice cream and asked her about her tastes for the surprise party to welcome the both of you, of course, I didn't mention the word party or the word surprise, wasn't I supposed to say it?."
"No it's not that, it's just that I didn't want the town to know that his mother doesn't want him...near...the...hospital while he's recovering from his illness."
Chrysalis managed to stop herself before she spoke too much, but since the group knew, she understood that eventually, the whole town would end up knowing too, so it would be best to tell her former group of enemies the same story Clear Spark knows and avoid any future problems about incongruities.
" Darling, if you don't want to talk about it you don't have to, we can keep it a secret and help you in any way we can to take care of little Spark." Rarity said with a smile.
"Also if you need work to support you and the little one, I can offer you one on the farm, I don't think you have much physical stamina being a unicorn but we can find something you can do." Replied AppleJack.
"And I could forget what I was told, even if I don't promise it will work." Finished saying Pinkie as she concentrated and rotated one of her hooves over her forehead in a strange attempt to eliminate thoughts.
"I thank you for your offers but I don't think they are necessary, my family is wealthy so I won't have any financial problems, you don't have to make weird memory-wiping moves either and it's not a secret in its entirety, I knew my little one would tell someone at some point, I just didn't think it would be so soon."
Actually, the queen did want to keep the whole thing a secret and frankly, she forgot to tell the foal not to tell anyone, it was a mistake on her part and she had to fix it soon, even though from another point of view the conversation could serve the monarch, telling a part of the story to the heroines of the nation would cement her alibi and eliminate any doubt in the future about Crystal Ivy and Clear Spark, the queen was the best at deception and she could easily take advantage of this moment.
"I am not Clear Spark's biological mother, but I do know his real mother and she...is in no condition to care for a foal, she has a serious problem and I took it upon myself to take care of him, I love him too much to leave him to his fate as his mother thought would happen in the beginning." It wasn't the whole truth but it was the truth the world needed to know.
"Good thing there are mares like you out there that can take care of a little one in his time of need, but our offer is always still on hoof, after all this is Ponyville, and we take care of each other here."
"I have a doubt, three doubts really." Pinkie said raising her hoof high.
"Didn't you understand something, it's not very complicated really."
"No, not that, it's something else." Pinkie lifted her up and stood face to face with the queen, their eyes almost making contact with each other. "Answer quickly and without thinking, favoritefoodfavoritecolorandfavoritething."
"What-what-what thing?" The queen asked in confusion.
"Favoritefoodfavoritecolorandfavoritething, answer fast and without thinking, now." Pinkie replied grabbing the queen by the shoulders and shaking her in all directions.
"Ahhhh..." Shouted the queen. "Ehhh... Apples... Green .... and.... and... Plants." She responded between yelps and dizziness as she felt her ragged body between the pink pony's hooves.
Pinkie released a dizzy queen as she got all the answers she needed and looked to the side as she scratched her chin thinking something over analytically.
"Hmmm...ok...yeah...yeah...that might work..." Pinkie Pie muttered. "Well, see you at your welcome home party." She finished saying as she happily walked away towards the bakery kitchen.
" Darling, are you okay?" Rarity asked as she magically helped Crystal Ivy from collapsing.
"Emmm... I think so." Replied the queen rubbing her head. "But what party is she talking about, I don't plan on having any parties."
AppleJack and Rarity chuckled.
"That's one of Pinkie Pie's famous welcome to Ponyville parties, completely awesome and completely unavoidable, consider it like... an initiation into a fraternity, so just accept it and get ready because within the week you'll have the whole town at your house partying."
"I can't help it?"
"No chance."
"Can I convince her not to throw the party?."
"I'd be the biggest strawberry merchant before you can convince Pinkie to cancel her party, and then the whole town will get to meet the two of you."
"Besides, think of how little Spark will be able to meet everyone in town and make lots of friends in one day."
The queen turned her head to see little Clear Spark talking and laughing with her new friends, maybe an awkward party now and then wouldn't be so bad.
"I think you're right." Chrysalis replied with a slight smile. "Then should I do something?"
"Just relax and enjoy yourself."
"I think I can do that."
"And you'd better tell Pinkie where they're living, I remember she once trespassed into half the houses in Ponyville looking for an address, including my boutique."
"And to my farm, there is only one apple farm in the whole region and that clueless pony broke into my room asking if Bon-Bon lived there."
"Ohh...well I live in the two-story house near the clock tower just outside of Ponyville."
"That's where Fluttershy lives, have you met her?"
"Who?" Asked the queen feigning intrigue.
"A yellow pegasus, somewhat shy, she lives with many animals in her cottage next to the forest, you will surely hear her singing to her birds at some point."
"I'll try to remember her characteristics to introduce myself when I see her." Of course, the queen knew the pegasus, she was also part of the group that foiled her plans, there was a possibility that all six element bearers lived in the same village?.
The rest of the afternoon the queen spent talking with the group of mares about different topics and personal tastes, she learned that the farmer revolved her life around her family and her farm and that the unicorn did almost the same with the fashion world and her little sister, the queen tried not to reveal too much information about her life, but she knew she could not keep quiet, she needed to gain the trust of that pair of mares if she wanted to avoid any suspicion.
Clear Spark for his part talked about his life smoothly, about his likes and dislikes and what he would like to do when he grows up, for their part, the group of fillies offered him a myriad of activities that he could try at their camp to discover his special talent and get his Cutie Mark, the colt was fascinated with every word almost jumping with excitement on his stool.
With many muffins inside her and the moon slowly rising over the horizon the queen realized the time, she had to go back home with Clear Spark, they both had a nice meal at Sugarcube Corner all paid for by Pinkie Pie so the queen wouldn't have to cook, which was a pleasure because she just wanted to get to sleep, she had to wake up early the next day, her little one had his first day of school, Chrysalis helped Clear Spark to get on her back and said goodbye to the group to start the way to their new home.
Already in her little house, the queen opened the door with her hoof and entered before closing it pushing it with her hind paw, she helped Clear Spark down and dropped her costume, she left the bag with the things she bought on the table before stretching and lighting some candles to illuminate the place.
"Do you like it?" Asked the queen.
"Emmm... I guess." Replied the colt.
"You don't like the furniture?, I know it's ugly, but I didn't think it was that ugly."
The foal chuckled causing intrigue in the queen, then pointed at his eyes with his hoof reminding the queen that he couldn't see the furniture.
"Ohh...right." The queen laughed back. "Well, we have some ugly furniture and a small kitchen, we each have our own room and we have a big backyard where we can plant vegetables or something else, some windows creak but if we work together we can fix everything, is that ok with you?".
The colt showing a smile nodded his head.
"Good, now let's get some rest, we have a lot to do tomorrow."
The queen once settled the colt on his back before taking him to his room and laying him down on his new bed, kissing him on the forehead and telling him another new and fascinating story, she left the door half open and went to her own room to rest.
Chrysalis was lying on her bed when she felt someone walking down the hallway and opened the door to her room, she lifted her head and could see a small figure peek in and slowly walk towards her bed, he had a hoof raised in front of him as he moved in a straight line.
"Do you need anything, water perhaps?" The queen asked.
"Mmmm..." Replied the foal shyly lowering his hoof as he listened to the queen.
"Do you need me to take you to the bathroom?, I can do that but..." The queen loved the little one but she didn't know the limits between a mare and a foal of his condition, maybe she should get some advice in that area.
"Mmmm... no." Replied the foal again in the same way.
"Are you hungry?, we have plenty of the fruit I bought."
"Can I sleep with you tonight, I heard some howling outside my window."
The queen was trying to imagine what it could be and remembered that one of the windows that needed to be repaired was the one in Clear Spark's room and that howling he hears was surely the sound of the window being knocked out of alignment when the wind blew.
"All right, but don't make it a habit, you have a room and I expect you to occupy it." Colt nodded his head. "Now go on ahead and you'll find the bed."
The foal continued on his way until with his hoof he felt the queen's bed, he jumped on it and approached the queen to settle between her front legs, the queen for her part hugged him like a stuffed animal.
"Good night Ms. Chrysalis, and thank you."
"Good night little one, rest up because you have a big first day tomorrow."
Quickly both figures fell asleep accompanied and sharing their lives, a son who did not know that his mother does not love him, and a mother willing to give him all her love.
Chapter 13 - A surprising life and a very surprising party.
--------------------------------- Chapter 13 - A surprising life and a very surprising party. ---------------------------------
The queen had been living in her new home with Clear Spark for almost a full week, Rarity had offered to help her the following week to decorate and AppleJack brought her a box full of fruit, curiously they were all apples, she also gave her a couple of tools to start her home farm along with a few packets of seeds which curiously were also apples, The queen was grateful for the gesture but she couldn't wait years for her first crop, so she needed seeds of other plants, Pinkie Pie also did her part giving the queen a couple of pots and a recipe book, other ponies also offered their help to the new member of the village and her little companion.
Chrysalis was a little surprised with the kindness shown by everyone, everyone had their own life but they were always willing to give a hoof if someone needed it, a light green unicorn, somewhat clueless and a little obsessed with some mythological bipedal creatures offered to give music lessons to Clear Spark when she had free time and she had also heard from a zebra that she would be glad to share her fondness for herbs with the little colt.
A report brought in by a changeling showed that the hives were running smoothly and the numbers were all in the green, the love reserves were slowly going up and the money spent on new hive activities was slowly picking up as well, everything was running smoothly in the world around the queen.
But the queen had other problems to attend to where her subjects could not help, she needed to get special school supplies for Clear Spark, and for that, she had to talk to Cheerilee first to know exactly what to buy, today being the weekend the teacher was not teaching and the queen could get up later if she wanted, but little Spark wanted to attend the camp to get his Cutie Mark and the queen promised to take him.
So after getting up, preparing breakfast, and combing little Spark's mane and tail, the queen adjusted her bag to her body and they both went out into the world, Chrysalis didn't like to comb her hair too much, she had caught the taste of only using her hooves in the mornings, she liked the more wild or natural style as she said, they both went chatting about what little Spark wanted to try until they arrived at AppleJack's farm which was where they would meet today.
"Hi Clear Spark, glad you came." Greeted almost shouting Sweetie Belle, running up to the colt and the queen.
"Hi... ummm..." Concentrated the colt for a second. "Sweetie Belle." He ended up saying louder than he meant to.
"Took you a while to remember my name, didn't it." The little unicorn asked with a giggle. "We'd better hurry, we're going to start by taming a lion."
"A lion?" Asked the queen in surprise and a little frightened.
"We couldn't get a real lion, the law doesn't allow selling them to minors, but we made a mane out of newspaper scraps and put it on Winona, Apple Bloom's dog." Replied the unicorn pointing to a brown bitch disguised as a lion chasing a large number of foals laughing and running in all directions.
"Ohh... so I guess that's okay then." Chrysalis crouched down a bit allowing Clear Spark to get off her back. "I hope you have a good day."
"Bye Ms, Ivy." Said the colt hugging the disguised queen.
"Come on Clear Spark." Said Sweetie Belle putting her tail in front of the foal for him to bite so she could lead him to where the rest of the group was playing with Winona.
The queen watched her little one greet her new group of friends before starting her way in the direction of Cheerilee's house, the teacher lived in a small one-story house with many flowers in her entrance, all radiating many colors and life, Chrysalis approached, and knocked on the door, seconds later the teacher opened showing her characteristic smile.
"Hello Cheerilee, do you have some free time?". The queen asked.
"Hi Crystal, of course, do you need help with anything?." Replied the teacher.
"I want to buy the special school supplies for Clear Spark, but I need you to make me a list."
Unknown to the queen across the street was a pink pony making funny gestures at the teacher.
"Ummmm... You know, I have the day off today, if you want I can come with you and help you pick out the items, then we can grab a bite to eat at Sugarcube Corner."
"I'd love to, your experience would do me a lot of good and I'm in the mood for something a little sweet."
"Perfect, then give me a minute and I'll be ready."
The teacher left her door open for the queen to come in and settle on a sofa, Cheerilee took a plate with some leftover food on it and left it in the kitchen before she hung a small bag on her body and left the house with the queen.
The shopping went much better than the queen would have expected, the pony at the bookstore had offered her flashy and well-priced products, but the teacher's expertise came through showing her products of a much higher quality and almost at the same price, and the food at Sugarcube Corner was very good but it was served by Mr. and Mrs. Cake, Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be seen, the queen assumed that because of the time she was on her break or making some delivery.
As they left the cake shop they both could see almost all the foals in town pushing a large cart with some tarps, lots of ribbons of all colors, some boards, and balloons, Clear Spark was with them.
"Why do you allow them to do so many crazy things?."
"Working together for a common good fosters teamwork and a sense of belonging, they form stronger bonds, it also increases their confidence and trust in others, plus if you didn't notice many of them already got their Cutie Mark and just help others."
"It's a little more complex than I thought."
"Also think they are foals, they would do those same things even if you tell them not to." Cheerilee said with a laugh.
"That's true." replied the queen in kind.
After an afternoon chatting in Sugarcube Corner, the queen had to return home to wait for Clear Spark to return, and Cheerilee accompanied her all the way, the queen found far fewer ponies than she expected in town.
"Funny, I see almost no one, even the vegetable stands are closed."
"It's been a slow day for everyone today, surely that's what it is."
All the way Cheerilee kept chuckling without telling the queen why she was doing it until she reached the house.
"Thank you for joining me today, but I have to get dinner ready for when Clear Spark returns and gets his things for school, see you Monday Cheerilee." Said the queen as she opened the door to the house with her hoof.
"See ya." Cheerilee replied without moving an inch intriguing the queen.
"SURPRISE!" Shouted in unison a huge group of ponies from inside the house, turning on the lights, and the music and releasing lots of balloons.
Chrysalis was really surprised, showing it by jumping backward and dropping her costume without thinking, she was very lucky that the balloons gave Cheerilee enough time to push the queen to the side, getting her out of the line of sight of the ponies before the balloons disappeared into the sky.
"Why are there so many ponies inside my house." Whispered the queen loudly.
"Because it's Pinkie Pie's welcome home party." Cheerilee whispered back in the same way.
"And why didn't anyone tell me about the party."
"Because it's a surprise party and surprise parties are supposed to be... surprising."
"And what am I supposed to do."
"First change back to the white unicorn, get into that party and enjoy it for your sake and Clear Spark's."
The queen looked at her body and realized she was dark in color, with some holes in her legs, insect wings, and a crooked horn.
"Ohhh... ummm... Thank you."
Said the queen before transforming back into the unicorn known as Crystal Ivy, just as a pink head peeked through the door to see what was going on outside.
"Girls are you coming to the party?, it's supposed to be a welcoming party and we can't start it if the two most important guests aren't here."
Chrysalis took a deep breath and looked at Cheerilee, they both nodded their heads and entered the party.
Everyone was enjoying the party, dancing, food, laughter, and smiling ponies everywhere, Clear Spark was laughing nonstop while playing with his friends to levitate some plastic cups and form towers with them.
The queen was very nervous, she and Clear Spark were the centers of attention at the party, but the little colt had no secret to hiding behind a disguise, she had to avoid being startled every time they spoke to her by surprise, she couldn't get nervous when talking to the brand new princess of friendship and the rest of the incarnations of the elements, she could get a little nervous when dancing with a dark gray pegasus causing Rainbow Dash to get very jealous, but she definitely couldn't get nervous with who was slowly approaching from behind her back.
"You must be the new unicorn that my student has written me about but I hadn't been able to meet yet."
Chrysalis turned to find herself face to face with a white figure of great stature, a four-colored mane waving in a nonexistent wind, a pair of wings, a horn, a golden crown, a Cutie Mark of a sun, and a smile.
"Prin-princess Celestia?" Shouted Chrysalis very surprised taking a few steps back and bumping the table.
"Relax, tonight I'm Celestia, Crystal Ivy." Said the princess with a smile.
"What-what are you doing here and how do you know my name?".
"I came to visit my dear student, and I couldn't miss one of Pinkie Pie's famous parties, I've been told a lot about you tonight, it's a pleasure to know that there are mares in my kingdom with that willingness to help a little one in their most difficult moments."
"Emmm...thank you...?"
"Please don't be nervous, I'm just a mare who cares about her subjects, but I'm intrigued to know why you decided to live in a small town like Ponyville and not in some bigger city, surely it would be much easier for you to take care of Clear Spark in such a place, with more resources and access to public buildings." Celestia asked slowly approaching Crystal Ivy, her great height imposing her presence more and more.
"Emmm... I... it's just..."
The queen was too nervous, stopping thinking and getting to the point of running out of that place, she looked around looking for escape routes, but she had none nearby, the door and windows were closed, and the whole place was full of ponies so she had nowhere to run, she felt her heart rate, temperature and adrenaline rising, her disguise wouldn't last any longer, she didn't know what to say or what to think, she had to act, she had to attack Celestia and take her down fast before taking Clear Spark and tearing through the chimney or some hole in the ground towards the forest.
"I've known Crystal Ivy for some time and when she told me about Clear Spark and her mother's problems, I told her it would be better if they came to live somewhere more... quiet and not so noisy." Cheerilee replied coming over and standing next to the queen. "You can imagine, princess, that a pony like Clear Spark depends entirely on his hearing and memory to find his way around, a noisy and busy city is not the best place for him, and besides, my friend Ivy here is a bit... shy, if you haven't noticed."
Cheerilee chuckled, flashing a smile, and putting one of her hooves on Chrysalis's back.
"Don't worry, I've got your back." Cheerilee said whispering in the queen's ear.
"Why are you doing all this." Whispered the queen back.
"Because everyone needs a friend now and then." Winked the teacher.
"Thank you, I really appreciate it."
"And have you two known each other long?" Celestia asked with a smile sitting down on the floor across from Cheerilee and Chrysalis.
"I've known her for years." Cheerilee sat down as well and gently pushed the queen on her back to sit down as well. "I remember when I was in my senior year to receive my teaching degree, I invited Crystal, to a party at the university, so she could let loose a little and meet some handsome stallion, she was by the drinks and a pegasus came up behind her tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention and talk to her." Cheerilee saw the queen and laughed for a second. "My friend Crystal, from the fright, jumped up and dropped her punch, slipped and fell to the ground hitting her head, knocking herself unconscious and bleeding a lot."
"Oh for Faust's sake, and nothing happened to her?" Celestia asked in surprise.
"Nothing happened, when we arrived with her at the hospital the doctor told us that the blood stain was just punch, we all laughed and almost all the ponies left but the pegasus and I stayed all night accompanying her in the recovery room, and the next day..."
Without asking anyone the queen was saved by Cheerilee, who slowly took control of the conversation with her made-up story and pulled Chrysalis out of Celestia's spotlight, in another situation the queen would have acted differently and would have attacked Celestia because of the nervousness she felt at that moment, Her new friend had saved her when she needed it the most simply because she wanted to help her, the queen stayed a long time looking around, she realized that everyone was enjoying the party, Clear Spark looked happier than ever and all the ponies were in that place to tell her in one way or another `Welcome to Ponyville`.
Truly Pinkie Pie's welcome party was an event she could not miss.
--------------------------------- Chapter 14 - Nightmare night and other surprises. ---------------------------------
Chrysalis was in front of the mirror in her room carefully contemplating her white unicorn figure, today was an important night for her and Clear Spark, today was their first Nightmare Night, she initially had the perfect costume, but no one would believe that she grew half a meter overnight to disguise herself as Chrysalis, so she had to use a plan B, she sighed and looked on her bed, some vampire teeth, some insect wings made of plastic and a green backpack.
A quick spell changed the color of her fur to almost black, she put on the vampire's teeth, glued the insect wings to the backpack, and put it on her back, Chrysalis looked in the mirror once again and saw that she did something that no one thought she would ever do, make a cosplay of herself.
Chrysalis had been living quietly in Ponyville with Clear Spark for several months and they had already participated in other festivities such as Hearths Warming Eve, Hearts and Hooves Day, and even participated in the Winter Wrap-Up, but this would be her first Nightmare Night and she had volunteered to accompany the little ones trick-or-treating, and she planned to do it well.
The queen fixed her mane with her hooves and went down the stairs where there were several little ones in costume, there was an astronaut, a Princess Luna, a little dragon dressed as a lobster, a pirate, and several changelings, Clear Spark had dressed as a miner.
"Well guys, are you all ready?." Asked the queen.
"Yeeeeeeees!." They all replied in unison jumping for joy.
"Then let's go." Said the queen opening the door to her house and allowing all the little ones to exit before closing, Apple Bloom carrying Clear Spark at her side.
"Why are so many of you going as changelings?". Chrysalis asked the group.
"It's the hot costume this year, everyone is wearing them." Replied Sweetie Belle pointing to the ponies in the village and making the queen realize something completely unexpected.
Changelings, changelings everywhere.
There were changelings eating fruit, changelings at the games, changelings working the maze, changelings at the costume contest, changelings on the dance floor, there were ponies disguised as changelings and changelings disguised as ponies, there was even a changeling disguised as a changeling, everywhere you looked there was a changeling involved, chatting with ponies, laughing along with them, enjoying the festivity with them, some waved to the queen waving their hooves in the air without thinking of the implications that would happen if anyone realized they were real changelings, a new time bomb ready to explode in the queen's face.
"There... there... there... there are changelings everywhere." The queen commented, not knowing what to do.
"Isn't it kind of exciting?, it looks like an invasion." Commented a changeling with glasses, leather boots, a crown with branches as horns, a cloak made of tree leaves, and a somewhat twisted staff adorned with some feathers and forest herbs, the figure approached with a smile to the group of the queen.
"You're a druid?" Spike asked excitedly.
"A moon druid to be exact." Replied the changeling.
"Red Bug, what are you doing here?" Asked the queen a little confused.
"Enjoying Nightmare Night like everyone else." Replied the doctor approaching the queen to whisper something in her ear. "The news that you would be celebrating Nightmare Night ran like wildfire through the hives and we were inundated with requests from changeling who wanted to celebrate it following your example, the situation was off our hooves within hours and we still had about two thousand scrolls left to go through."
"That I can understand and I will have to punish someone for this, but it doesn't explain what you are doing here."
"Hmmm....mi..." The changeling looked to the side rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. "My application is still among the two thousand I mentioned to you and I didn't want to wait, and...since most of them had gone out to celebrate...I didn't want to stay in my room...so I took my costume...and..."
"You mean this is happening all over the nation?." The queen closed her eyes and rubbed her temples to keep from losing control. "Alright, I'll deal with this another day, just try not to do something stupid, ok?."
"Thanks." Said the changeling cheerfully. "Now I have to go to the corn maze, I saw a cute red stallion and I hope to have a date with him."
"Ask him about the knights to break the ice, trust me." Spike commented, the changeling winked and walked quickly towards the maze.
The queen sighed defeatedly and looked at her little group of costumed braves. "Alright guys, let's go trick-or-treating."
The children went through all the houses in Ponyville where they knew there was someone and collected a large and sweet loot, then went to leave a couple of candies to the statue of Nightmare Moon and listen to the horror story of Zecora, and finally play the many games that the town had to celebrate and have fun in one of the most popular parties in all of Equestria.
Every changeling that met the queen inside the labyrinth or in some game ended up greeting her very animatedly, sometimes causing much jealousy in the pony that accompanied him to see the effusive greeting to Crystal Ivy, and every time that happened the queen wanted to stop and find out what each changeling was doing in town, but she had other priorities, tonight she was in charge of the children of Ponyville.
When it was getting late and some ponies were retiring to rest the queen was leaving the children in their respective homes before returning to hers with Clear Spark when she was stopped by Apple Bloom who was running up to the monarch the moment she arrived at her house.
"Ms. Ivy!" Shouted the little girl disguised as a banana.
"Who is it?" Clear Spark asked.
"It's Apple Bloom coming running in our direction."
A second later the little filly came bounding in and waited a moment to catch her breath.
"Something's wrong Apple Bloom."
"It's just that with some kids we're having a scary sleepover in the tree house, we're going to tell scary stories and eat the candy and stuff...and...I wanted to know...if...Clear Spark...would...you..." The little filly was nervous and a little flushed.
"You want to go to the sleepover don't you." The queen asked.
