//------------------------------// // 16 - Cheating Heart // Story: Chrysalis: Saviour of Time // by Robo Bro //------------------------------// Chrysalis covered a yawn with a hoof. She had slept through most of the previous day and as such had difficulty sleeping last night. Unsurprisingly, she was rather tired as she walked on over to Sweet Apple Acres for the ironpony competition. At least she was better off now than after she had harvested the orchards the previous night. Spike and Time Keeper had come along with her, both intrigued by the prospect of the competition and wishing to spectate. Chrysalis had been tempted to forbid it, but in the end didn’t even bother trying. She was too tired to argue, and they wouldn’t have listened anyway. The two were chatting excitedly to one another and she was perfectly content to be left out. She stifled another yawn. It didn’t take long to find the athletes of the day upon arrival. Rainbow Dash’s boasting could be heard from the gates and led them straight to the other side of the barn where they were setting up a line of barrels, slightly staggered. “No, no, Dash! It needs to be over here just a little more!” “Why does it even matter? Here, there, on the other side of Ponyville, it’s all the same. I’m gonna win no matter where it’s put!” “We’ll see ‘bout that.” AJ retorted. Upon noticing Chrysalis, her eyes lit up. “Twilight! Good timing, we’re just about ready to start and we—” “And we need somepony who can judge the events to make sure it’s fair.” Rainbow Dash cut off AJ, who glared at her. “A judge?” Chrysalis blinked. “Yeah, if we were to judge each other it’d be too easy to cheat. We want somepony impartial to do it.” “Oh, oh, can I do it!?” Spike jumped up and down, waving his arms. “No, Spike, I’ve got this.” Chrysalis shut him down. She could’ve laughed at how easy AJ was making it for her to help out Dash and teach her a lesson. “Awww…” The little dragon slumped with disappointment. “Don’t worry,” Time Keeper comforted him. “it's better to just relax and watch the show, anyway." “Okay.” Spike replied with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. Chrysalis felt sorry for the pathetic thing and considered finding something more for him to do. Her thoughts of the dragon, however, were cut short by Rainbow Dash shoving a stopwatch in her face. “First up, we need you to time us through the barrel weave.” “Ya jus’ count down for the start, and stop the timer when we cross,” AJ paused as she walked over to indicate a line in the dirt, “this line, and lastly add five seconds for each barrel we hit along the way.” “Sounds easy enough.” Chrysalis said as she examined the watch. “Who goes first?” “I’ll step up.” AJ volunteered, sauntering up to the starting line with a confident grin that could have just as easily fit on Dash. “Ready?” “You bet.” “Three, two,” Chrysalis started the timer, “one, go!” Applejack shot through the barrel weave expertly at a pace that shocked Chrysalis. She noted that she bumped into one of the barrels with glee and stopped the watch as she crossed the finish line. “Eighteen seconds, plus five for hitting a barrel.” She announced. “Shucks, well, it’s still a good time. Beat that, Rainbow.” “Right, uh, easy.” Dash replied with a hint of uncertainty as she took her place. Seeing her lack of usual swagger, Chrysalis became concerned. She had no doubt that Dash was faster, but she was also very clumsy. It’d be a miracle if she didn’t end up crashing into the side of the barn, let alone hit a couple barrels along the way. Perhaps she should've given her even more of an advantage to come out on top. “Ready? Three, two, one, go!” Chrysalis pretended to start the timer in case anybody was watching before subtly starting it for real a couple seconds later. The event went much the same as it had for AJ, minus the hitting of a barrel, much to Chrysalis’ surprise. She looked to the watch as Rainbow Dash crossed. “Sixteen seconds!” She announced. If she had hit a barrel and Chrysalis hadn’t cheated for her, it would have been a very close race. She wasn’t sure who would’ve won that match. “Sixteen? That’s mighty fast.” AJ whistled in astonishment. “Ha! Was there any doubt that I’d win? You should give up now, farm girl!” “Hold up, it’s only one event, there’s a lot more to go before we declare the winner overall.” Rainbow tossed her mane. “Yeah, whatever. Bring it on.” The group proceeded to a nearby area of the farm where an event for measuring strength was set up, the kind of which you’d find at any carnival where you strike a target with all your might to launch a bit of metal up along a pole to ring a bell. “Alright, rules are simple: buck the target here with a hind leg to ring the bell.” AJ explained. “I got this!” Rainbow Dash said cockily. Chrysalis sighed. How could this be deemed a fair contest? Applejack’s job was literally bucking at trees as hard as she could all day long during the harvest season. She had a lifetime of experience doing exactly this. Before Chrysalis had thought of a way to help her, Dash had already kicked the target and a satisfying ding came moments later. “Nothin’ to it!” “Yeah, not bad. Near as good as Apple Bloom can do.” “You think you can do better?!” “Just you watch an’ I’ll show ya how it’s really done.” Chrysalis cringed. She probably couldn’t change the outcome without being discovered, but she had to at least try. She stepped closer to the equipment and pretended to examine the stop watch held aloft with her magic, so to hide what she was really doing. As Applejack wound up for a kick, she began pulling down on the weight, though she swiftly realized how futile the effort was. The weight broke through the extra resistance as if it were being held back by tissue paper, and the bell was struck with enough force to leave a sizable crack in it. Chrysalis had to fight back the image of one of her own changelings’ heads in place of the bell. How many changelings had fallen to those mighty legs in the real time line? Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped as AJ swaggered past her. “I credit that to years of apple buckin’.” To emphasize her point, she kicked the tree Dash was sitting under and several apples fell upon the pegasus’ head. “Come on, Twi, I got an idea for the next event an’ we’re gonna need Spike’s help.” “Me!?” Spike jumped up from the sidelines excitedly. _________________________________ “This is not what I had in mind when you said you needed my help.” Spike groused. The dragon was sitting on Applejack’s back inside of a pen for the event of bronco bucking. The two competitors would take turns trying to unseat Spike from their backs, and the one who could manage it the quickest would be declared the winner. A classic rodeo style event, which Chrysalis figured was once again unfairly biased in the farmer’s favour. She was beginning to wonder if AJ had done her own cheating in advance by picking events that would lean into her own strengths rather than having a fair competition. She shook her head. She’d just have to tip it back into Dash’s favour. “You wanted to help, right?” Chrysalis asked Spike. “Yeah, but…” “I’ll make it worth your while. You get extra gems tonight.” “Deal!” “Ready, Spike? Applejack?” “Ready!” They said in unison. “Three, two, one, go!” Applejack bucked around wildly, looking quite at home with this activity just as Chrysalis had feared. After a mere ten seconds of desperately holding on, Spike was tossed aside like a candy wrapper. “Ow…” “Ten seconds.” Chrysalis announced as she ran up to Spike. “You okay? “I guess.” He answered as he dusted off his scales. He really was a durable creature. “Remember the extra gems tonight? I’ll double it if you let Dash win.” She whispered. Spike raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that cheating?” “I’ll double it tomorrow, too.” “Deal!” “Attaboy!” Chrysalis grinned and then turned to the others. “He’s okay! Come on, Rainbow, your turn!” Rainbow took her place and Spike climbed atop her. “Three, two, one, go!” Immediately, before Dash had even begun moving, Spike leaped from her back and belly flopped onto the dirt. Chrysalis’ jaw dropped. “Oh no! I’ve fallen!” Spike announced with an insincere monotone. Chrysalis squeezed her eyes shut and put a hoof to her face. “But I didn’t even start yet!” “Now hold on one gosh darn minute, why are ya cheatin’ for Dash? We want a fair match!” “That was, uh, totally…fair…I…” Spike sighed beneath the withering glowers from both competitors. “Twilight bribed me to let Dash win.” “Oh, did she now?” Rainbow Dash growled as Chrysalis tensed up. “Yup. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” “Good enough for me! Twiliiiight!” Applejack shouted. Chrysalis groaned. “I can explain!” “I don’t need no explanation, I understand jus’ fine!” She pointed furiously at both her and Rainbow Dash. “Both of ya worked together to clear my orchards ‘gainst my will and now yer workin’ together to make a fool of me!” “Wait, I—” Rainbow tried to defend herself. “I ain’t gonna listen to these lies no more!” She turned away from them and stormed off to her house. Dash looked at Chrysalis, the sting of betrayal in her eyes. “Were any of the competitions fair? Did you cheat for me in all of them?” “Well…” Chrysalis began to lie, but decided against it and sighed. “I owed you for taking the blame for the orchards, so I thought I’d help you win.” “Not cool, Twilight.” She said and then flew off. Chrysalis looked back and forth between her two retreating companions, unsure of what to do. “So, uh…I still get my extra gems, right?” She glared at Spike for a moment and then marched away without a word. _______________________________ Chrysalis flopped over in her bed for the hundredth time. Spike’s gentle snoring nearby taunted her with his ability to fall sleep, drilling into her skull and making her already unrestful night even more difficult to bear. Sleep had been difficult to attain when she had first retired, but it had come, though it hadn’t lasted long. She awoke in the middle of the night to the sounds of Spike’s snores, and had been tossing and turning ever since. She had no idea what time it was and had stubbornly refused to go check, telling herself that removing herself from the warm blankets would only serve to fully rouse her mind and make it truly impossible to fall asleep. Surely only a few more minutes and she’d drift off again. Yes, she had been wrong the first couple dozen times, but surely this time her obstinance would pay off. Grunting in irritation, she beat her pillow. Why was it so uncomfortable lately? She rolled over and forced herself still once more. A tapping sound from her window caused her head to jerk involuntarily. It continued with only brief pauses. Tap, tap, tap! Pause. Tap, tap, tap! With a groan of frustration, she threw off her blankets and rose to investigate. Sage awaited her on the other side of the glass, staring up at her as she approached before pecking at it again. She had closed the window last night because the