• Published 14th Apr 2015
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Chrysalis Wins - Arkolo



Chrysalis's invasion is successful. The challenge of ruling begins...

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Ch.20 "For the Love of-"

Chrysalis Wins

Ch.20 “For the Love of-”

The queen went to the Castle Gardens, having made sure to send several sentinels to make sure it was unoccupied. As she strode around the lively plant décor she found a bench to sit down at, and relax by herself.

Too much had happened in a single morning, and now she didn’t feel like doing anything else for the rest of the day. After her discussion with Celestia, she made sure to feed heartily on the alicorn as well. She was better fed than she had been her whole life. Her body now radiated with model health for a changeling.

When she looked around at some of the other changelings, their physical signs already showed improvement. Many had been able to clean themselves up, and the abundant love energy in Canterlot left no changeling hungry.

Holes had gotten smaller in their legs, and chewed on wings had started to round out. Many of them were even starting to grow their manes back in, though it was only in the form of a fuzzy line next to their neck fins, still progress.

Morning slowly developed into mid-day, then late afternoon. It was nearly evening when Colony approached the queen on her garden bench. It had been hours, and Chrysalis hadn’t moved the whole time, the mood of earlier events kept her stationary.

“My queen, I have news to report, if you want to hear it.”

“Tell it to me Colony.”

Chrysalis never lifted her eyes from where she gazed off. There were some interesting statues in the garden, one in particular caught her attention. It was a tall beast of mixed and matched parts, something about it was familiar. Oh, yes, her vanguards had reported a day of strange occurrences a while ago. That must be the draconequus, who was blasted by the elements almost a year ago. He wore such a terrified expression on his face.

That was the weapon Celestia planned to use on her, made her wonder how would that have ended? The results seemed so random, and grave… Would it they have tossed her into the sun? the moon? Turn her into stone and let the birds roost on her for centuries?

Being trapped in a free dream cocoon started to seem soft by comparison

“My Queen… my queen… QUEEN!”

The small drone had moved over to the royal changeling and started to shove one of her hooves. Chrysalis shook her head and blinked away her distracted thoughts.

“What was it Colony? I’m listening now.”

“Very well, I just wanted to say Vivisect is awake now, and able to walk. I can bring her to you if you want to inspect her condition yourself.”

The queen clenched her jaw, time in the garden is what she used to forget about the morning events. Though she did in fact want to see her sentinel.

“Bring her here. Was there anything else you’ve been able to conclude about her condition?”

“It was as I’ve feared. She suffered some brain damage, though the tissue will repair with some additional care. New brains are blank, I’m not sure how much of her old-self she has retained.”

“Then bring her here and I will find out.”

“I will return shortly.”

The small drone bowed out and left, and Chrysalis went back to uninterrupted contemplation. Her eyes roamed back over to the statue. That one statue bothered her, maybe she would have it moved. Though it also gave her another thought, the elements could not be allowed to remain where they were. She would need to hide them somewhere else. It would be foolish to leave them in the same spot, should Celestia ever managed to escape, somehow...

With a flash of mental magic she called out for Shade. It took a little while for the vanguard to appear, and when he showed up he dripped with water, and was covered in soapy suds. The Changeling panted slightly as he looked up to his queen, he flew over as fast as he could.

“You need –huff- something, my queen –huff-.”

“Yes Shade, you have temporary leave from your punishment.”

“What?”

“You know of the Elements of Harmony?”

“Yes my queen, but why?”

“I need them, I’m changing their location. ”

“Where were they again?”

“In Canterlot Tower, bring them to me. Once you've completed that you can go back to your punishment.”

“Of course, it will be done.”

With a nod Chrysalis dismissed him. It wasn’t more than a moment or two after Shade had left that two of her other councilors arrived. Colony buzzed through the air, and was followed by another changeling that walked slowly along the ground.

The head drone landed near the queen and made a respectful bow, the other changeling just stood there and stared. Vivisect was indeed able to stand and move, though the look in her eye was completely lost.

“Vivisect?”

There was no response from the tall sentinel changeling, and she continued to stare off into the gardens.

“Vivisect!”

Chrysalis got off her bench and walked over to the innocuous equine. When hoof falls approached the sentinel, it drew her eyes toward the figure. The queen held a grimace and frustration echoed in her words.

“I called your name.”

She tapped a hoof onto Vivisect’s chest, the tall changeling looked down to where she was touched, then back up at the queen.

“I have a name?”

The sentinel’s head tilted to the side, as if she heard a particularly complex enigma. Her voice, devoid of the confidence and strength it held, it was now simply hollow. This reaction caused as sharp inhalation on the queen’s part, this was bad…

“I suppose you wouldn’t remember me either.”

Chrysalis turned about and walked back towards her bench, there was a slight drag to her step. Vivisect’s eyes followed the giant changeling’s methodical movement, but there was not a flicker of memory there. The queen sat down on the bench again, and motioned for the sentinel to come closer.

The warrior just stood there, and looked at the motion Chrysalis’s hoof made, then back up to the queen. She didn’t comprehend the meaning.

