Chrysalis stood directly under the nozzle and the water cascaded over her carapace, plastered her mane to her skull, her neck, whistled through the holes in her shell with the exception of her foreleg. She picked up the soap in her magic. It wavered in the air until she gave up and hurled it against the wall. It slid down to the floor and she grumbled as she picked it up in her hoof, sliding it over her stomach and front legs.

She balanced herself on her back legs to scrub her lower body. Her wings flapped in the water, splashing droplets against the shower curtain. The bandages wrapped around her thorax peeled away from the force of the heated waters bearing down on them. A white hot flash of pain drove her down to her knees and blood gushed from the re-opened wound.

The bathroom door clattered open and the nurse charged inside, tossing the shower curtain and yanking Chrysalis up in her aura which dried off her body upon contact with the mystical energy. "What do you think you're doing?! Heat makes wounds open right back up!" She winced and cut off the flow. Steam had completely filled the room. Beads of sweat coursed down the nurse's forehead. "Why is it so damned hot in here?"

She grumbled and carried Chrysalis out of the room, laying her on the bed. "You stay right here or I will have the guards shackle you to the bed."

Chrysalis bared her fangs.

"Don't you dare, Little Missy. I swear, the foals in pediatrics have more sense." She snatched up new bandages, pulling away the water logged ones. "I'd have given you a sponge bath if you'd asked for one."

Chrysalis didn't respond, only letting her wrap fresh bandages around the deep gash in her side. "Why do you care?"

"You are my patient."

"Duty, then."

"Duty, yes." She paused. "No. More than duty. I always wanted to be a doctor." She motioned to her Cutie Mark, a red heart. "I always wanted to care for others."

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. "Do you care for me then?"

"I don't know you that well, Your Majesty. But, in an abstract sense?" She tightened the bandages. "Sure I do."

"Why? I am an enemy of your nation. If any of my Changelings gave aid to even an injured enemy...they never would though. The thought would not occur to them." She relaxed onto the bed. "You called me by my title."

The nurse shrugged. "I try to honor reasonable requests. You are a queen."

Broken and battered, but yes, I am a queen. She sat up a little straighter. "If you gave me a little love, I would heal faster."

The nurse stared at her hard. "Really? Well, it is how you eat and food helps you heal. Would it hurt me?"

"You'd feel a little sluggish afterwards."

"I'm a nurse. I always feel a little sluggish. My name is Kind Soul, by the way."

"A pleasure, Miss Soul."

The nurse lit up her horn and ran a scan, blue light tickling her carapace. "I want you to take it easy, alright?"

"Very well." She rested her head back on the pillow.

"So, if you were to take my love how would you do it?"

"Come closer."

The nurse inched forward and Chrysalis tapped her horn with her own, reached out with tendrils of her magic. Her own horn glowed and the glow enveloped the nurse's horn. Chrysalis at first used her magic to seize the stores of love, trying to feast upon memories-such rich memories!-a first date with a black stallion, a kiss, holding a small, white foal with a black mane, memories of love flowing into her and she suddenly snapped away, panting.

The nurse touched her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"T-too much. That was too much. I...I think that's enough for now."

Kind Soul glanced out the door. "I need to tend to some other patients. Is there anything else you need?"

"Perhaps some tea? Mint, if you have it."

"Of course." The nurse trotted out of the room. Chrysalis glanced out the window then turned away from the sound of a knock on the door. "Come in." She had a feeling she knew who it was.

And she was right. Celestia strode inside. Chrysalis snorted. "Your wife is going to get jealous."

Celestia pulled up a chair and placed a table between them. "She suggested this actually. We're leaving for our honeymoon soon and she thought that I should see you before we leave. I happened to agree."

The nurse shuffled inside and bowed at the sight of Celestia. Celestia slid the tray from her back and laid it on the table. "Thank you, Nurse."

The nurse bowed once more. "Your Highness, Your Majesty." She ducked back out of the room.

Chrysalis smirked. "She called me Your Majesty."

"She addressed me first." Celestia floated up a white teacup and poured from the rose decorated pot, offering a cup to Chrysalis before pouring one for herself. Chrysalis sipped the drink.

Celestia placed the cup back onto the tray. "Have you given any more thought to my offer?"

Chrysalis closed her eyes, sighed. "I am full."

