//------------------------------//
// Feeling Blue 
// Story: The Queen of Hearts 
// by Pumpernickel Rye 
//------------------------------//


Feeling Blue



“Ma’am, are you ready to order yet?”

“I’m still waiting for somepony,” Chrysalis answered. “She’ll be here soon.” When the waiter left her, she looked back out the window, watching the ponies passing by in the cold weather. She wondered how the changelings were doing with the winter and hoped they were keeping warm now that they were living outside. When she was bored with that, she looked around the restaurant. She was seated in a booth inside a cozy dinner where many other ponies were eating. As spoiled as she was, she actually felt comfortable in this place. Chrysalis was always surprised by what the world of the common folk possessed and started feeling like one because of her time away from home. She was deep in thought until she heard a voice call her name. Chrysalis looked and saw Pinkie coming towards her. “There you are. You know it’s not polite to keep a lady waiting.”

Pinkie quickly shook herself to get all the snow off and sat down. “I’m sorry, but Celestia just dropped us off,” she replied as she took off her front boots, earmuffs, and scarf.

After a minute, the waiter came back and they gave him both their orders. He collected their menus and left them alone. “So did you have fun?” the changeling queried. 

The mare grinned widely. “We sure did! It was one of the best slumber parties ever! I still feel tingly when I think about it!”

“Did Celestia and Luna actually partake in it?” Chrysalis asked curiously.

“And Nymph, too! We all had so much fun and I wish you were there.”

Chrysalis sighed. “Me too.”

“What about you? Did you do something fun yesterday?”

The false unicorn smirked. “If by fun you mean sit at home all day and read, then yeah, I had fun.”

“Great!” Chrysalis sighed, knowing that Pinkie wasn’t catching on to her sarcasm. “So should we talk about you know what?”

The fugitive looked over her shoulder. “Not yet. Our food is coming and I don’t want to be interrupted. Besides, I can’t think straight on an empty stomach.”

While waiting, Pinkie just told her about what happened at the party and other things of interest when they were in Canterlot. Chrysalis felt a little down she missed out, but it was for the best, especially when her sister was there. After several minutes, the waiter returned while balancing a tray of food on his head. “Okay, so which one of you ordered the Celestia Salad?”

“I did,” answered Chrysalis.

The waiter set down her lunch and then looked at Pinkie. “And you had the holy-alicorns-how-is-this-legal sandwich?”

“That’s me!” she replied while rubbing her hooves and licking her lips.

The pony gave Pinkie a plate with a sandwich that stood over a foot tall, filled with various vegetables and cheeses. “Enjoy.”

With the waiter gone, they began eating their lunch. “How’s your food?” asked Pinkie with a mouth overflowing with sandwich.

“Not bad,” Chrysalis admitted. She didn’t mind eating pony food as much as she did before, but it didn’t come close to the quality of food she had when she was royalty. She looked up from her meal and watched her friend take a bite of her colossal sandwich. “So Pinkie, did you do what I asked?”

The mare just smiled and shrugged innocently. “What are you talking about?”

The changeling narrowed her eyes at her, unsure of what game she was playing. “Your friends. Did you ask them what I wanted you to ask them?”

“Oh, was I on a mission or something?” she teased.

Chrysalis groaned and rubbed her temples. “Are you really going to make me say it?” Pinkie nodded excitedly, so Chrysalis sighed and said, “Secret Agent Pie, how was Operation Girl Gossip?”

Pinkie had to keep herself from shouting from how excited she was. “It went super, Commander Chrysalis! They didn’t suspect me at all! I slipped in, got the goods, and slipped out without them ever knowing that I was an agent!”

The changeling rolled her eyes. While she was used to Pinkie’s shenanigans, she had other pressing matters to deal with and was not in the mood at the moment. “Enough playing around. Tell me about Nymph.”

“She’s fine. She was happy to see us, but she was pretty busy with stuff. All she did was talk to those other ponies by using those big words I don’t understand.”

“Did she mention the status of our kingdom?”

“She said the changelings were fine, but they’re getting grumpy with waiting. They really want to come to Equestria.”

“It’s no surprise they feel that way. They are at the brink of a new future and it is being denied to them because of my mistakes.” Chrysalis sighed. “Did she mention me at all?” 

“She didn’t say anything until I brought you up and it wasn’t much,” Pinkie responded. 

“I figured as much. I guess she feels there is no sense of worrying about me since she can’t do anything until I show up.”

“Are you going to talk to her yet?” the pony asked, sounding like she was pleading.

The changeling shook her head. “Not for a while, Pinkie. I need more time. Anyway, let’s get to the usual update. What did the others say about me as Cherub?”

Pinkie looked at her sandwich, dying to take another bite, but her friend loudly tapped on the table with her hoof, so Pinkie had to wait. “Well, we only talked about you for a little bit, but they said they like you. Dash thinks you’re super awesome because you let her beat up ponies and pay her too.”

Chrysalis just chuckled while Pinkie lunged for her lunch. “She’s easy to impress, but I think it will take more than that to keep her on my side. What about Twilight?”

Pinkie immediately swallowed and tapped her hooves together nervously. “Oh, she said that she’s happy you gave her a nice job and everything, but…”

Chrysalis paused and looked up from her salad. “But?”

“She sometimes feels like you don’t like her.”

The matchmaker took a bite of her lunch. “Well that’s pretty accurate,” she replied with a mouth partially filled with food.

Pinkie made absolutely sure no pony could hear them when she said, “Chrysalis, when I decided to help you, you were supposed to be nice to my friends, including Twilight.”

Chrysalis swallowed and looked her in the eyes. “I’m trying, but whenever I see or even think about her, I just get irritated. I know it was probably for the better she stopped me, but I can’t help but hold a grudge against her.”

“Well you need to try,” Pinkie ordered. “If you can’t like Twilight, how is she supposed to like you?”

Chrysalis groaned. “I know, I know, but it will take time for me to let go. Now let’s get to the good stuff. I take it you asked them about the real me, yes?”

She rapidly nodded. “Yep! They never expected a thing!”

Before Pinkie left, the changeling taught her how to extract information without drawing too much attention. She couldn’t afford to have the others wondering why she was asking so much about her. “Good work, Secret Agent Pie.  So what did you learn?”

“Well, this is what they each had to say.”

“I don’t believe Chrysalis will change her ways, but I thought the same thing about Discord. I wouldn’t mind turning another enemy into an ally, but she is much cleverer and I’m scared of the possibility that she will deceive us. She has every reason to be mad at me for exposing her and we both know she wants revenge. My opinion is to lock her in a tight little cell somewhere far away and then try changing her. Even if she does change, I don’t think I can like her after what she did to my brother and Cadance.”

“That repulsive thing? Chrysalis is not on my mind in the least. With Celestia, Luna, and Nymph ready to apprehend her, we have nothing to worry about. I’m sure Chrysalis will realize she has lost and will turn herself in. I wouldn’t waste my time with her and just worry about helping the other changelings. After all, why should we be nice to her? She made Nymph wear rags! RAGS, PINKIE!”

“Ah don’t like ‘er none, but Ah don’t think we should just lock ‘er up and forget about ‘er. She must have some sense in ‘er head and Ah’d like to take a crack at ‘er. Family’s important and Nymph needs ‘er family.”

“Why are you asking me about her, Pinks? Who cares about her? If she shows up, we’ll just kick her butt. Now give me a water balloon. I see Blueblood coming!”

“Me? Scared? I’m not scared of her! I’m a dragon, and we are born for danger! We don’t even know what fear is! Wait, why are you asking about her all of a sudden? S-she’s not here, is she!?”

“Um…I don’t know. I mean Discord was kind of like her, but he was just a big kid while Chrysalis is an evil, unloving, cruel, scary looking changeling who could look like any pony and has a desire for revenge and Nymph may want me to help reform her and…and…meep!”

“I’ve met many foes in my lifetime, Pinkie, and I don’t think I will ever forget her. She is the first in a long time to defeat me in direct combat and carry out an invasion of my city. Kidnapping my niece and terrorizing my people without a shred of remorse makes me curse her name, but I will try to put these thoughts aside. Chrysalis was a skilled ruler who can still help better her kingdom and a good sister who has lost her way and I would do everything in my power to show her the error of her ways. Of course, Chrysalis’s ego may be too big for her to realize how wrong she is and my patience for her will be thin.”

“My sister still has a spot in my heart and every day I wonder if I should let her go. Your people and my people believe it would be best for us all to imprison her for life, but as much as I hold ill will towards her, making her suffer will not solve anything. However, if she decides not to accept our mercy and still wishes to disrespect me and cause trouble for us, she can kiss my royal rear.”

“What do I think? I wish the stupid girl was never born. Nymph was absolutely miserable around her and Chrysalis was sick enough to take delight in it. We need to find her and make her understand what she has put our queen through. But then again, no punishment will be enough for that worthless, heartless bit-” 

“HORNET!”


Chrysalis just played with the lettuce leaves with her fork. “Better than what I was expecting, to be honest. I just might have a chance after all. Of course, you are leaving somepony out for some reason.”

Pinkie gulped and shifted her eyes around. “N-no! That was all-”

“You know better than that,” she interrupted calmly. “I will always know when you are lying to me. I really need to know what Luna said.”

“Um…are you sure?”

Chrysalis put down her silverware and looked at her. “It is important, Pinkie. Please tell me what she said exactly.”

“Well…”

“For months I couldn’t go a day without thinking about her, but any mention of her still gives me rage. It causes me absolute fury to think about what she did to Nymph and even more when I think about her invasion. Poor Cadance was traumatized by her and she still fears for us all, wondering if we are in danger from Chrysalis. But do not be afraid, Pinkie. We have been ready for her for a long time and she will be brought to justice. Nymph deserves better than her. The changelings deserve better than her. I don’t believe in any way she will ever understand how terrible she is. Chrysalis better pray I do not find her first, or I will give her a taste of her own medicine. She will face retribution and nothing will change that.”

Chrysalis placed a hoof on her forehead. “I should have expected something like that from her, but this is interesting. As Cherub, I am one of her closest friends and as Chrysalis, I am her mortal enemy. I just hope the former will overpower the latter.”

“So what’s our next move, Chrysalis? Everypony likes you as Cherub and still mostly dislike you as you, so what now?”

The princess wiped her mouth with a napkin taking a sip of her drink. “Continue as normal. With your friends working for me, it will be easier to win their favor when the time comes, but Twilight is the priority. If she refuses to give me a chance, your friends will most likely do the same. They didn’t listen to her about me before, so they would be scared of making the same mistake. Of course, Twilight is only second to Luna. I’m afraid the girl does not exactly carry restraint like her sister and may do something she will regret if she catches me. Even if I manage to reveal things on my terms, if she feels opposed to me and that justice is necessary, that will be it. I will be locked up for probably longer than your lifetime, Pinkie. Maybe I could show my change of heart with time, but they will see it as a method for me to escape. Besides, I’d rather be outside a cell and enjoy the fresh air.”

“Well Luna’s asleep and probably busy today, so you should see Twilight!” Pinkie suggested. “You two need to be like super friends!”

Chrysalis suddenly felt her eye twitch, so she quickly shook her head. “Not today. I will ask her tomorrow if she wants to do something next weekend. I can only imagine what boring thing she will want to do.” Chrysalis took another sip of her tea. “Besides, I need to focus on winning over Luna. She will have more influence on my fate when the time comes, so she is the key to my redemption.”

“That makes sense. At least you two are good friends now.”

“We are, but it’s not enough. Our friendship will more than likely not survive the strain of discovering my identity, so I need to do something to ensure that doesn’t happen.” Saying out loud that her friendship with Luna could end caused her to feel a tingle of anxiety, which she tried to shake off, but to no avail.

The pony finished off her meal and thought for a moment. After some thinking, Pinkie grew a smile. “Oh, I know! Let’s find her a coltfriend!”

Chrysalis grew a small grin. “That’s the plan.”

“Well what are we waiting for? Let’s go to Cupid’s Arrow and find her one!”

Chrysalis took the final bite of her salad, placed the fork down, and looked at her. “Easier said than done, Pinkie. First, we need to wait until she is ready. I will keep pestering her about her love life and hopefully she’ll give our services a shot. The second thing we would have to do is find a pony that could make her truly happy, which we probably won’t find here in Ponyville. The princess has been through many hardships since her banishment and finding her a pony that can give her the love and support she needs will do us both a lot of good. She will be grateful for my help and will consider showing mercy towards my true self.”

