The Half Blood Princessby ChocovichChaptersChapter 1: A Mysterious FoalChapter 2: Learning About Each OtherChapter 3: Cause and EffectChapter 4: Father Meet DaughterChapter 1: A Mysterious FoalChapter 1: A Mysterious Foal In the wee hours of the morning a strange figure could be seen moving throughout Ponyville, hunting for something with a basket on it's back. When the figure stumbled over to the library it stopped looking around, having reached it's destination. With a green aura the figure lifted the basket up to the second floor balcony and then took off, leaving the basket, and whatever was inside it, for the local librarian to find. Once on the outskirts of town the figure paused to look back one last time, a loud cry coming from the library being the last thing the figure ever knew of Ponyville... "Spike, Spike wake up!" Twilight pleaded as she shook her assistant awake, ruining his favorite dream of the week. "Why did you have to wake me up Twilight, I was just about to kiss Rari-" Spike began to complain, but Twilight shoved her hoof into his mouth as she nervously looked back at her balcony door, the loud crying only now entering Spike's ears. Twilight looked back at Spike worriedly, searching his eyes for an answer that would tell her what she should do now, but even he was surprised by it. "Is it- Is it yours?" Spike asked slowly as he cocked his head to the side, trying to see if the crying was really just Rainbow or Pinkie, maybe even the one of the Cake twins if they had gotten loose, but this sounded different, and Twilight knew it too. The crying seemed all too genuine, and had a sad undertone to it, as if somepony had just left it there overnight for Twilight to find. Taking one more look at Spike's worried face made Twilight's motherly instincts kick in and she made her way outside, finding a finely woven basket with a young filly inside laying on her balcony with a note stuck on it by some kind of goo. Grabbing the note quickly, Twilight began to read: Dear Twilight, I leave this young filly for you as I know you will be able to take care of it. She may look like an ordinary pony to you, but she is in fact a Changling princess, but due to her pony blood we had no idea if she would be able to survive in the way a pure Changeling does. She is your niece, and I wish that you will be able to raise her as your own. Her official name is Princess Metamorphosis, bit you may change it to suit your needs. In evil and hatred, Chrysalis "She can't be serious, this foal," Twilight muttered as she took another look at the foal, "is my niece?" Twilight's curiosity got the best of her, so she decided to examine the foal further, the most noticeable differences being her Changeling like wings and black horn, contrasting with her white coat and two tone blue mane, similar to Shining Armor's, and she had sky blue eyes. As Twilight examined the foal she felt a strange fondness growing in her heart for both it, and Chrysalis as well. Despite her past attacks on harmony, Chrysalis was still a loving mother, giving her child up for it's own safety, and if this really was Shining Armor's, then she was also family. "I think I'll call you Meta" Twilight smiled happily as she put the foal back into the basket so she could take her inside. Spike watched in surprise as Twilight pulled a scroll and quill out from her desk and began to write a letter to somepony. Once she was finished she trotted over to him, the scroll sealed shut by Twilight's magic seal. "Spike, send this to my brother, please" Twilight asked nicely, giving Spike a smile that told him something was up, but he did as he was asked and sent it off, his green smoke quickly making it's way to the Crystal Empire. With a letter going to Shining Armor and a strange foal on Twilight's bed, Spike was completely confused, so rather than try to make sense of it he decided to make Twilight and himself some breakfast so they would be ready for the day ahead of them. "SPIKE!" Twilight shouted from upstairs, making Spike stop in his tracks. "WHAT?!" Spike shouted back, his stomach growling as if it was asking the same thing. "BRING ME THE NEWSPAPER!" Twilight screamed, sounding very panicked as she did, the sound of her hooves clopping rapidly. Spike sighed and went to grab the new newspaper from outside, finding Derpy standing outside with a strange look on her face as she listening to Twilight running around her room, looking for something. "Do you have our newspaper for today Derpy?" Spike asked tiredly, his hunger now starting to make him irritable. "Oh yeah, here you go Spike!" Derpy said happily as she snapped out of her stupor, her googly eyes shaking as she dug through her saddlebag for the newspaper. Once she handed it to Spike she flew away, dropping a few newspapers at each house below her. Spike decided to give the newspaper a quick look before heading upstairs to Twilight. "Local pony finds diamonds, is attacked by feral dogs..." Spike read out loud, his memories of the Diamond Dog incident coming back, allowing him a laugh as he thought about how silly his thoughts had been at the time. When Spike opened the door to Twilight's bedroom he found her using her magic to hold what appeared to be a diaper in a protective bubble while she used more magic to wipe the foal's behind. "Here's the-" Spike began to say, being cut off as Twilight ripped the newspaper from his grasp and replaced it with the dirty diaper. He made audible gagging noises as he moved to through it away, but Twilight was too focused on using the newspaper as a temporary diaper to care. Some careful folds later and the makeshift diaper was on, and Twilight took a few steps back to admire her work. "I didn't think it would work that well" Twilight admitted to herself as she looked at the newspaper, folded just perfectly to fit Meta's body. Just as she turned to leave Meta began to cry again, making Twilight turn back. When she examined Meta she heard a low grumble from her stomach, which could only mean... "SPIKE!" Chapter 2: Learning About Each OtherChapter 2: Learning About Each Other As the sun rose over the horizon of the Crystal Empire it's prince was already hard at work. From the moment he woke up Shining would make rounds of the castle, talking to each of the guards and ponies he walked past. He had gained a reputation as one of the nicest stallions in the castle, and many ponies had started to look up to him, especially the guards. When he turned the corner a group of guards saluted him. "Sir!" they said in unison, each of them having a smile on their face as