Chrysalis hummed quietly to herself as she turned the pages of her novel, magically readjusting her glasses as she read. The glasses were a relatively recent addition to her wardrobe – her love-based semi-immortality kept her body (mostly) young, but even still, she was getting old. Seventy years ago she had gotten married, and seventy wonderful years she had spent with her loving husband. Speaking of whom, the great oaf snored next to her. He had retired years before, finally relenting after nearly a decade of ponies claiming he was too old for the job. In truth, he really hadn’t been, but the poor stallion had an unfortunate case of his mane starting to go gray earlier than most ponies. It had given him a rather refined and dignified look, playing well off of the beard he had eventually decided to grow. Despite this, his time as Captain of the Guard was remembered as one of the greatest in recent history, and his successor knew she had enormous horseshoes to fill. Now, though, one would hardly have guessed who the old white stallion who always gave out too much candy on Nightmare Night used to be. Age had caught up with him quickly after he left the guard, and while remarkably fit for a ninety-eight year old, his vision had rapidly deteriorated and he hardly went anywhere without his wife to guide him.
His wife, the former Changeling Queen Chrysalis, was very well known in the quiet little town of Ponyville, if not necessarily for all the right reasons. Over time, though, she had become an accepted and beloved member of the community, only serving to aid in the slowing of her biological clock. Shining Armor had never failed to provide immeasurable quantities of love throughout their marriage, which was an unfortunately double-edged sword. Being a Changeling, a creature who fed off love, being so showered in what was essentially life energy had kept her young and slowed down her aging process considerably. She was still active and healthy and able to run errands and help her husband with tasks he now struggled with. On the other hoof, though, it felt almost like she had been watching his life go by on fast-forward – for every year that passed, he seemed to change so much while she changed so little. Her sister-in-law, Twilight Sparkle, had taught her some basic illusion and appearance-altering magic though, and Chrysalis rather enjoyed using it to see herself as the same age as her lover.
She smiled to herself, and levitated a bookmark over to make sure she didn’t lose her page. Her daughter had a knack for not needing the little slips of paper, but where Aurora had gotten that from, Chrysalis had no idea. Setting the book down on her bedside table, she gently tugged on the cord hanging from the lamp, and the room went dark. She hunkered down in the bed and scootched herself over and pulled one of Shining Armor’s legs over herself, nestling into its warmth. A quick squeeze and she closed her eyes.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“Shhhh-hhhuuuuhhhnkkkk,” snored her husband.
Chrysalis giggled softly and fell asleep.
While Shining Armor’s vision may have deteriorated rapidly after leaving the Guard, one thing that had not was his bodyclock. Every day of the week he was up just before dawn, even on weekends, no matter when he had gone to sleep the night before. He did his best not to wake his wife, though, and would often lie there waiting for her to follow him out of the world of sleep before getting out of bed. As such, the familiar weight in the bed next to her was reassuring, one hoof still lazily draped over her chest. She rolled her head to the side, expecting to see his big, teal, nearly-blind eyes staring at her, at the one thing in the world he could always see perfectly clearly. To her surprise, though, they were still closed, white eyelids covering her favorite morning greeting. That was strange, Chrysalis couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept in later than she had. Also strange was how cold his foreleg felt, and the fact that he didn’t appear to be breathing.
The most conspicuous thing for Chrysalis, though, was the lack of that indefinable warmth of her husband’s love. It was omnipresent, even when he was asleep or far away, she could always feel it. Their souls were intertwined in a way two normal ponies could never comprehend or have the pleasure of feeling. That warmth being so suddenly absent was the worst feeling Chrysalis had ever known, almost like having your blanket ripped away on a winter morning, only nothing like that at all. That was the moment that Chrysalis’ brain processed the situation.
“Shiny?” she asked as she sat bolt-upright in her bed, his hoof falling limply away from her, “Shiny? Shiny honey wake up!” Chrysalis placed her hooves on his chest and shook him.
