Thread 42: Stories 16-30

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>Chrysalis
"Fluttershy"
~~~~

>WHEEEEEEE~!

"Um, we, uh... you're supposed to be, uh, you know, helping... helping me with..."

>WHEEEEEEEE~!

"I mean, I know that sliding on the ice cream is probably fun, but-oh no, please don't eat it."

>IT'S STEAK FLAVORED!

"Wow, how do you know what that tastes like?"

>WHEEEEEEEE~!

"It's just, I'm worried it's going to get worse and-"

>GONNA RAMP THIS BITCH!

"...You know what? You're having fun. You have fun."

>WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~!
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>Guard 1
"Guard 2"
'Q'

It was gone, the evil presence was gone, the cloth golems were gone, the danger to her friend was gone.

>So you goin' to the hoofball game later?

The danger to herself on the other hand, not so much. The crystalline construct known as Q crouched beneath the bunk in the guard quarters, glaring without eyes at the eight hooves standing before her. She had stood stock still for hours on end, praying to the Wisp that had breathed life into her that she would not be found.

She had to stay unseen, her presence to someone without the knowledge would point to another outbreak of chaos magic, and to someone WITH said knowledge, that something was extremely wrong for a wayward crystal golem to be walking the halls. The one called 32 had made it quite apparent that the revelation of their friendship would spell both their dooms, and she simply would not allow that to happen.

All she needed was a vent, a tunnel, something to hide in and it would be a simple case of navigating back to the dungeon.

>-yeah Hoofington's got a shit team this year, been that way since they traded Gridiron.

"I hear that, Las Pegasus is having too good a year to lose to them."

She felt no emotion, but by the Wisp this conversation was tedious. She knew not what a hoofball was, but if she saw one, she would destroy it with the same prejudice she'd shown the plushies.

>So you wanna get smashed?

"After the day I've had? You bet your ass."

>Knowing how the Princesses handled that debacle? It'll probably be our last.

The hooves retreated, this was her chance, she waited for the sound of the door creaking open, then slamming shut and darted from her hiding place-!

>Oh hey, I forgot my wallet!

Wisp damn it.

>...

'...'

>...

'...*tink*?'

>Uh...Lance? We may have a problem.

'*tink*.'

And then she ran!
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>Rekulk
"Vekir"
'Grehm'

>Alrighting, we have all that is required?

"Yes..."

'Yes.'

>The bag of shimmerstones?

"Yes..."

'Yes.'

>Various tasty meats and treats?

"Yes..."

'Yes.'

>Grehm's small dead animal.

*squeak*

>"..."

'Yes.'

>Great! Then it is time to say the goodbyes and return again to the caves!

"The city of white was so pretty..."

>Yes, this is true, sister, but what good is the trading if you do not go back home to replenish?

"But I am not Trader, I am just Farmer..."

'And I am Guard.'

>True, true. We have much to wait on us back home!

'These are facts.'

"Yes...but...the surface...the ponies, the cat-birds and their wonderful country!"

'Never got trade routes.'

>Tsk! Come now, we all have our lots, given to us by the Head of Metal! How can we question its wisdom?

'We cannot.'

"I suppose, brother I suppose-ARMOR POCKETSAND SPRAYER!"

>'Gah!'

"I SHALL NEVER BE TAKEN ALIVE!"

>Sister come back!

'Do we pursue?'

>Yes! Grab her before she finds a narrow place!
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>SA
"Spike"
'Poindexter'
[Chrysalis]
{Cadence}
(18)
~Celestia~
-???-
~~~~~~

>Is this a new map? It looks like a new map.

"Oh hey, someone actually looked at the map. That's new."

'We're not that bad.'

"She is."

[Lizardina, when you get my age being bad just comes with the territory... or do you already know that?]

~What?~

"Nevermind! Point is, yes, it's a new expansion. Actually got submitted in a fan contest, I thought we'd try it out."

~Oooh, new one? I like. What's it like?~

"Honestly? No idea, haven't gotten a chance to look over the particulars."

{Oh good! Now we all get to discover it together!}

(You are way too enthusiastic about this.)

{Oh hush, I like playing this too!}

[You just do it to keep Shiny off my back.]

