Forbidden

Chapters

Addicted to Love
Somepony to Love
Lovesick
Love is a Serious Mental Disease
Love Conquers All
Epilogue: Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Addicted to Love

Light pink hooves clacked along the shining streets of the Crystal Empire. Golden locks of hair covered one sea green eye, while the other darted to and fro, scanning the busy street ahead. This particular mare's crystal coat did not stand out above the rest. Her face, if one were to look at it for a while, was decidedly unremarkable. Not outstanding features, no noteworthy abnormalities, nothing to suggest that it was anything other than a plain face. The pink mare inhaled deeply through her nose, savoring the sweet scent of love that clung to the air.

The Crystal Empire – and more precisely, the Crystal Heart – was an endless well for her to drink from. She wasn't the only changeling who ever came here. At any given moment, dozens of changelings were living in the Crystal Empire to nourish themselves on the endless supply of feelings like love and happiness.

Chrysalis was just like all the other changelings.

…If you could overlook the detail that one day she would be ruling over all of them.

In all honesty, Chrysalis wasn't too keen on one day ruling over her entire race. The prospect frightened her in fact. Her father, King Metamorphosis, was doing a better job than she ever could. The only problem was that he's old. Very old.

It would not be long before her subjects stopped referring to her as "Princess" and instead as "Queen".

But Chrysalis wasn't going to worry about her future responsibilities on a day like today. The sun was shining brightly, reflecting an array of colors off of the crystal buildings around her, and love was in the air. Literally.

She passed by a pair of crystal ponies, one red mare with a dark chocolate mane, and the other was a strapping indigo stallion with a verve, umber mane. The stallion, as they passed, gave a slight nod to Chrysalis, almost as if he was bowing. The exchange happened quickly enough that the mare didn't catch it, but Chrysalis did. She paused and glanced back at the couple as they walked in the opposite direction.

"Definitely a changeling," Chrysalis murmured to herself. The indigo stallion had to be a disguised member of the love parasitic race, collecting his daily dose of infatuation. Maybe a little more so than that, she noticed as the couple rubbed their muzzles together.

Having love as a food source was a double-edged sword to changelings. On one hoof, the necessary steps to create it are easy (so easy in fact that many changelings had published manuals with a step by step process on the topic). On the other hoof, it was easy to get addicted to love. Developing a need for the chemical structure that generated the feeling was something anypony could get hooked on, changelings were just more susceptible than most. Eventually the drive for love conflicts with the changeling's day to day life. They don't show up for work, don't sleep, don't try to get any sort of help…

The most dangerous part is if a changeling begins to create the feeling of love itself. Changelings were parasites when you get right down to it, and Chrysalis had long since accepted that. Parasites were creatures meant only to take, not to create. And for the changelings that tried to create love… well assuming the resulting chemical imbalance didn't kill them, their minds would be left broken and their bodies paralyzed.

Taking a final look at the indigo stallion/changeling, Chrysalis hoped that would not be his fate too.

She carried on down the streets of the Crystal Empire for quite some time. Though she never bothered to memorize the street patterns, Chrysalis knew exactly where to go. She just followed her nose, sniffing the scent of love as it grew stronger and stronger. Eventually this led her to the Crystal Heart, and the near tangerine stench of love radiating from it was powerful.

Her pink mare form became more sharply defined now. With energy from the Crystal Heart, she had the liberty to take her current matrix and mold it into something better. Her cheekbones ascended half an inch, her eyes grew slightly larger, and her sea foam green eyes vividly popped with a renewed splash of color. These changes had to be subtle and spread out, however.

Guards stood a round the clock watch over the Crystal Heart, keeping an ever watchful eye on the talisman. After all it was the most priceless relic in all the Crystal Empire. Chrysalis's presence was far from out of place, however. Many other crystal ponies stood outside the ring of guards, admiring the Crystal Heart in all its glory.

Day in and day out, crystal ponies would stand – sometimes for hours – just admiring the Crystal Heart. To the guards, this was an everyday occurrence. What they didn't know is that nearly every standing, admiring pony was in fact, a changeling, soaking up the energy of love.

The irony was actually pretty funny now that Chrysalis thought about it. Here were a dozen guards, standing around to prevent the Crystal Heart from being stolen, when not three feet away from them, she was stealing its most valuable resource right from under their snouts.

She laughed out loud at this realization, calling upon the attention of a nearby guard. Despite his silver helmet, Chyrsalis could tell he raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"Uh… just remembering a joke. That my friend told me. A while ago," Chrysalis stammered. The guard just grunted and looked away.

Chrysalis breathed a sigh of relief. Talking to strangers was not her strong suit. Slowly, her pink mare backed away from the Crystal Heart. Lingering just long enough for one final spout of love and joy, Chrysalis finally turned away and headed down the street she had come from.

Now that she had acquired enough love to last the week, Chrysalis planned to head back to the changeling hive in the Badlands. It would be a long flight, but she had more than enough energy to make it. Her only obstacle was getting far enough out of the empire so nopony would see her transformation.

With her attention diverted to finding the best place possible to transform, it's understandable that Chrysalis didn't see the incoming stallion before it was too late. They collided and fell into a heap. Papers that the stallion had been clutching were sent everywhere.

"Watch where you're going!" Chrysalis snapped. The gray stallion winced, his dark hair covering a shamed expression. Chrysalis was barely focusing on his appearance through her reflexive rage, but she did notice this stallion was a unicorn, and not a crystal pony, which was a rare occurrence in the empire.

"Oh, I-I'm really sorry, ma'am," he sputtered out, scooping up the scattered papers. "I'm just in such a hurry."

Chrysalis just watched with an annoyed expression as the stallion meshed the cluttered papers together in a semi-presentable stack, and took off without offering to help her up.

Grunting to herself, Chrysalis propped her body up, and noticed that some papers had gone unclaimed by the rushed pony. The kinder half of her brain suggested she catch up to the rude stallion and return them.

"Don't get involved, Chrysalis," She told herself (particular the kind half of her brain). "Just keep walking." Her gaze shifted from the forgotten papers to the disappearing unicorn. The changeling princess managed two steps in the opposite direction before her guilty conscience got the better of her and she sighed.

Turning around and swiftly recovering the discarded papers, Chrysalis began to run to catch the gray unicorn. Unfortunately for her conscience, the stallion was already too far away for her to catch on hoof.

Chrysalis grimaced at the realization that there would be only one way to catch him now. Ducking into the nearest alley she could, Chrysalis began to transform. In a blinding flash of green light that – hopefully – nopony saw, the crystal coat faded into an average hue of pink. On her back, her diaphanous bug wings (formerly kept hidden) formed into a pair of pink, feathered ones. She flapped them slightly to make sure the illusion would hold. Chrysalis then used her foreleg to hold on tightly to the papers as she took off, into the air.

Wind whipped past her face, throwing back her golden hair. The papers snapped back, but she kept them from flying off. Chrysalis climbed just above the buildings of the Crystal Empire, and looked off in the direction the unicorn had gone.

With her new altitude, the changeling princess could clearly see him rushing through the streets and heading downtown. Chrysalis began to fly after him, though she wasn't exactly the fastest flyer in all of Equestria.

Despite her lack of speed, Chrysalis still managed to find the stallion fairly quickly. After all, he was the only unicorn in a city of crystal ponies. The stallion himself was shoving past ponies on the ground, still in a hurry. It wasn't long before Chrysalis was able to deduce where he was going.

The shiny streets of the Crystal Empire suddenly transformed into a grassy knoll as the unicorn passed under an iron gate.

The University? Chrysalis thought to herself. He's a student here?

Crystal Empire University was one of the most prestigious schools in Equestria. The clumsy, awkward unicorn that had bumped into her hadn't seemed like the type to go to this school.

Chrysalis descended swiftly onto the open grounds of the university. She spied the unicorn dashing into a building almost immediately. The letters carved onto the building read: COLLEGE OF MAGIC.

"Hey, wait up!" she called. Apparently the unicorn hadn't heard her, or didn't know she was calling to him. With her pink pegasus form unwavering, Chrysalis ran inside the building after him.

"Hey! You with the horn!" she called out as soon as the stallion was in her sights. This time he turned around.

"You?" he asked, recognition leading to surprise. "What are you…"

"I was just returning these papers you left behind." Chrysalis extended the parchments. The changeling was breathing a little heavy from her workout.

"Wow. Thanks." The unicorn's gray horn sparked a red glow and levitated the papers into his stack. "You have no idea what this means to me." His scarlet eyes looked softly into hers. "What can I do to repay you?"

Her pink cheeks immediately became red as Chrysalis stammered to respond. "Well, I like milkshakes…"

~~ooo000ooo~~

Chrysalis and the unicorn were walking down the streets nearly an hour later on their way to the ice cream parlor. Sombra – as Chrysalis had learned that was his name – was acting extremely happy when he greeted her outside the college of magic. His smile seemed to be infectious, because Chrysalis was grinning too.

"So what was so important about those papers?" she asked Sombra. His smile became brighter.

"It was my thesis. I had to present it today in order to graduate," he answered. Chrysalis smiled brighter along with him. His voice – gruff when he spoke, but smooth by the time it reached her ears – just seemed to make her happy.

"What was it on?"

"Oh, just about the corruptive properties of dark magic," Sombra told her. "That stuff's pretty dangerous."

"Well duh," Chrysalis said. "It's not called dark magic because you use it to make fluffy pillows or befriend bunnies."

"Yeah, yeah," Sombra responded. "But my professors loved it."

"So that means you'll graduate?" Chrysalis asked.

Sombra nodded. "I'd say I've got a pretty good shot." The gray unicorn then looked at her curiously.

"What's wrong?" She asked after a few seconds of uncomfortable staring.

"It's just…" Sombra began. "When I bumped into you, I could've sworn you were a crystal pony. But clearly you're not."

Chrysalis unfurled her wings, and meekly grinned. "Clearly," she agreed, slightly nervous.

"You know, I don't even know your name yet," Sombra remarked.

"Uh… do you need to know it?" she asked, nervousness growing. Chrysalis wasn't sure if she needed to come up with a fake name or not for the situation. Would her real one be recognized?

"Are you kidding?" Sombra asked, his grin flashing perfect teeth. "The girl who saved my thesis? Of course I need to know your name."

After a brief pause of quick thinking, the changeling princess conceded. "My name's Chrysalis," she said, quietly.

"Bit of a mouthful. Do you mind if I call you Chryssi?" He asked, clearly oblivious to the changeling origin of her name.

"Chryssi?" she asked incredulously. Nopony had ever called her that before. It's a little too... perky, she thought. Then again, I do like the way he said it. "All right."

"Great." The duo rounded a corner, leading them straight to the ice cream parlor at the heart of the Crystal Empire. "Say, why did you choose this place anyways? It's so far from the university."

Chrysalis eyed the Crystal Heart only about fifty yards away. "Oh, no reason really."

"Well then let's hope those milkshakes are worth it."

As the gray unicorn opened the door for her, a small and conveniently placed bell rang through the near empty shop. The single employee at the shop looked up at them from her magazine.

"What can I get you two?" The azure crystal mare asked, slightly annoyed that she was being ripped away from her reading material.

"A chocolate milkshake," both Sombra and Chrysalis said at the same time. They glanced at each other and broke out into a smile.

"Aww, how cute." The mare remarked as she went to work. "It's always nice when couples like the same thing."

"Uh, w-wait. We're not a couple," Chrysalis stammered, face getting slightly hotter.

"Could've fooled me," the mare behind the counter responded. "Two ponies come into the shop together on a hot day, determined to partake in some milkshakes. Sounds like a date to be honest."

"We're uh… not actually dating," Sombra said, his cheeks turning the same color as his eyes. "We really just met."

"You don't have to explain yourselves to me," the mare said with a slight giggle. "I was only teasing." She slapped the two shakes on the counter. "That'll be four bits, please."

Chrysalis reached to pay her half, but she never got the chance. Sombra laid four small coins on the counter, and levitated both milkshakes up.

"Come on, Chryssi." He said. "Let's find a table outside and enjoy the day." Chrysalis reluctantly followed him outside.

"I could've paid for my own milkshake you know," she said, feeling the need to establish herself as capable in his eyes.

"I know," Sombra said, taking a seat on one of the outside tables of the parlor. "But this one's my treat. You did just help me graduate after all." Her milkshake floated over to her side of the table as Chrysalis took her seat.

"Yeah, but I did make you walk all the way across the city before you bought them," she retorted, and took a sip of her chocolate shake. The frosty treat was just about perfect in every way.

"I liked walking with you," Sombra protested. "Besides, I knocked you over earlier."

"Why don't we call it even," Chrysalis suggested.

"It's a deal." Sombra took a long sip of his milkshake. "Oh yeah, definitely worth it."

The two sat in silence for a while, with the occasional slurping noise being the only sound. Eventually, Chrysalis got tired of the awkwardness and spoke up.

"So what were you studying at college?" She asked, hoping for some conversation.

"I double majored in crystal studies and high level magic," Sombra said. "What about you? Are you a student at CEU?"

"Oh, no," Chrysalis said. "I… uh…" She looked down at the false Cutie Mark that had been fabricated as part of the disguise. It was a pallet and a paintbrush. "I'm an artist," she said.

"That's so cool," Sombra said earnestly. "I always kinda wanted to be an artist, but there isn't a creative bone in my body." He pushed his half full glass back and forth slightly. "What kind of stuff do you paint?"

Why does he have to be so curious? And cute? Wait… What? Where the buck did that come from? I don't think he's cute. Well… he kind of is. But I shouldn't be thinking that! Chrysalis thoughts argued with each other. The changeling princess realized she was taking a unordinary amount of time to answer is question. "Uh… scenery. Like landscapes and stuff. Yeah. That's what I paint." She grinned awkwardly, but Sombra didn't take notice.

"Anything I might've seen? I spend a good deal of time at the museum of art and history."

"Oh, no," Chrysalis stammered. "I'm not good enough to be in there."

"I can't believe that." Sombra replied. "You'll have to show me some of your work sometime. I'd love to see it." He smiled with the slightest hint of red at his cheeks.

There's that adorable smile again. Chrysalis thought. "Yeah, sure!" she said, mentally kicking herself for even answering.

"Awesome. Think we could go check them out now?" He asked, milkshake nearly gone.

"Not likely," Chrysalis said. Sombra's smile faded. Come on, cover it! Chrysalis thought to herself. "It's just… I live outside the city," she said to him, which might have been the first true thing she told him, save her name.

"I understand," Sombra said, his voice masking disappointment.

Chrysalis went to sip her milkshake again, only to find that it was all gone. With both conversation and milkshakes depleted, the two had an awkward silence.

"I… uh… should probably get home soon," Chrysalis said, pushing her chair back.

"Oh… yeah." Sombra said, slightly dejected. "Do you think that we could… meet up again sometime?"

Yes!

"Maybe," Chrysalis said. "This place does have good milkshakes."

"How's tomorrow sound? At noon?" Sombra asked.

"It sounds great," Chrysalis said, standing. Sombra also stood.

"Hey, Chryssi?" He asked, innocently. "If this had been a date… how well do you think I did?"

"You were fantastic," Chrysalis said with no hesitation. Maybe it was just the positive energy from the Crystal Heart, but she really meant it. Sombra's delighted smile reinforced her decision.

"See ya later," Sombra said as he backed up.

"Yeah," Chrysalis said, brushing some stray hair out of her face. "See ya."

They both turned and began walking off, Chrysalis opposite the direction of the Crystal Heart. Suddenly she felt a peculiar taste at her lips that wasn't chocolate.

"Tangerine," she whispered to herself. The flavor of infatuation. She turned slightly back to face the walking off Sombra. "He likes me," she whispered softly.

~~ooo000ooo~~

The very next morning crawled along at a painstakingly slow pace. It had all started when Chrysalis woke up. It had been so early that Celestia had yet to raise the sun. Her teal hair had been a mess and tangle, and sometime when she had been prying it loose Chrysalis wondered when exactly she had changed back into her actual self.

The flight home had been long, and nothing of real substance happened to her. In fact, Chrysalis had had her head stuck in the clouds – in more ways than one – on her way back to the changeling castle in the Badlands. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her pink pegasus form the entire trip, and with night already having settled when she arrived, so she didn't have a need to change back into her taller, darker, form.

With all this in mind, Chrysalis deduced that she must have transformed in mid-sleep. The changeling princess dragged a comb through her tangled mane with her sickly green magic, as she tried to recall exactly what her form from the previous night had looked like.

In the mirror, she watched as her coat slowly faded from black into the vibrant pink shade. Her horn was fazed out of existence, while the bug wings on her back grew longer, sturdier, and sprouted feathers. Her dark emerald eyes shimmered into an aqua-marine. Her teal hair waved in a non-existent breeze as it became a bold shade of gold, and shortened into a curlier style.

The pink pegasus in the mirror smiled at her, and Chrysalis took note that she still had fangs. The pointed teeth retracted into her mouth, forming the perfect smile. Then Chrysalis noticed her eyes. They were the wrong shade. Her lids shut tightly, as she focused on the color they had been. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead before the spell was completed, and she opened her now sea foam green eyes and saw them in the mirror. They were perfect. Maybe even sparklier than they had been the previous day.

Chrysalis realized that she had been holding her breath throughout the spell's duration. She opened her mouth and let new air rush in. Her first breath in this body. The changeling breathed heavily for a few more minutes, the spell having taxed her greatly.

On average, a changeling will transform with a blinding flash of green light. That sort of magic was illusory. While it took little energy to do, one always had to keep magic pouring into it, or else the illusion would fade away. Chrysalis's transformation was a physical one. Her horn was actually no longer on her forehead, and her wings now actually had feathers. Her coat was that very overly girly shade of pink, and her smile really was perfect.

That type of magic was a more permanent kind. It took a lot of energy to make, but the user would be able to stay in the form with no energy wasted for a long period of time. At least until she decided to transform again.

The reason Chrysalis had chosen this particular type of change, was not for the longevity factor. Illusions were a delicate business, and could be broken with so much as a single touch. This transformation would allow for more… personal matters.

Thoughts rushed into Chrysalis' head as she made that last realization. After causing her to blush, they were pushed out.

Maybe not quite that personal, she amended to herself. The pink pegasus left her bathroom and crossed into a different section of her room. Actually, Chrysalis's "room" was really three rooms that were all her own. A bedroom, that really only contained her over-sized bed, a bathroom, and a sitting room.

The sitting room was where she currently resided. It contained a cozy looking fireplace with a window right next to it, a low rising table in the center, and – shockingly enough – plenty of places to sit.

