A Matter of Pride
By Goombasa
Pain...
That was all that she could focus on at the moment. The road ahead was wide, open and sprawling, and the well-traveled dirt path was as flat and easy as any traveler could hope for. The air was fresh and clean, and the gentle summer breeze flittered past her face, caressing her, practically begging her to stop and take in the beauty of the day.
But she would not. She would not stop moving, not until she had found her way back and had gotten her revenge. She was Queen Chrysalis, the leader of the Changelings. Well... former leader at least.
Her mind pushed past the pain of her injuries again as she was forced back to that moment in Canterlot, that moment of her greatest triumph, turned greatest failure. A single moment of ego, one small indulgence of her apparent victory, and it had all slipped away. All because of them... all because of those six!
After she had been repelled out of Canterlot, her dream had quickly turned into a nightmare. The Changlings that had survived being flung to the borders of equestria, few that their were, were in no state to attack again. They had been patient, waiting to attack until the shield had been down, as she had promised, waiting for the feast that laid within. Only a few had managed to feed before the expulsion, however. Her forces that had survived, after what they saw as HER failure, were split on whether or not they wanted to follow her anymore. More than half of those left had opted out of her plan to march on the home of the six who had foiled their plans, figuring that their chances of survival would be higher outside of her hive than inside of it.
If she’d had the energy to waste, she would have crushed them all for such a mutiny. They wouldn’t have gotten far anyway. Their feeble minds wouldn’t be accustomed to living outside of her influence, and it would serve them right when they all shriveled up and died without her leadership to guide them. But, as much as she would have loved to punish them for their insolence, she had neither the strength nor the time. Her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of vengeance against that pastel pony who had led her to this. It didn't help that her entire body was wracked with pain as well. Her beautiful wings had been torn to shreds, skinned all the way down to her back so that nothing but the stumps remained. It had been almost a day before they stopped bleeding, and even now, she was sure there were still small patches of dried blood in her gnarled skin she had missed. She hadn’t really been trying hard to keep herself clean and pristine.
After the cowards had left, those that were left, totaling a little under one hundred strong, had began a forced march, back in the direction of Equestria. More specifically Ponyville, the ugly little hovel where she would find her targets.
Those six... the love and friendship they had shared with one another had been so immense. Why had she not drained them when she had the chance? All that friendship, all that love, it would have fed her entire hive twice over! But no, she had wanted it all, her focus had been on the whole of Canterlot, not just six insignificant ponies.
Insignificant? Feh, they hadn’t seemed so insignificant when they’d managed to actually ward off a small army of her changelings in their ultimately failed attempt at securing the Elements of Harmony. Her pride had been her undoing, her complete assurance that victory had already been secured and that the world had become her oyster. Now? It was that same pride that was forcing her to march onward, never halting, barely sleeping, working through her pain. She was in no danger of starving. Shining Armor, that foalish creature, had given her more than enough to live off of for weeks.
Yes, she could march for as long as she needed to if it meant getting her vengeance.
But what about her subjects?
Only a day after their march had begun, they began to fall. One by one, they dropped from the air, to the ground, dead. Some from exhaustion, others from hunger, and a few from injuries they had sustained during the expulsion. But she did not stop. And because she did not stop, neither did they. They all watched as their numbers dwindled, as their companions fell to the ground. Some of them tried to struggle back to their feet and continue on, only to fall again. Her eyes were focused on the road again, completely locked in the direction they were heading. She noticed them, but she did not care. Her hive was already in shambles, and she would not waste a single minute if it would draw her closer to her goal. After all, this was their lot in life. They were loyal to her as their queen. They were supposed to live, and serve, and die as she saw fit. True, reduced numbers would mean more difficult odds, but in her eyes if they were weak enough to succumb before they had reached Ponyville, then they would just be more of a hindrance than an asset.
