Chrysalis stumbled through the shining streets of the Crystal Empire, pain laced in every step. Every joint ached as she compelled – no, forced – herself to move forward. She was dangerously close to passing out again. Likely the only thing that prevented her from fainting was distracting her thoughts away from… him.
The changeling princess stumbled over a small bump on the road. While she was able to right herself before tumbling over, the sudden lurching motion sent her stomach doing a barrel roll. Chrysalis nearly hurled, but managed to swallow the rising bile. She contemplated taking a break.
Can't stop now. She thought. I'm so close.
Appearing around the corner was the apartment complex that had been her home for nearly a month. Pressing forward, Chrysalis ignored the burning pains and walked towards the building.
Once inside, she saw Sun Beam lounging at the front desk. The orange crystal mare had her eyes closed, and a soft constant snoring emanating from her. It made Chrysalis wince, for Ms. Beam was a notoriously light sleeper. The last thing the changeling princess needed right now was to wake her up. It's not that she didn't like Sun Beam – for the two had become friends over the course of the weeks – but right now was the worst time to be wrapped up in a conversation.
Determined not to wake her chatty landlord, Chrysalis slinked by. Unfortunately, her hoof caught a squeaky plank in the floor boards. Across the room, Sun Beam stirred.
"Buck." Chrysalis hissed underneath her breath.
The middle aged mare stretched out her forelegs, eyes peaking open. She zeroed in on the pink pegasus in no time.
"Chrysalis!" She happily said. "Wow, you're back early, or is it six already?"
"Hi Ms. Beam." Chrysalis replied, putting on a friendly smile to mask the pain. "It's just passed noon."
"Huh." The orange mare said with a glance outside to see the daylight. "Well, why are you home from work so earlier then? Don't tell me you were fired! I could–"
"No," Chrysalis replied. "It's nothing like that. I just wasn't feeling too good, so Mint Chip sent me home early."
"Oh dear." Sun Beam said, mild concern covering her face. "Are you going to be all right?"
No.
"Yes." Chrysalis lied. "I just need some rest is all."
"Well, I don't think you'll be getting too much of that." Sun Beam said, a knowing glimmer in her eye.
"W-why?" Chrysalis asked.
"Oh… I shouldn't tell you this, but Sombra's already in your apartment. I think he came home early to give you a Hearts and Hooves Day surprise."
A searing pain gripped her head, and Chrysalis struggled to control in facial expressions. Being reminded of Sombra, and the date, was not doing her health any favors. The more she thought of him the more intense the pain became.
"H-he's here?" Chrysalis stammered. Sun Beam joyously nodded, oblivious to how dangerous that was for her. Even so, Chrysalis forced a grin on her face. "Well, I guess I should go up and see him." She managed.
Sun Beam smiled warmly. "I hope you two have a great time, and I also hope you feel better soon, dearie."
I won't.
"Me too." Chrysalis replied instead. "Bye."
"Bye, Chrysalis."
The pink pegasus pony made her way to the familiar door, exhausted. Even so, she decided it was time to shed her current form. Green light erupted out of her, spreading rapidly across her body. It morphed back into her dark coat, bug wings, and teal mane. Her eyes shifted into their emerald-colored insect form and fangs protruded in her mouth.
As the transformation spell finished, Chrysalis weakly braced herself against the wall, completely sapped of energy. She shakily sucked in air, exhausted. In her current state, a transformation spell had not been a wise choice. The changeling princess didn't care; she wanted to look like herself when she saw Sombra. With a jittering hoof, Chrysalis reached for the doorknob, and noticed something.
With a sniff, she found very weird emotional activity on the other side of the door. If Sun Beam was right and Sombra really was planning some sort of surprise for her, than she should have been able to detect giddiness or excitement or at least his honey scented love for her. Instead, all she could smell was a bland bitterness strong enough for her to taste.
Sombra is… depressed?