“Okay.” Pinkie quickly drank her soda and held in her burp when she saw Chrysalis stare at her. “Hey, remember when I always tried finding you a coltfriend?”

Chrysalis gave a quick laugh. “I do. You were very persistent and it amuses me whenever I think about it now.”

“Well what about now? Would you like one, Chrysalis? I actually know a few changelings!”

The royal changeling looked out the window, watching ponies pass by through the snow covered streets. “Unless you know an attractive changeling that has a thing for evil queens, no thanks. Besides, living a double life and romantic relationships are two things that should never mix.”

“Oh,” Pinkie said sadly.

Chrysalis saw how downed she looked, so she said, “But thank you anyway.” This caused Pinkie to smile, but then the pony sighed loudly. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

The former queen leaned closer to her. “Hey, you already hear enough about my problems, so let’s hear one of yours. What’s on your mind, Pinkie?”

Pinkie sighed again and said, “I just want to be like you.”

“As in a princess?” she guessed while scratching her head.

“As in a matchmaker.”

“But you already are one the last time I checked.”

The pony looked up and shook her head. “No, I’m just your partner who finds ponies for you to set up. I want to be a super-duper good matchmaker like you! I want to make ponies happy and spread love across Equestria!”

“Where’s this coming from all of a sudden?”

Pinkie’s frown grew. “I just realized that if you go home, you won’t be running Cupid’s Arrow anymore, which means no more matchmaking for us!”

Chrysalis’s eyes grew when she realized she was right. Cherub would be no more and Cupid’s Arrow would shut down unless she found somepony to replace her. The pony was absolutely in love with her job and would be crushed to lose Cupid’s Arrow. Chrysalis got up and sat on the side of the table with Pinkie. “Well Pinkie, I will try to think of something. And if it means that much to you, then maybe I could teach you how to get ponies together.”

Pinkie released an extremely loud gasp. “You will!?”

“Of course. Maybe you can take my place when I leave and help make ponies happy and even more food for my people. I knew from the day I hired you that you would take us far, so I think you should do it.”

Pinkie hugged her tightly. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

Chrysalis hugged her back, smiling. “You’re welcome, Pinkie.” Chrysalis loved it when Pinkie was happy. Her happiness was contagious and it usually affected her too. She knew it would hurt to leave her when the time came, but she promised to visit her often. Deep down, Chrysalis wished one of her future 	daughters would be just like Pinkie.

They separated when they saw the waiter approaching their table with the desert. “Ok, so I got a mint milkshake for…”

“Right here,” answered the fugitive.

He gave her drink and looked at Pinkie. “And you had strawberry?”

“You betcha!” Pinkie received her drink and then he left.

Chrysalis stared at the odd drink before her. “So what exactly is a…milkshake?”

“It’s like ice cream, but you drink it!” Pinkie then sucked heavily on her straw. The changeling gave it a sip, discovering how delicious it was. Satisfied, she began drinking it down and the pony next to her finished first. “Isn’t it great?”

Chrysalis put her drink aside when she emptied it. “Indeed.”

“I’m so glad you liked it! Maybe next ti-” Pinkie suddenly yelled and started rubbing her forehead. “Gah! B-b-b-brain freeze!”

That caused Chrysalis to laugh loudly. “Oh, Pinkie. When will you lear-” She was cut off when she felt her own brain freeze coming and groaned as she rubbed her forehead. Both the pony and the changeling sat there with intense headaches and Chrysalis made a mental note to stay away from the delicious treat from now on. 





After they split the bill and shared a hug, Chrysalis and Pinkie parted ways. The only changeling in Ponyville was not used to the constant winter weather as she only experienced the cold when she went up to the surface. It was her favorite time of the year when she was a child since snow was always so mysterious and magical to her and it allowed more opportunities for fun. She and Nymph would just be flooded with excitement whenever their parents took them up for the winter. Chrysalis preferred to play in the private garden since there weren’t other changelings to bother her and the only time she went to see the other children was when she wanted to get into snowball fights. She was glad that Rarity helped make her own warm clothing for the winter that she found to be fashionable. She had a red coat, red boots, a pink cap, and much to the white unicorn’s reluctance, a dark green scarf. Because she didn’t carry a coat like ponies had to keep her warm, she needed to wear extra layers of clothing to keep herself from freezing.

Before heading home, she went to do some quick shopping. She arrived at a book store and browsed the shelves as she needed something to do when she went home. She scanned through the shelves and only found two books she considered buying so far. To her disgust, there were several anti-changeling novels being sold in the store. The propaganda was nowhere as bad as before, but it still made her sick to her stomach. She was disappointed to see there wasn’t anything else she could find and was ready to make her purchase.

As she approached the counter, she noticed something of interest. There was a section of the store she had not looked through and was definitely not included in Twilight’s home: the adult section. She stared at it for a while, wondering if she was really going to go in there and look. It had been a long time since she had been…intimate. She was a little curious and decided that a quick peek wouldn’t hurt. She was very grateful that barely any customers were in the store. Being a celebrity, she couldn’t afford any mistakes that could hurt her reputation. 

She quickly entered the section and browsed through. All the books she saw were exactly as she expected. They were just sappy romance books that had cliché stuff like forbidden romance or love triangles. She was about to leave, but then she noticed several particular books. To her surprise and horror, they were about changelings. She looked through each of them, wondering what kind of sick minded ponies would write about them like that. They were stories about loved ones being replaced by changelings and even some stories where a pony and a changeling fall in love, which she found really weird. She hated how they depicted her kind as sexual deviants because of their need for love and how they often posed as lovers.

But nothing could have prepared her for what she found next. “Oh no, no, no, no.” She took the book and re-examined the cover, which was titled “In Service of the Queen.” Chrysalis was hoping her eyes were playing tricks on her, but it was all too real. On the cover was a royal changeling that looked very similar to Chrysalis herself with a very naughty expression on her face. She flipped the book over to see what it was about. It said something about a stallion finding a changeling named ‘Queen Clitoris’ during her banishment and somehow he warms her icy heart and they fall in love. It was almost enough to make her puke. “I swear that if I ever find this author, I’m going to beat him black and blue with this book and make him eat it.”

She couldn’t believe ponies wrote this stuff. Changelings were more creative when it came to erotic writing. Chrysalis just couldn’t let go of what she was seeing. She hated the book as it described her as a heartless monster who only wanted to be loved all along. She thought it was stupid and she wanted nothing more to do with it. She just needed to put it back on the shelf and never come back to this store. It was so simple.

She placed her purchases on the counter. “I would like to buy these two books.” The cashier rung her up and she paid him. She had her books placed in a bag and she exited the store. Almost a minute passed and a green pegasus entered. She immediately entered the adult section and brought over a certain book to the front.





Chrysalis closely guarded her shopping bag as she headed home. With her reputation, she would be a laughing stock if she were to be caught with such a novel. As she walked, she glanced into her bag to look at it, still shocked at herself for even going through with such a thing. She was just very curious about what story they could have possibly written about her and hoped it would provide her some entertainment. Maybe she could file a lawsuit in the future because they were using her without her permission. Since Nymph was the type to read this smut, she wondered if she had found this and could only imagine her laughing her flank off. 

Because she was not looking at where she was walking, she bumped into somepony and fell on the ground, causing her to drop her bag and have its contents scatter across the snow. When she noticed what happened, she gasped and jumped onto the book of interest. She immediately threw it back into the bag and then proceeded to grab the rest, relieved that she had reacted quickly enough. “Watch where you’re going!” a voice yelled at her.

She turned towards the pony. “Well maybe you should do the same!” The pony she ran into certainly caught her interest. Despite never meeting her, Chrysalis felt like she knew her because of her outfit. “Have I seen you from somewhere before?”

The unicorn smiled. “You recognize the Great and Powerful Trixie?” she asked excitedly.

“Oh,” she replied disappointedly. She remembered Pinkie mentioning a certain unicorn who loved to showoff, despite being a complete failure. “You’re the unicorn that Twilight had to get rid of for being annoying.”

Trixie’s expression lit up once more upon hearing the name Chrysalis spoke. “Do you know Twilight Sparkle?”

“I’m her boss, as a matter of fact,” she said proudly. It was something she would never grow tired of saying.

“Oh, it’s nice to meet you.” She offered her hoof and Chrysalis shook it. “Would you happen to know where she lives? I’m afraid it’s been so long since I’ve been here that I’ve completely forgotten where she lived.”

Chrysalis shrugged. “Well I am currently not busy with anything, so I’ll just take you over there.”

“Excellent!” Trixie walked along with her as she pulled her massive carriage.

Chrysalis watched in wonder as the smaller pony pulled her home with ease, surprised at her strength. “So why do you want to see Twilight? I thought she embarrassed you both times you came here. Got some sort of revenge scheme in mind?” She noticed she was getting a little excited when she asked that, but she pushed away the feeling.

The magician shook her head. “No, I’m not doing anything like that. She’s the only pony who accepted me as a friend from when I took over Ponyville and I just want to see her and catch up on things. She must be curious of how my career has been doing after all these months.”

“I suppose. Maybe she could teach you a few things while you’re here,” she said as she remembered that Trixie was apparently terrible with hers. “That girl is pretty good with magic.”

“She is! I hear that she is a student of Princess Celestia herself!”

“That’s actually true,” Chrysalis responded without interest. Even though she had been much friendlier with Pinkie’s help, Twilight still rubbed her the wrong way. She knew that she would have to let go of the grudge eventually, but it was a very difficult process for her.

Trixie squealed with delight. “That is so amazing! Maybe she could make me good enough with magic so I could be a student too!”

The changeling smirked. “I would love to see that.”

“You mentioned that Twilight worked for you. What sort of profession does she do? Research? Teaching? Magic shows?” she asked curiously.

“She helps me with my matchmaking business.”

The blue mare blushed, surprised by her answer. “Oh my. I didn’t know she did that sort of thing. I assume she had been already taken for a while?”

Chrysalis suppressed her urge to laugh. Twilight was still doing research on love and seemed to be more interested in learning about relationships than being in one. Many stallions had come onto her, but since the purple mare had yet to pick up on the lingo, she never received any of their signals. “Actually, no. She is just doing it for other interests ad has yet to find a pony that catches her eye.”

“What a shame. She is pretty likable. Speaking of love, I heard that the husband of Princess Cadance is really her brother!”

The changeling sighed deeply. Any mention of the wedding was always a complete downer for her, bringing up memories of being banished and her near death experience. “You heard correctly. Princess Cadance was even her foal sitter when she was younger.”

Trixie gasped excitedly. “No way! That is such a coincidence! I’m so glad those two got married. Twilight is such an amazing pony for exposing that ugly bug, Chrysalis.”

Everything in Chrysalis’s mind came to a screeching halt and she slowly turned her head towards her, eyes filled with spite. “Excuse me?” she asked coldly.

“Well you know, how she found out that the queen was posing as the bride and planning an attack. I’m glad Twilight foiled her, otherwise she would have been related to that disgusting, heartless, repulsive, and unlovable thing. I was disappointed that Chrysalis didn’t get splattered on a side of mountain or something when she got launched out of Canterlot. The world would be so much better off without her. I really hope Celestia tells those big bugs to go bother somepony else. I mean, who seriously wants to let them live here?”

Chrysalis was flaring on the inside. She hadn’t felt this enraged since the day Pinkie found her out and bottling it all up was simply not an option for her. She wanted Trixie to hurt a lot. It didn't help that she was also blabbing about how great Twilight was. While Trixie kept talking, she thought intensely of what she was going to do with Twilight’s little fan. Beating her was certainly tempting, but she needed to be careful since she was friends with Twilight, so the consequences could easily bite her in the flank. Besides, physical pain was only temporary, whereas emotional pain could last a lifetime. All of a sudden, an evil grin spread across her lips. She had an idea. An awful idea. Chrysalis got a wonderful, awful idea. “You must be awfully tired from traveling while carrying your home around,” emphasized Chrysalis deviously.

Trixie just laughed. “Nonsense! I have a lot of energy within me. I’m not as weak as I look.” When she looked away, Chrysalis shot her with some magic. Trixie suddenly felt fatigue spread across her body and yawned. “Now that you mention it, I could use a nap.”

“Why don’t you go ahead and sleep?” the changeling suggested innocently. “I’ll leave directions with you for when you wake up.”

The pony nodded as she made her way into her home. “Good idea. Thank you for all your help, Miss?”

“Cherub, and it’s no trouble at all.” Chrysalis followed her inside, took some paper, and wrote directions to the library, which she gave to the magician. The changeling said goodbye to her and left. Once Trixie closed the door, Chrysalis sprinted across town. She needed to pick something up before she went to see Twilight for her scheme.





