“Fall already!” Chrysalis commanded.

“Woah there! No need to get angry.”

“I’m not angry! I’m frustrated!” She reeled back for another solid buck, slamming her rear hooves into the trunk. As ordered, one more apple dropped down, but plenty more still hung in defiance. “How many times do I have to buck this stupid tree?”

Applejack knew that Chrysalis was looking like her old self again, especially after pulling those wagons the other day, but she hadn’t really appreciated what that meant until she saw her in action. The changeling reared back and started hammering the tree with one powerful buck after another. She was rattling poor Rupert something fierce, sending chips of bark flying with each strike. A few more apples fell down, but two or three still clung to their branches.

“Careful, careful! You’re trying to get the fruit to fall off, not knock him down!”

“Hah! He’s lucky I haven’t reduced him to ashes for his insubordination!” She unleashed another rage-fueled buck into Rupert’s side.

“That’s enough, Chrys! You’re getting way too heated! Let’s just pick the rest of ‘em by hoof and move on to—”

Not having any of it, Chrysalis released one last guttural scream before launching her rear hooves like cannons into the trunk. Applejack’s heart sank as woodchips shattered off Rupert’s side, revealing his trunk splitting apart underneath. What little fruit he had left collapsed to the ground, along with the large branch it had been clinging to. It slammed down into the bushel, mashing the apples underneath into sauce.

Forcing air back into her lungs, Applejack rushed to Rupert’s side and immediately started checking the damage.

“Stupid apples!” Chrysalis yelled as she crushed the fallen wood into splinters. “Why wouldn’t you just come off?”

“Stop it already!”

The former queen whipped her head around at the farmer’s impudent order, but the flaring temper flickered out at the fury burning in AJ.

“Ya already hurt Rupert enough! Don’t need ya smashing anything more when he needs my help!”

Chrysalis said nothing, which was for the best as far as AJ was concerned. There wasn’t an excuse in the world that’d make any of this right. Her eye twitched from the silent war in her head and she clenched her teeth tighter and tighter. She was still angry, clearly. Applejack wondered if she was even sorry about what she’d done.

“You got dang close to splitting him to the core,” Applejack said as she assessed the damage.

“I guess I really only could do the harm part,” Chrysalis spat.

“I ain’t got time for stupid jokes! Go get Big Mac, now!”

With a click of her tongue, the changeling took to the skies to find her brother.

“And what happened after that?”

Unreality rushed back in as Applejack remembered that this was a memory. She looked around for Luna, but the voice seemed to have come from everywhere. She looked up towards the sky and shrugged.

“After that, Big Mac arrived with some scrap metal and bolts to fit Rupert with a brace around his trunk.”

“So the tree may yet still be saved?”

Applejack patted Rupert’s trunk. Mac’s brace materialized around him, along with a bit of pruning he did to flatten where the branch came off. “As long as Rupert’s got a good center, he should still have a long life ahead of him. Thanks for asking”

Even though she couldn’t see it, Applejack could feel Luna smile in relief. “Your love and care towards nature matches any Princess of Equestria’s for her nation. I cannot help but admire it.”

“Yeah…” Applejack looked back at Rupert and sucked in a sharp breath. “I just wish I could say the same about Chrys right now.”

The memory collapsed around them as Luna removed her horn from Applejack’s forehead. The farmer took a deep breath, trying and failing to wrangle her temper, but it wasn’t working, thanks to being asleep and all. Stupid Dreamscape stuff.

“Thank you, dear Applejack. I am sorry you had to relive those intense emotions.”

“It’s fine,” AJ lied while wiping her nose. “Was it the same as Chrys’ side of the story?”

“Actually, I have yet to visit her domain. I had barely subsumed into the Dreamscape before I saw your nightmare.”

“Oh…” Applejack trailed as she slumped down. Even though she was still plenty angry at the changeling, she still felt guilty for dreaming up something so ridiculous.

“I fear that I am to blame for the scale of this particular visage,” Luna admitted as she strode up to the barn AJ had dreamed up.

Frozen in time was Chrysalis, or at least the massive nightmare she’d imagined. The changeling had moved into it after eating a bit too much love and outgrowing the homestead by a few stories. The front wall was knocked out just so the towering changeling could squeeze half of herself inside. At her chest was a pile of trees she’d torn up from the grown and sharpened into toothpicks to clean between her pony-sized fangs. If Luna hadn’t shown up when she did, AJ didn’t know where her nightmare would’ve taken her. Every time she turned around, Chrys had become bigger, stronger, and more vicious.

