Prototype: A new world

"I'm telling you, I don't know anything!"

Another hard slap by a hoof. And another. Twilight was currently at the mercy of Mercer and Arisa, the former watching as the latter slapped her. Hard. Arisa gave an annoyed sigh.

"You might as well just tell us what we need to know. It'll be a quick death. But if you don't give us what we want..."

Twilight spat blood at Arisa, causing the general to kick the princess in the face with her rear leg, earning her a pain filled scream. Mercer pushed Arisa away, the changeling giving him a confused stare. He looked back and nodded.

"I got this."

Twilight looked up, seeing the one known as Mercer. She cowered slightly. He smirked and did something she didn't expect. His two appendages suddenly turned into giant, metal like claws. She gulped.

"What...how is that possible? Are you part changeling?"

He scoffed. "Let's just say that I have a few neat tricks up my sleeve. And that isn't all I can do. So I suggest that you come clean and tell me how to get back. You must know something. Even if it wasn't directly caused by you as Chrysalis suggested, you must know the individual or individuals who brought me here. Accident or not, that isn't my concern. My concern is getting back home and I will stop at absolutely nothing to get back."

Twilight shook nervously, sweating from the hours of torture. She was physically and mentally strained. She could barely even see straight at this point. "I...I didn't cause this. The only ones who I know who could be strong enough to pull something like that off is...."

Mercer raised an eyebrow, leaning forward, putting one of his claws against her neck. "Yes?"

She gulped again. "The...the pr...princess's. But...they're not like that...if it was them, which I d...doubt, it must have been an accident..."

He pulled his claw away, grunting. "I don't care if it was an accident. If you're telling the truth and these "princess's" brought me here, they will pay."

Twilight pulled at her restraints. "Don't you dare..."

Mercer shapeshifted his arms back into their normal human form and smacked her in the stomach hard enough to make her vomit on the floor below her. Arisa walked up to him, tapping him on the arm. "Let's go. That's enough for now. I think Chrysalis needs to know this information."

Mercer nodded, silently sighing in annoyance. "Yeah...and I have a few questions for her as well."

Arisa nodded in return. "Of course, but please, try and be respectful. I know you don't exactly trust her, but she is my queen."

He sighed. "We'll see."

Chrysalis was idly mulling to herself about what she was going to do with Equestria once she had complete control. She thought about turning the ponies into changelings, adding to her army. It would be more practical than killing them all. But, the ones who caused her serious issues would be disposed of. Painfully.

She heard the door open in front of her. She snapped out of her thoughts to see Arisa and Mercer walk up to her. She held her hoof up, letting them know to stay where they are.

"So, what have you found out from our guest?"

Arisa was about to speak up first, but Mercer walked in front of her, intending to get to the bottom of all this. "You told me it was no doubt that this Twilight Sparkle pony was the one responsible for bringing me here. She's just told me that it wasn't her and the only ones strong enough to do that would be the two princess's."

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "If you remember correctly, I stated that it could have been her. But, now that I think about it, it makes more sense that one of or both of the two princess's would be responsible. No matter. We can still use Twilight Sparkle as a bargaining chip for the elements. With the elements power, we can usher in a new rule of my own."

Mercer scoffed, "Yeah, that sounds great, but all that I care about is getting home. So, if these two really are the ones who have caused this, we need to get them. And fast."

Chrysalis nodded. "Indeed we do. I believe that they will found out that Twilight Sparkle is missing and try to search for her. They will probably manage to track her here. Powerful magic users can leave behind a magical trail, so to speak. They will probably trace it here. And when they do, we ambush them. Knowing how naive the princess's are, they'll either come by themselves or with a small handful of guards. Either option is not a problem, especially considering we have you as well."

As much as Mercer wanted to just consume her so he didn't have to go through with all this nonsense, he was starting to secretly admire her somewhat. Not a lot, but a tiny bit. He respected her dedication to this, even if he didn't care for it at all.

"Fine. So what, we just wait?"

She nodded. "Exactly. I will alert you and the hive when I sense their presence nearby. Until then, see what else you can get out of Twilight Sparkle. I want to know what defenses Canterlot and Ponyville currently has and where the other element bearers are."

He turned around and walked back to the door. "Oh, Mercer?"

He slowly turned around. Chrysalis had a genuine...well, sort of genuine smile on her face. "I'd like to thank you. At first, when you arrived here, I didn't trust you at all. I thought you'd invaded my hive and I was about to destroy you. But, as you have come to shown over these past few days, you have been a vital asset to me and the hive. And you have also aided one of my best soldiers. For that, I give you gratitude. But don't push your luck."

He nodded. "No problem." And with that, him and Arisa walked out together, leaving the queen to her musings once again.

As they walked out, Arisa tapped him on the shoulder. He looked down to see her smiling as well. "I'd like to thank you as well. For saving my life when that Manticore attacked us. No one in the hive, not even the queen has ever shown me that type of kindness."

He rolled his eyes, slightly grinning. "Don't worry about it. You were the only one out of the 3 who was worth saving in my eyes."

She smirked. As much as she wanted to like Malok and Nox, they were both boring and quite frankly, assholes. But, she appreciated that he said that. A few days ago when they met, he wouldn't even look at her, never mind talk to her like that and actually treat her like an equal.

"Suppose we should go back and ask the princess some more questions."

He rolled his eyes. "Yup. Let's get it over with."