Celestia continued deeper inside the cave. Her hoofsteps reverberated throughout, along with the callings of the denizens of the dark place. She noticed how parts of the cave were separated with new walls, built from an unfamiliar material. But to her it looked like dried changeling goo...
The princess couldn't determine if the shrieks and cries she heard were that of fear or a call to battle, but she didn't expect those who dwelled within to just give up. But she also didn't see a changeling (in one piece) since she entered, so they must've been hiding in the chambers farther from the entrance.
Finally, a drone flew at her with a piercing screech. Celestia didn't hesitate, and shot. The drone hit the ground with a wet "pomf", and became silent. At the same time, the princess reminded herself to check her fire from then on. Her guards must have been inside, and a stray shot from her could do some damage.
After the short encounter, Celestia reached a far too organic looking door. It reminded her of a...
She let the thought go, and stepped ahead. The door contracted from the center, and opened up enough that she fit through. Then suddenly, buzzing. Celestia aimed her lighting spell at the ceiling of the cave, and as if the walls became alive... Hundreds of changelings went at her at once, screeching a war cry. That she has woken up the hive, was an understatement.
Celestia got pinned down from the concentrated spells of all the drones. But she could bring up a bubble shield just in time, so all the magic bolts harmlessly plinked off. After the first volley of strikes, Celestia got to work though. She fired off a rapid volley of destructive spells of her own, and decimated the flying changelings. They fell down, and hit the ground by the dozens. They tried to counterattack, but it was no use, and the place where they set up the trap for the princess, became their trap.
The massacre continued until there was none, but two warriors left. One was an officer, clad in golden armor, possibly of higher rank, who fought with vile and cunning, but eventually Celestia turned a little vile as well, and brought down part of the ceiling upon him. That he didn't expect, and was crushed on the ground under the heavy pieces of stone.
The last changeling was a tiny runt of a drone. He was covering in the farthest corner of the cave. Celestia initially didn't even notice him, but then deactivated her shield, and walked up to him with ominous steps. She began, gently:
"Where are my guards, changeling?"
The changeling looked back, shivering. Celestia conjured up a picture of their guards and smiled.
"Where?"
The changeling pointed to the right of Celestia, at another one of those sphincter gateways.
"Right. And she?"
The princess brought forth the hologram of Queen Chrysalis, trying to make it as accurate as she could remember.
The little 'ling, with a still shaking foreleg, pointed in the same direction.
Celestia just nodded, and went for the door. The drone didn't even see the reaction, just covered his eyes. Probably thought his execution would come next...
Celestia made it to the next chamber. Then the next. Then the next. As she went forward, she noticed more and more of the materials were what could only be described as dried changeling goo. She must have been really close to Chrysalis.
When it seemed she couldn't move forward from one of the chambers, she began searching for some hidden exit. Or a place where she could blow the wall in... But her efforts were cut short by cackling laughter. By the laughter of a very familiar voice...
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the glorious princess of ponykind, Celestia! Nice of you to make yourself my guest."
The voice echoed throughout the chamber, but it's origins were elsewhere. Chrysalis must have projected it from her own part of the hive. Celestia nonetheless answered, hoping the Queen would hear her as well.
"Chrysalis! Where are my Royal Guards? Relinquish them now, or suffer the consequences!"
Chrysalis laughed even harder. Her pitch and the intensity started to make Celestia's blood boil.
"Oh, your guards... They were a treat, for sure! So much love in only four ponies, yum!"
"I will end you for this!" Celestia answered, with her voice raised now.
"Oh please, you pathetic failure of a ruler... You think you could harm me? Remember our last encounter. You skidded across the floor of your own castle, like a discarded piece of trash! While your ponies were witnessing how you couldn't protect them!"
Celestia was enraged, yet she didn't answer. Chrysalis was right, from a certain point of view. But it was also part of the truth the noble princess held herself back on purpose during that fateful duel. She thought a single well-directed, concentrated beam of energy would be enough to defeat the Queen. She underestimated how powerful the Queen could become juiced up on love. So when the scales were tipped against her, all she could do was to take the brunt of the attack if she didn't want to evaporate half the room of guests with a deflected spell.
