With a final quiet goodnight from Rarity, Chrysalis curled up into the basket she had been put within to sleep. She eyed the soft fabric she had been given to use as a blanket disinterestedly. Small stars and moons had been carefully stitched into it, and as the blanket she had been using when she was assaulted by Opalescence was, to quote Rarity ‘a dusty old rag’, Rarity had gone out of her way to painstakingly sew this one together and give it a quick running over with a dry-use fabric softening spray. The spray made the quilt smell faintly of roses and lilacs, and the floral scents were enticing to her nose.
Chrysalis was quite taken to it already.
Everything back at the Hive had been in a state of age. Everything smelled of years and use, even the Queen’s own property either consisted of heirlooms passed down for generations or something pilfered, often from pony dumps. Everything was either second hand or so old that it was a treasured piece of history. It was nice that, for the first time in her long and difficult life, she had something fresh and new to comfort her.
Once this thought struck her mind, though, it was immediately followed by harsh and relentless guilt. She was comfortable and warm, she was in possession of something new, while her Changelings slept on thick lichen and often went without even a scrap of cover, some of whom might not even see the dawn. What right did she have to be comfortable? What right did she have to this luxury while so many others went without?
They were thoughts that plagued her relentlessly and caused tears to run across her face and into the cushion beneath her. She had been deposed and rejected by them, but centuries of thinking only of their wellbeing had shaped her thoughts.
Slowly but surely she felt sleep creep up on her. She had slept the previous night out in the cold in a deteriorating state, and the unrelenting cold and weakness she had been in had caused her sleep to be dreamless. She wouldn’t have that luxury today, and she was almost looking forward to whatever her mind imagined for her.
*&*&*&*
She was walking the busy yet quiet cave halls of her ancestral home, Changelings all around her going about the business of ensuring the Hive was constantly well maintained and giving her gentle nods of respect as she passed them by. She watched a pair of foals scurried past on whatever errands their parents had sent them on, each one racing the other to their destination.
This… this was home.
She smiled as a young Changeling couple nervously stepped up to her, the mare of the pair holding a small bundle in her hooves. They looked up to her hopefully, and she gave them what she hoped was a caring smile. It was so hard to get that right with her long fangs; they tended to turn polite or gentle gestures into wicked and vicious grins.
Thankfully the couple were indeed appreciative of her smile, and the mare smiled happily in return. Something in the back of Chrysalis’ mind clicked, she knew this couple… Granted, she knew every Changeling under her rule like they were her own children, but…
This all seemed too familiar. A sense of déjà vu that clawed at her relentlessly until she finally actually realized what the feeling was; this meeting had happened not a month before the assault on the Golden City.
Ah yes, she remembered now.
“M-my queen,” the stallion began nervously, “w-we…”
She lifted a hoof to him. “Repli, I am aware of what you wish.” She said. “You wish for my blessing for your foal, as do every couple who bring me their newborn.”
“Y-yes…” Repli stammered. “P-please my queen; we have been searching for you for hours…”
She smiled down to him before turning her warm gaze on the bundle. This was common, something she had long since lost her distaste for; a new life in the Hive, while not entirely good for rations, was still something to be thankful for. She knelt down to the mare before her calmly and nuzzled the foal.
“Tell me,” she began as she carefully unravelled the quiet foal, “what have you named it?”
“S-she… she’s called…”
“Hmm, she’s called..?” Chrysalis probed as she nuzzled the blankets aside to reveal the filly within. As the last of the covering blankets moved, she felt a pain rush up within her.
“She’s called Thistle.”
The filly within the bundle, an exact duplicate for her sister, glared up at her with her horn aglow. Chrysalis panicked and leapt back before attempting to flee back through the Hive’s maze of tunnels. The Changelings all around her within the caves now glared and hissed at her spitefully, some lashing out to snap at her as she passed, or flinging dangerous spells at her. Each strike chipped away at her form, reducing her size and causing pain to flare through her.
A figure stepped out of the gloom before her and she skidded to a halt before Thistle, now fully grown. The mare glared at her sister before striking her down with a powerful and body-shattering bolt of magic that left Chrysalis huddled on the floor weakly wheezing for breath.
“Oh my poor sister, so frightened of me.” Thistle’s voice mocked. “How pitiful you’ve truly become, Chryssie, so feeble and small. Don’t worry Chrysalis; I won’t kill you.”
She grinned down at her sister, her face split in a smile to strike fear into sanity-loving beings worldwide. “Oh no, I won’t kill you.” She hissed. “But I’ll watch as they do.”
The Changelings all around her closed in, their fangs and sharp teeth drawing ever nearer to her.
She scrabbled to her hooves and fired a bolt of magic, striking down one of the veritable wall of Changelings only for two to take his place, closing in and backing her up to the nearest wall. She couldn’t fight them all, fight off the entire Hive!
“This will be your torture every night, dear sister.” Thistle hissed, earning a terrified stare from the filly-sized queen. “Oh yes, every night I’ll be here; waiting for you. The dreams will be such sweet suffering, unlike anything you’ve felt before. I hope you enjoyed your last nights of peaceful slumber, Chryssie. These nightmares are my eternal gift to you my dear sister.”
A changeling bit down on Chrysalis’ leg, his fangs piercing her chitin and flesh and causing her to shriek in pain. She wanted to wake up, to escape this hell within her sleep, to flee from her sister’s oppressive torture. The waking world never found her, instead her sister only grinned wider.
“Ah, ah, ah; trying to abandon your gift after only just having been given it? How thoughtless of you Chryssie. You shan’t be going anywhere but back to the hell I’ve created for you. During the day you can escape my grasp, but the night… is mine.”
The wall of Changelings lunged, closing in on Chrysalis. She screamed in terror and shielded herself behind her hooves for what little protection they would provide. She could feel the first of hundreds of fangs scrape her chitin…
A sound akin to thunder echoed through the halls, and a wave of power flowed past her.
The wall of Changelings was hurled back, their bodies slamming against the walls of the cave and falling still as a third figure flared her wings, standing between Thistle and her fearful sister. Chrysalis spared her a glance, eyeing the dark sapphire coat, swirling magical mane and pitch-black cutie mark bearing a crescent moon. Fury flowed from her form, palpable to the cowering and terrified Changeling, and her magic crackled in the air around her like electricity. Her voice boomed, echoing throughout the caverns and halls of the Hive.
