Queen Chrysalis laid sprawled out on the white bed boredom her bane. Did they forget about her? How dare they! She would make them pay make them all pay! She snorted in frustration; first, she had to break the black amulet around her neck and band on her horn in order for her to use her magic; second, she needed to escape; and third her stomach growled first, she needed to eat. . .
Onyx usually brought her food daily, but it was his third day not showing up, and she was growing agitated and hungry. It was not her first time starving, she and the changelings starved for years on end, but since he always brought such delicious love for her. . . She passed the time by reading all the books he brought her, all the magazines, and doodling in the journal that was meant to be her diary. Most of the drawings were of her defeating the princesses and her ruling Equestria obviously. What bothered her the most was not knowing the state of the changeling grubs who were out there all alone. The turning of locks and clink of metal from the door drew her attention. A strangely dressed Onyx entered the room.
"Greetings, my Queen," he smiled, "I have a prize for your good behavior."
Chrysalis turned her head away from him, "I am not interested in your 'prize'," her stomach betrayed her with a growl.
Onyx frowned, his voice serious, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to not feed you. I "
"I don't care what you have to say!" she spat, crossed.
Onyx placed a hand on her neck, she snapped at him, he did not flinch, and smiled, "Then let me show you."
Darqlon had agreed to a private interview with a journalist from the Manehattan Times. He was a white unicorn colt with a coffee brown mane and bright blue eyes by the name of Willem Sapphire. Darqlon agreed to do the interview because he sensed the ambition of the young upstart. What better way to boost his career than the only interview with any of the new species? Willem was away gathering his materials.
Grey declined because he already had a headache the size of Equestria and needed to rest before he went on a killing spree. Kyllgorr did not like to talk much to begin with, plus, he wanted to spend the rest of the evening with Amy. Onyx said that he had some business to care of and flew off in a hurry. Price did not want Fluttershy to speak any longer for him than she had to and wanted to patrol the gardens with her, now that everypony knew about them and did not have to stay a secret. That left Darqlon as the only one to approach for an interview. His meeting with Ditzy and the others would have to be postponed.
Willem entered the office where Darqlon wanted to take the interview. He did not want to walk all the way back to his room in the North Tower, the furthest tower from the court. The unicorn levitated a pencil and notepad with his lime green magic. Taking a chair across from Darqlon, Willem began the interview.
"'Are you single?'" Amy mocked in annoyance, "If it weren't for all the ponies there. . . why I would have !" Kyllgorr interrupted her adorable little rant with a kiss. Amy hugged his neck and smiled, "Thank you for saying that you already had someone special."
Kyllgorr placed the red unicorn on the wooden table in their room and sat in the chair beside it, "Oh, yeah, I guess I have you, too," he quipped.
Amy pouted and turned her head away from him, "Hmph!"
He pulled her to him by her hind legs, earning a squeak. He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing his cheek against her lavender striped hot pink mane and her neck. She melted in his warm embrace, unable to stay upset at him. They stayed together for minutes, enjoying one another's warmth and company, as they watched Luna bring up the moon.
"I'm glad you didn't tell them about you," Amy finally spoke, staring into his citrine eyes, "I like being the only pony who knows about your past self."
"And the only pony in my future," Kyllgorr claimed with a grin.
"Aww, Killy!" she cooed, giving him a long kiss.
"The Master designed this test to weed out the weak and promote those who are the most faithful," a female pony spoke from a stage, cloaked in a black robe and hood, allowing her to remain anonymous, "This is but the first of many trials we, the Faithful, will endure in order to join His new kingdom."
Her voice echoed through the ruins. The sconces on the wall were barely enough light to illuminate the decrepit auditorium, but the ponies gathered did not worry about the darkness, because their Master was the Shadow Incarnate; darkness meant that he was all around them, they found solace in his omnipresence.
"You have until morning to make it to the Castle of the Two Sisters. Those who do not make it nor survive will be forsaken to live in this kingdom and not join our Master in His new kingdom. GO!"
The shrouded ponies ran out of the auditorium in a uniform fashion. The Herald descended down the steps of the stage to leave the ruins. Once outside, she shed her cloak, unfurled her grey wings, and launched into the sky. Her blonde mane flowing in the night air.
Grey hammered away at the chunk of red, hot iron he held with tongs on an anvil. Slowly, the metal started taking the shape of a collar. Why Darqlon wanted the collars to be completely made of metal made no sense to him, but at least this gave Grey the opportunity to hone his blacksmithing skills and be left alone. He only had to make one hundred, then Darqlon would keep duplicating and enchanting them simultaneously.
He was not certain the Changelings could ever be changed, but he was willing to give them a chance. No race deserves to be ostracized or targeted because of how they were created. It was the same thing with the Vampyres. Grey stopped. The Vampyres? How did he know about that? He fell to his knees, holding his head, as pain wracked his brain memories flooded his eyes.
Moments went by and the pain subsided. He got back to his feet and walked over to a trough against the far wall, filling a bowl with water. The cool liquid quenched his thirst and cooled him off as he dumped the water over his head. Yes, it worked out for the Vampyres, it will work out for the Changelings.
Onyx hovered over the ground, carrying a blushing Chrysalis in his arms like a princess, a beaming grin on his face, "Now, you promise not to attack me once we are on the ground, yes?"
"Only if you are fast enough to escape my wrath!" she hissed.
"Chrysie, Chrysie, Chrysie," Onyx shook his head and let her go.
Chrysalis tightened her fore hooves around his neck and wrapped her legs around him, "Yes! Yes, I promise! Just don't drop me again!" she cried in desperation.
Onyx placed his arms under the quivering Changeling Queen, "I warned you to stop struggling, didn't I?" he laughed. Seconds later they were on the rusty sand of the Badlands, in front of her hive.
She quickly jumped out of his arms, running to the hive to check on her young subjects. She reached her chambers, and much to her surprise, the green pods were filled with healthy, strong grubs. Her di-green eyes were misty.
"You gave my food to them, right?" she questioned the footsteps behind her, touching a pod on the ground lovingly.
"I figured you would not mind sacrificing yourself a little for them," Onyx admitted, staring at a tall, gnarled gray tree growing from a pool of green liquid.
A wicked grin formed from her ear to ear.
"Don't even think about it," Onyx warned with his back still to her, "I will not hesitate to kill you this time. Do not waste the chance of a better life for your people over revenge." He turned to her with sad eyes, "Revenge is never worth the price and is only a hollow victory. In the end, all you have are more bodies around you." He walked up to her and held her head in his hands, gazing deep into her eyes, "I know you are not as selfish and evil as you claim. Do this for your people. Even if you ruled over all of Equestria, your people would still die when all the love ran out. By coexisting, the lives of your people and you will last much longer."
Chrysalis pushed his hands away, hating to admit that his plan did bear better fruit than her shortsightedness.
"It will not be easy, but I believe that everything good is worth the labor and time you put in achieving it," Onyx smiled at her.
She ignored and turned her back to him, "Where is my prize?"