One word: escape.

That was what Starlight wanted to do. Escape. If anypony else was stuck in her situation, who wouldn't? But wishes don't get granted that easily. You have to work for what you want. Starlight had tried that, and it hadn't worked. Though, obviously, doing nothing wasn't going to get her anywhere. She was stuck, and she couldn't do anything about it.

But surprisingly, escaping wasn't her priority. More than anything, she just wanted to see her friends. Maybe apologize to them, maybe make up for some mistakes, but mostly just to see them again. She didn't care how, she just wanted to be back home where she thought the rest of her friends were. She tried to escape, but it was incredibly difficult, not too far off from impossible.

To be honest, she'd worn herself down after a while. She barely had any energy left, and even the non-poisoned water she drank a few hours ago didn't help her feel any better. She hung her head, both out of despair and weariness, seeing that her legs were incredibly shaky. They didn't have the strength to hold her up for any longer, and she couldn't even sit down or fall to the ground. That's how restricting the changeling glue was.

Luckily, Starlight didn't have to stay in this position forever. Just as she felt she was about to give in and fall down despite the restrictions, Chrysalis came into the room and removed the sticky substance. Starlight tried to put on a brave face and grin, but she was too weak, even for a few facial expressions. She fell down on the ground, landing on her side. She didn't even let out a groan of pain. She could barely do anything.

"Oh, Starlight," Chrysalis taunted to the motionless pony on the floor. "You were always the hard one. But I think this is going pretty well, don't you?" she asked rhetorically, knowing that Starlight was unable to answer. She grabbed Starlight and forcefully took her out of the cage, lifting her up and building up enough energy to do something she hadn't been able to do in a while: feed.

Chrysalis continued to drain Starlight's love, and after finishing, Starlight barely had anything left. And she certainly didn't feel much for her friends anymore. Chrysalis cackled. "You know that ever since you took my hive away, I've desperately waited for my revenge. I've finally gotten it, Starlight Glimmer, and I'm no longer starving. Just hungry. It turns out leaving your love untouched has made it grow. I haven't feasted like that in so long!"

As Chrysalis continued to digress, Starlight gathered all the strength she had and picked herself up with wobbly legs. She put the rest of her energy into her horn and lit it up, her magic aura flickering off and on. After she finally seemed steadfast enough, she teleported herself out of the room, leaving an angry and shocked Chrysalis.

The changeling drone was on guard duty, walking his rounds. He heard a strange sound, and turned around to figure out the source of it. He gaped at what he saw. It was the queen's prisoner, and her horn seemed to be burnt out. Her eyes were dull and her body unstable. She wasn't well, and he could tell that. But she seemed to have enough power in her to escape.

It was very probable that she could see the other pony in the room, which was the Princess of Friendship. That certainly wasn't good, since Starlight cared a lot about her. And doing his rounds, the changeling had noticed that the potion had weared off on everypony. That wasn't good, either. It meant they were now trying to escape. And if Starlight could do it, the others most likely could, too. Especially with her help.

Starlight turned and her eyes locked with the changeling's. The changeling's eyes were a mix of turquoise and purple, and its wings were brilliant but faded. She could see, in his eyes, fear and anger both. Then, in a moment of realization, she saw what was hidden from her the whole time. "Thorax?" she managed to say in a muted, shaky voice.

The changeling felt the good side coming through. The good side, named Thorax, who Chrysalis had deliberately sealed from anyone else. Of course, until now. "S..." he started to say, hissing and fighting. Both sides were fighting each other, as Starlight could clearly see. She snuck a glance at Twilight, who had noticed what was going on. Looking back at Thorax, she called out his name over and over again. She was convinced that this would help him fight the urge to serve Chrysalis.

Thorax heard his name called again. Starlight was trying to reach him. It was working. Kind of. He got his sense of kindness back, but his darkside was still there. "Fight the darkness, Thorax! You don't need it anymore!" Starlight whisper-yelled. Then, with pleading eyes and extreme quietness, she said, "I know you're still my friend."

Thorax had had enough. Why was he even serving Queen Chrysalis in the first place? Because she'd mind controlled him? That wouldn't stop him from fighting for friendship, no matter how timid he was. His eyes closed, and he started glistening. Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, and Starlight shielded her eyes, walking closer to him. He was in a cocoon, which Starlight touched, remembering Thorax's transformation from a few years back.

The pupa burst open, and Thorax stepped out, his normal bright colors replacing the black drone look Chrysalis had given him. He hugged Starlight, unintentionally catching her before she fell from weakness. She moved her mouth, and if she hadn't been right next to him, Thorax wouldn't have been able to hear. "Let's free our friends."

Thorax nodded and walked over to Twilight's cage, removing the adhesive, something only a changeling could do. Twilight smiled and teleported out of the cage. The two glanced back at Starlight, who seemed immensely tired. They nodded at each other, and Twilight stored some of her magic in a ball. Then, she moved it over to Starlight's horn, where it went in and gave her energy. Well, not much, but enough. "Come on," Twilight declared, getting ready to teleport all three of them. "Let's go save our friends!"

"And stop Chrysalis," Starlight added, receiving assertive nods from the others. They smiled as Twilight started to transfer them to a few more destinations.

Author's Note

*Just a side note, the changeling residue blocks magic, which explains why Starlight was never able to teleport before.
Sorry if this sounds rushed or unreasonable. I appreciate your patience and understanding; thanks for reading the whole way through!