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Prince Shining Armor, who had a lot of fancy titles (none of which are particularly relevant) and even more work, was sitting at his desk trying to figure out just what was wrong with the latest troop patrol proposal. There was something they'd overlooked, he could just tell — but he couldn't put his hoof on it.
Shining Armor put the paper down and sighed. Maybe he needed some coffee. Maybe he needed—
A paper plane hit him on the forehead. It bounced off and landed square on his desk. Shining saw a flash of green in the fireplace, vanishing up into the chimney.
Ah. That was the problem. He took a quill and jotted a note down, remembering he had to correct the proposal later. For now, there was the issue of the message.
Shining unfolded the paper plane. It was made of black paper, with green glitter and felt glued to the borders. Some white fangs were at the corners, making it seem as if the letter was an opened maw, ready to swallow the words whole.
The message itself was composed of newspaper cuttings. Shining Armor didn't really see why, they all knew what Chrysalis's hornwriting looked like, but whatever. He read the message, which stated as such;
"HELLO SHINING ARMOR. THE EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL QUEEN CHRYSALIS WILL KIDNAP THE ALSO EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL BUT NOT AS MUCH AS ME PRINCESS CADANCE WITHIN TWENTY FOUR HOURS. PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO INTERFERE. OR TELL HER. I WILL BITE YOU IF YOU ALERT HER!!!!!! (NOT GOOD) SHE WILL BE RETURNED WITHIN TWELVE HOURS AS IS CUSTOM. BE WARNED!"
Shining Armor sighed.
"Nice letter," he called to the chimney. No reply came. He shrugged. It was a very nice letter. He wondered how many newspapers Chrysalis had been collecting for these.
He took the warning letter and hid it in his bottom drawer, where all the other letters Chrysalis had sent were hidden. He looked at the patrol proposal and placed it at the bottom of a paper stack. He'd send it through tomorrow. After all, who would try to get into a castle through a chimney?
It was dark outside. That didn't really say much about the time in the Crystal Empire, though. Nights in the Frozen North could be anywhere from five to fourteen hours long. Luckily, there were clocks, which stated the time was 8:10PM.
8:10PM was a bit early for Shining Armor to go to sleep, which was probably why he was having difficulties. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza (just Cadance, please) could hear him turning from side to side every minute or two. She could sense the usual tones of worry and stress on him, and a hint of anticipation. She assumed it was usual stress — they'd been working a busy, wild week to organise the Hearth's Warming Eve festival. So she kept reading her book by candlelight (a habit she'd picked up from Twilight), assuming he'd get to sleep eventually.
He didn't, and Cadance was a touch concerned now. She placed a bookmark on her page and then walked over to the bed, settling herself next to Shining Armor.
"Hey," she whispered. "You okay?"
Shining Armor groaned and pulled himself out of the mound of blankets. "Yes," he lied.
"Nope," Cadance stated. Shining Armor groaned.
"It's nothing. Just stressed." Shining Armor turned away. Cadance rolled him over again.
"Mm-hmm," Cadance hummed, ruffling her wings. "Don't believe you."
Shining Armor's groggy eyes widened with terrified clarity. He looked as if he'd just seen his death warrant signed. "I can't tell you," he said very quickly.
"You don't want to tell me," Cadance corrected, a wing sliding underneath Shining Armor's chin. The tips of her feathers brushed against it.
"No," Shining Armor begged, but it was useless.
"You're not the only one trained in information extraction," Cadance said in a sing-song voice. "So…"
"I don't know," Shining said futilely. Cadance rolled her eyes and lightly brushed her feathers against Shining's neck.
He broke instantly, twitching and breaking out into laughter. Cadance giggled and kept at it for a few seconds before relenting. As Shining caught his breath, Cadance settled on top of his stomach and smiled at him.
"So… I was thinking it's probably Chrysalis. Am I right?"
"I…" Feathers swayed ominously over Shining, and he nodded quickly. "Yes. I'm just waiting for her to kidnap you."
