Chrysalis

Gasps and shrieks were heard all around the theater as the pool of Trixie’s blood spread across the stage, and to be completely honest… I was sca- I mean, shocked.

Yeah, shocked.

I mean, sure, I couldn’t stand Trixie, but it’s not like I wished death on her… Okay, maybe I did once, but that was almost a year ago, and it was just one time! It’s not like I meant it! She was annoying, bratty little bitch, but she didn’t deserve to get mauled by a manticore!

Hit by a speeding cab, maybe, but not a manticore attack!

On top of that, why am I feeling so strongly over somepony’s death? It definitely wasn’t a concept that I was a stranger to; I’ve witnessed my ex-subjects suffer much worse fates during my time as queen. A manticore mauling was nothing to me! Why was I so affected by this, and why over Trixie!?

My senses were flooded with the overwhelming fear that was practically pouring out of the audience members around me. I looked over to my right and saw that Adrian was practically speechless, and I could sense that he was feeling just as sc- I mean, shocked as I was. As much as Trixie annoyed us, we… we felt sorry for her.

Bleagh! Just admitting that made me want to lose my lunch!

I held my head down and shut my eyes tightly. “Okay, whatever higher power is up there, I take back every bad thing I’ve said about Trixie! She’s not that bad of a mare! I really mean it!”

“Ugh! Look at the mess you made!”

My eyes opened in shock. Was that… who I thought it was?

I looked down at the stage and saw ripples in the pool of blood coming from offstage, and I could make out some light splashing sounds, and somepony that I never expected to see walked out onto the stage.

“Trixie was planning on having a nice glass of wine after the show, and now you’ve gone and spilled it!” the blue unicorn said sternly as she carried a small cat in her arms. “Now Trixie will have to miss her celebratory drink and clean up this mess! That’s a bad kitty! Bad kitty!”

The cat let out an ashamed “meow” as Trixie carried it back to the cage where the manticore once stood. She then lit up her horn and moved the cat into the cage with her magic before it suddenly grew in size. A pair of wings sprouted from its back, its tail turned into that of a scorpion, and a long, flowing mane grew from its head.

“Now fix this cage!” Trixie ordered. The manticore nodded meekly and bent the cage bars back into place. “Good, now I don’t want you causing any more trouble, got it?” The manticore nodded as Trixie wheeled his cage off the stage.

My eye twitched as I saw the scene unfold in front of me, and as my mind processed what happened, I grew angrier by the second. I didn’t know what was worse: the fact that the whole thing was an act, or the fact that I fucking fell for it!

“The hell’s wrong with you?” Adrian asked.

“That bitch tricked me!” I snapped back.

“Well… yeah. It’s a magic show. What did you expect?”

“Oh, don’t act like you knew it all along,” I scoffed. “I saw that scared face you were making, and I could practically taste the fear coming off of you.”

“Pfft! You must be delusional,” he denied.

“Is that why you’re gripping your armrests so tightly?”

Adrian blinked and looked down at his hands, which looked like they had been glued onto his seat, only to take them up and fold his arms. “Like I said, you’re delusional,” he insisted, not even bothering to look at me.

“You aren’t fooling anypony, Lewit,” I muttered as I looked down at Trixie, who had just finished getting rid of the spilled wine.

“Now, with that out of the way, are you all ready for the rest of the show?”

Despite the scare that they were just put through, the audience cheered louder than ever before in anticipation for the rest of Trixie’s act.

The smug unicorn gave us all a big grin. “Now that’s what I like to hear!”

“You two have been awfully quiet for this whole ride,” said Trixie. It had been a while since the show ended, and she, Adrian, and I all caught a cab back to our apartment. “Why the silent treatment?”

Adrian and I didn’t say a word. We simply stared out of our respective windows while Trixie sat between us.

“There’s no shame in admitting that you enjoyed the show, you know,” she chuckled.

I growled and turned to look at the unicorn. “I just want to know where you get off scaring us like that!”

Trixie’s ears perked at what I said. “What was that?” she asked, putting a hand up to her ear. “Did you just say you were scared?”

“She said it, not me,” said Adrian.

“Wha- I said no such thing!” I objected.

“Oh, you don’t have to hide it Chryssie!” Trixie laughed as she pulled Adrian and me closer to her. “You don’t know how touched I am to know that you two care about me!”

“Y’know, I just realized,” I grumbled. “There’s something I haven’t said to you in a while.”

“And what’s that?”

“Shut up, Trixie!” I snapped, only to get a laugh from her in response as she let me and Adrian go.

“Don’t you think that little stunt of yours might have traumatized a kid or two?” the human asked.

“Not at all,” the unicorn said with a dismissive wave. “I’ve performed tonight’s routine several times before, and it was actually really popular with the younger audiences.”

