Discussions With a Defeated Queen
"Gee, what a day it was today," Doughnut Joe said, wiping his brow. Today was easily the most crazy day of everypony's life. Not only was there a royal wedding, but also the bride was actually the queen of the changelings who kidnapped the real princess, brainwashed the groom, invaded Canterlot, and was defeated by the elements of harmony. Suffice it to say, today was quite a day.
It was three in the morning. Normally, Joe would have closed up shop and been home hours ago, but since tonight was full of festivities that continued through the night, he didn't have the chance to close the store. He had just finished sweeping the floor and as he was putting the broom back in the supply closet, the door bell rang, meaning that somepony had opened the door and entered.
"I'm sorry, I'm just about done closing up for tonight." Joe closed the closet door, "However, I could whip up something for ya real quick if you'd-" Doughnut Joe couldn't finish his thought. The figure at the door was nopony he would have ever expected to see again. It wasn't even a pony at all. It was the creature that attempted to invade Canterlot the previous day!
"Y-y-you!" Joe dropped to the floor, cowering in fear of the towering black figure at his door.
Chrysalis let out a depressing sigh and slowly walked to the bar, "You don't need to be afraid. I don't have any intentions of causing trouble."
"Don't eat me!" Joe pleaded, "Take anything you want! Just spare me! Please!"
"You have any doughnuts left? If it's not too much to ask, I'd like one of those."
Doughnut Joe slowly stood up and, using his magic, hastily retrieved a pink frosted doughnut and placed it in front of the changeling queen.
Chrysalis' head hung low and Joe could just barely hear a quiet, "thank you," from her.
Something about her was strange. She wasn't acting like the evil queen she showed everypony at the wedding. Perhaps it was naivete, but Joe sensed that a heavy sadness and a broken heart was buried beneath the changelings' scary exterior.
"W-what do y-you want? Why are you here?"
"I just..." Chrysalis paused, "...I just need to... I don't know. I just need a place to be. I have nowhere else to go."
"What about your place... kingdom... err... whatever you call your place? Couldn't you go there?"
"Since I failed, the hive is in the process of creating a new queen. I'm not welcome there and because I created so many enemies, I'm not welcome here either."
Joe remained silent.
"You can do whatever you want. You can summon the authorities to take me away, deliver your own justice, or whatever you feel I deserve. Nothing would be too much for me. I have no reason to go on and I deserve whatever punishment is given to me." Chrysalis rested her cheek on the counter and tears began streaming down her face.
Joe silently went back behind the counter, not taking his gaze off of the former changeling queen. He reached down below and placed a glass cup in front of her. The sound of the glass on the countertop made Chrysalis flinch. She must have expected something worse, he thought.
Joe shook his head as he retrieved a carton of milk from the refrigerator. He opened the top and began to fill up the empty glass.
Chrysalis just stared at the shopkeeper and tried to figure out why he wasn't exacting his revenge. Was he not aware that this was the perfect opportunity to express his hatred for what she had tried to do?
Once the glass was full, he pushed it closer to his guest.
"Doughnuts are better with a glass of cold milk."
Chrysalis' stare shifted back and forth between the glass of milk and the strange pony that offered it. Normally, she would be able to read his emotions with frightening accuracy but this pony was strange. He seemed to genuinely care for her. It's true that all equines have a unique way of sensing the emotions of others, could it be that he has an even more heightened ability than the average pony.
Doughnut Joe took a seat on the stool next to Chrysalis', "You know what my mother used to say to me?"
Chrysalis didn't respond.
"That if your heart aches, telling somepony why is a great way to heal."
"I don't have a heart. Love isn't something that changelings can experience." Chrysalis lifted the glass to her lips and took a small sip, "That's why we have to resort to manipulating other beings for their 'love.'"
Doughnut Joe rubbed the back of his head. He felt uncomfortable and like he had made a poor choice of words to use based on her reaction.
"Sorry. I didn't mean-"
"It's fine." Chrysalis shook her head, "How could you have known about the life of a changeling? I can't hold it against you for being ignorant."
"Uh... Thanks."
Chrysalis put her drink down and sighed, "That day was supposed to be perfect."
"In a strange way, I feel sorry that things didn't go as planned."
Chrysalis shot up in her seat, shocked by what she had just heard. If she had a heart, it would have skipped a beat, "Surely you are joking? You couldn't have possibly forgotten what I tried to do to this city and its inhabitants?"
"Well, yea," Joe chuckled, "of course I am aware of what happened. Though, at the same time, I understand how much it hurts when something you have high hopes for doesn't go the way you wanted."
"Why are you sympathizing with me? Why are you being so kind to me to begin with?" Chrysalis barked.
"Listen, I've been runnin' this joint for a very long time. I've seen hundreds of ponies walk through that door and sit where you're sitting. Most of them come because they need to get away from something in their personal lives that is too painful to confront. Their minds are all clouded and they're unable to think rationally. I've made it my mission to, in a way, distract them from their troubles and help them clear their heads."
"How do you do that?"
"Just by talking to them. It does one a lot of good to just let it all out, y'know?"
Chrysalis was speechless. This pony showed a kindness that she never thought existed. They must have been talking for a few good hours and in that time, her emotional state had changed from what it was when she first walked in. Unable to think of anything to say, she smiled softly at Joe. Perhaps things weren't as hopeless as they first seemed. If this sincerity exists here, it must exist elsewhere too.
