• Published 16th Apr 2014
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Forbidden - Fire Gazer the Alchemist



Love is tricky when you’re a changeling. You need it to survive, but the more you feed off of it, the more you want to actually feel it. Too bad that’s impossible.

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Addicted to Love

Light pink hooves clacked along the shining streets of the Crystal Empire. Golden locks of hair covered one sea green eye, while the other darted to and fro, scanning the busy street ahead. This particular mare's crystal coat did not stand out above the rest. Her face, if one were to look at it for a while, was decidedly unremarkable. Not outstanding features, no noteworthy abnormalities, nothing to suggest that it was anything other than a plain face. The pink mare inhaled deeply through her nose, savoring the sweet scent of love that clung to the air.

The Crystal Empire – and more precisely, the Crystal Heart – was an endless well for her to drink from. She wasn't the only changeling who ever came here. At any given moment, dozens of changelings were living in the Crystal Empire to nourish themselves on the endless supply of feelings like love and happiness.

Chrysalis was just like all the other changelings.

…If you could overlook the detail that one day she would be ruling over all of them.

In all honesty, Chrysalis wasn't too keen on one day ruling over her entire race. The prospect frightened her in fact. Her father, King Metamorphosis, was doing a better job than she ever could. The only problem was that he's old. Very old.

It would not be long before her subjects stopped referring to her as "Princess" and instead as "Queen".

But Chrysalis wasn't going to worry about her future responsibilities on a day like today. The sun was shining brightly, reflecting an array of colors off of the crystal buildings around her, and love was in the air. Literally.

She passed by a pair of crystal ponies, one red mare with a dark chocolate mane, and the other was a strapping indigo stallion with a verve, umber mane. The stallion, as they passed, gave a slight nod to Chrysalis, almost as if he was bowing. The exchange happened quickly enough that the mare didn't catch it, but Chrysalis did. She paused and glanced back at the couple as they walked in the opposite direction.

"Definitely a changeling," Chrysalis murmured to herself. The indigo stallion had to be a disguised member of the love parasitic race, collecting his daily dose of infatuation. Maybe a little more so than that, she noticed as the couple rubbed their muzzles together.

Having love as a food source was a double-edged sword to changelings. On one hoof, the necessary steps to create it are easy (so easy in fact that many changelings had published manuals with a step by step process on the topic). On the other hoof, it was easy to get addicted to love. Developing a need for the chemical structure that generated the feeling was something anypony could get hooked on, changelings were just more susceptible than most. Eventually the drive for love conflicts with the changeling's day to day life. They don't show up for work, don't sleep, don't try to get any sort of help…

The most dangerous part is if a changeling begins to create the feeling of love itself. Changelings were parasites when you get right down to it, and Chrysalis had long since accepted that. Parasites were creatures meant only to take, not to create. And for the changelings that tried to create love… well assuming the resulting chemical imbalance didn't kill them, their minds would be left broken and their bodies paralyzed.

Taking a final look at the indigo stallion/changeling, Chrysalis hoped that would not be his fate too.

She carried on down the streets of the Crystal Empire for quite some time. Though she never bothered to memorize the street patterns, Chrysalis knew exactly where to go. She just followed her nose, sniffing the scent of love as it grew stronger and stronger. Eventually this led her to the Crystal Heart, and the near tangerine stench of love radiating from it was powerful.

Her pink mare form became more sharply defined now. With energy from the Crystal Heart, she had the liberty to take her current matrix and mold it into something better. Her cheekbones ascended half an inch, her eyes grew slightly larger, and her sea foam green eyes vividly popped with a renewed splash of color. These changes had to be subtle and spread out, however.

Guards stood a round the clock watch over the Crystal Heart, keeping an ever watchful eye on the talisman. After all it was the most priceless relic in all the Crystal Empire. Chrysalis's presence was far from out of place, however. Many other crystal ponies stood outside the ring of guards, admiring the Crystal Heart in all its glory.

