SPQR

Chapter 9

Lyra’s Apartment, Ponyville

Chrysalis had to admit that her human form felt strange. It wasn’t because she now walked on two legs; she had done so before while masquerading as a minotaur. No, what felt odd was the fact that her lack of fur increased her sense of touch dramatically. Under normal circumstances, she would have a layer of chitin covering her entire body. It was true that chitin was tactile, much like fur, but it was far duller than her new human skin. She marveled at every little sensation: the feel of the sheets, the subtle flow of air in the room and the warmth of Gaius’s skin against her own. But she wanted more. Hoping that Gaius would respond, she planted a gentle kiss along the side of his neck.

Gaius sighed. “Chrysalis, I appreciate what you’re trying to do but…I’m not sure I’m in the mood right now.”

“What’s wrong? Am I not attractive enough? Judging by your memories, I thought this form was appealing to your tastes…”

“It’s not that. You are, quite possibly, one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen.”

“Well, then what’s wrong?”

“The nightmare I had…it disturbed me a great deal. I can’t stop thinking about it.”

Chrysalis rubbed his shoulders. “Do you want to talk about it? I might not be able to help you very much, but at least I’ll listen.”

Gaius clenched his fists in frustration. Any red-blooded man would have ravished Chrysalis by now and yet…here he was thinking about that past, instead of letting this beautiful woman pleasure him. But the dream had been so vivid, so unnerving, and so very heart breaking. It reminded him once more that he had failed to be there for them. He had failed his duty as a husband and as a father, to protect his most treasured possessions from harm. Sympathy was often easy to come by but did those well-wishers truly comprehend what he had been through?

He was about to brush off the idea when he remembered that behind him was a woman (at least for the moment) who had suffered through incredible loss as well. Did she mourn the death of her children, as he did? Was it right to open up his heart to her?

“Yes, I do…eventually. But is that a responsibility you truly wish to bear?”

Chrysalis padded over to the window and placed her hand on it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, apparently lost in her own thoughts. Gaius himself was short of breath; as he witnessed a single beam of moonlight reflect off of her pale form. He felt a knot form in his stomach as he realized how agonizingly beautiful she was at that moment. She turned around slowly and smiled.

“I-I…think, no I am ready. For ill or better, I shall bear it. I owe you my life Gaius Septimus. Whatever pleasure I grant you this night is only but a small part of that debt. On my honor as a queen I swear I will offer you my shoulder to lean on, if ever you grow weary of this world or the last.”

Gaius also felt a warm smile spread across his lips. A few moments later he gently wrapped his arms around Chrysalis’s waist and rested his head upon her shoulder. The queen let out a surprised yelp but she eventually regained her senses and entwined her fingers with Gaius’s.

“Thank you Chrysalis, it means a great deal to me hearing you say that. Forgive me, but it has been some time since I’ve…been intimate with another woman. I will try my best to make this a pleasurable experience for you as well.”

Chrysalis used her free hand to stoke Gaius’s hair. “It’s been an eternity since I last sought genuine companionship. I had almost forgotten what it feels like…to be loved. True, I may have tricked others to love me in the past but that’s all it was…just a convenient trick. They never truly loved me for being me.”

Instead of answering with words, Gaius cupped his hand underneath her chin and guided her lips to his own. The queen hungrily accepted his kiss, immediately plunging her own tongue into his mouth, eager to explore its depths. After a minute of passionate tongue wrestling, Chrysalis broke off, leaving a thin strand of saliva between them. As she caught her breath the changeling noticed that Gaius had finally started to warm up to her. And so with a throaty chuckle she levitated a surprised Gaius onto the edge of the bed.

“Well now, it seems like somebody’s excited to see me. Whatever shall I do?”

He was about to answer but his reply came out as more of a grunt. Chrysalis held the middle of his shaft up with two fingers and began to slowly lick it from the base all the way to the tip. After feeling him shudder she gently lapped the head for time, until a small bead of pre-cum formed at the tip. With a satisfied giggle she grabbed the base with one hand as she took his length into her mouth. She started off slowly, working her way up to a faster pace until she made very audible slurping noises.

Gaius felt the familiar tension build up in his loins, until he could bear it no longer. He gripped the sheets beneath him tightly and gave a short gasp of release. Chrysalis immediately stopped bobbing her head and released him with a wet pop. She brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, giving Gaius a few moments to recover. She squeaked in surprise when he immediately began to fondle her left breast, which was accompanied by his tongue swirling around her nipple.

As a changeling, she didn’t have teats but she did experience the feeling of being played with while transformed as a mare. But nothing could have prepared her for the sensations she was feeling with her new human breasts. They were larger and had more nerve endings, making them much more sensitive to the touch. All the while she began to feel a familiar warmth build between her lips, driving her mad with desire. She waited until Gaius was finished suckling her and then she pushed him onto his back. Without preamble, she slowly lowered herself onto his throbbing cock. Chrysalis ground her hips at an ever increasing pace, going as fast she dared.

