@DerpyFast
That fight was meant to just serve the narrative purpose of Celestia being floored as an “oh shit” moment, such as that even the villain herself was surprised by it.
@WaynePonePone is completely right. It really isn’t a statement saying much, at that point.
On that note, since it came up on a rewatch, I think Chrysalis genuinely felt better as a villain before her army became a factor in her debut; the mind games with Twilight she might’ve been going for from the get-go (if the way she acted in the first scene was any indication), “You will be.” the duet, etc. She then played second fiddle to her own army because she didn’t really do anything herself, at any point after defeating Celestia.
IMO, To Where and Back Again utilized her better in that regard, because of how it built up to seeing her again, and she delivered on creepiness and menace factor (contorting herself, throwing Starlight around, trying to make an example out of Thorax, promising vengeance instead of taking a hoof).
@Background Pony #A60B
On that note, Starlight vs Chrysalis is quite arguably the best fight in FiM for the fact that she was clearly outmatched in power, and put in her best for outthinking her on the spot, succeeding — only to lose from Chrysalis pulling out a big AOE attack that blew up the mountain and knocked her out with the shockwave, because she was just that powerful.
But yeah, I do kinda get that; no inverting gravity, no speed boosting shenanigans, etc, etc. That’s something fanfics can (potentially) be better at.
