Chrysalis gazed out at the passing mountains and greenery with a bored look on her face. She idly tapped her hoof against her thigh as the train chugged along through the Crystal Empire, the effects of the Crystal heart ensuring the snow was long behind them.

While the royal train cart was anything but small, the amount of occupants inside made it feel slightly more cramped than it usually felt. Across from the changeling Queen, sat Anon, Celestia, and Raven. To her immediate right, sat Luna and Javelin. There was plenty of space between the seats and more than enough room between the rows for them to stand up and stretch, but Chrysalis simply kept her gaze locked on the ever approaching crystal spire ahead.

Taking note of her apparent apathy toward the trip, Anon leaned forward slightly, "You alright, Chryssi?" He inquired.

Chrysalis nodded, "Just... thinking, I suppose."

Luna tilted her head to the side, "About anything in particular?" She asked, curiously.

Chrysalis shook her head, "Just... not looking forward to this meeting, is all." She admitted.

Celestia gave her a look of sympathy, "If you're worried about Cadence, I assure you, she isn't the type to hold a grudge. Shining Armor... well he may be a bit harder to win over, but then again, he was the one most directly affected by what happened." She delicately replied.

"I'm sure he'll hate me for the rest of his life for what I did to him. It wasn't right... I see that now, but I do hope he'll understand that I was doing what I believed I had to do." Chrysalis responded.

"Shining Armor is a smart colt. He'll understand." Raven offered.

"I didn't deal with him much but I remember him being tough, but fair when it came to discipline. I imagine he'll be the same when it comes to forgiveness." Javelin added.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Chrysalis acknowledged.

The group lapsed into a slightly uncomfortable silence for the rest of the duration of the journey. Within twenty minutes, they arrived at the crystal train station and the conductor's voice came in over the loudspeaker.

"Princesses, Prince Anon, we have arrived at our destination. It's been an honor and a privilege to bring you to the empire. Please enjoy your stay." Her static voice said, before cutting out.

The train came to a stop with a slight jolt, and Chrysalis let out a small sigh of resignation at the sight of hundreds of crystal ponies outside, already cheering for the Equestrian royalty. While everypony around her got to their hooves and made their way to the exit, she stayed in her seat for a few extra moments, debating whether or not to actually get up and see the love princess.

Eventually, it wasn't a thought or decision that brought her out of her stupor, it was a light tap on her wither, and a friendly smile from the human she'd spent so much time with lately.

"Hey, it'll be alright. No worries. You got this." Anon encouragingly offered.

Chrysalis held his gaze for a few moments, her lips pursed as she stared at the point of contact between them. With a reluctant nod and breath, she pushed herself to her hooves and followed Anon to the door. She found Celestia and Luna patiently waiting there for her while Raven went over her notes for the day and Javelin stepped out to clear the entrance for them. After a quick nod from the stallion, Celestia made her way down the two steps of the train cart and onto the pavement of the train station.

The second that Celestia stepped hoof out of the train, an eruption of cheers and confetti rained down upon her from the hundreds of crystal ponies present. She was momentarily taken aback by the sudden explosion of confetti, but quickly laughed it off and used some magic to brush it out of her mane and coat. Luna quickly stepped down behind her, receiving another equally loud cheer of support.

While there were crystal guards present on the dock, they only numbered at just over a dozen, and they struggled to hold back the mob of excited, boisterous ponies behind them. As the guards struggled to maintain some semblance of order, Cadence and Shining Armor both strode forward, wide smiles on their faces as they greeted the solar and lunar princesses.

"Auntie Celestia! Auntie Luna!" Cadence cheered, rushing forward and nuzzling both princesses respectively.

"It's good to see you both again. How are you?" Shining asked, giving both princesses a nuzzle as well.

Happily returning the nuzzles, Celestia and Luna both smiled back at the couple before them, "We're doing wonderfully, Shining." Celestia gratefully replied.

Before either party could utter another word, another wave of cheers and applause erupted from the gathered ponies as Anon stepped out of the train cart and onto the dock. He happily waved at all the crystal ponies for a moment before walking over to his wives.

