Thanks go out once again to Serene Breeze for taking time out of his schedule to edit this extra-long chapter!
Roseluck was led through an alternative path out of the room, with the tip of the commander’s rusty sword pricking into her backside. She swore under her breath as they walked through the open exit. The commander must have heard her insults, for it growled angrily and lightly jabbed her on the flank as a warning. The mare yelped in pain, but was forced to continue.
The path they took was a hidden tunnel of sorts, pitch black and reeking of foul rot. It was so dark that Roseluck could barely see her own hooves in front of her face. With a thick roof of black, dangling vines suspended above her head, there was no moonlight to guide her through the blackness. But the commander seemed to know exactly where they were going though, making left and right turns every so often.
Maybe that was how the changelings chose to live, or rather were forced to choose how to live. The changelings were hated by almost everypony in Equestria, and after their attack on the royal city of Canterlot, they must have come to fear for their very lives.
Now that she noticed it, the only light Roseluck had seen since her captivity was the light of the moon. Candles, torches, or other sources of light were nowhere to be seen, not even in the dimmest glows. Their species was already in a terrible state, and there was no doubt that some ponies wanted revenge against them. Of course, it would be a very, very stupid idea to attack their home directly, but with the right tactics put in play, a proper, aggressive force would be enough to at least match their slowly dwindling strength.
At first, the dark tunnel seemed to go on forever, but at long last, Roseluck could take reprieve. A thin, silvery light of salvation broke through at the far end. The grumpy warden and the ill-hearted prisoner stepped out of the tunnel and into the bright moonlight, but where they stepped out appeared to a tad too strange.
The tunnel seemed to have led them onto some kind of canopy bridge, suspended high above the forest floor. The bridge was tacked end to end, constructed of vines no less, and strained lightly under her weight. All around her, Roseluck could see the green, feathery treetops of the Everfree, expanding for miles in every direction. The size of the forbidden forest was a wonder to behold, but it did nothing to aid her hopeful thoughts about regaining her freedom.
“Keep moving!” snapped the commander, lightly jabbing Roseluck in the flank once again.
“Stop that!” Roseluck quietly yelped, flinching in pain. The commander sneered and reared its sword up again.
“I said--!”
“Ok, ok!” Roseluck cut in. “Plothole…” she muttered.
Roseluck turned ahead and began walking forward. Cold, icy winds blew through her mane and rustled the leaves of the many trees surrounding her. The unguided weather conditions in the Everfree were terrible. Not to the highest degree, but certainly deplorable enough to drive away any potential adventurers. When all of Ponyville learned that the newcomer Zecora lived in the Everfree forest, many were put in a position of disbelief. How could one live nearly freezing to death at night, or collapsing from such dreadful humidity in the daytime? Roseluck dared not think about how the winter months behaved. The very thought made her shudder.
As they continued across the bridge, a horrendously foul smell suddenly overtook the mare’s nostrils. At the same time, she could hear low, mournful baying, as if someone was crying. A hint of worry rose up deep within her, but was soon forced to bring it back down when she felt the painful sting of the commander’s sword once more.
Eventually they reached the end of the bridge, which dipped down into another dark tunnel. Large cobwebs and other unpleasant effects surrounded the entrance. It was like walking into a horror-themed attraction at an amusement park, only ten times worse and ten times as real.
But like many scary situations, there was always a light at the end of the tunnel, quite literally, but even with this chance at deliverance from the darkness, Roseluck managed to find hidden fear lurking at the exit.
Dim, but colorful rays of light shone inward through the gap, brushing across the floor and along the edges of the adjacent walls. Even through the miniscule amount of light, the red-maned mare could not see what lay beyond, for thick clouds of hot steam obscured her vision of the path ahead.
Yet as she stood there, staring into the hazy unknown, Roseluck realized that her armed and armored stickler of a keeper was not poking her anymore. She stalled for just a few moments more to see if it reacted. Nothing happened. Slowly, she turned around, keeping her guard up of course, but found that the changeling was no longer standing behind her. She looked back down the dark tunnel and caught a faint silhouette of the sword-wielding changeling as it departed. She took a dare and called out to it.
“Where are you going?” Roseluck asked, her words eerily echoing around the tunnel walls.
