The Support Group

by Reykan

Rating: mature
Tags: Sex, Dark, Alternate Universe, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Queen Chrysalis, Shining Armor
Length: 6851

After the wedding she tried to forget, but time and distance have only made it worse. Chrysalis needs to taste that love again, and she's willing to do anything to accomplish that.

Shining Armor and Cadance have been happily married for several years now, and rule the Crystal Kingdom in an era of peace. But not everyone has received the magic of a happy ending. Trudging through the barren wastelands outside the kingdom, Chrysalis has at last found the source of the yawning hole in her chest. She will find Shining Armor and either taste that love again, or die trying.

Written for Ocalhoun's 250k contest.

Published 2016-03-30 09:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-03-30 09:40:01 UTC

The Endless Guilt

I couldn't believe it. I couldn't accept that Shiny knew her. I can't believe he'd been seeing her after the invasion, after we'd moved here to the Crystal Empire. I couldn't believe that he'd betrayed me.

He'd explained it all, saying how it had been a need, a deep call in his mind to seek out the queen. That she'd claimed to have heard the same thing, that she'd infiltrated the castle and yet did nothing to harm either of us because she needed him. He told me that he tried seeing an addiction specialist, that he'd found treatments to cure himself of the need, fighting it alone so that I would never know of his failing. I wanted to call him out, to say that a pony can't become addicted to sex, but the condition of the mare in his hooves stopped me. This wasn't the mare who'd attacked me. This wasn't a leader of a species, a mare who knew where she stood and where she wanted to be. This wasn't the mare who tried to take over Canterlot on my wedding day, who'd nearly succeeded.

This was an empty husk.

Her body was a mess, another piece of her cracked shell falling off even as Shining Armor stroked her mane. Blood was visible from several large gashes, though what she'd been through to get those injuries I couldn't fathom. Even after her attack on my home though, I'd wanted to help her. She was just so...broken. Now, to hear that Shining had been like this at one point, that he'd gone through withdrawal and all the things involved to rid himself of that entail to make sure that we could be happy. To hear that he'd done that alone, because I likely wouldn't have believed him, I- I wasn't certain what to think. He was right in a way though. I'd have dismissed it, seeing only the betrayal. Now, I couldn't dismiss that it was a real addiction. Was Chrysalis even coherent?

An old spell, taught to me by my aunt for emergencies entered my mind. It was a clarity spell, one that would help an individual power through the most potent drugs and the worst pain. It had allowed Aunt Tia to keep going after her fight with Nightmare Moon all those years ago in spite of her injuries. It may be dangerous, but I needed to know.

With a focusing breath I cast the spell. I cast the clarity spell on the queen, and she wept.

"Gone," she rasped in her strange buzzing voice as her grip on him tightened slightly. We both winced as another few sections of her shell fell off at the pressure, the segments clattering on the floor. "Gone, for this. I can't do this, Shining. I can't live like this."

The mare choked on her words, my spell likely being the first time in weeks she'd been capable of thinking clearly, if not longer.

"I don't know what she did, but while I'm still me I want, no. I need you to end this farce of an existence."

Shining Armor looked at me in a panic. He was scared, we both were. She'd just asked for mercy, begged him for it. It confirmed his story, though I wasn't sure why I'd done this. Maybe I was hoping she'd reveal this whole disaster as a fraud, that this was all just some big trick and that she'd taken the real Shining Armor while I wasn't looking. Maybe some part of me still hoped it was all an elaborate scheme to trick my Shining into her hooves again. Maybe...

Steeling myself as best I could, I stepped around her to look her in the eyes. Those fogged eyes that seemed unable to actually focus on anything around her. I needed to know. I had to ask her.

"Where is your hive, Chrysalis? Why are you here? What is your goal?"

The question had no where near the amount of steel I was hoping for.

The queen just sobbed all the harder before finally managing a response.

