Run Without Debugging

Chapters

The New Hive
Pride
Weak
Trust
The King of Liars
Run Without Debugging
A Walk Around Town

The New Hive

"...H-huh?"

You begin to tremble as you slowly look down at yourself. Steam gently pours out of the golf-ball-sized hole that goes straight through your chest. You bring a shaky hand to the hole and feel a hot liquid begin to gush out of it. Why... why do you not feel any pain? You slowly glance behind you, seeing Chrysalis look at you with shaky, terrified eyes. You look back in front of you to see Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all staring back at you, their faces white as sheets and their mouths agape. A bit of familiar-looking steam still emanates from Twilight's horn.

Suddenly, your vision begins to grow blurry. You lose feeling in your legs, and as your eyes begin to close against your will, you can see the ground rapidly approaching. The last thing you hear before losing consciousness is Chrysalis yelling out your name.

How...? How did it come to this?

After her argument with Ocellus and subsequent scolding from you, Chrysalis began to act differently. While still her usual, prideful self, she began acting less aggressive. She started saying things like "please" and "thank you," and she started to refer to you by name. Is it because she's finally started to reflect on her past actions? Or is it because she realized that she was at your mercy while sick? Either way, you found yourself dealing with conflicting feelings about it.

On one hand, that's good behavior. She's finally starting to act like a proper citizen instead of a wannabe despot. On the other hand, her motivations are still unknown to you. You didn't want to believe a lot of what Ocellus said about her, and yet their argument did little but prove Ocellus right. Chrysalis has done some horrible things. You knew that already. But to think that she really hasn't learned anything since then just made you so... frustrated, you supposed. Did you really do the right thing by making this deal with her? Is there really a chance that she will learn what it means to be a friend, or to truly love someone?

Well, if there's one thing you do know for sure, it's that your heart won't let you abandon her.

Your brain, on the other hand, knows that you can't let her get away with whatever she wants. You left the remedy that Ocellus gave you in the medicine cabinet, hidden away from Chrysalis until you were convinced that she had been "punished" enough. For about two weeks, you were in a strange state of flux. You still made sure that she had what she needed, and you still went into your bedroom at night so that she could feed on your love, but other than that, you were having a hard time convincing yourself to be around her. Heck, she probably doesn't even want you there, anyway. In stark contrast to a few weeks prior, where snuggling up with Chrysalis at night was the highlight of your day, you began to instead sleep on the couch, leaving her alone in your bedroom. It's probably better not to crowd around a sick changeling anyway, even if you can't catch her sickness.

However, two weeks after she had fallen ill, you were preparing to sleep on the couch once again after allowing Chrysalis to feed on your love when a creaking sound caught your attention. Your gaze was directed towards the basement door, which had opened a bit due to the draft coming in from a nearby window. You rolled your eyes and went to close it, but as your hand reached the handle, you stopped yourself. Although she has spent a lot of time in your bed, Chrysalis declared this basement her "new hive" after you made your deal, and she forbade you from ever entering.

Should you really be considering this? Isn't this an invasion of her privacy?

...

You shook your head. You knew what needed to be done. After the things she said to poor Ocellus, you couldn't be certain that she's actually maintaining her end of the deal anymore. Surely there's a reason why she didn't want you to go down there. You just needed to know what that reason was.

You opened the door as gently and quietly as you could before you crept through it, being careful to not let the steps on the other side creak as you did so. Once you had taken about eight steps down, you reached the bottom of the stairwell. It was pitch-black down there, and you felt around for the light that you knew was nearby. After a few seconds, you found it. With a click, the light came on, finally revealing Chrysalis's "hive."

...Huh. Well, that was unexpected.

You thought you were going to see... you know, changeling things. Holes in the walls, pods of goop, strange plants, that sort of thing. However, from what you could tell, your basement was largely untouched. Your old sofa was still resting against the wall, though it looked a bit more worn than you remember. Some old boxes for storage were still piled in the corner, and the bathroom was still unfinished, yet usable. You clicked your tongue as you began to inspect the room in greater detail. After all, if she really had nothing to hide, she wouldn't have forbade you from coming down here, right?

So, what was different? Well, the most obvious thing was an old log, which was resting on the floor in the corner next to some of your boxes. It looked extremely dusty and had some cobwebs on it, implying that it hadn't been touched in at least a month or two. Other than that, the boxes looked untouched and the sofa looked like it had been sat on. Hm.

After pondering why she wouldn't let you down there, you decided to take a seat on the sofa. As you did so, you received a bit more resistance from the cushion than you were expecting. You raised an eyebrow and stood up before turning around and removing the cushion. Beneath it were a few things. First and foremost, a large tome detailing changeling anatomy. You recognized that tome. You had borrowed it from the library at the School of Friendship. It had apparently been published less than a year ago by one of Thorax's friends back at the hive, who is apparently trying to make up for the lack of changeling literature that's readily available in Equestria. You thought you lost it, but it's clear now that it was stolen from right under your nose. You mindlessly flipped through the pages, and noted that two specific pages had creased corners.

The first page detailed the differences between light changelings and dark changelings. According to the author, a dark changeling becomes a light changeling when they simultaneously give and accept a certain amount of love from another/others. The process is extremely fast and done without any input from the changeling themself. There are both upsides and downsides to becoming a light changeling, however. Dark changelings are much sturdier than light changelings, but they also feel as though they are in a constant state of starvation, whether they're actually close to starving or not. Light changelings, meanwhile, are much more adaptable than their dark counterparts, but also susceptible to lovesickness. In contrast to dark changelings, light changelings never feel like they are hungry, but this can be a detriment as they also don't know when they really are starving.

The section ends with a footnote which states that the only known dark changeling left in Equestria is the deposed and reviled Chrysalis, the "figurehead behind the dark age of the Changeling Kingdom." You let out a sigh after reading that. Knowing that Chrysalis read that made you feel a bit bad, but... they aren't wrong.

The second page detailed the shapeshifting ability of changelings. According to it, changelings can shapeshift at will for a specific period of time. The amount of time depends on the age, experience, and magical capabilities of the changeling in question. Even young changelings can shapeshift for a minute or two, but particularly strong changelings can shapeshift for extended periods of up to a month. On top of that, the strongest changelings don't have a time limit at all. However, light changelings specifically might find themselves having difficulty shapeshifting if their emotional state is unstable. They are more likely to accidentally take on the appearance of things that they subconsciously associate with whatever they are feeling, making it more difficult for them to shapeshift into anything else. This also means that in instances where their emotional state aren't as susceptible to changes, such as when they are sleeping, they will simply maintain the form they were in when they fell asleep. You weren't sure why Chrysalis would need to read this, but you chose not to dwell on it too much.

Following the tome, there were a few pieces of parchment and a quill. Most of the sheets of parchment were blank, but one had some text on it. The hoofwriting wasn't very good, but it was still legible. It appeared to be a list of dates, beginning a little over a month prior and ending the day before Chrysalis got sick. Beneath each date was an interval of time. "July 9th - Two seconds." "July 10th - Four seconds." "July 11th - Five seconds." This pattern continued, with the interval increasing every so slightly every day until the final day said "Thirty minutes."

Not knowing what to make of the parchment, you shifted your gaze at the last item, which was the most puzzling. It appeared to be a loose photograph of you alongside some of your friends after saving Ponyville from a dread maulwurf. Last you checked, that picture was among many like it in a collage hanging in your living room that Fluttershy made for you. Why did Chrysalis take it?

Flipping it over, you found a curious sight. On the back of the photograph, there were several crudely drawn figures. The first figure looked a bit like Twilight, but with Chrysalis's mane. The next looked similar, but with a much cleaner mane than Chrysalis is known for. The one after that was a bit taller, with a body shape more in line with what many consider to be a "model figure." This pattern continued until you reached the seventh figure, which didn't look like any pony you'd ever seen. Despite the fact that it was a rough sketch, it was obvious that the mare pictured was supposed to be extremely beautiful.

However, even more curiously were the figures following that one. The next figure appeared to be a drawing of you, but with Chrysalis's hair. And just like with the drawings of the mares, it was followed by several more figures that each looked to be a vague approximation of a human woman. To be honest though, they looked a bit uncanny, as if the artist had never seen what a female human looks like.

Which, in hindsight, was probably the case.

You weren't sure what to make of the things you found, but you did know one thing: Chrysalis was hiding stuff from you. It just wasn't anything... "villainous." With a sigh, you put everything back where you found it and departed from the basement, quietly closing the door behind you on your way out. You felt a bit bad for invading Chryssi's privacy, but at least you had confirmation that your trust wasn't entirely misplaced.

...Chryssi, huh? You hadn't called her that since your outburst a couple of weeks prior. You glanced at the nearby wall, where the picture collage rests. You walked over to it, admiring Fluttershy's work. Each picture has you and at least one of your friends. Most of them are you and Twilight, but many more contain Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and even Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in a couple of them. You chuckled as memories of your time in Equestria started rushing back. You've made a lot of really great friends here, and you love each and every one of them.

It was at that point that you realized one picture was missing: the photograph you found downstairs. As you realized that, a second realization dawned on you. There were no pictures of Chrysalis on there. That made some sense, of course. She never leaves the house, and you've known her for far less time than you've known someone like, say, Twilight. And yet, her not being on there felt... wrong.

A wave of guilt washed over you. Were you being too harsh on her? Who are you to decide how long she "deserves" to stay sick? Are you really setting a good example of what a friend should be?

...Hm.

You headed upstairs, but not before swinging by the medicine cabinet. You gently knocked on the door before entering the room. As you opened the door, you could have sworn you heard the distinct sound of Chrysalis shapeshifting. And yet, there she was, sitting upright in the bed and looking at you through the darkness. Her eyes glow in the dark. It's kind of creepy, but also kind of weirdly attractive?

"Hey, Chryssi. I brought you something."

"In the middle of the night?"

"Y-yeah. I managed to get some of that medicine Ocellus was talking about."

"Y-you did?!" Her voice was still stuffy and strained, but you could tell she was excited in the way she spoke. "I... I thought you weren't going to look for it anymore."

