Queen Chrysalis nearly won. She came so close.
However, in the changeling hive’s freshly wrecked throne room, victory was once again stolen from her icy, evil grasp.
Thanks to the brave efforts of a highly unlikely team led by Starlight Glimmer, the ponynapped bearers of the Elements of Harmony, Spike, and the alicorn princesses were freed from their cocoon prisons. Worse still for Chrysalis, the other changelings had been tempted into sharing love and consequently transformed. Save for the sole changeling still on long-range patrol.
That changeling was going to hate his cohorts' new, more colorful, and less fear-inspiring appearance.
“Queen Chrysalis, I was in your hooves once when my own plans were ruined by Twilight and her friends. I ran away to seek revenge, but you can be better than I was by not repeating my mistake. What do you say?”
Starlight reached out her hoof to the fallen Queen. Chrysalis carefully surveyed the hoof as she slowly extended her own hoof toward it. It inched closer. Closer. Closer still. It made contact…in a hard slap that smacked away the reformed unicorn’s hoof.
Well, she gave reforming Chrysalis a shot.
“Starlight Glimmer, train yourself to sleep with one eye open. You haven’t seen the last of me!” Chrysalis flew out of the hive, fading into the vast, barren, windy wilderness.
Despite her success in saving her friends and beating her fears that she could be a good leader, Starlight watched the fleeing Queen with a disheartened frown. Twilight strode to and wrapped a supportive foreleg around her student’s neck, wearing a warm smile.
“I tried.”
“I know you did, Starlight. I’m proud of you. At least you tried, unlike the rest of us.” Twilight smirked and asked more playfully, “You’re not trying to take my job, are you?”
Starlight and Twilight shared a giggle.
Spike crept beside Twilight and watched Chrysalis retreat. Everyone, from the ponies to the newly-reformed changelings to Discord, was just observing. Staying still. Doing nothing. “Twi?” Spike finally spoke. “Shouldn’t we do something?”
“Do what?” Twilight asked.
“Chrysalis threatened Starlight and is getting away. We’re all right here. Shouldn’t we, I don’t know, stop her?”
“Hmm.” The alicorn stroked her cheek. “I suppose we could, but I don’t think she’ll be a threat anymore.”
“Goo goo ga!” Flurry Heart gurgled from within one of Cadance’s forelegs. In foal talk, she yelled, “But we shouldn’t risk it!”
Twilight glanced at Flurry and giggled. “Flurry's right. After all, if Chrysalis tries something, Starlight has Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack, and five alicorns including me by her side. Even better, Starlight is as strong as me thanks to her magic studies under me, so she may not even need our help.”
“Goo ga ga! Goo ga go!” (That’s nothing like what I tried to say! You just wanted me to feel important!)
“Um, Twilight? When you made me your student, I was already–”
A lavender hoof slapped over Starlight’s mouth, its owner eeping out a sheepish chuckle. “P-plus, there’s Shining Armor, the Royal Guards, and even Discord. Chrysalis only has herself.”
“Hey, Twilight!” Trixie shouted, scowling. “Aren’t you forgetting about somepony?”
“I am? Uh…oh!” Twilight’s pupils puffed in realization, and she leaned down to Spike. “I’m so sorry, Spike, but Starlight has you too. Can you forgive me for forgetting you?”
“Sure.”
The forgetful but kind Princess wrapped a foreleg around Spike and embraced the dragon in a hug. D’awww!
Somehow immune to the cuteness of Twilight’s and Spike’s moment, Trixie groaned and yelled, “Spike’s not who Trixie meant, Twilight!”
“He’s not?” Twilight released her affectionate hug on Spike and turned to Trixie. “Then who is it?”
“Trixie will provide you with a hint: you went head-to-head with them before.”
“Let’s see.” She rolled her eyes upward, and thoughtfully laid a hoof on her cheek. "You can’t be talking about Tirek. Can I have another hint?”
“They are standing right in front of you!” Trixie pointed a hoof at herself, smiling knowingly. “Get it now?”
“Uh…oh, I get it!” Twilight looked to Thorax and the changelings, all standing or hovering behind Trixie. “I’m sorry guys, but Starlight also have you. I’m not used to us being on the same side yet.”
“It’s okay, Princess Twilight,” a newly reformed changeling said, bashfully rubbing his head. “It’ll take some getting used to for us too.”
Trixie facehoofed. She may reconsider her choice to assist in saving Twilight later. ‘Were you always THIS bad at taking hints or are you just getting dumber?’
Rainbow flew up and peered at Chrysalis, now a mere black dot on the horizon. “Besides, she’s gotten pretty far away. Do we really have to go get her?”
Applejack raised an eyebrow, a gesture she once attempted – and failed – to trademark. “Seriously? You want to let her skedaddle because yer too lazy to help round her up?”
“W-well, I was in one of those weird cocoons for hours.” Rainbow landed back on the ground, yawning. “I’m a little tired.”
“You are tired from literally doing nothing?” Rarity asked in a sarcastic tone.
“I wasn’t ‘just’ doing nothing! My love was slowly being zapped from me!” Rainbow pointed at Rarity. “You were stuck in one too, right?”
A blush heated on Rarity’s cheeks and she tittered, laying a hoof just under her mouth in embarrassment. “Point taken.”
“Goo! Ga ga!” (Fine! I’ll drag her back!)
