Tartarus Hath Frozen Over

Queen Chrysalis flew from the now destroyed hive. She wasn't quite in a hurry, she knew those goody horseshoe ponies wouldn't chase her. She flew in no particular direction, just thinking of her counter move. The loss of her entire army was indeed a debilitating blow. Her rage was boiling in her chest but was ignored for now. After several hours of flying, she spotted a cave where she could rest.

Beginning her descent toward the opening, plotting her next move as she did so. After a few minutes, her hooves touched the cool rocky surface. Once she folded her wings against her side, Chrysalis began to explore the cave's interior. To her surprise the cave was quite larger then the entrance let on. An eerie green glow emitted from her horn, illuminating the cave ahead of her. The soft clicking sound of rocks was heard from the shadows ahead of her.

"Who's there," Chrysalis warned in a stern duel tone, diverting more magic to her light spell. The darkness slowly retreated from the every expanding light, Chrysalis took up a fighting stance. A small trembling claw was revealed, soon followed by a scaly leg. Her light soon revealed a baby drake, crouched near the rear wall of the cave. Chrysalis relaxed and stood straight up and studied the drake.

It appeared as if malnourished, its scales were a sickly maroon color. While its spines was a faded imitation of dark green. It was pressed up against the wall in terror. Chrysalis gave a small huff before turning around and heading back to the mouth of the cave. Pushing the drake out of her mind, she laid on her side in the darkness. She could feel her body growing heavy with exhaustion.

Before her eyes could completely close, she heard the scrapping of claws against the rocky floor. Her eyes being accustom to the dark allowed Chrysalis to watch the small drake lumber toward her. "Listen, you are not worth the effort, just stay away and we won't have a problem," Chrysalis hissed. This seemed to halt the drake's progress, he seemed disheartened, considering he sat down and laid its forehead on its knees.

Pleased that it seemed to understand the situation, she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep. The cold stone floor felt good against her side, especially after flying through the hot desert. Unfortunately, her dreams weren't so pleasant, visions of her defeats haunted her. First was Canterlot, Shining Armor and she was about to seal their marriage.

The dream then cuts to when she and her entire army was forcefully expelled by a fluke from the worthless pink alicorn. The anger she pushed away began to surge back to the surface, when her recent failure was displayed. Scenes of that worthless lackey of Twilight's swaying her drones with a sappy speech of love. Thorax, followed by the rest, choosing treachery over loyalty.

She couldn't take it anymore, her rage felt like it would destroy her if it wasn't released. She could feel it slithering inside her being, twisting like a parasite. She slapped that stupid pony's offer of friendship away and roared as fierce as she could in her face. The boundaries of the dream began to distort until Chrysalis opened her eyes to see pitch black.

She continued to scream, regardless of having woken up, needing to vent all her frustrations. After a few minutes, Chrysalis began to calm down. With a deep breath, she stood up and began to walk but stopped when her right rear leg felt heavier. Craning her neck to see what it was, she growled in annoyance when she saw the young drake clinging tightly.

With a swift kick, the drake flew off her leg and crashed hard upon the rocks. It quickly got up and ran back to her, stopping a few feet away from her this time. Staring at it intently she noticed that it wore a pleading expression. "Look dragon, I'm not in the mood for your games," Chrysalis scorned.

"If you persist I'll end your pathetic existence," she finished before walking again. After a few steps Chrysalis looked behind her and sure enough, it didn't try to follow her. At least it seemed to listen to her orders she thought. Spreading her wings, she took to the sky, as soon as she reached the cave entrance. Ascending higher, loud scraping sounds could be heard from below.

Chrysalis didn't even turn her head, she knew it was the drake. Why it seemed to want to follow her was unimportant. Once again she flew in a random direction in search of a new hive location. A pair of roars issued behind her, spinning in mid-air she caught sight of two tails vanishing into the darkness. Chrysalis immediately noticed two things; the first being the cave they entered was the one she just left. Secondly, that annoying drake was nowhere to be seen.

