Even Now
Chrysalis strode into the bar, her hips making the dark, green, glimmering dress that clung to her body sway from side to side. She did not have to hide here, not in such a small town. She drew a claw along one of her expansive breasts, feeling it sway as the low cut dress was all that kept it bound against her. She even let it toy with the top of the hem, teasing the stallions and mares staring at her with a chance. A chance to see a body unlike any most ponies had laid eyes upon.
She smiled as she sat at the bar, asking for a simple, but expensive drink. She wasn’t here to get drunk, though, even if the bartender was heavily leaning on the alcohol content of the drink. It was annoying, yes, as she tried to make these sorts of nights as enjoyable as possible, but it was of little consequence. Her magic kept her free of toxins, but after two drinks, she did well to show herself as a lightweight. That usually got the touches to start from patrons who were too afraid to just ask, but still wanted a piece.
She sipped the drink, barely being able to swallow the almost straight rum as she scanned the room with her peripherals. She wanted to seem imposing, but not impossible; so a smirk at the whole room, a challenge, would not get her what she wanted. There were plenty of stallions though, and she could feel their lust force itself upon her. It was like the drink in her hand though; it worked, but was just not as satisfying.
She risked a better look at the patrons by leaving her drink unguarded as she went to the restroom. One of the mediocre stallions was already on the move, and she sighed to herself. There were strong stallions here, but they were all miners, or farmers, and none of the sort of stock she normally liked to pull from. She was desperate though, and pretending to be drugged would make the process faster.
In the restroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her glowing, green eyes peered back at herself, and shimmered as something ran over them. She blinked, trying to figure out what it was, before shaking her head. She had more important things to focus on, such as making sure to now lower her dress a little. She smiled as the slightly darker black showed on her skin; her dress hanging off of her nipples now. If they had not been staring before, they were certain to be now.
“It’s okay, you can cry.”
Chrysalis jumped at the voice, and almost didn’t feel the strong hand pat her shoulder. She swiveled her head to the side, and saw a purple mare walking out. Her white mane blended into her white t-shirt, or, it would have, had it not been for the dust and dirt that it was caked in. She was obviously just another farmer pony in the area, and Chrysalis was about to dismiss her when the mystery mare turned back, and said in a cold, angry tone, “If you’re set on lying and just getting rutted though, go for Coal Dust. He helps me with my heats, and still will care, even if he understands just ending it as friends.”
Chrysalis paused, staring at the door as it swung back to being shut. This was a first for the queen, and it forced her to consider the mare as a threat. She certainly seemed like an odd one, having called her a liar, and, worse yet, she thought she needed to cry. She was the queen of her changelings on a noble mission for her hive. She was happy to be doing this, just like she had dozens of times before to increase their ranks and feed her power.
She still couldn’t leave though. Chrysalis knew that if she left while looking angry, she might get somepony trying to sympathize with her; but she would drive more of them away. No, she just had to calm down, and this would be over faster.
Faster.
A shudder ran through her body, and she shut her eyes, but it was too late. She was suddenly barely legal in the eyes of ponies, her young self in a sweater and yoga pants. Her breasts were less visible then, but her eyes were almost as moist. The older and younger self of her looked at the mirror now, taking in deep breaths as she tried to get back in control. “It doesn’t matter. You don’t make love, you make children. That is the job of a queen. Your kind prospers from others’ genes and lust, so they’re better. Stronger. Superior. That’s why you are here, just like your mother, and her mother before her!”
Her green eyes looked back at herself, and while she knew they were glaring at the queen in the mirror, the ones she met were softer. They made her think back to the feedbags of her youth, and the dreams she had of grandeur. She would be the best queen, with princes and elites feeding her love every day, and they would mean it. She would be respected, loved, and by those few who still wanted to face her, feared.
Chrysalis saw her younger self nod, before getting up, brushing herself off, and going to see the stallion who had asked to take her home. Yet, even with that memory fading from her, she still stared at the mirror. The eyes of her youth were gone, as well as the fire of her rage. Now she looked at the dim eyes of an almost forty year old, changeling queen. These weren’t the eyes of a dreamer, but of a crushed bug. Or repelled, I suppose. She shut her eyes to the thought, but just like before, she could not stop the tear that came down her face.
“Come on, Chrysalis. It doesn’t matter what has happened, you need to continue working. Your hive needs new workers, and they won’t get the type they need if you give up. This is your duty, and you will perform it.” She looked herself dead in the eyes, and nodded. To her, the tightness in her chest, or pain her heart, weren’t there. She was fine, and she would always be fine.
Her body betrayed none of her inner feelings as she slowly walked back to the bar, and sat down. One sip of her drink confirmed that the bartender was on point, as she didn’t taste the poison that any stallions had put in her drink. Or, none of them had tried, though she doubted that. Too many times in the past she had to lay on the bed like a dead fish in order to go along with the night, just so there were less strings, and things moved a bit faster. Tonight was not to be one of those nights. No, it just had to be hard.
Luckily, it would not be one where her bait was not taken, as one stallion finally moved up to her. He ordered her a drink, as they always did, and started some inane pickup line. She had heard them all at this point, and while this one was a touch more offensive, she made sure to giggle at it nonetheless. His eyes stayed locked on her bouncing bust, and she knew what he hoped. He would need to wait though, even if the claw on the black mound made him think otherwise.
She was at the point where she was ready to grab him and take him to the hotel herself, if not to just shut him up, when the screech of a chair made her glance to the side. She could see the purple mare again, standing now as her chair teetered, threatening to fall. She looked angry, ready to hurt something even, which made Chrysalis all the more aware of her movements. She didn’t want to incur her ire, and acknowledge it, especially if the stallion hitting on her was her crush or something.
