//------------------------------//
// Resolution 
// Story: Insurgence 
// by Rose Quill 
//------------------------------//

"So," Celestia said. "This is her fate."

I nodded as we looked at the fragmented mirror. It had been patched up after some event had shattered it, one that not even Twilight knew about. As I watched Sorla interact with a Sombra that held a kind visage and actually was loved by his staff, I felt a smile creep up on me. It was possibly the best outcome she could have gotten, yet I saw a bit of melancholy on Celestia's face.

"And what befell Chrysalis?" the Daytime Diarch asked me as she ushered me out of the room, levitating a shroud over the mirror frame as we left.

I shrugged. "I don't really understand all the technical aspects of the spells," I admitted. "Most of the knowledge I gained was part of the other timeline and Twilight's link with me during the final confrontation. As near as I can tell, she's been locked in the same planar location she trapped me in when she first cast the spell. She's more or less in stasis on an alternate plane, but I don't know for how long or if she'll even be able to leave it."

Celestia nodded sadly. "I had hoped that we could one day reconcile," she sighed. "But I suppose a part of me knew that she was beyond redemption. Still, though, I wonder if there could have been a different outcome."

"I doubt it," I said as we approached the medical ward. "Near the end, she was more than willing to kill, and seeing how casually she did it, I don't think there was enough left of her to be redeemed like Thorax and the rest of the hive."

We stepped into the ward and saw the six Elements being checked over by doctors, testing their reflexes and mantic exhaustion. Whatever had caused the blending of their mentalities had taken a heavy mental toll on them, and being more or less comatose for two days did not help matters.

"How are they?" I asked one of the techs.

"Weary, but so far they seem to be recovering rather swiftly," the nurse said. "A few days of bed rest and they should be right as rain."

Celestia smiled. "Please let us know if anything changes," she requested and nudged me towards the door.

As the portal swung closed behind us, I could tell she was wrestling with something.

"Princess," I prompted. "Is anything the matter?"

She sighed. "It is unseemly for a ruler to admit faults to her subjects," she murmured. "But twice now you have saved the kingdom, so I suppose you have a right to know that I have doubts as to my fitness as a leader."

She paused and looked at the stained glass window that graced the hallway. "Most ponies see my sister and I as infallible and immortal rulers, and that we will always have the best interests of Equestria at heart. And we aren't. We could still be defeated, we still make mistakes. We're only ponies, after all."

"And yet, in this latest crisis, I feel no fear for myself, but those I care for," she said as we continued walking. "Twilight and her friends, Sunset and hers. They both have been through a traumatic experience and will need guidance to recover. I'm afraid I may have to ask a large favor of you, Starlight Glimmer."

I smiled. "I think I know what it is," I said simply. "And I'm going there tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" she asked with curiosity.

"Yeah," I said, stifling a yawn. "I don't know how tired Twilight and the others are, but I've channeled three ponies worth of magic in a day and was close to burnout as it was. I and too tired to levitate a pamphlet at the moment, so sleep would be a welcome respite."

The white Alicorn smiled.

"That much, at least," she said. "I can grant without worry."