"Yeah, well, I changed my mind. You've... been through enough."

"...Th-thank you, Anon."

You smiled and brought the goop-filled jar over to the bedridden bug.

"Here. Supposedly you'll start feeling better within a few hours, hopefully by the time you wake up."

She eagerly took the jar from you and examined what little medicine there was inside. She stifled a cough as she forced it down her throat. Apparently, it was pretty gross. After a few seconds, she regained her composure and you took the jar from her, setting it on a nearby shelf.

"I hope that does it. I'm tired of being cooped up in here."

"Heh, you say that even though you haven't left the house in months." You gave her a smile. "Well, I guess I'll leave you alone now."

"W-wait."

"Hm?"

"We need to... er, I mean, I think we should..."

"Chryssi? You okay?"

She awkwardly cleared her throat, and even in the darkness you could tell that she was shifting around uncomfortably in the bed.

"As your queen, I demand that you sleep in here tonight. ...P-please."

That "please" was hardly a mumble, but you still caught it. There were probably a few better ways she could have asked that, but you didn't really care. Instead, you gave her a warm smile.

"Scoot over, bugbutt."

Pride

"Er, good morning Twilight. AJ. Dash."

You gave each of them a concerned smile, though their expressions did not change. Chrysalis stood a couple of feet behind you, far enough away to make it less awkward but no so far that she couldn't hear the conversation taking place. When your guests replied, it was Twilight who spoke up.

"Good morning, Anon."

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We... we need to talk, Anon."

"That sounds serious. Okay, er..." You anxiously turned around to glance at Chrysalis behind you. You had a feeling she wouldn't approve of what you were going to say next, but you'll be darned if anyone tries to call you a bad host. "Would you like to come in?"

You heard Chrysalis inhale suddenly, apparently about to protest. Before she could, Twilight responded yet again.

"No, we're fine. In fact, would you be willing to step outside? This conversation should probably be kept..." She glances past you and looks directly at Chrysalis. "...Private."

You thought for a moment. If it wasn't obvious already, that was a dead giveaway that they wanted to talk about Chryssi. Twilight is your best friend and you trust her dearly, and yet...

"Sorry Twilight, but no."

"Huh?"

"Let's not be coy. You want to talk about something you don't want Chrysalis to hear. But even if you don't, I trust her. There's nothing you need to say that cannot be said in her presence."

"I-I'm not sure about that, Anon."

You glanced behind yourself again. Chrysalis had taken a couple of steps forward, but was still very much behind you. She looked at you with surprise, apparently having not expected you to stick up for her like that.

"Then we're at an impasse. Either you say what you need to say right here, or not at all."

Twilight sighed, and Applejack placed a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. After a moment, she composed herself and looked you dead in the eyes with a determined expression, only occasionally glancing away to look at Chrysalis.

"To be as succinct as possible, we've been receiving several troubling reports about Chrysalis since yesterday. The most egregious of these reports claim that she attacked Ocellus at Sugarcube Corner."

"WHAT?! That's ridiculous!"

"So you deny it?"

"Don't misunderstand, Twilight. We did bump into Ocellus at Sugarcube Corner, and there was an argument. But no one attacked anyone, I can assure you of that!"

"I thought Sunburst had you under direct orders to keep Chrysalis away from Ocellus."

"We weren't expecting to bump into her there. What do you propose Chrysalis does, rot away in here for the rest of her life? She has to go outside at some point!"

Twilight sighed once again.

"Very well, then. Admittedly I haven't confirmed this with Ocellus yet since classes are still in session at the moment, so for now, I'll believe you. Though I still find it troubling that we received numerous eyewitness accounts saying the same thing, that would explain why they were so vague."

"Is that all you wanted?"

"Well, those weren't the only reports we received. Several different ponies around town are claiming that the two of you were cutting in lines, scaring townsfolk, robbing market stalls, and generally 'disrupting the peace.'"

"Those reports are full of it! Yes, yesterday didn't go smoothly. Everypony on the street tried to run and hide when they saw us. When we went to the market, everypony in line would just walk away out of fear, and the vendors would hide under their stalls! All of that was entirely of their own volition! And by the by, we paid for everything. If the peace was disrupted, you can blame everyone else's fear, not Chrysalis's behavior."

"But you have to admit that it was her being there that caused the unrest."

"And once again I'll ask: Do you expect her to just never leave the house? Are you saying that she can't even visit the market?!"

"N-no, but-"

"Twilight. You're probably my closest friend in all of Equestria. If literally anything bad started happening to any of our friends, I would believe without a shadow of a doubt that you would be ready and willing to do something about it. So please, trust me when I say that Chrysalis hasn't done anything like that. Is she a bit argumentative and prideful? Yes. Is she the villain you're describing? No, not even close."

"..."

Twilight finally looked away from you, her expression suddenly full of guilt and shame. Applejack looks up at you in her place.

"We do trust ya, Anon. We just wanna make sure you're safe."

"Chrysalis would never hurt me. And she wouldn't hurt anypony else, for that matter. Not anymore. Whatever it is you've heard, I can guarantee that they are just rumors, nothing more."

You spoke with such confidence, such clarity, that you surprised even yourself. Weren't you starting to doubt those words the night prior? Why did you suddenly believe them?

Rainbow Dash responded before Applejack could, her tone much more aggressive than Twilight's or AJ's.

"Don't worry, Anon. We'll make sure of that."

"A-and what is that supposed to mean?"

Suddenly, Chrysalis took a few more steps forward, nudging you a bit to the side to stand in front of you. She had the biggest, cockiest grin you'd ever seen on her face, and you were immediately filled with a sense of oncoming dread.

"That's right, little ponies. He's my friend now! He believes in me! And because of your silly little 'friendship,' there's nothing you can do about it!"

"Ch-Chryssi, that's-"

"Thanks to him, I am free to do as I please, and YOU cannot stop me!"

Rainbow Dash angrily flew into Chrysalis's face.

"You wanna bet?!"

"You silly ponies seem to have forgotten. When I had drained nearly all of Shining Armor's love, I was stronger than Celestia herself. How strong do you suppose I would be if I had an endless supply of love?"

All three of the mares gasped in shock and took a step back, their faces showing a combination of surprise and anger. They each took a defensive stance as Chrysalis let out a menacing-sounding cackle. Twilight spoke up again, her voice nearly a shout.

"Everypony, get back! Anon, get away from her! She's about to do something!"

"N-no, she isn't! She's just-"

Chrysalis briefly glanced at you and then turned back to the mares, the grin never leaving her face.

"Would you like me to act like the villain you so desperately want me to be? It wouldn't be hard! Ahahahaha!"

Twilight began to sweat as you watched her horn start to glow. It seemed as though the air around her was being sucked towards her, and the typical purple glow of her magic was much deeper in color than you are used to.

"Anon, get out of the way! This is a new spell I created exactly for instances like this!"

"What are you going to do to her?!"

"When I know my magic isn't as strong as my opponent's, I can collect and condense the air around me before launching it at breakneck speeds! Instead of a magical spell, it's a physical one! It doesn't matter who the opponent is, it'll hurt all the same!"

In response, Chrysalis began to prepare a spell of her own. Her horn started to glow a brilliant green color. Your eyes widened as you realized the severity of the situation. That was probably why Twilight brought AJ and Dash, too. She expected Chrysalis to pull something like that, but only you knew that Chrysalis wasn't actually threatening them! That was just her pride getting the best of her again!

"Twilight, Chryssi, stop!"

Neither parties listened to you as they prepared to unleash their spells. You watched as Twilight's horn briefly flashed. Without thinking, you leapt in-between Twilight and her target. In that instant, a booming sound came from Twilight's horn right as you centered yourself between her and Chrysalis. Immediately after the boom went off, you heard the faint sound of Chrysalis's spell fizzling out before it could be cast. At the same time, you heard four distinct gasps. Th-that spell had to have gone off, right?

"...H-huh?"

You began to tremble as you slowly looked down at yourself. Steam gently poured out of the golf-ball-sized hole that went straight through your chest. You brought a shaky hand to the hole and felt a hot liquid begin to gush out of it. Why... why did you not feel any pain? You slowly glanced behind you, seeing Chrysalis look at you with shaky, terrified eyes. You looked back in front of you to see Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all staring back at you, their faces white as sheets and their mouths agape. A bit of familiar-looking steam still emanated from Twilight's horn.

Suddenly, your vision began to grow blurry. You lost feeling in your legs, and as your eyes began to close against your will, you could see the ground rapidly approaching. The last thing you heard before losing consciousness was Chrysalis yelling out your name.

You fall to the floor with a loud thud. For a moment, Chrysalis, Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash simply look at your unconscious body in shock. Slowly, their eyes lift off of you and back at each other. No words are spoken as they exchange terrified glances.

Then, in one rapid movement, Chrysalis's horn glows as she leaps forward. Your body is surrounded by the green glow of her magic as it is lifted onto her back. Just as she clears the doorway and makes it a couple of feet past the three mares, Chrysalis's body shimmers as it begins to shapeshift. It grows and morphs extremely rapidly, lifting your body into the air as it does. When all is said and done, an ursa minor with glowing green eyes is booking it towards the outskirts of town with your still-bleeding body balanced precariously on its back.

Applejack is the first one to regain her senses.

"T-Twilight, Dash!"

"Let's go!"

Rainbow Dash begins to pursue the massive bear at breakneck speeds, with Applejack following on the ground and Twilight doing her best to keep up in the air. Their shock allowed Chrysalis to get a big head start on them, and her massive form allows her to cover distance extremely quickly. She's running in the direction of the Everfree Forest, but Rainbow Dash is rapidly gaining on her.

"Get back here! Give him back!"