“My queen is expecting you,” replied the changeling, its voice growing fainter as it walked further away. “Don’t keep her waiting…”
Roseluck frowned shortly and turned to face the misty entryway. She possessed only a minor fear of stepping through to the other side. The rest of her emotional space was occupied with a combined sense of hatred and a burning desire to punch the queen’s lights out at long last. Yes, her endeavor would be fruitless, but well worth it. The brave mare took a deep breath and stepped quietly through the cloudy veil.
Immediately upon entering, the mare was taken aback by how warm the room was. The heated air wisped through her damp coat and brushed up against her skin. It made her sweat, but she still pressed onward.
Only a few steps in, Roseluck could hear what sounded like…singing? She could not make out any words, as the vocalizations were soft and barely audible, but as she continued to make snail’s pace inward, a thin, grey shadow became visible through the fluent fog. Its upper body swayed back and forth in tune with the faint melody.
Suddenly, Roseluck’s soft hoof landed on what felt like a twig, snapping it in half with a loud crack. She yelped in shock. The soothing airs ceased to flow and the shadow flinched where it stood, halting all movement.
“Who’s there?” a hissed a low, gentle voice. Though surprisingly different, Roseluck was easily able to make out the all too familiar voice of Chrysalis. The queen spoke in a strangely gentle voice, as if the insectoid mother was shy or frightened, though it did little to change Roseluck’s general outlook of the dark mistress.
“Take a guess,” Roseluck sternly replied. A few seconds went by before she received a response.
“Y-yes, Roseluck. I sent for you, didn’t I? Come to me, at once.”
Roseluck rolled her eyes before restarting her trek through the misty steam. As she drew closer to the shadow, the steam around her began to dissipate and drift away. Before long, she was free of the clouds.
As her vision returned to normal, she found herself overtaken by sheer, sudden beauty. Her eyes went wide at the sights of numerous, colorful glows radiating off the surfaces of gorgeous, but bizarre plant life. Their individual colors shimmered in the natural prisms of the surrounding, warm mist like stained glass.
As if the sights were not enough for her, her nose could not get enough of the smells either. As if on cue, each individual fragrance tickled the flower mare’s delicate smell receptors. The smell of roses was the first to arrive, portraying her all-time favorite flower with such hefty gusto. Daisy and lily came next as a pair, gracefully drifting into her nose as if the wind itself carried their weight. Last but not least, an unusually sweet, zesty scent made its presence known. It was difficult to describe exactly what it smelled like, but with some quick thinking, she resorted to using a few mental examples to further stimulate the pleasing aromas.
Sugar, spice, and everything nice boiled down to the smell of cupcakes, apple fritters, and other delicious pastries. They reminded her of someplace special, someplace unique and full of wonder. They…
They reminded her of…home.
“Roseluck?”
The sound of her name forced Roseluck out of her trance. She turned towards the source of the disturbance, where she locked eyes with Chrysalis. The queen was sitting on her haunches, cradling Ditto in her embrace near a small outcrop of the glowing plants partially obscured by the surrounding steam. Her infant son lay peacefully asleep, his head buried deep into his mother’s upper chest. As adorable as it was to look at, the angrier parts of Roseluck’s stunted even the shortest smile or happiest emotion.
“What do you want?” Roseluck grunted, huffing her breath.
“I—“
Ditto shifted in his mother’s hold. Chrysalis looked down at her son and frowned.
“What?!” Roseluck snapped, mildly annoyed, making Chrysalis rear back in fright.
Ditto squirmed even more, squeaking many times as he tossed and turned about.
“G-Give me a moment…”
Chrysalis lifted her wriggling son from her hold and lowered him onto her back as she walked briskly across the room to another outcrop of glowing plants where a small hammock, constructed from vines and anchored on the thick stems of the plants, sat still and unoccupied. Chrysalis daintily gripped her child and lowered him into the bed swing, covering him with his purple blanket before leaning down and planting a light kiss on his forehead. Appeased, Ditto smiled and ceased his rampant fidgeting.
“We need to talk,” said Chrysalis, turning around to face Roseluck. “But I feel things would go more smoothly if you were…comfortable, first.”
“Comfortable?” Roseluck groaned. “Oh, I’m far, far from comfortable, especially after feeling a sword stab into my backside the whole way over here.”
“What? A sword?” said Chrysalis, surprised.
“You changelings really are monsters, you know that?” stated Roseluck, feeling it more than right to add insult to injury. “Some mother you are. You let your own children run around and play with knives as if they weren’t brutish enough, because one of them tried to kill me!”
