//------------------------------// // Jason And Chryssi's First Date // Story: And Then There Were 10...Er...67 // by Grey Ghost //------------------------------// “So... we’re doing what again Celestia?” Jason asked as he walked through the Everfree, looking up at the pony goddess. “We are here to meet with Chrysalis. I was informed that she has taken a liking to you and I was hoping to reopen diplomatic ties with her hive.” Celestia easily kept pace with the human, her stride ever graceful. “You're going to use her attraction for me to get close to her aren’t you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Thats low.” “Nonsense, it’s a viable political strategy,” Celestia said, dismissing it with a hoof. “Jason, we have to talk about something serious.” “What? You talking about that stuff I bought from Umbra?” “No but we will have a conversation about that soon enough. I’m talking about the rumors going around Canterlot about a male Alicorn,” she said, giving him an even gaze. Jason gulped.“That was you, was it not?” “Uh... yeah... that was uh, me...” Jason admitted, giving her a sheepish smile. “I can understand that you didn’t know the full implications of doing so, but you’ve put me in a very tight situation. The nobles are clamouring for me to present this new alicorn and i’m going to have to give them what they want.” “Why are they making a big deal out of this?” Jason asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Jason, there are, or were, only four Alicorns in the world and all of them are royalty,” Celestia said, watching as that little bit of information sank in. “They think I’m a prince?” he asked, looking at her, his mouth agape. “Yes and I wish to make you a true prince.” “Wait what!?” Jason asked, looking at her like she was insane. “I know it’s a big thing Jason, but I think you can handle it,” Celestia said with a smile on her face. “You realize that I can only become an Alicorn because of this right?” he asked, holding the Omnitrix up. “What happens when they find that out and start demanding one of their own?” “Can you make another?” “Well no...” Jason said, frowning. “Then there is nothing to worry about. I’m going to hold an announcement of your existence when I return to Canterlot, as well as Slash’s presence. It’s time he stopped hiding.” Celestia said, giving him a warm smile. He went to respond, only to be interrupted by the buzzing of wings. “There you are love, when you weren’t in your training spot you had me worried,” Chrysalis said with a smile, which turned sour when she saw Celestia. “Oh it’s you,” she sneered. “Why are you here?” “I could ask you the same thing, you are in my kingdom,” Celestia replied, meeting her glare head on. “I am here to open diplomatic ties with your hive.” “You wish to treat with me?” Chrysalis asked through a roar of laughter, much to Celestia’s annoyance. “And why would I do that?” “I think it’s a good idea,”Jason said, looking at Chrysalis. “Look, hear her out and I’ll uh... go on a date with you,” he mumbled, looking at the ground. “Dash is having a birthday party tonight so... yeah...” “Oh this is truly wonderful!” Chrysalis said, squealing like a filly. She pulled Jason into a hug before taking off into the sky. “I must go prepare, my love!” “I’ve created a monster haven’t I?” Jason asked, facepalming while Celestia maintained the royal stone face. **** “Ya’ll did what!?” Applejack screamed, glaring at her adoptive brother, seething with anger. “I told Chrysalis that I would go on a date with her,” Jason, currently Grey Matter, said, while tinkering on the suit he had bought several days ago. “Why the hay would ya do that?!” “I don’t know, it seemed like the best idea at the time,” he shrugged, tossing a tool over his shoulder. “Thats a load of horse apples, Jay,” Applejack said, snorting. “Ah can’t believe ya did something so dumb!” “One,” he began, holding a finger up.”I am an adult. Two, I can make my own decisions,” he said, reaching over his shoulder to tap the Omnitrix, resuming his human form. He stroked his beard for a few moments, thinking about something. “Yeah well, ah don’t agree with it,” she groused. She adjusted her hat and frowned. “You don’t have to, just respect my decisions,” Jason responded. He walked through the hall and into the bathroom. “Hey, do you guys have any shaving cream?” “Shavin’ what?” “Yeah I didn’t think so,” he said with a sigh, closing the bathroom door. Applejack just glared at the door before moving down the hallway, mumbling to herself. She went downstairs, glaring at the floor boards. “Now what's got ya’ in a mood?” Granny Smith asked from her rocking chair, eyebrow raised. “Jason done made a date with that snake Chrysalis!” Applejack nearly screamed, glaring at Granny, who frowned in return. “Now Applejack, there ain’t no reason to shout,” the older mare scowled, disappointment in her voice. “Sorry Granny, it’s just, ah can’t believe that he went and did somethin’ so stupid.” “Stupid ’r not, he’s a grown stallion and