BNS Chapter 23 - The Mane thing about her

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When she reached the end of the residential part of the cave, Chrysalis used magic to move several large rocks and open a narrow passage leading into a deeper network of caves.

Entering there, Alan frowned, since the lighting was not the best before, and only a few crystals produced light, but now, when they went into this deeper part, there were almost no such crystals, which lowered the visibility to a critical level.

"Whoa, what a darkness. It's good that we have magic." Alan said, lighting up a small beam of light to illuminate the area.

Chrysalis, looking at this, raised an eyebrow but remained silent, and also lit her horn to illuminate the path.

Looking first at his beam of light, and then at the bright horn of Chrysalis, shining like a lantern, Alan simply shrugged his shoulders and turned off his magic, said:

"I guess my services are not required."

Chrysalis just silently walked forward, forcing Alan to quickly follow her so as not to be left in the dark. On the way, he examined the walls of the cave, memorizing some details that might be of interest to Maud. After a while, he decided to break the silence by asking:

"So... As we walk, can I ask you a few questions?"

Slightly pursing his lips, Alan looked expectantly at the mare walking next to him. Chrysalis only sighed and glanced at him, replied:

"Look, if I haven't attacked you yet, and haven't absorbed all your love, it doesn't mean that we have become friends or something like that, okay?" Chrysalis noticed with slight annoyance, and then added "This is just a temporary forced truce, besides..." she slightly turned her head away from him, hiding her face, "you saved my life, and I hate this feeling, as if I owe someone in debt."

Then she returned her gaze to him again, and added:

"So as soon as I help you get out of here, our paths will go our separate ways."

After finishing her speech, Chrysalis sighed again in exasperation and continued walking. Alan, having heard her words, thought a little, and said:

"Well, you're definitely right that we haven't become friends yet, but that doesn't mean we can't just talk, right?" then, Alan looked into the depths of the cave, and said: "Plus, it's obviously still a long way for us to go, and spending all this time in silence would be complete crap."

Taking a pause, Alan followed Chrysalis's reaction, and smiling, said:

"You know, to be honest, you are simply interesting to me, so I would like to know more about you."

Here, Chrysalis finally broke down and spoke:

"And this is exactly the part that I still cannot understand. I am the enemy of all ponies in Equestria, I captured the reigning princesses twice, and even attacked you with your friend, but you still show an interest in me."

She looked at him with a difficult look, and continued:

"And judging by the sympathy emanating from you, which I feel, this is not just a pretense. Honestly, this is the first time I meet a pony who experiences positive emotions not for my changed appearance, but for me personally."

"What can I say? As you said last time, I have an amazing taste."

Alan answered her with a grin.

"Well..." having examined his unusual black clothes, Chrysalis answered with the same grin, "looking at your tastes not only in beauty, but also in the choice of color, I cannot disagree with you."

"Well, thank you, it's always nice when my tastes are appreciated." Alan answered playfully.

Rolling her eyes, Chrysalis said:

"Oh, don't be arrogant just for one compliment. I still consider all ponies to be annoying breeding grounds of stupidity and sentimentality. In my eyes, you are only a little nicer than the others, and nothing more."

"Is it nicer enough to talk and answer a few questions?" Alan asked with a certain playfulness in his voice.

"Hah…" the former queen sighed heavily, and answered a little dejectedly, "I'm sure I'll regret it, but yes, I think that's enough."

With a satisfied smile, Alan exclaimed happily:

"That's enough for me!"

Chrysalis didn't know how to react or communicate with this pony. It was too unusual for her experience, when the pony is not only not afraid of her, but also has sympathy for her, and even burns with the desire to communicate with her.

Previously, her only interlocutors were members of her swarm, and more as listeners of orders, while others were idiot-ponies in love when she was under someone else's guise. And she never had someone to talk to so easily when she was herself.

On the one hand, it was kind of pleasant, but on the other, this strange feeling frightened her. As if something penetrates her skin, weakening her defenses, like a disease.

Usually, she would instantly shake it off of herself, and as soon as possible tried to get rid of the source of this weakness, but... To her great regret, the source was an unorthodox pony who left her in debt, and her royal pride simply does not allow her to push away him until she repays the debt to him.

