Author's Note

Had a little trouble with it at the beginning but finally got it done after I finally got the grove going for this chapter as even then it feels a little chopping so please bare with me since I know these updates are going slow enough as is. With that said this is more a filler chapter to lead into the next part, Lily's Party as well as pretty much announcing the first clop scene I will have written in any of my stories which will most likely be after the party chapter. Hope you guys enjoy

Moving to the Next Step

"So is everything setup as planned?" I asked as I looked at all the decorations, food and drinks, games, and the stage that had all been set up a few miles away from Ponyville and the Hive so that it would all be a surprise to everyone besides those that helped make it all possible. It took most of the week but come tomorrow night it was all going to be worth it, especially once Lily was back to her old cheerful, fun loving self.

Lily... It had been a tough five days for all of us with how sad and depressed Lily seemed after that day and it was getting harder and harder to not go up to Canterlot and raze it to the ground before torturing and slaughtering the nobles for what they've done to my little filly. Surprisingly enough, Chryssy has been the one to keep me from doing so too. In fact she's probably been the most levelheaded one out of all of us but then again she kind of has to be since she's been watching Lily more than anyone of us since we're all working on getting the party ready and me going to train whenever I'm not working on that. I want to spend much more time than what I have but everyday that passes is another day closer to war and I need to make sure we're all ready for when that time comes. Failure is not an option, I won't let Chryssy's sisters and mother have their way, even over my dead body.

"You alright there David?" I heard Lace ask with concern as I feel her hand on my shoulder.

I sigh before look over my shoulder at her. "Yeah, I'm alright, just lost in my thoughts." I answered back which made her wrap her arms around me as she nuzzled my back.

It's alright David, she'll be back to that little hyperactive filly we all know and love before you know it." She said comfortingly.

"I know Lace but this should have been prevented in the first place, I should have been more careful, especially with knowing how those bastards felt about us." I growled out as any and all thoughts of those shit mongers pissed me off to no end but was quick to calm myself down as my anger would get me nowhere, not yet anyway.

"Don't beat yourself up over it David. You were trying to put some trust in them and they chose to misplace said trust and must no face the consequences, whether it'd be now or later, well lets karma take care of the rest cause we have a little filly to cheer up and a town we're trying to throw a party for." She said happily as she started dragging me back towards the Hive. After falling in step with her we made the trek back in a comfortable silence, or at least that's what it would have been if it wasn't for the appearance of a certain candy making pony.

"Hey you two, wait up for me!" Bonbon shouted as she raced over to us. We waited for her to catch up and catch her breath before restarting our trek. "So are you two excited for tomorrow?"

"Oh definitely, I think it's going to be tons of fun once it's started. we just got to make a few more adjustments before starting the big show." Lace gushed excitedly.

"And what about you David, I know parties aren't really your thing but are you looking forward to it?" Bonny asked as both girls directed their attention towards me.

"Not sure really, I mean I'm looking forward seeing Lily's bright smiling face again and I'll try to have fun at the party but I can't really say for sure beyond that." I replied truthfully as parties really weren't my cup of tea but I'd more than likely would have been dragged into it by Lily were she her usual bubbly self and end up having more fun than I most likely would have had otherwise. I mean I love Chryssy and enjoyed to company of my friends but even so I never could stand the party scene, even for my own birthday when my parents had still thrown them.

I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of sighing from three different directions and looked around to see Lace, Bonny, and surprisingly Chrysalis giving me bemused looks. "What?"

"You could at least try to entertain us a bit and say yes." Came Bonny's response.

"And why would I do that?" I asked with a smirk. This just made them all huff and turn their heads away from me which got me to laugh a bit before grabbing a hold of the three of them and bring them into a big group hug before they even knew what was going on. They halfheartedly tried to get out off of my grasp before giving up and returning the gesture. We stayed like that for a minute or so before I asked, "So what are you doing here Chryssy, and where's Lily?"

"I was just coming by to see how things were coming along and I left Lily with Cadance for the time being though you may want to get back soon, seems she was starting to get a but anxious before I left." She answered before giving me a small peck on the lips which got Lace and Bonny to pout a bit.

"Just gonna go ahead and rub in our faces aren't you Chrysalis." Lace said as she and Bonny shot her with mock glares which made her giggle a bit.