Shining passed by, nodding happily at them all to let them relax. They waited for him to pass before continuing their conversation. Shining laughed to himself as he looked outside, finding it hard to believe that just a few months ago no pony knew the Empire existed, save for a few scholars in Canterlot that really did their research. His situation seemed like a story a mother would tell their son or daughter to get them to go to sleep, the guard who married a princess and became a prince! Once he was done looking outside he continued on his way to the throne room, where he would stand for most of the day as Cadance listened to the ponies of the Empire. "Sir!" the guards at the doors to the throne room said quickly once they saw Shining turn the corner. He stopped in front of them, having to undergo screening to make sure he wasn't a changeling. "How are you two doing today?" Shining asked as the Unicorn moved to his side to begin the screening. "Not bad, caught somepony trying to sneak in earlier" the Pegasus said, just as the screening finished, "You're good to go sir" "Thank you, and have a good day you two" Shining said with a salute before heading into the throne room. The two guards smiled and saluted back at him before returning to how they were before. When Shining entered the room everypony was at attention, even those that were there to talk to Cadance. "Good morning" Cadance said, smiling happily as Shining took his place next to her. He was her personal guard, and as such he was by her side at all times. As soon as he had picked up his spear the royal court began, starting off with a local hat maker who was complaining about the cost of materials from Canterlot. Next was a local mother who had been abandoned by her husband due to his greed, and she was coming to ask for help raising her child. Lastly, for the morning at least, was a old guard pony from just before Sombra's reign, who had simply come in to thank Shining and Cadance for what they did, and to say that he liked the new guards much more than the ones he was part of. "Nice work" Cadance said happily as the last pony left the room, giving Shining a kiss on the snout, "Ready for lunch?" "Of course" Shining said with a smile, leading the way to the dining hall so they could eat. As they sat down in the hall a group of ponies entered from another door carrying trays of food, each one a sample of the two ponies favorites. Cadance grabbed a piece of french bread and some dandelion soup, and Shining reached for a egg and lettuce sandwich. Just before Shining took a bite a green cloud of smoke came in from the window and floated above Shining's head. Before he could say anything scroll materialized from the smoke and landed on his head. "What?" Shining asked out loud, his mind trying to remind him what that meant. "It's from Twilight" Cadance said as she looked at the scroll, the words For Shining Armor; From Twilight making it clear that it was for him. "Oh, ok" Shining said, his mind still reeling from his attempts to figure out what had happened. Shining quickly opened the letter and read through it, his jaw dropping open as he got to the end of it. "Everything ok?" Cadance asked, attempting to get a look at the letter, but Shining pulled it away. She tried again but he kept moving it so eventually she just grabbed it with her magic and stole it from him. He watched in horror as she read through it, her face remaining emotionless the entire time. When she got to the bottom she rolled up the letter and placed it on the table, her eyes digging holes into Shining's face. "So..." Cadance said slowly, Shining's reckoning now at hoof... Twilight ran around the library in search of a book on Changeling diet, throwing book after book from the shelves after she flipped through them, not finding anything helpful inside them. Meanwhile Spike was trying to hold both Meta and the books Twilight was throwing away, managing to balance them until they where higher than the bookshelves they came off from. Just as he fell Twilight looked over at him and pulled Meta to safety, leaving Spike to get crushed by the mountain of books she had tossed around. "What do you eat?" Twilight asked the foal as she held her in front of her, looking it over to see if she could tell if the foal was more pony or changeling. When she got back to her front she decided to try and do a magical scan of it's body, but a knock at the door interrupted her so she handed Meta off to Spike. "You know I'm not a foalsitter, right?" Spike asked sarcastically, but Twilight ignored him and opened the door, finding Rarity and Fluttershy on the other side. "Hi girls" Twilight said with a forced smile, the foal situation still in the forefront of her mind, "What's up?" "Oh nothing, we were just wondering if you would want to join us at the spa, but..." Rarity trailed off as she looked at the mountain of books on the floor, "It looks like you're busy" "Oh, don't mind those, just making sure they're in the right places" Twilight tried to lie, but a quick look around the library showed that the books had all been pulled out randomly, with no rhyme or reason. Rarity and Fluttershy shared a worried look when the sound of the foals wings flapping could be heard downstairs, as well as Spike trying to stop it. "Stop doing tha- Don't go up there!" Spike whined loudly, the sound of the wings flapping coming back as he caught his breath, "Oh come on, I can't even get over there!" "What is Spike doing upstairs?" Fluttershy asked quietly, the sound of Spike falling on his face, followed by a curse, could be heard downstairs. "He's, um..." Twilight trailed off, trying to think of a lie to tell her friends, but just then the door burst open and Meta came flying out with Spike holding onto her legs. He flailed for a few seconds before she ran out of energy and fell down, using his face as a cushion. "Ow..." Spike groaned as he tried to get up, Meta having jumped off him immediately. She was now flying in circles around the ceiling, making her Changeling features very obvious to Rarity and Fluttershy. Fluttershy cowered slightly when she noticed the wings and horn, but Rarity just silently stared at them, a blank expression on her face. "Twilight?" Rarity asked calmly, still watching the foal fly around the room. "Y-yes...?" Twilight said slowly, her eyes wide as the moon as Meta flew right up to Rarity's face, looking her in the eyes with it's head cocked to the side. For a few moments the two of them just stared at each other, but then suddenly Meta spat into Rarity's face, leaving a strange green