Crystal Heart: After the Swarm

by Betty_Starlight

Chapter 7: Seriously, What is REAL Anyway?

The blue pegasus smiles at me from the other side of the patio cafe in downtown Ponyville as we both saw ponies coming and going on the street at my right, “So, you’re Crystal Heart now?”

I smile and nod, “But of course!” before staring down at the double mocha… “I realized that I was much happier this way…”

Her smile lowers, “So, this is how you want to be then?”

I stare at her once more, “Yes, Rainbow… I very much like being Crystal Heart now… I don’t want to think about Chrysalis or the before-time anymore…” I grasp the cup in my forehooves for a good sip.

Her smile lowers, “It still seems weird! I mean, you have magick, but you just uh, choose not to use it?”

I stare at the pegasus blankly, “Do we need to convene the council again so I can explain that to everypony concerned?”

She starts as her magenta eyes widen and her muzzle balks, “Uh, no Crystal! That’s okay! Just uh, tell me and I’ll shoot a mass text to let everypony know! Yeah!” and nods.

I sigh, “Great! I tell the truth and now everypony is talking about me!” before collecting my coffee with my forehooves and taking another, more powerful sip…

She frowns, “No, it’s not like that Crystal! You’re uh, a special case! I mean, you’re a changeling that wants to be a pony, right?”

I sigh and stare at acutely, “Well, I like to think that I’m as much of a pony as I need to be and furthermore, this shape simply makes me happy… And it’s also the one Starlight Glimmer came to love…”

She’s silent for a moment… “This is real to you, isn’t it?”

I smile, “It’s as real as it needs to be, yes… I choose to be Crystal Heart now and not Chrysalis anymore…” I widen my eyes. “Surely you’ve noticed the marked improvement in my behavior?” *

Her eyes widen, “Oh, yes! You somehow went from being a mean and nasty insect queen to uh,” she blinks and adjusts her gaze. “you!”

I lower my gaze, “So you’ll agree that this is a good thing then, yes?”

She begins to stutter, “Well, I mean uh, yeah! I’d rather this than the evil Queen Chrysalis, that’s for sure!”

“Then there is no problem, is there?”

“Well um, no!”

I nod, “Very well then!” before taking another swig of my coffee…

Her eyes widen, “Wow! You’re uh, really convincing!”

I smile as I suppress a giggle, “And you’re a worthy adversary!” I say sarcastically, before. “So, what did you wish to do after this?”

She looks off past my shoulder and then back to me, “Well, we should probably go back to Starlight’s house?”

I narrow my eyes, “Why? What’s waiting for me there?”

She starts as her eyes widen, “I, uh, er…”

I sigh, “What is it Rainbow Dash? Why did you just look at the clock tower behind me and why do we need to go back to Starlight’s house?”

She facehoofs and says, “Ugh!” before lowering it and saying, “You caught me! Pinkie Pie wanted to welcome you to Ponyville with a big party!”

I roll my eyes, “Ugh! I should’ve known!” before adjusting them back to Dash. “But I’m finishing my coffee first!” and add lowly under my breath, “_Jerk!”

Her eyes widen as she leans towards me, “What was that?”

I look back at her, “Nothing, you sniveling twit!” and grasping my coffee with my forehooves for another mighty gulp…

She frowns, “Wow! It’s almost like you don’t want a party?”

I set my coffee down and widen my eyes at her, “You think?”

“Well um, why not Crystal? Don’t you want to be loved and accepted?”

I frown at this audacity, “What? Why, I can get all the love and acceptance I want, Rainbow Dash! I’ve been doing it for some time now!”

“But as Crystal Heart?”

I breath in deeply when I realize that the pegasus has a point… If this is the identity I’m choosing for myself, then it makes sense that I make it authentic… I look at her and say, “Very well! I’ll go and I’ll even pretend to be surprised, to save your sorry flanks! But we’re going it my way and you owe me!”

She stares back blankly, “Done!”

I nod, “Right! But first, coffee! Finish up your puny latte now and we’ll be on our way soon, worm!”

She blinks, “Uh, just call me Dash, please!”

I sigh and roll my eyes, “Whatever! Drink your cowardly coffee now!”

<*****>

We walk into the darkened foyer from the outside… As I cross the threshold with the blue pegasus behind me, the lights suddenly and brightly turn on and Pinkie Pie, surrounded by a bunch of earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi of many bright pastel colors all yell, “SURPRISE!”

My eyes widen, “Oh, my! I wasn’t expecting this!”

Pinkie Pie stares at me with a big cheerful grin from 15 feet away in the living room with a sizable entourage of maybe 15 ponies all gathered in the room around us now as she says, “Were you surprised? Huh? Were ya? Were ya?”

I gulp, “Oh, yes Pinkie! That was uh, most startling!”

She frowns and narrows her gaze at me, “You don’t seem surprised? Don’t tell me Rainbow spilled the beans again!”

Time stopped for me at that moment as I thought about how I actually was lying, and yet, for some reason, this pink mare saw right through it? She saw what was really happening!

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash trots around my left side to stare at the pink earth pony, “Hey! It’s not my fault! Crystal Heart here is a mare who knows how to chat up ponies for information!”