So the march continued. Day after day, with only the briefest of stops and the most meager of meals (the animals of this place were semi-sentient after all; their ‘love’ was miniscule at best, but it was enough to at least keep those who were successful in their hunts on their feet) the queen pushed her subjects onward. Their numbers dwindled with every passing hour as more and more of the remaining Changelings dropped.
But she did not care. Nothing mattered now. Nothing, except revenge. Her thirst for it would be satiated and she would make them all suffer for the blow she had taken to her pride, her body, and her cold, black heart.
And she was close. She could feel it. She could SMELL it. The unmistakable scents of strong emotion convinced her that they were. Friendship. Love. Kindness. Magic. It all blended into a cocktail that was a treat for any Changling. She was vaguely aware of a single minion hopping alongside her, his voice raspy, his eyes tired, and his wings limp. “Soon,” she said, placing a confident grin on her face as she glanced down at him.
He raised his head up, his huge, insect-like eyes drifting up to meet hers, but careful not to look directly at her. He knew his place as an underling, after all. “Yes, my queen. Soon, all those putrid ponies shall pay for the pummeling they gave you.”
“Indeed they will,” she said, tossing her spidery mane back and uttering a cruel laugh, the first that she had given since being cast from Canterlot. “You speak quite well, little minion, and the alliteration was quite a nice touch.”
“You flatter me, your highness,” he said, stopping his movements temporarily to offer her a gentle bow before trotting to stay at her side. He gave a cough, but he quickly held it in to keep from looking weak in his queen’s eyes.
She nodded in contentment with him. He was an excellent changeling. He pushed past his weakness. He did not show pain or hunger. He stood by his leader. She would see that all changelings like him would be well rewarded. She would see that the feasted upon the most emotional of the ponies, the ones that had the most bottomless wells of love possible. But Chrysalis would not settle for less than feasting on the most powerful, the most magical of them all. Twilight would be hers. And then, when she had consumed all the love and emotion that puny purple pony could offer, she would keep her husk as a trophy, a reminder to any who humiliated her that they would suffer the same fate. Celestia… Cadence… Shining Armor… she would find and devour them all in due time.
Her hooves her aching. She missed her wings and her throat was dry. But she would not stop. She would remain strong in the final stretch. She let her frantic heartbeat set the pace, and she let the sound drown out her shuddering breath.
Then she saw it. The first thing to come into view were the apple trees. Dozens of them, perhaps hundreds beyond the path she was following. But they did not interest her. An apple would not sate her hunger, and when she had taken over this forsaken town, she would see that all such useless things were done away with.
Then she saw the buildings, a few huge red ones looming in the distance. A barn? Yes, most certainly. This had to be that… sweat apple acorns or whatever that southern girl had called it back when she was in Canterlot. Not like it mattered much. Bah, such thoughts were not getting her any closer to her goal.
She smelt love. She smelt kindness, joy, a buffet of other pleasant, succulent emotions. She paused her relentless march to sniff the air, attempting to ascertain the origin of the emotions she was sensing. For the first time since she had begun the march, she was led off of the obvious path, into the uniform rows of sweet scented trees around her. The soft grass might as well have been fluffy clouds for how much relief it offered to her sore hooves. She savored the feeling and it gave her renewed strength to press onward now that she was within sight of her goal. Soon, her army would swarm this place, feast, and leave it a desolate shell of what it had been before anyone, even Twilight and her puny group of friends could do anything about it. A grin spread over her face, fangs glinting as she moved from shadow to shadow in the orchard.
Then she saw them.
Only three of them. While she would have preferred to destroy all six as a group, this was the perfect opportunity. Their numbers were split. There was the southerner, the apple farmer. It made sense for her to be here, this was something of her farm after all. The white one, with the purple mane, the one who had designed her (or rather Cadence’s) wedding dress. She might not have cared for the pony herself, but she had to admit, the dress had been quite impressive on her, even if it was worn on a false pretense.
And then there was Twilight Sparkle. Of course she would be the third. Oh, how could it get any more perfect than this? Her main target and two of her compatriots by themselves? Enjoying a little picnic? How delightful!
