//------------------------------//
// A Bright Future 
// Story: A Different LIFE for a Change... ling 
// by AngelShy24 
//------------------------------//


(WARNING) The following chapter contains a changed and reformed Chrysalis and her somewhat new attitude may weird some readers out. Readers' discretion is advised. 





So many things have happened ever since the very day Chrysalis banished Dragon Heart from the changeling tribe. A sole changeling went undercover in Ponyville and made many new friends. She faced hardship, loyalty, and even found love. This Changeling alone almost brought a full-on invasion to Ponyville and stood up to protect it. She even fought her ruler, Queen Chrysalis, in a powerful one-on-one battle just so she could bring respect back for her kind from the ponies. Also, thanks to the Elements of harmony, Chrysalis found out the truth behind the start of the war against ponies and the death of her parents; and in the end, she decided to grant Dragon Heart’s wish and give peace a try.
After more than a month had passed, Dragon Heart and a few of her Changeling friends came to visit their new friends of Ponyville and to fill them in on everything that has happened so far, including them being ambushed by members by their own tribe; and even worse, they planned to end their lives and place the blame on the ponies to re-ignite the hatred between the two species once again. Thankfully, Chrysalis knew about everything and saved them just in time.
Another thing, Spike and Dragon Heart had spent a little time together to catch up on things since their last meeting, and you can say that it was quite magical. Spike even got his first real kiss, and it was quite explosive. But now the day that they were all expecting sometime soon was finally here; the day when Chrysalis would finally confront Princess Celestia and exchange words with each other in a special gathering meet to permanently seal the peace deal… easier said than done.
Attending the meeting besides Chrysalis and Celestia themselves were Twilight, Spike, Dragon Heart, Dusk, Razor, Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy. They were all approaching Canterlot Castle focused on what was ahead and were all prepared in case anything had happened. However, Dragon heart wasn’t on guard at all; she knew that everything was going to be fine. She knew that nothing was going to ruin this new peace for anyone… or at least nothing that she was aware of.
Celestia was inside her throne room waiting patiently with many soldiers around nearby. Just then, a random guard came through the room doors and ran up to the Princess to announce, “Your Highness, they have arrived.”
All of the soldiers suddenly stood at attention and Celestia showed a little gentle smile as she responded, “Excellent, send them all in.”
The throne room doors opened and everyone who was there calmly walk inside. As they went in, Razor and Dusk was taking a good look around the place that they were once at but didn’t quite appreciate at the time.
“Wow; you were right, Dragon Heart,” said Razor feeling impressed, “this place is really nice-looking without us… you know, causing a ruckus.”
“Told ya it was.”
Dragon Heart smiled as she lightly tapped Dusk on his shoulder feeling very excited, “This is going to be the greatest day of our lives; don’t you think so, Dusk?”
With something on his mind distracting him, Dusk just responded by saying, “I truly hope so.”
The tone of his voice troubled Dragon heart and was wondering why he was acting so weird, “Huh, what’s that supposed to mean?”
Dusk snapped out of his distraction daze and looked over at Dragon Heart hesitantly and said, “Oh, just… saying that anything can happen and we sh-should prepare for anything… th-that’s all.”
Dusk then looked ahead of him partially sweating leaving Dragon Heart feeling quite baffled. She knew that something was bothering him, but maybe they’ll find out in this meeting somehow of what it is.
Meanwhile just behind them, Spike was walking beside Twilight trying to hold his own, but was still very nervous and sweating rapidly, “Th-this is going to go off w-w-without a hitch, I-I-I just know it.”
“Calm down, Spike,” said Twilight, “it already has; don’t worry about it so much.”
“O-of course, you’re right,” said Spike as he straightened himself out, “I can do this; for Dragon Heart, for all Changelings, and especially…”
Suddenly, as he turned around, Spike realized that everyone who was there had entered the room… except one.
“Wait… where’s Chrysalis?”
Everyone looked behind them and Chrysalis, who was supposedly at the back of the pack wasn’t there. But luckily she was just standing near the doorway feeling very unsure of entering.
Dragon Heart sighed as she smiled and shook her head, “I’ll go get her.”
As she went to fetch Chrysalis, some of Twilight’s friends were chuckling a bit from seeing the Queen of Changeling acting in an unusual matter; but they tried their best to not show it.
“Well this is a bit awkward,” said Twilight towards Dusk and Razor.
“Come on, Chrysalis,” said Dragon Heart at the doorway looking up at her nervous leader, “no need to be shy. Everything is going to be fine; trust me.”
Everyone could see Dragon Heart as she carefully guided Chrysalis into the room and was doing her best to not offend her. Chrysalis herself felt totally embarrassed of being so nervous about a simple meeting. She figured that this wouldn’t get to her, but she proved herself wrong; she felt like an idiot in front of everyone there.
