Despite her complaints regarding how long it took them to finally come to a peace agreement, the truth was that the entire affair had taken place within the limited time set by Celestia. In fact, they had finished a few minutes early and Chrysalis' attendants hadn't finished packing her belongings and preparing her carriage yet; so she had quite a bit of time to spend as she pleased.

As such, the Queen of the Changelings decides to take a break in what she was informed by the castle staff was a common waiting room.

Entering the place, all eyes were on her and all the owners of those eyes began to evacuate the room through the multiple doors that gave access or exit from it, emanating a repertoire of emotions that ranged from disgust and indignation, to fear or caution.

Fine, thought Chrysalis. She had signed a peace treaty with the Ponies, that did not mean she wanted them to suddenly feel like they could approach her and showing her unrequested trust.

Looking around, she was glad to have the whole space to herself, when suddenly the presence of someone else reaches her, first through her Changelings sences and then through her eyes.

It was a lavender Unicorn. Yes, Starlight Glimmer, the Queen remembered her from that day, the one who had orchestrated the invasion of her Hive and was responsible for the downfall of one of the greatest conquest plans ever seen in the world.

They had met a few times since then, and every time they interacted even a little, she had made sure to make it clear how much she detested her.

The reason Starlight was still in the room was because she was very concentrated reading a book titled "My Town and I. How to Take Care of a Town", probably related to her reason for also being there in Canterlot Castle.

Like a cat that has set its eyes on a prey, Chrysalis slowly, cautiously closed the distance between them, her hooves barely making a sound as they moved on the carpet.

It wasn't until the tall Changeling's shadow fell over her, obscuring and hindering her reading, that Starlight noticed her presence.

With a dry gulp, Starlight put down her book and looked around worriedly, hoping to see someone, somepony who could serve as a witness and with their presence could stop Chrysalis from attacking her, but her eyes found no one. Well, no one but the Queen.

Chrysalis's gaze was heavy and through her eyes it pierced her to the soul. Starlight thought that if she blinked, that would be the last thing she would do.

Then, Chrysalis's long, twisted horn began to glow a sickly, toxic green.

Fearing an attack from the Queen, Starlight shielded herself behind her book.

But the attack never came. Instead of a blast of magic, Starlight saw the beginning and end of a bubble of emerald fire manifest in front of her, where Chrysalis stood.

Slowly, cautiously, Starlight lowered her literary shield, and once she could see what was in front of her, the book and her jaw fell to the floor.

Where once stood the hole-filled, dark-chitined, cursed-looking Queen of the Changelings, stood someone completely different, and yet it was ultimately Chrysalis.

Her chitinous body had turned so light blue it was almost white, a thin layer of fur growing over it. The holes in her legs, in fact all the holes on her body were gone, filled with what should be in their place. On her chest three like-gems round aquamarine-colored protuberances could be seen. Her mane and tail, now of a bright, shimmering turquoise color, had grown in length and volume. Her wings, her whole wings, looking like pointed dragonfly wings, flapped a little bit as if they were being displayed and shown off in all their shimmering glory, before folding up and sheltering within a dark cyan elytra. Her facial features had softened, looking healthier, less gaunt. Her horn, which had previously looked like a branch from a decrepit tree cursed to never bloom nor to die, now looked like a graceful curved bone, resembling the top half of a crescent moon.

Her eyes, well, if there had to be one thing that made it unmistakable that the creature in front of her was the Queen of the Changelings, it had to be her eyes. Because those were Chrysalis' eyes, arrogant and full of contempt. And yet, they were of a lighter, brighter color.

Once Chrysalis concluded that Starlight had had enough of admiring her, and taking advantage of the mare's still-present state of shock, she approached her and whispered in her ear:

"Go ahead, tell them. No one will ever believe you."

Starlight had not finished processing what had happened, when a knock on one of the doors finally brought her out of her stupor.

"My Queen, your belongings have been fully packed and the carriage is ready to depart," a Changeling said from the other side of the door.

A flash of green fire brought the Unicorn attention back to the front, where Chrysalis now stood in her unreform appearance, walking towards the exit, leaving a confused and dismayed Starlight alone in the room.

Chrysalis took a seat inside her carriage, ready to take her to her next destination, in the Chrystal Empire. That cowardly grub of Thorax might be one of her own, but after what he pull off that day, sending him as an ambassador to the Crystal Empire was the best compromise she could come up with in such a short period of time. Not only would this keep him away from her, it would finally make something useful out of him, not only as a repository of invaluable pony information, but also as a channel through which the Changelings could access the kingdom where food was abundant in the environment and bring those two important things back to the hive.

"I sensed that you were with someone in that room. Which was it this time, the mint green one with butterfly wings, or the white one with a moth motif, your Majesty?" the driver asked from his post, directing the rest of the Changelings pulling the carriage.

"The iceblue with dragonfly wings," the Queen replied, opening a container in front of her, in which were several crystal flasks, all containing a pink liquid in different shades. After a few seconds of appreciation, she chose one labeled "Baiser de la Rose." Uncorking it, she first smelled it; images of a couple enjoying a romantic moment on top of a hill surrounded by rose bushes in the middle of a sunset flashed through her mind. Once the scene faded, Chrysalis brought it to her mouth and drank its entire contents.

"Miss Glimmer, I presume. How many have been with this one? Three ponies that you have deceived into believing that her Majesty has gone through the Glowing Metamorphosis? If I may give my opinion." The coachling was silent for a few seconds, taking his Queen's silence as permission to continue. "The creamy white one with the golden fluff chest and four transparent purple wings is a favorite of mine."

"Four. The Element of Kindness, the Element of Loyalty, the Element of Generosity, and now that insufferable Starlight Glimmer. And I’m saving that appearance for Celestia, when her time comes," Chrysalis replied, returning the flask to its place, placing around her neck a peytral made from the remains of her former throne.

Chrysalis could trust Celestia not to blast her on sight or poison her food, but she couldn't grant the same trust to Shining Armor or Princess Cadance, not yet.

Author's Note

I'm going to be honest here. When I came up with this story, this is as far as I got with it, never imagining that it would become so popular, popular enough even to be in the featured box on the front page. And with that, gaining your attention and expectations. This naturally scared me a little, making me think that I would be doing you a disservice by ending it here, like this, when it's apparent that more is expected of it (and I myself believe that there is more to this story).

But truth be told, after much consideration, I feel I would be doing a disservice to everyone, you and myself included, if I pushed myself to write more than I had originally planned. Therefore, I have decided to mark this story as complete here, and if in the future I organically come up with a new chapter to add to it, I will do so.

But right now my attention is focused on writing the SINS story; I'd be delighted if you guys decided to give this one a chance, and it would be even better if you end up liking it. A new chapter is on the way.

If what you want is more stories starring Chrysalis, I have 'The Black Heart' for you. A more serious story where I present how I would handle the reformation of our beloved and charismatic Bug Queen.

As always, thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed the story. And I will be reading all of your comments, even if I don't respond to all of them.