Lonesome

Chapter Twenty-Four: A Kind Heart

        Celestia’s sun still hadn’t manage to creep over the horizon, the only sign of it’s coming presence was the orange glow sandwiched between the dark-blue sky and the tops of trees enveloped in darkness. The spring air had yet to warm up from the sun, giving it a nice cool feeling to anyone in the forest. Overhead, the star’s twinkling was beginning to be snuffed out by the growing light from the east.

Isaiah stood in front of a large, peculiar cave opening at the base of a mountain with a stream of water freely flowing from it’s mouth. A sense of unease gripped him as he peered inside the dark cave; unaware of what may be inside the cavern. Cool air steadily seeped out of it, a sign of natural convection.

        He knew that Queen Chrysalis was most likely inside, her tracks lead him there, anyone trying to survive in the wilderness knew that caves are a prime source of shelter. Thoughts raced inside his mind, worried the queen had lead him into a trap of some sort that would throw him into imminent danger.

The last time he was in a cave, he was fighting for his life in a fantastic display of fierceness and bravery while cornered and outnumbered. A chuckle sounded from the man when he reflected back on the memory; it was like shooting fish in a barrel as they funneled through the hallway to only get slaughtered by him.

Isaiah shook his head to erase the distraction that was making him unfocused. He unslung his backpack and let it fall to the ground, and dug past some of the supplies to draw a high-powered flashlight from inside.

A faint buzzing sounded from within the cave, capturing his attention away from the bag. The human slowly brought his right hand onto his sidearm that was holstered on his hip. Isaiah still couldn’t see anything from the cave, he had yet to grip the flashlight and turn it on. But now, he only focused on the sidearm that he brought up, ready for whatever was hiding inside the darkness of the cave.

Once more, he heard the buzzing sound that reminded him of a large horsefly or a dragonfly on steroids. The man turned the flashlight on and beamed its ray of light in the mouth, expecting a giant fly from a odd horror movie.

Luckily for Isaiah, there wasn’t one; just the sizable throat of the cave with multiple pillars of stalagmites and stalactites surrounding it.

He filled his lungs with the crisp air of the Everfree Forest, calming himself for his next couple of steps. Isaiah felt something in the back of his mind, the feeling that he was being watched. Just the simple thought made him grip his handgun even tighter than before.

Isaiah carefully squatted down, picked up his backpack and slung it on. Doing so almost made him unbalanced; everything he carried wanted to counter his balance. The bag of food he carried was the heaviest of everything; bananas, mangos, apples, grapes, and oranges filled the bag. His backpack contained the only medical supplies he had along with a canteen of water, a blanket, and other items of lesser value. On his hip, the sheath covered machete bumped against his right leg whenever he made quick movements. The razor sharp machete wasn’t the only thing he had on his hip, he also had a present for Queen Chrysalis; hoping to brighten her day.

For the third time, Isaiah heard the buzzing again, setting himself on high alert. Like a flash of lightning, he aimed both the flashlight and handgun at the mouth, not expecting what was staring at him.

Isaiah almost pulled the trigger of his M1911 when his eyes widened at the insect-like creature standing in front of him with an inexpressive face. The human immediately scanned the large creature that was covered in black and dark-blue chitin; seeking anything that could be a physical threat to him like the odd, curved horn atop it’s head. Both Isaiah and the creature stared at each other, giving off no expressions and keeping a locked demeanor.

Suddenly, Isaiah made a connection with the creature; it was much like the bugs he found in the diamond dog cave he invaded a while ago. Not only that, but it shared some similarities with Queen Chrysalis herself.

“We weren’t expecting you to follow, Isaiah…” The creature spoke, in it’s pained raspy voice with a feminine-like quality to it. “We wish for no violence between us, please don’t bring harm upon us for we are pressed onto hard times.”

The human’s breathing ceased when the creature spoke to him, asking for no confrontation. He removed the handgun’s sites off the chitin covered creature; sliding the firearm back into it’s holster.

“I don’t, I just wanna lend a hand. I know what you and your queen are going through right now and I just wanna help out.” Isaiah informed, wanting to ease the situation with the bug. “You’re a Changeling, right?”

The creature with matte light-blue eyes nodded it’s head. “A changeling minor to be more precise, but that doesn’t matter.” The changeling turned around and faced the throat of the cave. “Follow me, I’ll lead you to the queen; mind yourself.”

Isaiah let out a sigh of relief, happy to know that he had finally found her location.

He did as he was told and followed the changeling’s path into the darkness that was illuminated away by the flashlight he held in his hand. The gentle flowing water streamed passed his boots as he stepped into it’s current, creating splashing sounds that echoed off the cave’s walls.

