Darkness. That was the very first thing I remembered, all that time ago. It was dark, and it was cold. I couldn't feel anything else. Or if I could, the sensations have been long since forgotten about. But then… But then I saw her. Faust. The creator of all life, pale auburn mane and creamy white body. And just as suddenly as the keeper of fate appeared, I was not cold any more. Warmth suffused my body as I beheld the single entity rumored to have birthed all of the known world. Faust was so big, and she was so bright, gleaming in the otherwise pitch landscape. She seemed to chase the darkness away as leaves before a summer breeze, illuminating a way forward. And as Faust did so, I wasn’t scared anymore. It was impossible to be. Why I was there, and what I was meant to do, that I did not know. My name? Chrysalis. I knew that much. How did I know? Faust told me. There were other words, words that meant little to me at the time. I was so caught up in Faust’s appearance I barely registered anything she spoke unto me. Had I properly listened like I had been expected to, then perhaps none of this would have happened to me. I would not have walked the path of evil. I would still have my Hive. I would not have lost everything. I am Chrysalis Stormborn, First Queen of the Changeling Horde, Mistress of Emotion. And this… This is my story.

Drip… Drip… Drip… The sound of a leaking faucet seemed to echo through the eerily silent room, the result of someone failing to turn the knob all the way off. The door to that particular room hung half off of its hinges, like the inhabitants had vacated the space in a hurry and ran smack into the door as they did so. Dust had long since begun to collect on every surface in that room; on the bed and the dresser, the mirror and the nightstand. A small patch of mold had begun to creep up the wall next the faucet, thanks to the moisture that splashed up there. It was quite obvious that no creature had occupied that room in a very long time. The next room down fared no better; a colony of spiders had long since made the corners their home. All throughout the completely silent castle, everything was the same. Rooms were empty of sentient life. In the many halls, ancient tapestries had been removed, as signified by regular patches of lighter color along the by-now grimy walls. Tapestries that had refused to come down completely had been torn, ensuring that no one else would be able to claim them by some means. This castle, once a bustling hub of activity, was now nothing more than a looted, forgotten husk of its former glory.

The state of her home nearly broke Queen Chrysalis’ heart. It had taken her a great deal of time and slowly dwindling power to return to this place, and even more to ensure that no other changeling was around to view her weakness. As she slowly wandered down the once familiar halls, each step she took felt like a physical blow to the gut. Each missing or ruined wall decoration caused her to wince. Each vacant room was passed with a hung head. What was worse, was that all of this was entirely her fault. In a way, she deserved all of this, and she knew it. The cause of all of this could be laid squarely at her already weakening hooves.

She had gotten greedy. Plain and simple. She had invaded Equestria, not because her people were starving-- far from it. She had invaded purely for the promise of power. So much love, far more than her people would even know what to do with! So much power, enough that all of Sol would recognize the great Hive as the highest on the chain of command. But that very same love she sought to control had turned against her. And she was finally starting to pay the price for her folly. Not for the first time, Chrysalis wished that she had bothered to listen to Faust, all those years ago. Chrysalis had been put on Sol for a reason, she was sure of it. At first, Chrysalis was convinced that her purpose was to bring Equestria to its knees, and establish the Hive as the new dominant species. But obviously, she was wrong. Her life was supposed to have some other objective, and she had failed in whatever it was supposed to be.

The Queen’s weary hooves carried her on their own volition, moving past still empty rooms and lonely floors. Some part of her mind found itself hoping that she would bump into someone, anyone, if only to break her from her own tormented thoughts. But she was truly alone. She knew this; what changelings she could still feel within her Hivemind were far away, and for the moment they were keeping to themselves. It was almost as if they were waiting for something, waiting to see what the Queen would do. After what felt like an eternity of careful plodding and self induced misery, Chrysalis finally came upon what had once been her council chamber. Across the room from her stood thirteen thrones, all vacant, and all broken beyond repair. This had been one of the Swarm’s seats of power. Twelve of the Swarm’s greatest minds, not counting her own, convening in this place to discuss the state of affairs. The thrones had been vandalized thoroughly. Even her own larger throne in the middle of the thirteen had not been left untouched, and was undoubtedly the worse of the thrones. Whoever these vandals were… They were certainly not happy with Chrysalis. And upon careful introspection, the Queen of the Changelings decided that she could not blame them. She hated herself as it was.

