CHAPTER 6: FORESHADOWS

And so, ever since that fateful moment in time, things flowed smoothly. Chrysalis was forced to move along with Celestia's plan, and the steps and changes that came along with it over time. Much like the process from when she'd been locked in the dungeons, this was pretty much the same. Hours turned to days, days turned to months, and even months turned to years. Celestia's ambition, her vision, was grand, and her plan was set on a massive scale. She'd play by the book as long as it took, until everything was perfect. However as years fly by, things can never stay truly the same, ponies change, faces come and go, and unexpected circumstances, tend to make an appearance. The winds of change were coming yet again.

"The day after tomorrow?"

Chrysalis Inquired. The young changeling had grown much since we'd last seen her. It'd be safe to assume It'd actually been a few years since she'd first arrived in Canterlot. Considering the fact she was now the size of your average pony. She currently wasn't in her changeling form, but, the form she was in still resembled the real her, only she looked more like a pony, a unicorn in specific. Although she wasn't in her true form, she still remained relative to her size under Celestia's orders. She was currently on the floor, scrubbing in the kitchen, she seemed to be quite dedicated to her task, but she eyed the guard who'd just talked to her, curiously and attentively just as much, waiting for her to respond.

The guard looked at Chryalis as if she were a familiar sight, and surprisingly this guard was female. She had a golden blonde mane and a white coat and stunning blue eyes, and was obviously part of the Celestial Watch. Or, Celestia's Royal Guard. She seemed humored as she leaned against the door leading out of the kitchen with a smug smile, she spoke to Chrysalis as an equal apparently, perhaps they were friends? "Apparently the Grand Galloping Gala, that's probably why the Princess has you scrubbing in here. She probably wants the castle cleaned in preparation for the big event, ya know?"

Chrysalis shrugged as she continued scrubbing the floor, she seemed disinterested in the prospect. Her horn was glowing a faint green hue, as around her one could see she was controlling multiple sponges and mops, all at work, cleaning the kitchen at once. She was now the familiar cleaning pony of Canterlot Castle. According to Celestia, Chrysalis was a foreigner who'd come from a land to the east, having arrived as an immigrant at Horseshoe Bay, and giving her a job here in the castle. Nopony questioned their Princess, nor did they have reason to. It was an unsuspicious role for the most part, and it made sense. Chrysalis had gained some mastery over her magic as well over the course of time, which she boasted proudly in her new duties. She raised her forelegs to the air in delight "Will you look at my marvelous work!?"

The guard pony's eyes widened as she gazed around the kitchen, which was certainly sparkly clean. She couldn't help but feel impressed by such skills, skills she personally felt were being wasted on meager tasks. She looked to Chrysalis with obvious concern "Chrysalis, why don't you join the guard? I mean you don't look like one who'd be fit for the Celestial Watch, but perhaps the Lunar Guards will take you. You're way too skilled in magic to be some cleaning mare, comon, I'll put in a good word for you. Pretty please?" The guard spoke with a peculiar accent, obvious in her voice when she spoke.

Chrysalis raised a brow at the guard, then looked back down at the floor, scrubbing nervously as she shook her head "N-No, you know I can't do that Brightmare, plus the guard is entirely different from cleaning, you seriously can't be comparing the two. I mean, I'm also not built like the rest of you. It's a foalish idea and you know it." She chuckled somewhat as she continued scrubbing the floor. It pained Chrysalis to lie to perhaps, her only real friend in the castle, but she didn't have a choice in the matter. This was her duty, and her cover, and she wouldn't ruin it by asking for more prominent roles.

The guard known as Brightmare rolled her eyes before groaning heavily. "Seriously Chrysalis! I've known you for almost two years now, and yet you're still here, scrubbing floors and picking up after others, and for what? You could be doing so much more than this, you're destined for better things, I can sense it. Comon, just quit today and we'll go find you something better to do with your time. You can be a cook, or maybe, open up a shop, anything is better than cleaning duty."

Chrysalis laughed some, while still remaining focused on the floor "It's fine, really- I mean, we're friends, & I really do enjoy doing what I do. I honestly couldn't ask for anything more Brightmare, in truth, I'd prefer if things just stayed the way they were."

Brightmare puckered her lower lip at Chryalis in a grumpy demeanor, before fastening on her helmet and turning towards the door. "Rrrrrrrg- fine! We'll have to discuss this later anyway, but, this isn't over ya hear me? I will convince you to let go of this run of the mill profession, and we'll find you something better to do." She saluted Chryalis with a smirk "until next time then buddy, I got guard duty, sigh, you'd think it'd be more exciting, oh well, I'll see you later."