goop covering her mouth. Rarity fainted, pulling her couch over just in time, and landed on it in a overly dramatic pose. Meanwhile Fluttershy was hiding behind Spike, doing her best to not be seen by Meta as she continued her laps around the library. "Oh brother..." Twilight complained quietly before heading up to her room so she could write get some bits for a trip to the store for diapers. Chapter 3: Cause and EffectChapter 3: Cause and Effect Shining sat sadly looking at the floor as Cadance paced around the room, silently debating whether or not to give him a lecture for what he did. She looked over at him, almost feeling sorry him, but a quick look at the letter filled her with anger again. The thought of him and Chrysalis doing, that, together, it put a chill down Cadance's spine. As she continued to pace a wild thought entered her head. What if the foal was just a normal pony? Cadance entertained that thought for a few moments before remembering that Twilight had mentioned that the foal did have some Changeling characteristics, namely the wings and horn, but for all she knew it could also have the ability to change it's appearance at will... "Cadance...?" Shining asked sheepishly, getting a glare back from Cadance, "Can we talk about this?" "Talk about what?" Cadance asked, sounding harsher than she had planned, "You slept with her before we got married!" "I thought she was you!" Shining protested before crossing his forelegs angrily, having gotten the feeling that this was going to be a big fight because of how mad she had sounded. Cadance softened up when she realized how she was acting towards him and decided to go sit back down to read the note again. Shining watched her carefully as she read it again, a somber expression slowly appearing on her face. "Shining, this is your foal..." Cadance said slowly, staring at the note like a statue. "I know, and I'm sorry about how I..." Shining trailed off, not finding it in him to talk about what he had done. Cadance watched him as he squirmed while trying to figure out what he could say that would calm her down, but he wasn't able to. Eventually he just gave up and let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry Cadance" Shining said pitifully, his normal masculinity completely gone as he almost begged Cadance to calm down. She felt her heart tug as she continued to watch him, which made her reach a hoof out to him. He looked up suddenly, his eyes full of hope, which she gave him with a smile. "It's okay Shining, you didn't know what you were doing" Cadance said somberly, "And this is your own foal after all, we can't just ignore it" "Are we going to go to Ponyville now?" Shining asked with confused look, not sure if Cadance actually wanted to go to the foal or not. "Yes, now go get your things packed up..." Cadance trailed off, leaning forwards to give him a kiss on the lips, "On the double" "Yes ma'am!" Shining said happily as he skipped away, stopping when he reached the door, "Does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?" "Meta, get down from there!" Twilight shouted as she tried to coax Meta down from her hiding place in the roof of the library. Twilight silently cursed herself for living inside an old tree, but just as she did Meta fell down from the roof, just barely being caught by Applejack, who had been trying to help. "Whew, that was a close one" Applejack said calmly as she put Meta down, the tiny foal quickly running up behind Twilight for protection. Twilight sighed as she stepped to the side, pushing Meta forward with her magic so Applejack could get a good look at her. "So this is the foal that Chrysalis left on your balcony?" Applejack asked as she lowered herself down to get a better look at Meta, "She doesn't look all that much like a Changeling... Well, apart from the wings and horn" Twilight groaned when the door opened, introducing Meta to Rainbow Dash rather suddenly. "So what's all this about a mystery f-" Rainbow was beginning to ask as she walked into the library, freezing when she saw Meta staring at her with giant eyes, "What's her problem?" "Rainbow, your mane is multiple colors" Applejack said flatly, receiving a shrug from Rainbow. "It just shows how awesome I am" Rainbow said mockingly, throwing her hair back with ease, "So what's up with this little brat?" Applejack moved to tell Rainbow that she shouldn't call Meta a brat, but Twilight stopped her, which caught her off guard. Twilight then proceeded to tell them the story up until then, ending with how she found each of them and asked them to drop by. "Why were Rarity and Fluttershy already here?" Rainbow asked, looking over at her other two friends, one of which was hiding behind Spike, and the other was still out cold after fainting. Pinkie Pie meanwhile, was drawing on Rarity's face, finding it amusing that she had fainted for so long, and not really seeing anything surprising in Meta. "They came to ask if I wanted to go to the spa with them, and then somepony-" Twilight paused to look at Spike, "-let Meta out of my room so she could come fly around down here" Applejack and Rainbow looked over at Spike in surprise, finding it odd that he would do something against Twilight's wishes. "I said I was sorry..." Spike grumbled as Fluttershy squeaked behind him because Meta had looked their way. Rainbow rolled her eyes before flying over to the foal, looking her straight in the eyes to see what she would do if somepony got really close to her. All Meta did was cock her head to the side and look at Rainbow's mane, completely entranced by how colorful it was. When she had stared at long enough for her liking she decided to try and give it a taste, grabbing it with her hoof and pulling it towards her mouth. "Ow! Hey! Let go!" Rainbow shouted as Meta continued to try and eat her mane. After some struggling she pulled away, the end of her mane now a mess because of Meta's saliva. "Looks like you made a friend Rainbow" Applejack laughed before turning to Twilight again, despite Rainbow's angry groan, "Have you told Shining Armor and Cadance about this yet?" "I sent them a letter about it, but they haven't-" Twilight was saying when Spike suddenly belched, his flame turning into a scroll. Twilight quickly grabbed it and saw that it was from Cadance, so she opened it as fast as she could. When she was finished she looked up at everypony worriedly. "What is it Twi?" Applejack asked. "She said that I shouldn't tell anypony about it, but know that she isn't going to like this place" Twilight said as she looked at the letter one last time so