" C-Chrysalis you say, my, thats a rather interesting name, if you don't mind me saying"  Cadence replied to changeling, who was admitingly somewhat oddly cute, well as cute as a young bug-pony hybrid could be any who.

  "I guess, well maybe by pony standards, not so much by ours, but oh well."  Chrysalis said with a bored look on her face.

  " So ahh, you say your the next queen right?  So that means your mother must be..."  

  "Yes my mother is the one and only Queen Death Wing, the scourge of the badlands, ruler of the great hive, leader of the changeling empire!"   Chrysalis said with a proud look on her face.

  "Oh I see, well, what brings you to Canterlot, Ms. Chrysalis."  Cadence asked nervously.

  "Why a summer retreat of course"  the buggy mare replied in a rather snooty tone.

"A Summer retreat?"  Cadence copied in a dumbfounded manner

"Well yes & no" Chrysalis replied.  "You see my mother says she's here to sign a peace treat with Princess Celestia, why she's not called Queen Celestia i'll never know, whats your ponies hang-up with sounding young, seriously the term queen has so much more power behind it then the term princess, besides she's your main ruler not some cute little pawn like they're training you to be.   Anywho yes my mother came here under the pretense of a peace treaty but really she just wants a vacation, can't blame her really, she has been running the hive for 10 years straight now without a days rest."  The changeling said in a rather stoic yet speedy tone

"Oh I see" Cadence replied, still processing the story.  "Hey, I-I'm not being being trained to be a pawn!"  Cadence responded finally catching the insult . *Note cadence isn't dumb mind you, her brain just naturally tries to ignore negative things*  "And Auntie Celestia says Princess is a more gentle term then queen, queen is too boisterous and prideful!"

  "Oh I see, i'm sorry I didn't mean to insult you, well, maybe a little" the changeling chuckled.  "Anywho I do believe you and that frightful filly of yours were going to invite me somewhere, were you not."  The insectoid equine asked.

"Oh, ah yes, your right...well Ms. Chrysalis, would you like to join Twilight and I for some Ice-Cream at Doughnut Joe's? It really is the best in town, I promise!"

    At Doughnut Joe's

   A young unicorn stallion with a white mane and blue-hair was working quickly behind the counter, under the watchful eye of an old scruffy unicorn stallion known of course as Doughnut Joe, and the stallions son Doughnut Joe Jr. *talk about original names, sheesh*  Being the only regular employee at the store that day *the others were either sick or skipping, lazy sods*  The poor unicorn found himself much more busy then usual, thankfully as it was now the afternoon, the shop wasn't nearly as busy as it was during the morning rush, or the lunch rush after that, however there were still a fair amount of ponies coming in and out, the young stallion just sighed at the slow but steady stream of customers and thought to himself "ugg, is it 5'o clock yet, I wanna get out of here and see Cadence & Twyly!"   And just as the thought had finished, speak of the devil-dog, walking into the shop was Cadence herself, along with the unicorn's beloved little sister Twilight, and, some super-freaky cheese-legged, green haired bug lady!

" YIKES!"  Shining yelped  "What happened Cadence, did you mess up a spell again or something!?  Oh my Gia, you did, didn't you, you messed up a spell during training and now your trying to make it up to this poor filly by buying her ice-cream!"  Shining tried his best not to burst out in laughter.

" I'll have you know I NEVER mess up a spell"  Cadence said with a stern look on her face.  "And you best watch your tongue Shining Armor, this is Chrysalis, the daughter of the changeling queen, she and her mother are here on a diplomatic mission, namely trying to work out a peace treaty between our two kingdoms, so you know, be nice, or shut-up!"  Cadence told her colt-friend with a stern look on her face.

"Oh, so your, your a,a"

"A Foreign Dignitary" Cadence said, still looking at him with the same stern face.

"Oh my"  Shining said gulping, looking at his boss then looking back at Cadence & co.  "I, I'm terribly sorry miss.  Here  I know, ahh, Super Decker Tripple Trouble Ice-Cream bowls on the house!"  Shining Replies as he used his magic to gather the frozen food stuffs and put them together in front of the fillies eyes.  "There you go Cadence, and Miss ahh"

"Chrysalis" the bug-bottomed equine replied.

"Chrysalis eh, well, thats an interesting name"  Shining responded nervously.  

  All of a sudden out of nowhere a small voice out of nowhere asked "Hey, what am I, chopped tofu-liver!?"

  Shining looked down past the giant bowl of ice-cream at the end of the group, and there set Twilight, holding her Smarty-Pants doll, looking none to happy about being ignored.  "Oh geez, i'm sorry Twyly!  Its just, well not every day you see your mare-friend hanging out with a foreign dignitary you know."  Shining said to the young filly with the best fake smile he could.

  Twilight sighed "well I guess thats true enough"  The young but bright filly replied.  "Still I don't like it when you ignore me big brother!"  Twilight pouted.

"I know Twyly, I know, hey, I've got an idea, how about Joe Jr. over there shows you the new machinery in the back, we got a new ice-cream maker, and some new ovens, I know you like to take learn how things work, doesn't that sound fun!?"  Shining asked.

