Up rise the sun on another beautiful morning. The rays of light basking down the city of Canterlot in their warmth, and illuminating every window with a golden glow. It was a scene that would never cease to be beautiful, no matter how many times you watched it over and over again. Today was a warm day at Canterlot cafe: The café always seemed full at this time of the morning, but this time the place was practically overflowing, filled to the brim with students from both classes as well as some of their friends. Some were here for coffee or to catch up while others were out to enjoy themselves and had decided to get their morning caffeine fix.
Employees walked back and forth, passing out cups of steaming hot liquid and bringing plates of freshly baked pastries and scones and other breakfast items to tables where ponies ate. Occasionally some ponies would take a break to chat with coworkers, while others were just too excited to sit still long enough to eat anything.
The entire area was buzzing, everypony talking about whatever came to mind. The air was thick with chatter and happiness, not even the sound of a bell could break through all the noise in the café; which was fine because it only added more to the atmosphere. In fact, the whole building was humming with energy today, ponies having fun and being together while enjoying one last sunny summer evening before autumn set in.
On one table in particular, there sat two individuals enjoying an afternoon spent by their own, and most importantly each others, company, with the exception of those who were simply enjoying a smoothie.
“So many ponies here,” Alan said after swallowing down a mouthful of his smoothie. He looked around at the crowded cafe, taking in every single pony he saw. “I feel like we should come up here again next summer. We’ve got to have something to share with everyone else.”
“Do what you will,” his companion replied nonchalantly. She was sipping her red smoothie as she spoke, taking small sips to cool her drink as opposed to gulping it down. “As long as there’s not too much crowding, that is.”
Alan nodded, chuckling slightly. “Kinda reminds me that one time you got lost in a huge crowd back in Manehattan…”
Chrysalis glared at him as if he’d personally insulted her. “Don’t bring that up.”
“Hey, I wasn’t making fun of you! You were literally right next to me then, so you know how crowded it was. But hey, maybe it’ll remind us of better days!” he laughed. “You know, when we were younger and still wanted more attention than our parents could give us?”
“That’s not funny,” Chrysalis mumbled as she took yet another sip of her smoothie.
Alan shrugged. “Well, sorry. I don’t think my sense of humor runs as deep as yours.”
He smiled cheekily at his wife as she shot him a glare in response, causing a chuckle to escape from him.
“Anyway,” Alan continued after the laughter had died down somewhat. “How’s the smoothie, is it good?”
Chrysalis sighed. “It's nice. I can understand now why Luna picked this one out of all the flavors. There are a lot of different varieties and flavors of strawberries here. They're all delicious.”
“Are you sure you’re not saying that cuz you’re pretending it’s good, or rather because my love is added to it, hm?” Alan teased playfully.
Chrysalis turned to face him, sticking her tongue out at Alan and crossing her arms. Alan laughed and stuck out his tongue right back at her, grinning from ear to ear.
“Come on, you know it tastes better when I add extra love.”
“Yeah well, try adding more and maybe I’ll give it a better rating.” Chrysalis rolled her eyes as she turned back to her smoothie.
Alan chuckled once more and took a small sip of his own glass. “Jokes aside, this shows that the experiment was a success,” Alan said proudly. “You and your changelings can taste food other than love.”
Chrysalis smiled faintly, looking away from Alan. “Yes,” she muttered softly. “At the cause of losing one of your memories.”
Alan frowned and reached for her hoof, squeezing gently.
“Hey, it’s okay. Yes, it is true that last wish I made erased parts of my memories and possibly a part of myself. But I don’t regret what I did. There are going to be hard days ahead, I know that. But we made this work.”
She looked at Alan, a slight glimmer in her eyes and a gentle smile curling the corner of her lips upwards, before she brought right hoof up to rest against his face, cupping his cheeks lightly. His eyes fluttered shut at her touch. Her expression softened.
“You need not to worry about things like this either,” she whispered, leaning forward slightly and kissing him softly on the nose.
Alan’s breath caught for a moment before he returned the gesture. Their foreheads rested against each other, breathing the same air.
He broke their eye contact first and shifted his gaze towards the changeling mare’s midsection. When he reached his hand out Chrysalis thought he was gonna tickle causing her to halfway raise her hoof to swat it away. She finds quickly he was focusing on her stomach. Chrysalis sighed, allowing him to place said hand on her swollen womb.
Alan ran his fingers along the surface of her abdomen, pausing when they found the soft fur covering the baby bump. Alan traced its shape, gently massaging the spot where it formed. He felt the tiny kicks inside as the mother moved slightly.