For impossibly long moments, Chrysalis just stood there, simply staring at the wreckage before her. The once glorious long table had been smashed in twain. The floor length windows had been shattered to bits, letting in a gentle breeze from the night. Numerous oak cabinets, containing a wealth of information about the state of the Swarm, had been overturned and toss about. With hesitant steps, Chrysalis made her way over to one of the cabinets, checking the powerful protective spells she had placed upon them. Even though she was growing weaker daily, the spells still held strong, and the important documents were yet still safe. Several burned out torches littered the ground around most of the cabinets, testimonies of attempting to set the things on fire. For the first time since entering her old home, a small ghost of a grin lit Chrysalis’ features. Her new enemies weren’t about to get vital information from her that easily. Then the Queen straightened regally, or as regally as was possible in her current condition. A wave of sickly green magic pulsed from her jagged horn, restoring the entire room to pristine condition, just as she had left it all that time ago.

Then, focusing her will, she called out into her Hivemind.

Changelings. Attend me.

At first, nothing happened, and Chrysalis began to worry that even the changelings she could still reach were going to ignore her. But then she felt it. A slight tug within the Hivemind, and in the space of just a few seconds, a creature stood before her. It was a unicorn mare, to be exact, with a beautiful azure coat color, with a two toned silver and pale blue mane. Her cutie mark consisted of a wand superimposed over a crescent moon and two stars. As Chrysalis saw her, she felt her heart lighten a bit and her mood lift. The Queen smiled this time, oddly genuine.

“Aquadris. Or are you still going by The Great and Powerful Trixie?”

The mare chuckled in reply. “I’ll answer to either of them. Or Bellatrix Lulamoon, if you prefer. Doesn’t matter.”

“Aquadris, then. I’m actually rather surprised you were the first to answer my summons.”

Aquadris scoffed a bit. “Of course I was the first to answer. I’ve been serving you far longer than half of those larvae on your High Council.” The disguised changeling glanced around. “None of whom, I might add, are here.”

Chrysalis frowned. “I cannot feel any of them, either. Why, Aquadris? Why can I not feel the vast majority of the Swarm?”

Aquadris looked vaguely surprised. “You don’t know, Chrysalis? It’s because it's not simply your Swarm any more. You’re not the only Queen. There are twelve others now, twelve Queens who have renounced your authority and have formed their own Swarms. Those changelings you still feel? Those are the ones still loyal to you. We’ve been in hiding ever since the fiasco in Equestria. Trying to ensure that we stayed alive long enough to return to your side.”

Chrysalis was rendered speechless. “I’m not the only Queen? How-- The High Council. That’s how this happened, isn’t it? They are the only ones with enough power within the Swarm to do such a thing.”

Aquadris was already nodding her head. “That’s exactly who have renounced your rule, and have formed their own Swarms. And I’m afraid it gets worse. A vast majority of these separate hordes have banded together, determined to bring war to Equestria. They want what you could not provide them with. They want all of that love, all of that power, for themselves. There are only two out of the twelve who are working towards finding peaceful solutions with the ponies. They are also two of the smallest Swarms. With a bit of effort, undoubtedly Amaryllis and Belladonna could be convinced to rejoin forces with you. But even with those two, we would be hard pressed to stand against the other Swarms before they all out attack Equestria."

Chrysalis let loose a gusty sigh. “It’s all my fault, Aquadris. All of it. I should have listened to you when you first tried to warn me away from this path. You told me it was a bad idea, and I ignored you.”

“You did,” Aquadris fixed her Queen with a hard stare, causing Chrysalis to flinch away slightly. “But I have also long since forgiven you. Why else would I be here, if I had not?”

Chrysalis gave the Infiltrator a watery smile. “Save your forgiveness, Aquadris, and do not waste it on me. I will be gone from the world soon, and your forgiveness should be conserved for one who truly deserves it.”

Aquadris could only stare at her Queen in shock. Suddenly, a lot of things made so much sense. Her Queen’s demeanor. Her changed attitude. Her Queen was dying. Summoning her own will, Aquadris barked her own orders through the Hivemind.

