Part: 1

The Eyes in the Reflection

By: Michael A.

Chrysalis let out a long, emotionless sigh, content on just laying in her bed forever. The changeling queen thought that, if she could just lay there, then she wouldn’t have to deal the mess that she’d created; she wouldn’t have to face her changelings again, only to tell them that their “Queen” was still no closer to fixing the mess that she created; she wouldn’t have to deal with the rising guilt and pain that seemed to keep piling up inside of her; and she wouldn’t have to deal with the growing failure that she’d become. Wouldn’t it be easier if I just—No, I can’t think this way...not again. Chrysalis mentally scolded herself for even thinking about that.

Not wanting to postpone the inevitable, the Changeling Queen buzzed her gossamer wings and gently floated herself from her bed to the stone floor of her bedchamber. She then uncomfortably stretched her back, hearing several “pops” as it cracked. With a loose shake of her shoulders, the Changeling Queen started to make her way to her chamber door. Her room wasn’t that large, and hardly could be deemed “fit” for a Queen. The walls were bare stone, strangely shaped by whatever force excavated the cavern. The room was lit by the soft glow of several ethereal flames, fueled by the Hive’s central power reserves (Which was a large chamber that housed several large gems, enchanted to store exes magic). Though the Hive had it’s own artisans that created all of the furniture for the swarm, Chrysalis never took advantage of them and decided to keep her room plain, containing only a few pieces of furniture: a bed, a desk, a chair, a bookshelf, and a mirror. Though it wasn’t much, Chrysalis felt that it was all she needed, and didn’t want to bother wasting resources on items that she didn’t need.

Chrysalis trotted just past the center of her room, before she heard it—the word echoing as if a distant whisper.

Monster.

Chrysalis nearly jumped out of her skin, spinning around suddenly, trying to locate who ever had said it. To Chrysalis’ surprise, she saw nothing. She shook her head, raising a hoof to her head and gently massaging her temples. “Ugh, must just be my mind playing tricks on me again,” Chrysalis angrily mumbled to herself. Her semi-paranoid nature made her extremely jumpy, and she never dismissed even the possibility of a threat. With a deep breath, Chrysalis began to, once again, make her way towards the door.

Monster!

        This time the word echoed loud throughout her skull, almost screaming into her ears. Chrysalis instantly pressed her front hooves against her ears, but it didn’t muffle the scream. As soon as it stopped, Chrysalis jumped to her hooves and into a battle stance, ready to defend herself. She scanned her room, but again saw nothing. Her room was untouched, still the same way it was only seconds before. There was no signs that anypony had entered her room, and the only entrance was from the door that she was just about to exit. Though Chrysalis would never admit it: she was scared.

        “Who’s there?” she called out, hoping for some sort of response. What she didn’t expect was to hear her words being echoed back.

Who’s there?

Chrysalis stood her ground, not wanting to show any form of fear. “Show yourself!”

But I’m not hiding.

        The Changeling Queen slowly looked around the room, then stopped when she looked at her mirror. Though the mirror held an image of Chrysalis, it wasn’t her reflection. Where the reflection of a confused, and worried, Chrysalis should be, was the image of dirty looking image of her. The false reflection smiled at Chrysalis, and it’s lips curled into an unsettling smile.

I’m not hiding from you, Queen. The figure spoke, her voice was like Chrysalis', but seemed almost ghostly, like an echo.

Chrysalis looked at the figure in the mirror, trying to make sense of the situation. "Have I gone mad?" she asked herself, momentarily removing her focus from the mirror.

No, no you have not. The figure began. To ease your confusion, I am you. Not you who stands before me, but the true you. The image behind the false chrysalis shifted, turning to that of a bloodstains room, corpses all around her.

Chrysalis balked, taken aback by the sudden background change. The queen looked briefly behind her, making sure that the background in the mirror was only there, and not her room. "You... you are not me."

The Chrysalis in the mirror chuckled. Not a friendly one, or even a threatening one, more of an... Empty one. Deny all you want, but we both know that I am, in fact, you. Do you not remember what you have done? Oh, of course you don't, because you deny yourself the truth of who you are, which is where I come from. I am all of your rage, all of your sins, all of your mistakes, everything you hate about yourself. I am the one you blame every time you do something you regret. The Chrysalis in the mirror smiled an evil sneer, trotting around the bloodstained room in the mirror. Deny that I exist all you want. But you know the truth, and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be rid of me, for I will become you.

The figure in the mirror stopped trotting at the sound of a hoof being slammed against the floor. Chrysalis, the real one, glared at her false counterpart. "I am not you, and I will never become you!!!" The false queen laughed, causing Chrysalis' eyes to burn with furry. In one swift movement, the queen slammed her hoof into the mirror, causing it to erupt in a spiderweb of crack, before shattering completely. The glass fell to the floor, and Chrysalis let out a sigh as her mind was once again silent.

But, this didn't last, as the false Chrysalis' laughter filled her ears. The evil cackling began quiet, but slowly grew into a deafening cry. The changeling queen stared at the ground, seeing the image of her false self laughing in every single fragment of the shattered glass. The queen pressed her hooves into her ears, trying to block out the laughter. It didn't work, and soon Chrysalis began to sob, shaking with fear.

You are a monster, and always will be!!!

Images if ponies running from her in fear filled the queen's head, images that she'd rather let lie. Memories of her past sins, every death she'd caused, ever life she'd ruined, briefly flashed in her mind, before soon being replaced by another. The queen curled up into a ball, praying for the images to stop.

Nobody will ever care for you. Remain the monster that you are; remain me!!!

Chrysalis whimpered, trying to force the voice to stop, but it didn't work. Her eyes closed, trying to stop the tears that continued to flow freely from her eyes. Pain, regret, sorrow, hatred, fear, all ran threw Chrysalis' mind, plaguing her thoughts. I...I..I give up.. thought the Queen, curling up into an even tighter ball.

Suddenly, Chrysalis stopped shaking, going completely still. The sound of the Queen's sobs ceased, causing the room to be enveloped in an eery silence... Then the laughter started. It started out quiet, almost like a chuckle, then began to grow into a cackle, and finally into a dark, sinister laugh. Chrysalis' form shuttered as the laughter escaped her lips,  continuing as the changeling shifted onto her hooves, her sad expression replaced with smirk. The Queen ceased her laughing, trotting over to the pile of broken glass. Igniting her horn, Chrysalis picked up one of the shards, staring at the image it held. She smiled as she saw a broken, whimpering form of herself inside of the shard.

"We are a monster, and you shall never get in our way again," Chrysalis hissed at the shard, before throwing it against the wall, where it smashed into millions of tiny pieces...