It was hard to explain the role of this sudden new character in Chrysalis's life. Their friendship was complicated, at first it started off simply, as a mutual relationship, give and take. Chrysalis was the new cleaning mare awhile back, while Brightmare had just joined the guard. Chrysalis often kept to herself due to the fact she knew that in truth she certainly was no simple cleaning mare, but Brightmare was persistent. For two ponies that often crossed paths on their daily duties everyday, it was hard for an outgoing, quite assertive pony like Brightmare to just ignore the presence of one she couldn't help but feel interested in. And came across almost 24/7 on her castle patrols. A mysterious mare to the east hired for her cleaning skills by Princess Celestia. She eventually struck a conversation with the changeling, in this very same spot.

Brightmare came to realize she found comfort in confiding in Chrysalis, sharing personal experiences from her life and getting the changeling's input on other matters. It was no surprise Chrysalis was a good listener at this point considering her background, which the guard pony had no real idea about, but never questioned, she just took it as a positive quality. And Chrysalis, being nestled up in the castle everyday, life was quite dull, and she found she rarely talked to anypony besides the princesses themselves, besides she could use a friend, somepony to talk to, and it seemed life had given her one. Although as of late, Brightmare has been growing a bit too close, too persistent in such matters. Over time she has watched their relationship grow and blossom into something more, something real and defined. The guard pony's heart ached at the fact that she herself progressed with time, rising in rank, getting promoted, being assigned to new posts, while her friend, the still mysterious, Chrysalis, was stuck simply as some cleaning mare, this irked her greatly.

But Chrysalis knew her task, and she wasn't going to screw it up, no, she'd keep this going as long as she could, and perhaps someday, she could do as Brightmare requested, live amongst them in normality. But for now, she would stick with this identity, go about her normal routine, and wait for the day Celestia knew she was ready. The hunger was practically non-existent these days, and Chrysalis's memory still never returned to her, perhaps it was for a simpler reason than most suspected, she thought about it often. But at this point, she felt she couldn't really hope for such a thing. Such thoughts often led to even more insidious ones, and she felt those feelings of temptation stir within her, greed, contempt, pride, anger, and she locked them away deep within herself immediately when she'd catch wind of them. Such feelings were wrong, and would not assist her in the end. No, everything was perfect as it was, and it would remain as such.

Chrysalis laughed softly as she watched her friend leave through the door. Regarding her with a warm smile where she once stood, it was obvious by the expression on her face she cared for her deeply. Chryalis then stood to her hooves and eyed around the now spotless kitchen "Alright!" She then closed her eyes and remained concentrated as her horn continued to glow, as all her cleaning materials began putting themselves away. She'd truly come far since she first started her training, and even if she was severely underpowered due to her reliance on love, she was becoming more skilled and focused by the day, it was no wonder Celestia had her cleaning rather than becoming a guard, it'd be quite idiotic to train one such as Chryalis how to fight. As Chrysalis finished putting everything away, she smirked, followed by a soft humored giggle, "I guess it's time to head to the garden!" She then exited the kitchen eagerly, looking forward to the rest of her day.

As Chryalis made her way through the castle, she prepared to turn a corner as she immediately came to a halt. Down the corridor she was about to turn into, she could hear two guards conversing with each other, laughing somewhat. Chryalis sneered sinisterly, it was obvious she was thinking about doing something quite diabolical. She didn't have much time for fun herself, so she'd often make habit of playing pranks on the guards. Although she knew it was against the rules, she couldn't help but poke some fun at them every once in awhile while the Princesses weren't looking.

Chryalis readied herself, lowering her frame and taking in a deep breath, her horn then began to glow a vibrant green as she suddenly morphed into none other than Princess Celestia herself. Chryalis laughed, then taking this oppurtunity to turn the corner, putting on her best Celestia expression. As she did so, the guards continued to laugh before eyeing her out of the corner of their eyes. They immediately snapped to attention, with nervous expressions, as Chryalis, currently disguised as the Princess, just kept that same look on her face. "WHAT, do you two think you're doing?"

One of the guards spoke with quite the stutter, obviously flustered "P-P-Princess! Why we were just- erhm, hanging out!"

The other guard punched his partner as he muttered "'Hanging out?' Are you a moron?!" He then immediately looked to the Princess with a reassuring smile "Y-You see your highness, we were just, uhm, guarding this here erhm...hall!"

His partner nodded "Yea that's right! We were just guarding the hall!"

Chryalis raised a brow "Is that so? Hmmmm, well how about you two go guard the bushes outside the castle?"

The guards brightened up a bit before their expressions suddenly sunk, and they raised brows at one another, puzzled, before they looked at Chryalis with the same expression, speaking in unison. "Beg your pardon Princess?"