“Wicked harlot; the Night belongs to US!”
She didn’t turn to glance back at Chrysalis, and instead she stormed over to where Thistle stood with her gaze boring deep into the eyes of the Changeling Queen before her. Her very attitude portrayed the sheer power and utter contempt for the ruby mare.
“You would conjure one of the Princesses to protect you? What foalish nonsense!” Thistle laughed. “Have you truly fallen this far already, Sister?” She moved to banish Luna’s form from the dream. “There is nopony who can save you from me here!”
The princess, however, had other ideas. She struck Thistle so hard and so fast that Thistle was sent sprawling across the cave where she landed in a heap. Grumbling she tried to rise only for Luna’s magical grasp to seize her and hold her down.
“Thou darest intrude on the dreams of our subjects? Thou darest attempt to lay harm upon her, and claim our nights as thine own? We see thee for what thou truly are, Changeling, We know well what magic thou befoul our presence with! Thy Dream Walking spell is vile and thou would use it as a method to torture one thou have already forsaken?!
“No, the night belongs to us, and dreams are our realm; thy magic is foul and leaves a disgusting mark, painting its vile path and showing us how it is used! It is but foal’s play to banish thou to the waking world and bar thou from the minds of Equestria’s citizens!”
A thunderclap shook the stone around them after a short shine of magic from Luna’s horn, and Thistle’s form blurred as if she were being dragged away by a great force. Luna glared down at her, moving her head to be nose to nose with the traitorous Queen.
“If we ever see thou within the dreaming world again, we will not be so forgiving. Thy sister is under our protection, and thy torments will not be tolerated. Consider this thy first and only warning!” She growled, before Thistle gave one last shout of outrage and was torn from the dream.
Chrysalis stared wide-eyed at where her sister had been. How… how had Princess Luna just shown up and so easily defended her..? What was she even doing here, invading her mind as if it was her duty?
The princess sighed and turned around, strolling over to where Chrysalis was huddled on the stone ground still shivering in fright.
“This... this is a cold and unforgiving place thou once called home, Chrysalis; we can certainly see why it produced such a hardy force as the Changelings.” She said calmly as she inspected the caves around her. “However, we are unsure about how… comforting it is, after thy recent banishment, though we imagine the presence of those thee once called family is comfort enough.”
Chrysalis’ mouth moved wordlessly for a moment or two, as if she were trying to find words she could use with this royal guest to her own mind. Eventually she decided that the direct approach would be best and she blurted out her question in an incredulous tone.
“What in Tartarus are you doing here?”
Princess Luna smiled slyly. “Saving thy ‘worthless hide’ as we believe ponies say.” She remarked. “Our sister warned that thou had returned to Equestria, and she informed us of thine… unique situation. That thine sister could be so cruel unto thee to invade thine dreams and cause this…”
“My sister and I have never seen eye to eye.” Chrysalis sighed.
“That is quite an understatement, Changeling.” Luna said patiently. “In any case, our sister was worried that something akin to this might happen with the coming of thy sister’s rise to power. Magic that allows one to enter dreams is… not exclusive to us, though we must admit she was somewhat inexperienced and tacky. She lacked subtlety, something which is gained through practice, patience, and experience. The best dreams are subtle, thou see. Had she not been as forward as she was with her attempt to break thy spirits and mind then our interruption may have been unnecessary, we could have subtly altered thy nightmare to give thee something more tolerable.
“Normally we would advise our subjects to stand tall and confront that which brings them their fears. However thy sister was controlling thy dreams, and no amount of courage would have changed the outcome. This may have been more beneficial to the both of us in the long run though; we now have time to become more acquainted, should thou desire the company.” Luna added with a cheerful smile.
Chrysalis sighed wearily. “Princess… I thank you for your offer, and there may come a day when I take you up on it; but for now I’d just like to be left alone to rest and think, to enjoy my rest. My sister will not give up so easily, and I do not doubt she will try another avenue to abuse me. I will need to be rested for whatever she decides to throw my way.”
Luna dipped her head faintly. “As thou wish, former Queen of the Changelings; I shall leave thee to thy peace.” She said quietly. “We hope that thy days are filled with more pleasant events than those which have transpired this eve. With one final gift from us we bid thee restful sleep, Queen Chrysalis.”
Princess Luna faded with the caves, a rolling meadow of gentle grass and flowers taking its place. The sun shone overhead brightly, filling the world around her with warmth, and a gentle breeze brought sweet scents to her nose. With a sigh and a smile, Chrysalis lay on her stomach and watched the peaceful meadow around her, enjoying a moment as a butterfly landed on her nose before flying off.
*&*&*&*
Chrysalis awoke the next day to an insistent and nagging presence that was nudging her side. Whatever it was it had been pestering her deep into her dream, and in her sleep she had seen it as a puppy begging for attention. She groaned in pain as the nudging pony poked one of her still broken ribs, rolling away from it to try and evade the burning pain. Her suffering voice and the way she shifted away from the poking earned a worried gasp from the intruder to her slumber.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hurt you did I?”
Chrysalis opened her eyes weakly before struggling to lift herself to a somewhat more presentable position and yawning wide. The pony in the room, a young unicorn filly with a clean light grey coat and twin coloured pink and purple mane and tail, giggled at her wide and unabashed yawn.
“Rarity would complain about how unladylike that was.” She joked to the barely awake Changeling, earning herself a curious glance.
“You’re… Sweetie Belle… right..?”
Sweetie Belle nodded. “That’s me!”
Chrysalis gave another yawn, still barely awake. “What’re you doing here? Am I being woken for something..?”
Sweetie Belle shook her head. “I heard you crying out in your sleep, are you alright?”
Chrysalis sighed and nodded her head. “I am fine, Sweetie Belle. I was just having some bad dreams. You don’t need to worry yourself on my behalf.”
“Are you sure?”
“If it were something I was even willing to share, I don’t believe it would be fair to share it with you. I mean no offense Sweetie Belle but there are some things that I’m sure your sister would rather you not hear.”
