Sin

by canonkiller

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Changelings, Queen Chrysalis, Tragedy
Length: 5279

Chrysalis has nothing left. Everything's gone. Everything except one little Changeling.

Chrysalis failed. The hive was attacked, destroyed completely. She barely escaped with her life. Luckily, another life escaped with her. Maybe this little hatchling can show her what it truly means to love.

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Mild swearing, some mildly graphic description.

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** This story was written when I was 15, and the quality and content reflect that. Please be aware that my position on topics contained within may have changed in the time between publishing and now, and I apologize for any offensive material that I may have condoned in my younger years. **

Published 2012-12-25 23:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-12-25 23:10:01 UTC

Sin

The Royal Guards spared no mercy in shooting down the last of the flying Changelings, the few fools who believed escape apart from their colony would be successful. Queen Chrysalis surged across the flowing river of panic and ponies, straining against the force of her own kind fleeing in fear, and knelt by the side of a fallen Changeling.

His back and side were burned black, a thin line of scar tissue blossoming forth with scarlet blood along his shoulder. His one eye was filling with the blood running down from his cut forehead, and the other one seemed nearly blind in pain and fear.

"My Queen?" Crimson ran from his mouth, a stream of life dripping away onto the unforgiving Equestrian soil. "I... Is that really you?"

"Yes, I'm here." She confirmed, lowering her head to nuzzle away some of the blood from his brow. "I'll always be here for you."

"Will the others live?"

She hesitated, blowing a heavy sigh of warm air onto his forehead. Her people were falling by the thousands, a growing silence in the hive mind echoing in white noise through her head, faint cries cast into the dying darkness. The very ground beneath her shook with their running hooves and with the falling of their bodies. Flashes of magic and weapons around her stained her conscious black and red.

She turned to tell the Changeling it would be alright, but found his silence a feign of attention, as he had passed away, his body leaning gently into hers.

A scream echoed nearby, a Changeling's body thrown across the rushing crowd. It collided with Chrysalis's bowed head, and she knew nothing more.

Chrysalis awoke to dead, ringing silence. An open eye revealed a hazy sun, hidden behind a settled shroud of dust and mist, a combination of turmoil and morning. She lifted her head, blurry vision still holding enough force to reveal her attackers had gone. And then her mind reconnected, her vision focusing and other senses returning.

The smell of copper and the stench of rotting flesh assailed her nostrils, sending her onto her hooves with a disgusted snort. The body of the Changeling she had fallen onto had decomposed beneath her, flies swarming on its' gut and the wretched gore around. The Queen fought back vomit as she surveyed the scene around her, her entire hive fallen, dead without a grave, killed without a prayer.

She stumbled as the pounding silence in her skull returned at full force, the thundering roar of an absence of noise, the chatter of the hive mind gone with her people. The fog blocked even the noise of her hitching breath, her hooves on the bloodied ground, the heaving sobs threatening to break from her mind into the air around her.

A loud cry broke the muffled silence, and it was not her own.

She winced as a blaring wail resounded through the hive mind, the pain from the yell tempered only by her sudden hope that another had survived. The cries grew in intensity as Chrysalis targeted the noise, and her hope dropped to sadness as she realized only a dying creature could make such racket.

Her search led her to the body of a female Changeling, curled up as if protecting some precious gift even in death. The cries stopped as Chrysalis knelt down to nudge the body. It was cold and very much dead, but something under its' intertwined legs was squirming and struggling. With a gentle tug, she pulled the stiff legs apart, revealing the very thing she least expected.

A hatchling.

The rotund little foal struggled free of what she presumed to be its' mothers' morbid cage, wobbling toward her on feeble legs. The small Changeling simply bloomed with pure love, the love of a child to mother, love directed at Chrysalis as it confused her for the Changeling lying dead behind it.

Chrysalis dipped her head, lifting the hatchling by its' short tail. It squealed with a mixture of glee and fear, swinging slightly as it attempted to reach her muzzle.

