Princess Celestia's sky chariot soared through the sky as she was hurrying towards her destination, the Donkey Republic. The president of the small equine nation invited Celestia for an urgent meeting, and the Princess wasn't one to take such requests lightly. After all, Equestria didn't have many allies, and she was adamant about keeping the ones it had as such.
As Celestia was in a hurry, she opted to fly over the Southern Jungles, a mostly uncharted part of southern Equestria. Although her Palace Guard tried to make her take a full retinue along, she insisted that putting together the unit would take time, and anyway, there were no risks to be afraid of. The princess had a point surely, as that jungle was still sovereign Equestrian territory. It was just a matter of fact that nopony lived there.
Her chariot was pulled by her best pegasus guards. The four of them were great fliers, and brave soldiers, and Celestia was sure that flying over the vast San Palomino desert, then the Southern Jungles too, without rest, wouldn't pose a challenge for them.
The skies were clear, and the weather warm, but not hot. So just great for traveling. Celestia almost took a nap during the gentle flight, as her guards made an effort to steer clear of any turbulence. But suddenly, one of them spoke up:
"Hey Lieutenant. Check that out. Down there, among the trees. What could be flashing green like that?"
"Why care?" the Lieutenant dismissed him "Keep those wings flapping, and your eyes forward."
Celestia opened her eyes. She casually looked at her guards, then down into the jungle. She didn't see any flashes whatsoever. Whatever it was, probably didn't concern them anyway.
A few seconds later though, they all heard an elongated, high-pitched sound. The previous guard looked around, then called out in a panic:
"Bloody heck, magic missile! Evade!"
The guards violently jerked the chariot to the left. Celestia wasn't expecting the maneuver, and hit the side of the chariot. Before she could re-balance herself though, the giant ball of magic exploded just to their right, and Celestia got the brunt of it. She was launched from her vehicle, and began plummeting towards the tree canopy. Her right wing was scorched badly, and she was dazed, so she crashed through the branches, and struck the ground hard.
She immediately lost consciousness.
Celestia slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was dense bushes, they were rather blurry though. She closed her eyes, then opened them again. Now her vision cleared up a bit, and recollected the events of the immediate past. The magic ball exploding, then her fall... She also remembered her guards going down along with her chariot, although unlike her, they were still in control the last moment she remembered seeing them. They must have made a controlled crash landing.
Celestia moved her limbs. She felt a sharp pain in her left wing. Of course, as she has fallen on that one with all her weight. It must have been broken... Then slowly, carefully, with the very considerate movements of an injured pony, she got up.
The world was still spinning with her a bit, but by then she could think clearly. They got shut down, that's for sure. By what or whom, and for what purpose, she didn't know, although she wanted to find her guards first. Celestia only hoped they would be okay, and no more injured than herself.
Celestia made a few steps forward, and tried to decide which direction she should go. The forest around her was very thick, obviously not cared for by earth ponies. And the tree canopy could be barely penetrated by the Sun, although it wasn't hard for Celestia to determine from which direction it was shining. Her instinct told her that right away. And after that, she also put together in her head where the chariot could have crashed.
"South. We were flying south. So that way."
Celestia began moving, although her left wing still hurt a lot. But figuring her guards would need assistance, and as soon as possible, she thought she wouldn't have time for a proper healing spell. So she just cast an anesthetic spell quickly, and began walking.
Celestia walked at least a kilometer when she started to see tree branches on the ground. At first only smaller ones, but as she followed them, they became thicker and thicker. After several minutes, she found the crash site. Her gilded chariot was a mess, and in its state no one would have told it belonged to royalty. But there were no Royal Guards around whatsoever.
Celestia approached her chariot, and took a good look around. She feared her guards got stuck under the wreckage, but that didn't seem to be the case. Then suddenly, she heard a strange noise.
The Princess snapped to attention, her gaze following the direction her ears swiveled towards. But there was nothing there, only the thick jungle.
