The doors to the Ponyville town hall were opened bright and early the next morning. The staff, not so much. A middle aged earth pony yawned deeply as he made his way to unlock the doors. One yawn trailed into another as the door opened just a moment later. Two unicorn mares passed him before his next yawn could finish. One was obviously Twilight Sparkle. She came around enough for him to know her even before she casually greeted him. The other however, was a mystery. That didn't stop his gaze from following her figure as they passed.

Just as they were about to turn towards the main reception area, this mare seemed to turn as if she'd known he'd been looking. He felt the glare she fixed him with deep in his soul, before she turned away as if he didn't exist. He suddenly wondered if he had any vacation days left, as he felt he needed to go home to recover.

At the front desk, the two mares were greeted by an older unicorn mare who was yawning as well. "Good morning Twilight," she said as her exhaustion receded for the moment. "I'm assuming you already booked your appointment. Who's your friend?"

Twilight was already signing into the ledger as Chrysalis fixed the receptionist with a glare. "I am not, her friend."

Whatever pleasantries she'd been planning died on her tongue. She'd run through the same dialog on autopilot a million times. This was an obvious break in protocol, and she didn't know how to respond. She found herself unable to break from the gaze that held her.

"Chrysalis, it's fine. She didn't mean to imply anything. Let's go, the mayor will be waiting for us." Twilight wasn't forceful, just indicating the direction. Chrysalis broke her glare to follow her in the direction.

The mare felt herself exhale, not realizing she'd been holding her breath. She raised a hoof to her own face. Feeling how hot it was, she silently wondered if she could get her break in early to go cool her head.

Twilight and Chrysalis made their way deeper into the building, coming to an unflattering office door. The worn plaque on the side was the only thing distinguishing it from every other door in the hallway, though it did look like the room within at least had some extra space. Knocking, a voice clearly fighting back a yawn beckoned them in.

A slightly older earth pony mare greeted them without looking up from a stack of papers. "Good morning Twilight. I was just going over the documents you sent me again. I'm afraid I didn't quite understand everything." Finally looking up, she noticed the other mare in the room. "Oh, right. You said you were bringing somepony with you. It's a pleasure to meet you, " She looked back to something on her desk, "Chrysalis." She attempted to smile pleasantly, but the only half empty coffee mug next to her was proof she wasn't quite ready for that. Getting no response from the mare she didn't know, the mayor turned back to Twilight. "So, what is this about, 'relocating an entire population',? And also, what exactly is a changeling?"

Twilight winced as a green flame sparked next to her. After a moment, queen Chrysalis now stood in her true form, towering over the pony and glaring with contempt. "This, is what a changeling is," she sneered, her voice thrumming menacingly on all levels.

The mayor stared, a surprisingly neutral expression on her face. Chrysalis waited for the outburst she knew would be coming. "Ah, alright then. So that's what I've been hearing about going on at Sugarcube Corner. Will they all be as tall as you, because that might present several problems."

Chrysalis stared, hiding her surprise. "You, don't seem bothered."

Mayor Mare shuffled through her paperwork again. "I'm sure your big reveal could scare ponies from different places, but this has become a bit of a weird town in the last few years."

Twilight turned to Chrysalis. "Remember I mentioned the random monster attacks."

Chrysalis looked between Twilight and the mayor to try to gain clarity. The remarkably stable emotions in the room belied the subject being discussed. The mayor continued. "Yes, in my tenure here we've been attacked by a giant ethereal bear, a swarm of poofball parasites, multiple potential pandemics, a literal dragon, a chicken that turned ponies to stone, a magically possessed egotistical dictator, packs of giant wolves somehow made of actual wood, a mythological world ending deity, and we are currently playing host to the literal physical embodiment of pure chaos. Welcome to Ponyville Miss Chrysalis, you are the fourth most interesting thing to walk into my office this month."

Chrysalis was at a loss as neither mare seemed bothered by this information. "Why would you live here?" she questioned.

"It's home," Twilight said simply.

The mayor nodded in confirmation before turning back to Chrysalis. "Back to changelings and if future housing is going to need to anticipate for a population as tall as you? By the way, you can both take a seat, no need to keep standing for this meeting."