“This is downright embarrassing,” she said to Dragon Heart, “Me, being so doubtful and feeling so nervous and weak; not to mention being dragged in here by one of my own underlings.”
“Underling friend,” corrected Dragon Heart.
Chrysalis was looking all around her as she came in, and besides Twilight and the others watching her weird behavior, she noticed all of the Royal Guard solider scattered throughout the room and were all looking very serious.
“Why are there so many soldiers in here,” Chrysalis questioned, “They still don’t trust me, do they?”
“N-n-no no, that’s not it,” Dragon Heart responded nervously, “they’re just here to… watch over their Princess, that’s all.”
Chrysalis was still unsure about all of this, but she knew that this had to be done sooner or later. She found herself being led past the others by Dragon Heart and right towards Celestia... and she got more nervous inside the closer she got.
“Go get ‘em, tiger,” shouted Pinkie so suddenly making the others around her jump a bit, “Make with the peace!”
“The pink one,” said Chrysalis awkwardly to Dragon Heart, “… still as odd as ever I see.”
Dragon Heart chuckled out of amusement, “Well, that’s Pinkie Pie for you.”
Dragon Heart finally got to Celestia with Chrysalis with Dusk and Razor right behind them and Twilight and Spike not far behind. The rest of Twilight’s friends were at stand by behind them for if they ever needed them; but they were all excited to witness this event unfold.
“Princess Celestia,” said Dragon Heart bowing to the royal ruler, “I present to you… Queen Chrysalis.”
“Here we go,” said Spike still feeling unnerved.
The whole room was silent and all eyes were set on the two leaders; which didn’t help matters much for Chrysalis. She slowly approached in front of Celestia, and the Princess herself looked at her with a pleasant smile.
“Well…” Celestia started, “it’s been a while since we last met; but I’m glad that this time it’s under much different circumstances.”
Not looking at Celestia square in the eye, Chrysalis responded hesitantly saying, “I-i-it’s nice to see you too… I suppose.”
Spike leaned over to Twilight and whispered, “So far, so good.”
Twilight smiled as she just rolled her eyes.
Pretty soon, Chrysalis found her own courage to stare straight at Celestia despite her nerves, “So tell me… Princess; do some of your soldiers still despise me? Some of them are eyeing me rather strongly.”
“Oh don’t mind them,” Celestia chuckled, “they’re just here to make sure that things go smoothly.”
“I bet they are.”
“With that aside,” Celestia continued, “I am really glad that you were able to come to this meeting; we all are. I’m sure it was really stressful for you to bring yourself here… seeing as to what happened the last time you visited us.”
Chrysalis didn’t want anyone to take her nervousness seriously and tried to brush it off, “Well don’t think I’m suddenly scared or nervous around anypony here… because I’m not.”
“Oh, did I say that,” said Celestia in a slightly joking manner, “I don’t think I did.”
Chrysalis got a little embarrassed of saying what she did; she knew that she walked herself right into that one.
“Come on, Chrysalis,” said Celestia, “it’s okay if you are a little nervous; it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I SAID I’M NOT NERVOUS!” Chrysalis suddenly shouted.
Everyone jumped back and the soldiers in the room turned their attention to Chrysalis in case she tried to do something. However, Celestia signaled them to stay where they were as Chrysalis calmed herself down from being angered so easily.
“O-okay… perhaps I am… a little n-nervous.”
“Good going,” whispered Dragon Heart to Chrysalis.
“Whew, I was a bit worried there for a second,” said Spike to Twilight, “She seriously needs an attitude adjustment.” 
“I understand that you can get angered a bit easily,” said Celestia towards Chrysalis, “and that’s fine; accepting one’s personality and helping them out with it is a great start when creating peace and making friends.
Chrysalis muffled a little chuckle under her breath hearing that one word, “Friends… heh. If I could fully comprehend the meaning of that word I’m pretty sure I would be hopping around like a happy little filly.”
“Can you?” said Razor jokingly.
Dusk leered at him and smacked him against the head, “Ow, what?”
“Well… isn’t Dragon Heart your friend?” Celestia questioned Chrysalis.
“I… well…”
Chrysalis still didn’t know exactly how to answer that question, so Dragon Heart steped up and answered for her, “Well of course I am, and so are Dusk and Razor, right?”
“I-I suppose,” Chrysalis responded timidly.
Dragon Heart smirked at her with an arched eyebrow seeing how pitiful she was acting, “Come on, you can do better than that.”
“Okay, yes… y-yes, they are my friends.”
Chrysalis then tilted her head toward Twilight and the others for a few seconds and then looked back at Celestia, “And I suppose that… I have other friends too.”
“Did you guys hear that,” Rainbow silently chuckled, “I think Chrysalis just called us her friends; it’s so great and messed up at the same time.”