"This, this is it. I don't, I can't...this is no life for a changeling queen. Please, just..."

The white stallion before me carefully stroked her mane, being cautious of her injuries. He held her with the same gentleness he'd held me so many nights, only in this case it was out of fear of breaking her further. It was Impossible. I didn't want to hear her, even as the spell faded, the weeping mare's face returning to the empty stare as she held on tightly to my stallion. What was I to do? She was hurt by love.

Love was all she wanted right now. The only thing that made me cautious of giving her what she needed was the mode. She wanted my husband, she wanted what I had already laid claim to. It tore me apart, it ate at me. It was a problem I had no clean solution for. I was the princess of love, I was supposed to help ponies find love. I was supposed to make sure it was available to those who needed it. Part of me wanted her to receive the love she so desperately needed, while another part saw her as an aggressor. Saw her as somepony who was trying to take what was mine.

Choking back my anger and sorrow, I headed to the door. I needed to think, I needed to get away from this for a moment. I-

"T-take care of her. Help her, Shiny. I- I'll be back. I need to think."

"Cadance, I-" he tried to say to stop me. But I'd already left, closing the door behind me I needed to be away from that sight. I needed to think about this. I didn't want to be responsible for her death, but neither did I want her to take him from me.

<-(0)->

I walked through the castle and finally into the gardens, running through the breathing exercises I'd taught Auntie Luna and Twilight. I won't be called a hypocrite, I won't fall for-

Once more I winced, memories of the families I'd helped over the years coming into my mind. Before the Empire, I'd made myself available in my spare time as a counselor, and had run into almost all the reasons families would come to me for help. Addiction was one of the top reasons. The addicts, they often needed so much help, so much love and support to beat their dependence. Yet Shining Armor had kicked his habit on his own, without even allowing it to slip that something was wrong. He did it for me as well, not wanting to betray my trust. The amount of pain an individual experiences when dealing with an addiction alone...most would have ended up looking like Chrysalis had appeared just now. It was nothing to scoff at.

Another idea reared it's ugly head. How many times had I worked out love triangles, or worse? How many times had I met the individuals, finding a workable solution? How many times had I suggested multiple ponies staying together to make things work, to make sure love was never unrequited, to make sure that everything worked out and nopony was left alone?

'What's the difference? Why does she bother me so much? I've no problem with herds, Tartarus I've suggested some couples use them to make everypony happy. Why does this bother me so much?'

The addiction being a real thing weakened my reasoning for being angry at Shining Armor, in fact it proved his love. He fought and beat it by himself for me, for us. The queen though, Chrysalis likely had no idea what to do with her addiction. The fact that her body was so...decayed proved that this wasn't something that was recent, nor was it something she knew how to fix. She'd risked life and limb to come here.

We'd captured a two or three changelings that had made their way to the empire, hoping to feed on the bountiful emotions in the air. All of them were terrified when they were caught, expecting to be executed. She had to be no different, in fact we had more reason to hate her than any of the other changelings. Was she so lost to sanity that she'd walked into the empire prepared to die?

Even as I suppressed a shudder at the possibility, I schooled my expression. Somepony was approaching.

"Your majesty, a most wonderful night to you. How are you this evening?" the stallion said. The mare by his side smiled benevolently, though I knew what they were here for. The nobles had been constant in their pestering.

"It is, Noble Azure Night. Good evening to you as well, Lady Night. What brings you here tonight?" As if I truly need to ask.

"We, that is my wife and I, were wondering if you'd made your decision yet. There are so many who would be more than happy to accept the position, of course, but we believe-"

"I believe Shining Armor and I made our position quite clear. We are not interested in accepting either of you into our herd, nor are we interested in taking in any of the other nobles," I told the stallion and his wife for what felt like the hundredth time. They were relentless in their pursuit of entry into our family, though I doubted any were in it because of actual love. No, these ponies were looking for entry for the power it would bring them.

