“Ugh…” Mark grunted as his eyes opened only for him to squeeze them close. Slowly this time, he opened his eyes and got used to blinding light. He was on a bed. It wasn’t his own though, his was never this comfy. It took him a moment to process how’d he wound up in a bed. Getting his bearings, the first thing he noticed was the sterile smell followed by the tiled floors, then the warmly colored walls and finally a large white sheet to his side. A hospital room.
“How’d I end up here?” Mark voiced aloud, settling into his pillow. The last thing he remembered was being in Canterlot with everyone and…
“Ah!” Mark shot upright— instantly regretting it— as sudden pain in his hind leg made him recoil to the side and fall off the bed.
‘Smart.’
The unicorn drew a sharp breath from the pain and realized that he was dressed in a hospital gown. Several parts of him, especially forelegs and the whole of his right hind leg, were wrapped in bandages. He remembered now: Morphos, Chrysalis, everything.
‘Everything except how we got here.’
“Yeah, everything but that,” Mark mumbled as he propped himself up and climbed back onto the bed, doing his best not to touch or put pressure on his hurt leg. It took a few unsuccessful attempts, but he finally managed, tucking himself back underneath the bed sheets. He let out a long drawn out sigh. He wasn’t dead. That was a good start.
‘Not that you didn’t try with that dive outta the castle.’
Curious, Mark’s horn glowed as he used his magic to pull the sheet aside. Next to him he saw an immaculate bed, unused and neat.
“And with no neighbor, I’m free to talk to myself without feeling like a weirdo.”
‘Don’t be silly. We both know you’re a weirdo. Though you should see if there’s any damage other than the obvious.’
Mark’s horn glowed again as he stared intensely at the foot of his bed.
‘You know you have to see it or at least know where and what it is before using telekinesis, right?’
“Yeah,” Mark said, his eyes widening as his stare intensified.
‘Come on, it’s just like getting into a pool. Just get it over with.’
Releasing his magic, Mark began looking around for a large stick or anything similar. He was unsurprised when he found none.
Mark smiled as a sudden idea came to him. “You know what, you go get it. You can do that whole ‘me’ copy-thing. The one from Manehatten. Fetch.”
‘Wow. Just...Wow. First off, I could only do that stuff because it was your magic. Second, I’m not your dog. And third...don’t be such a baby.’
With a defeated sigh, Mark took a deep breath and slowly sidled off the bed.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow-”
Every step brought a sharp bit of pain and he quickened his step until the medical chart was in sight. Flipping it onto his bed with magic, Mark returned to his spot— in an upright position— happy that the whole ordeal was over. A yellow aura of magic appeared at the end of Mark’s bed as the medical charts rose in to the air and landed onto Mark’s lap. Using his front legs, Mark pushed himself upright so that he was laying with his back against the bedframe and in a much better position to read.
“Second degree burns on outer thigh...first degree on various places...cuts along forearms...bruised ribs? I don’t even remember getting hit in the chest.”
‘No, but you did crash head-first out a large window and then use a fiery explosion to propel yourself towards your inevitable demise.’
Mark scowled as he swatted the medical chart off his bed. “If I didn’t take that jump Chrissy would be dead. She’d…”
A feeling of unease settled in Mark’s gut. He’d awoken in a hospital which meant that Morphos had to have lost. But what about his friends. His allies. Chrysalis. Were they alright? Did he actually save her? Would the ponies even treat a changeling if she was injured? Especially after what happened. In fact, how long has he been out? Was he in a coma for years? Did the zompony apocalypse happen and now he’d have to live in a dangerous new world?
‘Ok, you’ve been reading way too many Trotting Dead comics.’
“My point still stands though. What the actual hell happened? I think I’d remember...” Mark’s face deadpanned as he remembered something. Something Brain had said right before his encounter with the diamond dog, Barrows. Maybe it was relevant, maybe it wasn’t, but at least it took his thoughts elsewhere. “You son of a bitch. You’ve been messing with my head.”
‘Hey, don’t get mad at me. Your head is already a mess of stuff and I’m the one helping keep your ass together.’
“You’ve been messing with my memories!”