Chryalis at this point was attempting not to burst into laughter, puffing up her cheeks as she spoke, trying to remain looking serious. "W-Why yes, the bushes, you see, there are rumors that a dastardly villain is coming to steal them, I want two of my best stallions watching them! That'll certainly scare him off." She winked at the guards.

The guards then brightened up once more before saluting Chryalis, still disguised as Princess Celestia. "Of course Princess! We're definitely on it!" His fellow replied "It would be our honor your highness!"

The two guards then made their way down the hall in a hurry, off to go guard the bushes.

As Chryalis watched them leave, her cheeks still puffed, she then burst into laughter, falling to her back and cackling hoarsely. She couldn't contain herself, it was just too hilarious, they actually fell for it. Being a changeling certainly had it's perks, even if they were considered monsters, this was just too fun. Chrysalis, who was still in Princess Celestia's form, was rolling on the ground laughing, relishing in the moment. To her dismay, she did not hear who was trotting down the hall as she did so, but she'd soon find out.

"Sister? What're you doing?....."

Chryalis's eyes snapped wide as it felt like her whole world had stopped. She remained on the floor, frozen, before slowly eyeing the familiar figure. There she stood, Princess Luna, with a brow raised at her supposed sister, she seemed quite confused, and especially curious to what her sister was doing rolling around on the floor laughing in such a unprofessional manner. Chryalis could feel the sweat drop slowly rolling down the side of her head. She gulped, before rising to her hooves to look at Princess Luna, she had to think fast, but she felt she couldn't stop her teeth from chattering. She laughed nervously before speaking "Ahaha, whyyyy, sister, what a erhm, surprise to see you, ugh you see...I was just...uhm..."

Princess Luna still had her brow raised at Chryalis, her nose starting to wrinkle some, adding to her confusion as she just continued to listen.

Chrysalis was starting to tremble "You see I was uhm...uhm...y-yes! I was  just uhm, heading to the gardens, you do know it's almost time for Chryalis's daily session! She's really starting to chipper up ya know!" Chryalis did a swinging motion with her hoof before laughing nervously. Princess Luna still looked baffled with this unorthodox sister of hers, as Chryalis continued "I mean, aha, seriously, you should definitely join us, N-NOT NOW of course! I mean, in probably an hour...or two..hehe.."

Luna had to shake her head for a second before putting back on her normal, blank, demeanor. She then sighed "You're acting quite strange sister, perhaps you should rest for the day. But regarding Chryalis, yes, of course I've noticed her progress, you speak of her as if we don't talk about her on a common basis. I'm actually quite proud of how far she's come along myself, although I hate to admit it, but even I'm starting to think you'll pull off this mass conversion of yours." There was a brief pause, as Luna took some time to clear her throat "M-Maybe, I have been too hard on her, I hope to speak to her about this, perhaps some other time. For now, I have business to attend to."

Chryalis felt a slight sting in her heart, and it nearly broke her form. Her expression sunk, and she could almost feel the words slip from her lips Y-You're proud of me Princess Luna? But she held them back, biting on her bottom lip and simply nodding at her. Chryalis could keep this facade up no longer, she had to get away. She took this chance and made her way past Luna hurriedly "Y-Yes, most certainly, i'll uhm, talk to you later sister, I must hurry to the gardens, don't want her planning any funny business you know!" With that Chryalis dashed as fast as she could down the hallway, making the first turn further towards the back of the castle and the private gardens.

Luna raised her brow once more, then sighed heavily shaking her head then closing her eyes. She then began to trot down the hall, going towards the front of the castle. As she did so she passed by numerous guards who greeted her upon passing "Good afternoon Princess!" Luna responded "Good afternoon." Another pair of guards "Good afternoon Princess." Luna responded once more "Good afternoon." Somepony else "Good afternoon sister." Luna responded "Good afterno-...."

Luna's eyes snapped wide as she turned her head to see who that was, and as she thought, it was definitely her sister, making her way towards the private gardens. Celestia felt Luna's gaze and glanced back at her slightly, smiling at her, then she looked forward again and continued trotting down the hall. Luna remained there for a moment, dumbfounded, confused, all she could manage to say after all this was one simple word, "What?"

Chrysalis eventually made it to the familiar gardens, but obviously was more flustered than usual. She was breathing heavily, her heart was racing, and she was still practically in disbelief about making it out of that frightening situation. She was now back to her true self, for she knew, back here nopony would disturb them as usual. Chrysalis peered towards the ground, wide eyed, as her body trembled, Luna's words still etched in her mind. She's proud of me, she approves of me?

