• Published 21st Mar 2014
  • 4,562 Views, 87 Comments

Nightmare's Reign - NorrisThePony



Luna, with the reluctant help of Nightmare Moon, sets out to remedy her past mistakes and return the sun to Equestria. Meanwhile, Queen Chrysalis tries desperately to save her species.

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The Queen of the Changelings (XII)

There was another deafening explosion half muffled by the last layer of changeling produced slime, and Chrysalis flinched visibly at the sound as she landed next to Queen Elytra and looked into her mother's eyes with begging terror. They were the last two changelings standing now, every last drone had fallen victim to Discord's relentless massacre.

"We need to go, mother!" She said frantically, knowing full-well that the Queen of the Changelings was prepared to die here fighting for the future of the hive.

"Then go, Chryssie!" Elytra screamed wildly at her daughter in response, as she stood her ground proudly and refused to move. "I am staying. But you...You cannot die here."

"No! He killed the others, he'll kill you, too!" Chrysalis had protested, her adolescent voice inadvertently cracking in her panic. In front of the last two changelings, the wall of thick and fleshy green slime was nearly ready to burst, pushed to the extent of it's durability by Discord's repeated assaults.

"Then you'll make a fine Queen in my stead!" Elytra spat furiously, whipping around to glare at Chrysalis. "Now flee!"

"Mother, please."

"Chrysalis, I have lived long enough and I am ready to die. Please don't let my final moments be spent watching my own daughter perish in front of me, fighting for a fruitless cause. Allow me the guarantee that in a way, my colony can still live on."

"Mother—"

Queen Elytra had never been one for sentimentality, especially with her own daughter, and the pride of a changeling did not falter that day. She did not speak another word to her daughter, simply shaking her head when she saw Chrysalis about to protest again. And then, using her battered wings that had been so damaged by age that they were practically useless, she motioned upwards at the ceiling.

"Go." Elytra breathed through the hivemind, which was now shared only by the Queen and Princess of the Changelings.

She could have refused. She could have stayed next to her mother and tried to fight Discord, and perhaps together they both could have survived. Wave after wave of changelings had tried and failed to hold back Discord, and now they were the only two left, and when she left her mother would be the last standing defense of the Changeling Empire. Her whole life she had secretly looked at her mother as pathetic and weak, and herself as the brave and strong changeling leader who would one day bring her race to greater heights than ever before.

It was quite clear, as she took off into the air as swiftly as possible, who the braver changeling was between herself and her mother. With a blast of magic she easily destroyed a sizable hole of the green slime Discord had so much trouble breaking through, but froze before flying through. She had just enough time to glance back and see Discord break through as well, not even hesitating before slaughtering the Queen of the Changelings right in front of her eyes.

And then she had fled. She hadn't stopped to gather any other changelings, or try to fight back Discord, she simply flew and flew until the Changeling Empire was far behind her and the strange and unknown landscape of Equestrian soil lay underneath.

Panting, she landed, and for the first time in her life, Princess Chrysalis wept. She screamed vile things into the night air, cursing everyone she could think of; herself for not standing by her mother, the changelings for their weakness, Discord for what he had done...

And then another pony flitted through her mind, the thought of her face as insulting as the peace treaty she had shoved under Elytra's nose two years prior. The alicorn Princess of Equestria, the blue demon who was suspected to have murdered her own sister, freed Discord, and fled.

And upon remembering this pony, it was her name that Chrysalis screamed into the wind with no shortage of malice. For her mother, and for the sake of revenge, she would not rest until both Discord and Luna were dead, and she was willing to kill each and every pathetic pony that stood in her way. After all, she had just lost her own species to Discord's attack, which would not have happened if it were not for Luna's actions.

With that thought dancing in her head, Chrysalis realized that they had been HER changelings, if not for a brief moment. Now...with her mother dead...she was Queen.

Queen Chrysalis. The last changeling on Equus. The changeling Queen with a total number of zero subjects.

At least for awhile. There were many eggs below the earth that Discord would never have found...and they would hatch eventually. And when they did, they would find that the hive-mind now led to that of a scared and angry young changeling Queen, with the blood of an alicorn on her hooves. She would have to face that reality, but it was at least a few years before it became a pressing matter.