{I do not! It's... fun!}

~That's the spirit! Spike, if you would?~

"You find yourselves in the land of Eris, the... huh, the what Queen?"

'What does it say?'

"The What Queen. As in, her title is The, What, and Queen."

~...Weird-~

[ROLL FOR ADVANCED SHINY SEDUCTION!]

>OH COME ON!

[Sorry, can't hear you over the sound of my SUCCESS!]

{AH HA! NOW I CAN... uh oh...}

(Awww, no steal enchantments? Well, that's just a shame, I guess it's up to- WAIT! FUCK!)

[Aww, out of steals?]

~I guess I could-~

[WE HAD A DEAL!]

~Sorry, Shiny, she's right. Nobody wants to pay for the roof repair for that.~

>Really? I've got to do this again?

[HA HAAAAA! ONCE AGAIN YOU ARE MINE!]

>We're doing this again.

[UNF! YEAH! RIGHT THERE! RIGHT IN FRONT OF EVVVVERYBODY!]

>You're scratching my figure.

[BABY I LIKE IT ROUGH!]

{Well, Shiny doesn't! He likes it best when it's slow, easy loving!}

>...Wouldn't be so bad sometimes...

{What, honey?}

>I said you are absolutely right like all times.

{See!?}

[Sorry, can't hear you, my ears must be ringing from him BOTTOMING OUT! OH YEAH!]

'Uh, Cadence? Smoke is coming out of your ears.'

{I NOTICED!}

[OH YEEEEEEEEAH!...Ahhhh... good for you too, baby?]

>You are not getting any ice cream tonight.

[THE HELL I'M NOT!]

"Well, with that unpleasantness out of the way, can we actually get to the game?"

[Sure, I've got my bonus, I'm all charged up and we are going to murder some creatures!]

"Good, because you attracted a bunch of Super-Rats."

[Oh no! Not super rats! USE ADVANCED INITIATIVE BONUS FROM SHINY-RUTTING BOOST AND ATTACK!... Ah, fuck.]

~A three!? Really!? You roll a three-~

"Success. They're all dead."

>...Really?

'Huh. Guess they were basic enemies?'

"And they drop an eye of the white dragon, and two crystal flutes."

~...I'm sorry, did you just say they dropped an eye of the white dragon?~

'That's... weirdly high level.'

[Well, I killed it, so it's my loot now.]

{Wonder what else is in here.}

"You could ask this minor dog, who just rushed you from the bushes."

(Cast fireball!... SNAKE EYES!? FUCK!)

"You succeed."

(...I uh... what?)

"And he drops a lords helm and four different ruby gems."

>'[{(~...~)}]'

>OUT OF MY WAY!

(ME FIRST! ME FIRST!)

[I COMMAND YOU TO STOP!]

(EAT A DIIIICK!)

'Guys, it's just a-'

~SHUT IT!~

'Yes ma'am...'

~~~~Five minutes later~~~~

>You fucking drop it, Poindexter. You drop it right now!

'You don't need the blood of the winner! You already have SIX champion plates!'

>I SAID DROP IT!

{Shiny no! No using magic at the table!... at Poindexter! POINT IT AT 18! I NEED THAT VEIL OF THE PURE MAIDEN!}

(Hows about I give you the veil of MY HOOF UP YOUR ASS!)

~Four cakes, and I expand your ballroom for the next three rooms over.~

[I'll bump it down to two rooms if you make it four cakes.]

~DON'T YOU PUSH ME, CHRYSALIS! THAT WING OF THE FALLEN GOD IS MY LAST INGREDIENT!~

[Pointing the laser horn in my face isn't helping.]

~Give it over or I'll point it somewhere much worse!~

[Oh, Celly, you know just how to talk dirty to a mare.]

Under the table, currently in a fetal position and rocking back and forth, Spike just clutched charity a little closer to his chest.

He hadn't even been DMing since the second minute in.

"W-whyy!? Who... who would do this!?"

That's when he heard the first magic bolt fly.

>OH! IT IS ONNNNN!

{EEEP! NO NO! SHINY I'M SORRY IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!}

And then the table started rattling, and he heard the explosions.

"WHO DESIGNED THIS!? WHYYYY!?"

