Flitting through the heavens and spotting the spire of her keep in the distance, Chrysalis smirked. Nopony save herself knew how onerous it was running a hive of changelings, ensuring they didn’t starve while dealing with their constant inadequacies, which was why she’d taken a small sabbatical - well, one reason why. Her infiltration of the Canterlot castle to gather intelligence on her nemesis had ended in failure, leading to a quaint breakfast with her foe, and she’d required time to process the tumultuous mixture of feelings she’d been left with afterward.
She pulled her wings in and dove from the heavens, happy to be home but dreading whatever issues she’d soon be faced with. In spite of her best efforts, her followers, even the more capable ones, always tended to bungle something in her absence - as such, she’d bet her bottom bit that there would be at least one issue to manage upon her arrival. Landing and breaking into a canter, moving into the great hall of her fortress, she made a beeline toward the throne room.
As drones scurried hither and thither, assuredly in a mild panic that their Queen had returned, her thoughts darkened. Her little vacation, while warranted and relatively relaxing, hadn’t done a thing to deal with the royal pain in her behind. The little feud between herself and Celestia had only grown more complex over the past few months, with their animosity replaced by a bizarre sort of affection, and she was genuinely uncertain of how to handle the situation - if there was any dealing with it whatsoever.
Something white, black, and flowing rushed by her, jolting her back to the present. She stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder to see what in the wide world of Equestria had passed her by. Her eyes widened for the briefest of moments and her jaw went slack, spotting what she could only describe as a drone wearing a maid outfit.
“Stop right there!” she seethed, her confusion instantaneously eclipsed by wrath.
The only uniforms allowed within her fortress were the sets of armor worn by her praetorian guard, yet some foolish grub had chosen to breach protocol in the most perplexing way possible. Skidding to a halt and visibly trembling, the drone obeyed her irate command. She trotted around to face them, to see whom she was about to cast into the gulag, and was stunned to see that the transgressor was none other than Pharynx.
She sneered down at him as he kept his eyes on the floor. To find one of her hive’s mares dressed in such a baffling way would have been bad enough, but to discover that it was one of her most trusted stallions tinged her rage with abject bewilderment. Bringing a forehoof under his chin, she lifted his face toward her.
“And what pray tell is this?” she murmured.
“My Queen, you have a guest that I’m unsuited to deal with,” he grumbled, refusing to look her in the eye. “Though no damage has been done, she’s - Ahem - dealt with any and all who dare confront her with this,” he continued, scrunching his snout back at himself. “I will accept any punishment you decide to impose upon me, but please allow me to change into my sanctioned attire…”
“She…” Chrysalis trailed off, her blood running cold. There was only one she that she was aware of who was insane enough to trespass within her hive and make a mockery of her staff. “Where is she…”
He turned and pointed a hoof to a corridor. “As of a few minutes ago, she was approaching your chamber. I swear, I tried to stop her, but -”
“Out of my sight, you insolent worm,” she raged, storming away from him. “And you will wear that pretty little dress until I say otherwise ~ understood?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” he muttered, shuffling off.
She’d think of a suitable punishment for him eventually, but that could wait - for the time being, he could suffer with the ignominy of wearing a dress while standing at his post. Marching toward the hallway he’d pointed to, she glanced back at him and knit her brow. She hadn’t noticed it seconds prior, but it appeared like he’d fed recently - in fact, glancing at the various drones she strode by, all the changelings in her castle seemed as though they’d recently had quite the banquet.
With her jaw set and lip curled, ignoring the plumped love-bugs skittering out of her way, she continued onward. With an inkling of whom had desecrated the sanctity of her hive, yet baffled by her well-fed drones, her mind raced. If her suspicion was correct, and she prayed it wasn’t, she may be facing off against her archenemy.
She slowed as she rounded a corner, nearly running into a pair of changelings similarly adorned in maid’s attire, as a cheerful singing crept to her ear. The joyous tune was wholly out of place within her lair, setting her nerves on edge and sending her into a fit of pique. So help her, whoever or whatever was enjoying themselves was about to be in for a very rude awakening. Shifting toward the unsettlingly pleasant noise, she meandered down the corridor, peeked through an open doorway, and scowled.
Pharynx was one of the best in her retinue, which wasn’t saying all that much, but his brother - his brother may have been one of the most disappointing grubs she’d ever had the misfortune of bringing into the world. As she watched Thorax gaily prance about the chamber, dusting surfaces as he went along, the fires of her rage burned brighter and brighter. If she didn’t administer some corrective action, and quickly, there was a real possibility that he’d end up hugging and playing nice with the pastel prey that comprised most of their diet.
