Crystal and I were sitting at the dinner table, eating lunch that Crystal had prepared shortly after our three hour long bath. I gotta say, now that I wasn’t covered in chocolate milk, and had a nice bubble bath, I feel way better. My roommate looked very, very beautiful now that she also wasn’t covered head to hoof in chocolate milk, dirt, and mud. Man, whatever was in that soap must’ve been magical, because now the mare’s coat gleamed and shined in the sunlight that lit up the dining room. Crystal’s really pretty.

“This is pretty good!” I hummed, taking a sip of the tomato soup Crystal made, along with some marketplace bread(a match made in heaven).

“Thank you… I used to work in restaurants, mostly waiting tables, but I did lend a hoof or two in the kitchen. I’d like to think I’m competent at preparing a meal should the need ever arise…” Crystal gave me a smile that would make Satan’s heart melt. Seriously, this mare was just as adorable as she was beautiful. “Thank you for letting me stay here, I swear, I’ll find a job to help pay for the rent-”

“Don’t worry about it; the rent’s cheap as hell anyways. I mean, if you just wanna lounge about and make sure the house isn’t a mess by the end of the month, it’s fine by me.” I chuckled. “The Crown kinda… rented this house out to me for a bit a year. It’s not exactly an extravagant house, but it’s a cozy little one. So I don’t think we really need to pitch in together to make sure the rent gets paid each month”

Crystal raised an eyebrow. “I did not know that you had connections to Princess Celestia.”

“I accidentally fell on her sister from the third story of a building, yeah? Anyways, we’re best friends!” I let sarcasm roll into ‘best friends’, before chuckling again. “We actually get along pretty nicely, and I do hope we can actually be friends when I hangout with them some more. But yeah, I do know the Princesses, and they were nice enough to get me a nicely discounted apartment to live in.”

“Well then… I can make our meals and clean up every now and then,” Crystal said, taking a spoonful of soup.

“Anything you wanna do today? I’ve got a whole Saturday and Sunday off, and I’ve got no idea as to what to do today or tomorrow.”

“We could go play mini golf. I heard there’s quite a few good courses that we can try out.”

“Y’know what, I do like a good round of mini golf. Whoever loses buys drinks.”

Crystal grinned. “You’re on!”

I stepped onto the green, figuring out how the fuck I’m going to hit the ball with a golf club, when I… Okay, standing up on my hind legs isn’t too hard, I guess it’s just the thought of now being a quadruped, standing up and doing something so… human. Like it’s really fucking weird. Because I can’t really stand up straight for more than twenty seconds; my hooves are more than capable, but a pony’s back was not meant for standing upright for long periods of time.

I hit the ball, spun, and tripped and fell on my shoulder. “Fuck!” God, standing on your hindlegs is easy when you’re just standing, not while swinging a golf club though… I sat up, hoping I at least got a good swing, only to see the ball right next to the hole. What. The. Fuck. You. Stupid, Ball.

You stupid, little, white, sack of shit. I fell on my shoulder for that swing and you couldn’t be fucking bothered to get into the goddamn hole? At least be far from the hole so I know that I just suck! You stupid… Mmm, I fucking hate you.

“My turn!” Crystal took a swing, and because she probably stood on her hindlegs more than I have in the last week, Crystal didn’t fall flat on her face, and got a hole in one… Well, she would’ve if her ball didn’t hit mine, knocked my ball into the hole, and then bounced and rolled halfway back towards where we were standing.

“Horse Apples!”

“Ah damn, what a tragedy!” Crystal gave me a playful shove before taking her next shot. Crystal got the ball in the hole now that there wasn’t a golf ball in front of her ball’s line of sight.

On the next hole, Crystal got a hole in one, and gave me a peck on the cheek after I had cheered for it. What? A hole in one’s a hole in one! Anywho, I froze for a second, before widening my hind legs as I stood up on them. I took a swing and also got a hole in one, which got Crystal to give a playful groan. I still fell flat on my face(My side to side balance is awful apparently), but hey, I got a hole in one!

Man, if it weren’t for the fact that we had just met, you could mistake us for being out on a date. It was just me, and Crystal doing something together for fun. Fuck, Crystal even nuzzled me a couple times while we were playing.

We lost track of what time it was.

Crystal came walking over with two bottles of very expensive looking booze, having lost our game of mini golf by six points, and sighed. The bottles were suspended in an acid green aura, and so was her horn… That must be levitation if what I read on unicorns was accurate, which it should be. It was only ‘how the three tribes of ponies work for foals‘. The two bottles came down on the table with a slight thunk.

“I hate mini golf.”

“But you suggested that we play mini golf today!” I pointed out, taking one of the bottles as they were presented to me.

“I still hate mini golf. I’m telling you, those balls are magically enchanted to make sure I always mess up whenever I get a lead on points. No matter what I do, I always end up in last place even if I do well! I wouldn’t be surprised if the spell was specifically made for me, to make sure I can never even win a game of mini golf,” Crystal sighed before opening her bottle. “Oh well, I was hoping to lose anyways; you would’ve picked some really bad alcohol and ruined today with your terrible tastes.”

