Chapter 20:

Twilight Confronts Chrysalis

With the Diamond Dogs being led away, Twilight, Cadance, and Flash have managed to sneak past them until they have finally made it to The Castle Of Harmony. Stopping by the edge, Twilight instructed Flash and Cadance, "Flash, you and Cadance find my father and rally the Guardians, Celestia, and Luna. I'll look for Chrysalis,".

Cadance nodded and Flash said worriedly, "Will do. Be careful Twilight,".

"I promise I will," Twilight said, reassuringly.

After that, the three Alicorns went in different directions. Flash and Cadance went in one direction to find Cobalt, Celestia, Luna, and the Guardians while Twilight sets off to confront Chrysalis. But as Twilight made her way up to the Castle Of Harmony as thunder rumbled overhead, she stopped when she saw Chrysalis standing at the gates of the castle. She waited to see what would happen.

"CO-BALT!" Chrysalis roared out as it echoed across the land.

Twilight stopped and gasped in alarm as she peered from behind a wall. Below, Cobalt makes his way to the Castle, striding past the crowd of Diamond Dogs who growled and snapped at his heels. But Cobalt only glances at them and didn't even flinch, as if he did not acknowledge them, and continues walking the castle with dignity and pride. Even now, he still carried himself like a king. And wasn't going to be intimidated by Chrysalis and her lackeys.

The sight causes Twilight pain. So much had changed while she was gone. Twilight simply looked at her father sadly, feeling so terrible for letting him suffer like this for so long.

When Cobalt made it to the castle, he climbed the stairs and approached the younger sister of his wife, and stood in front of her, "Yes, Chrysalis," He answered rather plainly, and the queen glared at him.

"Where is the latest shipment of gems? Your miners are not doing their job," Chrysalis asked as she paced in front of Cobalt.

"Chrysalis, there aren't any more gems left. And our citizens have grown tired to the point of collapse, we've stripped the mines and lands around the city clean of every last one," Cobalt replied calmly.

"No! They're just not looking hard enough!" Chrysalis said angrily in denial as she strides away.

"It's over. There's nothing left. Not even any food or water to feed ourselves or the Dogs," Cobalt shot back, "Without gems, we have no means of trading with the other creatures of Equestria for more supplies to feed us," Cobalt explained, hoping to make his sister-in-law realize the dire situation they were in.

"Then we'll simply take the supplies we need from them by force!" Chrysalis explained with a glare at the king.

"Then you will send us into war with more than half a dozen other kingdoms!" Cobalt argued as his composed state broke.

"Then so be it!" Chrysalis fired back and brought her face close to Cobalt's face.

"You can't do that!" Cobalt said, in disbelief and disgust. He could not believe how careless Chrysalis seemed to be taking things.

"I am the Queen and I can do whatever I want!" Chrysalis replied stubbornly as she turned away from her brother-in-law, sitting down and holding her head high with pride.

"If you were half the queen Aurora was, you would never…" Cobalt angrily said, referring to his deceased wife.

Hearing Aurora's name, Chrysalis charged her horn, whipped around, and hit Cobalt across the face with her magic, knocking him to the floor, "I'm TEN TIMES the Queen Aurora ever was!" She yelled as Cobalt slid across the ground.

Enraged to see her father being hit by her own aunt, Twilight charged her horn with angry magic loudly as she appeared on the ledge angrily glaring at Chrysalis with lightning flashing and thunder booming. She was not going to just standby anymore. Chrysalis looked up in fear as Twilight leaped down to Cobalt's side to make sure he was alright, Chrysalis looked in fright and mistook her for a ghost from the past. Twilight did look like her mother after all.

"Aurora? No, you're dead," Chrysalis said, backing up, frightened.

Coming to Cobalt's side, Twilight nudges her father gently as Cobalt is woken up by the nudge. But he also mistook Twilight for Aurora as well. "Aurora?" Cobalt asked, looking up at Twilight.

"No, Dad. It's me," Twilight replied, shaking her head.

"Twilight? You're alive?!... How can that be?" Cobalt asked as his eyes widened and smiled with delight and a bit of confusion with what he was seeing. But he was still happy to see his missing daughter alive.

"It doesn't matter. I'm home now, Dad," Twilight replied while nuzzling her father's cheeks. She was happy to be back, and despite the situation, she was happy to be back with her father.

"Twilight? Twilight! I'm a little surprised to see you…Alive!" Chrysalis said coyly, confused at first before recognizing Twilight while also glaring at a certain trio up on the ledge.

On the balcony above Chrysalis, knowing that they didn't do what Chrysalis told them to do all those years ago, and fearful of the repercussions, Rover, Fido, and Spot gulped nervously and quietly slinked back into the shadows. But there was nothing they could do now.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blast you into a million pieces!" Twilight said with a look of anger while she's starting to lurk towards Chrysalis and Cobalt looks on with pride.

"Oh, but Twilight, you must understand. The pressure of ruling a kingdom…" Chrysalis tried to explain apologetically as she backed up against a wall of the Castle and stopped, finding herself cornered.

"...Is no longer your burden to bear. Step down, Chrysalis," Twilight demanded, her face unrelenting.

"Oh, oh, Yes…I would, heh! Naturally, heh…However, there is one little problem. You see them?" Chrysalis stammered through a nervous laugh as she pointed up, where Twilight saw hordes of Diamond Dogs standing above them, grinning wickedly, snarling, and licking their chops at her.