‘Only certain memories.’
“That’s not your call to make.”
Mark blinked and standing at the foot of his bed was a shadowy projection of himself: Brain’s preferred form. Mark still wondered whether this form was real or just a hallucination only he could see. Either way, Brain looked just as agitated as Mark.
‘Yeah it is actually. You may forget this every so often but I’m a part of YOUR subconscious. If I were to let those memories remain active, you’d be a confused, conflicted mess during this whole little adventure and probably even your day to day life. So yes, I suppressed memories— your memories. Did I like it? Not really, but for my continued survival and yours, I didn’t have a choice. Now that the danger’s passed I’m willing to bring some specific memories back into focus for you since you have some security and free time to process them but don’t say I didn’t warn you, capiche?’
Mark hesitated before nodding his head. Whatever and whoever he was forgetting mattered to him. Though as to why exactly he hadn’t a clue yet.
With an exasperated sigh, Brain lept onto the bed. He had no weight, but Brain’s every step closer seemed to fill Mark with an increasing sense of dread. Mark’s shadowy doppelganger brought its head close enough to whisper into Mark’s ear.
‘Lyn.’ Brain’s voice was smooth as he drew out the two syllables of that name and his form dissipated.
‘Lyn? Lyn...LYN!’
Mark bolted forward in his seated position, accidentally placing the full weight of his upper body onto his hind legs and yelping at the pain. His leg now throbbing painfully, Mark grimaced as he slowly settled back into his sitting position. His hooves against his head, he began to panic, after all, this was bad. This was very, very bad.
‘Aren’t you glad I waited until you were wounded, alone, and healing to bring back that bright bit of memory?’
“Oh Celestia! She’s gonna kill me.”
‘Which one?’
“...Yes.” Mark’s face was beginning to go pale and he was starting to get dizzy. “When she finds out about what I did she’s gonna hate me!”
‘Mark-’
“She’s never going to want to see me again!”
‘Mark I-’
“And then she’s going to castrate me! I’m going to be a gelding! That hasn’t happened since way back when-”
‘SHUT UP!’ Sullenly, Mark closed his mouth refraining from continuing his rambling. Instead he reclined his head onto the bedframe so that he was staring at the ceiling. ‘Now I, in my infinite wisdom, have come up with a solution for this. First however I think it’s about time you get your feelings straight. Now how do you feel about Lyn?’
Mark’s mouth opened for a moment to say something but instead closed. ‘I love her.’ He thought to himself as he idly brought a hoof to his foreleg. Panic settled in again as he realized that the headband Lyn had gifted him when he left Elibe wasn’t there. Sifting through his memories, he let out a relieved sigh as he vaguely recalled that he’d left it back in Ponyville. Probably. With everything that happened he wasn’t so sure anymore, but he had to hope for the best.
‘And Chrysalis. What about her?’
‘I...I think I might love her too. It’s different but…I don’t know…’
‘Well, until you figure it out for sure, my ultimate word of advice is to keep it to yourself.’
‘You mean lie to them? I may have a natural roguish charm, but I’d like to think I’m not one of those behind the back, cheating pieces of scum.’ Mark cringed as he suddenly recalled the kiss he shared with Lyn before he returned to Equestria and the kiss he’d given Chrysalis to save her. ‘Nevermind.’
‘Think of it this way. It’s complicated, you’re young and you’re trying to work things out. Yes it sucks and you feel bad for lying to them like this, but for now let's just take this one step at a time.’
‘Yeah, I guess. Though I also feel like this is gonna come back to bite me in the ass.’
‘Good. Just remember, neither of them can find out or you can say goodbye to your little friend if you get my drift.’
“And they never will since you’re going to to keep reminding me of it.”
“Reminding you of vhat?”
Mark let out an unintentional squeak as he turned to see that a nurse pony had entered the room with a cart. His gaze traveling down the cart Mark’s stomach growled as he saw the syrup covered pancakes. Licking his lips he returned his attention to the nurse who now that he realized looked oddly familiar. An earth pony with seafoam green mane and light orange fur, Mark was positive he’d seen her before. He just couldn’t place it.
