> The Black Heart > by Wooden Wheel > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > In the ruins of an old castle > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the ruins of an old castle, green and purple sparks accompanied by the growing and shrill sounds of battle illuminate and burn the floor and walls of what appears to be an infinite corridor. Fast galloping through the dusty hallway were Queen Chrysalis and Princess Twilight Sparkle, destroying all types of decoration, from paintings of barely visible images belonging to faces, moments or places from the distant past, to rusted armor whose pieces scatter on the floor or melt at the contact of the arcane forces being shot from their respective horns; competing in what was became a deadly race to get their hooves on the mythical artifact hidden within that lair. Not many days ago, news spread of the archaeological discovery of the century. In the south west of Equestria, near the shores of the San Palomino Desert, in the South Luna Ocean, a floating island had appeared out of nowhere. And buried beneath one of its mountains lay the remains of the fortress of Saint Ashtray the Grey, a mysterious master of the magical arts about whom there is little information to be found. Of his existence it is not even known what type of creature he was, but if we go by what the vast majority of posts made by ponies tend to do, there is no doubt that it was a pony. What is known about him, or at least what all the records that mention him do, is that among his vast collection of artifacts, none was more precious than a magical gem only known as ‘The Black Heart’. Publicizing the latter might have been a mistake on the part of Freedom Press, the reporter pony that got the scoop, not least because it ended up causing a massive stampede of fame-seeking explorers and fortune-seeking treasure hunters, but because the news also reached the ears of the one and only Changeling Queen. How dangerous this knowledge might be? Well, The Black Heart was described as an hexagonal black gem with the ability to indefinitely enhance the magical abilities of whoever possesses it, allowing an earth pony the durability of an army and enough strength to lift mountains and create earthquakes with their bare hooves, a pegasus an unprecedented flight speed and the ability to create and destroy huge storms with the flap of its wings, and if of a unicorn were speaking, magical powers capable of rivaling or even surpass those of the alicorns. And if this could be applied to a changeling, and especially to the Changeling Queen herself, this could represent not only a considerable increase in her magical potential; but also could mean that her hypnotic powers should allow her to take control of hundreds, thousands of creatures simultaneously, creating the most faithful army of all time; and consume the emotions of a town or even a city without difficulty; or in other words, make Chrysalis the most powerful creature in the entire world. It is truly strange that creatures of a distant past could create artifacts of unimaginable magical power, while unicorns of the present, with greater access to well-documented arcane knowledge, have trouble with spells more complex than telekinesis or teleportation; one could muse, but that is neither from here or there. Back in the present, running neck to neck, Chrysalis swings her body in Twilight’s direction, trying to crush her against the wall. Sweating with fear like she hadn’t done since the time Rainbow Dash made her life’s mission to teach her how to properly use her new wings to fly, the Alicorn Princess realizes her enemy’s intentions in time. Thinking as fast as possible, Twilight concentrates some of the last remnants of magical energy she has left, managing to avoid the tackle using a quick teleportation spell, disappearing from the Queen’s path at the last second. Chrysalis scream in rage and pain as the self inflicted collision just cost one of her insect wings to bend and broke. Panting, Twilight reappears back in her place, still running, now taking the lead, but any sign of premature celebration was cut short when a bolt of magical green energy manages to hit her left wing, burning off some of it’s feathers. Considering that taking the lead may not have been a good idea, Twilight worryingly risk a look back, and while she could see that the flames on her pursuer’s horn sparked and flickered, signaling a similar magical exhaustion on her part, and that she should not fear any more magical bolts, it meant little comfort when said pursuer was a rapidly approaching black armored juggernaut filled with murderous intent, called Chrysalis. Memories of a long-forgotten nightmare resurfaced in those moments. The one in which her older brother, Shining Armor, convinces her parents to take her to the tryouts for the Canterlot High School Hoofball Team instead of enrolling her in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. In a similar manner to how that nightmare always ended, the Changeling Queen successfully catch up to her, ramming her against the stone wall. Passing through the wall, they both tumble and roll through the hard, cold and dusty floor of the dark room they were now in. Twilight growls, rubbing her head with one hoof, while with the other looks for possible