Chrysalis never slows, but she does glance behind her to see Rainbow Dash quickly approaching her. In another quick movement, her massive form begins to shimmer once again. It shrinks ever-so-slightly, leaving behind the much different, albeit still massive form of a green dragon. With a flap of her wings, she begins to fly not too far off of the ground. In the same movement, she purposefully swats her massive tail behind her, smacking her quickest pursuer in the process. Rainbow Dash grunts as she is flung a great distance away. The time afforded to Chrysalis in this moment is enough for her to reach the Everfree Forest with. As she makes it a fair distance into the forest above the treeline, her body shimmers once more. When it finishes, she has taken the form of a storm creature, the tuft of hair on its head a blueish-green color reminiscent of her changeling mane. In her large arms, she carries your unconscious body bridal style. The momentum of her flight flings her at a forward arc towards the ground. Her feet skid painfully along the dirt as she does her best to keep her balance. She narrowly avoids running into some trees before finally coming to a stop. Darting beneath the cover of some nearby foliage, she finally transforms back into her changeling form and places you onto the grass. Your wound is grievous and bleeding profusely. The liquid she feels running down her back doesn't give her much confidence in your current state. With a frustrated click of her tongue, she glances at the forest around her. Within seconds, she magically rips a few hanging vines from some nearby trees. Carefully lifting you up, she wraps the vines tightly around your chest in an attempt to seal your wound. It's extremely crude, but it's the best she can do with next to no medical knowledge, especially when dealing with humans.

She wipes some sweat from her brow as she hears several voices a ways behind her.

"Tell everypony in town! The Everfree Forest is too big for just the three of us! Anypony willing to search needs to get out here immediately! This is life or death!"

Staying tucked beneath whatever cover she can find, she awkwardly carries your large form on her back as she does her best to navigate deeper and deeper into the forest.

Weak

You awaken with a gasp. Immediately, you are hit with the most intense pain you've ever felt. You instinctively bring your hands to your chest, finding that it is wrapped up in vines. You're pretty sure that's not very sanitary, but that should probably be the least of your concerns at the moment. Apart from the pain, you feel fatigued, nauseous, and most of all, cold. You try to sit up, but the sharp pain coming from your chest prevents you from doing so. You let out an involuntary yelp and find yourself back onto the cold ground beneath you.

You try to get a good look around, but have difficulty due to your position on the floor. First and foremost, there is a ceiling above you. It appears to be made of stone, just like the wall that you can see not too far behind your head. While the floor beneath you is very hard, it does feel as though you are lying on something. A quick sweep of a hand tells you that it's a makeshift blanket of leaves. It doesn't exactly offer a lot of protection from the stone floor, but it's better than nothing.

Although it's mostly dark, there is a light source coming from somewhere in front of you that you can't quite see. The light source appears to have a green tint, and you can't possibly imagine what it could be coming from. Just where exactly are you, and how did you get here? The last thing you remember, some of your friends were knocking on your door, they were asking some questions about Chrysalis, and then-

AH!

Twilight hit you with that spell of hers after you jumped in front of Chryssi! That would explain the wound. You try to glance down at your chest. Even the vines are stained red, and liquid continues to slowly seep through the gaps in the makeshift wrappings. You suddenly find it hard to keep your eyes open. The pain has yet to subside, but you feel like you're just getting weaker and colder. Your thoughts are slowly becoming harder and harder to keep together. You aren't the smartest guy around, but...

You might be bleeding out.

Suddenly, you hear a gasp from somewhere in front of you before the sound of frantic hooves on the stone floor indicate to you that someone is approaching. Suddenly, a figure enters your peripheral vision. It's someone you've never seen before.

She is undoubtedly a light changeling. Her skin is mostly white, though it has several light blue splotches all over it. Her wings, tail, and mane seem to have a glittery effect in the light, and they are a pale green color that compliment the white and blue surprisingly well. Her horn is long and without any sort of blemish, and the same can be said of her legs. Her eyes are a similar shade of green as her wings, but unlike most light changelings, they have a pair of thin, black, vertical pupils in their centers. They remind you quite a bit of Chryssi's eyes, actually.

"Anon!"

"W-wha-?"

The light changeling throws her arms around your neck, carefully trying to avoid your chest but failing to prevent another sharp feeling of pain from spreading throughout your body. She realizes this and quickly backs off.

"I-I'm sorry, I just... I just didn't know if you'd wake up again!"

"Who are you? Wh-where are we?"

"What do you mean? I'm-" The changeling cuts herself off as she looks down at her body. Her eyes grow wide for a moment before she slowly looks up at you. After a couple of seconds, she closes her eyes and sighs before locking eyes with you once more. "I'm Que... I'm Chrysalis. We're... in a cave, I guess."

"Chryssi? Why do you... wait... you're a light changeling?!"

You raise your voice in surprise, but doing so just forces you to let out a very painful cough. Your changeling compatriot winces and kneels down close to you.

"Yes. I... have been for some time now."

You're finding it harder and harder to keep your eyes open, but you force yourself to regardless. You give her a smile and start to lightly chuckle.

"Hehe. I had a feeling it was something like that."

"What do you mean?"

"For the 'Queen of Liars,' you're not very good at hiding stuff from me. Don't forget, only light changelings can get lovesickness. I figured something was up, but I didn't want to grill you about it until you were good and ready to share that information yourself."

"B-but why?! Do you have any idea how much trouble you could have saved yourself? You could have told Twilight, or even that child, that I was a light changeling already and proven that you were right! You could have forced me to look like this before we went outside! Maybe then, everypony would have left you alone!"

"...Do you want to look like that?"

"What?"

"Becoming a light changeling isn't a conscious choice. You went out of your way to pretend that you were still a dark changeling. Was that just your pride getting the better of you again, or do you not want to be a light changeling?"

"I... I don't-!" Chrysalis stutters for a bit. Her voice is at first defensive, but she seems to steel herself as she takes a deep breath and starts over. "I don't want others to think I'm weak. I don't need everyone rubbing it in my face that I was wrong. That I've BEEN wrong my whole life. I..." Tears begin to roll down Chrysalis's cheeks. "I don't deserve this. I don't deserve you."

You look at her in silence for a moment as she continues to try to hold back her tears. Wordlessly, you smile at her and fight the searing pain in your body to raise a hand towards her drooped face. You cup her cheek in your hand, causing her to look you in the eyes once more.

"You're not weak. I promise, I will NEVER make fun of you for trying to learn." You think tears are beginning to roll down your own cheeks, but at this point you're going numb in a few places and can't be sure. "I don't care what you think you deserve. The Chrysalis I know is a wonderful mare deep down. She has a lot to learn, but she isn't the villain everyone thinks she is. Not anymore. And right now, she... you... are safe."

"I..."

"For once... just let it out. You don't have to be afraid anymore."

She doesn't respond. Instead, Chrysalis goes from holding back her tears to sobbing uncontrollably. Her head stays drooped above you as her tears land on your collarbone. It's jarring hearing the sound of crying coming from her voice. The deep, guttural pain that she's vocalizing is all you need to know that she has been holding this in for far too long. You never remove your hand from her cheek as you simply rest there, hiding your own pain and acting as the anchor that she so desperately needs right now.

After a couple of minutes, she brings a hoof to her face and does her best to clean herself up. Once she regains some semblance of composure, she looks at you again.

"Anon, I... I don't know what to do. You're like this because of me. It's my responsibility to help you, but... but I can't! I've tried everything! None of the flora here looks like anything back at the hive, I don't have anything better to bandage you up with, and that darn zebra insisted that none of her potions could help you! You're... you're dying, Anon!"

You cough a couple of times. It's getting hard to ignore your rapidly deteriorating health.

"I know. I appreciate the thought, but I really need you to take me to a hospital."

"I can't do that, Anon. I can't trust those stupid mares to take care of you."

"Why not? They're my friends."

"I know I provoked them, but... after everything I've done, you can't possibly expect me to trust them! Even if they can help you, what are they going to do to me?"

"It's okay if you don't trust them, but do you trust me?"

"You're the first and only creature I've ever trusted, Anon."

"Then believe me when I say that everything is going to be fine. I won't let them hurt you." You've been trying to fight it, but the fact that it's getting harder and harder to breathe is weighing heavily on you. Your vision is starting to grow dark once more. Chrysalis notices this and begins to shiver anxiously, leaning even closer to you to better hear your words as you grow quieter and quieter. "It'll be... okay... I... I love you, Chryssi..."

"Anon, don't... don't go! Please! I-"

Those are the last words you hear before you lose consciousness once more.

"I love you too!"

Taking a moment to compose herself, Chrysalis rises to her shaky hooves once more. She attempts to shapeshift back into an ursa minor to carry you, but finds that she can't. She tries to shapeshift into a dragon, but fails yet again. She tries once more to shapeshift into a storm creature, but has to stop and catch her breath as her attempt fails. She recognizes that she's in too much emotional distress to get out of her light changeling form, but recognizing that doesn't fix her problem. Panicked, she attempts to lift you using her magic, but finds that she expended too much trying to get you here. Simultaneously, the green magical lights that she had created around the cave shimmer out, leaving the two of you in darkness once more. She glances at the mouth of the cave, noting that you've been unconscious nearly all day, and it is already dark (thus necessitating the lights not too long before you woke up). As a last resort, she tries to lift you with her bare hooves, but your large human stature is just too much for her. She begins to sob as she looks helplessly down at your unconscious, dying body.

"There you are!"

Chrysalis jumps at the voice and turns around. Her eyes go wide as she makes out a figure at the mouth of the cave.

Standing in the moonlit forest is none other than Ocellus, the light changeling girl that Chrysalis has had nothing but problems with. Ocellus glares at Chrysalis, a mixture of shock and fury on her face.

"If you think disguising yourself as a light changeling is going to make me let my guard down, you can think again!"

"N-no, I'm not-"

"GET AWAY FROM MR. ANON!!!"

Chrysalis winces as she stays still for just a moment. She ponders everything, from the weeks and months that led to this very moment to her argument in your bedroom with Ocellus. She thinks to her run-in with Ocellus yesterday, and she thinks to the conversation she just had with you. Finally, she closes her eyes as more tears begin to fall from them.

"Please..."

"W-what?"

Chrysalis looks Ocellus dead in the eyes, no longer hiding her exhausted, crying face.

"Please help him!"

Trust

Consciousness slowly begins to return to you. It takes a great deal of effort to get your eyes open, but you start to regain your vision nonetheless. As your senses gradually return to you, you notice several things.