‘Before you even say anything, no. I didn’t mess with your memory on this one. Gimme a sec and I’ll try to look around in this clutter you call a head.’
‘You live there so shouldn’t you clean it up?’
Mark grinned as Brain didn’t respond. He knew he hit the bullseye on that one.
“Vell, somevun must be happy for some breakfast.” The nurse mare sang in a breathy, heavy Germane accent, taking his smile as a sign he was hungry. She briskly pushed the cart to the side of his bed.
“Breakfast? Just how long have I been out?” Mark asked, his focus set entirely on the food just waiting to be eaten.
“Since yesterday. Zank goodness that Princess Celestia vas zere to save you. From vat I heard zo, you saved zee city and zee changelings. You are a real hero,” The mare squealed in excitement after saying ‘hero’. There was a twinkle in her eye as she set up the bedside tray. Placing the plate of pancakes along with a plastic bottle of orange juice down, she began to arrange the silverware when suddenly her hoof jerked at an angle and the fork fell onto the tiled floor below. “Voops! How clumsy of me!”
Mark’s raised a questioning eyebrow as he watched the fork clatter and slide near the other bed. It looked as if she did it on purpose but why? To stall him from eating and slowly starve him? She had no reason to do something like that. Then again, he was hungry and hunger made him think the worst of others sometimes. That, and it was also fun thinking up these kind of silly little conspiracy theories when he was bored.
“Don’t vorry, ze floors vere just cleaned. I vill pick it up,” The mare stated as she turned to the fork.
“Nah, you don’t have to. I can just use my mag-” Mark’s voice caught and his eyes grew wide as the mare’s rear hoof appeared just in front of his nose. She smelled like vanilla. He didn’t see it from the previous angle, but now it was impossible not to notice that she wore white stockings on her hind legs, matching her scrubs. As was the irresistible allure of stockings, Mark’s eyes went from the tip of her hoof in front of his nose and followed it to where it ended just below her flank. His face began to heat up as he stared at her flank, her ‘bits’ hidden just enough by her tail to leave much to his imagination and her cutie-mark was a strange combination of a heart and a thermometer.
Mark didn’t know how long he’d been staring, but in his peripherals he realized that the mare was looking back slightly with a sly smile.
‘Braaaain!’
‘Found it. The memory literally just popped out of the pile and-’
Mark didn’t know if Brain was just trying to be funny, or actually was too busy looking around in his head for the memory. Either way, they both had their answer.
Steamy Delight: Adult ‘activity’ model and the centerfold for the ‘Naughty Nurse Mare’ franchise. It wasn’t an especially explicit franchise, however, it did show enough to be considered adults only. Mark owned a stolen copy of the magazine until its unfortunate meeting with Pinkie Pie left it a smoldering scrap.
Feeling pressure on his cheek, Mark realized that he had just poked himself with his hoof without a second thought. This had to be a dream, so it was time to wake up.
Her hind leg came back down and Delight’s front hoof covered her mouth to cover her gasp like she had just realized what she’d done. “I’m so sorry! I have been valking all day and I just had stretch my legs a little. I didn’t disturb you did I?”
Mark’s hoof poked his cheek again, harder and faster, all while he shook his head side to side.
“In zat case…” The mare let out a low moan as she stretched the other hind leg.
There was no possible way this couldn’t be a dream. His whole head felt steaming hot and his cheek was painfully sore as he poked faster and faster. If Mark wasn’t so distracted he’d have realized that he was practically punching himself now.
‘This is a prank. A prank, haha! Luna is going to pop out from somewhere and we’ll both have a huge laugh at this! Oh, she got me!’
“Oh! Your hoof! Iz moving so fast it looks like eetz vibrating!” Delight stated in wonder as she finally set the fork back on the tray in front of Mark.
Mark’s eyes widened more and he froze, his hoof stuck in the middle of punching his cheek. He was feeling dizzy again and could feel just how hot his face was. The heat continued to grow until his hoof practically burned at Delight’s next statement.
“If you hoof can move like zat, you must be so vigorous and restless in zat bed. Is zere anyzing I can do to help you?”
