“I still can’t tell where the gypsum ends and the plant begins.” Chrysalis pursed her lips and leaned in closer to the muscalite trellis. She jostled the quartz support structure with her hoof and then the fruit, hearing them jingle beneath her. “Think it’s the ponies making them like this or that blasted heart’s doing?”

Applejack had no idea. No ideas. In fact, her mind was barely in the same place as her body. After leaving Twi and Fleur behind at the castle, Chrysalis shifted into full-on tourist mode. She’d snagged the nearest pamphlet from a street vendor and teleported out to the edges of the city, far, far away from the castle. Now, in the waning hours of the day, they were picking muscalite grapes at Berrilia’s Berry Patch, a historic farmsite recently reclaimed by the Empire’s influence.

Were the lay of the land different, Applejack would be enjoying herself. She’d be tossing crystal-clear grapes into either barrel at her side and chatting up Miss Berrilia herself for some recipes. Of course, said owner had hid away, keeping her distance from the invader along with everypony else. And despite all the agriculture cultivating the farmer’s curiosity, Applejack was far too distracted by the changeling’s antics to appreciate any of it.

Maybe “antics” wasn’t the right word. After all, Chrys was being completely cordial, a full temperament turnaround from the afternoon. Weirder still, she was either genuinely enjoying herself or performing a masterclass in deception. The changeling was plucking grapes off the vine seemingly without a care in the world. The castle mostly was out of sight and out of mind just as long as Chrysalis kept putting off answering the unasked question. It was the only thing holding the illusion together.

On the other hoof, with Twilight taking some personal time with her brother and sister-in-law, maybe Chrysalis was simply taking the opportunity for a short distraction. Harmony knows Applejack wanted a break as well after that rough welcome under the castle. So, despite her misgivings, Applejack decided to take a page out of the changeling’s book and play along with the illusion.

“I think little Apple Bloom would enjoy these,” Chrysalis remarked as she popped another berry into her mouth. “Rarity as well. It’s so silky.”

Applejack lifted the little leaflet they’d gotten at the gate. “Says here that the juice’s got something in it that keeps the fruit from freezing over.”

A smirk crossed the changeling’s face as she admired the translucent fruit. “So it’s like changeling goo. As long as it’s got a warm body inside its waxy cocoon, the inside will stay nice and fluid.”

“You almost make it sound halfway nice, the way you tell it. Can't say it was all that pleasant myself.”

“That’s only because I imprisoned you all upside down in form-fitted bindings. It’s easier to keep prey—it was easier to keep ponies sedated that way.” Her mouth hung open as if to say something more, but she eventually shooed the thought away. “What’s important is that not all cocoons are made equal.”

She called Applejack closer with a tilt of her head as she lifted a muscalite cluster up. When the pony drew nearer, a lens of emerald magic opened in front of her, magnifying the berries resting in the frog of Chrys’ hoof. Each one was a mesh of different shapes connected at blocky edges to form a rounded prism, giving it an appearance of stained glass. Between the ends stretched a thin layer of almost translucent skin, a window into the juicy inner world of each grape.

“Imagine, instead of being trapped in a sticky cage, you’re suspended in a weightless pool of the stillest fluid. A blanket wraps around you both inside and out, silencing any and all outside noise as it’s warmed to the perfect temperature by the love beating within your heart. A bed woven of your purest essence.”

“And your spit.”

Chrysalis soured at the little jab, but wiped it away with a click of her tongue. “Don’t degrade a changeling’s goo by comparing it to pony saliva. I’m describing a cocoon fit for a queen, and here you are… spitting all over it with your smelly mouth juices.”

“Ain’t nothing a little mouthwash can’t fix.”

“You’d wake up a lot cleaner since you wouldn’t be drooling all over yourself the whole night.”

“I ain’t sure how waking up after being pickled in your special spit is much better.”

“It is! The goo falls right off in clumps and evaporates when exposed to the open air. You’d be perfectly clean and dry after a minute or two without stepping one hoof in a shower.”

Applejack looked up at Chrys. “You’re really trying to sell me on this, aren’t you?”

“As I said, it’s a cocoon fit for a queen. It was one of the few luxuries I allowed myself after particularly bountiful love harvests.” The changeling plucked a single grape from the vine and gazed inside it with a deep longing. “I haven’t slept in such royal decadence in years.”