early autumn air had been colder than normal, completely forgetting that her pet was still out there. She opened it and the owl hopped inside, the sudden burst of cold air chilling her to the bone. She shivered. “Sorry.” She whispered to him. “I hope your night was better than mine. Catch any juicy mice?” “Hoo!” Sage responded and then flew over to the perch she had bought for him at Fluttershy’s recommendation. As she shut the window once more, she noticed the sun beginning to peek over the horizon. Of course it was morning already. Despite her weariness, she suddenly didn’t feel like going back to bed. With a yawn, she left her bedroom, quietly so as to not wake Spike. Chrysalis checked to see if the local newspaper had arrived yet and found it on the doorstep. She had fallen into the habit of reading it most mornings just to learn of any recent events that needed her attention, especially anything that she knew wasn’t supposed to happen. She hadn’t found anything of true interest yet, but it gave her a small sense of awareness that she had lacked since leaving her people. Even if it paled in comparison to having a proper spy network feeding her news each day, it was still better than nothing. Barely. Little feet approached as she opened the paper. “Mornin’, Twilight!” “Morning, Spike.” Chrysalis answered limply, not even bothering to look away from the paper held in front of her face. “You okay?” “Tired. Couldn’t sleep.” “Ah, that sucks.” He answered casually as he climbed onto the counter to pour himself a bowl of cereal. “Maybe you should go back to bed, I can handle the library for awhile.” “Later.” “Suit yourself.” He shrugged. Spike carried his bowl to the table and dug into his breakfast, humming cheerfully between bites. Chrysalis flipped to the next page and did her best to ignore his crunching. A few minutes later, the third denizen of the library entered the kitchen. “Morning, Snowball!” Spike spoke through a mouthful of his breakfast. “Morning, Spike.” Time Keeper answered through a yawn. Chrysalis paused her reading in anticipation of being greeted herself, but no such thing was forthcoming. She took a deep breath. Of course he wasn’t going to say hello to her, why would he? She adjusted the paper’s positioning so she wouldn’t have to see him even out of the corner of her eye. Time Keeper poured his own cereal, joined them at the table and began eating. Slowly. She could just see it in her mind. He would barely pay attention to his food as he stared at her with disapproval, while sharing a knowing look with Spike as he too joined in. She blinked as she reached the end of the page, realizing she had no idea what she had just read. “Well, I’m gonna go reshelf the returned books.” Spike announced as she pushed his chair from the table. A moment later and it was just her and Time Keeper. More time passed and he sighed. Chrysalis twitched. How his stare had not burned a hole through her paper, she had no idea. He spent every waking moment criticizing her over every little detail of every little thing she did, but was he ever truly helpful? No! He literally begged her to clean up his mess for him, and here she was, a fool in her own right helping the fool. Did he have any idea how much pressure it was being her pretending to be Twilight Sparkle for such a long period? And yet he stared, oblivious and uncaring of her plight, silently judging her. Well, she had had enough for one morning. Chrysalis slammed her paper against the table and shot up from her chair. Her sudden movement startled Time Keeper into spilling his milk and cereal all over himself. “What the fuck, Twilight?! Why did you—” “I know what you’re going to say. You’re gonna say I fucked up real bad this time and I’ll never be able to fix things with Rainbow Dash or Applejack, not with how socially incompetent I clearly am! You can’t believe that somebody like me can even function in society! You’re gonna say that I should throw myself at their hooves and beg for their forgiveness, but I won’t! I did nothing wrong, and I refuse to degrade myself! So stop staring at me!” “What?! No! I wasn’t going to say any of that!” “Then why are you so angry at me?!” “Because you just spilled my cereal all over me!” “Oh.” Chrysalis’ said. She sat down and returned her paper to its prior position and hid behind it. She couldn’t believe she had done that. She could’ve sworn that he was staring at her. “Ugh, I’m gonna need to take a bath now. Wait.” Time Keeper paused from cleaning up the mess. “You feel guilty.” “What?” “Oh, sweet Celestia,” he laughed, “I didn’t think it was possible! You feel bad about how you treated them!” Chrysalis slammed the paper down again. “No, I don’t!” “You look terrible. How much sleep did you get?” Chrysalis brought a hoof up to her face. Did she really look that bad? She hastily lifted up her paper again. “None of your business.” “It’s awfully hard to sleep with a guilty conscience, isn’t it?” Chrysalis didn’t respond. “Look, it was just a stupid competition between two bloated egos that began because of an even stupider reason. Sure, you shouldn’t have cheated for Dash, but you shouldn’t lose any sleep over this, either. Friends fight over dumb things all the time, but that doesn’t mean they hate each other. Just leave it a week or two and it’ll all blow over. Heck, you’ll probably all laugh about it.” “I don’t feel guilty.” “Okay.” Time Keeper stood up from the table. “You can keep on not feeling guilty without my staring, right? I need to go clean myself