“Have you noticed any such changes in the waking world?” the princess asked as she glanced at the green energy flowing through the holes in the changeling’s legs.

“Well, she’s definitely getting more love now that she gets along with Apple Bloom, but she ain’t glowing brighter than a billboard on Bridleway, that’s for sure. Don’t think she’s been bumping her horn more than usual either.”

Luna nodded silently while she took stock of the scene. She fluttered up to perch on the changeling’s muzzle and she looked over the side at Chrysalis’ fiendish smile as she plucked bits of apple barrel out of her jaw. “Quite the consuming appetite.”

“Dumb brain dreaming up a bunch of hooey. It’s not like she needs to eat ‘em. Already getting plenty of love, seeing how she can step over the barn.”

“Perhaps it is less to do with her hunger and more to do with what is weighing upon your mind.”

“Look Luna, even if I’m still mad about splitting Rupert, it was just an accident. This stupid dream is just my imagination running wild about her breaking more stuff.”

Luna shook her head and her horn lit up. With a brief flash of moonlight, the world around them became smaller and smaller, shrinking down around them until her dream was little more than a rug at their hooves. The princess joined Applejack’s side, draping a wing over her back just as a tree stump sprang up from underneath the little nightmare. From its roots, dewey grass and moonlight lilies flowed out and around, spreading far and wide until they were once again in Luna’s favorite dreamy meadow.

“I have witnessed such nightmares before. Ones where the dreamer’s drifting attention results in dramatic changes in another. Parents turn away for mere moments, only to see their foals grow older with each passing glance. Masterworks warp into travesties in the hooves of their creators with every blink. Vices become more enticing as they look over their shoulder until their will is shattered. It tends to stem from the fear of losing control.”

Applejack scoffed at the idea. “I may be trying to steer her in a good direction, but I ain’t never made her do something she didn’t want to.”

Luna’s brow furrowed. “Truly? Then I must remember this incorrectly.”

The princess guided Applejack’s gaze with her hoof as she drew a sparkling circle in front of them. The edges spun and curled off the side into a magical frame that glazed over with glass once it was fully formed. It flashed into the past, revealing the barren shelves and enormous bed of the farm’s master bedroom. Inside, she could see herself easily holding Chrysalis down with one hoof as she struggled against the farmer. She’d almost forgotten how sickly and withered Chrysalis looked back then; an enfeebled stickbug barely weighing a thing.

The princess’ wing tightened, reminding Applejack that it was only a painful memory. “From what I recall, Chrysalis wished more than anything to return to the castle to stop what had already come to pass.”

Applejack nodded, unable to say anything as she stared at the poor girl. Chrysalis collapsed back onto the bed as her head rolled to the side towards them. That low and lonely moment seared into her mind.

“I’ve survived for so long. I kept them and their offspring alive for centuries, maybe even millennia. I don’t even remember now. And now, it turns out that they’d be better off without me?”

A thrust of the princess’ wing blew the window away in a gust of wind. “My apologies, dear Applejack. I had forgotten how painful that day was for everyone.”

Applejack hunkered her heart down. She wasn't going to let the dream kick her up into another storm of raw emotions. “No. It was good for the refresher.”

Luna nodded, sweeping her wing back over the stump once more, bringing it back into focus for them. “Chrysalis has recovered immensely under your care, a remarkable feat in my opinion. But, as I warned, she will not stop at healing. As she continues to consume love unabated, her powers will only increase. She has no kingdom to maintain, no great endeavors to perform, so all of that love will simply accumulate.

“This nightmare of yours has taken residence in your storehouse and devours apples by the barrel while destroying the trees that produced them. With each blink of your eye, she grows into an ever-larger, all-consuming monster, tearing apart what you hold dear. Do you fear that this is your fate?”

Applejack shook her head vehemently. “It ain’t like that! I mean, Fluttershy’s got a dang Spirit of Chaos that turned the world upside-down more than once with a snap of his claws!”

“Then what do you think you are trying to tell yourself?”

“I… I dunno.”

“Try.”

Luna leaned over, guiding Applejack right back down to the little nightmare’s side as it replayed from the start. A tiny Applejack came out of the model farm house to get ready for her day and was met with Chrysalis already outside for some strange reason. As she got closer, she noticed the changeling was standing a few heads taller than usual.

