On a Tuesday afternoon, nobody was inside Twilight's house. The princess was in Canterlot for a summit meeting with the other princesses, and her trusty dragon assistant went with her to make sure nothing on the checklist was overlooked. Meanwhile, a former changeling queen was doing...whatever it is changelings do whenever they're not hunting down ponies for their love.
So it was peaceful inside, without any noises to be heard.
Save for the sound of crayon scribbling on paper.
As it turned out, there was somepony at home. She was covered head to toe in pink fur, and she focused all of her attention on the drawing at hoof. Fluffle Puff was her name, and she was almost finished with the final touches of her latest creation. She put down the crayon, and took a look at the finished product.
It was a flock of tacos with pegasi wings on their backs, flying out into space.
Even though her stomach rumbled at the sight of tacos, she crumbled the paper up and threw it into the trash can, where she had put seven other sketches that didn't work.
So she began anew. With a new idea in her head, she scribbled all over another piece of paper. She used the green and pink crayons constantly, even growing sweaty from her hard work.
When it was finished, it looked like she took Lyra and made her a human with green tinted skin. She was so thrilled that her dream to become a human had come true, and leaped up into the air in celebration.
That paper went into the trash can as well. Nothing Fluffle was drawing felt just right, even if they looked good to most ponies. She would try again until she found the perfect concept.
She soon discovered that her last pink crayon was almost done, down to just an inch. She sighed and brought out a checklist, one apparently made for Spike whenever she needed something. A million items were on that list and checked out, all asking for more crayons. And then she wrote down the same item again.
With a tenth sheet of paper available to draw on, she went to work again. Maybe seeing what Chrysalis would look like if she was a normal pony, with a cutie mark and everything.
But before she could finish, a bright beacon of light appeared in the middle of the room. Fluffle Puff's eyes widened at the sight, and she came forward to see what it was.
The light gave way to a plaque of some sort, and it came crashing down to the floor, leaving an imprint. She jumped back and hid her face in her fur, as if that alone would protect her. But the plaque did nothing else but sit there in the living room, smoking a bit from the heat.
She scooted closer to the strange thing, curious what it was. She slowly made out what it was, and she squeed at the sight.
It was another question for her. She blew all the smoke from the plaque and picked it up with her front hooves. What question was she going to get this time?
"Soothing Stone asked:
Have you ever gone out on a date with Chrysalis?"
When she read that, her eyes widened and she gasped at the top of her lungs. She dropped the question immediately and ran to her bed at the top of the the staircase. She pulled out a sombrero from the bottom of the bed and put it on, along with her Element of....Taco on her neck. Assuming there was one, which there was no record of.
She knew that if she was going on a date with Chrysalis, it had to be epic.
The door swung open, and an alicorn with a white coat and red mane stepped through the door. She looked strikingly like a certain creator of a certain show, and she was graceful as she came inside.
That is, until she undid her disguise and became the changeling underneath she always was. She burped a bit and felt sick at her stomach.
"How easy is it to fool ponies in this town?" Chrysalis laughed. "If you just pretend to be Fausticorn, everypony within a million miles will give you love to feed on. If I had done this sooner, I wouldn't have needed to feed off of Cadence's love of Shining for my invasion of Canterlot!"
With her villain speech of the week over with, she stepped inside and went to see where the pink furball was this time. But she didn't see her anywhere at all. Maybe Fluffle Puff went outside to blow bubbles or something.
But no, something magical happened instead.
All the lights in the room dimmed, even though it was the middle of the day. Chrysalis shrunk back and had no idea what the hay was going on. It was pitch black in no time.
Then out of nowhere, a spotlight turned on and focused on somepony in the middle of the room. She had thick pink fur with a fancy sombrero on and a rose in her mouth. She looked at Chrysalis with a determined look and ran right at her, the spotlight following her every move.
Before Chrysalis could run away or think, she was suddenly being twirled around the room in Fluffle Puff's hooves. Her cheeks blushed red as Fluffle Puff danced in a circle, with her at the fuzzball's mercy. Chrysalis was just along with the ride, and she had no idea what she was doing.
She even heard what sounded like a Spanish guitar and drumbeats playing in the distance, playing along to the dance. Fluffle Puff even lowered the changeling back near the floor, and pulled her back up for another spin around the floor. It was too much even for Chrysalis, and she had enough.
"Stop!" she commanded. "What are you doing this time?"
Fluffle Puff stopped in her tracks and munched on the rose in her mouth. Noticing how confused the changeling was, she dug a hoof into her fur coat and brought out the Tumblr question from earlier.
