This is it. The moment you've all been waiting for since, I believe, the first interlude. The showdown between Rainbow Dash of the Pryhan Empire and Queen Chrysalis of the Changeling Hive. Let's get ready to RUM~MBLE!!

Music for this chapter: Let the Gods Decide by Manowar.

Canterlot Castle throne room
POV: Swarm Guard Maxilla

Maxilla stood over by the entrance to the throne room along with several other guards. The queen was behind them, organizing the defense of the city over the hive mind. He and the others were there to make sure no one, whether an invader or a traitor Changeling, entered the throne room to attack the queen.

Suddenly, a loud crash sounded off to the side of the main entrance. One of the old windows crashed in, spraying colored glass and thin layers of chitin over the nearest guard. The blue Pegasus that the traitor Pharynx had brought in flew into the hole, blades flashing, as she cut down the guard who was hit by the glass.

They all drew their swords, and the two closest to her charged in. She beat her wings back, dodging the downward slashes, before shooting forward, thrusting her swords into their throats. She parried the next guards attack, before using her second blade to get under his blade and thrust into his chest.

The remaining four of them got up into the air, surrounding her as best they could. The mare pulled something off of her flanks with a wing, before flying forward at them like a flying battering ram. The one next to him was impaled by both of her blades, his own slipping out of his aura and falling to the ground. She then fired the thing in her wing at the one of his other side, a bolt sprouting from his forehead as that one fell too. He swung his sword at her, trying to take advantage of her distraction, but she blocked it with a vambrace. The other Swarm Guard tried to pull a similar move, but she bucked him in the face and sent him backward. She did the same to him, before whirling around in the air to slice his throat.

She turned back to him, her one eye filled with hate. He tried to get in close, using the pommel of his sword to smack into her helmet. She swerved to the side, swords at the ready. As he turned to face her again, she swung one of her swords down, slicing across his face. A wave of pain flew through the wound, then a wave a numbness. He tried to raise a hoof to the wound, but it felt heavy as a marble block. The sudden weight of his body finally overwhelmed him, and he fell to the floor below, everything fading into darkness.

POV: Queen Chrysalis

She opened her eyes, hearing odd noises when her eyes were shut. She was greeted with a sight that made her blood boil. Her guards laid dead, and the Rainbow-maned Pegasus she had exiled stood before her, her one eye narrowed in anger. "Queen Chrysalis. On behalf of the Pryhan Empire, I am giving you one last chance to surrender. Feel free to refuse."

She snarled. How dare this puny creature speak to her like that. "As if I would surrender to a tiny, insignificant piece of scum like you. As long as I draw breath, I will never bow."

"Fine by me. I get the chance to shove your horn up your ass."

"You think you can harm me!? I captured your Princess in a matter of minutes! I took over your home in six months! You are no threat to me!"

She snickered. "Celestia was not my Princess. And this is not my home. I swear my allegiance to the Pryhan Empire, and to the Caesar."

"Then maybe I'll keep you alive, so I can have you watch me as I burn your precious empire to the ground."

"Those who oppose the Empire shall be shown no mercy, as I will be expecting none in return. You claim to be powerful, yet you hide like a coward behind your swarm. So, show me your power. Face me, and let the gods decide who's powerful."

Chrysalis scowled even deeper. She rose from her throne, summoning green flames. When they dissipated, she was clad in heavy, black iron armor with a large, griffon-like glaive was held in her aura. She smiled, lighting up her horn and said, "Agreed." She then took off, racing towards her while swinging her glaive in a wide arc.

The Pegasus backed up, before trying to get in close. She used the shaft of the weapon to block the swords, before firing a bolt of magic at the Pegasus. She again dodged, then tried to swing herself under the staff to buck her with her hob-nailed boots. Chrysalis used her front legs to block the strikes, they tried to slam the but of the glaive into the back of her head. Again, she dodged, this time getting clear to fire a pair of bolts at her with her crossbow pistols. She caught them in her aura, the tossed them aside as she took off into the air herself.

Due to the lack of a floor, it gave both of them more options to maneuver or attack. The agile Pegasus definitely used that to her advantage, getting in close and attacking from odd angles to throw her off balance. Chrysalis did her best to keep her at a distance, using her glaive and magic bolts to do so. Back and forth they went, Rainbow getting in close, and the queen pushing her back. A few small cuts and scratches, but most of it was on their armor, and what was on exposed flesh weren't serious.

Finally, Chrysalis got lucky. She managed to get a solid swing at her chest when she intercepted a flurry of blows by the Pegasus. It slid along the surface of the linothorax, then cut into the base of his neck. She scrambled back, clutching the shallow wound, and Chrysalis powered up her horn to fire a bolt of magic.

The Pegasus flew back, trying to avoid the sudden flurry of bolts. One bolt finally connected with her chest, and she was sent flying towards the ceiling. She bust through the thin chitin, flying out of the palace. Chrysalis snorted. She then turned to head back to her throne. She sat down, and resumed her commands of the swarm. They were being pushed back on all fronts, and she began to redirect them to weakening areas. At least a few minutes of this passed, and she had begun to hold firmly, and even push them back on a few streets.

Suddenly, she heard a faint whistling noise. Looking out of the hole, she saw a faint, white and blue dot in the sky. Apparently, the exile was stubborn. No matter. As the dot got closer, she powered up her horn, ready to fire a bolt of magic at her when she got close. As she flew, she saw a small miasma form around her, glowing white with a faint rainbow color. Undeterred, she fired the bolt, which was absorbed by the miasma. Suddenly panicked, she fired another, which had the same result. Before she could charge and fire another bolt, the rainbow part of the miasma began glowing brightly, and then-

KRA-KOOOOOOOOOM!!!

A wave of Rainbow colored light filled her sight, then a blinding white, and finally a suffocating black.

When the queen came to, her throne room was in ruins. The chitin that once covered the walls covered the floor in broken patches, shattered like glass. The actual glass of the old windows was the same, and much of the old marble laid in stacks of rubble around the room. Her throne was broken, chips of it flaked off.

She tried to rise, but then collapsed with pain. Her carapace was cracked in multiple places, green blood leaking out of some of them. Her horn was chipped, and several of the holes on her leg were bigger than she remembered. Her glaive rested, partially covered by the rubble, and her armor was dented and pitted with shrapnel.

She then saw the Pegasus, stepping out from behind a pile of rubble. She didn't look much better, her cloak torn, armor also studded with shrapnel, and some of the hairs of her helmet crest were torn out. Yet, even as she stumbled forward, dragging one of her swords in her hoof, the look in her eye remained murderous.

As she got closer, Chrysalis lit up her horn, trying in vain to power up a spell. The pain from the attempt merely sent her falling to her knees. The Pegasus got in front of her, practically falling on her as she dropped the sword. The weight of the Pegasus was enough to fully push her to the ground, and she hissed in agony at the extra pressure put on her partially broken wings.

She gripped onto her jaw, turning her head. While her mind protest, trying to stay strong despite the delirious pain, her weak body complied. She looked into her good eye, trying not to look at the cavernous, burnt socket of the other one. Still fixing her with the cold, unnerving glare, she leaned closer, almost up to her ear. "Plecteretur, Canis."

She then jerked her head down, making her look into a pile of rubble. She let out a gurgling cry, trying to move, but failing miserably. She then jerked it, fast and hard, upward, greeting the queen with a sickening crack. This time, there was no white light, no searing pain, no nothing. Just a sudden, welcoming void that swallowed her and her body went limp, and mind blank.

(*-Rough translation of phrase above-Retribution, Bitch)