True Love Never Changes

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 2
Chapter 12

Chapter 1

“What a day…” Shining Armor said to nopony in particular.

“I know, right? Canterlot was invaded, Celestia was defeated, you and I saved the day, and to top it all off we’re married!” Cadance replied, her voice a combination of sarcasm and glee. The newlywed ponies were walking up a rather lengthy spiral staircase to an intentionally secluded and soundproofed “Honeymoon Suite” provided to them courtesy of Princess Celestia. When they reached the room, both let out a small gasp at the lengths Princess Cadance’s aunt had gone through to ensure them a happy and solitary honeymoon without two of Canterlot’s most important ponies even having to leave the Capitol. Shining Armor marveled at the intricacy of the lock mechanism on the door and windows, while Cadance observed the wine, rose-petal-covered bed, and a book of… things ponies could do on said bed.

Blushing lightly, Cadance slid the book under the bed. She knew everything she’d need already. She took a deep breath and sobered up, though – she had something to take care of before she let Shining take care of her. Her horn flared and she telekinetically lifted her distracted husband to the bed. Turning to face him, she noticed that goofy grin on his face that he got whenever he expected something nice.

“What are we gonna do on the bed, Cadance?”

She couldn’t help but giggle at his faux naiveté, but quickly regained her composure.

“I’m certain you and I both want to do the same thing, Shining,” she said with a smile, “But there’s something we need to talk about first. Something very serious. While to formality of our wedding has been conducted, Princess Celestia is withholding the legality of the action until I discuss this with you.”

Shining Armor’s smile vanished immediately, and he would have paled if he weren’t already completely white.

“Does… what? Is she going to send me to the moon if you get pregnant or something?” He asked, terrified. He wanted foals. Perhaps not yet, but he wanted foals.

Cadance gave him a light laugh in reply. “No, nothing like that my dear. It’s just…”

Shining took her trailing off as an invitation to guess some more. “Are you secretly a stallion? That would be awkward… are you actually almost as old as Celestia? Because that’d be kind of weird, but hey, I can be flexible.” Cadance wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by that last statement, but decided to ignore it in favor of the matter at hoof.

“You’re closer with those two, but still off. Shining… Princess Cadance is dead.”

One emotion filled Shining Armor’s head: confusion. Not entirely processing the information he’d been given, he asked the obvious question.

“But if… if Cadance is dead… how… when… and who are you?”

“I meant to tell you this sooner, so much sooner, I really did… Princess Cadance died seventeen years ago,” Cadance said, “in a train accident. She was on her way to visit Manehattan when the train derailed after striking a Manticore. Simply because an Alicorn is will live forever does not mean that they cannot die or be killed. I happened to be passing by at the time, and she saw me. She saw through me. She saw what I really am. Just as Princess Celestia did.” Cadance shuddered, knowing full well that Shining Armor was not going to take this next part well.

“I am Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the Changelings.” Her coat flashed green, her wings and mane dissolved and burned away to reveal the hard, hole-filled flesh of a changeling. Shining Armor, completely unable to wrap his mind around the situation, simply started laughing.

“Ha! Real… that’s real funny, Cadance! But we banished her together, remember?” He laughed. A cold, disconnected laugh, his eyes unfocused. “She’s gone! She tried to kill you but she failed, right? You can’t be… you're not…” Madness gave way to sorrow, which in turn immediately gave way to fury.

“YOU DID THIS! WHERE IS SHE? HOW DID YOU ESCAPE?” Eyes still unfocused, clouded by hate, Shining didn’t notice the Queen close the distance between them, pressing her lips to his.

It was Cadance kissing him. There was always this little thing she did with her tongue. Chrysalis pulled away, having never left her true form. As quickly as it had arisen, Shining’s fury subsided. Somewhere in his mind, it clicked.

“All those years… it was never really her,” he said, slowly, as though tasting each word, “Our entire relationship… was based on me thinking you were some pony you weren’t.”

Chrysalis nodded.

“But it was you. I don’t… prove it,” Shining Armor said, still unsure of how to handle the situation that was unfolding before him. All these years… a lie? Why had she chosen now to reveal herself? If she was telling the truth… why did she end the charade?

“Our first date. You took me to see some terrible – and mind you, radically inaccurate – horror film about Changelings. Invasion of the Ponysnatchers, if memory serves. I was terrified that you knew, and that that was why you’d brought me to the movie. But you put your hoof around me, you smiled, and you told me not to be afraid, because you were there. Or when you finally worked up the courage to actually tell me you loved me – and I cut you off and told you I already knew. Or…” Chrysalis tried and failed to suppress a smirk, “that one time I walked in on you in the shower. Singing that little song I shared with Twilight. Oh, my stars, the look on your face when I joined in was priceless.” Shining colored at the memory. That had been a funny moment, if royally embarrassing. Looking back on it, he considered it one of his fondest memories of dating the Princess, the turning point at which they realized they were completely comfortable and completely in love with each other.

“You… you really are her. Well then… why me?”

“It wasn’t you, not at first. I had had enough of ruling the changelings, stealing love and all. I wanted to see if there was a way to just acquire it some other way, to have it freely given to me. I found your family in need of a foalsitter, and the familial love you all shared was more intense than anything I’d ever felt before. I wanted it… and so I tried to be as friendly and helpful and kind as I could, in hopes that perhaps one day you or your sister, or your parents might see me as even barely a family member so that I could be freely given that love. Eventually I began to feel it. Then I felt something different, from you. It started small, but it grew. It wasn’t familial love, it was romantic love. That was the greatest feeling of all – knowing I was loved, deeply and truly.”

Shining’s face had softened. He remembered that, the turning point. One night where he’d seen Cadance putting a sleeping Twilight to bed. She was so loving, so tender. The moment when she turned and caught his eye, flashing that gleeful smile, that was when he knew that she was the one. He’d spent his every waking moment for weeks trying to earn the courage to ask her out, and nearly passed out from relief at her almost instantaneous reply.

“But then… why did you attack Canterlot? Put me under a spell? What was the point of that? Ponies could have been killed!”

“That was not me. I left the Hive seventeen years ago, and I have not returned since assuming the identity of Princess Cadance. When I left, I appointed a general to lead the Hive in my stead, ordering him to assume my form until my return so as not to worry the Hive. He was ambitious, but at the time, I trusted him. It seems that eventually he let the Hive run low on love energy, and needed a lot of it quickly. So he sought out the nearest intense source of love, which just so happened to be us. Princess Celestia… as I said – she could tell I wasn’t Cadance. She couldn’t tell specifically that I was who I was, merely that I was not who I was pretending to be. She had no idea that I had been replaced, that it was now a pretender of a pretender. When he was revealed, though… the spell we cast to banish him? That was no farce – that truly was powered by our love.”

Shining Armor continued to sit on the bed, taking the information in. He knew she was right – the kiss, the memories, the look in her eyes as she spoke, it had to be Cadance, or, perhaps more accurately, Queen Chrysalis had to be Cadance.

“Shining Armor. I am not Cadance. But I want you to know something. The only falsehood about our relationship was my appearance. You loved me for who I was, not how I looked. I can tell the difference between love and lust. True, they’re often intermingled, but they are very distinct when you know them as well as I. And I tell you now – you still love me. Those feelings aren’t gone, just hidden. Most of all, though, I love you too, Shining Armor. It’s your decision if you want to end this and pretend it never happened, and I will respect that decision. You can send me away, banish me, have me executed, but look in your heart. I’m done living a lie, Shining Armor. I’ve been living a lie for seventeen years. My race has been living lies for millennia. I want to end that. My mind tells me to hide, my heart tells me to let you know the truth. So I have.” Chrysalis shut her eyes, waiting for the response, praying he wouldn’t send her away.

Shining Armor wanted to curse her, jail her, get her out. However… she was right, and he knew it. He loved her, and had loved her, and still did and still would love her. He thought about it for a minute, and made his decision.

Shining Armor reached out and pulled the Queen into a hug. Her eyes fluttered open, before closing again, tears welling in her eyes at Shining’s next words.

“I would never want to end this marriage. We can talk to Celestia about it in the morning. But tonight… I love you, and I’m going to prove it. Yes, the lie hurt, but you’re right. I couldn’t stop loving you. Your body may change, but our love won’t. True love never changes.”

Chapter 3

“Wow… that was… amazing…” Chrysalis panted.

“We’ll… have to thank… Twilight’s friend…” Shining Armor said, equally worn out.

“Yes… yes we will…” Chrysalis replied, giggling lightly.

Suddenly, Shining Armor sat bolt upright in bed. “Oh no! Twiley! We need to find her! If she didn’t go to Celestia…” Before his wife could reply, he was out of bed and half way to the door. How does he still have the energy to move after that…? She wondered.

“Wait, Shining! You should… shower… first…” Chrysalis’ words caught Shining Armor as he was already leaving the room, and he turned and glanced in a mirror, before leaning over and sniffing himself. He decided his wife was right – he definitely needed to shower before visiting the Princess or his sister. He walked into the bathroom, levitating a bar of soap from the counter as he turned on the shower. Part way through shampooing his mane, he felt another set of hooves join his on his head. He started a bit, looking over his shoulder to find his wife having joined him.

“You’re not the only messy one, dear,” Chrysalis replied, a sultry growl in her voice.

Upon exiting the shower an hour later, Shining Armor felt quite refreshed, but still a bit concerned over the situation with his sister. He could feel the tension in his wife as well, but couldn’t find a way to break the silence. After an awkward several seconds, Chrysalis spoke.

“I feel like we should both go to see Celestia about your sister and my apparent problem. I also feel like should we find your sister, it would be better if both of us were present. I… I’ve never heard of feeling physical pain before when a pony that loved a disguise discovered the truth. Your sister’s withdrawal of love… it hurt me, Shining. Physically. I don’t want that to happen again. Especially with Twilight… aside from you, your sister is the pony I care about most. Seeing her look at me like that, with such… betrayal and hatred in her eyes… please, Shining, let us fix this together.”

“I think that’s a good idea. You should probably change into Cadance if we’re just going to be walking the halls of the castle, though.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Chrysalis said, her black frame burning away to reveal Cadance. “I just hope… oh, no, darn it,” she muttered, disappointed to find once again her voice remained unaltered.

“Don’t worry about it, ok? Just let me do the talking until we’re with the Princess or my sister. See? Perfect plan,” Shining said, his face once again drawing into that familiar smile that Chrysalis loved so much. She felt safe, certain; she knew he loved her when she saw that smile.

“Alright, love. I’ll let you chatter to your heart’s content,” she said, laughing a little as she kissed his cheek. “Come on, let’s go, dear.”

Princess Celestia was in the throne room, not alone, but not doing much of anything. Being an immortal, benevolent and beloved ruler of Equestria came with its perks, but it also came with dozens of ponies doing things for her, which in turn lead to having a lot of time with nothing on her schedule other than “sit in the throne room and hope a pony with a problem gets through the screeners so I can have someone to talk to.” This being the case, she reacted with perhaps a slightly-less-than-regal enthusiasm when there was a knock on the door.

“Please, do come in,” Celestia said. The door opened, revealing Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. “Oh, hello my little newlywed ponies! How are you doing on this fine morning? I can honestly say I didn’t expect to see you for at least a week unless something drastic happened. Unless…?” Princess Celestia adjusted her gaze from Shining Armor to his wife, the pink Alicorn giving a slight, almost imperceptible nod. “Very well. Feather Duster, Word Weaver, would you mind giving me and my subjects some privacy?”

“Yes, your highness,” the gray Pegasus and tan Unicorn replied in unison, backing out of the throne room with their heads to the ground.

“Oh, I do so wish they would be less formal around me. I guess it comes with the territory of being the ruling Princess,” Celestia said, giving a heavy sigh. “So, Shining. How was your first night as a married couple? Spare me the details, please.”

Shining Armor laughed. “It was… very… insightful. I must say, it was surprising, but both Cadance… no. Both Chrysalis and I are extremely happy. We do have a couple slight problems, however…”

“Oh? And what would those be?” Princess Celestia arched an eyebrow, fairly certain of one problem, but less certain of the other.

“Well, for one,” Shining continued, “My sister paid us an unexpected visit this morning. While Chrysalis was disguised as Cadance, Twilight was still able to figure out something was wrong – which will lead to the second issue – and ran out. She said she was going to see you, but… we got… distracted and didn’t follow her.”

Princess Celestia smirked. “Twilight did come to me. She was confused, scared, and angry, but I explained most everything to her. I sent her back to apologize – did she not make it?”

Shining Armor blushed. “We were… distracted… for some hours. Twilight had brought a cake that had some magical pheromones in it. At any rate, that’s good to hear. We’ll find her and talk to her.”

“Good, that’s good. Now, you’ve been talking a lot – I’d like to hear from Chrysalis about the second issue,” Celestia said, smiling.

“That’s exactly the issue.”

Celestia’s smile vanished immediately as she heard the changeling’s natural voice echo around the chamber.

“Chrysalis… why?”

“I don’t know, Princess. I can’t change my voice anymore. That’s how Twilight Sparkle found out, actually – I changed into Cadance to greet her, but when I spoke, my voice hadn’t changed. I suppose I can understand her reaction – given the situation, I can see how she would have thought I was trying to hide my true form again. However, Shining and I had been considering whom we needed to tell… Twilight was on the list. Please, Princess, believe me – I did not do this on purpose.”

“I believe you, Chrysalis. For such a gifted deceiver, you certainly have a penchant for genuine honesty,” Celestia said with a nod, her face still showing a look of contemplative concern. “However, this regression in your changeling abilities is alarming. If you cannot recover your voice, I would advise you seek the assistance of one of Twilight Sparkle’s friends – a zebra named Zecora, who lives in the Everfree Forest. She is extremely talented when it comes to potions, and could likely easily provide a manner for you to alter your voice to the more… expected sound.”

“Perhaps visiting her would be the best option at this point. I’ve been trying to change my voice all day, but when I try to send the change spell through my vocal chords, there’s simply no response. I feel nothing,” Chrysalis said, her face falling as if saying it out loud finally caused the realization to set in.

“Very well. I’m sure Twilight will escort you there as soon as she is able, after you find her. I wish you luck, Chrysalis, Shining Armor. I cannot express how happy I am that you two are both perfectly fine with this, but I also cannot emphasize enough how important it is to keep this information away from the public, for now at least. Chrysalis, should this condition worsen – as in, should you further lose your abilities – please see me at once, making as much haste as possible. I will be able to assist in holding your disguise, and train you in how to do so yourself with normal illusion spells. I pray it does not come to that, though.”

“Yes, your highness, thank you very much,” Chrysalis and Shining replied in unison, before turning and trotting out of the throne room.

Twilight Sparkle sat in the café, sipping her coffee. It was a nice day, if not a weird one. The sky was clear and blue, the sun was warm, but the faintest breath of a breeze kept her comfortably cool. She looked around at the ponies passing by – almost every single one was a unicorn, but one stuck out to her – a pink mare with an exceptionally long horn and… wings as well, accompanied by none other than her brother! Twilight’s initial elation at seeing Princess Cadance and her brother faded as the morning’s conversation came back to her. She had no reason not to believe Celestia, but at the same time, it seemed so implausible. Twilight sat frozen in place, not sure how to react.

Oh my goodness, it’s Cadance! No, it's Chrysalis… or is it… oh, I don’t know. Maybe I just dreamed that whole thing. Yeah, that must be it. I must have dreamed that. There’s no way my foalsitter was a changeling all those years. Yep. It was a dream. That’s Cadance, exactly how I remember her. Just a nightmare then.

“Twiley! Hey! How are you? How did the conversation with the Princess go?”

OhCelestiaitwasn’tadreamohnosensoryoverlo-

Twilight Sparkle’s brain decided now was a good time to shut down, and the purple mare collapsed onto the table, unconscious.

Twilight awoke in her bed. She looked up at the ceiling, deciding it was dark enough to still be early in the morning, when she would normally be waking up.

Oh, it was a drea- She had rolled over, to see none other than Shining Armor and Queen Chrysalis sitting next to her bed, holding hooves. The shutters were drawn, but Twilight could see through the cracks that it was most likely mid-afternoon. The lavender unicorn’s mouth opened and tried to form words, but only moved around before closed again, no sound having come out.

“Hey, Twiley,” her brother began, “Sleep well?”

“I- I… I’m sorry,” was the only reply Twilight Sparkle could stammer out.

“No, Twilight. I should be the one apologizing,” Chrysalis spoke, “I lied to you for so many years… I wanted to go completely public after the wedding, even at the risk of banishment or rejection by your brother, but then… the short version is I left the hive seventeen years ago, and the general I left in command eventually realized I wasn’t coming back, and assaulted Canterlot disguised as me. Naturally, this makes revealing myself a very bad idea. The problem is…” Chrysalis closed her eyes and flashed green, donning her Cadance image, “I can’t disguise my voice anymore, and I don’t know why. Princess Celestia said you have a friend named Zecora who may be able to help…?”

Twilight was still unable to form words, her jaw slack. However, she did process the request, and nodded. “W… we… we can… Forest… when you’re ready,” she finally managed a staggering, broken sentence.

“We’re ready to leave as soon as you are, Twiley,” Shining Armor said. Suddenly and inexplicably feeling invigorated, Twilight burst from her bed.

“Great! Just let me pack my stuff – I’ll be ready in just a few minutes, if you don’t mind waiting outside, Shining. I’d like to talk to Chrysalis alone for a moment, though.”

Shining glanced at his wife nervously, but she gave him a reassuring nod. Getting to his hooves, Shining Armor shuffled out the door.

“So, Chrysalis. I trust Celestia, and I trust my brother. You, though?” Twilight held a hoof to her face and sighed. “I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, though, and say that you were Cadance all those years. I know my brother can be a bit of a doofus, but I love him, and if he still loves you you’re clearly worthy of being loved. I… I want to see you as my foalsitter, but I’m having trouble accepting that at the moment. Please… please forgive me.”