Flurry squirmed in Cadance’s foreleg, forcing the mother alicorn to tighten her foreleg’s grip and look down at Flurry in confusion.
“Flurry? What’s wrong?”
“Goo ga!” (Let me go, Mom!)
“Are you upset or scared over what happened?” Cadance tenderly stroked Flurry’s mane with her free foreleg and cooed, “Don't worry, sweetie. That mean Chrysalis won’t hurt you again, I promise.”
Flurry’s flailing calmed to a growingly serene stillness. “Ga! Goo ga…ga goo…goo ga go…“ (No! Mom’s doing it again…can’t resist that…energy to chase ugly bug fading…)
“That’s my little filly.”
Starlight gazed toward the horizon. “But on the other hoof, as a former…misguided pony, I know that Chrysalis will come for me. Even if I could fend her off alone, isn’t it foalish to let her escape?”
A wave of energy broke Flurry’s motionless state and she shouted, “Goo!” (Yes!)
Starlight’s serious frown brightened to a naive smile. “But if Twilight thinks it’ll be fine, I’ll trust her completely. She is my teacher.”
“Ga!” (No!)
Discord commented, “And the writers want to bring back Queen Bug in a later season. We should humor them and let her run.”
“True, true–” Pinkie Pie's eyes bulged. She slowly and deeply Inhaled from surprise–she does that. “Wait, you know about the writers too?! I thought only I could see past and break the fourth wall!”
“Why, of course.” Discord proudly laid his paw on his chest. “I’m Discord, remember?”
“Wait, that is–” Twilight started, but cut herself off with a groan, remembering the day she learned to not question Pinkie Pie if she don’t have to. “No, I won’t ask more about this ‘fourth wall’. I don’t want bees to chase me or pianos to fall on my head again.”
”And your sanity and innocence are better off never knowing some of the things Pinkie and I have seen.” Discord shuddered as he thought about the “mature” elements of the MLP fandom. “There’s a reason why we are, you could say, ‘out there’.”
“But how about we return to the topic of Chrysalis?” Princess Celestia asked. “I admit that I have doubts, but if Twilight believes allowing her to flee will be fine, I shall trust her judgment.”
“Hehe, thank you, Princess–oh!”
“What?” Spike asked.
“Starlight has Trixie by her side too! Why didn’t anypony remind me? In fact, why didn’t you remind me, Trixie?” Twilight apologizingly hung her head down. “Also, sorry.”
Trixie lowered her eyelids in a deadpan fashion. “Trixie hasn’t the foggiest idea, and apology semi-accepted.”
"Yeah, and if I know Queen–uh, ex-Queen Chrysalis, she won’t try to attack Starlight anytime soon,” a changeling said. “She’ll probably first try to eliminate cakes and books.”
Thorax started, “She still hates–”
Twilight’s and Celestia’s eyes ignited deep red, as they asked, “She’s going to WHAT?!”
“Eliminate cakes and books, because she thinks we’d be better off without them. During our invasion, I think she stole one of your cakes and a few of your–”
“I’ll KILL HER!!” Both Celestia and Twilight roared. The two alicorns took flight and shot off toward where Chrysalis ran. Like teacher, like student.
Everyone else stared toward the raging duo in pursuit of the cake/book hating changeling, each blinking twice in quick session. Despite this being a turn of events she wanted, even Flurry Heart felt unsure of what to make of it.
“You know,” Starlight finally spoke, “I should be angry about how Twilight might care more about her books than me, but I get it.” She glanced at her Cutie Mark, which resembled a kite, especially from a distance. “If Chrysalis had also stolen any of my kites, I would have joined Twilight and Princess Celestia in hunting her down.”
Fluttershy said, “But I think they went too late; Chrysalis has been out of view for a while now.”
Princess Luna sighed, then flapped her wings to get airborne. “I should follow them. Sister and Twilight will likely collapse from exhaustion searching for Chrysalis, so somepony will have to retrieve them.”
“And I’m sure Shining Armor is worried sick about Flurry and me, so I should go tell him we are safe.” Cadance levitated Flurry onto her head.
“Goo goo.” (I can’t wait until I can talk.)
“What about the rest of us?” Spike stared toward Twilight’s rapidly shrinking form in the distance, and grimaced. “With Twilight that mad, we should give her space and trust Princess Luna to bring her back.”
A mischievous smirk curled on Starlight’s lips. “Do any of you like festivals?”
“I almost can’t believe they let me flee,” Chrysalis gloated as she ran through the bare outskirts of her former hive. “They are going to regret that when I have my revenge on that insufferable Starlight Glimmer! Our battle will be legendary! Ha ha–”
Chrysalis’s eyes widened; she cut both her evil laughter and running. For the first time in a long time, she would have to face enemies without her army, but she was far from omnipotent.
“Uh-oh. One-on-one, I could take her, but I might have to face her friends too. Even if I went to recruit Pharynx before he could be corrupted, this will be a LOT harder than I thought. Those ponies’ stupidity can only even the playing fie–”
“I’ll KILL HER!!” A rage-filled scream cut through the air.
The changeling’s stomach sunk. “Uh-oh, again. That blabbermouth Sclerite must have told Celestia and Twilight I stole their cakes and books earlier.” She hurried to a fissure in the ground and flew inside, snugly fitting between its walls. “I should hide here until Twilight and Celestia pass out and Luna drags them away. In my current power, trying to fight two alicorns at once would be even dumber than those idiots letting me escape.”