"What?"

"I was hungry for one-thousand years. Now, I am full. I don't know how long that'll last. It may overtake me again, that great hunger. Can you imagine what it feels like, Celestia?" She stood up off the bed and faced her peer. "The great gnawing, never to be satisfied, which can only be satisfied from the love you must take from others?" Her laugh was a bitter, hollow thing.

"No, Chrysalis. I can't understand. But I think I can give you a way out."

Chrysalis turned her back. "They will see it as capitulation. Cowardice."

Celestia came to stand beside her. "It is not cowardice. It is merely an exchange of services. Trade. I've always said it was the road to peace."

Chrysalis snarled. "Are you truly that...that...ugh!" She spun around, horn lowered at Celestia's throat. "Babbling idealistic, insipid claptrap about trade and peace. Why don't you just stand up on your damned pedestal and lecture me all day?"

Celestia tried not to change her expression. "Lecturing you was not my intent. I really believe in those ideals."

Chrysalis rubbed her forehead. "How is that possible?"

"How is what possible?"

Chrysalis snatched up her teacup and chugged it like she wished it was something stronger. "How can you live as long as you have and still cling to those beliefs? Act as if words like justice or peace have any meaning at all?"

"Because I have to. And if I didn't, I'd have broken long ago." She gestured to Chrysalis's whole foreleg. "It seems your cynicism was not serving you as well as you thought."

Chrysalis's gaze was drawn to her foreleg. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but then closed it again. Celestia inched forwards as if she were approaching a dangerous animal. Chrysalis stood back. "I need to bathe."

Celestia stopped. "Your mane is still wet. Didn't you just leave the bath?"

"The water was too hot and re-opened my wounds. Took a cool bath yesterday, I enjoy them sometimes. If I bathe in cool water, that should work. I need to wash." Her voice trembled. "I need to think. Too much going on."

"Alright. I'll leave the tea for you."

"Do as you like!"

Celestia didn't flinch at the upraised shout. "Good-bye Chrysalis. I'll visit you again this evening."

"Very well."

Chrysalis marched towards the bathroom and slammed open the door. The floor lifted up against her knees and she stifled the shout of pain. The proud queen of the Changelings, the mother of a race, did not cry out in pain.

She pressed her hooves onto the ground, lifted up and trudged to the bath, slamming open the curtains. She ripped her bandages off. The ugly slashes hadn't yet had time to heal properly, leaving a network of scar tissue on her carapace. She didn't want to disturb them.

But she needed to feel cleansing water over her body.

She turned on the nozzle and torrents of water blazed from the device. She winced at how cold it was and quickly transformed, not caring very much over what form she'd chosen. Glancing in the mirror, she saw that same sky blue Flutterpony from yesterday, green mane flowing over her withers.

She had been beautiful once.

She had been whole once.

Three fillies, when Equestria was young, prancing through the meadows of their homeland. When the world had been full of monsters to slay and a very young Celestia had binded her up.

"Chryssy, what were you thinking?"

"I was trying to protect you from that goblin!"

There were other times, peaceful times. A raft sailing down a river in a forest that was now a city, Celestia with her spyglass, Luna with her cutlass and Chrysalis with the map.

Chrysalis rubbed her head. The memories had always been there, but now they were flooding her mind just like the waters in the shower were covering her body.

Her knees trembled, but she did not fall. She stood straighter, raising her head and lifting her face into the freezing waters. Water enveloped her and soaked deep into her fur, deep into the chitin beneath.

The current rained down on her and she let it. She stood there, shivering overtaking her limbs. The memories kept flooding her mind, despite her attempts to block them out. She snatched up the soap and changed back to her base form. The water struck her wounds and a hiss escaped her parted lips.

She scrubbed the wounds, scrubbed her carapace, her back while struggling up on her sore back legs. Her muscles screamed at her, but she ignored them, lathering up until her entire body was covered in white lather. Bubbles floated, surrounded her hooves, carried into the air by invisible air currents.

The streaming current carried away the soap and it pooled to the bottom till she was surrounded by foam. She grit her teeth against the pain and memories.

She grabbed up a bottle of shampoo and squeezed it into her mane before setting it aside and scrubbing it into her scalp.