“Why—” Applejack let the question die on her lips. It was pretty easy to connect the dots. At least Chrys didn’t seem bothered by the question, or if she was, she didn’t show it.

“You’re a pony, so I can only imagine how wondrous a love-infused royal cocoon would be.” She licked her lips absently at the thought, but quickly dispelled the thought and the magnifying lens. “But obviously you don’t like the idea.” She threw the grapes into one of her barrels and quickly produced the touring pamphlet. “It says here if we fill four bushels, we can trade them in for a bottle of wine. Not sure why you ponies put a premium on rotting juice.”

“Fermented, but I get what you mean. The kick ain’t for everyone. It’s the same with the harder cider back on the farm.”

“Several infiltrators developed quite a fondness for such liquids, though I imagine it was more for that ‘kick’ it offered their prey. Ponies just ooze love onto anything that moves after overconsuming.” Chrysalis looked over her shoulder at the half-filled barrels at her sides before glancing back at Applejack with a curious glint in her eye.

“I’m afraid it’ll take more than a single bottle of wine to do me in, Chrys.”

“Ever the resilient earth mare.” Chrysalis tapped her hoof on her chin as she pondered a little longer, the ghost of a smile tugging at her lips. “Hypothetically speaking, how many do you think it’d take?”

Applejack chuckled. “I’d try something else unless you think you can feed off of stupid competitions. This farmgirl is known to get more ornery than anything when she’s tapped a bit too much out of the barrel.”

And then the smile vanished entirely. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Doesn’t mean we can’t share a good drink together. Ever tried it?”

“Of course not. It’s spoiled, like cheese. Gross and vile.”

“Not entirely. Cheese has got a few more things going in it; wine is pretty much just grapes and water. Straight cider on the farm is just pure apples without adding a thing to it. And I know it ain’t exactly a one-to-one, but we gotta fight tooth and hoof to keep ambrosia beetles out of the cellar. Those suckers just love any alcohol they can get around.”

Chrys furrowed her brow. “Just because Granny calls me ‘Christopher the Beetle Princess’ doesn’t mean I’m actually a beetle.”

“All I’m saying is don’t knock it till you try it.”

“Likewise, partner,” Chrysalis threw back in a sassy copy of her voice.

Seeing how she’d talked herself into a corner, Applejack chuckled to herself. “Tell ya what, I’ll give one of your cocoon beds a shot sometime if you try out a few drinks.”

The changeling picked another bunch off the vine, looked over it for a moment, and then dropped it into her barrel. “I’ll take it under advisement.”

“That’s the spirit! Well, spirits,” AJ added with a wink and a nudge.

Chrysalis said nothing.

“Get it? Spirits?”

After another pause and confused blink, she firmly said, “Yes.”

The mare shrugged the lie off. “Was a bad pun anyway. Just trying to have a little fun with ya.”

“I see.” The changeling’s eyes wandered around before finding their way back down to her companion. “So… are you having fun, Applejack?”

“Eeyup!”

“Really? Because you aren’t really showing it,” she complained.

And all at once, the reason for the late-day harvest was brought into stark focus. Her hoof fell away from the vines they were picking. “It ain’t that simple.”

“Right. Nothing is ever simple with my simple little peasant.” Chrysalis plucked another berry off the vine and tossed it in her barrel. “I can’t show you a good time.” Another pluck and toss. “I can’t get you drunk.” She plucked another and threw it forcefully into her barrel.

“Chrys—”

“I can’t even work my tail off anymore. Nothing I do matters! Nothing I do changes anything!” She picked one more grape and held it up to her face, sneering at the helpless fruit. “What am I supposed to do then, huh? Play photographer? Pretend to be a helpless little nymph? Beg for your love at your hooves like a filthy mongrel? Tell me!” The bitter mare flipped her hoof over and pounded the muscalite into the dirt with a single, meteoric stomp. The impact left a hoofprint in the ground, along with a splatter of shimmering juice.

“Why can’t you love me anymore?”

The desperate scream sundered the illusory tranquility. What few crystal ponies were around made themselves scarce, slowly slinking out of sight of Chrysalis’ twitching gaze. She ducked down, crossing her forelegs over her eyes, panting for breath. Applejack and Chrysalis had been here before, so many times. The comb was still in her hat, ready to brush what little love—what little pity—she could spare for the miserable love-eater. But she couldn’t do it. It wasn’t right.