Chrysalis, now genuinely taken aback, followed Twilight's example as she sat in the almost too small chair in front of the mayor's desk. "... No. Most changelings are the same size as ponies. Being able to alter size when transforming requires more magic. Generally Queens are the only ones capable of it. Being the same size as our prey is advantageous."

The mayor checked something on her desk again. "Twilight did mention that. You're technically a predatory species. Once again Twilight, I didn't quite get what you were saying. 'Emotovores'? I'm not sure what that is, but it's hard to source meat this far from griffin settlements."

Twilight attempted to brush off the misunderstanding quickly. "No no, I may need to come up with a better term. Predator yes, meat no. They are actually capable of sustaining themselves off of the emotions of other creatures. Primarily love and primarily ponies."

The mayor finally looked taken aback by something. "Sustain, as in eating? Emotions?" She looked back to Chrysalis in question. "That's not harmful, is it?"

Chrysalis spoke evenly through her varied voice. "Only if we abduct them, put them in a pod, and induce a dream-like state to feed off of them for an extended period."

The mayor stared for a time. "I'm going to assume there won't be any of that going forward."

Chrysalis maintained her deadpan. "It's only done in emergencies as it's not the most efficient method of stealing love. I am also currently bound from being able to cause harm to anycreature."

"Bound?" The mayor asked for clarification.

Twilight cut in. "Technically I defeated her, so technically I'm the new Changeling Queen. But as I'm also an Equestrian Princess, my number one goal in both regards is the integration of ponies and changelings. This is the next step in that process."

The mayor seemed mostly pleased with that explanation. "Ok, if you're sure they aren't a threat I see no reason not to allow them residency. How many are we talking about?"

Twilight now smiled a guilty smile. "Umm, about ... twenty, thousand."

"Twenty thousand?" The mayor repeated in shock.

"Nineteen thousand eight hundred and forty two, to be precise," Chrysalis clarified.

Mayor Mare put a hoof to her forehead, letting out a groan of pure frustration. "Of course. That's what I get for applying for vacation time. Again. Those are some reservations I'm never getting back. Again."

"Miss mayor, it's not as bad as it sounds. There's no reason for despair." Twilight tried to sooth the suddenly turbulent emotions coming from the mayor.

"No reason? I'm going to have to work through the next two weekends just to produce enough documents for such an endeavor. Processing them will take months. I'm going to have to apply for more document storage space. Not to mention that that is nearly four times the population of the town currently. This will require a massive rezoning. And I can't even imagine what this could do to the local economy. " The mare now seemed to become frantic. In a daze she went to the cabinets on the side of her office and began opening drawers seemingly at random.

Twilight stood too, now going through the documents she'd brought with her. "I can explain, and I promise we can make this process work."

Chrysalis could tell this did little to help the mayor's mental state. As she had been learning that many ponies were rather loose lipped, she decided to inquire about something that had been nagging her since entering the building. "You and your staff seem miserable, as though you hate your jobs and they are stealing your positive emotions."

This caused the mayor to stop. Slowly, she came back to her desk to take a long slow sip from her likely cooled coffee mug. It still seemed to have a leveling effect on her emotions. "Accurate, if a little brutal. But may I ask how you can tell such a thing?"

"Changelings consume emotions. As a queen, I especially can sense if prey is worth pursuing. If I were to send infiltrators to steal love from this town, I wouldn't send any here. Ponies who are largely dead inside are not worth the trouble."

"Chrysalis," Twilight interjected, "There's no reason to be so mean. I'm sure the mayor is doing her best."

Mayor Mare retook her seat, seeming to now let her clear exhaustion show. "It's fine. I don't hate my job, it's just become very thankless work. I don't have the resources for much and the little staff I have are only part time. Most everything falls to me."

Chrysalis was still trying to understand. "But why not stop if you find no fulfillment in it. Changelings are only given the jobs they enjoy because it is typically what they are best at doing. Why isn't it the same for ponies?"

The mayor's emotions soured even more. "I've run unopposed in the last few elections. And if nopony runs, the position is automatically given to the most senior political figure in town, which is also me. I'd have to literally leave town."

