Blooming Days

Apparently, Cadenza had gone insane. Before her speech accepting the responsibilities of the crown and all it entailed, she decided to bring her "big sister" out for the Empire to see. That "big sister" just so happened to be the mortal enemy of every pony in the Crystal Empire.

To say the crowd's reaction was lukewarm would be an understatement. Which is very strange considering most of the populace was actually changelings at the moment.

Chrysalis wasn't an idiot though. She must've instructed them to blend in no matter the situation. In spite of Cadenza's... quirky decision, things continued moving forward. The alicorn accepted the crown from her mother with grace and dignity and then returned to the palace for the reception.

"You just gonna keep staring over there like a puppy stuck on a leash, Starlight?" Rainbow Dash remarked from across the table, stuffing her face with a piece of pie or quiche or some kind of food I didn't really care enough about to identify. I wasn't really paying attention to her or what she was eating. I'd decided to spend the duration of the wedding and subsequent events with the Elements. That was proving to be a wise decision on my part.

Normally, I would've gravitated towards Sun, but I was still feeling awful about the whole "not living up to my own standards thing", so instead, I kept my distance from her. Besides, she was guarding Cantata at the moment which meant she was in close proximity to the traitor. I didn't even want to look at her.

"You might wanna spend your time concentrating on your chewing, Dash, or you might just-" I didn't even get a chance to finish my sentence, the ravenous pegasus beginning to choke on her mouthful of food.

"DASHIE!?" Fluttershy screamed, moving over to help her cerulean friend. It's a good thing the reception was so loud or she might've drawn unwanted attention to us. Rainbow didn't need the help, obviously. It wasn't like she was that dumb. As soon as the orange earth pony started speaking it was clear the other Elements weren't as prone to panic as their yellow friend.

"Serves yuh right fer eatin' like uh hog, Rainbow," Applejack, the farm pony, chuckled, not even turning her attention to the flailing pegasus. She was an interesting mare. Honest to a fault, but I preferred ponies like that. It just meant it would be easier to... corral her if I ever needed to. In spite of my... rebellious nature, she seemed to take a liking to me pretty quickly.

"I have to agree with Applejack, darling. Manners," Rarity chimed in as well, lifting her fork to her mouth. The ivory mare was still the very definition of poise and grace, standing out at a gathering like this one even with countless upper class ponies around.

"You have to chew, Dashie!" Fluff-ball was starting on her eighth or so cupcake, and that was after a full meal and about half of the entire wedding cake.

As the multicolored mare worked towards recovering from her "near death" experience, I continued to stare at Chrysalis. I wasn't angry or even irritated with the bug, more... fascinated. She was sitting alone at a small table that could seat at least four other creatures, yet none had joined her for the last couple of hours. She hadn't had a single thing to eat or drink during the reception either. It was strange, to say the least.

I wasn't sure if that had been because she simply didn't want anything or if it was because the wait staff was completely avoiding her. Either way, it didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. In fact, on the contrary, she looked like she might actually be in heaven right now. Her eyes were closed and she had an expression of unadulterated bliss on her face.

"Something catch your fancy?" Trixie asked with a whisper, leaning in towards me. The blue unicorn had already finished her meal and was now nibbling on a cupcake. She had a slight grin on her face, but, unfortunately for her, her blunder was too apparent. I couldn't resist taking advantage of such a mistake.

"Trix, you've got a little..." I whispered back, pointing at her cheek while keeping the same secretive tone. She'd gotten some frosting on her mouth to the left of her lips and there was no way I was about to let such a fun opportunity slip by.

"Oh... do I hav-"

I moved closer, softly licking the frosting away and making sure that my tongue brushed gently against her lips.

"It's okay. I got it," I smiled, licking my own lips before softly biting my lower lip. She didn't say anything, though a bright red blush slowly filled her up. Without a word she placed what remained of her cupcake on the table before standing to her hooves. "Trix?" I tilted my head.

"R-r-restr-room," she lifted a foreleg, pointing in the opposite direction of me.

"I can go with you, if y-"

"THAT'S OKAY!" she blurted out, drawing the attention of the rest of the Elements before galloping away.

"What's her," Rainbow coughed one last time, finishing up her ordeal as she cleared her throat. "problem?"

Good. They didn't see.

In spite of that feeling of relief, I couldn't help but sense a pair of malicious eyes on me. A pair of eyes that were glaring daggers at me. I decided to ignore the feeling.

"She said she had to visit the little fillies room," I replied, returning my gaze back to the changeling.

"I'll go make sure she's okay," Rarity wiped her lips with a napkin before standing up and following her friend.

"I'll go too!" Fluff-ball put down her fiftieth or so sweet and bounded away behind the ivory mare.

As I settled back in to continue inspecting the insect I was surprised to hear the farm pony speak up again.

"Y'all need tuh be real careful bout that one, Starlight," she said.

"Think so?" I asked, barely listening to her.

"Creatures like her are always up tuh somethin'," she elaborated. "Why else would she be here if not tuh do somethin'... wicked?"

