Alone again. Finally.

At my feet, strewn hastily across the dark stone floor of Chrysalis's personal quarters, lay hill after hill of discarded books. The Queen had been 'nice' enough to delegate a small entourage of her drones to my command. Ornery as I was, I didn't let some misplaced sense of foolish pride overtake me.

Taking advantage of this small boon, I had ordered several things brought to me.

One Hour Ago

First had been my request for anything living.

I couldn't help but stare at the newly grown flesh covering my hands and arms with a satisfied smirk. It had been so long since I'd seen my own tanned flesh. I don't know how I handled the pain of having forgotten myself so thoroughly. I took a moment to look into Chrysalis's decorated vanity mirror; everything was exactly as I remembered it. Powerful emerald green eyes leered back, piercing through the gaps in the deep red bangs hanging over my face.

The only feeling more satisfying than sensing naturally again was drinking the fear from the air when the drones saw what I had done with the offerings they'd brought me. Each of them etched permanently in mind, locked away in my soul and psyche. A young royal guard mare, she'd almost stumbled upon the hive with the rest of her scouting party; a crippled dragon, he'd lost his mate and attempted to fly himself to death, only to be captured by Chrysalis's hive after he'd crashed; and finally a weakened wendigo, the beast had attempted to attack ponies in the Crystal Empire, but was quickly foiled. Chrysalis's infiltrators in the Crystal Legion spirited the hateful wraith back to the hive where they'd been using it as an attack beast.

They'd been teeming with precious blue, red, and black mana respectively. And I'd devoured it all, like a starving mutt rescued by animal care. More than that though, I had taken what was at the core of their beings: their life-force and souls. They'd become me, and ever so slightly, I'd become them. I knew everything about those three: Gilded Petal's husband and colt, whom I now needed to pay a visit; how Ishilwolf had flown and flown, picking battles with the strongest armies, hoping that someone would kill him, all the while being too afraid to take his own life; and the deep, primal hunger that racked H’vengr everyday. The ponies had love and purpose. It wanted that as well.

The drones watching over me had never seen anything like the absolute death I could cause. They'd blanched and fainted, and sobbed and shut their eyes, but I doubt they'd ever be able to wipe the shrill screeches of a forcefully removed soul from their memories.

Next, I had requested books.

Books were knowledge and ignorance pressed to paper. They'd reveal to me everything I needed to know about my predicament. I didn't even care what they had brought me, I wanted everything. Math, Science, History, Sorcery, and Geography; I needed to see how they'd changed, how much time had passed, and if what I knew was still at all relevant. Dusty tomes, water-stained scrolls, and steel-spined grimoires had divulged their secrets to me one after the other as I tore through their pages and discarded them afterward.

Close to two thousand years had come and gone since Celestia, Luna, and I had fought on Nebuchadnezzar. Those memories had come rushing in, venom poisoning my thoughts, burning away my perspective on where I was at the moment. So much had happened; it was suffocating.

Nations had risen and fallen, bloodlines had crawled up from the ashes while others had faded into oblivion. The wise Cervids, reduced to small civilizations sprawled across the world’s wild woods; the proud dragons, now vicious and arrogant nomads; the stubborn Minotaurs, leading the world’s technological advancements.

Medicine and magic had advanced as if those fields were trapped in some sort of high-speed twilight zone. I chuckled uncharacteristically, but not out of mirth. Most of the formulas, theories, and practices described were (are) a direct result of the efforts between Starswhirl and myself. Blood magic, motor-skill spells, life-force transferral, anti-hexing, advanced telekinesis, the magical community, no, Starswhirl had taken all of my work and shown not even a hint of remorse for the blatant plagiarism. It had been sickening, yet strangely hilarious. Hell, the bastard had even managed to adapt my dimensional tearing spells into an enchantment. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that it had been Celestia who allowed this censorship.

History had managed to be just as dynamic as the sciences. I couldn't have held my smirk back if I tried. According to every book I'd poured through, the Celestial Diarchs were still alive and kicking. My smirk had become a cheshire cat-esque grin at that news. How have you enjoyed endless existence. It had been a question to no one, but I learned the answer as I read. In my time away, Equestria had taken a beating after beating. A centaur named Tirek drained the nation's magic and was dumped into Tartarus for his effort; a unicorn named Sombra had his tyranny of another nation ended, but he sank the entire land with him; Luna turned against Celestia, earning banishment as a punishment. And yet they've persevered.