“Listen, Chrysalis,” Celestia continued, “this meeting was all so you and I could talk things over and settle our past differences aside. You may not realize it, but you’ve gained quite a friendly reputation lately, and you have your three main officials here to thank for that.”
“Guilty,” said Dragon heart with a smile.
“Well… what else did you think we were doing?” Razor added.
Dusk however, remained silent, though no one realized it.
“That may be,” said Chrysalis nonchalantly, “but it’s not like everyone in Equestria will suddenly shower me with praise.”
“Well of course not;” said Dragon Heart. “No one said the road to peace would be easy.”
Seeing her still feeling troubled, Celestia continued her reasoning, “To tell you the truth, Chrysalis, after that day you invaded my kingdom and overpowered me, I really hated you as well as the rest of your army. After all you took advantage of my Niece’s wedding and almost ruined everything; and the same thought probably goes for everypony else.”
“Uh-oh,” Spike thought to himself.
Chrysalis gave Celestia a little un-amused glare, “Gee, thank you for making me feel so much better, Princess.”
“However, thanks to Dragon Heart, she reminded me of the harsh past of your kind and how I could’ve done something to help prevent different tragedies. I also understand that it was me who defeated your parents and took them away from you.”
Chrysalis’ expression quickly changed again remembering how she felt at that moment that she cuddled with her parents for the last time, “Y-yes… but the situation of it wasn’t what I thought it up to be. I thought my parents and others were purposely attacked and killed simply because ponies hated us and wanted us to be extinct. I guess I sorta over reacted in my anger… just like my parents did.”
“Well even so,” said Celestia with a sincere smile, “I still am sorry for the cause of your loss; I know how much your parents meant to you. So… will you find it in your newly reformed heart to forgive me; because I do forgive you.” 
Chrysalis thought hard trying to not feel anger towards Celestia every time she thought of her parents’ death; and then she took a deep breath, looked up at the Princess and responded, “If you choose to do so then yes, I shall … accept your forgiveness… and… I shall forgive you.”
It was a wondrous sight for Dragon Heart and was glad that the matter between the two rulers was resolved real well.
“Well how about that,” said Razor amusingly, “it seems we were all worried for nothing.”
“Yes! Way to go you guys!” Spike shouted excitedly.
Everyone in the room including all the guards and Chrysalis suddenly looked at Spike weirdly and the little dragon blushed and grinned as he chuckled nervously.
“I-I-I mean… good job guys; heh heh.”
“Oh Spike,” Dragon Heart chuckled, “you speak out in the most awkward of moments.”
“Y-y-yeah, that’s me; mister awkward.”
After Spike’s awkward moment, Chrysalis looked back at Celestia curious if there was something more to this meeting than just a simple apology.
“So what now; is that it?”
Celestia thought about it, but then she had a little smile on her face as something came to her mind, “Well… you know… a simple tradition of forgiving and making peace isn’t complete…” Celestia then stepped down, sat on her flank and raised her forehooves in the air, “without a nice, simple, forgiving hug.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Chrysalis groaned.
“The Princess never kids… well, mostly.”
Chrysalis rolled her eyes and sighed as she slowly went to Celestia and hesitantly reached out and wrapped her forehooves around Celestia to hug her. Everyone in the room smiled at the sight and cooed at the Queen. 
“Awwwwwwwww!”
“Oh, would you all just stop it.”
After the hug, Chrysalis released herself from Celestia and strangely… she felt somewhat comforted and satisfied inside.
“See, wasn’t that quite comforting;” asked Celestia, “It always is for me.”
“It did feel rather… decent,” said Chrysalis shyly, “It d-did calm me down a little, I guess.”
Having that been said, Celestia turned her attention to the others that were in the room, “Well, Twilight, Dragon Heart, or anypony else here; if any of you wish to say something on behalf of this peace meeting, please speak now.”
Spike and Dragon heart thought that nothing could ruin this moment, but then before anyone could respond, the throne doors swung open as a single voice called out, “Hold everything! I wish to say something.”
Everyone looked behind them and gasped as they saw someone they didn’t expect.
“Cadence?” shouted Twilight.
“Cadence?” said Celestia.
“Cadence,” said Chrysalis with a little smug expression.
Razor gulped, “Oh snap.”
“And now I’m going to freakishly pass out,” said Spike before fell unconscious on the ground.
Dragon Heart couldn’t believe it; things were finally going her way, but now… could it all be ruined?
“I didn’t expect you, Cadence,” said Celestia, “I heard that you and Shinning were a bit busy today at the Crystal Kingdom.”
“We are, but Shinning told me about what was happening today and decided handle things himself while I came here. I also figured that I would take this opportunity to settle an old grudge I had for a while.”
“Oh did you now?” said Chrysalis with an arched eyebrow.
Dragon Heart was freaking out inside and repeatedly thinking to herself, “This is not good, this is not good; this is not good.” 
