Chrysalis stood right in front of the scowling specter. She prepared herself in a battle pose, and glared directly at her foe.
“Leave.. them.. alone,” She warned.
Chrysalis cocked her head forwards, and prepared to shoot a beam directly at the specter. Chrysalis clenched her teeth, and tried to build up her magic to fire a shot. However, only a few green sparks flew out in all directions. The attack had failed. Chrysalis looked up at her horn in shock as a worried look made its way onto her face. The specter had began to laugh maniacally at Chrysalis's failure. Both Alicorns cringed. Twilight put a hoof over her face.
All of Twilight's friends were dragged into the room whilst being chained up by the possessed changelings. The rest of the mane 6 looked in shock to see Chrysalis fighting against the specter. Chrysalis looked back at them and met their gaze.
“Chrysalis, look out!” Rainbow yelled.
The specter had begun shooting small magic projectiles at Chrysalis. She immediately began dodging them. They seemed somewhat easy to dodge. It almost seemed as though the specter wasn't even trying.
“Chrysalis, use your magic!” Rarity shrieked.
“I.. I can't! I don't have anymore left in me!” Chrysalis yelled back at Rarity.
The specter then began shooting magic rings at the Changeling Queen. The rings zapped her whenever she managed to fail to fly through one. The zaps did very little damage. This seemed like a very strange attack for such a powerful being to use. A couple of other odd attacks later, and Chrysalis finally caught on to what it was doing. It was toying with her. This made Chrysalis furious.
“Alright, enough games!” Chrysalis raged.
Chrysalis charged towards the specter with her horn pointed directly towards it. She tried to ram into it, but the specter merely teleported to a different location before she could land a hit. She looked behind herself to see the specter cackling back at her. Chrysalis let out an agitated groan, and flew towards the specter again to try to swipe at it. Once again, the specter teleported behind her, but this time it was up close. The specter bashed it's elbow into the Changeling's back, sending her down to the floor. Chrysalis landed with a thud, and looked up to see the specter charging down towards her. Chrysalis tried to roll out of the way, but she was too slow. The specter slammed into her, causing some of her chitin to crack.
Chrysalis howled in pain as she desperately tried to get up. All of the ponies gasped.
“No! Chrysalis!” Fluttershy yelped.
Chrysalis struggled to get back on her hooves, and she collapsed onto the ground. The specter picked her up by the neck with it's magic, and began to choke her. All the ponies could only watch in horror as the specter choked the life out of the Changeling Queen. Chrysalis gagged, letting out winces of pain. Small amounts of blood began to seep through the cracks in her broken carapace. Chrysalis's vision had begun to slowly fade. Her eyes rolled back, and then she was tossed on the ground right in front of Celestia and Twilight. Chrysalis had lost.
“You monster!” Rainbow yelled, struggling to escape from the chains.
The specter turned around, and begun to torture the ponies with bolts of red electricity.
Twilight and Celestia both looked back at Chrysalis, who laid on the ground in front of them, motionless.
Celestia struggled to speak, “T-this is.. all my fault. I.. I deserved.. this.”
“No.. don't.. say that. That was.. thousands.. of years.. ago. You.. didn't.. know any.. better,” Twilight stammered.
Celestia began to tear up as she began to wallow in self pity. Twilight couldn't bear the sight. But just then, she looked over to see Chrysalis moving. Chrysalis let out a few coughs, and slowly opened her eyes.
“Chrysalis.. you're alive..” Twilight murmured.
“Yes.. but.. we've lost,” Chrysalis said in a ghastly voice. She then looked over at Celestia, and met her gaze. “Celestia.. I'm sorry.”
“Chrysalis..” Celestia was astonished to finally hear Chrysalis utter those words. After she tried to defend the kingdom, she had proven her loyalty, even if it seemed to be all in vain. Celestia could only stare back at her with a look of sorrow.
“We may.. have lost.. but you are still.. my friend Chrysalis. You.. will always be.. my friend.” Twilight smiled.
Chrysalis could only begin to tear up in response to what Twilight had just told her. She began to feel a warm glow in her chest. It was that same glow she got from every moment she spent with her, and the rest of her friends. It was what gave Chrysalis her purpose, and her reason to keep on fighting, no matter what stood in her way.
Twilight slowly struggled to move her hoof towards the battered Changeling. Chrysalis lifted her hoof in response, and they both proceeded to grasp each others hooves. Twilight gave a warm smile which helped lift the Changeling's spirits even more.
Rainbow Dash called out to Chrysalis. “Please... don't give.. up on us! We are.. your... friends! We.. believe in.. you!”
Applejack began to join in. “We need you.. Chrysalis!”
“Gooo Chryssie!” Pinkie pie cheered.
“You can do this!” Rarity yelled.