Chrysalis smiled down. She felt the love in Twilight sparkle begin to burn again, a solitary, softly glowing coal amidst the ashes of a fire. “It’s ok, Twilight. I didn’t expect you to react nearly as well as you did, so I thank you for that. Shall we go?”

“Yes. Let’s be on our way, shall we? I think you’ll like Zecora quite a lot.”

Chapter 4

The train ride from Canterlot to Ponyville proved largely uneventful, if lengthy. Chrysalis retained her Cadance form and refrained from speaking for the most part so as to avoid startling other ponies. Chrysalis had made the mistake of addressing the pony operating the snack cart, who merely looked at Cadance as if she had two heads, and promptly received the explanation that the Princess was merely sick. The snackmare gave her another funny look before passing the three ponies their orders and hurrying off.

“Chrysalis… you need to more careful. Your real voice is so beautiful, especially when you laugh… but… after the whole invasion at the wedding…” Shining Armor said, “We need to be careful, and very, very particular about who we tell – meaning nopony but this Zecora we’re going to meet, and maybe my parents.”

“You… you think my voice is pretty?”

This time it was Twilight Sparkle who replied. “Oh, yes! Your voice is wonderful, Chrysalis. It sounds so… organic! Oh, that’s not the right word… I can’t put my hoof on it, but your voice is really pretty.”

“Thank you, Twilight… that… that really means a lot to me. Thank you so much,” Chrysalis said, tears beginning to well in her eyes.

Shining Armor put a hoof around her shoulder. “Come on, love, don’t get choked up. Twiley and I love you for who you are, not for being Cadance. How many times am I going to have to tell you that? Look, we’re almost at the station. We can go talk to the zebra and get you that potion. Then, everything can just go on as it is, and we can tell the public when they’re ready.” The train began to decelerate, before coming to a screechy stop at the Ponyville station. Twilight stepped out of the compartment first, just in time to hear the conductor yell to whoever may have been listening:

“Fillies and Gentlecolts! The honorable Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and her husband Shining Armor!” Oh, ponyfeathers, Twilight cursed to herself.

“Shining? We have a slight problem. The conductor just announced your arrival in Ponyville – as well as Cadance’s. The whole town will be out here to see you! You can’t say a word, Chrysalis!” Twilight’s voice was stern, but there was a hint of fear behind it. “Shining accepts you, I accept you, the Princesses accept you – but the general public almost certainly won’t. Please, for everypony’s sake, stay silent, Chr- Cadance,” Twilight corrected herself as some other passengers moved past her in the narrow aisle. “Especially considering a quite a few of the wedding guests live here in Ponyville – namely my five closest friends, the Elements of Harmony. Oh, Celestia help us if Pinkie finds out you’re actually-”

“She’s actually what?” Twilight whirled around in terror, to find a horrifyingly familiar pink earth pony standing behind her.

“PINKIE? How did you-”

“The wall, silly,” Pinkie said, gesturing to a perfectly Pinkie-shaped hole in the wall, fluffy mane and tail included.

Twilight opened her mouth to ask another question, and closed it again before she drover herself to madness. “You know what? Forget it. Shining, Cadance, if you would step back into the compartment for a moment.”

The other two ponies obeyed, and Twilight stepped in after then, magically closing the door. Pinkie remained outside, seated on her haunches, patiently awaiting their exit. Much to her disappointment, the three ponies were encircled in a light purple aura and disappeared.

Twilight, Shining Armor, and Chrysalis reappeared inside the library a moment later.

“Twiley… did you plan on us coming back?”

“What, why?”

Shining Armor raised a hoof and pointed it at the banner that hung from two of the upper shelves.

Welcome to Ponyville, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance! It proudly declared. Pinkie sat in a corner, inflating balloons and tossing hooffuls of confetti into the air.

“Twilight, how did she do that?” Chrysalis asked, shock that an earth pony had not only managed to arrive at the library faster than a teleporting unicorn and had half set up a party overriding her mental inhibitions against speaking. A hoof shot to her mouth, and the last thing Chrysalis saw before pink filled her vision was Twilight casting her a pained glare.

“Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asked, utterly violating ‘Cadance’s’ personal space. “I don’t think this is Princess Cadance. She sounds funny. She… smells funny.”

“I do not smell funny!” Indignant fury rose in Chrysalis voice, before once again realizing her mistake. Fear crept into her eyes and the apparent pink Alicorn shrunk back, Shining Armor rushing forward and putting himself bodily between his wife and Pinkie Pie.

“Twilight… I think… I think it’s the changeling queen!” Pinkie hissed, her attempt to make a whisper carry across the room resulting in everypony – and the now present dragon – hearing it.

Shining Armor shot his sister a concerned look, wordlessly asking if it was worth trying to conceal it anymore.

“Shining… it’s useless. I’m honestly surprised Pinkie didn’t know immediately. Chrysalis, you can tell her. Pinkie… don’t freak out. I really, really need you not to freak out.”

Chrysalis sighed and let her disguise evaporate. Pinkie gasped and tried to escape from the library through a window. Twilight and Shining Armor both grabbed her tail, their combined magical might proving too much for Pinkie to escape from. They dragged the pink earth mare, kicking and screaming, across the floor, back to the feet of Chrysalis.

“You… I remember you,” Chrysalis began, “You were so nice, so cheerful, always laughing. You taught me that fun little dance, and recommended your DJ friend for the reception. Pinkie Pie… thank you for contributing as you did to my wedding. You truly helped make my wedding the perfect day.”

Pinkie Pie stopped talking and looked to Twilight for validation, who nodded. “That’s right Pinkie. This is Princess Cadance. The Princess Cadance we all know, anyway.”

Pinkie Pie looked about ready to explode, as her emotions waged a violent and brutal war across her face – anger, fear, confusion, acceptance, elation, surprise, understanding. She opened her mouth, and Twilight promptly muted her with a hoof.

“Pinkie Pie. Remember what you told me? Losing a friend’s trust is the fastest way to lose a friend. You don’t want to lose Chrysalis as a friend, do you?” Pinkie thought about it for a second, and shook her head, giving her best smile despite having a hoof in her mouth. “Good. Now, I need you to Pinkie Promise me you won’t tell anypony, or anything, ok?” Pinkie nodded. “Will you be quiet if I take my hoof away?” Pinkie hesitated then nodded. Twilight withdrew her hoof, ready to cover her friend’s mouth again at a moment’s notice. Pinkie Pie worked her jaw before standing up.

“So the Princess Cadance you knew and loved was actually Queen Chrysalis the whole time? Shining Armor knows and is ok with this?” Pinkie Pie worked the thoughts aloud, Twilight shocked at how calm she was. “That’s wonderful! I should throw you guys a party! A Happy ‘You Found Out Your Wife Was Actually A Changeling All Along And That’s Awesome’ party! It would be the greatest! Oh, but we could be the only guests… Twilight, can I tell Applejack and Rarity and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy please please please?”

“I’m sorry Pinkie, not now. Not yet. Maybe soon, but not yet,” Shining Armor interjected. “I would love to let you throw us a party, especially given how awesome that one you threw on our wedding night was. However, given the events of our wedding day? Chrysalis can’t very well reveal herself to the public. The backlash would be horrific. We’ll think of something, though. When we do? I would be honored if you would throw a party for us.”

“Indeed we would be, Pinkie Pie. Your parties are wonderful,” Chrysalis added. Pinkie visibly tensed up at the sound of the changeling’s voice, but proudly strode over and gave the queen a hug.

“I’m sure there’s an explanation for everything that happened at the wedding, and I’ll be perfectly willing to sit and hear it from you, miss Chrysalis. I hope we can have a wonderful friendship,” the pink earth mare said. Twilight Sparkle was shocked at her maturity, but chose not to ruin the moment. Chrysalis visibly perked up at the love coming from Pinkie Pie. The changeling smiled, gladly retuning the hug.

“Thank you so much, Pinkie Pie.”

“You’re welcome, Chrissy-wissy,” Pinkie responded. “Why didn’t you change your voice, though? It’s almost like you wanted to be found out.”

“Actually Pinkie, that’s why we’re here,” Twilight began, “Chrysalis seems to have lost the ability to change her voice. We were going to see Zecora about that.”

“Oh! That sounds bad! If she can’t change her voice then she can’t talk in public!”

“Exactly the problem, Pinkie. Now, if you don’t mind, we’re going to go visit our mutual zebra friend.”

“Okie dokie lokie! Can I come along?”

“Umm… Pinkie, if you wouldn’t mind,” Twilight started, bringing one hoof behind her head and rubbing the back of her neck nervously, “We’d like to draw as little attention as possible, and, well… ‘subtle’ isn’t your strong suit. You understand, right, Pinkie?” The party pony deflated a little but nodded.

“I understand Twilight. I hope everything works out for you, Chrysalis. It was nice to see you again, Shining Armor!” Pinkie proceeded to trot happily out the door of the library, humming a tune to herself.

It was then a young dragon finally managed to form a word.

“Ch-ch-chrysalis?” He stammered.

“Oh, Spike! Spike? Spike!” Twilight rushed to her assistant’s side. Spike was visibly trembling with fright, but a look of determination burned in his eyes.

“Twilight… get back… I apologize for anything that happens to your books…” Spike inhaled deeply, and leapt through the air towards Chrysalis. The changeling did little more than raise a hoof in protest as green flames were cast around her, not hot enough to burn her carapace. Moments later, small, sharp claws skittered off her lower legs, the baby dragon desperate to cause some form of physical harm to the changeling. Realizing the futility of his efforts, Spike fell over, sobbing.

“Why… why don’t you just leave my family alone…”

“Spike, Chrysalis is our family,” Twilight said, levitating the crying dragon from Chrysalis’ feet to her own back. “It’s kind of odd, actually. We never knew Princess Cadance. The pony who we always knew? It was Queen Chrysalis here, in disguise. Spike – Spike. SPIKE!” Twilight yelled, the baby dragon’s eyes showing a clear failure and lack of willingness to accept this as the truth. “Spike… just… watch. Shining, would you mind…?” Twilight magically passed the baby dragon to her older brother, before gesturing for Chrysalis to join her in the middle of the floor. Twilight leaned over and whispered in her ear, the black mare giggling and nodding. Without a further word, both ponies leaned over towards each other.

“Sunshine, Sunshine, Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” They sang in perfect unison, not placing a single step out of sync with each other. Shining Armor laughed at the display and Twilight blushed a little, Spike’s mind uncertain of what his eyes just saw. Shining Armor set him down gently.

“I… I think… Twi?”

“Yes Spike?”

“I don’t feel so good. I’m going to bed,” he said flatly, eyes glazed over. He moved up the stairs again almost mechanically, closing the door behind him.

“Well… that went… interestingly,” Chrysalis said, trying in vain to suppress a giggle.

“Twiley… is he going to be ok?” Shining Armor asked.

“He’ll be fine. I just think… I think it would have been much better if we’d actually planned out how we were going to tell him,” Twilight responded. “He’ll come around, though. Don’t worry. He’s a wonderful dragon deep down, he’s just… young,” Twilight said, with a light smile. She glanced up at the windows, and noticed the setting sun.

“Oh, darn. I always forget how long the train ride from Canterlot takes. It’s getting late, too late to go into the Everfree. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to visit Zecora. I trust that won’t be too much of a problem? I’ve got a spare bedroom on the ground floor. Just please…” Twilight knew what she wanted to say, but couldn’t bring herself to. Not in front of, much less about, her brother.

“Thank you Twilight. Don’t worry, we won’t do anything,” Chrysalis added with a wink. “Say, do you have that cloud battle game? You said it’s too late to go into the Everfree, but it’s hardly early enough to go to sleep. Perhaps a film?”

“Oh yes! I’ve got plenty of board games, and I have a projector and some movies in the basement! Oh, it’ll be just like a sleepover! Only… when two of the participants are a newlywed couple still… technically… on their honeymoon…” Twilight’s enthusiasm drained as her mind went places she didn’t think existed. “On second thought!” Twilight cast a spell faster than she ever had before.

Shining Armor yawned, abruptly feeling utterly exhausted. “Hey, Twiley… do you think you could show Chrysalis and me to the spare bedroom? I’m feeling,” he yawned again, “really sleepy. She looks like she is, too…” he trailed off, gesturing to his wife with his head. The changeling queen was nodding off, obviously struggling to keep her eyes open.

Oh thank Celestia that worked. I’ll have to use that memory-erasing spell on myself later… but for now, these two being asleep is the best option. “Right this way, you two, it’s just in there…” Twilight ushered the sleepy ponies to their bed, the couple not even bothering with blankets and instead just collapsing on the mattress in each other’s embrace. They really do make a cute couple. I think they even look better than Shining and ‘Cadance’ did. Heh, that’s kinda funny. Twilight left the bedroom, chose a random book from her shelves, and headed upstairs to read herself to sleep.

Chapter 5

The next morning arrived just on time for Twilight. She woke a few minutes before her alarm went off, showered, brushed her mane, and headed downstairs. Chrysalis and Shining Armor were already up, nuzzling affectionately while working on breakfast and sharing a newspaper. Spike was sitting at the table across from them, half of a gem in his claw, his mouth open, a look of combined fear and disbelief on his face.

Oh, poor dragon, he thought yesterday was a dream, or nightmare, or something. He must have seen them come out of the spare room together.

“Good morning, Twilight!” Chrysalis said, eyes lighting up. “I must ask, what is that bed made of? I haven’t had such a restful sleep in ages.”

“I’m with my wife on this one. That bed was just… amazing,” Shining added.

“I… may have magically enhanced your sleep a little after I realized this was still technically your honeymoon. I didn’t want to think about… you know,” Twilight explained. Shining Armor and Chrysalis shared a look and mouthed an “oh,” before Twilight addressed Spike.

“As for you, my little dragon, snap out of it!” Twilight magicked the spines on the side of his face, snapping Spike back into reality.

“Twilight! Chrysalis! Shining Armor! Bedroom! Breakfast! Nice! Why?” Spike tried to use language and generally failed, getting out a series of subjects but no real sentences. Regardless, Twilight was used to Spike’s language breakdown when he was surprised and/or scared, and knew exactly what he was trying to say and what his questions were.

“No, Spike, yesterday was not a dream. Yes, this is Shining Armor and Queen Chrysalis. No, Shining Armor isn’t still brainwashed. No, Chrysalis isn’t evil. Yes, they’re married. Yes, they’re ok with it. Yes, they spent the night here last night. Yes, Chrysalis is nice. That better?” Twilight finished, rolling her eyes.

Spike nodded slowly, and resumed eating his breakfast, eyes never leaving Chrysalis. The black mare squirmed under his gaze, trying to hide behind the newspaper with her husband. Every time the couple turned a page though, there was Spike, staring at her.

“Is… he always like this?” Chrysalis asked Twilight, who was busy making her own breakfast. This was the Changeling Queen, the ruler of an entire race by birthright, uncomfortable under the attentions of a child. The fact that he wasn’t blinking may have affected this.

“Is he always like what?” Twilight asked, returning with a bowl of oats in her magical grasp. Upon seeing Spike, she realized exactly what Chrysalis had meant. “Spike! We’ve been over this with Rarity! Staring isn’t polite! And for the love of Celestia, blink! It’s really creepy when you don’t!” Spike merely laughed.

“Ok, Twilight. I’m sorry, Queen Chrysalis. It’s just… you’ve got pretty teeth,” Spike said, a slight smirk still adorning his face.

Chrysalis was taken aback. “You… you think my teeth are pretty?”

“Yeah!” Spike said through a mouthful of gem, nodding. “They remind me of a dragon’s teeth, a little. With the fangs and all.”

“T-thank you…”

The four ponies finished their meal in an only moderately awkward silence. When they’d finished eating, Spike took the three ponies’ dishes and brought them into the kitchen.

“Well,” Twilight began, “It wouldn’t hurt to get to Zecora’s nice and early. If it doesn’t take too long, maybe we can get you two on a train back to Canterlot tonight!”

“Thank you, Twiley,” Shining said. “Well, Chrysalis, I suppose you had better get changed if we’re going out.”

With a sigh, Chrysalis nodded, a green fire flashing over her before Cadance stood in her place. Spike’s mouth hung open a little.

“That… is really cool,” he breathed. “Can you change into any pony?” Chrysalis nodded. “Change into Twilight!” With a grin, Chrysalis obliged the baby dragon, another green flash covering her before a purple unicorn took her place. Twilight, despite knowing it was Chrysalis, was still a little disarmed, having fought changelings disguised as herself at the wedding.

“That’s so cool!” Spike practically yelled. “Do Shining Armor!”

“While changed as his sister?” Chrysalis asked, incredulous. Shining Armor and Twilight blushed profusely, but Spike didn’t understand what she thought he had asked.

“What? I mean change into him.”

“Oh, right, of course,” Chrysalis said, realizing her error. Another flash, another form – now two large, handsome, white Unicorn stallions stood side by side, one regarding the other with a look of mild concern.

“Wow, Chrysalis. You could kill me in my sleep and pretend to be me, and nopony would be the wiser. That’s… amazing, how well you can do that, truly.”

‘Shining Armor’ blushed at the compliment.

“Oh! I’ve got another idea! Chrysalis, change into me!” Spike said, eyes still wide in equal parts amazement and amusement.

“Huh?”

“Change into me! Can you change into a dragon?”

“I… I’m not sure. I’ve never tried to disguise myself as anything but a pony before. I could give it a shot, of course,” Chrysalis said, contemplating the plan. It was true – she’d never tried to disguise herself as anything other than a pony, and she’d never heard of a changeling trying to impersonate anything but a pony, not even in stories or myths. She picked up the young dragon with her magic, inspected him, and closed her eyes in concentration. She felt her form change, and when she opened her eyes again, she found herself needing to look up to observe the shocked expressions on Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle’s faces, but found herself at eye-level with Spike.

