All Anon could feel was pain. His entire arm hurt in an unimaginable level of burning, searing, stabbing pain that stung so badly, he could barely stand without crying. Each breath was a labored affair that send stinging sensations through his ribcage as rasped for air. His vision was blurry, reduced to a hazy fog as he struggled to remain conscious. He was vaguely aware of the blood dripping freely from his arm, but he paid it no mind as he stared Tirek down, one fist clenched in defiance against the overwhelming might of the centaur.

Anon struggled to stand, let alone fight against a being as overwhelmingly powerful as Tirek. He knew that he stood absolutely no chance against the mountain of a centaur. Yet one look over at Twilight, Javelin, and his wives who were still in the throne room, gave him all the confidence he needed to proceed, regardless.

Just need to buy them a few more seconds... Twilight will get them out of here...

Anon hoped, prayed, and even begged in his mind for the lavender alicorn to hurry up and save his family before it was too late. He slowly glanced over to Chrysalis, the shock and fear in her face making him pause for just a moment. All the memories and feelings of the past several weeks came flooding back into his chest, infecting him with a small comfort that made the pain bearable for just a second. He even allowed a soft smile to form on his face as he looked at the changeling Queen.

Tirek, being unaware of the silent exchange happening between the human and changeling, stared Anon down with both a measure of surprise and anger.

"Well... this is unexpected," Tirek announced, "That little ring of yours absorbed enough magic to allow you to survive. Impressive. Unfortunately, it's no longer protecting you." He stated, kicking the fragmented remains of the ring with his hoof.

Tirek's horns glowed in an orange light that radiated toward a black orb hovering just above his head. The black sphere rotated like a miniature black hole, and the swirling vortex emanated an orange halo that surged with his immense power. Even from his distance away from the titan, Anon could feel the raw magical power forming at Tirek's behest. The air shifted and swirled around the orb of death between his horns. Anon's ragged clothes wisped with the wind as it continued to pick up speed and energy.

Anon could barely hear over the whistling wind, but he almost could have sworn he could hear his wives crying out for him. he slowly glanced over to them, finding that they were still fighting desperately to free themselves from Twilight's magical hold. He managed to lock eyes with them both, and for just a moment, they ceased their struggling. Much like he did with Chrysalis, Anon smiled at his wives. The gesture, as small as it was, seemed to stay their anguish-ridden protests and fearful tears.

That brief moment of serenity was all the time Twilight needed to finally teleport the entire group away. With his mission now accomplished, Anon let out a small sigh of relief and released the tension in his arm, dropping his clenched fist to his side. He suddenly felt very heavy and very tired, but the now massive swirling vortex in front of him soon pulled his attention back to his inevitable doom.

From her position behind Tirek, Chrysalis watched in horror, as the sight of the massive ball of fiery magical energy spun faster and faster. It was only a matter of seconds before he would unleash his power, and Anon would simply cease to exist. She clenched her eyes shut, both needing but unwilling to watch the death of the only being she'd dared to call her friend in her entire life. The pain, anguish, suffering, and humiliation of it all made tears stream from her tightly closed eyes, but just as she felt it was hopeless, she saw his smile once more.

Her eyes snapped open as determination flooded back into her mind, and with it, each feeling of longing, love, and friendship that she could never recall feeling before. All of her memories centered around Anon and his family, and how much she cared for them. She still found it strange, just how quickly she'd come to love their company and personalities, but that was the only word she could think of to describe the feeling burning in her chest: love.

With that emotion at the forefront of her mind, Chrysalis found herself feeling strangely energized, and suddenly full of warmth. The sudden spike in her strength was just as quickly followed by a sudden eruption of light from her entire body. Her elytra opened, revealing her sparkling wings as her entire body shown like a beacon in a dark night. The lightshow caught not just Anon's attention, but Tirek's as well, as the centaur glanced over his shoulder to look at the source of the sudden illumination.

"I thought I took all your magic..." Tirek muttered, before looking back over to Anon, "No matter. Once I'm done with him, I'll take what's left."

