The letter levitated in front of the pure white Princess as her eyes scanned the page for the thousandth time. Her brow was at an all-time low; her usual smile had been pulled back to the angriest scowl a pony could manage. Her eyes held pure flames as she re-read the letter Queen Chrysalis had sent her a few short hours ago.
" 'Celestia is the snow that melts beneath heat!?' " Celestia exclaimed furiously as she paced back and forth within the room. Princess Luna watched from the other side of the room, losing count of how many times her sister had repeated the line after the second or third thousandth. Celestia lifted her head from the letter, settling her glare on her sister. Though the stare was not directed to her, Luna felt herself grow uneasy as Celestia spoke up,
"I am snow that melts when heat is present?" The blue alicorn shifted from side to side on her haunches, unwilling to add her own opinion in the matter out of fear of what her sister would do to her.
Her aqua eyes shifted to her sister's mane as it began to change color, taking on a reddish tint. "That miserable. . .Bug! She thinks her caverns are so 'gruesomely damp' now? Wait until her new chambers are dark and damp!" the agitated Princess growled loudly to her sister, who leaped to her hooves.
"Sister! Thou art not proposing what we thinkest thou art!" Luna cried. Celestia looked deeply into her sister's eyes, the dark blue pools closing in fear as the white Alicorn mare stepped towards her younger sister threateningly.Luna opened her eyes slightly to see her sister peering over her. Celestia's steely gaze was trained on Luna as she cowered beneath the Sun Goddess.
The fiery mare opened her mouth to say something spiteful towards her sister, but seeing the look in Luna's eyes, Celestia closed her mouth and her jaw as she continued to stare dangerously at her sister.
Several minutes passed while the two were in this position until a knock sounded at the door. "Come in," Celestia ordered, not bothering to look up from her frightened sister as Luna remained aghast beneath her.
Having heard of the letter, her curiosity got the better of her and she was delighted to receive notice from her beloved Princess Celestia to hear that the letter included her. Practically skipping, she stepped into a scene she quickly wished to abandon as she looked upon the two royal sisters.
Celestia lit her horn up and her magic began to flare as the letter seemingly lifted itself before flying towards the lavender princess. Once the letter was close enough to read, Twilight wasted no time in looking through it.
She tore her gaze from the letter as a sorrowful "Oh. . ." left her lips. Her old mentor, Celestia, still had not moved from in front of the Lunar Princess before her. Looking around, Twilight strove to avoid eye contact with anypony. Cadence was too busy; the Crystal Empire required too much attention and she wouldn't isolate the needs of her loyal subjects for a day, even if it meant she was able to see her aunts.
Princess Celestia slowly moved her gaze towards Twilight; Luna relaxed as the glare was passed from her to the youngest princess in the room.
"Twilight," Celestia's voice dripped with a paucity of annoyance and animosity as the usually calm princess thought over the letter once more. "I suggest you gather your 'Rainbow' friends to macerate this bug for me and for all of Equestria, once and for all."
Twilight looked at the princess; her gaze slipped from Luna who looked at her dejectedly before returning to her old mentor, the one she trusted most. Quickly nodding her head, Twilight turned and headed for the door. Just before she opened it, she heard a voice so acidic she thought her ears would melt from hearing the sound.
"And Twilight? Do not let this 'Rainbow'," the extra emphasis on 'rainbow' seemed necessary in Celestia's mind to reiterate how serious she was, "fade."
Twilight nodded, leaving the two older princesses to fight whatever battle lay left. She quickly planned a trip to Ponyville to deliver the news that her were needed.
Dear Princess(s),
I recently got your letter. 'Help us paint a better picture of you. Help us paint a prettier picture of you.'
It may have not been what you meant to imply, but as the rain drips down the combs in my hive and makes its way down to my gruesomely damp chambers, it is hard not to imagine what you meant.
I've seen your propaganda; a prettier picture of me? Please. I am only pretty when I am in another individual's form and even then I cannot match their beauty perfectly. That is not the picture you wish to see of me? Well, neither is the 'bug' pony your people speak of when they mention me.
Or perhaps it is in your views? Would a prettier picture of me in your view be beetle juice running down the sidewalk as the rain mixes with it, forcing it into streams and puddles to be forgotten and out of the way? I am nothing but a mere bug to you and your subject, something you want to squish under your hooves.
What you sent to me probably holds less meaning than what I make of it, but this isn't the first time I've been baited by you and your kind and the last time certainly was the last.
This 'bug' is willing to fight back. You won the last time; my veins still boil at an alarming rate as the lava-like blood flows through them just at the mention of your prior victory.
The salinity in your words burn my tongue, Princess(s). Your words are like the water in the oceans. So full of promises and potential until you finally get into it; it seems to be a nice gesture until get your feet wet. It burns wounds, it heals nothing, and there are dangers everywhere.
My dear Princess(s), when you read this, know that I mean no harm in these words. There are no hidden threats and no poison on the paper. I am stating that you will never paint a pretty picture of me; your propaganda will stay the same. As long as my wings still pierce through the air in flight, we will be enemies. There is no friendship between us, so do not pretend it is so.
I am the bug. Celestia is the snow that melts beneath heat. Luna is the traitorous night that freezes hearts and is unsure of her own. Cadence is the heart; the heart which breaks once it hears an inkling of bad news.
And Twilight? Twilight is merely part of the rainbow, as are all of the Elements of Harmony.
But rainbows fade, Princess(s). Never forget that. Snow melts, nights turn to day, hearts break, rainbows die out, but bugs? Bugs repopulate.
Your favorite Queen,
Chrysalis.
