Part I, Chapter V - Loving and Losing

Your slumber ended abruptly the next morning, your alarm going off at 7AM. You reach your hand over, slamming down on the "off" button, and roll back over in your bed. You make a mental note never to set it again as you try to fall back asleep. You almost succeed in your endeavor.

A hot breath hits you in the face, and you open your eyes to find Chrysalis next to you. Since her arrival yesterday, you had never found yourself this close to her, and took time in observing her facial features. You start at the top of her head and work your way down. Her jagged horn still hadn't changed, so you let your eyes drift lower. You notice three little blue bulbs attached to three black stalks. It takes you a moment to figure out what it's supposed to be, but you assume it to be a little tiara.

"Cute..."

You move lower, tracing her jawline with your eyes, ending down at her mouth. You stare for a moment, watching her nose twitch randomly.You smile to yourself, but your moment of peace ends when you realize that this was not right of her.

"If she wants to get in bed, she has to ask me. She can not just get in whenever she likes, especially if I'm still in it."

You hate yourself for having to wake her up, but you know that you have to teach her manners. You poke her cheek once, and her head shook. You poke her cheek again, and are met with the same response. You continue to poke her for a few more seconds, and her eyes slowly open. She stares at you. You stare back at her.

She smiles weakly and says, "I was cold."

You continue to stare her down, and she laughs, gently prodding you with a holed hoof.

"Relax. I wasn't trying to do anything."

You shrug and sit yourself up on the mattress, pushing the covers off your chest, and unintentionally lift the covers up off of Chrysalis. You twist yourself out of bed, stretching when your feet hit the ground. You scratch your back, turning back towards Chrysalis. She gets up on all fours, arching her back to stretch. Her wings shoot out from the side ofher body, and she hovers over the bed before moving herself to touch down on the floor. As soon as she hits, however, her legs buckle underneath her, and you rush over to her side.

"Chrysalis! Are you alright?", you ask, panic in your voice.

"Alright? T'was just a fall! It'll take more than that to keep the Queen down!"

She picks herself back up, beginning the walk towards the door. Although she said she was fine, you can't help but notice how every step she takes looks like a challenge, but you brush it off. Besides, if anybody knew about what was going on with her body, it'd be her. You look inside your drawer, pulling out a shurt, a pair of pants, and a pair of boxers, exiting the door right after she did, the two of you parting when she takes a left to the loveseat, and you take a right to the bathroom. You drop your clothes in the sink, and walk the short distance to the shower. You pull the white curtain aside, twisting the knob inside, staring up the water, then fine-tuning the temperature of the water. While you wait for it to warm up, you strip naked, and by the time you're done, the water is just right, and you step in.

You grab the small blue bottle of shampoo, squirting some into the palm of your hand, giving your hands a quick rub together, and begin to run your fingers through your hair. You almost seem to lose yourself in the feeling, massaging your scalp slowly as the warm water cascaded down onto your body. Your moment of peace didn't last long, however.

You hear the door creak open, and then Chrysalis' voice softly saying your name.

"I'm kinda busy right now", you reply, now trying to finish the shower as quickly as possible. You hear the door close, and go back to trying to finish. Chrysalis' pops her head through the curtain.

"What are you doing?"

"Holy shit!", you yell out, hands scrambling to cover up your private parts from her view.

"Get the fuck outta here!"

Her head quickly pulls away from the curtain, and you hear a soft mixture of 'clop' and 'squish' as she runs away, and then you hear the door slam. You release your hands from over your crotch, letting them go prone at your side, and exhale loudly. You rinse out the rest of the shampoo from your hair slowly as you try to calm down after the shock from just a moment ago.

Finally, you finish, and you turn the water off before stepping out into the steamy room. You hit the exhaust switch as you grab your towel and begin drying off. You thoroughly rustle your hair, making it friz out at all angles. After deeming yourself dry enough, you drop the towel to the floor and begin to put on your new set of clothes. You look at yourself in the mirror, and reach out to grab the black hairbrush next to the rim of the sink. You start to forcibly undo the knots in your hair. After a minute of rigorous brushing, you put the brush down and look at yourself in the mirror. You raise your eyebrows, giving the mirror a suprised look. You smirk, checking how it looks in the mirror, then turn and walk outside to the living room.

