Inside the cell, Thorax can see Chrysalis back to her old state but his friends are preparing themselves now that one of Equestria’s criminals have been released from their permanent punishment.
Chrysalis shot both of her eyes open in an instant and looked in her surroundings. All she can remember before she turned into stone was that she was defeated by not only Twilight and her friends, but almost all of the population of Equestria. She moans while noticing she’s behind strong bars, unable to escape.
“Uhh...what’s going on!?” She retorted while trying to get on her hooves.
Spike begins to back away until Cadance stops him. “You're going to be safe.” She whispered.
“Why am I in a cell!?” The former queen shouted.
“Enough!” Thorax shouted back.
This only caused her to hiss in rage without any freedom or revenge. “Do you know what you're doing?” Starlight replied.
Thorax didn’t respond as he made his way to her former queen. “I’m going with...no.” Spike said quietly.
The ruler of the Changeling Empire stared face to face with his former ruler, the only Changeling who hasn’t been reformed yet. At this point there’s no turning back, but he isn’t afraid anymore.
“What do you want from me!?” Chrysalis glared.
“Let’s just say an attitude adjustment is required.” Thorax being unflinched from Chrysalis’s ruthless behavior.
“Oh really? Well let me remind you that you're wasting your time!”
“That’s not it. As far as my new priorities on my mind, you're hiding something because you keep refusing to accept friendship. I don’t care what you say, you just won’t admit it.”
Chrysalis rolled her eyes when she heard the word friendship. “So what, you're gonna offer me your friendship just like how Starlight did from before?” She pointed at her enemy. “You know that friendship isn’t always a helpful solution.”
Starlight and the others looked at each other from hearing Chrysalis’s statement. They know that she’s insane after she lost her reign of domination, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t right most of the time. However this didn’t convince Thorax at all.
“You're wrong!” He shouted back. “Unlike me, you never gave friendship a chance. You never let change come to you when you stayed the same, because you always have to do it your way. But since I’m the ruler, you're not going anywhere!”
Chrysalis groaned as she sat down in her cell. Without her unlimited power from before, she had to face the fact that Equestria would stop at nothing to put her into stone again. She sighed while placing her hoof on her face. “So...what kind of attitude adjustment are you talking about?”
“Cadance.”
Upon hearing her name, the ruler of the Crystal Empire walks up to Thorax as she looks at Chrysalis. “Helping you to reform.”
“Reform? So what, you're gonna coddle me for a long time until that happens?”
“Yes…”
The unreformed changeling had no words, her body stopped without a single movement. She expected her enemies to make a lame joke but it wasn’t the case. “You’re...not making this up?”
“We never joke around.” Pharynx spoke from the other side of the cell. “Whatever you like it or not, we’re helping you regardless and you're not going anywhere.”
Thorax then turned to Spike and Starlight which was their cue to come forward. “If you really want your freedom, you have to earn it by getting reformed, not in your old state.” Starlight replied.
“Especially by not plucking off our body parts.” Spike finished.
Chrysalis would rather break out of her cell but due to how indestructible it is, she has no choice. She couldn’t believe this would ever happen to her after she failed to win over against her enemies for the final time.
“Okay, so what do you expect me to do? Play card games?” She rolled her eyes.
“Playing a simple board game doesn’t work for friendship right off the bat.” Cadance being serious while trying to be kind.
Cadance showed Chrysalis the photos her henchmen back at the Crystal Empire took where her citizens and changelings intermix with each other. It took time to make Chrysalis understand the meanings of friendship where there's no need for a thirst for vengeance.
“Every day I see ponies outside of their homes, they didn’t need an army. You may not like them, but when you take matters into your own hooves, you miss the point entirely.” Cadance replied.
“So what? I’m a Changeling and a queen. I only follow one creature and that creature is myself.” Chrysalis retorted. “If you were in my place, it wouldn’t change history at all.”
“That’s because you never felt reformation, like Thorax and the other changelings did.”
“Yeah.” Starlight walking up by Cadance. “You always reject something that you haven’t experienced yet. If you didn’t reject my offer, you would have been on our side.”