Sweetie Belle looked apprehensive about that, unsure if she should push the former queen into confiding in her but eventually she relented and nodded. “So long as you’re alright...” She mumbled worriedly.
“I am fine, I assure you. Please don’t fuss over me.” Chrysalis breathed before shifting her weight to prepare to stand. “What time is it, do you know?”
Sweetie Belle tilted her head. “My bedside clock said it was about six in the morning.” She replied. “Oh, I should go get some breakfast! Would you like some?”
“While the notion of breakfast is delightful, I think I will take this opportunity to use the facilities.” Chrysalis replied.
This prompted a confused look from the filly. “Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Perhaps ‘bathroom’ is more familiar.” Chrysalis sighed.
Sweetie Belle smiled wide in realization. “Oh! Right, of course; do you know where it is?”
Chrysalis struggled to her feet to a cacophony of popping joints and stepped from the basket, her soul shrinking just a tiny amount when she realized she was actually shorter than this filly, even if only slightly. She also held a more sleek physique, though that was most likely due to her half-starved body.
“The only part of the entire building I know is this room, so I can’t say I do.”
Sweetie Belle dragged a hoof along the carpet, managing to make it leave a curved line. She then tapped her hoof at one point along the line.
“We’re here.” She said, before poking more dimples into the carpet. “That’s my room, Rarity’s room is here, and the bathroom is here; can you remember that?”
Chrysalis looked over the crudely drawn map before nodding. “Yes I do believe I can thank you.”
“No problem.” Sweetie Belle said, wiping the scuffs in the carpet away with her hoof before moving back into the hall. “Don’t forget to knock; if Rarity is in there she won’t like it if you just barge in.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.” Chrysalis mumbled to Sweetie Belle’s retreating tail. ‘I’ll also keep in mind to avoid that cat. What was it they called her..? Opalescence wasn’t it?’
She gave another wide yawn and attempted to stretch, managing to cause her body to protest in pain and make her give a quiet groan. Still, with her next destination in mind, she moved across the room and out into the hall.
Or, at least, she tried to. What she managed more or less was an attempt to shift her left foreleg to hold her weight and then, forgetting that it was pinned to her side with bandages, she fell over onto her face. She grumbled as she struggled back to her hooves and thought back to when she had last broken a leg.
What was it she had to do? One two hop?
This awkward method of locomotion saw her out the door and into the hall, where she promptly turned right and began her slow and painful progress to the bathroom. She passed the bedroom of Sweetie Belle, with her door left wide open to display the disarray within. Chrysalis suppressed a giggle at seeing the mess of Sweetie Belle’s room. Just like Changeling foals, it seemed that pony foals could manage to make a mess of their own room. Soon after that she passed the bedroom door of Rarity, a sign upon the handle saying ‘Keep Out’ most likely being used as a deterrent against her sister.
Finally she came to the bathroom, and she hoisted herself to her hind legs momentarily to knock. With no answer coming to her ears she hoisted herself back up for a second time and grabbed the doorknob, both using it to hold herself up and to open the door before stepping inside with the swinging open door.
*&*&*&*
She stepped back out of the still-clean bathroom and into the hall, bumping into Rarity on her way. The half-asleep mare didn’t seem to be totally aware of who she had just bumped into. There was a momentary confusion as she looked about for Sweetie Belle, but instead her eyes eventually fell on the Changeling barely standing in the hallway.
Chrysalis became faintly aware that instead of standing upright and still as she had thought, she was actually swaying as each leg struggled to keep her weight and avoid crumpling from the strain. She supposed that it was due to her weakened body and sore muscles.
“Chrysalis, what are you doing out of bed..?” She asked blearily. “Your wounds won’t have healed by now!”
“I was using the bathroom.” Chrysalis said while lowering her head faintly and letting her ears droop.
“I insist you return to your room! Oh, Fluttershy will be so upset if she finds out I let you wander my boutique already!” Rarity said, holding a hoof to her forehead overdramatically.
“Alright, alright, I’m going.” Chrysalis grumbled irritably. “Don’t get your tail in a kno- eep!”
She yelped as she was lifted in the same pale blue aura of magic that had first lifted her from her hiding place the day before, and she flailed fruitlessly for purchase in her panic. Twice in as many days she was being tugged about by the magic of another.
“Hey p-put me down,” she protested fearfully, “Oh please put me down!”
“Stop struggling, you’ll only hurt yourself.” Rarity scolded as she strode to the storeroom with Chrysalis held in front of her in her magic.
“Stop marehandling me and I’ll consider it!” She snapped in retort. “I’m not a little filly!”
Rarity placed Chrysalis back in her basket and gave her a curious glance. “Really now, well you certainly look the part.”
“Queen Changelings don’t age beyond this until we become the ruler.” Chrysalis grumbled. “At which point the collective adoration and respect from the Hive cause us to grow into a more adult form. The more love energy we absorb the more powerful and elder we become, to a point of course; it doesn’t do a queen much good to absorb immense power only to die before using it.”
Rarity nodded sleepily.
“I guess that makes sense.” She mumbled. “Well, if you’ll excuse me I need to go and tidy up a bit before breakfast; I’ll have Sweetie Belle bring you something, alright?”
Chrysalis sighed. “Yes Miss Rarity.” She grumbled.
Rarity chuckled. “Though your politeness is refreshing, please drop the ‘miss’.” She insisted, waving a hoof.
Chrysalis nodded and shifted in her basket to get more comfortable before resting her head against the rim as she stared at, well, nothing in particular disinterestedly. With Rarity gone, there wasn’t exactly a lot to look at.
So; today would be a long day of doing… what, exactly? She was still too weak to do whatever it would be that Rarity would have her doing, and it wasn’t like there were a lot of things to do within this room. She briefly considered counting the stars and moons on her blanket but swiftly chose not to, that way lay madness.
She was already at rock bottom; digging would not be in any way helpful.
Rarity had closed the door to the storeroom, and with no windows she was bathed in a grim and cool darkness. The room being full of fabric didn’t aid in the room’s lighting with each inch of fabric sucking up the faint light from beneath the door like a sponge. She imagined that there would be a light source in the room of some sort, how else would Rarity find her way around and locate whatever materials she needed?
