Somewhere North of The Truth
Chrysalis collapsed on the couch and sighed. “Oh, you have no idea how good this feels. I was stuck in stone for so long and I was starting to get cramps in places you only feel when you’re a statue.”
Cadance’s jaw tightened. “I can imagine.”
“It’s not a gneiss feeling,” Chrysalis continued. “Get it? Because it’s a type of rock? I’m trying to make some of your droll pony jokes. They’re not as good as changeling jokes, but none of us are perfect. Not even me!”
“Why are you here?” Cadance asked.
“Well, I had my choice of Canterlot, which reminds me of my failures, Ponyville, which has Starlight Glimmer, and the Crystal Empire, which I never visited. Besides, I was hoping I’d be able to see your husband.” She stretched out. “Where is he anyway? I’d love to make him a very special apology for the way I treated him~”
“You haven’t even apologized to me yet!” Cadance said. She didn’t quite yell. She really wanted to yell, but she was willing to wait just a little longer before actually screaming at the bug monster sitting on her couch.
“Haven’t I?” Chrysalis hesitated. “Have you ever gone over something in your head so many times that you start to think you’ve already done it, and then you forget to actually do it at all?”
Cadance forced herself to calm down. “Yes, actually. Especially when it’s something I do often. I suspect you don’t actually apologize to many ponies.”
“No, but I really wanted to get it just right,” Chrysalis said.
“And?” Cadance asked.
“Just you and me,” Chrysalis continued. “Us together. With me about to apologize.”
Cadance tapped her hoof on the crystal floor.
“...Can I get a nap first? I might be able to give a better apology after I’ve had a chance to get some sleep, and first impressions are important and-- wow that look says no and that spell you’re about to use also says no.” Chrysalis cleared her throat. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s all you have to say?” Cadance asked.
“Well, you put me on the spot!” Chrysalis groaned. “How was I supposed to get it right when you’re putting this kind of pressure on me?!”
“If you really want to pretend you’re reformed you can at least make an effort,” Cadance growled.
“I’m not used to this! There aren’t exactly classes on how to make an apology!” The changeling queen paused. “Actually there probably are, aren’t there? Princess Sparkle has that school of friendship. I refuse to attend on the basis that the principal is my mortal enemy. No offense to you, of course. You’re a wonderful enemy too. I just really hate Starlight Glimmer, you know? It’s the kind of true hate that only two anti-soulmates can have. She’s the last thing I think about at night and the first thing I think about in the morning.”
Cadance tilted her head. “Do you have a crush on her?”
“Yes. I absolutely want to crush her.”
“That’s not what I asked, but I’ll still take it as an answer,” Cadance said. “Here are the ground rules, Chrysalis. One, as long as you’re here, you’re on probation. One wrong move and you go back to the statue garden.”
“I promise I won’t make any wrong moves.”
“I doubt that. At least try. Two, you can’t just sleep on the couch and pretend you belong here. Princess Twilight would probably tell you to go and make a friend.”
“I thought we were friends!”
“You just said we were enemies.”
Chrysalis scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Enemies can be friends. I like you more than I liked Cozy Glow.”
“That would be flattering if Cozy wasn’t a psychotic monster in the body of a foal. Even you apparently got parole before she did.”
“Well I’m just a better pony,” Chrysalis shrugged.
“Impressive, since you’re not even a pony.”
Chrysalis rolled her eyes and her form rapidly shifted. A nondescript unicorn. A pegasus, Cozy Glow, Cadance, and then back to her usual black-shelled hole-filled form. “I can be a pony anytime I want.”
“And unless you want to turn into a bird bath permanently, you’ll follow the rules. Is that clear?”
“Crystal,” Chrysalis lied.
“I just wish Twily would have sent us a letter,” Shining Armor said. “I mean, dropping Chrysalis on us out of nowhere?”
“She must finally be getting back at us for the late wedding invite. Which was your fault, by the way,” Cadance said.
“That was not my fault. I was being mind-controlled and the pony mind controlling me was trying to keep my friends and family away!”
Cadance rolled her eyes and pushed the door open.
Flurry Heart looked at her and grinned, and so did Flurry Heart. She’d grown into a fine young lady, though lady was possibly stretching the term. Flurry was going through that tough time in a young pony’s life when they loved to cause trouble for their parents, which for ponies related to Twilight Sparkle seemed to last from the age of zero all the way to about fifty.