She tensed herself, arching her back, leaning her head forward, a spark of dark magic flicking from her horn, something that hadn’t happened since she was a little filly, before she’d learned how to properly control her magical impulses. Vengeance was at hand! “To me my changelings,” she hissed loudly. “Our retribution is at hand! Swarm the three! And bring them to me! We shall feast upon their friendship!”
No response.
She frowned, ears raising as she listened for the familiar hiss or buzz of her followers. She raised her head up, relaxing again, feeling a sense of dread slide over her. Slowly, scarcely willing to believe what she thought, she craned her head. Behind her, there was nothing. Nothing but acres of apple trees. Hazarding a hopeful guess, she uttered a quiet, “My changelings?” praying that they were merely hiding.
No answer.
Her deep green skin paled to a sickly shadow of its former hew as her eyes rested on a single changeling hobbling towards her. The one she had spoken to before, the one she had praised for his strength and dedication. His pace was slow and every step was as careful and calculated as though it could be his last. The way he was breathing, his head low and his eyes dim, like a candle flame ready to be snuffed out, she was certain that any step really could have been his last. His wings had curled up against his back they way a plants’ leaves would when its water was expended and the green turned to brown just before it fell from the branch. His slow shuffle ended as he stood before her. He attempted a bow, but was unable, as it seemed that any angle he bent his forelegs at, he was in danger of toppling over. “Do not worry... my queen,” he gasped, tottering back and forth in front of her. “I… am here…”
She looked down at him, trying to hide the shock in her face. “Where are all the others?” she asked.
The changeling’s dim eyes lifted high enough to meet hers. “Others?” he asked, surprised and confused by her question. “There are no others, my lady. They fell no less than a day and a half ago.” He began to lean to the left, catching himself before he fell. “I was strongest,” he rasped, taking a few deep breaths. He looked so tired, so small, so frail. A simple touch from her hoof could probably split him in half now. “I’ll fight them. I will bring them to you. I promise!” He forced a note of enthusiasm into his tired voice.
Her head reeled. Only one? How had she not seen this? How had she been blind? She remembered a good number flying off in fear after she had begun the march back, but she still possessed a hearty number of soldiers. At least, she had.
They had all died? She looked back the way she had come, half expecting to see a trail of bodies leading back to where they had started, but again, there was nothing.
Nothing save for the lone changeling that had stayed with her so long.
He hobbled forward again, towards the three ponies and their picnic. But his hoof caught against the ground and he fell forward, face first. His body flopped and he laid there, his legs splaying outwards. His eyes snapped shut. Chrysalis watched as he attempted to pull himself back to his hooves, but he could not. He let out a few shuddering breaths and his legs shook from the strain. He was in no condition to continue on, let alone get into a fight with three bearers of the Elements of Harmony.
She drew closer to him, raising her hoof and placing it against his back. He shivered at the contact. She could feel his breath slowing, and his pulse was shallow. Exhaustion and hunger were taking their toll on him, and she could see it now. For the first time since she had begun this warpath, she saw that he was dying. “Don’t move,” she whispered, her normally booming and powerful voice dropping to something akin to a motherly sound. It wasn’t quite there, but it was still far more concerned than the queen had ever sounded in her life.
The little changeling just took a ew more breaths in response. He attempted to open one eye to look up at her, but it was a challenge to even do that much. “I... can... fight...” he whispered.
“No, you cannot. You cannot do anything,” she whispered. “But I can do something.” She bent forward and shifted him, carefully, so that she could pull his body up onto her back. He felt so light, so fragile. It was like there was nothing there. With her head up, she began to walk forward, out into the open, making no move to hide her approach.
They saw her coming easily enough and all three of them were standing at attention. She kept her approach slow and her expression as stoic as she could. She was already sacrificing much of her pride for what she was about to do, but she would keep as much dignity as she could.