"Well it's not my fault you two won't make your own moves on him, I did tell you two I'm willing to share did I not?" Chryssy responded snidely as a part of her more devious side made itself known in her eyes.

"We're working on it okay!" came Bonny's response along with her sticking her tongue out at the changeling queen. I just smiled at the interaction between the three of them, happy to know that all of the four important females in my life got along so well even if Lily wasn't here and herself at the moment.

"Daaaaddyyyy!" speaking of said filly, I let go of the girls before sitting up on my knees and spread my arms wide open for her as she came speeding towards me with Cadance hot on her tail. She came at me full speed and launched herself into chest before I wrapped my arms around her as I fell onto my back with an armful of a little changeling filly. She buried herself into my chest, shaking slightly and reminding me of the damage that was done to her as I hold her tightly.

"Sorry about that... *huff* ....David, she wanted to....*huff* *huff*.... come see you but when I tried to tell ..*huff*..... her to wait a little longer she bolted before I could really do anything." Cadance apologized as she finally reached us a moment later, trying to catch her breath after trying to keep up with Lily.

I opened my mouth to respond but Chryssy beats me to the punch, "I heard you were a foalsitter when you were younger, how did Lily manage to outrun you?" She asked with a teasing smirk.

Cadance huffed out one more time before she settled into a more relaxed posturing. "I was and I enjoyed it very much even if there were a few problem foals here and there that would act out, some even trying to run away from me with no success, but Lily is on a whole other level. She's awfully fast for such a little filly and I'm embarrassed to admit that I've may have lost a bit of my edge since those days." Cadance admitted with a slight blush while she rubbed the back of her head. The girls and I chuckle a bit at that but I couldn't really fault her for not expecting Lily to be so fast. A bit after we got to the Hive after I rescued her she had recurring nightmares for a while to which I had to calm down a panicky filly. I think it was about the fifth or sixth time is when she would actually tell me what was going on in these nightmares and found out that the most prominent thing with them was being caught by the end of it. After she told me this I told her I could help her get faster so that she wouldn't have to worry about being caught again. She had accepted as I helped her learn how to run and fly faster. I honestly hadn't expected her to make much headway since she was just a little filly but she surprised as each time I had her run around a clearing near the Hive I watched as her time seemed to get better by leaps and bounds until she was able to outrun most, if not all of the guards around the place with the only ones able of really catching her being me and Chryssy. The only reason that damn little assassin was able to corner her was because she froze up, not that I could really blame her, but hopefully next time will be different, if there is a next time.

"Don't worry about it too much Cadance, when she really doesn't want to be caught, me and Chryssy are the only ones with a chance of catching her at all. No one else will get even close." I told her after having a good laugh at her expense when I was once again reminded of my little Lilly trying to bury herself inside my clothes, I mean that literally as I feel her muzzle trying to cram itself under my shirt. "Hey, wait, Lily what are you-, no sweetie don't-, I don't think you want to-.......and you're in my shirt." The girls, Cadance included, are all giggling at my blight as I pull out to neck of my shirt and get a sense of as I stare two glowing blue orbs that are staring back at me from the dark confines of my shirt. "Well hello there little filly, are you having fun?" I ask with a smile which makes her nuzzle into me once again.

"You and mommy were gone for too long and I was scared something happened." Came the tearful reply a my smile quickly vanished and I wrapped my arms around her through my shirt.

"Don't worry Lily, nothing is gonna happen, not to me, your mommy, our friends, or the Hive, and especially not to you, I'll make sure of that."

Those damn nobles are gonna get what's coming to them, you mark my words. Came Saboru's response.

Yes they will, not now, but I'll make sure they will. Was my cold, and dark sound reply. It was then I felt someone bop me on the head and makes me look towards the culprit who happens to be Lacy who is staring at me with a perplexed look.

"You alright, kinda spaced out on us." She asked with a bit of concern.

I smile at her, "Yeah I'm fine, just having a little conversation." I tell which makes her nod in understanding before she extends her right hand towards me. I take offered hand and let her pull me up while I'm still cradling Lily in my other arm. At least I was until I felt her start moving as she manages to get onto my back and starts climbing up until her head pops out from behind me and rest on my shoulder and looking at everything from my view. "Hey there honey, are you enjoying yourself?"