“Stop that this instant!” she barked, bringing his buffoonery to an abrupt end.
Wheeling to face her, he shrank back. “Q…Q…Queen Chrysalis, I h…hope your g…getaway was -”
“Don’t you act coy with me!” she snapped, stomping a hoof for good measure. “Explain to me - Explain to me what you are…”
She fell silent and her ears swiveled to the side, as a singular noise wrenched her attention away from berating her subject. Changelings rarely if ever wore anything on their hooves while at their hive, making the sound of metal softly clicking against the resinous floor nearly cacophonous. Stepping back and looking down the hallway, she went pale.
Trotting toward her with impunity, merrily humming to herself and wielding a broom and a dusk pan in her sorcerous grasp, was Princess Celestia herself. To see an alicorn - any alicorn within her realm would have been unsettling, but to see what was arguably the most ancient and powerful alicorn on the planet strutting about like she owned the place was unnerving and infuriating in equal measure. While she would have launched herself at the brazen pony under normal circumstances, attacking with every ounce of her physical and arcane might, her enemy’s choice of clothing gave her a moment for pause.
In lieu of her typical reiments of a peytral, crown, and armored shoes, the Princess was done up like a stereotypical Prance maid. The black and white of her dress clashed with the soft colors of her ethereal mane and tail, yet she hadn’t stopped with the outfit alone. As unbelievable as it was, she’d anointed herself with cherry red lipstick, a touch of blush, and mascara.
Stopping just in front of her, ignoring her bared fangs and tensed frame, Celestia bowed. “Good morning to you, Queen Chrysalis, would you mind stepping to the side for a moment?”
The request was so perfectly executed and demure that she thoughtlessly did as she was asked, shuffling over and clearing the doorway she’d been standing in front of. Without skipping a beat, the Princess saw herself in and wandered to Thorax’s side. There’d been perilously few times in her life when she’d been left dumbfounded by an unforeseen development, although the bizarre circumstances left her at a loss for words.
“Thorax, would you be a dear and to tend to the throne room?” Celestia politely inquired, reaching out and taking the duster from his forehoof.
“O…of course, Celestia,” he bashfully replied. Turning and trotting to the door, he slipped past the Matriarch and dipped his head. “E…excuse me, my Queen.”
She nipped at him as he broke into a canter down the hallway and out of reach. His treachery would be addressed with shortly - very shortly, although he’d be spared until she dealt with her uninvited guest. Blocking the doorway and preventing the Princess from leaving, she wreathed her horn in crackling, harlequin fire.
“Princess Celestia, to what do I owe this honor?” she spat, her words dripping with contempt.
Shrugging and giving her little mind, the alicorn blithely swept the floor. “After your little visit last month, I wanted to repay the favor.”
“Favor?” she balked. “What blasted favor?”
Celestia straightened and looked back at her with a smile. “The favor of your company and all the hard work you did in my home. Though you may have been there on a mission, you did quite the fine job tending to the Canterlot Castle. One good turn deserves another, after all.”
“If you wish to repay said - Ugh - favor,” she groaned, closing her eyes and rubbing her temple, “you can vacate the premises at once.”
Had she been able to tap into the bottomless wellspring of power that the Crystal Heart afforded, or possibly engorged herself on a score of ponies, she may have stood a chance in pitched combat against Celestia - sadly, having been stymied by her hubris time and again, she knew all too well that her chances of defeating the Princess in combat were slim at best. Despite being in her home and surrounded by what were supposed to be her faithful subjects, she was at a distinct disadvantage. Feeling a migraine coming on, she lowered her head and quietly groaned.
“My Queen,” Celestia bleated, rushing over and placing a hoof on her shoulder, “are you unwell?”
The gentle touch sent her reeling - not because it hurt, but because she sensed genuine concern from the mare. She and her kind were unlike any other species in Equestria, having a sixth sense of sorts to detect emotions, so she instantaneously realized that the Princess’ concern wasn’t feigned. Lifting her gaze and staring into the alicorn’s eyes, she scowled.
“Of course I’m not well ~ what kind of question is that?” she hissed. “I come back from a small bout of personal leave and find you traipsing about in my hive looking like…like this!”
The Princess shuffled back with a wounded look on her face and looked down at herself. “Do you not like it?”
“I…” she faltered, stricken by a subtle wave of melancholy radiating from the pony. “It’s fine. There - I’ve acknowledged your dubious taste in apparel. You can go now.”