The cool, damp air was pleasing to his nose as he and the changeling minor ventured farther inside the cave. Walking on the uneven surface did little to break Isaiah’s stride as he inspected the cavern with a powerful beam of light. Droplets of water falling from the ceiling made it’s characteristic sound as it splashed into underground springs. Large stalactites formed on the cavern roof like giant, icicles of earth. Pillars of stalagmites poked up from the ground, reminding Isaiah of the princess’s horns.

Eventually, the changeling minor lead Isaiah to a opening that was just big enough for him to pass without him having to tilt his head. Isaiah now found himself and the changeling in a hallway-esc passage with odd glowing mushrooms that gave off unusually bright bioluminescence; just enough to light the ground and lower walls.

“I wonder what kind of trip those shrooms give off…” Isaiah quickly crushed the idea that was forming in his head, shivering lightly at a bad memory. “No, not again… not like last time; never again.”

Isaiah hurried his pace until he was right behind the changeling that was guiding him to the queen. The human was both anxious and excited, yet nervous to meet Chrysalis; worried about her health and reaction towards him tracking her down.

The two were about to pass through another doorway-like entry but the changeling quickly turned around and stopped Isaiah in his tracks.

“Before I let you enter, you need to know that everything in there is highly confidential. If you even dare spread word of the Queen and her condition, I’ll hunt you down even if it means death to me…” The minor warned Isaiah.

“I wont. I’ve been keeping a promise for the Queen and I have no plans for breaking it.”

The changeling stepped aside and gave him way. “Good, forever keep it and we shall treat you well as you have done for us. And please remember, she isn’t doing well…”

He nodded, understandingly.

When Isaiah stepped through the entryway, his eyes and flashlight instantly locked onto the changeling queen who was laying down on the stone floor. As the light shone onto her, she tried to raise her head to look at the source but lacked the strength to do so.

The man’s protective instincts kicked in when he noticed how bad she was. He turned his brisk walk into a jog; quickly closing the distance between him and queen. If it wasn’t for the flashlight, he could’ve sworn that her eyes lit up.

Queen Chrysalis was speechless as she watched the human stop in front of her and crouched down, getting close.

“How are you feeling?” He asked with worry.

Chrysalis wanted to properly address him but couldn’t find the strength to rise. “Is that a rhetorical question? I’m far from well Isaiah, I feel like a living corpse.”

Isaiah shook his head. He began to strip the bags he brought with him off his body and let them fall onto the cold stone floor that the queen was using as a bed. She watched as he dove a hand into a large brown bag.

Queen Chrysalis’s curiosity quickly turned into shock when he pulled out generous amounts of fruit and laid them out for her. Tears threatened to spill as apples, bananas, grapes, oranges, and mangos were bestowed upon her; fresh and clean, ready to be eaten.

“What are you waiting for? Dig in!” He encouraged the starving queen.

At first, Chrysalis tried encompassing an apple with her magic, getting a quick reminder that she was completely out. She cursed to herself, and tried to stick a hoof out to roll a piece of fruit close enough for her to use her mouth. But she lacked the strength to do so too.

Finally, tears began to flow in frustration; the food and her weakness taunting her.

Isaiah saw her predicament and instantly assisted her. He scooted himself close enough to her so he could place her head onto his lap. Chrysalis couldn’t understand what he was doing until he picked up a apple in his hand and broke it in two, and guided a half to her mouth.

The man had to cautiously maneuver his fingers around the red fruit as her canines gnashed the apple into bits and pieces; going down into her stomach and onto the stone floor. She was eating so fast, it reminded him of how a starved dog would devour food in a blink of an eye. It pained Isaiah as he continued to hand feed her.

<><><><><><>

Every minute felt too long to Isaiah as the changeling queen continued to scarf down food with vigour. The canteen that he brought with him was already three-quarters gone and needed to refill it soon at the pace the changeling was consuming it.

As she ate, Isaiah noticed the the changeling minor that lead him to her was watching; staring at the food. He couldn’t tell if the insect-like creature was starving or not due to it’s chitin plates.

Surprisingly to the human, the changeling queen in his care, stopped when she saw her subject, watching her eat without a hint of grace as if she was a pig. Chrysalis did a motion with her left hoof; the changeling zipped at the pile and gorged itself with the food.

“How are your wounds holding up?” Isaiah asked the queen, startling her out of the trance she was in.

Chrysalis had to chew and swallow the food that had been stuffed in her mouth before she could talk. “Considering the conditions and circumstances that I’ve been facing, they’ve been moderate at most.”