damage to her barrel, finding some bruises, but nothing seemed to be broken (thanks Celestia for that earth pony sturdiness gained with the ascension to alicornhood), and except for her burned wing, the rest of her body was intact. Chrysalis simply coughs up a cloud of dust, shaking her head to clear the dizziness from the impact and some old cobwebs that stick to her face. Torch holders suddenly came to life, illuminating the place, revealing it to be a secret chamber, or rather, an entombed throne room. Before any of them could figure out what was happening, a peculiar glow in the distance hits them in the eyes, catching their attention. Like moths to a bright flame, both place their gaze on the origin of this light. At the end of the room, there is a throne, on the throne lie the remains of who one can guess was Saint Ashtray the Gray, and on the head of that puppet of bones that are held in place by ancient silk threads, embedded in a white turban was The Black Heart, a jewel barely bigger than an average pony hoof, radiating power and extremely tempting. Wasting only the time to exchange glances, both mares desperately rush out to claim possession of the artifact. Near the last stretch the sound of a stone tile slowly descending was heard, a sudden rumbling was felt, a hidden trap had been activated. The walls crumble behind them as bits of rock and rubble begin to rain from the top, starting with the smallest of pebbles before larger chunks of the ceiling began to fell around. The columns that support the chamber fall, cracks begin to appear all over its surface, expanding across the ground. Finally, just a couple of steps before eather of them can put their hoofs on the artifact and claim it as her’s own, the floor gives way. With a last-ditch jump and the fractured buzz of translucent wings and the uneven flapping of scorched feathered ones, pony, changeling and artifact are swallowed by the darkness below, with the rest of the collapsing chamber. Blinking slowly, Twilight wakes up in pain and surrounded by darkness. After a few seconds of confusion, wondering why her bed was suddenly so cold and hard, the memories of what happened come back, the lair, Chrysalis, the race, the tomb room, ‘The Black Heart’ and the fall. She immediately stand up, with the adrenaline pumped through her body helping her with the symptoms of nausea and dizziness and easing the pains all over her. Using her last remnants of reserve magic, Twilight uses her horn to illuminate the surroundings with a magenta light. It was some sort of underground plain, or it would be a plain if it were not for the rocks and debris from the collapsed room above scattered all over the place. Before she could carefully analyze her situation any further, specifically where exactly was she, Chrysalis burst out of the darkness in front of her; quick reflexes saved her snout from being bitten off by scary sharp teeth. They fight, but with a greater difficulty than what happened at the top. The Princess’s movements were clumsy and slow, surely hampered by the fatigue and damage already suffered, but so were those of the Queen, who does not seem to be in better condition, with cracks and cuts across her chitin, with dried green blood to accompany the wounds. The thought of using an offensive spell crossed Twilight’s mind, but she quickly dismisses the idea as it was already an exhausting task to keep the light on on her horn, and knowing that being without her horn’s light would mean death against the Changeling Queen and her eyes better suited to see in the dark. If she wanted to get out of this situation alive (and she fully intended to do so), this was the time to use what for her was her best and greatest tools: her intelligence and reason. Hoping against hope they would work with Chrysalis. Looking at Chrysalis square in the eyes, at the murderous look and unsuppressed fury pouring from them, Twilight spoke: “You know you don’t need to do this, right?” “While I do appreciate your confidence in my abilities, I think I would need to get rid at least of you and your friends in order to take over the world and reclaim what was stolen from me!” That was good, I mean, not the part in which Chrysalis seem to be sarcastically appreciative of an apparent support, nor the part in which she threaten to kill her and her friends, but the fact that the Queen had open up the door to conversation. “The reality is that no one took anything from you,” Twilight responds, ignoring the Queen’s megalomania comments, choosing to focus on what was important to present for her argument. “Back in the hive, we offered you forgiveness and friendship. It was your choice to flee and continue on a lone path of violence and vengeance.” Twilight decided to leave out the fact that if they had wanted to, they could have captured her and she would be in a dungeon either way, or, had she accepted friendship, the reprimands and reparations that would have occurred; after all, the road to redemption is full of those; the Queen’s pride do not needed to be hurt nor her mental state to be burdened with the minutiaes of reformation. “Yes, you would have liked that, wouldn’t you? Force me to disfigure myself in body and mind, to ‘Reform’.” Queen Chrysalis spew that word with so much hatred and disgust and what was most