up.” Chrysalis listened to him leaving, his hoofsteps gradually fading as he went. The idiot had no idea what he was talking about. She wasn’t feeling guilty. As she reached the end of the page, she realized she still had no idea what she had just read. With a growl of frustration, she abandoned the article and turned to the next one. The new headline announced next week’s annual Running of the Leaves in bold print. From what she could gather, it was a race through Ponyville and the surrounding areas that was intended to shake the leaves from the trees in anticipation of winter. The idea sent a shiver running up her spine. She hated winter. As she turned to the next page, she paused and turned back to read about the Running of the leaves again. She set the paper down gently and stared into space for a moment before getting up and exiting the library. _________________________________ “Thanks for helping me, Pinkie. I don’t think they’d have come if I invited them.” “No problem-o! I’m always ready to help out my friends.” Pinkie Pie assured Chrysalis with a wide grin. “Especially if it means I can get them to stop fighting.” The two were inside of Pinkie’s room. The room’s owner nibbled on a chocolate chip cookie from a plate set on her bed and watched Chrysalis as she paced back and forth. “Are you sure they’ll come? What if they realized that I’m involved?” “Relax, Twilight! Nopony can resist my cookies!” “Right.” She stopped pacing and forced a deep breath. Why was she so nervous? She was being stupid. “Pinkie!” Mr. Cake shouted from downstairs. “Rainbow Dash is here!” “Okie dokey!” She hollered back and winked at Chrysalis. “Wait right here!” Chrysalis didn’t wish to gamble on the promise of cookies being enough to get Rainbow Dash to overcome her current aversion to her, so she stepped to the side of the room out of the line of sight of the doorway and waited silently. “In your bedroom? Huh. Usually we do this downstairs.” Dash could be heard as she walked down the hall. “This is gonna be a more intimate kind of party, Dashie!” “I, uh, see. Oh, hey, cookies!” Dash stepped through the door and went straight for the treats. As she lifted one to her mouth, the door slammed shut behind her. “Huh?” She spoke through a mouthful and turned to find Chrysalis inside with her. “Hello, Dash.” The pegasus swallowed her cookie and gave a sigh. “Well, that’s a relief. Hey, Twi.” Chrysalis’ brow furrowed in confusion. “A relief?” “Yeah. With the whole ‘intimate’ setup in her bedroom, I was worried she was about to confess she loved me. I mean, I love her and all, but not like that. I can’t. I’m, uh, not into girls.” She chuckled a little. “Would’ve just been my luck, first pony to confess to me being a girl.” “I’m surprised you’re being so open with me after what happened.” “Don’t get me wrong, I’m still annoyed at you, but I’m not gonna stop being friends with you because of it.” “We’re…friends?” Chrysalis’ brow furrowed again, and Dash gave a nervous chuckle. “Uh…aren’t we?” Chrysalis blinked. Was Time Keeper right? Was this all just going to blow over if she had left it alone? She shook her head. This wasn’t the time for such ridiculous thoughts. Even if Dash was okay, Applejack was another issue entirely. “Oh…I see.” Dash wilted a little. “What?” It took a moment to realize that her prior head movement could be construed as a ‘no’. “No, no, no, that was about something unrelated. Yes, we are friends.” “Oh.” She brightened and then held a cookie up for Chrysalis. “Want one?” “No.” “Alright, more for me.” She shoved the treat into her mouth and continued conversationally as she chewed. “You know, I still need to prove to AJ that I’m a better athlete than her.” “Well, then I have something you might be interested in.”” “Oh?” The door opened. “Uh…intimate? Look, Pinkie, I love ya an’ all, but not like—whoa!” Pinkie Pie shoved Applejack inside and then slammed the door behind her. “What the hay, Pinkie?!” “Hello, Applejack.” Chrysalis greeted. “Oh. It’s you.” Her eyes narrowed and she turned to open the door. Upon finding that it wouldn’t open, she banged against it with a hoof. “Open this dang door, Pinkie!” Pinkie’s response was muffled. “Not until you three talk!” “Don’t make me break down this door! Ya know I can!” “Come on, AJ, that’s a little excessive.” Rainbow chided her. “Do you really want to have to replace her door? Or explain to the Cakes why you damaged their property again?” She paused, hoof halfway to the door, and glared at Dash. With a growl, she sat down against the barrier. “Fine, I’ll listen, but I’m still angry at y'all!” She raised her voice on that last part to ensure Pinkie could hear it too. “I understand that you’re angry at me, and I understand why. You hate me for going behind your back to harvest your apples—” “So now ya admit it?” “I helped, too.” Dash piped in. “You won’t believe me if I lie now. Yeah, I did it, and so did she. We were justified, no matter what you think.” “Hmph!” She turned her face away with a pout. “And you’re angry because I cheated for Dash in the ironpony competition. Dash is angry at me for it too.” “I am.” Dash confirmed with a nod and frown. “I ain’t heard no apology yet.” “I have better.” Chrysalis smirked. “Next week there’s a race called the Running of the Leaves. The two of you can compete against each other and I’ll stay in my library all day. I can’t cheat for either of you if I’m nowhere near the race.” “Huh.” Rainbow Dash tilted her head thoughtfully. “I kinda like that idea. I can finally show