"They think I'm the QUEEN," Chrysalis said, baring a nervous grin as Twilight glared at her.

"Well we don't!" a male voice said as Twilight and Chrysalis turned to see Flash and Cadance surrounded by Alicorns along with Celestia, who now has a colorful mane and tail, Luna, and the Guardians while Luna and Celestia helped the husband of their deceased sister up to his hooves. Thankfully, Cobalt wasn't too hurt.

"Twilight's the rightful Queen," Cadance added as she and Flash stood on a rock.

"The choice is yours, Chrysalis. Either you step down or fight?" Twilight challenged, giving her third aunt an ultimatum.

Knowing she couldn't beat her niece physically, Chrysalis decided to fight Twilight mentally, as she still had an ace up her sleeve.

"Oh, but must this all end in violence? I hate to be responsible for the death of a family member. Wouldn't you agree, Twilight?" She asked as she sauntered around past Twilight and glanced at her over her shoulder while the other alicorns glared at her.

"It's not gonna work, Chrysalis. I've put it behind me," Twilight retorted, seeing exactly what Chrysalis was trying to pull on her.

"Oh, really? But what about your faithful subjects? Have they put it behind them?" Chrysalis asked as she strides towards Flash, Cadance, The Guardians, Cobalt, Celestia, and Luna, grinning amusingly.

The latter eight Alicorns remained glaring at her with Cobalt staring back stonily while the former two looked at her in confusion and concern, one former seemed to look troubled.

"Twilight, what is she talking about?" Flash asked in confusion.

"Aaahhhh, so you haven't told them your little dark secret?" Chrysalis inquired as she circled around Twilight who glanced down for a second, "Well, young princess, now's your chance to tell them. Tell them who is the pony responsible for Queen Aurora's Death?!" the False Queen challenged, trying to pressure Twilight to admit to her deepest and darkest secret in front of everyone as she paces past the other Alicorns.

Hearing the name of their former Queen, all the Alicorns, including Cobalt, Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and even Flash, turned their attention to Twilight expectantly.

Twilight's face remained angry for a moment but quickly melted into guilt and sadness, "I am," Twilight said sorrowfully as she stepped forward.

Cobalt, Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Flash looked at her in horrified shock.

Cobalt approached his daughter, "Twilight, it's not true. Please, please tell us it's not true?" Cobalt asked with grief written all over his face. It broke Twilight's heart to see the hurt in her father's eyes, but she needed to tell the truth.

Twilight hesitated for a moment before nodding, "It's true. I'm sorry," Twilight replied, looking down regretfully.

"You all see! She admits it! Murderer!" Chrysalis snapped as lightning crashed behind her and thunder boomed.

"No, it was an accident!" Twilight retorts, shaking her head.

"If it weren't for you, Aurora would still be alive, it's your fault she's dead. Do you even deny it?!" Chrysalis asked as she started circling around Twilight rapidly, accusing her.

"No," Twilight replied earnestly.

"Then…You're…Guilty!" Chrysalis shouted, firmly and harshly at her.

"No! I'm not a murderer!" Twilight said with her eyes widened and shaking her head again.

"Oh, Twilight. You're in trouble again. But this time Mommy isn't here to save you," Chrysalis growls at Twilight as she begins lurking towards Twilight, causing her to back away from her to the balcony of the castle, with the Diamond Dogs fanned out behind her.

"And Now EVERYPONY…KNOWS…WHY!" Chrysalis shouted, lunging at Twilight.

With that last shout and lunge, Twilight yelped as she slipped over the edge of the balcony and broke the railings, barely clinging onto the ledge for dear life as Flash shouted in worried panic, "TWILIGHT!".

Suddenly, lightning strikes some foliage below them, causing a fire to ignite all over the Castle Of Harmony, while Twilight dangles from the balcony of the Castle and Chrysalis towers over her.

Author's Note: Looks like even when Twilight returns to her Castle, things were still not looking for her or her family.

After sneaking past the Diamond Dogs, Twilight ordered Cadance and Flash to rally up the other Alicorns while she goes looking for Chrysalis to confront her. But it didn't take her long because Twilight finds Chrysalis talking to her father about the situation happening in the kingdom. Cobalt tried to convince Chrysalis to change her ways, but Chysalis denies it and even went as far as hitting Cobalt with her magic.

Enraged, Twilight headed to her father's side and nudged him awake before facing Chrysalis and ordering her to step down. Yet, Chrysalis pointed to one little problem above them, where hordes of Diamond Dogs are looking down and licking their chops, and told Twilight that they think she's the queen.

Flash and Cadance diagreed and so did all the other Alicorns. Twilight gave Chrysalis a choice, step down from the throne or fight.

But Chrysalis didn't step down from the throne and instead of fighting Twilight physically, Chrysalis fought her mentally and even taunted Twilight into revealing her deepest darkest little secret to her family. When Twilight told her deep dark secret, everypony was shocked and horrified.

And to make things worse, Chrysalis began accusing Twilight for her crime and made Twilight backed up the balcony of the Castle in fear. As Chrysalis lunged at her, Twilight slipped and barely managed to grab ahold of the ledge of the balcony as below them, lightning struck and ignited the dry foliage into flames.

Will Chrysalis get away with killing Twilight?

How will Twilight get out of this mess now that her mother isn't here to save her?

We'll just have to wait and see but in the meantime...

This is Dinoman213, signing off.