"I'd love to, let me get my sleeping bag and I'm ready." Shouted an exciting colt jumping off the queen's back and running towards his house, only to end up crashing head-on into a closed door, hitting his muzzle. "Ouch...that hurts." He said rubbing himself through the pain.
"Let me open the door for you, your sleeping bag I left it under your bed, I thought it would be easier for you to find it in that place." Said the queen opening the door with her hoof.
"Thank you." Replied the foal as he quietly entered the house and navigated through the furniture using his memory.
A minute later Clear Spark returned with his sleeping bag on his back and his bag of candy in his muzzle.
"Okay, I'm ready."
"Do you want a ride back to the farm, it's a long way."
"NO THANK YOU!." Said almost shouting a very blushing Apple Bloom... "I mean... no thanks... I know the way."
" That's okay, be careful." Replied the queen with a smile at the filly's obvious reaction.
"Okay, you hold my tail and I'll carry the treats."
"Ok."
Apple Bloom stretched her muzzle to take the bag of candy from Clear Spark but the cheeks of the two little ones pinkened causing Apple Bloom to turn completely red and back up a couple of steps.
"Something wrong?" Clear Spark asked cocking his head slightly to the side not understanding anything.
"No... nothing." Apple Bloom approached again but this time she grabbed the bag of candy with her hoof.
The queen watched the whole scene understanding what it meant and causing her to smile.
"Have fun and don't stay up too late."
The two little ones said their goodbyes and went down the road, the queen entered the house with a smile and giggled lightly.
"Apple Bloom has a crush on my little boy." She commented to herself before heading upstairs to her room.
In front of her mirror slowly the queen took off her changeling costume and hung it in her closet, she fixed her mane with her hooves and changed her color back to the white she had been wearing for months, then went to the kitchen in search of something light to devour before bed and finally went back to her room to rest, she settled into her bed and closed her eyes so she could sleep.
"Surely they will tell horror stories and eat all the sweets before bed, surely that will be all... yes, surely..." Murmured the queen as she tried to sleep.
Ten minutes later, Chrysalis was hiding behind one of the hundreds of apple trees on the farm, spying on the little clubhouse where all the kids of the village were, she was nervous and didn't want anyone to overtake her little one, but from her place, she didn't have a good view inside the clubhouse, so she decided to climb a nearby tree to see inside the little house.
The queen moved carefully along a branch, steadying herself with her four legs and moving slowly to get as close as possible to the clubhouse so she could see better and hear what they were talking about.
"Do you need something to drink?"
Asked a voice from below causing the queen to lose her balance and fall to the ground on a mattress strategically placed behind a bush.
"Did you hear that?" Asked a small pony who poked his head out of the clubhouse window, but from his position, he could not see the queen who fell from a branch and was now behind a bush.
"Are you okay?" AppleJack asked offering a hoof to the queen to help her up.
"Why is there a mattress under a branch?." Replied the queen grabbing AppleJack's hoof to make getting up easier.
"You're not the first one to try to use that branch to see what the little ones are doing, Rarity, Twilight, Filthy Rich, Big Mac, Derpy, Rainbow, everyone at one time or another cares about the kids and ends up climbing that branch, and they all end up falling."
"And don't they know it's wrong to spy on each other?"
"Does the pony who fell off the branch less than ten seconds ago ask?"
"I know, it's just that I just-"
"You just care about Clear Spark, I know."
"Then what should I do, I don't want anything bad to happen to him."
"You should start by trusting him more, give him a little more space, we know you love him the same way we love our little sisters, but we don't go around following them everywhere at all times."
"But you know his disability, what if he gets lost and I'm not there to help him, last time he was...he was...and the forest..."
The queen became nervous and started hyperventilating very dramatically, AppleJack not caring what her friend was saying moved closer and used her hoof to rub the queen's back to calm her down.
"Hey, take it easy, take a deep, calming breath."
AppleJack took slow, deep breaths causing the queen to mimic his movements to slow her revolutions, about two minutes into the breathing exercises the queen was much calmer.
"Even if you don't want to admit it, Clear Spark needs to learn to take care of himself, and moments like these are what he needs, besides if one day something happens to any of you I assure you that the whole village will be there to help out."
"Thank you." Replied the queen with a sincere smile before looking back at the tree house and listening to the laughter coming from inside. "I think I would like something to drink."
"Then let's head back to the farm, I have a delicious bottle of cider waiting for us."
AppleJack turned around and started his way back to the farm, the queen stood for a moment contemplating the tree house in silence, the farm pony was right, Clear Spark needed more space and she needed to learn to give it to him.
"Have fun my little one." Chrysalis murmured before turning around and following AppleJack toward the farm.
--------------------------------- Chapter 15 - Superficial wounds and deep wounds. ---------------------------------
Chrysalis was tired, hungry, and furious, she entered the house and slammed the door shut with her hind leg, carrying Clear Spark on her back, something she didn't do for a long time but today it was necessary.
"Get off." Said the queen to which the little colt obeyed without saying anything. "Now stay there, I'm going to get the first aid kit to treat you."
Clear Spark was also very upset, but unlike the queen, he was completely dirty, his mane full of leaves and twigs, and he had some bruises and cuts on his body, the queen was mumbling unintelligible things in the bathroom while she was looking for the first aid kit, some water, and some towels.
"I can't believe you would be so dumb to do something like that, you better than anyone should know what you can and can't do." The queen returned with everything she needed and sat down in front of the colt. "Now hold still and let me check you over, I just hope I don't have to take you to the hospital."
The queen was trying to clean the dirt and remove the branches from Clear Spark's mane but the colt at all times kept moving around trying to get the queen to leave him alone.
"I'm fine, nothing happened to me." Said the foal raising his voice a little more and trying to move to the side.
"So branches in the mane and bruises are the new summer style?, you're not fine, you're hurt and it could have been much worse if we hadn't found you." The queen being bigger and having more strength could easily keep Clear Spark from slipping out of her hooves as she continued to clean him up.
"We just got a little off course when we went to see Zecora."
"A little off?." Said the queen annoyed. "You went straight to the swamp, that's not a little off, that's stupid, that place is very dangerous and you would have easily gotten lost, you especially wouldn't have known what to do."
"I know my way around the forest, remember you taught me the plants and how to find my way." Replied the colt.
"Knowing a couple of plants is not knowing the forest, that place is gigantic, and don't move so much I'm trying to clean you up." Said the queen.
"It just hurts, how do you want me not to move." Replied the colt moving every time the queen tried to clean him.
"If you don't like it then they wouldn't have ventured into the swamp, now stay still I'm going to start on the wounds."
The colt stood still for a moment but jumped to the side when he felt a sting on his cheek as the queen touched him with a wet cotton ball.
"Ahhh...that thing, it burns so bad." Shouted the colt trying to move.
"It's disinfectant, I don't want your wounds to get infected." The queen continued to clean the foal despite his protests.
The foal after a moment stopped moving in all directions and accepted his fate, but was still very upset about what had happened.
"Ahhh... I don't know why you worry so much, nothing serious happened to us."
"I worry because it's my job, I took the responsibility to take care of you and I don't like to see you get hurt because of stupidity, I've told you many times that the forest is very dangerous for someone like you."
" The other foals in the school are allowed to do a lot more things than me." Said the foal in annoyance.
"The others aren't like you and you know it well, they can do things you can't do alone."
"I'd rather be anywhere else where they let me out whenever I want and Ahhh...not depend on someone to take me." Colt raised his voice.
"You will be able to go out alone when you show me that you are responsible and don't do silly things like this and as long as you live in my house you will follow my rules, got it?" The queen shouted angrily.
"I don't have to do what you tell me to do, you are not my mother." Replied the colt in the same manner.
The queen's heart stopped for a second, dropping all the things on the floor, breaking the bowl with water, and making a lot of noise, the colt took a step back because of the fright when he heard the noise.
"Ms. Chrysalis?" The colt asked softly.
"Go to your room, you are grounded for the rest of the week." Replied the queen automatically.
"Ms. Chrysalis, are you all right?." Asked the colt again softly.
"Go to your room, you are grounded for the rest of the week." Replied the queen again automatically.
"O-okay..." Replied the colt stepping back and walking slowly to his room, he knew he had said something bad, he didn't know what it was, but his little mind knew it was something very bad.
The queen didn't know how long she sat there without moving, her mind was unresponsive, she couldn't feel her heart, her throat was tightening, her eyes were burning, and on the floor in front of her were items from the first aid kit completely wet along with a broken bowl, Chrysalis stood up and went to her room, locking the door.
A couple of hours later Cheerilee arrived at Chrysalis' house and had been knocking on the door for a couple of minutes, she had come back from a trip to Canterlot and had heard that some little ones had gotten lost in the swamp and had encountered a hydra, she was very worried about Chrysalis and Clear Spark, she knew they were not at the hospital but she was worried that no one answered the door.
Cheerilee knocked once more when she heard small footsteps approaching the door from the other side.
"Clear Spark is that you?, I heard what happened and I was worried, can you open up to see how you guys are doing?"
"Who is it?" The colt asked.
"It's Cheerilee, your teacher."
A minute later the door opened and on the other side was a little colt with some bruises and superficial wounds, some treated and some not.
"By Faust, are you okay?."
"Yeah... I'm fine, but I think I said something wrong." The colt replied regretfully as he stepped aside so Cheerilee could enter the house.
Cheerilee entered the house and the only strange thing she saw was a couple of bandages, a bottle of disinfectant, and other items from the first aid kit scattered next to a broken bowl and a towel.
"Could you tell me what happened?"
"Ms. Chrysalis was cleaning my wounds with a liquid that burned a lot and I didn't like that, so I asked her to stop and she told me I had to do what she said and I told her she wasn't my mother and she threw the things she had on her hooves and sent me to my room, but she didn't sound angry."
"What do you mean."
"She sounded...I don't know...she sounded odd...did I say something bad to her?" The foal asked in his innocence.
Cheerilee listening to the foal and seeing the things lying on the ground could imagine very well what had happened, it was to be expected that at some point something like this would happen and the queen's reaction was also something to be expected, Cheerilee knew what she had to do, she just hoped it would be enough.
"Don't worry about that, but first things first, let's finish healing you, and then I'll talk to Chrysalis, okay?." Asked the teacher with a smile.
"Ok." Replied the colt and sat on the floor waiting.
Cheerilee gathered the things from the first aid kit and stood in front of the foal to finish healing him.
"Now try not to move, I know this is going to sting but you have to be brave ok?."
The colt nodded his head and stayed as still as possible, but couldn't help but move instinctively every so often when he felt a new burning in one of his wounds, after a couple of minutes Cheerilee had finished and stood up.
"Now go to your room and I'll talk to Chrysalis."
"Ok." Replied the colt walking slowly to his room.
Cheerilee waited for the colt to enter his room and close the door before heading to the queen's room and knocking a couple of times.
"Chrysalis, it's Cheerilee, can we talk?."
The queen got up from her bed and unlocked her door before going back to bed, she had changed her personality a lot in a short time, she was no longer the cruel dictator and conqueror that everyone knew, now she was a mare like everyone else, or maybe she was always like that and in her past life she couldn't show it, whatever the case was, Cheerilee walked into the room and saw a huge, dark and sad queen hugging a huge, furry white ball.
"What is that?" Cheerilee asked with some intrigue.
"It's General Whiskers." Replied the queen hugging her beloved cat who was not putting up much resistance.
"And why didn't you see her before?, you asked Fluttershy to help you recommend a pet."
"She had had kittens a while back but her kittens are all grown up now and they all have a home to live in, I didn't want to separate her from her family, kittens need to be with their mom when they are little, not with an old mare they don't know."
Cheerilee knew exactly what the queen was referring to so she walked over, sat on the bed next to her, and stroked her mane gently to calm her and let her know she was there.
"You know there are many types of families and you've seen them here in Ponyville."
"But he's right, I'm not his mother." The queen sunk her face deeper into his furry fortress.
"You know that giving birth to a foal doesn't make you a mother, what you did does, I saw the state Clear Spark was in when you arrived, do you think he would be better off if you had left him in Canterlot?, you knew what was going to happen if you left him in that place, I don't want to say it but... he wouldn't be alive right now." Cheerilee was still stroking her friend's mane affectionately.
"And why does it hurt so much to hear him say that, I know it's true, but it still hurts." Chrysalis for her part didn't move from her spot.
"Because you love him and care about him, not all kittens are better off with their mothers and you know that better than anyone, sometimes some kittens need a big strong cat who cares about them as you have done on more than one occasion."
Chrysalis pulled her face from her furry pet's body and with eyes red from crying saw Cheerilee sitting next to her with a smile and a sympathetic face.
"Call it fate or just luck, but you've saved him three times already, in the forest when you found him alone, in Canterlot when you knew what his mother was trying to do and today in the swamp when you fought that hydra, at the times he needed help the most, you were there to give it to him and you're still with him, not his birth mother."
"Thank you." Murmured the queen wiping tears from her eyes and sitting up in bed.
"At some point, you will have to tell him the truth and it will be a very painful thing for both of you, but I will be there to support you when you do." Cheerilee got up from the bed to allow the queen to get up as well.
"Why are you so good at this talking stuff?" Chrysalis asked with a smile still wiping her face.
"I told you, dealing with annoying parents is half my job." He replied with a chuckle. "But I think you two should talk about what happened today, Clear Spark was sorry for yelling at you when I came in and it would be good for you to tell him you're better now, I'll cook something to eat in the meantime."
Cheerilee went to the kitchen and took a pot and some vegetables out of the refrigerator, from where she was she could hear when the queen knocked on Clear Spark's bedroom door and the start of their conversation.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you...I was really worried about you and I didn't want you to..."
--------------------------------- Chapter 16 - A bad day full of troubles. ---------------------------------
The queen was leaving the toy store, she had bought the latest `Petling`, which was a small stuffed changeling with the costume of an animal, a giraffe, in this case, they were extremely popular everywhere, very difficult to find and of course, Clear Spark had also started to collect them, Chrysalis had reserved one days ago and was able to get it in time for Clear Spark's birthday, of course getting it was helped a lot by the fact that the stuffed animals were made in one of the hives and she was the queen of the changelings, but she couldn't go home to wrap the gift yet, she had to buy other things.
She needed to buy some gardening supplies, AppleJack had recently finished helping her set up a greenhouse at her house and she needed some pots, and seeds of different plants, she also needed to talk to Fluttershy about how to keep bees and tips to avoid being attacked when collecting honey.
When she left the store she heard a commotion and the queen approached to see what was going on, it was a group of foals arguing agitatedly, among them were Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon on one side bothering one of the smallest of Cheerilee's class, on the other side were the CMC with other foals, Clear Spark was in the second group next to Scootaloo, who was bumping his head with Diamond Tiara's head trying to make her back off.
"Don't you have anything better to do than to bother others?"
"I could do better than that if there weren't any of you goofballs here."
"Then why don't you go somewhere with fewer goofballs and leave us alone."
"Because you guys flood the whole town with what goofballs you are."
"Just forget it Scoot, she's not going to understand." Said Clear Spark who was standing next to the little orange pegasus.
"You should listen to your friend Scootaloo, of the useless troop he seems to be the least useless."
"Hey." Apple Bloom said. "Don't call him useless."
"Does it bother you that I said something to your little boyfriend?, you should be thankful he's blind so he can't see what a loser you are."
Diamond Tiara took a step back and started laughing loudly along with Silver Spoon, the queen was coming over to stop it all when she saw Apple Bloom pounce on Diamond Tiara and both fillies started fighting.
"Hey knock it off!"
Shouted the queen as she used her hooves to separate the two fillies, but she used a little more force than she wanted to, and Diamond Tiara as she was pushed by Chrysalis, stumbled and fell to the ground on her haunches, whimpering from the blow.
"How dare you touch my little angel!" Shouted an offended mare from the group of spectators rushing up to the queen.
Chrysalis turned and saw a pink mare with a purple mane, a Cutie Mark of a diamond ring, a green blouse, and a rarely pointed nose approaching, she was none other than... a Karen.
"Well, if you taught your little angel how to treat others I wouldn't have intervened."
"Diamond Tiara knows perfectly well how to treat ponies of that sort, I taught her myself."
"Then her father should teach her how to behave with others, anyone can see you've done a lousy job."
"Filthy Rich is a good father and a good provider, and I'm lucky to have him around at night, unlike you, you old spinster mare, don't you get cold in the winter?."
Chrysalis was clearly offended and listened as the stallions and mares of the village began to murmur, slowly starting to gather more and more, the queen hadn't noticed but someone had pulled the little ones out of the scene, apparently, they all knew it was going to happen.
"I recognize that your husband is a good provider and works a lot of overtime in the office along with his secretary, apparently the paperwork is very exciting because he always comes home with a smile."
"Don't you dare insinuate things about my husband." Spoiled Rich approached the queen menacingly and stood in front of her nudging her chest with her hoof.
"Then don't talk about other ponie's personal lives and just tell your daughter to behave herself and not treat the rest of the world like dirt."
"Diamond Tiara has the right to express herself however she wants, and if Clear Spark is offended by how useless he is at not being able to do anything alone, my little girl is not to blame for that."
"Stop right there or I will stop you." Said the queen angrily nudging Spoiled Rich with her hoof.
"Don't you dare touch me, you worthless mare." Spoiled Rich replied in kind.
"I'm going to do more than touch you if you keep badmouthing Clear Spark." Shouted the queen.
"I can talk as I please about that useless rat who can't even see how stup-."
Chrysalis pounced on Spoiled Rich, and both mares started to fight in the middle of the village, hooves were flying in all directions, screams and insults of everything, magic lightning, and the things Chrysalis bought scattered everywhere, after a few minutes the queen being much bigger and stronger easily won the fight and was over a terrified Spoiled Rich who had her breathing very fast and was looking at the queen with wide eyes waiting for the final blow.
"Don't you dare ever say anything about my little boy again, do you understand?" Said the queen to her little prey as she bared her teeth at her.
All the ponies sighed in surprise as they saw in front of them a large black figure with insect features that had Spoiled Rich at its mercy, the queen took a step back and realized that at some point in the fight she had returned to her original form.
"IT'S CHRYSALIS, IT'S AN INVASION, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Shouted a pony and chaos broke out.
Ponies and screams were going in all directions, Spoiled Rich took advantage of the moment to run off, Chrysalis amongst all the chaos was looking for Clear Spark, the little one was terrified listening to the screams and the ponies running in all directions, one of the ponies running in terror pushed the little one causing him to fall to the ground, the queen was frightened and ran in Clear Spark's direction.
"Get on my back and hold on tight, we must get out of here." Said the queen as she picked up her little one and settled him on her back before starting to run home.
"What's going on?, why is everyone screaming?" The foal asked in fright.
"We'll talk later, now we have to get out of here."
Chrysalis was running through town dodging ponies and jumping over obstacles when a light blue mare landed in front of her preventing her from moving forward.
"Chrysalis stop!" Rainbow Dash shouted landing hard in front of the queen. "Let Clear Spark go and I promise not to hit you so hard."
Chrysalis used a quick spell to blind the pegasus for a few seconds and give her enough time to turn around and run at full speed.
"Ms. Chrysalis, what's going on?" Asked the colt holding on as best he could to the queen's neck.
"Please give me a second, we must get out of here first." Replied the queen as she ran at full speed.
"But-but why did a mare say to stop?."
"Remember when I told you I was famous, well I am, but not in a good way."
"What do you mean?"
"I've done some very bad things in my life and many ponies would be happy to put me in a dungeon, that's why I asked you to keep it a secret."
Chrysalis entered an empty store and quickly closed the curtains giving her a few precious seconds to rest and recover.
"Is this my fault?" The foal asked somewhat chagrined.
The queen turned her head and saw the sadness on Clear Spark's face, she carefully lowered him off her back and gave him a tight hug.
"Hey, relax, this is not your fault, so don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong, what happened now is my fault, so don't be sad, ok?." The queen kissed the colt's forehead before hugging him once more and seeing that a smile had returned to his face.
"Good, now we should go back home, grab a couple of things, General Whiskers and run into the forest."
"Should we do that?"
"I'm afraid so, but it will only be for a few days, I know a place I know you'll love and no one will ever hurt you there."
"But what about all my friends, I don't want to leave them."
Chrysalis sighed softly and hugged Clear Spark again.
"Please I need you to trust me, this is our only option, can you do it?."
"Ok." Clear Spark replied hugging the queen back.
"Thank you." Said the queen before settling the colt back on her back and waiting for him to assert himself tightly. "Then let's go."
Chrysalis kicked the door open and ran out at full speed through the middle of town causing screams from the panicked ponies still running in all directions, she had no more places to hide, her only option was to run straight across the entire town until she reached her house and grabbed necessary things before escaping into the forest and later to one of her hives, but with each passing second her chances of escape were diminishing.
As she passed the market she saw AppleJack approaching her at full speed, spinning a rope over her head and throwing it to try to catch her, Chrysalis jumped to the side to avoid being caught, but the farm pony was known to be stubborn and continued to chase her with the rope in her muzzle.
From the sky, Rainbow Dash was approaching at full speed but the queen grabbed an apple from one of the fruit stands and threw it with all her might impacting directly into her face and causing her to lose her balance.
"Hey, that's cheating!" Shouted the pegasus wiping her face as she sped off at full speed crashing into AppleJack.
A little further ahead was Rarity with Pinkie Pie and a huge cannon with a cart full of cakes, Pinkie pointed the cannon at the queen and fired hundreds of cakes at the same time, the queen just ducked, and surprisingly none of the cakes hit her or Clear Spark.
"Wow, that was lucky." Said the queen in surprise.
"RECHARGE!." Shouted the pink mare as she reloaded the cannon at full speed next to Rarity.
The queen had already dodged most of the group and only had one barricade left in front of her, a fearful yellow pegasus that was the only thing standing between her and the escape, but the queen knew how to get rid of Fluttershy, running at full speed the queen stopped inches away from the frightened pegasus who ducked and hid behind her mane.
"Excuse me Fluttershy, could you move to the side?, I'm in a bit of a hurry." Said the queen calmly to the shy pegasus.
"Ummm... ok." Replied Fluttershy moving to the side and allowing the queen to continue on her way.
"Thank you, dear, have a nice day." Said the queen before continuing on her way at full speed.
The queen had almost left the town, Clear Spark was still held tightly to her neck and she could see in the distance her home when a bolt of purple magic hit in front of her forcing her to stop, in the air in front of her was Twilight Sparkle menacingly and with charged magic ready to attack, the queen knew she couldn't go out in the open to fight Twilight, that would give her enough time for her friends to regroup and she had to keep Clear Spark safe, she had to get back to town and lose her amongst the buildings.
"Don't let go!" Shouted the queen before turning around and heading back into town.
"Don't let her get away." Shouted the alicorn before starting the pursuit of the monarch again.
The queen could see as little by little Twilight's friends regrouped and closed off her escape paths, and turning a corner sealed her fate as she met a dead end.
"Chrysalis stop!" Twilight shouted, landing next to her group of friends who were slowly corralling the queen. "Give yourself up, you have nowhere to escape."
Chrysalis was cornered in that alley, flying was not an option because she would be quickly caught by Rainbow Dash or Twilight's magic, fighting head-on wouldn't work either because there were too many opponents to face at the same time, she also discarded the magic duel because Clear Spark would be in the middle of the crossfire, and her priority was the safety of the little one on her back, she was out of options and her enemies were getting closer and closer.
But she still had one thing left to do, a way out so that Clear Spark would not be hurt, the queen gently lowered the foal from her back and stepped forward causing the group of mares to step back and move into a fighting stance.
--------------------------------- Chapter 17 - A small room and a small hope. ---------------------------------
Chrysalis was locked in the dungeon of Canterlot, even though she had surrendered peacefully and showed no sign of escaping, Celestia thought it would be much safer to have her close by where she could keep an eye on her and discover her plans, after all, she was the queen of deception.
A couple of days had already passed and the queen was still locked in her small cell of three meters by three meters, she got nervous now and then thinking about what Clear Spark would be doing, but she was sure that the princesses would be watching over him at all times and nothing bad would happen to him, it was not the end that Chrysalis expected, but if the little one was well and with a bright future, she would accept her fate.
