Forbidden Friendship

by Dream Searcher

Chapter 3: Don't Worry, Be Happy

Forbidden Friendship

Chapter 3: Don’t Worry, Be Happy

“Here’s a little song I wrote, you might want to sing it note for note. Don’t worry, be happy.”
-Bobby McFerrin

Two weeks later

“Alright, Cadance, just tell me where we’re going, and what’s with the blindfold?” Chrysalis complained as she took another hesitant step. She might have been a creature of darkness - as the ponies had named her kind - but she didn’t actually like the dark. She could feel the sweat on her forehead and the wobble of her insecure legs, but every time she heard the angelic voice of her friend, she smiled and the fear passed for a few seconds. Cadance was her friend, she would guide her, she would protect her.

Cadance chuckled playfully. “I can’t tell you, silly, otherwise It’d spoil the surprise. The only thing I can tell you is that you’ll enjoy it, I guarantee it.” She took her friend’s hoof and continued guiding her towards her destination. She smiled at her reflection on the beautiful, white walls of the palace, she just knew today was going to be a perfect day.

Chrysalis gave her friend a smile, though it was an unsure one. Her mind just couldn’t calm down when being enveloped by darkness. She thought about the caves in the Changeling Hive. They too were dark, but at least the crystals gave some form of light. She noticed something, as long as she kept picturing the crystals in her mind, she was calm and tranquil. A soft sigh escaped her lips, the crystals of her mind and her friend Cadance would be her guides.

Cadance grinned at her friend’s behaviour, it seemed she was somewhere distant and far away. She wondered what Chrysalis was thinking about, probably something happy if her smile was anything to go by.

Chrysalis still had those crystals in her thoughts, but now they were accompanied by a group of five changelings. They smiled and leaped at her, eager to be reunited with their big sister. She would have accepted them with open arms, but an invisible wall stopped the little reunion. She reached out for them, but they were quickly dragged away into the darkness by an invisible force, their cries for help piercing her ears. The crystals slowly dimmed, and fear began to settle in her mind; but before the crystals had died out completely, she saw a face in front of her. The face was her father’s, and he smiled wickedly at her, his evil laughter booming in her ears. Then the crystals faded away.

She yanked the blindfold off her face and threw it on the ground, her breaths had changed into ragged gasps. She kept staring at the blindfold on the ground, and slowly realization began to creep into her mind. It was just a daydream, though it had seemed so real to her. She could feel the desperation of her Changelings, her father’s anger, and her own fear.

Cadance, who had jumped back a few meters from Chrysalis’ sudden outburst, walked back to her friend and held her, trying to calm the shaking mare down. “Shh, it’s alright, I’m here with you.” She gently sat down with Chrysalis and rocked back and forth, a technique Dream used on her when she was having a bad dream, and it did really help. The effect was the same this time. Slowly, Chrysalis’ breaths steadied and her shivering became less noticeable. “What happened?”

Chrysalis sighed and looked away. “I don’t want to talk about that right now, maybe later, okay?”

Cadance wanted to inquire more about her friend’s problem - she wanted to help her, but if she didn’t want to talk about it, then Cadance would respect her wish. “Okay, but if you need anything, anything at all, then don’t hesitate to ask me. I’m here for you, and my only wish is to help you.”

Chrysalis looked at her with a tiny, but genuine, smile. “Thanks, I’m really lucky to have a friend like you... Now, I believe there was something you wanted to show me. But please, no more blindfolds. As you have seen, I tend to freak out when faced with darkness.” A light chuckle managed to escape her lips, even though she could still feel the remnants of the fear from her daydream.

Cadance chuckled and stood up, Chrysalis doing the same. “No more blindfolds, I promise. If you’d follow me;” Cadance continued walking down the hall, Chrysalis following suit, “I’ve already made plans for tomorrow, you’re going to love it,” Cadance said with a skip in her step, just imagining the fun things she would do with her friend gave her such joy.

Chrysalis couldn’t force herself to smile. I’m sorry, Cadance, but this is the last day we’ll be together.

*****

“So, what do you think?” Cadance asked, as she laid the scissors, comb, and spray back on the table behind her.

Chrysalis looked at her reflection in the mirror and was flabbergasted by what she saw. Staring back at her was not the Chrysalis she knew. Her mane had been combed and cut, giving her a refreshed look. It also shone more than it used to, which was probably the effect of one of Cadance’s sprays. In general, the makeover made her feel relaxed and at ease. “Oh Cadance, it’s lovely. I really like how my mane shines. Thank you.”

Cadance blushed at the compliment. “Don’t mention it, I just saw you had a little bit of tension in your body the last couple of days, so I wanted to take your mind off of things for a while. I’m not a masseuse, so I thought a makeover was a pretty good alternative.”

