Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sovereign land of Agnito, formerly known as Ponyville, is cast with a sunny day.

The pegasi-folk roam the sky, flying through with their colorful hair and brilliant wings, pushing aside clouds and gathering them up to kick with their hooves.

Below lays the land, buildings remain small, but often larger than ever before, but never as grand as the cities like Manehatten or Las Pegasus.

Two unicorn folk stood clear at a cafe, the buzzing rumors of their family often heard when a newcomer would ask questions about the air around them.

The two sit across from each other, one looking down at his mug of coffee and the other sipping on tea and refusing to eat the sweet cake set before him.

“Uh….” One of the two, Golden Haze, starts, trying to find the words as he taps at the table.

Golden Haze was the oldest of the Haze family children, known for their specialty treats, often wrapped or decorated with gold foil.

“I uh, I heard Queen Twilight is opening a new museum exhibit,” Golden managed to say, glancing up at his younger brother.

The two couldn't be more different, especially from the past the two shared.

Where Golden had hair of yellow, from an orange-tinted lock to a golden honey color, it spanned with his long hair, the top swept back.

His tail short, his dark skin having more life than how pale his brother had gotten.

Across from him was Berry Haze, his baby brother, missing an eye and with a prosthetic hoof.

“We can go see it when it opens if you want,” Berry said, drinking his herbal tea, feeling it swish around inside his gut.

He could smell the blood of his brother, how he craved to make him draw his last breath, to consume his flesh before everyone's eyes.

Berry scrunched his nose at the craving, trying to drink the tea faster to make it go away.

Berry was pale; in comparison to his brother, he looked sickly. Missing finger nails and his short locks the colors of blue and maroon, unlike the multi shades of his older brother's hair.

But like his brother, his tail was short, but he lacked a left leg and a right eye.

The lack of eye was covered by a patch, his horn shaved down a little further than a normal Unicorn-folk would, only as a precaution so it wouldn't grow wild or possibly stand out.

His memories were hazy of his youth, his younger years when the virus ruled the land, Berry was sure his brother had better memories of it all.

“We can go see it together” Berry offered, sure that was what his brother wished.

The other seemed a little more nervous, glancing around and nodding before tilting down his head.

It had been like this for a long while since Berry came back.

His brother didn't know how to talk to him, their mother kicked him from the house to find his own living, and their father was gone, left to be taken by the virus in the basement, most likely rotten under the house.

Berry was secretly hoping his father had escaped to be killed, not left to turn into some creature or plant down in the basement that forever lived on.

“We uh— we could go now?” Golden said, tapping his fingers.

Berry slow stood with a shrug, “Okay.”

Golden stood quickly. “I just need to go pay, I'll be back” 

Berry watched his brother rush to the counter, allowing him to pick up their things.

The scent of chocolate wafted from Golden's bag, possibly filled with failed chocolates he would give to the kids at the hospital or the orphanage.

They weren't horrible chocolate's, most likely just flavor combos that weren't well received or were excess from the molding process.

He knew very well that his mother was a stickler for rules. Always saying people should pay for the finer things than get them handed out.

Berry wondered if his brother would ever invite him back to the bakery, it had been too long since he had the chance to bake something for the masses.

“Ready to go?” Golden asked, bringing Berry out of his thoughts.

“Yeah” Berry said before finishing off his tea and getting up.

Berry handed over the bag, a simple messenger bag decorated with pins of candy and birds, from a simple lollipop to even a pigeon.

Golden shifted on his feet, adjusting the bag on his shoulder as he stepped back a bit.

When the two stood side by side, they were equal in height, looking so different unlike how they were in the past.

Where Berry was once short and cute, he was now tall as his older brother, tired and feeling abandoned by the world around him.

The two left the cafe, walking the streets of the new kingdom.

From the familiar short buildings came ponies of old businesses.

From the new tall offices were hoofed-folks from all over the land.

Just a few turns down the road and they were there, the Institution of Equestrian Tragedy.

The museum was a large space, tall as the eye could see and multiple floors.

The bottom was filled with medical knowledge, showcasing actual instruments used on Pony-folk during the plague era.

The infection had been named “Ever-Rot” after the Everfree forest and the rotten glory of sickness.

“Looks like it got renovated” Golden said without thinking, glancing over the building.

Berry shrugged, unsure if that was true or not.

The museum didn't look any different than he had seen before, not having been privy to any knowledge of its renovation inside or out.

