For The Sake Of Love
Chrysalis could see it burn, she could feel it stir. It was easily likened to a beast, slowly waking from its slumber, a whirlpool of emotions starting to go round and round. She forced a kind, shy smile onto her face, reading enough from the other pony to make sure this was the appropriate response.
The pony with the gray coat didn't stir however, well, not from the perspective of just anypony. In fact, most changelings would've had trouble reading the mare that just quietly picked up her cup of tea and took another sip. Had Chrysalis not done this so many times already that she'd lost count, surely she would've despaired long before this point.
“So,” Maud Pie said after one more minute of quiet, “you really think that the abundance of limestone in the western regions is more of a blessing than the gemstones here in Central Equestria? That's really rare, considering how well received the radiance and shapes of gems usually is.”
Chrysalis saw a lock of her own mane fall down, one of the few pale blue streaks amidst the sea of red. She never understood the appeal of certain mane colors, but she had felt the emotions of this earth pony resonating whenever she'd see them.
Though she knew what answer would please this pony the most already, she still let the question linger, make the other one wait for it a bit. She was the type of pony who liked suspense, as far as Chrysalis understood. Until now, all her estimations had been met, and even with this pause, the other mare seemed to feel more open towards her.
She liked shy ponies who thought about every answer, it seemed.
“I always found a beauty in simplicity,” Chrysalis said, her illusionary tongue touching her teeth. “The texture of limestone is … sublime, I guess. I dunno, but it feels calming to look at it when it's still unmined. And buildings from limestone look so much more elegant than those in the crystal empire. You know, the ones cut out of crystals and gems?”
Maud Pie had already gone on for hours about different types of rocks, no, she had so for multiple dates. Chrysalis took all the information in with a smile. This sort of hunt was much more to her preference than any open conflict or some quick one night stand with some weirdo who'd never known what true love meant.
A slow hunt yielded better results, made her able to gather enough love to survive on for months. Months she could use to create more changelings, with whom she could try invading this rotten country again.
“Yes,” Maud Pie answered after a minute too long.
Chrysalis didn't feel pressured, she didn't feel unsure. She'd been mumbling herself through the first days of talking with Maud Pie, had been clumsy and nervous. The mare had taken until yesterday to catch on, but Chrysalis already estimated another week before a proper confession would be made.
Until then, the fires needed to be stirred.
“So,” the grey earth pony told her opposite, “you like rocks.”
It was an obvious remark, but Chrysalis almost let her guard down despite it. Changelings witnessed the world in the colors of emotions, all dead things were dull and grey, all things alive were painted as they loved and were loved. It was a fluctuating, whimsical world a changeling lived in, but with enough experience, it could be mastered. Yet, the world was full of surprises and Chrysalis felt herself unable to see what the fluctuating emotions, the inner conflict of Maud Pie would lead to. The mare just stoically looked at her as if nothing in the world was wrong.
“And I like rocks.“
Chrysalis nodded, slowly, trying to understand, but at the same time realizing that the moment was here already. Too soon, she thought. This pony wasn't the kind of hothead who'd fall in love with another head over heels, or was she?
“You like to wander, I like to wander. We both felt too big for our homes, and, there's something more.“
Vagueness, Chrysalis almost smiled. That wasn't this pony's business. She usually thought long and hard about what she was going to say next, would intone every word carefully and make sure her own, rock grey world never got out of balance.
Time to go all in.
“I,“ Chrysalis started, “I feel the same way. I've been pretty lonely travelling around the way I did, and I never could talk with most … with most ponies. It's just, you know … It's just … uhm, wonderful. It's just wonderful to finally talk to have somepony.“ She shook her head, made herself blush furiously. “I mean, I wanted to say, I–”
“I know.“
The tiniest hint of a smile forced herself unto Maud Pie's face. Chrysalis almost started to laugh, almost started to feed. The fires suddenly ran high and she felt their burning heat touching against her horn, ready to be sucked cold.
