Author's Note

I know it's been a while, at this rate the year will be over and I wont have accomplished my new years resolution to actually finish a story I write, so I'm gonna ask, and please answer. Should I just upload the chapters once their done? because the number one reason chapters aren't getting put up quickly and the reason I'm slowing down is I don't want to go too far ahead of my friend who has been very helpful for editing my stuff. They're in college and I have a job where I can sit and read books all day, it's not fair for them. But also, I hope you enjoy the chapter, also just roll with the "debt" thing, I just did that to try and get the ball rolling. Please leave a comment, I enjoy reading them.

7

Alprecha was smart, smart enough to be one of the students Twilight took a particular interest in, and she was proud of that fact. She had always struggled in the friendship department of her studies, which she didn't like considering to be a study in the first place. She read the books and had given the correct answers for her tests, but was always asked to explain the answers she gave and came up short. That was the only reason she had a blemish on her record; she couldn't explain in her own words why she knew what was right. She couldn't quite find it in her now to find what was wrong with Chrysalis' statement. An act of kindness was something that was covered in her friendship lessons, and there was always an air of doubt in her mind when it came to that stuff. She knew for sure that Chrysalis was somehow conniving and sinister, but did she know enough about being kind to refute her statements? She said nothing to Chrysalis on that note, instead trying to find other avenues to find out what was going on so she tried the impossible; she asked.

“What are you planning?” Alprecha asked, a white fuzzy hoof pointed at the dark queen.

Chrysalis began to stroll down the steps, closer and closer to Alprecha, until they stood not even a foot apart. Chrysalis' dark chitin reflected the light in awkward directions making it hard for Alprecha to look for very long at one spot. Alprecha's white feathers cloaked her body.

“I am going to lunch,” Chrysalis said, turning back into Twilight. “The real Twilight will wake up sometime today, so until then, call me Twilight.” Alprecha looked up into the face of her princess. She couldn't refuse the Princess, and even knowing that it wasn't her made it difficult to. She wasn't planning on refusing, and she had already set her sights on watching this newcomer. “And do try not to ask any problematic questions while others are around. I already don't like you as it is. Can you taste love?” Chrysalis asked as nonchalant as she could manage as she headed for the door.

“Taste love?” Alprecha said, confused. “No? I don't think so?”

If it wasn't for her disguise then instead of the calm face of Twilight, ponies would instead have seen the scowl that had replaced Chrysalis' features. Eyes narrowed as sharp as blades and mouth disappointed and regal.

-

Twilight woke up feeling more refreshed than she had been in quite a long while. The sun was high in the sky shining in on her, keeping her warm under the blankets. She started to open her eyes and stopped when the sun blinded her almost back into sleep. She was secure in her blankets and used a bit of effort to push her wings out and in front of her, blocking the sun.

She was so refreshed that when she opened her eyes and coherent thought came back to her she almost panicked. She never slept in, and she never felt this refreshed. It was obvious what had happened, Chrysalis had made a move.

That thought was exciting. She had known Chrysalis would do, something, sooner or later. Any action by Chrysalis could be planned to impede her rule or usurp her. She brought Chrysalis back to make things less monotonous after all. She supposed Chrysalis was doing just that.

With a small bounce in her gallop, she went to tidy up. She would have to look good for her “AHA” moment. When she came upon Chrysalis to reveal she was fine, and would be able to take her down for the first time since her release. She was creating a speech in her mind as she thought about what to say. She could work in something about honesty into it, if she could figure out how. It had been so long since she had given an impromptu speech, better if it was one about friendship. It had been so long since she had felt it strongly enough to speak on it with any authority.

But now would be the day she made a comeback. She looked out at the general direction of the sun and found it was noon. She could take a guess as to where Chrysalis would be right now. Lunch time was lunch time after all, and they weren't lost, they were in the castle, where plenty of guards and chefs were around to cook meals, and where there was no real reason to miss a meal unless, for some reason, you got lost.

Twilight shook her head again, doing her best to banish the thought process of Celestia from her mind. Steeling herself, Twilight walked through the doors, doing her best to ignore the surprised non-reaction from Fingerprint shield.

“Where is she?” Twilight asked.

“Lunch,” He said, understanding who she was referring to.

-

“She eats this stuff?” Chrysalis said with glee as she lifted her head out of Twilight's bowl of salad. “It's delicious!”

“I don't know what this is,” Alprecha said as she held the small sifting can with brown flecks inside. “The label says Bacon, but I haven't heard of any plant like that. Maybe those rumors about her eating pets are right.”

“Whatever it is, it's delicious!” Chrysalis shouted. “The salad is alright but these hard chunks are divine, and I should know a thing or two about divinity!” She said as she drove her face back into the salad.