"Like that matters," Rainbow was back to stuffing her face. Apparently, almost choking to death hadn't bothered her in the slightest. "We're all here." I assumed she was speaking of the Elements. "And Sunset and Cadenza are too. If she tries anything stupid she's in for another world of hurt."

"It might not be about fighting, Rainbow," the quiet one, Fluttershy, suggested well... quietly. "She might be trying to gather information or something devious like that."

Ponies like the yellow pegasus were my worst enemies. She may look shy and reserved, but creatures like her had wills of iron. I might be able to fluster her or put her off balance, but ponies like her nearly never broke. She'd kept her distance from me since we were first introduced, but I was certain that was par for the course for her.

"Nah, ah don't think it's fer info, Fluttershy," Applejack stroked her chin. "With all thuh changelings she's got runnin' round in the Empire ah'm sure she's already got all thuh info she needs. But... ah do agree; she ain't lookin' fer another fight. It's gotta be somethin' else."

...

Now all of us were staring at the queen, though Rainbow was still chewing her food like a cow.

"Well... there's only one way to find out, right?" I stood up.

"Starlight, you're not planning to...!?" Fluttershy gaped at me with wide eyes.

"Why not?" I shrugged, not taking my eyes off of the bug. "Like Applejack said, I don't think she's here for a fight either. What's she gonna do, talk me to death?"

"Like ah said before Starlight, just be careful," the orange mare reiterated. "She's capable of some horrible things."

"Don't worry about it too much, Aj," Rainbow yawned, looking a little bored as she moved to take a sip of her cider. "If anything happens, we've got your back, Starlight," she grinned confidently.

"That we do," Applejack nodded in agreeance.

"Uh huh," Fluttershy nodded with a kind smile.

"Thanks, girls," I smirked, returning Rainbow's level of confidence to the trio. "I'll be back in a jiffy."

I started towards the queen.

They're nice, but I won't need them. Or anypony else, for that matter. I'm stronger than she is.

Making my way through the reception was quite a task. The mass of creatures was not a scene I enjoyed being a part of, especially when none of them were my toys. Navigating through the ponies that were trying to enjoy the event was easy. Avoiding the ones that were still trying to garner my favor because I was a student of the princesses was proving to be a bit more difficult.

"Miss Glimmer, I'd really like to speak with you ab-"

"Some other time."

"Excuse me Miss Glimmer, but I-"

"I'm busy right now."

"HEY! AREN'T YOU PRINCESS CELESTIA'S-"

"Nope! You've got the wrong unicorn," I lied jovially.

Left. Right. Don't even look at that mare, Starlight.

Making eye contact with another creature was a surefire way to get stopped so I kept my gaze locked on the bug, ignoring any and all distractions.

If the reception was a bit more catering to my sensibilities I might've considered participating more.

Yeah, maybe if they were celebrating me.

The rich ponies that had the privilege of attending a royal wedding didn't know how to throw a real party, but that didn't stop them from clogging up the gardens like a bunch of annoying parasites.

I chuckled at the irony of it all, wondering just how many of the ponies around me actually were bugs. Passing by a waiter, I used telekinesis to take two glasses of cider from his tray.

As the quartet of ponies performing on the elaborate stage switched to a slower song, I finally arrived at the "queen's" table, a wide grin on my face.

"Somepony's enjoying herself," I scooted the chair opposite her out with magic before sitting down.

...

"What? Nothing to say?" I poked.

"I WAS," she growled, her expression souring immediately, though she kept her eyes closed.

"Here," I floated over one of the glasses and placed it on the table in front of her. "A peace offering."

"What are..." she opened her eyes, staring down at the beverage with indignation. "I was enjoying the most divine meal I've ever had in my life and you interrupted it actually expecting me to drink this... SWILL!?"

"It's not that bad," I took a drink from my own glass. "Try some."

"Evidently, you're not familiar with changelings," she looked down at me, her disgust growing. "And of course, it had to be the one I couldn't deceive." Somehow, her disgust multiplied even more. "What do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I grinned, pointing at the glass in front of her with a hoof. "I wanted to share a drink with the pathetic loser sitting all by her lonesome."

She remained stoic, though she had released one harsh scoff.

"If I recall correctly," she leaned forward on her elbows, bridging her hooves beneath her chin as a wide smile came to her face. "the last time I saw you you were powerless and trapped in one of my pods."

"Guilty, as charged," I lifted my hooves submissively, a smile coming to my face as well. "What can I say? I knew you were a snake from the very beginning. I didn't think Twilight was one too."

"Sounds like a sore loser to me," she scrunched her face up, smiling brighter.

"Who? You?" I tilted my head. In an all too obvious fashion I began looking around the gardens. "Cause I'm preeeety sure we won this one."

"You'd be surprised," she snickered, supremely pleased with herself. "There are more changelings here than there are ponies."

"And yet that doesn't matter one bit because they're all a bunch of obedient little pawns," I leaned on a hoof, my smile rivaling hers. "And I don't mean to their queen either." Her smile faltered for a second, but she recovered her composure quickly.

