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THE ROYAL APPLES - Part X

Queen Chrysalis paced angrily around the room. "What do you mean, three weeks? You've had me cooped up in that pegasus' body for more than three WEEKS?!"

"It was necessary," Blueblood explained patiently. "It isn't safe to let you out too often or for too long because there are a lot of detection spells set up around both the castle and city. If you were to walk out of this room you'd be found out within two minutes. Any changeling would, no matter what their form."

"So why let me out now?" She asked, her long, green mane trailing on the floor.

"Our 'Plan B' has run into a snag."

"What snag? Haven't you been undermining Celestia's more trustworthy advisors and subverting others?"

"Yes... quite successfully I might add." Blueblood replied proudly. "And just as you suggested, she's turning more and more to Luna for support and consultation."

Chrysalis stopped pacing and chuckled wickedly. "Celestia is so predictable. Putting her trust in a sister who was so weak willed she couldn't resist Nightmare Moon's siren song. Well, when the opportunity comes we'll have a siren song of our own, and this time, the Sun Princess won't be able to call on the power of the Elements to save herself."

"That's where the snag is."

Chrysalis turned and looked at the unicorn. "Explain."

"Princess Luna is in love."

The Queen went silent for a moment, her wings buzzing briefly in agitation. "Damn... are you certain of this?"

"Very certain," replied Blueblood. "It explains why she's been coming more and more into her own power. The last time I saw her she literally reeked of confidence."

"I thought you were taking steps to erode her self-esteem."

"I did, but unfortunately, the organization I secretly sponsored was very slipshod. It recruited too many extreme elements, too many fanatics to make it a credible influence with other ponies. In the end I cut off my support because of several, less than effective, attacks on Luna's character."

"This is... unfortunate" The Changeling Queen began pacing irritably back and forth once more, her hole filled hooves creating a hollow sound as she walked. "A first love can be extraordinarily empowering." She paused in her pacing and looked at Blueblood. "Who is this special somepony she's found? Why haven't you had him killed yet?"

"We only just discovered the affair this morning. Luna has apparently been very good at keeping it out of the public view. As to killing him, it may not be an option. He's become something of a hero in Equestria, so much so they plan to knight him at the Autumn Equinox. A sudden, unexpected death might draw unwanted scrutiny."

The Queen thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "You may be right. We will have to 'break-up' this affair some other way. Weaken Princess Luna by separating the two lovers." She sat for a moment on several of Emerald Clouds satin cushions, enjoying the feeling of their cool softness. "Does this fool have a name?"

"Macintosh Apple... His sister is one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony." The stallion paused as he gave Chrysalis a shrewd look. "As a matter of fact you've already met him."

"I have?"

"Yes... he's the same pony who foiled our first plan and left you laid up, plucking splinters out of your flanks." The unicorn retrieved his cravat from the back of a nearby chair and began putting it on. "What's even more ironic is he's being knighted for having 'defeated' you in personal combat."

The Changeling Queen froze in place for a moment, her mouth dropped open. "HIM... the love sick farmer?" She whirled on the stallion. "Are you telling me that same, blight-ridden, dirt grubbing pony, is putting our new plan at risk?"

"Apparently."

Chrysalis stood and angrily kicked the cushions to one side. "I don't believe this. The dark fates have to be conspiring against me!"

"I don't know what the fates may have planned, but they are certainly working to some purpose other than ours," Blueblood observed dryly.

"If this...Macintosh...is in fact the same pony who defeated my minions and me, then we can't play around. He has to meet with a fatal accident, one that cannot be traced to us."

"Why not just discredit him?" the unicorn asked.

Chrysalis pursed her lips momentarily as she examined herself in the mirror. "Two reasons. First, when we struggled that night I saw into his heart. His dedication to Luna is complete, absolute and unshakable." She levitated a brush from a nearby vanity and began running it through her long, wispy mane and tail. "You'd never be able to get him to stray."

"And second?" asked Blueblood.

"There is something about him. Something so strong that he was able to withstand a direct magical attack from me and remain on his hooves."

Now it was the unicorn's turn to be amazed. "How was THAT possible? You took out Celestia herself during Cadence's wedding."

"I don't know. An earth pony's only magic is a passive connection to the land itself. This farmer though seems to be able to actively draw on this power as a source of personal strength."

"So he was invulnerable to your spells?"

"No... I hurt him, badly, and I would have killed him if he hadn't brought that oak tree down on my head."

"So," the white-furred unicorn said, "What we need is some way to get rid of Sir Macintosh that looks like an accident." He paused. "If he's as strong as you say, then a physical attack has no guarantee of success." Blueblood thought for a moment. "What about poison?"

"It would have to be undetectable, but how to poison him without raising suspicions..."

"What about a poison that looks like a disease?"

"It would have to be fast, but not too fast. Perhaps something that would sicken and kill him over a ten day period." Chrysalis looked over at Blueblood who smiled wickedly. "What?"

"I have an idea. Look around and see if you can find a hoof file in the vanity. I'll check the bathroom and see what's there that we can use."

The Changeling Queen opened the vanity drawers and quickly found the file. As she turned she found the unicorn carrying several items from the bathroom. Among them were a small, ceramic mortar and pestle used for grinding and mixing powders, a glass vase filled halfway with water and several empty bottles. Placing the items on the vanity, he reached up and touched his horn as if sliding something along it. When his hoof reached the tip a large, black, bone ring appeared in his hoof.

