FINAL CHAPTER: CHRYSALIS

As everypony only continued to look up at the cackling Discord, eventually the draconequus would stop, and coincidentally, so did the rain. He looked down at the pony society, the ponies and changelings alike, as well as his own possessed creations. He was obvious filled with joy as he descended to the ground, and in doing so many of the ponies attempted to flee but Discord didn't allow it, with a swipe of his arm, his creatures were on the move once again, blocking out all the exits. Discord touched down upon the courtyard as he raised his claw and paw to the sky in delight, and with his own power he was able to control both the night and day through chaos, bring them up and down at his will. He slowly began bringing out the sun itself as everypony's eyes widened at the sight of this. As dawn crept into the sky, Discord grinned "It's a new day you all, let's try to enjoy it hm?"

Discord then snapped his claws once again as his possessed subjects began to gather everypony they could find into the courtyard. Discord didn't touch Chrysalis however, he let her be as she simply observed all that was happening with a curious expression, if a little disinterested. With a nudge of her head she and her changelings trailed back up towards the castle with a heavy sigh as Chrysalis reached the top of the steps then lowered her hind legs, sitting in a attentive manner as she continued to observe what Discord was doing.

As everypony was forced into the courtyard, their bodies trembled as they were all unsurprisingly afraid of what would occur next. Some of them still in shock and confusion wondering where their Princesses had gone. In the scene were ponies of all ages, majority of them being unicorns and earth ponies, but there were also some pegasi. They all had fearful expressions as some held tightly onto their young in a protective clutch. There was defiance however, in the broken remnants of the guard, but mainly the Celestial Watch. The Lunar Guard kept silent, they knew the grimness of the situation and knew defiance would get them nowhere, not until the right moment.

Eden shot a glance in Sombra's direction as Sombra simply nodded to the colt.

Bravemane was gritting his teeth angrily as he was forced to the ground.

Discord simply smiled as he spread his arms looking at everypony. He spoke out, wanting all to hear his words. "Now shall we get started? Citizens of Canterlot, you see, your Princesses have decided to take a permanent vacation, leaving me to rule in their stead! There will be quite a few changes to come, and all I ask of you all is to submit obediently. Does everypony understand these terms?" Discord chuckled somewhat as he raised a brow to the crowd who simply looked at him in fear.

However there was a shout of defiance that burst forth as everypony shot their glances in its direction.

"Go buck yourself Discord!" Bravemane rose from the crowd forcefully as he took a few trots forward with sword in hoof, breathing heavily. "If you think we'll submit to slavery! Think again!"

Discord smirked at Bravemane crossing his arms. "Slavery is such a harsh word old friend."

Bravemane snarled at the draconequus as he charged. "Don't you ever refer to me as your friend you despicable traitor!"

Discord simply continued to smirk at the charging stallion. In a mere instant Discord's infamous jawbreaker sword appeared in his grasp as his eyes snapped wide and he grinned. He spoke comedically "Those who don't understand the terms–" And as he and Bravemane swung at the same time, there was a loud clang signaling contact as Bravemane stood a few feet past Discord. They both held their swords as Bravemane looked as if he'd already knew what transpired, he looked down with tired eyes as Discord only continued to grin. "Are expendable."

As Chrysalis looked upon the scene, majority of the ponies gasped in horror.

Eden and Sombra simply remained silent as Eden's eyes saddened tremendously, Sombra looked upon Bravemane with a hint of sadness himself, he sighed heavily before lowering his head.

As they all were focused on Discord, Ellie; thought dead by the others, began to toss and turn slowly as she slowly started coming to. She turned onto her belly as she coughed blood, upon awakening she could already feel the horrendous amount of pain in her left hind leg as well as the top right side of her face. She found she couldn't open her right eye as she recalled what'd happened. As she remembered that it was Chrysalis's attack that'd done this to her, she winced sadly. She gazed ahead as she saw nearly everypony left was gathered in the courtyard, majority of them were citizens, seeing as members of both the Celestial Watch and Lunar Guard were dead. Ellie then slowly peered to her left as she saw what appeared to be Bravemane behind, and facing away from Discord. He seemed so very tired, she winced her left eye at him, puzzled as in a fleeting moment, he actually took a second to look in her direction. Ellie's eye widened as she looked at him, confused by why he'd looked so pained to see her.

Bravemane smiled one last time at his fellow Celestial Guard as he then looked down at his broken blade. The blood slowly bursted from his mouth as he coughed, and then silently he fell to the pavement, never to speak another word.