“Exactly what is it that you want, dear Princess of the Crystal Kingdom?” questioned Chrysalis, “Are you still upset about what I did to you and your wittle hubby?”
“His name is Shining Armor if you had forgotten; and no, I’m not mainly upset about that anymore. However, I can’t say that I don’t still hold a little grudge against it… that I already mention.”
“We have to stop, her Twilight,” whispered Applejack to Twilight, “No offense to her, but she might endanger this whole thang.”
The rest of Twilight nodded in agreement, but Twilight just smiled not feeling worried at all.
“Don’t worry girls; I have a feeling that this will end quite well. Cadence is too smart to do something like ruin this meeting.”
Cadence looked up at Celestia and asked politely, “Permission to speak, Aunt Celestia?”
“U-um… permission granted.”
“Well… Chrysalis; I’m sure it was difficult for you to imagine anypony forgiving you of what you did. But then you get to me and… well, your thought must be envisioning me never forgiving you at all, right?”
Chrysalis looked puzzled not knowing where Cadence was going with this, “Um… perhaps; what is it to you?”
“I’m just saying that if that is what you were thinking, then you are absolutely right. Capturing me, fooling my Aunt, fooling Twilight and her friends, fooling my husband and nearly ruining the best day of my life; yeah, I totally hated you for that. I felt that I could never forgive you for that… ever.”
Cadence seemed to become more annoyed towards Chrysalis as she talked and Twilight’s friends became very worried; including Dragon Heart, Razor, Dusk… and Spike, who was already back on his feet.
“Twilight…” whispered Fluttershy.
“Just wait for it.”
“So what is your point exactly,” questioned Chrysalis, “other than bringing the past back up and making a mockery of me?”
“My point is that all of those feeling were going through me for the past few months. But then about a week ago, Dragon Heart and her friends came to my Kingdom and told me about everything.”
Chrysalis suddenly looked over at her Changeling comrades realizing what Cadence might have heard, “Everything?”
“Yeah; she told me about what happened all those years ago and what really transpired that certain fate-changing day. She even told me all about what happened when you exiled her down to when you two had a giant showdown in Ponyville, which I surprisingly had no idea about; I don’t know why I didn’t know about it then.”
Cadence then looked at Spike with a little smirk, “Although, the strangest thing to me was when she mentioned falling in love… with a certain familiar dragon.”
Spike blushed a little at first, but then wondered about something in his head, “Seriously, the Queen of Changelings is having a change of heart and is trying her best to make peace, and a Changeling falling in love with a dragon is the strangest thing to her?”
After that, Cadence continued her talk to Chrysalis, “I understand that you are trying to change the ways of your kind because of Dragon Heart and that you explained your deep, dark reason for doing what you did because of the loss of your parents. But I have one question.”
Everyone including Celestia listened closely of what Cadence was about to say; and Chrysalis didn’t really care, but she was curious herself of what it was to.
“Out of all of the stallions that you had to choose to fill your empty void… why did you have to choose Shining?”
Everone’s jaws dropped hearing Cadence’s words; all she was worried about was Chrysalis’ interests in her husband, Shining Armor.
“What?” Chrysalis said out of shock.
“Huh?” all of Twilight’s friends said at once.
“Oh boy,” Razor thought to himself; and Dusk just planted a face hoof on himself realizing just how much the situation changed.
Dragon Heart however, was actually amused; she was just glad that Cadence wasn’t going to start insulting Chrysalis
“I mean sure he’s very charming, handsome and wonderful to be around, and that’s why I fell in love with him,” Cadence continued, “But still… why him?!”
Spike solemnly looked at Twilight while pointing at Cadence, “Is she for real?”
“Are you absolutely serious?” Chrysalis chuckled, “Well to tell you the truth, I really didn’t care about any of his good qualities; in fact, I really didn’t care about him at all as you all may have already known. With such a big event taking place and the strong bond you two had shared, it was the obvious chance of a lifetime; and I certainly wasn’t going to do it to you.”
Cadence blushed out of embarrassment while grinning and scratching her head; she knew that she could’ve handled that moment better, “Oh… yeah, I-I-I guess that would make more sense; well color me pink; oh wait, I am pink… well, pinkish.”
Twilight looked at Spike to answer his earlier question, “Perhaps it’s an off day for her.”
“This is the Princess of the Crystal Kingdom?” questioned Dusk to Razor, “She seemed wiser back there.”
“Cadence, is there something else that you wanted to say?” asked Celestia.
“Oh, of course; what I was originally going to say after that was that Shining and I understood everything in Dragon heart’s story. We thought it over and decided… we’re willing to forget everything and bury everything in the past… as long as you’re true to your new oath and that this sorta thing doesn’t happen again.”
“Is that so?” said Chrysalis looking amused.
“It sure is; so what do you say, friends in progress?”