At the end of the corridor, a wooden door was heard to open and a large white figure approached somewhat annoyed, her footsteps echoed in the silent corridor and stopped in front of Chrysalis' cell, the queen for her part got up from her bed and stood face to face with Celestia, only she was behind bars.
"You finally decided to tell me where she is?."
"I've told you a hundred times Celestia, you're never going to find her out there."
"Don't try to be funny with me Chrysalis, I know you have her hidden somewhere and I'm going to find her, then you're going to miss these fun conversations when you're rotting in Tartarus."
"We'll see about that." Celestia grumbled something before turning around and walking out of the dungeon, the stinky smell of that place was not something she was fond of. "Good luck finding Crystal Ivy, Celestia." Finished saying the queen moments before Celestia closed the dungeon door.
As Celestia exited the dungeon, she couldn't help but notice a cherry-colored mare come in to visit someone, not giving it any more thought she continued on her way, she had a white unicorn to find.
"How have they been treating you?" Cheerilee asked.
"Very well, thank you, and how is Clear Spark?".
" He's fine, he's a little sad about what happened and he still can't understand why they have you locked up if you haven't done anything wrong, but I managed to convince the princesses that it would be better for Clear Spark to stay with me until they find his `mother`." Said the teacher rolling her eyes. "A calm and familiar environment is what he needs right now."
"I appreciate you being able to take care of him these days, for anything in the world I don't want them to find out his real mother and-."
"We both know that with all this the truth will come out, and whether you want it to or not, Petal Dance will appear on the scene, she is his birth mother and legal guardian, and we have no way of preventing Clear Spark from returning to her unless she agrees to give him up for adoption, we can only imagine the future that awaits that little foal."
"Then everything I did was for nothing." The queen sighed defeatedly and plopped down on her haunches. "At least I can say I tried."
"Hey, what you did wasn't for nothing, you did something very noble, you risked everything to offer a better life to a foal you consider him your son, you changed everything to give him a home, friends, a lazy pet, a future, but most of all and most importantly, you offered him your love, pure and unconditional, things didn't turn out the way you wanted but you managed to give him what he needed, for a brief moment you gave him a real family."
"Thank you Cheerilee, you really are a good friend." Said the queen with a tear on her cheek.
"I told you I would support you when you needed it."
"When I'm on the Tartarus, write to me from time to time to let me know how Clear Spark is doing."
"I'll do that every week, I'll see you in a couple of days." Both mares said their goodbyes and Cheerilee left the dungeon, she was to return to Ponyville and find a way to free her friend.
A couple more days passed and Celestia was furious, no matter how hard she searched, no matter how hard she investigated or sent mission after mission in search of signs of invasion plans she could not find anything, whatever Chrysalis was planning was too high a level and the solar monarch simply could not discover it, and above all, there was still no sign of Crystal Ivy anywhere, it was as if that mare had disappeared from the face of the earth.
Celestia had no clues, only an ocean of questions with a few answers, why Chrysalis revealed herself so openly after impersonating a mare in Ponyville?, why do it specifically in that place and why do it now?, the solar regent started to think deeply about what happened and an idea came to her mind, maybe she was taking another approach, maybe she was always playing by Chrysalis' rules, maybe the queen told her the truth openly knowing that she would not believe her and would waste precious days looking for false clues as she had been doing so far.
"GUARDS!" Shouted the monarch to which two pegasus in armor standing on the other side of the door, a second later both appeared and greeted the princess. "I need the birth records of all mares over the age of twenty with initials "C" and "I" from Canterlot, Manehattan, and any other city that could perform foaling, NOW!."
Both guards obeyed the princess's order and flew at full speed to comply, Celestia knew it would be a long job and would need help, but she knew the perfect mares for the job.
The next morning Celestia was in her office next to an excited Twilight and an analytical Luna, in front of them were boxes and boxes of medical records of births of mares from all over the nation.
"Why specifically do you need our help, dear sister?". Luna asked entering the office.
"Twilight's natural talent for an organization will help us to speed up our work time considerably and your ability to find details will prevent us from overlooking anything, I can read and compare these files at a great speed."
The three princesses nodded and each began to do her part, Twilight took the boxes and organized them by location, date, and finally, by name, Celestia reviewed file by file at great speed while Luna checked for inconsistencies in the data.
They took many hours of their time and rested in shifts to keep up, but at the end of the day, Celestia realized that the sun had to go down to make way for the moon and had to accept her defeat and just prepare for whatever Chrysalis was planning.
Celestia sighed in defeat with every breath as she used her magic to lower the sun.
"I'm sorry I can't be of more help Princess Celestia." Twilight said visibly tired.
"Don't worry Twilight, your help is more than appreciated, I just wish I could have found some clue about Chrysalis' plan."
"That's the strange thing about it, dear sister." Luna said at her sister's side as she used her magic to raise the moon. "I didn't find anything about Crystal Ivy."
"I know Luna, I didn't find any useful information either."
"It's not that sister, I mean I found absolutely nothing about Crystal Ivy."
Those words made Celestia realize that she overlooked something very simple and she had to corroborate.
Celestia walked as fast as she could and opened the dungeon door with her magic roughly, waking up the two prisoners there, one of them was Chrysalis, she walked down the corridor and stopped in front of the queen's cell.
"You created her, that mare doesn't exist, you knew that, and yet you had me looking for an imaginary mare for days." Celestia said annoyed.
"Of course I knew, I created her, and I told you the first day, I didn't force you to look for her, you wanted to because you thought I didn't tell you the truth."
Celestia banged the bars angrily, but Chrysalis didn't flinch, it took other things to scare her.
"I don't know what you're trying to do now but I'm going to find out and I'm going to stop you." Celestia said very annoyed before leaving the dungeon. Still, as she was about to leave she noticed that the same cherry-colored mare had returned to visit someone, Celestia found that behavior was unusual and looked through the window of the wooden door to where the little pony was headed.
Cheerilee greeted Princess Celestia quickly and continued on her way stopping in front of the mare who came to visit.
"Hello, how have they been treating you lately?".
"Fine, but the room service is terrible in this place."
"I know, I've been here before, long story, but I think I've come up with a solution so you can keep custody of Clear Spark permanently."
"What, but how?" Chrysalis asked in surprise.
"I've been doing a little research and it turns out that if Petal Dance relinquishes Clear Spark's motherhood and you agree to be his legal guardian, the foalnapping charges are dropped, but if and only if Clear Spark publicly admits that he wants to live with you and it is proven with evidence that under your care he would be better off than with his birth mother."
"That's excellent, no one will question that I have taken better care of him than his mother but...we still have a more direct problem." Replied Chrysalis tapping on the bars of her cell.
"Yes, you're right, I still can't figure out how to fix that part, but don't lose hope, I'll find a solution." Cheerilee stretched as far as she could to try to hug the queen who was on the other side of the cell.
Chrysalis for her part also tried to hug her friend, managing to do so but somewhat awkwardly because of the bars in between.
"Thank you for your help, you have given me so much more than I could ever ask for."
"Take care of yourself and try not to do anything stupid."
"My stupid ideas brought the best thing in my life, a son and a good friend."
"I'll be back when I have better news."
Cheerilee waved goodbye and walked out of the dungeon when a flash of white light blinded her completely, stunning her for a few seconds.
"Ohhh, sorry, I'm a lot more nervous than I thought I would be." Apologized Celestia with a smile to hide the fact that her spell to reveal changelings had failed.
"Princess Celestia, is that you?" Asked the mare rubbing her eyes. "Don't worry, I'm fine."
"May I ask what you are doing here my little pony?"
"I'm here to visit a friend."
"The only ponies we have here are Chrysalis, and a stallion who disguised himself as a ghost to scare everypony so he could steal all the water from a lake."
"And I would have succeeded if it weren't for those meddling ponies and their dumb dog!" Shouted in response the stallion who was locked in the dungeon.
"And?."
"I find it curious that you would come to visit to see... one of these two in particular, I doubt you would come to visit Chrysalis, would you?." Asked the sun monarch approaching Cheerilee a little to impose her presence, of course, she knew the answer since she had seen everything through the window of the wooden door, but unfortunately, she had not been able to hear anything.
"Doesn't she have the right to visitors like any other inmate in Equestria?" Cheerilee asked with intrigue and undeterred by Celestia.
"Well no, everyone has visitation rights, it's in the law."
"Did I do something illegal or commit a crime by coming here?."
"No, according to our law, everyone is innocent of guilt until proven guilty."
"Do I have any legal obligation to tell you who I am visiting, why I am visiting, or what I am talking to him or her about?"
"Well of course not, his or her time is private and deserves the same respect as any other pony."
"Then I can leave?"
Celestia was furious, she couldn't get information out of a simple village pony and on top of that she left her with her snout closed by answering her with the same laws she had enacted and defended, even if she tried harder the princess couldn't avoid that a part of her anger was reflected in her face and gnashing her teeth she had to answer in the only way she could.
"Yes, you may go my... little pony." The guards at the gates could feel the temperature of the place rise, perhaps from nervousness or the fury of the sun princess.
"Thank you." Cheerfully said Cheerilee before continuing on her way out of the castle. "And princess, please don't forget to raise the sun early in the morning, I have a class full of little ones who want to go on a field trip and we want to have as much time as possible, have a good night." Ended the teacher saying goodbye waving her hoof in the air.
Even if it seemed impossible, the cheerful teacher of Ponyville knew precisely how to push the ponies' buttons to drive them crazy without falling into insults, and over the years she had become a hard mare to intimidate, It seems that the job of a teacher in Equestria is harder than most thought.
Celestia for her part returned to the dungeon and stopped in front of Chrysalis, she had to know what they had talked about.
"What did you talk to her about?". She asked very annoyed.
"Do I have any legal obligation to tell you who is visiting me, why they are visiting me or what I talked to him or her about?." Chrysalis replied raising an eyebrow.
Celestia screamed in frustration at Chrysalis' response and stormed out of the dungeon slamming the door behind her with her magic, almost tearing it apart.
--------------------------------- Chapter 18 - A little chat in the dark. ---------------------------------
"They finally managed to stop the wagon before it wrecked more stuff, but no one understands how the little guys got so many rockets, let alone how they attached them to the wagon, it must have taken a lot of planning to do something like that."
Both mare's laughed out loud at the story Cheerilee had told.
"I would have loved to have seen Rarity's face when the wagon went through the boutique."
"It was something like this." Cheerilee replied very dramatically mimicking Rarity's fainting sounds, causing them both to laugh again.
One of the guards approached Cheerilee and cleared his throat next to the mare, indicating that visiting hours were over.
"Thank you for coming to see me." Chrysalis said hugging her friend.
"I can't help it, Clear Spark reminds me every weekend and looks forward to my return to see how you are doing." Cheerilee for her part returned the hug.
"I wish I could see him again."
"I know you will see him again very soon, we just need to be patient."
"That's something I have plenty of in this place, take care of yourself back home."
"You too."
"And send my thanks to Pinkie for the cake." The queen didn't know how but that pink mare had somehow figured out her birthday and asked Cheerilee to hand her a small green apple pie.
"I will." Replied the teacher.
Cheerilee walked down the hallway out of the dungeon and the guard came out behind her closing the wooden door, Chrysalis could only watch as her friend retreated.
The queen had been left alone once again, her only company was the sounds of the wind through her small window and the cold and dampness of the dungeon, the stallion that was her neighbor had been transferred to another prison a few days ago but another one had arrived in his place.
He was a somewhat small and chubby white unicorn in a sleek black suit, he had an umbrella hanging at his side, he had told the queen a strange story about exploding toy penguins and was furious with a stallion in disguise like the night he had stopped him and foiled his plan, Chrysalis didn't know whether to think the story was completely absurd or that Equestria was a much more absurd place and things like that really did happen.
He was not the neighbor the queen would like to have but she was not exactly living in a condo, nor did she have any influence over the prison cells in Canterlot castle, the rest of the afternoon was spent in silence lying on her small bed looking at the sky and contemplating the emptiness, the only thing she could do was sleep or think, but she had no desire to do either one of them.
But as the hours passed her mind alone began to remember her little home in Ponyville, the colorful inhabitants and how they slowly stopped being her enemies and became her friends, when she spent the holidays with them and their birthdays, the incessant problems and adventures, she closed her eyes and only dedicated herself to remembering.
Chrysalis was still in her small cell without much to do, it was already late and it was very difficult for her to fall asleep in a bed visibly smaller for her big size, no matter how she was accommodated, that bed was not useful, she could only turn from one side to the other, sometimes she got up to take a short walk that did not help her to relax or think about anything else, the stone walls and metal bars were only in the fantasies of some ponies, but not precisely in Chrysalis'.
As she tried once to settle into her small bed to sleep she could hear hoofsteps in the hallway and raised her head to see who it was, at that hour she knew it could only be that a new inmate had arrived at the dungeon or it was the guard making the nightly rounds, but she did not expect to see a slender dark figure a little smaller than Celestia holding her same title, the undisputed ruler of the night and the hearts of thousands of ponies thanks to her nobility, compassion, and mysterious beauty that accompanied her everywhere.
The princess of the night approached the cell where the stallion was sleeping and with a simple spell she made sure that he would not wake up, she looked at the umbrella carefully and made it disappear with her magic, then she went to Chrysalis' cell, and stopped in front of it.
Chrysalis got up from her bed and approached the bars.
"I am sorry for the condition you are in, had I known sooner I would have done something." Luna closed her eyes and with her magic made Chrysalis' small bed disappear, changing it to a much larger and more comfortable one, Chrysalis turned her head to see that she now had a decent bed to sleep in.
"Thank you, I couldn't sleep in such a small bed."
"One of my jobs as night princess is to make sure everypony can get the best rest they can."
"I assume you didn't come just to see how I was sleeping."
"I wish to have a word with you." Luna said calmly.
"You know visiting hours are from three to six in the afternoon, don't you?."
"I know."
Chrysalis stood silently looking Luna straight in the eye for a couple of seconds.
"What do you want to talk about."
"I have been doing a separate investigation from my sister's, she is obsessed with you, and her obsession doesn't let her see other options than an invasion of Equestria, on the other hoof, I like to have as much information as possible before making a judgment or taking an action, I know perfectly well where obsessions can take you and I don't intend to make that mistake again."
"Understandable and very reasonable, but that doesn't answer my question...." Chrysalis sat back on her haunches before continuing. "...What do you want to talk about."
"Why are you doing this?"
"What do you mean?"
"You are a very cunning mare with centuries of experience in many arts, such as warfare, espionage, and treachery, you know how to disappear and reappear at the least opportune moment, you have loyal subjects and I can't remember an occasion that you didn't have a backup plan or a way of escape when you are in some kind of trouble, but still and all, you are here."
"And what is your question then."
"I want to know what happened."
"Do I have any legal obligation to confess to my crimes?"
"I'm not my sister, and that talk about legality doesn't work on me."
"It was worth a try, but even if you want me to tell you everything, I have no desire to, I have something to protect and every second I can do that is a second he is safe."
Luna watched the queen carefully for a long time analyzing all her body language, the princess knew that many times the lack of words said much more than a direct conversation.
"Then I'll tell you my theory so far and you tell me if I'm right, after all, I know you like this kind of games."
"That's right, let's hear what you have to say."
Luna opened the cell gate with her magic and walked in to sit across from Chrysalis.
"I don't have the whole puzzle but I managed to connect some very interesting dots about all of this, and ultimately it all falls on one individual."
"If you mean me I should tell you that-."
Luna shook her head indicating she meant someone else.
"The failed attack on Canterlot forced you to retreat to an unknown location making it difficult for us to track you, and you disappeared for a long time, then mysteriously the disappearances of ponies by changelings dropped considerably, and then a mysterious mare appeared in Ponyville, named Crystal Ivy along with Clear Spark, considering the fact that teacher Cheerilee is the only one who comes to visit periodically, I can assume that she was the one who helped you settle in the town and checking her past, I know she was the one who got you the false maternity and birth papers, and now she is in charge of little Spark while working at the school and looking for a way to get you out of here, I am grateful that with her tumultuous past, she is looking for a legal way to do it and not looking for a more... explosive ways. "
"Interesting theory but that doesn't take away from any of my previous attack plans."
"Clear Spark's mother's name is Petal Dance, and she shows no sign of distress over her son's disappearance, that's something I don't understand, I know Cheerilee is not a changeling and there are no threats or spells on her to motivate her to help you, I don't understand that either, the changelings stopped causing terror in the ponies of Equestria and now they manufacture stuffed animals with their shape, and I know that they come from one of your hives because I followed the commercial distribution lines and I know that the stuffed animals don't have any spell on them, I don't understand that either, I know that some changelings have been spotted all over Equestria but none have shown any signs of any invasion and they openly participated in large numbers in Nightmare Night, another thing I don't understand either, you lived almost two years in Ponyville peacefully and contributed several times in the community, helping in parties and fighting monsters, and you acted directly in the last problem they had. "
"And what would that be?"
"By stopping an altercation you got directly involved in a hoof fight with a nasty Ponyville mare for the simple fact that she offended Clear Spark, causing you to reveal yourself and try to escape with Clear Spark on your back, which leads me to believe that you're doing all this for him, and that... that's the last thing I don't understand, and I want to understand why."
Chrysalis looked directly at Luna and how in such a short time she was able to deduce much of what had happened but she didn't have all the information and Chrysalis internally was thankful she didn't know the most important thing.
"You know I'm not going to tell you why I do or don't do my stuff."
"I know, but it pleases me to know that my deductions were correct." Luna stood up and walked out of the cell. "I know you didn't do all this with bad intentions, talking to Cheerilee and reviewing Clear Spark's medical records, I know you care about him, there is something special about the colt that makes you care about him, I don't know what it is but I can understand that your feelings are real."
Luna walked away unconcerned that she had left Chrysalis' cell open.
"You're not worried about me escaping from here?". Chrysalis asked with intrigue.
"You can do it, but I know you won't, try to sleep, I'll make sure you have a pleasant dream." Luna knocked twice on the wooden door and a guard opened it allowing the princess of the night to retreat before closing it again.
Chrysalis watched the open door to her cell for a few seconds before grabbing it with her hoof and closing it, then went to her new bed to rest and quickly fall asleep.
Chapter 19 - The plan and the princess of the night.
--------------------------------- Chapter 19 - The plan and the princess of the night. ---------------------------------
Chrysalis was deeply asleep when she felt someone knocking on the bars of her cell, she had not noticed but it was already lunch time and who had woken her up was the guard who was bringing her ration consisting of a large plate full of fruits, the queen got up and stretched her body before receiving her food and sitting on her bed to eat, she had not been able to sleep well in days.
After eating she handed the plate to the guard and thanked him for the food before doing some exercise to keep fit, a very bad idea on her part since in less than a minute she felt nauseous and had to sit down to avoid throwing up.
As she was tidying up her new bed she heard the wooden door open along with a pair of footsteps approaching, it was Cheerilee along with a chestnut-colored mare wearing glasses and a black suit, it took Chrysalis a couple of seconds to guess who it was.
"Red Bug?" The monarch asked with intrigue.
"The same, how do you feel?." Answered the pony.
"Enjoying my vacation, but what are you doing here?."
"I was visiting my new boyfriend in Ponyville when I met Cheerilee who was on her way to Canterlot, we had a little chat and got advice from a lawyer about your case and we think we have a solution." The changeling answered.
"And what that would be."
"It turns out that the only charges against you are about ancient crimes, but that's not the important part."
"Then what is?"
"The only ones who brought the charges against you were the princesses, and if we convince them to drop the charges against you..." Cheerilee said.
"Then they would have no reason to keep me in this place and I could get out of here." Finished completing the queen.
"Exactly, we just have to find a way to convince each of the princesses to agree to drop the charges and you will be free as a bird, and in Ponyville we can calmly see Clear Spark's motherhood, I know Petal Dance won't mind giving you custody of her son." Replied Cheerilee
"That's a good plan, but how can we do that?" Reg Bug asked.
"I think the best way to do it is to convince the princesses one by one starting with the easiest until we end up with Celestia, she hates me and I know we can't convince her without first having the support of the other princesses." Chrysalis answered.
"And do you think we will be able to convince them all?, after all, you don't have the best track record under your wings and we can all see that Princess Celestia hates you, Princess Luna is a little more reasonable but we can't forget that you tried to impersonate Cadance on her wedding day and tried to marry her sexy boyfriend who happens to be Twilight's brother, I don't know how we will be able to convince those two."
"I can go to the crystal empire to talk to Cadance and try to convince her, plus I know Clear Spark will like the trip, but I'm going to have to pick up a few things at your place, one scroll in particular."
Chrysalis nodded knowing which scroll she was referring to exactly, she didn't want to do it but she knew it was necessary if she wanted to have a real chance.
"Then next time I visit Ponyville and with Cheerilee's help I can talk to Twilight and between the two of us we can convince her."
"Sounds like a good plan to me, but how will we be able to convince Princess Luna?" Cheerilee asked.
"Last night Luna came to visit me and we talked for a moment, she deduced almost everything and she knows I have no bad intentions, eventually everything will come out and I know she will give me her support if I tell her the whole truth and make her understand that I am now looking for a quiet life and a good future for my little one."
"Then I wish you luck and we will come to see you in a week to tell her how it went."
"Thank you girls I hope you have good luck."
Chrysalis hugged her two friends and watched them leave the dungeon, then she called one of the guards and told him that she wanted to talk to Luna when possible, two days later she got the answer that the princess would see her that same night.
The queen was expectant knowing that at any moment Princess Luna would come to talk to her, but she knew what she had to do and that was to tell Luna the truth to win her favor and drop the charges against her, while waiting in her bed she heard footsteps approaching and got up to realize that Luna had arrived.
"I was told that you wish to talk to me, I didn't expect something like this coming from you and curiosity ended up bringing me to know what you want to talk about."
"I have something important to talk to you about but tell me first how is your investigation going, did you find out anything else about my not-so-diabolical plan?".
"Not much, just false leads and rumors."
"Then I guess I can tell you my side of the story so far, so you'll fill in the gaps in your theory and understand all the things along with knowing why I did all this."
"And why would you do something like that, what do you get out of telling me your story."
"I know you will find out everything sooner or later and I prefer to tell you everything from my point of view, besides I need to ask you a favor."
Luna stared at the queen carefully for long seconds before sitting back on her haunches and nodding her head.
"I'll start at the beginning." Chrysalis also sat back on her haunches and cleared her throat. "After the failed attack on Canterlot, I escaped and landed softly in the forest, I was tired, hungry, and angry, but I was lucky enough to find..."
Chrysalis told the whole story until she was imprisoned, she told when she found Clear Spark in the forest and the time she spent with him, Petal Dance's reaction to seeing her son, how it affected her, and how she tried to fill the emptiness in her heart, how that little foal had changed her life, the changes she had made in the hives, why she returned to Canterlot and why she took Clear Spark with her, when she came to Ponyville and met Cheerilee, also the wonderful life they had had together.
She told her how nervous she felt the first days and how as time went by she felt accepted and how everyone gave her their support without knowing who she was, about the conversations with the other girls and the advice they had given her, the parties they had and the fight against the hydra, she told her about the times Cheerilee had helped her and that Clear Spark always asked Cheerilee how she was doing and that Pinkie Pie had sent her an apple pie for her birthday.
Luna listened carefully to every word of the queen only asking sometimes to clear some doubt, the princess had discovered many things that the queen confessed to her but the story seemed incredible anyway, she didn't think that someone could change so much in such a short time by finding someone she wanted to protect.
"And that's my story so far." Finished saying the queen.
"I thank you for telling me and from the way you speak I can tell that you don't have some hidden agenda behind all this."
"I just want a peaceful life and for Clear Spark to have the life her mother didn't want to give him."
"I find it hard to believe that there is a mare so disinterested in the life of a foal, her foal to boot."
"At first I thought I would use him for my benefit but then I formed a bond with him, something that captivated me about his personality that I hadn't felt before, I ended up loving him like a son, and as far as I'm concerned he is my son and I want to protect him."
"It's quite simple why he captivated you and why you formed a bond with him, just like with Cheerilee."
Chrysalis raised an intrigued eyebrow.
"It's because none of them showed you fear, all your life you based your relationships with your subjects or enemies on your ability to generate fear and you still do at times, like when you fought that kare... with that mare in Ponyville, you used your ability to instill fear to get that mare to stop insulting your foal."
