//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: A Dog and Pony Show // Story: Unchanging Truths // by Rego //------------------------------// The evening sun waned, falling behind the hillside and finally bringing the long day to a close. There were still plenty of trees to harvest, but Applejack knew better than apple-bucking after dark, even if she could have a magical light source from the farm’s newest addition. Chrys would probably have a colorful word or two to say about being used as a farming flashlight. Applejack barreled the last few fruits of her wagon into the barn for safe keeping. She just needed to make one more trip to the orchard and back before calling it a night. Hopefully, her helpers would finish putting the last of the harvest into her second wagon before she got back. Even though the day had been a little slow-going thanks to the afternoon’s emotional roller coaster, AJ was still able to make some good headway thanks to the changeling’s help. Chrysalis couldn’t buck trees, but she was in good enough shape to help Apple Bloom gather the apples.  As she left the barn, a cool breeze kicked up. The mare took the opportunity for a bit of a breather and leaned against the nearby wall. She took off her hat and let the cooler air of the evening blow through her sweaty mane. The wind felt wonderful on her head, cooling the moisture that had built up under the hat over the day. Rarity probably would’ve called it gross, but to AJ, farm life was both about getting hooves dirty and enjoying nature’s blessings whenever she could. There was still plenty of work to do, but then again, there was always more to do on Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack fanned herself with her hat and heard the unfamiliar jingle of metal within its pockets. Reaching inside, she’d nearly forgotten about the amulet Luna had given her before flying back to Canterlot. It was a little silver coin inlaid with a moonstone that Applejack was told to keep under her hat figuratively, which she’d also taken literally. If Chrysalis ever became too much to deal with, all AJ needed to do was crush the coin under her hoof and it’d call princesses and the Royal Guard to come right quick. Captain Fleur even had a matching one that she could use to teleport to the scene in a flash. Applejack hated everything about it. Still, there was nothing for it. She was there when Chrysalis struck down Princess Celestia using the potent love of a single pony. Love kept the changeling alive, but it also made her powerful. It made complete sense to be careful around the former villain, but Applejack couldn’t help but feel like she was betraying what little trust she’d garnered from her. Worse than that, Chrys would probably agree and laugh it off. That thought sickened her the most. After savoring the breeze for a minute more, Applejack stashed the emergency neckwear in her hat and donned it once more. Kicking off the barn wall, she heard a small clattering come from inside. “Winona? You sneak in there when I wasn’t looking?” Applejack called, knocking on the wall. Being met with silence, she decided she’d check it after unloading the last cart. She was risking being late for dinner as it was, and she still needed to send her helpers to get ready for mealtime. They both needed a break from each other after today. She’d left Apple Bloom in charge of teaching Chrysalis the finer points of harvest barrel placement while she and Big Mac took care of the bucking and wagon-pulling. At first, Chrys seemed just fine with following the filly around, even bordering on being downright cordial with her. But, after a full day of constantly making mistakes, the former queen’s patience had whittled away and she was more ornery than a mangy cat being tossed in a river. On the bright side, even though it was getting darker by the second, Applejack didn’t have to worry about tracking them down. All she needed to do was follow the sound of their bickering. One brief trot later, AJ came across the pair locked in an argument under a nearby tree, or at least Chrysalis was. Apple Bloom looked torn between fighting back and fleeing for her life. “There!” Chrysalis announced as she slammed a barrel into position with her hooves. “Are you satisfied now?” “That’s not exactly right, Miss Chrysalis,” Apple Bloom said hesitantly. “What?” Chrysalis snapped back sharply. “What’s wrong now? The barrels are directly under the branches exactly like you wanted!”  “Yeah, but look at how long the branches on that side are. Terrance here’s a big one, so those apples aren’t gonna fall that close to his trunk. Plus, the ground’s uneven near the root there, so ya need to prop it up with a rock or something so the barrel doesn’t spill over when the apples tumble in.” The filly trotted near the unstable barrel and lightly nudged the side, easily turning it over. “See?” Chrysalis bristled at the barrel and pointed her hoof at the tree they were practicing around instead. “You said this one was Vincent!” Chrysalis shot her hoof towards another tree nearby. “That’s Terrance over there!” “Oh! Right. Sorry, Vince,” Apple Bloom said as she petted the tree’s bark. Chrysalis grumbled to herself as she nudged a barrel away from the trunk. “I’m not convinced you all aren’t just pulling names out at random to upset me.” “Why would names upset you?” “Because they’re just trees! They all look the same!” Apple Bloom blinked. “But didn’t changelings all look the same before?” “How dare you!” Chrysalis roared as her eyes flared green with anger. The filly shrank back from the fuming changeling. “W-what? What’d I say?” “Alright, break it up you two. Put those last barrels up and get ready for dinner.” “Thank Celesti-I mean, okay, AJ!” Apple Bloom corrected under the heated ire of the changeling. The filly seized the opportunity to escape. She quickly ran around the tree, deftly flipping each barrel up by the rim and catching them one after the other on her back. Chrysalis watched attentively as the little pony stacked six barrels with ease before scampering off to put them back with the others. Applejack nudged Chrysalis’ side “Pretty impressive, huh?” Chrysalis shook the wonder off of her face and grunted, saying nothing as the farmer trotted past her to grab the last wagon. “Bloom’s actually a better barrel flipper than I was at her age,” AJ recounted as she secured the harness to her back, hitching herself to the cart. “Mostly developed the skill trying to earn her cutie mark, but the effort still shows. Takes a while to get good at something, you know?” “I could just copy her ‘you know’ and do it myself.” “I reckon ya could, but there's a lot more height to work with to reach your back,” Applejack noted as she looked at the bigger mare. “Well, unless you turn yourself into a little filly like Bloom.” Chrysalis said nothing, picked up the remaining barrels, and added them to the collection they’d use tomorrow. She looked back to AJ to see a sly grin spread across the mare’s face as she rubbed her chin in thought. “What?” “Nothing,” Applejack replied cheekily. “Just trying to picture you as a filly’s all.” Chrysalis scoffed as she began walking away towards the barn. “That would be a youngling or a nymph, and no, I’m not going to try it.” Applejack quickly followed after the changeling with the apple cart in tow. “Oh come on. It’d be fun! I bet you looked really adorable.” “I wouldn’t know,” Chrysalis spat half-heartedly, turning away from the nosy pony as she caught up. Applejack’s glee drifted off her face. “Really? I know ya said you had a little trouble with your memory, but I didn’t think you’d up and forget everything.” “Hunger consumed my memory.” AJ blinked in surprise. “You mean you can get hungry enough to forget things?” “I guess. The whole problem is I can’t remember, remember?” “Oh, right,” she chuckled nervously. “Guess that makes sense.” “I can recall eight or nine hundred years ago, but before that…” Chrysalis stared into the distance with a wuthering frown. “I don’t want to think about it.” “Shoot, Chrys. Didn’t mean to hit another sore spot.” Chrysalis chuckled darkly at herself. “That’s what’s known as a target-rich environment, Applejack. There’s nothing but sore spots left. I’ve lost everything.” “Well, that ain’t exactly true. You’ve still got Granny and me. I think Apple Bloom is trying to warm up to you in her own way. Big Mac just needs to get used to seeing ya around. That’s at least four by my count.” Chrysalis’ laughter withered. “As I said, there’s nothing left.” While she wanted to fight it, Applejack knew better now than trying to correct Chrys’ way of thinking. It was just trampling all over the big girl’s feelings to deny what she was going through. If she’d lived for centuries as a queen, a couple days on a farm wasn’t anything close to that. So instead, she leaned on Chrysalis’ barrel and thought about the queen’s honest attempts at working the farm today. “What do you think you’re doing?” Chrysalis complained. “Just