You see Chrysalis look over at you, but she quickly looks away. You hope that she's learned her lesson, but what she says next shows you she hasn't.

"It looked like a stallions, just....smaller."

You are both suprised that she brought the incident back up, and hurt about the comment on your "size". You angrily stare her down for a moment, and she quickly returns to doing anything but looking at you. You smile to yourself at having won that confrontation, but it fades as the comment on your size brings itself back into the front of your mind. You try your best to shrug it off, almost succeding, and walk over to the fridge, opening it up and beginning a list in your head of what you need from the store.

"Milk, eggs, plates, plastic utensils, cups, and...."

Your mind drifts off as you look up from the fridge and over at Chrysalis, who is curretly busying herself with a show on the television. You call out her name, and she lets out a startled squeal, her cheeks showing off a subtle shade of red, then looks over at you, trying her best not to look at you a wrong way.

"Y-yes?", she answers, stuttering.

You try your best not to sound like you're trying anything, not wanting to add to the fact that she looks as if she's about to be beaten, so you very calmly say, "Relax. It's gonna be alright. I just wanted to know if you wanted anything from the store. Do you?"

She doesn't take her eyes off of you, and says, "Meat. We need meat."

You nod, adding yet another thing to your list. You close the fridge and begin to walk towards the door, grabbing your coat off the rack, and your keys off the small desk near the doorway. You look back to her as you pull your coat over your arms and onto your body, watching as she slowly slinks off the couch. She looks over at you, eyes half open.

"Do you mind if I grab something to eat?"

You shake your head, saying, "Be my guest."

She puts a small smile on her face and continues to walk towards the pantry. Her front legs cross each other, and she stumbles, falling to the floor. You hear a shriek, and you run over to her side. You lift her up, making sure she can stand on all fours before backing off, checking her body for any other injuries. You come across her face to see a tear rolling down her cheek, and an inch-long gash underneath her right eye. The tear mixes with a drop of blood, and you watch the substance fall and hit the carpeted floor. You guide Chrysalis back to the couch, her legs acting as if they were purposely trying to trip her. She settles back down onto the seat.

"Are you alright? Can I get you anything?"

The Queen weakly smiles, saying, "Nay, I am fine. Nothing is required. Just hurry back; I was thinking of something we could do."

You continue to look down upon her, smiling at how she wont even admit a fall hurt her. You turn and walk back to the door. You look back one last time to see her nestling her head down on to her front legs, a look of contempt on her face. You chuckle and walk out the door, closing and locking it before you began the walk downstairs.

You finally reach ground level, and walk to your car. You unlock the door, sitting down and starting up the engine, pulling out of your space, and beginning the trip to the store.

*****

You pull into the parking lot for Target some time later. You sit in the car for a minute, mentally prepping yourself. This wasn't just any Target, this was your Target. You kill the engine and step out and into the cold. You shove your hands down in your pockets, continue to look down at the ground, and walk in.

The automatic door slides itself open, and you enter the store itself shortly after. You look around, not expecting anyhting to have changed since yesterday, but still intrigued by all of the colorful graphics hanging from the ceiling.

"Maybe it's because I don't work here anymore."

You continue walking, and have to stop yourself from running into somebody, mentally reprimanding yourself for getting distracted by posters. You look back at the man, one of the shoulders on his brown coat hanging off of his body.

"Sorry about that, man", you say, freezing in place as the man turns around. It's your boss.

Or, the guy that used to be your boss.

He sees you, and his eyes go wide, seeming to turn into little black beads as his face turns a dark shade of red.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?!", he yells, forcing you to step back. "You think you can just not show up for your job, and then just assume you can waltz back into my store?! I got something for you, buddy; you're fired! How does that make you feel? Try finding another job within one-hundred miles that'll accept a klutz like you! One more thing..."