Her curiosity was answered when the door was opened again, and Sweetie Belle walked in with a bowl of breakfast. She moved a hoof over a white switch on the wall, which turned on some form of lighting… thing on the roof. After sitting in the dark for a few minutes, and being of a naturally subterranean race, Chrysalis’ eyes voiced their dislike of this by causing her a rather substantial amount of pain.
“That’s bright.” She complained, shielding her eyes from the blaring light. Sweetie Belle considered it.
“Not really; the sun isn’t fully up yet, and that’s way brighter.” She cheerfully stated.
Chrysalis sighed. “Yes, I suppose it is.” She said, relenting to letting the filly be as hopelessly cheerful as she wished for the morning. “What have you got there? It smells delightful.”
Sweetie Belle’s smile didn’t wane even a fraction as she happily moved over and lowered the bowl where Chrysalis could get to it.
“I cooked up some porridge for everypony.” She happily said.
Chrysalis eyed the bowl’s creamy white contents sceptically. It did smell wonderful; each inward breath the scents of her food played across her senses and enticed her to try it. Still, there were some bits she was unsure of.
“What’s this on the top..?”
Sweetie Belle smiled warmly at her question. “Bananas and honey to give it more flavour.” She informed happily, before noticing Chrysalis’ shocked and wide eyes. “Is something wrong..?”
Bananas… well, she’d heard about them, but never actually seen one as they were a tropical fruit and according to scouts they did not have a very long shelf-life. Honey, however, was something else. She knew well what honey was, and it was amongst the most reserved of delicacies in the Hive.
“I’ve not had honeybee honey in years…” Chrysalis breathed. “We could never get it ourselves as bees are amongst the more intelligent of insects and don’t like us…”
“Why not just buy it and bring it home?”
“In order to buy food, one must have Bits.” Chrysalis reminded calmly. “We, as a society, had none. It was a rare event when a Changeling would manage to steal a jar or two, and even then it did not last long once returning home.” She sniffed at the bowl eagerly for a moment, enjoying the smells that danced across her nose. “Honey is to us what Crystal Rose Champagne is to ponies.”
“Well that’s a vintage I hadn’t heard of in some time.” Rarity’s voice called from the hall. “I heard that they only make one hundred bottles a year and that they are luxuriously exclusive.”
“I had some, once.” Chrysalis said faintly, trying to remember the drink. “It was sweet and airy, with a crisp aftertaste, but of all of its values I’d have thought that its smell was its most wonderful quality. It smelled like the sun feels, warm and comforting. A powerful rose scent that warmed its imbiber long before ever tasting it…
“Ah, what I’d give for but another chance to smell that champagne.” She said wistfully, before sighing and looking down at her porridge sadly. “Though I guess it will never happen. I thank you for the honey, but I don’t think it’d be well spent on me.”
“You talk as if it’s something rare and valuable.” Rarity commented. “We have several jars of the stuff, it’s actually rather cheap.”
Chrysalis chuckled. “You need to remember, Rarity that the Hive is deep within the most desolate land on Equestria. All food is valued highly there, provided it’s still edible when it arrives. Honey doesn’t spoil unless it is exposed to extremes, and it can be eaten on its own should you be desperate enough. I believe I had a jar of Firebee honey in my room upon the windowsill, my sole guilty pleasure; I can only hope that it was destroyed when I was thrown through the window.”
“Why would that be?”
Chrysalis gave a heartless cackle. “If you might recall, unlike you I don’t get along with my sister.”
*&*&*&*
And so her day began with the removal of her empty breakfast bowl. She’d eaten it gratefully and had been particularly taken with the taste of the banana slices. Of course, once the door to her current abode was closed she had become very bored, and she had rested her head against the lip of her basket while she thought.
A clock on a nearby spare bench was still functioning though she was not sure how accurate it was, and it wasn’t until it read eleven thirty that Fluttershy had arrived.
True to her name, the yellow Pegasus was reserved in almost every way. Still, when it came to caring for non-pony creatures she was supposedly the best in town should it not involve surgery, and even then she was apparently knowledgeable enough to keep a patient stable long enough for a surgeon to arrive.
She had fussed over each and every injury that the filly-sized Changeling had, worriedly inspecting every cut, scrape or bruise for signs of healing, possible infections, new damage…
Her wings had received the most scrutiny, and the Pegasus had called them ‘lovely’ even if they were shredded to near uselessness. She had poked and prodded, inspecting where they were torn and applying some gentle massaging to their joints to improve her circulation and hopefully speed up her healing, though Chrysalis had asked her to not do more than she was comfortable doing. Massaging her wing joints seemed like something of a more physical nature than she was sure Fluttershy would have provided, but the yellow mare only gave a small squeak of fright and an affirmative nod before continuing to massage the ex-monarch anyway.
Yes, even though her wings were so horridly mangled she would know flight again. Being a queen had its perks; her wings would naturally heal over time unlike a drone’s. Their wings would never recover from such severe damage. After the Canterlot Invasion, many drones had been made flightless and their duties were lightened as a result. A snap in the support, while debilitating, was not enough to ruin a wing and could be healed over time.
After allowing Chrysalis to place her wings safely back within their protective shell, Fluttershy moved to the door and reached for the knob.
“You didn’t inspect my horn.” Chrysalis mumbled softly. She had discovered during the last half hour of being with this mare that harsh tones and sudden words would startle her, and she was only stating a fact that she found strange since she had been so meticulous with almost every other injury on her person.
“Oh, I’m sorry…” Fluttershy mumbled in return. “I don’t know much about treating damaged horns, but I’m just going to quickly go and get somepony who might, okay?”
Chrysalis nodded. “Of course, thank you Miss Fluttershy.”
The Pegasus smiled and left the room, which left Chrysalis alone in her basket eyeing the walls drearily. She wasn’t alone for long before a low rumbling sound caught her attention, and a fine detail she had been overlooking finally clicked in her head. She quickly ducked into her basket and tugged her blanket clear over her head to conceal her entire body.
Fluttershy had left the door open.
*&*&*&*
Fluttershy returned to the room twenty minutes later with a faint smile, though her smile quickly evaporated when she saw Chrysalis’ basket upended with Opalescence sitting atop it and giving it angry swats with a paw.
“What..?”