First and foremost, there is a great deal of stiffness to your body. While you aren't feeling the intense pain that you recall from the last time you were conscious, you definitely still feel as if moving would be a bad idea. As vision returns to you, you realize that you're looking up at a ceiling. Not a stone ceiling like last time, but a clean white ceiling with several lights embedded into it. There is a quiet hum coming from the lights, and the only other sound in the room is a rhythmic beeping sound coming from your right. While you're far from an expert, you're pretty sure that's the sound of one of those heart rate monitor things they have in hospitals.

That realization, along with your senses almost completely returning to you, allows you to finally realize that you are, in fact, in a hospital. Still not brave enough to move your body, you tilt your head to get a better view of the situation around you.

You're currently in a surprisingly comfortable hospital bed, though there are no sheets covering you. Chrysalis's crude vine wrappings have been removed, and in their place are clean, properly applied bandages. The intense pain that had been coming from your chest has mostly subsided. Well, there is pain, and quite a bit of it, but it no longer feels as though you're bleeding out. A few other bits and bobs are strapped to your body, but you don't know nearly enough about medical stuff to be able to identify any of it. Glancing at the rest of the room, you realize that it's fairly plain. You're pretty sure this isn't the ICU, which is probably a good sign. The patterns on the walls seem to be the same as when you visited Dash in the hospital some time back, so this is probably the Ponyville Hospital. Unlike most rooms in this hospital, there isn't a second bed in here. Despite that, you are not alone. Sitting in a chair next to the only window in the room is a stressed-looking Twilight, her nose buried in a book.

You try to say something to grab her attention, but only succeed in letting out several painful coughs. When you do, it causes the pain in your chest to flare up. The pain is bad, but very different from when you were in that cave with Chrysalis. Less... life-threatening, you suppose. Although you didn't get any words out, your coughing fit did succeed in drawing Twilight's attention.

"Anon! You're awake!" Twilight places her book down and hurries to your side, but not before pressing some sort of button on the wall. She looks at you with concern and anxiousness. "How do you feel?"

You give her a playful smile. When you speak, your words are quieter than you intended.

"Never better."

"If you're feeling good enough to joke around like that, you must be fine."

"What's going on? What time is it? What happened? Where's Chryssi?"

"Woah, slow down there. Let's cover one question at a time, shall we?"

"O-okay."

"First of all, if you can't tell, you've been admitted to the Ponyville Hospital. You've been unconscious for a couple of days, and the staff here were starting to get worried."

"A-am I going to be okay?"

"That's... hard to tell. They had to perform some emergency procedures on you. I, uh, hope you're okay that I gave them your consent on your behalf. You weren't really in a position to provide it yourself."

"No no, that's fine, I trust your judgement. But, er, what kind of procedures? And what do you mean it's 'hard to tell?'"

"If it wasn't obvious, they had to patch up the gaping hole in your chest. You're insanely lucky it didn't pierce something vital. The harder part was the blood transfusion. Apparently you had mere minutes of life left when you got here. As for your second question, it's hard to tell because you're the only human in Equestria. It's a good thing you allowed yourself to undergo some basic examinations when you arrived in Equestria a few years ago, because otherwise the doctors here would have had literally nothing to go off of. Even still, they're pony doctors, not human ones. So, while they're pretty sure you're going to be okay, they can't be positive. They did their best to just treat you like a really tall pony and went from there. Otherwise, they wouldn't have had enough time to save you."

"If I don't get the chance, let them know they have my thanks. I can't imagine being a doctor and seeing an alien get carted in."

"The fact that you woke up is a really good sign. I paged the front desk to let them know you're awake, so a nurse will probably be coming in to check on you soon."

"I guess that's good. While I have you, can you tell me what happened after I passed out? Last I checked, Chryssi and I were in a cave somewhere. I asked her to trust you and to bring me here, but I lost consciousness before she could actually do anything. Can I assume that's what happened?"

"Well... not exactly."

"Hm?"

Twilight looks at you with guilt before closing her eyes and letting out a sigh.

"A lot happened in a short span of time."

Ocellus stares at Chrysalis, confusion and anger both visible in her eyes. After a moment of saying nothing, she takes a few steps backwards out of the cave. She bends her knees and concentrates for a moment. As she does, a slight glow begins to emanate from her horn. After a couple of seconds, she whips her head backwards. At the same time, a beam of magic shoots from her horn into the night sky. After the magic is launched into the air, she looks back down at Chrysalis, panting as though the spell she just cast took a lot out of her.

"What was that?"

"A signal. Half of Ponyville is in the forest right now looking for the two of you. I know I'm not strong enough to take you down by myself, but they are."

"Take me-? Look, I don't care what you do to me! I'll turn myself in if it means getting Anon to a hospital!"

"Then why did you bring him all the way out here in the first place?!"

"I... that's..."

Chrysalis's stuttering is interrupted when Rainbow Dash and a few of her Wonderbolt compatriots suddenly appear in the mouth of the cave.

"Ocellus! What's going on?!"

"They're both in here! I don't know what she's planning, but Mr. Anon doesn't look good!"

Rainbow Dash turns to Chrysalis, fury obvious on her face.

"This time, I'm not gonna let you get away!"

Rainbow Dash flies directly at Chrysalis, swinging one of her back legs as she does so. At first, Chrysalis flinches instinctively, but in that brief second before Dash makes contact, she stops herself. As such, Dash swings her leg into Chrysalis, slamming into her and sending her flying several feet back into the wall behind her. She narrowly avoids hitting her head, but her back takes a heavy blow. She slumps to the ground, still perfectly conscious and not injured all that badly. She stares at Rainbow Dash, but says nothing.

"What, not gonna fight back?!"

"...No."

"That's right, you're... wait, what?"

"Anon doesn't have much longer. Stop wasting your time on me and help him!"

"Wait, but-"

"HE SAID YOU'D HELP HIM! HE SAID HE TRUSTED YOU!"

"..."

Rainbow Dash ponders for a second before letting out a grunt and facing her two fellow Wonderbolts.

"Carry him to the hospital! Be gentle, but go as fast as you can otherwise!"

The two mares nod and help Dash pick up your limp body. They do their best to support your weight as they fly off with you into the night sky. Just as they do so, Twilight and Applejack appear at the mouth of the cave alongside Ocellus. Ocellus turns to look at them, the anger on her face having been replaced with sheer confusion.

"Ocellus! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but..."

She turns to look into the cave, where Chrysalis is still seated on the floor. Her nose is a bit bloody, and she lifts a hoof to wipe at it, but makes no other movements as she silently glares at the trio. Twilight looks at Chrysalis, her face quickly going from angry to concerned as she takes note of the strangely familiar light changeling.

"Chrysalis? Why do you look like that?"

"None of your business." Chrysalis glares at Twilight, her eyes glowing slightly in the darkness. "Are you going to be able to help him or not?"

"I... I couldn't say. The doctors are going to have to take a look at him."

Chrysalis slowly rises from the ground, her voice becoming slightly more aggressive.

"So you don't know?!"

"I know that regardless of whatever may come to pass, he's in good hooves."

"..." Chrysalis looks a bit to the side for just a moment before locking eyes with Twilight once more. "If it means getting him the help he needs, you can do whatever you want with me. But let me make this clear, Twilight Sparkle." Chrysalis takes a few steps forward, puffing out her chest and flaring her glittering wings in an attempt to look intimidating. While her light changeling form isn't nearly as imposing as her dark changeling one, it still gets the job done as Twilight takes a fearful step back. "If I learn that Anon's trust was misplaced and you CAN'T help him, I will burn Equestria to the ground. Am I clear about that?"

Twilight struggles to respond as she takes a few more steps away from Chrysalis, causing Applejack to speak up for her.

"And what makes ya think we wouldn't stop ya again?"

"If I don't have to worry about ruling over the land once I've conquered it, then I have no obligation to hold back on anything." Applejack doesn't back down, but she also doesn't respond. "Besides, I wasn't the one who shot him."

Twilight finally responds, but her voice is shaky and quiet.

"I... I didn't mean to..."

Chrysalis looks down at her, finally lowering herself a bit more and dropping the "intimidating" presence she was going for.

"...Even after you put a hole in his chest, he told me he trusts you."

"Huh?"

"Don't let his trust be misplaced."

"..."

Chrysalis takes a couple of steps around Twilight towards Applejack and Ocellus. Neither cower away from her. In fact, Ocellus makes an attempt to spread out her wings and puff up her chest much like Chrysalis just did to Twilight.

"Stop right there! I thought you said you'd turn yourself in!"

"I'm not going anywhere, runt." Chrysalis and Ocellus lock eyes for a few seconds, both glaring at the other with a silent fury. To Ocellus's surprise, Chrysalis looks away first. Her features soften, and she takes a moment to contemplate quietly before speaking up again. "...T-thank you for the medicine."

"What?"

"And..." Chrysalis takes a very deep breath. "I'm sorry. For everything."

"You... are?"

"Don't expect me to say it again."

"Well... I mean, I'm happy to hear that, but what made you change your mind?"

"What, indeed..."

"After that, we met up with a few members of the Royal Guard, who escorted all four of us back to Ponyville."

At this point, a nurse enters the room and asks you a few questions regarding your state. She runs a couple of tests, and a few minutes later she leaves you and Twilight alone once more.

"Wait, so where is she?"

"Once we were safely back in town, I tried to explain what had happened to the Royal Guards. I had every intention of turning myself in as the one who hurt you."

"What?! N-no, that was an accident! I don't want anyone to get in trouble over me!"

"That's... not exactly in the cards anymore, Anon."

"Why not?"

"The public already hated the fact that you were housing Chrysalis. After she ran off with your injured body, everypony just assumed she was responsible. About half of the town joined in on the manhunt. To be honest, she's lucky that it was Ocellus that found her. A-anyway, after all of that, the public is going to demand justice, and they're practically foaming at the mouth to get rid of Chrysalis."

"But like you said, you're the one that shot me."

