Not sure I like how this came out *Shrug* Ah, well. Hope y'all enjoy. This is where the whole story has been leading up to~


Celestia stood outside of her castle's doors, staring off into the distance as the wind trailed her mane behind her. She squinted, frowning, her ear flicking ever now and then in anticipation. Luna stood at the tower with the telescope, looking for the oncoming danger. The royal guard stood behind Celestia at the ready, but Shining Armor was nowhere to be seen. He most likely wouldn't be able to make it in time for Chrysalis' arrival. So, they were on their own without magical protection for the time being. The two sirens, who were in pony form, stood next to Celestia, looking out at the distance in a similar way, but Sonata looking a bit more nervous. Steven stood next to Sonata, looking around, wondering why everyone was standing so still and not playing with her. She lowered her ears and sat down boredly with a sigh. Suddenly, a yell came from the tower.

"They're coming!" Luna's voice came, and no sooner had it, did everything suddenly become dark, as if the sun had been eclipsed. They all looked up to see many small, flying creatures in a swarm. So many, that they blocked out the sun. Celestia stood her ground, glaring at the enormous swarm, but the two sirens, and even Steven, backed up a bit as they looked on fearfully. But the changelings stopped short of the group, landing meters away. Then, suddenly, a rather large pony...thing...about Celestia's height landed with a thud in front of them. Celestia took a surprised step back, but maintained level eye-contact with her. The two siren-ponies, however, had to look up at her, eyes wide. And Steven...she just towered over everyone. Chrysalis gave them all an amused, smug smirk. Celestia angrily scraped the ground with a hoof, almost like how an angry bull would, and snorted at the disfigured pony.

"After your last pitiful defeat, you dare show your face back here?" She growled. Chrysalis chuckled darkly.

"As I recall, princess, it was not you who defeated me. Instead, you had to rely on wittle ponies to save you!" She said mockingly. Without warning, Celestia lunged forward, horn pointed down, and Chrysalis counteracted by slamming her own horn against Celestia's, stopping the alicorn in her tracks. They pushed against each other, their horns grinding against one another as they fought for dominance. Celestia took a few small, forced steps forward, pushing Chrysalis back. The demented pony growled before her eyes suddenly flashed, and she began chuckling. "Heheheh...I can feel your wrath, Celestia. Your hatred for me. It...is delicious." She said before suddenly parrying Celestia's horn, pushing the alicorn back a few feet. Before Celestia was able to attack again, this time with her magic, Chrysalis grinned widely and chuckled. "Sorry, Celestia, but this is our day..." She said, slowly lifting herself into the air, the pendant on her neck flashing in the sun. "It is our turn to come out victorious, and with our new-found power, we will be unstoppable!" She yelled, and with that, the swarm of changelings charged forward. Celestia shook her head and called an order, and the royal guard did as well, the two armies meeting halfway, turning it into a real battle. Adagio was struck with surprise at how quickly this had gone downhill, and she turned to Sonata.

"Sonata, I'm going to go and try to take down as many as I can. You can stay or fight. It's your choice. Just be careful..." She said, nuzzling the blue pony before immediately turning and galloping into the fray. Sonata whimpered softly and backed up, hiding behind Steven. What would she do? Fight? No, she wouldn't last. Even in her siren form. A number of those things could gang up on and swarm her easily. Should she stay here and cower? Probably expected of her, which she was fine with. Sighing, she ducked down behind the dragon, which no one seemed to want to come over and mess with, and curled up, hiding her face with her tail. Steven just sat there with Sonata in the sidelines, watching the fighting with wide eyes, her cat-like pupils flicking here and there.

Suddenly, hoofsteps were heard approaching them. Adagio? Back already? The blue pony looked up, but it was not who she expected. Adagio was in siren form a good distance away, really putting a beatdown on the changelings. No. This wasn't good. Her eyes widened as she saw none other than Chrysalis approaching her directly. The tall, disfigured pony grinned sickeningly as she stalked towards her. Steven growled, causing her to stop.

