by Europa
The simmering green light around Chryssy's horn faded, and her glowing eyes dimmed back to their normal double-irises. The cotton in Twilight's head dissipated and she shook herself off. Standing from where she laid in the changeling's grasp, Twilight raised a hoof to her chest and breathed heavily.
"Alright, that's enough for today," the queen said. "Let's get you back to Ponyville."
Twilight nodded, looking around the queen's private, underground chambers. She climbed out of the cocoon-bed and stretched her legs, feeling the last remnants of the hypnosis therapy's buzz fade away. The hive of the Unified Changeling Swarm was dark and oppressive, but after Sombra's defeat Twilight had never been unwelcome there, and Chrysalis's chambers were well-stocked and furnished by the changelings' utilitarian standards. Every weekend for the past few months, she came to the queen's private chambers for hypnosis therapy, and then she returned back to her life as Ponyville's library.
Chrysalis came to stand by her and placed a hole-riddled foreleg over her withers, and lit up her horn. Twilight didn't even flinch when bright green fire appeared in a circle around her, nor when her stomach dropped out as she and Chrysalis began to sink into the ground. The stone floor rose up before her vision...
... and then was replaced by the ceiling of Golden Oaks Library. Twilight flailed for a moment as she started to fall, but before she needed to levitate herself Queen Chrysalis grabbed her in her forelegs and, buzzing her insect wings, lowered her to the floor.
The changeling nodded. "Alright Twilight, I'll see you next - "
"Wait!" Twilight said, causing the queen's building magic to fizzle out. "Chrysalis, do you want to, maybe stay a while after the next time? Head out into town?"
Chrysalis smirked, showing off her fangs. "I think I'd like that, Twi. It's a date." Twilight flustered, but despite that Chrysalis frowned and stepped over, placing a hoof over her withes again. "Be well, Twilight." She lit up her long, crooked horn again and sank into another fire portal, leaving Twilight in the library.
She walked over to a window and looked outside. The weather team had brought in snow while she was gone, and Ponyville was blanketed. Foals played in sleds and with snowballs, adults huddled for warmth and either wore scarves or had let their fur grow shaggy. Roofs were covered with precariously high snowbanks. Beneath the window Twilight looked out of, icicles hung.
They didn't scare her.