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// Chapter 7: Angelus Infiltration 
// Story: The Spread of Darkness 
// by The Grimm Reaper 
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	Chrysalis crept through the corridors of the ancient castle of the Sisters, where she could smell the stench of Cadence and her friends. She was unnaturally nervous about this whole thing. The only reason she would infiltrate the home of somepony who had beaten her before was for the continuation of her kind, and that was exactly why she was staking her own life. That strange and nerve-wracking pony promised all the love she and her hive could consume for the rest of their existence, for the continuation of their existence. There was something about that stallion which chilled the changeling to the bone.
She crept through the main corridors, stopping just short of a room which held conversation within. She stopped to listen, pressing her ear to the door.
“Spike’s getting restless. He says he can feel something on the horizon, and it’s not related to the war.” Twilight said. There was a moment’s silence before another voice called out, this one was familiar to Chrysalis. It was Cadence’s voice.
“Maybe the Dragons are getting involved.” she said. Chrysalis began to feel as though the something Twilight mentioned was in fact herself. She moved away from the door and hurried along, changing into Cadence’s form. Not a moment too soon, as Spike turned the corner, his eyes gleaming in the darkness. Chrysalis froze, her ears drooped back in fright.
“Cadence, something wrong? You look like you’ve just run into a ghost.” he said. Chrysalis took note of his voice. How it sounded like that grey Stallion’s. She chuckled nervously, trying to imitate Cadence’s voice and personality.
“I thought I had when I saw your eyes glowing. I was just about to go and see my husband.” she said. Spike blinked once and chuckled.
“Sorry about that. May I join you? We haven’t had much time to talk since this war started, not to mention my being somewhat dead the past few months.” he said. Chrysalis couldn’t help but widen her eyes at the last notion. If Spike were dead, then how could he have been standing before her?
“I don’t see why not.” she began, walking beside the tall dragon. It was only a few moments before he struck a conversation with her.
“Cadence… I know you were Twilight’s foalsitter when she was just a filly, but I feel like I should ask you; do you have any problem with her and me… you know.” Chrysalis’ eyes widened again as the topic struck her. It was a topic she never gave much thought about. But now she had to.
“I honestly can’t complain. While I care about… Twilight. I just want her to be happy.” Chrysalis had trouble just pretending to show concern for the ponies that had ruined her life and reduced her hive to a skeleton of its former self. “Why do you ask, Spike?”
The dragon sighed and looked at the alicorn. “I can’t help but feel as though the others aren’t just unhappy with our using dark magic, but are in fact against the whole dragon and pony relationship. I just wanted to know what you thought.” he said. Chrysalis felt as though this were the perfect opportunity to perhaps wound her enemy’s emotions.
“Well Spike, if you really want to know…” she stopped, hesitating to do him harm. “I think… you should ignore what other ponies think and do what you feel is right. Progress isn’t made through submission of peers. If we bowed to peer pressure, we’d be no better than animals.” Chrysalis was surprised by her answer. She stopped afterward and considered why she’d given him that answer.
“You’re right, thank you Cadence.” he said. It was then that Chrysalis felt the familiar sensation of love radiating towards her from the dragon. It wasn’t love like she’d fed from Shining, but the love of a friend. It was like eating a single vegetable within a salad to her.
“Spike, what did you think about the Changelings when they attacked Canterlot?” she asked at random. Spike thought about her question and smiled.
“Well, speaking from an outsider’s point of view… while they fed off of love, they went about taking it the wrong way. A peaceful negotiation would have worked between Chrysalis and Celestia.” Spike growled as he spoke the latter name. His scales darkened slightly and Chrysalis couldn’t help but notice this.
“I’ve been thinking about… asking Chrysalis for aid in the war. In exchange we would commit to some sort of peace between the two species.” Spike seemed to entertain the idea in his head.
“That might only work if there was some way we could transfer the love from a pony to a changeling without taking a toll on their bodies. How did they survive before?” he asked.
“Well, rumour has it they used to take over the lives of ponies who were on the verge of death and live out their lives with their loved ones, taking their love and returning it to their queen.”
“Like bees?”
“Exactly like bees. Only they’d return to the same flower over and over again and this is beginning to sound weird.” she said. Spike chuckled and opened the door to Shining’s room. There he floated in the tank, the green glow of the liquid inside making him seem like a spectre.
“He looks dead already.” Chrysalis commented, walking up to him. Spike stood beside her and looked at Shining Armour. “Do you think it’s possible for a pony to love a changeling, Spike?” she asked, turning to the dragon.
Spike shrugged. “Dunno. I know I never could. It’d be too much like when I loved Rarity. The love was one-sided.”
“You don’t think a changeling can love?”
“No. Otherwise they could feed off of the love from each other. Again, it’s one-sided. They need us, but we don’t need them. Of course, with the war, it might be different.” The dragon smiled at the alicorn and stroked her face.
“But you don’t need to worry about any of that right now, Princess. Focus on Shining and his wellbeing.” Spike said, leaning in to kiss her forehead. He then abruptly turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. Chrysalis changed her form again and sighed, looking back to Shining Armour.
“Hello lover.” she said, chuckling. She looked around the room and saw a long piece of metal that had fallen from the old construction of the room. Using her horn, she lifted it with her magic and twisted it into shape. It was now a long, sharp spear. Without a second’s hesitation, she forced the spear toward the tank. it was then that she felt Spike’s black hand catch the spear just short of the glass. His eyes were white hot and he was radiating a dark aura. Chrysalis lost her calm and began to back away aborting her mission.