definitely real venom out of her mouth. “To become something different, something less changeling and more pony-like”. “That is not true!” Twilight exclaimed with greater confidence and certainty. “Thorax’s transformation was the result of a stressful situation and that of the rest of the changelings was just them following his example.” Here Twilight had to rein over herself and not let her emotions do the talking, avoiding clarifying that said “stressful situation” was Chrysalis trying to kill him by stealing all of his love, pushing Thorax to share it. “But before all that, he was living perfectly well, feeding on the love that was freely given to him by his friends.” Once again, Twilight had to push and contain deep within her desires to nerd out and begin to debate the existence of posible changes in the changelings’ psyche caused as a result of the reformation metamorphosis, and how as of now, with Queen Chrysalis as the only unreformed changeling in existence, she was an invaluable source of information on the matter, both as an individual and as a potential test subject. “And that is what I propose to you, that you can live your life in peace, with us, without the need to change, transform or even go through the metamorphosis if you don’t want to. It is true that to start anew, to not be enemies, to be allies if not friends, you would have to stop kidnapping ponies and not try to get what you want through means of force and fear. You know, reduce evilness perhaps a tad below what’s socially acceptable?”, concluded Twilight, panting. To Twilight’s disbelief, Chrysalis sheathes her fangs and raises her head, but does not take her eyes from Twilight’s. “Are you sure what you’re talking about?” The Queen finally asked after a tense moment of silence. “I’m 100% sure,” assures the Princess of Friendship with courage and confidence, only to shrink a little below the skeptical gaze of the Changeling Queen. “Well, actually, maybe only 99.999% sure.” “And for this I would only need to not kidnap more ponies...” “Any creature!” Twilight quickly amended, remembering that she was now responsible for more than just the ponies. “Fine! Any creature!” growled the Queen, annoyed; hard to say if it was because she felt offended that the pony thought it was necessary to clarify, or because it really was necessary to clarify. “And you must be diplomatic in dealing with others. No more attempts to force anyone to do your will through threats and violence.” “And if I accept these terms, do you guarantee that I will receive the love I need to quench my hunger?” “What I’m telling you is that if you act more... Amicable,” Twilight said, feeling like she was walking on eggshells, trying to avoid using the F-word more than necessary, not wanting to trigger Chrysalis into another fit of rage. “You will no longer need to resort to lies and subterfuge to get the love you need to live. Have you ever wondered what it would be to live without the need to hide who you are to be loved and not have to run away all the time?” At those words, Chrysalis twitched her eyes and frowned. Twilight swallowed the hardest lump of saliva, thinking for a moment that with that question she had crossed some of the Queen’s boundaries, and that she had surely ruined the last chance to achieve peace between ponykind and her. That is when Chrysalis spoke: “Fine! I agreed to give you a chance to try this crazy idea of yours. But I warn you, if I don’t feel satisfied with the promised love, or if just a little color starts to contaminate my black carapace, If the holes in my hoofs disappear or I feel like I’m glowing in a funny way, I’ll end your little experiment and go back to my tried and trusted changelings ways of doing things. Do we have a deal?” “I promise that nothing bad will happen to you and that you will not regret giving us this opportunity. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Twilight hummed, making some strange movements, ending up poking an eye with one of her hoofs. Chrysalis looked at her with an expression of confusion and mild disgust. “He, he, he”, Twilight laughed, her cheeks turning red in embarrassment. “This is how my friends and I make sure we keep what we promise.” > In the caves beneath the castle > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once they agreed on what they would do when they got out of this situation (if they got out of this situation), Chrysalis and Twilight gave each other the space and time to rest and tend to their wounds; the Princess never losing sight of the Queen, always keeping her in sight, in reach of the light of her horn. While Twilight could only rub the places where she felt pain, casting only the most basic of healing spells on herself, she could see how Chrysalis tended to her own, cleaning the wounds with her forked tongue and mend them with a regurgitated sticky goo. Her mind fought against her stomach, to see which of the two showed more control over her, one wanting to know the possible antiseptic properties of that substance, while the other, for how much longer it would be able to retain the morning daisy sandwich she got for breakfast. It was quite surprising to Twilight how well that changeling body blended and became one with the darkness, creating an unnerving effect in which a pair of disembodied green