"That wasn't so hard, now?" Cadance booped Shining's nose.
"She said she'd bite me if I told," Shining said meekly.
"Don't worry," Cadance soothed. "I'll protect you from the scary mean changeling."
"Traitor," a voice hissed from the darkness. Shining screamed and rolled off the mattress, taking Cadance and the blankets with him. Cadance dislodged herself from him and got up from the floor. Two green eyes glowed at her from the corner of their room.
"Hey, Chrysalis," she said. "How's it going?"
"Let me bite your husband."
Cadance looked down at Shining, who had covered himself with the blankets again. "Don't tell anycreature, but I think he's scared."
"He should be," Chrysalis snarled, stepping out of the darkness and crossing the room to stand next to Cadance. "I told him not to warn you."
"Well, the confession was under duress, you see," Cadance explained, flicking her wings. "He really deserves a pass."
"I do," Shining Armor added. "She tortured me."
Chrysalis bit her lip, thinking. "Fine. Just this once."
"Thank you," Shining said.
"You can get off the floor, now," Chrysalis said, poking the mound of blankets. Shining did so, giving the two an embarrassed smile. The blankets had tousled and messed up his hair to the point where it was indistinguishable from a painted bird's nest. "You look very handsome right now," Chrysalis deadpanned.
"Oh, stop that," Cadance chastised, affectionately hitting Chrysalis over the head with her wing. Chrysalis hissed at her.
"Enjoy your date," Shining Armor said. "I'm going to go to sleep now. Love you!" He dragged himself to the bed, taking the blankets with him. Within seconds, he was cocooned up.
"It's not a date," Chrysalis whined. "I'm kidnapping you."
"That you are," Cadance giggled. "Just give me a minute, I don't have any perfume on."
"There's no time to put on perfume. I'm kidnapping you."
Cadance sighed dramatically. "Oh, fine. How are we doing this?"
"Would you prefer the rope and gag or the incapacitating venom?"
"Hmm," Cadance tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I'll take the venom."
"Excellent." Chrysalis lunged at Cadance and bit her neck. Cadance squeaked, and then fell into unconsciousness.
She woke up in the snow. A tarp had been placed and wrapped around her, and she was being dragged across the ground. She craned her neck and saw Chrysalis.
"Lovebug?" she murmured. Her tongue felt strange, and she couldn't feel her hooves. "What's going on?"
"I'm— ugh, dragging you… to… my lair…" Chrysalis huffed, taking pauses for breath. She had tied herself to the tarp with a makeshift harness. "Obviously."
"You don't need to drag me," Cadance said. "I'm awake now."
"But… it's fun…" Chrysalis panted.
"How far away is the lair?"
"I…" Chrysalis paused. "Fine! You can walk." Chrysalis untied herself from the tarp and released Cadance. "I expected you'd awaken later."
"Alicorn physiology," Cadance shrugged. She stumbled a tiny bit as she got to her hooves. "We filter out venoms and the like much quicker."
"I anticipated that, and gave you a double dose," Chrysalis said. "Evidently, it didn't work out."
Cadance smiled. "Well, now we get to have a lovely walk in—" she looked around the landscape, which was flat and snowy with a few sparse trees around, "—the middle of nowhere…"
"Yes," Chrysalis sighed. "My lair is over there," she pointed to a nearby hill. "The Empire is the other way."
Cadance turned, and she could see the dazzling, ice-blue lights of the Crystal Empire on the horizon. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yes," Chrysalis said. "You've made a very wonderful city, Princess."
Cadance nodded, and then shivered. Her breath misted in front of her.
"Chryssi. Look. I'm a dragon," she said.
"Har-dee-har," Chrysalis deadpanned. "We need to go. You're going to get very cold."
"Not with you besides me," Cadance said, wrapping a wing around Chrysalis and pushing her against her side. Chrysalis rolled her eyes, nuzzled Cadance's cheek, and then the two set off.
They were both shivering when they got to the base of the hill. They were snug against each other, elytra flush against feathers, walking in lockstep.
