Don't Ever Change Chapter 10

Chapter 10

>”B-But, I tried –“
“You’re just treating the symptoms, Chrysalis.”
>You get up from your seat.
>Your fingertips trail across the white sheet on the table.
“Why don’t we move to a quieter place while we can? Hmm?” You ask, as gently as you can.
>Chrysalis is staring right down to her hooves, unwilling to answer.
“I’ll let you pick, how about that?” You touch her shoulder.
>She quickly shrugs it off, and keeps her stare downwards.
“I was thinking of Ponyville, a small town down the mountains. I heard it was quiet and clean.”
>You tap her shoulder once and go off.
>Sliding the door open, you stop once more.
“Both of us could use the air.” You say, looking straight ahead.
>You clamp down your teeth, trying hard to let out anything.
>Your movement feels wooden; everything you do feels so awkward.
>A small drop of your watery eye rolls down your cheek.
>You ignore it, continuing your path.
>Little you know, your words have hit Chrysalis hard.

>Chrysalis doesn’t know what to think.
>She always improvised in her line of work, adapting to every situation she was given.
>But now-
>This wasn’t something she could morph or trick her way out.
>All of her effort, wasted just like that.
>She begins to shake violently, while grinding her teeth.
>Her sights go blurry, and streams of tears pour out of her eyes.
>Was it anger?
>Or was it sadness?
>Chrysalis doesn’t know what to think.
>She doesn’t know what to feel.

>You push open your bedroom door.
>Taking off your dress jacket and promptly throwing to a corner, you jump to your bed.
>You bounce slightly, the clean smell of the sheets filling your nose.
>Well, the housekeeping does use a tad too much soap when cleaning the sheets.
>You should tell them something tomorrow.
>Eh, you’ll figure out something to say.
>Now, about that Ponyville idea…
>You heard about some whispers on the place, a bit too far from Canterlot.
>But that’s the best part.
>You want to take a deep breath of fresh air for once.
>The only thing that ever came close to that was a potted flower you had by your window.
>And that died after a day or two.
>It is still there, left just like that.
>You stand back up, and look over the glass window.
>You see the slums you have lived just a few days ago, and you’ve spent most of your life there.
>But you do hate it; it is a cesspool of famine of disease.
>Canterlot, a strange place.
>The shining capitol of Equestria, home to the most prestigious foundations and the richest families.
>And the poorest.
>Many came by seeking to fulfill their dreams, but everyone ends up down here.
>Rejected, left to rot, QUARANTINED.
>The architects were quite smart on hiding the (quite literal) underbelly of the city.
>The lower caste lived in a tight area carved into the mountain.
>It would be great to see sunlight once in a while, but the walls of the city are barely open.
>Very little air comes in, and a few goes out.
>Good thing too, the stenches created from the machinery down here are sickening.
>Green smoke pours out of many of the chimneys, all bent to an odd angle here and there.
>Inhaling some of that air was fatal, which was bad news for the chimney sweeps.
>You’d rather not think about the fillies that would suffocate in there.
>But even in this desolate place, in this hopeless situation, life somehow prevails.
>And that is why Changelings love this place so much.
>The slightest love, the slightest care shines so bright in this dark place.
>And it takes hunger to remind you how great food is.
>It was also a place of crimes and cartels, both running rampant.
>You should know, you are a part of both.
>You spot a glass of water on your table, probably left by the maids.
>You take a sip, and pour the rest on the pot.
>Like you said, life will prevail.
>You pick up the jacket you threw, and hang it neatly.
>You begin to undress, planning on changing to something a bit more comfortable.
>Once that is done, you hop into your bed, and drape the blanket over you.
>You close your eyes, and begin your descent to dreams.
>…
>How long were you out?
>You are jerked awake, your mind and sight muddled by sleep.
>You blink a few times, fighting back any more need to sleep.
>You yawn once and look up to see a hand on your arm.
>One spot of the dark cerulean hair confirms your suspicions.
>You also notice your bedroom door open, letting in a line of orange light.
“I’m trying to sleep, Christie.” You mutter, while trying to return to sleep.
>You hear a soft chuckle, before she nudges you once.
>You hug your blanket and wave her off.
>Your protests come off as mumbles, with you blindly shaking your arm at some petty attempt to get her off you.
>You finally give up at any chance to ‘convince’ her at leaving you alone, and turn over.
>Facing the wall, you really can’t be bothered if she jabs your back.
>Unless she pokes your ribs.
>You were quite ticklish on that part.
>She nudges you a few times, before retreating to a supposed defeat.
>You sigh happily, slowly going back to the land of slumber.
>After a moment of peace, you feel another weight on your bed.
>Your bed creaks a little, but your weight on one side balances out whatever that is coming at you.
>You feel something touch your back, and something wrapping around you.
“Christie, this is a single bed for a reason.” You call out.
>She just hugs tighter, burying her face on your hair.
>”I just need to be with someone at the moment…” She replies.
>A moment of silence ensues between the two of you.
>You are wide awake now, her sudden entry robbing you of any sleep possible.
>”Hey Anon… Do you love me?”
>You get up immediately, taking her up with you.
>You sit on the lower side of the mattress, and she takes the other.
>Legs crossed and mind even more cross, you look straight at Christie.
>You haven’t seen her in that form for a while.
“Of course I love you, Chrys.” You say, as you right a rogue strand of hair.
“You’re the only thing I have to a family right now, and no matter what happens to me, I’ll still love you.”
>”Do you mean that?”
“Cross my heart, and already dying.”
>A small laugh escapes her mouth, before she sniffs once.
>You can see much clearly now, and you can tell she has been crying.
“Oh, come here.” You give her a tight hug.
>You also leave a kiss on the forehead.
“Now come on, everyone needs sleep, and a queen is not exempt.”
>She seems hesitant, slowly getting up.
>But she stops right away, and turns back to you.
“What now?”
>”C-can I sleep with you? Just this once.”
>You surely hope she meant ‘sharing the bed’, because your face is practically glowing now.
“Fine.” You growl, returning to your side of the bed.
>Turning your back to her again, you try to sleep once more.
“Good night.” You say.
>”Good night.” She returns the gesture, still insisting on pulling you close from the back.
>The two of you soon fall into the land of dreams, stomachs empty and hearts hollow.