She silenced its' cries with a gentle croon, standing up and beginning the long trek back home, or whatever home she had left.

She had placed every bit she had on the invasion succeeding. Every single Changeling; young, old, mare, stallion, guards and slaves. Everything had been pushed towards this single city.

And Celestia simply set down her cards and collected the stacked coins from the table.

Beaten by a pretty pink Princess and her clueless and somewhat feminine husband-to-be. Not even true Equestrians, mere Crystal Ponies, one by birth, the other by matrimony. Crystal Ponies! They even sounded weak!

She could almost hear her mother's chiding words. She hissed them out loud, her voice high-pitched and vibrant against the still, quiet air.

"Oh, Princess Chrysalis dear, do keep up with the punishment! Yes, mom. It's not 'mom', dear." She paused, annoyance still ebbing at her memories even this far in the future. "Yes, Queen Carapace. Good, dear, now stop being so nice to the lowlifes! Oh, don't worry mo... Queen Carapace. I'll be cruel and mean and everything." Chrysalis slowed, dragging her hooves through the dust, laughing gently. "I guess you never really talked to the 'lowlifes', mom. They would have told you my punishment was a day off of work. Ahem, 'group confinement in the dungeon'."

The hatchling chirped in approval. Or annoyance. Or exhaustion. Chrysalis was not a mother figure like the ponies. Nonetheless, she stopped mulling and sped up, checking the rocks around her for any sign of Changeling life.

There was nothing but the windswept hoofprints of golden and silver boots. Chrysalis made sure to cover most of them with her own.

After a few hundred miles of trekking, through day and night, Chrysalis finally arrived at the innermost fortification wall of her hive. It looked... broken. From the smoky debris scattered around, it seemed that the Pegasi had dropped bombs of some sort to make it easier for the Unicorn forces.

Despite the time she had walked, her limbs didn't hurt; they tingled with the numb denial of pain, the pain that would sink in after a rest. She was, instead, ravenous. Every breath stretched ribs that felt like they had been carved out, each movement shifting bones that once rested on muscle and fat onto harsh cartilage and emptiness. Her vision blackened at the edges, and the only thing keeping her alive was her little finding, which still clung stubbornly to her back.

"Little one? Are you awake?"

"Criki?" It shifted, poking its' nose into Chrysalis' neck.

"We're almost home. Then we'll find the other Changelings and we can feed off each other. Okay?"

It nodded, somewhat understanding, not detecting the polished shine on Chrysalis' practiced 'happy voice'. "Criki."

"Can you hold on tighter? This is a steep climb."

It braced itself against her neck, winding its' hooves into her mane. With a soft chirp, it curled up into the tangled mess it had created and fell asleep.

Chrysalis laughed softly, once again thankful for the innocence the little Changeling possessed. Bracing herself, she planted her hooves against the created mountain and began the climb, her wings drooping weakly in their battered sockets.

"We're almost home."

The wind blew hard-edged grit against Chrysalis' face, and threatened to tear her from her perch on the wall's peak. She was thankful the hatchling was still asleep; she wished she was as well.

Beyond her perch, there was nothing.

The mountainside swept down in a perfect drop, swooping out to flat at the base. From that point, towers of stone should have erupted in magnificent glory to look down upon the ground below, a kingdom sculpted from the mountain generation by generation. A living legend, tombs of lost Queens buried alongside the lackadaisical scrawl of Changeling script, their tales marked eternally in the rock around them. Below the climbing spires, the ground itself bubbled and seethed with tunnels and Changelings, hiding away their civilization from the scrutinizing eye of the sun.

It used to feel like life, like home.

The large city, both under and above ground, had been decimated. Felled towers lay in shambles, tunnels fallen in to create long crevasses along the craters' area. A few catacombs, marked by emeralds in the ashes, were nothing but dust, their stories and spirits lost to the raging wind.