"Why didn't you bring—" Cadeace shivered, "—a scarf or something?"
"I forgot," Chrysalis admitted, abashed. "I was a bit busy."
"Silly bug," Cadance said. "Come on. Where's your warm cave?"
"Over there," Chrysalis pointed to a suspicious spot of white, which was not a patch of snow but rather a thick white sheet blending into its surroundings. They stumbled over, and Chrysalis drew the sheet open. They stepped inside.
"Welcome to my lair," Chrysalis laughed. "Enjoy your stay, Princess."
Cadance skipped across the cave's interior. It was a sizable cavern, about the size of a normal living room. There were fairy lights strung across the walls and top. A few carpets lay on the stone floor. A plush couch, a little reading nook, a table and makeshift kitchen, and two beds on opposite sides of the cave. There were blankets everywhere.
"Wow," she said. "I like it. Very cozy."
"It will be terrifying later," Chrysalis assured. "It needs to look like this now. So we can stay warm."
"It's very well-decorated," Cadance noted, noticing a tiny Hearth's Warming tree in the corner, near the nook. "Did you do this all yourself?"
"I had help," Chrysalis admitted. "From my minions."
"Minions?" Cadance giggled.
"She means me," somepony new said, and Cadance jumped in surprise, for lurking behind her was none other than Twilight Sparkle. "I helped."
"Twilight?" Cadance laughed. "Wow, I…"
"You haven't told her?" Twilight asked Chrysalis, unimpressed.
"Well, um… it's not something that comes up in typical conversation…" Chrysalis protested.
Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. "I'm not actually Twilight Sparkle," she told Cadance. She spoke with casual disinterest, as if everything around her was incredibly boring. "I'm a recombinant of her made through dark magic. In essence, an evil clone. You can call me Midnight."
"Oh," Cadance said. She turned to Chrysalis, narrowing her eyes much the same way as a mother noting her child had a suspicious amount of cookie crumbs on their cheeks. "When did you do this?"
"Um." Chrysalis hid behind her mane.
"About eight months ago," Midnight explained. "I was part of an incompetent ploy to seize control of the Elements of Harmony."
"Midnight!" Chrysalis hissed. "Don't say anything!"
Midnight ignored Chrysalis. "It went wrong and we both tried to kill each other. Then we decided it was in our best interests not to. So now I'm here. I assure you, I'm not actually that evil. I'm the same as Twilight, except I'm naturally selfish and more bitchy. If I say something cruel about your stupid pink wings, please don't take it personally. It's in my nature."
"Um… okay." Cadance turned to Chrysalis. "When were you planning on telling us this?"
Chrysalis was very interested in the floor right now. "Um… tonight?"
Midnight laughed, full of schadenfreude. "Never. She wanted to hide me in her stupid little lair forever. I wasn't meant to survive, you know. I was planning on running to Ponyville and revealing myself to Twilight in a few weeks, actually."
"Why?" Chrysalis asked.
"For fun," Midnight shrugged. "Anyway, she's been sending me off on useless fetch quests when she has your dates. Thought she was sneaky with it."
"I was sneaky with it," Chrysalis whined. Cadance sat next to her and hugged her.
"You're very sneaky," she reassured, kissing her on the cheek.
"Alas, she forgot to do so this time. Because she was—"
"Don't say anything!" Chrysalis snarled. Midnight shrugged.
"Alright. I'll get out of your manes now. Enjoy."
"Wait," Chrysalis asked. "Where are you going?"
"Not sure. Maybe I'll bother Fizzlepop Berrytwist." She laughed. "See how long it takes for her to notice something's wrong. She does live here now, right?"
"Yes," Cadance affirmed. "Please don't do anything too bad."
"I won't," Midnight said. "I'm only a malignant entity made specifically to take over Equestria, after all. Have faith."
She walked out the cave. Cadance and Chrysalis said nothing for a few moments.
"Will she do anything… evil?" Cadance asked.
"Probably not." Chrysalis's tone wasn't reassuring.
