Chapter 15: In the Dog House
“Manehattan Escapes?” Chrysalis asked, the airy voice of her earth pony disguise dulling the bite of her bark.
“Yes, uh…” Twilight trailed as she looked over their new friend. “What did you say your name was now?”
The mare blew a loose strand of mane out of her face. “Shutterbug.”
“Right. Then yes, Shutterbug! We’re a little bit early for our reservation though, so we might have to wait until a room is available.”
“It will be worth it, darling. This is going to be so refreshing after such a long train ride,” Rarity said as she inspected her mane.
AJ gave the plain building another once-over. Usually these fancy-schmancy, frou-frou places looked a bit softer, like the Ponyville Day Spa. The black and blue box in front of them was more akin to some kinda knock-off Mane Event game center without a scrap of fanciness anywhere. Still, Applejack knew not to judge a book by its cover, especially after getting to know Chrys better.
Rarity turned to Shutterbug and put on a friendly smile. “Do you like spas, Shutterbug?”
“We only had a sulfur hot spring close to the hive. It felt nice for a little bit, but it’d start to melt through the carapace after a while. I can only imagine what it’d do to a soft-skinned pony like you.”
Rarity gulped and gave a weak laugh. “My word. This shouldn’t be as… intensely exfoliating.”
“If an acid bath’s the best you’ve had, then you’re really in for a treat here, sugarcube,” Applejack said as she shoulder-bumped the changeling. “This’ll be like a bubble bath times twenty with a bunch of ponies waiting on ya like a little slice of royalty.”
A small smirk crossed Shutterbug’s lips. “Has a nice ring to it when you put it like that.”
“Actually, this isn’t that sort of escape,” Twilight corrected with a nervous chuckle.
“It’s not?” Rarity asked in slight surprise.
“Nope. It’s an escape room!” The princess cantered in excitement with a smile as sweet as a filly’s. “I read about them getting popular recently and I thought it’d be perfect for a team-building exercise. We have to work together to get out as fast as we can, or it’s game over!”
“No fooling? That sounds way more awesome than a stupid old spa!” Rainbow gushed as she fluttered up to Twi. “So what is it? Some kind of awesome obstacle course? Do we gotta escape a collapsing temple? Please tell me they have Daring Do stuff!”
“Not exactly, but I think they do have temple themes,” Twilight explained, trying to meet Rainbow in the middle. “And while they are technically obstacles, escape rooms specialize in puzzles! We get locked in a room and have to work together to solve them in order to get the key to escape.”
Whatever hope was there left the pegasus as she slumped over with a grumble. “Great. Egghead adventure time.”
“Going from a little train car to a locked box with yours truly?” Shutterbug cackled viciously. “The fun just doesn’t stop, does it?”
“I know, Buggy! I love puzzles!” Pinkie exclaimed, to Shutterbug’s ire. “I even brought my own.” She reached behind her back and brought out a five hundred piece jigsaw puzzle. After checking around for spies, she leaned in close and whispered loudly into the mare’s ear, “It’s an ice cream parlor!”
Shutterbug rolled her eyes at the not-so-secret secret pictured on the front of the box. “So it is.”
Twilight giggled at Pinkie’s antics. “There might be one or two like that in there, but these are more like logic puzzles and riddles that we’ll need to put our heads together to figure out.”
“Oh.” Pinkie deflated slightly, but bounced back almost immediately as she tossed the box away and reached into her mane. “I’m not good at riddles, but I do have the perfect pair of puzzle-solving pom-poms to cheer you on-on!” she proclaimed as she drew two fuzzy gold pom-poms from her mane with an explosion of confetti.
Shutterbug scowled and turned to AJ. “Are we sure this one isn’t the draconequus?”
“Again, it’s just Pinkie being Pinkie, ‘Buggy.’” Applejack snickered at the glare Chrys shot back at her. “You’ll get used to it as long as you don’t think about it too much.”
The changeling turned back, only to see Pinkie had already thrown on a matching cheerleader outfit and was cartwheeling behind the others as they went inside. “She seems to be hardly thinking at all anyway.”
“Don’t let her fool ya. Pinkie’s got a good noggin on her shoulders, just thinks a bit different than everypony else. She’s gotten us outta more jams than you can spread on a sandwich.”