“Rude, I only don’t know what registers as good beer; I haven't really had a shot of whisky since my fifth college party, and that whisky was mixed into the punch.”

“You’ve only drank whisky?” I nodded.

“Yup, your tastes are terrible,” Crystal laughed when I took my first sip. My ears perked up on their own and I’m pretty sure my eyes widened. Holy shit that is good; it tastes like blueberry candy without the shitty taste of the alcohol… what the fuck? What is with everything in Equestria using cocaine in the recipes for literally anything? First ice cream and now beer? Fine by me; I don’t mind getting addicted to this shit. I took another swig.

“I take it that you like it?” Crystal asked with a sly grin.

“Okay, you pick the booze whenever we get some; your tastes are impeccable.”

“Well… I… may have had several lifetimes to acquire my tastes,” I heard Crystal mutter under her breath.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Crystal, are you hiding something from me?

“N-no…” Crystal’s eyes slowly drifted left.

“Yes you are.”

“F-fine… can we go home before I show you? I don’t want anypony to see my little secret.” Crystal’s ears flattened and she suddenly felt that the table was interesting to look at… Fuck. Her entire body cringed at that, and that is one of the few things that translated over from human body language to pony body language:

Crystal’s little secret was a really touchy subject for her.

“Y’know what? Let’s just forget about it for now. You can tell me later, but let’s just try to enjoy the rest of today. I’ve got a few places I wanna check out, mostly for window shopping, so let’s get going after we’ve had our drinks.” Crystal looked up and gave me a nod.

Hey! At least she’s smiling again!

Well, I’m just gonna leave Crystal with her secret, can’t really expect somebody I just met to share a secret that makes their entire body cringe up when asked about it. I kinda feel bad for picking up on Crystal whispering that ‘lifetimes’ bit to herself, because now she’s gonna know I know something is up. In fact, I’m angry with myself, since I don’t think Crystal is gonna be sticking around for very long now. And it’s a shame too, because she’s really fun to hang out with.

Anyways, we did some window shopping, I didn’t actually buy anything, but a couple of things caught Crystal’s eyes, such as a nice looking dress, everything on display in a jewelry store, and a couple of other things, such as a gourmet chocolate shop. In fact, Crystal made me wait outside for her as she got herself a box of chocolate.

It seemed to bring her mood all the way back up after I had accidentally pushed her about that little secret she wasn’t willing to share, so I was all waiting for Crystal to get some chocolate.

Eventually, we made it to the ‘Royal Garden Park’, which was actually on the opposite side of town from the castle, but it was pretty much a giant garden where ponies came and… did some garden work. There was a sign with a bunch of rules, and apparently, this is just where you can come, grow your own plants, and do it while talking to other contributors.

The only thing that wasn’t made by any citizens, as far as I could tell, was a corn maze.

“So… you want to do the corn maze?” Crystal asked as we stood outside of the aforementioned corn maze. It was honestly huge. A sign sat out on the path up to the maze that boasted a ‘an hour long maze with the instructions’, so I was willing to bet we would be spending the rest of the day in here. Or get stuck in here for a week and wonder why the fuck this was a good idea, and yell at each other over who’s idea it was to walk into the maze anyways.

“Yeah. Mazes are always pretty fun, and it’s been forever since I’ve been in a corn maze!”

“Are you ten?” Crystal asked in a teasing tone.

“Listen. Mazes are fun.”

“I know… I’m just pulling your leg.” Crystal giggled… Okay, that giggle, and this mare as a whole for that matter, are national treasures as declared by a pony with no political power at all. Like that was fucking adorable, and nobody can tell me otherwise… Crystal is probably one of the cutest things I have come across. Oh god, what would a foal look like? Oh fuck, I think I would want to keep one…

Wait, that would be kidnapping.

“Well, c’mon maze boy, let’s get this nightmare over with.”

“Hey now, it can’t be that bad. We only gotta make it to the center of the corn maze and then work our way back out from there! So really, it’s double the time!”

“What in the name of Celestia is wrong with you?”

It’s been roughly forty minutes, and we were in the center of the maze now, which held a very nice, small little garden that surrounded a fountain. In all honesty, this quaint little spot was worth the hike through the maze, and it hadn’t even taken me or Crystal very long to get through the maze. We used some of the time to chat, play a fun, insanely intense game of I spy.

Spoiler, most of what we could see was corn, so it was a neck and neck game.

Hell, the two of us had played tag together like a couple of children. And remember that giggle that was a national treasure? Crystal’s laugh was worth at least forty giggles, and… holy shit, I am falling for a pony. Sure, we've only just met, and I doubt that I can find Crystal physically attractive because of monkey brain, but Crystal was very fun to hang out with.