Ellie shook her head as she looked at him fall. She then attempted to rise as she found her left hind leg was pretty much useless at the moment. She gritted her teeth as she yelled out in a weak raspy voice, "B-Bravemane! Get up!"

Discord, Chrysalis, Eden, Sombra, and majority of the ponies in the crowd looked in the mare's direction. Eden's eyes widened as did Sombra's, she lived? Chrysalis winced pitifully at Ellie as she saw the broken mare attempt to climb to her hooves. Although Chrysalis felt an intense hatred for the mare, she also hated the fact that at this point, when everything was said and done and their victory was certain, that she also felt sorry for her. Chrysalis sighed heavily looking upon Ellie as she then turned towards the direction of the western gate leading out of the city. "Let's not waste anymore time here."

Chrysalis and her changeling subjects then began to head for the gates as Ellie immediately took notice of her old friend leaving the city. The mare called out to Chrysalis, "W-Wait! Chrysalis!...."

Chrysalis's eyes widened as she hesitantly looked back at the mare with a raised brow, but remained silent.

Ellie looked to Chrysalis for a brief moment before looking down, agonizingly aware that nothing she'd say could return things back to the way they were. In such a short amount of time, everything had changed, yet it felt like it lasted an eternity. Ellie simply looked to her old friend with a nostalgic gleam, before speaking softly. "I- I still don't understand everything, there's so many questions that I want to ask, so many things I want to know, but I realize now I'll likely never get that chance. I just want you to know, I'm sorry, for everything!" She paused for a brief moment "And I'll miss you..."

Chrysalis simply looked to the mare with a sudden interest once again. Although the queen of changelings didn't speak, she regarded the mare with a nod, and that was it. This was their personal farewell, although bland it was, to get a nod of approval from Chrysalis was enough at this point. Chrysalis then continued towards the gate as her changelings followed close behind her. They soon disappeared off into the distance of the ruined city, making their way south of course.

Discord snickered a little as he crossed his arms, retreading his jawbreaker sword stained with blood. "Touching, truly. Now, if you don't mind I'd like to get back to business." He then regarded Bravemane's corpse with a sigh before looking to Ellie, then he looked to Eden and Sombra before stating "We can't have heroes like Bravemane here attempting to overthrow me now can we, although I doubt they'd get far, I'd rather be safe than sorry. You see, there is some cleaning up we must do before we can get started with the new age of leadership!" Discord once more did a swipe with his claw as suddenly his minions were on the move once again, they didn't hesitate to cut down a few of the last remaning lunar guards.

Eden then looked down solemnly as he looked to Sombra. Sombra nodded to the colt as they realized at this point it was now or never. They stood to their hooves, Eden immediately throwing up a defensive thrust of his hooves as a spell hurtled some of Discord's minions away from the scene. Sombra rose, although his magic was much weaker due to the fact it was now dawn, he was still able to manifest a weapon and cut down a chaos minion approaching him for the kill.

Discord chuckled. "Oh look, more heroes."

Sombra shouted out his orders to the crowd. "Those who wish to be slaves, stay! Those who wish to live freely and fight for their freedom, come with me! There is no inbetween here, you must choose now! Remnants of the guard, we fight, live or die, the moment is now!" Sombra then aimed his sword in the direction of the eastern gate as all the remaining Celestial Watch as well as the Lunar Guard were at his side. Even some of the citizens stood, going to the protection of their last remaining guards, depending on them to get them out of here.

Discord could of easily disposed of them, perhaps he would of had no resistance ever again. But something held him back that day, he cherished chaos, as well as the challenge. And although they were gone, he couldn't ignore the fact he'd miss the entertainment from Celestia as well as Luna. He then smirked as he watched the remnants of the guard take a last stand for all of ponykind, as much as Discord wanted to witness this little escapade of theirs, he had something else he desperately wanted to attend to even more. He rose to the skies before calling out to his minions "Kill as many of them as you can, I shall return to see to your progress, hmhm, I'm sure it'll be quite the surprise. Don't touch the passive ones."

The minions obeyed mindlessly as they then began their attack on the ponies who'd resisted and were making their way towards the eastern gate.

Discord then flew off into the sky, towards the western gate, and then further south.