“Shiny! No, no no no no… Shiny this isn’t funny! Shiny!” Chrysalis’ voice rose higher, reaching hysterical levels in moments, her shaking becoming more and more violent. A sob rose in her throat and she choked on it for a moment, gasping for air. She swallowed down another, trying to think of something, anything that could help. She went with the first thing that came to mind, and disregarding everything she knew about not teleporting while emotional, a green aura surrounded her horn and the world disappeared around her.
Moments later she, along with Shining Armor and a two thirds of her bed, reappeared in the front room of Twilight’s tree, obliterating books and shelving where they materialized.
“Twilight! TWILIGHT!” Chrysalis screamed, voice cracking as the tears began to fall. A loud thump and a muffled curse came from Twilight’s room upstairs, followed by rapid clip-clopping as she hurried to her door and threw it open.
The chaotic scene of one of her closest friends standing in the center of her library, along with part of a bed and hundreds of singed papers and books floating through the air met her as she was still trying to force herself awake.
“Chrysalis? What in EQUES-”
“SAVE HIM! JUST SAVE HIM!” Chrysalis screamed, wings fluttering and buzzing spasmodically, unable to sit still on her back.
“Save wh- oh no, no not yet,” she whispered, all concerns about the state of her books gone in an instant as she realized why Chrysalis was so distraught – the changeling wasn’t the only one in the remains of the bed. Twilight leapt from the top of the steps, wings flaring open to soften her landing, and ran through the carnage over to her brother.
“What happened?” the purple Alicorn asked, struggling to keep her voice under control, and looking to see if she could find anything wrong on her brother’s body.
“I don’t kn-know,” Chrysalis replied, a hiccupping sob fracturing her words, “I woke up and- and he wasn’t breathing and he was cold and… and…” the former queen’s voice failed her, nothing more coming from her mouth but a staccato of sharp inhalations between the tears.
Twilight frantically wracked her brain for ideas – she knew basic healing spells and could cure a hooffull of common illnesses, but this was beyond her. Wait – that was it – it was beyond her. Her horn flared as she summoned a piece of parchment and a quill, a pen, and Spike. She sat Spike down, the growing dragon only partially aware of what was going on, and scrawled a single word on the parchment.
Come.
“Spike! Letter, send, now!” she yelled at him, raising her voice with her oldest and closest friend for the first time in years. Without so much as a word he blew a soft jet of flame over the note and it disappeared, too startled to question anything that was going on. He looked around, seeing the frantic Twilight and they hysterical Chrysalis, before his eyes settled on the inert form of the stallion he called his uncle.
“Twilight just do something!”
“I don’t know how to help! I just don’t! I don’t want to make anything worse!”
Just as Spike opened his mouth to ask what was going on, a sudden flash of golden light filled the room.
“Twilight, what’s wrong?” were the first words out of the Princess’ mouth, concern and something that almost bordered on fear evident in her voice. “One messy word and not so much as a ‘please’ is extremely un-”
“Princess do something!” both ponies and the dragon yelled at the same time, although Chrysalis was more of a scream.
“What – oh.”
“Please, princess, just bring him back!” Chrysalis wailed, still slowly, half-heartedly attempting to shake her husband awake, as though he were just joking, playing a prank on everyone.
“I cannot do that, Chrysalis,” the great white Alicorn stated, her face betraying the amount of effort she was putting into the emotionless tone of her voice.
“Princess –” Twilight began.
“Please just save him!” Chrysalis interrupted, “I know you can! You can do anything! Just save his life!”
“I am not a god, Chrysalis!” anger flared briefly in Celestia’s voice, and the temperature in the room noticeably increased a few degrees. The grieving changeling deflated, the wrath of an Alicorn not something anyone wanted to incur. “There are some things I just cannot do. No one has power over life and death. He was old, he was very old, and he lived a spectacular life surrounded by ponies who loved him and whom he loved. That is the truth. Shining Armor was a very close friend of mine, closer than most, and if you don’t think that I wouldn’t trade places with him in a heartbeat…” Celestia trailed off, her voice quivering for a moment.
“Princess…” Twilight began again, this time stopping herself.
Chrysalis was finding herself at a loss for words, her mouth hanging slightly open as she sniffled, tears still rolling down the hard skin on her cheeks and sliding off onto the floor.