“Come on, slowpokes!” Pinkie called from the door. “We gotta get in here fast so we can leave as soon as possible!”
Shutterbug gave Applejack one last withering frown before following after the bubbly mare. “I’ll try to keep that in mind.”
As the changeling passed in front, Applejack’s eyes were drawn once again to the mare’s cutie mark. It’d been on her mind since they got off the train. She thought maybe Chrys just chose pony features at random, but she’d gone straight back to being this mare specifically.
“Do you just have a thing for flanks or what?” Shutterbug asked pointedly, rousing Applejack from her pondering.
“Beg your pardon?”
“If you’re going to stare, at least exude a little lust so I can get something out of it.” The changeling brushed her long, flowing mane, letting it cascade over her back as she fluttered her lashes.
“Oh! Didn’t mean it like that, sugarcube.” Applejack chuckled nervously. “Was more trying to figure out what I was looking at.”
Chrys dropped the sensual act and glared flatly. “It’s a flank. If you haven’t noticed, you’ve got one, too.”
“Thanks for the help, but I’m talking more about your cutie mark. What’s your talent supposed to be?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” the changeling asked, grunting when she saw the confusion on Applejack’s face. “Shutterbug. The pony name’s on the nose and everything.”
“I mean, it’s a bug, yeah, but I thought shutterbugs are folks that take a bunch of pictures.”
“Very good,” Shutterbug said slowly while clapping at a snail’s pace. “Now don’t hurt your head too much trying to figure out the rest.”
“I can do without the snark, sugarcube. What I mean is, it’s just a little odd since ya ain’t real keen on keepsakes from what I can tell.”
“A photographer doesn’t have to like taking pictures of themselves, AJ.”
Applejack rubbed her chin in thought as she pondered the clues. “Are you supposed to be good at taking bug photos?”
“No. The ladybug is the camera.”
“Okay? So, what’s with the green stuff spraying out of her legs?”
“Spraying?” Shutterbug turned to look at her side to see what Applejack was looking at. “Are you blind? That’s not bug juice! The ladybug is on top of one of those camera standing… pedestals. Picture-taking pedestal.” The mare’s cheeks began to burn at AJ’s stumped confusion. “It’s that tall thing you put cameras on top of to keep them from shaking! See?”
Applejack took another look and tried imaging what the heck the changeling was on about. She put the three ovals together in her head and saw the answer staring her in the face. “Oh! You mean a tripod?”
“Yes!” Shutterbug shouted excitedly at the familiar word. “One of those!”
“To be fair, it doesn’t really look like a tripod to me.”
Shutterbug’s red embarrassment was burning brighter than Big Mac. “Well that’s what it is, okay? Sorry if my cutie mark doesn’t meet your artistic standards. I don’t see anypony making a big deal about your little circles on your stupid flank!”
“They’re apples. Of course they’d be circles. Tripods are more like silver sticks.”
“Fine! Then let’s say it’s a changeling tripod made of goo. Happy?”
“So it’s ladybug juice after all,” Applejack suggested with a smirk.
“What does it matter anyway? Are you trying to get on my nerves?”
“Wasn’t at first, but I’m having too much fun now,” Applejack admitted.
“Then stop bothering me with it!” Shutterbug roared. She whipped around to face AJ directly, causing her mane to fall in front of her face again. “Gah! Stupid bangs!”
“Settle down there, girl. I promise I wasn’t just trying to rile you up.”
“Then what’s with you ogling my assets all day?”
“Nothing untoward, honest!” It was Applejack’s turn to give her brother a run for his money. The farmer quickly looked away from the other mare. “I was just thinking maybe your mark was something you might like to do.”
“Aren’t they all supposed to be? They’re your special talents or whatever.”
“Well yeah, but if it’s something you really enjoy, then I thought maybe we’d see about getting something for ya. Think you might like taking pictures?”
Shutterbug brushed the errant mane out of her face. “I have an eidetic memory, Applejack. I have no use for pictures.”
“A what?”
The mare took a patient breath through her nose. “I remember everything I see perfectly. If I couldn’t, I wouldn’t be able to shapeshift into a convincing facsimile of any creature I run into. Got it?”
“I guess. But you know, there’s more to pictures than just seeing what’s there.”
“What, you mean like spell components?”
“No?” Applejack tilted her head. “Is there some kind of magic that needs ‘em?”