‘Oh Celestia! That’s one of the lines from the magazine! The one right before-’
‘I know what happened afterwards! Look, this is the most unlikely, once in a lifetime situation for you and plays right into your nurse fetish but you have got to get a grip! You were just agonizing over Lyn and Chrysalis, if you allow this situation to go exactly where it’s going you are going to lose both of them whether it’s the guilt eating you alive or them finding out. Probably both! Just be glad that that tray is hiding your uh...vigor and restlessness.’
Both of Mark’s hooves came up and slapped the tactician’s cheeks, knocking him out of his stupor. There was a pause for a minute as Mark took a deep breath, ignoring the surprised look the mare was giving him. “Um, miss? Th-thank you for the food but m-may I eat alone as I gather my...umm...my thoughts?”
Despite a few stutters, Mark was proud that he’d managed to keep his voice relatively even. His horn alight, he opened the bottle of orange juice and took a long gulp out of it. He was thirsty after all, and seeing him begin to eat might dissuade Delight from staying longer now that her job was done.
“I vas vondering, do you have anypony special in your life?”
Mark inhaled the orange juice suddenly, choking and coughing in response. When he finished coughing, he looked to the soggy pancakes in dismay, realizing that he had done a spit-take all over them. He then returned his attention to the mare, an incredulous expression on his face.
“What?!”
The mare looked away shyly and began nervously moving her hoof in a circle on Mark’s bed.
“You see, if you hadn’t arrived yesterday I vould have died or vorse! So I snuck into zis hospital to see you,” Delight stated, her eyes half-lidded and her voice low and sultry. “Unless zere was somepony else. I vouldn’t vant to be in betveen you and your lover after all.”
Delight moved closer and closer and Mark was forced into a reclined position just to try and maintain a comfortable distance. Since it was, failing he swallowed the giant lump in his throat and sought out a response. “I-I-I-I-Y-Yes! Yes! I have a marefriend!”
The mare raised a brow and rested her head onto Mark’s stomach. “I don’t zink I believe you. Tell me about her.”
Mark couldn’t help but squirm nervously. He was trying to figure out how this all happened. Trying to find the best way to answer without losing more than his dignity. Trying not to think about how if Delight’s head was “further south” he’d be poking the back of it from beneath the covers.
“She uh...she has beautiful green eyes.” Mark scrambled for an appropriate answer. “And I love her hair, er, mane!”
Delight brought her hoof up and gently caressed Mark’s chest, the tactician in question knew that she couldn’t not feel his rapid heartbeat. Especially as she continued to give him bedroom eyes. “Is looks all she has? Couldn’t I be a suitable replacement then?”
Replacement! A fire lit in Mark’s gut at that. Not enough to make him forget his manners, nor his situation, but definitely enough to make him answer with more force. “NO! I’m sorry but no! She’s driven in her goals and beliefs, she doesn’t give up when the ones she cares about are in danger and…”
“And?”
“And she actually likes someone like me…” Mark uttered slowly. Despite his confidence most times as well as Brain’s accusation of narcissism, Mark hadn’t thought too hard about why someone, anyone, would actually like him. He was childish, vindictive, and not exactly the best catch out there. The only redeeming quality he could think was that he was nice to people he liked. Not really an uncommon thing to do. Slapping his cheeks again, this time to clear his thoughts, Mark readied another fact about Lyn, and though it was a bit risky, if Steamy Delights or anypony else in general pushed for answers, he would have a much easier time shrugging it off. “She’s also um...not exactly a pony.”
The mare’s eyes widened and for some reason she looked absolutely delighted. “You know, you still haven’t told me zis mystery girl’s name.”
Mark smiled. Just like he planned, a simple question with an answer that’s easy to shrug off as a non-pony thing. “Lyn.”
“What?” Mark watched in wonder as Steamy Delight’s head shot up, and her expression went from enticing and happy, to dumbfounded, angry, and...devastated?