After dropping off her books at home to ensure no pony ever found out her dirty secret and purchasing an important item, she went over to see the lavender unicorn. Chrysalis eagerly knocked on the door of Golden Oaks Library, wanting to see her plan in action. She didn’t care how evil it was. Trixie’s words left her sour and she needed release. After several seconds of waiting, the door was opened by Twilight. “Hi, Cherub!” she greeted. “How are you doing today?”

“I’m doing wonderful!” she replied enthusiastically. “I came by because I have the most exciting news for you!”

“Well come on inside.” Chrysalis entered and Twilight closed the door. The changeling didn’t see or hear Spike, so she guessed he wasn’t currently home. “So what did you want to tell me?”

Chrysalis faced her with a very excited smile. “I found a match!”

Twilight was now as excited as her. “A match? For you? Congratulations!”

The former queen shook her head. “No, for you!” she corrected as she pointed a hoof at her.

Twilight was shocked by what she heard, turning from excited to panicked. “Y-you did? Already? But I need more time to research dating. I’m still not even sure what baseball has to do with love!”

Chrysalis released a hearty laugh, finding her argument hilarious. “Now don’t you worry, Twilight. I came by because I want to help you do everything right. It is about time you started dating, after all.”

Twilight paced around the room for a moment, considering whether or not she was ready for this. “So who is this pony?”

“Well here’s the thing. You see, it’s a she.”

Celestia’s student cocked her head in confusion. “A girl? But I don’t think I’m a lesbian.”

Chrysalis faked a chuckle. “Let’s not be so hasty. Pinkie didn’t realize it until she spent some time with Fluttershy. I have a feeling that the same will happen to you.”

The purple unicorn still felt uneasy. “I don’t know…”

Chrysalis could tell she was extremely reluctant, so she needed to word it in a way that would make her more willing. Luckily, it was Twilight, so that wasn’t difficult. “Let me put it this way: you don’t know that you like something until you try it. Just give her a shot and maybe she will grow onto you.” She could see Twilight was not convinced and decided to use a different approach. “Look, just think of it from a scientific point of view. If you want to learn about love, just try going with this mare and see what results you get. Remember to write a few notes here and there and maybe make some sort of conclusion out of all of it.”

Twilight became eager. “You mean like an experiment?”

The princess grinned at her. “Yes, that’s exactly it. You’re experimenting.”

The mare grabbed some blank pieces of paper and placed it on the table to prepare for her experiment. “But what do I even say to her? I’ve never done something like this before.”

“And that is why I came prepared.” Chrysalis reached into her bag and brought out a small box. She opened it up and showed her what was inside.

“Earrings?” Twilight asked in confusion.

“Actually, they’re some cheap communication crystals I got from the store. You just have to wear one of them and I will use the other to tell you what to say.”

“That’s a great idea!”

“It most certainly is.” An evil grin appeared on her face. “Now Twilight, I need to explain to you the concept of playing hard to get.”





Twilight paced around the room as Chrysalis patiently sat at a chair while sipping tea, acting calm. The pony couldn’t stop thinking about what mare she could have possibly found for her. She tried asking, but Chrysalis kept a tight lip about her. Twilight had hoped it was somepony who had as much interest in knowledge as she did. Chrysalis looked out the window once more and became excited, seeing Trixie’s wagon in the distance. “Here she comes, Twilight. Are you ready?”

Twilight averted her gaze. “I’m a little nervous.”

The changeling chuckled. “Don’t be. Just do exactly as I say and everything will be fine.” She then went upstairs to hide herself, ready to spring her trap.

Twilight waited for about a minute until she heard loud knocking on her door. She slowly walked over to it and placed her hoof on the handle. She let out a gulp before turning it and seeing her visitor. And like how she expected, she was not prepared for who was on the other side. “Trixie!?”

“Yes, it is I!” She stood on her hind legs and made fireworks appear behind her, providing a dazzling entrance. “Are you surprised to see me? I bet you are! Did you like my entrance? I bet you did!” Trixie started jumping in place. “Oh, it’s so good to see you, Twilight! We have so much to talk about!”

Twilight stared with her mouth hanging open, trying to process the situation in her head. Out of the mares she could have been set up with, it was Trixie of all ponies? She then heard a voice in her ear, snapping her out of her confusion. Listening to the orders from the changeling, a smug smile grew across her face. “I must admit, I’m surprised to see you come back here.”

The magician giggled. “Do you mind if I come in?”

As Trixie tried making her way inside, Chrysalis ordered Twilight to stop her. The oblivious unicorn put a hoof on the magician’s face and pushed her back outside. “Actually, I do mind. I don’t want you ruining my nice home with your worthlessness.”

Trixie gasped in horror. “Excuse me!?”

“You heard me.” Twilight stood up and leaned against the doorway. She looked at her hoof and pretended to be uninterested in the mare. “So why did you bother showing your face around here? I can’t think of a single pony who would be happy to see you.”

The mare became very confused. “I-I came to see you, Twilight!”

“And you have. Are you going to leave now?” she asked in an uncaring tone.

The magician was incredibly distraught as she fell on her knees and crawled towards her. “B-b-but I thought we were friends!”

Twilight got down from the doorway and looked at her, laughing smugly. “Oh, about that. I only said that so I could look good in front of Princess Celestia. I must admit, I’m a pretty good actress. Speaking of the princess, I heard you wanted to be her student.”

Trixie’s heart jumped and she sprung up onto her feet. “I do!”

“Here, let me help you with that.” Twilight brought to her a quill and a piece of parchment with her magic. She cleared her throat and said aloud as she wrote, “Dear Princess Celestia, I want to tell you about a pony named Trixie. She is the most worthless, annoying, ugly, idiotic, loud mouthed, unlovable, wretched, laughable, and most importantly, talentless pony in all of Equestria. She is so unlikable that if she were to suddenly drop dead, the world would be a better place. If you ever happen to have the misfortune of coming across this poor excuse for a pony, please kindly banish her from Equestria for being such an embarrassment to her species. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.” When she finished, she made the letter disappear with her magic. “How do you like that?”

Tears were falling across Trixie’s face. “Why are you being so cruel to me!?” she sobbed.

Twilight got up in her face, angry. “Because the last two times you came here, you embarrassed my friends and took over the town, so I have no reason to like you, Trixie!”

The destroyed mare grabbed Twilight’s foreleg. “I-I’m sorry, Twilight! Forgive me!”

The purple unicorn pulled away. “Sorry means nothing from you. Now you better take your little, stupid house and get out of Ponyville. And if I ever see you again, I will make the rest of your life a living nightmare!” She stepped back into her home and slammed the door. She could hear Trixie crying from the other side and it fading as she ran away. 

Chrysalis then came down the stairs. When she got to the bottom, she slowly clapped her hooves. “Bravo, Twilight. That was astounding. Best I had ever seen. You are a real natural at this.”

Despite her praise, Twilight was filled with doubt and regret. “I don’t feel so good about what I did. I think I really hurt her feelings.”

The changeling just laughed and patted her on the back. “Don’t worry. It’s all just a game in dating. You did exactly as you should. And if for some reason it didn’t work, there are still plenty of other ponies for you.”

“I guess,” she muttered.

“Great! Now I’m going to go home. Enjoy your weekend, Twilight.” As she started leaving, Twilight suddenly got in front of her.

“Cherub, are you sure we didn’t do something wrong? I think Trixie’s really hurt by what I said and I want to talk to her.”

Chrysalis just kept smiling at her. “Twilight, it will be fine. Just take my word for it. Now have a nice day.”

The purple pony sighed. “You too, Cherub.” When the false unicorn left the building, Twilight went upstairs and lied on her bed. She couldn’t stop thinking about what happened between her and Trixie. Even though Cherub had said that she had done everything correctly, she still felt guilty for what she did. Trixie was completely devastated by how she treated her and she really wanted to apologize. What was also bothering her was Trixie being a potential love interest. But she pushed these thoughts away, much more concerned about the mare’s emotional state. Twilight got up, dressed in her winter clothing, and left the library. She was going to need a second opinion.





“Hi, Twi!” greeted Pinkie. “Do you want some delicious gingerbread ponies?”

“Thanks, Pinkie.” Twilight took one and bit into it. “I came because I need to talk to you about something important.”

“Like what?” asked the pink mare.

Twilight sat at the table in the kitchen and her friend joined her. “Earlier today, Cherub came by and told me that she found a pony that would be perfect for me, which turned out to be a girl.”

The earth pony gasped loudly and kicked her legs excitedly. “It was a girl? Are you a lesbian like me!?”

“Pinkie, let me finish. So anyway, finally the pony comes to my house and it turned out to be Trixie!”

Pinkie and her cookies gasped. “What!?”

“I know, right? So she seemed really happy to see me, but then I started saying really mean things to her because Cherub told me to.” Twilight hung her head and closed her eyes. “By the time I was finished, she was crying and she then ran away. Cherub said I did everything correctly, but I still felt like it was wrong. I came by so I could get your thoughts on the situation.”

Pinkie stood up. “Well I think you should go over to apologize. No pony should ever treat another pony like that. Why would you ever do that to Trixie? She’s your friend.”

“Because Cherub made me do it!” she argued. “I trusted her because she’s an expert on dating. It’s not like she would have me hurt somepony on purpose, right?” Pinkie darted her eyes around and was laughing nervously, generating suspicion from Twilight. “Is there something I should know?”

Pinkie jumped. “N-no! I mean, maybe she just made a mistake. That happens sometimes, right?” she suggested hastily.

“I suppose.” Twilight assumed that was the reason for it. Cherub was very serious about creating real romance and held no grudge against her as far as she knew, so a mistake would have been the most likely reason for what happened. The unicorn stood up and sighed. “I better go find Trixie and say I’m sorry.”

Pinkie waved goodbye to her, but then froze. After realizing what the situation was, she gasped extremely loudly and bolted to her friend. “WAIT! I want to help!”

Twilight smiled at her. “Sure. It would be nice to have somepony with me. Come on, Pinkie. Let’s go find Trixie!” 

As they ran out the door and onto the snow covered streets of Ponyville, Pinkie said, “We should totally bring the other girls. I’m sure they will want to help as much as I do.”

“Good point. I wonder if Cherub would like to help too.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t,” Pinkie whimpered while slowing down.

Twilight noticed her decrease in pace and came to a stop in front of her. “Huh? Why not, Pinkie?”

The pink pony was shaking and darting her eyes all around. “Because…she…uh…”

Twilight narrowed her eyes at her friend. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“She’s speaking to some super important ponies for her holiday thing,” Pinkie lied. “She’s really nervous because these ponies are like super famous and she really wants them to come.”

That was enough to convince her friend. “Oh. I guess we shouldn’t bother her then.” Twilight walked ahead as Pinkie wiped the sweat off her forehead. Tomorrow, she would be sure to have a talk with Chrysalis.





Over time, they convinced the rest of their friends to lend a hoof in helping Twilight find Trixie. They were very surprised to hear that Trixie had returned once again and were even more surprised to hear about what happened between the two unicorns earlier. Twilight was more focused on repairing their damaged relationship than trying to get into one with her, which was what all of her friends were thinking about as she was the last of the group who was single and Cherub seemed to believe they were good for each other. 

The six ponies and dragon wandered the streets, asking ponies for her whereabouts. While following one of their leads, Pinkie stuck her head in the snow and began sniffing the ground as she walked. “Pinkie, just what in the hay are ya up to?” asked Applejack curiously.

Pinkie lifted her head and carried a large pile of snow on top. “I’m trying to get her scent so we can find her!”

Dash rolled her eyes. “Do you even know what she smells like?”

She nodded excitedly, shaking off all of the white fluff. “Of course I do!”

All of her friends became surprised. “Really? What does she smell like?” asked Fluttershy.

“She smells like Trixie!” Her friends groaned as Pinkie kept trying to acquire her scent. “I smell three scents. There’s flowers, wood polish, and somepony who hasn’t take a bath! We need to split and see where they take us.” 

“Or we could just follow the wagon tracks,” suggested Rarity while pointing a hoof.

Pinkie looked up. They were currently standing between a pair of wagon tracks. “Oh.”

They followed the trail to the outskirts of Ponyville. They eventually found Trixie’s home sitting alone, but no sign of the mare. Twilight gulped as she approached the door. “Guess I better see her.”

“It’ll be okay. We’ll be right here if ya need us,” reminded the farmer.

Twilight nodded and stood in front of the door. She tapped on the door and called out, “Trixie?” There was no answer. The door was unlocked, so she entered the carriage. “Trixie, are you in here?”