If the hivemind led to her now it would mean all the changeling's love would also be directed to her. She would start aging slower, as her mother had. She'd been alive for twenty years and she'd been aging normally every second of it, but once the changeling's love started flowing again, she would live for...for centuries.

How old had her mother been? Two thousand years? Perhaps less than that, but definitely no less than a millennium. Truth be told, she wasn't quite sure she WANTED to live that long, but it wasn't like it had ever been her choice anyways.

Equally as troubling was the fact that if she were killed, then the hivemind too would die, and thus the eggs Elytra had laid would never hatch. If Chrysalis died, so too did the changeling race.

Chrysalis cast a worried glance back at the badlands she had left behind miles ago. She knew that if her future changelings were to live a good, complete life, then the onus would be entirely on her to make sure it was so. And she didn't know what she could do to help them, the only thing she could seem to bring herself to think about was making Luna pay for all of this.

Where was that infernal Princess? Would she ever return? Chrysalis truly hoped she would.

How else could she possibly avenge her mother?


TWO YEARS LATER


Queen Chrysalis was starving. Most changelings had been for the past couple months before Discord's attack, but that had been two years ago. And while love amongst ponies still was present, it was scarce and weak and she no longer had enough energy to even transform herself in order to receive any in the first place. For weeks, Chrysalis had felt like the last of her energy would give out at any moment, and she would collapse onto the hard soil, as the last meal of liquified love she consumed disappeared completely, and she would be left for dead on the cold, cold ground. Normally, the hivemind itself was capable of producing at least a little bit of love (contrary to ponies judgement, changelings WERE capable of loving each other) but now the hivemind was as silent as the dying landscape Chrysalis was stumbling across. She had long since given up trying to fly or use magic, and she had instead been skulking in and out of Equestrian civilization by foot.

Without energy to transform, she had no way of disguising herself as she wandered into Equestrian settlements, which were now no more than slums created by the wreckage of greater buildings that once stood there. Ponies saw her, huddling under the wreckage for warmth from the cold night rain, they saw her crossing Equestria from town to town, but what she was looking for they did not know. They feared her, several threatened her in an attempt to make her leave, but she found that if she ignored them then they would ignore her.

Simply put, they did not seem to care. Then again, neither did she. She could die tomorrow from starvation and it wouldn't make much of a difference to her. She had lost everything, so why even carry on anyways?

From the looks of things, Equestria was doomed. Good for it, she wouldn't miss it at all. They hadn't even lifted a hoof to save her empire, and she wasn't about to do the same for them.

"Screw them," she thought to herself as she stumbled across the Equestrian plains. She was on the road again, her next destination undecided. Perhaps Canterville, although she had already been there and her search had turned up nothing. She was looking for a mythical changeling artifact her mother had told her about...although her mother herself had not believed such legends. And no legend was more infamous amongst the changeling population than the legend of the Crystal Heart.

The Crystal Heart was a story Elytra would tell her changeling hatchlings to convince them that ponykind was evil, and that what changelings did to them to survive was in no way barbaric or inhumane. But Elytra herself had always seen the story she had inherited from some archaic changeling leader (Chrysalis didn't care enough to remember WHO, exactly) as a fictional tall-tale. A tall tale about a magical stone discovered by a brave changeling, which emanated love energy itself. Changelings had supposedly lived off this 'Crystal Heart' and it's magic for centuries, but allegedly it was stolen by ponykind and they had taken it for their own benefit, leaving the changelings to fend for themselves.

While Elytra saw it as a silly legend, Chrysalis was always drawn to the Crystal Heart, and it's seemingly unlimited power that it produced. With such a thing, she could easily rule over not only the Changeling Empire, but over all of Equestria as well.

But, more importantly, it was now the only way she could possibly save her race.

Before, she had had desires of revenge against Luna and Discord, as if it were her sole purpose in life now. Looking back, she saw her angst as foolish and impulsive, but not entirely unjustified. It had been so long since Luna's disappearance that Chrysalis slowly began believing that the Moon Princess had also fallen victim to Discord's return, or perhaps taken her own life out of guilt and regret.

"Good riddance. " She muttered. If Luna ever did come back, though, Chrysalis was more than ready to make her pay for what she had done.

In the mean time, she had the Crystal Heart to worry about. And then Discord. She knew that the latter would be....difficult to deal with...but she also knew that she would succeed. To her, it was a guarantee.