Inevitably Chrysalis's thoughts would be interrupted by the appearance of the darling Princess Celestia, who strode over to her with that familiar gleam. She had a smile placated on her face as her beautiful mane rustled with the course of the wind. She regarded Chrysalis with a simple nod before speaking "Chrysalis, it's good to see you made it on time, as always. And I must say, you did a superb job with the castle, everything is absolutely stunning. I, am, impressed." She gave Chrysalis an approving wink, which caused the changeling to blush. Celestia then raised a brow at Chrysalis curiously "But I noticed, you seem quite exhausted, this is unusual, is something the matter with you?"

Chrysalis's eyes widened as she immediately composed herself. She shook her head, reaffirming the Princess "N-No! I'm fine Princess Celestia, honestly, I guess, I just uhm, I used my magic a little irresponsibly today is all. W-With my cleaning duties of course, nothing else in particular!"

Celestia then gave Chryalis a reassuring smile as she chuckled somewhat "Well that's fine, because today won't be your daily routine anyhow. You see Chryalis, i've been hearing much about you, my castle has been spotless to say the least, and not to mention the fact you keep your cover perfectly. Your skills have improved, and you have proven your loyalty to the pony race time and again, you see Chrysalis, I believe, it is time you've been rewarded once more for your efforts."

Chrysalis looked at Celestia curiously as the thought obviously intrigued her rewarded? It took her a brief moment to gather up her thoughts before she finally managed to utter the word in question "Rewarded, Princess?"

Celestia smiled, before slowly entering a steady trot, circling the changeling. "Yes Chryalis, rewarded. You speak as if you're unfamiliar with such things, you have known me for years have you not? Rewards come often to those who follow instructions and perform admirably. You've come far, just as I knew you would. Now, me, and even Princess Luna, wish to invite you to dinner out in town tomorrow night. Not in your true form of course, but we wish to discuss with you about your reward in a more, traditional sense. Would you like to know what it relates to?"

Chrysalis could feel her excitement building up within. She was practically bouncing in happiness with the Princess's every word, she smiled foalishly, and as Celestia came to pass in front of her, she leaned up somewhat, as the Princess lowered her head towards the eager little changeling. Chrysalis beckoned "Yes, yes, of course Princess, I'd love to know!"

Celestia chuckled, amused by how eagerness, she raised a brow. "Do you know what the day after tomorrow is?"

Chrysalis paused, raising a brow "The day after tomorrow?"

Celestia smirked lightly. "It's the Grand Galloping Gala of course."

Chrysalis felt puzzled once again, as the words hit her like a truck, The Grand Galloping Gala....

Luna sighed heavily as she'd reached the throne room. She was lost in her own thoughts at this point, and surprisingly, the occupation on her mind was little Chrysalis herself. Luna had always been a harsh, strict, mentor, and even though she never really tended to Chrysalis herself, she was still spiteful towards her nonetheless, and for such a long time. It had only been in recent months she thought of her treatment towards the changeling and how she noticed, that despite her brash attitude, Chrysalis always gave her the benefit of the doubt, always took the hateful spite without question. She never once spoke out against the Princess of the Night, and always looked to please her. Luna found it annoying at first, looked at it as some ruse, some lie to earn her trust, but, could any creature keep up a facade for so long under such circumstances? It pained Luna to think she was wrong, but she felt, perhaps it was time to make things right with the changeling. Perhaps it was time to start finally building a more healthy, enjoyable environment for the both of them. And it would all start with their dinner.

Luna smiled, eagerly as she made her way to the porch overlooking Canterlot. She looked up at the sky with a nod "Tomorrow."

Trotting steadily outside the castle, making her patrols was none other than Brightmare, with spear in hoof, and the wind steadily blowing her golden blonde bangs. She seemed quite serious, as she usually was when it came to her job, but as expected, nothing out of the ordinary was happening today. Along her route she passed by a familiar face, which with whom she regarded with a simple nod "Bravemane."

The stallion nodded back to her confidently, smirking "Brightmare."

The two eyed each other as they passed, they were both part of the Celestial Watch, and although Bravemane was a higher rank than Brightmare, they regarded each other as equals, and more importantly as rivals.

As Brightmare continued down her route, she noticed out of the corner of her eye, Princess Luna, peering off into the distance. The Princess of the Night, as always, was a stunning sight to behold. Brightmare found herself staring for a brief moment before getting back on track and continuing along her route, she eyed the Princess curiously however, and couldn't help but wonder to herself what's she thinking about? Brightmane then shrugged, as her eyes set forward, keeping her gaze on the path in front of her. She to also had something else on her mind, as she sighed looking down, Chrysalis.... Next Chapter: Chapter 7: Staged Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 44 Minutes