He leaned forward and reach an arm over the pile of food to grasp his backpack for the medical supplies that he brought.

The first thing he pulled out of his bag was the blanket he brought for her, which was a good move considering that she was sleeping on a stone floor with nothing else. Isaiah lifted her head and replaced himself with the blanket, using it as a pillow for her head.

When he was moving himself it get a better position over the queen, he remembered the small gift he got for her. The man removed the covered gift off his hip and presented it in front of her.

Queen Chrysalis eyed it with suspicion which transformed when he uncovered it. Her jaw dropped, and eyes widened as her cheeks flushed with red when he presented a bouquet of bright, colorful flowers to her; the old flower basket she had lost held them all tightly.

“I found this old basket in the meadow where we met, I’m guessin’ that this is yours?”

Chrysalis couldn’t find the willpower to look him the eyes; embarrassed that he discovered a guilty pleasure of her’s.

“Oh come on!” Isaiah urged. “ I know you like ‘em, I saw that twinkle in your eye…” He picked some up and brought them to his nose, enjoying the aroma they were giving off. “I’m not gonna lie, I’ve always kinda liked flowers. Flowers that are good as these are hard to come by where I’m from; hell, I don’t even recognized some of them at all.”

The queen watched Isaiah picked a poison-joke flower from the bundle and smelled it’s scent. She was about to tell him the affects of the plant but remembered his resistance to magic.

“Wanna take a whiff? It’s certainly doesn’t smell like anything back home... ” He asked while extending the blue flower to the changeling.

With her new found strength and energy, Chrysalis engulfed the poison-joke in her magic and floated it close to her muzzle. The changeling queen did what Isaiah suggested and filled her nose with the flower’s aroma; then took a bite from one of it’s baby-blue petals.

Isaiah tilted his head in slight confusion with a unsure grin. “I said smell it, not eat it. I know that you’re hungry and all but come on.”

Queen Chrysalis smirked at the human. “I know, but I love the taste of the poison-joke’s petals…”

The small smile on the human’s face vanished when her words hit his ears. “Wait, did you say poison-joke?!”

“I did. But worry not Isaiah, the poison of the flower only affects individuals with magic flowing within their bodies. You, for mysterious reasons, lack any magic within you, therefore making you resistant to the flower’s poison.” She explained before finishing off the last petal.

He sighed while letting out a little laugh. “Alright, good to know that. What about you? You use magic but you’re no--”

“The poison-joke’s active chemical and magic properties mostly affects ponies and very few other species; Changelings are not affected by the plant. Our magic is different than that of a pony’s, in many forms.”

Isaiah refocused himself from the flowers and back onto the changeling’s wounds. “So there’s more than one type of magic or something?”

“Correct, I won’t bore you with the details but there are various types; Pony, Changeling, Zebra, and Dragon magic are just a few examples.” She winced when the human pulled back a bloodied bandages back. “Each kind of magic has a sub-magic genre; light, neutral, and dark magic are the three genres.”

“Let me guess, light is good magic like healing, dark is bad magic like weaponry, and neutral is neither good or bad, stuff along the lines of telekinesis and transformation fit under the category.”

Chrysalis nodded her head, glad that he was understanding the basic concept. “Your guess is correct Isaiah. Even though you’re just grasping the basics, you’re understanding it better than you previously did. Maybe in the future you’ll care to learn the deeper meanings.”

“I think I’m fine with just the basics, for now.” Isaiah stated, deciding that he wouldn’t need further knowledge of the subject. “Alright, how about he take a break from magic and talk about you.”

The queen had to suppress a pained gasp as he peeled away another bloody bandage from her body.

“I know that you’re not in the best condition but have you reframing from any strenuous activities?”

“I haven’t even moved since yesterday…” She looked down to the floor, breaking the eye contact with the human. “If you hadn’t of come, I think this cave would be my final resting place.”

A frown formed on the human’s face. He stopped working with her wounds and cupped her chin with a hand. “Don’t think about it Chrysalis, only think about now and the future; not the past.”

The changeling queen reconnected her mystic eye with his, staring at his pools of blue.

“I’m here for you and I’ll stick by your side until you get better, I swear.” Isaiah assured.

For the first time in a long time, Queen Chrysalis of the Equestrian Changeling Chapter smiled. A surge of emotions filled her, sending her into a trance.

“Relax for now ma’am, let me do all of the work. You really need to rest.” He advised as he broke eye contact with the queen, taking her out of the trance she was in. “Go ahead and keep eating and drinking as I tend to your wounds. Seeing how there’s no real threat of infection, I’m going to be taking it nice and easy for you.”