Alas, it was not the moment, not yet. The flames were still not worth all the time she had invested in this ordeal. It needed one more thing, just one, more, tiny pebble to get the avalanche rolling.
“I love you,“ she intoned, the white, petite pony body she had clad herself in shaking nervously.
The restaurant of the hotel they both stayed in had been quiet the whole time. There had been another pair of guests on the other end, talking about some business deal, and there had been the waiters, who'd sometimes come looking whether either of them all needed something. It wasn't the perfect setup, but almost so. This kind of thing usually involved a great deal of luck, and Chrysalis was all too happy that fortune was with her today.
Maud Pie looked at her, and even though her face was stone cold, her eyes gave her emotions away. Like so many times before, an emotion almost made itself known as the mare almost blushed.
Victory was at hand.
“I know, I know that it's unreasonable. I've only known yourself for a few days and I know you don't feel the same way, I just, I just–”
“I told you,” the other mare said, almost a smile on her face. “I know.”
Just as planned, Chrysalis thought, showing a shy smile behind a reddening face.
“I never thought to meet somepony like you,” Maud spoke, her tone as dull as ever. “I think I might like you too.”
Chrysalis felt that this was almost too easy, but ponies tended to be quick with their feelings. You were nice to them, getting close was easy. It still surprised her, no matter how many times she did this. Truth be told, she had spent most of her life seducing the much more mistrustful minotaurs, so she was always ready for the worst case scenario.
However, that didn't diminish the importance of the next step. Letting Maud roast for a day more would either be profitable or really foolish. She wasn't sure which words to say, since the earth pony had already surprised her once. Chrysalis hated being surprised, if only because it left her in the dark for a few precious moments.
She hoped that Maud's liking of shy ponies meant she was more of a dominant type in romance.
A look in the eyes, a fierce blush adorning her cheeks, Chrysalis did not make to say anything. No, she wanted to leave the stage to the pony, and then, just a moment before Maud opened her mouth again, she could see her fire stirring to higher levels. The mare was about to take a risk, but what sort, Chrysalis could not even begin to imagine.
“Would you like to stay together for the night.”
A pause came, one Chrysalis used to look away, at the ground, at the door. A shy pony would plan an escape that would never happen, wouldn't want to fight a battle she'd already won. A shy pony would also answer, despite her nervosity, “Y-yes.”
Her voice sounded shrill and small, a tiny spec in the sea of emotions around Maud Pie, and the only thing the pony cared for. They were both shaking nervously, but Maud, despite her stoic expression, seemed to be the one doubting the most.
Chrysalis knew what it was, the pony thought it weird that a connection had formed between them as quickly as it did. To her, the perfect mare was opposite to her, an unparalleled ideal that should've been an impossibility. Truth be told, the changeling queen was unsure whether she had played her cards right, but only the coming moments would tell. The mare opposite had not lied at any point, she was in love and her fires were swinging high with hope.
“Do you want to,” Maud stuttered, “to go to my room?”
Chrysalis looked away again, but nodded lightly. Once more the mouth of the pony hinted at a smile and she stood up. For a second she weighed her words, “Come on, little one, I'll show you the way.”
She read the emotions, both the doubt and the lust. They were swirling in a circle within the pony, a whirlpool that swallowed all her thoughts. Chrysalis understood how important those words were because of that. Little one, she had called her. So she is the dominant type.
Was that why she'd accepted so quickly? Did this pony think she just met the perfect mare with whom she could share her deepest secrets? If so, then Chrysalis was in luck. Those poor unfortunate souls, standing on the edge with the fantasies they thought weird and dissatisfying to most they knew, they were the prey most easily stirred, most easily lit ablaze.
The changeling decided for another shy nod and then reached out her hoof, ready to be led forward. Maud's hesitation was because the motion seemed strange to her, but rather just unreal. The small contortions of her face told Chrysalis that her estimation that she was right. This pony searched a romance to lead, a lover to control. But to what end, only time would tell.