    The young filly looking up at her brother thought for a second, and simply replied "Yeah I guess that sounds fun, can Smarty Pants come too!?"  She asked.

"Haha of course she can Twyly"  Shining motioned for Joe Jr. to come to over and take the young pony to the back, at first he was reluctant, but after a rather persuasive evil-eye from his father, he quickly picked-up the filly and ran to the back.

  "well now that things are a bit more private"  Shining said looking at Cadence with his best attempt at a seductive look, and then at the bug-butt next to her with disdain.  "Are you and me still on for tonight?"  He asked.

"Oh i'm sorry honey, I should have told you this morning, but Celestia wants me to practice my magic some more tonight, I have to write her a report about the various types of magical auras found in nature."  

  "Ugg, not again, you promised me we would go to the movie tonight!"  Shining replied in anger.

"I know honey, I know, its just, well, I have to do these kinds of things, I mean after all I am going to be the ruler of all of Equestria someday!"  Cadence said proudly.

"huh, not this again" Shining said in a huff." Shining said, turning his back to the mare and going back to cleaning the counter.

   Chrysalis couldn't help but laugh.  "You really believe that don't you?"  She asked in a rather mocking manner.

  "Why of course I do Chrysalis"  Cadence responded, beaming with pride "Why else would Celestia be training me if not to pass on the throne to her most beloved niece. I mean its not like that dim-wit Blue-Blood has any chance, and i'm an only child, so yeah!"  Cadence said cheerily

"Oh brother, delusions of grandeur much!"  Shining said under his breath continuing to wipe the counter.

"What was that dear, I didn't quite hear you"  Cadence said looking at the young unicorn stallion with her horn glowing hot blue.

"N-nothing dear"  Shining replied nervously.

"Thats what I thought" Cadence said, lowering her horn.

"Haha, thats cute darling"  Chrysalis chuckled as she dug into her ice-cream  "But honestly my dear, you really just don't seem like the ruling type, and if some one like me can see that, i'm sure Celestia can as well"  The Changeling said in a rather serious yet still stoic tone.

This angered Cadence "Well your wrong, I'll be a great ruler someday, and then it'll be me and you making false peace treaties as excuses to spend the day at the spa, just you wait!"

  "Haha, I look forward to it darling"  Chrysalis cackled as she dug into the last bite of her cold confection.

Later at Canterlot Castle.

   It was evening, less then an hour until the end of Celestia's day, and the beginning of what was once Luna's beautiful night.  *Not that that second thing matters, yet, as Luna is still serving hard time in the moon right now, but hey, she might get sad if we don't mention her*   Cadence had returned Twilight home earlier that evening and was in her room at the palace finishing up her report which she titled  "The various types of magical auras found in nature, such a shame theres not more pink"  Pink was of course the princesses favorite color, after all it was the one that penetrated her room most prominently, with some red & gold here & there, but mostly pink, yes pink was just the best!  *feel free to barf now.*   Just as she was putting away her quill she heard a knock on her door.

   Cadence turned around to face the door and gently said "Come In"

  Opening the door a royal guard came up to Cadence and saluted.  "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza"  the guard began.

"Please, just call me Cadence, i'm not a princess quite yet after all"  she said with a warm smile that almost melted the guards heart.

"ah yes, well, lady Cadence, Princess Celestia has requested your presence at dinner tonight, the royal cooks should be done with the meal in about 45 minutes to an hour, please be down in the main dining hall in no less a time then that."  The guard said.

"I see, well tell aunt Celestia i'll be there on time for sure, in fact I just finished up my homework for tonight, so after a quick shower & picking the perfect dress, i'll be all set!"  She said smiling.

   The guard saluted  "Yes m'am, we look forward to seeing you at dinner m'am."  The guard said and then promptly walked out the door.

  "Oh those guard ponies are so cute, I can't wait till Shining becomes captain of the royal guard, he'll be even more of a hunk in armor."  Cadence thought to her self, as she rushed off to the shower

  1 hour later, at dinner

  Cadence walked down the hall of the castle, admiring the regal scenery of it all, even with the sun set, the candle light made the palace shine bright, and beautiful.  "Oh I never tire of this place, its just soo wonderful"  Cadence thought to herself as she turned the corner to enter the royal dining chamber, *which was rather large and had a rather long table considering there were usually just a small number of people dining in it, other then the occasional cosmic council meeting held once every 25 years, but thats not important to the story so its a moot point.

  Any-who Cadence turned into the rather immaculate dining room and was surprised to see two Changelings at the table with Celestia.

  "Chrysalis!?"  Cadence said with a confused look on her face.  The changeling just waved at her with a coy smile.

"Ahh, I see you two have already met"  Celestia  said with a smile.

  "Ahh yes, Auntie"  Cadence responded "Twilight & I met her in the park, we invited her to join us for Ice Cream at Joe's."

"Excellent, I always knew you were the kind who could make friends easily"  Celestia Smiled.

