Don't Ever Change - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

>You open the door, as Chrysalis helps your mother in.
>She lays your mother on the bed, and back away slowly.
>You just sigh and let her out.
>Chrysalis passes you, not forgetting to throw you a sorry glance.
>She then presses a hand to your shoulder.
>You wave it off.
>You silently watch as your mother’s chest slowly heaves up and down.

>”You cried that night.”
>A soft voice rings through your hollow head piece.
>She looks to you sadly, before turning away.
>She wraps her knees with her arms, and brings them closer to her.
>She then closes her eyes.

>You shake your head awake.
>You then lazily glance across the room, spotting the mess you saw the night before.
>Well, at least it was all sunshines and sparkles now.
>You notice a weight on your shoulder.
>You know its Christie.
>It was like- what- three days since you’ve been camping out right outside of your mother’s room.
>You even hit jackpot on heist with Chrysalis and managed to make enough money to bring in a doctor.
>He said he’ll try out some magic on her, but he had no idea his patient would be a human.
>Humans were a rare fixture, even in the slums.
>The doctor made several visits, including today.
>You did your best to care for your only family member.
>By blood, anyway.
>You can feel the head stir in her sleep.
>She did have quite a nasty sleeping habit.
>You hold her head, and gently lift her to the wall.
>You don’t forget to place a pillow between her and the wall.
>You stretch, and set off to daily work.
>From the way the sun doesn’t sting, this could be a good day.
>You open the door, and greet several sickly ponies.
>You smile and let them in.
>You walk over to the make-shift chemistry set, and produce several vials.
“Remember, drink once every half-a-day, alright?”
>The ponies take their respective vials, and go off.
>Time to check up on mom.
>A quick steal at the sun-dial tells you it’s ten.
>You make your way through the thin stairs, facing the door to your mother’s room.
>You take deep breath, and open the door.
>The sharp smell hits you square in the face.
>That’s why you took a deep breath.
>You quickly walk over and open the window, letting in light.
>You desperately try to fan out the stink.
>You then check up on your mother.
>First, you wipe the sweat forming on her forehead.
>Place fingers right over her nose to check her breathing.
>Second, check her pulse.
>And third…
>You cringe, as you take out a small pot under the bed.
>It sloshes about.
>You think there is something solid in there.
>You take another breather, and finally reveal the pot.
>You don’t dare look at what is inside.
>You hoist it up…
>And throw the contents outside.
>Then you slide the pot in its rightful place.
>You wipe your hand on your shirt, and go down stairs.
>You take a special brew, and pour its contents over a cup.
>You blow on it to cool it down.
>You then head upstairs again.
>You crouch by your mother, and hold the cup ready.
“Mom. Here’s the dose.”
>She doesn’t stir.
>You gently help her up, forcing to wake.
>She tries to say something, but you stop her.
“Drink first, and then talk.”
>She hesitantly takes it and starts forcing it down.
>You can already feel the taste from her expression.
>It takes a while for her to finish up her drink.
>Mother silently falls to her bed again, and once more, she is sound asleep.
>Well, so much for that.
>You sigh, and walk out.
>You can hear some plates moving about downstairs.
>Christie must be up.
>The pillow on the floor confirms your suspicions.
>You pick it up and place it on the chair.
>You do not want to know what sick creature sat on that corner.
>Mom was real caretaker, but you were not.
>After she fell ill, the doors closed.
>Quite literally.
>”Hey, Anon! Good to see you up.” Christie smiles to you, fixing up some... thing.
“What is that?” You ask, pointing at the mixture.
>”Breakfast.”
>Maybe you could lay her down easy.
>Hey, fuck that, she’s your friend.
“Christie, that is godly disgusting.”
>”Oh.”
>She looks away, frowning.
>”I-I just tried so hard and I wanted to help…”
>Your heart sinks.
“No, I didn’t mean it that way, it was a good try, I swear!”
>She then turns to you again, with her teary eyes.
>Those eyes.
>”R-really?”
“Really.”
>She breaks into laughs.
>”Oh, that was a good breakfast.”
>She wipes a tear, smiling slyly.
>That’s the Chrysalis you know.
>”I never said it was –your- breakfast, Anon.”
“What was that, anyway?”
>”Some dead beetles. Mixed with unused chemicals.”
“Good god.”
>”You can say that again.”
>She then claps her hands together.
>”So, what are we doing today?”
>You shrug.
”I don’t know, I need to watch over Mom.”
>”God, you’re boring, Anon. Let’s go find some purses, how about that?”
>Well, you needed the money anyway.
“Is it too late for me to say this is a bad idea?”
>”When was it ever at the right time?”
“Will we be back by twelve?”
>”It can be eleven, if you’re quick enough.”
“PM, AM?”
>”Well, Eiii-Emme off.”
>Truth to her words, she grabs her bag and opens the door.
>”You coming or what?”
“Fine.”
>You grab your bag, hung right under hers.
>You slide it over your shoulders, and head out.
>And you see it.
>Fresh prey, everywhere.
>Chrysalis crosses her arms, and leans onto a wall.
>”Looks like its market day, Anon.”
“Damn purses everywhere.”
>You tail the crowd, as Christie does her thing-
>Turning into a pony.
>In an instant, you lose track of her.
>Figures, you don’t need her help anyway.
>A quick sweep shows you your first target.
>A mare, purple mane.
>Saddlebag, left pocket.
>Newbie mistake.
>She left her money bulging.
>You better save her from the dangers of the world of thievery.
>With your own brand of thieving.
>You close in onto your target, blending with the pack of minotaurs and a human.