Chrysalis took repose on a couch as she eagerly waited for the break of dawn. As much as she wanted to, the changeling could not fly off to the Crystal Empire just yet. Despite her obvious desire too, and the long, glorious flight it would be, Chrysalis needed to wait for the sun to rise. Flying in the dark was a risky business, and the princess had no desire to take any more risks this morning. Merely sneaking out to see Sombra was a risk in itself. For many reasons.

Then why am I sneaking out? Part of Chrysalis thought to herself. She really shouldn't even consider it. If her father caught her, there was little doubt he would confide her to her room for weeks. What reason did she possibly have for even attempting this? Then the sun cracked over the horizon. Her heart fluttered as she realized that she could now leave to see Sombra.

There's your reason. The other part of Chrysalis thought.

The pink pegasus stood up from her reclined position. She stretched her wings for a moment, allowing the sun to rise further. When the light reached the height of her window and fell on her face, Chrysalis took a running start, and leapt out of the room. Her feathery wings began flapping immediately.

The journey northward was a tiring one – as it always was – but Chrysalis had plenty of leftover energy from the previous day. Not to mention she was heading back to the source of nearly all the love in Equestria.

Her falsified golden hair whipped around in the breeze as she traveled. Pondering what might happen when she arrived at the Crystal Empire, Chrysalis swooped to avoid a wayward cloud. One thought that she was wondering was if Sombra would even show up, but the faint memory of tangerine on her lips reassured her.

The taste of infatuation that she had managed to pilfer was fresh, vibrant, and ripe. Sombra would be waiting for her at the ice cream parlor. He almost didn't have a choice. Distantly, Chrysalis wondered if she did.

Before too long, the Crystal Empire came into view. Sunrise was long over by now, and the bright beams of a near-noon sun reflected off the shiny structures below her. Chrysalis was surprisingly early, and decided to land right outside the city. She walked in, and felt the familiar pull of the Crystal Heart calling out to her.

Her instincts compelled her to near the source of the energy, and her legs obeyed. Chrysalis did not mind all that much. The Crystal Heart was right about were she needed to be. The changeling princess allowed herself to walk in a quasi-daze, thinking there could be no harm in it.

She didn't remember much while walking to the ice cream parlor. Her eyes just sort of glazed over and she followed her nose to the unequivocal smell of love radiating from the center of town.

"Chryssi? What are you doing?" A voice called out to her. Recognizing it, the glaze over her eyes vanished. Chrysalis shook her head, realizing her body had taken over. She was three feet away from the Crystal Heart. A burly looking guard was in the midst of blocking her path as she was coming out of her trance.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to step back," the guard declared, a nasty scowl on his face with one hoof already reaching for a weapon. Sombra appeared beside her, and Chrysalis felt her face flush with embarrassment.

"It won't be a problem, officer," he filled in for a speechless pink pegasus. The two of them began to step back, and guard appeared appeased. Though he did keep an eye on Chrysalis.

"Geeze, Chyssi. What was that all about?" Sombra asked as they exited the earshot of the guardponies.

"I… uh… well… umm… I was just daydreaming," Chrysalis stumbled upon the excuse.

"What could have made you daydream so much that you almost walk into the Crystal Heart?" Sombra asked. "You were pretty out of it."

Chrysalis's eyes darted around, looking for something to use for an answer. Only problem was there was one thing she could see, and he was standing right in front of her.

"You," Chrysalis said in barely a whisper. That one word made Sombra blink in surprise. He stepped back, his gray face a sudden shade of red. Faintly, Chrysalis taste tangerine.

"You… what?" Sombra asked in a state of disbelief.

"I was thinking of you," Chrysalis said in a louder voice. "I just had such a great time hanging out with you yesterday, that I couldn't wait to see you again." The lie rolled out of her mouth fairly easily. Well… partial-lie. She had wanted to see Sombra again, but the dazed state was caused by something she couldn't explain to him. It was just a little white lie though. It wouldn't harm anypony.

"Wow…" Sombra said. His shocked expression made Chrysalis think she came on to strong. She was about to retract the statement, when all of a sudden…

"I couldn't wait to see you again either," Sombra said. The tangerine taste became slightly stronger.

Chrysalis gulped, she herself taken aback at the sudden turn the conversation was taking. Sombra gave her a smile that was somewhere between reassuring and awkward.

"You want to grab some milkshakes to go?" Sombra asked. "The museum is open today, so I thought maybe we could…"

"I'd love to," Chrysalis said, grateful for a change of subject. The duo made their way to the icecream parlor on the corner, Sombra never dropping his happy smile. It must have been infectious, because Chrysalis felt the corner's of her mouth point upward. The tangerine taste only got stronger.

Somepony to Love

Time tended to drag in the dilapidated castle in the middle of the Badlands. To Chrysalis, hours sometimes felt like weeks, and days felt like years. She always looked forward to the times when she was allowed to venture beyond the castle walls in order to feed. Even then, she always had guards to follow and protect her, per her father's orders.

In the past few years since becoming a teenager, Chrysalis would occasionally sneak out. Not often, just once or twice a month; she never stayed out for an amount that would draw suspicion from anypony. Just enough to pass the time, to make something of excitement occur in her droll life.

Over the past two weeks, the slow humdrum life style had been replaced by a much more invigorating one. Chrysalis would flee the confines of the castle nearly everyday to travel to the Crystal Empire. The hours that used to crawl by so slowly now flew by until she got to spend time with Sombra.

She inadvertently found herself growing fonder of the gray stallion with each new encounter. Maybe it was the fresh, tangy taste of tangerines that she felt whenever she met up with him. Perhaps it was the way he could talk about his studies in magic for hours on end, but never bored her. It could be the look in his eye that he got just by seeing her.

Chrysalis had learned so much about the unicorn over the past few weeks. She learned that despite always daring her to a milkshake race, he could barely finish one without a brain freeze. Sometimes, he would talk about his love for science and history, or his ambitions. Other times, Chrysalis had to learn things indirectly about him. Upon several of their many walks, the changeling princess had noticed that Sombra's stare became disfocused whenever the duo would pass by a father playing with their children in the park. This led Chrysalis to believe he was an orphan, or at the very least, raised without a father figure. When she walked him home one night, she learned from his cramped living spaces that money was not something he had a lot of, nor desired. An admirable trait to say the least.

She even found some of his little quirks endearing. How fast his cheeks blushed when somepony mistook them for a couple. The swift way he brushed his loose hair out of his face whenever he thought she wasn't looking. The cute way his nose twitched whenever he got excited…

Perhaps you are becoming too fond of him. Chrysalis thought to herself. Her eyes sunk as she realized this was true. Everyday, the princess of changelings told herself that she was only going to see Sombra in order to feed off his infatuation. That excuse had slowly been falling apart over the last week. Yesterday, during a celebratory lunchtime picnic with Sombra for his graduation, Chrysalis had completely forgotten to feed off his infatuation. Worse yet, she hadn't realized it until the flight home.

As Chrysalis stood waiting in her room for the right time to begin flying towards the Crystal Empire, she pondered what it was that was happening to her. She was far too young to be losing her skills as a love manipulator. Something like that shouldn't happen until she was at least a thousand years old. No, her current situation was something else entirely, but what could…

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Chrysalis grunted angrily, peeved that her thoughts had been interrupted. Putting on a calm demeanor, she turned to the doors of her room, and opened them with a simple spell of green aura.

Standing on the other side was the royal messenger, Bared Fang. He was a changeling of short stature who was no longer cut out for fieldwork after an unfortunate accident that involved baking cupcakes took away his ability to hold solid illusions. Chrysalis never asked the messenger changeling the full story on how cupcakes could render his morphing abilities useless. She knew Bared Fang to be particularly touchy about the subject, likely due to embarrassment.

"What do you need, Fang?" She asked him, eager for his departure. The dwarf changeling cleared his throat.

"Your father has requested your presence in his chambers." Bared Fang reported.

Cold beads of sweat formed on Chrysalis's forehead. If King Metamorphosis wanted to see her, it was not a good sign. Her father was not one to make social calls. Ever.

"I'll be right there." She said to Bared Fang as collected as she could. The short changeling bowed his head respectfully, and walked away. Chrysalis turned her head toward the window in her sitting room. It beckoned her to flee towards the Crystal Empire. Towards Sombra. For a second, she considered it. Then logic and reason took over her brain again. She had to go see what her father wanted, even if it meant being late to her meeting with Sombra.

She strolled through the halls of the changeling castle, feigning confidence to any of her subjects as she passed them. Looking weak or even scared in front of the changelings that she would one day be ruling was a bad idea. Better to let her mind worry and her body not show it. So while her devil-may-care attitude was on display for the castle staff to see, the wheels of her mind began turning ferociously. Questions about why her father wanted to see her surged forward. Any answers she had for her own questions were illogical and/or fear based. Eventually she gave up on trying to figure out the why part of her situation.

She arrived at the door to her father's chambers much sooner than she hoped. Chrysalis tapped lightly once on the door, and waited.

"Enter." A stern voice on the other side called out. She gulped. With a soft glow of green flickering from her horn, Chrysalis turned the knob and gently nudged the creaking door open.

On the otherside of the door, she saw her father. King Metamorphosis was a very withered looking changeling. He stood just barely taller than his daughter and had a long gray beard that touched the floor. His legs were so gaunt that they could barely support his own weight. The changeling king was also subject to small tremors from time to time. Still, for a being of three thousand years, he didn't look that bad.

"You wanted to see me, father?" Chyrsalis asked slowly.

"Yes, I did." Her father replied. "Chrysalis, where have you been going?"

"Excuse me?" Chrysalis asked a cold bead of sweat forming on her head.

King Metamorphosis sighed in an irritated manner. "Don't play dumb with me, daughter. You've been leaving the castle fairly often as of late. I want to know why, and I want to know where you are going. Right now."

There's know use in lying, Chrysalis told herself. Her father had always been the best at detecting any and every lie that left her mouth. Speaking anything but the truth would only hurt her at the moment.

"I've been going to the Crystal Empire." She said, monotone. "I don't see why that's a problem."

"It is a problem, Chyrsalis. You aren't supposed to leave the castle grounds unescorted. It's dangerous." Her father moved closer to her. "You are the Crown Princess. Heir to the throne of our entire race. If something were to happen to me while you were off on one of your little excursions, the kingdom would be without a ruler. Or worse, if something were to happen to you when you're prancing about the Crystal Empire. Did that ever occur you?"

Chyrsalis sighed inwardly. "No," she mumbled, well aware her father was right. She hadn't been concerned for her own safety over the past two weeks, or even considered the sake of the kingdom. Instead she had been taking long walks in the park, and sharing milkshakes with Sombra.

"So you agree that it's best for you to remain in the castle until further notice," her father concluded.

"What?!" Chrysalis shouted in reaction. Her father didn't flinch. "You can't be serious!"

"I am dead serious. You've been careless and reckless for far to long. It's time to grow up and take some responsibility for your actions." Her father's unrelenting demeanor signified the end of the argument. He turned away slightly, but then moved back. He sniffed once from his nose, and Chrysalis felt her breath leave her.

Metamorphosis was not the changeling he used to be, but his nose was still reliable at close range. And at this range he could easily smell the…

"Tangerines," he whispered and took another whiff. Chrysalis gulped. "Where did this come from?" he asked softly. The changeling princess held her tongue, refusing to answer. "WHERE DID THIS COME FROM, CHRYSALIS?" her father screamed in her face.

She retreated from the shock from her father's outburst. "J-just the Crystal Heart," she stammered out.

"Don't lie to me," Metamorphosis demanded, tone exceedingly darker. "I'm old, not foolish. The Crystal Heart gives off positive energies. Energy that feels like love. What you have is pure infatuation, straight from the source. Now… WHERE DID IT COME FROM?"

Tears sprung to her eyes as Chrysalis cried out, "A stallion I met in the Empire. I've been getting it from him for the past two weeks. He really likes me, so I've been hanging around him to feed off his infatuation. That's all."

Metamorphosis seemed like he didn't know to be angry or concerned. "Are you sure that's all?" he asked. "Because if you need the energy of infatuation, you'd be able to get if from a dozen other sources, not some stallion who's starry-eyed for you." The elderly changeling's eyes narrowed. "I think it goes without saying that you are forbidden from seeing this pony ever again."

"What?!" Chrysalis spouted out in shocked outrage.

"You heard me," her father replied. "You know what happens when a changeling becomes too attached to somepony. They start to love, Chrysalis. And for us, that is very, very dangerous."

"You can't keep me from him!" Chrysalis declared angrily. "You have no right!"

"I have every right." Metamorphosis fired back. "I am your king, and more importantly, I am your father. So when I say you are never seeing that stallion ever again, I mean you are never seeing that stallion again."

Chrysalis felt streaks of tears glide down her face. "BUCK YOU!" She screamed at her father. Without looking at his reaction, the changeling princess turned and ran from the room.

She didn't stop running until the end of the long corridor outside of her father's room. The corridor led directly to a window, which Chrysalis promptly leapt out of and began flying.

Her insect wings buzzed through the air as she flew as far away from her father and the entire changeling hive in the Badlands. Bitter tears obscured her vision as she flew faster and faster. She was angry. Immensely angry.

How could he? Chrysalis thought to herself. He didn't understand. There was no way he could understand. Sombra was slowly becoming more important to her with each day. Chrysalis often found herself wanting to be around him. Even though they had no possible future together, Chrysalis couldn't help herself.

She liked the way he could drone on for hours about his passions.

She liked the way he would challenge her to milkshake races nearly everyday.

She liked the way his nose twitched when he got excited.

She liked the way his eyes would light up when he saw her.

She liked the way he called her Chryssi.

…

She liked him.

ooo000ooo

When Chrysalis touched down in the outskirts of the Crystal Empire nearly ten minutes later, she realized that she had yet to configure her disguise. Apparently she hadn't had time in between yelling at her father and flying angrily off to the Empire.

Despite already being late to meet up with Sombra, the changeling princess took her time with the disguise. Each detail needed to be flawlessly replicated from the last time she had transformed into the pink pegasus form. It was actually becoming easier for her to morph into the golden-haired mold. A transformation spell that usually took half an hour now only took five minutes when Chrysalis needed to be her pink pegasus persona.

When it was complete, Chrysalis glanced at her reflection in the mirror like surface of the crystal buildings. Her pink face was as beautiful as ever. Unfortunately it wasn't really her face.

Not one to dote on that fact, Chrysalis speedily made up for lost time. She weaved her way through the crowds of the Empire's midday traffic, guided only by her nose. By now, she could identify Sombra's unique tangerine scent and follow it straight to the source.

The scent first led her by the public park in the northwestern part of the Empire. That didn't surprise Chrysalis too much. After all, this had been where she planned to meet the gray unicorn. The tangerine scent was so strong, that Chrysalis could now feel the tangy taste of it on her tongue. Yet, it seemed as though Sombra was no longer in the grassy knoll. Based on the strength of infatuation, he had lingered for quite some time, most likely waiting for her to arrive. Chrysalis came to the conclusion that Sombra must've left.

Her heart sunk a little at the realization that she had probably hurt him. Just the thought of Sombra dejectedly walking the glimmering streets was causing an aching pain to appear in her chest.

Find him, she encouraged herself.

The tangerine scent was hard to pick up again, with the park obfuscating so much of it, but Chrysalis eventually found a thin thread that she knew would lead her to the gray unicorn.

She followed the trail along a route that was vaguely familiar to her. When it finally came to her, Chrysalis realized that Sombra was heading to his house. She also realized that even though she appeared to be closing in on the gray unicorn, the tangerine scent was getting steadily weaker.

I did hurt him, Chrysalis thought to herself. Sombra must have been crushed when he came to the conclusion that Chrysalis wouldn't be showing up. His feelings for her were now deteriorating because of that. She couldn't let that happen, and not just because she enjoyed feeding off those feelings.

The pink pegasus rounded a street corner, pushing crystal ponies out of her way as she did. The tangerine scent was slowly becoming more distinct. She was close, and that's about when she saw him.

Not far down the path, Chrysalis saw a gray pony who decidedly did not have a crystal coat. Levitating next to him in a scarlet aura where two glasses that contained milkshakes.

He even got me chocolate. Chrysalis thought, recognizing her favorite flavor even from this distance. She watched in horror as Sombra stopped at a trashcan, and dejectedly tossed both shakes into it.

Oh no. Chrysalis thought, tears welling up in her eyes. She really lamented herself for not arriving sooner. "Sombra!" she called out to him. The gray unicorn hadn't heard her; he just continued a forlorn walk down the street. The tangerine scent was now barely present.

"Sombra!" Chrysalis called out again, cantering towards him. She ignored the fact that she had wings. The changeling merely forgot about them. For a moment, she forgot about everything. Her father, her subjects, the differences between herself and Sombra. They all just melted away for the moment. All that mattered was getting to him. Chrysalis had to reassure him that she was still here. That she cared for him as much as he cared for her.

"Sombra!" Chrysalis desperately called out for a third time. Her voice finally caught his ears. He stopped, and turned around, and found himself greeted by a flurry of pink as Chrysalis wrapped her forelegs around him.

"Chryssi?" Sombra asked, understandably confused and surprised. Despite that, the tangerine odor radiated stronger that ever before. It was so powerful that not only did Chrysalis taste it, but it stung her eyes as well.

By now Sombra's face was as scarlet red as his eyes. He still managed to find the sense to hug Chrysalis back.

"I… I thought you weren't coming," he whispered in her ear.

"I'm so sorry for being late," she whispered back. "I can't stand myself for it. I didn't mean..."

"It's okay. I forgive you," Sombra assured her. "I'm just glad you're here now."

Chrysalis smiled widely. She didn't need Sombra to say that – the tangerine scent was more than enough for it – but it made her feel great to hear it anyway. The smile dimmed when she realized what this meant. What all of it meant.

She cared for Sombra deeply. Just the thought of having hurt him was enough to bring her to tears. How would he react when he learned the truth about her? If it did crush him, then she would have to do it now. The more attached Sombra became to her, the worse it would be when the time came.

"Hey, Sombra." She said, allowing the two to become disentangled from the hug.

"Yeah?" The gray stallion asked with his smiling eyes.

"I… I have something very important to tell you."

"I have something I've got to tell you." Sombra said, excited. He waited for her to say what her news was. Chrysalis decided to delay the inevitable.

"You go first." She said.

Giddy with his bit of news, Sombra said, "I got a letter from the University's research team today. They've offered me a job to help with a huge project."

"That sounds amazing!" Chrysalis genuinely said. "What's the project?"

