You can take her back... but on one condition

“Um… Haydes, why is this beast following us? I mean, it doesn’t think about me and Rainbow as threats…right?”

Haydes cast a quick glance over her shoulder to Cerberus, who had started to sniff Twilight’s mane.

“Nah, don’t you worry, Twilight Sparkle. He just wants to be friends with you. Right, Smokey?”

The beast barked excitedly, nearly knocking down all four of them, and started to wiggle it’s tail.

“He’s so lovely...” said Haydes detachedly. She gave a sheepish smile to Chrysalis, who had been trying—very hard—not to show her true emotions towards everything she saw so far.

“Don’t you think, dear? Um... sorry, forgot your name. What was that, again?”

“My name is Chrysalis, the queen of the Changelings.”

Haydes scratched her head.

“Yeah… well, it’s still hard for me to pronounce that. Would you mind if I called you ‘Chryssi?’”

Chrysalis’ eyes were now literally glowing with red fire, ready to burn everything within fifty miles to ashes.

“How dare you call me, the great queen of Changelings, pitiful names like this?!” she shouted.

Haydes giggled.

“I knew you’d like it, Chryssi! Your ardent reaction just confirmed that. Not to mention your eyes, sparking from excitement.”

The Changeling queen just shook her head.

Okay. I will ignore it, since she doesn’t seem to understand a thing. Hmm, I wonder how she’s even been ruling the whole thing for so much time? No matter. It’d be much easier to control her, once everything is over.

In the meantime, Twilight and Rainbow Dash, who had finally become a pony once again, talking to each other, below one’s breath.

“I don’t understand, Twi. We did bring Haydes a victim… um, I mean, a special pony (I don’t see much difference, though). So, why the heck am I still here?”

“Me, neither. I mean, we completed our part of this deal… maybe Haydes forgot about it?”

Rainbow Dash grunted, then flew over to Haydes, who was absorbedly telling some ancient legend to Chrysalis.

“Hey, sorry for interrupting, but I got a question for you, Haydes.”

The ruler of the underworld looked to the pegasus.

“No, it’s okay. Chryssi, would you mind if I’ll stop for a second?”

Chrysalis rapidly shook her head, inwardly extolling Rainbow Dash for providing her a break from this crude torture.

“So, what’s up?” Haydes asked, slapping Charon to make him transport them through the river, since he had fallen asleep like always.

“Well, since now you have… you know, a special somepony, and stuff...” Rainbow started timidly.

She wasn’t able to continue the sentence when a black-winged, cloaked figure with a sword in its mouth landed right on their boat.

“What the hay ya think you’re doin’?! This boat is carryin’ enough weight as it is!” Charon snapped angrily, trying to drive away the visitor with a paddle.

“Your… majesty… I’ve got… new… souls...” The visitor spoke, dodging all Charon’s strikes.

“You can fly, ya lazy thing! Get out of mah boat!”

“Go... buck… yourself… ouch!”

The next paddle’s strike was successful: the visitor got hit to the head and fell down to the water.

Haydes looked to her watch.

“You weren’t kidding when you bragged that you can drive away Thanagos in ten seconds flat. Impressive.”

Charon nodded, puffing his chest out.

“Actually I just got easier on our good old ferrypony,” Thanagos said, placing a rubber duck on the water. “You know... to let him win just one time.”

“Ya did not!”

“I did, actually.”

“Enough, you two. Thanagos, you said that you’ve got something for me. What is it?”

The death itself gasped, then quickly flew off the river and waved at someone.

“Your majesty, there are one thousand and sixty eight souls who have recently arrived to your kingdom. Let me introduce them to you—”

“Not right now. I‘ve got other business to do. Just let them wait, ‘till Charon will come back and pay him for transporting them to my kingdom.”

“But… I always do that… for you… I mean, it’s a tradition… you can’t just...”