Time stops again as I think about how Dash just described me as a mare… It’s beginning to become clear that this is real now…

Pinkie furrows her brow, “Yeah, but I know you! You can NEVER just keep anything to yourself!”

I look at the pink mare, smile, and say, “She wasn’t terribly obvious, in her defense, although she’s far from a good liar!”

Pinkie stares at Dash grumpily, “I know!”

Rainbow shakes her head and giggles, “Now we’re wondering how good I can lie!”

I then say to Pinkie while keeping the grin on my face, “But seriously, don’t be too hard on the feather-head! She did her best! She’s not that good!”

Dash turns her head right to me on her other side, “Hey!”

Pinkie looks at Dash and smiles while giggling, “Yeah! I know! We really should’ve picked somepony else!”

I widen my eyes, “Right?”

Dash turns her head left towards nopony in particular, frowns, and narrows her eyes, “I’m gonna get some punch!” before turning around and trotting towards the table at the wall to my far left with the bright pink cloth over it and a punch bowl and many assorted snacks and treats laid out on it…

Pinkie widens her eyes to me, “So yeah, Crystal Heart! You’re new in town and so I thought I’d throw you a big party! So now, you have lots and lots of friends!”

I smile, “Great!”

She frowns, “Something wrong?”

My fake smile lowers somewhat, “Oh uh, do they know or?”

Her eyes widen, “About what?”

I normalize my mouth completely and say at a lower volume, “About my past?”

“Oh, that! Uh, yeah! I didn’t tell them! You’re just an earth mare now, right?”

I smile at the pink mare, “Yes I am! Thank you Pinkie Pie!”

Her right eye squints while her left eyebrow raises, “Well, it’s not something I can just tell anypony about?”

I sigh and agree, “Most assuredly not, no!”

She stares at me intently, “So, you’re okay now, Crystal?”

I sigh, “I believe so, Pinkie Pie…” I stare at her as I realize that I might as well just have a party, whatever that means… “So, what do we do next?”

Suddenly, the magenta pony I’ve come to adore trots up at my right, “Next, we get this party started!”

I smile at her once my neck is her direction…

Over the course of the next few hours, I played many games, such as pin the tail on the pony, darts, and even hide n seek… I fraternized with these other ponies almost as if I was one of their own… I sometimes felt fake though… Like I was just pretending… I couldn’t actually be a pony now, could I? Being this way makes me happy, and yet, it felt off, but I tried my best to be one of them… They all seemed to enjoy me? I had many interesting quips with Pinkie Pie and we even ragged on Dash again at one point. When later in the night, I was approached by a yellow pegasus pony…

Fluttershy smiles at me from maybe 7 feet as we both stand in the living area, “Hi Crystal Heart! I just wanted to say that you’re really brave for telling us all about um, you know? Where you came from…”

I widen my eyes to her, “Oh?”

She nods, “Oh, yes! If I had a secret like that, I don’t think I could tell anypony?”

I frown, “You value honesty, yes? Well, I was truthful!”

Her eyes widen, “Oh, well, yes! Um, of course!”

I narrow my gaze, “Are you okay Fluttershy?”

She blinks and stares at me wide-eyed, “Oh, well, that is to say, um…”

My eyes normalize, “What?”

“Um, I have to go now! Enjoy your party Crystal Heart!” She says before turning and trotting the other way towards the half-empty punch bowl on the pink table…

I sigh as a familiar fuchsia unicorn trots over from my left and cranes her head towards me, “How you doing, baby?”

I look at her, “I think I’m okay?”

She frowns, “What do you mean think?”

I blink, “Well, I just think about what I’m trying to do and how this just makes me happy… And yet, Fluttershy over there is obviously afraid of me! I uh…” I close my eyes…

“Oh, Fluttershy is afraid of everypony until she actually knows them! Don’t worry about it!”

I open my eyes to Starlight, “Are you sure?”

She waves her right forehoof in the air, “Of course I’m sure! She’s scared of her own shadow! Don’t freak out!”

Suddenly, a purple alicorn trots up to the right of Starlight in my gaze and looks at me, “Well, now you know we’re all friendly, Crystal Heart! You’re safe here, I promise!”

I turn my neck right towards the timid looking yellow pegasus pony staring at everything wide-eyed in her azure gaze underneath her pink mane locks as she cautiously sips punch from her cup at the table with her right hoof… “I’m sure I am…”

<*****>

As Starlight holds me from behind and we spoon on the bed, she whispers to me, “See? We’re all friends here and we don’t care where you came from!”

“Fluttershy is afraid of me… “I respond blankly…

Starlight sighs, “I know Crystal! But well, she just learned that about you and she’s just gonna have to get used to this new information…”

“I don’t like that, Starlight… I don’t want them to see me differently…” I close my eyes and snuggle into the warm embrace of the pony I love…

“I know sweetie! I know! Uh, you want me to talk with her?”

I open my eyes quickly, “Uh, no Starlight! That’s okay! I’ll uh, deal with her myself…”

“Okay Crystal, but you know I always have your back!”

I smile and cuddle into her, “I know that Starlight… I know…” and slowly drift off to peaceful rest…

(To be continued…)

Author's Note:

*Well, on hormones, I’m no longer drinking heavily, snorting things up my nose, or abusing my body, so there is that!