"She read me like a book!" Twilight defended. "She saw that I was hiding something, and broke me!"
Luna paced across the foyer. "This could be bad. If she begins remembering things, then she could turn back to evil, and we'll be back at square one."
Spike, meanwhile, was sitting in the corner, holding his legs close to his body. "I didn't realize… I'm so sorry…."
Twilight sighed. "I don't blame you for being suspicious, Spike. But you need to learn when to hold your tongue."
Spike blinked. "Why would I ever need to hold my tongue? It's not like I can lose it...."
"Not literally, Spike; it's—"
"Where did Rainbow Dash go?" Celestia spoke for the first time since her outburst, grabbing everyone's attention. They all looked around the room, but couldn't find any trace of the speedster pegasus.
Chrysalis frowned down at the ground, lost in thought. Since she'd gathered enough love at Fluttershy's cottage, she was now disguised as a mouse, and had hidden herself and her eggs under a bush just outside of Ponyville. She probably could've been thinking about how it likely wasn't healthy for her eggs to be moved around so much, but that wasn't what was front and center in her mind.
'Why did I attack Canterlot?' She just couldn't wrap her head around it. Changelings were all about discretion when it came to feeding, but Twilight had said she'd attacked Canterlot during a wedding. That went against almost everything they stood for, so why did she do it?! There had to be a reason, right?
And there was also that lingering sense of loss at Mothra's death, as well as the guilt of not being able to remember it. She was such a role model, it was hard to even imagine life without her. Chrysalis could still remember the time she provoked a bugbear, thinking the fight-or-flight would trigger her magic. Mothra had to come in and rescue her, teaching her a valuable lesson about not getting in over her head.
'Well, so much for that…' she reflected dryly. She was about to question what she'd truly learned from her sisters, when there came a voice.
"Chrysalis?"
The Changeling in question frowned; what the hay was Rainbow Dash doing here? Was she not satisfied by only yelling at her once? She decided to stay quiet and just listen.
"C'mon, please don't leave…." the pegasus appeared from the foliage, scanning the immediate area. She looked genuinely worried, and was now carrying something on her back.
When she didn't spot anything, she hit herself in the forehead. "Ugh, stupid Rainbow Dash, always jumping the gun! Why do I always do this?!"
She then projected her voice — not too loudly, lest she attract any unwanted creatures. "Well, if you can hear me, I just want to say…."
She seemed to struggle, before finally relenting, "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I was so focused on trying to stop some evil plot that I didn't consider the possibility that… you didn't have one. I jumped the gun, and now you're out there again, doing who-knows-what to survive.
"Princess Luna reminded me that I'm supposed to give people second chances, but I got so caught up in the past, and in myself, that I failed to see what was happening in the present. I'm supposed to be the Element of Loyalty, but I... I didn't trust Twilight when she asked me to. She doesn't deserve that, and you don't deserve that."
Chrysalis stayed in the bush, playing it cautious. The emotions coming from Dash may have been genuine, but it'd take more than that to get back on her good side.
The pegasus wiped away something in her eye. "I know I'm not the best at sappy stuff like this, but that's how I feel, y'know?" When no response came, she sighed. "Look, I'll just leave these here, and be on my way. You don't have to come back if you don't want, but just know that I'm really, genuinely sorry for how I acted." She used her wings to lift the box from her back, and set it down on the forest floor. Stepping back, she took one last look at it. "Hopefully, nothing gets to them before you do...," she commented unsurely, before flying away.
Chrysalis waited for another moment, just long enough to make sure that Dash was really gone, before using her magic to bring the box closer. She opened it, then paused.
'Honey cupcakes... how fitting.' Scanning them with her magic just to be safe, she took one out and bit it.
It was even sweeter than last time.
Chrysalis glanced to where Rainbow Dash went, then resumed eating -- she still needed that time to think, after all.
Meanwhile, the search for Rainbow Dash was entering Panic Mode. Twilight was teleporting between rooftops, Spike was asking the ponies on the street, and the Princesses were searching the Library from top to bottom (didn't want to come out and make the citizens worry, after all).
Twilight was just starting to lose the shape of her hair, when she spotted Rainbow Dash returning to town. "There you are!" she shouted, teleporting in close to her prismatic friend. "Where the hay did you go without telling anypony?!"
"Just trying to make peace with Chrysalis," Rainbow replied simply, looking somewhat better, but still very much down.
That certainly made Twilight pause. "You were?" A nod. "How so?"
"Got her some cupcakes," she pulled out a receipt from Sugar Cube Corner. "Couldn't find her, so I left them near the forest."
"That's… a rather quick turnaround," Twilight remarked, not 100% believing, but still able to give her the benefit of the doubt.
"Yeah, well, when Princess Celestia of all ponies yells at you, that tends to get your head screwed on straight," she stated, with just a hint of self-loathing.
Twilight may not have been the most socially conscious pony at times, but she certainly picked up on that. "Well, I'm glad you were able to go through with it."
Rainbow shrugged, "Meh." With that, she flew back to the Library.
Twilight watched her for a moment, then glanced back out at the forest. All they could reasonably do now was hope that Chrysalis would be alright.
…
The ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters stood there, silently weathering the elements for hundreds of years. Many travelers had happened upon it during their journeys, but not many knew the full significance of the structure, or what had really happened there.
Chrysalis didn't know, either, but it still held a special place in her heart for a different reason: this was where she and Mothra used to play together, back before the Hive was driven out of Equestria entirely. Life was so much simpler back then; they'd slide down the banisters, run down seemingly endless hallways, explore secret passageways, practice flying laps between the remaining towers, and get lost reading books in the library. In fact, if it weren't for a spell that Mothra had cast six hundred years ago, those books would likely have been taken away by time.
The Changeling sighed. She knew that they weren't immortal, just really long-lived. She knew that, eventually, they'd all kick the bucket, and leave their children alone in this life. But it didn't make Mothra's death any less painful; in fact, it made it more so. She still had her whole life ahead of her; what the hay happened?!
Only little snippets were beginning to come back, but not enough to piece together what actually happened. A feeling of panic, a sad look in Mothra's eye, a great deal of anger... Chrysalis wracked her brain, trying to remember anything else, but no such luck. She sighed, setting her eggs down in a nook between two toppled pillars, and got comfortable.