"Wildlife." Celestia thought. Although that thought was more like an excuse. The jungle was silent otherwise. Suspiciously silent.
She turned back to the wreckage, and took another look around. Then she also lifted up the whole thing, just in case. No living pony or dead was found.
Celestia dropped the chariot with some frustration. Where her guards could have gone? Sure, they could have set off to find her, but then she should have seen some hoofprints. The ground was soft enough all around that they would be visible. Then she saw something. Something else.
It was a barely visible trail, starting a bit further away from the wreckage, and running towards the northwest. It looked like as if someone was dragged away... Celestia didn't want to think about the worst, but nonetheless, she started to become concerned. But as she had finally found a clue, she began to follow it.
Celestia has been barely following the marks for a minute when she heard that strange sound again. Only this time, it was clearer. She perked her ears, then looked in the direction of the sound. As if it was... talking? Maybe it was, but she couldn't take out any words. But then...
"AHHH NO!!! Heeeeeeeelp!!!"
Celestia heard the screaming. And that was definitely the voice of one of her guards. She started to gallop towards the source of the sound. Now she was sure her guards were dragged away, and she also had an idea by whom. The green flashes, the magic ball, the no visible hoof marks... She started to put together a theory, but she needed visual evidence.
And she didn't need to wait much for it. As the Princess reached a small clearing, she found herself face to face with five changelings. By the looks of it, they were very surprised, more so than Celestia. They even stepped back a little.
At first, they just stared down each other. Then, Celestia talked, not in her diplomatic voice.
"It's you again! What did you do to my guards?!"
The changelings didn't answer. Maybe they didn't even understand, although they should have understood the context clues. Like why an alicorn in front of them was so angry.
"Answer me!!!" Celestia demanded, tapping a hoof on the ground violently.
Maybe she shouldn't have done that. The changeling in the forefront, wearing armor, screeched something, and his squad spread out, and began casting at Celestia.
Celestia got caught a bit off-guard, and the first few bolts of magic actually hit her, before she leapt to the cover of a tree. But she shrugged that off, as per her massive magical resistance.
The Princess now knew she wouldn't solve this situation with diplomacy, and lit up her horn. A member of the changeling unit was out in the open. Celestia charged up one of her more powerful combat spells, and released it. The changeling got evaporated into arcane dust.
"Right. Maybe I'm overdoing it."
For her next target, Celestia opted for a much weaker spell, to conserve her magicka. The changeling was flying right at her, but she picked him off mid-flight. He has fallen to the ground, with the chitin burnt on his chest.
The next two were harder targets, but the Princess' delayed-burst magical sphere dealt with them while still in their cover, causing the last changeling, the one wearing armor, to leave for another tree.
Celestia didn't stall, and began firing at him, but he ran so fast that her spells only hit the trees behind him. They spitted out big chunks of wood where they were hit, while the thinner ones outright exploded. But the changeling reached his intended destination, a large boulder.
At first they only took potshots at each other. But seeing this didn't lead anywhere, Celestia took the initiative. She also feared that her adversary -who was probably an officer based on the armor and skill- only stalled for time, so some reinforcements could catch up to him.
The alicorn cast a full-body magical shield upon herself, just in case, then left her cover. The 'ling madly fired at her, being an easy target, but his spells ricocheted off of Celestia's shield. She tried to snipe him out of his cover, but after two attempts, she just rushed up to the boulder. But by that time, the changeling was away.
Celestia angrily groaned. She walked around the boulder, then saw the changeling on the other side of the clearing. Getting impatient, she reared up, and struck the ground. Her earth pony magic, backed by her inherent magical power, sent a shockwave through the earth, but the changeling officer avoided it by flying up and staying there for a moment...
...But that was all Celestia needed to cast a beam spell, and catch the changeling in the air. The instantaneous hit couldn't be dodged, and the warrior dropped to the ground, with his armor melted. Celestia galloped up to him. He was still alive. She lifted him up using telekinesis, and talked:
"I ask again: Where are my ponies?!"
