//------------------------------// // Fall of the Swarm // Story: My Little Pony: Grimlock is King // by Flanagan //------------------------------// The badlands were called that for a reason. There was nothing but rock and sand as far as the eye could see. The blazing sun beat mercilessly upon the cracked earth and burning winds created vicious sandstorms that would tear flesh from bone. Only the strongest forms of life could hope to eke out an existence in such a place, a place that was the polar opposite of the land to the east, a land full of life, a land full of love. Deep below the scorched surface a race dwelled, regaining its strength after it had underestimated the strength of their neighbors. Their leader, though powerful herself, had fallen to the folly of arrogance and let her enemy defeat her. She seethed with anger at them, she had defeated their God, even captured their capitol city, but in her own narcissism she neglected one critical detail that detail being the only reason the invasion failed. For days on end she would sit upon her throne, pondering the ‘what if’s that always came with every failure. This day was no different for Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, her throne made of the empty cocoons of her long hatched children. She snarled to herself as the moments up to her failure played through her head again and again, until she couldn’t stand it anymore. “FAILED!” she suddenly roared shooting up to her feet. “I had them on their knees… no, on the BELLIES! And I still couldn’t finish them!” With little warning, the Queen fired a powerful blast of magic at a titanic stalagmite, turning it to dust. Chrysalis calmly walked over to the new pile of ash and softly placed her hoof in the pile, making a small plum puff into the air. “I should’ve done that to that little good for nothing alicorn…” she hissed. “The way I see it I would’ve been doing that stallion a favor… he has to deal with her until he dies… at least I would have made it quicker…” A small smile came to her face at the thought that danced across her mind. “And far more pleasurable if I do say so myself...” She wasn’t left to her thoughts for very long though, because just as soon as she had turned to walk back to her throne a single drone flew into the towering chasm. He didn’t stay aloft for long, because just as soon as he was within ear shot he became enveloped in pulsing green magic. Before the drone could respond he was slammed to the floor, the force nearly shattering his carapace and effectively knocking the wind out of him. His ordeal was far from over tough, as he tried to take a break a powerful hoof came down on his throat, forcing neon green blood to spurt out of his throat. “What have I told you…” she growled, “About coming here without PERMISSION!” The queen violently threw the drone to the wall, silencing him permanently. The queen seethed for a few seconds staring at the now limp body on the opposite side of the room until an entirely different emotion fell upon her, regret. She suddenly rushed to the fallen drone, fighting back tears as she picked him up with her magic. “I-I’m… I’m sorry…” she said cradling the body like an infant, “I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to-“ “My queen.” A voice from behind her called at the entry of the chambers. “I tried to tell Drone 209 that he needed permission to enter, but he-“ The second changeling looked on in horror at the sight before him. His queen, his ruler, the very being that he would never question, was holding the lifeless and still bleeding body of what was one a drone in her forelegs, letting her tears fall as she buried the corpse into her chest. He began to back away, but soon his entire body was encompassed by the same magic his predecessor was ensnared by and pulled ever closer to his queen, whether he liked it or not. There was no point in struggling or fighting back, death was likely to follow either decision, so he just closed his eyes and accepted whatever fate his queen had in mind. “Yes?” she suddenly asked, like nothing was wrong. “What were you about to say Sentinel 34?” The changeling opened his eyes to see that his queen looked and acted both perfectly normal. Despite the fast just seconds ago she was nearly sobbing holding the body of one of his dead brothers. “You were saying something…” Chrysalis said, lifting the changeling’s head so he would look at her. “What was it?” “It… it was that Drone 209 refused to obey the orders…” Sentinel 34 said. “He believed the message he had was far too important.” “Message?” Chrysalis asked, tilting her head to the side. “What message?” “T-that’s the thing… my q-queen…” he replied rather reluctantly. “Only Drone 209 knew the message.” Chrysalis’s teeth began to grind together as her eyes began to burn with fury. Her counterpart wanted to run in an effort to avoid the same fate as his predecessor, though it would have only granted him a few seconds. He closed his eyes to accept his fate, but instead of feeling excruciating pain, he felt a gentle, motherly nuzzling on his forehead. Opening his eyes he saw a loving smile just before he was