Princess Emerald, Daughter of Solaris

Chrysalis lounged in her obsidian throne, staring blankly, bored out of her mind. She would usually try to come up with plans to take over Equestria and steal the love from ponies or fear the inevitable appearance of a mad unicorn stallion with deadly dark magic, but that was in the past. Ever since Lucifer's return from a millennial-long sleep, her dreams of conquest were on hold for fifteen long years, only to be permanently discarded when her delinquent daughter fell in love and married the alicorn prince who saved not just Equestria, but the entire world. It still bothered her to this day how love shared unconditionally between a pony and changeling was much stronger and fulfilling than stealing love from their victims. It didn't help that Trill constantly gloated about how full she is, especially when she mentions it fills her in more ways than one.

Grumbling, she slouched in her seat, tapping her tough arm rest. "Another dull, boring day...With nothing to do." Grunting, Chrysalis got up from her throne, a disgruntled sigh heaving from her chest as she walked out to the balcony overlooking her hive. From within the mountain her hive was built in, there were many changes as the years progressed that made the massive mountain kingdom more lively. Aside from the usual hustle and bustle of her subjects, there were traders from across the kingdom from ponies to griffons selling their wares or assisting with transporting goods from the train station. Some outsides have decided to set up homes here outside of the mountain her hive is in, earth ponies finding a way to cultivate the dry, barren wasteland to begin growing some crops that were able to be grown in the region. Despite the only food changelings need is love, the only export needed was the essence of love Solaris had created so changelings didn't have to resort to stealing love from the ponies living among them. "My hidden kingdom has become nothing but a glorified tourist attraction."

Desperate to find something to do, she flew down from her perch to check on a few things. Her subjects bowed to her while the traders or new pony residents waved to the changeling queen. She barely greeted them, not willing to get involved with being friendly toward those who were originally her enemies. It didn't help that families that moved here with colts were so enthralled by the circular holes in her legs, most of them pestering her to see if they can put something thin like a pencil or a stick through them. Their curiosity reminded her of the first colt who looked at her after many years in hiding back in Canterlot during their siege against Lucifer and his army. She brushed the thought aside, barely bothering to know if her first ever fan was even interested in her unique "features".

As she approached the shipping area at the end of the railway, one of her more timid and pacifistic soldiers was overlooking the inventory of their latest shipment. "Ok, seems like there's more than enough for every changeling to last for the next several months," he mumbled to himself. He turned around, yelping as he was startled by his queen's presence. "Y-Your Highness!" he greeted with a bow of his head. "I-I-I didn't see you there."

"I was bored, Thorax," Chrysalis said. "Are these more shipments of love essence?"

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty. More than enough thanks to your son-in-law's graciousness." Chrysalis groaned at the mention of her alicorn son-in-law. "His idea to make this essence has helped save us from starving to death."

"It doesn't have the same appeal as the actual source," Chrysalis reminded the timid changeling stallion, making him grimace as he feared he upset his queen. "What I would give to just have one of these mares or stallions and steal away their love." Thorax opened his mouth to speak, but Chrysalis silenced him with a stern glare. "And yes, I KNOW it's the wrong move, otherwise Solaris would bore me with his lecture and reason with me for Trill's sake."

"...Well, umm, maybe you should...try doing what the princess has done?" Thorax suggested. "I heard some of the changelings had gone on dates with some of the ponies, and they felt a small bit of unconditional love energy that curbed their hunger for a couple weeks. Perhaps...there's a stallion out there who might win your heart."

"Pth. Never gonna happen in a million lifetimes." Despite her claim, Thorax's useless advice stirred her thoughts, and she was conflicted by them ever since their invasion in Canterlot to end Lucifer's reign.

When Trill and Shining Armor appeared in a wisp of magical smoke, the state the stallion was in made her heart she thought she never had sink. His broken forelegs, matted fur, and pale expression from intense pain startled her, but even though she was worried about his health, she refused to show her concern too much to drop the persona she made for herself toward the Equestrian citizens they were helping. It didn't help that Trill showing proof of hers and Solaris's love made her a slightly bit curious to try it for herself. The sad thing is Shining was already married to Cadence, the princess of love, whom she impersonated to get to him and use his love to take over Canterlot. During their wedding. She only used Shining Armor for her goals of conquest and to feed herself and her subjects, but after fifteen long years awaiting for the day a hero would rise and end a tyrant's rule, she felt...envious of Cadence more than ever now.

"Uhh, Queen Chrysalis?" Snapping out of her inner thoughts, Chrysalis looked back at Thorax, who seemed a bit worried. "I was...trying to get your attention. But you were just...staring into space for the last few minutes."

Furrowing her brow with a scowl, she growled at the drone. "Is there an issue with me coming up with more plans in the future?"

"F-For...peace?" Thorax asked with an innocent smile.

Chrysalis facehooved, dragging her hoof down her muzzle with a groan. "Out of all the grubs born from your brood, why are you so helplessly weak-minded? You should be more like Pharynx, one of the strongest changelings ever to be born and leads our army."

"W-Well, I...I don't like...fighting. I'd rather...do something simple and...not so violent or mean," Thorax reasoned. "And, ponies out in the town seem to like me. And their babies are cute. I actually got to foalsit for a family, and their little filly was such an angel."

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "Be lucky you haven't watched what a newborn pony looks like when they come out," she mumbled, her spine shuddering in disgust as the mental image will never leave her memory until the day she dies. She turned away to leave Thorax with his role of keeping the peace between changelings and ponies outside the mountain, pausing when she saw a chariot flying in from the direction of Canterlot. She recognized the royal gold chariot as it approached, being pulled by two pegasus guards, and sitting in the seat, much to Chrysalis's chagrin, was her daughter and son-in-law, and her very excitable grandfilly leaning against the side and waving her hooves wildly as they caught sight of her. "Oh, great. What do they want?"

Hearing her, Thorax turned and spotted the chariot. "Oh! I didn't know you invited the princess and her family, Your Majesty!" he said excitedly.

"I didn't," Chrysalis grumbled.

The chariot touched down close by, Emerald flapping out of her seat the moment it came to a stop and flew straight toward the queen. "Grandma!" she cheered. The filly rammed straight into Chrysalis's front legs, latching onto her right in a tight hug giggling happily. Frowning at the repeated affection her grandfoal likes to give her, she lifted up her leg, Emerald latched onto her limb like a leech as she looked up at her grandmother with a wide grin. "Hi, grandma."

"Must you do this every time you see me?" Chrysalis questioned. Emerald giggled and nodded her head, making the queen groan. "Let go of my leg."

"Nuh uh! Not until I get my hug!" Emerald demanded.

"Just give her a hug, mom," Trill said as she and Solaris exited the chariot, the alicorn levitating a saddlebag with some of Emerald's things. "You know she's not going to let go until you give her one."

Chrysalis leered at Trill, then back to Emerald, who was still waiting for that grandma hug. "...You're a leech, you know that? And not the kind I prefer."

"Yup!" Emerald said. "And I want a real hug!"

Sighing heavily, Chrysalis lowered her leg and moved the other to pat the filly's back. She ignored the smirk on Trill's face and the wide grin on Thorax's muzzle at the sight of the adorable display. The little princess was satisfied and finally let go of her grandma, to the queen's relief, skipping back to Solaris.

"So, why are you here?" Chrysalis asked. "Discord always forces me to take part in whatever gettogethers you all have. If you came all this way to plan another silly party in my home-"

"Relax, mom. No special holidays or birthdays you need to be a part of today," Trill interrupted.

"We're actually going to be busy taking part in some more royal meetings this weekend, so we won't be able to look after Emmy," Solaris said. "And we thought we'd give Dusk Shine a little bit of a break and let him relax."

"Who in Equestria is 'Dusk Shine'?" Chrysalis asked.

"Uhh...It's a long story," Solaris sheepishly answered. "He's Emmy's foalsitter."

"Had a bit of a harsh lesson in reality when his mom sheltered him and poured selfish ideals in his head along with the town she ran," Trill added. "I think you might like her, mom. You two have quite a bit in common."