"This town seems like a hazard to everycreatures health anyway. Why not leave?" Chrysalis persisted.

The mayor took a breath to soothe her own emotions. "It's home. I don't want to leave my home high and dry. It's just, hard sometimes."

Chrysalis wasn't sure why she would do such a thing, but she felt like she had a solution to this situation. "... Would you like some changelings to fill your staff?"

The mayor scoffed. "I'd take literally any help, but we don't really have the budget for it."

"That's one of the things I wanted to discuss," Twilight finally cut in, seeming to have found what she was looking for. "Due to the nature of changelings, they could actually be a massive boon to the town rather than a burden."

The mayor took the documents now presented to her and examined them briefly. "Working, for love?"

"Yes. While it might be complicated to figure out as I definitely want them to be fairly compensated, changelings technically require nothing from the local supply chains for food and nearly nothing for housing. As such, any changeling who chooses to live and work within the town can take a portion of their pay in love."

"If it's literally for their ability to secure a permanent place to live, I could find you a number of changelings who would be willing to work only for love," Chrysalis offered.

Mayor Mare's emotions fell back again at that. "We're government workers, we have even less 'budget' in that regard."

Twilight presented another document. "The other Element Bearers and I have proven that we can generate enough love together for the changelings survival. And while I'd prefer them to be able to thrive and not just survive, I think we can work out a system to provide them with love if any employer can't meet the needs."

At this, the mayor's dower emotions now seemed to begin to sweeten. "But what about the housing?" She inquired, some hope finally brewing inside her.

"Already considered," Twilight replied as she hoofed over another document.

"Subterranean?" She asked as she looked it over briefly.

"Most changelings prefer to live underground. The ones Twilight brought here already have been living rather comfortably in the basement of the library once she cleared out her lab for them."

"Twilight cleared out her lab?" Mayor Mare seemed surprised by this. "She really is taking this seriously."

"Yes. And since there are no zoning regulations on what goes on underground, we can figure them out as we go and make them advantageous to everycreature. If you approve it, they can start digging a new hive here in Ponyville and we can start moving more changelings in immediately."

"And then I can get my new staff?" Twilight and Chrysalis nodded to the mayor's question. With new found joy in her heart she pulled something from a drawer of her desk and began stamping papers. She then turned her attention back to Chrysalis. "So, do you have some changelings willing and able to do the work?"

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "There are few jobs a changeling cannot do better than a pony, but let me check." She closed her eyes.

"What's she doing?" The mayor asked.

"She's communicating with the hive mind. It's amazing, changelings can communicate with each other miles away instantaneously. Even more incredible, she can communicate for what to her is hours in there, and it's mere moments to us. She's so cool."

"That could also be great for administrative work. I only need to communicate with one and they can all get the same information. That's huge."

"I know, changelings are so amazing. And Chrysalis, she's just so..."

"You know I can still hear you both, right." Chrysalis's eyes fluttered open with a groan of her fragmented voice. Twilight was clearly preparing some excuse, but Chrysalis decided to spare them both the embarrassment. "How would you like to have a staff of twenty?"

"You can spare that many?" A smile finally broke on the mayor's face.

"I actually had to cut it down. Middle management type positions are actually perfect for changelings as most ponies in those positions fade into the background as it is. Many are trained for those sorts of tasks. I'm also adding a few coordinators. They don't speak ponish, but are well versed in directing activities through the hive mind so you don't have to manage the whole staff."

The mayor now seemed elated, though a sudden thought seemed to come to her. "You're already being so generous, but may I ask, what about ones for more, manual labor?"

Chrysalis deadpanned. "I'm not being generous, this is for the benefit of my children. What type of manual labor?"

Only slightly taken aback, she responded. "To tell the truth, I really want to fire that creep maintenance guy."

Chrysalis allowed a chuckle to escape at the sentiment before closing her eyes once more. "How many would you like?"

"One or two is fine."

Chrysalis remained quiet for another few moments. "We'll call it four."

"That's being too generous. We only need a few to keep the place clean."

