Chryssi's Hyperspace Hyperwar

>It's been a long time since we finally broke up

>Our relationship had been off and on for a long time

>I think the only reason we kept the masquerade going was because we were both public persons, and none of us wanted the media uproar our break would cause

>But in the end, she took the final step

>I was replaced

>The Princess of Love had moved on

>The media loved it

>I didn't think I'd ever be able to move on

 

>My quarters had always been large

>Captain of the Royal guard was no small job, and it brought certain perks

>But never before had they seemed so... vast

>So empty

>I was retiring for the evening when I head a series of knocks on my door

>A messenger was on the door

>She carried a small note

>There wasn't even an envelope

>Official messengers always used envelopes

>I took the note from the her

>I'd never seen her before, but new recruits were often used as messengers, so it wasn't anything out of the ordinary

>"What's your name, recruit?"

>To my surprise she just blushed, and gave no answer

>A bit rude, but I was too tired to care, so I decided to ignore it and read the note

>It read:

 

"Hey Shining, since Cadence turned you down again, I was just wondering if I could come over and play Hyperspace Hyperwars this evening. Or video games, or Caves and Carnivores. Anything, really, and as long as you want to, If you're busy, we can do it another time. I mean, I have a lot to do as well, but I have time tonight. And any other night you want."

-Chryssi

 

>Several lines of text had been crossed out and rewritten, making the page look more like a draft than anything else

>There was at least six different signatures on the paper, all crossed out except for one

>Chryssi

>I didn't know how to react at first

>On one hoof, she was an evil changeling queen who had tried to conquer Equestria

>On the other hoof? Sigh

>This may sound wrong, but I don't think I've ever been as happy as when Cadence was banished into the diamond mines

>I don't mean to say that I didn't like Cadence, but that short time right before the wedding was unlike anything I'd ever experienced

>Cadence was a storybook princess, but I am no knight in shining armour

>It took both of us too long to realise that it would never work

>But when Chrysalis had been mine, she seemed so... accepting

>I thought Cadence had finally accepted that we were different

>And besides, this was all probably just a prank

>I handed the note back to the unusually tall messenger, who looked like she wanted to run for her life

>I was about to ask her where she got the note when I noticed her eyes, and my heart jumped in fear and... something else?

>I swear that they had been normal pony eyes just a second before

>She now sported a set of vibrant green eyes

>Alien yet beautiful

>And I knew who my messenger was

>I wanted to shout for the guards, I really did

>My disciplined brain, trained through years of academy studies and military training screamed at me to attack

>But all I could say was:

"Come inside"

>I honestly don't know who of us were the most nervous

>I had brought an enemy of the state into my quarters for what?

>To play games?

>I'd never seen her so nervous before

>Even in the face of danger and defeat during the wedding incident she didn't show an ounce of weakness

>We were well inside when she changed back to her normal form

>She stood as tall as Celestia and her lithe frame, crooked horn and tattered wings giving her an kind of exotic beauty no pony could ever match

>"So... uh. You play Hyperspace Hyperwars?"

>I almost cringed at the sound of my own voice

>She went silent for a second, as if she struggled to find the words she were looking for

>"I.. I have a Sludgenoid army. I've.. um, been building it since... um Revision Six. But I also have other races, if y-ou .. if you don't like Sludgenoids. I like anything really."

>"No, Sludgenoids are cool."

>I've been trained in advanced pyromancy, but I don't thing I've ever seen anything light us as fast as Chryssi when she heard that.

>Chryssi?

>Have I started calling her that already?

>"I mostly play Royal Guard. But honestly, my favourite army is my Discorded Cosmoscommando Warband. I just don't play them a lot."

>I didn't really play HH at all these days. I was too busy. And when I first got the chance to play, it was in an tournament with my Royal Guard army. My superiors had not so subtly hinted that they found it unfitting for the face of the Royal Guard to play as a Discord worshipper

>"Ca.. can I see your warband?"

>The next few moments transpired like a haze

>Parts of my mind still rejected that any of this was happening

>I found my old warband, and a playing table that did nothing but collect dust, and had annoyed Cadence immensely

>I rarely used it, but I liked to keep it around, to remind myself of how much of a royal pain Cadence was

>I heard a buzzing sound from my window, and soon Chrysalis appeared with a chitinous carrying case

>We didn't talk that much as we started to deploy our armies

>Just offhand comments complementing each other’s painting skills and armies in general

>You just never assume that evil invading queens can be into something like miniature painting

>Her army was incredibly well painted, and many of the models were given individual markings and personalities that put my warband to shame

>Then again, I'd never really spoken to Chryssi before, had I?