The creature behind the bars only brushed it off after her encounters with Starlight. “Oh, well sorry for doing the opposite. If I defeated you, I would still conquer the lands of Equestria.”
This causes both Cadance and Starlight to sigh in disappointment. “This isn’t going to work.” Cadance said. “Can someone else try to help?”
“I’ll do it.” Spike offered. “I know it’s not going to help much, but we knew this would take forever.” The dragon headed forward while Cadance and Starlight left Chrysalis alone. However the ruler of the Crystal Empire decided to leave the room after her attempt failed.
“Where are you going?” Thorax asked which caused Cadance to stop.
“I’m not leaving, I just need some time alone.” Without continuing the subject, Cadance left the room, leaving Thorax and the others. However this didn’t bother the Changeling ruler as he turned his attention back to Chrysalis, who’s being very insistent with Spike.
“I’m not giving up.” He said to himself.
Outside of the room, Cadence sat by herself in the hives where most of the Changelings are away from the drama. She’s too disappointed that Chrysalis is still the same without a single change in herself. Unlike Thorax’s plans, she can only fear if his plans backfire, it could lead to another crisis to occur.
Then one Changeling appeared from one of the holes who’s still concerned about all of this. “Cadance?” Ocellus spoked which caused Cadance’s ear to perk up.
“Yes?” She spoke nicely.
“Is it true that Thorax is trying to reform our former queen?”
“Yes but it’s not working out at the moment.” She didn’t make any eye contact with Ocellus, but it didn’t stop the changeling. She walked up to the princess until Cadance noticed that she’s right in front of her.
“She’s not going to reform right?” Ocellus asked again.
“From the way Chrysalis is acting right now, no, she won’t.”
Ocellus decided to sit by Cadance who’s still feeling unsure with Thorax. “I talked to Thorax about this last night and I also think this is a terrible idea. I would try to think positive, but after what she did along with Cozy and Tirek, she isn’t worthy of friendship.”
Cadance took a deep breath, trying to do what’s right, but knows full well Thorax will never give up. “I would agree with that, but we’re doing everything we can. Chrysalis is sometimes out of her mind when she’s thirsty for vengeance. It feels like everytime she loses against us, she gets worse and worse.”
“Like how Rainbow Dash feels when she loses?”
“Yes, but at least Rainbow is loyal to her friends. Chrysalis just becomes a psycho, who needs a psychologist, but we all know it’s not enough for her.” The ruler of the Crystal Empire placed her hoof on her face with the idea of giving her enemy a psychologist. “And the more I think about it, the more difficult it gets.”
Ocellus turned to the hole where Thorax and his friends are at. Even if she can’t see what’s going on, she can still hear the voices from the room. From the way Thorax is handling the situation, she can tell it’s not looking good.
“I don’t think that’s the case.” Ocellus turning back to Cadance. “I do understand it will take days, but I’m sure Chrysalis must have missed something about friendship.”
“How would you know? How did you feel when you were under her control before all the Changelings got reformed?”
The Changeling didn’t expect a question that’s so honest about her life, even her closest friends never asked her that question. “I still felt shy, but when love got close to me, I lost control of myself.”
“Well that’s what changelings need when they do it physically, instead of sharing it.”
Ocellus learned that sharing is important ever since she reformed herself. “Maybe Chrysalis always takes forceful matters in her own way. She never takes the easy way and always goes for the hard way.”
“What’s your point?” Cadance now looking at the Changeling.
“Maybe my point is, she never understands what love is supposed to be. Like she’s a thief who’s stealing things she doesn’t know about.”
Cadance found Ocellus point smart, but there’s one she doesn’t know about. “Well that’s mostly true, but she knows more about love than you. When she invaded Canterlot during my wedding, she tried to feed off all the love she can find.”
“That’s true but again, in a forceful manner.” Ocellus corrected. “I think there is a way to reform her.”
“There is a way?” Cadance responded.
“Yes, but I think we need to plan this out one hundred percent before we help her.”
Both Ocellus and Cadance come up with their own strategy to prevent Chrysalis from causing chaos again. It may take time but it will be worth it to help Thorax achieve his goal.