Author's Note

Late chapter, nothing serious just moving house. Enjoy!

Chapter XIII: The Changeling and the Medic

Canterlot was quiet now. The mandatory curfew that the Shadow had put in place had made the once bright city turn from its original, joyful look and prestige that it once held. The night district was one of the places that suffered the most.

Bats were nocturnal. And bat ponies were some of the most nocturnal creatures around. Their whole commerce and trade revolved around the night. The creatures not wanting to change their work cycles because of the mandatory curfews.

Bats now roamed the country without their beloved princess for guidance. They were leaderless, and now they suffered for not wanting to change their habits.

The night district was abandoned. Mostly abandoned anyway.

There was a lot of things that had changed due to the new governing body that now stood in place of Celestia and Luna. None of this mattered however.

Nothing did.

All that mattered now was how long the Shadow had left. It needed more time. If Chrysalis was discovered there would be not much time before Twilight would want to ride to her family’s rescue. If Galaxia was here too, then time was running out. Spike had been more than accomodating with the information that he gave. Twilight’s thought process was essential in being able to control the situation.

Outside, the night sky was gloomy. Another freak storm was coming.

Shadow had spent most of the day emptying the magical reserves within the archive. The amount of harmonious magic it consumed was making the dark vengeance magic go completely mad. The mix of harmony and the dark magic that surrounded the shape of evil, were fighting for a form of control. Though the vengeance magic was not as powerful as the copious amounts of harmonious magic the Shadow had consumed within the past two years of power. The measure of extracting the harmonious magic was maybe a little… evil. But with the status of the elements still unknown, there was no other option.

Shadow had no problem being called evil, the ponies had made no attempts to hide their thoughts of Shadow’s reign.

Was it truly evil? Was it evil to want all races to stop fighting and just get along? Without being able to think otherwise, a total military control, surely they would understand?

No they wouldn’t. That was why they resisted. But in the end, none of it mattered. All Shadow needed was to absorb the magic of harmony. What was needed was the elements.

Shadow sighed, looking at the mural of the burning city. It was almost as if longing for a time long past. Tears may have been shed. It wasn’t known.

Why had harmony abandoned them. It was all a mistake.

Why was Galaxia like this? Why did she have to hurt ponies?

If there was an answer, Galaxia had given none back then. If they were to meet again, she would give no answers now. The only hope at this point was that Chrysalis was now fighting Twilight. The former queen was very resentful to her old enemies, despite being in the same boat, Chrysalis was not one to make friends. The queen was to fall, her Changelings would most likely go into complete confusion. She was their mother after all.

Shadow snorted in disgust. Chrysalis wasn’t a mother. No mother would deny their children one of the most important thing in the whole world.

XXX

Chrysalis’s eyes opened slowly, her vision was blurred. She groaned, her body ached all over, especially her head. She felt like being sick again.

If only she had not followed her orders, she wouldn’t be here, close to two ponies who were falling in love. The torrent of emotions, loving emotions, made her stomach churn. Having not eaten properly since her failed invasion and then some, she knew that she had been suffering from malnutrition.

Blinking away her watering eyes, she tried to get up. Her limbs were just too weak to do anything for the moment. What she did notice however was that her legs were not bound. Twilight had really done a number on her, ‘mopped the floor with her’ would be the best way to describe what happened.

Despite having been discovered as an imposter, these ponies had not taken the wise precaution of tying her up, nor had they placed her in the dugeons if the marble floor was anything to go by. Fools!

Trying her best to stand to move her eyes began to focus on the room she was in. It was the old castle dining room where they had set up their camp. They were fools then! Naive little ponies always believing in the best of all races, they blinded themselves in that belief.

Chrysalis never looked for friends, nor did she ever need any. Friendship wasn’t a concept that the Changeling queen wanted to even try and comprehend. She had been shown none, therefore she would give none.

Using her forelegs, to try and lift herself up, she groaned as her head pounded. She was almost there when a voice made itself known.

“I wouldn’t get up if I were you.” Lying near to her, with one eye open, was one of the Alicorn ponies that she had met with Twilight the other day at the library. How she had not seen him when he was right next to her was inexplicable. But the whole thought process caused her legs to begin to shake and collapse under her weight.

“Told you.” He said, getting up and making his way over to her.

Lying on her stomach once more, she mustered all of her strength into glaring angrily at the pony that came to her. The fool! When she would regain her strength, she would teach this pony why it was unwise to approach a changeling queen unarmed. She tried to hiss, but all objections to his presence was lost when he began to rub her back with his hooves.

He was massaging her! The rogue, the scoundrel! She almost expected a knife in the back, but none came. Instead, he continued to massage her back. Tending to her rough spots, the armour that she had been forced to wear had done a number on her body.

“You should consider not getting up yet. You’re not in the best of shape.” He said, releasing her back and moving in front of her face, he began to pick off something from her head. She felt something being removed, a bandage, soaked in her own blood. She watched as he removed and replaced it with a new one.

He worked with pure professionalism, not once did he slip up. He was apparently from a whole different universe where magic didn’t exist, yet here he was, using magic on her and the equipment that was in his saddle bags without any real difficulty.