~~~ELSEWHERE!~~~~

A single yellow claw pushed the envelope into the mailbox, thanking the makers of the game once again for accepting his maps. Business sorts, they probably thought he was making a fun level for their players, but oh...

-If they only knew the chaos you could unleash when you give them everything they want...-
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>JJ
"Chrysalis"
~~~~~~

Nervous? Him? Nooooo.

He was just about to ask his Majesty, whom he had recently failed so hard it could have resulted in his entire hive dying if she hadn't ripped the very particles from his blood, if he could bring a pony, a species who is decidedly not a fan of his own, into the place with the rest of the hive.

Oh, and bonus points! He's an ex-guard! You know, the ones who harass his hive all the time.

Oh, and super combo bonus points! This particularly guard chucked a pipe into the back of her head! Neat!

So, yeah, he did not think this one through.

"Snap crackle poooop!...Fuck you get out of my heeeead!"

At least she was in a good mood...

>Uh, y-your majesty-

She groaned dramatically, looking back at him with an irritated gaze.

"Did you set something else on fire?"

>N-no! No, I uh-

"Did you shoot someone with lasers?"

>Uh, no, I-

"Is someone dead, is something destroyed, did you steal something or did you otherwise do something that would make Celestia, Applejack or any other third party irritated with me?"

>...no?

"Well then, sounds like problem solved."

She started to trot off, only to slowly stop after only a few steps.

"...You're still looking at me."

>I... I...

"...Fine."

She turned to him regally, looking down her nose at him.

"What did you want, Jugglejack?"

Oh fuck, she recognized him.

>I uh... I... I was wooondering if... if I could uh..

"Be aware you are on very thin ice with me after the incident."

>N-NO! I know! And I appreciate your mercy, Highness! I am truly thankful you spared me... even if I might not have deserved it...

"Then speak."

>W-w-well, it's about the.. 'incident', actually. Uh, d-do you remember that... guard?

"..."

>Right, of course you do. W-well... he l-l... l-lost his job recently and he doesn't have anywhere to stay and since you know what's his name recently moved out and there's a vacant spot in the corner that nobody wants and it would only be for a little bit and then you know I kind of owe him one and then also you decided to show him mercy and I don't want to push you really I don't but then again you did show him mercy which was nice so I uh... I was woooondering....

"...So, he did lose his job over that. My mercy was apparently for nothing."

Sadly, the smaller changeling looked away.

Flippantly, she shrugged and turned back.

"If your brothers and sisters want him out, get rid of him. I don't stay in the ballroom, I don't give a fuck who stays in there with you. But if they don't want him around, he's not allowed around, got it?"

The best he could hope for, really.

>T-thank you, my Queen, you're grace is once again beyond what I should be granted.

"Damn straight..."

She paused at the end of the hall, looking back with a single eye.

"If they get mad, try juggling. That might diffuse the situation."

It was an odd piece of advice, but it was all she gave before she left.

Once upon a time, Jugglejack had found himself listening to 32's words. Once upon a time, he had wondered if his Queen really was just a useless, arrogant and annoying waste.

...now he just wanted to punch the guy in the face.

>...thank you.
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>AJ
"Dash"
~~~

"Now before you say anything, I want to remind you that my plan was perfectly sound."

>...

"The event I described was perfect for forcing you to rely entirely on upwards flight, and the end result would have put you in an area where hovering would be a snap."

>...

"And finally, the extended length would have been perfect for teaching you how to counteract terminal velocity, as you would have had far more time with this exorcize to do so than in any other situation. For this particular thing, it was perfect."

>...

"HOWEVER! I will admit, somewhat reluctantly, that I may have both overestimated the amount of oxygen in the upper atmosphere, and severely overestimated your ability to retain consciousness in such. I saw Celestia do it, figured it wasn't that hard, and I'm sorry. I didn't know what exactly you could handle, and I would like to extend my apology."

>...

"And I'm sure, when you wake up, gasping for air and screaming in pain because your bones are putting themselves back together, you will look back on our long, long friendship, and all the good times we've been though together, and find it in your heart to see it from my point of view."

>...

"And furthermore, may I just point out that I didn't-"

>AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

"...I will continue at another time."

>AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
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The light of the fading evening sun shone through the heavy curtains of the northernmost hallway of Canterlot Castle. Here two royal personages stood at either side of it, unmoving, glaring, their countenances filled with the unpredictability of two jungle cats readied to spring upon each other and rend flesh from bone, which would be quite a feat when one has not claws but hooves.

"Hey, Appleass," The changeling queen opened the exchange of verbal sparring with her usual smirk of cockiness, confidence radiating off of her.

"Yeah?" Applejack returned, quirking an eyebrow beneath the crown that rested upon her head.

"Knock knock," Chrysalis' smirk deepened, mischief apparent in her eyes.

"Who's there?" Applejack felt her expression turn into a grimace of confusion.

"Apple," Chrysalis' flippant reply only deepened Applejack's consternation.

"Apple who?" Again there quirked the eyebrow.

"Knock knock," Again the smirk.

"Who's there?" Applejack's tone became clipped, eyes narrowing.

"Apple."

"Apple who?"

"Knock knock," Chrysalis seemed on the verge of infernal laughter.

"Who's. There?" Applejack glared, herself on the verge of charging the changeling Queen for engaging her in this nonsensical loop.

"Orange," Chrysalis almost tittered.

"Orange...who?" Applejack blinked, caught off guard.

"Orange you glad I didn't say apple?" Chrysalis burst out laughing, striding past Applejack and nearly flicking the Princess with her tail.

That laughter would haunt Applejack for the rest of her days, she vowed revenge.

Fin.
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NC
>Twilight
"Spike"
'???'
~~~~~~~

>GENTLEMEN! I have created the ultimate food, in all of realityAHAHAHAHHA!

"...Huh, it looks like corn."

>Taaaste it.

"...It tastes like apples!"

>AHAHHAHAHAH!

*SLAM!*

'AH'MMA BURN IT ALL TO THE GROUND!'

"APPLEJACK NO!"
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>Chitania
"Shop owner"
~~~~~~~

>FIFTY BITS!?

"Yes. Fifty bits. Five. Zero. Bits."

>For glass!? Fifty bits for glass!?

"Look, lady. Do you want the glass that is coated so you don't crack it with the popcorn machines constant heat, or do you just want to use plastic? Plastic is way cheaper."

>IT TASTES FUNNY WITH THE PLASTIC!

"Well then..."

>...Don't punch... dooon't punch... they're looking for you, they'll figure out who you are, doooooon't... punch...

"Uh, miss? Is there supposed to be words inside those growls?"

>Nothing, just... lamenting my past life wherein I would just punch my problems away.

"Uh... huh."

>Is that the glass, by the by?

"What, this? Yeah, it should be up to specs-"

*ZAP!*

"...What the-"

>Sir? Are you going to give me my glass or not?

"Uh... who... did you pay for this?"

>Excuse me!? You just put it in the register! Are you trying to screw me over!?

"NO NO! Sorry! Sorry, mind just... just went somewhere."

>Hrmph.

"...Does that calender say it's tuesday?"

>Good day, sir.

"WHOA WHOA WHOA! WHAT MONTH DOES THAT SAY IT IS!?"