Chrysalis froze for a second. Has it been so clear that there was something on my mind? Sure, Cadance knows about my father and the little situation in the hallway certainly didn’t help, but it wasn’t that obvious, was it? “So... you noticed?” Chrysalis stared at her hooves, an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

Cadance nodded and stared at her friend. Chrysalis was just slightly larger than her, but she seemed so fragile, like she could shatter at any moment. “Yes, I started to notice just a few days ago. You see, I know a lot about beauty, and when one’s coat loses it shine, that means the pony - or in this case Changeling - is under great duress.” She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her coat was the complete opposite of Chrysalis. It had a nice vibrant, pink color with a beautiful shine, and it saddened her. While she was living a very enjoyable life with not a care in the world, her friend had to deal with problems beyond measure. Life could be so cruel and it just didn’t seem right.

She sighed and turned back to her friend, a gloomy expression managed to plaster itself on her face. “It doesn’t seem fair, does it? I live here in this palace and enjoy life, while you need to worry about your species’ survival.” She could see her friend was at the verge of tears, so she placed a comforting hoof on her friend’s shoulder.

Chrysalis gave her friend a small smile, but that couldn’t stop the tears from escaping her eyes. She knew she had to tell Cadance about her plan of leaving, even though she was afraid of hurting Cadance in the process. “Cadance... I-I have to tell you something.” Cadance’s ears perked up, showing Chrysalis that she had her friend’s full attention. Right, no turning back now. “I... need to leave you... today. It’s just like you said, my species needs to survive, and in order to do that I need to go back to my hive and defeat my father. I can’t stay here, Cadance. The longer I stay here, the less chance of survival my species has.” She looked at the ground, not wanting to look Cadance in the eye. She had expected Cadance to shout at her or to cry and bawl, but the only noise in the room was her own sniffing.

Cadance wiped a tear from her eye. She knew Chrysalis had to leave one day, and she had mentally prepared herself, but it still hurt to hear that her first and only friend had to leave. Still, it was something Chrysalis had to do, so she had accepted the fact that she and Chrysalis would have to go their own ways for a while. “I understand, and I’m not going to stop you from doing what you have to do, but do you want to go kiting with me before you leave?” She gave her friend a hug which Chrysalis gladly returned.

“It- it would be my pleasure,” Chrysalis said as she cried into her friend’s coat.

*****

“Okay, now when I say go, you just push the kite into the air with you hooves. Got it?” Cadance asked as she stared at Chrysalis, who was trying to find her balance now that she could only stand on her two hind legs. They were standing in a lush green field next to the palace, ready to launch the kite into the air.

When Chrysalis was sure she wasn’t going to fall over, she nodded. “Okay, but could you hurry up? I don’t think I can keep this up much longer.”

Cadance nodded and took the wooden stick into her mouth to which the kite was attached. The kite itself had the shape of a rhombus, and had a pastel pink color. It was a gift she had received from her mother on her birthday, two years ago. She pulled a bit on the stick to test the strings that were attached to the kite and was glad that they didn’t come loose after a year of gathering dust in the attic. Now that she had checked everything, they could start with flying the kite.

“Go!” she shouted, the stick in her mouth muffling her voice a bit. Even though the sound was a bit muffled, Chrysalis heard the word and launched the kite into the air. Cadance began to run immediately while Chrysalis lost her balance and fell on her back with a thud.

Cadance began to run faster and faster, and she could feel the kite going higher. She ran for a few more seconds and stopped when she felt the kite pulling at the stick, indicating that it had reached its maximum height. She turned around, stick still in her mouth, and looked up at the kite. It flew a good twenty meters above the ground in a perfect breeze that wasn’t too strong, nor too weak.

Chrysalis joined her friend a few seconds later, when she had recovered from her fall to the ground. She had seen Cadance running past her, trying to get the kite higher, and it seemed like fun. Now that the kite was flying, however, it seemed so boring.

“So, ponies enjoy staring at a piece of fabric that flies above them?”

Cadance spit out the stick and caught it with her magic, so that her kite didn’t fly off. “It’s not just that, you can steer the kite to the left or the right, you can lower it if you want to, some ponies even do tricks with their kites. Why don’t you try it, you’ll see that it’s actually good fun.” She levitated the stick in the direction of Chrysalis who caught it in her own levitation field.

Rolling her eyes, Chrysalis bit on the stick and looked at the kite. Slowly, she began to move to the left and then back to the right, the kite following her every move. She once again moved to the left, only this time a little bit faster. Feeling a bit more bold, she gave the stick a quick pull, and the kite went down. For a moment it seemed that the kite was going to fall to the ground, but luckily the wind managed to steady the kite.

Cadance, who was more focused on Chrysalis’ face than on the kite, saw that a small grin was beginning to form on her friend’s face. Once again she was right, Chrysalis did enjoy flying the kite. They’ve only been friends for two weeks, but she already knew her friend inside out. “I told you you’d enjoy it. Nopony can resist the fun a kite brings.” She gave her friend a smug grin.

Chrysalis spit out the stick and held it in her magic. “Well, I have to admit, it’s pretty fun. So, do you want to fly it again?” Chrysalis asked as she levitated the kite towards Cadance.