"They're working to find a way to make dark magic less corruptible and safer. But that's not important right now. What was the thing you have to tell me?"

Chrysalis allowed her eyes to dart around the grounded street that the two were clogging up. "I can't really say out here. Can we go to your place instead?"

Sombra raised an eyebrow, curious to why they would need to go to his apartment for Chrysalis to reveal her news. "Um, okay. No problem."

"Great." Chrysalis replied, anxiety causing her stomach to cramp.

ooo000ooo

Even the slums of the Crystal Empire glittered when one walked through them. It was always something Chrysalis had admired about the city, how even the worst places to live could rival the high society areas of Manehatten.

Unfortunately, all the changeling princess could do as she walked to Sombra's apartment was admire the scenery. Chrysalis wasn't entirely sure what to say at the moment. Being unable to reveal her secret just yet had rendered all her social skills inept. Sombra was equally quite, probably overcome with curiosity.

The duo arrived at the apartment complex finally. They walked in through the lobby, and were greeted by a slightly overly enthusiastic middle aged mare at the reception desk.

"Welcome back, Sombra," the orange-coated crystal mare said. "Who's your pretty friend?"

"Oh… um… this is my uh… this is Chryssi," Sombra tripped over his own words.

"Nice to meet you, dearie." The mare smiled, taking Chrysalis' pink hoof and shaking it. "I'm Sun Beam. I manage the entire building, and let me tell you, you have picked yourself a fine stallion right here. He is one of the best tenants I've ever had. You couldn't have done better for a coltfriend."

Red flushed onto her cheeks. "W-what?" she stammered.

"Oh don't be coy," Sun Beam slyly said. She turned to the gray stallion next to her.. "Sombra, you dog you. I'm so proud that you've finally managed to find a marefriend. You know, I've been a little worried about you ever since–"

"Okay Mrs. Beam," Sombra declared, cutting her off and face getting redder than Chrysalis'. "Thank you. Honestly. But Chryssi isn't my… I mean we aren't… I just…"

Sun Beam giggled over Sombra's stuttering. "Oh, no. Now I've gone and embarrassed you. Sorry dearie. I just get a little carried away now and again. I'll let you kids enjoy yourselves some alone time." She gave each of them a wink and trotted off behind the reception desk, leaving both Sombra and Chrysalis embarrassed and stunned respectively.

The awkwardly walked towards the staircase down the hall, neither making eye contact with Sun Beam.

"She seemed… nice." Chrysalis said cautiously.

"She means well." Sombra said. "But sometimes she doesn't have a filter between her brain and her mouth."

Chrysalis nodded, having experienced it firsthoof. The flight of stairs was a short climb, since Sombra lived on the next floor. They stopped in front of an apartment door right next to the stair's exit.

Sombra's horn went alight with a red aura, but it did not appear he was trying to levitate his keys up to the lock.

"Where's your key?" Chrysalis asked, curious.

"Don't need it," Sombra replied. The keyhole on the lock glowed red, and Chrysalis heard the familiar click of tumblers moving into place. The door was pushed open without a fight.

"Nice trick," she told him. Sombra smiled.

"Ladies first," he replied, gesturing inside with his hoof.

"What a gentlecolt." Chrysalis hoped their exchange would help ease her tension. It didn't.

"So what was so important for you to tell me that we had to come all the way here?" Sombra asked, stepping in and closing the door.

Chrysalis gulped. "It's really more of something that I have to show you."

"Okay." Sombra pulled up a chair and sat down. "Show me then." He smiled warmly at her, not even close to expecting what was about to happen.

"You see, I'm …" Chrysalis closed her eyes and fired up her transformation spell. Transforming back into her old self was a very simple task. Brilliant green lights trailed across her body, zapping her hooves from pink into their black, holed state. Her golden curly hair once again became its long, unruly mess of teal. Her light pink wings became the gnarled bug wings they truly were. Her horn reappeared, long and crooked. Her fangs returned, and her face became it's usual self. "… a changeling," she whispered, her transformation done.

She peeked one eye open, and saw Sombra. He was staring, pupils as small as marbles, jaw hanging open. It was more or less the reaction she had expected. Chrysalis collapsed on the ground, knowing full well a litany of shouting and screaming was about to flow forth.

Tears rolled down her face. "You must hate me now," she whimpered.

"...No," Sombra said. Chrysalis looked up at him, stunned. "Chryssi, I could never hate you." The changeling princess wiped away one of the tears.

"Really?" she asked. Sombra extended a hoof to help her stand up and she took it.

"Really. Just because you're different doesn't change the way I feel about you."

"Even though I've been lying to you this whole time?" Chrysalis asked, still expecting him to start screaming at any second.

"I understand why you had to lie. But you've told me the truth now, and that's what matters. Besides, I never liked you because you were a cute pink pegasus pony. I liked you for you."

Gently, Sombra brushed away some of her teal hair that was covering her face. "Besides, I think you're even more beautiful this way."

Chrysalis opened her mouth, but could find nothing to say.

"Chryssi," Sombra said while she still struggled to form a coherent thought. "There's something I wanted to ask you for a while now. Will… Will you be my marefriend?"

Chrysalis still couldn't speak. But she knew she didn't have to. Instead, she leaned in, bringing her lips to touch Sombra's. He didn't hesitate to passionately return the kiss.

All of Chrysalis' worries melted away for the second time that day. Only this time, the moment lasted much, much longer. And as she and Sombra stood in their embrace, Chrysalis noticed that the tangy smell of tangerine had been replaced with the sweet scent of honey.

…Love.

Lovesick

She slowly drifted to consciousness, and found herself warmly snuggled on top of a spring mattress. Around her was a single blanket of cotton that was old and well worn. However, that single sheet was not her reason for being so warm.

Lying directly next to her, both gray forelegs wrapped gently around her waist and midsection, was Sombra. His breath was soft and relaxing as he exhaled into her unkempt teal mane. His hooves were a warm steady constant that made lying in place without moving extremely comfortable. Not to mention, even when he was asleep, the gray unicorn emitted the sweet, savory taste of honey. The flavor of love. It was the perfect way to wake up, and Chrysalis realized how blessed she was to have waken up this way nearly everyday for the past month.

After the first of many passionate kisses, Chrysalis told Sombra everything. She told him that she was a princess among the changelings, how she had been feeding off the energies he had been making, and how she had decided to defy her father to see him.

After patiently and intently listening to her story, Sombra did the only logical thing that any reasonable coltfriend would do after discovering his marefriend to be a fugitive from her own species; he invited her to spend the night.

Chyrsalis had been reluctant at first. After all, it was completely inappropriate for her to spend the night with the pony she had only just entered a relationship with. Eventually, she had caved into reason, seeing as how she couldn't return home after all but denouncing her princesshood.

So she ended up spending the night… on the couch. That was her insistence, not Sombra's. The stallion offered to let her have the bed, but Chyrsalis knew it wouldn't feel right. The next night, Chrysalis still didn't have any idea if she should return home or not. Sombra had agreed to let her stay again, under one condition: She got to have the bed. Finding his persistence to be endearing, Chrysalis reluctantly relented, and slept in his cot.

The third night was where she drew the line.

"I'm sleeping on the couch tonight," she demanded. "It's your apartment, and your bed. I don't feel right taking it."

To which Sombra declared, "Well I don't feel right about having you sleep on the couch when the bed is far more comfortable."

The two of them had a brief stare off, realizing neither was going to budge. Finally, a nervous Sombra suggested something that surprised her. "We could always… share."

Chyrsalis still remembered the reddening of his cheeks when those words escaped his lips. She also still remembered the happiness in his eyes when she said she would love to share the bed with him. Ever since, they had spent each night intertwined in each other's hooves, cuddling through the night.

They had not had a single argument since. And that one was hardly an argument to begin with.

She felt movement behind her, and soon heard the early morning yawning of her coltfriend. His forelegs squeezed her gently, as if he was checking to make sure she was real. It made Chrysalis smile, since he did it every single morning. Yet another quirk she loved about him.

"Good morning, Chyrssi." Sombra yawned. "How'd you sleep?"

"Wonderfully," she whispered. Without turning around, the changeling princess knew Sombra was smiling.

"Glad to hear that." He nuzzled the back of her neck. "You know, I could lie here all day."

"Don't you have a job to get to?" Chyrsalis asked playfully, knowing full well that Sombra had to be at the University's research lab by nine o'clock.

"Don't you?" Sombra asked right back. Chrysalis smiled, grateful for the reminder. Last week, she had completely exhausted all solo recreational activities that the Crystal Empire had to offer. With Sombra in the lab five days a week, Chrysalis had declared that she too needed a job in order to keep from going stir crazy.

The gray unicorn offered no arguments, and within a few hours, Chyrsalis had found a job that would kill the time until she got to see him again.

"Thanks for reminding me." She started to get up. Sombra's forelegs lingered around her only for a moment, before allowing her to move. The gray unicorn began to shift about as well, getting up and moving to the kitchen in the very next room.

"What do you want for breakfast?" he asked her, opening his fridge. Chrysalis closed her eyes, soaking in the powerful energy of love that was radiating from Sombra.

"I've already eaten," she said. Sombra peeked out from behind the fridge door.

"Oh right." He grined. "I forgot." The dark haired unicorn moved an apple from the fridge with a simple levitation spell, and took a single bite. Chrysalis glanced at the wall clock that Sombra had in the bedroom. It was later than she expected.

"I've got to go," she said, stepping into the kitchen.

"I'll miss you," Sombra told her.

"Don't be so corny," she reprimanded. Sombra sheepishly grinned.

"See you tonight," he amended, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. Chrysalis couldn't stop her dark cheeks from becoming bright red, even though this was a common gesture from her coltfriend.

To cover up her blush, Chrysalis flashed a green transformation spell, donning the familiar skin of the pink pegasus pony she been using for weeks. It had become almost as easy as breathing. A spell that would require most changelings an hour of concentration took her a couple of seconds.

"Goodbye." She planted a kiss on Sombra's cheek. Chrysalis giggled as she saw her coltfriend's cheeks flush as red as hers were. She walked out of the apartment, and immediately felt a flux in the level of honey-flavored energy.

True to his word, Sombra was already missing her. Truth be told, Chrysalis missed him as well.

That's when the headache started.

ooo000ooo

Despite a persistent throbbing in her head, Chrysalis managed to find her way to her job.

Left on Ruby Avenue. Walk straight down until you hit Sapphire Street. Follow that one until you have to make a right at the Crystal Heart and…

There she was. She walked right in, hearing the bell placed near the top of the door jingle and alert her boss to her presence.

An azure crystal mare behind the counter smiled as she noticed who arrived.

"Morning Chrysalis. Can you flip the closed sign to open for me?"

"Sure thing, Mint Chip," Chrysalis said, and preformed the action to officially open the ice cream parlor. She smiled, finding it ironic how fate would get her to work at the very creamery where she and Sombra had shared their first milkshake.

"You look happy this morning," Mint noticed, her bright green eyes surmising that from the happy smile on Chrysalis's face. "Have an exciting night, perhaps?"

"What do you mean?" Chrysalis said, taking her place behind the counter. "It was just me and Sombra like always."

"Exactly," the crystal mare said. She had kept well up to date with Chrysalis's relationship with Sombra since the changeling princess had begun working. She knew that Mint Chip took a certain satisfaction that she had predicted the two would get together at some point. "Did anything… you know… happen?"

Red tainted Chrysalis's currently pink cheeks. She suddenly realized exactly what Mint Chip was implying. "NO… no… we didn't do ANYthing like that," she stressed, praying her boss wouldn't push the issue.

Thankfully, Mint did nothing of the sort. "Alright, alright. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want." The azure mare said. "Let's just focus on the business." Mint continued in response to two ponies walking in.

The two spent the next few hours working in silence. The ice cream parlor was unusually busy that day. It seemed that lots of crystal ponies – most of them couples – had suddenly decided to congregate in the one little creamery.

Seeing so many couples immediately made Chrysalis think of Sombra. In turn, her thoughts of him caused more throbs of pain from her eerie headache. As the workday went on, Chrysalis didn't feel the pain subside. She blamed it on the business of the parlor, and hoped that it would fade soon.

Sometime in the afternoon, the rush of ice cream loving happy couples died down. Chrysalis assumed that her headache would've gone away at that point, but it hadn't.

In fact, things had taken a turn for the worst. Chrysalis had noticed that her body was becoming physically weaker. Earlier, she needed to use both hooves just to pull the lever on the stirring machine, an act that could usually be done with a simple nudge.

Maybe I've caught an illness. Chrysalis thought. Parents are always bringing their sick kids in here. Yeah, that's it.

The pink pegasus glanced at her boss momentarily. Should she tell Mint Chip that she's getting ill? It was only her first week on the job, and even though the azure mare was friendly, there was no guarantee she'd just let Chyrsalis leave mid day. She heard the blue crystal pony state she was going on break.

I'll stick it out till closing time. The changeling princess thought, gritting her teeth.

At that moment, the bell system rigged to the door jingled. Chrysalis turned to greet her next set of customers. Yet another couple, a red-orange stallion with teal hair and a purple mare with blonde hair that trailed a few green highlights.

"What can I get you two?" Chrysalis asked.

"A pair of chocolate milkshakes, please," the stallion said, reaching for his wallet.

"Four bits, please," Chrysalis recited the words she had been speaking all day, readying two cups.

Blending the milkshakes was about as mind-numbing a task as it sounds. Scoop the ice cream into a blender, push a button, wait. Unfortunately for Chrysalis, she had to spend a longer than usual period of time just trying to make them in her condition.

By the time she finished, Chyrsalis was light-headed and breathing heavily. She set both milkshakes on the counter for the couple, and placed the bits in the cash register, her hoof shaky. The stallion reaching for his milkshake didn't take notice of her condition, but the mare did.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her face showing mild concern.

"I think…. I not…. doing so well…" Chrysalis rasped out. Her breathing became much more labored, and by now even the stallion on the opposite side of the counter could see something was wrong.

"Uh, you don't look so good," the reddish-orange stallion so aptly observed.

Chrysalis found that she couldn't even offer a reply anymore. Her head suddenly burst in a flare of immense pain, the headache from earlier surmounting to a level of agony she didn't know existed. The changeling princess convulsed as her joints locked up. Her lungs burned. Her mouth became dry and her throat scratchy. Chrysalis tried to scream in pain, but couldn't even manage to do that. She felt her face contort into an expression of suffering. Her body gave out and she toppled to the tiled floor of the shop.

The last thing she heard was the startled gasp of the mare on the other side of the counter.

The last thing she saw the extra box of plastic spoons Mint Chip kept in the shelves beneath the counter.

The last thing she tasted was a soured version of the honey flavor she had come to know all too well in the past month.

…Love…

…

…Her love…

ooo000ooo

A red iris stared intently through the reinforced glass casing in front of it. On the other side rested possibly the single most dangerous artifact in the Crystal Empire University's possession: an oblong, jagged, dark crystal.

It looked harmless enough at first glance. Like any other crystal one could come across. Despite the darker shade, it looked just like a Curio Quartz; a crystal that would blink a vibrant pink color more rapidly the closer it was brought to buried metal and varying small valuables.

Unlike its treasure-hunting twin, this crystal had never been seen, or cataloged before. Even the pony who owned the red eye currently inspecting the crystal had never seen it before, and he had a master's degree in esoteric geology.

The crystal had yet to be given a name, having only been found precisely two and a half months ago, at the edge of the infamous Everfree Forest. It had changed hooves several times – mostly because of royal orders – until it had been brought to CEU for study.

Sombra brought his curious eye away from the glass surrounding the crystal, and gave a short "harrumph" sound. The noise did not go unnoticed in the tiny, silent research room. Professor Igneous rotated his head away from the microscope he'd been staring through to face Sombra. Once his mentor, and now coworker, Igneous had been one of the few ponies assigned to the study of the black crystal, and the only one to basically put his life on hold while he did so.

The stallion was living proof that all ponies needed to shower; he smelled like a mixture of old mop water and rotten eggs. His pale blue eyes wore several dark bags beneath them, and his chin displayed the symptoms of a forgetful shaver. Igneous's usual starch white lab coat seemed to have morphed into a motley of old pizza stains, chemical scorch marks, and powder from crushed rocks. He was a mess, but he was at least a friendly mess.

"Harrumph? Why a harrumph?" he asked.

"It's the crystal, Ig. It's not speaking to me," Sombra replied.

"You can speak to crystals now? Is that some sort of magic voodoo spell you've had up your sleeve this whole time?" Igneous inquired, he himself not actually a unicorn.

"No. I mean it's not talking." Sombra said, unable to really put to words what he meant.

"Oh, well that just explains everything," Igneous said with light sarcasm in his voice.

"You know what I mean, Ig," Sombra accused his former teacher. "This crystal hasn't given us one piece of conclusive data since we got it. No possible links to dark magic. Nothing. It just hasn't been talking at all. Hence the harrumph."

"Harrumph," Igneous agreed. The bright green crystal stallion returned his attention to the microscope. Underneath the scrutiny of the lens was a tiny shard sliced off from the black crystal in the case. Igneous had been examining that one little shard for the past half hour. Despite being well passed middle-aged, Igneous had the best eyesight out of any of the three currently studying the dark crystal, yet even he could not pick out any telltale traits that this crystal had besides it's color.

"Go and see if Eureka is in yet," Igneous told Sombra. "Maybe she's got some ideas."

"I'll check her office; she tends to spend the night in there." Ig nodded the best he could without removing his eye from the microscope. Sombra exited into the hall.

While CEU was best known for its varsity badminton team, the university spared no expense when it came to research. Sombra had just entered one of a dozen hallways in the department. Each hall had at least a dozen doorways, and each door led to a state-of-the-art lab. A few other professors were milling about as Sombra walked by. A former classmate of his waved to him.

"Hey Sombra," The ex-classmate who Sombra identified as Zephyr said. "You looking for Professor Eureka?"

"Yeah," Sombra responded. "How'd you know?"

"She blew past me a few minutes ago, nose buried in a cup of coffee, grumbling about non-talkative crystals. I connected the dots." Zephyr smiled. The white crystal pony pointed in the direction he'd seen the disgruntled professor go.

"Thanks," Sombra said, and began searching for his other former teacher.

Eureka was a magenta unicorn who was cresting past her golden years and didn't give a damn about it. Early in his time as a college student, Sombra had been singled out by her based on his proficiency in magic. Eureka had been more of a personal tutor than a professor after that. Eventually she became a good friend too. It was actually her who offered him the job working on the dark magic project. It was also her who had secured the crystal for them to study.