"So..." Alan thought for a second how best to formulate the question, and continued "I've already heard about your "achievements" and attempts to lead your swarm and your kingdom into a "bright" future, so to speak."

"Shsss..." as soon as she heard the beginning of his speech, Chrysalis hissed involuntarily and irritably. A reminder of her failed attempts was the last thing she wanted to hear now.

Seeing this, Alan decided to get to the point, until her patience came to an end:

"So, I was always wondering why you decided to start your first attack in Canterlot?"

Seeing her slightly questioning look, he explained:

"I mean, why exactly at that time? What caused this decision? Lack of resources, overpopulation, or is it just a banal hunger?"

Finally understanding his question, Chrysalis replied casually:

"A little bit of everything, I suppose. But most of all, my people suffered from hunger, because of the excessive difficulty for them to infiltrate the love hearths of other beings, while remaining unnoticed."

This answer was able to answer only a small part of Alan's questions, but there were still many missing parts, the answer to which, he was going to find out further:

"So you attacked Canterlot because you suffered from hunger, and coupled with a decrease in resources and a lack of space... this pushed you to action…"

After scratching his head, Alan knitted his eyebrows and asked:

"Isn't this a too hasty decision? Why not start with negotiations?"

Hearing his words, Chrysalis only laughed:

"Ha-ha-ha! Do you think that I have not tried anything like this before?"

She only snorted in contempt at the thought as she remembered the past:

"In the old days, when I was still very young and naive, I made an attempt to establish communication with ponies, and other races," calmly telling this, she slightly grinned, "but you know what?"

Alan shook his head in denial and she continued:

"As soon as they saw us, all these ponies instantly became suspicious and biased towards us!"

Chrysalis's face took on a slightly embittered expression, and with a heavy tone, she continued:

"And as soon as I was in the negotiations and told them that for life we ​​need to absorb someone else's love, they immediately got scared and raised such a fuss because of this, as if we had come not for peace, but for war!"

The last part, the former queen uttered in a half-shout, but quickly calmed down, and added:

"Because of their fears and prejudices, they did not even give us a chance to explain, and drove us almost through force. And you know what's the funniest thing?" Chrysalis looked coldly at Alan, "they threatened us not to appear in their lands again, otherwise we will be 'neutralized.'"

Listening to all this, Alan could not even think that something like this could happen against the background of such a positive world. Remembering the princesses, he asked:

"What about Celestia and Luna? Did they also mistrust you?"

"Pfft, yeah, right…" her tone was clearly sarcastic, "they didn't even deign to appear. Instead of them, me and my subjects were received by some bureaucratic ponies, with a conceit higher than that of King Sombra!"

Chrysalis chuckled at her remark, and continued:

"According to them, they acted on behalf of the princesses themselves, Celestia and Luna."

Seeing the doubt on Alan's face, she said:

"I see that you are in doubt, and you are doing the right thing. Even though I was young, I was not an idiot. I immediately realized that these ponies were trying to play their cards as if they had prevented the threat of invasion, in the form of my people, in order to curry favor with the young princesses who had recently come to power at that time."

"If you knew that, then why did you..." Alan could not finish, as he was interrupted by Chrysalis:

"Because I don't believe Celestia or Luna couldn't understand that they were given the wrong information! This means that they either simply ignored this situation, not wanting to deal with us, or they sent another bureaucrat to figure it out, and the situation repeated itself."

By saying this, she was finally able to regain her calm and composure, continued:

"I came for a reliable relationship, not for greedy, cowardly and unreliable pony hypocrites. And as you can probably guess, other races, having learned how the ponies reacted to our arrival, met us not much better."

Alan didn't even know what to think. It was an extremely shitty situation, and he had only one single thought as to what the root of the problem was. That's way he said:

"Yeah... It seems that the princesses had to go a very long way to stabilize their rule, and extend their influence to all ponies. But now that everyone lives in a relative world, why did you choose to attack, instead of trying again to negotiate?"

He looked at her again inquiringly, to which he received a harsh answer:

"Because even now, the first reaction of the ponies when they see us - is fear. So if they like to continue to see us as monsters, avoid and confront us in every possible way, then I will answer exactly the way they are most afraid of, to show how evil we can be if someone treats us like this, and try to banish us! I wanted to take over their precious kingdom, to treat them the same way they treated me and my subjects for damn centuries!"