Day in and day out, crystal ponies would stand – sometimes for hours – just admiring the Crystal Heart. To the guards, this was an everyday occurrence. What they didn't know is that nearly every standing, admiring pony was in fact, a changeling, soaking up the energy of love.

The irony was actually pretty funny now that Chrysalis thought about it. Here were a dozen guards, standing around to prevent the Crystal Heart from being stolen, when not three feet away from them, she was stealing its most valuable resource right from under their snouts.

She laughed out loud at this realization, calling upon the attention of a nearby guard. Despite his silver helmet, Chyrsalis could tell he raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"Uh… just remembering a joke. That my friend told me. A while ago," Chrysalis stammered. The guard just grunted and looked away.

Chrysalis breathed a sigh of relief. Talking to strangers was not her strong suit. Slowly, her pink mare backed away from the Crystal Heart. Lingering just long enough for one final spout of love and joy, Chrysalis finally turned away and headed down the street she had come from.

Now that she had acquired enough love to last the week, Chrysalis planned to head back to the changeling hive in the Badlands. It would be a long flight, but she had more than enough energy to make it. Her only obstacle was getting far enough out of the empire so nopony would see her transformation.

With her attention diverted to finding the best place possible to transform, it's understandable that Chrysalis didn't see the incoming stallion before it was too late. They collided and fell into a heap. Papers that the stallion had been clutching were sent everywhere.

"Watch where you're going!" Chrysalis snapped. The gray stallion winced, his dark hair covering a shamed expression. Chrysalis was barely focusing on his appearance through her reflexive rage, but she did notice this stallion was a unicorn, and not a crystal pony, which was a rare occurrence in the empire.

"Oh, I-I'm really sorry, ma'am," he sputtered out, scooping up the scattered papers. "I'm just in such a hurry."

Chrysalis just watched with an annoyed expression as the stallion meshed the cluttered papers together in a semi-presentable stack, and took off without offering to help her up.

Grunting to herself, Chrysalis propped her body up, and noticed that some papers had gone unclaimed by the rushed pony. The kinder half of her brain suggested she catch up to the rude stallion and return them.

"Don't get involved, Chrysalis," She told herself (particular the kind half of her brain). "Just keep walking." Her gaze shifted from the forgotten papers to the disappearing unicorn. The changeling princess managed two steps in the opposite direction before her guilty conscience got the better of her and she sighed.

Turning around and swiftly recovering the discarded papers, Chrysalis began to run to catch the gray unicorn. Unfortunately for her conscience, the stallion was already too far away for her to catch on hoof.

Chrysalis grimaced at the realization that there would be only one way to catch him now. Ducking into the nearest alley she could, Chrysalis began to transform. In a blinding flash of green light that – hopefully – nopony saw, the crystal coat faded into an average hue of pink. On her back, her diaphanous bug wings (formerly kept hidden) formed into a pair of pink, feathered ones. She flapped them slightly to make sure the illusion would hold. Chrysalis then used her foreleg to hold on tightly to the papers as she took off, into the air.

Wind whipped past her face, throwing back her golden hair. The papers snapped back, but she kept them from flying off. Chrysalis climbed just above the buildings of the Crystal Empire, and looked off in the direction the unicorn had gone.

With her new altitude, the changeling princess could clearly see him rushing through the streets and heading downtown. Chrysalis began to fly after him, though she wasn't exactly the fastest flyer in all of Equestria.

Despite her lack of speed, Chrysalis still managed to find the stallion fairly quickly. After all, he was the only unicorn in a city of crystal ponies. The stallion himself was shoving past ponies on the ground, still in a hurry. It wasn't long before Chrysalis was able to deduce where he was going.

The shiny streets of the Crystal Empire suddenly transformed into a grassy knoll as the unicorn passed under an iron gate.

The University? Chrysalis thought to herself. He's a student here?

Crystal Empire University was one of the most prestigious schools in Equestria. The clumsy, awkward unicorn that had bumped into her hadn't seemed like the type to go to this school.