>You gently pat them away.
>Looks like that guy isn’t getting anything tonight.
>You grin, as you throw your first catch of the day.
>You pocket it, and return to your original target.
>You walk past it, making sure right next to her.
>Once you have some distance, you get to your knees, pretending to tie your shoelaces.
>You don’t even have shoelaces.
>The mare ignores you, paying no mind as she passed you.
>Too easy.
>You bring up your knife, and hold it under the bulging pocket.
>The sharp apparatus cuts through like butter.
>You lunge forward, and hold out your hand to catch the falling pocket.
>Damn, this is heavy.
>Must be at least thirty bits.
>You smile as you quickly withdraw your hand, and slowly retreat to the shadows.
>You find yourself in the alleys, fighting back the gut-retching smell of sewage.
>You take breather through the nose, and start to climb up.
>Left hand on the window, right foot on its base.
>Right hand on that convenient hole right there…
>Push up.
>Jump up, grab second window.
>Rinse, repeat.
>Soon enough, you have conquered the three-story building.
>Bet mom would be real proud.
>You perch yourself on the corner of the flat roof, spying through the crowd.
>Where could Chrysalis-
>Found her.
>You spot a familiar pony, pink mane, lighter coat.
>Green eyes.
>It was her favorite look.
>And from the way she’s acting, you can tell its Chrysalis.
>She’s always going for big targets.
>Speaking of which…
>Five stallions.
>Chrysalis slowly homes onto the ponies, cutting a diagonal path- right through the crowd.
>She easily pulls out the purses with her magic.
>Damn, that’s the mother of all coin cases.
>And then, shit hits the fan.
>The saddlebag glows red and starts beeping loudly.
>Must be one of those new anti-thief bags.
>You should know, you stole one last week.
>It was useful when delivering medicine.
>Chrysalis instantly goes into panic mode, and unleashes her smoke bombs.
>That was not a euphemism.
>Clouds of grey smoke envelope the crowd, and Chrysalis desperately makes her run.
>You do what you always did.
>Get her ass out of the fire.
>You stand and pinch your lower lip together.
>And then you blow.
>An ear-piercing whistle catches everyone’s attention.
>The stallions, mostly.
>You smirk, and throw your coin purse up.
>Then with a downward swing, you catch it, and start running.
>Hope they took the bait.
>The bolt of energy over your head is enough to confirm your suspicions.
>Yep, they took it.
>You laugh, as the five stallions pursue you through the roof tops.
>How did they-
>One suddenly pops out in front of you, and tries to buck your stupid face.
>Nope.
>Oh right, magic.
>That is the best explanation to everything.
>”Come back here, thief!”
>Oh my, he strung together a sentence.
>Must be a real speaker, that one.
>You jump over the gap between two buildings.
>Damn unicorns, always teleporting to you.
>One actually got close.
>You did a low-blow and knocked the guy over.
>Fuck honor, you’re a thief.
>You take a corner, and jump in through a small crack.
>You kick your legs both forward and backwards, holding yourself up.
>You look up to see the five blurs pass the opening.
>”Where did he go?”
>”What the heck?”
>”Aw, hayseeds.”
>They frantically search the area, and trail away.
>As their voice grows weaker, you climb out.
>You snicker, and then you face Christie.
“Christie! You saw how they ran? Ho boy, we lost them-“
>Then you notice a Pegasus next to her.
>Chrysalis’ face is completely pale.
>That golden armor.
>Oh you have got to be kidding me.
>You slowly glance over to Chrysalis, who then nods.
>You grab the guard, and knee him once.
>His eyes go wide and he loses balance.
>You grab his forelegs and drop him to the ground, and book it.
>To your surprise, Chrysalis is waiting for you.
“Dear god, what happened to you?”
>”What do you mean?”
“You waited for me.”
>You smile.
>She looks away.
>What is with her today.
>You can faintly make out the shades of red right-
>A guard lands in front of you.
>”HALT!”
>You crash into him.
>Well, what did he expect?
>You pin him to the ground.
>He’s struggling back almost instantly.
>He’s already winning.
>Being the ass you are; you give a nice knee to his groins.
>He grunts, and then wheezes.
>He holds his groins in pain, and rolls away.
>That’s right, not to the shlong, but to the sack.
>Wait what.
>Well, you don’t win in the world by being fair.
>You jump up and start running again.
>Chrysalis is already hidden from view.
>That conniving bitch.
>Just as that thought leaves you, Chrysalis pokes her head through an alley.
>She spots you and waves, before disappearing again.
>You start climbing down.
>You can hear the agitated shouts of the guard behind you.
>That’s like what- three pegasi?
>Record.
>You take the alley Chrysalis ran into.
>You find her right in there, sticking to a wall.
>You can obviously see the fear in her eyes.
>You toss her your bag.
“Take it, and run home.”
>”Wait, what are you doing?”
“What I always do.”
>You smile.
“Saving your ass.”
>You run out of the alley again.
>Soon enough, the guards are all over you.
>You whistle to grab others’ attention, and dash into the market.
>Good job Anon.
>A fine job.
>At least ten guards are on to you now.
>You bet half a bit that a quarter of them have no clue why.
>You push away several ponies, rummaging through the thick crowd of ponies.
>Why weren’t you born as a midget?
>You would have blended perfectly.
>Your thoughts are cut short, as magic covers you.
>Aw well, game over.
>Those bastards just had to bring in a unicorn.
>You smile, and hold your hands up in defeat.
“Okay gents, you got me.”
>Guards surround you, as you are slowly lowered to the ground.
>As soon as the aura glimmers away, the guards jump on you.
>Woah, fellas.
>One at a time, please.