It’s her. We’re safe, for now. Respond to her summons immediately.

No sooner had Aquadris finished her mental commands, the air was full of little shimmers as, one by one, changelings began to appear. In ones and twos they arrived, all immediately bowing before their monarch without a word. All at once, Chrysalis’ mind was assaulted with the crystal clear feelings of those who still served her. With an effort, Chrysalis blocked off her mind a bit, lest the emotions become overwhelming. Her eyes scanned the room swiftly, though what she saw caused great conflict within her. On one hand, she still had changelings who were loyal to her. On the other hand… There were only fifty other changelings present. They didn’t even fill up the entire council chamber. Aquadris spoke, then, her voice soft.

“Here we are, my Queen. All fifty one of us. We are the smallest of the new Swarms.” Chrysalis wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry. Instead she did neither. Slowly, she stepped a little closer to the small mass of changelings. All of them had their eyes fixed on the Queen and the Infiltrator beside her.

“I’m dying,” Chrysalis spoke the words dispassionately, as though she were announcing something about any other changeling but her. The entire room seemed to shift uneasily, but no one spoke. “The love we attempted to steal in Canterlot backfired upon me, and has thus poisoned me. I do not have a whole lot of time yet. I have no heir. I have no one to take my place when I must be returned to the stone. Thanks to Aquadris, I am familiar with the goings on with my old High Council. I will not have the time to see that the Swarm is once again united. And I’m not about to let the last loyal changelings to the true Queen be converted by those fakes. And so, I stand before you now, not only as your Queen, but as your sister, and your comrade. I need your help. I need your aid in finding a Queen to take over.”

The entire room was silent for long moments. No changeling spoke, almost as if they had been forbidden to. Right as Chrysalis came to this conclusion, Aquadris stepped forward. “I have a candidate.”

Chrysalis turned to her Infiltrator, a small half smile upon her lips. “You?”

Aquadris snorted. “Not hardly. I have no want, no need, for all of that power. Its the same reason I declined your offer to join your High Council. I’m happier as an Infiltrator, and always will be. No, I’m proposing that we place an Outsider upon the True Throne.”

Chrysalis’ first reaction was denial. Put a non-changeling up to rule? It was madness! And yet, the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. An Outsider wouldn’t be likely to make the same mistakes she did. An Outsider would be more likely to unite the Swarm under one banner again then she would. “It would take someone rather insane indeed to want to become the next Queen after me. I assume you already have an idea of who you’d like it to be?”

Aquadris was grinning. “Let’s just say, I think an old unofficial rival of mine would be perfect for the task. Walk with me, my Queen, and I shall outline my plan.”

“Can I help you, young mare?” The receptionist barely glanced up from his paperwork. His tone was clearly bored, assuming she was only a tourist or something. He was black coated with flecks of brown, and his nametag identified him as Dry Parchment.

Twilight Sparkle strode up to the receptionist as confidently as she could, trying to stop the light jittery trembles shaking her form. “I’m looking for an audience with the Board of Arcane Sciences,” the young sorceress announced, her voice an octave or two higher than usual.

The receptionist frowned at her now, finally looking up from whatever he had been reading upon his desk. “It is normally required that you send in a written request first, so that they can determine whether or not your research is worth their notice. They are busy ponies, and as such they cannot grant an audience to just anypony.”

Twilight sighed. This receptionist was definitely new if he did not even recognize her at first glance. She turned her body sideways, showcasing her cutie mark to Dry Parchment. It was almost comical watching his eyes widen in alarm. “I’m not just anypony. I’m, ah, Twilight Sparkle. I was told I should come here—“

“Ah, Miss Sparkle. Accept my apologies; I didn't notice it was you. Please, down this hall and the second door on the left. They are waiting for you.”

“Thank you,” Twilight moved down the hallway the receptionist had indicated, trying to smooth out her already frazzled nerves. It was bad enough that the Board of Arcane Sciences were wary of her and wanted to keep an eye on her, but to have them summoning her every time one of her experiments succeeded only made everything worse. She had graduated the top of her class at the School for Gifted Unicorns, and had passed challenges the Board could only dream of passing. She knew what she was doing when it came to magic and experiments and magical experiments. Yet… She understood why the Board continued to have a special interest in her. With her growing magical prowess and her extraordinarily keen mind, it was only natural for the Board to keep an eye on her.