She hated herself for it, but acquiescing would likely be the easiest and least disastrous way to deal with her regal visitor. Open hostility would serve no purpose other than to damage her castle and potentially injure her brood, so avoiding a battle would be ideal. Drawing a deep breath and slowly exhaling, attempting to calm her frazzled nerves, she waited impatiently for her visitor to leave - sadly, the Princess didn’t budge.
Her eyes narrowed as she squinted over at the alicorn. “Was there anything else you wanted?”
Lifting a hoof to fiddle with her mane, Celestia fidgeted slightly. “Well you were in my castle for at least two weeks, so I thought -”
“No, absolutely not,” she interrupted. “There’s no way in Tartarus that I’ll have you flitting about in my sanctuary dressed like that.”
The Princess brought her forehoof to her shoulder and gently pulled at the strap on her dress. “I…I suppose I don’t have to wear it, if it pleases you, my Queen.”
Seeing a blush blossom on the pony’s face, she pinched the bridge of her snout. “I didn’t just mean the dress, you simpleton. Your mere presence is enough to stir discontent among my followers, and -”
“Are you sure about that?” Celestia coyly countered, cutting her off while peaking a brow. “The hoofful of drones I’ve spoken with appeared pleased enough with my presence - of course, they were a bit shocked at first, but they seemed to warm to me quickly enough.”
Biting back the urge to lash out at the Princess, she gnashed her teeth. “Which drones exactly?”
“A few,” the alicorn tittered. “‘Tis not a maid’s duty to hug and tell.”
She made a mental note to thoroughly interrogate everypony in the castle, yet the reply she’d received raised another, equally concerning question. “How long have you graced my keep with your presence?”
Giving a second little shrug, Celestia turned away. “Only a few days - just long enough to ensure your home was being well-kept in your absence.”
“I - hey!” Chrysalis squawked, trotting after the impertinent mare. “I wasn’t done speaking with you!”
“My most sincere apologies, my Queen, but my duties aren’t finished for the day,” the Princess noted.
Noticing that she was moving in the direction of her chamber, Chrysalis felt a lump forming in her throat. “And what self-imposed duties are you referring to?”
“Well, aside from tidying up the place, I thought that certain parts of your castle could use a Princess’ touch,” Celestia giggled.
“Which parts?” Chrysalis pressed, sweat forming on her brow.
“The staff and guards’ quarters were first on my to-do list. Did you know that the poor things didn’t have the slightest bit of decoration to admire on their off-time?” the alicorn quipped, peeking back at her.
Glancing to the doorway of her bedchamber, Chrysalis swallowed hard. “They’re minions, they’re not supposed to be ensconcing themselves with unnecessary frivolities.”
“True,” Celestia mused, “although I didn’t hear any complaints with the flower arrangements and tapestries.”
“So help you, if you brought lace doilies into my hive…” she breathed, shuddering at the thought.
Celestia laughed and dismissively waved a wing back at her. “Please - like I’d do something that garish. All I did was bring in some flowers, a number of motivational posters, and I may have brought snacks for everypony.”
As the Princess came to a halt by her door, her heart pounded in her chest. If her guest had gone so far as to embellish the drones’ quarters, she couldn’t imagine how her room had been desecrated. A part of her wanted to retreat, to simply abandon her castle until her visitor had departed, but she knew better than to do something that idiotic. Regardless of how long Celestia stayed, her sanctum would remain in whatever state the Princess had left it in - that and abandoning her drones would tarnish her character.
Inching forward and flinging her door open, having braced herself for the worst, she stared wide-eyed into her chamber. She’d fully expected to find a dizzying array of colorful trimmings, yet what she discovered was anything but. Curtains of silk draped her windows, heart-shaped pillows lay strewn across her bed, and a luxurious rug rested on her floor - all of which being jet black, yet those weren’t what caught her eye. Hanging upon one wall was a tapestry of herself.
“I do hope you like it,” Celestia whispered. “As somepony who also appreciates herself, I thought it was only fitting to give you something that exemplified your grandeur.”
She drifted inside and to the mosaic. Highly stylized as it was, the mammoth piece of art depicted her flying above a hive full of jubilant changelings. Staring up in open awe at the piece, she found herself speechless. It was extraordinarily rare for her to receive a gift from anypony, much less one of such magnitude - even then, on the few occasions somepony had freely given her anything, she’d only gotten gifts while disguised as somepony else.
Forcing what would have been a smile from appearing on her muzzle, she pursed her lips. “Take them with you when you leave…”
She’d always considered herself a master of subterfuge, yet she’d egregiously underestimated Celestia’s capabilities in that realm. Instead of trying to slip into her hive unnoticed, the Princess’ was far more insidious. Her nemesis surreptitiously plucked at her heartstrings through her ego, avoiding any overt trace of guile, which evoked conflicting feelings of admiration and indignation.