“I am,” the magician responded coldly. She was sitting at a table and was facing away from her.

Twilight closed the door and slowly approached. “Can we talk for a moment?”

“Talk? We did plenty of that already and I am not interested in talking anymore,” she replied in a hostile tone. 

“Look, I’m sorry about-“

“Sorry? Oh trust me, you’re going to be sorry!” Trixie leapt from her seat and got in an aggressive stance. “I am done with you, Sparkle. We’re going to settle this once and for all!”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You want another duel?”

“I do! But this time, it’s going to be a fight to the death!”

“What!? Trixie, you are seriously overreacting.”

“I am not! Prepare to die!” Twilight saw her horn glow and a stream of magic coming towards her. Twilight closed her eyes and prepared for the impact. But what happened was what she didn’t expect. All she felt was a few sparks mildly irritating her. She looked and saw Trixie still shooting magic at her with a face filled with rage.

“Uh…what are you doing?” Twilight asked.

“I am making you pay for everything you have done!” 

The purple unicorn was completely uninterested by her assault. “Trixie, stop it. This is just embarrassing.”

“Oh, you want me to stop torturing you?” the showmare taunted.

“It feels more like somepony’s rubbing leaves against me.”

“Well how about this?” Trixie shot another bolt of magic at her and Twilight just rolled her eyes.

“Seriously, stop it.”

“Well why don’t you make me, Sparkle?” Twilight shot her own magic at her, throwing Trixie against the wall and she fell onto the floor. “Okay, you win.”

Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Can we talk now?”

Trixie got up from the floor. “Have it your way.” They both sat at the table, where the magician crossed her forelegs and looked away. “So what do you want, Twilight? You’re not exactly the pony I want to see.”

Twilight also looked away, feeling very guilty. “I just wanted to talk about what happened earlier and say that I am really sorry about the whole thing and never meant any of it.”

The blue unicorn looked at her angrily. “Well why did you say those things to me? I just wanted to say hi and you treat me like garbage! And worst of all, you sent that letter to Celestia!”

Twilight quickly shook her head. “Actually I didn’t. I just hid it somewhere.”

“I suppose that’s a load off my mind. But back to the point,” Trixie slammed her hoof on the table, looking like she was ready to cry again, “why did you say those things!?” 

The Element of Magic closed her eyes and said, “I got some bad advice.”

“What do you mean?”

Twilight looked at her and admitted, “You see, I was told that you were kind of a possible love interest and-”

Trixie held a hoof up, silencing her. Her expression was now filled with absolute shock. “I’m sorry, what?” Twilight flinched, knowing this was going to be a very awkward conversation. 

Back outside, Twilight’s friends were listening in, trying to make out what they were saying. They heard Trixie threatening Twilight, but they knew her power was laughable. After the loud slam, they only heard mumbling until Trixie shouted. After that, there was brief silence. “I wonder why it got so quiet,” said Spike.

“Don’t know, but I think we should investigate.” Rainbow Dash went up to the door and quietly opened it enough so she could see inside and then her friends piled around her.

“So that’s the story,” Twilight concluded. “Again, I’m really sorry I put you through all that.”

“So you never meant anything you said? It was all fake?”

“Yeah.” The purple pony sighed. “You’re not still mad, are you?”

Trixie slowly paced around the carriage. “I am still a bit angry, but I think I need to see Cherub and give her a piece of my mind.” She stopped and looked at her company. “Look, I think we should try putting this incident behind us. Every time you and I have met, it got pretty bad and I don’t want to repeat history. Besides, I feel like I should give you another chance as you have done so for me, especially since you didn’t intend to hurt me. I want us to be friends, Twilight.”

Twilight smiled at her and they approached each other for a hug. “Thank you, Trixie. I promise to make it all up to you.”

“And Twilight?”

“Yeah?”

Trixie pulled away from her. “You don’t make a girl like you by being mean.” When Twilight turned her head away, Trixie took it and made her look at her. “You should do something like this.” Trixie leaned forward and kissed her lips, stunning Twilight with intense confusion. 

Twilight’s friends all gasped loudly, causing the two mares to stop and Twilight to immediately pull away. “GIRLS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?” 

“I think that gives a whole new meaning to kissing and making up!” said Pinkie happily as she jumped inside.

Twilight laughed nervously as well as blushed as her friends held devious smiles. “Trixie sort of caught me by surprise. Speaking of which, why did you do that?”

Trixie chuckled at her. “I was just giving you some friendly advice. Besides, I thought you said you were trying to get me to like you.”

“H-h-hang on a second!” Twilight stammered as all her friends became giddy. “I didn’t say that! I just said my friend suggested that I tried to get in a relationship with you. I’m not even sure I like girls.”

“Well…I kind of like you,” Trixie admitted while blushing.

Everypony looked at her with wide eyes. “You…do?” Twilight asked in shock.

“Yes. You have given me forgiveness for my previous actions and were the only one who was willing enough to accept me as a friend. I have also learned much about you and you are sort of my inspiration.” Trixie stroked her cheek. “There’s also the fact you’re pretty cute.”

Twilight could not believe what she was hearing. Trixie was a pony she barely knew as they only met three times, yet here she was calling her cute. “W-well, I’m glad we can be friends again?”

The white unicorn pushed her forward. “Don’t you want to be more than friends?” she asked suggestively.	

“Rarity!”

Rainbow also pushed her. “Come on, Twilight! You should totally go out with her!”

Twilight immediately shoved them both away. “Hold on a minute! This is just too much for me. I mean, one minute we were fighting and now we’re going out on a date? That really doesn't sound right at all.”

“Love is strange, isn’t it?” asked Pinkie.

The purple mare immediately turned towards her. “That’s the other thing. As far as I know, I do not like girls.”

“I didn’t know either, Twilight. You just sort of find out, like a surprise party!” She hopped on Fluttershy’s back and hugged her. “And ever since, I’ve been happy with the best pony ever!”

“Just do it, Twi. You’re the only one of us who has yet to have a date,” Spike informed.

“Twilight, I really think you should try. You don’t want to be lonely for Hearts and Hooves, do you?” Fluttershy asked. “That would be so horrible!”

“Come on, Twilight. I totally promise you will like her too!” added the pony on the pegasus’ back.

Twilight was getting annoyed by all of her friends’ constant insisting. She just wanted to take things at her own pace, but her friends were having none of it. She then looked at Trixie. The blue pony had a look of hope in her eyes, expecting her to accept.	 Twilight didn’t want to hurt her anymore, but she still felt skeptical about going out with her. However, she wondered if they were all onto something. Cherub, Pinkie, and the rest thought it was a good idea for her to get romantically involved with Trixie and she thought more about what Pinkie said about her coming out. After much debate with herself, Twilight decided to run with it and see where it took her. She cleared her throat. “Alright, Trixie, I’ll do it.”

Trixie squealed and hugged Twilight’s neck to the point her air supply was being cut off. “Oh splendid! We’re going to have so much fun!”

“What are ya going to do?” asked Applejack, pleased that Twilight was actually doing it.

Twilight got Trixie off of her to catch her breath. “We’ll just stroll through town and I’ll show her around, maybe go to my place. I kind of want to know Trixie better and make up for what happened.”

“Alright, have fun, you lovebirds!” shouted Pinkie, which annoyed her friend. They exited the carriage and waved goodbye to the two unicorns and when they were out of sight, Pinkie suddenly jumped in the air and expelled a shriek of joy, startling her friends. 

“What in the world is with ya?” asked Applejack while covering her ears.

Pinkie didn’t hear her, jumping around and repeatedly yelling, “This is my chance!”

“Chance to do what?” asked Spike in annoyance.

Pinkie landed in front of them. “I’ve always wanted to do matchmaking without being an assistant! Even better, my first chance is to help Twilight! I’m going to make sure they fall in love and you all get to help me!” All of her friends gasped excitedly and she motioned a hoof. “Come on, everypony! Let’s go make some love!”

“Please don’t ever say that again,” said Rarity with a frown.

“How exactly are we going to help?” asked Spike while walking with the others.

Pinkie happily rubbed the top of his head. “I’ve been doing this for a long time. I know exactly what to do!”





A certain changeling was most certainly not pleased with her current activity. This had to be the absolute worst book she had ever read in her life. She admitted she liked stories with some spice, but this story was childish. The sex scenes just made her want to gag and they happened often since it barely had a plot, which she should have expected. What made it all so much worse that the book used similar names to ponies she knew. The story involved Clitoris’s life after being banished by her sister Queen Nymphomaniac. While living in secret in the land of Estrusria, she has to keep away from the watchful eyes of Princess Celustia and Princess Poona. Chrysalis couldn’t stand it anymore and threw the book down onto the floor. Maybe she shouldn’t have picked a book of this genre that involved ponies she knew. But then again, she remembered sneaking a peak at Nymph’s stash and still felt her stomach churn. 

Suddenly, she heard somepony knocking on her door. Chrysalis assumed it was another one of her fans coming to take pictures or ask for an autograph, which wasn’t uncommon. As she walked from her couch, she remembered she left the book on the floor. The fugitive panicked, knowing she had to hide it to ensure she didn’t face public embarrassment. She grabbed the book and shoved it under the couch cushions. Satisfied, she answered the door, only to find no pony in sight. “Stupid kids.” She turned around and was about to walk back in.

“Boo!”

Chrysalis gasped loudly and flew back, only to fall into the snow. She quickly got back on her feet and looked angrily at the pony laughing at her. “Oh, you’re too easy, Cherub!” taunted Luna.

The changeling reentered her building and grabbed a blanket off the couch to wrap herself in. If she got a cold from this, she would pretend it was much worse and make Luna her servant until she was better, taking advantage of her as much as she could. “Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise,” she muttered bitterly.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist pulling a fast one on you. Your reactions are always entertaining,” Luna said while maintaining her grin. 

Chrysalis sat herself down on the couch. As she got comfortable, something dawned on her.  “Luna, what are doing up so early? Shouldn’t you be asleep this time of day?”

Luna nodded as she sat on the other end. “Normally I would be, but Celestia’s workload has increased quite a bit recently, so I offered to stay up and help.”

“And here you are goofing off.”

Luna feigned a gasp. “Not true! Celestia is with Nymph and they’re dealing with the ponies while I deal with the paperwork. I just thought you could keep me company as I did it. The only ponies who see me today are those who complain about Nymph and her guards over some stupid reason.”

When Chrysalis realized that Luna was staying for a long visit, she couldn't help but feel happy. The more time she had with her, the more it would help her future. There was also the fact Luna was such a good friend to her and being with her was always a highlight of her day. “Well, I’m not doing anything, so sure. You can use my office to work in.”

“Excellent.” Luna followed her to the backroom and placed her bag on the desk Chrysalis used. “I’m afraid it will be quite some time until I finish, so any fun we can have will have to wait.”

Chrysalis sat at Pinkie’s desk and put her hooves up on it. “I understand. At least paperwork is easier than ponies coming at you nonstop with their requests, right?”

Luna smirked at her and opened her bag. Chrysalis immediately realized it was a magic bag when a tower of papers that nearly touched the ceiling came out. “You were saying?”

She slowly looked down from the tower and at Luna. “You’re a brave pony for volunteering to do this.”

“Thank you.” Luna pulled one from the top and began reading it thoroughly.

As the alicorn worked, Chrysalis whistled to herself while scanning the room. She tried to think of what exactly she could do to give herself a better image in Luna’s eyes. Since Nymph was in town, changelings were on everypony’s mind, so that would be a good place to start. “How is Nymph doing?” 

“Good. She’s with my sister in another attempt of convincing the people of letting her kind in. I can’t wait until this is all over with. All these ponies complaining about changelings when they know nothing about them annoys me. I just want the changelings to be happy and ignorance and fear is preventing that.”

“I see. It is inevitable that changelings will be coming to Equestria, isn’t it?”

Luna tore a document in half and threw it into the trash, clearly dissatisfied with it. “Of course, so you better get used to them soon. With your business, they will practically be breaking your door down for love.”

Chrysalis laughed, imagining that happening in the future. However, this joke suddenly gave her a big idea. “So…I was wondering if I could perhaps…help them.”

Luna signed a bill, placed it down, and looked at her. “What’s this? Cherub actually wishes to help the changelings? Clearly this is the work of Discord,” she teased.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes while smiling. “Well, I know they have been through a lot and food has always been an issue for them and since they’re coming, I thought that maybe I could let them feed here in Cupid’s Arrow,” she offered. “Maybe even get to know them.”

