Chrysalis

I didn’t even bother to avoid the glances as I walked through the furniture store. Their gazes would be averted the instant I glanced back, and parents would take their children by the hand and rush them down the aisle away from me. I wondered if they knew how annoying that was; to be constantly stared at every day as though the ones watching you were expecting you to do something bad, keeping their mouths shut while their eyes and actions made it more than clear what they thought of me.

Can’t a changeling catch a break?

I wasn’t in the best of moods, either, as last night was incredibly frustrating. Jewel Luster’s elimination on the ENTM episode I watched was just the start of it. I was a little… okay, very pissed off about it, but then I said to myself, “You know what, Chrysalis? It’s okay. Once you get to the club tonight, you’ll forget all about it.” While I did end up forgetting about the elimination, it was only because I became more occupied with something else, once I reached the nightclub.

I couldn’t get a love session from anyone!

Okay, maybe I should rephrase that. It wasn’t that I couldn’t get one, but rather because everyone I was interested in wanted to go back to my place and not theirs, so thanks to Adrian’s ridiculous rule, I got no love last night!

I let out a sigh. “It’s okay, Chrysalis,” I thought. “So you didn’t get lucky last night. No big deal. You’ve gone months without love. Sure, it’s a little frustrating, but you’ll just have to set your standards a little lower next time, and go after the ones that don’t get much sex at all. You could easily coax them into taking you back to their—”

“Um… Is there anything you’re looking for, miss?”

I looked behind me and saw a young, white-coated minotaur who, thanks to his horns, was just below my height. There were a few pimples on his face, and judging from his youthful appearance, he had to have been around seventeen or so. Despite his stocky build, he was shaking like a leaf.

I shook my head. “I’m sorry, what did you ask me?”

“I asked if t-there was anything you were l-looking for.”

I glanced behind the kid and saw several of his coworkers trying to hide behind a large wardrobe. Ignoring them and focusing on the minotaur in front of me, I walked over to a nearby bed. “I’m looking for a bed that’s a little smaller than this one,” I told him, spreading my arms out to show him how much smaller I wanted the bed.

“Oh… Y-you need a queen-sized bed, then.”

Go figure.

The boy led me over to the store’s queen-sized beds, showing me all the different ones they had. “Y-you can try them out, if you like,” he told me.

I shrugged my shoulders and laid on the different beds, testing them to see which one was the most comfortable for me. I ended up settling on a soft, modestly designed one, and when I looked at the price tag, I made my decision.

“I’ll take this one,” I told the employee.

The teenage minotaur nodded and cleared his throat. “Okay, um… do you want a truck to deliver it to your home, or do you have your own way of getting it there? I-It’s no extra charge if you go with the delivery.”

“Delivery,” I answered bluntly.

He nodded, and quickly ran off to get someone to ring up my purchase while he got a delivery truck ready for me. From there, it was just a matter of paying for the bed frame and mattress, and taking the ride home after the truck was loaded.

When I got back to the apartment, I told the earth stallion driver that I’d be carrying my stuff up to my apartment myself, which he quickly accepted.

“If you say so, ma’am,” he said with an unnecessary bow. “Thanks for choosing Silk Feather Furniture. We hope to serve you again.”

“No you don’t,” I thought bitterly as I lit up my horn and carried the boxed bed frame and the mattress with me. The hardest part was maintaining my concentration as I trudged up the stairs with my items in tow. “And to think that if I had gotten some love last night, I’d have some extra energy to pull off a quick disguise and be in and out of that place without any looks.” I rubbed my forehead, attempting to soothe myself and keep my focus. “Ugh, I said that I was going to forget about that didn’t I?”

I reached into my pocket as I made it to the second floor, my bed and mattress still floating behind me as I dug around for my apartment key. As I unlocked the door, I could faintly hear music coming from inside. There was no doubt in my mind that Trixie was parked in front of the TV again.

To my surprise, however, it was actually Adrian and Rusty who were watching TV, and as I brought in my stuff I took a look at what they were watching. Whatever it was, it had just ended, and I was immediately put off by the corny retro dance theme that played during the credits, and the lyrics didn’t make it any better. The credits rolled over some footage of a cartoon that, despite my lack of exposure to these types of shows, looked obviously dated. What really made me raise an eyebrow was the flying, blue-skinned human with green hair that was styled in a way that I’ve rarely seen, and I highly doubted that light blue was on the spectrum of human color.

Conclusion: it was the corniest thing I’d ever seen.

