Chrysalis's First Meeting
It was one thing to infiltrate Canterlot, another to actually be invited.
The air around Chrysalis was charged with tension as the surrounding guards gave her piercing glares, tightening the grip on their spear shafts. She could have sworn the grand hall of Canterlot castle was far noisier when she first came here. Then again, last time she was here, she was disguised as Cadance during her wedding day.
Other than the sounds of her escort Princess Twilight Sparkle’s hooves and her own, Chrysalis was sure she could hear a pin drop in the deafening silence.
“It’s so quiet in this castle.” Chrysalis said for the sake of breaking the silence.
Twilight tried to offer her a welcoming smile, weakened to her own observation of the heavy tension. “W-well, a lot of ponies were made aware you were coming today, Queen Chrysalis, so they made sure to, um, give you space!”
Chrysalis smiled at the small pony at her side. She was a terrible liar. “You don’t have to lie for them, Twilight. And please, just call me Chrysalis.”
Twilight smiled back. “Okay, Chrysalis.”
Despite their harrowing and life-threatening duel to get this far, Chrysalis had great respect for Twilight. She had caught on to her plans when nopony else did, and even after the botched invasion, Twilight sought after her and offered a chance to make peace. It was only thanks to Twilight’s efforts that Chrysalis was able to create a peaceful alliance with ponies. Today would mark a major step for the Pony-Changeling alliance; the annual royal meeting.
Every year, the Prince and Princesses of Equestria would meet to catch up on current affairs and negotiations. Considering that the changelings had only officially been part of the Equestrian population for two years, Chrysalis had little experience in dealing with the regal affair. Twilight tried to get her to go last year, but Chrysalis backed out at the last second due to having ‘more important things to do’. Alliance or not, Chrysalis still felt uncomfortable at the idea of treating these ponies as friends rather than enemies, and dealing with them at some boring meeting made her feel both apprehension and dread.
“This is it! Your first royal meeting! Aren’t you excited?” Twilight was practically glowing with positive vibes.
“I’m just bubbling with joy,” Chrysalis replied sarcastically. She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t stop the tiny grin forcing their way onto her muzzle. Twilight’s positive attitude was quite contagious.
Admittedly, she was a little nervous, and was trying her best to ignore the knot forming in her stomach. Being surrounded by so many important figures, she was sure they could elect to kick her out at any time. She knew Twilight would never do that unless she was truly out of line, but Chrysalis would bet her title as queen that Cadance would be the first to make that vote. Celestia was probably a close second.
Once the two arrived at the tall double doors, they waited for the guards to grant them entry. Noting their stiff postures and stony expressions, she could feel her snarky nature threatening to surface. Perhaps a little bit of teasing would help calm her nerves.
Leaning towards the guard on the far right, Chrysalis whispered just loud enough for the other guards to hear.
“Good job, minion. Keep them fooled.”
“What?” The confused guard raised his eyebrow at Chrysalis, who noted with satisfaction that the other guards were giving him suspicious glares. “What are you-”
“Shhh. Don’t let them know who you are. Keep up the good work.”
“I don’t know what you—”
“Shhh.” Chrysalis hushed again, pressing her black hoof against his lips; she didn’t know if it was sheer shock or an incredible amount of discipline that kept him from jerking back. “You’re gonna give yourself away. We went over this already; play dumb and pretend you’re a guard. You’ll get him soon.”
The guard looked to say something, only to keep his mouth shut as he saw the other guards tossing him glares.
When the doors finally opened, Chrysalis backed away from the guard, struggling to keep herself from grinning as she entered entered the passageway. But not before stopping by the guard who stood right next to the targeted pony.
“Don’t let the bedbugs bite.” She winked, breaking the guard’s stoic expression. His eyes went wide, darting between the changeling queen and the poor innocent guard who Chrysalis knew would be undergoing deep scrutiny for quite a while.
As the door closed behind them they trotted towards the room behind the connecting annex. For a few seconds the two walked quietly. That is, until Twilight gave a light, admonishing prod on Chrysalis’s side with her hoof.
“That was terrible,” Twilight whispered.
“I’m sure they’ll be laughing themselves silly after they finish interrogating him.”
