Queen Chrysalis rarely had time for delight in her life, such as it was. After all, a temporarily-inconvenienced changeling queen had no time to concern herself with such petty feelings; revenge, power, and feasting were what mattered. And yet, despite standing so close to the prize she knew now was beyond her, the ragged Queen allowed herself a scant few moments to enjoy the sight of Twilight Sparkle and her friends withering away before her, under the harsh light of the crystalline tree in the cave's heart.
Six lengths of dead wood clattered to the ground before her, and as the light of the Tree began to fade, so too did the minute satisfaction she had allowed herself. "Servants always fail you in the end," she hissed. She cast her gaze upwards at the glittering tree, her six prizes shining gently in the dying light, just out of her reach. Obsessive fury bubbled up inside of her, and her eyes shrunk to mere specks as she cried: "Just wait, Starlight. I will have my revenge!" Turning away from the Tree of Harmony, she strode towards the edge of the cavern, preparing to take to the skies before the pests arrived.
So consumed was the bitter Queen with hatred towards the pony who took her hive away that she did not notice the Tree behind her swell with light, gathering in the six gems clutched in its branches. Only as her wings unfurled and caught a strange breeze from behind her did Chrysalis realize something was wrong. She had time enough to turn and see the torrent of prismatic light, aiming for her back. She did not have time to scream.
---
Twilight and her friends took the last stretch of woods slowly, trading idle, pleasant chatter as they went. They were exchanging stories of what had happened in the earlier parts of their trip through the Everfree Forest, as no one seemed to quite have the full story--each pony relaying conversations the others didn't remember. It was extraordinarily strange, but for now Twilight simply chalked it up to the strangeness of the chaotic woods. Everyone was relaxing in each other's company, and the 'why' of it could come later.
As the forest thinned out ahead, Rainbow Dash jetted forward, taking to the open skies with a whoop of relief. "Oh man, I always forget how much I hate flying through those trees!" she exclaimed, doing a few lazy loops over the massive hole in the ground that descended towards their campsite and the Tree of Harmony. She was about to glide back and rejoin her friends on the descent when she bothered to look down, and nearly froze in midair. "Uh... guys? You might wanna see this."
Twilight frowned at her friend's tone and broke into a canter, Starlight following on her right and everyone else just behind. Peering over the edge into the sunken cavity, gasps of surprise and horror echoed from the group at the wreckage of the carefully-constructed campsite. "What in the hay happened here?!" exclaimed Applejack, clutching her hat to her head as she leaned over the edge.
"Our... our poor camp!" Rarity cried, distress evident in her voice.
Fluttershy took off, hovering just above her friends as she surveyed the damage, before her eyes caught a crumpled form near the mouth of the cave. "Oh my gosh, I think there's somecreature down there!"
---
Chrysalis hovered at the edge of consciousness. The light that tore through her body had caused her pain, of course--a searing pain that drove rational thought from her mind. But beneath that she could feel two warring impulses. A distinct part of her felt as if the light was trying to split her apart, to divide her into pieces lighter than air. And yet still another part felt it tie her together, weigh her down, tempting her to succumb to it and remain still forever.
Caught between these two extremes, her mind laid bare to the torturous light, it was all she could do to focus on those she hated in an attempt to steady herself: Starlight Glimmer, of course, and her band of pests, including the traitorous Thorax; Twilight Sparkle and the rest of her obnoxious friends, who had ruined her plans time and again; the disgustingly saccharine Princess Cadance and her husband, who had the gall to be anything other than her prey. And, as the light finally wore away her defenses and she felt herself succumbing to the peaceful black of unconsciousness, the last face she saw was her own. She had failed herself again. And now she would have to pay the price.
---
The seven ponies cautiously approached the strange form twitching on the ground near the caves mouth, having made the descent at speed. Twilight Sparkle stepped forward, igniting her horn to shed light on her surroundings. "Starlight, Fluttershy, you're with me. Can you get a shield spell ready in case whatever this is lashes out?" Twilight asked, turning to look at her friend. Starlight gave her a nod and lit her horn with prepared magic, the simple request causing a smile to break through her mask of nervousness. Fluttershy gulped quietly, but took to the air behind her friends, ready to swoop in if the creature needed her care. The princess took a steadying breath. "Everypony else stay back for now."
