A Princess in name, a Queen in heart

Flurry Heart felt off, her head was muddled and her body felt stiff and over all ‘bleh’, it was kind of like the one time she and her friends had gotten into the storage room and accidentally drank something called whisky. All five of them had felt horrible the next day, in addition to getting a very long lecture by each of their parents. Flurry took comfort in the warm feeling around her, it felt like she was in the middle of the sleep pile again, not that she minded at all. But something was off, things just didn’t quite seemed right somehow, and she didn’t remember going to sleep. Or really anything for that matter. She groaned softly, feeling a ponies wing and hooves wrapped around her.

“Flurry?”

She heard her name, but her brain wasn’t quite working yet. Pony wing, mare's voice, that narrowed the list down, the voice was kinda pitched? Oh she knew who that was.

“Not now Cloud, go back to sleep.”

“Flurry!” The voice was still at whispering levels, but something was nagging at the back of her mind.

“Ugh, I’ll take you flying Cloud if you give me ten more minutes.”

“Take all the time you need flurry of my heart.”

Wait a second, ‘flurry of my heart’ no one calls me that!

Forcing her eyes open Flurry looked around, or as much as she could with her blurry eyes. It took her vision a moment to clear, taking in the room around her, Flurry was suddenly very aware that a lot was wrong. The room was very large, a huge waste of space in her opinion. The walls were all white with gold inlays almost everywhere, sunlight came in from a window somewhere behind her, and there were a pair of unfamiliar pink hooves around her. Deciding she was in a very bad position, she called up her massive wellspring of magic, attempting to teleport out of the bed, Flury found she couldn’t call forth her magic. Panicking now she used her large wings, pushing off from the pony behind her with a loud ‘thump’. Propelling herself into the center of the room, Flurry spun around, looking for her captor. She saw a pink alicorn with a tri color main, looking at her from the bed with a look of panic on her face.

“Its normally polite to introduce yourself to someone, you know before you spoon with them.” Flurry said glaring at the alicorn.

“I-bu-whut?”

“Or is that sort of thing normal for alicorns? Sorry we couldn’t find any ‘how to be an alicorn’ books.”

“…”

“I mean cuddles are fine and all, but that was way more than just cuddling.”

“O-ok I guess I can see how that might have looked, I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself, it's been so long since I’ve seen you.”

Flurry just gave a blank look at the alicorn. “I’m afraid I don’t know you.”

The other alicorn’s face fell. “I knew you wouldn’t, you weren't even a month old before you were taken from us. I’m your mother, Cadence.”

Flurry just look at Cadence for a moment, they were both alicorns, the purple in her main was the same as hers, they were both pink, even if Flurry’s was very light. She admitted it was possible, she knew she was adopted, but right now alicorns did not have a lot of trust going with her.

“Alright I’ll accept that I do look a lot like you, but I want you to see things from my point of view for a moment. The home I’ve known for my entire life was just attacked by two alicorns, I’ve been taken from my friends and family, and now I wake up with a third alicorn telling me I’m her long lost daughter, you tell me how that doesn't sound just a little bit convenient all things considered?”

Cadence’s face fell again. “I was told you might still have some lingering effects of the changeling mind control.”

“Wait, what?”

“But I promise you I won't give up on you, I lost you once I wont-”

“I’M NOT UNDER ANY CONTROL!”

Cadence could only stare in shock, she had expected a lot of things from Flurry after all these years, but out right anger wasn’t one of them.

“Flurry, please listen to me, I’ve dealt with changelings for two decades now, when they foalnaped me at my wedding, their war with Equestria for the past five years.”

“War?” The adopters didn’t stay in pony towns long, just enough time to find a foal or two, visit an orphanage or such, even still a war would have been noticed.

Cadence nodded. “Not surprising they didn’t tell you, why would they? Chrysalis declared war five years ago, it's been called ‘The Shadow War’ since it's all been fought outside of the public eye.”

“I find that a little hard to believe, we had changelings outside the hive from time to time, they would have heard something.”

“As far as anypony knew, changelings were just being found out and captured, you can’t resist a conqueror if you don’t know you’ve been conquered.”

Flurry had to admit, that did make a degree of sense. Ponies wouldn’t know until it was too late if at all, much easier to control that way.

“Ok, I admit that sounds plausible, but the other alicorn the tall one, what was her name?”

“Luna.”

“Yes her, she said the Evil One, Chrysalis, was defeated three years ago, so what's been going on since then?”

“Her changelings scattered, setting up small ‘splinter hives’ as we call them, such as the one you were being held in.”

“You mean the home I grew up in? The home with my friends and family? We weren't any ‘splinter hive’.”

“Flurry, please. Those things weren't you friends, and most certainly not your family, they are monsters, nothing more.”

“Have you ever spoken to one?” Flurry asked angrily.

“Yes infact,” That caught Flurry by surprise. “We tried negotiating with some of the splinter hives the first few months after Chrysalis was defeated, each time it was a trap of some kind. Finally we stopped and just took the hives out.”

Flury was quiet for a moment, from Cadences perspective, no changelings had ever tried to make peace, but that still wasn't an excuse.

“We were open to talking, we only defended ourselves. And then you trick and attack us!”

“We needed to get you and the other ponies out, we didn’t know you personally were there, but I’m glad we were able to find you.”

Cadence stood up and approached Flurry, Flurry stepped back before Cadence could get close enough to touch her.