Any concern for herself suddenly vanished as Chrysalsi hurriedly entered their apartment. She saw Sombra – earning a flare of pain just from seeing him – and practically gasped. The gray unicorn was sitting gloomily at the kitchen table, eyes locked on a small glass half-filled with a light gold liquid hovering in front of his lips. A bottle of hard cider was resting on the table.
He never drank alcohol. Ever. Chrysalis had never seen any hints of it in her coltfriend's apartment. In fact, she had heard him declare on two separate occasions that it was a poison and he wanted nothing to do with it.
"S–Sombra?" She stuttered. The stallion's eyes popped, and his levitation spell immediately cut off. The glass of cider fell to the table, the fermented apples spilling over the table.
"Chryssi?" He asked, the tone of his voice reflecting the sudden barrage of emotions that she could smell and taste. Depression. Shock. Confusion. Anxiety. Shame. Love.
"W-what are you doing home so early?" The unicorn asked, eyes darting from the bottle of cider to her and back again.
"Never mind me!" Chrysalis practically shouted, forgetting how much pain she was in. "What about you? What are you doing, Sombra? That's… that's…" She merely pointed at the beverage in front of him.
Sombra stared for a moment, before slumping in his chair and burying his head in his hooves. "Oh, Chryssi." He said, voice cracking.
Chrysalis immediately moved to him, concern filling her voice. "Sombra, what happened?"
After a few seconds, the gray unicorn was able to bring himself to respond. "The dark magic project was canceled today… and it's all my fault."
"What?!" Chrysalis asked. "Sombra… I'm so sorry…" His burst of depression now made sense. He'd been so happy the day he was hired for the job. Not only losing the project, but also having the added guilt of being responsible for it must be crushing him. The changeling princess put her hoof empathetically on his shoulder.
Should I ask him how it happened? Chrysalis thought. No… No, I shouldn't. I'm already about to make this horrible day worse for him.
Upon thinking that, Chrysalis had a fleeting doubt, wondering if she should even tell Sombra what was happening to her. She rejected it though. He was going to find out one way or another. Better it come from her, now. But…
Sombra brought his face out of his hooves. "I shouldn't be wallowing in my own self-pity." He declared. With a flick of red aura the cider bottle was flung to the trash can. "So, what brings you home so early Chryssi? Is something wrong?" His soft eyes looked into hers. Every part of her ached. She inwardly sighed,.
Here it goes. "Sombra… when I told you I was a changeling… I… I didn't tell you everything."
"What do you mean?" Sombra asked. "Was there something other than feeding off of love, or your father being the king?"
Every alarm bell in her body was blaring now, the pain sky-rocketing. "Sombra… changelings feed off love, but they can't produce it themselves without dying. And I… I love you."
Her body on fire, Chrysalis fell forward, shrieking.
"Chryssi!" The gray unicorn cried. Sombra reached out and caught her. She seized uncontrollably, crying and screaming in agony. "What's happening to you?"
Barely able to keep her eyes open, Chrysalis looked at him. "Love is… a chemical feeling produced by the brain. Changelings… we need it for nourishment… but it's a poison if we feel it. Our brains just weren't designed to make that chemical. It kills us if we try." She began shivering ferociously; her head felt like it was about to split open.
"No." Sombra said, eyes tearing up. "Chryssi… Can't you just stop loving me? Would that save you?"
"Even if I could, I… I don't want to stop loving you, Sombra." She screamed at the pain it caused her to say that. "Get… get me to the bed." She whimpered.
Sombra complied, face a knot of worry and concern. He gently placed her on the mattress and draped the blanket over her body.
"Now… may not be the best time to say this… but I love you too, Chryssi." He said. The changeling princess shut her eyes as another wave of pain washed over her. When she opened them, Sombra was wincing. "Sorry." He whispered.
"Don't be." Chrysalis whispered. "I'm… I'm glad you do. At least I got to hear you say that before I–"
"Please don't say it." Sombra said. "There must be a way to cure it. I'm great with magic, maybe–"
"No." Chrysalis whispered, her throat raw and scratchy. "If there had been a magical way to fix this, changelings would have found it centuries ago." She shut her eyes, cutting off the tears that were trying to escape. "I want you to know… I don't regret falling in love with you, Sombra. I just wish we had more time together."