“Forget it,” she deflected quickly and trotted towards the others. “It was a half-baked idea anyway, just like this stupid disguise.”
“Alright, sugarcube. But if you think you might enjoy it, I say we try it out. Who knows, you might take a shine to it.”
“Doubtful. What would be the point?”
That was a good question. If Applejack’s guess was right, pictures wouldn’t bring Chrys the same kind of warmth that she felt whenever a picture reminded her of the past. It might even hurt her in the end. Still, the changeling was pretending to be interested in taking pictures. Maybe that wasn’t something out of nowhere, at least she was hoping so. Applejack loved cracking open an old photo album and strolling down memory lane from time to time. She didn’t want to think something that brought her comfort would be nothing but sadness for Chrys.
Putting her nagging worries on the backburner, Applejack hummed to herself as her eyes wandered around the lobby. There were plenty of pictures and posters advertising settings and adventures with all manner of critters trying to figure their way through them. Her eyes were drawn to a Wall of Fame near the counter Dash was pointing to with different difficulty levels and scenarios.
One picture that caught her eye was a pride of griffons posing with a golden key next to a timer reading 0:59.31. A familiar gray griffon looked tickled pink at their victory and was hugging one of her friends around the neck as she pointed excitedly at the key. Applejack couldn’t remember the girl’s name off the top of her head, but it was the same one that flew into town looking to earn a cutie mark with the Crusaders.
“There’s times I need something to help jog my memory. Maybe a picture wouldn’t help you, but it’d sure help me remember the good times with you.”
“If you’re so curious, I’ll just recount what happened. I don’t need a camera for that.”
“That’s fair, I suppose.”
Applejack continued to take in the photo. The griffon seemed to be having the time of her life with her friends, even though her friends didn’t seem to share in her enthusiasm. Still, they’d all posed with her for the picture with her and smiled to preserve the happy memory together. That wasn’t nothing in AJ’s book.
“You know, maybe you can remember everything around you, but no matter how good your memory is, you’ll never see someone really important getting the whole picture.”
“Oh really?” Shutterbug asked. She turned to look around the room to try to spot who she’d fail to recall exactly. “And who is that?”
“I’m looking at her.”
Shutterbug turned back towards Applejack to see who she was looking at, only to be met with the farmer looking right back at her. The changeling gazed back at the reflection of the mare in the apple’s eye. She scoffed and shrugged it off. “How touching, but you’re forgetting that being caught by a picture defeats the whole purpose of my disguises.”
“It used to, but not anymore, sugarcube. Now you can enjoy getting caught by a camera all you want. Who knows? You might like seeing yourself outside of a mirror.”
Chrysalis said nothing, but the smallest swish of her tail told AJ she was thinking about it. Before she could press further, they were interrupted by Twilight with one of the escape room employees in tow.
“Okay everypony! Our room’s ready. Let’s go have some fun!”
“Well, that was a monumental disappointment,” Shutterbug complained as she exited the room with the key in her hooves. She tossed it like trash over her shoulder, hitting Rainbow on the head.
“Hey! Hang on a sec!” Rainbow shouted and shot around Shutterbug to get in her face.
“What’s wrong? Not happy with our performance?” the changeling asked with an innocent smile. “We got out of there in ten minutes flat.”
“The only thing flat around here is your flatout lying! There’s no way you solved that all by yourself so fast. You must’ve cheated somehow!”
“There’s no horn on this mare, Rainbow,” she bragged with a bonk on her flat forehead before brushing her troublesome bang out of the way again.
“Now Rainbow, there’s no need to accuse her of cheating.” Fluttershy cut in between them, though clearly leaned towards Rainbow. “Maybe Class—Shutterbug is just really good at puzzle solving?”
“What puzzle solving?” Rainbow shouted. “We hadn’t even found all the numbers to the safe yet before she cracked it!”
“Oh please, I’m a master of infiltration. Do you honestly think a noisy combination lock like that was going to keep me out?” The changeling giggled to herself and flicked her trusty ears. “You’re lucky I didn’t just pick the front door when you all started singing.”
“Ha! I knew you cheated!” Rainbow pointed her hoof into the changeling’s face.
Shutterbug swatted the accusatory away. “Settle down, featherbrain. The goal was to figure out the code, right? I solved it by listening.”
