Chrysalis felt the sun and moon appear in the sky dozens of times, the vines around her back hooves growing further and further against her legs. There was a twinge of ache within the stone, seeping from her head to her stomach, magnifying with each passing of the two orbs in the sky. There was only static coming from her two stonemates, not that anything other than that would’ve made her situation better.
The ache, dipped into some of the sharpest depths she’d ever known as hoofsteps were barely heard in the storm. Raindrops splattered on every surface of the stone as the orange pegasus finally reappeared in front of her.
“Chrysalis,” Tiger looked at the ground, covering her eyes with her wing. “I tried reasoning with her, she won’t budge. I don’t think anything is going to change, so you won’t see me again. I don’t know what to do, if I throw away the poems, or return the h-historical books with your pictures. I know no matter what I throw away, the black and green will never leave my mind. My heart won’t give up, but I have to. For myself. I h-have one haiku left for you. The rain will get on it, so I’ll read it a-aloud.”
“Tears spent through months gone, there's one more thing left to do, before I leave you,” Tiger was trembling underneath the rain, sniffing up snot while letting her own raindrops join in the storm.
She lifted her hoof, wiping away as much of it as she could, before rubbing the hoof on the grass. Tiger Tornado rushed over to Chrysalis, feeling her hooves rest on Chrysalis’ shoulders once more as her lips pressed against the cold wet stone of her bug queen’s muzzle. Tiger felt a symphony of broken notes play within her heart, as they clashed together in the few seconds the kiss lasted. She had pulled away, sobbing into her hooves for a time that she didn’t keep track of.
“G-Goodbye, my tulipa,” Tiger sobbed, standing up and walking away as if concrete bricks were tied to her hooves. She was scolding herself for only creating two feet of distance between herself and the statue when a sharp white light bursted into the grey sky, knocking the pegasus onto the ground.
Tiger had wondered what unicorn could’ve caught her in the heat of the moment, rubbing her eyes with her hooves and gasping when her vision cleared. Before her, broken from her fellow stonemates, was the black and green bug queen herself. Chrysalis’ eyes were narrowed at the pegasus before her, the rest of her expression blank.
“Chrysalis, I-”
“How dare you,” Chrysalis whispered.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to come onto you! I wasn’t going to come back, I swear!” Tiger yelped, covering her eyes with her hooves. Moments later, she felt cold pressure against her body. She unfurled her wings, only to stare at the bug queen holding her.
“How dare you try to leave your queen without a proper goodbye,” Chrysalis finally allowed a small smile to break from her lips. “Although, I don’t suppose one will be necessary now, will it?”
“No! Never!” Tiger squealed, nearly knocking over Chrysalis with her excited headbutt against the bug queen’s chest. “I can’t believe it! Did my kiss really…?”
“It’s what I needed,” Chrysalis nodded. Looking into her admirer’s bright green eyes and wide smile, she opened her mouth, only to be interrupted.
“Tiger Tornado? What did you do?”
“Oh no, no please, not now,” Tiger begged, pressing her face into Chrysalis’ chest. Chrysalis glared at the arrival of the tall lavender alicorn.
“Be gone, pathetic pony!” Chrysalis hissed. “Leave her be!”
“You’re not taking what’s mine,” Twilight growled, landing on the grass in front of them. Tiger seized up in Chrysalis’ embrace, and the bug queen looked down at her.
“Tornado, what is she talking about?” Chrysalis asked.
“I thought giving myself to her would convince h-her, I did it to set you free,” Tiger whimpered. “She kept giving me gifts. I kept giving them back, or throwing them away. I told her the only gift I wanted was your freedom, but no amount of intimacy would sway her.”
“You bitch,” Chrysalis snarled, looking straight into the alicorn’s eyes. “I will have your head on a pike for using her like that, you’ll wish the timberwolves got to you first.”
“She asked for it. She’s just in a twist because I wouldn’t help her,” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “And you know what happened last time you faced me.”
“Please don’t!” Tiger cried. “Not again! Never again!”
“I don’t suppose your pony friends mind being around such an abuser, hmm?” Chrysalis lifted her head high, smirking at the Princess’ gaping mouth. “Or the guards? The local townsfolk? Suppose I should ask them, see what they think?”
A sudden beam of purple and white light zipped straight towards Chrysalis and Tiger, the former throwing Tiger onto her back and jumping away from the attack. Chrysalis bolted into the sky as Tiger held onto her queen’s back, closing her eyes from the unimaginable terror unfolding before them. Several minutes passed, feeling the magical beams blow past her fur. She opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder, seeing Twilight gaining on them.
“Tiger! She’s just using you!” Twilight yelled. “I’m sorry I hurt you! Please let go, I’ll catch you!”
“Go!” Tiger screamed, puffing up and glaring at Twilight. “Leave us alone!”
Just as Twilight charged another ball of purple and white energy, Chrysalis shape-shifted into a hawk, grabbed Tiger in her talons, and plunged towards the trees below. Twilight stopped, noticing Ponyville just beyond the forest she knew too well.
“Shit,” Twilight hissed, teleporting back to Canterlot.
Tiger covered her eyes with her hooves, sensing the ground coming closer. Moments later, she felt her body drop gently on the ground. Tiger uncovered her eyes as Chrysalis returned to her original form.
“We don’t have much time,” Chrysalis said. “We need a plan, nopony is going to believe an outlaw and her lover, we need other ponies. Your mother, the school, something. Maybe Thorax is willing to lend a hoof to his former...what’s with the googly eyes, pegasus?”
“Lover?” Tiger squeaked. A dark maroon shaded Chrysalis’ cheeks as she looked away.
“I’m sorry. You need time to heal, Tornado,” Chrysalis admitted. “Time to get over what she did to you. But until then, may I still be your Queen?”
Tiger frowned, contemplating the connotations of Chrysalis’ words. She couldn’t deny the sharp stab in her heart from the image of the tall purple monster and her crooked grin. Shaking, Tiger took deep breaths until her body stilled. Giving a small smile, Tiger lifted Chrysalis’ hoof with her own and kissed its dark surface.
“Now and forever, my Queen,” Tiger promised.