Transcend - Part 2
#2 of Transcend
Alone once more. Finally.
Evergreen was just in the next room, so the tendrils connecting them remained strong--strong enough for Chrysalis to leech energy from him while she rested in front of the fire.
For the first time, Chrysalis had a look around. A proper look around.
The cottage was sparsely decorated, with a single photo frame of what looked like Evergreen standing with his parents, the photo itself yellowed with age. The shelves were covered in various bric-a-brac, from old flowers to tomes on alchemical ingredients and how and where to find them, as well as glass phials, beakers, and even a bunsen burner.
A single bed rested against one wall, with a book sitting atop it. The blanket blanket that would have been atop it was now wrapped around Chrysalis' shoulders to help ward off the ever-present cold.
But Chrysalis' eyes kept coming back to the glass beakers and vials.
The strange thing was, Evergreen didn't strike Chrysalis as an alchemist. Sure, he had a cauldron and various alchemical ingredients, but his mannerisms and his godawful way of speaking didn't exactly lend him the air of an intellectual.
Pondering this, Chrysalis was about to levitate a log into the fire, when she thought better of it, and carefully nudged it in with a hoof instead. Until her magic stabilised and she was stronger, she couldn't risk using any magic.
Chrysalis rose to her hooves and moved to the window, peering outside. It was past sunrise now and the morning dew was starting to dissipate. It was still early though. Not warm enough for a trek outside just yet, but it was on its way there. There was no trace of last night's violent storm, except for the muddy ground and the drag marks from where she was so unceremoniously rescued by that lumbering oaf of a pony--the pony on whom she now depended.
Chrysalis cast her attention again towards the things that very pony owned.
Slipping over to the bed, Chrysalis picked up the heavy book resting on it. It was bound in faux leather, and was untitled. As Chrysalis eased the cover open, a strange silver object tumbled out onto the bed.
Chrysalis picked the object up, investigating it. She knew what it was; it was a spring-loaded hoof pen.
The idea was that the metal brace fitted over a hoof. As it was pressed downwards, the spring holding the tube over the charcoal stick would be pushed down until the charcoal tip was against the paper, and then all you had to do was write. They were built specifically for earth ponies and pegasi, seeing as unicorns and alicorns used their magic to write.
Chrysalis frowned for a moment as she slotted the hoofpen back into its place at the front of the book. She hadn't pegged Evergreen as the kind of pony who could even read, let alone write.
But it seemed as though Evergreen did write. As Chrysalis flicked through the pages of the book, she found several neat, concise sentences on each page, as well as dried, pressed leaves and petals, flowers, weeds, herbs and the like; all with their own notations on their effects, preparation needs, and properties. The writing changed partway through and the plants seemingly changed location as well, as a large page had written on it 'Everfree Forest'. Everything after that passage was written presumably by Evergreen, and everything before that, a different pony.
Chrysalis tried to piece together the information she was gleaning. He was helping to write an alchemical journal?
And Evergreen wasn't just writing it all down, he was discovering the effects of the plants. Apparently, a sharp mind hid behind that dumb-as-brick exterior.
Giving a thoughtful hum, Chrysalis closed the book. She moved over to sit in front of the fire again, resting her head on her hooves to rest and garner as much energy as she could from Evergreen, trying to decide his fate.
chrysalis had options. Her magic was unreliable, but she could still just slip away in the night while he was sleeping. Just disappear into the darkness never to be heard from again. She could wipe his memories, but that required magic. Or she could just kill him. She toyed with the idea of torturing him until he died. She had done it before to those who had greatly displeased her. She was a little squeamish when it came to that kind of thing. But locking somepony somewhere with no food or water and letting them die of starvation and exhaustion wouldn't make her lose too much sleep.
But then... Something in Chrysalis didn't want to overtly harm the dumb oaf of a pony. After all, he had done nothing against her except being an insufferable hillbilly oaf, that is.
Chrysalis cast her mind back to a time when that would have been enough to earn her wrath, and then turned her thoughts inwards, probing her own feelings. She giggled faintly at the thought that she might be developing a conscience, or morals in her old age.
Instead, Chrysalis again imagined hurting the pony. Making him suffer and scream in pain. There was a time when such thoughts would have touched something deep inside her; it had made her feel alive and powerful to hold someone's life in her hoof while she fed from their partner's love. But she felt none of that familiar thrill as she imagined making Evergreen suffer.
Maybe she was getting soft?
Chrysalis shook herself out of her reverie, and snorted a moment.
At the very least, she would make him pay for touching her. She would burn down his cottage, perhaps, while he was out doing whatever it was he did when he left. So long as he wasn't there at the time, she wouldn't need to feel guilty over destroying his life. He would live. He just wouldn't be very happy for a very long time. A fitting punishment.
Chrysalis heard the splashing of water as Evergreen crawled out of the cauldron, and she snorted a moment. "If there is but an inch of you that is not clean, Sir Evergreen, you are going back in."
"I'm clean, you sodding unicorn!" came the muffled reply. Chrysalis gave a wry grin.
"And under your hooves?" Chrysalis called through the door.
"Yes under my sodding hooves!" came the rebuke, and Chrysalis giggled. She was treating him like a child. She would instill in him a submissive nature that would make her manipulatory magic all the easier. And with her current power levels, any spell she cast would have to be as easy as possible so she didn't end up dead at the end of it.
