Everypony will gather round
The hive was empty.
Every changeling, every black, thick skinned, bright scaled and dragonfly winged changeling, was gone. No laced green eyes watching everything that occurred as they marched through the place on either guard duty, nursery care, or food delivery. None of what made a changeling hive a changeling hive. You see, the place where these creatures live is much like a bees home. If it isn't crowded and bustling with activity, it seems wrong. Almost haunted. And, to an outsider, that is how it would have felt.
But not to Chrysalis.
She actually enjoyed the quiet. The dripping of collected dew from the high roofs easily audible. The bright white nose of the gentle buzzing gone.
Because all these things meant that she could have some time for her.
You see, all those many years ago, when she had attempted to take control of Canterlot, and almost gotten her dream, she had remembered exactly what it was like to feel like the center of attention. To feel pretty. To feel in control of her life. To feel wanted. Needed. Loved by all of Canterlot. And they were almost hers. Sure, control of Canterlot was her goal. But maybe... She realized something.
Her army was out on a minor mission. You see, around every year around fall, all the army, regardless of their job, was to fly from the hive in groups of seven and scout the outskirts of Equestria for supplies to last the cold season. And by supplies, I mean a stray foal plucked from the streets, some nice fern leaves for bedding of the guards (they work the hardest days) and perhaps even grab a bucket of fresh water.
And this was the one time of year that the changeling queen had to herself.
Chrysalis stood, still as stone, facing the mirror. It was the only reflective glass in the entire hive, as not many ponies are willing to throw a good mirror away. Thats were they got most of their belongings, from civilian backyards and trash cans. They didn't exactly mind, as long as they had enough food and drink to supply their kind. But this one mirror held so much to Chrysalis.
The mirror showed a changeling queen. Well, most ponies who were to see her would think she was vile scum. Rotten, worthless, and pure evil. And most of the time, thats what she saw too. And most of the time, she was fine with that. Even happy about it. But on this day? This was the day when she saw something different. For one, her physical appearance changed. No, she didn't transform into someone or something else. She wore a garment. It was nothing fancy, just a simple, silk dress. One that she had found herself on one of her trips scouting the territory. It was a tad torn, as she had seen it blowing by ever so gently in the wind, but it was perfect to her.
It fit her almost perfectly. She didn't exactly know how, but it did.
She also curled her hair. Just a little, with unpractical old fashioned wooden curlers, but it still curled up the edges of her locks a tad. If you had seen her, you might say she looked decent. Even pretty. She changed emotionally as well, today. If somepony were to barge in on this little time of hers, they would have seen a Chrysalis who... Actually looked somewhat sad. And...
Maybe it was because sometimes she didn't want to be the big, bad, evil changeling queen. Maybe she wanted to be loved... True, her subjects loved her, but not in a truthful way. She was their general and leader. Of course they didn't know any better. They couldn't truely love her, could they?
Chrysalis sighed a long, deep sigh and turned her head to the window. This was a glassless window, an uneven hole cut in the wall of her private room. It had a spectacular view, it overlooked almost the whole changeling hive. She could see the entrance, where the guards were stationed. She could see the nursery, where young changelings were curled in their pods. And of course, where the workers stored the spare food they collected in small, honeycomb like spaces.
This was all hers. But was it really hers if her kingdom couldn't support her emotionally? She wasn't usually this soft. Only when the hive was empty.
Suddenly, she heard the door creaking open.
She spun around from the window, her emerald eyes widening in fearful realization and partial shock. She could have sworn- The gray, horned head of a changeling poked its head in the door, cautiously looking around for a moment before spying the queen.
"Queen Chrysalis! I'm so sorry to intrude!" The changeling stuttered, laying back its ears in worry. "I'll leave you be-" Chrysalis stopped him.
"Its not your fault. You had no idea that I'd be... All in a get up. What do you want?" She said softly, taking pity on the poor changeling. He sighed in apparent relief and looked at her again, more cautiously. She tilted her head. "You can come in." The creature immediately darted in the room, nodding apologetically.
"Of course miss. I'm sorry miss." Chrysalis sighed.
"Its fine. Now what do you want?"
"Umm... Well, we encountered some manticores and lost some soldiers. Around 20, I'd estimate." He stuttered.
"Oh no..." Chrysalis spoke through gritted teeth and closed eyes. Things got worse and worse today, didn't they? The changeling seemed to sense his queens distress, and he nodded promptly.
"I'll leave you alone now miss." He spun around and promptly started toward the door, and then turned back as if he forgot something. "Oh yeah. You look lovely in your gown, miss Chrysalis."
Author's Note
For a contest.
It was pretty fun writing about Chryssi.
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to like or watch if you enjoyed!~
<3, BewhoUR.