In Canterville, she would find a way to head north. Nothing in changeling hivemind suggested any exploration had been made in the North, with the common understanding being that it was the freezing arctic and therefore pony life there would be unnecessarily complicated and costly. Logically, it didn't make sense for there to be anything up there, and therefore the changeling race had never even bothered to check. Why would they, when they had enough love in Equestria anyways?

The North was an option Chrysalis was not pleased about...after all, her insect-like biology was already not used to the frequent strain the cold night put on her, so the thought of wandering through the blistering cold was less than appealing by comparison. Snow and ice were more than likely going to kill her, and starvation had already rendered her as weak as a filly. The journey there would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. And if there was no Crystal Heart there....then there would simply be no return trip.


It took Queen Chrysalis three days to make it to Canterville, and when she finally crept into the city it was clear that it had changed significantly since she had been here last. Namely, the florescent green streets and hovering, upside down buildings and polka dot trees.

Discord himself, however, was not present. There were a few ponies scattered around, scavenging for resources amongst the chaos and rubble, but they stopped what they were doing to watch the foreign creature entering their settlement. Chrysalis could hear their whispers as she walked straight forward, with her head raised proudly and her eyes locked nowhere but directly ahead.

"It's the changeling!"

"She's still alive?"

"What does she want, anyways?"

Blowing some of her long and wispy mane out of her face, she ignored them and kept walking. Stupid ponies. Would a single one ever offer to help her, or ask what her circumstances were? Not likely. They seemed more content to stand aside and mutter insulting things about her in direct earshot.

Of course, she knew she wasn't completely without fault either. She wasn't exactly striving for peace with the ponies, and the only times she ever remembered speaking to anypony, she was quite sure she hadn't come across as pleasant.

From what Chrysalis could see, there were many ponies who looked to be making preparations to leave, for many wagons were being packed with every single worthless article that the magpies could find laying about the wreckage. Like Chrysalis, they had swiftly learned that the only way to survive now was to never stop moving.

She did, however, intend to stay and rest for at least a few hours. They would be her last before she headed North, and she aimed to gather as much strength as possible. Surely these ponies would have food, perhaps even shelter. A changeling could only hope.

Thankfully, Chrysalis took notice that at least a dozen fools looked like they were intending to stay. It even looked like a small, makeshift cantina had been constructed inside a building that was comprised of three walls, with the fourth one apparently destroyed. She would check this place out later for food, in the meantime it would be beneficial to find a cloak to keep herself warm. Even now she was freezing, and the North would be even worse. Looking around, she spotted one of the many wagons prepared to leave, but this one was unique in the fact that it was completely deserted.

Trotting hopefully over to it and looking around to make sure nopony was nearby and watching, Chrysalis sneakily crawled inside. She found some sort of squishy white squares that she assumed were edible, and hastily stuffed them into a saddlepack that was also laying in the wagon. There was a whole lot of empty bottles and baskets, but with no liquid they would simply be a worthless burden to carry.

Disappointingly, she saw no cloak or jacket, but she did find a thick looking grey blanket that would probably suffice. Grabbing it as well, she gingerly crept back outside and slunk behind some wrecked building to analyze her supplies.

She quickly found that the squishy white squares were revolting, broke apart too easily, and were caked in spots by some sort of odd green fungi that she was more than certain was not supposed to be there. Nevertheless it was food and she graciously devoured an entire square, her stomach giving a greedy grumble as it demanded more. Of course, given her changeling diet, she knew the food wouldn't work miracles or anything, but it would still give her at least a little energy. And even a little was better than the nothing she currently possessed.

With a bit of twine she ripped off the saddlepack, she managed to craft the blanket into a fairly functional cloak which did wonders against the cold. The fabric was itchy and uncomfortable and the cloak dragged on the ground, but she didn't really care, so long as she was warm. Placing the remaining squares of pony-food back into the saddlepack, Chrysalis tied it around her sides and used her cloak to conceal it. The last thing she needed was for somepony to try to mug her for supplies.

Trotting back into town, Chrysalis cautiously began to approach the cantina. She could see a few ponies were sitting at a counter which looked like it was made from portions of a shingled roof. They were drinking a beverage that looked like water, and Chrysalis instantly felt compelled to at least try to obtain some. Her throat felt parched and dry, and she was getting sick of drinking muddy water to survive. Perhaps they would even have physical food in addition to the beverage.

