Chapter 41
Second Chance
Fillia was waiting outside of Queen Chrysalis’ bedroom, shaking due to stress. She had been asked to wait there until the Queen could brief her for an important mission; usually, if the Queen wanted to ask something of one of her subjects she sent them a message viathe Hive Mind, but never would she talk to them personally in her private bedroom.
To keep her mind busy and not worry about why Chrysalis wanted to see her, Fillia though about the last time she had been sent out on an assignment. She had taken the place of one of the Gryphon Emperor’s maids and found an access point into the armory. She was captured and thrown in the dungeon, and there she would have died if not for Onyx.
Since she had been rescued, Fillia could not stop thinking about him, how he had saved her without asking for anything in return, how he had been kind and not scared of her even though she was a monster. Onyx did not judge her by her physical appearance; no, he looked at her and judged her by what she was inside. Each time she thought about him, she felt her heart beat crazily, and when she was hungry, she only needed to think of him to dull the pain.
“But … why? I’ve never felt like this for another Changeling before… So why with—”
Her thought had been interrupted by the bedroom door being opened and Chrysalis inviting her to enter. Chrysalis’ bedroom was a sight that only a few Changelings would ever see in their lifetime, and she took advantage of the occasion and got a good look around. The floor was covered fully by soft, black carpet and the walls were made of polished, black granite. A chandelier hung from the middle of the ceiling; each candle was burning and left a fresh scent of the forest. There were pieces of wood furniture here and there; and lastly, was the bed of Queen Chrysalis—a four poster bed made of the highest quality of Arctic Yew wood, so rare that if it was sold it could buy one anything they wanted for years. The covers were green-tinted furs of the rare wolf species, canis lupus, which were made of flesh and bone, unlike the common timber wolves. The furs stayed cool during the summer and warm during the winter. Lying upon this grandiose bed was Chrysalis, awaiting her subject.
“You like the look of it, am I right?” asked the Queen in a casual tone.
“Yes … it’s so … I mean … no words can describe … it feels very secure; like nothing could reach me—” Fillia said before she realised she was talking to her queen. “—I mean; yes, Your Highness.”
Chrysalis giggled when she heard Fillia talk, which really surprised the spy. She’d never seen her queen happy before.
“You have no need for such formalities; we are in my quarters and all alone. Now, I think you may wonder as to why I have summoned you, right?”
“Well, yes—I mean, I’m honored that you have chosen me for another personal mission, but why me, even after I failed my last mission?” asked Fillia.
Chrysalis rose up from her bed and walked to her dressing table; she grabbed a brush with her magic and stroked her turquoise mane. “Well, yes, you disappointed me when you failed, but every mother knows that her children make mistakes sometimes and that it is our duty to give them a second chance,” answered Chrysalis as she finished brushing her mane and placed her crown back upon her head.
“And now, it is time for your second chance. You remember Onyx, right … when I freed you from that feline chicken with a crown.” When Fillia heard Onyx’s name, she feared that her Queen would have him killed or harmed in any way; but thankfully, that was not a part of Chrysalis’ plan.
“Canterlot will organise the Grand Galloping Gala soon. I want you to infiltrate the reception, find him by taking the form of his marefriend and gather all the information you can find on him that we may use to take his place: what he’s like, where he spends his day, his fears, his objectives, everything. You will not be alone on this mission. You may take anyling you want with you, and their job will be to find the same about his cousin, Mi Amore Cadenza. Now you can go prepare yourself. I will recall you soon,” said the Queen.
Fillia bowed before exiting the room. She was happy that her queen gave her this mission, because not only did this prove that her Queen was not angry about her recent failure, but she would be able to meet Onyx again and thank him for saving her.
When Chrysalis was sure that Fillia was no longer near her room, she closed her eyes and searched the hive mind for the link she created between herself and Onyx. It did not take long before she felt the Prince’s signature and carefully used a small amount of magic to be sure that he would not detect her mental presence. She concentrated and when she was sure that the magic was the precise amount, she released a spell and she was able to see through the eyes of the Prince himself.
“Reveal to me all your secrets, my Onyx. Reveal to me how to take my revenge on the murderer of my mother,” whispered Chrysalis.
***
Onyx was in front of a small mountain of scrolls; many of them were requests to join the Royal Orchestra for the Grand Galloping Gala or invitations to upper-class “parties”. Most of the party invitations were used only for aristocrats to buy their way closer to the Royal Family. Naturally, the only one who went to any of them was his cousin, Blueblood. Every time the castle organised something important, Onyx, Blueblood and Cadance received literal tons of scrolls.
“Again, we would gladly appreciate your choosing of our harmonica symphony for the gala’s—Bla bla bla … I swear, if I see one more letter ever again, I will burn every scroll in the city,” said Onyx out loud, rubbing his neck.
“Worst of all, this bug bite! The more I scratch the itchier it gets...” Before Onyx could whine a little more, the door to his bedroom opened, letting in Celestia, donning a floral shirt, a pair of sunglass and a straw hat.
“Momma’s home!” she yelled, accompanied by her sister, dressed in the same manner.
***
“Momma’s home!”
Chrysalis quickly closed the link between her and Onyx as soon as she heard Celestia; she could not take the risk of her detecting traces of magic being used on the princess’ son.
“Soon, Celestia … soon you will discover what it feels like to lose what you cherish the most, to lose the ones you care for, to see your kingdom dying in front of you and be helpless to save it. I will take everything from you, just like you took the closest member of my family from me,” she whispered to herself.