we have to respect his choices.” “But-!” “Would ya rather him not go and make a liar out of him?” Granny asked, looking into her granddaughter’s eyes. “I... no Granny I wouldn’t...” Applejack replied in a defeated tone, hanging her head. “Ah didn’t think so, now come on, them trees ain’t gonna buck themselves!” she said, getting up to stretch her back. “Course’ Granny,” Applejack said, following the elderly pony out of the house. *** Chrysalis hummed to herself as she shifted into the form of a black unicorn, looking herself over in her mirror. “Hmmm... how do I look?” she asked her attendants. “You look very good Your Highness,” one spoke up, bowing slightly. The royal attendants were among the most intelligent of changelings. The basic drones, the ones that maintained the hive were barely more intelligent than the average dog. The gatherers where at least on par with the average pony when it came to brains. Above that were the rest of the hive, the royal attendants, the royal guards and Chrysalis herself. “Good, then I shall go with this form,” she said adjusting her voice so it was no longer distorted. “There, he will be putty in my hooves this time.” “If I may your highness, why not become a female of this male’s base species?” another attendant asked, tilting it’s head a bit. “Because I don’t know what they look like and I’d rather not take the form of one he already loves like his mother or something, that would just make things awkward,” she replied, gesturing for them to begin dressing her. It was a rare occurrence for a queen to get dressed up, normally reserved for meetings with foreign leaders or at the annual gathering of the hive. “Are you really sure you should be chasing this king? He’s not really a changeling,” the first said with a frown. “I am aware of that, but think of it this way, that device of his allows him to become creatures never seen before on this world. Something like that would be a major boon to the hive.” “Of course, Your Majesty,” it said finishing up, moving back with a bow. “Is it to your liking?” She briefly inspected the dress, nodding in approval. “Yes, very much so. Well then, I shall be off,” Chrysalis declared, trotting out of her quarters, humming a happy tune to herself. She ignored the drones she passed, too busy imagining what the night would hold. *** Jason sighed as he rubbed his face, wincing a he touched one of the various small cuts that dotted his face. Those were the consequences of shaving without shaving cream. “Where the hell is she?” he mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. The whole day had been loud and annoying, as Pinkie had challenged some pony named Cheese Sandwich, who creepily had the voice of Weird Al, to a “goof off”. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for long,” a soft voice spoke, catching his attention. The owner of said voice was a black unicorn mare, dressed in a green gown that shimmered in the moonlight. “Not really, now come on, they’ve already started the party,” Jason said gesturing with his head toward town. “Gladly.” Chrysalis replied, giving him a smile. The walk started in silence until Chrysalis spoke up. “I see the fur on your face is missing.” “Yeah, it was getting pretty scraggly so I decided to get rid of it.” Jason said, looking down at her. “You look pretty good, that dress is nice.” “Oh you like it?” “Yeah, green is my favorite color.” he said, giving her a smile. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she replied, putting that tidbit of information away for later. “I bet you will,” he said, rolling his eyes. As they made their way into town, he frowned at the noise. Making his way over to one of the many food tables, he asked, “You want anything?” After looking at her for a moment he frowned. “Oh yeah, you don’t have a stomach.” “Doesn’t mean we don’t like to taste things. Besides, our bodies convert food matter into slime.” Chrysalis said as she grabbed a cupcake, then took a bite out of it. “Well I’m glad you two are getting along,” Slash broke in, having given up his disguise at this point. “I didn’t think you cared enough, Slash,” Chrysalis said, raising an eyebrow at the changeling king. “Oh I don’t really. It’s just that, I’d rather not have to kill anypony in town is all,” he speared a cupcake on his stinger and brought it to his mouth. “I’m glad I could help,” she sneered. Grabbing Jason’s hand in her magic, she dragged him away from the insufferable king, who was busy gorging himself. They spent the next few minutes wandering around the huge party, trying to entertain themselves. Chrysalis frowned, noticing the high amount of anxiety coming from the human. “Jason are you alright?” she asked, noticing his scowl. “I don’t like crowds...” he mumbled, clearly unnerved by all the ponies around them. “They freak me out. “Then why did you suggest we come here?” Chrysalis asked, tilting her head. “I wanted to do something nice...” he said, scowling more. “You know what? Screw this, you wanna just go get