There, standing in the center of the room, was a diminutive purple Pegasus stallion with a rough, green mane and a cutie mark of a quill and a piece of parchment. The stallion’s fur was hard, rather like Chrysalis natural form, emulating the little dragon’s scales nicely.

“So… this is what I’d look like as a pony, huh?” Spike said, looking over the stallion in front of him. “I’d be a Pegasus, huh? Does this mean I’ll get wings when I get bigger? Does it, Twilight?”

“I don’t know, Spike, but this is fascinating. It seems that a changeling can swap size, color, and gender all it wants, but they must disguise as a pony. I’ll send a letter to Celestia…” she trailed off as Shining Armor gave her an amused and annoyed glare. “Right, that can wait. For now, Chrysalis, if you could change back, we can head out. Spike, will you watch the library for me while we’re gone?”

“Of course, Twilight! Anything for you!”

“Thanks, Spike,” Twilight said, giving him a light kiss on the forehead. “I can always count on you.” Spike hugged Twilight and nodded.

“Alright, Chrysalis, Shining, if you could step over here? I’m guessing it would be easier to just teleport us to Zecora’s home, seeing as your celebrity status and Chrysalis’ voice problem would make a trip through town difficult and dangerous.” The two ponies nodded, and stepped to Twilight in the center of the library. A flash of purple, and the three ponies disappeared. Spike took up his position at the counter. A Pegasus, huh?

The three ponies reappeared in a small clearing just outside Zecora’s dwelling. Twilight trotted over and knocked on the door. She heard a soft shuffling inside, and a steady clip-clop as Zecora approached the door. It swung open, and the zebra smiled at the sight of her friend.

“Ah, come in, Miss Twilight! I wasn’t expecting you until tonight,” Zecora backed away from the door, allowing the unicorn entrance.

“Yeah, about that…” Twilight said, sidestepping and gesturing to her brother and sister-in-law.

“Princess Cadance! Shining Armor! What brings you here, with your petite chou-fleur?”

“Well, you see, Miss Zecora, Cadance and I have a bit of a problem,” Shining Armor began.

“Merely two days, and your marriage has hit a rock? Surely, this has nothing to do with the size of your –”

“ZECORA!” Twilight yelled. She’d had that image invade her mind twice in the past day, which was about three more times than she’d hoped for. The Zebra laughed, Shining Armor and Cadance joining in shortly afterwards. However, the second Cadance started laughing, Zecora stopped.

“Princess Cadance, could you speak again? I may have misheard, though, and I do not mean to offend.”

“Actually, Miss, that’s why we’re he-” Shining began, before Zecora cut him off.

“Shining, is your name ‘Cadance’? It is not your tongue I asked to dance.”

Cadance spoke. “Hello, Zecora, my name is Cadance. It’s nice to meet you.” Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor winced as her natural voice entered the hut. A few tense moments passed, before Zecora grabbed her staff and leapt across the room swinging it at Cadance. The pink Alicorn shrieked, and Shining Armor moved so fast Twilight could have sworn he teleported. Crossing into Zecora’s trajectory, he raised a leg and took the blow.

“Shining Armor, why do you block? That’s the Changeling Queen, and you let her walk?” Zecora had landed, and was still trying to force the staff past Shining Armor’s foreleg.

“Because this is my wife! I know she’s Queen Chrysalis! She told me, and I still love her. I’ll always love her,” Shining said, through gritted teeth. He was the Captain of the Royal Guard, so he was no stranger to pain, but being struck by the full force of a staff strike hurt. As if they had rehearsed it, Chrysalis assumed her natural form. The pressure against his limb vanished.

“Oh.”

Twilight gasped. She’d never heard Zecora not rhyme, much less speak a single word. Before she could comment, though, the zebra continued.

“Well… then… if that is the case, I wish you happiness, Queen of your race.”

“Actually, we could use some help with that. You see, Chrysalis is actually having a problem with her changing. Her voice won’t change anymore. Celestia herself recommended we visit you to seek a solution,” Shining Armor explained.

Zecora pondered the thought for a moment, and moved to her shelf. She grabbed a book and began flipping through it, almost as though she’d forgotten the presence of the other ponies. Shining Armor looked to Twilight for help, but Zecora spoke again. “Very well, I can whip up a spell. However it will take a week to brew, so return later, you two.”

“R-really? Simple as that?” Chrysalis asked, relief washing over her.

“Indeed it is, Queen of shifting. However, just pray no ponies turn up missing,” Zecora added, venom in her voice. “Now leave, be gone, this is something I must concentrate on.”

“Thank you so much, Zecora,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Are we still on for tonight?”

“Of course, my purple friend. We must find out how that story ends.”

Twilight smiled, and led her family out to the clearing again.

“She was… so nice, Twiley,” Shining said, the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice. “But I guess now we can see why just going public would be a bad idea. Should we go back now, Twiley?”

“Yeah, of course, Shining. That took less time than I expected it too – you might even be back in Canterlot tonight!” Twilight squealed, horn glowing with energy as she prepared to teleport the trio.

“Don’t you think it might be a good idea-” Chrysalis began, before they disappeared.

“- for me to change back before… we… teleport…” Chrysalis finished, shrugging. “Well, I guess that’s alright.”

It would have been alright, if Spike had been the only one in the library.

Chapter 6

“… and then, I asked her to change into me, and she turned into a little purple Pegasus! It was so cool! I think this means I’m going to get wings, and I’ll even be able to fly when I get older! Maybe I’ll learn magic and be able to fly with that! Oh, that would be so cool!” Spike gushed over the counter to the white Unicorn before him. Rarity was slowly backing away from the baby dragon, looking at him as though concerned for his mental state. The telltale tinkling whoosh noise that accompanied a teleport interrupted his rant, and saved the fashionista from further torment.

Rarity turned towards the source of the noise, making the logical assumption that Twilight was returning alone. “Oh, Twilight, darling, Spike has just been telling me the da- waHAHAAAAAA?” The white mare shrieked, skittering to the other side of the room and vaulting the counter to land solidly on top of Spike, whose expression displayed an amusing combination of pain and joy at being touched and crushed by his beloved.

Outside the library, Roseluck and Lyra were having a conversation. The shriek of pure terror that expelled itself from the library momentarily drew their attention, before both mares shrugged it off as Twilight trying to get Spike to do something against his will – again. The blood-curdling screams were something the town had simply gotten used to by now, when they came from the library at least.

Back inside the tree, Rarity was doing her best to relocate herself as far away from Chrysalis as possible. Moving in perhaps the most undignified manner she had since her foalhood, crawling into the far corners of the library, making herself as small as she could.

“Rarity.”

“Twilight?”

“Get over here.”

“… no.”

“Rarity, over here, now.”

Twilight had this voice she used, on rare occasion, which held almost as much power over a pony as Fluttershy’s stare. Much like with Fluttershy, “the voice” was beyond her control and just happened sometimes. Now was one of those times.

“Yes… darling…” Rarity said, inching agonizingly towards the ponies in the center of the room at an agonizingly slow pace.

“Twiley, is this going to be ok? I mean, I recognize her from the wedding, I know she’s one of your friends, but…”

“Oh, I know this one,” Chrysalis said, the sound of her voice sending Rarity back to the corner, and forcing her to start again after another glare from Twilight. “She’s the one that caught my bouquet two days ago. Pushed several other mares out of the way, if I recall properly.”

Rarity’s jaw dropped in surprise. “How does she know that? This… horrifying, awful creature that impersonated your foalsitter and put a spell on your brother!” Chrysalis winced at the insult, but held her tongue. “How can you stand here and just be so calm about it? I’m calling the guard!”

“Rarity, if you remember… I am the Captain of said guard. You could call them, and I could tell them to arrest you. They’re my stallions, regardless of what part of Equestria they’re stationed in, and they follow my orders and trust my judgment. And, as they are prepared to kill at my command, I would advise against calling my wife an ‘awful creature.’”

“Your… your… your wife?” Rarity stammered.

“Yes, I am his wife, and he is my husband. I have revealed myself to him and our love has only grown stronger. I must thank you for the cake, Rarity. It was quite… moist,” Chrysalis said with a wink.

“Ugh! Still in the room!” Twilight said, heaving an exasperated groan.

“That cake was meant for the Princess and the Captain! Not some… imposter!” Rarity practically yelled.

“She is the princess!” Twilight and Shining Armor replied in unison.

Rarity was shocked. Of all ponies, how has Twilight fallen under this creature’s spell? I’ll have to contact Celestia at once, perhaps Spike will help me. Oh, no! He was talking about how great she was earlier! He’s out of the question. I suppose I will have to visit Canterlot myself. I am one of the Bearers of Harmony, after all, surely the Princess could spare a few moments for something of national importance.

“I will not believe it until Princess Celestia herself tells me so, face to face,” Rarity said, adding a harrumph to punctuate her decision.

“Fine. I’ll contact Celestia. In the mean time, at least let me explain to you what happened. You see, seventeen years a-” Twilight began, before being interrupted by her brother.

“Twiley doesn’t abridge things very well,” Shining said with a smile. “So, long story short – the real Princess Cadance died many years ago, and with her last breaths asked Chrysalis to replace her. Chrysalis agreed, and eventually met my family and myself. We dated, we fell in love, we got married,” Shining’s voice took a sterner tone as the story continued, “Changelings pretending to be Chrysalis attacked on our wedding day. The only thing I didn’t know was what she actually looked like. I love her for who she is. That didn’t change. That won’t ever change. So I implore you, make a decision now – call the guard and tell them their CO is harboring the most wanted criminal in the country – which by the way, I’m not – or stay here. The choice is yours. One ends in your arrest, the other ends in you having a newfound friend in the Queen of a race. So choose.”

A flash of green next to Shining Armor.

Rarity fainted.

Shining Armor looked next to him.

Where he expected to find his wife, he instead saw Rarity – or rather, an exact duplicate of her. Spike practically teleported across the room, and deftly caught Rarity before she hit the floor, shooting Chrysalis an annoyed look, but at the same time overjoyed at the concept of there being two Raritys.

“Well… she had a more extreme reaction than I was expecting. I thought after your reaction, Twilight, and yours, Shining, and you as well, little Spike, that she would be more amused and intrigued than afraid…” ‘Rarity’ pouted, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Another flash and she reverted to her natural form.

“Actually, Chrysalis, if you could change to Cadance, I’ll wake Rarity up. We could probably convince her she had a bad dream,” Twilight said, sincerely.

“Ok,” Chrysalis said, flashing into her Cadance form. “Nothing else has failed, has it?”

Twilight looked her over quickly. “Nothing that I’m seeing. Just remember not to talk. We could say you lost your voice from… umm… screaming…” Twilight said, blushing. Shining Armor snorted and Chrysalis gave that joyful little giggle she had. “Alright, here…” a brief flash of magic, and Rarity’s eyes fluttered open.

“Oh! Twilight! Shining Armor! Princess Cadance! It’s so nice to see you! Unexpected, but nice!” Rarity paused for a moment. “Why am I lying on the floor?”

“I don’t know, Rarity. Shining and Cadance came to visit, hoping Zecora could make some more of that love potion you put in that cake,” Twilight fibbed. There’s enough truth to that. They came here to see Zecora about a potion. Close enough.

“Oh. Well then… Oh Twilight I had this awful dream that Cadance was still Chrysalis… I’m sorry, Princess Cadance,” Rarity corrected herself. “My apologies, your highness. You’re just so casual and friendly it’s easy to forget that you’re royalty.”

“Think nothing of it,” Shining Armor said. “A friend of my L.S.B.F.F. is a friend of mine, and a friend of my wife. No need for formalities here.”

“Oh, thank you, Pr… Shining Armor,” Rarity said. “So, you two… enjoyed the cake, I hear?”

Cadance nodded, and Shining Armor answered. “Yes, very much. It was delicious, and the results were… nothing short of amazing.”

“And your thoughts, Princess?”

“She, er…” Shining Armor began, “She… lost her voice.”

“How?” Rarity asked flatly.

“Umm… screaming.”

“Why was sh- oh. Oh,” Rarity colored, recognition flowing over her face. She smiled and winked, saying without words that she understood precisely why Cadance wasn’t speaking. Cadance blushed a little and smiled. Rarity’s eyes widened.

“Twilight, dear, could we talk in the spare room for a moment?” Without waiting for a reply, Rarity turned and exited the main room of the library.

“Of course, Rarity,” Twilight said, looking over her shoulder at Shining Armor. He cast her a wordless What’s going on? Twilight had no answer, and shrugged. As she exited the combination living area and entryway, Rarity closed the door behind her.

Back in the main room, Chrysalis looked at Shining, scared, and whispered to him.

“Shining? What was all that about?” Something felt weird, and she spoke, though, something off in her mouth.

“Wait a moment…” he whispered back, “Open your mouth, wide,” he instructed, his wife complying. His look changed from fear to terror.

“Honey… your teeth didn’t transform.”

So that’s what felt off. Wait, ponyfeathers – Rarity must have seen my teeth.

In the side room, Rarity was having a slight crisis, and some difficulty working out the words.

“Twilight. Cadance! Teeth! Wrong! Pointy!”

“Oh, Rarity. I forgive Spike for not being able to work out sentences sometimes because he’s a baby, but I expect you to be able to handle it. What’s wrong?” Twilight asked, slightly annoyed. Rarity paused for a moment, taking a few deep breaths and composing herself.

“Twilight… I think my dream might have been more than a dream. There was something wrong with Princess Cadance’s teeth. They were… fangs. They looked just like the Changeling Queen’s, from the wedding.”

“Rarity… if you’ll excuse me for a moment…” Twilight ducked back out of the side room, leaving Rarity alone and confused.

“Chrysalis! Your teeth!” Twilight hissed.

“We know!” The couple whispered back.

“Twilight, I don’t know why this happened! I don’t know what’s wrong!” Cadance said, on the verge of tears. “If my changing ability fails completely, oh… I don’t know what we’ll do! We won’t be able to hide anymore!”

“Look, Rarity practically knows already. We might as well just tell her,” Twilight said, sighing. “At this rate, all my friends are going to find out. Just wonderful.”

Twilight turned and opened the door to the side room. Rarity was gone, and the window was open.

Oh, horseapples, Twilight cursed internally.

“Alright, problem. Rarity is gone. She’ll probably tell everypony. Solution – she’ll go one of two places. AJ’s barn, or Fluttershy’s cottage. She hates getting dirty, so it won’t be Sweet Apple Acres. I would bet my life on it,” Twilight said.

“But would you bet our life together?” Shining and Cadance asked at the same time.

“I…” Twilight started, suddenly not sure at all where Rarity would have gone.

A pair of large white forelegs wrapped around her. “Twiley. I trust you, and you know Rarity so well. If you think she’s there, please, make all haste, and please be right. Now go,” Shining Armor said, giving his sister a quick squeeze before stepping away. Twilight nodded and teleported.

A half-moment later, Twilight reappeared outside Fluttershy’s cottage. To her joy, Rarity was just arriving.

“Rarity! Wait! Please, just… just let me talk to you.”

“Twilight? Can’t you see? It’s Chrysalis again!”

“Yes, it’s Chrysalis, no, not again,” Twilight explained rather poorly.

“What… what do you mean, ‘not again’?”

“That wasn’t a dream, earlier, when you saw Chrysalis. It was really her – the real Chrysalis, not the one that attacked Canterlot. She’s married to my brother, and she’s a wonderful pony. She foalsat me for years. She is the Princess of Love. She’s just… you, Rarity, are a shining example of why they can’t just tell the public. You fainted, you freaked out, and you ran. We can’t have that happen everywhere. There would be so much chaos that it would probably release Discord again. You see the problem?”

“I… I suppose, Twilight. Why should I believe you, though? What if you and your brother are under the same spell she –”

“Not her.”

“… same spell this other changeling put on your brother at the wedding?”

“I believe her because Celestia told me it was true,” Twilight said, hoping she could wrap up this conversation and get back to the library as soon as possible.

Rarity was surprised that Twilight would pull the “Celestia said it” card. Unless she’s serious. Oh, sweet Goddess, she’s serious.

“You… you’re not kidding, are you?”

“Why would I kid about this? This is my brother’s marriage! Considering how hard I tried to stop it when I knew something was off, and how much I supported it when we got ‘Cadance’ back? I believe with all my heart that she is the Cadance I always knew. Please, Rarity, come back to the library with us. Shining, Chrysalis and I can explain more when we get there. Can we go? Plus, I need to have a long talk with Spike about keeping secrets…”

“Yes… I’m terribly sorry, Twilight. I was just scared, after what happened at the wedding…”

“Exactly, Rarity. Are you ready?”

Rarity nodded, and the pair disappeared in a purple flash.

Chrysalis was pacing the library, with Spike and Shining Armor desperately trying to calm her down. When Twilight and Rarity popped into existence, she screamed and latched onto her husband. Restoring herself to a somewhat more dignified pose, she addressed the returning unicorns.

“Oh, Twilight! Were there no problems?”

“No, she was right where I thought she would be. Rarity, this is Queen Chrysalis. Queen Chrysalis, this is my good friend Rarity, She designed your dress, remember?” Twilight mediated.

“Yes, I do remember. You talk like this happened six months ago, Twilight. It has been two days.”

Twilight giggled sheepishly. “You’re right, I’m sorry. Anyways… Rarity, please don’t say anything. Please.”

Rarity struggled to maintain the smile, evidence of her struggle in her eyes.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as the real me, Rarity,” Chrysalis said, extending a hoof.