“T-Thank you…” Chrysalis stuttered.

Isaiah turned his head and flashed her a friendly smile. “No problem!”

She ate and drank as the human worked on her, relieved of the dirty medical bandages that were replace with fresh, clean ones. He carefully washed her dark-grey fur of the blood that had caked around the wounds, giving it a deep red hue. Isaiah danced his hands around her body, caring for every inch of her battered body.

A since of accomplishment and pride washed over Isaiah as he peered down into Chrysalis’s body that was doned by bandages and gauze. To his eyes, she was practically glowing despite how skinny she was.

He looked down to his watch to inspect the time; 6:09AM digitally read with a gentle blue glow. The man figured that he would need to leave an hour before noon, giving him plenty of time to return to his shelter, clean up, and wait for the princesses for lunch.

A part of him felt bad knowing that he was going to have to momentarily abandon the queen in the cave, leaving her in her poor condition while he was away dining with royalty. He thought about canceling but remembered exactly who the princesses were.

Queen Chrysalis’s belly was full for now, the substitute for love will only last for so long until she’ll need another source of energy. Her weathered body had surprised her by absorbing the nutrients and vitamins so quickly, turning the food into both energy and magic in a matter of minutes. She could feel the presence of magic building up in her, even though it was a small amount, it was truly better than nothing and steadily growing.

She wasn’t the only one gaining energy and magic. The changeling minor who had also indulged in the pile of food that Isaiah had bought. Chrysalis could sense the small traces of magic flowing inside.

The queen’s horn lit with a green aurora, connecting with the hive-mind to communicate with the changeling minor. “Take your new found energy and share it with the drones. Hurry before something happens to them, go!”

Isaiah watched in curiosity when the minor suddenly got onto it’s hooves and shot out of the cavern like a bat out of hell. He simply shrugged his shoulders and focused himself back onto the changeling queen who laid on the stone floor.

“Queen Chrysalis,” Isaiah started, unsure how to ask the question dwelling in his mind. “how did it all come to this; you and your changelings suffering in this cave?”

She froze like a statue, her breathing ceased and her heart-rate speed up. Being honest with her savior would probably jeopardize her safety, yet she wanted to tell him of all her troubles. The fact that he was well acquainted with the equestrian princesses made things even more risky for her. If she was going to tell him, she was gonna have to tip-toe around the truth while giving him the explanation.

“Please Isaiah, you have to understand the weight of the situation that was bestowed upon us. The changeling race was getting desperate and we needed love to survive, something that was too hard gain despite living in Equestria.”

“Hold on a sec,” Isaiah interrupted. “did you say ‘love to survive’?”

She nodded her head without breaking contact with the human. “I did. Changelings are not like the other species that inhabit this planet; instead of focusing on actual food, we feed off the emotion of love as our main source of energy income. As you know, we’re able to consume food like any other living being but at a price, changelings aren’t able to fully absorb the nutritional support. Only a small percentage is received, and we have to consume more than any other pony just to get the small percentage.”

“And the love?”

“Love… something that changelings value as much as a pony would, if not more so. Love is the basic necessity for a changeling to survive, without it, the changeling will not live for long until it gets love. We changelings feed off love as our main food source, it empowers us with energy, strength, and magic. Unlike consumed food for any other species, love can be shared between multiple changelings and fuel them with the benefits.” She continued with the explanation.

“So love can be transmitted from changeling to changeling like a tesla coil would transfer energy?”

The changeling queen tilted her head in confusion. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what this ‘tesla coil’ is.”

“Er- nevermind, just keep on going; I think I know what you mean…” The human encouraged Chrysalis.

“...Continuing on with the love explaination. To receive love, a special changeling called a drone gatherer will venture out into a populated area and seek anypony who contains the emotion. When the gatherer finds a suitable host, the changeling will then siphon the love from the individual like a mosquito would siphon blood.”

“Is it harmful for the host?”

“No, there is no harm done to the host; it’s an commensalism relationship between changeling and pony. The ponies fail to recognize it as commensalism and view it as antagonistic and parasitic.”

Isaiah didn’t understand the words ‘commensalism’ and ‘antagonistic’ but kept nodding his head; he know the gist of her point.

“The only effects they receive depends on the amount that was taken. The chances of it being negative is when very large amounts of love are siphoned, thus the host will then receive moderate fatigue that’s far from life threatening like ponies say.” Queen Chrysalis revealed with a hint of anger in her voice.

Isaiah didn’t realize it, but the queen was successfully changing the subject away from her downfall. She could tell that he was engrossed by the surge of information he was getting.