The door opened, and Chrysalis' narrowed her eyes at him, scowling slightly.
Evergreen rolled his eyes and turned in a slow circle, careful to flick his wet tail in her direction and spray her with water droplets as he rotated, before posing sarcastically. "Am ah presentable, Ma'am?"
A long silence stretched out as Chrysalis stared at him, before she sniffed slightly and turned back to the fire. "You are passable."
"I am pleased that I am an affront to neither your eyes nor your nose, ma'am," Evergreen said in such a perfectly cultured voice that Chrysalis twisted her head to stare at him, expecting a third pony to be in the room.
"Wot? Yer never heard them fancy ponies talk like that 'afore?" Evergreen asked with a sly grin.
Chrysalis stared at Evergreen in wonder for several long moments, before blinking and shaking her head. "I... Just... Wow. And here I thought you had no more surprises."
"I'm full'er surprises," Evergreen said with a smile, moving over to the bench and picking up a metal kettle. he carried the kettle over to the fireplace and set it on a hook above the fire to boil. "But yer know. I never did quite catch yer name."
"That is because I never gave it," Chrysalis said coldly.
"Kinda figured that," Evergreen said with a slight nod. "So I'm gonna have ta' be knowin' yer name now."
"Why would you need to know my name? It serves no purpose," chrysalis stalled, trying to think up what name would work best.
"It's only polite, yer know?" Evergreen asked, raising a brow, before pointing out, "After all, yer know my name."
"I only know it because you wish me to call you 'sir'," Chrysalis stated bluntly in rebuke.
"Yeah. I rather like hearin' you high folk call me sir. Makes me feel important, see?" Evergreen said with a sly grin, before lifting a hoof to halt her words. "Yer gonna tell me yer name, or I'm gonna drink all this lovely tea by myself and not even offer yer any."
"Very well," Chrysalis huffed. "I am... C."
"...C?" Evergreen asked, perking an ear upwards. "Wot kinda name is that? How do yer spell it?"
"...C?" Chrysalis offered after a moment, feeling her cheeks beginning to flush under Evergreen's scrutiny. She berated herself for her lapse in confidence. She was a dark queen, not some blushing, unsure unicorn filly!
"That's it?" Evergreen asked, blinking slowly at her, sounding skeptical. "Just plain ol' letter C?"
"Double E," Chrysalis added with a firm nod.
"So... Just C Double-E?" Evergreen pondered, and then shook his head teasingly. "Yer parents musta been illiterate. Were yer born third or something?"
"It is a lovely name!" Chrysalis huffed, drawing herself up into a sitting position and placing a hoof on her chest. "It is tradition in my bloodline to name the most regal of our children Cee."
"Well Cee. I guess yer earned some tea. Yer musta had all the fillies making fun rhyming yer name in school," he said with a snide grin.
Chrysalis blinked at that, her ears splaying backwards. She hadn't had a childhood as such. In general, a changeling's turbulent early years were mainly spent learning how to pry love from others before the love from their parents tapered off and their supply of energy ran dry.
"Uhm...sure," Chrysalis said with a slight nod. "They did."
"Or were yer one of those home-schooled fillies?" Evergreen asked, raising a brow. "Too good for the normal school, eh?"
"You say that like I had a choice in the matter," Chrysalis snorted in response, seizing on the new lie to make it her own.
"I guess I never looked at it that way 'afore," Evergreen said thoughtfully, seeming to mull over the idea as he took the kettle from the hook on the stove and carried it over to the bench.
"Obviously." Chrysalis scowled at Evergreen as he moved away, then tossed her mane contemptuously and turning back to the fire.
"Well sor-ree yer highness," Evergreen said with a roll of his eyes, his tone sarcastic. The stallion slipped back into the back room to collect some ingredients together, returning a few moments later, hoof filled with flower petals and herbs. He placed them all in a mortar and pestle, and began to grind them up with firm presses and twists.
"Just call me 'Cee'," Chrysalis said with a growl.
"Yer don't like being called 'yer highness'?" Evergreen asked, casting a sly grin over his shoulder.
"I don't like being addressed as royalty in that hillbilly tone of yours!" Chrysalis hissed vehemently.
"Ohhhh, so yer too good for being addressed as yer highness because ah don't speak like yer do?" Evergreen asked, seemingly genuinely curious, and not at all bitter.
"I didn't say that." Chrysalis scowled.
"Oh, but yer did," Evergreen said with a nod and a triumphant grin. "Caught yer in a lie there, Princess."
Chrysalis growled at Evergreen once more. He was the most infuriating pony she had ever met. Ever!
"And how come yer a princess anyhows?" Evergreen asked, raising his other brow at her curiously. "Ah mean, s'far as ah knew, the princesses were all alicorns."
Chrysalis shot Evergreen a glare with enough venom behind it to wilt a flower.. "You cannot fathom that my parents married into the royal line and I am the result of that?"
"Ah guess ah never did, thanks fer clearing that up," Evergreen said, turning back to grinding up the leaves and herbs without another word.
Chrysalis blinked slowly at Evergreen, disarmed by his lack of rebuke to that. He wasn't fighting her. He was robbing her of more chances to insult him and to cause him psychological trauma with barbed entendres. She felt misled.
