"See for yourself," Chrysalis gestured out the window, still disguised as Rarity. Twilight peeked around the edge; indeed, the Princess of the Night was standing in broad daylight on the train platform, flanked by several of her guard. They all looked a little tired from being up this early, but they held firm nonetheless.

"Well, isn't that a good thing? We did just agree to see her."

"Yes, but why is she here? Is she expecting us, or is it coincidence?"

"I don't know, but it seems we're about to find out." She pointed out the window again, bringing attention to the fact that Luna and her entourage were now boarding the train. This caused Chrysalis to start losing her cool, her breathing growing much quicker.

The Princess entered the car they were in, her guards not far behind. Chrysalis sensed that she was taken aback at the sight of them, but her face hardly registered it at all. "Greetings, Twilight, 'Rarity'," she stated the latter with just enough air quotes for them to pick up that she knew, but not enough for potential eavesdroppers to do the same. "You're just the ponies I wished to see."

Twilight was the first to step forward. "How'd you know we were coming?"

"It is my job to monitor the dreams of Equestria and protect its citizens from nightmares. I was making my rounds last night when I found a very peculiar one." Chrysalis started sweating at that. "I was unsure if I should intervene or not, but the dream ended before I could decide.

"Then, my sister told me that you didn't send your nightly missive updating her on the situation, and we were able to put the pieces together that something happened. Meeting you here was actually a fortunate coincidence; I was planning on taking the train to meet you."

"Why not use a personal carriage?" Twilight asked.

Luna blushed faintly. "Well... truth is, I've never been on a train before, and wanted to experience it."

Twilight, not really knowing how to respond to that, went with a simple, "Oh."

"So," Chrysalis began, "exactly how much of my dream did you see?"

"Enough," Luna answered vaguely. She turned around and beckoned them to follow. "Come, there is much to discuss."

Twilight and Chrysalis glanced at each other, then began to follow.

"I wonder how Spike is doing," Twilight pondered.

Spike periodically glanced up from the comic book he was reading, checking that the eggs were still safe. Peewee had fallen asleep on the desk next to him, snoring little puffs of smoke. The sunlight filtered in through the closed blinds and, combined with everything else, gave Spike that special feeling that a filly might get during summer vacation.

"Nearly noon, and nothing to report yet...." Spike paused as his stomach grumbled. "Unless that counts."

He quickly got up, checking back one last time, before heading into the kitchen. He checked the cupboards, but was surprised to find that they were nearly empty.

"Right," he remembered, "we were supposed to go grocery shopping today." His stomach grumbled louder, but the only things in the pantry were things Twilight liked. "What am I supposed to do? I can't exactly leave right now...."

He peeked back at the eggs, then glanced at Peewee, and hatched an idea.

It was nearly noon by the time that Dashie and AJ left Sugarcube Corner. They had perked up slightly, but were still slightly sullen from their conversation.

"So," Rainbow tried to bring the mood back up, "any good news on the farm lately?"

"Well, we're preparing for the Summer Harvest Parade next week. And our cousin Babs is gonna be comin' over to help celebrate."

"Oh, that sounds like fun! I should be able to —"

Whatever Rainbow Dash was about to say died in her throat as something red-and-yellow flew directly between them. They both looked back to find that it was Peewee, heading towards Sugarcube Corner with a rolled up piece of parchment in his claws.

"What's Peewee doin' out here all on his lonesome?" Applejack asked.

"I dunno, but judging by that paper, I'm guessing it's not an accident."

AJ looked at her. "Is it even our place ta be pryin'?"

Dash hesitated for a moment, then took off after Peewee. AJ sighed, then followed behind.

«My Queen,» one of the drones began, «I just spotted something strange.»

«What is it, Ely?» Queen Strigae asked.

«A baby phoenix carrying a roll of parchment is flying down Fourth Street, with the Elements of Loyalty and Honesty in hot pursuit.»

Strigae blinked. That was certainly abnormal, but it didn't quite scream 'Chrysalis' to her.

Still, better to be safe than sorry. «Alright, get to a secluded spot, then initiate infiltration tactic Epsilon-6.»

«Roger that,» Ely replied, before ducking off to find a back alley.

Strigae sighed, stretching in her cramped hiding space. Her left hoof brought down a cobweb with it, and she looked down at it, finding that the spider it belonged to was now trying to bite her.

Unfortunately for it, its bite proved no match against her chitin. She slurped up the creature, wiping the leftover cobwebs on a nearby support beam. 'Hopefully, we'll find her soon,' she bemoaned to herself. 'I like free snacks and all, but it's just too musty here for my liking.'

Princess Luna's study was rather unorthodox, relative to her sister's. There was the same kind of fireplace, but instead of a fancy couch in front of it, it was instead a pile of plush cushions and pillows arranged on the floor. The bookshelves were just as full, but instead of books on cooking and old legends, there were instead detective stories, romantic novellas, and scripts from centuries-old plays. The large window on the east side also had its curtains drawn, as opposed to Celestia's open, west-facing window. And instead of a perch where Philomena would preen herself, it was instead a small tree, with Tiberius the possum hanging from one of its branches.

It was here that Twilight and Chrysalis found themselves, waiting while Luna went to retrieve something. Chrysalis had dropped her disguise once they entered, and they now sat on cushions taken from the pile.