you that I’m the better athlete!” Applejack snorted. “Long as it’s actually running, no flying, and ya don’t cheat, I’d leave ya in the dust.” “Dream on! Even without my wings you couldn’t beat me! I’m all about speed, it’s practically my name!” “So, are we agreed?” Chrysalis interrupted, smiling at how she had diverted their attentions back to their rivalry. AJ stared at her with pursed lips. “Not just yet.” She stood up and approached her. “Why not?” Chrysalis scowled. It was perfect! The two of them would get to have their stupid contest with a guarantee of no funny business from her and they could all put this behind them. Applejack prodded her chest with a hoof. “Yer gonna race, too. Without magic.” “What? Why would I agree to that?” “Yeah, why’re you challenging her? She wouldn’t even beat you, let alone me.” “Hold it, I—” “Yeah, yer right, Dash. She’s too slow, she’d finish dead last for sure.” “I said—” “Better she sticks to what she’s good at, like puttin’ books on a shelf.” “Only in moderation, though. Wouldn’t wanna strain her delicate body.” “I’ll do it!” Chrysalis shouted over their insults and immediately the door swung open. “Good.” AJ said with an amused, yet cruel smile. “I look forward to makin’ you look like a fool for a change, Twi.” “See ya at the race, Twi!” The two mares trotted out the door, leaving Chrysalis behind. What did she just agree to? Pinkie Pie bounced into the room. “That went well!” She said with a broad smile. ________________________________________ “You really should have just apologized.” Time Keeper told Chrysalis as she slapped a number onto her flank. “You’re just making a fool of yourself.” “Yeah, I don’t really think you can win this.” Spike echoed the sentiment. She was loathe to admit that they were right, so she didn’t. Part of her still screamed at her that she was being stupid and should walk away, and that she was just letting herself be manipulated by her 'friends', but that part agreed with those two morons and as such had been ignored. “You’re confidence in my abilities is inspiring.” She replied flatly. “Just being realistic. It’s not too late, you could still drop out and just say you’re sorry.” “Don’t you have something of your own to fuck up elsewhere?” Chrysalis asked with a sweet smile. “Don’t worry you can come running to beg me to clean that mess too.” Time Keeper rolled his eyes. “You know what, I’m glad you’re not listening this time. I’ll enjoy your humiliation as much as they will. Come on, Spike.” He looked behind Chrysalis as he spoke, and then walked away with Spike following after. “I’m surprised you bothered to show up!” Rainbow Dash teased Chrysalis, who gritted her teeth in response. “Yeah, I figured the only runnin’ she’d be doing is runnin’ away!” AJ added with a laugh. Chrysalis turned to glare at both of them. “Prepare to eat those words.” “Maybe ya should eat ‘em yerself so you have a little more energy.” AJ smirked. “We all know how little ya eat, ya ain’t even gonna make it to the halfway point!” “Don’t worry, I’ll come back from the front and carry you to the finish line, and still win by a mile. I could use the handicap to make this fair.” “Yer as dumb as she thinks you are if you believe I need a handicap to beat you in a hoof race.” Chrysalis blinked. Was her opinion of Dash really so obvious that multiple ponies had realized it? Maybe Celestia was right, she wasn’t nearly as good at hiding her feelings as she thought. She shuddered at the idea. Before any of the boasting could escalate into an actual fight, they were interrupted by the announcement calling for all participants to the starting line. Chrysalis took her position alongside all the others and tensed herself in anticipation of beginning. Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s complete dismissal of her as a non threat flashed through her mind and her eyes narrowed. “Ready! Set! Go!” The path beneath her blurred as she launched herself forward. Several ponies disappeared from her peripheral vision as she passed them, but not all. A few that she didn’t know pulled ahead of her, and ahead of them were both Applejack and Rainbow Dash. They were remarkably fast. There was a chance that she’d have a hard time keeping up even if she had the longer stride of her natural form. She dismissed such pessimism and gritted her teeth, focusing on running harder. Up ahead, AJ took a nasty looking tumble. Chrysalis smirked at her misfortune as she, and all the other racers, passed. “You’re supposed to hit the ground with your hooves, not your face!” She taunted as she went by. She couldn’t make out her response, but she was clearly angry. The jab was childish, even Chrysalis knew that, but it still soothed her agitated pride. If she were lucky, the farmer would have suffered an injury that would slow her down for the whole race, effectively removing her from the competition. It would serve that stubborn mule right. As Chrysalis fantasized about Applejack’s humiliation, something slammed into her from behind and she tumbled into the dirt painfully. “Right back at ya!” Applejack shouted as she charged past. “Oooh, that was a nasty wipeout!” Pinkie Pie’s amplified voice rang through the air from up above. Chrysalis looked up to see that both she and Spike were flying in a hot air balloon. “Yeah, that was quite the accidental bump Applejack gave Twilight Sparkle as she passed!” Spike added to the commentary. Chrysalis’ jaw dropped. That couldn’t have been an accident, no matter what Spike said. Applejack, the