Chrysalis slid down the mountainside, gravel and rock scraping at her exoskeleton. A small spray of sparks burst from her front hooves as she slid, every ounce of power that she retained focused on keeping her legs still, keeping her from folding into herself and crashing down to certain death.

With an echoing screech, her hooves hit the stone floor and she slid to a stop. Her hooves were damaged, but she wasn't bleeding. One of the few perks of being a parasite, she thought grimly. With a short breath to cool each one down, she was walking again, every step taken with extreme caution. The ground creaked and moaned with her weight alone, spiderwebs emanating from her hooves in some places. The hatchling had still not woken up.

Chrysalis lifted her head as something landed on her snout. A small flake of purest white, among the billions of gray-black ash particles.

Snow.

It had been so long since she had seen snow.

The last time she had seen snow, she had been a mere Princess. Memories flickered behind her eyes, rising unbidden in her weakness.

"Princess Chrysalis! How could you let them escape!"

"But momma, they were starving and-"

"I am not 'momma'!" The Queen screeched. "I am Queen Carapace, and you have just helped four ponies escape! Those were supposed to feed us, Chrysalis!"

"But y-y-you weren't feeding them and the c-cold..." Tears ran down Chrysalis' young face, spattering holes in the snow. "T-they were dying!"

"I don't care if they were dying!"

Chrysalis hunched her shoulders, pure anger filtering through her pupil-less green eyes. "I wouldn't care if you died!"

The Queen froze mid-yell, her disappointment settling to a boiling hate. "Get out of my presence."

"No, mom, I'm stayi-"

"GET OUT!"

Chrysalis recoiled, scuffling through the snow as she fled. Her mother did not move. After a few minutes of awkward silence, unbeknownst to Chrysalis, Carapace lifted her head and took a deep breath. "Guards, go recover the prisoners. Use whatever force necessary. I will hold camp until Chrysalis returns. If you are not back when she comes, we will return to the hive without you."

The two guards nodded and flew off, leaving Carapace alone in the snow. She lay down, back facing the small fire, and waited for her daughter to return.

When Chrysalis came back, cold and starving, only a corpse remained.

"Damn you, mother." Chrysalis hissed, breath clouding in the air. "Damn you and your stupid... your stupid daughter."

She laughed, a cold, emotionless sound, her breath rasping along her throat. The hatchling in her mane shivered and mewled, trying to burrow to a warmer place and only getting colder.

"Oh, little one. What are we going to do?"

When no answer came, Chrysalis began trekking to the nearest chasm, hoping that there was someplace where the cold wouldn't get.

After a scrabble down the skewed platforms of broken rock, Chrysalis landed on a thin layer of settled dust, the layer billowing up as she touched it. The soft dust settled in her carapace, something she dreaded cleaning later. The hatchling coughed harshly, hints of sickness tingling around the edges.

"Are you al-" she broke off to cough, the airborne dirt clogging in her throat, "you alright?"

"Criki." The Changeling affirmed, still raspy.

"It's going to be dark for a while, okay?" Chrysalis began walking down the unstable tunnel, the cold wind still biting at her flesh and freckles of snow billowing against the stone, and let the shadow overtake her.

Shadow was her home. It aided holes in her illusions, simply oozed with unconsumed love and passion, and swathed her in the color of her own, natural skin, an embrace of sorts against the bright world above. The darkness was not something a Changeling needed to fear, especially not one of her rank, as a line of silver defined every object in her minds' eye as the sound of her hoofbeats reverberated around the pitch-black cavern.

"Little one, do you want to walk for a while? You have to stay close so I can find you, but you should stretch your legs."

"Crik." The hatchling quickly freed itself from her mane, dropping to the ground with an ungraceful thud and scrambling to its' feet. She watched as it snuffled around, occasionally realizing its' distance from Chrysalis and scrambling back to her side.

The dust suddenly exploded as the hatchling misstepped, falling forward. Chrysalis felt a surge of panic as she hastily picked it up again, checking for any damage it might have done, and nearly dropped it from her magic as she realized what she was doing. The hatchling looked up at her curiously as she blinked, stunned, and set it down.

