Chrysalis, the former changeling queen, slowly opened her eyes as she came to. She noticed that she was in a void with a very sickening shade of cyan. The swirly pattern and the many stars made her want to vomit more.
She didn't even get to yell in rage, because suddenly, a bright light appeared. Chrysalis shut her eyes and shielded them from the blinding light, only increasing in brightness.
Finally, it faded. Replacing it, was the pathetic unicorn sent by Twilight Sparkle to teach her, Cozy, and Tirek friendship: Luster Dawn.
Not even thinking, Chrysalis lunged forward to her prey, only to be stopped midair. Chrysalis shuffled in the grip, before giving up and discovering why she was floating. Luster was levitating her with her magic! Chrysalis then got to notice the features of the unicorn. She was more sparkly and transparent, and her vibe was... off.
The changeling finally spoke after a few seconds of silence.
"Aren't you gonna say something? Rub it in that you always have the upper hoof? And how are you able to enter my dreams anyway?"
Luster just shook her head, smiling.
"Tsk tsk tsk. You may be a bigger challenge than I thought. No matter!"
Luster suddenly ignited her horn, producing a dimmer glow. Chrysalis suddenly noticed that the void started transforming into a peculiar landscape. Although she has never seen it before, it became more clearer of where she was as the landscape finally finished forming.
"Do you know where we are?" Luster asked.
"Let's see... traces of a changeling hive... sickening flowers and vines... the urge to vomit... this must be the new hive, I presume?"
"You guessed correctly. Shall I put you down and believe you won't attack?"
"What's the point? You HAVE magic! There is no reason to attack if you have the upper hoof."
"Good choice."
Chrysalis suddenly felt herself being lowered, before her hooves finally hit the ground.
"Now then..." Chrysalis began. "Why did you bring me here?"
"To give you a reality check."
"How?"
"You say your hive left you, correct?"
"I thought you would have taken the hint already! After seeing changelings yourself and hearing all of those stories about that day, I would have suspected you wouldn't ask."
Luster's smile faded into seriousness. "It's a yes or no question."
"WHAT DO YOU THINK?!?! MY SUBJECTS HAVE ALL LEFT ME!!! ACCEPTED THE WAY OF LIFE OF THOSE PATHETIC PONIES!!!!!"
"Did they all fly off? Did they say you were a lost cause?"
"Well... I-"
"Or did one of the ponies that saved them from your reign offer you friendship?!? From MY perspective, a LOT of the changelings thought the same way SHE did. It was either YOU joined them or LEFT them. But instead, you rejected the offer and flew away. YOU betrayed them! YOU left them! YOU abandoned them!!!!"
"You don't know ANYTHING!!!!!" the changeling hissed bitterly.
"If you would have joined them..." Luster said sternly. "You would have had it ALL! Friends! Family! A home! Instead, you left them and became reduced to NOTHING! Even when you worked with Tirek and Cozy Glow, you got an even WORSE outcome by being turned to stone. Again, you became NOTHING! And look where we are now! AGAIN, you are being offered another chance at life!"
Luster finally stopped talking as Chrysalis sat down. She was shocked by what had just been said to her. WHY would a pathetic pony stand up to a fierceful queen like HER!?!?! She could attack! Attack the pony! But then again, she has no magic! The pony has it all! Even though she was in a dream, Chrysalis knew that she was still stripped of all magic.
Silence struck the two before Luster continued.
"Your way of life has corrupted you. The THIRST for revenge has corrupted you. I understand that changelings have been through a lot less than you have. But that doesn't mean you can call friendship 'poisonous'. Friendship didn't destroy your hive. It didn't destroy your life. YOU did. ALL that has happened to you was because of YOUR choices."
Luster sat down.
"Back then on Mount Everhoof, when Tirek gave you your magic back, how did you feel?"
Chrysalis finally spoke.
"I felt... surprised."
"And how did you feel after that?"
"I felt... pleased. I felt like helping others was worth the time."
"And WHAT did you do next?"
Chrysalis didn't answer.
"You rejected friendship AGAIN! You've snapped out of it. You've snapped Tirek and Cozy out of it. You just threw another chance out the window! You could have taken it! But no! You continued your evil ways and it resulted in you getting turned to stone!"
Chrysalis stayed silent and looked down at the ground. She was lost. She didn't know how to view herself anymore. All of those things said to her... it hurt. But it also felt... true. She didn't know why. But it just did.
Chrysalis continued staring at the ground as Luster stared at her. Silence carried on for about a minute until Luster spoke up.
"I think that is enough for our appointment today. From the looks of it, I may have finally broken your shell. I hope when you and the others are awake, that Luster digs even deeper and convinces you the better ways of friendship."
That brought Chrysalis out of her silence.
"Did you just refer to yourself in third pony view? You ponies sure have a weird way of closing off speeches."
Luster's smile finally returned.
"Maybe. Or maybe I'm not Luster."
"What? What does that mean? Who are-"
Chrysalis never got to finish. Luster finally lit up her horn again and emitted a bright glow. The increasing brightness resulted in Chrysalis closing her eyes and shielding them with a forehoof again, but even still, she could see the brightness through her eyelids.
Finally, Chrysalis woke up in the waking world, again at a loss for words.
The former changeling queen sat up and saw Cozy and Tirek do the same. Nopony spoke as the three villains got on their hooves, positioned themselves, and sat back down on their logs.
It didn't take long for Luster Dawn's tent to open with a loud ZIIIIIIP.