The changeling wailed something, but Celestia couldn't understand. Probably the defeated warrior didn't understand her either. So she dropped him, and cast a hologram of two pegasus guards. Celestia pointed at the shimmering depictions of the lost ponies.
"Guards. Where?"
The changeling blinked at the not-so-real ponies, and let out what could only be described as a pitiful laughter. Celestia scrunched up her nose, and squinted her eyes. She lifted up the changeling again, right up to her face.
"Where. They. ARE?!"
"Chr'asl'eesht, ah-ah-ah-a!"
Celestia could only guess what the changeling just said, but at the same time, she was almost sure what it was. She whacked the changeling to the ground violently.
"Fine. I'll find them on my own. But an alicorn's wrath be upon you if they are hurt..."
Celestia continued her journey, deeper inside the jungle. After she was far enough from the clearing where those unlucky changelings met her, she stopped, and looked at her wings. The right one didn't really hurt, but her primary feathers were burned pretty badly. But she started to feel her left wing again, as the anesthetic spell was wearing off. She decided to give herself ten minutes to heal her wing at least to a condition where it wouldn't cause her any pain.
After almost fifteen minutes, Celestia opened her eyes, and stopped casting the self-healing spell that enveloped her wing in a golden hue. She tried out the appendage, and to her satisfaction, it barely caused her any discomfort. Of course, she couldn't use it yet to fly, but she could glide using them. And that could still prove to be advantageous, she thought.
Celestia straightened up from her meditative stance, and walked on. As she treaded the ground, she could feel the life force of the jungle being... corrupted. A different kind of magic besides that inherent to every living being was mixed among it. Celestia knew at that point that corrupting force was the changelings. She only didn't yet know what could they want there. Although if her understanding was right previously, then Queen Chrysalis was present too. And if she was present, her previous encounter wasn't just a lost changeling patrol. Their plans must have been grand.
The princess soon found a tiny body on the ground. It was a squirrel. She gently lifted it up, and realized it wasn't dead. It was just... sucked dry of emotions. Its eyes were glassy, and its breathing slow. It mustn't have been a treat for the changelings, as wild animals didn't contain the same amount or kind of love sapient beings did. But they probably couldn't be choosers in their situation. The jungle didn't have any ponies. So far...
Celestia put down the little critter with the same care she lifted it, and activated her horn. She tried to channel her own love into the being, just as Cadence showed her once. Of course, this spell didn't line up with her special talent, but nonetheless, the squirrel got up. It looked up at Celestia, then skittered away. Celestia tracked the critter with her eyes, and smiled.
"Hurry, little one. Go and find your own!"
The squirrel soon disappeared among the bushes. Then Celestia realized its kin might have just met the same fate. And she couldn't find and heal every single creature in the forest. Not until the changelings' corrupting presence was removed. But she also realized she COULD do something about that...
"So be it, you emotion-eating monster. Time for a rematch..."
Celestia hurried her steps. She wanted to find her group of guards fast, but also wanted to find Chrysalis. And she knew if one was found, the other would be nearby, too.
She also knew that during her trek, she would find several more changeling patrols. She wasn't sure if they were aware of her presence, or they only knew about her guards. But she would find that out pretty soon.
And that indeed happened soon, as she caught up to another patrol. There were four of them, including one officer, wearing the distinctive blue armor.
Celestia approached quietly. The ground was harder here than at the crash site, so she also lost track of the kidnapped guards. But her delicate steps didn't propel her fast enough. Of course, she could have just gone loud, and mow down the patrol, but that also carried the risk of alerting a much bigger group of the shapeshifting monsters. And not even Celestia wanted to fight an army of them.
"As the Magikhan would say: Weak Celestia, weak."
Celestia sighed. Remembering her own tribe, from her childhood, wasn't something she needed right then. Yet reminding herself what an alicorn was potentially capable of was something she actually needed. She had to rescue her subjects. And not from mere drones, but from Chrysalis...
