The Queen's Nymph

by PactOfSkyranger

Rating: everyone
Tags: Ocellus, Comedy, Queen Chrysalis, Harry Potter, Thorax, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 22504

When Chrysalis heard of how Harry was treated, she could not abide it.

Another Harry Potter crossover fanfic (in general; it's actually my first one.) This time, however, I'm giving Harry to somepony a little less scrupulous.

Chrysalis had been planning for the attack on Canterlot for years.

When she wanted to relax, she would walk through an odd portal that led to a world unfamiliar to her.

It was during one of these walks that she stumbled upon the blood wards of #4 Privet Drive... and the negative emotions of one Harry James Potter.

Upon the further investigation she had ordered, Chrysalis discovered the true depths of these emotions.

She also ended up linking Harry into her hive physically and mentally. A whoopsie for most, but for Chrysalis, it presented a chance to give a better life to Harry.

The only downside was that she needed to rethink her plans to include Harry.

The Wizarding World shall beware Prince Harry Chrysalia...

The cover image is a DeviantArt picture from seahawk270. Go support the original creator!

Published 2020-10-11 22:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-11-26 21:01:07 UTC

The Queen Finds Love

Chrysalis wandered the streets of this strange world.

She had planned an invasion on Canterlot for years, but for now, she just wanted to relax. After all, everything was almost in place.

She let a deep, malicious chuckle out under her breath as she trotted into a place called Privet Drive.

However, as she entered, she remembered she had a definite reason for being here. Focus, Chrysalis. It's time to set things right and collect my new nymph, she thought to herself.

Though her target was not a changeling by birth, they were connected mentally to her hive, if only by accident, and physical changes were beginning to take hold. If her charge's guardians were to discover the mutations-!

No, she resolved, best not to consider that. I will rescue him before that should ever happen.

As she approached the fourth house in the suburb, her smirk twisted into a look of pure, motherly, caring rage.

No one hurt her changelings with impunity.

Not even if they were not technically or fully changelings... yet.

During one of her walks through this strange world, she had entered this place under a disguise.

However, the moment she got into the ordinary cul-de-sac, she sensed two things from house number 4.

First was a magical probe, seemingly judging her. It caught her off-guard, since magic seemed to be absent from this world, but it seemed to let her through easily enough, so she shrugged it off.

The second, however, got her attention. Abuse. Sorrow. Anger. Greed. Self-depreciation. It sickened her to the core.

Home and hearth are places of heart, she thought to herself, and this one is a haven for nothing but hate and hurt.

Dipping into the Hive Link, Chrysalis was met with the minds of her children and subjects.

Queen Mother!

Welcome, Queen Mother!

How is your reprieve, Queen Mother?

My queen, what is it you grace us with your presence for?

It warmed the queen's heart to hear the childlike mindset of a young drone, but she steeled her resolve as the first of her guards answered, and began to speak through the Link.

My children, she began, something has come to my attention, something that sickens me to the core.

Internally, Chrysalis debated which changeling to send for the task she had in mind, before she smirked, deciding to make some use of one of her less typical changelings. Thorax!

Within moments, the timid voice of the hive's runt came through the Link. M-m-me, my queen?

I choose you for the task. A house I passed by is not only magically warded in some manner, to my surprise, but it houses such negative emotion as to be unnatural for a home. Zero in on my location at the time of my connection and relay to me the cause of these emotions.

Yes, my queen. I shall do my best, Thorax answered before Chrysalis moved on in her walk and removed her mind from the Link's communication.

What Thorax had relayed to her the following day was sickening, horrifying, wrong.

And yet, it also provided an opportunity, purely by accident, to remedy the situation...

Thorax entered Privet Drive, feeling the very same things his Queen had felt.

I wish my brother was here, Thorax thought to himself, only to receive a response through the Hive.

Come on, Thorax! I know you're a wimp, his brother Pharynx said, but at least you're a wimp the queen chose for scouting! That's something to be proud of!

Thorax sighed, saying, Yes, Pharynx. I know, allowed himself a small smile, and approached the backyard, where the signals were currently concentrated, disguising himself as a black cat before carefully hiding under the bench.

"Hurry up, boy," an unnaturally thin female human said coldly to a little emaciated male child. "Those weeds shan't pluck themselves, and if you aren't precise and swift, no food for two days."

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," the boy said, which shocked Thorax. This woman was his AUNT? And she was denying him FOOD? A typical changeling in Chrysalis' hive may have only been given a little over a pure subsistence diet if they failed the Queen, but still, that was something.

Thorax then watched as Harry collapsed, a portly man with a walrus-like face and a mustache brandishing a worn belt... and lashing the child with it until he got up.

Meek as Thorax was, he was filled with a righteous rage, which was parroted by his brother as they sight-shared.

However, as the boy was forced inside, they began to sense something. Looking at the boy, they watched in surprise as the lashings, while slowly, still healed faster than a human should be able to, and they felt the boy's magic, and his thoughts, cry out for someone to care for him, to love him.

Latching onto those thoughts, Thorax was surprised to feel two things happen.

First, he felt some of his ration of love go into the boy, and saw his wounds heal a little quicker, though they seemed to develop a sort of chitin armoring at the same time.

Second, he began to feel the boy's emotions and thoughts more profoundly.

Pharynx noticed these feelings, and though he was mad, he understood it was an honest accident that they had accidentally linked the boy - Harry - to the Hive, and quite frankly, he said, the kid looks like he needs a better home and a good loving shoulder to cry on.

I couldn't agree more, Pharynx, Thorax said, before exfiltrating the garden and focusing on the accidental link to Harry. Though he felt something else trying to listen in on the connection, anyling worth their ration knew how to push off a mental assault on their own.

Hello?

What? Who is this? Where are you?

I was watching you from under the bench. I saw what they did to you.

Are you going to suggest they hit a freak like me harder?

Freak? I would be a hypocrite if I called you a freak. I was horrified, in fact.

Don't be. Uncle Vernon said freaks deserve punishment.

Oh, please. Name one freakish thing you did.

When they gave me a haircut, they punished me when I had all my hair the next morning.

Hair growth? It's part of what I do for a meal. Can't explain how you did it, but still...

When my cousin Dudley was Harry Hunting one day, I ended up in a really high place, higher than I expected; on the school rooftop.

That sounds like teleportation. Me and my family did that a few times.

Whenever Uncle Vernon punishes me, somehow my injuries heal faster than they should. This time, they created these hard plates that are spreading across my skin.

...Okay, the chitin plates were my fault, but that was completely accidental.

Weird things always seem to happen around me when I'm scared or confused, and my aunt and uncle hate it.

...I saw. Now, I don't want to sound creepy, but if you found a caring and accepting mother, would you leave your family behind? Even if she looked... scary?

...I suppose it would be better than living here. What do you look like?

...Okay, Harry, now don't be scared. I'm going to show you. Here.

In Harry's mind, he saw the forming image of a smiling black insectoid pony sitting down like a dog, wings eagerly buzzing and bright blue eyes.

...You were right, Harry said. You do look kind of freakish.

Yeah... and I'm not exactly the best example of an Equestrian changeling. We're all raised as and expected to be warriors; I'm the only one that doesn't want to be a warrior. My big brother Pharynx, though... he's the best warrior in the whole Hive.

The image of Thorax faded, to be replaced with a gruffer changeling, more built than Thorax, with purple eyes and wings and red fins.

Hive? Well, you do look kind of like insects...

The whole Hive lives under our mother, the one who sent me to investigate the emotions she felt while passing by; Queen Chrysalis, the first Changeling. She may not seem like a caring individual, but she's planning a whole invasion of the Equestrian capital of Canterlot, simply to collect love for us to feed on.

As Thorax described her, Harry could see her standing tall, a tattered dark cerulean mane and tail with a proud crown behind her jagged horn drawing his attention to her half-lidded, confident smirk with slit green eyes.

She doesn't sound very nice to others... but you seem to have a high opinion of her, and she does look pretty. I'll trust you.

With that, Thorax cut the communication, and reported back to Chrysalis.

With every word she heard of Harry's punishment, how he had been relegated to a servant and how he had been abused by those who were supposed to care for him, Chrysalis grew more furious.

Eventually, she realized that this boy, tortured and sad, would be both an excellent source of love and a good start into examining the apparent magic of this world if she took him in.

However, she admitted to herself it was more than that. Thorax was right; she was very caring for her drones, nymphs, hivemates, and even those she considered as means to an end, even if she didn't seem like it at times. After all, she was responsible for each and every changeling, not just as a leader, but as a mother figure.

And now that Harry knew of her caring, and that he was linked to the Hive, how could she refuse him a better home?

Digging into Petunia Dursley's family proved interesting; her sister, Lily, exhibited similar powers to Harry in her youth, and their friend, Severus Prince-Snape, had told her that she was a Muggle-born witch, and that she had been put down for a place at Hogwarts, a school specializing in the craft. Apparently, Petunia wanted a similar invitation, even messaging the headmaster of the school, a mister Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, but genetics did not favor her, causing her to become bitter about the Wizarding World.

Lily had died in a car crash, publicly, but digging deeper led to Chrysalis finding some inconsistencies in the story; she was found in a wrecked house, and other than injuries from the debris, she appeared to have just... stopped living. So had her husband.

She resolved to search deeper into it after Harry was safe, and considering she went to he house on a post day, after the mail had been delivered, she shifted into a dark cerulean letter with moderate harlequin ink that only he could see reading,

Harry Potter
4 Privet Drive
For your eyes only

Thorax Chrysalia
Badlands Hive
Equestria

She couldn't explain it, but she always got a giddy prancing feeling when a plan came together so well.

When Harry was sent out to get the post, he noticed an odd black letter addressed straight to him.

Noticing it was for him, and return-addressed with Thorax's name, he slipped it secretly into his cupboard and delivered the rest of the mail to his relatives.

Once that was done, he opened the letter and saw a message on it.

Hello, Harry. Surprised?

I'm here.

-Chrysalis

It was then that he noticed the letter had eyes (the sclerae were the same color as the ink, with dark grayish opal pupils,) which quickly closed as the letters changed.

First off, I'm glad to meet you. Thorax told me everything.

As for why I'm a letter... Changelings thrive and depend on their ability to look like anything they want within certain parameters. We take the form of something or someone precious to you, and your love for it feeds us.

I did some research into Lily Potter, too. The cause of death wasn't excessive inertial force like a car crash, though... it was like their bodies just stopped functioning.

And as much as your aunt protests freakishness... Well, looking into your mother's past, she actually wrote to the headmaster of Lily's "freakish" school and begged him to take her as well. Can you imagine?

Anyway, because of what Thorax did, you've probably noticed your skin hardening. That's because our magic seems to have interacted with your own, turning you at least part changeling.

Now, I've studied a few things in this world, but I think that my way will work better for this. Don't mind the ring of flames.

As soon as Harry read that, a ring of green flames surrounded him, and when he opened his eyes again, he was in a much wider dark place, the chitin plates on his body having turned black.

The letter flew from his hands, wreathed in the same green fire, before emerging as Chrysalis.

"Welcome to the Hive, Harry," she said as Thorax and Pharynx (he recognized those distinct purple eyes) stood next to her with a nymph, eyes a darker blue. "These three shall be your closest brothers and sister in the Hive, your overseers and charges; Thorax, Pharynx, and Ocellus."

Harry smiled warmly. He had a family that he felt would care for him. For the first time in his life, he felt loved... and it seemed to energize him. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was, somehow, feeding off of their love.

Although, why was their chitin turning colors in his mind?

That thought was interrupted when a crystal materialized seemingly from nowhere with a note. Harry picked up the note and read as the sky outside the badlands showed a pink cloud fleeing the scene.

My nephew said you might want this. It shows everything that's happened so far. Actually, it's only just started. If you want to see the show up front, find a way to blend in... in a week. Happy Summer Sun.

-He-Who-Does-Not-Make Sense

P.S: You should be there when I get out. It will be interesting... and delicious.

Chrysalis didn't know how the crystal got here, but one thing was for sure:

She wanted to teach Harry how to be a changeling.

Of course, her plans went into overdrive when, almost in response to his being in the hive, the chitin spread rapidly over Harry to his and her surprise, turning his form into that of an adolescent royal, though his appearance didn't fundamentally change.

For one, his pupils had become a slightly lighter shade than Chrysalis', and his messy haircut was unchanged as it dyed to a purplish-black.

Second, his horn appeared more complete and less jagged than hers, but still in the straight point of a royal.

Third, his fingers had receded seamlessly into his new hooves as holes were painlessly punched in his forearms before coming out, clawed and armoured, and yet a perfect balance of soft and firm.

Fourth and most surprisingly, however, was that Harry's scar exuded a black smoke that seemed to scream in pain as even more love flooded Harry's system before being disintegrated by the combination of Pharynx, Thorax, and Chrysalis' magic.

After the ordeal, Harry was instinctually uncomfortable in his new form, and Chrysalis could feel him desiring to return to being that same boy that entered the hive.

Just as he thought this, though, green flame wreathed his form, and when it cleared, Harry was normal; no plates of chitin, no injuries, just a little human boy.

That as it seemed, Harry still felt different, still felt his new form underneath. Knowing that this form was, in some way, an accidental gift from his new mother and brother, he hugged her and his new siblings, if not by birth, then now by magic.

After the touchy moment, though, the three changelings left Harry with Chrysalis, who quickly began to school Harry in the basics of taking an Equestrian Pony form.

After deliberating for the following day, he decided his alias of Unseen Lightning would be a pegasus with a blue coat, and his mane similar but longer in a crimson amaranth shade with a streak of emerald, his eyes colored in the purple shade of his real mane.

He spent three days honing his disguise, creating a story of a pegasus colt from Trottingham (Chrysalis had figured his accent would fit in there) who had come to Ponyville on vacation with his unicorn mother Crystalline Cloud to see the festivities.

Crystalline Cloud, who Chrysalis based on Lily Potter/Evans, had a green-white coat, beautiful warm emerald eyes, a flowing vibrant auburn-red mane, and a caring yet regal poise.

The very next day, Chrysalis and Harry appeared in ceremony before the entire hive.

