Taking the Queen

Chrysalis dried her mane and prepared herself to slip into a dress. After a steamy night with Twilight, she'd been assigned a workout earlier in the morning than she was used to. She was covered in dried-on femme cum and her fur was quite matted as a result. The long and short of it was that she needed a shower, desperately.

She came back to her cell, having been watched and escorted by random guards all day, to find that Spiceberry was sitting in her cell, waiting for her. He smiled and offered her a cup of cider. "Good workout?"

"Very nice, yes." She accepted the cup and took a long draught, downing the entire cup in one go.

"Well, I hope you're not too tired," he smirked. "After much deliberation, we've decided to organize a few events for you to make amends for your actions."

"What actions?" asked Chrysalis, sashaying closer. "I've been a bad, bad girl, and I need to be punished."

"I'll spank you later. More importantly, I have a surprise for if you successfully convince everypony that you're very sorry and ready to redeem yourself."

Chrysalis turned around and wiggled her arse. "Are you sure you want to wait until later?"

Spiceberry brought up his hoof and smacked it across her flank. "Put on something nice. Starlight's going to be here soon to collect you. Dark colours, if you can."

As he walked off, Chrysalis couldn't help herself as she watched his tail bounce around the corner. When he was gone, she offered her lead to one of the guards that was escorting her, but rather than strapping her to the wall, he just held it in his hoof. Chrysalis wasn't about to complain, as it didn't matter to her anymore. She wanted to be out of her cell, but she needed to stay there to make that happen.

She opted for a very dark red dress. Not knowing exactly what she was going into, just a plain red dress was enough. It was one of three that she owned that matched the dark shade she was instructed to use, the others being green and black. The black one was off being washed, and the green one was damaged.

When Starlight showed up, she took the lead from the guard. "My dark green dress has a popped seam," informed Chrysalis, holding it up to show the hole. "I need somepony to repair it."

"I'll send somepony down," nodded Starlight. "Are you ready to go?"

Chrysalis nodded and took her place next to Starlight as they began their walk. "Can I know where we're going this time?" asked Chrysalis. "I don't want to misread the situation again."

"You're going to apologize to somepony you've wronged," informed Starlight. "Recently, in fact."

"Fluttershy?"

Starlight shook her head. "Not that recently. She already accepted your apology. No, this is from shortly after your capture."

Chrysalis thought back to the time shortly after her capture. She wasn't seeing nearly as many ponies in those days. Most notable from that list were Twilight and Starlight, and the cycling rotation of guards that would watch her. Out of all of them, she probably did the most damage to Twilight. That would make sense, but if she apologized now, it would come across as being for the night prior, and that was nothing to apologize for.

They stopped in front of a well-guarded door with a carving of a moon on it. For a moment, the thought flashed through Chrysalis' mind that this was the royal outhouse. She wouldn't actually say this, as it sounded like an insult, and she was here to make amends. The thought quickly disappeared, as she knew that the castle had indoor plumbing. She'd just been in the showers, after all.

"I'd give you some last-minute tips, but you know what to do," nodded Starlight. "If you remember your training and keep it professional, you'll be just fine. I can't hold your hoof forever. Good luck, Chryssi."

With a firm pat on her flank, Starlight walked away. Chrysalis brought a hoof up to her cheek. A nickname, and the faith that she could do this without help. She took a deep whiff, and could smell a bit of love Starlight had left behind; just a taste. The pressure was increased yet again, but she was going to keep performing. Perhaps this was a test, to see how much pressure it would take to crush her. Steeling her resolve, she turned and knocked on the door. She was a big bug, and that meant she had to be harder to squash.

The door opened, and the moon carving finally made sense. The room was decorated with dark blues and purples. The white shine of the bricks in the hallway instantly cut to a slate grey on the inside. Several sparkling sheer curtains hung from the ceiling, most of them drooping over furniture to create a sort of waterfall look, while others hovered over the windows of smoked glass, blocking out a lot of the natural light and darkening the room.

There were some bright facets to the room, as well. In contrast to the bright lamps in the hallway emitting white lights, these were either covered with a façade, or maybe were actual iridescent mushrooms growing out of sconces. The only other light sources were a candle sitting on a walnut desk next to a stack of books and a scroll, and the chandelier, which looked to be made of knives at first. Upon closer inspection, they were crystalline shards tinted light blue and refracting pinpricks of light around the room. They almost seemed to be made from ice, and yet they would not melt.

"Are we enjoying the decorations?" asked Luna, clearing her throat. "I have spent several months deciding on the exact decorations that suit me. I believe that I have succeeded in doing so, though many disagree. Multiple gentlecolt suitors have been heard mentioning the gaudiness of the room. What are your thoughts?"

Chrysalis did not know what to say at first. Part of her training had been to tell ponies that their belongings, no matter how gaudy, were to be described as the finest jewels she'd ever seen. On the other hoof, she'd been told not to lie. In any other case, she would have been caught between these two options, but in this case, she simply smiled. "I would not change a thing. It's perfect."