eyes seemed to flicker in and out of existence every time Chrysalis blinked. Several minutes passed, in which Twilight could swear that Chrysalis had read her mind and had begun slow her blinks in order to upset her. "It's time to go," Twilight said, standing up, not wanting to prolong that experience any longer. "Come, stay close to me." "Oh, Twilight, are you afraid I'll leave you down here, alone?" Chrysalis said in a mocking tone, also getting on all fours, walking slowly towards her. "I just think it would be better if we stayed together, that way we reduce the risk of suffering an accident," Twilight replies matter-of-factly, not taking the Queen's childish bait. Also, although she would not admit it, she was afraid of losing sight of the Queen and becoming a victim of one of her traps. "You have nothing to worry about me, Twilight. I'm always sure where I put my hooves," Chrysalis said. And as if the Lord of Chaos itself had heard her and wanted to make fun of her, she immediately stumbled while simultaneously a creaking sound could be heard coming from one of her front legs. The Queen was sure that she had placed her hoof on a stone, but stones do not make a loud crack when they break, and she had definitely never come across a stone that was hollow. Chrysalis looked down, feeling that something had become lodged inside her hoof, while something else trapped part of her leg. Feeling through her hoof, she tried to identify what was underneath. It was something hard, but with a somewhat smooth surface. Raising her leg in view of both of them, to see what thing had dared to make her look like a fool in front of the Princess of Friendship, pony and changeling gives a silent gasp when they were immediately able to identify the offending object as a skull. Horrified, Chrysalis turned to look at Twilight, who shared a similar expression. Then look back at the skull, then at the pony and finally back at the skull. This was a most delicate situation, which the Queen had to resolve quickly and in a way that would allow her to get out on top of the pony. And so, displaying a control over her emotions as only a master like the Changeling Queen could, Chrysalis let out an unqueenly scream and began to run madly around, shaking her leg violently, waiting for the skeletal remains to fall off of her. "Chrysalis, wait!" Twilight shouted, trying to keep an eye on the hysterical Queen, but her erratic movements ended up causing her to wander out of sight. "Chrysalis, where are you?" Twilight asked, her concern increasing when she stopped hearing the Queen's screams, afraid that in her race she would end up falling over the edge of the plain, into the abyss. Fortunately for his nerves, she managed to hear the faint sound of some grunts of effort, then the sound of a skull crashing to the ground in the distance, and finally the panting that signaled the conclusion of a tiresome task. Enough clues to find and bring the Queen back in to the light. When Chrysalis finally caught her breath, she turned to look at Twilight. "You will speak to none of what you just saw, do you understand!?" The Queen said embarrassedly, trying to sound intimidating and commanding. Twilight managed to stifle a gigle and just nodded, signaling to the Queen that they should move on. Through some probing around, Twilight managed to find a path of sort that led up and, hopefully, to an exit from this cave. After observing some frighteningly not-so-ancient remains of enormous creatures, and sharing the terrible sensation of being watched, they both concluded that for now it would be best to remain silent and not attract unwanted attention. Soon the path became narrower and narrower, to the point that for a large portion of the stretch, they had to walk (or rather climb) along a rocky slope, resembling the mountain goats that live in the famous Alps, to the south of Prance. According to Princesses Celestia and Luna, who, to the young Princess's confusion, have recently started talking as if they were planning to take a long vacation, they are a very friendly and attentive group of bovines, proud of their climbing ability and their cheese based cuisine, although short-tempered. A rock fell under Twilight's hoof, receiving colorful recommendations on how to be more careful and words of encouragement from the Queen, who was almost hit by it. Holding her breath, the Princess waited to hear the piece of sediment hit the bottom, but the sound never came. Twilight was the first to reach an open space, stretching out a foreleg to help Chrysalis ascent. For her part, the Queen preferred to be prideful (or stubborn in Twilight's eyes) and climb on her own. They weren't close to reaching the outside yet, but rusty mining tools, a railroad, and an abandoned wagon told them they were on the right path and, with a little luck, close to an exit. Walking along a wider and less steep path, old timbers supported the tunnel. All this time Twilight never let the light from her horn rest, struggling not to look exhausted, still not feeling safe, trapped underground with Chrysalis. But if they didn't reach the exit any time soon, she would be forced to ask for a stop and to take a break. A few minutes later, a roar was heard and the tunnel and everything inside it shook violently, putting them both on alert. "What