All Infiltrators had been recalled, making "surprise business trips" to show their respect for their Queen's command.

Harry, Thorax, and Chrysalis now stood on a raised stage in front of the Black Throne, Chrysalis' seat of power and the main defense of the hive, situated in a magical deadzone known as the Badlands.

"My children," Chrysalis addressed, the words reverberating through the minds of everyling present, "the three days before this have been a myriad of tasks and revelations. Three days ago, I felt an abnormal amount of hatred coming from a human world suburban house known as Number Four, Privet Drive."

The changelings hissed at the reminder in righteous rancour, spooking Harry a bit with their fangs, but Chrysalis laid a hoof on him in reassurance as she continued. "The very next day, our scout relayed the situation; the people that occupied this spot of hatred were abusing their nephew, a human child named Harry James Potter, simply because his parents were members of a local enclave of a hidden side of the world, one which held magic aplenty while their world, the 'Muggle' world, held nothing of the sort."

More hissing sounded out, and Chrysalis held up a hoof to silence the crowd as she continued. "When our scout sensed his magic and his thoughts, he reached out to him in compassion and pity, which inadvertently caused Harry to receive a link to our Hive, and start turning into a changeling. Though this was an unexpected development, it presented both urgency and opportunity to us, as our scout comforted Harry in his time of need and gave him an offer of family with our hive. Let us now congratulate that scout now. Thorax, step forward."

Thorax stood tall, but carried a warm smile as he came to the front of the stage and waved. The hive was silent for a moment, perhaps wondering how the wimpy, outcast drudge had received a royal commendation...

...only for Pharynx to start stomping and clapping with a wry and brotherly smirk on his muzzle, leading the rest of the hive to give him a round of applause.

Thorax smiled happily as he was given the approval of his hive, and Chrysalis leaned in and said, "I may have found a use for you, Thorax," before he hopped down from the stage.

Chrysalis silenced the hive with a hoof before she went on. "After receiving this report, I looked into the Dursleys' history, and found that the matriarch, Petunia Dursley nee Evans, was sister to Harry's Muggle-born magical mother, Lily Potter, and, in fact, Petunia desired the same power, even messaging the headmaster of the country's magic school, Albus Dumbledore, who has quite a few middle names to omit. Looking into Lily, I performed a personal autopsy, and the death of her and her husband James, while it was written off as a carriage crash by the Dursleys, was entirely different than kinetic force; their nerve systems and biological functions were entirely shut down by, as I discovered after securing Harry, an instant-death curse known as Avada Kedavra, one of their Ministry's three Unforgivable Curses."

The changelings were shocked at the existence of such a vile spell, and Chrysalis continued. "The spell manifests as a bolt of acid-green light. Harry's parents were murdered during the campaign of a pureblood supremacist, Tom Marvolo Riddle, known more commonly under the Taboo-enchanted name of Voldemort. When he atttacked Harry, with this curse, however, it rebounded upon him, and he was struck down with a piece of his soul attaching to Harry in a curse scar. The process of becoming a changeling, however, loosened its bond to Harry, allowing us to obliterate it entirely. There are more observations to make, but they will be omitted from this speech to save us time and patience. This will only take the rest of the evening to wrap up."

The changeling infiltrators let out a sigh of relief, and Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "Only the day prior this gathering, I set into motion a plan to retrieve Harry after learning of the accidental establishment of a link. That plan has led me to induct Harry fully as a new member of our Hive. But Harry does not simply enter our family as a drone. Harry Potter, would you kindly step forth?"

Harry did, and most every changeling was surprised to see him look like a royal. "Harry James Potter became a royal changeling, yes, but it is not only due to that that I do this. A hive is a family, and I have accepted Harry into our fold as my personal charge. It is my great honor to say, Harry, that I declare you the Royal Ward of the Chrysalian Hive. Your name as Potter is yours to take on, but underneath, from this point forward, you shall always underneath be... Harry Chrysalia!"

The hive applauded this declaration with great jubilation, and Harry smiled. He had a family that loved him, and even though they were a tad atypical, being emotivorous insectoid equines, they loved him and he loved them with no caveats.

And as the two of them made their plans, other plans fell apart...

The day before...

Albus Dumbledore returned to his office in Hogwarts, expecting nothing of a shock.

However, he received three.

First and least, he had run out of sherbet lemons.

Second, the student admission registry pulsed with magic before opening to the page of a certain Boy-Who-Lived. However, the name Potter was replaced with Chrysalia, and three others were apparently attending alongside him, though what sort of names were Thorax, Pharynx, and Ocellus?

The mailing location of the letters had been obscure, and there was no real address, leading him to believe the Chrysalia family were nomads, or at least had no estate of their own. One thing was certain; he would need to clear up the accounts that Harry had as the last Potter heir.

Third, as if in response to the registry, the monitoring items keyed to the blood wards upon the Dursley residence had fallen silent, indicating Harry no longer truly called the house home.

The monitor on the Horcrux in Harry's scar, however, had stopped entirely, which brought an actual spark of joy into the shock of the other news; the Horcrux had been destroyed somehow, yet Harry was still somehow alive, as another monitor told him.

What does it all mean?, Dumbledore pondered, pacing in his study. He only had so much to go on.

Making up his mind, he threw a handful of Floo Powder into his fireplace and stuck his head in.

"Minerva," he called, "I need you to investigate these 'Chrysalia' wizards. If they have collected Harry Potter, then we must gauge how ready they are to defend him..."

Author's Note

Well, here it is. A crossover.

I reeeeeeeeally wanted to give you images this time, but DeviantArt download pictures and even straight copying in the URL for the picture didn't work.

Also, I edited the "sea green" in the description to "dark cerulean," since I checked up the hex code to make it look like Chrysalis' mane.

Also, black with sea-green would look cool, but then I tried the authentic colors (dark cerulean paper, moderate harlequin ink,) and it looked amazing.

Anyway, you probably noticed that I only colored the changelings' thoughts when they were heard through the Hive link (except for Harry's.)

This is a good way to tell when someone is speaking through the Hive.

Harry's colors are as follows:
"marginally lighter than Chrysalis'": 284d4b
"purplish-black": #2a1a3e

Unseen Lightning:
"blue coat": Aegean, 1f456e
"crimson amaranth shade": It took some deliberation, but I went with e02046
"streak of emerald": 50c878

Crystalline Cloud: Like I said, Chrysalis based her on Lily Potter, so I went with colors associated with Lily:
"green-white coat": f6fcf8
"vibrant auburn-red mane": c41b1b
"warm emerald eyes": 50c76a

The Nymph Meets The Tabby

Author's Note

I originally wanted Harry to see Nightmare Moon's return and the formation of the Elements of Harmony, so this chapter was called The Nymph Sees The Night.

I then realized I needed to take this slower, so I decided to have McGonagall make contact with Harry and the hive. Thereby, this chapter became The Nymph Meets The Tabby.

I also realized I wrote myself lying to and misleading people by saying it wasn't Discord.

That realization led me to remedy the situation with this:

He-Who-Does-Not-Make-Sense is not Discord... from this particular world. He is the Discord from Rival Chitin, speaking as if he is the Discord from this world. Falak, however, is Falak. Falak may also pretend to be Discord sometimes.

As for how I say Harry, Thorax, and Pharynx will be eligible for all the Hogwarts classes in three years? It isn't wrong, as I had Minerva note: third year is when a student chooses their electives.

So yes, Ocellus will have her NEWTs just before she's in the School of Friendship if I elect to deem her magical core mature enough to attend Hogwarts at the end of the Season 1 segment.

Proofreading the parts after the first flashback fortunately came up with no edits to suggest, but to make it simple for you to see where the proofreading delays were, I have placed handy little markers.

When you see :moustache: Moustache Spike, that's where I stopped off to let my able friend Szilu, AKA iSCREAM Icecream, view over the work.

Part 1 only had 5 suggested edits:
only really lasted a moment - the ‘really’ doesn’t feel natural here.
his features had not changed much. - this is just a suggestion, but I think ‘hadn’t’ would work better. People only tend to split these, when emphasized.
After you told me all of the basics - We don’t need the ‘of’. It enhances readability.
Chrysalis smiled a sort of warm smile, which was rare for her. - ‘Chrysalis smiled warmly’. It sounds more natural and simpler.
Seeing Harry was confused - Seeing Harry’s confused face
...and a smattering of unlisted spelling corrections that I may or may not have implemented.

Part 2 had no listed suggestions. He said to me on Discord "Very few needed change, so I left them out."

After I started writing Part 3, I decided to break up some of the text blocks in Part 1 so you could read easier. The text block starting with "Chrysalis' smile became fixed" couldn't be fragmented as efficiently because it was a full dialogue with no intermittent actions, and the only intermittent action I could think of Chrysalis doing was laying a hoof on Harry's shoulder before she assured Harry she wouldn't ask him to go to the same lengths as the other drones.

Answers to questions I'm sure you'll be asking:

I made up the position of Royal Ward to give Harry a position near Chrysalis that made him part of the changeling royal family, but also not saddled with the burdens of being prince by being below the biological Royals. It basically just means "This child is precious to the hive, and anyling who hurts him answers directly to me."

Yes, I basically made Ocellus a princess by making her a Royal. A few people have given Ocellus this royal status (Ocellus' Magical Mystery Cure and Princess Ocellus, to name a couple,) and I decided it would keep her near Harry and Chrysalis as a sort of little sister figure.

Yes, I made a time gimmick. Can you blame me? However, I will try to prioritize writing the Harry Potter side over the MLP "summer breaks." Also, I'll be trying to write Chrysalis more diplomatically, since Harry might serve as a common ground between the Mane 6 and Chrysalis.

Yes, I'm invoking a personal trope of mine, which I like to call "Child-Based De-Escalation," which is a subtrope of Even Evil Has Loved Ones.

How the trope works: The heroes (Mane 6) have cornered the villain (Chrysalis.) At some moment, the child of the villain (Harry) comes up, usually as either a resigned request ("Can I ask you one thing? If this ends with me going missing or worse, dying, please... take care of Harry.") or the child stumbling upon the conflict ("Mama?") and being close to the heroes as well as the villain. ("Miss Twilight?")

Basically, this most likely causes the two opposing parties to call a parley while discussing Harry, coming to some deeper understanding, and going from bitter nemeses to occasional rivals.

This could eventually pave the road for Changeling Courtship... but if you want romance snippets, PM me a snip and I'll release collections of them as a separate story on Hearts and Hooves, because we aren't exploring romance in this story!

The Nymph Meets The Tabby

"Excellent, Harry," Chrysalis said to the young colt in front of her. "You're taking to being a changeling quite well."

The colt smiled, before being wreathed in green flames and emerging as a boy, though his features hadn't changed much. His crimson amaranth mane with emerald streak became purplish-black, and his purple eyes became slit and turned the color of emeralds. The most obvious changes, however, were how the colt became bipedal, his blue coat becoming black chitin, hands clawed. This, however, only lasted a moment before Harry Potter willed his shape to shift to an ordinary changeling royal, his fingers receding. “Thank you, Mom. I’m just thrilled to be accepted by someone in some capacity. After you told me all the basics, I felt like I was born for this!”

Flashback

“Okay, Harry,” Chrysalis said, “now that the Link to the hive is basically ingrained in your soul and form, I think I should coach you in some of the... quirks of the form, other than shapeshifting.”

”Okay, mama,” Harry said, making Chrysalis’ heart flutter. She could feel love from Harry, but a changeling’s love was not exactly potent in a hive where sharing and trust took back seats to infiltration and betrayal.

Chrysalis schooled the flutter of her heart and continued. “When Thorax linked the Hive into your thoughts, he inadvertently linked the Reserve to you, and it poured love energy, which acts as a sort of core magical energy, into you, healing your wounds and kickstarting your transfiguration. This is a process known as Hive’s Embrace; using love energy to heal our bodies, regenerating us on a cellular level in more extreme cases by molting off our current carapace.”

Harry nodded. “That explains the chitin forming before I became a changeling fully.”

Chrysalis smiled warmly. “The accelerated process came from you pouring love into the Link towards the Queen, me, while you were in the Hive proper. Some theoretical or splinter hives have different philosophies on replacement and expansion than ours, which is mainly grown through typical hatching. That isn’t to say that some hives can’t hatch changelings, simply to say that they choose to pursue alternate means such as the use of a mutagen known as Necrosia, an emulsion of changelings usually made from deceased subjects.”

Seeing Harry's confused face, she said, “Your emotional bond accelerated you turning into a changeling, and some hives use a liquid made of dead changelings to force the transformation instead of typical hatching of nymphs.”

Harry nodded, and Chrysalis continued. “Looking the way we are, we are basically outcasts in the typical pony society of Equestria, the parallel world to yours where we are now. Fortunately, a changeling’s magic includes an innate form of what I learned the magical side of your world calls Transfiguration. It acts in a similar fashion to a mix of the genetic magic of a Metamorphmagus and a Polyjuice potion, though we can do much more than simply imitate things similar to our form.”

To accent this, Chrysalis turned into a cat, then a table, then a baby dragon, then a human, before returning to her true form. “If a user of Polyjuice tried to turn into a dragon or a cat, they would be hybridized in a manner that is oddly hilarious to some, highly undesirable in most cases, and much more persistent, requiring special treatment. I can safely say we reserve the ability to turn into inanimate objects, though. You actually subconsciously utilized a variant of our shapeshifting when you first became a full changeling, as well.”

Harry thought back to the shapeshifting he had employed, and said, “So a changeling can look like anything they can imagine, as long as they have enough love energy? How do you even get most of it?”

Chrysalis’ smile became fixed as she said, “My hive is... not unaccustomed to using forceful methods such as emotional draining, replacement of actual people, and brainwashing, to say the least. All of which are morally reprehensible things to do, but I would never force a nymph to do something like that right out of the cocoon, let alone you. You’ve noticed that most of the changelings that aren’t your immediate familial units are... abrasive at best, aggressive at most, towards each other. This isn’t actually because of bad days. We, the most ancient hive of the Changelings, born from a magically polluted swamp, are by far the least... ethical or friendly hive in Equestria. We do whatever it takes to survive, regardless of how reprehensible it is. Your specific family unit outside your position as Royal Ward is full of some of the... outliers. Thorax, our least aggressive, Pharynx, the unofficial standard of every guard and soldier, and Ocellus, a curious and peaceful princess drone... the latest born in decades."