As Sombra was leading what few ponies resisted towards the eastern gate, he could only feel a new sense of hope swell within him at the sight of Discord's departure. Discord, for as bad as he was, was actually granting them mercy? Although to Discord, he was the level of a god while they were simply bugs waiting to be squashed. No this wasn't mercy, this was simply an act of enjoyment on his part, he'd enjoy having some sort of resistance to keep him satisfied in his rule, and Sombra knew this. Sombra then held back his anger as he sighed heavily Bravemane, you're more cut out for this sort of thing, why'd you have to go and off yourself. As they cut through wave after wave of Discord's minions, their priority was protecting the few pony citizens that depended on them for protection.

Sombra's eyes snapped wide as he noticed that Eden wasn't with him. Where was he!? Then he caught a glimpse of the blue colt, defending Elliot Brightmare, going to her aid. Sombra snarled as he yelled "Eden what're you doing!? We don't have time for this!"

Eden looked back to Sombra with a smile before shaking his head.

Sombra winced angrily at the blue colt as he was then cut off from his path. He snapped "Escape! That's an order!"

Eden in the last moment he could see Sombra, nodded to his older comrade. He then continued to to cast up defensive spells around him as well as Ellie.

Ellie seemed devoid of any emotion as she just muttered to the colt. "Just leave me, there's no point for you to die for me."

Eden smiled at her before laughing softly. "We're not going to die, & I'm not leaving you, get over it." The colt then helped the wounded mare stagger to her three hooves as she had to drag her left leg as she trotted slowly.

As they were hounded constantly by Discord's forces, Eden looked painfully at the ponies who'd decided to remain behind. They seemed so frightened, scared, and he knew they felt ashamed for staying, but he wasn't going to force them to risk the lives of their loved ones, their younglings and families, he simply turned and then made way for the only pathway they had available to them. He and Ellie would make it to the northern gate, it lead to the mountainous regions but it'd have to do.

As they were dragged along, Ellie attempted to help as much as she could although it wasn't much. She wasn't too keen on defensive magic, but she had a few helpful spells in her arsenal. She fortified their barrier as Eden simply continued to move them along at a steady pace, they were barely cutting down any of the stacking forces at their sides. Eden was no fighter, and Ellie was too wounded to partake in any further battles.

She couldn't help but feel ashamed she'd thought so lowly of the colt long ago. She looked at him now with admiration, she also had many questions for him. It wasn't often one so young held such a prestigious position, and as unrealistic as it was, she could see now why Luna would of trusted this one with such a position. Whereas Sombra was more a realist, Eden was the yang of the night. Together the two of them found balance, and one without the other would leave only darkness. They were both powerful, but the night held many overtaking and alluring traits, there would always be a need for passionate innocence. As Ellie looked upon the colt, she'd seen how kind he was time and time again. Such fortitude and disregard for his own wellbeing, such a personality could only be helpful in such cases. He was peace in a bleak world, a small representation of what's worth fighting for in a sense. Sombra, or whoever taught him, did their job well.

Ellie smirked at him as they trotted. "You're an interesting colt, you know that?"

Eden shrugged with a delighted smile. "I have my ways, you to." He smiled up at her softly.

They continued to make their way to the northern gate as Eden gritted his teeth somewhat. "We're not going to make it to the gate..."

Ellie nodded simply as she looked to him. "But there's still another way..."

Eden chuckled softly. "So you saw it to?"

They both then peered to their left as at a destroyed edge of the city, there was a massive drop into the wilderness below. There was no certainty to what would occur when they made the jump, but with each of their attacks, Discord's minions came closer to breaking the barrier. Eden and Ellie simply nodded to each other with slight smirks as they then yelled in unison for motivation as they surged in that direction, diving off the shattered edge, plummeting downward into the forest below.

Their pursuers simply chased after them but halted as they came to the edge of the cliff. They all peered down observingly for a moment as they then simply turned around and then made their way back to the city.

Further away from Canterlot, the changelings had made their distance.

Chrysalis stood atop a mountain now ways away from her old home. She could only smirk in delight as she looked upon the vast lands of Equestria, so much potential for this open new world. As her subjects all stood behind her she then nudged her head, signaling one of them to come to her side. The changeling bowed as he'd reached his precious queen, Chrysalis then made sure to return the bow before looking off into the distance. "Tell me my subject, where are the rest of the changelings, I'm certain you all didn't go to Canterlot as a whole."

The changeling shook his head. "No my Queen, many of us stayed behind in the badlands, still we trek in order to find ourselves a new home."

