Egg sacks glistened in the low light of the cave, illuminated only by the small amount of light granted by a cultivated patch of luminescent mushrooms at the center of the main area. Where Chrysalis stood was a large circular area near the back of the cave which had been drained of water in order to allow the changeling to use more surface area to lay her eggs. Eggs which now pulsated occasionally within their fleshy green sacs, their growth having been sped up by the ample amount of love Chrysalis had managed to obtain over the course of the Festival Of Life.

Smiling up at the many eggs sacs, Chrysalis looked on with barely contained pride. The eggs were numerous, lining just about every square foot of wall and floor real estate, with a few even on the ceiling, albeit close to a wall, in order to ensure they didn't fall. They had grown so large that the queen could tell they were nearly ready to be born, while still impressing the queen with their impressive size, strength and mana pool.

If her initial scans were anything to go by that is.

Something she had no reason to doubt, and though Chrysalis had been slightly annoyed to find that some weren't quite as large as their siblings. On the whole, however, they were one of the largest batches as well as the physically largest changelings she had ever birthed and that was an accomplishment worthy of celebration. Provided of course, the next important part of the birthing was completed without flaw however.

She could sense it too, this important milestone was minutes away and with glee building in the changeling’s heart, she couldn't help but extend her wings and take to the air. “Oh my darlings my darlings, how sweet is the sight, that your flurry of wings and rage will be! When my army is complete and on great wings you take flight! And all the world will turn tail and flee!”

Music sprung out of nowhere, and though Chrysalis usually shunned the harmonic singing that the ponies indulged in, with victory this close, and her plan going so well, she could not resist. “We will taste Equestria’s very last breath. And with sword held high, to our enemies we’ll bring death! And to the nation’s rulers we will kiss goodbye.”

As she sang she floated from egg to egg, caressing the soft and squishy flesh lovingly, staring into the egg sac and wondering what the changelings within would accomplish in life. “Their blood will flow like a dark and terrible stream. But that will only be the beginning of my dark and terrible scheme. For the world we create, will be the blank slate, from which I will bring forth my dream!”

The changeling stopped flitting from one egg to the next and instead rose high above the glowing mushrooms, her terrible and twisted form illuminated in a strange and grotesque light. “The world will bend, break and be mine! And on the love of all creatures we shall dine. This I do hereby solemnly vow, that the world will be my gift to thou.”

The strange and haunting music reached a crescendo only to continue to rumble in the distance, the light somehow dimming and framing the queen’s face in a way that seemed to make her teeth elongate and her features to lengthen. “All that we need, is more of your father’s seed. From which I will bring, many, many more offspring. And your brothers and sisters will help us succeed!”

Throwing her head back, the queen let loose a deep, and guttural laugh, which filled the room, and the entirety of the cave with its power. If any creature had heard it they would have fled at the sound, for it was truly a horrible thing. For in that laugh there was more than just glee, there was a horrific promise, one that would spell doom to her enemies.

As the last echoes of the music began to fade, and the thunderous laughter of the queen’s joy replaced it, the egg sacs began to crack, as if being called forth by Chrysalis’ very voice. With arms raised above her head the queen cackled continuously, her mind conjuring up images of all the twisted things she would do to the ponies and their allies once the world was hers. So caught up in her imaging was the queen that she hardly even noticed the birth of her army, which now crept down the walls and onto the floor.

A soft chirp pulled Chrysalis from her fantasy world, and alerted her to the fact that her army had taken it's next step. With a confident smile Chrysalis looked down at her new swarm, and found her heart fall like a rock in her chest. Her wings stopped flapping, and she angled herself towards the cave, landing awkwardly and stumbling forward, the image of her spawn all but burned into her mind.

“No, this can't be possible. It was my time, I had done it.” Chrysalis muttered in defeat, her hands on her knees as she lay crumpled in defeat.