"...Right. And the reason you're really here is because...?" Chrysalis asked, wanting their visit to be over with so she could brood in boredom in peace.

Solaris levitated the saddlebags over to Chrysalis and set them down on her back, to her confusion. "We thought it would be a great idea if Emmy stayed with her grandmare for the weekend and bond with her some more."

Eyes widening in shock, Chrysalis stared dumbfoundedly at the couple. "Excuse me?"

"Weekend at grandma's! Yay!" Emerald cheered, hugging both her parents before running back over to Chrysalis and glomped her foreleg again.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea!" Thorax chimed in. "We'll all take really good care of Princess Emerald!"

"Oh, hey, Thorax. Didn't see you there," Trill said, just now noticing the shy changeling.

"...I've...been here this whole time," Thorax mumbled, wilting slightly from Trill's neglectful greeting.

Baffled, Chrysalis lifted up her leg, making the filly giggle as she was back to latching onto her grandma's leg. "Wait, I did not agree to-"

"Thanks, mom!" Trill snagged Solaris by his tail, making him yelp as he was dragged back to the chariot. "We'll be back Sunday night to pick her up!"

"T-Trill, hang on a sec!" Solaris chided his wife, getting tossed inside the chariot with Trill humping in after him. Poking his head up, he let out a sigh in irritation, then looked over toward Chrysalis. "Some of Emmy's things are in the bags and some snacks in case you're unable to cook anything for meals since, well, changelings don't eat much aside from chocolate!" Without waiting for him to explain, Trill zapped the two pegasi in their rears, startling them as they leered back at the impatient princess before they galloped and took off into the sky, making their way back to Canterlot. "Be good for grandmare Chryssy, Emmy! Love you!"

"Bye mommy! Bye daddy!" Emerald waved, still hugging Chrysalis's leg.

Chrysalis shot her leg wrapped by the hybrid filly out toward them, her mouth hung open, unable to scream out her disagreement to this unplanned foalsitting job. Closing her mouth, she let out a low, frustrated growl, sneering at the fading chariot.

"Important royal meetings my tail," the queen grumbled. "They're just going to constantly rut each other into a lust-filled coma for two days straight."

"Uhh, Y-Your Majesty. The little princess can hear you," Thorax piped in, pointing to the pony/changeling filly still clinging onto Chrysalis's hoof.

Casting her gaze on Emerald, the filly seemed oblivious to the queen's verbal disdain, beaming excitedly for a fun weekend with grandma. "...Let go of my hoof," she demanded.

"Nuh uh!" Emerald said with a shake of her head.

"I already gave you a hug, now let go," Chrysalis demanded again.

"I want another one!" Emerald said. Chrysalis let out a grunt, using her magic to forcefully peel the filly off of her. As she was set down, Emerald pouted, then turned her attention to Thorax. "Hello, mister."

"Hello to you to, Princess Emerald," Thorax greeted and lowered his head, bowing to her. "My name is Thorax."

As he lifted his head, Emerald gave the changeling a curious tilt of her head. "Your eyes are all blue," she stated, then looked to Chrysalis and pointed to her normal green irises. "Grandma Chrysie has green eyes. And so does mommy and me."

"He's a drone," Chrysalis stated. "They're just workers or soldiers for the hive, unlike your mother or myself as royal changelings." She then tapped Emerald's head, giving her a warning glare. "And don't call me that again."

"You have soldiers, Grandma Chrysie?" Emerald asked, ignoring the annoyed growl coming from the taller changeling. "Do you train them by making them run laps and call them chubby bunnies? I did that back home with my daddy's new guards."

Thorax snickered at the funny, adorable insult. "Chubby bunnies," he repeated.

Chrysalis gave no reaction, just silently staring at the curious filly. "...No. Changeling soldiers are born to be warriors." She then glanced at Thorax, the pacifist drone jolting at her gaze before he bit his lip, silencing his laughter. "Though some aren't quite cut out to be warriors."

"Ohhhh," Emerald uttered in awe. The three stood in complete silence: Chrysalis dreading what her weekend entails, Emerald eager to learn more about her changeling heritage, and Thorax who seemed to be the third wheel between the two. "Where's your castle, Grandma Chrysie?"

"I said don't call me that," Chrysalis grumbled, then pointed to the mountain past the few buildings along the path. "It's inside that. Did your mother not tell you anything about my kingdom or our race?" Emerald shook her head, making the queen facehoof. "My airheaded daughter fails to teach her own child about changelings, and yet her own husband wants her to be smart and learn everything."

"We can show you around and get you comfy in your room during your stay," Thorax said. "I'm sure you and Her Highness will have all sorts of fun this weekend."

"Yeah! Lots of fun!" Emerald cheered, hopping up and down around Chrysalis.

Her energy was infections as Thorax grinned, but Chrysalis was not. Having this thrust upon her was poor timing when she was bored, and she immediately regretted something to do. Her eyes lit up, her eyes shifting between Thorax and her granddaughter bouncing around her, she smirked as she levitated the bags off her back.

"Actually, I'm not sure if I can," she said, making Emerald stop and look up at her. "There's so much to do around the hive and a lot of things I need to oversee to ensure that it won't crumble under my presence." Chrysalis then set the saddlebags on Thorax's back, confusing the changeling. "Thorax will have to make due instead."

"B-But, my queen-?" Thorax interjected, but his queen turned around and began walking away.

"Thank you, Thorax! Keep up the good work!" she called out, satisfied to have her grandfoal out of her hair. Sadly, she didn't get far when she felt a small, familiar weight latch onto one of her hind legs. Twisting her head, she found Emerald latching onto her leg once again, this time with an angry pout. "Will you please stop doing that!?"

"No! Mommy said I was gonna be with grandma this weekend, and I wanna have fun with you!" Emerald said.

"I said I am busy!" Chrysalis argued. She began shaking her leg to get the filly to let go, but Emerald was surprisingly strong for her age and size compared to her. "If your mother ever bothered to learn when my off days are, she wouldn't have just dropped you off at my kingdom without any warning!"

"But you don't have anything planned to do this weekend," Thorax piped in, earning a harsh glare from Chrysalis.

"See!? You're not busy after all!" Emerald exclaimed. "Liar, liar, pants on fire!"

While Chrysalis tried in vain to avoid wanting anything to do with Emerald, especially within the boundaries of her hive and growing kingdom, Thorax watched on the sideline, unsure if he should intervene. Along with him, invisible to all but Emerald, Twilight sighed and shook her head.

"Just give up and try to share a bond with her, Chrysalis," the alicorn said. "Your heart's not as stone cold as it seems if you cared about Solaris in his time of need. Or even Trill when she went into labor."

Emerald looked around in awe at the interior of the mountain hiding the massive changeling hive within. She sat on Thorax's back while Chrysalis led the tour, having lost the bickering argument against her grandfoal, to her dismay. As stubborn as Trill, and she could only blame herself for being just as stubborn.

"Wow. It's really really big," Emerald commented. "It's like Canterlot, but everything's made of rocks."

"I guess you can say that," Thorax said. "There's thousands of us that live here, but we're able to find room for every changeling born in the hive."

"I cannot believe this is happening right now," Chrysalis grumbled. Passing by the many homes of other changelings, which were more like many mini caverns in the walls from the ground all the way up to the peak of the mountain. They made their way to the large stone structure that resembled a castle, though it didn't seem as big or grand as Emerald imagined her grandma to live in. Chrysalis trudged along the corridors and up a few floors to the royal chambers, passing her room and toward Trill's old room. "Since I have no choice at this point, you're staying in here."

Opening the door, Emerald climbed down Thorax's back and walked inside. It wasn't as fancy or colorful like her bedroom back home, but there was a big enough bed that looked comfy to sleep in to feel like a bedroom. While Emerald was perplexed by the bland bedroom, Thorax levitated the saddlebags off his back and set the by the foot of the bed.

"This was your mother's room," Thorax said. "It's not much, but you get to sleep in a bed fit for a royal princess."

