Part I, Chapter V - Regrouping
You decide that cereal will make for the perfect easy, non-threatening breakfast. At one point, you had made sure to purchase actual plates and bowls on the off-chance you had guests, and despite thinking you would never use them, are now thankful for having. You reach into the small pantry and grab a nearly empty box of whatever store-brand cereal you happened to snag last time you went shopping. Pouring almost two bowl-fulls of Crisp Rice, you toss the now-empty box into the trash and make for the fridge. You fill each bowl about halfway with milk, smiling at the slight snaps, crackles, and pops coming from each serving. After putting the milk back, you close the fridge door and look towards your quiet houseguest.
Chrysalis had been watching you prepare the simple meal from just outside the boundaries of the kitchen. As you noted, she did not say anything in the short amount of time it took, which was not a complete surprise, but after your little exchange in the bathroom, you hoped for just a little more out of her. Beggars could not be choosers, you figure.
You retrieve two plastic spoons from a drawer, dunking each in its own bowl before sliding one towards the Changeling. She eyes the thing like it might explode at any minute, but you waste no time in scooping up a nice, big spoonful and taking an extra moment or two to savor your first bite of a fresh bowl. You do not eat cereal as much as you used to, and it is times like these that you would allow yourself to wonder why. No matter how good the cereal is though, you can not help but notice Chrysalis still just standing there, cautiously gauging your offering.
Was she offended? You almost know for a fact that cereal was something that existed in her world, so it was not like she had never seen such a thing before.
Without thinking too hard about what might happen after, your mouth starts to speak without your brain’s permission.
“You know, it’s perfectly safe to eat it.”
She shifts her gaze and fixes it on you, causing you to freeze. They are not as wide as they have been in her short time with you, but still enough to subtly tell you, “Hey, back off.” So, doing exactly what the eyes say, you drop it and look back to your own bowl.
As moments turn to minutes, you almost manage to forget about the Changeling and power through the rest of your cereal. When you finish, you take the two steps over to the sink to rinse out your bowl, then throw the spoon in the trash. You are now reasonably full and ready to do something else with your day, but find a still-frozen Changeling Queen blocking your path out of the kitchen. You understand that she feels like she will need to be relying on you to survive, but you quickly decide to draw the line at practically teaching her how to eat, especially after having to assure her the food you prepared and ingested yourself is safe.
It does not take as much effort as you thought it might, but you scoot past Chrysalis and head back to the bathroom to finish getting ready to face the day.
***
If you put your hand on the white tile wall of your shower, you would be able to feel the pipes lightly rumble just beneath the surface as they carry water up from one of the apartment complex’s many wells. That same water now washes over any skin of yours that it can find, just as warm as any spring - or so you imagine, having never been to one yourself.
Maybe it is just because of how cold it is outside, but you cannot help but feel even more warm than usual. Or, perhaps it is just that, somehow, you have managed to find the perfect in-between temperature, where it is not quite “hotter than the sun”, and not just “almost warm enough”. Either way, whatever the reason, you felt pleased, as a shower of any kind is something you needed, especially after all the craziness you have been putting up with.
Speaking of which, what the hell is going on with you? Forget the fact that a damn cartoon character is sitting out in your living room, probably still contemplating your cereal offering - which is its own problem entirely - what is up with you?
You are normally pretty confident in your abilities, and reasonably stable, having lived on your own for a little while now, but lately you have been slipping up. Nothing serious, at least not yet, but enough to make you question some things. For instance, your job at Target - it was normally a pretty slick gig, but a few weeks ago, something switched in your brain that made you irrationally despise the place. You do not have an inkling of what it could possibly have been, but it is something you struggle with sometimes while restocking, or getting yelled at by your boss. Maybe it was something everyone went through at one point or another, but you would not know, as everyone else seems to still enjoy their work plenty.
Have you seen your parents anytime recently? Was that wearing on you? Did you even want to? How long has it even been?
You shake your head, snapping yourself out of the thought. The sound of flowing water replaces silent contemplation, flooding your ears. You stand still for a moment, relishing the feeling of the stream once more. Two fists slowly rise up to gently rub your eyes.
It takes you a moment, but you are then rooted firmly back in the present.