encompassed in the forearms of his queen. “It’s alright…” she whispered lovingly. “Sometimes horrible things happen… and we can’t change the fact they did happen.” “Yes my queen.” The sentinel nodded fearfully, hoping her demeanor would remain consistent until he left. “But that doesn’t negate the fact that his information could’ve been useful…” “You think I don’t know this?” Chrysalis growled, towering over her sentinel. “There had to be a reason for his blatant insubordination right?” “Y-yes…” The sentinel replied starting to back away, but just as before his queen’s magic prevented any hope of escape. Fear came into his eyes. The one thing he hoped wouldn’t happen did, Chrysalis’s mood had swung again, this time for the worst. He closed his eyes tightly, expecting his fate to be the same as the fool prior to him. But once again, just before he thought his fate was sealed another being burst into the chasm, effectively distracting Chrysalis. “MY QUEEN!” she called, coming to a screeching halt. “I bring news from the north!” “You do?” Chrysalis asked tilting her head sideways as a small smile grew on her face. “Well don’t keep me in suspense youngling, tell me.” Within an instant Chrysalis had deserted the sentinel and was upon the new changeling, eyes wide with anticipation. The new changeling jumped at the sudden attention she had received, but maintained her composure as her ruler lowered herself to her eye level, resting her chin on her hooves while she waited. “Well…” she said awkwardly looking to her queen. “I’m not exactly sure if you haven’t already heard it…” “I have received no news today young one.” Chrysalis replied crossing her forelegs in front of her, “Now please… before I grow impatient.” An undistinguishable noise peeped out of the changeling, knowing that her queen was the most dangerous when annoyed. Taking a deep breath the young changeling prepared to tell her tale, hoping it would be enough to spare her from her queen’s unpredictable wrath. “I was the scout that you tasked with tracking the creature we left for dead if his so called ‘allies’ were to come for him.” “Ah yes, I remember now, Scout 391.” Chrysalis said placing a hoof on her chin. “I’d take it that they DID come for him, correct?” “Yes my queen,” the scout nodded. “There were four of them.” “So his little friends took him in without question… just like he said they would.” Chrysalis smiled, “Well it will be their concern for him that shall be his undoing. The three infiltrators I had placed in his chest were some of our best. It will only be a matter of time before they destroy him and return with the location of his comrades.” “Yes my queen.” The scout agreed. “Soon we have all the information we need to bring the monster from under Celestia’s thrall.” “Yes young one…” Chrysalis said rising to her hooves. “With the combined information of his partners I will find Grimlock’s weaknesses and bring him to his knees!” Laughter filled the chasm as the young scout backed away from her queen and positioned herself behind the sentinel. Chrysalis’s insectoid wings buzzed furiously as her hooves slowly rose off the ground, still laughing like a mad mare. “And once under my control Equestria will finally be mine!” she cackled, throwing her forelegs over her head. “Um… my queen?” the sentinel suddenly said, interrupting his ruler’s maniacal laughter. “What if your plan… well… doesn’t work?” “What was that?” Chrysalis asked, her mood changing completely within an instant. “Are you questioning me?” “No my queen!” He replied, quickly throwing his forelegs in the air. “It’s just those creatures like him… they may have the ability to see through such a ruse.” “We are Changelings Sentinel 34.” Chrysalis boasted, “No creature of this world can see through our disguise unless we so choose them to.” “That is true my queen.” The sentinel continued, “But they are not of this world.” “And that could stand to reason that they may have a way of seeing through our disguise.” The scout added. “The chance is minimal, but it’s still there.” “Your concerns are unsubstantial.” Chrysalis replied landing and walking towards her two doubters. “I assure you that the infiltrators cannot be detected.” “As you decree my queen.” The sentinel bowed, “Our concerns must have been misguided.” “Of course they are.” Chrysalis said patting him on the head, “now leave me, there are other, more important, matters I need to-“ A loud rumble interrupted Chrysalis, causing her to turn to its direction on the opposite side of the chasm. The three silently stared in the direction of the rumbling until it happened again, only that time it sounded much closer. “What… was that?” the scout asked nervously, poking her head from behind the sentinel. “Is the entity acting up again?” the sentinel asked looking to Chrysalis for an answer as another, louder rumble filled the chasm. “That thing hasn’t so much as moved since we released that Swindle character.” Chrysalis said, staring off in the direction of the rumbling. “Whatever it is it must be-“ A thunderous boom shook the chasm even to the point where loose stones on the floor. Before any of them