“You can tell, they added more awnings and pillars to the opening, and that section is an additional area, especially the college, you can kinda see how they made it look similar enough,” Golden explained, pointing to the areas as he talked of them.

The museum was originally intended and marketed for the history of Equestria, but once the plague hit, it went on to become a safe house and then that of medical knowledge.

Built onto it was a college, many students from in and outside the lands coming to learn.

Somehow, Zecora had been the one to lead the fray of knowledge, followed by an assist by Tree Hugger, under the guidance of Queen Twilight and less than likely, Queen Chrysalis.

Queen Chrysalis had come into rule alongside Twilight, the two of them a force during the infection, having to take power and create a safe haven out of Ponyville.

The two had worked endlessly, finding that Changelings were difficult to infect due to a harder hide than the soft skinned pony-folk.

The two followed many inside, a few college students leaving the building from another door.

Berry chose to ignore a few glances shot his way, his metal leg often the cause.

It wasn't often to see Pony-folk missing limbs now, born or cause otherwise, usually they were gone from the infection due to insanity or the infection itself.

But Berry was not the normal, no, he was few of something else, having seen through the sickness and nearly taken by it, pulled apart and fucked over mentally by the world.

Inside the space was large, larger than most of the apartments or homes.

The walls were lined with various tools inside cases, black and white pictures taken of the infection with red circles pointing out the sites needed to be documented.

Books lined various book cases, some out on display, much older than the rest, showing specific pages to be read, and a simple button press would turn the page for one to continue.

The brothers walked, out of step and pace, waltzing around the open floor.

Golden seemed to be nervously skittering about, a few college students out on a tour of the museum.

Some were writing notes, others were chatting softly about something.

Many were international students, from far out of Equestria lands.

What caught Berry’s eye was a taller gent, his hair a darker brown than his already dark skin, around his neck a spindle of gold looped around twice. His red shirt was tucked under some black dress slacks and his ankles were decorated with their own golden bracelets.

His ears were decorated with small golden loops, his tail long and near his feet, reminding Berry of a lion's tail. Up his arms was orange brown, fading into his skin from his hands, spots along his skin in deep brown and orange.

He was tall, taller than anyone Berry ever met, possibly even as tall as the Queen's.

Next to him was a shorter man, popped collar of his deep purple shirt and small shades on his nose. His hair was swept to the side and the rest pulled back, his tail short and cut at an angle.

He wore black dress pants as well, the fur of his hooves touching the ground, an earring of gold to match his companion.

The two leaned close to one another, cheeks red and holding hands.

Berry quickly looked away once he realized, feeling as though he was imposing on something.

He stepped away, further down a hall, hearing the sound of more students entering the space and his anxiety rising.

He strolled down a hall, empty as could be minus the few benches that lined the wall adjacent to the tall windows, a red door here or there leading somewhere else.

Near the end of the hall, soft music was played, old radio static overlapping it.

Further down the way was a large curtain, closed and tied shut.

Before it was someone, a canvas sat on an easel, a stool next to it with a figure in a green dress.

Berry dared to draw closer to the figure in the light, the sun cascading down on them and the canvas from the side.

Antlers grew from the sides on top of their head, small and plain in that pallor color.

Their ears were pointed down, brown in color oddly enough compared to the rest of their coloration.

Their skin was pale as milk, the veins of their body easily seen under the light of the museum that hung above.

Their hair was pulled back by a hair tie, the hair fading from a lavender purple to a dusty pink at its ends.

The dress an elegant true forest green, as if the leaves themselves made the color.

It was patterned with madras, done in various lighter shades of green. A lacy high collar and puffy mutton sleeves that went down to a tight hold on her lower arms.

Thier hooves were hidden under the dress, their short tail pointed with a pale underside. Their hands faded to a dark color, nails pointed and chipped, claw like even.

They sat hunched somewhat, the arch of their spine easily pressed against the dress.

A deer-folk, easily, just the antlers gave it away.

But Berry had never seen one up close, not many showed themselves from the other side of Equestria and its land.

He had only ever heard of them living in colder climates, and Agnito was more of a spring-type area.

The deer-folk paused their painting, reaching over to lower the volume of the radio.

“I know you're there," the Deer-folk said, setting down their paintbrush.

Berry felt his face heat up, not realizing he had been staring during the entire time, knowing full well it was rude but forgetting how easily he could get caught.

“Sorry, I was just curious," Berry said, gripping his bag strap.

“You smell of rot” the Deer-folk said, not looking away from their painting.