"Right, but... once I tried to tell the guards what happened, Chrysalis interrupted me. She claimed that it was all her. She instigated the fight, she shot you, and she ran off with you, only turning herself in when she 'realized she couldn't win.' I tried to explain that she was lying, but the guards ate her story up and immediately put her in some anti-magic cuffs. She's currently being held at the detention center."

"B-but why would she say that?! That's not true at all!"

"I know that. So do Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Ocellus, but the general public doesn't."

"..."

You can't think of a response. It's a lot to process at once. You can understand why she would turn herself in for running off with you, but why would she admit to things that she didn't do? What's going to happen to her?

The silence is broken by Twilight letting out a nervous sigh.

"This might sound crazy, but... if I had to guess, I would say that she was trying to protect me."

"Protect you?"

"Why else would she say she was the one who shot you? I know she hates me. But I can't think of any other motive behind her actions."

"...That would be because of me, I think."

"What?"

"She knows how close we are. She knows how much I care about all of you. I think... I think she's a bit jealous of that."

"Jealous?"

"She knows how much I trust you all. I mean, I asked her myself to hand me over to you guys so that you could take me to the hospital. She probably doesn't want to upset me by letting you get in trouble for something that she blames herself for."

"I... hmm." Twilight looks away from you, unable to look you in the eyes as she continues the conversation. "By the by, I haven't gotten a chance to apologize. I-I'm so, so sorry, Anon. I don't know what came over me, but there is no excuse for what I did to you!"

"Sure there is. You're just like Ocellus."

"Huh?"

"You're traumatized, Twilight. Chrysalis has done a lot of awful things to you. She tried to brainwash your brother and hijack his wedding. She tried to make you her servant and betray your friends. She kidnapped you in your sleep and tried to replace you. Heck, it wasn't that long ago that she used Grogar's magic to destroy half of Canterlot. I would be more surprised if you didn't act the way you did when you started hearing those rumors. The fact that you assumed she was going to do something to you after she egged you on isn't exactly a surprising response considering what she's put you through."

"That doesn't justify my actions."

"I forgive you, Twilight."

Twilight finally looks back at you, shock and pain evident on her face.

"What?"

"I said I forgive you. Now all you have to do is forgive yourself."

"I... Anon, it's not that easy."

You give her a goofy smile.

"Why not? I'm alive, aren't I? I don't blame you for what happened, so it's just water under the bridge!"

Twilight is quiet for a moment before she begins to chuckle.

"Anon, I swear, you have the heart of a saint. Fluttershy really rubbed off on you, didn't she?"

"You all did, Twi." You both chuckle. It hurts your chest a little bit when you do that. "Now, then. We have some serious business to take care of."

"W-we do? What is that?"

"We have to save Chryssi, duh."

"..." Twilight is silent for a moment before she nods and looks at you with determination. "I agree. I could easily grant her a pardon, especially with your support, but unless we can do something about her public image, it's going to be really hard to get you two back to your lives."

"Would you believe me if I said I already have a plan for that?"

"I would, but I would have several questions."

"And I have several answers. For now, please make sure Chrysalis is let go. She has a key to my house, she'll be safe there. After that, tell Pinkie Pie that we're changing our plan a little bit, and that she needs to come see me. Also, come with her when she does."

"I have so many questions, but alright, if you say so."

"Thanks Twi, you're the best!"

Twilight gives you a quick, careful hug before trotting out of your room, leaving you alone once more. To be honest, you have no idea if this plan is going to work, but you do know one thing.

You promised Chrysalis you wouldn't let anypony hurt her, and so long as you're still alive and conscious, you intend to keep that promise.

The King of Liars

You smile to yourself as you look at the environment around you. It's been a week since you were admitted to the hospital, and today, you were finally released. Your chest is still bandaged up, but you can easily cover it with a shirt now. Aside from some basic physical therapy every couple of days and some liberal use of pain meds, you're holding up just fine. And now, to celebrate that fact, you find yourself with a cup in your hand just outside of the Ponyville Town Hall. This location is often used as a gathering space, and right now, it's decorated with all kinds of tables, balloons, confetti, and everything else Pinkie Pie deemed necessary for your "Congratulations on Getting Out of the Hospital" party. Not exactly the sort of thing you'd normally expect after being released from the hospital, but hey, Pinkie is a party animal.

The turnout is incredible as well. Pinkie invited the entire town, both because she knows literally everypony and because the hunt for you and Chrysalis has been the talk of the town since the night it happened. And because no one in their right mind would miss a Pinkie Pie party, there are a lot of ponies present.

You happily greet everyone that approaches. You notice less hostility from these ponies than you've gotten used to since taking Chrysalis in. You suppose that's probably because they all see you as a victim now, which is... less than ideal. None of them know the whole truth behind that accident.

You scan the crowd for individuals you're more familiar with. To the surprise of no one, Twilight is here and has been sticking fairly close to you for most of the party. The rest of your close friends are present as well. Applejack and Rainbow Dash both apologized for everything already, and you chewed out Dash for the kick she gave Chryssi along the way. Apart from them, you notice that Ocellus is here, along with some of her classmates from the School of Friendship. Let's see... the Cakes are here, the Apples are here, even Maud and Mudbriar came to say hello in that monotone fashion of theirs. Looking over the sea of faces, you see a few older stallions you don't know, an orange-maned photographer pony, some of Rarity's associates from out of town... yup, that's a lot of ponies. Chrysalis, meanwhile, is apparently nowhere to be seen.

Of course, if she was here, a lot of these ponies would start to panic.

After a little while, Twilight leans towards you in an attempt to whisper something. It's hard to hear her over the sea of voices, but you're able to decipher her words regardless.

"I think it's about time for your little speech."

"Yeah, let's do this."

You take a quick swig of punch before clearing your throat and making your presence known.

"Can I have everycreature's attention?!" After a few seconds, the countless conversations fade into a few hushed whispers, followed by complete silence. "Thank you. I, er, have a few things I'd like to say. First, thank you all for putting this on for me. I'm honestly flattered that you were all so concerned about my health, haha!"

You sheepishly rub the back of your head while a few ponies offer some encouraging words. Pinkie, meanwhile, makes no effort to quiet herself.

"YEAH, YOU ROCK, ANON!!!"

"Thank you, Pinkie! Now then. Since everycreature is here already, there is an important matter we have to discuss." The many smiling faces quickly turn sour. Some look at you with concern while others seem more confused. A few ponies in the crowd look actively angry, apparently already able to discern what you're about to say. "Let's not beat around the bush. I know that there are a lot of rumors going around about Chrysalis and I, both about our general lives since she chose to live here, and about the incident that led to me receiving this wound."

You lift your shirt just enough to reveal your wrapped-up chest beneath. A few ponies scoff, but none break the silence.

"As far as our day-to-day lives are concerned, I ask that you please not spread information you cannot confirm. I understand that Chrysalis has done some terrible things in the past. We have never, and will never, pretend otherwise. But since coming to live with me, Chrysalis has been on her best behavior. I know many of you must be scared. And that's fine! But please, do not spread rumors about us 'threatening others' or 'disturbing the peace.' It's fine if you don't like her, but making up stories about her just to make her look bad? Is that really the type of community we want to foster?"

From the crowd, a middle-aged stallion speaks up. His coat is a dark tan color, and between his large build and black mane, he has quite the imposing figure. When he speaks, his voice is loud and boisterous.

"Hey, what about that changeling girl from the school?! Didn't she attack her?!"

Rather than respond, you simply try to hide a grin as you glance to the side of the crowd where Ocellus is waiting. She begins flapping her small, pink wings to fly a bit above the crowd, allowing everyone present to see and hear her.

"That's not true! We had an argument, but no one attacked anyone!"

"Why are you taking her side? I thought you hated her!"

"To tell you the truth, I don't know that I'll ever see eye-to-eye with her. B-but that doesn't mean she shouldn't have another chance!"

"Another chance?! Hah!" The stallion turns to look at you once more. "She shot you in the chest! She almost killed you! And then, she ran into the Everfree Forest to keep you from getting help!"

Once again, you attempt to hide your smirk as Twilight speaks up next to you. Anyone who wasn't listening before certainly started to after hearing the Princess herself begin to talk.

"That is another misconception. As much as I hate to admit this, it was not Chrysalis who shot Anon that fateful day. It was me." A collective gasp fills the air. "It was an accident, of course, but it was still my fault regardless."

The area is breathless for a moment before the same angry stallion speaks up again.

"Then why did you let her take the fall for you?! Why did she admit to being the one to do it?!"

"I did not 'let her take the fall' for me! Every single one of you, including the Royal Guard, just assumed she was guilty! By the time she said she had done it, she was already being brought to the detention center and the whole darn town started to celebrate catching her! In the meantime, I've been running damage control! I made sure Anon was alright, and yes, I had Chrysalis released from detention!"

There is another gasp, though the following silence is shorter than the last as the stallion continues to heckle those speaking.

"You let her go?! Why?! Even if she didn't shoot Anon, she did run off with him and almost got him killed!"

"W-well, I... that's..."

You place a hand on Twilight's shoulder to get her attention before giving her a gentle smile. After doing so, you turn back to the stallion, ready to speak your own piece.

"You're wrong, sir. She did not almost get me killed."

"Now what in the blazes are you talking about?! Are you forgetting that you're the one who almost died?!"

"I haven't forgotten. In fact, that's the very reason why I can look you in the eyes and say with 100% certainty that Chrysalis isn't the villain you think she is. She wasn't trying to kill me. She was trying to SAVE me!"

Twilight suddenly turns to look at you, her eyes wide. She whispers to you again.

"A-Anon, this wasn't part of the plan!"

You don't respond, choosing instead to keep your eyes locked with the stallion.

"After how you've all been treating her, can you really blame Chrysalis for not trusting you? Respect goes both ways, sir. And you have given none to her."