“I’m just getting my new room ready,” the taller Chrysalis said as she ducked back into the barn.

Before the other Applejack could ask what she meant, Chrys came back out standing even taller than before, having to crawl out of the barn doors. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing and remembered asking if the bigger mare was feeling alright.

“I’m feeling better than ever actually,” the changeling replied before turning around and bucking the entire wall away with one leg. “There we are. Now move those barrels out of the way before I throw them out.”

Applejack couldn’t remember the exact complaints she raised as she rushed in to check the damage. While she knew Chrys was way too big for the house now, this was still getting out of hoof.

A powerful stomp shook the ground. “Useless! I’ll do it myself!” The entire inside of the barn glowed green along with her as the barrels were tossed out of the barn. “Easier for me to do it anyway,” the even more massive changeling boomed as she settled into the barn. “Here. Let me help with this unsellable stock of yours, too.” She popped a barrel open like a soda can and poured an entire bushel into her maw. Then, with a flick of her hoof, she sent the empty barrel flying towards the road.

That was the last straw. Applejack was ready to give the mare a piece of her mind, only to turn back around to see the barn could barely contain Chrysalis anymore. She wasn’t even bothering with the lids as she threw back a hoof full of apple barrels before reaching into her pile of whittled tree trunks to pick the debris out of her fangs. It was then that everything froze in place as Luna descended from the sky to stop the nightmare from getting any worse.

Applejack leaned away from the stump and her eyes scanned the surroundings. While it was a bit scary seeing Chrys slowly changing into that world-devourer from Luna’s fears, her heart ached at the destruction. The ruined barn, the shattered barrels, the broken trees; it’d all just been callously chewed up and thrown away.

“I think, maybe deep down, I’m worried about the farm. Chrys’ warming up to us, but I dunno if she cares about Sweet Apple Acres.”

“And you cannot expect her to do so. I previously warned you that she cannot express love harmoniously. She gains nothing from the farm itself, only the love you provide her.” Luna softened with understanding as she looked Applejack in the eyes. “It is why I have pledged to help you in any way I can with her reformation.”

“It ain’t that black and white. Chrys’ got her own ways of loving things.” Applejack picked up one of the tree toothpicks in front of the miniature colossal changeling and grimaced. “But that temper of hers. When she gets too upset, she’s got nothing to help calm her down, so she lashes out.”

The princess nodded. “What you fear is not your loss of control over her, but her loss of control over herself and the calamity it may bring.”

Applejack sucked in her lips as she looked back at the uncaring queen. “I’ve seen her at her worst, back when she went horn-to-horn with Princess Celestia. If she gets too riled up when she’s back in action….”

“Then she presents a danger beyond your control. Shall I have her removed from your care?”

“No!” Applejack snapped back, shocking both the princess and herself. She covered her mouth with her hooves, reigning in her own temper getting the better of her. “Ya can’t do that to her. She’s doing better than I’ve ever seen her. It was just an accident.”

“While that may be the case, accidents become disasters at greater scales.” Luna swept the nightmare away, replacing it with the memory of Chrysalis and Applejack together with Rupert. “As she continues to feed, the damage she can wreak in a lapse of judgment will only intensify.”

The changeling swelled with emerald energy and screamed as she bucked Rupert into wood shavings. The overwhelming anger unsatiated, she turned her attention towards the rest of the unharvested orchard and blasted an enormous laser down rows and rows of trees, vaporizing them in seconds. The beam continued to sail, carving valleys through the hills before striking Golden Harvest’s farm and exploding, wiping it and her entire homestead away.

Luna’s wing pulled tighter on Applejack, “Forgive me for subjecting you to another nightmare, but I need you to understand. This is the strength required to best an alicorn; the power she wielded at the wedding. Had Celestia not taken the blow, All of Canterlot may have suffered such a fate.”

While she wanted to argue that Chrys wouldn’t do something so terrible, AJ could feel the shreds of doubt starting to weigh on her heart like lead. She slumped her head in defeat. “Y-yeah. I got it.”

“Dearest Applejack, rid yourself of that needless guilt. You are not responsible for the self-destructive actions of Chrysalis. In the end, you must care for yourself before you can care for others.”

“Right, right. I know, I know.”

Luna closed her eyes and smiled. “Such naïve hubris. You merely comprehend the abstract, but do nothing to contend with the notion itself. In this, you act troublingly similar to my sister.”