“Kill you?” Chrysalis went wide-eyed, cupping a hoof over her mouth in obscure disbelief.
“And you’re surprised by this? One of your little brats wearing a suit of armor went insane! He, she, it…whatever drew a sword, cut down the cage, and insulted me while I was held at blade point!”
“Suit of armor…”
Chrysalis leaned to the left to get a “better view” of Roseluck’s flank. Multiple scars and dotted red spots covered the mare’s cutie mark and thigh, and a thin, red streak ran down her back leg.
“What in the hay are you staring at?” asked Roseluck, stepping to the side to block Chrysalis’s view.
The commander… thought Chrysalis, sneering quizzically.
“You’re hurt,” said Chrysalis, slightly worried.
“Hurt?” Roseluck looked to her left charge and yelped with surprise. Hoping that she was just seeing things, the mare reached around and poked at one of the scars, immediately regretting her decision when she felt a harsh sting surge through her flank and leg, causing her to jolt in pain.
“Come to me. Let me help you,” offered Chrysalis.
“Help me?” Roseluck stepped back, appalled. Her sudden movement sent another spark of pain spearing through her body. She convulsed again, but refused to show signs of weakness. “No thanks!”
“…oh.”
“Just tell me what you want so I can go back to bed. I need to get used to sleeping on cold, wet ground for the rest of my life anyway.”
“I…” Chrysalis pointed a hoof off to her side. “Would you…care for a bath?”
“A…bath?” Confused, Roseluck followed the direction of Chrysalis’s hoof, which led her gaze to a large pool of steaming hot water, surrounded by tiny vents that billowed clouds of hot, white vapor that rose high up to the ceiling.
“Yes, a bath. Normally, only I am allowed to bath in the hot springs, but for you—“
“Do you think I’m a fool? A bath isn’t going to change what you did to me! It isn’t going to bring me back home where I belong! I had friends! I had a family, and the blink of an eye, you took it all away!”
“Plea…I…” Chrysalis stuttered. She bit her lower lip and looked away for a moment. She searched her mind blindly in hopes of stumbling upon the rights words, but was soon forced to give up her search. Her knowledge of speaking out in a forceful manner was slowly withering away, dumbing down to only a minor vocabulary of lesser insults and…kind words. Each tender word left her mouth riding on a wick of venom.
“…please,” Chrysalis continued, sighing. “I promise I will explain myself. There really is a true reason why you were brought here.”
“Then why not just get it out now? What was the point in mentioning a bath of all things?”
“Well…for two reasons, actually. The first being…your coat is getting rather dirty, being left to the elements and all.”
Roseluck raised a foreleg up to her nose and took a quick sniff, sneering in disgust when her nose was confronted by a combined assault of dust, dirt, and days of dampness.
“And the other,” Chrysalis continued. “Like I mentioned earlier, is comfort. I…want you to feel comfortable for a little while.”
“…what in Equestria happened to you?” Roseluck raised a quizzical eyebrow, but this did little to show just how baffled she really was on the inside. Did all the worlds evil become nicer overnight? Not that she was complaining, but where were all the evil plans? Where were all the plots to overthrow Equestria? Did somepony plant a few “herbal ingredients” in the brownies at the League of Evil’s last bake sale?
One day, she was sleeping in a cold, wet cage, but now she was being offered comfort? There was no greater mystery, unless Discord was behind some magical curtain, pulling the strings.
“I don’t know…” Chrysalis looked over her shoulder, staring meaningfully at her son’s serene visage. So much was happening so fast. Ever since his birth, there has been nothing but change, but she could only question if it was for better, or for worse. After living the life of a monster, the black-hearted empress hardly knew the difference anymore.
Roseluck rolled her eyes away from the queen and turned towards the neighboring hot spring. All the sights and smells she experienced since she walked in seemed to add to the enticing natural beauty surrounding it. The thought of wading into its waters was somewhat enjoyable compared to the bitter nights she was once bordered by.
“So, this…bath. No funny stuff, right?”
Chrysalis smiled and turned back to Roseluck, who had already begun to tread towards the spring’s edge.
“Of course,” replied Chrysalis, following in the mare’s hoofsteps as Roseluck tested the clear waters by wading one hoof in it. “Please, step in. I’ll explain everything when you’re ready.”