With that, Tirek unleashed the orb of chaotic magic and sent it spiraling toward Anon. The massive black form flew at him at remarkable speed, giving him no time to dodge or evade the blast in any meaningful way. Anon stared death in the face for all of a second, his eyes closing in silent acceptance, before a brilliant flash of light shattered the bubble surrounding Chrysalis.

In the blink of an eye, Chrysalis disappeared, only to reappear in front of Anon, her horn glowing with bright blue energy that formed a protective bubble around the both of them. Less than a fraction of a second later, the orb of chaotic magic collided with her shield, cracking it instantly, but much to Tirek's disbelief, it did not fragment.

Standing behind her, Anon opened his eyes, but struggled to process just what he was seeing. Between the light radiating from her horn, and the swirling light of Tirek's attack, it was hard for Anon to see much of anything through his blurry vision, but he could have sworn that Chrysalis's chitin looked lighter than he remembered. Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to ponder over it as the force of the impact made him loose his balance and fall back onto the ground once more.

Anon grunted in pain but kept his gaze locked on the form of the changeling Queen as she struggled to hold back the massive amount of power and force pressing against her. She grit her teeth as her hooves pressed into the marble ground so hard that it cracked, forming a spiderweb under each of her legs. She grunted in exertion as the seconds ticked by, and the immense power of Tirek's attack finally reached its tipping point.

The orb of energy burned brighter and hotter, turning from a black, swirling vortex into a bright orange inferno. The marble underneath it melted from the raw energy radiating off of the ball, and cracks formed everywhere in its vicinity, but even so, Chrysalis held strong. Finally, the ball reached its critical mass, expanding to its largest size yet before exploding into a fireball that somehow directed all its power right at Chrysalis's shield.

The blast of pure, scorching, infernal magic pummeled her shield and the surrounding castle wall. Chrysalis grit her teeth even harder as her shield endured the full might of Tirek's power. The cracks spread and spiderwebbed out even more, but even so, the shield held. Second after agonizing second passed as she fought with every ounce of her strength to protect Anon from certain annihilation.

Eventually, the massive burst of magical energy tapered down off and dispelled, leaving a smokescreen of steam and a hollowed out hole in the wall of the castle. Tirek smirked at first, finding that there was simply nothing left in front of him except smoke and ash. His mirth was soon wiped right off of his face as the dust settled and he could see the heavily spiderwebbed dome of Chrysalis's shield.

The structure only held together for a few precious seconds more, before shattering into a million shards of tiny blue magical glass that dispersed upon impacting with the floor. Now with no magical light show to blind him, Anon slowly looked up from his position on the floor, finding that while the marble was warm against his skin, it was at the very least, still there. All around him and Chrysalis, the floor was simply melted and gone, leaving nothing but bare stone, superheated into glass in a circle around them.

Anon slowly looked up to Chrysalis, the shocked look on his face turning even more bewildered as he finally saw her clearly. Her chitin was no longer a black color or baring several small holes. It was completely filled in, making her look much more like a normal pony, especially since her chest was covered in a noticeable layer of snow white fur. In fact, her entire body was almost as snow white as Celestia's, only with a slightly bluish hue. Her elytra and chitin were also different, baring a vivid golden color that contrasted beautifully against her skin..

Her wings, now a gorgeous translucent blue color, buzzed defiantly against the threat looming over the both of them. Her mane and tail, now both slightly longer and more akin to hair than before, wisped in the slight wind that funneled into the damaged castle remains. Much like her wings, her mane and tail were shifted from their previous turquoise color to a more dark blue color, contrasting nicely against the gold of her elytra.

"C-Chrysalis?" Anon questioned, his voice filled with disbelief.

Chrysalis turned her head just enough to look at Anon. As with the rest of her, her facial features were slightly changed. Her fangs, previously jutting out to nearly her chin, were much shorter now, much like a batpony's. What truly caught Anon's attention, however, was the color of her eyes. No longer a sickly green color, her eyes bore a similar blue color to her mane, although they were noticeably darker.