“I’m not a god,” Celestia repeated quietly, now looking at the floor. “I’m sorry about the outburst. I’ve lived far too long and seen far too many good ponies pass away under my rule. There is no magic under the sun or the moon that can bring a pony back from the dead. Believe me, I have tried. It has only ever ended in wasted time and energy that could have been spent honoring the dead. Everypony dies sometime, and Shining Armor was very old. That doesn’t mean it’s not ok to hurt for it, and it doesn’t change the fact that it will hurt. Chrysalis, and you know more than anyone how deeply he loved you. I simply cannot imagine what this must feel like for you. But please, please believe me when I tell you there is nothing that neither I nor anyone else can do. All I can do for you now is offer my condolences.”
“Princess,” Twilight began for a third time, “We should… probably take him to the hospital, so we can… make arrangements,” voice catching on every word as she did her best to maintain some shred of dignity in front of her teacher.
“Yes… that would be wise, wouldn’t it,” Celestia remarked, “I must apologize, but I left Canterlot in rather a rush. If you would excuse me… tell me when the funeral is going to be. I will be there.”
“Thank you,” Chrysalis whispered.
Celestia nodded, and disappeared in a second flash of light.
The funeral was a much more extravagant affair than Shining Armor would have wanted, though not by design. It was held in Ponyville, and at Chrysalis’ request was opened to the public. Perhaps more surprising than it should have been, very nearly the entire Royal Guard showed up to pay their respects. Nine hundred and sixty-seven mares and stallions in gleaming golden armor lined the streets of the small town as their former commanding officer rolled gently down towards the graveyard. Celestia kept true to her word, as well, and arrived in Ponyville minutes after the sun came up. The day was cruelly bright and sunny, only a few fluffy white clouds dotted an otherwise clear sky.
Aurora was a busy pony, but of course she and her wife and children made it. Aurora herself wept nearly as hard as Chrysalis did, though her wife did not. Chrysalis didn’t hold it against them, though – Aurora had met her wife in the Crystal Empire, and being the Crystal Princess the half-changeling didn’t get much time to take vacations. Much to Chrysalis’ own dismay, she and Shining hadn’t had as much time to visit as they had hoped, either, but the grandchildren cried just the same.
Twilight, to her credit, managed to retain her composure for the most part. Chrysalis had requested Twilight deliver the main eulogy, knowing she wouldn’t be able to do it herself, and because Twilight was nearly as close to Shining Armor as Chrysalis herself had been. Twilight had spent days preparing the speech, and dozens of scrapped drafts filled her trash bin, along with hundreds of tissues. It took her time, but she had finally come up with something she felt fitting. Slowly, she trotted to the podium, and took the piece of parchment out from where it was tucked under her wing. She looked out over the crowd, dozens of ponies she had known for decades, all of them turning up to mourn the loss of a beloved member of their town. Chrysalis herself sat with her family in the front row, not far from the remaining Elements of Harmony. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy had all made an extra effort to get to know Shining Armor after he had moved to Ponyville, and had become good friends with Twilight’s brother in the last years of his life. Celestia stood alone, off to the side, to keep from blocking other ponies’ views, or so she claimed. Twilight thought she could see the elder Alicorn’s shoulders shudder slightly, but Celestia kept her face a mask. The purple mare swallowed, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.
