Return to The Illustrious Fortress
Two months have passed since the royal wedding in Canterlot between Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. Queen Chrysalis had been thrown miles away from Canterlot from the power of their love. Chrysalis knew there would be trouble upon returning to her homeland of Zarmouth, as she was a disgrace to her kind now. She was Queen of the changelings but she had failed in her mission to take over Equestria. How could she go back and tell her king that she was unable to gain more resources for their dying lands?
Chrysalis looked around. Zarmouth had become more of a wasteland while she was gone to Canterlot, and the trees were nothing more then mere husks of bark. The ground was an ashy black of dirt and rocks, and even the lush lakes had turned into nothing more than putrid unusable swamps.
She couldn't let this happen to her subjects. Chrysalis walked through the fields of Zarmouth with her head hanging low, every so often looking up towards the castle standing far in the distance. Her home, her crowds of subjects cheering her on, her entire way of life, had since been turned completely upside down. What will her king do to her? What will he say? King Dargamis wasn't a forgiving changeling, nor was he one to take up failure. If he wanted something, he took it, regardless of the cost. When he was younger, he was so much more different. He was kind, dependable, and wanted nothing but the best for his subjects. That was the changeling Chrysalis fell in love with. But now he was nothing more then a tyrannical dictator, putting his own welfare above that of others.
After walking so long, Chrysalis found herself in her town which she was born, Serendipity. It was a simple farm town, but now all that remains is a deserted gathering of wooden houses. With no water or rich soil, the most essential of things, the farm town couldn't survive. No changeling could survive out here for long.
She walked into the building that was once her childhood home. It was empty, save for a few pieces of destroyed furniture strewn around the floor and cobwebs decorating the ceiling. The place that she called her own room was now little more than a dusty old area. She sat in the very place that she grew up with and simply broke down right then and there. She cried for hours. Her mission? Failed. Her self-respect? Gone. Was she too cocky? Could she have been more subtle? Her mind raced as she became quite the opposite image of a fearless and confident queen.
Before long, she lost track of the time. It was soon going to be night. Chrysalis knew she would need a fire to keep warm here in these empty and desolate fields of dust. Chrysalis took apart some of the old houses and used the wood from them to make a fire and a small, more suitable shelter. Her old house wouldn't work - holes in the ceiling would make it quite hard to stay dry, should it rain. Night was approaching rapidly and so was a dawn of a new day.
"Tomorrow," Chrysalis said to herself as she lay down in her new temporary makeshift shelter,
"Tomorrow, I'll return home to my king...and be done with my punishment and the torture of living like a filthy rotten peasant on the run."
She let out a sigh of discontent as she slowly closed her eyes, allowing the world to temporarily fade away.
Chrysalis woke up the next morning with a start because of a particular noise. She could recognize the sound anywhere - clanking armor accompanying heavy hoofsteps. The royal guards had found her. King Dargamis must have either been worried without word of her battle or he knew of her defeat and wanted her back at the castle for her punishment.
Chrysalis quickly rose up from her sleeping position, desperately trying to shake off the grogginess from resting so crudely. The sounds grew louder as she managed to regain control of her senses. Allowing herself to be seen, she faced the rapidly approaching changeling guards.
"What do you want, you buffoons!?" she shouted at the guards, already well aware of the answer. Chrysalis wasn't about to be seen as a miserable heap of failure, so she at least tried to keep her composure.
"King Dargamis requests that you come with us back to the Illustrious Fortress, my queen." The changeling guard spoke with fear in his eyes, putting a strange emphasis on those last two words.
"Fine." Chrysalis spoke, accepting her fate. "I will go with you. No sense in staying in this wasteland much longer." Queen Chrysalis sighed. She hung her head low as tears came to her eyes. She tried to fight the inbound display of crying, but it was of no use. The reality of the situation fell on her, like a thousand tiny needles stabbing away at her heart.
My day has come,
Chrysalis thought to herself as she began the long journey to the Fortress.
My judgement day...
Is this how all great Queens go?
The hefty stone doors slowly lifted apart, revealing the dark and gloomy interior that was the Illustrious Fortress. It was by no means a foreign sight to Chrysalis. Indeed, she was quite familiar with the Fortress halls. However, the reason for her being here made the whole ordeal quite unnerving.