she could make sure she read it right, "She told me to not tell anypony, including you guys" "Why would it be us?" Rainbow asked affirmatively, sticking her face right up against Twilights. "Well, she said she didn't want anypony to know about this for what ever reason, but I'm s-" "Twilight, help!" Spike cried as Meta jumped at him, pulling him down to the ground because Fluttershy had run away. Him and Meta rolled around for almost a minute before they ended with Spike holding her up. When she was kept still for a few seconds she managed to poop self while in Spike's arms. "Seriously, I just changed you!" Twilight said angrily as she put Meta on the main table, preparing to change her diaper out yet again. Chapter 4: Father Meet DaughterChapter 4: Father Meet Daughter Twilight awoke early in the morning to the sound of Meta smashing around in the kitchen, making a feeble attempt to steal from the cookie jar, which she discovered the day before. When Twilight got downstairs she found Spike lying in the doorway to the kitchen with Meta on his back, happily chowing down on the oatmeal cookies. "How did this even happen?" Spike muttered as he tried to get up, but the way he was laying down made it hard for him to do so. All Twilight could do was laugh at what she was seeing, quickly being joined by excited giggles from Meta. Spike moaned in annoyance as he tried to roll over, only managing to get himself stuck in an even worse position. "Oh come on!" Spike said angrily as he ended up pinning an arm underneath himself, making it completely impossible for him to get up. Twilight decided to leave Spike where he was as she stepped over him to get into the kitchen so she could get her morning coffee and a banana. Meta watched her carefully pour herself a cup of coffee, adding in some milk and sugar to make it sweeter, and then Twilight grabbed a banana, stepping back over Spike as she headed towards the front door. With a banana, coffee, and now a newspaper suspended in her magic Twilight sat down at the main table, blissfully ignoring Spike's cries for help as his arm began to go numb. After Twilight had finished her coffee and banana she went into the kitchen to clean up, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. When she opened it she found Shining Armor and Cadance standing on the other side, with Shining Armor bending under the weight of Cadance's travel bags. "Twilight!" Cadance said happily as both her and Twilight jumped towards each other, giving a hug before doing what they always did. "Sunshine, Sunshine, Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" the two of them chanted while doing the dance that went along with it. They both giggled happily as they hugged again, a grunt from Shining Armor reminding them that he was still there, struggling with the luggage. Twilight and Cadance quickly took a bag from him and headed inside, a loud laugh coming from Cadance when she saw Spike. "Stop laughing and help me!" Spike cried, his arm starting to hurt from being numb for so long. "Oh fine" Cadance said as she lifted Meta off of Spike, turning to Twilight with the filly on her back, "Is this Meta?" "Yeah" Twilight said as she put the luggage away, watching Cadance's reaction to Meta closely. Despite all of Twilight's suspicions Cadance quickly played with Meta as if she was any other foal, the two of them very quickly beginning to laugh happily together. "Twilight, she is so cute!" Cadance said as she continued to play with Meta, making Twilight laugh. Meanwhile Shining Armor was carefully watching Meta to see if she was going to do anything suspicious. Twilight took note of this and walked over to her brother, snapping his gaze away from Meta with her magic. "Shining, what are you doing?" Twilight asked, turning to look at Cadance and Meta playfully chasing Spike around the room as his still limp arm flailed about. She had to suppress a giggle, but Shining Armor stayed as stoned faced as ever, his suspicion of Meta stopping him from feeling any other emotion. Rather than fight with him Twilight just sighed and trotted over to Cadance and Meta, who were still happily playing even though Spike managed to get away to the safety of the stairs. "Is something wrong with Shining Armor?" Twilight asked as Meta attempted to fly over to her back from Cadance's. Cadance looked over at Shining Armor to see him staring Meta down, almost hoping to see her slip up and give him an excuse to leave by doing something bad. "I'll go deal with him" Cadance sighed as she got up, trotting over to stand in her husband's face, "What's your problem?" "I just don't know if it's a good thing to trust her so easily" Shining Armor said, "Changelings can change shape at will, who's to say they can't make themselves look like a filly to get easy love?" Cadance gave him a confused look before she got right in his face, giving him a worried stare. He attempted to ignore her and move so he could see again, but she moved with him, eventually making him grunt in annoyance. "What's wrong with you today Shining?" Cadance asked as she wrapped her hooves around his neck, using him to keep her balance. She could feel how tense he was and kissed him, making him relax a little bit. "I just don't want to trust it so easily, not after what happened with their Queen" Shining said, a guilty look coming on his face as he looked up at Meta, the memories of when the Changeling Queen pretended to be Cadance coming back to him. He let out a loud sigh as he closed his eyes, being able to visually remember every moment of it, only now seeing the warning signs that it had been a fake. While his eyes were shut Meta ran over to him, latching onto his foreleg. "Meta...?" Shining asked slowly, feeling slightly apprehensive about the small filly clinging to him. She laughed up at him and then began to climb, eventually straddling the back of his neck while she held onto his horn to keep her balance. He looked over to Cadance to see her giving him a look that said, "Have fun", so he did just that, and reared up onto his hind legs. Meta obviously enjoyed it as she began to giggle happily as she was swung around by Shining, soon landing on his snout. "Hi there little one" Shining said with a smile, managing to get a giggle out of Meta. They laughed together for a while, soon being joined in by the two mares in the room, but as they all got dead silent Meta decided to say something for herself. "Dada" Meta said slowly, followed by a chorus of "Awww..." from the two mares while Shining simply pulled her into a hug. "That's right, I'm your dada" Shining said with a warm smile, getting some more "Awww.."'s from the mares.