Celestia looked from her to the tapestry and back again, her smile wavering. “I thought that -”
“You thought wrong,” she fumed, staring daggers at the Princess. “I shall not be wooed by such paltry…”
The words died in her throat, robbing her of the ability to finish her scathing rebuttal, as she was rocked by a surge of wave of energy flowing from Celestia. Sadness, pity, regret, and the smallest trace of irritation mirrored the disheartened look on the pony’s face. Had she not been who she was - what she was, she may have continued assuming the Princess’ actions had been done to curry favor with her, but that wasn’t the case - that wasn’t the case in the slightest.
She peeked over at the exit and slammed the door shut, before directing her full attention back to the sullen alicorn. “What’s the meaning of this, Celestia - the real meaning…?”
Lifting her eyes from the floor for a fleeing second, risking a look at her, Celestia averted her gaze. “I truly did want to repay you. Having you in the castle was…”
“Was what?” she chided.
“It was fun…” the Princess faintly admitted.
Though she was fully aware that she’d been offered a once in a lifetime opportunity, a means with which to strike a blow against her foe, she hesitated. It was one thing to best her mortal enemy in a duel, yet kicking somepony when they were down felt wrong. She didn’t move, studying the alicorn, until the roiling mass of conflicting feelings within her got the better of her.
“Ugh!” she loudly protested, slamming a hoof to the floor. “Fine - the tapestry can stay.”
“A…and the pillows?” Celestia meekly inquired.
“And the blasted pillows,” she answered. “And that abhorrent rug…”
The corners of the Princess’ lips turned up. “It’s yak hair.”
“Awful,” Chrysalis lamented. “Ghastly and unfit for a Queen such as myself, but I suppose it will keep my hooves warm throughout the colder months.”
As audacious as ever, possibly emboldened by the small concessions she’d been granted, Celestia inched closer. “So you’ll allow me to stay for the next two weeks?”
“Absolutely not!” she barked. “You’ve been here for heaven knows how long, and I shan’t -”
“I’ve been here for four days,” Celestia interjected. “Had you asked, I would have told you.”
With a disgruntled snort, she meandered over to her bedside. “That’s inconsequential. What matters is that you will withdraw back to that alabaster eyesore you call a castle posthaste.”
Following along after her, the alicorn turned her nose up. “I hardly think that’s fair. Not only are my duties unfinished, but I was planning on surprising your servants with tea and cookies this afternoon.”
Chrysalis facehoofed in consternation at the remark. “Then leave after your infernal get-together.”
She’d toppled kings, sown discontent throughout nations, and faced perils that were the stuff of nightmare, yet here she was negotiating with her most formidable rival. Somewhere out there, likely watching with a bowl of popped corn and a drink, sat a certain draconequus taking great joy from her discontent - she just knew it. Halfheartedly prodding one of the pillows under the headboard of her bed, marveling at how soft it was, she screwed her eyes shut.
The irony was painful. Compared to the defeat she’d received from Luna, having been trounced to the point of being in traction at the hive’s hospital, her failure to promptly expel Celestia weighed heavily on her. She languidly crawled onto her mattress, eased herself down, and pulled one of the heart-shaped cushions under her head.
“Go,” she instructed, motioning to the door. “Go and do whatever it is you’ve been doing in my absence, but know that my duplicitous drones will suffer the consequences of freely associating with a pony.”
Remaining where she stood, Celestia peered down at her. “You look stressed.”
“Gee - I wonder what gave you that impression,” Chrysalis moaned, keeping her eyes closed.
She was a great many things, but she wasn’t stupid. Letting Celestia gallivant about her castle, while less than ideal, would at the very least get the Princess out of her hair for a time. Her subjects would pay dearly for their wanton fraternization, but that would be their cross to bear later - for now, she simply wanted to rest and nurse the growing headache she was grappling with. Making herself as comfortable as she could, musing on how she could best chastise her treasonous grubs, she nearly jumped out of her carapace when something warm graced her shoulder.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” she roared, turning as Celestia mounted the bed.
“Ah ah -” the Princess tutted, extending a wing and daintily pressing a pinion to her lips. “Allow your humble servant to help you relax.”
Glaring back at the alicorn, Chrysalis swatted the feathered appendage away and attempted to stand - attempted in that the hoof against her glided to her upper back and pressed her downward. “Don’t you dare - Mmmmm!”