Applejack bristled and approached the budding feud herself. “Hey now, no need for either of y’all to be calling each other names now, ya hear?”
“Well…” Rainbow’s anger fizzled under the farmer’s scrutiny. “She threw the key at my head!”
“Because you’re the one that cared about getting to it quickly in the first place! It’s not my fault you didn’t think fast and catch it!” Shutterbug argued. Seeing she was getting nowhere fast with anypony, she tossed her mane in exasperation. “What’s the big deal anyway? I got the door open fast like you wanted. I don’t get why you’re angry.”
“Please! Everypony, we’re supposed to be building our friendships,” Twilight interjected as she tried to calm everypony down. “Sure, maybe we didn’t get to solve any of the puzzles before she solved the color code…”
“Ha! You call that a code? It was one of the most basic ciphers I’ve ever cracked. It didn’t even have any repeated inputs.”
Twilight shuffled her hooves nervously, unsure of what to say. “I’m sorry if it wasn’t very challenging for you, but we were supposed to figure it out together as a team, Shutterbug. It’s not very fun if you do it all yourself.”
“Apparently it wouldn’t have been fun regardless,” Shutterbug spat callously while turning away from the group.
The snippy reply struck the alicorn, bringing a pained frown to the disheartened princess. Rarity gasped and quickly trotted to her friend’s side to give her a hug before staring daggers at the changeling.
“Now see here, Shutterbug. Twilight worked very hard on this trip for all of us to enjoy our time together. While I may have misunderstood what this ‘escape’ entailed, I knew that she was looking forward to this first event the most. It was one of the reasons we came all the way out to Manehattan in the first place! Just because you may not like it doesn’t give you the right to ruin her hard work.”
Shutterbug backed away from the pressure of all the eyes watching her. “Wha—ruin? I didn’t ruin anything! You all have an unbeatable time now! You’re getting your stupid picture on the wall!”
“No, you’re not,” the staff pony from before called from down the hall flatly. The young earth pony stallion that had let them in, Ginger Locks, trotted towards them with as much sternness as the bored teen could manage. “The gamemasters talked it over and said safecracking isn’t allowed. You all have to leave.”
Everypony but Shutterbug cried in unison at the announcement. Twilight especially took the news hard. She might as well have been told she got caught cheating on a test with the devastated gape on her face.
“But we didn’t cheat,” Rainbow fired back. She pointed at Shutterbug with a scowl. “She’s the one who broke the rules in the first place!”
“There wasn’t a rule that you couldn’t improvise a solution,” Shutterbug defended with a sneer of her own.
The unflappable stallion sighed. “They said that even though it wasn’t in the rules, it is still against the spirit of the game. She was in your group, so you have to leave,” he parroted with disinterest.
“I understand,” Twilight muttered, her wings drooping to her side in defeat. The poor princess was on the verge of tears.
AJ caught sight of a vicious smirk crossing Shutterbug’s mouth, burning with pure elation at the downfall of a foe. However, for how fiendish her joy must’ve tasted, it was short-lived with it crumbling bit by bit the longer she looked at Twilight. Whatever happiness she’d found was lost entirely in mere moments as she loomed over the fallen mare. The changeling mumbled with caustic venom under her breath before turning around to face the stallion holding the door to the lobby.
“Are you really that stupid? You fools really haven’t thought this through, have you?” Shutterbug strutted right up to Ginger Locks and rubbed her body against his as she pointed to the broken alicorn. “You know who that is, right? She’s Twilight Sparkle, one of your precious pony princesses. Are you really going to kick out royalty just like that?”
The close contact seemed to rouse the stallion from his staggering boredom with the beautiful mare closing the distance. His cheeks began to match his hair as a goofy grin threatened to shake him from his teenaged aloofness. “I-I’m sorry, miss. I’m just telling you what Mister Roll told me to say.”
“Well, how about this?” The sensual mare turned the teen’s head towards hers, fluttering her deep green eyes at him as he turned brighter and brighter. “You tell this Mister Roll of yours to kick me out and let Twilight and her friends play another round and I won’t cause a scene that I guarantee will annihilate the reputation of your little playroom,” she purred as she wrapped her tail in his.
Ginger felt the pressure and gulped. “C-cause a scene, miss?”