"Oh, put a muzzle on it, lizard!" She barked. Steven didn't stop, though, and she moved to stand between her and Sonata, spreading her large wings as smoke began flaring from her nostrils. Chrysalis backed up a bit. "Out of my way!" Steven turned her body sideways and lashed at the dark pony with her tail. Chrysalis jumped back and growled before her horn began to glow, and a similar green glow enveloped the dragon. Before Sonata knew it, Steven had collapsed and fallen limp to the ground, unmoving.

"Steven!" She whined, galloping over to her head. The dragon was still alive, but temporarily paralyzed. She growled as she tried to stand up, but it was useless. Sonata heard hoofsteps directly behind her, and she whirled around. Chrysalis was only a couple feet away now, glaring down at her. "You monster!" Sonata cried. Chrysalis grinned.

"That's one way of putting it..." She said indifferently, before her horn started glowing again. Sonata suddenly felt herself start to be lifted off the ground, and she struggled to be let free. Unfortunately, you can't physically hurt magic, so the point was pretty much void. Allowing herself to go limp, Sonata glared at Chrysalis as the demented pony brought her up to eye level with her. She grinned, fully exposing her fangs. "Heheheh...hello again, Sonata..." The blue pony blinked.

"H-how do you know my name...?" She asked. Chrysalis' grin widened as her form began to slowly morph, and what was left was a familiar elderly-looking pony. Sonata gasped before suddenly starting to struggle again. "Rgh, you bitch!" She screeched angrily. Chrysalis chuckled.

"Huh. Never took you as one to curse." She said, smirking. "Must be the influence of that stupid purple siren. What was her name again?" Sonata stopped immediately and gasped.

"A-aria?!" Sonata's expression contorted with fear and worry.

"Ah, yes, that was it! Aria!" Chrysalis chuckled maniacally. "She was quite dumb and easy to manipulate~" She bragged. Sonata gained a sort of crazed look in her eyes as she said this. "But that's not even the best part! Those necklaces I offered? Heheh, they were all part of my plan so this could happen." She said, motioning to the battle happening not too far away. Surprisingly, no one had noticed them yet. "Oh, and a little fun fact? Aria is no longer working for me. I ditched her a while ago. Surprisingly, she hasn't turned up with you two yet. After all that time, you think she'd have rejoined you." Sonata shook her head.

"N-no...no!" She yelped fearfully. Chrysalis grinned wider.

"So, that must mean something..."

"No! Don't you dare say it!" She cried, her eyes beginning to water.

"Maybe..." Chrysalis then gave a fake gasp of realization. "...maybe she's dead!" The crazed look came over Sonata again as rage began consuming her. With a shriek, Sonata's body began morphing, and she grew larger as her siren form began to take shape. Chrysalis' eyes widened a bit as she tried to keep her magic trained on the creature, but she couldn't hold something of that size, so her horn flickered for a moment before dimming. She took a few steps back as Sonata placed her forehooves on the ground and went eye-level with Chrysalis. She growled fiercely. But the changeling queen stood her ground. "What's wrong, Sonata? Did I...strike a nerve?" She questioned, grinning. Sonata snarled at this, and she lunged at her, completely forgetting her fear, but Chrysalis immediately darted out of the way and bolted behind her. When Sonata whipped around to face her, though, she was not looking at a demented bug-pony. Instead, she was looking at...Aria. Her eyes widened.

"N-no..." She breathed. 'Aria' flew towards Sonata with a look of desperation.

"Oh, Sonata, I'm so glad to see you...I've been looking everywhere for you..." She said sweetly. Sonata shook her head and backed up.

"N-no, it's not...it's not you!" She growled.

"Sonata, what's wrong? Don't you...love me?" She asked. Sonata's ears lowered.

"I...I...I don't...no...I..." She stuttered, hardly able to comprehend the situation. She gulped. Suddenly, a voice came from behind her.

"Sonata, don't fall for it!" The voice screeched. Then, all of a sudden, Adagio darted past Sonata, straight at 'Aria'. Sonata gasped when Adagio's jaws clamped down on 'Aria's' throat before slamming her into the ground. That's when Sonata snapped out of it, and she looked between Adagio, who was holding 'Aria' down with her jaws still around her neck, and the siren impostor. She was enlightened just then. Aria was far away, most likely. So...there's no way, in any possibility, that this could be. She bared her teeth angrily, going down to where the other two were. Adagio placed a hoof on 'Aria's' side to hold her down as she released her now bleeding neck. "Are you okay?" She asked as she looked at Sonata. The blue siren nodded, her expression more fierce and determined.