The complete transformation of the changeling Queen caught Anon so off guard, that he almost didn't notice her response.

"Anon, are you okay?" She asked, her voice even somewhat changed.

Her voice, previously sounding as if at least two voices were speaking at once, suddenly sounded like one unified voice that was filled with nothing but concern for his well-being. Anon gaped at the sight and sound of Chrysalis for just a moment before shaking his head as a wide smile found its way onto his face.

"I can't believe it's you..." He whispered, suddenly feeling very weak in the knees.

Despite the threat looming just a few dozen feet away, Chrysalis took a moment to return the smile with one of her own. Anon couldn't help but feel warmth filling his heart at the sight of such a beautiful smile.

"Did you think I'd let you die on me now?" She teased, her personality still well intact.

Before Anon could reply, however, Tirek suddenly shouted, cutting both of them off.

"How are you still standing!? I took all of your magic! What kind of trickery is this!?" Tirek demanded, an aghast look on his face as he stared them down.

Chrysalis looked down at her hoof, and the new off-white color she bore all over her body. She pursed her lips in idle consideration, lending serious credence to the thought that she herself did not even know what happened. However, those delusions were shattered as Chrysalis looked back up to Tirek, a defiant glint in her eyes.

"Changelings only need magic to masquerade as other creatures... We don't derive our powers from magic. We derive them from love... and I can say for certain that I feel more love now than I've ever felt in my entire life." She announced, before turning to look at Anon again, "I have you to thank for that." She smiled.

Anon found a small chuckle escape his lips as a wide grin formed on his face once more, "I knew you could change..." He said, breathlessly.

Chrysalis nodded and turned back to Tirek once more, "Anon, Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Cadence are under my protection now. If you want to hurt my family, you'll have to get through me first." She declared, before her elytra unfurled and she darted toward Tirek at lightning speed. The white blur of motion moved so fast and struck him so hard that Tirek didn't even have a chance to brace himself for the impact. He was sent sailing through the air and into the castle wall, nearly shattering the stone in the process.

Bits and pieces of fractured stone fell from the wall as Tirek's body stuck in the material. He looked down at Chrysalis, a look of both surprise and ferocity in his eyes. He pushed himself out of the wall and landed on the ground with an earth shattering *thud*. His eyes quickly finding Chrysalis, he fired a blast of orange energy at her. She narrowly dodged the steady stream of bright orange energy as it followed her, plowing through the walls and sailing off into the distance.

She dodged, ducked, weaved, and buzzed between pillars, under rubble, and through holes already present in the walls as the centaur's energy chased her, leaving destruction in its wake. Explosions followed her as every pillar was obliterated, the walls were knocked down, and debris was shattered by the beam of magical might. Even through the destruction was following her at just a hairs breadth away, Chrysalis managed to stay just out of his line of fire, infuriating the centaur even further.

As his spell cut off, Tirek jumped after her, his hands reaching out and grabbing hold of her tail just as she tried to buzz away. He spun on his hooves, before throwing Chrysalis against the wall as hard as he could. Unlike when she hit him, Tirek threw her straight through the wall and sent her sailing off into the distance. Tirek smirked at his throw for just a few moments, before Chrysalis suddenly teleported behind him, still carrying the same velocity and slammed into his back.

The impact sent Tirek face-first into the floor, absolutely smashing the marble floor and caving in the floor below it. The entire structure crumbled around them as they sailed down to the floor below, caving that floor in as well as they continued to rocket straight into the crystal cavern below the castle. The impact sent vibrations up through the entire structure, making several more pillars and walls crumble from the additional stress.

Back in the now destroyed throne room, Anon staggered over to the massive hole in the floor and looked down, "Chrysalis!" He cried.

Anon could see beams of blue and orange light illuminating the darkened cavern below, and several more vibrations racked the crumbling structures around him. As he stared down at the battle happening below him, he became vaguely aware of the sensation of blood dripping from his arm once more. A sudden light-headedness hit him and he stumbled back as his knees quickly buckled under him. He brought his good hand to his temple, blinking his eyes to clear his head as he looked behind him, finding a trail of blood leading to a concerningly large puddle of crimson.

