Anima Insecti

"Must you be so close?" Twilight asked, the little spoon to Chrysalis' big spoon.

"Of course! I need to be as close as possible so I can enter the 'dream' and interact with the matriarch when she comes to you."

"Are you sure this isn't just a ploy to cuddle with me?"

"...It's not my fault you're so soft and warm," Chrysalis muttered under her breath. Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. For a creature with deceptive wiles, Chrysalis seemed very transparent at times. At least being cuddled by your enemy was a lot nicer than fighting them.

This was the first of Chrysalis' conditions...not the cuddling specifically, dear reader! Though I dare say cuddling should always be a condition of any treaty. Ah, but where was I? Oh yes, Chrysalis' first condition was eminently practical, namely, to be put up at Twilight's castle for the duration of her research and assistance. Twilight, being already desperate, agreed to this condition without batting an eye.

The second condition had been a little more sticky.

"You want what?"

"A royal pardon, and this bounty off of my head."

"Even if I did agree to that, you know I'd have to run it by the other princesses before granting it, right?"

"Mmm...would you though? You'd be pardoning a single criminal: moi. Does that really sound like it needs the hoofmarks of every princess?"

"Well, no, but...you're not just any old criminal."

"How sweet of you to say! Are you sure you're not taking a shine to me, hmm?"

Twilight snorted and shook her head, recalling the conversation that happened barely an hour before. But, she had agreed to the condition all the same. She only hoped that Chrysalis would take this gesture on her part seriously and turn over a new leaf. Despite the gripes she'd had with the changeling in the past, Twilight could see herself getting used to having Chrysalis around. Especially if she continued to be this snuggly. Twilight didn't want to say it aloud, but that chitin pressing against and around her was not only comfortable but also incredibly comforting.

"All right, one more time, let's go over the plan."

"Twilight, we've already gone over it twice. You fall asleep, I watch for the signs of changeling magic acting on you, and I jump in to confront the matriarch. Am I missing something? No, didn't think so." She said, not giving the alicorn a chance to respond. "Hush up, relax, and go to sleep." Changeling hooves began to gently stroke in slow circles on Twilight's side, and she closed her eyes, her body gradually relaxing and her breath becoming soft and even.

***

"Twilight, yk sluuzex znyxvn." Twilight didn't have to wait long. There was the voice again. Only this time, armed with what she knew, the voice was undeniably female.

"Jyvmxeksqrilivysyx, nkrru. Wxst jyxi, lhawoa." Twilight replied. She and Chrysalis had practiced this phrase before committing to the mission. Calling the matriarch by name would surely throw her off a bit, they figured. The rest meant 'Hello. Stop this, please.' Hopefully this bought her enough time to let Chrysalis enter this dreamspace.

There was a long, long silence. Twilight wondered if the matriarch had gone away, but then she was speaking again, her tone sounding almost wounded. "Iba mxo?"

"Because she doesn't want it." Twilight whipped her head around, and there she was: Chrysalis, stepping into view, her horn glowing to banish the darkness. The darkness began to bleed away, and there, for the first time, did Twilight see the entity that had been toying with her. That she was a changeling queen, there was no doubt. But this was the queen of queens, the matriarch, and it showed. She stood a head taller than Chrysalis, with iridescent, colour-changing hair, not unlike the royal mane of Princess Celestia. Everything about her just seemed a bit more: longer fangs, sharper teeth, a smoother, brighter carapace. "And I know you can speak Equestrian, so cut the act."

"Oh, but it is only right that she is trained in our tongue, daughter, seeing as she is becoming one of us." The Matriarch replied, looking down her nose at Chrysalis. "Whose side are you on, anyway?"

"For once? Hers." Chrysalis said, giving Twilight a reassuring wink. "I'm all for more changelings, Matriarch, but Twilight doesn't want this. I do think she'd make a great queen, but again, she just wants to be what she is, an alicorn princess."

"You disappoint me, daughter. Have the ponies made you so soft that you're making deals with them now? Tsk, tsk." The Matriarch shook her head, then cast her gaze towards Twilight. "The change has already begun, my queen-to-be. Who better to transform than Equestrian royalty?" The imposing changeling chuckled darkly. "No, this won't be stopped. And she won't be the last."

***

The dream ended abruptly, and both Twilight and Chrysalis shot up in bed. "Well, diplomacy seems to be out of the question." Chrysalis mused.

"Buck!" Twilight swore, and smacked her pillow.

"Now now, if you want some pillow pounding, I can give you that." Chrysalis crooned.

"Not. Now." The alicorn said through clenched teeth, and Chrysalis wisely backed down. "Now what?"

"Now I guess I read through the Chitinomicon and look for...oh no. Twilight, look!" Chrysalis looked at the pedestal where the book had been sitting, and it was gone. "The book's gone. She's gone."

"Gone? How can it be gone?" Twilight asked in a panicked voice, leaping out of bed and checking frantically around the pedestal, hoping that maybe it had just fallen somewhere nearby. But it was indeed gone. "Nononono, this isn't good, we've got a rogue changeling spirit who wants to forcefully change...oh horseapples!"

"What?"

"'Who better to transform than Equestrian royalty? And she won't be the last.' She started with me, b-but...I think she's going to go after the rest of the princesses! Chrysalis, please, you have to help me stop her!"

"Hmm...sweeten the deal a little, and I'll consider it."

"Argghh! I can't believe you're bargaining again, now of all times! Be serious here! Your ancestor is threatening the security of Equestria, and..." Twilight trailed off, a sudden dizziness overtaking her.

"Twilight!" Chrysalis rushed to her side. "What's the matter?"

"I don't...don't feel so good..." She muttered.

And then everything went black.