//------------------------------// // Feel Good Inc. // Story: My Little Dragon // by Metal Pony Fan //------------------------------// Chrysalis paced back and forth in front of the Library's central stone table. Every so often, she would glance up at the dragoness sitting accross from her. She couldn't understand this, a situation that was increasingly prevalent this last week or so. Everything she knew about Rarity's personality was being called into question right now. Hell, her own ability to guage other's emotions was being called into question, and that was a skill that she relied on to keep herself alive! Eventually, the changeling had enough of the pacing, and turned on the dragoness. "Seriously?" It was almost a shout. "How the heck are you not jealous right now? He is eating breakfast with another mare!" "I already knew Spike had a breakfast date." Rarity looked down at the pastry Twilight had given her. It was starting to get cold, but still smelled good. "But it's-" "But nothing!" Chrysalis looked down at her hooves. Was it trust, or was it pride? Was this dragoness so proud of her looks that she feels she has nothing to worry about from another dragon? Chrysalis wasn't sure if she could transform into a bipedal creature, it was never necessary until now. But she had to try. Flames engulfed the changeling as Rarity crossed her claws in front of her. The flames swirled for a moment longer than usual, and the dragoness took that opportunity to take a bite of her pastry. She looked down in surprise just as the flames faded. A lithe young dragon stood where the changeling once did. A pink, furry crest ran from her head, down her back, all the way to her long, whip-like tail, which terminated in a small floof of fur. Her smooth scales where white, with just the faintest hint of colorful shimmer when the light hit them a certain way. And she was frowning at Rarity. Rarity glanced up. "Is that what she looks like? She's quite pretty." She lifted her pastry. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm trying to enjoy whatever this is." Chrysalis looked down at her legs, counting the joints and noting their positions. "All right," she muttered to herself, "you can do this." She wobbled over to the table, and slammed her front claws down. "How can you just let him do this and not be upset about it?" Rarity looked up at her like she was crazy, a very real possibility based on how every single one of their interactions ended up with them shouting at each other. "Look," she pointed a claw at the changeling, "I don't know how things work where you're from, but if he wants to eat breakfast with his mother after getting out of the hospital, I am not about to stop him." "Yeah, but..." Chrysalis stopped mid-sentence, mouth hanging open. It took a moment for her to speak again. "His mother?" The click of the library door made both dragon and changeling look over. Spike was letting himself in and wiping his hooves on the mat. He was taking special care to get any trace of dirt off, but looked up when he felt eyes on him. "Oh, hey," he said with a smile, "I thought you were heading over to Sweet Apple Acres." He looked back and forth between the two dragons he saw. "I guess an introduction would be a little late, but, mom, this is Rarity. Rarity, this is my mother." With a sigh, Chrysalis released her transformation. She turned away from the table as the flames faded, and walked away towards the kitchen. "I'm gonna go stick my head in the oven." With a smirk, Rarity called after her, "Let me know if you need any help." A confused pony walked up to the table and took a position opposite the dragoness. "What was that all about?" Rarity waved a claw in front of her face. "Nothing darling. She's just being a drama queen, pardon the pun." She saw him about to sit down, and tapped her claw against the table. The flowing purple thread that raced towards him on the stone surface, caught his attention before he could sit down, and a swirl of her claw brought the end of the thread looping back around to her. He shifted his attention to her as the violet light faded. Their eyes met, and lingered there. For a moment, neither moved. She was the first to look away, patting the seat cuhion beside her. It was the first quiet moment they would get to share since the mountain, it shouldn't be spent sitting across from each other. He understood and walked over without a word. He sat beside her, not breaking the silence between them. He watched her glance back, then look away, cheeks flushing as she noticed his scrutiny. He leaned in. Every detail, every scale, even the lingering scent of perfumed shampoo; he wanted to take it in. She slowly started to turn back, keeping her eyes low to avoid the embarassment of meeting his again. "Oy," Chrysalis muttered to herself, "Just bend her over the table and rut her senseless already." She was watching the two from the gap in the kitchen door, frowning as they coyly made eyes with each other . "Or kiss. Or even just hold freakin' hooves already." Twilight excitedly ran over, and ducked under the changeling's hooves to peek through the gap. "Spike and Rarity are kissing?" "Gah!" Chrysalis jumped. The back of her head smacked into a spice cabinet jutting from the wall. "Buck!" She ducked down, grabbing her head. She stepped away from the now tilted cabinet, only to slip on a can of baking soda that she had unknowingly dislodged. She fell, and her chin hit the counter, snapping her mouth shut and impaling her tongue on her fangs. She hit the ground hard and rolled around in agony, clutching her mouth with both hooves. "Aggh!" She gurgled. "Guh-Dammit!" She rolled over, spitting out green blood as the spice cabinet broke loose. It hit the counter, and all dozen or so glass jars within spilled out over the changeling before the cabinet itself fell on her. "Yagh!" She reared up with a primal scream, shaking loose the damaged spice cabinet and tossing it to the ground. She pounced on it, smashing away in anger. "What. In. The. Hell," She grunted out