by Europa
Days turned into weeks. Weeks into months. Twilight's recovery was slow but steady, and every time she woke up she wasn't alone. Whether it was the Princess, or Chrysalis, but none of her friends and family had yet dropped by to visit her. Was it simply bad luck on her part? Had something happened to them?
That thought worried her the most. Sombra had, so she'd been told, waging war on the world. It wasn't out of the question that the unspeakable had happened to them, and nopony wanted to tell her while she was so unwell.
Each time she awoke it was for a longer time, too. Slowly, the dark magic in her system was pumped out and Twilight was allowed to drink water, or to eat a soft mush of food, which steadily grew more plentiful and solid. She asked for a book to read, which she did inbetween the times she slept.
After a few months in the Crystal Hospital, recovering and making small talk with the Princess and the Queen, she was dismissed with a clean bill of health. Princess Celestia had helped her exercise as best she could to cure her atrophy, and supposedly Princess Luna kept her dreams free of nightmares. She'd have to thank the Nightbringer when she next saw her.
Under Celestia's wing - literally - the unicorn weakly cantered out of the hospital, catching sympathetic looks from everypony around. Before long they left the hospital, and Twilight saw the Crystal Empire for the first time. Spectacular, gem-shaped houses with doors and windows punched into them lined the streets with almost geometric precision. And the crystal ponies! They looked like earth ponies, but their coats shimmered with thousands of lights and, if she looked really closely, they almost appeared translucent. Far off in the distance was a massive spire, radiating warmth and love, chasing away the chill of the arctic north.
Princess Celestia led her there, and Twilight tried not to frown at the concerned looks the ponies sent her. It felt so wrong for them to be worried about her. It was her fault Sombra had enough power to do what he did, after all.
Once they reached the Crystal Palace after a moment to marvel at the Crystal Heart, Princess Celestia led her up some stairs to the throne room. They stood before the monolithic doors, and Twilight scooted out from under the Princess's wings. Her horn sparked once, and Celestia laid a hoof on her withers.
"Twilight please, don't. You may be out of the hospital but you're still weak. Allow me." A golden glow lit up the doors and they swept inwards, revealing the Crystal Hall...
... covered in streamers and ribbons.
"Surprise, Twilight!" the beings within called out. Twilight's jaw dropped. There was Pinkie, and Fluttershy, and Rainbow and Spike and Applejack and Rarity and Princess Luna with none of her regalia and her parents and Shiny and Cadance and two compound-eyed changelings standing next to Rainbow and Pinkie and Chrysalis, all standing under a banner that read 'WELCOME BACK TWILIGHT' in gay letters.
She stepped forward in a daze, looking back only when the doors shut behind her. She saw that Celestia must'e removed her regalia too when her back was turned.
Twilight turned back to her friend and teared up. Then she galloped forward and was engulfed in a group hug.
***-_***_-***-_***_-***-_***_-***
The day finished winding down, the party having lasted long into the night. She'd spoken at great length with all of her friends, listened to their tales of the war, broken down in tears two more times than Fluttershy, hugged her family half to death and been hugged by them in return, talked warmly with Chrysalis - Pinkie called her 'Chryssy' and Twilight had to admit it sounded nice - and eaten her favorite meals of hay and sweets until she felt like she'd explode.
Chrysalis was the one who ended up bringing her to her room in the castle, keeping pace with her slow-and-steady walking despite the changeling's longer legs. Twilight grinned dizzily with the truly happy memories brought on by the party, her spirits at their highest in over a year. The changeling beside her clearly noticed her joy, since she kept licking her lips with her long tongue.
Soon she was brought to her wide, spacious room with all the comforts she could ever want. Spike, who had tuckered out early, was already inside and sleeping in a basket.
"Alright Twilight, here's your room. Tomorrow your friends are all headed back to Ponyville, you should join them. I know I would."
She nodded and leaped into her bed, manually pulling the covers over herself and laying down, looking at the changeling queen through eyes lidded with exhaustion. Chrysalis turned around, but Twilight spoke up. "Wait!" She stopped and looked back at her over her turquoise shell. "Can you stay here? I'd feel better if you did, since you... you saved..."
Twilight was spared from having to complete her sentence when Chrysalis nodded. "Of course," she said in her rippling voice. Chrysalis clip-clopped her way over and, with a buzz of her wings, lifted herself up and into the bed. Twilight felt her slip under the sheets and hug her from behind, pressing her back into the green shell wrapping under her stomach. The carapace was hard and smooth, like glass, but glowed with warmth beneath it.
"Thank you." She fell asleep before she could hear Chryssy's reply. Here, she was safe.