Sombra found Eureka downing the last of her morning coffee. As he walked into her office, the magenta mare lowered her specks to see him. Her red hair was tied back, like it was nearly all the time, and her bright green eyes sparked with recognition.

"Sombra, what brings you down here?" she asked.

"Ig and I are out of ideas with the crystal." he said. "We need your help with what to do next."

"It's still not talking to you?" Eureka frowned at the setback. "Hmm… I suppose there is one thing I could try." With toss of green aura, the empty coffee cup was in a waste bin, and the two were back into the labyrinthine halls of the research department.

The two walked in silence, each expecting it to be a short trip back to the lab, and therefore reluctant to start a conversation. Eventually, Eureka became fed up with the silence.

"How are things going between you and Chrysalis?" she asked.

"We're doing great."

"I hope you two are being careful in bed."

Sombra's eyes bulged when he heard that. It wasn't uncommon of Eureka to talk about his personal life. The two had already had plenty of conversations about Chryssi – most of which included sarcastic side commentary from Ig about how he even managed to get a marefriend – but Sombra had left out several important details.

They were namely the changeling related ones.

Eureka could always tell when Sombra was hiding something, and for the past few weeks had been trying to get the grey unicorn to spill his guts about it. He adamantly refused, not willing to betray Chryssi's trust. However, Eureka's latest guess had sent him into a blushing, sputtering fit.

"W-what are you t-talking about?" Sombra stumbled over his words.

"Oh come on Sombra." Eureka coyly smirked, relishing the playful ribbing a little too much. "I know what happens when a colt and a filly have been dating for quite awhile. I just want to make sure you're being responsible when you do it."

"T-that's really… uhh I mean she and I… Can we not have this conversation right now?" Sombra practically begged. Eureka laughed a little at his discomfort.

"Well, I suppose I can let you off the hook. After all, we're already here," The magenta mare said. Sombra swiveled his reddened face away from Eureka to see that she was right. As awkwardly uncomfortable as that walk had been, it had at least got them back to the lab.

The two unicorns walked in on Professor Igneous, still in the same position that Sombra had left him. The gray unicorn tapped the aged crystal pony to get his attention.

"Glad to see you Eureka." Igneous said. "As you can probably tell, we are completely out of ideas, so please tell me you've got something."

Professor Eureka shot a glance at the dark crystal in the glass casing. Her face was unreadable as she turned back to her male colleagues. As she opened her mouth, Sombra could already tell he was not going to like what she had to say.

"It's time to use magic."

Sombra couldn't stop his jaw from gaping open speechless as he heard his former teacher's words. Igneous was just as stunned, but was able to regain his ability to talk before the grey stallion.

"Eureka, uh you but a ban on any and all sparky-sparky magic voodoo on the crystal until we know what it is. That bucker in the case could be filled with dark magic for all we know." The green crystal stallion said. Sombra could only nod, his mouth still wide open.

"I did." Eureka said, stone-faced. "But I'm starting to think we won't know what this is without the… er… sparky-sparky magic voodoo." Her eyes darted from Sombra to Ig. "I'll give it one quick analysis spell to determine its composition and be done. Surely no harm could come from that."

"Wait, no it can't be you," Sombra declared, regaining his voice. Eureka raised a curious eyebrow at him. "No offense, but geology isn't your area of expertise." He said quickly, not meaning to offed her.

"Yeah, it's mine." Ig interjected.

"But you don't have magic." Sombra replied. "I'm the only one here who could do both." The two older ponies shot each other a wary glance and looked back at the gray unicorn.

"I can do this," he affirmed.

Eureka bit her lip as a reply, but brought her horn to life with a light-green aura. The case containing the black crystal floated off its pedestal and was gingerly set near Igneous's microscope.

"Just make it quick." Professor Eureka warned. Sombra nodded with gratitude and focused his attention to the mysterious crystal, now free from incarceration.

The gray stallion took a deep breath before his horn hue became red. One small wavelength danced off his forehead and to the crystal. Then another. And another. He willed each little beam of light to scan up and down the crystal, searching for any clue as to what it was made of.

Information beamed into his brain immediately.

Subject: Unknown Crystal

Origin: Unknown

[Update]

Origin: Everfree Forest (possibly)

Composition: [request pending…]

The information processed rapidly in his head. It was not Sombra's thoughts in his brain, currently, but more along the lines of snippets of information. The analysis spell was very similar to reading, yet very different all the same. Information already in his brain would instantly mesh with present knowledge. It was an amazing feeling; almost mechanical.

The analysis of the composition was taking a longer than normal time, however. Sombra felt his face grow sweaty as he willed the process to speed up.

Composition request complete.

Sedimentary Rock detected.

0.003%

Metamorphosis Rock detected.

0.001%

Hydrogen detected.

0.004%

Alert! Darkness detected.

99.992%

Recommendation: Terminate all magical activity immediately.

Alarm bells went off in Sombra's head as the last information appeared in his brain. Darkness was very, very bad. Addictive, deadly, and evil. The whole point of this project was to bar it's power so no ponies could ever be corrupted by it. Now it was practically fueling dark magic to occur right in front of him.

He was about to stop he flow of magic from his horn, when the crystal in front of him flashed a black-purple light. The red beams from his forehead fluxed in midair. The shifted into a purple color, and acted as though it was boiling in mid-air.

"Gah!" Sombra screamed. He staggered back and felt a stabbing pain in his head.

"Sombra!" Eureka cried. The gray unicorn tried to turn to face her, but found his vision was too blurred to see anything. "Igneous, do something!" He heard.

Sombra could feel his adrenaline skyrocket as the darkness of the crystal entered his mind. Every single joint in his body flared in pain. His ears popped. His skin felt like it was on fire.

It felt…

Good. The fiery sensation spread over his entire body, supercharging him with power. He felt like he could do anything.

An unseen force suddenly slammed into Sombra. He toppled to the ground, connection to the dark magic immediately severed. All the pain receded.

The gray stallion opened his eyes slowly to see Igneous standing over him. The old pony had tackled him to the ground.

"Sombra…" Igneous asked cautiously. "Are you okay?"

"I'm… fine…" Sombra said, breathing heavily. The green crystal pony helped him stand up. "What happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell us. You… your eyes suddenly turned green and your magic it…" the magenta mare shook her head. "I don't know what that was."

"What was in the crystal, kid?" Igneous asked him. Sombra thought back. Disturbingly, he found he couldn't remember it.

"I… I don't know," he said honestly. "It's just gone." Sombra rubbed his hooves across his temple, attempting to recall the substance the crystal was made of.

"Whatever it was, we can't have it here at the University anymore." Eureka said firmly. Igneous nodded at her.

"But… the research," he protested.

"The researching is over," Eureka told him. "I'm going to write up a quick report to the Princess suggesting that we destroy this crystal, or at the very least lock it away. It's clearly to much dark magic to attempt to contain or control."

"That's probably… for the best." Sombra admitted. Igneous nodded his consent

"Why don't you go home and get some rest." Eureka told Sombra.

Sombra brought his gaze around to the crystal. It had not moved from the pedestal, but it some way it had changed. He tried to take his eyes off it for a moment but found that he couldn't. The stallion found himself… drawn to it.

"Sombra." Eureaka's voice rang out in his head. His stare faltered and he looked at the magenta unicorn. "Go home, okay?" she said.

He finally stood up. "Okay." Sombra said shakily.

ooo000ooo

…

…A dull throb that felt like a hammer woke her up. She gasped in momentary pain, her eyes snapping awake. Chrysalis struggled to move, but found most of her limbs to be numb. With effort, she found herself moving her hooves. Out of pure habit, she checked to see if her illusion was still up.

Pink coat. Wings, but no horn. Golden hair.

The transformation spell is still in effect. She thought. The changeling princess attempted to sit up, and discovered a bag of ice had been supine on her forehead. Chrysalis observed her surroundings.

A blue cooler was stacked on top of old newspapers directly across from her. To her right was a poorly cared for ping-pong table. Above her head was a poster of some forgotten colt band nearly twenty years old.

The ice cream parlor's break room.

Chrysalis tried again to sit up, and caused the ice pack to tumble from her head to her lap in the process. The pain in her head returned, so she gripped the ice pack with her hoof and placed it against her face. Relief.

Wait. Why am I in pain? She thought. Her short-term memory was fried. It wasn't long before something forced her to recall. She smelled an incredibly powerful honey odor. Was Sombra nearby? No… wait…

Sour.

Flavor took hold of her. Sour honey. Emotions only tasted sour if changelings were emitting it. The pieces of the puzzle were so obviously strewn out in front of her.

Honey was love. Sour was changeling emotion. She was the only changeling in the room. She was in love... with Sombra.

She shook with fright. This was very, very bad. Her body was currently trying to generate love. That left her with one of two options.

Go insane, or die.

She began hyperventilating. She was in love with Sombra. She was killing herself. The bag of ice slipped from her hooves and crashed to the floor.

How am I not already insane? She wondered. Was the descent into madness a slow process? Could the chemical of love been delayed somehow? Could she be… immune?

The pounding throb of her head told her she was most certainly not immune.

That meant she was on a time limit. Basically she was a carton of milk that could expire at any moment. Only the changeling princess did not come conveniently pre-stamped with a date of demise. She would get to wait in agonizing fear to find out when she would go mad or die. Chrysalis couldn't decide which would be worse.

"I should have listened to my father," she whimpered miserably. The doorknob to the break room turned slowly. Creaking open the door was a blue crystal mare.

"Chrysalis, thank goodness you're awake," Mint Chip said in a relieved tone.

"What happened?" Chrysalis asked, trying to stand up.

Her boss crossed over to her, and propped her up against the ping-pong table. "I'm not totally sure. You just passed out."

"How long ago?" Chrysalis inquired.

"Only five or six minutes." Mint said. "But that's a promising sign, right? You could have been out of it for much longer."

You have no idea. Chrysalis thought. "Should I, go back to work?"

"Are you crazy?" Mint Chip asked. "I'm no doctor, but even I can tell you're not in any condition to work."

"What should I do?" Chrysalis whispered. She doubted Mint Chip would be able to offer any helpful advice.

"Hospital," Mint said, confirming her theory. "And probably bed rest too."

Chrysalis nodded, though she knew a hospital would not be able to care for her. "Okay, I'll do that," she lied.

"What a terrible day to get sick too," Mint Chip commented, helping her coworker to the door.

"What do you mean? It's just another Thursday, isn't it?"

Mint giggled slightly. "You mean you couldn't tell from all the happy couples earlier this morning?" Chrysalis shook her head, confused as to what her friend was getting at. "It's Hearts and Hooves Day."

"Ah," Chrysalis said, stumbling around the counter towards the door of the parlor. She told Mint Chip that she could make it to the hospital on her own, and then the changeling princess went in a completely different direction when she was alone.

Great. She thought. Probably my last sane day of living, and the one thing everypony is celebrating will end up killing me. She crossed the street, limbs wobbly but capable. How am I going to tell Sombra?

Love is a Serious Mental Disease

Chrysalis stumbled through the shining streets of the Crystal Empire, pain laced in every step. Every joint ached as she compelled – no, forced – herself to move forward. She was dangerously close to passing out again. Likely the only thing that prevented her from fainting was distracting her thoughts away from… him.

The changeling princess stumbled over a small bump on the road. While she was able to right herself before tumbling over, the sudden lurching motion sent her stomach doing a barrel roll. Chrysalis nearly hurled, but managed to swallow the rising bile. She contemplated taking a break.

Can't stop now. She thought. I'm so close.

Appearing around the corner was the apartment complex that had been her home for nearly a month. Pressing forward, Chrysalis ignored the burning pains and walked towards the building.

Once inside, she saw Sun Beam lounging at the front desk. The orange crystal mare had her eyes closed, and a soft constant snoring emanating from her. It made Chrysalis wince, for Ms. Beam was a notoriously light sleeper. The last thing the changeling princess needed right now was to wake her up. It's not that she didn't like Sun Beam – for the two had become friends over the course of the weeks – but right now was the worst time to be wrapped up in a conversation.

Determined not to wake her chatty landlord, Chrysalis slinked by. Unfortunately, her hoof caught a squeaky plank in the floor boards. Across the room, Sun Beam stirred.

"Buck." Chrysalis hissed underneath her breath.

The middle aged mare stretched out her forelegs, eyes peaking open. She zeroed in on the pink pegasus in no time.

"Chrysalis!" She happily said. "Wow, you're back early, or is it six already?"

"Hi Ms. Beam." Chrysalis replied, putting on a friendly smile to mask the pain. "It's just passed noon."

"Huh." The orange mare said with a glance outside to see the daylight. "Well, why are you home from work so earlier then? Don't tell me you were fired! I could–"

"No," Chrysalis replied. "It's nothing like that. I just wasn't feeling too good, so Mint Chip sent me home early."

"Oh dear." Sun Beam said, mild concern covering her face. "Are you going to be all right?"

No.

"Yes." Chrysalis lied. "I just need some rest is all."

"Well, I don't think you'll be getting too much of that." Sun Beam said, a knowing glimmer in her eye.

"W-why?" Chrysalis asked.

"Oh… I shouldn't tell you this, but Sombra's already in your apartment. I think he came home early to give you a Hearts and Hooves Day surprise."

A searing pain gripped her head, and Chrysalis struggled to control in facial expressions. Being reminded of Sombra, and the date, was not doing her health any favors. The more she thought of him the more intense the pain became.

"H-he's here?" Chrysalis stammered. Sun Beam joyously nodded, oblivious to how dangerous that was for her. Even so, Chrysalis forced a grin on her face. "Well, I guess I should go up and see him." She managed.

Sun Beam smiled warmly. "I hope you two have a great time, and I also hope you feel better soon, dearie."

I won't.

"Me too." Chrysalis replied instead. "Bye."

"Bye, Chrysalis."

The pink pegasus pony made her way to the familiar door, exhausted. Even so, she decided it was time to shed her current form. Green light erupted out of her, spreading rapidly across her body. It morphed back into her dark coat, bug wings, and teal mane. Her eyes shifted into their emerald-colored insect form and fangs protruded in her mouth.

As the transformation spell finished, Chrysalis weakly braced herself against the wall, completely sapped of energy. She shakily sucked in air, exhausted. In her current state, a transformation spell had not been a wise choice. The changeling princess didn't care; she wanted to look like herself when she saw Sombra. With a jittering hoof, Chrysalis reached for the doorknob, and noticed something.

With a sniff, she found very weird emotional activity on the other side of the door. If Sun Beam was right and Sombra really was planning some sort of surprise for her, than she should have been able to detect giddiness or excitement or at least his honey scented love for her. Instead, all she could smell was a bland bitterness strong enough for her to taste.

Sombra is… depressed?

Any concern for herself suddenly vanished as Chrysalsi hurriedly entered their apartment. She saw Sombra – earning a flare of pain just from seeing him – and practically gasped. The gray unicorn was sitting gloomily at the kitchen table, eyes locked on a small glass half-filled with a light gold liquid hovering in front of his lips. A bottle of hard cider was resting on the table.

He never drank alcohol. Ever. Chrysalis had never seen any hints of it in her coltfriend's apartment. In fact, she had heard him declare on two separate occasions that it was a poison and he wanted nothing to do with it.

"S–Sombra?" She stuttered. The stallion's eyes popped, and his levitation spell immediately cut off. The glass of cider fell to the table, the fermented apples spilling over the table.

"Chryssi?" He asked, the tone of his voice reflecting the sudden barrage of emotions that she could smell and taste. Depression. Shock. Confusion. Anxiety. Shame. Love.

"W-what are you doing home so early?" The unicorn asked, eyes darting from the bottle of cider to her and back again.

"Never mind me!" Chrysalis practically shouted, forgetting how much pain she was in. "What about you? What are you doing, Sombra? That's… that's…" She merely pointed at the beverage in front of him.

Sombra stared for a moment, before slumping in his chair and burying his head in his hooves. "Oh, Chryssi." He said, voice cracking.

Chrysalis immediately moved to him, concern filling her voice. "Sombra, what happened?"

After a few seconds, the gray unicorn was able to bring himself to respond. "The dark magic project was canceled today… and it's all my fault."

"What?!" Chrysalis asked. "Sombra… I'm so sorry…" His burst of depression now made sense. He'd been so happy the day he was hired for the job. Not only losing the project, but also having the added guilt of being responsible for it must be crushing him. The changeling princess put her hoof empathetically on his shoulder.

Should I ask him how it happened? Chrysalis thought. No… No, I shouldn't. I'm already about to make this horrible day worse for him.

Upon thinking that, Chrysalis had a fleeting doubt, wondering if she should even tell Sombra what was happening to her. She rejected it though. He was going to find out one way or another. Better it come from her, now. But…

Sombra brought his face out of his hooves. "I shouldn't be wallowing in my own self-pity." He declared. With a flick of red aura the cider bottle was flung to the trash can. "So, what brings you home so early Chryssi? Is something wrong?" His soft eyes looked into hers. Every part of her ached. She inwardly sighed,.

Here it goes. "Sombra… when I told you I was a changeling… I… I didn't tell you everything."

"What do you mean?" Sombra asked. "Was there something other than feeding off of love, or your father being the king?"

Every alarm bell in her body was blaring now, the pain sky-rocketing. "Sombra… changelings feed off love, but they can't produce it themselves without dying. And I… I love you."

Her body on fire, Chrysalis fell forward, shrieking.

"Chryssi!" The gray unicorn cried. Sombra reached out and caught her. She seized uncontrollably, crying and screaming in agony. "What's happening to you?"

Barely able to keep her eyes open, Chrysalis looked at him. "Love is… a chemical feeling produced by the brain. Changelings… we need it for nourishment… but it's a poison if we feel it. Our brains just weren't designed to make that chemical. It kills us if we try." She began shivering ferociously; her head felt like it was about to split open.

"No." Sombra said, eyes tearing up. "Chryssi… Can't you just stop loving me? Would that save you?"

"Even if I could, I… I don't want to stop loving you, Sombra." She screamed at the pain it caused her to say that. "Get… get me to the bed." She whimpered.

Sombra complied, face a knot of worry and concern. He gently placed her on the mattress and draped the blanket over her body.

"Now… may not be the best time to say this… but I love you too, Chryssi." He said. The changeling princess shut her eyes as another wave of pain washed over her. When she opened them, Sombra was wincing. "Sorry." He whispered.

"Don't be." Chrysalis whispered. "I'm… I'm glad you do. At least I got to hear you say that before I–"

"Please don't say it." Sombra said. "There must be a way to cure it. I'm great with magic, maybe–"

"No." Chrysalis whispered, her throat raw and scratchy. "If there had been a magical way to fix this, changelings would have found it centuries ago." She shut her eyes, cutting off the tears that were trying to escape. "I want you to know… I don't regret falling in love with you, Sombra. I just wish we had more time together."