Chrysalis closed her eyes tightly. She had become overwhelmed by the various strong emotions she received from her friends. The warmth in her chest grew more and more intense. All of the sudden, her eyes shot open. She felt the pain in her whole body start to fade away. Her carapace had slowly begun to heal itself. She began to feel invigorated, and felt the urge to try to stand back up again. The specter turned around in shock. Chrysalis had already gotten back on her hooves, and was overflowing with a massive amount of energy. Twilight and the others gasped, as they saw the Changeling Queen give off a strong green aura.
The specter looked towards Chrysalis with its mouth wide open. Chrysalis had begun to levitate, even without using her wings. Her horn glowed a strong green light that emanated so brightly it could be seen from the Crystal Empire. Chrysalis let out a large flurry of homing attacks onto the unsuspecting specter. The shots had begun to barrage the specter from all sides. The specter let out a desperate howl, as it was torn to pieces by the overwhelming attack. Chrysalis then gave the finishing blow. She rammed her horn into the specters chest, and the specter exploded into a flurry of black particles that flew in all directions.
Chrysalis stood on all fours, and opened her eyes to see that the specter had indeed been defeated. She then began to feel weak, and slowly fell back onto the floor. The ponies were all speechless. The Changelings all began to regain their self control. Their eyes changed back to their signature blue color, and they all flew over to their queen. Chrysalis could feel herself begin to lose consciousness. Her power was completely used up, and it left her with no energy left. Her vision began to fade, and then she blacked out.
~~~
Chrysalis slowly opened her eyes to find a large golden chandelier hanging over her. She felt like her head was pounding, and felt somewhat dizzy. She looked around the room to find that she was still in the castle. She appeared to be in one of the guest rooms. She got up out of the bed and slowly made her way to the door. She opened the ornate looking door to find a large hallway before her with a balcony at the end. She walked over to the balcony and looked out to see the whole of Equestria right before her eyes. The wind blew against her mane, making it flow in a fashion similar to Celestia's.
Chrysalis took a deep breath and let it out as she marveled at the beauty that was before her. She couldn't believe that she had saved this whole world from destruction. She then remembered her friends, and began to wonder where they were at. Then all of the sudden, she looked to her side to see Celestia standing right beside her. This surprised Chrysalis. She looked back at Celestia in shock. Celestia let out a small chuckle in response.
“It's a beautiful sight, isn't it?” Celestia smiled.
“Yeah.. I mean.. it's incredible. You can see everything from here.” Chrysalis responded.
“Just one of the perks of being Princess of the Sun.” Celestia smirked.
Chrysalis lowered her head.
“I just can't believe I tried to take over all of this, just to keep it all for myself..”
Celestia put a wing over Chrysalis. Chrysalis looked over towards Celestia with a confused look.
“I forgive you Chrysalis.”
Chrysalis stood in shock. “You.. you do?”
“Of course. You saved our kingdom. If it weren't for you, all of this would be gone. You are a hero Chrysalis.”
A smile had crossed Chrysalis's face. Celestia smiled back, giving a proud look.
“You have my blessing, and I'm sure the rest of Equestria will forgive you as well. You have proven your loyalty, and have attempted to sacrifice yourself to save us all. Your sentence is lifted. You are free to go wherever you like.”
A tear had begun to make its way down Chrysalis's cheek. “You know, the funny thing is, I really don't feel like leaving,” Chrysalis then looked out towards the sky. “But I still have a hive to take care of. I am still a Queen after all.”
“I understand. We all have our responsibilities. You could still visit from time to time though.”
“I would love to. I'd still have a lot of work to do first though. Rebuilding the hive will prove to be a long and arduous task.”
“Well, until then, perhaps I could invite you as a prime guest of honor at the Grand Galloping Gala. I'm sure Princess Cadence and Shining Armor will be there as well. Perhaps you could make amends with them when the time comes.”
Chrysalis's face lit up. “Really? You mean it?”
“Of course. I couldn't think of anyone more deserving of the opportunity,” Celestia winked.
“Thank you Celestia.”
Celestia smiled back, and pointed her hoof towards Ponyville. “Oh, I almost forgot, Twilight and the others are waiting for you. You wouldn't want to leave your friends hanging.”
“Of course not,” Chrysalis smirked.
Chrysalis opened up her wings and stood at the edge of the balcony. She looked back at Celestia one last time, cracking a smile. “Thanks for everything.”
Celestia nodded, and then Chrysalis flew out into the distance. Celestia watched as she saw the Changeling Queen slowly disappear through the clouds. Chrysalis felt the wind flowing against her whole body. This is what it felt like to be free. This was what she wanted more than anything. This time, she no longer bore the guilt that would weigh her down. She had found true happiness, and she felt complete. She had a chance to create a future for herself and her hive.
Things could only get better from here on out.