could react a far more violent tremor shook through the entire underground, causing both stalagmites and stalactites to crumble under the shock wave. Within seconds of that the opposite exploded in a wave of dust and rubble and if not for Chrysalis throwing up a shield at the last moment she and her partners would’ve been stains on the chasm’s floor. “What in all of Equestria was that?” she roared, eyes full of fury as she cast her deathly gaze at the newest opening in the cave, “I swear to whoever destroyed my throne room your death will be-“ The figure that came into view on the opposite side of the hole left her speechless. It looked an awful lot like Swindle, but when it stepped through the hole she knew that it wasn’t him. The being opposite of her was much bulkier that her former captive and sported two very large pillar like structures on his back. “Knock, knock…” Brawl said, aiming his thermo-rockets directly at the trio. Without a second thought Brawl unleashed hell towards them. The rockets blasted a path towards Chrysalis and her peers, but Chrysalis’s magic was more than a match for them. Instead of hitting their intended target they were thrown right back at Brawl. The following explosion blew Brawl back through the entryway. “Such a pathetic display…” She said smiling to herself as she turned to her attention back to her onlookers, “That is why you shouldn’t-“ An explosion cut straight through her statement, sending her careening across the chasm. The sentinel and scout barely avoided their queen only by throwing themselves in either direction of her path. Seconds after she was down Brawl stepped through the entry yet again, seemingly unaffected by the redirected missiles. “Really?” he asked, wiping dust off his shoulder, “I’ve had Ion Pistols hit me harder than that…” “Brawl focus.” A commanding voice said from behind him, “We’ve got a schedule to keep here.” “Sorry Onslaught,” he replied with a chuckle, “Just havin’ some fun at the expanse of a few organics.” “Who dares trespass in my realm?!” Chrysalis roared, rising to her hooves, “Do you even KNOW who I am?!” “I’m guessing you’re the boss…” Onslaught growled, taking a step towards her, “You’ll pay for what you did to Swindle.” “Swindle?” Chrysalis asked, before remembering her former guest. “Ah yes… Swindle, do you happen to be those ‘friends’ he spoke so highly of?” Onslaught said nothing, only raising his Neuron Rifle to silence the beast that tortured one of his closest allies. Without a second thought Onslaught unleased the contents of his weapon in the queen’s direction. The queen anticipated the action however, throwing up yet another shield she and her allies watched as round after round were defected. After a few seconds the only thing coming from Onslaught’s barrel was smoke, but before he could reload he felt himself being lifted into the air. “Are all members of your race really this stupid?” she asked, throwing him into Brawl before either could react. “I have destroyed entire civilizations by myself, what makes the two of you think you can stop me?” “Because they’re NOT alone!” a hauntingly familiar voice roared as another wall in her chambers came crashing down. “Glad to see you return to my humble abode…” Chrysalis said with a smile turning the direction of the voice. “Swindle…” “Couldn’t stand the thought of leaving without saying goodbye.” He growled, clinching his fist, “but this time I brought company…” At that moment a helicopter and jet flew through the new opening, transforming into massive robots before slamming into the ground, leaving craters in their wake. The three Decepticons drew their weapons on the queen, ready to deliver their sweet vengeance. But as they would soon find out, it was far easier said than done. Chrysalis proved to be far more agile than any of them anticipated, even to the point of evading their most well aimed shots. Her magic proved to be very effective against their weapons and the rubble that was recently created proved to be more than valuable to her when it came to projectiles. It wasn’t that she could really harm them with her attacks, but they did provide a decent enough distraction for the sentinel and the scout to retreat away from the conflict via the way they came. The fight between Chrysalis and the three raged on, neither side really gaining the upper hand, until Onslaught and Brawl brought themselves back into the fray. Now outnumbered five to one Chrysalis began to kick into overdrive. Throwing nearly every offensive spell she could manage at them the five began to see why she was the queen. Boulders flew though the chasm with abandon, several even hitting their mark and nearly extinguishing the spark of one or two of her foes. Despite her success in holding the Decepticons off there is always a moment when one’s guard is dropped. At that crucial moment Brawl fired one of his missiles. Seeing it heading her way an instant before it slammed into her she did her best to dodge the attack. The missile missed its mark, but the shrapnel from the following explosion hit her solidly, damaging both her wings and entire left side of her body. The