“The pleasure… is all mine,” Rarity replied, making as light of contact as possible with the gnarled, perforated hoof before her. However, when their hooves met, Rarity’s mood changed in a flash.

“Oh, darling, your coat is simply marvelous! It’s so smooth and sleek – I bet liquids fall right off. Can you even get it dirty? This is amazing! Will you permit me to attempt to make clothing modeled after you, Queen? Oh, wait, if you’re the Queen of the Changelings, and Shining Armor married you… is he the King of your hive?”

Chrysalis paused for a moment. “I… that thought never occurred to me. While I am queen by birthright, I forsook the role seventeen years ago. I do not rule the changelings any longer, and a Queen is hardly a Queen with no subjects to rule. Though I do suppose, technically, Shining is a King now. Yes, by the way, you may attempt to model clothing after me. Though, if you could, do it discreetly, or come up with an alternate explanation. Please?”

“Of course, Chrysalis. Thank you,” Rarity said.

“No, thank you, Rarity, for not telling anypony,” Shining Armor added, “and thank you for being predictable enough that Twiley could find you.”

“Ah, yes, you’re welcome.”

“Well, Rarity, I’m glad you got to meet them again, but,” Twilight directed her speech to her brother and his wife, “Shining, Chrysalis, we really must be off if you’re to make the next train. I’ll teleport us there again. Chrysalis? Why don’t you change first this time?”

“Yes, I’d rather not go through this again,” she said, and flashed into Cadance. Rarity looked on in a combination of wonder and fear. “Though I will have to keep my mouth thoroughly shut,” Chrysalis added, with a toothy smile, revealing her fangs. “One pony freaked out by these is enough.”

“Alright then, ready to go?” Twilight asked, receiving a nod from her passengers. “Rarity, Spike, I’ll be back in a few minutes. Bye!” The trio disappeared.

They arrived on the platform with just enough time to spare to purchase tickets.

“Goodbye, Twiley. See you in a week?” Shining said, hugging his sister.

“Of course, B.B.B.F.F.” Twilight said with a smile. “I can’t leave you hanging now, can I?” Shining Armor merely laughed his answer. Cadance leaned in close to Twilight and hugged her as well, whispering in her ear.

“Thank you so much, Twilight. Thank your zebra friend for us, too.”

“Of course. Now hurry you two, you’ll miss the train if you wait any longer!” Realizing this, Shining Armor dashed onto the train, followed quickly by Cadance. As the train began to pull away from the station, a white foreleg, accompanied by a slender pink one, extended from a window to wave to Twilight. Be careful, you two.

Inside their closed cabin, Shining’s smiling face suddenly became serious.

“Chrysalis… we need to tell my parents.”

The pink Alicorn nodded.

Chapter 7

The train arrived in Canterlot precisely on time. As the car slowed to a halt, Shining Armor hugged Cadance tightly, the distracted-looking pink Alicorn gasping slightly at the unexpected contact, before smiling and returning the embrace. His warm fur shifted against her slightly as he gave one last squeeze before backing away, brushing his lips against her cheek as he did so.

“Come on, dear. We’ve got a week here; let’s get my parents out of the way as soon as possible so they’ve got the full week to get used to it and we don’t leave them wondering about and possibly spreading nasty rumors if they remained unconvinced. Shall we go?” Shining Armor asked, once again offering forth his trademark smile. Cadance opened her mouth to respond, but caught herself before she spoke, and closed her mouth again as she felt her enlarged canines drag across her lower lip. She frowned and lowered her head, nodding faintly.

“Hey, chin up, darling. My parents won’t want to see you so mopey. They’ll blame it on me and I’ll never hear the end of it. They’d go on and on about how I got my wife depressed after two days of being married. So chin up. They’re good ponies, they’ll take it well. Most likely. Hey, I’m kidding,” he quickly added as his wife seemed to shrink again. “However, to get to my parents? We need to get off this train first. It looks like most of the other ponies are off, we should be able to get out without too much hassle.”

Cadance lifted her head and smiled gently, taking care to keep her lips pressed together. She nodded, a change in attitude visible behind her eyes – they once again shone with that girlish joy of feeling safe in the company of a loving coltfriend. It was odd, she thought, despite being married she still thought of Shining as her coltfriend or fiancée, and honestly, not much had changed between them with how they acted, aside from what they now shared in bed aside from each other’s embrace. There was still the goofy, boyish charm, and carefree air Shining Armor had when he wasn’t on-duty, and the attached, loving, physical proximity Chrysalis kept herself in as much as possible. The couple exited their shared train compartment, moving to the end of the car and out the door onto the platform.

The young royal couple was met with a horde of paparazzi and a nigh-seizure-inducing assault of flashbulb strobes from the wall of camera-toting ponies. Shining Armor had reared back on his hind legs and was using one forehoof to shield his own face while he held the other over Cadance’s mouth, to ensure not one photographer got a shot of her fangs. As soon as the flashes started, however, they ended, an unnatural, encompassing blackness blanketing the platform. Shining Armor noticed the familiar feeling of being grasped with telekinesis and a sensation he faintly acquainted with being teleported filled his chest.

A moment later, he reappeared in Canterlot’s main hall, with Princess Luna staring down at him.

“Your Highness,” he fumbled out, nearly bashing his muzzle on the ground as he hastily bowed, Cadance mimicking his motion.

“A lone Captain of the Guard or a single, down-to-Equestria Princess disembarking a train is nothing newsworthy. However, the young Royal Couple? That is indeed something worthy of the news, unfortunately. How they got wind of your arrival is beyond me, but then again, I am still unused to some of the changes that occurred in my absence. Next time I implore you to be more careful,” the royal blue Alicorn stated, her voice somewhere between a reprimand and the tone of understanding advisement.

“Yes Your Highness, thank you, Your Highness,” Shining Armor said, head still at the Night Princess’ hooves.

“Please, you may simply refer to me as ‘Luna,’” she said, a smile now adorning her face, her tone one of amusement. “After all, you technically outrank me now.”

Shining Armor could not hold the formality of staring at the floor with that statement. Eyes shooting upward in shock, his mouth hung open with an implied question, but he found the Royal Sister’s head beside his own before he could speak.

“I mean, a King does surpass a Princess, does he not?” Luna winked. Shining Armor gasped, before hearing a light giggle behind him. Chrysalis’ light, shimmering, slightly resonant giggle. It was a noise he hadn't heard enough, a light, tinkling noise that almost sounded like it had been run though a fan. Not the most flattering of terms, true, but accurate. It was beautiful. He looked to his wife, a look of blissful amusement present in her pink features. He found her expression mirrored on Luna’s face, and the tension that had appeared in his chest upon exiting the train began to unwind, hearing the regal laughter of his wife and the elder Princess.

“Now go, you two. I believe you came to speak to your parents?” Princess Luna asked after a few more moments of laughter, producing two brown cloaks seemingly from nowhere. “These will hide you from the view of any ponies not specifically seeking you so long as you wear them. You can easily reach the Sparkle residence undetected. Go, young lovers. Set your parents view straight.”

“Thank you, Princess,” Shining Armor said, having stood back to his normal height now. “How can we repay you?”

“By not making the same mistakes I did. Tell those closest to you; do not wait for them to find out on their own. It is always better to be out with it,” Luna said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

“Yes, thank you, Princess. We’ll be off now,” Shining Armor put a hoof on his wife’s shoulder and turned for the door. As he walked, he donned the cloak, feeling a slight magical tingle pulse through his body. His wife followed suit behind him, and the pair opened the doors of the main hall onto the castle grounds.

Night Light strode to the door. He recognized the pattern of knocks as Cadance’s, but knew it couldn’t be her. After all, two slow knocks, followed by a delay, then three rapid knocks wasn’t that uncommon a pattern for a pony to knock in. It could be the postmare – no, it was too late in the evening for that. The Royal Guard? No, they had no reason to be here, unless Shining Armor or Cadance or Twilight were in trouble or hurt or even de- No, calm. Stay calm. Remember what the therapist said. Think happy thoughts. Cadance pregnant. Grandfoals. Twilight with a special somepony. More grandfoals. Great grandfoals, even. Oh that would be wonderful. Content with the blissful fantasy, he trotted to the door and opened it. He was startled to find that his first assumption had indeed been correct – Cadance was standing at the door, with his son standing just behind her.

“Cadance! Shiny my boy! It’s so wonderful to see you both again! Sooner than I’d expected, but oh well. Do you have an announcement of some sort?” He directed his gaze to his son. “Is she pregnant?” He looked back to Cadance. “Are you pregnant?”

“I… umm… well, maybe, dad. I don’t know. It’s possible, I guess? Can we stop talking about this? Is mom home?” Shining Armor fumed, blushing. As if on cue, his mother descended the stairs just inside the entryway.

“Oh my dear Shiny! Cady! It’s so wonderful to see you two again! And so soon! Are you pregnant? Are we having grandfoals? Oh this is such wonderful news!” Twilight Velvet gushed.

“Chr…adance isn’t pregnant!” Shining Armor stamped a hoof on the front step of his parents’ home in annoyance, as much at his own near slip-up as at his parents’ occasionally one-track minds.

Twilight Velvet deflated slightly. “Oh. Well what are you waiting for, honey? Come in! Make yourselves right at home. I actually just put a pot on the stove, can I interest you in tea?”

“No thanks, mom,” Shining said, and Cadance shook her head.

“Ah, oh well,” the white unicorn mare thought aloud, motioning her son and daughter-in-law inside and into the living room. It was a simple arrangement, a couch and two chairs arranged across from a fireplace. Shining Armor took a seat at one end of the couch, Cadance sitting down next to him before leaning onto her husband’s shoulder. Twilight Velvet and Night Light taking up positions in the chairs, which were close enough to hold one another’s’ hooves in.

“So, is there… something you wanted to tell us that warranted a visit, Shiney? Are you sick? You’re not impotent are you? Oh, you’re impotent, we’re never having grandchildren…” Night Light lamented, receiving a psychokinetic smack to the back of his head.

“Now dear, there’s no reason to panic. Nothing’s wrong, is it, Shiny? Why haven’t you said anything, Cadance? What’s wrong? You’re scaring me…” Twilight Velvet chided her husband, before questioning her son.

“Well, no, nothing’s ‘wrong.’ Not exactly, at least. I… well, Cadance… isn’t ‘Cadance,’” Shining Armor said. Good job, Shining Armor. Just plunge in, bluntly, in a situation that you should have taken time and tact and thought out well before say-

“Well, we knew that, didn’t we?” Night Light questioned, laughing nervously. “She was actually that changeling witch who put a spell on you, but you banished her and stuff, right?” Night Light’s nervous laughter was escalating to nearly hysterical screams, before his wife silenced him with magic.

“You know how panicky he gets. What do you mean, Shining Armor?”

“I… I mean…”

“He means that you never knew Princess Cadance,” the pink Alicorn spoke up, her resonant voice filling the room. Night Light shrieked in terror, adrenaline and fear overriding the relatively weak hold on his muzzle his wife had. His chest heaved as his lungs spent themselves and refilled, repeating the shriek. Twilight Velvet’s jaw dropped, the alien voice bringing already-repressed memories of the wedding back.

“CALL THE GUARD! IT’S THE CHANGELING QUEEN!” Night Light screamed.

“Dad.”

“SHE’LL KILL US ALL!”

“Dad!”

“SHE’S GOING TO EAT UH-HU-HUUUUUSSSS!”

“DAD!” Shining Armor roared, wielding the full force of his Guard-trained voice and silencing the room. Even Cadance had scrambled away from him and covered her ears.

“Chrysalis wouldn’t hurt a fly! She’s not going to kill or eat anypony! She loves me, and I love her! That won’t change!” Shining Armor yelled. His nostrils flared and his chest rose and fell in deep, ragged breaths from the sudden outburst. For several tense moments, the only sound was Shining Armor’s breathing and his father’s muffled whimpering, as the blue stallion attempted to silence himself with his hooves. After several tense moments, Twilight Velvet spoke up.

“Did you say… Chrysalis?” Twilight Velvet said, shockingly calmly considering the look of pure rage on her face.

Shining Armor sighed. He looked to his wife and nodded. A flash of cold green fire, and the pink Alicorn evaporated, Chrysalis’ true form appearing on the couch next her husband. The flames licked across Shining Armor’s side, tickling him slightly. Her body lengthened slightly until she had lay over her husband, her long, black legs enveloping her husband, his white fur visible through the holes near her hooves. Her chin rested on his head, fangs slightly exposed over her lower lip. Perforated, insectoid wings fluttered and buzzed briefly, repositioning herself slightly to completely entrap her husband. Shining Armor turned his head and nuzzled her before gently kissing her cheek.

“This is Chrysalis, former Queen of the Changelings. She has impersonated Princess Cadance for seventeen years, long before any of us met her. I dated her, fell in love with her, and married her. She is my everything, and nothing and nopony will take her from me. As my parents, you needed to know the truth, but if you make me choose… I will choose her,” Shining Armor said coldly, glaring at his parents. He felt Chrysalis’ chest expand sharply behind him a moment before his brain registered the sound of her gasp, and continued to speak. “Mom, dad, I love you both dearly, but the time has come for me to move on. I would love for that to be only physical, but if you reject her emotionally, and force her out of this household, I will leave too.”

Twilight Velvet set her jaw.

“Get her out of my house.”

“We are a package deal, mother. If she leaves, I leave. You want that?”

“I SAID GET HER OUT OF MY HOUSE!” Twilight Velvet shrieked, her voice cracking with fury.

“Very well. Chrysalis, we… we have nothing else to do here. Let’s go.”

The young couple stood, and showed themselves out.

Outside, on the front step of his home, Shining Armor collapsed and wept.

“Oh my god Chrysalis, what have I done… what… what have I done? I just-” Shining Armor was cut off as Chrysalis kissed him, forcefully, passionately, and lovingly.

“You just proved to me you love me far more than I ever realized, and that you are a far better stallion than I ever deserved. You didn’t have to do that for me, you really didn’t, Shiny… I’m so sorry.”

“No, don’t say that. I don’t ‘deserve better’ than you. I chose you, you chose me. We deserve each other. But… my parents didn’t deserve that… that… oh, Chrysalis, I was a brute in there… I need to go apologize…”

Chrysalis kissed her husband again. “No, you don’t. They will come around, eventually. Even if they don’t? We will have each other, we will have your sister, and the Princesses… I love you, Shining Armor. That won’t change.”

“I kn-know. True love ne-never changes, right? That’s what I s-said, and that’s w-what I meant.”

Shining Armor tried, but he couldn’t say anything else. He fell to the porch and sobs overtook him. Chrysalis wrapped herself around him, providing what limited warmth her thin form could. A light rain began to fall on the ponies, the drops rolling of Chrysalis’ body and mixing with the Captain’s tears.

Chapter 8

“Captain!”

“Captain Armor!”

Shining Armor awoke, twisting underneath his wife. Her cool, smooth skin was soothing, despite the memories of last night. Almost by reflex, Shining turned his head and kissed her gently on the cheek, without opening his eyes.

“Captain Armor! Wake up!”

That’s not my wife… wait. The ending of last night came back to him. He was lying on the front porch of his parents’ home, with his wife lying on top of him. In ordinary circumstances this would have been considered improper or scandalous – the young royal couple sleeping on a porch! However, these circumstances were different. Shining Armor opened his eyes, and immediately regretted the decision, seeing as Celestia’s day had begun several hours ago. The bright sun pierced his bloodshot eyes, and he winced mightily, instinctively bringing his hooves in front of his eyes.

“Captain Armor! Look out! That’s the Changeling Queen!”

… oh, bollocks.

“Alright, man?” Shining Armor spoke, tentatively pulling his hooves away from his eyes, wincing again as the sunlight invaded his skull. “Sir… just… calm down, it’s ok,” he blinked several more times, before squinting tightly and peering at the source of the voice in front of him.

There stood three members of the Royal Guard.

… oh, double bollocks.

“Captain Armor, on your orders, we will take the Changeling Queen into custody and hold trial for her, pending execution or exile,” the center guard stated mechanically, reciting the order that Shining himself had indeed given shortly after the wedding ceremony ended. At the time, he had no idea how badly those words would come back to bite him. Above him, his wife groaned awake.

“Shiny, dear, where are we?” Chrysalis yawned. “What’s happening?”

“I’m just… about to clear up a slight… miscommunication… with the Guard,” Shining Armor said.

“Captain Armor, there is no ‘miscommunication.’ We will be taking the fugitive Chrysalis into custody. Chrysalis, for your own safety, do not resist, and release Captain Armor.”

Chrysalis stood up, her tall, slender form casting an incomplete shadow against the porch. Shining rose to his hooves underneath her, quickly backing out when he realized the position he was in. Standing next to his wife, Shining looked at the three guardsponies in front of him. He recognized two of them – the gray Pegasus was Flanking Speed and the white unicorn was Crimson Lance. The gray unicorn was unfamiliar to him, and was hanging back a little. He’s probably new, Shining thought. Well, time to get them to lay off.

“Alright, boys, don’t worry. Everything is under control. There’s been a huge misunderstanding. This is my wife,” he declared, wrapping his hoof over Chrysalis’ shoulders, smiling. He pulled her closer for emphasis, knocking the queen slightly off-balance. She stumbled into her husband, hooves not finding purchase, and ended up draped over his back in a rather comedic fashion.

“Captain! That isn’t your wife! Remember? The wedding? Your wife is Princess Cadance! Excellent job apprehending the fugitive, though,” Crimson Lance said, taking a step forward, generating a magical rope and binding Chrysalis’ legs together underneath Shining Armor’s stomach. “There, now that she’s secured… Wavelength, inform the Lieutenant that the fugitive is in custody and Captain Armor is accounted for but may be un- MMMPH!” A light pink aura encompassed Crimson Lance’s mouth and the bonds restraining Chrysalis dematerialized, allowing her to dismount her husband.