>GOOD DAY, SIR!...Friggen mind magics. Hate them so much...
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>Fluttershy
"Chrysalis"
~~~

>Are you really not afraid?

"Of what?"

Behind her, a gigantic worm with rainbow colored razor blade teeth roared.

>...

"...What? You mean the weather? Nah, I'll just ask Dash to kick a cloud or something. What, like she's-"

Idly, she fired a bolt backwards, decapitating the monster that had lunged at her.

"-got something better to do? Come on."

>...

"...What?!"

>How?

"How what?"

>I get being brave, but this isn't that. This is just... pretending the problem isn't even a problem at all, which should be a bigger problem.

"Look, Flutterbutter, you can't spend your whole life worrying about every little thing, you know?"

>Do you worry about anything?

"Sure."

>...Like what?

"Meh, nothing you would be interested in."

>Oh... okay. Um...

"Yeeees?"

>Just hypothetical, how big would a problem have to get before you would be worried?

"You know what? Lets just ballpark it and say, oh, fifty feet-"

*ZAP!*

"..."

>...I swear that was unintentional.

"Uh huh... Well, if you'll excuse me, I have a sixty foot puppy I need to kill."

>Oh, um... do you want help?

"Nah, I got it.... BRING IT OOOOOOOOON!"

*WOOF!*
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>Celestia
"Vekir"

>...

"..."

>...

"..."

>Vekir?

"Yes Silessia Princess?"

>What are you doing?

"Hiding."

>Why?

"...is stupid..."

>From a certain perspective I agree, but I'd like to know why.

"...I don't want to go back to the home cave! It is a terrible borement there! Always with the farming of mushrooms and the catching of fish, and the feeding of the tunnel skulkers! Vekir has seen the surface! The city of white! The big dumb nonsense city in the sky! She has heard of the land of Cat-Birds! She has stared at the big map-ball in the Twience Princess' place of work!

>That's a globe.

"Vekir once thought the home cave was so big but...but now I see that the world is so much bigger! I cannot go back to it, to the boring! To the dark and the constant fear that Zhetri Tuuhl's wisdom might one day fade and we'll go back to...to...what we were when she was even smaller than now! I want to stay among ponies and cat-birds and changelings and the weird scuffy things with horns!

>Goats.

"YES! Vekir wishes to stay here!"

>Yes, Vekir, I understand that...that wasn't my question though.

"...it wasn't?"

>No...my question was...why are you trying to hide in my mane?

"Oh! ...it is pretty."

>Please get out of it.

"At once!"
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>Celestia
"Vekir"

---------

>...

"..."

>Did you plan on getting out any time soon?

"Yes! Right away White-Horse, I am trying muchly hard to get out but am having problems"

>You need to let go of my necklace, Vekir. You can't leave because you're holding on to it.

"Ah. Such is the source of my troubles."

>You still haven't let go.

"NEH! NEEEEEH!"

>Stop tugging on it Vekir, it's not going to work

"OH! Oh no Silessia Princess, my hoof is stuck to it. That is clearly problem, yes."

>Uh-huh...

"NEEEHHH! Must have necklace!"
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>Guard
"Changeling"
'Q'

>After it!

'*tink*!'

The tiny crystalline construct known to some as Q, darted this way and that in the halls of Canterlot Castle, darting between the legs of servants and guards as her pursuers tried to narrow the gap between them. She'd gotten a good enough layout of the castle from her time with the small bug the Wisp had entrusted her to originally, her time as being merely nameless.

>Almost...

There was no time for further reflection, she felt the vibrations of hoofsteps behind her, it was time to act! She just need to reach the corner and-

>"GAH!"

Were she capable of expression, Q would have smirked as chitin met white hide in a most fortuitous collision. She skittered her way under an end table.

>Watch where you're going!

"You watch where you're going!"

Ah, the natural enmity of organics, if she could have conceptualized loved, she was certain she would have loved it. She could hear birds chirping with her limited senses, she was close to a garden, she knew it, all she required was an opening.

>Oh damn it, where'd it go?

"Where'd what go?"

>There's another chaos thing running around, little crystal creature. Me and the guys want to find it and catch it!

"Uh, why?"

>Because we just got our asses beat by plush toys, if we can prove we can at least catch a little chaos gremlin-

Gremlin? The nerve.

>-we can save a little face!

"Huh, neat, orrrrr..."

>Or?

"Or we can get it and give it to Applejack Prime as a 'We're sorry we ate your cakes, please don't vaporize us, it was mostly the guards' fault' gift."

>WHAT!?

"You happen to see where it went, by the way?"

>CHOKE ON A DICK!

"I'm not Jugglejack, you racist...slash homophobe?"

>I'm not telling you anything! You wanna make this a race? Fine! We'll win!

"Yeah, like thirty guards versus eighty changelings in a search for something trying to hide, you reeeally got the advantage."

>There's more than thirty of us!

"Oh please you all look alike, you're totally fudging those numbers!"

>Now who's being racist!?

"I am using your racism against you, it's like judo."

Oh Wisp above would these two ever shut up!?

>That's not how it works!

"Is too!"

>Is not!

"Is too!"

To hell with it.

'*tink*!'

>Whoa, there it is!

"Outta the way, it's mine!"

>Like hell!

And she booked it.


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>AJ
"10"
{BBB}
~~~~~

Getting a call from one of the changelings for a private meeting was new, Applejack realized. Usually, it was herself that called upon them, and normally because they had broken something. But this time? Specifically requested a private meeting, no Spider-ling, which she understood, but also no Spike, which... she didn't like as much.