Cadence held out her hoof for Chrysalis to shake it as she stood there nervously grinning. All Chrysalis did was smile slightly while letting out a small chuckle.
“Don’t expect anything out of me just yet, Crystal Princess; but… very well, friends in progress.”
She then reached out and shook hooves in agreement with Cadence; and thus another problem was resolved.
“And make sure you continue to admire these subordinates of yours and be kind to them,” said Cadence with a smirk, “You’re very lucky to have them.”
“Heh, I suppose I am.”
“Alright,” shouted Spike once again, “I knew you guys could do it; I never doubted you for a second.”
“I’m sure you didn’t,” said Twilight suspiciously.
Following afterwards, Twilight calmly walked up to Chrysalis sporting a friendly smile doing the best of her ability to actually show the Queen some respect, “Well, Chrysalis… as awkward as I feel saying this to you, I just wanted to say that we’re all rather glad that you’ve decided to turn over a new leaf. Heck, even Rainbow Dash thinks you’re cool now.”
Twilight accepting her friendship was just grateful to Chrysalis as the way she felt towards Celestia and Cadence; but she was trying not to be too emotional about it.
“Hey, she was loyal to her own subjects here and went out of her way to protect them of her own free will,” said Rainbow Dash excitedly, “That makes anypony cool in my book!”
When Rainbow Dash thinks you’re cool, then you’re cool; Chrysalis didn’t mind to know about that and accept that status of herself now.
“I have to admit,” said Rarity, “befriending Changelings sounded a bit obscure to me at first; after all, I have sanitary issues. But now, I’ve realized that it doesn’t really matter. I’m generous enough to befriend any creature in the sake of friendship, as long as they respect me in the same way.”
Chrysalis always found herself beautiful in her own way, but thanks to Rarity she realized that beauty isn’t always everything.
“Same here,” said Applejack, “I wasn’t feelin’ 100 percent positive about this whole trustin’ the very creatures that caused so many problems in the past. But soon I figured why not. If nudged in the right direction, anyone can have kind and honest hearts; even Changelings.”
Spoken from the deepest of Applejack’s honest heart, Chrysalis completely understood her saying and agreed to remember it for days to come.
“E-e-everything about Changelings ch-chilled me to the bone ever since I learned more about them,” said Fluttershy trying her best to not be too shy in front of Chrysalis, “But then I asked myself; if a Changeling with such a caring heart like Dragon Heart was able to do what she did, what’s there to say that the same thing is possible for others?” She looked up at Chrysalis and smiled happily, “Um… and I-I’m very glad to be your friend.” 
Fluttershy’s kindness could warm anyone’s heart, and Chrysalis, even though it took a lot more time than usual, was no exception. She knew that that her kind could learn a lot from the yellow Pegasus.
“Well I didn’t care;” shouted Pinkie as she zoomed up in front of Chrysalis hopping up and down, “a peace treaty means more friends to have lots and lots of fun with! I mean sure you could be very scary sometimes; that was the objective you all had all these years after all. However, no matter how scary or how frightening somepony can be, I always do my best to make them my friend!” She then grabbed one of Chrysalis’ legs and gave it a big friendly squeeze, “So congratulations, you’re Pinkie’s newest friend!”
“Personal space, please?” said Chrysalis looking down at the pink mare.
Pinkie chuckled and said, “Okie dokie, newest friend!” as she released herself from the Queen’s leg. 
Chrysalis knew that this pony was wild and very friendly, but she found out that becoming her friend took some patience and endurance on her part as well.
Twilight looked over at Spike and gave him a little nudge to help encourage him. “Go on, Spike; isn’t there something you want to say?”
Spike slowly walked over to Chrysalis feeling a bit sheepish; but even so, he said what was on his mind. “Well… what else can I say? I may have not seen all of this coming, but meeting Dragon Heart was probably one of the luckiest days of my life; and probably hers too.”
Dragon Heart smiled with a huge heartfelt feeling from Spike’s comment.
“Plus, finding out who she really was made me change my perspective on some things; and all of those mean things that I probably said about you and… your kind after that wedding, forget that; I-I truly think that you are  a good leader if you keep on trying hard enough.” He then got on one knee and held out one of his claws up to Chrysalis and said, “So… I humbly request your friendship.”
Without much hesitation, Chrysalis complied to shaking his claw with her hoof and responded, “And… I humbly accept it… young dragon.”
Chrysalis suddenly found herself smirking at the little dragon seeing just how humble he really was, “I guess Dragon Heart really has made a wise choice in befriending you.”
“Oh stop, you’re making me blush.”
After all of that was said and done, Celestia was about to end the meeting, “So… what now, Chrysalis? Now that you’ve finally accepted friendship as fuel to lead your kind, what will you do now?”