There was one solution. Sighing, she opened her mind and thousands of voices filtered into her consciousness. There was some crying, some laughing, some Changelings drinking with companions, others eating the slime they used in lieu of love, a few fighting, others celebrating personal milestones. Thousands of individual lives within the common life of the Hive. All greeted her when she opened her mind.

In an instant, she revealed what was in her thoughts. The next second, the chaotic chittering assaulted her awareness. While she'd been members of two species with hive minds, this still caught her off guard. Blind, roiling panic surged through the Hive. Insults and disordered shouting rang off the rocky halls as the Changelings debated the very future of their race, suddenly placed into their hooves.

My Changelings! My Changelings! Cease this at once!

The silence was immediate, but murmuring voices broke through. Factions developed and broke off. While the quietness reigned for a few moments, whispers broke out. She listened.

No surrender. This chant was taken up by a number of the soldier class, then the other classes till it was an overpowering roar.

No, not surrender. We shall have much. No more starving. Whoever said this was drowned out by the cacophony of clashing shouts, a storm of thoughts each vying to be heard. No surrender, no starving. The two concepts drove the Hive apart till there wasn't a Changeling who wasn't taking part in shouting at one of his fellows.

Chrysalis reached out. Some were missing. Her heart sped up. My Changelings... She didn't ask the question she didn't want to know the answer too.

Tears welled up in her eyes, spilled down her face.

You weep, My Queen?

In their language that was a question implying ability.

They hadn't even known she could cry.

She hadn't known either.

Then, the mighty Empress of One-Hundred Nations, the Mother and Queen of the Changelings, dropped to her knees and wept.

...
Celestia settled onto her throne,Raven at the side of the seat with her notebook and quill. "So, who's on the schedule for today?"

The doors opened up with a clatter, Chrysalis striding inside. She was limping, wincing every few minutes as she made her way up to the dais. Crimson blood seeped into her bandages, hastily applied once again by the long suffering nurse. She bit her lips, her legs shaking, but she did not falter until she reached the throne and managed to disguise her near collapse as a bow.

She rose quickly, biting her lips as her legs quivered. Celestia jumped from the throne and propped her up with her wing. "I understand you wanted to speak with me, but you mustn't risk your health! How did you manage to get in here?"

"Teleport." The queen rubbed the area just beneath her horn.

Raven slid a chair into the room. Chrysalis only nodded and sat down.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "You could say thank you."

"I don't thank servants."

Raven shot her a glare.

"Raven here is not just a servant." Celestia settled down into her throne. "She is my Right Hoof."

"Your regent?"

"Yes she is. I would appreciate it if you spoke to her with respect."

Raven hid her beaming expression with her clipboard. Chrysalis glanced at her. "Thank you for the chair."

"Your welcome." Raven took her usual place. "Do you bring a petition?"

Chrysalis grit her teeth.

"She is merely asking a question." Celestia stood and sat directly across from Chrysalis.

Chrysalis tried to stand to face her, found that she could not. "I have given more thought to your proposal."

"And?"

Chrysalis released a long, heavy sigh and knelt her head. "I don't see that I have another choice. I have been going down the wrong path for centuries." Her voice choked. "I see that now." Tears glimmered in her eyes. "It will be hard to convince them to take a new path. Hard to undo the damage that I have done."

Celestia reached over and took Chrysalis's hoof in her own. "As I said before, I will be by your side."

Chrysalis squeezed her hoof. "They're suffering. Starving. And I've found a new way to feed them so let's get down to business."

"Do you need to return to them?"

Chrysalis tapped the side of her head. "I'm connected to them. I can guide them if they need it."

"If a crisis strikes, I'm willing to forget the ransom."

Chrysalis leaned back in the chair, nodded. "If it comes to that...part of me wonders if you're insistence on a ransom comes from wanting me here."

"Am I so transparent?"

"As you seem so keen on reminding me, there was a time I counted you a friend."

Celestia frowned. "Could it ever be that way again?"

Chrysalis drummed her hoof on the chair. "Perhaps, we should discuss other things."

...
Twilight and Celestia were completely surrounded by leafy branches. Wild wisteria curved in an arc of purple blossoms from tangled green vines on either side of them. Spike darted ahead onto the soggy ground, occasionally running back to them when he thought he'd gotten too far away.

