The sound of the Friendship Express's whistle echoed off of the mountains. The first train of the morning wound its way up the slope as it neared the city of Canterlot. In the third car, seven friends sat together.

"I'm bored! Ugh," Rainbow Dash complained while banging her head against the window. "How long have we been on this train? It feels like we've been sitting here for two months."

"Don't be silly, Dashie," Pinkie Pie said with a small giggle. "We've only been here for an hour."

"She's right. We're almost there," Twilight said. "Though I understand how you feel, Rainbow. I am anxious to find out who this 'Princess Mi Amore Cadenza' is, after all."

The rainbow manned pegasus cast a glance at her pink friend. "Ugh... How are you so calm, Pinkie? I thought you would be going stir-crazy by now." Dash slumped in her seat.

"Eh, I was watching the clouds. It beats watching paint dry. OH! That one looks like a trombone!" Pinkie giggled to herself. "Besides, it only feels like months have passed because of his writer's block."

Five ponies could only stare at her. The dragon just shrugged and continued eating his rubies. "Girls, its Pinkie. Ignore that," Spike deadpanned.

Applejack shook her head and then turned her attention to Twilight. "Hey, Twi, why is Canterlot in a pink bubble? Ah noticed it earlier and wondered of ya knew what that was."

Twilight blinked and then looked out the window of the train. Sure enough, Canterlot was as Applejack described. "How did I not notice that before?" Twilight mused to herself. "That's a force field spell. Of the six ponies I know that could maintain one of that size for any length of time, only my brother's is pink." Twilight frowned to herself.

Rarity, as if reading Twilight's mind, asked the unspoken question. "Darling, why is there a force field around Canterlot?"

"It's standard protocol for a threat against the city," the librarian said as if reciting for a test. After a second, the implications of her response sank into her friends' minds. Fluttershy squeaked and sank into her seat, while everypony else perked up and looked towards Twilight.

"Threat!" Rainbow Dash screamed. "What the hay! Why aren't we there already with the Elements of Harmony? Why haven't we heard about anything happening? This is serious!"

Twilight waved her hoof dismissively. "Don't worry; my brother is captain of the royal guard. I'm sure that Shining Armor has the situation all under control."

All but Rarity seemed to accept that answer. The white unicorn asked, "Why are they having the wedding while the city is unsafe? I mean, surely they could reschedule it, don't you think?"

Twilight sighed and looked out the window to gaze upon the nearing city. "I don't know, Rarity," she replied, "I just don't know. What I know for sure is that my brother has lots of explaining to do."

I stood by the stove, spatula in hand. My head was full of the I-just-woke-up-don’t-bother-me fog, to which the smell of cooking bacon did little to clear. Suppressing a yawn, I gave a lazy wave to the princess who had just walked into the room. Catching a glimpse of her out of the corner of my eye, I saw how tired she was, too. Considering that she spent the entire night crying, our fatigue was not surprising. Despite her rampant despair tainting the air, she tried to put on a smile for her ‘considerate host.’

Cadance sat down at the table and cleared her thought. “Um… May I have some fruit, Rex?”

“Help yourself,” I said, gesturing to the bowl of fruit on the counter. She levitated an apple towards herself.

“And may I have some juice?” she asked.

“Fridge.”

“So, what are you cooking?” Cadance asked me.

“Bacon.” I pulled my food out of the pan and started to blot the grease off with a paper towel.

“Hay bacon?”

“No, just bacon.” I set my bacon on my plate.

Cadance shrugged, not knowing what ‘just bacon’ actually was. “Not much of a morning person, are you?” she said, while a small, half-hearted chuckle escaped her lips.

“Hn,” I grunted an affirmative. After pulling out the other chair at the table, I sat down and began to eat.

Cadance sighed. Her hooves idly pushed the apple that she had yet to bite. “Won’t you at least have the decency to hold a proper conversation? I can see that you are not a morning pony, but this is ridiculous.”

I looked up and met her eyes. Staring for a few seconds, I eventually asked, “Will it make you feel better?”

“What?”

“I can tell that you are hurting and trying very hard to conceal it from me. Your eyes are bloodshot, you haven’t touched your food, and your coat is stained from the tears you shed all last night. Your body language is positively screaming in anguish. It’s suffocating me. Talk.”

My last word practically broke the dam. The tears streaked down Cadance’s face as she wailed. “I-I-I… I’m so scared! What if I never get home? What if I never see my love again? I’m trapped who-knows how far from home in a world where ponies don’t exist and magic is taboo. The entire world is like a giant Everfree forest and the only thing keeping me safe is your hospitality. For which – might I add – I am eternally grateful.” I nodded at her thanks, but let her keep talking. “But really, how can I expect to take advantage of your kindness when I just appeared out of thin air in your living room?”