Luna gave one of her heartwarming smiles. “Well that’s very thoughtful of you, Cherub. I’m so glad you are willing to give them a chance.”

“What can I say? I’m a bleeding heart. I just think it would be best if I were to help them in any way I can.”

“If you wish to do more, then I could take you to see Nymph and we could-”

“NO!” Chrysalis shouted, startling the alicorn. “I-I-I mean that it sounds nice, but I’m sure she has more important things to worry about.”

Luna sighed. “Oh, Cherub, must you always be so nervous about meeting royalty? You’ve met me and my sister and yet nothing has changed.”

Chrysalis sighed as she recalled her embarrassing display when she first met Luna. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I will need some time to get used to the idea of changelings, but I could perhaps give Nymph a gift to congratulate her for all her efforts and to help ease things up for her.”

“What kind of gift?” Luna asked.

The matchmaker grinned, finally realizing something that she had that would create a powerful impact on Luna’s and even the changeling’s opinion of her. “My Hearts and Hooves event is meant to be for charity by donating some of the money we make, but perhaps I could take it a step further. Since there will be so much love there that no pony will be using, maybe Nymph could get her people to collect it for food.”

Luna, gasping, stood up and quickly went to Chrysalis to hug her. “Oh, that is a wonderful idea, Cherub! I’m so glad you wish to help them! You are a saint!”

Chrysalis felt her face become warm from the close contact. “Like I said, I’m a bleeding heart. I have been selfish before, so it’s now time for me to start giving. I’m a new Cherub, remember?”

The alicorn got off of her. “And I’m very fond of her. Speaking of your holiday event, you must be excited to be actually doing something like this. Not everypony gets to do something like this.”

“You have no idea. I’m going to have a holiday about me, just like you!”

Luna laughed and tussled her hair. “Don’t let it get into your head. Cadance is the Princess of Love and I am sure she wouldn’t let anypony else take charge of Hearts and Hooves. Besides, I think my holiday is better.”

“Only because you gorge yourself on treats,” teased Chrysalis as she poked Luna’s belly.

The pony squealed as she covered her midsection defensively. “Stop that! You can’t touch me like that, I’m a princess!”

“Sometimes I forget you are, fatty,” she jested while making a second attempt.

Luna backed away and became angry. “I am not fat! Continue to tease me and I shall make you sorry!”

Chrysalis just scoffed at her and poked her again. “Oh, what are you going to do about it, tubby? Eat me?”

One minute later, Chrysalis was grumbling as she lied on the floor with Luna sitting on her. “Are you going to get off? You’re heavier than you look.”

“Only when you take everything you said back,” she answered.

“Tempting, but your weight is reinforcing my argument and your butt actually feels nice,” Chrysalis taunted. While she laughed, Luna rolled up a magazine with her magic and began smacking her in the face. The changeling struggled as much as she could while stuck in her place. “Hey, knock it off!” Luna just laughed as she read through another document while continuing her assault. 



	 

For the entire time they were together, Twilight and Trixie barely spoke, each feeling slightly embarrassed from their date. What they didn’t know was that a few certain ponies and a certain dragon were keeping watch of them from afar. “What gives? They just gonna not say anythin’?” asked Applejack.

“Do they not like each other? Are they going to fight again?” Fluttershy started to absolutely panic. “What should we do, Pinkie!? Everything is a mess!”

“Don’t worry,” said Pinkie while patting her marefriend on the back. “I have an idea.”

Twilight wasn’t sure of what to talk about with Trixie. If they were just friends, it would’ve been much easier for her to make conversation, but the truth was she knew almost nothing about her. She thought about asking her, but she felt nervous since Trixie was attracted to her. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash flew past them from behind at top speed, creating a sudden gust of wind. The wind blew against the mares and caused Trixie’s hat to take flight. “My hat!”

The lavender mare saw what happened and quickly grabbed it with her magic. She brought it back down and gave it to her friend. “Here, Trixie.”

Trixie took it and rested it on her head. “Thank you. This hat is an important part of my act. It’s one of a kind and I’d be so devastated if something happened to it.”

“I really like the design. It looks cute on you,” Twilight complimented, feeling shy from the fact she called her cute.

“I’m sure it looks good on you, too.”

“Probably not,” Twilight admitted. Just then, she saw Trixie put her trademark hat on her head.

“You’re right, it doesn’t,” said the blue mare, smirking.

Twilight frowned angrily. “Gee thanks.” After a moment, they just cracked up and Trixie took it back. “You know, I wished you visited me sooner, Trixie. I really wondered what happened to you the last time we met.” 

Trixie sighed. “I know I should have visited, but I was embarrassed about what happened. News had already spread what happened in Ponyville and I was having a tough time making business. I was hoping to make a more positive image for myself before I saw you. I didn’t want to bring your reputation down from hanging around me.”

“It’s okay, Trixie,” she said in attempt of comfort. “I don’t care what ponies would think. I would never abandon my friends.”

The magician blushed. “Really?”

“Of course. Besides, I’m pretty sure no pony remembers-” A large patch of snow suddenly flew from behind and covered Trixie in an instant. 

Twilight gasped and began digging through the mound of snow. As she tried to free Trixie, two colts came up to them. “Oops! We’re sorry, Twilight,” said Snips. “Snails accidentally launched our snow catapult the wrong way.” He looked at the other unicorn. “I said to fire it east!”

“No, I’m pretty sure you said weast,” argued Snails.

“Weast? That’s not…never mind. Is your friend okay, Twilight? It was totally an accident and-” Finally, Trixie was freed for her prison. The sight of her caused both of the boys to yell in terror. “Holy Celestia, Trixie’s back again!” They both got on their knees and began bowing to the blue mare. “Please, your omnipotence! Have mercy!”

“Wheels are our friends! You have to believe us!” cried Snails.

Trixie was becoming incredibly uncomfortable with what was going on and Twilight took action. “Relax, you two. She’s not doing anything evil.”

They both stopped and looked up at her. “She’s not?” asked Snips.

“No. She’s completely harmless. She’s an all new mare as well as my friend, so there’s no need to be afraid of her.”

Snips and Snails got up from the ground. “Phew! I’m glad that I don’t have to drag anything heavy again.” He looked at Trixie. “So what are you doing in Ponyville? Doing another magic show or something?”

Trixie suddenly wrapped her forelegs around Twilight. “I’m having a romantic date with Twilight!”

“T-Trixie!”

Both colts stared at them with wide eyes and opened mouths. “Y-you two are both girls and you’re on a date?” asked Snips.

“Is that legal?” quarried Snails.

With a blush on her face, Twilight cleared her throat while pushing Trixie off her. “We’re not on a date. We are simply spending the day together as friends and nothing more.”

“But Trixie said you were on a date,” countered the taller colt.

“Dude, we should tell everypony in school about this!”

“H-hang on!” Twilight shouted in a panic. “Guys, I would prefer you two to not tell anypony about this, so how about I give you both mustaches in exchange for your silence?”

Snips and Snails gasped and their eyes were gleaming. “R-really?” asked Snails.

“Yep. Just remember your end of the deal.”

“Could we have ones that are long and pointy?” asked Snips. “We want to sword fight with them!”

Twilight just rolled her eyes as her horn glowed. A few seconds later, long, pointed facial hair grew on the faces of the two colts. “There.”

They both gasped happily at their new possessions. Snips looked at his friend and said, “Awesome! Let’s go show all the other kids and fight with them!” They both ran off. “Thanks Twilight and bye Trixie!”

“I get to be Mustache-Beard the pirate!” called Snails.

When they were gone, Twilight sighed with relief. “Glad that’s done with. Let’s get back to what we were doing.”

Trixie was still staring in the direction that Snips and Snails ran off. “I see they’re doing well.”

“Yeah. Pretty surprised we ran into them of all ponies.”

She looked at Twilight, mildly annoyed. “And you bribed them to keep silent about us?”

Twilight averted her gaze. “I-it’s not like I’m ashamed of being with you, Trixie. I just don’t want anypony to get the wrong idea about us when I’m not even sure what the truth is.”

Trixie sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “I guess. And Twilight?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for standing up for me,” she cooed. She then pecked her on the cheek.

Twilight gulped as she warmed up. “J-just doing what I’d do for any of my friends.”

When they were out of sight, the two colts carrying facial hair went up to Pinkie and the crew. “Okay, we did it like you asked,” said Snips. 

“That was great, guys! Everything is going according to plan!” exclaimed Pinkie. She pulled out a few bits and gave them to Snips and Snails. “Thanks for the help, guys. And you can keep the snow catapult!”

“Bye, Pinkie!” they both said as they ran off.

Once they were gone, the party mare and her friends pursued the couple. “That worked out totally great! Twilight totally stuck up for her and then Trixie kissed her!”

“She was like a knight in shining armor that jumped in to save her poor damsel.” Rarity sighed happily. “Who knew Twilight could ever be like that?”

Applejack tossed a patch of snow at Rarity’s face, bringing her out of her daydreaming. The farmer just smirked while her victim looked angrily at her. “We ain’t finished yet, so let’s keep after ‘em.”

Once they found the two ponies again, something occurred to Spike. “So do any of you girls feel weird that we’re kinda forcing Twilight and Trixie to get together despite the both of them barely knowing each other and even having a rough patch in their friendship?”

The ponies looked at him and thought about what he asked for a moment. “No,” they answered at the same time.

Spike smiled and hopped on Rarity’s back. “Alright, awesome. I was just making sure.”

Several citizens of Ponyville noticed who was accompanying Twilight and either stared or just walked away quickly. As much as Trixie liked being with Twilight, she wanted to do something to keep her mind off the ponies remembering her. “So Twilight, what’s there to do around here in Ponyville?”

“Not too much because it’s winter, but I’m sure we can find something."

“Well what do you usually like to do?” asked Trixie.

“I always love to read,” Twilight stated proudly.

“I should have guessed from the fact you live in a library. But what else do you do exactly?”

Twilight’s confidence swayed when she tried thinking of another hobby. “I…uh…read?”

Trixie snickered at her. “I should have known you were a real book worm, but what’s all this about you working in a dating service? I never expected something like that from you."

Twilight blushed a little. “I’m just a secretary, really. I never get involved with clients.”

“So you don’t actually help ponies find the one?”

She shook her head. “No, that’s all Pinkie and Cherub. They do that while I keep everything tidy.”

“So how in the world did you end up there?”

Twilight found a nearby bench and seated herself and Trixie sat next to her. “I’ve known Cherub for a long time and Pinkie has worked for her almost as long. One day, Cherub made some money and was able to hire some ponies and Pinkie wanted me to work there since I’m her friend. I get paid pretty well and it’s a simple job. But enough about me. I want to know more about you, Trixie. What happened to you after you left Ponyville? I heard almost nothing about you and I got a little worried.”

Trixie sighed and leaned against her seat, looking up towards the cloudless sky. “The truth is I sort of put my show on hiatus. I knew every newspaper in Equestria would talk about what I did and I didn’t want my face to be seen,” she said gloomily. “So I bought a train ticket and headed to the open country to make bits. I’ve been working on a cherry ranch all this time, making an honest living while also practicing my magic. Sadly, I haven’t really improved.”

“So why did you come visit today?” Twilight questioned curiously.

“I’ve been meaning to see you again for a while, but I wanted the news to die down first. There’s also the fact the ranch is closed for the winter season, so I’m not working there anymore. It’s been a while since the whole incident and I thought maybe it was time to get my show up and running again, but I still need to work on my act. I then remembered how you were very talented in magic and decided to pay you a visit.”

Twilight put a hoof on her own forehead. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you a better greeting.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Let’s not worry about that now. I just want to enjoy our time together right now.”

While they spoke, a bird flew off a nearby tree branch and descended onto the shoulder of Fluttershy, whispering into her ear. “What’s he saying?” Rainbow asked.

Fluttershy shushed her and continued listening. After a moment, she turned towards her and said, “He says they’re just talking right now.”

“We know that, but about what?” asked Spike.

“He doesn’t know. He couldn’t hear them.”

Pinkie pulled on her mane. “Well we need to know. It is super important! They could be talking about boys for all we know!”

“Well what can we really do, Pinkie?” asked Applejack. “Ah don’t think we can just ask them.”

Pinkie grew a devious smile on her face and rubbed her hooves together. “Or can we?”

While Twilight and Trixie were talking, they were interrupted by a voice calling, “Hey there, ya two!”

The two unicorns looked at the direction of the voice, finding Applejack and Caramel approaching them. “Hey, Applejack and Caramel. What are you doing here?” Twilight asked, sounding slightly suspicious from their sudden appearance. 