"N-now, that's not-"

"So, not knowing if she could trust the hospital to help the human who has been the subject of oh-so-many rumors thanks to her, she chose to take matters into her own hooves. She booked it into the Everfree Forest to look for belthax sap, a plant that grows in the Changeling Kingdom." Much like Twilight, Ocellus looks at you from a distance with confused, pleading eyes. This is not what you discussed with her, but also like with Twilight, you don't acknowledge her. "After all, she isn't all that familiar with the flora here in Equestria. So, she looked for a plant she could recognize by scouring the caves of the Everfree Forest that looked similar to those in the Changeling Kingdom. That sap would have been the perfect natural remedy to plug up my wound and stimulate my body to begin the recovery process. Sadly, she couldn't find any, and by the time Ms. Ocellus found us, she had given up hope. Thus, with nowhere else to turn, she finally handed me back over and turned herself in."

"Now that still doesn't make a lick of sense! Why would she turn herself in and say she shot you if it was all a complete lie?"

"Well, she is the 'Queen of Liars.' She didn't want you all to continue associating me with her. I mean, you have been treating me differently since I took her in. She noticed that too, but unlike you all, she actually cared about my well-being."

You glance across the crowd and see many, many guilty faces. You feel a little bit bad yourself, doing this, but...

"So what are you suggesting? That we all just forgive and forget?!"

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting. Unless you would all prefer Princess Twilight here be arrested instead?" You motion to Twilight, who looks extremely nervous and caught off guard. She looks at you with wide eyes, but you simply give her a cocky glance before looking out at the sheepish crowd. "Yeah. That's what I thought. I don't mean to sound rude to you all. I am really, truly thankful for all you've done for me. I just ask that you extend that same kindness to Chrysalis. She means a lot to me, and she isn't the monster you all think she is."

The area is silent for a few seconds until the stallion speaks up one final time, his voice a bit quieter and less aggressive than it was before.

"I dunno, Anon. I just can't imagine myself relaxing with her around."

"Well, did you enjoy the party?"

"Y-yes, of course I did. There's no such thing as a bad Pinkie Pie party."

"Then you've already let yourself relax around her."

You glance at the orange-maned photographer mare standing next to him, who looks back at you in shock. You give her a big smile and a slight nod, as if trying to tell her "it's okay." After a moment's hesitation, the mare takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. Her entire body begins to shimmer before it starts to morph and grow. By the time the process is completed, Chrysalis's white-and-blue light changeling form is revealed for all to see. A third gasp rings out among the crowd, and Chrysalis, who is now exposed and surrounded on all sides, looks just as surprised and uncomfortable as the ponies around her. After a moment, you speak up one last time, an excited grin on your face as you do so.

"Welcome to Ponyville, Chryssi!"

You raise your drink in a toast. After a few seconds, Twilight does the same, followed by Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Ocellus. Eventually, the whole crowd joins you. Against all odds, smiles return to their faces. A quick glance to everyone's favorite local DJ is all that's needed to get the music going, and the party starts up again with even more energy than before your speech. With a chuckle, you duck away and find a slightly quieter spot to rest for a little while. Twilight, Ocellus, and Chrysalis all follow you.

The four of you convene around the back of the Town Hall, where there are way fewer ponies to deal with. Twilight is the first to confront you, her voice both confused and angry.

"What was that?! I thought you said we were going to tell them the truth!"

"We did! At first."

"What do you mean, 'at first?!' That whole story about Chrysalis trying to get you belthax sap was a complete lie!"

Chrysalis joins in, and although she sounds just as confused as Twilight, she doesn't sound nearly as angry.

"As much as I hate to agree with this pitiful mare, she's right. I know darn well that belthax sap doesn't grow in the Everfree Forest!"

Even Ocellus joins in on grilling you.

"Belthax sap doesn't even have those properties! It can treat lovesickness, but it can't do much more than that!"

"Ladies, please! This was all part of the plan!"

Twilight sounds even angrier now.

"The plan?! You call letting yourself get jostled by a heckler part of the plan?! I mean, I figured somepony would say something, that's why Ocellus and I were prepared to speak up if need be, but you just-!"

Twilight is cut off by a figure approaching your little group. It's the same stallion from earlier, though unlike a few short minutes ago, he's beaming from ear to ear.

"Well, Anon? How did I do?"

"You were incredible, Mr. Tale! Thank you so much for doing this."

"Anything for an old friend. Well, now that that's settled, I should probably be gettin' back home before somepony sees us together, hehe. Have a good evening, you four!"

"See ya, Mr. Tale!"

With a wave, the stallion walks away from the party, leaving Twilight, Ocellus, and Chrysalis in utter shock. Chryssi breaks the silence first.

"You... you planned that? You planted a heckler in the crowd to argue with?"

"Sure did. Had to make sure he made the right arguments so that I could make my points. Pretty genius, huh?"

To your surprise, Chrysalis blushes a little bit. It's much easier to notice when she's a light changeling than when she's a dark one.

"Frankly, yes, it was. I mean, lying to and deceiving others has always been my strongest talent, but I didn't think you had something like that in you!"

"What can I say? The 'Queen of Liars' needs a King of Liars, doesn't she?"

Chrysalis's eyes go wide and she looks away from you, her cheeks growing slightly redder. Ocellus, meanwhile, scoffs at you.

"Look, I'm glad it all turned out, but I really don't agree with your methods."

"Hey, I'm already in trouble with Sunburst as it is, but for what it's worth, you should do as I say and not as I do. I'm definitely not encouraging you to replicate my behavior today."

When Twilight speaks again, she sounds less angry than before, but still extremely annoyed.

"I just don't know why you felt the need to go about it this way."

"Sorry for disappointing ya, Twi. I was just so... so tired of all the rumors and lies going around about Chrysalis. It was like they wanted everything they believed about her to be true so badly that they just... assumed it all was. How do you change the minds of ponies like that?"

Twilight looks away from you, a sheepish look on her face as she does. You let out a gentle sigh. Twilight was doing the same thing, after all. It's a part of what got you shot, alongside Chrysalis's pride.

"Just... don't do that again, okay?"

"I promise. And... I'm sorry for lying. Both to the crowd, and to you. I knew that you would object to my real plan if I told you about it."

Twilight sighs.

"Yeah, I would have. Let's just... call us even and drop it, alright?"

"You have a deal. Can't say I'm looking forward to apologizing to Applejack, though."

Ocellus laughs.

"Ms. Applejack is the element of honesty, Mr. Anon. She's gonna eat you alive."

"Yeah, she probably is." You shrug. "Oh well. For now, we've got a party to enjoy."

With a nod and a chuckle, Twilight and Ocellus make their way back towards the party to rejoin their friends.

You nudge Chrysalis on the shoulder and point to the large banner that previously read "Congratulations on Getting Out of the Hospital," which now reads "Congratulations on Getting Out of the Hospital! Also, Welcome to Ponyville, Chrysalis!"

She looks at you with bewilderment and amusement.

"How did you get that made so fast?"

"Pinkie was the only one who knew about the whole plan. Besides, remember our visit to Sugarcube Corner? Well, while you were outside, I was talking to her about setting up a party like this. Just, you know, without the hospital part. It was supposed to just be a normal surprise party. I wanted you to feel more welcome here in Ponyville. Sorry you have to share the spotlight with me."

Chrysalis looks at the crowd for a moment before glancing back at you, a tired smile on her face.

"I don't really think this is my type of environment anyway. But... I appreciate the thought."

You give her a smile before you offer her your hand. She scowls and looks away, but you notice her cheeks reddening as she does so. Lo and behold, even though she's not looking at you, she places her hoof in your hand. With a chuckle, you walk with her back into the thick of the party, ready to enjoy the first real evening of your new life together in Ponyville.

Run Without Debugging

You and Chrysalis sigh simultaneously as you close your front door behind you. You both force yourselves to take a few tired steps into the living room before collapsing onto opposite ends of the sofa. That party was wild, and it lasted hours. You're absolutely exhausted, and you can only imagine how Chryssi must feel.

You both lean your heads back and close your eyes as you relish in the sweet, sweet silence of your dimly lit living room. Considering that you went straight from the hospital to your party and that you didn't actually consult Chrysalis prior to her arrival at said party, it has been some time since the two of you have been alone like this.

"Anon?"

"Yeah, Chryssi?"

"How did you know I was going to show up to the party? And how did you see through my disguise?"

"I figured you would show up because you would want to know how I was doing health-wise, especially after everything we went through after I got shot. As for your shapeshifting, I've picked up a few things since you moved in."

"Like what?"

"Have you ever heard the phrase 'the eyes are the window to the soul?' I've picked up a few of your mannerisms. You can make yourself look like whatever creature you want, but between those beautiful eyes of yours and your... less-than-normal habits, I'm pretty confident in my ability to pick you out from a crowd."

She scoffs at you.

"If it wasn't for the fact that you literally just did that, I would take that comment as an insult."

"No insults here! Your shapeshifting is incredible! I just... know you really well, that's all."

"Hmph. You're the first creature to ever say something like that."

"Should I be flattered or concerned?"

"You should shut up before I make it look like you shapeshifted your face."

The room is silent for a moment before you both start to laugh. It's still jarring hearing Chryssi's genuine laugh, but it's a treat every time it happens.

"While we're putting everything out there, I do have a confession to make."

"Oh?"

"While you were sick, I may or may not have gone downstairs."

Chrysalis glares at you, though she doesn't appear quite as angry as you were expecting.

"And? Were you disappointed?"

"I was mostly just confused. I mean, in hindsight, I get why you were reading up on the differences between dark and light changelings, but I really didn't understand your notes. I also didn't get why you stole that picture."

"Oh. You found all of that."

"S-sorry, I just... couldn't help myself."

Chrysalis sighs.

"It's fine. I was lying to you about my light changeling form for a long time. Now, we're even."

"If it's not too much to ask, why did you steal that picture? And what were those notes?"

"They were both... practice."

"Practice?"

"I was using the picture as a guide to help me practice my shapeshifting. As you know, it's much more preferable for me to take love from somecreature who actually loves 'me.' I was hoping that I could take the form of..."

"Yeah?"

She sighs again. She hesitates a little before she speaks, and her cheeks grow a bit flushed.

"I was trying to invent someone new. At first, I thought I'd come up with the most beautiful mare in the world, until I realized that you'd probably prefer a human woman. That, uh, didn't go very well."