Anon shook his head and looked away, the queasy feeling in his stomach only serving to worsen the light-headedness he already felt. For a few seconds, he struggled to maintain his balance as the building rocked slightly from the deafened explosions happening below him. He felt a sudden ringing sensation in his ears that only made everything worse.

"Anon!"

Anon blinked, slowly shaking his head as he swayed in place.

"Anon!"

Anon slowly turned, finding, to his complete surprise, that Dusk and Discord were standing right beside him. The draconequues held Echo's crippled body in his claws, but it was clear that in his weakened state, he was struggling to not drop the injured bat pony.

"Anon!" Dusk cried once more, finally gaining the human's attention.

"Dusk?" Anon asked, sounding unsure of himself.

"We've gotta get out of here! The castle is collapsing! Come on!" Dusk ordered, turning around and gesturing to the destroyed throne room doors.

Anon struggled to comprehend just what was being said to him, but after a few seconds of trying to get him to listen, Dusk simply moved over to his good hand, gently bit down on it with his mouth, and physically dragged the human along. Anon fought to maintain his balance the entire time, but he did manage to keep from falling over as he was escorted out of the crumbling throne room. Just a few moments after they managed to escape, the entire room fell apart behind them, sending debris and dust flying through the air.

Dusk continued to move Anon out of the castle while Discord carried Echo alongside them. Just as they managed to round the corner, leading to the exit, Chrysalis and Tirek erupted from the rubble behind them, both sailing into the sky before colliding with each other again and again, sending shockwaves through the air. Each shockwave hit the crumbling castle, knocking what little material was still standing, down.

Dusk just barely managed to lead Anon and Discord out of the front gate just as the rest of the structure collapsed behind them. A thick cloud of dust and debris filled the air, blocking the sight of the four as they covered their mouths and coughed.

"Come on! We have to get out of here!" Dusk ordered, biting Anon's hand once more and leading him away from the shattered remains of the castle.

Anon looked back at the destruction behind him, a worried frown on his face as he thought of his home for the past two years and the sad state it was now in as he trudged along behind Dusk. He sluggishly looked up at the arcing flashes of bright blue and and orange as the skyline was lit up by Chrysalis and Tirek. Even as he struggled to maintain his balance or walk with any appreciable speed, he couldn't help but worry about the changeling Queen as she fought to protect him and the other creatures around him.

Soon enough they managed to descend further into Canterlot and away from the destruction, finding a corner-store that was still thankfully unlocked. Dusk opened the door with his hind-leg before dragging Anon in behind him, Discord coming in last. The draconequues deposited the unconscious form of Echo on one of the tables while Dusk ushered Anon to sit in the next booth.

"Alright, let me see your arm." Dusk instructed, gesturing for Anon to give him his hand.

"What about... Echo?" Anon asked, his glassy eyes glancing over to the wounded thestral.

"We checked him before getting you out of there. He's knocked out, has a broken wing, and probably a broken foreleg, but other than that, I think he's alright. We need to put a tourniquet on that arm of yours." Dusk replied, noting the blood still dripping from Anon's arm.

Dusk glanced around the room for a few moments before his gaze landed on Anon's belt, "Anon, let me have your belt." He ordered.

Anon slowly fenagled the belt out of his pants with his free hand, before giving it over to Dusk. Once he had it in his hooves, Dusk stepped onto the table beside Anon, while also making a loop with the belt.

"Alright, this is probably gonna hurt like Tartarus, but we need to stop you from bleeding, alright?" Dusk noted.

Anon's only response was a sluggish nod. With permission all but assured, Dusk gingerly slid the belt up Anon's mangled arm and up to his shoulder, before cinching it down as tight as he could. Much to both his and Discord's surprise, however, Anon barely even reacted. After taking a moment to ensure the tourniquet was tight and the blood loss was slowed, Dusk glanced up to Anon, a concerned look in his eyes.

