Timid took a moment to adjust their 'camera' on a three legged stand, pointing it at me as I sat on a couch in the living room. Things had calmed down after a short while, but I still wasn't able to get the love that I needed, even after coming so close. I was feeling weak, but Timid wanted 'record' everything that I did as part of a 'documentary'. Rough was still wary of going near me after I had attempted to feed off of them, but Soft sat right next to me with an arm around my side.
"Okay..." Timid announced, making a final tweak to the 'camera setup'. "There! It's all set, aaaanndd... recording!"
"Recording?" I asked in Timid's voice. "What does that mean?"
"It means that the camera is looking at you, and a digital copy of everything happening can be seen by other people as long as they have access to it. Since we're putting all of this on my blog, then the whole world can see!" Timid explained eagerly.
"Does that mean that Queen Chrysalis can see this?" I nervously asked, looking at the camera in its singular eye. It never blinked...
"Is she on Earth?" Timid inquired. "Cause, like, one of you is awesome, but can you imagine a whole invasion fleet? Hundreds of bug-ships all floating around in the air! That'd be sick!"
"Bug-ships?" I asked. "Why would we make ships, and why would they float in the air? We can already fly..."
"Because you need ships to travel around in space and reach our planet?" Timid replied as if the answer was obvious before pausing. "Wait, how did you get to Earth anyway? Do you have a space ship?"
"Do you mean a crawl-space?"
"No, like, Space-space. That big empty void with stars everywhere above us at night?"
I blinked. "You mean Luna's Night?"
"Who is Luna?" Rough asked, becoming more interested in what was going on than being frightened of me.
"Princess Luna; one of the rulers of Equestria and the Goddess of the Night. How do you not know of Luna? Does she not visit the nation of Earth?"
For some reason Timid, Rough and Soft all shared a worried glance before looking at me. "Blue..." Timid began, kneeling down next to me and holding my forehooves, "Do you know where you are?"
"I am in Earth?" I sensed worry and concern from them now. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Blue... you're not in Earth, you're on Earth. Planet Earth. There's no Equestria here..." Timid carefully explained.
"What do you mean there's no Equestria? Don't you have a map? I could probably find it... If I knew what I was looking for." How could there not be an Equestria? The badlands would be right near it and I had seen a map before the invasion of Canterlot...
"Blue, how did you get here?" Soft gently asked.
"I...Um..." I felt cold. "H-how is there no Equestria? How will I find the Queen?" I held my hooves closer to myself, shaking.
Soft held me close to them in a warm embrace, affection and concern present like a cheap imitation of the beautiful love I had seen before. "Take a deep breath, Blue. We'll figure this out." Soft said reassuringly.
"I... I still need love, by the way." I pointed out, unintentionally causing the three to recoil from me a bit. "Maybe we could do it differently? So much love at once overwhelmed me... so maybe just a little bit would work?" I suggested carefully, trying not to upset them.
"You needin' love is really weird." Rough complained. "Like, I know it ain't your fault that it's what you need to eat to survive, but..."
"How do you suggest we 'love' differently?" Timid asked, ensuring the 'camera' was staring at me properly.
"Well, when you were first talking about 'Mom' there was a spark. When you talked more, it grew into a flicker, and then a flame. Perhaps we could try stopping at the flicker?" I explained, unsure if it would even work like I thought.
"Okay, we get you love and you'll tell us the story of how you got here?" Timid asked in clarification.
"That's kinda messed up when you put it like that, Karol. Makes it seem like we're with-holdin' Blue's food for information. We ain't interrogators." Rough warned, slightly upset.
Timid smacked their own face in the forehead. "Oh, crap. That's totally right; I'm sorry Blue, I didn't mean it like that."
"I just need love..." I whined, slumping over backwards onto the couch further and sinking into the cushions. Soft's arm was still around me, though they pulled me closer to them in worry.
"Okay, okay. Um, happy thoughts! Loving thoughts!" Timid told themself, shutting their eyes and concentrating.
"Karol, please. Just make sure all of this is recordin'." Rough grumbled, moving closer to me and eventually sitting by my side. "I think I've got this."
Rough closed their eyes and relaxed on the couch, leaning backwards as well. Their breathing began to even out and become steady, like they were in a trance. "I'm gonna think about some things in my life that give me the warm fuzzies, and you tell me if it's workin', alright?" Rough asked quietly.
"Alright." I replied, my interest drawing me closer to Rough as I waited in anticipation.
A few moments passed by in complete silence with Timid adjusting the 'camera' and Soft massaging the shell on my back between my wings. Eventually, something did happen. A small spark appeared, the rest of my vision fading away in darkness to focus on that single speck of love that was steadily growing.
"Okay, stage one is... chittery wings, wide eyes, open mouth... slow creeping approach..." Timid narrated, but I wasn't paying much attention. I could see the Love inside of Rough slowly maturing and growing larger.
"I think it's working, Ricky. Be careful..." Soft warned.
I placed a holed hoof on Rough's chest, carefully trying to not disturb or injure them as I drew closer to the pink flame that only I could see.
"Wow... now Blue is drooling. Neat tongue though. Kinda like a snake!" I heard Timid narrate.
"Karol," Rough grumbled, making me freeze in place, "This ain't animal planet. Narrate in post or somethin'. My eyes are closed for a reason."
"Right, sorry!" Timid squeaked. Eventually movement stopped, and I continued my approach towards the love. It was centered in Rough's chest on their left side; A small flame of pink fire that felt warmer and warmer as I drew close. Bit by bit, I moved closer to Rough until I was right on top of the love, staring down at it in awe.