"I have always had a knack for causing fear in my enemies and it is something I pride myself on but what does it have to do with Clear Spark or Cheerilee?".
"Your first approach to the colt was to instill fear in him in order to absorb his love but he not being able to see you and not knowing your name had no reason to fear you and in his desperation, he asked for your help without thinking, you helped him intending to use him but his innocence made you lower your defenses and open your heart forming a bond with him, being the queen of the hives and having hundreds of little changelings between your paws you developed a very strong maternal side, equal or perhaps superior to Cadance's, and seeing a mother so selfless for her own child broke your heart and traumatized your mind, Clear Spark doesn't know it but you have been the only mother he has had. "
"And why do you think I formed a friendship with Cheerilee?"."
"You also tried to scare her but that mare has been a teacher for years and so your heart took control of your actions and you openly asked her for help but not for you, for Clear Spark, you sought help through Cheerilee's sensitive side as you are doing now with me."
"You knew before why I wanted to talk to you?".
"I know you need something from me, but I don't know what it is."
"I want to live a quiet life with Clear Spark in Ponyville, I'm going to ask for legal custody over him and I know Petal Dance won't object, she was never interested in the little foal and it won't take any work to convince her but first I need to get out of prison and for that, I need the four ponies who filed the charges against me to drop them, and you're one of them."
Luna looked at the honesty and determination on the queen's face as she made her request but she had already made up her mind.
"I will not drop the charges against you."
The answer surprised the queen, she had expected Luna to give her support and she was sure that by telling her the truth she would give it without hesitation.
"But why not, you know why I did it and that I don't intend to perform crimes or foalnap ponies again in the future, I just want to give Clear Spark the life he deserves along with our friends in Ponyville, why do you say you won't?".
"I find it admirable that you will change your lifestyle along with that of the changelings for a better one for everyone and that you care about the colt and consider him your son, but you have committed terrible crimes in the past for which you must be punished, don't think that I am vindictive or that I don't want you to be with the little colt because I would love for all this to have a happy ending for everypony, but I will not intervene on the laws to give you privileges and forget the past, you destroyed many families in the past and justice will be done on their behalf."
"And what about you, are there no crimes you should pay for?"
"If there are any crimes for which I must pay I will face the consequences in due time, remember that a thousand years ago I was locked up on the moon when I tried to dethrone my sister because of the envy I felt, I'm sorry but I'm not going to let you out thanks to a simple apology."
"Then I'm going to be locked up forever."
"I appreciate you telling me your story and why you did it, you have my blessing and my support but justice must be served to all equally and I assure you that you will soon see a negligent mare in one of these cells." Luna withdrew without another word.
Chrysalis watched her hopes retreat through the wooden dungeon door never imagining that that very day Cheerilee along with Clear Spark would meet Cadance and an adorable little Flurry Heart.
--------------------------------- Chapter 20 - The mother and the sister. ---------------------------------
Cheerilee had gotten up early this day as she wanted to catch the first train to Crystal's empire because she had gotten an audience with Cadance at noon and did not want to be late, Clear Spark was excited to hear the news but was still sleeping when Cheerilee went to see him to his bed, the teacher arranged all her things and made sure she had in her bag the scroll written by Petal Dance and the foal's medical record and how he had improved.
As dawn broke with the sun peeking over the horizon Cheerilee was heading to the train station carrying a sound asleep foal on her back, she was carrying some food for the trip for when Clear Spark woke up, and as they boarded the train they were the only passengers, five minutes later the train left for the crystal empire.
At about ten thirty in the morning, the train arrived at its destination and Cheerilee got off with Clear Spark on her back, the colt had just woken up and had already eaten what Cheerilee brought him for breakfast and now they were both going to the castle to talk to the princess of love.
"Hello, my name is Cheerilee and I have an audience with Princess Cadance at twelve o'clock sharp." Said the teacher to one of the guards at the entrance.
"Good day, follow this path and down the hall, you will find an office where you can give all your information before seeing the princess."
"Thank you." Cheerilee did as the guard instructed and was already in a special room waiting to be called, there were also other crystal ponies and some magnates, nothing out of the ordinary for a princesses day, and a few minutes later she was called but not to the throne room as she expected, but to Flurry Heart's room.
The room was easily the size of the Ponyville school or maybe bigger, toys everywhere and Princess Cadance was playing with her little daughter who had a Petling between her little hooves, the young princess had the collection almost complete in a corner, Cadance stood up with Flurry between her hooves and approached Cheerilee.
"Greetings, I am Cadance, princess of the crystal empire and this little foal here is my daughter Flurry Heart, I was told that you came all the way from Ponyville to talk something with me." The princess was known throughout Equestria and so was little Flurry, but she had to follow the protocol of introduction.
"Yes princess, my name is Cheerilee and this little guy is my back is Clear Spark, and I would like to talk something privately with you concerning...you know who." Cheerilee and Clear Spark's name was also mentioned many times between the princesses but the teacher thought it would still be appropriate to introduce herself to a regent.
Cadance's loving look changed to one of annoyance as she heard the pony's words and knew who she was referring to, she didn't want to know anything about Chrysalis but she could give her a couple of minutes of her time to listen to her.
"Thorax." Said the princess with a smile looking at a unicorn standing by the door. "Could you take care of Flurry and little Spark for a moment?."
The unicorn nodded and took Flurry between his hooves and guided Clear Spark over to where the Petlings were, the three began to play animatedly amidst the army of stuffed animals.
"I wouldn't imagine that you being a princess would need a babysitter." Cheerilee commented.
"He showed up along with others for the audition and Flurry immediately took to him, plus he's very good with all the foals and charges less than the others, it's like he just wants to make Flurry happy."
Cheerilee's sharp mind worked very quickly upon hearing the princess's words and from what she knew of Red Bug and Chrysalis living in Ponyville, she got a very clear idea of who Flurry Heart's new nanny was.
Cadance led Cheerilee to a table away from the little ones where there was some fruit and other things to eat and the two sat down to talk.
"I know you want to talk about Chrysalis, and that is a topic that is not to my liking so I would like to keep this conversation brief." Cadance said pointedly.
"I'd like to know why you brought charges against Chrysalis for crimes committed long before all of this happened?"
"She impersonated me on my wedding day and tried to marry my husband to seize the throne and conquer Equestria, I believe that is more than a necessary reason to imprison her, but the current law does not allow me to press charges about what happened in Canterlot that day because according to our law that was not listed as a crime, so I had to seek other means."
"You know as well as I do that changelings need love to subsist and she admitted to me that that was not one of her better plans and had she thought more about it she would have taken another path, a more peaceful one."
"Remember also that she foalnap that little boy and feels no remorse for separating him from his mother."
"We both know she has been living a peaceful life in Ponyville for months and has taken excellent care of Clear Spark, the little one loves her and misses her, don't you think that should be considered and put the foal's welfare above other things."
"It is possible in some cases but I am not going to release her on some assumption, Clear Spark himself has said he wants to return to his mother and Chrysalis continued to lie to him by telling him she was sick and could not return, there is a distressed mare out there looking for her son because of a liar who fortunately is now in prison, so I am sorry but I am not dropping the charges."
"I must tell you that you are wrong about that mare and Chrysalis, and I can prove it to you."
Cheerilee opened her bag and took out some papers, parchments, and some pictures of Chrysalis and Clear Spark in Ponyville, and presented them to Cadance, the intrigued princess started going through the pictures and medical papers until she came to a letter written on hoof by a mare, and the moment she started reading it Cheerilee began to talk.
"Chrysalis told me this story the same day I met her, it's not a pretty story but it's the truth, the first time she found Clear Spark crying alone in the woods and helped him look for his mother with the intention of..."
Cadance took some time going through all the papers and couldn't believe the story, as a mother her heart couldn't accept it either, it had to be a lie.
"You really want me to believe that...to believe all of this?" Cadance asked somewhat annoyed.
"If you want you can investigate everything I said yourself and you'll realize it's true."
Cadance stood up abruptly from the table very upset.
"I can't believe any of this, I won't believe any of this, I know what that harpy is capable of and I won't give her any chance to continue ruining lives with her presence."
"Okay, I understand what you want to tell me and I must respect your position." Cheerilee said calmly as she gathered up all the papers and tucked them safely inside her bag before standing up from the table.
"But before I retire I would like you to think not as a princess, think as a mother what would you have done if you had fallen in the forest and Flurry Heart had been the abandoned filly."
Cheerilee walked over to where Clear Spark was and helped him settle on her back, the colt was a little disappointed to have to leave but knew they had all day to stroll around town.
Cadance, still annoyed, just watched as Thorax played with Flurry to command his army of stuffed animals.
It had already been two days since Cheerilee visited Cadance in the crystal empire. She still didn't know if her words convinced the princess to change her mind, she would find out on Saturday when she visited Chrysalis in Canterlot. Still, now she had another important matter and she was at the station waiting for the train to arrive, AppleJack had offered to take care of little Spark for today, making Apple Bloom extremely nervous.
The teacher was worried because Red Bug said that they would meet that same day to talk to Twilight and try to convince her to change her mind, but the teacher had been waiting since early in the morning and two trains had already arrived and left from the station and Red Bug was not on any of them.
"Cheerilee, what are you doing here?, I've been looking for you all morning." Said a voice from behind the teacher's back.
Cheerilee turned and saw Red Bug in her pony costume wearing a long dress accompanied by Big Mac.
"What time did you get here?, I've been waiting all morning for your train."
"I came from Big Mac's house."
"And why did you come from Big Mac's farm?" The teacher asked intrigued.
Red Bug and Big Mac turned totally red with embarrassment and averted their gazes.
"...OHHHHHHHHHHHhhhh..." Cheerilee said as she realized what had happened. "We'd better...go to Twilight's."
"We'd better." Red Bug said goodbye to his giant boyfriend and walked with Cheerilee to Twilight's castle.
"So... how..." Cheerilee tried to say.
"Awesome." Replied the changeling.
In a couple of minutes, they arrived at the castle and Cheerilee walked over to knock on the door, moments later Spike opened it.
"Hello Cheerilee, hello Red Bug, what are you doing here?" The dragon asked.
"Hi Spike, we're here to talk to Twilight, is she available?." Cheerilee replied.
"Spike who is it?" a voice asked from the hallways.
"It's Cheerilee and a changeling who want to talk to you."
"A WHAT?." Twilight shouted before teleporting in front of the door with her horn glowing brightly, only to see Cheerilee standing next to a mare in a beautiful floral dress. "Spike I thought you said you saw a changeling." Twilight said angrily as she lowered the intensity of her horn's glow.
"I said it, she's Red-."
"My name is Red Rose, and I'm a changeling druid when we play Ogres & Oubliettes." Said the mare with a smile.
"Ohh... sorry if I made you girls startle a little." Twilight said apologetically. "What can I do for you."
"We'd like to have a word with you if you have time." Cheerilee said
"Now I was a little busy but it would be nice to take a break and chat for a while, Spike could you fix us something to drink, please follow me to the library girls." Twilight turned and walked around turning her back to the group and rounding a corner.
Red Bug, very annoyed, smacked the back of Spike's head, "Spike you know you're supposed to keep who I am a secret."
"Sorry, I forgot."
"Do you two know each other?"
"We play Ogres & Oubliettes with a couple of changelings, Big Mac, and Derpy every week, of course I know her."
"Just remember to keep it a secret or I'll never heal you in combat again."
"Ok ok, I said I was sorry." An annoyed frustrated Spike headed for the kitchen in search of something to drink while the two mares went to the library where Twilight was and sat down at the table across from her.
"Tell me what you want to talk about?."
"What's your opinion on Crystal Ivy?". Cheerilee asked immediately putting Twilight in a bad mood.
"Chrysalis deceived us all for months betraying our trust and not to mention she almost destroyed my brother and Cadance's wedding." Twilight replied.
"You're talking about Chrysalis, I asked you about Crystal Ivy." Replied Cheerilee.
"It's the same mare, and you know it."
"So Chrysalis didn't take care of Clear Spark?, didn't take him to school every day?, didn't participate in the parties?, didn't help fight that hydra?."
"That mare fooled us all and can't be trusted."
"Do you think she doesn't deserve another chance?" Red Bug asked.
"You know her past, you know she's where she belongs now." Twilight replied.
"Then Princess Luna didn't deserve another chance either?, you knew her past." Red Bug commented.
"That's different, she-."
"And Discord is different too?, or Starlight?, tell me what makes them different." Cheerilee asked.
"She... is a changeling and they are only good for one thing." Answered the princess in an annoyed way.
"So you think changelings are just parasites who are only good for stealing love."
"I know it will sound ugly but I can't see her as anything other than a manipulative monster who only serves to steal love."
"I understand."
Red Bug got up from her seat and approached Twilight until she was a couple of steps away before dropping her disguise and showing her true form damaging the dress a bit in the process, Twilight jumped in fright and immediately got into a defensive stance.
"Cheerilee go behind me, I'll protect you." Said the princess without taking her eyes off her enemy.
"I'm not going to do that Twilight." Replied the teacher.
"But she is a changeling and they are surely planning another invasion."
"You're wrong Twilight, just like you're wrong about Chrysalis, they're not planning to invade anyone."
"And how can she be so sure."
"Listen to her Twilight, she wouldn't have revealed herself like this if she didn't have something important to tell you."
Twilight looked carefully at the changeling in front of her who hadn't moved an inch.
"My real name is Red Bug and I am a changeling with a degree in Psychology from one of the hives, I met a beautiful stallion who is in love with me and I am in love with him, he knows who I am and he doesn't care that I am different, neither do the friends I made here in Ponyville and I am tired of hiding like all the changelings out there."
The changeling walked out of the room past a somewhat surprised and confused princess.
"Where do you think you're going!" Twilight shouted turning her body around and getting back into a defensive stance.
"I'm going to the farm to apologize to AppleJack for ruining her pretty dress and to say goodbye to Big Mac." The changeling sighed before covering herself in green flames and transforming back into the chestnut-colored mare. "Bye Spike." She finished saying before retreating.
"See you Red B... Rose." Replied the dragon returning with several glasses of fruit juices.
Cheerilee stood up from her seat and stood in front of Twilight.
"You know Twilight, of all the princesses I thought you would be willing to give Chrysalis a second chance as you did with everyone else, but I guess I was wrong, you do judge a book just by its cover, even after you've seen its contents."
Cheerilee also walked past Twilight saying goodbye to Spike and leaving the castle.
Twilight understood very little of what had happened but had a lot to think about.
--------------------------------- Chapter 21 - The lawyer and the custody. ---------------------------------
Celestia commanding the sun could wake up very early and she used that to her advantage, in the early hours of the morning she walked towards the dungeon and especially towards Chrysalis' cell hitting hard the bars with the intention of waking up the queen, achieving it easily.
Chrysalis jumped up and turned her head to see a very angry Celestia on the other side of her bars, she stretched her limbs and walked towards the solar regent.
"What did you do?" Celestia asked.
"I don't know what you mean." Replied the queen.
"What did you tell Twilight and Cadance, how did you convince them to drop their charges against you?"
"And you think I flew out of here to talk to them and back before you knew it?, I'm in prison Celestia, there's not much I can do from here."
"At least my sister wasn't stupid enough to fall for your games like those two were."
"You mean Twilight and Cadance, maybe they do have compassion inside their hearts unlike you."
"Unfortunately wisdom is not a trait the two of them have yet to acquire but stupidity is a trait they all share, even you."
"I know, my stupid ideas brought me to this place and if I had the chance to go back to the past I would do everything the same way, that stupidity brought me the best of my life and I'm sorry you still don't see it."
Celestia hit the bars with such intensity that she bent some of them and broke the stones where they were embedded, her fury was very easy to feel.
"No matter what you do, I don't care what you tell me, I will never let you out, you destroyed thousands of lives in the past and I will do my best to make sure you rot in a prison in their names."
With that Celestia retreated from the dungeon using her magic to whip and almost break the wooden door again.
"That mare really hates you." Commented the unicorn in the cell next to Chrysalis.
"I've indeed done bad things in the past but Celestia can't think somepony like me can change and only seeks to destroy me, and why did they lock you up?".
"When someone tells you not to break a Pinkie Promise, you better listen to them."
The rest of the week passed without much action for Chrysalis in her little cell and the expected Saturday to talk to her friends had arrived, but they were coming with someone else.
"Hello girls it's nice to see you again." The queen greeted.
"Hello Chrysalis, we have good news for you." Red Bug replied.
"I think I know what this is about, Celestia came in a rage to reproach me for Twilight and Cadance's change of heart, I don't know how you did it but I appreciate your help."
"A little reality and perspective works miracles, but tell us how did it go with Luna?".
"She changed her mind about me and she's sure I've reformed, but she's not going to drop the charges against me."
"And why not, you said she was in your favor and it would be easy to convince her."
"She has a high standard of justice and doesn't show favoritism to anyone, she treats everyone equally including herself, and unless somepony acted directly against the laws, she's not going to help me get out of here."
"So what are we going to do?"
"I have a solution." Said the last figure who had been left chatting with the pony in the next cell.
He was indisputably a changeling, with a brown suit, a tie, a briefcase at his side, and a look of little patience.
"A changeling?, but how could you think of entering this place without a disguise, you know that if they discover you the first thing they will think is that I am trying to escape?."
The changeling was unmoved by the queen's abruptness.
"Indeed I am a changeling, my name is Pistil, a lawyer coming from the hive near the crystal empire, with a doctorate in the laws of Equestria and the changeling hives, certified in law by Equestria, The Crystal Empire, Yakyakistan, The Dragon Lands, and next year I start my studies in Saddle Arabia, I doubt very much that there is anyone who knows as much law as I do."
"But why aren't you in disguise?."
"Law 1877-b of the criminal code of Equestria, in section number eight, paragraph three, says and I quote `Somepony convicted of any crime has the right to be defended by a representative of the law certified by Equestria or any nation recognized by Equestria, and no reprisal shall be taken because of his origin, sex or race, the convicted may be defended by a such representative of the law if he or she so desires`, you wish me to represent you before the law?" Finished asking the changeling.
"Emmm... ok?" Said the queen somewhat unsure.
"I need you to be clear in your words in order to represent you, do you wish me to represent you in front of the law?".
"Yes, I do." Replied the queen confidently.
"Good, then what we must do is change your course of action, waiting for the princesses to drop the charges against you and then fighting for custody of Clear Spark has very little chance of success and could take years before the court ruling is in your favor, we must take another approach, you must start the custody suit immediately."
"But how would that help?" Cheerilee asked.
"The queen already has the favor of two princesses and has shown a remarkable and sustained change over time in addition to the remarkable way she cares for Clear Spark, if we want to have a real chance, we must attack directly on Clear Spark's custody and involve all the press media possible, the world must know that you did all this for Clear Spark's welfare, we must make her a fighter, show a mare committed to change, a mare that changed her past for the love of a little one and still wants to fight for him, we must make her the heroine of this story."
"And you think it will work?" Red Bug asked.
"The world loves heroes, and if we show her as a mare who changed her past for the love of her little one and was imprisoned for it, the press will go crazy and they will come like wave after wave to hear her story, the story of Chrysalis, the mare who fights for the love of a foal and was imprisoned for it."
"I would buy the book of that story." Commented the stallion in the next cell.
"The media pressure will have an effect on Princess Celestia and Luna, and to calm the waters they'll have to at least give her parole and surveillance."
"Sounds great." Red Bug commented.
"I find it a good idea too, what do you say Chrysalis?." Replied Cheerilee.
"I can't do that."
"But why not?"
"Because that will expose Clear Spark in front of everyone, and I don't want to imagine how that will affect his life."
"I know what you mean, but you know he'll know the truth at some point."
"I know, but it's one thing for him to know the truth and it's another for the world to know, and I don't plan to expose my little boy to a life where everyone knows that his mother doesn't love him, I'm sorry but I'm not going to do that."
The four figures were silent for a moment thinking about other options when the lawyer said something.
"Then we can take another approach, we can ask for custody of Clear Spark, under the promise of probation on behalf of one of the princesses or someone recommended by one of the princesses."
"What do you mean by that?" Asked the queen.
"There is the case where Celestia asked for the help of a group of Ponyville mares to reform the former criminal Discord, achieving it successfully and releasing him under the custody of Fluttershy, taking that precedent and if we manage to get custody of Clear Spark, along with the queen's current reformed history it will be simple for one of the princesses who dropped the charges to release her under custody."
"That's a plan I can work with." Replied the queen.
"Excellent, then tomorrow morning I will be making the petition regarding Clear Spark's custody, we will need everything you have, medical records, photographs, testimonials from friends and family, everything you have to prove that Chrysalis is a competent mare to hand over Clear Spark's guardianship to you."
"I have everything you need at my house, and if anything is missing it is surely at Chrysalis' house, I also have a scroll written by Petal Dance where she says she would abandon her child, do you think that will help?." Cheerilee said.
"Yes, that's very good, I know a graphologist and a calligrapher and if we can certify that that parchment was written by the foal's current mother getting custody of Clear Spark will be very simple."
"Then we should go to my house in Ponyville, I'll show you what I have and we can help you get the rest."
"I'm coming with you." Red Bug said.
"We'll see you next week, please take care of yourself." Said Cheerilee hugging the queen.
"I hope you guys have good luck."
"I'll be back in about two or three days to take your side of the story and present it in physical form at the trial, but I need you to remember everything and use clear language."
"Don't worry."
"Then we'll be on our way."
The group left the dungeon with new ideas and hopes, they had not achieved their original goal but this new approach gave them new hope and they had a feeling that this was going to work.
"Did that mare really abandon her son?" The stallion asked.
"Twice to be true." Replied the queen.
"Wow... and I thought my mother was bad, and why don't you escape from prison?, for someone like you it would be easy to do it" Asked the stallion.
"Because if I escape I'm going to have to live in hiding for years and I would only be able to see Clear Spark from the shadows, I want to be the one to put him to bed at night and wake him up in the morning."
"I hope you get lucky and have a happy ending."
"Thank you."
Now Chrysalis just had to hope that her new lawyer could put together a favorable case.
Pistil for his part had gotten a lot of information and favorable evidence for the queen, he only had to get a power of attorney where Petal Dance ceded custody of Clear Spark, and from what he had been told about the mare it would not cost him to get her, she only had to sign some documents that Pistil carried with him, the changeling searched for the mare all day in the residences and the areas she frequented, ending up finding her in a passing hotel in the wealthiest area of Canterlot.
The changeling had disguised himself as a unicorn so as not to bother the ponies when he entered the hotel and went to the room where Petal Dance was staying, knocked on the door and waited patiently until a stallion opened the door.
"Good evening, my name is Pistil and I am looking for a mare named Petal Dance."
"She's busy with a friend, you'll have to talk to her another day." Replied the stallion.
"It will only take a minute, I need her to sign some papers."
"Hmmm... ok, but make it quick." The stallion entered the room and seconds later Petal Dance appeared sweaty and disheveled.
"Hi, I'm sorry but I'm busy right now with some friends but..." The mare looked Pistil up and down a couple of times with clear ideas. "... If you want you can join us, the bed is big enough for someone else."
"No thanks, I have a beautiful wife waiting for me at home." Pistil replied.
"You can invite her, the more the better."
"I'd rather not, I only came because I need if you can sign some papers."
"Papers about what?" The mare asked with intrigue.
"About Clear Spark and his custody."
"Am I in trouble because I didn't report him missing?" Asked the mare somewhat concerned.
"Not at all, I'm a lawyer and my client is taking care of the little one and she wants to have legal guardianship over Clear Spark and I was hoping you would agree."
"Of course, where do I sign?" Said the mare cheerfully.
"Are you sure you don't want to keep custody of Clear Spark?".
"Look, I was kind of busy at the moment and I'd like to get this over with quickly so I can get back to what I was doing, do you want me to sign your papers or not." Said the mare annoyed.
"Then sign these three papers on the line." Said Pistil showing the adoption and legal transfer papers to the mare.
"Ready, are you sure you don't want to stay, I know you will have fun." Petal dance said in a lusty tone.
"No thanks, I have work to-."
