//------------------------------// // Chapter 23 // Story: The Equestrian Chronicle // by Souldrainr //------------------------------// Andrew heard someone clearing their throat behind him. He turned from his seat at his computer to see Luna on his bed. He was dreaming about his room on Earth. The Alicorn ignored her surroundings and immediately cut to the chase. "Andrew, I need your help!" Luna pleaded. "With what?" He asked, curious as to what on Earth she would need from him. "It's Chrysalis, she's having a nightmare!" Luna yelled. Andrew looked at her incredulously. "Ok, everyone has nightmares every once in a while. Besides, what do you need me for? I thought dreams were your specialty. "Yes," Luna agreed, "but I'm not omnipotent. I don't simply stop a nightmare, I help the pony work through the issues that started it. The problem is that Chrysalis is... She's been bottling up her grief for so long that the only way she can let it out is in her sleep. Even if I try to alter her dream to something more pleasant, that does nothing to alleviate her emotions. "Ok," Andrew said with a nod, "I think I get it now, but I still don't see what I can do about it besides wake her up.” "She won't listen to me, my presence in her dream only angered her." Luna explained, "I came to ask you if you were willing to try and speak with her instead." "About what?" Andrew asked, "Why are you asking this of me of all people?" Weren't there certified professionals that could deal with this while she was awake? "Because there isn't anyone else to ask," she pleaded. "I feel like I would only make things worse if I try and force myself into her dream." "So you think it would be a better idea if you force me into her dream?" He asked skeptically, "No thanks,I'll just wake her up." He shut his eyes tight, and Luna's protests drifted off into silence as he opened them again and found himself back in his bed in Canterlot castle. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, then yawned. The rays of moonlight entering from outside provided enough light for him to see Chrysalis shivering in her bed. It was that, coupled with her whimperings that woke him up completely. He threw his sheets aside while cursing under his breath. He walked over to the Changeling. She was on the left side of the bed facing towards him. She was wincing and clutching at the sheets like her life depended on it. "Chrysalis." He hissed, trying not to startle her awake by yelling too loudly. When she didn't respond, he put a hand on her shoulder and began to shake her while calling her name again. Once again, she failed to wake, and it was at this point that Andrew began to worry. He put the back of his hand against her forehead, which was harder than it sounded due to the sheer size of her horn compared to normal ponies. Her skin, or rather, her carapace, was actually rather cool to the touch. It was also slick with sweat though, so he couldn't reliably gauge if she had a fever or not. Her shivering finally stopped, and her grimace softened, though there were still wet streaks under eyes. He pulled his hand away and turned to go back to sleep, but that's when her whimperings started again. He stopped and turned at that, only to be met with the sight of Chrysalis in the fetal position with her forelegs tucked in and twitching outwards, as if trying to grab something. She looked more like an oversized dog in this position than anything else. Having an idea of what she wanted, he levitated his pillow over to her and placed it in front of her, and she clutched it eagerly. Now that she finally calmed down, he walked back to his bed so he could finally get back to sleep. Unfortunately for him, Celestia had other plans, if the light outside was any indication. Cursing again, he turned away from the balcony and pulled the sheets over his head. Andrew awoke first several hours later, and when he was finishing brushing his teeth, he heard Chrysalis yell from the other side of the door. "Andrew, why do I have your pillow!?" He exited the restroom and Chrysalis eyed him with a confused expression. He shrugged, "You looked like you wanted another pillow, so I just went ahead and gave it to you." She looked at him with a raised brow, "And what exactly made you think I wanted another pillow, of all things?" He shrugged again, "Let's go get something to eat." He was very obviously avoiding the question, but Chrysalis didn't seem to care enough to pursue it any further. After Chrysalis got ready they left for the kitchen to order their breakfast, though according to the chefs, lunch was more appropriate, as it was already past noon. As they ate their food, Andrew briefed Chrysalis on the barrier spell Celestia had set up the night before, and presumably that night as well again. "What a shame," Chrysalis said as she licked her fangs clean before giving a wicked smile, "I would have loved to show them what happens when someone decides to go after the life of a queen." Before Andrew could reply, the door behind him opened, and in entered Luna. "Andrew!" Luna bellowed, "What has my sister given you!?" He had to turn around to look at