Love Comes In All Flavors
Twilight looked down at the scroll in front of her in disbelief. No, disbelief was too weak a word, but unfortunately the scroll’s sheer audacity and logic stabbing stupidity had slain almost every viable IQ point she had. To the point there was only one response she was able of giving.
"What!?"
"Heya Twi, what's the matter?" Spike asked after Twilight's outburst.
"Cadance wants me to go over to the Crystal Empire to help mediate and I quote, 'a mutually beneficial arrangement and reconciliation with Queen Chrysalis' end quote," Twilight said, glaring at the offending scroll, her wings fluttering with agitation.
"Well, I don't see what the problem is. I mean, we reformed Discord, and he was way worse than Queen Bugbutt," Spike said offhandedly.
"The problem! The problem!" Twilight screeched, her wing flaring in rage as whisps of fire started rolling off her coat, "She brainwashed Shining Armor, and was probably doing a lot worse, made all of you treat me like garbage. Which I've yet to get an apology for, but I was willing to put that behind me until today,locks me in the Crystal Caverns, and almost gets me to obliterate Cadance! And they all want me to go and play mediator! I love them, but they can kiss my shiny purple hiney! And not the fun way we do when I visit," Twilight ranted, three years of repressed tension blowing up like a volcano. "I'm going to burn off some steam and a portion of the Everfree. Call me if you need me."
With that, she was off. Spike read the letter and shook his head, "I need to tell them to hold off for a while and get Celestia and the girls. I know Twi, and she needs to deal with this before it eats up at her worse than it is. And she really needs to see Bugbutt. It'll be good for her."
Twilight wasn't kidding about the Everfree part of her conversation, when she said it was a passing fancy to need to vent. But as Twilight stood in the canyon where the Tree of Harmony sat with the returned Elements, and a huge smoldering crater a few meters from the cave’s entrance, Twilight still felt a burning anger in her.
Who does she think she is?! She wants to talk? Oh, I'll give her something to talk about alright! Twilight thought as she set her sights on a pile of boulders to her left, Everything was going better. I finally put the thoughts of what my 'friends and family' did to me at Cadance's wedding. They acted like they didn't do anything wrong and I was happy to put that chapter of my life behind me. But now, even Cadance, who was wronged even more than me, wants me to give that thing a shot?
Twilight's scream of primal rage echoed throughout the Everfree Forest and beyond, the Royal Canterlot Voice amplifying it for miles around. Twilight looked at the boulders she was seconds away from obliterating, but felt too empty to carry it out.
She slumped down onto the cold ground of the canyon floor and let memories flood her. The memory of outing the fake Cadance could have been done better. But her brother all but disowned her, followed by Celestia stating how disappointed she was in her. Even Spike turned his back on her. And those three knew her the longest. They should have trusted her more, but then her friends, the first ones she had ever made since Mr. Smartypants, turned their backs on her as well, abandoned her for their own wants. It broke a part of her that hadn't been hurt since Discord was originally freed.
Then after Chrysalis sent her to the Crystal Caverns, she almost did unspeakable things to the real Cadance. She never told anypony this, but the only reason Cadance was still alive was because of her doing the Sunshine Dance before Twilight snapped.
Of course who could forget the love blast that drove the Changelings away? Twilight was still unsure on to how entities who fed off of love could be blasted away by the equivalent of facing down a Harvester machine with a wall made out of the fluffy goodness of cake. But after that, there was months of paranoia and mistrust in the populace.
That was until about a year and a half ago when it was determined that, at least to their knowledge, no more changelings existed in Equestria. Or at the least, no new ones that they could spot. But through it all, her friends smiled and joked and never once apologized. Nopony did. It was as if it never happened, and after a few years of everything back to normal, Twilight was able to lock up that pain and anger, and shove it into a nice dark space in her heart.
But fresh wounds of the heart heal slowly, and when they’re ripped open, can show ugly things hidden beneath the scabs. Chrysalis might have used her mind magic on those two again, but I'm not going to let her get me too. I'm going to save my brother and sister-in-law, and end Chrysalis just like we did Sombra. First I need to go to the castle and brush up on my Combat Magic ... I don't know if I'll need to leave a crater or a smoldering ruin yet, but best not to be unprepared.
Even though nopony was around to see it, Twilight's eyes had that same manic gleam as before the Want-it Need-it incident of '02, as well as a slasher smile that would make even a dragon shiver in fear.
Author's Note
This is basically was inspired as an Appology Fic for http://www.fimfiction.net/group/1553/chrylight-is-awwwwright since my Tabby has a horrible habit of dumping fics I'm trying to add to my group into that one.