Luckily, her alicorn physiology let her survive with minor injuries. But that defeat was back then. Now, Chrysalis wouldn't get away. And she wouldn't win their inevitable battle...
"If you're so sure of yourself" Celestia exclaimed finally "why don't you come out, and face me?"
"You want another beating?" answered the disembodied voice with a scoff "Fine. If you feel so inclined. But you could get rid of a little problem for me first... The chamber you're in is actually the prison of a Changeling proto-queen. These things are real brutes, you know."
Celestia looked around. She started to have a bad feeling about the situation. She doubted Chrysalis was just bluffing. Looking at the other half of the chamber, into the darkness, she saw movement...
"Their thirst for love and blood is unquenchable." Chrysalis continued, very matter-of-factly "If they can feed enough, the final part of their ascension begins, and go up against the current queen."
The princess heard the words, but had her eyes on the thing. All she saw was a dark shadow moving past for a moment though. And her ears perked at the sound of some strange chirping...
"But I just hate competition... So good luck!" Chrysalis cooed "And if you fail, well, I'll make sure to send your parts back to little Twilight..."
It seemed the Queen have finished her monologue. Now Celestia's attention was fully on her new adversary. By the sounds of it, the shadowy figure was approaching her. She heard heavy breathing, and heavy steps.
Finally, it revealed itself. The princess' heart skipped a beat, but she pulled it together in a moment. She saw worse, and probably fought worse. But the thing was still a little jarring... Its size rivaled Chrysalis'. Where its face would be, a chitin plate covered everything, as if a helmet. It bared a mouth of sharp fangs at Celestia, while its antennae flailed wildly. It didn't have any wings, but in turn, it had a pair of stumped limbs on its chest.
Oh, and a long, incredibly sharp-looking horn.
The being, lacking eyes, still knew where Celestia was. It let out a piercing screech, and charged at the princess.
But Celestia was ready, and shot her basic combat spell at the monster. She hit it in the face, but it ricocheted off from the face-plate. Celestia, surprised, dodged the charging attack, and the brutish changeling almost hit the wall behind her.
It took a few seconds for the thing to turn back, and seek out the princess. It sniffed the air and stuck out its snake-like tongue. But using the intermission, Celestia now aimed properly, and cast a stronger magic bolt, where the chitin plates met on the creature's side.
To Celestia's even bigger surprise, her spell was absorbed...
"It has magic absorption like an alicorn..."
Celestia started to get a tiny bit concerned, but she also knew that every magical being with that attribute can be overloaded, and then it would die from spells like normal.
The creature charged again, and Celestia used teleportation to get out of the way at the last moment. Now the changeling actually hit a wall, and its horn even got embedded in it.
"Just how sharp that horn is???" Celestia thought, and the next moment, she cast multiple beam spells at the thing. Its body flinched, but these got absorbed too, and got itself free in the meantime.
The two powerful beings faced down each other. Celestia's pure white form against the eyeless, insectoid equine monster. Then suddenly, the latter threw its head back, and let out another screech, along with a shockwave of accumulated magical energy.
That caught Celestia off-guard, and using her moment of dizziness, the monstrosity went at the princess again. Celestia instinctively pulled her head away just before the razor-edged horn could slice it in half, while extending her forelegs to slow down the impact. She got pushed away, while her rear horseshoes threw sparks against the rocky ground surface.
Eventually, the large alicorn could stop her equally big adversary. Now locked in a bout of wrestling, the being simply tried to overpower Celestia, and sure enough, the princess had to put in all the effort to keep the snapping maw away from her neck.
Seeing tearing out her throat wouldn't work, the creature tried to simply slice Celestia's horn in half. As they locked horns, the being pressed its own against Celestia's, and the soft, fuzzy skin began to peel off. In a panic, Celestia fired off a repulse spell, but that only gave her a second of intermission. The creature continued the process, but now locking their horns together from the other side.
If Celestia lost her horn, her way of focusing magic would be lost too, and this gods-forsaken new hive would become the site of her very last battle. If only she was a bit stronger to overpower this brute...
"That's it!"
Strength-improving spells exist, flashed through Celestia's mind. She remembered how it's done, and cast it on herself in a split-second.