“Oh no,” Cadance groaned.
“One of us is your daughter,” one of the Flurries said.
“And the other is an evil shapeshifter!” the second finished.
“One of us only tells the truth!”
“And the other tells but lies!”
They looked at each other and giggled, snorting. “Butt lies!” They said, at the same time.
“She takes after you,” Cadance said, glaring at her husband.
“Which one?” Shining Armor asked.
“Can you tell which of us is your precious daughter?” a Flurry said.
“If you guess wrong, the queen of the changelings will feast on your love!” the second cried out.
Shining Armor looked at the two identical ponies and rubbed his chin. “It’s probably impossible to tell. It’s too bad. I was hoping we could feast on pizza tonight, but since I don’t know where my daughter is, I’ll have to pick out the toppings myself.” He smirked. “We’ll get pineapple.”
“NO!” one of the Flurries gasped in horror.
“Shiny, no, how could you?!” Cadance asked, with tears in her eyes.
“I love pineapple!” said the other Flurry, happily.
“That one’s Chrysalis,” Shining said, pointing at the smiling alicorn.
She huffed and changed back into Chrysalis. “That wasn’t fair.”
“So I see you’ve met our daughter,” Cadance said. “Flurry Heart, you might not remember Chrysalis. She’s the evil--”
“Formerly!” Chrysalis alleged.
“--Evil queen who kidnapped you when you were a baby,” Cadance continued.
“And I can’t believe how much she’s grown up since then!” Chrysalis said. “When I last foalnapped you, you were only this tall!” Chrysalis held a hoof at roughly the right height.
“Mom, she’s so awesome,” Flurry said. “Can we keep her?”
“She is not awesome,” Cadance said. She glared at Chrysalis. “You had better not be controlling her mind!”
“Why would I do that?” Chrysalis asked. “Oh yes, because you can’t ever let anything go. I swear, you trap somepony in a dark pit and steal their husband and they just never forgive you.”
“You trapped mom in a pit?” Flurry asked.
“Mmmhmm.” Chrysalis buzzed. “And technically I married your father.”
“The marriage was annulled,” Cadance said, quickly. “He was under your spell when he said yes!”
“Oh wow, does that mean she’s my…” Flurry Heart considered. “Stepmom seems wrong. Aunt?”
“Perfect,” Chrysalis agreed. “I’m more like a wasp, but aunts are closely related.”
Flurry smirked. “Is that an etymology joke or an entomology joke? I can never tell the difference.”
“I like her,” Chrysalis said. “She’s so much better than my own children. Thousands of them, all ungrateful traitors! If I had the power, oh, the things I’d do to them… but not to Flurry. She’s wonderful.”
“Flurry Heart, you are not--” Cadance started before Shining Armor cleared his throat and leaned in.
“You know how she is right now,” he whispered. “If you tell her no, she’s just going to do it twice as much and behind your back.”
“Shiny, this isn’t telling her she isn’t allowed to date until she’s older, this is about her spending time with a monster that literally tried to take over Equestria! Three times!”
“It’s only three times that you were around for,” Chrysalis corrected. She looked at Cadance and Shining Armor. “Was I not supposed to be listening?”
Shining Armor glared at her.
“What do you want on your pizza?” he asked, gravely.
“No, it’s true!” Chrysalis said. “Your father was a perfect gentlecolt. I never got a chance to actually say it, but the most we did were a few little hugs and kisses.”
“But he and mom are all over one another!” Flurry protested.
“I’m sorry, but that’s just how it is,” Chrysalis told her. “I think he sensed something was wrong about me. Despite all the rumors, I’m not your real mother. Or father. I’m afraid you’re a dreadfully normal immortal alicorn princess.”
Flurry sighed and bit into her pizza glumly.
“Flurry, use your silverware,” Cadance said.
“But it’s lame to eat pizza with a knife and fork!” Flurry Heart whined. “Dad just picks it up! Why can’t I?” She pointed to Shining Armor, who had a slice halfway to his mouth. He paused and looked between Flurry and Cadance.
“Because a lady needs to be more delicate,” Cadance said. “You don’t want to end up like that.”