Twilight shot her a look. “Why did you tease him like that? Those guards are going to be messing with him for weeks.”
“Why didn’t you stop me?” Chrysalis shot back.
“...It was still mean.” Twilight blushed, earning a smug grin from the queen. “Oh, hush.”
Passing the last set of double doors, they arrived at a massive circular room centralized around the circular oak table and a series of tall chairs. Beyond the tables were windows that allowed Celestia’s sunlight to filter in and brighten the room. Even without looking through the windows, Chrysalis had a feeling she could probably see a major portion of Equestria, given the height advantage of the castle. She would have been tempted to check the view had her attention not been stolen by the presence of other ponies present, and the tension that followed.
Twilight and Chrysalis approached, the queen recognizing the sudden awkward silence upon her entry into the main room. A majority of the faces, she recognized; the most prominent ones being the white and pink alicorn princesses Celestia and Cadance respectively. The white stallion unicorn, Twilight’s brother and ex-puppet Shining Armor was a surprising turnout. Then again, Chrysalis guessed by law he was a prince and therefore was required to be present.
The last two ponies in attendance were new faces. A midnight blue alicorn princess who took residence next to Celestia, and a white unicorn stallion who wore a well-polished suit. Even though she did not know these two, their guarded postures and expressions warned her they were privy to the queen’s past transgressions. Noticing their tension only served to worry the queen further, her only solace being the bright and cheerful alicorn at her side. Rather than introduce herself, Chrysalis waited for Twilight to speak first.
“Sorry we’re late, everypony. We didn’t miss too much, did we?” Twilight said, breaking the silent stalemate.
Celestia was the first to show some emotion outside surprise, smiling at the two. “Not at all. We were waiting on you two.” Without missing a beat, she gave Chrysalis a welcoming nod. “Welcome to the annual royal meeting, Chrysalis. It’s been a long time since we’ve last seen each other.”
“Two years, I believe.” Chrysalis recalled the day of the peace signing like it was yesterday. Most of the ponies at attendance suspected she would enact some villainous scheme at the last second. They were sorely disappointed. “How quickly time flies.”
“Indeed. Please, take a seat.”
Before moving, Chrysalis took a quick survey of the seating positions. Celestia and the alicorn next to her took the center to the far end. Cadance and Shining were settled towards the right, and the mysterious fancy stallion sat to the left. Twilight took her seat first, sitting across from Equestria’s premiere ruler. Briefly, Chrysalis considered sitting to the right of Twilight, which would have her sitting near Shining Armor, but one look at Cadance’s barely concealed glare warned her such an idea may not fly by the princess of love. She settled for Twilight’s left, putting her next to the now anxious blonde stallion.
“Y-you know, Chrysalis…” The stallion started, “I think there’s more room next to Shining Armor. You might have more room over there.”
Shining coughed. “Don’t be so modest, Blueblood. I’m sure Chrysalis is comfortable where she is. Isn’t that right?”
“But—”
“There’s no need to speak for her, Shining. I’m sure someling—” Chrysalis quirked her eyebrow at Blueblood, ”—as tall and elegant as she would want to feel comfortable during her first meeting.” Yet Blueblood ended up speaking for her anyway.
“I’m—”
“All of the seats are the same, so it shouldn’t make a difference where she seats,” Shining countered.
Chrysalis was beginning to get that nervous feeling again. They did know she was not an idiot, right?
“But it does! Your side has much better windows.”
“There are windows on both sides.”
“But yours has a greater view. I’m sure that would be much better for her.”
“Seriously, your side is—”
“Ahem!” The bickering stallions froze, turning their attention to Celestia. “Chrysalis is free to choose where she sits. Let us leave it at that, shall we?” Her voice was sickeningly sweet, overlying the unnegotiable undertone.
“Yes, Princess.” Both stallions complied.
Chrysalis’s eyes slid towards the disappointed blonde next to her. “Blueblood, was it?”
“Ah, ahem, yes. Quite correct, Chrysalis.” Blueblood said.
Chrysalis grinned mysteriously. “I’ll remember that.” Blueblood grew pale, an impressive feat considering he had a pure white coat.