The giant double doors creaked open slowly of their own accord as Twilight Sparkle approached them. Doing her best to swallow the last of her nervousness, Twilight stepped slowly into the dark room. Runes lined the walls and windows, gleaming quietly. Tossing a passing glance at them, Twilight determined they were designed to prevent noises from escaping outside the chamber. They had not been there the last time she had visited the Board. Twilight paused in the middle of the room. With a small whisper of her mind, she let her magic bleed into her eyes, allowing them to pierce the dark gloom before her. The Board stood upon the edges of the chamber, thirteen of them all, wearing cloaks and hoods that concealed everything from sight. Not a one of them moved, observing the young mage before them silently. Finally, one of them stepped forward slightly and spoke.

"Twilight Sparkle,” the mare said, her voice seeming to echo from all directions. “We received your request for an audience regarding your latest experiments. While we are unsure that an experiment of that caliber can be completed successfully by a mage barely out of her filly years, we deemed it prudent that you be allowed to show us.”

Twilight’s ears fell flat against her head. Although she should be used to it by now, it still hurt. The Board went out of their way to remind her that they were supposedly the best in Canterlot, no matter how well Twilight performed. Personally, she thought the Board was just being ridiculous. She had stood before the Board several times in the past, normally just for magical growth checkups. Each time, the Board felt it their duty to make subtle comments that they really did not have the time for some lesser spellcaster. If it were not for Princess Celestia’s insistence that Twilight be evaluated magically by the Board, the Board would not even give Twilight the time of day. Twilight mentally shook herself and stood up proud, her ears perking back up. Today was different, it had to be different. Today was the first day she had ever been before the Board because of a successful experiment that could change Equestria for the better!

“My experiment is a success,” Twilight answered proudly. Her horn glowed briefly. A small rift appeared next to her, causing the Board members to murmur. Out of this rift floated two square bricks of wood.

“Is that a space pocket?” the mare demanded, voice suddenly harsh.

“Uh, yes?” Twilight stammered. “I use it to store objects. It’s much easier than carrying around saddlebags all the time and I won’t have to worry about accidentally losing anything.”

”I do not think a mere filly should be using such a dangerous spell unsupervised." Twilight tried to bite back her hurt at these words, blinking away stinging tears. “Now, what is it you have here? Do you mean to tell us that these little blocks hold your experiment?”

“They do,” Twilight said, attempting to strengthen her resolve. A tendril of red magic yanked the blocks of wood from Twilight’s aura and pulled them over to the Board. Their earlier quiet murmurs grew steadily louder as they examined the blocks.

“You mean to tell us that there is enough energy in these blocks that they can power other objects? Its not possible. Nothing so tiny can carry enough energy to do more than power a little house fan, let alone anything important. And the idea that it can be used by non-unicorns is absolutely ludicrous.”

Twilight hesitated a bit before replying, trying to steady her now wavering voice. “Its true! All of the energy is in those blocks. If I had the materials, I could create a special control board that would let even a non unicorn use it. Just set the amount of energy they want to unleash at once, and let the blocks unleash the desired amount of energy. Unfortunately, nopony seems to have the time for the wild ideas of a junior mage.” Twilight found it hard to hide the snide in her tone.

“In essence, yes, they could power something like a train. The conductor would only have to unleash the energy within, and the train would move, following the tracks. There would be no need for constant energy drain as a unicorn maintained the spell. There would be no need for earth ponies to be constantly shoveling firewood into a furnace, or tethered to the train to pull it up steep hills.”

“Let’s imagine, just for a small moment, that this is true, and that we believe you. How exactly have you manage to accomplish this, and at such a young age? Members of the Board have attempted to do the same thing you seem to have done with no results. How do the blocks regain the energy?” The lead mare’s voice sounded triumphant, as though she had already caught Twilight Sparkle in a well fabricated lie.