The alicorn felt the energy coursing through first her spine, then the rest of her bones, and finally all her muscles. Feeling like a mountain propelled by every piece of energy in the universe, Celestia pushed back her adversary violently, and it flew back a few good meters.
The monster didn't budge though, but before it could began another visceral attack, Celestia tackled it to the ground. It trashed under her, but the princess managed to turn its body to the side, and pressed down on both its forelegs. Its defenses gone, the alicorn stomped the creature's head. Exploding under her hoof like a mere egg, all that remained were innumerable tiny pieces of chitin, fangs, and some greenish sludge, that the formative exoskeleton contained. And two tiny, underdeveloped eyes...
Celestia stepped off from the monster, and flicked off the goo from her front-right hoof. She looked at her former adversary again, then away with disgust. She then let go of the strength spell. It might've been brutally effective, but it actually put a serious strain on the skeletal system. And fighting like a buffalo or yak wasn't the alicorn way anyway.
Celestia entered the next chamber, and as soon as she did, the door behind her snapped shut. She looked back. She knew what was about to come, and only one ruler would leave the underground place alive. But she was ready.
The princess took a few steps forward. Then, from behind a pillar, her nemesis appeared. With a sadistic smile, Chrysalis started:
"Princess Celestia! You're alive. Then I surmise my would-be successor is dead. I thank you for that. But I can assure you, you won't survive me."
Celestia cocked her head a little bit. She gave the changeling queen an unimpressed look:
"Then let's not stall any longer. Show me what you got."
Chrysalis softly cackled:
"Your overconfidence will be your undoing, princess..."
Then her expression suddenly changed, and shouted madly:
"DIE!!!"
The queen fired a dark-green beam of energy at Celestia, but she dashed away in a wake of magic, ending up right behind one of the pillars that seemingly held up that part of the hive. Chrysalis didn't stall, and seeing her spell didn't hit its mark, fired again, and sliced Celestia's pillar in half. The princess dashed away again, behind another, thicker pillar.
Chrysalis, seeing that, switched spells, and fired high powered magic bolts, beginning to reduce the column of rock piece by piece. But Celestia wasn't fazed by the showcase of arcane masonry, and simply repositioned herself a bit.
"Stop hiding, you coward! Come out, and face me!" the changeling sneered.
Celestia smirked. By a sudden thought, she engaged her cloaking spell, and slipped away from her hiding place. Chrysalis didn't notice, due to the dust the impact of her hits created. She was adamant of making pebbles out of the alicorn's former hiding place.
Less than half a minute later, that inevitably happened. When the dust settled a bit, Chrysalis moved in, with horn lit, to finish her opponent off. But of course, she didn't find her.
Celestia took the opportunity, and sneaked past behind the queen, to the other half of the chamber. When the changeling gave up searching for her, she looked around, with slight confusion on her face.
That was when Celestia called out to her, in a singsong voice:
"Searching for something, Chrysalis? I'm sure if you search harder, you can find iiit!"
The mentioned one traced the voice back to its origin. She fired there, blasting yet another pillar into smithereens.
Celestia wasn't even behind that one. She took a few steps, and talked again, her voice being more serious:
"Let's play a game, Chrysalis! I'll ask you something, and you will give me a fully satisfactory answer, or else I will kill you. You'll have three attempts. Sounds fun to you?"
Chrysalis let out a mad roar, and fired several bolts of magic in the general direction of Celestia's voice, topping it off with a magic missile that exploded on the wall behind Celestia. But she wasn't near enough to get harmed.
"ARGGGH, you have the nerve to make fun of me? When you are THIS close to your demise? You didn't even fire a single shot. Fight me already! Do not delay the inevitable."
Celestia moved behind one of the still intact pillars. Chrysalis noticed the slight refraction her invisible foe created, and fired after her. But she couldn't even tell if she hit anything or not. Celestia wasn't notorious for screaming. She didn't even scream when she made her eat her energy beam at that fateful wedding.
Chrysalis followed Celestia - at least she thought she followed her. When she took the shot after turning the corner, she simply hit another wall opposite of her. She talked again, now with less anger and confidence:
"What would your subjects think that you're hiding like that? Tell me, Celestia!"