"Don't be so corny." Sombra said, the sobs in his voice hiding the playful jibe.

"I mean it though." She said. Her breathing slowed, pain forcing her to unconsciousness.

"Chryssi?" Sombra asked, voice implying he feared the worse.

"I'm so tired, Sombra." She said, letting the empty darkness of sleep take her over. A single tear ran down her cheek as Chrysalis accepted she would not be waking up ever again.

ooo000ooo

Sombra paced back and forth, pausing only to place a hoof on Chrysalis's forehead to check her temperature. Her internal body temperature was rising fast. He didn't know much about changeling anatomy, but he did know it wouldn't be much longer before…

"Don't think about that." He insisted to himself. There had to be a way to keep Chryssi from dying. There just had to.

"But what?" Sombra asked himself aloud. There was no response, save the heavy, labored breathing of Chrysalis. The gray unicorn looked at her. The changeling princess looked beautiful even when she slept. Suddenly, she emitted a pained groan, and his heart skipped a beat, fearing it might be the end.

It wasn't, but the very real possibility of Chrysalis dying was still present. Sombra crossed back over to the bed, unsure of what he could do for her. The hospital wouldn't be able to take care of her, assuming they didn't just through her out for being a changeling. He would try something on his own, but Chryssi had just told him no known magic had ever been able to cure a changeling in love.

Wait a second… He thought. There just might be something that could save Chrysalis after all. It was a long shot, but it was still a shot. The gray stallion debated the idea in his head. If it worked, Chryssi would survive. If not… well, she wouldn't be much worse off than she was now.

Deciding that he had to try, Sombra turned to go out the door. He paused for a second, and turned back to Chrysalis. "I swear I'll be back." He told her doubtful she could hear him. Gently, he kissed the top of her forehead, sealing his promise. Then he moved towards the door to the apartment. Lingering as long as he could, not wanting to let Chryssi leave his sight.

As he closed the door quietly, the stallion suddenly broke out into a hurried run. He flew through the building, passed a surprised looking Sun Beam, and out of the apartment.

"Sombra?" The confused mare called out to him. He didn't slow down or even look back.

Out in the streets, Sombra continued his run. Pushing his maximum speed, he charged his horn and fired a teleportation spell, hoping to save what little time he had. In a scarlet flash of light, the stallion found himself a few blocks down the road, still in mid-run.

Buck. He thought. He was too worried. Too unfocused. He wouldn't be able to teleport directly to his location. Stopping, calming down, and trying again would take too long. Sombra continued dashing through the streets of the Crystal Empire, occasionally knocking over a bystander by mistake. Eventually, he retried the teleportation spell.

When the flash of red receded, Sombra looked to the nearest street sign. Emerald Avenue. He was closer, but not close enough.

The gray stallion continued his trend of racing and teleporting wildly. It took a few more tries before he got closer to his destination, and each transport sapped a little more of his energy. Even so, he did not wane from his quest. Saving Chrysalis was all that mattered to him, no matter what it cost him. At least he was making decent time… hopefully.

As the crystal streets gave way to the grassy grounds of the CEU campus, Sombra picked up his pace. The College of Magic building appeared after only a short time, the lone stone building standing out among the others.

He raced inside, not even close to slowing down. He practically flew to the nearest set of stairs, and into the labyrinthine series of corridors. Sombra was grateful he knew exactly where to go.

The door to his lab – or well, technically ex-lab – was shut. The gray stallion tried to open it.

"No no no!" He suddenly shouted. The knob wouldn't budge. He was locked out. "Dammit!" He screeched, pounding his hooves against the door. Sweat covered his exasperated face, and it was only partially from all the running he had been doing.

My last chance to save Chryssi is behind this door! He thought. Well, he didn't actually know if it was there or not. Eureka might've moved it. That thought sent a panic through his brain. No wait… it… it is there. I can… feel it? It was just on the fringes of his mind, but it was there. Weird.

I have to find a way in. He thought. Sombra kicked the door a few more times in a desperate attempt to unhinge it from the wall or something of that nature. It didn't budge.

Eventually he slammed his head against the door in a sign of defeated rage. Who was he kidding? He couldn't knock the door in by pure force. He could try magic, but he'd already wasted so much of his energy from teleporting. Blasting the door open would probably cause him to pass out, if he even managed to do it.

Scarlett eyes staring daggers at the floor, Sombra allowed himself one quick glance at the lock. An idea clicked in his brain. How did I not think of this earlier?

Charging his horn with just enough magic to make the tip glow red, Sombra reached out with his mind into the lock. As he felt his magic grip the pins and tumblers inside, his mouth curled into a smile. Just as he had done for his own apartment hundreds of times, Sombra began manipulating the mechanisms of the lock to force it open. It took longer than it would have if he'd been working on his own door, but Sombra managed to find the right combination.

When the satisfying noise of an unlocked door was heard, Sombra pushed his way inside. The lab was empty, the lights all switched off. Sitting in a glass case in the center of the sat the dark crystal. With all the lights turned off, the mysterious object gave off an eerie atmosphere.

Despite being in a hurry, Sombra only tentatively stepped towards the crystal. Doubts were beginning to flood his mind with each step.

Should I really have come here? I don't even know if this crystal can help Chryssi!

Then again, it's not like I have any other options.

Still, I have no idea what this thing really is, and it's practically oozing dark magic!

…

This was a mistake! I'm turning back now. There must be some other way to save Chryssi!.

Even though he was thinking that, Sombra found that he was stepping towards the crystal again. Gritting his teeth, Sombra tried to turn away. Then the fire returned. Just like when he'd preformed his analysis spell, his skin felt in pain. It was milder this time… but it still felt good, in some weird way.

Before he really knew what was happening, the glass container was levitating away. Then he was raising his hoof. Now he was reaching for the dark crystal. The fiery pain became more intense as he was about to touch it.

"Sombra?" A familiar voice said in surprise form behind him. Cringing, Sombra looked back at Professor Eureka who was standing in the middle of the doorway. His mentor had an expression on her face that was somewhere between concerned and confused. "W-what are you doing?"

Speechless, Sombra just stared at the unicorn mare, pupils smaller than marbles. Eureka's in contrast were dilating behind her glasses. The magenta mare stared at him in a way that told Sombra this was not looking good for him.

"Uh… hey, Eureka." He said, choosing his words very carefully. Sombra was vaguely aware that he hadn't lowered his hoof yet. "I… uh…" His red eyes darted back to the crystal. It felt as though it was begging for him to take it. His hoof drifted closer.

"Sombra!" Eureka shouted snapping him back to reality. He turned back to face her. "What has gotten into you?" The magenta unicorn demanded. Sombra blinked.

"Sorry Eureka, it's just… I need the crystal real quick." He said.

"What? Sombra you can't."

"Eureka, please… it's important. I really need the crystal."

"No, Sombra." Eureka said firmly. "I don't know what that thing did to you earlier today, but your clearly not thinking straight." The magenta mare charged up her horn with a bright green aura, ready to force Sombra to comply if necessary. "Leave. It. Be."

Realizing Eureka wasn't going to trust him, Sombra immediately grabbed the crystal, clutching it close to his body. Eureka stepped towards him, wary but determined.

"Put the crystal down, Sombra." She said with an iciness to her voice. In response, the gray unicorn began charging his own horn. He meant for it to be a teleportation spell to get him out of the building, but Eureka must've mistook it for aggressiveness. A green bolt of energy fired from her horn directly at him.

Ducking down to avoid it, Sombra felt the magical attack whip overhead and strike the wall behind him. He held his breath, not wanting to accept what had just happened. Had Eureka gone off the deep end or something?

Seeing his former mentor prepare another round of attacks, Sombra quickly shot off two bolts of magic himself. Neither had been aimed at her, he only meant to make her flinch and by some time. Unfortunately, the magenta unicorn hadn't known that and tried to dodge them. In doing so, she inadvertently stepped in the path of one of his attacks, and took the bolt in her foreleg.

"Gah." She exclaimed in pain. Sombra winced. He was about to explain he hadn't meant to hurt her, when Eureka recovered, and fired off several more burst of magic at him. Not able to dodge them all, Sombra threw up a shield. The magic spell bathed his body in a red light as the projectiles pelted off the barrier harmlessly.

He left the shield up, bracing for more attacks. Eureka changed strategies, beginning to circle around to an unguarded area. Sombra knew he needed to teleport out soon, but he would have to shut off the shield first and even then he may not have enough energy. Suddenly, he looked down at the crystal. It had energy in it. The pain he felt from it was because of an energy excess radiating outward, he realized. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eureka almost past the barrier.

Better make this count. In a single instant, his shield vanished, leaving him vulnerable. He immediately began to cast the spell, directing it at the crystal. It glowed a weird mixture of purple, black, and green. Meanwhile, Eureka had fired another bolt directly at him. Sombra shut his eyes

For several seconds, he didn't feel the attack strike him. He peeked open an eye and saw he was back in his kitchen. Glancing down at the crystal, Sombra realized it allowed him to teleport all the way home. He didn't even feel tired.

His breathing slowed down as he came off the burst of adrenaline he'd felt when facing Eureka. Sombra still couldn't believe that had happened. "She… actually attacked me." He whispered. His mentor and friend had assaulted him with no second thoughts or hesitations. She hadn't even tried to listen to his explanation.

The gray unicorn didn't have time to sort through the hurt that made him feel. His mind turned to Chryssi, whom he'd left in the bedroom. Immediately he ran to check on her, dark crystal in tow. He saw her lying in the bed, just as he'd last seen her. Only she didn't show any signs of life for a moment, and Sombra felt his heart stop. Then he saw the steady rising and falling of her chest as she breathed.

Relaxing a little, Sombra raised the crystal in his hoof, glancing from it to the changeling princess lying in his bed. Sombra felt his eyelid twitch as he discovered a new problem: he had no idea what to do now.

Should I try a healing spell? Just throw my magic into this thing? He thought. Both ideas didn't seem right. They might end up just killing Chryssi faster. He needed time to come up with a plan.

Unfortunately, he didn't have that time. Chryssi rolled over in her sleep, and groaned in pain. I guess I have to do this now. He thought.

"Chryssi?" He said to his sleeping marefriend. She didn't respond. "I-I don't know if you can here me or not… but I'm going to try something to save you. I'm not sure if it will work, so if this is… you know… the end… then I just wanted to say that I love you." Chrysalis whimpered a little, but did nothing else.

Sombra levitated the crystal in between the two of them. Please work. He silently begged it. Taking a deep breath, Sombra fired all the magic he had left into the crystal. It glowed again, sending off sparks of its mysterious energy. He focused, directing them toward Chryssi.

Come on… He urged the magic. Heal her… please.

The magic arched through the air, and slammed into Chrysalis. She screamed in agony.

ooo000ooo

... ... ...

... ...

...

Slowly her eyelids creaked open. Chrysalis found herself staring at the ceiling full of paint chips that she had grown accustomed to in recent weeks. Over her body she felt a single blanket cover her. She breathed carefully, full of confusion.

Why didn't breathing hurt anymore? Why didn't being awake in general hurt anymore? How was she even able to wake up?

"Chryssi?" Came a voice that made her heart skip a beat. "You're awake!" Sombra said gleefully.

"I am?" She asked, sitting up just in time to get caught in an embrace from the gray unicorn. She hugged him back without hesitation. As soon as they let go, Chrysalis felt her face. She was definitely awake… but how? Her skin wasn't torturing her. Her throat felt fine. Her bones and joints no longer ached. "Sombra?" She asked shakily, glancing over at him. He looked happy and relieved. "What happened? How am I still alive?"

"I saved you." Sombra said. "At least, I think I did." Noticing a confused look from the changeling princess he delved deeper into an explanation. "I–uh, found a spell that was able to heal you. When I cast it on you a few moments ago, you didn't seem so pained, and now you've woken up. I guess that means it worked. As long as… well, you feel okay."

"I do feel okay." She said. "But I don't understand. Changelings have searched for a cure for centuries, if not longer. How were you able to find one in a single afternoon?"

"I guess I had a better motivation than they did." Sombra said. Chrysalis caught the vagueness in his voice, but decided to ignore it. For now.

"Well, however you did it, thank you." She said, smiling. "I owe you my life."

"Aw, don't say that." Sombra said. "I didn't do that so you'd be in debt to me. I did it because I love you." Momentarily Chrysalis winced. She expected herself to be sent in a flash of pain from that remark, but no. Just a sweet smelling honey scent that was growing stronger. She could even taste it, both hers and Sombra's. And it didn't hurt at all.

"I love you too." She said softly. Then louder. "I love you too!" Excitedly, she latched onto him. "Sombra! I love you!" Tears of joy sprung to her face. She was free. No longer was she forced to avoid loving Sombra out of fear. She was finally, gloriously free.

Sombra hugged her back, drawing her in for a passionate kiss. The honey flavor sprang into her, revitalizing every part of her. And there was… another taste. It was weird. Not quite an emotion, but something. Whatever it was, it tasted sort of like pepper, which was not something Chrysalis had ever tasted from Sombra. Or anypony for that matter. When they finally broke off the kiss, the pepper taste faded.

That's when Chrysalis noticed his horn.

"Sombra?" She asked.

"Yeah?" He asked, in a daze from the after effects of their kiss.

"Why is your horn red?"

"What?" Snapping back to focus, Sombra went to the bathroom to look in the mirror. Chrysalis followed him, in time to catch the shocked expression on his face as he saw that his horn was indeed a deep shade of red. Mostly at the tip as the color faded when nearing the bottom, but his entire horn was some shade of it.

"How did that happen?" She asked, concerned. Sombra touched it gingerly with his hoof. Then he focused on his toothbrush on the bathroom sink. It took Chrysalis a moment to figure out that he was trying to levitate it, though squinting his eyes at it didn't seem to be working.

"I can't use any magic." Sombra said slowly.

"What? Why?" Chrysalis said shocked. Had his horn been damaged somehow? What if he could no longer use magic? Was that because he used it all to save her?

"I think my magic is just depleted." Sombra said, not as much concern in his voice. "It'll take a while to recharge."

"And the color?" Chrysalis asked.

Sombra frowned at the mirror image of himself. "Maybe it just overheated?" He said jokingly.

"It isn't a stove, Sombra! What if you permanently damaged your horn because of…" She let the words hang in the air. Because of me.

The gray stallion put his hoof on her shoulder reassuringly. "Hey, don't worry about it. Using a bunch of magic doesn't make a unicorn permanently loose it all. I'll be fine, I promise." His words comforted her, and she calmed down.

"Okay… as long as you're sure." She said.

"I'm sure." Sombra said, his smiling eyes looking fondly into hers. "Now come on, we've got to celebrate somehow." He declared. They strolled out into the bedroom. "I'm thinking we go out for a picnic. It is Hearts and Hooves Day after all."

"Yeah, I'd almost forgotten." Chrysalis said, becoming happier. Then it faltered as she remembered something. "Oh my gosh, I haven't even gotten you a card, or anything!"

Sombra chuckled playfully. "You don't need to get me anything. You're alive, what more could I ask for?" Chrysalis hugged him again. She couldn't help it. He was just too sweet, and in more ways than one.

"Alright then." Chrysalis said burying her muzzle into his neck. "Let's have a picnic."

Love Conquers All

Chrysalis couldn't seem to get over the surprise of how painless it all was. Her whole life had been spent either eating love, or avoiding it out of fear. Now, as she levitated two apples into the picnic basket with her vibrant green magic, the changeling princess couldn't stop smiling. She knew love tasted good, but if felt so much better! Granted, the taste of sour honey was a little hard to stomach, but it was overshadowed by Sombra's love for her.

…And that weird pepper taste.

She looked at the gray stallion but refused to allow her gut-wrenching concern show through her mask of a smiling face. Sombra was humming happily while spreading mayonnaise on a sandwich. His horn was still that same shade of red, and it was unnerving her.

Shouldn't it be back to normal by now? She asked to herself. Her coltfriend had insisted it would be back to its usual coloring before to long, but she still got a bad feeling from looking at it.

Sombra noticed her looking at him from the corner of his eye, and smiled reassuringly at her. Dropping the sandwiches into the picnic basket, he asked "Still a little worried?"

Chrysalis nodded, "Yeah, a little." Sombra set down the half completed sandwich and set his hoof on hers.

"Chryssi," He said, soft red eyes staring deeply into hers. "I promise you everything will be all right."

Chrysalis nudged Sombra gently, her muzzle resting in his hair. "I believe you." She replied. "But I just can't help it."

Sombra's forelegs quietly wrapped around her, pressing her into a gentle hug. Chrysalis felt better like this, but the moment couldn't last. Eventually, the gray unicorn disentangled himself from her, and finished the sandwich. He shoved it into their well-worn picnic basket with minimal success. The gray unicorn's lack of magic was really starting to show.

It showed even more as he struggled to affix his saddlebag to his back. Sensing an opportunity to help, Chrysalis allowed her crooked horn to glow with a brilliant green, and fasten the straps for her coltfriend. Sombra flashed her a smile.

"Thanks," he said. "You know, I'm developing a much healthier respect for Earth ponies now."

"Try being one someday," Chrysalis retorted as the woven picnic basket was levitated into his saddlebag for him. Sombra crossed over to her.

"Thanks again." He whispered, giving her cheek a peck. Chrysalis didn't even try to stop her black cheeks from flaming to bright red as she blushed. Every time, without fail, Sombra always managed to make her blush when he did that.

Feeling compelled to get him back for that, Chrysalis clung to his neck, bringing him in for a kiss on the lips. Her fangs made it awkward and clumsy, but neither she nor Sombra cared. It was short, but it still made her coltfriend flustered.

"I – uh – need to grab one last thing before we head out." Sombra sputtered with his face as red as his eyes.

"No rush." Chrysalis assured him. "I need to change before we head out anyways." Sombra nodded, and ducked into their bedroom. Chrysalis allowed her transformation spell to run through her body, metamorphosing her into her pink pegasus pony form. The process took seconds – a combination of her practice and excess of energy.

A slight curious as to what Sombra wanted to grab, Chrysalis poked her head into the bedroom just in time to catch the gray unicorn shoving a dark… something into the other pouch of his saddlebag.

As Sombra brought his head back up, Chrysalis ducked out of his path of vision just narrowly. What was that? She thought. A fleeting glimpse was all she managed to catch, but it looked oddly crystal-like in structure, and a jet black coloring like Sombra's mane. I probably should–

"All set?" Sombra asked, walking back into the kitchen. Chrysalis felt herself pulled away from her thoughts to answer him.