“Well my bad, Your Highness,” she complained while crossing her legs. “Not exactly sure how I’m supposed to feel, seeing as how I’m the one helping her.”

“‘We were called to tend the sun and moon. Let the weights of this world carry themselves,’” Luna recounted with an admonishing hoof held in the air. “It is a bitter lesson she must relearn throughout the ages as she overextends her kindness. I have had to disabuse her of misplaced responsibility many times. Even a princess can only be so responsible for the actions of her subjects…” Luna’s soft smile fell as she looked away from Applejack. “Or her sister.”

It was irritating as all get-out. Luna was too good at all of this. What’s worse, she might not have been right, but AJ didn’t know what she was really wrong enough about to say anything otherwise. The guilt felt good in a way. Like it was deserved and helpful. She’d take a healthy dose of feeling rough for a bit and then everything would be better on the other end of it somehow. It didn’t make a lick of sense, and she knew it too; just didn’t “contend” with it.

Luna stood up and dispelled her Moondrop Meadow, leaving them standing within an empty aetherial cloud. “I believe this is enough for one night, Applejack.”

“Eeyup.” AJ was starting to understand why Chrys wasn’t exactly thrilled to see Luna if this was what it could be like.

“I shall leave you with your dreams and…” Luna trailed off as her eyes widened slightly. “Tell me, do you recall if Chrysalis was in her room before you fell asleep?”

“I was pretty sure she turned in before I did. Reading lamp was shining under the door, at least.”

“Could you check for me? I cannot sense the Mindscape intersecting with the dreamcatcher.”

“Maybe she’s just not in bed yet.”

“The Mindscape is a persistent realm. She does not need to be asleep, only to be in the presence of the conduit binding hers and mine together.” Luna closed her eyes and focused, her horn surging with magic way beyond the farmer’s understanding. “I am sorry to ask this of you, but could you please awaken and check on her?”

Applejack shrugged. “I guess. Sure she ain’t just visiting the little fillies’ room?”

“I cannot sense her realm at all. The dreamcatcher persists in the waking world as I can feel its presence with my magic, but either she has disposed of it or she is no longer in your house.”

The mere notion of Chrysalis being missing again nearly shot her awake on the spot. “Then what’re you waiting for? Get me up, pronto!”

Luna smirked and chuckled to herself. “There is the Applejack I know. Please do not hesitate to summon me with the sigil amulet if you require my help.”

“Alrighty then,” Applejack said to her empty bedroom.

The farmer looked around. She’d woken up in less than a blink of her eyes. It took another second before remembering how sleepy she still was and yawning. Either way, she had a job to do. She rolled out of bed and reached for her hat, hoof hesitating to grab it knowing the amulet was in there. With a solemn shake of her head, she flipped it onto her head and tried not to think about it. Chrys already knew about it. It wasn’t a breach of trust. She’d promised to call the princess.

Quietly trotting out into the hallway, Applejack could see the lights were already off in the master. Her hooves clacked across the floorboards as she drew closer to the darkened room. Raising a hoof, she hit the door with the back of her fetlock a couple of times.

“Chrys? You awake?” she asked.

There was no answer.

“Chrysalis?”

Still nothing but silence on the other side. Applejack put her ear to the door, hearing the quiet rustle of leaves in the nighttime breeze. She took a bracing breath and went in.

The full moon was shining through the open window, bouncing off the tidy, made-up bed and undisturbed dreamcatcher. The cosmetics, the pictures, the petrified crown, everything was in its place, but Chrysalis herself was nowhere to be found.

“Oh no,” Applejack muttered under her breath as she ran to the window. She knew Chrys had skipped out on dinner and gone straight to her room, but AJ just thought she needed to cool her head after getting yelled at. To fly the coop entirely, though?

Before she could fret any further, a flash of green caught the corner of her eye. Applejack leaned her head out the window trying to catch another, but she couldn’t see anything but apple trees. She stepped on the window sill, seeing if she could get a better look, and caught a steady emerald glow coming from deep in the orchard.

At least Chrysalis hadn’t gotten far.

Full moons were perfect for taking a walk through the orchard at night. If only she had time to admire the rows of starlight shining through the gap between the branches. There was nothing like strumming her momma’s guitar and gazing up to see if Buttercup was looking back. Applejack had to focus, though. She was on a mission.

It took a bit of wandering the fields, but after a few more bursts of green, Applejack eventually found where Chrys was. The closer she got, the more she realized the part of the orchard they were in. If she followed the half-harvested row of trees, she’d eventually run into Rupert. She didn’t want to put much thought into what Chrysalis could be doing out here in the middle of the night.

“No! Stop not working, you stupid spell!” Chrysalis stomped the ground and screeched to the skies above. She heaved an irritated sigh and sat down, sticking her nose in a tome on the grass. “‘Extend your magic into the earth beneath your hooves and grasp the root systems.’ I’m doing that! They're right here!”

The changeling’s horn glowed just bright enough for a book light as pages fluttered by. Her eyes skimmed the pages, trying to find whatever it was she was going back to. All the while, she mumbled to herself, getting more and more frustrated with her reading. Teeth grinding turned into lip biting, a habit Applejack hadn’t seen the changeling do in months. She winced from the pain and grabbed for the shielded stress ball and bit down.

Chrysalis began reading one of the pages aloud to herself, but it just sounded like half-growled babble with the orb taking up most of her mouth. She flipped a page back and tilted her head up to check it, finally ending in a double-take as she caught sight of her audience.

“Affulwak?” she stammered before finally spitting the ball out.

“Evening, Chrys.”

Any momentary shock faded instantly as she turned back to her book. Still, the burning green in her cheeks was unmistakable.

“What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?” Applejack asked.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Chrysalis spat in reply as she flashed the cover of the book.

Applejack squinted her eyes, doing her best to sound out the words. “‘Arboreal Restoration and Chloromancy.’ That’s more than a mouthful to me. What’s it mean?”

“Tree-healing magic.”

“You mean you’re trying to help Rupert?”

“Of course I am! Why else would I be out here in the dark instead of putting up with another visit from that insufferable dream princess of yours?”

It was harder to tell at night, but AJ could see the other mare wasn’t doing well. Her breath hissed between her teeth clenching harder than a timberwolf bite and her eye was twitching up a storm. Her fuse had burned right through the wick, and the next jostle out of place would set her right off. She carefully sat down next to the changeling who refused to spare a glance.

“What can I do to—”

Chrysalis’ frown deepened and she shook her head. “Don’t you start that.”

“Hey now. I just wanna help. If I can’t, just say so.”

“Afraid I’ll break another tree?”

“Honestly? Yeah. I’m a mite concerned about both you and the trees out here. I know an exhausted worker when I see one.”

“I’m…” Chrysalis bit her words back, not even bothering to finish the lie, and tightened her lips in a taut grimace.

“How long have you been at this? I don’t remember seeing a big book like that anywhere on the farm.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does. Sundown means hooves down. Ain’t no one supposed to be working out late like this.”

Chrysalis closed her eyes and took a breath through her nose. A few seconds later, she opened her mouth, but only licked her lips while struggling to string a sentence. “Are… you still mad?”

She was, but now it was for reasons besides Rupert’s injury. With Chrys this far on edge, Applejack didn’t want to trip her temper. “Don’t worry about any of that.”

“Not an option. If you’re mad at me, then you can’t love me.”

Applejack patted Chrys on the shoulder. “Sure I can, Chrys. Just because ponies get mad doesn’t mean we stop loving.”

“I don’t want you to be mad at me at all. You’re not allowed.”

“Seriously?” She couldn’t help but laugh at the royal edict. “We’re gonna rub each other the wrong way sometimes, sugarcube. Just part of living under the same roof. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten onto Apple Bloom’s case when she and her friends would—”

“You’re not allowed!”

The screeching order echoed across the hills. Chrys didn’t even bother looking up from her reading. Her jaw clenched tighter until her fangs met her lips again and she shoved the ball back into her mouth to sink her teeth into. With all the strength she’d recovered, the mare’s maw was really giving the shielding a run for its money. The protective bubble squashed and warped under the intense pressure of her cragadile bite.

It’d be ridiculous to ask Chrysalis if she was okay when she clearly wasn’t. There were about a thousand and one guesses what was making this different from any of the other times AJ had been angry with her. But now, the mare was taking it particularly hard and was ready to explode. So, with no other options, Applejack took off her hat and rustled around for her trusty comb. She reached up to grab a bit of the changeling’s gossamer mane, but then the comb burst into green flames and reappeared in AJ’s tail.

“What the hay—”

Chrysalis spat the ball out and slammed it down. “I haven’t earned it yet!”