“You, unicorn, Wavelength I think it was,” Shining Armor began, by now moderately irritated, “If you send that message I will have you cleaning the all the lavatories in Canterlot Castle with your tongue until the day you die. Do I make myself clear?”

The gray unicorn’s mouth opened to protest, then closed again as he thought about the Guard Captain’s threat. He nodded.

Confusion and fury showed on Crimson Lance’s face as he fought to break his superior officer’s magical hold. His muffled cries did nothing to break the bonds, however.

“Captain Armor, you may recall the supplementary orders to take you into custody as well if you resisted, claiming that if you did resist while in the presence of the Queen you were most likely under the influence of her magic,” Now it was Flanking Speed who spoke, the charcoal Pegasus’ wings flaring as he lowered his head. “Sir, I would really rather not have to use force.”

“Shiny, what’s wrong?” Chrysalis asked again, removing herself from Shining Armor’s back.

“Dear, it seems I gave orders to apprehend you, and also to apprehend me if I tried to defend you. Which leaves us with two options – either we comply and go quietly, or we… don’t. What do you think we should do?”

“Shiny darling I’m still half asl-”

“Excellent choice. CHARGE!” Shining whirled around, magically pinning Flanking Speed’s wings and gluing the other two guardsponies to the ground. Their hooves refused to move, sealed in place by an ethereal, sparkling, purple-pink energy.

“Captain Armor, please, come quietly! We don’t want to hurt you!” Wavelength bellowed after the fleeing couple. However, galloping at full tilt, the Guard Captain and the fugitive were soon well out of sight.

Only a few meters away, Chrysalis had yanked her husband into an alleyway, furious.

“Shiny! What in the wide world of Equestria are you doing? You just attacked three of your own troops!” Chrysalis hissed, a mixture of confusion and anger in her voice. “You’d better start explaining, mister. What happened back there?”

“Saving your life. Look, love… after the wedding, during the reception… I might have been a little… overenthusiastic towards ‘Chrysalis’ being brought to justice, and… I wasn’t thinking quite right. I ordered a standing arrest warrant for you, well, for the imposter, and her execution, pending a trial, at which she would of course have been found guilty,” Shining Armor explained, awkwardly shifting his hooves against each other and avoiding eye contact with his wife.

“You. Did. What.”

“I’m sorry, Chryssy, I’m so sorry… I just… at the time, I didn’t know, I thought you –” Shining Armor was met with a glare that could freeze a dragon’s heart, “Hey now, at the time, I thought it was you. I thought that ‘Chrysalis’ had just invaded Canterlot, tried to ruin our wedding, and nearly killed hundreds of ponies. I was pretty upset. I just haven’t exactly had the opportunity to rescind the orders. Now, though, you’re still a wanted criminal and any orders I give are null and void because I’m ‘being mind controlled,’” Shining Armor explained, sarcasm and disdain for his own commands dripping from every word. “I’m sorry, Chryssy, I really am.”

“You basically ordered my execution,” Chrysalis deadpanned.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t know! Chryssy, please…” Shining Armor pleaded.

“No! I’m mad at you! I think. Is this what being mad at you feels like? I think this is what being mad at you feels like. Actually, no, I think this is just frustration again,” Chrysalis thought aloud, a hoof rising to her chin instinctively as she mulled it over in her head.

“You… you’re saying you’ve never been truly mad at me?” Shining Armor was confused. He was a dork, a doofus, and seven kinds of a blockhead, especially in the early years of his relationship with Cadance. The fact that she had never been really angry with him… astounded him. He stepped forward, closing the distance to his wife in two short strides, and pressed his lips to hers.

It wasn’t the fiery, passion-fueled, heavy kiss that the couple had shared so many times since their wedding night, but a simple peck on the lips. It was all Chrysalis needed – the simple physical contact left an indescribably pleasurable warmth on her face. The Queen felt rejuvenated, invigorated, alert – this feeling, just the little physical contact… Chrysalis spoke as Shining Armor pulled away.

“That… my loving husband, is why I’ve never been mad at you. For me, as a changeling, the touch, the embrace, the kiss of someone who loves me so deeply is to know a joy beyond words. Whenever you did something stupid, the very next hug made it all better,” Chrysalis wrapped her hooves around her Shiny to prove her point. “I know this is… a slightly backwards statement, but you love me, and that is all that matters to me. Come now, we need to get out of here, right? I can cast an invisibility spell. It’s pretty draining, but with you here, that won’t be a problem. Should we return to your sister’s?”

Shining Armor sighed heavily. “I think that would be the best option, dear. She accepts us and has a spare room, plus we wouldn’t draw attention to ourselves by going to her place instead of a hotel or something. Come on, let’s go.”

A green glow encased Chrysalis’ horn as she and Shining Armor disappeared, only to reappear a moment later.

“Why can I-”

“Changeling Magic. Those under Changeling Spells can see others – so Changelings can tell another Changeling from another pony. We’ll be able to see each other, but no one else will. Trust me.”

Shining Armor swallowed and nodded, exiting the alley, checking for the three guards from earlier. Without warning. Crimson Lance barreled past him, only inches from his nose, without so much as a sideways glance. Wow, she’s right. Or Crimson needs his eyes checked and a discharge from the Guard. Either way, neat.

As their luck had it, a train had been just about to depart for Ponyville. After a silent argument with his wife, Shining left bits for the tickets he didn’t purchase on the counter, much to the confusion of the teller. Seeing bits materialize out of thin air wasn’t something he was used to, but it wasn’t something he would ignore, either, and he quickly pocketed them. Shining had had to bite his own tongue to prevent from calling him out on the petty theft. Magically appearing bits he figured the teller could handle – a disembodied voice of the Captain of the Royal Guard would have been a bit more unsettling. Shining and Chrysalis boarded the train and chose an empty compartment, Shining wrapping themselves in one of the pre-supplied blankets before allowing Chrysalis to drop the invisibility. Telekinetically drawing the shades, Shining Armor allowed himself to drift to sleep in his wife’s hooves, her cool skin drawing the heat from his body.

He awoke several hours later, his wife snoring cutely above him, the slight vibrating noise of her breathing bringing a smile to his face. Tunneling his head out of the blanket cocoon, he peeked out the blinds. Night had fallen, and judging from the scenery, Ponyville was no more than twenty minutes away. He gently kissed his wife awake, her green eyes meeting his. She smiled, her pearly white fangs gleaming in the light.

“Hey beautiful,” he greeted, placing another light kiss on her muzzle.

“Hey yourself,” Chrysalis replied, giggling at how cheesy her own words sounded. “Are we almost there?” Shining nodded. “You want me to make us invisible again?” She felt his chest expand before shrinking greatly, a sigh passing his lips before he nodded again.

As the train slowed into the station, once again, the young royal couple vanished. Carefully avoiding the other ponies disembarking the locomotive, and hastily trotted across the town. The library proved easy enough to find – a giant tree in the middle of a town is pretty conspicuous. Shining Armor approached the door, laughing to himself at the painted-on candle adorning the entry to his sister’s home. Stopping just short, he looked at his wife quickly, before knocking twice on the door.

Twilight opened it, her pleasant smile fading as she saw that nopony stood at the door. Suddenly, she felt two hooves on her chest push her back into the library. Her own hooves caught against one another and she fell onto her back, noticing the door slam behind her invisible assailant. She shrieked and screwed her eyes shut tight, preparing a radial magic blast, when a familiar voice came from above her.

“Twiley? Twiley, it’s me, Shining Armor. It’s ok. No one’s going to hurt you.”

Twilight opened her eyes again, both elated and confused to see her brother again, who had mysteriously appeared right on top of her. Near the door stood Chrysalis, rubbing her forehead just below her horn with a hoof.

“Shining Armor! Chrysalis! It’s good to see you again, but so soon! You only left two days ago,” her tone shifted from cheer to annoyance. “Something happened, didn’t it? What happened? Shiny, I can tell when you aren’t telling me something. What happened?”

“I… uh… kinda got kicked out of the family and am now a wanted criminal,” the big white stallion said sheepishly, a small blush of embarrassment rising to his cheeks as he rubbed a hoof in his own mane.

“What.”

“Twilight, please, allow me to explain, for once,” Chrysalis said, shooting Shining Armor an annoyed glance as Twilight collected herself, “We’ve discovered that our doofus Shiny here is awful at explaining the real context of a situation, which I suspect may be part of the reason your parents reacted so… negatively. Do you have somewhere to sit? I could explain what happened…”

Thirty minutes later, Twilight Sparkle was doing her best to refrain from screaming at her brother. That big, stupid, blockhead Captain of the Royal Guard of a brother she loved so dearly, was a complete idiot.

“So let me get this straight. You didn’t properly explain things to my parents, got kicked out, fought off your own troops, and to top it off got on a train without tickets?” the purple unicorn fumed.

“I did pay for the tickets…” Shining added quietly.

“UGH! That’s not the point!” Twilight cried, exasperated. “Look, you can stay here as long as you need to, but please, fix this as fast as you can. I love you both dearly, and I would hate for my bestest foalsitter ever to have to face consequences for something my dumb B.B.B.F.F. did. Come on, it’s late. Why don’t we get some sleep? Please, actual sleep. Not like…” Twilight gestured with her hooves, once again cursing her mind for recalling the fact that this was supposed to be her brother’s honeymoon, and ponies did… things… on their honeymoons.

Shining Armor blushed and Chrysalis giggled. “Of course not, Twilight. Thank you very much, for everything.”

Chapter 9

Shining Armor woke early, his now-instinctual Royal Guard training kicking in before the rest of his mind. The fact that his sister’s alarm had gone off and he was a light sleeper may have also attributed to his rising before the sun. He wasn’t particularly a morning pony, but today was one of those pleasant mornings when he woke up and was immediately alert and ready for the day – his mind was functioning clearly and processing the image before him. His wife, having fallen asleep in his hooves, lay merely inches from his face, one fang protruding cutely over her lower lip as her head bobbed gently up and down from her breathing. Shining Armor kissed her lightly on the nose, smiling as her muzzle scrunched up and twitched against the unexpected contact, before sliding out of bed. He took care to step lightly – being such a large stallion, moving quietly required a significant conscious effort – and made his way to the door of the guest bed, slipping into the entryway. He still marveled at the fact that his sister could live in a library – Shining Armor liked a good book as much as the next pony, but he genuinely worried for his sister sometimes.

It was true, they were the very best of friends when she had been growing up, but that was precisely what worried him. She’d never really had other friends besides him, and Shining Armor felt like he hardly counted as a “friend,” having been her brother. With his parents out so often, and before they had hired Chrysalis to foalsit, he had been practically obliged to be there for her, caring for her, and being everything that she didn’t go do on her own. Shining mentally reprimanded himself for thinking like that; he loved his sister deeply and didn’t regret a moment he spent helping her grow, but sometimes it felt like she was that same little socially-awkward-bordering-on-socially-incompetent filly in a grown mare’s body. Sure, she did have a half-dozen very close friends plus Spike, and had a working relationship with many of the other ponies in the town, but the way she had reacted to the news of his wedding brought him concern again. It was almost like a relapse, Twilight returning to a state where he was the only thing in the world to her besides her studies and the Princess. It scared Shining Armor, in a way most things didn’t – she had never been over-protective of him, it was rather the other way around most times, but she was always so attached. His sister’s non-existent social life had infringed on his own on many an occasion, having lead Shining Armor to bring her to watch him and his friends play hoofball, or bringing her on one of his trips to Canterlot Castle to see the Royal Guard.

He remembered that fondly, watching the Guards do their jobs. Stoic, broad-chested, sturdy stallions in golden shining armor. Heck, it was his name – Shining Armor. It was like his parents simply knew from the day he was born that he would one day want to join the Royal Guard. Many of his friends shared his dream at a young age, though most had eventually discovered their true talents lay elsewhere, and had drifted off to be writers or artists. The advent of his own cutie mark had only cemented his goal of eventually joining the Guard, the blue shield adorning his flank confirming his desire to defend not just his sister, but all of Equestria.

The sound of many small and hard somethings striking a ceramic surface broke him from his memories. The sound had come from the kitchen, and was accompanied by the telltale jingle of magic and somepony humming an unfamiliar tune. Knowing it to be Twilight, he trotted in behind her, helping himself to a bowl and intercepting the box of oats as Twilight levitated it back to the pantry. She gasped at the sudden invasion of her magic and turned around.

“Morning, Twiley,” Shining said, “your alarm woke me up, don’t worry. Chrysalis is still asleep. I take it Spike went back to sleep after you got up?”

Twilight smiled, her initial shock having subsided. “Yeah, I usually let him sleep in for a while after I get up. Usually. Sometimes I go a little overboard… I tried to force him to get up at three-thirty in the morning my first Winter Wrap Up here. I still feel bad about that…” Twilight shook her head and laughed to herself.

“Eh, don’t worry about it. That little guy loves you. You’re like a weird mash-up of a mom and a sister to him. I’m sure he forgave you a long time ago,” Shining Armor said with a genuine smile, “I hope I can do the same…” He trailed off, looking out the window. To his surprise, his sister laughed.

“Oh Shiny, you were never good at the ‘pensive, lost-in-thought’ look. Mom and Dad will have to accept you. They love you too much, and, let’s be honest, you did a horrible job of explaining the situation,” Twilight said, her tone slowly shifting from amused to stern, “You could have, no, you should have told them that it was Chrysalis from the beginning of when we knew her. Sure, knowing mom, she still would have been angry, and dad would still have been scared to death, but now, for all they know, ‘Chrysalis’ still has you under her spell. We need to get this cleared up. I’ll send a letter to Celestia, and if I absolutely have to, I can threaten to walk out, too. They understand that I’m about as level-headed as they come, if I say that, they’ll listen.”

Shining Armor had long since given up the thoughtful stare out the window and was now dejectedly munching his oats. Twilight sighed.

“Shiny, I’m sorry, I didn-”

“No, Twiley, you’re completely right. I messed that up big time. You don’t need to do anything like that, it’s my mess. I’ll clean it up.”

“Shining Armor, you and Chrysalis mean the world to me. You two were both almost as, if not equally as, important to my childhood as Mom and Dad were. I couldn’t bear to see them kick you out, and I know they love you, and they love Cadance. We just need to clarify one tiny detail that your wife is actually the ex-queen of an army that invaded Canterlot on your wedding day. No big deal. I’ll have Spike send a letter to Celestia as soon as he’s up. With luck, Celestia will get the letter before Mom and Dad can go to her, if not, oh well, she can handle it. I trust her, and she knows and trusts you and Chrysalis. Speaking of whom, good morning!”

Twilight’s tone shifted from serious but encouraging to perfectly cheerful as the Changelings’ former queen shuffled in, smiling.

“Good morning, Twilight. Morning, love,” Chrysalis said sleepily, rubbing an eye with a hoof.

“Good morning, Chrysalis. Can I get you anything?” Twilight asked.

“No thanks,” Chrysalis replied as she strolled over and kissed Shining Armor on the cheek, draping her forehooves over his shoulders from behind, “I’m full already.”

Twilight and Shining Armor shared a blush, while Chrysalis giggled at their reactions. She continued to lay across her husband’s back, watching Twilight’s blush grow, until an awkward cough from her husband pulled her back to reality.

“Erm, honey, not that I mind, but, uh… not in front of Twilight…”

“Sure, Shiny,” Chrysalis replied with a melodic tone, twirling away from her husband and pulling up a seat beside him, leaning over onto his shoulder, and nuzzling against his neck.

“You seem… extra affectionate, today. Are you feeling alright?” Shining Armor asked, wary of the jagged horn waving around in front of his throat.

“You thought I was asleep when you kissed me this morning,” Chrysalis continued in a sing-songy voice, “and that little act… you may have noticed it once or twice before, as changelings can quite literally become love-drunk. You set me off with that kiss this morning.”

Twilight shot Shining Armor a dirty look, glaring a reprimand for doing naughty things in her guest bed. Shining Armor responded in kind with an anguished droop of his facial features that conveyed an, ‘I’ll apologize, but we didn’t actually do anything’. Twilight rolled her eyes to this, and stood up from the table, walking into the main room of the library.

“I’ll see if I can find something to help clear this up,” she said over her shoulder as she trotted out.

Shining Armor brought a hoof up and placed it gently on his wife’s horn, the constant movement of the sharp object at his neck becoming too much for him to ignore. His guard training told him to move fast and strike hard, given how quickly a blade or point to the throat could end a pony, but his ever conscious thought screaming to be gentle. He pushed her away slightly, keeping one hoof on her horn, the other pressing softly against her chest to put some space between them.

“Well, we’re alone now,” Chrysalis practically growled, her voice so dripping with lust Shining could almost physically feel it. Chrysalis closed her eyes part way and dragged her tongue across her lips, before pressing them together in a way that was clearly demanding a kiss. Shining Armor then made one of the worst decisions of his life, and obliged her.

The moment his lips met hers, he knew he’d made a mistake. He tried to kiss lightly, and Chrysalis forced herself forward, knocking him off his chair and onto his back. Chrysalis stumbled as she toppled off her own chair, and landed on her husband’s stomach. Shining Armor was a very fit pony, he had to be, to be the Captain of the Guard, but that didn’t change the fact that a pony much larger than himself had just dropped most of her weight on his diaphragm. He wheezed as the air left him, the muscle in his gut refusing to cooperate as he tried desperately to call to his sister for aid. His mind registered the sudden loss of breathing control as suffocation, and a primal terror filled him as he begged himself to start cycling air once more.

