Celestia tapped her hoof impatiently on the stone floor, her gaze sweeping across her surroundings, starting with the floor. The intricately carved patterns beneath her hooves burned with so much magic that she could almost taste it. Split into two hemispheres that were linked much like a great infinity symbol, the runes glowed with either a golden or deep green color.
The floor itself was ancient beyond measure but looked like it could have been freshly installed in some baron’s castle yesterday. The magic placed upon it was equally as old, with entire civilizations having risen and fallen in the time since it was cast. Throughout all those eons, the spells did their work maintaining the floor and that which rested upon it.
The castle that used to have this room at its center, however, was a different story.
Great walls, towers, and even the central keep itself had fallen away to nothing, leaving behind basically nothing. Only the odd mound of broken stone marked where some particularly large tower had once stood. Nature had claimed all else, though even then little greenery had grown within the newly opened space.
The site itself was on the side of a mountain and accessible to only a pair of thin winding, wind-blasted trails. Originating from different sides of the great peak, they met here, at the last remnant of a once mighty fortress. Winds buffeted the alicorn’s body, attempting to push the alicorn away from the cliff which rested less than a dozen meters away.
From her current location, Celestia could see almost all of Equestria, or what had once been Equestria. For now, it was blackened by smoke, burnt by fire, and cut deep by thousands, possibly millions, of craters. What wasn't darkened by war, had been turned as black as night by the many changeling spires that rose high into the air.
Like artificial mountains, these twisted structures dominated the landscape. Though even then, none could hope to emulate the majesty of the mountain Celestia now stood atop.
Gazing down at the blasted landscape below, Celestia’s features tightened, and her frown vanished. Her shoulders tensed, and her gaze turned skyward, eyes locking onto the flaming orb resting straight overhead. Most would be blinded by staring so intently at Equestria’s sun, but Celestia felt no discomfort for there was no fire so great that it could harm her.
“I hope you I have not kept you long,” exclaimed a female voice brimming with pride.
The small smile Celestia wore fell away the moment her gaze landed on the creature standing across from her. The changeling was tall, taller still than even Celestia, having grown to eclipse even the once towering alicorn. Nude save for the six-pointed crown that rested atop her head, the queen also wore a cocky smile that oozed confidence.
“No, not long at all,” Celestia replied simply.
“I also hope you don't mind me bringing a few assistants,” Chrysalis added.
The changeling gestured behind her to where a half dozen elite changeling soldiers stood surrounding an iron cage. The small prison was clearly designed for Celestia herself, as it bore many crude personal insults carved into it at various angles. The alicorn chose to ignore it, as well as the incredibly well-armed changeling guards that all stared at her impassively.
“That is quite alright,” Celestia replied. “Please, step forward. So we may begin negotiations properly.”
Chrysalis waved a holeless hoof over the glowing green circle and hummed thoughtfully. “You know it's a shame that these old runes have been lost to time. This entire invasion would have been over in a fortnight had I been able to inscribe it upon my soldier’s armor.”
“Probably,” Celestia admitted. “Though its magic is bound to the diplomatic subsystems so such copying is impossible.
“Well then, I suppose we should get this over with. I have to finish rehearsing my victory speech tonight,” Chrysalis explained. “Tell me, do you think writing a eulogy for Equestria is gouache, or appropriate given the fact that after today your country will be well and truly dead?”
“We will see about that,” Celestia replied simply.
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “Truly? Then you have one last trick up your sleeve.”
“Perhaps,” Celestia answered, shrugging her shoulders.
“And that's why I like you so much,” Chrysalis exclaimed, pointing a hoof at the other female. “You never give up and don't mind resorting to tactics some may find distasteful.”
Celestia remained silent, simply watching as Chrysalis stood there.
“Well then. Let us begin the negotiations,” Chrysalis declared.
The changeling then stepped forward, taking her place across from Celestia in the other ring. The moment all four of her hooves were inside, the changeling was engulfed in a bright green barrier that covered her completely. After a moment of glowing intensely, the light then faded, turning into a barely perceptible emerald wall.