What had really caught my eye was the more recent history though. Luna had returned, only to be defeated again by the Elements of Harmony, but this time she was cleansed. Tck. Discord had broken out, only to be foiled and later released and reformed by the current wielders of the Elements. As I theorized, Celestia and Luna's ties to the artifacts waned away. Apparently, my current captors and master had tried to take Equestria for themselves but failed spectacularly thanks to the efforts of the Element Bearers, a new Alicorn, Mi Amore Cadenza, and her husband, Shining Armor. Fuel for later. Sombra had returned and with him the Crystal Empire. The new Bearers as well as Princess Cadenza and a young dragon put him down. Even Tirek had returned, though he had been fought to a standstill by another new Alicorn, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Celestia's personal student, Element of Magic, and now Alicorn Princess. She's one to watch out for.

I took a second glanced at the veritable forest worth of papers I'd powered through. Gods. This was real, this was my life; my existence. I had been able to deny it earlier when there was nothing to reference outside of what I knew of the world and Chrysalis's trickery. But now, with hard evidence of times passage laid out in front of me and written in every language from Cervidice to Gryphicon, turning a blind eye and denying the truth wouldn't do me any favors.

So I let it all crash down on me.

I curled in on myself amidst my literary jungle and sobbed silently. I didn't care anymore. Let the changelings see my weakness. Hopefully, Chrysalis will decide that I'm not worth it.

Everything I strove for, in the end, was worth nothing. What use was there in reversing my undead condition in a world where other immortals weren't an impossibility? I loved my abilities. They were a boon, allowing me a near-infinite time frame to learn and find my way home, but I needed to cure myself if I didn't want to watch everyone around me drop to the Reaper's axe. I'd lost so much time that the people I wanted to see again are all long gone, so what worth did dimensional hold travel to me now? Temporal magics were Starswirl's specialty, but even he couldn't account for a difference of two thousand years.

"There's nothing for me. Here or home, it no longer matters." I let myself flop back on the silk sheets covering Chrysalis's bed. I needed something, anything to distract my mind from my troubles. The only things reflection brought were pain and loathing.

I'd imagined that the Changeling Queen's personal space would be much gaudier than the spartan (in comparison to many royals quarters) that she claimed as her own. The only thing really worth noting in the entire space was the bed itself. It was in immaculate condition, with even the black sheets matching their green counterparts in vibrancy. The bedposts held rails for a privacy screen, but the fabric was nowhere to be found at the moment. Propped up against the headboard, pillows rested invitingly. Arranged in two stacks of three, I couldn't keep from imagining the amount of comfort they would be able to instill. I was going to be stuck here for the long haul, so throwing caution to the wind, I crawled up and let my head sink into the unbelievably soft material.

Nothing about the current Queen matched my expectations. She was reserved and respectful, displaying none of Queen Cicada's bravado. Her movements seemed calculated, unlike the instinct-driven Changelings I'd fought so long ago. Even the architecture of the hive looked less like hastily shaped refuse and more like organic art.

A low creak echoed through the room, alerting me to an approaching intruder. Few would dare to simply waltz into the Queen's personal space with such reckless disregard for her privacy, so whoever it was certainly had the clearance to be here. That, or a pair big enough to waltz around the hive like they owned the place. Which is why I didn't even bother looking; didn't need to, I could feel Chrysalis. Where every other presence within the hive was a far-off flickering light, something rarely worth the attention required to notice it, Chrysalis was a burning star.

"Come to assign work for the hive's tool?"

"That will come eventually, but for now--" a sudden whoosh of air accompanied her amicable reply as she tossed something in my direction. On reflex, I halted the object with my telekinesis, holding it just above my head. "--eat."

Turning the odd food around in my mind's eye, I quickly realized that I'd never seen anything like this odd, pill-shaped fruit. Even from a foot away and fully skinned, the red fruit smelled strongly of citrus and maple syrup. "I don't require food."

"Neither do I, but the feeling eating brings is quite sobering."

I snorted. It wasn't like the fruit could harm me, so just to humor the whore I took a bite. My eyes widened. I could explain how the fruit's thick, ooze-like juices exploded in my mouth, coating my tongue in tart goodness before quickly overriding it with the perfect about of sweetness. I could tell her how its flavor was reminiscent of cherry and lemon with a healthy touch of honey, but I won't. Instead, I quickly reigned my shock in and readopted my neutral expression.

"Mirthboon," the Queen answered without prompt. "We grow it in the depths of the hive, near the bottom of this cave system. Because mirthboon requires nothing more than emotional energy to thrive, we can keep a healthy stock on hand at all times."

Fruit nurtured by emotions, incredible. It explained the giddiness I washing through me after every bite into the mirthboon's succulent, pear-like flesh.

