Captive 10 (MLP, Chrysalis)

>Alone in Chrysalis’ room, you sit on her bed.
>It’s a comfortable bed, actually.
>Soft and with some nice sheets.
>The sheets are a shade of red eerily similar to blood, but that’s only a minor detail.
>Although you wonder how Chrysalis might react on seeing you on it.
>You imagine she’d be annoyed.
>But then she shouldn’t keep you confined to this single chamber.
>You kind of wish she’d let you wander around.
>The place is huge and there must be a lot to see.
>Not being able to read the books kept here is also a little frustrating.
>Why can’t anyone write anything in English?
>Most already speak the damn language.
>Of course, your current level of movability is already a bit of a breakthrough.
>And whenever you try to make her allow a little more, she basically threatens you with the old chain.
>Alas, such is the way of the Changeling Queen.
>Apparently.
>The door suddenly bursts open and Chrysalis trots in.
>Followed by a few changelings.
>She stops and looks at you.
>And her bed.
>A brief moment of staring goes by.
>Then she ignores you and walks over to her bookshelf, skimming through the titles of her books.
>”We’re going to the library.”
>The changelings, you see there’s six of them, take up places by the door.
“The library?”
>You didn’t know there was one.
>”Yes, the library.”
“Why?”
>”Because I’m tired of not being able to find anything about you.”
>Wait, she’s been studying you?
”I already told you where I’m from.”
>You did, really.
>Back when you were chained to the wall.
>”Don’t give me that inter-dimensional nonsense again.”
>Although she believed none of it.
>And when the topic was quickly dropped, you thought that was the end of it.
>Surprise, surprise. Apparently.
“What would bringing me to your library help?”
>You still can’t read anything.
>”I want to know what you can read. What you know about. What region you’re from.”
>You frown.
>She’s taking her suspicions pretty seriously.
>This could be either silly or bad.
“If you can’t find anything about me, doesn’t that just show you I’ve been telling the truth?”
>She turns around and gives you an irritated look.
>”No. Just because you’re rare doesn’t mean any foalish story about ‘planets’ and other worlds is true.”
>Well, bummer.
>She’s being stubborn.
>Again.
>The changelings by the door exchange looks.
“The princesses believed me.”
>And holy shit did they enjoy the opportunity to learn about other planes of existence.
>The endless questions…
>A smug expression decorates Chrysalis' face.
>”They’re only princesses.”
>Of course she’d say something like that.
“Yeah, you’re obviously so much better.”
>Two ponies totally didn’t wipe the floor with your entire army.
>Her smugness fades for a moment.
>But then she smiles wolfishly.
>”Exactly. And that is something you’d never forget, correct?”
>She takes a few slow steps towards you with that malicious smile.
>Oh come on!
>Stop trying to make reminders about your imprisonment here.
>… Hm…
“Maybe. It all depends…”
>She gives you a surprised look.
>Ha! You’re not bullied that easily.
>You notice the changelings stare at your exchange with the Queen.
>You feel pretty daring, but decide to try something.
“Is a queen more generous than simple princesses?”
>She rolls her eyes.
>”You’re not leaving.”
>Damn it!
“Why not?!”
>”Because I want you here.”
“Why?”
>”Because I keep my things here.”
“Why?”
>”Because this is my personal chamber.”
“Why?”
>She opens her mouth, but then glares at you.
>Yeah, you’re starting to feel a little stupid too.
>Okay, no more kiddy techniques.
>You hear a changeling giggle by the door.
>He’s silenced by a harsh glance from Chrysalis.
>”No more of this. We’re going to the library.”
“You won’t learn anything.”
>”We’ll see about that.”
“No, I’m pretty serious.”
>”As am I. “
>She gives you a look that quite clearly says ‘end of discussion’.
>In her irritable state, you don’t dare push things further.

>Like most other things in Chrysalis’ city-castle-hive, you expected the library to be enormous.
>You’ve already seen the one in Canterlot Castle, which was a very respectable size.
>This is pretty similar.
>The biggest difference is the height of the bookshelves.
>These are honestly really tall.
>Then again, you’ve yet to see a changeling that can’t fly.
>You’re placed in the center, surrounded by rows of stuffed bookshelves, by a wide table.
>A couple of changelings are fetching books and placing them on the table for Chrysalis’ perusal.
>Chrysalis shows you a map of Equestria.
>… and then some?