Truly, her starving stomaching craved for a meal like this, and how grand the pay-off would be if she paid her cards right.
Maud took the hoof, leaving the table with the waiter's tip. The two walked for a short while, through the hospital in what seemed an admirable quiet. Only shortly before they arrived at Maud's room did the earth pony speak up again.
“It's a bit sudden,” she said, dull as ever, “but I have a good feeling with you. Just one question. I want to make sure this is alright.”
Chrysalis tilted her head, saying nothing. Any words she spoke now could easily be interpreted the wrong way.
“I don't really know what you expect I want to do, but … What do you know about Ageplay?”
Considering the importance of the subject, Chrysalis had readied herself to smile brightly before the question had even finished, and did so the moment the words fell. She was an old, hungering beast, uncaring for the customs of the other races. Only love mattered, only the sweet taste it carried did. Yet, despite the readied smile, she still wondered what the other pony was on about.
Some people, not just ponies, had certain preferences as to their private life, but it was ponies who would start a relationship with an explanation of such as quickly as they could. After all, they were amongst the most social of creatures. Some interests were valued stranger than others, but Chrysalis had little care for which subject matter was a taboo and which wasn't. They were mere fuel for the greater fire.
She'd heard of this one before, a minotaur she once knew had wanted a more childlike treatment at certain points in the relationship, though he'd also insisted that this was the extent of it. Chrysalis'd always wondered what he meant by this. Maybe this was the day she would find out. Intriguing, she thought, and decided to mix a little truth into the lie.
“I, I can't, you know, I can't say that I've done anything in that regard, but I always, you know, wanted to try it out.”
Only the role is in question, she added in her mind, but that was for her partner to decide. The answer had been as neutral as possible, so the pony might hopefully hear what she wanted to hear.
A slight blush was now added to the hint of a smile. “That's wonderful,” she said, confidence bristling behind a wall that might've been called emotionless, “I know it's weird, especially for a first date, but would you allow me to baby you?”
There it is, Chrysalis thought behind fiery cheeks. The fires of hope could either the be oil she needed, or the water that put the flames out. The queen had no intention of putting out a fire so bright and wonderful. In fact, this sort of thing was even better than the thing with the minotaur. The difference between receiving a child's love and a mother's love, almost.
So she looked at Maud Pie, mouth agape, her head turning red and redder and her eyes widening. The mare clearly thought she was shocked speechless, in a negative way, but that was how this sort of oil worked. It needed to be applied seemingly careful, only to be thrown into the fire, nothing held back.
“You would do that for me?”
Again, the phrasing was carefully chosen, the best option for this situation. The pony was a bit of a hothead, quick with intimite decision. It was probably a skill she'd aquired somewhere in her past, being the oldest of four.
The words hit the right spot, and the flames started to burn warmer again, a bit brighter than before as Maud's hint turned into a more real, a more kindly smile. A true mother's smile, Chrysalis thought, feeling herself drawn to the light like a moth. She felt parched for drink, her throat was so dry it was like paper, with one gust of wind able to turn it into sand. She felt hungry, as if she was a beast that'd stalked the land for days on end without ever finding prey. And this was the greatest menu of them all.
Yet she didn't feed, not yet. The fire could be kindled into something better still, and the right moment was here yet.
“I actually got some stuff in my room, it's not much, but if you want,” Maud said, and Chrysalis felt her hoof shaking.
“Sure, but just one question beforehand ...”
“What is it?”
The pale illusion looked away again, shy as ever. “Can I call you mommy?”
It was the best question Chrysalis could come up with. They still stood in the room, but nopony else was there, and if somepony in the rooms listened in, then so be it. All she needed was to make Maud think that everything was fine.
The earth pony in the unsightly dress nodded. “Sure,” she said, “little one.”
