>"P- Please."
>You remain silent, leaning against your door
>Just like the last ten times
>"You're- You're all I have left, Anonymous."
>She's even admitting it now
>Chrysalis had fallen mightily from the first time you met her
>Then, she was a queen
>Ruler of the Changelings
>A dangerous magical entity who was holding you captive
>You could still remember the fear you felt in that cave
>Although, in the face of the current circumstances, it was comical
>Sighing, you open the door
>You did this to her
>Might as well help her cope
>If Celestia knew about this, she'd probably exile you
>Or try to, anyway
>You didn't really care
>Chrysalis timidly takes a step inside your apartment
>"Th- Thank you Anonymous."
>She looked like hell
>Chitin scuffed
>Hair a mess
>But her smile
>Wider than you'd ever seen it
>Which, honestly, was kind of pathetic
>"Rough week?"
>You try to stay casual
>"Yes. It has been... Difficult."
>You nod
>"Let's just get this over with, okay?"
>She nods, trying to contain herself
>You think of a sandwich
>A decent sandwich that you'd got at a bar back on Earth
>Not fantastic, but good
>She collapses onto the floor, gasping
>You smile sadly
>You remembered the first time that happened
>You were sitting in your cell when a guard fetched you
>Brought you up to Chrysalis
>She was trying to mock you
>You weren't sure why
>Prideful gloating, maybe
>Which was her fatal mistake
>See, you took pride in one of the things she tried to insult you on
>You can't really remember what
>Something about how "No matter how good friends they are, they can't save you here"
>The thought that even this monster recognized that you were actually friends with people on the strange planet -- That they'd accepted you, just like you dreamed-- Felt amazing
>Really good
>Chrysalis passed out
>Most of her nearby drones flat-out died, their systems overloaded
>You just walked out
>You never told Celestia or Twilight exactly what happened
>They didn't really want to know
>They probably thought that you were secretly some kind of Eldridge abomination
>After all, the hive was there one day, then you went there, then it was gone.
>They had to have suspicions
>When, ironically, it was just a small feeling that did everything
>Since then, Chrysalis had called on you once a month
>Always in progressively worse shape
>You were pretty sure she was physically addicted at this point
>You lift her up and put her on your couch, trying not to feel anything
>You didn't want to hurt her
>She trembled slightly, eyes half-lidded
>"Thanks..."
>Her words are slurred
>You smile sadly at her
>"Any time."
>You sit next to her and try to read
>You actually enjoyed her company
>When she was able to hold a conversation (which typically happened a fear hours after she'd had a dose of your love), she was pretty intelligent
>Funny
>A total asshole, but in a good way
>Which, in a way, made everything worse
>Suppressing your feelings was difficult
>Because, while you weren't sure, your stupid heart seemed to be falling for her
>Just a little bit
>But enough to notice
>And, well, if you had knocked her unconscious with just a small feeling of hope in a desolate place
>If a fucking sandwich was enough to make her into jello for hours
>You knew exactly what just a smidgen of your love directed at her would do.
>Slowly, her eyes flutter closed
>She's asleep
>You'll stay up
>Until she leaves
>Just in case you have some kind of dream involving her
>She'd have to stop this eventually
>She had to know that it was destroying her
>But you were starting to have your doubts that she cared.