“Well, regaining the energy is easy!” Twilight gushed, eager to be teaching about something, her original discomfort nearly forgotten. “I originally got the ideas from flora. They absorb light from Celestia’s sun, and turn it into energy they can use. But I couldn’t find a way to make that work on non organic objects. So instead I exploited the dimorphism of magic. The wood the blocks are made of is still alive, and serves as a “flora focal point” that polarizes the dimorphism. Then all I had to do was distill the energy into a reformed core.”

“Sparkle, I have been studying this myself for years and have no idea what you just said.”

Twilight sighed in exasperation. “Then apparently you’ve not been researching hard enough,” she snarked, before she could catch herself. She almost didn’t realize what she had just said. “Basically, the living wood still absorbs light from Celestia’s sun and converts it into chemical energy, which is then converted into an easier to manage potential energy and stored elsewhere into the wood, waiting to be called upon by a unicorn familiar with the floes of energy, or a non-unicorn with the proper equipment. Just place one of these blocks out in the sun for a day, and by nightfall it will hold enough energy to power a train for a day or so.”

“Well, Sparkle, perhaps we have underestimated you.. We will need to perform our own experiments on the matter before we determine if this is something we should present to the Princess. I highly doubt that it will be, but even so. It might be fun proving yet again that you are unworthy of being Princess Celestia’s most prized student. We shall keep you informed of our findings. In the meantime, you are free to go.”

Knowing that this was the best she could have hoped for, Twilight turned and left. She did her best to shrug off her melancholy. It was like this every time she visited the Board of Arcane Sciences. They did their best to belittle her, despite the fact that there was plain evidence that she was already as powerful and as talented as any of them were. Then again, seeing as the Board was comprised of some of the nastiest nobles in Canterlot, this really didn’t surprise her all that much. Moving to Ponyville had prevented most of the still angry whispering from the nobility, but when she did return it still followed her. Still wrapped up in her thoughts, Twilight exited the building and immediately ran into somepony.

“Oof!” Twilight grunted as she landed flat on her rump. Slightly dazed, she glanced up into the familiar blue face of a pony she had not seen in a while. “Trixie? Is that you? What’re you doing here?”

The blue mare above her smirked. “The Board of Arcane Sciences has requested the presence of the Great and Powerful Trixie, so that she may bedazzle them with her amazing magic!” Despite the showmare’s bragging, she still offered a hoof to help Twilight up.

The lavender scholar accepted the hoof slightly suspiciously. “You just helped me up after knocking me down. Are you okay, Trixie?”

“I’m simply marvelous, Sparkle. Perhaps I can finally show the Board that I am, without a doubt, the best magician in Equestria!” With those words, Trixie strode confidently around Twilight and entered the building. Twilight, not entirely sure what had just happened, shook her head and continued on her way to the palace. She never saw Trixie peek her head back out of the doorway to watch her carefully.

Hours earlier

“So let me get this straight.” Chrysalis said, rubbing her temples. “You want to put her, of all ponies, upon the Changeling Throne? Are you mad, Aquadris? After what went on at Canterlot, she’d as soon as blast us then look at us.”

Aquadris shook her head. “You don’t know her as I do, Chrysalis. Don’t forget, at one point in time, I was grooming her to become an Asset. There is a chance, however small, that she will agree to become your heir and lead the changelings to a future far brighter than anything we’ve ever seen in thousands of years. With a bit of careful manipulation, I believe we can do it. At this point in time, she may be our only hope.”

“I still say you’re insane. What of her friends? Her family? Her mentor? How do we deal with them?”

“We’ll deal with them when the time comes. Right now, our first priority should be to monitor her. If the other Swarms get wind that we’re going to be placing her upon the original throne, they may seek her for their own ends. The only thing we can really do is play it safe. I’ll work on finding the perfect moment to explain to her what’s going on.”

Crysalis gave off a small snort. “And what do you think she’s going to say? About her supposed archenemy being a changeling?”

“Honestly? I have no idea. We’ve never really been friends, but I think we’ve both respected each other. A lot of this I’m just responding to as the events unfold. Trying to force things is a swift way to alienate her.”

Chrysalis sighed wearily. “Let’s just hope this idea of yours works. If it doesn’t, you just doomed the only Swarm standing in the way of full blown war.”

Aquadris gave her Queen a cheeky grin before she began moving away. “I know. But you forget, I’m also the Great and Powerful Trixie! Playing with fire is what I do best!”