“Hmmph. I’m a little disappointed you didn't try something right then,” Chrysalis exclaimed. “I suppose you may have truly given in to despair as my spies informed of me.”
“Enough talk,” Celestia interrupted. “This is your last chance Chrysalis. Free my little ponies, leave our lands, or face complete annihilation.”
Chrysalis blinked several times. “You’re serious?”
“I am,” Celestia replied.
The changeling queen erupted with laughter so profound that she quickly fell over and began rolling on the floor. Even her guards couldn't help but join in on the mirth, chuckling under their breath. After several minutes Chrysalis finally stopped and stood upon shaking legs once more, tears running down her face.
“Oh, that's perfect. Nearly all the world’s non-changeling population is in pods or camps and you still think you have a chance of winning. It would be adorable if it weren't so insane,” Chrysalis remarked.
“So have you officially declined my offer for you to surrender?” Celestia asked.
“Of course, it does you, senile moron,” Chrysalis spat. “I stand at the cusp of complete victory. I would not trade this moment for anything.”
Celestia sighed and lit her horn. “So be it.”
The alicorn then looked up and cast what seemed to be a relatively simple spell with no effect.
“You can't attack me once I am within the rings of diplomacy, what did you cast?” Chrysalis demanded.
“I simply gave dear Sol, one final order,” Celestia replied.
Chrysalis chuckled. “Ahh how fitting. You wish to set the sun one final time before my team takes over the duties of the celestial bodies. Truly, you have a knack for drama.”
“I won't deny that, though it is not the night that is coming,” Celestia corrected.
“Then what are you talking about?” Chrysalis demanded.
Celestia merely looked up. A move Chrysalis mimicked a second later, only to wince and shade her eyes from the harsh rays beating down on her. A moment later and a flash of green fire revealed that a pair of sunglasses now rested on the changeling’s nose.
“Ha, that's it? You made it a little hotter. I knew you had flipped your lid Celestia, but this is just disappointing,” Chrysalis exclaimed.
“That is the first step, yes,” Celestia replied.
“First step… what are you talking about?” Chrysalis asked again.
“Chrysalis. I know you have asked yourself this question before but allow me to ask you anyway,” Celestia began, her gaze never leaving the sun above her. “What would you do if your species was on the brink of annihilation?”
“Whatever it takes, obviously,” Chrysalis spat.
“And if their destruction was inevitable, then what?” Celestia pressed.
“What does this have to do with anything?”
“Just answer the question.”
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “I would spite whoever, or whatever had put us in such a position in the first place.”
“The origin of my actions is not so crass as to come from spite, but the result shall be the same in the end,” Celestia explained.
“Wait…” Chrysalis looked up. “What are you doing? Why is it getting bigger?”
“Let me tell you a story. When we were very young, Luna and I, we were taught a lesson by my mother,” Celestia began. “We were given a dog to raise, and were told that one day we would have to put it down.”
“What does this have to do with anything?” Chrysalis shouted, pausing to wipe sweat from her forehead.
The alicorn continued, unbothered by the outburst. “Sure enough, after many long years of happiness, the old hound began accumulating issues. His joints went first, then his sight, and finally when his hearing followed we were forced to make a terrible choice. We could keep him around and watch him wither further, or we could put him out of his misery.”
“You aren't-”
“So it came to me, the eldest sister to do the deed,” Celestia pressed on. “My sister volunteered, but I refused, as it was my responsibility. In the end, it took only a single stomp to snuff out what life was left in our old dog.”
Celestia smiled and looked down at the sweating changelings before her. “Now it comes time for me to grant my little ponies, their final mercy.”
“You can't be serious,” Chrysalis muttered. “You of all people know how evil such an act is. There is no way you actually intend on throwing Equestria into the sun.”
“Why is it evil?” Celestia questioned, cocking her head. “I have seen the labor camps, spoken with those freed from the breeding farms, and felt firsthand the horrors of being in one of your pods. What I do now is a kindness.”
