Taking the Queen

Starlight was late. She always showed up around this time, and she wasn't here yet. Perhaps her injuries had been worse than initially guessed? Nonsense, Twilight would have said something. Unless, of course, Starlight's injuries were the reason she was going to the Crystal Empire?

Finally, she heard hoofsteps approaching. Two sets of them. Starlight's she could pick out. The other set sounded bigger, likely the stallion she would be working with today. He stopped just behind the corner, and Starlight continued on her own to the cell.

"I was held up," explained Starlight. "There was something wrong with the tracks, so the train was late."

"It was a broken section of rail," came a familiar voice from around the corner. Chrysalis knew the stallion, but could not place a name or face to the voice.

"A broken rail," nodded Starlight. "Anyway, I couldn't pick this up or have a message brought to you sooner, but you'll be needing to wear this today." Starlight picked up a bag off of her back and pushed it through the bars. "Change quickly, we're already running later than I would like."

"What's wrong with what I have on?" asked chrysalis, stripping out of her schoolfilly outfit.

"We have something special planned for today, and you need to be dressed up in a way that supports the activity."

Chrysalis slipped into the dark green track suit she had been brought. She didn't know what ponies found this attractive, but at the same time, she was not a fashionista. She didn't even know who thought the schoolfilly uniform was attractive. What kind of stallion was into little foals, and why was that allowed? But if that was a fetish, surely somepony found the track suit appealing, too.

As soon as she was dressed, the door slid open and Starlight waved to the stallion, beckoning him to come in. Chrysalis kneeled down, expecting him to dictate her use, but as Starlight walked past, she picked Chrysalis up. "You're not staying in this cell. We're going somewhere today."

As the stallion walked into the cell, Chrysalis could finally place his face and name. "Well, this is a surprise, Prince Shining Armor," she said, forcing a malicious smile. She wanted to put on a powerful air, but in truth, she was mortified. Shining's love was insanely powerful, that much she knew. If she could convince him that she was Cadance, or even Twilight, then he could, and in the past had, given her enough love to take over all of Canterlot. Without the ability to transform, however, it had the capacity to consume her. For right now, that was a fear she needed to hide.

He and Starlight walked to the back of the cell, and with a pair of keys, unhooked her from the wall. She was unbound from her anchor, the door was open, and only a single guard seemed to stand between her and the exit. On top of that, the cables strung to her wrist could act as whips, so she was armed, as well. And yet, she didn't run. She couldn't run. Something inside of her had broken, and what she felt was best right now was to sit and wait.

Starlight gathered up the cables and wrapped them up into coils that she could use as a leash. She gave one to Shining and kept the other, and they both led her along the hallways, twisting and turning, drawing the attention of everypony they walked by. Chrysalis tried to memorize the route, noting any possible doors that would take her outside. In the end, it didn't matter, however, as the last turn they went through was an exterior door.

Chrysalis found herself in a large field, bordered on all sides by walls. Four dozen or so ponies were running around, flying through the air, or punching and kicking at hay dummies. All of that stopped as soon as she was trotted out among them. Everypony turned to look at her, stopping what they were doing to gawk.

"I've made it very clear, or rather I've tried to, that appearance is very important in the line of work you'll be going into," said Starlight, taking the leash from Shining Armor. "It's also imperative that you have a lot of muscle control. Twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, you'll be brought somewhere to do your exercising. This will make you both more appealing and better at your job. This is imperative, and at this time, non-negotiable."

Chrysalis turned to face her. "Are you sure you want me growing more powerful? I could overcome you."

"Perhaps you will," nodded Starlight. "It's entirely possible that my feeling sorry for you and giving you the ability to move around like this was a bad idea. Perhaps it would have been more beneficial to put an exercise bike in your cell. But it's becoming very crowded in there, and we won't be able to fit all of your clients in there if we go any further."

She turned to Chrysalis and put her hoof on her shoulder, looping the cable coils around her neck so as not to let them become a tripping hazard. "You told Twilight not to pretend that her helping you was done for your benefit. I'm not going to pretend that this is solely for your benefit. This is going to do a lot for me. It's going to do a fair bit for Twilight, and it's especially going to be very good for the guards. It'll also give me the opportunity to spray you down with soap and water, banishing that awful smell and making you more approachable. It also gives the staff time to clean your cell, with the guards searching it for paraphernalia. So you see, this is not done for your benefit, it's for ours. The fact that you become a tiny bit more buff is really one of my lesser concerns. Now, go run at least two laps. Jog if you have to slow down. Justify your upcoming shower."

She swatted Chrysalis' flank just as Shining fired a spell from his horn, blocking off the sky. She knew that the open air was too good to be true. Of course going outside would be limited by a force field upheld by Equestria's most powerful abjurer. No way would she be allowed full rein out of their grasp. She wasn't that far gone yet.