The gray mare beside the angry one stood up and put a hand on her friend. It was obvious she was trying to calm her down, and failing. Just to prove Chrysalis right, as the stallion grabbed her breast and was saying he loved the idea of going to a hotel, she heard the purple mare almost yell, “I just want to help one for once!”
She stood up, the stallion’s clumsy hand moving to her ass and gripping it hard. To him, it was just showing his excitement to a drunk floozy, while to her, it was just a bit too hard to be enjoyable. She let it stay though, as it also slowed them from leaving, especially as the idiot tried to subtly thumbs up his bros. Both of the mystery mares were now moving to the door, and the purple one turned and locked eyes with her.
Chrysalis stared into that angry stare, and for the first time in her life, let her smile drop while at the bar. She turned away. Chrysalis didn’t let the mare drift away from her sight though, and saw her anger become disappointment, and then tears. She… she was crying for her? That wasn’t how ponies were supposed to act to Chrysalis. Not here, not at her hive, not ever. And it felt… good?
“So, lead the way, Chrysi.”
Chrysalis looked up at the piece of filth that dared lay his hands on her. He was supposed to join the gene pool of her hive, and make it stronger? Some hick at the edge of Equestria? Her face contorted as rage boiled inside her, and she shoved him to the ground. Her stomp on the wood echoed across the establishment, silencing them. “Don’t you touch me, or another mare, for a second! You think acting like some high and mighty jackass is going to get you any of this? I should just put you out of your misery right here and now!” Her horn glowed for a moment as she seethed, and saw the confusion and fear in his eyes.
It’s your fault he’s confused though. What else is a stallion supposed to think when you’re practically thrusting yourself upon them? Chrysalis stopped, tears coming to her eyes, and she couldn’t stop them. So out she ran, into the cold, clear night, drops of salty water falling to the ground as she got out. She had failed again. She needed that stallion for her hive, but let the pony behind the queen get in the way. Her ancestors would be so ashamed if they looked upon her now, and yet, she could not try to cleanup and change forms. All she wanted to do was cry.
The sound of hooves came to her ears as she looked up. The purple mare was there, standing over the weeping queen and extending a hand to her. “Are you okay?”
Chrysalis blinked a few times as she studied the mare’s face. There was no anger or hate in her eyes, but a connection. An understanding of how she was. “N-No. I’m not. I failed.”
The pony slid along the wall until she was sitting beside Chrysalis, and looked to the sky. ‘Yeah, I guess you did, in your eyes. I think you did the right thing though. Meaningless sex starts tearing you down sooner or later, and it looks to me like you’ve already been doing it for far too long.”
Chrysalis shook her head. “It’s not that, I promise. I’m fine with just fucking some no name pony any time of the week. No, tonight, I ju-”
“Why aren’t you fucking him than? If he was just some no name pony, why did you call him an idiot? Isn’t that a name?”
Chrysalis turned to the other mare, now seeing a scowl cross the stranger’s lips. It was enough to make her pause before responding, and the tightness in her chest made itself very present. She knew the mare was wrong though. She could have fucked him if she had felt- “Ah!”
The pony reached out, and put a hand on Chrysalis’s back as she bent over. “Keep trying to deny it, and it will only make it worse. Learn it now, or you’ll be learning it as your sis walks in, and you’re moving a chair beneath a rafter.”
Chrysalis growled, and tried to reach around. This mare didn’t know what she was talking about, and she was done listening. Her claw was caught in mid-air though, and Chrysalis found herself locked into a rock solid grip. Her eyes looked forward, but the stranger seemed unphased. “Stop acting like you know what I’m going through! You don’t! You can’t!”
The pony leaned in close, only putting centimeters between their faces before she hissed, “Have you been to a farm when sales have been bad? Everypony there just loses the life in them, waiting for one more year where they don’t make enough, and the savings run dry. They’ll lose everything if nothing happens. They’ll take anything, do anything, to keep that farm going.” She threw Chrysalis’s arm away and leaned back, breathing heavily as a tear came down her face. “So don’t tell me that I don’t know how you feel, as I remember vividly when I reeked of the same desperation you do.”
Chrysalis stared at her for a long moment before closing her eyes and letting the tears fall without shame. “Damnit. How can a common pony like you break me down so easily?”
The pony smiled and wrapped her arm around Chrysalis, and pulled the changeling in closer. “Because ponies, or whatever you are, are a lot simpler than we all like to think we are.”
She chuckled a bit, and nodded. “Yeah… yeah, I guess we are.” She took a deep breath in, and looked to the sky. “Thank you…”
“Limestone, Limestone Pie. I work on a rock farm nearby.”
Chrysalis nodded, and laid her head down onto Limestone’s shoulder, making sure to not smile, lest she be rejected. “My name is Chrysalis, and I can’t tell you much more than that, or you’ll get in major trouble.”
Limestone let out a deep sigh as she stroked Chrysalis’s mane. “Well, I’ll let you keep your secrets for now than, but if you want to see me again, I need you to promise to tell me them sooner, rather than later.”
Chrysalis considered saying no. Telling the mare they couldn’t see each other again, as it would be too dangerous. The hand stroking her mane told her heart something entirely different though, and a strange feeling ran through her body. It seemed like a close friend, something she had met dozens of times before, but also so different that it terrified her. It made sure she knew one thing though. She had to see this mare again. “I promise, I will.”
Limestone nodded, before letting out a yawn that she didn’t try to hide for a second. “Alright, get off. I need to go home, get some sleep, and get up early so as to get some work done on the farm.”
Chrysalis nodded, allowing the mare to go, but still finding herself reluctant to wave her goodbye. The wave came with a promise to herself though. The next child she had would not be a random drone, but her heir, and it would be with that mare. She was certain, as a queen could only be hatched out of love, not lust. Or, so she hoped to believe.