She pointed to Chrysalis. The changeling queen was stuffing her face with a whole slice of pizza, not even chewing. She swallowed it whole like a snake and licked her lips.
“That’s so cool!” Flurry gasped. “But how do you keep from gagging?”
“You can ask your mother for tips,” Chrysalis whispered.
“Chrysalis!” Cadance snapped.
“What?” Chrysalis asked. “Did you want me to pass you the red pepper flakes?”
“I want you to not be awful around my daughter.”
“Oh.” Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “You know, she doesn’t think I’m awful.”
“That’s because she likes everypony,” Cadance sighed.
“She doesn’t like pineapples on pizza,” Chrysalis said.
“That’s because it’s gross!” Flurry Heart yelled.
“Pineapple naturally goes well with tomato and spice,” Chrysalis countered.
“Pineapple salsa,” Shining Armor said, sagely.
“You see? My ex-husband even agrees,” Chrysalis said.
“I married Shining Armor because I love him, not his taste in food,” Cadance said. She leaned over to very possessively kiss his cheek. “Speaking of which, what were you actually planning on doing now that you’re free?”
“That isn’t at all what we were speaking about,” Chrysalis muttered. She cleared her throat. “And I haven’t thought about it. It’s not as if I lack employable skills. I’ve impersonated so many ponies over the years that I’ve picked up the basics of every profession.”
“Oh! What about medicine?” Flurry Heart asked. “You could use your changeling tingle to sense when ponies need help!”
“...Changeling tingle?” Chrysalis asked.
“You know. Your special sense.”
Chrysalis snorted “If you mean empathy, it doesn’t work that way. If you mean anything else that might be called a ‘changeling tingle’ I assume you could only find it in very disreputable areas and it would cost extra.”
Shining Armor had unfortunately been drinking at the time, and that comment made him almost inhale his wine.
Cadance rolled her eyes and patted him on the back. “Get it all out, honey.”
Flurry looked at Chrysalis in confusion.
“I’ll explain when you’re old enough that your parents wouldn’t try to throw me in Tartarus for telling you.”
“She’ll never be that old,” Cadance huffed.
“Everypony has to learn sometime,” Chrysalis said. “So, will we all be having a sleepover or are you going to make me sleep on the couch?”
“The castle has plenty of guest rooms,” Cadance said. “I’ve had one prepared for you.”
“Perfect.” Chrysalis mimed a yawn. “I’m feeling a touch fatigued.”
Chrysalis hummed to herself and walked back to her room. Three guards were very helpfully escorting her, and if she pretended they were providing security instead of making sure she didn’t try anything funny, it was almost flattering.
Though, if she really wanted to cause trouble, three guards wouldn’t be nearly enough.
“Are you three coming in as a midnight snack?” she asked.
“We’re just here to ensure the safety of yourself and everypony else in the castle,” one of the guards said, very diplomatically.
“Give Shining Armor a good night kiss for me,” she told him, before walking into her room and slamming the door, chuckling to herself. Despite everything, she’d actually enjoyed herself. Maybe her standards had just gotten lowered after two decades locked in stone, and then all that time spent in the wilderness alone before that.
“Finally,” squeaked the most annoying, grating voice in the world. At least to Chrysalis’ ears. “I was getting super-duper worried that you might have really bucked up like the idiot that you are!”
Cozy Glow stepped out of the shadows.
“You shouldn’t be in the city,” Chrysalis scolded. “You stand out too much.”
“Well, I guess you’d know about that since you’re such a great master of disguise!” Cozy said. “Come on, Chrysalis, everypony is paying attention to you and it’s been so long they’ve all forgotten I even exist. I could walk around the town square and make new friends and nopony would even suspect a thing.”
“Golly,” Chrysalis said, flatly. “What a wonderful idea. Why don’t you go and do that, and they’ll know my whole story about parole is bunk?”
“Tirek sent me in to make sure you were still following the plan,” she said. “He’s still waiting outside the city to make sure nopony can get news about our little escape.”
“I know the plan!” Chrysalis snapped. “I gain their trust and get them separated so he can drain Princess Cadance’s magic! It’s not complicated!”
“Once he has an alicorn’s magic, he’ll be able to eat everypony’s magic in the whole Crystal Empire!” Cozy giggled. “It’s so isolated we’ll have a few extra days to get the drop on Princess Twilight.”