The Raging Chrysalis paused, took a deep breath, calming herself, and then said:

"Unfortunately, my plans were broken... twice..."

Sighing again, she turned away, and silently continued her way.

Walking in silence for a while, Alan prepared to ask his last question. Chrysalis, on the other hand, felt that the conversation was not over yet, and waited for the next question. And without keeping himself waiting, Alan asked:

"So… Now that your swarm has found a new path for your species, why have you given up on it? Why didn't you accept Starlight's help?"

Chrysalis paused and, looking closely at Alan, answered:

"Maybe my subjects have forgotten about everything that happened before, due to their short lives, but I am - not! I remember all the difficulties that whole generations of my people went through. And a little glimmer of hope with the kind words of a random pony is not enough to make me believe in the bright prospects of a new path."

Looking up, and looking at the walls of the cave covered with bright precious stones, like stars, she said slightly melancholy:

"I live long enough to understand that history has a tendency to repeat itself. And I do not need to be a seer to know that despite the calm and peaceful life of the ponies now, in the future, they will all be mired in strife again. Just as it was before the reign of the first alicorns, when earth ponies, unicorns and pegasus literally feuded with each other."

Returning her gaze to Alan, she asked:

"Do you think, having lived for so long and seeing that change for the better sounds too good to be true, can I be sure that the future will not stab me in the back?"

Without taking his eyes off her, Alan calmly replied:

"Perhaps I did not live as long as you..." Taking a short pause, he smiled, and continued "But even so, I have lived long enough to understand that if you are afraid of what will happen in the future, then you will miss all the good things that are happening now."

Chrysalis frowned slightly, looking into Alan's eyes as he continued:

"And as someone wise once said: Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

Having said so, Alan only smiled and gave the former queen time to think.

Chrysalis in front of him looked down at the ground, pondering his words. She would be lying if she said they hadn't touched her mind in any way. It was a very simple philosophy, but not devoid of meaning.

For a while, they walked silently along the cave until Chrysalis finally looked up and said:

"Perhaps there is some truth in your words. But I'm still not going to completely change my mind. But..." Taking a slight pause, she looked Alan in the eyes, and said "At least I am ready to give a chance to try to see what awaits me in the present."

With a contented and radiant face, Alan replied:

"Glad to hear that. It's great that you at least partially listened to my words."

"Pff... It's only because they make sense, that's all." With a snort, Chrysalis regained her lofty and austere atmosphere and continued walking.

In approximately this vein, their remaining path was diluted with conversations about each other's past, and their views on Equestria. This time, Chrysalis has already decided to ask the only question that interests her:

"After your rain of uncomfortable questions for me, it's time for you to answer mine.

Her voice sounded more like a demand than a request, but Alan didn't mind, so he just nodded in agreement. Seeing this, Chrysalis asked her question:

"Magic. Where did you get it? I only know of a couple of ancient artifacts that can give it to anyone, but you certainly do not have one of them."

Ready for such a question, Alan replied with a mysterious smile:

"Well, Chrysalis, I cannot tell you the whole truth, but even without it, it will be a pretty good story. So, it all started on Tuesday..."

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After several hours of storytelling and Chrysalis's surprise, followed by a change in her gaze towards Alan in the direction of a "mysterious freak", they finally reached a dead end, or so it seemed at first glance.

Approaching this supposed dead end, Chrysalis used magic to roll part of the wall aside, forcing Alan to open his mouth in surprise:

"Wow! How did you do that? I have not seen any hint that this wall is not part of the cave."

Alan exclaimed, scratching his head in confusion, and examining the shifted wall. Giving him a smug look, Chrysalis replied:

"I had to strain a little over the disguise of this passage so that these strange griffins would not find it. This is one of the defensive spells that changelings use for secret rooms."

Nodding, Alan followed her in the direction of the exit from the cave, from which the light came. Coming closer and closer to the exit from the cave, Alan thought:

«Finally! Hope Starlight got here without consequences. I also hope we don't have to deal with aggressive griffins. And it's a no brainer that if they attacked Chrysalis, which was transformed into them, then they will obviously not meet ponies with songs and dances. The main thing is that Murphy's law doesn't decide to pay me a visit.»

When he finished thinking, Alan closed his eyes as they finally came out, hoping that the first ones they met would not be griffins.

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