“Mhmm. After all…” She exploded into green fire, dropping her act to reveal her full, queenly form, her head still leaned down next to his, muzzle to muzzle as the rest of her towered over him. “I have it on good authority that the evil Queen Chrysalis suddenly appearing around an establishment is absolutely terrible for business.”
Ginger’s face went whiter than a bedsheet caught in a blizzard at being face to face with the infamous villain. Chrysalis simply smiled back, letting her bear trap of teeth do all the talking. The poor teen nodded feverishly and opened his mouth to say something, but the only thing that came out was a squawk that sounded more akin to a rooster with the flu.
“It seems we understand each other.” Chrysalis released the panicked pony from her grasp and rose to her full, towering height. “Now run along and don’t keep me waiting. I am not a patient mare.”
By her command, Ginger bolted out the door, galloping as fast as his scrawny legs would go, screaming all the way to the back. Chrysalis couldn’t help but cackle at his cracking voice as he tucked tail and ran.
“At least somepony knows to respect me around here,” Chrysalis sighed as she shifted back into Shutterbug.
Applejack was riled up more than a bull stuck in a red wool sweater. “What did you do that for, Chrys?”
“Oh, don’t mind me. Just sneaking a little lust into my diet after you failed to deliver. Forgive me for indulging a bit.”
“Forget all of that! You can’t just threaten somepony out of nowhere!”
“Silence!” the mare commanded as she slammed her hooves down, her glower burning like a scorpion sting. “All I said was that I’d show my real face. It’s not my fault that my staggering beauty terrifies you stupid ponies in the first place!”
The changeling’s anger cracked like a whip, its shrillness shut AJ up right quick.
“Just let me deal with them.” She blew the stubborn bang out of her face. “You and your friends get to have your fun, I’ll be waiting outside while you all try and fail to match my cunning.”
Before Applejack could come up with a rebuttal, the door opened again. A pudgy blue unicorn cautiously walked in along with Ginger Locks cowering closely behind him.
Ginger pointed to the disguised changeling. “T-that’s her, Mister Roll.”
Mister Roll straightened up and nodded firmly to his employee. He began walking up to Shutterbug, his confidence seemingly building with every step. When the door shut behind them, she flashed again into her true, changeling form, stopping Roll in his tracks at the sudden appearance of one of Equestria’s greatest threats.
“Well…” Chrysalis paused, her serpentine tongue flicking out as she read the proprietor’s name tag, “Mister Lucky Roll? Are you kicking me out au naturel or are they playing another round?”
Lucky Roll did his best to put on a brave face in front of one of Equestria’s most notorious villains. “Y-you promise to never come back?”
“You have my word. I have no interest in these poor excuses for puzzles in the first place. But, you know…” Chrysalis grinned widely, showing her serrated maw of teeth to the brave little pony. “Even if I did come back, you’d never know it was me, would you?”
Lucky and Ginger shuddered in fear at the apex predator in their midst as she cackled with delight. Finally, when Twilight couldn’t take it anymore, she stepped up to the bullying changeling.
“Chrysalis, you can’t just—”
“Don’t worry, Twilight. I’ll be a good girl,” Chrysalis assured over the princess’ complaints. She changed back into Shutterbug and walked towards the door. “I just want to make sure we all understand each other. Now, enjoy yourselves, everypony. I’ll be having my own fun watching these two squirm in the lobby.”
With that, she slipped out the door, her tail barely passing through before it shut behind. With her pressuring presence gone, Ginger Locks fell to his haunches and cried. Lucky Roll ran over to Twilight and urged her to wait while he reset their room to a different version, all the while promising he would never even think to ban a princess or her friends. The alicorn could barely get a word in edgewise before Roll jumped into their room and began working like his life depended on it.
Applejack had reached her limit and stormed off to find the cause of this mess. She stomped out into the lobby to find Shutterbug kicking back in a chair, muzzle deep in a magazine about other Manehattan attractions.
“You proud of yourself, Chrys?” Applejack asked as she plopped down in the seat next to the mare.
“You make it sound like I shouldn’t be,” she scoffed in reply. “Either way, I’m not.”
“Coulda fooled me, acting all high n’ mighty, but honestly, I ain’t sure what to think. Seemed to be having fun, but hating it all the same. Especially when you were getting that lil’ fella wrapped around your hoof.”