Huffing, Chrysalis turned back to the fire to keep her hooves warm. She just closed her eyes and rested her head on her forelegs, her tail giving an irritated flick back and forth.
Evergreen finished with the kettle, tipping the contents of the mortar and pestle into it. He then placing the lid on it, swilling the contents around and then moving back over to the fireplace to place the kettle back on the hook to allow it to boil once more. He rubbed his hooves together in front of the fire for the moment, peeking at Chrysalis sideways.
"So what is it that yer doing all the way out here, alone?" Evergreen asked.
And there it was. The unavoidable question. Thankfully, Chrysalis had figured out the perfect cover. Keeping her voice carefully neutral, she explained, "Well... My parents arranged for me to marry a prince,"
"Sounds like yer got it made," Evergreen commented.
"Hardly," Chrysalis retorted, building on the lie. "I was with him for nary a week when he started... Beating me."
Evergreen's eyes flashed with anger and he lifted a hoof to halt her. His tone was dark as he asked, "So... Lemme get this straight. Yer husband-ter-be beat you?"
Chrysalis grinned inwardly at the palpable anger rolling off the woodspony. "Indeed he did... Once."
"Please tell me yer killed him. Marebeaters are the lowest kinds a' scum in Equestria," Evergreen spat.
Oh this was delicious! He was wishing harm on another pony just for the sake of her well being! The swelling in her heart was like what she used to feel when crushing somepony's love underfoot.
"I did," Chrysalis replied carefully, keeping her tone neutral.
Evergreen blinked once. "...Oh."
"As you can guess, the royal guard was none too pleased that I killed a prince... And they hushed the whole incident up. Said he broke his neck out hunting. Of course, by then, I was long gone... Fleeing towards the forest..." Chrysalis trailed off to let Evergreen's imagination fill in the blanks.
"So the royal guard are chasing yer?" Evergreen asked, staring at her in wonderment.
"Wanted for questions regarding the ultimate fate of my late fiancee," Chrysalis said in a calm tone.
Evergreen scowled slightly, staring into the fire.
"Well... Yer welcome to stay here long as yer need, Ma'am, I'll not turn away those who need help. Even if they are a high-class pony who got no sense of gratefulness," Evergreen said as he took the kettle down from the hook and proceeded to pour a pair of mugs full of the hot liquid.
Chrysalis let the jab at her go by without rebuke. After all, he was telling the truth. She took the offered mug, and paused as Evergreen raised his.
"To yer husband," Evergreen toasted, raising his mug.
"To my husband," Chrysalis said with a sly smile, clinking her mug against Evergreen's own and then taking a sip of her drink.
Honeyed, silk-smooth liquid, both spicy and sweet assaulted Chrysalis' taste buds, and her eyes widened. She stared for a long moment at the contents of the mug. The liquid within was gold, flecked with slight hints of brown where some kind of herb had made it past the filter, but it was heaven in a cup!
"This... This is..." Chrysalis spluttered.
"Secret family recipe," Evergreen said with a wry grin.
"But... This is amazing!" Chrysalis said, taking another sip of the drink and giving a low moan as she felt the liquid slipping down her throat. Strictly speaking, she didn't need sustenance the same way the ponies did... But that didn't mean that she couldn't derive pleasure from the act of eating or drinking, as she had all the necessary equipment to process food. She never really hungered, as it were, for 'real' food. But she definitely enjoyed eating and drinking, and this liquid was divine.
Evergreen grinned at that and shook his head for a moment, smiling, "Yer know what, Princess? If yer a good girl for the rest of the day, Ah'll teach yer to brew yer own."
Chrysalis peered at Evergreen over her mug for a moment, and for some reason, a smile found its way to her mouth. "I'd like that."
Chrysalis whined just softly in the back of her throat as she tilted her mug up and held it for several long seconds. She allowed the very last dribble of the now-cold liquid to seep onto her tongue and fill her mouth with the odd, utterly heavenly taste. And then it was all gone. She sighed faintly and laid the cup aside.
She couldn't harm Evergreen now. Oh no; he would have a special place at her table--or rather, a special place by her side--as her personal chef. It would be so fun to break him down to the point where he was a simpering fool for her, a slave to her every whim, begging up at her with that drawling accent of his: 'Ah'll do anythin' fer yer, Princess'.
A dreamy sigh left the Changeling Queen as she stared into the embers of the fire. It was morning proper now. The cold had seeped from the air, replaced by a gentle warmth. At least, inside the cottage it was warm. A hoof against the window pane said that it was still cold outside. It would be cold all day, if she were any judge. The wet ground was sapping the warmth from the air, and the scattered cloud cover still muted the sun's warming rays.
Evergreen obviously concurred with Chrysalis' appraisal. He was pulling on his jacket as he collected a sack, stuffing several jars and vials inside as he moved towards the door.
"Ah'll be back," Evergreen shot over his shoulder.
"How long will you be gone?" Chrysalis asked lazily.
"Ah should be back 'afore sundown," Evergreen said with a wave of a hoof. And with that, he opened the door and stepped out into the cooler morning air..
The cottage door slammed as Chrysalis bounded out it and shoved it closed behind her, running after him.
"I'm coming!" Chrysalis stated, her eyes wide. without pause, she snatched the sack from his back and then threw it over her shoulder.