Chrysalis laid a hoof on Harry's shoulder as she added, "Know right now, Harry, that I would never ask you to go to such lengths for the Hive. Not after what you’ve already been through.”

Harry’s eyes were wide, but he nodded, and Chrysalis smiled warmly again. “Okay, well, some changelings have had the creativity to visualize completely new identities that require no imprisonment of a template pony. For a start, we’re going to start with a training exercise I like to call ‘Match The Mimic.’ I’ll take a form to show you how a race looks, then you use your own shapeshifting to match me. Ready, Harry? I’ll be showing you how every race I know of looks. I won’t ask for the same look, but I am asking for the same race.”

Harry nodded as Chrysalis shifted into a cartoonish but ordinary earth pony, black with a red mane and tail and yellow eyes. Harry responded by shifting into a similar pony, pink with an orange mane and tail and pale blind eyes.

“We had fun playing Match The Mimic. You came up with such outrageously colourful appearances, Discord himself would be proud!,” Chrysalis laughed.

Harry laughed with her. It was true; he had thought of all sorts of color schemes while he was getting used to the shapeshifting magic before settling on his Aegean blue pegasus colt disguise.

Magic, Harry thought. It had been thoroughly driven into his skull by the Dursleys that magic wasn't real. However, his new mother's studies had led her to discover enclaves all over the globe where magic had hidden away, and her home dimension of Equestria was positively brimming with it in one form or another, most of which she was able to personally demonstrate.

Pegasi could manipulate the weather with nothing but their hooves and wings, Earth Ponies could harness it in their natural strength and affinity for plants, and there were tribes like the Kirin and Unicorns that could use magic in the more common sense; levitation, teleportation, and a variety of other spells.

She then taught Harry of some of the darker sentient creatures; the Umbrum, hateful specters of smoke and shadow, the Windigos, a long-unheard of race of wind spirits that fed on the hatred prevalent in the early Equestria, the Sirens, sowers of discontent and eaters of negativity, and most certainly the Changelings and their abilities to assume any form, mimic any magical ability, and feed on the love of others.

Lastly, she had discussed the draconequus Discord, spirit of Chaos, and his ability to, as she put it, "twist time, space, and reality into a pretzel and cause a lot of unexplainable nonsensical things."

She advised against trying to learn three specific kinds; chaos magic due to its nature and unpredictability, Siren musical magic due to its nature of feeding on one's hatred and otherwise risking vocal cord atrophy with use, and umbrum magic because it tended to be weak to positive emotions like love, but encouraged him to learn a great deal of the other tribes' magic, as it would help him to blend in if he ever wanted or needed to do any infiltration.

Of course, one sort of magic teaching A, required qualified teachers, B, came as a bit of a surprise to Harry, and C, ended up finding the Hive all on its own.

Chrysalis decided to take a walk in the human world while Harry had a playdate with Ocellus, both to research the local government/education and to figure out a more concrete and secret place to conduct her traversals.

She flame-warped into the usual spot and assumed her human disguise; pale fair skin, her natural cerulean only wisps in long blonde hair, and a sort of bearing that would almost suggest she was a noble elf of some sort, though what noble elf would be in a red hooded cloak with an autumn blouse?

She began to walk the distance to London, not suspecting for a moment that the moment she had appeared, Minerva's plan began to work.

It is a well-known fact in the Wizarding World that a post owl will never fail to find its recipient.

It is an unknown fact in Equestria (just how changelings like it) that no magic works in the badlands around Chrysalis' hive save for that of a changeling.

Minerva McGonagall had attempted to trace the Chrysalias by tailing a post owl, but the homing spells had so far failed to latch onto their position.

The moment Chrysalis had come through to their world, the owl carrying her missive had taken off from the Owlery, which did not escape McGonagall's attention.

The tracking spell on the owl began to give results that McGonagall could travel to by Apparition or Floo, on which she decided the Floo when the owl found its recipient just outside the Leaky Cauldron.

Meanwhile, Chrysalis had been walking to London to see what information she could gather when she noticed a pub that only one or two interestingly dressed people seemed to notice, while most others seemed to simply pass it by without a glance.

A quick covert scan spell revealed those "one or two" to be Wizards or Witches, so she surmised the pub, named The Leaky Cauldron, could only be seen by magicals.

She decided to look inconspicuous, leaning on the right side of the building, when she noticed an owl circling overhead.

Thinking it was natural, Chrysalis returned to looking inconspicuous, waiting for an opportunity to snag one of the magicals with no one looking.

Minerva, on the other hand, was wondering why she didn't enter the Leaky Cauldron. Surely she couldn't be a Muggle, not with her bearing so similar to a Noble House or a Slytherin.

Minerva rented a room from Tom for the night, then dressed herself in a simple green blouse that matched her robes and exited to meet the odd woman head-on.

Chrysalis was snapped out of her gryphonesque focus when a voice called from the door, "Would you like to come in?"

She turned to her left and spotted a woman wearing a simple green blouse beckoning her from the door.

Wondering who this austere witch was, Chrysalis decided to take her up on the invitation and went inside, the room bustling with activity.

The people here were either the oddly dressed folk who had entered from the streets, or people who teleported in from the fireplace in a wash of emerald fire wearing long billowing robes.

"I am Minerva McGonagall," the woman who invited her in said. "It is a pleasure to meet you, miss Chrysalia."

The fact that her hive name was dropped made her curious, as she had no infiltrators planted today, so she simply said, "Likewise." It took her a while to recall the name she had used for her disguise before it came upon her as if it were obvious from her looks. "Celesta... I'm Celesta."

She had chosen the name because her disguise had reminded her of Celestia, and made her wonder how she would look as one of these bipeds. She had, of course, omitted the flowing prismatic mane to opt for the more sensible wisped blonde.

Minerva chose that moment to shake her hand, saying, "Perhaps we should adjourn to my rented room and talk a little more privately."

Privacy?, Chrysalis thought. Privacy is the perfect place to lay a trap. In her mind she smirked and thought, Miss Minerva, however, seems to think it's her who'll be doing the trapping.

Outwardly, she smiled and said, "That would be appreciated," following McGonagall to her room.

When they had sat down in Minerva's room, the owl began tapping the window, to Chrysalis' confusion.

McGonagall, however, saw it as confirmation this was the woman, and let the owl in. "I've been wondering about your family, Celesta. Just a few days ago, three names were added to Hogwarts' book of admission."

Chrysalis played coy, saying, "I just moved to Britain. Must have happened then."

McGonagall didn't seem to buy it at first, saying, "If you had moved from the Americas, we would have received record of you from the Magical Congress, would we not?"

"Well," Chrysalis said, "we didn't exactly trust the Congress. We lived in secret, and I was on vacation here before moving. We Chrysalias keep a lot of secrets."

Minerva still didn't seem convinced, saying, "What sort of wizarding family has names like Thorax, Pharynx, Ocellus, or the surname Chrysalia?"

Chrysalis knew she was in a corner, but decided to read the letter.

Dear Miss Chrysalia,

We wished to speak with you about the proceedings concerning the adoption of one Harry Potter. Our representative will meet with you shortly, as this owl was outfitted with a tracking spell.

Sincerely,
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

It was then she smirked and rose. "So, you saw right through me. Yes, I did happen across Harry, but we Chrysalias keep many secrets, as I say."

Minerva seemed offput by this reaction, saying, "What do you mean?"

Chrysalis chuckled darkly. "As you no doubt learned when you wrote up this owl to me, as well as any possible others, our location is a secret that not even owl post can penetrate. But we keep more secrets than that. Before I tell you more, though, what was with the magicals using the fireplace?"

Minerva raised her wand as she answered, "Floo travel is one of the more common methods of transport in the magical world... and you just let slip that you know nothing of it."

Chrysalis raised her hands. "Yes, you have me. I'm not a witch like you. What we are is another secret. But who I am..."

Minerva could only watch in shock as Celesta's silver eyes suddenly flashed harlequin and she said, "That's a secret I'm more comfortable with sharing on my turf."

Suddenly, a ring of green flame surrounded the two as Celesta smiled wickedly.

Minerva tried to extinguish the flames, but it proved fruitless as they coalesced into a dome that dragged the two downward... leaving only an empty room.

Minerva came to in an inhospitable craggy landscape, barren of life, with a foreboding black structure in the distance.

Sitting on a nearby boulder and smiling smugly was Celesta, whose eyes had turned that wicked green she had witnessed.

Grabbing her wand again, Minerva shouted, "Stupefy!", only for the red light to dissipate into wisps that travelled to the structure.

Getting up, Celesta said, "This is my home, Minerva... and as you've seen, it's warded, for lack of a better term, so that any magic that isn't from my kind simply dissipates."

McGonagall was wide-eyed as she continued. "Now for the secrets of who and what I am, I suppose."

Almost by her command, a green circle that erupted into a pillar of light formed around Celesta, and when it had cleared, Celesta was replaced by something insectoid, quadrupedal, and very much inhuman.

Her green eyes stayed the same in color but were now slit, her fair skin had been replaced by hard perforated black chitin, her mane had returned to its cerulean shade, and her grin now sported prominent fangs.

Minerva, however, seemed insulted. "You went through all this trouble just to tell me you were Animagi?!"

Chrysalis smirked. "Oh, not Animagi, or Metamorphmagi, at all, Minerva. After all..."

She whistled, and the boulder she had been sitting on had opened a pair of actual eyes before turning into a smaller insectoid equine and hissing menacingly.

"...no transfigurative ability can allow you to become something inanimate the way we can. I am a Changeling, professor; the Queen of the Changelings, to be exact."

Minerva's jaw dropped. These creatures were undocumented, dangerous, and capable of assuming any form they chose.

Chrysalis' expression then became a bit kinder. "Now come on. You'll probably want to meet Harry."

She dismissed the smaller changeling, and the two set to walking through the badlands and discussing multiple topics that sprung to their minds.

"Who sent you after me, anyway?," Chrysalis asked.

Minerva, finally easing herself after all the surprises, readily answered, "I was tasked with looking into your family by Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and Harry's previous magical guardian. He wanted to know how you came by Harry, why you removed him from the Blood Wards, and most imperatively if you would be ready to defend him from anyone who might try to attack Harry."

Sensing her sincerity, Chrysalis said, "I was walking by Privet Drive when I felt an aura of negative emotions. When I had Thorax, one of my drones, investigate, he accidentally bonded Harry to the hive by attaching to his magic and his thoughts crying out for someone to care for him. What Thorax revealed about Harry's life made it clear to me I needed to take action. He was being denied meals for subpar work, lashed by his uncle's belt, and his injuries cost Thorax most of his love ration when the link performed Hive's Embrace on him. Those rations can heal two lost limbs at least by molting the carapace... which is another reason I had to remove Harry. The bond began turning him into a changeling, and if Vernon had had the chance to notice chitin plates growing on Harry, just think of what he would have done!"

McGonagall's eyes were wide as dinner plates before she turned away and muttered, "I told him they were the worst sort of Muggles...," then said, "I assume you used the odd method of teleportation to covertly extract him?"

Chrysalis nodded, then said, "As for whether we can protect Harry, I currently hold the vaunted position of the only person able to traverse the boundary between Earth and Equestria after some annoying creature had me chase him here. Even if they were to find a way, most of the ponies of Equestria rely heavily on their magic, even Princess Celestia. My throne, as you demonstrated to yourself, is carved of a Dark Stone that absorbs all magic except for ours, which has had the side effect of creating these badlands. I can assume that many wizards pride themselves on magic rather than physical prowess; I can assure you, not even the Killing Curse, Confunding, or Imperio can bypass the effect."

Minerva was curious. "How do you know that?"

Chrysalis smirked. "My flame warp can bypass Anti-Apparition. I'm sure you were curious about why Snape was missing two days ago."

Minerva gawked. "You had Professor Snape cast the Killing Curse, the Imperius, and a Confundus?"

Chrysalis smiled. "I made sure he knew he wouldn't be bound by your laws and that no one could convict him of the act afterwards. Changelings know how to cover tracks better than anyone. He'd thought it was Voldemort standing before him, about to kill him."

Flashback

Severus Snape could only gawk in disbelief as the acid-green light of the Killing Curse dissipated.

Strangely, however, Lord Voldemort seemed fascinated rather than pleased to see what had happened.

"To be safe," he said, "you should cast some spells to cover it up for Prior Incantato."

Severus did so, and Voldemort had said, "Thank you, Severus. Those results were just what I had hoped for."

A green flash in Voldemort's eyes was the only hint it wasn't him that Snape got before he was sent back to his office.

"...We were near the border of the Badlands, so I had him test Imperio and Confundo by having me walk into the radius. As soon as I passed into the range of my throne, the fog lifted from my mind."

Minerva beamed. "You're certainly thorough about your knowledge of possible threats. If your guards can't be Confunded or Imperiused, and the Killing Curse doesn't work, you've covered some of the top threats in our spellbooks!"

Chrysalis had a wry smirk. "Anyling worth their love ration can push off a passive mental attack easily, and an active assault would have to deal with the combined will of the Hive, most of which would be in the radius of the throne anyway as a reserve... which reminds me," she said, "there was a small probe trying to listen in on Harry and Thorax's initial conversation."

Minerva seemed uneasy as she said, "Did you discover what it was?"

Chrysalis frowned. "We surmised it was what erupted out of his scar when the Link fully integrated. It was this black smoke, screaming in agony at the hive's love as if it were an Umbrum... but they don't exist in your world, so we were confused on what it was after we blasted it with more love energy and it dissipated."

Minerva's eyes were wide as she took this in. "That was a foul bit of soul magic known as a Horcrux. It had latched onto Harry when V- when his Killing Curse backfired due to a protection Lily put on him with her dying love. We all thought Harry would have to die in order to exorcise it, but your connection to him must have..."