The exchange seemed to go unnoticed by Celestia. “Twilight has been very excited to finally get you to attend our meeting. Isn’t that right, Twilight?”
Twilight nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! It took some convincing, but I’m glad I finally got her to come.”
“Running a reformed hive collective is incredibly busy work,” Chrysalis shrugged. “Time is an expensive luxury I can rarely afford.”
“I’ve always wondered,” the other alicorn—blast it, what was her name?—started, “how does your hive function, exactly? I’ve heard different speculations and rumors, but nothing truly concrete.”
“That’s a great question...uh…”
“Cough-Luna-cough.” Twilight hinted.
“Luna.” Chrysalis mentally thanked her ‘assistant’. “It is an intricate web of communication lines channeled through our magic. None of my children are ‘mindless drones’ as some ponies may have been led to believe, but faithfully follow my orders to the letter. I have a select few that act as my voice and give commands when I’m unable to. It keeps me quite busy.”
“That is quite impressive. So you’re always connected with your subjects and can command them anywhere at anytime?”
“Amazing, isn’t it?” Chrysalis wore a smug grin.
“When she isn’t being lazy and just lets her trusted subjects do all the work.” Twilight added smoothly. Chrysalis’s grin fell into an annoyed frown.
“Hush,” was her snap reply to the jab. “But yes, occasionally,” she shot a pointed look at Twilight and her all-too-innocent smirk, “I allow my subjects to develop a sense of independence from their queen.”
“Very interesting.” Luna nodded with approval. “We could work wonders if ponies had such efficient means of communication.”
“Speaking of communication,” Celestia began, her attention on Cadance, “how goes the food supply adjustment you have been discussing with Chrysalis?”
Cadance’s eyebrows noticeably creased at this inquiry. “We’re still working on that. Our ideas on proper feeding ethics are not exactly… compatible.”
“Nonsense. My ideas coincided with yours perfectly. You even would’ve served to profit from it.”
“I’m not opening a brothel in my empire!”
Luna and Celestia blushed at the suggestion. Blueblood and Shining perked up.
“Come again?” Blueblood asked, intrigued.
Cadance sighed. “Chrysalis told me in horrifying detail how changeling feeding works. They can feed on love in any form, though some forms are more potent than others. It’s a terrible idea and I’m firmly against it.”
“It’s a brilliant idea,” Chrysalis countered. “With a brothel, not only can my children have a continuous flow of love energy, but the amount of profit Cadance would stand to gain from the taxes would have her rolling in wealth.” Chrysalis tossed a smug grin her way. “When Twilight calculated your annual tax profit, she discovered that it would increase three-hundred-and-twenty-five percent. She also agreed it was a marvelous plan. Your empire profits, my children are fed, and your subjects will be pleased with the extra services. It’s a win-win.”
All except Chrysalis directed their shocked stares to Twilight who shrank into her seat. “W-what is it?”
“Twily, did you seriously agree to such a crazy suggestion?” Shining asked, staring at his sister in disbelief.
“I…” Her eyes scanned all the judging faces, swallowing nervously. “I-I didn’t see anything wrong with the idea. From how Chrysalis described it, it seemed perfect for the Crystal Empire. She even provided sample data to help with my research from the test sites. Did I do something wrong?”
This time the stares swung to Chrysalis, a mix of horror and irritation in their expressions. That nervous feeling she was trying to suppress was beginning to unravel under the crushing glares. Cadance’s glare was particularly piercing.
“To be fair,” Chrysalis hesitated, “your subjects were only asked to donate their time for a good cause. The reception was overwhelmingly positive.”
“Chrysalis…” Celestia facehoofed, her muzzles flushing harder with each passing second, “you can’t simply volunteer ponies for such… services without permission. But what bothers me more is how accepting Twilight is to this idea. If I may ask, Twilight, do you know what a brothel is?”
Twilight nodded. “It’s a business that provides services for those in need of love and affection, bringing ponies together while providing the necessary tools to facilitate that love.” The heavy silence that followed her explanation caused her to shrink further into her seat. “A-at least, that’s what Chrysalis told me.” Again, all attention fell on Chrysalis. Her attention fell on Cadance.
“You can’t say I’m wrong, Cadance.”