Chrysalis knew she'd won already, so the only thing remaining was to see it all through until the end. Not that it would be very hard, the fire's presence sated a bit of her thirst and hunger already, giving her enough nourishment to not lose herself to her lesser instincts. And now she just needed to pretend whatever Maud Pie wanted her to pretend.
The grey pony led her to her room, hoof still shaking, smile turned forward. Chrysalis did her best to be nervous, but the excitement for the coming meal was almost too strong. She must've looked more confident, because Maud Pie took notice.
“I'm a bit nervous,” she said, “I've never had a pony actually agree to this before, not without an explanation.”
“I've never … I've never had a pony ask me about this.” Chrysalis let out a slight laugh. “I just wanted to spend some time with you, thought that maybe we'd cuddle a bit on a first night, even though that was just a fantasy. I never thought to find another pony who was into this sort of thing, so … So I just want to take this chance.”
“Yeah, I guess we should do that.”
They halted before the hotel room and Maud opened it, gesturing the other pony in. It was a simple abode. A bed was in the middle, with a table to its side together with a pair of chairs. There was a wardrobe, a lamp, a window, and the way to the bathroom. Not perfect for something like this, but an unprepared room told much about Maud's sincerity.
“So, where to start?” Maud asked after she'd closed the door.
Chrysalis almost felt like groaning. With this sort of thing, an awkward moment before was almost always there, especially between two ponies who hadn't gotten the hang of each other yet. This was the first time, and both would wonder how far they should go, and what the other would think of them. Maud seemed confident, but not confident enough to actually pull through with the first step.
So Chrysalis took that burden off her shoulders. “Uhm, what 'stuff' do you got?”
Maud looked at her, then nodded and went for the wardrobe, getting her travel bag that stood beside it.
This was also the moment in which Chrysalis would see what manner of play this would be. She had no problem if this turned into something more intimate than just pretending to be mother and child. Taking a lover during this sort of thing was a good way to enkindle love's fire even further, but if wouldn't go that way, it was fine too.
Maud put what she had described as stuff on the bed. A footed sleeper, in an unexpected bright blue color, with floral motives looking as what a pony could only interpret as childish; a pacifier with shrill pink plastic, a feeding bottle, a pair of diapers with more cute motives on them, changing supplies and even a mat Maud spread across the bed. Chrysalis easily understood the meaning of it all.
“So,” Maud said, “I know this looks a bit weird, but it's just that sometimes I need this too.” She went for more confidence now, thinking Chrysalis an honest, upstanding pony.
“But you want to see somepony else in it now?”
Maud blushed. “I think you'd look really cute with some padding, is all.”
“And … potty?”
She took the more childish term to see Maud's reaction.
“Well, if you want, then you could ...” The earth pony seemed unsure.
“I'd think mommy knows best.” She followed up with a wide, brave smile.
“You sure?”
Chrysalis nodded. “I trust you, Maud, with all my heart.”
The fires burnt bright and hot as Maud brought one more smile and then gestured Chrysalis to the bed. The expectation of using a diaper was a bit of a bummer, but only because changeling physiology wasn't capable of producing excrements. If one only fed on the immaterial, they had no waste to shed.
An illusion like that was hard to cast, but she'd master that challenge when it came, and so the queen laid down on the mat. Maud clumsely went for one of the diapers. It had motifs of blue bears and wooden cubes on it and crinkled loudly as Maud unfolded it.
Chrysalis looked at the white of the ceiling and let Maud do her thing without complaint. She seemed to do this for the first time, so that was presumably a good thing. First timers were hard to judge, but the flames burnt already in the finest colors. She had no reason to complain herself.
Maud made a grab for the legs and as she lifted them, Chrysalis allowed that young mare she posed as to blush. Nevertheless, Maud kept going, putting the diaper beneath her, and then powdering her charge.
Though the motions of the pony were clumsy and the feeling produced by this procedure were unfamiliar to Chrysalis, she let it happen with a bit of a smile. A pony might've thought it degrading, she presumed, but she only saw the flame, its soothing light, and the promise of a well cooked dinner.