Chrysalis put it together instantly. "...must have caused a thaumic upheaval that shuffled his human soul enough to expose the Horcrux, allowing us to destroy it by reinforcing the protection enough to be anathema to the soul piece!"

Minerva smiled. "You have my vote for being able to protect Harry, Celesta."

Chrysalis frowned. "That wasn't my name. I chose it because I thought my human form looked like Princess Celestia as a human without her mane aura."

Minerva quirked an eyebrow. "Is it something like Chrysalis, then, like the hive?"

Chrysalis' eyes went wide, and McGonagall smirked as they entered the hive.

Harry loved playing with Ocellus.

The young nymph looked like a drone out of preference, but in truth, Harry and his new mother had known she was a Royal, and thus next in line to take the mantle of leader, with Harry as Royal Ward coming immediately after.

Their playdate, which consisted of a few rounds of Match The Mimic mixed with a couple of rounds of Vigilance, which was basically hide-and-seek, mixed with a lighter version of Harry Hunting, if the hiders could turn into rocks and were constantly trying to surprise the seeker, was interrupted when Chrysalis entered the room with a human in a green blouse.

"Mom!" Harry hugged Chrysalis deeply, while Ocellus opted to remain as a rock as she was scared that the woman meant them harm.

Chrysalis stroked Harry's messy purple-black mane, careful not to be prodded by Harry's sharp horn, and said, "Hello, Harry. I understand it is a fair while earlier than I said I would be back, but some opportunities came up." She turned to Minerva and said, "Go on."

Dumbstruck at how the young equine was, well, Harry Potter, Minerva took a second to react before she introduced herself. "Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I apologize for the Muggle attire; I thought putting my robes back on would only present an opportunity for Queen Chrysalis to evade the urgent discussions Professor Dumbledore tasked me with conducting when I made contact."

Harry was somewhat confused at McGonagall's introduction, so he asked, "What's Hogwarts, miss McGonagall?"

Minerva raised a hand to answer, but was interrupted when Chrysalis asked, "Where's Ocellus? She should hear about where her, Harry, and the brothers are going to."

At that word, Ocellus, curious, dropped her rock disguise and said, "I'm going to this Hogwarts place too?"

Minerva smiled warmly at the shy nymph. "Hogwarts' book of admission wrote you down after Harry was brought into your hive. As for what Hogwarts is, it is Wizarding Britain's finest magical institution."

Pharynx, who had arrived with Thorax early on, said, "Why do we have to go to a magic school? I'm already the finest warrior in the hive, and Thorax is... well, Thorax."

Chrysalis smirked. "True, but you only know the spells from the ponies. It's my decree that you attend to keep Harry safe, and help to establish a more concrete position we could fall back to in case certain things," she glanced to McGonagall, "end up falling through."

The unspoken things in this decree were numerous; Chrysalis didn't want Minerva learning of her plan to take over Equestria, she wanted them to gather information on the Wizarding World from the inside, and she had received a distinct feeling that things were about to change in Equestria from the thousand years that it was Celestia alone ruling the country when the letter from "He-Who-Does-Not-Make-Sense" had arrived, to name three.

Pharynx, of course, had heard these unspoken things through the Link, and nodded, saying, "I'll be sure to keep the kids out of danger, my queen."

Free to speak, McGonagall said, "There are a variety of classes in Hogwarts, all of which Harry, Thorax, and Pharynx will be eligible for in three years, with Ocellus following the year after or sooner if she shows her magical pathways have matured. Which has brought an interesting predicament to mind; how long passes in your world compared to ours?"

Chrysalis laid a hoof to her chin before she said, "I have no idea. The only concrete time scale there is in our world is when Celestia raises and lowers the sun and moon."

Any more discussion on the matter was stymied when a familiar pink cloud drifted over the hive and a note fell down, weighed by multiple bottles of varying size, onto Chrysalis' head. Chrysalis levitated it for all to read.

Dear Pesky Plumbers Chrysalis/Harry/Professor McGonagall/Ocellus/Thorax/Pharynx,

I heard you were wondering about any concrete scale of time because of concerns with Harry's schooling. Worry not, I have devised something of a useful measure for this in Harry's education. (I have made provisions for Ocellus; why, I'm not comfortable saying.

To the people beyond this world observing this story,

Each summer for Harry will be one season of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic(plus any side movies like Equestria Girls.)

Each term of Hogwarts + winter break will last the interim between seasons.

This is so Harry doesn't miss any of his schooling OR any of the juicy things that will come to Equestria.

With love (the bottles attached to this note are samplings of Wizarding World love potions FOR SCIENCE, with the biggest bottle being Amortentia,)

He-Who-Does-Not-Make-Sense...'s nephew Falak

P.S: Aren't you glad I showed you how to get to the wizarding world, Chryssie?

P.P.S: Tomorrow is the big day. I want you in Ponyville dawn to dusk, and if I have to send you into Ponyville myself, I will. As for what day... Thousandth year, longest day. Ring a bell?

P.P.P.S: How do I keep riding a pink cloud over the Hive? It's a natural cloud coated with a pink binding agent to both keep it together and make it look like cotton candy, and it houses an airskiff with the balloon removed. Put it all together, and you have a "cotton candy" cloud that doesn't dissipate in anti-magic conditions and can be moved to my whims.

Chrysalis blinked in surprise as the cloud sped off into the distance, then raised a hoof to her chin. "'Happy Summer Sun,' the letter from Discord said... this one says 'longest day' and 'thousandth year' together..." Her eyes widened. "NIGHTMARE MOON!"

Minerva quirked an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

Chrysalis seemed frantic as she explained, "The corrupted form of Princess Luna, ruler of the night; the Mare in The Moon! 'Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal!' The longest day; The Summer Solstice, and the Summer Sun Celebration!"

Harry's eyes widened. "Our vacation to Ponyville?!"

McGonagall mused the information over for a moment. "Well, the Leaving Feast was today, so if I can arrange for traversal, I'd be interested in watching the festivities."

Before they could question how she would attend without raising suspicion, her form blurred and suddenly, in her place was a cat, black lines in the shape of her spectacles. The cat seemed as surprised as the four changelings.

Chrysalis was surprised at this transfiguration, snapping out of her panic as she said, "Hmm... it seems the Animagus transformation is something that can actually bypass the Throne's selective nullification. Still, Animagus? That'll work."

McGonagall nodded after she had turned back, then said, "At some point, we will have to discuss getting these three their wands and first-year texts."

Chrysalis frowned. "But didn't you say it would be three years before they took classes?"

Minerva tapped her nose as she said, "I said they could take all the classes in their third year because of our electives. They'll be eligible for the basic curriculum this coming term."

Chrysalis tapped a hoof to her chin for a few moments before she handed two green glowing orbs of resin to McGonagall. "These contain a fire-warp spell you and anyone you choose to bring can use to cross over here to Equestria and back to your world. We'll take Harry shopping after Nightmare Moon."

Minerva nodded, saying, "We should adjourn back to the Leaky Cauldron so no one gets suspicious. I assume Harry can still shapeshift back into a human?"

Harry, while a bit apprehensive to return to his human form, concentrated for a moment before he was enveloped in green flame and stood, fully garbed in his old tattered clothes, as a human once more.

Minerva nodded in approval, but said, "While he seems to have no problem conjuring robes, we may still want to purchase him robes so no one gets suspicious."

Chrysalis nodded, replying, "Making it look real is part of the disguise."

At that, Minerva jolted. "I just remembered. Wizards have several measures to detect disguises, least of which being Sneakoscopes and Secrecy Sensors, and Gringotts' goblins will most likely not look kindly on concealment if you pass under a Thieves' Downfall and your disguises cannot hold. On top of that, it may be hard to claim Harry's trust vault unless his blood can pass a heredity parchment, which is impossible to fool!"

Chrysalis' look seemed surprised, but she nodded quickly. "Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Perhaps you should bring something of these measures when you return for the Summer Sun Celebration, so we can test how efficient they are on changelings."

Professor McGonagall nodded, and Chrysalis returned to the guise of Celesta Chrysalia before the two were once again awash in a ring of green flames, this time bound for Minerva's room in the Leaky Cauldron and the two young changelings began a new game of Vigilance.

Having said goodbye to Chrysalis, McGonagall went up to the fireplace, said, "Hogwarts," and was whisked off to the ancient and expansive castle.

After stepping out of the fireplace, Minerva brandished her wand and said, "Expecto Patronum," the silvery apparition of positivity flowing from her wand and ready to take a message to Dumbledore.

Minerva debated on what to say for a moment, before she said to the cat Patronus, "The Chrysalias are better defended than you estimated, Albus. They will have no problems stopping Death Eaters."

She then sent the Patronus to deliver her message, and sat down at her desk, fidgeting with the two spheres she had been given.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Albus' voice coming from the fireplace, saying, "You have my thanks for evaluating the situation, Minerva. Would you care to elaborate on your report?"

Professor McGonagall considered for a moment whether to reveal more about the Hive, and with a catlike smirk befitting her, she accepted the invitation to speak more openly, as well as the challenge of working around the details that Chrysalis would not want revealed. After all, she thought, like Chrysalis told me; Changelings keep many secrets.

"Albus," she started, "the defenses of the Chrysalias are impressive. They've devised a ward against magic not from their family, and personally guaranteed me it could stand against the Unforgivable Curses. Not only that..."

Meanwhile, Chrysalis, Ocellus, and Harry began to make plans.

On the wall of the throne room there was a list of things to do, a glob of resin stretched into a drawing board with things coming up written in fluorescent green magic.

Happenings Before Us: A List Of Things That Must Be Done

This board was an idea by Chrysalis to keep track of things that had to be done, and while it had once contained the preparations for the invasion, it now housed steps to cement Harry's education in the Wizarding World.

See the Summer Sun Celebration - Falak has made it exceptionally clear that me and Harry will be attending, and fortunately our disguises have been honed to the point we are indistinguishable from real Trottingham ponies. Minerva will be attending. We may be able to establish a foothold in secret if Harry makes a friend in town.

Sort out Harry's inheritance - Fortunately, I've examined Harry's magical signature in advance; aside from the link to the Hive, the signature is exactly the same as before he was brought in. It should show up exactly the same for the Goblins.

School supplies - After the celebration and the rigamarole at Gringotts, we will acquire supplies for Harry, Thorax, Pharynx, and a spare set for Ocellus just in case (I have heard rumors of a curse on the DADA spot; it is unlikely the same textbooks will be assigned for the subject.)

Establish a foothold in the Wizarding World - This was something I wanted from the start that Harry has only accented; a place to retreat to should the worst happen. If Canterlot falls through, I want Ocellus and Harry both to lead the Hive in establishing themselves in the Wizarding World.

Investigate rumors of other human dimension - This is inconsequential, but I have heard of a mirror that leads to a "human world" completely devoid of active magic. It is supposed to be years ahead of Harry's world. I will attempt to investigate in the wake of the main task.

At the bottom of the board, in the biggest lettering, were the words,

MAIN TASK: INVADE CANTERLOT - Equestria is a country full of love. If I capture the country, starting at the seat of the Princess, the Hive will never go hungry again!

Something that Chrysalis knew adorned this board in a more recent scrawl of magic, meant as an addendum to the last order of business, was,

This is the big play I was planning to make before I found Harry. Changes do have to be implemented. Let this be known: If I perish in the assault, and the invasion falls through... to any adversary I may have made, please... take care of Harry.

It brought aches to Chrysalis' heart to think of such a thing happening, but she had to face facts; if things fell through in Canterlot, she may well leave Harry without a mother. These aches were why she always kept that addendum hidden from Harry and Ocellus.

"So," she said to her daughter and ward, "the stage is set for tomorrow. Are there any questions, you two?"

Ocellus raised a hoof. "How are we going to establish a base?"

Chrysalis smirked. "We had the week, my dear daughter. A team of drones was assigned to dig out a set of tunnels with an entrance near the town's train station, where we could enter the city without suspicion. The tunnels have been outfitted as a hive-away-from-hive, and if we decide to establish a foothold, I, as Crystalline Cloud, will buy one of the houses, and the entrance to the tunnels will be moved there."

Ocellus nodded, satisfied with the answer, and after twenty minutes of deliberation with no forthcoming questions, Chrysalis spoke up. "Get some sleep, both of you. There's a big day coming for us... whether we like it or not."

The Nymph Sees The Night

It was the day of the celebration that very eve, and Chrysalis, apprehensive though she was to go towards the place where the Mare In The Moon herself would reappear after a whole millenium, knew two things.

One: Harry was excited to meet actual ponies, since meeting drones didn't exactly... stick in one's mind, considering their similar appearances. He had been able to identify Thorax, Pharynx, and Ocellus, but that was because he "saw some sort of color on their chitin in his mind."

Two: One doth not argue with yon omnipotent immortal creature of chaos. One way or another, they were going to Ponyville.

A gout of flame burst from the corner of the room, and Chrysalis smiled, turning to see the emerald-robed Professor Minerva McGonagall. "Have a nice trip, professor?," she asked coyly.

Dusting herself off, Minerva replied, "No worse than when you controlled the destination, Your Majesty," before her form blurred and in her place was a simple tabby cat, the spectacle markings around her eyes being the only thing you could use to tell it was the accomplished Animagus and transfiguration teacher.

Smirking, Chrysalis turned to Harry, who was hugging Ocellus for a short farewell. His purplish-black unkempt mane had been marginally tamed (about as tamed as you could have it; Harry's hair pretty much never lay flat,) and his deep emerald eyes showed he would miss Ocellus from the moment he left.

A small ping in the back of his head brought his attention to Chrysalis, whose nod he answered with one of his own, and he said one last bright, "Goodbye, Ocellus!" before trotting over to his mother.

At a single unspoken signal, the two changelings, Queen and Ward alike, wreathed themselves in green flames before emerging as their disguises.

Chrysalis, under the agreed name of Crystalline Cloud, was an elegant and tall unicorn mare with coat of white and mane a red that paid tribute to Harry's birth mother, Lily Evans/Potter. Minerva, under the assumed name of "Pearltongue," hopped onto Cloud's back.

