>You grumble to yourself and look around in your blurry world.
>Your body feels heavy and your mind lazy.
>Eh, that’s what it’s like waking up.
>Sometimes, anyway.
>You roll around and feel your collar grasp your neck.
>Annoying thing.
>Wrapping your fingers around it, you quickly remember how it doesn’t just come off.
>Oh well. Where’s that horned female?
>You look around and the world clears up while your mind becomes more focused.
>Chrysalis’ room is the same as ever and Chrysalis herself is still with you.
>Sitting on her bed, she’s looking right at you.
>With a big smile.
>”Good morning.”
>Morning?
>Right, it has to be morning, doesn’t it?
>You still have no idea how she tells day from night here.
>Maybe magic?
>Magic solves everything, doesn’t it?
“Good morning.”
>You accidently sound a little grumpy.
>A bit of your sleep still clings to you.
>Chrysalis doesn’t seem to notice, though.
>Or doesn’t care. Knowing her, that could easily be the case.
>”So, we still have a little while to ourselves before I must be off.”
>Oh.
>Oh dear…
>Is that the reason why she looks so happy?
“Okay…?”
>You give her a careful look.
>Did she have something special planned?
>”Let’s have a chat.”
>Oh.
“We’ve chatted plenty before.”
>”No reason to stop now, then.”
”I guess I don’t have anything better to do here.”
>Hint, hint.
>”Excellent! Tell me, what world do you come from?”
>And the hint went waaaaay over her head, apparently.
>You sit up on your mattress and think for a moment.
”As in, its name?”
>”Of course.”
“Earth.”
>She looks at you for a moment.
>You detect confusion.
>”… Dirt?”
“Sure.”
>She straight-up frowns.
>”Your kind seems a little uncreative.”
>You just smile at her.
>Her reaction is a little amusing.
“Sometimes, maybe. At least it’s easy to remember.”
>Simplicity isn’t always bad.
>”So you hail from Dirt.”
“Earth.”
>”Same thing.”
“Not really. We’re talking about a place’s name now.”
>”Fine.”
“Good.”
>She narrows her eyes at you.
>But her mouth bends into a small smile.
>”Earth. Can’t be much different from here since it also spawns apes.”
>Again with that tease?
>Hm…
“Primates.”
>A hint of confusion crosses her face.
“To be more exact, I’m a primate. Not an ape.”
>She blinks.
>You can’t help but smile again.
”Ape is close, though.”
>She turns her head away and seems to think.
>”… Primate is a boring word.”
>Boring, huh?
>You shrug.
>’Ape’ was kind of fun the first few times she called you that.
>Ponies had a tendency of making that comparison too.
>But now it’s getting a little annoying, although you know better than to expect her to quit it.
>Hell, if she knew it was getting on your nerves she’d probably do it even more.
“Whatever fits your fancy, then.”
>Her green eyes latch on to you again and her sharp teeth are exposed in a grin.
>Amusement.
>Why does she always look so scary when she’s amused?
>”Very well. I shall stick to my fancy.”
>Then she tilts her head and regards you thoughtfully.
>”I wonder… Do you miss your homeworld?”
>Oh gee.
>That question.
>Back with the ponies you had already been asked that very thing a trillion times before.
 “Sure.”
>Couldn’t she come up with something better?
>”So you would like to go back?”
>You sigh.
>You had already thought about that.
>Since you had been asked before.
>As such: You shrug again.
>Chrysalis frowns.
>”You don’t know?”
“Obviously.”
>She looks all-out confused.
>”But you miss it.”
“Yes.”
>She continues looking confused.
>You suppress a grin.
>You aren’t even lying.
>Maybe you should explain yourself properly.
“Okay, let me clarify…”
>She moves around on her bed a little, making herself more comfortable.
>It looks like she’s going to listen intently, which almost makes you pause.
>She’s about to take you entirely seriously?
>But you shrug it off and continue.
“I had an okay life with family, friends, and work. Steady income, reasonable living conditions, bonds with other people, all that stuff.”
>Chrysalis quietly listens.
“Nothing special, really, but not at all bad either.”
>You pause.
“And then I got thrown into Equestria where I was discovered by colourful, talking mini-horses.”
>Chrysalis grins at that description.
“I quickly became a project for Twilight, not to mention a celebrity. The princesses eventually brought me to Canterlot, and in time I made friends with those six special mares along with becoming well-acquainted with the two royal ones.”
>Applejack the hard-working but also laid-back Apple pony.
>Rarity the generous fashionista.
>Pinkie Pie the hyperactive party pony.
>Fluttershy the meek animal-lover.
>Rainbow Dash the cocky athlete.
>And Twilight the diligent bookworm.
>… Your remembrance creates a pang of longing.
>Those were some pretty nice ponies.
>Not to mention your closest friends in this world.
>The Queen narrows her eyes suspiciously while displaying a playful smile.