"I'll carry all your stuff and I won't slow you down. I promise," Chrysalis simpered, batting her eyelashes. "I'm really interested in what you--"
"Ahkay," Evergreen said with a single blink at the unicorn, continuing down the path, unconcerned. Chrysalis was careful not to jostle the contents of the sack, lest she break any of it, while still doing her best to explain her motivations to him.
"--do for a living, and I've gotta pay you back for being so nice to me someh--...Wait, what?" she asked, blinking at him as her mind caught up to her mouth.
"Ah said ahkay," Evergreen said with a slight shrug. "Just try not ta lag behind. Ah gotta go to Ponyville during the trek and buy some stuff.
"Is Ponyville far?" Chrysalis asked curiously. With all of the staggering around during the storm, she didn't even know the general direction of Ponyville, let alone the distance.
"It's ah few hours walk," Evergreen stated, pointing his hoof off into the distance,towards a smoke plume rising above the trees. "That's Ponyville there. But we gotta walk the long way round. All the best herbs ah found on the game trails."
"I'll try not to slow you down," Chrysalis said with a determined nod. She couldn't let him get too far away from her. She didn't want to fade away into the darkness while he was off picking flowers. Ugh. And he was going to Ponyville! She could give him the slip, find a nice couple she could leech from for a few days, and then get out of Equestria before the Royal Guard tracked her down.
She would pay a visit to the oaf's cottage before she left though, once she had her energies back. She knew a few spells to make him pliant, and she had to learn how he made that wondrous brew. Maybe she would even take him with her to turn him into her faithful slave.
Chrysalis fantasized about it for a few more moments as they walked, letting her mind fill with images of Evergreen bowing to her, catering to her every whim, teaching her how to make his divine beverage and lying besides a roaring fire with him so she could have her every problem soothed.
Chrysalis was brought back to earth by bumping into Evergreen's flank as he paused in front of a tree to lean down and inspect a patch of moss. She scowled as the contents of the sack jostled, "Warn me before you just stop!"
"Ah told yer three times that Ah wanted to look at the tree. But yer were off in yer fantasyland dreamin' bout hoof polishes and horn filing," Evergreen said flatly.
"Then you should have spoken louder." Chrysalis growled.
"Ah need a vial," Evergreen said flatly, holding out a hoof.
Chrysalis blinked, and then realised that he wanted something from out of the sack. She was about to reach back and open it with her magic, before she remembered her vulnerability and turned her head towards the sack instead. She reached in and tugged out a vial with her mouth, holding it out for him.
Evergreen took the vial from her, scooped some of the moss into it. he inspected it inside the vial, and then stoppered it back up, handing it to her.
"So... What is that moss for?" Chrysalis queried.
"Ah dunno," Evergreen responded in a completely transparent way.
Chrysalis gave an exasperated sound, "Then... Why did you collect it?"
"Because Ah dunno what it does. Haven't yer ever been curious as ta how things work?" Evergreen asked, skirting around the tree and continuing down the path.
"Of course I have," Chrysalis answered, her head canting to the side as she followed after him. The path was muddy, but the sun was beginning to dry it out and they skirted the worst of the puddles. "But... I generally just pulled it all apart to see how it worked."
"And that's what Ah'm doing," Evergreen said with a faint smile back at Chrysalis. "Ah'm collecting the stuff, and seeing what it does."
"But... it's just... moss," Chrysalis said, bewildered, frowning. His actions were intriguing, but his explanations and his godawful accent did little to explain what he was actually doing.
"Yer've been sick before, right?" Evergreen asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I have," Chrysalis admitted defensively, not knowing where the woodspony was going with this line of questioning.
"And yer were told ter take pills fer it, yeah?" Evergreen continued.
Chrysalis cast her mind back to the few times she had been forced to take medication, "Uhm... Yeah. They tasted horrible."
"Well them there pills were fungus," Evergreen stated with a wise nod.
"Ugh. No wonder they tasted horrible!" Chrysalis shuddered.
"Yeah, but yer gotta wonder... How did the ponies way back when figure out ter eat that fungus when yer are sick?" Evergreen asked, pointedly pricking an ear back at chrysalis.
He was going to make her say it, wasn't he?
A silence stretched out between them and Chrysalis sighed faintly, shaking her head. "Experimenting."
The stallion grinned "See? Yer already knew the answer all along. and that's why I experiment. Never know if some fungus or flower I find will be a cure to some malady that plagues ponies."
"But... What's the point?" Chrysalis asked after a few moments. "I very much doubt that the ponies who invented those horrid tablets benefited very much from their efforts."
"Benefited?" Evergreen asked, sounding confused. "Whatcher talking 'bout?"
"Well... Those ponies. They created this medicine, or discovered it... But then what? What did they gain from sharing that secret with every pony they know?" Chrysalis queried, as Evergreen paused besides a flower. Wordlessly, she dug out a jar for him to take the entire flower and place inside.
"That's not the point, innit?" Evergreen said with a shake of his head. his tone turned accusing as he continued, "Wot kind er selfish thing to say is that? If yer knew about a secret medicine, you'd share it with everypony, wouldn't yer?"
Chrysalis blinked. Honestly... she would have to say 'no.' It just wouldn't cross her mind to share such a valuable secret unless there was something in it for her. But then she took to heart that he was a pony, talking about other ponies. If she knew of a medicine to ease the pain of her changeling army, would she share it with them? Definitely. In an instant.