After a few minutes Gaius climaxed again, followed by her own a few seconds later. Both of them collapsed into a sweaty heap of jumbled limbs, tired but otherwise satisfied. Chrysalis laid her head on top of his chest as Gaius gently stroked her hair. He paused briefly to plant a kiss her on the forehead.

“Did you enjoy that, your majesty?”

Chrysalis giggled. “That was wonderful. It certainly bears repeating. But for now, let us snuggle….I’m exhausted.”

Gaius resumed stroking her hair and sure enough he heard light snoring. He was amazed how serene she looked while asleep; it was a stark contrast to what she looked like in her natural form. A thought occurred to him. He wasn’t really attracted to her changeling form at all. It was a rather shallow thought, but true none the less. Maybe, just maybe, she would be willing to stay in this form for him. Gaius frowned at how utterly selfish that was. But he couldn’t deny that it made him feel a little less lonely having another human around. Pushing such thoughts aside, he kissed her on the cheek one final time.

“Pleasant dreams, Chrysalis.”

Lyra awoke to the annoying chimes of her alarm clock. She slowly emerged from her warm cocoon of bed sheets, wishing she could sleep all day long. Sadly, she could not. A week from now she was due to perform a harp solo, as part of the Canterlot Philharmonic Orchestra. And as with any official performances, she needed to dress professionally. Luckily, Ponyville had a resident fashonista who could whip up a ravishing ensemble on short notice. Lyra was never really one to leave things to the last minute, so she commissioned Rarity to make her dress a week ago. Today was the day the dress was supposed to be ready.

With a loud yawn she trotted into the bathroom to prepare for her eventual trip. She frowned at the mare that greeted her in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot and had darkened bags underneath them. Lyra’s condition had much to do with her constantly fretting over the condition of her human roommate. She very nearly had a panic attack when Chrysalis showed up at her door, with Gaius slumped over her back. He had apparently fought some griffon and ended up not only getting poisoned but had a myriad of different injuries.

Chrysalis herself looked like she had been hit by a steam train and promptly collapsed as soon as Gaius was tended to. With nopony else around, Lyra took it upon herself to look after the two...much to her chagrin. Despite the difficulty with tending to their wounds, Lyra was grateful that they were both ok.

Casting her worries aside, the unicorn focused on brushing her teeth. Once she was satisfied that her mouth didn’t smell like rancid onions, she filled the sink with a bit of water and splashed it on her face in order to freshen up a bit. She checked herself in the mirror once more and realized that she still had horrible bed-mane.

Lyra rummaged through the cabinet, desperately trying to find her favorite mane brush but couldn’t find it. The brush was always in the bathroom, right next to the sink. So why wasn’t it there? After a few minutes of frustrated pacing, a thought occurred to her. She had used the brush while taking care of Gaius, so of course it wasn’t in the bathroom! It had been left in his room instead. She opened the door to Gaius’s room, quietly shuffling her hooves across the carpet.

It was rather dark in the room because the shades had been drawn so Lyra took it upon herself to open them just a bit, to let some light in. She was definitely not prepared for the sight that greeted her. Sprawled upon the bed was a very naked Gaius with an equally naked…human female? Lyra could only really assume it was a female, since she had never actually seen one before. Her assumptions were confirmed when it shifted its legs, revealing a very female portion of anatomy. Lyra felt like she had walked in on something she wasn’t supposed to see and all she wanted to do now was retrieve her brush and bolt out the door.

Sadly, fate had other plans for Lyra Heartstrings. Due to her state of haste, one of her hooves snagged on the carpet…which naturally resulted in a loud face plant straight into the floor. The disturbance was loud enough to rouse the pair of humans from their slumber.

Gaius yawned. “Lyra…what are you doing in here?”

“I-I…errrr…was getting my brush. The real question is what were YOU doing in here?”

“Sleeping, amongst other things.”

“More of the later than the former I presume.”

Rather than respond, Gaius walked over to the window and rolled his shoulder a few times. After popping his neck, he stood in front of Lyra with his arms crossed. The unicorn assumed that under normal circumstances his posture was intended to convey annoyance or maybe even some intimidation…but it achieved neither of those. The only purpose it served was to give Lyra an unobstructed view of his morning erection, which promptly turned the poor mare into a blushing, stuttering wreck.

“H-how can you even walk around l-like that!?”

Gaius raised his eyebrow. “I’m not sure what you mean…”

“Please don’t make me say it out loud. It’s too embarrassing. J-just…look down for a second.”

“I don’t see…oh. Well, I guess I better throw on a tunic.”

Lyra let out a frustrated growl as she levitated Gaius’s tunic straight at this face. “I’m going to Rarity’s place later today to get a dress and I think it would be in both of our best interests to get you some more clothes.”

“Ah yes, that sounds like a practical idea.”