Her slow approach put them on the defensive. They glared at her with deep hatred and caution. It was nice to know that she was still remembered as a threat, even after being expelled by a mere show of affection. Hatred, however, wasn’t one of her favorite emotions. It tasted terrible and when it was directed at her? Bleh! She paused in front of them, eying the three. Both unicorns had readied their magic and were prepared to blast her without a moment’s provocation. She nodded to Twilight, only acknowledging her. “Twilight Sparkle,” she said.
“Queen Chrysalis,” she answered back. “I thought we’d thrown you out of Equestria.”
“Indeed you did,” she said. “But I came back.”
“Well, you certainly know how to make a speedy recovery,” the white one stated. “I would have thought you’d be gone for a few years after the deportation we gave you.”
Chrysalis swallowed the retort that was quickly bubbling up at the back of her throat. “I mustered my surviving forces to come here and take revenge,” she said. She saw no point in hiding her initial intentions, as anything else she told to them would sound like a bold-faced lie... which would have been true.
“An’ just where are those forces o’ yers now?” asked the southerner with a raised brow. She was bent forward, ready to lunge forward at the slightest provocation.
Chrysalis hung her head. “Dead,” she answered, turning to the side so that they might see the ragged, near dead changeling hanging off of her back. “This is all that remains of my once great army.” She bent down and eased him down onto the ground. He gave a few soft coughs, pushing against the ground with his jagged hoof in yet another vain attempt to try and raise up to at least a sitting position. All it did was highlight just how far gone he was.
Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “A forced march,” she stated, with the cold, emotionless calculation of one who was reading straight from a textbook. “You forced them to their breaking point, didn’t you?”
“I did,” she said. “And as I said, he is all I have left.” Her eyes trailed down to his thin form. “Even if I wanted to, I could not take you all on now. So I ask you now, please save him.”
The southerner raised a brow, standing up again. “Pardon?”
“Was my request not clear?” she asked. “He’s dying of exhaustion and hunger. Both will be cured if he eats.”
“You’re asking us to let him feed off of one of us?” Twilight asked, her horn sparking, making Chrysalis tense. “What kind of foals do you think we are?”
“I never said you were foals,” she stated. “And I never said you had to let him eat much. My plans have changed. I ask that you let him eat just enough so that he may live.”
“Why should we?” Twilight asked again. “We have no reason to trust you. We owe you nothing. If anything, I think we should be taking advantage of this situation to take you down and hand you over to Princess Celestia so that you can be properly punished for, oh you know, trying to take over all of Canterlot!” Her voice had grown in volume and ferocity as she spoke and by the end of it she seemed about ready to leap at her again. The switch from cold and logical to angry and violent had caught the queen off guard, so much so that she took a short step back when Twilight aimed her horn towards her.
“I was merely trying to...” She paused, letting the statement hang in the air for a moment before shaking her head. There was no time to argue the point, and there were no excuses to be made. Somehow she believed that telling them it was to feed her subjects was a bit of a null argument considered that she’d marched them all to death to get back here. She looked down towards the changeling again, and through him she saw all her subjects, all those who had given her their loyalty and who had dutifully followed her back here, despite their lack of resources, despite the lack of a plan... all just to die for nothing.
She’d never felt this way before. Helpless. She hated it. Frustration began to set in. Frustration and... what else? Guilt? Sadness? Yes, those sounded appropriate. Her forelegs quivered and she felt her eyes sting with tears, of all things. She couldn’t remember the last time she had cried. Not in pain, not in joy, not even in sadness. Yet now, here, in front of three of her most reviled enemies, she couldn’t stop them from coming. The first fell from her sickly green eyes, and in its wake, dozens more followed.
All pride was discarded now. She didn’t care anymore. “Please,” she begged, falling to her knees. The tears fell more quickly and there was nothing she could do to keep the quiver out of her already distorted voice. “I beg of you, please save him. I swear, I’ll leave, I’ll never come back, anything you want, I just don’t want him to die!”