Berry stiffened, feeling his ears flip back and his face scrunch.

Nobody had ever told him he stank, but he wasn't going to entertain the idea till he got home and could ask Maggie.

“Jee, thanks” He muttered, turning to leave, but the Deer-folk spoke up.

“I don't meet many people who do,” They said, looking over their shoulder.

Their eyes were a crimson red, their lashes a dusty pink.

Berry glared at them.

“You're quite rude, you know," he said, crossing his arms.

“Apologies” they said, fixing their dress as they stood up.

Berry hesitated on his words, seemingly shocked by how when they stood, their height towered over him.

“Mauve Sunset, and you are?” They said, offering their name and chancing for a response.

“...Berry Haze” Berry shifted his bag that hung off his shoulder, and Mauve offered him the bench against the wall near where they sat.

“Have a seat, if you want to talk, I'm just finishing a painting order for Queen Twilight” 

Mauve lifted up the skirt of their dress, settling back down on the stool as they took up their paintbrush.

Berry hesitated, mulling it over, weighing the idea of his brother being able to find him versus just being alone to wonder.

He sighed and sat, knowing his brother would eventually find him, but the possibility of a new friend who didn't judge seemed far more appealing than calming his brother down and continue to push him being a nervous wreck.

“So the Queen has you painting?” Berry asked, setting down his bag beside him.

He took notice that the radio was silent now, no longer as loud as before to drown out the world.

Yet that little crackle could still be heard every pause in the conversation, every lull in the speak.

“Yes” Mauve said, dabbing the brush in paint, a few quick strokes on the canvas and the color seemed to take shape.

Berry only seemed to take notice at that moment what exactly she was painting.

The figure seemed familiar almost.

The figure had sun worked skin, it's gapping maw of a mouth wider than it should be.

Its skin was rotted and its clothes hung by threads, screaming in agony as it threw back its head and seemed to move on broken limbs.

Missing hands and hooves, with legs broken at the knees and bloody stumps used to drag its managed form, its guts hanging from its open chest as it seemed like it was dry heaving with flowers blooming on its bald and rotten head.

The cutie mark was what made it click, the figure in the painting with an apple symbol, sliced in half to show its center.

“Is that…..” Berry felt sick at the sight of the art.

“Applejack, one of the harmonies” Mauve nodded at their own words, layering a bit of red onto the already-painted canvas.

The art was grotesque, and it only made his eyes look further up and past it at the walls as he slowly stood.

From what he could see behind the deep purple-red curtain, were more similar styled paintings.

The other walls had similar depictions of rot and decay of the past.

Pony-folk missing their heads, replaced with thickets and gore, with vines and roots and flowers and blooms.

With leaves and trees and all things foliage, growing the very forest from their bodies as few of them coughed thick clouds of pollen.

Berry could almost taste the pollen, with its sour scent and even more sickeningly, almost sour flavor. It filled his lungs and forced him to cough as he was dazed and thrown into a fit of blackouts, only catching glimpses of the present.

“You’re….. you're painting the infection?” Berry asked, able to see it clear as could be.

“Yes, Queen Twilight has commissioned me to do so, she finds my……interest, appealing” Mauve explained.

“Your…interest?” Berry asked, confusion written on his face.

Was this one also a medical student? Or did they just have a sense for the macabre?

“Yes, I have an interest in the art of the Ever-Rot sickness” Mauve said, placing the last stroke on the painting and dropping the brush into liquid.

“I wouldn't….really call it a sickness” Berry said with a slight nervous chuckle.

Mauve made no move to comment on that, only to shrug.

“It is a plague, is it not?” they asked.

“It's more like mutation, than anything” Berry said.

Mauve hummed, messing with the lace hem of their dress collar.

Their claw-like fingers twiddled the fabric between them, twisting ever so slightly.

“I see…..would you like to see the rest? It's not open to the public yet, but having someone random might not be bad” Mauve asked, turning on the stool to face Berry properly.

“You want me to look at the display?” Berry asked, once again confused.

“I need an outsider's opinion,” Mauve said, looking to the curtain and back as they spoke. “I am not used to being perceived for my art”

“What are you perceived by then?” Berry asked as Mauve stood up, adjusting the back of their dress as their tail twitched.

“Nothing, I'm usually not perceived at all, preferably” Mauve explained, stepping towards the curtain.

“Ah….I uh….I see” Berry muttered, unsure exactly how that worked at all.

“Come on then, come see” Mauve motioned, untying the golden cord and pulling back the curtain.

