Jumper

by lollipopchica

Chapter 19

The next day after school, proved to be much less exciting.

The halfling had decided on a run before returning home to work on her homework.

Pausing as she caught her breath, Chrysalis looked out over the ocean that preceded the Great Gold Bridge.

Taker Beach was something else. The cliffs she’d traversed amongst the white and yellow flowers were beautiful in their simplicity. Stretches of rocky beach met the sea in a calming display of crashing waves. Weathered wooden steps rose and fell along the coast contrasting beautifully against the lush vegetation.

The run over had been exhilarating in its difficulty, but much like everything else she liked about the area, the reward was worth it.

Large pieces of driftwood were scattered on the now sprawling sandy beach. Chrysalis moved over to a piece before flopping down and wincing at the burn in her lungs. Her calves trembled from the mile long effort as the smell of the Pacific air filled her with a sense of serenity only rivaled by her time on the bridge.

Shining Armor had shown her this place.

Or he’d shown Nyx.

Bathed in the light of a shimmering moonlit sky, she’d taken his hand and trusted that not everyone was out to hurt her or tear her down.

It was a sign, Dr. Clayhoof had said. A sign that her trauma hadn’t ruined her or stopped her ability to create something new and pure.

Her first meeting with the shrink had been terrifying.

A changeling’s natural ability made for shotgun therapy that guaranteed to rock the patient’s universe.

It had been hard to keep her secrets from the shrewd woman, and despite her best efforts, the older woman had been able to figure out enough to make her wary of ever agreeing to another session with someone like herself.

But continued she had.

She’d been speaking to the good doctor regularly over a telechat.

Chrysalis stood and stretched with a sigh.

She was about to leave, when she felt someone’s hand on her shoulder.

Panic shot through her system and before she could think, her body had reacted spinning around as her hand shot out to strike whoever had the misfortune of startling her.

“What the fuck?!” She heard as her fist struck someone’s face.

At the sound of Shining Armor’s voice, Chrysalis felt her heart sink.

She certainly was a glutton for punishment she thought woefully as she stared down at the object of her wounded affection.

“What’re you doing sneaking up on me like that?” She exclaimed hurriedly going to his aid.

His cheek was red from where her hand made contact with his face.

His blue eyes regarded her warily.

“That hurt,” Shining Armor complained as his tongue moved about inside his aching cheek.

“I’m sorry! I just...” Chrysalis paused as she helped him to his feet. “Are you alright?” She said instead.

“Yea...” He still eyed her cautiously. “What’re you doing here?”

She blinked. “Oh... I just came out for a run. This place is nice. My cousin showed me...” She added as an afterthought. He nodded but didn’t say anything. “Why’re you lurking around out here by yourself?”

“I wasn’t lurking,” He rolled his eyes with a sigh. “I thought you were someone else.”

“Oh?”

“But clearly you’re you.” He frowned, obviously disappointed.

“oh.”

“No offense,” he apologized at the low note in her voice.

“Who did you think I was?”

“No one... It’s stupid.” He sighed. ”I’m sorry... I’ve just had a lot on my mind...”

“Between Cadence and your mystery girl, huh?”

He looked at her sharply. “You must think I’m some fuck boy, right?” Surprised by his tone she kept silent. “Cadence is nice. She’s fun and beautiful.”

“But...” She felt like he wanted to say more.

“But... Nyx is special...“

“What happened?” Could he really be so affected?

“I guess I got ahead of myself... I just wish I knew if she was okay...”

“I’m sure she is,” she offered. “What’re you going to do?”

“Try to forget? She told me she didn’t want to see me anymore... So move on I guess.” He kicked at the sand. “I care about Cadence a lot and I like being with her...”

“But Nyx was unforgettable.” She finished for him.

His smile was tight and Chrysalis felt sorry for him. “Yea... I’ll leave you alone now.” Chewing on her lip, she watched him trudge off with slumped shoulders. It was heartwarming his feeling for herself, he also made her feel dishonest, despite not having lied to him. She wanted to let him leave, but that other part of her jumped at the prospect of being close to him.

