Author's Note

This just a little something I've been working on to get my creative juices flowing! Will be updated whenever I have the time to do so as much of my efforts are going towards fixing the next chapter of Nation of the Damned and a new project that I'm currently working on.

Please feel free to provide constructive criticism and comments, after all I can't get better and improve without knowing what it is I'm doing wrong. That, and I love to converse with those who read my stories!

Now without further delay, enjoy~!

Bloodied and Broken

Chrysalis snarled as she forced herself to her hooves, head lowered and mouth agape as thick green blood drooled past her lips, forming a puddle on the rocky ground where she'd previously been laying. Around her laid the countless corpses of her children, limbs twisted and bodies broken as a result of their harsh and bone breaking landing following being blasted from the city of Canterlot that now rested many miles away.

Gone were the royal castle and colourful city, now replaced with the obsidian black rocks and ashy sand that made up most of the Equestrian badlands, where Chrysalis and her army had been discarded like common place pests. The now defeated Queen stood still for a few moments, feeling her blood boil as rage started to build up within her...here she and her children were, left to rot while those ponies were most likely celebrating their victory and the wedding, feasting and dancing like the fools they were.

The mere thought of those insufferable creatures brought a hiss forth from the Queen's lips, though said rage was swiftly replaced by another emotion as she heard a weak cry come from nearby, the wounded Queen's ears perking up as she glanced over to spot a wounded soldier, his wings torn and three of his four legs flopping around uselessly as he came too, eyes wide and darting around as he thrashed around in pain.

Chrysalis swiftly limped over to his side, grunting with every step before she laid down beside the crying soldier and placed a hoof upon his chest, pressing down lightly as a small, almost invisible, smile came to her bloodied lips, "Hush now my child, be still..." She whispered, and almost instantly the soldier did as he was told, ceasing his thrashing and crying as he gazed up at his queen while his body trembled and twitched, blood oozing from various wounds that had torn his exoskeleton and punctured the sensitive flesh beneath.

He was a goner.

She eyed the soldier for a moment more, eyes falling half lidded before she leant down to brush her snout against his own, sighing softly, "Rest your eyes now my child, your duty has been fulfilled..." She spoke, moving to plant a loving kiss upon his forehead as he gave a small nod, eyes sliding shut as he braced himself for what was to come next.

With great care Chrysalis pressed the tip of her jagged horn against his own as she dropped one of her insect-like wings over his torso, shielding him from the icy air of the badlands before she lit her horn and allowed her glowing aura to slowly engulf the soldiers horn, and within a moment he gave a small shudder and began to give off cricket-like chirps as the Queen worked her magic, all the pain that plagued his body being replaced with a comforting feeling of warmth and heat as his life force was slowly drained away, syphoned by Chrysalis who's eyes had slid shut as she focused on using the dying soldiers life-force to heal her own wounds, feeling twinges of pain as her wounds started to seal up and rectify themselves.

The process lasted for a few minutes, and once complete she ceased the spell and lifted her head away, eyeing her now dead child with a mournful expression before she got back on her hooves and looked around, setting out to search the corpse-littered ground for any of her children who might have survived the violent landing.

After two hours of searching Chrysalis had managed to find a minuscule amount of surviving soldiers who weren't fatally wounded, and those who could not walk or had little chance of survival were drained of life by the Queen and their fellow soldiers, and by the end Chrysalis had a total of one hundred and ninety-five soldiers out of the eight hundred strong battalion that had laid siege to Canterlot, and even with the life drained from their now dead brothers many of them were in a shoddy state.

Once she'd gathered up the survivors Chrysalis was swift to give them new orders...to gather the remains of their siblings so that they could be destroyed. After all, it was only a matter of time before Celestia sent her own troops to search for herself and her children, and she didn't wish to leave any evidence of them being here nor did she wish to have her now dead children's corpses be dissected and defiled by filthy pony hooves.

The gathering of the corpses was swift and executed without question or error, her soldiers uttering soft prayers as they gathered up their deceased brothers and tossed them onto a pile, and once every corpse they could find was piled Chrysalis once more lit her horn and the pile was engulfed by shimmering emerald flames that licked and lashed at the bodies while their brothers turned their gazes to the ashy ground, and within an hour all that remained was a fine pile of black ash that was quickly buried beneath the sand, where Chrysalis hoped it'd lay undisturbed.

Once the corpses were dealt with Chrysalis rounded up her children and began the gruelling march back home, forced to walk as many of her soldier's wings were still broken or torn. The journey itself took a day and a half before they reached the carefully hidden entrance to the hive, and by then many of the soldiers and Chrysalis herself were teetering on the verge of dehydration and starved, so much so that by the time Chrysalis had spotted the hive's entrance she gave a small cry of delight, the tired and hungry Queen picking up her pace as she led her weary children onwards for the final steps of their journey.