Frowning slightly, Chrysalis shook her head, rubbing a hoof against her forehead.
"That was a stupid question," Chrysalis covered, taking the jar back and placing it in the sack. "I beg your forgiveness. I am merely tired."
"Well that's no reason fer yer to be saying such selfish things," Evergreen said with a frown. "Yer mother done raised you wrong if you really think that."
"I... didn't spend a whole lot of time with my mother," Chrysalis replied--truthfully, in fact. Her first years had been spent in the lair of the former Queen of the Changelings. Her mother's love had sustained Chrysalis, but eventually that love had withered away to nothingness, and she had been forced to fend for herself.
"That'd explain some things, alright," the earth pony said with a short nod at her, frowning a moment. "Come this way. Ah got a special stash over here that likes the rain."
Chrysalis plodded after Evergreen as he lead her off the path, stepping carelessly through the mud. Chrysalis quite enjoyed the feel of the mud on her hooves. The squishy sensation was rather soothing, and it would give her a reason to have a nice warm bath when they returned to the cottage.
Evergreen paused at a tree, and cast his gaze about. He slinked around the tree and and then pushed aside a palm frond covering a grouping of violently purple flowers.
"Yer don't want ter touch these at all. And yer don't want ter let any of the pollen git in yer eyes," Evergreen said grimly, motioning for her to hand him a jar.
Blinking slightly at the plant, Chrysalis pulled out a jar for him, placing it into his hoof.
Chrysalis watched as, with infinite care, he pressed the bottle over the flower and then began to ease the lid onto it, very, very carefully. With a deft twist of his hoof, he snapped the stem of the plant and then screwed the lid on. When the delicate procedure was done, he wiped the mouth and lid of the jar off with a broad leaf.
Evergreen held the glass jar up in front of her, shaking it slightly. A golden powder floated from the centre of the purple flower, filling the enclosed space.
"Niteshade. Very nasty stuff," Evergreen stated grimly, "One sniff of this plant'll put yer in a coma for a week."
Chrysalis blinked. "Why would you collect such a dangerous flower?"
"It's worth twenty bits a petal," Evergreen stated with a smile
Chrysalis blinked once more, and then leaned past him, to look at the crop of flowers, her tone bewildered as she asked, "...Why don't you takemore? That's quite a lot of bits value in that little bunch."
"It's a matter of enterprise, see?" Evergreen raised an eyebrow at her.
"Enterprise?" Chrysalis asked doubtfully, rolling her eyes at him. "I doubt you'd understand how to haggle, let alone work enterprise."
"Well lookit it this way: Ah can pick all the flowers right now, an Ah'll get a pretty sum of bits, yeah?" he asked, raising a brow at her.
Chrysalis nodded eagerly at his words.
"And ah would kill the plant doing so. Or, ah could sell one flower every time it rains and not kill the plant itself by doing so, and earn a much larger amount of bits over a period of time," Evergreen pointed out.
"That... Makes far too much sense," Chrysalis admitted, a little bit chagrined.
"Told yer so," Evergreen said with a sly grin, passing Chrysalis the jar so she could place it in the sack. "But yer gotta be careful with that there plant. Yer smash the glass, and yer'll be in a lot of trouble."
Chrysalis gingerly took the ja, peering at its contents for a long moment, her eyes narrowing. It really was a pretty flower--beautiful, but deadly. It reminded her of herself.
Carefully placing the jar back in the sack, chrysalis plodded after Evergreen as he moved back towards the path, moving onwards towards Ponyville.
The two ponies made their way onto the main street of Ponyville, heading directly towards the alchemical stores, laden with goods. Evergreen had made quite a few nice finds along the path, traveling a route he obviously knew well. The storms also had helped, bringing out a series of rare flowers that needed fresh rain to flourish. Such flowers were rare at best, given that the required events for their growth were so intermittent. Evergreen was confident he would make a good deal of money from the gathered herbs and plants.
Chrysalis passed off the sack of goods to Evergreen as they reached the front door of the alchemists store. She looked about with a curious gaze. It was a different kind of store to the ones she was used to in Canterlot. There was no lace or streamers, no silverware or shiny surfaces. It was dusty and gloomy, and a unicorn in a dapper suit and a pair of glasses was standing over a cauldron boiling green liquids that he was stirring slowly with a large wooden spoon.
"Ah, Evergreen. I have been expecting you," the shopkeeper said with a warm smile, moving from the cauldron over to the counter.
"Yea. Was a good rain storm," Evergreen said with a nod.
"And you have an apprentice?" the unicorn asked, an ear perking at Chrysalis.
For the first time in a very, very long while, Chrysalis felt self-conscious. Her hooves were muddied, and her mane was tussled from not having a brush anywhere near it for a full day now. She shifted nervously under the appraising stare.
"In a manner o' speaking," Evergreen said with an incline of his head, pulling out the jars and phials of valuable herbs and flowers he had collected.
"Ah. The niteshade," the unicorn said, giving a slow grin. "I'm afraid I am overstocked. I cannot buy it."
Evergreen winced slightly, shaking his head a moment. "Ain't even the season fer em, either, sure yer can't take it?"
