Time had come to a stand still for Celestia. Words failed her as she gazed upon the fallen form of the infamous Queen of the Changelings. Her mind raced back to Cadance and Shining Armor's wedding, then she recalled every single event that had led up to the present moment, starting with the attack on Ponyville during Nightmare Night and Luna's subsequent disappearance.
Above all else however: she was not dreaming again. The unconscious changeling at Celestia's hooves wearing the Alicorn Amulet was proof undeniable.
This whole time... she thought. This changes everything! But how do we proceed from here? Will Chrysalis talk? Are there more changelings hiding within my own ranks? Is that how she got the amulet, with infiltrators posing as vault guards? But those shadow ponies that were attacking Ponyville, they didn't turn back into changelings when I defeated them in battle. Were they actually... were they really...? And still no sign of Luna... Does this mean she'll have been released from the control magic?
Celestia's eyes began to water as her thoughts lingered on Luna and of her absence. For several moments, she envisioned her sister's smiling face in her mind. However, those mental images soon became overpowered by a deepening pit in her stomach as all the possible implications of this latest development nagged at her.
That dream I had the night before Hearth's Warming... so Chrysalis was one of the figures I saw on that dark beach. But if that's so, then that must be a real place I saw, and who was that Chrysalis was talking to?
“S-so...” stuttered Cadance. “All this time...”
Twilight remained completely speechless, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide at the unconscious Chrysalis. Sweat poured down her brow, and one would almost be able to see the gears in her head faltering and starting up again in an endless cycle.
After several more moments, Rainbow let out a loud huff and cried at the top of her lungs. Her face was as red as an apple. “Are you kidding me?!”
Fluttershy winced and covered her ears. “Please, not so loud, Dashie. I already have a terrible headache as it is.”
“You and me both, darling,” muttered Rarity, covering her head with her forelegs. “Rainbow Dash, please don't shout like that.”
“Well I'm sorry!” Rainbow replied without lowering her volume. “But this... this...!” She trailed off until her speech became incomprehensible, kicking at the ground all around her like a raging buffalo.
Each of the Ponyville ponies that were standing close to Rainbow gave her an uncertain glance and backed away.
Celestia turned her attention to Twilight and noticed her staring at Chrysalis while mouthing words. Deep inside, she had a strong feeling as to what Twilight was thinking back to.
Suddenly, Chrysalis stirred.
Quick as lightning, Rainbow Dash snatched a spear from the closest royal guard in her reach—a unicorn mare. As the guard stumbled back and steadied herself, Rainbow—her face still red as an apple—glared and aimed the spear at Chrysalis, holding the tip mere inches from her throat.
“Rainbow Dash!” cried Rarity.
Rainbow gave no indication that she'd heard Rarity's call. “I don't care if you can hear me or not,” she said, her tone full of venom. “Make one move and I'll shove this spear so far in, they'll have to bury you with it still inside!”
Chrysalis remained unconscious, and her strained breaths continued. “No...” she uttered.
All of the Ponyville ponies took a few steps back. Celestia, the Element Bearers, Shining Armor, and the royal guards all remained where they stood. The guards pointed their spears at Chrysalis, but didn't hold them as close as Rainbow was holding hers.
“I can't fail them again,” Chrysalis continued in her sleep. Several tears appeared and rolled down her face.
“The changelings,” said Cadance. “Where are they now? Canterlot? The Crystal Empire?”
Or someplace else entirely... thought Celestia.
Rainbow gently prodded the Alicorn Amulet with the tip of her spear. “So, Twilight, are you absolutely sure we can't take that thing off ourselves?”
“That's what it said in the book. Once its on, only its wearer can remove it.”
“I say we try anyway.”
Chrysalis stirred again and let out another pained whimper. “No! I can't... I can't...!”
“Must be havin' nightmares,” said Applejack.
Rainbow rolled her eyes and kept a firm grip on her spear. “Aww, poor her,” she said sarcastically.
Without warning, the Alicorn Amulet began to give off a white aura that immediately enveloped Chrysalis. A bright flash blinded the onlookers as a loud crack filled the air. Then, as quickly as it began, both Chrysalis and the amulet were gone.
Everypony jumped back and scattered. Murmuring broke out among them as they stared upon the now empty spot where Chrysalis had been only seconds prior.
“Oh come on!” Rainbow threw the spear to the ground with all her might, sat down on her hindquarters, and folded her forelegs.
Slowly, the royal guard Rainbow had snatched the spear from approached. “May I please have my weapon back now?”
Rainbow huffed and haphazardly pushed the spear toward her.
“Thank you,” she said, picking it up.
Chrysalis let out a weak groan as she started to come to. Feeling a cold surface beneath her, she shivered and instinctively curled into a fetal position, but it did little to warm her. From horn to hooves, front to back, her entire body ached with the worst of it being from her neck up. The feel of the Alicorn Amulet sandwiched between her neck and the hard floor only added to her discomfort, but she lacked the strength to adjust positions.