Chrysalis made her way to the throne room, accompanied by multiple guards as if she was a prisoner in her own castle. She approached the King, whose eyes seemed to pierce into her very soul.
"Ahhh, my Queen. You've returned home to me..." Dargamis spoke with a strong toned voice, capable of making even the most defiant listeners obey. "Now," He let out a subtle chuckle, as if toying with Chrysalis. "Tell me. How went the fight in Canterlot? Were you able to take the throne from the retched pony princess, Celestia? Do we have a ripe new land, ready to be harvested for our own land, hmm?" King Dargamis looked down at Chrysalis, seemingly already fully aware of the events that had transpired in Canterlot.
All Chrysalis could do did was look at the floor in silence. No response at all, just a face of defeat. King Dargamis trotted over to her. He placed a hoof on her chin and lifted her face to meet his. He saw nothing but shame, defeat, and fear in her eyes.
"Ah..." Dargamis flatly spoke as he pulled away from Chrysalis. "So, you've failed me, my queen. I knew it would come to this." He turned away and slowly cantered toward a nearby window, overlooking the dying wasteland that was Zarmouth. "Your plan was easily seen through. It's important that you should learn, my love, that subtlety is a weak way to overtake a country. Now, because of you, we will further suffer in the face of poverty and famine. You've failed not only me, but your entire country!" With that last word, he slammed his hoof down onto the floor, producing a resounding thud that could be heard all through the fortress. He turned once more to face Chrysalis, and looked deeply into her broken and defeated eyes. "I, however, have come up with something even more brilliant than anything you could have ever even imagined." King Dargamis gave a big grin. "You needn't concern yourself with any of it. As I'm sure you know, I do not tolerate failure, even if it is from my Queen." He looked past Chrysalis and spoke to the guards. "Guards! Take her to the dungeon. She is to be tortured every three hours for the next two weeks. After that time, she will be sent to live in exile in that wasteland that we now call our land. She must learn the price of failure, and must pay it in kind." King Dargamis barked at his guards. They saluted and took Chrysalis in their hoofs. While being dragged out of the room, Queen Chrysalis yelled at the top of her lungs in protest.
"Don't do this, Dargamis! I am your Queen! Your wife! What has happened to you?! What ever happened to the changeling that I fell in love with!? You heartless bastard!"
With that final outburst, Dargamis turned around. He glared at her, and the sight itself broke her heart. The changeling she had fell in love with was no longer there. He had been taken over by another changeling; one that did not care for anyone but himself, and no amount of screaming and crying was going to bring him back. Chrysalis lowered her head down in defeat as she let the emotions flow from her without control.
Down in the dungeon of the castle it was dark, dank, and smelled of feces, sweat, and death. The guards opened Chrysalis' cell door and carelessly threw her in. Her body connected with the floor with a loud thump. The door to the cell was quickly locked behind her with both magical and physical locks. There was no way out. The only light in the room was that coming from the moonlight streaming in via the barred cell window. There was a small pile of hay in the corner that served as a bed for the prisoners. This came complete with the sounds of screaming for nighttime entertainment, if one can consider it entertainment. Soon enough, it would be her doing the screaming. She would be the entertainment to some sick changelings just looking to cause pain. Never in her life did she think that things would come to this. This was a nightmare that had come true. This was the kind of story that you would tell the young to keep them in line, but in all reality it was real, terrifying and painful.
A loud scream cut through the silence and sent shivers down Chrysalis' spine. She quickly sprinted to the pile of hay and laid down, trying to get some sleep. She hoped in her heart that this was just some cruel nightmare - something that she could simply wake up from. Throughout the night all that could be heard was screaming, cries of pain, and the prayers of other changelings wanting it all to end right there.
Dargamis...
How could you...?
No matter how hard she tried, Chrysalis couldn't sleep during the night. She knew that when the sun did finally rise, her time would begin - her time on the torturer's table. Still emotionally unstable because of the whole situation, all she could do was cry until the sun rose, and when the guards did come to the door in the morning, all she could do was dry her tears and accept her fate. Her cruel, cruel fate.
Chrysalis' sorrow was interrupted by the quiet and careful sound of unlatching locks behind her. She quickly got up to face the door.
Wh-what?
Chrysalis thought to herself.
Why have they come back before morning? Is my torture to begin sooner than I had anticipated?