"A... are you alright?"

It nodded. "Aw... awr...awright."

Something welled up in Chrysalis, a warm ebb that thrummed against her heartbeat, a rhythmic contrast she couldn't have wanted any other way. Energy surged into her wings and head, the dull color of her hatchli- the hatchlings' carapace and wings growing vivid, her head lifting as warmth flowed into her spine. She had no idea what in Celestia's sunlight had just happened.

"Was that because of you?"

"Awright!" It chirped happily, making no sense whatsoever, as most foals and children do.

Chrysalis looked at it. It certainly didn't look different, and the only thing that had changed about it was that it could now talk. So perhaps it hadn't come from it.

Oh.

She wasn't sure what gender it was. She decided that didn't matter.

But maybe that feeling... had been from inside her.

Impossible.

Plainly impossible.

The Queen of Changelings couldn't have a heart.

"There. Now curl up, you don't want to be cold."

The hatchling looked at her curiously, her new, short mane being a center of interest. She tossed the shard of rock she had cut it with down the tunnel, watching the silver lines pulse as it bounced. Her hair now lay in a small nest in front of her, the perfect size for a young Changeling to sleep cozily.

As it made itself comfortable in the nest she had created, she lay down herself, piling a small mound of dirt for a small comfort beneath her legs. She ran a hoof over the jagged edge of her mane, the cutting process having been quite painful with such a dull blade, and pondered why she had done this for a single Changeling. Not for herself. She glanced over at her hatchling, already asleep, curled her tail over her side and burrowed her muzzle into it, and fell into a cold and dreamless sleep.

"A-a-a-awright?"

Chrysalis opened her eyes, finding her vision obscured by a pair of bright blue eyes. She snorted, her breath billowing against the belly of her assailant. An assailant who was shivering quite violently.

"Oh, little one, what's wrong?"

She sat up slowly, setting the hatchling down on its' nest, and blinked the last shreds of sleep from her mind.

It was not a healthy Changeling.

Its' eyes were dull and unfocused, a thin line of crust running along the bottom eyelid. She could hear its' little lungs drowning in fluid, every breath bubbling for the whole of its' throat. A thin line of mucus ran from its' nose, shimmering slightly. It shook and whimpered, reduced to pitiful shreds of the hatchling it had been only hours ago.

Three thoughts raced through Chrysalis' mind.

I'm helpless.

I need Celestia's help.

Damn.

Her neck was numb with cold as her short mane tried vainly to cover it, thrown back by the biting winter wind.

"Are you ready, little one?"

It did not move or reply. The only sign that she had that it was alive was a faint wisp of warmth between her wings, and that was fading quickly.

Chrysalis stepped out of the darkness of the rocks and into the blinding whiteness of the snowstorm, flakes burning where they touched her skin, images of her mother lying, stiff and frozen, flickering behind her eyelids, wind tearing at her eyes and at her flesh.

She took a deep breath through her nose, inhaling biting ice and cold, and shouted into the roaring tempest.

"Damn you, Celestia! Damn you and your stupid ponies!" Ice tore down her throat, snowflakes melting their chilling innocence along her tongue. "Damn you for... for not being here for me! For abandoning those who need you most!" More images from her time as Princess blurred through her mind, pictures in motion of ponies weary and worn, escorted away from the castle while the prim and proper sauntered in, bone-thin mares holding starving foals leaning against the golden gates, stallions lost beyond hope pounding at the stone walls in tears.

"Damn you for being perfect!"

The storm lulled for an instant, the snow settling and allowing the sun to shine through, setting the whitewashed plains aglow with light and snippets of color. Chrysalis stared half-blind at the airborne sphere, allowing its' radiance to smear a blue-green spot on her vision, and let the returning billow of the storm envelop her.