Everypony sitting at the cantina turned to stare at her as she marched forwards, standing straight and staring at the pony who had been pouring the beverage into the others' glasses and was now looking at her with a dumbfounded look.

"You!" She commanded, pointing a hoof directly in his face. "Provide me with a glass of that beverage."

Not contrary to what she'd been expecting, the idiot just stared right at her, blinking occasionally.

"What?!" she hissed. "Do you have hearing problems?"

"N...no..." The stallion stuttered. The other sitting ponies were all staring at her now, some looking surprised and others looking angry. Chrysalis took a moment to glare back at them; she hadn't done anything and even if she had, it didn't concern them.

"Then what is it about my request that confuses you?"

More dumbfounded silence. Delightful. Her impatience reaching it's breaking point, she reached over the counter and yanked the glass bottle out of the stallions hooves, and downed the water in one fell swoop. When she was done, she threw it behind her, reached over the counter to grab another and stuff it into her saddlepack, and turned to leave.

"Stupid ponies," she muttered as she left. As she did, she caught a quick glance of a few other ponies rising as well, still wearing their angry looking expressions.

"What is it you want from us, changeling?" One shouted after her.

"Something to drink," she rolled her eyes and kept walking, "...but it would seem that was beyond your abilities."

"Your kind isn't welcome in Equestria." It was a different voice that spoke this time, a mare. From the looks of things, she had inadvertently steered herself into some sort of confrontation.

"I don't know if you halfwits have noticed, but no kind is welcome in Equestria anymore. I have my business and you have yours, so if you'd stop following me, that would be marvelous."

Although she did not dare express it, Chrysalis was terrified. If these ponies really were intending to get some information about her plans, they could very well do it and she wasn't in any position to defend herself if they did. All she had wanted was something to drink...

"Look..." she decided to try a different tact. She stopped, and turned to face a growing circle of suspicious looking ponies, some gawking at her like she was some sort of exhibit in a museum, others looking like feral animals ready to strike. "I don't want any trouble with you ponies. I'm trying to protect my hive."

"You?" Somepony chortled. "You're a little filly!"

Chrysalis felt a wave of indignation sweep over her. Little filly? She was the Queen of the Changelings, and daughter to the legendary Elytra! She had seen and done more in her time than all these ponies combined, despite her youth! And even if she wasn't some ancient, regal alicorn like Celestia or Luna, she was Royalty just like them. If she had the energy, she would've loved to have showed these ponies what a little filly was capable of. Fortunately, Chrysalis saw exactly which pony in the crowd had said it, and she instinctively reared on her, baring her teeth that were long and sharp but still not quite grown in.

"Yes, me! I don't believe you ponies understand who you're speaking to!" Chrysalis exploded, loud and harsh enough to make the mare back down in fright. "I didn't ASK to be Queen, anyways! I especially didn't ask to be chased out of your towns when all I want is a bit of food and water! And, unlike you worthless ponies, I'm actually trying to do something about Discord, instead of just cowering and fleeing! So back off!"

With that, she stormed through the crowd, shoving several ponies aside as she did so. She heard a few ponies shout malice after her, but she ignored them and kept walking. Never before had she felt so weak and vulnerable where she had to fear ponies, but now it seemed like everything was a danger. But with the acquisition of the Crystal Heart, that would all change.

By time Chrysalis finally made it through Canterville and back into the Northern Equestrian Plains, the temperature had dropped by several degrees and she could faintly see what looked like ice sparkling in the distance. Perhaps the Frozen North was closer than she had thought. It looked as though she would be facing the blistering cold of the unknown sooner than she was necessarily prepared for. If it weren't for the touchy ponies in Canterville she might've been able to prepare a bit more, but as it was, going back there would be as suicidal as going forwards anyways.

Instead, she found a straggly tree in the field and decided to rest by it, far enough from both the town of Canterville and the cold of the North to ensure that she could fall asleep and be sure she would actually wake up again. Taking advantage of the cloak's long length, she bunched up the end and rested her head on it, looking up at the damned night and wondering whether or not the changeling race would live long enough to see it's end.