“My… face may not truly express it right now,” Chrysalis answered timidly, “but… I really wish to push my clan in a new direction. More than a month ago I thought Dragon Heart’s notion about creating peace and making allies through friendship was a waste of time and was foolish , but… I was wrong. Thanks to her… and all of you, I’ve finally understand just how strong bonds of friendship can really be.”
Suddenly, Chrysalis’ expression changed as another thing came to her mind; something that was on her mind for quite some time now. 
“However, despite everything that I have gained now, I fear that nothing will help… with the absence of my parents; nothing could replace that.”
The room grew quiet as everyone there suddenly witness Chrysalis crying. She was shedding a few tears and didn’t seem to care who was watching. Her parents really were everything to her and were the main source of her love. Mostly everyone knew this and could understand her pain. But then suddenly, something completely unexpected happened.
“W-w-ait… my Queen,” said Dusk after being silent for most of the meeting.
Everyone suddenly placed all of their eyes on him and watched him as he was approaching Chrysalis.
“Dusk?” wondered Dragon Heart.
After Dusk stepped in front of Chrysalis, the Queen wipped some of her tears away and looked down at Dusk wondering what he wanted, “Wh-what is it, Dusk?”
“My Queen, I… I-I’ve been doing some hard thinking lately… and I didn’t know how to go about this, but…”
“What is Dusk doing?” said Razor suspiciously.
Dusk was acting rather strange while he was speaking to Chrysalis. His speech was skipping slightly and almost seemed hesitant to speak more to her.
“What are you trying to say?” asked Chrysalis.
Dusk did find the courage to speak out to her some more even though it was taking a serious toll on his nerves, “Well… I-I’ve been serving you for all of these years; I’ve always been loyal to you and never questioned your authority. But despite all of that, I was blinded from the truth. Instead, I kept trying to devote my life and my very being to Dragon Heart… even though she never returned the same kind of feeling to me.”
It was weird to everyone to see Dusk act like this. He always appeared to serious and never did crack much under pressure, but the way he was acting now changed all of those traits of his temporarily out the window. However, knowing how he was acting the other day, it was finally occurring to some of them of what might be going on.
“Wait,” said Spike, “he’s not… i-i-is he…”
“Forcing my devoted love on someone was a mistake and it did nothing but turn me into a jealous fool. But now I understand, and I am ready to make a commitment.”
By gathering all of his courage, Dusk went over and grabbed Chrysalis’ hoof booth of his and held it up while looking up in Chrysalis’ emerald eyes. 
“I know I can’t replace your parents, but… I wish to devote my love a-and my life… to you, my Queen; that is if you choose to accept.”
Once again the room grew silent as everyone looked at Dusk in shock. They were all wondering where this was suddenly coming from; was this the feeling he was hiding from everyone? Was this actually how he felt about Chrysalis, or was he just doing his best to serve his Queen again?
Chrysalis just stared at Dusk feeling very confused at first, but then released her hoof from his grasp and began slowly baking away from him, “D-Dusk… what is this all about; is this some kind of joke, because it isn’t funny?!”
“I believe it’s no joke, Chrysalis,” said Celestia with sincereness in her tone, “His heart has finally opened up to him; and now it’s allowing him to realize that his true feelings for love are for you and wishes to mainly share it… with you.”
“Sounds like a really good deal, don’t you think?” questioned Cadence with a smirk.
Chrysalis was at a loss for words; none of her followers show her this much dedication before, she was quite baffled at Dusk’s request. “I… I-I-I don’t know what to say.”
“So that’s why he was acting so weird lately,” said Spike to the others, “he just had a secret crush on Chrysalis; but he didn’t realize it until after he let go of his false feelings for Dragon Heart.”
“Well I’ll be,” said Twilight.
Feeling quite proud of Dusk, Dragon Heart approached Chrysalis smiled at her while saying, “Go ahead, Chrysalis, you know what to say.”
Chrysalis slowly walked back over to Dusk looking at his sincere and loyal eyes, and she realized that his words were of the absolute truth. Another tear trickled down the side of her face as Chrysalis slightly smiled and made a response.
“Dusk, your emotional feelings are quite weird… and the timing of your confession was so cliché; but… I-I accept, and thank you.”
She then grabbed Dusk and gave him a little hug and Dusk hugged back with no hesitation. Everyone one in the throne room smiled at the adorable sight; even the guards. It seems that Chrysalis’ heart was now fully mended and she was now at peace.
At that moment, Princess Celestia finally declared that this peace meeting… was adjourned.

-----

After the peace meeting was over, Spike went off somewhere in the Canterlot Gardens to hang out with Dragon Heart and the other Changelings while Twilight and the others were finishing up with some business with Celestia and Cadence. Everything was finally over and Twilight and her friends were happy and quite relieved about it.
Afterwards, Twilight and her friends were walking out in the castle doors talking about everything that had happened there that day and were looking forward to what happens next.