“Before you continue to question the sense of this situation, would you kindly rescue me from this vicious thing please?” Chrysalis’s muffled and frightened voice called from beneath the wicker.
Fluttershy sighed and stepped over, moving to tug the cat from her perch only to retract her hoof when she was nearly clawed. She’d never seen Opalescence act like this before, though she hadn’t ever seen how she would react to Changelings before either.
“Um, Opal, could you please stop that?”
The cat considered her before huffing and deciding that ignoring her would be the best course of action, and Fluttershy’s pleading voice became background noise to the drumming of her paw against the basket.
Fluttershy sighed. “Oh, Rarity is not going to be happy, but…” She mumbled sadly before she looked up at Opal. “Opal, sweetie..?”
Had the cat remained ignorant of Fluttershy, she may have been spared the torment of looking up into the mare’s furious Stare. Only two words left Fluttershy’s mouth, though even with her naturally soft voice they shook the feline to her core.
“Get out.”
The cat fell over herself in her attempts to comply, and she ran headlong into the doorframe before shaking her head and correcting her course out the door. Even if she had tried, disobeying a Stare was something that Fluttershy had seen almost destroying stronger willed animals. She sighed and gently righted the basket before helping Chrysalis to untangle herself from her blanket and cushion.
“Thank you, Miss Fluttershy.” She mumbled.
“She didn’t scratch you again, did she?”
Chrysalis shook her head. “Not this time, thankfully. I heard her coming and hid under the blanket. When she tried to pull it off me I used my weight to roll the basket over. I’ve been under there since just after you left.”
“I’m sorry…”
“It is fine, Miss Fluttershy; I could hardly blame you for the cat’s dislike of me.” Chrysalis said softly. She gently reached out from the basket and brushed Fluttershy’s mane aside, dashing her attempts to hide behind it. “You are not at fault for her acting on her instincts, nor would I blame you if you were.”
Fluttershy nodded with a sigh. “Rarity is not going to be pleased when she finds out I used the Stare on Opalescence.” She huffed.
“How will she know you did it at all?”
“She’ll have to spend an hour getting Opal to come down from a bookshelf.” Fluttershy replied meekly.
Chrysalis gave a short giggle. “Well, that’s a whole hour she’ll be spending not abusing me.” She said.
Fluttershy giggled herself before looking behind herself. “Well, I was heading to Ponyville’s hospital to find a doctor to look at your horn when I ran into Twilight.”
The named mare dawdled in the door with an apologetic look on her face. “I’m sorry to keep you waiting; I needed to use the little filly’s room.”
Chrysalis gave Twilight an incredulous look before she gave a softer look to Fluttershy. “How will Miss Sparkle help..?”
“Well, Twilight is Princess Celestia’s protégée, and she knows more about magic and unicorn horns than almost anyone…” Fluttershy offered.
Chrysalis sighed and nodded. “Of course she does.” She mumbled, though not angrily. “When you went out to find someone with greater knowledge about horns than yourself, I have to admit I didn’t think you’d find an expert.” She teased with a cheeky smile. “It’s like going out to find someone to bake you a cake and coming home with a royal chef.”
Fluttershy giggled a truly wondrous sound that Chrysalis felt that she could listen to for a long time without growing tired of it. “I suppose so.”
Twilight moved into the room and stood beside Fluttershy, looking down at the Changeling with a look of deep curiosity. She sat down and leaned in close to eye her ruined horn with such an intense scrutiny that Chrysalis felt as if she was trying to see if she could bore holes into it with her gaze alone. An odd feeling engulfed her horn as Twilight’s own lit up.
“Can you feel this?” Twilight asked.
“Yes.” Chrysalis replied swiftly. “What are you doing?”
The feeling around her horn shifted and seemed to burrow deep inside, right to the core of the mangled appendage. “And can you feel this?”
Chrysalis nodded, how could she not be able to feel this? It was weird; like somepony had stuck a stick into her horn and was twiddling it about.
“Well, the nerve is still good, just severed.” Twilight mumbled. “How did you say this happened?”
“My sister snapped it when I retaliated to her relentless belittling.” Chrysalis admitted.
“Snapped your horn off?” Twilight pressed, eyeing the wound sceptically. “You’re lucky she didn’t pull the nerve right out; you’d be unable to use magic altogether in that case.”
“She’ll be alright, won’t she Twilight?” Fluttershy asked worriedly.
Twilight spared her a glance before inspecting the snapped horn one last time and sitting back. “She should be.” She said uncertainly. “I admit I don’t know much about Changeling physiology, let alone Changeling Queen physiology, but if your horn is mostly the same as a unicorn’s and it should heal over and start to grow back a little within a month or so. Your abilities with magic will just gradually come back in due time as well, though using your magic regularly will aid it along. I would suggest you be careful in using your magic though, given how much of your horn is missing your magic will be unpredictable and difficult to control. Perhaps practicing in a room with little to nothing flammable within would be best.
“Right now, however, I think we should discuss what is going to be happening today.” Twilight said, steering the conversation. “Every week Fluttershy and Rarity go to the spa in town to relax and wind down…”
“If you intend for me to accompany them, I regret to inform you that your intention will be fruitless.” Chrysalis huffed.
“But you need to clean up, and surely you can do with something to ease your nerves after everything that has happened.” Fluttershy pushed.
“Then I will use the bath in the bathroom.” Chrysalis affirmed with a huff. “Element of generosity or not, she does not need to put herself out like that for me.” She curled up in her basket before continuing. “I’m not worth wasting the money on, and I’d rather have some time alone. Besides, it would not be good for me to be seen in Ponyville by the public. Ponies would panic if they saw a Changeling wandering the streets.” She shuddered faintly, imagining the rioting ponies of Ponyville and what they could do to her if they managed to catch her which, given her current physical state, would be all too easy.
Fluttershy and Twilight gave one another nervous glances for a few moments. “Well, if you say so Chrysalis.” Twilight finally mumbled. “We’ll let Rarity know, you just get some rest for now.”
