Discussions With a Defeated Queen
"Gee, what a day it was today," Doughnut Joe said, wiping his brow. Today was easily the most crazy day of everypony's life. Not only was there a royal wedding, but also the bride was actually the queen of the changelings who kidnapped the real princess, brainwashed the groom, invaded Canterlot, and was defeated by the elements of harmony. Suffice it to say, today was quite a day.
It was three in the morning. Normally, Joe would have closed up shop and been home hours ago, but since tonight was full of festivities that continued through the night, he didn't have the chance to close the store. He had just finished sweeping the floor and as he was putting the broom back in the supply closet, the door bell rang, meaning that somepony had opened the door and entered.
"I'm sorry, I'm just about done closing up for tonight." Joe closed the closet door, "However, I could whip up something for ya real quick if you'd-" Doughnut Joe couldn't finish his thought. The figure at the door was nopony he would have ever expected to see again. It wasn't even a pony at all. It was the creature that attempted to invade Canterlot the previous day!
"Y-y-you!" Joe dropped to the floor, cowering in fear of the towering black figure at his door.
Chrysalis let out a depressing sigh and slowly walked to the bar, "You don't need to be afraid. I don't have any intentions of causing trouble."
"Don't eat me!" Joe pleaded, "Take anything you want! Just spare me! Please!"
"You have any doughnuts left? If it's not too much to ask, I'd like one of those."
Doughnut Joe slowly stood up and, using his magic, hastily retrieved a pink frosted doughnut and placed it in front of the changeling queen.
Chrysalis' head hung low and Joe could just barely hear a quiet, "thank you," from her.
Something about her was strange. She wasn't acting like the evil queen she showed everypony at the wedding. Perhaps it was naivete, but Joe sensed that a heavy sadness and a broken heart was buried beneath the changelings' scary exterior.
"W-what do y-you want? Why are you here?"
"I just..." Chrysalis paused, "...I just need to... I don't know. I just need a place to be. I have nowhere else to go."
"What about your place... kingdom... err... whatever you call your place? Couldn't you go there?"
"Since I failed, the hive is in the process of creating a new queen. I'm not welcome there and because I created so many enemies, I'm not welcome here either."
Joe remained silent.
"You can do whatever you want. You can summon the authorities to take me away, deliver your own justice, or whatever you feel I deserve. Nothing would be too much for me. I have no reason to go on and I deserve whatever punishment is given to me." Chrysalis rested her cheek on the counter and tears began streaming down her face.
Joe silently went back behind the counter, not taking his gaze off of the former changeling queen. He reached down below and placed a glass cup in front of her. The sound of the glass on the countertop made Chrysalis flinch. She must have expected something worse, he thought.
Joe shook his head as he retrieved a carton of milk from the refrigerator. He opened the top and began to fill up the empty glass.
Chrysalis just stared at the shopkeeper and tried to figure out why he wasn't exacting his revenge. Was he not aware that this was the perfect opportunity to express his hatred for what she had tried to do?
Once the glass was full, he pushed it closer to his guest.
"Doughnuts are better with a glass of cold milk."
Chrysalis' stare shifted back and forth between the glass of milk and the strange pony that offered it. Normally, she would be able to read his emotions with frightening accuracy but this pony was strange. He seemed to genuinely care for her. It's true that all equines have a unique way of sensing the emotions of others, could it be that he has an even more heightened ability than the average pony.
Doughnut Joe took a seat on the stool next to Chrysalis', "You know what my mother used to say to me?"
Chrysalis didn't respond.
"That if your heart aches, telling somepony why is a great way to heal."
"I don't have a heart. Love isn't something that changelings can experience." Chrysalis lifted the glass to her lips and took a small sip, "That's why we have to resort to manipulating other beings for their 'love.'"
Doughnut Joe rubbed the back of his head. He felt uncomfortable and like he had made a poor choice of words to use based on her reaction.
"Sorry. I didn't mean-"
"It's fine." Chrysalis shook her head, "How could you have known about the life of a changeling? I can't hold it against you for being ignorant."
"Uh... Thanks."
Chrysalis put her drink down and sighed, "That day was supposed to be perfect."
"In a strange way, I feel sorry that things didn't go as planned."
Chrysalis shot up in her seat, shocked by what she had just heard. If she had a heart, it would have skipped a beat, "Surely you are joking? You couldn't have possibly forgotten what I tried to do to this city and its inhabitants?"
"Well, yea," Joe chuckled, "of course I am aware of what happened. Though, at the same time, I understand how much it hurts when something you have high hopes for doesn't go the way you wanted."
"Why are you sympathizing with me? Why are you being so kind to me to begin with?" Chrysalis barked.
"Listen, I've been runnin' this joint for a very long time. I've seen hundreds of ponies walk through that door and sit where you're sitting. Most of them come because they need to get away from something in their personal lives that is too painful to confront. Their minds are all clouded and they're unable to think rationally. I've made it my mission to, in a way, distract them from their troubles and help them clear their heads."
"How do you do that?"
"Just by talking to them. It does one a lot of good to just let it all out, y'know?"
Chrysalis was speechless. This pony showed a kindness that she never thought existed. They must have been talking for a few good hours and in that time, her emotional state had changed from what it was when she first walked in. Unable to think of anything to say, she smiled softly at Joe. Perhaps things weren't as hopeless as they first seemed. If this sincerity exists here, it must exist elsewhere too.