Crystal was laid back, sweet, and was very playful. Like, this mare was absolutely wonderful, and I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to go home, or see another human being again. In other words, if I do end up dating ponies, I will more than likely start dating Crystal! If she’d want to date me that is.

“Say Fruit?”

Crystal

Maybe now I should just tell Fruit about what I am. As far as I’m aware, nopony will be watching anyway, and it would be better in the long run. I can tell that Fruit likes me, and I do quite enjoy this delightful, cuddlesized stallion’s company quite a bit. And the best part? I didn’t even need to truly deceive Fruit! I have been acting how I usually do, and it worked!

“I want to tell you my secret now… promise you won’t tell a soul about what I am going to tell you?”

“Cross my heart, hope to die, for this secret won’t leave me until the day I die,” Fruit had drawn a cross on his chest with a hoof, before giving me his full attention. So, I did it, I began to let my disguise come undone as my body was wrapped in green fire… Usually by now, the stallion, that I have tried so hard to please and love, would've ran while Fruit Punch just stood his ground.

Once I had completely dropped my disguise, I spoke up. “I guess… I should say my actual name isn’t actually Crystal, my name is Chrysalis, Queen of the Southern Badlands Hive, and… your roommate. If you wish to run away screaming, you may-“

“Oh my fucking god…” Fruit started walking towards me. Is this it? Will a pony respond aggressively to my true self? Fruit Punch had reared up, like he was about to shove his front hooves into my chest…

Fruit Punch

I grabbed Crystal- I mean, Chrysalis’s face with both my hooves. Wow, that is an exoskeleton, a very smooth one at that. Oddly enough, Chrysalis was oddly soft despite the hard covering on her body. Now, instead of the light blue, creamy maned unicorn that I had come to know, stood what could only be described as a bug the size of a horse while having the body type of a horse.

The only caveat was that Chrysalis had fangs, a snake like tongue, and legs with holes in them…

Needless to say, Chrysalis was kinda adorable. So, like any logical man when faced with a thing that is clearly a predator, I started to rub said predator’s cheeks.

“You are the cutest thing I have ever seen.” Chrysalis began to blush, before she started purring as I started to massage her face. Chrysalis slowly started lowering to the ground until she was lying down, still purring, before her eyes shot open in slits. One moment, I was rubbing the bug, and then the next, I was being held in Crysta- I mean Chrysalis’s forelegs, and laying down with the… mare? Laying her head on top of mine. Needless to say, Chrysalis was pretty happy at the moment.

A wispy tail, the same color as the mane, was now laying in front of me, like a blanket that was supposed to cover me up, but was a bit too small to do so.

“Well, there is… my little secret. I’m surprised that you were so… receptive to it.” Chrysalis’s voice sounded a lot like Crystal’s voice, except nice and layered, with a very slight buzz to it. Not enough to be grating on the ears, but a pleasant one that wasn’t too overpowering. It sounded really cool, if not still kinda pretty like Crystal’s… God, here I was this morning, thinking I wouldn’t find ponies, or bug ponies for that matter, attractive, but I think I was falling for Chrysalis the whole time.

It’s probably just a stupid crush, it’ll pass.

“What can I say? You’re pretty adorable like this,” I gestured to all of her. “And still the same Crystal I spent most of the day getting to know, right? Just different names and a disguise, right?” Chrysalis nodded.

“Despite what my kind is used to doing, my acting skills are… not the best to say the least.”

“That just means I don’t find a reason to really fear or hate you.”

“You are… a strange pony. Any sensible pony would’ve ran screaming to Celestia about how a ‘scary monster’ appeared out of nowhere,” Chrysalis said, reverting back into ‘Crystal’.

“Well… I’m not exactly a pony.”

“But… how could a drone…”

“I’m not a changeling either. I’m certain a ‘drone’ wouldn’t just squish a Queen’s face and squeal about how cute you are. Anyways, I'm actually a human, a thing from another universe. It’s pretty cool, I walked out of my house one day, woke up laying on top of Princess Luna, and the next thing I know, I’m trying my damn best to fit into pony society. I kinda suck at it, since I can’t wrap my head around ‘everypony’ or ‘anypony’, and there are a few things I don’t know yet.”

“Wait… humans are real?” Chrysalis asked.

“Yuh, only in a separate universe that may or may not be accessible.”

“And… you haven’t noticed what I was doing to you during our round of mini golf?”

“I thought you were saying you were comfortable with me; you see me as a friend.” Crystal quickly nodded.

“Let’s… just go with that for now.” Crystal stood up, brushing some grass out of her coat. “Now come on, we’re going home, and I want you to give me a nice, long face rub; it felt really nice.” I nodded dumbly before getting up to follow my bug friend in disguise.

Author's Note

obvious Chryssy is obviously Chryssy.

Anyways, I wanted to get Chrysalis in here nice and early and have an idea already in mind for the bug mom.

Also despite Fruit’s three day long study session, he somehow missed the fact that he was being hit on during all of mini gold.