“You do? I- I'm not even gonna ask.” Alprecha said, casually sifting some flecks of bacon into her hoof and shoving them into her mouth. Her eyes went wide, her long thin tongue went spastic inside her mouth. Heaven alive, she thought, she had never had something that tasted so good. She considered chewing but left them sitting in her mouth waiting to see if they would lose flavor after a while. Finally she swallowed. They felt like sharp sand going down but the taste made it easier. She hadn't even noticed her eyesight had gone for a brief moment. Shaking her head, looking at the sifting cup, and making a snap decision, she tucked it under her fur in the nook of her collarbone and her stick thin neck.

“Oh that tastes good too,” Chrysalis said, making Alprecha look up. “Love for food isn't quite as delicious as love for other creatures, unless you're a baker, but simple love tastes fine.”

“You can actually eat love?” Alprecha asked, shocked.

“Of course, that is what it means to be a Changeling, and I am the Queen of Changelings, despite my disguise.” Chrysalis added on, looking at her purple form.

“So does that like, make me love less or-” Alprecha asked, considering her words.

The conversation went no further as the doors to the dining room were thrust open by the tall and regal form of the true Princess of Equestria. The hall was empty save for Chrysalis and Alprecha. Chrysalis offered a roll of her eyes as greetings while Alprecha dove under the table muttering apologies.

Twilight expected more. She expected that Chrysalis would have a harem of her favored guards and workers surrounding her, feeding off the love they felt for herself. It didn't feel good to be proven wrong. In fact she was looking forward to making a scene. It had been so long after all. But this scene of herself seeming to do nothing more than eat her food was a let down.

“Alprecha?” Twilight called. The Cuckoo being present was a surprise. She had after all, grounded, her. It was more surprising that Chrysalis had allowed Alprecha to hang around her after her supposed irritation with her. “Did you have something to do with this?”

“I'm Sorry!” Alprecha wailed, shooting out from underneath the table. Twilight had to fight back her old urge to swat at that spindly black bug shape that flew around the room. “Here, have it back!” Alprecha placed the bacon sifter on the table in front of Twilight. “I- I wont tell anyone, I don't even know what it is!”

“You clearly aren't that ashamed of it, otherwise I wouldn't be able to see you right now.” Twilight said.

Alprecha sucked in a breath of air. That was true, but she doubted that would do any good in the first place. Twilight always seemed to know where she was and Chrysalis seemed to be able to tell as well, and disappearing after Twilight already saw her at the table wouldn't do any good anyway.

“I was hoping you would wake up later,” Chrysalis said with a sigh. “I guess even a whole bottle of tranquilizers doesn't keep an alicorn out for very long. I happened to enjoy this morning without you around, the morning proceedings were much easier to sit through.”

“I plan to learn everything you did in my absence.” Chrysalis mouthed Twilight's words while moving her hoof up and down. “Whatever you did, I will protect my citizens from-”

“Blah Blah Blah, I know the routine. You aren't the first in the last hundred thousand years to be a hero you know,” Chrysalis said, biting on some salad she floated to her mouth. “And nothing happened. I have a witness. Right Alprecha?”

Twilight turned her gaze on the Cuckoo who was now standing on the table, seemingly unaware of how rude that was. She scratched her hooves in shame.

“I was going to stop her,” Alprecha said. “I swear, the moment she did anything I was going to stop her. She just, didn't do anything for me to stop. It was really boring.”

“I... see.” Twilight said with a sigh. She had wanted a fight, she wanted a rush. This blindsided her with the realization that she would have to find something else to do today. Like go back to work like usual, she didn't want to do that though.

Twilight had wanted a fight for a few reasons. The first was that she just wanted a fight for a fights sake. The second was that parts of the castle could do with a bit of remodeling and blasting away parts of the castle would not only have been cool, but would have been an excuse to do a bit of architectural work. A fight would also have allowed for a bonding moment between her and Chrysalis. She thought that maybe, up close and physical, she would start to feel something for the bug Queen, and vice versa. As it was, they had nothing to bond over that Chrysalis was accepting of. She thought maybe she was a bit insensitive to bring up the absence of changelings first thing. It wasn't like Chrysalis had had any positive thing to say about her in the first place. She was going to have to turn nothing into something – a much more difficult task than most creatures realized.

“What is this bacon stuff anyway?” Chrysalis asked, changing to her usual black and sharp form.

Twilight smiled. That was right, she still had other options, a fight was just one of them. They could still bond over more than just violence and power. Her best guess was that Chrysalis didn't know how wary to be of her in a fight yet, and wasn't going to risk it.