"Uncle Anon!" Cadence smiled, before rushing forward and pulling him into a hug.

Anon held up a finger in protest as he returned the hug with his other hand, "That... feels weird, but I'll allow it." He acknowledged.

Shining Armor was only a few steps behind his wife as she released her hug and offered Anon a hoof, to which he quickly bumped, "Anon, it's good to see you again. How's Valorant been treating the guard since she took over?" He asked, kindly.

"Good to see you too, bud. Val's doing great. Can't stand all the paperwork though." Anon replied.

Shining chuckled, "I don't blame her. Tell her it never gets easier." He joked.

Anon snorted in amusement, "I'll be sure to pass the message along." He replied, playfully tussling Shining's mane.

Shining snickered and batted Anon's hand away with his hoof before another set of hooves stepped onto the train station dock. He glanced up at Chrysalis, all the mirth and excitement instantly vanishing from his face and leaving a cold scowl in their place. The gathered ponies fell silent as well, all of their eyes focusing on the changeling Queen as if she would attack them all at any moment.

Chrsyalis surveyed the ponies before her with a level of mild hesitation. While she certainly didn't show it on her face, she could feel the sudden wave of unease, fear, and most potent directly in front of her, anger. She slowly gazed down at Shining Armor, almost as if hoping to delay the inevitable meeting between them for as long as possible.

Unfortunately, she could only delay for mere microseconds, and once her eyes locked with his, she knew she had to speak.

"Prince Shining Armor. It... has been a while, hasn't it?" She announced, bowing her head ever so slightly.

Shining's scowl increased in both intensity and coldness toward her, but before he could lash out verbally or physically, Cadence stepped up behind him.

"Chrysalis. There you are. We've been expecting you." Cadence offered.

While her voice came out as softly and filled with kindness, Chrysalis could easily detect the underlying hostility still emanating from her with every word. Her posture screamed 'grace' and 'pleasant', but her emotions raged like a vortex of anger, resentment, and strangely enough, hope.

Feeling something of a chance being extended to her, Chrysalis cleared her throat and fixed Cadence with the confident regal grace that she was known for.

"Princess Cadence. I'm glad to see you're in good health." Chrysalis offered.

Cadence tilted her head back ever so slightly, "Thank you. I've heard that your hive is doing much better now. You even look much more well fed than what I was told you looked like when you arrived in Canterlot." She replied, taking note of the curves and distinctly fewer leg holes on the changeling Queen before her.

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow before glancing down at her body for a few seconds, "Are you calling me fat, princess?" She asked, curiously.

Cadence immediately blanched, "W-what?! No!" She hastily asserted, "I was just saying you don't look like you're starving anymore."

"You know, she does have a point. You really filled back in quick, Chryssi." Anon acknowledged, looking down at Chrysalis's legs and barrel.

Normally, the feeling of dozens of eyes staring at her, focusing on her curves and legs, would excite the changeling Queen. Ordinarily, the thought of ponies looking at her, their thoughts running wild with fantasies about taking her back to their homes, rutting her brains out, and then giving her an easy meal of love was as appetizing for her as it was arousing. However, these were anything but ordinary times.

With knowledge of her past deeds well known in the empire, mostly due to its rulers being the ponies most directly affected, she didn't feel the spike of lust and longing that she normally did when she felt several sets of eyes on her. Instead, she felt a wave of scrutiny and distrust.

"I've... been eating well... lately." Chrysalis admitted, desperately trying to hide the dark green blush on her cheeks.

Cadence eyed her critically for a few seconds, before her gaze slowly shifted over to Anon. Upon noticing her gaze, Anon felt a blush of his own forming.

"What?" He asked, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.

Cadence raised an eyebrow before playfully rolling her eyes and nodding toward the castle, "Oh nothing, Anon. Nothing. Now, where are my manners. Come along, let's get my aunties to the castle. I imagine just standing is growing tiring for you two this late into your pregnancies." She smiled, trotting over to Celestia and Luna.

"Thank you, Cadence, but we're not as fragile as everypony seems to think we are." Luna chuckled.