“Oh?” The mare lowered her magazine, peering over the cover at the farmer. “Jealous, are we?”
Applejack grimaced. “That ain’t right at all, Chrys.”
“Oh, for the love of…” Shutterbug dropped her magazine on the coffee table with a glare. “I wasn’t going to seduce him! I changed to myself the moment the little lover boy’s confused fondness for hayfries hit my tongue. I just didn’t want him running away before he got the message. ”
“And what message was that? Poor guy is gonna be jumpier than a jackrabbit stuck in Ghastly Gorge for who knows how long.”
“Fine! Let him be if showing my face is a crime! The way I see it, I stopped you all from getting kicked out of this stupid place for having a little fun!” Shutterbug yelled, her eye twitching wildly from livid rage. She slammed her hooves on her seat over and over, pounding her frustration into the cushions. “I’m so sick of all your pony nonsense! I finally get to do something like you all want me to, but no! ‘You didn’t do it right, Chrysalis.’ ‘You must’ve cheated, Chrysalis.’ ‘Safecracking’s not in the spirit of the game, Chrysalis’—whatever the hay that’s supposed to mean. The goal was to get out, and I got us out! You should be singing my praises! Instead, I get banished again because my way is always the wrong way!”
“Wait. Did you say you had fun?”
“Who cares?” Shutterbug snarled. “My version of ‘fun’ is apparently cheating!”
“It ain’t that simple, sugarcube. We’re supposed to be solving stuff to get out, right?”
“So I skipped to the end to save time. Why is that a problem?”
“Getting done fast like Rainbow wanted would’ve been nice and all, but I think it’s more important to just enjoy each other’s company while working through all the clues as a team.”
“Enjoy your company? I was contemplating chewing my own hooves off waiting for you idiots to decide whether a purple gem is plum and boysenberry!” Shutterbug slammed both of her hooves down with a petulant grunt.
Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle at the idea. “Well, that’s a bit harsh, but it was all meant to be good fun. Wouldn’t you rather have helped me and the other girls figure out what was going on instead of brute forcing it?”
Shutterbug scowled bitterly at her hooves. “Well… maybe I don’t understand your dumb pony clues and it’s easier for me to break and exit.”
“It’s called a riddle for a reason, Chrys.”
“You want an example? Fine! How am I supposed to know the star that points to Clover the Clever? Maybe I know the forest you’re talking about as something different!”
“Clover the Clever was one of the founders of Equestria. Luna drew the constellation a long time ago and I think his horn’s supposed to be pointing north.”
Shutterbug’s face fell into a deep frown. “See? I wasn’t even close.”
“And that’s fine, sugarcube. It’s why we were working as a team. Heck, we were just fine with Pinkie Pie cheering us on the entire time,” Applejack assured.
“Oh, that would’ve gone wonderfully. Debasing myself like an airhead because I’m too dumb to help solve a riddle. Maybe I should’ve changed into a supermodel to give you all something to look at.”
“Now don’t be so hard on yourself. Besides, I think I’m the only one that might’ve enjoyed that kinda show unless you came in as a stallion. Not sure how the other barn doors swing, if you know what I mean,” AJ said with a chuckle.
Chrysalis grimaced and stuck her tongue out. “Hard pass.”
“Really?” Applejack turned her head.
“Queen Chrysalis, remember?” the mare stated proudly. “I’ll take love from a male, but I’ll never willingly masquerade as one unless I have no other choice.” Shutterbug glanced over at Applejack, looking up and down her body before shrugging. “I guess I should consider myself lucky that I’m stuck with a pretty little thing like you and not some chunky gruff guy with dangly parts in all the wrong places.”
Applejack’s ears perked up in surprise. “You… you think I’m pretty?”
“It’s just a fact.”
“But what about Rarity or Fluttershy?”
Shutterbug’s eyebrow shot up with curiosity. “What about them?”
“Do you think they’re pretty too?”
“Yes, Applejack,” Shutterbug said in a huff. “You and all of your friends are pretty. Annoying, but pretty. Lucky for you, you don’t have to put as much work in as somepony like Rarity. All that makeup and mane styling. You just tie your mane and tail after putting on a little fur conditioner and moisturizer in the morning.”
