The trek to Sweet Apple Acres was a very quiet one, with only the sounds of their hoofs touching dirt road to keep the hum of silence from their ears. Of course, this just gave Chrysalis more time to think, and the more she thought, the more confused she got. Why would she go along with this? It had bad idea written all over it! Sure, there was the chance she could get some nourishment from it, that stupid sandwich was still sitting heavily in her belly, making her feel slightly nauseous. Why did she even bother eating the thing, just for that dumb little dragon? She'd step on it sooner then eat it, had it been anyone else!
Anyone else?
She almost tripped over her own hooves. What made that brat so special? He could be the nicest guy in the world and she's just feed on him until he was nothing but a husk! Yet, she didn't. That's what confused her.
“We're here.” Twilight said simply as she pushed through the gate. What was once a speck in the distance was now a large farm. Was she really that lost in thought that she'd traveled all this way without realizing it? “Hey, Big Mac!” Twilight called at the large stallion. He was huge! Dwarfing even her, who stood heads taller then most ponies! He was busy hauling a cart full of red apples, and he didn't even look strained.
“Hi there, Twilight.” He greeted as he passed by. His voice was gruff, and even slightly aloof. “If'n yer lookin' for AJ, she's in the barn, eattin' dinner.” He called over his shoulder before setting his eyes forward and continuing to the dirt road. Twilight was already on her way towards said barn, almost leaving Chrysalis in the dust.
Twilight banged on the front door with her hoof and waiting patiently as Chrysalis trotted over. Just as she got to the door herself, Chrysalis was greeted by the sight of a mare of similar age to Twilight. The differences between them were stark, however. While Twilight's mane was straight and purple, this mare's mane was braided into a pony-tail and golden blonde. Her fur color was tangerine, or to the less articulate, orange.
“Hey there, Twi.” Applejack greeted warmly. Her eyes were mostly on Twilight, and didn't notice how off the other pony's features were. “Come on in, bring yer friend!” She threw the door open wide. Inside the barn house was, in Chrysalis' own opinion, a dump. Of course, to someone who wasn't a complete jerk 95% of the time, it was cozy. They both trotted inside, the remains of dinner strewn about the dining table. An old mare was rocking back and forth in the corner of the room, crocheting what looked like a scarf, even though it was the dead of spring. Chrysalis knew these were the ponies who killed her subjects, but she struggled to keep herself in check. She was in no state to fight either of these mares, and she knew that. She had to keep a low profile.
“This is Chrysie, Applejack.” Twilight motioned to Chrysalis, who was broken from her thoughts by the sudden conversation. “She's from Fillydelphia.”
“Well, nice t' meet ya, Chrysie.” Applejack's accent was starting to get on Chrysalis' nerves, and she hasn't even been with the mare for 30 seconds. “What do ya'll need?”
“Actually, she needs a place to stay for a few days.” Twilight smiled nervously, this wasn't a very light request, and she knew what would happen to the changeling if she were to stay here. Work. “We were hoping you'd take her in.” Applejack looked nonplussed by this. But seeing the pleading look on her friend's face, her stern look slowly softened.
“Uh, sure, Twi. I got a free bed here in the barn. But she's gotta work for her room.” She finished harshly. Applejack got a good look at Chrysalis now, noticing her strange features and thin form. She raised an eyebrow, and decided to ignore it and not judge a book by it's cover ,but she did doubt the changeling could get any real work done by herself. “I'll have to find something for her to do.” The tangerine mare relented.
“Oh, thank you, AJ! You're the best.” Twilight gushed.
“Think nothin' of it.” Applejack laughed it off. Chrysalis felt very detached from the situation, like she was on a railroad and she had no control now. She decided to follow this shoddy plan through, however, what did she have to lose, besides everything?
Sitting alone in her rented room, Chrysalis was finally given some peace of mind. Though it was fleeting, as soon her own thoughts bubbled to the surface to torment her. The room was ragged, by her standards. But, again, to anyone else it would appear to has some rustic appeal. A soft bed was all Chrysalis really wanted right now, though. That, and for the pounding in her head to stop.
What if she never regained her power? What would she do, live this ruse forever? She knew she couldn't do that, even with the young dragon's help. There she went again, bringing up Spike! His friends were the reason she was in this mess in the first place, if they hadn't ruined her plans, she'd be feasting on all that delicious love right now, her and her subjects. She already missed them and how they would do her every bidding. If she wanted something, they got it. And now they were all dead.
The realization was finally sinking in. All dead. They weren't coming back, even if she regained her power. She was the last changeling. Rage built inside her stomach, churning and her blood boiling. She wanted to hit something, kill somepony, blow something up! But she couldn't. And that made it all the worse. But she knew one thing, tears would solve nothing.
She collapsed onto the bed, not even bothering to pull the covers over her, and slowly drifted into a fitful, restless sleep.
She was awoken by a pounding at the door, her eyes fluttered open. She allowed them a moment to adjust to the new light pouring in from the window. She had somehow managed to work herself under the covers during her sleep. Her head ached and she was unused to her surroundings, but quickly the memories of the previous day rushed back to her.
“Ya'll awake in there?” A voice called, and she took a few seconds to place where she heard it before. It was that Applejack character she met yesterday. “I'm comin' in.” Applejack called. The door opened just as Chrysalis was getting out of bed. The orange mare waved a hoof in front of her nose. “No offense, darlin', but you could use a shower.” That struck a nerve, but she knew the mare was right. When was the last time she had a wash? Probably sometime before the wedding, two days ago. No wonder her hair felt especially greasy right now.