Unsure about why Delight had a sudden change in demeanor, he decided to clarify.“Er...Lyn. It’s short for Lyndis. Weird name, I know, but she’s not a pon-”
Delight’s pupils turned green, thinned until they were practically dragon-like and green flames enveloped the entirety of Delight’s body. Fur replaced by a shiny chitin, a large jagged horn on her head coupled with a small crown. Where once stood the ‘adult’ model now stood Chrysalis, her glare unforgiving as she stared down the tactician.
‘In hindsight, we probably should have seen this coming. Also this may be the fear kicking in , but do her fangs look a little sharper to you?’
There was a long moment of silence as Mark stared at Chrysalis, wide-eyed and speechless, the changeling queen returned it with a glare. He had a feeling that Chrysalis may have seen the magazine as it burned to a crisp, but he had no confirmation until now. The silence broke when a high pitched shriek erupted out of Mark’s mouth.
Quickly, Chrysalis shoved her hoof into the offending orifice, holding it there for the duration of the muffled scream.
“You know Mark, we’re really going to have to have that talk about things you haven’t told me yet.” Despite Chrysalis’ voice coming out sickly sweet, the look she was giving Mark could kill. This in turn caused Mark’s cheeks to puff out as he used more air to scream until he started turning blue. Removing her hoof, Mark wheezingly inhaled a large amount of air and placed a hoof to his heart as he started to regain his normal breathing. “Are you done?”
Mark’s throat felt dry and he took a moment to get the moisture back in his mouth before replying. “Sorry about that. You...surprised me.”
“That was the point dear Mark. Though, I was just trying to tease you. If anything, you’re the one full of surprises.” Chrysalis spit out that last word as she once again rested her head onto Mark’s stomach, still holding his gaze.
“Y-Yeah. That’s me. Surprise...” He wanted to die right now. He wanted to crawl under his covers, curl into a ball, cry himself to sleep, and then die.
“Mark.”
She was gonna kill him.
“Mark, I can taste your emotions.”
Castrate him and then kill him, then bury him-
His body stiffened as Chrysalis’ hoof brushed his cheek. Both her gaze and her voice had softened a surprising amount. If he didn’t know Chrysalis better, he’d have thought she’d forgiven him already. “Mark, calm down.”
Rather than meet her eyes, Mark found a spot on the ceiling to stare at. “I’m sorry. I would have told you but I...” Instead of having her hoof shoved in his mouth this time, he had it placed on his lips.
“I didn’t come here to discuss that Mark.” For the first time since she revealed herself Mark noticed it. The flanging in her voice crackled every so often. He met Chrysalis’ gaze now and looked at her closer. Her eyes were bloodshot and a little sunken, her mane was disheveled with a few crinkles and knots, all around her carapace were almost unnoticeable cracks. She was exhausted and definitely battle weary.
In a single movement, Mark adjusted himself, grimacing but overall ignoring the pain, so that he was sitting upright again. As he did so he carefully shifted Chrysalis’ head onto his lap with magic. Using his hoof he brushed the strands of her mane that had fallen onto her face from the movement. “What happened?”
Lazily, Chrysalis moved her head slightly to get a bit more comfortable, and address Mark better. “We won. My brother and all the changelings loyal to him are dead.”
Mark frowned after hearing that. He had expected Morphos to be dead but at least some of enemy changelings had to have surrendered. He couldn’t imagine anyone staying loyal to Morphos for the long-term. “From fighting or uh...execution?”
“I don’t know how exactly, but Morphos used that orb to absorb the life essence out of all the changelings connected to him to power himself up.” Mark’s jaw dropped after hearing that. He’d never heard of anything like that before and yet, from Chrysalis’ grave tone, it had definitely happened. “As for how he died...Well, I’m not sure if it could really be considered a fight.”
“You poke him in the brain with your rapier?” Mark said in an attempt to cheer her up.
Chrysalis chuckled. “No, that broke. You’re esteemed ruler made an entrance along with one of her commanders. General Ironwing I believe.”
“I bet she was pissed.” Mark’s grin widened as he pictured it. Celestia in all her sunlit glory raining fire and laser beams at the changeling king. Ironwing, —Mark didn’t know much about that guy— making sure Chrysalis didn’t do anything bad.
Now came the main question gnawing at him.