"You honestly think I don't have authority over my own children?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"I think you got lucky and Cadenza saved your flank from Sunset," I laughed. "Now you're her obedient little pet. OH! I'm sorry. My mistake, I meant 'sister'," I took another drink from my glass.

"Oh really?" a tic began in her jaw. "Obedient little pet sounds... familiar," she tapped her chin with a hoof. "Isn't that the title the cows gave you after they put an end to that pathetic little town of yours?"

"Cows?" I covered my mouth doing my best not to laugh out loud. "That's mighty big talk coming from an overgrown cockroach. And you're right, I am on a leash. But let's not get things twisted, Chryssi. The ones holding my leash are the most powerful beings on this planet. Your leash on the other hoof..." I pointed at Cadenza. "Is being held by your precious little sister." The narrowing of her eyes was too much, a fit of cackling overtaking me.

"You sassy little horse," she grinned, though it looked almost appreciative this time. "How did Celestia manage to tame someone as headstrong as you?"

"You've never come face to face with my mentor before, have you?" I asked, genuinely curious to see if she'd lie to me.

"I don't see why that would matter. But no, I haven't," she actually replied honestly. "Why?" It wasn't a question. She demanded an answer.

"If I were to ask you if you thought you could defeat her," I relaxed in my chair. We weren't playing anymore so I didn't have to be on edge. "what would your answer be?"

"OF COURSE I CAN!" she snarled without hesitation. She was loud enough to draw the panicked gazes of some of the ponies nearby who promptly moved further away from our table. It was clear I'd struck a nerve, but I was more entertained by the fact that it was like I was staring into a mirror. I'd have said the same thing before fighting the Sisters. I honestly believed I could before fighting them.

...If you could call it that.

"I thought the same thing before facing them," I chuckled bitterly.

"Them?" she lifted a curious brow.

"I attacked Luna first," I elaborated with a frown. "Then Celestia showed up and.... let's just say I learned a lot of things that day about the 'Immortal Sisters'."

"What, were you too weak?" she crowed wickedly, finding joy in my defeat.

"It's not a matter of weak or strong or anything like that," I shook my head. "You really won't understand until you challenge them."

"Fantasy and aggrandizement!" she hissed, looking away in annoyance. "Their legends have grown out of control over time. They're not-"

"If you really believe that," I pointed at her hoof. "Then why are you trembling right now?" She looked down at her hoof, apparently not having realized she was giving away more information than she intended to. She covered her hoof with the other.

"RAGE!" she tried to cover up her lie by being more boisterous. "I desire nothing more than their downfall and-"

"Come on, Chryssi," I smirked. "There's nothing wrong with being scared. Especially when they'd trounce you even worse than Sunset did."

"That is yet to be seen," she hissed. "And Sunset Shimmer simply got lucky, nothing more." I laughed heartily at her attempt at coping.

"Chrysalis... your entire strategy revolved around deceit and sabotage," I wiped a tear from my eye as my laughter died out. "You had to take out two of us without facing us head on. Admit it, you knew you couldn't take any of us on one on one."

"You..." she covered her face with a hoof, her laughter steadily growing in intensity before it turned into all out hysterics.

I ignored her, calling over a waiter with my hoof. The stallion looked like he'd rather wait on any other table at the party, but he did his job, walking up to me with an uncomfortable smile.

"Y-yes ma'am?" he asked nervously, looking back and forth between me and the bug.

"You must not be a bug then, huh?" I lifted a brow.

"Uhm... excuse me?" his eyes widened in shock.

"Forget it," I chuckled, tapping my glass gently with a hoof. "Bring me another cider, yeah?"

"Of course, Miss Glimmer!" he bowed his head before turning his attention to the insect. "A-anything for y-you, Your H-Highness?" The changeling was no longer laughing, the death glare she gave the unicorn visibly shaking him. "V-very well!" he bowed as quickly as he could before trotting away to get my drink.

"What's the problem? Not one of yours?" I giggled, watching him retreat.

"Actually... he is one of mine."

"What!?" I refocused on her, her words catching me off guard.

"You honestly think I was the one who wanted to be civil?" she didn't smile, returning to the previous subject. It was a completely serious question, the look of hatred on her face disturbing.

"CIVIL!?" I scoffed. "You ponynapped thousands and tried to replace even more than that! How is that even remotely civil!?"

"If it had been up to me," she sneered, "the prince would be in a permanent coma along with the citizens of this accursed empire." She narrowed her eyes on me, seething all the while. "If it wasn't for Un's "rules" you and Twilight Sparkle would both be lifeless husks right now."

"And if I'd have been the one to deal with you, you'd be a smouldering pile of refuse right now!" I growled. "Cadenza would've just had to grieve the loss of her moronic 'sister'!" My new glass of cider was placed on the table in front of me, coated in a strange but familiar magical aura. "That was fas-" I froze, my heart stopping.

"Then I guess I'm happy I was the one who fought her," Sun smiled at me. She took a seat at the table. "It's good to see you well, Star."

"It's... Hey, Sun," I returned her smile, though mine was nowhere near as beautiful or vibrant.