He moved away, noting his magicwork before moving away towards the still burning fireplace.

She closed her eyes for a second. After the massage, she had never felt more relaxed in her entire life. Normally she would have to order such services from her drones, but right now? A pony that she had met only the other day was doing it without question.

He returned with a tray filled with baked beans. He placed it next to her, with a fork still held in his magic. Glancing up, her eyes froze when she saw the look he was giving her. It was a caring look, the emotion was leaking from him like a stream. And that smile he had.

It was a smirk of someone who was willing to help her. She looked at the tray and stuck her tongue out in discuss. She didn’t want to talk. This had to be some kind of trap. To make her talk, give away information about her mission here, despite her mission being rather mundane. Delaying tactics.

“You should eat a bit.” He gestured, still holding the fork in his magic, ready to feed her himself if necessary. She looked away, she didn’t need this. He was trying to do something to her. Give her a truth potion of something.

“You’re suffering from starvation, you need small amounts of food. If this isn’t what you’re species eats, I’ll try and get something else for you.” She snorted at that. Changelings only ate emotions, not the physical food that other species ate.

“Changelings don’t eat, ‘food’.” She snarled, an attempt to make herself intimidating. It didn’t work because all he did was stand there, eyeing her, then the fork. He frowned before eating it himself.

“Fine with me, I’m starving.” He mumbled before eating everything that was on the tray. As he ate, Chrysalis noticed some rather interesting features about this pony. Unlike the others, he had a much larger horn. Not a huge noticeable difference, but the breed was definitely one of the old spell casters that she had been told about by her forebearers.

His horn was curved almost, instead of being straight like those of the other Alicorns that she knew of.

“So… what do you eat then?” He asked, placing the tray down off to the side before lying down on his stomach next to her. Why was he doing that? She felt ill once more, the amount of caring emotions made her feel sick again, she needed air.

“I need some air.” She forced all her might into standing. She was almost there when the stallion moved underneath her barrel. She almost squeaked from surprise. She shot him a glare, but he didn’t falter. He just smiled and walked her out to the entrance of the castle.

“Why are you helping me! I am a queen, know you’re place!” She hissed as he helped her outside.

“You’re actually our prisoner, so know your place before telling me mine.” He said bluntly, before moving to check the bandages once more.

“You fool! You should know that Changelings aren’t to be trusted! It will be your downfall.”

“Maybe, but I have seen no signs of physical aggression to me and my friends. I don’t know what you’re problems are and quite frankly, I don’t care.” She snorted and shot him the best deadpan look she could muster.

“Plus, if you do try anything, I’ll gun you down before you ever get the chance to run, escape or kill any of us.” He stated matter of factly, before sitting down next to her. Why was he--?

Moments passed in total silence, neither of them speaking. Instead, they watched the forest to outskirts of town. The trees were almost undefinable in the night that engulfed them. The first few rays of light began to rise to the East. The sounds of the forest were beginning to stir as dawn broke. They may have been sat there for moment, but Chrysalis just couldn’t contain her irritation. This stallion was leaking so many emotions, all of it going straight to her. If only she could help herself. But she was so hungry.

Her stomach made a loud ‘gurgle’ before the queen of Changelings leant foreward and threw up once more. The stallion was quick to help her. As she spat the last of her stomach contents out, she turned her attention to the pony next to her.

“Why are you helping me? You know that I am a prisoner!” She said, and he just shrugged.

“I don’t know how your planet treats prisoners, but I would be damned if I were to refuse medical aid and basic humanity to someone, no matter their origins.” He said, she was completely confused and she had obviously done a very bad job at hiding her confusion.

“I’m a medic your highness. I’m not some warrior, a person who can just shrug off my ties or my beliefs. I believe that everyone deserves to be saved in the field. I guess I’m just too caring.”

She couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going on. Here she was, a prisoner apparently and yet she was sat outside with her ‘guard’ who was talking to her. An actual pony who was sat beside her.

“Why aren’t you running away. My kind is despised by ponies, your friends seemed rather shocked when they first saw me.”

“Like I said, I reserve judgement for an actual tribunal. Maybe you are the most horrendous person to exist. Right now? You’re someone who needs help, and I’m the only one willing to openly help you.” She couldn’t get her head around it. What did it all mean? What was that feeling in her stomach? Like butterflies.

It wasn’t until two seconds later, Chrysalis vomited once again. The steps of the old royal palace were starting to change colour to a shade of sickly green. It was those damned emotions he was leaking.

“You’re making me sick.” She coughed, glancing over at him, she saw his confused expression. Sighing, she knew that he wouldn’t leave her, without an explanation. Though she was a prisoner so he wouldn’t.

“Changelings consume emotions. Good ones are the best. You’re…” She hesitated, never before had she felt these emotions directed at her without a disguise.

“You’re feeding me with the care you are giving.”

XXX

Jack didn’t move, he probably should, but he knew that the queen was in need of food. Chrysalis was nowhere near as terrifying as Jack had first thought. Creatures that fed on emotions wasn’t something that he could even begin to comprehend.