Adrian shook his head. “Man, nothing scares kids anymore. This generation is all kinds of fucked up.”

“Seriously…” I concurred. “I suppose we can’t blame you for wanting to make a profit out of it, Trixie.”

“It’s about time you two recognized my brilliance,” she chuckled.

“Don’t push it,” Adrian and I warned her.

“Oh, and what happened to all those snide remarks about how I’d look in my outfit?” she continued. “I guess I don’t look as bad as you two thought I would, huh?”

“I’m about three seconds away from tossing you out the window,” I threatened.

“I don’t think she’d fit,” said Adrian. “Even if you can get past her bloated head, there’s no way her ass could fit through these windows.”

“Point taken.”

Trixie folded her arms and let out a “hmph”. “You’re the last person that should be talking about large heads, Adrian. I just can’t wait to debut my new routine next weekend and make enough money to move out, then I can be around people and ponies that will support me.”

Adrian opened his mouth to say something, but then shook his head. “Nah, I’ve made enough fat jokes for one day. Maybe tomorrow.”

The taxi finally pulled up in front of our building, and the three of us chipped in to pay the fare. As we got out of the cab, I heard the driver let out an exhausted sigh and say “They don’t pay me enough for this shit,” before driving off.

When we got up to our apartment, I went straight to my room to unwind. “Trixie is really gonna owe me after this,” I groaned. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but the Favor Chart that Rusty came up with was actually a good idea. I’ll just have to come up with a really good way for Trixie to pay me back.

“I’ll think about it later, but for now, I need some rest,” I thought as I undressed myself. After taking some sleeping clothes out of my dresser, I passed by the mirror to take a look at myself. I was still in my unicorn disguise, and once I changed back to my regular self, I smiled, relieved to see my real form.

Still, I was pretty much the only one that preferred it to be this way. I was proud of who I was, that much was certain, but having everyone look at me like I shouldn’t be proud was starting to… get to me, especially when Manehattan had all sorts of women and mares that were loved regardless of how they looked, even Trixie. As much as I made fun of her… I was a little jealous. I never realized how many fans and admirers she had. She had always made a big deal of herself, but that was because she was a big deal, to an extent.

I, on the other hand, wasn’t much to speak of. Not anymore, at least.

My eyes went up and down the length of the mirror as I took note of my skinny form. Despite all the jokes I made about Trixie’s weight, it wouldn’t have hurt for me to have a little extra in certain areas.

“I wonder… if using my shapeshifting didn’t require any magic, would I just stay disguised for the rest of my life?” I asked myself. “It really would make life a lot easier for me, but do I really just want to blend in?”

I continued to stare at my reflection, still unsure of the answer, and my eyes eventually focused on my legs. Something was… off about them.

My eyes suddenly widened as I realized what was up.

“Shit! I forgot to look for someone to bed tonight!” I cursed inwardly. “And just when I was about to get rid of these holes in my legs, too! With all the magic I use transforming at work, I might run myself dry!”

I resisted the urge to kick myself as I threw on my oversized shirt and got under the covers of my bed. “I might have to ask Cross Hatch for fewer shifts.”

THE NEXT DAY

Adrian

“Okay… sketchbook?”

“Check.”

“Story notes?”

“Check.”

“Concept art?”

“Check.”

“Laptop?”

“Check.”

“Okay! That’s everything, Adrian. You’re all set to go!”

I smiled and nodded at Rusty as I pulled out my phone to text Roxy that I was on my way to her place.

“Hold up, you actually did forget one thing,” Rusty said before I left.

“Really? What’s that?”

My pet jumped onto my backpack and unzipped it, jumping into the open space. “Me!”

I chuckled. “You’re lucky this bag is big enough to hold you.”

“All your sketches and stuff are in a binder, right?”

“Of course.”

“Good, don’t wanna poke any holes,” Rusty said as I reached behind me and zipped the bag up, leaving a little hole open to give him some air.

“Okay, we’re all set,” I said, walking out of the apartment and down to the lobby. Just as I was about to exit the building, I heard a voice from behind me.

“Well, good afternoon, Mr. Lewit.”

I put on my best fake smile as I turned around and looked at the stallion addressing me. “Afternoon, Mr. Saddleton.”

“Quite rare that I see you actually going outside. What’s the occasion?” my landlord asked, his passive aggression more obvious than Waldo at a nudist beach.

“I’m headed to a meeting. Now, I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m running a bit late, so I’ll see you later.”

“A meeting, you say?” he responded as I turned around. “I didn’t think someone who did nothing but draw kids’ shows all day would have meetings. You’d think that kind of thing would happen in a more important profession. Well, you have a good day, Mr. Lewit.” I stopped dead in my tracks as those words hit me, and my backpack started to shake, something that Mr. Saddleton noticed immediately. “What’s going on in your bag?”