trying to show you my appreciation for a job well done.” Applejack felt the pleasant sensation of her love slowly pulling out her side into the changeling. “Well, cut it out! You’ve already fed me today.” Ignoring the mare, Applejack rubbed her head along the changeling’s shell. “Now that ain’t how we ponies work, Chrys. I saw you trying your best with Apple Bloom today setting up the barrels like she was showing ya.” “Yeah, and losing my patience.” “Like I said before, it takes a while to get good at something. Ain’t just one right answer for everything around these parts. There’s an art to working with nature, so it’s completely natural to struggle at first.” “It’s just barrels,” Chrysalis grumbled under her breath. “Exactly. It’s just barrels. Don’t need to stress yourself about getting it wrong. The worst that’ll happen is scrambling to pick a bushel up off the ground. Ya did good, sugarcube.” Chrysalis’ wings buzzed to life as she launched off the ground and landed away from Applejack. Her sudden shift caused the earth pony to stumble from the lack of solid mare to lean against. A wisp of emerald magic caught her fall, pushing her back to her hooves. “Stop complimenting me for nothing! I would never accept such mediocrity from my subjects!” “Who said anything about it being mediocre work? You helped out plenty today. Thanks to you, I managed to pack a few extra cart-fulls of apples like this one here.” Applejack wiggled back and forth, creaking the wooden cart she was pulling behind her. “Couldn’t have done it without an extra set of hooves moving barrels around. You shouldn’t put down your help.” “And you shouldn’t elevate it! I am Chrysalis! I should be better than a mere child at doing something so stupidly simple!” “No, you shouldn’t. That filly’s been working the farm all her life; you’re still learning the ropes, right? You’ve never worked on a farm.” “Oh? And how are you so sure about that one?” Chrysalis retorted confidently. Applejack paused and considered the thought about the claim. “I suppose that would be a mite strange considering you’ve been around the block for more than a minute.”  Chrysalis raised her head and flicked her mane back to look down at the little mare next to her. “Glad you know to not spout such blanket nonsense so confidently.” “Knowing you though, I’d be willing to bet you were only pretending to work so you could trick somepony out of their love.” Chrysalis’ confidence slipped into a sneer as she gritted her teeth in anger. She said nothing as she turned away. “That sounded a lot better in my head,” Applejack admitted. “Sorry about that.” “Would you stop apologizing for every little thing already? I’m not some fragile flower!” “Sor—heh, getting into Fluttershy habits here. Just trying to be supportive, Chrys. It ain’t outta pity or nothing. I want us to get along better.” “We are getting along just fine already. It’s a working relationship.” Chrysalis pointed a hoof between herself and Applejack. “You feed me enough to keep me upright and I help out on this farm. We both do that until whatever is going to kill you finally does so, and then I either starve to death or become a princess’ love-hungry pet,” she explained with a fearsomely fake smile. “There’s just so much to look forward to!” “You don’t know that, Chrys. Things may look bleak now, but give it half a century or so and maybe you’ll have so many loving friends that you’ll finally be able to conquer Equestria,” AJ suggested with a wink. The mare stopped in her tracks and turned to Applejack with a curious look. A small smile crept across her mouth. Chrysalis snickered to herself before falling into a diabolical, but genuine laugh. The farmer felt like she should be more unsettled, but perhaps she was getting used to her over-the-top villainy. “Perhaps if you ponies are foolish enough to fall for my duplicitous charms, there is hope yet to reclaim my throne. Especially if there’s more food like you willing to throw themselves at my hooves.” “It’s called making friends, Chrys. Friendship. We’re friends as far as I’m concerned.” “Of course. My mistake. Because I’m sure I’ll be loved by everypony in town once they figure out who the new stray is,” the changeling chastised, ridiculing the very notion. Even if she’d rather not agree with it, there was no point in denying that little, needling detail. Applejack herself had been more than a little freaked out at first when stumbling across the lone changeling hiding in the forest. She knew Ponyville was ultimately an accepting place, but it took awhile for folks to warm up to strangers, especially former villains.  