You turn your back on the showerhead and reach for the body wash, squirting a healthy amount on to your small, blue loofah. You massage the poofy thing until the body wash has been introduced to every nook and cranny, then get to work.
As you scrub, your thoughts drift to the Changeling just outside - more specifically, one thing in particular: how?
You consider yourself to be adequately well-read and then some when it came to fanfiction, and this was a scenario that played itself out in more than a few, but whereas those were all silly stories online, this was real life, meaning such things should not be possible.
Are not possible, you quickly correct.
Yet, here she is.
Fucking with your head.
That is another thing you cannot wrap your head around yet - what is she doing to you? Thinking back to last night and how purely hectic it was, you feel a small wave of regret wash over you. You definitely did not handle things the way you should have. You were clumsy, tripping over your words, and being generally indecisive. Granted, you were placed in just a bit of a stressful situation, but you still should have had some of your wits about you. For even when you would take charge, you would eventually backtrack and bow down - a strong mixture of fear and uncertainty clouding your thoughts. All because of her: Chrysalis, undisputed Queen of the Changelings… and your new roommate...
The thought makes you shiver, despite the warm water covering you.
Second, if not even more important than what she is somehow doing to you, is what in the world is she doing with herself? One second, she is alert, then dull, then cruel, then sad, then quiet before becoming apologetic and giving little smiles, and finally back to being just mean. It did not, and does not, make even a tiny lick of sense. Is she okay? Is she hurt? Obviously, something had to be wrong with her, being in an almost completely alien world, but was there perhaps something deeper? And even more troubling, despite you trying not to think too much about it since, was that you were almost certain you heard her in your head...
Your eyes focus back on the bottle of body wash, bringing you once more back into the present. You glance downward at yourself, feeling a tad embarrassed that you only managed to scrub little more than half of yourself before becoming distracted again. Taking no extra time, you finish off whatever was left without suds, rinse yourself and the loofah, then shut off the water.
Instantly, you are bombarded with cold, something you nor anybody that you can think of would ever be fully prepared for at the end of a good shower. You stand still for a moment, adjusting to the chill and letting the air start to try and dry you off.
You reach for your towel, pulling it back inside the shower with yourself, and begin to actually dry off.
The next order of business for you is to figure out how to move forward. Unfortunately, the raging snow outside will no doubt keep you inside for who knows how long, which will keep you away from work, which will keep you inside with her for even longer. Maybe she will just refuse to say anything more, and you can sit in silence and try to think something through. That would be awful considerate. No matter what, though, you know that you will somehow eventually get through it, whatever that may entail, and the thought of doing just that pleases you greatly.
Smiling, you give your hair a final ruffle, then take the step or two over to the sink, where the final parts of your morning ritual await. You give your teeth a good brushing, though perhaps not going for an entire two minutes. Deodorant is applied where it should. Clothes are thrown back on to your body. And, finally, you take a minute to work out any kinks in your still-damp hair.
You observe yourself in the mirror. Relatively pleased with what you see, just like every other day, you quietly brace yourself for whatever may come and head back out into the living room.
*****
Chrysalis did not see it, but she heard the door click as it shut behind you. Her ears perked up at the sound, then flattened back against her head after a moment. She wanted to make sure you were actually gone, even if she did not know where to.
Her attention turned back to the bowl of cereal you had placed before leaving. She had a rough idea of what it was - even if her kind had lived in the shadows, she still knew how to blend in elsewhere - but she did not know yet whether or not she wanted to give in and partake. Watching you had, if anything, only made the temptation stronger for the young queen.
Still, she was exactly that - a queen - one that did not simply bow and ask for help… despite doing just that several hours earlier.
Chrysalis had beaten herself up plenty for that brash decision, but what was she supposed to do? She could not hardly understand any of the things in this strange new world she found herself in, only fragments here and there, like they should be familiar but somehow were not. It was tough to put an actual hoof on. Then add on to that the fact that it was simply freezing, something no Changeling was built for, and she had a perfect recipe for a total loss of power. However, she saw a chance to survive and took it, knowing that a stupid decision could sometimes be the smartest.
And, in this specific case, such a thing paid off.
She did not, however, know which ways of responding would resonate most within you, therefore she simply did not know how to act. It made her look indecisive and foolish, she thought, but still could not argue with the results thus far.