between pounding the cabinet into splinters, "is with all the freakin' shoddy construction in these piece of shit houses?!" "What in Typhon's name is going on in there?" Rarity called from the other room. "Nothing!" Chrysalis shouted back. "Go back to snogging fuzzy buns, you pale-scaled floozy! Or better yet get a room!" "Well, I never-" Rarity huffed. "Hmmph! Come on Spike, let's go somewhere where we can talk in peace." "Oh, sure," Chrysalis responded in a big, exaggerated, suggestive tone, "go find a nice, comfortable place to talk. Be careful while you're talking, you might not be walking straight afterwards." Chrysalis chuckled as the the library door opened and claws and hooves scrambled out in embarassment. A smile spread across her face as she imagined the blushes on their faces. That smile disappeared when she looked down. "Um," Twilight sheepishly tapped her claws together, "you used a lot of strange words just now. They didn't sound like I should repeat them." "Can you believe her?" Rarity let out a pointed snort as she and Spike walked away from the library. "The nerve of that thing, especially after I offered her a place to stay!" Spike shook his head. "She's a little different, that's for sure. But consider that she probably comes from an entirely different culture. She probably thinks we're the crazy ones." "Really?" The dragoness asked in a low monotone, giving the pony a level-browed stare. "You're the only weird one here. She's jealous." "Of us?" Spike laughed. "She's been around all of what? A few days? She's latching onto me because I'm the most familiar thing to her. When she realizes she can get along with everydragon else, she'll leave us alone." He looked down, and Rarity saw him press his lips together, debating something left unsaid. "What is it?" she prodded, "is something bothering you?" "I..." Spike shook his head. "I don't know. I'm not worried, exactly, it's just..." He looked over. "Chrysalis obviously came from somewhere else, right? Another dimension, world, universe, whatever you want to call it." He sighed and looked down. "If she made it here, there has to be a way for her to make it back." Rarity nodded. She knew what he was getting at. She had thought of it herself, but the thought must be so much more powerful for him. "A world full of ponies. Would you want to go with her?" Spike stayed quiet. Rarity walked closer to him. With a sigh, she bumped into him, leaning her weight into his side as they walked. "I would support you, whatever you chose." "I don't think I could go." Spike leaned into the dragoness. Neither of them could move away now, else they would both fall. "If you asked me years ago, or even a few weeks ago, I wouldn't hesitate. But, now, too much has happened." "Is that Spike talking? Or Terris?" "There's that," Spike admitted. "I still don't fully understand it, but if I really am Terris, I can't just abandon Draconica." He looked down at Rarity. "But, as Spike, I can't abandon you and Twilight either." With a sigh he added, "besides, from what Chrysalis has said so far, I'm not the same as the ponies from her world. Do you think there might be different kinds of ponies?" "Hmm." Rarity pressed her lips together. "So, a pony-like creature justs happens to come to our world from another, and it just so happens that this other world has ponies, but it just so happens to be wholly unrelated to the only pony in this world? That's quite the stretch, darling." "It doesn't seem like any more of a stretch than anything else that's happened," Spike pointed out. "I'll give you that, darling." Rarity slowed down, forcing Spike to do the same. "So, where are we headed? Or are we merely going for an aimless stroll before returning to the library?" "As nice as a leisurely walk may sound, I think we need to sit down somewhere and have a talk." Spike shook his head. "We haven't really had a chance to lately." She nodded slowly. "You are right about that, dear. Things have been happening so fast, it seems." She pushed away from him, and he wobbled before regaining his balance. "Let's head over to my place, I can think of several things we haven't properly discussed." "Yeah," the pony followed as the dragoness turned down the street. "Three." Twilight crossed her claws in front of her. "No less." Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "Where am I even supposed to find rubies? Much less three a day? One gem a day, of any kind, that's my last offer." Twilight thought it over. She wasn't thinking it over fast enough. Chrysalis was losing her patience. How dare this little reptilian brat force her, queen of the changelings, to haggle like a common shopkeeper? "You know what, forget it. I retract the offer. If you're old enough to understand the concept of blackmail, you're old enough to hear a few swear words." "I thought you might say that." The hatchling produced a small roll of paper, unrolling it and shaking her head. "This is more than a few. And, I don't even know what most of these mean." For a moment, Chrysalis considered burning the paper. Fire wouldn't hurt a dragon, right? Even one as young as this? Twilight started rolling the paper, and saw the changleing staring at it. "I have three copies hidden around the house, and all the words memorized." "You are evil." Chrysalis frowned. "Even that damned pony wasn't as cunning as you." Twilight produced the scroll once again. "There's another one." She scribbled it down with a pencil that was tucked behind her earfin. "It's a variation on a previous one, but I'll add it anyway." The changeling queen sighed in defeat. This was the second time Twilight Sparkle had bested her, and she was not sure which loss stung more. At least the pony one had been the personal apprentice to a demi-goddess. "How about two gems a day, and I'll give you a ride to the bakery once a week?" Twilight tapped her pencil against the tip of her snout. "Make it twice a week, and you have a deal." "Fine," Chrysalis huffed, "monster." Twilight merely shrugged. "I'm not the one with the potty mouth."