This was it. This was absolutely it. Everything was coming together perfectly. The dress, the moonlight, the gardens...if Luna didn’t fall completely for her this very night, Chrysalis would eat her own crown!

Not that this was the goal, of course. She just needed to...settle...something with...oh she didn’t have time to figure that out, she needed to focus on making this perfect!

“Where is the nightshade!?” She barked, scanning the flowerbeds around the modest dining tables she had setup. “I was promised nightshade for this, we absolutely need it here!”

“Coming, your majesty!” One of her servants rushed by, hurriedly shoving a few flowerpots full of the purple flower in among the beds.

“Okay...thank the Maker…what about the drinks!?” Chrysalis gasped, her side giving another twist of panic. “We need a barkeep!”

“Here, yer majesty,” a changeling in a mustache popped up, snapping on a pair of suspenders. “Just lemme know whatcha need.”

“Okay...good, good...” she sighed again, then suddenly, her hoof darted up. A hapless soldier zipping by in a patrol squad just over her head found himself snagged in her grip. “Last thing: how does this dress look? I want it to say I’m prepared for anything tonight, but not ready to just give it up, right? Is that the meaning this dress is conveying!?”

The soldier, who had absolutely not been prepped for this situation in Basic, stammered, looked down at the form-fitting little number on his Queen’s body with the little slit going up the side of her leg, stammered some more, swallowed, suppressed the sort of fantasies about his Queen his mother had always told him would get him sent to Changeling Hell, and looked her in the eye. “Your majesty, the dress says exactly that. It’s saucy: seductive, but leaving just enough to the imagination to let everyone around you know that not just anypony is crawling into bed with ya.”

She blinked, hugged him, then threw the soldier aside with just enough imagery in his head to fuel his masturbation fantasies for the rest of the month. “Okay,” she sighed. “That’s it then. There’s nothing more to it.”

“Yes, your majesty,” the changeling at her side said. “Would you like to escort the princess from her room?”

Chrysalis turned to the changeling, mouth curved as if to say ‘yes,’ then she paused. She blinked, thought for a second, then a wicked grin covered her features. “No,” she said, taking a seat at the metal table. “No, tonight the princess is coming to us.”

“Yes, your highness, as you wish,” the changeling said, hurriedly excusing themselves out of fear for the look crossing their ruler’s face. It was not a nice look: it was the look of a true changeling, one spying its next meal trotting down the path all by its lonesome. Her cheeks had turned upward in a far-too-wide grin and her nostrils flared, her eyes narrowing in pinpoint focus. Chrysalis was ready tonight, and tonight the tables would be turned on the princess.

Then Luna stepped through the door, the moon hitting her at just the right angle to accentuate the ethereal glow in her mane, and all that almost went out the door.

Luna’s poise, gait, and posture were all the very image of grace. She practically glided across the brickwork pathway to the table, her dress the same little black, sequined number from their first night that hugged all her curves just perfectly. It practically seemed to follow her like a shadow, with the way it played with the moonlight while it fluttered in the air. Luna appeared to be the sort of magical being one would come across in a tale of old: the exotic sort of creature which would fit right into A Thousand and One Saddle-Arabian Nights.

Chrysalis almost lost her cool, almost allowed herself to fall into the suck-up routine she’d allowed for herself quite a few nights before. But she was nothing if not a mistress of seduction, and it’d take more than a pretty face to throw her off-course. She remained as she was, lounging with her weight on the table until Luna saw fit to sit across from her.

After a couple minutes of silence, the princess cleared her throat. “Well….should we begin?”

Chrysalis chuckled, allowing that double-toned voice to reach an eerie quality. “Sure.”

The meal started as before, only with dishes piled with food brought out to them rather than trying to share space on the tiny table. They each took as they needed, but other than the occasional request to refill a wine glass, conversation was lacking for the first few courses. However, just when Chrysalis was about to give in and speak, Luna broke:

“So…it’s been particularly chilly these past few days, hasn’t it?”

Heaving an internal sigh of relief, Chrysalis grunted in affirmation. The silence continued.

“...I mean, I knew it was awfully cold here, but is it always this cold!?” She asked with an adorably awkward smile.

“I think so.” Chrysalis’s gaze drifted off, taking a sip of her wine. More awkward silence. The barkeep let out a sigh. Neither seemed to notice.

“So...I hear the Empire is still competing in the World Cup. I mean, that’ll be a nice tidbit, if the citizens learn of it, y’know?”

Chrysalis nearly grinned. Oh, to see the Princess squirming on her line. “Hmm.” She said neutrally, lifting the glass to her lips.

“...why are you so afraid of your father?”

Chrysalis very narrowly choked on a leaf of spinach covered in raspberry vinaigrette. She thumped her carapace, tears welling in her eyes as the citrus burned. “Wh-what makes you say...”

“When we talked about him the other night,” Luna said quickly. “Whenever he came up, you got this...look in your eye.”