Chrysalis paused and looked up just in time to see the clouds suddenly vanish, pushed to the horizon by the growing yellow dot in the middle of the sky.
“But my changelings, not all of them are even involved in the war effort. Many simply live out their lives in peace,” Chrysalis explained, the changeling glancing briefly at the trickle of water running past her and off the cliff.
“So they have aided and abetted a war criminal in the midst of a global genocide with no objections. Truly, I wonder who is more evil. The pony who kills for fun, or the one who looks on and watches without feeling a hint of empathy,” Celestia remarked.
“You dare?” Chrysalis spat, lurching at the barrier and slamming against it soundlessly. “There are billions of creatures on this planet. You can't simply kill them all because you didn't win? What kind of petulant child are you?”
“Monster that you are, to believe this is but a game,” Celestia muttered.
Chrysalis pounded her hooves against the wall several times before following it up with a beam of energy. All attacks, both magical or otherwise did nothing, having been rendered neutral by the ancient spells that protected them. The changeling was about to cast another spell when the sudden rush of water caught her off guard.
Turning her right, she watched in confusion as water surged down the mountain. Her changelings banded together and dug in without a word having to be uttered. This was enough for the small group to weather the brief but intense flood of liquid that had tried to wash them away.
Once it was gone, Chrysalis looked up to find that the snow-capped tip of the mountain was bare, revealing stone that hadn't seen the light of day in millennia.
“Alright, alright,” Chrysalis muttered, wiping her forehead again. “We can work with this. What do you want? A ceasefire? Truce?”
“Your complete and unconditional surrender as well as the forfeiture of your entire empire to me,” Celestia retorted.
“You can't be serious,” Chrysalis murmured.
Celestia merely raised an eyebrow.
“That's… insane. You would kill everyone and everything!” Chrysalis exclaimed.
“I would,” Celestia stated simply.
“No no no, this has to be an illusion, a trick,” Chrysalis turned around and pointed at one of her now profusely sweating subordinates. “You. Figure out what manner of spell this is. I will get our celestial body corps of mages on this.”
“Don't bother. No monster can hope to match the will of a pony resolved to see their own end,” Celestia retorted.
“We’ll see about that,” Chrysalis shot back.
The changeling queen went silent, a hoof going up to her right temple as she screwed her eyes shut tightly. As she focused, the light around her grew more and more intense. Shadows vanished, clouds disappeared, and the very rock around them started to sizzle.
“Gah!” Chrysalis screamed, punching the ground. “They all died trying to stop you! How can you do this?”
“You had success with the moon only because you murdered my sister. You will not have that same advantage this time,” Celestia calmly replied.
Chrysalis’ chest heaved, and her eyes flicked about the room as if searching for some answer that may save her. Yet no matter what her or her brightest minds concocted, nothing seemed feasible. Within only a few seconds, the first new fire ignited in the distance though it was soon joined by many more.
“My queen, I don't know how much longer we can take this,” offered one of the changeling guards. “Our armor helps, but if the temperature rises any higher it may short out.”
Chrysalis’ wild eyes turned to her guards and noticed that their armor was glowing brightly. The enchantments, though powerful, had limits, and already the queen could see her servant’s chitin begin to crack under the heat.
“Do not shed a tear for these mere six. For they shall soon be joined by your entire wretched race,” Celestia exclaimed, gesturing out to the plains below.
“Stop this madness!” Chrysalis shouted.
Celestia smiled. “I wonder what it's like for you, monster. I see the faces of all those who died in service to Equestria, but it will be different for you. You can hear them all in your head, the millions of screams as each one of your genocidal demons cry out in collective agony.”
“Stop, stop, stop!” Chrysalis screamed, pounding at her head. “Let your queen think goddamn you!”
“I wonder,” Celestia continued. “Will you be driven mad by all that death, or will watching these six melt into a puddle be enough to shock you from your manic dreams of world domination?”
“Use ice spells, dig deeper, no, we must go to the other side of the planet,” Chrysalis muttered, her head jerking left and right. “No, that won't work. We can't escape this. There isn't enough time.”
