Walk among the living, sleep among the dead
Death is a cruel goddess, allowing life to be born into our world only to be taken away in an instant. Death is the inevitable and unforgiving force in nature, watching, waiting for the right moment to strike us when we’re at our weakest points, taking those close to us into an eternal slumber from which they will never wake…
Chrysalis was far from home, having landed in a place of destruction and sorrow with trees twisted into a black menace, mocking her like the ones in the Everfree. She could barely walk anymore. When she hit the cold ground it was merely salt on her wounds for all she had endured.
Mere hours earlier, she had tried to attack Canterlot, a devastating failure on her part, causing many changeling children to be killed or injured heavily with no hope of medical attention or food.
She was dying and she knew it, but still she began to walk through the fields merely on instinct to begin making her way home, that is, whichever way home was.
“I had it planned out so perfectly, but those damned elements of harmony got in my way,” she said, coughing up a thick layer of blood, “I was so close… then they took it away… all my planning to rule Equestria, gone in one fell swoop.”
She glared menacingly, slamming her hoof into the nearest tree with a loud thud. “Damn those elements… if I ever see them, I’m gonna ri-
She went silent, stopping dead in her tracks.
She looked closer at her surroundings, realizing with a terrified glance that much of the blood surrounding her was not her own but that of her Changeling children. Many lay in a pool of sickening green. She reeled back at this sight, hoping it was all a dream even if she knew it wasn’t.
“I only wanted to help my family… to protect and care for them,” she whispered in a raspy tone.
She began to realize that becoming a god across the Equestrian nation was not the only reason she had tried. She had done it for her children, to help them, to protect them. No matter how evil she may be, she wanted to help her children as any mother would.
“No...I caused this. I’m the reason they’re dead, and it’s my fault,” she whispered, realizing her body was doing something it had never done before.
Chrysalis was crying.
The one thing she believed she would never do. She believed she never needed nor wanted to. Even now, the feeling felt alien to her body as she cried, but she knew why.
“I’m a terrible mother,” she weeped, grieving for her children.
“Queen?” a small changeling asked, “Are you okay?”
She looked over to him, her face going white at the sight of him. The young changeling’s lower half was torn and mangled. He was dragging himself over to her, missing his wings and barely breathing, leaving a green mess behind him.
“My child what… what has happened to you?!” she cried in alarm. Chrysalis ran over to the young changeling, grabbing him into a deep embrace. She realized he was no older than maybe ten.
“Chrysalis, are you okay?” he said through ragged breaths.
“I’m… I’m fine my child.” She knew this was a lie.
He smiled.
“We can win next time, right, Chrysalis?” The young changeling weeped softly from his physical wounds and the mental ones caused by losing.
“We can always fight another day...right?” he said, crawling next to Chrysalis and nuzzling her like a child would do a mother.
All she could was look away in sorrow and horror. She looked herself over more thoroughly, thinking about what to do as she did. She was in worse shape than she had originally thought. One of her legs was barely in one piece, and a wing was entirely gone. She was bleeding heavily, inside and out, and she wouldn’t have long.
She thought for a moment, thinking of the past, and the present once more, and then thought she may be able to do one more thing to be redeemed of her evils.
“My child, please let me see your legs,” she said, calmly letting her motherly instincts take over and soothing the young changeling with her voice.
“You know I’m not going to make it, my child… but I could give you a chance.”
“Nonono… I can’t let you do this… I CAN’T!” The young changeling screamed in a raspy voice.
“Please, just let me help you. As I said, I may die but, well, you could become the next queen of the hive.”
“Queen?”
“Yes, my child. I won’t die in vain knowing I killed the changelings. You’re young and have a lot to learn, I’m not. You could rebuild and do better than I did.”
Chrysalis began to use the last of her life force and magic to mend the young changeling.
The changeling began to float, covered in a green aura as sparks flew out of Chrysalis’s horn. With the last of her strength and a final bright flash from her horn, she was done.
It didn’t work.
“What?! But...but how?!” she said before screaming in pain as her legs buckled.
She had failed to do the last thing she could. The final blow had been struck and she realized that she would die without a trace, dooming her and her hive.
The only thing she did now was weep, lying there, unmoving like a stone, until she felt a presence nuzzle her.
“My queen, it’s okay. You tried, and that’s more than I could ever ask from someone of your status.”
“Please don’t praise me. I’m the reason we’re here and never leaving. I’m to blame for all of this.”
“Queen, if we are going to… die, then can I lay by you until it’s over?”
She thought for a minute, thinking about the past and anything she could do now. She remembered one thing in particular, one thing that could haunt her even in death. She never cared as a mother should. She never watched over them and tried to truly save them.
Maybe that’s that one thing she could do in death. She grabbed the young changeling, bringing him into her arms and holding him, bringing him in a tight embrace as she thought she would never let go.
“My child, I may have failed you in the past, but I’m here for you now.”
The small changeling smiled, shutting his eyes before falling into an everlasting sleep as Chrysalis rocked him in her arms. Chrysalis grew weary as her own eyes slowly closed for the last time. She looked up at the damage she had caused as a memory of the atrocities she had committed came to mind, then down to the one changeling she had truly helped or cared for as a mother should before her mind and body grew numb. Her eyes shut for the last time, leaving her body cold, still grasping the child.
Author's Note
I hope you all enjoy this story, I would once again like to thank my editor 0_0. Check out his profile in the stories description if you want.