Every fight should be YOUR fight. Remember that. Because if you're not in control, you have already lost.
Celestia suddenly thought of something. Wrapping herself in her own magic, she levitated up to the tallest branch of a very tall tree. The circumference of the trunk was a testament to the primeval nature of the forest, and to the fact its branches could hold a heavy pony like Celestia.
She walked along the branch with lithe steps, with her wings extended for balance. Now she was right above the changelings. They were moving away from her, towards the middle of the forest. She noticed one guard was well behind the others, and was very slow in general. He clearly wasn't aware of his surroundings. Celestia knew it was the perfect moment to strike, and leapt off from the tree branch, with her wings slightly open.
The alicorn has fallen at least thirty meters, right on top of the changeling trooper. The force of the landing immediately killed him, but Celestia was unharmed. Her hooves shattered his chitin carapace in multiple places, and his eyes were left open. The princess stepped off from her unlucky adversary, and hurried after the rest.
The three remaining guards weren't aware what just happened, they didn't hear it, and didn't check their rear either. And that was just perfect for Celestia, but she knew it would only be seconds to be noticed. The 'ling in the back was her next target. Using a silent teleportation spell, lacking the distinctive "POP" sound, Celestia ended up right behind him, then grabbed the guard's head within her magic. Then twisted it, and now it faced her. The princess then let the corpse fall to the ground.
The last two guards were somewhat close to each other, and pretty close to Celestia. It was surprising to her they didn't notice the loud snap, but it suited her needs. She noticed they were walking just under a thick tree branch. Celestia cast some extreme telekinesis to quickly tear off the branch from its place, and it fell on the remaining two. They were flattened with a somewhat loud "splort".
With all of her adversaries taken out, Celestia looked around. That was good for a warmup, but she would only meet more, and bigger patrols. she thought. So she continued her trek deeper inside the jungle.
Celestia was right about the size of the patrols. The next one she spotted had eight drones. Taking these out one-by-one without alerting the rest wouldn't be easy. But maybe that wouldn't be necessary either...
An old spell came to Celestia's mind, the seeker bolt. That would follow and strike every living target in range, bouncing from one to another. That would be fast enough to kill all of them at once. Now she only needed to remember how to cast the spell exactly.
Hiding behind a tree, Celestia gave herself half a minute, and she had the arcane pattern down to a T. Ready to cast, she leaned out from cover, and released the spell. The golden bolt found its first mark in a split-second, then just as fast penetrated the craniums of all the other members of the patrol, zigzagging between them. The changelings couldn't react, they couldn't even scream. But after the spell downed the last one, it turned around and flew towards its caster. Celestia didn't expect that, and her reflexes weren't godly enough to dodge it. The high-powered magic bolt exploded in her face, and the alicorn flinched. She felt that, but the damage it caused was only superficial. Celestia rolled her eyes. That shouldn't have happened...
"It seems I forgot the last part of the spell."
After seeing the next group of hostiles, she must have been nearing the Queen herself, the Princess thought. As it was no mere patrol, but more like a strike team. It numbered at least twenty drones, including two officers, and four heavies. Celestia read the after-action reports in the wake of the Battle of Canterlot, and knew these kinds of changelings decimated her royal guard units wherever they fought in the city. Now she had the chance to return the favor in kind.
Celestia choose the safety of the tree canopy once again. Looking down at the group indicated they had a briefing going on. The officers were explaining something to the rank-and-file.
Celestia was thinking about the correct approach. Although she had the advantage of raw skill and power, the changelings were much more numerous. In a tactical sense, she was outmatched. She would have to tip the scales, somehow. If those heavies weren't present, for example, that would already be a large boon for her.
And actually... what if they weren't just "not present", but actually fought for her? Or at least one.