As her legs were put down and the diaper was lifted up, she felt how thick it was. That was probably part of the experience, Chrysalis thought, thinking how she'd look in this thing without an illusion. Passable, was her only comment on the image.
But her enemies, seeing her like this, that would be horrifying. Ponies would think it degrading, would stop taking her seriously, would laugh at her. It wasn't that the actions themselves seemed cruel, but the way the air smelled and tasted when ponies humiliated others, that was worse than walking through a loveless desert for weeks.
Maud finished the tapes quickly and then, resting her front hooves on the bed, she looked at Chrysalis. “Well,” she said in her usual, emotionless tone, “this wasn't as rocky as I expected it to be.”
Sometimes, when Maud was really excited and happy about something, she'd do rock puns. Chrysalis had learnt that sometime ago and it was one of the easiest ways to actually hear how Maud Pie felt. Of course it wasn't perfect, but it was something.
For now, however, it was time to play her part. “Mommy,” she said softly, playfully throwing her hooves up in hopes to receive a hug.
Which might've been a mistake, for as soon as Maud put her arms around her, she felt the fire against her chest and face, pressing against her very soul. And she felt the hunger, burning inside her, the yearning to end it, no matter the meal's quality. It was a slight miscalculation, and yet it brought her horn to glow up in a fiendish green as she tapped into it, intended to drain it.
She had to clench her teeth and power through her instincts. She was the one who'd brought forth the changeling after an eternity in the deep darkness, was the one who'd brought order to chaos and invaded foreign nations with great strategy. Chrysalis was not the sort of queen that would succumb to such lowly hunger.
“Is something wrong?” Maud asked.
“Hungies,” Chrysalis answered, too truthfully, too quickly.
But Maud misjudged the missing shyness, and her flame burnt kindly, lovingly. “How about I'll prepare a bottle for my widdle baby,” she said and rubbed her nose against Chrysalis, bringing forth a giggle.
A giggle despite the knowledge that this was a horrible, horrible idea, though it might solve her issue with the excrements. While changelings didn't normally eat what other creatures feasted on, their bodies could at least withstand the majority of them, even though it could only use the love with which the food was prepared. The rest went into the waste bin.
And Chrysalis considered that the worst part of these long conquests. Thinking about it, she'd eaten and drunk in Maud's presence, so the diaper might find its use later on. Considering the feeling of the diaper now, that would at least provide her with an experience.
Maud had made her way to the bag, and gotten out a bottle of milk. Chrysalis thought that that would dim the romantic atmosphere, but Maud didn't seem to be looking for that kind of partner anyway. She yearned for something different, an idealized child maybe?
“Alright,” she said, stoic as ever, despite her fire burning in a wild blaze.
She moved towards Chrysalis, who'd seated herself up, and sat down by her side. Maud gestured the other mare to lie down on her lap, which Chrysalis complied without hesitation. She felt herself being held up by Maud's arm and closed her eyes as the rubber nipple approached her mouth.
Was she supposed to feel embarassed, glee, was she supposed to fight a bit? There was so much that could go wrong, so little that probably mattered. This was all a risk and as she felt the rubber touching her lips, she began sucking on it. It took a bit of work, but the milk did flow into her mouth and she gulped it down every now and then.
Strangely enough, this felt soothing. Why exactly, she had no idea, but figured it the intention and decided to accept it quickly. If it enforced her acting, the better. Her muscles became less tense, and she started to feel her body's need to relinquish itself of waste. A cold shiver ran down her spine as it did so, and maybe Maud notice.
“If you need to go, just relax. Mommy will clean everything up.”
Had it been a lie, Chrysalis could've told immediately. The fire burnt so bright and honest, it didn't even take much to read it. There were no mistakes she could make, none at all. So she did relax, decided to just go then and there.