"Mmhmm" Came her response as she settles in for the ride, I'm so glad I asked Rarity to me some really stretchy clothes. "When will the party be ready daddy?" She asked after a moment.

We all smile at her as we start walking again, "Probably in the next couple of days my little troublemaker. Are you excited for it?" I ask her, expecting a negative as has been the norm as of late, but to all our surprise she offers us a small smile and nod in the affirmative.

"Yes daddy, it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun." I feel my heart warm up when I hear this as it means that she may be at least trying to get out of the funk she's been in since the incident.

"I would hope so sweetheart, your daddy has been putting a lot of work into it." Chryssy adds in with the other two nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, it really looks so awesome and I think everypony will have so much fun when it's ready to go." Chimed in Bonny in a rather chipper tone which gets me to chuckle a bit. After that, nothing was said as we all walked back to our homes in a peaceful silence.

~2 Hours Later~

Me, Chryssy, and Lily made it back to our room after walking both Bonbon and Lacy back to their homes. Chryssy practically melts into the bed as she soon as she lays down while Lily finally decides to climb out of my shirt and curls up against her and I can't help but smile at the scene as I think, This is my family now, and I'm so damn lucky to have them. I then sit by the edge of the bed near Chryssy and start massaging her stiff shoulders and get a sigh of satisfaction from the changeling queen.

"Thank you David, you always know how to spoil me." Chryssy said as I felt her relax more and more under my touch.

"Anything for you my queen." I whispered huskily in her ear which seemed to have sent a shiver down her spine.

"Careful hun, Lily is still here." Was the cheeky reply as she rub her ass against my crotch since I had re-positioned myself to straddle her back legs and leaning over her. It's still funny to me that we still haven't done anything too serious in terms of things like having of any kind really, sure there's been plenty of heaving petting but that's been about it and I'm not sure what is really holding us back. There are plenty of things that the blame can be placed on but really they're all rather trivial or don't really apply. We have other's to watch Lily as well as help plan and prepare for the war. Our new Hive is coming along a bit ahead of schedule and I think we've been together long enough, and know each other well enough as well, to not really question whether or not we're ready to take that next step. Only other thing I can think of is that we're both a bit nervous in actually bringing it up to other but there's no real way of knowing without talking about it but for now we're rather content with the way things are at the moment.

*Knock* *Knock*

Came from the door and knocked me out of my stupor and back to reality which had a changeling queen practically become something akin to what I would imagine a jelly pony would look like and Lily poking her to see if that's what she has become.

"Your majesties, dinner is ready to be served." Said the maid from the other side of the door.

"We'll be out in just a moment, thank you." I replied back as I heard the clopping of hooves move away from the door soon after. "Alright Lily, Chryssy, lets go get something to eat." As I was getting up but was stopped by a hoof on my leg. I look down at Chryssy and see she has a serious, yet nervous expression and immediately knew she wanted to talk about something rather important without Lily around. I give her a nod as I look towards Lily, "Hey sweetheart, could you go to the dining hall without us, me and mommy need to talk for a bit.

She looks like she's going to protest but looks between me and Chryssy and quickly changes her mind. "Okay daddy, I will wait for and mommy at the table." She replies as she hops down from the bed and makes her way to the door.

"Thank you Lily, mommy and daddy will try not to take too long and be there to eat with you, just make sure you don't cause too much trouble for Princess Cadance." I tell her with a wink before she scurries off and out to the hallway. I wasn't really worried about her traversing the halls alone because it seems Cadance seems to like waiting for us nearby after dinner had been announced so Lily wouldn't really be alone. So with that worry out of the way I turn towards Chryssy and see she still has the same expression as before. "What's up Chryssy, is something wrong?"

She shakes her head no before replying, "No nothing is wrong but I did want to talk about something that I'm sure has been on your mind too for quite a bit." And with that I already knew what this was about but I decide to let say what she wants to say before adding my thoughts so I just nod to tell her to go on. "Well I'll start of by saying that I've been wanting this for a while now and have been a bit nervous about trying to bring this conversation up," I smile and grab a hold of her forelegs and hold them gently in my hands to let her know that I understand. "And I can't really think of any other way to say this that wouldn't this more complicated than it actually needs to be so I just go ahead and say it." She stops for a moment to take a deep breath and slowly releases it. "David, my love, I want to take our relationship to the next level, I want us to mate and truly become one with you." She says rather fast but I was still able to understand everything she said and could only let out the breath that I just realized that I had been holding. I sit for a few seconds getting my thoughts together as I keep holding onto her hooves, running my thumb over them to help calm us both down.

