I Expect You To Die

I eventually found her. She had gotten away from Canterlot proper, sitting on the other side of the mountain.
On the edge of a cliff.
Idiot. That is the worst possible place to be! I thought.

I heard her talk to herself as I approached.
"Lyra and Sweets don't believe me, HR wants me to get a fucking human doctor's note, Chrysalis is gonna be gone for weeks. I'm gonna go crazy! I already wanna kill someon-"

I landed a few meters away from her.
"You here to mock me for my weakness, Chrysalis?" She gazed coldly to me, flexing her hand, ready to return fire. She had power in spades, held back only by her weak heart, and something she called, "The Seer's Binding".

"No. I have come to stop you from being an idiot."

That vocal jab was enough to defuse her rage.

"How could I possibly be an idiot right now?" She wildly gesticulated.
"You have suffered a fall from your condition. Your coordination is marred, and you are currently sitting on the edge of a cliff. I'm here to get you somewhere safer."
"..Wha-?"

Before she had the chance to protest, I engulfed her in my magic and carried her towards a clearing, away from the edge.

She glared at me the whole time, attempting to use her blood magic to break free. I placed her down on a log, and stared her straight in the eye.

"I am going to retrieve some salt for you. You will stay here, and not fly anywhere else, or I will kill you."
"Oh yeah, fuck face?!" She immediately stood up, gathering power, far too fast, and collapsed.

"Idiot." I growled as she fell onto my body. "I am trying to help you. Your godhood will not save you from your thick skull."
She said nothing, and allowed me to set her down upon the log once more.
"I will not repeat myself a third time. You will remain here, and rest. I will retrieve some salt for you. Do I make myself clear?!"

"Transparently." She growled.
"Good girl." I cooed, and got a very lovely reaction out of her from it.

And with that and a newfound grin, I flew off in search of electrolytes.

=>

Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit.
Another day, another pileup of intrusive thoughts on the stream of consciousness.

They don't believe you. None of them believe you. They're no better than the humans. Except maybe Chrysalis. Actually..

You allow your blood to seep into the pulse of the narrative. What are those friends of yours up to?

The two agents scurried down the streets in the direction of where Myra had flown off, only to stop at the railings edge. The overlook yawned before them, their hometown of Ponyville a day's commute away.

"Bonnie.." Lyra began to say.
"No, no, stop. I love you, but stop." Bon Bon bluntly stated.
"We really hurt her feelings!"
"She needs our help with her addiction!"
"But what if Junebug was right? What if it's real?!"
"That doesn't stop the fact that her consumption of salt is making her a liability."

Just then, a red and orange changeling passed by, giving the duo a judgemental stare.
"Junebug!" Lyra shouted. "Did you see where she went?"

"Yes, I did. It's none of your concern, she's safe and being taken care of. She asked me to tell you two that she is leaving for the Neostate, so she can get a human doctor's note, or something. She will be back in three weeks."

Oh, great. Now Chrysalis is making you do it, too. Does she not believe you either? Are they all lying pieces of shit?! Maybe you should kill one of them. Show them what happens when they disrespect

"STOP THAT!" I shouted, and smacked Myra upside the head. "I can taste whatever Nightmare is trying to fester in your head."
I shoved the bottle in her face. "Drink."
She snatched it from my grasp and chugged. I felt her rage begin to subside as she did.

You wipe your mouth off and give Buggie a look. "So you don't believe me either?"
"Of course I believe you."
"Then why did you tell the others that I'm leaving for Terra?"
"Because," she says smugly, lifting your chin up with a forceful hoof, "I see a win-win for the both of us. You get your little excuse note for your employers, and I get lots.. and LOTS of time with you."
"Wait.. are you taking me?"
"Silly human. Of course I am."

You squint.
"Why?"
"Well, after I told you I'd be gone for a while, I tasted your emotions crashing, and I could not stand to leave you in such a pathetic state. Consider this a gift, Mealworm."

There's more to this, but you're not sure what. Before you have a chance to really think it over, she undoes her disguise, turns around, and flags her tail.

Holy H.R. Geiger on the Moons of Darsalon making out with an anthropomorphic terminid.
Your brain short circuits just as you figure out what her plan is.
You pass out for the third time today.