“Where's your bathroom?” Chrysalis questioned, wasting no time.
“Just down the hall there, on the left.” Applejack motioned to the left of her. With that, Chrysalis was off. She didn't sprint, exactly, but she wasn't taking a leisurely trot either, it was somewhere near a power-walk. “Meet me outside the barn in fifteen minutes!” the freckled mare called.
Chrysalis pushed the door opened, and when she saw the shower, her eyes practically shone with anticipation. She closed the door behind her and locked it before stepping into the shower and turning the nob. Warm water cascaded down upon her body and it felt wonderful. She scooped up a bottle of shampoo with her magic and set to washing herself of the grime of Everfree Forest and the past days.
It wasn't long before she was completely clean, the fifteen minutes flew by and she wished she could just stand there in the water forever, but she knew if she did she'd get nothing done.
“Whats the point?” She muttered dryly as she turned the water off and magically grabbed a towel to dry herself. She didn't know the point of all this, but she knew one thing. She wasn't going to give in. She was to strong for that, to proud. Even if she had no real plan as of yet other then 'empower herself' she would press onward. She walked out of the bathroom, through the barn, and out into the yard with a sense of listlessness. Applejack either didn't notice, didn't care, or ignored it.
“Alright, time for some work. I don't think ya'll can buck them apples to well with those scrawny legs, or haul the cart very far either. So I guess if'n you aren't up to the heavy stuff, I could have you paint the barn. It's due for a new coat anyway.” She said with an ever-present smile. She seemed nice, everyone seemed nice around here, and it made her feel a bit queasy. It was sickening, all this happiness. It tasted like sugar. To much sugar isn't a good thing, and neither was to much happiness.
“I guess I could do that.” Chrysalis said tiredly. Even though she had a full night's sleep, she was still exhausted, mostly from the lack of food. She needed love, sorrow, anything besides happiness. If happiness was candy to her, then love was a thick, juicy steak, and sorrow was something akin to a prime rib. All these thoughts of food were making her even hungrier.
“After ya'll finish, I'll have some lunch setup for ya.” Applejack seemed to be reading her mind, but not fully. “If'n ya do your job right.” She added harshly, pointing a hoof toward a stack of paint buckets and a paint brush.
Chrysalis sighed inwardly as she levitated the brush into the air and looked at the barn. It was huge, this would take all morning. Or, at least, it would. If a certain purple dragon didn't suddenly show up carrying a paper bag. Her nose twitched, her heightened sense of smell detected something she could actually eat in there. She almost started drooling, but stopped herself. No matter how hungry she was, she wouldn't make a fool of herself.
“Hiya, Chrysie, Applejack.” Spike waved. Chrysalis was almost happy to see the dragonling, but Applejack just looked confused.
“What're ya'll doin' up this early, Spike?” She interrogated. “Ain't you usually sleepin' right now?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Well, yeah, but I thought I should come by and see how Chrysie's doin'.” He answered, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “Maybe give a helping claw, ya know?”
“Well if'n you came to help, I guess you could get paintin'.” She picked up a brush with her mouth and dropped it into his waiting claws. “Just try not to mess up, ya hear?” And she meandered off to her own work, leaving the pair to their job.
“Whats in the bag?” Chrysalis was dying to know, and she said the words so fast that it almost gave Spike vocal whiplash. “I smell it, is it meat? How did you get meat, here of all places? What kind is it?”
“Uh, its nothing special.” He looked a little ashamed, she wondered why, and why she cared. “Just some wild boar from Everfree Forest.” He spoke in a hushed tone and handed her the bag. She looked around to make sure no one was watching before opening the sack. Inside was freshly cooked meat, slightly burnt on the outside. It looked delicious.
She didn't even question it, just wolfed it down like a hungry animal, taking large bites and gulping it down. He was right, it wasn't anything special. Just some cooked meat, and not even high quality.
“Sorry about making you eat that sandwich yesterday. I had no idea you wouldn't like it.” He said sadly. She finished her meal and dropped the bag onto the ground, leaving it there. She wondered, how did he find out that she was a carnivore?
“I read up on Changelings.” He whispered the last words, and spoke as if reading her mind. A lot of these Ponyville residents seemed to do that. “Don't worry, I know what its like.” He said, his mood shifting to happiness. It tasted sweeter then Applejack's. But she had no idea what he meant. They set to work on the wall as they spoke.
“Know what it's like? What do you mean?” She questioned, she was getting more comfortable with talking to the dragonling, much as she hated to admit it. She wasn't even this close with her counsel.
“Being a carnivore.” He was speaking quietly again. “I mean, you can't like eating meat, right? But you have to.”
Did she like eating meat? Well, it was nothing compared to emotions, but meat was essential to a changeling's diet. It gave them the required minerals to function correctly, and just because it wasn't as tasty as love, didn't mean it wasn't good. She couldn't place where Spike was coming from with this.
“I do, actually.” She affirmed. He looked at her with a mixture of horror and confusion. She felt her stomach knot up, had she said something wrong? The look hurt her, but she didn't let it show. “That's not wrong, it's nature.” Then it clicked. This was a dragon, raised by ponies, who are vegetarians. It was against everything he knew to eat other animals. “Oh my.” If it were anyone else, she'd have laughed right then and there.
But it wasn't anyone else.