"That said, standing has been growing increasingly difficult these last few weeks." Celestia added with a sheepish chuckle.

Anon and Chrysalis hastily made their way over to the royal sisters, the ladder taking extra care to put space between her and Shining Armor as she passed him. Shining followed behind, his gaze locked on Chrysalis as if he expected her to try something under his watch.

With the group all gathered, Cadence led them over to the chariot already awaiting them just beside the train station. With some extra help from Anon, Celestia and Luna were able to climb inside, followed by Cadence, Raven, and Shining Armor. Once Anon stepped in, he offered his hand to Chrysalis who, while carefully glancing at Shining Armor the entire time, accepted the offer with her hoof and climbed into the chariot.

Javelin quickly hopped atop the seat at the front, just beside the driver, giving the mare the go-ahead to take them into the city. With one order, the half-dozen crystal guards hitched to the chariot broke into a trot and steered them toward the spire in the center of town.

Meanwhile, inside the chariot, Chrysalis found herself sitting in the most awkward position possible. With Anon all but squished between Celestia and Luna, and Raven taking up the only spot on the opposite side of Cadence there were no available seats anywhere other than right in-between the love princess and Shining Armor. Not a word was spoken the entire ride, which only made the tension in the air that much thicker.

As their ride barreled down the road, Chrysalis felt a bead of sweat forming on her brow as she sat, bathed in anger and hatred emanating from the stallion beside her. She felt much less hostility from the love princess, but there was still an undeniable level of distrust there, leading quite literally the longest fifteen minute chariot ride of her entire life.

Thankfully, they did eventually arrive at the crystal spire in the center of the city, and with an order to halt, the chariot gracefully came to a stop underneath the structure. Javelin hopped out and opened the door for all of them, mercifully putting an end to the stifling and uncomfortable silence that plagued them the entire ride over.

"Oh thank Faust." Chrysalis muttered as Shining Armor departed first, followed quickly by Raven and Cadence.

Anon hurried out and ushered her out after him before helping both Celestia and Luna out of the chariot. Once they were all standing underneath the spire, taking in the architecture and such, a squad of crystal guards marched over to them, all coming to a stop just a stone's throw from Shining Armor. They all snapped to the position of attention and saluted. Shining crisply returned the salute, before returning his attention to the royals behind him.

"I have to attend to the military detail for this meeting. It's been a pleasure to see you all again, but I'm afraid I won't be around much today. Cadence can show you to where you'll be staying." Shining announced, his words all but vacant as he glanced over to the changeling Queen.

"Thank you, Shining. It's been good to see you once more as well. I hope we'll see you at dinner?" Celestia offered, a pleasant smile on her face.

Shining tensed somewhat, his jaw noticeably clenching, "I... wouldn't get my hopes up, Princess. I have a lot of work to do today and I'm not sure if I'll be able to dine with you. Maybe next time?" He offered, not so subtly glancing to Chrysalis once more.

Celestia nodded, "I see. Well, it's understandable. Thank you, Shining."

With that, Shining turned tail and trotted off to the squad of guards, leaving Cadence alone with the rest of the group. Quickly taking note of the slightly ashamed look in Chrysalis's eyes, Cadence took a step forward.

"I know you can probably sense that Shining isn't happy to see you... Hay, I can't lie and say I'm thrilled to see you either... but we do acknowledge that you're trying to be better. We do both respect that." She offered, looking at Chrysalis.

Chrysalis nodded, "It's to be expected... but thank you."

Cadence gave a small nod before turning to the rest of the group, "Alright, well now that that's over, how's about we get you all to your rooms? Maybe even a tour of the spire since you didn't get to see that much of it last time you were here." She smiled.

"That would be lovely." Luna replied.

"Right this way." Cadence beamed, trotting over to the nearest base of the spire.

As she approached, the wall in front of her opened, slowly revealing a spiral staircase leading upwards into the tower. Anon found himself nearly frozen in shock at the sight of the crystal wall slowly parting without any mechanical assistance.

