Why Royals Watch the Shadows
“How did this happen?” The white Princess of the Sun stood on the balcony, looking at what remained of her castle. It was in ruins after her recent battle against the enemy. “NO! Not an enemy. My sister!” she told herself again, just as she had many times over the past week. No matter how hard she looked, she could not find any reason for why Luna had gotten so angry. “She knew our roles, did she not?”.
“perhaps it was not her completely, did you think of that?” came a voice from the shadows.
“WHO DARES ARGUE AGAINST A PRINCESS?!?”, she began, until she noticed the insectoid alicorn walking toward her, chuckling as it did.
“only a queen, my dear Celestia.”, it responded, completely unfazed by the Royal Voice. “Chrysalis...” not a name she had spoken in a long time. After a moment, though, she realized what the Changeling Queen had said, and was immediately enraged. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER?”
“Nothing, you temperamental princess. I merely asked a question. In fact, I came to offer my assistance.” Celestia was skeptical, as they had never gotten along before.”explain.” she demanded. “As you know, me and my kind are emotion eaters, and the more powerful the emotion, the better we feed. Your... sister... has a great amount of anger in her, and if me and my brood were to feed on that anger, her chances of escaping are less likely.” Still skeptical, the princess asked: “what do you stand to gain from this?”
“It's simple, really, not only do we feed for as long as we wish, but eternal night never comes around. As for you, princess, she won't escape, and we will stay away from your kingdom for as long as we feed.” Beginning to pace, Celestia said “I see. Your terms are... acceptable. So be it. I will allow you to feed off her anger as long as you stay away from my lands. If I find you have done anything more, I cannot be held responsible for the consequences.”
“Of course, princess, and you should know that the reverse is true as well. Alas, i've been away far too long. Farewell. Remember, also, that with this, you not only have safety for your little ponies, but you can find out exactly what happened with Luna.” and with that, she flew off.
Celestia began to search the castle once more, and as Chrysalis had said, there was elements of another presence somewhere in the castle, but it was so small that she payed it no mind earlier. It was obvious that if there had been any corruption, it had not been done there. Not in person, at least. The only hint was that Luna's room was oddly neat in areas, as though those parts hadn't been used in a while. Not finding anything definitive, however, and with her mind still in turmoil from what Chrysalis had said, Celestia flew off to do the new part of her job as Princess of the Moon as well, not a position that sat well in her mind.
“Princess... Princess!”
The Captain of the Unicorn Guard, Radiant Assault, calling her attention snapped Celestia out of her reminiscing. That meeting with Chrysalis had taken place a month earlier, and construction was nearing completion on Canterlot, her new castle and home. “My apologies, Captain, what did you want?” she asked, while noting how patient he likely was being. The mind of an immortal often retreats deeply into itself when remembering anything. “I was to inform you that the patrols you sent out still have yet to find anything about... the incident. Perhaps it might be best to use unicorn guards rather than pegasi? Though slower, they are more likely to note any magical presence.”
“Yes, that is true. Forgive me, my mind has not been entirely on my side recently.” agreed the Princess, as she began to walk toward the door. Radiant nodded. “No one blames you, Princess. You have taken on the jobs of two ponies, plus the extra efforts of when you personally lead patrols. I am only glad that there have been no hostilities with the changelings lately, though I wonder if that may not be the best thing.” Celestia felt a twinge of guilt upon lying to her most trusted captain, as that was nowhere near what Harmony is about, though she felt it had to be done. For the sake of her people, they must not know of her deal with the Changeling queen.
Chrysalis, at that time, was out on patrol herself. She and her adviser, Expy, were trying to find a way to magnify the emotions stolen from single ponies, so that eventually, when Nightmare Moon did escape, they wouldn't be facing a crisis. Unbeknownst to even Expy, however, it was also to be used on Nightmare Moon herself, as the moon was too far away for even Chrysalis to reach. “My queen, remind me again why we need to find this soon?” the curious changeling asked. “Because, Expy, once Nightmare moon escapes, we will need to have a way to get more food quickly, so we don't starve.” This only confused the changeling, though “if we want to get emotions afterward, why are we feeding on our reserves now? Shouldn't we save them for after?” That's a good question, thought the queen, maybe she's getting too smart for her own good. We shall have to see. Thinking quickly, Crysalis responded. “from what I can tell, the precious 'Princess of the night' will be stuck up there for centuries, maybe more. Long beyond the lifespan of an average pony.” Luckily, this seemed to satisfy the adviser. Perhaps not so smart after all. No mention of breeding food yet. “Perhaps we should return, my queen? We seem to be moving toward dragon territory.” Dragons! OF COURSE! Their hoards might have something useful! “You can return for now, Expy. I will be back shortly. I want only to check something first.”
Author's Note
There's a reason people often don't publish their first story they ever write. I'm not sure what it is, so I'm not going to bother. So... sorry if it sucks. first story, after all...