In recent years Twilight had begun to think of herself as a brave woman. Facing down Nightmare Moon, the god of chaos, ursas and hostile armies alike. She stared them down or, at the very least, held her ground as he faced the horrors in her life. But, once again, she found herself unable to really go forward as she was terrified at what she might find inside of her family’s home.

She wasn’t too worried about her parents, at least not nearly as much as she was worried about Cadence and Shining Armor. They were wronged even more than Celestia that day, the day of the invasion. Twilight couldn’t quite suppress her shiver at thinking about that again, especially with the way they look now…

“Are you alright, Mother?” Nilan asked. Twilight smiled at the young changeling, she had asked the girl to come with her so she wasn’t alone and felt that she could learn something.

“Just a bad memory, is all. Long before you were born, this country was wronged by our people… It’s why so many don’t like us being here. My family was wronged most of all…” Twilight explained, though her smile fell again.

“Well, I think if our people wronged your family… then this is our chance to make it right?” Nilan suggested. That caused Twilight to smile again. Nilan could feel Twilight’s mood raise again, as well as the love directed at her. She couldn’t help but share the smile as Twilight knocked the knocker. It wasn’t long before the door opened to reveal a butler. Twilight didn’t recognize him.

“Did you have an appointment with the Sparkle family… miss…?” The butler asked, expertly hiding his surprise at seeing two changelings at the door. Twilight was suddenly uncomfortable. She had expected someone that knew her to skip past this particular scenario.

“Ah, well… not exactly an appointment. Unless it was revoked, though, I should still have permission to come and go as I please. I used to live here after all.” The queen replied nervously. The Butler seemed confused.

“Well then… Could I please have your name so I may defer to the lord and lady of the estate?” The butler asked politely. Twilight almost facepalmed.

“Right, of course. My name is Twilight Sparkle, tell my mother and father I’ve come home.” She answered. That finally made the butler crack his composure. His dumbfounded look caused Nilan to stifle a giggle. After a moment of shock he just bowed and rushed back inside.

The estate practically shook a few moments later.

“MY DAUGHTER IS AT OUR DOORSTEP AND YOU WON’T LET HER IN?!” The scream could be heard even by the neighbors.

“Oh… I guess mom’s home…” Twilight sighed, that certainly didn’t help her nerves. Nilan couldn’t help but feel for her own mother.

“I-I can wait outside if you’d like.” The changeling eeped. Twilight gave her a look.

“Nonsense, Nilan. I brought you here to learn, to witness and above all else… to be my morale support.” The queen replied with a nervous chuckle. Nilan returned it, though hers was more terrified as the door opened up again to reveal a razzled butler.

“The Lord and the Lady of the house express their deepest apologies, and welcome you home Miss Sparkle.” The butler said, bowing and stepping aside to let them pass. “They assumed you knew the way.” He finished when he did not lead them. Twilight gave him an acknowledging nod and he made himself scarce.

Twilight hesitated at the door to the lounge. Nilan could sense her apprehension even without the hive mind there to bathe her in it. Even other changelings that weren’t in the immediate area couldn’t help but feel it and give what little support the hive mind could transfer. Taking a calming breath, aided by her kin, she pushed the door open. Her father was sitting in his favorite armchair in front of the fireplace while her mother was pacing around him, hands behind her back. There was a stain on the carpet in front of the other chair, signifying that the butler’s announcement had definitely caught the woman by surprise.

They both looked at her when they heard the door, and they both stared. Twilight had no idea what to say, and Nilan was certainly not going to break the silence. They stood like that for what seemed like hours before Twilight finally acted. She took a few cautious steps inside, rubbing an arm to try and calm her nerves to no avail.

“H-Hey, mom and dad… It’s uh… It’s been awhile huh?” She piped out. Nilan had never seen her queen this shaken by nerves before, it made her wonder what was possibly going through the girl’s head.

But she didn’t have to wonder long, Twilight was too distraught to censor what she broadcasted. She was terrified that her parents would be afraid of her, reject her. She was afraid that she’d lose the last of her human family, besides the princesses of course. Neither her parents nor Twilight herself could break the silence, and the tension was almost painful. It was starting to become emotionally painful to feel her queen roiling on the inside. She had to do something.

“Hello, my name is Nilan… I am second in command of Queen Twilight’s personal guard, The Wraiths. It is a pleasure to meet my queen’s human family.” She barely managed to get out without stuttering. That seemed to do the trick.

“Second in command of her guard?” Dusk Sparkle asked, swirling his glass of wine slightly before standing. “The Princesses informed us of your… station, Twilight… I thought the royal guard would be escorting you.” The man continued, though the last part seemed more like genuine curiosity rather than anything with hidden malice.

“The Princesses agreed that I know the place well enough to need a guide, and my personal guard is sufficient for my defense in the capital.” Twilight replied, walking closer to them.

“Your… people... “ Dawn Sparkle said, her tone was unreadable. Twilight stopped to stand right in front of them. She remembered both of them being taller than her last they met in person, but now she had a few inches on even her father.

“My, you’ve grown. I remember last time I saw you walking around the palace, you looked a lot more… human… All of you did… I’m afraid we haven’t been quite informed on the goings-on with all of this, all we know is that there was some sort of famine?” Dusk asked to try and keep the silence at bay. Twilight nodded her head.