"That's it?" Emerald asked.

"Uhh...yeah, pretty much," Thorax said, giving the filly a sheepish grin.

"Hmm...Maybe it would look better with some drawings on the walls," Emerald mumbled, rubbing her chin in thought to see what would make her bedroom while staying in the hive more lively.

"Oh joy. Throw some art around to make my castle 'prettier'," Chrysalis uttered under her breath.

Emerald walked over to the bed and dug through her saddlebags, pulling out what her daddy packed for her. The first thing she pulled out was her favorite teddy bear, Teddy. She hugged her bear, then gently placed him down next to her bags before taking out some more stuff. There were some crayons and a couple coloring books, along with some blank pieces of paper if she wanted to draw herself. She didn't find any chalk to add some more art in her room at grandma's, but she'll ask her parents later if they can store some next time she visits the hive. There were a few baggies with some different snacks inside, which she set aside for later for the weekend when snack time comes around. Her favorite blanket was neatly folded at the bottom, and there was a note written by Solaris for Chrysalis to read.

After setting her blanket down, she went back to her grandma and gave her the piece of paper. "This is for you, Grandma Chrysie."

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, taking the paper from the filly. "I'm going to guess this is from your father." Glancing over the writing, it was a schedule for taking care of Emerald for the weekend, showing which times were necessary for lunch, playtime, snacks, bathing, and bedtime. She let out an annoyed groan at the instructions, and the small note from Solaris at the bottom about trying to cook a healthy meal for Emerald without giving her only the sprinkled love essence the changelings regularly consume. "Of course it would be."

Crumpling the schedule, she tossed it aside, but Thorax quickly went for it and unwrapped it. "Uhh, I think this is important for the little princess, Your Highness," he stated.

"She doesn't need a schedule for knowing when to eat or go to sleep," she grumbled.

"But it's already the middle of the afternoon," Thorax pointed out. "And it's almost six. She should be having dinner right now."

Emerald's tummy began to growl, taking its cue to prove the drone's point. "I am kinda hungry. What are you gonna make, grandma?"

"Do I look like a chef? We 'eat' by consuming love energy from other creatures, or that bland magical seasoning to fill our bellies," Chrysalis said.

"It says from Prince Solaris that she has a different type of diet compared to us," Thorax said.

"She'll be fine with that essence," Chrysalis stated.

"Umm...it does taste yummy, but...daddy sometimes sprinkles it on my sandwiches for lunch for more flavor," Emerald said. "Mommy sometimes eats it, but being around daddy, we get enough love from him."

The queen groaned. She can't cook, let alone know how to use any cooking utensils. The changelings used to thrive and survive, their only source of food being their victims. Aside from chocolate, they couldn't digest any foods normally, only made more tolerable to ingest nowadays thanks to Solaris's love essence concoction as a substitute for the real thing. If anything, Solaris should have packed some dinners along with the small bags of snacks, and if Emerald was like her father being a slave to schedules, she wasn't going to touch those bags unless it was really snack time. She didn't want the foal to go hungry, but she was already annoyed having to take care of her without any warnings in advance.

"There is a small restaurant out in the town that feeds some of the ponies here," Thorax said. "Maybe we can go there and get her some dinner."

"Can't grandma make some food?" Emerald asked curiously.

"We don't have kitchens to cook anything," Thorax explained. "We used to just...take love from others. That was our food."

"'Take'? You mean you don't ask or like somepony like my mommy loves daddy?" the filly asked.

Chrysalis was going to have some choice words with Trill for not explaining everything about Emerald's changeling heritage. "Let's just go to this restaurant and get the rest of this day over with," she grumbled as she turned and began walking off.

"W-Wait for us!" Thorax called out, picking up Emerald and flew off after his queen before losing her.

Returning back to the town, Thorax led Chrysalis to where the restaurant was as the changeling queen didn't bother to know where their equine neighbors resided and which building was which. They entered a fairly sizable building, several rows of tables and chairs lining a few lanes with some pony residents already seated, waiting for their orders or eating. Emerald could smell the food, curious to try what was being cooked in the kitchen far in the back of the building.

A waitress came over to greet them, a peach-furred unicorn mare with her chestnut brown mane tied in a bun wearing a white apron and headband paused and grinned when she saw who entered. "Thorax! How lovely to see you!"

"Hi, Éclair," Thorax greeted. "Busy evening?"

"It's the weekend, so it's been a little crazy," Éclair said with a giggle. "But nothing I can't handle. What brings you by?"

"Er, I know it's...a little strange to say this, but we're gonna have dinner," he said.

Confused, knowing changeling diets after befriending Thorax, she glanced behind him, where she finally noticed Chrysalis and Emerald, the former scowling in irritation while the latter waved cheerfully. "...Really? Not enough love essence come through this time?"

"W-We have plenty. It's just, uhh-" Chrysalis yanked Thorax back by his tail, making him squeak in surprise.

"Just get us a table so I can feed my grandfoal and get her ready for bed," Chrysalis demanded.

Éclair's gaze shifted between the changeling queen and the little filly. "Uhh...grandfoal?" she questioned.

Chrysalis growled at the assumption in the mare's gaze before Emerald made her wince as she hugged her foreleg again. "Yup! I'm Princess Emerald Sparkle, and this is my Grandma Chrysie!" Emerald said.

Recognizing the filly's name, it finally clicked. "Oh! You're the prince's daughter!" Éclair exclaimed. "It's been so long since I've been in Canterlot, I nearly forgot that Prince Solaris married a changeling and had a baby."

"And that changeling was my daughter; my former heir of the changeling hive," Chrysalis added, startling the pony when she realized who she was questioning earlier.

"...Y-You're the queen of the changeling hive?" Éclair asked. "F-Forgive me, Your Highness. I...I didn't know you were-"

"Just quit stalling and serve us so we can leave," Chrysalis snarled.

"O-Of course! This way, please!" Éclair guided the trio down the aisle to their table.

Chrysalis and Thorax followed the waitress, Emerald giggling as she still clung onto her grandma's leg, reaching their table not too far from the entrance. Chrysalis shook the filly off her leg and plopped her down in the seat, sitting on the opposite side while Thorax took a spot beside the hybrid princess. Éclair levitated a kids menu and a small pack of crayons for a couple fun activities for foals to play with while waiting on the food.

"Do you need help reading the menu, princess?" Thorax asked.

"I can read it," Emerald said. "I've been learning in school."

"Can I get you all started with some drinks?" Éclair asked, her pen and notepad floating in her chocolate-brown aura.

Emerald hummed as she looked at the drinks on the kid menu. "Can I have some chocolate milk?" she asked.

"You most certainly may," the waitress said, then looked at the two changelings accompanying the princess. "What about-?"

"I'm not thirsty," Chrysalis interrupted.

Biting her lip, Éclair looked away from the queen before she agitated the hive's ruler further. "Uhh, water's fine for me," Thorax said.

"Ok. I'll be right back to take your food order." Éclair began to walk off to the kitchen, checking on some of her other customers she was waiting on to see if they needed anything else.

While Emerald continued looking through the small menu, Chrysalis huffed in annoyance. Looking around, she caught a few curious ponies eyeing them, but they went back to their conversations after getting a good look at her. Some of them greeted Thorax as they waved to the friendly changeling, while a couple colts at the nearby tables stared at the queen's long, slender body and the holes in her hooves. Part of her hive was all about hiding and being covert, and the recent attention they've been getting, especially herself, was far more annoying to her liking. She tried to tolerate some of the curious foals by letting them see through the holes in her legs, and it took all of her patience to not shove them away for testing to see if they can put small things through them.

Éclair came back a couple minutes later with Emerald's glass of chocolate milk, with a swirly straw for her to slurp through, and Thorax's water. Emerald figured out what she wanted and took her order herself: some mac and cheese for an appetizer, and she wanted to try a hayburger with a side of hay fries. Since the waitress figured the two changelings weren't hungry with their lack of eating a majority of foods, letting them know Emerald's food would be up in a moment. Emerald didn't mind as she busied herself with the foal menu's fun activities, from an easy crossword, a maze, and a picture to color in. Chrysalis was impatient and bored, wondering why ponies bothered to cook foods when there was plenty they could normally eat without a need to bake, grill, or boil them and waste time to sate their own hunger.