She stifled a whimper as not one but two hooves tenderly kneaded. A weight settled on her lower back, a pair of wings slipped down to rub her sides, and her eyelids fluttered. To have herself mounted by and pinned to her bed by a pony, and a Princess no less, was absurd - nevertheless, she didn’t fight it.
“There you go,” Celestia softly snickered. “Let all that stress just disappear.”
“Do you - Nnnnf - ever shut up,” she feebly scolded.
It wasn’t the first time she’d gotten a massage, yet the alicorn’s strength and impeccable skill proved to be an incredible combination. As badly as she wanted to stay angry, clinging desperately to her rancor, she simply couldn’t. She stifled a whimper and shivered, beset by the wondrously relaxing sensations the Princess afforded.
Writhing against her sheets, she extended her legs and gradually went limp. Try as she might to control her perfidious body, her limbs refused to obey her. In and of itself, the physical pleasure of being rubbed down in such a sublime way would have been enticing even the most robust creatures, but she wasn’t just any regular creature - she was a changeling. She drank in the affectionate, intoxicating feelings flowing from her visitor like a sponge absorbing water, simultaneously invigorating her and making her almost giddy.
Out of sheer pettiness, she resisted the urge to glut herself on the pony’s kindness. Enemies weren’t supposed to do this; they should be going at one another’s throats, not pampering or being pampered by each other! Gnawing her bottom lip and praying the alicorn wouldn’t realize how much she was enjoying herself, she glanced over to the door. If she didn’t die from disappointment in herself, she’d certainly expire if one of her subjects stumbled in and saw her in such a pitiable state.
“Don’t you worry about a thing,” Celestia endearingly insisted, igniting her horn. “Nopony will know what you’re up to.”
A nearly imperceptible golden aura shone from the walls, ceiling, and floor of her room, prompting her to peek up and back at the pony. “What are you -”
“It’s a barrier,” Celestia explained. “None of your drones will have the faintest idea of what’s going on here.”
It was only with the utmost effort that she forced herself to grimace. “Finally going to finish me off ~ eh?”
Lowering her head, Celestia brought her snout to the Matriarch’s ear. “Only if you ask nicely…”
The sensual words and taste of what could only be amorous energy made Chrysalis’ heart skip a skip a beat. “S…shut up…”
“As you wish, my Queen,” the Princess cooed, straightening up and continuing her massage.
She sighed and threw in the metaphorical towel. Buck it - on the exceedingly slim chance that some nosy drone did somehow find out what she was doing, she could always deny it and sentence them to a decade or three at one of the hive’s more remote outposts - besides, it’s not anypony would take the word of an underling over her anyways. Resting the head on her pillow, she contentedly sighed.
It would have been impossible for her to say how long the massage went on, steadily losing herself to a blissful stupor, but her enjoyment ended with a loud crash. Practically scrambling to her hooves, unsure of when the Princess had gotten off of her, she looked out and watched Celestia overturn her dresser. She unsteadily hopped from her bed and almost collapsed to the floor, her legs buckling beneath her, as she fought through her euphoric haze.
“W…what are you doing?” she wheezed, watching the pony make an absolute mess of her room.
Pulling her bathroom door from its hinges, Celestia smiled back at her. “Making your alibi. As far as your drones are concerned, you vanquished me and sent me flying back to Canterlot with my tail tucked between my legs.”
She inspected the disarray of her chamber and took a faltering step. “I…what?”
“Our alibi,” the Princess repeated. “Can’t have your hive thinking we were fraternizing ~ can we? By the way, was that window expensive?” she asked, pointing to a window overlooking the hive.
Following the alicorn’s gaze, utterly baffled, she shook her head. “No, but why -”
BOOM
Blasting the window and its frame to ruins, Celestia extended her wings and trotted to the crumbling, jagged opening in the wall she’d just blown open. “That ought to do it. Just do me one small favor.”
“And w…what favor would that be?” she inquired, unable to keep a quaver from her voice.
“Have tea with your staff this evening,” the Princess answered, looking back as she reached the makeshift exit. “They’re quite fond of you and they’d appreciate spending some time with you.”
Going to reply, to tell the pony she’d do no such thing, Chrysalis winced when Celestia took to the sky and sailed away. It looked as though a bomb had gone off in her room, even if nothing other than her wall was damaged, although that wasn’t her biggest problem - no, her biggest problem was the smile that stubbornly refused to leave her face. As her door was flung open and a myriad of drones charged into her chamber, likely drawn in by the commotion and the dissipation of the protective spell the Princess had cast, she was left to wonder when she’d see the alicorn again.
