The invasion was going so well, Celestia trapped inside a cacoon, the elements of harmony were taken away and Shining Armor wasn't a threat anymore. Chrysalis was standing on a balcony admiring the victory, everything was just perfect before a voice appeared inside her head.
"You know it's not right, that it shouldn't be this way."
The changeling commander took a look around to find which changeling said that so she could deal with her before Chrysalis would ask her to do something even more horrible to do. A minute later she gave up when her eyes stopped on Celestia who was staring at her. Before she would turn away, the voice came once again.
"Yes, It was me."
After a moppet appearing on her face she turned away, ignoring Celestia, hoping she will get the message. Celestia closed her eyes focusing all her power into one spell which she didn't preform for a long time. Everything was right as it should be, she blinked, but after that, everything stopped. Outside changelings froze in the air without any movement. She walked next to her Queen and waved a hoof in front of her eyes, but she wasn't moving as well.
She turned around when she heard a thud behind her, it was Celestia, she was looking at the changeling then started to walk towards her. The changeling took a couple of steps backward while releasing a few shots from her horn. The side of the balcony stopped her, when Celestia arrived in front of her, the changeling admitting her fate bowed down in front of the princess of the sun. She looked down at the changeling for a second, then placed both of her front hooves on the side to take a look around Canterlot.
"Is this really what you want?"
She slowly stood up and raised her head to look at Celestia then what's happening around the city. Even thought the time was stopped by Celestia she was still hesitating to answer, so Celestia reassured her with the one thing what might hold her back from saying anything.
"Don't worry, Chrysalis won't know anything about what's happening now."
"No, but I don't have a choice, I do this because that is my Queen's wish."
They turned to each other and held the eye contact for almost a minute.
"What about your own wish?"
Slowly anger emerged on her face, she turned away and wanted to move back to the same spot where she stood before Celestia stopped time, she knew or at least hoped that Celestia won't be able to maintain this for more than a couple of minutes.
"Wait."
She stopped, lowered her head, but she didn't want to look at the pony princess, she could hear her steps coming closer by every passing seconds. Celestia stopped next to the changeling then placed her left wing around her.
"You want me to betray my own species, to be an outcast among every creature of Equestria nothing more, I've been following my Queen's orders for far to long and I'm not going to stop now, because you lost Canterlot, and I don't have any wishes, I can't.
Celestia teleported back the cacoon to it's rightful place along with herself inside it. She just arrived back to the spot where she stood when everything started moving again. She could see Twilight crawling to Cadance and freeing her, but she kept staring forward without giving any command to the surrounding changelings so they didn't do anything. Cadance hugged Shining Armor and broke Chrysalis's spell over him.
Chrysalis's laugh woke her up from her day dreaming after Shining Armor failed to preform his spell. She turned to Celestia who was looking at her, but didn't say a word since the time spell was finished. They were holding the eye contact for seconds before Chrysalis's mental message distracted her once again.
"Retreat!"
It was too late for any changelings who were inside the city since the barrier was expanding way too fast. She saw the expending field for less then a second, but before it would hit her body a final message arrived from Celestia and she appeared near the Everfree forest without any harm.
"Everypony have a choice."
While she was heading back to the hive deep inside the Everfree forest, she made a couple of cuts and bruises on her body so it wouldn't be so conspicuous for Chrysalis that she left that castle without any injury, because while she was moving closer and closer to the hive she could hear what other injuries most of the changelings suffered.
After she entered the hive most of the changelings looked at her asking how is she even when they had more severe injuries than her. She called out a couple of times for Chrysalis, but when she didn't get an answer nor from her or any other changelings, she decided to help the other changelings to tend their wounds till she returns.
Almost an hour passed before Chrysalis stepped in, silence came over the entire hive while she was walking among them to the throne. She sat down and took a look around the hive before she spoke.
"Tomorrow, we will go back and burn their city to the ground!"
Even thought every drone lived to serve the queen most of them were terrified from the idea to go to war once again against Canterlot. Only a few dozen of changelings started to cheering for the idea, but they were quickly silenced when no one else followed them. Most of the changeling were looking at the changeling commander who was helping to her fellow warrior to heal her wound. She took a look around to see the scared faces, so she stood up and walked in front of the queen.
"Perhaps, we should wait a few more weeks till we recover our strength my queen."
Chrysalis turned to her commander reading her thoughts on the subject for a minute, before she stood up from her throne and walked to her.
"Traitor," She raised her front hoof and punched the other changeling's face, after she fell on the ground and rolled a couple of times from the surprising attack, she spit a small amount of blood out from her mouth. "You let her escape and free Shining Armor under my spell."
"I wasn't the one who laughed into their faces and walked away to let them use the power of love."
After she read this thought from the changeling's mind along with a few others she became angrier with her servant and while she was trying to stand up, blew another strike on her. The whole hive was looking terrified about the happenings, but none of them had the couragé to stand between the two of them. After all the commander was serving Chrysalis for almost five years now, if she does this to her what else would she do with a drone.
"How can you think about peace?!, Look around you, look what they did to us! and you want peace."