Petal Dance closed the door in the lawyer's face without giving any importance to what he had to say, Pistil for his part kept the documents knowing that now releasing Chrysalis would be a simple procedure in front of the judge, and left the hotel thinking how a mare could be so cold towards her own son.
--------------------------------- Chapter 22 - Freedom and lies. ---------------------------------
Pistil is with the queen in the cell, he had between his hooves some documents, several blank sheets of paper to write down, some quills, and ink.
"Well Ms. Chrysalis, I will transcribe your story to present it before the judge and the princesses, along with copies of the documents and the evidence you showed me it will be just an administrative procedure for the judge to sign the release order."
"But what about the princesses, don't I need permission from any of them to get out of here?."
"Technically yes, according to the law of Equestria, 1874-A and I quote `A princess may override her will over the other princesses in court cases concerning effective convictions if she has the support of a judge and if said princess agrees to have said convicted pony under her custody or surveillance`."
"So with these papers and a princess to sign them, I can go free?"
"Exactly, I already spoke with Princess Sparkle, and along with sending her greetings and an apology she promised me that she would sign in favor of your release."
"The distribution of state powers is confusing."
"They should imitate Yakyakistan's justice system, it's very simple and efficient."
"Then what should I do?" Asked the queen.
"Tell your story from the beginning and be as clear as possible, I will transcribe everything, make the relevant copies and present them to the princesses and the judge."
"I understand." Chrysalis cleared her throat and drank some water before beginning. "After the attack on Canterlot, I..."
Chrysalis told her story once again from the beginning and hoped it was the last time she would do it while Pistil wrote everything down and asked the queen things to write down for reference or to clarify the story, almost an hour later Pistil had everything written down along with a confession from the queen about the foalnapping of Clear Spark.
"Well Ms. Chrysalis, that would be all I need to present it to the judge and the princesses if all goes well your release would be in less than a week but there is still a problem I'm afraid I can't help you." Said the changeling putting away the papers and other instruments in the briefcase.
"And what would that be?"
"How do you plan to tell Clear Spark the truth, he's going to have to know when you get home."
The queen knew she had to tell him and she didn't know how to do it, she loved the foal like a mother, but she was afraid to tell Clear Spark the truth, the foal loved his birth mother, and knowing the truth would be a very hard blow at such a young age, but the lawyer was right, she had already put off telling the truth for too long and she should tell him when they got home, at least the queen and Clear Spark had many friends who would help and support them to get over it.
"I have many friends in Ponyville that will help us get through this, I know it will be a hard thing for both of us but we won't be alone."
"That's good to hear, so I am now going to Ponyville to get Princess Twilight to sign these documents and I will send the copies to the other princesses, in about two or three days we will be done with all of this."
Pistil said goodbye to the queen and traveled to Ponyville to talk to Princess Twilight, after getting her signature and giving her a copy of the documents he went to the post office to send a copy to Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadance, it struck him that even though he was in his true form no one seemed to care much to see a changeling in Ponyville, some even greeted him.
Twilight was excited that Chrysalis would return to Ponyville, but now she would do it as the queen of the changelings, she wanted everything to be perfect for when the queen returned and she had a long list of things to do and the whole town was participating and helping in some way or another.
Cadance for her part when she received the letter about Chrysalis being released under Twilight's watch, felt bad for separating a family to get her revenge and made it a point to visit Ponyville in a few days to congratulate Chrysalis on her new life and apologize for her short-sightedness and not believing she could change for the better.
Luna when she saw her copy of the papers on Chrysalis' release was glad and filed them with the other documents she had on her little investigation of Chrysalis and Clear Spark, she was happy that everything ended well for everyone.
The big day had arrived and Chrysalis was released from the dungeon, Cadance regretted not being able to attend that day but promised to visit the queen with Flurry Heart in Ponyville, the little ones had gotten along very well and she wanted them not to lose contact, besides it would serve them both to eliminate old grudges and possibly start a new friendship.
Twilight stood next to Luna and a cheerful Celestia, there was also Cheerilee, Red Bug, and Pistil, all waiting for Chrysalis to come out the wooden door to greet her and congratulate her on her new life.
"You are unusually cheerful today dear sister." Luna said.
"I'm glad this all ended well and I hope Chrysalis has a beautiful life together with Clear Spark, that little one needs a mother, a real one." Celestia's words were left turning in the head of the princess of the night by the way she said them.
"When we all get back home I'm going to talk to Chrysalis and I'm going to help her in finding the best way to tell little Spark the truth." Cheerilee said.
"If you want I can help you with that, I have a lot of experience helping little ones with their problems in the dream world."
"Thank you Princess Luna, I know Chrysalis will appreciate your help."
The group continued to talk about different things until the wooden door opened and the queen walked through it approaching to hug her friends.
"Thanks for everything girls and you too Pistil, I couldn't have done this without you."
"You know we weren't going to abandon you."
"As princess of Equestria, I want to be the first to apologize if we caused any trouble, we didn't have all the information, and we acted on suspicion and grudges, but I hope we can put all this behind us and start over in Ponyville but this time as friends." Twilight said with a smile extending her hoof towards the queen.
"I would like that too Twilight, and has anything interesting happened these days in Ponyville?". Replied the queen waving the young princess back.
"Just monster attack and Pinkie's parties, nothing out of the ordinary."
"I have to get ready for the surprise homecoming party that Pinkie Pie organized?". Asked the queen with a bit of fear.
"You haven't the slightest idea." Twilight replied with an evil grin causing the whole group to laugh.
"I'm glad you were able to get out of prison Chrysalis, I'm sure Clear Spark will be happy to see you." Celestia said with a smile causing much intrigue in the queen at the sun princess' quick turnaround.
"Celestia, are you serious?". Asked the queen with much distrust.
"It's true Chrysalis, I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble and just like Twilight and Cadance I acted out of silly resentments but reading your confession I could realize how wrong I was, I hope you forgive me."
Chrysalis didn't believe that Celestia could change so much overnight and there was a possibility that what the princess said was a trap, but she couldn't deny her congratulations in front of the group and she had to accept them, after all this nightmare was over and she could live new peacefully with little Spark in Ponyville.
"Well thank you, I also hope to leave everything in the past and we can start again." Chrysalis extended her hoof in friendship and Celestia extended her own to reciprocate the greeting.
The group left the castle and walked through the gardens until they reached the palace gates when Chrysalis stopped abruptly before crossing the gate.
"Is something wrong?" Cheerilee asked.
"It's just... I was thinking of disguising myself to walk across town to the train station."
"So what's the problem?"
"I'm a new mare now, with a new life, a new family, and new friends, friends who know who I am and aren't afraid of me, friends who are waiting for me to return, for the first time in my life I can walk the streets freely, without fear of being seen, for the first time I am... truly free." Chrysalis slowly put her hoof outside the castle gates and took a deep breath of fresh air.
The group continued on their way to the train station where most of the ponies of Canterlot were stopping to watch the princesses of Equestria walk alongside the changeling queen leisurely through the city but as they reached the train station a large number of guards appeared and surrounded the group with their spears.
"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked.
"Chrysalis you are under arrest for the foalnapping of Clear Spark." A guard replied.
"I think you are in a mistake, the charges against Chrysalis were dropped this morning and she is now going to be on probation in Ponyville for Twilight." Replied Luna to which Chrysalis and Twilight nodded in agreement.
"We received the report a few moments ago from Clear Spark's mother, GUARDS!" Shouted one of the guards to which the rest closed the circle a little more and got into a battle stance.
"NO!." Shouted the queen. "This is a joke right?, I am not going back to prison, I have changed and now I am a different mare who intends to return home to her son and... get that pointy thing out of my sight." Said the queen annoyed hitting one of the spears and pushing it aside only for three other spears to take its place making the queen take a very nervous step back.
"Chrysalis calm down, surely it's a mistake." Cheerilee said touching the queen's shoulder to calm her down only achieving the opposite.
"Calm down?" Chrysalis took another step back. "I will not calm down Cheerilee, they will not lock me up like a bird again, I will not allow it, NO, I WILL NOT BE TAKEN AWAY FROM MY BABY AGAIN!!!" Shouted the queen before turning around and leaping over the group to tear off through the streets of Canterlot quickly getting out of sight.
"Stop her, don't let her escape!" Shouted a guard before the entire platoon took off in pursuit of the queen.
"We must help her." Twilight shouted to the group to which they all ran off in search of Chrysalis, Celestia came a little further behind trotting.
Chrysalis had her adrenaline at its highest level and her heart beating a thousand times a minute, she couldn't hear the ponies screaming in terror around her, she didn't know where she was running, and she was trying to concentrate to disguise herself but her mind only had two things at that moment, get out of the city and go back with Clear Spark, as she turned a corner she collided with some trash cans falling to the ground and making a lot of noise, a few seconds later Cheerilee and Red Bug appeared and they were the ones who heard the crash.
"Chrysalis calm down." Cheerilee said but the queen was in defensive mode and wouldn't listen to reason, she was only thinking about getting out of there.
"Please Chrysalis stop, I'm sure it's a mistake." Red Bug took a step closer to the queen.
Chrysalis backed up and tried to climb a wall like a trapped animal and when she failed she tried to fly away but she couldn't coordinate her flapping and ended up crashing hard against a wall falling to the ground a little dizzy, at that moment Luna and Twilight landed next to Cheerilee and Red Bug.
"Chrysalis stop right now." Luna shouted to which Chrysalis turned her head to look at the princess the blow brought the queen back to her senses.
"Lu-Luna?" Asked the queen somewhat stunned.
"Your friends are right and surely this is all a mistake, but if you escape you will only prove your guilt and we won't be able to help you."
"B-but I must get back to-."
"CHRYSALIS CALM DOWN!" Luna shouted. "Take a deep breath and calm down, we will work this out but we need you to calm down and breathe."
Cheerilee approached Chrysalis and stood at her side breathing deeply and calmly for the queen to mimic her movements, Chrysalis mimicked Cheerilee's movements and after a minute of breathing exercises the queen was able to calm down as guards arrived to apprehend her.
"Wait a minute!" Twilight shouted getting in the way and stopping the guards from approaching. "If you guys get close she'll escape again, we'll take care of escorting Chrysalis back to the castle."
"But we have orders to take the queen to the dungeon to-."
"Are you questioning my authority?" Twilight asked seriously approaching the guard.
"No princess but..."
"Good, then go back to the castle I will take responsibility for escorting Chrysalis, that's an order." twilight didn't like to use her authority over others but sometimes it was necessary, the guards nodded and retreated.
"Feeling better?" Red Bug asked to which Chrysalis nodded her head still doing the breathing exercises.
"Do we have to take her to the castle?" Cheerilee asked.
"I'm afraid so and it's surely a mistake but Chrysalis must come back so we can fix this whole problem." Twilight replied.
Cheerilee and Red Bug helped Chrysalis up and the three of them slowly walked back to the castle with Twilight following a little behind them, Luna left the alley just as Celestia came trotting onto the scene.
"Ohh... but how unfortunate for Chrysalis, I hope it's a mistake, well I'm going back to the castle, I'll wait for you for lunch sis?." Celestia asked with a smile.
"No Tia, I'm not hungry right now." Answered Luna very worried watching as Chrysalis went back to the Canterlot dungeon.
"Ok, see you later then." Finished saying Celestia walking away with a smile on her face.
--------------------------------- Chapter 23 - The trial - Part 1. ---------------------------------
Chrysalis had returned to her small room of stone and metal, disappointment was again her company and she could only watch through the small window as again her future was taken away from her, she hid from the world under the bed, doing things wrong had not worked, trying to do things right did not work either, maybe she did not deserve to be happy, Chrysalis closed her eyes and slowly let herself fall into the dark emptiness that filled her heart.
The queen in her small fortress heard her cell open and could see four cherry-colored hooves enter and stop in the middle of her cell.
"Chrysalis are you here?" Asked the figure in a feminine voice, to which the queen only shrank further into her hiding place.
"Chrysalis I know you are hiding under the bed, I can see your tail peeking out."
The queen stretched out her hoof to grab her tail and also hide it with the rest of her body, an action Cheerilee couldn't help but see, the teacher approached the bed and bent down to look under it and found the queen balled up hiding from the world and full of sadness.
"Hey sweetie, how are you feeling?" Cheerilee asked softly.
"Well, I'm where I belong, if the world wants me locked up alone and sad in this place...then I'll stay here, I don't deserve to be happy."
"You know that's a lie and no matter what anyone else says, you didn't do anything wrong and it's their problem if they can't understand that."
"Then why doesn't anyone want me to be happy?."
"We want you to be happy, right now Pistil is with Twilight and Red Bug figuring out the mistake of why you were locked up, Princess Luna was flying straight to Ponyville to personally take care of Clear Spark and keep him from going back to that slu... with his birth mother, I will stay as long as you want by your side so you don't feel alone, do you think we would do these things if we didn't want you to be happy?"
"No..."
"There are many ponies that want you two to be happy, there are so many that you could easily fill a whole town with them and there is such a town, it's called Ponyville, the place where you have your little home and there are all your friends waiting for you to come back soon with your son."
"And then why do these things happen?, I changed but the world doesn't want to accept it."
"The world will always give you blow after blow to knock you down and many times it will succeed but you have always been a fighter and you have always managed to get up, but now it is a little different because you are also taking the blows from your son, the times the world tried to knock him down you stood in the middle and took the blow for him as a real mother does."
Chrysalis stood silently listening to her friend's words.
"Are you going to make me believe that you're going to stop fighting for your son because a piece of paper tells you to?"
"No..."
"Am I to believe that you intend to let your son go back to that mare?."
"I'm not leaving him."
"Are you going to hide from the world under your bed for the rest of your life?"
"I'm not going to."
"Then what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to get out of here and I'm going to get my son back." Shouted the queen standing up breaking the bed in the process and approaching the bars of her cell to beat them until they were broken and getting out of there.
"WAIT!." Cheerilee shouted putting herself between the queen and the bars. "If you want to do this we must do it right, in my bag I have some bombs but-."
"You have some WHAT?" Asked a female voice coming down the hallway walking up.
"I have a bomb...bastic idea to help Chrysalis...but I didn't expect you guys to get here so fast so I couldn't...mention it." Cheerilee replied somewhat nervously.
"Cheerilee may I see your bag for a minute?, I'm curious about...your ideas and I'd like to check them out." Twilight asked with intrigue.
"You know you need a warrant to go through my personal belongings?". Replied Cheerilee to which everyone turned to look at Pistil.
"She's right, Law 1445-C." Replied the changeling nodding his head.
"Thank you, now if you'll excuse me I must go to the restroom and do completely legal things, I'll be back in a moment." Said Cheerilee coming out of the dungeon.
"May I know what-."
"I'm under no obligation to tell you Twilight." Cheerilee interrupted before disappearing down the hallway.
"Did you find out anything?" The queen asked.
"Petal Dance filed for an annulment of the adoption and made the complaint arguing that she was under a spell of yours and that's why she didn't remember her beloved son." Red Bug replied.
"You know that's a lie."
"We know but this is very good for you." Pistil said.
"Why would it be?" Asked the queen.
"Because now we can counter-sue Petal Dance and go to trial, and with the tons of evidence along with the army of witnesses on your side, Petal Dance can't win, there is even a high probability that she will end up in this prison and not you."
"And what should I do?"
"Prepare because tomorrow we will start with the final battle." The group nodded their heads certain that everything would go perfectly.
The next day everyone was in court waiting for the judge, on one side was Chrysalis with her lawyer, and on the other side was Petal Dance with a recently hired lawyer, there were some friends of the queen from Ponyville and other cities, in the jury, there were ponies of various types, a Yak and a griffon, no one was saying anything and the only thing that could be heard was the sound of a clock ticking every second of tension.
A wooden door opened and everyone stood up to see a unicorn appear, a light-colored mare of advanced age wearing glasses who sat in her stall and ordered some papers that she had at her side.
"Ms. Petal Dance, since you are the mother of the child in custody and the one who made the complaint against Ms. Chrysalis, I think it would be correct for you or your attorney to start talking, then it will be Ms. Chrysalis' turn and we will come back to you, we will use that order in reviewing the evidence and talking to those involved, is that okay with you?" The judge asked.
Petal Dance and her attorney nodded in agreement.
"Ms. Chrysalis, do you and your attorney feel that is correct, or do you want to add anything else?".
Chrysalis and Pistil muttered something to each other and both nodded.
"Perfect, then MS. Petal Dance, you may begin." Said the judge.
"Thank you, your honor." Said Petal Dance's attorney as he stood up. "I would like to begin by hearing the testimony of the perpetrator, Ms. Chrysalis may take the stand?."
Chrysalis rose from her seat and had to stand on the stand as she was too large for the stool, a guard approached the queen asking her to place her hoof on a book and swear to tell only the truth to which the queen nodded her head.
"Ms. Chrysalis please tell us what happened from your point of view the first time you encountered the colt and what you did after that."
"Okay, I was in the forest..." Chrysalis told the story once again as far as the lawyer had asked giving as much detail as possible. "...Then on returning to Canterlot, I returned Clear Spark to his mother who didn't look too happy to see her son."
"That's a lie." Petal Dance said.
"Ms. Dance please control yourself, you will have your time to speak." Replied the judge shutting the mare up on the spot.
"So Ms. Chrysalis, we all know how you came to the forest, for no one is a secret about the attack on Canterlot, but I have some doubts about your story that I can't understand."
"What would they be?"
"You said you first tried to scare the colt to steal his love, then you planned to use him to find his mother and steal their love, then you returned him to his loving and distraught mother, but at no point did you mention how you knew his mother was trying to abandon him in the forest."
"Well...no one leaves their foal alone in the woods, let alone one with his condition."
"So you assumed his mother abandoned him even though in your own story you told us that Clear Spark was waiting for her."
"I found him crying hours after his mother left him there."
"Everyone knows little ones exaggerate their stories, he could have only been there for five minutes for all we know, and how can we be sure you are telling the truth about the mother's reaction, we all know your past after all." Said the lawyer with a grimace.
"Because I am telling the truth." Replied the exalted queen.
" Attorney please limit yourself to asking the questions and not making judgments and Ms. Chrysalis I would appreciate it if you would also limit your outbursts." Ordered the judge, some in the courtroom began to murmur as did the jury.
"Your witness." Said the lawyer to Pistil who rose from his seat to begin.
"Chrysalis you told in your story that you found little Clear Spark alone in the woods didn't you."
"That's right."
"And you also said that after searching for a whole day you could not find the child's mother, right?"
"That is correct."
"And the next day, not knowing where the child lived, you approached the authorities in search of information about a missing child, could you repeat what the guards told you?
"That they had no record of any missing foal."
"So you mean to tell us that for two full days, the supposedly loving mother did not show up at any time to report that her child was missing, do you find that normal?"
"I don't think anypony can say that's normal."
The jury again murmured at the queen's responses.
"Thank you for your time Ms. Chrysalis, you may return to your seat." The queen walked to her seat next to her attorney.
The mare's lawyer stood up from his seat. "I would now like to call Petal Dance to the stand."
The mare stood up and sat where she has also directed swearing that she would tell only the truth.
"Ms. Dance, could you indicate in your words why you did not notify the authorities of your son's disappearance."
"I remember that day I was going to drop my little boy to school as I did every day but I forgot something at home, I asked my son to wait for me for a moment and that I would be right back, but I remember that I mysteriously lost consciousness and woke up the next day at home, I despaired like any mother and moments before going out to look for my son I felt someone knocking on my door, it was my beloved little boy accompanied with this harpy, I could do nothing but thank her for returning my safe and sound, but had I known at that moment that she was responsible I assure you that I would have attacked her at that moment. "
The jury murmured again.
"Thank you, Ms. Dance." Said the attorney before sitting down, Pistil stood up at that point.
"Ms. dance, I must say your story is curiously timely, as we have testimony from stallions and some mares who saw you frequenting the market the same day your son disappeared, we even have physical evidence of a ticket in your name when you checked into a luxury hotel in Canterlot that same night, can you explain how you could have done that if you were unconscious?"
The changeling took a ticket from the evidence and showed it to the jury who looked it over and murmured among themselves as they did so.
"I'm not going to ask you to air your private life in front of the court but your story is very convenient I must say, thank you for your time."
Petal Dance returned somewhat angrily to her seat, and the mare's lawyer stood up again and called someone else to testify.
"I would like to call Princess Twilight Sparkle to testify." To which the princess agreed in kind.
"Princess, could you tell us what Chrysalis' actions were during the Canterlot attack?".
"Objection your honor, the question has no bearing on the case."
"I'm sorry your honor, I will rephrase my question, Princess, in your experience is it possible that Chrysalis had the capacity or ability to hypnotize Clear Spark's mother?".
"She has the ability to do so."
"And is it possible that she hypnotized Clear Spark's mother for a long period of time for her own benefit?."
"It is possible."
"You think she has the magical ability to perform it and to have hypnotized Petal Dance for all this time, and that she would not think about her son?".
"The user of a hypnosis spell can create any idea he wishes and implant it in the pony he hypnotizes."
"Thank you, princess." Said the lawyer sitting down and allowing Pistil to ask her questions.
"Princess, your brother was hypnotized by Chrysalis during the invasion of Canterlot, could you briefly explain to us what that spell consists of."
"The user of the spell needs a high level of concentration and time so he needs the subject to which the spell is applied to make no sudden movements and to be calm, preferably sleeping, it requires a long time and a lot of magic to achieve it and it can extend its duration if he has contact with the subject at least once a day."
"Chrysalis was living in Ponyville for months in plain sight, do you think she would have been able to make that daily trip to keep the spell on Petal Dance for all that time without raising suspicion?."
"It would be impossible."
"Do you think someone else could have performed that spell?"."
"No, that spell is of a very high level and its magical signature limits only the pony casting the spell to be able to maintain it for the time, a normal unicorn could not perform it and if he can do it he could not maintain it for more than two or three days before becoming exhausted."
"Thank you, princess." Finished saying Pistil to which Twilight was able to return to her seat.
The jury and most of those present murmured at the queen's answers.
The judge looked at her watch and remembered she had an important appointment with the handsome owner of Canterlot's newest restaurant `L'insetto nero`.
"We will take a recess from the case and continue tomorrow morning at nine o'clock if you all agree." Both attorneys nodded and the judge tapped the gavel with the little wooden hammer everyone wanted to have before retiring to her office.
"This went much better than I thought it would, Petal Dance's lawyer has nothing to build his case on, tomorrow with the witnesses and the evidence we have, there is no way we can lose." Pistil said to the queen. " Take a rest Ms. Chrysalis, because tomorrow we will finish everything."
Chrysalis left the court together with her lawyer towards Canterlot castle knowing that everything would soon be over.
--------------------------------- Chapter 24 - The trial - Part 2. ---------------------------------
It was almost one o'clock in the afternoon and Pistil had attacked with all the evidence he had, slowly the jury was losing the favor for Petal Dance and going in favor of Chrysalis, and the evidence shown by Pistil was still not over.
"Mr. Strong Ocean, you've known Petal Dance and Clear Spark for a long time haven't you?."
"All of us in the market know little Spark and his mother if you must know."
"We have heard other testimonies about how they met Petal Dance and for the safety of your marriage I am not going to ask you to tell us what your interactions with her were like and if I may I am going to assume that you had the same level of... friendship."
"Well, I appreciate that, I intend to make it home alive." Replied the stallion causing a slight chuckle in the room.
"And according to your testimony, you and several merchants have on more than one occasion helped little Spark in his studies, right?"
"It was a very normal thing to help him with his homework."
"That brings me to evidence number twenty." The changeling picked up a blank sheet of paper marked with several salient dots. "Ms. Dance a simple question, do you know what this might be?"
"Objection your honor, my client does not have to answer the question."
" Denied, Ms. Dance please answer the question."
"Ummm... no, I don't know what that is." Answered the mare.
"For your information Ms. Dance, what is written here is braille and it is your son's way of reading a document such as a school assignment, I thought you being his mother would know that but I guess I'm wrong."
The jury murmured again.
"Mr. Ocean could you tell us what it says on this sheet?". Pistil passed the paper to the stallion.
Strong Ocean closed his eyes for a moment as he ran his hoof over the protruding dots a couple of times while mumbling something. "This... is... easy... to... read."