was that?" the Changeling Queen asked, trying to let her annoyance mask her concern. "It sounded like an explosion," Twilight replied, her eyes darting around at high speed, not bothering to hide her nervousness. "I know what I heard! What I want to know is why was there an explosion!?" "The treasure hunters," Twilight said as the horrible realization of what was happening hit her. "Some of the treasure hunters must have found an abandoned path into the castle and are using explosives to..." Another larger explosion interrupted Twilight's explanation, shaking the inside of the tunnel even more violently. Removing her legs from her still-buzzing ears and opening her eyes, Twilight could see Chrysalis, lying on the ground in a similar dazed state, but also the cracks in the logs above her. Knowing what was about to happen, the Element of Magic ran towards her and pushed the Changeling Queen just in the nick of time to save her from the roof landslide. Regaining consciousness, Twilight found herself trapped (fortunately not crushed) under one of the wooden beams. "Chrysalis, are you okay? Can you help me?" ask the Pony Princess desperately. A toxic neon green light emanates from a jagged horn, dimly illuminating the dark tunnel. Beneath the horn a pair of eyes that share a similar glow rest on her, observing -appreciating- everything on their sight. Twilight can see this, she can see the thoughts of success, of victory, that cross Chrysalis' mind, as an evil smile forms on the Queen's face, enjoying of Twilight defenselessness. Frightened, Twilight tries to get up, to pull herself out, to use magic and lift the wooden beam even a little, but to no avail; by this point she's exhausted, all of her strength is gone and there's nothing she can do. She became overwhelmed by thoughts of sadness, thinking of her family and all her friends whom she would never be able to see again and whom she would not even be able to say goodbye to; despair, over her current -final- situation; and, above all, of regret, regret of having helped Chrysalis and believing that someone like her was capable to reform. To Twilight's confusion, instead of feeling her head being crushed by a black hoof, or her neck torn by sharp teeth, she began to feel a lightness on her back. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Twilight watched in surprise as Chrysalis pushed the wooden beam away from her back. "Y... you help me, but... why?" ask the Princess of Friendship in disbelif after standing up and catching his breath. "I am Queen, did I not? I told you I would give you a chance to prove your ideals to me. And my word is golden," replied the Queen in an imperial tone. Twilight smiles, trying hard not to smile too much in order not to make the Changeling Queen uncomfortable. With new and growing hopes of convincing Chrysalis of the value and importance of harmony and, if things go better than expected, making a new friend of hers. "If it was not obvious, for a moment there I thought that you were going to kill me. You know, you seemed very happy and willingly to work on that thought." "I'm not going to lie and pretend I didn't enjoy the moment," truthfully said the changeling. Risking the current mood between the two, Twilight leans her body towards Chrysalis for support. To her surprise once again, the Queen does not push her away, nor recoil in disgust or annoyance, she did not even protest her actions. Instead, the Queen simply appears to have rearranged something within her elytra. She's just putting her wings in a more comfortable position, thought Twilight as she realized that the side she was leaning on belonged to Chrysalis' damaged wing. And to add another pleasant surprise, after a couple of steps, the Queen also leans on her. And so, in that way, they both moved towards the exit. Outside the buried fortress, on the slopes of the mountain, five mares were anxious, after how unexpected, sudden and terrifying it was to experience those explosions in such proximity. They were a unicorn whose coat was white in color and purple mane; two earth ponies, one light orange with a stetson over her blonde mane, the other was a pink cotton candy in almost a literal sense of the word, and two pegasus, although from the way one of them walked It would be hard to believe; one was blue with a rainbow mane, and the other, who looked like a trembling jelly, was yellow with a pink mane. "I still can't believe that mule of a girl left us behind and ran off to chase that Changeling varmint on her own," Applejack said, letting her annoyance be heard through her country accent. "Calm down Applejack, dear. You know how Twilight feels about everything related to that deposed Queen. We shouldn't be surprised that the moment she saw her, forgot everything and ran after her," with a posh voice, Rarity responded, trying to put order on her mane, removing the leaves and branches that lodged in it after the explosions. "What I can't believe is that they allowed to bring dynamite to those dumb Daring Do wannabes," Rainbow Dash said, flying low, close to his friends, shaking his head, trying to get rid of the ringing in his ears. “Let's consider ourselves lucky that the royal guard stopped their dangerous act before anyone got truly hurt.” "I think it was quite funny how the earth shook under