"Don't be so corny." Sombra said, the sobs in his voice hiding the playful jibe.
"I mean it though." She said. Her breathing slowed, pain forcing her to unconsciousness.
"Chryssi?" Sombra asked, voice implying he feared the worse.
"I'm so tired, Sombra." She said, letting the empty darkness of sleep take her over. A single tear ran down her cheek as Chrysalis accepted she would not be waking up ever again.
ooo000ooo
Sombra paced back and forth, pausing only to place a hoof on Chrysalis's forehead to check her temperature. Her internal body temperature was rising fast. He didn't know much about changeling anatomy, but he did know it wouldn't be much longer before…
"Don't think about that." He insisted to himself. There had to be a way to keep Chryssi from dying. There just had to.
"But what?" Sombra asked himself aloud. There was no response, save the heavy, labored breathing of Chrysalis. The gray unicorn looked at her. The changeling princess looked beautiful even when she slept. Suddenly, she emitted a pained groan, and his heart skipped a beat, fearing it might be the end.
It wasn't, but the very real possibility of Chrysalis dying was still present. Sombra crossed back over to the bed, unsure of what he could do for her. The hospital wouldn't be able to take care of her, assuming they didn't just through her out for being a changeling. He would try something on his own, but Chryssi had just told him no known magic had ever been able to cure a changeling in love.
Wait a second… He thought. There just might be something that could save Chrysalis after all. It was a long shot, but it was still a shot. The gray stallion debated the idea in his head. If it worked, Chryssi would survive. If not… well, she wouldn't be much worse off than she was now.
Deciding that he had to try, Sombra turned to go out the door. He paused for a second, and turned back to Chrysalis. "I swear I'll be back." He told her doubtful she could hear him. Gently, he kissed the top of her forehead, sealing his promise. Then he moved towards the door to the apartment. Lingering as long as he could, not wanting to let Chryssi leave his sight.
As he closed the door quietly, the stallion suddenly broke out into a hurried run. He flew through the building, passed a surprised looking Sun Beam, and out of the apartment.
"Sombra?" The confused mare called out to him. He didn't slow down or even look back.
Out in the streets, Sombra continued his run. Pushing his maximum speed, he charged his horn and fired a teleportation spell, hoping to save what little time he had. In a scarlet flash of light, the stallion found himself a few blocks down the road, still in mid-run.
Buck. He thought. He was too worried. Too unfocused. He wouldn't be able to teleport directly to his location. Stopping, calming down, and trying again would take too long. Sombra continued dashing through the streets of the Crystal Empire, occasionally knocking over a bystander by mistake. Eventually, he retried the teleportation spell.
When the flash of red receded, Sombra looked to the nearest street sign. Emerald Avenue. He was closer, but not close enough.
The gray stallion continued his trend of racing and teleporting wildly. It took a few more tries before he got closer to his destination, and each transport sapped a little more of his energy. Even so, he did not wane from his quest. Saving Chrysalis was all that mattered to him, no matter what it cost him. At least he was making decent time… hopefully.
As the crystal streets gave way to the grassy grounds of the CEU campus, Sombra picked up his pace. The College of Magic building appeared after only a short time, the lone stone building standing out among the others.
He raced inside, not even close to slowing down. He practically flew to the nearest set of stairs, and into the labyrinthine series of corridors. Sombra was grateful he knew exactly where to go.
The door to his lab – or well, technically ex-lab – was shut. The gray stallion tried to open it.
"No no no!" He suddenly shouted. The knob wouldn't budge. He was locked out. "Dammit!" He screeched, pounding his hooves against the door. Sweat covered his exasperated face, and it was only partially from all the running he had been doing.