"Careful," Chrysalis warned. "If you drop that the whole game's up."

Blueblood looked at her with more than a little annoyance. "Try telling me something I don't know." He cautiously held the bone ring over a piece of cloth that was laid out on the vanity. Using his magic, he slowly ran the hoof file across base of the ring, producing a black, fine grained powder. The ring seemed to heal itself wherever the file touched it. When he finished, the stallion had a small pile of finely ground black powder.

Replacing the ring on his horn, Blueblood turned to Chrysalis. "Would you be kind enough to chill the water in that vase until it turns to ice?"

"Are you going to tell me what you're doing?" she asked as she cast the spell. In seconds the vase was filled with ice.

The stallion smiled. "Watch and learn," he muttered. Taking the powder, he dropped it into the container. There was a dark, reddish flash and a black crystal grew, filling the vase. Using his magic, Blueblood carefully broke the container apart and removed the crystal. This, he then broke it into pieces. Using the mortar and pestle, he ground it into a powder, much finer than the grains he'd originally removed from the bone ring. He carefully poured this into an empty make-up jar and sealed it tight.

"So, after all that, you have yourself some eye-shadow for a Goth pony," Chrysalis observed. The unicorn held the jar up to her.

"Actually, what you see before you my dear is some genuine shadow crystal. Powerful, potent and perfect for our purposes," he said with a wicked sneer.

"What do we do with this shadow crystal?" the dark queen asked.

"We slip in into his food, or better yet his drink. The powder will then lodge within him until activated by magic."

"So you have to perform a magical spell?"

The unicorn shook his head. "Not at all. If Sir Macintosh is exposed to any kind of active magical spell, the crystal powder will start to form into minute shards, sharp as a razor and impossible to flush out. They will then start to cut him apart slowly from the inside."

Chrysalis scoffed. "And how will this not look like a magical assassination attempt?"

"Unless someone knows EXACTLY what they are looking at, the clumps of crystal will look like dark, cancerous growths that have spread throughout his body. He will show symptoms similar to advanced stage cancer. Uncontrolled bleeding from the mouth, nose, and other... orifices, weakness, dizziness and lethargy. Within a week... two at most he will be dead."

"Leaving poor Luna to weep and morn for her lost love," Chrysalis laughed. "We shall have revenge against this Macintosh Apple and return Luna to her former, weak and uncertain self." She looked over at Blueblood. "Will his death be painful?"

"Excruciatingly so," he replied. "No doctor will be able to help him because no one has seen an illness such as this for more than a millennium."

"For our sake, I hope that's the case," the Changeling queen replied. She looked over at Blueblood. "You're ring is still showing."

The prince looked in a mirror. Sure enough, the black, bone ring rested visibly at the base of his horn, locked in place by its enchantments. "Well...that's awkward." He focused for a moment and the ring vanished.

"You had best pay more attention to the details, the queen admonished. We've come a long ways towards our goal and neither of us want premature exposure of our conspiracy." Almost as if in response there was a knock on the door. The unicorn trotted over, gesturing to Chrysalis to remain quiet. He then opened the door a crack and peeked out. "Yes?"

He found himself face to face with a female unicorn guard. She seemed slightly taken aback. "Prince Blueblood? My apologies... I was looking for Emerald Cloud. Princess Celestia has summoned her."

"Can you give her about five minutes to...uh, freshen up. We would both appreciate it."

The guard, fairly use to court 'affairs' showed no further surprise. "Of course, sir. I will wait out here until she is ready."

The stallion nodded and hastily closed the door behind him. "You need to change back, now!" he whispered." Celestia wants to see Emerald."

The queen wrinkled her muzzle in disgust. "Fine..., but I want to be kept 'in the loop' on this. I expect to be freed once every twenty-four hours until our plan is firmly back on track."

"Fine... Fine... I'll guarantee it myself." Blueblood whispered. "Now, quickly... change!"

Chrysalis closed her eyes and focused. Her horn began to glow and her body faded, turning to mist before the stallion's eyes. Moments later the mist coalesced into the form of the green-furred pegasus, Emerald Cloud. She staggered for an instant, then regained her balance and looked over at Blueblood with a smile.

"You kept your promise!" she said. "I'm free again!"

"Of course I did, my dear. You don't think I could stomach being with the queen of holes for any longer than necessary... not when I have somepony as rare and beautiful as you to grace my side." Hearing the compliment, Emerald nuzzled and kissed the unicorn passionately, but to her disappointment, he broke off and took a step or two back.

"I'm afraid that will have to wait for later," he explained. "Right now, Celestia wants to see you."

"Celestia? Oh, that's right. She probably wants to review the additions we're making to the Royal Library."

"Probably, but if she mentions anything about today's newspaper story remember to cast the blame on me. It will sound more credible if I fouled things up than if you did."

"Always looking to protect my reputation, aren't you?" She playfully flicked her tail against his flank even as she placed a pair of reading glasses around her neck and lifted a saddlebag filled with blueprints and spreadsheets and tucked it under her wings. "See you later," she smiled as she opened the door.

Walking outside with her he watched as Emerald Cloud and the guard pony trotted together down the hall. Now would be a good time to make himself scarce. He was not in a mood to be chastised by Celestia more than twice in one week. Sometimes, it was hard to play the fool, but the potential rewards would be worth it. He closed the door and left, carrying the jar of shadow crystal powder with him.