“To be honest,” I added, “I knew you were coming. Somehow…”

“And I am grateful that you sheltered me all the same,” she said. For the first time this morning, a genuine smile crossed her face. The overwhelming despair was fading as she voiced her mind.

“Listen, Princess, I called some of my friends to see what we could do about your…predicament,” I lied. “One of them happens to be studying portals and teleportation. He said that he would offer what help he could.”

Her hope levels exploded the rush of delicious magic she gave off fully clearing the sleep fog out of my head. I smiled at her elation, but then forced myself to frown. “There’s a catch.” Cadance’s hope plummeted, almost falling back to what it was when she woke up. “His son is very sick right now, and he told me that he has no reason to help you over his own child. It could be some time before we make any progress on returning you home. That being said, you are more than welcome to stay here until then. You understand, right? Your family can wait, his cannot.”

“Yes, I understand,” she said with a slight nod. “Oh, Shining Armor, I’ll be there very soon.”

“Just you wait,” I said, a smirk crossing my face, “It’ll all be over before you know it.”

Chrysalis was happy. No, more than that; she was euphoric. The city was on high alert, the Elements of Harmony were here, and she was sleeping with one of the most dangerous and powerful unicorns on the planet. Everything was going to plan. True, there was that incident when she first met the Element of Magic. Apparently, the real Princess Cadance had a secret handshake with the young unicorn, but Chrysalis managed to fake being distracted enough to cover for her blunder. 'Yes, everything is going just fine,' the Changeling Queen thought to herself.

Of course, her mood only lasted until Twilight Sparkle opened her mouth. "Shining Armor, why didn't you tell me, your sister, that you are getting married? Why didn't you tell us, the Elements of Harmony, that Canterlot was in danger? And why are you getting married now, of all times ? I thought you were better than this. You have some explaining to do."

Chrysalis frowned. This mare had some valid points, points Chrysalis did not want answered. True, Twilight was supposed to be smart, but Chrysalis realized that she might be too smart for her own good. 'It might be a good idea to keep an eye on this mare,' Chrysalis thought.

While Shining Armor took his sister aside to make excuses, Chrysalis made plans. 'If the worst comes, I may need to remove this mare from the picture. Perhaps I should have one of my guard tail her. Better yet, why not ask if Alvaruim's spies will be up to the task? He is hungry enough for information as is...'

Queen Chrysalis continued her internal plotting as she followed after her fiancé. Shining was too busy being scolded by his little sister to notice the false Cadance's contemplative expression. [Oh, Rex~] Chrysalis thought over their connection in a sing-song tone.

"So..." Klika started. She, in the guise of White Lie, trotted down the market street. Nick, as Cheat Code, matched her pace as he followed behind. The duo was slowly making their way towards the castle.

"White, if you are going to ask about the mare that we were told to observe, I have no idea what Rex's interest in her is. Truth be told, I don't even think he knows why she's important. Apparently, the Queen pointed her out with no explanation and Rex's curiosity got the better of him," Nick explained. He dodged around a foal who ran out in the road, then went back to his friend's daughter.

"Seriously though, how hard is it to find a purple unicorn? We've been searching for hours. When we find her, can we just eat her?" Klika jokingly asked, to which Nick quickly shushed her. "Sorry, but seriously, I'm tired. We've been looking all morning," the false unicorn complained.

The pair turned the corner and ended up on a street full of restaurants. "I wish we had a way into the castle, but it is crawling with guards and we have no justifiable reason to go in." Nick sighed. "It's not like I can go up to the gate and say 'Hi! I'd like to go in and stalk Twilight Sparkle.’"

"Did somepony say my name?" A voice called out. Nick and Klika froze in their tracks, surprise causing Nick to flair his wings. A quick turn of their heads revealed a puzzled looking Twilight Sparkle sitting with five other ponies at a restaurant table.

Nick panicked, frantically cobbling together an excuse for why he, a stranger, would be saying her name. Klika, sensing his panic, bought him a moment. "Hehehe, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Or she..."

Nick, finally having gathered his wits together, asked "Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic?"

She nodded in affirmative. "Yes, that's me. Can I help you?"

Nick mentally high-fived himself. 'Found her! Score!'

Author's Notes:

After a two month hiatus, I can finally ring that bell...
*DING* Have a chapter! I'M NOT DEAD!

This arc is shaping up to be longer than I expected (read: more for you).

Writer's block is a b****.

Small spoiler: Luna, Discord, and Trixie

---

Time to attack: 1.3 days.

Mane 6 have arrived.

Time to initiation of stage two of the plan: 1 day

Hive finances: $3.7 million dollars cash + $4.3 million in emeralds.

Hive population: 10 (9 converted, 1 hatched)

(edited 12/22/2013)