“I was planning to surprise you with it,” Twilight said, trotting around to the far end of the table next to the Queen. She sat down next to her with an offended look from the Changeling. “It's my- oh.” Chrysalis got up to move away, and Twilight was going to use a line she had gotten from Rarity.

Clearing her throat Twilight started, less energetic this time, but still trying to sound endearing. “I get it from a friend from a different dimension. It tastes better there than here, but a little bit of it goes a long way. Fingerprint Shield, come, sit down, have some with us.”

The grey guard made the first expression Chrysalis had seen, chipping away her fantasy of a perfect guard by just a little. He hesitated for a second, eyes darting around the room before approaching like he hadn't hesitated.

“So, I'm not in trouble?” Alprecha said, drawing Twilight's attention. The Princess' eyes narrowed, her starry mane seeming to rise a little as Twilight thought.

“Sit down,” Twilight said before turning back to Chrysalis. “I want us to be friends before anything else.” the message went through loud and clear, the roll of Chrysalis' eyes confirmed that much. “so how about a gift?”

“What did you have in mind?” Chrysalis asked. She didn't trust the Princess. She hadn't even inquired as to what she was up to this morning, and she could taste Twilight's attempts at forced love. No doubt the alicorn didn't know that even false love had a flavor to it, a sour non-filling thing.

There was a strange thing in it. When Chrysalis was first released from her stone prison, she had tasted love – real love. It was a small thing, but it was there. Somehow, Twilight had loved the idea of Chrysalis and she was now forcing herself to love the real thing.

“What you asked for,” Twilight said. “Alprecha will be punished for this, and I think I know what the punishment should be.” Chrysalis could hear the whimper that came from the Cuckoo. “Her punishment will be a debt to you.”

“A debt.” Chrysalis repeated, the word heavy on her mouth. A word that fell like a rock but twisted her lips into a scowl and left her glaring at Twilight. “Do not. Whatever it is you are about to do, don't. Let me pick the punishment if it's going to be a gift.”

“Alprecha will be bound to you for half a year. She will help you adjust to this new time period in my stead while I am busy with work. And after her debt is over she will no longer be forced to do as you command,” Twilight said.

“That is no gift!” Chrysalis hissed. “You would chain me to that annoying little, living malfeasance!”

“I've got problems with this too!” Alprecha spoke up.

“SHUT IT!” Chrysalis shouted back, sending the Cuckoo back to sitting. “I am starting to consider banishment to the sun. I would prefer to hibernate for a thousand years, than have that attached at my hip. I will have a public image to build and, That, will only be a tumor.”

“We'll have to do something about the way you talk about others,” Twilight said. “And no, that wasn't your gift, that was her punishment.”

“It's hardly her being punished!” Chrysalis whined.

“Oh hush. As I was trying to say, I will leave Fingerprint shield at your side only for as long as Alprecha is debted.”

Chrysalis shot a glance at the grey guard, who ate his salad, not reacting to the conversation at hand if he cared enough to do so. “Fine!” Chrysalis snapped. “Am I also allowed to leave Canterlot?” she mocked.

Twilight however opened her eyes a bit, then raising her hoof to her chin in thought. “I suppose if I didn't I would be a jailer, sort of what you already went through. And it might even help me. Oh what the hay, why not.”

“In that case,” Chrysalis said, not fully trusting Twilight's words, “Alprecha, Shield, pack your things tonight, we leave first thing in the morning.”

A gasp escaped Alprecha. Her worries were soon soothed over by her Princess. “Well that's not quite what I meant,” Twilight said. “Alprecha still has a bit of work to do at the school. Though I suppose the new semester hasn't started yet. I can pull a few strings but her education has to come first. Top of her class and all, can't go wasting that talent.”

“Second place is not top of the class.” Alprecha groaned.

Twilight just laughed. Chrysalis ignored the continued attempts at conversation from the princess. In a stroke of irony it was one of the few things that was easier done than said. Her own bowl of salad had plenty more of that bacon stuff to find and the search for that interesting flavor was too distracting. Alprecha whined the rest of the time and the grey guard ate his salad in total silence.

She had her own guard now, and a test subject. Maybe Twilight hadn't realized how big a boon having a Cuckoo around was for her, despite the annoyance she felt for the current one. She could learn plenty about how this new hive worked, and how she could control it. Perhaps by the time the next six months were up she would understand it enough that Alprecha could be stripped of those annoyances and stay with her, wanting and willing.

“So what is Bacon anyway?” Alprecha asked, sneaking the sifter back into the crook of her collarbone. “Do you really eat pets?”

“Do I eat pets?” Twilight repeated, shocked. “Why in the world would you think I eat pets?”

“It's just that, there's been a rumor going around you eat attractive dogs.”