A stray thought entered my mind as the stallion and mare pleaded their case, trying to make me understand why they were suitable candidates for our herd. The crystal ponies were by no means tribalist, but their customs and knowledge of other races had left them xenophobic. Would they be so willing to pursue a herd with a changeling? The idea of them fleeing in terror as Shining and I announced such a thing brought a ghost of a smile to my muzzle. A shame too, as it seemed to give noble hope that I was actually listening to the same speech he'd given me three times at least.

"My answer remains the same, Azure," I told the stallion once more. "We are uninterested. I must go and speak to my husband about something of importance. Enjoy your night."

It would be strange, would be so weird but was I really one to deny that? I was the Alicorn of Love, I was supposed to make sure it was available and strong to any who needed it. I was denying love to an entire species because of the actions of one mare. A mare who had suffered her penance already by the looks of it.

My hooves brought me to my own room once more, the room I shared with my prince. Was I a bad pony for having hoped bad things would happen to Chrysalis after what she did? Aunt Tia told me not to hate, that alicorns lived too long for such emotions. I don't think I even knew the meaning of it until after the wedding invasion. I wished her to lose her kingdom, I wished her suffer, I wished...I wished she'd never existed.

Right now it seemed that it had all happened. It seemed that it had all come to pass. Right now, it seemed that Chrysalis wished she'd never existed either. It was unsettling to think about. Had it been my wish that she meet this fate that brought it to pass?

I opened the door to our room, closing it behind me and venturing into through the foyer of the royal sweet and into the bedroom. As I walked in, my jaw dropped.

Chrysalis was...there was no mistaking it, she had pinned my Shiny beneath her and was currently deep-throating his penis. My first reaction was to rush over and stop her, but a moan of pleasure from Shiny caused me to slow. Wasn't this something he'd asked me to do before? I'd...I'd never really imagined it to be a good thing, it just seemed so dirty. It wasn't something that a princess was supposed to do.

I stared in fascination as the changeling worked him over, her eyes slowly igniting with a burning fire that had been missing before. She was cleaner now, the discarded towels and packing of the bandages that were currently wrapped around her barrel showing that Shining Armor had finished caring for her injuries. Whether it was the queen or the stallion who had started this, I was unsure. One thought kept running through my mind.

She was feeding on his semen.

She was swallowing almost constantly, her appearance improving even as I watched. She pulled off of him for a moment, taking his large testicles into her maw gently and running her fangs over his fuzzy sack, causing him to buck at the strange sensations. Quick as a flash she was back to his flare, licking up the pre that had begun to drip in her absence. Having made certain there was none that was missed, the queen once more took the girth that was my husband into her mouth, working it impossibly deep into her throat and humming in contentment. Shining grunted in those cute little gasping grunts that told me he was climaxing. She'd-what was the term? A blowjob I think it was called. Chrysalis had given him a blowjob until he climaxed. To my shame, I think he finished faster and stronger than the last time we'd been together. Shining Armor gave a few bucks before I swear I saw the queen's neck grow wider as his flare expanded inside her throat. She swallowed a few more times as my husband came down from his orgasm before slowly removing him from her body, giving the flare a gentle kiss in parting.

Chrysalis slumped afterwards, her burst of energy leaving her. Her shell was now glowing in areas, the wounds slowly closing here and there while the cracks in the chitin were slowly erased by glowing streaks. That was that. She really did feed on his seed. I shuddered at the thought. How could a pony live like that? Was it the only way they could absorb love? Was the changeling race nothing more than a race of whorses?

Shining armor pushed the queen off of himself, sliding her to his right and wearing his post-climax goofy grin. It made me feel strange, seeing that look on his face and knowing I hadn't been the cause. His eyes met mine and he froze. He began stuttering, trying to explain what had happened. He didn't need to.

"I'm not mad, Shiny. I promise. She, she was dying, right? That's how she fed on you. I can see that she's already looking healthier. Just, can you answer me something, Shiny? If you had to choose..."