Before long, the large bulky door swung open as it loudly squeaked in protest. The creature that stood there was not a guard. No, it was much too small to be a guard. Chrysalis had been bawling her eyes out, so she had trouble identifying her nighttime visitor. And then, he spoke.
"My Queen...? I've..." The small creature spoke nervously. "I've come... to get you out of here. Dargamis can't do this to you. He's been... he's been looking for an excuse to get you out of the picture... s-so that he could have absolute power in Zarmouth."
Chrysalis' eyes managed to focus and identified her visitor as one of the changelings that aided her assault on Canterlot. She let out a sigh of relief before speaking.
"My child... Wh-why have you come here? There's nothing left in this world for me. My own country has turned against me, and no other country would ever accept me..." Chrysalis trailed off as tears began to well in her eyes once more. "...Please, just leave me to accept my fate. I'm finished."
The small changeling seemed to shrink back even smaller at his Queen's response.
"But, my Queen...all hope is not lost. It-it's still possible to reclaim the throne... to get Dargamis back for what he's done to you..." The changeling trailed off as he buzzed his tiny wings nervously. "All we would need to do... is plan correctly."
Chrysalis' mind raced. Could there truly be a way to get out of this? To get back that traitorous swine? A grin appeared on Chrysalis' face for the first time in many moons.
"Hmmm..." Chrysalis rubbed her chin thoughtfully with a hoof as she approached her loyal changeling. "That... is true, but we'll need help. I don't have a clue who to turn to. It seems that the entire country truly is against me. What am I to do against my own army?"
"My Queen.. i-if I could be so bold to suggest..." The small changeling started, seeming to gain a bit of confidence after seeing his Queen smile, "What.. about the ponies? We could go and...ask for their help."
The idea had never crossed Chrysalis' mind. The ponies? Would Chrysalis even be able to get near Canterlot again without being blasted into microscopic bits?
"No," Chrysalis shook her head. "They'll never help me. Not after what I have done...or tried to do... to them. We'll have to come up with something, but... now is not the time to think about it. I'm very glad you managed to show up. I... thank you."
I needed that. I'm not like this. I'm not a weeping pile of tears. I am strong.
Chrysalis cleared her throat.
"Now, my little minion, lead the way to escape. I'm not going to ask you how you managed to make your way into here, but I've got enough common sense to know that you must have some alternate entrance. Let's not waste any more time here."
The little changeling nodded his head, and quickly pointed toward a darkened corridor. Queen Chrysalis followed him to a small hole he had managed dig throughout the night. It was a tight squeeze, but the uncomforting claustrophobia was a small price to pay to be able to escape the cruel injustice of her husband. On the other side she could see the very dim daylight of dawn. Chrysalis never thought that she had been weeping the entire night. But all that mattered now was that she was free for now. Even though she is now an outcast of her own kind, her determination allows her to cling to the faint glimmer of hope that this little changeling has brought upon her.
After emerging from the small escape tunnel and meeting back up with her new ally, she suggested that they make haste to the nearest suitable hiding spot: a large cave lining the outskirts of Zarmouth, known as the Fragmented Tunnels. It was there that Chrysalis would be safe from the searching efforts of the guards.
After dawn broke, the guards returned to Chrysalis' cell to collect her for her first day of torture. They had been looking forward to it all night. How often, they thought, do they get to punish a Queen? Their hopes were dashed quite quickly as they approached an empty cell where the Queen should have been. The king was quickly informed thereafter.
Dargamis sat and pondered what reasoning Chrysalis would have for escaping.
"The poor girl had nowhere to turn to... no place to call home... and most certainly no one to call friends..." Dargamis said as he thought aloud to himself. "Hm. No matter. She has nothing left anymore. With any luck, she'll die out in that fetid wasteland. Shame that I won't be able to witness any torture now."
Dargamis looked once again over his broken country. "Oh well. The only thing that matters now is this land. My main mission should be to take over Equestria myself. Without it's resources, this land won't last much longer. Which isn't good for me now, is it? Still...I was hoping Chrysalis could have done it without my help, but it seems my trust was ill-placed..." Dargamis scoffed as his eyes came across a picture of Chrysalis in the throne room. "Worthless wretch." He uttered as he spat on the floor. "Mark this day, Zarmouth, for it is the day that I have vowed to take Equestria by storm! This day will be our victory day!" Dargamis shouted out his window.