Chapter 1: A Mysterious FoalChapter 1: A Mysterious Foal In the wee hours of the morning a strange figure could be seen moving throughout Ponyville, hunting for something with a basket on it's back. When the figure stumbled over to the library it stopped looking around, having reached it's destination. With a green aura the figure lifted the basket up to the second floor balcony and then took off, leaving the basket, and whatever was inside it, for the local librarian to find. Once on the outskirts of town the figure paused to look back one last time, a loud cry coming from the library being the last thing the figure ever knew of Ponyville... "Spike, Spike wake up!" Twilight pleaded as she shook her assistant awake, ruining his favorite dream of the week. "Why did you have to wake me up Twilight, I was just about to kiss Rari-" Spike began to complain, but Twilight shoved her hoof into his mouth as she nervously looked back at her balcony door, the loud crying only now entering Spike's ears. Twilight looked back at Spike worriedly, searching his eyes for an answer that would tell her what she should do now, but even he was surprised by it. "Is it- Is it yours?" Spike asked slowly as he cocked his head to the side, trying to see if the crying was really just Rainbow or Pinkie, maybe even the one of the Cake twins if they had gotten loose, but this sounded different, and Twilight knew it too. The crying seemed all too genuine, and had a sad undertone to it, as if somepony had just left it there overnight for Twilight to find. Taking one more look at Spike's worried face made Twilight's motherly instincts kick in and she made her way outside, finding a finely woven basket with a young filly inside laying on her balcony with a note stuck on it by some kind of goo. Grabbing the note quickly, Twilight began to read: Dear Twilight, I leave this young filly for you as I know you will be able to take care of it. She may look like an ordinary pony to you, but she is in fact a Changling princess, but due to her pony blood we had no idea if she would be able to survive in the way a pure Changeling does. She is your niece, and I wish that you will be able to raise her as your own. Her official name is Princess Metamorphosis, bit you may change it to suit your needs. In evil and hatred, Chrysalis "She can't be serious, this foal," Twilight muttered as she took another look at the foal, "is my niece?" Twilight's curiosity got the best of her, so she decided to examine the foal further, the most noticeable differences being her Changeling like wings and black horn, contrasting with her white coat and two tone blue mane, similar to Shining Armor's, and she had sky blue eyes. As Twilight examined the foal she felt a strange fondness growing in her heart for both it, and Chrysalis as well. Despite her past attacks on harmony, Chrysalis was still a loving mother, giving her child up for it's own safety, and if this really was Shining Armor's, then she was also family. "I think I'll call you Meta" Twilight smiled happily as she put the foal back into the basket so she could take her inside. Spike watched in surprise as Twilight pulled a scroll and quill out from her desk and began to write a letter to somepony. Once she was finished she trotted over to him, the scroll sealed shut by Twilight's magic seal. "Spike, send this to my brother, please" Twilight asked nicely, giving Spike a smile that told him something was up, but he did as he was asked and sent it off, his green smoke quickly making it's way to the Crystal Empire. With a letter going to Shining Armor and a strange foal on Twilight's bed, Spike was completely confused, so rather than try to make sense of it he decided to make Twilight and himself some breakfast so they would be ready for the day ahead of them. "SPIKE!" Twilight shouted from upstairs, making Spike stop in his tracks. "WHAT?!" Spike shouted back, his stomach growling as if it was asking the same thing. "BRING ME THE NEWSPAPER!" Twilight screamed, sounding very panicked as she did, the sound of her hooves clopping rapidly. Spike sighed and went to grab the new newspaper from outside, finding Derpy standing outside with a strange look on her face as she listening to Twilight running around her room, looking for something. "Do you have our newspaper for today Derpy?" Spike asked tiredly, his hunger now starting to make him irritable. "Oh yeah, here you go Spike!" Derpy said happily as she snapped out of her stupor, her googly eyes shaking as she dug through her saddlebag for the newspaper. Once she handed it to Spike she flew away, dropping a few newspapers at each house below her. Spike decided to give the newspaper a quick look before heading upstairs to Twilight. "Local pony finds diamonds, is attacked by feral dogs..." Spike read out loud, his memories of the Diamond Dog incident coming back, allowing him a laugh as he thought about how silly his thoughts had been at the time. When Spike opened the door to Twilight's bedroom he found her using her magic to hold what appeared to be a diaper in a protective bubble while she used more magic to wipe the foal's behind. "Here's the-" Spike began to say, being cut off as Twilight ripped the newspaper from his grasp and replaced it with the dirty diaper. He made audible gagging noises as he moved to through it away, but Twilight was too focused on using the newspaper as a temporary diaper to care. Some careful folds later and the makeshift diaper was on, and Twilight took a few steps back to admire her work. "I didn't think it would work that well" Twilight admitted to herself as she looked at the newspaper, folded just perfectly to fit Meta's body. Just as she turned to leave Meta began to cry again, making Twilight turn back. When she examined Meta she heard a low grumble from her stomach, which could only mean... "SPIKE!"