"Hey! Thorax!" Approaching their table, a slightly overweight unicorn stallion with dark brown fur and a fade cut mane of dirty blonde came over. He wore a cook's hat and a white apron that was slightly messy, obviously a cook from the busy kitchen in the back. "I thought I overheard Éclair talkin' about the town's friendliest changeling hanging around my restaurant!"

"Hey, Sloppy Joe," Thorax greeted, wincing slightly as the stallion gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder.

"You brought a couple visitors from the way Éclair mentioned the queen bee of the hive visiting my place." Sloppy Joe looked past Thorax and watched Emerald, who stopped her coloring when the stallion greeted Thorax. "Queens must be pretty small if she's a little larvae or baby bug."

"I'm not the queen!" Emerald said with a giggle, pointing to the other end of the table, where Chrysalis just stared blankly at the chef/owner. "Grandma Chrysie is the queen!"

"Oh? Really?" Joe did a double take, feigning shock for a brief moment to entertain the filly. "Well, now that I see it, Her Royal Bug Highness definitely has the height of a ruler."

"You are not one of my subjects," Chrysalis grumbled.

"Oh good. We can chat on a first name basis," Joe said, irritating the queen further.

"No," she growled.

Sloppy Joe shrugged, though Thorax was a bit worried the chef pony's teasing might get him blasted by his queen. "So, what brings ya around? Don't you changelings have a problem eating other foods?"

"W-We're not here for us," Thorax said, gesturing to Emerald. "This is Prince Solaris's daughter and Her Majesty's granddaughter, Princess Emerald Sparkle."

Shocked, he looked at the young princess again, who gave him a small wave. "...No way. This is the prince's foal?" Sloppy Joe asked, then let out an elated chuckle. "Well, I'll be! I've heard from my cousin, Doughnut Joe, about the prince and his changeling wife having a foal, but I never knew what she looked like! She's a cutie, for sure!"

The other patrons looked over at their table in surprise at the stallion's announcement, much to Chrysalis's annoyance. "Thank you, Mr. Joe," Emerald said.

"Is the prince actually here?" Joe asked.

"He actually left his daughter in the queen's care for the weekend while he and Princess Trill are needed for some royal errands back in Canterlot," Thorax said.

"Doubtful," Chrysalis muttered to herself.

"Well, it's still quite a big deal to be serving royalty," Sloppy Joe said. "With some growing potential in a town near the changeling kingdom, I thought a restaurant down here to feed some hardworking ponies and tourists was the right choice. And it's a rare honor to be serving His Highness's little filly!"

Sloppy Joe bowed to the royal princess, then hurried on back to the kitchen before his staff got too backed up with other orders. Éclair soon came around a minute later with Emerald's mac and cheese, lowering the small bowl of steaming, gooey cheese coating the soft macaroni noodles. Emerald thanked the waitress, picking up her spoon with her magic and took a little scoop, remembering to blow on it since it was still pretty hot. Her first bite filled her taste buds with warm, cheesy delight, taking her time and savoring her starter until her main course arrived.

Just as she finished up her bowl, Éclair came around with her hayburger and hay fries. Replacing the empty bowl with the plate carrying a small hayburger and a small serving of hay fries fitting for a foal-sized stomach, the mare hoped the filly enjoyed the food. And enjoy, she did. Her family always had chefs that made delicious food, even Trill when she decided to make breakfast, lunch, or dinner for family mealtime, but nothing like what ponies in lower classes would normally eat every day. It was greasy, but each bite was an explosion of flavor that she didn't know was possible.

Chrysalis huffed, watching Emerald munch down half of her burger, taking pauses in between to slurp her chocolate milk to down her food. She glanced at Thorax, wondering how he got so chummy with the stallion who owned the building and helped cook in the kitchen. Not many changelings were willing to volunteer to make nice with the ponies who began to settle outside her kingdom, but his timid innocence seemed to win over all of them easily. It saved her the trouble of dealing with them, though the lack of detail about her physique to show she's the changeling queen was a frustrating peeve of hers, despite it being clearly obvious.

"Try not to make too much of a mess, princess," Thorax instructed, reminding the filly to wipe her muzzle and hooves with her napkins.

Sloppy Joe came back to the table, to the queen's chagrin, to check on them personally. "So, little princess, how's that hayburger?"

"Mmm. It's really yummy," Emerald said, licking some ketchup off her lips from her hay fries.

"You think you got some room for dessert?" Joe asked. "Thorax has informed me changelings have a love for chocolate, and you look like the kind of filly who enjoys chocolate just as much."

Emerald beamed and was about to answer, but Chrysalis interjected. "No. I do not wish to stay any longer in here than necessary," she said. "She is finishing her dinner so we can return to the hive."

Emerald whimpered as she felt disappointed, the look on her face breaking Sloppy Joe's heart. "Aww, come on, now, Your Majesty. It's not gonna hurt to have a little something sweet after a good meal. And by the look of your figure, you could probably use a little more meat on your...eh, what's it called? 'Kit-ine'?"

"Chitin, and I am not hungry," Chrysalis grumbled.

Her stomach said otherwise as it rumbled slightly. The queen's stare hardened, noting the sly smirk on the unicorn stallion's face.

"Well, maybe I can persuade you," Joe said. "You see, Éclair is also a pretty talented baker, and she just made a really yummy cake a while ago that I put on the menu for dessert." Gesturing with his hoof, he ushered the queen, drone, and princess to lean closer. Thorax and Emmy did so, but Chrysalis refused. "It's a triple chocolate pound cake."

Just hearing the amount of chocolate perked the changelings and hybrid filly's ears. Even Chrysalis's leer dropped in shock.

"Triple chocolate?" Emerald asked, her tail wagging excitedly as she leaned against the table, praying that the unicorn wasn't pulling her legs.

"Yes, indeedy. TRIPLE chocolate," Joe emphasized. "Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, chocolate chips topping all over the cake, and to add more sweet chocolatey goodness, a gooey fudge filling in the center. It's a crime to even call it a quadruple chocolate cake with that additional fudge stuffed inside."

Thorax and Emerald were salivating at the amount of chocolate that could give somepony a heart attack with one singular bite. "That...sounds...so delicious," Thorax hummed.

"Can we have some cake, grandma!?" Emerald begged.

Chrysalis was left in a daze, her own muzzle dribbling drool from her slightly gaping maw. Ever since she learned how good chocolate smelled and tasted, it was difficult for her not to break her disgruntled composure around the stuff. And the cake Discord baked with his chaotic magic for Emerald's first birthday party was almost addictive to the point where she was tempted to fight Trill for the last slice. Her stomach growled, begging her to try such an impossibly hard to resist cake, snapping her out of her daze as all eyes were on her. Sloppy Joe smirked like he just hit the jackpot while Thorax and Emerald begged her with their pleading eyes.

Grunting, wiping the drool off her chin, she caved. "Fine. We will try this concoction of chocolate cake your server made," she grumbled, making Emerald cheer as she went back to finishing her dinner so she can eat her chocolate dessert. "But as queen, I get the bigger slice."

"Sounds like a fair deal. We'll get it all ready," Sloppy Joe said, then pat Thorax's shoulder. "And don't you worry about the bill. It's all on me."

Surprised, Thorax looked at the stallion. "A-Are you sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it," the owner assured. "Perhaps the royals can spread the word and bring some changeling customers around to better the growing relations between ponies and changelings."

"That sounds like a great idea," Thorax said.

Sloppy Joe headed back to the kitchen to prepare their plates for dessert. Éclair came back just as Emerald had finished her plate, taking it back to the back of the house and returning a minute later with three plates each with a slice of her pound cake, a bigger slice for the queen as requested.

"There you go, everypony," she said, placing down their forks along with their respective plates. She noticed the awed looks on their faces as the chocolatey aroma hit their nostrils. "Wow. Thorax, you mentioned how much changelings love chocolate, but...is it really that much of a delicacy for you?" She didn't get an answer as the two changelings and hybrid filly took their forks and picked a sizable piece from their plates. The moment they bit their first bite, all three of them froze with eyes shot open wide, letting the incredibly sweet amount of chocolate assault their taste buds. Thorax's eyes were glazed over as he moaned, savoring the single bite despite having plenty more cake to enjoy. Chrysalis was dumbfounded, her muzzle scrunching while trying not to show she actually enjoyed the cake with slow chews. Emerald was the quick to recover and began eating the rest of her slice, humming happily as she enjoyed her dessert. Éclair blinked, slightly perturbed by their reaction giving her all the answer she needed. "...Err, I'll...just let you enjoy the cake."

Éclair went back to serving her other tables, getting some surprised requests from some of the patrons when they asked to have some of the cake the changelings were eating. Thorax finally snapped out of his daze, picking another piece of his cake and popped it in his mouth.

"Sooooo good," he mumbled. "Better than love."

Chrysalis balked and scowled at the drone. "It's not THAT delicious," she growled, failing to hold true to her claim as she chomped down another few bites of her slice. "I'd rather much taste real love more than anything again."

Emerald paused as she was about to take another bite, looking at her grandma curiously at the odd statement she made. Some of her lunches her parents made had a sprinkle of love essence to add some more flavor, but as tasty as it was, the love she gets from her daddy couldn't compare. During Hearth's Warming a few months ago, when all of her family was there, she noticed her grandma sometimes glancing over at Shining Armor or hesitating to respond to him when the adults talked about things she didn't understand quite yet. What was odd to her was that, whenever her uncle and grandma interacted with each other very briefly, she felt a very tiny hint of love come from the changeling queen, but it just as quickly disappeared. She ignored it, but she wondered why Chrysalis liked Shining Armor even though he was married to her Aunt Cadence.

The rest of their dessert was filled with silence aside from their clinking cutlery and the conversations of other patrons around them. Not a crumb was spared from the three of them, each plate licked clean of any chocolate fudge that spilled from their cake. Éclair came back to take their plates, reminded by her employer bought the princess's meal and their dessert, and would probably be taken to the back to bake another couple batches of her triple chocolate pound cake thanks to the positive results from the royal changeling and loyal follower expressing their enjoyment. Emerald thanked the waitress as the trio began to take their leave back to the hive.

With a full belly and feeling drowsy from the filling meal, it was close to her bedtime when they entered the castle. Thorax annoyed Chrysalis with the schedule for Emerald's weekend with getting her bathed and ready to go to bed. Leading her to the royal bathhouse in the castle, Emerald commented on how similar it looked to her family's bathroom, but the changeling queen statue spewing hot spring water out of its mouth was a little odd. Chrysalis was glad she didn't have to bathe her when Emerald said she could get herself cleaned by herself. Once she was squeaky clean and teeth brushed, Emerald was all ready for bed.

Settled under the covers with Teddy cuddled in her hooves, she began to drift off to sleep. Chrysalis exited the room after the filly said "goodnight" to her, not responding back until she was fast asleep. When she arrived in her own chambers, the queen let out a loud sigh in frustration, having to deal with her grandfilly for a couple days before her daughter and son-in-law came back to pick her up.

"It's not enough for them that I show up for her birthdays or some pony holiday involving fun family activities," Chrysalis grumbled to herself. "I even appeared for Hearth's Warming! I nearly froze to death through the stupid snow, and whether I chose to or not, Discord would have forced me to take part anyway!" Pausing, she looked around her room, sneering cautiously. "...Assuming he isn't listening in on me. Or is hiding somewhere within my CHAMBERS!"

Using her magic, she lifted her bed, her eyes darting around for any sign of the mismatched creature of chaos. She did the same for the rest of her small bits of furniture, but to her relief, there was nothing strange or out of place. Getting too paranoid, Chrysalis sighed, needing enough rest to deal with Emerald and whatever childish antics she'll have that'll drive her more crazy than Trill's in her youth. She climbed into bed, staring at the ceiling for a moment before she rolled on her side and forced her eyes closed to try to sleep.

Completely restless, Chrysalis grumbled as she tiredly sat up, her mane a ruffled mess and covered her face. "Great. I'm gonna have a miserable day today," she groaned, rubbing her eyes before pulling her bedhead out of her face. When she squinted her eyes, they immediately widened. Instead of her dull and dark bedroom, she found herself in a much more lavish, brighter colored royal bedchamber; a familiar chamber that used to belong to a certain alicorn princess she impersonated many years ago. Confused, she glanced at the dressers, the lush carpeted floor, soft linens and a more comfortable bed than her own, and the balcony overlooking the city of Canterlot with the morning sun shining through the glass door. "...What is going on?...Am I dreaming?"

Getting up from the bed, ignoring everything else in the room, she approached the balcony, opening up the double doors to hear the sounds of the morning greet her. She could feel the warmth of the sun hit her, hear the sounds of the city from her perch, and some of the animals in Celestia's royal garden down below. Chrysalis knew she was in some kind of dream, but she didn't know why she was dreaming about being in Canterlot again.

"Honey? Are you awake?" Nearly jumping out of her skin, Chrysalis glanced back at the bedroom door, hearing Shining Armor's voice from the other side, though much more younger than he currently sounded today. Panicking, she quickly transformed into Cadence, unsure if she was living a past memory or not, but her heart was beginning to race at the thought of bumping into the stallion again. The door opened as she put on a forced grin, finding the stallion just as young as he was when she first met him a month before the royal wedding. Shining Armor stepped in, his grin faltering slightly when he looked at her, his light rose aura carrying a tray with some breakfast made for her, or rather, Cadence. "...What are you doing?"

"Uhh...I was just...enjoying the view outside," Chrysalis said nervously, hoping her disguise wasn't immediately blown. As she turned to look outside, she swished her tail and glanced back at the stallion with a coy grin, her eyes fluttering as she hoped alluring him with his wife's curvaceous rump will distract him from her visible nerves. "Care to enjoy it with me?"

Despite putting on her best charm as an expert impersonator, Shining Armor didn't seem to be swayed by her rear or bedroom eyes. Setting the tray down on top of a dresser, he approached the "alicorn", standing beside her.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"Doing what, Shiney?" Chrysalis asked, playing innocent while casually bumping her flank against his.

Getting no reaction from the unicorn, Chrysalis' act was starting to crumble. "Chrysie, stop pretending," he said, shocking the changeling queen.

Shifting her gaze in his direction, the playful teasing ended as she giggled nervously. "W-What? Who's this 'Chrysie'? It's me, darling. Your princess, Cadence."

"Come on, Chrysie, no need to be somepony else." Shining flicked her horn with his hoof, making the queen yelp as her disguise faltered and reverted her back to normal, startling and angering her. Even though she was supposed to be taller than him, her transformation made her feel just a bit smaller than him now. "There we go. Perfect as you are."

Hissing, Chrysalis tackled Shining onto the bed, pinning him down and baring her fangs. "How'd you figure out my identity!? When!? And don't you dare call me that! It's Queen Chrysalis! QUEEN Chrysalis!"

Shining chuckled, baffling Chrysalis as he seemed to brush off her attack as playful and not the flirting while pretending to be his true love. "I've known you long enough to know when you're worried about how I think of your appearance," he said. "As fun as it is pretending to be another mare, or even another creature, I still prefer being with the changeling princess I fell in love with."

"P-Princess!? I'm a queen, you stupid-!" Realizing what she was doing, Chrysalis grunted, letting out a disgruntled huff as she crawled off the stallion and sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm arguing with a dream. This is all just some random scenario of being with the stallion I fooled into giving his love to 'Mi Amore Cadenza' to gain enough power to take over the kingdom. But he's in love with the REAL me..." Glaring forward angrily, she sneered in disdain. "If there was any way Luna's spirit might possibly wander into others' dreams, and this is some kind of ploy to get under my skin, she'd better pray for a miracle when I don't find it and tear her soul apart so she can stay dead with her sister and Twilight Sparkle in the afterlife."

