Author's Note

This chapter relies heavily on dialogue and depending how well this intermixes with the next chapter will decide how much revision it will undergo.

"Queen Chrysalis
Lily

Released Tensions

"He threaten to kill and you're willing to just walk up to him? Are You Crazy!?!" Rainbow Dash from the door.

"Oh shut it Rainbow. That was a threat I made a long time ago when I was still stupid and naive to the world. Now that I've grown up and learned from my mistakes I don't intend to make good on my word, besides it would do me no good for what we're here for anyway if I went out of my way to settle a petty grudge." I said as I turned back to the group of ponies in front of me.

"Why are you here and with her no less?" Twilight asked and threw venom into her words as she motioned over to Chrysalis.

"We're here to ask for your help that would double as a warning as well."

"What makes you think you can come here asking us for help?" Cadence spat out.

"As he said, our request also comes as a warning as well. My sisters and mother are planning another invasion upon Equestria and their hives are much stronger than mine." Chrysalis said as she stepped up beside me and ignoring the glares she was getting.

"Is that you all you have to say?" Luna asked indifferently.

"There's more but I feel that this may not be something we should discuss out here lest there be spies hiding somewhere. We should head on inside before we continue to give you any more details."

"You're telling us that you're worried about there being spies but what about the changeling who is hiding behind you David?" Celestia as she pointed towards Lily who had been keeping herself pressed up against me.

"This is Lily and she is my adopted daughter. She is not here to do anything but stay by my side and if anypony touches her I won't be the only one you'll have to deal with but you're going to wish that was the last." I stated calmly. Celestia only nodded as she motioned for the guards to stand down and for us to follow. I picked up Lily before we went into the castle and kept her pressed against my chest.

"So you have a daughter now huh, how did that happen?" Lacy asked as she came up to my left.

"It's a long story but let's just say that I saved her live and she's become attached as a leach. A cute, adorable little leach that I love more than anything." I said as I nuzzled Lily's stomach and getting her to laugh.

"Real nice comparing your daughter to a leach, Dark One." Chrysalis teased though I groaned at the use of that damnable nickname.

"Okay seriously why the hell does everypony in The Hive call me that. I know that it's not just for my Dark form."

"Dark form?"

"Remember what happened on Valentine's Day when we were younger."

"Oh." Lacy simply stated.

"Yeah it's that and it's still in use though I have more control over it now." I stated proudly and heard Applejack let out a snort.

"What was that for AJ?"

"She and the rest of the girls are still on me about me saving their asses using the Dark Form, it's the whole reason why I'm living with The Hive in the first place instead of here though I got to say that it's way better considering."

"You were trying to kill us after you killed the manticores!" Rarity shouted.

"If I wanted to kill you then Twilight wouldn't have been able to blast me, in fact you wouldn't have even known until it was too late. When I turn into that monster it doesn't like to play with it's food until after they're dead."

"You're not a monster daddy. Monster's aren't nice like you are and you stopped those other monsters from hurting me before you became my daddy." Lily said as she smiled up at me before I gave her a kiss on the head.

"Oh my god she is so cute, can I hold her?" Lacy asked with excitement.

"That's up to her not me but she's not an animal you fucking nut. I would have thought that you would get your obsession with cute things under control by now." Lacy stopped and gave me a deadpan expression along with Lily, actually everyone in the hallway, aside from the guards, was looking at me with the same expression. "What? At least I never had my room filled with plush babies, right Lacy?" She blushed and turned away before shoving me.

"That was supposed to be our secret you ass." She muttered under her breath.

"Well too bad because now it's out. What do you care for anyway, everything here is fucking mini-sized anyway compared to what we would build back home, that's including the castles."

"Yes but they haven't destroyed their planet like we have." Lacy said as I only nodded in agreement. I looked over to Chrysalis to see why she has been quiet and found her giving me a mischievous smirk.

"What the fuc-" Lily smacked me in the head when I uttered the curse.

"You're not supposed to curse when I'm around remember?" Lily said like a mother scolding her child which got a few laughs from everypony.
"Whatever, what the heck were you smirking about earlier leach queen." Chrysalis stopped her laughing but kept her smirk when she heard me talking to her.
"You do have a talent for making things fun even in the most tense of environments now don't you?" I groaned as I knew where she was going with this.
"We are doing this again Chryssy. I already told that if such a thing actually existed then I certainly don't have it, it wouldn't make any sense."

"What are talking about?" Pinkie asked as she appeared in front of me hanging upside down in thin air and continuing to defy all laws of physics.
"Chrysalis over here seems to have in her mind that I have some innate ability to make friends with just about anyone and even bring together the worst of enemies. I of course say that it's cr-, I mean that it's nonsense but she doesn't seem to want to drop it." I inform her.

"I don't know David, you did seem to be making a lot of friends after what happened between us. In fact I would go as far as to say that you were happier being around them than you ever were around me." Lacy stated sadly.

"Of course it seemed that way to you but you seem to be forgetting something about why that might be."

"And that is?"