I let the question trail off, watching as his face took on a pained focus as he mulled the question over. He didn't want to, he couldn't. Not after seeing Chrysalis like that. It was actually what I wanted to see. I knew most stallions in this situation couldn't. It meant that he cared. It meant that he didn't want either of us to be hurt.

I placed a hoof on his muzzle, silencing him and causing him to look at me in worried curiosity.

"I'm not angry. She, Chrysalis needs you right now. We both do. Would I really be the Alicorn of Love if I denied somepony what I'm supposed to help others find?"

He stared for a moment, closing his eyes and nodding. Then he stopped, a curious expression as he took a deep breath through his nose. He blinked in shock, pushing my hoof away form his muzzle.

"How long were you watching, Cady?"

I felt a blush break out across my face. How did he find out? What could have given me away?

"Long enough to see what happened, and long enough to assume you enjoyed it. That was one of the things you asked me to do, isn't it? That's...I don't know if I could do that."

"You don't have to, Cady. You know I wouldn't make you do something you didn't want to," he soothed, getting up from the bed and kissing me. He smiled mischievously though, moving around me and poking his nose into my marehood. I gasped, feeling his hot breath on my damp need. Why was it reacting? It usually only did that when I was looking forward to him mounting me!

"Ah, I thought so. Tell me, dear. Did you like what you saw?"

"N-no, of course not. It wouldn't be proper," I responded immediately. He didn't seem convinced though, just smiling at me as he ran a hoof over my flank.

Before I could say anything else, he licked me. He licked me there! Oh no no no, that's not how sex works at all! I mean, you're supposed to kiss them, and then he puts his thing in your thing and he moves around and it feels really good and this feels really good and oh my stars what am I doing?!?

I open my mouth to tell him to stop, that it isn't right. Ponies shouldn't do that, it's not sanitary! All that I manage though is a few strangled squeaks, then a mewl. It feels so good, but I can't let him keep going, I have to stop him. What if somepony finds out? What if someone thinks I'm, I'm loose?!? Oh stars it will be like when I first found my talent all over again! Stallions offering me bits for, for 'favors' or mare's looking at me with disdain, with disgust! I can't do that again, not after working so hard to be a good role model.

I turned to Shiny, trying to ask him to stop but that's when I saw him begin to press his muzzle into me. I couldn't even see his face at this point. It was firmly pressed between my flanks, the same flanks his hooves were holding apart as he worked on me, driving his tongue deep inside me. It was horrible, but it was so wonderful at the same time. His tongue was writhing inside of me, touching places in ways his penis never could. It wiggled and rubbed against my everything, making me clench tightly around his muscle as it explored me. I whined and mewled, I gasped his name, trying to form a coherent sentence. He didn't let me though, as he began to lick and suckle on something back there, something infinitely sensitive.

I whimpered as my legs gave out, my butt only remaining in the air because he was holding me up. It was too much. I couldn't even ask him to stop. I didn't want him to. My wings began fluttering wildly, I felt my canal begin to clench sporadically, I felt myself reaching that forbidden place. I was about to come.

I screamed his name...and it happened. My body clenched up as my vagina began spurting fluids, coating my husband in the slick liquid. It was horrible. I was a slut. I was a whorse. Worse of all though, I enjoyed it. I wanted him to do it again. I wanted my Shiny to keep licking my privates until I couldn't think straight, until I couldn't walk straight. I was a horrible pony.

I curled up as he softly rubbed my flank and I began to cry. What would Auntie Tia say if she knew what I'd done?

The Endless Love

As Cadance lay crying on the floor in front of me for some unfathomable reason, I found myself looking at the changeling queen still recovering on the bed. Chrysalis, her eyes beginning to clear after feeding, seemed just as lost as myself. Why was Cadance so upset? She'd started crying the moment she finished her orgasm.