"You okay? Did you even feel that?" He asked.

Anon shrugged, "A little."

Blinking owlishly in surprise, Dusk glanced down at the tightly cinched belt for a moment before looking back up to Anon, "Alright... you may be going into shock. We're gonna need to get you to a hospital, soon." He muttered.

"That doesn't look like a possibility. Canterlot was completely evacuated." Discord replied.

"Alright, alright. You just look after him. I'll go see if I can find something to help him." Dusk responded, getting back to his hooves.

"Wait... w-where you going?" Anon asked, his posture becoming more and more slouched.

"I'll be right back," Dusk replied, reassuringly, before looking over to Discord, "Keep him awake." He ordered.

At Discord's nod, Dusk made his way outside. He could feel the loss of his strength with each step he took as he galloped through the empty streets of a deserted Canterlot, but pushed onward nonetheless. He found a small clinic at the end of the road and attempted to open the door, but it was locked. Cursing under his breath, Dusk tried to break through the wooden door, but found that with his diminished strength, he simply couldn't force his way through.

Sweat dripped from his forehead as he struggled to break through the door, but after only a few minutes of strife, a massive flash illuminated the entire street, making him wince. He quickly glanced up to see the aftermath of magical explosion that wiped out an entire block of buildings. It only took another moment for the concussive sound of the blast to reach him, making his ears flick back against his head. He grit his teeth for a moment, the deafening boom making his ears ring.

Eventually, the sound passed and he was able to look at the source properly. His eyes blinking in the bright light, Dusk saw a sight that instantly raised his spirits. Twilight and Chrysalis were both fighting Tirek, together. When Twilight had reappeared to fight, he couldn't say, but he could hardly bring himself to care as he watched the two equines fighting Tirek with everything they had.

"Princess! Chrysalis!" Dusk cried out, waving a hoof to hopefully get either of their attention.

Unfortunately, the heat of the battle simply made it impossible for them to hear him, a fact he was quickly made aware of as they both zipped out of earshot to fight Tirek on the other side of the city. Dusk grit his teeth in frustration before quickly galloping away from the door. Once he was a sufficient distance away, he turned on his hooves and galloped at the door as fast as he could.

He slammed against the wooden door so hard that he managed to break it off its hinges. He crashed into the ground with a thud, nearly breaking his shoulder in the process. With a grunt of pain, Dusk pushed himself to his hooves and moved further into the store. It was dark inside, but fortunately, thestral eyes were capable of night vision by biological design, not magical. After a few minutes of rushing through the clinic, searching everywhere he could and gathering medical supplies the whole time, he found the object he was hoping for.

Carrying all his goods in the crook of his foreleg, Dusk trotted back to the front door before making his way back toward the corner-store he left Anon in. He kept his gaze skyward the entire time, not willing to use his newfound tool unless he was certain he could get either Twilight or Chrysalis's attention. He didn't have to wait long, as the raging battle quickly sent a blur of white and blue rocketing into the sky until she managed to right herself and slow her momentum.

Without waiting for another opportunity, Dusk grabbed the flare gun out of his foreleg and fired off a flare directly above his position. The bright red light instantly caught the attention of the white blur off in the distance, and within two seconds, Chrysalis zoomed in, landing so hard that the stone ground cracked.

Startled by her sudden arrival, but thankful nonetheless, Dusk quickly pointed to the corner-store just a few buildings down the street, "Anon's hurt-" He began, but before he could manage another word, Chrysalis was already buzzing away from him at lightning speed.

She arrived at the store and shoved her way through the front door, knocking it off its hinges in the process and sending it flying across the store. She instantly saw Discord as he struggled to perform CPR on Anon's unconscious body.

"Anon!"

Whew boy! That was a hell of a chapter, right? Now, before anyone starts commenting or complaining, no I am not doing the skittle boog thing. Trust. I will explain it more in future chapters, but know that Chrysalis isn't going to become a "reformed" pacifist bug like Thorax in the show. So relax, anyone who was about to drop the story cause Chrysalis changed at all lmao.