>Like always, you wake up earlier than Christie.
>You gently slip out of her grasp, and get off the bed.
>You pull the blanket over her, tucking her in.
>Then you go off scratching your back, also off to seek breakfast.
>The maids greet you warmly, and they are already at work fixing up your food.
>You get two fried eggs and a slice of toast.
>You munch through your toast first, idly thinking of what you should do today.
>Despite what happened before, everything feels so normal.
>Well, you lived with the knowledge all this time, it doesn’t bother you anymore.
>You cannot say the same of Chrysalis.
>You would rather spend the time you have left-
>Oh!
>You can go hunt for available plots of land in Ponyville.
>Yeah, that’s what you’ll do today.
>And if your bank account holds up, you could have a house ready there.
>You’ll check your balance book later.
>Hmm, Chrysalis isn’t up yet.
>You ask for a tray of her food from the maid.
>You could surprise her for a breakfast in bed.
>The tray in your hands, you shakily take it to your room.
>You gently push the door open with your foot, making sure to not wake her.
>You set the tray on the table, and go over to her sleeping form.
>You sit by the bed, and wait for her to wake.
>Admittedly it is a bit creepy, so you just opted to shake her up.
>She dumps her face into the pillow and refuses to face you.
>Like yourself, she waves an arm at you, hopelessly defiant on her waking.
“Fine, be that way.” You say, crossing your arms.
“Food’s on the table, I’m going out today.”
>You first shower, and put on a fresh set of clothes.
>Taking your coat with you, you leave the house, hopefully to find a real estate agent or something of the sort.
>Which meant going up to the shining city of Canterlot.
>Lovely, you liked being surrounded by ignorant, self-obsessed pricks.
>All sarcasm aside, it was also a hub city, thus having better links to other remote areas.
>The day seemed to be turning out just well.
>You soon find out about a few open lands on Ponyville.
>Few houses are already available, but you request something that is far off.
>Maybe something on an open plain, grasses flowing by the wind.
>A solitary tree upon a hill nearby, overlooking the town.
>Something out of a story.
>After giving the specifics, you come to an agreed deal of 5,000 bits.
>It is a hefty price, but you hope it would be worth it.
>Or you are going to send emotion draining insect ponies against them.
>By the time you are back home, the sun is already setting.
>You had a quick lunch upstairs, nothing too pricey.
>And yet, you are starving again, time for dinner, you supposed.
>You also held two tickets in your hand, set to
>As soon as you open the door, you are crushed by Christie, in her changeling form.
>”Where were you all day?” She asks, slightly frustrated.
“I was in town. Shopping around. What’s up?”
>She holds you down with her front hooves, and preps her magic.
>The green glow begins to fill the room.
>When the tip of the glowing horn touches you, you feel a shockwave of energy going through your body.
>You can feel it reaching out to the very tip of your fingers and toes.
>It stays there for a while a faded sensation of scratching fills your bones.
>You can see Christie is struggling more than ever, her entire frame shaking.
>She finally draws breath and gives up.
>She looks to you with desperation, her eyes shaking slightly.
>You hold her hoof and put them down.
“Like I said, Christie, no amount of magic can save me. Not for all of the medicine, not for all of the emotions.”
>Chrysalis suddenly tenses up, and her face lights up.
>Oh no, you gave her an idea.
>”Say that again.”
“No amount of magic can-“
>”Nonono, the last part.”
“Not for all the emotions?”
>She goes silent, and a smile arcs on her face.
“NO, Christie, no, don’t you dare-“
>”I have to go.” She says, hurriedly leaving the house.
>You sigh and glance to your tickets.
>Something tells you you brought one too many.

>”Colts and mares.” Chrysalis speaks at her generals.
>”As we can see, many of our people are starving and dying because of the lack of emotions.”
>”Yes, we were planning on asking you that, my queen.” A general speaks.
>”You may not worry now, as I have a plan.”
>The entire table erupts to chatter.
>”Yes, prepare to-“
>A map of a very peculiar city rolls out.
>”The invasion of Canterlot!”