Trixie didn’t exactly have a great experience coming back to Ponyville after the turmoil with the Alicorn Amulet. Luckily she had Starlight Glimmer to help her. Speaking of, Starlight only had an easy time because nopony knew what went down at Our Town. Then, of course, there was Discord’s notorious return before that. And she couldn’t forget the misunderstanding with Zecora she still felt guilty about. Heck, there was even an argument for Luna, considering the princess’ history with Nightmare Moon. Applejack made a mental note to ask Twilight why her hometown had become such a hotspot for constant craziness since her arrival. “Don’t worry about it, Chrys,” Applejack assured as she patted the bigger mare on the side. “We’ll work on it slowly as you get more comfortable with the idea.” Chrysalis huffed to herself. “So, slow boil a frog?” “Boiling frogs?” Applejack blanched in disgust. “What the hay is that supposed to mean?” “Right. That’s an old griffon expression. Don’t worry about it.” Unfortunately, the image had already captured her imagination considering the carnivorous source. The farmer grimaced at the thought of eating a frog or anything other than a plant. Shaking her head, she pulled off and headed towards the barn. Chrysalis followed suit, matching her gait. “Why don’t you head back to the house first while I put this away,” AJ suggested as she reached for the barn door. “Tempting, but then I’d have to smell cooking more than I need to,” Chrysalis replied as she unlatched the gate with her magic and pushed it open. “Got something against broccoli and cheese?” “No, I—” “SURPRI—” a cavalcade of voices started to cheer as the lamplights kicked on before descending into screams of terror seeing the changeling queen. Chrysalis’ eyes widened in shock, seeing the pastel rainbow of party treats, decorations, and panicking ponies filling every nook and cranny of the barn. Applejack looked up to see the banner reading “Surprise-Surprise Party” in big green letters. There was only one pony who’d set something like this up, and she distinctly remembered everypony in the know telling her to absolutely not throw a surprise party for the newest critter in town under any circumstances. “Pinkie Pie!” Applejack yelled over the panicked partygoers. “Oh! Hi Applejack!” the pink party mare called back, her elated smile sinking into a forced grin at AJ’s anger as the farmer stormed over to her. “What in tarnation is all this?” “It’s a surprise-surprise party, silly,” she answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I figured that one out right quick!” Applejack fumed, pointing to the banner in question. “What I don’t get is just who the hay you thought this was for?” “B-but I didn’t. That’s why it’s a surprise-surprise party!” “How could you not know if you set it up at the farm—” Applejack smacked her forehead, silently begging for patience. “Never mind. When did ya even get everypony in the barn in the first place? I was gone for ten minutes!” “The barn?” Pinkie Pie looked around. “Oh hey! We are in your barn. When did we get here?” “Whoopsies! How silly of me,” Discord added, snaking his head into the conversation as his eyes joined Pinkie’s wandering about the pandemonium. “Discord!” Applejack grabbed the draconequus by the beard and pulled his head towards her. “What do you think you’re doing?” “Me? I thought I was grabbing some fresh apples for bobbing,” he answered, hovering the apples out of AJ’s cart with his magic. His confidence faded as he gasped in fake shock. “But, oh dear, would you look at this? I seem to have brought the party by mistake and left the barrel at Sugar Cube Corner!” the trickster bemoaned as he smacked his forehead with his paw. He fell backwards as another Discord caught his fall with one of Rarity’s fainting couches. “Cut the bull, Discord! I ain’t buying a lick of that tomfoolery from you!” Discord pulled at his face, stretching it out before it snapped back like a rubber band. “I suppose you’re right, Applejack.” A sinister smirk crossed his face as he looked back towards the shellshocked changeling. “Here, let me remedy that!” With a snap of his claw, the party was whisked back to its proper place at Sugar Cube Corner, with the addition of Applejack, Chrysalis, and one water barrel full of apples. The farmer looked in horror out the window, seeing the rest of the town out and about, enjoying