Author's Note

This fic was written by the artist vavacung for his illustrated fic "Adapting To Shared Love" and has been converted from a rough idea into a proper fiction by me. Also, if you wish to read this alongside the full illustrations he made (which has 8 full color illustrations), then check this out to find out how. http://vavacung.deviantart.com/art/Pay-What-You-Want-SECOND-WORLD-VOL-6-695708139

Also, if you like my stories and what to show your support, then consider checking out my patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/EnigmaticOtaku

Prologue

"Thorax!" Queen Chrysalis seethed with anger, having just dispelled the traitor's disguise for all her loyal changelings to see. She immediately suspected it was him the moment she saw that glint in Starlight's eyes.

His betrayal was still fresh in her children's minds, as they all hissed while she approached him menacingly. Right when Chrysalis stood before him however, she stopped, as she heard a resounding sharp thud followed by another. Confused, Chrysalis turned back, towards the source of the noise.

There she spotted Starlight, the real Starlight, desperately striking the base of the throne with a large stone held by her hooves. She was obviously making no leeway, breaking off more chunks from the rock rather than from the throne, yet that didn't deter her from continuing to vainly chip away with steeled resolve.

After a few more strikes, Starlight paused, realizing that she had been spotted. Her first instinct was to drop the stone, then jump into the throne's hollow space beneath, narrowly avoiding a magical blast from Chrysalis as she did so.

"Very clever," said Chrysalis, before buzzing her wings and taking flight towards the throne. There she began to take her time peering through the gaps, looking for the unicorn. "And clearly Thorax revealed to you the secret of my throne! I can't have powerful ponies using their abilities against me. Even with your embarrassing little rescue attempt, everything has gone according to my plan."

"What plan, why did you do all this?" asked Starlight, only to back away when Chrysalis then stuck her head through one of the throne's holes.

"So I can feed, of course!" answered the changeling queen. "By replacing the most beloved figures in Equestria, my drones will be able to store all the love meant for them, and return it here, to me." She flew to the top of the throne, where she took her seat, saying, "Everypony will do as I command, and my subjects and I will feed on their love for generations! Ha ha ha ha!"

In response to their queen's decree, the rest of the changelings cheered and hissed in approval. As that happened, Starlight crawled out from her hidey-hole. She couldn't allow Chrysalis to succeed, couldn't allow Equestria to become nothing more than one giant love buffet for the changelings. At the same time, however, there was nothing Starlight could do. She was all but useless without her magic, Trixie and Discord were captured and cocooned, and with Thorax's hooves bound to the floor, he wasn't of much help either.

As Starlight looked to Thorax, hoping to find some way to free him, she noticed something. His wings, radiant and twinkly ever since forming his friendship with Spike, shimmered with light, giving Starlight an epiphany.

"What if you didn't have to?"

Queen Chrysalis touched down by Starlight Glimmer, hissing as she shouted "RIDICULOUS!"

Immediately, Starlight tried to make a run for it, but had her tail seized by the changeling queen's teeth before being flung at the hooves of two armored drones. They wasted no time, pinning the mare down as their queen approached and leered down at her with contempt in her eyes.

"The hunger of changelings can never be satisfied!" she chided before turning and making her way towards the subdued traitor Thorax. For his treachery, she would make an example out of him.

Before she could reach him, however, Chrysalis stopped and turned back to Starlight when she exclaimed:

"Exactly! Thorax left the hive and made a friend. He shared love, and now he doesn't need to feed. You don't have to live your lives starving all the time!"

The other changelings within the chamber looked to one another with quizzical expressions, a reaction that Chrysalis herself took note of. Her eyes turned steely as if in deep thought, and the chamber subsequently became silent, save for the buzzing wings of her airborne children. After a moment of silent deliberation, Chrysalis spoke.

"You, traitor," she said to Thorax, her back still turned to him.

His front hooves still adhered to the ground, Thorax visibly shrunk at his name before hesitantly giving his response.

"Y-yes, my queen?"

"What she's saying, is it true?" Chrysalis coldly asked. "Have you not felt the need to feed after... making a friend and sharing love? Your hunger has been satiated ever since your betrayal?"

If Thorax could rub his hoof at the back of his head nervously, he would have.

"Well I wouldn't say 'betrayal,' I just--" His words then died in his throat when Chrysalis suddenly turned back to him and fixed him an over-the-shoulder disdainful glare.

"Y-yes," he finished, bowing his head fearfully.