the alicorn, "What?" "My sister said she gave you a gift, but she wouldn't tell me what it was!" "What gift?" Chrysalis echoed. "It was just a map of Equestria," Andrew answered, unsure as to why Luna was so curious about what her sister had given her. "Well, alright, it was a really good map." Luna gasped, "Was it gold and silver!?" He nodded. "Was it so beautifully designed that you could see yourself getting lost in the photorealistic forests and mountains?" Andrew raised a brow at that description, but after a brief moment nodded again. "I knew it!" Luna bellowed before disappearing in flash of blue light. Andrew could almost feel Chrysalis staring at him behind his back. He was just as confused as she was though, and no doubt she could tell he wouldn't be able to provide the answers she sought. "Consider my interest piqued," Chrysalis stated, breaking the silence. "You'll have to show me that map later." Andrew nodded. "Sure, you plan on doing anything special today." The changeling shook her head. "I was planning on just going to sleep." "Again?" Andrew asked incredulously. Didn't they just wake up? "Yes, again. Also, Celestia left a letter for me detailing that barrier of hers, so we don't have to worry about that anymore.” "Alright, I guess I'll look for something to do again today, maybe fly over to Ponyville or something." "Can you really fly that fast?" Chrysalis inquired. "Oh yeah," Andrew affirmed confidently. "I don't know exactly how fast I can go, but it has to be pretty damn fast with how quickly I could get around my city." Chrysalis hummed as if in thought, then replied with, "Alright then, I'll probably still be in our room when you get back." After exchanging farewells, she left through one door, and he left through the door on the opposite side of the room, leaving their trays at the table to be picked up by the maids. While walking through the halls of the castle, it occurred to him that Chrysalis had referred to the room as 'theirs' even though there was no longer a need to share it thanks to Celestia's spell. Would it be appropriate if he take all of his belongings to the room he was meant to be staying in? He pushed the thought from his mind, he could deal with that later. For now, he walked through the halls pretending to know where he was going, when in fact he just wanted out of the castle. As nice as the building was, it may as well have been a maze to him. He initially wanted to see Celestia and let her know he would be leaving Canterlot for a bit, but when he finally saw the castle's entrance, he settled with having the guards pass along his message. After seeing one of the guards leave his post to pass along his words, he took off into the air. The cloak he wore exuded a constant trail of short-lived mist through the air as he rose higher and higher. Once he was below the clouds he stopped, and the smoke around his cloak was occasionally blown away by the wind. Even from this height, Canterlot was still a respectable size, though that wasn't too surprising, considering it was situated near the top of a mountain. He shot southward toward the town in the distance. Something Steve and Matt came up with on their first day of flying was to keep their eyes properly shielded from the wind. Normally, being this high up also exposed him to uncomfortably cold temperatures, but he could feel the cloak heat up slightly. Assuming the cloak worked like a magical battery, he wondered how long it could keep this up before exhausting its supply and needing to 'recharge'. As he approached the town from overhead, he wondered where to head first. Twilight had said that they would be leaving for the Crystal Empire in a few days, so they should still be around. Deciding on the closest target, he veered in the direction of the Carousel Boutique, and shortly after, touched down in front of the door. He knocked thrice before remembering that the building was more a store than a home during the weekdays. He opened the door and let himself in. "I'll be right there!" Rarity called out from upstairs. Closing the door behind him, he turned to see a cat enter the room from the kitchen. This was the first time he had seen Rarity's cat, Opalescence. The cat walked across the room and jumped onto the nearby couch. She looked at him curiously before curing up and nodding off. Whatever the cat had seen in him, it didn't seem to care. "Oh! Andrew!" Rarity exclaimed from the top of the stairs, taking his attention away from the cat. She walked down the stairs. "I didn't expect you back so soon." He shrugged. "Canterlot isn't for me, so I'm just killing time over here." She snorted. "I see Canterlot hasn't changed very much. What about Chrysalis? How is she doing?" "She's doing alright," he answered. "We should be leaving Canterlot pretty soon. I'm thinking of heading out West." "Oh, sounds exciting," she commented. "Speaking of," Andrew started, "I forgot to mention this cloak could do this." Using his telekinesis, he coaxed a momentary burst of mist from the entire garment. Rarity examined the display with silent admiration. "I didn't want to ruin the surprise. "Actually, spike