Roseluck shot Chrysalis a skeptical stare, but the queen just stood there and kept her smile sincere and full of assurance. Her doubts moderately lowered, the white mare lowered one hoof into the spring, allowing her body to take the full front of the high temperature before stepping in entirely. The scars on her flank stung fiercely, but to a somewhat tolerable degree. The waters went up as high as her upper neck, leaving her head floating above the surface. She felt relaxed as the balmy waves flowed across her delicate body, seeping underneath her coat and washing away nature’s grime. For only a second, she dipped her head under the water and rose up again, parting her wet, silky mane back behind her head before resting her head on the edge of the spring.
“Thank you…” Chrysalis whispered, sighing with relief.
“Just get it over with.” Roseluck replied, staring off to the side.
“R-right…” said Chrysalis. The queen took in a silent, deep breath before releasing it, prepped and ready to begin. “You know…who we are, yes?”
“Pff! Of course I do,” replied Roseluck. “Heck, all of Equestria knows who you are, or rather what you are. You’re hated by everypony!”
Though painfully true, the fact still made Chrysalis’s heart shrink. “But you do know why we do what we do, yes?”
“Ever thought of becoming a vegetarian?”
Chrysalis sighed. “No, though it is safe to say that we have searched for alternatives to our only food source, but they all faltered and failed. It has been centuries, and even to this day we still resort to raids, disguises, and other forms of surprise incursions to obtain what we need to survive, but it is never enough for us all. When Ditto was born, all I felt was misery. Yes, it’s cruel, but it brought no benefit knowing that there was another mouth to feed. My changelings are dwindling by the number each day, and years before, I could have cared less for who I hurt and why because we were so many and the ponies were so few, but now that I have a son, and the entire world knows of our presence, I’m starting to…feel things. They’re unknown to me, and I don’t know what to do. I…care for him, but in ways too strange for me to describe them.”
“I figured that someone like you would know what love is.”
“But it’s not love!” Chrysalis suddenly snapped, startling the white mare.
“Watch it with the volume!” Roseluck groaned, rubbing her ears. “Of course it’s love! How could you possibly not know what love feels like?”
“Ponies don’t regurgitate what they eat and slather it all over their bodies, right?”
“What? No!” said Roseluck while the unpleasant thought lingered in her head. “But you changelings are the only ones in the whole world who can actually feel love!”
“But—“
“But what?”
Chrysalis broke down, but not into tears. She collapsed to the ground, placing her hooves on top of her head and pressing down hard.
“I can’t take it anymore! It’s slowly tearing my mind to pieces! I knew you couldn’t provide the answer, but there simply had to be another way to find it!”
“Oh for Celestia’s sake, calm down! Just skip to the point. What answer are you talking about?”
“You were brought here to the hive because the love within you is almost identical to the love I feel for Ditto. I don’t know how, but…it just is! There is nothing I can do to explain it! While on a scouting mission, one of my spies in Ponyville informed me of a new, pure energy similar to that of pure love.”
“You have spies in Ponyville? I thought that Princess Celestia’s new guard protocols stopped that from happening?”
“Oh, believe me, I have spies in dozens of places, even after that ridiculous protocol was put into place. I have two spies in Ponyville that act as candy sellers that live together, but that isn’t important right now! What is important is that my spies almost confused the new energy with love. They thought it was food, but they thought wrong and nearly exposed themselves to the entire town trying to absorb it. Roseluck, the source of the energy was you.”
“M-m…me?” mumbled Roseluck, stunned.
“Yes, you! This isn’t how I wanted it to be, but I knew that with Ditto’s birth and with the news of this new energy, I figured that there would be a…connection of sorts. Every event that led up to this day just happened by chance! Ditto needed a food source, and you were the perfect match. The energy isn’t exactly love itself, but rather it takes the form of an untouched, untapped source, bleak on the outside, but rich on the inside! Think of it like a gold mine. My scouts could only faintly see through the veil, but when they got closer, the love disappeared before their very eyes. Truth be told, my spell would have had a great chance at failing were you not in possession on this energy. It could have deformed you horribly or worse…”
Roseluck swallowed hard. “So...you were only trying to take care of your son?”
“The energy acted a catalyst that allowed me to successfully perform the spell. Now do you see why I had to do it? Now do you see why it had to be you?”
“I-I never knew about any energy! There’s got to be more to this!”