Even for a changeling, this wasn't very queenly, but this was for more than just her. Changelings fed on love, they bred with love, their entire existence was based around the concept of love, and she, the queen had to breed new ones. The love, the magic required for the breeding needed to be gathered and only one as pure as this could provide for it. Much like Shining Armor's love had bred the majority of her invasion army.
She felt the relinquishment, how the diaper started to widen. A warm wetness grew between her legs and ran down her rump until it was finally absorbed. It was a strange sensation, but she didn't care much, only drank. That some ponies did this amidst their own was harshly judged by some others, she knew, but she also didn't care much about the discussion that followed. There was a banquet in front of her.
Maud giggled. “Looks like somepony was pretty full already. If I hadn't put the diapee on you, you might've just gone all over the carpet, huh?”
A slight tease, Chrysalis let herself blush more fiercely. “Thould nawt,” she said around the nipple, before she continued with her sucking, deliberately playing it up a bit.
Maud giggled again, probably thinking it amusing, despite herself. Chrysalis could understand. From Maud's perspective, she was holding a grown mare in her arms and fed her with a bottle, while said mare used her diaper almost the minute she'd been put into it. But Maud also didn't seem to be offended by it, in fact, she seemed to enjoy it just as much as anything that had to do with rocks.
As the bottle was emptied, Maud used her hulkish strength to pick the other pony up. Earth ponies were usually incredibly strong, and Maud was trained by a life involving both danger and rocks of all sizes, so Chrysalis felt much smaller than her own shapeshifting illusion made her look. Her newfound lover even got her to burp with a few well placed hits on the back.
“Aww, you sound like the cutest baby,” Maud cooed, almost visibly enjoying this, rocking the changeling in her arms.
Chrysalis thought the motion a bit funny, and let out a slight giggle.
“You like this?” Maud asked and suddenly she lifted Chrysalis up, “Upsee daisy!”
Maud was smiling a bit and her tears were a bit wet. There's a story here, Chrysalis thought, but whether she would find out about it was for later.
“Whee,” she laughed, just going with the flow.
Maud lifted her up again and turned around herself. It was almost that she let out a laugh, but the fire told her something else. The mare would dare something now, and she knew exactly what. So she dared it too.
As the mare took her back to the ground, she also put her into a hug, and then they both gripped the chance. Chrysalis had no idea whether she herself created a fiery aura of emotions, or was just a husk feeding on the love of others. Then again, she'd only started asking herself this question after her failed invasion of Canterlot. A word, a hug, a kiss, a night together, all these things she knew as a food source.
So as they put their lips together, Chrysalis wondered yet again whether she felt something about this. There was no embarrassment, no nervosity, only the expectation of a meal. Even as she'd looked at her first child, deep within the tunnels below Canterlot, she hadn't felt anything but the need to bring them food.
But Maud was on fire, and her eyes were wet with tears.
“Thank you,” she said as their lips parted, and Chrysalis had no idea why.
With cold calculations going on in the depths of her mind, she answered; “No, thank you. I never knew how it felt to have a childhood.”
A pony's childhood, or even just being small and cared for, she mused in her mind. She'd existed in the darkness deep below the surface, for how long she had never known. She'd fed of the love of the lowest beasts and fought herself to the bright world above, kindling the love of a hundred ponies, breeding her children to take it and all its love.
She'd failed and now wooed another harmless pony, wondering whether it was even worth it.
The other pony pulled her into another, close hug. “Can I tell you something?”
The lamp was the only light burning, now that Chrysalis thought about it. It put the room, so she figured, in a mild orange, easy on the eyes, not like this blaze of swirling emotions in front of her. Ponies can't see them, the colors.
“Sure,” she said quietly.
“I never felt this way with anypony before. I never could have children, I never could express myself well enough for love's sake. I always thought that if I wandered the world and find out about all the kinds of rocks that existed, I could maybe heal myself of it. There are so many rocks. Grey ones, black ones, green ones and even ones in all the colors. Surely, I thought, somewhere there had to be a happy rock, too, a loving rock–“
Chrysalis didn't say anything, only thought, an impossible rock.