Images of her children flashed before her mind, taunting her with their colors, which were not the white and black of Chrysalis’ swarm but rather the bright pastel of Thorax’s. “Impossible.” She continued to mutter, shaking her head and staring down at the floor.

They were not even old enough to understand giving love, yet they were as bright as a blushing pony. Though a part of her wanted to ensure that her first glance was correct, and that her swarm was indeed all colors of the rainbow, she couldn't bring herself to check. She knew her eyes didn't deceive her, she knew what they were, knew that they were lost before she even had a chance to conquer so much as a village.

Rising to her hooves the changeling growled and stomped forward, her horn glowing brightly. “It's not fair!” She yelled, destroying a stalactite with a concentrated beam of magic. “Twilight must have done something to them!”

The queen punched down a low hanging stalactite before kicking over a nearby stalagmite, showering herself in shards of stone. “Yes that's it, they must have been tainted somehow!” She yelled, her voice growing more and more hysterical after each sentence. “That sniveling worm Thorax planned it all!”

With a growl she continued to blast, kick, punch and destroy her way nearly to the cave’s entrance, yelling profanity all the while. “Twilight must have used her perverse pony magic on me somehow!” She laughed madly. “Yes, that's it, she must be laughing at me even now in her stupid ugly castle!”

With chest heaving, and her horn glowing brightly, the queen’s wide eyes flicked this way and that, a dark and terrible thought forming in her mind. “There is only one thing I can do now, only one way to ensure this plague stops here.” She muttered, her voice falling to the point that it was barely above a whisper. “Yes, it's the only way to make sure, I have to do this.”

With a deep sigh, the queen steadied herself. “The ponies deserved vengeance before, but this insult is too much. When this is done, and this taint erased I will concoct a plan so terrible it will be spoken of in hushed whispers until the very sun goes cold!”

Spinning on her heel, Chrysalis stomped back down the cave towards the central room that had served as a nursery until now. With horn ablaze with destructive potential the queen entered the room, her hooves cracking the floor with each step. Looking around, she felt her heart fall once more, only this time she felt no sadness, no shame, only righteous anger that demanded to be let out.

Every last grub seemed to be a different color, each one crawling in a different direction, a strange inquisitiveness gripping them all. There was none of the changeling aggression Chrysalis was used to, and not a single one of her spawn so much as hissed at one another, even while their siblings were crawling over them. They were spread wide over the cavern floor, though most clustered around the mushrooms in the center of the room, poking and crawling on the light source.

As she looked, the queen felt indecision grip her, she had so many ways to rid herself of this blight. She could collapse the cave and simply leave, or bathe every surface in the cleansing flames of a fireball. With so many ways to destroy them, so many ways to make them suffer, the changeling queen had trouble landing on only a single one.

Once more she was pulled from the depths of her musings by a familiar chitter, bringing her attention down to where the grubs had gathered into a central mass, the tiny creatures clinging to one another for support, fear radiating off them in waves. Good! They should fear me, they deserve oblivion and I will give it to them. With a shake of her head, Chrysalis made up her mind, choosing the simplest and most compelling possibility she had considered.

Fire.

With her hooves braced, and her horn alight, she pulled deep from her well of power, conjuring a fire so great that all remnants of this most recent disgrace would be obliterated utterly.

Until she was pulled forth from her rage once more by a quite familiar chitter, only this one was not one of curiosity like the others had been, rather it was one of bravery, and even defiance. With her power fizzling, the queen looked down upon a lone grub that had crawled forth from her fellows and was now looking up at her and making odd cooing noises.

It reminded the queen of the soothing humming noise she had frequently used on the eggs when they were particularly rowdy. Was the grub, mimicking what she had heard in an attempt to calm her or was this just random? Either way chrysalis didn't care, for a glance at the actual grub itself made her blood boil, it's purple exterior mocking her with the way it was entirely identical to her most hated foe.

Her breathing grew heavier, and her horn sputtered, her mind so filled with rage, and confusion that she couldn't bring forth any particular spell. That rage doubled when she felt another wave of fear emanate from the grubs, the queen disgusted by their weakness. Her disgust faltered when she detected something else, something new, the sweet taste, of love.