“Please, I know things must seem confusing right now.”

“Not as much as you think, I’m just wondering why you won't see-”

A knocking interrupted the two.

“Princess?” A guard asked poking his head inside.

“Yes what is it?” Cadence asked in a tone that said she wanted the guard gone as soon as possible.

“Princess Celestia has summoned you both, as soon as you are able.” With his message delivered the guard slipped back out.

“Celestia is your Aunt, it seems she is eager to meet you.”

Flurry just glared, not moving.

“Please, if nothing else she is the ruler of equestria, and she has summoned us both, it's considered kind of rude to ignore her.”

Flurry just sighed. “Fine, lead on Cadence, since I have no clue where I’d be going.”

“Right this way,” Cadence gestured with a wing. “And you can call me ‘mom’.”

~o0o~

Flurry and Cadence walked side by side, the tension around them was thick, even the guards they walked passed could feel it, not that any of them showed it. While walking Flurry had asked about the ring she discovered on her horn, that seemed to be blocking her magic. Cadence had told her that they didn’t know how much control she had on her magic, and had wanted to avoid an accidental outburst and subsequent damage, Flurry understood all too well. When asked if she could have it taken off Cadent refused, claiming it was helping to ‘purge’ the changeling effects from her mind, Flurry felt that reason was a little too thin in her book.

Coming around a corner into one of the castle's many open areas, Flurry still felt the castle wasted too much space, they ran into a stallion looking for them. He was snow white with a two tone blue mane, his eyes were the same as hers, sparkling sky blue. Flurry knew who he was, there was no doubting it.

“F-flurry?”

Flurry stood still, but didn’t glare the stallion down. “Yes thats me, you must…”

Flurry was suddenly charged, finding herself on the receiving end of a very strong hug.

“My little snow flurry is back. I’m soo sorry, we looked all over for you.”

“Well, if we were easy to find, we wouldn’t be doing our job right now would we.” Shining gave a worried look at her statement.

“She still see herself as one of them Shinny,” Cadence offered. “We still need to break their hold on her.”

Shining nodded. “Celestia, Luna and Twily have been interrogating the prisoners since they woke up yesterday, they must have found something out if they summoned us.”

“They summoned you too?” Cadence asked.

Shining just nodded. “I’m just glad to have our little filly back.”

“I’m not so little any more.” Flurry chuckled. Then something he said hit her. “Wait, yesterday? How long have I been out?”

“A day and a half, Twily always uses too much magic in her spells when she's panicked.”

The three of them resumed walking, with Flurry in the middle, it seemed they weren't going to let anyone get near her.

This ‘Shinny’ seems alright, but something is off with Cadence, I hope it's not actually mind control, trying to convince anyone else that would not easy.

They found themselves at the throne room, inside were all three alicorns, two guards and one changeling. Both Cadence and Shining glared at the changeling, who was acting rather calm despite being in the same room as Equestria’s four alicorns, and as Shining noticed was not bound.

“Guards! Why is the prisoner not in chains?” Shining demanded.

“Because,” Celestia answered for them. “He, nor any of his hive are prisoners.”

“WHAT?!” Both Shining and Cadence exclaimed.

“BBBFF, we have made a terrible mistake.” Twilight said with her head hung in shame.

“What are you talking about?” Shining asked indignantly.

Luna stepped forward to answered for her. “All three of us have used our magic to see into, not only his,” She gestured towards the changeling. “But several of the minds of both changeling and pony from the recently captured hive, and what we have seen greatly saddens us. Not for what we have seen them do, but for what we have done to them in such a short amount of time.”

Cadence, Shining and even Flurry looked at Luna quizzically.

“There is much truth in there words we did not see, they abandoned Chrysalis and her ilk some time before they attack Canterlot, seeing it as a fool's errand. They have been separated form not only her but the rest of Equestria since the founding of their hive, ‘You can not find what you do not know about’ I believe is how they phrased it.”

“Bu-but, No! Nonononono! Their tricking you, just like they have always done in the past.”

Luna nodded. “Even after seen the memories of so many, we still doubt all is as it seems.”

Celestia spoke up at this point. “To prove they can be trusted as we hope, their hive will be relocating and making temporary residence in the crystal mines beneath Canterlot.”

Flurry sighed in relief, things might be rough for a while, but at least they would be together.

“NO!”

Every eye turned to Cadence.

“My daughter was taken from us by these creatures, they deceive us at every turn, they hurt our ponies every chance they get, and you want to let them live beneath Canterlot!?”

“They will be under heavy guard, as well as other precautions. We also believe that the other remaining hives might try to infiltrate them, they will also be a trap.”

“Aunt Celestia, listen to yourself, you're willingly giving these things a hoof hold in the most valuable place in Equestria!”

“I understand your-”

“NO YOU DON”T!”

Celestia was momentarily shocked at Cadence's outburst, never before had she seen her neecie like this.

“None of you know!” Cadence stood at her full height, glaring at the others. “You don’t know what it's like to lose your foal, to have her taken from you, thinking she’s dead. To wake up at night, knowing you heard her crying, only to find her room empty. No we will not be a part of this, you can have these creatures stay with you, let them over run Equestria. The Crystal Empire will not fall to them.”

With all the others in the room shocked into silence, Cadence lit her horn, teleporting all three of them out of the throne room in a flash of light.