Fluttershy was tired. The adrenalin that had been keeping her going had evaporated since she had been forced to stop the search and wait while the Lieutenant went back to report progress. She looked around for a cloud to land on, but there were none; the weather ponies had seen to that as part of the wedding planning. She really wanted to rest her tired wings, and with no clouds available, had to consider finding somewhere not too frightening to put down, just while he was away.
She looked around and saw a clearing fairly close by. The ground was obscured by a thick blanket of darkness, but she rationalised that was merely a direct product of the lack of moonlight. It did not imply anything sinister, but for some reason her fur stood up as if in warning, as she descended to rest her aching wings.
Her hooves touched down and she looked quickly to each side before furling her wings, just in case she needed to make a hasty exit, and suddenly became aware of the darkness of the woods closing in around her. Tentatively, she closed her wings into her sides, but was not rewarded with the blissful sensation of taking the weight off them as she had hoped. Instead, her imagination conjured up images of monsters and all sorts of other scary things waiting to jump out in front of her, or behind her; it didn’t really matter which, because she was terrified of them all.
“When I was a little filly and the sun was going down ...” she sang uncertainly, trying to remember the words to Pinkie’s song, “The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown, I'd hide under my pillow … oh, that does sound a good idea …”
By now, her eyes were starting to be able to make out some of the coarser features of her surroundings, although the finer details of what lurked in the shadows could still only be made up by her imagination. Off to one side, she could see a space between the trees that suggested another clearing, possibly one that was a little friendlier. It couldn’t be worse than this one, she reasoned, so trotted off, head on the swivel just in case she was going to be ambushed.
To be as safe as she could, she gave a wide berth around the darkest shadows and scurried swiftly to the next safest looking area, but there just seemed to be less of them the further she went.
On approaching a particularly dark area, she paused for a moment to breathe deeply then screwed up her courage and sprinted forward, aiming for the open space she could just about make out ahead.
Suddenly, she tripped and screamed as she tumbled to the ground, imagining herself caught by some hideous flesh eating monster. After a few anxious breaths she realised she wasn’t in the jaws of any such monster and fought to wrestle her irrational panic under control, convincing herself it was probably nothing more than an exposed tree root or something else equally inconsequential.
While she was fighting to suppress her overactive imagination, she suddenly became aware of a sorrowful groaning sound from where she had just tripped.
“Who … who’s there?” she stammered; the terror evident in her voice showing she was close to panic.
“Oh, good” came a dejected voice, heavy with sarcasm, “A pony. My life just keeps getting better and better.”
“I’m so sorry … I didn’t mean to hurt you” she squeaked.
“Don’t bother yourself” replied the voice, “This is as good a place to die as any.”
“Are you hurt?” asked Fluttershy, her concern for an injured creature instantly eclipsing her fear.
The voice let out an ironic laugh that tailed off into a wheezing cough.
“Oh my, that does sound bad. Would you let me take a look?”
“Very well” agreed the voice, displaying no enthusiasm, “Why don’t you complete my humiliation?”
Fluttershy stepped carefully towards where she believed the injured creature to be, and suddenly noticed the enamel shine from a pair of green eyes staring unblinkingly back at her.
“Oh the irony” said the creature with the green eyes, “You’re the one they call Fluttershy, aren’t you?”
Something about the voice was frighteningly familiar.
“You sound just like Queen Chrysalis” the primrose pony giggled nervously, stepping back in surprise.
“Was” she replied, “But I fear my injuries to be terminal, saviour.”
“Saviour?” repeated Fluttershy, shocked.
Chrysalis coughed, a rasping cough that spoke of her injuries, then she let out a pained gasp as she tried to prop herself up to face the pony.
“As I expect to die, it won’t matter now if I tell you.”
“Tell me what?” asked Fluttershy moving closer, partly out of concern, but also wanting to hear more.
“Back at the founding of Equestria” she began, “There were six ponies, each the polar opposite of the other; a self-centred unicorn and her companion who was a great organiser, an incompetent earth pony and her companion who was endowed with great common sense, and a warlike pegasus with his compassionate companion.”
“Oh, I know this story” interrupted Fluttershy.
Chrysalis coughed again, a little more deeply this time before she could continue.
“Perhaps you do, but what do you know about the kind pegasus?”
“Um … her name was Private Pansy …” she trailed off.
“Quite so. Well, the land upon which they founded Equestria had once belonged to another race that had all but died out. Private Pansy found an egg and being the kind pony she was, set about devoting herself to trying to hatch it.”
“What happened?” asked Fluttershy as Chrysalis struggled for air.