So far I've gotten 3 chapters in, and it's taken a life of it's own. But yes it will have ChryLight in it, even though she's going to have to warm up to her. Thankfully the groups owner is rather loose about how many other ships can be involved for it to be part of the group.
But yeah Chrysalis is going to get some love.
Love Comes In All Flavors
It was an hour after Twilight's primal roar, and all of her friends, including Celestia and Luna, were in the Crystal Friendship Castle with Twilight nowhere in sight. Everypony, including the young drake, were starting to get worried. It was Fluttershy of all ponies who broke the silence. "Um... Should we go look for her?"
Just as Luna was about to answer, a manic looking Twilight blasted into the main hall with enough force to send the doors rattling on their hinges, and upon seeing everyone, said in a chipper voice, "Hello girls, Princesses. Sorry, I don't have time to talk, I'll be leaving for the Crystal Empire after I touch up on some spells."
"Twilight, remember that talk we had after you cast the Want-it Need-it spell upon the populace of Ponyville?" Celestia asked.
"Yes, and don't worry, this is nothing like that time. I'm just going to free Cadance and Shining Armor from whatever mind magic Chrysalis placed them under. Then I'm going to remove her from existence. Literally," Twilight said in an uncharacteristically, homicidally chipper fashion that sent a wave of unease throughout the room.
"Twilight, sit!" Celestia said in the stern voice she used when disciplining Twilight as a filly. The response was immediate as Twilight sat down. "We should’ve had this talk shortly after the attack. But with everything that had been happening lately we have been putting it off, and that's been my fault as much as anypony else’s," she said with a sigh.
"No, Celestia, you all made it clear that you all wanted to put that incident behind you. And I'll be happy to make sure that we can right after I make sure that it never happens again."
"Twilight!" Celestia yelled, “What's gotten into you? You know that we're here for you, right?"
"Really? What about when Nightmare Moon burst free before me and 'my friends' saved her, and brought back your sister? Sorry, Luna," Twilight said, glancing at Luna before continuing, "Did you not once think of letting me in on your sister actually existing? Or let me know that my letter had merit? What about when Discord broke free? Getting those friendship letters in advanced or knowing he was going to screw us six ways to Sunday would've been amazing. What about when Cadance, who I've know a whole lot longer than you, was replaced, and I admit I could've said all that stuff better, but you! Who raised me under your wing for almost a decade, abandoned me and let me know how much I disappointed you!
"Oh! What about Sombra! It would've been great to know all about his little door of mind rape and boobytraps. Or any help at all! You say you'll always be there for me, but when I need you the most, you’re never there!" Twilight ranted. Most of her words were aimed to hurt, and the pained look on Celestia's face let her know that she made some pretty deep wounds.
"I'm so sorr-" Celestia began to say before being interrupted.
"Don't say it. You could've said it years before now. But let's not kid ourselves. You always have a plan for ponies, but when you don't need them anymore, you're more than happy to cast them aside. After I deal with Chrysalis, we can go back to pretending that this conversation never took place, and that you actually care about me. But don't try saying you're sorry. Don-" This time it was Twilight who was interrupted. Not by words, but by ponypile of hugs.
As their tears fell upon her and the warmth of their bodies encompassed her, she finally broke down. Years of repressed anger and pain burst to the surface and she wept for the first time since Discord tried mind breaking the Element Bearers.
The moon set, and the sun had risen high into the sky by the time Twilight's tears had stopped flowing and sleep consumed her. As the others pulled back, there was one thing on their minds other than helping Twilight.
"Where's Celestia?" Spike asked with a yawn. That night had been just as draining for him as everyone else in the room.
"We're not sure, Spike, but we have a guess as to where she could be," Luna responded sullenly. The outburst from Twilight reflected pain that she was all too familiar with, along with the fall that Twilight was close to making herself.
"You all aren't mad at her, right?" Spike asked the group, wringing his tail between his hands.
"No, Spike, I reckon most of us are angrier at ourselves for not being there to help out a friend than we are at Twilight for pulling a Fluttershy," Applejack replied, glancing at the shy pegasus, “No offence, Flutters.”
"None taken, I know what it's like to hold things in until they explode like that. And I don't think anypony can hold it against her, right girls?" Fluttershy asked, the rest nodding affirmatively.
"Okay, I guess I'll get the wheelbarrow to haul her to bed. What do we do know, though? I don't want her to be a supervillain, she's supposed to be one of the good guys!" Spike said sadly.
