I glared at the back of her head as she turned around and walked away, "Come along then, the sooner your... team, will be freed." She glanced back at me, "Though, I will keep them captive, of course. To ensure that you behave." She added with a smile. I growled and followed her, keeping the stone spike in my hand. I wasn't willing to trust her and was ready to take her out if the need were to arise. I found her standing outside the mouth of the cave, looking at me with a mixture of boredom, interest, and mild irritation, sort of like secretary looks at a man with a strange hair-cut. I looked out at the sight in front of me, ignoring the smirk Chrysalis wore as my face betrayed my amazement. It was obvious we were still underground, probably inside the mountain, but it had been hollowed out to make room for the city I was looking at. There were buildings carved from the stone itself, but there were others made from what looked like the black chitin that covered the changelings. Speaking of which, changelings were flying in the air, walking along what were obviously roads, I even spotted smaller changelings.

I looked over at Chrysalis, eyebrow cocked, "Your Horde?" I asked, stepping beside her as we began to walk. She gave a satisfied snort as we continued walking upward, the path leading to a room that was carved into a massive stalactite hanging from the cave roof. When my pace slowed, I could feel something pushing me in front of her, and I saw Chryalis' horn glowing a sickly green. I growled softly, resuming our previous pace towards our goal. We stepped into a room filled with various vials, brews, potions, what have you, and Chrysalis began barking out orders. Changelings filed into the room from other attached rooms, quick to heed her commands, which seemed to consist of having her subjects poke at me, take measurements, scan me with magic, and generally be invasive and rather rude towards my person. I took it all in stride, though more than one of the changelings had received a glare that could crack a stone in two, but I bore it because, despite my better judgment, I trusted Chrysalis to keep her word and free Trixie and Big Mac.

Hours later, I was told to sit down in a separate room and wait for somepony to come in. I was more than happy to leave the changelings to whatever it was they were doing, they seemed eager enough to start working with whatever it it they found out about me. The room I was moved to had nothing more than a flat stump of rock sitting in the middle, which I promptly sat on, careful not to slide off from the slime still clinging to me. An older changeling walked in, though I might have been wrong. I only guessed it was older based on its larger frame and slower gait as compared to the others I had seen so far. What followed was an odd interrogation, as the changeling asked me a lot pertaining to my romantic past, including how many partners I had, how long each relationship lasted, how close I was to my family and past partners. Needless to say, I was rather confused about it all. I thought they had wanted to learn how I was able to feed them but, then again, I didn't know what it was they ate. I looked at the changeling that was interviewing me, noting the fangs and similarity to insects. Logic would dictate that they fed in a manner similar to insects, probably feeding off of the nutrients stored in a body. I thought back to the pods, probably similar to a spider wrapping up a fly to immobilize it. A vague idea in mind, I finished answering the questions I was asked.

"Hmm, ever the mystery, aren't we?" Said Chrysalis, an eyebrow raised as she walked in, "A mystery I plan to solve." She stepped over to me and traced the tip of her hoof over my tattoo, "Perhaps this mark?" She said, looking down at me as I glared at the wall in front of me, "Or could it be something deeper?" Her hoof trailed down to the middle of my chest.

"I want to see Trixie and Big Mac." I replied flatly, refusing to look at her.

"Perhaps you should ask more politely." Hissed Chrysalis, her eyes narrowing, "How about, "I'd like to see my friends, My Lady?" "

The force of my glare made her step back as I stood up, "Don't. Even. Dare." I growled, knuckles cracking as my hands balled into fists, "I have one Lady and She is more than you could ever hope to be." It took all of my willpower not to physically lash out at her, "Now," I exhaled slowly, "I would like to see my friends, Queen Chrysalis." I finished evenly.

