She slowly drifted to consciousness, and found herself warmly snuggled on top of a spring mattress. Around her was a single blanket of cotton that was old and well worn. However, that single sheet was not her reason for being so warm.
Lying directly next to her, both gray forelegs wrapped gently around her waist and midsection, was Sombra. His breath was soft and relaxing as he exhaled into her unkempt teal mane. His hooves were a warm steady constant that made lying in place without moving extremely comfortable. Not to mention, even when he was asleep, the gray unicorn emitted the sweet, savory taste of honey. The flavor of love. It was the perfect way to wake up, and Chrysalis realized how blessed she was to have waken up this way nearly everyday for the past month.
After the first of many passionate kisses, Chrysalis told Sombra everything. She told him that she was a princess among the changelings, how she had been feeding off the energies he had been making, and how she had decided to defy her father to see him.
After patiently and intently listening to her story, Sombra did the only logical thing that any reasonable coltfriend would do after discovering his marefriend to be a fugitive from her own species; he invited her to spend the night.
Chyrsalis had been reluctant at first. After all, it was completely inappropriate for her to spend the night with the pony she had only just entered a relationship with. Eventually, she had caved into reason, seeing as how she couldn't return home after all but denouncing her princesshood.
So she ended up spending the night… on the couch. That was her insistence, not Sombra's. The stallion offered to let her have the bed, but Chyrsalis knew it wouldn't feel right. The next night, Chrysalis still didn't have any idea if she should return home or not. Sombra had agreed to let her stay again, under one condition: She got to have the bed. Finding his persistence to be endearing, Chrysalis reluctantly relented, and slept in his cot.
The third night was where she drew the line.
"I'm sleeping on the couch tonight," she demanded. "It's your apartment, and your bed. I don't feel right taking it."
To which Sombra declared, "Well I don't feel right about having you sleep on the couch when the bed is far more comfortable."
The two of them had a brief stare off, realizing neither was going to budge. Finally, a nervous Sombra suggested something that surprised her. "We could always… share."
Chyrsalis still remembered the reddening of his cheeks when those words escaped his lips. She also still remembered the happiness in his eyes when she said she would love to share the bed with him. Ever since, they had spent each night intertwined in each other's hooves, cuddling through the night.
They had not had a single argument since. And that one was hardly an argument to begin with.
She felt movement behind her, and soon heard the early morning yawning of her coltfriend. His forelegs squeezed her gently, as if he was checking to make sure she was real. It made Chrysalis smile, since he did it every single morning. Yet another quirk she loved about him.
"Good morning, Chyrssi." Sombra yawned. "How'd you sleep?"
"Wonderfully," she whispered. Without turning around, the changeling princess knew Sombra was smiling.
"Glad to hear that." He nuzzled the back of her neck. "You know, I could lie here all day."
"Don't you have a job to get to?" Chyrsalis asked playfully, knowing full well that Sombra had to be at the University's research lab by nine o'clock.
"Don't you?" Sombra asked right back. Chrysalis smiled, grateful for the reminder. Last week, she had completely exhausted all solo recreational activities that the Crystal Empire had to offer. With Sombra in the lab five days a week, Chrysalis had declared that she too needed a job in order to keep from going stir crazy.
The gray unicorn offered no arguments, and within a few hours, Chyrsalis had found a job that would kill the time until she got to see him again.
"Thanks for reminding me." She started to get up. Sombra's forelegs lingered around her only for a moment, before allowing her to move. The gray unicorn began to shift about as well, getting up and moving to the kitchen in the very next room.
"What do you want for breakfast?" he asked her, opening his fridge. Chrysalis closed her eyes, soaking in the powerful energy of love that was radiating from Sombra.
"I've already eaten," she said. Sombra peeked out from behind the fridge door.
"Oh right." He grined. "I forgot." The dark haired unicorn moved an apple from the fridge with a simple levitation spell, and took a single bite. Chrysalis glanced at the wall clock that Sombra had in the bedroom. It was later than she expected.
"I've got to go," she said, stepping into the kitchen.
"I'll miss you," Sombra told her.
"Don't be so corny," she reprimanded. Sombra sheepishly grinned.