“If you’re going to have a bath, I’ll wrap your injuries when we return.” Fluttershy said sweetly. “Um, if you want me to that is…”
“I suppose they can’t be left to become infected.” Chrysalis agreed before giving Fluttershy a polite nod. “You need not be so shy; I would welcome your aid any day, Miss Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy gave a happy smile and tilted her head cutely, and even Twilight Sparkle’s untrained eye could see how warmly she’d taken the honest gesture from Chrysalis. It struck Twilight for the first time how very much of her Pegasus friend’s introverted nature had been whittled away over the time she’d known her, and she found herself smiling too.
“Well, I’ve got to go make sure that Spike’s progressing with reorganizing the library.” Twilight said as she rose back to her hooves. “I only left to get a few quills and some ink, but I think he’ll be a little worried that I’ve taken so long. I’ll see you again soon Chrysalis, I’m sure.”
“Of course, Miss Sparkle; thank you for your time.” Crysalis said calmly. “I would request you say hello to this ‘Spike’ of yours in my stead, but I hardly think he would be thrilled to be getting greetings from me.”
Twilight gave a faint chuckle before nodding and stepping out of the room. Fluttershy watched her go before giving Chrysalis a warm gaze.
“I need to quickly go make sure my animals are alright before I meet Rarity at the spa, is there anything I can get you before I leave?”
Chrysalis looked about the room idly, inspecting the seemingly forgotten stores of fabrics and threads and her eyes caught on a shelf of large balls of wool.
“I-if it’s not too much trouble, do you know if Rarity keeps knitting needles somewhere..? It’s quite cold outside and…” She gestured her eyes to the black and emerald balls of wool. “I… I would like to prepare for my eventual venture outside. Doing so without something to hold my body heat would most likely send me back into hypothermic shock.”
Fluttershy’s face of utter surprise did not go missed by the weakened Changeling, and she smiled wryly. “Oh? Did you not think I knew how to knit?” Chrysalis asked calmly. “I have lived for well over fifteen hundred years. You sort of… pick up skills to keep your mind from observing the mortality of those you consider your closest friends and family. It has aided me from descending into madness many times.”
“But the wedding..?”
Chrysalis sighed, having expected this question to arise. “We Queens… do not take to power well.” She said distantly. “Love fuels our magic and boons our powers, and the purer the love the more power we gain. Do you understand so far?”
Fluttershy nodded.
“When a Queen gains power in large enough a quantity, our mind slips. Power becomes all we think of, power and whatever we might be focusing on at the time. When I was first granted my status as the Hive Queen, I thought only of aiding my Changelings and, well, it didn’t go well. My mother aided me and brought me back to sanity, but at the wedding there was no elder to guide me. In the thirst for power, my mind turned to war and we both know how that turned out.
“No, it is… a different kind of madness.” Chrysalis breathed. “Power corrupts even immortals, and absolute power... well I’m sure you know the saying.”
Fluttershy nodded politely and moved over to the shelves, retrieving the large balls of wool and depositing them within Chrysalis’ reach before rooting around in a nearby cupboard and retrieving two long knitting needles which she also left within reach of the Changeling.
“Thank you, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy nodded with a smile before slipping from the room leaving Chrysalis to herself. She sighed wistfully before looking down at the wool and knitting needles and letting her magic extend to lift them. The flex of magical power stung at first when it reached the new end of her horn, but she did retain enough strength to lift and move the needles. Experimentally she reached out to also lift the wool, and she managed to string it up along one needle to begin her stitching.
With a gentle carefulness she started to move the needles in tandem, and soon the soft clicking of the needles filled the room.
*&*&*&*
An hour later and Chrysalis was alone in the boutique, and she had long since paused her knitting in favour of relaxing in the bath. She had filled it only a few inches, deep enough for her to be able to clean but shallow enough for her to relax, and relax she did. After she had cleaned the dried blood, dirt and mud from her body she had drained and refilled the bath and added a little of the bath salts that Rarity had said she was free to use provided she use them sparingly, and now she was laying on her back with her hind legs stretched in the water and her forelegs suspended over her chest.
She heaved a heavy and relaxed breath. The warm water was so very relaxing; it was something that she hadn’t enjoyed since the failed invasion. Hot water was such a rare occurrence at the Hive, let alone pure water, and she had missed it greatly. Back at the Hive she had to make do with freezing water to clean herself, and even then she had no time to enjoy any of the time she spent with the precious resource.
With her ears beneath the water muffling the world around her into dull thuds as the building shifted faintly in the cold, and her eyes closed to enjoy the warmth of the water and allow her mind to roam freely she didn’t notice when somepony entered the bathroom and stood next to the bath. When she finally did notice the arrival of another, her eyes snapped open and she lifted her head in surprise.
She didn’t know this pony.
“Who are you? How did you get in here?”
The male unicorn who stood over her bore the usual white coat and blonde hair of royal guards, possibly owing to the armour that he wore. It looked unlike any armour that Chrysalis had seen before and she assumed that he was a member of an off branch of the Royal Guard, as it did still feature the blue stars that were a staple of the usual armour. His glare bore down through her as if she were some offending cockroach.
“My name is Cluey. I am Her Majesty Princess Celestia’s official representative known best for my investigative and interrogative abilities.”
“Does Rarity know you are here? I don’t imagine she would be very accepting of a stallion so brash as to walk in on a bathing mare.”
“Miss Rarity allowed me into the building and told me where I might find you.” He replied brashly. “Get up; you are coming with me to answer some questions.”
“Can it not wait? I- eep!”
She struggled as he lifted her from the bath with his magic and promptly turned to the door, levitating her out and into the hallway. Being held in his magic was not like when Rarity had lifted her, he was rough and held her tightly while Rarity had held her carefully and gently as if she were carrying something rare and delicate.
He carried her into the room in which her basket was waiting and dumped her, unceremoniously, onto the floor before closing the door with a thud. He sat down, though his figure was still tall and imposing to her as she struggled to get back to her hooves while sparing her still broken left foreleg.
“Now, you will answer my questions.” He said sharply before his horn flashed and a spell wrapped itself around her throat. “And do not try to lie. This spell is made to detect and react to them.
“Now we shall begin.”
*&*&*&*
Rarity strolled into the hall, trying to find that rather rude stallion she had let in. He’d shown her his orders from Princess Celestia herself and told him where he could most likely find Chrysalis. She had expected him to return with her to the kitchen, where she had already set up the table for his questioning. When he didn’t return, she had gotten worried and begun her search.
