Having canceled the project this one was leading up to, I decided to still keep this one but turn it into a more casual slice of life story. Some stuff from the project may be referenced in later stories but for the most part, this one will be updated and edited pretty much whenever the hell I feel like it, whenever I have an idea I want to do. All I can say is that it won't just center around Vigour and Valour or the treaty anymore.

As expected, the treaty hearing was a success. The two nations were officially allies and on their way to becoming friends. While there are still some individuals who are apprehensive, arguing over the issue wouldbe pointless.

While our kingdom's conditions began to improved, it wasn't long before Changeling citizens immigrated to Equestria, probably for fresh starts, maybe for a job exchange, maybe for a simple change of scenery. Regardless of the reason, the rulers of both nations were at least pleased to see their subjects eager to socialize with each other. Among those immigrating were a few of my men, most of which had families who wanted to see the world outside their country. Many of them applied for a transfer to Equestria and aside from a few, they were granted. Seeing as how I knew them personally, I felt an obligation to accompany them on the airship as they relocate; even though I am their boss, that doesn't mean I don't associate with them every once in awhile.

"Your majesty? What are you doing here?" Valour inquired.

"Really Valour, what kind of queen would I be if I didn't attend the first migration of my subjects?" the queen responded with a smirk.

"I see. My apologies my queen-"

"Valour please. You, my brother, and I have all been friends for a long time. I think we can drop the formalities. At least when we are not working."

"With all due respect-"

"I insist. Just address me by my name. My brother would prefer the same."

"Alright then Chrysalis. I just didn't expect you to be present here, let alone traveling with us."

"Well in all honesty, I haven't been a very good queen lately." Chrysalis said with a sigh. "Ever since the infamous invasion plan failed, I was ashamed of myself to the point where I'd been neglecting my duties. I'm lucky I had you and Vigour to run things in my absence because the kingdom would be far worse off. I simply want to make up for those 3 years of neglect, starting with this."

The captain nodded and went back to inspecting the boarding onto the airship. Chrysalis went aboard herself to mingle among the occupants. Taking some cues from Celestia, she wanted to pursue a more casual relationship with a few of her subjects. Some were still kind of intimidated being around royalty though. She attempted to strike conversations with them trying to get them to address her by her name and not title, but to no avail. Growing tired of it, she decided to just watch the scenery in a secluded part of the ship. She closed her eyes began to reminisce about her youth as she gazed into the sunset.

"Excuse me your majesty." a voice said beside her.

The queen looked to see the source of the voice. It was Kuwagata who was accompanying her husband for the 2 day voyage. The two knew each other mutually through their relatives but hardly talked to each other.

"Oh uh, hello Lady Kuwagata. I'm surprised to see you here." Chrysalis responded not knowing what else to say.

"Valour promised he would take me around Equestria to sight see. It's our anniversary soon and I've been missing him." she said with a blush. "I have a surprise I want to tell him too but I want to wait until the right time."

"Oh? Do you mind if I ask?"

"Actually, I want him to be the first to know. With all due respect your majesty."

"Just call me Chrysalis hon." the queen smiled. "Your my best friend's wife."

The two watched the sunset, waiting for the ship to set sail. The voyage was setting off during the evening, for no particular reason other than the passengers preferring to operate at night. Chrysalis didn't mind. She loved the night air and the dusk that came before it. While she was content, she couldn't shake a thought at the back of her mind. Her companion had taken notice.

"Um, Chrysalis? Is something bothering you?" Kuwagata asked with concern.

"Hm? Yeah. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well your tearing up dear."

The queen didn't know she was starting to cry. She quickly wiped away the tear. "My eyes must be dry or something. I'm okay." she said with an unconvincing smile.

There was some silence between the two for a bit before Chrysalis dropped her smile.

"I'm not fooling anyone am I? To tell you the truth, I'm not alright. I'm been dealing with some depression for a long time. Today is the day my father, King Yellow Jacket, died."

"Oh dear. I'm so sorry." Kuwagata said feeling guilty for prying.

"It's okay. I appreciate your concern." She rested her head on her hoof on the railing. "I loved him a lot. I would always spend time with him while my brother had mother's attention. We would watch the sunset every day before I went to sleep." She then frowned and sighed. "Then that day came..."