She dropped her head to the snowy earth, feeling the sting of ice along her face. "Damn you for not protecting the outcasts." Snorting with stubbornness, she raised her head again, beginning the trek through the ever-rising drifts.

It had been a long journey.

She was sickly, her black skin gone gray-green, every ounce of love she could find channeled straight into the hatchling currently wrapped in her tail. Her vision had reduced to mere specks of clarity at about day three, the rest fading to a blurry darkness.

But she had arrived.

The caravans and carts of travelers berthed wide on either side, some choosing to run halfway in the ditch than be close to the Changeling Queen.

Not like she was aware.

Her eyes were closed, the only part of her registering a sense being her ears, flicking occasionally to detect a curve in the winding mountain road. Her muzzle nearly brushed the gravel path, her breath smudging fog against the cold stones. Her short mane didn't reach past her eyes, not even hiding the shame behind them.

She stopped suddenly as a cold metal circle pressed itself to her nose.

Her eyes opened, slowly resting on the golden-clad hoof resting on her muzzle. It took even longer until she looked up into the dark blue eyes of the Light Guard in her path.

"Halt in the name of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna."

She lifted her head slowly, watching the guards' hoof settle back onto the road. "I think..." she looked around, watching traffic pass cautiously, "...I have already halted."

He frowned, breaking his somber demeanor. "State your business."

"I'd like to hold peaceful conference with Princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadence, if the latter is available."

The guard replied after long deliberation. "Very well. Follow me." He flicked a wing out, signalling his reinforcements - three Pegasi in the sky above - to fly ahead to the castle, and began trotting forward at a brisk pace.

"Excuse me." He turned, snorting in annoyance. "I've come a long way. If you could just slow down a bit, I would be very grateful."

He relented, changing to a normal trot, to a fast walk, to a basic walk as he judged Chrysalis' speed. She didn't change her pace, just lowered her face back to the gravel and continued her slogging pace.

She drained the sparse sympathy seeping from him, and fed it into her hatchling.

Only a little while longer...

...my love.

"No." Celestia said calmly, her mane billowing slightly.

"What do you mean, no?!"

"I mean no, Chrysalis. Equestria will not help you."

The Changeling Queen - somewhat more healthy after a meager meal of prison rations and a grand dose of pity - stomped a hoof, the hollow sound echoing around the large hall. "I'm not asking Equestria to help me! I'm asking you to help an innocent foal!"

"That foal is a Changeling, and after the events earlier this week, he is not entitled to any services."

"It's done nothing wrong!"

"He is a Changeling." The Princess replied, her tone going harsh. "Therefore, he is not allowed to be treated by Equestrian hospitals."

"And where I am supposed to bring it? The Changeling medicare facility?" Chrysalis' venomous sarcasm trembled with anger. "I hate to tell you, Princess, but you destroyed it!"

"It was deliberated in High Court and deemed appropriate recompense for your actions."

"Appropriate recompense?" The Queen laughed. "Appropriate recompense? I failed at taking over your city, was blasted out by the 'magic of love', and faced famine and death, and destroying my home was appropriate recompense?"

"Yes."

Tears ran down Chrysalis' face; from laughter or sadness, she couldn't tell. "And you mean to tell me you can't help one harmless foal survive a cold, after all that you've done?"

"Yes. He will not receive help."

"I don't know what you think I'll gain from this."

"You will have another Changeling in the hive."

"There are no other Changelings!"

This seemed to startle the Princess, if only showing in a short blink. "What do you mean? Certainly the cold has not killed them already."

"Oh, the cold didn't." Chrysalis hissed, her eyes narrowing as she gained ground on the Princess. "Your soldiers shot them down like birds on a hunting range!"

"They were not authorized to take that action."

"I'm sure they weren't."

"I would like to see where this happened." She stated, getting to her hooves. "Double Shield, Skyward Sword, come with me."

"Take care of the foal first."

"Fine." She turned, looking at the somewhat terrified mare near the base of her throne. "Scriptwise, take the foal to the infirmary and get it looked after."