“How exactly does the love gathering happen?”

“This is when the change in changeling comes in.” Chrysalis started with a smirk. “Changelings are also known for their shapeshifting abilities that allows them to stealthily gather love without raising suspicion of the host. Depending on the experience of the changeling, the finest of details can be easily copied within a matter of seconds. But there also comes a risk, if a changeling doesn’t know who they are copying well enough, it can arouse the suspicion of others and break their cover.”

The human leaned back as he let out a whistle that echoed of the cavern walls. “Damn, that’s nothing I’ve ever heard before.” He shot her a mischievous grin. “Mind giving me an example?”

“I’m sorry but I can’t. Transforming would be extremely taxing for me, I don’t even have enough magic to do so and what little magic I have; I’m trying to conserve.”

Isaiah didn’t even say a word, he could understand her point. An idea formed in his head, an idea that he hoped that she’d like.

Suddenly, Queen Chrysalis felt the warmth of his hands settle down onto her torso. She craned her neck to look at him, only to get urged by him to rest as he worked his hands up and down her body.

Beneath the soft charcoal-grey fur, Isaiah could feel her bones as his fingers grazed over her skinny form.

Another blush glowed on Chrysalis’s cheek, ashamed that she was allowing the human to touch her without permission. How could a changeling queen like her let someone else do this do her?

Right as she was about to protest, Isaiah carefully lifted up her head and slid himself next to her so she could use his lap as a pillow. She instantly cancelled the idea of protest when he started to gently stroke her neck. Chrysalis struggled to hold a presentable and unaffected demeanor as he worked his hands on her.

Much to their surprise, Isaiah hit a sweet spot which made the queen unexpectedly react. The changeling queen, who was feared by many, closed her eyes and let out a long, loud coo that filled the chamber and sent shivers down Isaiah’s spine.

Isaiah reeled back when the changeling snapped herself from her little trance and glared at the human with her ovular greenish-blue eyes.

“Whoa, sorry about that!” The man apologetically laughed, wanting to ease the tension he unintentionally created.

“Get. Off.” Queen Chrysalis hissed.

He raised his hands defensively as he removed himself from under the changeling whose mood had turned sour. The sudden change of mood caught the human off guard, forcing him to find a way to salvage the situation.

Isaiah glanced over to the queen that was giving him the cold shoulder.

Chrysalis was having an internal war with herself because of how she had just reacted to the human, her savior. The queen was never that type who showed expression, especially when they’re that of pleasure and comfort given by someone else.

Queen’s are supposed to keep an unbroken demeanor.

“Please leave me alone for a while. You’re free to return home, I won’t be needing you for a while…”

Isaiah was shocked, but recovered quickly and gathered his things without disturbing the queen. As he did, he screamed to himself in his head for acting so casually, close, and friendly with someone who he had just met. The fact the she was a queen of a race he recently learned about didn’t help at all.

When the human started to walked out of the cavern, the queen sounded in protest. He turned around to see her staring deep into his eyes.

“Isaiah, I can’t find the words to express how grateful I am; because they don’t exist. Your kindness and generosity is something that I have almost never experienced in my over five-hundred years of existence. Just you alone have saved me and my changelings from a slow and terrible death that would of ended the last remnants of the Equestrian Changeling Chapter. Everyone else sees us changelings as demonic creatures that have spawned from the  darkest depths of Tartarus and must be killed upon sight like rabid dogs. Please remember Isaiah, everything you hear of changelings from other species are not true; always keep that in mind.”

Queen Chrysalis detached her eyes from him. “Good-bye Isaiah, I hope to see you soon…”

Isaiah debated whether or not to return to the queen’s side and comfort her. But judging by how she was, it sounded like she needed some alone time. The human bit his lip when he turned around and left the changeling queen all alone.

<><><><><><>

When Queen Chrysalis could sense that Isaiah had left the cave to return to his shelter in the Everfree Forest, she allowed only one tear drop to fall from her eyes. Even though she was completely alone, she still kept the role of Queen seriously and close to her heart. The tall changeling with the crooked horn cursed to herself; she wasn’t supposed to express emotions, just consume them.

Chrysalis let her head fall onto the blanket-turned pillow, burying her face and wiping her tears on the soft cloth; enjoying the texture.

She let her eyes wander around the chamber, seeking for anything to capture her interest. The sight of the flowers that Isaiah gave to her filled her vision with their bright, colorful petals.

A tiny smile grew as she brought a bright-red flower to her nose for the pleasing aroma to take her away from reality; sighing in happy content when the smell triggered happy memories from long ago.