Chrysalis looked at Discord, disbelieving what he was saying. “What do you mean you have to go?”
Discord sighed. “It’s only for a year,” he promised. “I have to go to Equestria to try and negotiate with the two new princesses there.” He said ‘negotiate’ in a disgusted sort of tone. He hated negotiating. He much preferred solving problems by snapping his fingers. “I’m the only draconequus left, so I kind of have to go.”
“But, I’ll be here all alone! I can’t be queen on my own; I don’t know how.”
“Chrissy,” Discord said, lifting her chin. “You’ve been queen for seven months now, and you’ve been doing it without help for five. You don’t need help.”
“But I don’t want you to go,” Chrysalis almost whined.
“Believe me, I don’t want to either,” he said. “But I have to. Oh, and you know what?”
“What?” she asked suspiciously.
“I’m leaving a little something for you. Come with me.” He floated through the ever-changing halls towards the throne room, Chrysalis following. When they got to the room where her throne was, the first thing she noticed was that it wasn’t there. Or rather, there was a throne there, but it wasn’t hers. They were the same size, but hers had been made of emerald green stone, and this one was black as night and all angles where hers had been curves.
“Discord,” she said, confused. “What is this?”
“It’s your new throne, of course,” Discord said grandly, fireworks appearing out of seemingly nowhere.
“But why? I quite liked my old one,” Chrysalis said matter-of-factly.
“Yes, but was your old one carved from an ancient stone that sucks up all non-changeling magic in this entire kingdom? No! But this one is. Just a little something extra to protect you while I’m gone. You won’t have to go up against anyone with magic.”
Chrysalis was shocked. “Discord,” she breathed. “How..but..what..but you’re using magic. And you’re not a changeling.”
Discord snorted. “No, really?” he said sarcastically. “But seriously, I’m the one who carved the stone and added the enchantments to it. It lets me use magic because it knows my magic. If I stay away for too long, it might forget, but that’s not going to happen, so it doesn’t really matter.”
“So, what you’re saying is, this is for real?” Chrysalis asked excitedly.
“Oh, yeah. I wouldn’t trick you with something like this,” Discord said, pretending to be offended. “I’m sorry I’m leaving, but I thought this might help tide you over until I get back.”
Just like that, Chrysalis deflated. “Oh, right. You’re leaving. When are you going?”
“Oh, yeah,” Discord chuckled nervously. “Yeah, I’m supposed to leave today,”
“WHAT?!” Chrysalis exclaimed. “And you didn’t tell me until now?”
“Sorry?”
Chrysalis sighed. “That’s just like you. You promise you’ll be back in a year?”
“I promise,” Discord said, hooking his little claw around the top notch in Chrysalis’ horn.”
“Good.” Chrysalis said firmly. Then she grabbed Discord and kissed him, hard. He started, surprised, but then melted into it. When they separated, Chrysalis looked at him and said, “Be back in a year, behave, and don’t forget to have fun. I love you.”
Discord smiled. “I will. Don’t stress yourself out while I’m gone. I love you too.”
“Good-bye.”
“Bye.”
The first month Discord was gone, Chrysalis moped around a lot and neglected her queen duties more than she should have.
The second month, she was more used to his absence, and was able to catch up on all the stuff she hadn’t done the month before.
The third and fourth months, she threw herself into her queen role, and tried to forget Discord was even gone at all.
By the fifth month she had burned herself out, and she stopped working so much and started back up her normal schedule that she’d had before Discord had left.
It was in the middle of the tenth month that she got the news. One of her drones had snuck into Equestria and found out that Discord had gotten fed up with negotiations and had started to wreak chaos all over the country. The princesses had found something powerful enough to defeat him, and now he was turned to stone in their castle gardens.
Chrysalis stared at the messenger. “He promised,” she said lowly, her eyes dark with rage. “He promised he’d come back. He said he’d behave and be back in a year. A year. And then he went and got himself turned to stone! THAT IS NOT BEHAVING! THAT IS BEING STUPID! HE BROKE HIS PROMISE BECAUSE HE WAS BORED!” Chrysalis stopped and breathed in, then looked down at the slightly frightened drone beneath her. “Spread the word through the hive. I am going to get revenge on those princesses if it’s the last thing I do, and if Discord ever gets out of that statue, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”
As the years went on, Chrysalis became angrier and angrier, and ‘revenge on those princesses’ eventually became “take over all of Equestria, and feed on the ponies’ love for generations!”
By the time she took over Canterlot, she might have gone just the tiniest bit insane, not that she’d say it of course. Their failure in Canterlot only fueled her anger, and seeing Discord’s statue in the courtyard definitely didn’t help. He looked terrified. Part of her wanted to say he deserved it for being so stupid, but the other part wanted to say that he looked so scared and he didn’t deserve her anger.