The clang of hammers and the grunts of workstallions sounded closer as they trotted towards a clearing. Grey spires and rounded towers rose above the treetops like spears holding up the Heavens. They trotted into the clearing and stopped to gaze at the ancient city coming back to life. Unicorns and Pegasii carried heavy stones and other building materials. Earth Ponies collected the heavy loads and set to work piling them atop each other.

The smell of paint stung their nostrils. Painters of all the tribes busied themselves covering many of the buildings in splashes of blue and gold. Tall, stately trees, moss falling down their branches, still ringed the young yet old settlement.

Twilight scratched the bare earth, kicking away a stone that had gotten into her frog during the journey. "So, how are you and Chrysalis?"

"Surprisingly, very well. There's still some tension, but after a week we've drawn up a satisfactory plan." She started to trot onto a paved road that suddenly stopped a few feet away. "She's still at the castle, but in a state of deep meditation in communion with the hive mind attempting to reteach them."

"I hope everything turns out okay."

"It will. Thanks to you."

Twilight blushed slightly. "Things still could have turned out badly."

Celestia nuzzled her. "But they didn't. And I'm happy they didn't. In fact," She bent low to whisper into Twilight's ear. "When we get to the nearest bedchamber I'm going to show you just how pleased I am with you, my faithful pet."

Twilight shivered and rubbed her cheek against Celestia's warm coat. "Looking forward to it."

"Yep. I already renovated a bedchamber and when I get you up there I'm going to take you in my lap and...read to you from this extremely rare book of poems I found."

Twilight paused, shrugged. "Still looking forward to it."

"I am as well. Haven't read through this one yet."

"Where'd you find it?"

"In a vault beneath the castle which the forestallion discovered."

Twilight bounced ahead. "Can we explore the castle first? I wonder what other kinds of historical artifacts we could find."

"Certainly." Celestia cantered after her. Twilight, suddenly feeling mischievous, darted into the air and rocketed towards the heart of the city, signalling her desire to be chased with a wiggle of her hips. Celestia took off after her in a blur. Twilight ascended into the air while Spike ran beneath them. Celestia's wing grazed her side and Twilight giggled, curving away from the ticklish appendage.

Celestia smirked. "You're it."

Twilight raced towards her and Celestia zigzagged over the tops of the trees. Noticing the young drake's distress, the younger Alicorn shot downward and Spike clambered onto her back. Celestia had paused in their chase, but the second Twilight went back into the air, Celestia took off like a magic blast. Twilight grinned and propelled herself forward, shouting in glee at the still strange and exhilarating feeling of the wind pushing her wings forward.

A stray gust of wind knocked her to the side. With a hard flap of her left wing she righted herself. A second gust, as strong as the first, pummeled her flank. Celestia looked back and saw her wife being tossed and turned, spinning like a top. Twilight screamed, the wind throwing her towards a tree.

Celestia zoomed forward and caught her in a feathery embrace. Twilight relaxed into the hold and lifted up to nuzzle Celestia's chin. Celestia held her close and they glided onward. Trees down below passed them by in a solid carpet of green though a few had been touched by the flames of encroaching autumn. Maples blazed in fires of red and gold. Twilight squirmed slightly. Spike scrambled up onto Celestia's back and soon Twilight climbed up to join him, flapping her wings to give her leverage. She wrapped her forelegs around Celestia's neck.

"Comfortable back there?"

Twilight answered by resting her head on Celestia's mane. The rainbow strands brushed against the fur of her chin. "I am."

The towers peaked through the tops of the surrounding woods. The late afternoon sun shone onto the rounded points, painting them a deep orange. They landed before the castle. The two parts of the city had been separated over the centuries by many groves, but cutting them down would disturb many animal species so the architects were trying to incorporate them into the city's new design.

Twilight dismounted from Celestia's back. The builders bowed before them as they trailed over the new, alabaster road and entered the castle. Shattered windows had been replaced and clear glass filled the niches. Celestia frowned. "We're going to change that out for the stained glass in Canterlot Castle, but it works for now."

"You love stained glass don't you? I'll keep that in mind for an anniversary present."

Celestia rubbed her necklace. "Well, I certainly liked the last gift you got for me. Just don't get a lost piece of stained glass from a chimera."

