13th of the third moon, 1551 A.E. (After Equestria) - 10:00 p.m., Canterlot Castle
"Is this... the only one left?"
Chrysalis looked in shock at her prize collected beneath her. In front of her lay a mare in her 80's, all tied up and blindfolded. Her wrinkles and tired disposition were nothing akin to the arrogant yet beautiful disposition she remembered of the Canterlot nobles.
"I am pretty sure she is, your majesty. I've searched all the records, and among the ponies that were present at the 'test' for princess Pillar, only one was still alive at this point. I had a hard time carrying her over here, since she couldn't even walk on her own," Her spymaster Nerys said that last part with a frown for particular emphasis, rubbing her neck with a forehoof.
Chrysalis chuckled slightly. Even under the former queen, Nerys was known for her stealthiness and quick wit, perfect for secret missions like this. However, physical prowess was definitely not her forte.
"My apologies for making you labor for this... personal objective of mine. You are dismissed, and may have some rest. The hive needs you tomorrow."
Nerys bowed and took a few steps back, yet she blushed, and didn't immediately walk away.
"My queen, I am sorry to speak about this, but there's a full-blown party going on the upstairs dining hall. Thorax is said to be making love-infused cocktails free of charge... S-so I was thinking about joining it, instead of immediately going to my sleeping quarters, under your permission, of course."
Chrysalis gently massaged her temples with her forehoof. It was apparent that the changeling bureaucracy was still accustomed to the harsh restrictions imposed by the former queen. During situations of constant crisis, the system was terrifyingly efficient, yet that situation was the very thing she wanted to change.
"What you do whilst you are dismissed is none of my business. Don't indulge yourself too much though. Remember, we are still in enemy territory."
"Of course, your majesty."
As Nerys' dimming hoofsteps echoed through the dungeon corridor, Chrysalis turned back, took a deep breath, and began to hack away at the blindfolds on the eyes of her captive with the knife in her teeth. She could use her magic to get the job done effortlessly, but she desperately needed somewhere to vent her frustration.
How dare they.
How dare they secretly age and die in their comfy beds and cushions while she couldn't get to them. She had pictured it all. All hundreds who had wronged and tortured her would have been chained up in front of her, some pleading for mercy and forgiveness, others thrashing about and shouting curses. She would have nevertheless burnt them all, and as their flesh melted away and their bones ground to dust, she would have relished in the pleasure and grandeur of revenge.
Yet as the blindfolds gave way and she came face-to-face with her captive, Chrysalis' grin reached ear to ear as she felt the burning rage, and the sweet taste of gleeful vengeance billow inside of her once more. Even after the relentless onslaught of time, she could never forget that prideful, cold expression of Cadance's mother. The single pony left in this world that she hated the most.
"Pleased to meet you again, Odio la Cadenza."
The mare looked confused for a moment, but her horn lit up in fury as she saw the face of her captor.
"I know nothing of a fiend like you, and you will pay for imprisoning my child!"
With those words, she cast a stun spell at Chrysalis, which was immediately caught then thrown right back at her with some incendiaries mixed in.
She began to cough and scream in pain, as the stream of flaming hot air started to burn up her lungs. Just when she was about to faint from shock, the searing magic stopped. Chrysalis stepped closer to her victim, lowering her muzzle to lock eyes with the terrified mare.
"Hmm, how unfortunate, I sincerely hoped this would be a more... civilized discussion."
With those words, Chrysalis slammed Cadance's mother muzzle-first onto the stone floor, putting her holed hoof on her victim's horn. She began to press down, slowly increasing the pressure as a deafening screech of pain filled the cell.
"Scream all you want. No one can hear you," she said coldly. She did not want this mare to die painlessly like the others. No, she wanted this mare to suffer.
After a few moments of agony, the horn finally snapped in two with a sickening crack. The elder mare began to sob as crimson-red blood began to leak from her broken horntip.
Leaving the mare behind in pain, Chrysalis sat down on her stool, taking out a bunch of newspaper articles found in the Canterlot library.
"Publish date: 4th of the tenth moon, 1529. 'There has been much controversy over the outrageous nomination of a non-unicorn engineer to the position of princess (...) Extensive investigation by our best reporters have shown that she was born out of wedlock and raised without parents, a ridiculous farce of a candidate to hold any responsibility, let alone this one...'"
She chuckled. "My, it was fun back then, how nothing but a single voice could create an unstoppable torrent of hatred and lies... It seems that you, the editor of the <Canterlot Daily>, were the first thrower of a mound of stones that buried a pony alive."
"Wh-what are you talking about?" said a frightened Odio.
Chrysalis grabbed her head with both her hooves, and thrust her sharp and jagged horn into the still-bleeding wound on her forehead. Another scream of pain quickly followed suite. "Cater Pillar, the earth pony you so viciously slandered! The one you accused of murder without solid proof! The one who ran away because of it! Why? Why did you do that to her?"
"Because she was an idiot who didn't know her place!"
She froze. She pulled her horntip out of Odio's forehead.
"When she didn't get to be princess, she threw a hissy-fit and murdered my dear husband! Because of her, my daughter and I are the only ones left in our family! What does that little sniveling demon have to do with anything?"
Chrysalis' pupils shrank to a pinpoint. Her breathing became heavy. Her teeth clenched until it began to grind against itself. Without any other method to show her anger, she began to laugh. First a chuckle, then a wheeze, and finally releasing pent-up, maniacal laughter, with bitter tears streaming down her cheeks.
"You know what, maybe you were right all along. Maybe she was a demon, an evil one, too. and now... she has come back to finish you for good."
Ignoring the plea of her last remaining strand of reason, Chrysalis engulfed herself in green flames, and forged a shape she hadn't taken in so many years. An 'insane' earth pony mare with a yellow coat and a scrawny black mane. This time, however, Cater Pillar's emerald eyes were filled not with fear, but with all-consuming rage.
"As a master, you took away the parents of a lone child. As a journalist, you took away the honor of a prized student. As a judge, you took away the freedom of an innocent mare. Each step of my life, you took away EVERYTHING. I. HAD!"
Pillar was still shedding tears as she transformed back into her form of a changeling queen, in front of an utterly shocked Odio.
Confident once more within her menacing chrysalis, she regained some composure, and then passed the verdict with her chilling dual tone.
"Everything you took and every wound you've cut, I returned it all with my own hooves. Now watch from the deepest depths of Tartarus as I consume this kingdom from the inside."
With those words, she finally rammed her sharp, jagged horn into the heart of the mother of her once-best friend.