//------------------------------// // Racial Identity // Story: Dissolving Assets // by Earl Grey //------------------------------// “I'm not sure about you, but if I saw the Changeling Queen walking into Ponyville, I'd probably be a little scared.” It had been a slow two hours of walking. Even though she had managed to heal herself, it didn't stop Chrysalis from being thirsty. It also didn't stop her from complaining about it. “So if I were you, I'd probably put up a disguise of some kind. The Appleloosan ponies are a friendly bunch but even they would be loathe to give aid to a known enemy.” “What madness would make anyone set up a home in this dump? It's too hot, it's too dry and the ground is hard and probably barren.” Chrysalis kicked at the ground a few times to prove her point. “There is an orchard somewhere nearby and the town grew around the original farm. The standard of living isn't as good as other areas of Equestria, but they have a train station to bring in whatever supplies they might need from other towns. Ponyville actually has a standing trade agreement with the town.” The Mayor readjusted her glasses. The afternoon sun had been beating down on them mercilessly and her sweaty muzzle had allowed her spectacles to drift perilously close to the end of her nose. “It's not even a lonely, out of the way place either, they get plenty of traffic every day. It's just a little warm and dry, really.” “I suppose you've made your point, but I still don't like this heat.” Chrysalis' hair, which was lank and straight anyway, seemed especially so. Some parts were even shiny with sweat. The Mayor fixed her with a fierce glare. “Don't make me tell you again. Just do your changeling thing so we don't get immediately kicked out of town.” Chrysalis scoffed. “A long term, full transformation, without the bonus of absorbing love energy? I may be powerful but I am not omnipotent.” “Full transformation?” “A full transformation is a skill used when a changeling wants to feed off of love energy with the highest chance of success. It alters the look of the changeling, but also the sound, the smell, the feel and even the taste, in order to better match the target. As you can imagine however, keeping up the act for a long period of time is draining, which is why it should only be used when gathering love energy, as the losses can be compensated for.” Chrysalis paused for a moment but suddenly put on a wicked grin. “Ooh, maybe I should transform into that farm pony again.” Despite her best efforts, the Mayor couldn't help but blush furiously. “Applejack has a lot of relatives in Appleloosa, I don't want you risking it.” “If I can fool the captain of Celestia's precious Royal Guard, I'm sure a few farmers won't be any problem, my dear.” She laughed as if those particular memories, and not the ones that followed, made her especially happy. “I don't care how good at acting you think you are, I'll be well-known enough without a relative of the town founders walking around as well.” “Fine.” Chrysalis sighed heavily. “I suppose a partial transformation won't weigh on me too badly.” There was an increasingly familiar flash of green light and the Mayor looked over and almost thought that the changeling queen hadn't done anything at all. The thing stood there still had the usual dark colouring with the same blue-green hair, but it was slightly smaller, a little thicker and had far less holes. “I'm a pony. Neigh, etcetera.” She said in a deadpan. The Mayor looked unconvinced. “You still look the same, just more pony. You sound the same as well.” “You don't expect me to use up too much energy do you? What if we're suddenly attacked and I don't have any way of protecting you?” “I doubt we'll be attacked in Appleloosa. As I said, it's a friendly town.” The Mayor turned her nose north, towards the glimmer of civilisation on the horizon. “Now let's go, we're almost home safe.” Chrysalis snorted as loudly as she dared, there was no point in antagonising her new companion. “Famous last words,” she muttered under her breath. – “Y'all sure are lucky. Any longer out there an' it mighta been it.” Both the Mayor and Chrysalis, the latter safely disguised in her pony form, were greedily guzzling as much water as they could reach from their sitting positions. Having the ability to use magic however, Chrysalis could easily grab refills. They had stumbled into town, coats dusty, breath laboured, eyes glassy, but alive. The owner of a local tavern came to investigate the noise from outside and was kind enough to allow them all the water they could drink as well as a nice meal to fill their bellies. Chrysalis seemed intent on complaining about the food, but a fierce glare from her earth pony companion soon stopped that. “O' course, ah'll give y'all free rooms for the night, but know ah can't do anythin' more'n that.” The moustachioed bar owner smiled at them, but there was a sternness in his eyes that told them that he wasn't a stallion who reneged on his word. He quickly warmed however. “Now what might mares like you have fer names?” The Mayor opened her mouth to quickly respond, but was cut off by a loud, high pitched and very obnoxious laugh from her disguised friend. “Why, my fine barkeep, you may call me Chrissy.” She offered a hoof and looked strangely delicate in doing so. The Mayor couldn't help but admire her acting. “My grumpy friend here is called Franziska, Franny for short.” The Mayor glowered. “What are you do--” “Quiet, Franny dear, you don't want to shout in the presence of this very nice stallion who gave us a free room to stay in do you?” The smile on Chrysalis' face could only be described as sadistic. 