element of honesty and the one so furious with her over cheating, had just sabotaged her. Growling with frustration, she scrambled to her hooves and gave chase. She was far behind now and couldn’t afford to take it easy, so she ran as hard as her legs would take her. Her lungs were burning as she finally began to catch up to the other racers. While she darted past one of the several piles of leaves, evidence of her competition’s passing, her hoof caught on something and she took another fall face first into the ground and tumbled forward into some bushes. Thorny bushes. She could hear the crinkling of half dead leaves from behind her and a cry of frustration. “I can’t believe that Applejack would cheat like that!” Rainbow Dash shouted and then charged forth. Chrysalis’ eye twitched. She thought that of the two competitors, Dash was the lesser upset about her cheating and yet she was willing to hold back to hide in a pile of leaves just to trip her. Worse yet, she blatantly lies by blaming it on Applejack. Had they teamed up specifically to humiliate her? If those two morons wanted to cheat so badly, then there really was no need to hold back on her end, was there? From her position hidden away in the bushes from the prying eyes of Pinkie Pie and Spike above, she transformed. It was a minor change, just an increase to the length of her legs. It wasn’t enough to be noticed at a distance, or so she hoped, but it would certainly give her a leg up on the competition. Additionally, she cast a pain relief spell on herself so that she’d be better able to ignore the agony of overexerting her body. Once the spell faded, the pain would likely be nigh unbearable, but that wouldn’t be until after the race was over and she had a chance to gloat over AJ and Dash’s loss. With her newfound advantages, Chrysalis burst out of the bushes and hurried down the path. Catching up took much less time than after Applejack had knocked her over, and though she ran just as hard as before, the pain in her limbs and lungs were a mere irritant. By the time she reached the White Tail Woods, she had passed all but her two true rivals in the race and was gaining on them. She wasn’t the least bit surprised when she saw Rainbow Dash, who had at that moment a small lead, pull on a low hanging branch she was passing and release it to spring right back into Applejack’s face, which stopped her cold for a couple of seconds. AJ in turn climbed onto the branch and began pulling it back, as if to use it as a catapult. Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. Would that even work? With a smirk, she decided to ensure that it didn’t. A little magic channelled to the base of the branch caused a loud crack and AJ dropped to the ground with a thud and shout of pain as the branch broke beneath her. That was one foe overtaken, only one to go. Dash was awfully far ahead, but perhaps within range of another spell. She channelled power into her horn and conjured an illusion of a bear ahead of Dash, half obscured by some bushes on the side of the path. Thinking back to the ursa minor incident, she had it roar at her when she got close. With a short scream, Rainbow Dash stumbled over her own hooves as she tried to come to an abrupt halt. Moments later she had flown up into a nearby tree and hid. If Chrysalis had the breath for it, she would’ve laughed at the sight. Before she could pass her second opponent, the first one surpassed her once again. Chrysalis glared wordlessly at her and directed the illusion at her next. Much to her frustration, she didn’t even slow down. “I know what a real bear looks like!” Applejack shouted over her should up at the tree while passing the somewhat blurry imitation. “Huh?” Rainbow Dash said in surprise. She flew down to investigate the animal which disappeared as Chrysalis cut the spell. “Wait, what?” Dash stared at Chrysalis as she ran past, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. Chrysalis heard a roar of anger from behind her and moments later Rainbow Dash was soaring past her in flight above her. With a growl, Chrysalis cast another spell and bands of green energy bound the pegasus’ wings to her side. With a scream, Dash crashed into a sign at a fork in the path ahead. She laid there moaning in pain atop the broken sign. Applejack was still within sight, but Chrysalis was barely gaining on her. She began to channel more magic in anticipation of pulling on her tail, but a sudden kick at a bucket by AJ as she went by it and she had to repurpose the spell to deflect the incoming metal missile. Behind her, she could hear the thud of it hitting a new target followed by a cry of pain and disgust. She looked back for a moment to see Rainbow Dash covered in some kind of sticky liquid and struggling to move. There was another thunk from ahead and she returned her attention forward just in time to take a second bucket to her face. The impact knocked her backwards and right into the struggling Rainbow Dash. “Get off of me!” Chrysalis shouted as she tried to extricate herself from Dash and the sticky substance. She didn’t know what this stuff was, but it smelled sweet and turned her stomach. “I’m trying! Don’t you have some kind of magic to get rid of this stuff?” “I’m not supposed to use magic.” “Didn’t stop you earlier!” “I guess not.” Chrysalis admitted. She used her magic to apply a small flame to the substance found it thinned easily with its exposure. “I have an idea to get back at Applejack for cheating. I’ll get us unstuck from the ground