“Chrys, I’m—”

“I’m sorry!” Chrysalis wailed, stealing the words right out of Applejack’s mouth. Her anger broke down into sobs. “I shouldn’t have said anything. Pity was better than nothing! I hate this!”

Applejack shook her head. “But you don’t deserve pity, Chrysalis!”

She slammed her hooves on the ground, her frustration pouring out of her eyes. “Don’t you think I know that already?”

“Wait, no! I didn’t mean it like that. You’re right that I haven’t been holding up my end of the deal. And it ain’t fair to you. Not at all. But listen: there ain’t nothing wrong with you. It’s all mixed up in my head.”

Chrysalis slumped her head down. “Great. ‘It’s not you, it’s me.’ That makes me feel so much better.”

“But it is me,” Applejack swore. “I know something’s been up with me lately, I just don’t know what. The only thing I do know is that you’ve been paying the price.”

“I’ll give you a hint: Rupert.”

“It wasn’t…” The sorry excuse stopped before it could reach her lips. “No, that’d be a lie if I said it wasn’t. And you deserve the truth.” She took a moment to get her words right in her head. “I got scared when you split Rupert. Real scared. It was the first time I thought I might’ve made a mistake bringing you on the farm.”

“It always was.”

“It never was. We all make mistakes,” she corrected firmly before relieving the pressure with a sigh. “And I’ve been making plenty of those lately with you. Even had a nightmare about it, you know.”

The admission caught her attention. “Luna described nightmares as uncontrollable mindscapes. Your own thoughts overwhelming you.”

“Something like that. Probably better than I could put it since she’s the one fighting ‘em all the time.”

Chrysalis heaved a disappointed sigh. “So, your subconscious finally wisened up and hates me now.”

“No-no, it wasn’t anything like that. You were just tearing up the farm.”

“Why would I destroy Sweet Apple Acres? I gain nothing from doing that.”

“You weren’t attacking it or nothing, you just…” She tapped her hooves on the ground. “You were huge and wrecking everything just by making yourself comfortable.”

“I don’t get it. I’m already bigger than you.”

“You weren’t just big, Chrys. You’d shot up taller than Tirek. Like, ‘your back touching the roof of the barn when sitting’ kind of big. You could toss whole barrels into your mouth like they were candy and pick your teeth with tree trunks.”

“I’m a changeling. Why didn’t you just ask me to shrink back down?”

“It’s not about…” Applejack sighed into her hooves. She really didn’t want to be talking about this, but she’d already dug this deep into it. “Do you mind if I ask you a dumb question that I’m pretty sure I already know the answer to?”

Chrysalis said nothing. She only sat and waited to see if there was something worth answering.

“Do you care about Sweet Apple Acres?”

Both ears perked up curiously. “Sure? You live there.”

“What about outside of me? I mean, I lived in Manehattan for a spell, but I didn’t care about that place like I care about Sweet Apple Acres. The Apple family has lived and worked the land there for three generations. Ponyville wouldn’t be the way it is without the orchard. It’s more than just a parcel of land Princess Celestia gave my great grandpa. It’s home.”

“Then no, I don’t. I can’t do that. You know I can’t! What makes you think I’d throw love away on a bunch of dirt?”

“I’m not asking you to love it, I just want you to care about it. That’s all. Just a little bit.” Applejack eyes wandered up and down the changeling. There wasn’t a lick of difference between her powerful and graceful form and the queen who’d terrorized the royal wedding. “You’re strong, Chrys. Strong enough to split a tree in half with just your hooves. No magic, no nothing. And you’ll just keep getting stronger, and stronger, and stronger the longer you’re on the farm. As for me? All I got is my momma’s comb.”

Applejack took her hat off and hugged it closer to her heart. “I ain’t scared of you, that’s the honest truth. I swear it is. But, that doesn't mean you don’t scare me.”

Chrysalis’ face bent out of shape trying to reckon with what the farmer was even on about. “You’re not making any sense. You either are or aren’t frightened.”

“No, it’s just…” Applejack shook her head and got ready to pull off the bandage. “I think at the heart of it all, what scares me the most is what you do when you can’t hear me. When you get overwhelmed and take leave of your senses. You said you’d never hurt me, and I believe it wholeheartedly. But that doesn’t mean everything around me will be the same. I know you can’t love willy-nilly, but I don’t want to lose everything I love and care about, Chrys.”