'Franny' resettled into her seat at the bar and coughed. “Of course, you're right...” The Mayor fought valiantly against her gag reflex to expel these next words, “...Chrissy dear.” Her eye twitched in protest. “In fact, I'm feeling very tired. I might just go and have a lie down, if our lovely barkeep would deign to show me the way.” “You go ahead, darling, I'll catch up later.” Chrysalis fetched herself another glass of water and to the Mayor, it seemed like she was having far too much fun. That couldn't bode well. Having a moment to herself took precedence at the moment though, so she followed the bar owner between a few sets of tables and chairs towards a staircase at the back of the room. About half way up, the staircase left off at a small landing and another small staircase lead upwards again, but back towards the bar and when they arrived at the top, they were on a sort of balcony. She could see all of the ponies in the bar from up here, even Chrysalis, who was waving energetically at her. “Now ma'am, we only got the one room left, so I'm 'fraid y'all will have to do with what ya get.” “Don't worry, your hospitality has been more than generous. We'll be fine as long as we have a roof over our heads.” The bar owner kicked open a door at the end of the balcony and motioned for her to go on in. “Ah'm mighty glad to hear that. Now enjoy yer stay, y'hear.” The Mayor waved him off with a courteous smile and went to inspect her lodgings for the night. At first glance it seemed clean enough, a little small perhaps but there was one glaring error. The room only had one bed. The only other thing in the room that looked remotely comfortable was a small armchair tucked away in the corner an no one could ever get a decent nights rest on something like that. The Mayor felt a lump in her throat and was compelled to swallow it, it was time she did something similar with her pride. “I might as well get some rest, I doubt 'Chrissy' will be up here any time soon. She's enjoying herself far too much.” She climbed under the sheets, which were a bit scratchy, tried to get comfortable on the lumpy mattress and closed her eyes. The sounds of a midday Appleloosa fell away, despite her lacklustre sleeping arrangements, and she soon found the sweet embrace of sleep. Meanwhile, downstairs in the bar, Chrysalis was regaling a few of the patrons with a story from her younger days. She was floating a drink that was most definitely not water around her head as she turned back and forth amongst the crowd. It was as if she wanted to tell a part of the story to each particular pony, not wanting any of them to miss out on a piece of eye contact. The crowd reacted in kind, keeping their eyes fixed firmly on her, gasping and cheering at all of the appropriate times. Chrysalis herself was having a grand old time of it. Respect and admiration weren't as appetising as love, but they tasted sweet all the same. “So who's the mare you were with earlier?” A pale yellow mare sat down in the seat next to her, a red cowboy hat resting on her bright green mane. She was smiling interestedly and there was an amber drink in a small glass in front of her. Chrysalis was about to respond in her current cheery manner, but the question forced her to think a little. 'What is she to me?' She could hardly consider the pony a friend, at least not yet, but she was hardly a stranger. “I suppose you could call her my... employer.” The smile the other pony wore bordered on predatory. It was a smile Chrysalis knew very well, for it was one she used a lot during her 'undercover operations'. It seemed she had managed to hook a fish without really trying. Sadly, she didn't really have any time to see it through any further. “So what kind of work do you do, I see you don't have a cutie mark, so I wouldn't even begin to guess.” Chrysalis took a cursory glance at her rear end. The mare was right, she was blank. She skilfully hid the shock from her face. “I work in protection. Having a visible cutie mark makes you too recognisable, so I take measures to hide it.” She always found the best lies had elements of truth to them. “Now, it pains me to leave such lovely company, but I really must see if she is doing okay.” She got up from her seat and had to suffer an especially adorable pout from the green-maned mare before she turned away. She made her way carefully through the tables and chairs littering the tavern's main floor. She was feeling somewhat light headed, nowhere near drunk but she'd had enough that it was beginning to take its toll on her ability to focus on dodging chairs perfectly. She found the staircase that the Mayor had disappeared up and followed suit, taking the turn and arriving on the upper level. 