Chrysalis Condemned Chapter 2

>A pink coated pegasus raised a hoof as she prostrated herself

>"I-I can bring you to the princess."

>You look down at the pony with practiced distate

"Fine. You will bring me there immediately. The rest of you will stay here under guard, just in case something happens on the surface."

>You send a pulse in the hive mind for several more guards and a behemoth to come to keep the remainder under guard.

>Ah, the behemoth. Such a rare strain of changeling

>You only had a few, rearing such clutches took copious amounts of food to bring to adulthood

>But the result was always spectacular

>They were massive, easily four times larger than you, and they were extremely powerful

>And you figured that a little bit of intimidation was worth the price of showing them off

>An hour later, you were on the surface

>While it wasn't your first time seeing it for yourself, it had been a long time since you had personally visited

>Though near the bottom of the city, the mines still offered a view of the surrounding countryside

"You ponies spread like a disease and marr this land with your structures. How can you live with yourselves?"

>The pegasus leading you says nothing, but her shaking increases noticeably

>"S-so you c-c-can fly right? F-follow me, I'll take you r-right to the princess."

>You spread your wings as your escort does and follow her flight into the sky

>You had forgotten how good it was to fly, to simply twirl in the sky to your hearts content

>But the joy of being airborne was soured by the reason you had come

>A battlement loomed ahead of you

>The pegasus dipped and landed in front of a portcullis, but you flew over the wall instead

>The guards, a mixture of unicorns and pegasi, were too shocked by your appearence to do anything

>You spied a minaret that towered over the other spires of the castle

>That would be it, the royal chambers

>You swooped in and landed on the balcony, folding your wings to your side

"Where are you, princess? Come forward and answer for your crimes!"

>A pony, much larger than any of her other subjects, rose from a sizeable bed

>She was almost larger than yourself, and combined the horn of a unicorn and the wings of a pegasi

>She was stark white with a rainbow mane that flowed without a breeze

>On her flank was the symbol of a sun

>This was, without a doubt, the 'Princess Celestia' the foreman had mentioned before he had been executed

"You are the princess I was told of?"

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>The hybrid pony stood taller and spread her wings, in the same way Chrysalis would to cow a rival

>"I am. Why have you invaded my home."

>You were shocked by the audacity of this equine

>Royalty or no, no being should be addressed in such an abrupt manner, unless it was deserved

>Your own wings spread in an answer to her challenging tone

"I, an invader? Fool, you have collapsed areas of my hive that have lain within this mountain before this city ever came to rest on it!"

>Your body shook with barely contained anger, your wings twitching sympathetically

"Hundreds of my children have been murdered because of the greed of your kind, and you dare call me an INVADER?"

>You slammed a hoof into a pillar next to the balcony, causing a series of cracks to spread throughout its structure

>You advanced on the royal mare, your horn glowing in baleful green

"Do not take me for a weakling that will bend a knee to you, murderess. You will bring every pony that toiled in the mines since their beginning to my tunnels within  day and a night. Afterwards you will seal the mines, never to be opened under pain of death."

>You hold your head high, setting the banners portraying Celestia's heraldry alight in emerald fire

>You hold the stare of the equine princess, letting the absolute hatred shine through your gaze

"You will do these things, or we shall have a war. And on the blood of my mother, and the blood of my children, I will exterminate this entire city."

>As you turn to the balcony, the alicorn speaks up

>"You understand that I cannot do any of the things you ask."

>You chuckle coldly, tossing your mane over your withers

"I know. You have a day to prepare, weakling. Then your city will burn."

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>Nygma shifts at your midsection and makes a chittering coo

>He curls into a tight ball, pushing up tighter to his mother

>You nuzzle the hatchling gently, he hadn't even undergone his first molt yet

>And at the rate of your journey, he may never reach it

>No, you can't give into despair

>Your mother wouldn't and neither will you

>The ponies may have bested you all those years ago, and even just a month ago

>But you would come back

>You always had

>That fateful day, all that time past, you had walked back to the tunnels

>No pony dared to try and stop you

>When you reached the mouth of the mines, you found a heavy guard of Celestia's own

>They parted before you, as water does for land

>When you reached the team of ponies, now nineteen from their original 20

>That foolish foreman, had he been more respectful you might have spared him

>Oh well, hindsight was always perfect

>You turned to the warrior brood, addressing the senior changeling among them

"Bring the ponies to our hive. They may provide food in the coming weeks. And rouse our behemoths and leviathans."