Chrysalis chuckled somewhat, smirking at her changeling subject. "Well then we shall trek no more, I have the perfect idea in mind for how we shall set up our next glorious empire."

Suddenly as she was talking a mighty figure appeared before the lot of them.

It was none other than Discord as he smiled looking upon the newly crowned Queen of Changelings. He was levitating himself in the sky not that far from Chrysalis as he regarded her with a nod.

Chrysalis seemed disinterested in him, she simply raised a brow. "Why Discord, what brings you here?"

Discord cackled somewhat heartily as he grinned at Chrysalis. "Now don't be like that little experiment, I was simply coming to bare my farewell is all. You see, I was also wondering what would become of us, you and me of course. I'd hate to have you as my enemy, and we got off on the wrong foot last time we met. I could use you as an ally in my new kingdom of chaos I'm planning to build, what do you say? Should we consider ourselves allies hmmm?"

Chrysalis simply kept her same disinterested gaze on him before sighing heavily. "I decline, of course I will never allow the changelings to be under the influence of any other ruler besides myself. We will head further south, and I will construct my empire and build from scratch, we have much recovery we must do before we take our place in the world. But–" Chrysalis smirked playfully at the draconequus. "I have no problem considering you an ally Discord. But consider us out of commission for the time being, you have a lot to make up for as well, although you set things right by banishing those two. I do hope to see you around sometime." She winked at him with a sly smile.

Discord summoned his throne as he sat upon it with a somewhat saddened expression, but he smiled nonetheless. "I see, I'm disappointed to hear that you'll be leaving so soon. I wish you luck then Queen of the Changelings, in the construction of your new empire. Although I am happy to hear we'll be considered allies, it's a shame we cannot rule alongside one another, as said we are one in the same." Discord smiled softly, "You've come far, little experiment."

Chrysalis chuckled as she grinned at Discord. "As have you Discord...."

With that the draconequus slowly began to vanish as he shrugged somewhat. "As expected ahaha! Until we meet again..."

And then he was gone. Chrysalis simply nodded to the place he was previously in as she continued to make her way down south.

There, drifting through a vast ocean of galaxies and places beyond their understanding were the goddesses of night and day. Luna and Celestia were flying endlessly through this endless realm, surrounding them was a multitude of stars and other cosmic discoveries they were curious about. They seemed calm, as they flew side by side in exploration, unsure of where to go now.

Luna's expression saddened, she lowered her head as she flapped her wings.

Celestia took notice of this as she looked back towards her sister. "What's wrong dear little sister?"

Luna shook her head. "I worry for our subjects sister, they...they will suffer for what we've done, I miss them all terribly..."

Celestia smiled softly at Luna. "Worry not sister, for we will see them again. Maybe not now, but I'm sure we shall find our way back, or perhaps, they will be able to find one for us. Things tend to work in unexpected ways."

As Celestia continued to speak, we were taken back to Equestria, as she simply continued to comfort Luna.

Standing in a vast green pasture was Sombra with a tired expression, following close behind him were Canterlot ponies, as well as some survivors of both the guards. They were alone, and ultimately safe for the time being.

Life is such a mysterious thing dearest sister, even the smallest of creatures, ones with all the odds stacked against them, can outshine even the most powerful of beings. If their hearts are set to the task.

Sombra then heard soft cheering from a distance as he looked to his left, further down the green pastures. His eyes widened as he saw a welcoming sight, for as heartless as he seemed the unicorn let himself smile just this once. He laughed softly to himself as he shook his head, looking at the two figures approach him from the forest.

Ellie and Eden were making their way up through the green hills, both with smiles placated on their faces. Although Ellie looked worse for wear, the top right side of her face barely recognizable as her left hind leg still was broken, she smiled happily at the sight of the rest of the ponies. Eden cheered at Sombra as he trotted hurriedly through the green hills towards his comrade. Ellie's expression saddened as she thought of Bravemane, she wished he could've made it, and now that he was gone, guiding the Celestial Watch would be her duty from now on. There would be a time for mourning later, but for now, they'd enjoy this moment of safety, comfort, and peace. Together they'd cherish these moments, for it was all they had left. She chuckled softly thinking to yourself. Chrysalis, I hope you can find happiness to, wherever you are...

Perhaps it's not our place to set the world on the right course. Perhaps, things will just inevitably fall into place on their own, the individuals that make up the world as it is, perhaps it is them, who'll build it's future. And perhaps, that's for the best.