The farmer scrunched her face and shifted her eyes away. “We was just walkin’ by and we just happened to notice the both of ya and wanted to say hi. Ain’t that right, hun?” she asked while nudging her coltfriend.

“Yeah, we were just walking by,” he answered quickly. He looked at Trixie and said, “Hey, aren’t you that crazy magician who-” Applejack shoved a hoofful of snow into his mouth.

Both unicorns stared at her, causing her to laugh sheepishly. “Don’t mind him none. He’s just bein’ a dolt.”

Trixie groaned as she already heard enough of what he was trying to ask. “For your information, yes, I am that magician, but I am not trying anything.”

The stallion got the last of the snow out of his mouth. “That’s good. So what are you doing then?”

“Not much,” answered the magician. “I’m just spending the day with Twilight and catching up on things.”

“So what were ya both talkin’ about?” asked Applejack. “Everythin’ goin’ well? No problems or nutin’?”

“We’re just fine,” Twilight answered while watching her carefully. “We were just talking about some of the adventures we and the other girls had in the past.”

Having retrieved what she wanted, she pulled Caramel with her. “Alright, sorry for botherin’ ya. See ya two later.” Applejack and Caramel walked away from them and waited until they were far enough before they spoke. “Ah really appreciate ya comin’ out here on short notice.”

He chuckled and looked back in the direction they came from. “It’s no problem, but I’m not even sure what we did exactly.”

“It’s complicated. Ah’ll tell ya all about it later.”

He looked back at her. “Okay. I guess we’re done for now?”

“Ah’m afraid so.” Applejack leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. “See ya tomorrow, lover boy.”

He kissed her back. “I can’t wait. Good luck with whatever you’re doing, Applejack.” He then walked away, heading back towards his job.

It took several minutes for the cowgirl to loop back to where her friends were without having Twilight notice. “Well?” asked Fluttershy.

Applejack smiled. “It’s all good. They’re just talkin’ about normal stuff. No problem at all.”

Rarity took another peak at the two mares on the bench, noticing that each one was smiling. “Well, Pinkie, it seems like they got it under control. I guess we can go home now?” Rarity noticed Pinkie wasn’t happy at all. “Pinkie?”

“Girls, this is bad! This is really, really, really bad!” 

All of her friends were feeling nervous. “What do you mean? I thought things were going great!” Spike pointed out.

Pinkie rushed over and frantically shook him. “It’s not great at all! They’re acting like…like…friends!”

The group became absolutely silent. Each pony and Spike slowly looked at each other and then back at Pinkie. “And…what?” asked a very confused Rainbow Dash.

“That means if they keep this up, Trixie will be in…” Pinkie suddenly pulled out a flashlight and pointed it at her own face, “the friend zone!”

All of her friends gasped loudly. “Oh no! What do we do!?” asked Fluttershy.

Pinkie paced back and forth rapidly, slowly causing a hole in the snow for her to sink in. “I don’t know! They need to do something romantic, but I can’t think of anything! Twilight’s not planning on anything special, so we need to plan it for them! But the problem is I just don’t know what Twilight is going to do so I can’t prepare it in time!”

The gang all thought about what they could do to end this crisis and save the romance between the two mares. Suddenly, Spike spoke up. “I have an idea.”





Luna paced around the room, growing more and more restless. She was no longer able to focus on her work and could only think about her current needs. It was unbearable. She had an uncontrollable craving coming from inside of her and only one pony could satisfy her. She was dying for Cherub to return, wondering when she would return to her before her primal urges were unleashed. She wanted, no, she needed Cherub more than ever. If she didn’t come soon, Luna would go mad. Her desire was beginning to overpower her and she was pulling on her own mane.

Just then, the door opened and the matchmaker appeared. “Food’s here!” she announced cheerfully.

The alicorn yanked the bag from Chrysalis’s grasp with her magic and placed it on the desk. “It’s about time you showed up! I was just about ready to eat some legal documents.”

Chrysalis sat herself next to her while her friend dug through the large bag looking for what she ordered. “Sorry, but I decided to do a little window shopping on the way there.”

Luna opened a large box of noodles and picked up some chopsticks. “You were shopping while I was suffering? Why would you do that to me!?”

“Relax, it was only for a few minutes.” Of course, Chrysalis did that on purpose for Luna sitting on and attacking her, making the girl starve and go crazy. However, she wasn’t finished with her yet, but she would take her time before making her next move.

“A few minutes is too long! What if you came back and found me dead from starvation? What would you do then?”

The changeling smirked at here as she took a bite of some fried rice. “I would be more confused than anything, considering I have plenty of food here.”

“But Cherub, when I need Hoofinese takeout, I need Hoofinese takeout! Every other type of food tastes so bland when I get this craving.” When Luna got everything she ordered, she noticed there was still a lot of food leftover. “I hope you didn’t buy all that just for me.”

Chrysalis used her magic to bring the remaining food to her side. “Nope. Those are for me.”

Luna looked at her in shock. “But that’s about how much I eat!”

The shapeshifter shrugged with a smile on her face. “What can I say? A girl’s gotta eat.” While eating her dinner, Chrysalis thought about her time back home. Hoofinese food was actually a favorite of hers and she had it quite a lot as the restaurant in Bugartha had meat included in its food. The food she was eating now was pretty good, but nothing bested the taste of meat. Her thoughts were put on hold from the sound of extremely loud slurping. The source was Luna herself, devouring her noodles as fast as she could and making a bit of a mess. It took less than a minute for the Princess of the Night to finish her noodles and move onto the next meal. “I didn’t realize I was eating with a barbarian.”

“What? I’m hungry,” Luna answered while prying open a container.

“You are a princess. Shouldn’t you have manners of some sort?”

“Sorry, but I love this type of food. I couldn’t get enough when I first discovered it when I returned.”

“Well if you love it so much, why don’t you marry it?” the changeling teased.

“Because I would be a widow in two minutes.”

They both laughed loudly and then resumed dining. While eating, Chrysalis thought of something and decided to give it a shot. “Speaking of love, I wond-”

“No.”

Chrysalis sighed. “Well that answers that. I hope you don’t plan on going to my event without a date.”

Luna paused from her eating. “I don’t, actually. I will try to find a date myself, but if I am unable to do so, I may ask you for your help.”

Chrysalis smiled. “I like the sound of that,” she said while taking a bite of teriyaki vegetables.

“But just so you know, Cadance has been making the same offer,” Luna added.

The former queen slowly swallowed her food. “She has?”

Luna saw her reaction and smiled. “Are you surprised? She is the Princess of Love and I am her aunt. She knows all about me and has also been slightly determined in finding me a special somepony, so you may have some competition.”

“Well that’s really nice of her to care about you.” Chrysalis didn’t care that she wronged Cadance. If that girl ruined her chances of finding Luna love, there would be Tartarus to pay. 

The two of them took their time with their dinner and continued talking while making an occasional joke. Once they finished, Chrysalis gathered all the trash and tossed it into the garbage can outside. “I’m afraid it’s back to work for me,” muttered Luna as she gazed at the remaining pile.

“Sucks to be you,” taunted Chrysalis while filing her hoof.

Luna chose to ignore her and continue her work. While reading, she heard Chrysalis whistling to herself and saw that she was just sitting there and doing nothing. “Don’t you have something to do?”

“In my line of work, not at all. I’m always free, but I can put on some music if you wish,” Chrysalis suggested as she got up and went into the main room.

“As long as it’s not that really sappy stuff you always play,” the pony teased.

“Hey, I do that for the customers.” The changeling returned with the record player and set it on a chair. She brought out a record from its case and placed in on the machine. She put the needle on the record and after a few seconds, jazz began playing. “Is this good?” she asked.

“Yes it is. Thank you.” Luna moved one of the bills aside, dissatisfied with it. “How do you stand it?”

“Stand what?” 

Luna waved a hoof around. “Living in such a big place all by yourself? I think I would go mad to feel so alone.”

Chrysalis leaned back in her chair. “It often feels lonely, I will admit that, but I’m fine. Five days a week I have many ponies here and I just go out during the weekends. Not to mention Pinkie also provides fantastic company whenever I need it.”

“That’s good. I’m relieved to hear that this place won’t be crawling with cats any time soon.”

Chrysalis laughed. “Oh, I don’t think that will be problem. I don’t even like cats.” It was actually Nymph who loved cats, provided there was some ketchup available.

Time passed as they both sat in the office and listened to the record. Luna was managing to reduce the size of the pile, but her pace was slow. Chrysalis couldn’t think about what to talk about and was getting impatient while waiting for Luna to finish. “I’m so bored!” she whined some time later, flopping herself on the desk.

Luna chuckled. “Welcome to the life of a princess.”

Chrysalis most certainly did not remember her life as royalty being so dull. She remembered simply making stuff happen through will alone and taking action for many occasions. “How do you stand doing this, Luna? This is absolutely dreadful and I think the boringness of your work is spreading onto me.”

The princess smiled. “I have patience and I love what I do. Still, I wish I could have more vacation time.”

Chrysalis eyed the clock again and saw that hours had passed since the alicorn started. “I think if you actually finish this today, we need to celebrate you completing such an achievement.”

Luna looked over at her and was quite excited. “That sounds like fun. What do you have in mind?” 

The changeling pondered this. She already went with Pinkie for food, so she wanted to do something else. Getting drunk was always fun, but she didn’t desire to do something too primitive. That’s when it hit her and she said, “I say we head back to your palace, get drunk, and enjoy ourselves to some lovely concubines. Great way to end the day, am I right?” The record screeched to a halt and Luna’s quill flew off the paper and its tip dragged across the desk. The alicorn was completely stunned, not moving an inch. “Was it something I said?”

Luna slowly turned to her, exposing her extremely shocked expression. “Yes, it was something you said! What else did you think was the matter!?”

Chrysalis realized what must have been the problem and blushed. “So you don’t have any concubines?”

“No! Celestia, I, and everyone I currently know have never, ever had any! Why did you even think such a thing!?”

She lowered her head, feeling so ashamed she made such an assumption about the princess. It also occurred to her that Nymph and the other changeling royals may have made great effort to give their race a positive image in the eyes of the alicorns. “Uh…I don’t know.” They just looked at each other in awkward silence. After what felt like an eternity to the both of them, Luna slowly returned to her work without saying a word. Chrysalis, on the other hoof, just rested her head on the desk and sighed.



			

After several hours of touring the town, the two unicorns were ready to call it a day. Trixie retrieved her home and followed Twilight as they headed back to the library. Twilight was more than certain her friends were following them, but she found no trace of them, so she guessed she was just being paranoid. “What a day,” spoke Twilight with some exhaustion in her voice.

“A fun day, I must say,” Trixie replied happily. “It was so nice of you to show me around.”

“It’s no problem.” Twilight still held a bit of uncertainty in terms of Trixie as her marefriend, but she also still felt guilty about hurting her feelings. “Do you want to stay over at my place for the night? I wouldn’t mind having a friend over and we could just talk some more if you want.”

Trixie gasped and hopped like Pinkie did whenever she was excited. “Do I ever! It would be so nice to live somewhere bigger than my carriage.”

Finally, they reached Twilight’s home. The purple unicorn was relieved to be home after her day and just wanted to lie down. However, she was certain Spike would be pestering her about her time with Trixie, but she was sure she could handle him. When she opened the door, Trixie’s jaw dropped while Twilight put a hoof on her face. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The inside of her home was decorated to look like a fancy restaurant. The window curtains were shut and the room was dimly lit with candles. Her friends were there, all of them with eager expressions and wearing waiter uniforms. “A romantic dinner? Oh, you shouldn’t have!” Trixie squealed as she hugged her date.

“Yeah, I shouldn’t have,” she growled as she looked at her friends, knowing exactly what they were up to.

“Well what you two waiting for?” asked Pinkie, barely able to contain her excitement. “Take a seat!”

The two unicorns sat down at the table, covered with a white cloth with a large candle in the middle and a small bowl of salad for each of them. “So what’s for dinner?” asked Twilight when she realized there was no menu to order from.

“Spike thought somethin’ up that ya’ll both like,” answered Applejack. “We guarantee ya will both enjoy it.”

As if on cue, the dragon exited from the kitchen with a plate with a top over it. He carried it to the table and revealed the large amount of spaghetti underneath. “Enjoy.”