“In other words, you’re worried about me going on a blind rampage. You’re finally realizing that you don’t trust me.”

She fell back on her haunches, looking down at her hooves as her own realization sank in. “I-I guess I don’t. I’m sorry.”

Chrysalis said nothing, and Applejack didn’t blame her. Admitting her fears out loud put them in perspective; clicked a few things into place. It didn’t make it any easier though, but at least Chrysalis knew as much as she did. With it out in the open, maybe she could start getting her own heart sorted, the hopelessly jumbled mess that it was.

The bushel barrels clunked heavy on the ground next to Chrysalis. The ones across Applejack’s back hovered off and over next to them, and the changeling took their place on her left. Chrysalis ran her hoof through her silky hair, catching it on her leg and dropping it next to Applejack. Heeding the silent command, she took off her hat and began digging around for her last line of defense against her at her worst.

“Please.”

The farmer’s ears perked up and her hoof stopped its search. Her eyes drifted up to Chrysalis, who was already wrestling with something in herself.

“Please, Applejack,” she asked again. “Just try.”

The little request cut right through the tension, putting AJ just a little more at ease. “Alright, Chrys. Let’s see if I can work a tangle out or two.”

Regardless of the circumstances, the changeling’s mane was always a silky smooth pleasure. Applejack did her best to keep her mane from dragging on the dirt as she brushed the beautiful flowing teal. It’d been too long since she’d done it, and longer still since she’d had that tender, loving warmth seeping through her hooves. It wasn’t much, but it was a welcome sensation, and judging by Chrys’ calm breathing, she felt it too.

A tiny flash of magic caught AJ’s attention. What looked like a translucent cup woven in emerald light floated in front of the pair. She was hard-pressed to call it one, considering it was riddled with more holes than the changeling’s leg. There was even one drilled right through the bottom. Liquid poured into it from the top, filling it up as much as it could before the holes overtook the outflow.

“What’s that?” Applejack asked.

“A cup with holes in it,” Chrysalis stated dispassionately.

“Right. Just thought it might be something else.”

“It is. This vessel is what it’s like to be me. That stuff leaking out of it? That’s love.” Another cup appeared, this time with only one hole in the bottom. “This is you.” The ghost of several apples manifested and toppled into it, along with a trickle of juice out the bottom. “And this is your food. You can pour in as much as you want, but eventually—” A few more apples fell down, but bounced off the ones already inside. “—it gets filled and you can’t eat anymore until you use it up.”

The two cups clinked together and Chrysalis offered AJ hers. “Cheers,” she said before taking a drink. Applejack tried to do the same, but it was nothing but a magical construct of light.

“Okay, I’m with you so far. But why does yours have so many holes in it?”

“Because that’s what it feels like to me. I can always eat more.”

“So, what if you get a whole bunch of love at once?”

Chrysalis smiled wistfully. “Then it uses love to make itself bigger.”

A flow of energy entered the cup, almost filling it to the brim. Just before it started to overflow, the cup itself grew larger, doubling and tripling in size. After a while, instead of growing larger, Applejack’s began to shrink in its wake. Thunderous waterfalls of love cascaded out of the gaping holes, washing AJ’s cup away in a powerful swell.

“No matter how much goes in, I can always have more. But then, I need more love to keep eating more love. Even if I consume every last drop of love in the world.”

Finally, the torrential downpour of love stopped raining in. The love steamed out and the cup shrank. It kept spilling and shrinking further and further Applejack could see her cup again. The love continued leaking out without stopping, becoming smaller and smaller until it matched Applejack’s again.

But then, it kept going. It shrank further, passing right by Applejack’s cup and withering away.

“The truth is, your pity, the occasional scraps of friendly love, it’s all I have. You’ll never be able to give me enough love to threaten Sweet Apple Acres, let alone Equestria. I could only steal it. But then what? Start over with a bunch of starving nymphs? They’d just metamorphose like the others, betraying me in a heartbeat. I-I can’t go through that. Not again.”

Applejack’s heart clenched seeing the cup shrivel up as it tried to keep what little love it contained. It bent and twisted up trying to cover the holes with its own brittle body. Still, nothing could be done for the leak at the bottom, slowly dripping out like a leaky faucet.

“You don’t have to trust me. You can simply rest assured that no matter what, in the end, I’m always hungry.”