My last chance to save Chryssi is behind this door! He thought. Well, he didn't actually know if it was there or not. Eureka might've moved it. That thought sent a panic through his brain. No wait… it… it is there. I can… feel it? It was just on the fringes of his mind, but it was there. Weird.
I have to find a way in. He thought. Sombra kicked the door a few more times in a desperate attempt to unhinge it from the wall or something of that nature. It didn't budge.
Eventually he slammed his head against the door in a sign of defeated rage. Who was he kidding? He couldn't knock the door in by pure force. He could try magic, but he'd already wasted so much of his energy from teleporting. Blasting the door open would probably cause him to pass out, if he even managed to do it.
Scarlett eyes staring daggers at the floor, Sombra allowed himself one quick glance at the lock. An idea clicked in his brain. How did I not think of this earlier?
Charging his horn with just enough magic to make the tip glow red, Sombra reached out with his mind into the lock. As he felt his magic grip the pins and tumblers inside, his mouth curled into a smile. Just as he had done for his own apartment hundreds of times, Sombra began manipulating the mechanisms of the lock to force it open. It took longer than it would have if he'd been working on his own door, but Sombra managed to find the right combination.
When the satisfying noise of an unlocked door was heard, Sombra pushed his way inside. The lab was empty, the lights all switched off. Sitting in a glass case in the center of the sat the dark crystal. With all the lights turned off, the mysterious object gave off an eerie atmosphere.
Despite being in a hurry, Sombra only tentatively stepped towards the crystal. Doubts were beginning to flood his mind with each step.
Should I really have come here? I don't even know if this crystal can help Chryssi!
Then again, it's not like I have any other options.
Still, I have no idea what this thing really is, and it's practically oozing dark magic!
…
This was a mistake! I'm turning back now. There must be some other way to save Chryssi!.
Even though he was thinking that, Sombra found that he was stepping towards the crystal again. Gritting his teeth, Sombra tried to turn away. Then the fire returned. Just like when he'd preformed his analysis spell, his skin felt in pain. It was milder this time… but it still felt good, in some weird way.
Before he really knew what was happening, the glass container was levitating away. Then he was raising his hoof. Now he was reaching for the dark crystal. The fiery pain became more intense as he was about to touch it.
"Sombra?" A familiar voice said in surprise form behind him. Cringing, Sombra looked back at Professor Eureka who was standing in the middle of the doorway. His mentor had an expression on her face that was somewhere between concerned and confused. "W-what are you doing?"
Speechless, Sombra just stared at the unicorn mare, pupils smaller than marbles. Eureka's in contrast were dilating behind her glasses. The magenta mare stared at him in a way that told Sombra this was not looking good for him.
"Uh… hey, Eureka." He said, choosing his words very carefully. Sombra was vaguely aware that he hadn't lowered his hoof yet. "I… uh…" His red eyes darted back to the crystal. It felt as though it was begging for him to take it. His hoof drifted closer.
"Sombra!" Eureka shouted snapping him back to reality. He turned back to face her. "What has gotten into you?" The magenta unicorn demanded. Sombra blinked.
"Sorry Eureka, it's just… I need the crystal real quick." He said.
"What? Sombra you can't."
"Eureka, please… it's important. I really need the crystal."
"No, Sombra." Eureka said firmly. "I don't know what that thing did to you earlier today, but your clearly not thinking straight." The magenta mare charged up her horn with a bright green aura, ready to force Sombra to comply if necessary. "Leave. It. Be."
Realizing Eureka wasn't going to trust him, Sombra immediately grabbed the crystal, clutching it close to his body. Eureka stepped towards him, wary but determined.
"Put the crystal down, Sombra." She said with an iciness to her voice. In response, the gray unicorn began charging his own horn. He meant for it to be a teleportation spell to get him out of the building, but Eureka must've mistook it for aggressiveness. A green bolt of energy fired from her horn directly at him.
Ducking down to avoid it, Sombra felt the magical attack whip overhead and strike the wall behind him. He held his breath, not wanting to accept what had just happened. Had Eureka gone off the deep end or something?
