Flurry woke from a peaceful sleep feeling well rested, like nothing in the world could bring her down. She noticed something odd as she looked around her bedroom, her wife was still in the bed beside her in a deep sleep instead of out and about tending the hive. Although Flurry knew her's and Chrysalis' drones excelled their jobs and were busy doing them, her parents' routine of training her how to be a leader when she was younger still showed itself.

"She must have had a bad night...but why..." Flurry decided to let her wife sleep and climb out of bed, taking the morning shift. Seeing as how Flurry normally tended to the afternoon, she was surprised to see that the drones still bowed and respected her as if she was Chrysalis, then again she was also the Queen.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise," One drone, Dive Shot, said with a bow. "it is unusual to see you tend to the morning shift Queen Heart, is everything alright?"

Flurry nodded. "Yes Dive Shot, since my wife had a rough night and is still asleep, we are gonna switch shifts today. I am glad that everything is going as it should.

"Of course my queen," Dive said in a low tone, Flurry caught it and recognized it as sadness. Even with her having a very small hivemind connection thanks to Chrysalis, it was limited to only communicating with her drones and feeding on love. Over the months, she had trained herself to detect others to a small degree, and she knew that the drone was hiding something.

"What is wrong Dive? You seem unusually melancholic today." Flurry asked, concern in her voice.

"Well, you see-" Dive nearly blew the plan open but Chrysalis trotted up, making him bow. "Good morning my queen."

"Hello Dive," Chrysalis said with a small smile. "have you ran that errand I asked you to do?"

He froze, a look of absolute terror appeared on his face. There were not many ways for a drone to get on a Queen's bad side, but not doing an order was high on the short list. The punishment was often quick and brutal or face exile, neither option ending well. "N-not yet my queen...I will do it now."

Before Chrysalis could say anything else, Dive Shot teleported away. The errand was simple, tell Twilight and Shining to meet her and Flurry during their noon walk through their territory. He silently hoped Chrysalis would not ask, because he had gotten love drunk and forgot his queen had asked him to go. He quickly teleported to Twilight's throne room and bowed, accidentally dipping his horn in the cheese dip canister on the floor due to the play day the Mane 6 were having. His horn, still hot from the teleport spell, caused the dip to heat and bubble turning it into fondu.

"Err...sorry about that Princess Twilight." Dive was embarrassed, and with all the rumors he had heard about Twilight's temper, he was preparing to say his last words and be squished for ruining it. To his shock, and surprise, Twilight trotted over and looked at the bubbling broth of cheddar flavored lactate with curiosity and awe. She proceeded to dip a chip into the mix and brung it to her muzzle. Everypony had to cover their ears to protect them from the high pitched squeal that burst forth at Canterlot Voice levels, and shattered one window.

"Sorry? What's there to be sorry about!?!?" Twi was panting as if she had trotted in on Celestia taking a shower, hungrily eating what was in the canister. "This is absolutely brilliant! Sometimes the greatest of discoveries happen by the stroke of luck and this is one of those cases. Thank you so much for this gift!" It took several minutes for her to calm down, and when she did she looked embarrassed. "Sorry about that, so what brings you here?"

While Dive Shot was being the messenger ling, back at the hive Chrysalis and Flurry were eating breakfast. Chrysalis would never openly admit being nervous, but she couldn't deny the odd feeling. Flurry Heart's firm concern about her wellbeing threw her off center, and many times now she'd nearly spoiled the surprise rendezvous with Twilight and Shining. She didn't know how much longer she could hold out.

"Are you absolutely sure you are ok? I don't need you to be coming down with something like the chloroflu, I would be upset if you didn't seek a medical opinion if that is the case...or if you did and hid it from me. I am sorry if I am being overbearing, but I am just concerned since you are my wife."

Chrysalis sighed, but an idea came to her to get Flurry prepared without knowing it. "Dear please, I am in perfect health, if I was sick we wouldn't be eating together now would we? For my own and our drones' sake, take a deep breath and relax the Flurry of my heart."

Flurry froze when what Chrysalis had called her sunk in. It had nearly been a year since she had left the Empire and that was the last time she had been called that by her father. Considering her deeply rooted personal vendetta against her mother, she had not even bothered to write back home. She wondered how her dad was doing, as well as Sunburst, and she actually felt ashamed she hadn't made contact with them. As bad as her shame was, she still had swore never set a wing or hoof back in the Empire as long as her mother was in charge. She didn't want her mom dead, but she just did not want her corrupting anymore pony's minds.

"Been seeing my father to call me that?" Flurry asked in a level, emotionless tone that made Chrysalis softly gulp.

"No Flurry I have not," What Chrysalis said was technically not a lie, even with her using drones to communicate, she herself had not visited Shining Armor. "it is just that is the way I feel about you. You are the reason I am reformed, and I love you dearly, and I see why he called you that."