"Oh come now, honey. It's just a door." Celestia teased, playfully flicking him with her tail.

"Yeah but like... how is it doing that!?" Anon exclaimed, breaking from his shock and rushing after his wife.

"Do we have to say it?" Luna grinned over her wither.

"Magic?" Anon questioned.

"Magic." Luna and Celestia both giggled.

Anon rolled his eyes, "Yeah, figured."

With that, the group made their way up the stairs as quickly as possible, which, given Celestia and Luna's pregnancies, wasn't very quick at all. Almost five minutes passed before the alicorn sisters managed to make it to the top of the staircase, both panting for breath and noticeably sweating from their brows. Anon helped Celestia up the last few steps while Cadence assisted Luna. Both Javelin and Raven awkwardly hovered nearby, unsure of how or when to help while Chrysalis looked around the large room before her in scrutiny.

While the royal sisters struggled to catch their breath, the group found themselves in a foyer of sorts. The walls were transparent crystal, allowing a marvelous view of the city outside at their elevated altitude.

"I... don't like... stairs..." Celestia muttered, catching her breath.

"I'm... teleporting next... time..." Luna huffed.

Anon bit his tongue as he pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed the sweat from Celestia's brow.

"Thank you, sweetie." Celestia smiled.

Anon returned the smile before moving over to Luna and doing the same.

"Thank you." Luna responded.

"Okay, well since it seems like a tour is out of the question, how's about I just show you all to your rooms and we can let you rest for a bit." Cadence chuckled, patting Luna's back with her wing.

"Agreed." Luna giggled.

Cadence swiftly led them out of the foyer and down the hallway leading to yet another spiral staircase. While Luna and Celestia grumbled at first, the second flight of stairs was much shorter than the first, and within a few seconds they found themselves in a large living area. Several rooms lined the hall to their right, while the transparent view of the empire from the left filled the room with gentle, warm light.

Cadence led them to the end of the hall, where a pair of large double doors resided. She effortlessly opened them with her magic, allowing the group to look inside to find a massive bedroom with all the accommodations royalty could ask for. A gigantic crystal chandelier took up the entire ceiling, while huge transparent crystal windows lined three sides of the room, giving an excellent view of the central street.

Lavish living arrangements and a king sized bed filled the room, making it fit for the royal family standing in the doorway.

"Okay... this is pretty neat." Anon nodded, stepping into the room.

"Indeed. Thank you, Cadence. I think I need to get off my hooves for a moment." Celestia added, stepping into the room and sitting in one of the plush chairs by the window.

"Are all the rooms this extravagant?" Raven questioned, staring at the décor of the room.

"Well, not quite to this extent, but this is the royal suite after all." Cadence replied.

Taking note of the lack of multiple beds in the room, Chrysalis turned to Cadence with a raised eyebrow, "I take it I'm to stay in the next room over?" She inquired.

Cadence nodded, "Yep. You're right next door. There will be guards posted outside both of your rooms for protection or should you need anything, all you have to do is ask them." She explained.

Protection for me or protection from me? Chrysalis idly thought to herself with a snort.

"Thank you." Chrysalis replied, before walking off to the next room over.

"Oh, Chrysalis." Celestia called.

Chrysalis turned and gave the solar princess a curious look.

"If you could, I would like to speak with you when I lower the sun tonight. Do you think you could spare a few minutes to chat?" Celestia asked, innocently.

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow in heavy scrutiny, but decided to play along for the moment, "Um... sure. I can do that." She replied.

"Wonderful." Celestia smiled.

With that, the changeling Queen walked off for her room and disappeared from sight.

Chrysalis stepped outside to the balcony of the crystal spire just as the sun reached its lowest point on the horizon. Twinkling stars appeared in the cosmos overhead, and the nighttime aurora of the North quickly filled the sky with wavy displays of green color that contrasted beautifully against the dark purples and blood-red oranges of the fading sunlight. At the end of the balcony, stood the mare responsible for the majestic sight before her, a welcoming smile on her face as she patted the chair beside her.

"Sit with me for a few minutes, won't you?" Celestia offered.