His words slowly fade away as you ball your fists, thinking of the perfect way to retalliate. Your ex-boss continues to yell, and you change your mind entirely, suiting for something much more appropriate.

Your former employer is still yelling at you, causing other shoppers, and some oher employees, to stare, and you decide you've had enough.

"Fuck you, you stupid cunt!", you yell, causing him to stop and look at you, looking as if his head is about to explode. You turn your attention to the employees, the ones that had messed with you since you first took the job. You fingers at them as you scream, "Fuck you! Fuck you! Especially you! Fuck all of you!"

You turn away from the shocked faces of the store's patrons, the mothers with their children's ears covered, the dudes with the shaggy hair cheering you on, all of them, and walk out of the store, holding up both of your middle-fingers in the air as you do so. You reach your car back out in the parking lot, and as you pull out of the space, you mutter under your breath, "I'm the best."

*****

You pull back into your designated space infront of the section of building that houses your apartment. You make sure it's locked, and moments later, begin to ascend the three flights of stairs. You huff as you hop over the final step at the very top, and then take a right to your door, smiling at how childish the stair-jumping was, and how much you enjoyed it.

You fumble around with the key for a moment, straining to hear what's going on on the other side of the door, but your heart stops when your ears are greeted with the sickening sound of silence. Not just silence, though; absolute silence.

You keep calm as you slide the key into the slot, twisting the knob slowly, praying for reality to be nothing like what you're mind is thinking. You swing the door wide, and find that you were as far from wrong as one could ever possibly get.

Chrysalis is laying down on the carpet, all four of her holey legs tucked underneath her. She's just staring at you. You sniff once, and your nose is met with an unfamiliar yet odlly alluring odor. You return Chrysalis' stare, and the two of you just stand there, seemingly staring into one another's souls.

Chrysalis calls out your name, moaning slightly after letting the last part roll off her tounge. You are transfixed as you watch her re-positions herself, now laying on her side. You take a step forward. She moans ou your name again, dragging out the last half, and you take another step forward.

Moments later, you stand above Chrysalis, staring down at her as she looks up you, giving you puppy-dog eyes and a pouty lip, as if she were silently asking for something. You lean down and give her your un-spoken answer, giving her a peck on the cheek. While your body may seem to enjoy the event, your mind does not.

"What the hell am I doing?! Why the hell is this happening!"

Your lips trace a line down to the corner of Chrysalis' mouth, and she forms a smile. You trace down along the rest of her lips, allowing yourself to stop at the front of her jaw, where she uses a thin, forked tongue to slowly part your lips. The feeling of something of that size inside your mouth, working around all on its own is strange, but you quickly settle into it as you try to push your tounge into her moth.

The feeling isn't that far off from kissing another person, and that's just fine with you. It feels as if you aren't in control of your own body, as your hand begins to travel down Chrysalis' underbelly, sending shivers throughout her body as your fingers lightly tickle her. You look down, noticing a small mound near her hind legs, and how close your hand is to it.

"No! I don't want to ruin this!"

Your hand jerks back towards your own body, and you pull away from Chrysalis' lips, suddenly feeling in control again. She looks at you pleadingly, but before you can say anything about what just happened between you two, her eyes almost entirely roll into the back of her head, and her body goes limp, making her head fall the short distance back down to the ground.

You quickly panic, cupping your hands underneath her head, and lifting it back up, allowing blood to flow back down to her body. Remembering the lesson from "Health" all those years ago, you gently put her head down and move to lift up her lower body, now trying to allow blood to flow back to her brain.

You continue this for several minutes, and you finally start to notice her coming back, so you drop her lower body, now trying to pick up her entire figure. You strain for a moment, but you finally succed in getting her on to your back. You take a terrible form as you walk the few feet to your bedroom, where you lay her down on your bed, making sure she has a pillow underneath her head, and a blanket over her body.