“You think I’d leave Shining alone without any security? He is Twilight’s brother and as such, I must do all I can to protect him.” Spike broke the spear in half and threw it to the ground. He then proceeded to close in on the changeling when a strange hand stopped him in his tracks, causing a plume of white smoke to rise on his shoulder. Spike turned around to see a light grey stallion standing like himself with a white dragon skull over his face. The stallion was encased in white flame.
“Finish the job, Chrysalis!” the stallion commanded, throwing Spike back behind him. Spike roared in protest as he hit the wall. Chrysalis nodded and proceeded to run at the tank. She picked up a piece of the metal and jammed it into the tank. The glass cracked and the green liquid began to leak through. Twilight and the others crashed through the door as they heard Spike’s roar and they laid eyes upon the scene. Twilight and Cadence both screamed as they saw the tank had been damaged.
“NO!” they cried out together. Spike rose from the hole in the wall and charged the fiery stallion who knocked him to the ground headfirst.
“Stop it!” Twilight cried; her magic radiating through her body as she engulfed herself in dark magic. The stallion looked to her and went to Chrysalis’ side.
“Hurry up.” he said. Chrysalis swallowed hard and forced the glass to crack further. Within an instant, a hole appeared, forcing the liquid out in a torrent. Twilight screamed, activating Spike’s reaction like last time. The stallion watched as the dragon flooded himself in darkness and emerged a monster wrapped in a physical manifestation of darkness itself.
“Kepla'nas ekess loreat! (Prepare to die!)” he said, challenging the stallion in the draconic language.
“Si mi Marfedelom. (I am Death.)” he replied with the same tongue. The skull on his head began to open and a ball of black energy formed between the teeth. It grew in size and drew in the energy of the room around it.
“Don't interfere.” the stallion said. He threw his body forward before the recoil of the blast forced him back. The ball arced outward and destroyed all in its path. The sound it made was unique and unlike anything the ponies or the changeling had ever heard before. It was deafening and terrifying all at once and Spike was caught in the middle of it. He could feel his body being burned by its awesome power and he cried out for Twilight, believing he was going to die once again, and this time, there was no way back to her.
Suddenly, the energy dissipated, turning into nothing more than a streak of light before vanishing altogether. The ponies all stood where they were, most too scared to challenge whatever could make that giant hole in the castle. Spike stood where he was, unconscious and reverted back to normal. Twilight was looking at the dragon, horrified that he might be dead. She ran to him as he fell forward, a groan escaping his lungs as he did. The stallion took no notice of them afterwards and returned to the now dying Shining Armour.
“Leave him alone!” Cadence called out to the two. Chrysalis left the Captain to her comrade and turned to Cadence.
“I suppose this is like revenge for me.” she said, preparing to attack should Cadence interfere with the grey stallion’s plans. Unfortunately, Cadence did try and Chrysalis had no choice but to force her down.
“Shining Armour was supposed to die on the battlefield, but your interference altered the course of time. I’m simply here to correct it.” the stallion said, turning his head. His eye sockets flashed amber.
“You’re Mar Grimm, the Angel of Death.” Twilight addressed the stallion. Mar turned his head back to Twilight and seemingly blinked at her.
“Yes. As I told your companion, I am Death.” Mar reached his hand through the glass and touched Shining Armour’s chest. The white Stallion lurched forward and his spirit was pulled out of his body. Cadence began to squirm under the Changeling Queen who had difficulty containing her.
“Stop it! Why can’t you let him live?” Cadence demanded.
“As I said, he was meant to die on the battlefield. Even I have rules I must follow; were I to break them, chaos would ensue, the likes of which your kind couldn’t fathom. In order to protect you and your race, I must follow the rules set me.” Mar then placed his finger on Shining Armour’s ectoplasmic head and threw it down, drawing a line across his body. The spirit then began to glow and in a bright flash of light, he was gone. Cadence stopped struggling and stared at the lifeless body of her husband.
“What happened, where is he?” Twilight asked, grabbing the angel by his leg. Mar looked down at her, his eyes still glowing.
“Where every soul goes after they die. Home.” he replied, turning to Chrysalis. “Your work is done, Chrysalis.”
The changeling released Cadence and turned to the angel. “Don’t forget our deal. I help you fix your mistake and you help my hive survive.” she replied. Mar reared his head back slightly, his eyes going dark as well as his mask.
“I’d choose my description of Shining Armour’s survival of the battlefield more carefully if I were you, Chrysalis. I don’t make mistakes. If the opportunity to do my job slips by the first time, that’s fine, so long as it’s fixed in the end, like now.” Chrysalis cleared her throat and nodded. She was not about to cross death himself.
“Sorry.” she said.
“Wait. You’re the Angel of Death, and you promised to give Chrysalis what they needed to survive? They need love to survive, how can you give them love?” Twilight asked, fixing Spike’s position on her back.
“Soul Emotion Conversion. Any emotion the pony felt is converted into love and sent to the changelings.” he replied. Twilight seemed to go through the process in her head.
“But… wouldn’t that drain ponies of their emotions?” she asked. Mar shook his head.
“No. I should explain that the emotions are actually copied, then converted.” he concluded. Without waiting for another question, he grabbed Chrysalis by the neck and pulled her closer to him.
“We’ll see you again, Elements of Harmony.” and with a burst of sound, the changeling and the angel disappeared out of nowhere, leaving all the ponies speechless, surrounding an unconscious dragon and a dead Guard Captain.