Chapter 2: Learning About Each OtherChapter 2: Learning About Each Other As the sun rose over the horizon of the Crystal Empire it's prince was already hard at work. From the moment he woke up Shining would make rounds of the castle, talking to each of the guards and ponies he walked past. He had gained a reputation as one of the nicest stallions in the castle, and many ponies had started to look up to him, especially the guards. When he turned the corner a group of guards saluted him. "Sir!" they said in unison, each of them having a smile on their face as Shining passed by, nodding happily at them all to let them relax. They waited for him to pass before continuing their conversation. Shining laughed to himself as he looked outside, finding it hard to believe that just a few months ago no pony knew the Empire existed, save for a few scholars in Canterlot that really did their research. His situation seemed like a story a mother would tell their son or daughter to get them to go to sleep, the guard who married a princess and became a prince! Once he was done looking outside he continued on his way to the throne room, where he would stand for most of the day as Cadance listened to the ponies of the Empire. "Sir!" the guards at the doors to the throne room said quickly once they saw Shining turn the corner. He stopped in front of them, having to undergo screening to make sure he wasn't a changeling. "How are you two doing today?" Shining asked as the Unicorn moved to his side to begin the screening. "Not bad, caught somepony trying to sneak in earlier" the Pegasus said, just as the screening finished, "You're good to go sir" "Thank you, and have a good day you two" Shining said with a salute before heading into the throne room. The two guards smiled and saluted back at him before returning to how they were before. When Shining entered the room everypony was at attention, even those that were there to talk to Cadance. "Good morning" Cadance said, smiling happily as Shining took his place next to her. He was her personal guard, and as such he was by her side at all times. As soon as he had picked up his spear the royal court began, starting off with a local hat maker who was complaining about the cost of materials from Canterlot. Next was a local mother who had been abandoned by her husband due to his greed, and she was coming to ask for help raising her child. Lastly, for the morning at least, was a old guard pony from just before Sombra's reign, who had simply come in to thank Shining and Cadance for what they did, and to say that he liked the new guards much more than the ones he was part of. "Nice work" Cadance said happily as the last pony left the room, giving Shining a kiss on the snout, "Ready for lunch?" "Of course" Shining said with a smile, leading the way to the dining hall so they could eat. As they sat down in the hall a group of ponies entered from another door carrying trays of food, each one a sample of the two ponies favorites. Cadance grabbed a piece of french bread and some dandelion soup, and Shining reached for a egg and lettuce sandwich. Just before Shining took a bite a green cloud of smoke came in from the window and floated above Shining's head. Before he could say anything scroll materialized from the smoke and landed on his head. "What?" Shining asked out loud, his mind trying to remind him what that meant. "It's from Twilight" Cadance said as she looked at the scroll, the words For Shining Armor; From Twilight making it clear that it was for him. "Oh, ok" Shining said, his mind still reeling from his attempts to figure out what had happened. Shining quickly opened the letter and read through it, his jaw dropping open as he got to the end of it. "Everything ok?" Cadance asked, attempting to get a look at the letter, but Shining pulled it away. She tried again but he kept moving it so eventually she just grabbed it with her magic and stole it from him. He watched in horror as she read through it, her face remaining emotionless the entire time. When she got to the bottom she rolled up the letter and placed it on the table, her eyes digging holes into Shining's face. "So..." Cadance said slowly, Shining's reckoning now at hoof... Twilight ran around the library in search of a book on Changeling diet, throwing book after book from the shelves after she flipped through them, not finding anything helpful inside them. Meanwhile Spike was trying to hold both Meta and the books Twilight was throwing away, managing to balance them until they where higher than the bookshelves they came off from. Just as he fell Twilight looked over at him and pulled Meta to safety, leaving Spike to get crushed by the mountain of books she had tossed around. "What do you eat?" Twilight asked the foal as she held her in front of her, looking it over to see if she could tell if the foal was more pony or changeling. When she got back to her front she decided to try and do a magical scan of it's body, but a knock at the door interrupted her so she handed Meta off to Spike. "You know I'm not a foalsitter, right?" Spike asked sarcastically, but Twilight ignored him and opened the door, finding Rarity and Fluttershy on the other side. "Hi girls" Twilight said with a forced smile, the foal situation still in the forefront of her mind, "What's up?" "Oh nothing, we were just wondering if you would want to join us at the spa, but..." Rarity trailed off as she looked at the mountain of books on the floor, "It looks like you're busy" "Oh, don't mind those, just making sure they're in the right places" Twilight tried to lie, but a quick look around the library showed that the books had all been pulled out randomly, with no rhyme or reason. Rarity and Fluttershy shared a worried look when the sound of the foals wings flapping could be heard downstairs, as well as Spike trying to stop it. "Stop doing tha- Don't go up there!" Spike whined loudly, the sound of the wings flapping coming back as he caught his breath, "Oh come on, I can't even get over there!" "What is Spike doing upstairs?" Fluttershy asked quietly, the sound of Spike falling on his face, followed by a curse, could be heard downstairs. "He's, um..." Twilight trailed off, trying to think of a lie to tell her friends, but just then the door burst open and Meta came flying out with Spike holding onto her legs. He flailed for a few seconds before she ran out of energy and fell down, using his face as a cushion. "Ow..." Spike groaned as he tried to get up, Meta having jumped off him immediately. She was now flying in circles around the ceiling, making her Changeling features very obvious to Rarity and Fluttershy. Fluttershy cowered slightly when she noticed the wings and horn, but Rarity just silently stared at them, a blank expression on her face. "Twilight?" Rarity asked calmly, still watching the foal fly around the room. "Y-yes...?" Twilight said slowly, her eyes wide as the moon as Meta flew right up to Rarity's face, looking her in the eyes with it's head cocked to the side. For a few moments the two of them just stared at each other, but then suddenly Meta spat into Rarity's face, leaving a strange green goop covering her mouth. Rarity fainted, pulling her couch over just in time, and landed on it in a overly dramatic pose. Meanwhile Fluttershy was hiding behind Spike, doing her best to not be seen by Meta as she continued her laps around the library. "Oh brother..." Twilight complained quietly before heading up to her room so she could write get some bits for a trip to the store for diapers.