"It will be okay, young gentledrake. We shall speak with our sister, and we all shall try this until we get through to her. We won't let her fall," Luna replied, nuzzling Spike.
"Um, Luna?" Fluttershy mumbled nervously.
"Yes, Fluttershy?"
"Well, I want you to know that everypony here loves you, and you're our friend too. We don't think of you as Nightmare Moon."
Luna gave a sad smile and replied, "Thank you, Fluttershy. That means a lot to us." With that, Luna teleported out to the one place she could count on her sister to be when depressed.
Luna arrived in the Royal Eatery, technically a part of the kitchens where royalty could indulge in food without anypony witnessing a princess gorging herself like a hippo. It was also where Princess Celestia loved to go when under a lot of stress. Which, with Luna's return, old and new enemies coming out of the woodwork, among an ever increasing number of petty bureaucrats eating away at her time, had became a daily occurrence for the once svelte princess.
Of course for Luna, she knew of her sister’s old nervous eating habits, and knew that she needed to give her sister her five hundred and seventy second intervention. She needed a kind, yet sturdy kick in her plump plot, like she should've done shortly after her return.
She walked her way through the labyrinth of empty plates to her sister who was in the middle of what looked to be some alien mixture of Rocky Road ice cream, some sort of pie, with chunks of some unidentifiable fruit scattered about. She sat beside her sister and wrapped a wing around Celestia's withers. "You know, if you keep this up they'll need to cart you around in a wheelbarrow."
"It wouldn't be the first time, and it sure as Tartarus won't be the last," Celestia mumbled morosely between bites.
"You know that a lot of what she said she probably didn't mean as it to come across as it did, right?" Luna asked, nudging her sister with her muzzle.
"She did, and she's right! It's you all over again, and just like with you, there's nothing I can do to stop it and it's all my fault!" Celestia cried, "I'm going to lose somepony special to me and the only difference this time is that I have a front row seat to watch it happen."
Luna responded with the only reasonable answer to Celestia's plight. With a sharp smack across Celestia's cheek with enough force to make the precariously stacked dishes rattle violently.
"You smacked me!"
"Well you needed to get over your pity party, and a good smack should've gotten you to see sense!" Luna said calmly, nodding sagely.
"But, you smacked me!"
"Yes, and if you don't get over yourself for longer than five seconds so we can have a rational discussion, I'll do it again, and again, until I knock some sense into you."
"Fine," Celestia huffed, returning her gaze into the depths of her meal.
"Good," Luna said, nuzzling Celestia. "Yes, Twilight's on a dark path. But now's not the time to give up on her. What she needs most is for us to be there for her, at least one at all times. Until she's ready to talk."
"Lulu?" Celestia said in a small voice.
"If you're going to ask if I feel the same as she does... Before my fall, I did often. I saw that you got all the credit for my work, all the love of our subjects went to you and never to me, and with as many balls as you juggle, it's usually the ones closest to you that you drop.
"But I can see that you're trying to change. Millennia of habits are hard to break, especially the bad ones. But at least I have friends that I can count on now when that happens."
"I'm sorry," was all that Celestia could say as her body shuddered from her silent sobs under Luna's wing.
"I know, and I forgive you. But if you're going to make a statement that you'll always be there for a pony, it's time you started working on making that happen."
"It's not just you two, you know?"
"How so?"
"When Cadance arrived, I wanted to be there to help and be there for her. But I always had things come up, and that rarely happened. I saw the signs in Sunset Shimmer but I was too busy to stop what she went through from happening. And I'm sure there are more that I've let down over the many millennia that we've been alive."
"I don't know about Sunset, but Cadance looks like she's turned out well. But as for Twilight, there's still a chance to help her, and this is one of those times where saying 'I told you so,' feels like a Pyrrhic victory. Hopefully next time I speak up, you'll listen to me."
Celestia leaned into Luna's side, finally giving into the comfort offered. "I should. And Lulu?"
"Yes Tia?"
"You know I love you, right? Even before I lost you?"
"I remember the nights we shared well. Do you need me to remind you of them?" Luna asked, resting her head atop Celestia's as Celestia moved her now finished meal to the anarchic mess of its fallen brethren.
"I'd like that, and afterwards we can go and help Twilight. I'm sure Canterlot can function for a few weeks while we take care of our youngest princess during her time of need.
Author's Note
Sorry for the short chapter that was chapter 1. The only downside of GDocs on a tablet is not being able to use the word count feature. Anywho, the 3rd chapter will be out in a few weeks when I rebuild a good buffer, and will update when new chapters are finished (After I get a good three or four chapter buffer).