Berry hesitated.

He could say no and let his curiosity die, go back to his brother and forget this.

Or he could go in and possibly see things he didn't want to see, but make a friend who didn't judge him along the way.

Seeing as Mauve didn't know who he was, only furthered his questions and query of who they were, so he stood up and walked over to the other.

Mauve pulled the curtain back a little more, tying it into place as they folded it and used the gold cord to keep it there.

Berry hesitated, watching Mauve enter and see their eyes nearly glow in the dark, that awkward sheen from the reflecting light of outside on their eyes.

They turned away, believing Berry to be following as he hesitantly entered the somewhat dark space.

A second after he entered, a light flicked on, Mauve standing by a light switch.

“Figured it would be easier for you to see with a light on” Mauve said, looking towards the displays.

Some paintings hung on walls while others hung on string, some on pedestal displays.

The display was rather simple in design, each one marked with a plaque at its corner for its description.

He stopped at one however, his eyes drawn to it nervously.

It was that of one of the Queen's, her majesty, Chrysalis.

With her deep green hair, her black skin, those bug eyes and antennae.

Her hair was elegant in a way only she and her people seemed to pull off. Long and thin and straight, it looked like it could so easily move in the wind, unlike many Pony-folk with thicker manes.

Her midnight skin was as dark as the void, between the crook of her smile was two sharp fangs that hung down and curved over her lip.

Her horn was elegantly curved up with a crooked twist, her crown that of silver with golden accents.

Her gown was hardly seen, hanging simply from around her neck and disappearing under the frame.

Those green eyes were big and bug like, able to see everything the longer you looked into them. Around her neck was a collar of silver that dipped down her chest in elegant interlocking ways of chains, like chainmail but with additional decorative gemstones of high value.

If you looked long enough at her face, you could see the faded shape of eyebrows, the way she looked prideful and powerful and regal in her portrait.

“Do you like it?” Mauve asked, standing a bit away with her hands clasped in front of her.

Mauve looked almost as stern and as regal as the painting, an odd air about them seemingly permeated everything they did.

“It's…. interesting” Berry said, unsure exactly what Mauve wished to hear.

“It's her Majesty's wish that it's here, I think it best fits with the others of her people” Mauve explained, moving closer with a single step, the sound of her hoof hitting the ground made an odd ‘click’ noise.

“The others?” Berry asked, scanning the other portraits around to see what Mauve was talking about.

“A few high ranking soldiers," Mauve explained as Berry continued to look but found nothing in return.

“I haven't finished them yet, many of them look similar to one another beside small details” Mauve said while motioning to a few empty spaces around the Queen's portrait.

“You…you sure do like to paint” Berry said, truthfully he was unsure what to say at all.

The paintings were beautiful, even in the bright light of the room.

The display was amazing, from how each space seemed to shift with colors and gore and concepts.

“Many of these are old, I've kept them locked in my house for so long” Mauve sighed, shaking her head as she stepped closer to Berry, now beside him.

Berry paused in his thoughts, scanning the other portraits with curiosity.

In truth, he was no artist of paintings, he was a master at candy and sweets and baked goods, this was far from his understanding.

Maybe Golden could tell, but Berry could not.

“Which ones?” he decided to ask, looking for an answer he hoped wouldn't be rude.

Mauve seemed to almost light up.

It was hard to take notice, the way their eyes seem to dart over to Berry and back to their paintings with a little widened.

How a smile twitched at the corner of their frowning mouth.

“They're mixed in, if you want to be able to tell, just look at the—” Mauve began to explain, raising a hand to point.

“BERRY? Are you back here?” Came Golden voices as Berry heavily sighed, Mauve dropping their hand back to their side.

“Sorry, that's probably my brother, I guess I need to go” Berry said apologetic, frowning at how he wouldn't get his answer now.

Mauve almost seemed saddened by it, the frown seeming to deepen.

“I understand, I'll be here …..if you ever want to visit” Mauve said, unsure of the answer themself it seemed.

Berry cracked a smile.

Visit , huh?

“Why not, I'll see you another time, Mauve,” Berry said with a shrug.

He turned on his hoof, waving goodbye over his shoulder as he left.

He didn't hear Mauve walk behind him, unable to hear anything really over the echo of his brother calling his name.

Berry walked far from the paintings and their room, assuming Mauve probably turned off the lights when he left and moved to put away the painting and close the curtain.

Soon he was back at the entrance, his brother rushing over.