Chrysalis grabbed the question with her magic and brought it to her face. She read over it carefully, and her cheeks turned bright red from embarrassment.
"Are you saying you want to go out on a date with me?"
"Pffft pfft pffffft," Fluffle Puff explained.
"What do you mean, you already have reservations at a restaurant in Canterlot? I wasn't even gone for an hour."
"Pffft pft pfft pfffft," Fluffle added.
"And a boat ride? How did you--"
Fluffle gave her the classic puppy dog eyes, trying to get her to say yes.
Chrysalis sighed. "Fine. One date for today. But that's it for now, understood?"
The pink pony gasped and put her sombrero down on the ground. She grabbed Chrysalis' hoof, the changeling blushing the entire time, and they went out the door.
It was late in the afternoon, and the day turned out to be sunny and nice. Not a cloud could be found in the sky, and a light breeze was all there was to worry about. But Canterlot was far away, and it would take a while to get there.
"So should we take the train?" Chrysalis asked.
Fluffle Puff was busy getting her Element of Taco on, but she pointed at Chrysalis' wings.
"I suppose I can fly. But what about you?"
All of the sudden, Derpy Hooves emerged out of Fluffle Puff's fur. Her wings expanded all the way, and she waved to Chrysalis.
"Hi, Princess Insect! Nice night, isn't it?"
"But you know she can't fly straight," Chrysalis pointed out. "How are you..."
She soon found Fluffle Puff holding a fishing reel with a muffin attached at the end. Derpy saw it and immediately flapped her wings, lifting off the ground and flying just to get that muffin. Fluffle pointed the reel towards Canterlot, and the bait was enough to get Derpy to fly straight.
Chrysalis shrugged her shoulders and brushed it off as typical Fluffle Puff silliness. She flew in the same direction after Fluffle Puff, with Derpy flying faster than her for some reason...
After a few minutes of nonstop flying and muffin chasing, they made it to Canterlot. Chrysalis didn't even bother to put on a disguise, since Celestia herself pretty much made it OK for her to wander off as she needed. That didn't stop everypony from running away in fear, and every Royal Guard kept a careful eye on her. If she did even one suspicious thing, she knew how it would end.
At least Fluffle Puff had no issues. Her hooves skidded to a complete stop, and she brought the reel close enough for Derpy to take the bate. Derpy finished the muffin in three bites, and she flew out of Fluffle Puff's mane and into the sky.
"Thanks again!" Derpy said, as she flew up and destroyed three clouds without even looking. "It was like cotton candy inside!"
Now that Chrysalis' presence alone caused everypony to desert the streets, they were free to go as they pleased. Only one thing. The changeling didn't even know where to go.
"Where is this place, exactly?"
Fluffle Puff pointed to the right. Once Chrysalis realized what was in store, she sighed and squealed at the same time.
"Of course. Why would I expect anything else from you?"
"Pffffttttffftt pfft," Fluffle responded.
It was a Mexican restaurant named Under the Sun. It was one of those catina places that tried to feel more like a home than a restaurant, with lights all around and a dark, homey feel to it. The walls would be made of rough concrete with dark yellow coloring, and many props of a Mexican home would be all over the place.
The odd couple went inside, and the smells of salsa, cheese, and tacos washed over Fluffle's nose. In other words, she was in heaven. Chrysalis thought it smelled good enough for a date....if that really was what they were doing. It was what Fluffle Puff picked out. If she liked it, it had to be good Mexican food.
A waiter came ahead to greet the couple. She had a red coat and dark red mane, and she was almost completely oblivious to the fact that she was about to serve a former changeling queen.
"Welcome to Under the Sun," she greeted. "My name is Salsa. Do you have a reservation?"
As if on cue, Fluffle Puff dug into her coat and pulled out two tickets. Salsa grabbed them and read the names.
"Ah. Party of two for Fluffle Puff and Chryssi."
"Chryssi? You actually put that down for my name?" Chrysalis asked.
Fluffle nodded, as if this was normal. After all, that's all she called her on her drawings.
"Right this way," Salsa said.
"Fine..." Chrysalis grumbled.
And so Salsa led them through the pathways and tables to a booth reserved just for them. There was just enough room for one pony on both sides of the table, just like Fluffle wanted it. The changeling and the big, walking pile of fluff took their seats opposite each other.
"Here are your menus," said Salsa. One of them was a usual adult size menu, the other was a kids menu.
"Why did you get the kids menu?" asked Chrysalis.