“What about everypony else? Are they okay?” Mark braced himself as he asked, if everything had gone to plan they would have been fine, but based off his own excursion in the castle, plans change.
“Everypony’s alive if that’s what you mean.” The unicorn let out a sigh of relief. “Twilight and her friends are a bit scuffed up as is Aurora and Trixie but there shouldn’t be any lasting damage.”
Mark nodded at the names but his brow furrowed, that wasn’t everyone. “Wait, what about-”
“I said everypony.” Mark’s dread returned and he mentally braced himself. “Mimic is fine and Razor needs some time to heal but Edge…He’s gone. I heard he helped save all the civilians before he died.” Chrysalis’ voice was strained, forced, as she talked about Edge.
Mark’s hooves wrapped around Chrysalis’ head and he hugged her tight. “I’m sorry.”
It wasn’t any epitaph or any long winded speech about how Edge was a hero. Just confirmation that someone cared, that even though Mark didn’t really know Edge that well or had a close connection to him like Chrysalis did, that he was there for her.
Whether it was pride or weariness, Chrysalis didn’t even tear up, instead opting to nuzzle into Mark’s chest, poking him a little with her horn, and letting out a content sigh before lifting her head up. She looked better, still tired, but better. In contrast, Mark suddenly felt a little tired and as if he didn’t care as much anymore.
Mark’s expression was flat and unamused as he realized his sudden lack of empathy regarding Edge. There was only one explanation he could think of. “Did you just eat my emotions?”
“How could I not?” Chrysalis responded with a sly and wicked smile. Her entire face lit up in green flames and from the neck up she was Steamy Delight again. “You’re absolutely delicious.”
Mark hid his face behind his hooves in both embarrassment and exasperation. “Please don’t start that again.”
Chrysalis gave one last flirty wink with Delight’s face before she fully changed back. She cleared her throat before taking a much more business-like tone as she continued.
“Gilda was in the city too.” Mark nodded as he remembered that Gilda had a delivery to complete before getting wrapped up with him and Chrysalis. She was probably captured during or after the delivery. Whether she helped or not, Mark was certain that Gilda made life extremely difficult for her captors. “She’s been cursing and threatening anyone who gets too close her.”
Mark didn’t bother to hide his smirk. “So she’s fine.”
“Yes she is,” Chrysalis replied without a hint of care. She frowned in thought before releasing an annoyed huff. “I suppose I should thank her for her help. She’s been useful since Hoofington after all.”
“Aw, look at you two starting to get along.”
Mark yelped when Chrysalis lightly rapped his bandaged leg with her hoof.
“So she’s still in Canterlot?” Mark asked through his teeth. “I figured she’d get back home as fast as she could.”
“That’s right,” She responded, idly clicking her tongue as that statement reminded her. “That mercenary you hired is actually her father.”
Mark stared blankly at Chrysalis who was now nonchalantly inspecting the cracks along her hoof. It wasn’t as if she’d just dropped a bomb after all.
“That explains so much!” Mark reacted after processing that information. He winced sheepishly when Chrysalis glared at his sudden shout.
“And adding to that...” Chrysalis continued dispassionately. “He lost an arm.”
“What?! Seriously? Is he okay?” Mark’s eyes were wide. He didn’t want to imagine that. The griffin’s arms were thick with muscle, it probably had to take someone strong or it at least took them several swings to sever it.
With a roll of her eyes, Chrysalis went into graphic detail on the wound and complained about how the hospital had assigned her as his nurse while she was in disguise. Chrysalis apparently did a decent job bandaging him, though he’s a terrible patient. Mark didn’t even have to know the griffin that well to know Sperze had hit on her. “-And It’s either from the alcohol he somehow acquired or the morphine they’ve put him on but he keeps laughing and bragging that he’s got a spare.”
Mark’s eyes remained wide. “What?”
The changeling’s face scrunched in annoyance as she recalled the memory. “He then shows off the forearm of some diamond dog. Right. In. My. Face.”
Mark started to break out in a cold sweat. It wasn’t annoyance he saw on her face now but anger and he could imagine Chrysalis actually following through with a murder plot for the griffin. For the mercenary’s sake he needed change the subject. Luckily he had something that needed answer after the reminder of diamond dogs. “What about Angel? Is she okay?”