And with that, Aquadris was gone. Chrysalis shook her head slowly. At the rate things were going, that Infiltrator was going to kill the Queen off long before this sickness could. Truth be told, Chrysalis hated this. She hated this weakness with every fiber of her being. Even now she could feel it running rampant through her veins, weakening her muscles and thinning her bones. The Queen of the Changelings lay in the same spot she’s rested in for the past couple of hours, in the very center of her council chamber. The room was empty, devoid of all life but the queen. Her breathing was slightly labored, and her gossamer wings twitched spasmodically with cold. Her remaining subjects had long since left the queen be, her dark thoughts keeping them well away from her area. Her restless mind kept dwelling on the past, relieving that fateful day almost a year ago. Her plan had been so perfect. It had been almost completely foolproof. All it took was a single unicorn, too smart for her own good, to unravel all of her schemes.

“She’s a changeling! She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them!”

The accusatory words of the real Cadance echoed through Chrysalis’ fevered mind. In the space of a few heartbeats, her plans had been ruined. She had never anticipated that Twilight would find a way out of those gloomy caves, let alone find the real Cadance. Even her brainwashed bridesmaids had failed her; all it took was a simple bouquet of flowers and her enemies had been free. But try as she might, Chrysalis couldn’t bring herself to actually hate the lavender filly that had ruined her plans. If Chrysalis had bothered to study the real Cadance’s personality better, she would have been able to fool even Twilight. Simply put, Chrysalis was too mean. She had constantly degraded those around her, treating them just like she would her own subjects. It was a wonder that no one else had seen through the disguise from the start.

Chrysalis’ mad laugh echoed through the hall. “Right you are, Princess. And as Queen of the Changelings it is up to me to find food for my subjects. Equestria has more love than any place I’ve ever encountered. My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of!”

Even with her plan in ruins around her, Chrysalis had refused to give up. She had the love of Shining Armor to fuel her. In a fair fight, Chrysalis never would have been able to stand up to Princess Celestia. Acting swiftly, however, Chrysalis had been able to take the Equestrian monarch by surprise. With Celestia out of the way, Chrysalis had expected her victory to be swift and absolute. She never even tried to stop Twilight and her friends from going after the Elements of Harmony, knowing full well her drones would overwhelm them. But once more, that cunning Twilight Sparkle foiled her plans.

The young unicorn managed to free Cadance from her bonds and allowed the Alicorn to approach her fiancée. After that, it was over. Chrysalis, blinded by her anticipated victory, failed to remember that Cadance’s power was, essentially, love. Combine that love with the anger and fear the two had for the changelings that had ruined their wedding… It was a wonder any of the changelings had survived, let alone their Queen. But Chrysalis knew now that she was lying to herself. She had not survived. While that spell cast by Shining Armor had love in it, it also had anger, hate, and fear—which was poisonous to changelings in any dose. Chrysalis, being the closet to the spell, had suffered the most from it. While she had seemed to recover from it only months after the incident, the poison was still there, like cancer, biding its time.

Now the poison was determined to finish its work. There were only a few changeling doctors among her tiny Swarm, and they had already sought to stop or slow the sickness.. They had all failed, without question. No matter what medicine they offered her, or what magic they tried, they couldn’t help their queen. She was slowly dying, and that was that. Chrysalis had long since accepted the fact that she was dying. The one thing that kept her from completely shriveling away was her need to find a new leader for her kin. She had no sons, no daughters. She had neither heir by blood nor a chosen heir. Without a new monarch to lead them, her changelings, at least, would run rampant, killing each other and those around them. And those that didn’t would be quickly subverted to the other Swarms. Right now, no matter what else happened, no matter what else tried to foil her plans, Chrysalis couldn’t let that happen. She owed it to her people-- all of them-- to bring them some modicum of peace.

Author's Notes:

Well. Here you are. Hopefully you all might find it within yourself to enjoy this... whatever this thing is. I honestly don't know. It just kind of... happened.

Also, seeking for some editors for this one, send me a mail if interested.

If any talented artist among my readers would like to attempt to make an awesome cover image for this one, shoot me a mail too and I'll see if I can send you the parameters of what I'm looking for.