Her horn became dull once more, and she fell to her knees, realizing this love could only be the unconditional love of a child for it's mother. Tears budded at the edge of her eyes and Chrysalis looked down at the grub which was cooing over and over again, it's forelegs raised in an attempt to reach the queen’s face.

“By the seven stars, what is wrong with me?” Chrysalis muttered, crumpling to the floor, as tears cascaded down her face and fell to the floor.

The queen pulled her knees up against her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, unable to look even the lone defiant grub in the eye while in such an undignified state. She was a queen after all, and if she was going to sob like a newborn the least she could do was ensure no-one saw her in such a state.

As she lay there, wallowing in her own pity, the queen shut off all of emotional detection abilities, ignoring the feelings of her spawn and focusing entirely inward. That was until she felt a strange little poke delivered directly to her head, followed by dozens more radiating all over her body.

Instantly the tears vanished, the rage and hate died utterly and she savored the sweet taste of love that radiated all around her. They loved her, she couldn't deny it. Even after what she had been about to do, they still loved her, and with a sniff, the queen wiped her tears, a plan forming in her mind.

“Work with the army you have, not the one you want.” Her mother had told her, the elder changeling’s voice having grown gravely with age and injury.

“Your behavior is not befitting a queen.” She remembered the old changeling telling her so long ago, the words bouncing around in her head now that she thought of her.

Shaking her head, the queen opened her eyes and found herself looking at the curious, and worried expression of the purple grub from before. It's next soft coo, was answered with a hum of her own, the queen gently running a finger down the side of the grub’s head. “You’re right little one, the plan can still work.” Chrysalis whispered.

“You are strong, you have potential, and you might very well be the conquerors I need even if the sight of you makes me sick.” Chrysalis muttered to herself, the grub cocking its head in confusion.

“Yes, this can still work, I can salvage this… somehow.” Chrysalis muttered to herself, only to feel the love from the grubs die off and be replaced by something she should have seen coming, hunger.

Slowly pushing herself into a sitting position, careful to avoid squishing any members of her swarm, the queen looked around curiously and quickly found the purple grub once more. “Well this will be easy, you’ve already given me all the love you require.” Chrysalis muttered, before focusing on the well of love inside her, and sending a pulse of the stuff towards the brave grub, paying close attention to what would happen when the pulse reached it.

Only to be surprised when nothing happened. Not confusion, not a lessing of the grub’s hunger, just, nothing. “What the heck…” Chrysalis murmured, only to smack herself in the face with her free hand. “Those traitors don't feed on love anymore, meaning you, my loyal army, don't feed on love either.”

The grub cocked it's head in the other direction and squeezed its eyes shut, a thin trickle of love emanating from the grub’s body and being directed at the queen. “No, sweet thing, stop, it's okay.” Chrysalis begged, the queen rubbing the grub’s back and humming softly.

The grub began to pant, and looked up with Chrysalis with wide, hopeful eyes, making the queen slap an exaggerated grin on her face. “See? I’m happy, you can stop giving me love.”

The grub mirrored the queen’s grin and cooed happily, even while the queen could feel that it's hunger burned as bright as ever.

All around her the bitter taste of hunger continued to grow unabated, making Chrysalis rack her brain in an attempt to figure out what they ate. She had spied on Thorax’s hive occasionally, and kept tabs on the annoying skittle monsters, only to realize she had spent so much grumbling to herself and plotting their downfall that she hadn't managed to make any meaningful observations.

“It's true.” She muttered in defeat. “You truly don't eat love.”

The weight of that realization settled on the changeling’s shoulders like a heavy shroud, making her body sag as fear took roost in her soul. “I don't know how to feed my army, no, my children. What am I going to do?”

Author's Note

Sorry about missing the update yesterday I had a doctors apointment and it slipped my mind, expect another update shortly.