"And here are your crayons and coloring book, Ms. Fluffle Puff."
Fluffle Puff gasped as she had a fresh set of crayons and funny looking unicorns to color. She picked up a green one and went to work.
"So what would you like to eat today?" Salsa asked.
"Pffft pffffppppfff," Fluffle Puff answered.
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"She said she wanted three cheese enchalidas," Chrysalis translated. "I'll have the same."
"Excellent! And would you have any...appetizers..."
As soon as Salsa opened her mouth, Fluffle Puff had created a dozen tacos from her Element of Taco. She was already munching on her first one.
"Er...OK then. We'll get started on your orders right away." She grabbed Chrysalis' menu with her mouth and stepped out to the back.
It was quiet soon after that. Hardly any ponies were there, so the two were almost the only customers at the place. Strange, given the place was usually popular.
Chrysalis sat in her chair, nudging her front hooves together. A few sweat drops went down her face, realizing she actually was on a date with the living ball of fur. All because some person by the name of Soothing Stone suggested it. Whoever that pony was, she was either going to give him a hug or subject him to unspeakable torture when she found him.
Of course, the hug was the better option of the two.
"So what do we do on a date in the first place?"
However, Fluffle Puff was busy working on her next masterpiece. She ignored the swarm of pegasi on the page, and drew something completely her own on the side. Chrysalis leaned over to see what it was her "marefriend" was drawing this time
It was a strange looking creature. She stood on two legs, had black skin and sharp fingers along with bushel of dark green hair. A strand of hair was in her face, and she wore boots and a dress. Like she needed to wear something THAT casual.
"Hmm...I can't help but feel like I know this creature..."
But Fluffle was annoyed, since it still wasn't the drawing she was looking for. She grabbed the paper with her mouth and tore it away from the book, munching on it like this was just another taco to her. She even burped and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
Such was another mystery to Fluffle Puff.
She went to work on the next sheet of paper, settling on drawing on the design for once. It was a cute little fish, so it would be fun. A blue drawing here, a red scribble there.
Chrysalis sat back and watched the crayon maestro get to work. Fluffle seemed so sure of herself when she put her fish together, and she didn't stop even for a taco. And that was saying something. It was almost admirable.
The changeling found herself eyeing the pink and green crayons, wishing she could draw like that herself. Fluffle noticed what Chrysalis was doing and tilted her head to the side.
"Do you think I could try that?" Chrysalis asked.
Fluffle nodded and brought out the entire crayon set for her, along with a blank sheet of paper to use. Chrysalis grabbed the green and pink crayons along with the white sheet, and arranged them neatly before her hooves on the table.
Then she went to work herself. She levitated the green one in the air, intending to recreate herself on paper. But as soon as she drew the first curve, she realized that she didn't know the first thing about art. That's why her first attempt resembled a cow transforming into a dinosaur than an actual changeling.
But that would not stop Chrysalis, the former queen of the changelings. And she would draw Fluffle Puff as well.
Ten minutes and many tears later...
The entire coloring book was horribly massacred in pink and green wax stains. So many sheets of paper with horrifically bad illustrations were all over the table. And Chrysalis bashed her head against the table, realizing that the crayons put up more of a fight than the entire Royal Guard. Its not clear if she felt embarrassed for herself or the efforts of the Guard, but both work fine for this.
In the end, all she had were two stick figures of herself and Fluffle Puff. Even those were bad, with the lines for the chest somehow becoming circles on their way to the head. It was like she didn't know the first concept of art at all.
She slumped her head into the pile of papers, not even wanting to know how Fluffle Puff viewed her work. But to her surprise, she heard a gasp.
She looked up to see Fluffle hugging the stick figure work. The fluffy pony got out of her seat and hugged Chrysalis too, happy that her marefriend would do that for her.
"You...you like this work?" Chrysalis pondered.
"Pfft pftfffftt," Fluffle said.
"I...I don't know what to say. Thank you."
The pink fluffball smiled and returned to her seat. She put the piece away in her fur, using it as an improv storage.
"Hmm, is it just me, or have we been here a while?" said Chrysalis.
As if to answer, Salsa came back to their table with a cart in tow. It had their plates of cheese enchiladas along with drinks of soda, and the smell was enough to make anyone hungry.
Fluffle foamed at the mouth as Salsa brought the plate to her. She could not wait to tear into the delicious, cheesy item in front of her, and she needed it now.
Salsa handed over the second plate to Chrysalis and wiped the sweat off her brow. "Sorry for the wait, we had some issues with the cheese. I hope you enjoy!" She left them to their meals in peace.