Seeing his former mentor prepare another round of attacks, Sombra quickly shot off two bolts of magic himself. Neither had been aimed at her, he only meant to make her flinch and by some time. Unfortunately, the magenta unicorn hadn't known that and tried to dodge them. In doing so, she inadvertently stepped in the path of one of his attacks, and took the bolt in her foreleg.
"Gah." She exclaimed in pain. Sombra winced. He was about to explain he hadn't meant to hurt her, when Eureka recovered, and fired off several more burst of magic at him. Not able to dodge them all, Sombra threw up a shield. The magic spell bathed his body in a red light as the projectiles pelted off the barrier harmlessly.
He left the shield up, bracing for more attacks. Eureka changed strategies, beginning to circle around to an unguarded area. Sombra knew he needed to teleport out soon, but he would have to shut off the shield first and even then he may not have enough energy. Suddenly, he looked down at the crystal. It had energy in it. The pain he felt from it was because of an energy excess radiating outward, he realized. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eureka almost past the barrier.
Better make this count. In a single instant, his shield vanished, leaving him vulnerable. He immediately began to cast the spell, directing it at the crystal. It glowed a weird mixture of purple, black, and green. Meanwhile, Eureka had fired another bolt directly at him. Sombra shut his eyes
For several seconds, he didn't feel the attack strike him. He peeked open an eye and saw he was back in his kitchen. Glancing down at the crystal, Sombra realized it allowed him to teleport all the way home. He didn't even feel tired.
His breathing slowed down as he came off the burst of adrenaline he'd felt when facing Eureka. Sombra still couldn't believe that had happened. "She… actually attacked me." He whispered. His mentor and friend had assaulted him with no second thoughts or hesitations. She hadn't even tried to listen to his explanation.
The gray unicorn didn't have time to sort through the hurt that made him feel. His mind turned to Chryssi, whom he'd left in the bedroom. Immediately he ran to check on her, dark crystal in tow. He saw her lying in the bed, just as he'd last seen her. Only she didn't show any signs of life for a moment, and Sombra felt his heart stop. Then he saw the steady rising and falling of her chest as she breathed.
Relaxing a little, Sombra raised the crystal in his hoof, glancing from it to the changeling princess lying in his bed. Sombra felt his eyelid twitch as he discovered a new problem: he had no idea what to do now.
Should I try a healing spell? Just throw my magic into this thing? He thought. Both ideas didn't seem right. They might end up just killing Chryssi faster. He needed time to come up with a plan.
Unfortunately, he didn't have that time. Chryssi rolled over in her sleep, and groaned in pain. I guess I have to do this now. He thought.
"Chryssi?" He said to his sleeping marefriend. She didn't respond. "I-I don't know if you can here me or not… but I'm going to try something to save you. I'm not sure if it will work, so if this is… you know… the end… then I just wanted to say that I love you." Chrysalis whimpered a little, but did nothing else.
Sombra levitated the crystal in between the two of them. Please work. He silently begged it. Taking a deep breath, Sombra fired all the magic he had left into the crystal. It glowed again, sending off sparks of its mysterious energy. He focused, directing them toward Chryssi.
Come on… He urged the magic. Heal her… please.
The magic arched through the air, and slammed into Chrysalis. She screamed in agony.
ooo000ooo
... ... ...
... ...
...
Slowly her eyelids creaked open. Chrysalis found herself staring at the ceiling full of paint chips that she had grown accustomed to in recent weeks. Over her body she felt a single blanket cover her. She breathed carefully, full of confusion.
Why didn't breathing hurt anymore? Why didn't being awake in general hurt anymore? How was she even able to wake up?
"Chryssi?" Came a voice that made her heart skip a beat. "You're awake!" Sombra said gleefully.
"I am?" She asked, sitting up just in time to get caught in an embrace from the gray unicorn. She hugged him back without hesitation. As soon as they let go, Chrysalis felt her face. She was definitely awake… but how? Her skin wasn't torturing her. Her throat felt fine. Her bones and joints no longer ached. "Sombra?" She asked shakily, glancing over at him. He looked happy and relieved. "What happened? How am I still alive?"