>Curiosity sparks.
>You pick up the old paper and look it over properly.
>Everything is drawn with simple black. Ink, you assume.
>And you recognize Equestria, of course.
>You’ve seen maps of it plenty of times before.
>But that’s only one of the continents on this map.
“Hey…”
>Chrysalis looks at you.
“What’s all this?”
>The northern Crystal Empire is depicted in detail, along with other landmasses both to the north and south that you have no clue what are.
>”It’s a map.”
>Duh.
“I mean, what’s all this besides Equestria.”
>She frowns.
>”Equestria isn’t the whole world.”
>Well, yeah.
>You had figured as much even before seeing this.
“Can I get names for this stuff?”
>She raises an eyebrow.
>And says nothing.
>You look at her.
“What?”
>”You’re trying hard.”
>Now you frown.
>Her stubborn suspicions are getting annoying.
>A changeling suddenly drops a heavy book right next to you.
>He gives you a weird look before flying off again.
>Huh?
”Wha-“
>”Open the book.”
>Chrysalis looks at you rather calmly.
>You obey, and open it to its first page.
>Skimming over its writings…
>Well, the system doesn’t look entirely nonsensical like some of the stuff you saw back in Chrysalis’ room.
>But no. This shit is gibberish to you.
“I don’t know what this is.”
>”Of course you don’t.”
>Oh for the love of…!
“Do you have a pen and paper?”
>You decide to show her something.
>Chrysalis gives you a suspicious look.
>You look back calmly, despite your growing annoyance.
>With a wave of her hoof, a changeling is sent to fetch what you asked.
>The changeling mare brings you parchment and quill.
>And a bottle of ink, luckily.
>Dipping the quill, you write a message in your own native language: Good ol’ English.
>’You fucking cunt.’
>After setting the final dot, you hand the parchment to Chrysalis.
>With a confused look and a glowing horn, she takes it and reads it.
>Or tries to.
>She’s visibly perplexed.
>It’s, admittedly, a pleasing sight.
>She spends a few moments studying the letters.
>You allow it and just watch her in silence.
>You guess she’s trying to compare it to common Equestrian.
>Or some other language. She seems to know quite a few.
>”… What does it say?”
>Probably shouldn’t tell.
“So it’s unlike anything else you’ve seen before?”
>As she looks at you, her eyes display a mix of acknowledgement and resentment.
>You take it as a ‘yes’.
“Good.”
>She magically puts the paper down.
>And stares at it.
>She’s thinking.
>It looks like some important pieces of a puzzle are coming together in her head.
>About time, you think.
>”How can you be from another world?”
>You shrug.
>Hell if you know, honestly.
>It’s not like you came here willingly.
>Another changeling comes flying with its buzzing wings, dumping a book on the growing stack on the table next to Chrysalis.
>”That’s enough.”
>With a lazy wave of her hoof she dismisses the minion.
>Her former frustration and irritability seems to become replaced with a sense of defeat.
>She turns back to you.
>”How did you get here?”
>You shrug again.
“It just sort of happened.”
>Chrysalis stares at you with very, very obvious disbelief.
“It’s true!”
>It is.
>Maybe it was some sort rare natural phenomenon that sucked you into Equestria.
>But one day you were just suddenly there.
“I don’t know what happened. But ‘pop!’ and I was in Equestria.”
>Chrysalis still looks like you’re full of shit.
”I’m serious. I didn’t make it happen, it happened on its own. Out of my control.”
>You put your hands up defensively.
>For emphasis.
>Her disbelief eventually seems to turns to weariness.
>”Alright.”
>She looks disappointed.
>You get the feeling it’s not just about your lack of an explanation, but the situation as a whole.
>Then again, she was pretty stubborn about not believing you.
>Now you give her a weird look.
”I thought you’d already accepted all this, though.”
>She’d already called you ‘unique’ before.
>Didn’t that mean…?
>Chrysalis raises an eyebrow at you.
>”Why?”
“You already thought I was unique.”
>She taps her chin with a hoof while thinking.
>”Oh, that.”
>And then she smiles.
>A playful, wicked smile.
>”I was just playing with you.”
>Oh really?
>Way to have that come back and bite you in the ass.
>You smile at her.
”So much for playing.”
>”Yes.”
>She looks at you.
>Really LOOKS at you.
>… It’s a little creepy.
“Something wrong?”
>”Hm…”
>Oh no, what now?