Chrysalis licked her lips and levitated a fork and knife to the plate. She made a few cuts on her first enchilada and took her first bite. The cheese was pretty good on the enchailada, and she couldn't wait for her second bite.
Fluffle, meanwhile, just wrapped her tongue around one of those babies and stuffed the whole thing in her mouth. Her cheeks expanded around the shape of the item, and she gulped it down in one swing.
Chrysalis stared at her in disbelief. It was like she saw the waters of the Nile part before her eyes. And then she noticed the smoke coming out of the mare's mouth.
Fluffle Puff screamed at the top of her lungs. Her whole mouth was on fire, and she swatted the air around her. She tried shoving a taco down the gullet, but it turned into a pile of ash on contact.
Chrysalis looked for anything to stop the fire, and found the cup of soda on the table. She picked it up with her horn and dumped the whole thing into the flames.
As soon as it was there, the fire was completely gone. Fluffle Puff's tongue sizzled as the embers on her tongue died out. Chrysalis had saved her taste buds from certain death.
Meaning, it was time for another flurry of hugs.
By the time they left, it was late in the afternoon. The sun was out, but it would be setting soon. The streets of Canterlot were still deserted, save for the legions of Guards watching their every move. Or rather Chrysalis' every move.
Thankfully for her, Fluffle Puff led her away from Canterlot and down to the valley below. She had something rather specific in mind to do next. But it took a while to get there. A half hour went by, and they were still walking down to...somewhere.
At least Chrysalis had time to digest her meal. It was great for a dinner, but it was mixed in with a million tacos. Really, she couldn't resist the urge to try them out. She would never understand the Element of Taco, but when it delivered tacos that good, she was happy enough not to think about it.
But she still had no idea where they were going. If it wasn't for the fact that Fluffle looked like she knew what she was doing, Chrysalis would have taken off to see where the hay they were.
Finally, finally, Fluffle Puff came to a complete stop. She was thrilled that they arrived at last, and Chrysalis came forward to see their destination.
It was a riverbend. It started up in the same mountains that Cantetlot was embedded in, and it ran downstream close to Ponyville. Its borders were wide, and this part was especially deep.
"Pfft pffftftft," Fluffle commented.
"I agree. Its perfect for a boat ride. But we don't have one," Chrysalis added.
"Pffffft ptttft pfffft pft," the pink pony responded.
"You have a boat? Why didn't you tell me? And how did you afford one in the first place?"
But Fluffle pushed her back from the river. She eyed the surface of the water carefully, making sure she was in the right place. And she was. Her eyes narrowed down as she focused on the task at hoof.
Chrysalis sat down on her flank and decided to sit back and watch. She wasn't sure what to expect from Fluffle this time. Maybe they would hijack a boat or something. It sure would be fun to play the villain again.
Instead, she saw bubbles popping up inside the river. Fluffle saw that, and pulled out a lasso made out of her own fur. She spun it around and got ready for the next step.
"Fluffle....what is that?"
Fluffle didn't notice that Chryssi asked her a question. Instead, she had a fabulous opponent to take care of.
The bubbles turned into a rigid shape, and that shape emerged from the water. It leaped into the sky and came crashing down, sending water everywhere. It wasn't out long enough for Chrysalis to get a good look at it, but she swore it had an orange mustache.
The sea creature came out again, but stayed above the surface this time. Within seconds, Fluffle threw the lasso out around its neck, and she tried to pull the thing in with her earth pony strength.
"How dare you try to lasso me?" said the creature. "I just waxed these scales!"
Chrysalis finally got to see who this was, and it was a sea serpent. Way bigger than anypony she met....and so was his weird orange hair and mustache.
It was Steven Magnet.
He tried to pull the lasso off his neck, but Fluffle would have none of that. She stood on her hind legs and roped in the sea serpent with her front hooves. Somehow, the fuzzball was overpowering Steven all by herself.
"Do you have no respect for our kind?" Steven complained. "We aren't like horses you can break! Even if you are a horse by definition...what exactly are you? I've never seen a pony with a coat like yours!"
Chrysalis' eyes widened in horror. Every muscle in her body wanted to run away for her dear life, and hope Fluffle would be OK. But then again, she had the situation under control.
Fluffle then talked to the sea serpent with her weird language. She made a bunch of gestures, pointing at Ponyville, then to Chrysalis. Steven Magnet listened, nodding every so often, and his eyes gleamed in joy.