Cadance nodded. "So… Midnight, huh?"
"Yes," Chrysalis said. "Twilight Sparkle has a lot of contingency plans. One such was a plan to deal with her if she ever turned evil, named 'The Midnight Sparkle Protocol.' She was so well-prepared, she'd already chosen her evil pseudonym. Midnight felt the name was appropriate."
Cadance giggled. "Yes. I remember that, actually. She gave that to me a day after my wedding. And she mailed an updated copy to me a few months after she ascended."
"Sounds like her. Midnight hates her a lot. I think it's something to do with the spell that made her. Twilight is scared of quesadillas, correct?"
"Yes," Cadance giggled. "Way too much."
"Midnight is, too. She's trying to train herself not to be through exposure therapy, because if she does, then she'll be better than Twilight."
Cadance laughed. "How petty! Reminds me of somecreature I know…"
"Hush." Chrysalis nipped Cadance's ear."Enough about her. I want to show you things."
Cadance smiled. "Alright. What have you got?"
"It's outside," Chrysalis said, walking to the mouth of the cave. She then paused. "Wait." She turned and trotted over to her bed (completely green, of course), rifling through her closet.
After a bit of scourging, she chucked earmuffs, a beanie, and a scarf at Cadance, who put them on. "Thanks," she said.
"Don't want you freezing on me," Chrysalis said, snatching a picnic blanket in her mouth. "Alright, let's—"
"Chrysalis," Cadance gestured to Chrysalis. "Are we missing something?"
"Ughh," Chrysalis groaned. "I'll put on a scarf."
She turned and grabbed her own scarf, striped green and black, hoof-knitted by Cadance. "There we go."
"Lead the way," Cadance said. Chrysalis took Cadance's hoof and led her out the cave. They turned and began an ascent up the hill, dotted with frosty pines. Their hooves sunk into a layer of snow, and the wind brushed past them. They took steady steps, until they finally came to the hill's peak, which coincided with a small clearing in the trees — a window to the dazzling night sky. Chrysalis set the picnic blanket down and settled herself and Cadance on it. They sat down on the ground. Cadance wrapped a wing around Chrysalis, and they looked up at the stars.
"Wait for it," Chrysalis said. Cadance did so.
Moments later, the sky began glowing. Beams of green light levitated across the stars, dancing across them. Purple and pink and touches of blue washed over them, rolling across like gentle waves on the ocean.
Cadance pulled Chrysalis tight against her. "They're beautiful."
"Yes," Chrysalis smiled. For a moment, there was nothing but them and the glowing cosmos. It was perfect. "I… you've probably seen them already, though…" Chrysalis said. Cadance frowned. "Lots of times."
"Don't say it like that," she reassured. "This time is still special. It's with you."
Chrysalis smiled again. The aurora reflected in her eyes, dazzling green. "I have something for you, too." She fumbled with a piece of her carapace, dislodging a section. Cadance winced, but it didn't seem to hurt Chrysalis. She put a hoof inside the dislodged bit, withdrew it, and then put the carapace back in its place. Chrysalis noted Cadance's expression and spoke sheepishly. "Um. Sorry. That was probably gross."
"A bit, yes," Cadance admitted. Chrysalis cringed and then held out her hoof.
"Here you go," she said. Cadance saw what she was holding — a sort of red gem, vaguely heart shaped, a wisp of magic glowing in the centre. She held it in her magic and felt an emotional warmth radiating from it. "It's made out of crystallised resonant biogel. The kind of material my hive used for long-term love storage."
Cadance was smiling so wide. "And so that glowing bit…"
"Yes," Chrysalis said. "It's a little bit of my love. For you to keep. Happy Hearth's Warming."
Cadance squealed, and then lunged at Chrysalis, tackling her to the ground with a hug.
"I love you," she said, nuzzling Chrysalis's neck.
"I love you too," Chrysalis said.
Cadance rolled off Chrysalis, laying down beside her. For a minute, they stayed just like that, watching the northern lights. The leaves sang gentle songs in the wind.