“Hey, can you tell mommy to let me boop her on the nose? She won’t let me.”
“It can’t hear you,” Chrysalis grumbled.
“Oh come on, you don’t know that!” Alan laughed, looking up at her.
Chrysalis rolled her eyes and gently slapped the top of his head with her hoof. He laughed happily, rubbing his head.
“Okay, okay, mommy’s the boss,” Alan smirked, pulling his hand away from her. “But she’s also kinda cute when you smack her butt…”
Chrysalis gasped, turning bright red instantly gritting her teeth and glared at him.
“Alan! No!” she exclaimed indignantly.
He laughed loudly, earning a few curious glances from the customers around them. Alan stopped laughing and cleared his throat.
“Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to tease you, love.”
Chrysalis’s glare persisted, still blushing. “One more comment about my butt and you’ll get more than a slap on the head.”
He raised his hands up in defense. “Alright alright. I'm sorry, I'll stop teasing you. Promise.”
Chrysalis relaxed a bit and sipped her smoothie again. The two stayed quiet for a moment before Chrysalis asked:
“Tell me, how are things with Luna and Sombra?”
Alan hummed thoughtfully as he watched the ponies around them walk back and forth in the café. Most seemed happy, enjoying their lunch break. He wondered if some ponies from other kingdoms would approve or not of this. It had been almost six years since he and Chrysalis had gotten engaged and their lives had changed in such a way. They were now living the lifestyle that most ponies in Ponyville preferred. It might seem unusual, but no one really cared what ponies wanted anyway.
“Things are good,” Alan began. “Sombra’s finally getting settled into the castle life pretty well. We both enjoy spending time together, however he and my mother are still not getting along. But hey, they’re at least tolerating each other, so that’s a start.”
“I’m still baffled as to how you managed to convince Sombra to sit at lunch with Luna without making her go nuts,” Chrysalis commented, unable to keep herself from smiling as she remembered the incident.
“Trust me, that was harder than I originally thought it would be,” Alan admitted. “It was actually really difficult. But I managed to pull through, and honestly, I'm surprised he didn't punch my teeth out when he saw my mother.”
Chrysalis snorted. “Oh, come on, you didn't actually believe that Luna would ever agree to eat with him do you?”
“No, not really,” Alan laughed quietly. “We talked about it before. And she told me that he's not worth her time, that he’s a heartless smooth brain harlequin who’s not even worthy of her friendship let alone a second chance to remarry.”
Chrysalis shook her head amusedly. “That sounds like Luna.”
“Yeah, again them tolerating each other is a start. I’m just hoping my mother would one day give him a chance. After all..”
“Everypony deserves a chance,” Chrysalis finished. “Even your former enemies.”
Alan stared at Chrysalis for a moment before smiling warmly. “Right.”
He glanced at the sky outside the window, seeing it beginning to darken as the afternoon faded away. His gaze turned back toward his wife, watching as she drank the last bits of her smoothie, seemingly lost in thought as she did so. He leaned over slightly, capturing her eyes with his own. Her eyes snapped up towards him, giving him a questioning look.
Alan smiled gently at her before speaking up. “Do you remember how we met?”
There was a pause as they both reminisced for a while.
“Yes,” Chrysalis replied, glancing at the floor, grumbling. “Though I tried not to.”
Alan grinned, remembering their encounter well. It was on the day she attacked Canterlot and the first time they had an insane fight.
“How could I forget? You kicked my butt. Twice,” Alan reminded her fondly. “But I kicked yours back. But I guess we got off to a rocky start.”
Chrysalis grimaced as she recalled those times when they had been on opposite sides. Back then she hadn't really had many friends nor did normally care for that matter. But even then Alan was already someone special to her, someone who was special to her in every sense before she realized it. She still remembers the days of how an annoyance he was but soon became tolerant whenever he visited.
The amount of times she had found herself grinning stupidly when he would appear at her doorsteps just because his presence filled her with happiness.
They had been close friends after that. They had spent countless nights talking and just relaxing together as they did in the past. Sometimes they even shared a bed. It wasn't anything special really. However, being with him was something she cherished dearly; she cherished it as though it was something precious. It helped strengthen the bond between the two of them, making it easier to see each other's flaws rather than the positives they could share together.
“And that was the very beginning of our friendship,” Alan said wistfully, a nostalgic smile growing on his face.
A long silence followed after that statement before Chrysalis spoke once again.
“Here,” she said, reaching across the table and placing a small white box with a ribbon on the center of it.