The mare scurried off, and Chrysalis stood up. "Shall we go?" She hissed, dripping with dignified malice.

Celestia nodded, her identical Pegasus guards on either side. "Yes. Lead the way."

Chrysalis landed, noting the tracks of the guards heading back to Canterlot. The stupid thugs didn't even clear their tracks. Some of them looked rather fresh. Odd.

"Now Chrysalis, tell me where the event happened."

"This entire..." Chrysalis turned the bend, seeing very clearly the completely empty chasm, "...area?"

"It does not look like the events you described conspired."

Chrysalis turned to stammer and saw the quickly retracting wing of the left guard, a signal she knew all too well from previous disguises. She searched the skies instantly, seeing the rain clouds beginning to clump, snow hinting along their edges, and the vanishing bodies of a small herd of pure white Pegasi, blue tails bouncing, lugging away a large garbage carriage.

"Princess Celestia, ma'am, I think the Changeling lied to help her child." The left guard quipped.

"I agree. There are no signs of a scuffle here." The right added.

"Queen Chrysalis, I believe you have lied to me." The Princess concluded. "None of your people are here. Sword, return to the castle and cease care of the foal at once."

"Yes, Princess Celestia, ma'am." He replied, saluting before taking off the mountain palace. His partner smiled, pride and satisfaction rolling off of him in waves. If only the Princess could sense it.

"No, Princess, you have to believe me!" She pleaded. "There are no others!"

The Princess pinned her ears back, lifting her chin and turning her back to the Changeling Queen. "I am ashamed of you, Chrysalis. Not only did you lie to me, you blamed it on my subjects. I will return the foal to this spot as soon as possible. It is your choice whether you wait for it or not."

With that resolute promise, she spread her wings, taking to the skies in ivory glory. Her guard paused, waiting until she was high above to begin takeoff.

"There's no place in Equestria for scum like you." He growled, following his Princess homeward.

Chrysalis sat, alone in the cold, as the snow resumed falling and the silence screamed against her mind.

The hatchling was dropped off a few hours later, in the standard chariot with the two guards. Instead of scowling at her in the way most guards did, these two sensed her weakness, unwillingly emitting pity and sympathy for the Queen to feed on.

The mare from the throne room hopped down from the chariot, bundled warmly in a scarf and boots. Hanging from her mouth was a thick, furry blanket, heavy with the hatchlings' small body. She laid the parcel down at the Queen's hooves, unraveling her scarf and putting it down as well.

"For you." She muttered, before jumping back into the chariot and beating a hasty leave.

Chrysalis looked at the scarf. It was nothing special. Green with red bands, tassels on both sides; standard Hearth's Warming fare. But it was a gift, carrying with it love and caring. She wrapped the fabric around her neck, removing the cold bite from where her mane once covered, and lifted the hatchling's blanketed pouch in her mouth.

"Oh, my little one, what's left for us to do?"

"Awright." It replied.

She had decided to simply walk. The cold was much more bearable with the scarf, and her hatchling was quite content with the warmth of the blanket. Many times Chrysalis had wondered if the mare was in trouble, or if anyone knew. Secretly, she fantasized that there was a flip-side to Canterlot, swarming with Changeling supporters and able to overthrow Celestia's tyranny in one fell swoop. Her rational side, or what remained of it, reminded her that the opinion of a single mare was no reflection to the ideals of a city, especially one with such important residents.

Walking, however, had consequences. Night was falling, and she had absolutely no idea where she was. The blanket carrying the Changeling was growing ragged from the rushing wind and her fangs rubbing against it, and wind whistled differently through it depending on how she moved her head. No shelter was nearby, and the nearest town was a smear of lights on the horizon.

With a short stop to place her scarf inside the rapidly tearing blanket, she carried on walking. The wind bit harder as the sun set, and the noises of predators far more powerful than herself played through the gale. On the very edge of her hearing, slipping through the gusts like a fish in a river, a quiet, lilting melody was playing.