>She had always tried to be Cadence, and it was only now that she was being herself

>I loved it

>There was something odd about her army

>Normally, competitive Sludgenoid armies are led by a Hive Queen, but her army had something else

>An massive, gorgeously painted male Carniflex

>We started playing

>It was some of the most fun I'd had in months

>Chryssi seemed to warm up to me a bit, and we talked more as the fight went on

>I was winning pretty easily, in fact, it almost looked like she wanted me to win

>I charged her Carniflex, and noticed another special thing about it

>It had a name tag

>Naming your leaders aren't uncommon, my own warband was led by Grogar the Destroyer

>The name tag read:

Shining Armour

>I stared at it for a bit, not quite sure how to react

>But my gaze was interrupted by the miniature being lifted away from the table in a mist of green magic

>Chryssi had gone redder than I'd previously thought biologically possible

>"Um... ca...can we start over again? Or do something else? If... if you want to?"

>She was gently packing the miniature into her case while she was talking

>"Ok. We can start over again."

>"Tha.. thank you."

>We redeployed our armies

>This time, Chryssi's army was led by a Hive Queen

>Its nametag simply bore the name "Mother"

>We were both silent, and it wasn't until we were both done that Cryssi broke the silence

>"D-o y-you.. have any houserules that I should know of?"

>"No, not really, I just like the game the way it is."

>N-no bets or anything?"

>Truth be told, I'd won and lost a decent sum of bits playing this game with friends

>"Only a few money bets"

>She bit her lower lip

>Her fangs made it look a bit awkward, but very cute

>"Whe.. Where I learned to play, the loser had to... the loser had to... the loser had to tell a secret to the winner. If you.. if you don't think that's silly."

>It seemed a bit silly, but I didn't really see any problem with it

>If anything, this might allow me to learn a thing or two about the enigmatic empress

>"Sure, we can use those rules"

>"Really... I mean, that's cool, right... right?"

>"Yes"

>We started playing again

>I was going to use the same full frontal assault technique that worked so well last time

>But I just couldn't get it to work

>The Sludgenoids seemed to evade my every charge

>In the middle of their forces stood the mighty Hive Queen, directing her forces as a conductor would direct a symphony

>It's one of the shortest battles I've ever played

>My warband fell to her symphony of magic and flesh, and the Sludgenoids stood victorious

>"S-sorry"

>"No, don't apologise. That was brilliant. It was great."

>"Thank you!"

>She raised her voice for the first time that evening

>I know it's wrong, but I could just feel the way my heart started beating faster and faster

>I felt happy

>Happier than I'd been in months

>"Can I ask for a rematch?"

>"Don't.. don't forget your bet"

>The bet

>What was I going to say?

>"What kind of secret do you want me to tell?"

>I suddenly realized how bad this idea was

>I knew a lot of sensitive information about the military, and the security of the Royal Sisters

>If she asked about any of those, I weren't sure what I was going to do

>"I..I want you... I want you to tell a me a secret about... me"

>Cryssi went red again

>And so did I

>"Um... I... I think...um?"

>What the Tartarus was I going to tell her?

>I couldn't even agree with myself how I felt about her

>"I... I don't think you're evil"

>"You don't?"

>THE FUCK?

>Was that the best thing I was able to say?

>That I didn't think she was evil?

>There had to be a way I could save this

>"No... um, you see, I never thought you were evil. It's just that... the others say so. You're way too nice to be evil."

>"Y-you think I'm nice?"

>I didn't know where to go from here

>"Did you want to play a rematch?"

>"Yes... let's play again..."

>She seemed more than a bit disappointed

>We redeployed, and played again

>It felt like the first battle all over again

>Like the soul had been drained from her army

>Where she, just minutes ago had made the field come alive, it felt dead and lifeless now

>I won, but it gave me no enjoyment

>I'd ruined one of the most amazing night's I'd had in... Forever

>"The bet?"

>I reminded her of it more to break the silence than anything else

>"What.. what kind of secret do you want to know?"

>She replied, with a trace of enthusiasm in her voice

>"Why don't we do the same thing? You tell me a secret about me?"

>Oh, where the hell was I going with this?

>She stalled for an uncomfortable amount of time, playing with some dice with her magic, looking for the right words to say

>She suddenly dropped some of the dice, and they bounced and rolled of the table and down on the floor

>"Oh...I'm so sorry, I'll pick them up."

>She didn't sound that sorry

>"No, let me."

>Always the knight?

>I bowed down to get a good view of where the dice landed

>I saw her long, slender legs stride up by my side

>I found the dice quickly, gathered them all with my magic, and straightened my head up again

>Her face looked down on mine

>Her dark cerulean mane fell like a cascading waterfall, lying around our heads like a shroud of the finest silk

>And though what she said was little but a whisper, I could hear it clearer than any battlecry

>"I love you"

>I swear on everything that I hold dear that I've never before beheld beauty like her praying eyes, or heard a song as sweet as her divine voice

>And never before have I tasted anything as sweet as her kiss

>I didn't care if she had fangs

>I didn't care that it was "wrong"

>It felt like an eternity, a dimension of utter bliss, before our lips broke apart

>And though it took all my strength and will, managed to force from my lips five simple words, words I before today didn't know I had in me, but I now knew had been bound up inside me since our first meeting

"I love you too, Chrysalis."