kind of ruined it," Andrew admitted. "By the time It happened for real, he had already figured out what would happen." She rolled her eyes, "That drake is getting too smart for his own good." "Well, thanks again for everything," Andrew said. "Hopefully You got paid well for everything." "Think nothing of it, darling," the fashionista replied. "About the cloak," he started, changing the subject, "If I'm ever in the desert, or someplace cold, how long before it runs out of 'charge', and for that matter, what's stopping it from always trying to keep itself warm of cool when it's not even being used?" "Oh dear, it must have slipped my mind to explain that," Rarity said. "All you need to do is put it away folded like I showed you. I assure you that unless you are in the middle of a blizzard for days straight, you shouldn't find it without a magical charge." "Alright, that's good to know, thanks," Andrew replied. The unicorn nodded in reply. "What's up with the cat?" He asked as he approached the feline, who was resting on the arm of the couch nearby. She didn't seem to care one way or the other about him petting her. "Opalescence? I'm surprised she's even letting you pet her, she's quite the unruly little fluff-ball that's for sure. The cat opened an eye and seemed to glare at her owner, still ignoring Andrew's touch. "Oh, you do not give me the stink eye young lady!" She scolded the cat, pointing at her with a hoof. Opalescence arched her back slightly and hissed at the accusatory gesture, before pouncing off the pouch and walking out of the room with her chin held high. Rarity humphed and looked away from the disrespectful cat and back to Andrew. "She's like that with most ponies." Andrew wasn't sure what to make of the cat's reaction to him, but decided that Opal was simply 'being a cat' when it completely ignored him. "Well, I should get going now," he said. "I probably won't be back in Ponyville for a while, so I wanted to visit everyone one last time." "Of course," Rarity agreed, "Goodbye Andrew, it's been a pleasure." "Uhhh... yeah, bye," he replied, exiting the boutique and walking in the direction of Twilight's library. On the way, he exchanged a few words with passing ponies, which slowed him down some. When he finally reached the building, he was met with a 'closed' sign on the front, and he didn't see anyone through the windows, so he assumed nobody was home. The bakery was fairly close, but he decided to instead head to Fluttershy's cottage. It wasn't that he hated Pinkie, not at all. It was just that... she was a bit too much to handle, alone at least. He could easily fly to the cottage and be there within a minute, but he continued walking. He loved indulging himself with his powers, especially now that he didn't need to hide them, but he could do without becoming a super-powered couch potato. After about ten minutes he finally reached the shy pegasus's home. He hadn't actually interacted with her very much, so this visit would probably be more of a formality than anything, not to mention the fact that they were both socially awkward. With that in mind, he would try to keep the visit short. As he approached the quaint home, many small critters that he didn't even realize were there just a moment before they scurried inside the house through various nooks and crannies. He paid them no mind as he walked up to the porch and knocked on the door. "G-go away!" A voice squeaked from inside. He raised a brow in confusion. "M-monster!" Now thoroughly confused, he stepped towards a side window and peeked inside. Huddled in a ball in the center of the room was Fluttershy. Behind her were several dozen frightened animals, ranging from squirrels and mice to a baby alligator of all things. He tapped on the window and called out, "It's just me! Andrew!" She took a hoof away from her face and glanced at the window. When she saw him, she made an 'o' face and quickly flew over to the door and opened it. "Oh, hi Andrew," she started in a soft tone. "I'm sorry, it's just that all my friends said that a scary monster was coming." He would have to get used to her being able to talk to animals, let alone the fact that they could talk back. "Look everypony! Andrew isn't a monster!" She stated. Just then, the wolf from last week entered the room from the kitchen and barked when she recognized him. She walked over to him with an excited tail and demanded to be given some attention, which he happily gave. It seemed like some things were the same all across the multiverse: The cat was always in charge, and dogs were man's best friend. Then again, Esmeralda was a pure wolf,  as far as he knew. "See!" Fluttershy said with a smile, as she looked at the rest of the critters around the room. The animals hesitated before they cautiously dispersed again around the room, careful to not get too close to him. Then he caught the purple eyes of the baby alligator. It stared at him silently, unblinkingly. When it did finally blink, it did so one eye at a time. "Oh, that's gummy, he belongs to Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy explained when she noticed what he had been looking