"Hmm," sounded Chrysalis, turning to Starlight, then looking away as she began pacing thoughtfully.

This was entirely new information to the queen, as never in the history of her species had she heard of a changeling sharing its love freely, let alone make a friend. Was Starlight right, would simply sharing love be what finally rids the changelings of their insatiable hunger?

Admittedly, though, there wasn't much proof that would support that theory, other than the traitor's words and his wings. They shined and sparkled like crystals, and they were definitely real. If they were merely a facade created by his changeling magic, then they would have had the appearance of ordinary wings when she dispelled him of his Starlight disguise with a spell earlier.

It was at that moment where Queen Chrysalis was presented with a choice: continue on her with evil plan and no doubt go to war with Equestria should her infiltrators posing as royalty and Twilight Sparkle's friends ever be discovered, or go with the newly presented option that Starlight Glimmer proposed, which would allow the changelings to experience something they hadn't in a very long time. Peace.

Both held great risk for her children should they fail, but only one had a desired result that was more worth it at the end.

"Very well, Starlight Glimmer," said Chrysalis, turning to the captured pony. "You've actually managed to convince me."

"You monster! You'll never get away with... Wait, what?" Starlight blinked, then titled her head in bafflement. Starlight wasn't alone either, as just about every changeling in the chamber was confused.

"You've convinced me," Chrysalis reiterated. "My plan shall cease here. I'll be releasing you and your pathetic friends from my custody."

Starlight's jaw was slack, the mare utterly puzzled by this sudden turn of events.

"Oh don't get me wrong," Chrysalis said, shaking her head. "I have no intention of reforming my ways if that's what you think this is. I'm merely making the decision that may be more beneficial for my children further down the road. But know this, Starlight Glimmer..."

Just then, the queen took on a more menacing stance.

"If this course of action proves costly to my changelings, and it turns out that what you said was nothing more than trickery, then I will have no qualms enacting one of my many other grand schemes, and your name will be at the very top of my revenge list!"

And with that, she signaled to her drones; it took them a while to realize that she was ordering them to take the pods full of cocooned ponies from the ceiling, but they did so anyway. Once the pods were carefully laid on the chamber floor, Chrysalis had her drones unhoof Starlight as well, then spoke.

"There, take them and be gone from my sight. I happen to know from my vast information network that you possess the magic to accomplish that in one go." Chrysalis's horn glowed green, and she then said, "Here, as a show of good faith, I'll be manipulating the dark stone to leave your magic intact. Well go on then, see for yourself that I'm being trustworthy."

Starlight scrunched her face in concentration, and low and behold her magic collected in her horn unhindered. Right then and there, Starlight had opportunity. With her magic returned, she could easily shatter the dark stone, defeat Chrysalis and her swarm, and rescue her friends!

Then again... that might have been the old Starlight talking, and she wouldn't be practicing what she was preaching, now would she?

Suppressing the urge to fire a beam at the stone, Starlight instead picked up all the pods containing her friends with her telekinesis, then turned to free Thorax from his binds.

"Not him," chimed Chrysalis, stopping Starlight before she could do so. "He isn't going anywhere."

In response, Starlight set the pods down, then turned to the changeling queen, her expression stern.

Blowing a bit of her mane out of her face, Chrysalis scoffed. "Oh don't give me that defiant look. He's not going to be punished for his betrayal if that's what you're thinking. No, I have other, more special plans in mind for him."

"Starlight, just go," Thorax pleaded.

"Well I can't just leave you, you're my friend!" said Starlight. "What if she changes her mind?"

"Somehow, I doubt that," answered Thorax with a shake of his head. "She seems, I don't know, more different now. Genuine, I guess. If this is truly an opportunity to change the hive for the better, then I have to be here! Please, Starlight... trust me on this."

Starlight remained in her position, locking eyes with Chrysalis. After a moment, however, she lowered her head in resentment, sighing "I trust you, Thorax..."

She picked the pods up again, whispered "Good luck" to Thorax as she gave him quick one-sided hug, then hastily made her way out one of the tunnels.

"So," Chrysalis then said once the unicorn was gone, sauntering her way towards Thorax. She stopped right in front of him, then leaned over him, causing him to lean back nervously in response. "Now that she's out of the way, I'm interested in hearing more about this 'sharing love' concept. Care to further elaborate?"

A bead of sweat running down the side of his head, Thorax chuckled anxiously before swallowing dryly.