A Princess in name, a Queen in heart

The Crystal Empire was normally a quiet and calm place, ponies here simply enjoyed living. Right now however the entirety of the Empire was anything but calm and quiet. Guards and citizens alike ran to and fro, even little fillies and colts joined in the ruckus. The reason? Only a few minuets ago the unthinkable happened, two week old Princess Flurry Heart was foalnaped. Bells rung, guards yelled orders as the search for the princess and her foalnaper began. Word quickly spread and soon every able body within the empire joined the search.

As the city was combed inch by inch, a shadowy figure hid in an alley clutching his prize. Blue eyes watched the street looking for sings a pony had found him, for the moment he was safe.

“The Queen will be very pleased with you, soon we will have all the love we need and Equestria will be ours.”

Looking out agin the changeling saw his opportunity, dashing out of the alley and into the cool evening air. He made for the opposing building, with his back to the wall he paused, listening for hoof steps to follow him, none came. Just as the last rays of the sun disappeared the changeling took flight, using his black carapaces to blend in with the night sky, he left the Crystal Empire behind with his prize in hoof.

But fate is as cruel as it is kind, as he made it past the barrier and into the snow of the north, a storm began brewing. The changeling agent made his way through the storm as best he could, but the wind raged, lightning crashed all around him, and the snow was completely blinding. Just past where the snow turned to rocky soil and then grass, the storm demonstrated why even pegasus let such storms run their course. Lighting became more fierce, the rain forced its will upon the changeling, driving him down, wind thrashed at him throwing him off course. Finally the storm was done toying with the changeling. A single lightning bolt struck the changeling in its side, he was dead even before he began falling.

With nothing holding her, Flurry Heart fell, the blanket she was in coming undone. Part of the blanket was caught in one of the holes in the changeling’s for hoof, going down with him. Flurry now loose was caught in the wind by her large wings, carrying her up and over the storm for a brief moment. While crying since the storm had begun, she now stopped taking in the wonders of the stars in the night sky, even if she was far too young to fully grasp what they were beyond ‘shinny’. The wind caught her once again, pulling her down back into the storm, she was miles away from where the changeling agent had dropped to the ground dead, but in this wooded area she was close to something else.

Scared once again, she began to cry. The wind was much calmer here, bringing her down to land in the upper part of a tree, where she continued to cry from cold and fright. A figure below her heard her cries, looking up he was astonished to find a foal stuck in a tree. Making hast climbing the tree, he gently pulls her out of the branches with his magic, pulling her close doing his best to calm the filly.

“Shhh you're safe now little one.”

Flurry looked up the the pony holding her, bright compound blue eyes looked back at her. She reached up and grabbed the ‘ponies’ snout in her hooves, not understanding that this was not a pony but another changeling. To Flurry it didn’t matter, here was someone trying to shelter her from the storm around them.

“Come little one, I’ll take you home, there are other little one there as well, would you like that?”

The meaning of his words lost on her, Flurry just held on tighter. Hopping down from the tree, the changeling held Flurry close to his barrel as he ran as fast as he dare back to his home. It was a humble little thing, outside was nothing more than a shallow cave, yet deep inside was a growing hive, though few changeling lived here yet. Bringing his charge into one of the main chambers, he called out to his fellow changelings.

“Look at this!”

The others gathered around, seeing Flurry for the first time.

“Why did you bring a pony here?”

“What is she?”

“I-is that an Alicorn?”

“Did you seriously just steal a nymph?!?”

“Calm down everyling, she was stuck in a tree, the wind must have caught her large wings.” He shows the oversized wings on her back.

“B-but we can't…”

The protesters words are cut short as every changeling feels a pulse of love, they all look down to Flurry who is snuggling into the changeling holding her.

“Um… maybe we could…”

“She is a blessing from the first queen.”

Every eye turn to a single changeling, he is slightly bigger than the others, taller by about an inch, yet his voice is soft.

“She has been delivered to us, and we shall take care of her as one of our own, until the day she decides to leave us.”

The proclamation is unchallenged.

Flurry is introduced to the few nymphs in the hive, they take to her without care, seeing her as one of them. Flurry looks at the little things crawling towards her, and yet she isn’t afraid of them. When at last they fall asleep, she is in the middle of a small lump of changeling, both nymphs and adults.

It isn't until later afternoon the next day that the changeling’s body is found, landing along side of a road, blanket still stuck in his foreleg. Both are brought to Shining Armor and Cadance, Shining trying to keep a brave face but failing, Cadence along with Twilight are both in tears. Cadence can do nothing but weep and clutch the last item she has of her foal, crying out her name as if trying to call her back.

“FLURRY HEART!!!”