The hive's entrance was nestled between two towering spires of jagged black rock, and if anyone not accustomed to Changeling architect glanced over they'd be hard pressed to see anything out of the ordinary considering many rocks in the badlands took on weird or seemingly unnatural formations. The entrance itself was, at first glance, a small ditch in the ashy sand with no particular qualities that would make it stand out...but when struck with a bolt of changeling magic the ditch would grow deeper and wider before opening up into a winding tunnel that led down deep beneath the surface and into the bowels of the hive.

Chrysalis opened the entrance and then stepped aside, commanding her soldiers to form a rather lengthy single column line before nodding for them to enter, counting each one as they did so. Once all of her children had entered she followed, closing up the entrance behind her before making her way down into the hive and after a short while the winding tunnel opened out into a large entrance chamber.

The chamber acted as a city-like hub of the hive where most of the changelings did their work or socialised with one another and was vast, wide and dark with every surface covered in a thick layer of a hardened black wax-like substance while the air was thick with an almost sickening sweet scent produced by glowing green fungus that dotted the walls and ceilings, providing a much-needed source of light and a natural source of protection from invaders as anyone other than a changeling who'd be unlucky enough to breathe in the spores produced by the fungus would find themselves unconscious and, unless moved out of the hive or placed into a harvest pod, soon dying a rather unpleasant death.

And it was full of shocked looking changelings, drones and other castes who'd not taken part in the invasion, who now gazed at their wounded brothers and Queen in disbelief.

It seemed as if they'd sensed the Queen was near and gathered in preparation for a celebration or victory party, but the sight of their wounded brothers and beaten Queen had quickly gotten the point across that the invasion had been a failure.

The sea of smiles turning into an ocean of sorrow was something that caused Chrysalis to lower her head in shame, wings twitching as she eyed the floor and tried to think of something to say, something that could possibly lift the spirits of her children or somehow twist the horrid failure into some kind of minor victory...but she had nothing, and soon she raised her head and spoke.

"I want the wounded soldiers fed and placed into recovery pods, the rest of you are to return to your tasks." She stated, quick and to the point as the gathered mass of changelings swiftly obeyed, the soldiers being carefully escorted off to the 'hospital' of the hive while the rest of the changelings returned to their given jobs and tasks, filling the hive with the sound of buzzing wings, insect-like chattering and the sounds of hole-ridden hooves hitting the floor.

Chrysalis watched her children for a moment more before she took flight, making her way out of the main chamber as she left for the one place in the hive she could truly call her own, a place she could relax and be alone with her thoughts after the colossal failure that was the ill-fated invasion.

Chrysalis reached her chambers and sighed as she pushed the doors apart to reveal a rather modest bedroom, the only real 'room' in the hive that held furniture and other pony-made items that she'd gathered during her centuries of slinking around Equestria before she'd settled down to become Queen. In the middle of the room rested a large circular bed, while off to the left there was a desk, chair and a collection of books, half of which were blank while the others were filled with strange looking scribbles and scrawlings, changeling letters.

The floor was carpeted, the walls painted and hanging from the ceiling was a single, admittedly rather old and broken, chandelier that bathed the room in a soft green glow.

With little hesitation she used her magic to grab one of the non-empty books and proceeded to hop onto her bed, settling down and opening the book as she began to flip through it, eyes narrowing as she started to read. The books that weren't empty had acted as her diaries as the Queen had picked up the habit of writing down major events or plans over the last fifty or so years, mostly in an attempt to immortalise her hives history as, even back then, food had begun to dwindle and her hive began to shrink.

She was reading the most current of her diaries, frowning at how overzealous and eager she had been at the idea of invading Cantlerlot, how easy she'd thought it'd be to take control of an age-old kingdom that had faced horrors far worse than herself and prevailed...why on earth did she think she'd be able to emerge victorious when so many other, and in some cases far more powerful, beings had failed?

"Fool..." She spat, slamming the book shut and tossing it aside before she heard a faint knock upon the door, and after a moment of recomposing herself the bug-mare put on a small smile and used her magic to pull the doors open, revealing a single drone who held a stone bowl of water in her magical grasp.

"Please, do come in child..." Chrysalis spoke as she watched the drone enter, carrying the bowl which she soon placed upon the bed, just in front of Chrysalis.

"Many of the soldiers were dehydrated once brought to the recovery pods, your majesty, and as such we assumed you'd need water as well." She stated, allowing herself to smile and relax as she watched the Queen, who chuckled softly.

