Tristan shut the iron doors to the dungeons, and made his way down the halls. A few moments later, the sound of the doors opening could be heard. Tristan looked over his wither to see Chrysalis and her guards exiting the dungeons. He was about to turn and continue on his way, when he heard the Queen’s voice.
“Oh Tristan? Come here, would you?” The hybrid turned and made his way towards her. Once he was within speaking distance, Chrysalis dismissed her guards, and started walking, gesturing for him to follow her. He did, and the two started making their way away from the dungeons.
“It must feel good to finally have revenge within your grasp, wouldn’t you say?” Tristan hesitated as he thought about this. This is what he had wanted wasn’t it? Luna punished for what she did to him. He should feel happy, content. But he didn’t. He didn’t feel fulfilled. He just felt…empty. Where was his satisfaction? But then, a thought crossed his mind.
“Wait, what do you mean, within my grasp? I thought we had achieved our goal?” questioned the former human. Chrysalis let out a laugh.
“Oh my dear Tristan, we have only just begun! The Princesses and their little underlings are our prisoners, but that is not their punishment. No, I have something different planned for them.”
“Such as?” questioned the Alicorn.
“I have been working on something special for this moment. Something that has taken quite a bit of time and effort for me to finish. But now, it is complete.”
“And that would be?” Chrysalis let out an evil chuckle.
“You know of our Love Extraction Pods, do you not? They are similar to the incubation chamber you were placed in to turn you into a changeling.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Well, I have created a hybrid between the two! A pod that can turn anypony inside it into a walking emotional zombie. A creature with an appearance similar to a changeling, but with a stronger, INSATIONABLE need to consume love! The creatures will have a permanent hole within their heart, one that feels only sadness and pain! They will forever walk the earth as mindless, feeble ghouls that seek only to feed a hunger that they will never be able to sate!” Chrysalis let out a maniacal cackle at her sadistic plan. But as Tristan listened to Chrysalis’s plot, he only felt…disturbed. This plan of Chrysalis’s was just…cruel!
The Queen finished her laughing when she noticed that Tristan looked…uncomfortable. She stopped walking, as did the colt, and she looked to him with a commanding gaze.
“What is it?” questioned the Changeling Queen.
“Well…it’s just that…doesn’t that seem a bit…much?” Tristan wanted Luna to pay for what she did, but not this much! And to be honest, he didn’t hold as much resentment towards the other ponies in the dungeon. If he thought this fate was too much for Luna, then he definitely thought it was too much for the others.
As Tristan looked up to the Queen, he saw her give him a darkened glare.
“I thought you wanted her to suffer for what she did to you?”
“I…I did, I wanted revenge, but…what you’re suggesting, it just seems…excessive…and…and needlessly cruel.”
“I see,” said Chrysalis as she straitened herself. Tristan suddenly felt very intimidated. Suddenly, he felt himself start to feel hazy. It was hard to tell, but it almost looked like Chrysalis’s horn was glowing.
“My dear, you’ve forgotten what we’ve been working towards. This is the culmination of all our efforts. We must not waiver now. Justice can be cruel, but it is always fair.”
“But, I don’t think…” Tristan started to feel dizzy, and it almost felt as if his blood was getting hotter.
“Why don’t you go for a walk? Some time alone will help you get your head strait.”
“O-ok,” submitted Tristan. Suddenly, the dizziness and discomfort lessened. Chrysalis placed a hoof on his cheek, and looked him in the eyes.
“That’s a good boy. And don’t worry, soon we shall have all we have desired.”
Tristan nodded, and then turned, and began making his way away from the Changeling Queen.
Tristan aimlessly wandered the halls, while his wits came back to him. He passed the changelings who now roamed the castle, as they went about making the place their own. Some would salute or bow to him, but most went about their business. As Tristan walked, he thought to himself.
‘What was that dizziness I was feeling? It made it so hard to think…’
Tristan stopped and closed his eyes, rubbing his temple with his hoof. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a part of the castle with no other souls around. There were no changelings anywhere to be seen. He looked around to see where he was. The only major distinction between this part of the castle and the rest was a midnight blue door, with a white crescent moon engraved into it. Tristan walked up to the door to get a better look at it.
‘Could it be?’ questioned Tristan. The crescent moon on the door looked just like Luna’s cutie mark. He made a realization that this must be the door to Luna’s room.
The colt cocked an eyebrow. His birth mothers room. It was then that he realized he’d never been in her room, not even when he had lost his memories.
With his curiosity aroused, he looked around to see if any changelings were nearby. When he saw none, he turned back to face the door, and opened it with his magic. He walked into the entrance, and shut the door behind him.