"I was standing beside my father welcoming guests for a social gathering held annually to commemorate the founding of our nation; kind of the equivalent of the Grand Galloping Gala that Equestria has. I was 13 at the time, a young princess adored her loving father. He said I should have been trying to make new friends at the party but there were no other Changelings there my age that really interested me. Besides, I was not one for socializing at the time. I wanted to be by his side, where I'd rather be. However, one of the guests tried to assassinate him. Some punk trying to get famous or something, I don't know what was going through his head. He used a dagger and stabbed him twenty-nine times. The guy was arrested but there was nothing we could do to save my father. He lost too much blood and died before he got to the hospital."

"My god. That must have been horrible." the younger mare said with a shudder.

"Horrible doesn't even describe it. The assassin was cocky and arrogant. He practically taunted me as I saw him in court. Heartless bastard, killing a husband and father just to make a name for himself. Of course, he was convicted of first degree murder, regicide, and treason and sentenced to death. I thought he got off too easily though so I decided that if he was going to be executed, he was going to die in the most extreme agony known to equine kind." she said gritting her teeth.

"Do....Do I dare ask your Maj- I mean Chrysalis?"

"Let's just say that since he killed my father through overkill, I did the same to him. If that miserable pissant son of a bitch was so willing to spill blood, surely he was ready to suffer the same."

"Ugh, curse my curiosity."

"Heh, okay. But just remember, you asked."

She began to go into colorful detail about what she did. First she had some carpenter nails hammered into him, one for each time he stabbed her father, only placed in less lethal areas so he wouldn't die so quickly. They were held over hot coals before they were hammered in to make it hurt more. When that was done, she took matters into her own hooves. She then used his very own dagger to torture him. First by slashing at his wings and slicing more holes into them, eventually ripping them out of his back. Then she hacked away at his horn with the intention of sawing it off, nicking his face up something awful and slashing one of his eyes in the process. Then she just let my fury go as she stabbed him endlessly. The guards were too terrified by this act of violence to tell her to stop, so she just kept on. By the end of the day, she had stabbed him well over 100 times. Needless to say, he was deader than dead.

"Yikes! I'm sorry I asked." Kuwagata said creeped out.

"I'm sorry. I got a bit carried away with that." She looked away. "I'm not sorry for what I did to him though. I know father told to love and tolerate but... Some men deserve what they get. And him? He didn't think a young princess was capable of such brutality so I had to show him that even some flowers have thorns." The queen started shaking her head. "What bothers me is that I could've prevented father's death. I was right there with him. But instead, I just stood there petrified with fear. And then I viciously murdered that punk. It felt good at the time but now.... I just feel so dirty."

"For what its worth, I think he got what he deserved." Kuwagata said trying to comfort her queen.

"Thank you dear. From that point on, everything fell apart. The invasion incident was only the most recent in a long line of blunders. After father died, mother stepped up to rule but she too fell from illness. I love my brother but I cursed being the older sibling as I had to step up in mother's place. I tried my best to manage the country but I was crippled with emotional scars that just wouldn't go away. I didn't really seek therapy at the time because I didn't feel like I had the time. But what disappoints me most is that my father is out there somewhere. Watching me." She drooped her head in shame.

Kuwagata hugged the queen, who promptly returned it. "Thanks for listening dear. I feel much better."

"Sometimes, you just have to talk about your scars before they can heal."

After an half hour delay, the vessel finally set sail for Equestria. Valour, legs stiff from standing for so long, stretched as he walked aboard the ship. The passengers were still up and about but he just wanted to sleep off an achy days work. He walked back to his cabin and removed his uniform. Kuwagata was already in bed so he carefully crawled under the covers.

"What took so long handsome?" she said nuzzling him.

"I didn't know you were awake. Did you fair okay while waiting for me?"

"I talked to the queen for awhile. She told me about a part in her life she wasn't particularly proud of. And her father."

"The assassination of her father I take it? I remember that. I was already enlisting by the time that happened. Ugh, so much senseless bloodshed."

"I didn't know she killed someone at such a young age."

"I don't blame her for what she did to him, I would have done the same thing if somepony did that, but how relentless she was doing it. Had a hard time keeping my lunch down after seeing the corpse."

The couple curled up for the night, Kuwagata content to sleep next to her love for a change. Though she had something she wanted to tell him, she felt it wasn't the right time yet. He was tired and she wasn't in the mood, she just snuggled in his hooves and enjoyed being with her stallion, closing her eyes before long.