'Now which room is ours?' There were three doors, all of which were closed. A big part of being a changeling was infiltration and espionage, so Chrysalis felt confident that she could figure this out without having to cause a scene by opening the wrong door. She placed her ear carefully against the first door and faintly heard two voices deep in conversation. She couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but it didn't matter, it couldn't be her room. There was a similar case with the next room, so she confidently opened the door at the end of the balcony. It probably would have just been easier if she had just asked the bartender what room she was in, but she had already made it upstairs before the thought occurred to her. She didn't want to attempt the stairs again in her current state. The door opened without a problem, which was a good sign. When she saw the sleeping form of the Mayor tucked into the bed she smiled, revelling in her victory. “Are you awake?” She asked, keeping her voice down. Upon hearing no response, Chrysalis crept slowly towards the bed and sank into it, her keen eyes could make out every curve of the Mayor's body even under the sheets. Carefully, she ran a hoof down her spine, making sure to keep her touch as light as possible. The Mayor twitched and Chrysalis had to fight with herself not to burst out laughing. She did it again, ruffling the Mayor's coat and making it stick up on end. When she reached her withers, she brushed away the mane, revealing the Mayor's neck. Chrysalis stuck out her tongue, a long pink thing that seemed far too big for her mouth, and dragged it the wrong way along her tan neck. This time, the Mayor's eyes flew open and she would have screamed if she wasn't so horrified as to seemingly lose her voice. In her struggle to extricate herself from the bed, she fell to the floor and landed heavily on her flank. Chrysalis stuck her head over the side of the bed and giggled at the earth pony, who had gotten herself tangled in the bed sheets. “What are you doing down there?” “What am I doing!?” The Mayor pointed an accusatory hoof at the changeling queen. “I could ask you the same question!” “You certainly could, although the same is true of anyone. You are entirely too serious, Franny.” The look of mock concern on the pony Chrysalis' face served only to infuriate further the Mayor further. “You're impossible!” She sagged onto the floor and pulled the bed sheets over her head. “Please, I can't deal with you right now...just leave me alone.” She said in a quiet voice. Chrysalis sighed, she honestly didn't mean to make her angry. “Look, Franny, I'm sorry. I've never really had someone who wasn't a subordinate before. I was born a queen, taking my mother's place as soon as I was born. The rest of my mother's short life after that was devoted to training me to become a ruler. I thought that maybe you of all people might be able to know what that was like, if only even a little.” She paused for a few seconds and took a deep breath. “I guess what I’m trying to say is... I’ve never really had a friend before or at least anyone I could perhaps be friends with. I’m not sure how to act around you yet.” The Mayor poked an eye out from beneath the bed sheets, the anger visibly gone, or at least lessened. “Why would a nomadic race like the changelings even need a queen?” “Huh?” It was an odd question considering the circumstances, but at least she was talking. “I, er... well, ahem. We are nomadic by necessity, small compounds and colonies exist all over Equestria and even beyond. The queen serves as a centre of order and governance, she serves to represent the changeling race as a whole because if the queen didn't exist, the colonies would be smaller and weaker. She brings the colonies under one banner.” The bed sheets fell onto the floor and the Mayor reached for her glasses, one of the lenses still cracked, and put them on. “So I guess at heart, you're no different from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.” “Except I managed to do it on my own!” She said proudly. “What brought that on anyway? It was rather weird considering what was going on.” “It had just been bugging me for a while... also, I'm sorry as well.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “For shouting at you.” “I was being... impolite. Your anger was justified.” “Thank you.” The Mayor laughed, bringing some cheer to her previously grievous countenance. “I have one more question for you though. If the changeling queen is so important, then what will happen to the colonies now that you're with me?” Chrysalis paused for a moment, then she just fell backwards onto the bed, her head hitting the pillow with a soft thump. “I have no idea. I don't think I could motivate myself enough to go back even if they wanted me to. I've lived every moment of my life for them and Canterlot was just the last straw, I'm done. I don't want to be Queen of the Changelings any more, I just want to be Chrysalis.” “I will admit that there are days when I feel something similar, I do know what you're going through. I never really had many friends, but when I became the Mayor of Ponyville, the ones I had drifted away and any new ones I try to make just see me as the Mayor, somepony above them that makes the decisions that affect their lives. It's hard, I know, but that doesn't mean I could just throw that away. I have a job to do, one that I chose for myself and I'm obligated to see it through to the end.” She climbed back onto the bed and sat down next to Chrysalis. “That's the thing, I never chose to be Queen of the Changelings, I was forced into it by birth. In a way, you were the excuse I was looking for. A reason to stop caring.” Chrysalis' horn glowed green for a moment and sure enough, the slender pony Chrysalis had turned into before had returned. “I might as well give up on being a changeling as well.” “Are you really sure you need to go that far? I mean, it will definitely help your disguise, but--” At that moment the door to their room burst open. Two Appleloosan stallions stood in the entrance, staring daggers at the Mayor. “Release our Queen immediately!” Chrysalis stared, her eyes wide. She could recognise changeling magic by sight enough to know that things were about to get complicated.