"See you tonight," he amended, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. Chrysalis couldn't stop her dark cheeks from becoming bright red, even though this was a common gesture from her coltfriend.
To cover up her blush, Chrysalis flashed a green transformation spell, donning the familiar skin of the pink pegasus pony she been using for weeks. It had become almost as easy as breathing. A spell that would require most changelings an hour of concentration took her a couple of seconds.
"Goodbye." She planted a kiss on Sombra's cheek. Chrysalis giggled as she saw her coltfriend's cheeks flush as red as hers were. She walked out of the apartment, and immediately felt a flux in the level of honey-flavored energy.
True to his word, Sombra was already missing her. Truth be told, Chrysalis missed him as well.
That's when the headache started.
ooo000ooo
Despite a persistent throbbing in her head, Chrysalis managed to find her way to her job.
Left on Ruby Avenue. Walk straight down until you hit Sapphire Street. Follow that one until you have to make a right at the Crystal Heart and…
There she was. She walked right in, hearing the bell placed near the top of the door jingle and alert her boss to her presence.
An azure crystal mare behind the counter smiled as she noticed who arrived.
"Morning Chrysalis. Can you flip the closed sign to open for me?"
"Sure thing, Mint Chip," Chrysalis said, and preformed the action to officially open the ice cream parlor. She smiled, finding it ironic how fate would get her to work at the very creamery where she and Sombra had shared their first milkshake.
"You look happy this morning," Mint noticed, her bright green eyes surmising that from the happy smile on Chrysalis's face. "Have an exciting night, perhaps?"
"What do you mean?" Chrysalis said, taking her place behind the counter. "It was just me and Sombra like always."
"Exactly," the crystal mare said. She had kept well up to date with Chrysalis's relationship with Sombra since the changeling princess had begun working. She knew that Mint Chip took a certain satisfaction that she had predicted the two would get together at some point. "Did anything… you know… happen?"
Red tainted Chrysalis's currently pink cheeks. She suddenly realized exactly what Mint Chip was implying. "NO… no… we didn't do ANYthing like that," she stressed, praying her boss wouldn't push the issue.
Thankfully, Mint did nothing of the sort. "Alright, alright. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want." The azure mare said. "Let's just focus on the business." Mint continued in response to two ponies walking in.
The two spent the next few hours working in silence. The ice cream parlor was unusually busy that day. It seemed that lots of crystal ponies – most of them couples – had suddenly decided to congregate in the one little creamery.
Seeing so many couples immediately made Chrysalis think of Sombra. In turn, her thoughts of him caused more throbs of pain from her eerie headache. As the workday went on, Chrysalis didn't feel the pain subside. She blamed it on the business of the parlor, and hoped that it would fade soon.
Sometime in the afternoon, the rush of ice cream loving happy couples died down. Chrysalis assumed that her headache would've gone away at that point, but it hadn't.
In fact, things had taken a turn for the worst. Chrysalis had noticed that her body was becoming physically weaker. Earlier, she needed to use both hooves just to pull the lever on the stirring machine, an act that could usually be done with a simple nudge.
Maybe I've caught an illness. Chrysalis thought. Parents are always bringing their sick kids in here. Yeah, that's it.
The pink pegasus glanced at her boss momentarily. Should she tell Mint Chip that she's getting ill? It was only her first week on the job, and even though the azure mare was friendly, there was no guarantee she'd just let Chyrsalis leave mid day. She heard the blue crystal pony state she was going on break.
I'll stick it out till closing time. The changeling princess thought, gritting her teeth.
At that moment, the bell system rigged to the door jingled. Chrysalis turned to greet her next set of customers. Yet another couple, a red-orange stallion with teal hair and a purple mare with blonde hair that trailed a few green highlights.
"What can I get you two?" Chrysalis asked.
"A pair of chocolate milkshakes, please," the stallion said, reaching for his wallet.
"Four bits, please," Chrysalis recited the words she had been speaking all day, readying two cups.
Blending the milkshakes was about as mind-numbing a task as it sounds. Scoop the ice cream into a blender, push a button, wait. Unfortunately for Chrysalis, she had to spend a longer than usual period of time just trying to make them in her condition.