Tristan did not step into Luna’s actual room, but instead found himself at the bottom of a tower, with a circling staircase leading up. The colt started ascending the stairway, until he eventually reached the top. The door he found was just like the one at the bottom. Using his magic, he opened the door, entered, and shut it behind him.
The room looked a lot like his own room that he had stayed in during his amnesia. It had the same coloring, and the same lunar design. It was a bit girlier than his room, and lacked the toys and posters, but otherwise it was about the same.
Tristan walked about the room, looking at everything within. There was a desk with parchment and quills, and a bookshelf, along with a bed and a bathroom.
Tristan didn’t know what he’d expected to find in this room. Perhaps he hoped to learn more about the mare who he’d come to loath. Maybe, he’d find some sort of dirty little secrets of hers.
Looking around, Tristan eyed the bookshelf. He walked over to it, and started looking at the different texts. There were a lot of history books, some modern culture books, and a few fiction books. But while looking at the various texts, one caught his attention. It was what looked like a photo album. It had the words ‘Precious Memories’ embroidered in gold on the side. Curious, Tristan used his magic to retrieve the album. He set it on the floor, sat down, and opened up the first page.
There were three pictures on the first page. The first was of a pregnant Luna, with a stallion standing next to her. The stallion had a grey coat, and black mane, very similar to Tristan’s own color palette when he was a pony. He also had a unicorn’s horn, and a paintbrush as a cutie mark.
“This must be my father,” muttered Tristan to himself. He looked to the next picture to see Luna and his father painting what looked like a nursery. The final picture on the page was similar to the previous one. Tristan turned the page.
The first picture was of Luna in a hospital bed, holding…him. She looked tired, but happy…but also, with a hint of sadness in her eyes. The next picture had Luna nuzzling him, as he lay in her arms, with his eyes closed.
The next picture showed Luna bringing Tristan home to the castle. Pictures showed him in his crib, with Luna watching over him. There were pictures of her holding him, rocking him, reading to him and playing with him. It took up about 6 pages in the whole book. But when Tristan came to that point, the rest of the sleeves were empty. No more pictures.
Tristan stared at the book. For some reason… a reason he couldn’t explain…he felt tears coming to his eyes. He felt…sadness.
‘She really lost a lot, didn’t she?’ he thought to himself.
‘No…NO, what she did was unforgivable!’ Tristan slammed the book closed, and shoved it back into its spot on the shelf. But his recent spurt of anger transitioned back to sadness.
‘But maybe she’s suffered enough…’ Back and forth he would go, between hatred and empathy. He didn’t know what to think. Luna had taken away his family, but she too had her family taken away, both him and his father. Tristan had gone to great lengths to gain his family back…so had Luna.
Suddenly, the sound of a door being shut could be heard. Tristan turned to look at the door to the room. He could hear the sound of hooves clacking on the stairs. Tristan perked his ears to listen.
“-o one is supposed to be up here. This is the perfect place to talk about the plan.”
‘The plan? I thought the plan was done,” questioned Tristan to himself. He thought he knew all he needed to about this revenge plot. If there was something he didn’t know…perhaps its something he SHOULD know. Tristan also noted that the changelings said no one was supposed to be up here. He didn’t want to take the chance that he’d get in trouble. So, he dived under Luna’s bed, hiding from the changelings just as they opened the door.
“Why do we need to be here to talk about the plan?” said one of the changelings.
“This is where we’re setting up a little trap,” said the other.
“What trap?” questioned the first changeling.
“This is top secret, so don’t go blabbing, but you know Tristan right?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Well, once we’ve taken care of the princesses and their precious elements, the Queen’s decided that the hybrid’s outlived his usefulness.”
The colt’s eyes widened as he lay, secretly under the bed.
“So, what’re we gonna do to him?”
“We’re gonna jump him and slit his throat.”
“Gruesome. When are we doing it?”
“Tonight. After we’ve transformed the ponies, we’re gonna lead him up here, make up some bull about trashing his birth mothers room, or scavenging for valuable artifacts, or whatever.”
“Alright. But, just why are we killing the kid, I thought he was on our side?”
“Yeah, well the Queen says he’s getting resistant to the mind control spells she’s been using on him, says it’s becoming too much effort, so it’s easier to just kill the brat.”
Tristan nearly shouted out at hearing this.
‘She’s been controlling my mind? That…that bitch! I trusted her!”
As the changelings began discussing how they would set up the trap, Tristan’s mind ran wild. Chrysalis, the changeling who had trained him over the past year was going to kill him, just like that! And what made things worse, she had been controlling his mind! He still hated Luna, but at least she never tried to KILL him! He hated to admit it, but it seemed that the ponies were his only hope. If he tried to run, the changelings would chase after him. But if he had the ponies fighting on his side, then together, they would have a fighting chance.
‘Dammit! I guess I have no choice…I have to make an alliance…with Luna.…’