Applejack chuckled to herself, feeling might self-conscious from the surprising amount of praise the changeling was heaping on her without a second thought. “Well, I think out of all of us, you got us beat with how much work you’re doing, Chrys.”
Chrysalis joined with her own hearty laugh that withered on the vine as she gripped her shoulder. “Ah, yes. I’ve got to turn into an entirely different creature or I’ll send everyone fleeing for their lives at the mere sight of me.”
The smile fell from Applejack’s face as her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. “W-wait a sec, that ain’t at all what I—”
“Hey, Applejack!” Rainbow called from the door. “They’re done setting up the room. You coming or what?”
The mare hesitated under the pressure, sitting frozen to her seat as she looked between Dash and Shutterbug. She’d followed Chrys out here to give the mare a stern talking to, but it was more complicated like always with her. The changeling might’ve rubbed everypony the wrong way, but the more they talked it over, the more it all seemed like an honest misunderstanding. Chrysalis wasn’t evil, her head just worked a little differently than everyone else.
“Well? What are you waiting for?” Shutterbug asked impatiently. “Go have your friendship retreat, team-building, whatever.” She waved Applejack off as she slumped back in her seat. “I’ll just be taking a nap here until you get back.”
Applejack didn’t like this. Not one bit. She turned around to Rainbow and called back. “But, what about Chrys?”
Rainbow looked between the two and couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Uhh… hello? She’s in timeout for cheating, remember?”
Shutterbug grumbled to herself and crossed her forelegs with a sullen frown on her face, looking anywhere but at the pegasus. Applejack bit her lip.
“Y’all go on ahead and have another go. I’m gonna stay with Chrys.”
“What?” Rainbow asked in disbelief.
“What?” Shutterbug roared in disbelief.
“You sure, AJ?”
Applejack nodded firmly. “Eeyup. Y’all have fun now.”
Rainbow shrugged and ducked back through the door, leaving the two alone. It didn’t take long for AJ to feel the furious heat boiling off the critter next to her.
“Something on your mind, sugarcube?” AJ asked like nothing was wrong.
“You’re just going to throw what I did away?” Shutterbug seethed with offended contempt. “After revealing myself in front of ponies to get you all off the hook? I did that for you, you ungrateful pest!”
“Don’t think of it like that. I couldn’t rightly enjoy myself knowing you were waiting around all alone out here knowing ya actually had a good time. And it’s like ya said, they didn’t tell us you couldn’t.”
The rage roiling underneath then changeling’s skin settled down to a simmer. “So, it’s that stupid, bleeding heart of yours that is ruining what fun you could be having with your friends?”
“That’s about the size of it. Wouldn’t be the same without you there.”
“How touching,” Shutterbug mumbled. She settled her gaze forward on the wall across from them and settled into her seat. “I hope you enjoy being miserable in ‘timeout’ with me.”
“You know, ya got a point there. How about instead of waiting around here watching the wall, me and you skedaddle for a bit and find something fun to do? Just the two of us. Reckon that’d be better than doing a whole lotta nothing.”
Shutterbug puckered her lips as she mulled over the thought, giving AJ a quirk of her brow. A brief spark of happiness escaped in a smile before collapsing again with a sigh. “Sure. They’d want me gone as soon as possible anyway. Where are we going?”
Applejack rubbed her chin, thinking what they could do while they waited. Something they could both enjoy. Her eyes wandered down her friend back to her camera bug cutie mark and an idea popped into her head.
“I’m pretty sure we’re a couple of streets over from some shops. Why don’t we head there?”
Shutterbug rolled her eyes. “Still set on finding something to clutter my room with?”
“Eeyup!” Applejack affirmed with a proud smile. She popped out of the seat and offered Chrys a hoof up.
After giving AJ a withering glare, Shutterbug sighed in defeat. “I guess it’s better than waiting around somewhere I’m clearly not wanted. What did you want me to buy?”
“Hey now. Wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise.”
Finally relenting, the changeling took the offer and the hoof. AJ felt a rush of warmth surge through her leg at the contact. Judging by Chrys’ face, she felt it too. She quickly pulled her hoof away and got up the rest of the way on her own.
“Whatever. Let’s just get this over with,” the grumpy bug said as she shook the shock from her hoof.
If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!
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Huh. And suddenly, the pieces all snap into place.