Against her better judgment, she flew back toward the cave. As she neared the entrance her ears caught several different sounds. The first seemed to be a dull thud sound along with a chorus of laughter. Landing just inside the cave, her eyes could make out three figures, all dragons. The two that were standing appeared to be a pair of young drakes. Chrysalis couldn't get a good look at the third they were beating on the ground.

Her instincts told her that it was the little drake she met the previous day. A part of her could appreciate this scene, it was only natural to weed out the weak and useless. At the same time she felt angered at the display, she began to trot toward the drakes. The two emotions fought within her as if trying to be the victor of some imaginary prize. Her hoof clops echoed louder as she walked deeper into the cave.

One of the drakes stood up and began to turn around. The cave exploded with screams of agony as the first drake felt its body being cleaved in twain. The second drake leaped to its feet, both fearful and furious, as the slabs of its friend splattered upon the floor. There stood before him, revealed by a dark green glow, was Chrysalis brandishing a green transparent scythe above her head.

Not allowing the intruder a chance to strike, the remaining drake spewed fire at the equine. The injured drake looked on in horror as a plume of fire engulfed Chrysalis. It hung its head low, eyes closed, its last glimmer of salvation faded away. The sound of roaring flamed echoed throughout the cave, with each moment the drake felt confident that he was safe. Its confidence was short lived however as a multitude of small green spikes began randomly piercing its body.

The stream of flames wavered slightly but it refused to lose. In a last-ditch effort, what fire that was left in its lungs was expelled outward. The baby drake opened one eye, curious as to what was transpiring. The drake that stood in front of it, remained motionless. A low croaking sound issued from the drake's mouth as it fell to his knees with a thud. The little drake's ears shot up at the sound of Chrysalis' voice.

"I expected more from a dragon," she sneered, dropping her shield, and strolling up to it. "How... did..." was all it could croak out before Chrysalis interrupted him. "I survived, because I'm more powerful then you," her voice taking on a sinister growl. The drake let out a terrifying scream as its head was encased in magic and ripped from its neck. The decapitated body slumped upon a slab of its companion's body with a sickening slap.

The beaten drake slowly got back to its feet, despite its injuries. Chrysalis stared at it with mild interest as it stumbled its way toward her. Stopping several feet in front of Chrysalis, its expression was one of admiration. "It appears that despite your small stature, you possess a strong sense of determination." "Perhaps you can accompany me after all," she spoke softly. It smiled at her before a gurgling sound caused its ears to droop with embarrassment.

Remembering that it was probably hungry, she strolled past it to the dead corpses. Chrysalis turned to face the young drake before speaking, "Lesson 1: Always eat when the opportunity presents itself." She turned her head and spotted the leg of one of the slain drakes. Lowering her head and biting into its thigh, with a quick jerk, ripped it from the body. Blood was flung into the air and splattered both the stone floor and the young drakes front claws.

Walking back to the drake, leg in her mouth, she placed it in front of him. It looked at the severed limb then back to her before sinking its teeth into the flesh. Chrysalis smirked, revealing her blood-stained fangs, inspiration had given her a marvelous idea. After an hour or so the young drake gave a satisfying sigh as it rubbed its belly. The blood of its ilk now completely covered its front claws and mouth.

"If you've satisfied your hunger, we need to leave," Chrysalis bluntly stated. She turned and began to walk away but halted when she hear the uneven clacks of claws against the stone. Not wanting to waste any more time, she enveloped the small drake with magic and placed it on her back. "For now you can ride on my back but only until your leg gets better," Chrysalis sneered. This action stunned the small drake but for only a moment before it began to snuggle her neck.

Feeling the love radiate from the drake, Chrysalis couldn't help but sample it. A warm sensation began to spread throughout her body. She grinned again, not only did she find a willing creature to feed upon. It was the love of a child, the most scrumptious type of love ever. Flaring out her wings, she leaped into the air and flew away. The drake tightened its grip around her neck making sure not to slip off during their ascent into the sky.