Alan looked down at the box before looking up at Chrysalis and smirked. “Don’t tell me, is this one of those expensive slimes? Don’t tell me you’re still mad about that one prank me and Rainbow Dash pulled on you Chrysaly?” He teased.
Chrysalis turned away from him, crossing her arms. “Just open it and be grateful you imbecile.”
Alan grinned and picked up the little white box. He opened it up cautiously, taking out a cyan scarf. A wide grin stretched across his face, and he immediately wrapped it around his neck tightly. He closed the box, placing it to the side and wrapped his arms around Chrysalis.
“Thanks,” he said gratefully, squeezing her tight.
Chrysalis nuzzled her cheek against his.
“It's nothing. You deserve nice gifts anyway, even if they're cheap..” She sighed softly, resting her head on Alan's shoulder.
“You know, I got a present for you too,” Alan said suddenly, pulling back from Chrysalis’s hug. He reached behind himself and brought out another box and set it beside the first.
“What? You didn't have to...” Chrysalis mumbled, staring at the box suspiciously.
“Open it,” Alan encouraged.
“Why are you giving me this now?”
“Just open it and find out.”
Chrysalis narrowed her eyes at Alan. She hated surprises, and this was no exception. Especially if said surprises came from Alan himself. But eventually she nodded, sighing deeply. With much reluctance she took the lid off the box and carefully removed the tissue paper inside. Her eyes widened upon opening the box fully.Inside there sat a beautiful, golden colored pendant. It was a simple gold chain with a single crystal hanging from the end of it. In its center was a gemstone resembling a yellow sunstone, surrounded by a circle of smaller gems.
“Impossible…This is my mother’s necklace…Alan...” Chrysalis whispered, staring at the necklace in awe. “Where did you find this?”
Alan rubbed the back of his nape. “Well, I’ve been meaning to give you this for quite some time now.”
Chrysalis took the pendant out with her magic, closing the box gently and setting it aside. She ran her hoof over the surface of the pendant. She felt tears start to fill her eyes. She knew this was the necklace she wore that fateful day. The day she became queen of the changelings, and the night she and her subjects lost everything. She was given this as a final gift from her mother before she died. But through her first battle with Princess Celestia, she lost it, and never found it. She didn’t expect it to still be here, in Alan’s possession. It had been almost one hundred years since she last saw it. But somehow, someway, it was still here.
Her emotions threatened to overwhelm her. Not that she would ever admit that aloud. Instead, she looks back at Alan as he continues.
“I remember you once mentioned how much this necklace meant to you, how it was the one thing to remember your mother by. And I know you made me swear, but I used my wishing ability to direct me to where it was; so I went to go find it, it wasn’t easy though. It took a lot of effort too. Luckily, after digging hours and hours I finally came across that piece of jewelry.”
Chrysalis nodded wordlessly, unable to say anything. She felt overwhelmed. It was almost unbelievable. Her mother had given this to her for goodbyes. This necklace, which had been her constant companion throughout her life, had finally returned to her hooves. For better or worse, she had never expected to feel this way about it anymore.
Her chest tightened as tears started to fall freely down her cheeks as she clutched the necklace tightly, as though it was the only thing keeping her from breaking down.
“Hey,” Alan said in concern, placing a hand over her hoof gently. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“No,” Chrysalis sniffed, wiping the tears hastily with her hoof as she chuckled bitterly. “Don’t apologize.”
Lightning up her horn, she subconsciously wrapped her necklace around her neck. It was a strange sensation. It was comforting, yet nostalgic. Something that she always treasured.
“I just can't believe…” She trailed off, letting out a shaky breath before turning back to Alan, an uncertain smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Thank you, Alan. Really. I love it.”
Alan smiled back at her, nodding lightly. “No problem.”
Alan opened his mouth, as to say something but quickly shut it when Chrysalis wrapped her arms around him tightly. His lips twitched slightly, and he placed his arms around her waist, returning her embrace. Neither wanted this moment to end any time soon.
‘I love you, Alan. I love you so much..’ The words remain unsaid. Despite always knowing her feelings for him were reciprocated, she couldn't bring herself to voice it. Alan was a part of her now. He always will be. That fact, along with the many other things that they had done together, made him special to her and she wouldn't dare ruin that. And though she isn’t ready to voice out those unsaid words, one day, when she’s ready she’ll tell him. This moment shall suffice.
It was enough for now.
Author's Note
Another day and another short story written. As well as another tease for what’s to come. 
