Over in the Crystal Empire, Princess Cadence was keeping unusual company.

“Why did you even call me here?” Chrysalis growled. She was currently sitting at a table with Cadence, looking around at the bright and vibrant city surrounded by the harsh snowstorm as the princess served her tea.

Cadence tilted her head and gave a pretty smile. “It’d do you good to get out of your home every so often! I’m sure you’re probably sick of just having Cozy Glow keeping you company.”

Chrysalis crossed her hooves and huffed. “And may I ask why she’s here?”

Chrysalis pointed a hoof over at the other guest at the table, a wall-eyed, gray pegasus, eating one of the tea cakes with both hooves.

“...She’s on break!” Cadence smiled innocently.

Chrysalis leaned in closer towards Cadence. “I know your game, damnit,” she snarled.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cadence said, unfazed by Chrysalis’s slowly building fury. “I’m just playing No Clop the same way I usually do. Even if I’m not the host this year.”

It was almost a year ago, but Chrysalis still remembered that day. Even if no one else believed her. She was sure of the real truth about Cadence. This was no coincidence, but there was no way to confront her about it without evidence. That room had to be somewhere, it was the only reason she even bothered answering Cadence’s summons. Cadence was toying with her, and Chrysalis needed to find out why.

Cadence turned over to her other guest. “How are you, Derpy? Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Oh yes, princess! Thank you so much!” Derpy nodded, taking a sip of tea. The warmth made her hum in delight as her wings buzzed. “Mmm! This is delicious!”

“Hehe, I’m glad you like it!” Cadence gave Derpy a cheery smile before turning to Chrysalis. “What about you, Chrysalis, is the tea good?”

“It’s…passable,” Chrysalis grumbled, not wanting to make eye contact as she sipped.

“It’s been a while since you’ve been in a No Clop November, Derpy. Are you nervous at all?”

Derpy tapped her hooves together, giggling nervously. “Oh, a little, hehe! I’ve kinda forgotten what it’s like to be so pent up over a month. I hope I don’t lose control of myself…”

“Well, Chrysalis has been doing these for quite a while, too,” Cadence gestured over to the changeling. “Maybe she can give you a few pointers.”

“Ooh, really?”

As Derpy looked over to the changeling, Chrysalis glared daggers at Cadence. Her suspicions grew even stronger, she remembered that photograph of her.

Cadence gave a smile that seemed more like a smug smirk. “I’m sure she’d be happy to!”

Chrysalis slammed her hooves on the table. “If you think for even a second that I’m going to waste my time-”

Derpy’s ears perked up. “Oh wait! Chrysalis?”

“What!?” Chrysalis’s head turned towards Derpy so fast it nearly gave her whiplash, snarling and baring her fangs all the while.

Surprisingly, Derpy didn’t seem to react with fear to Chrysalis’s terrifying visage, instead, she brought out her mail bag from under the table, pulling out a couple of letters after rummaging through it. “I know I’m supposed to be on break but…Delivery for you!”

Chrysalis’s rage was halted by utter confusion. She blinked, snagging the letters from her, hearing a jingling as she did.

She looked at the envelopes, both were addressed to her, though they didn’t have any address to refer to. She looked at the first letter, seeing that it was sent by Cozy Glow.

Suspicious, yet intrigued, Chrysalis opened it up and read what was inside.

Hey.

Look, I know you’d never expect this from me in a million years, but Babs is making me do this. Don’t ask. So, uh, thanks for not killing me every time I break into your house or whatever. At least buy some of the good snacks next time I come around, okay? I’ll at least make sure to leave some for you when I’m done.

A short, but still incredibly selfish message. “Cozy Glow in a nutshell,” Chrysalis scoffed to herself. She emptied the envelope, seeing a surprising amount of bits inside. Whether Cozy got them through legitimate means was anyone’s guess, but that didn’t matter to the changeling.

What baffled Chrysalis even more was in the next envelope. Instead of a letter, it was a card, sent by Thorax.

Dear Chrysalis,

I know I’m probably the last changeling you want to hear from, but most of the hive here wanted to at least try to send you something, to show that even if it’s just a little bit, we still care about you. This is super awkward to write, but it’d probably be more awkward to say it to you face to face so…

Happy Mother’s Day

“Mother’s day?! I-” Chrysalis did a double take, before turning her head towards Derpy. “...These were written months ago.”

“Ahaha, sorry! It’s just that…you don’t exactly have an easy address to look for, you know?” Derpy laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.

“Hmmph, whatever.” Looking back at the card, it seemed that several of the other changelings had signed the card too, including Ocellus and Pharynx. Seeing all these names made Chrysalis feel…something in her chest. Something she did not want to acknowledge was happening to her.

“Ummm…I also got this for you! To make up for your mail being late, you know?” Derpy rummaged through her bag, pulling out a basket of muffins.

Chrysalis levitated the basket towards her with her magic, her face wrinkling up as she looked at it. She had half a mind to just toss these in the trash immediately. But…she was still hungry, and these tea cakes were hardly filling.

She opened the bag, inspecting one of the muffins, examining it from all angles and smelling it, like she was trying to detect poison, or at the very least, a burnt muffin.

Failing to find any glaring flaws, she decided it was worth a bite. As she ate, she let out a small grunt of reluctant approval. The taste wasn’t anything spectacular, but Chrysalis could tell they were at least made with-

The changeling froze mid-chew, dropping the muffin onto the table as her pupils widened. Her aghast gaze turned to Cadence, calmly sipping from her teacup.

“Oh gosh,” Derpy also turned to Cadence, pointing at the petrified Chrysalis. “Do you think she liked them?”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that, Derpy,” Cadence giggled. “From the look on her face…I’d say she loved them.”

Author's Note

Love comes in many forms.