“Berry!” Golden moved quickly and pulled his brother to the door, apologizing to a few people who aimed to enter.

Berry wasn't fazed, sure that his time hiding caused his brother a bit of a panic.

Not to say he didn't feel ashamed by it, just that he couldn't handle it at the moment. It was oddly suffocating, knowing his brother still didn't forgive him but hung out with him nonetheless.

“Berry?” Golden asked once they reached the end of the stairs in the front, letting go of his brothers arm.

Berry wished he was given a hug rather than a look. Squeezed so tight he couldn't breath like old times.

“Berry, where were you?” Golden asked, narrowing his eyes a bit in anger.

Berry hesitated to answer, truthfully what could he say?

That he stumbled across a painter in the back halls and saw the macabre art that would be unveiled eventually?

Yeah…. probably not the best thing to say, considering how touchy a topic it would be to mention the infection to his brother.

“I was……making a friend” Berry said, trying to let nothing slip as he pulled a smile, forcing it onto his face.

Golden paused, his gaze softened and he smiled even.

“I'm sure that's not the whole truth, but I understand, I…” Golden trailed off, unsure what to say.

“Nevermind” Golden muttered.”It's getting late, let's get you home”

Chapter Text

Chrysalis, born to a brood of hundreds, with mindless and brutal siblings.

She could remember their mindless chatter and laughter, cackling at every word of their brood mother.

She was the lucky one, born with a mind and the power to decimate the rest. She fought tooth and hoof for a chance at the crown, taking the power for herself.

But she remembers one she let free, one not of her brood, but older, weaker, colorful and bright. She let mercy take her, she let that sister live and run off into the night, ripped fabric in her hand and false blood on her skin to fake the mistake she claimed she made.

She learned from her mother, feasting off the corpse of her father as her winning meal, tossing the pitiful taste to the wind.

She took her own mothers life.

Chrysalis with a bloody crown upon her head, the new Queen of the longest direct line since the dawn of creation.

She took a strong soldier of a chosen race and breed as a partner to have her own, before sending him to be the first meal of her clutch.

The years that took were long, she made mistakes, she lost and wept when the news came, she fed them well and took out her heart to stop herself from feeling any pity to the ones she used as cattle.

But it was pointless, as in the end, she found herself in love.

She found mercy.

She found mercy in a soul who once fought her, in a soul that once hated her, but now needed her.

And she needed her .

Chrysalis needed food for her children, and the new Queen, she needed allies in numbers.

Chrysalis gained food, Twilight gained protection.

It felt inevitable really, that sense that time was always against them all and still brought them together.

Chrysalis would have never imagined the outcome of such a union.

Where her children were needed, they were, when Twilight called for aid, it was all Chrysalis could do to help.

The two are ever mingling and needing one another.

At points it sickened Chrysalis, to be so weak and needing help, but it was oddly thrilling to see how things turned out.

Of course they fought, bitter and ruthless at times, harsh with their words before Twilight came to talk it out, much to Chrysalis hatred.

Talk talk talk, that's all it ever took to convince Chrysalis to come from her borrowed bedroom.

Somehow the newfound Queen had such a way with words that Chrysalis could have sworn that she had siren magic.

But it didn't matter in the end, for eventually the two couldn't handle the feelings that somehow grew like a parasprite and its ever growing hunger.

“Twilight, do you think my children will fit in?” She had asked her fellow Queen, a million thoughts fluttering around her head.

Her children, herself, deathless and powerful, yet weak to the wills of pony-kind and their Queens.

Changelings are immortal in a sense, immortal till killed, old age will find them and the slaughter will begin, but as a Queen, she is far more resilient.

Old age will not take her, old age is something of myth for her, for her clutch however, it is not.

With the power she wields, born from a brood of potential heirs, she stole and she overtook.

But her children were not born that way, as she had promised to be the final Queen, the only Queen.

Twilight, ever so regal— young compared to her, but powerful with the love she happily gave to her— could only smile as she set down her book.

“They will be fine Chrissy, disguise or not, they will settle into a new world as will the children and our people, it's a new time, a new age, let us just hope it is kind” Twilight had told her, before going back to her book ever so softly, letting the light of her horn illuminate her pages, leaving Chrysalis in the darkness of the moon.

Of course that did not allow any freedom in Chrysalis mind, she had lost herself to worry and panic at the potential of failure.

It started a sort of routine.

She would slip from the castle, disguised and hidden amongst the others who came and went.

She would head out with a basket and some coins, set on observation and settling her fears.