“Yes, and this all went so well last time we tried,” Chrysalis mumbled.
“Oh, did you have a better plan?” Cozy asked. “I’m all ears.”
Chrysalis took a deep breath. “We could all just vanish. Go overseas. Saddle Arabia. Zanzebrica Land. Somewhere like that. No ponies, no magic of friendship. We wouldn’t have to be worried about getting put back in Princess Sparkle’s statue garden.”
Cozy flew up to Chrysalis’ eye height, glaring.
“It’s not about staying free!” Cozy snapped. “It’s about REVENGE!” She huffed and puffed and looked like she was going to explode. “I lost twenty years of my life! You and Tirek are immortal so you don’t care one buck, but I’ve now spent more bucking time as a rock than a pony! I’m going to tear this whole corrupt system down around their hooves and watch it burn!”
Chrysalis took a single step back, actually afraid of the filly.
“Maybe being locked in stone wasn’t such a good punishment for you,” she muttered.
“Golly, you think?” Cozy growled.
“Tell Tirek that I’ll get him his snack,” Chrysalis said. She grabbed Cozy Glow with her magic and pulled open a window. “Get out of here before you blow my cover, you impudent fool.” She didn’t put much force into the insult. She just wasn’t feeling it.
Cozy turned around and blew a raspberry at her before flying off.
“It feels strange to be out in public like this,” Chrysalis muttered.
“I think it’s important you be seen in public,” Cadance said.
Cadance had dragged her out of bed at the crack of noon and started ordering her around. The bath was, Chrysalis was forced to admit, welcome. Having to go out ‘for a stroll’ while not disguised as anything at all was less pleasant. She could feel the eyes on her. If it wasn’t for Cadance some of them might have run off screaming.
“We both know you mean you want me where you can keep an eye on me,” Chrysalis said, though she was smiling. “I’m not that bad of an influence.”
“Chrysalis, I literally cannot think of a pony who would be a worse influence, and I’ve even met Trixie,” Cadance retorted.
Chrysalis made a sound somewhere between a cricket chirp and a snort. “If I wasn’t a monster I’d be offended.”
“Oh wow, is that Queen Chrysalis?” asked a voice from behind, with just a hint of buzzing and chirping. If she’d had hackles, they’d be raised. She spread her wings a little, instincts telling her she had to be bigger, more impressive, more in charge.
She turned to see a pastel changeling looking at her curiously.
“Chrysalis is currently a… guest,” Princess Cadance said.
“I’m reformed,” Chrysalis said, through her teeth.
“She says she’s reformed,” Cadance said, either clarifying what she’d said since Chrysalis had mumbled it or emphasizing that only Chrysalis was saying she was reformed. The tone she used made it deliberately ambiguous.
“My name’s Amygdala! You can just call me Amy, though,” the changeling said. “This is amazing! I’ve heard all these stories but I never thought I’d get to meet you!”
Chrysalis could taste it. The other changeling didn’t have the emotional filters a real adult changeling should. Everything she felt blazed out of her like a beacon of light, even stronger than a pony’s emotions would be. Amygdala was… happy. She was excited.
Chrysalis coughed and tried to relax a little, forcing her wings flat. She extended a hoof. “It’s… a pleasure to meet you?” she tried.
Amy grabbed her hoof and shook it enthusiastically. “Is it true you led the hive for a thousand years? Are you going to marry King Thorax?”
“Yes, and definitely no,” Chrysalis said.
“There are a lot of changelings living here and we’ve all heard stories. Everybug, look! It’s really her!”
A dozen more changelings in every shade of the rainbow peeled out of the crowd, some of them flying out of cover to come over and gawk at her. The strangest part was the lack of fear. All of them had a strange melange of excitement and joy. It took her a moment to realize what it was - all of them were young. Born after she’d been deposed. To them, she was a novelty, like a fossil in a museum.
All of them felt that way but one, far in the back, the only one even trying to hide their emotions.
Chrysalis craned her head, ignoring a barrage of questions to look at them.
“Axilla,” Chrysalis said. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
“I’m more surprised to see you. I didn’t think you were going to be released,” the changeling said.
“You don’t sound happy to see me,” Chrysalis said. “I’m hurt.”