"Yeah. She had me for a moment, but now all I see is an impostor with a death wish..." She said darkly, her eyes flitting over to glare at the fake siren. Then, without warning, Adagio let out a pained shriek as 'Aria' snapped onto her leg forcefully. With a snarl, Sonata darted forward and grabbed the impostor by the back of the neck, trying to pull her away. Wincing, Chrysalis released the golden siren's foreleg and began snapping at Sonata. Adagio growled and lunged in, grabbing Chrysalis by her throat. Immediately, the impostor stopped squirming.

"You make one more move, and I bite down..." Adagio growled, her voice muffled slightly. A flash of fear appeared in Chrysalis' eyes before she suddenly grinned.

"How cute. You actually think you can kill me. You must hate me a lot, Adagio. It's so...filling. Now I know why you sirens like it!" She yelled as she struggled against the two sirens, which proved easier as their negativity-driven emotions filled her. Whipping her large siren tail around, 'Aria' managed to slam it into Sonata's side, and the blue siren stiffened before releasing Chrysalis and backing away. She winced as she let out a couple coughs before falling to the ground with a thud. Adagio released Chrysalis as well.

"Sonata!" The blue siren turned onto her stomach and hunched over for a moment before vomiting onto the grass and whimpering. Adagio was about to go help her when something large rammed into her side. She gritted her teeth in pain before turning to face the attack, seeing Chrysalis still in Aria's form. Adagio's eyes widened for a moment before she grinned, a crazed look coming over her. "Heheh...heheheheh...Hahahaha!" Chrysalis was finally looking serious, and she growled.

"Why are you laughing?! This fight will obviously end in my victory! The more you hate, the stronger I get!" Adagio chuckled.

"Oh, why should I care? This form you've taken...I just don't think you could've picked an easier target!" Feeding off of her own fury that she felt towards the purple siren, Adagio lunged forward, and Chrysalis moved out of the way, but not quick enough as Adagio's fangs clamped down on her tail, and she pulled her back. With a snarl, Chrysalis turned and snapped at Adagio, who responded by quickly timing her attack, clamping her jaws down on Chrysalis' muzzle, and beginning to bite down as the impostor struggled. It didn't take long as Adagio felt her jaws scrape the bone of Chrysalis' muzzle as she bit down harder, and the changeling queen whimpered before suddenly, in a fit of desperation, took her forehooves and dug the pointed tips into Adagio's side. The golden siren growled before letting go and backing up a bit.

Chrysalis' muzzle bled, and looked slightly disfigured as the skin and flesh was torn to the bone. If it weren't for the power of the stone around her neck, she probably would've retreated by now with the damage, but she didn't. Instead, she shook her head, spraying blood droplets everywhere, and glared at Adagio with a crazed look. Chrysalis then darted towards her and, before the golden siren could move, clamped her jaws down on Adagio's shoulder. Normally, a siren wouldn't be able to just break through skin, muscle, and bone in a single bite without much effort, so you can imagine Adagio's surprise as she felt searing pain shoot down her leg as a resounding cracking filled the air, and she lost the ability to move her foreleg. With a shriek, Adagio ripped herself forcefully away from Chrysalis and fell to the ground, writhing in pain. With a chuckle, despite her ruined muzzle, Chrysalis transformed back to her original form and looked at the two downed sirens with confidence and cockiness.

"I told you your hate would only make me stronger..." She muttered, grinning. But this was short-lived as she was blasted off of her hooves, and she landed on her side with a thud. She groaned as she went to stand up again, and when she did, she found herself face to face with none other than Celestia. The alicorn snorted angrily as she readied another blast immediately, but Chrysalis counteracted by shooting a powerful blast from her own horn. Celestia evaded it by darting into the air, and shot at Chrysalis. Chrysalis shot again, her magic blast meeting Celestia's halfway. The focal point of the two sparring blasts moving constantly in favor of one to the other. But, unfortunately, Celestia could not stand against Chrysalis along with the negativity she had consumed. Taking a few steps forward, the changeling queen pushed her magic onward, overtaking Celestia's little by little, no matter how hard the alicorn tried.