our legs," Pinkie said happily, moving as if she had springs instead of hooves. Surprisingly, the fact that Fluttershy clung to her like it was a second coat of hers didn't hinder her jumping. "Argh! Could we hurry now? We have to find Twilight quickly and help her against that evil bug villain," Rainbow Dash tried to hurry her companions, annoyed at how slow she felt they were moving. "Now, now, Rainbow, all of us are as worried about Twilight as you are, but if we acted so hastily, without knowing exactly which path our dear friend took, moving quickly will only mean we won't find her." "And what do you suggest we do, that we stay in this place, doing nothing and wait for Twilight to appear in front of us?" "Uh, uh, uh, I know what we can do!" Pinky exclaimed, shaking her hooves frantically to get her friend's attention. "And what could that be, Pinkie?" "We could just ask Chrysalis where Twilight is," Pinkie suggested. That response got the attention of all of her friends. "And do you know where she is?" "Yes, she's over there!" Pinkie pointed to a peculiar direction on the mountain. From a pile of half-dead bushes they saw a black chitinous hoof breaking the planks that centuries ago blocked the entrance to that particular mining tunnel. Seconds later, the full body of the Changeling Queen emerged from the hole. "Let's get her!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, flying to meet her, followed in second place by Applejack. Rarity ran in third place, trembling at the thought of what all this fast galloping on this rocky terrain will do to her delicate hooves. Tied on last place, Pinkie was jumping happily, with Fluttershy still clinging to her. After a few deep breaths, Chrysalis saw the group of angry ponies coming for her. At first she was taken aback by this, but instead of cowering, she adopted a fighting stance, ready to face them all together. Rainbow Dash and Applejack narrow their eyes at this, ready to clash with the Changeling Queen, and likewise, the Changeling Queen does the same. But before the two sides collided, a purple blur materialized in the middle of them both. "STOP!" Twilight shouted. "Girls, stop!" "I'm fine, she's fine, everything is fine now!" Applejack and Rainbow pull the brakes and crash among themself, but manage to stop inches away from making a sandwich out of Twilight between them and the queen. The rest of their friends soon join them. After giving her the opportunity to take deep breaths, rest a bit and drink water from a bottle that Rarity pull out of her Hoity Toity travel bag, Twilight explained everything that had happened since she had separated from them. How she had discovered Chrysalis' presence on the island, hows she followed her into the castle, their first confrontation, how they found and subsequently lost The Black Heart, the discussion and agreement they had deep in the depths of the castle caves, their journey out, how she saved Chrysalis's life and how she in turn saved hers. Throughout the entire explanation, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, and on some occasions Rarity, direct looks of disbelief and distrust at the Changeling Queen, who decided to put as much distance from them as they did from her. When Twilight finished her story, the first to speak was Rainbow Dash: "Okay, what did you do to Twilight? Are you mentally manipulating her? Did you brainwash her or what? There's clearly something bad going on in her mind." "He, he, he," Chrysalis chuckles mockingly. "I assure you, whatever mess that exists inside your friend's mind, it is of it's own doing." > Back in Ponyville > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back in Ponyville, Starlight and Spike almost had a heart attack when they saw Chrysalis enter through the doors of the Castle of Friendship, surrounded by the girls. Before either of them acted abruptly (Starlight!), Twilight, just like on the floating island, island that was currently in the process of being properly anexed to Equestria (In Canterlot, everyone could hear a powerful gust of wind coming from the castle, Celestia had just sighed in relief knowing that she would not have to deal with either the griffins or the dragons for the property rights of those lands), was quick to inform them that the Changeling Queen had not come looking for trouble, but on the contrary, she was there to end the conflict. And while this is the case, Chrysalis would be welcome as a guest. Once they arrived at the throne room, each of them took their place on their respective crystal throne denoted by their cutie mark, with Chrysalis occupying the seat to Twilight's right, a place that until then was exclusive to Spike. Luckily for Twilight, the small drake had decided to keep himself safe busy reading comics in his room, thus avoiding the possibility of her plan falling apart all because of a fight over a chair. Once everyone was seated, Twilight decides to properly introduce and presents her plan to Chrysalis and the rest of her friends. "As long as she wants, Chrysalis will be a guest staying here at the castle," Twilight begins, directing her gaze towards Chrysalis, aware that giving her the freedom of choice was one of the cornerstones of what she proposed to the Changeling Queen. "And she will be able to roam freely around Ponyville. And