Her display shocked all three of the onlookers. Chrysalis, queen of the changelings and a tyrant who had come within inches of dethroning Celestia and taking the land as her own, was broken down in front of them, crying and begging. Her tear streaked face turned towards the poor changeling yet again.
The white one let out a gentle sigh. “You say that you will leave and not trouble us again?”
“That and so much more. Please, don’t let him die. He is all I have.”
“Very well.” She tossed her purple mane to the side.
“Rarity, no!” the southerner shouted, taking a step forward, putting out her front hoof to prevent Rarity from moving closer. “Yah know yah can’t trust them! Their whole shtick is trickin’ people!”
“Applejack has a point,” Twilight stated. “I don’t like the idea of letting a changeling feed off of you. I mean, we don’t exactly know if it would have any aftereffects.”
“Your brother seemed to recover quite nicely, and Chrysalis was the one feeding off of him.”
The queen in question tensed as she saw twilight’s face harden at being reminded of the acts committed to her family. Again, her face flicked to the changeling drone. He was barely moving now, not even trying to stand. His breath was even shallower, and his eyes were half lidded. His lips moved, as though he were trying to mutter something, but no sound came out. She didn’t have time to let them keep arguing like this. “What do you want?” she shouted, pounding her foreleg against the ground. “Anything you want, name it! Just SAVE HIM!” she shouted.
Again, the three were startled into silence at her outburst. She locked eyes with each of them in turn, pleading with them with all her being.
Rarity nodded. “He may feed,” she said, walking past the southerner, referred to as Applejack, stopping in front of the changeling. “Provided that you will keep your word and leave.”
“I will!” she sobbed. “I will, I swear!”
“To Celestia?” Twilight prompted, sitting back and observing the queen the way a scientist would observe an animal they were studying.
Chrysalis gulped down her pride even further, through her tears, and through her disgust, she forced the words to roll off her tongue, “Yes… I swear to Celestia.” She turned towards her changeling, wrapping an arm around him. “Feed,” she whispered softly. “Please, little one... you made it this far. Tell me you have the strength left for that.”
The weakened drone shuddered at her touch and one huge eye opened before his mouth did the same, almost out of instinct. All three onlookers watched as he began to feed, Chrysalis in delight and the other two in something resembling disgust and horror as they saw firsthand just how a changeling fed off of another’s emotions. It was like he was sapping her of her very soul. All he did was breath deep, locking his eye with hers, and he drew the emotion to him in some sort of ethereal mist. Chrysalis noted that Twilight’s horrified expression masked an undercurrent of curiosity. Perhaps if it hadn’t been a loved one, she would have liked to study this phenomenon.
The effects were near instantaneous. The little drone’s eyes popped open fully and he pushed himself up onto his legs with minimal effort, his mouth taking on as close to a grin as it could with his maw still gaping. The luster returned to his dark green skin and his wings uncurled, flittering up and down, letting out a happy little buzz comparable to the hum of a work bee en rout to its hive.
“That’s enough!” Applejack stated, stamping her hoof against the ground in a warning.
Chrysalis nodded and tapped her hoof against the drone’s back. He obediently broke off his connection to Rarity, who staggered back, letting out a few gentle gasps as she shook her head, shivering despite the balmy heat of spring around her. Her two friends trotted over to her, concerned. “Rarity! Are you okay?” Twlight asked, wrapping her hoof around her friend’s shoulders.”
“I feel cold,” the white mare answered, shivering again. “So cold.”
Applejack stroked her mane up and down. “Now don’t you worry non, hon, we’ll get yah back to yer boutique and getcha in some nice silk jammies, okay?”
“Yeah... that would be fine.”
Twilight turned towards Chrysalis. “There, you got what you wanted.” Her tone was not confrontational, or even very angry. It was gentle and even. “Now, please keep your word.”
“Fools!” the drone said, flapping his wings and hovering up above them. “Now that you have provided me with nourishment, we’ll get you back for everything you’ve done to us!”
Chrysalis waved her hoof. “That’s enough.”