“Should I be happy to see you?” Axilla asked. “You look the same as you used to.”
“Not even using my title,” Chrysalis sighed. “I’d be offended, but I suppose I’m not your queen anymore. How is Thorax these days? Has he grown into the role?”
“He’s fine. Better than ever.”
Chrysalis nodded and sat down. “I need to thank him, the next time I see him.”
“You want to… thank him?”
“He took care of you. And he didn’t let the next generation grow up hating me,” Chrysalis said. “I… tried my best. You know how difficult things could be. How hard they were, back then. Ponies had been our enemies for centuries.”
“They’re not our enemies now,” Axilla said.
“I know.” Chrysalis looked up. “But do you know why changelings are named after parts of the body?”
Axilla frowned. “No.”
“It’s because we were all supposed to be parts of a whole. And we weren’t.” Chrysalis looked at the young, happy changelings in front of her. “Even when I was your ruler, the changelings were never happy to see me. They feared me, respected me, but it wasn’t… happy.”
Cadance watched the queen’s expression fall. The nearest changelings pressed in on her suddenly, swarming her and trying to hug the lanky bug from every direction.
“Don’t feel bad,” one of them said. “Bad feelings taste awful.”
“They do,” Chrysalis agreed. She leaned down and pulled the nearest few into a hug, sighing. “Sorry. It’s just… painful to think about old times. You all run off -- I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than hug me.”
“You should come visit us at the Crystal Hive,” Amy said. “Because so many of us moved here, they let us build our own little hive! It’d be just like home, only with more crystals.”
“I might do that,” Chrysalis said. She let go of the changelings and waved to them as they buzzed off. Even Axilla waved back. Chrysalis sat there for a long time, until they were alone again, the crystal ponies giving them a little privacy.
“They… actually like me,” Chrysalis said, sounding almost dazed. “But they don’t even know me.”
“That’s why they like you,” Cadance said. “You haven’t made a bad first impression on them.”
“I’m not used to being liked,” Chrysalis whispered.
“Flurry Heart likes you too. Harmony knows why. If you want them to keep liking you, it has to be more than just an act.” Cadance stepped in front of Chrysalis and looked up at her. For once she didn’t look mad, or disapproving, or upset. She was worried. Worried for Chrysalis, instead of about her. “For your own sake, don’t disappoint them.”
“What do you mean?” Chrysalis asked, cautiously. Had Cadance found out about her plans, somehow? Had she been exposed without knowing it?
“Every creature deserves to be loved. Even you. Think about what you had today - that could be what every day is like, spent surrounded by creatures that care about you. That won’t happen if you hurt them.”
Chrysalis was silent.
“Just.. think about it,” Cadance said. She started walking back to the palace. “I’ll see you at dinner. Why don’t you walk around a little more to clear your head?”
“That’s a good idea,” Chrysalis said, quietly. She wasn’t sure which part of it she meant.
Chrysalis poked at the eggs with a fork.
“What’s wrong?” Flurry Heart asked.
“They’re yellow.” Chrysalis said. “Why are they yellow?”
“Because… egg yolks are yellow?” Flurry said, slowly.
“Don’t be silly. I’ve seen thousands of eggs. They’re black and green.” Chrysalis scoffed. “These have clearly gotten spoiled. I can’t believe your mother would feed you spoiled food. And why are you eating eggs now? Aren’t these a breakfast food?”
“I like having breakfast foods at dinner time,” Flurry said. “Stuff like prench toast and waffles is way better when you’re awake enough to enjoy it.”
“I suppose,” Chrysalis mumbled. “Where is she, anyway? I thought she was going to eat dinner with you.”
“What have you done?!” Cadance demanded, storming into the dining room.
“Oh, there you are.” Chrysalis looked down at her eggs. “...Is asking for ketchup really considered that rude?”
“No! I mean this!” Cadance slammed a telegram down on the table. “There was supposed to be a train coming here from Canterlot today! But somehow, a whole train has gone missing! Care to explain exactly what you’re plotting?”
Chrysalis furrowed her brow. “It’s a train. They don’t go missing.”
“This one did,” Shining Armor said, trailing behind Cadance. “And like I tried to tell you, Cadance, Chrysalis hasn’t gone anywhere. I’ve had guards watching her.”