"I should be," Came her response as the changeling gave a look over her pink body.

"Our usual spot then?"

"Of course."

Sombra opened the door, and stepped aside to allow Chrysalis to walk through first. She obliged, knowing full well that attempting to argue with Sombra on this was futile.

With a casual smile, Chrysalis and Sombra made their way down to the lobby. It was surprisingly empty, which left the both of them confused. Normally at this time, their landlord Sun Beam was snooping about, ready to pounce on ponies for conversation. Instead, a half-hearted silence permeated the room.

The couple glanced at each other, briefly curious. They silently came to an agreement that the orange mare was likely just napping somewhere or hunting down some gossip.

A pleasant walk to the park followed, riddled with idle small talk. Chrysalis had a lot of nagging questions for Sombra in the back of her mind at the moment, but didn't want to overwhelm the stallion. She planned to space them out over the course of their picnic.

The grassy air of the park was a nice blend to the intoxicating scents of honey Chrysalis was experiencing right now. Crowds of couples lined the open fields – after all it was Hearts and Hooves Day, and a romantic picnic was not the most original idea in the world.

Slipping amongst the crowd, Sombra pointed out an ideal location that was only slightly far away. Seizing the opportunity, Chrysalis unfurled her pink, feathered wings and hovered over to claim the tiny patch of land. The gray stallion wasn't far behind and met up with her, a checkered picnic blanket already in his mouth. He set it up awkwardly, too used to using magic to accomplish the task.

Chrysalis lent a hoof, straightening his slipshod job. It was then she noticed a mass of ponies staring at them. A flash of fear took hold as she thought her disguise had failed. Seeing her pink hooves eased the fear, and she realized the ponies weren't staring at her, but at Sombra. More specifically, his horn.

The gray unicorn hadn't noticed yet; he was shifting through picnic basket for the food. Chrysalis glared daggers into the crowd, forcing the majority to look away or pretend to be preoccupied. Still, they watched from the corners of their eyes, curious.

Eager to make sure Sombra didn't pick up on them, Chrysalis asked her first – and probably least harmful – question, "Sombra, what happened with the dark magic project?"

He froze, mid-way through unpacking. "Do you really want to know?" Sombra asked shyly. She nodded. Sighing, her coltfriend consented. "Eureka deemed the project was too dangerous to continue. Can we move on?" The pompous scent of cinnamon assaulted her nose. Guilt. He was lying.

"No," She said hastily. "Sombra, I know there's more to it than that." The guilty scent became more poignant.

"You're right. I should've known better than to keep a secret from you." Sombra managed a half-hearted smile. "What really happened was… well, we had this crystal, and Eureka was pretty convinced it had links to dark magic. I volunteered to run a diagnostic spell on it, but something… happened."

"What?" She pressed.

"I don't know," Sombra said, as he struggled to recall. After a short sniff, Chrysalis determined he was telling the truth. "After that, Eureka said the crystal was too dangerous to be around, and had the whole project shut down." His voice took a more aggressive tone. "But she was wrong! There's nothing bad about that crystal!" The latent pepper scent suddenly flared. It was all Chrysalis could do not to gag at the surge.

Regaining her composure, she laid her hoof on top of Sombra's to calm him down. The pepper receded and gave way to honey.

"I'm sorry." He apologized. "I shouldn't have lost my temper like that."

"I don't think you did." Chrysalis said cautiously.

"Huh?" Sombra blinked in confusion.

"You didn't taste like aggression. You tasted like… peppers."

"What does that mean?" Sombra asked.

"I don't know…" Chrysalis replied honestly. "I've never tasted an emotion like it before, not since you healed me." Now was her chance to ask the big question. "How did you heal me, Sombra?"

There was a pause. Sombra opened his mouth to say something, but closed it.

"Sombra," Chrysalis began. "Please answer me."

The gray stallion looked away. "It was just an old spell I found." He mumbled. Cinnamon bombarded her nose, and was so potent she could taste it.

Why is he lying again?

She decided not to respond, hoping silence would coerce him into revealing the truth. When Sombra uttered a shaky sigh, she knew she'd won.

Instead of detailing everything with words, like he normally did, the stallion unstrapped his saddlebag. Rotating the empty side away from her, he slowly began opening the flap. Chrysalis realized he was about to show her the thing he'd hidden from her back at their apartment.

The cloth bag gave way to an oblong object. Chrysalis recognized it immediately.

A crystal? Why is he showing me a…

The realization smacked her across the face so hard she flinched. "T-that's the crystal you were talking about?" She stammered, not wanting to believe. Sombra, nodded ruefully. The changeling princess dropped her voice to a harsh whisper so nopony else heard. "Sombra, does this mean you used dark magic to cure me?"

"Yes." He replied meekly. "I cast a spell on it, hoping it would heal you, and it did."

"Why did you bring it here though?" Chrysalis demanded. "You should have left it back at the apartment, or gotten rid of it."

"I just… couldn't" The pink pegasus felt her breath quicken. Sombra saw her concern and tried to console her. "Is it really all that bad though?"

Chrysalis bit her lip. "I have no idea! Nothing like this has ever happened before. Changelings have always stayed away from dark magic." She glanced up. "And your horn… that thing is probably why you can't use your powers."

"The thought had crossed my mind." Sombra admitted.

"Sombra!" Chrysalis shouted, standing up. "How could you be so stupid?" Heads turned in their direction. She didn't care about the other ponies though.

"I did it for you Chryssi!" Sombra said, raising his voice. "You were dying! Did you expect me to just watch as the only mare I've ever cared about was ripped away from me?"

"No!" Chrysalis said. A flurry of emotions was in the air right now, but Chrysalis was able to pick out one of them.

Fear.

Definitely hers.

The changeling princess realized she wasn't mad at Sombra; she was scared for him. In a split second her animosity vanished. She threw her forelegs around him, needing some comfort. "You big idiot." She whispered. "What if you can never use magic again because of what that crystal did to you?"

Sombra returned her embrace, providing just the comfort she was looking for. "If that's what it took to heal you, then I'm okay with it."

"But you love magic." Chrysalis said, looking into his eyes.

"Chryssi, I love you more."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "How can you say that? You've lost so much because of me."

"As long as I have you, I've lost nothing."

Chrysalis pressed her head against his chest. "Damn, you're corny." She whispered. Sensing his blush, she added. "But I love you too."

They stayed locked in their embrace, the overwhelming scent of honey was almost all Chrysalis could feel. Almost.

The damnable pepper scent was lingering, wafting around Sombra like a cloud. Chrysalis didn't know what to make of it, but she did know she wanted it gone.

It's got to be the crystal. She reasoned. "We've go to get rid of it," Chrysalis said aloud.

Sombra blinked. "Now?" He asked, knowing full well what she was talking about.

"Yes," She said firmly. "It's dangerous, and evil, and it makes you smell weird." The last comment got a nervous laugh out of her coltfriend. However, he moved the saddlebag closer to his body.

Taking notice of this, Chrysalis put both her pink hooves on the bag. "Maybe you should let me take it." She suggested. "I don't want you tempted into doing anything foolish."

Sombra couldn't bring himself to say anything, and bit his lip. His hooves loosened, allowing her to wiggle the crystal from his grip. She jerked it free and watched as his hooves groped the air were the saddlebag had been.

"I'll meet you at home." She promised, giving him a light kiss on the cheek.

"I'll miss you as always." Sombra said. Chrysalis smiled with a shake of her head. He'd never stop being corny.

Her pink wings unfurled, and she took off into the sky, the saddlebag dangling by her forelegs. She made sure to fly well out of Sombra's sight as she soared to the fringes of the Crystal Empire

Her eyes scanned below, scrutinizing every possible location to hide the dark crystal. Briefly she toyed with the idea of destroying it, but she was just deluding herself. After spending hours alone with her geology major coltfriend, Chrysalis had picked up a few things about the subject, namely the fact that crystals were harder to break than diamonds.

She would have to find a place to hide it. Somewhere Sombra would never find it, if he ever gave into the temptation to go looking. The Gemstone Forest – a small yet dense cluster of trees just outside the Empire – caught her view.

It'll have to do. She thought, swooping down. With all the thick branches in her way, flying straight into the forest would be near impossible. As a compromise, she landed right on the outskirts.

Chrysalis transformed immediately into her usual form. There were likely wild animals in the forest, anything from bears to manticores. Her changeling stature would definitely intimidate the woodland animals into leaving her alone. If not, she had her horn back, which allowed access to more complicated spells besides just transforming magic.

Speaking of magic, the crystal that her hooves were currently coiled around was giving off an unearthly smell of pepper. Her forelegs tingled slightly; a warm feeling almost like fire delicately licking her coat began to spread. She dropped the crystal immediately. The smell and the fire dissipated.

I can see why Sombra was so attached to that thing. Chrysalis realized. That was… almost addictive.

Tentatively, she reached out and touched the crystal again. No pepper. No fire. It seemed as long as she didn't use too much magic, it wouldn't do those things again.

"All right." She said, more to the crystal than herself. "Let's get this over with."

With the dark talisman tucked safely into the saddlebag on her back, Chrysalis hastily walked into the Gemstone Forest. A lot of the sun's light was cut off by the thick foliage, but Chrysalis didn't have a problem seeing. As long as she avoided bumping into trees she was fine.

After what felt like hours of walking – though was likely closer to a few minutes – Chrysalis decided she was deep enough into the forest to leave the crystal. Dropping it on the ground, she made sure to kick some fallen leaves over it in a rather poor attempt to hide it.

Hoping that would be enough, Chrysalis turned around to exit the slightly creepy forest. She flinched as the leaves of a nearby bush rustled with movement.

"Who's there?" She reacted, charging her misshapen horn with a beam of powerful green light. The dark forest was illuminated by her spell, much brighter than she had intended. A muffled noise came from the bush, and then slowly, a changeling walked out.

"Relax, your Majesty," he hissed, shielding his eyes from her blinding beam. Her horn dimmed to allow him to see.

"Bared Fang?" She said in shock. Her attitude quickly shifted to anger. "I suppose my father sent you here to bring me home."

Bared Fang sighed. "No, your father–"

"Well you can fly right on back and tell him that I'm not going anywhere!" Chrysalis shouted in the dwarf's face. "For the first time in my life I'm actually happy, and I'm not going to let him or anything else ruin it!" She was seething as she finished, daring the changeling in front of her to issue a challenge.

"Your father is dead," Bared Fang bluntly said.

The words hit her like a sack of bricks. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words died in the back of her mouth. Her father… dead. It just didn't feel real.

"W-what?" Her voice squeaked out.

"He was found dead in his chambers two days ago." Bared Fangs monotone fell upon her ears. "Old age finally got him." Chrysalis still could not form sentences, and the changeling in front of her took notice of this. "As his only heir, rule of the changelings now passes to you," He knelt down in a bow. "My Queen."

Chrysalis back peddled, finding her voice. "No."

Fang stood. "Queen Chrysalis, you must–"

"No!" Chrysalis shouted. "Don't call me that!" She turned toward the forest's exit, running.

"Your Majesty!" The changeling called after her. "Please wait!"

Chrysalis did not stop, however. She knew Bared Fang would not be able to follow her into the Empire since his ability to transform was handicapped. The light from her horn was snapped off as she ran, hoping to limit the chance of Bared Fang finding her.

Buzzing sounds behind her let her know he was right on her tail. "Your Majesty, stop!" He exclaimed.

"Leave me alone!" She hollered back. Light was creeping in through the trees ahead, letting Chrysalis know she was almost there. Bared Fang flew up beside her.

"You can't run from this, Your Majesty! The changelings need you!"

Reaching out with her magic, Chrysalis gripped a tree limb with a green aura. She pulled it back and released, causing it to slam into Bared Fang. He tumbled back.

Wincing at the blow, Chrysalis called back, "Sorry!"

Bursting through the interstice between the trees, Chrysalis immediately zapped into her usual disguise. Her feathered wings took flight, as she tried to put as much distance between her and Fang as possible. Golden hair whipped by as she pushed her fastest speed.

Calming down some, she reached out with her senses to hone in on a particular honey scent. Sombra was back at their apartment, and Chrysalis breathed a sigh of relief when she did not detect any pepper on him.

As she flew home, the news of her father's death finally began to sink in. He's actually gone. She realized in horror. Her only family… dead. Sure they'd fought – probably more than most fathers and daughters – but she still had cared for him. Tears gleaned her eyes as she began replaying her last conversation with him in her head. For the rest of the flight, her final words to him were reverberating in her mind: BUCK YOU!

ooo000ooo

Sombra paced from the kitchen to he bedroom and back again. He was nervous, sweat coating his gray forehead. Chryssi would be returning soon, and while that wasn't the cause of his anxiety, something else was.

The crystal.

He knew it had to be hidden away, the current color of his horn could testify to that, but he didn't want it gone. It… it was connected to him in a way. Whatever that dark magic had done to him, it was certainly more than just a recolor of his horn. It affected Sombra on some level, promising him untold power, and hooking an anchor into his mind.

In fact, he could feel it now.

"A hundred and fifty yards into the Gemstone Forest." He whispered to himself. "Under a pile of leaves."

It was spooky how accurate that was. Almost like the crystal had whispered it to him.

Should I tell Chryssi I know where it is? Sombra thought. She won't like it. But if I don't tell her, she'll be pissed when she finds out.

A pink pegasus pony with a golden mane burst through the apartment door, pulling Sombra from his thoughts.

"Hi Chryssi," Sombra began. Then, he noticed her eyes. They were red from crying. "What happened?" He asked.

Before responding, Chrysalis ran up to him and forced a hug out of him. Sensing that she needed this embrace, Sombra coiled his forearms around her. "Are you okay?"

Chrysalis sniffled. "No… My father's dead."

"He's… oh Chryssi," Sombra squeezed his marefriend closer. She pressed her muzzle into his neck, crying. "I'm so sorry." Though Chrysalis rarely had a good thing to say about King Metamorphosis, even an idiot could see she was broken up about his death.

"There's more," She whispered.

"What?" Sombra asked.

"Now that he's dead, the changelings need a new leader, and I'm the only heir."

"Oh," Sombra said, downtrodden. "Does that mean you have to leave?"

"No!" Chrysalis immediately said, bringing her face out of his neck and looking directly at him. "Sombra, there is no way I'm leaving you. It's just…" She looked away, unable to finish her sentence.

"What is it?" Sombra asked.

"The changelings won't take no for an answer. If I don't willingly become their queen, then they'll force me to do it."

"What?" Sombra said, partially shocked and partially enraged. "How can they be allowed to do that?"

"They have me outnumbered," Chrysalis muttered. "It's just a fact. The hive will only accept a member of the royal family to rule, and I'm the only living member. They'll be insatiable until I agree to lead them."

"That's crazy," Sombra insisted. "You should be allowed to choose if you want rule or not."

Chrysalis rested her head on his chest. "Believe me, I want that choice. But I don't have it."

"So, what do we do?" Sombra asked. "Go into hiding so they can't get you?"

The changeling shook her head. "No… they'd find me anywhere. I just wish–"

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The sound the wooden door interrupted Chrysalis. She flinched upon hearing it, probably assuming some changelings were here to take her away.

"Sombra? Chrysalis? Are you two in there?" A familiar voice asked. Sun Beam, the landlord.

"I'll take care of her." Sombra whispered, crossing over to the door. He opened it slowly, seeing the orange crystal mare on the other side smiling back at him. "Hello, Ms. Beam," Sombra said as nonchalantly as possible. He heard a gasp from Chrysalis behind him. He turned to face her.

"Sombra, she's a changeling!" Chryssi screamed. Whirling his head back around, Sombra just barely had time to see the flash of green light that changed Sun Beam into a snarling bug-like creature.

Immediately, it leapt for him, but Sombra slammed the door shut. He caught the changeling between the door and its frame. The gray unicorn clocked it over the head, knocking it unconscious. It slumped to the ground.

"Holy crap," he whispered, adrenaline rushing through him.

"We've got to go," Chrysalis said, eyes wide. "He wouldn't be the only one."

"What about the real Ms. Beam?" Sombra asked. "She might need help!"

"I sure she's fine," Chrysalis insisted. "Changelings don't harm the ponies they impersonate."

Sombra took a fleeting look down at the unconscious changeling, then he nodded. "Okay."

They bolted out the door, Chrysalis taking care not to trample the changeling's body, and rushed through the apartment complex. Sombra was beginning to feel extremely vulnerable without his magic. He could feel the dark crystal calling, with the promise of its power. A hundred and fifty yards into the Gemstone Forest, under a pile of leaves.

I might need that magic to protect Chryssi. He thought to himself.

The two of them ran into the crowded street outside of the apartment. No changelings appeared to be nearby, luckily.

"Come on," Sombra said to Chrysalis. "We've got to go."

"But where?" Chrysalis asked. "They'll find me Sombra. We can't stop them."

Maybe we can. Sombra thought with a not-so-reluctant sigh.

ooo000ooo

One of her hooves was intertwined with Sombra's as the stallion pulled her along as a fast pace. He was pulling it hard enough to rip her foreleg out of her socket. Chrysalis wasn't being a slouch either; she was running as fast as her other three legs would carry her.

Crystal ponies along the street rushed out of their way to avoid being trampled. A few unsuspecting ones were knocked over

"Sombra," She called out. "Slow down!"

He whipped his head around, "That's not a good idea, Chryssi. They could attack at any moment!"

"Sombra! I doubt they'll attack me out in the open like this!" She insisted. Sombra came to a screeching halt in the middle of the road, nearly out of breath.

"Are you… sure?" He asked in-between breaths. Chrysalis nodded. Her subjects – as much as calling them that made her shudder – wouldn't attack her in such a large crowd. They wanted her to rule them, but they also wanted to remain hidden from ponies too.

"We should still leave the Empire," Sombra insisted. "Now that they know you're here it is only a matter of time before…"

"I know it is," Chrysalis replied. "But they'll find me no matter where I hide."

"Who said anything about hiding?" Sombra said, a coy grin slipping onto his face.

"Tell me you're not about to suggest what I think you are," Chrysalis mumbled. Sombra took her hooves in his.

"We can make a stand," he whispered, looking deeply into her eyes. "Chase them away so they never come back."

"As ideal as that sounds," Chrysalis said. "How? I can only use magic if I change forms, and you… you don't have any right now." Or maybe ever again, she thought grimly.

Sombra weakly grimaced. "Okay… please don't freak out at what I'm about to say." Chrysalis wasn't sure how to respond to that expect with a concerned stare. The gray stallion uttered a small sigh. "I think the crystal can give me my magic back."