“Well how about that, girls,” said Twilight, “I guess we never needed the Elements after all.”
“Of course we didn’t,” Rainbow Dash shouted tossing her Element up and down, “there was no doubt in my mind that it was all going to go well.”
Rarity was still crying blowing her nose over Dusk’s whole proposal speech to Chrysalis and thought it was one of the most wonderful thing she had ever witnessed, “That… wonderful surprise speech, it was so beautiful, romantic and… so heartfelt. I’m still crying just thinking about it.”
“That’s right,” said Applejack while patting Rarity on the back, “let it all out, drama queen.”
“Do you think Chrysalis would let me throw her a wedding party?” questioned Pinkie Pie while bouncing in front of the others, “That would be totally off the hook!”
Applejack shook her head, “Ah wouldn’t count on it, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask Ah guess.”
The six ponies kept walking until they went into the Canterlot Gardens where the others were. Twilight soon spotted Spike who was coming towards them with Dragon Heart and Razor.
“There you are, Spike!”
“I was just hanging out and talking with Dragon Heart and the others;” Spike responded proudly, “no biggie.”
They all notice Dusk and Chrysalis up ahead and it seemed that they were caught up in a conversation with each other.
“So what exactly are those two doing now?” asked Twilight.
“Just talking things over,” said Dragon Heart with a smile, “Chrysalis is trying to get a better understanding of Dusk’s emotional feelings for her. She still feels a little awkward about it and so does Dusk,” she then gave a little chuckle, “but it’s still going well.”
“Never in my whole life did I ever think that I would find Changeling love so adorable,” said Fluttershy as she was dawing at the sight of Chrysalis and Dusk.
“So, Dragon Heart,” said Twilight, “you’ve finally achieved your dream; so what do you say to that?”
There were many mixed feelings inside Dragon Heart about that feat, but she just didn’t know what to say.
“I feel … quite satisfied; I just don’t know what to do now. Now that everything is said and done, I feel like that there is nothing left for me to do.”
“Don’t be so silly, Draggy waggy,” said Pinkie giving Dragon Heart a light noogie, “of course you do; you still have your duty to your Queen!”
Everyone smiled and nodded in agreement.
“Well yeah, there’s that.”
Spike suddenly jumped on Dragon Heart’s back and told her, “Plus, even though you’ve fulfilled your peace dream, it doesn’t have to stop there! There are many ponies, Buffalo… heck, even griffons that you haven’t even met yet! Go out and make more friends and make sure that this peace treaty of yours stays in check.”
“And of course, Dusk and I will be right there with you,” added Razor, “that is if Dusk is not too busy hanging out with his new lovebird.”
This deep, warm sensation that Dragon Heart was feeling; she remembered having that same feeling when she first arrived to Ponyville during her banishment. It was all but soothing for her; especially if it came from Spike.
“Thanks, Razor; and thank you guys a lot. You know, it may seem that everything that has happened was all because of me, but the truth is that none of this would have been possible without the support of all of you… and the crusaders, of course.”
“Well, if you ever need any extra help at all,” said Rainbow Dash, “just call us; we’ll be there in 10 seconds flat!”
“She might anyway,” said Rarity, “the rest of us would have to take a cab.”
Suddenly, Pinkie was wiggling with excitement as she was looking behind her, “Ooh ooh, here they come; here they come!”
Everyone looked over as they saw Chrysalis and Dusk coming over to them. They all gathered together to see what she had to say.
“I… just wanted to thank you ponies for everything you’ve done, and… f-for believing in Dragon Heart even when I chose not to. Thanks to her, I do believe our species will survive for generations to come.”
“Well, we were all more than happy to help, Chrysalis,” said Twilight proudly, “And if anypony puts you and your kind down, just remember to think about the friends that you do have.”
“I’ll try to keep that in mind,” Chrysalis responded in a nonchalant tone.
Just then, Pinkie found herself bouncing right up next to Chrysalis and looking up at her with a bright smile that made the Queen feel a bit uneasy.
“Soooooo… need anypony to help plan for a special event for you two?!”
“You mean… like a wedding or something?” said Dusk rather awkwardly.
“Yes… exactly!”
Chrysalis had herself a little chuckle at the pink mare, “That won’t be necessary. However, if things do come to that, we Changelings go at it in a different way.”
“Really,” wondered Pinkie, “what do you do?”
Dusk looked at the others kinda sheepishly and was blushing slightly, “It’s… Changeling business; sorry.”
“Maybe we don’t want to know,” said Spike feeling a bit worried from Dusk expression.
After rolling her eyes, Chrysalis looked up at the sun and realized the time as she prepared to take her leave of the pony crowd, “Now then; if you all don’t mind, I would like to get back to my humble abode; I've had a rather tiring and stressful day and wish to rest my body.”
“Very well; take it easy now you hear?”