Finally, after thrashing helplessly, the struggle was too much for the poor little cup. It jerked one last time before tipping over, completely dry. No matter what it did, it just—

“—Wasted away,” Applejack mumbled under her breath.

It fell down, and it wouldn’t get up again. Even though it promised to take care of her, to stay by her side, to always be there, it wouldn’t get up again. She wouldn't wake up.

“Applejack?”

The filly looked down at the golden hair in her shaking hooves. She combed it like she always did, but there was no comfort. There was nothing she could do.

“AJ?”

It wasn’t anypony’s fault. Things like this happened.

“Sugarcube?”

AJ needed to suck it up and be a big girl now—

“Get a grip, Applejack!”

The resounding command rushed the air back into Applejack’s lungs. Her vision was filled with a predatory gaze staring back at her.

“For the love of...” Chrysalis put a hoof to her forehead and heaved a tired groan. “Telling you all of that was supposed to calm you down, not freak you out!”

“Sorry, Chrys.” The pony cleared her throat and refocused on the teal mane in her hooves.

“Give me that!” Chrysalis commanded as she swiped the comb from AJ’s hoof. Her magic undid AJ’s ponytail as her hat floated onto Chry’s head. Gently grabbing a clump of mane, Chrysalis started brushing AJ’s hair. “You ponies are always so sensitive.”

Applejack sniffled with a fragile smile. “You’re one to talk, sugarcube.”

“I am. I’ve had it much worse, but here I am coddling…” She bit back her words with a grunt. “Combing your hair on an empty stomach.”

“Yeah. You are. Thank you, Chrysalis.”

For a moment, the methodical strokes stopped. AJ could only assume the trickle of warm love she felt flowing out the back of her head and through her hair had something to do with it. Then, the gentle pull of her momma’s comb through her hair kept going.

“At least you still like me enough to care,” Chrysalis muttered.

“Of course I do, sugarcube. That never changed. I’ve just been too much of a wreck these days.”

“It’s—this is enough.”

The changeling did her best, rhythmically combing Applejack’s mane with long, careful strokes. It was firm, yet graceful, a perfectly original approach that matched the mare. Even if it was just a meal for her, Applejack enjoyed the pampering. It brought her back to Manehattan and that terrible shoot that Chrys just ate up, back when it was so much easier to share her love, when the shadowy seed of uncertainty hadn’t flowered in her heart.

“And there it goes.” Chrysalis sighed, wilting a little but not letting up on her combing.

It wasn’t fair to Chrys. Not one bit. Applejack punched herself in the chest, trying to jumpstart the good feelings again, but it was no good. A void had crept into her heart to fill the gaps left behind by the love drained from it. She knew it was there, and she didn’t want it to be, but fighting it just made it worse. Digging out the fear and doubt just filled it with frustration and anger at her shortcomings. She had no control over it. No control of herself. Applejack was pathetic.

“I’m sorry, Chrys.”

“Hey. At least I got a last meal if Twilight Sparkle betrays me.”

The mare whipped her head around, pulling her mane out of her friend’s hooves. “Chrysalis!”

“What? It’s true. She shouldn’t, since it’d utterly ruin the whole rainbow-friendship magic thing. At this rate, we’ll make it back to Ponyville together after this whole misadventure.”

“Honestly. If you really thought you’d be in danger here, then why did you agree to this whole thing with Twi in the first place?”

“You think I really had a choice? Going against your harmony herd mentality would risk what little love I still get from you all! I’m stuck bending to the whims of magical rocks and furniture for sustenance. At least this would be quicker than starving.”

“For peat’s sake! I know things have been strained between us lately, but I’d never force you to do something that hurt you, let alone get ya killed! If you were really that scared, you should’ve—” Applejack noticed the warmth fade away despite the changeling’s careful strokes. She stopped her ornery heart from getting the better of herself. Taking a page from Cadance’s book, she tried to relax and focus on appreciating the generous strokes running through her mane. The poor girl had been waiting on her long enough. “I’m sorry you didn’t feel like it was safe to give it to me straight. I really dropped the ball on keeping your trust.”

“My trust?” Chrysalis chuckled to herself. “Why would you want that? I don’t even trust myself. I know better than to do that.”

Applejack shook her head. “You’re a lot more genuine than you give yourself credit for. I think it’s less that you’re a good liar and more an expert truth-hider. I might not know what cards you got, but I almost always know when you’re bluffing. Like earlier, with the secret you told Twi; I knew you were being completely honest. I didn’t like it one bit.”

