Vengeance at nightfall

(chapter 34) changing perception

“guards! Guards! The horrid queen is-,”

Before Blueblood could continue to yell about Chrysalis, Nightshade changed his mouth into a closed zipper, moving on by him as he cowered in fear.

“I thought almost everyone was aware of the changes in Equestria, why is he still afraid of us?”

Chrysalis looked genuinely concerned, but her only response was an annoyed groan,

“he wasn't around when things were changing here, but his brain is still too slow to realize just how much we've thought ahead. We've literally taken every available precaution we could find, we are stuck dealing with him anyways so I think the next time, I should come to you instead of the other way around,”

Chrysalis nodded, and the same guard that had been staring at her smiled as well. Nightshade did find it unusual, but knew voicing her discomfort with it didn't seem like a good idea. When they got to the castle entrance and getting ready to fly off, he lingered a bit, his eyes perfectly focused on her’s.

“good bye, your highness,”

The gesture was so basic, but it hadn't softened the blow, his deep and almost peaceful voice was unsettling to her, but she couldn't think of a reason why. She waited until they were out of sight before heading back inside the castle, still trying to wrap her head around why he would do that. The sound of galloping hoof steps snapped her out of her train of thought, and she met the eyes of her sister as she came running.

“did I miss something? I heard screaming,”

Angel was looking around frantically, clearly on edge and ready for anything, but a reassuring hoof on her shoulder turned her attention back to Nightshade.

“it's fine, it was just, Blueblood,”

Nightshade said, rolling her eyes and Angel did the same,

“he was probably just yelling about a spider or chipped hoof again, jeez, does he know how to act normal at all?”

She turned around and they began to head back to their rooms,

“no, it was Chrysalis, she came by to check up on Metamorph and see what kind of mare he was with. Surprisingly, it was only when we were walking out of the main hall that he noticed her,”

Angel snickered and sighed.

“I hear that she's become more open to travel nowadays, it's good for her,”

After Angel said that, Nightshade groaned and lowered her head slightly, making her sister more than a little worried.

“what's wrong?”

“I don't know, I just haven't really been feeling like myself lately, especially around Metamorph and his mom. It's like something is eating me from the inside somehow,”

Angel rested a wing on her sister's back in a comforting gesture,

“why don't you get some rest, you might feel better if you let yourself just take a break, you might just be exhausted from work and planning,”

Nightshade nodded, and didn't bother to argue as her sister brought her to her room,

“and I promise to look after Blueblood for you,”

Hearing that just made Nightshade smile, and she laid her head down on a pillow as she began to fall asleep.

After a couple hours she woke up, and saw Metamorph sitting beside the bed, looking worried.

“your sister told me you weren't feeling well, so I thought it would be good to take some of  stress off your mind,”

Nightshade sat up and nuzzled his cheek gently, and smiled,

“that's really sweet of you, but you really don't have to do this for me, I'm just a little sick is all”

She moved to get out of bed and sat in front of him, resting her chin on his chest as she looked up at him.

“but if you insist on doing this for me, can you get me some cake? I'm starving,”

He raised an eyebrow at hearing the request, Nightshade had never really had sweets, in fact, they were the last thing she'd even consider for food. But suddenly, it was her first choice? He lifted a hoof up and felt her forehead; no fever, but she looked really and truly exhausted. Which was unusual for her as well,

“Nightshade, are you sure there isn't anything else wrong? You don't have a fever at all but cake? That's not normal for you to just choose,”

She frowned, which made her look even more weak to him.

“but I'm seriously craving it right now, you wouldn't keep me from something I'm craving, right?”

She folded her ears back and pulled the saddest and cutest face she could make, and within mere minutes, he found himself heading to the castle's cook to ask about cake choices. When he got back, Nightshade had wrapped herself up in her blanket, and had looked like a squishy blob of cloth with a pony head sticking out at the top.

“Nightshade? Why are you acting like this? This isn't how you usually are at all,”

The moment he walked into the room she turned her attention to him, and used her magic to take the cake right out of his grasp, completely ignoring his worried concerns.

“mmm, black Forest, my absolute favourite,”

She smiled gleefully, and immediately began to dig in, savouring the taste until there was nothing left.

“were you saying something Morphy?”

Metamorph opened his mouth to speak but couldn't find a way to word what he wanted to say, so he quickly closed it and left the room, allowing Nightshade to fall asleep in her blanket cocoon.

“I don't know what's wrong with you now, but I'm sure there is a perfectly logical explanation for it, and I'm sure the princesses or at least her sister knows the answers,”

He said, as he trotted away from the room with a pure drive to find what was making his mate ill, and fix it as soon as possible, and at any cost.