Her seafoam eyes widened. "Wha- Sombra, no! You can't use that thing again!"

"I'm starting to think I have to Chryssi," Sombra ruefully said. "I don't want to lose you… I can't lose you. If I have to face the whole changeling hive just to keep you around then I will."

"Sombra…" She whispered. His need to protect her was sweet, but she was not willing to go back to that crystal. "I can't let you do that, Sombra, and I won't. Only I know where that crystal is anyways, so you can't use it."

The gray unicorn gave a guilty grin. "That's uh… not entirely true, Chryssi."

Before she had time to ask what he meant, he grabbed her hoof again and picked up the earlier pace. Despite asking him a few times during their run, Sombra did not reply. Whether this was because he was ignoring her or because he couldn't hear her she didn't know.

The shining buildings of the Crystal Empire faded into the background. Chrysalis didn't focus on where Sombra was dragging her; she concerned herself the with possibility of changelings attacking them at any moment now that they were exposed. Only when the gray stallion clutching her foreleg stopped did Chrysalis realize where they were. The fringes of the Gemstone Forest.

How did he know? Chrysalis thought to herself frantically. Sombra sensed her question before she could put it to words.

"I can feel it," He whispered. "Almost like it's calling to me. Funny, huh?"

More like disturbing.

"I'll run in and grab it," Sombra said, giving her a peck on the cheek. He turned to go into the forest, but Chrysalis intercepted. Her pink wings flared out to stop him, while at the same time she cast her transformation spell. Having her true form out in the open let Sombra know she meant business.

"This is a very bad idea," she said loudly.

"I know," Sombra spoke, uttering the two words she had least expected to hear. He gently laid his hoof on her shoulder. "Chryssi, I know it looks like I'm going a little crazy over this dark crystal, but I can control it. I know I can."

"How can you be so sure?" Chrysalis asked dubiously.

"Because I'm doing it for you," Sombra said, as corny and earnest as ever. The changeling queen lowered her wings, her desire to believe him overpowering her instincts to stay away from the crystal.

She kissed him passionately on the lips, catching him by surprise. "Be quick." She whispered. He nodded, and bolted into the forest. Chrysalis was alone.

But not for long.

"My Queen." A voice said from behind her. She turned, facing Bared Fang – who sported a lovely new purple bruise on his forehead – and three other changelings.

"Hello," She said to them. The changelings flanking Bared Fang began to move. Slowly, but calculated. They were encircling her. She had to buy some time before Sombra got back.

Trying not to let fear and anxiety show, Chrysalis began to speak. "I hoped that by now you all would have realized by that I don't want to be your Queen."

"I hoped that by now you would have realized the hive won't give you a choice," Fang retorted.

Oh Sombra, please hurry.

"I'm not going to be the queen," Chrysalis said.

Fang shook his head. "You already are the queen, Your Majesty. Don't you understand that?"

"Fine," Chryalis snorted. "Then as my first royal decree, I declare that I am no longer Queen of the Changelings."

All four changelings paused. "You… you can't do that!" One hissed.

"Why not?" She asked. "I was the queen, now I am not."

"You can't do that, because then we still need a queen. You are the only candidate to be queen. You are now the queen again." Another changeling told her.

"Not for much longer!" A very familiar voice called out. All five changelings turned to see Sombra rushing out of the forest, crystal in tow. "Back off!" He shouted, holding the crystal out in front of him like a weapon.

None of her four assailants heeded his warning. A few snickered.

"Who is this stallion?" Bared Fang asked in confusion. "Why is he making an ass of himself?"

"That's Sombra," Chrysalis said. "My coltfriend."

"Coltfriend?" One changeling exclaimed. "The queen cannot have a coltfriend! That would require love!"

"I do love him," Chrysalis said adamantly. Sombra blushed, but still furiously pointed the crystal at the changelings.

"Ah," Bared Fang said with realization. "Now I understand. You're being poisoned by love for this one." He turned to the other changelings. "We must eradicate him in order to save our queen."

"Wait, what?" Was all Sombra could say before four changelings tackled him.

"Sombra!" Chrysalis screamed. She was about to charge her horn to pry them off, when an explosion rocketed them away. She shielded her eyes from the blast, but upon opening them again she wished she hadn't.

Sombra was standing in a tiny crater, body radiating dark magic. His eyes were green with a smokey trail behind them, his horn was redder than before, and curved now. He smelled of nothing but pepper.

The changelings were recovering, and began charging again, despite the palpable fear Chrysalis could feel from them. The dark mane on Sombra whipped to one side as he turned and fired pure dark energy into its face.

She winced as the changeling was flung into a nearby tree. Another two had only just stood up before Sombra sent a powerful shockwave, knocking them down again. He looked prepared - and willing - to kill them.

"Sombra!" Chrysalis screamed. She looked into his hate-filled eyes, knowing he'd been wrong. He couldn't control this; nopony could. "Please stop. It was a mistake to let you have the crystal, I'm sorry. Please just come back to me."

The green eyes on Sombra dimmed and reverted to their scarlet red. For a moment, the pepper vanished and honey filled her nose.

"C-Chryssi?" He struggled to say. In a flash, his eyes when back to green. All honey vanished, leaving a more potent pepper.

"No." She whispered. Sombra glared hatefully at her, and fired a magical beam of darkness.

Chrysalis managed to conjure of shield of her green energy just in time. Sombra's dark magic slammed into her protection, causing it to wane slightly. "Sombra, please," she called out desperately. "I love you."

Sombra said nothing, but fired another beam at her. This one was far stronger than the last, shattering her shield and sending her back. She landed next to Bared Fang.

"Your Majesty," He said hastily. "We must escape while we still can."

"No!" She screamed. "Sombra is still in there, I know it. You have to let me save him."

"There is no Sombra anymore," A deep voice said. Chrysalis realized it was the gray stallion's mouth that uttered it. "Only darkness remains."

Another magical onslaught began, but Bared Fang reacted quicker. As Sombra charged and fired several magical bolts, the changeling activated a teleportation spell. In a green flash, both he and Chrysalis were standing in an open field, away from Sombra.

Frantically, Chrysalis searched and saw only a faint speck in the distance that was the Crystal Empire. She turned to Bared Fang.

"Send me back!" She demanded. "I have to help him."

"There is nopony for you to help," Fang replied. "The one you called your coltfriend is gone, Chrysalis. Absorbed by whatever heinous magic that was in that crystal."

"No, I can't believe that!" Chrysalis declared, enraged. "He still loves me. Some part of him still loves me, I know it! I have to save him."

"You will do no such thing!" Fang insisted. "I did not just save you from that monster's wrath so you could throw yourself back into it. He will kill you, Your Majesty."

"Never," she said. "Sombra wouldn't harm a fly, let alone-"

An explosion lit up in the distance. Chrysalis and Fang turned to see several of the buildings in the distance city were now on fire. Faint screams could be heard.

"I wonder who that was." Bared Fang said dryly. Chrysalis said nothing, she simply allowed tears to rise to her eyes.

One by one, the changelings from earlier teleported nearby, regrouping. A few had minor injuries, but nothing serious.

"That stallion's a psychopath," One of them declared. "He started rambling about how he wanted to rule the Empire as king or something, then he blew up like half the city."

"I saw him strike down an entire family with that freaky magic of his," Another said in shock.

"This is my fault." Chrysalis whispered to herself. Tears were streaming down her face. "I did this to him."

"My Queen, we must leave here," Bared Fang said. "It is time to go home."

Chrysalis turned away from the destruction of the Crystal Empire, heart-broken with the realization that she could do nothing. A cool breeze whistled through the empty field as she made her decision.

"My Queen?" Fang asked tentatively.

"Fine. Let's go," She hissed venomously, emerald eyes red with tears. "There's nothing left for me here."

Epilogue: Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Queen Chrysalis sat reclined in her throne, eyes shut as she listened to the bickering squabble of two drones in front of her. The duo had begun arguing over something hours ago, and as queen it was her duty to end it. She should have been paying attention, but had zoned out long ago. It was some sort of border dispute or something.

“…and as you can clearly see on the deed passed down from my great-grandfather – given to him by the royal family, I remind you – it states that the four acres near the Hayseed River belong to my family,” the changeling (his name might have been Hollow Whisper but Chrysalis was not sure) said.

“So?” Chrysalis asked, apathy lacing her voice as her emerald eyes creaked open.

“So?” The possibly named Hollow Whisper reiterated. “So the land is mine. Inherited from my father. By all rights the land belongs solely to me, and can only be used by me, but this fool,” he waved his leg at the other changeling who hissed. “He built his home an inch to far and encroached on my acres!”

“I did not!” The other changeling (possibly named Sharpened Blade, but Chrysalis couldn’t care less) retorted. “He’s lying, Your Majesty.”

“I am not!” Hollowed Whisper shouted, puffing out his chest to appear intimidating.

“Yes you are!” Sharpened Blade replied in a fury.

“You two want to know what I think about all this?” The changeling queen said calmly, sitting up straight. Both changeling drones nodded their heads, eager for her verdict.

“I think this is the most pointless argument ever brought before me!” She bellowed. “You’re arguing over an inch of land. A bucking inch! Is that really worth my time? Honestly, the two of you are acting like foals. Get out of my sight!”

“But… Your Majesty…”

“OUT OF MY SIGHT!” She roared. The two changelings stumbled backwards from shock, and fled the throne room in a whimper.

Queen Chrysalis groaned as they left, sinking back into her agate throne. A soft buzzing sound that indicated changeling wings suddenly appeared. She watched as her most trusted advisor, Bared Fang, flew in. He looked almost amused.

“Well, certainly made quick work of that one, My Queen,” he said.

“How many more of these domestic disputes are lined up for today?” She miserably asked.

“One-hundred and forty three, Your Majesty.”

Nope.

“Cancel them all. I have a headache,” she muttered. Bared Fang raised an eyebrow, but bowed respectfully.

“As you wish, My Queen.”

Chrysalis shifted in the stone chair, uncomfortable. The crown resting on her teal mane nearly fell off, but she caught it.

“Is there anything else I have to do today?” She asked.

Bared Fang drew out a sheet of parchment, and scanned it.

“Just several dozen more complaints of hunger pains, Your Majesty,” the dwarf changeling said, noticeably concerned. “It’s gotten harder and harder to feed everypony ever since we were barred from the Crystal Emp-“ Bared Fang cut himself off. He looked at her, fear in his eyes. Every changeling knew the queen had banned the mere mention of that place in her presence.

Chrysalis hid her face. A dam inside of her just burst, releasing a maelstrom of memories that she had fought for so long to keep repressed. Her own emotions suddenly tantalized the air. She fought to suppress them. Scents from a variety of feelings lingered: Hurt, Betrayal, Depression, Sadness, and – of course – Love.

Tears bloomed in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

“T-today would’ve been our two year anniversary,” she whimpered. Bared Fang moved to comfort her, but she retreated.

“My Queen,” he whispered. “I am so sorry.”

Chrysalis bit her lip, fangs puncturing the skin and eliciting a thin trail of blood. She uttered a single, pained sob and sank to the floor.

“I can’t believe I left him like that,” she said, composure shattered. More sobs followed, unrestrained and distressed. “I should’ve saved him, Fang.”

“My Qu… Chrysalis, there was nothing you could have done.”

“Don’t lie to me, Fang,” she said as the tears began to hit the floor. “The love we shared… it was so powerful. I could taste honey even when the entire city was between us. With all that raw energy I could’ve… should’ve done something. Anything.”

“…”

A empathetic hoof rested on her shoulder. Chrysalis turned, blinking through the salt water in her eyes, to see Fang’s sympathetic face.

“Why don’t you take the rest of the day off,” he suggested. “It’s clear you need it.”

Chrysalis considered his suggestion for a moment, then slowly nodded. Head sunken, the Queen of the Changelings walked out of the room.

There were two guards positioned at the exit. As they saw their queen exit they waited a few seconds and then followed her at a respectable distance. They acted as shadows would, following her silently and without intrusion. Chrysalis considered sending them away, but decided not to.

She wandered without aim, passing through the halls of her castle with melancholy. Her heart ached with sadness the entire time. All Chrysalis wanted to do was to talk about the pain she was experiencing, but she could not go to anypony in her kingdom about it.

Only Bared Fang knew that she was capable of love without dying or suffering, and that’s the way it would have to remain. If her subjects knew that there was a way to experience love without brutally killing oneself in the process, they would swarm her for it. The only problem is that she could not – would not – give it to them.

It had been dark magic that had given her the power to love, but she had seen the evils it wrought. She had experience first hoof the horrible things that could befall should her subjects gain access to dark magic, and she refused to take that risk. Bared Fang had understood, and the two of them kept the secret.

Unfortunately for Chrysalis, while Bared Fang was willing to hide her ability to love, he was not willing to discuss it. The dwarf had neither inclination, nor desire to know what love felt like, and he certainly wasn’t capable of holding and intelligent conversation about that emotion unless it pertained to eating it.

So for the past two years Chrysalis had to suffer to burden of love while at the same time tried to provide leadership and guidance for her people. What little she had managed to accomplish was threatening to crumble away if she couldn’t control her emotions.

Isn’t there anypony I can talk too? She thought bitterly. An idea bloomed in her mind. Maybe… She considered.

Her pace quickened as Chrysalis’ legs carried her through the castle. The guards were compelled to keep up, and were forced to break out into a trot.

Finally, the changeling queen exited the castle, flanked by her two guards. She was running now. The changelings beside her were struck with curiosity by her odd behavior, but they knew better than to ask.

Chrysalis turned, circumventing the castle walls and found herself in the royal courtyard. She slowed down, allowing the guards to catch their breaths.

Her next few steps were slow and deliberate, bringing her closer to the one party of the courtyard that she had avoided for years. The cemetery.

It was a small section of land, surrounded by a cold iron fence. The changeling queen knew that this was the only burial ground her species condoned. Changelings hated death, and preferred to ignore it rather than acknowledge when somepony passed away. The royalty was different however. They were given a funeral, and sealed away behind the lonely gates. A guard coughed, unnerved.

“Leave,” she ordered the two. They obliged with no hesitation.

Chrysalis took in a slow breath, and with a green flick of magic she unlatched and opened the gates. The rusty old iron creaked open at a grating pitch, granting her entrance.

She walked in slowly, her teal hair being brushed aside by a cold breeze. The cemetery held all members of the royal changeling lineage that had existed since the dawn of their species nearly ten thousand years ago. All three of them.

Chrysalis passed by the first two burial sites, each sporting a large and elaborate tombstone. They were her great-grandfather and her grandmother, two changelings she had never met. The third tombstone was much more modest compared to the previous ones.

“Hello, Father,” Chrysalis spoke to the ground, which looked as freshly packed as it did two years ago. The solemn earth did not reply to her.

“Sorry for dropping by like this, but… but I needed somepony to talk too,” Chrysalis sighed. “I’m so lonely, and hurt, and guilty right now. And not just because today is our two year anniversary. It’s everyday. I’m lost, and angry with myself. I keep saying, ‘There was nothing I could do’ but that doesn’t alleviate my guilt, and I…” Tears welled up in her eyes as she choked on the words. Her buried father remained icily silent.

“I know why you’re not talking to me,” Chrysalis began. “You’re still mad at me. I suppose I shouldn’t blame you. The last thing I said to you was…” The words died at her lips.

“I know I wasn’t the perfect daughter,” she admitted. “But don’t act like you were a perfect father. You were trying to protect me from falling in love, and I can appreciate that, but maybe I didn’t want your protection. Sombra and I… we were happy together. I was happy with him. That’s more than I can say for living in the Badlands.” Her tears fell onto the soil below. “And when you tried to keep me from seeing him I… I snapped. I said some things I regret now, and I’ll never be able to take back. I can’t even justify it by saying I did it for love, because I don’t even have that to show for myself.”

“Ponies often say it’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all, but why do I feel worse now than when I did before? Is it because now I know what love is? That I’m capable of it?” She waited for a reply that never came.

“Maybe it’s because… I haven’t lost him,” Chysalis realized. “I just let him go too easily. My heart knows that he’s still out there and that there has to be a way to save him.”

The stoic ground did not respond, but Chrysalis didn’t need it to. No more tears were flowing from her eyes; they had been replaced with determination.

“And I’m going to save him,” her voice whispered into the air. She bowed her head as a small thank you to her deceased father and ran.

The cemetery gates magically slammed behind her with resounding clang. Chrysalis did not slow down. She was inside the castle in an instant, breezing past guards and staff alike.

She arrived in her throne room before too long, it was empty, but the changeling she was looking for had to be around.

“Bared Fang!” She called out, hoping her advisor was nearby.

“Ah, Your Majesty good,” The dwarf changeling said, walking in. “I’ve got to tel-”

“Never mind that, Fang,” Chrysalis said to him. “Whatever it is can wait. I’m going to the Crystal Empire. You’re in charge until I get back.”

His blue insect eyes widened. “Um, Your Majesty you can’t-”

“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do, Fang,” Chrysalis warned him as she crossed over to the wide window adjacent to her throne. “I’m going to the Empire.”

Undaunted by her command, Bared Fang flew forward between her and the window.

“It is impossible for you to go to the Empire,” he declared boldly.

“You won’t stop me, Fang. I can-”

“No you can’t!” Bared Fang cut her off. He never did that. “My Queen, the Crystal Empire is gone.”

Chrysalis blinked. Tangible silence encompassed the room as the Queen of the Changelings attempted to digest those words.

“Gone?” She whispered frightfully. Then louder, “What do you mean, gone?”

“A few of our scouts from the north just returned this morning. They claimed that the Crystal Empire is no longer there.” Bared Fang shifted his head off to the side. “I am sorry, My Queen.”

Chrysalis was too stunned to form words for a while. When she finally could, they were venomously angry.

“What the buck does that mean, Fang? The entire Empire can’t just vanish into thin air!”

Her advisor stepped back, not wanting to be the lightning rod for the oncoming storm.

“It is, Your Majesty. There is nothing there anymore except snow,” he said. Chrysalis’ green eyes narrowed.

“How do I know you aren’t just saying this so I won’t go?” She asked, suspicion dripping from every word.

“You would be able to tell if I was lying, Your Majesty,” Bared Fang replied. Chrysalis inhaled through her nose. There was no guilt or shame radiating from the dwarf’s body. He wasn’t lying.

As the reality began to sink in, Chrysalis backed away. She swallowed slowly.

“So… so what happened?” She asked. “Did he survive?”

Bared Fang looked away. “I have no idea. All I know is what the scouts reported.”