"That I had sealed away my memories of everything we did together and replaced them with nothing. The reason I seemed happier was because being around them was the only thing I knew to make me happy besides my games but even they were never able to top my games like you did."
"Well it doesn't help the fact that you were practically a hardcore gamer. I swear that if your parents made more money and had a basement you would be down there 'pwning' some noobs." Lacy said as she shook her head.
"You're still salty about the last time we played a game together aren't you?"

"That was a bullshit kill and you know it. You came at me with a pistol while I was holding a rocket launcher and somehow you survived a head on shot and beat me into the ground."
"Well let me tell you something, have you heard of a thing called an overshield. You know that thing that makes it even harder to kill something, well I had that plus it's Halo physics. Hit you with a rocket launcher it takes a couple hits, but the pistol, holy shit you better watch out here comes the fucking grim reap- OW!" I felt a sharp stabbing pain in my shoulders and looked down to see Lily had sunk her fangs in and didn't appear to be wanting to let go. I tried to pry her off but she held fast as she bit down harder. "Alright, alright Lily I'm sorry now please let go."
""That's what happens when you don't listen daddy and next time I'm getting aunt Chryssy to help." Lily said as she glared at me as I rubbed the area she bit. She might be small but holy damn can she bite, it felt like a gator had latched onto me.

"Well now that Lily put a stop to your ranting I wanted to ask what the hay were you two talking about?" Chrysalis asked as we walked into what I assume to be the throne room of the castle.

"Just a game that me and him played when we were younger that he cheated on."

"I've never cheated on a game in my life and you know it."

"Wait, is this game you're talking about the same thing as those video game systems that you had with you David?" Twilight asked.

"You had your systems on you when you came here. What were you doing when you came here, murdering something before a flash of light appeared out of nowhere and dumped you in the Everfree Forest?"

"No I was actually running away from home and took my stuff with me." I replied and Lacy looked at me in shock.

"Why were you running away?"

"Because my parents no longer wanted me around, my friends were gone, and my grandparents were slave drivers. I lost my family the day I moved to Colorado despite what they said. I could see the look of disgust in their eyes and as time moved on they began to let it come to the surface. I would have thought I was alone if I didn't make the friends I did but that didn't last long once I was finished with high school." I told as I made sure to express my hatred for those who abandoned me.

"Well I hope that you at least brought a few games with you otherwise it would be pointless to keep them." She said as she tried to lighten the mood.

"I did actually but I need a TV to play them on, and lucky for you I just so happen to have Halo 2." I grinned at her knowing that would get her riled up.

"You asshole, now I'm going to make sure a TV is made so that we can have our rematch and see once and for all who's the best."

"Not a smart move, despite not having played a game in the.... I'm going to say two years I've been here I'm still far better than what I used to be and to development of my kamikaze style hasn't made it any easier for anyone not prepared for the beating I usually give them. Though if you insist I don't think getting a TV made will be a problem once I get the rest of my suit finished."

"What do you mean, and what suit? I thought you didn't like wearing tuxedos because they strangle you."

"I don't and I'm never wearing one again but what I'm talking about is something different entirely. This suit is armor that is imbued with magic in each piece. I'm actually wearing the gauntlets that go to it just in case things got out of hand."

"I thought I sensed something different surrounding your being. The magic you speak of is chaos magic found in rare and dangerous gems. Pray tell what spells did you put into those gauntlets? Celestia asked.

"Right now, nothing more but advanced shielding spells. These, along with the rest of my suit, is highly unfinished and I believe I may need some help finishing the rest of it for the fight coming in five months which brings us to why we're here." I stated as I looked back at Celestia with a serious expression.

"I believe you are right, so tell me you two, what is it exactly that you have come to tell us? What danger is being brought to Equestria and why are you here ask for assistance?" She asked with a neutral expression.

"Well you see Princess Celestia last week I was visited by my mother and sisters about a week ago so that they could tell me of their plans to invade Equestria yet again and had came to ask for my involvement. That was their original intent but after catching me and David in a compromising position a misunderstanding had quickly formed which led to David's involvement in our meeting as well. After hearing of the plan as well as hearing my opposition to their scheme he had the guts to talk back to my mother and tell her how idiotic the attempt would be. Before any of my sisters could do anything I had offered, and this was meant to stop this plan of action dead in its tracks, I offered all of them some of the excess love we collected from David as a way to convince them to stop, needless to say it didn't work." Chrysalis was going to go no but was interrupted by Shining Armor.

"So you're feeding her then human." He spat out with disgust to which I simply roll my eyes and shake my head to show that his little display wouldn't work in scaring me.

"Yeah, as well as her entire hive. You know if any of you had been in her hoofs then you would have done the same thing without any choices left. All Chrysalis was trying to do was get food for her subjects as well as prevent their deaths." I said as I put an arm over Chrysalis when I noticed that she was shaking.

"What do mean prevent their deaths because the way you said it suggested that she wanted to try something else besides an invasion to get what they needed." Cadence asked with concerned curiosity as she too saw Chrysalis trembling in her seat.
I was going to tell her but Chrysalis elected to do it herself. "My mother had threaten the exterminate my entire hive if I tried to go form a treaty with Equestria, saying that it would seen as weakness on our part as a species. Not wanting to lose my subjects I went with an invasion plan that involved kidnapping and impersonating Cadence, to which I'm truly sorry for." Chrysalis explained as tears ran down her face. Me and Lily pulled Chrysalis into a hug as we comforted her.