at. "She left him here yesterday for a checkup, but she should be stopping by soon to pick him up.” He found it hard to believe that a hyperactive mare like Pinkie would have such a calm and quiet pet. He found the continuous stare from the alligator more unnerving as the seconds ticked by. Those eyes that stared back at him looked so cold, so calculating. He felt as if the alligator wasn't just looking at him, but into him, and through him all at the same time. He felt naked and exposed under the scrutiny of those reptilian eyes. Fluttershy giggled and said, "Yeah, he doesn't really talk, not even to me. He's nice though, and a great listener." He felt a shiver run down his spine. This alligator was seriously creeping him out. "Andrew! It's been so long!" Discord exclaimed. Andrew turned his head to see Discord slither through the air and hover next to Fluttershy. His sudden appearance must have been a regular occurrence, as she didn't even question how or why he was in her home. After they greeted each other, Discord looked from Andrew to Gummy and winced before floating over to the alligator and lifting him gently between two talons. His claw turned completely around before setting the gator back down and flicking its tail. Gummy took it all in stride and walked forwards into the kitchen before disappearing from view. "That alligator is weird," Andrew stated. "Oh my Tia, yes," Discord agreed with a groan. "I don't see how Pinkie can handle that thing, he's probably the biggest downer in all of Equestria." "Hey, Gummy isn't a downer, don't be mean," Fluttershy protested. "You're just saying that because he doesn't talk to you." Discord said. Before they could go off on a tangent, Andrew explained that he would be setting off soon, and would be heading to sweet apple acres now. Apparently, Discord and she had arrangements today, so not wanting to impose, he left fairly quickly after the draconequus arrived. After leaving the cottage, he made his way to the nearby farm by way of flight. When he finally reached the farm, he was relieved to see that not only Applejack, but Twilight, Spike and Rainbow Dash speaking to each other by the barn. They are arranged in a triangle formation facing each other, with applejack looking up and noticing him. The others turned to see him, spike having to turn around on Twilight’s back as he touched down across from the farm pony. "Well, speak of the devil," Applejack started, "Hiya Andrew, we were just talking about you." "Back already?" Rainbow asked. Andrew shook his head. "Just for a little bit, probably the last time I'll be here for a while." "So, does that mean Chrysalis is doing better?" Twilight asked. "More or less," Andrew answered. "What do you mean more or less?" She pressed skeptically. He was about to answer that Chrysalis was fine, but paused. His hesitation was all the answer they needed to confirm that something was wrong. "Uhh, Andrew," Applejack said with a frown. "Is there something wrong with Chrysalis? We might be able to help if you just tell us." Dash stayed silent, as did he. He considered telling them the truth for only a moment, before discarding that idea without a second thought. Chrysalis knew exactly how he felt about Steve and his mother's passing no matter how hard he tried to hide it. Likewise, he knew just how hard the loss of her hive has been on her. He couldn't be sure, but he doubted anyone besides him had actually seen her cry. He said, "I... I don't think I should say, it's between me and her." Then, wanting to change the subject he said, "So what were you guys talking about before I got here?" "Twilight was talking about Earth," Dash answered immediately, clearly happy to talk about something else now. Twilight nodded, still frowning from Andrew's lack of an answer. "I was mostly just thinking out loud. I was wondering what kind of technology could take the place of magic in everyday life." "I'm not actually supposed to talk about that." He commented. "Why not?" Applejack asked. "What's the harm?" "The problem is that we're so much more advanced than you, I probably shouldn't be giving you information on things that are a hundred years more advanced than what you have." Twilight was visibly eager to hear what he was hiding, but held herself back. "Anyways, I think I've decided that I want to head west first." "Really?" Twilight asked. "Do you have anywhere in particular in mind?" Andrew shook his head, "No, just plan on going where the road takes me at first, then kinda make my way around Equestria and ending at Dragon's Lair." Twilight nodded in approvement. "I suppose that means you've found a way to keep Chrysalis fed?" He only shrugged in response. "We'll figure something out." "Uhh, Andrew," Applejack started, "that's Chrysalis's life you're talking about, you probably shouldn't be doing anything until you know for certain that she's ready for it." He looked away. Chrysalis had been 'figuring something out' since she was born. He had a feeling things would work out just fine. He gave them a reasonable reason why he should be leaving now, and after some awkward goodbyes, he took to the sky again.