“Yeah, but not this time. Don’t you see that I have a guest? ”Haydes interrupted him impatiently. “Now leave, I don’t have time for you right now. Shoo.”

The personification of death sniffled.

“If somepony needs me, I’m in my room with my teddy bear, crying myself to sleep.”

“Huh,” Twilight frowned, watching Thanagos’ form shrink into the distance. “I guess even Death may cry, sometimes.”

“So, Rainbow,” Haydes turned to the now-frowning mare, “what did you want to tell me?”

“I… um...”

Chrysalis shut her ears with hooves, slightly swinging from side to side.

This isn’t the underworld world, it’s more like a looney bin on vacation. Nope, nope, nope, I’m not gonna go crazy with all of them.

“I mean… we brought you... her, right? So… I guess we’ve made our part of deal, haven’t we?”

Haydes tapped her chin with a hoof.

“Well… you certainly have. I guess I must to let you go, now. It was fun, girls. See you later.”

“Later? What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“Well duh - when you will die, of course.”

Both mares looked to each other.

“Yeah… right… ”

“I will be looking forward to this meeting. But for now - adiós, amigos!”

Bang!

Haydes clapped her hooves, and both Twilight and Rainbow disappeared.

“Okay, I think we’re here. Behold, Chryssi - this is my kingdom!”

Chrysalis and Haydes now were walking through a street, filled with a great amount of ponies. They looked almost like regular, alive ones, with just one little difference - they were slightly transparent.

“Hi, Haydes. Lovely day, isn’t it?” A blue-coated mare said, smiling brightly.

“It sure is!” Haydes replied with a smirk.

“Will Cerberus come out to play? I think I’d like to do some hide-and-seek with him again, sometime.” A stallion with a long white beard asked.

“How could I not let Cerberus go and play with you, Starswirl? You’re getting along really great. Little patience, and he’ll be here.” The ruler of the afterworld chuckled, seeing a sincere happiness expression on his face.

“Who’s with you, Hay? I believe I saw her, back there.” A white pegasus in golden armor remarked.

“Oh, it’s just Chryssi, don’t mind her. She’s still alive so it’s more like a tour--”

“Chrysalis? Is that you?”

Chrysalis gulped.

“M…mother? What… what are you doing here?”

A black-and-green coated mare with a curved horn and crystalline wings approached them.

“Well duh - I’m dead. Where else could I be?”

“She has a point, Chryssi.” Haydes remarked.

“So, you and Haydes… are together, now? It was rather unexpected. But I guess after your failure with trying to get Shining marry you, you didn’t really have a choice.”

Chrysalis casted a grim glance towards her mother. The mare chuckled.

“What? We do have mass media here. ‘Press for deads’ is coming every day.”

“Well, I’m sorry, missis...um… Chryssi’s mom, but I have to ask you to steal your daughter for some time. We will talk, later - I’m sure in it.”

“Alright. Have fun. And Chrysalis, I will remember you once again - do not feed changelings after sunset. I hope you remember what happened last time you did it.”

“Yeah… I do,” Chrysalis winced, when she remembered a squad of fluffy bunnies, hopping around. That was a disaster.

Her mother nodded and walked off.

“Well, Chryssi - welcome to my castle. Make yourself at home.”

Twenty minutes later...

No, that wouldn’t do.

Haydes was observing Chrysalis for some time, while the queen of changelings tried to make herself eat at least some ambrosia, that was offered as romantic meal.

Although nopony warned her that the food of the goods would taste like a dusty old hat.

I can feel that she doesn’t like ambrosia. And also - she doesn’t seems to be comfortable at all, around me. What can I do for it... hey, wait a second!

Haydes mentally groaned from her own stupidity.

How could I forgot? I can make anypony fell in love with me! Well, I guess sometimes even I can be silly.

Alright, Chryssi, time to take the big guns!

“Would you excuse me, Chryssi? I’ll be right back.”

Chrysalis nodded weakly, wondering how much time she would last without throwing up.