No, a melody was being sung.

She quickly calculated days in her head. It had been near a month to the time of the autumn wedding, and that meant... could it be Hearth's Warming already? This very night?

The melody rushed stronger now, visions of ponies gathering in a town square to sing reciting themselves in her mind. She picked up the pace, eyes focused on the shimmering lights ahead. Promises of warmth, food, love-

-Chrysalis tripped forward with a splash, finding herself in a belly-deep river. It tore at her flesh with the chill of a thousand winters, and tore the blanket from her grasp with the sound of fabric ripping. She plunged into the river without thinking, eyes burning against the cold, desperately searching for the hatchling. Panic rose in her throat like bile, tightening her lungs and pinning her ears. The blanket, she had to find the blanket.

She surfaced with a gasp, the wind freezing her wet mane to her neck with sheer cold. The blanket. She had to find the blanket.

There!

The ratty fabric had caught on a fallen tree, billowing through the water. She could hear the foal screaming now, voice thrown by the gale, and swam towards it. In mere seconds, it had grasped her mane and clambered into the short hair, and Chrysalis succeeded in hauling herself onto the icy bank.

Snow whipped and pierced as she bent over the hatchling, choking and sputtering. Their only means of warmth rushed downstream, and the water along their skin chilled deeper than any wind, the warmth and joy of the carol surged with horrific irony.

As the ponies continued singing, Chrysalis wrapped her body around the Changeling to provide what little warmth she could, and wished that death would at least come calmly.

Death is not a friend. Chrysalis thought glumly as the first rays of dawn pierced her turbulent dreams. She stretched, the thin sheet of ice coating her completely cracking and falling.

"My darling, it's time to get up." She trotted over to the stream, taking a few cautious mouthfuls of the freezing water. It burned like fire, but it woke her up. "Little one?"

She turned, expecting to see a bleary little hatchling blundering through the deep snow.

Instead, a small, gray lump lay still in the sparkling snow.

She cantered over, fear nauseating her and clouding her senses. "D-darling?" She desperately pumped emotion into the hatchling, her own coat turning a dull gray as she drained her own energy.

"No!" She screamed, standing up quickly. "You can't die! You can't... you..." Sadness overtook her anger, and she collapsed, nuzzling the body as tears streamed down her muzzle, freezing before they could fall.

As her own energy dropped, she became aware of a numb pain along her legs, her spine, her body. She named them off as she felt the symptoms. Frostbite. Hypothermia. Pneumonia. Shock.

Laying one leg on either side of her hatchling, she felt the cold wind ebb away as her senses did, until she heard nothing, felt nothing, and all she could see was her little Changeling, lost in the final sleep. Slowly, even that faded to a welcome black. Her mind wavered, tentative; fragments of thoughts fading before they could be connected.

Shadow.

Your name.

Your name will be Shadow.

I like shadows.

I wonder

what

will happen to me.

I don't think...

...that I care.

I'll be with Shadow.

THE QUEEN OF CHANGELINGS FOUND DEAD OUTSIDE PONYVILLE

The Queen of the Changelings was found dead outside Ponyville earlier this week. Forensic work has found she died of multiple symptoms related to freezing, and she seemed to die peacefully. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna say that all flags shall be flown at half-mast today, and that this day shall be a day of mourning. However, many ponies have refused to lower their flags and say that the Changelings deserved death.

"The Queen of the Changelings was a horrible creature who attempted to overtake our city." A Light Guard, Fire Sparkle, reports. "I am not surprised she found herself in such a situation."

A different pony, a castle worker who would like to remain anonymous, has a different view. "The Changelings only wanted to feed their people. They were starving, and since peaceful negotiations had failed, they had to resort to violence. I agree this should be a day of mourning."

More light will be shed on this issue once the scouts return with any Changelings they can find, but it seems a civil war may be on the foreseeable horizon.

-Elegant Quote, reporter for Equestria Daily