"Glad one of us finally said something cause it was honestly driving me a bit crazy." I said with a bit of a laugh before getting serious again. "I've been feeling the same for quite some time Chryssy, but I could never bring myself to start the conversation which means you're the better of the two of us for finally being the brave one on this matter." I tell her truthfully as I stare into her beautiful green eyes. "For awhile now I've been wanting to ask when you wanted to move with things between us. We've had a hell of a time together, and that's including all our hiccups along the way, and I can honestly say that I love you with all my heart and I want to be together with you in every way we can possibly be, though we can wait on the marriage for a bit longer." She giggled a bit at that last part though nodded all the same as she looked back at me with that heart warming smile before she jumps on me and embraces me tightly as she nuzzles my cheeks before burying her head into the crook of my neck. I make sure to hold her, nuzzle her, and pour every bit of love I have for her into our embrace as I felt my heart warm at her touch.

We stayed like that for a bit before I decided to start rubbing her back like I normally do when we share one of our heartfelt embraces and she starts leaning into me more as I'm taking on more and more of her weight, which doesn't really effect me since she has always been rather light despite her size even after she started to get a constant supply of food from me. As she relaxes more into it I start going lower, and lower until I'm rubbing the area just above the dock of her tail when I make my move and grab her big plot and give it a good squeeze which got her to release a surprised "eep," before letting out a loud moan. "Mmmmm, I definitely can't wait to play with this luscious flank of yours hun." I said with the biggest shit eating grin I could muster as I let go and go back to holding her like normal.

"Oh, I'm so getting you back for that mister." She says as she glares at me with a blush adorning her cheeks.

"I'm looking forward to it Chryssy." Letting her go out of my grasp, I give her a minute to calm herself down as she makes herself presentable again before grasping her left cheek in my hand which makes her look curiously at me, at least she does before she sees my expression and starts leaning in with her eyes closed and lips puckered as I'm already doing the same. We share a passionate kiss that lasted for a coupel minutes before separating with a string of saliva connecting us before it too breaks apart. "Definitely looking forward to doing so much more with you Chryssy."

"So am I David, so am I and when we do I'll be sure to rock your world." She said with confidence smile and half lidded eyes. After that I finally stand up and smooth out my clothes a bit before I make my way towards the door and open it up, "Come milady, our meal awaits."

She laughs as she makes her way out the door, "My, my, such a gentleman, I guess I could reward you with a seat by my side." She says with all the seriousness she could muster though it's obvious she's holding back a bit of laughter as well.

"Why my queen, I'd be honor to dine by your side tonight." I respond back in kind which gets her laughing as we start on our trip to the dining room. "So when do we want to do this Chryssy?" I ask after we make our way around a corner.

"How about a week from now?" She suggests and then elaborates, "Hopefully be then Lily won't be so afraid when we're not around, of course that is if everything with the party goes off without a hitch, which I'm sure they will, and we can leave her with a foalsitter for that night."

I nod at her suggestion though I do have one question on my mind. "How come you don't want to just leave her with Cadance like we have been doing?" I ask more out of curiosity than anything else.

"I figured we could give her a break from watching our little ball of energy, especially after she's back to being that excitable little filly we all know and love and let her and Shining possibly have a night out of their own. She's told me that the two of them have been trying to patch things between them on go out on a date like way back when they first started dating and I don't know about you but that's incredibly hard to do while foalsitting, especially with a filly like Lily." She explains and I nod in understanding. I may not like the asshole but I'm not going try to ruin their relationship because of it, and besides, I'm sure Lily Lacy and Bonbon would be more than happy to take her in for a night or two, though I'm sure they'll want a different sort of 'payment' as opposed to bits. That same thought was shared with Chryssy if the look she was giving me was anything to by.

"Well alright then I guess we have it all planned it out, so I guess all we got to do is get everything set up for our big night, right?" I asked, sounding excited about the idea. She gives me a nod as a response as she moves along with a new skip in her step.

That night is gonna be great, that I can already tell. Was the last thought to run through my head before we opened the door to the dining room.