Both of the mares looked at it hungrily as they hadn’t eaten almost all day. “Thank you, Spike,” said Twilight. Spike was a good cook and Twilight knew she was in for a real treat. They both took a fork and began eating. Rarity brought over her violin and began playing elegant music, trying to set the mood. As Twilight and Trixie were sucking on some strands of pasta, the other ponies saw that they were sharing one and they watched with anticipation. As they continued eating, the strands were growing shorter in length. The two mares than noticed that were pulling on different ends and Trixie increased her pace. Twilight quickly bit down, severing the connection. Her friends and Trixie were not happy that she did that, but then the magician just went over and kissed her. The waiters made sure not to make a sound as Twilight froze, unsure of what to do. Once she snapped out of it, she continued eating while furiously blushing.

It took about ten minutes for them to finish their dinner. Once done, Trixie put her fork down and rubbed her belly. “That was so good and I want more, but I couldn’t possibly eat another bite.” She sat up and took Twilight’s hooves. “I really enjoy everything you’ve done for me, Twilight. It has been such a nice day with you. Today I felt like we’ve gotten to know each other so well. I don’t hate you for what happened and I know you didn’t mean it, but the fact you cared so deeply about my feelings after both our encounters and wanted nothing more than to make me happy touches my heart. You are definitely the type of pony I want to be with.” Trixie put her hooves on Twilight’s and their faces merely inches apart. “I…love you, Twilight Sparkle.”

All of Twilight’s friends giggled and then looked at the other unicorn, who was blushing uncontrollably. “That’s great, Trixie. I…”

“Go on, you can say it,” the blue unicorn encouraged.

Twilight could feel her heart pounding like a drum. It didn’t help that her friends were all staring and it just made it feel a lot more embarrassing. She looked deep into the mare’s eyes and spoke. 

“I like you, Trixie.”

Rarity stopped playing the violin and the whole tree fell silent with no pony moving an inch for about a minute. Trixie’s mouth was hanging open, quivering. “W-what?”

Twilight pulled away and took a bite of leftover spaghetti. “So how about this food? It’s pretty good, right?” she asked nervously.

Trixie swept her hoof across the table, sending everything onto the floor. “You like me!? Is this some sort of joke!?”

The lavender unicorn calmly wiped her mouth with her napkin using her magic. “No. I'm sorry, but it’s the truth.”

“Oh come on, Twilight!” shouted the blue pegasus. “You two get along so well! She's practically your soulmate!”

“How could you just turn her down like that after everything we had done for you!?” yelled Rarity. “You’re so ungrateful!”

Pinkie flopped onto the floor and bawled loudly, “I’M A TOTAL FAILURE! I AM THE WORST MATCHMAKER EVER!” Pinkie pulled out a suitcase and started putting books and other things inside. “I’m running away so you girls won’t have to deal with me anymore!”

Spike was the only one who noticed what Pinkie was doing as the others were more focused on Twilight. “Uh, Pinkie? That’s Twilight’s stuff.”

The sad mare picked him up and placed him in the suitcase. “I’m going back to my parents’ rock farm. I don’t deserve to live here and be friends with any of you!” She tried to close the suitcase, but Spike pushed against her.

“That’s not cool, Twilight,” added Rainbow with her forelegs crossed. “I mean, you lead her on about liking her and then dump her at the last second?” She glared at her. “I question our friendship.”	

Everypony was shouting at her except for Pinkie and Spike, who were fighting over the suitcase, and Twilight’s patience had just run out. “QUIET!” They all stopped and allowed her to speak. “Look, Trixie. I’m sorry to disappoint you, and apparently the rest of you, but it’s honestly how I feel. I mean, this whole thing was just too fast for me. In one day we’ve been trying to date and get together and everypony was pushing us, but I still don’t think I feel the same way about mares as you do. And even if I did, there’s still some rough patches between us that I would want to smooth out first.”

Trixie sighed and stared at the table. “I see.”

Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder and Trixie looked at her. “Don’t be upset. I still like you as a friend and we can still hang out. I still want to get to know you better. And maybe in the future, and I mean maybe, I might actually feel the same way about you, but don’t be disappointed if I don’t.”

The magician crossed her forelegs and smiled weakly. “Well thank you for being honest, but what happens between us now?”

“We can just stay friends, Trixie. I wouldn’t mind if you stayed with me for a few days and we just hung out.”

“But Twilight, what about me becoming a student of Celestia? I still want to do that.”

The purple unicorn laughed nervously as she rubbed her hoof behind her head. “I don’t think I can convince her right now. You really need to improve magic before she would consider taking you.”

Trixie quickly stood up. “Then I will! From this moment on, I shall dedicate myself into improving my magical abilities! But what should I do to make myself better?”

“I’ve got several books you can check out,” Twilight offered.

“I don’t have time to read through a bunch of books!” Trixie complained. “I need to become better as soon as possible and get my show back on the road!”

At that moment, inspiration struck Pinkie and she became very excited. It wasn’t exactly romance, but it would still help fix the damage Chrysalis caused and maybe even make something happen in the future. “Twilight, isn’t it obvious what you need to do?” 

“Find a tutor to make her their student?” guessed the mare.

Pinkie shook her head. “No, make her your student, silly!”

Twilight and the others were surprised. “Me? A teacher? I don’t feel so sure about that. I’ve never done anything like that before. Maybe I shouldn’t.”

“Well why not?” asked the seamstress. “You always like learning and I’m sure you are more than capable of helping Trixie improve. You would make a great teacher, Twilight.”

“But doesn’t she have a show to perform?” reminded Rainbow.

Trixie sighed. “Not many ponies come anymore, so I’ll need more tricks to bring them back,” she admitted glumly.

Twilight could see her friends looking at her, expecting her answer. Once again they were pressuring her to do something she was uncertain about, but this was a lot less stressful. She knew that Trixie needed help and actually did like the idea of being a teacher. After thinking things over, she looked at the magician. “Alright. From now on, you are officially a student of Twilight Sparkle!”

Trixie and Pinkie jumped into the air and shouted, “Hurray!”

“Class will start after work tomorrow and we can begin by reading about the history of magic.” Twilight pulled out a massive book that when she dropped it on the table, the tree slightly shook.

Seeing the size of the book made Trixie realize what most of her time with Twilight was going to involve. “Hurray…”





Luna threw down her quill and shouted, “Huzzah! Everything has been finished! I am a free pony once again!”

Chrysalis looked at her clock and saw how late it was. “I can’t believe it took you so long. Your subjects need to go lighter on you.”

“I agree. I may be immortal, but I am still one pony.” Luna sighed. “I apologize for not having enough time to do something fun with you. Today must have been a letdown for you.”

“Oh, it’s no problem. I understand you were busy and we did actually have some fun. My day has certainly improved since you came.”

Luna stood up and stretched. “I hope you don’t mind if I go into your kitchen and grab a victory snack.”

Chrysalis opened the door to her office and walked out. “Go ahead. You deserve a treat, Princess,” she called back.

Luna entered and returned from the kitchen with a pastry, signifying her victory. “Sometimes I envy you, Cherub. A royal life is not an easy one.”

Chrysalis sat on her couch facing the window, witnessing the snowflakes fall outside. “I think I’d actually be happier if I was royalty.”

The pony finished her treat. “Your funeral.”  They both chuckled as Luna sat right next to her. “So what’s next for us to do?"

Chrysalis looked at her with some surprise. “Next? It’s late and I need to go to bed soon. Some of us ponies have work, as you should know.”

Luna rolled her eyes. “Very well, but perhaps we could talk before we turn in?”

Chrysalis nodded as she laid herself down on the couch. “Sounds good to me.”

“Excellent, because I’ve been thinking about your upcoming holiday event and I have realized you have quite a problem.”

Chrysalis quickly sat straight up. “What problem?” she asked very worriedly.

Luna wore a smug smile. “Your date,” she answered while poking a hoof at her friend’s chest.

“Pardon?”

“Well it’s a romantic event on a romantic holiday, so why not have a date?” Luna suggested.

The changeling relaxed and went back down. “Nah.”

Luna was not happy she declined. “Cherub, I really think you should,” she said while sounding more serious.

Chrysalis looked at her curiously. “Why? What’s going on in that head of yours?”

Luna cleared her throat. “You’ve pestered me about this plenty of times, but have you ever thought about getting back into the dating world yourself?”

Chrysalis looked away. She had actually thought about it for a while, but she tried her best to avoid thinking about it. She was going to wait until she didn’t need to hide herself anymore before finding someone to settle with. With her current reputation, it would probably be years before any changeling would give her a chance. “I will admit I have,” she replied, feeling a little uneasy.

Luna scooted closer to her. “Cherub, don’t you think it’s time you moved on? I know it was hard to deal with your wedding, but I think it will do you a lot of good if you started dating again. You’re still so hung up on your wedding and it’s still affecting your life.”

Chrysalis sighed while shaking her head. “As tempting as it sounds, I don’t think I’m ready. I already have a lot of things I need to take care of. Being in a relationship will only complicate things.”

“I see. But while we’re on the subject, what’s your ideal guy?” Luna asked suddenly.

Chrysalis looked at her in surprise, never expecting the alicorn to be interested in that. “I’ll tell you if you tell me.”

Luna laughed. “Oh no, that’s not how this works. If I tell you, I bet you’re going to find a stallion who matches what I want and have him show up at my door with flowers.”

Chrysalis smiled and faked a gasp. “Luna, I am shocked you would think I would do something like that! I’d actually have him wait on your bed with some scented candles, some sexy music, and a bottle of the best champagne.”

They both laughed hysterically and Luna was even blushing. “Cherub, you have to be the biggest child I have ever met.”

Chrysalis playfully nudged her with her hoof from her hind leg. “Come on. You know deep down you want something like that to happen.”

Luna averted her eyes. “I admit nothing. Besides, we’re talking about you, so out with it. I don’t even know that much about your last lover, so I’d like to at least know what your taste is.”

Chrysalis took a moment to think about it as she never gave this much thought in a long time. “Well, I prefer having a nice guy, but not somepony who is a push over. They need to have some backbone and know when to take charge, but they need to remember that I am always in charge. Also…” Chrysalis could feel herself blushing heavily. She hadn’t talked about guys like this since she was with her sister. “It would be nice if they would sometimes swoop down and rescue me from my troubles." Chrysalis could hear Luna giggling like a filly, so the changeling moved her head to move her hair to hide her face. "Alright, your turn. What do you want?”

Luna tapped her chin. “Normally I chose stallions of wealth, class, and intelligence as I was expected to marry a pony with these qualities since I am royalty, but I live in a different world now. I don’t think ponies would care too much if I married a commoner. I suppose I want somepony kind who understands me, has charm, and is at least decent looking.”

“Sounds like a winner. I bet I can find you somepony like that before Hearts and Hooves,” Chrysalis offered with a sly smile.

“Don’t you dare. If I want your help, I will ask for it. Until then, let me worry about it. Besides, I want you to at least think about finding your own date.”

“I will.” Chrysalis didn’t feel bad that she would be by herself for her event. The point of it was to make a name for herself, not to find love. The only pony she held the slightest interest in was the princess in the room with her, but she didn’t take the idea seriously at all as she knew dating Luna could only end in disaster. That’s when Chrysalis got the perfect idea of how to get even with her friend. “Actually...there is this one pony I kind of have a crush on.”

Luna immediately turned to her, eyes filled with curiosity. “Really? Who is it?”

The bait was set. Now she had to lure her into the trap. “One of my friends. They have been so good to me and I don’t know where I would be if I never met them.”

The alicorn was becoming more interested and leaned closer, smiling widely. “Well what’s he like and why haven’t I heard about him before?”

The former queen giggled. “I will admit that I feel embarrassed to have such a crush on him. Plus, I didn’t want him to fall for you as you’re a much better pony compared to me, so I kept him a secret. He’s really kind, insightful, and not to mention extremely good looking. He may look intimidating on the outside, but he’s just a big softie who always knows how to make me feel better.” 

“So who is this stallion, Cherub? I am dying to meet him.”

Chrysalis used her natural ability to fake a blush. “Actually, it’s a mare,” she admitted in a whisper.

Now Luna was very surprised. “A mare? I did not realize that you were gay, Cherub.”

“I didn’t either at first, but there’s something about this pony that makes me feel so warm and happy. Whenever I’m with her, my chest feels so light and I just want to spend my life with her. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so in love.” She then pretended to be depressed. “However, I don’t think she feels the same about me. I feel like I’m chasing a dream that won’t come true.”

Luna placed her hoof on Chrysalis’s leg. “Well I think you should tell this pony how you feel. Anything could happen.”