“I can’t believe you would mislead her like that!” Cadance exasperated at her.
“I took out the bias in her calculations. If I simply told her my children would be selling intimate favors and fantasies, she would have surely—”
“THAT’S what a brothel was?!” Twilight gasped, deep red flooding her lavender coat.
“Case in point,” Chrysalis said as she referred to the speechless Twilight.
The room fell into silence as the other royalty in attendance were still reeling from the news. Chrysalis shifted nervously, then coughed, hoping somepony, anypony, would say something.
“So,” Blueblood started after a beat, “are they still taking volunteers?” He shriveled upon Cadance’s glare being directed at him. “J-just for, you know, m-making sure nopony accidentally goes inside out of curiosity.”
“Blueblood, no. Just no.” Celestia shook her head. “Chrysalis. While there are many questionable things I feel we need to discuss, at the risk of losing sleep tonight I must ask; what sort of sample data did you obtain from Cadance’s subjects?”
“Just Cadance’s subjects?” Chrysalis asked. When Celestia’s eyes narrowed, she wisely chose not to answer the unasked question. “Anyway, Twilight should have the data I was looking for on her. Twilight, if you would, please.”
Twilight, who was still questioning the ethics of this situation, hesitantly reached for the charts stashed in her saddlebag and hoofed it over to Chrysalis. “Now that I know what a b-brothel is, this data doesn’t really make as much sense to me. I did record it as you asked, though.”
“I’ll explain in a moment.” With a flourish of verdant green magic, Chrysalis spread the document around her vision. “Ah, this is a good place to start. The Royal Efficiency Index. Let’s see here...oh. Oh wow. This is better results than I expected.”
“Royal Efficiency Index?” Cadance asked.
“Which names a pony yells out when my children are providing their service, as well as which form they preferred my children to take during.”
A collective mix of groans and gasps echoed throughout the room. Blushing intensified.
“Why would you even need data like that?!” Cadance’s voice raised several octaves.
“Marketing. If we know the prince or princess that garnered the most favorable mention, my children could use that as a selling point to promote the business. After all, we’re selling love and fantasies. Twilight did a wonderful job compiling that list.”
Twilight, still mortified, tossed a curious look at Chrysalis. “What does yelling a name have to do with…t-that?”
“You see, Twilight, sometimes when a pony reaches the height of stimulation, they will—”
“Let’s get back to the topic of this efficiency index, shall we?” Celestia interrupted. Even her voice was a little higher than expected, her brows slightly raised.
“I agree with my sister. I’m very curious to hear which of us has been called upon to bless those engaged in intercourse.”
“Luna, please!” Celestia chided. She cleared her throat. “Anyway, please continue.”
Chrysalis nodded, and directed her attention to the parchment hovering before her. “For the sake of simplicity, I will only mention rankings of those present, though I’m quite surprised how high the king of Yakyakistan ranked.”
“A yak?!” Cadance gasped.
Chrysalis shrugged. “Some mares like it rough. Plus, yaks pack a surprising amount of stamina and tend to have large—”
“Carry on, Chrysalis!” Shining interrupted, resting his head against his hooves.
“Oh. Right. Ahem,” Chrysalis paused to analyze her chart. “While ranking fairly high, ranked last among those in the room is Cadance.”
“WHAT?!” Cadance bellowed, nearly shooting out of her seat. “I’m the Princess of Love, for goodness sake! How could I possibly be last? I’ll bet you skewed the results so I wouldn’t rank as high!”
“Not at all. You drive rather good results. There’s just one major problem; you’re married. It ruins the fantasy a bit, which makes a significant difference. It’s a similar reason why Shining Armor is ranked right above you.”
Cadance went pale as she gaped at Shining Armor who, judging by his wide smirk, seemed to take this news very well. “Never thought I would be above Cadance in something like that.”
Blueblood grinned at him. “Are you saying Cadance is always on top?”
“Not another word, Blueblood!” Celestia glared, causing the noble to gulp nervously and keep his muzzle shut. Shining tossed him a vicious glance.
“Speaking of which,” Chrysalis continued, failing to hide her smirk, “Blueblood ranked surprisingly high and shot right past Shining.”