"I saved you." Sombra said. "At least, I think I did." Noticing a confused look from the changeling princess he delved deeper into an explanation. "I–uh, found a spell that was able to heal you. When I cast it on you a few moments ago, you didn't seem so pained, and now you've woken up. I guess that means it worked. As long as… well, you feel okay."
"I do feel okay." She said. "But I don't understand. Changelings have searched for a cure for centuries, if not longer. How were you able to find one in a single afternoon?"
"I guess I had a better motivation than they did." Sombra said. Chrysalis caught the vagueness in his voice, but decided to ignore it. For now.
"Well, however you did it, thank you." She said, smiling. "I owe you my life."
"Aw, don't say that." Sombra said. "I didn't do that so you'd be in debt to me. I did it because I love you." Momentarily Chrysalis winced. She expected herself to be sent in a flash of pain from that remark, but no. Just a sweet smelling honey scent that was growing stronger. She could even taste it, both hers and Sombra's. And it didn't hurt at all.
"I love you too." She said softly. Then louder. "I love you too!" Excitedly, she latched onto him. "Sombra! I love you!" Tears of joy sprung to her face. She was free. No longer was she forced to avoid loving Sombra out of fear. She was finally, gloriously free.
Sombra hugged her back, drawing her in for a passionate kiss. The honey flavor sprang into her, revitalizing every part of her. And there was… another taste. It was weird. Not quite an emotion, but something. Whatever it was, it tasted sort of like pepper, which was not something Chrysalis had ever tasted from Sombra. Or anypony for that matter. When they finally broke off the kiss, the pepper taste faded.
That's when Chrysalis noticed his horn.
"Sombra?" She asked.
"Yeah?" He asked, in a daze from the after effects of their kiss.
"Why is your horn red?"
"What?" Snapping back to focus, Sombra went to the bathroom to look in the mirror. Chrysalis followed him, in time to catch the shocked expression on his face as he saw that his horn was indeed a deep shade of red. Mostly at the tip as the color faded when nearing the bottom, but his entire horn was some shade of it.
"How did that happen?" She asked, concerned. Sombra touched it gingerly with his hoof. Then he focused on his toothbrush on the bathroom sink. It took Chrysalis a moment to figure out that he was trying to levitate it, though squinting his eyes at it didn't seem to be working.
"I can't use any magic." Sombra said slowly.
"What? Why?" Chrysalis said shocked. Had his horn been damaged somehow? What if he could no longer use magic? Was that because he used it all to save her?
"I think my magic is just depleted." Sombra said, not as much concern in his voice. "It'll take a while to recharge."
"And the color?" Chrysalis asked.
Sombra frowned at the mirror image of himself. "Maybe it just overheated?" He said jokingly.
"It isn't a stove, Sombra! What if you permanently damaged your horn because of…" She let the words hang in the air. Because of me.
The gray stallion put his hoof on her shoulder reassuringly. "Hey, don't worry about it. Using a bunch of magic doesn't make a unicorn permanently loose it all. I'll be fine, I promise." His words comforted her, and she calmed down.
"Okay… as long as you're sure." She said.
"I'm sure." Sombra said, his smiling eyes looking fondly into hers. "Now come on, we've got to celebrate somehow." He declared. They strolled out into the bedroom. "I'm thinking we go out for a picnic. It is Hearts and Hooves Day after all."
"Yeah, I'd almost forgotten." Chrysalis said, becoming happier. Then it faltered as she remembered something. "Oh my gosh, I haven't even gotten you a card, or anything!"
Sombra chuckled playfully. "You don't need to get me anything. You're alive, what more could I ask for?" Chrysalis hugged him again. She couldn't help it. He was just too sweet, and in more ways than one.
"Alright then." Chrysalis said burying her muzzle into his neck. "Let's have a picnic."