“Angel?” Chrysalis’ brow shot up, clearly unsure who that was.
“Fluttershy’s aunt.” At Chrysalis’ confused look Mark clarified. “The bartender back from Manehatten.” She finally nodded in recognition, but was taken aback with worry as Mark started to look more and more scared.
“She was there too! She saved my life! She has to be okay!” Mark almost shouted before breaking out into a small fit of coughs. Reacting quickly, Chrysalis’ horn lit up and the bottle of orange juice Mark had spilled earlier floated up to his lips. He was hesitant at first but after some nudging with the bottle, Chrysalis made Mark to take a few gulps of the remaining juice before he brought up his own hooves up to set it down. He then gave Chrysalis a description to remind her of what Angel looked like, hoping it would jog her memory of any patient that might look like that.
“I didn’t see her or anypony matching that description,” Chrysalis stated with a solemn shake of her head. “I’m sorry.”
Mark leaned back, letting that news sink in. No one knew Angel was there or had saved his life except him. He didn’t even know her well and yet she snuck onto his ship and into a castle during a changeling occupation. As suspicious as that made him of her motives, ultimately Mark couldn’t help but feel guilty and unsatisfied. He had to tell Fluttershy. He dreaded it and he knew that it was going to break her heart but he had to. For her, for her aunt, and for his sake. Mark let out a long sigh as he accumulated all this into a single word. “Shit.”
As Chrysalis nodded solemnly in agreement, it occured to Mark, she was being very empathetic this entire time. For her anyways.
It wasn’t that Chrysalis lacked any empathy, far from it, but she always tended to hide it underneath a tough, somewhat bitchy exterior. Normally she would have told him to suck it up, be proud of himself and his accomplishments, and to move on by now. Kind of like Brain would, though Brain had been silent for awhile now which was strange in itself.
‘You were so worried about your own stuff that you didn’t think anything was bothering her.’
And there he was. Mark mentally kicked Brain for the comment, but agreed.
“So that’s it then. We’ve won.” Mark repeated his earlier statement, paying close attention to Chrysalis.
“Yes.”
Frowning at her non-committal answer, Mark asked the question he mentally kicked himself for not asking sooner. “And how are you doing? You look like crap.”
“I feel like crap.” Chrysalis retorted with a weak smirk. There was a pause as her smirk sunk back into a frown. “After she dealt with my brother Princess Celestia invited me to tea.”
Mark rolled his eyes, that was a very ‘Celestia’ thing to do in his opinion so that came as no surprise. “That sounds nice-”
“She then explained what was gonna happen,” Chrysalis interrupted, her face hardening as she continued to explain. “Apparently with Equestria’s security being so exposed recently she intends to find a common enemy with the neighboring nations so that their attention is focused elsewhere.”
“That’s good but who…” The realization hit Mark like a hammer and it made him sick. He couldn’t imagine Celestia doing such a thing. “No! She wouldn’t! She can’t just make Changelings public enemy number one like that! It’ll be an international witch hunt!”
Chrysalis’ face contorted into a bitter sneer. “She didn’t survive all these years without learning a thing or two about politics Mark. Had I been in her position I would have done the same, only I wouldn’t have given their leader a chance to prepare ahead of time.”
Mark couldn’t hide the worry on his face. “Is that what you’re doing then? Preparing?”
Bringing herself back up, Chrysalis stood regally and nodded. “It’s not the first time in our history that we’ve been sought out. If you remember from Miasma’s hive in Manehatten, not all of us Changelings treat another species very well.” Seeing that Mark wasn’t quite comprehending what she meant that last sentence, Chrysalis added with a low voice, “Compared to some of the others, what her hive does is a kindness.”
“That’s...saying something,” Mark gulped as he remembered Miasma’s hive and the brainwashed ponies doing manual labor for them. He didn’t really know what could be worse than that but he didn’t want to dwell on it.
She took a deep breath and sighed before finishing. “Since yesterday I’ve been discreetly getting my subjects out of pony custody. Mimic and I are the last remaining changelings in Canterlot.”