“Of course;” said Chrysalis with a slight smile, “and… we shall see each other again… soon.”
Dusk smiled himself and waved good-bye at them as he began to fly off with his newly reformed Queen.
“She really has changed, hasn’t she?” said Rarity feeling impressed. 
“She sure has,” Fluttershy responded with a small giggle.
Twilight saw Spike headed toward her direction and he wasn’t even looking back at Dragon Heart who was standing behind him.
“Hey, Spike, aren’t you going to say goodbye to Dragon Heart for now?”
“Yeah, about that…” Spike responded while scratching his head, “Would it be okay if I went with them for a little bit? I became quite curious about their nest and Dragon Heart agreed to show me around a bit. Plus I wanna pay a little visit to that traitor of theirs so I can I can mock him face to face.”
The other ponies all looked at each other wondering if this was a good idea. But why in the world would they even think that?
“Um… sure,” said Twilight awkwardly, “I don’t see why not; maybe you’ll make some more Changeling friends.”
“That would be awesome!”
Dragon Heart walked up behind Spike and gave him a little noogie, “And don’t worry, Twilight, I’ll bring him back safely; you can count on that.”
“I have no doubts.”
Immediately, Spike hopped onto Dragon Heart’s back, and then waved off to the others as Dragon Heart took off along with Razor.
“Have fun, Spike, and be safe!” shouted Rarity.
“Sure thing!”
“And no making out with Dragon Heart!” said Pinkie with a sly grin.
“Ahhhhhhh; Pinkie, cut it out!” shouted Spike as he covered his face and blushed; and Dragon Heart had a good laugh at it.
As Pinkie was giggling to herself, the other 5 ponies were all giving her little low-eyed looks.
“What,” said Pinkie shrugging her shoulders, “I had to end this concluding scene with some kind of humor.”
“Wha?” said Rainbow Dash.
“There she goes again,” said Applejack shaking her head.
“Honestly, Pinkie,” said Twilight with an amused smile, “you will never make sense.”
“And I wouldn’t have it any other way!”
The six pony friends then all had a good laugh enjoying the fun moment. Meanwhile up in the sky, the small group of Changelings was flying off towards their nesting grounds with Spike along for the ride. Just what would they do after the events of today; not even they themselves would know.
“So,” said Razor slyly as he looked at Dragon Heart and Spike, “are you two still going to make out?”
“What, no way;” shouted Spike, “I’m too young for that!” He then looked over at Chrysalis and Dusk who seemed to be talking to each other again. “Although, I bet that maybe they will.”
Dusk suddenly turned a glare at Razor and said, “If you ever spy on us at anytime, then I’ll give you more holes than you already have.”
“Point taken,” said Razor chuckling nervously.
“Heh, I’m already liking you more already,” said Chrysalis trying to be a little amusing herself
Dragon Heart was smiling at the amusing sight and was enjoying the sweet peaceful company of the ones that were there with her. Seeing her beautiful smile, Spike was scratching his head while gathering up some courage to make a statement to her. Dragon Heart noticed however, and waited to see what he had to say. 
“So, uh… do you think we could… um… consider this…”
“Another date?” Dragon Heart finished as she gave Spike a little kiss on his cheek, “Consider it made.”
Spike’s heart melted once again as he weakly laid his body against the Changeling’s back and sighed to himself, “Oh yeah.”

-----

Dear Princess Celestia,



Well… you know everthing that has happened. Not only did Dragon Heart’s dream of peace become a reality, but the deal became permanently sealed when Chrysalis came to an agreement with you and Cadence… who no longer has a grudge against anymore. But none of us saw it coming when Dusk braved himself and pledged his love for Chrysalis in front of all of us; it was such a shocking yet heart-warming experience. I can only imagine how the other Changeling reacted when they found out the surprising news.
As for Spike, he had a pretty good time at the Changeling nest. Dragon Heart said that he gave Ivory a piece of his mind and Chrysalis allowed him to  mock the traitor to his heart’s content; I guess she really is warming up to Spike after all.
The girls and I are still doing our usual thing and Ponyville is gaining more friends from the Changelings as time passes. Before we know it, other places like Canterlot, Manehattan and even the Griffon Kingdom will gain a good share of Changeling allies.
Even to this day, I still never thought that someone like Chrysalis would change as I said before; but as always, through the power of friendship, it was all possible because of the love and patience of one single Changeling.
It’s still unknown to any of us if this peace treaty will last forever, or if Dragon Heart and Spike will be permanently together one day. But… you know what; I shouldn’t doubt any of this. This peace will last, and all of us will do our best to make sure of that.
This letter of friendship is dedicated to you, Cadence, Luna, Chrysalis, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Razor, Dusk, the CMC, Spike Dragon Heart… and me. Here’s to many more surprising miracles in the years to come.

Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle