Cousin. Twilight Sparkle let that revelation sink in. Chrysalis was Celestia's cousin? She glanced quickly to the other girls and they all seemed just as shocked. To anypony else, it might seem like their reaction to Celestia's tirade. The intervening silence gave Twilight time to think. I suppose it makes sense, she mentioned being Princess Platinum's granddaughter. She thought back to the arch. And all the kingdoms trace back to the same moment of founding, of which she was the unicorn representative.

“The nobles of The Butterfly Court will be unsettled,” Chamberlain mused, though his tone was definitely more eager than upset. “But they'll have to understand that these are unusual times.” As if to punctuate his statement, the sun suddenly vanished from the sky. Horns were aglow almost instantly. A few pesgasi with torches mounted to a modified saddle came along the hall, lighting sconces quickly. “If you'll excuse me,” he added, passing through the door, closing it behind him. There were sounds of muffled protests inside, then the door reopened, several ponies dressed in very fancy clothes bursting out of the hall backwards almost as if they'd been physically pushed.

“Well, I never!” one of the exclaimed, then turned with an irritated expression towards Celestia, mouth already formed into an angry shape. Whatever tirade she had prepared died on her lips when she saw for whom she was making room. “Uh... I...” She bowed briefly before darting out of the hall. Several others followed, but by now they'd clearly seen the other Princesses, for they all bowed carefully as they passed.

Celestia, for her part, never lowered her head or really acknowledged them at all, instead looking distant and plaintive. She doesn't want anypony seeing Discord's spell is broken, Twilight suddenly realized. She thinks he might already have spies here? Twilight remembered how powerful Discord was, reminded by the sudden return of daytime, and decided Celestia probably wasn't overreacting. The same set of pegasi flew back down he hall, extinguishing the torches they had lit only moments before.

“There,” Chamberlain said, the corners of his mouth turning up in what must have been a smile. “I've secured enough room for the Princesses and their personal guards.” Celestia said nothing, but resolutely turned towards Rarity, then back to him, simple raising one eyebrow. Chamberlain's tight smile disappeared. “Thou cannot be seri – It's just we've already...” He sighed. “Very well.” He departed again, more noble and merchant ponies departing, careful to save any complaining until they were barely in earshot of the group, though Twilight noticed Starswirl's ears twitch and his expression show a bit of dismay. Chamberlain reappeared, looking slightly more unkempt and unbalanced. “There will be consequences for that later, I assure thee. Thine entourage should arrive before Her Highness in time for dinner,” then muttering, “To which she'll invite them, surely, I should notify the kitchen.” He spoke up again, looking from Celestia to Rarity, “Please wait inside, I must attend to arrangements.” The bow he gave was hasty but clearly defined to both of them before he ran to a small side door and disappeared again.

“I'm not sure I trust that guy,” Iris Dash said quietly to their group, her eyes narrowing in suspicion as she watched the door close behind him.

“Chamberlain is fiercely loyal to Princess Chrysalis, and doesn't want things to be any harder for her than necessary,” Starswirl answered, also keeping his tone low. Iris' eyes widened slightly, as she hadn't intended for him to hear. He continued as they advanced to the gate, where the two guards opened the door for them and bowed deeply, “also, those ponies he just ejected for our benefit were clearly wealthy, powerful, and will probably make his life harder in the future, out of spite.” As they entered the room, they noticed those remaining before them were less well dressed, or not wearing clothes at all. “He felt it was more important that common ponies with real problems managed to see the Princess today, when he could have ejected them instead with almost no personal consequence. Ask thyself, what does that tell thee of him?”

“It's all right sugarcube,” Applejack comforted Iris, whose sheepish expression betrayed her regret at her statement, “he came off as too big for his saddlebags to me at first, too. Goes to show ya' can't always judge an apple tree by the seed it sprouted from.”

The few hours passed slowly, and Twilight more than once checked her cutie mark, expecting it would look emptier, but there was no change since the night before. Finally, the gate opened, and she could hear a clear voice announcing them. “Their Royal Highnesses, Princesses Celestia and Luna de Canterlot!”

Celestia gave them a reassuring smile, then turned and walked slowly into the throne room. Luna walked in step beside her to the right, both walking in resolute, perfect step, their heads high and their posture impeccable. Despite her youth, Luna was clearly her sister's equal at court. Starswirl followed a half-step behind to Celestia's left, and one each of Luna's and Celestia's royal guards two paces behind them. Rarity nodded to the advancing royalty, then looked meaningfully at the rest of them, and they organized themselves more or less to match. “Lady Rarity of the Apple Shores!” the voice announced. They moved forward, Rarity first, Twilight a half step back, and the rest behind in file.