What happened? she thought. I had them beat, and then....
Chrysalis groaned again as a throbbing pain in her head became apparent. After lying there for a short time, her strength began to return. She rose to her hooves, but the process was slow, and she kept one hoof pressed against her forehead the whole way.
Opening her eyes, Chrysalis saw that she was in a long corridor. With its perfectly smooth walls, ceiling, floor, and the red carpet that was laid along the center of the floor, she immediately recognized the place as the main entry hall to the palace in Canterlot. “How did I get here?”
Chrysalis sat down on her hindquarters and rubbed her head a little more. She remained seated for several minutes, allowing her breathing and her heart rate to return to normal. While that was happening, her mind raced back to her fight with Celestia and the ponies.
“I don't understand,” she said, staring at the floor. “I had them beat. What happened?”
Without shifting her gaze, she raised her hoof and rubbed the amulet that sat firmly about her neck. “That surge... did I get careless?”
After a moment, she stood up and turned her sight so that she was looking into the foreboding darkness of the palace corridor.
“I need some backup.” Chrysalis broke into a gallop and headed straight forward, with the loud reverberations of every hasty step piercing the dead silence. After a very brief run, she entered the throne room. It was difficult to see in the dark, but she was able to make out the the literal seat of Equestrian power atop a little flight of stairs in the back of the room. The carpet she stood on extended all the way up the stairs and to the throne.
“Luna, I need some more of the midnium you picked up for me!”
Her voice echoed loudly across the darkened chamber. It faded away after a few seconds, and all was silent once more.
A slight scowl formed on Chrysalis's demeanor. “Princess Luna!” Her tone was like an upset mother calling her child to her, and created another echo.
Again there was no reply.
Chrysalis began to tremble as she looked around. Her heart rate quickened, and her breaths became heavy. Alone in the darkness, her thoughts turned to her subjects waiting for her back at the Crystal Empire—waiting for news of her victory. She sat down on her hindquarters and hung her head as tears ran down her face.
“I've come too far to lose now... I can't let them down... I can't fail again!”
Her voice trembled along with the rest of her body. Chrysalis clenched her eyes shut, allowing her tears to freely flow. The sound of the droplets hitting the hard floor, and her own soft, choked sobs resounded in her ears worse than her hoofsteps had running down the hall. Her heart felt as if someone had attached a large steel ball to it. In her mind, the only thing she saw were the faces of her beloved changeling subjects. She sat there, unmoving, for what felt like an eternity.
My mind control spell must have broke when the amulet backfired on me, she thought. That must be why Luna isn't here.
“What am I going to do now?” Chrysalis sniffled and rubbed her eyes, but the tears continued.
“Know this...”
The deep, but ghostly, voice whispered across the hall.
Chrysalis's eyes shot open. She jumped to her hooves and turned in the direction of the sound, stopping once she was facing the entrance to the chamber.
Standing in the archway between the grand hall and the corridor was a tall, dark figure. It was about as tall as Chrysalis, though it had no horn. It was pony-like in shape, but its features were completely hidden beneath a large cloak that also shielded its face from view. The figure was also largely obscured by a translucent, ghostly-white aura that had a watery appearance and flowed around the figure in a water-like fashion.
“As powerful as the amulet is,” said the figure, “even it has its limits. Its maker knew it, and I know it."
"You again..." Chrysalis stared at the figure for a few moment. "What exactly is your deal? First you find me after I got blasted out of Canterlot during that Princess's wedding, lead me to the Alicorn Amulet, then try to talk me out of all this on Nightmare Night, and now you're here again?"
The figure did not reply.
With a sigh, Chrysalis rubbed her eyes again and her tears slowed. “Anyway... You're saying that I used too much power and damaged my own chances?”
“In that instant you did.”
Chrysalis lowered her gaze and shook her head. Not a single part of her wanted to believe what she'd just heard, but deep down, the growing pit in her stomach told her that it was indeed true.
“However, you're not beaten yet.”
“But how?” replied Chrysalis. “Luna's not here, and those Dreadkin ponies surely aren't going to listen to me after this humiliation. And without the amulet, there's no way I can beat Celestia and her little cronies on my own."
“Luna served her purpose, and the Dreadkin will listen to me. You're not as alone as you think...”
Chrysalis stared straight ahead at the dark figure as she listened to it speak. Then, the faces of her changelings reappeared in her mind one by one like before. A crushing weight was felt around her heart again and her tears resumed. She sniffled and wiped her eyes, but after a few moments, something else stirred within the disgraced changeling queen that caused her tears to cease, something that could be described only as a final spark of hope that was on the verge of being extinguished forever. That spark started to grow. Closing her eyes, she raised her foreleg, pressed her hoof against the Alicorn Amulet, and concentrated fully on her subjects. Opening her eyes, she met the figure's apparent gaze again.
The dark figure's gaze never strayed from Chrysalis as it inched closer and closer to her.