“You don’t have to like my plan, it just needs to work.” Chrysalis clicked her forehooves together. “You… you still like me, right?”

“Of course I do, sugarcube.”

“Good. That’s good.” She nodded to herself. “As long as Twilight knows that, then she shouldn’t tell Cadance how to kill me because that’d hurt you. It’d hurt you, right?”

Applejack nodded along with her while keeping her mouth firmly closed. She didn’t want to open it in case the budding tirade from the obvious answer slipped out. Either way, the answer seemed to satisfy the changeling as she smiled briefly.

“This can work then. Twilight Sparkle won’t betray me, which then means that everyone knows that I can be killed by Cadance, but only Twilight knows how specifically. The Imperials will then correctly assume it has something to do with the Crystal Heart. So, if they start trying to figure it out by themselves while we’re still here, Twilight will see they’re trying to kill me in a heartbeat. If they care about Twilight, then they won’t try because that will risk straining their relationship. I’ve effectively made the method of killing me forbidden knowledge!”

The former queen lavished in her plan coming to fruition with a victorious cackle befitting a villainous monologue. Meanwhile, Applejack felt a spark go off in her head. “I feel like I’ve heard you say something like that before. Didn’t you say you had a bad run-in with the Heart when we first got to know each other?”

The queen’s wicked glee was dethroned in a second, realizing she’d let the critical piece of information slip past her lips. She looked around, seeing if anypony else was around before ducking down to Applejack’s ear. “That accursed rock nearly killed me when I tried to take its love.”

“What?” Applejack yelped in alarm. “Why would it do that?”

The changeling lightly smacked Applejack on her head. “Don’t even think about it. You have absolutely zero magical defenses if the Imperials try to drag it out of you. At least Twilight has counter-magic at her disposal if they try to rip it out of her head.”

At first, Applejack was a little irked with all the secrecy—not that she was too keen on knowing it anyway—but taking another moment to untangle it, she could see the underlying truth. It wasn’t that Chrys didn’t trust Applejack, she was worried about what would happen if somepony found out that Applejack knew. “You really think they’d go that far?”

“I don’t think, I know. You should too after they assaulted you at the castle. They’d stop at nothing to protect themselves from me.”

“But you’re not even doing anything.”

“You know that. I know that. But they aren’t asking us. All anypony else knows is that the evil, loveless changeling is here to steal the kingdom for herself. You heard Cadance. She called me a twisted perversion. I am everything she’s not; her opposite in every conceivable way.” Chrysalis’ frown tightened with a resentful glower. “I’m not even a ruler anymore.”

“If you look at it another way, maybe that’s a good thing, Chrys. You’ve got your own way of thinking. A fresh perspective might just be what the map thinks she needs.”

“You assume I actually care about her.”

“I don’t, but I for sure know that you care about your friends.”

The observation broke through the changeling’s bitterness, confusing her more than anything. “Friends?”

“Eeyup. Twi, Fleur, and yours truly.”

“Fleur? Really?”

“Okay, maybe not friends.” She tapped her chin in thought. “What was that word Scootaloo used with you?”

The changeling flashed her clenched teeth, silently cursing her perfect memory for recalling it. “I refuse to call Fleur de Lis a ‘frenemy.’”

“Why not? I thought it was cute.”

“That’s because the little ones said it. Fleur is not cute.”

“I guess you got me there, at least most of the time. But even if she’s tougher than hydra tails, she has her adorable moments, just like you do.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “My nymph masquerade preys upon your predisposition towards younglings. It doesn’t count as cute.”

“Wasn’t talking about that.” Applejack smirked back at her brooding friend. “I think you’re pretty cute right now, being in denial about friendship and everything.”

“I-I’m not in denial!” she barked back immediately. It took a few more seconds for Chrysalis to catch up with what she just said. “Wait. I mean I’m not denying any… hold on.”

But it was too late. Applejack was already cracking under the snickers trying to escape as the changeling’s face flushed green. Her eyes were darting back and forth a mile a minute trying to parse it all, but she was getting too flustered. Applejack swore there was smoke coming out her ears.

“Shut up! You know what I mean!”

Applejack sucked in her lips and shook her head.