"And you have my thanks, my child, I'll admit that I was rather parched." She replied, though then lifted a hoof to rub her chin thoughtfully, "Please, once you leave, fetch my advisor...I have much to do and will require her help if we are to bounce back from this recent defeat." She continued, earning a small nod from the drone who grinned at being given a task.

"Of course mother!" The drone chirped before hurrying off, and once out of the room Chrysalis closed the doors and her smile fell as she leant her head down to sip at the water she'd been given, quietly drinking it down until only a few small drops remained, and even then she licked them off the bowl's stony surface, grimacing at how such a thing felt against her sensitive tongue.

The water helped soothe her sore throat and eased her mood, helping her think a little more clearly as she moved the bowl off her bed and laid down, resting her head upon her hooves as she watched the door, waiting for her advisor to arrive. It took a full hour before the doors were thrown open and the advisor came scuttling in, eyes wide with worry while her head was bowed so low her nose almost scraped the floor.

"F-Forgive me for my lack of haste, my mother!" She squeaked, stopping dead in her tracks once reaching the edge of the Queen's bed, glancing up at Chrysalis who merely gave an amused smirk and reached a hoof forwards, gently smoothing the top of her worried daughters head.

"Relax my child, it isn't as if the world is ending due to your lateness...besides, I've had quite a while to think during the time it took you to get here and I feel as if I've got a rather good plan which could very well end with the changeling race once more becoming the feared entity it once was all those centuries ago." She grinned, sitting up and getting off of her bed as she approached the doors and pushed them shut, making sure no one but she and her daughter would know what she was about to propose.

"I trust you know of our history, yes?" She then asked, now approaching her desk while her daughter nodded.

"Of course mother, but...why is that relevant? Should we not be looking towards the future than our own past?" She asked, growing a little confused.

"Because our future could very well rely on the past once more becoming the present...if what I have in mind works, not only will our race be feared by all others in this horrid land, but we could very well rise to be the dominant species of Equestria! Ponies would grovel at our hooves as the slaves and livestock they are, heh, Celestia herself and her whelp of a sister wouldn't even be able to stop us, nor would Cadence or Twilight Sparkle." She grinned, glancing over her shoulder at her now rather perplexed daughter.

"Equestria itself would be our hive, my child, no more hiding in the dark or stealing the love we so desire...once more our races name would be something uttered by ponies in terrified whispers." She sneered, licking her lips at the mere thought while the advisor now looked thoroughly interested, approaching her mother to stand at her side.

"What is it you have planned, my mother?" She asked, curious as to what Chrysalis had in mind.

"It's rather simple really...I'm going to visit the other Queens and re-build the changeling empire with me as Empress~!" She grinned, revealing a rather sinister smile of pointed fangs as she gazed down at her daughter, who blinked and took a small step back.

"Is that wise? The other known hives are scattered all over Equestria, and since our invasion failed the ponies have more than likely doubled the number of guards and soldiers they have stationed in towns and cities...and if the other Queen's know it was you who's responsible for this, I doubt they'd follow you willingly."

"And if they do refuse to follow me willingly, I'll simply challenge them to a duel, kill them and merge their hive with our own...after all, we're all bound by sacred law, and I highly doubt a Queen would wish to look weak by declining a proposed duel." The Queen smirked, leaning down to give her daughter a comforting nuzzle.

"Trust me child, while the invasion failed this plan will not...I'm sure the other Queen's have their own hatred for those insufferable ponies, and pine for the glory days of our great empire...and when we rebuild it you and your siblings will live like royals, just as your brothers and sisters did generations ago." She stated softly, giving the advisor another soft nuzzle.

For a short, while the advisor seemed to be deep in thought, scratching her chin with a hoof before she finally gave a small sigh and nodded, "Very well, what do you need from me?" She then asked, fully on board with the Queen's plot.

"Before I leave I need to get a few things in order, mainly securing enough food for you and your siblings to survive during my absence as well as for the new soldiers that I'll have to produce so that the hive will be well defended...tell the general to prepare a raiding party, and to ready a carrier or two, the last thing we need is our troops slowed down by having to carry the ponies that they capture." She ordered, waving a hoof to dismiss her daughter who did a quick bow.

"Of course mother, I'll have them gather in the entrance hall." She replied before hurrying out to carry out the order while Chrysalis lifted a hoof to gently rub her belly, smirking before she too left, heading to the entrance hall to await the arrival of her general and his chosen troops.

Unlike before it didn't take very long for the troops to gather and soon she had a platoon of fifty changelings gathered in front of her, as well as two hulking changeling carriers and her General, ShortFang, standing at the front of the gathered soldiers, who were hissing and snarling eagerly.