Still, the little reporter who had requested this was nothing if not punctual and respectful about it and her time.

And more importantly, 10 had insisted this was not an interview. That, alone, was enough to grab her attention.

>So, what's all this about, sugar cube?

She had doubled checked every corner after she got inside, made sure the room was sufficiently soundproof, and even made sure there was nothing bugging the room. Needless to say, this put Applejack even more on edge.

>Yer' worryin' me now, Sug.

Reluctantly, the changeling sighed, and took a seat.

"Okaaay, so... it's like this, Princess. I've recently come across some, uh, interesting information regarding partyland."

An eyebrow went up.

>We already released a notice saying that it was a magical mishap on Fluttershy's part.

"Nothing about that. More, uh... how it didn't crash into the ground."

>We know that too, was a couple toys that came to life.

"Now, see, that's the issue here. I know everybody thinks that, but..."

She let out a large puff of breath, taking an offered handkerchief from BBB and wiping her sweating forehead.

"I'mma be real honest with you, princess, I think I'm out of my league here. I always want to tell it like it is, you know? I set out to show everyone what it's really like, but this..."

Her attention was now boring into the fidgeting changeling almost as hard as her gaze.

"...I don't know what something like this will mean, you know? And I'm worried it'll backfire hard and someone will get really hurt doing something stupid, because right now I can't tell it like it is... I have no idea what IT is right now to tell it. All I can see is this event, and I don't know what it means."

>Sug, you need ta' tell me what's goin' on.

"...BBB?... Play the film."

{BZZT! AFFIRMATIVE!}

His chest hummed to life, and the sound of flickering film reels started in his chest.

Against her barren wall, Applejack watched. She watched as slowly the bottom of Partyland came into focus, how it had to speed through hours of nothing happening, how it eventually resumed when the Crushers made their attempt to stop it, how-

>WHAT IN TARNATION!?

...How Chitania flew down underneath it, and held up the entire structure by herself.

>W-wha... what's goin' on!?

"See!? I don't know! She keeps trying to say something, but there's no audio with this camera!"

Applejack slumped back, stunned, not believing her eyes even as she watched the scene play out. Chitania did her part, waited for the engines to kick back on, then she left.

>...what...

The changeling in front of her just fidgeted harder.

“This is why I didn't go to my Queen, Princess. I don't know what she's trying to do. Did she know there was a camera there? Is this a trap? Was it genuine? If so, what was she protecting? I don't... I don't know what it's like, so I can't tell everyone how it is. And that... that's the worst feeling in the world. There's this great huge big event, but I don't know if putting it out before I have all the facts is going to make someone try something, like talking to her, and them getting hurt. But if I don't release it, how are we supposed to find out how it really is? I don't know what to do here...”

Applejack was only partially paying attention to her, eyes still focused on the now empty screen where the picture had been.

“I came to you because Princess Twilight or Celestia or Prince Shining Armor know my Queen, they'd want to tell her, but... if this is a trap, then maybe it's for her. Maybe this is specifically to lure her out and then... smoosh. I love my Queen, Princess, I don't want her to get hurt for something I did...”

The orange mare took a deep, deep breath, and turned back to the smaller changeling, eyes hard and face blank.

>Ya'll did the right thing commin' ta' me. Iffin' Ah' know Chitania, this ain't some act o' kindness. There's definitely somethin' bigger goin' on, and iffin' she catches wind of it she might try ta' 'silence' ya, or worse, be happy cause that's exactly what she wants. Most likely, her plan is ta' have yer' Queen see this fer' some bigger scheme, and we can't let that happen just yet.

“You don't think there's even a little chance she-”

>No.

“...Oh...”

>Ah'm gonna need ya' ta' leave that film right here.

At her sudden weariness, Applejack raised a placating hoof.

>It's yer' story, and ya'll will get first dibs ta' release it when we get all the facts, but we need ALL the facts before we can let ya' do that.