A sudden, sharp hiss from the direction you had disappeared to silenced her own thoughts as she tried to locate the source of the sound. It quieted down almost instantly, and was instead replaced by the soft pitter-patter of what sounded like… water? Regardless, it did not immediately pose a threat, so Chrysalis did not let it stop her for too long.
She turned her head slowly back towards the bowl of cereal. It taunted her, practically begging to be eaten, but she knew that if she did, you would no doubt notice and think that, maybe, you had won - that she was simply inferior. The Queen of the Changelings knew that could not ever be allowed to happen. She buckled down, continuing to stand where she had been before you left the room, and making sure she let you and the meal know who was in charge. She smirked.
As she quickly found out, however, defiantly ignoring food was not as interesting as she had pictured it. Instead, she was left only with a grumbling in her stomach.
Chrysalis glanced around, although without turning her head too much. She recognized several doors both big and small adorning the walls, and knew you had procured food from one and some kind of utensils from another, but was still at a loss for their bigger purpose. Then there was a large, off-white machine, much closer to her than the door you grabbed the food from - it hummed gently at the Changeling, who paid no more mind after a moment or two.
How could anyone live like this? It was simply too cluttered.
Chrysalis’ attention once again turned towards the bowl and its contents, called over by its siren song. Maybe just a nibble? Nobody would ever notice, especially not you.
Before she can even take her first step, she is frozen in her tracks by another unexpected sound, this time killing the pitter-patter from before. The room fell silent once again. Chrysalis weighed her options, and decided there was, again, no greater threat to herself, so she proceeded onward.
A rather petite, somewhat angular muzzle brushed against the surface layer of the cereal, not quite completely soggy yet. She inhaled softly, taking in the scent of the contents. Immediately, she recognized the dairy, milk, though it seemed somehow different than the milk from her homeland. The other component was something she did not quite recognize, but was willing to investigate further anyway.
Opening her mouth only a little, she hardly dips her muzzle in to the bowl before closing again, retrieving only a little of her prize.
She takes a moment to register what she is tasting, then swallows. Another moment passes before she decides this was something she absolutely needed more of.
It was perfect - not the most overpowering taste, some might even say it was bland, yet still quite palatable.
Dipping her muzzle back in, she stops as a door, no doubt the same one you had disappeared into earlier, opens once more from behind her…
*****
You catch Chrysalis in the act. Her green eyes - or eye, as you can only see one from your vantage point - widens in what you can only assume to be honest surprise.
She lifts her head from the bowl. She gulps down whatever she had, milk lightly dripping from her muzzle. Her eyes close, then she turns her head to look at you straight-on. She does not say anything though, instead just continuing to stare.
You fold your arms across your chest. Not threateningly, and definitely not angrily, just across your chest.
After a few second of trying to figure out what the balance of power was in the room, you take a deep breath and stare right back at the Changeling, doing your best to make eye-contact without keeping it up forever.
“Can we please talk?” you calmly ask.
It takes Chrysalis a second to respond, but when she finally does, she closes her eyes, opens them, sighs, and nods her head.
Good, now maybe you two can start trying to get somewhere.
Stats
Page generated in 0.024 seconds
Total duration
1,069 users online
1,887,788 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Our King has Returned!
It's missing the "2nd Person" tag.
8832041
Fixed! Thank you for pointing that out!
8832031
You're too kind, friend, but you bow to no one.
whoa, its been that long?!
Holy shit. i forgot this story existed
8832115
Yeah. A little too long if you ask me, but that's life, I guess. Hope to actually be back in it for awhile :D
8832163
Nice to see you again, too!
8832169
me too, i really liked the premise of the story and you just left, i cried
8832182
I'm very sorry about that. Things got in the way and I drifted, but I really want to be back here for some time. Hope you still like what all's in store!
8832207
understandable, i hope you stick around and bring us lots of enjoyable moments!
I'm going to have to read through this again. I very much remember liking the premise.
I certainly hope you're feeling better after after a few years
I enjoyed the cereal mind game of social dominance heh
8832295
Well, I truly hope you still enjoy it! I'm also feeling a whole lot better, and very much interested in picking this back up :)
Update, yay!
Heh, it's going to take some serious pride pinching....
Don't mind all the milk on my face, I just tripped.
'getting yepled at by your boss' - yelled