When he could breathe again, he looked down himself to see Chrysalis laying where she had fallen, rocking back and forth as she laughed at her husband’s plight. Seeing him no longer in danger, however, she immediately launched back into her assault, starting to move down his body. Fighting every instinct he had as a man, Shining grabbed her head and pulled it up towards his own, trying to keep the surprisingly not-fun love-drunk goddess that was his wife from trying to start something on his sister’s kitchen floor. Wrapping one of his forehooves around her neck and another around her back, Shining twisted his head to the side to avoid Chrysalis’ muzzle and called for help.

“Twilight! Twilight, I never thought I’d say this but I need you to keep me from having sex with my wife!”

A sudden purple flash.

Chrysalis stopped her forceful attempts to kiss her husband and pulled away from Shining Armor abruptly, blushing.

“Twilight, what did you just do?”

“Anti-inebriation spell,” Twilight said, blushing furiously at the intertwined lovers on her floor. “I found it in a book a friend gave to me, though I didn’t think I’d ever need it, and I wasn’t sure it would work. Now that that’s out of the way… Chrysalis, I suppose if you’re here, I have to ask – have you ever heard of another Changeling losing their powers?”

Chrysalis perked up, eyes rolling back as she thought. “Not that I can recall. I mean… unless… that was thought to be a myth, though…” Chrysalis trailed off, trying desperately to remember exactly how the story had gone. “There was… oh ponyfeathers. I don’t know.

“It is said that the origin of the changeling’s ability was a form of self-preservation, to disguise as a loved pony so as to be able to feed, and that eventually our race harnessed the ability to shape shift at will. As such, a legend, that became myth, that became fairy tale, began, told to young changelings, warning them to never drop their disguise in front of ponies, because if they did, they would lose their ability to shape shift. The fairy tale was nothing more than an attempt to keep our race as secret as possible, but the legend it was based on told that one time, long, long ago, a Changeling Queen fell in love with the lover of her disguise. The legend says that she, like me, grew tired of living a lie, and shed her disguise. Like Shining here, her lover accepted her for who she was, and the Queen lost her ability to shape shift, because it was no longer necessary for her survival. No changeling has ever believed though, as the concept of it even being possible to lose our ability to shape shift is… terrifying. Though it seems there may have been some truth to that after all…” Chrysalis trailed off, redirecting her attention to her husband. “Shining, honey, if I can’t shape shift anymore, we’re going to have to either tell the public about me or find some other way to hide it. You know which I’d prefer, but I know which would be wiser…”

“I know, Chryssy, I know,” Shining Armor said, pulling her into a hug and giving her a tight squeeze.

Twilight was still busy digesting the information – shape-shifting was not just an inherent talent but an actual survival mechanism, to feed off the love given to other ponies, and a changeling could lose that ability if somepony loved them for who they really were. Suddenly, something clicked in her mind.

“Chrysalis, you’re probably going to stop being able to shift altogether soon. In fact, if the legend is as true as it appears to be from what’s been happening to you over the past couple days, I’m surprised my brother didn’t break your magic years ago. I would say he loves you more than you could ever know, but that’s just not true in your case.”

“You really think that… his love is strong enough?”

Twilight opened her mouth to answer, but Shining Armor interrupted her.

“She doesn’t need to think so, because I know so. I love everything you ever were, everything you are, and everything you ever will be. Queen Chrysalis, you are my wife, and I love you with every ounce of my being, and you know that,” Shining turned towards her as he spoke, their eyes locked. He emphasized the statement with a lingering kiss, one so romantically charged he knew he could never top it.

“That may be the mushiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Spike! Way to ruin the moment!” Twilight scolded the dragon, despite the furious blush that had invaded her face.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry.”

“However, you could make it up to us… if you would kindly take a letter,” Twilight offered, sensing the hurt in the little drake’s voice. As she knew he would, he perked up immediately, zipping across the room and snagging a quill and a piece of parchment.

“As you wish.”

“Thank you, Spike. Dear Princess Celestia…”

Chapter 10

Princess Celestia sat in her throne room. It was another slow day – in fact, not a single pony had yet come to visit her. Then again, the day was just beginning. Just beginning to pick up, that is – a knock on the door signaled her first visitor. The door opened, and two ponies she had seen just a few days prior entered. An irate white unicorn mare stomped in, followed by an incredibly nervous blue unicorn stallion.

“Ah, Mister and Missus Sparkle! So nice to see you again! What brings you here this glorious morning, if you don’t mind me saying?” Celestia asked, her gloomy demeanor gone, replaced by all sorts of cheerfulness at a chance to converse with her favorite student’s parents.

“We have a serious problem,” Mrs. Sparkle replied, through gritted teeth, “That monster, Queen Chrysalis, is still at large, and worse, has my son under her control again!”

Celestia arched an eyebrow. “So they told you, and you didn’t believe them?”

“Yes, he’s in great danger and… wait, what?” Anger suddenly lost direction, dissipated by confusion.

“Shining Armor and Queen Chrysalis visited you, last night, yes?” Celestia asked. Mrs. Sparkle nodded in response. “He told you she was his wife, and he knew what she was, and that he loved her, correct?” Another nod. “He then explained that you never knew the real Princess Cadance?” Celestia could see the gears turning in Mrs. Sparkle’s head, and, surmising the answer to her question, had to suppress the urge to facehoof.

“Of course we knew the real Cadance, she foalsat for Twilight for years, and romanced my son,” the mare replied.

Celestia sat for a moment, trying to decide what to say, when a scroll materialized beside her. She reflexively caught it before it hit the ground, and opened the seal. A letter from Twilight, especially at this particular moment in time, was likely rather important. She read it quickly, smirking slightly, before knowing what to say to relieve the Sparkle family’s tensions.

“Mrs. Sparkle, this is a letter from your daughter. I believe you will find its contents quite intriguing,” the Sun Goddess stated calmly, levitating the letter towards the couple. Mrs. Sparkle gently took the parchment from her ruler’s grasp, moving it close enough to read.

“Dear Princess Celestia, I write to you in hopes this letter reaches you before my parents. Shining Armor and Chrysalis made a rather unexpected visit last night, with some rather disturbing news – he and Chrysalis informed my parents of her true nature, and they received the information poorly. Granted it was entirely my idiot brother’s fault for relaying the truth poorly and incompletely, so if you could please visit them and let them know that we never knew the original Princess Cadance, that it has been Chrysalis from the very start, and that neither I nor Shining Armor are under any spells, I would be most grateful. I love my brother, and so do my parents, but he can be a real goof at times. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle,” she read aloud, her face changing to one of recognition as she reached the end. She looked at the letter, to Celestia, and back to the letter. She gave another glance to Celestia, who merely nodded knowingly.

“I’m a fool, oh I’m such a fool…”

“It’s ok, honey, we didn’t know, we couldn’t have known,” Night Light finally spoke, his voice quivering with fear.

“No, that is true, but still, we overreacted, horrifically. I did, at the very least. Princess, can you send letters back?”

“Of course I can, my loyal subjects. Would you like me to?”

“Yes, please, if it is no inconvenience to you, Princess.”

“Of course not! Between you and me, I wish more ponies would come here simply asking me to send letters. It allows me to get a more personal look into my subjects lives, get to know their fears and hopes, etcetera. I was once practically a one-pony mail service, but that was thousands of years past. Now, what would y-” Celestia was interrupted by the materialization of a second scroll. She broke the seal and read it, this time failing to suppress a facehoof.

P.S. He also assaulted three members of the Royal Guard and is now Equestria’s most wanted. If you could do something about that, I would be forever in your debt, Princess.

Twilight Sparkle was pacing around the central table in her library, growing increasingly worried by the second.

“Twiley, calm down, you sent the letter seven minutes ago. The Princess might not even be awake yet,” Shining Armor tried to calm her.

“Might not even be awake? In case you haven’t noticed, the sunrise happened! She’s kind of an integral part of that!” Twilight restrained herself from yelling, gesturing emphatically to her window with a hoof. To accentuate her statement, the sun seemed to grow extra-bright for just a second, as if smiling.

“I… suppose you’re right about that, sis,” Shining Armor said, mentally smacking himself for missing something so obvious.

“I think what he’s trying to say,” Chrysalis cut in, “is that seven minutes is an awfully short amount of time for Princess Celestia, as powerful as she is, to remedy the situation with your… our parents, remedy the situation with the Guard, and reply back to you? While she is practically a god, the ponies she needs to interact with on this are not,” she finished, a hint of humor trickling down in her voice.

Twilight Sparkle smirked, puffing out a little extra air from her nose. “You’re right, Chrysalis,” the nervous unicorn said with a sigh, “Though at least a quick confirmation that she got my letters would be nice.”

“Yeah, letters, plural, Twiley. Was that second one really necessary?” Shining Armor asked, and was met with glares all around.

“Was the second one necessary?” Twilight exasperatedly asked, “Of course it was necessary! Celestia is the only one aside from yourself with the power to rescind that order, and your orders don’t count for anything at the moment!”

“Oh… right…” Shining Armor hung his head.

“Oh, Twilight, don’t be so mean to him. He was just trying to protect me,” Chrysalis said, shifting to put a foreleg around her husband. She pulled him close and kissed the top of his head. “He might be a goof sometimes, but he’s our goof.”

“That’s true, but still… Ugh, I just wish Celestia would respond!” Twilight Sparkle said it and it was so.

Spike felt his stomach rumble for just a moment and belched a small gout of flame, the green fire dissipating to reveal two pieces of parchment wrapped in a red ribbon. Before Spike could formally declare the letter’s arrival, Twilight had already grabbed it and began to read.

“My most faithful student, I had the good fortune to receive your letter while your parents were in my presence. They had, in fact, come to me to discuss the issues raised in your letter, namely their fear for the safety of your brother and our fair city. Enclosed is a letter dictated by your mother, and, on occasion, your father. In addition, please inform your dear brother and my faithful Captain of the Guard that he is, indeed, a blockhead, and that I will do my best to mitigate the situation (of which your parents have not been informed). However, please also inform him that my direct order that Queen Chrysalis is no longer a fugitive or a threat would raise significant suspicions, and that I cannot do so. Your mentor and friend, Princess Celestia,” Twilight finished.

As she had read, her voice had grown higher in pitch out of fear from the first few sentences, shifted to amusement at the regal Sun Princess referring to Shining Armor as a ‘blockhead,’ to somewhat solemn acceptance that the situation would not be so easily remedied. Shining Armor and Chrysalis heaved synchronous sighs of relief when Twilight finished the letter.

“Well, it’s good to see that our parents have some semblance of sense…” the white stallion groaned.

“This whole situation could have been avoided if you had explained it better in the first place,” Twilight said to her brother, “Don’t think there’s any way you’re not taking the blame for this, BBBFF.”

The use of his childhood title let him know that Twilight was only half-kidding, and he lowered himself to the floor.

“Oh, Shiny, it’s not so bad,” Chrysalis encouraged, laying down next to him.

“It isn’t?” Shining Armor and Twilight replied in unison.

“Of course not. You’re a blockhead, but you’re my blockhead,” Chrysalis giggled, nuzzling her husband.

Twilight pretend-gagged at her family. “If you two are done poisoning Spike with your sickeningly sweet displays of affection, I can read you Mom and Dad’s letter,” she said, receiving a nod from the couple.

“Dear Shining Armor, Queen Chrysalis, and Twilight Sparkle, I would like to formally apologize for my absolutely horrific behavior two nights ago. Chrysalis, I can hope you understand that your sudden appearance coupled with my son’s incomplete explanation… we had no idea that you were actually the Cadance we had known all along. You have done so much for our family, and provided so much for us. Every one of us loves you to death, your sudden shift in appearance was just… jarring, given the events of Shining Armor’s (and your) wedding day. We welcome you back gladly with open hooves, and we wish you can forgive us. My husband also wishes to convey his intentions of trying his best to not be afraid of you.

“Shining Armor. You, my beloved son, are more than I had ever hoped you would ever be. You are the Captain of the Royal Guard for Princess Celestia, you married a beautiful and talented Princess of Love, and you’ve darn near ruined it, on account of us. Please understand that you gave us very little information to process before informing us of the truth on your wife, but please forgive us for how terribly we overreacted. I take back everything I said about you having to leave, and your father and I fervently hope you will as well.

“My dearest daughter Twilight, thank you for showing us how blind we were to our own son’s love, even if it was somewhat of a surprise to us. We are so very thankful that you had the wits to send a letter to Celestia to explain to us the situation properly. Were it not for your letter, we very likely would have been disinclined to believe our beloved Princess, given her less than stellar performance against the changelings at the first ceremony,” Twilight laughed at how the writing became slightly agitated at these words, “but we believe that you have a level head and enough magical prowess to know if Chrysalis is telling the truth. If you believe her, we believe her. With love and hopes of forgiveness, Mom and Dad.”

Twilight smiled. She had known that between herself and the Princess, her parents were sure to believe her.

“See, Shiny? I told you they’d see reason if they knew the whole story. I can’t believe Mom talked down about the Princess while she was dictating that letter though. I hope she’s not locked up in a dungeon somewhere,” Twilight said after a moment of silence.

Shining Armor smiled back at his sister. The letter had done much to lift his spirits. “Thanks, Twiley. It was totally my fault, yeah, I’ll admit that and accept it. I’m just glad that they did come around when you explained it better.”

“Of course they came around. It was your sister, the brightest and most talented unicorn ever to live, explaining it to them, not you, the most handsome and toughest stallion,” Chrysalis said, nuzzling her husband again. A moment later she realized the implications of her statement, and gasped. “Oh, Shiny, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to call you stupid. You’re not stupid! Not at all! I just mea-”

Chrysalis was silenced by another kiss from her husband.

“I know what you meant, love. It’s ok,” He said, smiling, after he pulled away.

Wow. They really could not possibly be better for each other. He’s a coltish goof and she’s still a massively in-love little filly at heart. Nothing could ever break this romance apart. It’s almost like something out of a novel for young fillies, Twilight thought, giggling at the romantic display in front of her.

“Well…” Twilight said, giving a light cough to break the silence. Shining Armor and Chrysalis were lost in each other’s’ eyes. They both blushed slightly and turned to Twilight. “A train is leaving for Canterlot in about half an hour. We can easily make it if we get packed quickly, to go back and talk to our parents in person. Chrysalis? Would you mind turning into Cadance again? Even a failing disguise is better than nothing.”

Chrysalis nodded, and green fire flashed around her. When the light faded, she stood before them, unaltered.

“Chrysalis? I said you should turn into Cadance, not you,” Twilight laughed nervously. This can’t be happening. This isn’t happening.

Another flash of green.

“I… I can’t.”

Chapter 11

“What do you mean you can’t?” Shining Armor asked nervously, just a trace of laughter in his voice. Not a happy laugh. A scared laugh. The laugh of a pony who did not know how to cope with what was to come.

“I mean…” Chrysalis trailed off, screwing her eyes shut in concentration. The only result was another puff of green flame, with no change to her form. “I mean what I said. I can’t transform. I… what are we going to do? Shiny?” Chrysalis was beginning to hyperventilate, her eyes widening as she backed up, as though trying to escape herself. All things indicating the first stages of a mare having a panic attack.

And panicking is never the best course of action, Twilight thought to herself, focusing everything on her breathing. In through the nose, out through the mouth. In through the nose, out through the mouth, right, not panicking. Step 2, make sure no one else panics. How do I keep Chrysalis from panicking? With my brother. That’s how.

“Shining,” Twilight said, stepping towards her brother and placing a hoof on his broad shoulder, “Go to her. Calm her down. I’ll have Spike send another letter to Celestia, we can figure this out. There’s no need for the world to come crashing down today. We’re in Ponyville, the universe decides to let that happen here often enough. Not today. You hear me, BBBFF? We are not going to have an incident today.”

Shining Armor gulped and nodded. He recognized the tone she was using, it was something he had playfully dubbed ‘The Voice’ years ago, after having been convinced out of his dessert for a week. A commanding tone. He did not have to be told twice. Stumbling on his own hooves for a moment, he trotted across the room.

Chrysalis had since backed into a corner, eyes darting around to every possible entrance to the library, scanning for intruders or spies. Finding none in one location only brought her eyes to the next, the cycle repeating, her gaze not lingering longer than a second or two on any one opening. When her husband approached her, she turned to him, but did not see him. Her multi-layered green eyes were unfocused, staring at some unknown point on the wall behind Shining.

“Chrysalis, snap out of it!” He urged, placing his forehooves on her shoulders, and shaking his wife gently. Failing to break her catatonic state, he pulled her into a hug. “Chrysalis, my love, it’s ok. It doesn’t matter if you can’t transform. We’ll figure something out. My sister is here, and the Princesses want to help us. We can handle this. Chrysalis…” Shining Armor kissed his wife, gently, on the nose. She blinked once, twice, and shook her head.

“Shining, I’m sorry, I just…”

“Shh, it’s ok. You’re scared. It’s ok to be scared right now. But we need to not panic. Twilight will think of something, right Twiley?” Shining said, looking over his wife’s shoulder at his sister, his tone an odd mixture of instruction and pleading.

“Right. Of course I will. I saved your marriage once, I’ll do it again if I have to,” Twilight replied, nervousness just barely showing through a determined voice.

“Oh, Twilight,” Spike piped up, “I think there’s a letter coming…”

The little dragon belched, a puff of light green fire evaporating into a neatly wrapped piece of parchment with the royal seal on it. Spike caught the scroll before it hit the ground, rushing over to Twilight and presenting it to her. She hastily unbound the note, beginning to read aloud.

“My Most Faithful Student, her newlywed brother, and my beloved Niece, I think I may have solved one of our problems. I have drafted a law that would retroactively nullify all Guard orders issued under the influence of alcohol. It seems a reasonable law in general, and would go a long way towards fixing our current issue. While I do hold the power to pass laws as I bid it, it is considered proper political etiquette to converse with my sister on the subject. While she will not be happy to be awoken at ‘the ridiculous hour of eight thirty in the morning,’ as she will phrase it, I’m willing to risk the wrath of a disgruntled Luna to help you in your time of need. This law should be in effect by tomorrow. Your mentor and friend, Princess Celestia,” Twilight finished, a small smile having spread across her face. The news was good, yes, and one less problem was always a good thing. However, the issue of Chrysalis being permanently herself vastly overshadowed this small victory.