“She could be, you know! Putting the whammy on them!” Cadance said.
“Um, Mom, she’s just been eating breakfast. I don’t think she’d just leave the city and derail a train for no reason.” Flurry Heart shrugged. “Maybe something happened to the tracks. Or a monster attack!”
“Hah, what kind of idiot monster would want to attack a bunch of ponies on a train?” Chrysalis scoffed. “They’d have to be… some kind of giant… idiot.”
She immediately thought of Tirek.
“Do you have anything to share with the class?” Cadance asked.
“Bah!” Chrysalis huffed. “It’s probably nothing. You ponies can’t even get the trains to run on time! You should have let me take over.”
“I’ll go and check it out,” Shining Armor said. “If I go back along the tracks, I should be able to find something.”
Chrysalis could see it now. Shining Armor getting sucked dry by Tirek. Left to freeze in the snow without magic. Something inside her actually hurt at the idea.
“No!” she gasped, shooting to her hooves.
Everypony stared at her.
“I mean, ah…” she paused, trying to play it cool like a cat who’d just fallen right off its perch and wanted to act like it was a calculated maneuver. “You shouldn’t go. A pegasus could search much more efficiently.”
Shining Armor pursed his lips.
“Honey, I wouldn’t be saying this in any other circumstance, especially since you look so cute in your armor, but I think she’s actually right for once,” Cadance said. “You don’t need to go out in the cold when there are soldiers to do it for you.”
“I guess,” Shining Armor sighed. “You’re right. If there are ponies in trouble they need to be found quickly. I’ll be too slow on the ground and I can’t see as far as a search from the air. I’ll send Flash Sentry out. He’s always aching for some action.”
“Only because he doesn’t get any action from mares,” Flurry said under her breath.
Chrysalis snorted.
“That’s not nice,” Cadance said. “I don’t know where you heard those rumors, but Lieutenant Sentry is a valuable member of the Royal Guard.”
“Mom, you spent a whole month trying to set up him and Aunt Twily,” Flurry sighed. “Then Flash walked in on her kissing Miss Rarity and he tried to quit and go to Yakyakistan.”
Chrysalis was about to say something, but a blue aura kept her jaw firmly shut.
“We’ll talk about this later,” Cadance said. “Flurry, finish your dinner and then finish your homework. Even if the train is late, the mail still needs to go out in the morning.”
“Ugh, fine,” Flurry groaned. “I just wanted to do something more fun…”
Chrysalis paced, thinking furiously, in both senses of the word. She was angry at herself and it felt like her train of thought was crashing through every station it should be stopping at.
“It’ll be fine,” she buzzed to herself. “They’ll see Tirek, report back, and I’ll be able to make up some kind of story. I’ve had to work under worse conditions before. I just need a story that…”
She felt the anger well up. The story that what? What did she want? She’d started out wanting revenge. It had all been an act, a stepping stone. It should have still been that.
The door flew open. Chrysalis jumped in alarm.
“Flurry?” Cadance asked, sounding scared.
“Wrong room,” Chrysalis said.
Cadance looked around, as if the changeling was hiding her in some dark corner. “Have you seen Flurry? She’s not in her room, and nopony has seen her in an hour! Did she come to visit you?”
“No,” Chrysalis said, her wings buzzing unconsciously in growing alarm. “Did she sneak out with some colt?”
“I’d know if my daughter was dating somepony,” Cadance muttered. “It’s my whole thing that I do. Where else would she have gone…” Cadance bit her lip.
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “It’s not like there’s anything more dangerous than me here,” she said, and the moment she said that she remembered what was waiting outside the city. Waiting for a helpless, stupid alicorn. She sucked in a breath.
“What’s wrong?” Cadance asked.
“Probably nothing,” Chrysalis said, looking to the side.
“Do you know something?” Cadance demanded, stomping up to her. “Did you do something?”
“I haven’t done anything!” Chrysalis protested.
Cadance narrowed her eyes. “That had better be true. I want you to stay in this room until we find Flurry. If you take even one step outside, I’ll ship you back to Canterlot and tell Twilight to find you a nice place in an art gallery!”
“I wouldn’t hurt your daughter,” Chrysalis said.
“...I want to believe that,” Cadance said, quietly. “I really want to believe you’re trying to be a better pony. If you are, I’ll apologize later. Right now I just need to find her.”