Chrysalis almost believed her, nearly did, but the way Luna averted her gaze as she spoke piqued her skepticism. Still, she couldn’t quite push on that yet, but that left her with a very sudden conversation topic she was in no way prepared to handle. She glared across the table, throwing herself into an offensive as she met the princess’s eyes with a narrowed gaze. “Has nopony taught you tact, your majesty?” She asked, her voice dripping with venom.

Luna didn’t waver, meeting Chrysalis’s narrowed gaze with her own nonplussed look.

Chrysalis scoffed, turning back to her meal. “Leave it alone, princess,” she growled warningly.

“Why do you fear your father?”

“Are you just going to keep pressing for that!?”

“Only until you answer.”

“Or until I throw you back in your cell!”

“Then do it.”

Both mares glared across the table, now engaged in a game of chicken, both unable to back down. “Why?” Luna repeated, her breath heaving.

Chrysalis’s teeth grit themselves, fangs baring. “Maker above, what is this to you!? Entertainment!?” She hissed. “Do you want to hear how he did it!? How one night, he just decided I resembled mom enough to pound my virgin ass until I screamed?”

Luna nearly fell back out of her chair. “Wh-what?”

“Is that what we’re all here for!?” Chrysalis bellowed. “For a nice dose of vengeance!? How my first time was with my dad, yelling at me to shut up as I sobbed for him to stop!? Is that satisfactory for you!? Or maybe you want the nitty-gritty!”

Chrysalis stood up so violently her chair was flung back against the planter behind her, the back snapping off as green flames sparked off her body. “Maybe you want to hear how he left me after! Maybe you want to hear how he just walked away, picking up an apple on his way out, leaving me on the table to try and clean up his seed with cloth napkins! How I had to learn a spell to kill the fetus so it wouldn’t come to term! How I had to spend months after avoiding him, trying to keep from…”

Something warm touched her hoof. Chrysalis looked down, heaving from her outburst. Luna’s hoof laid against her own. She blinked, not realizing tears had been welling in her eyes. She wanted to shove the princess away, and found herself unable to, only capable of supporting herself on the table using her forehooves.

“It wasn’t your fault.” Luna said.

Chrysalis looked up, blinking rapidly.

“It wasn’t your fault. You’re no less a mare and no more a monster for what happened to you.” She nodded, and a hint of that old fury that had set Chrysalis’s heart racing the first time they met ignited in her eyes. “Your father was everything but. He was clearly insane, and utterly monstrous. No normal stallion would ever...ever...even consider doing something so disgusting with his daughter.”

Chrysalis heaved, looked away. “I tried to replace mom…planted the seed…”

“He’s the one who carried out those actions. He’s the one who ignored your cries. He’s the one who took your attempts at placating his grief as an invitation to something monstrous.” She squeezed Chrysalis’s hoof. “That is all on him. Everything else -- the strength that helped you overcome him and move on -- that’s all you. And the fact that you can keep going even after something so awful is a testament to that strength.”

Chrysalis’s breath heaved. Her shoulders were practically crawling up to her ears with each inhale. She finally let in a slow breath, releasing it with a light whistle. She suppressed a shiver. Let out a breath that quivered slightly near the end. Finally, she straightened in her seat. Luna gazed at her, those deep, midnight-blue eyes locking with Chrysalis’s emeralds.

Chrysalis’s breath quickened, though for a completely different reason this time. “Luna,” she said. The rest of her breath wheezed out of her carapace as the princess tilted her head curiously. “Luna, I…”

She let in a sharp breath. Dammit, she was doing it again! And Chrysalis was falling for it, dammit all to hell!

“...I’m...not falling for this twice!” Chrysalis sneered, rearing up. Luna fell back from her chair in surprise as the Queen threw the table away, overturning it. “How damned stupid do you think I am!? How!?”

Luna backed up in shock, a hoof rising in defense. With a snarl, Chrysalis slapped it away. Any calm left in the princess’s façade faded. The only strength the magic inhibitors had left her with was physical, after all. Against Chrysalis’s raw magical might, she didn’t stand a chance.

Luna fell back on her haunches as Chrysalis advanced, the changeling’s horn igniting with magic. “Stop playing me for the naive fool, Princess,” she hissed as her muzzle elongated. Her body grew as her teeth became needle-like points, joining her fangs in a shark-like grin. Her hooves grew sets of razor-sharp claws as her eyes became yellow and flat. Finally, a set of long, spider-like legs sprouted from her mottled back, her wings burning away in a gout of flame as the legs slammed into the floor, the now-shredded evening gown adorning Chrysalis’s body falling away as she tromped up to the horrified princess.

“Unless, of course, you believe you could bring yourself to love a changeling!” Chrysalis hissed in a demonic rasp, her throat adding some insect-like clicks. Luna fell back entirely, looking up in horror as Chrysalis advanced, stalking like an alpha predator. Luna slid on her backside until she met the unyielding marble of the surrounding banister, and then Chrysalis was atop her, breath panting in and out of her massive form, warped into a threatening rasp by her transformed body.