Chrysalis descended swiftly onto the open grounds of the university. She spied the unicorn dashing into a building almost immediately. The letters carved onto the building read: COLLEGE OF MAGIC.

"Hey, wait up!" she called. Apparently the unicorn hadn't heard her, or didn't know she was calling to him. With her pink pegasus form unwavering, Chrysalis ran inside the building after him.

"Hey! You with the horn!" she called out as soon as the stallion was in her sights. This time he turned around.

"You?" he asked, recognition leading to surprise. "What are you…"

"I was just returning these papers you left behind." Chrysalis extended the parchments. The changeling was breathing a little heavy from her workout.

"Wow. Thanks." The unicorn's gray horn sparked a red glow and levitated the papers into his stack. "You have no idea what this means to me." His scarlet eyes looked softly into hers. "What can I do to repay you?"

Her pink cheeks immediately became red as Chrysalis stammered to respond. "Well, I like milkshakes…"

ooo000ooo

Chrysalis and the unicorn were walking down the streets nearly an hour later on their way to the ice cream parlor. Sombra – as Chrysalis had learned that was his name – was acting extremely happy when he greeted her outside the college of magic. His smile seemed to be infectious, because Chrysalis was grinning too.

"So what was so important about those papers?" she asked Sombra. His smile became brighter.

"It was my thesis. I had to present it today in order to graduate," he answered. Chrysalis smiled brighter along with him. His voice – gruff when he spoke, but smooth by the time it reached her ears – just seemed to make her happy.

"What was it on?"

"Oh, just about the corruptive properties of dark magic," Sombra told her. "That stuff's pretty dangerous."

"Well duh," Chrysalis said. "It's not called dark magic because you use it to make fluffy pillows or befriend bunnies."

"Yeah, yeah," Sombra responded. "But my professors loved it."

"So that means you'll graduate?" Chrysalis asked.

Sombra nodded. "I'd say I've got a pretty good shot." The gray unicorn then looked at her curiously.

"What's wrong?" She asked after a few seconds of uncomfortable staring.

"It's just…" Sombra began. "When I bumped into you, I could've sworn you were a crystal pony. But clearly you're not."

Chrysalis unfurled her wings, and meekly grinned. "Clearly," she agreed, slightly nervous.

"You know, I don't even know your name yet," Sombra remarked.

"Uh… do you need to know it?" she asked, nervousness growing. Chrysalis wasn't sure if she needed to come up with a fake name or not for the situation. Would her real one be recognized?

"Are you kidding?" Sombra asked, his grin flashing perfect teeth. "The girl who saved my thesis? Of course I need to know your name."

After a brief pause of quick thinking, the changeling princess conceded. "My name's Chrysalis," she said, quietly.

"Bit of a mouthful. Do you mind if I call you Chryssi?" He asked, clearly oblivious to the changeling origin of her name.

"Chryssi?" she asked incredulously. Nopony had ever called her that before. It's a little too... perky, she thought. Then again, I do like the way he said it. "All right."

"Great." The duo rounded a corner, leading them straight to the ice cream parlor at the heart of the Crystal Empire. "Say, why did you choose this place anyways? It's so far from the university."

Chrysalis eyed the Crystal Heart only about fifty yards away. "Oh, no reason really."

"Well then let's hope those milkshakes are worth it."

As the gray unicorn opened the door for her, a small and conveniently placed bell rang through the near empty shop. The single employee at the shop looked up at them from her magazine.

"What can I get you two?" The azure crystal mare asked, slightly annoyed that she was being ripped away from her reading material.

"A chocolate milkshake," both Sombra and Chrysalis said at the same time. They glanced at each other and broke out into a smile.

"Aww, how cute." The mare remarked as she went to work. "It's always nice when couples like the same thing."

"Uh, w-wait. We're not a couple," Chrysalis stammered, face getting slightly hotter.

"Could've fooled me," the mare behind the counter responded. "Two ponies come into the shop together on a hot day, determined to partake in some milkshakes. Sounds like a date to be honest."