Chrysalis watched her go, and winced at the sound of the door locking shut.
“That idiot must have gone to look for the train,” Chrysalis mumbled. “That stupid, stupid pony!” Chrysalis stepped over to the window and looked it over. It was the kind designed not to open. The kind where the slats between the tiny panes were less delicate than they looked, more like prison bars than just a frame.
She felt the panes carefully with her magic, finding one loose enough to rattle when she pressed on it. It only took a moment’s work to pop it loose.
A moment later, a centipede crawled through the gap, then turned into a falcon and flew south towards the train tracks.
A falcon had great eyesight, which was the main reason Chrysalis had chosen it. She just wished there was a faster bird, because even at the speed she was going, it didn’t feel fast enough, not even when she spotted the derailed train and the pale shape lying in the snow where any search was bound to find her.
The falcon dove, and Chrysalis changed back at speed, hitting the ground without slowing and stumbling over herself to get to Flurry Heart.
“This is so stupid,” Chrysalis mumbled, picking up the alicorn. She knew the alicorn had been left out deliberately. She was bait.
“Chrysalis?” Flurry Heart asked, opening her eyes. There was no life in them, just like hundreds or thousands of ponies Chrysalis had seen before. She hadn’t ever felt bad about it. Not until now.
“Just stay still,” Chrysalis said quietly. “You’ve shivering. I’ll get you somewhere warm--”
“What’s this?” boomed a huge voice over the tundra. Tirek stepped out from behind the train, shrugging off a layer of snow. “Here I was hoping I’d catch a few more ponies out looking for their precious little Princess and instead you show up.”
“Wowzee! I think she’s actually worried about her!” Cozy said. She flew out of the stalled train car, landing on the roof. “What’s that look on your face? It’s just so hard to tell with how ugly you usually are. Is it supposed to be pity?”
“She’s just a foal,” Chrysalis growled.
“So am I!” Cozy snapped. “And they decided to punish me forever for one little mistake! Do I deserve to be locked in Tartarus? Do I deserve to be petrified?! No! From my perspective, they’re the evil ones!”
“You did try to destroy civilization,” Tirek said. “Twice.”
“Fine, so I did deserve it a tiny-winey bit,” Cozy admitted. “But I’m still real mad about it!”
“You did well getting her out here,” Tirek said, hands on his hips. “I’m sure once you betray a few more ponies you’ll feel like your old self again. It’s just too bad you couldn’t lure the other alicorn here. That would have been perfect.”
“You can have her once we march on the Empire,” Cozy said, patting Tirek’s flank. “And if little Chryssy asks nicely maybe you can let her have a piece of the pie before we throw them all in a deep dark hole.”
“Don’t disappoint them.”
Chrysalis looked up at Tirek.
“I won’t let you,” she said.
“What, you want it all for yourself?” Tirek boomed. “That’s not the deal.”
“I’m changing the deal.” Chrysalis threw an acid-green bolt at Tirek’s face, and he shrieked and wiped at his eyes.
“Why do they always go for the face?!” he screamed. A ball of dark fire went in Chrysalis’ general direction. She grabbed Flurry and took to the air.
“To the left!” Cozy shouted. A second ball of dark magic nearly hit her, tearing off part of the roof of the train car. “The other left, you idiot!”
“It’s called right!” Triek yelled.
“I’m always right!” Cozy screamed. “Where did she go?! I lost her while you were busy trying to murder me when you should be murdering her!”
“You know, Tirek, your biggest weakness was always your love for power,” Chrysalis said, landing on his back. “It gives me something to really latch on to.”
Chrysalis could taste his desire for power, as heady and real as any lust shared between ponies. And just like any other love, it should have belonged to her. She pulled at it like a starving mare yanking fruit from the vine.
Tirek shrieked, body creaking as he started deflating like a leaking balloon.
Cozy Glow slammed into Chrysalis, knocking her off of Tirek and into the snow, Flurry Heart landing limply in a snowdrift.
“You’re ruining everything!” Cozy shouted.
“No matter,” Tirek growled. “I’ll just take it back from her along with every other scrap of her magic. You had one chance to make things work, Chrysalis, and you choose poorly.”