"Chryssi," Cadance suddenly said. "Want to go to the castle?"
"No," Chrysalis answered. "There are ponies there."
"But your Hearth's Warming gift is there, too."
Chrysalis thought about it. "Okay. Only for you, princess."
Cadance giggled. She got up and started flapping her wings. "Let's go!"
"Wait," Chrysalis said. "I need to put this back. And write a note for Midnight. She'll get upset if I leave and don't tell her."
"Okay," Cadance accepted. The two went back down to the cave, and while Cadance put the picnic blanket back in a cupboard, Chrysalis wrote a note (with a pen this time). It said, "Have been whisked away to Princess's castle. Do not attempt rescue. Waffles are hidden in the tree."
"Alright." Chrysalis pinned the note to the mini fridge with a lob of her weird changeling goo. "Let's go."
She turned, and saw Cadance carving something into the rock wall with magic. There was a cheeky grin on her face.
"Are you graffitiing my lair?" Chrysalis accused.
"Nope! Just adding a bit of flair." Cadance finished whatever it was she was doing and moved away so Chrysalis could see. Chrysalis moved closer and saw that Cadance had carved the letters "C+C" inside a heart.
"Foals do that on trees, don't they?" she mentioned. Cadance giggled.
"Stone lasts longer. Let's go!"
They flew across the plains of the Frozen North. It took much quicker than the walk, partly because they were flying, partly because Chrysalis wasn't dragging Cadance along the ground for half of it. They arrived at the top balcony of the Crystal Castle, which opened to a living room with a panoramic view of the Empire. It was rather well-decorated for a circular room, and there was an exquisitely-decorated Hearth's Warming Tree in the dead centre. A glistening star sat on top, reflecting the aurora above.
"There are already presents underneath?" Chrysalis pointed out. Cadance nodded.
"Well, yes. We can't get all the presents on Hearth's Warming Eve, after all. They'd all be sold out."
"I suppose," Chrysalis mused. "I'd… always thought that the presents appeared on the day of Hearth's Warming, and no earlier."
"Some families probably do that," Cadance said. "Hearth's Warming traditions are incredibly varied. We could walk down the street, go door-to-door asking how to celebrate, and we'd get at least twenty different answers, even in the same city! How amazing is that?"
"It's… interesting. Ponies are very… different." Chrysalis sat down by the tree, staring at the baubles.
Cadance took one thin, rectangular package and one round, medium-sized package from underneath the tree, and then tapped Chrysalis on the back. "Come on. We're opening them with Shining."
"But he's asleep."
"I'll wake him up," Cadance assured. "One of them is partly his present to you, too. As well as a few others'."
"What do you mean by that?" Chrysalis followed Cadance downstairs.
"You'll see." Chrysalis groaned. Cadance's attempts to be mysterious were aggravating. She didn't press further, though — unlike Shining Armor, Cadance could keep a secret.
They waltzed through the empty castle corridors. A left, two rights, and then they came to the royal bedroom. Cadance held the door open for Chrysalis.
"Thank you," she said, bowing dramatically. Cadance giggled, and then ran over to the bed.
"Shining," she whispered. Shining Armor did not move. "Shining," Cadance repeated. He did not move. Chrysalis took a pillow and hit him with it. Shining Armor did not move.
"Has he been poisoned?" Chrysalis asked. Cadance giggled, and gently shook Shining. No result. "I can hit him again." Chrysalis levitated the pillow over Shining.
"Wait," Cadance instructed. Chrysalis lowered the pillow, and Cadance drew the blankets off Shining.
"Iissit morning?" Shining murmured. Chrysalis rolled her eyes.
"No," Cadance said gently, leaning in and kissing Shining on the forehead, just under his horn. "But we're going to give Chrysalis her present now."
Shining nodded, rubbing his eyes. "It couldn't wait 'till morning?" Cadance gave Shining a look. "Alright, alright. Gimmie a minute." He sat up, still clinging to the blankets. "I'm not gonna get out of bed, though. It's cold."