Meanwhile, Celestia tiptoed away, and answered:
"Hmmm... What would your subjects think that you can't even hit me? But here comes the question: Where are my royal guards?"
Chrysalis followed the sound, with her horn lit. She was sure she traced the alicorn's steps, and let out a green bolt of magic, but then again, only created some splintered rocks.
"I already told you, they are sucked dry of love, and no, you won't get them back!"
"WRONG ANSWER." Celestia's voice reverberated throughout the chamber "You have two attempts remaining."
Chrysalis was taken aback slightly. But she was still sure she could take on the overconfident pony princess. She walked to the middle of the chamber, where she could see any potential movement. Then she saw it, as if something moved past between the stone constructs holding up the place. She charged up and released quick shots of magic, but hit nothing.
She only heard the cackle of a voice far too soft to her ears.
Then she suddenly heard it from right behind herself. She turned, but her nemesis wasn't there.
Chrysalis shifted her eyes back and forth. She concentrated. Then, she heard Celestia's voice again.
"I'm awaiting your answer."
"You won't get an answer out of me! They..."
Chrysalis' voice slightly hitched. Then she gulped, and continued.
"...they are deep within this hive! Deeper than you'd think! In this new hive, right on Equestria's doorstep! And you can do little to stop me!"
"Bring me to them." Celestia demanded, icy and calm.
"Never!"
Chrysalis then felt the draft of someone moving past her. She jumped away, took flight, turned, and let out a combat spell, but aside from the ground, hit nothing. She returned to the ground. She looked left and right. Celestia was nowhere. Then taking the initiative, she ran behind one of the pillars, but she saw nothing, then tried the next pillar, then the next... To no avail.
"You still owe me an answer, Chrysalis." Celestia's voice echoed. The confused queen really didn't know anymore where the sound came from.
"D-did she ever tell you? Hehe... Cadence, what I did to her when I captured her, and dragged her down to the old mines beneath Canterlot? She begged me to release her, with her hooves put together, and tears in her eyes. And then? Heh... I hit her, as hard as I could, and she fell to the ground. She just remained there, and covered, as I closed her prison, and told her it would become her grave! Heh-hehe... What do you say now, C-celestia? WHAT WILL YOU DO???"
Celestia suddenly decloaked. She was walking right at Chrysalis, with slow, deliberate steps. The queen gasped, and they locked gazes.
"THERE YOU ARE!" she yelled, and madly began firing her strongest spells at her.
Celestia just moved forward with a killer expression. Chrysalis moved back, still firing, but the impacts only created ripples upon Celestia's full-body magical shield. She almost backed into a corner. At that point, she completely lost her nerve. But she couldn't give up. She was the queen of the changelings. She had to prevail. And she still had one chance at victory.
She lit up her horn, channeling all the love energy she gained from the royal guards into her spell. Her horn glowed with a sickly green color, and she broke into mad laughter:
"Here you go Celestia, a "blast from the past", so to say! HAHAHAHA!!!"
Chrysalis released her beam. It was the exact same kind of method that brought the princess down at the wedding. But Celestia countered it with her own, and the two beams met halfway between them.
Celestia had a hard time holding the changeling magic back. Seeing her struggle, Chrysalis regained her confidence, and using the positive emotion, channeled even more energy into her spell.
But Celestia persevered, and their beams' meeting point began to build up into a ball of energy. Chrysalis concentrated, trying to move the ball towards Celestia, but she was already past her abilities.
Sweating, but not letting go, Celestia muttered the words:
"Now you will see... what would have happened... if there was nopony around!"
And she smiled. And something dawned on Chrysalis, that she was had, and that this entire battle was being built up to this moment. She struggled, but couldn't let go, because that would have meant death for her. But the ball of energy just grew in size, and was close to critical mass.
The gold and green magics swirled around each other in the sphere, but couldn't stay in the same space and violently erupted. The explosion threw the changeling queen into the wall behind her, and washed over Celestia, who remained unharmed due to her shield. The chamber's remaining pillars collapsed, and the ceiling fell down in many places.