Adagio lifted her head from the ground, wincing as she did so. Her shoulder was fractured in multiple places, she guessed. Maybe even shattered, and that affected her neck, making it hurt to move it. She'd help, but she knew she wouldn't last with this injury. Suddenly, the blue siren came to mind again, and Adagio snapped her head in her direction, greatly regretting the movement immediately. Sonata was lying on the ground, whimpering and taking small, rapid breaths. Dragging herself over to her, Adagio lowered her ears and nuzzled her muzzle.

"S-sonata...? You...you alright...?" She asked. Sonata opened one of her eyes and gritted her teeth.

"Dagi...my side..." She wheezed. "...i-it hurts..." Adagio looked to Sonata's abdomen, but she couldn't see any visible scarring or injury. She pressed her muzzle against her side, and immediately, Sonata let out a sharp cry. Adagio's eyes widened. Her side felt abnormal...and the bones moved. Her ribs. They were broken. How many, she wasn't sure, but she was almost certain they were pressing on something due to Sonata's rapid breaths and wheezing. Her lungs, perhaps? Lowering her ears further in concern, Adagio frowned and looked back at the magic spar. Celestia was loosing quickly.

"Celestia, don't feel angry or animosity towards her! That's what's making her stronger!" The alicorn stole a quick glance at the siren before closing her eyes and exhaling, trying to forget the horrors that the demented pony had cause in the past. It seemed to work for the most part, but the changeling queen was too strong already, and with a final surge forward, Chrysalis' magic overpowered Celestia, and the alicorn was blown backwards, falling to the ground hard. With a chuckle and twisted grin, Chrysalis walked over and stood over Celestia, looking down on her both literally and figuratively.

"Well, well, well...this looks familiar, doesn't it, princess? This isn't the first time you've failed to overcome me in a magic duel~" She said, pointing her horn at her throat. Celestia lifted her head a bit and glared at Chrysalis.

"You won't get away with this..."

"Oh, won't I? This is onl-" Chrysalis was interrupted as she was throw onto her side as none other than Adagio rammed into her. But that was all the poor golden siren could accomplish in doing before losing control and slamming into the ground a few feet away, the strain doing a number on her injury. She gritted her teeth as she lied limp on her side, not even trying to move again. Chrysalis, on the other hand, wasn't faring much better. The sheer size of the siren compared to the changeling queen did a number on her as well. Chrysalis tried to stand, but it proved difficult as her legs shook underneath her whenever she tried. She then began flapping her bug-like wings, a buzzing sound emitting from them as she did so. She lifted herself into the air and set herself on her hooves. After regaining her stability, Chrysalis made her way towards Adagio, planning to finally put that siren in her place.

Standing over the siren, Chrysalis glared down at her. Adagio growled as she glared right back.

"Such a pity..." Chrysalis said. "You and your fellow sirens could've been such an asset to me..." Her horn began to glow. "You just had to get in the way, didn't you...? And now look. Here you are, at my mercy, about to say goodbye to this pitiful world." She grinned, her horn glowing brighter. "Any last words~?" Adagio looked at Chrysalis with pure disdain, but her expression slowly changed to something unreadable before a smirk began finding its way onto her face.

"Yeah." She said smugly. "Look behind you." Chrysalis blinked for a moment at the unexpected words before they suddenly registered, and she whipped around. All at once, she was met with something slamming with incredible force into her, she she flew back, even further than when Adagio had hit her. But before Chrysalis could get up again, a large creature stood over her, glaring down at her with nearly unfathomable hatred. She recognized this creature almost immediately, and blinked in surprise.

"You! What are you doing here?! My changelings should've killed you!" Adagio looked at the scene, smiling softly as Aria, the real Aria, held Chrysalis at bay.

"You came back..."


Hmmm...can Aria stand against Chrysalis? Will she and Sonata ever mend their broken bond? Will Adagio kick Aria's ass when all of this is over?

...Is it even Aria, or just a changeling in disguise? The world may never know...until the next chapter, that is lol