“There is. It was a chance situation really, so I went with it. Ditto is only an infant, but if he continues to feed off your uniquely-enhanced love, then there might just be a chance for our survival.”
“So…you went on a hunch?”
“When he becomes old enough to rule, only one of two things will happen. He will either save us, or destroy us. Any other changeling that feeds off of normal love almost always turns out the same way, but if fate holds us right, the essence of love you possess will be the decisive factor between life and death. I could not bear to let go of him, so I kept him and chose to raise him in hopes that, in the future, he would help us find salvation from extinction. I don’t want to see my children wither away anymore, Roseluck…I can’t…”
The awestruck mare’s train of thought made tracks around her frozen memory. She went over everything she was told, over and over again until it stuck to her like glue. She did not want to admit it, but everything seemed to click in the right places, like an extraordinarily difficult puzzle.
The momentary silence was broken by the sound of loud, squeaky crying nearby.
“It’s Ditto,” said Chrysalis, looking over her shoulder. “And he’s hungry…”
“Hungry?” murmured Roseluck. “So, that must mean…”
“He must be fed.” Chrysalis looked back at Roseluck with sadness in her eyes.
“…oh.” Roseluck fell quiet, staring blankly at the warm, slightly murky spring water, allowing the heavy weight of their recent conversation freely compress her deepest-laid emotions.
“One moment…”
Chrysalis rose from the ground and backed away from the edge, moving at a brisk, hurried pace to aid her infant son, leaving Roseluck to stare pensively into the waters. She returned moments later with Ditto tossing and turning on her back, wrapped in his thin cover up. The queen lay down on her stomach near the edge of the spring closest to Roseluck, gently placing Ditto on the ground in front of her.
“Please, Roseluck,” Chrysalis beseeched with worried eyes. “You must understand that all I have done, all the pain I have caused, I did it all for him. He is the only son I have ever had and he may be the only hope for the survival of our species.”
Roseluck looked up from the waters and stared meaningfully at Ditto’s rowdy, uncovered face. With every second that passed, he continued to squirm, begging for his daily dose of life-giving sustenance.
“Please, Roseluck…” Chrysalis repeated herself as her emerald eyes began to quiver.
It was the moment that sealed her future, placing a permanent stamp on her memory. All retentions of happiness: her friends, her family, and her life once filled with joyful flowers; they would remain safe so long as she stayed. What she was about to do was for a true cause. She would miss her friends and relations dearly, but whether the changeling’s intentions were good or evil, Roseluck could not just stand by and watch a misunderstood species slowly rot away.
“…ok,” Roseluck whispered, looking up at Chrysalis. “I’ll do it.”
Chrysalis was at a loss for words. She struggled in her attempts to speak the words of thankfulness, but each of her breaths came out choppy and stuttered as they exited through her grinning lips, but at last, she managed to utter a simple ‘thank you’ and coaxed Roseluck to move closer.
“I…don’t believe you’ve felt the spell’s power directly, have you?” asked Chrysalis.
“No,” replied Roseluck. “But it can’t be that…bad, right?”
Ditto ceased his squirming and curled up into a ball, shivering like it was fifty below zero. Roseluck gasped with fright and urged that they continue immediately. Chrysalis nodded in reply and lowered her horn close to the mare’s forehead, where a bright green tingle of light sprouted from its tip and shrouded Roseluck’s whole upper body.
At first, all seemed well as Roseluck began to feel only a light tug on her factory of a heart as its artificial love was slowly drained away. It was practically painless and devoid of harmful side effects. If she could go through something as simple as this for Ditto, and his future, then who knows what she could do to help out ne--!
As if her wild expectations played by the troll handbook, Roseluck was slammed in the chest with the battering force of a freight train. Her head was knocked backwards, slamming into the spring edge behind her. She felt no significant pain, but rather an incredibly heavy sensation, like the weight of a fat rhino was sitting on top her ribcage. She felt weak and tapped out, and her eyelids became heavy as a result. As quick as it came, the heavy weight was lifted and the transfer was completed, but the sudden weakness still clung to her being.
In her final moments of consciousness, Roseluck glanced up at Chrysalis’s face, where a wide smile was firmly planted on its surface. As the conveyed love slowly seeped out her horn and into Ditto’s body, the happy, little changeling smiled in much of the same way as he was fed copious amounts of the precious foodstuff. With the contagious smile plastered to her face, Roseluck gave in to her unexpected feebleness and finally managed to pass out.