//------------------------------// // Cyborg by ColdGoldLazarus (Sweet) // Story: Tainted Love: A Twysalis Prompt Tag Collab // by Foals Errand //------------------------------// by ColdGoldLazarus It was ironic, really, how the mare who lived with change would be the one most opposed to it. That was how Changeling society had survived undetected for so long, and continued to get by even after being revealed to the world, but on some deep level, Twilight found it incredibly amusing. Her marefriend changed her form daily, yet as magitech had taken off in recent years, had nothing but disparaging remarks for the changing times – and most heinous of all in the queen’s eyes, those ponies who chose to become one with the technology, adding onto or even replacing parts of their own bodies with the monstrous metallic machinery. And at the moment, it was that amusement Twilight hung onto like a sailor holding a lifeboat, as other, less pleasant emotions threatened to intrude. Painful memories lingered, of two dark red eyes atop the highest spire of Tambelon, of the curled horns that glowed with the whiteness of moon-bleached bone, of the terrible beam of solidified fear and hatred and agony as it lanced toward her… Those memories were bad enough, but almost worse was the gut-wrenching feeling of waking up to find a part of herself gone. Her left legs and wing, along with a good portion of her side, had been utterly obliterated by Grogar, and she had passed out from the pain. The good news, the doctors had been quick to reassure her, was that her friends had continued the fight while her marefriend had ferried her away from the pitched battle, and the backup elements – Spitfire, Silver Shill, Coco Pommel, Sea Breeze, Cheese Sandwich, and of course Discord, had finally banished the demon ram and his city of the damned. But the worst of it was probably the growing apprehension gnawing at the alicorn’s stomach. (thankfully left intact) As she stared helplessly at the sleek chrome limb resting across her belly, scenarios and possibilities ran through her head at the speed of light – the best of them involved yelling; the worst involved stilted language and dying love. She knew she should have more faith in her marefriend, but the memories of too many hard looks, too many scathing comments, too many failed attempts at reason all undermined her normally optimistic outlook. To distract herself, she more closely examined the prosthetic. It was bizarre – it responded to her every movement with a slight whirr and a smooth, fluid motion as natural as any normal leg, but she couldn’t really feel it. Sensation ended at the burnt stumps of her withers and flank, yet motion continued past that, and for all her intellectual prowess, Twilight just couldn’t wrap her head around it on an emotional level. If she couldn’t accept it, then how could her marefriend ever do so? “You have a visitor, ma’a- er, your Highness. Shall I let her in?” A nurse stood in the door, peering in on the patient nervously, a common side effect in those who had recently met Twilight’s marefriend, and one that all but confirmed said Alicorn’s worst fears. For a brief moment, she actually considered telling the nurse to turn her away, say she was still not ready to speak to her… but the moment passed, and she gulped reluctantly. “Let her in.” As she’d learned and passed on in not one but several friendship letters, it was better to face the issue head-on instead of letting it build up, and cause more pain than necessary to everypony involved before it could be resolved. She just hoped this issue could be resolved… The nurse opened the door again, and in strode Twilight’s marefriend. The Alicorn stared at the long, chitinous legs, the iridescent green shell across the mare’s back, and the individual gaps in the intricate leg armour that gave the illusion of holes; not because she hadn’t seen them before, but rather because looking upward, and meeting those eyes… Grogar had been terrifying in his power, and Twilight doubted that he would ever stop haunting her nightmares after what he had done to her, yet in some ways he paled utterly to the fear of rejection from her lover. So what happened next shocked her beyond words. “Oh, Twilight.” The slender frame, even after all these years rarely accustomed to dropping its haughty stature, rushed at the patient, black chitin filling Twilight’s vision. Then, incredibly soft, two hooves wrapped around her barrel, gentle and hesitant and oh so loving. Chrysalis lay her head under Twilight’s chin, careful to point her crooked horn well away from the love of her life, and breathed in that lavender fur with a sob of relief. Twilight took in a deep breath of her lover’s cyan mane, the familiar scent of pine and moss filling her senses. For a moment she forgot about her earlier worries entirely, too caught up in the heady rush of love and affection for such trivial matters to affect her. Unfortunately, the peace was not to last, and the faintest whir from her hind left leg brought it to a crashing halt. Chrysalis slowly disengaged, settling down in a seat beside the bed. Twilight still couldn’t bring herself to meet her lover’s gaze, staring instead at her own contrite expression in the sheen of her prosthetic foreleg. “I’m sorry.” “For being so Draril-damned reckless? You should be.” Her voice was harsh, angry and hurt, but turned suddenly very soft. “For… this? A hoof was waved vaguely toward the metallic limb. “Did no one tell you that it was I who insisted they give you this operation?” Twilight’s eyes shot open as she stared her marefriend right in the eyes, oh right in the eyes and she was not angry, not disappointed, not awkward, but simply sheepish and timid and oh Celestia! Twilight couldn’t help it anymore, tears beginning to flow as she leaned forward to hug the queen, both real and prosthetic limbs wrapping around her lover the same way… “Twilight,” Chrysalis said, “This will take some adjustment on my part, but please do believe me when I say that you are worth it to me. You will always be worth it to me.” “I-I” Twilight managed between sniffles, “I love you too.” In the closeness of her embrace, both of them shook slightly as a bittersweet chuckle rose from the changeling’s throat. “For a being who lives with change, I really needed to get with the times, anyway.” Twilight couldn’t resist the sneaky grin that developed. “My thoughts exactly.”