She moved down to the bathroom and slipped inside, finding that the bath was still full of water and that neither of them was present. She pulled the plug and drained the tub before looking about. She found the towel that she had left for Chrysalis untouched and folded on the stool beside the bath, and a thick trail of water that led back to the door.
With a frown she followed the trail out into the hall where a line of wet carpet showed her quite well where Chrysalis had gone. Or, rather, where she had been taken. She knew for a fact that anypony who was wet enough to leave that distinct a path of water would have left hoofprints, but there were none to be seen. With a flick of her magic she lifted the towel she had left for Chrysalis and followed the water.
She was not surprised that it led to the spare storage room, and she almost gave the door a curt knock before her hearing caught on part of the conversation within.
“You will answer my questions!”
“I don’t have to say anything until one of the Elements of Harmony is in the room with me, and I won’t.” This was Chrysalis’ voice, and her defiant words were followed by a strangled and startled yelp of pain.
“I am no fool, Changeling; I will not give you any quarter simply because you appear to be a filly. You will answer my questions!”
Rarity grumbled and swung the door open to find the stallion looking back at her startled by the interruption and Chrysalis with magic wrapped around her throat and water still running from her form. Without pause she stepped into the room and over to Chrysalis, wrapping her in the towel she held and giving the stallion an angered glare.
“I may not be an interrogator, but I do know that this is not permitted.” She hissed. Her magic flared along her horn and the spell that was wrapped around Chrysalis’ neck dissipated. She was thankful that Twilight had taught her that spell, as it had cancelled any magic cast within the room.
With the spell now gone, Chrysalis took a few sharp, ragged breaths and struggled to lean into Rarity thankfully. The spell had strangled her utterly at her defiance and she was truly thankful that the mare had come to her rescue.
“Why are you interrupting my interrogation? I insist that you leave immediately!”
“No! I insist that you leave!” Rarity snapped. “You have quite overstepped your welcome!”
“I am under orders from Her Majesty Princess Celestia herself-”
“I couldn’t care less about your orders right now. I will not have you abuse my guest under my roof, and you are certainly not welcome if you wish to continue to assault a filly. You will get out or I’ll have to throw you out!”
The stallion bared his teeth and growled in frustration. “Fine, I will be back.” He snarled, before pointing to Chrysalis. “Do not go anywhere, Changeling!”
The stallion turned on his hoof and stormed out; his armour clinking loudly as he angrily left the building and slammed the front door. Rarity gave one final angry huff in the direction he had left before turning back to Chrysalis and using her magic to dry her with the towel.
“I’m sorry, Chrysalis; I was under the impression that he would bring you to the kitchen.”
“It is fine, Rarity; I also did not expect a Captain of the Royal Guard to be so…”
“Rude?” Rarity offered.
“I was going to go with ‘violent’.” Chrysalis returned. “How are you going to handle his return? No offense, but I don’t think you can stand up against him…”
“Don’t worry, darling; I’ve an ace up my sleeve too.” Rarity said calmly. “Just stay here and stay calm, alright? I’ll be back soon.”
Chrysalis struggled out from under the towel and looked up at Rarity as she left. “Where’re you going?”
Rarity gave a smile. “To mail a letter.”
*&*&*&*
Cluey returned nearly two hours later, knocking on the boutique door sharply and glaring at Rarity as she opened it. She only smiled at him cheerfully and welcomed him and his company in, the two stallions stepping into the building and following her as she led them to where Chrysalis was currently being ‘held’.
The mare and stallions stepped into the storage room with Rarity at the back of the group, having held the door open. Sure enough here Chrysalis was, knitting away calmly. She’d finished nearly a foot of the scarf she was knitting, and she had knitted a green heart broken in two into the section she had completed. She didn’t even seem aware that they had arrived until her eyes flicked to them and her steady rhythm dropped a stitch. She grumbled at her inattentiveness and carefully rescued the stitch before securing her yarn and lowering it to the ground.
She sighed inwardly at the company that Cluey had brought along, though she figured that it was almost inevitable that this stallion would show up eventually. The second unicorn glared down at her more hatefully than Cluey did, and with good reason; it was his marriage she had almost ruined after all.
“Calling in your superiors are we?” She asked calmly.
“Be silent until spoken to, witch.” Shining Armour snapped.
“You are excused, Miss Rarity.” Cluey said sternly.
With an almost too cheerful tone to her voice, she smiled and replied. “Of course, do come and get me should you need anything.”
She slid from the room and strode away, leaving the door wide open only for Cluey’s magic to flick and close it curtly. He stood tall above Chrysalis who still lay in her basket and only looked back at his stern and angry face calmly as he bore down on her.
“Now, we have some questions for you.” He announced, before his horn flickered and the familiar feeling of his magic returned to her throat. A voice spoke from behind the stallions, startling them.
“I wouldn’t do that.”
They turned about in shock to find Twilight Sparkle having been standing behind the door, a scroll of paper tucked behind one ear pertly. She stood confidently before her brother and his comrade, and didn’t show even a flicker of nervousness at their stern attention.
“Twily..?”
“By order of Princess Celestia I am here to assist the ex-Queen of the Changelings, Chrysalis, during this interrogation.” She said firmly. “And all of the Elements of Harmony are permitted to stand in my place should I be unavailable during these times.” She nodded to Cluey boldly. “A report to the Princess has been sent about your conduct the last time you were here, Cluey, and a list of topics which may be questioned to Chrysalis has been compiled.” Her magic shifted the scroll from her ear over to him. He looked down at it irritably until he noticed the seal adorning it.
Celestia’s royal seal reflected the light from the overhead bulb right into his face.
“Twilight, what’s going on..?”
She sighed to her brother. “The last time Cluey was in this room he assaulted Chrysalis with his magic, strangling her. This is unacceptable, especially towards a refugee who has been granted asylum.”
Shining Armour turned his attention back onto Chrysalis. “Take your control spells off of her this instant!”
“Shining look at her horn. With it as damaged as it is she can barely use levitation; how do you think she could possibly cast any form of controlling magic?” Twilight said firmly. “You know as well as I do that a damaged horn makes spell casting all but impossible.”