“How many times do I gotta say that ya don’t have to earn nothing like that from me, Chrysalis?”

“No!” The changeling rose to her hooves and glared down at the peasant beneath her with fiery wrath. “I don’t want a single scrap from your bleeding heart! I don’t need your pity! Your sympathy! It disgusts me!”

“So I can’t be worried about you neither? Then what do you want me to do?”

“Nothing! Just go back to bed! I need to fix this!”

“No, you don’t. Mac and I did the best we could to get Rupert on the mend. Maybe we can have Twi take a gander at that book ya found—”

“Absolutely not!”

“Of all the stubborn…” Applejack stopped herself before she let her wick get low too. “If you’re wanting to save Rupert with magic, she can probably help ya do it once she’s gotten a good look at it.”

“It’s hers, you idiot! Do you really think you’d have a magical book just lying around Sweet Apple Acres? That bookworm’s probably read this five times already.”

The farmer furrowed her brow. “That means you flew all the way to the castle. Seriously, how long have you been at this?”

Chrysalis said nothing, only shaking in place as her eye twitched wildly.

“Please, Chrys. Just talk to me.”

“I—I just need to fix this. Then you won’t be angry. You can’t be angry at me.” Chrysalis fell to her haunches and gripped the side of her head with her hooves. “If you’re angry at me, then I’ll get even angrier at myself. Then I’ll explode again or chew through my lip, and that’ll make you angrier, which makes me angrier, and everything will just keep getting worse!”

AJ’s tongue tied. Chrys wasn’t just angry; she was being consumed by it, unable to manage any of it. The poor girl panted for breath from the overwhelming rage roiling just under her skin. She probably wanted to uproot every tree around her and light the whole orchard on fire, but wasn’t letting herself lash out and make everything worse.

Applejack didn’t hesitate as she got up and dove for the changeling, wrapping what she could get around into a hug. Chrysalis hissed from the sudden contact and tried to wiggle out of it without hitting back.

“Stop it! I said I don’t want your disgusting pity!”

“This right here is genuine compassion, ya idiot! I ain’t about to let you tie yourself in knots over an honest mistake. I swear on my momma’s name, I’ll flip my lid if you dare push me away, ya hear?”

Chrysalis went rigid in AJ’s grip. Love flooded out, but she was still shivering from all her pent-up anger. It felt like holding a lit stick of dynamite ready to explode at any moment. Like the changeling, Applejack was completely out of her league. She didn’t know what else to do to stop the spiral.

But she didn’t have to do this alone. The farmer knocked her hat off against Chrys’ leg and stamped it, hoping she’d strike the amulet inside. All she could do was kick until she felt the crackling of moonstone while hanging on for dear life until help arrived.

“Still your heart!” Luna called from above. “If you bear enough love to splinter a tree, then you can process your own feelings! There is no need to ration in the presence of your caring friend! Turn that energy inward, Chrysalis!”

The changeling screamed from her soul, breaking loose from Applejack with ease, only to pull the little pony back into her chest. Her fearsome cry shifted into a sobbing mess as she slumped over Applejack.

For the first time since her return, the peasant felt the fullness of the true changeling queen. Her body felt properly heavy on her shoulders struggling to support it all. The solid legs against her back pressed firmly into her fur, locking Applejack into a vice with little hope of escape. In just a few months, she’d gone from death’s door to a powerful queen that would only grow stronger. It was almost frightening. Almost.

The monstrous strength was undermined by her sickly wailing. Her inner turmoil spilled out in guttural, unnatural heaves while she clinged desperately to her little friend for support. All throughout, Applejack couldn’t feel the slightest tug on her heart. It was just like before at Snapshots during the last part of the photo shoot. Chrysalis wasn’t taking any of Applejack’s love.

“You okay, Chrys?”

“I’m sorry,” a little voice choked out through the tears. “I hurt your subject. I’m so sorry. Please. Don’t be mad.”

There it was again, that soft, almost maternal whisper she’d heard before. Desi had said something about seeing the rare times the queen was happy, calling it the joy of the all-mother. Applejack couldn’t help but wonder if that’s what this was. the moments when Chrysalis allowed herself to express love somehow.

“Quickly, Applejack!” Luna shouted. “Time is short!”

“Oh, right. Just wasn’t… yeah.”

Applejack cleared her throat and tapped the changeling to loosen her grip. She met Chrysalis, whose gaze flickered with a vulnerable tenderness that almost seemed wrong. The changeling sniffled and tried to wipe the cracks away, but it wasn’t working.