"Chryssi, you didn't have to-"

"Don't say it. I know. I dropped that whole thing once you started telling me you love me or whatever. I'm pretty good at knowing when I'm being lied to, and yet I still found those words hard to believe."

"Chryssi..."

"But, your love doesn't lie. You meant every word. So... I stopped trying to be someone I'm not."

"...And the notes?"

She lightly chuckles.

"Care to take a guess?"

"Hm..." You actually did have a guess in mind, you just wanted her to confirm it. Still, she's challenging you now, so let's see if you were off the mark. "Light changelings can have a hard time changing their form depending on their mental state. When you turned into one, you were finding it hard to keep yourself shapeshifted for long periods of time, so you were practicing staying in a different form for as long as you could?"

"That's... exactly right, actually. I needed that practice, too. Without it, I wouldn't have been able to convince you that I was still a dark changeling for as long as I did. Luckily for me, all I need is a couple of seconds to breathe in this form and I'm good to go again. I just had to get you to look the other way for a bit when my time was running short."

"You really did go through a lot of trouble to convince me you weren't a light changeling, huh?"

"W-we've already discussed this, and I would rather not dwell on it."

"Okay, if you say so. Though, if you would, I do still have one more question about that."

"Hm?"

"You never gave me a solid answer before. Do you WANT to be a light changeling?"

"..." Chrysalis is silent for a few seconds, apparently seriously considering your question. After a little while, she shakes her head and looks you in the eyes. "To be completely honest, no. I..." Her cheeks grow even redder, and she hesitates again before continuing her thought. "I feel like this isn't me. Look, I plan to be on my 'best behavior' from now on or whatever, but 'Queen Chrysalis' is who I've always been. Heh, how ironic that after a life of shapeshifting, it's my 'real' body that feels like a lie."

"Then why don't you just permanently shapeshift back into your old body?"

"Hm?"

"I thought some of the strongest changelings could shapeshift indefinitely. Seeing as you're the strongest changeling, I can't imagine that would be an issue for you."

"Were you even listening when we discussed my notes? Since becoming a light changeling, it's like I've had to re-learn how to shapeshift. I have no idea why, either. It seems like the rest of the hive never had this problem, but there is no way I'm asking them for advice."

"You sure it's not still your mental state?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I'm no changeling, but isn't it typically the case that your body prefers to shapeshift into something indicative of your mental state? Maybe, since you've been so afraid of others knowing that you're a light changeling, your body keeps forcing you to actually look like one."

"That's... surprisingly plausible, actually."

"But we all know now. No one is making fun of you. In fact, after today, I'd say you probably have more supporters than you ever have before."

"Yeah, well, we'll see how long that lasts."

"What I mean is that there's no reason to be afraid anymore. If you want to keep being your dark changeling self... who's stopping you?"

"You don't have a problem with that? I thought you were all about teaching me to be 'kind' or whatever."

"I don't see a rule saying you can't be both."

"..."

Chrysalis looks at you, first with surprise, and then with an uncharacteristically warm smile. She closes her eyes as her body begins to shimmer. Her form begins to morph, the smooth edges on her horn and legs becoming more jagged and filled with holes. Her wings become less fine, and her mane and tail become a bit less silky. Finally, the shimmering stops, leaving behind the familiar form of Chrysalis, ex-queen of the dark changelings. You do note that, despite transforming back, her wings are still much more glittery than when you met her.

"How's this?"

"You look beautiful, Chryssi."

"..."

Without another word, she shoots across the sofa in one bound, catching you completely off guard. She wraps herself around you (carefully avoiding your chest wound) and wordlessly looks you in the eyes. It's an expression you've never seen from her, but before you can think too much about it, she closes the gap between you and locks her lips with yours.

For a moment, your mind goes blank. Is this really happening? You look at her in shock as you feel her breath against your face. Yeah, this is really happening. Her face is red as a beet and her eyes are shut tight. Smiling to yourself without ever breaking the kiss, you wrap your arms around her and pull her in closer, relishing the feeling of having her here in your arms.

It's in this moment that you finally know, without a shadow of a doubt, that everything is going to be okay.

You wake up to the sound of voices outside your room and the feeling of a weight on your chest. You crack your eyes open and glance at a nearby clock. It's 7:00 A.M. on a Saturday. Ugh. You look down at your chest, recalling that time Twilight shot you several years ago. You smile to yourself as you recognize where the weight is coming from. Resting her head on your left pec is Chrysalis, an almost imperceptible snore escaping her nose as she continues snoozing away. Her long, messy mane is draped over the rest of your chest, her hole-filled horn is resting against the side of your neck, and one of her legs is lazily strewn over the top of you. With a chuckle, you gently stroke her mane behind her ear and watch as her eyes slowly open to look at you. She smiles at you until she hears the voices outside escalate in volume.

"Good morning, Chryssi."

"It's a bit early to be that great of a morning."

"It's always a good morning when I wake up next to you."

She rolls her eyes and smiles.

"How many times are you gonna use that line?"

"As many times as it remains true. So... you'd better get used to it."

"I already am, Nonny."

With a stretch, she slowly lifts herself off of you, a groan escaping her mouth as she does so. You follow suit and slowly crawl out of bed before getting dressed.

"Why are they up so early today? It's a weekend."

"School of Friendship field trip. They're going to 'learn what a typical day is like for the animals over at the Sweet Feather Sanctuary.'"

"Let's hope this doesn't end as poorly as their trip to the Canterlot Castle gardens."

"What can I say? I taught them well."

"Really? You taught them to argue with their teachers when they start discussing the Tirek and Cozy Glow 'statue?'"

"It's not my fault they want to stick up for their mother, hmhm."

"Maybe they should just settle for knowing that their mother was a part of history."

You open your bedroom door and Chrysalis follows you out. Making your way down the hall and towards the kitchen, you see five young light changelings arguing over a couple of bowls of cereal.

"Alright, what's all this about?"

The largest of the children, a green changeling with bright blue eyes, looks up at you in annoyance.

"Tarsus ate the last of the Duke Chocula!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

With a single stomp of her hoof, Chrysalis gets all five of the rowdy children to fall silent and give her their utmost attention.

"Have you all eaten?"

"Y-yes, but-"

"Are you packed?"

"Gena isn't!"

The second youngest of the changelings, a light-pink girl with a thin stature, looks up at Chrysalis with guilt in her eyes.

"I can't find my bag!"

Chrysalis rolls her eyes as her horn glows green. After a second, a small saddlebag floats around the corner you just came from and lands in front of Gena.

"You need to stop leaving it on the bathroom counter, it's unsanitary."

"Th-thank you, mom!"

You glance at a nearby clock, which reads "7:45."

"You kids had better get going if you don't want to be late."

The five changeling children all follow your gaze and look at the clock before collectively gasping. The kitchen suddenly becomes a whirlwind of movement as bowls are tossed in the sink and saddlebags are thrown over torsos. One by one, the children each give Chrysalis a hug before booking it out the door. After the last one makes it outside, you shut the door behind them, finally giving you and your wife a moment to breathe.

"How are you so good at this?"

"Running a hive for hundreds of years will do that to you."

"Apparently. Sheesh."

With a smile, Chrysalis walks up to you and gives you a peck on the cheek.

"You're not doing too bad, yourself." She chuckles and makes her way towards the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with Thorax and the rest of the Changeling Board in about an hour."

"I still can't believe he asked you to be one of his advisors. Or that the kingdom was okay with it."

Chrysalis shrugs.

"I've said from the beginning that a kingdom cannot be run on kindness alone. There are a lot of logistics that need to be ironed out to feed a populace, even if they're supposedly 'self-sustaining.' They simply got their wits about them and finally realized that my experience is good for something."

"So long as they aren't mistreating you over there."

"Oh, please. I may not be the queen anymore, but I am still the strongest changeling there. You don't need to worry about me."

"Heh, ain't that the truth." You take a few steps forward and give Chrysalis a smooch. "Have a nice day, Chryssi. Love you!"

"Love you too, Nonny."

With that, she finally turns around and leaves your Ponyville home. Now alone, you sigh to yourself and make your way into the living room which is, unsurprisingly, a complete mess thanks to those rowdy kids of yours. You need to be getting to work too, but you'd best clean up before doing so. For the next few minutes, you find yourself picking junk up off of the floor and putting all manners of cushions back where they belong on the furniture. Just as you're finishing up, you notice what looks like a small piece of paper in the corner.

Picking it up, you recognize it. It's the old photograph of you and your Ponyville friends that Chrysalis swiped and hid downstairs all those years ago. With a chuckle you flip it over. Sure enough, the faint outline of her old sketches are still barely visible. You smile as you look towards the wall, where the old collage of photographs still rests upon the wall. You place the photo where it belongs, now surrounded by pictures of not just you and your pony friends, but also dozens of photos of Chrysalis and your children.

It's been a long and difficult road to get here. And yet, you can say with utmost certainty that it was undoubtedly worth it. It doesn't matter how many obstacles you may face in your life. It doesn't matter how many mistakes you've made in the past, or how many enemies you've accumulated. Heck, it doesn't even matter who you are, so long as you know who you want to be. Because in the end, everything is going to be okay.

All it takes is a little bit of love.

Author's Note

And that's that! Thank you so much for reading! I had an absolute blast writing these stories about Chrysalis, and I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them!

As always, I appreciate any and all feedback!

EDIT: Now featuring another story that takes place during the time skip! It's called "Gamophobia," and you can click here to check it out!

A Walk Around Town

The following morning, you awoke to find that Chrysalis was no longer in bed with you. You sat up, prepared to find where she may have gone. Looking around, you realized that she was no longer in the bedroom. You chuckled to yourself. She'd probably been dying to get out of that bedroom. You rolled out of bed, and it was at that point that you smelled a distinct burning smell. Throwing yourself out the door, still not fully dressed, you rushed down the hall to locate the source of the smell. You skidded to a stop as you reached the kitchen, the sight before you catching you off guard. Standing next to the stove was an aggravated-looking Chrysalis, growling as she looked at a frying pan sitting on the stove.