“I never found anything, even my sisters, my family. I love them, but it still doesn't feel all to warm. I can never sit down with them for a long time, unless I want to remember that its all superficial. I need to go away, back to where I can expect feeling distant and cold. I never felt this warm, this happy before. Almost like I could smile.”
“You're a warmer pony than you think,” Chrysalis answered, forgetting her calculations, only seeing the fire, “and you burn brighter than anypony I've ever met.”
“You had it hard too?”
I was where no light burns, where no love shines. I fought against terrors you could never imagine and then I learned that there existed a world beneath a warm light, where ponies sang and danced and loved. I learned that all you, who couldn't see the worth of the world, you lived the happiest lives while I battled down in the dirt.
“It's fine now,” Chrysalis spoke. “I feel a bit wet, but also safe,” she felt herself leaning against Maud's shoulder.
There followed a moment of silence, enough time for Chrysalis to note that Maud was sobbing, crying and shaking. The nature of it all seemed to escape the changeling queen, and she put up a hoof, slowly caressing the pony. The fire burnt vividly, but Chrysalis choose not to feed. The moment was right, the saturation was right, but it felt, well, wrong.
Another moment went past them, and then another. The sands of time moved quickly, yet slowly, and they did so grain by grain.
“Is it okay if I put one on too?”
“Do you want me to do it for you?”
Maud laughed, but not in a degrading, not in a mocking way. “No, silly, mommy's an adult. I'll do it on my own.”
Maybe she should've pretended to feel hurt, but Chrysalis didn't. A mother did everything on her own, she knew that well, and Maud seemed to want it that way, no, she did want it that way. The flames whispered the truth.
Maud let go of Chrysalis and the changeling decided to stay in role, at least for now, and just plopped on the ground, seating herself within the mushy, thick cushion between her legs.
Maud got her dress off, since it would only disturb the ritual of diapering herself, and then got to it. Chrysalis watched the pony with fascination. A part of her, the part that had spent so much time with these creatures, thought that Maud was an average mare at best. It took a moment to grasp it, but her arms and legs were well muscled, and her chest was a bit broader than the average mare's. She wasn't all that seductive to look at, not all that aesthetically pleasing. Not from a pony's standpoint.
Compared to the wiry physique of Chrysalis, she was thick, and not all too cute. Yet she managed little, adorable blush patches as she caught Chrysalis playing. Once she finished the tapes and wiped away the last of her tears, however, she seemed to regain her confidence. The mare took a breath while lying on the bed, clearly enjoying the sensation.
“There's nothing better than a fresh diaper.”
“I wouldn't know, I'm not wearing one,” Chrysalis answered, attempting a smile.
She immediately got the pacifier stuck in her mouth and Maud Pie grinned at her. “You shouldn't tease me too much, unless you want a sound spanking.”
Chrysalis sucked on the new nipple once, to express, well, something. And then Maud Pie hugged her yet again. This one was more prone to hugging than Chrysalis'd expected.
“I love you.”
And the truth was, Chrysalis felt parched. So she sucked on the nipple again and then wrapped her arms around Maud Pie. Not knowing why, she said, “I'm sorry.”
Her horn lit up and a green aura engulfed the earth pony, who didn't seem to realize what was happening. That was how it always went–you took a sip and nopony noticed anything, but when you tried to drink more from the cup, the spillage could be felt. This would hurt the grey mare, and then Chrysalis would need to put a hypnosis spell on her. It was all in the routine and even this moment would end.
“Sorry for what?” Maud asked, not sounding like she felt any pain.
And Chrysalis did not feel like taking more than necessary, enough to get her through another night.