"Your Honor we can't take the witness's word as evidence of faith, he could very well be making up the words." Petal Dance's attorney objected.
"Your Honor, Yak is a certified special education teacher with years of experience working with visually, hearing, and motor impaired minors, yak can read braille and if you allow yak, yak can confirm its contents." Said almost shouting the juror yak."
"I will allow it, lawyer please show the evidence to the jury."
The yak took the paper and ran his hoof over the dots. "This is easy to read, yak can assure you that is what it says." Finally, he hoofed the sheet back to the lawyer.
"Thank you sir, with this evidence in my hoof I ask the jury, or rather that they imagine some reason why Clear Spark's mother, who says she loves him so much and cares for him would not know something as simple as Braille language to help her son, something that the ponies in the marking like Mr. Ocean learned to help the foal with his schoolwork, do you think a mother devoted to her visually impaired son would not know how to read or write Braille?, Chrysalis learned the language and it was she who wrote on this paper." The queen nodded her head.
"Your Honor, how can we be sure that Chrysalis wrote that paper in braille."
"Sir, you commented that she could write in braille, can you write something to check if Chrysalis can read it?". Asked the judge to the yak.
"Of course, if you provide yak with a sheet of paper, yak can do that."
The judge handed a blank sheet of paper to the Yak who started to write something and handed it back to the judge telling her in her ear what he had written.
"Ms. Chrysalis, if you would be so kind." The judge handed the paper to Pistil who passed it to Chrysalis.
The queen put the sheet on the table, closed her eyes, and ran her hoof a couple of times over the marked dots. "Yak... are... better... teachers."
"That's what it says, thank you Ms. Chrysalis." Said the judge.
"Can the jury have any doubt now whether or not Chrysalis cares about Clear Spark?". Pistil asked the jury to which they all murmured and gave Petal Dance a disapproving look.
The evidence by Chrysalis and witnesses kept coming in and Petal Dance had less and less in her favor, by almost four o'clock in the afternoon the judge saw the clock, she had to finish the trial for the day as she had another trial to preside over at four o'clock.
"We will continue the trial tomorrow morning at nine o'clock." The judge banged her gavel again and retired to her office.
Celestia was very upset with how the trial was going so far getting up from her seat and quickly leaving the courtroom.
"Sister?" Luna asked somewhat quizzically but Celestia didn't seem to hear her causing doubts to appear in the mind of the princess of the night.
Luna looked for Celestia around the castle but could not find her anywhere nor had the guards see her, intrigued by the reaction of her sister during the trial, the princess of the night flew over the city, and in the distance, she saw her sister flying in the north direction of the city, so she followed her to know what had happened to her.
When she was reaching her, she saw that Celestia landed in front of a luxurious house and knocked on the door, Luna landed in an alley and hid behind some dumpsters to see what was happening, Celestia knocked once more and a mare opened the door, to Luna's surprise that mare was Petal Dance.
Celestia entered the house and closed the door, Luna approached the house and looked out the window to see Celestia having a heated argument with Petal Dance, she then used her magic to make a bag appear dropping it on the floor and walking to the door, Luna quickly used her magic and teleported to her hiding place behind the trash cans to avoid being seen, Celestia opened the door and flew in the direction of the castle disappearing from sight, Luna came out of her hiding place, approached the house and knocked on the door, she heard footsteps approaching and opened the door.
"I told you Celestia, I'm doing what..." Petal Dance stopped her shouting when she saw who was in front of her. "...Ohhhh. Good afternoon Princess Luna."
Luna without asking permission entered the house and looked around noticing a purse quickly hidden behind a sofa.
"I couldn't help but notice that my sister came to visit you just a moment ago, could you tell me what was the reason for her visit?". Asked the princess with intrigue.
"It was a friendly visit only, nothing out of the ordinary." Replied the mare a little nervously.
"Surely you didn't talk about the trial between Chrysalis and you?."
"It was just a normal visit to see how I was feeling about not being able to be with my son all this time, I miss him too much." Petal Dance said distraught.
"You know perfectly well that your son is in my custody at the castle and you could have visited him whenever you wanted, but you haven't, are you going to tell me what's going on?" Luna approached the mare speaking more seriously.
"I really have nothing to tell you, it was just an ordinary visit, nothing out of the ordinary."
Luna flashed her horn and levitated the purse hidden behind the couch to where she was standing dropping it in front of Petal Dance, the purse opened upon impacting the floor shattering to the side and dropping coins.
"Last chance Petal Dance, talk." Luna said seriously.
"Are you threatening me?" Asked the mare with a frown.
"Threats are for cowards or weak-willed ponies and I don't have that problem." Luna approached the mare stepping on the coins as she walked.
"You know I know your sister and she is a very powerful mare, much more so than you." Petal Dance said confidently.
"That's possible but even Celestia needs sleep and I reign over everyone's dreams, including hers and yours."
"You are not capable of harming me, everyone knows you and will know what you did."
"I repeat, that I act, I am not telling you what I plan to do, I am telling you that regardless of what you do or say now, you are going to prison, I just want to hear what you say so I know how many years of nightmares I will give you." The eyes of the princess of the night showed no hint of doubt and the princess was a mare who kept her words, Petal Dance swallowed from nervousness and told everything.
"When your sister found out Chrysalis was getting out of prison she sought me out and ordered me to annul the adoption of Clear Spark to keep the queen in prison, I don't want to be a mother and I never wanted to be one, I really think he would be better off with anypony than with me." Petal pointed to the bag of money on the floor. "That bag is to pay some ponies to speak on my behalf as witnesses, seriously I didn't want any of this." Finished saying Petal Dance repentantly.
"Thank you for your honesty, now I recommend you talk to the judge and tell her the truth about everything, absolutely everything because the next time I see you walking the streets you will disappear and no one will look for somepony like you on the moon." Luna approached Petal just inches away from her. "And I remind you, I don't make threats." Luna left the house and flew back to Canterlot castle, she had to talk to one more mare.
Luna upon arriving at the castle flew to Celestia's room and landed on her balcony, she opened the windows and dramatically entered the room, Celestia was reading some documents and was caught completely off guard when she heard the windows open.
"Luna, how could you even think of doing something like that, you scared me." Said an already very upset Celestia.
"Sister we must talk." Luna replied.
"I can't right now, I'm too busy." Replied Celestia.
"I know what you did Tia, Petal Dance told me everything and I demand to know why."
"I don't have to justify myself to you Luna, I have other things to worry about." Celestia said without giving her sister much thought as she continued to go through her papers.
Luna used her magic to send all the papers Celestia had on the table flying causing the solar regent to become even angrier.
"I will not allow you to ignore me Tia, I demand to know the truth."
"Not now Luna, I don't have time for you." Celestia replied angrily as she picked up the papers from the floor with her magic.
Luna used her magic and again sent the papers Celestia had picked up flying.
"You will give me the time I need and you will answer my questions." Luna replied very annoyed with Celestia's attitude.
"You want answers?" Celestia asked angrily.
"I WANT THE TRUTH! Luna shouted.
"YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!". Shouted Celestia back, standing up from her seat. "Sister, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls must be protected by ponies with weapons, who is going to do it, you?, Twilight?, I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom."
Luna's eyes grew more serious as did Celestia's.
"Why do you keep her locked up?" Luna asked seriously.
"I fought against her in the attack on Canterlot, I fought and lost Luna, she outwitted our defenses, infiltrated our troops, and entered our home, I fought with everything I had and lost to Chrysalis, and the sympathy of all of you towards Chrysalis can curse us all and the only way I was left to protect us all is to keep that monster behind bars in any way possible." Celestia said annoyed.
"You do it out of fear?."
"Exactly sister, but not for me, I do it out of fear that she will attack somepony again and there is no one who can stop her because I know that every day she spends in prison is a day I avoid a catastrophe, that's why I do it, Luna, because I don't want to see anypony else suffer for what she once did."
"And what happens when Twilight gets stronger?, will you also lock her in a dungeon for fear that she might turn bad?, will you also do it to Starlight?, Discord?, if I do something you don't like, will you also lock me up?."
"I will lock up the ponies necessary to save this nation, Equestria is a strong nation and its regents must be strong too, if the other nations see that we are weak they will think of attacking us and I will not allow that."
"There is a fine line between monarchy and dictatorship, and you are very much on the edge, sister."
"Good thing that we don't have to settle that ourselves, tomorrow we'll know in court which of us is right." Celestia said with a grimace.
"It's too late sister, right now Petal Dance is confessing everything before the judge and Chrysalis will go free, she and Clear Spark will get the life they deserve."
Celestia frowned and approached Luna, but the princess of the night didn't flinch.
"When she tries to destroy us again I hope you remember that I tried to stop her and you were the one who set her free."
"If and when that day comes I will face the consequences as I always have and I will not hide behind a mask of fear as you do, sister."
Luna left Celestia's room and walked through the castle to her room, it was true what Celestia said, in the future, Equestria would again be under attack by somepony powerful but no matter what happened in the future the princess of the night was hopeful that when she had to defend Equestria from some danger, Chrysalis would be by her side helping her.
--------------------------------- Chapter 25 - The end of the trial and the talk. ---------------------------------
It was already eleven o'clock in the morning and everypony was present in the court except for Petal Dance, Celestia, and the judge, none of the three figures had arrived at 9 am as the judge had indicated the day before and no one knew why they were missing.
The door of the office was opened and everyone stood up, the judge went up to her seat and looked at everyone in the room, she looked a little tired and irritated.
"I am very tired and I will try to explain everything as simply as possible, and since I don't want to have to do it individually to each lawyer, to MS Chrysalis, and the jury, I will tell them all at the same time and I hope they will be prudent and keep discretion."
Everyone in the courtroom murmured as to what the judge was referring to, will an accident have happened to Petal Dance?.
"Last night I was sleeping when Petal Dance came to my house and almost kicked the front door in, of course, I opened it and immediately Petal Dance threw herself on the floor telling me a story that she had never cared about Clear Spark and everything she had said in court was lies, she showed me a sack full of money that she was going to use to pay ponies to be witnesses on her behalf, from all the evidence shown at the trial and the way she spoke last night I didn't have much room to doubt her word."
"Your honor, this is unpresentable and I would like to speak to my client to find out-."
The judge raised her hoof indicating to Petal Dance's attorney to calm down and allow her to finish what she was saying.
"Bottom line, Petal Dance last night insisted on dropping the foalnapping charge on Chrysalis, and insisted that I immediately put her in jail for foal care neglect, so counselor, I admire and appreciate that you risked your career following our code where everypony is entitled to a defense, whether they deserve it or not, and to your good fortune you no longer have to defend that mare." The lawyer sighed relaxed and put his things away. "And Ms. Chrysalis, you are free to go and join your son, you have left no doubt that you will be a good mother and I wish you luck in the future for both of you, case closed." The judge banged the gavel and picked up her papers before returning to her office.
The whole group approached the queen and hugged her for the victory even though no one knew why Petal Dance had changed her mind and no one at the moment cared to find out.
Chrysalis for her part did not understand what had happened but she had won, for all intents and purposes of the law, she is free and she is a mother, now she could go wherever she wanted and do whatever she pleased, and in her mind, there was only one place she wanted to be.
"I must go." Said the queen rising from her seat.
"Where are you going?" Twilight asked.
"I must go see my son, I have an important conversation with him." Replied the queen somewhat nervously.
"I'm going with you, I told you I would support you when you talk to him and that's what I'm going to do." Replied Cheerilee
"Thank you." The queen hugged her friend and walked quickly out of the court when she heard a voice call out to her.
"Ms. Chrysalis, may I have a word with you, judge to queen if I may."
The queen approached the judge alone, thinking that something bad had happened, will it start all over again?.
"Is something wrong judge?" The queen asked with concern.
"Nothing to worry about." Said the judge approaching the queen and speaking very softly. "It's just... I have a... friend and her boyfriend is a... he's not a normal pony, and she wants to know if... it's biologically possible for them to... you know... if they can..."
"A mare can have intercourse with a male changeling with no problem, but if it's a stallion and the changeling is a female, it's a little more complicated to get action in bed, I hope that information will be helpful to your friend." Chrysalis knew exactly which mare the judge was referring to.
"Great, thank you for your help, have a nice day." Replied the judge with a smile and retreated to her office.
"Did something bad happen?" Red Bug asked the queen who was on her way back after talking to the judge.
"The talk of the bug and the fruit." Replied the queen, to which Red Bug quickly understood but left the whole group in doubt. "So shall we go?" Asked the queen.
"We're all with you." Twilight replied.
"I'll go talk to the judge to make sure everything is correct and give my signature if necessary." Pistil said before heading to the judge's office together with Petal Dance's lawyer, it was curious to see two such different beings sharing the same principles of justice.
Chrysalis nodded her head and walked purposefully through the castle in the direction of where she knew her son was, but each step was slower and less confident, each step made her heart pound harder and filled her with nervousness, she didn't want to do this, but she had to, as she turned in the direction of the castle she knew her son was in, She didn't want to do this, but she had to do it, when she turned the last corner she leaned on the wall to get herself together and breathe, her friends were next to her supporting her, she was not alone, she kept walking and slowly opened the door where her son was, in front of him was Princess Luna, both playing with some Petlings.
Luna stood up and approached the queen. "Nice to see you Chrysalis, good that everything went well for both of you." Said the princess in a low voice so as not to disturb the little one playing.
"What are you doing here Luna?" Asked the queen in the same tone.
"I was waiting for you, I knew you would come here when the trial was over, and I'm here to give you my support and also to play with Clear Spark for a moment, I gave him a very special Petling, limited edition, I have a friend who makes them and he asked me for help to move to Canterlot, in return I asked him for something unique to commemorate Clear Spark's new life."
"Did you know that the changelings are slowly starting to live with the ponies?." Chrysalis thought that was a well-hidden secret that only she and the changelings knew.
"Of course, how do you think I got the information about your new life so fast?, and now the changelings as they know that you can live quietly without fear of hiding, many will take your example and slowly lose their fear and show themselves as they really are."
Luna moved closer to Chrysalis and hugged her tightly.
"You unknowingly changed everyone's world for the better and I am eternally grateful to you for that." Luna let go of the queen and turned her gaze to the foal who was playing happily. "But now it's time for you to finish changing your world for the better and we are with you to help you."
"Thank you, Luna." Said the queen with a smile.
Chrysalis slowly approached her son while all her friends stayed a little further back to give them some privacy, Clear Spark was playing with her new Petling which was a little bigger than the others and had the shape of a certain queen.
"H-hello little .... did you miss me?." Said the queen nervously.
"Ms. Chrysalis?" Asked the colt raising his head and looking in the direction of the voice that spoke to him.
"The one and only."
"Ms. Chrysalis, I missed you so much." Shouted the colt getting up and running towards the queen until he bumped into her and hugged her. "I missed you very very very very very much."
"I missed you too little one." Said the queen hugging the colt back.
"I was told that you were in prison because you did something very bad and then you were released, and then you went to prison because you separated me from my mo-." The colt was silent and hugged the queen very tightly, the queen could feel the pain of the colt in the embrace and hugged him tightly too.
"Clear... honey... I have something important to tell you."
"I did something wrong didn't I?, that's why my mommy doesn't want me with her right?."
"No honey, you didn't do anything wrong, it's just..."
"It's because I'm always getting lost in the city, mommy always got mad when I got lost."
"It's not that either, it's just that your mother..."
"It's because I'm blind, mommy always got mad at me because I'm blind, I know that's why she doesn't love me, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THE SAME, SHE DOESN'T LOVE ME BECAUSE I'M BLIND, I COULD NEVER DO ANYTHING ALONE AND THAT'S WHY NO ONE LOVES ME-."
"STOP!" Shouted the queen startling everyone and stopping Clear Spark before he continued talking and hugged him tightly. "Please don't go in that way, please don't." Said the queen softly with tears in her eyes as she slowly stroked her son's head. "Please you must understand that none of this is your fault, you did nothing wrong, please...I want you to understand that...please."
The queen kept caressing her son while they both cried, Chrysalis tried to contain herself but it was useless, she didn't know how to comfort her son and she couldn't stop crying, she tried to tell him the truth in the best possible way but she had failed, luckily she wasn't alone.
"What Chrysalis is trying to say is that some mares like Petal Dance were not born to be mothers, and other mares were born to be mothers, Chrysalis is one of them and she is willing to be your mother if you let her." Said Red Bug approaching.
"B-but I'm blind, and I'm always going to-."
"Everyone is different in one way and another, you are a unicorn and Chrysalis is the queen of the entire race of changelings, you're two completely different beings but that didn't stop you from being able to live together and bring out the best in each other." Twilight replied.
"Plus you have other qualities that no one else has, you're smart, you're a quick learner, you're easy to make friends with, you know a lot about botany, you have an impressive smell, I wish your audition was better for my classes but your knowledge in history can easily put professors from the most prestigious universities in Equestria to shame." Cheerilee commented.
"From the first day Chrysalis saw you she cared about you, and she hasn't stopped, she fought for you every day and never gave up, she didn't know it but she had an emptiness in her heart that you filled with your love, maybe now you don't understand it but the one who is hugging you right now is your real mother and no matter what you say or do, she is not going to stop loving you." Luna said finally approaching the group.
Chrysalis was still full of tears as she hugged and caressed her little boy, she was grateful to have such good friends and wanted to tell them but her dry throat wouldn't let her speak, Clear Spark with tears in her eyes buried his face in the queen's chest.
"Please don't leave me." Said the colt crying.
"I'm never going to." Replied the queen in kind.
This was not the conversation the queen expected to have with her son, but it was a conversation that both needed to hear, the girl's words reached deep into both of their hearts making them understand that there was always someone by their side to help them in difficult times and that they would never be alone, after a few minutes Red Bug, Cheerilee, Twilight, and Luna left the room leaving Chrysalis and Clear Spark hugging and sharing the love they felt for each other.
The next morning Chrysalis was walking happily through the castle with Clear Spark on her back, both had a bright future ahead of them.
"So what do we do now...Mom?" Clear Spark asked as they walked out through the castle gates.
"First we go back to our home in Ponyville, after that...I don't know, we have a world waiting for us."
--------------------------------- Chapter 26 - The trap. ---------------------------------
Chrysalis was on the train with her son, and both were happy but for different reasons, The queen because she could finally live her life with her son and Clear Spark because he knew he had a mother who truly loved him, he did not want to recognize it before but deep down he knew that Petal Dance did not care about him as a real mother should do for her son, not as Chrysalis cared for him, and that made him happy.
Chrysalis looked out the window at the scenery while Clear Spark slept on her lap.
"What do you plan to do when we get home?" Cheerilee asked.
"What do you mean?." Asked the queen with intrigue.
"I mean your old job as queen and all that."
"I'm going to keep doing it from home like I've been doing it all this time."
"Remember what Princess Luna said, now that it's going to be made public that the queen of the changelings lives in Ponyville, many changelings are going to want to live in cities in Equestria, I know several who want to live in Ponyville right now." Red Bug said.
"That's true, your life change is an inspiration for everyone and changelings have the right to live among ponies, I know problems will arise at some point and friction will appear between ponies and changelings but I think we can all live together, even though I'm going to need your help on this issue."
"I will give you all the help you need Luna, this lifestyle is much better than the one we had before, I know not everyone will want to leave the security of the hives, but I want those who do leave to have and feel the same security."
"Then we will be able to live in Ponyville?."
"How many want to move here?" Asked the queen.
"As I recall about twenty specifically want to move to Ponyville, including me."
"And why do you want to move to Ponyville?"
"I like it here, lots of clean air, lots of things to do, there is a group of three fillies who are always trying new things and my boyfriend lives here."
"Twilight, do you think twenty changelings might move to Ponyville?".
"I know there are a few houses left for sale but I think there are about a dozen, if some can live together for a while or if they help in the construction of more houses there should be no problem, even though that subject we should talk it over directly with the mayor, she knows how many houses are uninhabited."
"Then when I can I'm going to go talk to her at the mayor's office, and I'm also going to have to do legal-." Chrysalis paused as she remembered that all her papers were forged, she knew this would get her into new trouble.
"After everything that's happened, I don't think you'll have much trouble getting your papers legal after all the Clear Spark adoption one serves perfectly well as a maternity one, the birth one can be done at one of your hives and sent in, the medical paperwork you already have, you just need the residency one but for that, you just need to do the name change at the mayor's office."
"That's good to know, I didn't want to think I'd go back to prison for forgery."
The group laughed softly so as not to wake the colt.
"Don't you miss living in the hives?" Twilight asked.
"Sometimes I do, they were my home for a long time and my race's home too, I know every hallway, every room, every sound, I could walk through them with my eyes closed without getting lost, I miss my old room and my old throne, my old war room, and my trophies, it was cozy and a safe place to come to, I liked living in the hives like all changelings."
Chrysalis looked down to see her little one sleeping peacefully between her paws.
"But I also had many things I didn't like, like the cold and dark nights, the humidity in the corridors, the hundreds of ponies whose destiny was to be a source of food, the always hungry changelings, and the eternal search for food, the fearful changelings when failing some mission I sent them to do, and also the terrified ones who hid in some corner just not to run into me, there are many things I don't miss about the hives."
"But of all the places you could live, why did you specifically choose Ponyville?, literally this is where most of your enemies lived at the time" Cheerilee asked.
"Red Bug, would you like to answer that question?, because your way of choosing the best and most discreet place for me to live was quite... original."
The changeling scratched the back of her neck and turned her head slightly in embarrassment.
"Well... I..."
"She literally covered her eyes and ran her hoof all over the map of Equestria until she stopped at an arbitrary point, that was her amazing selection criteria." Said the queen sarcastically.
"I had worked hard and was sleepy." Red Bug replied a little annoyed.
"It was three in the afternoon and you had stayed up all night playing, you even confessed to me that you were angry that they killed your character and you had to create another one."
"He was a level twelve bard, do you know how long it took me to get him up to that level?".
The group laughed again at the argument between the two friends.
When they arrived in Ponyville there was no one in town in sight, the group pretended to be surprised but Chrysalis knew exactly where everyone was and pretended surprise as well, after all, she didn't want to disappoint her friends, the group walked quietly through town passing by the empty market, this caught Twilight's attention.
"This is strange." Commented the young alicorn.
"Is something wrong, Twilight?" Luna asked.
"It's strange that at this time in the morning, no one is in the market, it's usually full of ponies at this hour, even knowing that Chrysalis was coming back someone should be here."
"They're probably all hiding waiting for me." Replied the queen.
"Surely that's probably it." Replied Twilight as she continued walking with the group.
The rest of the trip was very quiet and uncomfortable, the whole time the group felt that something out of the ordinary had happened, even by Ponyville standards.
"I must say Pinkie took the job of throwing a surprise party very seriously, this gets to be a little scary." Said Red Bug.
As they passed the town hall Twilight and Cheerilee stopped and looked at the building for a long moment.
"Ok, this isn't normal, I've lived in this town for years and I've never seen that building empty, there is something strange going on here."
"Could it be some kind of monster attack?" Chrysalis asked.
"I don't know, but we'd better go see the hospital, surely a doctor or the nurses will know what happened." Twilight answered.
"Mom, where is everypony?, I don't hear no one." Clear Spark asked as they all walked towards the hospital.
"I don't know son, but we're going to find out." Replied the queen.
The group stopped in front of the hospital and they couldn't hear anything from inside either.
"I'm going to go investigate." Said Twilight approaching the building cautiously.
"Be careful Twilight." Luna replied to which the little alicorn nodded her head before entering the hospital, a minute later she exited the building.
"Did you find anyone inside?."
"Yes and no."
"What do you mean?"
"All the patients are in their beds or on some couch sleeping but I didn't find any doctor or any nurse."
"Is this some kind of Discord joke?."
"I don't think so, he's never bothered the patients or medical staff at the hospital, besides Fluttershy knows how to keep him at bay on his jok-." A golden-colored magic beam hit Twilight directly in the face knocking her out instantly.
"What was that?" Cheerilee asked.
"Heads up, it came from the forest." Shouted Luna who opened her wings and flew into the sky but was attacked just like Twilight by a blast of magical lightning, she was able to dodge almost all of them but one hit her in one of her wings making her lose her balance and allowing those lightning bolts to hit her body directly, falling to the ground and knocking her unconscious.
