Chrysalis and Aglowing were shocked as Pepper suddenly collapsed and fell from the throne. The little queen jumped from her perch on her mother’s neck and ran to her friend's side. She struggled to pull the heavy carmine braid away from her face to look at her. When she realised that the unicorn had fallen asleep, she chuckled. Chrysalis approached, still stressed by what she had just been through. She stopped only once her daughter backed away from the mare to nestle between her forelegs, seeking her protection.

The child was clearly worried. Seeing the mare tormented in her sleep made her uncomfortable. Aglowing jumped on Pepper's shoulder, trying to wake her up without success.

Chrysalis, in a more healthy condition thanks to the hug she received from her daughter, watched the scene silently. Nightmare Moon had told the truth.

The young hybrid exhausted herself trying to wake the mare, without success. Seeing the mare crying in her sleep between two convulsive jolts worried her more and more. Distressed, she turned her heterochromic eyes towards Chrysalis. "Mother! She won't wake up!"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of her, my love. Go back to your room, and lock the door." The queen offered her daughter a loving gesture before pushing her on the nose towards her room. With her daughter safe, the queen was now alone with the now sleeping pony. She took advantage of the relative peace to think about what to do with Pepper Chilly. Her horn glowed as she reached for a sharp pointed fragment of crystal. She calmly approached Pepper and stabbed the pony’s fast-beating heart.

She stabbed her in the heart for the monster she was.

She stabbed her in the heart for threatening the life of her daughter.

She stabbed her in the heart for each and every changeling that had died due to her crime.

Blood began to flow, splashing Chrysalis every time she stabbed the mare with the instrument of her rage, over and over again. One last hiccup, followed by a brief sigh, and life left the body of the unicorn.

The queen, out of breath, looked at the corpse with disdain. It was bathed in blood. Even the ornament made of phoenix feathers was coloured a deep crimson. The improvised dagger was stuck in the bloody mess which was, until a minute ago, a throbbing heart. Chrysalis suddenly stepped back when she noticed that Pepper's body was returning to its true shape, the magic she had been using to change her appearance no longer working. Dumbfounded, the queen watched the corpse of the alicorn as she suddenly smelled a scent that was foreign to the hive. A smell that she had smelled months earlier in the swarm’s home. Chrysalis turned around, baring her fangs, ready to defend herself.

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"Please, Your Highness, calm down. I only came with the intention of paying back my debt," said a stallion from the entrance to the chamber. The cocoons that emitted light from the hallway suggested that his coat was light grey.

"Who are you?" she screamed.

The pony began to sing to Chrysalis' favourite tune as he entered the room, swaying slightly with each step.

♪~This night is going to be perfect

I will explain to you how you can save your hive

By avoiding making a big mistake

You're so lovely coated with blood

What you don't know is that she is a source of love~♫

With her rage rekindled, Chrysalis used her magic to grab the intruder by the throat, dragging him across the room. She took her bloody weapon back into the hollow of her hoof and pressed it to his throat. "Last chance," she snarled in a threatening tone.

He kept smiling towards the mare who was threatening his life. "Bitter Truth. I'm only here to prevent you from making a mistake, Your Highness."

She remained on her guard. Thanks to the light of magic, she could see the face of this pony. He was a unicorn. If he had already managed to enter the hive twice without any trouble, he was a danger to the swarm. Yet, she was also curious about his concern. "What mistake are you talking about? About Pepper? It's too late. The sociopathic alicorn is dead."

His smile didn’t wane. "Yes, but you were planning to give her corpse to Queen Nightmare Moon, weren't you?"

She was surprised. Yes, that was the idea she had, convinced that she could get something in return. Still, she remained suspicious of this stallion. "How do you know that?"

Obviously amused, he continued, "It doesn't matter. On another topic, Your Highness, I have a viable solution to save what is left of your hive."

Chrysalis was baffled for a moment. Yes, she did everything to hide it from her daughter and Chitin, but she was struggling to find a way for the changelings to survive, given the situation they were in. This stallion said he knew how to save the hive. She could afford to let him talk, then she would consider what she would do with him. She pushed her makeshift blade against his throat, causing him to bleed lightly, the blood mixing with that of Pepper's coating the crystal shard. She stared with a murderous glare into his lemon-yellow eyes, a sadistic smile on her lips. She breathed a few simple words: "I'm listening."