“Shining! Shining Armor wait!”

He looked up, pausing as she jogged to catch up with him.

“You wanna grab some boba tea with me?”

He gave her a look.

“As an apology for hitting you. It’ll feel good to your mouth,” she appealed with hopeful eyes. “And we can talk about you submitting something for the competition...”

Deflating, the jock allowed a tired smile. “Alright.”

As the two walked in silence to call an uber, the teen didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what he was thinking about.

He held out his hand, and she took it.

“Hey, I wanna show you something.”

“What?”

“It’s a trail I go to sometimes. “

“You wanna go hiking?” He rolled his eyes at her tone. “I’m bearing my soul to you and you want to hike?”

“It’ll make you feel better. I promise.”

“Shining Armor!”

“Trust me, Nyx. I know you. ”

Heat pooled in her stomach in response to his words.

The hike down to the beach had been quiet with the sound of waves and distant car honks every now and again. The girl had tripped a time or two due to the low light, but Shining Armor had caught her each time.

Once they’d made it to the beach, she stared in awe at the bridge’s silhouette in the night. She could still see its color thanks to the lights that lined its span. Its deep color made her smile.

She turned to speak to Shining Armor, and he was much closer than she remembered him standing. Her cheeks flushed as she looked to the sand to compose herself.

“Can I show you something else?” He tilted his head and leaned over slightly to grab her attention.

“You’ve shown me so much already.” She looked up.

His smile was soft before he closed his eyes and his face twisted with concentration. The air around them began to sparkle with magenta flecks of magic before the shimmers solidified and the duo were enclosed in a sphere of magic.

Chrysalis gasped at the display, genuinely shocked at what she was witnessing. “Wha? What is this?” She turned to stare through the colored bubble they stood in.

“It’s a shield. No one or anything can touch us.” She reached out and let her fingers touch the shimmering magic. “You’ll always be safe with me.” She felt his arms wrap around her as the magic dissipated just as beautifully as it appeared.

“I don’t... It’s not up to you to save me, Shining Armor.” She wanted to enjoy his warmth, she really did.

“I know... But I want to be in your corner anyway.” He turned her around and the changeling refrained from acknowledging the emotion that swirled around him.

“You don’t even know me.” Chrysalis’ laughter carried an air of disbelief. “I’m a lost cause. You’d be better off if you forgot about me.”

“Would you hate it if I said I loved lost causes?” His playful grin made her chest ache.

“No but I’d think you were lame.” Dr. Clayhoof’s warning haunted her. “Goodbye, Shining Armor.”

“Why’re you so against this?” The other teen held her still, not that she was trying too hard to start with.

“Against what?” Chrysalis wanted to sob.

“Our...“ He paused, “friendship.”

“Is that what we’re calling it?”

“What else would I call it?” He sighed. “You’re right, I don’t really know you... But I’d like to.”

“And your pretty pink girlfriend?” She rolled her eyes.

Shining Armor’s gaze narrowed. “... How...”

Fuck.

“Forget it!” Shrugging away out his grasp, she took backward steps away from him.

“Nyx, how did you...” He stepped forward.

Shaking her head, she held up a hand as if to say halt. “Don’t.”

“Nyx.”

Turning on her heel, she sprinted off into the night promising he’d never see her here again.

Author's Note:

I can't wait for these two to get together! I love them as a couple. Makes me so happy. I really haven't checked out any new fics with the two as of recent. So if you know some, hit me with 'em!

Until next time! Which I promise wont be as long as last time.

Comments

[Janyo]

Daaaaaaw... so sweet! Even if Chrysalis punched Shining in the face, still cute hehe. It's very curious how Shining Armor is wining Chryssie's heart with her pony appearance and her true form, but he isn't aware of it. But realistically Chrysalis has motives to distrust him knowing he has a girlfriend (or so she thought so back there) and then he enclosed her in a magic shield, probably Shining didn't have bad intentions but for a girl with certain traumas, it didn't help very much. Very warm and cute chapter.