"Well... I can't give you full price for it, sir. Perhaps... Eight bits?" the shopkeeper offered. "I do not wish to see such a specimen wilt on your shelves."
The stallion winced again, and then asked hopefully, "Yer can't go ter ten?"
The storekeeper took a deep breath and let it out in a slow sigh.
"I...suppose I can," the shopkeeper said begrudgingly, shaking his head and taking the jar, offering ten bits in return for it. "I'm sure you can garner your other goods for sale at the other stores."
Evergreen nodded and took the bits. His expression was unhappy as he turned and headed for the door, to try his luck with the other stores.
Chrysalis lagged behind, letting Evergreen leave the store before she moved over towards the counter.
"You know... I think I might like to try this negotiating stuff," Chrysalis said with a sly wink at the shopkeeper.
The unicorn raised a brow, smiling at her slightly. "Indeed?"
"I have a proposal for you," Chrysalis said in her sweetest tone, reaching over to the jar containing the niteshade and holding it up, shaking it slightly to let the pollen inside it swirl visibly.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Chrysalis asked suddenly.
The shopkeeper paused for a moment, unsure what to make of what she was doing, and an ear perked. "Indeed. But it is not the beauty that an alchemist seeks."
"Oh, but the beauty has bearing on this situation," Chrysalis sing-songed, a cheery smile on her face, "Because it is often the most beautiful of all things in the world that are most dangerous. Celestia and Luna for example. They are both very attractive and comely. But to anger them is to know fear."
"Indeed," the shopkeeper said, taking the jar from her hooves and placing it on the counter where it was safe. "But I still fail to see your point from a business standpoint."
"Ohhh, but I'm getting to that!" she said with a silly little wiggle of her hoof at him. She began to slowly pace back and forth in front of the counter, before turning to him and batting her eyelashes, tossing her mane in a way she knew stallions liked. "I am quite beautiful, don't you think?"
A thoughtful sound left the shopkeeper. He nodded. "I believe so."
"Very good," Chrysalis replied with a smile, placing her hooves up on the counter and scooping up the jar of Niteshade again.
"Now... I know two things," Chrysalis husked, her tone growing quiet and low...
The shopkeeper leaned a little bit closer to her as she lowered her voice.
A hoof came up to gently play with the shopkeepers tie for a moment, tugging gently at it in a playful fashion. Chrysalis giggled and leaned in closer, brushing her nose past his own so she could lean past, eyes closed, to whisper into his ear: "I know you don't have jars of Niteshade under the counter, that you lied to Evergreen when you said you were overstocked. As a rather accomplished liar myself, I've grown competent in spotting it in others, and you, sir, are lying through your teeth."
Chrysalis's tone was as sweet as fresh honey, but there was something dangerous in her cheery smile and tone, and the shopkeeper noticed it. His eyes widened, and he tried to scrabble away from her, but her grip on his tie tightened, holding him in place. Her eyes slowly opened, narrowing on the shopkeeper's own, locking him in her powerful gaze.
"And the other thing I know," Chrysalis whispered oh-so-softly, "Is that if you don't pay Evergreen the extra ten bits you owe him, then you will be searching every single meal you ever eat again for traces of niteshade."
Chrysalis' tone turned vehement, lightning flashing in her eyes. She lifted the jar of Niteshade in her hoof and shook it in front of the shopkeepers eyes threateningly. "I will destroy you,"
The shopkeeper swallowed hard, squirming and trying to get away from the suddenly-vicious unicorn. His eyes widening and faint gasps left him as Chrysalis' grip on his tie tightened further, beginning to constrict his airways.
"I will take everything you ever loved... and crush it," Chrysalis crooned, in her lowest, most serious tone. "I will make you suffer in ways you cannot even fathom, until you're praying to Celestia that I put niteshade in your next meal just to end my torture over you."
The pressure on the shopkeepers throat lessened as Chrysalis released the tie. Calmly, she began to gently pat down his lapels, making them nice and neat.
"Am I a good negotiator?" Chrysalis asked, her tone back to normal, grinning at him sweetly.
The shopkeeper wordlessly reached over to the till, pulled out ten bits, and placed them in her hoof. His own hoof was shaking violently, and he immediately began to back away from the counter slowly, away from her.
"I knew you'd see it my way!" Chrysalis said with a smile, saluting him with a hoof playfully. She scooped up the extra bits, and then turned to the door, pushin out of it and onto the street.
Evergreen had just noticed her absence and was looking for her, spying her coming out of the store. "C'mon, Cee. Can't dawdle here. Gotta sell my stuff, and ah can't afford to be looking around for yer if yer loitering in some dinky old store."
There was a flicker of movement from behind her as the storekeeper flipped the sign over to 'closed'. The lock clicked as it was engaged, and then there was the thud of hurried hoofbeats receding from the doorway as the shopkeeper retreated to one of his back rooms. The changeling hid a smile.
With a sly grin, Chrysalis presented the pouch of bits to Evergreen. "I'm earning my keep."
The stallion blinked and peered down at the pouch, before asking suspiciously, "How'd yer get hold of these? Yer didn't steal them, did yer?"
"I'm a good negotiator," Chrysalis said cryptically, giving Evergreen a wan smile.
Evergreen stared down at the pouch of coins for a moment, and shook his head slowly. "Yer full'er surprises, too."