“Come closer.”

The queen sighed. The verbal instruction was understood and Vivisect walked over to the bench, and stood there.

“Do you remember how to do any of your old magic?”

“I can do magic?”

“Yes, like this.”

As a royal changeling Chrysalis could practice magic otherwise unique to each changeling class. One fore-hoof became wrapped in green flames and the limb shifted its shape. In place of a hoof there were three long claws, and Chrysalis wriggled the digits.

Vivisect’s reaction was to flinch and take a step back, disgusted fascination crept over the sentinel’s features, like a moth staring at an open flame. The scaly changeling looked down at her own hooves and shuddered. This sunk Chrysalis to new levels of disappointment, her own head sentinel, was skittish of magic she was very proficient with? Well, that answered that question. The queen’s forelimb twisted under green fire once more and became a hoof again.

“Colony take Vivisect back to the other sentinels, she needs to… relearn a few things.”

“Yes my queen.”

The drone obedient hovered over to the damaged warrior and tapped her with a hoof. Vivisect looked over to her small escort and watched.

“Come on, we need to go this way.”

The two of them started to leave the garden, it was slow, as Vivisect didn’t want to fly anywhere yet. She wasn’t able to remember that either. The queen scowled, the damage was severe, she would undoubtedly have to find a new head for her sentinels, if Vivisect couldn’t remember anything.

The queen’s gaze became downcast, in this harsh world, one more familiar thing had been taken from her. Death had been common in the Badlands, and replacements happened all too often. Except for Vivisect.

Evisect had been the head of sentinels when Chrysalis was initially crowned queen, but he died within a year. A dragon had tried to pick them out of their den like ants, and Evisect proved to be an invaluable distraction.

After that Vivisect had taken the spot, and survived many situations she shouldn’t have. Chrysalis ground her fangs and cursed herself, she shouldn’t be attached to any of them, any changeling could be gone at a moment’s notice… or was that what she had been working to change?

A bright flash of red light interrupted the mull of her thoughts.

There, but a few strides away, stood a figure the queen did not expect, though in hindsight she should have. A tall grey unicorn, with red horn and black mane that flowed of it’s own accord, smiled at her with his fanged mouth.

“You!”

Sombra’s smile didn’t falter at Chrysalis’s long winded accusation, and he daintily rubbed a hoof over his chest with gusto. The queen leapt from her bench and ignited her horn.

“Come for another round?”

“On the contrary my dear queen of the horse flies, I only came to help some ponies.”

“Spit it out what you mean.”

“Tsk tsk, those manners aren’t going to charm anyone, and isn’t that what you should be doing. You love love don’t you?”

Chrysalis diffused her horn stared at Sombra with a deadpan expression. Her eyelids dropped half way and a slight frown conveyed her bemused expression.

“Have you only come here for snide jokes?”

“Loving love is snide? Please, that should be a compliment….Though I’d be lying if making a few jokes at your expense wasn’t intended. Besides, since we last met I’ve had a lot of time to think. Though I must say, I still haven’t sorted out everything, but I have found a few workable parameters.”

Chrysalis ignited her horn again, if this king had only returned to waste her time then she was going to have none of it.

“Be patient for just a moment, I’ll leave, but I was just going to give you a nice little warning.”

“Warn me? Why would you care to help me in any form?”

“You see, I still have this wellspring of feelings to sort out. I know what I wanted to do, but you’ve taken the will from me to do it. I just can’t lift a hoof to hurt anypony now, atleast for the time being.”

“Cry more gaseous tears why don’t you.”

“I haven’t been able to do that either.”

A genuine frown etched itself over the Crystal King, and he looked sad. The next moment though his mood flipped and the frown became grin, there was even a hint of mischievousness to it.

“All you’ve really done is given me a different set of cards to play, my shiny changeling queen. If I can’t harm any pony, that certainly doesn’t stop me from helping anypony. In fact this fountain of feelings rewards me greatly as I extend the effort.”

“You have ten seconds until I don’t care what you have to say Sombra.”

“I do love the irony Chrysalis, for a being so dependent on love, you should be more approachable. Hehehe, but alas, my warning. Because I am here to help everypony, that includes you, I’ll point you towards those mountains.”

The giant grey unicorn lifted a hoof, and pointed directly at the prisoner complex. Chrysalis’s eyes went wide, and she looked back at the tall king, whose grin widened to eccentric levels.

“Some of your house guests may have taken leave. I really must thank you, I wouldn’t have done such a thing if kindness didn’t overflow from my heart. Isn’t irony, just a wonderful thing?”

With another bright red flash Sombra vanished, laughing uproariously as he did, and the queen’s eyes returned to the mountain. He did not just indicate what she thought he indicated, did he?

Hundreds of mental messages started to echo towards her. Changeling after changeling iterated a variant of the same message.

They’re gone, they’re all gone.

Author's Note:

Sombra's attitude

but u know, you actually need sombra's face, so here's another sketch, you can tell me if i suck at these too :rainbowwild:

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