>Chrysalis ran through the winding alleys, taking seemingly random turns.
>She had the entire district in her head.
>She took a turn near the building with the broken vase-
>Another at the cracked walls.
>Then she went straight, right to the familiar house.
>Anon taught her to remember details.
>She hoped he would be alright.
>As she took off the bags and hung it over next to the door.
>She placed that rusty nails for the hanging.
>She was still proud of that.
>Even if… It bent awkwardly.
>She was still in a phase.
>She smiles to herself, happy over her ‘special talent’.
>Then she hears the glass crack under her shoes.
>She takes a step back, noticing the slew of broken glass over the floor.
>Then she hears rapid growling.
>She looked over the room, seeing the broken window.
>The air reeked of chemicals.
>She then spied the broken vials, test tubes and whatnot.
>A figure was hunched over the debris, shaking.
>She could make it out that it was a pony, a mare.
>The mare bit another vial, and took a full swing.
>She threw it to the ground, and sighed.
>She then lay on the floor, not caring the glass piercing her skin.
>Christie tensed, and she slowly walked closer to the pony.
>She then kicked the pony in the head.
>”What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
>The mare quickly shot up, and looked to Chrysalis in shock.
>Chrysalis drew closer and pinned the pony, clutching her by the throat.
>”I ask again. What do you think you’re doing?”
>From here, she could see the damage.
>All of Anon’s medicine vials, cracked, broken.
>And its ingredients were thrown about, scattered across the room.
>”I-I needed my fix…” The pony answers.
>Before Chrysalis could utter an answer, came the coughs upstairs.
>Chrysalis let go of the pony, and desperately searches through wreckage.
>This pony really did a number.
>She broke everything.
>Every vial, gone.
>The mare then jumps out of the window, making her escape.
>Chrysalis ignored her, frantically trying to find an untouched vial.