It was so fragile. So small and warm. Just looking at it filled me with a sense that everything would be alright, no matter what happened. It looked so delicious! Without really knowing what I was doing, my mouth opened even wider and I began to breathe deeply. I could see the pink flames drawing themself towards me in an upwards stream, eventually reaching myself and washing over me.
It was like nothing I had ever felt before. A sense of inner peace, of serenity. Like every emotion experienced at once without the conflict of negativity. Warm, soothing, inviting... addicting. Enticing. Consuming! I needed more! More love! I began draining more and more, lost in a trance of endless need as I felt myself filling up with love. Never enough to fully sate me, but enough to--
"Get off of him, Blue! You're hurting Ricky!" Soft yelled, breaking my trance as they pulled me away from Rough. I flailed my forehooves and buzzed in panic before flopping onto the couch and bouncing off. "Karol, get a blanket!"
"O-on it!" Timid stuttered in shock before finally bolting off towards a nearby door, swinging it open and pulling several very large and heavy blankets from it and tossing them across the room onto Rough.
"Get something warm! Ricky is freezing!"
"W-what's going on?" I asked, peeking over the couch cushions with worry towards Rough. Had I drained too much love from them? Did I hurt them!?
Rough was shaking, holding their arms close to them as if they had walked through a blizzard. They curled into a ball on the couch while Soft rubbed Rough's body in an effort to warm them with friction. What do I do?! There has to be some way to help!
"Aaagh!" I blurted in pain, doubling over onto the floor. When I had been starved of love, something had shifted inside of me that I had never felt before. Now that I was engorged on love, it had moved again. It felt like it was growing inside of me, pressing against the inside of my carapace.
"Oh come on, not now!" Soft exclaimed in despair. "I can't figure out both of you at the same time!"
It needed to come out! I had to get whatever this was inside of me to the outside of me. Maybe I could get rid of it like resin? Vomit it out?
Well, no sooner had I thought that then I felt it moving around, towards my mouth. I backed away from Rough and Soft into a corner of the room, dry heaving and holding myself in pain as my wings chittered in pain and distress. My horn began to glow a bright green as whatever was inside of me moved towards my chest, unconsciously tugging on it so that it would leave me sooner.
At that moment, Timid came back into the room. "Alright, I brought microwaved cocoa-WHOA, what the heck is happening to Blue!?"
Soft glanced over their shoulder at me after ensuring that Rough was sufficiently covered in blankets. "Holy hell!"
The holes in my hooves were starting to secrete something, oozing out onto the soft flooring of the room and sticking to it. My breathing was becoming heavier and harder as the object in my chest pressed against my lungs. "H-help!" I groaned in pain, "I do-on't know what's hap-aaugh!"
I doubled over onto the ground as more of the ooze covered me. My magic was out of control now, shaping the ooze vertically in a pillar all around me and eventually connecting with the ceiling. I tried to crawl up the quickly hardening walls of ooze to little effect. Eventually I had only succeeded in standing on my hindlegs, looking through the semi-transparent ooze at the shocked faces of Soft and Timid. Rough was too busy shivering to really pay attention.
"Help!" I cried, banging on the sides of the... cocoon? "W-wait! Don't help!" I quickly amended.
"What do you mean!?" Soft yelled, still tending to Rough and offering them a cup of whatever 'Cocoa' was. Timid turned the 'camera' around to face me.
"What do you want us to do, Blue?" Timid asked from behind the unblinking eye of the 'Camera'.
"I... I don't know." I replied honestly. "I've never seen something like this happen before but... I've never had that much love before either. Maybe this is good?" My voice was vibrating throughout the cocoon as it solidified even further around me. The holes in my legs were now oozing out a different kind of liquid, much like the green slime that Queen Chrysalis would suspend captured... prey.
"Wait... no, that can't be right..."
"What's wrong, Blue?" Timid asked, taking the 'Camera' from the stand and moving it closer, next to my face.
"I think..." My chest hurt again, causing me to reflexively try and hold it together. The slime had gotten up to my neck at this point inside of the cocoon. "I'm not sure whats going on, actually." I confessed. "I have literally no idea."
"You haven't seen something like this before in your homeworld?" Timid inquired, a smile on their face as I felt giddy excitement from them in waves.
"Well, sometimes the Queen would cocoon herself... but that was usually to repair any harm from a gouger though. Nothing from just getting love."
"Why do you think this is happening now? Haven't you had love before?"
"Only scraps, little bits of love. I've never had this much love before though..." The liquid in the cocoon was up to my mouth now, leaving me little room to breathe. For some reason, this felt normal, almost natural. Why wasn't I in a panic? Wouldn't I drown?
The liquid passed over my mouth and nostrils as I held my breath, and it eventually filled the entire cocoon. The room outside was tinted in a slimy green when I opened my eyes. Swishing around inside of the cocoon, I felt whatever was inside of me move again, more painfully this time. I opened my mouth to yell, and the fluid rushed into my lungs. A deep breath of panic later... and I could breathe?
A few more experimental breaths, and I confirmed that I wasn't drowning. I looked at Timid's 'Camera' in confusion. "How am I not dying?"
Timid shrugged. "You're the alien here, Blue. I have no clue."
"H-he-hey, M-Maria." Rough stuttered in shivers.
"Yeah! Yeah, I'm here Ricky!" Soft coo'ed, moving closer to them.
"S-swear J-jar!" They chuckled before laughing hysterically and then having a coughing fit. "You said H-E-L-L, Hehe."
Timid snickered, and Soft smacked Rough on the shoulder playfully. "Darnit, Ricky."