By the time she finished, Chyrsalis was light-headed and breathing heavily. She set both milkshakes on the counter for the couple, and placed the bits in the cash register, her hoof shaky. The stallion reaching for his milkshake didn't take notice of her condition, but the mare did.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her face showing mild concern.
"I think…. I not…. doing so well…" Chrysalis rasped out. Her breathing became much more labored, and by now even the stallion on the opposite side of the counter could see something was wrong.
"Uh, you don't look so good," the reddish-orange stallion so aptly observed.
Chrysalis found that she couldn't even offer a reply anymore. Her head suddenly burst in a flare of immense pain, the headache from earlier surmounting to a level of agony she didn't know existed. The changeling princess convulsed as her joints locked up. Her lungs burned. Her mouth became dry and her throat scratchy. Chrysalis tried to scream in pain, but couldn't even manage to do that. She felt her face contort into an expression of suffering. Her body gave out and she toppled to the tiled floor of the shop.
The last thing she heard was the startled gasp of the mare on the other side of the counter.
The last thing she saw the extra box of plastic spoons Mint Chip kept in the shelves beneath the counter.
The last thing she tasted was a soured version of the honey flavor she had come to know all too well in the past month.
…Love…
…
…Her love…
ooo000ooo
A red iris stared intently through the reinforced glass casing in front of it. On the other side rested possibly the single most dangerous artifact in the Crystal Empire University's possession: an oblong, jagged, dark crystal.
It looked harmless enough at first glance. Like any other crystal one could come across. Despite the darker shade, it looked just like a Curio Quartz; a crystal that would blink a vibrant pink color more rapidly the closer it was brought to buried metal and varying small valuables.
Unlike its treasure-hunting twin, this crystal had never been seen, or cataloged before. Even the pony who owned the red eye currently inspecting the crystal had never seen it before, and he had a master's degree in esoteric geology.
The crystal had yet to be given a name, having only been found precisely two and a half months ago, at the edge of the infamous Everfree Forest. It had changed hooves several times – mostly because of royal orders – until it had been brought to CEU for study.
Sombra brought his curious eye away from the glass surrounding the crystal, and gave a short "harrumph" sound. The noise did not go unnoticed in the tiny, silent research room. Professor Igneous rotated his head away from the microscope he'd been staring through to face Sombra. Once his mentor, and now coworker, Igneous had been one of the few ponies assigned to the study of the black crystal, and the only one to basically put his life on hold while he did so.
The stallion was living proof that all ponies needed to shower; he smelled like a mixture of old mop water and rotten eggs. His pale blue eyes wore several dark bags beneath them, and his chin displayed the symptoms of a forgetful shaver. Igneous's usual starch white lab coat seemed to have morphed into a motley of old pizza stains, chemical scorch marks, and powder from crushed rocks. He was a mess, but he was at least a friendly mess.
"Harrumph? Why a harrumph?" he asked.
"It's the crystal, Ig. It's not speaking to me," Sombra replied.
"You can speak to crystals now? Is that some sort of magic voodoo spell you've had up your sleeve this whole time?" Igneous inquired, he himself not actually a unicorn.
"No. I mean it's not talking." Sombra said, unable to really put to words what he meant.
"Oh, well that just explains everything," Igneous said with light sarcasm in his voice.
"You know what I mean, Ig," Sombra accused his former teacher. "This crystal hasn't given us one piece of conclusive data since we got it. No possible links to dark magic. Nothing. It just hasn't been talking at all. Hence the harrumph."
"Harrumph," Igneous agreed. The bright green crystal stallion returned his attention to the microscope. Underneath the scrutiny of the lens was a tiny shard sliced off from the black crystal in the case. Igneous had been examining that one little shard for the past half hour. Despite being well passed middle-aged, Igneous had the best eyesight out of any of the three currently studying the dark crystal, yet even he could not pick out any telltale traits that this crystal had besides it's color.
"Go and see if Eureka is in yet," Igneous told Sombra. "Maybe she's got some ideas."
"I'll check her office; she tends to spend the night in there." Ig nodded the best he could without removing his eye from the microscope. Sombra exited into the hall.