...Now that I thought about it, I don't remember her ever reaching one before. I worked hard at it, but she just didn't seem to want it to happen. Why?

"Is it, common for a pony to, radiate shame after a climax?" Chrysalis rasped out, her eyes switching from Cadance to myself.

I shook my head in response. Shame? Shame from what? Because Chrysalis was here? That was possible, but the whole situation just seemed strange. She was acting like climaxing was a capital offense.

"Cady? Cadance, come on, talk to me. What's wrong?"

"I-I'm a bad pony," the alicorn sobbed. "I'm a dirty pony, I'm a slut. I liked it, I liked when you did that horrible thing. I liked it and I want you to do it again. I'll never be able to speak to Auntie Tia again, I wont even be able to show, show my face in the court!"

I stared at the mare for a moment, my gaze tracking to Chrysalis who looked just as flabbergasted as I felt. That was why she was so proper? That was why she never tried to finish, why she was so meticulous about keeping clean during sex?

Chrysalis just gave a weak chuckle at the alicorn's outburst.

"Oh this is rich. The, Princess of Love is scared of sex. Tell me Cadance, have you ever, masturbated? Most mares do when heat strikes, or did you get through it using, drugs and willpower?"

The chiding seemed to do something, as she picked herself up and prepared to fire a retort back at the giggling queen. I decided to step in though, pulling my wife into a gentle embrace.

"Is that it, Cady? Why do you think I'd think any less of you? Why do you think anyone would think any less of your for enjoying something so natural?"

"Tell you what. I want you to tell me what you really want me to do. Anything at all. If I think we can do it, we will."

She stared at me with trepidation for a moment before shaking her head.

Chrysalis chuckled a bit more at her fear.

"Did you really think, that she'd change? She's a slave to her fears. I suppose she just doesn't, trust you enough. She never has."

I opened my mouth to rebuke the changeling but I never got the chance. Cadance pulled back from the hug and kissed me deeply, passionately. It wasn't her normal kiss, the chaste kiss on the lips she always shared with me. She roughly shoved her tongue into my mouth, not even asking for permission before exploring the inside of my muzzle. I recovered a moment later, returning the kiss and eventually pushing her back, doing the same to her. It was what i'd been trying to get her to do for so long. Was she finally breaking free of her own fear?

"I want, I- I want you to... I want you to rut me!" she yelled in an almost desperate tone.

"Tell him how, Cadance," Chrysalis quietly egged her on from the bed. "Tell him how you wish to be claimed."

Cadance's eyes tracked from myself to the queen, then back again as her mind worked to find a position or fantasy she wanted. At least, I assumed that's what was going on. She then nodded, moving cautiously to the bed and propping her forward half up while spreading her legs and lifting her tail, displaying herself to me. It was a sight I'd seen before, but this time it just felt...different. She was staring back at me, silently begging me to-

"Rut me, Shiny! Shove your dick inside me! I want you to fill me, I want you to paint my cutie marks with your seed!"

Okay, so she wasn't silently begging. I approached her eagerly, staring at her wet need. She was starting to leak, dribbling down her legs in a display of arousal I'd seldom seen from her. She truly was giving in to her needs this time. There was no way I was letting her down.

I approached her and used my hooves to spread her flanks, revealing her marehood just as it winked. I smiled, giving it a long, sensuous lick that caused my wife to shudder. She wasn't complaining, wasn't saying it was wrong this time. I licked again, before gently suckling on her clit. Cadance moaned at the contact, allowing herself to enjoy it. I couldn't say that I wasn't enjoying it as well. I could feel my dick filling out to it's full size, coming out to play. Play we would, too. I intended to show this mare what happened when you decided to enjoy yourself. She'd placed herself in a vulnerable spot, trusting me with this. I couldn't let her down.

"I love you, Cady," I whispered over her flank before driving my tongue into her weeping flower. She moaned again, speaking my name and begging me to rut her. I'd get to that; first I had to make certain she knew this was a good thing. I had to make sure she didn't fear the pleasure.

