Chrysalis was reading through the Grimoire she was given, ever since that encounter with Time her life had changed.

And so had her hive. No longer were they starving for love.

They had found a new food source.

Hatred almost felt like junk food now. Before it was the worst of poisons, but now with their adaptations they could not only live off it.

They could thrive.

It was time.

It had been many years, but she was finally ready to perform the last ritual of the tome.

Chrysalis would never admit it, but she was far from clever.

She should have all the tools to decipher what this glyph would do, it was taking sections from the book in many different areas.

She had ideas, but only one way to test them.

Chrysalis was more of a ‘learn by doing’ Queen.

With the red glow from her horn, she carved the last of the runes into the ground.

She had drones checking her work, and drones checking those drones.

Not for the first time she marveled at all the changes they’d gone through.

Their chitin now resembled armored bands, angled as if to resist bladed strikes, Their horns are wickedly curved and razor sharp.

The most striking parts were the eyes and fangs. She’d never seen any creatures with this many sharp teeth before, and she loved it.

The eyes were now glowing red instead of the off-blue they were a millennium ago.

“So it’s done then. I must ask you to reconsider.”

Chrysalis’ red eyes locked onto the scrying mirror the blue princess had installed.

On the screen was a blue alicorn, her gaze determined and sad.

“You knew it would come to this. We have all this hatred within us, and it needs release.”

Behind her, the Changelings in the hive hissed angrily in agreement.

Not for the first time Luna’s gaze flicked to something above Chrysalis, but as usual, she said nothing.

She hadn’t let on that she knew about it yet. She may not be clever, but she wasn’t stupid.

Did whatever it was think she wouldn’t notice something feeding on her hive?

Before she activated the glyph, Chrysalis looked Luna dead in the eyes. “I am invoking our pact. You are not to interfere directly with our plans. You owe me at least that much.”

Luna looked conflicted, gone was the pony Chrysalis could respect. She looked like a shell of her former glory, and the worst part is she deluded herself into thinking she was better.

Hah. as if bowing to the same ponies that drove her to such madness made sense.

Chrysalis was studying Luna’s face closely.

First, she looked like she wanted to refuse. Then she got thoughtful, likely trying to find a loophole. She frowned as she realized there was none. Then anger, and finally begrudging acceptance.

“Fine.”

With a final glance above Chrysalis Luna’s face vanished from the mirrored surface.

Chrysalis knew Luna thought she would lose, or she would have tried harder.

What a foolish ‘princess’.

That title would be the first thing to go. There would only be a queen.

An Empress.

With a wicked smile, she checked her drones work, and activated the glyph.

~~~~~

These bug creatures were delicious. Hatred looked down upon them, eagerly watching as the foolish queen activated the ritual.

She gasped as she felt her entire hive’s hatred stores draining.

Pure power flowed into his form, slowly he began to take shape.

First, his black hooves formed, black mist taking the shape of grey hooves. The metal clack of armor filled the air as it attached itself to his legs.

A billowing red cape covered his back, its white trim hardly noticeable in the darkness of the hive.

Armor attached itself to his neck, billowing black hair rippled in an unseen wind. Red eyes glared out as his fanged muzzle formed, and at last a Red horn poked past a shiny metal crown.

“Feels Good to be back.” Black crystals began to form along the floor as he turned to look at the shocked expression of the queen.

Only it wasn’t shocked. The bug queen was standing before a green throne, several drones performing various tasks nearby. Not a single one of them paid him any mind.

She looked…bored?

“Oh, you’re done. Points for the stunning visuals, but your armor’s incomplete, seems more fashion than function. What idiot doesn’t guard the tendons on the back of the legs?”

“You are in the presence of King Sombra.”

He tried to summon a helmet to attach to her head only for the threads of magic to get sucked into her throne.

“I know who you are, Hatred.”

At that he paused. “How?”

“Changelings may not keep records in much the same way as the ponies, but the hive always remembers.”

Chrysalis didn’t elaborate on that immediately, instead seeming to soak up the anticipation as she slowly. Took a seat on her throne. After taking a few moments to wipe away some dirt she continued.

“My sister has a hive in the frozen north. She was around when you first took power. Aside from that it was just as simple as piecing things together.”

Chrysalis’s horn lit up with red magic, the Grimoire on the ground rose into the air next to her.

“Why would a God of Time give me such a thing? And why would she mention a planned attack?”

Chrysalis rested her chin on her misshapen hooves as she continued.

“An attack, that wasn’t even going to be thought of for centuries. I’m tied up in some Gods’ plan, and it’s pissing me off.”

Her red eyes narrowed at Sombra. “If you notice, you’re already starting to fade.”

Sombra looked down with shock to see that his form was beginning to lose cohesion, a thin stream of magic flowing into Chrysalis’ throne.

“Explain why you let your city get overthrown. Explain why a god needs to subjugate mortals.”

Chrysalis’ scowl grew even fiercer, looking at him as if he were a sack of unappetizing meat.

“And explain why you’ve not tried again to take over the Crystal Empire when you could have at any point.”

“And after that, maybe I’ll teach you the trick to changeling magic, so you don’t get absorbed into my throne.”

Sombra was speechless. Never in his wildest dreams did he think somepony…someling? Would treat him like this.

She effortlessly took charge, signifying she was the ruler by making him wait for her explanation, fittingly on a throne.

And she also hit the nail on the head, touching on a secret the mortals were not ready to know.

Without prompt or preamble Sombra lowered himself down onto his knees and looked into Chrsyalis’ Crimson eyes.

“Marry me.”

Author's Note

dunno man. motivation to do stuff is hard.