She strode forward and pushed more magic through her horn, casting light on the strange form on the ground in front of them. It was mostly black, but with glimmering sections of its body that seemed almost reminiscent of the crystalline Tree in the cave behind her. It was Fluttershy, hovering above her friends, that was the first to recognize her. "I... I think that's a changeling? A b-big one..." her voice began to break up as she ran through her own words in her head, realizing what they must mean. Twilight and Starlight shared a glance, then broke into a cautious trot.
"It really is her," Starlight murmured as they approached, recognizing the alicorn-proportioned shape of the changeling queen now unconscious on the ground. Twilight simply looked bewildered; as the light of her spell fell on Chrysalis' form, it revealed bands of crystal emerging from her chitin at irregular points, giving her the strange impression of a patchy crystal pony. "What in Celestia's name happened to her? What is this?" she pondered, leaning in to inspect the odd additions.
Chrysalis twitched fitfully in her sleep, perhaps responding to their voices, causing the three ponies to leap back in surprise, and Starlight to nearly unleash her spell, before the queen ceased moving again. The other four, seeing trouble almost occur, moved forward to join their friends. "What on earth is she doing here?" Rainbow Dash groaned, looking down at the unconscious villain.
Applejack squinted her eyes, thinking. "...D'you think she had anythin' to do with all the weirdness back in the forest?"
Twilight sighed and pressed a hoof to her forehead. "With our luck? Probably. What the hay are we supposed to do with her?"
Everyone present fell silent, pondering the question, but did not take their eyes off of the threat in their midst. Finally, it was Pinkie Pie that spoke up."Well... we can't just leave her alone, right? She's a big bad villain! We gotta keep an eye on her."
Rarity sighed, looking around at the ruined camp and down at Chrysalis. "She... does have a point. Besides, I for one don't think that I'll be getting much of any sleep, what with our camp ruined and her anywhere near us," she lamented, suppressing a shiver at the latter thought.
Taking her friends' words into consideration, Twilight finally nodded. "We can take her back to the castle. Between me and Starlight, it should be an easy enough job to make a room she can't get out of. Once that's sorted, we can send a letter to Celestia and figure out what to do."
Her friends relaxed slightly, tension seeping out of the group at the suggestions. After a beat, Applejack stepped forward, pulling a rope from her saddlebags. "Rainbow Dash, help me hog tie her just in case whatever happened wears off between here and there?" The pegasus nodded and quickly set to work helping her friend restrain the queen.
Rarity, meanwhile, turned to look at their camp and sighed. "I suppose we should really clean this place up. Pinkie, Fluttershy, would you be dears and help me with this?"
Pinkie bounced to her side and gave her a cheerful grin. "Sure, but only if you be an even bigger dear and help me throw a 'Congratulations Everypony, We Captured Chrysalis and No One Got Hurt Party!' I don't know where I'm gonna find all that swiss cheese without help!"
Rarity managed (quite impressively, she thought) to look only slightly bemused by her friend's sudden festive outburst. "Of... of course, darling. Tomorrow, though," she said simply, before trotting off to the ruined tents with Fluttershy and Pinkie in tow.
Twilight watched them go and sighed, her features downcast. Just when it seemed that their day had recovered, everything had to get exponentially more complicated. Now they would need to go all the way back through the Everfree before they could get any rest! The trip, unfortunately, was ruined. With nothing to do but wait, she turned her attention back to their new charge.
Looking down at the increasingly-restrained changeling queen, Twilight felt a curious, familiar emotion in her heart. With the benefit of a few moments to think (Applejack and Rainbow Dash were arguing over knots), she inspected the feeling, trying to recall its source. Suddenly, it clicked. She didn't have a name for it, but she had felt it twice before. Once, looking down into a crater, where a fellow student knelt, crying at her failures. And once again, looking across a dust-worn wasteland, as another mare began to grasp the consequences of her actions (and at that thought she can almost taste the dust, and quickly she pushes that sensation out of mind). It was a little like pity, mixed in with a bit of hope and the curiosity she felt when plucking a new book from the shelf. She had a chance, she realized, to reach out to the queen--and she had to be sure not to squander it.