Harry, on the other hand, was an Aegean blue pegasus colt with purple eyes and a crimson-amaranth mane and tail with an emerald streak, named Unseen Lightning. The agreed story was that Lightning was in Ponyville with his mother, Crystalline Cloud, for the Summer Sun Celebration, and Pearltongue, another family's cat interested in the festivities, was tagging along for the night.

"Ready?," Harry asked his mother.

"As I'll ever be," Chrysalis answered, with Minerva nodding, and the two disguised ponies started down the tunnel to Ponyville.

Two hours later, in a place nowhere near our intrepid trio...
Skies northeast of Ponyville

Twilight Sparkle fumed silently in the pegasus-drawn chariot.

Why didn't the Princess take my warning seriously?, she thought to herself as she tuned out Spike, a baby dragon she had hatched on the day she became Celestia's student who had become her invaluable assistant, reading Celestia's directive to her; oversee the plans for the celebration in the hosting town of Ponyville, and, to her chagrin, make some friends.

"Look on the bright side, Twilight," her faithful dragon assistant said, "the Princess arranged for you to stay in a library. Doesn't that make you happy?"

Snapping upright, Twilight said, "Yes. Yes it does. You know why? Because I'm right! I'll check on the preparations as fast as I can, then get to the library to find some proof of Nightmare Moon's return."

Confused, Spike asked, "But then... when will you make friends like the Princess said?," to which Twilight retorted softly as they landed, "She said to check on preparations. I am her student and I will do my royal duty... but the fate of Equestria does not rest on me making friends."

If only she knew just how much she had underestimated the seemingly innocuous task's importance...

Meanwhile...
Temporary Entrance - Tunnel To Ponyville

Finally arriving at the other end of the tunnel, Crystalline Cloud said in a flawless Trottingham accent, "Now, Lighty, I'm letting you and Pearltongue wander around, but that does not mean you have my leave to goof off. Remember, be at Town Hall by nightfall so we can watch the Princess raise the sun."

Lightning nodded, Pearltongue hopping onto his back as the colt galloped off, and Cloud rolled her eyes, thinking to herself, You've earned this chance to just be a colt, Harry... twenty times over, in fact, before she cantered off towards a building that looked like a giant gingerbread house.

Her preliminary studies told her that was one of the best places to get some delicious sugar, and she didn't want to ditch her disguise when the ponies all exuded love for the Princess. She was careful like that.

Luckily, one of her local operators had lent her some bits, so she wouldn't have to mind control anyone to get anything; another useful piece of the "plan," since changeling brainwashing required constant attention and she didn't want anything blown before she could put the pieces into place for her invasion.

Meanwhile, with Lightning…

Harry Potter, under the disguise of Unseen Lightning, walked through the bright streets of Ponyville in amazement.

As his first excursion from the hive, he was amazed at how different the atmosphere was.

Pegasi, Unicorns and Earth Ponies were chatting in the streets about the celebration, and many other things caught his eye; a mint green unicorn sitting like a human, a purple unicorn speaking to two armoured white pegasi, a blue pegasus lazing about on a cloud-

Wait, Lightning thought, armoured white pegasi?!

Harry’s mind snapped back to something his mother had said as they were walking down the tunnel: if you see any white ponies in gold armor, do not let them find you out as a changeling! They’re Celestia’s royal guards!

And, as Lightning saw, they were talking to a purple unicorn with a starburst cutie mark. He began to walk casually in her direction, and listened to them.

He noticed a small dragon whelp as he got close, and heard them say, “Maybe the ponies in Ponyville have interesting things to talk about!,” and gesture to a pink mare with a fluffy mane… just as he bumped into her. “Come on, Twilight, just try.”

He saw the mare’s eyes dart between him and the unicorn, who he suspected was Twilight, and felt a little scrutinized.

“Uh… hello?,” Twilight greeted, and no sooner than she did, the pink mare gasped, jumped up in the air, and shot off past her.

He noticed the pegasi had taken their leave, but he was still apprehensive, so he said, “Um… hello, miss.”

Twilight shrugged and derisively said, “Well, that was interesting, alright,” before she turned to Harry and said, “Hey, kid. From your accent, I’d say you’re not local. What’s your name?”

“Oh, uh… Unseen Lightning. Me and my mother were visiting from Trottingham for the Summer Sun Celebration, with our pet cat Pearltongue.”

At this, Pearltongue meowed and hopped down, getting Twilight’s attention. “Well,” she said, “it’s nice to meet you, Lightning, but we have to get going. I’m very busy.”

As Twilight trotted off, Spike piped up again. “I’m Spike, Twilight’s personal assistant. You’ll have to excuse her; she’s not very sociable.”

As Spike ran off to catch up with Twilight, Lightning sighed before opening up a link. Mom, some royal guards just dropped off a purple unicorn and a baby dragon in a chariot. They didn’t test me, but a pink mare sped off when she saw us.

After a bit, Crystalline Cloud spoke back to him. I’m familiar with the mare from scout reports. She’s the town party planner. She’s also right in front of me, preparing us some cupcakes.

At this, Lightning blinked. Cupcakes?

Cloud giggled. Harry, one thing about being a changeling is that, if you find some love directed to you and you haven’t had any in a while, you may blow our cover. Fortunately, Changelings can digest sugar to substitute for love. A couple cupcakes each should keep us until the whole Nightmare Moon incident blows over.

Satisfied, Lightning declared, I’m going to see if I can tail the unicorn and the dragon. If she’s on business here, she must have been sent to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, before he began to trot after Twilight and Spike.

A few seconds earlier…

As Crystalline Cloud put the cupcakes in her saddlebag and made to leave Sugarcube Corner, she was bowled over by a pink blur saying, “New ponies, new ponies! Okay, focus, Pinkie. Party Cannon loaded? Check! Punch? Check. Cupcakes?… Right! Let’s do this!”

When Cloud had got to her hooves and checked herself over, seeing no hint of black chitin, she breathed a sigh of relief that her disguise had held… before noticing the cupcakes had spilled on the floor and going back towards the front desk.

Before she could react, Cloud was face to face with a pink mare with a fluffy mane, staring at her with wide eyes and saying, “Oh, jeez! I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there and- Oh, Celestia, another new pony! Now I need to make more cupcakes for the party- Oh, horseapples,” she said after looking behind Cloud, “I ruined your cupcakes! Here, let me make you some more!”

She then darted into the kitchen, and the sounds of rapid mixing, filling, and strangely enough, a fast-paced song about cupcakes echoed from the back room.

Confused, Chrysalis heard Lightning speak through the hive-link. Mom, some royal guards just dropped off a purple unicorn and a baby dragon in a chariot. They didn’t test me, but a pink mare sped off when she saw us.

A purple unicorn with a baby dragon?, Cloud thought. Associated with Royal Guards? I wonder who that could be… although by corroboration in the timing, she must have met the pink mare alongside Lightning.

After a bit, Cloud answered him. I’m familiar with the mare from scout reports. She’s the town party planner. She’s also right in front of me, preparing us some cupcakes.

At this, Lightning paused before replying, Cupcakes?

Cloud giggled in her head. Harry, one thing about being a changeling is that, if you find some love directed to you and you haven’t had any in a while, you may lose your disguise and blow our cover. Fortunately, Changelings can digest sugar to substitute for love. A couple cupcakes each should keep us until the whole Nightmare Moon incident blows over.

Satisfied, Lightning declared, I’m going to see if I can tail the unicorn and the dragon. If she’s on business here, she must have been sent to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration.

Skeptical but curious, Cloud simply closed the link and hoped for the best.

Soon after the link was closed, a blue pony with a warm smile came to the counter and said, “You’ll have to excuse Pinkie Pie. She’s particularly enthusiastic about meeting new ponies and throwing parties for them. I’m Cup Cake.”

Shaking off her surprise, Cloud replied, “Crystalline Cloud. Me and my son are visiting from Trottingham for the Summer Sun Celebration. Anyway, Pinkie offered to make me another six cupcakes to replace the ones I dropped.”

Cup Cake nodded, but before she could confirm what kind they were, six different cupcakes were laid on the counter; raspberry with cherry frosting, vanilla with apple frosting, mango with coconut frosting, grape with raspberry frosting, black currant with blueberry frosting and a marshmallow in the shape of a moon, and orange with banana frosting.

Blinking, Cup Cake said, “Were these the cupcakes?”

Dumbfounded by how Pinkie guessed completely right, Cloud nodded and put the cupcakes in her saddlebag before turning to leave again, half listening to Pinkie saying, “Just apple-vanilla cupcakes for the party!”

As Lightning tailed Twilight and Spike, he noticed the landscape change from a rural town to a dirt road, leading to a farmhouse surrounded by apple trees; an orchard.

As he came near the fence, he heard Spike. “Summer Sun Celebration official overseer’s checklist: Number one, banquet preparations; Sweet Apple Acres.” Sure enough, as the two came into sight, Spike brandished a pencil and scroll.

Sweet Apple Acres, Lightning thought. That’s a nice name.

His thoughts were interrupted, however, from a cry of, “Yeeee-haw!”

Turning to the source, Lightning bore witness to an orange earth pony with a tied blonde mane, three red apples on her flank, and a cowboy hat, rushing up to an apple tree before twisting around and delivering a firm kick to the trunk with her hind legs, which, as Lightning noticed, caused all of the apples to fall neatly into the baskets below.

Turning away from the orange pony, who held her head up in pride, Lightning saw that Twilight wasn’t at all enthused to mingle with them, sighing before saying, “Let’s get this over with…”
(:moustache:)
Lightning snuck up beside Twilight, intending to surprise her as she raised her head and introduced herself. “Good afternoon! My name is Twilight Sparkle.”

From the look on her face, Lightning surmised, she did not expect the swift and firm hoofshake as the orange pony replied, “Well, howdy-do, miss Twilight! A pleasure makin’ your acquaintance. I’m Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like makin new friends!”

“Friends?,” Twilight asked, vibrating from the vigorous hoofshake. “Actually-y-y, I-“

“So,” Applejack cut in, “what can I do ya for?”

After Spike stopped her still-shaking hoof, chuckling at the interaction, Twilight cleared her throat and said, “Well, I am in fact here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration… and you’re in charge of the food?”

“We sure as sugar are!,” Applejack answered. “Would you and your tagalong colt care to sample some?”

Twilight quickly looked behind her, seeing Lightning wave and nod, but quickly composed herself and answered, “As long as it doesn’t take too long.”

However, Applejack had already sped off and rang a triangle, yelling, “SOUP’S ON, EVERYPONY!”

This declaration was met with a rush of different coloured ponies with various apple-themed cutie marks, and when the dust cleared, Lightning, Twilight, and Spike were seated at a round table with a square-patterned tablecloth.

Lightning, remembering Changelings could digest sugars, smiled eagerly as Applejack popped up beside Spike, saying, “Now, why don’t I introduce y’all to the Apple family?”

“Thanks, but I really need to hurry,” Twilight said, though she was quickly rebuffed from departing by Applejack listing off the Apples as they left various dishes on the table. “This here’s Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apple, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp-”

She paused for breath before finishing, “Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom, aaaaand,” she paused to stuff an apple into Twilight’s mouth, “Granny Smith.” She turned to an old green pony with a pie cutie mark, a whited-out mane, and an apple-print scarf around her neck, sleeping in a rocking chair. “Up an’ attem, Granny Smith! We got guests.

Lightning couldn’t make out what Granny Smith said, but Applejack said, “Why, I’d say they’re already part of the family!”

Twilight spit out her apple before laughing sheepishly and saying, “Okay, well, I can see the food situation is handled, so we’ll be on our way.”

This declaration was met with disbelieving looks from most of the family, Lightning noted as he polished off an apple cupcake, along with a sad-eyed Apple Bloom asking, “Aren’t you gonna stay for brunch?”

“Sorry,” Twilight said, “but we have an awful lot to do.”

The Apples looked disheartened, though they perked up when Lightning said, “I certainly enjoyed the sampling. The spread is sure to be wonderful.”

The sad looks of the Apple family, however, if only for a moment, we’re enough to get Twilight to say, “Fine.”

At this, the Apples let out a cheer, and Lightning sent out a small message to Cloud saying, Mom, the Apples are almost as numerous as the hive! I’ll be hanging back with Twilight and Spike - the unicorn and dragon respectively - for brunch with them.

Receiving a wave of understanding from his mother, Lightning dug in, Pearltongue following suit.

A few minutes later, with Cloud…

Cloud watched from a distance as Lightning and Twilight stumbled away from Sweet Apple Acres, bellies full.

Cloud surmised that Lightning wouldn’t need the cupcakes soon, since he was consuming large amounts of natural sugars that would fill his reserves, but the surprising thing was that the Hive’s reserve had also been filled, albeit only slightly.

Made with love, indeed, remarked Cloud in her head, and she turned around to leave Lightning to it…

…only to, after a blue blur sent the three into a mud puddle, come face to face with one of her operators, Nectare, in disguise.

Nectare’s record included one of the longest and most ambitious successful infiltrations in Chrysalis’ hive; on one of Princess Celestia’s own secret services, the Secret Monster Intelligence League of Equestria, a.k.a S.M.I.L.E, under her identity as Sweetie Drops. After an escape from Tartarus, a bugbear Drops had captured, S.M.I.L.E was dissolved unofficially, so Sweetie Drops took up residence undercover in Ponyville as Bon Bon the candy maker.

“Bon Bon,” Cloud greeted.

“Hello, miss, do I-,” Bonbon replied, before a brief flash of green in Cloud’s eyes had her glance around. “Not here,” she said, and the two departed for an alley.

Once they were isolated, Bon Bon said, “My Queen. What a surprise to meet you, but we must be brief. Lyra is expecting me.”

“Of course,” Cloud said. “The fact that you gave me these bits from your own purse is greatly appreciated, Nectare.”

Bon Bon nodded and said, “It was nothing, my Queen. Tell me, have you tried the Apple family’s cuisine?”

Cloud chuckled. “My ward has. You were not joking when you said they made their goods with love. He could taste it himself, besides the sugars. That purple pony, however… who is she, other than an overseer?”

Bon Bon paused for a moment, then said, “Twilight Sparkle. Newest student of the Princess… but I can sense something deeper in her. It feels like… a Core Magic, though it doesn’t seem as though she knows how to access it.”