their peaceful evening. Another flash of light and Discord appeared at Chrysalis’ side. He wrapped an arm around the stunned mare standing in the front doorway. “Well, now that the collie’s out of the bag, I guess we can reveal the surpriser’s surprise to the surprised surprisee!” Discord pointed a finger behind him and fired a series of green and silver sparkles that shot skyward and exploded like fireworks. The shimmering light coalesced to form letters spelling out “Welcome to Ponyville, Queen Chrysalis!” “Can’t forget the banner,” he added as he stretched his arm several yards to pull off the front of the banner like a tablecloth. The new banner read the same message, but with an added crude drawing of Chrysalis with her crown X’d out in red. “Let’s all welcome our newest addition to our humble town: the ever classy lovebug, Chryssi!” Discord’s welcome echoed like a megaphone throughout Ponyville, drawing all eyes to the humble pastry shop. Chrysalis slowly turned her head to take in the entire town gawking at the sudden reappearance of the fearsome foe. After a brief, wordless exchange between the changeling and Ponyville, everything exploded into chaos.  “Wait, everypony!” Applejack tried shouting over the commotion, but her pleas fell on ears deafened by fear. The townsfolk ran for their lives, closing up their windows and locking their doors to save themselves from the evil queen. The ponies trapped inside Sugar Cube Corner with her rushed for the back door, tripping over each other as they tried to escape. In the middle of it all, the mad cackling of the spirit of chaos echoed through the air as he savored the schadenfreude. Seeing his happiness in the face of the hurt he was glibly causing, Applejack couldn’t even think straight. The farmgirl gritted her teeth and rushed Discord. She chomped down hard on his tail, causing him to yelp in pain as she yanked down, slamming him to the floor as hard as she could. The disoriented draconequus groaned as he shook the stars spinning around his head, flicking the last one away before regaining his bearings. “Bad pony! That’s a bad, bad pony!” Discord complained, lifting his tail to show the jagged indent where she’d bitten down. “And I thought she was the dog in the relationship.” He licked his thumb and forefinger, running it across his tail to straighten it back to its unchewed shape. “W-why?” Applejack demanded through grunts and half-utterances. “Just… why?” He smugly smirked back. “Why not?” “Consarnit!” Applejack tore her hat off of her head and threw it to the ground. She reared up on her hind legs and stomped it with all of her might, capping off her anger with a sneer at the troublemaker. “This is low, even for you! How could you do something so cruel?” “Cruel? Moi? Why, I take offense to such a baseless accusation!” Discord crossed his arms and harrumphed. “This is a celebration to welcome our town’s newest addition!” With a flourish of his claw, he grabbed the air behind him and flipped it down to rotate a chalkboard into existence. The surface was covered top to bottom with nonsensical equations with numbers, symbols, and signs, along with the square root of Chrysalis over zero equaling chaos to the power of fish. “I would say the math checks out, but I’ve never been that great with numbers,” he admitted with a shrug. He pulled the chalk tray down and released, causing the board to roll up on itself and spin out of reality. “So you’re just using her to cause chaos at her expense?” “Not at all, my fair farmer friend. If I wanted to just do that, I’d throw a gender reveal party,” he said, while tossing his head back, flourishing a long, white mane out of nowhere and brushing it across his face to reveal a female version of himself.  “The Eris option is still on the table for a change of pace,” the feminine draconequus murmured with a low, sultry voice before tossing her hair away and shaking it back to his usual self. “I’ve had it up to here with your stupid games, Discord!” “Touchy…” Discord sighed in annoyance seeing the genuine anger burning in Applejack’s eyes. “Fine. If you must know, I’m simply showing Chrysalis the same level of hospitality she showed you all back at the Changeling Kingdom.” Though his tone was a joke, his eyes burned with thinly veiled fury. “You remember, right? When she gave you and your friends a rather gooey tour of the throne room? Sadly, the Smooze was busy with night school classes, so we’re tragically gooless this evening.” Applejack gawked in disbelief. “You