"What do you think she's getting?" Chrysalis asked.

Twilight shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm guessing it has to do with your dream last night."

"Yeah, well, no duh," Chrysalis rolled her eyes, then got up and started looking through the shelves. She stopped when she reached the romance section, and Twilight was about to ask what she was doing, when the pink haze of love began to appear from the vicinity of the books.

"Ah, feeding?" Twilight asked.

Chrysalis nodded. "Romance novels always collect a lot of residual love energy."

Twilight thought for a moment. "If you can eat ambient love energy, then why feed on ponies?"

"Much more filling when it comes from the source," Chrysalis explained. "It's like trying to survive off the crumbs instead of the meal they came from."

Twilight didn't particularly like the comparison, but understood the logic behind it.

Finally, after what felt like ages, Luna returned. In her magic, she held a couple of scrolls and a platter of different treats, which included honey cupcakes.

"Speaking of a meal..." Chrysalis licked her lips, eyeing the cupcakes. Luna smirked at her expression, and allowed Chrysalis to levitate one to her. The former queen took a bite, nearly tearing up at how good it tasted.

"Now, let's get down to business," Luna began, taking out one of the scrolls. "First of all, I want to have you read this over."

The scroll floated over to Chrysalis, who'd almost entirely devoured the cupcake in that short amount of time. "What ish it?" She asked through a mouthful of pastry.

"It's a first draft for a royal decree we plan to send to Ponyville," Luna explained. "It's only a temporary measure that should hopefully make it so you can walk around in public without having the guards called on you. We can discuss a proper treatise between us once this whole mess has been sorted."

Chrysalis swallowed, then read it over. She paused on one part: " 'She shall not be let out of sight of a wielder of the Elements of Harmony until a fortnight has passed'?"

"Just to put the citizens' minds at ease," the Princess elaborated.

Chrysalis continued reading, then nodded. "The terms seem fair enough at a glance, though I'll have to take a second look once this meeting here is over."

"Excellent," Luna smiled, taking the scroll back. "Next, I'd like to discuss the nightmare you experienced last night."

"I'd certainly like that as well," Chrysalis stated simply.

Luna hesitated for a moment, then looked through her scrolls as she began: "Six weeks ago, I found Prince Blueblood in the West Courtyard, watching a group of tourists. We began to chat, and he made some... less-than appropriate comments about their appearance and perceived wealth. I tried to tell him off for it, but he kept at it. And based on what the castle staff told me, this was not the first time.

"Of course, I decided he needed to be taught a lesson. It was fortunate coincidence that, a few days prior, one of our scouting platoons had to send home a number of soldiers due to sickness. So I decided to send him, thinking he'd simply spend a month in a cabin, getting his act together.

"Unfortunately, it would appear that somepony spotted something suspicious in the Badlands, and...." She pulled out another scroll and floated it over to Chrysalis, who opened it.

Princess Luna,

It is with the utmost urgency that we inform you of recent events, and seek your knowledge. Prince Blueblood's platoon was deployed to investigate reports of unusual activity, but yesterday afternoon, only twelve of them returned, battered and bruised, claiming to have been attacked.

They described their assailants as pony-sized insects, gray and black in color, and bearing gnarled fangs and pointed horns. This description matches with the mythical Changelings, and their injuries are quite real, but all accounts of them are relegated to myth and fairy tale. We were hoping to hear your opinion.

We also regret to inform you that the Prince was so distraught by the events that he left the complex in the middle of the night. Sentinel Graze had spotted him and tried to intervene, but the Prince, in his distraught state, lashed out and knocked him unconscious before making a break for it. We're currently doing our best to locate him, but with so many of our troops either sick or injured, we're having no such luck.

Chrysalis couldn't read any more. A shadow fell over her face as she processed.

"That," explained Luna, "was written almost five weeks ago. However, I only received it this morning, after seeing your dream and becoming concerned. Turns out the carrier had misplaced it, and it got lost until I came looking."

Twilight shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her eyes locked on Chrysalis, waiting for the reaction.

Her face fell flat.

She took a deep breath...

And she stood up, walked to the window, and wordlessly drew open the curtains.

Both mares glanced at each other, then quickly stood up in case she tried something. "Chrysalis?"

She didn't respond, just stared out of the window, standing almost completely motionless. Twilight cautiously crept around to look her in the eyes.

Nothing. There was no discernible emotion in those distinctly green eyes whatsoever. Twilight hadn't noticed before how expressive they could be, but now that they were devoid of anything, it frightened Twilight on an entirely new level.

"I..." She was so caught off-guard that she was left floundering for words. What could she possibly say?

"I can see that you need some time to process," Luna read the room. "Take as much as you need; we'll be here to talk once you're ready."

With that, Twilight rejoined Luna at their seats, waiting for the Queen to come back to reality.

Author's Note

See? That didn't take too long; it's only been –
*(Sees calendar)*
TEN MONTHS?!

Sorry it took so long, guys; been trying to figure out how to write Chrysalis here while balancing out the tone (to be honest, I'm still trying to figure it out). To reward you for your patience, here's this story's longest chapter yet!

Just know that I am still working on these!