In the distant lands further to the east, in a vast kingdom made up of crystals and gorgeous rolling hills of green. The rulers of such a small yet prosperous kingdom sat in their throne room, two of them in specific.

The kingdom was absolutely marvelous, the citizens were all happy as they partook in festivities such as mini games, feasts, as well as dancing. They all wore old traditional clothing, and most importantly, they were all ponies. They had no worries in the world as they all simply continued to enjoy themselves, laughing and playing together in their perfect setting.

The two rulers simply remained in the throne room as one could notice upon looking at them, one of the rulers was a filly, yet an alicorn. The alicorn filly bore a light pink coat and a gorgeous mane baring the colors violet, pink, and lemon yellow. She was currently playing with the other more mysterious ruler as suddenly somepony burst through the throne room doors. "My Princess! I bring terrible news from the lands of Equestria!" The stallion guard, dawned in crystal armor, simply trotted over to his Princess and handed her a sealed envelope.

The second figure revealed as a Princess quickly grabbed the letter and opened it, looking over the text. As she did so, her expression sank dramatically as she dropped the letter to the floor and stomped on it with a hoof.

The alicorn filly looked up to the Princess with a worried expression. "What's wrong big sister?"

The mysterious figure also revealed as the older sister of the filly alicorn, smiled looking down at her. "It's nothing Cadence, you see, it seems Auntie Celestia and Auntie Luna have gotten into a bit of trouble. It looks like we're going to have to go help them out....okay little sis?"

The filly alicorn revealed as Cadence looked up at her sister worriedly as she cocked her head to the left. "T-Trouble? Are they okay?"

Her sister shook her head as she sighed heavily. "They might be gone for a little while Cadence, but don't worry, big sister is going to punish the bad creature that did this...hmhm..." The larger alicorn lowered her frame before rubbing the top of her sister's head softly with an affectionate smile.

The Princess then took a few trots towards her guard before speaking in a somewhat soft yet commanding tone. "Inform the guard, we're gathering up our things and heading to Equestria...."

The guard's eyes widened as he gasped somewhat. "B-But my Princess, Equestria, that's quite a distance away. Such a mass exodus would take months, maybe even years!"

The Princess didn't falter. "We're going to Equestria captain....no exceptions, the ponies there need us...."

The guard then lowered his head with a nod. "As you command my Princess!" He then hurriedly left the throne room.

Cadence looked up at her sister with worried eyes as her sister then headed to the throne.

She pulled out a massive blade, levitating it as if inspecting its condition. It had all the colors of the rainbow etched into the hilt as the blades material seemed to be forged from pink gems. She wore a gorgeous necklace which appeared to be a crystal heart and bore a strong resemblance to Cadence, besides the fact she was much bigger and her mane was much more erratic and wild, natural in a sense. She gritted her teeth angrily, infuriated as she thought to herself, Discord......

After a long and tedious trek through the wilderness, mountainous regions and more, Chrysalis eventually made it through to the badlands. Her subjects didn't hesitate to lead her to a slope where she'd be able to catch a glimpse of all her changelings, as Chrysalis rose to the very top, she looked down upon all of them with overwhelming happiness. They'd survived so long without her leadership and she was now here to guide them every step of the way. As Chrysalis was going through this proud moment, she drifted back to distant memories, memories of her entire life including the time she'd spent in Canterlot. Although she despised them, she'd learned much from the ponies of Canterlot, especially Celestia, and even though she hated her mentor for what she did, she took a moment to thank her silently to herself.

She then thought about her mother, Ta'lak, and Old Mel'zaraf. She wished they could be here to see the rise of their race once more, in a world free for them to rebuild once again as well as repopulate. They had no more fears for the time being, and they seemed to have all the time in the world. Chrysalis stomped her hoof as her horn alit a neon green hue and shined brightly as if a signal for the rest of the changelings, she yelled in a mighty tone. "Rise changelings!"

The changelings down below then immediately peered upward towards the mountain top as their eyes widened at the sight of Chrysalis. She seemed so powerful compared to the rest of them. "Together we will rebuild our kingdom lost to a race below us! Our enemies lie defeated and now we can rise again, as the proud race we were meant to be! This is a new beginning, for all of us, for all the changelings! I, your long lost Queen will protect you in the times ahead! Despair no longer, for from here, we shall only progress to a more prosperous future!"

The changelings then set off into a volley of cheers as they roared in delight at their newfound queen.

The Queen of the Changelings.