His confused and angry face turned back on his sister. “Why are you helping this… monster? Think of what she did to us, to Cadance! Think about what she did to Canterlot!”
Twilight sighed faintly. “I have thought about it. Every time I look at her I remember it. But I also see what she has become because of it, and I’ve seen what has happened to her as punishment from her own kind. Look at her, Shining. Could that be dangerous?”
“Appearances can be deceiving.” Shining grumbled.
“Shining, when we first found her she…” Twilight trailed off worriedly, giving Chrysalis a glance that she caught and sighed to.
“When your sister and her friends first found me, I told them to let me die in the cold.” She said. “And, all things concerned, it was probably the better option. Instead they let me live and in return for their kindness I am offering my knowledge on my kind. What you choose to do with this knowledge is your own business.”
“Even if we use it to create countermeasures against-”
“Why else would I be offering my knowledge?” Chrysalis asked rhetorically. “I was deposed and exiled by my own Hive, my own sister. I care little for their sake. However, even during my rule there have been changelings who chose to abandon the Hive and join Equestria’s society to live amongst ponies; for them I only askthat you be cautious with any approach you take as they will be trying their hardest to do no harm.”
“Wait, go back a step.” Cluey voiced, waving a hoof. “What’s this about a ‘sister’?”
“Thistle is my younger sister.” Chrysalis said calmly. “She is currently the Queen of the Changelings. Personally I would consider her to be extremely dangerous, but how you classify her is your business.” She gave Twilight a bored look. “I would have figured that Princess Celestia would have brought them up to speed.”
“Until an hour ago, I didn’t even know you were still alive, so do excuse me for not knowing.” Shining Armour hissed. “And do forgive me if I don’t believe you when you say you don’t care about the Changelings.”
Chrysalis sighed and held a hoof over her heart. “A part of me still yearns for them, still cares for their plights. I was their queen for hundreds of years, since before the Blight that struck the Bad Lands. It is impossible to consider that I would not have developed an inbuilt care for them after all that time. A queen’s power comes from the respect of the Hive, and I was brought up to consider the Hive first and I last. I would wander the halls of the Hive and hear out concerns or give my blessing to couples with foal. I took up a mate and had a family of my own for almost two centuries.
“I loved my Hive as much as I’m sure that Princess Celestia loves her ponies, if not more so. Imagine if you would what would happen if you were all simply decided that she was not what you wanted in a ruler and cast her out. Imagine what that would do to her morale and self-esteem, to her love for her little ponies. After one disastrous mistake I have lost everything I held dear simply because they didn’t want me anymore. Because I’m not allowed to make mistakes, because I’m supposed to be perfect; not that I painted myself in that picture, but because my Changelings held me in such regard.
“Yes, I still love them.” Chrysalis admitted sadly. “But my love has been betrayed, and I hurt in ways I have not hurt since before the invasion. I lost the last of my grandfoals, the hopes of my Changelings, and then the love of everypony I held above all else within the last few months. I just… I can’t fight anymore. I don’t want to fight anymore. After fifteen hundred years I’ve had enough; I’m too tired of it all. The constant cycle of life and death becomes background noise after a few centuries, but the loneliness is overwhelming. I’m used to not feeling loss, but even I cannot tune out what I feel and I can’t be bothered trying.” She sighed sadly and curled up in her basket. “If I cannot go on with those I care for, I can at least make sure they are remembered; if that means that I have to tell you every secret about us, so be it. At least that way we leave a legacy. At least that way we’re remembered.”
The ponies only watched her as she curled up tighter and she tried in vain to fight back tears. Twilight pushed past her brother and lay down next to the basket, facing the stallions and mentally noting that they at least had some courtesy to look sympathetic.
“My own sister has sworn to plague my dreams with nothing but horrors every night, even after having been almost murdered by her own hooves. Tell me, Shining Armour; tell me what I have left to live for, because I truly don’t know anymore.”
A pregnant and awkward silence filled the room broken up only by Chrysalis’ sobs as she attempted to recover what she had left of her emotions. She felt defenceless, as if every aspect of her heart had been lay out for the world to see, and she could only imagine how or what the stallions would do with such an opportunity.
Cluey cleared his throat.
“You are a skilled actress, Changeling; you almost had me going for a moment.”
Chrysalis’ sobs stopped abruptly at this harsh line, and she felt the prior feeling of openness retreated back into her chest where it caged itself up in rage and cold hatred. With a snarl she lifted her head, what remained of her horn aglow as she glared at the wall before her.
Twilight flinched at the rise of magic in the air, and she gave her brother a look that spoke more than she could convey in words at that moment. ‘Kitchen; now!’
“This interview is over.” Chrysalis snarled, fury rolling from her throat and changing the very feel of the air around them. “Get out.”
Cluey’s jaw lowered to protest when Shining Armour’s magic grabbed his horn and his hoof slapped his mouth shut. In one swift move the door opened and shining dragged him out into the hall, closing the door behind them.
Quick as a flash Twilight reached into her saddlebags with her magic and retrieved a small round object which she held out to Chrysalis. With the way that magic was pulsing around the changeling’s horn, she was worried that she would overextend herself which would only result in a disastrous discharge.
“It’s designed for unicorns to vent magic onto.” She said. “Please, Chrysalis, before you hurt yourself.”
Chrysalis snarled angrily as she vented her frustrations onto the spherical object, her magic seemingly being absorbed by it as she raged into it. It took a few minutes for her to finally calm down, and by then the sphere had actually begun to warm up a little.
With a final calming breath she finished venting and she heaved a heavy sigh before resting her head on the basket’s edge. Twilight retracted the sphere and placed it into a box only just large enough for it to fit before depositing it back into her saddlebags. She sighed down to Chrysalis and moved her quilted blanket to mostly cover her.
“Get some rest, Chrysalis; you need it.”
She nodded faintly at her words before lifting her head slightly.
“Thank you, Miss Sparkle.” She said quietly.
Twilight smiled and nodded. “Of course, Chrysalis; I’ll just go talk with my brother and Cluey and send Fluttershy up to treat your wounds.” She moved across to the door and stepped into the hall, tilting her head back one last time. “Try and get some rest.”
The door closed with a click as Twilight headed down to the kitchen, leaving Chrysalis to herself and her thoughts.