"But I still don't understand what is everything that you're here for." Luna stated

"It's simple really, after giving them the love the Hive had gathered from me they had refused to go back on their stupidity so as a last ditch effort I challenged all of them to a duel, four against one. We came here to not only warn you of the invasion but also to form that treaty and ask for your help. Currently the rest of the Hive is waiting at your old castle until we return with the news of the results of our meeting. They are coming in five months and will have the invasion during my duel with them. The Hive is more than willing to help fight them off but they can't do it alone, especially against four other hives of the cruelest of the changeling queens to live near Equestria. So I ask this for all of us in the Hive, will you agree to this?" I asked in a pleading tone as the gravity of the situation we were in rested solely on the decision they make right now.

Celestia looked to her to everypony around her and they all nodded. "We will have to discuss this. Do you mind waiting while we come up with a decision?"

"Not at all princess." And with that they all left the room through a door on their right.

"They're not going to agree to any of this. They still think of you and me as monsters and even if they do they will only deal with the rest of the army after they've take care of us." Chrysalis said sadly as she buried herself into my shirt and held Lily a little tighter.

"Their armies have to give up after their queens have been defeated don't they. Even if I die I will beat your sisters and mother to make sure that all of you can live happily." I rubbed her back as I spoke to her softly and letting her know that I meant what I said.

"But I don't you to die daddy. I don't want to lose my family again because aunt Chryssy's family are meanies. I will be so sad if you did." Lily cried out as she headbutted my stomach.

"I know sweetheart but if I don't fight then every changeling in the hive will probably die too and I can't let that happen. You might lose me but at least you will still have your aunt Chryssy, but it doesn't matter because I won't let them get the chance." How did get stuck comforting both these girls. I'm the one who's risking their life but yet they're more scared of it than I am. I guess that's how it is when you have people that care for you, it's a strange feeling for me really but there's not much I can do now is there.

I'm not sure how long we've been huddled together like this but I wasn't complaining. These two were the only ones I cared about at the moment and nothing else mattered. The silence was calm and comforting but it had to be broken eventually and it seemed Chrysalis was to one to do so. "Hey David, what do you really think of me?" She asked out of the blue.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean do you really just see me as a friend or do you see me as something more?"

"You really want me to be honest with something like that?" She only nodded. "Well I do wish that we were something more than just friends but I wasn't sure because of the vow I made to myself to never let myself fall in love again and yet here I am going against it." I felt Chrysalis lower her head further down but I wasn't having any of it as I cupped her chin and brought her head up so that I could look her in the eyes. "But I'm gonna be so bold as to say that you are worth breaking any silly promise I made to myself when I was younger. I do love you Chrysalis and there isn't anything that will make me want to leave your side now or ever." I say before I leaned down to give her a passionate kiss. At first she just sat there as my advances shocked her but then I felt her return it with just as much as mine. It felt like we stayed like that for hours before we ended the kiss in favor of oxygen with a few strands of saliva still connecting us.

Chrysalis looked happier than I've ever seen her as I stared at her blushing face though I can't really say anything as I felt my own blush heat up my face as well. We stared into each other's eyes before Lily snapped us out of our revere, "Eeeeewwwww, that's gross now you two are going to have cooties." We laughed at Lily after she said that as we had forgotten that she had started that ridiculous cootie after talking to some of the other changeling foals during their playdates.

"You won't be saying that when you're older Lily so I would suggest you get used to it since me and Chryssy are going to be doing it a lot. In fact I think we might do it again right now. I leaned towards Chrysalis again with my eyes closed but am stopped by her hoof on my lips.

"Sorry David but not right now. We don't need to have their group coming back in here and see the two of us making out, no matter how much I want to right now." She said with her blush still ever present. I smiled around her hoof before giving it a light kiss and holding it in front of me.

"Alright Chryssy but I hope this has gotten you out of your funk. I hate seeing you cry for any reason and want to see the smile of the beautiful queen that saved my life." I stated as we embraced each other tightly.

"Don't worry David, I'm fine now but thank you for putting up with me. I may finally be able to give my changelings a better future and it's all thanks to you. I'm glad that your family and those ponies treated you so horribly otherwise I might not have found you to give my love to."

"You do realize how screwed up that sounds right?"

"Yeah but let's face it you wouldn't have been here with me and Lily if it wasn't that way."

"Yeah good point and at least I'm stuck in some dead end job like the rest of my race will be for the rest of their lives."

"Or a sexy queen to love either."

"Yes, yes, or MY sexy queen to love either." Before Chrysalis could say anything the doors on the their right opened up and in came the princesses, the Elements of Harmony, Shining Armor, and Lacy.

"We have come to a decision," Celestia paused for a moment as she looked at the group around her. "We have agreed to aid you in your attempts to stop this new invasion.