Just as the mare was beginning to shudder, clenching around my tongue in a way that told me she was getting close to finishing, I pulled out and mounted her. I guided my rock-hard erection to her nethers, brushing the flare against her and letting her know what was about to happen. She looked back at me with a little fear in her eyes, but she also bore a determination to see this through. She nodded and closed her eyes and without any further hesitation I pushed into her.

It was a wonderful sensation as always, feeling her silky passage massaging my pole as I drove into her. I didn't stop at the usual depth this time though. I kept going, pushing as much of myself into her as I could. She moaned and writhed a bit, reacting to the penetration with more energy then I'd seen before. I felt her clench as my ring brushed against something inside her and made a mental note of the depth. I think that will be important in a bit. She opened her mouth to say something, but snapped it shut, thinking better of it. Eventually I felt myself bottom out and if I pushed a little more, I could feel my flare touching something. I was finally fully buried inside her, finally able to give my wife the proper rutting she'd always deserved. The fact that I wouldn't have to hold back and be cautious of her requested depth this time meant that I'd be able to go at full speed. I was going to make this memorable for both of us.

I began to pull out after hilting. The way she was panting and grunting at only the first push had my dick twitching in anticipation. I needed more, I had to give her more. I felt my head begin to slip out and roughly shoved it back in. She shouted at the sensation of going from empty to full in seconds, looking back at me once more and saying please over and over again. It was amazing. I'd couldn't remember the last time I'd felt so good. I couldn't remember the last time I'd wanted her so badly. I kept thrusting into her, my balls bumping against her puffy lips with each thrust. I could hear the wet slapping of our joining with each impact.

Cadance was soon in her own little world, her head lying limp on the bed. I was certain the only thing keeping her flank up was the fact that it had internal support in the form of my stallionhood. In fact I likely would have dismissed the idea that she had a spine if I didn't know better.

With what nearly came out as a roar I pressed myself as deeply into her as I could, feeling her wince and clench around me as I unloaded deep inside her body. She shouted my name as her vagina clenched around me in shuddering pulses, the anticipation of my seed pushing her right to the edge. My flare locked me in and I grunted, trying to push a little deeper in spite of the lock. All that ever occurred as a result was my pushing the mare deeper into the covers. I felt the fluids being emptied into her, felt her shudder and gasp as she reached her own orgasm. I sighed, enjoying the relief such a release gave me. It had been wonderful. Cadance had been wonderful.

As I fell off of her back and slipped out of her I caught sight of a slight stream of cum dribbling back out of her flower. Remembering her earlier words, I gathered a bit on my hoof, smearing it over her cutie mark. I returned and gathered a bit more, painting her other side and grinning like an idiot. Cadance seemed to understand what was going on as she was slumped on the bed, cooing at my touch and weakly fluttering her wings.

I carefully pushed her fully onto the bed, making note to clean up in the morning. I was just too exhausted at this point. I settled in beside her gently wrapping her in my hooves as I prepared to sleep.

"It's always so wonderful watching a pony break free of their ridiculous notions of what sex should be..." Chrysalis quietly purred from her position on our bed.

"You knew she'd react like that. You egged her on." I accused the queen, though I was still thankful. It had been the last push Cadance needed to try to cut loose.

The changeling gave me a fanged grin.

"Of course I did. Emotional manipulation is my bread and butter, Shining. I wouldn't be much of a changeling queen if I couldn't sway those around me with a few choice words."

"Didn't think I'd ever say this but thank you, Chrysalis. I'm sorry for what I put you through," I quietly admitted.

"I decided long ago that I couldn't hate you, Shining Armor. I need your love too much, I need you too much," she responded softly. "If you don't mind though, I may be needing a snack in the morning."

"I think I can take care of that. You can help me teach Cadance about sex in return, help me to help her get over this fear. Deal?" I asked, reaching out a hoof.

