The glow of life had dimmed in the Hive. Where once the halls had shined with wonderful green light, they were now filled with a sickly dull gray. Chrysalis stared at the cracked resin mirror in her chambers with a blank expression. She could feel the Hive losing its life, and it was breaking her heart. Ever since her attempted invasion of Canterlot, her beloved changelings had been dying in increasing numbers. It had only been two years and the damage had reached the point where if a pupa lived past the age of six months it was cause for a Hive-wide celebration.
Chrysalis sighed as a tear fell down her face. Two more were gone. She could feel them in their last moments, crying to her for help that she could not give. There was nothing she could do. Not for any of them. Chrysalis bowed her head and let her tears fall freely to the floor. She felt someone enter and raised her head, trying to hide her tears.
She turned around and smiled. It was Shadow Wing, her dearest advisor. His face was lined with worry and Chrysalis spoke tenderly “What is it, Shadow?”
Shadow bowed his head “My Queen. I was in the hall and I felt your tears, are you alright?”
Chrysalis’ shoulders slumped and her face fell “Forgive me, Shadow, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Shadow smiled softly “You don’t have to apologize, my Queen. What’s wrong?”
Chrysalis slowly sat at her desk and stared at her reflection again. “Two more died.” Shadow nodded with a sad face and Chrysalis continued “They begged me to help them, but I was powerless. I couldn’t do anything to save them, any of them. I failed them. I’ve failed all of you.” She bowed her head and a few tears streamed down her face.
Shadow Wing walked over to Chrysalis and gently stroked her mane. “You did not fail us, my Queen. You did what you thought best.”
Chrysalis scoffed “And how did that turn out?”
Shadow shook his head “Chrysalis, it wasn’t your fault. You managed to get us inside the most guarded city in Equestria. The ponies are the ones who did this to us, not you.”
Chrysalis weakly smiled before both changelings felt one of the soldiers call. Chrysalis began to rise but Shadow Wing gently stopped her. “I will go, Chrysalis.” He left her chamber and turned back “Everything will work out for the best, my Queen. You’ll see.”
Chrysalis shook her head and stared at the ceiling, watching a small drop of water make its way through a crack. She felt a twinge of pain as another changeling died and then carefully hid herself from the Hive-Mind. She sat still for a moment before she began to cry, holding her head in her forelegs. She sobbed uncontrollably for a few minutes before she sniffed and looked at her reflection again.
She glanced at the crown on her head and growled, baring her teeth. In an instant she grabbed her crown and threw it at her mirror, shattering the pale green resin. She started crying again and began yelling at her crown.
“What kind of fool are you?! You’ve killed them all! You’re supposed to be their queen, not their executioner!” Chrysalis’ body crumpled into a ball as she cried, and she lay on the floor a few feet away from her crown.
She spent a few more minutes sobbing while screaming at herself. After she had run out of tears Chrysalis wiped her face and stood, grabbing her crown with her magic and putting on her head. She looked at the shards of resin on the floor and sighed, carefully scooping up the pieces and putting them in the hole that served as her waste-basket.
Chrysalis looked around at her chamber and slowly shook her head. “I am no Queen.” She whispered, “I am an idiot.” Her face hardened slightly “But that doesn’t mean I can’t save them.” She looked down at her leg with a pained expression “I have no other choice.”
---
Chrysalis had spent the last few hours furiously scratching out page after page of writing. The piles of discarded parchment littered the floor and Chrysalis groaned and put her head on her desk. She let out a tired sigh and raised her head, staring at the four words she had managed to write on the most recent page.
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,
Chrysalis had been trying to figure out what to say to the pony that had been her victim and her destroyer in one day and was coming up with nothing. She had tried to offer excuses, plead for forgiveness, pass it off as a minor nuisance, but each time the words had come out trite and not at all what Chrysalis wanted to say. Finally an idea shot through Chrysalis’ brain like lightning and she began writing as fast as she could. In less than a minute her letter was done and she took a step back to read it.
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,
Don’t ever doubt how much he loves you. He would give his life for you in a heartbeat. Never forget that.
Chrysalis of the Changelings
Chrysalis nodded with satisfaction and a sad smile before she rolled up the parchment and hovered up to a small opening in the ceiling. She used her magic to call a squadron of her carrier beetles and smiled when they nuzzled her face.
She gave them the letter “Take this to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza as quick as you can. She’s also called Princess Cadence.” The beetles immediately buzzed away with the letter and Chrysalis hovered back down to the floor. She slowly bowed her head as she took a deep breath.
“It’s time.” Her voice was barely audible and she called Shadow Wing to her. He was there in an instant and bowed.
“What is it, my Queen?”
She turned to him and stood straight “Call the Hive to the main hall. Don’t leave anyone out, I want every pupa, drone, soldier, everyone to be there. Everyone needs to be gathered in ten minutes.”
Shadow raised an eyebrow “Why?”
Chrysalis smiled warmly “I need to tell them something. Please Shadow, do this for me.”
Shadow nodded “Of course, my Queen.” He left and Chrysalis took a long look around her chamber. She gently touched the crown on her head and a single tear fell down her face.
---
Chrysalis stood before the door to the main hall and smiled. She could feel the curiosity and murmurs of every changeling in the Hive, even those who were only an inch away from death. Shadow Wing walked up to her and bowed.
“Everyone is gathered, my Queen.”
Chrysalis nodded “Thank you, Shadow. Thank you for everything.” She hugged him and his eyes widened in surprise. She smiled warmly at him and gestured towards the hall “Go join the others.”
Shadow nodded hesitantly “O-Of course, my Queen.”
Chrysalis waited for Shadow to leave before she bowed her head and took a deep breath. She was afraid, but she knew that this was the only way for her beloved changelings to recover. After a moment she walked through the door onto the raised dais above the hall. She smiled tenderly with tears in her eyes when she saw all the changelings bowing to her and she cleared her throat.
“Thank you for gathering so quickly, changelings. I promise this won’t take very long, then you can all get back to your lives.” She fought the tears rising in her eyes and continued “I want you to know that everything I have done, I have done for you. I wouldn’t trade any of you for all the world.” Chrysalis sensed the changelings’ growing apprehension and she swallowed the lump in her throat. “I made a mistake. Our Hive was beginning to suffer, and I tried to take an entire nation to fight it. Please forgive me, my beloved children.”
Shadow Wing and a few of the soldiers began to speak but Chrysalis raised a foreleg and continued. “You are more important to me than anything, each and every one of you. There has been so much death in the last few years, and it is all because of me.” She began looking into the eyes of ever changeling in the hall, and a tear fell down her face. “My darling little changelings, I am so sorry for what I have done to you.” Her horn began to glow as more tears fell down her face. A soft green light flowed from her horn to the changelings and her eyes began to dim.
Chrysalis smiled as tears flowed down her face and the Hive began to glow with the same light as her horn. Her vision began to grow dark and she felt her legs begin to fade. Shadow Wing and many other changelings ran to stop her, but it was too late. Just before her body vanished she smiled warmly at the changelings and spoke with her last breath.
“I love all of you.”