“Are you fucking serious?” I asked, getting the boys’ attention.

“What?” Adrian asked back, looking at me as though there was nothing even remotely strange about what he was doing. “You thought cartoons was just my job?”

“What are you doing watching a kids’ show?”

“Hey, don’t insult Captain Planet,” he warned. “That’s my childhood right there!”

“If that atrocity was part of your childhood, I almost feel bad for you.”

“Piss off, Bughorse!” Rusty snapped. “That show is the shit!”

I shook my head. “You know what? Just forget it.”

Adrian and Rusty looked at me and shrugged. “Wanna watch another episode?” the rodent asked.

“Sure!” said the human.

I rolled my eyes and walked back to my room, my mattress and bed still floating behind me. I had more important things to concern myself with than Adrian’s childish pastimes. I had a bed to put together.

Ugh… this was not going to be fun.

Trixie

I looked at my reflection in my vanity mirror as I turned and posed in front of it, making sure that I looked good for my show tonight. I’ve worn different ensembles during my time as a showmare and each one I donned, especially the ones I’ve worn in recent years, had a perfect balance of elegance and sex-appeal. My current outfit consisted of a purple, sleeveless, collared shirt with a cape attached to the back of it, along with with matching bell bottom pants and a large hat adorned with beautiful stars.

“Looking good, as always,” I said to myself with a proud smile before undressing. As I took off my performance outfit I made sure to hang it up nicely on my closet door before throwing on a t-shirt and some sweatpants.

An uneasy feeling suddenly welled in my chest, and my legs began to shake as I thought about tonight. I hadn’t felt this sensation since my first few shows, and I wondered why it decided to return now of all times. I sat in front of my vanity, rubbing my temples and taking deep even breaths.

“What do you have to be nervous about, Trixie?” I thought to myself. “You’ve been doing this for years. Performance magic is your bread and butter, and Manehattan loves you! Even with everything that’s happened lately, there is no reason for you to be this stressed!”

I let out a sigh and looked at the numerous picture frames that were on the dressing table. I made it a personal tradition of mine to frame a photo of myself at one of my shows every year since I first started. A light chuckle escaped me as I looked at the different outfits that I had worn over the years, some of which looked better than others.

The one constant however, was my lucky gem.

I looked over at my current outfit as it hung from the closet door, where the bright blue gemstone hung proudly at the front of its collar. “I’m going to need my good luck charm now more than ever,” I thought.

There was nothing I wanted more than to move out and find my own place to live. I was so close to having enough money to move into one of the more luxurious apartment buildings in the city, but that fire was a major setback, and now I had to work harder than ever just so I could move into a decent apartment. I turned back to the mirror with renewed determination. “If I want to be out of here in a month’s time, I’ll have to pull out all the stops in my next routine. I can only live here for so long. I need to aim for a packed house at every show! Every ticket sale counts!”

I blinked. Every single ticket sale did count. The sooner I raised enough cash to move out and sustain myself, the better… which meant that it didn’t matter who attended my show. I got out of my chair and headed out of my bedroom, all the while wondering to myself…

“What the fuck am I about to do?”

I started by walking up to Chrysalis’s bedroom door, giving it three gentle knocks. I needed to make as good an impression as I could.

“What?” I heard from inside.

“It’s Trixie,” I said. “Can I talk to you in the living room for a second?”

“I dunno. Can you?”

“I’m serious, Chrysalis.”

I heard her let out an annoyed groan before she opened the door. “Fine, just make it quick. I’m really busy right now,” she said as she shut the door behind her.

As we walked down the hall, I heard the TV playing in the living room. “Good, Adrian must already be in the living room,” I thought. Whatever he was watching, though, it sounded really retro.

We found Adrian and Rusty sitting on the couch, glued to the TV as they said the lines of the show like they had committed it to memory.

“By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!”

I glanced at the TV to see what they were watching, and I raised an eyebrow. “What the-”

“Don’t even ask,” Chrysalis interrupted, shaking her head. “It’s not worth it.”

“What do you two want?” Adrian asked with an annoyed tone.

“Not the two of us. Just Trixie,” the changeling corrected as she took a seat on the neighboring couch. “Alright, sweetie. Let’s make it short and sweet.”

My eye twitched for a moment, but I took a slow, deep breath and ignored the snide remark. “Adrian… Chrysalis… I want to ask a favor of you two.”

They both gave me suspicious looks, and Rusty got off the couch and hopped out of the room, shaking his head. “One less thing to worry about,” I thought.