Twilight snorted. Pillars of sunlight bursting in through the windows lit their path. The cracks in the stone were gone, replaced by fresher blocks cut from new quarries. Celestia just stood in the center of the room. Twilight reached for her hoof and squeezed it.

"It's been a long time since I've been here. They've done a good job." Celestia trekked forward, Twilight and Spike following. "Last time I was here, it was the sight of a battle."

A long crack spiraled along a brick. "I see those signs are not entirely erased. No, that's from Luna's more recent battle with Tirek, I suppose."

Twilight looked around. "What happened to the tapestries?"

"They're being restored."

"Good. I like them."

"They are rather fetching. I need to have one made with your Cutie Mark since that will be your royal seal."

Twilight blushed and Celestia draped a cloak of her feathers over her back. "Come now, this is your castle too."

The bashful expression on Twilight's face was replaced with a dopey grin. "This is my home now. Our home."

"That's right." Celestia drew her forward, paused at the doors to the throne room, then they trotted past it. Twilight looked back, but Celestia only shook her head. "I have too many bad memories there. I think I'll have it completely renovated."

"We can make some good memories there."

Celestia chuckled. "That was cheesy."

"I learned from the best."

Both of them burst into giggles and collapsed into each other, laughing so hard they had to hold each other up with their wings. Even Spike giggled. Celestia stopped and held up Twilight's forelegs. "But, yes, we will make good memories there. We will make good memories everywhere in this castle."

Their lips met in a kiss, lingered for a few seconds before Spike made a sound of disgust. "Come on you two, can't you keep your hooves off of each other?"

They rolled their eyes and Celestia shot a stray burst of magic that tickled Spike's belly. The helpless dragon squirmed and laughed.

Twilight pranced ahead. "So, how many rooms are in this castle?"

Celestia strode up to her. "I'm not sure. It's been a long time since I've really explored here."

Twilight hopped onto a stairway. "Then let's go exploring."

Celestia followed her up the stairs. A hallway expanded out before them, stone doors lining the cracked walls. Stallions wearing hard hats wandered along the space, trying to seal up the cracks. They acknowledged Celestia and went back to their work. Twilight pressed a hoof to one of the doors and tried to push it open. Celestia offered her help, sliding the door open with a push of her magic.

Milky white sunlight filtered through dusty windows. Dust covered every inch of the room. Spike sneezed and an explosion of dust burst up from the floors. What may have been a bed one-thousand years ago laid in a heal of wood and fabric on the floor.

Tapestries with incomprehensible, brightly colored symbols hung from the walls. Twilight trailed across the room and touched one of them. A firebird, muted by the slow deterioration of centuries, was emblazoned on a blue background.

"This was the quarters of one of the Nobles who lived here." Celestia came to stand next to her. "The crest of the Sunhearts."

"Who?"

"That's the way it is, isn't it? They are gone, the last of their line died out two-hundred years ago."

"I bet Rarity could restore it. It looks like it was beautiful."

"It was. We could have them all restored, hang them in the main hall." Her ears perked up. "Hmm, come to think of it, if memory serves..." She started to mutter to herself, bounding out and trotting at a quick pace down the hall. Twilight and Spike could barely keep up.

She slammed open a door. The room stank of rot and decay. The remnants of benches had decayed long ago into stumps, but it was clear that they had, in happier days, ringed a stage. Celestia smiled and floated onto the platform. "Could it be?" She levitated a rusted piece of iron from behind a moth eaten curtain. "No way. The stage props are all still here."

Twilight walked between the benches, each clop of her hoof like a drumbeat in this silent place. She hopped onto the stage. "The castle had a theater?"

"Then as now, theater was a popular art." She stabbed the air with what had once been a blunt sword. "I even wrote a few plays-anonymously of course so I could get honest feedback."

Twilight's eyes widened. "You wrote? I had no idea! You have to show them to me!"

"You've already read them."

Twilight bounced on her hooves then jumped up as the termite-eaten wood collapsed beneath her. "Which ones?"

"Guess."

Twilight thought for a few moments. "The Two Sisters?"

"Yep. It was autobiographical."

Twilight cocked her head. "How about The Tale of Lone Flower?"

"I was in a...somber mood. How did you know?"

"Scholars have thought those two works have had the same author for centuries. Those two and Little Mares."

"Yep. I decided to write a comedy."