When she captured all the important ponies in Equestria, she hadn’t counted on anyone coming to save them. But there they came. Two pathetic ponies, the traitor Thorax, and Discord himself, who she hadn’t even known was out of his stone prison. He hadn’t come to her after he got out? Why not?
But he’d come to rescue one of those ponies, didn’t even acknowledge her when her drones brought him to her, just stood there talking to them about butterflies or something until she cocooned him.
And when her throne was destroyed and all her cocoons broken, she saw him pick up the yellow pony like he used to hold her, and she felt anger like never before. She flew right up to him, ignoring the yellow pony hiding behind him and all the horns now aimed at her, and she just about screamed. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” He looked surprised. Well, he shouldn’t.
“I have been wanting to do this for over 1,000 years, and YOU ARE GOING TO LET ME!” She starts pacing back and forth. Everyone is looking at her, but no one’s horn is lit now. They are all interested. “You promised you were going away for a year. You said you were going to behave yourself, negotiate a peace treaty even though you hate doing it, and be back in a year. Well, imagine my surprise when I hear that not only did you start making Equestria your playground, you also got caught and turned into a statue! You were made of stone! Did you even stop to think about how that would make me feel? Guess not!” Everyone is confused now. Looks like Discord didn’t tell any of them about her.
“So I swore to get revenge on the princesses that banished you, but you know what happened? One of them went and got herself banished! By her own sister! Who does that?” Chrysalis knew she was rambling now, but she didn’t really care. She deserved this; she’d been waiting over a millennium. She saw Celestia blush out of the corner of her eye. “So I have to wait 1,000 more years for her to come back, and then when I try to take over Canterlot, finally, after waiting practically forever, I fail. DO YOU KNOW HOW EMBARRASSING THAT IS? And then I see your statue in the gardens there, and oh my gosh, you looked scared.” Her voice broke, and for the first time during her rant, she’s more sad than angry.
“When have you ever gotten scared in the face of danger before? What did those damn princesses do to you? Then, somehow you get out, and I guess you’re friends with them now, who knows why, and you come to save them from me? You never came to me after you got out, you never acknowledged me, even when I cocooned you just to see if you’d say something? YOU DIDN’T EVEN CARE THAT MY THRONE WAS BROKEN! You’re the one that gave it to me, and you don’t even blink as it’s destroyed. All you care about is her,” Chrysalis spat out, glaring at the yellow pegasus.
Discord looks like he’s been slapped in the face. “Chrissy, I thought you were dead!” he exclaims.
She stops just as she’s turning away. “What?”
He takes her hesitation as a good sign. “I was stone for over a millennium. I thought you had died. I’m sorry I got myself turned to stone by the way. That wasn't supposed to happen. Then Starlight comes to me and says the Changelings have captured everyone, and I thought for sure you were dead. Because no way would my dear Chrysalis do something like that. But then Thorax said you were alive, and then I realized the throne had forgotten me, and I couldn’t do magic, and I still had to help save them. Mostly because I had to see if you really did kidnap everyone. Then I saw you, and I couldn’t do anything because, Chrissy, you’re so different. You looked so evil and creepy and your eyes are different and none of the drones have pupils and your mane is all straggly. And your throne isn’t so great when it’s also blocking my magic. It was never supposed to do that!”
Chrysalis stared at him. “You thought I was dead, and you think my mane is straggly?”
“That’s what you got from that?” Discord deadpanned. “Look, Chrissy, I’m really sorry. I got bored, and I missed you, and I couldn’t control it; it just happened.”
“For the record, I’m still mad at you about that, but I guess that makes sense. But what about the yellow one?” Chrysalis asked, glaring pointedly at the pegasus in question.
“What about her?” Discord asked. “Her name is Fluttershy by the way.”
Chrysalis inwardly hit herself. Oblivious idiot. “I mean, you seemed rather close with her right now. Did I get replaced while you thought I was dead?” she growled.
Discord’s mismatched eyes widened. “Oh! Oh, no dear Chrissy. I’d never replace you. Silly changeling.” He came up to her, and kissed her on the lips, ignoring all the gasps, and she felt centuries of anger melt away in that one moment.
They parted, and Chrysalis said, “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for capturing all your new friends.”
Discord smirked. “I know. You were sorry from the moment you saw me again.”
Chrysalis smacked him. “Idiot,” she mumbled. He just laughed.
All the ponies and changelings watching turned to each other at the same time, all thinking the same thing. “Um, what just happened?”
Author's Note
The characters are probably OOC, and I'm not great at writing either of them, but the idea was just too cool to dismiss. I hope you liked it anyway.
Also: This story now has an audio recording of it, by Pony&Wolf Productions, and it's really cool.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wDUNWZWNgc