Chrysalis got to her hooves, shaking the disorientation away and glaring at Tirek.
“I could almost stand you,” Chrysalis said. “You were polite, even if under it I could feel how you were only ever thinking of how to use me. You never cared about me.”
“Of course not!” Tirek snapped. “That’s useless pony sentiment! They’re prey! The one law of the world is that the strong survive and the weak vanish! And if you’ve forgotten that, you’re just as weak as they are!”
Tirek opened his maw, trying to claw at Chrysalis’ magic.
It was like sticking his hand into a bear trap. The hungry darkness inside Chrysalis grabbed and bit and pulled, dragging at his dark magic. He tried to free himself, but more and more got dragged in before he could sever the connection.
Tirek collapsed to his knees. “How…?”
“I ruled an entire hive of changelings. Any of them would have been happy to take every drop of my love if they thought they could get away with it. It’s called experience, you fool.” Chrysalis threw a snowball at his face.
He cried out and grabbed his forehead, falling down and swearing in several demonic languages.
“I probably shouldn’t have put a rock in it, but I am evil,” Chrysalis said. She turned on her heels and walked over to where Flurry had landed. “Let’s get you back home and I’ll come up with some kind of story to tell your parents.”
“I’m so c-cold…” Flurry gasped, shivering.
“You’ll be fine,” Chrysalis assured her. “We just need to…” She looked around and swore. She’d have to do something. “Just relax. This might feel strange. For both of us.”
Someone who wasn’t a changeling might think it was like throwing up, something that was a little unpleasant but that could be done on a whim. It was more unpleasant than that, like trying to swallow poison. Something only an insane changeling would do.
Chrysalis had to let go of all the defenses that had kept Tirek out of her pool of love and try to find the parts that had been Flurry’s magic. There’s no good metaphor for this, but picture filling a blender with colored candies of your choice and trying to grab all the red ones out of it while it was turned on. It was foolish, almost impossible, and everypony involved was likely to get hurt.
The changeling metaphorically shoved the very literal magic down Flurry’s throat, and the color and life started to return to her body, the shivering slowing and her breathing coming more easily.
“There she is!” Cozy yelled, pointing. “Look! She’s got Princess Flurry Heart! Golly, you better stab her a bunch before she can get away!”
Chrysalis groaned and looked up. A cadre of what had to be almost every guard in the Empire was trailing Cozy Glow. All of them were armed.
“This isn’t what it looks like,” Chrysalis said.
“It’s definitely what it looks like,” Cozy said. “Come on, hurry up and stab her! You’ll be heroes!” She grinned madly.
“Don’t!” Flurry said, weakly. “She saved me!”
“It’s a trick! She’s a shapeshifter!” Cozy said. “Don’t think about it too much! That’s how she gets you with her evil changeling magic-- hey!”
A pink bubble appeared around her. She tried to fly away and bounced off of the inside.
“That’s enough out of you,” Shining Armor said.
“Why are you doing this? I’m just a harmless little foal and she’s a monster who hurt your daughter!” Cozy yelled.
“I know exactly who you are, Cozy Glow,” Shining Armor said.
“...Buck!” Cozy yelled. “Well arrest her too, at least! She was going to betray you and get revenge on Equestria with the rest of us! Just look at her! She’s not reformed! She’s just as much of a monster as always.”
“She’s not a monster,” Flurry said. She took Chrysalis’ hoof and got up, groaning. “She saved me, Dad. Whatever she was planning, she didn’t go through with it. The other ponies are inside the train car. They’re okay. Tirek got me while I was checking on them.”
Cadance ran out of the crowd and hugged Flurry.
“So you didn’t get paroled after all,” Shining Armor said. “It was a trick.”
“...Yeah,” Chrysalis sighed.
“But you changed your mind?” Shiny asked. “Why?”
“I think she didn’t want to disappoint ponies she cared about,” Cadance suggested.
Chrysalis thought for a moment. Why had she done it? Why had she turned against Cozy Glow and Tirek? They’d only been a few steps away from victory. All it would have taken would be a quick twist of the knife.
She looked at Flurry’s hopeful expression, at her old enemies waiting to hear what she’d say, and finally up at the evil foal trapped in a magic bubble.
“I just really, really hate Cozy Glow,” Chrysalis said, firmly. And it was true.