She blinked, then gave a short, harsh laugh, "Were it not for our need to study you, I would have had you killed for an insult like that." She walked around behind me, "But, for now, I will just lock you up beside your friends." She walked towards the exit, "At least, whats left of them." she said over her shoulder, looking back at me with one serpentine eye. I won't lie, a small bundle of concern settled in my stomach when she said that, but I followed her closely as my concern for my team outweighed my dread. She led me through a series of rooms and hallways inside of the stalactite structure, getting closer to the point at the bottom.

We finally arrived at what must have been a dungeon, or a series of holding cells that had been carved from the stone, lit up by glowing crystals that I had seen placed throughout the entire structure. I saw two shapes occupying the same cell and ran past Chrysalis, eagerness and concern driving me towards the shapes. What I saw though, wasn't Trixie and Big Mac, it was but... They looked hollow. Both of them had turned to look at me but their eyes lacked life, their coats even looked duller and washed out. Even the way they moved was like they didn't want to use their muscles.

I turned to Chrysalis, "What did you do to them?" I asked, my mind desperately searching for a solution.

She gave a shrug and raised a hoof, "We prepared them in order to feed. To interrupt the process results in..." She waved her hoof at Trixie and Big Mac, "That. It makes them utterly useless afterward, since putting them back in a pod doesn't do a thing."

I knelt and looked at my two friends, "What do you even feed off of? What sort of preparations would do this?" I asked, a hand wrapping around a bar.

I could hear her smile, "Ah, I never told you, did I?" She gave a soft giggle, "We feed off of emotions, love in particular." I heard her walk up beside me, "We look at their memories and construct their version of a perfect world, along with a perfect partner." I looked up at her, "This, in turn, will produce the positive emotions that my Horde and myself will feed on." She flicked her head, causing her mane to shift and rest across the back of her neck, "They live out a full life in this fantasy world, including their own deaths, at which point the body simply gives up, the mind thinking it has gone though an entire lifetime." She shrugged, "Some last longer than others, you three have actually lasted the longest by far." Her horn glowed and I felt myself being lifted, "Now, you will be kept here until we have need of you again." She placed me in the cell beside Trixie and Big Mac, the stone bars locking into place via what I assume is magic.

I looked around the cell as she walked away, the sound of her hooves growing faint as she left. Sparse was an apt description for the room: A raised stone slab with a sheet made a bed, a stone dish was fed a constant trickle of water, and a hole for more personal business, complete with a fungus that seemed to grow in thin sheets. It had everything I would need to live there, for the short term anyway. I decided that a few hours of actual sleep, and not suspended animation, would do my frazzled mind some good.

I found myself in a moonlit field, surrounded on all sides by short grass and wild flowers, a full moon hanging high in the sky above. I was surprised, most of my dreams were quickly forgotten, if acknowledged at all. I looked around and saw a shadow pooling in front of me, shaping itself into something vaguely pony shaped. As soon as it had four legs and a head, it began to rise from the ground, turning into a three dimensional creature. It tackled me to the my my back, its face close to mine as more details began to take shape.

"-hn! John!"

I gave a lazy smile, "Huh, so I'm dreaming of Luna?" I chuckled, "Hope berry never finds out, might get jealous."

The shadow turned Luna glared at me, "It's actually me you twit." She snapped, "Where have you been?!"

I blinked and sat up, "But I'm asleep, dreaming... Ah, Princess of the Night, dream walking, makes sense." I pinched the bridge of my nose, "I'm in the mountains north of Equestria, if my latest victim is to be believed."

Luna got off my chest and looked at me, "Victim?"

My mind went to the Changeling I had forcibly drowned and, suddenly, it appeared in the grass beside me. I nodded at the leaking corpse, "That's it."

Luna took a look at it, cocking her eyebrow as she looked at me, "A Changeling?" I nodded, "Then you are in their hive..." A hoof went to her chin, "How fares the rest of the Dusk Brigade?"

I looked down, "Aside from myself, Big Mac, and Trixie, they're dead, and the other two can only be loosely called alive." I stood up fully and looked at Luna, "For now, I'll focus on getting back."