"We're uh… not actually dating," Sombra said, his cheeks turning the same color as his eyes. "We really just met."

"You don't have to explain yourselves to me," the mare said with a slight giggle. "I was only teasing." She slapped the two shakes on the counter. "That'll be four bits, please."

Chrysalis reached to pay her half, but she never got the chance. Sombra laid four small coins on the counter, and levitated both milkshakes up.

"Come on, Chryssi." He said. "Let's find a table outside and enjoy the day." Chrysalis reluctantly followed him outside.

"I could've paid for my own milkshake you know," she said, feeling the need to establish herself as capable in his eyes.

"I know," Sombra said, taking a seat on one of the outside tables of the parlor. "But this one's my treat. You did just help me graduate after all." Her milkshake floated over to her side of the table as Chrysalis took her seat.

"Yeah, but I did make you walk all the way across the city before you bought them," she retorted, and took a sip of her chocolate shake. The frosty treat was just about perfect in every way.

"I liked walking with you," Sombra protested. "Besides, I knocked you over earlier."

"Why don't we call it even," Chrysalis suggested.

"It's a deal." Sombra took a long sip of his milkshake. "Oh yeah, definitely worth it."

The two sat in silence for a while, with the occasional slurping noise being the only sound. Eventually, Chrysalis got tired of the awkwardness and spoke up.

"So what were you studying at college?" She asked, hoping for some conversation.

"I double majored in crystal studies and high level magic," Sombra said. "What about you? Are you a student at CEU?"

"Oh, no," Chrysalis said. "I… uh…" She looked down at the false Cutie Mark that had been fabricated as part of the disguise. It was a pallet and a paintbrush. "I'm an artist," she said.

"That's so cool," Sombra said earnestly. "I always kinda wanted to be an artist, but there isn't a creative bone in my body." He pushed his half full glass back and forth slightly. "What kind of stuff do you paint?"

Why does he have to be so curious? And cute? Wait… What? Where the buck did that come from? I don't think he's cute. Well… he kind of is. But I shouldn't be thinking that! Chrysalis thoughts argued with each other. The changeling princess realized she was taking a unordinary amount of time to answer is question. "Uh… scenery. Like landscapes and stuff. Yeah. That's what I paint." She grinned awkwardly, but Sombra didn't take notice.

"Anything I might've seen? I spend a good deal of time at the museum of art and history."

"Oh, no," Chrysalis stammered. "I'm not good enough to be in there."

"I can't believe that." Sombra replied. "You'll have to show me some of your work sometime. I'd love to see it." He smiled with the slightest hint of red at his cheeks.

There's that adorable smile again. Chrysalis thought. "Yeah, sure!" she said, mentally kicking herself for even answering.

"Awesome. Think we could go check them out now?" He asked, milkshake nearly gone.

"Not likely," Chrysalis said. Sombra's smile faded. Come on, cover it! Chrysalis thought to herself. "It's just… I live outside the city," she said to him, which might have been the first true thing she told him, save her name.

"I understand," Sombra said, his voice masking disappointment.

Chrysalis went to sip her milkshake again, only to find that it was all gone. With both conversation and milkshakes depleted, the two had an awkward silence.

"I… uh… should probably get home soon," Chrysalis said, pushing her chair back.

"Oh… yeah." Sombra said, slightly dejected. "Do you think that we could… meet up again sometime?"

Yes!

"Maybe," Chrysalis said. "This place does have good milkshakes."

"How's tomorrow sound? At noon?" Sombra asked.

"It sounds great," Chrysalis said, standing. Sombra also stood.

"Hey, Chryssi?" He asked, innocently. "If this had been a date… how well do you think I did?"

"You were fantastic," Chrysalis said with no hesitation. Maybe it was just the positive energy from the Crystal Heart, but she really meant it. Sombra's delighted smile reinforced her decision.

"See ya later," Sombra said as he backed up.

"Yeah," Chrysalis said, brushing some stray hair out of her face. "See ya."

