It had been months since Canterlot was invaded by changelings, and the attacks were all but a distant memory for most ponies living there. With the last of the repairs to the city finally complete, and no sign of a changeling since they had been defeated, Celestia could breath a sigh of relief. With the night taking hold, and her daily duties complete, Celestia approached the door to her chambers. At each side of the door was a guard who stood like a statue. Celestia opened the door with her magic and walked into her chambers without so much as acknowledging the guards, just as she does every night.
After entering her chambers, Celestia closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief that her duties were over night. She was looking forward to a few hours of reading before retiring for the night. Looking over the pile of books on her desk beside an always-burning fireplace, Celestia heard a voice behind her.
"Hello, Celestia."
The multi-toned voice was easily recognizable. Celestia whipped around 180 degrees to face the threat.
"Chrysalis! GAURDS!"
The doors flung open as the two guard rushed in, each one bearing a spear. Chrysalis had anticipated this is how things would go down. She raised a hoof, closed her eyes and turned her head slightly to the side. "Be calm. I'm just here to talk. Talk and nothing else." Celestia put down her front hoof, opened her eyes, and faced Celestia once again.
"Then talk." Celestia said, with her trademark frown.
Chrysalis didn't talk, but instead looked at each guard. Celestia took the hint and motioned the guards to leave the room with a flick of her head. The guards promptly left the room and closed the door. Motioning toward the large pad on the floor, both Chrysalis and Celestia laid down facing each other so they could talk more comfortably. A moment passed before the silence broke.
"I need your help." Chrysalis said flatly. "We are running out of creatures to feed of their love in our homeland. Half of my pupa died from being ejected from Canterlot, and the other half is starving. As I'm sure you are aware, I am the last changeling queen. I need your help to ensure the survival of my species."
Celestia paused for a moment and considered how important this must be for Chrysalis. "And why should I help you? You attacked Canterlot and me personally. You ruined the wedding of my niece..."
Chrysalis knew this wouldn't be easy. She had practiced what to say a hundred times in front of a mirror. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, alright?" Feigning sorrow was not easy Chrysalis, especially considering the fact that changelings are incapable of feeling that emotion. "There were so few options available, and my pupa were starving. I was considering asking you and your subjects for a voluntary feeding, but I knew you would say no. I had no choice but to attack Canterlot. I'm sorry for what I've done and how I've behaved, but that is in the past. I need your help."
Ponies had relatively little research or knowledge about changelings, and Celestia was unaware that they were incapable of feeling sorry or regret. But it had made little difference since Celestia had not bought into Chrysalis' performance. "I do not believe you are sorry at all. And what are you asking of me, anyway? You mentioned a 'voluntary feeding?' What, am I to just let changelings feed off the love of my subjects without retaliation?"
"That is precisely what I had in mind. A few times a year, your subjects can donate love for us to feed off of. They will regenerate the love, and my pupa will survive. Everyone can win here. You have ponies donate blood, this is the same concept."
"Chrysalis, ponies donate their blood because they know it can help save the life of another pony."
"And just what is that supposed to mean!?" Chrysalis blurted out.
"It makes little difference. You attacked Canterlot without requesting an audience with me first. Your actions are unconscionable, and unforgivable. I simply cannot help you."
Chrysalis had anticipated Celestia's line of thinking, and had prepared her responses thoroughly. "Come now, Celestia...do you think I do not remember who occupied this territory all those years ago? All this land used to belong to the draconequus race. I watched as you and your sister destroyed them all, and turned their leader into a stone statue. I watched as you claimed the land for you and your sister. You did not seek an audience with discord for your attack."
"But that was different!" Celestia said, clearly on the defensive side of the conversation.
"Ha! Different how?!" Chrysalis knew she had backed Celestia into a corner.
"The Draconequus' were fowl and dangerous. My sister and I had no choice but to destroy them and take their land." Celestia had just realized she let out a factoid that she had never intended to release. She now had no choice but to stand by what she said as if there were nothing wrong with it.
In all the countless hours Chrysalis had practiced this conversation, she had never anticipated hearing such things from Celestia. Chrysalis didn't have any prepared responses available this time. "Is that why?"
"Is that why what?" Celestia enquired, knowing perfectly well what Chrysalis was asking.
"Is that why you won't help me? Do you think Changelings are nothing but fowl and dangerous, just like you think about the draconequus'?" Chrysalis started to show some anger.
"No, I never said that. You're putting words in my mouth."
"Am I? Then tell me, why will you not help me? Why will you not help save the changelings? I am not asking for much, just a few donation wagons, and maybe some bits for an advertising campaign. Why will you not help?" Chrysalis was getting angrier.
Celestia remained silent, and looked down at the floor, frowning.
"Tell me why you won't help me!"
Celestia remained silent, refusing to remove her eyes from the floor.
"Admit it! You won't help me because I'm a changeling! You think my pupa and I are fowl and dangerous, that is why you won't help!"
Celestia broke her silence. "No, that isn't it at all, you misunderstand!"
"Well then? What is the reason?"
Celestia did not appreciate Chrysalis leaning so hard into her with her questions. Celestia could not remember ever having someone be so direct and rude with her in her own chambers. "I can't tell you. You would just take it personally..."
Chrysalis was intrigued. "Personally? Will you not help save my species because you do like me, personally? You would doom my species for something so petty as not liking me?!? We hardly ever even communicate. You barely know anything about me, yet you don't like me enough to doom myself along with my species?!?"
Celestia couldn't take it anymore. It was truth time. "Chrysalis, I don't dislike you because you are a changeling."