Chrysalis had learned long ago to hide herself when it came to watching others. Settling into a form and slipping into another when caught, hidden amongst the other folk who roamed.

“Ah! Hello Ms. Glow!” came a familiar voice, causing Chrysalis to turn her head.

She had spent decades crafting the perfect disguise, a Kirin woman with plum shade mixed hair, blue eyes and green faded legs and blackened hoofs.

She has made sure to dress as inconspicuous as possible, just a simple black shirt with sleeves to the elbows and a long skirt with a hem just above the furred hoofs.

Her horn curled, a split off top like a branch, careful to make sure she looked the part.

She had gone by the title Ms. Glow, mimicking one of her youngests secondary name.

She often hated to admit how she grew attached again, how her children bore her such a smile upon a single thought of them.

“Hello, Little Cheese” she said, basket resting on her hip with her relatively small coin pouch heavy in her pocket, its weight keeping her grounded from some kind of panic.

“Hi Ms. Glow! How is everything today? Are you heading to the market today?” Little Cheese asked, his pink mane put into braids, same as last week, the roots looking a little fuzzy and unkempt.

“Yes, I was planning to look around, maybe by chance buy something” Chrysalis said with a hum, adjusting the basket.

“Are you getting something for the Queen?” He asked, and Chrysalis did her best not to crack a smile.

Chrysalis had lied, saying she worked in the castle, partly as someone close to one of the Queen's, though she never specified which one.

Many had assumed it was Queen Twilight, that perhaps she was just a maid, or someone higher up, but again she never said directly what it was, keeping it vague.

“Perhaps, I thought of also buying something for my daughter, she's been a big help around the castle” Chrysalis smiled, keeping it small and making sure no teeth would show.

Two steps forward the two seemed to already be moving into a crowd along a sidewalk, Chrysalis often unsure if the young man took notice to how she seemed to get him to move with her.

“May I interest you in the apple booth? Applebloom and I have been working hard on some cider and cinnamon apple cake! Oh! And we made rainbow tarts from this year's rainbow blooms! We also—” He went off, saying a million different things as he suddenly began to lead.

Chrysalis nodded along, walking with the young adult.

If she remembered correctly, the cutie mark crusader— Applebloom— had lost much to the infection and its apocalyptic actions.

The Apple family had it hit hard, losing nearly much of the older generation and few of its middle ground, including the aging Applejack.

Of course that had only happened after Granny Smith had attacked the girl.

Some had called it the beginning, the downfall of ponyville and the rise of Agnitio.

Chrysalis has seen it for what it was at the time, the rushing of a new era and all its downfall and highs, a trip to be had.

The Apples, finding a business in so much, had found one in the time of death and infection as well.

Bringing up the idea of the “Granny Bell’

While its original concept was obsolete, it's become a custom for the dead.

Supposedly, the story had been that Granny Smith was turning, and when Applejack became one, they still couldn't bring to get rid of their family, infected or not.

So a bell was crafted and tied around the necks or their infected ones, should they ever escape.

Rumor has it that Applejack and Granny Smith were still somewhere on the farm, locked away or wandering the endless fields.

It became a staple, whoever was caught with symptoms had a choice.

Even when buried, there was still a chance the virus would cause them to crawl to the surface.

But now, even as the world is healing, the idea of burying someone with bells made by the Apple family still goes on.

Some are sewn onto clothes, others are tied to the body, sometimes worn as jewelry.

It was a flourishing market, cheap to make with the help of ponies like Rarity, able to help locate material with magic.

Twilight had gone so far for her friends, to give memory of them, the day Applejack was lost was the day those lost to the infection were honored

Of course, when luck ran down, not everyone stayed happy as they should have.

Some bounced back easily, the Crusaders seen as saint like saviors, young as they were, willing to crawl in tight spaces and help others escape their downfalls.

But when it came to Little Cheese, it was far different, even his family had been lost, stuck out till the end till they couldn't anymore.

Pinkie Pie had lost her mind, becoming a recluse and no longer her pinkie self, tearing down portraits and throwing fits over everything she couldn't do right or forget.

The fits became fury, became insanity and the collapse of her mind into a silent state where she refused to speak, losing nearly all her shine.

Cheese Sandwich and Twilight had made the decision to send Pinkie to a behavioral health center that Twilight made sure would be funded till her very end, ponies there could do what they just couldn't.

There was no spell to fix it, there was no party that could be thrown to save her.