It was time to spring the trap. “What a good idea,” she said with a grin. Chrysalis sat up, put a hoof around Luna, and leaned closer to whisper in her ear, “You’re the most beautiful pony I have ever laid my eyes upon.” It took several seconds for Luna to realize what Chrysalis was implying. Her eyes grew as wide as they possibly could and she couldn’t produce any sounds from her mouth. The changeling, however, was not done teasing her. She leaned more towards Luna, who leaned away. “Did I also mention you look so adorable when you get embarrassed?”

Finally, Luna managed to form a sentence. “W-w-wait a second! What are you saying!?”

Chrysalis giggled loudly. “Isn’t it obvious? You’re the pony of my dreams, Luna, which is fitting since you can control dreams. You are the most beautiful, caring, and fun pony I have ever met and I want you so bad. I get so lonely here and all I think about is being with you.” She rubbed her hooves on Luna’s shoulders. “That’s why you came today, isn’t it? You just couldn’t stay away. If only I knew you felt the same way sooner.”

Luna jumped away and got as far as she could while still remaining on the couch. The alicorn’s facing was burning like her sister’s sun and she was just about ready to faint from embarrassment. “P-p-p-pardon!? I…uh…w-w-what…y-you…huh!?”

Chrysalis grabbed Luna’s hind legs, pulled her towards her, and climbed on top of her. “You know, I have an idea! We should take this moment to celebrate! I know you still won’t let me find you a date, but why don’t you just try to see what it’s like to be with me? Let’s go into my bedroom and have some fun. I want to hear you scream in your Canterlot voice, Luna!”

When she leaned in for a pretend kiss, Luna suddenly disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared on the other side of the room. She slowly took some steps away and was breathing heavily. “C-C-Cherub! Slow down! I’m flattered, really! It’s just that I…uh…not really…er…”

Satisfied from her reaction, Chrysalis broke into laughter, confusing the Princess of the Night even more. “Oh, Luna, you are too easy to fool!”

Luna snapped out of her shock, realizing she had been played. “W-what was that about, Cherub!? That joke went too far!”

“Oh, I’m just getting back at you for your cheap trick from earlier today and even for hitting me with the magazine.” She began to crack up. “You should have seen the look on your face. It was absolutely priceless!”

Luna just sighed loudly as she sat on the other couch, rubbing her temples. “You are too much for me sometimes. I actually thought you were serious.”

“Well what if I was serious, Luna?” Chrysalis then made a kissing face at her.

Luna picked up a pillow and threw it into her face. “Then I would have to politely decline.” 

The matchmaker smirked at her. “Fair enough.” Chrysalis watched the snowflakes falling outside the window behind Luna. “I hope this hasn’t changed your mind of staying for the night. I was only messing with you and I would be upset if I caused you to leave.”

Luna got back onto the couch and stared at the ceiling. “Almost. Just don’t do anything like that again. Jokes are meant to be fun.”

“Sure thing. I just hope you don’t mind sharing a bed with me,” Chrysalis teased happily.

Luna lifted her head and stared at her. “If you do anything like that again tonight, I’ll take the bed and you can sleep on the couch. In the snow.”

Chrysalis chuckled, but when she saw her stone cold expression, she gulped. “I actually believe that now. I should probably get ready for bed, but I was kind of hoping you knew some scary stories. I haven’t found any good books lately and need something to entertain me.”

Luna gasped and became very giddy. “I love scary stories! I have so many books about them from times I was away. I bet I know a few that will scare you right out of your pants, Cherub.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes as she stood up and made her to the stairway. “Oh, please. I’m not going to be afraid of stories from a time where writing with your left hoof made ponies run for the hills. Modern horror is so much better.”

Luna teleported herself to the second floor. “You’ll be surprised what old school horror can deliver. I bet by tonight you’ll need me to enter your dreams and save you from a scary monster,” she taunted.

“After working here for so long, I learned that sometimes ponies are the real horror.” Both of them giggled as they stepped into the bedroom.



	

It was close to opening time and Chrysalis was busy adding kindling to her fireplace. The book she had read was a complete disappointment and that was no surprise to her. While Luna was in the shower, she took the book from its hiding place and quickly skimmed the ending, which involved something too vulgar for her to think about. Never once did the thing put her in the mood. The way it depicted her as a gentle and even slutty changeling really made her blood boil. She just needed to dispose of the evidence and try to not ever think about it again. While she stared into the flames, she heard the front door open. Pinkie, Rarity, Spike, and Applejack entered and she was happy the book was only ash at this point. “Hello, all of you. Enjoyed your weekend?” 

“We did, but I think Twilight had the best time out of all of us.” Spike replied happily.

Chrysalis turned from the fire to look at them. “Oh? And why would that be?” Twilight entered next but she was not alone. Accompanying her was Trixie.

“Because Trixie and I made up!” she announced.

Chrysalis froze completely on the spot. She was having difficulty believing that the two unicorns were now friends again after what she had tricked Twilight into doing. “What…huh…how…when…?”

“Me and my friends helped them get together!” exclaimed Pinkie. “Isn’t that great, Cherub?” she asked through gritted teeth as she stared coldly at the changeling.

“Yeah, Cherub,” added Trixie in a tone that showed hostility. “Isn’t it great that we’re good friends instead of trying to hurt each other?”

Chrysalis hung her head, sighing. “Y-yeah. It really is.”

“I think that as well.” They all looked towards the stairway. Much to the surprise of the ponies and Spike, Princess Luna appeared. “Nothing is worse than losing a good friend. I am glad to see you have repaired your relationship.”

Trixie stared in awe, mouth hanging open and her legs shaking. “P-P-Princess Luna!? Whatever are you doing here in a place like this?”

Luna walked down the stairs and stood beside Chrysalis. “I’m just visiting my good friend. We had so much fun yesterday and I wanted to spend the night here.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “It’s too bad the Princess of the Night actually prevented me from sleeping.”

“How did she do that?” asked the farmer.

Chrysalis grinned at the smaller ponies. “Ever hear a princess use their royal Canterlot voice when snoring?”

Luna blushed as the ponies laughed at her. “I do not snore!” she protested.

“You shook my entire house,” teased the changeling.

“I did not!”

“My broken lamp says otherwise.”

“That was a coincidence!” The ponies kept laughing, so Luna knew she couldn’t lie her way out. “But since you’re my friend, I will give you money to pay for another.”

“Thank you.”

“Anyway, I need to return to Canterlot and work with my sister. I will see you all again soon. Have a good day.” As she headed for the entrance, she looked at Trixie. “It was also nice to meet you, young unicorn.”

Trixie dashed to the alicorn and shook her hoof. “My name is Trixie and I’m Twilight’s faithful student!”

Now both of the older mares were curious. “Oh? Twilight’s teaching now?” asked Luna while looking at Celestia’s student.

“I’m teaching her to be better at magic so she could do her shows and maybe someday be taught by Celestia.”

“But aren’t you a magician, Trixie?” asked Chrysalis. “Why would you need help with magic?”

“Because she sucks.” Twilight and Trixie simultaneously smacked the back of Spike’s head, causing him to grumble as he rubbed it and the others to laugh.

“I see. Do not worry, Trixie. Twilight is very knowledgeable and shall make an excellent teacher,” ensured Luna.

“Thanks. If things don’t work out with Celestia, I-I was kind of hoping to be your student, i-if that isn’t too much trouble.”

Luna reacted with surprise. “My student? No pony has asked me for that in a very long time, so I would be honored to teach you when you are ready.” Trixie gasped loudly and looked like she was ready to pass out from excitement. “Well I need to be on my way. Goodbye, everypony.” Luna stepped out the door with Chrysalis following. They stood at the front of Cupid’s Arrow and faced each other. “Thanks for keeping me company, Cherub.”

“It’s always such a pleasure to have you over, Luna. You are always welcome here, so drop by any time.”

“I will. Goodbye, Cherub.” In a flash of light, Luna vanished. Chrysalis returned inside and began brewing a pot of coffee. She felt a bit exhausted as she and Luna both had difficulty sleeping the night before, which was because of Luna’s snoring and the fun they had telling stories and certainly not because they were afraid of made up monsters from the stories they told.

Trixie immediately went to Chrysalis when she returned to the main room with her mug filled. “You actually had Princess Luna stay over here?”

The changeling nodded as she took a sip. “She has done so in the past. She is one of my closest friends and we like to spend a lot of time together.”

“Wow. I become a student of Celestia’s student and I even meet Princess Luna! Can this day get any better?”

“Yes, it can,” answered Twilight. She looked up at Chrysalis. “Cherub, is it possible you could find her a job here?”

Chrysalis managed to prevent herself from spitting out her brew. She hated Trixie very much and now Twilight, who she also had trouble liking, was expecting her to hire the brat. “H-here? But I thought she was a traveling showmare.”

“Not for now. I am taking a break and I’m currently staying at Twilight’s for my studies,” answered the blue mare.

Chrysalis raised a curious eyebrow. “You two are actually living together?”

Twilight smiled as she threw a foreleg over the blue mare. “Yep. My house is a lot roomier than her carriage, so I thought it would have been nice to invite her to stay with me. It’s been a lot of fun so far.” 

“Trixie was teaching her how to kiss last night,” Spike blurted out.

“SPIKE!” shouted Twilight while furiously blushing.

Twilight’s friends and Chrysalis giggled by her reaction. “What ever happened to not liking girls?” remarked Rarity.

“I-It wasn’t my fault! I-I ate one of those doughnuts and then one thing led to another…” Twilight quickly looked at Chrysalis. “What do you put in those things!?”

The changeling grinned at her. “The secret ingredient is love.” 

“So did you have fun?” asked Pinkie deviously.

“It felt weird,” Twilight admitted while looking away.

“Well maybe ya should have found a stallion instead of using Trixie for practice,” Applejack joked.

“I really don’t know any.”

Chrysalis laughed at her. “Big shock. As for Trixie, I suppose I could have her entertain the customers while they are waiting or something similar. Would that be alright for you?”

“That sounds reasonable,” answered Trixie.

“Good. You start today.” She turned and headed towards her office. “Come along, Pinkie.” The earth pony skipped her way into the other room.

When the door was closed, Pinkie asked accusingly, “Chrysalis, did you make Twilight hurt Trixie’s feelings on purpose?”

Chrysalis smiled and looked away. “Maaaybe,” she replied in an innocent tone.

Pinkie showed her disappointment and folded her forelegs. “I thought you said you were going to be nice from now on.”

The changeling snarled loudly while looking at the door. “I tried until that brat Trixie had the nerve to insult me. Also I just love how dense Twilight can be sometimes. It was too good for me to pass up.”

“You still don’t like her?”

Chrysalis averted her gaze. “She foiled my plans, enough said.”

Pinkie sat at her desk. “But she had a good reason for doing that. I know you don’t like her, but you really need to try getting over it. Yesterday I had to convince all my friends, especially Trixie, that you didn’t do all that stuff on purpose. What if they didn’t like you anymore because of that? If you want everypony to forgive you, you need to forgive Twilight and really try to act nice. She’s my friend too, so at least do it for me.”

Chrysalis placed a hoof on her forehead. As much as she hated to admit it, Pinkie was right. Chrysalis’s takeover would have resulted in the enslavement of all of Equestria, so Twilight had every right in stopping her. Twilight was a nice girl, but Chrysalis still had trouble getting over the past. But then again, if she couldn’t get over what Twilight did all those months ago, how could the unicorn and other ponies do the same for her? “I will…try.”

The pony’s mood immediately restored to its cheeriness. “Good! Why don’t you go see her right now and apologize? You need to make it up to her.” 

Deciding not to argue, she walked out of the room and went up to Twilight, who was only staying during her day off to help Trixie settle. The unicorn looked up at her and asked, “Yes, Cherub?”

Chrysalis cleared her throat. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry about what I had you do yesterday. I have clearly made an error in judgment and I apologize for what I had put you and Trixie through. Please allow me to make it up to you sometime.”

Much to her surprise, Twilight’s smile didn’t sway. “It’s alright. I know you were trying your best and you just made a mistake. I can’t stay mad at one of my friends.”

It felt weird to hear those words, but Chrysalis still smiled. “We are friends, aren’t we?”

Suddenly, Trixie appeared, ruining the moment. “So Cherub, what exactly was this plan of yours that involves being mean to a girl to make her like somepony?”

Chrysalis could feel herself tense up and it worsened when she saw the others staring at her. “Well…it’s this complicated method…” She looked towards Pinkie for help, but the mare closed the door to the office, leaving the changeling to fend for herself. Chrysalis wore a nervous grin, wondering how she was going to pull herself out of her own mess.