"Many maintenance changelings are becoming restless back at the hive with nothing to do," Chrysalis explained. "They're actually fighting over who gets to take the job right now."

"We can put them on a rotating schedule," Twilight suggested.

Chrysalis nodded her head with her eyes still closed. "They love the idea." Twilight smiled as Chrysalis finally opened her eyes.

The mayor now stood from her seat again, but this time seemed to be barely restraining herself from prancing as she gathered what appeared to be employment paperwork from a dust covered pile in the corner of the room. Between her joy and Twilight's delicious approval of the situation, Chrysalis found herself wanting to raise the emotions in the room some more.

"One of our infiltrators actually wanted to inquire with you, Miss Mayor." The mare in question looked over curiously. "They previously worked in the Canterlot chamber of commerce. They were mostly gathering intelligence for our operations in Canterlot, but during that time they worked their way up to being the secretary of the stallion in charge. Also his secret lover too, but that was just a convenient source of food to them at the time. They actually enjoyed the work there though, and wondered if you would like a personal secretary."

Mayor Mare now bounded over to the still seated changeling queen, looking into her face with unrestrained glee. "I could have a secretary? A competent secretary, one I could potentially leave in charge for at least short periods so I can actually have time to myself?"

Now backed into the chair that was already a bit small for her, Chrysalis felt the need to retreat with no way to fight off the mare basically pinning her in place. However, she did hesitantly nod. In the next moment, she felt forelegs wrapped around her and a muzzle on her shoulder. In a moment of pure confusion, Chrysalis looked to Twilight. "What's going on? What do I do?" She was surprised at herself how easily she asked Twilight for help, but decided it was just due to being so at a loss at the moment.

Twilight pantomimed a motion. "Raise your forelegs out to either side of her." Chrysalis did so. "Now gently wrap them around her back." Chrysalis complied. "Now squeeze, roughly as hard as she is." Chrysalis did, and it seemed to do the trick. A moment later the joyous mare broke away and pranced back to her own seat. "Did I just hug a pony?"

Twilight smiled brightly. "Yes you did. Though I can't say I'm not at least a little bit jealous."

Still confused, Chrysalis gestured to the mayor. "I'm sure if you wanted to she'd let you hug her." She became even more confused when Twilight began laughing joyously.

The mayor brought the discussion back on track. "Alright, let's work out all the finer details. I want to get this process started as soon as possible."

***

Hours later, two exhausted Queens finally emerged from the building.

"I'm sorry Chrysalis, I didn't expect it to go nearly that long."

Chrysalis threw her head back proudly. "A queen will endure any hardship for their children." She shrugged back with a groan though. She was tired enough that she elected to not bother taking on a covert form while walking through the town this time. "I just didn't expect such a downtrodden pony to suddenly have so much energy."

"Remember, the pony way. We're stronger together. So maybe now you'll agree that changelings and ponies will be stronger together as well. I mean, just the prospect of it seemed to restore years of her youth back to her."

Chrysalis caught herself before letting out a chuckle and instead scoffed. "Keep dreaming, princess."

Smiling, Twilight mumbled under her breath. "As long as you don't mind me dreaming about you."

"What?" Chrysalis tried to decipher what of it she'd heard.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." Twilight now trotted ahead, looking back to smile at Chrysalis. "Would you like something special to eat before we head home?"

Chrysalis was suspicious, but no longer regarded Twilight as enough of a threat to linger on the issue. She just rolled her eyes as she brushed it off. "I suppose I wouldn't mind another of those blackberry cupcakes Pinkie made for me. Do you think she'll have any ready?"

Twilight smiled wider. "Oh, Pinkie somehow always knows. Come on, it'll be my treat."

Chrysalis followed as Twilight pranced ahead. She found herself actually looking forward to the sweet indulgence, even though she didn't feel hungry at all at the moment.

Author's Note

On time for once. This chapter was pretty fun as I actually budgeted my time better to finish it. Also, a fair amount of the clutter that was clogging the previous chapter was much more gracefully transplanted into this chapter. It's mostly filter fluff, but it had some moments I liked. I want to get this published for everyone, so I'll keep this short. As always, feel free to comment. Good and bad, I love hearing from everyone.