"Are you kidding me?!"
"Afraid not sir and you know I'm a terrible liar."
The Post train returned to Manehattan where it originated from. The crew immediately went to inform the company owner about what they encountered. It was morning and the nation was still feeling uneasy about Canterlot. Some tried to enter the city by chariot only for them to be either ambushed or scared away from the city. The lie about the railways being safe again were quickly dashed after all that has happened that night. Any trains bound for Canterlot were cancelled indefinitely.
"Than it's safe to assume those changelings are willing to attack and sending troops from the nearest outpost to there by rail is too risky."
“But that monster we saw in the tunnel. I don’t think it has anything to do with what’s going on in Canterlot. If it belonged to those things taking over the city, it would’ve tried to derail us but it didn’t even chase us.” Explained Rapid Run. The owner just stroked his chin.
“Regardless it’s dangerous and until the government figures out what to do, the tracks running to Canterlot are off limits.”
==========
Meanwhile Queen Chrysalis was waiting near the entrance. She was expecting the train to come back with prisoners and her team. With her was another drone who, unlike the others, didn’t really feel comfortable. If anything he didn’t want to be here and not just Canterlot. The Queen was losing patience and looked down at the drone. “Your brother Pharynx said he would be back at the crack of dawn. He’s never late on his promises. Something must’ve gone wrong.”
Thorax knew this as well, he was deeply worried about the direction his kind has taken and was now more worried about his brother despite their rocky relationship. He knew he was strong and loyal but for him to disappear on a mission, especially after a victory over the capital, was concerning. "Maybe this country has a stronger military than we thought or maybe there are other heroes we don't know about."
At that moment, the Queen's ears perked up at the sound of buzzing and then came a thud as Pharynx crashed on the ground in exhaustion. Immediately some changeling medics were by his side and so was the queen and brother. “Pharynx! What happened?”
“Trap…train…acid…eyes.” He uttered before passing out.
“He must’ve flown here himself non-stop. Whatever happened out there must be more dangerous than we can think.” Said Thorax.
“Thank you captain obvious now tend to your brother and get as much information out of him. I want to know what exactly happened.”
===========
“Twilight, you haven’t moved or said anything in days. Please talk to us!”
While most of the prisoners were in cocoons some were out. Twilight was one of these exceptions she used this as an opportunity to not see her friends, mentor, or brother. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at them.
“Come on Twilight sure, we made some pretty dumb decisions, but you can’t ignore us we haven’t lost yet.” Said Rainbow trying to get through to her.
"I needed a friend and you all left me at her mercy. I needed support and you all chose a wedding over a security concern. I know I needed evidence but you all couldn't see what was really going on. What did I needed to do to convince you? Were you all not concerned about the forcefield?!"
Princess Celestia lowered her head in shame from inside her prison cocoon. "Perhaps delaying the wedding until the matter was dissolved would've been for the best. But I didn't want to upset my niece."
"Don't try and shift some blame on me Auntie. I would've understood and be concerned for everypony's safety and You know she captured and trapped me in those mines before Shining even put up that shield!" Snapped Cadence.
"I know and I'm very sorry. I promise you all we'll get out of here, defeat the changelings and hopefully..."
Her gazed turn to Twilight. "...We can heal."
============
Queen Chrysalis entered the library where a young small drone was reading through some books. "Any progress young Ocellus."
The young changeling looked up from her book. "I'm at a loss your majesty. I read through all the books on Equestrian Railroad history and what Pharynx described is not in any of these books and according to the data, the railroad has only three locomotives in different colors, which are blue, black, and pink. There's never been a record of a red one."
"What about it being some sort of shapeshifting worm?"
"I looked through the books on rare creatures and as far as I know we are the only shapeshifting creatures on this planet. There were monsters that disguised themselves as treasure chests known as mimics, but those have been extinct for over a thousand years and they don't have many eyes or are red and fleshy as Pharynx described."
"This mystery only grows deeper. I'll send a team to hunt this thing down and maybe our prisoners might know something. I don't want any more obstacles to get in my way."