The bed shifted behind her, the dream stallion seating himself beside her with concern on his face. "Chrysie, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm ignoring you. I'm just waiting to wake up from this weird dream." Chrysalis flinched when she felt Shining's leg wrap around her shoulders. "Stop it. Whatever it is you're doing, I'm not letting you-"

As she turned her head to scowl at him, she gasped when she felt his lips press against hers. Caught off guard by the kiss, she pulled her head back, wanting to slap him or throw him across the room, but she couldn't. No matter what she wanted to do, her body refused to obey. She now noticed just how big and muscular he was, startling her as her cheeks burned brightly with a heavy blush. Why was she feeling this nervous? She's been held in his embrace in her disguise several times before, but why was her heart beating this hard?

"Are you nervous about the wedding? How you think everyone will look at you on the alter? Is that why you're so antsy?" he asked.

"...W-Wedding? But...you're married to-" Chrysalis's complaints were silenced by a gentle hoof pressed to her lips.

Giving the changeling a reassuring smile, he brought his muzzle closer to hers, their noses gently touching. "It's ok. Whatever you look like in your dress, you'll always be beautiful to me." Her breath hitched in her throat, confused by the odd reaction she gave from such a compliment. She knew it wasn't true, but why did it affect her so? "Besides, isn't this going to help tie both our kingdoms together? You and the other changelings no longer have to hide in fear and survive by stealing love anymore. And I'll give you all the love you need."

Chrysalis panicked. This felt like something similar to Solaris and Trill's blossoming romance and their union uniting their kingdoms. But it was far too different, even in a dream: Shining Armor "loved" her, his deep voice and honeyed words making her skin tremble, his cerulean eyes staring into hers, his strong but gentle touch. She tried to shake her head, focus back on the fact that she was dreaming and needed to wake up, but her thoughts drifted when he removed his hoof from her lips, then kissed her again, much more deeply. Chrysalis whimpered, chastising herself for sounding so weak, but her own thoughtful berating was immediately silenced when she felt, or what she believed she felt, was pure, unconditional love being fed to her. She was paralyzed in shock, her forelegs slowly rising to try to push the stallion off of her, but they rested lazily against his chest, her mind clearly remembering just how thick and muscular his body was from all his training in the royal guard. Her eyes began to drift closed, her lips awkwardly fumbling to try to kiss back, overpowered by his own as his hooves embraced her by her waist.

The passion she felt with Shining Armor before while impersonating his real bride-to-be was incredible and enough of several good lays, but this felt...more right. Far more passionate than she envisioned she would ever feel. Before she knew it, she was lowered down on her back, her stallion laying over her while their lips were still deeply locked together. Her hooves soon moved up to cup Shining's cheeks, her tongue poking out to graze at his lips, begging for entry and more of his love, which he gladly accepted and parted his lips. Their tongues swirled and meshed in each other's mouths, making the changeling moan as her belly was not only getting filled, but was fueled with a burning desire. She wanted him; she NEEDED him.

As their lips parted, her mind was left in a haze, but part of it that was clear told her that this wasn't right. Panting for breath, she watched him move lower, peppering her neck with kisses, never going past her collarbone. Her hooves quivered as she tilted her head back with a groan, begging for more as her hooves grabbed the top of his head, weakly mussing up his shaggy, two-tone blue mane. Her body wanted more, but her mind was telling her to snap out of it.

"S-Shiney," she whimpered, closing her eyes as his amorous assault moved up her neck, trailed along her cheek, and up to her ear. "D-Don't...P-Please, s-st-ah..."

A soft kiss grazed her ear, making her body stiffen in pleasure, along with a certain part of the stallion she was once familiar with rubbing against her belly. She shivered as his breath blew against her sensitive appendage, her limbs embracing him for the passionate lovemaking her body desperately craved. And without any disguise as he wanted Chrysalis for her, not a mare she was pretending to be.

"I love you, Chrysie..."

Chrysalis woke with a startled gasp, panting heavily with flushed cheeks. Sweat dripped down her body as she came to her senses, staring at the wall of her bedchambers within her hive. Her hooves were holding one of her pillows over her head and upper chest, smushed against her face where her dream stallion was tormenting her with "kisses". The fulfillment she thought she was experienced was replaced by the envious emptiness in her gut. Her face slowly turned into a frown, her brow furrowed in anger as the condescending, know-it-all tone of her daughter's voice about how great Solaris's love was made her bitter. Growling, she threw the pillow she was hugging off of her, turning over with a grunt as she kicked off her sheets.

Unable to get back to sleep, she decided to just sit up, ignoring the disheveled mess of her hair. Looking at her clock, it was only seven in the morning. As much as she wanted to just stay in bed and mope while the dream was still fresh in her mind, her lazy day was ruined by her chamber door opening slightly, Thorax's head poking in with a chipper grin on his muzzle.

"Good morning, Your Highness," he greeted. His grin faltered when he saw the state of her bed, the thrown pillow, and the angry, tired leer on his matriarch's face. "...Uhh...Rough night?"

"Shut it, Thorax," she grumbled. "What do you want?"

"Er...W-Well, it's a little past seven," he reminded the queen. "Princess Emerald should be up and motivated, then be served breakfast."

Being reminded of her grandfoal she was forced to watch over, Chrysalis sighed, forcing herself out of bed and stomped over to the changeling drone. "I need a bath," she stated. "You wake her and get her fed."

He walked past Thorax, worrying the changeling as Prince Solaris would think his queen was shirking on taking care of his daughter. "B-But Your Highness, y-you should really be-" Chrysalis quickly faced Thorax and hissed aggressively. He balked and took several steps back, leaving the queen be as she stormed off to the bathhouse to get herself freshened up for the day. He flinched when she slammed the doors to the royal baths, fidgeting slightly. "...Uhh...Maybe I should...get the princess after all."

Passing the bathroom, Thorax quickly trotted toward Emerald's room. Quietly opening the door, he looked inside to see the filly still asleep. He stepped inside and quietly approached the bed, her stuffed bear still held in her hooves while she seemed to be sleeping more peacefully than his queen had. He gently rubbed Emerald's side, stirring her awake as she squinted her eyes open. Yawning, she sat up and rubbed her eyes, leaving her bear laying on its side.

"Morning, Mr. Thorax," Emerald mumbled. Once she had woken up enough, she looked around the changeling drone. "Where's grandma?"

Thorax grimaced as he stumbled on his words. "Uhh...She's...taking a bath," he said. "She might be in there for...a while. Kinda woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Oh. Grandma's cranky," Emerald said. "She always looks cranky."

Thorax tried to think of something positive about his queen to the princess, but he sighed and hung his head. "Y-Yeah...Even more so after the royal wedding...and Lucifer..." Emerald tilted her head, wondering what royal wedding Thorax was talking about. Snapping out of his thoughts, he noticed the curious look on the princess's face. "Uhh...Heh heh, i-ignore that. You're a bit too young to...understand that. H-How about we see if we can find you some breakfast and start the day?"

"Ok." Thorax breathed a sigh of relief and began to leave the room, though Emerald was still quite curious as to what he meant. She looked to her guardian angel, who was just as curious, though it was more toward Chrysalis and whatever angry mood she was in today. "Twilight, what did Mr. Thorax mean? Was he talking about mommy and daddy?"

Twilight flinched as she glanced down at the filly. "Ummmm...I'm not sure!" she said, giggling sheepishly as she lied to her. "Your grandmare's probably not much of a morning pony like you or your father. She'll be back to her normal, moody self in a while." Thankfully, Emerald believed her, fluttering down from the bed and hurried after Thorax. Twilight let out a heavy sigh as she followed along, partially relieved and hoping her grandfoal didn't learn about what her living grandmother did more than two decades ago. "I guess part of her still holds a grudge with us for her invasion failing thanks to me and being defeated by the power of true love."