While CEU was best known for its varsity badminton team, the university spared no expense when it came to research. Sombra had just entered one of a dozen hallways in the department. Each hall had at least a dozen doorways, and each door led to a state-of-the-art lab. A few other professors were milling about as Sombra walked by. A former classmate of his waved to him.
"Hey Sombra," The ex-classmate who Sombra identified as Zephyr said. "You looking for Professor Eureka?"
"Yeah," Sombra responded. "How'd you know?"
"She blew past me a few minutes ago, nose buried in a cup of coffee, grumbling about non-talkative crystals. I connected the dots." Zephyr smiled. The white crystal pony pointed in the direction he'd seen the disgruntled professor go.
"Thanks," Sombra said, and began searching for his other former teacher.
Eureka was a magenta unicorn who was cresting past her golden years and didn't give a damn about it. Early in his time as a college student, Sombra had been singled out by her based on his proficiency in magic. Eureka had been more of a personal tutor than a professor after that. Eventually she became a good friend too. It was actually her who offered him the job working on the dark magic project. It was also her who had secured the crystal for them to study.
Sombra found Eureka downing the last of her morning coffee. As he walked into her office, the magenta mare lowered her specks to see him. Her red hair was tied back, like it was nearly all the time, and her bright green eyes sparked with recognition.
"Sombra, what brings you down here?" she asked.
"Ig and I are out of ideas with the crystal." he said. "We need your help with what to do next."
"It's still not talking to you?" Eureka frowned at the setback. "Hmm… I suppose there is one thing I could try." With toss of green aura, the empty coffee cup was in a waste bin, and the two were back into the labyrinthine halls of the research department.
The two walked in silence, each expecting it to be a short trip back to the lab, and therefore reluctant to start a conversation. Eventually, Eureka became fed up with the silence.
"How are things going between you and Chrysalis?" she asked.
"We're doing great."
"I hope you two are being careful in bed."
Sombra's eyes bulged when he heard that. It wasn't uncommon of Eureka to talk about his personal life. The two had already had plenty of conversations about Chryssi – most of which included sarcastic side commentary from Ig about how he even managed to get a marefriend – but Sombra had left out several important details.
They were namely the changeling related ones.
Eureka could always tell when Sombra was hiding something, and for the past few weeks had been trying to get the grey unicorn to spill his guts about it. He adamantly refused, not willing to betray Chryssi's trust. However, Eureka's latest guess had sent him into a blushing, sputtering fit.
"W-what are you t-talking about?" Sombra stumbled over his words.
"Oh come on Sombra." Eureka coyly smirked, relishing the playful ribbing a little too much. "I know what happens when a colt and a filly have been dating for quite awhile. I just want to make sure you're being responsible when you do it."
"T-that's really… uhh I mean she and I… Can we not have this conversation right now?" Sombra practically begged. Eureka laughed a little at his discomfort.
"Well, I suppose I can let you off the hook. After all, we're already here," The magenta mare said. Sombra swiveled his reddened face away from Eureka to see that she was right. As awkwardly uncomfortable as that walk had been, it had at least got them back to the lab.
The two unicorns walked in on Professor Igneous, still in the same position that Sombra had left him. The gray unicorn tapped the aged crystal pony to get his attention.
"Glad to see you Eureka." Igneous said. "As you can probably tell, we are completely out of ideas, so please tell me you've got something."
Professor Eureka shot a glance at the dark crystal in the glass casing. Her face was unreadable as she turned back to her male colleagues. As she opened her mouth, Sombra could already tell he was not going to like what she had to say.
"It's time to use magic."
Sombra couldn't stop his jaw from gaping open speechless as he heard his former teacher's words. Igneous was just as stunned, but was able to regain his ability to talk before the grey stallion.
"Eureka, uh you but a ban on any and all sparky-sparky magic voodoo on the crystal until we know what it is. That bucker in the case could be filled with dark magic for all we know." The green crystal stallion said. Sombra could only nod, his mouth still wide open.
"I did." Eureka said, stone-faced. "But I'm starting to think we won't know what this is without the… er… sparky-sparky magic voodoo." Her eyes darted from Sombra to Ig. "I'll give it one quick analysis spell to determine its composition and be done. Surely no harm could come from that."
"Wait, no it can't be you," Sombra declared, regaining his voice. Eureka raised a curious eyebrow at him. "No offense, but geology isn't your area of expertise." He said quickly, not meaning to offed her.
"Yeah, it's mine." Ig interjected.
"But you don't have magic." Sombra replied. "I'm the only one here who could do both." The two older ponies shot each other a wary glance and looked back at the gray unicorn.
"I can do this," he affirmed.
Eureka bit her lip as a reply, but brought her horn to life with a light-green aura. The case containing the black crystal floated off its pedestal and was gingerly set near Igneous's microscope.
"Just make it quick." Professor Eureka warned. Sombra nodded with gratitude and focused his attention to the mysterious crystal, now free from incarceration.
The gray stallion took a deep breath before his horn hue became red. One small wavelength danced off his forehead and to the crystal. Then another. And another. He willed each little beam of light to scan up and down the crystal, searching for any clue as to what it was made of.
Information beamed into his brain immediately.
Subject: Unknown Crystal
Origin: Unknown
[Update]
Origin: Everfree Forest (possibly)
Composition: [request pending…]
The information processed rapidly in his head. It was not Sombra's thoughts in his brain, currently, but more along the lines of snippets of information. The analysis spell was very similar to reading, yet very different all the same. Information already in his brain would instantly mesh with present knowledge. It was an amazing feeling; almost mechanical.
The analysis of the composition was taking a longer than normal time, however. Sombra felt his face grow sweaty as he willed the process to speed up.
Composition request complete.
Sedimentary Rock detected.
0.003%
Metamorphosis Rock detected.
0.001%
Hydrogen detected.
0.004%
Alert! Darkness detected.
99.992%
Recommendation: Terminate all magical activity immediately.
Alarm bells went off in Sombra's head as the last information appeared in his brain. Darkness was very, very bad. Addictive, deadly, and evil. The whole point of this project was to bar it's power so no ponies could ever be corrupted by it. Now it was practically fueling dark magic to occur right in front of him.
He was about to stop he flow of magic from his horn, when the crystal in front of him flashed a black-purple light. The red beams from his forehead fluxed in midair. The shifted into a purple color, and acted as though it was boiling in mid-air.
"Gah!" Sombra screamed. He staggered back and felt a stabbing pain in his head.
"Sombra!" Eureka cried. The gray unicorn tried to turn to face her, but found his vision was too blurred to see anything. "Igneous, do something!" He heard.
Sombra could feel his adrenaline skyrocket as the darkness of the crystal entered his mind. Every single joint in his body flared in pain. His ears popped. His skin felt like it was on fire.
It felt…
Good. The fiery sensation spread over his entire body, supercharging him with power. He felt like he could do anything.
An unseen force suddenly slammed into Sombra. He toppled to the ground, connection to the dark magic immediately severed. All the pain receded.
The gray stallion opened his eyes slowly to see Igneous standing over him. The old pony had tackled him to the ground.
"Sombra…" Igneous asked cautiously. "Are you okay?"
"I'm… fine…" Sombra said, breathing heavily. The green crystal pony helped him stand up. "What happened?"
"I was hoping you could tell us. You… your eyes suddenly turned green and your magic it…" the magenta mare shook her head. "I don't know what that was."
"What was in the crystal, kid?" Igneous asked him. Sombra thought back. Disturbingly, he found he couldn't remember it.
"I… I don't know," he said honestly. "It's just gone." Sombra rubbed his hooves across his temple, attempting to recall the substance the crystal was made of.
"Whatever it was, we can't have it here at the University anymore." Eureka said firmly. Igneous nodded at her.
"But… the research," he protested.
"The researching is over," Eureka told him. "I'm going to write up a quick report to the Princess suggesting that we destroy this crystal, or at the very least lock it away. It's clearly to much dark magic to attempt to contain or control."
"That's probably… for the best." Sombra admitted. Igneous nodded his consent
"Why don't you go home and get some rest." Eureka told Sombra.