“It’s gonna be okay, Chrys,” Applejack promised, doing her best to stand tall in front of the towering creature. “I’m not mad at you for what happened anymore. I’m more worried about you than anything.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re tearing yourself up inside and I couldn’t do anything to help. I can’t promise I’ll never be mad again, but I can say that I’ll always forgive you if you can forgive me when I get it wrong.”

Chrysalis sighed in defeat. “I don’t think I can.”

It was irritating how genuine that answer was. “Then we’ll work on it together. You don’t just have me, but Apple Bloom, Big Mac, Granny Smith, all our friends in town, even that nosy alicorn up there.”

That little jab got a pleasant giggle from the former queen, though Luna herself wasn’t too thrilled. “I guess that’s the best we can do, right AJ?”

“Exactly, Chrys. You got all the time in the world to figure it out.”

A gentle smile graced the changeling’s lips filled with nothing but love. For the fleeting moment it remained, Applejack did her best to do right by Desi and appreciate it.

But then, the switch flipped and her smile strained before collapsing altogether. It did more than fall away, it crashed and burned in a brush fire with bitterness and disgust overtaking it completely. More than that, Chrysalis was just done. Flamed out and exhausted from everything. She shut her eyes and shoved the shield sigil into her mouth to nibble the remaining stress away.

Seeing that it was over, Luna landed next to the pair. “Thank you for calling me, Applejack. Please come, Chrysalis, you must rest after such an ordeal.”

Chrysalis said nothing, only trudging behind the princess towards the homestead.

“You dropped this.”

Applejack nearly jumped out of her fur. She turned around to see a fully armored and clearly sleepy Captain Fleur de Lis holding her daddy’s hat in her magic.

“Right. That amulet calls the both of ya.” She took her hat and shook the bits of broken moonstone out of it.

Fleur tried and failed to stifle a yawn. “That’s right. Not surprised, seeing how that disgruntled bug stormed the castle earlier today for that spellbook.” She floated the tome to her while checking Rupert. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that’s why.”

“Hope she didn’t cause too much of a ruckus around the castle.”

“She startled Spike at the door and demanded something to help fix a broken tree, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary for the town’s resident drama queen.” Flipping through the pages, the guard shook her head. “It’s an incredibly difficult spellform. I never could wrap my horn around casting anything like this in school. You’d think with a name like Fleur, I’d be able to do something with plants.”

“As far as I know, Chrys couldn’t make heads or tails of it either.”

“Then there’s no point in letting her keep this.” Fleur wrapped the book in her magic and sent a surge of energy into it, whisking it away in an aetherial burst.

“Chrys ain’t gonna be too happy. She’s dead set on doing it herself, and you know how stubborn she is.”

“Luckily for her, I’ve got an equally stubborn zebra who knows a thing or two about plants. If she wants the book back, she’ll have to go through her and her healing potions first.”

Applejack smiled. “No fooling? I’d really appreciate it if y’all could whip up something to help ol’ Rupert out here.”

“I’ll see if she has anything for something like this. And not to be too morbid, but you can always call me if the worst comes to worst.” Fleur kicked a hind leg out behind her, those lithe and lethal weapons when she charged them with her magic.

“Nah, this one’s a fighter. Might’ve taken a beating today, but he’ll come out the other side, guaranteed.”

“Sounds good. If that’s all—” Fleur’s horn burst with light, sending her armor and spear away with both a spell and large yawn. “—I’m going back to bed.”

“Sorry to wake ya up, sugarcube. Stop by the barn on the way back and grab yourself a bushel for the trouble.”

Fleur straightened to attention. “Simply doing my civil duty, citizen.” Then, she smirked and loosened up. “But don’t mind if I do. Stay safe, Applejack.”

“I’ll do just that.”

As the guard trotted towards the barn to grab a few apples for herself and her mare friend, Applejack’s gaze shifted back to Rupert being held together by scraps and bolts. The farm only saw that kind of damage from the occasional lightning bolt striking a tree. AJ could probably do the same if she somehow put her heart and harmony into it, but then again, earth pony magic wasn’t an exact science like horns and wings.

Chrysalis was just walking around with that kind of strength now. And it was only gonna get worse. And it was all thanks to Applejack.

She took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled. “Yeah. I’ll do just that.”

Author's Note

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!