“I... I guess.”

>Now don't give me that look. Ah' know, ya' wanna tell everyone everything because that's how ya' feel it'll make the world better. But sometimes ya' gotta keep a lid on it, fer' the bigger picture.

“Right... the bigger picture.”

Reluctantly, she handed the reel over.

>Ya' did real good gettin' this ta' us, and Ah'll remember it in the future. Iffin' ya' need anythin', you come see me, okay?

“Yeah... right, Princess.”

>Good. Moment Ah' get more info on this, Ah'm callin' you.

“Right, thanks.”

>Good. Run off now, Ah've got a lotta' work ta' do here.

“R-right! RIGHT! Don't want to keep you from that, and there's a whooooole lotta stories besides just this out there! Got a lot more to talk about!

>Atta girl, off with ya'.

She nodded, and with one last thanks her and her robot companion went out the door. The minute it shut, the fake smile Applejack had plastered on her face slowly faded, replaced with a glare she directed at the film reel.

>What're you plannin' ya' gigantic freakin' bug monster?

She stashed it away in her secret safe, mind already spinning on who exactly she wanted to bring in on this.

>Can't be Twi or Celly, they'll tell Chrysalis. Can't be Spike, he'll see red and slip up again. Can't be onn'a the others, they'll tell Twi... who can Ah' get fer this...

A hoof idly tapped her chin.

>Hrm... who...

Outside her office, a dejected looking changeling idly shuffled down the hall.

{BZZT! ERROR! ENTHUSIASM LEVELS ARE AT CRITICAL!}

“I know, BBB. It's just... I get why I should do this, in my head. Gwen wouldn't want me to publish a story with Chitania in a good light, Canterlot wouldn't want to see her like that, the places she crushed wouldn't, it might be a trap, someone could get hurt, but...”

She tapped a chitinous hoof to her chest.

“This in here? It's telling me I should've just shown it as it was, let the ponies decide what it meant, let them see it how it is, not how they wanted it to be. For the first time, I didn't really feel like a real reporter. I just felt like... another crony trying to tell everyone the way they see the world is the right one, and that the ones up at the top 'know better' than what they should or shouldn't know. I don't feel like... like the truth mattered as much.”

His eyes flickered wildly as his processor ran hot.

{...ERROR! UNSURE PARAMETERS! NO DATA ON HOW TO PROCEED!}

“Yeah...”

She sighed again, hanging her head low as she continued to walk away.

“That's about where I'm at too.”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Fluttershy
"Chrysalis"
'??'
~~~~

>So... is this just what you do every day?

"What? No, that'd be stupid. Only when I feel like it. I mean, yeah, I feel like it so frequently I can see why you would think it was everyday, but this is just how I relax, you know?"

>This is relaxing to you?

"What, you don't believe me? Try it."

>I don't know.

"Come ooooon, try it! What's the worst that could happen?"

>It just seems like I would be imposing is all.

"Look, you being relaxed means less chaos crazy, right?"

>I suppose...

"And have you ever seen me stressed out?"

>Not really...

"So, maybe, just maybe, my methods will prove as fruitful for you as they did for me."

>Well... okay. I'll give it a try. So, uh, what do I do?

"That thing you just saw me do? That's literally all there is too it. Nothing else."

>It can't be that simple.

"Totally is. Just get up there and really get into it."

>...Hrm...

"Oh come on, you call that getting into it? Really get into it! It's not relaxing if you worry about your performance, you just have to throw your head back, and GET INTO IT!"

>...

"Come oooon, say it."

>It seems a little silly.

"It'll heeelp!"

>Oh... okay...

"..."

>...MESSING UP SHINY'S PAAAPERS!

"There it is!"

>O-oh my! This is fun! WHEEEEE!

"Now you've got it!"

>Hee hee!

'Just to let you know, getting your ass that close to my face is not part of the relaxation method, it's just something she does.'

"SHHH! Shiny, she's in the zone!"

>Messin' up all the paaaapers!

"HAH! We need to bring you back more often! Look, even that doll that came to life went back to normal!"

>Oh my gosh, it did! It's working!

"Don't stop now!"

>WHEEEE! I'm coming back here more often!

'...joy...'
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