I started to walk out the building, not even bothering to look at him. “You’re just seeing things, old man.”

Once I was outside, I waited until I rounded the corner to unzip my bag. “What the fuck is his deal!?” Rusty shouted as he poked his head out. “I swear to Celestia, he’s lucky that he was talking to you and not me! I would’ve cut ‘im with my horns!”

“Just forget about it, Rusty,” I sighed as I waited at the stoplight for the “walk” sign to light up.

“Dude, I know you’re not taking what that old fart said seriously!”

I shook my head. “I’m not, I’m not. It’s just that the whole notion of art not being a ‘real’ job was something that every artist has to deal with, and hearing someone make fun of what you do kinda gets to you after a while, y’know? I may not be working a typical nine-to-five office job, but what I do is still important isn’t it?”

“Is it impor- Why are you even asking yourself this question!?” Rusty asked as we crossed the street. “You’re working on one of the most popular animated shows ever, and you’re about to create your own! Not only that, but you’re making good money out of it! You’re living the geek’s dream right now!”

I smiled. “You know what? You’re right. I can’t let that old coot get to me. Thanks, Rusty.”

“Hey, someone has to knock some sense into you when you’re having your ‘depressed, moody human’ moments. No one likes a depressed, moody human. Now put some pep in your step, ‘cause you really are running late.”

“Right,” I chuckled. “The last thing I need is to perpetuate the stereotype of black people always being late.”

“So I was thinking that the story would have a balance of funny moments and emotional moments. What do you guys think?” Roxy asked.

“It’ll be a challenge to pull off, but if we do it right, the show will be that much better,” I said. “I mean, if Avatar can do it, we can do it too, right?”

“Avatar? You mean the movie with the blue people right?” Cel Shade asked, only to get unamused glares from me, Roxy, and Rusty. “Kidding, just kidding.”

“Make a joke like that again, and I’m kicking you out of my house,” Roxy warned him.

“Damn. Tough room.”

The diamond dog shook her head. “I think now’s a good time for a break.”

“Did someone say ‘break’?”

Just then, and elderly diamond dog wearing a green dress and glasses walked into the room with a large plate in her hands. “I’ve made some yummy chocolate chip cookies for my hard workers!”

“Thanks, Grandma!” Roxy said as her grandmother handed her the plate of treats.

“Don’t mention it, sweetheart. Let me know if you kids need anything else, okay?”

“Sure.”

With that, Roxy’s grandma left the room while Roxy carried the plate of cookies over. “You know, back when Adrian and I first came here, I was against the idea of your grandma giving us treats like we were little kids, but I’m not gonna lie, she makes some bomb-ass cookies.”

“And don’t you forget it,” she smirked as we all took a cookie.

Rusty looked up at me. “Hey, Adrian, this might be a good time to…”

“Oh yeah,” I nodded. “Cel, Roxy, I need you to do me a favor.”

They looked at me with curious faces. “Which is…” they said.

“I had to go to one of Trixie’s shows last night and I’m supposed to tell you to go and support her and stuff so… go support her... and stuff,” I explained.

“I know you did this on the condition that she pay you back, right?” Cel Shade asked.

“Of course.”

“Thanks to my awesome, Favor Chart system!” Rusty boasted.

“I dunno, Adrian.” Roxy said uneasily. “Is it really worth it?”

I stayed silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. “You promise that what I’m about to say never leaves this room?” I asked. Cel and Roxy nodded as their ears perked, and I let out a long sigh. “It actually is worth it.”

“Say it ain’t so!” Rusty fainted.

“Really?” Cel asked. “This sounds… weird, coming from you.”

“I know, but the show was actually pretty good. I didn’t walk out feeling that my money was wasted, so that should say something, right?”

“Well, what was it like?” asked Roxy.

“Let’s just say that her opening trick will leave you speechless,” I said, not wanting to spoil it for them. “Tonight’s the last night of that routine, though, so you’ll have to go tonight if you want to know what I’m talking about.”

“Wow, you must have really liked it, then,” said Cel.

“Yeah, it was cool,” I admitted, “but there’s no way in hell that I’m gonna let Trixie know that. She’ll never let that go.”

Roxy chuckled and looked down at Rusty. “You okay there, buddy?”

“Yeah, I think I’ll be fine,” he groaned. “You think your grandma could get me a glass of water?”

Author's Note

Did you really think that I'd kill Trixie? C'mon, you guys know me better than that. That "Super Cereal" video should've been a dead giveaway.

This whole stunt she pulled has shown us something, though... do Chryssie and Adrian actually care about Trixie? Not only that, but Chrysalis even admitted that she was jealous of her!

Knowing how stubborn our three main characters are, though, I doubt they'll ever open up to each other. Let's just hope they can at least be a little more civil from now on.

As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments. Keep it sketchy, folks!