Celestia opened her eyes, and looked around. Then her gaze remained on the crumpled pile of chitin in front of her, Chrysalis. She walked up to her, and turned her around. Although grievously injured, she was still alive. And looking at her pathetic form, the previously enraged Celestia had a change of heart...
"You are beaten." the alicorn began "Let's not continue this struggle, and I mean this for the future as well. Steer clear of Equestria and ponykind, and I will spare you, and your subjects. What do you say, queen of the changelings?"
The queen looked up at the talker. Goo was dripping from her mouth, and from a wound on her head. She wheezed:
"You came to me... and defeated me on my own turf. When my subjects learn of this" she coughed "I will lose all authority. I will no longer be looked upon as their rightful queen. Might makes..."
Chrysalis struggled. Her breathing became sporadic.
"Might makes right in our society. Always did. So what rights I have left? Just finish what you have started, Heavenly Daemon. Have your revenge..."
Celestia's expression became softer. She sighed:
"And can't that change? Can't you become better than those who came before you? Ponykind could change me. Because I let myself become better for their sake. So I wouldn't make the same mistakes my ancestors have made."
"No. NO!" Chrysalis interrupted, with all the strength she had left "My civilization always preyed upon other races, for survival. Their feelings meant our prosperity. What could I change? There is no other way. If you let me out of here, and I don't get banished, I will lead my subjects and attack Equestria again, until I don't succeed. So just end this. Shoot."
Celestia frowned. Her horn lit up, and charged up a spell.
Then closed the wound on Chrysalis' head.
"Look. If you will attack again, I will fight you again. But I won't strike down a beaten foe. I won't be like my tribe was. I'm giving you a chance. Now give yourself a chance, too. So please, lead me to my subjects. And I will no longer hold this conflict against you."
Chrysalis looked upon Celestia, unsure, hesitating. Some seconds later though, her horn flickered, but managed to cast, and dispelled some illusion spell that hid a door.
"There." she pointed, with a shaking hoof "They are behind that door. All four of them."
Celestia nodded, and made her way to the door. After it opened, she illuminated the dark room, and to her great relief, no further trickery or ambush awaited her. She saw her guards, indeed all four of them, hanging from the ceiling, each in a separate cocoon.
Meanwhile, Chrysalis struggled to her hooves. Celestia looked back, and the queen already made it to the exit, albeit with wobbly steps. She looked back too.
"Never underestimate us, princess. Because if I ever get the chance you got here today, I surely won't hesitate. Remember this."
She coughed, and exited the chamber that was the site of their battle. Celestia let out a long sigh, and began to free her guards.
After Celestia finished restoring the spirits of her guards, she herself felt a little... empty. But she thought it was nothing a hug from her sister Luna wouldn't fix! After a little rest, she urged her guards to leave. Not because the hive was still dangerous, but simply because the place started to disgust even Celestia. Those cocoons she have broken open still lay at her feet, after all. But the Lieutenant had something to say:
"Princess. Thank you for coming after and saving us. I really don't know how to express my gratitude. And... I'm really ashamed you had to protect us. It should be the other way around, always."
The other guards nodded in agreement. But Celestia just let out a chuckle, and answered:
"So you're saying it's me who should always get into trouble? My good Lieutenant, I know you've made an oath to always protect me and my subjects, under all circumstances, but I've also made a similar oath when I was coronated. So be ashamed of nothing, really."
"In that case, I'm really glad, and let me thank you again. But considering we're still in this Tartarus-forsaken hive, let me ask: Is it safe to move out? What's the status of the enemy forces in the area?"
Celestia raised an eyebrow and smirked:
"To put it in your terms, Lieutenant: All hostiles have been eliminated."
"And what about that evil monster Chrysalis? Is she dead, too?" another guard asked.
"I'm afraid..." Celestia started, and looked to the ground "She has gotten away."
"I have given her a chance..."
"Oh well," replied yet another guard "You still did well, princess! All hail Princess Celestia, the royal hero! You should really get a medal for all of that, you know?"
"Oh, I'll make sure Luna gives me one!" Celestia said, in a deliberately silly tone "But let's get out of here now, shall we? After all, we might just miss a beautiful sunset."
THE END