Cadance wanted to accept the offer, but when she saw that the blue sky was being mixed with an orange hue, she changed her plans. “No, just let it land, I want to show you something.”

Chrysalis did what she was told and slowly began to pull the kite down, bit by bit. The lower the kite went, the harder it became for Chrysalis to maintain control. The moment the kite went below the crowns of the trees, the kite fell to the ground like a brick. She and Cadance quickly ran towards the place of the crash and were relieved that the kite didn’t receive any damage from the fall. Together, they dismantled the kite and placed all the parts in Cadance’s saddlebags.

“So, what do you want to show me?” Chrysalis asked as she followed Cadance, who seemed to be headed towards the giant cliffs that neighboured the palace. She had seen those cliffs the first day she arrived in the palace, because she had gotten a room that had had a breathtaking view. She could see forests, towns, mountains, and the cliffs. It was an amazing experience and each day, just when she got out of bed, she’d step out of her room and onto her balcony and just stand there for a few minutes, enjoying the view. She was going to miss Cadance the most, but the view would also be missed.

“Just wait, we’re almost there,” Cadance said as she continued leading her friend towards their destination. Chrysalis was going to leave tonight, but the least she could do was show her friend the most beautiful view in the whole world. If money could buy views, then this particular view would cost millions and millions of bits.

They walked for a few more minutes, passing trees filled with healthy and juicy apples; blueberry bushes as far as the eye could see; and this was accompanied by the lovely songs of the birds. Cadance had to admit, this was a wonderful environment to end their chapter with.

“We’re here, feast your eyes on this,” Cadance said as she waved a hoof in the direction right in front of her.

Chrysalis passed Cadance to take a better look, and her mouth went agape. They stood on a huge cliff which made the ponies below seem like ants, and the hills and mountains were nothing compared to the sheer size of this cliff. She could even see the Wastelands, near the horizon, and she swallowed, fearing what awaited her in that dreadful place.

“Do you like it?” Cadance asked as she sat down near the edge of the cliff. Not too close, of course, she didn’t want to fall off.

Chrysalis sat down next to her friend and stared at the sunset in front of her. The beautiful sun cast the whole valley into an orange glow as the ponies below prepared for a good night’s rest. It was wonderful, and she hated it that she had to give this up, that she had to say goodbye to her only friend. “I love it.” She couldn’t say more. She wanted to thank Cadance for her hospitableness, for trusting such a disgusting being, and for giving her the time of her life, but the words were stuck in her throat.

Cadance decided to get straight to the point. She wanted a short pain, like pulling a splinter out of her body. “So, did you like it here?”

Chrysalis eyes almost came out of her sockets. Finally, the words she wanted to speak so desperately managed to find their way out of her mouth. “Like it? Cadance, I loved it here. You didn’t know what I was when you found me. For all you knew, I could have been a vicious predator, but you decided to trust me. You gave me the most enjoyable two weeks of my life, and you gave me and my Changelings, it might sound disgusting, your love to feed on. I have to thank you, Cadance, for you have showed me the magic of friendship.” A tear went down her cheek, but it wasn’t pure sadness that created the tear. No, it was the bittersweet feeling inside her.

Cadance wiped Chrysalis’ tear away and smiled. She looked directly into Chrysalis’ eyes, her own eyes a bit watery, just like her friend. “Well, I have to thank you too. It was nice to play and talk to someone other than my family. You taught me more about the Changeling race and cheered me up when I felt a bit down. So, I have to thank you too, for teaching me the magic of friendship.” To put the emphasis on friendship, she hugged her friend who hugged her back immediately. After a minute, Cadance let go of the hug, but with a lot of reluctance. She just wanted to stay with her friend forever, but sadly that wasn’t an option. Chrysalis had a family to look after, which demanded more attention than friendship.

“So, will you ever come back?” Cadance asked as she stared at the sunset that had progressed quite a bit. In just half an hour, the whole valley and the palace would be cast in darkness. They had to return before the dark, that was the time the most vicious beasts came out of the woods looking for an unsuspecting snack.

Chrysalis nodded, but a sigh managed to escape her lips. “I will, eventually, I just don’t know when exactly. I first need to defeat my father, then I need to find a new home, and lastly, that new home has to thrive well before I can manage to come back. Of course, this can only happen if I manage to defeat my father. If I don’t... well, I’ll wait for you in the Endless Pastures.”

That had completely slipped Cadance’s mind, she didn’t know if Chrysalis was going to survive. If she didn’t, she would have to live her life without her best friend, that was something she didn’t want to happen. “Well, could you atleast send me a message that you’ve survived, otherwise I’ll keep worrying about you.”

“I will. Now come, let us enjoy our last moment together.” Chrysalis placed her hoof on her friend’s shoulder, and together they watched the sunset until it was time to head back.

---

Author notes is acting up again... piece of shit.

Anyway: Next up: the epilogue which has already been written. I will publish it when my editor has gone over it. Seriously, this story wouldn't have been, according to me, this good if it wasn't for him. Thanks again, Arandompenguin!

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