I shook my head and focused my attention on my roommates. “I really need to boost my ticket sales for my shows, so I was wondering… if you two would attend tonight’s performance and tell your friends at work about it on Monday?”

Despite the odds, I silently prayed that they’d say yes, shutting my eyes in anticipation as I awaited their answer, my ears at attention.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Wha? Are they… laughing!?”

I opened my eyes and saw Adrian and Chrysalis lying on their backs in laughter, tears streaming from their eyes as they ridiculed me. The very sight made me clench my fists and grit my teeth. “And what, may I ask, is so funny!?”

Adrian struggled to respond as he continued to laugh. “You really think,” he gasped, “that we’d spend good money… watching you do cheap parlor tricks?”

“What!? How dare you!? My magic is more than just cheap tricks!”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, honey!” Chrysalis chortled. “If others are really willing to pay money to see you prance around doing middle-school level magic, more power to you.”

“I don’t have to take that from somepony that’s had more nuts in her than a Snickers bar!” I snapped, stomping my hoof.

“You’re not making a good case for yourself, y’know,” Adrian smirked.

“Oh, and speaking of Snicker bars, you might wanna lay off the chocolate unless you plan on buying a new outfit,” Chrysalis commented before bursting into laughter again.

“Well, look at it this way,” I argued. “The sooner I raise enough money, the sooner I move out!”

Silence.

Adrian turned his head toward me in interest. “Come again?”

“That got their attention,” I smirked. “I’m trying to raise enough money to move into a nicer place, but I’m really short on bits thanks to that fire. All I’m asking is that you attend tonight’s show and tell your coworkers how much you liked it, even if you end up hating it. It’ll build up excitement for my next routine, and if all goes well, I’ll be out of here in less than a month!”

My roommates thought about it for a moment before Adrian spoke up. “I’m not sure if the payoff is big enough. We’re talking fifteen bits and several hours of my life that I’m never getting back.”

“You’re definitely gonna owe us both after this,” Chrysalis added.

“Hold everything! I have an answer!”

The three of us looked down the hallway and saw Rusty hopping over with a small dry-erase board held up by his antlers.

“The fuck is this?” Chrysalis asked, eyeing the board with a quizzical look.

“This, Bughorse, is what I hereby dub The Favor Chart!” the rodent declared.

I let out an exasperated sigh. “Explanation please.”

“But of course, my heavyset friend. As you can see on the chart, there are three columns, one for each of you,” Rusty took the board off of his antlers and motioned for us to gather around the coffee table while he took out a red marker. “Now, Adrian and Bughorse, let’s say that you decided to throw Miss Magic a bone and go to her show tonight. She will then owe you each one favor, so let’s write that down on the chart.” He then grasped the marker and aimed to my column on the chart with both paws and started writing. “Owes one favor to Adrian… and one favor… to Chrysalis. There ya go!”

“So basically this keeps track of whenever one of us owes a favor to someone else?” asked Adrian.

“Exactly!”

“That’s… actually not a bad idea, Rusty,” Chrysalis admitted.

“Why thank you.”

“Well, there you have it,” I said, trying to circle back to my request. “If you two do this for me, then I’ll owe you one favor each. Deal?”

Adrian and Chrysalis looked at each other with unsure faces before looking back at me. “Deal,” they said somewhat reluctantly.

I let out a relieved sigh. “Good,” I said as I walked out of the living room and headed back to my room for a good nap. “Oh, and make sure to disguise yourself, Chrysalis. I don’t want you scaring off my audience.”

“Y’know, a ‘thank you’ would be nice!” Adrian called out.

Adrian

Several hours had passed, and I was just about ready to leave for Trixie’s show. While it was far from a formal event, I figured that I could put some more effort into my outfit instead of falling back on my laid-back casual style of dressing. I ended up settling on a red and black striped long-sleeved shirt with a grey pair of jeans. For once I decided to go hat-less, so I took extra care to comb my hair. I glanced at my phone, checking to see if I still had time.

Seven o’clock PM.

The show started at seven-thirty, and Trixie had left an hour earlier to get everything ready. “I guess it’s best to go now before the line for tickets gets long,” I said to myself as I walked out of my room. “Chrysalis!” I called out. “It’s seven o’clock! Let’s go!”

“Chill out ‘Dad,’” she answered as she walked out of her bedroom, disguised as a pale green unicorn with a curly white mane and tail with black streaks. She made herself shorter than me by a few inches, on top of giving herself bigger boobs.