“Oh but you can,” Celestia cooly replied, trotting up to the edge of her golden barrier. “Simply surrender unconditionally and this all ends. Don't, and well…”
Chrysalis followed the alicorn’s gaze to her six guards, and the half-melted cage that stood nearby. The picture of stoicism and calm, the changelings stood perfectly still as their armor popped and fizzed, melting to their limbs. They bit their lips, silenced themselves with magic, and waited, horns igniting mere moments later. Their chitin cracked and erupted a second after, splattering the ground with flash-fried hunks of burning meat. One by one the six changelings turned into fountains of gore and blood, coating the cliffside in their blackened flesh.
“Now imagine that a million million times over,” Celestia offered. “And all you have to do to make it stop is say ‘I agree to your terms, Celestia’.”
“I…” Chrysalis closed her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I accept your terms, Celestia.”
Celestia smiled. “So be it.”
Author's Note
Just something I started years ago and never finished but found and polished up while I've been dealing with Covid.
“What…” Chrysalis murmured. “What happens now?”
Celestia ignored the comment, her eyes strained shut and her focus devoted purely on spellcasting. Above her, the sun had stopped moving, though it filled a good three fourth’s of the sky. After a titanic use of magic, the massive orb shifted away, slowly ascending back to its normal position. Almost immediately the heat began to dissipate, allowing the stone around them to begin turning back into a solid.
“We rebuild,” Celestia exclaimed. “Now rise, I will not have you lying about on the ground like some mere insect, no matter how appropriate the comparison.”
Chrysalis lurched upward like a puppet pulled on its strings, landing back on her own four hooves once more. “Don't you dare command me around like some mere animal to-” Chrysalis snarled.
“Silence,” Celestia interrupted. “You will not speak unless spoken to, worm. I am queen of the changelings now and you answer to me, understood?”
Chrysalis’ jaw clenched tight and for a moment it looked as though she may spit some angry retort. Only for her head to bob in reluctant agreement, her eyes falling submissively to the ground.
“Good,” Celestia declared.
The alicorn gazed out over the blasted landscape that had once been the fertile basin of Equestria proper. Fires raged out of control everywhere, and as she watched, one of the largest changeling hives toppled to its side. Thousands of changelings took wing, or simply leaped out of the way, with most succeeding though some were still crushed by debris.
Celestia’s jaw set, and she sighed. “You just had to try and call my bluff. This will set things back further than I would like.”
After another long moment of silence, Celestia shook her head and turned back to the glaring Chrysalis.
“Now then, stop trying to set up an ambush that would kill me. I will not be leaving this dome until after I have set all your commands,” Celestia ordered.
Chrysalis grit her teeth and placed a hoof against her head. After a moment of concentration, she nodded to Celestia.
“Good. Now then,” Celestia began, pacing back and forth. “You will start by taking your most elite soldiers and eliminating any rogue elements that may emerge from your army. Anyone with even a bit of authority, and a spine will need to be culled. I suppose your paranoia and sycophantic need to be the center of everything will help us here.”
Chrysalis gnashed her teeth in silent, impotent rage.
Celestia continued to pace. “From there you will dismantle all your hives, free your captured slaves, and disarm your population. Once this is all done, your people will begin a century-long terraforming operation that will see the world’s greenery restored. Any questions so far?”
“Why are you such a bitch?” Chrysalis spat.
“Ever the child,” Celestia muttered. “When foals make war.”
Celestia sighed. “No, do you have any questions about the plan I’ve laid out so far?”
“I… do,” Chrysalis murmured. “Do you really think this is going to work? That my changelings are simply going to fall in line?”
“They fell in line to commit global genocide without so much as batting an eye, why would they balk at this?” Celestia asked, gesturing out to the plains. “You have won after all. I am defeated, and now the construction of a true changeling utopia is underway.”
Chrysalis shook her head. “It won't work. Without love, we will starve.”
“I will have those too injured or too insane to be kept in pods, and their love sent to you,” Celestia replied. “After the mass cull of your army, it should be enough.”