Chrysalis in the meanwhile, had decided to get out of bed as well. As quietly as she could, she snuck up behind Lyra and pinched her cheeks. “Aww you’re no fun Lyra. I definitely prefer him naked, myself.”

“I should have known it was you Chrysalis. I expected to come in here and find Gaius resting but instead I found you two all over each other! He very nearly died and the first thing you thought to do when he woke up was to have sex with him? Ugghh! I don’t even know what to say…”

Chrysalis crossed her arms. “For your information, I asked his permission before I did ANYTHING…not that it’s any of YOUR business. What? Do you think I’m so terrible that I would rape a stallion in his sleep, just to get what I want!?”

“Well yeah. You did that with Shining Armor didn’t you? Who’s to say you wouldn’t do that to Gaius?”

“That’s…that was in the past. I admit that I’ve done some things I’m not proud of but I’m trying to change. I’m a different mare now. A-and…for the first time in ages I’ve actually come to care about someone…someone that cares for me in return. Your narrow minded judgment means nothing to me.”

“C’mon Gaius, let’s go to the boutique where a certain changeling won’t bother us.”

Chrysalis stomped over to the bathroom and slammed the door. “Go ahead and enjoy yourselves, I needed to take a bath anyway!”

The Equestrian Parliament Building, Canterlot

Blueblood idly tapped his hoof against the mahogany chair he was seated in. Once again he was bored out of his skull listening to yet another tax proposal. At least in the old days Princess Celestia had presided over such issues, but now Princess Sparkle was the one in charge. Yes, it was still boring when Celestia gave proposals but at least she would get to the point without having to go over all the excruciating little details. Princess Sparkle had been going on for two hours (with complete legal jargon) about how beneficial it was to offer tax breaks to farming operations.

Blueblood honestly didn’t care if some farmers got a few extra bits at the end of the day, he would still be wealthy regardless. Just as he was about to doze off, he heard something tapping on the window above. The stallion looked up to find a crow was tapping on the glass. The winged beast stared back at him and cocked its head towards the exit. Blueblood looked at the crow again, pointing his hoof in the direction of the exit and sure enough the crow nodded its head in confirmation. He snuck out of the parliament building as quietly as he could but was stopped by Fancy Pants, whom had been sitting next to him.

“Excuse me chap, but where are you headed off to?”

Blueblood rubbed his stomach. “I’m afraid that my lunch isn’t quite agreeing with me at the moment. I’ll try and return as soon as possible.”

“Hmm, I knew that dandelion pate was no good. I’m glad I didn’t eat it! Oh and I do hope you feel better.”

Blueblood nodded and made his way out to the courtyard. He found the crow perched on a small oak tree, preening its wings. After casting a few glances back and forth, he concluded that there was nopony else around to disturb him. He trotted up to the crow and cleared his throat.

“The coast is clear; you may assume your normal form.”

The crow’s body burst into green flames, revealing a changeling drone. “Oh thank you milord, I was growing quite anxious that somepony had begun to suspect me.”

“Never mind that. This had better be important Thorax; you interrupted me during a session of parliament.”

Thorax twiddled his hooves. “I-I’m afraid I have some potentially upsetting news.”

“And what, pray tell, would that be?”

“There’s really no easy way to put this…”

“C’mon out with it already! I don’t have all day to sit around watching you fumble about like some nervous school-filly.”

“R-right. Well you see milord; the griffon mercenary has been killed. I witnessed it myself.”

Blueblood grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. “WHAT!? Uggghh…I spent a mountain of bits paying that deranged mongrel to track down a simple changeling, just because he was supposed to be the best tracker in the Griffon Empire. And the fool got himself killed? Why is it so hard to find competent employees these days!?”

“Umm…it wasn’t a changeling that killed him milord. It was some strange armored monkey creature.”

“That sounds utterly ridiculous but I suppose that stranger things have happened. Thorax, please tell me that he AT LEAST found a changeling. That way I can feel like I spent those bits on something practical.”

“The griffon did indeed find a changeling. In fact, it appears to have been a queen. She could quite possibly be the one the empress was seeking.”

Blueblood cocked his eyebrow. “A queen you say? Her majesty did say one might be in the vicinity. Where did the mercenary happen to find her?”

“It was at Sweet Apple Acres, milord. However, I do not know if she is staying with Apple family or not.”

“Those damnable element bearers are always trying to meddle in my affairs. I already had to brush off that gorgeous unicorn at the Gala a few years ago. It took all of my willpower Thorax; she was a rather fetching piece of flank! But…I can’t risk having any of Celestia’s pets getting too close to me. Under no circumstances can they get wind of what we’re trying to achieve.”

“Of course milord. Shall I continue my surveillance of Ponyville?”

“Yes, that’s probably for the best. Notify me if you find either the queen or this monkey creature. As for now, I need to get back to my seat before I’m missed.”