Chapter 3: Cause and EffectChapter 3: Cause and Effect Shining sat sadly looking at the floor as Cadance paced around the room, silently debating whether or not to give him a lecture for what he did. She looked over at him, almost feeling sorry him, but a quick look at the letter filled her with anger again. The thought of him and Chrysalis doing, that, together, it put a chill down Cadance's spine. As she continued to pace a wild thought entered her head. What if the foal was just a normal pony? Cadance entertained that thought for a few moments before remembering that Twilight had mentioned that the foal did have some Changeling characteristics, namely the wings and horn, but for all she knew it could also have the ability to change it's appearance at will... "Cadance...?" Shining asked sheepishly, getting a glare back from Cadance, "Can we talk about this?" "Talk about what?" Cadance asked, sounding harsher than she had planned, "You slept with her before we got married!" "I thought she was you!" Shining protested before crossing his forelegs angrily, having gotten the feeling that this was going to be a big fight because of how mad she had sounded. Cadance softened up when she realized how she was acting towards him and decided to go sit back down to read the note again. Shining watched her carefully as she read it again, a somber expression slowly appearing on her face. "Shining, this is your foal..." Cadance said slowly, staring at the note like a statue. "I know, and I'm sorry about how I..." Shining trailed off, not finding it in him to talk about what he had done. Cadance watched him as he squirmed while trying to figure out what he could say that would calm her down, but he wasn't able to. Eventually he just gave up and let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry Cadance" Shining said pitifully, his normal masculinity completely gone as he almost begged Cadance to calm down. She felt her heart tug as she continued to watch him, which made her reach a hoof out to him. He looked up suddenly, his eyes full of hope, which she gave him with a smile. "It's okay Shining, you didn't know what you were doing" Cadance said somberly, "And this is your own foal after all, we can't just ignore it" "Are we going to go to Ponyville now?" Shining asked with confused look, not sure if Cadance actually wanted to go to the foal or not. "Yes, now go get your things packed up..." Cadance trailed off, leaning forwards to give him a kiss on the lips, "On the double" "Yes ma'am!" Shining said happily as he skipped away, stopping when he reached the door, "Does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?" "Meta, get down from there!" Twilight shouted as she tried to coax Meta down from her hiding place in the roof of the library. Twilight silently cursed herself for living inside an old tree, but just as she did Meta fell down from the roof, just barely being caught by Applejack, who had been trying to help. "Whew, that was a close one" Applejack said calmly as she put Meta down, the tiny foal quickly running up behind Twilight for protection. Twilight sighed as she stepped to the side, pushing Meta forward with her magic so Applejack could get a good look at her. "So this is the foal that Chrysalis left on your balcony?" Applejack asked as she lowered herself down to get a better look at Meta, "She doesn't look all that much like a Changeling... Well, apart from the wings and horn" Twilight groaned when the door opened, introducing Meta to Rainbow Dash rather suddenly. "So what's all this about a mystery f-" Rainbow was beginning to ask as she walked into the library, freezing when she saw Meta staring at her with giant eyes, "What's her problem?" "Rainbow, your mane is multiple colors" Applejack said flatly, receiving a shrug from Rainbow. "It just shows how awesome I am" Rainbow said mockingly, throwing her hair back with ease, "So what's up with this little brat?" Applejack moved to tell Rainbow that she shouldn't call Meta a brat, but Twilight stopped her, which caught her off guard. Twilight then proceeded to tell them the story up until then, ending with how she found each of them and asked them to drop by. "Why were Rarity and Fluttershy already here?" Rainbow asked, looking over at her other two friends, one of which was hiding behind Spike, and the other was still out cold after fainting. Pinkie Pie meanwhile, was drawing on Rarity's face, finding it amusing that she had fainted for so long, and not really seeing anything surprising in Meta. "They came to ask if I wanted to go to the spa with them, and then somepony-" Twilight paused to look at Spike, "-let Meta out of my room so she could come fly around down here" Applejack and Rainbow looked over at Spike in surprise, finding it odd that he would do something against Twilight's wishes. "I said I was sorry..." Spike grumbled as Fluttershy squeaked behind him because Meta had looked their way. Rainbow rolled her eyes before flying over to the foal, looking her straight in the eyes to see what she would do if somepony got really close to her. All Meta did was cock her head to the side and look at Rainbow's mane, completely entranced by how colorful it was. When she had stared at long enough for her liking she decided to try and give it a taste, grabbing it with her hoof and pulling it towards her mouth. "Ow! Hey! Let go!" Rainbow shouted as Meta continued to try and eat her mane. After some struggling she pulled away, the end of her mane now a mess because of Meta's saliva. "Looks like you made a friend Rainbow" Applejack laughed before turning to Twilight again, despite Rainbow's angry groan, "Have you told Shining Armor and Cadance about this yet?" "I sent them a letter about it, but they haven't-" Twilight was saying when Spike suddenly belched, his flame turning into a scroll. Twilight quickly grabbed it and saw that it was from Cadance, so she opened it as fast as she could. When she was finished she looked up at everypony worriedly. "What is it Twi?" Applejack asked. "She said that I shouldn't tell anypony about it, but know that she isn't going to like this place" Twilight said as she looked at the letter one last time so she could make sure she read it right, "She told me to not tell anypony, including you guys" "Why would it be us?" Rainbow asked affirmatively, sticking her face right up against Twilights. "Well, she said she didn't want anypony to know about this for what ever reason, but I'm s-" "Twilight, help!" Spike cried as Meta jumped at him, pulling him down to the ground because Fluttershy had run away. Him and Meta rolled around for almost a minute before they ended with Spike holding her up. When she was kept still for a few seconds she managed to poop self while in Spike's arms. "Seriously, I just changed you!" Twilight said angrily as she put Meta on the main table, preparing to change her diaper out yet again.