drunk?” he asked, pulling a silver cube from his pocket. Het pushed a button on the side, producing a bottle of hard cider. She stared at him before giving him a smile. “Sounds enjoyable, but what about Rainbow Dash? Isn’t this her party?” “Yeah but I already gave her my present. Now come on, I’ve already got a headache and if I stay here any longer I’m going to have a panic attack,” he said, heading off toward the apple orchards with Chrysalis trotting along behind him. They never realized that they were being watched. It took them a few minutes to find a nice spot, but once found, they hunkered down at the base of one of the trees, Chrysalis assuming her true form. “The stars are beautiful here,” Jason commented, gazing up at the sky for a moment. He then proceeded to uncork the bottle of cider with his teeth, spitting the worthless cork off into the grass. “Bottoms up.” he declared, taking a swig of it. “I agree, if anything, I respect Luna’s ability to make such beauty,” Chrysalis said, taking a swig from the bottle. “Does Applejack know you have this?” “No and before you go thinking I stole it, I bought it from the local tavern,” Jason said, running his hand through his hair. “Hey, if it’s not a touchy subject, can I ask why you invaded?” Chrysalis stared at the sky for a second before taking another gulp of cider. “It wasn’t really about conquering anything, that was just something I said for intimidation,” she began, gesturing with her hoof. “The truth was we were starving. Other hives are near food sources but mine is stuck in the Badlands, which is just a barren wasteland.” “Why didn’t you just move?” “I considered that, but moving a hive takes a lot of energy. You have to send scouts out, then pick the perfect spot. Not too far away to make gathering take forever but not too close as to be easily discoverable. So when I heard about the wedding, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to gather love.” “I see. You could have just talked to Celestia you know,” Jason commented, taking a gulp.”Would have saved you the trouble.” “I realize that now, hindsight and all but when you get that desperate, you don’t really think clearly. I’m rather ashamed to admit it but all that love I took from Shining Armor might have gone to my head for a bit.” she rubbed her neck, blushing in embarrassment. “So how are things going with your hive now?” “It’s better, the love gathered at the wedding has lasted us this long and it’ll be another month or so before it runs out. I wish things had gone differently... so many were lost when we were ejected from Canterlot.... so many...” she said, looking down tears threatening to flow down her face. She froze, feeling something wrap around her. She looked up, seeing Jason had moved over and embraced her. “Hey, no crying, we’re not drunk enough for that,” he said with a smile, wiping her tears away. “Now, how about we exchange some stories? I know a lot of tales that you would love to hear!” The rest of the night passed with joyful story telling, drunken singing, and fit of laughter. *** “It seems you were right sir,” a grey earth pony said, bowing. “I observed the creature through the night, and he is indeed consorting with the changelings. He spent the night getting drunk with one of their Queens.” “I thought as much,” the listener spoke, his disgust evident in his face. “It’s not a stretch to think those abominations would flock together. Ansem and Xemnas roam free and she allows a weapon of untold power to remain in the hands of an idiot rather than use it to stop them.” “My liege, what do you wish of me?” “I want you to keep an eye on this ‘Jason’, memorize his habits, and look for anything we can exploit. I will be stationing more Knights in Ponyville to assist you when the time is right.” “As you wish,” the earth pony said, making his way out of the room. He nodded to the guards standing by the door, both clad in silver armor, the infinity symbol etched onto their breastplates. **** Jason groaned as he came back to the world of the waking, rubbing his eyes. He had way too much too drink last night, as could be attested to by his pounding headache. Then again, the previous night had been a lot of fun. Chrysalis had, admittedly, made a good impression on him. “Listen to me, I’m seriously considering getting into a relationship with an insect...” he thought with a frown. “Oh what the hell, not like there are any human females here.” “God I hope they have asprin here...” he grumbled, sitting up. He blinked, realizing he was not in his room, nor in the orchard. The room appeared to be some hard black material, lanterns bathed the room in an eerie green light. A noise off to his left caught his attention. He cautiously looked over, frowning as a sleeping Chrysalis came into view. She was curled up, drooling slightly onto her pillow. “Oh... Jason...” she mumbled out and he could see her hind legs twitching from under the blankets. After processing this scene, only one word came to his mind: “Fuck.”