*****

You look up from the wall as Chrysalis lets out an lmost ghostly moan. She slowly opens her eyes, but almost immediately closes them again.

"Could you....could you turn off the...the light?", she says weakly.

You nod, quickly getting up, flicking the switch,and shrouding the room in darkness. You notice a faint green glow coming from where Chrysalis was, so you assume her eyes are now open.

"Thank you..."

"Don't worry about it."

The room goes quiet for a moment, and you contemplate what to say next.

"Should I bring up us almost...."

She interrupts your thought, and says, "About earlier, and how we-"

You lift a finger, trying to find her lips so that you can shush her, but instead poke your finger through a leg hole. It lightly closes around your finger, and you quickly pull out.

"Listen, we don't have to-"

This time it is she who interrupts you.

"No. We need to talk about this. As you know, I am a Changeling."

She stops, presumably waiting for you to nod, but seeing as to how that's pointless in the dark, you say, "Yes, and?"

"And as a Changeling, I can assume another beings form. Do you know why?"

You ask, "Why?", Chrysalis now having your full attention.

"We consume love. We take the form of somepony, then go back to their loved ones, and we begin feeding off of their feelings for those that we have asumed the role of."

You find yourself extremely intrigued at the idea of this, and have many questions to ask, but only one comes to your mind.

"Why'd you try that out there with me?"

"Since I have arrived, I have been growing weaker and weaker. It was only a matter of time before my instincts kicked in, and I'd have to find something to feed off of."

You seem hurt that you were mentioned only as a "something", but brush it off and aske her to continue.

"Having just met you, I had no time to figure out what you loved, so I went to my back-up plan: Seduction."

"So, what was that smell?"

"A pheromone that a Changeing can produce, rendering the being unfortunate enough to catch a whiff of it the equilavent of the user's puppet. Although the one under the effects of the pheremone has the ability to think for itself, it cannot control it's body."

The realization that Chrysalis practically tried to rape you disgusts you, but you continue to ask and listen.

"Why me?"

"You are the only one that knows of my existence in this world."

You want to ask more, but think of something instead.

"So, wait. You were going to rape me, consume my love, then just continue with that routine every day?"

"Yes, exactly."

Rage swells up inside of you at her admittance of her plan, but it quickly subsides when you realize she can't finish it now. You think about what you were told of the pheromone, and then ask, "So, if this pheremone controls one's mind, then why was I able to beat it?"

"That is something that I don't have an answer to. Perhaps I was just so weak that I couldn't produce enough."

You nod in the dark, knowing that she couldn't see you, and you stand up.

"Alright, I've heard enough. I'm not saying what you did was good, but it was survival, and I understand. Did...the kisses...from earlier help at all?"

You hear rustling, and then an affirming, "Yes, very much. I couldn't figure out who all that love was intended for, but it was strong, that's for sure."

You nod your head, once again knowing she still couldn't see you.

You walk over to the other side of the bed, feeling along the edge of the mattress as a guide, and stop when you reach your side. You slide your pants off, letting them drop to the floor, and step out of them, then taking your shirt off, leaving yourself in just boxers. You climb into bed and pull the covers up over yourself.

You still don't have the light on, so you roll over to face where Chrysalis' body was, and you say, "Alright. I'm going to bed. Since you hurt yourself today, you can sleep in my bed. Tonight only, though. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

You smile to yourself.

"Goodnight."

You rest your head back on to the pillows, and hear a soft rustling, most likely Chrysalis making herself comfortable. You close your eyes, and prepare yourself for sleep, when there's a light peck on your cheek. Heat floods your face, and you look over to see two faint green orbs staring back at you.

"Thank you for understanding."

She turns away, and you just lay there, staring at where her eyes just were, suprised by what just happened.

The heat slowly drains from your face, and you close your eyes, once again ready to drift off, the sensation of Chrysalis' lips lingering on your cheek.

You fall asleep, Chrysalis at your side, and a smile on your face.