"One of my favorites."

Celestia swung the blade a few times. "I patronized the arts once. After the loss of Luna and the civil war, more work fell on my head. Ruling became more about politics, less time to patronize-and I quote-'useless arts projects.'" She growled. "Perhaps it's time to get back to that."

Twilight's magic searched through the props behind the curtain, pulling out a second former prop sword. She clanged it lightly against Celestia. "So, I have found thee. Didst thou thinketh that thee could hide?"

Celestia stepped back, positioning the blade like a scorpion about to sting. "Dost thou believeth that thee could strike me down? Twas I who slew your father, that mighty warrior of great note."

"And for that, thou shalt die!" She lunged.

Celestia playfully swatted aside the blade. "Even for that age the dialogue was overwrought."

"I loved it! Our modern plays lack that zest!"

They clashed their swords again and again.

"You have a point there." She sidestepped Twilight and pulled her into a cuddle with her wing. "All in all, I think I wrote some good ones in the day. If I ever write again, you'll be the first to know."

Twilight pressed her face into her chest fluff. "The evil duchess and the humble village girl put aside their differences and make furious love. Exit."

Celestia kissed her mane. "Interesting alternative ending. I think I like it."

Twilight looked up. "Hey, where's Spike?"

Celestia looked around. "I know he followed you inside."

A little groan echoed from below them. Twilight scrambled off the stage, Celestia close behind. Spike lay on his back, clutching his belly. Twilight scooped him up in her magic and held him to her chest. "Spike? What's wrong?"

Spike nestled into Twilight's embrace. "I ate some gems. I don't feel good." He groaned again.

"Gems?" Celestia's golden glow lifted up some half eaten jewels. "Oh, dear. I can't believe the enchantment is still active."

Twilight levitated him up and cast a simple diagnostic spell on him. The magic floated over him. "You'll be fine. Just an upset stomach." She settled him onto her back. "Those weren't gems were they?"

Celestia shook her head. "Costume jewelry, enchanted to look like the real thing. Let's get him up to bed."

"Where's our bedroom?"

Celestia headed for the door and Twilight trotted after her.

...
Twilight stepped through the door of the bedroom after Celestia opened it. A gasp escaped her lips. One would not have thought that the preceding centuries had touched this room. Not a speck of dust could be found. The walls were decorated with oval picture frames. In each frame was a picture they had taken together. One was from the time Celestia had visited Ponyville, others from Mustangia, pictures where they were kissing or embracing, a picture of their wedding day.

A high bookshelf held many of their favorite volumes and a stand was next to the luxurious bed, just as large as its counterpart in Canterlot, a red blanket draped over the mattress. Pink lace draped from the four corners of the canopy. Spike's basket was at the foot of the bed-Draconic instincts making it more comfortable for him to bundle up in a dark, confined space. The moment he saw the basket, that's exactly what he did.

Twilight and Celestia both laid a kiss on his head and then curled up side-by-side on the bed. "What a beautiful room."

"I fixed it up myself."

Twilight rested against her side. "You did a great job."

Spike squirmed. Twilight lifted him up and laid him down, rubbing his belly.

He frowned in protest. "I'm fine."

"You are not." She rubbed his stomach and then focused. Healing energy, in the same shade as her normal magic enveloped him. "There. You'll feel better in a few minutes."

He smiled despite himself and let her place him back in his basket. Twilight leaned back against her."Tomorrow, we'll sign the paperwork. Should've done it years ago."

"He'll be our son in truth then." A smile graced her features. "And we'll be a family." She tugged her close with her wing.

Twilight pressed her head on Celestia's shoulder and she leaned onto her back, pulling the smaller Alicorn into her lap.

"I believe I was promised a new book."

"And so you shall have."

She brought over a book from the shelf and floated it before them. Flakes dropped from the leather binding, but Twilight could sense the faint hum of a binding spell.

Celestia cleared her throat, opened the book and began to sing.

"This is no ending,
Beloved Flower,
not evening,
but dawn,
though
our courtship has long been over,
you still ignite in me
the passion I felt
when first ignited in my breast
the pangs of love for you.
Now I bring you into
the house of my fathers,
the house of my mothers,
and many more moments
shall we share
as we go throughout every season,
every season of the heart."

Author's Notes:

Fin