They both turned and began walking off, Chrysalis opposite the direction of the Crystal Heart. Suddenly she felt a peculiar taste at her lips that wasn't chocolate.

"Tangerine," she whispered to herself. The flavor of infatuation. She turned slightly back to face the walking off Sombra. "He likes me," she whispered softly.

ooo000ooo

The very next morning crawled along at a painstakingly slow pace. It had all started when Chrysalis woke up. It had been so early that Celestia had yet to raise the sun. Her teal hair had been a mess and tangle, and sometime when she had been prying it loose Chrysalis wondered when exactly she had changed back into her actual self.

The flight home had been long, and nothing of real substance happened to her. In fact, Chrysalis had had her head stuck in the clouds – in more ways than one – on her way back to the changeling castle in the Badlands. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her pink pegasus form the entire trip, and with night already having settled when she arrived, so she didn't have a need to change back into her taller, darker, form.

With all this in mind, Chrysalis deduced that she must have transformed in mid-sleep. The changeling princess dragged a comb through her tangled mane with her sickly green magic, as she tried to recall exactly what her form from the previous night had looked like.

In the mirror, she watched as her coat slowly faded from black into the vibrant pink shade. Her horn was fazed out of existence, while the bug wings on her back grew longer, sturdier, and sprouted feathers. Her dark emerald eyes shimmered into an aqua-marine. Her teal hair waved in a non-existent breeze as it became a bold shade of gold, and shortened into a curlier style.

The pink pegasus in the mirror smiled at her, and Chrysalis took note that she still had fangs. The pointed teeth retracted into her mouth, forming the perfect smile. Then Chrysalis noticed her eyes. They were the wrong shade. Her lids shut tightly, as she focused on the color they had been. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead before the spell was completed, and she opened her now sea foam green eyes and saw them in the mirror. They were perfect. Maybe even sparklier than they had been the previous day.

Chrysalis realized that she had been holding her breath throughout the spell's duration. She opened her mouth and let new air rush in. Her first breath in this body. The changeling breathed heavily for a few more minutes, the spell having taxed her greatly.

On average, a changeling will transform with a blinding flash of green light. That sort of magic was illusory. While it took little energy to do, one always had to keep magic pouring into it, or else the illusion would fade away. Chrysalis's transformation was a physical one. Her horn was actually no longer on her forehead, and her wings now actually had feathers. Her coat was that very overly girly shade of pink, and her smile really was perfect.

That type of magic was a more permanent kind. It took a lot of energy to make, but the user would be able to stay in the form with no energy wasted for a long period of time. At least until she decided to transform again.

The reason Chrysalis had chosen this particular type of change, was not for the longevity factor. Illusions were a delicate business, and could be broken with so much as a single touch. This transformation would allow for more… personal matters.

Thoughts rushed into Chrysalis' head as she made that last realization. After causing her to blush, they were pushed out.

Maybe not quite that personal, she amended to herself. The pink pegasus left her bathroom and crossed into a different section of her room. Actually, Chrysalis's "room" was really three rooms that were all her own. A bedroom, that really only contained her over-sized bed, a bathroom, and a sitting room.

The sitting room was where she currently resided. It contained a cozy looking fireplace with a window right next to it, a low rising table in the center, and – shockingly enough – plenty of places to sit.

Chrysalis took repose on a couch as she eagerly waited for the break of dawn. As much as she wanted to, the changeling could not fly off to the Crystal Empire just yet. Despite her obvious desire too, and the long, glorious flight it would be, Chrysalis needed to wait for the sun to rise. Flying in the dark was a risky business, and the princess had no desire to take any more risks this morning. Merely sneaking out to see Sombra was a risk in itself. For many reasons.

Then why am I sneaking out? Part of Chrysalis thought to herself. She really shouldn't even consider it. If her father caught her, there was little doubt he would confide her to her room for weeks. What reason did she possibly have for even attempting this? Then the sun cracked over the horizon. Her heart fluttered as she realized that she could now leave to see Sombra.