Cadance hopped on the bed, sitting down next to Shining Armour. She tapped a spot in front of her. Chrysalis sat down on the mattress.
"Your bed is very comfy," she admitted. Shining laughed.
"Too comfy. It's an evil trap."
"A plush mattress and soft blankets. Very evil," Cadance smiled. She took the thin envelope and hoofed it over to Chrysalis. "Happy Hearth's Warming, lovebug. From all of us."
"All of us?" Chrysalis asked, gently tearing the wrapping paper.
"It required approval from all four Princesses," Shining Armor mentioned. Chrysalis raised an eyebrow.
"Did you grant me a village to rule over?" There was a little too much hope in her voice. Cadance laughed.
"Open it," she instructed. Chrysalis finished unwrapping her present, and lit up her horn to reveal the present, an ornately framed—
"A Royal Pardon," Chrysalis read aloud, "is hereby granted to Chrysalis, by the powers vested in the Princesses. Signed, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, and Princess Twilight Sparkle." She looked up. "I don't know what to say."
"You're not a fugitive from the law anymore!" Cadance squealed, wrapping up Chrysalis in a hug. "You don't need to kidnap us under the cover of night to spend time with us!" She fell back on the bed, taking Chrysalis with her. Shining leaned back on both of them, forming a neat cuddle pile.
Chrysalis chuckled. "I… um… thank you. This must've…"
"It was easier than expected, actually," Cadance admitted. "Celestia was rather eager… she said she'd felt you were neglecting her."
"What?" Chrysalis tried to turn her head, but Cadance was resting her chin on top of it. She was trapped, being hugged like a large plush top. "What does she mean by that?"
"You kinda had that whole arch-nemesis thing going on when she blasted all those holes in your leg a thousand years ago," Cadance explained, rubbing a hoof over one of Chrysalis's forelegs. "But then the wedding happened and you focused on Twilight Sparkle… and then Starlight Glimmer… really, she felt left out."
"I… I suppose I'll concoct an evil scheme in regards to her, soon," Chrysalis said. Shining chuckled.
"Just don't do anything illegal. I doubt Twilight could be convinced to bail you out a second time," he advised.
"Definitely not," Cadance said, reaching over to grab the second present. "Here you go."
"A second one? Why?" Chrysalis asked, unwrapping it.
"I felt the pardon was a little… impersonal. So…"
Chrysalis withdrew a hoof-stitched plush toy of Cadance. She giggled. "Is this…?"
"It's a mini-me!" Cadance said. "I know you like your independence, so you'll probably be hanging out your lair a lot. She's so you don't get lonely."
Chrysalis turned the plushie over in her hooves. "It's… it's so stupid. I love it." She squeezed the plushie tightly, and then leaned over and kissed Cadance.
"Why don't I get one?" Shining asked with a frivolous whine.
"Because," Cadance booped Shining's muzzle, "you have the real me all the time, silly."
"Greedy stallion," Chrysalis teased. She bit the Cadance plushie. "Keeping her all to yourself."
Shining chuckled. "If you two don't mind," he kissed Cadance on the cheek, "I'll be going to bed now."
"Goodnight, darling," Cadance returned the kiss. Shining fell back onto the bed and dragged the blankets over him. Chrysalis leaned over and bit Cadance's ear.
"I'll be going too, now," she said. "It's getting too cold outside."
"You could stay here," Cadance proposed, leaning against Chrysalis. "Just tonight. You'd get to cuddle me."
"But… the guards?"
"Royal Pardon," Cadance said. "Silly."
"Oh. Right." Chrysalis considered. "I suppose you make a good argument."
"I make a great argument. Get over here." Cadance tugged a bit of the blanket from Shining and threw it over them. Underneath, she wrapped Chrysalis up in a tight bear hug. Wings settled over her, and Chrysalis closed her eyes and hummed gently. Cadance ran a hoof across her gossamer mane.
"Goodnight, lovebug."
"Goodnight, princess."
Chrysalis slept soundly.