Cloud’s eyes widened. The Core Magics were powerful forces that only a select few were born with. Each race had one to their name, but there was one Core Magic, the Core Magic, that any race could theoretically access.

“Just as well that I made no final plans to leave you in the background, Nectare. If the Core Magic of Harmony has chosen this place to assemble her pony Bearers, it would be prudent to keep a… personal eye on them.” Cloud turned around. “I will bring up moving here to my ward. Consult the mayor about any vacancies in town.”

At Bon Bon’s nod, the two exited the alleyway, Cloud heading to the library at Pinkie’s request and Bon Bon going to meet up with Lyra.

With Lightning, a couple minutes ago…

“I haven’t had that much food in a long time,” Lightning said as the three cantered away from the orchard. “Before mom adopted me…”

Lightning considered getting his past off his chest… but he barely knew Twilight, so he simply said, “…well, I’m better fed now.”

“Ugh… I ate too much pie,” Twilight said beside Lightning. “And you ate just as much, and you’re not experiencing stomach pain?”

Spike looked between them, then decided to change the subject back to their task. “Hmm… there’s supposed to be a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearin’ the clouds.”

This got Twilight’s attention, and she looked up… to a very cloudy sky. “Well, she’s not doing a very good job, is she?”

Their musing was interrupted by a blue blur crashing into Twilight, which smacked her and Lightning (and Pearltongue) into a mud puddle.

When Lightning got out from under Twilight, he saw a sky-blue pegasus with a vibrant multicoloured mane and tail get up, look back sheepishly, laugh, and say, “Uh… ‘scuse me?” She then flew a small distance up and said, “Lemme help you.”

She then flew over, brought a raincloud over the two, and bounced over it, summoning a torrent of water and drenching the two below. “Hehe… oops. I guess I overdid it. Um, uh… how ‘bout this?,” she asked rhetorically as she circled Lightning and Twilight, kicking up a twister of prismatic wind around them that dried the mud and cleaned them off.

“My very own patented… Rain-Blow Dry!,” she said before setting down lightly on the ground. “No, no, don’t thank me, you!re quite welcome.

Lightning chanced a glance at Twilight, who looked quite irate at her poofy, swirled mane, and couldn’t help but laugh along with Rainbow Dash and Spike. He could only wonder how he looked after he went through all that, and Pearltongue (a.k.a Minerva McGonagall) did not look amused at her fur being fluffed up. One could imagine her thinking to herself, Don’t blow your cover, Minerva. It’s not worth lecturing the mare.

“Lemme guess,” Twilight asked, “you’re Rainbow Dash?”

The mare looked up from her pile with Spike, then sprung up and answered, “The one and only!,” as she flew up. “Why, ya heard of me?”

Twilight, ever the serious one, said, “I heard you’re supposed to be keeping the sky clear!,” before sighing and continuing with, “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and the Princess sent me to check on the weather.”

“Yeah, yeah, that’ll be a snap,” Rainbow Dash said dismissively. “I’ll do it in a jiffy, just as soon as I’m done practicing.”

“Practicing for what?,” Twilight asked, to which Rainbow answered, almost with a reverence in her voice, “The Wonderbolts!,” pointing to a poster behind them. “They’re gonna perform at the celebration tomorrow, and I’m gonna show ‘em my stuff!”

“The Wonderbolts?,” Twilight questioned with a rhetorical edge, to which Rainbow simply replied, “Yup.”

“The most talented fliers in all of Equestria?,” Twilight asked, which confused Lightning briefly.

“That’s them,” Rainbow responded, which led Twilight to snark, “Pfft, please. They’d never accept a pegasus who can’t even keep the sky clear for one measly day.”

At that, Lightning realized Twilight was goading Rainbow Dash, especially when Rainbow Dash said she could clear the sky in ten seconds flat.

Lightning could only hide his amusement as Twilight said, “Prove it,” and Rainbow went zipping through the sky, smashing clouds straight out of the sky.

Pearltongue, however, was surprised, thinking, I don’t recall Chrysalis telling me pegasi were literally responsible for weather! Never mind the cloud walking… I’ll have to bring this up when we next meet.

“What’d I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat,” Rainbow boasted, continuing with, “I’d never leave Ponyville hangin’.”

Twilight and Spike were dumbstruck by the speed and skill with which Rainbow confronted the task, while Lightning was awestruck by the speed a living, breathing equine could achieve.

Rainbow chuckled, saying, “You should see the look on your face. Ha, you’re a laugh, Twilight Sparkle. I can’t wait to hang out some more.”

She then rubbed her hoof endearingly on Lightning’s head and zipped off.

“Wow, she’s amazing!,” Spike commented, before laughing at Twilight’s frizzed-up mane.

Twilight groaned, before the small gathering of ponies cantered off to town hall.

In Town Hall…

“Decorations,” Spike said, before his eye caught something and he said, “Beautiful…”

Twilight, who was focused more on the state of Town Hall, remarked, “Yes, the decor is coming along nicely. This ought to be quick. I’ll be at the library in no time. Beautiful, indeed.”

“Twilight,” Lightning said, rolling his eyes, “I think he’s talking about the other unicorn,” to which Spike nodded.

Twilight looked down. Sure enough, the young dragon was fixated on a luxurious white unicorn with a curled purple mane and tail. Where Rainbow’s coat was windswept and tomboyish, this mare’s was immaculately groomed, not one hair out of place, and her eyelashes matched, framing eyes that sparkled like sapphires. Cementing this image of luxury was an image of three blue diamonds on her flank.

Said unicorn was currently absorbed in her work, levitating ribbon after ribbon before her eyes before dismissing them.

Lightning and Pearltongue glanced at Spike. His wide, smiling mouth and eyes with hearts in them spoke of a deep fixation, a romantic inclination.

Lightning thought to himself, If mom was here, she’d probably note this down on some file for the little dragon. How far apart in age even are they?

(In a dark library, Chrysalis felt a distinct urge to write, “Young dragon likes Ponyville fashionista, must check age gap before trying to capitalize,” in her folder for intriguing harvest cases.)

Pearltongue, however, rolled her eyes and thought, Young love like this would be a scandal Rita Skeeter would kill to get her hands on… never mind the existence of unicorns that can use magic with their horns.

“How are my spines? Are they straight?,” asked Spike, to which Twilight rolled her eyes and struck up her topic.

Or at least tried to, as she got no farther than a “Good afternoon,” before the mare interjected.

“Just a moment, please. I’m ‘in the zone,’ as t’were,” she said before tying a sparkling red bow and saying to herself, “Oh, yes! Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you are a talent,” then turning to the group…

…and getting no further than “Now, um, how can I help you-“ before she clamoured at the state of their manes and tails with a somewhat warranted, “Whoa-ha-ha!”

Lightning stifled a chuckle before Rarity said, “Oh my stars, darlings! Whatever happened to your coiffures?!”

“Oh, you mean my mane?,” Twilight said, while Lightning, quite unused to the language of French/Prench, tilted his head in confusion. “Well, it’s a long story. I’m just here to check on the decorations and then I’ll be out of your hair.”

“Out of my hair?,” Rarity balked. “What about your hair?”

She then pushed Twilight out the door, to her surprise, and Lightning shrugged, saying to his mother, Mom, got another detour on our hands. A mare named Rarity took exception to our hair being frizzed up after Rainbow Dash blow-dried us.

Spike pretty much floated out the door behind them, leading to Pearltongue shaking her head.

Lightning considered asking either Spike or Rarity their ages… but decided it wouldn’t be good manners for Rarity and Spike was most likely too transfixed to answer.

At least he escaped the dress-up show Twilight was roped into after his hair, in its typical messy sort of state, was fixed. Truth be told, Rarity had tried to tame it, but gave it up as futile after quite a few tries.

Finally, Rarity settled on clothing Twilight in a bedazzled saddle corset, with a centrepiece of a lozenge-cut emerald.

“Now, go on, my dear,” Rarity said as she tightened the corset. “You were telling me where you’re from.”

Twilight had difficulty choking out her words with the sheer degree of compression her barrel was experiencing. “I’ve… been sent… from Canterlot… to-“

“Huh?! Canterlot?!,” Rarity said in surprise, sending the two mares flying in opposite directions. “Oh, I am so envious, the glamour, the sophistication! I have always dreamed of living there! I can’t wait to hear all about it!”

She then got close to Twilight and, eyes half-lidded, said, “We are going to be the best of friends, you and I.”

“Mom always said a lot of Canterlot nobility were self-assured snobs,” Lightning said, “and that the worst of them all was the Princess’ nephew, Prince Blueblood.” It wasn’t a lie, of course; Chrysalis had told him that the only nobles in Canterlot she remotely considered good company were Fancy Pants and his wife, Fleur de Lis. The rest of them, in her words, “had snouts so high up they could smell their snouts burning in Celestia’s sun.”

Rarity nodded. “Yes, the clientele is a little dry, but there’s bound to be a few charming people if you just look deep.”

She then glanced at the emerald and declared, “Emeralds? What was I thinking? Let me get you some rubies!”

While her back was turned, Twilight bolted. “Quick! Before she decides to dye my coat a new color!”

Lightning, however, stuck around to apologize to the mare before he and Spike departed with the mare.

Later…

“Wasn’t she wonderful?,” Spike said, to which Lightning said, “At least she was understanding once I explained.”

“Focus, casanova,” Twilight chided softly. “What’s next on the list?”

Spike cleared his throat before saying, “Oh, uh… music. It’s the last one.”

Just then, tones of birdsong rang through the air, prompting some confusion from the trio as they hid in the bushes.

What they saw was a butter-yellow pegasus with three pink butterflies on her flank in front of a veritable chorus of different birds. The one bluejay on the branches, however, was singing quite out of tune.

“Oh, my,” the pegasus remarked. “Um… stop, please, everyone.”

Surprisingly to Lightning and Pearltongue, the whole choir ceased, and the pegasus flew up to the bluejay. “Um… excuse me, sir. I mean no offence, but… your rhythm is just a teeny-tiny bit off.” She then fell softly back, her bubblegum pink mane cascading in the air, and prepared to recommence the rehearsal. “Now, follow me, please. A-one, a-two, a-one, two, three-“

“Hello!,” Twilight piped up, which had the effect of scattering the birds and surprising the mare. “Oh my, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten your birds, I’m just here to check up on the music, and… it’s sounding beautiful.”

The mare didn’t seem to know how to respond to this, awkwardly pawing at the ground and looking to the right, which had the effect of shrouding her turquoise eyes from Twilight.

Twilight smiled sheepishly for a bit, then introduced herself. “I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

After a moment of silence, she decided to ask, “What’s your name?”

The mare awkwardly and quietly said, “Um… I’m Fluttershy…”

“Fluttershy, hm?,” Lightning guessed. “I’m Unseen Lightning, and this is Pearltongue.”

The cat immediately got Fluttershy’s attention, and she perked up immediately. “Oh, um… hello, little kitty. I’m Fluttershy.”

Pearltongue rolled her eyes. She’s got the makings of Hufflepuff in her…

Fluttershy tilted her head. “Um… what’s ‘Hufflepuff?’”

This caused Pearltongue to shoot up, startled. Sweet Merlin, can she…?

“Merlin?,” Fluttershy said. “I don’t think this is an ordinary cat.”

This confirmed Pearltongue’s suspicions, and she was only saved from being further prodded by Spike coming out of the bushes, saying, “Merlin? Hufflepuff? What’s with all these words being thrown around?”

This immediately caused Fluttershy to shift from a demure mare into an excited one as she gasped and said, “A baby dragon!,” before shooting over to Spike, knocking the ponies and cat out of the way to rush up to him. “Oh, I’ve never seen a baby dragon before. He’s sooo cute!”

This caused Spike to glance back to Twilight, saying, “Well, well, well…”

“Oh my, he talks!,” Fluttershy said. “I didn’t know dragons could talk. That’s just so incredibly wonderful, I-I just don’t even know what to say!”

“Well,” Lightning said, collecting himself, “mom always told me about the Dragonlands to the southeast, between Griffonstone and Kirin Grove. She never goes there, though; she’s worried they won’t like her.” Not necessarily a lie; he had learned some Equan geography just in case he got lost so he could navigate to the Badlands by the various settlements and countries.

The real reason Chrysalis stayed away from those areas, however, was that the Kirin were notorious for their temper and the transformation thereof, the Griffons had fallen from Grace since the Idol of Boreas was lost and the line of kings fell, and the Dragons only had love for their gem hoard… which they also snacked on.

Either way, Twilight quickly put Spike down on her back and said, “Well, your birds seem to be back, so we’ll leave you to it.”

Of course, it only took a moment’s decision for Fluttershy to walk along with the trio, striking up a conversation with Spike that lasted all the way to the library.

Trying to play up the “Spike needs a nap time” card only temporarily separated the two, however, since Lightning let her into the library for the party he was forewarned about.

“Huh. Rude much?,” Spike chided.

“Sorry, Spike,” Twilight apologized, “but I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we’re running out of time! I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies tryin’ to make friends all the time. Now, where’s the light?”

“Too bad,” Lightning said, before he joined the ponies in saying, “SURPRISE!”

Twilight groaned.

“Surprise!,” Pinkie said. “Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie and I threw this party just for you! Were ya surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh? Huh? Huh?”

“Very surprised,” Twilight said, before bitterly adding, “Libraries are supposed to be quiet.”

“Well, that’s silly!,” Pinkie said. “What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? I mean, duh! Bo-ring!”

Lightning decided to tune out most of Pinkie’s recount of her day, looking for his mother, when he found her at the punch table.

“Oh, dear, miss Sparkle,” she said, “I believe you might want to pour the green bottle for punch. That red one is hot sauce.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she checked the label, then said, “Great, another pony trying to make friends…”

“Just being courteous, my dear,” she retorted lightly as Lightning jumped her. “You did look after my little Lighty, after all.”

At this, Pinkie gasped, saying, “Oh, so this little scamp is your son? I’m glad to see you both!”

