It was around an hour and a half later that Chrysalis and Rarity came out from the back room, needless to say, Applejack was not pleased.
"What the hay took ya so long?" Applejack grumbled. "Ah thought Ah told ya ta not take forever."
"Oh, we just decided to have a little fun..." Chrysalis said, deciding to tease Rarity, who blushed at the implication.
"Chrystal, darling, I need to talk to Applejack about something personal, why don't you go and wait outside until we're done?"
Chrysalis gave Rarity a quizzical look but didn't argue and walked out the door.
"So-" Applejack turned towards Rarity. "-what exactly did ya want to talk about?"
"Well..." Rarity shuffled her hooves nervously. "I think something tragic happened to Chrystal."
"An' why do ya think that?" Applejack asked. "She seems fine ta me."
"When I was measuring her she wouldn't let me get my hooves anywhere near her back, and she wouldn't take that horrible cloak off ether, I think something happened to her back that she doesn't want anyone to see."
"Well it's not like we can just ask her about it, if someing really did happen ta her she'll tell us when she feels ready." Applejack replied.
~~~With Chrysalis~~~
Chrysalis had been basking in the serenity of the sunlight, feeling quite content, but we all know that everything eventually comes to an end. For Chrysalis, it came in the form of a hyperactive physics-defying pink earthpony.
Chrysalis watched, annoyance evident on her face, as the pink earthpony sang a song while dancing around a cart of some kind. She was about to get up and walk away when the pony did something to the cart and a door opened, launching a baby alligator directly into her face, she was not amused...
Lifting a forehoof she slowly peeled the baby alligator off of her face and threw it back at the pink earthpony, who simply let it latch on to her mane.
"Ahh... I messed it up again..." The pink earthpony looked sad, but quickly perked up again and shoved the cart into some nearby bushes before turning back towards Chrysalis. "Hi! My name's Pinkie Pie but all my friends call me Pinkie! What's your name?" Pinke looked at Chrysalis expectantly.
Chrysalis groaned in exasperation. "My name's Chrystal, now please go away and let me die in peace."
Pinkie jumped straight up into the air and let out a gasp of unmatched proportions. "You're dying? I know! I'll go get Fluttershy, she'll be able to help you!"
Chrysalis smacked a hoof to her face and slowly dragged it down. This pony was SO annoying! "It was a figure of speech, I'm not actually dying, you're just annoying me."
Pinkie dropped back down to the ground in an instant, her face the very picture of shame. "Oh... I'm sorry, is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" She looked at Chrysalis pleadingly.
Chrysalis frowned. What was wrong with this pony? Why was she trying so hard to be friends with her? "Yeah, you can go tell Applejack and Rarity to hurry the buck up with whatever they're talking about."
"Okay!" Pinkie said, her face morphing back into a smile. "I'll go get on it right away!" Pinkie proceeded to take out what appeared to be a military hat with tubes that led to two cans of soda on the top of it before dashing inside Carousel Boutique. What this hat could possibly be used for Chrysalis didn't know, but she did know that it looked absolutely ridiculous.
"Hey Rarity! Hey Applejack!" Pinkie shouted loud enough that Chrysalis could hear her from outside. "My new friend Chrystal told me to tell you to hurry up with whatever you're talking about!"
"We're not friends." Chrysalis muttered to herself.
It was less then a minute later that Pinkie trotted back outside, shortly followed by Applejack.
"So..." Applejack said. "Ah see that ya've already met Pinkie, mind telling us how it went?"
Chrysalis rolled her eyes and snorted. "She danced around a cart while singing some song, then she flung a baby alligator in my face.
Applejack sighed and gave Pinkie a reprimanding look. "Pinkie, how many times have Ah told ya to be more careful when using that welcome cart of yours? If something more dangerous than Gummy had been in there then Chrystal here could have been seriously injuried."
"Yeah right." Chrysalis muttered under her breath. Applejack heard her, but decided not to comment on it.
Pinkie looked at the ground. "Sorry AJ, I was just trying to be friendly."
Applejack sighed. "Ah know ya were Sugercube, but just try to be more careful to check what's in that cart a yer's before you use it, okay?"
"Ok!" Pinkie smiled at AJ and Chrysalis before running off to do who knows what.
"So..." Chrysalis began once Pinkie was out of sight. "What are we going to do next?"
"Well Ah figured Ah would introduce ya ta the rest of my friends."
Chrysalis' mouth twitched, threatening to morph into a frown, luckily this went unnoticed by Applejack. "Who's next?"
Applejack gazed at the ground thoughtfully. "Well Ah suppose that Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy would be the best choice, we'll leave Twilight for last."
"What are they like?" Chrysalis asked.
Applejack smiled, happy to see that Chrystal was finally taking an interest in her friends. "As you can guess by her name Fluttershy's really shy, but she's also really kind. She lives on the edge of Ponyville near the edge of the Everfree forest and she takes care of any animal that's in need. Rainbow Dash on the other hand loves to do nothing but fly and nap all day, though she does read a Daring Do book every once in a while."
Chrysalis thought about what Applejack said carefully before replying. "I pick..."