“Well what did they report?” Chrysalis asked, becoming cross. “I want to know what happened, Fang.”

Her advisor was deathly silent. He refused to look her in the eye.

“Promise me you won’t do anything rash, Your Majesty,” Bared Fang said.

“Tell me now,” she demanded through clenched teeth.

With a heavy sigh, he spoke. “They said they saw Princess Celestia and Princess Luna go into the Empire... and it was only them who left it.”

Chrysalis’ eye twitched slightly. With restraint she backed away from the window and breathed slowly. Bared Fang looked like he wanted to relax but wasn’t sure what was about to happen.

“All right,” she said hesitantly. “I guess I’m not going to the Crystal Empire then.”

Visibly, Bared Fang relaxed, the tension fading from his body. She brushed passed him and stood on the window’s ledge.

“My Queen?” He asked, concern returning.

“I’ll be in Canterlot if you need me Fang, there are some princesses that I need to speak with.”

“What?” Bared Fang shrieked, but he was talking to nothing but air. Chrysalis had taken off, leaving her kingdom behind.

Princess Celestia took in a shaky breath as the fresh wounds on her back released more scalding pain. With her magic, the alicorn undid the last strap of her armor and laid it on the floor.

She sighed, realizing she would never be able to use it again. All of her armor was now beyond repair. The specially constructed material had been ripped torn through like mere paper. The parts that were still in tact had been scorched black by hellfire.

Celestia shuddered at the memory of the sheer power the dark unicorn had displayed. Even though it was only a few hours after their fight, she hoped to forget it soon.

“Ah!” her sister seethed suddenly. Celestia turned her head to see Luna removing her helmet – or rather, what was left of her helmet. King Sombra had released a powerful beam of dark magic directly Princess Luna, evaporating the metal and scarring the left side of the alicorn’s face. It would heal, but right now it was likely immensely painful.

“Are you all right, sister?” Celestia asked. Luna merely nodded.

“It just hurts to move my face,” the navy blue alicorn replied.

“You’ll be fine,” the Princess of the Sun assured her. I hope, she added silently.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna made their way to the wide balcony at the end of the room. It was time to lower the sun and raise the moon, and as much as the two alicorn’s needed to rest after their encounter with King Sombra, the job of rotating day and night came first.

As the sun began to lower, Celestia felt herself struggling. The fighting from earlier that day had depleted her magical reserves, and taxing them further was not a wise decision. She powered through it anyways, not stopping till the last of the sunbeams had lowered below the horizon.

Luna’s horn glowed in an azure aura now, and Celestia could see the moon begin to crest into view. She could also see her sister sweating under the strain, but didn’t have enough energy herself to lend a hoof.

Eventually the moon reached its apex in the now nighttime sky, and Luna let out a sigh of exertion. The two sisters were exhausted.

“I don’t know about you, Tia,” Luna said. “But I’m going to sleep.”

“Yes, that sounds like a good idea,” Celestia replied. The two began walking back inside.

Thump.

Celestia and Luna stopped mid-step. Something had just landed on the balcony behind them. The white alicorn glanced at her younger sister with her peripheral vision. Luna looked just as confused as she felt. Both princesses turned their heads around slowly.

Glaring them down was a creature that Celestia had never seen before. It had a tall quasi-pony structure, with a dark, black coat, and long, teal hair that almost grazed the floor. She noticed it deviated from the normal pony stature when she noticed the holes in its legs, the fangs, and the crooked horn. Celestia assumed this creature was more related to bugs based on its diaphanous wings and carapace. The princess eyed it nervously.

“WHO ART THOU?!” Luna suddenly shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice, causing Celestia to flinch. “WHY DOST THOU INTRUDE UPON OUR CASTLE?”

The lime green eyes of the creature narrowed with spite.

“Where is he?” It growled.

Celestia exchanged glances of confusion with her sister.

“Who are you talking about?” The white alicorn asked. The creature clearly didn’t like this answer.

Hissing hatefully, the bug creature charged up its horn with a frightful green aura. Celestia and Luna didn’t have the time nor the energy to brace themselves before a powerful beam of magic slammed into them.

The two alicorns were struck hard and thrown backwards. Luna hit her head along the side of a marble column and was knocked out. Celestia didn’t fare much better.

Still conscious, the Princess of the Sun attempted to charge her own horn for a counterattack. The magic sparked and uttered a loud flatulent-like noise. Nothing else happened.

No! She thought. I’m all out. Before Celestia could struggle onto all fours, the hostile creature ran inside the castle and was standing over her, prepared to release another magical attack.

“Where is he?” The creature hollered in her face. Wincing, Celestia looked at the creature and noticed there were tears in its eyes. Tears of pain.

“Where is who?” The princess shouted. “I have no idea who you’re talking about!”

A black hoof swiped across Celestia’s face, making a cracking noise. She recoiled. It slapped her. That thing had just slapped her.

“Sombra. Who else you bitch?” It screamed.

“Excuse me,” Celestia said. “But I am a princess, and will not be addressed like some–“ The creature slapped her again.

“Where?” It demanded.

Celestia narrowed her eyes. “The Artic North. We turned him into a shadow and banished him to the Artic North. Satisfied?”

The thing was silent for a moment, clearly not expecting that answer.

“He’s… alive?” It tentatively asked. She could tell that made the creature very emotional for whatever reason.

“Yes?” Princess Celestia replied, though she said it in a more questioning tone. Sure there was a possibility that Sombra had survived that, but she sincerely hoped not. He was a monster.

“He’s still alive…” The creature said, stepping back. Celestia attempted to sit up. “I have to find him.” It murmured. “I can still save him.”

“What?” Celestia exclaimed. “No! I cannot allow that. King Sombra was a menace to everypony in Equestria. Bringing him back would be disastrous.”

The creature scowled at her. “You can’t stop me.”

Celestia attempted to move again but the creature was far faster. Horn charged, a magical beam struck her across the side of the face.

Her head slumped up against the ground Celestia struggled to stay conscious. Her ears were ringing painfully loud. As her vision blurred she could see the black bug-like beast running towards the balcony. It spread its insect wings and then flew off.

Darkness.

The cold dug its teeth into Chrysalis’ carapace with chilling ferociousness. Blistering winds smacked her face as her shaking hooves clung to the crunchy snow. She wrapped her thin wings around her body, hoping to elicit what little warmth she could.

It had been two hours since she landed in the Artic North, and Chrysalis was beginning to have thoughts about turning back. She was ill-prepared for cold temperatures, had no warm clothing, and no idea how to find Sombra.

“H-have t-to k-keep going,” she said to herself. Her resolve wasn’t encouraged.

She was losing hope fast. All she could see was the snowy white expanse, and if she stayed any longer, it might be the last thing she would ever see.

I can’t turn back. I just can’t. He needs me, I know he does… and I need him.

The bitter cold was relentless however. Chrysalis could feel herself getting frostbite on her nose and hooves.

Suddenly, she was only aware of her face being covered in snow. She’d tripped without even realizing it. Squirming, the changeling queen moved her face up to breath. As she did, her nose picked up a unique scent.

Pepper.

Her head jerked up, out of the snow. “Sombra,” she whispered, her breath visible. Reinvigorated, Chrysalis scrambled to all fours, and began to charge forward.

The damnable pepper scent burned her nostrils, but for the first time in her life she was thankful for it. As she trudged on the smell became more potent. Eventually it felt so powerful that Chrysalis would swear she was right on top of him.

“Sombra!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. “Sombra, where are you?”

Chrysalis called out his name a few more times but heard no reply. She knew he was nearby, and refused to accept defeat. Her emerald eyes scanned the ground, looking for hoofprints – as if they would even be present in a blizzard such as this one – in desperation. She found something entirely different.

Smoke. Little inky swirls of smoke were breaking through the surface of the snow. They reeked heavily of pepper.

“Found you,” Chrysalis whispered. Her hooves buried themselves into the snow as she began flinging it to the sides. Her already frostbitten limbs didn’t feel the new rush of cold.

She expended the precious little energy she still had into digging out the snow. It was an arduous task, as the blizzard defiantly filled up anything she was able to clear out.

Progress was eventually made however, as more of the dark swirls of smoke became visible. Chrysalis knew she was getting close, but she could feel herself start to loose her grip on consciousness. Her vision was dimming as she broke through the last layer of snow.

The dark smoke blasted out from the imprisoning sheets of snow and into the air. Pepper filled her nose and mouth so fast that Chrysalis coughed violently. The inky smoke – or a more precise word would be shadows - began swirling around, not wavered by the storm around it.

As tired as she was, Chrysalis stumbled back, out of the warpath of shadows. The growing mass bulged and condensed. She was still coughing from the throbbing taste of pepper. Recovering, Chrysalis peaked her eye open and gasped.

Standing before her was Sombra. He had on rustic armor, and his eyes were now green with a dark, smoky trail, but other than that he looked exactly the same as when she last saw him.

The pepper taste was pushed out of her mouth, replaced with a very sour honey. Her heart accelerated just from seeing him, forcing adrenaline into her body to keep her awake.

“Sombra,” she whispered softly. The stallion narrowed his eyes in her direction. “D-do you recognize me?” She asked, two years worth of emotion threatening to spill over.

“No,” his dark voice said. His eyes meant it, showing her nothing but contempt. She tried to detect any emotions, certain he was lying. There was only pepper.

“Yes you do!” Chrysalis shouted, water threatening to overflow from her eyes. “You have to! I came all this way for you.”

“I don’t care,” Sombra replied. “Though I suppose I should thank you for setting me free; now I can reclaim my Empire.” He brushed past her, content with leaving her to suffer the fate of freezing to death.

“No,” the changeling queen whispered to herself. “This can’t be the end…”

There has to be some way to get through to him. To get the old Sombra back. My Sombra, she thought, sinking down into the snow. A single tear escaped and ran down her cheek, freezing to solid ice before reaching her chin. She was alone in the blizzard, with nothing but the sour taste of her own love to comfort her as she slipped away. She tightened her eyelids, certain she would never open them again.

A soft, warm glow convinced her otherwise. The tip of her horn was emitting a lambent green aura. She squinted, certain that hypothermia was making her hallucinate. She had no energy left, so how was this possible?

It’s… my love, she realized. She was fueling her own magic with her own love for Sombra. Is this even possible?

It must be possible; it’s happening.

But… how?

Changelings had never been able to feed on their own love before, because none of them had ever been able to love before. Chrysalis had never tried using her own love for energy in the past, Sombra’s overwhelming love had been more than she’d ever needed.

The energy reinvigorated her, and compelled her to stand up. She did, no longer feeling the icy wind whipping across her face. Turning, Chrysalis saw Sombra, still walking away. He was a black speck in the endless expanse of white.

Concentrating, Chrysalis used her energy and teleported directly in front of him. After a green flash, she was face to face with the blinking eyes of Sombra.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Chrysalis acted faster. Throwing as much energy into her horn as she dared, the changeling queen released the most powerful magical surge of her life directly at Sombra’s forehead.

The magical blast threw both of them backwards, Chrysalis landing on the soft snow with her carapace. Her spell left her disoriented slightly, but she shook her head to rectify that.

Glancing back towards Sombra, all Chrysalis could see was a shapeless mass of shadows. Slowly, they gathered back into a form. A gray unicorn, lying on the snowy ground. Chrysalis stood up and rushed towards him. She couldn’t smell any pepper.

There was not rustic armor on him anymore, and his eyes didn’t have that dark, smoky trail. He groaned. Chrysalis tried to scoop him up, but found that her hooves fazed right through him. As a shadow he was intangible. Sombra’s scarlet eyes fluttered open.

“C… Chryssi?” He moaned upon seeing her. Her heart skipped a beat. It felt so good to hear his nickname for her after all this time. Tears exploded in Chrysalis’s eyes, and she sobbed joyfully

“You remember me!” She cried.

“Of course I remember you,” Sombra said gently. He attempted to move his hoof to touch her cheek, but it slid through. Sombra looked concerned. “Chyrssi… what happened? Where are we?”

“We’re... we’re in the Artic North, Sombra. Don’t you remember anything?”

He scrunched his face, attempting to recall something. “I… I remember the changelings were trying to take you away… and I tried to stop them. Did I?”

Chrysalis sniffled a little. “No… you… the crystal…” she sighed, a sob escaping her lips. “You went insane, Sombra.”

His eyes widened in shock. “I… what?”

“The dark magic possessed you. Sombra, you took over the Crystal Empire and enslaved everypony there.”

Horror overtook Sombra’s face. Chrysalis could smell varying degrees of guilt, shame, and self-disgust radiate from him.

“Don’t feel that way,” she insisted. “It wasn’t you, it was the dark magic.”

“But I wouldn’t have been possessed if I’d just stayed away from it.” Sombra sighed. He attempted to touch her again, but found his hoof just passed through her body. “Why does that keep happening?” He asked, unnerved.

The wind blew her teal mane into her face, but Chrysalis paid it no mind. “Princess Celestia turned you into a shadow to defeat you. That’s why you’re here.”

“…and you came all this way just to find me?” He asked. She nodded, feeling blood rise beneath her cheeks. A very familiar honey flavor ignited in her mouth as Sombra wrapped her in an embrace… or rather he tried to. His body passed right through Chrysalis’, causing her to shudder.

“Sorry,” he said, turning back around.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I’m still just so happy you’re not possessed anymore.”

“Me too,” he said. “Do you think Celestia would be willing to change me back now?”

Chrysalis bit her lip, her fang inadvertently drawing blood. “I don’t know. She’s probably not to eager to do anything for you or me.”

“What do you mean?” He asked, curious.

Chrysalis’ eyes darted around. “Well, when I found out what she did to you I sorta… broke into her castle and attacked her.”

“…You’re so sweet,” Sombra told her. She grinned bashfully, but was still worried.

“So what can we do to fix you?” She asked. Sombra’s brows furrowed with concentration.

“Maybe there is something in the Crystal Empire Library about this,” he reasoned. “We could try there.”

“Uhmm, no we can’t,” she said. Sombra cocked his head in confusion. “The… uh… the Empire is gone, Sombra.”

His scarlet irises shrunk till they were specks. “What?” He squeaked out in alarm.

“I’m not entirely sure what happened,” she said. “But I do know that the Empire is completely gone. I flew by it on my way here and there was nothing. I’m so sorry.”

Sombra looked at the ground, utterly at a loss for words. Chrysalis wanted nothing more than to put her hooves around him as a comfort, but she knew it was impossible.

“I must’ve put a curse on it… or something…” He whispered. Looking up, he asked, “Chryssi, how long was I… you know…”

“About two years,” she said softly. “Happy anniversary.”

Sombra buried his face in his hooves, distraught. “T-two years… are you sure?”

“I’m positive,” she said grimly. “It… it hasn’t been easy.”

They were silent. The only noise that could be heard was the blizzard’s heavy whistle.

“I’m so sorry I hurt you,” he whimpered.

“…I forgive you, Sombra,” she replied. “I know you didn’t mean it.”

He brought his face out of his hooves. “Maybe we can-”

Sombra froze mid-sentence. His head twitched spasmodically for a moment, and his eyes returned to the sickly green color of possession. Chrysalis stumbled back afraid. For a brief moment, all she could smell and taste was pepper.

Then it was gone. Sombra’s eyes returned to their red color, and honey once again filled her mouth. The gray stallion clutched his head.

“Ah, what just happened?” He asked. She didn’t reply. “Chryssi, what happened?” Sombra asked again, concern flooding his voice.

“You… you changed,” she said, voice a pitiful squeak. “The dark magic came back.”

Terror leapt onto Sombra’s face. “I…it did? I thought it was gone.”

“I thought so too. I guess whatever I did didn’t do the trick.” She eyed his red, curved horn, undoubtedly the source of the darkness.

“Could you try it again?” Sombra asked. She shook her head.

“It won’t work. I think all I did was hold the darkness back. I’ve got no idea how to purge it all without hurting you.”

Sombra looked downtrodden. He was about to say something, when the possession took hold again. It lasted a mere second, but Chrysalis felt her heart skip a beat with fear.

“It’s coming back,” Sombra realized. “I won’t be able to hold it at bay for much longer.”

“What can we do?” Chrysalis asked, panicky. Sombra glanced around, unsure.

“Where did you find me?” He asked. Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, confused as to why he wanted to know that.

“Over there, somewhere,” she said, indicating the vast expanse with her hoof. “You were buried under a lot of snow.”

“And I couldn’t get out?” He asked.

“You were only freed after I dug you up,” she answered. Sombra’s dark magic possessed him again. It lasted longer, but still faded. Chrysalis was getting worried.

Recovering, Sombra looked at her. “So do you think if I was buried again, I won’t be able to escape? I won’t be able to hurt anypony else?”

Chrysalis realized what he was insinuating. “NO! Sombra please, you can’t imprison yourself like that.”

“I think I have to,” he replied solemnly. “It’s the only way to prevent the dark magic from doing anymore harm.”

Tears streamed down her face. “Y-you can’t… Sombra, please…” Sombra attempted to brush the tears from her cheek, before remembering he was intangible.

“Chrysalis,” he said, using her full name. She looked at him, her emerald eyes tainted red. “You know it’s for the best. It has to be done.”

“But… there has to be another way.”

The dark possession returned, Sombra’s eyes glowing a hateful lime green. He struggled and cursed before the real Sombra regained control.

“We don’t have time,” he whispered.

“I don’t want you to leave me,” she cried.

“I don’t want to leave you,” he assured her.

With their lips inches apart, Chrysalis leaned in and kissed him. Well, she kissed him to the extent one can kiss a shadow.
“Promise me you’ll never change,” he said. She nodded.

“I’ll find a way to set this right,” Chrysalis whispered in his ear.

“I know you will,” he whispered right back.

“I don’t care if it takes a thousand years, I’ll find a way to fix this,” Chrysalis swore. Her horn ignited, fueled by both her love and his, she overturned nearly fifty feet of snow. Frozen tears covered her face as she watched Sombra descend into the abyss, his fate accepted.

He glanced upwards, looking at her. “You are the most amazing and beautiful mare I’ve ever met,” he shouted. “I love you, Chryssi.”

She smiled weakly, grabbing snow with her magic. “You are the corniest stallion I’ve ever known. I love you too.”

As she levitated as much snow as she could, Chrysalis saw Sombra’s eyes flash to the sickly green color. There was pepper in the air, and also honey. Then the snow buried him, dark magic and all. All scents evaporated.

She waited, making sure Sombra could not escape his icy prison. When she felt like he wouldn’t she turned around.

Muffled sobs followed her trek home in the bleak night.