“I grew up in place no light and no love,” she heard herself saying. “From the beginning I fought against the monstrosities that lurk within the deepest pits of the world. One day I learned of the world above and saw how ponies dance and laughed and I couldn't grasp why I couldn't be like them. I didn't try to fit in, wasn't meant to anyway. I sucked their lives dry when I could, and decided to topple them when the chance presented itself. They never tried to hear my story, never bothered to ask my children. I fought like a beast from the darkest depths and lost. That's why I'm sorry, because I'm no pony.”
Maybe she was just interested in the reaction, maybe there was something else. Maybe it was because she'd lost her children and knew not where to go and even why she should start moving again.
Maybe it was because this pony gleamed to her like the sun up in the sky did for the ponies and all other creatures but her.
Nevertheless, Chrysalis pushed Maud away, she spit out the pacifier and cast off the illusion and the fires went dimmer as Maud Pie took in the black chitin and the sail-like mane and tail along with the wings that were so bug-like, torn and filled with holes.
She sought something, that could be it. An end, a beginning, anything would do. Maybe just somepony to talk to her. There was no answer to the question why she revealed herself, and the question would ruin the night, if not for Maud, then for her.
“You're,” the grey earth pony started, her silver eyes going over Chrysalis, “beautiful.”
The changeling queen looked at the other one, tilting her head slightly. “You think so?” She asked quietly, too quickly, too detached.
“I didn't think a pony would act as quickly as you did, I only don't know why?”
“I was hungry, that was it. I needed love and you were looking for it. I kindled your flame to sate my hunger.”
Maud blinked, not understanding.
“I am a changeling, I feed on love as you eat your wheat and your hay. I'm a wicked monster, the thing you teach your children to fear.”
She leaned closer to Maud, a wicked grin on her face, and the other pony almost backed away.
“You know that's not very intimidating if you're sitting there in a wet diaper?”
“Presumably not,” Chrysalis agreed, her nose almost touching that of Maud.
If she was going to be truthful, then it was to admit that she hadn't expected the fire to still be there. This pony had just learnt her love a lie, a wicked monster stealing her feelings away. Yet her reaction was … Chrysalis knew not how to put it except, well, that it was mildly underwhelming.
“You feed on love then?”
“Yes.”
“You're hungry then?”
“Yes.”
Maud hesitated for a moment and then put her arms up. “I don't know about this, but I love you. That's the truth. If you want to feed, then feed.”
Chrysalis thought about the blast that had gotten her here, the unexpected, overwhelming feeling of warmth and kindness that had surged through her and at the same kind had eradicated the children born from the twisting and betrayal of these very emotions.
“Are you sure?” Chrysalis asked and Maud nodded.
She did feed on Maud, but while the process was the same as every other time, it also felt different. The sips she took were small, but more sating than any love she'd earned from deception. And from the waves of emotions that surged through her, she felt herself growing stronger. Normally, the other part would wither and die, but the sun that was Maud did not grow dimmer. Instead she simply smiled.
“I never fought the dark, but I think that you missed out on a lot of great stuff up here. So I've got two questions for you. How about we stay together from here on out and I'll give you my love?”
Chrysalis' horn stopped glowing, though the queen took quick note that the green seemed less aggressive now. She looked at Maud, who seemed to enjoy her presence, seemed to think of the time they spent together and talked, and Chrysalis felt herself smiling at how adorable the pony looked.
She wasn't very quick with it, however, but she also felt herself only a little distant from Maud anymore.
“It's a bit sudden, yeah.”
“Well then, how about first,” Maud grinned, “I'll change your diapee, little one.”
Chrysalis sighed, not really understanding what was happening to her, but her heart was beating wilder than before and she felt her head grow warmer.
No, she did understand what she was feeling and quietly nodded. “If you say so, mommy.”
The truth was, she didn't feel like building another changeling army, like invading Equestria another time. She only wanted to know what bond that Princess Cadance and Shining Armor had held and why their fires had burnt too bright for herself. She wanted to know about love and what it was like to be cared for, here in the light under sun, far away from the deepest, darkest pits of the world.
~The End~