Celestia knew individual minds could be controlled with powerful enough magic. And it was clear ever since the great battle that changelings weren't a hive mind, but actual individuals. So mind-control spells should have worked on them as well. The princess tried to remember the correct kind of magic. Although Luna was the actual master of these, Celestia also had a good piece of knowledge about them.
Celestia didn't have to dilly-dally a lot, and cast. The iris-less blue eyes of one heavy lit up with a golden hue, and he let out a mighty roar. Then it began shooting deadly bolts of magic at his former hive-kin.
The drones got knocked out fast, but the other three heavies could take the punishment, and took out the assailant. One of the officers have survived, too. He walked up to the dead heavy to check it out.
Celestia smiled. She cast another little spell, and another heavy have gone wild, and killed the other two. Now only him and the officer remained, and they battled it out. The officer managed to take out the killer, although his armor was badly damaged. He limped around some before, somehow, got the idea to look up at the tree where Celestia was roosting.
As if he was frozen in place. The alicorn took the leap, and glided down to the shocked changeling. The changeling backed away, but Celestia followed. Then he hit a tree with his rump, and looked back in panic. He was cornered. Celestia stopped right before her. Her face was stone.
The changeling wailed two words...
"Men'yee sor'neteg! Men'yee sor'neteg!"
Celestia began smiling. She didn't know their language, but that phrase... It sounded like something from an old codex of the alicorns.
Men'yee sor'neteg... Heavenly Daemon.
The alicorns of ancient times once were forced to almost exterminate the changelings. They glassed their first mega-hive from the sky, when they were preparing to attack ponykind. And it seemed, their legend was still living on.
Celestia bent down to the horrified creature:
"And be glad I could never be as cruel as my ancestors were."
With that, the Princess moved on without fear of getting struck down from behind. She knew the changeling was more paralyzed by fear than any stun spell could manage.
As Celestia moved on, the forest was thinning out somewhat. More sunlight reached the ground, and the otherwise damp and dark forest became less creepy. More of the presence of what Celestia loved so much reinvigorated her, and she trotted even faster. But stopped as she reached even more changelings.
In a thinly grown-in area, about fifty of the monsters were grouped up. Some of them were patrolling, but most of them were assembled around... some strange pile. Celestia looked closer, and it dawned on her: that "pile" was made up of forest critters. The changelings were having a feast, and threw the bodies already sucked clean of love on top. The princess crunched up her nose in disgust. She engaged her cloaking spell...
The alicorn sneaked around the perimeter, unbeknownst to the guards she passed pretty close on occasion. Only a slightly shimmering outline of her was visible, although her visage also warped the air somewhat as she moved. But to one not expecting an invisible foe, she didn't exist.
Perhaps an invisible enemy wasn't expected, but the guards were on the nose nonetheless. They probably heard the infighting previously. All it was needed a little mistake to tip them off...
And that inevitably happened as Celestia stepped on a dry twig. A guard heard the distinctive snap, and turned his head towards the trees Celestia was hiding amongst. He moved in, while the princess stayed still.
"Ik'alav ma'vit?" the drone asked.
He walked further among the trees. When he was facing away from the princess, she leapt right behind him assisted by her wings. She grabbed the drone's head in her forelegs, and turned it.
The head stopped at an unnatural angle.
Celestia gently put the corpse on the ground. She looked at the others. They didn't notice. So she once again levitated herself up to a tree, and looked down at the commotion. At her victims. The cloaked alicorn squinted her eyes, and they lit up with magic for a moment.
The hunt would end soon.
Celestia was looking for minutes at the company-sized changeling unit, having a good time feasting upon the forest's creatures. Yet, she didn't see a good solution how she could solve the situation in an... elegant way. Sure, she could sneak past them, but she didn't want to. This forest had to be cleared of these interlopers.
So she devised a simple plan. At first she would thin them out as much as she could from up top. Then, she would let loose. It wouldn't be an elegant way, but it would be effective.