She saw through my attempt to remain stoic. Dealing with an empath was simultaneously highly frustrating and extremely liberating. Not even a second ago, I was prepared to jump head first into angsty, self-hating villain mode. Chrysalis's saccharine laughter pierced my thoughts. Once she was sure she had my attention-- and ire-- she spoke. "Our relationship doesn't have to be ice-cold. Your actions will set the status quo for our future interactions."

I didn't respond.

Chrysalis huffed. "Fine. I'm trying to make this easier on you, but if you can't at least try, I'll stick to strictly business matters."

Lazily, I turned my head to acknowledge her. It was the first time I'd actually taken a moment to really look at the currently reigning Queen. Like the Queen generations before her, she was absolutely stunning, but on opposite ends of the beauty spectrum. Where Cicada sported a fairly short, spikey fiery-orange mane, Chrysalis allowed her shining teal mane to elegantly flow to the small of her back. Chrysalis traded Cicada's toned muscles, sharp angles, and scarred chitinous skin for a flawless complexion and a softer visage. The Queen of old would have never been seen in such a form-accentuating gown as what Chrysalis was wearing. Cicada was the perfect image of a strong, female warrior, while Chrysalis looked every bit like an alluring model.

The differences were night and day. And not just between Queens. "If I am to be your weapon, an extension of your will, I'll need a few questions answered," I began, hoping she didn't notice my wondering eyes. "After diving through the minds of several hundred drones, I've noticed that the layout of this hive is much more deliberate than that of older Changeling dwellings, is there a reason for that? My next question relates to the changelings themselves. During Cicada's reign, there were much larger changelings and more combat oriented castes, what caused the shift in population dynamics? The last two questions are about you. Changelings are cocky, arrogant, and sure-footed, their Queen even more so. Yet, you seem to lack those qualities, is there a reason? Why go through so much trouble to find me?"

Chrysalis shot me a knowing look before falling back onto her bed beside me. If she was concerned about my mental probing of her subjects, she wasn't showing it. Hands resting on her midriff, the Queen seemed to battle with just how much she wanted to tell me. "You want to know why I'm not like the Queen you fought off so long ago, right? Well, you've read up on Equestria's history, no doubt to current events." Her eyes watched the chandelier as it swayed gently from side to side.

"What happened in Canterlot was unacceptable!" Chrysalis' voice oozed anger, but it was all directed inward. "Oh, I was full of myself then. I let myself drown in Shining Armor's love, I don't even remember a which point I became drunk on power. I thought I was invincible, even before I had shot Celestia down. In hindsight, I see that I was making careless decisions, but at the time it all seemed so right. In the end, I turned my back on my enemies to gloat over my victory." Disappointment pervading her voice as she regaled me with her tale. "While I built myself up, Cadence and her husband made their move and blasted me and my Changeling's out of Equestria on a wave of love energy. Many perished from the surge of power, but I hadn't learned my lesson.

"I gathered what survivors I could and followed my senses to a large concentration of love centered in a small village at the border of the nation. Little cat-like creatures greeted my Changelings with open paws and provided us with all the love we could stomach. For their kindness, we turned them into cattle. I could have just used them to recuperate and get my people back to the Badlands, but no, I had a bruised ego. I squandered the chance by using our regained strength to build a fortress and launch attacks on Ponyville in an effort to draw Celestia's student to me. I wanted her power for myself." Chrysalis shook her head. "My plan was to use the magic enhancing properties of Starswirl's Comet to boost my empathic draining abilities and take her magic as my own; I failed to take into account that she would receive the boost as well." She chuckled mirthlessly. "I was soundly trounced in our little magical duel, but I somehow managed to drag myself and what was left of my forces back home. Two sound defeats have a way of shining a light on what you're doing wrong.

"I've answered a question of yours, now, I'd like to know more about you in return. You will get the rest of your answers after that. So, tell me about yourself, Dark One." Chrysalis stood, the motion more fluid than a flowing river. "Come, let's walk and talk."

I narrowed my eyes at her momentarily before accepting that I had nothing to lose from this exchange. "First of all, let's drop the title. I'm not interested in what the boogeyman stories call me. My name is Gerald Covick, Prince of Equestria."

Author's Note

Sorry that not much happened in this chapter. This story serves to functions. 1) To entertain us all and 2) to help me break through times of writers block. The best way to get through writers block is to write, so all of the blabbering will likely end up in this story.

Doesn't mean it won't be relevant to the story, just that some chapters will seem more like filler than others.