“What?” the changeling asked. “But, my queen, we...”
“I made an agreement,” she stated. “I’ve already sacrificed enough for today, I won’t risk what I just worked to save. Come, my little changeling. We are leaving.”
The changeling seemed quite confused by what she was saying, but he nodded, drawing close to his queen, not wishing to argue her orders.
“So where will you go now?” Twilight asked.
“I don’t know,” Chrysalis admitted, turning away. “But Equestria is not the only place where love s plentiful. We’ll find a new place to feed.”
“So then, you will find a new land to conquer?” Twilight said, the edge returning to her voice.
“Does it look like we are in any condition to do any sort of conquering now?” Chrysalis countered. “No… no, I think I am through with that. Right now, my prime concern is survival. I have a lot of work to do.” She sighed. “For what it’s worth, I thank you, Twilight Sparkle. I thank you and your friends for taking pity on me.”
“I’m still not sure if what we did was the right choice,” she said. “But as you’ve said, you aren’t much of a conqueror anymore. Just don’t give us a reason to second guess ourselves.”
Chrysalis snorted. “You won’t have to. Farewell, Ms. Sparkle. Perhaps we will meet again some day.”
“I hope not.”
“Mmm, the feeling is mutual.”
And then the two of them left, walking back the way they came, past the apple trees and back towards the edge of Ponyville. Once they were clear of anypony’s ears, the little changeling, now hovering above his queen, cleared his throat. “My queen,” he began. “I do not understand why we did not take advantage of their generosity and strike while the iron was hot. That white unicorn, her emotions were just so delicious!”
Chrysalis smiled. “It was a matter of pride.”
“Pride, your highness?”
She nodded. “Pride. Pride pushed me to make the decision that cost me all but you. I cast it all away and I begged them to save you because, at that moment I realized how much my pride, my rage, my lust for vengeance had brought upon me. But after I had you healed, I couldn’t go back on my word. I certainly could have if I wanted to, but if I had, I would have set myself up for an even greater fall than the one at Canterlot, one that I probably would not have been able to recover from.” She looked up at him. “And of course, from a more practical standpoint, do you honestly think that the two of us could have overpowered all three of them, then the rest of the town on our own.”
“Your might is unmatched, my queen. Celestia herself was cast down by your magnificence.”
The compliment so pleased her that she decided not to point out that the only reason she was even able to stand against Celestia was due to the love she had leeched from Shining Armor. Her bright mood was spoiled when she felt her stomach rumbling underneath her.
It must have been quite audible as well, because even her companion took note of it. “My queen, you yourself have not eaten in quite a long time.”
“I was given small morsels here and there along the road while we were marching,” she stated. “I am probably more well fed now than you were the entire time we were making our way to Ponyville. Besides, I can keep myself sustained with my magic until we can find someone with an excess of emotion.”
“And then what? What will we do afterwards?”
“We start over, my little changeling,” she stated. “We make our way back to our old kingdom and we rebuild. After that,” she gave a soft shrug as she trotted along the soft grass. “Well, there’s bound to be plenty of places beyond these borders that will provide us with what we need, don’t you think?”
“Oh, most definitely, your Highness.”
“And next time,” she promised herself, “Next time, I will never let foalish pride stand in the way of my duties as queen.” She looked back over her shoulders, at the stumps where her wings used to be before turning her head up towards him. “I promise.”
The little changeling tilted its head in confusion. “I… well, yes, thank you your majesty.”
She just chuckled. He was a good drone. Definitely one of the best. Loyal to a fault. She could only hope one day to display such loyalty to her own subjects.
After all, that was what a queen was supposed to do, was it not?
THE END
Author's Note
This is my first attempt at a FiM fiction and my first attempt at fanfiction in quite a long time. I had a lot of fun writing this and I'm eager to hear what you guys think, especially since Chrysalis has been one of my favorite villains since her introduction and her excellent appearance in the comic books.
Please leave comments and critiques! I live for that stuff! XD