and then you fly us right into her.” “I’m not supposed o fly.” “Didn’t stop you earlier.” “I guess not.” Seconds later, the two of them as one big blob of goop and ponies were flying straight at Applejack. “Take this!” Dash screamed. “What in tarnation?” With a gooey splorch, they impacted and the ball tumbled along, picking up sticks, dirt and fallen leaves as they went until they came to a full stop. “What’s the big idea?!” AJ shouted while struggling to break free. Dash spit out some leaves. “Ha! How do you like being covered in sap!?" “I wasn’t tryin’ to hit you, I was tryin’ to hit Twilight!” “Yeah, right! You’ve had it out for me all race!” “Me?! What about you? You tripped me!" “No I didn’t, you tripped me!” “Wait, where’d Twilight go?” “Huh?” Chrysalis laughed as she ran far ahead of the other two. While Dash had been flying them to Applejack, she had been working on freeing herself, and the impact with Applejack had provided enough force to tear her the rest of the way. A short couple of minutes later, the finish line was finally in sight. The pain relief spell wasn’t enough for her to ignore the pain anymore. Her lungs felt like they could explode any second, and her legs as if they were about to fall off. It didn’t matter, though, she was almost done. She had nearly beaten those two blowhards. They wouldn’t be belittling her abilities after this. Suddenly, her world turned upside down and she skidded painfully to a halt. She groaned and tried to get back to her hooves only to have her legs give out from beneath her. She was right at the end, she couldn’t falter now! The hooves of many of the other racers pounded the dirt as they ran by. It hadn’t been the two she cared about, though, these ones didn’t matter. She didn’t need to win, she just needed to beat Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Grinding her teeth, she forced herself back up and took one shaky step after another. Then she heard it. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were arguing with each other and approaching fast. She had to hurry. She picked up her pace as much as possible, but was barely moving faster than a walking pace. Stupid legs, why wouldn’t they move faster? A heavy impact from behind sent her spiralling once more as her two rivals bowled over her while practically brawling. She winced in pain as the breath was knocked from her lungs and those two tumbled past her. Chrysalis closed her eyes. She gave up. It just wasn’t worth it anymore. Her stupid pride had forced her to participate in this moronic race and even while cheating she couldn’t match up with Rainbow Dash or Applejack’s speed and endurance. It was all so pointless. It’s not like she’d ever have a confrontation with them past, present or future where it even mattered that they could outrun her. She was a creature of raw magical power and deceit and had always relied on those strengths, not her speed. She laughed as she heard the two arguing over who had won, though regretted it thanks to the pain it brought her chest. “And with that we have a draw for second last between Applejack and Rainbow Dash with Twilight Sparkle taking last place, yet to even cross the finish line! The race is over folks!” Spike announced from the balloon. “Second last!?” AJ and Dash screamed in unison. Tenderly, Chrysalis crawled back to her hooves and walked slowly across the finish line over to the other two. “Snowball was right.” Chrysalis said. “This was stupid of me.” Rainbow Dash stared at her. “Uh…did you have a growth spurt?” Chrysalis grimaced, remembering her little trick. “A magically induced one that I used to try and even the odds. It’ll wear off. Couldn’t even win while cheating.” “Well, neither did we.” AJ said. “Yeah, last place, second last, not really much of a difference there.” “Look,” Chrysalis paused, barely believing what she was about to do, ”I’m sorry. Sorry I cheated today, and sorry I cheated for Dash during the ironpony competition.” “Really? Ya mean it?” Applejack asked. “I don’t have the energy to pretend right now. Yes, I’m sorry.” “Never thought I’d see the day.” AJ said. “Yeah, laugh it up.” Chrysalis said sourly. “We’re not laughing, Twilight.” Dash assured her. “I’m sorry too.” “An’ me too. ‘Bout everything. Cheatin’, tryin’ to humiliate you, an’ for all I did while trying to harvest my apples alone. Hey, don’t look at me like that! I realized I was in the wrong right quick, I was jus’ too darn stubborn to admit it.” “And I was too stubborn to apologize or admit I was wrong, either.” Chrysalis said, as much to herself as to the others. “Shucks, I guess we ain’t all that different, are we?” AJ looked back and forth between Chrysalis and Rainbow Dash. “What’re you looking at me for? I didn’t do anything this time!” “Ya cheated.” “Oh, yeah.” Dash chuckled. “I guess I was too stubborn to accept losing?” “Well then, it sounds like the three of you have all learned a valuable lesson about friendship.” Chrysalis nearly jumped out of her skin at the intruding voice while Dash and Applejack kneeled. “P…Princess Celestia!” She gasped. She was getting really sick of how often she was able to sneak up on her like that. “Hello, Twilight” Celestia smiled warmly in greeting. “The ability to recognize one’s own stubbornness and to make amends for it is a very important element of a healthy friendship. I am delighted to see you learn of it, and hope to see you applying the lesson to future situations.” “Right.” Chrysalis swallowed nervously. “So, uh…what brings you out to