queen slammed into the chasm floor, a trail of luminescent blood trailing behind her. “Good shot Brawl.” Onslaught said patting him on the back. “All in a day’s work, boss.” Brawl said confidently, “She put up a better fight than most. I was actually starting to get impressed.” “Don’t think this is over yet Brawl.” He replied, looking over to another one of his comrades. “One of us still needs to settle the score.” Swindle nodded with a large grin and approached the body of his former capture, the only signs of life being her shallow breathing. Taking the sight in for a few seconds he reminisced over the days he spent picturing this moment. Her barely alive, him standing over her just before he picked her up then slowly, painfully removing that vile head from her neck. “You gonna kill her or what?” Brawl asked, “’cause if you’re not, I got dibs.” “Calm down Brawl, I know what I’m doing…” Swindle said kneeling next to the body. “Never imagined you’d be in this position did you queeny?” he laughed condescendingly. Chrysalis looked back up to him with resentment in her eyes, as if to say several choice words, but for some reason she remained quiet. “There’s a saying on the planet we arrived on.” Swindle continued, picking up the motionless queen. “It goes… ‘karma’s a bitch’…” he said placing his thumb and index finger around her neck. “And so are you.” Seconds later, Swindle began to pull at the base of the queen’s neck very slowly. But instead of begging for mercy or crying in pain Chrysalis did something none of them expected, she began to laugh. “Y-you think I’m done?” she stuttered through a bloody smile. “I… I haven’t even started…” At that moment, Chrysalis’s horn began to glow. Before Swindle could react a bright flash of light engulfed his hand and soon after, indescribable pain. Reaching for his hand Swindle cried in agony before dropping to his knees. The other Combaticons rushed to his side to see what she had done to him, what they saw made even hardened warriors like them cringe a little at the sight. Swindle’s hand was mangled beyond any recognizable form. There were even parts that appeared to be melting. However Swindle’s pain soon to a back seat to the sudden burst of psychotic laughter that filled the chasm, another bright flash of light appeared, this time away from the group. It was Chrysalis, still wounded, but more alive than she appeared to be a few seconds ago. “Do you even have the slightest inkling of who I am?” she asked, blood oozing through her teeth. “I AM the queen of the changelings, I AM THE SWARM!” “You’re a bug!” Swindle roared back, rising to his feet. “And all insects get stepped on!” “I can hardly see how you think you can beat me…” she said as her horn began to glow yet again. The earth beneath them began to tremble before violently shaking to the point that even they had trouble standing. Soon after the wall that once stood behind Chrysalis turned into dust, revealing thousands, if not tens of thousands of smaller versions of herself, all squirming and buzzing around her. “I have an ARMY!” “Very well…” Onslaught said before looking to Swindle, with a quick nod his answer was given and Onslaught turned back to face the overwhelming numbers of their foe. “Combaticons… TRANSFORM!” At that moment all five Decepticons jumped into the air, taking the shape of something Chrysalis couldn’t exactly make out. The first to land were Brawl and Swindle, taking the shape of what appeared to be legs. Onslaught was next placing himself atop to other two. Finally came Vortex and Blast Off, slamming themselves into Onslaught’s sides they soon to the unmistakable form of arms. Once all the pieces were in place, a massive head rose from the core of the giant, the purple glow pulsing from its eyes made one thing very clear, Bruticus was now online. “I have me…” the titan said, activating his rotor shield. Chrysalis was awestruck for a second. Thanks to her interrogation of Swindle she knew that this could happen, but the sheer size was something she hadn’t anticipated, never in her long life had she encountered such a giant. Her awe had soon faded when the monster before her began walking towards her and her army, each step making it feel like the cave system was about to collapse. With a primal cry Chrysalis and her changelings charged headlong into the titan before them, every second the two forces getting closer until finally. Waves of changelings fell on Bruticus, but they were no match to the sheer size and overwhelming strength that had made him one of the most feared beings in the galaxy. Every ounce of savagery the changeling army could muster against their foe was thrown back on them tenfold. Every volley of their magic was either absorbed by or deflected by Bruticus’s roto-shield and those foolish enough to get close were turned into mist under his crushing weight. “Is this all you got?” Bruticus roared, igniting his flamethrower, turning dozens of his attackers into ash. “I thought this was gonna be a fight!” “You think this is all we can muster?” Chrysalis roared back as yet another wave of changelings pour through the opening. “We are FAR from