"Oh.." Flurry said while blinking, the statement her wife said satisfying her question.

"Yeah," Chrysalis said with a smile, which covered up the fact that Dive Shot had peeked his head in the door before nodding and leaving. "it has been 10 months since that fateful day, do you miss anything about the Empire?"

Flurry, to Chrysalis' surprise, nodded. "Somethings I do, others I don't, but I do need to start writing my father more to check up on him and how the Empire is faring."

"Not good I'm afraid..." Chrysalis' conscience got the better of her, she decided to come clean, but in a way that still kept it covert. "I have had more than one drone tell me there is no love flowing in the Crystal Empire, the heart shattered."

Time seemed to stand still for Flurry, the weight of the world suddenly pressing down on her withers. "Th-the heart shattered?!?!? How? When!"

"The how part I do not know," That was a lie, but one she felt was best saved for Shining to explain. "but what I do know is that it had to happen shortly after we left."

"If no love is flowing..t-that means..." Flurry fought hard not to have a heart attack. A deep bubbling tar pit of guilt sparked in her, and as the seconds ticked by it grew stronger and stronger.

"Yes Flurry, it means that your mom is dying..." Chrysalis hated to say those words, already feeling the pain her dear wife was now experiencing. "Please let your vendetta go like I have asked you so many times to do...I don't want you to turn out like how I used to be Flurry."

"Huh? What do you mean Chryssy..."

Chrysalis shivered as a feeling came over her. "If you keep going down the path you are, I see you becoming an evil tyrant..." She was speaking without thinking, the words just flowing out of her. It had been a VERY long time since she had felt what she was feeling in this moment, but last time she did her words had rang true, so she silently prayed to the First Mother that Flurry heeded her words.

"Worse than I ever was Flurry...even worse than Sombra, meaner than Discord at his peak, more cutthroat than Tirek himself. You will become what you hate to be, a loveless pit of nothing but anger and swearing vengeance on everything good because you felt wronged. I am speaking from experience dear because that is what happened to me. Before my villainous days, I was like I am now, a kind and sweet mare. Me and my mother were close, you never saw one without the other and she always set time apart from her busy day to spend with me. I loved her deeply, and she loved me back..."

Flurry was shocked, she never knew this part of Chrysalis' past, but she could tell by how Chryssy was getting more and more hesitant that something bad happened. "What happened that made you turn evil?"

Chrysalis sighed. "She came down with a severe case of the chloroflu. When I took her to Canterlot Hospital we were turned around at the door because of the fact that we "weren't subjects of the Princesses". Mom died later that night and I swore vengeance, over time it evolved and I let my negative emotions guide my thoughts and became the monster of legends. Cadenza loves you Flurry, do you really wish to suffer knowing that she died without you forgiving her?"

"N-no..." Flurry's muscles locked up as the mental dam started crumbling and the pain of her feelings started to swell. Her horn started sparking, her body shaking as wave after wave of pent up emotion started to course through her entire being. Chrysalis' jaw dropped when the magic coming from Flurry's horn started having specks of green in it.

"I must be seeing things...there is no way-" Chrysalis' train of thought detailed and its engine flew into the next county as, with a scream, Flurry's whole body started to glow. Her muscles rippled and grew stronger as she gained about 6 inches in height, her coat remaining but thinned slightly. Through true pain a single thought fought its way to the forfront of her brain, she had to be with her family.

"C-Chryssy...get me to Twilight..." Flurry panted the words as the pain and glow diminished. Chrysalis nodded and teleported them to the Castle of Friendship, which started everypony when they arrived, especially Shining.

"Flurry? Is that really you?" Shining asked in shock as he slowly trotted over to the being next to Chrysalis. It looked like his daughter, but at the same time it had very noticible traits of a changeling queen.

"Y-yes daddy..." Flurry once again seized up as a pain ripple returned, this one focused on her head. Before everypony's very eyes, Flurry's horn grew more curved, her muzzle shortened a little, and a pair of top and bottom fangs emerged. The whole event lasted a mere 15 seconds, but to the Alicorn it felt like hours. "I-I can tell you are weak...I can see it in your eyes."

Shining buried his horror at what he just saw as he paternal instincts took over, hugging Flurry as tight as he could. "Yes daughter I am, as your mother grows weaker so do I, and the Empire with it. I have to ask, why are you turning into a changeling queen?"

"I don't know, been feeling ill since breakfast and next thing I know this started happening."

Twilight, who had been trying to figure out an explanation, came up with one that made her gulp but made the most sense. "Changelings feed on love...Cadance is the Princess of Love...Since the Heart is no longer producing love and Flurry is Cadance's daughter, she must be pouring out the last of her will."

As soon as Twilight explained Flurry teleported away, unaware of the flash on her flanks.

Author's Note

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