“YES!”
Everypony stared at the jubilant Blueblood, a single hoof raised high in the air as he whooped victoriously. The cheering died on his lips when he caught a mix of amused and irritated stares directed towards him. Cadance and Shining armor were shooting him looks that forebode a terrible fate.
After a moment of hesitation, Blueblood retook his seat and cleared his throat. The smile never left his muzzle, however. “I mean, wow, that’s some pretty shocking results. Who knew?”
“Can it, Blueblood,” Shining seethed.
“You’re just mad because I’m on top of both of you.”
“One more wisecrack, Blueblood, and I’ll make sure you pay for it later,” Celestia threatened smoothly. Blueblood sat stiff in his seat, sweating bullets.
Chrysalis decided to move on with the list. “Next is Luna, who is actually among the top five.”
“Oh my!” Luna gasped, her muzzle lighting up at the revelation. “Am I really that popular?”
“Very much so. Though oddly enough, Nightmare Moon is actually one rank below you… don’t ask.”
“Didn’t plan on it,” Luna said, both perplexed and disturbed.
“Believe it or not, I ended up a single rank above Luna. I honestly didn’t expect that.”
“Now I know you’re messing with the data, Chrysalis!” Cadance growled. “It’s one thing for my own husband to be ranked above me, but how could you possibly have more popularity than me? Give me one good reason why I should believe any of this!”
Chrysalis only took a second to think about the answer. “...Holes.”
The mares in the room tilted their head in confusion. Blueblood and Shining nodded sagely.
“Moving on with the list, Celestia is in second, and Twilight took first place.”
“My word,” Celestia gasped.
A loud thunk echoed in the room. Everypony looked to see Twilight’s forehead laying on the edge of the table.
“Why am I even on this crazy list?!” she groaned.
“It must be the young and innocent angle. Stallions dig that kind of thing.”
Horrified stares were directed at Blueblood. An awkward silence fell in the room. “...What? Just saying what’s true.”
“This is my sister you’re talking about, you rotten pervert!” Shining snarled.
“Whoa, now hold on! I’m not trying to suggest anything here! Besides, there’s nothing to worry about. It’s not like she’s legal or anything.” He paused, flicking an awkward glance at the young alicorn. “...Is she?”
“That’s it. Get out!” Celestia commanded sharply.
“Okay, fine, I’ll go!” Preferring to avoid Celestia’s wrath, Blueblood began making a swift retreat to the door. Just before he left, he stopped to face the irritated Princess. “You don’t have to be mad just because Twilight outranked you.”
“OUT!” All but Chrysalis yelled. Blueblood jumped, and made a hasty retreat out of the council room. The doors slammed shut behind him, wreathed in a golden aura.
After a very lengthy silence, Celestia let the glow around her horn fade. She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “Despite regretting the last few minutes of my life, thank you for sharing those details with us, Chrysalis.”
“Of course.” For a moment, Chrysalis contemplated requesting Twilight be the mascot for the brothel project, but the tension in the room told her to save the topic for another time.
“Can we talk about something else, please?” Twilight pleaded, her forehead still planted on the table.
“Actually, I have just the topic to bring up,” Cadance started. “I’d gotten the gist on how everything happened, but I can’t help but ask: Twilight, how did you defeat Chrysalis and get her to reform?”
Chrysalis shifted uncomfortably. Twilight perked up.
“I’m curious as well,” Celestia said, “neither of you have mentioned what transpired during your battle that led to the changelings’ reformation.”
“It was a very gruesome and bloody battle,” the Queen spoke with dramatic flair. “Magic for magic, wit for wit, we were equally matched with each other. The fight lasted for three days and three nights, every clash bringing us closer to death and—”
“I challenged her to a rap battle and won.”
Dead silence.
The other ponies in attendance were rendered speechless. Their eyes bounced between the uncomfortable changeling queen and smug princess of friendship.
Chrysalis groaned deeply into her hoof, and a streak of pink penetrated her black cheeks. She tossed a glare at Twilight. “Y-you promised you wouldn’t bring that up!”
“You also promised not to manipulate other ponies for your own agendas, but apparently you couldn’t keep your end of the bargain!” Twilight shot back.