Chrysalis' eyes widened a little. Angling her head slightly to the side and bringing her head slightly lower and closer to Celestia. Chrysalis knew the truth was about to be spoken.
"I dislike you because you are black." Celestia said gently, with a slightly lower volume than her normal speech.
Chrysalis' head shot back with surprise. Chrysalis's eyes were both wide-open and her bottom jaw dropped as low as it could go. Her wildly surprised expression lasted for seconds as they both remained laying in silence. Celestia felt ashamed, and looked to the side and at the floor again.
"What?!?!" Chrysalis said, after the moment of silence passed. "What did you just say?!?"
Celestia couldn't bear to look Chrysalis in the eyes. Still looking at the floor, Celestia spoke. "Please don't make me say it again."
"You know, Celestia, I can't help what color my exoskeleton is." Chrysalis banged her two forelegs together, which made a clunking sound as if two hallow wooden clubs were being hit together. "This is just anatomy. All changelings have black chitin. That can't possibly be the reason you won't help my species survive, can it?"
Celestia remained silent. Even though Celestia was looking at the floor, Chrysalis could understand that Celestia had told her the truth. Just at that moment, a green flame zipped into the room through an open window, and burst into a scroll right in front of Celestia. Chrysalis had never seen that spell before, and was wondering if it were somehow a trick.
"What is that?"
Celestia looked from the letter to Chrysalis, and back to the letter again. "It's a message from Twilight. I really should have a look at this, it may be important."
Chrysalis couldn't believe how rude Celestia was by letting a letter interrupt a potentially species-ending conversation. Still, Chrysalis didn't want to completely blow her already dwindling chances at survival, so she remained politely laying on the pad on the floor as Celestia unfurled the scroll. Celestia eyes darted back and forth as she read the scroll. Chrysalis couldn't determine the contents of the letter, but noticed Celestia frowning more and more. Celestia suddenly tossed the scroll into the fireplace. Chrysalis saw there was a lot of text on that scroll, and surely, Celestia couldn't not have read the entire scroll in such a short amount of time. Chrysalis wondered why Celestia would burn a letter from her most prized student before reading all of it.
"Surely, you remember Twilight Sparkle from the wedding, yes?"
"Of course."
"For years, I've been grooming her to become the next alicorn princess. There is such potential in her, don't you agree?" Celestia frowned. "Yet, it seems that whenever I feel she is just about ready for the transformation, she sends me a little note with some lesson she learned from Zecora. Every time she interacts with Zecora, I have to postpone her alicorn transformation until I'm sure she's really ready. The fewer lessons from Zecora, the better."
"Zecora?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Zecora is a Zebra who lives in the forest near Ponyville."
"Zebra?" Chrysalis had a blank expression on her face, wondering what any of this had to do with the conversation earlier.
"Oh! You've never heard of a zebra? They're like earth ponies, but not. Instead of having colorful coats, Zebras have stripes of white and...." Celestia's voice trailed off.
Chrysalis became annoyed. "Black?"
"Yes, that's right. They cannot perform magic like unicorns, and they can't fly like the pegasi. They're not as strong as earth ponies, either. Yet, they brew wicked and powerful potions. It is said that zebras do evil dances, and if you look them in the eyes, they can put you in trances, and they can gobble you up in a big tasty stew. I received a very informative letter from a pony named Pinkie Pie which describes the whole process in detail. I truly wish Twilight would just stay away from zebras so they do not interfere with her training."
Chrysalis was skeptical of the evil dances, trances and stew. "Do they love?"
"Zebras? I suppose they can, yes. But it is zebra love, quite different from pony love, I'm sure."
Chrysalis ignored the last half of Celestia's answer. "Where is their homeland?"
Celestia finally caught on that Chrysalis had a good idea formulating. "They come from a far away place." Celestia remained laying down, but scanned her bookshelf visually. Not satisfied with any of the books, Celestia decided to levitate a piece of furniture between herself and Chrysalis. It appeared to be a wooden piece of furniture with a flat disk on the surface. It appeared as a small, round table. Celestia stood up so she could look down at the top of the disk. Chrysalis followed suit. Chrysalis could see that it was not a table, but rather a painted map of the whole world.
"This is all there is. We live on the surface of this disk. Here is Canterlot. Celestia gestured towards a miniature portrait of the city on the mountain. Here is where you live. Celestia motioned towards the badlands. I believe, if you take this route through the mountains, and go to the south of Saddle Arabia, you'll find yourself in the homeland of the zebras."
"And you're sure that they have no magic?"
"Quite sure."
"I trust that, if you were to receive word of changelings attacking zebras, you would not come to their aid?"
"Of course not." Celestia replied.
"It seems that this has been a productive conversation after all. Thank you."
"Just one thing, Chrysalis. Twilight must never know that this conversation took place. Agreed?" Celestia was clearly worried that Chrysalis might reveal some of Celestia's most inner thoughts. Even Celestia's sister, Luna, was unaware of Celestia's feelings towards Changelings and zebras.
Chrysalis looked into Celestia's eyes and waited a moment. Oh one hoof, Chrysalis wanted to out Celestia for refusing to help her species survive. But on the other hoof, Chrysalis knew that the information she gained from Celestia may very well save the changelings. "Agreed. This conversation never took place. I will send scouts at once to verify the existence and exact location of the zebra homeland. Thank you. Perhaps we will meet again one day. And if we do, I'll be sure to be changed into something more...preferable for you."
Chrysalis opened the patio doors with her magic and flew into the night sky.