“Well, looks like somepony’s trying to compensate for something,” I joked as I grabbed the air in front of my chest with a smile.

The disguised changeling gave me a less than amused look. “Fuck off,” she said, shoving me aside as she passed me by. “Your hair looks stupid, by the way.”

“Piping hot comeback, Queenie,” I scoffed, and then I followed her toward the door. “We’ll be back in a couple hours, Rusty,” I said to my pet.

“Alright then. Enjoy yourselves,” he said, bidding us goodbye.

“Not likely,” Chrysalis and I answered before closing the door.

As we walked towards the stairs, I could hear frustrated grumbling coming from beside me. Glancing over to my right, I saw Chrysalis looking down, cursing under her breath. “This is such bullshit. I can’t believe I have to waste my magic disguising myself for this show.”

That was… weird of her to say that. With how often she goes out and sucks out love from others, you’d think that she’d have tons of magic to spare. Besides, she could probably find someone to bed at the show anyway.

“What are you looking at!?” she snapped, and I realized that I’d been staring at her the whole time I was thinking. I quickly looked away from her, nervously clearing my throat, and I got a strong “hmph” from her in response.

I should remember not to look at people when I think about them.

“Ladies, gentlemen, mares, and gentlecolts, prepare to feast your eyes on the one, the only, the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Chrysalis and I rolled our eyes as the announcer introduced Trixie onto the stage. “I still can’t believe the ticket lady thought that we were here on a date,” the changeling muttered.

“Just get over it,” I said. “It’s not like she’ll remember us anyway. Besides, you’re in a disguise, remember?”

“My pride still hurts.”

I shook my head as I looked down at the stage from our nosebleed seats. Pillars of smoke emerged from the stage, creating a thick haze that made it hard to see. The next thing I heard were hoofsteps that were made louder by the microphones placed on the stage. A strange silhouette appeared in the middle of all the smoke, and it became more defined with each hoofstep, looking more and more like a unicorn.

The shadow let out a light chuckle before speaking. “Look at all those smiling faces,” it said. “You all must be expecting quite the show.” The rest of the audience let out loud cheers, only for the shadow to chuckle again. “Well, that doesn’t sound very convincing. Are you ready to see a show, or aren’t you?” What followed was a roaring cheer from everyone, and the shadow let out a hearty laugh. “Well, then. It’s only fair that I give you what you want!”

The smoke suddenly began to swirl around and get sucked into some kind of vacuum, and as we saw more and more of the stage, the vacuum turned out to be Trixie’s hat.

“Hello, Manehattan!” the unicorn yelled to us as the rest of the audience yelled back. “I hope you all aren’t allergic to cats, because Trixie has brought in someone to help with her first trick!”

Just then, a large cage was wheeled out onto the stage with a large sheet covering it. Chrysalis and I heard several Oohs and Aahs from around us as everyone wondered what lied within the cage. With a smug grin, Trixie removed the cloth from the cage, we all gasped when we saw what it was.

Even I was shocked.

“Well, at least she’s brave,” Chrysalis shrugged. “I didn’t think she’d do a trick with a manticore.”

“Don’t be alarmed, folks,” Trixie assured. “This manticore poses no threat to either Trixie or any of you. This cage is more than strong enough to contain this ferocious feline. There is absolutely nothing to worry abo-”

CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEAK!

The sharp, ear-piercing sound of bending metal made us all cover our ears, and I looked up to see the manticore pulling the bars of his cage apart, letting out an angry roar.

“Uh-oh… I-I mean, this is nothing!” Trixie boasted as she lit up her horn, backing away nervously. “The great Trixie has vanquished much stronger creatures.”

“Will she shut up and do something!?” Chrysalis asked to no one in particular. “Manticores don’t take their time devouring their prey!”

“Why did she even think to use one in the first place!?” I added.

“Um… nice manticore…” Trixie said nervously. “Y-you don’t want to hurt me, do you?” The monster let out another roar in decline, scaring the unicorn out of her wits. “SECURIT—”

Before she could finish her cry for help, the manticore pounced on Trixie, landing somewhere offstage. Terrible shrieks and cries of pain were all I could hear as the creature tore into her, and a pool of blood began to spill onto the stage.

Author's Note

There you go, guys. I've killed off a main character. I know this is something I haven't really done before, but you know what they say: try everything at least once.

Except crack. Crack is bad.

So yeah. Trixie's dead.

Keep it sketchy, folks.