Luna nodded, "John, I have to tell you-"

I opened my eyes and found myself back in the cell, voices whispering outside my cell.

"My Queen, while unfortunate, the lozz of the zouth nurzery cannot be avoided, even if thiz... thing were to help." Said a buzzing voice.

"And yet we must try." replied Chrysalis, "I will not suffer to lose more of my kind." I heard her open the door to my cell and closed my eyes, keeping my breathing even as her magic lifted me and dropped me to the floor, "Wake up." I opened my eyes and glared at her, "I've need of you." She said, returning my glare with a cool gaze.

I stood up, wrapping the thin sheet around my waist, "There are nicer ways to wake a person up." I walked out of the cell, "Also, could I get my clothes? Its freezing in this hive of yours."

Chrysalis tutted, "Those ways aren't nearly as effective." She turned, "Fetch his clothes, you know where to bring them." She said to the changeling behind her. It ran off quickly as she turned back to me, "Come, we are about to see how useful you can be."

Her horn glowed and I felt the same sense of crushing dark that came with teleportation. A moment later I was kneeling in the middle of a room filled with what looked like eggs. Thankfully, this bout of spatial dislocation didn't include me getting sick all over the floor, "So, what do you want me to do?" I asked, looking more closely at the room around me. The eggs were an off white, around size of a beachball, and I could see small shadows shifting inside them.

Chrysalis walked over to one of the eggs and gently put a hoof on it, "... Save them." She said, her voice small, "Please."

I looked over at her, "What do you mean? How do you expect me to save them?" I asked.

She sat down, her tattered mane covering her eyes, "While we had you... tucked away, you produced enough love to feed my changelings in ways they haven't experienced in years." She looked at me, her eyes wet, "That love has run out and these infants will die soon because we can't feed them." Her eyes fell, "I can't lose more, we can't handle it."

I looked at her, then at the eggs and sighed, "Goddess damn my bleeding heart." I put a hand on one of the eggs, "Only because their innocent." I said softly. I smiled despite myself, as I felt the little life inside kicking. Closing my eyes, I pushed away the thoughts of the Changelings, my imprisonment, Big Mac, Trixie, all of it, and I just focused on loving the lives that were spread around me, the futures they could have, the simple fact that they could live with my help. I loved them with all that I was, as I was taught to do by My Lady. I could feel the little life inside the egg moving more excitedly as I opened my eyes and reattached myself to the world, only to find two serpentine eyes looking at me.

Chrysalis held me gaze for a moment before I felt myself being pulled by a pair of hooves, "Thank you." She said, hugging me close, "Thank you." I could feel her shaking as she began to cry softly. A part of me wanted to take advantage of the moment and eliminate her, from there I could get Trixie and Big Mac, then escape as quickly as possible. What I did was wrap my arms around her neck and return the hug, humming softly. I saw all the eggs in the cavern were glowing faintly, the little shadows inside twitching and kicking with the signs of life. The sight filled me with a soft warmth, a sort of satisfaction, and I knew that I wouldn't regret my decision.

A few moments later, Chrysalis pulled away, "You've no idea how much this means to me and my hive." She said, wiping her eyes with a hoof, "Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

I sighed and rubbed my neck, "There's a lot you could do." I stood up and stretched, one hand holding up the sheet around my waist, "For now, I'll just list off some things and we can hash out how it'll work out." She nodded, giving me her full attention, "To start, I'd like to send the remains of my team back to their respective families." I paused for a second as I thought about them, "They deserve that much. Next, I'd like to send Trixie and Big Mac back to Canterlot, see if they could get some help. I'd also like my stuff back. Clothes, armor, weapons, the whole deal. And finally, I'd like to go home," I sighed and smiled, "My girls are waiting for me, and I can't bear the thought of them worrying." I chuckled.

Chrysalis tilted her head as she pondered my requests, then sighed, "Under different circumstances, I would deny all those immediately, however..." She looked out over all of the eggs that were glowing happily, "We shall see."