Sombra brought his gaze around to the crystal. It had not moved from the pedestal, but it some way it had changed. He tried to take his eyes off it for a moment but found that he couldn't. The stallion found himself… drawn to it.
"Sombra." Eureaka's voice rang out in his head. His stare faltered and he looked at the magenta unicorn. "Go home, okay?" she said.
He finally stood up. "Okay." Sombra said shakily.
ooo000ooo
…
…
…A dull throb that felt like a hammer woke her up. She gasped in momentary pain, her eyes snapping awake. Chrysalis struggled to move, but found most of her limbs to be numb. With effort, she found herself moving her hooves. Out of pure habit, she checked to see if her illusion was still up.
Pink coat. Wings, but no horn. Golden hair.
The transformation spell is still in effect. She thought. The changeling princess attempted to sit up, and discovered a bag of ice had been supine on her forehead. Chrysalis observed her surroundings.
A blue cooler was stacked on top of old newspapers directly across from her. To her right was a poorly cared for ping-pong table. Above her head was a poster of some forgotten colt band nearly twenty years old.
The ice cream parlor's break room.
Chrysalis tried again to sit up, and caused the ice pack to tumble from her head to her lap in the process. The pain in her head returned, so she gripped the ice pack with her hoof and placed it against her face. Relief.
Wait. Why am I in pain? She thought. Her short-term memory was fried. It wasn't long before something forced her to recall. She smelled an incredibly powerful honey odor. Was Sombra nearby? No… wait…
Sour.
Flavor took hold of her. Sour honey. Emotions only tasted sour if changelings were emitting it. The pieces of the puzzle were so obviously strewn out in front of her.
Honey was love. Sour was changeling emotion. She was the only changeling in the room. She was in love... with Sombra.
She shook with fright. This was very, very bad. Her body was currently trying to generate love. That left her with one of two options.
Go insane, or die.
She began hyperventilating. She was in love with Sombra. She was killing herself. The bag of ice slipped from her hooves and crashed to the floor.
How am I not already insane? She wondered. Was the descent into madness a slow process? Could the chemical of love been delayed somehow? Could she be… immune?
The pounding throb of her head told her she was most certainly not immune.
That meant she was on a time limit. Basically she was a carton of milk that could expire at any moment. Only the changeling princess did not come conveniently pre-stamped with a date of demise. She would get to wait in agonizing fear to find out when she would go mad or die. Chrysalis couldn't decide which would be worse.
"I should have listened to my father," she whimpered miserably. The doorknob to the break room turned slowly. Creaking open the door was a blue crystal mare.
"Chrysalis, thank goodness you're awake," Mint Chip said in a relieved tone.
"What happened?" Chrysalis asked, trying to stand up.
Her boss crossed over to her, and propped her up against the ping-pong table. "I'm not totally sure. You just passed out."
"How long ago?" Chrysalis inquired.
"Only five or six minutes." Mint said. "But that's a promising sign, right? You could have been out of it for much longer."
You have no idea. Chrysalis thought. "Should I, go back to work?"
"Are you crazy?" Mint Chip asked. "I'm no doctor, but even I can tell you're not in any condition to work."
"What should I do?" Chrysalis whispered. She doubted Mint Chip would be able to offer any helpful advice.
"Hospital," Mint said, confirming her theory. "And probably bed rest too."
Chrysalis nodded, though she knew a hospital would not be able to care for her. "Okay, I'll do that," she lied.
"What a terrible day to get sick too," Mint Chip commented, helping her coworker to the door.
"What do you mean? It's just another Thursday, isn't it?"
Mint giggled slightly. "You mean you couldn't tell from all the happy couples earlier this morning?" Chrysalis shook her head, confused as to what her friend was getting at. "It's Hearts and Hooves Day."
"Ah," Chrysalis said, stumbling around the counter towards the door of the parlor. She told Mint Chip that she could make it to the hospital on her own, and then the changeling princess went in a completely different direction when she was alone.
Great. She thought. Probably my last sane day of living, and the one thing everypony is celebrating will end up killing me. She crossed the street, limbs wobbly but capable. How am I going to tell Sombra?