There's your reason. The other part of Chrysalis thought.

The pink pegasus stood up from her reclined position. She stretched her wings for a moment, allowing the sun to rise further. When the light reached the height of her window and fell on her face, Chrysalis took a running start, and leapt out of the room. Her feathery wings began flapping immediately.

The journey northward was a tiring one – as it always was – but Chrysalis had plenty of leftover energy from the previous day. Not to mention she was heading back to the source of nearly all the love in Equestria.

Her falsified golden hair whipped around in the breeze as she traveled. Pondering what might happen when she arrived at the Crystal Empire, Chrysalis swooped to avoid a wayward cloud. One thought that she was wondering was if Sombra would even show up, but the faint memory of tangerine on her lips reassured her.

The taste of infatuation that she had managed to pilfer was fresh, vibrant, and ripe. Sombra would be waiting for her at the ice cream parlor. He almost didn't have a choice. Distantly, Chrysalis wondered if she did.

Before too long, the Crystal Empire came into view. Sunrise was long over by now, and the bright beams of a near-noon sun reflected off the shiny structures below her. Chrysalis was surprisingly early, and decided to land right outside the city. She walked in, and felt the familiar pull of the Crystal Heart calling out to her.

Her instincts compelled her to near the source of the energy, and her legs obeyed. Chrysalis did not mind all that much. The Crystal Heart was right about were she needed to be. The changeling princess allowed herself to walk in a quasi-daze, thinking there could be no harm in it.

She didn't remember much while walking to the ice cream parlor. Her eyes just sort of glazed over and she followed her nose to the unequivocal smell of love radiating from the center of town.

"Chryssi? What are you doing?" A voice called out to her. Recognizing it, the glaze over her eyes vanished. Chrysalis shook her head, realizing her body had taken over. She was three feet away from the Crystal Heart. A burly looking guard was in the midst of blocking her path as she was coming out of her trance.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to step back," the guard declared, a nasty scowl on his face with one hoof already reaching for a weapon. Sombra appeared beside her, and Chrysalis felt her face flush with embarrassment.

"It won't be a problem, officer," he filled in for a speechless pink pegasus. The two of them began to step back, and guard appeared appeased. Though he did keep an eye on Chrysalis.

"Geeze, Chyssi. What was that all about?" Sombra asked as they exited the earshot of the guardponies.

"I… uh… well… umm… I was just daydreaming," Chrysalis stumbled upon the excuse.

"What could have made you daydream so much that you almost walk into the Crystal Heart?" Sombra asked. "You were pretty out of it."

Chrysalis's eyes darted around, looking for something to use for an answer. Only problem was there was one thing she could see, and he was standing right in front of her.

"You," Chrysalis said in barely a whisper. That one word made Sombra blink in surprise. He stepped back, his gray face a sudden shade of red. Faintly, Chrysalis taste tangerine.

"You… what?" Sombra asked in a state of disbelief.

"I was thinking of you," Chrysalis said in a louder voice. "I just had such a great time hanging out with you yesterday, that I couldn't wait to see you again." The lie rolled out of her mouth fairly easily. Well… partial-lie. She had wanted to see Sombra again, but the dazed state was caused by something she couldn't explain to him. It was just a little white lie though. It wouldn't harm anypony.

"Wow…" Sombra said. His shocked expression made Chrysalis think she came on to strong. She was about to retract the statement, when all of a sudden…

"I couldn't wait to see you again either," Sombra said. The tangerine taste became slightly stronger.

Chrysalis gulped, she herself taken aback at the sudden turn the conversation was taking. Sombra gave her a smile that was somewhere between reassuring and awkward.

"You want to grab some milkshakes to go?" Sombra asked. "The museum is open today, so I thought maybe we could…"

"I'd love to," Chrysalis said, grateful for a change of subject. The duo made their way to the icecream parlor on the corner, Sombra never dropping his happy smile. It must have been infectious, because Chrysalis felt the corner's of her mouth point upward. The tangerine taste only got stronger.