for the sake of this -let's called it- 'experiment in social experiences', Chrysalis will have daily individual interactions with all of us." This news caused some groans of concern and dissatisfaction among the rest of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, who did not seem very happy with the premise of allowing so much freedom of movement to someone who, in their eyes, was a very dangerous and untrustworthy individual. Not to mention the fact that they would have to spend some time alone with Chrysalis. And likewise, Twilight could hear the beginnings of an angry growl coming from her right. Twilight could feel the tension in the room rising, clearly that part of her idea hadn't sat well with at least three of her friends; Fluttershy was shaking with anxiety in her seat, but, well, that had been her state since even before the trip back to Ponyville, so it was difficult for her to say what her pegassus friend position was on the matter. And Pinkie... Pinkie was happily bobbing her head up and down, with her eyes closed and her tongue out, as if she was licking the frosting off a cake or an ice cream. So it was impossible for Twilight to tell whether she was paying attention regarding what was being discussed or not. Before the situation could go from growling to words, and then escalate from words to possible (and most likely) violent actions, Twilight caught the attention of those present by tapping her hoof on the surface of the table and continued in a serious voice: "In correspondence with these concessions, Chrysalis promised not to attack anyone, neither physically nor magically, unless it is in self-defense. She will not use her powers to mentally manipulate anyone, brainwash them, charm them, or anything of the sort. She will not trap anyone in cocoons. She will not steal anyone's love, in this regard she commits to only feed on the emotions in the environment or those specifically directed at her. And finally, she will be undisguised, showing everyone her true form, at all times." Twilight concluded, emphasizing that last condition, making it clear that it was a vital part of demonstrating the viability of her proposal. The nerves among her friends seemed to have calmed, changing their expressions of negativity and skepticism to ones of deep thought, trying to find something that Twilight had possibly overlooked and that the Changeling Queen could take advantage of. Having found none, they, with certain reservations, agreed to support and be part of their purple friend's plan. At that point, all eyes turn to Chrysalis, expecting an answer from her part. "First you talk about me having freedom, but not long after you said something that makes you and your friend sound very similar to being my jailers, mind to explain that?" hisses the Queen, almost, almost regretting all the decisions she made that led her to this point. "Gladly!" chirped Twilight, mentally patting herself on the back, proud of herself and that all those hours she spent preparing for this moment were time well spent. "First of all, to prove, or in your case disprove, the point where I propose that you can obtain enough love to live without the need to steal it, you obviously need to interact with other creatures, don't you? I mean, you didn't think to stay locked in your room all the time until you starve to death and then use that as an excuse to invalidate it, right?" Twilight showed her a knowing smile, a challenging smile, but above all, an innocent smile. Chrysalis didn't know whether to love that smile or to hate it. The Queen show herself flustered at those insinuations, the blush on her face only getting worse when some muffled snickers coming from the other seats reached her ears. She was undoubtedly insulted that Twilight and friends believed her capable of such foolish behavior. No sir, the Changeling Queen would never be caught imagining and carrying out such a childish tactic. "And secondly, you shouldn't see us as jailers. Think of us more as... 'helpers', or 'assistants'." Twilight wanted to use the term 'Friends' so, so much, but she still didn't consider it safe to use that word with Chrysalis, not yet. "After all, what better way to acclimate yourself to normal social interactions than to have a group of individuals who already know you, to help you, and who can function as intermediaries between you and the rest of Ponyville's inhabitants?" "You may not believe it, Sparkle, but I can be a social butterfly when I wanted. I do not need to be babysitted for that", Chrysalis said, proudful as ever. "I know you can 'act' like one, but that is not the point, and you know it," Twilight refuted. "What I wish is for you to realize that you don't need to pretend to be good to get the love you want, that simply being good would be better for you." "Fine! If this are the rules of your little foolish game, I accept to follow them. Just be ready to cry when you are proven wrong." Seeing that Chrysalis had relented and had no further questions, Twilight turned to address her friends. "Well, with that business out of the way, I think we're done here. Girls, you can go back to your homes." And with that, Twilight concluded the meeting. "Chrysalis, follow me and I will show you where you will stay and rest. We'll start first thing, tomorrow morning."