mean to tell me that this was all for getting back at her for kidnapping us?” “That’s such a strong way to word it. I prefer to think of it as living up to my duty as the Friendship Guard’s Waterboy by giving Chrysalis a nice, cold splash of reality.” “I see. Then I suppose you would say that revenge is a drink best served cold. The consequences of such actions be damned,” Luna suggested. “Whatever you want, Applejack. The little bug should’ve thought of that before taking Fluttershy,” Discord growled lowly at the insignificant farmer. “Then I shall take that as an admission of guilt, Discord.” Discord blinked and his eyes widened, realizing a little too late that he was being addressed by the Princess of the Night rather than arguing with the Element of Honesty. His eyes trailed down to the earth pony shaking bits of broken amulet out of her hat and flapping it back into shape before putting it back on. He then turned his head slowly to see Princess Luna standing behind him with a deep frown. Next to her was Captain Fleur de Lis, staring daggers at the troublemaker with her lance pointed at his back. Discord forced a single-fanged grin and flicked his wrist, producing a glass of water. “Care for a drink, Lulu?” “Fluttershy’s cottage. Now,” the princess thundered. “And consider yourself dishonorably discharged and barred from serving in the Twilight Guard permanently,” Fleur added with finality. Luna nodded once in agreement as she glared icily at the draconequus. Discord gulped as the glass and water evaporated out of his claw as his face fell. “Well, it was fun while it lasted. Have fun finding cheese legs, Applejack.” With that, the spirit snapped his fingers, whisking himself and the princess away, leaving Applejack with the captain. His phrasing gave the farmer pause. She looked back towards the doorway with no sign of Chrysalis. “Chrys!” Applejack shouted as she ran to the door, trying to spot her friend amidst the panicking ponies outside. Seeing nothing but nighttime and mayhem, she turned back. “Did either of y’all see where Chrys went?” “Negative. Chrysalis was gone before I arrived,” Fleur reported as she dismissed her summoned spear. Pinkie Pie popped out from behind the counter, looking a bit worse for wear from the stampede of ponies that ran out the back. “Sorry, I didn’t. And I’m sorry about the party.” “Ain’t no time to be passing blame around now! We gotta find her!” “Agreed, but first I need to alert Princess Twilight of the situation,” Fleur noted. “Frankly, I was not expecting Chrysalis to be the victim here, so Twilight might get the wrong idea if she finds Chrysalis first.” With one final salute, the captain galloped as fast as she could out of the store, her magic flaring around her legs as she hightailed it towards the center of town. Pinkie gasped in horror as she put her forehooves to the side of her face. “Oh no! She's right! And that’d be an even worse surprise on top of the awful surprise-surprise for poor Chryssi!” Pinkie grabbed a nearby pot and popped it over her poofy mane like a helmet and offered a salute of her own. “I’ll go get the girls to help look for her. She’s probably just as upset as Apple Bloom!” Applejack’s ear flicked as she tilted her head. “Apple Bloom?” “Yeah! She hid back here with me while everypony was running around and she’s…” Pinkie trailed a bit, as she looked down to her side and bit her lip. “I don’t think she’s hurt, but she looks like she could really use her big sister right about now.” Curiously, Applejack trotted over and peered over the countertop to see Apple Bloom curled up in the corner bawling her eyes out. Applejack inhaled sharply and nodded to Pinkie Pie. “Thanks, Pinkie. I’m pretty sure the others are already dealing with the aftermath outside. Why don’t you and the others go help Fleur calm everypony down while I help AB here?” “Roger dodger, apple farmer!” Pinkie saluted and bounced over the counters and galloped towards the door before skidding to a stop. “Oh! But wait, what about Chryssi? We need to find her pronto!” Applejack smiled softly at the mare’s honest concern. “Thanks, but don’t worry about it. I think I got a pretty good idea of where she’s gotten to.” “Okie dokie lokie! When you find her, be sure to tell her I’m super sorry about the party prank,” Pinkie pleaded. She frowned and dragged a hoof across the floor. “A prank’s no fun for anyone if it’s meant to be mean.” Applejack nodded in agreement. “I’ll be sure that she knows, sugarcube.” With one