finished!” The battle between the two forces continued, Chrysalis sending wave after wave while Bruticus punished their every attempt to take him down. Time pressed on and though Bruticus proved to be more than a match for Chrysalis’s forces, it was obvious that he was starting to get overwhelmed. The sheer numbers and vast amounts of energon flowing from the bodies of the fallen were starting to take its toll on all of his systems. Chrysalis saw that Bruticus was starting to falter and patiently waited for her time to strike. The moment came not long after, when Bruticus slammed his fist into a charging group of changelings, leaving his back exposed and vulnerable. Not letting the opportunity get by her Chrysalis fired the most powerful spell she knew right into the only weak point provided. Bruticus bellowed in pain as the attack caused his body to spasm before he fell to his knees. Seeing that their foe was down, the surviving changelings began to fire volleys of their own magic at him. Unable to raise his Roto-shield in time, Bruticus took the full punishment of the remaining swarm. The bombardment continued until Bruticus was barely able to lift his arm to protect his face and if it weren’t for Chrysalis calling off her horde it may have been the end of him. Chrysalis limped confidently towards Bruticus, smiling at the sight of her biggest victim to date. “I told you that you were a fool…” she said smugly looking him up and down. “I guess you would do as the backbone of my plans… considering three fourths of my swarm is now dead.” “You… haven’t beaten me yet…” Bruticus replied, struggling to keep his head up. “Oh really?” Chrysalis said almost laughing, “What exactly is it that will save you from me?” “This…” Bruticus growled before using every last ounce of energy he could muster to rise to his feet. The changelings, including Chrysalis began to fire at him once more, but it was already too late. Clenching his fist together Bruticus slammed his hands into the ground mercilessly, ending the lives of dozens of changelings instantly, but they were the lucky ones. The resulting shockwave ripped through the underground, forcing titanic stalactites to fall onto the gathered forces of Chrysalis. Soon after the ceiling itself began to crack at under the power of Bruticus’s fist. Time seemed to stand still for that moment, but when the light of day began to shine through the celing everyone inside knew it was too late. Seconds later, over one thousand tons of rubble and sand came crashing down on all those inside, finally after what seemed like hours of constant fighting and noise, there was only silence. Hours later the moon was rising over the desert, exposing a freshly made sink hole. The overwhelming silence in the area was soon drowned out by the sound of twin thrusters cutting through the air, closely followed by the sound of tank tracks. Transforming into his robot form, Starscream landed at the sinkholes edge, staring intently down into the pit. “Are you sure this is where the fools ran off to…” he hissed looking back to his slower counterpart. “This place has such a high concentration of energon it could mask any Cybertronian signature.” “This is the only place they would have gone.” Shockwave replied, reverting back to his robot form. “There is no other logical conclusion.” “And how so?” Starscream asked trying to be more condescending than usual. “While operating on Swindle I saw that he was far more damaged than I had previously thought.” Shockwave replied, not falling for his counterpart’s attempts to upset him. “I was forced to make the only logical choice. I had to download his consciousness into my own systems.” “How is that even possible?” Starscream gasped. “You can’t just-“ “You are NOT me…” Shockwave interrupted, looking into the crater. “While his conscious was inside my head I was able to decipher a code which ended up being the coordinates for this location… and something far more interesting.” “What was that other thing?” “An overwhelming need for revenge…” Shockwave replied. “It was only logical for me to assume that he would enlist the other Combaticons to fulfill his desires.” “Well his little desires may have just cost us everything!” Starscream roared, throwing his fists into the air. “If I ever get my hands on that little-“ “And in that lies the problem.” Shockwave interrupted yet again. “Excuse me?” Starscream asked. “What is that supposed to mean?” “Emotion is the downfall of all sentient life.” Shockwave explained, bringing up his holopad. “We let our emotions get in the way of logic and reason, carelessly throwing our lives away for our feelings. Where if we were to not have emotions and only listened to logic, the galaxy would finally have the order it so desperately needs.” “Well I guess it’s nice to dream.” Starscream said rolling his optics, “But that still doesn’t discount the fact that our biggest asset is dead.” “I beg to differ.” Shockwave said pointing into the pit. Initially Starscream didn’t see anything, but when five large figures rose from their premature grave nearly simultaneously his jaw dropped. The Combaticons had survived. Without