Chrysalis felt the bond between them grow in strength and smiled. Even if she didn't find a couple to latch on to today, she was now getting more than enough energy from Evergreen to sustain her. Maybe even enough to get her magic working again.
The Queen of the Changelings grinned as she fell into step beside the stallion, following him as he went about his daily business.
Evergreen visited many different stores--from the alchemists' row, to the florist, then to the decorator and even the hospital--selling them all different herbs or flowers. It seemed as though the different things he collected were needed by a wide range of ponies, and none of those shopkeepers tried to stiff him in the way that the first alchemist had done.
"So why did you accept ten bits for the niteshade when it's worth twenty?" Chrysalis queried Evergreen as they headed for the hospital.
"Well, yer realise that niteshade is dangerous, yeah?" Evergreen asked, raising a brow at Chrysalis. "That shopkeeper is the only pony for miles around who knows how ter properly prepare niteshade for alchemy purposes. He buys it off everypony hereabouts and then prepares it, and sells it ter the other alchemists at a profit."
"That... Seems very dodgy," Chrysalis stated flatly.
"Ahhh... Well, he's the only one can prepare it. Most other ponies end up poisoning themselves when they attempt it. So he at least has the right," Evergreen said with a slight shake of his head. "Yer quite the negotiator if yer convinced him to give yer the extra for the niteshade that he stiffed me out of."
Chrysalis frowned, her eyes narrowing on the stallion for a moment. "You mean to tell me that you knew all along that he wasn't giving you the correct price."
"Ah knew," Evergreen admitted.
"Then why didn't you stop him?!" Chrysalis demanded, scowling. "Besotted colt."
"There's nah need for insults," Evergreen rebuked, his tone turning exasperated. "Th' shopkeeper's the only one who buys niteshade off me. So he kinda can set the price, and ah don't have time to argue, or we'll be trekking back to th' cottage in the dark."
"And the shopkeeper knew that you were in a hurry, and was using it to his advantage?" Chrysalis asked, raising a brow.
"Ah think so," Evergreen said with a sad smile. "There's not a whole lot ah could do about it though, ten bits fer the niteshade is better than no bits at all."
"I...suppose that's correct. But if he does that again, let me know. I'll convince him otherwise," Chrysalis said, her tone completely innocent. There was nothing to suggest that she was speaking of anything in any way...evil, but Evergreen still gave her a long look.
"Ah get th' feelin' that yer a lot less innocent than yer act," Evergreen stated.
"And Ah get th' feelin' that yer a lot smarter than yer act, too," Chrysalis teased, grinning at him a moment. "Of course, if you were as dumb as you acted, you would have trouble walking and talking at the same time."
"And if yer were as innocent as yer seemed then... I... Completely can't think of something ter come back with," Evergreen admitted with a shake of his head.
"I retract my previous statement about you seeming smarter than you act," Chrysalis said blankly.
Evergreen snorted at Chrysalis, giving a soft chortle. "Ah don't pretend ter be a smart pony. Ah'm happy being a dumb woodspony."
Evergreen pushed open the door to the hospital and held it open for Chrysalis to step through.
"And you're so good at it, too," Chrysalis teased, giving Evergreen a sarcastic curtsey as she stepped through the door, blinking and wrinkling her nose. She had always hated hospitals with their shiny, whitewashed walls, and the sharp tang of antiseptic constantly so strong in the air.
The stallion pushed past Chrysalis and up to the counter. He dug around in his sack for a moment, coming up with several jars filled with herbs and plants. Chrysalis recognized them as plants they had travelled quite a ways off the path for. Evergreen set the jars down, lifted a hoof in a wave at the nurse behind the counter, and then turned around to leave. Blinking uncertainly, chrysalis turned and followed the stallion back out onto the road.
"You're just... Giving them to the hospital?" Chrysalis asked, her tone bewildered.
"Yup," Evergreen replied with a nod.
"But... We went so far to get those," Chrysalis complained, her ears pinning back. "Why didn't you sell them?"
"Cause yer never know when yer'll need the help," Evergreen said with another nod, before saying thoughtfully, "Some call it karma, yer know?"
"Karma?" Chrysalis echoed, blinking slowly.
"Yeah. Karma. Means that yer do good things and good things'll happen to yer...and if yer do bad things, yer'll get yer comeuppance pretty hard," Evergreen explained.
"That's a...rather simplistic superstition that is ultimately grounded in the notion that there's a universal scale and balance to it all," Chrysalis said with a shake of her head. "I hope you don't believe that nonsense."
"Ah believe it, fer sure," Evergreen said with a nod, his tone confident. "Ah know that karma will help me down the road somewhere."
"But...it's such a stupid thing to believe!" Chrysalis whined, shaking her head at him in exasperation. "It makes no sense!"
"Oh, but it makes perfect sense," Eergreen said with a smile at her, his expression rather smug.
"...You really are as stupid as you act." Chrysalis groaned.
"Yer not lookin' at it from a philosophical point er view," Evergreen countered.
"How does philosophy make a stupid idea any more applicable?" Chrysalis asked, scowling slightly.
"Well, look at this way, yeah, say that ah tripped over that there rock over yonder." Evergreen pointed with a hoof towards a rock on the side of the street.
"That would be exceptional stupid and clumsy of you," Chrysalis interjected, looking thoughtful a moment before she stated, "I can see it happening. Continue."