She looked at it for a moment before smiling genuinely. Reaching out her own hoof, she spoke.

"Deal."

We tapped our hooves together, sealing the agreement. With that, I used a burst of magic to pull her to my right side as Cadance slept on my left. The queen looked at me strangely for a moment at the proximity. I just smiled and gave her a quick peck on the nose. That settled it for her. Chrysalis smiled once more before laying down beside me. I pulled the blanket over the three of us and soon joined the two beautiful mares in the bliss of dreams. We'd work out the details in the morning.

Author's Note

This was...difficult for me. I've never written in first person before and feel like my writing suffered for it. Still, it's done. I can only hope it lived up to the original in your eyes. Tell me what you think.

Woulda had this out earlier, but I realized the original was in first person and I was writing it in third like I usually do. So I went back and changed it all. Had the idea since around the start of

The Endless Hunger

The figure stood before the shimmering dome of the Crystal Kingdom, its ragged cloak doing little to protect it from the howling winds and the blinding snow. A gust of wind swirling in a different direction blew the hood off of the figure, and the changeling queen quickly flipped it back up with her hooves, doing her best to protect herself from the elements. She was here again at last. One way or another her pain would end this night

For months after the stallion had stopped responding to her she had driven on, attempting to find other sources. But it wasn't enough. She'd replaced loved ones, seduced stallions and mares alike, had even fallen to the most desperate of changeling feeding methods, prostitution, to feed herself and her swarm. It was all for nothing. Her children were gone, either dead or absorbed into other swarms. Her crown was cast aside months ago, having only existed at that point as a painful reminder of what she'd lost. Happiness, lust, and fear all tasted like ash in her mouth. She caught herself speaking his name at the worst times. The stallion was all she could focus on. She couldn't go on anymore, she had to have it again. Chrysalis needed to taste his love again, even if it was just for a moment. They'd catch her of course, in her current state there was no way she could capture Cadance again. She'd be found out, revealed, and sent to the dungeons, hopefully to await a quick execution. Then it would be over. She wouldn't suffer this burning, this aching in her barrel that left her forsaking all that she'd worked to attain in her lifetime.

She took a few steps forward, stumbling slightly in the uneven snow. Recovering quickly, she kept walking, finally reaching the barrier about the time the sun was fully hidden by the nearby mountains. She entered and sighed in relief as the cold stopped sapping what little energy was left in her body. Love was thick in the air, yet it did her no good. It was like a dying mare rejecting a glass of water. Her starving body rejected the energy that she was swimming in. She cast aside her ragged clothing, not caring anymore if she was found out. She stumbled down empty streets, somehow always missing the patrols, somehow making it to the castle without a single shout of alarm. She saw the gate, and found it unguarded at the moment, saw a few guards talking to each other during the change of shift. She quickly moved through the gate, hiding in a bush and looking to the castle above her.

She could feel him, could taste the stallion's emotions from here. The proximity to her goal gave her strength, and she began watching her step again. She dodged patrols as she made her way through the halls, always following the beacon in the night. She ducked behind a pillar, watching carefully as a pair of crystal guard ponies made their way past her, none the wiser. The queen giggled manically, she was so close, so close to another taste, she just needed one more and then she could- she could figure out where to go from there.

"I'll be right back, Shiney. I need to grab something," a voice called out from two doors down. Chrysalis ducked out of sight once more, watching as the pink alicorn of food made her way down the hall. Grinning like the predator she was, the queen copied the form once more, moving into the room she'd left and taking in the sight and scent of The Stallion once more.

Shining armor was walking out of the shower, his mane and tail slick with warm water when her eyes fell upon him. He smiled warmly at her, radiating that sweet nectar she craved so much. Then it was gone, the love reduced to confusion, then to anger as his horn flared with magic. The queen was grabbed and restrained in his aura, a quick spell pulling her disguise away.