“She succeeded. What she found was the last of her race. Private Pansy nurtured her, and found this creature had the ability to assume the shape of other animals, even ponies. When she became mature, she took a stallion as her mate and started the first changeling hive.”
Fluttershy gasped, guessing what more Chrysalis was going to say, but still had to hear it from her lips.
“Private Pansy was the saviour of the changeling race, and …” she gasped for breath once more, “She is your direct ancestor.”
Fluttershy sat down on her haunches, stunned by the revelation that her ancestor had been the nursemaid to all the changelings that were to follow.
“Did you not notice when we attacked Canterlot, that although some of my changelings took your shape, none ever attacked you directly? Did you not think that odd, especially as you are the least able to defend yourself? That was out of respect for your bloodline.”
The shocked pegasus took in what her arch enemy had just told her, and it all seemed to fit together.
“You see the irony now” gasped Chrysalis, “The descendant of our saviour will be the one to see the last Changeling Queen die, and along with me, the whole changeling race.”
Fluttershy suddenly stood tall.
“Not on my watch” she announced assertively, “If my ancestor helped give you life, then I am not going to be the one to take it away.”
Fluttershy helped the Changeling Queen to her hooves, wincing as she heard the stifled gasps of pain from her former enemy, who was struggling against her injuries to get up. She ducked under the injured gossamer wing and helped nudge her broken body upright into a position that could almost be classed as standing, but the effort had clearly taken its toll.
“Oh no you don’t” commanded Fluttershy, ”You’re not going to fall down again.
“Please, just leave me to die” retorted Chrysalis, “You beat me. Claim your reward on behalf of ponykind.”
“How did you get so hurt?” asked Fluttershy, ignoring her antagonistic self-pity.
“You were there. Don’t you remember how my changeling army and I were blown out of Canterlot by that magic spell?” she coughed weakly, “I was the heaviest, so I fell first and was thrown against a tree trunk in this forest. I have no idea what's been broken, but the pain is everywhere in my body and only gets worse when I try to breathe. Don’t waste your time on me; your friends won’t thank you and you will only extend my life by a few hours at most. You can leave me here, but …”
“Yes?”
“Thank you” she said, averting her eyes, as if saying those two simple words had hurt her.
The thanks seemed to be heartfelt and quite took Fluttershy aback. She could no longer consider this mortally damaged creature to be her enemy, but instead as somepony who was clearly well on the way to being reformed, and needed her help to complete the transformation.
The caring pegasus drew close and asked sympathetically, “Can you light your horn so I can see?”
“Why not” came the reply, “Draining the last of my power will finish me more quickly.”
“Oh, no” she gasped “I don’t want you to hurt yourself any more than you are already.”
“There’s only one thing you can do if you want me to survive.”
“What’s that?” she enquired, her large blue eyes sparkling with compassion.
“Come closer. I need to feel your love.”
Fluttershy baulked briefly, understanding what this request meant, but then drew closer as had been requested.
“So … much love …” crooned the Changeling Queen as her eyes closed tight in ecstatic bliss.
***
“Fluttershy!” came a powerful male voice from some distance away.
“Who’s that?” snapped Chrysalis warily.
“It’s Lieutenant Nocturne of the Night Guard” she replied, We’re supposed to be looking for Constance …”
“If he finds me, he’ll capture me!” interrupted Chrysalis with a hiss, ”They will parade me, humiliate me and then find some hideous way to dispose of me so that the changelings will no longer be a threat to Equestria. Leave me now – I prefer to die where I lie. At least I will be free.”
Fluttershy was torn; if she left, Chrysalis would die, but if she didn't show the Lieutenant she was safe, then he would raise the alarm and the Night Guard would have to mount a massive search for her, during which Chrysalis would be discovered. Mixed emotions swirled around in her head as she heard the stallion call out for her once more. She looked back at Chrysalis, whose eyes were closed in defeat, and thought of the public humiliation that she had described. She wondered if she could meet up with the Lieutenant and pretend to have found Constance so they would call off the search, but then she worried about the little orange bird. What to do; what to do?
Chrysalis coughed weakly, the bubbling sound in her lungs confirming that she was close to death. This once powerful Queen was going to die alone, with nopony to mourn her passing with anything but relief. Why did this have to happen now, when she was so close to being reformed?
“Fluttershy!” Lieutenant Nocturne called again, urgency creeping into his voice.
What to do; what to do?
“Stay here” whispered Fluttershy, ”I will get back as soon as I can.”
Chrysalis barely acknowledged her words as the pegasus pulled away, depriving her of the life sustaining love she needed, and leaving her to face her fate alone.