Ponyville, Princess? Hoofsteps approached and Chrysalis finally noticed the second royal intruder. Her ears flattened against her skull. “My sister is here because she quite enjoys the autumn season. I am here because she had insisted I come along in the hopes that I’d be more open to her attempts at bonding if she stole me away from the frustrating hordes of nobles and bureaucrats.” “Not quite how I worded it, but yes.” “Oh, uh…did you enjoy the race?” Chrysalis asked, her nervousness causing her voice to raise an octave. “It was…interesting.” Celestia answered, looking over to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “Especially the after race show.” AJ laughed nervously. “Glad ya liked it. I promise we’ll both be better behaved next time.” “Rise, my little ponies.” Celestia said to the two. ”No need for such formalities, this is an unofficial visit. I’m glad to see you grow closer to your friends, Twilight. Keep hold of them. Friendship is more valuable than you could imagine.” “I have a pretty good imagination, princess.” Chrysalis replied and immediately regretted it. What was that line supposed to accomplish other than sounding stupid and hinting that she knows things that she shouldn’t? Fortunately, Celestia merely laughed with a slight twinkle in her eye. “No need to be so nervous, Twilight. I’m your friend, too, so I’m not going to turn on you if you say something wrong.” “Right, I’ll remember that.” “Anyway, it looks to me like there are a lot of leaves still left on the trees. Perhaps the three of you could redo your race, fairly this time?” Rainbow Dash smirked. “Yeah, I kinda like that idea.” “We’ll see how ya like it after I win!” AJ said. Dash laughed good naturedly. “You coming, Twi?” Rather than answering, Chrysalis collapsed back on the ground. “Guess not. Come on, Rainbow!” Celestia chuckled as she began to walk away. “Come, Luna, let’s watch this rematch together.” “How can they have so much energy?” Chrysalis wondered aloud. “I would have hoped my love had more endurance.” Chrysalis tensed. She hadn’t realized that Luna did not follow her sister. The princess lowered her head to whisper in her ear. “I’ve noticed how close you are getting to those two. Congratulations. Just don’t get too close. Remember, I’m a very jealous mare.” Chrysalis laughed nervously. “Who? Them? They’re mere pawns to be manipulated in my plans! We’re not close at all, no need to worry about them!” Luna smiled. “You’re so sweet when you lie.” She leaned in even closer and planted a quick kiss on Chrysalis’ cheek. She had an immediate sinking sensation and her head began to spin. If she hadn’t already been on the ground, she’d likely have fallen over. She looked with fear from Luna’s face to the crowds now in the distance that had begun to leave. “We’re in public!” Chrysalis hissed. “I thought we were supposed to keep our relationship secret! Anypony could have seen that!” Luna straightened to her full height and gave a bitter laugh. Chrysalis hadn’t noticed before, but she was nearly as tall as she remembered from her original timeline, though her colouration remained as it had since her defeat at the Summer Sun Celebration. “My sister is not looking, and I can deal with a few errant rumours from the rare ponies who would choose gossip of my love life over me being a monster. Besides, they all pay attention to their precious princess of the sun over me, I’d be surprised if any are bothering to glance my way except to ensure I haven’t stolen away the sun.” Chrysalis looked once more to the ponies and, sure enough, the ones that remained were gathered around Celestia and she could only notice an occasional, frightened glance directed Luna’s way. In her own timeline she had always thought of Luna on the same idolized level as her sister and was uncomfortable realizing that perhaps she had been seen by her own ponies in much the same way that Chrysalis herself had seen her: a tremendous threat. “If anypony were to ask, I’d merely state I was speaking of important political matters. You are an important figure in Equestrian politics, given how close you are to my sister.” “I don’t think everypony would believe that.” “No, I suppose not.” Luna smiled. “But would that be so terrible? I’ve been thinking about how to bring our relationship to the public.” “You want to go public?” Chrysalis’ chest tightened at the thought. If they were public, then she’d have no excuse to push away her advances. “Not right away, perhaps, but yes. A few rumours could be quite exciting in the lead up to the big reveal, don’t you think? Doesn’t it sound exhilarating to be the consort of the big, bad, lunar tyrant?” Luna subtly stroked the side of Chrysalis’ face with a hoof, sending a shiver down Chrysalis’ spine. She couldn’t tell if it was anticipation or fear that caused the reaction, and her uncertainty had her feeling queasy. “I’ve always been fond of tight secrecy.” “Hmm…don’t I know it, but I’ll learn your secrets one day, too. Until next time, farewell. I’m sure my sister is waiting for me.” “Bye, Princess.” “Oh, and one more thing before I leave…might I suggest you refrain from attacking any more sporting events? As entertaining as it was hearing of you battling my sister, there’s no guarantee she’ll be so forgiving next time. Be careful around her and her offers of friendship. Were I you, I don’t think I’d be comfortable making friends with one who was so eager to send her only sister to the moon.” Luna finally walked away, leaving Chrysalis shivering uncontrollably.