Twilight, who was drinking her punch with a kick, saw this as a chance to slip through the crowd, but she was stonewalled by Cloud stepping in front of her. “I don’t believe we’ve properly met, dear. I am Crystalline Cloud. Me and my son were visiting from Trottingham for the celebration, but we may just decide to move in with all the excitement here.”

“Twilight Sparkle,” she replied, “and likewise. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need some peace to look into-“

“The seal breaking?,” Cloud interjected. “In a way, you could say that is what brought us here as well. A nuisance said if we weren’t on the train to Ponyville this morning, he’d smuggle us on the express while we slept. Besides, Lighty could use the excitement.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, before she pushed by Cloud and up the stairs to the loft.

“Should I follow her?,” Lightning asked, to which Cloud replied, “No. She’s even more clueless about the One Core Magic than Starswirl dearest. Still,” she continued as she passed Lightning a cupcake from her bag, “I have no doubt she can puzzle it out once dear Luna comes back.”

In the noise of the party, the conversation was missed, and after eating a couple cupcakes, Cloud and Lightning joined in the festivity.

Of course, with Fluttershy satisfied with her interview of Spike, she soon turned towards Pearltongue, who pretended she was one of a special sort of animals from another world.

I feel like a character in a Muggle fantasy novel, she thought.

“Ooh!,” Fluttershy exclaimed. “Imagine if critters like you and… somepony like me who can understand animals… were central elements in a Daring Do novel!”

Yes, Pearltongue lamented. That does sound thrilling.

Stepping out from the party, Lightning looked up.

Displayed clearly in the sky was the moon, the mark of Luna’s seal emblazoned clearly in its craters.

But was it him, or were those four stars… inching… closer?

Lightning’s eyes widened. The seal is breaking…

His thoughts were cut short by his mother, who came out to escort him to the town hall for the sunrise. “What’s wrong, dear?”

She and Pearltongue then glanced up… and saw it.

Pearltongue hopped off, then, out of sight from the townspeople, turned back into Minerva. “The legend is true, then… Let us hope that the aftermath will have no casualties.”

She then turned back into a cat, hopped on Lightning’s back, and the three headed to face destiny.

Town Hall

As the townsponies waited with bated breath, Cloud ruminated on what she knew of the Mare In The Moon.

Princess Luna, younger Princess of Equestria. Protector of dreams, and ruler of the night. Became envious of her sister’s daylight, which eventually led her to develop that darker side of herself, Nightmare Moon, and force her sister, Celestia, to seal her away on the moon… not that it held her back any at Trot, she added as she unconsciously rubbed at one of the spots her chitin had been blasted through. The two of them sealed away Discord, spirit of chaos, and before that… the gap in my memory, though I do remember it involving King Aspen of Whitetail Woods, Queen Novo of Mount Aris, and the Abyssinian King, Shadepaw.

Such was an unsettling thing; the whole Hive had forgotten something only a few weeks before Discord was sealed away, and when a false memory tried to insert itself, it caused them splitting headaches. The whole thing stunk of Chaos Magic… but if Discord wanted them to forget something, how horrible was that thing?

Her thoughts on the matter were interrupted when she glanced up at the moon - and the Mare was gone.

“…The pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day,” Mayor Ivory Scroll’s voice rang out, now apparent to her outside of ther musings, “the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria…”

As Fluttershy prepared to conduct the fanfare, Lightning thought, This is going to be exciting.

“…Princess Celestia!”

The curtain was drawn. The spotlight illuminated emptiness.

“This can’t be good,” Twilight said as confusion became apparent.

Rarity revealed Celestia’s absence. Pinkie, to Lighting’s amusement, kept a bright outlook… then yelped as a blue mist floated from the balcony… and resolved itself into a black mare, to Twilight’s horror (and weak gratification at being right,) with slit eyes that gleamed like turquoise, a wispy mane that appeared like the skies of the dreamscape, and as she smiled, Lighting saw her teeth were wicked points.

“Nightmare Moon…,” Twilight said as Spike fainted off her back, which almost seemed to prompt the mare to speak.

“Oh, my beloved subjects. It’s been so long since I’ve seen your precious little sun-loving faces,” she said, and Lightning could certainly notice the contempt she had for the sun - and with it, her own sister.

I couldn’t imagine even Pharynx being so… contemptible to his brother, he thought as Rainbow Dash made to rush the mare - and was only stopped by Applejack holding her by the tail. A tad abrasive, maybe a bit too teasing, but contemptible? Our bond is blood and brood, especially theirs!

As if to break the mood at her mocking taunt of “Why? Am I not royal enough for you? Don’t you know who I am?,” Lightning said, “Mother talks so much about the young sister of night, the guardian of dreams… even corrupted by your own long-festered envy, you possess an ethereal, moonlit radiance… Luna Duskchild.”

This comment was met with gasps from the crowd, and while Nightmare Moon seemed enraged to be called Luna after so long… Cloud noticed the slightest blush at being said to possess such a radiance, and smirked.

Lightning, Cloud thought, I don’t know anything about your family, but you can be such a ladies’ colt sometimes.

“While I am… offended somewhat by being associated with that name,” Nightmare said, “you do at least acknowledge the crown I used to hold… and after all these years, all the signs, the legend shall be true, and the crown of Equestria shall belong solely to me, Nightmare Moon, as it should have been a thousand years ago!”

“I know the legend,” Twilight interjected, “and I don’t know why Princess Celestia dismissed me to this town, but you can’t expect everypony to simply bow to somepony over one night!”

“Hmph. Remember the day you had, little ponies,” Nightmare said with finality, “for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night… will last… forever!”

She punctuated this statement with a wicked cackle that made Pearltongue roll her eyes. Talk about chewing the scenery.” she thought as Nightmare Moon’s mane cascaded into a dark vortex encompassing the entire ceiling.

“Seize her!,” Ivory called to the guards in vain. “Only she knows where Princess Celestia is!”

In vain it was, not because the guards had fled, but because Nightmare summoned lightning to blast them away before she snapped up Lightning, to Cloud’s shock, and flew off to the Everfree, to the Castle.

Following Twilight, Chrysalis felt a pit of worry in her stomach… and it tasted bitter.

One thought alone made her pause; Is this what being a mother is supposed to feel like?

The thought that she was just realizing it, if it were true worry, made her think something else… but she pushed that aside to tell Twilight, “I have no idea what that crazed mare wants with Lighty, but please… bring him home safe.”

By the time Lightning had stopped seeing the scenery of the Everfree treetops, he was set down almost ceremoniously onto a cold stone floor, in the center of a gaping room.

“Audacious as you are,” Nightmare Moon said, making him freeze and turn, “you recognize our sovereignty, our right to rule, and… we admit, you made us feel loved in a crowd of fear.”

As he turned, his eyes were unwillingly drawn to the plinth, bearing five stone globes with hexagonal jewels embedded.

Nightmare noticed this, and said, “Walk with us, colt. Half of those relics used to be ours, but we do not jest that, after one thousand years, we and our beloved sister have faded from their power.”

With that, Nightmare ushered Lightning up a set of stairs gently, to an empty room that was much more plain, where she continued.

“Once,” she said, “this was the seat of Our power. We presided in this wood as symbols of the unity our mentor, Starswirl The Bearded, had helped achieve. We were the gift of dream and rest, and Our dear sister ruled the vivacious hours of sunlight, day in and day out. Never any time for Us! ‘Not now, Luna,’ ‘I have propositions to peruse, Luna,’ ‘We’re not fillies gallivanting around anymore, Luna!’ Even when I voiced my concerns, she had to wave me off being the benevolent ruler she was. Her shadow only grew over us… and then, when she dismissed our state for the last time, it consumed us. Became me… Nightmare Moon.”

Lightning laid a hoof on her. “I may not interact much with my mother,” he said, “but I know she loves me. She works day in and day out, but when she came home and finishes her reports, she always gave me care and love from the bottom of her heart, reading me stories and giving me the best home cooked meals. Ruling ponies isn’t such a free job as teaching classes on creative arts, so I’m not surprised, as the kingdom grew, your sister had less time to preside.”

Nightmare nodded. “Your argument is solid. However, our last push before we rebelled was to have the night be longer for a third of the year, in the winter time.”

Lightning shook his head. “It could be misunderstood by Celestia’s loyalists that you were forcing this on her, or trying to set up a kingdom to wage war with how tense your relationship must have been at the time. I don’t think she’d ever want to subject you to even the prospect somepony might try to dispose of you, immortality or not!”

Nightmare blinked. “That… is an interesting point, young colt. We were viewed with contempt, even as the protector of dreams, seeing as we repelled their nightmares, and the night is said to be where things go bump.” She then had a wry smirk. “Speaking of being disposed of…”

Lightning looked mildly worried as a mist began to swirl around Nightmare Moon’s horn, then his eyes widened as it coalesced around him, then… a feeling as if a cool breeze swirled within him as he opened his eyes.

“We are not so assured of ourselves that We did not take into note the sign, from high above in a palace surrounded by the Nyx We twisted into Our forces,” Nightmare explained. “A pegasus maneuver thought to be impossible is bound to be from the Core Magic selecting avatars! Therefore, since you have been so very kind, cordial, and above all rational in our presence, we grant you a boon containing an inadvertent insurance our lighter half created ten years ago.”

Lightning looked somewhat scared. “You-you mean-?”

At his tone, Nightmare’s eyes widened as her smile became somewhat concerned. “Perish the thought, young colt. ‘Tis not a lethal spell. In the night, Thou shalt be lighter, thy trait more potent, and your eyes shall be sharper. The assurance is this; when power and blood meet mine armor at my site of defeat, I shall be renewed for a new life free of my past.”

Before he could ask what Nightmare meant, her ears pricked up, and she frowned. “As I thought… She once more resides in the hearts of our people. My fragment hath failed to stem the advance of six ponies.”

She then conjured an elliptical cocoon around Lightning, saying, “We shall hope to be back, but if we are not… ‘‘twas nice to meet you, young colt. As for the ritual of Nightmare Night we observed… we admit we, Luna and I, most prefer the Sugarcube Corner white chocolate-covered marshmallows with orange-zest suns, along with the dark chocolate with blueberry helmet decorations.”

Then the cocoon solidified on the wall, and he knew no more until five minutes later, when it disappeared.

Back in Ponyville, Crystalline Cloud sat and stared, but in her mind, she had some measure of assurance of her son's wellbeing.

Being the Hive Mother, the queen, she was connected to each and every one of her brood with a passive empathic bond that could be turned into a telekinetic channel between two or three minds, with her as the relay and the anchor.

Though Lightning's mind had quelled, it was not entirely silent. A dormant presence had settled in almost unnoticed, but having lived so long, she quickly determined it to be non-violent, an incomplete and inert anchor point that posed no threat to the three key elements she had compartmentalized most things into; the Hive, Harry, or the Queen.

In fact, it seemed to be a blessing; one that would benefit Harry under the night, she realized, and she put together that it was placed by Nightmare Moon.

Fortunately, as she remembered, Lightning was relatively at ease (surprisingly) with the darkened Princess of Dreams, maybe a little too much to be healthy, and as she looked to her side in the windowless basement of Golden Oaks Library, Minerva McGonagall's face was uncertain as hers.

"Do you truly think Harry will be alright in a Dark Lady's care?," she asked, to which Chrysalis returned to her changeling form and said, "I'd heard many rumours of Luna's intentions, and her neglected past. If anyone can relate to her, bring out the softer side of Nightmare Moon, give Princess Luna a shoulder to lean on... it would be that child Thorax saw collapse weeding the garden, only to be lashed."

Minerva's face became a tad solemn at that, but before she could say anything, the sun, held in place below the horizon by the whims of alicorns, rose on a joyous town, so she simply nodded, and blurred back to Pearltongue.

Likewise, Chrysalis changed back to Crystalline Cloud, and after Pearltongue hopped back on her back, the two set out to welcome Lightning, and the newfound Bearers, back to Ponyville with fanfare.

When Lightning awoke, he looked at the much brighter scene in front of him.

Celestia, a large white pony with golden regalia, peytral and tiara inlaid with a single amethyst, and a long, flowing, iridescent mane that brought to mind the dawn light, was tenderly embracing a much smaller mare, blue with a blue mane, almost glistening mithril hoofshoes, a petite black crown, and most tellingly, a patch dark as night on her flank with a white crescent moon; Princess Luna, and he assumed, young as a filly and severed from her powers - for the time being, until she could accept that charge again, though Harry had a feeling she'd need some strict concern in the future. (Given the aside glance to him, she could not have had her memory erased entirely, and his mother's lessons about guilt over your instinctual or impulsive actions told him it would lead to some... drastic unwarranted actions. Compound that with a dominion over dreams, and Harry wouldn't put it past her to make herself suffer in the sanctuary of her own mind.)

Of course, the most obvious thing was that he was being looked over by Twilight and the others, and on close inspection, he silently thought to himself, So those are the physical form of the Core Magic of Harmony.

He thought this because, as Twilight fussed over him, he noticed each of the others wearing ornate golden peytrals, each inlaid with a gem that thrummed with magic.

Angling his eyes upwards, he saw that they were complemented with Twilight's sixth accessory; a tiara inlaid with small inert aquamarines, loops of gold creating a lattice that held triumphantly a bezel containing a star sapphire in the shape of a six-point star. This star sapphire blazed even brighter than the other five gems in a light incorporating all of theirs, and instinctively, he knew he was in the presence of a power all tribes and creatures should revere: The Element of Magic, strongest and chiefest aspect of the Core Magic of Harmony for its simple existence as a symbol of the most unassailable magic ever.

These are my first friends in the world of Equestria, he thought as the light almost beckoned him to stand by it, and he did, knowing the six Bearers were all worthy of his trust and would likely expect him to aspire to the same example, and most likely my first ever lifelong friends.

This was interrupted by Lightning being loaded onto Celestia's chariot as they rode swiftly back to Ponyville, the newly purified Princess Luna in tow. Too tired to confirm his theories on why Celestia vetoed Luna's plans, he just slept until he found himself in his mother's arms.