a second to spare Starscream flew into the pit to give them a tongue lashing he believed they would never forget. But just as soon as he landed he noticed that each of them was holding vast amounts of something in their arms. “What in Primus’s name do you have?” he asked trying to get a better look in the darkness. “Our way of getting out of here.” Onslaught replied without hesitation, turning around to show his arms full of dead and dying changelings. “We’ve got more than enough here for our energon experiments.” Vortex added, “Place was just crawling with them.” The other Combaticons let out a small chuckle, but were silenced quickly after they heard the sound of another robot landing into the crater. The Combaticons turned around to see Shockwave, slowly but steadily marching his way towards them. though it was impossible to tell what was going through his mind at the time, it was obvious that he had something to say to them. Shockwave finally stopped directly in front of Onslaught and after a few seconds of nerve racking silence, he finally said something. “Just how foolish are you?” he asked, pointing into his chest. “There is no logic in pointless revenge.” “We were making things right.” Onslaught said taking a defencive stance. “You never would’ve done something like that for your allies.” “On the contrary.” Shockwave replied bringing up his holopad once more, to show a mixed awray of numbers and statistics. “I had already devised a plan to take this location for our own and move our base of opporations here. In any case Swindle would have his revenge and we would have a newer, bigger lab.” “Was there any risk of failure?” Starscream asked, throwing his two cents into the matter. “I never fail.” Shockwave replied coldly. “It was because of your enslavement to your emotions that we lost this valuable asset, now instead of moving a small volume of energon to this location, we must now haul vast amounts of it across varied terrain, most of it hostile.” “Sorry boss.” Onslaught replied, holding up one of the few living changelings. “We just wanted to kill these little bastards.” “Oh we will…” Shockwave said examining the clearly terrified specimen. “But we must make our way to the north first, gather all the bodies you can, there are some experiments I must conduct before we begin harvesting their energon.” And without so much as a word the Decepticons left, carrying as many changelings as they could muster. Several minutes after they had gone a small head popped out of the sand. It’s eyes constantly darting around, searching for something among the dead and dying. Nearly a minute passed before another head popped out of the sand not far from it, sighing in relief it called out to the other survivor. “You okay?” he asked, digging himself out of the sand. “I’m alive…” she replied, mimicking his gesture. “If that means anything…” “You see anyone else Scout 391?” he asked poking at a motionless body. “There has to be others…” “Take another good look around Sentinel 34.” She replied, pointing to the carnage, “We’re lucky we can still breath.” It was clear that and argument between the two was about to erupt, but before they could come to blows, or words for that matter, another plié of sand began to shift not far from where they were standing. The two rushed to the pile, frantically digging away in hopes they would find yet another survivor. What they found took their breath away. Chrysalis, their queen, was still alive but just barely. The combination of her fight alone and the collapse of the chasm had taken its toll on her. The entire left half of her body was slashed open, her wings were shattered beyond recognition and her horn looked like a breeze were to blow it would fall off, but somehow she was still breathing. “My queen!” the two said in unison before digging her out completely, “How are you-“ They were cut off but a sudden burst of laughter coming from their ruler’s lips. She continued to cackle until she could no longer breathe but with every presious gulp of air her laughing continued, making it very unsettling for her saviours. “Um… my queen?” the scout said gently touching her shoulder. “Why are you laughing?” “It isn’t every day you lose almost all of your entire species young one…” she said between breaths, “But that’s not really that important anymore.” “How can-I mean… would you care to explain, my queen?” The sentinel asked, catching himself before there were only two survivors left. “This may be our biggest setback to date sentinel 34.” Chrysalis said weakly patting him on the head. “But it is still just a setback… Our plans are still in motion.” “They are?” the scout asked. “Of course young one…” Chrysalis replied with a smile. “We have infiltrators still all over Equestria, if anything we’ll have to compromise…” “Compromise?” the two asked. “Absolutely…” Chrysalis said as her smile became unnaturally large. “I just have to make a few minor adjustments…” “You do?” the sentinel asked. “What exactly are you planning?” “Isn’t it obvious Sentinel 34?” Chrysalis asked with a laugh as her eyes began to glow. “Momma’s going on a little dating spree…”