If there seemed to be numerous butterflies amongst the town's massive flower crop, and a greater number in the castle's halls, the throne room was almost suffused with them. Twilight was grateful for the stately pace of advance, as she was worried she would accidentally crush one if she moved any faster. They shimmered as they flew in such a variety of colors and hues, that she was absolutely shocked when, as Luna and Celestia's entourage bowed in front of them, the beauty of the Princess of Aurelia outshined them all, even as they seemed to encircle her.

Her massive wings were spread to reveal her intricate feather pattern – black around the edges with an occasional white feather thrown in, mostly vibrant orange in the centers, with a few narrow veins of black running through the orange. Like a monarch butterfly, the comparison jumped to mind only an instant before Twilight noticed Chrysalis' cutie mark. A small branch and an empty shell circled it to one side like a crescent moon. The majority of the mark was a monarch butterfly, spreading its wings for the first time after its wings had dried after hatching. Her mane and tail, set against the contrast of her ivory coat, were a vibrant green, matching the outer circle of her dual-colored eyes, the inner color being an emerald shade so deep that it almost blended into the pupil. Her eyes never changed. Twilight suppressed a shiver at the memory of the first time she will have had seen those eyes, in Canterlot, when she revealed her true form. No, this is her true form. The form I'm here to preserve.

Rarity cleared her throat gently, snapping Twilight out of her reverie, as it was now their turn to bow. She did so deeply and without reservation. For her part, Princess Chrysalis nodded her head just as lowly to them as she had to her cousin moments before. The continued on and moved off slightly to the right, just opposite Celestia.

“My, how extraordinary it is to have such guests!” Chrysalis spoke at last. Her voice had the familiar deep resonance to it, but lacked the eerie reverberation that her changeling-self exhibited. “Dearest cousins, we will hear what brings you to Aurelia?” She looked to Celestia.

“Dearest cousin,” Celestia echoed back at her, her tone flat, “We have come to thee as an emissary of the court of His Great and Noble Majesty, King Discord of Equestria. We offer gifts to signify a desire to enter into a lasting truce with thy kingdom.” The other of each of the Equestiran Princesses' guards appeared then, escorting a large chest.

“So, things flourish under the new rule?” Chrysalis asked evenly, her eyebrows raising.

“Indeed,” said Celestia, “His Great and Noble Majesty, King Discord of Equestria, treats us, its deposed Princesses with kindness and respect, and is well loved by all.” Again, her line was delivered with such monotone, Twilight had to try her best not to laugh at Celestia's performance.

“We understand,” Chrysalis said, musing as she turned towards Rarity. “And thee, Lady. We have not had the pleasure of thine acquaintance, have we?”

“Indeed, Thy Highness,” Rarity said, bowing again slightly with her head, “our small town is far from thy domain, and the bulk of our trade has been with Equestria.”

“Thy desperation must be great to travel the Badlands with such an unprotected entourage to see us. We are glad to meet somepony so bold.”

“Thy compliment is too kind, Thy Highness. In desperate times, decisive action often comes from necessity, not boldness. We've of late had... complications... in our business with Equestria. We believe that it's likely due to... the usual rigors associated with a change in leadership,” Rarity said this slowly, considering each word. She can't call Celestia a liar, but she can imply it. Twilight admired friend's quick grasp of detail as Rarity continued. “We sought a trade agreement while things normalize, and perhaps thy court could send a delegation to verify our claims?”

“Indeed, and the long road would have to be patrolled, would it not?” Princess Chrysalis countered. “We surmise from the show of arms among your entourage that this duty would fall mostly to Aurelia?” Looking right at them, Chrysalis winked, and it was so brief that Twilight was sure she must have imagined it. “We would need to arrange a tariff to fund the upkeep of such a force.”

“Just so-” Rarity began.

“Fear not, Lady,” Chrysalis interrupted, “We are not rejecting thy request, just... considering our position.” She turned back to Celestia and added, “And to thee cousin, we offer our enduring alliance to the Rulers of Equestria.” She took a half-step back to her throne, and nodded to the guards by the door.

One stepped forward and pounded his hoof on the stone resonantly three times. “This concludes the business of The Butterfly Court for today. Long life and prosperity to the Rulers of Aurelia!”

Celestia's group remained motionless, as did Princess Chrysalis, so Rarity followed suit and stood her ground as well. They could hear various shuffling, and only then did Twilight realize there had been observers along the side of the court. No doubt records keepers, guards, and nobles. Once the sound dissipated, Chrysalis waved at the guards by the door. The one who had just dismissed the court raised his eyebrows questioningly. She gestured again, more insistently, and he bowed deeply, then closed the main door, himself and the other guard closing themselves out. They were alone.

“Oh dear cousin,” Chrysalis said, a deep chuckle in her voice, “that performance! How did thou expect me to keep a straight face!”

Author's Note

And so we see Princess Chrysalis' true form at last. I myself barely have the visual artistic talent to make a stick figure, but if anypony out there would like to draw me a picture showing her beauty and majesty, I would certainly be willing to change my cover art to it (with permission, of course).