Haydes galloped out of her private room and run to Hermes’ room.

“Time to wake up, dude! I’ve got something for you to do!”

The fastest thing in both worlds opened one eye and looked at Haydes.

“If it’s something that wouldn’t cause doomsday, then I’m not going to lift a hoof.”

Haydes facehoofed. Sure he was the fastest; but also - the laziest.

“Personal business, okay? Now get your lazy flank out of this couch and deliver that message to Eros. I need him to make one pony fall in love with me.”

“Have you forgotten that he took a century off? He’s probably in Las Pegasus, now. You know him - surfing, parties, picnics. He’s all about it.” Hermes replied with a yawn.

“Wait… but… who the heck is making ponies love each other?!” Haydes asked, surprised beyond belief.

Hermes snapped his fingers and started to eat a strawberry sundae, which was floated in the air right next to him.

“Ah believe that he gave some of his powers ta Cadence, the Princess of Crystal something.” He told with his mouth full.

Haydes contritely shook her head.

“Darn it… alright, nevermind. Thanks for the help… figuratively speaking.”

The God of Transitions nodded, returning back to his never-ending sleep.

Why do I even keep this lazy guy as an errand boy? He’d better come up with millions of reasons to stay here than actually get up and deliver something.

Suddenly Haydes heard screams from her room.

Oh, no… Chryssi!

She stormed to the door to see an interesting picture: Chrysalis was squealing like a filly who saw a rat, trying to fight off Cerberus.

“Smokey, sit! We don’t chew our guests’ tails!”

Cerberus rumbled discontentedly, but left Chrysalis alone.

“Sorry ‘bout that Chryssi. I’m...” Haydes was interrupted by Chrysalis’ hysterical scream.

“Enough! I have had enough. It’s not an underworld world, it’s just a mockery! You look like clowns, who wants to play gods! And I was stupid enough to wonder to use use in my plan to take over Equestria! Not anymore!”

Haydes sat down, her eyes filled with tears.

“You… you just used me? But I thought… I thought that we have something special between us...”

“No, we have not. And now, when you know the truth, bring me back to Equestria! I will conquer it alone and… hey, where’re you going?! Come back!!!”

Haydes didn’t hear her yell, consumed with grief and sorrow.

In Equestria...

The ruler of the underworld pushed open the door of Ponyville’s library, which she remembered well enough to not miss.

“Twilight Sparkle, are you he— WAH!”

“Haydes! What the heck?! Didn’t anypony teach you how to knock?!”

“I just… I didn’t think that you...”

“What else could we do? We haven’t seen each other for who knows how much time!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt… oh, this is so embarrassing...”

Twilight sighed.

“Well, we were about to finish anyway. Rainbow’s mane didn’t need that much combing.”

The alicorn put down the comb, and turned to Haydes.

“So, what’s up? Why are you here?”

Haydes sighed.

“It’s Chryssi… turns out, she wanted to use me to take over Equestria… I thought… I thought that we will… that… that she interested in me, and instead...”

Rainbow Dash trotted over to the sobbing Goddess.

“Well, it’s Chrysalis we’re talking about. She’s all about that stuff. Sadly, but if you want a courageous and risky pony (except me, of course) - you have to go to villains.”

Haydes nodded, still consumed with sorrow.

Twilight looked over her, then beckoned Rainbow.

“Hey, Dashie… I thought that maybe we should help her?” She whispered.

“What? But, come on - we made our part of a deal. So as she. We don’t have any debts to each other.”

“I know. But look at her. She’s literally destroyed from inside. It’s just… not right. Ponies shouldn’t be like this. Even those like Haydes.”

“Same good and kind Twilight, aren’t you? Well, alright. I don’t mind to help our underworld ruler. But… how we will do it?”

Twilight chuckled.

“Don’t you worry, Dash. We were able to redeem Discord, so why not Chrysalis? I will think of something.”