>The leviathans, your own personal creation, just as the behemoths had been from your mother

>A breed made to tunnel through rock with ease, and they could carry warriors as well, making them doubly useful

>You hadn't used them since the Great Expansion a century ago

>Your lead warrior looked concerned at the order to rouse the great beasts

>"My queen, how many shall we bring to wakefulness?"

>You gave him a look that was half pity, and half condescension

"Why all of them, warrior. Rouse every last one of them."

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>The hive was a flurry of activity

>Hundreds of drones, warriors, and other varieties of your children bustled to and fro, preparing for war

>And you waded through them, ensuring everything went smoothly

>The mining ponies were cocooned in a feeding chamber for exploitation, should it come down to a seige

>But you knew it would never come to that

>You were far better prepared for this than that snobbish 'princess' on the surface

>And so, when the allotted hour had passed by, the war was on

>You held you forces back though, waiting for your enemy to make the first move

>And predictably, she obliged you

>A platoon of guardsmen ventured into the mines

>They were pathfinders, elite among their peers and second to none in their training

>They reached the area where the mining ponies had been captured and brought to your hive

>They found the body of the unicorn that had challenged you and paid for his insolence

>And ten seconds later, they were all dead

>A leviathan tore through the tunnel they were in and collapsed it on top of them

>The ones that weren't torn apart by the beasts massive claws were crushed under the earth

>And just like that, you made your move

>A dozen leviathans, each carrying numerous warriors burrowed into the city, under streets, through walls, into houses

>The warriors were released and the leviathans stayed where they were, ready to whisk them back into the hive, should there be need

>And, like a good leader, you were at the front of your forces

>The leviathan that had carried you brought your personal guard and a pair of behemoths with it

>You had deployed in the heart of the city, and immediately started towards the castle

>There was no way that any guards could stop you

>You would have your vengeance

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>The city was burning around you

>Ponies were fleeing into the streets from their homes only to be crushed by behemoths or cut down by warriors

>The guard was putting up a valiant defence, but they were no battle ready force

>They may have been fighting for their home, but your brood was fighting for their mother

>Where the guards broke and ran, your forces only retreated to spring traps

>The walls to the great castle were torn apart, and you walked over the rubble

>Your guard was bruised and battered from the heavy fighting, but they all still lived

>Another squad had joined you as you had requested

>They were drones especially adept at changing shape, and were used as spies, or assassins

>The perfect distraction when you would be fighting the alicorn princess

>Your group, minus the behemoths, took flight to the balcony

>You knew their ruler would be here, sequestered away from the fighting

>Your meeting had given you no doubt to that

>And so, there she was, standing above a large layout of the city with several elderly pegasi and unicorns

>Commanders, you figured

>It did not matter, your elite group made short work of them

>But they left the princess alone

>She was yours to end

>After the commanders were all dead, you squared yourself off against their ruler

"A pity you didn't accept my generous terms at our meeting, princess. All this bloodshed could have been avoided if you'd just given up the guilty."

>You laughed coldly, but Celestia weathered your mockery without so much as a twitch

>"I could not order my subject to their deaths. They meant you no harm. We could have paid you reparations for the lives of your subjects that were killed."

>Your lip curled in untold hatred, revealing your predatory fangs, your eyes glowing an eldritch green

"Do not speak of them as though they were just lackeys or servants! These 'subjects' of mine are my children! You dare suggest that any amount of money could replace their lost lives?"

>Celestia bowed her head to you and turned towards a jeweled orrey

>"I did not mean to suggest such a thing, merely that we could have sought a peaceful solution, instead of seeking blood."

>The jewels, six in all, were lifted up by Celetia's magic and they formed a floating circle that spun ever faster

>"I cannot allow you to harm any more of my subjects. For the little that it is worth, I am sorry it had to come to this."

>You cackled at the haughtiness of the alicorn

"What can your trinkets possibly do to harm me? You have lost, pony, and I will have my retri--"

>You were cut off as a massive blast of energy threw you from the room

>You flew through a wall and off into the distance

>Canterlot shrank behind you, the fires growing dim, the plumes of smoke turning to threads

>At the time, you didn't know it, but she had used the Elements of Harmony against you and blasted you and your guard far away

>You gathered later, during your second invasion of the city, after slowly sneaking forces in over decades, your remaining children had seemed to lose sense after you were banished

>The Elements had effectively cut you off from them, and they were aimless from the sudden disconnect

>And they were slaughtered entirely

>Afterwards, the ponies had gone into the hive and killed all the guard remaining, along with the eggs, pupae, and unmolted

>It was genocide

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