Evergreen ignored the insult, rolling his eyes. "Well, what if Ah broke my hoof? I'd end up in the hospital, yeah?"
"Most likely..." Chrysalis answered, trailing off uncertaintly.
"And when ah got fixed up, the nurses gave me pain medicine and didn't charge me a bit for it because ah gave them all that stuff for free every time I'm in town," Evergreen finished with a sly smile. "Ah would call that karma."
"But it's not karma," Chrysalis snorte. "That's exploiting the building of an emotional bond for personal gain."
"How do yer get that idea?" Evergreen asked, staring at Chrysalis in bewilderment.
"You give those things to that nurse as gifts, yes?"
"Ah guess you could call it that."
"And these gifts cost you nothing except a walk off the regular path?"
"Yer were there to help me gather 'em."
"And you would receive proper, actual medicine in return for these free gifts, were you to injure yourself?" Chrysalis pressured.
Evergreen shifted uncomfortably. "...Ah guess that would be true in this example."
"Then you are preying on the nurses' emotional bond with you to further your own personal well-being for no charge, using gifts that you gather at no cost. It's simple enterprise. You're a shrewd businessman, Sir Evergreen." Chrysalis teased with a grin.
The stallion paused at that, thinking about what she said, his brow furrowing. "But that... I..."
Chrysalis grinned at Evergreen for a moment, triumphant. "You know I'm right."
Evergreen stared at Chrysalis over his shoulder for a moment longer before reversing direction suddenly, heading back towards the hospital.
"Stay here." Evergreen stated, breaking out into a gallop.
Chrysalis blinked after Evergreen for a moment, before sitting on her haunches. Mystified, she watched him galloping towards the hospital as though he'd forgotten something. She amused herself as she waited, by searching for a new couple to target. There were several worthy targets; first of which was a businesspony in a suit who was in love with a young pegasus mare.
But Chrysalis didn't particularly like the look of the earth pony businessman. Just because she fed on love didn't mean she had to lower her standards. Plus, his lover was a pegasus. Chrysalis didn't want to be a pegasus or an earth pony. Life without magic was dull and slow; having to use hooves for everything.
A couple passed, two females, a greenish-blue one, and a yellow pony with two-tone pink and blue mane. One of them was a unicorn, she appeared to be a musician. Chrysalis didn't want anything to with that. It was an intriguing prospect, though. It had been a long time since she'd swam in the love of a same-sex couple. They were always quite delicious. true love, hidden, but just as strong as that of a normal couple. Usually even stronger, seeing as they had to make it work while hiding it from the world.
But the music part was a deal breaker. Chrysalis couldn't play any instrument, let alone a harp.
Various other couples passed, and Chrysalis found herself rejecting each for various reasons. That male was too big. That female was just too slim for her to shapechange into comfortably. That female's mane was horrible. Green of all things, Green!
And then Evergreen was back, panting faintly.
"What was all that about?" Chrysalis asked, staring at him.
"Ah was giving the nurse ten bits," Evergreen panted, slowing his pace, beginning to walk towards the store again.
Chrysalis blinked slowly as she fell into step beside him, "But...why?"
"Because ah what you said," Evergreen admitted, huffing as he turned to face her. "Ah am not ruining my karma by taking stuff from others for my own personal gain."
"But you just finished explaining to me that karma is merely a construct that ponies use to explain the intrinsic bond that comes about from emotional attachments causing unexpected gains from those vectors," Chrysalis stated calmly.
Evergreen stared at her. "...Ah do not believe ah used that many words."
Chrysalis rolled her eyes, rubbing a hoof against his mane for a moment in a soothing fashion, cooing; "Just think it all through, Sir Evergreen. You'll figure it out."
Chrysalis couldn't be certain, but she thought she detected a faint blush on the stallion's cheeks.
"Ah feel kinda stupid," Evergreen admitted after a few moments.
"It suits you," Chrysalis said in her most tender tone, grinning at Evergreen. "So where are we going?"
"Ah need ter stop at the general store and get some food, and another blanket; unless yer wanna share with me again?" Evergreen asked with an arched brow, more of a threat than a question.
"I think a second blanket is a wondrous idea," Chrysalis stated flatly.
Evergreen grinned at her and then reached into his sack for a moment, tugging out his pouch of coins. Opening it up, he tipped a few bits into his hoof, holding them out for her.
Chrysalis blinked at him. "What?"
Evergreen shook his hoof. "Yer helped me with the work today. So it's only right that ah give yer some of the proceeds."
Chrysalis stared at Evergreen a moment before taking the bits with a nod, smiling. "Your reasoning is sound."
Evergreen grinned and tousled Chrysalis' mane slightly. "Just don't spend it all in one place. Ah'll meet you back here in a half hour."
Chrysalis nodded in response, peeking down at the bits in her hoof. It wasn't a whole lot at all, but enough to get one or two things. Instead of heading for the main store, she headed further down the road to a store they had passed previously. Slipping inside she chose one or two items that she thought she would like, paying for them, and then stepping back outside.
It was a few moments later that a shadow fell across Chrysalis, and she squinted up into the sunlight, her eyes slowly widening.
A familiar shape was gliding in a circle around Ponyville with a long, streaming mane and tail, flanked by precision-flying forms in shining armour.
Princess Celestia.