Leaving behind her lovers and son, Pinkie was nearly forgotten if not for the occasional visits that Twilight insisted on making every anniversary that came up.

Chrysalis refused to go, knowing that Pinkie held no good memories of her, despite the way she had bounced back to normal upon hearing Chrysalis had fallen for Twilight.

“Ms. Glow?” Chrysalis paused in her ranting thoughts, looking around.

“Are you alright?” Little Cheese asked, and Chrysalis sighed, nodding.

“Apologies, I was in deep thought, so many options you gave, I had to compare” She lied through her teeth, smiling as best she could, the nagging thoughts in her head about the past.

Pity was on her tongue for such a young stallion.

“It's alright! I'll help you pick!” He said, motioning to the market stall with various pony folk around it.

The two stepped close, seeing familiar faces manning it.

Applebloom, her hair having lightened over the years to match her late mother's beautiful orange curls, around her neck her granny's necktie.

Upon her head was Applejack's infamous hat, pristine and kept well.

She was dressed in some older looking clothing, fashioned with apples of green and red to decorate the yellow of it.

A dress with a lack of sleeves and dipped square collar, thicker straps to hold it up as it's tied behind the young ones neck. It's a pastel yellow, an apple green belt to pair with it and it's massive bow in the back, her hair pinned back away from her neck.

She had kept her signature bow, used to decorate the hat of her late sister.

“Hello Applebloom, hello Big MacIntosh” Chrysalis said, nodding to the two.

Macintosh had cut his hair, feathered its back, his muscular arms on display as he worked to lift cider barrels and set them down.

He wore a white loose tank and jeans, the ankle tucked into the boot.

“Hello Ms. Glow! Are you picking something up for Twilight?” Applebloom asked, eyes wide and bright.

Somehow the young woman had bounced back, Chrysalis had guessed it was the tendency of the younger ones.

Perhaps she simply hid it all, unable to show it to others to stand in the shoes of her older sister.

“I am, but I was hoping for something for my daughter as well” Chrysalis said, that small smile back on her face.

“Again? Didn't you come by the farm last week to get her two whole pies?” Applebloom asked, almost accusatory, but still smiling.

Chrysalis did her best not to bite down on her tongue for her mis-wording, her face pulling a somewhat nervous smile.

“Oh, no this is for my older daughter, those were for a family get together out of the city up north” Chrysalis said carefully, making sure she could easily get out of the conversation.

Of course she wasn't lying about the daughter thing, she was talking about her older daughter….of her most recent children she had just before she came to help Twilight.

“Oh! Up north? How far?” Applebloom asked, leaning against the market counter stall.

Sweat formed on the back of Chrysalis' neck.

Surely it was just the heat, right?

“Not far, just outside, it's why I asked for them at such short notice, I was already running late, I do apologize” Chrysalis said, further lying herself into a woven trap.

Of course she had given the pies to the smaller clutch of children she made sure stayed outside the confines of the city.

She was unsure and didn't completely trust anyone at the time.

Not that she did now, but trust was important, so she would trust whom she could, even if it was small.

“It's alright, I hope your family enjoyed them!” Applebloom smiled wider, leaning back on her stall chair, a simple empty back stool.

“Oh they absolutely did, my children ate them before I got a bite” Chrysalis lied further. Many off her subjects disliked the taste of food, sweets however with mass amounts of sugar became like love to them, lacking the nutrients however.

“Two whole pies? And you didn't get a slice? How many kids do you have, twenty?” Applebloom jokes, chuckling as she smiled and nudged Little Cheese and Macintosh.

Chrysalis could feel the panic in her throat, the searching for words and the awkwardness that grew the longer she didn't laugh.

She forced a light chuckle, clenching her teeth as she held her tongue from anything crude.

“Oh— well, uh— I have many children, after all any spouse of my children I call my own” Chrysalis said, forcing an awkward smile even if it seemed to make everyone pause further.

“Right— well, we have a wide selection this month, so take your pick, we even have sauce and jam this round too!”

Chrysalis made a show of looking at every item, humming and hawwing over the choices with a slow smile forming on her face.

“I'll be honest, I've never had rainbow jam, I heard this is the first year it's been made since the new era” She said, looking at the small mason jar full of a rainbow.

The texture looked smooth and beautiful, each layer placed perfectly on top of one another so it didn't smear and mix, creating the perfect rainbow plucked straight from the sky factory.

“It is! We even have that and we have regular apple jam, we also have some other jams on behalf of others farms, like cherry, pear, orange—” Chrysalis looked from the jar at the sound of Orange.