Chrysalis turned around and took a defensive position, Red Bug and Cheerilee did the same and stood next to the queen.
"Sorry to ruin your special day but I really can't allow you to be free, I tried to stop you without raising suspicion but Luna wouldn't let me, so I had to take a more... direct approach, you're too dangerous to be at loose." Said a tall white figure coming out from the forest.
"What did you do to Twilight and Princess Luna?". Cheerilee asked.
"It's just a simple sleeping spell, of course, it's not as effective as the ones my sister uses, but they'll be asleep for hours just like everyone else in the village, I don't want anyone to intervene." Celestia replied.
"Cheerilee, Red Bug, take Clear Spark and run to the forest."
"But what will happen to you." Red Bug replied.
"I'll be fine, I'll finish with Celestia and look for you in the forest, she wants me, not you." Chrysalis carefully crouched down a bit allowing Clear Spark to get off and settle on Red Bug's back."
"Ohhh, so you don't want to use that little guy as an excuse like you've been doing all this time?."
The group bristled at Celestia's words, and Cheerilee took a few steps forward but was stopped by a hoof from the queen.
"Mama I want to stay with you." Clear Spark said.
"Honey, stay with Cheerilee and Red Bug, and do what they tell you, mama will be coming for you soon." Chrysalis approached her son and kissed his forehead tenderly. "I promise I will come for you."
The queen nodded her head and the two mares ran at full speed into the forest with Clear Spark, Chrysalis stretched her limbs and prepared for battle.
"You don't care to know what drove me to seek this final solution?".
"It's because you're afraid and jealous of me, but I don't think you're a jealous mare, even if you are a cowardly one."
"You are on the verge of disappearing from this world and yet you dare to be insolent."
"And what do you plan to tell the other princesses when they wake up and find out what you did?"
"They'll come to understand over the years."
"And Clear Spark, will you send him back to his mother?"
"He can live with Cheerilee for all I care."
"And the changelings who want to live in peace, will you eliminate them too?"
"I will eventually, your whole race has become a personal nuisance this last while."
"I thought you only had a grudge against me because of Canterlot, but I see you are crazy."
"That's possible, but I'll worry about that when you're no longer in this world." Celestia said before attacking without warning with her magic at Chrysalis.
The queen jumped to the side to avoid the solar monarch's magic beam, Chrysalis didn't know how to use teleportation or magic shields like Celestia, but she was much faster, more cunning, and had much more combat experience than the sun princess, and she knew how to use that to her advantage.
Chrysalis flew and threw a bolt of lightning at Celestia which she easily dodged hitting the ground and kicking up a large amount of dust. "Your aim is worse than I remembered." Celestia said coughing a little because of the dust.
"Who said I miss." Replied the queen quickly transforming into a mouse and running at full speed towards the princess taking advantage of the smokescreen, jumping at the last second and transforming into a giant moose, hitting Celestia directly and sending her flying several feet to the side.
Celestia screamed from the blow that had clearly hurt, she angrily got up from the ground and dusted her body.
"Stupid vermin!" Celestia shouted before taking flight straight towards Chrysalis.
The queen also took flight and was rapidly approaching Celestia, but the princess disappeared at the last second to appear behind the queen and hit her in the back, Chrysalis fell to the ground but used the inertia to stand up quickly and jump, dodging a magical ray of Celestia, Chrysalis launched several magical rays impacting on the wings of the princess, making her lose her balance and falling heavily to the ground.
Celestia screamed again as she fell to the ground and as she got up she could feel a sharp pain in her right wing, apparently the queen's attack had broken her wing and eliminated her aerial advantage, but she still had tons of magic inside her.
The princess began to gather a large amount of magic in her horn and planned to launch a sizeable direct attack against the queen, and Chrysalis for her part also began to gather a large amount of magic to respond but at that moment a mare came running out of the forest and stopped between the two figures in combat.
It was Cheerilee, she was covered in wounds and branches from running at full speed through the forest, she was very tired and turned to look at Chrysalis.
"CHRYSALIS!." Shouted the teacher almost panting from exhaustion. "It's the hydra, we need your help."
Chrysalis dispelled the magic from her horn and entered the forest at full speed.
"Where do you think you're going you stupid bug?" Celestia shouted as she saw Chrysalis run into the forest.
Cheerilee turned her head and looked Celestia straight in the eyes, the teacher didn't bother to hide the disappointment she felt towards the princess for everything she had done so far, she then ran back into the forest at full speed hoping to make it into time and save Clear Spark and Red Bug.
--------------------------------- Chapter 27 - Solar breakdown point. ---------------------------------
Chrysalis was an excellent tracker and knew the forest to perfection, so following the broken branches and Cheerilee's hoofprints was not much of a problem for the queen, jumping rocks and bushes Chrysalis moved at full speed, Cheerilee came much further behind, trotting slower and breathing deeply, the life of a teacher did not help her physical condition, Celestia for her part occupied her time to use a regenerative spell and fix her broken wing before returning to the pursuit of the queen.
Chrysalis stopped to look for more traces of where Cheerilee had passed when in the distance she heard screams and a loud crash, without thinking she ran in that direction, and moments later she found the scene she feared the most.
Red Bug lying unconscious on the ground, Clear Spark desperately moving her trying to wake her up and the hydra slowly approaching its two victims.
"MAMA!!!!" Clear Spark shouted in desperation as he forcefully moved Red Bug in a futile attempt to wake her up, the changeling had received a heavy blow that knocked her unconscious.
Chrysalis moved quickly and stood in front of Clear Spark and Red Bug to face the hydra.
"Easy son, mommy is here." Said the queen.
"Mommy, you made it." Said Clear Spark happy that his mother had arrived.
"Yes, just stay still and try to wake up Red Bug, I'll stop the hydra."
The colt nodded his head and began to move the changeling vigorously to wake her up, while the queen fired bolt after bolt of magic at the giant beast trying to scare it away, but it wasn't an easy task as the four heads of the beast attacked in no apparent order and made it very difficult for the queen to defend herself.
"Well well well, I didn't expect such a favorable scene." Said a female voice from above.
"Really Celestia?, I'm trying to save my son from a monster and you won't help."
"The only monster here has always been you."
Chrysalis cursed her luck as she saw that her problems had only doubled.
"I hope you don't mind but I don't intend to waste this opportunity, don't think I enjoy this but it is necessary for the safety of my nation that you are not in it."
Celestia launched a continuous magical lightning bolt, forcing the queen to respond in the same way and allowing the hydra to attack the queen freely as she could not defend herself from two flanks, the monstrous beast made its attack and the queen could only close her eyes and wait for the worst, but she could only hear a gigantic roar and when she opened her eyes she could see how the hydra had fallen to her side being unconscious.
Chrysalis and Celestia stopped and turned their heads to see a dark night figure fly up and stop next to Chrysalis, next to her came Twilight Sparkle.
"Chrysalis, take your son and go with Twilight to safety, I'll deal with my sister for now." Luna said stepping forward.
"How come you woke up so fast sis, that spell was supposed to put you to sleep for hours." Said Celestia annoyed.
"I have mastery over the dream world Tia, do you think a simple sleeping spell could stop me?." Luna replied.
"I'm sick of you interfering in my plans, step aside and let me finish what I started."
"I will not be moved sister, you directly attacked two princesses of Equestria and consciously put the life of an innocent at risk, now you are not in the best state of mind and I am going to stop you." Luna launched a magical bolt of lightning which Celestia replied in kind causing them to explode in the air causing a shockwave.
Chrysalis tried to cover her son but it wasn't necessary thanks to Twilight's magical shield.
"Chrysalis take your son and let's go." Twilight said carrying Red Bug with her magic and pulling out of the combat zone.
Chrysalis quickly grabbed her son and settled him on her back making sure he didn't fall off before following the alicorn, a little further ahead was Twilight looking around a little confused.
"I don't know this area of the forest, which way do we go?."
"This way Twilight, follow me." Said the queen before starting to run in the same direction they had come from, Twilight was following a little further behind, further ahead they found Cheerilee who was leaning against a tree resting and catching her breath from running so much.
"Cheerilee, follow us this way." Twilight yelled to the teacher without stopping and disappearing from sight.
Cheerilee complained about her bad luck and started trotting in the direction Twilight told her to go. "Must...do...more...exercise....ufff!" Said the teacher as she breathed a little strained from exhaustion.
As they left the forest Chrysalis stopped abruptly on the road and pulled her son down to check if he was hurt.
"Are you okay?, are you in pain?, do you have any wounds?, how many hooves do you see?" Said the queen checking her son thoroughly all over and slowly moving a hoof in front of his face.
"Mom, I'm fine and you know I can't see." Replied the foal taking the hoof from the queen and putting it down.
"I'm sorry, I'm just a little nervous."
Twilight appeared a few seconds later and stopped next to Chrysalis, putting Red Bug down gently and taking a couple of breaths to recover.
"Are you both well?" The alicorn asked.
"We are fine Twilight, thank you for your help." Replied the queen.
"You're welcome, can you take care of your son and Red Bug?, I must go help Luna, I'm sorry to say but Celestia must be stopped." Twilight said regretfully.
"Go Twilight."
The princess nodded her head and used her magic to teleport to where Luna and Celestia were, Chrysalis looked around and searched for a place to put Red Bug to rest and recover, she saw a nearby tree by the side of the road and took Clear Spark and placed him under the shade of the tree.
"Wait for me a moment sweetie." Chrysalis went to get her friend and also placed her under the shade of the tree, the queen wanted to help stop Celestia but her priorities now were to take care of her son and her friend.
"Mom, why is the princess doing this?". Foal asked.
"Celestia is obsessed with my past and cannot understand that I have changed, she cannot accept that she is wrong and that I now seek only to live in peace."
Chrysalis could see in the distance the magic rays that were lost in the sky and hear some explosions, but she couldn't do much at that moment, a few minutes later Cheerilee appeared from the forest and walked to the queen panting with every step, she reached the shade of the tree and collapsed next to Red Bug.
"I'm fine... I'm fine..." Cheerilee said taking a deep breath to recover.
"Cheerilee I need you to take care of Clear Spark and Red Bug, I need to go help the girls."
"Go...I...I got it..." Cheerilee replied motioning with her hoof.
Chrysalis ran through the forest in the direction of the explosions, she didn't want to leave her son alone but if they didn't stop Celestia, she or her son wouldn't have a peaceful future, but when she arrived the battle was almost over.
On one side was an exhausted Luna next to a beaten and very tired Twilight, both very attentive to the movements of her opponent, but was not Celestia, on the other side was a tall figure of a cream color, orange eyes, a pair of fangs, a mane and tail made of pure fire, large wings, a longhorn, and her Cutie Mark was a sun that shone brightly, the figure could barely stand and was panting heavily.
Chrysalis approached her friends and stood at her side without losing sight of the new figure in front of her.
"Who is she?" The queen asked.
"She calls herself Daybreaker, but she was my sister a few minutes ago."
"And what happened to her?"
"I'll explain later when we stop her."
"This is what you wanted, isn't it?, my own student and my sister to turn their backs on me?, you wanted to gain their trust with lies?, you wanted them to betray me?." Daybreaker asked exhausted and struggling to stand.
"I don't want any of that Celestia and I told you many times, I just want to live in peace just like everypony else."
"Don't call me Celestia, you damned vermin, I am Daybreaker and I will stop you even if it is with my last breath, I will not allow you to continue to taint my nation with your presence."
"My nation?" Luna asked intrigued.
"Exactly Luna, I no longer need you or anyone else, I am powerful enough to protect it from all of you."
"Celestia I'm not trying to take over anything, I just want to liv-."
"Lies, your life has always been lies, ever since I first saw you you have always tried to take over my Equestria, do you think I don't know that hundreds of your changelings are hiding all over the nation waiting for your orders?, you already tried to destroy us with a frontal attack and you couldn't do it, you tried to impersonate my niece but I found you out, I know that now you are trying to make us all believe that you have changed while your changelings are infiltrating all of Equestria with smiles and open arms, and I will not allow it, I know it is a trap I am going to stop you once and for all." Daybreaker took a step forward stumbling and almost falling to the ground.
"Stop sister, you can't win."
"I won't Luna, as princess it is my duty to protect Equestria from all threats and after I am done with her I will hunt down every one of her minions." Daybreaker tried to light her horn to attack but she was too tired and only managed to release a few sparks before panting again from exhaustion.
"I am a princess too and I also took that sacred vow to protect our nation from all threats., and that's what I'm going to do now." Luna lit her horn and cast a quick spell that Celestia couldn't dodge knocking her down instantly.
"What spell was that Princess Luna?."
"A sleeping spell, a good strong one, my sister will be unconscious for a couple of days."
The three mares approached an unconscious Daybreaker and Luna concentrated for a second and summoned an inhibitor ring on Daybreaker's horn.
"And what are we going to do about... Daybreaker?" Chrysalis asked.
"I'm going to send her to the moon for a thousand years, then I'll figure out what to do with my sister when she returns."
"WHAT?" Twilight asked.
"Is there a problem?" Luna replied.
"You can't send your sister to the moon for a thousand years."
"You're absolutely right, because condemning someone to live in solitude for a thousand years because of a mental breakdown would be VERY bad, wouldn't it." Luna didn't bother to hide the sarcasm.
"Emmm... I'm sorry, it's just...she's been like a second mother to me and... I never thought she would do something like that, I always saw her as somepony full of kindness and understanding" Attempted to answer the young princess somewhat embarrassed.
"It's ok Twilight, you don't have to be ashamed, we used to have other ways to punish crimes like these, we grew up in other times with different standards, I still find it hard to get used to today's habits, do you find it ok if we lock her in the dungeon until we find a solution that makes us all happy?".
"That's fine by me."
"Don't forget that Chrysalis is also involved, she has more right than us to decide on my sister's fate, it was she who tried to kill."
"I have no hard feelings against your sister, but she consciously endangered my son's life, and I will not forgive her for that."
"Then let's go back to the others, then we'll see what to do."
The three mares walked through the forest following the queen until they came out and arrived where Clear Spark, Cheerilee, and Red Bug were, the queen approached her son and hugged him tightly.
"What is that thing?" Cheerilee asked pointing at the unconscious mare.
"Daybreaker, my sister's evil counterpart."
"And why does it look like that?, what with the fire and all."
"Every creature can succumb to its dark side but alicorns having great magical power manifest it in a physical form more easily in their bodies, like I did transforming into Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago, or my sister transforming into Daybreaker."
"So I can also transform into a mare of darkness?".
"Absolutely, just like Cadance or Flurry Heart."
"And what would they be called?" Red Bug asked.
"What thing?" Luna replied.
"What would the evil versions of Twilight, Cadance, and Flurry Heart be called?."
Luna thought carefully for a moment.
"Cadance would be HeartBreaker, Flurry could be FrozenHeart, and Twilight is... BookWorm?."
"I don't want to be BookWorm, I couldn't terrorize anyone with that name." Twilight commented with a pout causing the group to laugh lightly.
"So what are we going to do now?." Cheerilee asked.
"First I will take my sister to Canterlot prison, at this time she is not fit to lead the nation, her xenophobia could easily start a war against the changelings or any other race, but we must treat the whole matter as discreetly as possible."
"You know that's impossible, sooner or later the ponies will wonder why your sister is in prison."
"I know, but I'm not going to let her go free either after all she's done, she must pay for her crimes."
"And who will lead the nation if Celestia is locked up in prison?"
"Remember that I'm a princess too just like you, Twilight."
"I'm going to have to run Equestria?" Twilight asked in surprise.
"I'm not going to put you in the center of power if you have no experience, that I can do, but you are going to have to help with some issues and as you gain experience I will give you more responsibility over the nation, but as long as my sister is in prison we will both share power."
"Then I'll go back to my place, I want to make sure Clear Spark isn't hurt and make him something to eat."
"I'll go with you." Cheerilee said.
"I'll go to the village to wake up the ponies Celestia put to sleep, and early tomorrow morning we'll think of some long-term solution."
"I'll help Twilight, that's too many ponies for her to wake up alone." Red Bug commented approaching the princess.
"Then I'll come back early tomorrow after sunrise and make sure my sister didn't escape."
Luna said goodbye to the group and flew to Canterlot carrying Daybreaker with her magic, Twilight together with Red Bug headed to town, and Chrysalis with Clear Spark on her back went home accompanied by Cheerilee, the queen was very irritated by everything that had happened and she didn't want any more wars in her life.
--------------------------------- Chapter 28 - A welcome back. ---------------------------------
Chrysalis opened the door of her house and found a depressing scene, many balloons everywhere, food on the table, a table with some games, and a huge stereo, an excellent party was wasted because of Celestia, but the queen was not sad, the scene made her happy, even though nothing could be used, all this was prepared for her and her son, It was not the welcome she expected to have, but it was one of the best she had ever had because even though there was no one waiting for her, she could feel the feelings of her friends in every ornament, in every plate of food, in every record of music, wherever she looked she could feel the concern of her friends for her and her son.
"What a pity all this went to waste." Cheerilee commented as she entered the house.
"What was wasted?" Asked the queen bending down to get Clear Spark off her back.
"All this, the balloons, the food, the party, was supposed to make you and Clear Spark feel welcome."
"I feel welcome, they wanted to throw us a party without needing to, they prepared all this food and put up all these balloons to celebrate when I came back, I didn't ask them for anything and they still wanted to do all this for us, of course, I feel welcome, just because the party didn't turn out like we all hoped doesn't make it any less important." Replied the queen with a smile.
"It's good to know that the party did some good, even if Pinkie will be disappointed, she worked hard organizing it together with Twilight."
"Surely she'll be throwing a second surprise welcome party one of these days."
"I'd love a new party, with balloons and all my friends." Said Clear Spark jumping up and down in excitement complaining of pain as he fell on one of the jumps.
"I'd better check you over, I don't want to run into any surprises in the morning." Said the queen walking to the bathroom to get the first aid kit.
"Can I at least eat cake?"
The queen disguised that she was thinking of the answer to hide that she also wanted to eat a piece and not want to cook anything.
"I guess it would be bad to waste this food, we'll eat a piece after we check on you."
"Ok." Clear Spark sat on the ground while the queen checked him over and healed a couple of bruises and the occasional flesh wound.
Cheerilee cut a few pieces of one of the cakes and served them on the table for everyone to eat, but before anyone could get a bite they heard a knock on the door, the queen stood up from her seat and walked over to open it.
"Lyra?, Bon-Bon?, what are you doing here?" The queen asked.
"Hello, Chrysalis." Lyra greeted with her usual dynamism. "After Twilight woke us up she told us that you would be here and we wanted to know if you were okay, so... are you all okay?."
"Ummm... yeah, we're fine, together we were going to eat a piece of the cakes."
"Great, can we eat too?" Lyra asked cheerfully approaching the door but being stopped by a cream-colored hoof.
"Lyra... you can't just invite yourself into a house." Bon-Bon said looking at his companion disapprovingly.
"And why not?" Lyra asked intrigued and blankly.
"It's okay, this was supposed to be a party and we have a lot of food that we're not going to be able to eat, come in both of you, there are plenty of dishes in the kitchen, help yourselves to whatever you want."
"Thanks, I can't wait to eat Pinkie's lemon cake." Said Lyra entering the house without worrying about anything else, Bon-Bon sighed defeated, and went inside a little later.
"Sorry about Lyra's impulsive personality, sometimes that mare drives me crazy." Bon-Bon commented.
"That's how love relationships are... we are attracted to their attributes and fall in love with their flaws." Replied the queen closing the door while a blushing Bon-Bon preferred to say nothing and go on her way.
The queen sat back down at the table when she felt someone else knocking, she stood up again and opened the door.
"Hello, Derpy, Dinky what brings you here?."
"Hello Queen Chrysalis, Twilight told me what happened and we wanted to know how you and Clear Spark were doing."
"We are fine thank you, we were going to eat some cake when Lyra and Bon-Bon arrived, would you like to come in too?"
"We would love to, I know Pinkie made some chocolate muffins I want to try." Replied the pegasus entering the house next to the little unicorn.
"Come on in, make yourselves at home." Said the queen closing the door and returning to the table when she heard another knock, opening it it was AppleJack next to Apple Bloom.
"Hello Chrysalis, we heard what happened and wanted to come and see how you are doing, well... I wanted to come early tomorrow morning so you could rest but Apple Bloom insisted on coming today."
"CLEAR SPARK IS OK?" Asked the filly yelping and quickly turning red. "I mean...as a friend I'm concerned for his safety and wanted to know how he's doing."
"He's fine, a little banged up but nothing serious, he's at the table eating next to Dinky, if you want you can help yourself to some cake and join him." Chrysalis stepped aside and Apple Bloom could see Clear Spark talking very animatedly with the little unicorn causing Apple Bloom to quickly enter the house and head for the kitchen in search of a plate.
"Sorry to bother you." Said AppleJack
"Don't worry, it's good that Clear Spark's friends are coming to see him too, even though I don't think my son and your little sister will be mere friends for long." Replied the queen causing a chuckle between the two.
After the farm mare entered and Chrysalis closed the door she headed to the table again but a strange feeling made her turn back to the door and open it just as another pegasus was about to knock.
"Hello, Fluttershy."
"hmmm... hi...."
"Would you like to come in?"
"Yes...thank you."
The pegasus entered the house but before the queen closed the door out of simple curiosity she looked outside and saw that several ponies were waving at her from afar as they walked home.
"I'd better leave the door open..." Commented the queen to herself as she returned to the table wondering if there would be a free chair left to sit in.
During the rest of the afternoon, more and more ponies were arriving, almost the whole town was present and the party was bigger than expected, they had to move some tables to the backyard with the food so everyone had more room to move or dance, all the little ones were playing in Clear Spark's room while the adults were having fun dancing downstairs, some ate too much, and some had too many drinks, Rainbow Dash with a few glasses of cider on top had an argument with Chrysalis for dancing with Soarin when it was her turn insisting at every moment that it was not jealousy, ending up monopolizing the pegasus during the whole night, Soarin for his part did not look upset, the little ones with the permission of Chrysalis and other parents ended up having a sleepover, and some were already too tired or somewhat drunk to return to their homes so they fell asleep on the couch or simply where they were.
The next morning Chrysalis felt a knock on the door and got up from her bed to find out who it was, she slowly opened Clear Spark's door to check on the little ones before walking down the stairs, she walked quietly and opened the door of the house, to which a couple of chickens and a goat flew out, surprising the one who knocked.
"Did I miss something?" Luna asked intrigued.
"Pinkie's party." Replied the queen.
"And why the chickens, and... the goat?"
"Please don't ask..." Replied an embarrassed yellow pegasus as she walked out of the house. "...I'm sorry about what happened, I'll come by this afternoon to clean up, come on Harry." A huge bear appeared behind the queen and with a bit of work left the house and along with the rest of the animals followed Fluttershy back to the cottage.
"Last night we found out that there are certain cakes that bears are not supposed to eat." The queen moved to the side allowing the princess to enter the house. "And how is your sister?"
"Furious, she tried to break the bars of the dungeon with her hooves, and then tried to bite them while muttering something, I think she was cursing you."
"It was to be expected that reaction when she woke up after what happened yesterday, do you want something to eat?."
"I'd love to, I always delight in the snacks prepared by Pinkie Pie, and Twilight came back to the castle?". Asked the queen helping herself to a piece of cake.
"I don't know, she was here last night." Chrysalis looked around but didn't see the princess of friendship. "Twilight, are you here?" Asked the queen into the air.
"MmmmmMMMMMmmm..." Said a voice complaining from behind a couch.
"Are you feeling okay?" Luna asked.
"Mmmmm... AppleJack's super special cider sure hits hard."
"You better eat something, we need to talk about what happened yesterday and what we're going to do about Celestia."
"How is she?" Asked a hungover Twilight as she sat down at the table and the queen served her a piece of cake and a glass of juice.
"Angry would be putting it mildly, after I locked her in the dungeon I woke her up and tried to talk to her, but it was no use, she still thinks she's right and that she's the only one who can save Equestria."
"But we can't leave her locked in the dungeon forever either."
"There's still my plan to send her to the moon for a thousand years." Luna said eating a piece of cake.