Chrysalis cursed under her breath, the changeling having already come to the same conclusion. “But they will know something is wrong,” she suddenly pointed out. “Why would we release them otherwise?”
“Because they will be sent to a special new facility that you are personally overseeing,” Celestia explained. “There the remaining non-changeling population will hide in order to lick their wounds and recover. In time, after you’re soldiers have perished from old age without having been replaced, we will rise and reclaim our nations.”
“But… even then, my changelings will outnumber you!” Chrysalis exclaimed, her eyes going wide. “Soldiers or no, if someone were to kill me and take over.”
“You will not let that happen,” Celestia stated simply. “You are an absolute monarch known for paranoia and ensuring that none among her generals may match her. You will deal with any upstarts that may come about.”
“Then that's it then,” Chrysalis muttered, falling to the ground in a heap. “With our numbers whittled down, and without the ability to replace our soldiers, you will wipe us all out.”
“Though that would be justified, no that won't happen,” Celestia explained, raising a hoof. “You will begin spreading the rumor that changelings are a lost tribe of ponies. Over time as you have eliminated all trace of your former culture and your population has aged out, this idea will take root.”
“Lost tribe…” Chrysalis murmured. “There's no way that would work.”
“It has worked twice already,” Celestia replied. “The crystal ponies were made by Sombra to serve as the perfect slaves, mindless, obedient, and easy to bend for the master of crystals. In time, and with a careful hoof, they forgot all about their origin.”
“The thestrals then,” Chrysalis offered.
Celestia nodded. “They too were created by a mad pony bent on conquering the world. Altered from base pegasi to be loyal and subservient, after the war their culture was erased. It was replaced by one that was nearly identical, save for the militant aspect stripped away.”
“You would make us into prey animals like you,” Chrysalis muttered in disgust.
“We are all prey for something else, save maybe for the dragons,” Celestia retorted. “This binary of predator and prey has left your society backward and cruel. In time this will be remedied, but until then the more violent aspects will be cut away.”
“And how will this all end, huh? I doubt even centuries will erase the pain of this war from the minds of your pathetic little ponies,” Chrysalis spat.
“You, and what changelings remain will emerge after four hundred years,” Celestia continued. “Then you will claim to be an offshoot of pacifists that we're able to avoid the resulting schism that decimated the changeling population.”
“You would make them pity us,” Chrysalis sneered.
“I would make them forgive you,” Celestia corrected. “You will be victims, as were them, and they will take you in.”
Chrysalis slowly shook her head. “There is no way that works. I would never allow my foe to rise back up after such a stunning turn of fate.”
Celestia chuckled and leaned in close, flashing the changeling a wide smile. “Then it's a good thing that neither side will see the other as an enemy. We will all be just a different tribe of ponies all trying to work together for the greater good, in harmony and peace.”
Several long minutes of quiet passed over the cliffside, with Chrysalis merely staring off into the distance. The clouds were slowly returning, the blistering heat was diminishing, and the fires were being put out one by one. Three more changeling spires collapsed due to the damage, but as the minutes ticked by those that remained were stabilized.
The many battlefields and craters were charred black and entire sections had been glassed by the intense heat. Burnt bodies littered the ground, and changelings took to the sky in great swarms in search of the injured. What few trees remained burned on, largely ignored by the changelings who needed them not.
“It is not a complete plan,” Celestia began. “Things will change, I will have to add more orders before we begin, but it is a framework that I hope to maintain.”
“It seems as though you’ve thought of everything,” Chrysalis remarked.
Celestia snorted. “Hardly. I was prepared to wait out the rest of eternity staring across from you. The fact that I am not floating through the endless void with only a fellow monster is a bit of a surprise.”
“You would call yourself a monster,” Chrysalis pointed out.
“Do you have a better word for someone willing to commit global genocide?” Celestia questioned.
Chrysalis sighed. “So, what happens now?”
Author's Note
Since ya'll got it to featured, (briefly) here's a little epilogue for ya.