“Mares, stallions, fillies, and colts. I could have written a speech that would go on for hours about every single thing my brother did for everypony he knew. But he wouldn’t want that, and wouldn’t want me to do that to you, so I’ve come up with something a great deal shorter. We are gathered here today not only to mourn the passing of a great pony, but also to celebrate the life of Shining Armor. He was a husband, a father, and a brother. My brother. He was also a knight, a shield, and a protector of those who couldn’t protect themselves. He was a dork, a goofball, and a little bit of a stallionchild who never really grew up. But none of that matters, because, and I admit this sounds cheesy,” Twilight chuckled and wiped a tear away with a hoof, “he had a big heart. Shining Armor was a stallion who believed in ponies, and who sought the best in, and brought out the best in, everypony around him. He taught me how to have friends when I was young, a talent that, no matter how hard I tried to shake it, turned out to save Equestria more than a hooffull of times. He taught Chrysalis that love could be freely received and openly given, rather than secretly taken in small scraps. He taught hundreds of members of the Royal Guard the meaning of bravery and courage, and taught everyone the meaning of humility with every honor he received. He would look at us, at every one of us, and see our flaws and imperfections, and he would ignore them completely. Simply being greeted by someone like that could make a pony’s whole day better. I know it did for me, many, many times. Shining Armor was many things to many ponies, but to me, he was my big brother. My best friend. It just never… never occurred to me… that it wouldn’t be forever. I’m sorry,” Twilight finished, hurrying down from the podium and taking her place near Chrysalis, trying to hide her face before the tears fell.
“Thank you, Twilight,” Chrysalis whispered to her, putting a hoof around her sister in law as the sobbing started, and hugging her tightly. “That was wonderful.”
A plain, gray-coated mare slowly took the steps up to the podium and cleared her throat.
“If… if anyone else would like to say anything…”
Twilight lost her balance for just a moment as the body she was leaning against shifted and moved away. She gasped slightly and looked up to see Chrysalis walking towards to podium, the great black mare moving with a deliberate slowness indicating just how hard she was trying to keep enough composure to say what she wanted to. Twilight wiped her eyes with her forehooves and sniffed, putting all her attention on her sister in law.
Chrysalis big green eyes surveyed the crowd, a strange sense of peace entering her for the first time since that morning. She swallowed and opened her mouth to speak, closed it, swallowed a second time, and tried again.
“I… I want to thank Twilight, for putting that so much better than I ever could have. I wanted to add one thing, though. It sounds so… pretentious to say it like this, like I somehow had this secret insight into him but… well, I did,” Chrysalis chuckled mirthlessly, “and I want to share a little of that with you. If you could know how deeply, truly, and fully he loved me, how much he loved everypony around him, how freely and completely he gave his entire heart to anyone who so much as asked…” She paused, looked down for a moment, and continued. “If only I could show you. His loss is a loss for everyone, not just myself.”
Her voice sort of drew into a squeak at the end, signaling the end of her little speech. She stepped quietly off the stage, a heavy silence the only response to her words. As she returned to her seat, Twilight leaned into her again.
“Chrysalis, I…”
“No, Twilight, it’s fine. You don’t understand, but that’s ok. It is,” she breathed, hugging the aged Alicorn tightly. When the only sounds that filled the air for a few minutes were sniffles and muffled sobs, the gray funeral mare once again took to the platform.
“Very well then… we shall proceed with the burial.”
Chrysalis stared for a long time at the headstone, long after everypony else left. A piece carved and polished from a single slab of granite, bearing an engraving of Shining Armor’s cutie mark at the top, his life in a few digits below that, and five words etched into the stone below that. Five words that so simply and accurately summed up a life that was so much more.
Father, Brother, Husband, Captain, Friend
She knew everything he was couldn’t be properly explained on a single piece of stone, but at the same time it just felt so inadequate. She felt like crying, but the tears just wouldn’t come anymore, she had wept so much. So instead she smiled, and laughed to herself.
“You big idiot. You loved me too much, and now I’m going to have to keep on living without you. That’s hardly fair, is it? I’ve got all this love built up inside me and nopony to give it to… except… except everypony. I could give it to everypony. Twilight would be so mad, but I think, if just this once, everyone could see how much you loved me… it would be worth it.”
Chrysalis bowed her head and began to cast the spell. Her horn flared green, then pink, pulsed, flickered, flashed, a sphere of pink light surrounded her – and then exploded.
When the glow faded, a faint pink aura covered Ponyville. A small, almost unconscious feeling of being loved wormed it’s way into her mind. That would be her gift to the world before leaving it – love. Not just any love, though – brotherly love, fatherly love, romantic love, none really properly described it. An eternal feeling that there was someone who cared. Ponyville would be a town for lovers, for families, and for friends, for as long as the sun rose each day.
Chrysalis smiled one last time and closed her eyes.