Mark nodded in understanding, his grin returning as he realized something. “I think I get it. You’re telling me all this because you’re gonna need my help again.” He pointed his hoof at the queen in a playful accusation. “You’re going to need my inside knowledge and-”
“No. That’s the last thing I want from you right now Mark.” The words came out with such force that Mark was visibly stunned.
Mark mouthed a few words unable to figure out what to say until he finally croaked out, “...Why?”
Chrysalis’ expression looked pained as she looked to Mark. She could not only see the hurt on his face but feel it emanating from him. She didn’t like it any more than he did, but it had to be done.
Gently, Chrysalis brought her hoof to Mark’s cheek, gazing into his eyes. “I should have already gone Mark. The reason I’m here, the reason I’m telling you all this is because I don’t....” She paused for a moment as she considered her words. “...I don’t want to repeat my mistakes again. Especially not the one I made years ago.”
“Mistake?” It took a moment for Mark to get what she meant but as he did his eyes widened and he looked defeated. “You’re leaving again…”
“And I explained why,” She said softly, hoping to make him feel better.
“That doesn’t mean that you can’t stick around!”
“Mark, you’re being childish.”
Angrily Mark swatted Chrysalis’ hoof off his face, this time he was glaring at Chrysalis for once. “Yeah, so what! You’re a changeling, you can be in disguise and I’ll cover for you or-”
“I’ve got responsibilities Mark,” Chrysalis snarled in response to his hostility. She took another breath and continued speaking in a much calmer tone. “I always have. And so do you. Up till now those responsibilities have just aligned. Here is where they split.”
Mark’s glare faltered and he slumped against the bed. She wasn’t even gone, yet Mark was already getting a knot in his stomach. “So that’s it. We’re done then?”
Once again, Chrysalis placed her hoof on Mark’s cheek, her voice soft and comforting. “Unless you have some reason why I should stick around.”
Blinking, Mark sniffed and used his right hoof to rub his eyes. Her leaving was for the best, and he knew it. Besides her hive’s safety it was also because of what he and Brain discussed earlier, he needed to sort out how he felt for Chrysalis. Whether he loved her more than Lyn, whether it really was love or just a strong affection, how to even respond to these feelings. The only thing he knew for certain was that she had an irreplaceable place in his heart and that nothing could change that.
“...No.” Mark finally said, so quietly that it was practically a whisper. He shook his head and repeated himself, this time with more conviction. “No. You’re right. Your people need you and I...I have my own issues to deal with.”
“If it’s any consolation Mark, this isn’t goodbye. Not forever anyways.” Chrysalis said with a warm smile.
Mark’s eyes lit up with a glint of hope. “Promise?”
“Promise,” Chrysalis stated as she leaned forward, touching her forehead to Mark’s, angling enough so that their horn’s didn’t poke each other. The two stayed like that for a moment, just enjoying each other’s presence as they didn’t know when the next time would be. Pulling away, Chrysalis brought her other hoof to Mark’s opposite cheek, a mischievous and wicked grin on her face. “Besides, I don’t intend to lose to this ‘Lyn’ in the end.”
Mark’s cheeks flushed as he recalled earlier and he looked to the changeling queen with a hint of fear from her expression. “Wait, wha-”
Too quick for him to react, Chrysalis’ hooves went from his cheeks, wrapping around his head, and she crashed her lips onto his. She took advantage of Mark’s muffled shout of surprise, thrusting her tongue into his mouth and wrapping it around his own like an anaconda. Love, lust, distress, happiness, surprise, Chrysalis began eating all of this. Yes Mark would be hospitalized for another day but she was enjoying herself and he deserved a little punishment. Plus, she needed a meal before her long trip back to her hive.
When she had finished, Mark was staring blankly at the ceiling, his tongue lolling out of his mouth and a small stream of drool was going down his chin. Wiping the strand of saliva from her own chin, Chrysalis licked her lips. Considering her competitive and somewhat possessive nature as well as the prize, she definitely didn’t intend to lose to this ‘Lyn’ character.