“I didn’t ‘manipulate’ you. I merely focused your priorities!”
“‘Priorities’ my hoof! You tricked me into helping you create a network of brothels!”
“And you were fine with it until now. Besides, nopony would get hurt, so why worry?”
“Chrysalis, this is sex we’re talking about! That’s completely different!”
“Ugh, you ponies and your double standards,” Chrysalis rolled her eyes, “Cadance can make ponies fall in love on command, and nopony bats an eyelash. But I want to make a profit and feed my children and suddenly it’s a crime!”
“That’s because it IS a crime!”
“Ahem!”
Chrysalis and Twilight stopped their glaring contest to look at Celestia, who looked just as uncomfortable as everypony else. “Perhaps we should get back to the topic on hoof. Would one of you care to explain how a, ahem, ‘rap’ battle played a role in this?”
“Why, I would be happy to, Princess Celestia,” Twilight brightened with a smile. Chrysalis groaned again.
“You see, when I decided to confront Chrysalis head-on, I wanted to avoid violence however I could. As I faced Chrysalis and tried to think of what to do, Rainbow jokingly suggested I do a rap battle with her. Chrysalis saw me hesitate, and decided to accept the challenge. If I won, she would have to reform the hive and work in harmony with ponies.”
“Sounds like a major gamble. What would have happened if you lost?” Luna asked.
Chrysalis took the opportunity to answer. “Twilight and her merry band of ponies would be my captive audience for however long as I wanted.”
Twilight smirked as she gave Chrysalis a sidelong glance. “I didn’t figure out until later that she was just lonely and-HEY!” She yelped as Chrysalis lightly jabbed at her ribs.
“If you dare tell them that, I’ll tell them what happened when you and your friends visited the pheromone pits.”
Twilight’s body flushed deep crimson as she sputtered, “Y-you wouldn’t DARE!”
“Pheromone pits?” Luna asked, intrigued.
Chrysalis’s muzzle nearly split in half from her toothy grin. “It’s where my children gather during mating season to produce as many eggs as possible to develop our numbers. It’s a week of exhausting, yet satisfying work.” She winked in Twilight’s direction. “Of course, Twilight can give you all the juicy details of what really goes on inside.”
“W-we’re getting off topic,” Twilight coughed. “So with our battle, I will admit, I was surprised with how quickly Chrysalis was able to catch on. Rainbow and one of Chrysalis’ most trusted changelings acted as judges to see who could… erm…”
“‘Spit the sickest rhymes’, as Rainbow put it?” Chrysalis finished.
“Yeah, that’s it!”
Chrysalis smiled to herself at the memory. “Even though I had you on the ropes for a good part of the duel, your lyrical assaults were a joy to witness. Only you could find a way to not only rhyme with the word ‘orange’, but insult me in such a marvelous fashion. Right then, I knew I couldn’t win, despite my brilliant mind.”
“...Huh.” Celestia leaned back in her chair as she stared at Chrysalis and Twilight in wonder. “That is rather unique and impressive. I never would’ve thought such a thing was possible in such a high stakes battle.” In her peripheral vision, Celestia noticed Cadance and Shining Armor giving her curious glances. “What is it?”
“It just occured to me,” Cadance started, “perhaps we could learn from these two and handle royal disputes with rap battles? I think it would be fun.”
Celestia blinked. “But that doesn’t—”
“I concur!” Luna’s eyes glistened with excitement. “I hereby vote all disputes and challenges are to be settled through these lyrical duels! All in favor, say aye!”
“Aye!” All but Celestia declared, raising their hooves.
Said Princess of the Sun closed her eyes, gently rubbing her temples. “I will… think about it.” She sighed, weariness etched into her features. “If nopony has anything else they would like to discuss, I would like to call this meeting to a close.” For awhile, nopony answered.
“Actually, there’s one thing I would like to discuss.”
All eyes turned to Chrysalis, who wore a surprisingly serious expression. “What would that be?” Celestia asked.
“My children have scoured for answers far and wide, but have not come to a satisfactory answer. So I would like to ask you all while we’re here; who is your king or queen?”
Shining Armor and Cadance traded looks. Celestia and Luna arched their eyebrows almost simultaneously.