The critters of the forest were tethered to the ground by green tendrils of magic. The love-eaters were gathered around them, and choose like a pony would choose from a box of bon-bons. And after the changeling grabbed his prize, he activated his horn, and the small amount of love energy flowed into him.
Celestia saw just enough. Actually, it was more than enough to rouse her. She bent down her head, and took aim. She used an instant-charge spell, so her bright golden aura wouldn't be visible. The magic bolt struck one of the feeding changelings in the side of his head. His lifeless body skidded to a halt on the ground.
The loud combat spell grabbed the attention of every 'ling in the area. Some of them assembled around their lost hive-mate, the rest were trying to figure out the origin of the spell. A few were looking at Celestia directly, but they couldn't distinguish her from her surroundings.
The big group took flight, and tried to look among the trees. The buzzing was so loud, that the princess let go of another spell. Sure enough, it struck true, and the buzzing masked the sound just enough that the monsters just got confused again.
After the next death occurred, the flight became a panicked rout. And after that one, the changelings finally nailed down her location, but her cloaking spell still on, not many of them hit her.
Those who did got killed first in return.
Then Celestia cast another seeker bolt. A proper one, this time. Optimized for ten hostiles, the deadly spell sent another ten changelings to the ground, permanently.
Celestia finally decloaked. She flared her wings, and her eyes glowed with power. She boomed, in the Royal Canterlot Voice:
"DESPAIR!"
No more was needed for the already demoralized company of drones. They turned tail, and flied away from the alicorn, towards the north, probably seeking the aid of their Queen.
"Not so fast!"
Celestia pushed herself away from the branch, and glided down to ground level. The changelings got away fast, but the lanky princess' long legs propelled her fast enough to catch up. The jungle was clearing up, the ground was becoming harder. The chase finally concluded at a small rocky hill, which seemed to also indicate the end of that part of the forest.
The buzzers disappeared in crevices, and most of them in a large opening at the bottom of the hill. Celestia entered after them, and she found herself in a cave. She lit up her horn, and the darkness was replaced with a warm yellow light. The changelings were nowhere to be seen.
The princess walked deeper inside the cave. After an invisible threshold, the looks changed around her. The cave didn't appear to be a natural formation anymore. As if it was expanded by the changelings. And she couldn't have made it farther than a hundred meters when she was met by a massive door.
The circular slab of stone was adorned by runic carvings, which Celestia was sure served as a locking method. But she first tapped the door with a hoof. The appearance didn't belie the thickness, it didn't ring hollow from the other side, which indicated at least a foot of stone.
"I won't kick in this one..."
The princess then tried the common bypassing spells on the runes. The golden energy cursed through the carvings, but it eventually returned unto itself, and was smothered.
"Figuring out the correct arcane patterns could take hours. Wish Luna was here..." Celestia thought, and slightly shook her head.
She stepped back, and looked at the door. Now she was sure she found the hideout where her guards were taken. She was sure she found the hideout of Chrysalis.
Celestia walked outside. She remembered the crevices among the rocks of this hill. If the changelings could enter that way, perhaps she could too. She jumped up on the rocks until she reached one of them. Then it dawned on her: she was far too big to use it to get inside. And anyway, the crevice didn't seem to lead anywhere. The changelings must have blocked it somehow from the inside.
Celestia hopped from rock to rock until she tried every opening, but they all had the issues the first one had. The royal ears drooped in disappointment:
"Main entrance it is then..."
So the alicorn walked back to the stone door inside the cave. She stopped a good ten meters before it, and began charging up her horn.
The magic she accumulated was so bright as if she brought down the Sun itself to the damp place. Then she let go of the gigantic bolt of magic, and it exploded the stone door into smithereens. Good thing she cast a basic barrier in front of herself, so the chunks flying didn't hurt her.
When the dust settled a bit, Celestia entered the hideout. Beyond the gate lied the pieces of both door and changelings. The princess gently tiptoed around them, and thought how she probably just evaded an ambush by choosing the inelegant method of entry.
"That was quite the welcome party."
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