It didn't matter though. She'd tasted it, it was hers and she was happy. She could only stare at the unicorn, her glazed eyes tracking him with desperation even as her legs flailed, the changeling attempting to swim through the air towards her target. She was so close, just one kiss was all she wanted. It was all she'd ever need.

I could only stare in shock at the being that was held before me. Queen Chrysalis in the flesh, no matter the condition that flesh may be. It had taken me by surprise, seeing Cady still in the room after calling to me as I left the shower, but the black flecks of her failing disguise had given her away. Quick as a flash, I'd grabbed her in my aura and used Twily's spell to pull back the queen's disguise. I almost wish I hadn't.

The spell always left the target worse for wear, but the mare in my aura didn't even flinch as her disguise was forcefully ripped away revealing a mare that reminded me of the few dead changelings we'd found after the invasion. Certainly most of them escaped, but not all of the shape shifters were able to catch themselves after being thrown from Canterlot and the guard had been called to several locations where the emotion eaters were either already dead, or so close to death it was best to give them mercy.

The mare before me though, she was a shadow of her former self, of the predatory mare I'd seen so long ago. A cracked horn sputtered weakly with magic, sparks emitting from the cracks and the broken tip leaving my own horn aching in sympathetic pain. The queens eyes were glazed, the pupils inside focused completely on me. I leaned right, then left, watching as she move her head, but not her eyes. Could she even see at this point, or was she tracking me solely by her ability to detect emotion?

The carapace had seen better days as well, entire sections of the chitinous armor missing and revealing black pseudo-skin underneath, at least where it wasn't dark green from dried blood. I shuddered at the queen's visage; where had the haughty queen of her people disappeared to? Where was the mare that had been so certain of victory, or even in defeat certain she would recover? It was almost pitiable, this thing she'd devolved into. Could this have been my fate as well, had I not gone through those treatments to cure myself of that addiction to to her? What would have happened if I'd been the one in her place?

"Shiny? Shiny, I- CHRYS-al..is...Shiny what's going on? What, what happened to her?" Cadance asked, slowly trotting around the slowly swimming queen. Chrysalis had made no progess in reaching me, but seemed uninterested in stopping either. She just slowly swam in place, reaching my being the only goal she could possibly fathom at this time.

I began to sweat as my wife walked back into the room. I'd tried so hard to keep that from her, to keep my failing out of our lives and to move on. Now the changeling was here, half-dead from the looks of it, and Cadance was asking questions. Questions I may know the answer to, but couldn't answer without incriminating myself. How had this happened? How had things fallen to this so quickly? I was supposed to be happy tonight!

"I- I don't know, Cadance. She just showed up and- I don't know!"

Cadance began circling the swimming mare, her expression sinking from shock to horror as she took in the slew of injuries the black creature bore.

"Oh stars, what could have- Shining, she needs help."

I blinked in confusion as my wife took the queen in her own aura and pulled her into the nearby bathroom, immediately starting to fill up the tub and pulling out a nearby first aid kit. She began pulling out supplies to clean the fresher wounds even as the queen slowly made her way over to me, causing Cadance to stare in confusion.

"Shiny?"

The black mare stood before me, a desperate smile on her face. She was almost completely subsumed by the addiction, the addiction I'd escaped; the one I'd left her with.

'She never thought I'd find a way to break it, so she always assumed I'd be available to her. She thought we were both bound to each other, but I broke out without warning her. Oh Celestia, I did this to her.'

Without a second thought I pulled the queen into a hug, tears forming in my eyes. I couldn't do this to her, I had to help her. She could have done things to me, could have had me expelled from the public eye, brought my visits with her to light, could have had me in other ways. Instead I used her, used her and left her to die in the cold. Sun and stars, she didn't deserve this. Nopony did. The only question now was how do I explain this to Cadance?

"I- I know what...what's wrong with her," I stuttered out.