Twilight groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Chrysalis, we talked about this already. There’s no need to bring it up again.”
“But I must! How could a nation or empire have several princesses and princes, but no king or queen to speak of?”
“I see. That’s a common misconception for ponies. I wouldn’t mind clearing this up,” Celestia stated.
A look of panic dawned on Twilight’s face. “Um, Princess? I really wouldn’t—”
“Don’t worry, Twilight. It’s understandably confusing to those outside our species. Perhaps I could give it a try.” Celestia cleared her throat as if preparing to give a lecture. Chrysalis couldn’t help but wonder if Celestia had inadvertently called her, or rather all non-pony species, stupid.
“While it is true we do not have kings or queens, we do not need any. Other races such as the gryphons and yaks have their own means of running their government, but I’d like to believe that having the title of princess and prince while avoiding having a single king or queen helps bring us closer to our subjects. The title of ‘Princess’ doesn’t come off as absolute and iron-hoofed as, say, queen—” Chrysalis’s eyes narrowed at this “—yet these titles carry a strong enough meaning to be respected. In other words, it’s more of a political play of words rather than following a strict ranking. Does this make sense, Chrysalis?”
“No offense, but that’s rather pretentious, not to mention insulting.”
Four pairs of eyes narrowed at Chrysalis.
“Excuse me?” Luna growled.
Twilight facehoofed. “Here we go…”
“‘Too absolute’? ‘Iron-hoofed’? As a queen, I can’t help but find that horribly misguided. Yes, it can be looked at in a bad light if you’re a terrible king or queen, but rather than a subpar title like ‘Princess’, Queens are taken much more seriously. Maybe within your pony culture, Princesses are pretty good, but if you ask any other race to point out who really calls the shots, it would be the one who holds the title of King or Queen and shows the strength, intelligence, and charisma it takes to lead their subjects, rather than relying on stereotypes and wordplay to make their point. I’m honestly surprised and disappointed, Celestia.”
A hint of irritation flashed across Celestia’s face. “It’s worked well for us for thousands of years. And you may be a queen, but of your own nation. We ponies work together and make certain we regard each other as equals rather than who holds the highest title, as it were. Your logic doesn’t apply to us.”
Chrysalis just laughed.
“What?” Celestia asked, her tone filled with ice.
“Speaking of logic, you self-appointed yourself second place in your own kingdom, which doesn’t have a higher authority because you’re afraid of ponies taking you seriously. It’s no wonder I defeated you so easily when we first dueled; you prefer being the bottom mare.”
Celestia’s composure cracked, and she reeled back in shock, glaring daggers at the Queen. Twilight whimpered, huddling beneath the edge of the table.
The intense moment was quickly ruined by the boisterous laughter right outside the council’s doors.
“She has a point, auntie!”
“I swear to the stars, Blueblood!” Celestia bellowed in the Royal Canterlot Voice. The sound of hurried hooves echoed behind the door, pattering off in the distance.
Her moment of frustration left as quickly as it came. Celestia put on a mask so calm and serene it made Chrysalis feel unbalanced and nervous.
“That’s a fascinating argument you have. Perhaps we can discuss this further at a later time? Preferably one-on-one?”
Chrysalis’s instincts itched at her. She knew a bad deal when she saw one, and this had ‘bad time’ written all over it.
Just as Chrysalis opened her mouth to say something she might regret, she caught a pleading look from Twilight.
Oh, curse Twilight and her puppy eyes.
“Perhaps over drinks later? My treat,” Chrysalis offered, smiling peacefully. At the corner of her eye, she caught Twilight giving her an approving nod.
The subtle hostility in Celestia’s posture melted. A small, relaxed smile creased her lips. “I would like that, Chrysalis. I’ll send you a message later to organize a time.”
The room took a collective sigh of relief. Chrysalis could tell that Luna, Cadance and Shining wanted to say their piece on the little debate, but withheld it for the sake of peace.
Celestia cleared her throat. “If there’s nothing else, then I would like to call this annual royal meeting to a close. I’m sure we could all use a break.” With a nod, all except Chrysalis and Twilight left the room, briefly exchanging farewells with them.