"We're not sending Celestia to the moon." Twilight replied drinking the juice almost in one sip.
"Twilight is right, we won't solve anything by sending your sister to the moon, besides I want her to understand that my race is no longer a threat to Equestria and that we want to live peacefully, and I can't do that with her on the moon, also the ponies will see that we changelings are not spiteful and it would help me a lot that image." Replied Chrysalis as she poured more juice for the young alicorn.
"So you plan to set her free?".
"When I feel that she finally understood that we are no longer evil I will consider dropping the charges for endangering my son's life, until then I don't plan to let her out of prison."
"So my sister will stay in prison serving a sentence while we try to reform her, any ideas on how to do the second part?". Luna asked as she drank some juice.
"The conversation with Princess Celestia was that bad?." Twilight said.
"I'm not knowledgeable in all the slang of this era but I'm sure she made up insults to refer to Chrysalis, some were very... They weren't suitable for minors."
"Then we need another approach to talk to Celestia, do any of you have an idea?."
"I think I know someone who might be able to help, but before Celestia meets her I would first like to talk to your sister alone."
"I also know someone who could talk to my sister so we could convince her to reform, so if you don't mind I would like to meet who you propose and compare it to who I have in mind, after all, we are talking about my sister's mental sanity and I want the best pony for that task." Chrysalis nodded her head before eating some cake.
"I don't have a problem with that, but I don't like the idea of Celestia being locked up for years in a cell, and if you agree I would like to propose something that I also think could help her not to feel betrayed."
The three mares continued discussing the subject for a long time until they reached a solution that would leave everyone happy, they discussed how to make Celestia's sentence public, the way to reform her, how the power would be administered between Luna and Twilight, and how they could integrate the changelings to the society.
After a few hours of conversation, the three of them came up with a solution, it was not the best plan but it was the safest in the long run and the first part of it was a conversation between Chrysalis and Celestia, face to face.
--------------------------------- Chapter 29 - A talk between black and white. ---------------------------------
A group of mares walked through the castle of Canterlot towards the dungeon, perhaps in another universe, or in some book, or if the events had simply happened differently one would think that this situation would be impossible, Chrysalis, Luna, Twilight, the bearers of the elements, and a changeling walk to the dungeon in an attempt to recover Celestia from the darkness of her heart and try to make her understand that the dark figure in front of her is no longer her enemy.
The guards paced the group of mares and to keep as much discretion as possible moved the other offenders to another area of the castle, the group wanted to be alone with Celestia when they used the elements.
"I can't believe we're going to do this." Commented a light blue pegasus.
"Use the elements on Celestia?". Rarity asked.
"Exactly, I've read a lot of adventure books and always the first plan ends up backfiring."
"We're not in a made-up story Rainbow, this is real life and we can't assume the worst because of what you read in a book."
"You did exactly that the first day you came to Ponyville, remember?." Pinkie Pie said.
"That was different, that book said Nightmare Moon would come back to destroy Equestria." Replied Twilight.
"My plan was to envelop Equestria in eternal night, of course, that would destroy the current ecosystem killing most of the plants and losing crops, causing starvations, generating wars, plagues, diseases, and deaths, but it was never my intention to destroy Equestria."
"Good to know you didn't mean to destroy us Luna, in retrospect, that plan sounds fabulous." Chrysalis said sarcastically.
"It wasn't one of my better plans."
"My point is, do you think it's necessary to use the elements on Woa!...." Stopped speaking a surprised Rainbow as she saw the glow coming from the last cell of the dungeon.
As they approached they saw Daybreaker inside who was looking carefully at the whole group.
"Greetings sister, how are you feeling today?" Luna asked.
"Counting the seconds I've been locked in here you traitor." Daybreaker replied.
"You'd better-."
Daybreaker leaped forward interrupting Chrysalis and trying to attack her but is stopped by the bars of her cell, scaring the whole group.
"Don't you dare open your mouth you damn bug, when I get out of here I'll have fun smashing your head and the head of every one of your race." Daybreaker shouted from her cell stretching her legs as far as possible trying to reach Chrysalis.
"Ok, we really need to have an intervention here." Commented AppleJack.
"Alright girls, what we came for." Twilight said to which the rest moved a little to the sides allowing the group of six mares to work their magic.
"YOU DO NOT HAVE THE POWER TO DEFEAT ME!." Daybreaker shouted.
Twilight concentrated along with the rest of the main six gathering all their magic and shining with intensity, making everyone had to cover their eyes, then a magical beam of many colors shot straight at Daybreaker.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Daybreaker shouted as she received the attack directly covering everything in a bright light.
Seconds later when everyone could see and the smoke dissipated was in the cell Princess Celestia getting up with difficulty.
"OHHHH YEA!" Rainbow shouted. "One more point for the good guys."
"Thank you girls, now that my sister is not under the influence of her dark side, we can continue with the next part."
"It was my pleasure princess." Twilight replied before retreating with the rest of the girls, in the dungeon there were still Chrysalis, Luna, and Celestia left in the cell.
"I'll be outside." Luna said before retreating.
Chrysalis waited for Princess Luna to close the door behind her before she began to speak.
"Celestia we need to talk."
The princess was locked in a cell and without her magic couldn't help but listen to the queen but she could ignore her and that was precisely what she did as she lay down on her bed with her back to Chrysalis.
"You should be thankful for the situation you find yourself in, Luna wanted to send you to the moon for a thousand years, and I wanted to lock you in Tartarus for an undefined amount of time, it was Twilight that convinced us to use the powers of the elements on you and let you stay in Canterlot."
Celestia for her part made no movement, only that of her mane and tail rippling magically through an invisible wind.
"At some point, you're going to have to talk to me, you're not going to be able to ignore me forever and I may as well be here waiting for you to listen to me."
Celestia was still turning her back on the queen without saying anything.
"Why can't you believe that I have changed?, is it so hard to understand that I want a different life now?, what is going on in your head that you can't accept the fact that I am not your enemy now?."
Celestia settled her pillow without paying attention to the queen.
"You know, in the beginning, I did intend to use Clear Spark for my benefit and I suffered a lot when he left with his mother, I had to do a psychological treatment to get out of the hole I was in and I really thought I had left all that behind, I started to make new plans of attack and I went back to infiltrate Canterlot, everything was going perfectly but I didn't expect to meet Clear Spark again, he was living in very bad conditions, and I knew that if I left him in that place it wouldn't be long before I would regret the worst, hell, he might not have lived a week and I wouldn't have been able to live with the guilt, so I took him out of that place and raised him like a son. "
A long silence was generated between the two monarchs in which neither of them said anything...
"And you think that for saving an infant from an incompetent mother I should thank you?, embrace you and open the gates of Canterlot for you as if nothing?" Celestia asked with annoyance.
"That was never my intention either, I just want to take care of him and give him the life he deserves, but you don't want to let me, and I want to know why."
Celestia just remained silent.
"Twilight seeing how I took care of Clear Spark and gave me a second chance, Luna did too, even Cadance who was the most affected of all could see past her hatred and could understand that I have no bad intentions, you are the only one who doesn't and I want to know why."
Celestia continued to remain silent.
"DAMN IT CELESTIA!" Said the enraged queen banging on the bars of the gate. "ANSWER ME, WHY CAN'T YOU ACCEPT THAT I HAVE CHANGED, ANSWER ME!" Shouted the queen breathing heavily for several seconds in which neither of them said anything.
"Do you really want an answer?" Celestia asked turning only her head to look at the queen.
"Yes, I'd like to hear one coming from your mouth." Chrysalis replied a little calmer.
Celestia got up from the bed and moved closer to the bars until she was face to face with the queen.
"Because for as long as I can remember I have fought you, you have created plan after plan to conquer Equestria and I have always managed to stop you, many times paying very high prices, you destroyed cities, and you have also destroyed lives, you have separated families, for centuries I have suffered watching you delight in seeing the suffering of the innocent, I can no longer remember how many houses I rebuilt and how many families I helped to overcome the pain of a loss, a loss caused by you, and always knowing that at some point you would attack again, you would destroy everything again, and now you expect me to believe that you have changed because you felt pity for a blind colt? , don't make me laugh." Finished Celestia with a grimace.
"His name is Clear Spark, and he is much more than a blind pony, try to remember that." Chrysalis replied angrily.
"His name doesn't really matter, I know it could have been anypony, the fact that he was blind only helps your story, it makes it look more... credible, but I know it's a lie, you have always come to attack and will continue to do so, you have always used everypony to your advantage and you have never shown mercy or an interest in changing your ways, why should I believe that now you did?"
"Because it's the truth, I never thought a little colt would change my life and my changelings' lives for the better but it did, now we all want peace, and when we achieve it you choose not to accept it, you continue to cling to your fears of the past and don't want to see the future we all want to create."
Celestia and Chrysalis were silent for a long time.
"Nice words and they will probably work on others, but not me, surely you are happy, you removed a piece from the board, I know at some point you will attack and the only thing I will regret is that I failed to stop you." Celestia said before lying back on her bed and turning her back to the queen.
"In that you are wrong, I no longer seek conquest, I and my race want to live in peace alongside the ponies, we are tired of hiding and being feared, we just want to live free and enjoy the things that for centuries I did not allow my changelings because I was afraid."
"Then we will have to wait and only time will tell."
"I think there is nothing left to discuss with you Celestia, whether you want to believe me or not is completely up to you and my words only reflect the truth, but before I go I have somepony I want to introduce you to and we all believe that could help you change your mind."
Chrysalis withdrew from the dungeon and allowed Red Bug who was in his real form to enter.
"Hello my name is Red Bug, I am a psychologist and I would like to talk to you if I may." Said the changeling with a smile.
"I have nothing to talk to somepony like you." Celestia replied disdainfully from her bed.
Red Bug thought for a second before smiling back.
"Then I guess I'll take my leave then, I thought you might like to meet Mr. Cuddles, but I guess you don't, have a nice day." Red Bug said before slowly retreating.
"You seriously think you're going to convince me to talk using cheap reverse psychology and a silly teddy bear?."
"Why does everypony think Mr. Cuddles is a bear?." The changeling wondered intrigued. "See you tomorrow princess, and I'll come with company." Winked before retreating from the dungeon.
"I'm not going to listen to a changeling just because she's coming back with a stuffed animal... whatever it is."
Celestia settled back on her bed lamenting her situation and thinking about her conversations today.
Luna was waiting for Chrysalis as she came out of the dungeon, next to her is Twilight and the rest of the girls.
"Do you think Red Bug can help my sister change her mind about you and the changelings?."
"I haven't the slightest doubt."
"And how long do you plan to keep Princess Celestia locked up in the dungeon?."
"When I feel that she is no longer a threat to me or my son I will accept Twilight's idea of allowing her to move more freely about the castle."
"And you're okay with that Princess Luna?".
"She attacked me, endangered an innocent, and proclaimed herself the sole regent of Equestria, the law dictated sending her to the moon and it was Twilight who convinced us to give her more freedom, but she no longer holds any power as a princess and her magic is sealed until Chrysalis, Twilight and I agree to remove the inhibitor ring."
"And how long do you think that will be."
"Only time will tell Rainbow."
"And what do you plan to do now Chrysalis?". Twilight asked.
"I have to go back to my house to clean up, it's school week and I don't want Clear Spark to be late, remember my house is full of cake and drink stains everywhere."
"Hey, I had to prepare a welcome home party, it's not my fault you came in on a Monday."
"Can I at least borrow your Party Cleaner 3000?."
"Sure, just don't use the turbo mode, it's missing a few settings."
The group walked to leave the castle each with different things on their minds, the girls thinking and talking about the incredible wave of events that had happened so far, Twilight thinking about her unexpected promotion to princess regent of Equestria, Luna on whether her sister could accept that Chrysalis was no longer a threat to Equestria, and Chrysalis with the hopes that finally the roller coaster of incidents would end its ride.
--------------------------------- Chapter 30 - An unexpected life. ---------------------------------
Chrysalis was walking very attentively through a completely dark corridor full of smells and some strange sounds, she was looking for somepony in special and she knew he was inside, the queen walked carefully but nothing she did could prepare her for that place, suddenly she hit with one of her hooves a big and very heavy object making the queen scream in pain.
"AAAHHHHhhhhh, stupid pots!" Shouted the queen angrily kicking the object again with the same hoof and only causing it to hurt much more. "SPARK!." Shouted the queen.
"WHAT!." Shouted a voice back.
"For once in your life can you turn on the light in this place?." Asked the queen irritated as she rubbed her front paw.
"AND WHY WOULD I DO THAT?"
"I don't know... to see?."
"And you think that would help me?." Replied the voice with a chuckle.
"Just turn on the light, will you?, I hit one of your pots again."
"Give me a second." A horn lit up at the end of the hallway and shone several crystals on the ceiling and walls. "Better?" A stallion approached the queen, he was light brown with a light blue mane and somewhat long tails and a Cutie Mark of a flower with multi-colored petals, he was none other than Clear Spark.
"Yes, thank you."
"Did you hurt yourself?"
"No, it just hurts a little but it will pass in a couple of hours." Replied the queen rubbing her hoof.
"Ok, give me a second." Said Clear Spark turning around and walking down the long hallway filled with pots and plants of all kinds.
The unicorn walked confidently dodging the pots on the floor and smelling everything in his path, suddenly he stopped and approached a plant to his side, he smelled it carefully and read a wooden sign written in braille that was next to the pot, knowing that it was the plant he needed, he used his magic to cut one of its long fat leaves before returning to Chrysalis, the plant as if by magic regenerated the cut leaf in seconds as if nothing had happened.
"Give me your hoof." Said the stallion to which the queen obeyed. "This should heal your pain." Clear Spark pulled out the inside of the leaf and smeared it over the queen's hoof. "Do you feel better?"
Chrysalis upon feeling the substance on her hoof stopped hurting instantly and looked as if she had never been hit. "This.... much better, what plant is that?." Asked the queen in surprise.
"It's a new variation of Aloe I'm working on, it can regenerate superficial wounds and take away the pain in seconds but I haven't been able to get it to germinate fertile seeds, and the only plant that exists so far is this one here."
"That's impressive, do you have any idea of the medical breakthrough you could make with a plant like that?".
"I know, that's why I'm trying to reproduce it and Zecora has helped me a lot in hybridization."
"That's why you go to the forest so often with Apple Bloom?, apparently, she's also interested in learning about reproduction." Commented the queen with a chuckle.
Clear Spark turned completely red and dropped the plant to the ground.
"I-I... we just... it's not what you think... we're just going in search of..."
"Easy baby, you're both adults and it's normal for you to want some privacy, what you do or don't do with your girlfriend is none of my business."
"Could we not talk about my private life?, and how did it go in the Crystal Empire?"
"Well, Flurry is very nervous about her new job as a princess, she doesn't have the same duties as the other princesses but she is learning little by little."
"Good to know, I was never interested in politics and stuff, this little place is all I need." Said Clear Spark referring to his greenhouse. "I think I can help more ponies here than on a throne."
"You know you can always participate in running some hive, and something interesting happened in town while I was gone?."
"Discord and Starlight found the hidden magic lake, luckily we were able to stop them before they finished their discussion of which of them would be the best at having a clone."
"Then I didn't miss much."
"Not really, although Apple Bloom wanted to know if you could go to dinner at the farm when you got back, she wants to discuss something mare to a mare with you."
"That's strange, did she tell you what it was about?".
"She didn't want to tell me, but I heard her very nervous when she asked me to let you know."
"Then I'll freshen up and go to the farm, thank you for the medicine." Said the queen retreating from the greenhouse.
"It was a pleasure to try it on you, if you have any unusual symptoms please let me know."
"Any unusual symptoms?, should I be concerned?."
"Only if you experience irritation, swelling, headaches, nausea, change in skin tone, or mane loss."
"Am I your guinea pig?" The queen asked intrigued.
"No, I tried it first with General Whiskers, but she didn't seem to mind." Clear Spark replied, referring to an obese, completely hairless cat sleeping peacefully on the table.
"At least she won't be shedding any more hair on the couch, see you later." the queen left the greenhouse and walked towards the house.
"Take care mom." Replied the unicorn closing the door after Chrysalis left.
About thirty minutes later Chrysalis walked in the direction of the Apple farm, the town was filled with many new faces since Chrysalis and Clear Spark moved here almost ten years ago, many changelings wanted to move to Ponyville and the queen thought there would be some problems because of the large number of changelings, but soon after the queen found out that most of them already had friends in town and some had mates, and they didn't want to have to travel so far to see them, Red Bug was one of the first to arrive.
When the queen arrived at the farm she saw AppleJack sorting some boxes and loading them onto a cart.
"Good afternoon Aj, can I help you with that?".
"Hi Chrissy, I'm almost done, and what brings you here?, I thought you were still at the crystal empire helping Flurry with her new job."
"She wanted some advice only and I didn't want to overstay my welcome, besides she has to learn from Cadance how to run the empire, but I came because Clear Spark told me that Apple Bloom invited me to dinner today and to talk about something important, you know what that might be?"
"Ohhhh... the talk." AppleJack said with a chuckle as he rearranged the last box. "We'd better get in the house, you'll want to sit down for this." AppleJack walked into the house accompanied by Chrysalis.
AppleJack opened the door for her and Chrysalis to enter. "Apple Bloom, I'm back, is Big Mac back?" The mare asked before closing the door.
"He said he would be back late and not to expect him for dinner, so it will just be the two of us." Answered a voice from the kitchen.
"We're going to need a third plate on the table because I'm having company."
"It's Rainbow again?, tell her next time she comes for dinner, she's going to have to cook it."
"It's not Rainbow Dash, it's Chrysalis."
"SHE'S HERE?" Apple Bloom shouted in surprise, throwing a bunch of stuff and making a clatter in the kitchen, AppleJack, and Chrysalis quickly approached.
"Sweet Celestia, are you okay?." AppleJack asked helping his sister up.
"Yeah, I just stumbled."
"It didn't sound like a simple stumble." Added the queen as she helped pick up and tidy things on the floor. "At least you didn't get burned." Apple Bloom was getting nervous with every word the queen said.
"Be careful sis, you know you can't push yourself too hard since-."
"APPLEJACK!" Shouted Apple Bloom looking at her big sister, making the queen a little nervous.
"Should I come back another day?" Asked the queen.
"I think...you'd better stay for dinner." AppleJack replied.
Dinner was very quiet and uncomfortable, AppleJack had finished eating and hadn't said anything, only her gaze flicking between the queen and her little sister, Chrysalis who was on one side of the table had almost finished eating, and Apple Bloom who was across from the queen hadn't touched a bite.
"I must say dinner was... interesting." Said the queen.
"And there's still the best part to come." Replied AppleJack with a grimace looking at her sister to which Apple Bloom just looked back at her angrily.
"Right, what did you want to discuss with me?". Asked the queen to the young mare.
"I...mmm...I..." Tried to say Apple Bloom who was very nervous.
"Apple Bloom." Said the queen. "I've known you since you were little and you've been dating my son for years, we're family, so I don't know why you're nervous." hearing the word family Apple Bloom turned completely red, something AppleJack didn't overlook.
"Ohhh... I like that word, family, it sounds so... familiar, because families get to know each other, they generate bonds of friendship, then they grow up and-."
"APPLEJACK!" Shouted Apple Bloom interrupting her older sister and her pun.
"Sorry sis." Replied AJ with a giggle. "I couldn't help it, besides you know you're going to have to say it sooner or later, and I recommend early."
"What do you want to tell me?" Asked the queen with intrigue.
"I want to... marry your son..." Said Apple Bloom very softly and full of embarrassment.
"What did you say?." Asked the queen approaching Apple Bloom.
"That I want to... marry your son..." Repeated the mare.
"Really Apple Bloom, I don't understand anything you say." Replied the queen.
"I LOVE YOUR SON AND I WANT TO MARRY HIM!". Ended up shouting Apple Bloom.
"YOU WHAT?" Shouted back the queen in surprise. "I-I'm fine with that but that's a subject you hav-."
"I'M PREGNANT!" Shouted Apple Bloom again interrupting the queen.
"YOU WHAT?." Chrysalis shouted again in surprise.
"AND I WANT TO LIVE IN YOUR HOUSE!" Shouted Apple Bloom a third time.
"YOU WHAT?." Repeatedly shouted the queen.
Both mares took a few shaky breaths as they calmed down.
"So what do you say... mother-in-law?" Apple Bloom asked scratching the back of her neck and looking to the side.
The queen took a deep breath until she relaxed, coughed a couple of times to clear her throat, settled back in her chair before resting her front paws on the table, and earnestly looked Apple Bloom straight in the eye.
"The first thing I'm going to do is...pass out." Was the last thing the queen said before collapsing to the side.
A few minutes later the queen woke up, she was lying on a couch and Apple Bloom was throwing wind at her with a fan, Chrysalis with a little work and the help of AppleJack was able to sit up on the couch.
"You're really heavy, you know that?." AppleJack said. "You gave us a lot of work to bring you to the couch."
"Thank your little sister." Replied the queen who held her hoof in a fan that Apple Bloom was waving vigorously. "You can stop now, thank you." Apple Bloom for her part only blushed.
"So..." Said the young mare impatiently waiting for the queen's answer.
"We'd better go to my house, we're going to need to build a new room if you're going to have a baby and I'm going to need AppleJack's help for that." Said the queen with a smile.
"Really?" Apple Bloom asked with a big smile.
"Really." Replied the queen.
"OHHHHHH, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." Replied Apple Bloom hugging the queen very tightly.
"Apple... Bloom... mother-in-law... like... breathe." Said Chrysalis between gasps with what little air she had.
"Ohhh... sorry, I'm just so excited."
"I understand, and did you already tell Spark?."
"Emmm... no, other than my family you're the first to know."
"Well, you'd better tell him right now." Apple Bloom blushed again.
After a couple of minutes of walking, the three mares arrived at Chrysalis' house.
"Spark, I'm back!" Shouted the queen.
"AND HOW DID IT GO WITH APPLE BLOOM?" Replied a voice from the second floor.
"Very well indeed, but you'd better come downstairs, we need to talk."
"Are you going to tell me what she wanted?." Clear Spark asked as he descended the stairs one step at a time.
"She'll tell you herself." Replied the queen.
"She came with you?"
"She and AppleJack."
"And what did they all come for?" Asked the stallion as Apple Bloom came up to him and tapped him on the shoulder before kissing him on the cheek.
"Apple Bloom wants to tell you something important, and you'd better sit on the couch." AppleJack replied with a chuckle.
"And why on the couch?."
"Believe me you'll thank her later." Replied the queen with a smile.
Soon after it was known that the queen had won the trial and was free to walk around Equestria without the need to hide, the changelings of Ponyville also stopped hiding and could live without fear for the first time, now they were everywhere as well as in other cities in Equestria, some legal problems arose in labor issues, and marriages, but Princess Luna helped greatly in speeding up the laws to be recognized as citizens of Equestria.
The years showed Celestia that she was wrong about Chrysalis and the changelings, and after serving her sentence she also helped but in other ways, not holding the power of a princess she wanted to atone for her faults by helping in the integration of the changelings and being the first defender in cases of abuse, It was a surprising change considering that she was the one who did not trust the queen or her race from the beginning, but the former princess was happy with her new life, being away from power after a thousand years on the throne helped her to change her perspective of the world and she was able to connect on a more personal level with the ponies she loved so much.
But even over the years she couldn't get over the shame of distrusting Chrysalis and putting her son's life at risk, and to this day she hasn't been able to talk to the queen or Clear Spark, but Red Bug was helping her through it, and both the queen and the unicorn had told her more than once that there were no hard feelings.
Luna on her part reigned Equestria with the nobility and justice that characterized her, sometimes being implacable with minor crimes, but Twilight although she had the habit of losing control of her emotions, put the dose of compassion when it was necessary, or applying a hard hoof when Luna was not able to do it, each princess complemented the other and between them, they reigned Equestria with wisdom and prosperity.
The queen's life changed a lot in a very short time just like everypony else's where sometimes things that seem insignificant create a cascade of events that no one expected, much less Chrysalis, but she is happy where she was now, it was long and difficult road, where hundreds of good and bad things happened, but the queen would not change anything, she was happy with her unexpected son.