>You ignore her.
”It wasn’t exactly boring. My world’s very different.”
>You notice one of Chrysalis’ eyebrows move up.
”Well, there’s no magic first of all. And while there are horses, they’re feral animals and don’t talk.”
>Her expression changes to a strange cross between confusion and intrigue.
“There’s loads of other differences but I don’t want to list everything right now.“
>You wave a hand dismissively for emphasis.
>Twilight, along with Celestia and Luna, made sure to study you quite thoroughly.
>It was a tiresome affair, to say the least.
 “The point is, I was never bored and rarely felt like I wanted to get away from anything. As weird as everything was at first, it wasn’t unpleasant.”
>Just about everything you had lost, be it loved ones or a home, had been replaced in time.
>More or less.
>You had always felt like an outsider but not in a particularly bad way.
>The ponies, once they had overcome the initial shock of having an entirely alien creature among them, had been undeniably welcoming.
>You remember talking to Zecora about her having experienced something similar.
”Then you invaded, got your rump kicked, we met in the dungeon, and you kidnapped me.”
>A quick conclusion to your brief tale.
>You’ve been skipping a LOT of little details, of course.
>But you only really care to give her the short version.
>And you’re not about to provide freakin’ Chrysalis with any intimate knowledge about your life.
>The changeling in question looks at you for a moment, seeming not entirely satisfied with what you just told her.
>”Well, that was a very short story.”
“You don’t have all day, do you?”
>She looks towards the closed door.
>”I guess not.”
>Her gaze moves back to you.
>”You’re leaving me with an awful lot of questions, however.”
>Too bad.
“If that’s how it is, then okay. I don’t plan on giving you every single little piece of info there is.”
>Even if she wasn’t a total hag and you wouldn’t mind sharing everything with her, that crap would probably take hours.
>Chrysalis looks at you.
>In silence.
“… What?”
>Her lips form a wicked smile.
>”What if I were to get all the answers I want from you anyway?”
>Oh for the love of…!
>Of course she’s like that about it.
“Twilight was stubborn too. The Princesses were at least nice about it.”
>She immediately frowns.
>Oh, does that comparison sting?
>”I’m neither. And I will have what I want when I want it.”
>Her voice is hard and cold.
>Goddammit…
“I know. I’m not necessarily in the mood to give, though.”
>Back the fuck off, queen.
>She narrows her eyes.
>Dangerously, this time.
>”Are you going to resist me?”
>You hesitate briefly.
>You honestly feel like spiting her, but she’s making you nervous.
>As always, you’re not in a position to make any demands.
“Why not?”
>”Will I then need to discipline you?”
>She raises an eyebrow.
>And continues looking displeased.
“Has that ever worked before?”
>You’re not entirely sure if she’s ever truly ‘disciplined’ you before.
>But she’s been a cunt and that’s never bred anything but loathing and animosity.
>Hopefully she’s smart enough to pick up on that implied point.
>… She’s quiet.
>Still looking at you with an ice-cold gaze, though.
>”… I’m no fool.”
>To your surprise, she then smiles.
>A strangely pleased and entirely wicked smile.
>”But don’t forget, I’m still your Queen.”
>She suddenly stands up and steps out of the bed.
>”I must be going now, pet.”
>Her horns glows and a large tray with your breakfast skips across the floor towards you.
>Huh. Hadn’t noticed that being there.
>With more magic, she opens the door while walking towards it.
>Although she stops by the opening and turns her head back at you.
>”You shouldn’t fret about chatting so much. We can get along fine, like I said.”
>She has that amused grin on her face again.
>You disagree wholeheartedly.
“If you say so.”
>”Good.”
>A quick spell and your collar comes apart and falls off your neck, the metallic chain ringing as it hits the floor.
>With a satisfied look on her face, she exits the room and the door closes behind her.
>You reach down to your tray and pick up a hard-boiled egg.
>You feel somewhat confused about this whole ordeal.
>The egg is already shell-less so you take a bite.
>Your conversations have contained some scary clashes lately.
>Although the verbal confrontations usually end well enough for you, it always feels like they’re only a hair’s breadth away from ending really, really badly.
>The egg is without salt but otherwise tastes fine.
>But Chrysalis… doesn’t mind?
>No, it can’t be that simple. She was furious just before.
>Christ, she’s weird.
>She has a mean temper and she hates not getting what she wants, obviously.
>Not to mention her pride.
>But she’s still happy with you?
>You're unsure.
>… Would it even be good or bad?
>You slowly finish the egg, chewing the soft food with ease before swallowing.
>Well, at least you’re safe for the time being.
>Until next time.
>You pick up an apple.
>And then look towards the closed door.
>You honestly wouldn’t mind getting out of Chrysalis’ malicious grasp.
>Whenever she isn’t pleased with you, it feels like you’re risking not only your well-being but maybe even your damn life.
>It would be nice if you could escape that.