“Well that’s good,” Spike said, the pitch of his voice rolling as he questioned, “isn’t it?”

A brief silence reigned in the room, before Twilight responded to her assistant. “Yes, Spike, it is a good thing, as Shining Armor is now back in command of the Guard again, and can call off the hunt for Chrysalis,” Twilight said, trotting over to the little purple dragon, rubbing the top of his head with her hoof, “but now, since Chrysalis can’t transform, we have a slightly bigger problem. Do you feel up to writing another letter to the Princess?” Spike nodded, producing a quill and a piece of parchment from seemingly nowhere.

“Of course, Twilight. Anything you need,” he said, bowing comically low.

Twilight chuckled, and looked over at her brother, who was still holding Chrysalis tightly, gently rocking the larger changeling back and forth in his hooves. The black mare was hugging her husband tightly, clinging to as much of him as she could, as though afraid at any moment he might be ripped away from her, a waking nightmare far too close to becoming reality if the group didn’t play their cards just right.

“Dear Princess Celestia,” she began dictating, taking solace in the subtle scratching noises of the quill, “On behalf of my family, I thank you sincerely for making such sacrifices for our sake, and I doubly thank your sister. However, a rather unfortunate development has occurred. I urge you to be seated before reading on. Princess, Chrysalis’ changeling powers have failed completely. She finds herself no longer able to transform or disguise herself at all. Chrysalis is understandably distressed, however,” Twilight took another glance at the couple, and, observing Chrysalis’ slowly loosening grip, “Shining Armor seems to have the situation under control. Your input and assistance would be greatly appreciated. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”

An unspoken confirmation passed between unicorn and dragon, and Spike gently blew the letter into ash.

“Alright everypony, I think the best plan right now would be to go to Zecora’s,” Twilight said after a moment. “She just… knows things sometimes. Spike, can you stay here in case anypony shows up while we’re out?”

“Of course, Twilight!” Spike’s reply was characteristically enthusiastic, even if the little dragon did like doing things besides what Twilight told him to. Still, Twilight was thankful that the dragon at least pretended to love doing almost anything for her.

“Thank you, Spike. Shining Armor, Chrysalis, are you ready to go?”

Shining Armor nodded. “Chrysalis is still a little nervous, but I’ll be there. It sounds kinda arrogant saying that,” he said, with a small laugh, “but I think you know what I mean.”

“I do, brother.”

With a flash of purple light and a small pop, the trio disappeared, leaving Spike alone in the library.

The trio reappeared outside the small hut, golden sunlight trickling faintly through the treetops of the Everfree. Without hesitation, Twilight ran forward and opened the door, memories of her last unannounced entry to the zebra’s abode being the only thing that kept her from yelling out her friend’s name.

Zecora was in a familiar position, balanced upside-down on a bamboo staff, meditating as some brew slowly bubbled away in the cauldron. Zecora opened her eyes and smiled, even if her upside-down form made the expression a frown. She was glad to see Twilight, she always was – the purple unicorn’s thirst for knowledge was something Zecora was always willing to do her best to slake. Expertly dismounting her staff, the zebra had soon righted herself, and walked over to greet her friend.

“Twilight! So good of you to come to talk! Though, would it have killed you to knock?” Zecora asked, throwing in a smile at the end that she hoped would key Twilight in to her sarcastic tone. “Please, come in, tell me how you’ve been.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry Zecora, I really am. We have a problem right now, though, one that perhaps only you can solve,” Twilight answered, her voice rushed, “Shining, Chrysalis, come on.”

Zecora looked around Twilight to see Chrysalis still tightly pressed against her husband, the nervous changeling’s eyes still darting around, although at a much slower rate. Shining Armor began to slowly walk forward, and the green orbs in Chrysalis’ head latched on to him, and she lowered herself to walk alongside him. Zecora thought for a moment, stepping to the side to allow her friend’s family entrance to her home, before speaking.

“Oh, queen Chrysalis? Why do you come to me looking like this?”

Being addressed directly seemed to snap her out of her daze, and Chrysalis stood higher, returning to her full height.

“I… yes, sorry. This is the problem, you see. I have… lost the ability to transform, completely. I can’t use my changeling powers anymore.”

“This is something you did not expect?” Zecora replied, “Your husband’s love is hardly in check.”

“I… well… I suppose not, but still, I thought those were just legends,” Chrysalis responded, casting her gaze to her husband. This loving, caring, amazing, handsome pony who I hardly deserve and would do anything for me…

“So of the legend you already knew, but you did not suspect it of being true?”

“I… no, I really didn’t.”

Zecora put a hoof to her chin, thinking, humming softly to herself.

“Zecora, is there anything you can do?” Twilight asked, quietly, hoping she wasn’t being rude.

“I know of no potions, spells, or brews that anything about this can do. My only suggestion for you now, is decide when to tell, not how.”

“You think we should go public,” Shining Armor thought aloud, his voice working over the words as he spoke. “Chrysalis, do you think…”

“I want to, love, I really do,” she said, bending down to nuzzle him.

“Equestria cannot be kept from the truth,” Zecora said, breaking the temporary silence, “How long can you prevent ponies from playing sleuth?”

“I… I don’t know,” Shining Armor sighed, eyes falling to his own forehooves, searching for an answer. “I swore I’d protect you from anything, and that I’d be with you forever, Chrysalis. If you want to tell Equestria, I will support you in that decision, and I will not leave you, not for anything, not for anypony. I love you.”

“I love you too, Shiny… I… I think we should.”

“Then we can. Miss Zecora, I’m sorry we wasted your time requesting that potion for Chrysalis’ voice, it seems we won’t be needing it.”

“Do not be afraid, Shining Armor, to tell the world how much you love her.”

Shining Armor smiled, and, after a brief moment of hesitation, stepped forward and hugged the zebra.

“Thank you.”

“Twilight, should we go back to the Library now?”

“Yeah, I think we should. Sorry about this, Zecora,” Twilight said apologetically, a light blush creeping onto her cheeks. Zecora merely smiled and nodded, chuckling quietly to herself as the trio disappeared in a flash of purple lightning.

“P-p-princess Celestia?” Twilight stammered as the light faded from her recent teleportation.

“In the flesh,” the solar princess said with a smile. “Honestly, Twilight, you send me a letter telling me that two ponies I care very deeply for are hitting a massive bump in their relationship with my country, and then you leave before I can respond? I thought you knew me better than that.”

“I… I’m sorry, Princess,” Twilight said, “I have no excuse.”

“Twilight, my most faithful student… you never were very good at knowing when I was kidding about something. I am merely concerned,” Celestia explained, her voice as caring and motherly as ever. Twilight looked up, a slight embarrassed blush coming to her face as her mouth formed a little ‘o.’ “So, Chrysalis, would you like me to teach you an illusion spell now?”

Chrysalis looked at her husband, and nodded to each other.

“No.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, ‘no’?”

“I mean precisely what I have said, Princess. I do not desire for you to teach me an illusion spell, for I have no desire to return to the form of ‘Princess Cadance.’ Her appearance served me well, as one way to say it, for many years. Now, though… now is no longer a time for deception. Shining Armor and I wish to inform the public of my true nature, and both of us are willing to accept the full consequences that that act may entail,” Chrysalis said, her voice stern, masking the fear she felt.

“Is that so,” Celestia said, clearly not asking a question. She furrowed her brow, placing one golden-shod hoof to her forehead.

“And this is what you two truly desire?”

“It is, your highness,” Shining Armor said, kneeling.

The great white Alicorn sighed.

“So be it. If you return with me to Canterlot, you can make the announcement tomorrow. I do not think it is the best decision to make, but I will not disallow it.”

“Thank you, your highness.”

“Good luck, BBBFF. I love you,” Twilight added.

“I love you too, Twiley,” Shining Armor said, before the Captain, the changeling, and the Princess disappeared in a golden flash.

Chapter 12

The sudden appearance of three large ponies in the center of the throne room would certainly have startled every pony nearby, were there any. The room itself was conspicuously empty for the middle of the morning. Shining Armor blinked and looked around nervously, the utter lack of sound and movement in the room unsettling.

“Princess, I –”

“When I received Twilight’s letter, I requested the throne room be temporarily cleared and all my meetings placed on hold. Relax, Shining Armor,” Celestia said, smiling sweetly and nodding her head slightly, “Why don’t you take your wife back up to the Honeymoon Suite while I ask for some ponies to gather? It may take a few hours, but I will let you know when an appropriate audience is ready. You should have plenty of time to prepare and… unwind,” the great white mare finished, offering a knowing smile to the nervous prince. “You will also find the halls clear on the way there. If you haven’t already, I would strongly suggest coming up with something to say this afternoon.”

“Y-yes, your highness,” Shining offered in reply, the usually confident stallion seeming smaller than normal.

“Please, Shining Armor, you’re my prized pupil’s brother and my niece’s husband. I’m your dear Auntie Celly now, no need for the ‘your highness,’” Celestia said softly, trying to hide a smirk. It was difficult to do in the governmental position she found herself in, but Celestia did like to try to ease tensions when she could. Not many ponies knew how to react to their pseudo-immortal goddess princess cracking a joke in the middle of an awkward silence, however, and she found herself more often than not having to keep the habit to her closest acquaintances. Shining Armor opened his mouth to apologize for the mistake, but a quick sidelong glance from Celestia silenced him before he could.

“Thank you… thank you so much, Auntie,” Chrysalis replied, forcing a light smile to her face, “We will be ready by this afternoon.”

Afternoon came. When Celestia had said she had invited the entirety of the city of Canterlot, she had not been exaggerating. Shining stood several paces back from the balcony, out of view of the throngs of ponies filling the Royal Court, nuzzling his wife softly. To say he was nervous was an adequate statement – there was only one moment prior in his life he could compare to his nerves now. Just over seven months ago, on one knee, bent down before the love of his life, waiting for an answer. Even still, he had been fairly certain of the reply he would get, so he considered this moment slightly more nerve-wracking.

Come on, Shiny, what’s the worst that can happen? Mass panic, riots, lynch mobs coming after her for taking so long… ok, so there’s a lot bad that can happen. Another bead of sweat dripped down his brow, his breaths coming in shallow, rattling pants, not at all the picture of the Captain of the Royal Guard that Equestria had come to know. He felt on the verge of tears. He closed his eyes and buried his face against her shoulder, desperate to hold in his terrified sobs. The possibility that somepony might try to… No, I can’t think like that. I have to show them how much I love her and how much I trust her, and they trust me, right? Right. Right…

“Mares and Gentlecolts!” Celestia’s magically amplified voice cut over the dull roar of murmurs and musings coming from the horde of ponies outside. Silence reigned as the reverberations of her monarchal greeting faded. Shining Armor’s blood ran cold. He couldn’t feel his own hearbeat. I’m not ready I don’t know what to do I’ll screw up and –

It was soft. It was gentle. It was slightly warm and a little damp. It was his wife’s lips meeting his own. Shining looked up, his eyes meeting those of the black mare he vowed to spend his life with. The big green, catlike eyes told him everything he needed to know.

I trust you, they said, I love you and I trust you and no matter what happens next that will not change.

“Allow me to introduce to you, once again, Prince Shining Armor, Captain of my own Royal Guard, and Princess Cadance, the Princess of Love! They’ve been trying to keep a low profile, enjoying his first few days of marriage like any newlywed stallion and mare should,” Celestia paused for a moment, allowing a soft chuckle to roll through the crowd, before resuming, “but now, he’s here to make a special announcement, one all of Equestria needs to hear!” The crowed roared, and Celestia’s horn ceased glowing, cutting off the vocal magnification, “Something you needed to hear a long time ago,” she muttered to herself as she backed away, allowing room for Shining Armor to step to the front and center of the balcony overlooking the Court.

A wobbly hoof extended as Shining Armor softly trotted forwards into the sunlight. A goofy, lopsided, half-smile adorned his face, the kind one sees on the face of somepony who knows everything is about to go completely and horribly wrong.

“Greetings, citizens of Equest-”

“Your voice, Shiny!”

Shining Armor looked down off the balcony, towards the source of the voice. His sister and her friends stood near the front of the crowd, not far too far away so they couldn’t see but not so close as they’d have to crane their necks. His sister pointed to her horn. Oh right.

“Greetings, citizens of Equestria! Even after I got married my sister is still making sure I get everything right,” the prince said with a nervous laugh, the amplification spell now properly in effect. “There’s something I learned a few nights ago. In fact, it was the night I got married. An interesting bit of information that I felt… several emotions about, to be completely honest with you all,” he began, still unsure if his heart was moving blood through his body. “My wife is unlike anything I’ve ever known. Her kindness is immeasurable, her love incalculable, and her beauty beyond words. None of you have ever really seen her, despite what you might think you know. Yes, confusing, I know. Before I tell you this information, though, I need you to know something – I love her, and I trust her, and I will be there for her through anything this life can throw at us.”

Confused whispers to neighbors in the crowd multiplied thousands of times over became a hushed sound not unlike a soft breeze to Shining’s ears as ponies tried to piece together the strange speech their newly crowned Prince was making.

“Is she pregnant?”

“Is she a he?”

“Is he a she?”

“My fellow ponies, please,” Shining Armor continued, suddenly all eyes upon him again. His mouth suddenly dried out and he swallowed heavily, feeling a spike drive itself through his throat, “My wife… my wife is Queen Chrysalis, the changeling.”

Silence. Complete and total silence the likes of which had never occurred before, and would likely never occur again. Just for a second, the world seemed to stop. Ponies looked at each other, too confused to properly form sentences, eyes conveying the obvious question to each other: Has he gone completely mad?

Shining Armor looked over his shoulder, making eye contact with his wife. He nodded, and she stepped forward to join him in the sunlight.

Silence turned to screaming faster than Shining Armor’s sister turned pages in a book.

“You will be SILENT!” Shining Armor roared, all nerves gone in an instant, his amplified voice heard clearly throughout the entire courtyard and beyond, ”Can you imagine the shock to me? Having loved her for seven years before knowing this? Finding this out on the very night I thought I married Princess Cadance? Surprise, my wife is a dead ringer for the pony that tried to ruin my marriage! And you know what? It took me all of about two minutes to know that it was her, it had been her, and it always will be her!” Shining yelled, all the blood that had drained from his body filling his face as rage filled him, “And you know what? I don’t care anymore! I don’t! I love her with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength, and that should be enough for you! And if it isn’t, I don’t know what is.”

Shining panted and snorted, his rant complete, and took several deep breaths in an attempt to dispel the dots blinking in the edges of his vision. He hadn’t meant to explode like that, he really hadn’t, even though he had anticipated a much harsher and harder to quell reaction from his audience.

“I…” he began, pausing for a moment to take another breath, “I am under no spell, this is no trick. Some of you in this crowd today knew this already, and it was as big a shock to you as it was to me. My parents, my sister, a kind Zebra living in the Everfree. They found out, and they accepted her. I believe you can find it in your hearts to keep loving her as the princess you already knew. You know what she told me that first night? ‘True love never changes.’ And she is completely right. If you loved her even one one millionth as much as I do, you can accept this. I… I have no more to say,” he sighed, his horn losing it’s illumination. He forced himself to stand tall, one arm protectively over Chrysalis’ neck, holding her tightly, waiting for some response, any response.

A single voice rang out in the crowd.

“I ACCEPT HER!”

A yellow Pegasus standing near his sister had here eyes screwed tightly shut as she yelled those three words, repeating them over and over again. His sister joined, her other friends, the ponies near them – another source in the crowd; his parents. Around the edge of the courtyard the Royal Guards joined in, an increasingly loud chant. Chrysalis smiled, tears forming at the edges of her eyes. The entire congregation of ponies was unified in love for their Princess. Celestia smiled at the pair from the shadows, quietly repeating the mantra to herself.

The dam broke, a smile and a sharp exhalation broke from Chrysalis as she began to weep in front of the assemblage of ponies. There was confusion, yes, but the intensity of love from the crowd before her was matched only by the intensity of the love beside her. Her knees wobbled for just a moment before giving way, a familiar shoulder breaking her fall. She looked to her right, and saw her beloved husband’s own crying eyes, joyous sobs shaking his body. She darted forward, lips meeting his briefly, before leaning into him. The sound of the crowd seemed to fade, and her world contained only herself and the magnificent white stallion who had pledged himself to her for eternity.

This is love, complete and unfiltered. This is what every day will be like from now on, forever. This is true love, never changing, always. My knight in shining armor, I love you.

Two years later…

Shining Armor awoke. He opened his eyes slightly, guessing it to be late morning based on the position of the sun. One of the downsides to being the highest ranked officer in the Royal Guard was that he had basically been relegated to a paper-pusher, since there were almost no issues that needed him physically present to be resolved. It did come with some perks, though, Shining Armor’s personal favorite being the ability to sleep in on weekends. While his guard training usually woke him up early instinctually, every now and then a particularly tiring night might leave him in bed until nearly noon. A familiar, no, two familiar pressures were nestled beside him in the bed – he rolled his head to look, finding the still sleeping face of his wife next to him, and his baby sister laying softly between them, the tiny purple Alicorn filly’s wings ruffling every few seconds as she dreamed. For just a moment, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end, then he relaxed again. Shining Armor gently nudged his wife with a hoof, and the black mare’s eyes slowly blinked open. Shining Armor nodded his head towards the filly, and a giggle escaped Chrysalis’ mouth.

“You know, Shiny, wondering who we’ll wake up next to next never gets old,” Chrysalis said, scooting closer to her husband and nuzzling him, “But sometimes seeing your sister is a little weird.”