“What?”
>”You know, it seems I was wrong about you.”
>Well, duh.
>A smile appears across her face.
>Her sharp teeth are bared as it slowly grows into a grin.
>Uh oh.
“Obviously. So?”
>She giggles softly.
>”When I first stole you from the princesses, I thought I had snatched an exotic individual.”
>Okay?
>She gets up from her seat.
>Starts walking around the table, coming closer.
>”I assumed you were from one of the more rare tribes of ape from the south.”
>Figures.
>She certainly saw you as an ape, that was already pretty damn clear.
>Her intense stare, coupled with that unnervingly delighted grin, makes you uneasy.
>And she keeps coming closer.
>You stand up and abandon your small chair.
>”You had your odd boasts about being perfectly unique, coming from somewhere outside this world entirely.”
>She chuckles to herself.
>An endearing sound if it wasn’t coming from that scary bughorse.
>”What a claim.”
>You slowly back away while she comes closer.
>”Again, I assumed you had enjoyed too much attention from ponies and decided to maximize your gains.”
>You notice all the paths between the many bookshelves blocked by changelings.
>You can only wander around the table in pointless circles.
>”Little did I know…”
>She leaves the sentence unfinished and tilts her head, looking at you in a way that makes your skin crawl.
>Her utter delight is frightening.
>”And in my foalish stubbornness, you actually tried to enlighten me about your true nature!”
>You keep up your incredibly slow chase around the table.
>Never letting her come too close for comfort while she constantly approaches you.
>She leans forward and speaks softly.
>”It was very sweet of you.”
>Somehow you don’t feel flattered.
>Goddammit, why does she have to be such a scary bitch all the time?!
>”Now, imagine my astonishment…”
>She stands up straight.
>As straight as a quadruped can get, anyway.
>”… when I think I snatch a rare foreign creature. But instead get…”
>Her eyes move down and back up your form.
>She then smiles with unhidden glee.
>”… something much better.”
“Yeah, okay, that’s great, but this is getting weird.”
>You can’t stop yourself from letting her know.
>Because you’re entirely serious.
>Chrysalis stops her walk and laughs.
>Loudly.
>Her wicked laughter resounds through the library.
>She’s enjoying herself a bit more than you like. To say the least.
>And then her focus settles back on you.
>”Don’t be scared! I wouldn’t allow anything bad to happen to my most precious of things.”
>Yeah right.
“Pretty sure we’ve been over this before. You haven’t always been very nice.”
>She just smiles.
>In a sly, ill-intentioned way.
>”My apologies. Perhaps I didn’t fully understand what I was dealing with.”
>This all feels really, really bad.
>Should’ve kept your damn mouth shut and let Chrysalis be an idiot about it.
>”But…”
>She taps her chin with a hoof while giving you a questioning look.
>”What ever could I do with something like you?”
>Her tone isn’t very serious, of course.
“… How about letting me go?”
>Aaaand with all your worry, you go and say something stupid.
>Dumb question, fucktard!
>But Chrysalis only giggles.
>”Oh dear, do you still want to leave? After all this time together.”
>You can’t resist frowning.
>”And now it feels like we’re only just starting to get to know each other properly.”
>Uh, no?
>Maybe Chrysalis is finally getting the hang of what you are.
>Which honestly surprises you. She usually seems smarter than this.
>But you already feel like you understand her nature well enough.
”I’d honestly prefer to be stuck with someone else.”
>She sighs.
>Overly dramatically.
>”A pity. You’re such an interesting thing and you only want to leave me.”
“Yeah, it’s such a surprise.”
>Chrysalis chuckles.
>”You’ve always amused me, you know.”
>Sure, she’d given you that impression alright.
>Her fangs are bared in another unnerving grin.
>”But now I admit you begin to fascinate me.”
>Wonderful.
>Just wonderful.
“Somehow I’m not all that flattered.”
>”Oh, but you should be! What could be a greater compliment than a Queen’s interest?”
>She gives you a totally-full-of-herself smile.
>Yeah, she’s playing with you.
“I’ve had that for a while now.”
>Her eyes move down as she seems to ponder.
>”… Hm… I suppose so.”
>And she grins again.
>”But now I have even more reason to hold on to you.”
>Your turn to sigh.
>Chrysalis giggles.
>”Don’t fret. You and I can get along just fine when we really try.”
>Maybe.
>You still feel like watching out, though.