As evening gave way to night, Chrysalis -- in the guise of a white unicorn -- made her way to Sweet Apple Acres. She had never been out this way before, and certainly never been to the farm. Now, she sort of regretted it. Oh, the place was very nice to look at, and it did seem like a calm place, but that was not the reason.
A lot of love had been put into Sweet Apple Acres. Quite literally, actually. As soon as she stepped through the gate, she could feel the ambient love energy that permeated the very ground. There must have been years -- generations, even -- of earth ponies taking tender, loving care of the place.
If this is where they got their apples, it was no wonder that Sugarcube Corner's triple chocolate drizzled apple turnovers were so filling on an emotiphagic level. Between the care put into the farm and the passion Pinkie and the Cakes put into their baking, a lot of positive emotional energy were put into the treats, and that did not even include the natural pleasure inducing chemicals of chocolate.
It was a shame that it was not closer to the changeling kingdom. For some reason, they just could not get the same bountifulness nor the same emotional investment from their crops as the ponies seemed. Although, they were doing better than the griffons.
Making her way toward the farmhouse, Chrysalis caught sight of Applejack coming off the porch and up the path to meet her.
"Mind if we talk about this in the barn?" Applejack asked once she was close enough.
"That depends," Chrysalis replied, tilting her head and raising an eyebrow. "I don't have to worry about waking up with a headache and tied up, am I?"
"I ain't gonna tie you up," Applejack stated as she turned around. "And any headache you get is gonna be your own doing, not mine."
That was not an answer Chrysalis had been expecting.
"Planning on getting a little inebriated?"
Applejack slowed down, looking over her shoulder at the other mare.
"If I'm gonna share this, I'd rather have a few drinks in me." A sigh escaped her as she looked ahead again. "Don't even know why I agreed to talk to you about any of this in the first place."
"Well I doubt you're willing to talk to your friends about this," Chrysalis stated, "and if our being out here is any indication, you aren't exactly willing to talk to your family about this either."
There was a grumble from the farm mare and a flare of annoyance. For a moment, Chrysalis considered saying that she would take it as a sign she was right, maybe tease Applejack a little more. It was rather tempting. However, this seemed to be a serious conversation, and making Applejack all the more nervous and uncomfortable would make her less likely to open up.
As such, the two made their way to the barn in silence, with Applejack leading the way. Opening the door, she stepped inside and made her way toward the back. Making her way to the back, the farm mare grabbed a bottle and pulled the cork out.
"Care for a slug?" she asked, offering it up.
"No, thank you," Chrysalis replied. "Although if you have anything non-alcoholic, I'd appreciate it."
With a nod, Applejack set her bottle down and moved over to a box. Opening it, she pulled out a bottle of plain juice and offered it to Chrysalis.
"Kinda warm, though. It ain't bad, just not as good as when it's cold."
"Meh," Chrysalis said as she took the bottle and opened it. There had been times where she had to drink worse than warm juice. So long as it had not actually turned rancid or anything, it would be fine.
Taking a sip, she discovered that it most certainly was not rancid. In fact, it was really good. Yeah, it was a little warm, but it had a nice blend of sweet and a little sour that made it practically dance against her tongue.
Wow, had she been missing out.
Downing the rest of the contents in one long swallow, Chrysalis licked at her lips as she set the empty bottle aside.
Meanwhile, Applejack had taken several shots from her bottle, wiping her mouth with a foreleg.
"So," Chrysalis said as she moved to get comfortable, "shall we talk about Shining Armor? Specifically, why you have feelings of guilt and jealousy toward him?"
Applejack took another shot of her liquor.
"I ain't stupid," she stated.
"I didn't..." Chrysalis started. "No pony said you were."
"I may not be the prettiest mare, but I know some find me attractive. And while I may not always notice when a pony is interested in me, Shining wasn't exactly subtle when we first met."
"And you're not interested in him like that?"
"No," Applejack sighed, tilting her head back. "He's decent looking, works pretty hard, and definitely interested in havin' kids if the way he acts with Twiley is any indicator."
"Hm," Chrysalis hummed, as she moved closer. Her eyes narrowed as a thought occurred to her. "So, you're not interested in him, and you feel bad because you haven't told him?"
"Yeah. I mean, ain't much reason to. He never tried to make anything happen from it, and I think he's gotten past it." One hoof reached up to rub at the back of her neck. "Still, feel kinda like I've been lyin' to him."
"And the jealousy?"
Taking a hold of her hat, Applejack pulled it down over her face. A fresh wave of embarrassment emanated off the mare as she sat in the darkness of the barn, bottle in hoof.
"Well," Applejack said slowly, "I may not be interested him, but that don't mean that other ponies might be."
Shifting, Chrysalis considered this as she tried to work it out.
"So, you don't like Shining Armor," she said, "but... somepony else might... and... that might include a pony you like?"
There was no movement from the other mare to acknowledge this, but a fresh wave of emotions gave a good clue to Chrysalis that she was close.
"Dare I ask who?"
"Don't matter," Applejack answered before taking another drink. "I ain't her type. 'specially since I'm a mare. Shining Armor is way more the type of stallion she's interested in."
"Then why aren't they dating?" Chrysalis asked.
Several seconds passed in silence, Chrysalis following the emotional responses and letting the other mare consider it.
"Listen. I'm not really in any position to force you to do anything, but if you want my advice it's that you talk to this mare. Even if she isn't interested, at least you'll get it off your chest. That way, you'll have an easier time moving on." Chrysalis eyes narrowed as she smiled. "Alternatively, she might be willing, and you'll find out something about yourself and her that you didn't expect."
"...I guess..." Applejack said.
"Good," Chrysalis said as she got up and stretched. "Now, If you'll excuse me, I should get back. Also, I would like to buy a full case of your bottled juice tomorrow."
Applejack chuckled.
"I'll personally deliver it to your place."
"Provided you aren't too hungover."