Peace at Last Shorts: Taking Time Off

by Prince_Staghorn

Rating: teen
Tags: Queen Chrysalis, Shining Armor, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Alternate Universe, Comedy
Length: 1197

Two old friends ditch their royal duties for one night.

The day before Stag returns from the events in Neighpon, Chrysalis has finally caught up with her paperwork, and now has the whole day to herself. Now, how to spend it?

It's been several months since the Changeling-Pony Peace Accord was signed, and Cadance is enjoying her marriage to Shining Armor. Sure, she'd like to have her own castle, but short of some lost empire popping out of nowhere, that's not happening. But the fact is, Canterlot's getting kind of boring...

Published 2014-09-12 15:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-09-12 15:30:02 UTC

AGAB

"I am so BORED..."

Chrysalis let out an exasperated sigh, somewhat glad that no one had actually heard her, as at the minute she sounded less like Chrysalis Roachanov, Queen of the changelings and Empress of Neighpon, and more like Chrysalis Roachanov the normal mare.

She had put her seal on the official Neighpon-Equestrian Trading Contract two days ago. Stag, Double, their kids, Twilight, Spike, and that guard Luna insisted on sending would be back here tomorrow. She had finished all her paperwork given to her by the two alicorn princesses. She had given her royal court today, though besides some disputes with a local farmer, nothing happened. She had arranged Ambrosia and Miasma's alliance with the promise of Stag providing a flesh-and-blood contract to each of them.

She was out of things to do... except talking to a friend of hers. Chrysalis briefly pondered.

She's nice enough to have forgiven me. I mean sure, I threw her in the caves, took her appearance, tried to marry her husband, and attempted a hostile takeover, but I wasn't in my right mind. Besides, it was a one-time fluke after two hundred-odd years of being friends, and she's too kind to hold a grudge. And she was nice to me those times before the Nightmare Nyx incident when we got together.

Chrysalis could only find one problem with her entire plan as she wrote the letter, tied it to the leg of a message raptor, and sent it flying towards Canterlot..

It's her husband I need to worry about...

Feeling an odd sensation in her gut, Chrysalis made herself presentable, then exited her room.

***

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or just Cadance to her friends and family, was bored.

Sure, Canterlot was great, and Shining was nice, but life in the castle had gotten a bit stale. A brief reprieve had come the day after the wedding when her father, Castellan, had come to congratulate her on the 'nice catch" she had made, before pelting his new son-in-law with water balloons, and other distractions had come in the form of her and Chrysalis pranking Shining last winter.

I'm glad she's back to normal. "Crazy" Chrysalis wasn't much fun, she thought as she moved a brush through her mane.

Cadance had found plenty of time to think about the changeling and what exactly had gone wrong, and rumors had confirmed it.^ She didn't blame Chryssie at all, but it was still a little hard not to be a tiny bit mad about the whole ordeal. Of course, a few months ago Shining had been controlled by Nyx and Cadance was on the run from the law, but Nyx was easier to forgive because she was a filly.

A feathered form landed at the bathroom window. Cadance looked at it.

The message raptor was a small, emerald creature, covered in feathers. Its wings sprouted three claws each, its long tail ended in a small fan of feathers, and its lizard-like head cocked to the side in a distinctly bird-like fashion. Attached to its leg was a small scroll. Cadance quickly read it.

Dear Cad,
Finally got finished with the stupid paperwork and stuff. Bored now. Want to hang out tonight? If you do, meet me under the bridge in Canterlot's park. I've got an idea. Remember "BYOSP?"
-Chryssie

Cadance was grinning ear to ear when she read that last part. She wrote down her reply before sending it back. Three words.

I'll be there.

***

It was easy for Cadance to hide. it was all a matter of clothing, though the hoodie did feel a little constricting due to not having any wing holes. She looked around. Right place, right time, but where...

"I was wondering when you'd show up."

Cadance whirled around. There was Chrysalis... wearing a yellow shirt, backwards cap, and an earring. The alicorn mare smiled. "Really?"

Chrysalis frowned a little. "What? If we're doing this, I might as well dress up like it. Did you bring yours?"

Cadance levitated the orange canister. "BYOSP, remember? 'Bring your own spray paint.'"

Chrysalis levitated her own can of the orange liquid. "We'll start here... but what to put..."

Cadance's eyes twinkled mischievously, and she got to work before standing back to admire it.

AGAB

Chrysalis cocked her head. "Agab?"

Cadance giggled a little. "All guards are bastards."

Chrysalis' mouth hung open for a few seconds. Then she brought a hoof to her mouth as she tried not to laugh out loud.

***

Shining Armor did NOT enjoy doing this sort of thing. For one, it was night, so by all accounts, the Night Guard should have been handling it. Then again, Cadance wasn't in the castle, so Shining had nothing to do. Tracking down unknown graffiti artists was a nice change of pace.

I still need to remember to see if I can get demoted. I always preferred field assignments.^^

He heard the hissing of spray paint, then he saw them. "Halt in the name of justice!" Holy crap that sounded cheesy.

The two ran, and Shining gave chase, rounding a corner into a dead-end alleyway... they were gone. No magic residue, so no teleportation or invisibility. Nothing but a hoodie, a cap, a yellow shirt, and a bright orange "AGAB" painted onto the wall, staring at him and silently mocking him.

***

Chrysalis and Cadance landed on the top of a building, laughing.

"That was too close, Chryssie," Cadance gasped between breaths.

"But it was fun!" Chrysalis countered.

Cadance smiled. It really had been.

From their position, they looked over the city. AGAB was written in bright orange on what would together make a quarter of the city, along with the occasional dark blue "Blame my Sister".^^^

Cadance spoke. "Well, we better be getting home. Otherwise we'll look suspicious."

Chrysalis nodded in agreement, and the two flew their separate ways.

***

Chrysalis landed on her balcony. She had retrieved the clothing after Shining had left, and set it in a chest in her closet. Drawing the blinds, she looked around, before talking to herself.

"Well, I know she's forgiving, and she doesn't hold a grudge..."

She enveloped herself in magic, letting the illusion fall away. She looked in the mirror at her distended stomach. The 10-month foal growing inside her kicked a little.

"...But how can I tell her what I did while she was in those caves?"

Author's Note

^In essence, Chrysalis had actually been invited to the wedding, but during what she called a "pre-bachelorette party", Chryssie had taken a little too much of the pure love ambient in all of Canterlot and contracted Love Sickness, which made her briefly crazy.

^^The simple fact was that Shining NEVER WANTED to be Captain of the Unicorn Guard. He wasn't qualified for it, for one, as the only spell he actually knew was a barrier spell. He got the position because a certain white alicorn had bent the rules slightly to put his family in an even higher position than they already had previously due to a certain purple unicorn filly being intensely magical enough to be aforementioned white alicorn's protégé.

^^^Luna gets bored too.