Chrysalis trudged through the halls of her castle after her bath. She didn't feel any better, nor did it clear her head from the vivid dream she had, but she tried to shrug it off so she can continue watching her grandfoal. Without any clue where Thorax took Emerald, she figured he must have taken her outside the castle grounds to the town outside the mountain. Disgruntled, she made her way out to the town to find them. Thankfully she didn't have to search too far when she found the two heading back her way, the filly happily munching on a granola bar as she walked beside Thorax.

"Morning, grandma!" Emerald greeted. Chrysalis gave her a small grunt in response, clearly still moody. "Grandma's still cranky."

Thorax giggled nervously, changing the topic before the queen decided to blast him in the chest. "So, anything planned to show the princess around?"

"No. I was...distracted while I was bathing," Chrysalis grumbled.

"Huh? Distracted? But...isn't the only thing in your private bath the statue of your mother?" Thorax asked.

"That statue was grandma's mommy?" Emerald asked.

"...I'm going back to bed." Chrysalis huffed and turned away, trudging back inside her hive.

Thorax buzzed his wings and rushed in front of her path. "W-Wait! Maybe there's something you can show her in the castle that she might like!"

"Like what?" Chrysalis questioned.

"Uhh...W-Well..." Thorax's eyes shifted nervously before he finally came up with an idea. "What about...the incubation chamber?"

The queen gave the drone a questionable leer, but it managed to pique the filly's curiosity. "What's an 'in-cue-bation' chamber?"

"It's a special room within the castle where mommy and daddy changelings keep their eggs in a big room where they'll be safe and secure until they hatch," Thorax explained.

"...You really think a five-year-old is going to be interested in where the eggs are kept?" Chrysalis asked, though she was struck with disbelief when Emerald suddenly bounced up and down in front of her excitedly.

"Can I see the baby changelings!?" she asked. "Can I!? Can I!? Please, grandma!?"

Dumbfounded, Chrysalis glared at Thorax, who giggled nervously as he was surprised that his suggestion worked. Sighing heavily, she grumbled in agreement, making Emerald cheer as she fluttered her wings and hopped around the two changelings while they led her toward the incubation chamber. Twilight laughed in amusement, also growing curious to see how changeling hatchlings looked like if they were lucky enough to see a clutch be born. Within the castle, they arrived at the sealed door where the many families of changelings' eggs lied. Opening the door, Emerald gasped in awe at all the hundreds of piles of eggs all throughout the wide, very spacious room. The walls were smoothed out to avoid having any newborn changelings hurt themselves if a changeling was not around to supervise them. All the eggs were white with black speckles, each one as big as the changeling's queen's hoof.

"Sweet Celestia," Twilight uttered, astonished by the number of eggs that would outnumber an average ant colony's. "She really could have ruled the entire world if these eggs were all bred to be soldiers..."

Emerald was curious to see them up close, carefully approaching a clutch of ten to twelve eggs nearby. "Wow," the filly uttered. "They have spots."

"More like speckles, but, I guess so," Thorax said.

"Hello, little babies," Emerald greeted the eggs, gently touching one of them. The moment her hoof touched the egg, it suddenly shifted and a little cracking sound rang out. Startled, Emerald fluttered away, fearing she accidentally cracked it open, but the other eggs within the clutch were wriggling with more cracking sounds. "Uh oh. Did I do something wrong?"

"We have a clutch that's hatching!" Thorax gleefully cheered. "What perfect timing!"

Even though Chrysalis remained silent, the changeling queen had a small grin as she eyed the new hatchlings that would soon serve her. Emerald stared at the wriggling eggs, watching some of the cracks grow on a few of the eggs until one of them kicked one of their tiny legs through. The hatchling that learned to break free first broke out of their shell more, stumbling out once they managed to make a big enough opening. Their other siblings soon followed suit, either breaking out with their hooves or their little crooked horns, each of them stumbling slightly as they got adjusted to their limbs.

"Awww, they're cute!" Emerald squealed.

"Huh. I...expected them to break out of their shells and look more like larvae," Twilight uttered to herself. She suddenly winced as a sudden voice only she was able to hear rang in her ear, sighing slightly in annoyance before shaking her head. "Ok, Pinkie. Like I'll believe that the reason why is because of our world being some alternate universe of whatever is considered our 'real' dimension, and how a prequel of this 'universe' was made before the actual showing of the changeling's larval stages in the 'real' dimension...Wait, how was she able to-?" Twilight shook her head, ignoring how it was possible she was able to communicate with one of her dear friends while she was busy looking over her grandfoal as her guardian angel. "Not gonna question it. Pinkie being Pinkie, even while in Paradise..."

The changeling hatchlings began to look around their environment, at each of their siblings, but then they all stared at Emerald. "Hello, little babies," the filly greeted.

Confused, the infants looked at each other, then back to the white-furred changeling eyeing them with excitement. One of them grew curious and approached Emerald, stumbling forward until it bumped against her. Emerald held out her hoof and pat the infant, being gentle while it wondered what she was doing. The others followed their sibling and shakily approached her, surrounding the hybrid princess with intrigue.

"I think they like her," Thorax said. "I think I heard Prince Solaris had run into some newly hatched eggs years ago and wound up getting swarmed by them."

Chrysalis's grin drooped, ignoring Thorax as she eyed her newly hatched subjects. She expected the changeling infants to start hissing or try to wrestle each other to show dominance toward their siblings like the little warriors they would turn into. They had swarmed and attacked Solaris a couple decades ago as their practice dummy, but they did nothing to Emerald. Whether they were confused and saw her as a changeling or if they were a bit overwhelmed by the amount of love that was around the filly but couldn't take it, she had no clue. Emerald giggled and gathered a few of them in a group hug, making some of them squeak and squirm slightly before they began to take a liking to the warm gesture. They soon began to crawl all over her, some wanting to feel what their "caught" siblings were having, which made the filly giggle more.

"Hey, that tickles!" she said, being super careful not to accidentally hit or squish any of them as she tried to move away. They clung onto her and crawled all over her, barely biting or hissing at her. "Help! Grandma! Mr. Thorax! I got swarmed!"

Thorax laughed and went over to rescue the princess. Chrysalis slumped over, disgruntled. Even though the world was at peace, she disliked how the hatchlings nowadays were no longer learning how to be aggressive to grow stronger and serve their worth in her hive. She still has her army of loyal soldiers, but now they were used for dull and repetitive guard duty within her hive or elsewhere in Equestria doing menial guard work for museums, banks, etc. Despite it also being a method to improve Equestria's treaty with the changeling kingdom, Chrysalis despised how all her greatest warriors' talents are no longer useful in this more peaceful time. And seeing more of her newly born subjects being far more docile in the last few years has irked her to no end.

Thorax got all the hatchlings latching onto him now, all the babies content to hang onto the drone and enjoy the ride. "Let's see if we can find your brood parents, little ones," Thorax said to the infants.

He trotted his way out of the massive room to find the changeling hatchlings' parents. Emerald followed him out with Chrysalis trudging along behind them, grumbling in irritation. Noticing the sour mood on her grandmother's face, she lagged behind to trot alongside her.

"Do you not like the babies, grandma?" Emerald asked.

"I used to," Chrysalis mumbled.

"Was I born in an egg?" Emerald asked curiously.

Twilight giggled at the innocent question, though Chrysalis froze with a disturbed grimace. "...No. And I would be much happier if you didn't remind me of your...birth..."

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Trill heaved as her contractions continued wracking her for the last few hours, trying to control her breathing and push Emerald out of her. Chrysalis, while dressed in the surgical gown and mask she was forced to wear, just watched her daughter writhing in agony on the bed, hind legs splayed out to watch the foal come out. It was far worse than she imagined live births would appear, and far messier that would have made her vomit if she had eaten any love before Trill's water broke. The nurses and Dr. Joy worked like a well-oiled machine, the doctor encouraging the expecting mother to push with each timing of her contractions while the rest of the staff checked on Trill's vitals and prepared to clean and bundle the baby to keep her warm. "I-It's...I can't...take this..."