Depending on different emotions, a certain amount of nourishment was received by the changeling in question.

If only he had known. For all he knew, he was being too generous and cause a division in the team if they thought he was fraternising with an enemy.

Honestly he couldn’t see Chrysalis being an enemy, she was tall and full of holes. Her lizard tongue she used when hissing was a bit worrying but other than visual features, she didn’t sound as menacing as he could have been lead to believe.

At least not in a way that warranted the physical pain train that Twilight had brought down upon the bug. If anything, Jack found Chrysalis to be… cute. For lack of any other way to describe her. She may look frightening but once she was helped and then tended to, she seemed far more accommodating.

What really worried him however was the emotion feeding. For all he knew, there could be terrible side effects. Lack of knowledge on the subject left him with a pit in his stomach. The other part was that he didn’t know how the feeding of emotions would affect the bug he was sitting next to.

What if he ended up like Lou?

His friend and commander had made no secret for his love of a pastel pony who was apparently a princess of all things. He hadn’t judged because after Guadalcanal, their love had seemed more like a thing thrown from the heat of the moment. Not for one moment did Jack believe he would end up with his two comrades in the land of talking ponies, bugs and god knows what else.

Now he was here, watching his friend reunite with his girlfriend and start to fall in love once more. It terrified him. Maybe this was part of some plan. Lou had spoken the day before of having met with Galaxia in what he called the ‘Dream realm’. He had spoken of her in such a way that it almost made him question his faith. Maybe his god was Galaxia? Or a creation?

They had agreed to keep the whole thing quiet. Deciding it to be best if they just went like nothing had changed. But the idea of free will being removed from the equation had terrified him. Lou too appeared to suffer, Mark on the other hand was far more reserved.

Since their arrival, Mark had been… distant. Jack had been quite open with Twilight’s friends, they all seemed like great people to him. Mark however had decided to keep his distance.

It was obvious that something had affected him, and being here only seemed to make things worse.

Maybe the same would be said for him. If Chrysalis was indeed feeding on his emotions, how long would it be before he too would fall into a honey trap. He just wanted to go home.

“I want to go home.” He said, breaking the awkward silence that had plagued the scene for the past five or so minutes. He turned his head to Chrysalis, giving her an apologetic smile.

“I’m tired your highness. All I want to do is go home and be with my family, but until then I’ve got to help your world fight against the Shadow.”

Chrysalis eyed him curiously, the more he looked into the gateway into her soul, the more Jack understood something. She was no villain. She had been beaten, starved, used and who knew what else. Right now, Chrysalis was being treated like an enemy by the others. There was history between them, but three years of submission had been set upon them all. She should be an ally, not an enemy.

“The question now is, do you want to go back to being put into submission, or help us free yourselves from oppression?”

XXX

Her mouth hung open for a few moments. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. A pony was actually asking her for allegiance. But the question hadn’t come from the mind, like if Twilight had asked her. The question came from the heart. He wanted to go home, and he wanted her help.

If there was still a chance of some way for her to regain the initiative. To regain control over her hive, then maybe, just maybe she could finally be free.

But for what?

Would she just return to the same of life of Equestrian domination? Would she try to take over pony kind and suck up all that sweet, sweet love? Or could she find reconciliation?

There was a pony here that was not afraid of her. He may have not been an actual pony from what she had understood, but nonetheless he was there, beside her. Willing to tend to her wounds and also give a massage to relax her muscles.

He was no secret informant. No spy trying to get information out of her. He was someone who cared about her. About her well being.

Never before in the history of her reign had a pony cared for her. She was a monster, not worthy of friendship because it wasn’t a concept that she believed in. Despite this, she had someone here with her. Sitting beside her, not eyeing her suspiciously, but caringly.

It was then that he did something totally unexpected. He took her hoof within his paw. The blush that covered her face could have probably been seen for miles. Thankfully he was looking at leg instead.

“Is it normal for your kind to have so many holes?” He asked studying her leg for a moment before looking up at her. His confused look growing ever more bewildered when he saw how red she looked. He immediately let go when he realised that he may have done something wrong. Maybe he was too close to her.

“I’m not entirely sure…” She mumbled, looking down at her legs. She then watched as he stood up and stretched. She eyed him curiously as he stood and looked down at her.

“Name’s Jack.” He said, holding out a paw to help to help her up. He smiled down warmly as he waited for her.

“In case you need help.”

“Am I not your prisoner?” She stood, her legs still weak but with his help, she was able to help her stand and walk.

“You may not like us your highness, but I don’t have anything against you. If you decided to help us, I’ll be right by your side. If not...” He shrugged.

“If you decide to fight against us, then I’m sure that Twilight will mop the floor with you once more.”

“And you’ll not stop them?” She asked.

“Nope.”

As they stood watching the rising sun. A new day. They were completely oblivious to Twilight and her friends watching them from the hall. They stood, some mouth agape, others glaring at the sight, but Twilight… She was happy, maybe there was a way of redeeming Chrysalis. And despite everything that had happened, these last three years had proven that Chrysalis was as much of a victim as she was.

Who knew, maybe Jack would be the perfect pony to help with overcoming that.