<=

Carrying around an unconscious human would have attracted too much attention for my disguise, especially after I just informed somepony that said human was leaving the country.
Instead, I shrouded her in some casually stolen canvas, and carried her back to my hive's airship.

It was docked and disguised as a changeling trade vessel, but those in the know could recognize the battle standard of the Battlehive Mercenary Co. My current pride and joy.

I allowed myself a smile as the guards standing outside saluted me on approach. I returned the salute with a nod, and entered the ship.

"You couldn't have just waited until I was awake?" Myra mumbled in her canvas.
"Shut up!"

=>

Chrysalis has supplied you with more salt. You mix it into some water, squeeze some lemons in there, and take a swig.

Tastes horrific. Perfect. Your throat feels significantly less parched.

You find yourself sharing a seat with an undisguised Chrysalis in her airship's mess hall, currently unoccupied, save for the two of you. It's reminiscent of Chrysalis's old Hive, except modernized to be navigable enough to fly as an airship. Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. You find it strangely welcoming.

Your blood surveys the surrounding area, the literal pulse of the city, and right now, you can tell that Lyra and Bon Bon are still looking for you.

You really do not wanna see them right now.
"Better?" Buggie asks you.
"Yeah. Thanks."

..

"You've been uncharacteristically kind today-" You say, before-
"Don't you start!" She hisses. "I simply don't wish for my greatest enemy to fall to something as stupid as her own heart condition!"

You can't help but chuckle. "Yeah. Imagine the obituary. Local goddess of blood has died. Badly. Because her blood is so sucks."
She thwacks your hand with a hoof. "Speak properly or I'll fry whatever parasites are in your head."
"Present company included?"

She smiles angrily and-
OW! She bit you!

You slowly realize that you don't.. entirely mind.
You feel something drain out of you, not through the bite, but generally. Oh. Oh Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff, she is FEEDING ON YOU. She's eating your blackrom love for her, and it feels.. REALLY good.

You didn't even know it'd feel this damn good. Maybe that's part of the deal, is to make it almost addictive. Like those vampires from the Dresden Files. But the White Court can't even hold a candle to the sheer beauty of Chrysalis. As much as you hold disdain for her, she is undoubtedly sexy as fuck. Stupid sexy Buggie. You grunt, wrap a hand around her mane, and give her scritches behind her ear. She chirps in delight, and you begin to reach up with your other hand-

"Excuse me! Did a changeling come through here with a human just now?" Lyra asks outside.
FUCK

You slam your free hand on the table, pull back and growl at the door leading outside. Chrysalis jolts, pulls back, and changes back to her disguise. Cuter, but less beautiful. Fucking dammit.
Her eyes dart from you to the splintery impact where your hand is, then composes herself.

"We will deal with them in a moment. But first.. I must ask that you do not leave my quarters during the trip."
"Aww, don't wanna introduce the kids to the girl you're hate-dating?"

She flinches.
"Oh, shit, really?"
"No, I-"

She sighs.

"It is only inevitable that my children will recognize what is occurring between you and I."
"Same goes for my coworkers, I think."
"Exactly. We cut it close with the island, my children are beginning to gossip."
"That was, what, our third encounter out on the job? We can't exactly do what we do in public.. Not without acting.."
"Normal." She finishes your sentence with a dark venom.
"Yeah."

Going on a regular date wouldn't work. Even with the disguise, everything would just feel disingenuous. You can tell, even now, as "Junebug", she is not able to be totally herself around you.
Makes the big bug cranky, it does. You don't blame her.
It doesn't help that no one else gets what's going on, so you're pretty sure that if you tried a regular date, you'd get pulled aside by concerned stallions asking if you're okay.

And everything is much more than okay. You've only been at this for a few months, and Chrysalis..

Chrysalis is the only one who's understood what a kismesis is, in every timeline you've been able to see with you in it.
Celestia didn't get it. Luna went Nightmare Moon on you. Cadence.. is married, typically. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had their own thing, vacillating between the blackrom quadrant and the typical flushed one of standard romance.

The list goes on, but Buggie is at the top.