“Yes you do! You can try to trick me all you want, but it’s not going to work! I’m not calling Fleur a frenemy no matter how adorable you think I am!”

Her impassioned objection was too much and AJ fell back in guffaws. Chrys was just so confident and smooth when she played up her villainy, but when there wasn’t a mask to hide behind, she failed spectacularly. As for Chrysalis herself, she simply gave up on the whole affair and stewed in her embarrassment.

“Hoo wee, I needed that.” She looked around them, noticing the sun was almost set and they were still in the middle of a vineyard. “We better wrap up here and get back to the others.” She leaned up and gave Chrysalis a hug around her neck. The joy in her heart poured through in a surge of love. “Thanks a lot for taking me out here, Chrys.”

Sensing the meal, Chrysalis leaned in, sucking up every last drop that she could from her friend. Before it was all gone, AJ felt the drain stop and a light push away. Applejack didn’t know what to expect when she looked up to ask why she’d stopped feeding, but it wasn’t to be met with a soft, glowing smile radiating with tranquil warmth. “You’re welcome, Applejack.”

The All-mother’s tenderness always took Applejack’s breath away. She didn’t need to be a changeling to feel the outpouring of love. All Chrysalis did was gaze at her, not greedily, not hungrily, yet it made Applejack feel so special. Precious. Like she was the only thing that mattered in her world. It was no wonder why Iridescent had been so awestruck by it in that photoshoot from Snapshots. Not when Chrysalis was always hungry.

“Hey, Chrys? Are you sure you should—” A gentle, obsidian hoof silenced her.

“No questions. Let me enjoy myself just a little longer, AJ.”

“Alright, sugarcube.”

The mare giggled at the nickname she’d heard a thousand times by now. It was just a tiny, delightful laugh brimming with unbridled joy. Its infectiousness would be irresistible from anyone else, but coming from the changeling, it was completely unnerving. She gave her love as freely as any of her harmonious children, yet remained unchanged. Chrys just kept beaming with endless warmth that she didn’t have.

“Chrys, you need to stop.”

Her maternal smile faltered. “Please. Let me have this.”

“But you’re wasting energy on…”

“It’s not a waste!” she argued passionately.

“Chrys!”

The changeling’s eye twitched along with her dimming glow. She strained against it as if trying to recapture the exhausted love, but there was nothing left. Chrysalis bared her fangs and slammed her hooves into the ground again, trampling the dirt underneath. The tenderness evaporated, her eyes boiling over with rage as she thrashed harder and harder. At this rate, Applejack didn’t know what would split apart first, the ground or the changeling.

“Stop! You’re gonna hurt yourself!” Applejack cried.

With one massive, earth-cracking stomp, Chrysalis stopped, but she still wasn’t done. The crawling of millipedes swarmed all over Applejack, ripping her from the ground and thrusting her below the seething changeling.

“Take it back!” the former queen commanded.

“W-what?”

“It’s not a waste! Take. It. Back!” Chrysalis ordered once more with a crushing stomp, inches away from Applejack’s head. “Now!”

“Okay! Okay! I take it back!”

“LIAR!” The obsidian tower flashed her fangs and sank them into her bottom lip, piercing it with ease. “Liar.” She repeated, more softly, through her gritted teeth as the turmoil slowed to a simmer. “You’re such an awful liar.”

Applejack didn’t know what to say. All she could do was stare as green blood dripped on her cheeks. Sorry wouldn’t be good enough and the truth wouldn't be any better. They both knew her changeling love was finite, no thanks to her wishy-washy source. More than that, AJ had failed to live up to her promises. She’d taken the All-mother’s love and thrown it back into her face out of fear. If only Chrysalis could change, then she wouldn’t have to worry about it. She could love as much as she wanted to without starving herself. Without wasting away.

The shadow passed, stepping over towards the bushel barrels and placing hers and Applejack’s share across her back. She worked up some spittle in her mouth and lolled it on her tongue, licking her fresh wounds and sealing them with goo. Her lips then flashed green to hide the injuries behind a layer of lipstick.

“Let’s just go,” Chrysalis grumbled through her emotional exhaustion.

“Alright. At least let me get the barrels for you.”

Chrysalis said nothing, ignoring the request completely and storming past. Applejack followed suit and fell in behind her. She knew she wasn’t wrong, but she wasn’t anywhere close to right either. Whatever the answer was, she had to learn it quickly, for both their sakes.

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!