"Uhh, Chryssi? Are you cooking something?"

"How difficult can it possibly be to fry an egg?!"

You peered over her shoulder, immediately noticing the charred, coal-like lump of what might have once been an egg in the pan. So that's where the smell came from. With a sheepish smile, you reached past her and turned the stove off, causing her to glare at you.

"I, uh, I think that egg is done for, Chryssi."

She growls under her breath.

"So it would seem."

You opened a nearby window in an attempt to air out the kitchen.

"I see you're feeling better. Can I assume that has something to do with why you're trying to make food? Last I checked, you neither wanted nor needed to eat."

"As far as my health is concerned, I feel like I could conquer Equestria if I so chose. And you are correct, I have no interest in feeding on anything other than your love. This was... supposed to be for you."

She glanced away, apparently avoiding eye contact with you.

"W-wait, you were trying to make breakfast for me?"

"Do not misunderstand! As my subject, you performed well in acquiring the means through which I could recover. Let it not be said that I do not care for my underlings."

There are many changelings who would disagree with that. It doesn't help that you sort of lied about the medicine, but telling her that would probably be a bad idea.

"Th-thanks, Chryssi. I appreciate the thought."

"That said, you will not be getting any eggs."

"Not that I'm trying to demand food from you or anything, but I didn't take you to be the kind to stop trying after one failure."

"That was not my first failure."

"Oh?"

"You are out of eggs."

"Oh."

You were pretty sure there was an entire carton in the fridge. She ruined that many eggs?

"What will you be doing today?"

"Hm? Well, it's may day off, so I was going to run some errands."

Chrysalis turned to look at you, her face appearing conflicted for a couple of seconds before she spoke up again.

"I... I will be accompanying you."

"Excuse me?"

"I grow tired of being in this house, but I think it would be bad for both of us if I went out on my own."

"Well, that's probably true. Still, I'm surprised. You haven't left the house since you got here a few months ago."

"Are you suggesting I should stay here?"

"N-no! By all means, feel free to come with me. I'd be happy to have you along! I can finally show you around town! Oh, but we should probably steer clear of the School of Friendship. Probably best to mitigate any chance of running into Ocellus."

"I do not fear that child."

"Perhaps not, but I got in a lot of trouble for letting her speak to you."

"A foolish decision on their part. You did nothing wrong."

"...That's debatable, but thank you. I'm going to get dressed now."

"Very well. I suppose I should brush my hair. A queen must look her best for her grand return."

You silently hoped that that was a joke.

Walking through Ponyville with Chrysalis at your side definitely made for an interesting experience.

As you walked down the dirt paths that weave through the quaint town, pretty much every single passerby reacted negatively to your presence. You were already getting a lot of dirty looks from those you weren't super close with, but now with Chrysalis herself at your side, most ponies actively tried to avoid you. Some darted into nearby buildings or obviously changed course when they saw you. Others tensed up as they passed by you, and others still gave you quite the look as you walked by. You glanced at your changeling companion, but she seemed completely unbothered by the reception she was receiving. If anything, it looked like she found it humorous. As you finished that thought, you took the chance to really look at her properly. It had been a long time since she had gone outside, and despite her "scary" appearance, the sunlight does wonders for her. Her mane, tail, and wings seem to sparkle, and although many would call her disgusting, you can't help but find her beautiful. You smiled, which caught her attention.

"And what are you looking at?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking that you look great today."

She lets out a haughty laugh.

"Yes, I suppose I do! You would do well to keep those complements coming."

"Er... I'm glad... you're such a quiet walker?"

"Okay now you're forcing it."

You laughed, and for the first time ever, you saw her let out a light, genuine laugh of her own. Not a haughty laugh, or a cocky guffaw, or a villainous cackle. She just... laughed. It was kind of jarring hearing that from her voice. It's nice.

The two of you reached the market. You pulled out a list of groceries you needed to pick up and showed it to Chrysalis.

"I will never get used to this. There is no need for any of this when you simply take the love that you need from others."

"By 'this,' are you referring to grocery shopping? I suppose it's not that different from taking love. The only difference is that you agree to pay for the stuff you want, just like how our deal means that I willingly give you my love in return for your... agreeability."

"How woefully inefficient."

"Perhaps on an individual level, but on a societal level, it works out fairly well I think. Better for everyone to mutually agree than for one half of those involved in every transaction to be screwed over every time."

"Survival of the fittest, Anon."

"Survival of the fittest isn't needed anymore, Chryssi. That's why everycreature in Equestria can actually enjoy their lives rather than fight for them every day. That's why you don't have to fight for yours every day anymore, too."

"Hmph. We'll see how long that lasts."

With your conversation concluded, you made your way throughout the market gathering all of the groceries on your list. There were no lines, as anypony waiting in a line would quickly leave once they saw Chrysalis behind them. A double-edged sword, you supposed. The vendors themselves weren't much better, but it's not too hard to just take what you need and place the correct amount of money on the counter that they're hiding under.

With your business in the market concluded, you made your way to your second destination for the day: Sugarcube Corner.

Chrysalis looked unimpressed as you entered the brightly colored building. There weren't many ponies inside, but those that were either shuffled out the door behind you or went silent and stepped out of your way as you walked up to the counter.

"What would you even need from a place like this?"

"Well, it's a bakery/confectionery, so I imagine baked goods and/or confections."

"I do not appreciate the sarcasm. What did you come here to buy?"

"I didn't come here to buy anything. I need to ask Pinkie something."

"Ugh, I have no desire to speak with that mare. And the sickly sweet smell in here is making me nauseous. I'm going to wait outside."

"O-okay, I'll be out in a bit."

About ten minutes later, you walked out of Sugarcube Corner to a worrying sight.

"I don't care whether you go outside or stay in that house. All I'm asking is for you to move out of the way."

"And as I told you already, I am not in your way."

The worst-case scenario had already come to pass. A few feet away from the doorway to Sugarcube Corner was Chrysalis, an annoyed look on her face as she stared down a tense and defensive-looking Ocellus. Ocellus was keeping her distance, as though she was afraid to get too close to either Chrysalis or the building.

"Woah, woah! What's going on out here?"

"Mr. Anon, Chrysalis is preventing me from picking up my order from the Cakes."

Chrysalis turned to look at you with an annoyed expression.

"And as you can see, I am doing no such thing. She can simply walk by me."

You glanced between the two before shuffling closer to Chrysalis, doing your best to whisper to her so that Ocellus couldn't hear you.

"Chryssi, we talked about this. She's terrified of you. It wouldn't kill ya to take a few steps back."

"If she's so terrified of me that she cannot come within five feet of me to get into a bakery, she is the one with a problem, not I. No one makes demands of a queen."

You furrowed your brow and spoke in a slightly more aggressive tone.

"In case you've forgotten, you aren't a queen anymore. You can't keep behaving like this. Let's just walk away from this, okay?"

"Pfft. I was planning to do that anyway."

You turned back to Ocellus, who looked at you with concern and confusion.

"Sorry about that Ocellus, we'll be on our way."

"Thank you, Mr. Anon."

You and Chrysalis began to walk back in the direction of your house. As you did, you could have sworn that you heard Ocellus mumble something behind you.

"And still no apology, I see."

When you returned home, the mood was much less cheery than when you left. Chrysalis immediately headed for the basement. You let out a sigh and started putting the groceries away. All things considered, Chrysalis's first trip into town went pretty well, it just ended poorly. It will take time for her to adjust, but you were still confident that she was capable of it. However, you were less sure if everypony else could adjust to her.

Not long after the groceries were put up, the sun began to set. After taking care of your nightly routine, you headed back to your room and crawled into bed. After sleeping on the couch for two weeks, it felt nice to get to sleep in there again. To your surprise, Chrysalis came in sooner than you expected.

"Oh, hey Chryssi. You're early. I'm not asleep just yet."

"I know that. I..." She took a deep breath. "I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Oh?" You sat up in bed, giving her your utmost attention. "What about?"

"Me. Er, and you."

"Ooooookay. I'm listening."

Chrysalis seemed to fidget for a few seconds, which is extremely out of character for her.

"If I... if you could pick, what would you have me be?"

"Excuse me?"

"I am a changeling. Turning into others is what I'm best at. If I wasn't 'Queen Chrysalis,' what would you want me to be?"

You took a second to process her words before giving her a smile.

"Just... 'Chrysalis.' Just be you."

"Do not lie to me, Anon." That was the first time you ever heard her sound so... insecure. "No one wants Chrysalis. They never have. Even you keep trying to change me. So, tell me: What do you want me to be?"

"...Kind."

"What?"

"I want you to be kind. I love you, Chryssi. I love you for who you are. But the fact of the matter is that your behavior towards others is what's giving you that reputation of yours. I don't mind that you're a dark changeling. I don't mind that you want to be treated like a queen. Heck, I don't even mind that you don't get along with everyone. But I can't protect you forever if you keep trying to be... well, to put it bluntly, evil. You've made a lot of mistakes, Chryssi, and you can't take those back. But you can admit your faults, learn from them, and do your best to make up for your past missteps. Instead, you just keep making excuses and trying to prove yourself right. You keep digging yourself deeper and deeper into that hole you're in. I can throw down a rope, but I can't make you climb it."

"..." She looked away from you, and you could have sworn you saw her eyes starting to get misty. "I'm going to head back downstairs. Goodnight, Anon."

"W-wait, you haven't even fed yet."

"I'm not hungry."

Without another word, she turned around and left the room. You sighed to yourself as you fell back onto your pillow. You really hoped your words got through to her.

The following morning, you awoke not to the smell of a burnt breakfast, but instead to a knock at your door. You quickly got dressed and headed downstairs, where Chrysalis was already waiting.

"Who's here?"

"No idea. I assumed you would answer the door, and look at that! Here you are."

"...That's probably for the best, to be fair."

You opened the front door, allowing the morning sunlight to pour into your home. Standing on the other side of the doorway were three of your closest friends: Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Princess Twilight Sparkle. Each wore an expression that seemed both anxious and frustrated.

You had a bad feeling about that visit.