Dawn of A New Day
Ponyville Square

As Twilight watched the warm welcome Celestia and Luna were having, not to mention Crystalline Cloud embracing Unseen Lightning as only a mother could, she felt wonderful... but at the same time, she felt hollow, thinking, Is this all? I just learned the magic of friendship, and now I'm leaving my closest five friends in years.

Such emotions, of course, did not escape her mentor, who cantered up to her and said, "Why so glum, my faithful student? Are you not happy that your quest is complete, and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?"

At that, Twilight felt even more hollow, more distant from the relentlessly studious mare she used to be as she looked into the sorrowful faces of her new friends and her faithful assistant, and replied, "That's just it; just when I learn how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them."

However, Celestia smiled at this, saying, "Spike, take a note, please. I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria; she must continue to study the Magic of Friendship!"

The pleasant surprise was evident on her and her friends' faces, even little Unseen Lightning, as Spike's quill continued to write and Celestia said, "She must report to me her findings... from her new home in Ponyville!"

Twilight's friends surrounded her as she answered, "Oh, thank you, Princess Celestia! I'll study harder than ever before!"

Of course, we cannot forget our little pegasus nee changeling, who joined in the revelry at the wondrous decree with his mother... on the outside, and on the inside, the two still reveled, yes, but Chrysalis' gears were turning already.

Harry, she spoke in their heads, I think you need a much more scenic location to grow up in, and you could certainly do with more friends if your first one happened to be an estranged princess. As such, I've decided to go through with the outpost plan.

Really?! Thanks, mum, Harry thought back. I can't wait to make more friends without Dudley able to scare them off!

Chrysalis chuckled in her head, but it rang somewhat hollow, as she was reminded that Harry still sometimes lingered on his doubts, and needed someling to reign him in before he tried to befriend some of the most aggressive changelings in her guard. A healthier environment would be intriguing for him, not to mention she could already tell three younger ponies would likely keep him busy if they got together.

Nevertheless, everything was set, in Chrysalis' head. She had her nymph. She had her eye on those six mares. She had her alias. All the pieces were in play, all the first connections built.

Now it was time to watch... so when she acted, she could be sure of her post-game strategy if things went south.

Meanwhile, in a far-off place, a mysterious figure perused his books... and stopped upon one that was glowing.

"Maybe I should pay them a visit," they said. "Not like there's much to do, with the latest haul split..."

:trixieshiftleft:Omake: The Old, Overly Complicated, Confluence Subplot:trixieshiftright:
In the noise of the party, the conversation was missed, though Lightning noticed that, for a second it looked like there were two Pinkie Pies, one chatting away, and one heading right for them.

That one motioned for them to come out, and they cautiously followed.

Just outside the Golden Oaks…

The moment they were out of sight, their beckoner was wreathed in green flames, though they were oddly licked with blue, before a very different changeling stood before them.

The changeling could still be recognized as Pinkie in the shadows, her pink fur was now black chitin, and she had very noticeable fangs in her mouth.

“Who are you?,” Cloud asked, and the peculiar changeling saluted as she said, “Paryniax. Necrosian Honor Guard, Head of the Party District which handles love collection. Me and the rest of the Honor Guard were sent by King Elytra to this universe to assess the political clime in the Hives.”

Lightning, confused, said, “You look so much like Pinkie.”

Paryniax had a small and wistful smile on her face as she said, “In Elytra’s questing for power, he tore his way through many plots for power and subsumption, including one Bureau world. One of them was the conversion and integration of the Bearers of Harmony by an alternative Chrysalian Hive. So, in a way… I am her.”

“Enough explanation, Paryniax,” Cloud gently chided. “I assume you have some news of the political landscape?”

Paryniax nodded, before saying, “The hives are talking of a Confluence at the same time as the Grand Galloping Gala. Queen Herrah of the Deepweavers and her alliances with King Lindwyrm of the Palehallow and Queen Vespa of the Goldcomb are due to be renewed. Queen Vanessa of the Apocrites has gone silent, and her Changelings seem to be marshalling military forces to take the neutral territories of the Eternal Land under someling named Hoaxe. Any scouts sent by the other powers have gone silent.”

This last piece of news shocked Chrysalis greatly. Queens and their amplitude were meant to be unassailable to ordinary Changelings, though frequencies could be changed. Whoever this Hoaxe was, he would have to be fought against.

Author's Note

Okay, I know you're going to be asking me a few things, so let's knock them out of the park here.

-Changelings can digest sugar as an alternative to love. I got this from the MLP Time Loops; specifically, the Loop where Fluttershy got her Looping Alicorn status by befriending the Changelings before the wedding.

-The delay around the Pinkie Pie scene was twofold: I lost my proofreader Szilu, and I couldn’t decide whether Cloud/Chrysalis should meet Pinkie first or Lightning/Harry should run into her along with Twilight. With a little motive, however, plus a little hype music (I Will Give You My All and A Hat In Time’s Rush Hour music,) I put two snippets forward, tried putting them together, realized the fuss was for nothing, and came back swinging with a full two consecutively timed snippets, and even got in a little of the Sweet Apple Acres scene! I will be using my trusty rusty denotation, the :moustache: Moustache Spike, to show where this vaunted block held me, and where my midnight motion paused for battery concerns… of my phone, which I use to bring up clips and make the general script (minus Harry and the Changelings and some scenes that need to be wedged in here and there) authentic as can be.

Which reminds me… shout-out to Arlynn, the dragon who delivered the fateful comment to get me off Falak’s Tectonium-garbed tuchis (which I lost the schematic to overhaul, which means a bigger delay for the overhauled version of Chaos On. Joy… still, on with the changeling!) and even delivered the somewhat performative vote (though not in the manner I intended, which was rating the comments on which the snips were written) for the highly-expedited poll (expedited because the modified Sugarcube Corner scene fit so well as a synchronous piece that setting the tunnel exit scene later in the timeline was pointless. I would have given it a week otherwise.)

-The name “Nectare” for Bon Bon as a changeling comes from nectar, as in flower nectar, which bees use to make honey. Everything in her hive backstory is adapted from actual canon: Sweetie Drops capturing the bugbear, the acronym, even the motive for coming to Ponyville. I put in the meeting segment because I wanted to show that there are local operators in Ponyville holding down steady positions. (Also, my phone needed charging.)

-The Core Magics aren’t really going to be a new concept, just a branding of powerful concepts. Here is a list of the Core Magics as codified now:

All-song: The Core Magic of Inspiration, which is intrinsically linked to the life of Sirens. The All-Song, for a Siren, is the ability to inspire emotion, feed from emotion, and use their voices to perform magic. The All-Song as a Core Magic is the magic from which Heartsongs forge their essence and influence; not a magic on its own, but able to inspire magical wonders such as the works of Harmony.

The Wavelength: The Core Magic of Resonance, which only manifests naturally in Changelings. The Wavelength is the diversity of the hives, and the unity of those within them. It manifests differently in each Hive’s Royal, and resonates among their Hive. Their Wavelength’s power, or Amplitude, is higher in a Hive’s Royals, and its diversity, or Frequency, separates Hives.

Harmony: The Light Core Magic. Catalyzed by truth to self and harnessed through bonds, Harmony, or the Magic of Friendship, is a Core Magic theoretically accessible by all races. Chief among those that can wield it are the Elements of Harmony, those who can resonate with the physical catalysts that share the name. Forged by Spirits of Harmony, these “Trees” sometimes bear prophetic markings, and are the source of physical Elements which, used together, aid their Bearers in tapping into the power of Harmony. Elements are easily spotted by incredible common events like the Sonic Rainboom, young friend groups like Zecora and Capper’s, and can sometimes include those touched by Harmony Magic in its fold as Lost Elements; Elements that serve and further amplify the Magic of Friendship, but are not the six core concepts that tie the magic together. Especially strong among these is the Lost Element of Empathy, which can catalyze Harmony in lieu of Magic. While the Pillars planted the Equestrian Tree of Harmony with the aspects of Hope, Beauty, Bravery, Strength, Healing, and Sorcery, Starswirl was unable to understand true friendship and, as such, unable to finish the Harmony-based spell Twilight completed in Magical Mystery Cure.

The Primal Magics: Primal Magics are the magic of concepts, and spirits of concepts. It ties the spirits together, and affords them power over reality itself. Yes, this Core Magic is Discord’s ability to warp reality, float, et cetera. By extension to Cosmos and Eris, this Core Magic like many others, is neither good nor evil, just… power, to be done with as a mind wishes.

Ata’axi: Ata’axi, or Shadow’s Touch, is the Core Magic of Shadows, intrinsically associated with the Umbrum race. Ata’axi is a magic that enshrouds with darkness, ensnares with illusion, and enables those of the atapon, the shadow folk or Umbrum, to thrive on fear. Sombra’s half-umbrum nature, and his study of dark magic, gives him a mastery of the darkness, able to travel swiftly as a mass of shadow and smoke, entangle his foes in illusions of their worst fears, and manipulate the dark forms of the magical crystal known as atapriax, which can inhibit magic and petrify ponies. Only one force can deter the dark side of Ata’axi; the light of love, which inters the Umbrum beneath the Crystal Spire and vanquishes constructs and creatures of shadow like Sombra and his dark crystals. Nevertheless, despite its dark use, Ata’axi is a Core Magic that can be used for good and evil in equal measure.

-A comment to Lightning being awestruck: Oh, kiddo, you have no idea how fast that mare can go.

-Yes, I looked up the word “clamour.” It’s a loud and confused noise, and I figured it fit Rarity’s exclamation. I was originally trying to figure out if it would be suitable for her follow-up.

-I read up on horse maturity, decided ponies were probably different than earth horses, and promptly threw the book to the side, with appropriate comical Wilhelm cat and glass break. We never get a consistent time scale, right?

-Yes, the particular cut of gem for the emerald on the front of the corset Is called a lozenge cut.

-I had to consult Netflix on my tablet because a clip cut out before I could copy the line, “Quick! Before she decides to dye my coat a new color!”

-I did check the far shot. The bluejay singing out of turn is the one bluejay in Fluttershy’s choir.

-I decided to put down a side story in the form of Paryniax’s showing up, then decided the Confluence didn’t need to be so complicated as to warrant creating blatant rips of five bug characters. As such, the Confluence as I plan it will be toned down, and the segment with Paryniax was cut into an :trixieshiftleft:omake.:trixieshiftright:

-When McGonagall compared her situation to a Muggle fantasy novel, I was left with the unenviable position of finding a fantasy novel from around 1991 where the main human protagonist can talk to animals. Looking in the 80s, I decided on a book named Dragon’s Milk. Eragon, while its writer was born in the 80s, was published in the 2000s.

-I considered having Chrysalis/Cloud ruminate about the immediate future events in Town Hall, but realized the dialogue I had planned would require she knew Harmony intrinsically. Even for some creature that’s lived since Starswirl’s age, Harmony’s power would escape her because she’s most likely never had a true friend, even considering the more sympathetic direction I was sending her in. I mean, in DoTW, Cadance and Chrysalis were childhood friends a la this, albeit still with a disguise in between, but I think doing that here would be a bit too far off for people to understand. I will have a minor omake when we get to Canterlot Wedding about a certain animation that I’m surprised no one has co-opted into a story.

-The sympathetic direction I’ve been taking her may not be the most authentic, but I wanted Harry to get some genuine care. He deserves it after even a week of burns, starvation, and bullying in the Dursley house in my opinion. Of course, this is still the same schemer, even if I want to write her seeing her hive as less of an army and more of a family. Her drones understand this dynamic, Thorax understands this dynamic, Ocellus understands this dynamic. The family looks after its own, but is content for them to do their own thing as long as they report to her on occasion (which is why Nectare is content: Chrysalis lets her pursue her life as Bon Bon.) Of course, Chrysalis will still somewhat resent the ponies for foiling her, but Harry will help her tone it down.

-Oh, Chrysalis, you have no idea how horrible she was… The rumination on Luna’s history in this story was a snap decision, since I, as previously stated, couldn’t have Chrysalis intrinsically know Harmony.

-Make no mistake, I have no plans to ship Harry with Princess Luna. I mean, he’s just a kid, and she’s a millenium-old immortal Alicorn princess! Luna Lovegood is a much fairer target, if we’re playing straights. Of course, Harry would definitely have to know how to charm if he's going to be good at feeding on willing love. Playing into someone’s - I’m kidding. It was a spur of the moment, but it builds some character to do something unexpected.

-Having Nightmare Moon snap up Lightning was a response to my spur of the moment. You can’t just hit up an immortal corrupted Alicorn with her real name and expect to sit out the whole thing, after all. He still won’t be involved in the main journey, but he will get a little something extra. After all, he’s still not received any real knowledge about his position in the wizarding world other than, “here’s a wand, here’s an owl, here’s your books, try not to get into too many adventures at magic school."

-Yes, Chrysalis, a good parent’s job is to worry when their charges are imperiled somehow.

-My mental disorders like Autism gave me a serious "Bad Dobby" case in school sometimes; smacking myself in the head with the table, my class textbook, and usually crying it out on the leather couch in my 4-6 school. For that, I can somewhat relate to Luna. (I still remember making a "wicked child" rhyme on those couches...) So, I figuratively told Chrysalis to tell her Hive that one's self, like impulse and instinct, should not be grounds to beat oneself up over it.

Unjustified suspicion, on the other hand... 😒:applecry::unsuresweetie:(Insert: ashamed_Scootaloo_emote):pinkiesad2::fluttercry::ajsleepy::rainbowderp::raritydespair: I can be very intolerable about drama like that. One of my unreleased characters (named Sunny Glimpse) is an overprotective big sister to the target of said suspicion, to the point of going full-on "Black Knight" in order to protect her.

-The mindset of "build, watch, act" is something that fits Chrysalis, in my opinion. It's from one of Ben King's lines in the first Saints Row: "I (became a power in Stilwater) by knowing when it was time to build, when it was time to watch, and when it was time to act." That kind of mindset would be something Chrysalis would need, now that Harry's presence is making her consider, "What if things go wrong? What happens to the Hive if all her gambits fall apart?" So she's playing a long game right now; blending in with the crowd, getting a read for the ponies around her, trying to figure out a viable adoptive mother for Harry mostly.

-The mystery figure is not important to the main story.