Chrysalis tried. She actually made an honest, good-faith effort. The whole reason this particular team-building failed was, in fact, everyone else's fault, for two reasons:
The first is a common consulting problem, and that is expectation management. Chrysalis didn't particularly want to run the escape room, that's pretty obvious. Dash was visibly less-than-thrilled that it was going to be puzzles instead of action, and Pinkie admitted plainly that she wasn't very good at riddles, and while her remark about "leaving as soon as possible" was probably in reference to getting a short time, it was not unreasonable for Chrysalis to assume she would be doing them a favor by getting them out as fast as possible based on their reactions. There's also the fact that she was set up with the idea that the objective was to get out of the room as fast as possible; it's not. The objective is to solve the puzzles as fast as possible; leaving the room is just the proof that you've solved all the puzzles. Her expectations were all wrong, and that isn't her fault because they were incorrectly set by others.
The second is accommodation. Chrysalis is not a pony, and her contact with Equestrian culture was only ever the minimum needed to complete a task. The group generally, and especially Twilight, are treating her as if she was a pony that grew up surrounded by Equestrian culture. They expect her to know the same history and stories, to like the same foods and activities, and to have the same values. At no point did any of them stop to think if they would need to make any changes or adjustments on her account. Chrysalis obviously enjoys logic puzzles and proven solving; Pinkie does not. However, this means that Pinkie was fine effectively sitting out because she knew she wouldn't be able to contribute much (but given her apparent knowledge of random trivia, probably could have), but she could still play the fool; that's fun. Chrysalis was looking forward to contributing, and was maybe even excited about it, but was effectively sidelined because the puzzles in question all involved things that she had no knowledge of, and the things she did have knowledge of, she wasn't allowed to use; that's not fun. That is, in fact, so frustrating as to be anti-fun.
She had little buy-in to begin with, and then was told that what buy-in she did have was incorrect and she couldn't use it. Which makes Applejack all the more the MVP at the end; Chrysalis was upset because everyone else wanted to do something that she couldn't, and Applejack's simple yet very effective solution was to suggest something she could.
You don't always have to be an all-star; sometimes it's enough just to feel included.
for some reason, I'm now sure that Applejack should be bought for Chrysalis "camera" " :3
11533530
Always interesting to see your read on things and see what details you picked up on. One thing to note though is that the dialogue is still largely based upon the episode this is in. The difference being that all of this conversation occurs outside and right when they enter Manehattan Escapes rather than when they're following Ginger Locks to the room and first get inside. It was fun retooling what was already there and spicing it up thanks to the presence of everyone's favorite changeling queen.
11533567
I've read this sentence multiple times and I don't understand what you mean. A verb is wrong or there's a word or two missing, I'm not sure.
media.tenor.com/WSj7wURnDYYAAAAC/mlp-my-little-pony.gif
11533648
I was trying to say that Applejack is going to buy a "camera" as a present for Chrysalis.
P.S. sorry for my English :(
11533649
Gotcha. Maybe my brain isn't working right at the moment.
I can kind of understand game-masters not counting Chrysalis' "10 minutes flat" run as a win, even though she didn't break any rules, but wanting to throw her and others out was a bit harsh. It wasn't like her so called cheating was affecting anything other than her group's enjoyment of the game. If (for example) she had approached other patrons of Escape Room establishment and revealed clues to their rooms, thus spoiling their fun, then that would have been a ban-able offense.
Nothing hurts more than someone stating something you fear is true, eh?
Well, while I usually joke about 'Chrysalis having done nothing wrong', this time I think I can say that with full honesty.
She didn't break any rules. Both Pinkie and Rainbow expressed beforehand that they didn't like puzzles like that and that they'd like to leave ASAP. And finally the whole attraction is made for ponies, while she is not and cannot be expected for it to work for her, especially that I'm pretty sure she's had no formal pony education, so she's liable to just be frustrated that she doesn't know stuff ponies learn in kindergarten.
Even if she enjoyed Twilight's hurt for a moment, she quickly felt guilty and actually worked to fix everything in her own non-pony way.
And trying to ban an entire group for not breaking any rules or any items and just for going against the undefined 'spirit' of the game is just d*ckish.
Also, yay, date time!
Hm... I don't remember.. wasn't Shutterbug a unicorn?
And lmao at flank jokes.