“My sister? Are we forgetting the time we woke up with a little Luna laying on top of you? I swear that morning took a decade off my life.”

Chrysalis giggled again, the gentle shaking of her body translating through the bed and into the filly between them, waking her. A flash of green fire and Twiley disappeared.

Bearing the confused frown anypony has when woken from a dream sat a little white changeling filly. Her big, teal eyes took a moment to focus, before finding her mother. The frown became a smile in a moment, her little fangs revealing themselves as her lips rose. She lunged forward, dark blue mane streaming behind her for the momentary flight. Chrysalis rolled her head to dodge her daughters horn, which was unusually pointy for a filly her age, and hugged the child tightly with her forelegs.

“Good morning mommy! Good morning daddy,” the little voice chimed, wings excitedly buzzing, “Come on sleepy heads we have to go! We need to go see Auntie Twiley!”

“Good morning, Aurora,” Shining Armor said, heart still swelling with pride every time he saw her. As it turned out, the Changeling pregnancy term was significantly shorter than a pony’s, and the first few months of development went by much faster – while she was barely a year old, she could already form simple sentences and understood nearly everything said to her. Thinking about it, ‘Auntie Twiley’ probably had something to do with it – that mare was baby-crazy, but hadn’t found that special somepony yet to make her desires a reality. Instead, she had taken to giving reading and writing lessons to the newborn Princess whenever she got the chance, and had even tried to teach her some simple magic. As the promptly singed Alicorn had found out, Aurora wasn’t quite ready for that.

Today was indeed scheduled for a lesson, but Shining Armor had a surprise – instead of going to visit his sister, Twiley was coming to Canterlot today, and the family was going to visit the Museum of Equestrian History. It wasn’t necessarily how Shining Armor would have spent a lazy Saturday, but Aurora had been begging to go for some time now and it was the perfect thing to do with Auntie Twiley.

“Oh, I suppose you’re right, Aurora. Come on, let us out of bed, we’ve got a big day ahead of us.”

Chapter 2

Shining Armor awoke much later than he normally had, having been up much later than he normally was. He felt the unusual weight of another pony in bed with him, and looked to his left, where the weight lay. A moment of terror pierced his heart as he saw the Changeling next to him, then a smile graced his face as he remembered what happened. He leaned over and lightly kissed her muzzle, the action gently rousing her from sleep.

“Good morning, my love,” Shining greeted.

Chrysalis’ only response was a broad smile, as tears started to form in her eyes.

“Hey, hey, it’s ok. It’s ok, remember, we just need to decide who we can and can’t tell, and when. But no matter what, I will love you. You know I will. Ok?”

Chrysalis nodded. “I love you too, Shining Armor.”

“Shining Armor? Are you awake? Can I come in? I need to talk to you.”

Shining Armor and his wife shared a terrified look. “Honey, you need to get changed, right now.” Oh, crud, what’s my sister doing here?

Chrysalis said nothing, but nodded, a green, cool flame encircled her as she returned to the somewhat more familiar form of Princess Cadance.

“Get changed? If it’s a bad time, I can come back later, I just wanted to give you something… and apologize again.”

“Twiley, it’s fine. Just a moment,” Shining Armor said as he rose from bed, moving across the room and unlocking the door. He was greeted by the smiling face of his beloved little sister, whose face abruptly changed at the sight and smell of her newlywed brother.

“You… haven’t been out of the bed since last night, have you,” Twilight said, a slight blush creeping to her face, leaning around Shining Armor to see Cadance lying in the bed. “Nope, you haven’t. Goodness you two, you didn’t have to answer the door.”

“Of course I did, you’re my little sister. How are you doing, Twiley?”

“I’m doing well. I brought something for you and Cadance, a small cake that Pinkie Pie and Applejack worked on together, and Rarity added her own little twist of love magic. She was very clear in instructing me not to eat any of it, but that you two would get some great use out of it. I can only imagine what she means for the spell to do,” the purple unicorn added with a wink to her former foalsitter.

“That was very kind of you, Twi-” Cadance cut herself off. Why… why do I sound like... me?

Twilight took a moment to process and recognize the strange voice that emerged from Princess Cadance’s lips, before dropping the cake and taking an aggressive stance. “Shining, get back! That’s not Princess Cadance!” Twilight attempted to lift the pink mare, who was growing visibly more terrified by the moment. However, her own purple aura was covered by a blue one, forcing her to release her magical grasp. “Shining, what are you do-”

“It’s alright, Twiley.”

“What? That’s Chrysalis, how can you ju-”

“I know.”

“What do you mean you know?”

Shining Armor sighed. “Well, I found out something interesting last night. Chrysalis, dear, you can drop the disguise now.”

“Shining, love, are you sure…” once again, ‘Cadance’ trailed off, her hoof coming to her mouth in confusion.

“See? It’s the Changeling Queen in disguise again!”

“I KNOW!” Shining roared, Twilight’s eyes going wide in fear. This marked the second time in two days, and the second time ever, that he had yelled at her. However, the issue still stood that this was not Cadance.

“Look, Twiley… I’m sorry I yelled. Just please, listen to me. Yes, this is Chrysalis,” as if on cue, Cadance evaporated, leaving Queen Chrysalis in her place, “I know this, and I love her. Look, Twiley – Twiley, listen to me – there never was a Princess Cadance. Not for us. We never knew the real Cadance. She died in an accident years before either of us met her. The pony that foalsat you all those years? Queen Chrysalis. The pony I started dating, fell in love with, and eventually married? Queen Chrysalis.”

Twilight sat on the floor with a look of dumbstruck disbelief on her face She didn’t want to – no, she couldn’t believe this was real.

“No. No. That’s not true. She’s got you under a spell again. I’m going to go get Celestia. We’ll find the real Cadance. You’ll be banished. For real this time,” Twilight unsteadily rose to her hooves, shuffling backwards out the door, before turning and running.

“No, Twilight, wait! Please… I wanted you to know who I am…” Chrysalis slowly trotted over to her husband, leaning against his neck. “I could sense it. Her love for Cadance. It faltered, shifted… it tried to conform to me and then… it dissipated, completely. I’m scared that love and trust is gone forever.”

“It’s ok. She’ll come around eventually. Celestia will have to set her right, that’s all. Twiley listens to ANYTHING Celestia tells her. It’s kind of scary actually – I’m sure if Celestia told her to jump off a cliff, my sister would strongly consider doing it. It’ll be ok,” Shining said, turning his head to kiss his wife. “You wanna try that cake?” Chrysalis drew back, curious at the sudden mood whiplash, but knew he was just trying his best to cheer her up upon seeing that familiar, toothy grin on his round, white face. She giggled a little and nodded.

“It would be a shame to let it go to waste.”

“Princess! It’s horrible! The Changelings are back! Queen Chrysalis is back! She’s put my brother under a spell again!” Twilight yelled as she burst into the throne room. Princess Celestia looked up at her from the paperwork she was reading, and took a sip of her tea.

“Back? I was under the impression she’d never left,” the Alicorn replied, taking another sip of tea and returning her attention to her paperwork.

“Yes! She’s in the honeymoon suite right now and we need to find the real Cadance and – she never left?” Twilight’s anger flared for a moment and evaporated into confusion.

“Oh my. I forgot you didn’t know. It’s funny, actually. I was so used to it that I forgot your brother didn’t know when they got married,” Celestia said absent-mindedly, almost as though simply thinking aloud.

“You… you knew? And you didn’t see fit to tell my brother? That the pony he was marrying wasn’t the pony he thought he was marrying?” Twilight’s confusion had cycled back to her original anger, which, much to her horror, was being directed at Princess Celestia.

“You are wrong, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia said, a sudden sternness present in her voice. “Your brother knew exactly who he was marrying. A kind, tender, caring pony extremely gifted in love magic, who made a wonderful foalsitter and marefriend, and will make an excellent wife, sister in law, and one day, mother. I don’t know how much of the story you’ve heard, Twilight, but know this – it is the truth. For a pony whose existence in our lands is based on a lie, she has shown on multiple occasions an intense desire to reveal the truth. However, I always advised her against it, and given yesterday’s events… I cannot allow her to reveal her true nature to the public. Not yet. In fact, I was not particularly fond of her intent to reveal herself to Shining Armor. Queen Chrysalis was, however, determined to stop living her life as a lie, at the very least to her husband and your brother, a pony she loves most dearly. However, it seems you found out anyways – and judging from the fact that you’re alone, it seems Shining Armor has been receptive to this news. That is a blessing.”

Twilight shrunk down under the authority and firmness in her mentor, her ruler’s voice. The thought that perhaps even Celestia had been brainwashed by the changelings occurred to her, but she quickly banished it. Celestia began to speak again, with a softer tone, almost somber.

“Princess Cadance was one of only four recorded Alicorn births outside the direct royal bloodline. Naturally, I was elated when I learned of my niece’s birth, and I loved her dearly. I was there when she got her cutie mark, when she discovered her proficiency in love magic. Oh goodness, those bunnies were going at it for days…” Celestia trailed off, an amused smile gracing her lips, before going on, “When she walked into the throne room one day, I immediately knew something was wrong – the Princess loved to fly, and hovered everywhere she could. I could sense that she wasn’t who she appeared to be. The Changeling Queen’s honesty and apparent distress at the situation touched me, and I granted her request to fulfill Cadance’s last wish to her best ability. And so she did. Then she met you, your family. The act disappeared. Everything she did with you and your brother and your family? Every action, every word, every play date – every single moment of her with you was genuine, with the exception of her appearance. She loves you and your brother with every ounce of her being, Twilight Sparkle. Never for a moment doubt that. Now please, go meet with them. I’ll explain the wedding fiasco later. For now, though? Based on how you arrived… I’d say you have some apologizing to do. Go to your brother and his wife, and do not forget that for you, Chrysalis is Cadance.”

“I… yes… I’m sorry for bothering you. Thank you, Princess,” Twilight said, stumbling over her words a little bit as she exited the throne room.

“Wow, that cake was delicious…” Shining Armor said, heart content and belly full.

“Indeed it was. I’ve never tasted pony food so delicious,” Chrysalis said, in an equivalent position.

“So… earlier… why didn’t you change your voice?”

“I… I don’t know. It’s not like I didn’t try. This has never happened before. I’ve never failed to flawlessly imitate a pony’s physical features before. I’m scared, Shining.”

“It’s ok, Chrysalis. If something does go wrong, the Princess has always been gifted at illusion spells, I’m sure she can work something out if you can’t figure out why your voice didn’t change. Even if she can’t, well… we can make something up about a sickness or something. Look, dear – I would love to go public with this as much as you. I know you don’t want to lie, to hide at all anymore. With yesterday, though… we’ll have to wait,” Shining Armor’s vision flashed pink as the spell in the cake took its effect, “In the meantime… we’re alone,” Chrysalis experienced the same magic now, a hunger, a raw, carnal lust for her husband rising in her chest.

The door slammed shut just as Twilight reached the top of the stairs.

Upon hearing the sounds coming from within, Twilight knew for certain what Rarity’s spell had done, and decided she could apologize later.

Chapter 12

“Princess, I –”

“Y-yes, your highness,” Shining offered in reply, the usually confident stallion seeming smaller than normal.

“Thank you… thank you so much, Auntie,” Chrysalis replied, forcing a light smile to her face, “We will be ready by this afternoon.”

Celestia watched as the couple walked away. The smirk faded, and the diarch sighed.

“Word Weaver? You can come out. I know you’re here.”

A soft shuffle came from behind a pillar, followed by the appearance of the drably colored unicorn.

“Your highness,” he said softly, nodding. Dark lines under and around his eyes indicated a lack of sleep all too common with high-ranking government officials.

“Word Weaver, I have trusted you with so many things during your years serving with me. Even Cadance’s true identity, one of the Royal Family’s most closely guarded secrets, was information you were privy to. Tell me, what should I do?” Celestia implored.

“Truthfully, my princess, I do not think that pony society is ready, not after what happened on the day of the wedding. If the Changelings had not invaded, then yes, I think so, but at this time… I don’t think it would be wise to let her secret be known,” Weaver replied, slowly, deliberately. Each word chosen with the utmost care not to offend or imply any hidden meanings – that was why he had been chosen as Celestia’s personal assistant. He was honest, loyal, and said exactly what he meant, with no fear of the Princess.

“I promised Shining Armor I wouldn't interfere, though… I can’t go back on that.”

“Sometimes, your highness, being a Princess means you have to make difficult decisions, and accepting that at the end of your day, not everypony will like you as much as they did when you raised the sun that morning,” Weaver said softly. For a moment, the room was quiet, then Celestia spoke again.

“You’re right, Weaver. I really, really wish you weren’t, but you’re right. They may hate me forever… but ponies aren’t ready, not yet. I’m trusting you on this, Weaver. Thank you,” Celestia said, her voice more subdued than usual.

“I live to serve you, Princess.”

The afternoon came. It was an oppressively hot but mercifully dry day, and Shining Armor knew the sweat dripping down his neck was entirely his own nervousness. He ascended the steps to the balcony, surprised to find… not a soul in the courtyard below. The only other ponies in sight besides Chrysalis were Celestia and…

“Princess Luna?” Shining Armor asked. It wasn’t that he didn’t recognize her, or that he didn’t know if it was in fact her, but more the fact that hardly anypony ever saw Celestia’s younger sister during the day, especially days as hot as this.

“YOU SEEM SU… my apologies. You seem surprised to see me, Shining Armor. Hath not my sister told you of her plans for this day?” Luna asked, the initial burst of amplified Royal Canterlot Voice nearly knocking Shining Armor to his rear.

“I… no, I thought I was to announce Chrysalis’ secret to the citizens of Equestria today,” the white stallion replied as questions raced through his mind. The simplest, if the most open ended, found it’s way out of his mouth moments later. “What’s going on?”

This time it was Celestia who spoke. Her voice trembled, as though she was on the verge of tears. The quiver caught Shining Armor’s attention, and he turned from Luna to looked at his aunt. She somehow looked smaller, almost the size of a normal pony, only a little taller than her sister. Her heavy, golden regalia was missing, and her crown lay on the ground before her. Her mane lacked its ethereal flow, instead falling limply around her shoulders.

“Oh Captain, my Captain, please forgive me…”

“Princess? Where is everyone?” Chrysalis asked, taking a step forward.

“I… after discussing the issue with somepony I trust dearly, I have come to the conclusion that the citizens of Equestria aren’t ready for Chrysalis’ secret. Not after the fiasco at your wedding,” Celestia said slowly, eyes down, staring intently at a joint between to tiles on the floor.

Chrysalis opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again before she spoke. Taking a deep breath in through her nose, she exhaled as she turned and looked out across the courtyard.

“I understand, Princess. It’s ok.”

“No, it’s not ok,” Shining cut in, “Princess, you promised you wouldn’t interfere with this, and now it’s just ‘I changed my mind’?”

“Captain Armor!” Celestia snapped, raising a hoof to her mouth as thought surprised at her own outburst, “I told you when you declared your intentions that I thought it wasn’t a good idea to go through with this now. I have not changed my mind. I know I said I wouldn’t stop you, but… I know you, and I love you as much as I love your sister, but sometimes I have to do what is in my country’s best interests, not necessarily what makes my friends happy. I’m sorry, Shining, I really am.”

“Princess, I just…”

“I understand, Princess,” Chrysalis cut in, “It makes me sad that you essentially lied – you can’t deny that – but… I understand what you mean. My race was never widely accepted, and after an incident like our wedding day…” she trailed off, her voice catching on a lump rising in her throat. She tried to fight it, to keep it down, but the tears forming in her eyes wouldn’t go away so easily. The first sob broke through and instantly Shining Armor was beside her.

“Shining, I –”

“Celestia, please… just… not right now.”

Fewer words had rarely been spoken between Shining Armor and his wife, but as she had lain in his hooves crying he felt nothing needed to be said. A while ago somepony had slipped a note under the door, but he had yet to retrieve it, waiting for Chrysalis to either stop crying or fall asleep before leaving her side. She had indeed fallen asleep some time ago, but he still hadn’t felt like reading the note until now. A brief spark of magic brought the parchment to an appropriate reading distance. He recognized Celestia’s hoofwriting immediately.

Captain Armor, I know right now I’m probably the last pony you want to hear from, but please read this. There will be an… availability in the far north. It is only a request, but please consider it. It’s a remote base, for now at least, and both you and Chrysalis would be able to live there with no fear of being discovered by ponykind as a whole. I know you probably hate me right now but I believe it is the best option for you and the Princess. Included are instructions for a spell to disguise Chrysalis as Cadance again. You may find it necessary at times. Hopefully not all of them. Once again, Shining, I am sorry, but at this time I don’t think…

Shining Armor stopped reading there. He knew what it said, he didn’t need to hear it again, not this soon.

Two years later…

Cadance sat atop the Crystal throne, the same as she did every day, and had done every day for the past year and a half. The last crystal pony left for the day, leaving her alone with her guards. She sighed deeply, and her horn flared green for a moment. The pink fur and delicately braided mane burned away, and she let her shoulders droop a little as she slouched. A quick knock at the door caused her to tense for a moment, but the pattern gave away the knocker’s identity. After a brief delay, the door pushed open gently, and Shining Armor trotted in, a day’s accumulated weariness falling away as he approached his wife. A quick leap up the stairs to her throne and a kiss left Chrysalis feeling equally rejuvenated – there were some advantages to love being her primary source of sustenance.

“Good evening, my Crystal Princess,” Shining said softly.

“Good evening, my Ivory Captain,” Chrysalis hummed back, pressing her lips back to her husband’s briefly, “Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Do you ever wonder… what it would have been like if Celestia had let us…?”

“Every day, Chryssy, every single day.”