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cool :)
Very nice. Nothing wrong with a little one-shot here and there. This is no exception. I really liked this one. Nicely written, with only a few mistakes that can easily be made and just as easily fixed.
Ya did good, Brony boy. Ya did good.
#StillHateDoughnutJoe
That's what I would do if I meet her
i like it, i think this one is complete so keep up the good owrk on your other stories.
Kinda wish it could have been longer though
Hmm... I think that I want a sequel to this. Good work!
When Doughnut Joe got out the milk, I remembered that there is an actual Biblical story where someone gives their enemy cold milk to make them sleep and then drives a tent peg through their head. Seriously. For a minute, I thought there was going to be a jarring, crazy plot twist there when he does just that.
So glad it was actually just my crazy imagination making something weird out of giving someone milk. The story is good as the heartwarming thing it is.
P.S. Doughnuts go especially well with strawberry cold milk in particular.
Coffee and sweets sure do dull the pain of defeat, no?
Doughey Joey did a good job!
And so did you, writing this!
Chrysalis should be a waitress for a while there. That experience could do her good.
I ship them.
5076436
Judges 4 (4:21); just looked it up. How's that for hospitality...?
And remember, class: God approves heartily of killing enemies of your nation when he gives you the okay. So it's not murder.
5076436
There's actually a song by Kenny Chesney called "The Good Stuff" about a guy who had his first big fight with his lady (presumably wife), so he drove off till he found a small bar. He pulled up, the barkeep was alone in the place, so he sat at the bar and asked for "The good stuff". The barkeep, remembering his own late wife, poured them both a glass of milk and told him that "the good stuff" can't be found at a bar - it's where your heart is.
Amazingly touching song, and one that is... all too true.
5078169 That'd be a great sequel... or even a stand-alone, if she just decided/concluded to do something like that on her own. Maybe even start it as some attempt at infiltration, but ending with her learning from her experience there and changing.
5075692
Why do you hate him?
5081507 Stupid name, stupid look, stupid fans (with very few exceptions)
Hmm, not bad, kind of a nice setup for something more, too...
Nice. Though I thought I saw a story similar to this before.
Cute! I second 5078169 's idea of a sequel where chrissy tries to blend in as a (disguised) waitress. THAT has some potential as a heartwarming, meaty story.
5082257 Wow.
5075692
not to disparage your likes or dislikes but I my view of Joe is based on this story
"A Cup of Joe" by The Descendant if you could overlook you dislike for Joe long enough you might find it interesting
5084213 I've done that kind of stuff bout two billion times. For example, I hate Spitfire, but I overlook that to read Spitfire centered stories, including the quite renowned Summer On Fire.
I plan to read it soon; it seems to have quite a juicy premise. However, that does not change how I think about Joe. (That's a human name anyway!)
P.S. It's because of stories like Summer On Fire that I gradually begin to like Spitfire, but nothing can change the way I view Dickbutt Joe.
Well that was heart warming. I hope you consider making a sequel for this. Great Job!
Gotta admit, wasn't sure how this was going to go. But I'm liking this Chrissy, well done indeed. And as the above folks have mentioned, following her story is something I'd love to see. Again, well done, and thanks for a nice, heartwarming fic.
A sequel would be nice though don't make it a romance I wanna see this become a friendship more than anything.
This was a good little story, but the ending seems kind of weak. Look at the last paragraph:
After the maybe ten minutes of conversation in the rest of the fic, it suddenly jumps to "they've been talking for a few hours." I recommend either getting rid of that "talking for a few good hours" part (maybe change it to "talking for just a few minutes") so that it comes right after everything else, like it seems like it should, or rearranging the beginning of the paragraph to say something like "After a few good hours of talking, Chrysalis was left speechless. In that time, her emotional state..." That way the time jump is clear from the start of the paragraph.
Serves her right for what she did
Food Battle reference! Awesome!
5079066
Seeing as she is incapable of that emotion in this universe, that's sorta a futile gesture.
Not going to lie...After reading it I wanted to see it not being complete. Something along the lines that she starts sneaking back after this conversation.
None the less, a enjoyable read.
This was a pretty good story.
So cute... if anybody trys the puppy dog eys on me i will rip them out and make some nice earing out of them
Wait a minute. The Elements of Harmony should be capitalized and they weren't used anyway. Cadence and Shining saved the day.
Uhh...is that a question or not? Where's the question mark?
If there is ever a time when an apostrophe (') and a quote (") MUST be side-by-side, it is considered "good form" (whatever that means) to put a space between them. Like this: "...for their 'love.' "
Of course that's one of those New Rules that not a lot of authors are using yet.
Not much of a story here, but I like the sentiment.
There is much potential for a sequel of this story.
Nuuuuuu I want more D:
The concept is good, but the delivery was ham-fisted. The set-up feels forced, Doughnut Joe's rapid 180 from terrified to comforting felt unrealistic, and there didn't seem to be any weight to the resolution. I think a lot more thought, time and preparation would have greatly improved this.
You can has review.
Sweet~
Cya
Raziel-chan
5818665
Not really, it's somewhat humorous seeing that no one is exempt from a bad day. Sure, evil tyrant and all, but her day went to shit in a matter of seconds. All in all, Joe saw her as a shell of herself, even if he didn't know her for long.