Changeling carriers were monstrous creatures, around the same size as a manticore, and looked much different to their more common brothers. Their exoskeletons were jagged and rough unlike the smooth exoskeleton of a common changeling, and unlike their brothers they possessed no horns or eyes, relying on a keen sense of smell and brute force to locate and capture prey. Three of the most major differences, however, were their mouths, throats and stomachs, each of which had evolved to carry out a specific purpose.

Their mouths were toothless and could unhinge like serpents while their throats could be stretched to sizes that would kill any lesser changeling. Their stomachs could also be stretched and acted more like a sack filled with the same noxious green liquids that filled the cocoons used by changelings to store prey.

Their chief purpose was to store and transport ponies, or other prey animals, across long distances, though they could also take on a more aggressive role in a pinch, their lack of teeth and magic replaced with the ability to spit boilingblack ooze at foes, an attack mostly used to blind anyone foolish enough to get close.

ShortFang was also rather different from his fellow brothers, taller and more muscular in build, and his horn was far longer and curved up in a hook-like way, something that served rather well in close quarters.

His exoskeleton was also thicker, providing much more protection if he were to get into a fight.

He and the fifty changelings he'd gathered, save for the carriers, were adorned in dark blue armour, built from the same organic materials used to construct the very hive they lived in.

"I trust the advisor told you why I gathered you here?" She asked, approaching ShortFang as she lifted a hoof to tilt his chin up, smiling kindly down at him while he gave a growl.

"To capture food and return it to the hive, ma'am." He replied sharply, earning a soft chuckle from Chrysalis who found how seriously her son took things to be most amusing.

"Indeed my dear, and I have no doubt that you'll be able to carry out this task with ease...you are to lead the raiding party to a small desert town called Appleloosa, there you will capture as many ponies as the carriers can hold." She explained while Fang nodded.

"And what shall we do if there is prey we can not carry?" He asked, this time earning a rather wide grin from his mother who turned her gaze to the rest of the platoon.

"Kill whatever you can't carry and ensure you leave no evidence of your involvement there! Burn the wretched town to the ground!" She bellowed, earning screeches of excitement from the soldiers and two carriers, who started to snarl and slobber like rabid Timberwolves.

"Those ponies drew first blood back in Canterlot, and I don't plan on letting those they slew go unavenged...Appleloosa is only the start! Once our army is back to full strength, and our empire is rebuilt, we'll make those animals rue the day they defied the Changelings!" She continued, earning another chorus of screeches while she lowered head and lit her horn, pressing the tip to Fang's as she passed him along the location of Appleloosa.

"If you encounter Equestrian military or guards, capture as many as you can...if I can question them once they arrive back here it'll give us a rather strong advantage for the coming war." She whispered, and once the glow of her horn faded Fang nodded.

"Yes ma'am." he replied before turning to face his gathered brothers, firing off a green bolt of magic which erupted above them, signalling that it was time to go.

As soon as the bolt of magic went off the small horde took flight, screeching like banshees as led by Fang, they spilt out of the entrance hall and out of the hive, moving like a black cloud as they erupted out of the hidden entrance and headed in the direction of their target.

Once they'd left, and the entrance had sealed back up, Chrysalis smirked and made her way out of the hall and, instead of returning to her room, she emerged in one of the most sacred, and important, rooms of the hive.

The breeding pool.

The room was dark and warm, the floor covered in a few inches of thick green slime as were the walls and ceiling while in the centre rested a stone table. Also in the room were a dozen or so egg-nurses, the bright white changelings flying around idly as the last egg from Chrysalis's previous clutch had hatched a few days prior to her return, leaving them with nothing to tend or look after as the hatchlings had been moved to the hives nursey.

Upon spotting their Queen the dozen or so nurses gave chirps of delight, flocking to her side while Chrysalis chuckled, nuzzling each of them before she approached the stone table and climbed atop it, laying down on her back while the nurses started to prepare her, some cleaning her while others left the room and returned moments later with large bowls that contained copious amounts of a dark green liquid soup, something vital for the whole process, which they began to feed to the Queen.

The whole process took an hour, and by the end of it Chrysalis was clean and her stomach engorged, the nutrient soup having kicked her body's reproductive organs into overdrive.

"Time to put everything that idiot Shining so kindly supplied to good use..." She chuckled, rubbing her swollen stomach before she glanced to one of her nurses, nodding.

The nurse got the message and smiled before she and her fellow sisters gathered around the Queens now spread legs, eagerly awaiting the first of the new clutch of their future brothers and sisters.

"And so it begins~" Chrysalis sighed, closing her eyes as she got ready to produce the first egg of a new, and thanks to Shining's 'donations', stronger clutch of soldiers.

A clutch that, once her newfound quest to unite the five other hives under her rule as Empress was complete, would help her dominate Equestria.