Fluttershy took one last sad look back at the enemy she had learned to fear; the dying creature whom she believed had at least earned a chance to show she could change. Then she took off and flew towards Lieutenant Nocturne who was clearly in a state of agitation.
“I’m over here” she called softly.
He snapped his head round as his sensitive Bat Pony hearing picked up her delicate voice once again, and felt a wave of relief wash over him.
“Miss Fluttershy!” he greeted, “I thought something had happened to you – thank Luna you’re safe!”
“I’m sorry” she whispered, “Only I wasn’t feeling very well, and I landed for a quick rest. I’m so sorry I got you worried.”
“Not well?” he repeated, rubbing his chin, “Would you like to go back and allow your place to be taken by another of my team?”
“Oh thank you” she said, “If it’s not too much bother.”
Lieutenant Nocturne was so relieved at finding Fluttershy he didn’t stop to consider the authenticity of her request; indeed, why should it be anything less than genuine? She didn’t have a strong constitution after all, so he had no reason to doubt her motivation.
They flew back to the garrison beside the Royal Castle side by side, although she was noticeably less chatty than she had been on the way out. He just put this down to her feeling unwell, but inside, her tummy was churning with the lies she was going to have to tell if she was going to save Queen Chrysalis.
When they arrived, Lieutenant Nocturne found a volunteer quickly enough and escorted Fluttershy to her room where he offered his best wishes for a speedy recovery before returning to the search and leaving her alone. She went into her room and waited until they had found their way out of the castle and were well on their way to the search area, before opening the window and climbing up onto the windowsill. She summoned her courage and then launched herself, heading back to the woods, watchful for signs of any of the guards.
All the way out, she kept her head moving from left to right, scanning for signs of anypony who may see her. More than once, her eyes played tricks on her and she dived down for the shadows between buildings and up dark alleyways before moving on again. Finally she returned to the woods where she knew Chrysalis to be, and tried to recognise any features of the landscape that could point her back to the clearing where her return was awaited.
She got as low as she dared and made repeated passes over the woods that still looked just as sinister as when she had flown over them before, but now the life-saving urgency of her mission served to counterpoint her own fear with a sense of mounting frustration that she couldn’t seem to recognise precisely where she was. Eventually, her heart skipped a beat as she caught a glimpse of a clearing that was beginning to look more and more familiar, and descended towards the place where she knew somepony was awaiting her return.
She prayed she wasn’t too late.
Fluttershy’s hoofsteps carried more than their usual sense of purpose as she trotted over to a familiar dark shape, daring to hope she was still alive.
“Oh” said Chrysalis, with no enthusiasm, “You’re back.”
“Of course” comforted Fluttershy, “Although I have had to tell a few lies to get here.”
Chrysalis tried to laugh, but pain wracked her chest and the sound trailed off into laboured coughing and a struggle for breath.
“Perhaps there is more to you than I thought” she mused once the pain had subsided enough for her to speak, “Come in close please, I don’t have much strength left.”
Fluttershy did as she was bidden and snuggled up close, draping a primrose wing over her.
“We’ve got to find a way of getting you to safety before dawn” urged Fluttershy, ”Or we’ll both be in a very awkward position.”
“I just want to sleep” retorted Chrysalis, the bitterness of her rebuke fading into an amiable tone that she would have hated to hear from herself only a few hours earlier. Her eyelids grew heavy and the enamel green eyes closed comfortably.
“Oh no you don’t!” said Fluttershy, recognising that if she allowed her patient to go to sleep now, she would never wake up again, “Stay awake and think. I need your help to think of a way out. You may not care about what happens to you, but I’ve put a lot on the line to help you, and the least you can do is try to help me. If you wouldn’t mind, that is.”
Chrysalis wanted to laugh at the fluffy contradiction that snuggled beside her, keeping her warm and feeding her, but couldn’t summon the energy. The two of them lay together for a while as Fluttershy tried to come up with some way out of the mess she was in; she hoped Chrysalis was doing the same too, but deep down, rather doubted it.
“I think I may have it” she advanced tentatively. Chrysalis didn’t respond, so she gave her a soft poke earning a startled response as the Changeling Queen awoke in a place that wasn’t the hive, and with pains in her chest she had completely forgotten about whilst she had been asleep.
“You’re going to have to trust me again Chrysalis” she ventured.
“What is it now?”
“An idea” she continued, “For escape. But I'll have to go and leave you again. I will come back, I promise.”
Fluttershy extricated herself and stepped back carefully before flapping her wings and heading off into the night once more; Chrysalis looking up and following her silhouette until it was subsumed within the darkness.