The two glanced away from each other awkwardly, stuck in their own thoughts. Neither expected the meeting to turn out the way it did, but knew they owed the other some sort of apology. After a minute, the two simultaneously turned to face the other.
“About earlier—”
“I’m sorry about—”
“You have nothing to—”
“I’m sure everything is—”
“Please don’t—”
“I didn’t mean—”
Realizing they were interrupting each other, they both stopped, succeeding only in inviting more silence to fill the awkward void. For a few seconds they stared, waiting for the other to make the first move.
“Go ahead, Twilight. Speak your mind.”
“You first, Chrysalis. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Not at all. I was the one who interrupted.”
“I cut you off first. You go.”
Chrysalis attempted to speak, but cut herself off. Whether it was due to nerves, stress or awkwardness, suddenly she burst into a fit of giggles. Twilight joined her soon after.
“This is all so silly. Look at us, dancing around each other like a pair of silly fillies,” Chrysalis laughed.
“We are being rather silly, aren't we?” Twilight smiled.
“I suppose so.” Chrysalis’ grin slowly melted. She paused, then sighed deeply.. “I owe you an apology, Twilight. I feel foolish for making things as awkward as I did.”
Twilight moved closer to Chrysalis, resting a hoof on top of hers while flashing a gentle smile. “It’s okay. I know you were really nervous, but I'm still glad you found the courage to come to the meeting. Overall, I think you did great!”
Chrysalis stared at her friend, mystified. “Really?”
Twilight nodded. “You were very brave today, and took a very big step forward to make new friends… although you and I are going to have a very serious talk about honesty and morality later.”
Chrysalis broke into a nervous sweat. That was a punishment she wouldn’t wish on her worst enemy. That lecture would easily take hours to sit through, and that wasn’t counting homework.
“L-Let's not be too hasty about this.” Moving out of her chair, Chrysalis slung a foreleg over Twilight’s shoulders as she walked towards the exit with her. “How about I make it up to you by treating you to the best restaurant in Canterlot? We could even enjoy a spa together.”
Twilight’s suspicious glare met Chrysalis’s all-too-innocent smile. As they walked, Twilight faltered and sighed. “Fine. You’ll still get a friendship lecture later, though.”
“Not after enough hard ciders…” she mumbled.
“What?”
“Nothing. The day is still young, so let’s enjoy ourselves to the fullest. Whatever you want!”
“That sounds terrific. Just don’t get too crazy with your bits.”
“Don't worry, I made plenty from—” Chrysalis stopped herself short, cursing herself for the slip. “Anyway, it's fine. Just have fun.”
Twilight stopped just as they reached the end of the annex, her curious eyes directed at her. “Chrysalis?”
“Yes, dearest friend?”
“Where did you get those bits from?”
“...Oh, did I say that? Ignore that. Slip of the tongue.”
Twilight's eyes narrowed. “Chrysalis…!”
Green eyes avoided purple ones. Silence stretched between them. “I may or may not have accepted donations for the “Feed the hungry” fundraiser I started.”
“Fundraiser? When did this happen?”
“When I created a non-profit organization for those requiring special atten—”
“It’s from those brothel test sites, isn’t it?”
Silence.
“...Has anypony told you that you have such a lovely face? It’s no wonder you’re the number one fantasy ponies have when—H-HEY!”
Chrysalis found herself encased in a powerful, transparent sphere conjured by Twilight, whose eyes burned with unbridled anger. “Oh, come on! I swear I was going to split it eighty-twenty with you!”
“You and I are going to find ourselves a private room and have that chat right now!” Twilight huffed, storming her way through the annex exit and past the confused and startled guard ponies. Their bickering could be heard even as they went down the hall to one of Celestia’s private study rooms.
“Come on, Twilight, be reasonable!” Chrysalis pleaded.
“Not happening.”
“If you let me go now, I’ll ask my best minions to give you the ‘Happy Ending’ service free of charge!”
“You can keep your ‘Happy Endings’. Happy is the last thing you’ll be thinking with the punishment I have in mind for you.”
“...That’s pretty kinky. I think Cadance still has that whip in her closet if you wanna—”
“HUSH!”