last, earnest smile, Pinkie Pie turned and darted out of the bakery to find the others. Making sure nopony else was there to hear the filly’s pitiful wails, she trotted carefully to the other side of the counter to Apple Bloom’s side and knelt down. “Did you hear her, Chrys?” Applejack asked softly. “Pinkie Pie’s a bit gullible, but she’d never do something like this on purpose.” Apple Bloom said nothing, only crying bitterly into her forelegs as she pressed herself into the corner, trying to make herself as small as possible. “We should get back home. Can you walk?” The little filly still said nothing, but she shook her head. “Alright. Mind if I carry you on my back?” After a moment, she shook her head again. Taking the cue, Applejack slowly wrapped the little filly in her leg, gently picked her up, and placed her on her back. She took her hat off and put it over the filly’s head as she calmly carried the disguised changeling out of Sugar Cube Corner. It took a few minutes and the occasional dodge out of the way of a panicked pony, but soon Applejack made it to the outskirts of town. Looking back to make sure they weren’t followed, she took in her surroundings. Seeing the castle nearby, AJ knew she was on the wrong side from the farm road home. It’d take longer to get home walking the perimeter of Ponyville, but at least the scenic route would give them both a chance to cool their heads. Applejack took a long and patient breath for strength. “I’m real sorry that happened.” Applejack could feel a pinch where Chrysalis was clutching to her back. She turned to look over her shoulder, seeing the changeling still shoving her head under the hat. “It’s okay to be scared, Chrys.” “I’m not scared, they are!” the filly screamed back defiantly from the safety of her hiding spot. “T-they’re the ones who fled for their pathetic lives at the mere sight of me, as well they should!” Under other circumstances, the mare would’ve found it funnier to hear Chrysalis’ villainous monologues coming out of her little sister’s mouth, but the trembling she could feel, be it from fear, rage, or both, painted her words with pain. AJ just wanted to tell her that everything would be alright, but “would be’s” didn’t mean much more than spit in the here and now. Applejack turned back as she started the long walk home. “Wanna talk about it?” “What’s there to talk about?” Apple Bloom barked in reply. “They fear me! They hate me! They despise me! I could take any one of them and forcefully drain them of their love in a heartbeat!” “Yeah, I know. They’re all prey like me right?” Chrysalis said nothing, only tightening her grip on Applejack’s fur. “You know, we’ve had our fair share of villains and monsters around these parts, all trying to do one thing or another,” Applejack remarked thinking back to all the crazy adventures that she’d been on or that had shown up on her doorstep. “Sometimes, they were really wanting to hurt us like Nightmare Moon and Tirek, but a few of ‘em really just boil down to a misunderstanding.” “There’s nothing to misconstrue, Applejack. I wanted to steal all the love in Equestria and then the world.” “Eeyup. That ya did, but it didn’t work out too well. If you were still on that idea, ya wouldn’t be hanging around little old me, right?” Chrysalis said nothing. “Right. So, I guess the question is: what do ya wanna do now?” Chrysalis still said nothing, but after a few patient moments, Applejack could feel the fake filly burying her borrowed face into AJ’s fur. The farmer wasn’t sure if it was the fact she was pretending to be her sister or what, but the dampness building on withers was almost too much for her heart to bear. “That’s fine if ya ain’t sure, Chrys. One of the perks of working on a farm is that there’s a whole lotta time to think about things. You got all the time in the world to figure that one out, and I’ll be right here to help ya along as best I can.” She turned to look at the girl still sheltering under her daddy’s hat and smiled, hoping that she’d feel it. “That’s a promise.” Chrysalis went silent for the rest of the trip back home with only the occasional sniffle escaping from under the hat. It was times like these Applejack wished she was a unicorn so she could run her comb through Chrysalis’ mane with magic. For now, letting the pint-sized changeling cry for as long as she needed was the best she could do, as well as hope what little love she could feel leaving through her withers was enough to remind the changeling that she cared.