Chapter 4: Father Meet DaughterChapter 4: Father Meet Daughter Twilight awoke early in the morning to the sound of Meta smashing around in the kitchen, making a feeble attempt to steal from the cookie jar, which she discovered the day before. When Twilight got downstairs she found Spike lying in the doorway to the kitchen with Meta on his back, happily chowing down on the oatmeal cookies. "How did this even happen?" Spike muttered as he tried to get up, but the way he was laying down made it hard for him to do so. All Twilight could do was laugh at what she was seeing, quickly being joined by excited giggles from Meta. Spike moaned in annoyance as he tried to roll over, only managing to get himself stuck in an even worse position. "Oh come on!" Spike said angrily as he ended up pinning an arm underneath himself, making it completely impossible for him to get up. Twilight decided to leave Spike where he was as she stepped over him to get into the kitchen so she could get her morning coffee and a banana. Meta watched her carefully pour herself a cup of coffee, adding in some milk and sugar to make it sweeter, and then Twilight grabbed a banana, stepping back over Spike as she headed towards the front door. With a banana, coffee, and now a newspaper suspended in her magic Twilight sat down at the main table, blissfully ignoring Spike's cries for help as his arm began to go numb. After Twilight had finished her coffee and banana she went into the kitchen to clean up, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. When she opened it she found Shining Armor and Cadance standing on the other side, with Shining Armor bending under the weight of Cadance's travel bags. "Twilight!" Cadance said happily as both her and Twilight jumped towards each other, giving a hug before doing what they always did. "Sunshine, Sunshine, Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" the two of them chanted while doing the dance that went along with it. They both giggled happily as they hugged again, a grunt from Shining Armor reminding them that he was still there, struggling with the luggage. Twilight and Cadance quickly took a bag from him and headed inside, a loud laugh coming from Cadance when she saw Spike. "Stop laughing and help me!" Spike cried, his arm starting to hurt from being numb for so long. "Oh fine" Cadance said as she lifted Meta off of Spike, turning to Twilight with the filly on her back, "Is this Meta?" "Yeah" Twilight said as she put the luggage away, watching Cadance's reaction to Meta closely. Despite all of Twilight's suspicions Cadance quickly played with Meta as if she was any other foal, the two of them very quickly beginning to laugh happily together. "Twilight, she is so cute!" Cadance said as she continued to play with Meta, making Twilight laugh. Meanwhile Shining Armor was carefully watching Meta to see if she was going to do anything suspicious. Twilight took note of this and walked over to her brother, snapping his gaze away from Meta with her magic. "Shining, what are you doing?" Twilight asked, turning to look at Cadance and Meta playfully chasing Spike around the room as his still limp arm flailed about. She had to suppress a giggle, but Shining Armor stayed as stoned faced as ever, his suspicion of Meta stopping him from feeling any other emotion. Rather than fight with him Twilight just sighed and trotted over to Cadance and Meta, who were still happily playing even though Spike managed to get away to the safety of the stairs. "Is something wrong with Shining Armor?" Twilight asked as Meta attempted to fly over to her back from Cadance's. Cadance looked over at Shining Armor to see him staring Meta down, almost hoping to see her slip up and give him an excuse to leave by doing something bad. "I'll go deal with him" Cadance sighed as she got up, trotting over to stand in her husband's face, "What's your problem?" "I just don't know if it's a good thing to trust her so easily" Shining Armor said, "Changelings can change shape at will, who's to say they can't make themselves look like a filly to get easy love?" Cadance gave him a confused look before she got right in his face, giving him a worried stare. He attempted to ignore her and move so he could see again, but she moved with him, eventually making him grunt in annoyance. "What's wrong with you today Shining?" Cadance asked as she wrapped her hooves around his neck, using him to keep her balance. She could feel how tense he was and kissed him, making him relax a little bit. "I just don't want to trust it so easily, not after what happened with their Queen" Shining said, a guilty look coming on his face as he looked up at Meta, the memories of when the Changeling Queen pretended to be Cadance coming back to him. He let out a loud sigh as he closed his eyes, being able to visually remember every moment of it, only now seeing the warning signs that it had been a fake. While his eyes were shut Meta ran over to him, latching onto his foreleg. "Meta...?" Shining asked slowly, feeling slightly apprehensive about the small filly clinging to him. She laughed up at him and then began to climb, eventually straddling the back of his neck while she held onto his horn to keep her balance. He looked over to Cadance to see her giving him a look that said, "Have fun", so he did just that, and reared up onto his hind legs. Meta obviously enjoyed it as she began to giggle happily as she was swung around by Shining, soon landing on his snout. "Hi there little one" Shining said with a smile, managing to get a giggle out of Meta. They laughed together for a while, soon being joined in by the two mares in the room, but as they all got dead silent Meta decided to say something for herself. "Dada" Meta said slowly, followed by a chorus of "Awww..." from the two mares while Shining simply pulled her into a hug. "That's right, I'm your dada" Shining said with a warm smile, getting some more "Awww.."'s from the mares.