"of course" Cadence replied nervously.  "But ahh, auntie Celestia, if you don't mind me asking, what are Chrysalis and her mother doing here?"  

  "Chrysalis & her mother Death Wing are here, as you know to sign a peace treaty, as a gesture of faith & of good will, I have invited them to stay in the palace.  I hope that doesn't bother you Cadence."

"Of course not Auntie Celestia, I would love to have a sleep over with Chrysy!"  Cadence beamed.

"Well I had planned on just getting my own room, but if its not an imposition, I guess I don't mind staying with Cadence, anything's better then having to spend time with that old battle axe over there"  Chrysalis said, pointing a hoof at her mother.

"Hummph"  Death wing growled.  But just as she was about to reply to her daughters rude little quip, the royal cooks came out with the royal dinner *which is like a regular dinner, only bigger, better, and well tastier*  The ponies at the table, alicorn and changeling alike smacked and licked there lips as each plate was presented to them.   Thus began a very delicious and enjoyable dinner.  During the course of the meal the young Chrysalis asked about one of the stain glass windows which depicted Celestia defeating what appeared to be a darker version of herself, at first she was apprehensive to reply, and Death Wing quickly told the young little larva to shut-up. But Celestia merely raised her hoof, and told her guest that it was OK, and began to tale the sad and sordid tale of her sister Luna, and her fall from grace & transformation into Nightmare Moon, after that there was an awkward silence, then desert.

  Later after the meal Cadence & Chrysalis returned to her room, while Celestia & Death Wing went to have a late night political discussion, which really meant Celestia planned to take her to a club, both in disguises of course, but yes, most of Celestia's political meetings these  days usually meant some sort of spa, club, or other form or relaxation or entertainment was involved.

  "So Chrysy, what do you think of my room, isn't it the best!"  Cadence asked with a smile.

"well it...it is very...Pink"  Chrysalis responded, with a somewhat disgusted look on her face.

"Aww, you don't like it"  Cadence said with a pout.

"No, its..fine I guess, its just, much different from the dark and dank hive i'm accustomed to you know"  

"Oh I see"  Cadence said.  "Well maybe after the summer is done you'll learn to love pink as much as I do!"  Cadence said excitedly

"Yeah maybe"  Chrysalis responded in kind, rolling her eyes as hard as she could.

  A bit later the two set on the floor, well rather comfortable pillows on the floor Cadence had requested the guards to bring in and continued their little chat, they asked each other about their lives, their interests, all the typical getting to know you stuff.

"You know I didn't know changelings could eat regular food, I thought they could only feed on love"  Cadence said to Chrysalis

"Yes, well love essence is the most satisfying meal to our kind of course, but we are able to eat regular food as well, just like any other pony, I mean its not like were vampires or something.  Were more like...Succubi" The Changeling said smiling seductivly

"Yeah if a Succubi and a witch had a kid"  Cadence said in a rather mischievous tone.

"Yeah, well at least I don't have delusions of ruling an entire country when I get older"  Chrysalis said.  "I already know i'm going to rule, because its what I chose, not what I trained or sucked up for, but what I chose"

"What do you mean?"  Cadence asked.  

Chrysalis sighed "In my society when you turn 13, as I did 2 years ago, the reigning king &/or queen ask you a question, a simple question, do you want to rule, if you choose yes, your path is set, you begin training to replace your current rulers, which are usually your parents, but not always, once their time has come.  However if you choose no, they banish you from the hive, which may sound bad, but it does give you the freedom, as a changeling to live where you want, as what you want, in any way you want.  Rather much a win-win situation when you think about it"  Chrysalis said with a smile.  "What about you, has Celestia asked you such a question?"  The Changeling asked coyly.

  "Well, thats a rather interesting way of doing things" Cadence replied.  "And no, no she hasn't but i'm absolutely sure she's training me to be the next leading Princess of Equestria, I mean after all you heard the story i'm the only heir, other then Blue-Blood, but he's really rather unimportant, and with auntie Luna locked away in the moon, yep, i'm pretty much a dead ringer!"  Cadence said smiling.

  "Well for your sake and mine, I hope your right young Cadence, and this isn't just a case where your Aunt is doing her best to prevent a second Nightmare Moon situation.  Because it seems to me,you have the same ambitions as Luna had, I would hate to see the same madness that engulfed her do the same to you."  Chrysalis said an evil smile growing upon her face.

"Oh, how dare you!"  Cadence replied.  "Thats it, it is on!"  

"Whats o-?"  Chrysalis attempted to say as a pillow came hurling at her.

"Oh, so thats it, I see, well Princess Cadence, prepare for a thorough flank whooping I my dear am a master of bedroom war!"  The Changeling said as she prepared to launch two pillows at the prissy princess to be.

"FOR EQUESTRIA!!!" Cadence shouted

"FOR THE HIVE!" Chrysalis shouted!

And thus began the short, and very fun,battle of the royal bedroom. Next Chapter: CH3: Last Days Of Youth... Estimated time remaining: 49 Minutes