And then...nothing. The pair remained like that, Chrysalis’s breath drifting over Luna’s muzzle as the fear slowly dissipated in Luna’s mind. Luna felt something by her hoof. Just from the feel of it, she could tell it was a hoof. Coated in chitin and filled with holes, but still a hoof much like her own. Without really thinking about it, her own hoof slowly wrapped around the other, gradually applying pressure until Chrysalis took notice. The changeling queen, still panting heavily with that deep, predator-like rasp, gave a surprised yelp and looked down, seeing their hooves intertwined. She gave a half-hearted tug, but slowly found it impossible to pull away despite her superior magical ability. Instead, her hoof returned the squeeze as her transformations melted away, her fangs returning to their original length and size, her eyes becoming their regular emerald again, and the spider legs suddenly going from thick and hairy to something more delicate, still insect-like, but less threatening. All at once, she was no longer towering over the princess, but embracing her, still giving the occasional tug to free herself, but ultimately remaining where she was like a fly caught in a trap.

Chrysalis finally looked up from the entwined hooves into Luna’s eyes. The alicorn smiled down at her, the blue of the morning sky reflecting in her irises, as if she was saving the night sky just for her. Without warning, Chrysalis started to lower herself, her body drawing closer and closer, her breath slowing to a steady, calm beat, her eyes drifting shut as the distance between their muzzles narrowed. Before either could really tell what was happening, both sets of lips puckered, growing tantalizingly close to one another, getting ready to express what both knew, deep in their hearts, had been building up between them all along.

And that was when the door to the gardens burst open.

“Your Highness!” The Guard gasped, not even missing a beat as he galloped into the room. “There’s a situation in the kitchen!”

If it was possible to hate a concept as nebulous as serendipity, Chrysalis hated it with every fiber in her being in that moment. She glared up into the shocked guard’s eyes, who was only now grasping what he’d just stumbled in on. “A small incident in the kitchen is of no concern to—“

“N-no, your majesty,” the changeling bit his lip. “It’s…the Elements of Harmony! The other Element Bearers are here, in the castle!”

Chrysalis blinked, stunned. “That…can’t…”

She paused. Of course it was possible. It was very possible. She looked down at Luna, shocked. Was this all a distraction? Of course, of course! The coincidence was too great! Or perhaps that’s all these dinners were, Luna just keeping her occupied at every opportunity, hoping to get lucky one night, who knew?

Who cared?

Chrysalis’s eyes hardened in an instant. Her lip curled back into that snarl. “You were distracting me.”

“Chrysalis,” Luna said suddenly, backing away, her eyes also wide and surprised, just like the actress Chrysalis knew she was. “Chrysalis, it’s not like…”

In a flash, Chrysalis closed the distance between them. She was practically on top of Luna once more, their faces almost touching. But she held her distance, still gazing into Luna’s eyes. “You…” she whispered.

Luna swallowed.

Chrysalis opened her mouth. In a flash, her muzzle morphed into a fang-filled mockery of a pony’s, her teeth gritting together. “You!” She shrieked, forcing Luna to fall back on her flanks. Chrysalis took a step forward, glaring down at the quivering princess. She raised a hoof. Luna raised one of her own, trying to protect her face…and…

…And…

Perhaps it was as simple as the fact that the old wound had been opened. This time, seeing Luna defenseless, on her back, raising a hoof in fear, it brought Chrysalis back to that night long ago, when she’d held that same look on her face, dear ol’ dad telling her to shut up as he violated her on levels she never thought she’d come back from.

Her mind cleared. She backed away.

“I don’t have time for you,” she hissed, turning to the doors. “Guards!”

In an instant, armored changelings burst into the gardens, flooding the walkways. Chrysalis levelled a hoof at Luna. “Imprison her! Then secure the palace! We have a break-in!”

“Your majesty!” The guards saluted and went about their duties. Luna gasped, trying to protest, but without even turning Chrysalis motioned with a hoof and a bit-gag was shoved into the princess’s mouth.

“I want every chamber secured,” Chrysalis bellowed. “Resecure the Crystal Heart, and make sure everypony is where they are meant to be! I want headcounts, dammit!” She screamed, her mind shifting to war-mode in a flash.

“Madam!” The nearest changelings saluted, swooping off. She stepped back into the hallway with her entourage, moving along with a group of a dozen changelings.

“You lot, you’re going to follow me,” she hissed. “I’m going to personally secure every hallway in this palace.”

One changeling raised a hoof.

“Yes, stairways count as a hallway, do I look like I’m fucking around right now!?” She hissed at him.

The changeling lowered his hoof, jogging to keep up.

“Now, what we need is to--” suddenly, she raised her head, mossy-green mane falling back. She sniffed deeply. Her eyes widened. “Is that…smoke?”

Author's Notes:

OKAY! We're reaching the end now, so hopefully these chapters will start slamming out at this sort of frequency. Thank you all for your patience, we're reaching the home stretch here!