Orange was a familiar, citrus taste, it's what love tasted like.

While the jam could not fill that hunger, it could satisfy a craving with just its taste.

Love was citrus, oranges and sweetness of sugar and familiar love of a family.

She remembered tasting it thanks to Twilight, who had set it out for a breakfast addition once; upon further observation, it seemed to be the only one she ever got.

“I'll take two rainbow and one orange then, and an apple fritter” She said, keeping her back straight, realizing she had been leaning forward over the stall table.

Applebloom broke a bigger smile on her face, Little Cheese the same as the latter scurried around the crates of jam to grab them while Applebloom nodded ecstatically.

“You got it! We'll take ten for it!” She said, taking the jars from Little Cheese's hand and offering them to Chrysalis.

“Only ten? I feel like it should be more” Chrysalis said, frowning as she took the jars to put in her basket.

“Naw, you're good,” Applebloom said, snagging one of the apple fritters to wrap up in paper.

Chrysalis hesitated and opened her coin pouch.

It was odd to Chrysalis when it came to payment or anything money.

Considering firstly how changelings had never any use outside pony kind for money, it had taken her a while to grasp the idea of a mer coin being anything powerful in the world of pony life.

Another thing was how it had changed so quickly over the span of a decade.

How when the virus caused such devastation the world must change currency to acclimate.

With the fall of Celestia and the rise of Luna as ruler, the currency changed from gold to silver, which turned out as a coincidence.

As gold became hard to get to during the early days of civilizations rebirth, silver was easier to find, large deposits were found sooner than gold and thus became an easier currency while also making the economy much richer, allowing for more development.

Of course it came with issues of trying to assume the value of silver compared to gold, but it eventually came to terms that while gold is still valuable, silver is much easier to account for and thus is used in weight and currency, not gold.

Chrysalis hesitantly placed down the few coins, unsure if that was enough considering the amount she had taken.

“Are you sure that's enough?” She asked, just to be sure, the coin pouch still in hand.

She frowned at the expression she was given, a faltering smile on Applebloom’s face.

“It's okay!” Little Cheese said, stepping in to bring that smile back.

“Is it? I know how hard work can be, especially on farms, I don't want to underpay you for the labor you do” Chrysalis pressed.

Chrysalis had been alive for nearly centuries, she was as old as Celestia, she had experienced life in many ways.

She had seen her children and kin, all of them work hard to gain the experience and natural fluidity of the workforce.

“It's enough, discount for a castle worker” Applebloom said, nudging away the coin pouch.

In turn she handed over the wrapped up apple fritter, which Chrysalis tucked into the basket.

‘Better than a castle toppler’   Chrysalis thought, almost grimacing at something from the past.

“Yes, I guess…but I can always pay more, I don't mind, this is a lot for so little” Chrysalis frowned, deeper than before and now properly dug into her face.

Applebloom shook her head, stepping out from behind the stall.

“Ms. Glow, it's okay! We've made well past profit already, nobody can get enough of the Apple family farm any-how” Applebloom's southern drawl came through, much to her sudden smile and ignoring it.

Chrysalis chewed the inside of her cheek.

“I understand but—” Chrysalis began, but Applebloom held out a hand.

The old Chrysalis would have slapped her hand down and demanded respect, but now she understood it wasn't the best to do .

“No but! Just go and enjoy your day, I'm sure there's more for you to see” Applebloom said, trying to shoo her off with a knitted brow and jutted jaw, her tail twitching.

“I….I suppose you're correct, then have a good day” Chrysalis sighed, stepping away.

Yet she turned back, gripping the basket tight to not jostle the snack and jars.

A part of her hurt, not wanting to leave this facade, to stay like this forever in this little moment of time.

But time moved forward, the sun was shifting in its normal pattern of the day, set every morning up and down every night.

“Make sure you take breaks alright? I don't need you young ones to go down in such sunny weather” Chrysalis said with worry in her voice.

When had she become so motherly to others? Was this her now? Would this be her with her new self? A kind soul, a possible way of gaining more love?

“We will! Don't worry about it! Big Mac is here to watch us!” Applebloom said, Big Mac looking with a snort and huff as he snatched Applebloom’s hat off to get her attention, drawing it back to the stall with its now endless afternoon rush.

Little Cheese laughed and looked back at Chrysalis.

“Plus we're not filly's anymore” Little Cheese said with a smile, and Chrysalis could only hesitate to smile back.

Right…..not a filly.