Albeit with a moment of hesitation, Chrysalis strode over to the chair in question and took her seat. Celestia sat down on the chair across from her just a moment later, and then there was silence.

Chrysalis held Celestia's calm gaze for almost thirty seconds before sighing, "So... was there something you wanted to talk to me about up here?" She asked.

Celestia chuckled, "Oh, can't we just converse like friends? Do I need to have a subject to discuss with you already prepared?" She rebutted.

Chrysalis felt slightly taken aback at the response, and struggled to formulate one of her own, "I... um... I suppose not. I wasn't aware that you considered me a friend, yet."

Celestia closed her eyes and slowly nodded, her mane billowing peacefully as a small breeze carried it toward the drooping sun, "I've been doing some thinking, and while I can't say that we've ever been close enough to be considered 'friends', you've shown that you genuinely do want to change. Coming here to the crystal empire was a very brave thing for you to do, and I want you to know that I appreciate it. I certainly know it wasn't easy." She offered.

Chrysalis slowly nodded, the beginnings of a blush starting to form on her chest and cheeks as she felt the raw truth behind Celestia's words. There was no deceitful nature in her emotions, nor any kind of malice at all. Everything the solar matriarch said to her was as kind and gentle as could be.

"T-thank you. I'm just trying to right a wrong... no need to butter me up so much." She replied, with a smirk.

Celestia chuckled, "Oh, I'm not 'buttering you up', Chryssi. I'm being serious." She dismissively waved her hoof.

Chrysalis's eyes went wide.

Oh buck, now she's calling me 'Chryssi' too?

"Uh, hehe. Well... thank you." Chrysalis stuttered, her blush growing ever more noticeable.

Celestia squinted ever so slightly, before leaned forward with interest, "Is that a blush I see?" She asked in a teasing voice.

Chrysalis instantly felt the blood rushing to her cheeks and chest, and she quickly shook her head, "W-what?! No! Of course not! I don't blush!" She defensively explained.

Smelling blood in the water, Celestia leaned ever further forward, a smug grin on her face, "You know, you do look absolutely adorable, blushing like a school-colt right now." She teased.

"I...uh..." Chrysalis struggled to find any response, especially with the sudden spike of lust she felt emanating from the solar alicorn as well.

However, just as soon as it was there, it was suddenly gone, and Celestia leaned back in her chair, giggling to herself, "Oh, you are just too much fun, Chryssi."

Chrysalis tilted her head to the side, a dumbfounded expression on her muzzle, "What... are you doing right now?" She demanded.

Celestia sighed a wistful sigh, "Always right to the point, aren't you?" At Chrysalis's hesitant nod, she continued, "Luna told me that you had a nightmare that involved the two of us the other night. She didn't go into the details, as those are private and only yours to know, however she did tell me about some of your feelings and fears. I just wanted to get to the bottom of that while we had time tonight." She explained.

Feeling blindsided for the third time in just as many minutes, Chrysalis stared owlishly at the sun princess, her mind reeling from the revelation that her dreams were not quite as private as she would have liked.

"I... I see." Chrysalis nodded.

"Please understand that Luna is not going to go snooping into your dreams regularly and I certainly don't need to know what you dream of. Luna only informed me of the nightmare itself, and a bit of what you talked of after the fact." Celestia explained.

Chrysalis nodded, a fond recollection of the previous night's conversation replaying in her mind, "I see. I don't really understand what you intend to 'get to the bottom of', though. I already spoke with your sister at length about this in the dream."

"That may be true, but having a second set of ears can always help. Besides, you might think of something now that you didn't while you were talking with Luna." Celestia offered.

Chrysalis rolled her long tongue in her mouth for a few moments before deciding to indulge the solar princess, "Alright, I suppose we can start from the beginning."

Now Sunbutt gets a chance to bond with the boog. Hope you guys liked this one. The next arc we get into will be quite exciting, if I do say so myself.

Oh! For anyone interested, I have finally made a discord server! If you want to chat with me, hang out and play games or watch me stream art and such, feel free to join :D

https://discord.gg/kVfKVH4f