"Why didn't you say so? Of course I'll offer a ride to Ponyville with your marefriend! How romantic is that? Just get on my back and we'll be on our way!"
He bent over and extended his back as a platform, working as a scaly boat of sorts for them to use. Fluffle hopped aboard after that and waved for Chrysalis to come over.
But Chrysalis was shaking in her hooves. "How am I supposed to know that it’s safe to get on his back?"
"You two are on a date, right?" Steven pointed out. "Then there's nothing wrong with this at all! Just hop on and I'll take you back to Ponyville!"
To add to the deal, Fluffle grinned and patted a spot next to her for the changeling to sit on.
Chrysalis sighed, cursing out Soothing Stone again for putting her up to this, and carefully hopped on board of the sea serpent's back.
To her surprise, the backside felt robust. She wasn't afraid that she would fall over at any moment, and the idea that she was sitting on the back of a sea serpent suddenly wasn't as weird as it was just ten seconds ago.
And so Steven Magnet was off. He put his hands and feet below the surface and used them to paddle down the river. They were moving downstream at a fast, and it would take less than an hour to reach Ponyville. But that was still a lot of time to think.
At that time, Chrysalis was only thinking about the ball of fuzz sitting next to her. She couldn't help but think about everything Fluffle had done for her over the months, and what she was willing to do for her during the date.
And she was the same changeling that tried to take over Canterlot and nearly won.
"Fluffle Puff, can I ask you a question?"
The furry pony nodded, always willing to lend an ear for her.
"Why are you doing this all for me? I know this is a date, but you just lassoed a whole sea serpent just so we would have a boat ride. Most ponies don't do that, you know."
Fluffle stopped for a moment to think about it, and answered in her strange little tongue language. Saying things about giving everypony a second chance, how Chrysalis fed off her love but never used it to hurt anypony since she arrived in Ponyville, and a little something else.
When the changeling heard it, she couldn't help but tear up a little bit.
"You...you really think I'm worth it?"
She nodded again, meaning it completely.
Chrysalis couldn't help but let out a tear of joy, and gave Fluffle Puff a hug of her own. Fluffle hugged right back, and didn't even mind that Chryssi was feeding off her love for her.
"That might be one of the cheesiest things I've ever heard, but that's also one of the sweetest things as well," Chrysalis said.
"Ah! This is one of the cutest things I've ever seen!" Steven Magnet said.
The rest of the boat ride was short but sweet, and Chrysalis couldn't help but hug Fluffle while the ride was still going.
When they got home, Chrysalis was worn out from the entire date. The first thing she needed was a shower, and she needed it now. So she went straight to the bathroom and locked the door.
"Sorry about that," she mentioned. "I do want to talk with you. But that sea serpent, for all his attention to looks, is still smelly."
But Fluffle didn't seem to mind. She had time to kill, so she did something that was on her mind all day: Making the perfect piece in crayon. She rolled over to her work table and brought the pink crayon from the restaurant to the surface.
A lot had happened that day, and she felt like the perfect idea was right there at her hooves. She just had to figure it out.
And then it hit her. She couldn't think about anyone but Chryssi, and it was the perfect idea for her piece. So she set forth and scribbled on the paper again. This time, she knew she had it right.
Twilight opened the door to the house, and Spike was right behind her. Both were worn out from the trip to Canterlot, princess meeting of the month and all, but at least it was over.
All was quiet that evening, and the purple alicorn set her sights on the fridge. She was starving, and a peanut butter sandwich was perfect for her.
Meanwhile, Spike went to his desk and found a checklist waiting for him. "Fluffle Puff wants me to go and get more crayons again. That does explain all the paper in the trash bin..."
Twilight turned around and saw the trash bin filled to the top with paper Fluffle had used. She giggled and brushed it off as Fluffle Puff being her usual creative self.
But when she came to the fridge, she saw something else entirely. It was yet another piece of paper, attached to the fridge with a magnet.
It was Fluffle Puff snuggling with Chrysalis out in a park, with pink little hearts everywhere. She signed her name on the paper, and Chrysalis did as well. Her hoofwriting was atrocious, but it was the thought that counted.
And sure enough, down on the sofa, Fluffle Puff and Chrysalis were snuggled up against each other. Both were sleeping soundly that night, and Chrysalis had a smile on her face.
You would too, if you had a date as epic as that.
Author's Note
I am the biggest dork ever.
Still, once I got the idea, I just had to do it. I love the Fluffle Puff Tumblr and videos, so this is a tribute of it of sorts.
Speaking of which, this is my 10th story overall on the site. Yay.