"And, lemme guess. You're worried that if I get spotted, the kids are gonna have those rumors confirmed, and act differently around us."
"Yes."
"They'd try to make it 'normal'."
"Yes."

You lean back in your chair.
"..Let's call it.. a temporary truce." You snap your fingers.
"A truce?"
"You had one of your own contact me in order to hire me on for temporary work, and in return, you're going to make that pit-stop in Terra for me."
"And what do I get in return, in this hypothetical deal?"

You press your elbows on the table, steeple your fingers, and do your best Gendo Ikari impression while you think.
".. I'm acting as recon for the archeology dig. My ability to pick up on previous events nearby will allow your forces to strategize accordingly to any potential threats, keeping your Hive safe."
She grins. "See, you can be smart when you really put your heart into it~." She says in a tone that mocks the episodic lessons of the children's TV show she came from.

You step out onto the gangplank. Lyra and Sweets are waiting for you.

It's a good few seconds before either of you speak up.
"Myra, I'm sorry-"
"Yeah, it's fine, whatever." You interrupt her. Your half hearted acceptance of her apology seems to sting harder than straight up denying it.

Sweets looks.. less remorseful. "We wanted to make sure that Junebug wasn't acting maliciously."
"I am right here!" She protests.
"Yes, and as far as I'm concerned, you could be potentially foalnapping Myra."
"I am right here!" You protest.
Sweets seems unconvinced. "What are you leaving Equestria for?"

You sigh and show her the paperwork.

"Look - it's gonna be a few weeks before our next assignment anyways. Sapient Resources needs me to find a human doctor to confirm my condition is real." You inject a bit of venom into the word real, and to her credit, Sweets flinches a little. "So I'm heading to the NST to do that. Junebug's being kind enough to gimme a lift there via airship, so the travel time will be shorter."
"Does she.. own this thing?" Lyra asks.
"No, but she knows the Captain personally."

Sweets regards the airship suspiciously. You're not sure why. That's the problem with being a Seer of Blood - you're not omnipotent. New developments are completely beyond your purview, so you're not sure what she's thinking at all.

You turn around to leave, only for Lyra to say, "Myra? We're still cool, right?"

Before you turn back around, you already know she wants a hug. You might as well oblige.
"Sure."
You give her the hug.
"I promise I'll take the salt thing seriously. From here on out."
"Thanks, Strings."

You look back to Chrysalis, still in her disguise. "I'm heading home to pack. Just come get me when we're gonna pull anchor."
She nods, and returns to the interior of her ship.

Lyra and Bon Bon traveled through the Canterlot streets.
"Something feels, off."
"You've been saying that for the past few minutes, honey."
"I know! But I'm genuinely worried about Myra."
"About the drinking problem, and how it turns out she might've been telling the truth the whole time?"
"That too, but! I've already done a background check, there's nopony from Appleloosa with the name Junebug."
"That was fast."
"I have connections. It's what makes me a good agent."
"Well, she's a changeling, and the Reformation was only a few years ago, so maybe-"
"And! She was talking with somepony before we recovered her during the last mission! Who was she talking to?"
"Herself? You know she's a bit messed up in the head." Lyra tilted her head.
"...Okay, point taken, but I think she's keeping something from us. Think about it. She claimed to have killed 'the changeling enemy' in her report, but there's no way she could just KILL Chrysalis. Then we found her talking to some mysterious person afterwards. And now, she's just so conveniently leaving with a changeling and using her quest from SR to leave the country!"
".. I'm following you down this thread of logic, but I'm not liking the spider web at the other end."
"We have to face it, my heart. It's a horrific idea, but I think.. Myra is in cahoots."
"Cahoots...? Is that a word-"
"Cahoooooooots!"

Lyra blinked. "Are you sure you're not just, lashing out because it turned out you may have been hurting someone the whole time?"
Bon Bon glared at her partner, then sighed. "Only partially. Still. Trust but verify. We need to make sure that Myra isn't acting against the crown's wishes. For Princess and Country!"

Bon Bon produced a camera from her saddlebag. "And the first thing we're going to do is figure out what the symbol on that Changeling ship means!"