She tried to take a few deep breaths, but she couched a couple of times and more blood escaped her mouth. She shook her head before she would look into Chrysalis's eyes what was filled with anger, nothing else.
"But they didn't have much of a choice, my queen."
She stood up so she can bow in front of Chrysalis for the last time, then she turned around. While she was walking away almost every changeling had their eyes on her, before she would leave the hive's main chamber, she severed the connection between them and made her way outside. After she left the hive, she started to run, it took her almost an hour to leave the Everfree forest, but after she did, she collapsed on the ground. For the first time in her life she felt herself lonely like never before.
She was laying in the grass for a couple of minutes so she can catch her breath, before she opened her wings to head towards Canterlot. She landed an hour later almost a mile away from the city's main gate, it was late midnight, but she could hear the party still going.
"Well, It's not like I have a choice anymore."
She flew above Canterlot, hoping she will avoid everypony's sight and she can sneak into the castle to find Celestia, it was a long shot since if the shield is still up, her plan will fail right away. She occupied a small cloud and with a wing beat she started to decent. After she got close enough to the castle's highest tower, she shot herself out from the cloud to make a landing on the tower to look around before she enters the castle.
The music slowly died and the few ponies who were still there started to walk away. She could recognize the bearers of the elements of harmony, but she didn't see Celestia anywhere.
"What the hell am I doing."
She shook her head after she just realized how stupid is what she is doing, since she could simply change her body and ask anypony where Celestia is. She landed in a dark spot and released the spell to take a ponies' form who she saw during the invasion. She took a step out from the dark and wanted to catch up with the six ponies who probably knew where Celestia is.
"Hey."
She called out for them and stopped a few meters away from them when they turned around. All of their eyes became wide when they laid their eyes on the creature who addressed them. Before she could realize why they are staring at her, Twilight snapped out from the shock faster than any of her friends and created a cage around the changeling.
"Twi, how is this possible?"
"I don't know Dash."
She took a quick look at her own hoof, but she didn't want to believe her own eyes, she was still a changeling.
"What?, How is this possible?"
She sat down on the grass, still looking at her right front hoof, she couldn't believe that her body didn't change.
"I go and get Celestia, keep an eye on that changeling."
She snapped out from her own thoughts after she heard Twilight saying it. It wasn't the way she wanted it to be, but at least she will get to see the pony who she was looking for, it was only a matter of time so she laid down on the grass. The five ponies who stayed behind kept their distance from the cage and they were whispering the whole time till Celestia arrived. When the changeling saw Celestia coming she stood up then bowed. She stepped to the cage then turned back to Twilight and her friends.
"Thank you Twilight, now go ahead and get some sleep, have a good night."
After they said their good byes, Celestia kneeled down in front of the changeling and lowered the magical barrier.
"Welcome back."
For some reason Celestia's soft voice calmed her down and the cold feelings of being alone disappeared, leaving space for something new. She stood up yet she couldn't look at Celestia. There was so many questions running around inside her head, but she couldn't answer any of it.
"Why am I here, Why didn't my body changed like it did all the time before, What is this feeling when she is around?, Why do I trust her?"
She snapped out from it when she felt a light touch on her face.
"Did Chrysalis do this to you?"
"Yes, but it's alright I guess, I mean it doesn't hurt, at least not anymore."
For a while she thought it started to rain when her vision became blurred, but when she didn't see it falling anywhere else she touched her own eyes. Once again after a long time she was crying. Celestia stood up to walk next to the changeling so she can place her wing over her. She was crying for almost ten minutes before she stopped.
"What is your name?"
"I don't have, I never needed one before."
They were holding the eye contact for a while then Celestia broke it.
"Well, if you are planning to stay here you will need one." She removed her wing, stood up and took a couple of steps towards the castle, but she stopped for a second to look at the changeling. "Come." After she saw the changeling standing up and following her, Celestia went ahead.
It was only a few minutes, but it felt like hours to the changeling till they reached a room. Celestia opened the door and went inside. After the changeling entered the room as well Celestia closed the door behind her. She raised her head to look at Princess Celestia who had a smile on her face.
"Why, Why are you doing this? Why do you even trust me?" Celestia instead of answering, she walked to the changeling who turned away ashamed before she continued. "What if I'm a spy or sent here to hurt you or worse." Celestia gently pulled back her face so she can look into her eyes.
"But you are not, we both know it."
"How can you be so sure of that?"
"Hm, so you would like to know why, because you are here now." She lowered her head to the changeling's ear. "Canterlot is still protected by the shield what Cadance and Shining Armor created."
She pulled her head back to see the surprised look on the changeling's face whose mouth left open. She opened the door, but before she would leave the changeling alone she let out a short laugh, because she was still standing the same position and her mouth was still open.
"Get some sleep, you will have your answers in time."
The changeling finally snapped out of it when she let out a long yawn, before the doors would close entirely she turned toward it.
"Thank you."
Celestia closed the door and walked away to finally get some sleep for herself, after all there was only three hours left till she needed to raise the sun.