>”I’m really sorry, Mr. Anon, we just get confused sometimes.”
“Hey, no worries, I get that a lot.”
>”How could we have missed that fact that you didn’t have that bag?”
“Like I said, no worries.”
>You smile as you tap the stallion’s shoulder.
>He salutes you, and you salute back.
>”You know, a human is our captain-in-training.”
“Really?”
>You wave, as you exit the guard post.
>You can see the sun setting, Chrysalis better not have forgotten to get mom the medicine…
>Nah, of course she did, no way she could ignore the coughs.
>You really needed to get mom an actual doctor.
>Maybe from this district, if you can make enough money.
>Maybe.

>Your slow walk home was mostly uneventful, a short walk with a mixture of death-threats and petty mugging.
>The usual stuff.
>And there we are, your humble abode-
>The cracked window.
>You immediately run into the house, kicking open the door.
>The house is a mess.
>Your vials, all gone.
>A cough grabs your attention.
>And there is another one.
>You rush through the stairs, and enter your mother’s room.
>You can see Chrysalis, in her changeling form, hunched next to your mother.
>She is absolutely terrified.
>She’s trying out her magic, the green aura covering your mother.
“Christie?” You ask, frozen by the door.
>”Anon! Somepony broke in and took the vials- and I’m trying so hard but-“
>She breaks into sobs.
>You slowly make your way to her, and hold her in hug.
“Christie, what happened.”
>She opens her mouth to answer, before the coughs continue.
>You let go and look over your mother, who is sweating badly.
>She’s also coughing up bloody chunks.
>You cringe at the image.
>Mom needed the medicine now.
>You run downstairs again, sweeping over the broken glass.
>You dig through, picking up the ingredients as quickly as you can.
>You don’t have three hours to brew the potion.
>You shout in frustration, and throw the herbs to the wall.
>You return upstairs, finding Chrysalis working her magic.
“Christie, can you help her?”
>She shakes her head.
>”I don’t know! I’m too weak for this kind of healing spell!”
>You hold her with your hands.
“Do it.”
>”But I-“
“DO IT!”
>She sobs more and turns her head slowly to mother.
>You can feel tears on your face as well, and your grip weakens.
“P-please.”
>You look over, and hold your mother’s cold hand.
>You clutch it tighter, still crying.
>And this day was going to be great.
>Your hand trembles, and your heart races.
>Your lips a shaking, as you watch your mother die.
>For the first time this week, you feel fear.
>Fear for your parent’s life.
>Fear for a chance to lose someone important in your life.

>Chrysalis looks over to you, and then to your mother.
>There was an emotion, a certain emotion that Chrysalis could not detect.
>But it was powerful, she would give it that.
>She gently tapped into it, feeding herself with that emotion.
>And for a moment, she was limitless.
>Chrysalis fires her spell again, searching for the problem.
>It was Lung Rust, somewhere in the chest…
>She felt the body, looking for the problem.
>And there it was, pulsing with heat.
>Chrysalis slowly pressed onto the area, removing it.
>She left the body to heal what she had taken care of.
>The masses of infection was overwhelming, it covered most of the alveoli.
>Chrysalis simply eliminated it, ‘healing’ the body.
>Then she stopped, and pulled away.
>She was weak, all of her strength waning.
>She looked over to you, as you stared at her with pure amazement.

>You blink, looking over your mother- who was dying just a second ago.
>Now she’s sleeping peacefully, no sign of the pain anywhere.
>You look over to Chrysalis, who is just as dumbstruck as you are.
>You embrace her once again, now in gratitude.
“Thank you, thank you…”

>Even the roads are silent tonight, as your voice echoes in the wind.