"You're doing great, Trill. Just keep breathing," Joy said. One of the nurses dabbed some sweat from Trill's head, the labor taking its toll on her as she felt like her insides were getting torn apart. Turning her head, Joy looked at Chrysalis, who was dumbstruck and sickened, her eyes glued to the mess while she stood on at the other end of the room, staying out of the way. "Are you alright, Your Highness? You look pale."

"...I-I..." Chrysalis wanted to complain from the assumption, but she was speechless. Trill let out a loud grunt as another contraction hit her, grasping the hoof of the nurse who was wiping the sweat from her brow tightly. The momentary distraction made Chrysalis glance at Trill, seeing the pained, sweaty, and teary-eyed state she was in. When she looked back down, much to her shocked brain's poor choice, her eyes widened when she saw a tiny white horn and a bit of forehead beginning to appear between the changeling princess's legs. "Oh Faust above, what is that!?"

Joy quickly turned back to Trill and noticed the filly's forehead. "I see the head, Trill! You're almost there. One more hard push on the next wave." Slightly relieved, though while still in incredible pain, Trill nodded, took deep breaths, and waited anxiously for her hopefully last contraction. "Ok. One. Two. Three. Push!"

Timing the next contraction perfectly with the doctor's countdown, Trill took in a deep breath and exerted as much pressure as she could through her lower abdomen. She was determined to get her daughter out of her to finally end the madness. Chrysalis was unable to look away and watched as more of Emerald could be seen. Joy brought her hooves out, gently grasping the filly's head and helped Trill pull the baby out. Taking her first breath, Emerald began crying, the doctor carefully removing the rest of the squirming hybrid infant from her mother. Trill fell back, collapsing onto the medical bed, breathing heavily and going limp, completely exhausted. While the bedside nurse made sure nothing was seriously wrong with her, Joy and the other nurses helped clean the newborn up.

Chrysalis tuned out the excitement of the announcement of the baby as a girl, finishing cleaning Emerald and what they could of the birth fluids around Trill's hindquarters and the sheets, put a diaper on the baby, then wrapped her up in a bright pink blanket to keep her warm. Even though she was tired, Trill was shedding tears of joy as she heard her babies cries. Staying conscious, the nurse gently gave the new mother her foal, Trill gently cradling Emerald and holding her to her chest. While Dr. Joy carefully examined Trill's body to make sure no complications during the birth would cause internal damage to the changeling, Chrysalis was never going to let the disgusting image leave her mind for the rest of her life.

She subconsciously began to walk out after making sure it was safe to move Trill into the maternity ward. Trill had finally passed out when the nurses helped put her into a new gown, Emerald falling asleep after being close to her mother as Joy and the nurses took the baby to the nursery to be sure she was perfectly healthy, along with marking the unique features of a half pony, half changeling foal. Chrysalis slipped off the mask and surgical gown, leaving them in a heap on the floor in the hall, which one of the nurses took care of to be properly washed, wandering down the halls until she walked out into the waiting room, Dr. Joy following behind her after knowing Emerald was well taken care of by her staff.

Her gaze met Solaris's, the alicorn prince in a worried state as he had nearly made a groove in the floor from his pacing, his relatives all passed out in the chairs with Discord still awake to keep him company. "...You...are not...having anymore children," she said before she finally succumbed to the startling show she was given, passing out and falling to the floor.

Chrysalis stared distantly down the hall as she recalled the traumatizing memory. Her body shivered as her stomach churned, but she held her breakfast, despite not gulping any love essence at all today. She looked down at her grandfoal, who had a curious gaze as she wondered why she stopped.

"...It wasn't a pretty sight. Let's just leave it at that," Chrysalis said.

"Oh. Ok," Emerald mumbled. Twilight resisted the urge to grumble at the awful response, shaking her head at the queen. Chrysalis lost track of Thorax while having her flashback, but she no longer cared about him or the new hatchlings. "Hey, grandma?"

"What?" Chrysalis mumbled.

"...Do you like Unca Shiney?" Emerald's question came out of nowhere, startling Chrysalis.

"...What?" she asked again.

"Do you like Unca Shiney?" Emerald repeated. "Like...how Auntie Cadence likes Unca Shiney?"

Chrysalis blinked, blankly staring at the filly before she chuckled, patting her on the head. "Very funny," she said. "Pony foals always ask the silliest of questions. Me? 'Liking' Shining Armor? Ha ha, you must have gotten that from your mother, to my annoyance.

The queen began to walk on ahead, though Emerald seemed a bit confused while Twilight pondered why the filly asked such an odd question. Even though Chrysalis was somewhat on good terms with her brother and sister-in-law, the idea of the changeling queen being in love with any creature, let alone her older brother, was absurd.

"But on Hearth's Warming, when you talked to Unca Shiney, you had a small bit of love around you like mommy whenever she's around daddy." Chrysalis nearly stumbled over her hooves. Twisting her head around while standing in place, she looked at Emerald in both shock and disbelief. Even though Twilight should be disturbed by the near one hundred eighty degree neck turn, she was just as astonished as Chrysalis, her jaw hanging open from Emerald's statement. "Daddy gives lots of love to me and mommy, but mommy does share some love with him, but not like how ponies do...You didn't give as much, but I could feel enough to know you really, really like Unca Shiney."

Stunned, Chrysalis's eyes shifted anxiously. She scrunched her muzzle, turning herself around while still looking at her grandfoal.

"Changelings don't GIVE love," Chrysalis said, reigning back her aggression to avoid upsetting Emerald and getting in serious trouble with Solaris and Trill. "We eat it. Unlike other creatures, we don't radiate love of any kind. Besides, who even said I so much as liked that dimwitted stallion? Just because we're in-laws doesn't mean I have to like him in any way, much less tolerate his existence whenever we're around."

"But you really do like him," Emerald said. "Are you scared to tell him?"

Chrysalis balked, insulted at the notion. "Scared!? To tell him what!? I'm Queen Chrysalis! I fear nothing! Not even admitting to that unicorn that I've had a deep-seeded crush on him after several years not seeing him, only to meet him again when he looked like he was on the verge of death and he's been plaguing my mind ever since that day!"

After breathing heavily in her ire, Chrysalis's face drooped, startled by what she had practically admitted to Emerald. Emerald was a little taken aback by her grandmother's rebuttal, but she grinned as her hunch was right. Twilight, however, was mortified. The evil bug queen who tried to invade Equestria and steal her brother away for food had actually grown some sort of romantic interest in him, even though Shining is happily married with Cadence, they have a filly of their own, and it has only been close to ten years since peace was established between ponies and changelings. The alicorn angel still couldn't believe what she just heard, even though she had put her trust in Chrysalis to give Solaris his last trial in order to save the world.

"...Soooo...you do like Unca Shiney!" Emerald cheered, her wings fluttering excitedly.

Grimacing, Chrysalis turned away with a huff and stormed down the hall. "Thorax, where did you disappear to!?" she called out as she fled from Emerald, who caught up with her as she flew after her.

"Grandma loves Unca Shiney~!" she sang with a happy giggle.

Though the filly wasn't making fun of her for it, Chrysalis was getting annoyed and wanted to steer far away from the subject of love, especially around her infatuation with the stallion she once used for food. "Quiet! You heard nothing!" she chided her granddaughter.

"I can tell Unca Shiney for you!" Emerald offered, making Chrysalis zoom off with a frustrated growl.

"I said forget what you heard, you insatiable foal!" Chrysalis exclaimed. "THORAX!!!!!!"

As Twilight subconsciously followed Emerald's path, she was still stunned in disbelief. "...Chrysalis...in love with Shining? There's...There's no way...But, how did Emerald even know? And...she can sense love from changelings? Maybe because she's half pony and half changeling, there's much more potential she has involving her uniquely mixed magic?" Despite her curiosity with Emerald's innate abilities that would come to light as she gets older, it was all pushed aside at the thought of Chrysalis and Shining Armor being romantically involved. "Ugh...I'm so glad I don't have to worry about sustenance. I'd be throwing up my lunch right here and now..."