“A Love Famine. Though we had more than enough love to go around at first, our hunger steadily rose until we starved. Queen Chrysalis did all she could, but now I have to take her place until I can fix this.” The queen explained. Her parents noticed the ping of sadness in her expression, even with the unfamiliar features.

“Yes, I heard the two of you became quite close… So… what brings you here?” Her father continued, the conversation drying up far too quickly.

“I came here to see you, of course. We haven’t had a chance to sit down and talk since all of this started. I may have a new home now, and quite a large family, but I can’t forget you guys.” Twilight replied, smiling. That finally seemed to make Dawn react. Nilan had to resist her instincts as the flash of movement turned out to be Dawn pulling Twilight in a sudden embrace.

“Oh Twilight… it really is you under there…” She breathed. “I was so worried when you looked like… this… I mean, I know that changelings aren’t those monsters they were at your brother’s wedding but… but I couldn’t help but think back to it.” The woman explained. Twilight just returned the embrace.

“I know it’s strange to see me like this… it’s strange even for us. Well, most of us. Nilan here is only recently born so she knows only this degenerated state…” Twilight said, pulling out of the embrace slightly to look at said changeling. Nilan was distracted, though. She had her eyes closed and was concentrating on the burst of love that filled the room when the two embraced. It was a love she relished, even though it wasn’t for her. The love of a mother is a love like none other.

“Is she quite alright?” Dusk asked. Nilan snapped out of it, shaking her head.

“Ah! My apologies, I kinda zoned out there… I’m happy to see that the love between you is still so strong. It’s almost like mother’s is for us.” The changeling said with a smile.

“Did… did she just call you mother?” Dawn asked, a mixture of curiosity and horror in her tone. Twilight nodded.

“While even by changeling standards I’m not quite their mothers, but they refuse to call me anything but. And I’ve taken to calling them my children, I am their queen after all… It’s far more than just a title.” Twilight replied, knowing exactly what her mother was worried about.

“What exactly… is a queen then? I would assume it’s not exactly like bees for instance, where you just lay eggs all day or… something…” Dusk started to try and turn the conversation away, and obviously failing. Twilight giggled.

“No, Changelings don’t even lay eggs. At least, not in our hive. We can reproduce normally, but the fertilized egg cell is transported into a birthing pod to be fed love and nutrients to grow and mature. When they reach full maturity in the hive mind, they break free of the pod.” Twilight explained.

“We are all connected in the hive mind, I can sense that my youngest team of hunters has just secured their first kill with only minor injuries, my diplomat has just reached Ponyville in the first leg of her trip here, our mess halls are doubling wine production to celebrate our renewed peace treaty, and the rest of my wraiths are taking time to explore the city in human guise to acclimate themselves once more.” She continued. The two humans gawked at hr a little bit.

“And in turn, we can feel the same through our queen, and of our queen as well. She is very nervous about explaining that to you and is worried you’ll think it so alien you’ll push her away.” Nilan continued. Twilight shot her a look at that, which only caused Dusk to chuckle and pull her in closer.

“Twilight, you’re covered in Carapace. If we were so xenophobic we would have turned you away at the door.” He chuckled, washing away most of her worry.

“It is certainly… strange… It will take time getting used to, of course, but I am more than willing to spend that time doing so.” Dawn said slowly. She was obviously taking this harder than her husband, but she finished with a soft but genuine smile. Twilight hugged both of them.

“Princess Celestia said that Cadence and Shining were back from the Crystal Empire, do you know where they are?” Twilight asked after a few moments of soaking in their love.

“They should be arriving here within the hour, I just so happen to have your favorite brand of wine in stock. Would you like a glass dear?” Dusk replied, ending the embrace and walking towards the door.

“That would be amazing right now, thank you.” Twilight replied, nodding her head in thanks. He gave her a thumbs up with a toothy grin and slipped around the door, presumably to the wine cellar. Meanwhile, her mother pulled her over to the sofa and sat her down.

“Now, I can see it even on your.. Carapace… and I’ve heard plenty of stories. I know the one that made you like this, but I see a lot of new ones on you.” Dawn asked. Twilight was confused for a moment before she followed her mother’s gaze towards the scarring on her forearms and a good chunk of her chest and abdomen.

“Oh, little scrapes and cuts. Sometimes when I’m hunting I don’t even notice something went through my carapace, and quite a few of these were when we were healthy. Skin is so much more fragile than carapace, and I don’t walk around all day long with my battle plating up. This last one, though…” She started, idly running a finger along the worst of the scarring. It was where the ursa’s teeth had gone through her forearms and crushed her skin and carapace on both her front and the back.

“That was the last time we were happy. Even though I was seriously hurt, we were all together and the degeneration hadn’t even started. We were stuffed on love. We were hunting an Ursa Minor, but it turned out to be a major and our toxin wasn’t working quick enough. When I think back on it, it was actually really awesome besides the whole me being crunched up part. I was in its mouth, in a shield of course, and it was slowly gnawing through it. Everyone else was hurt and I couldn’t think of anything to do…” She continued and went on to tell the story. Her father joined in for the best part with new glasses of wine for everyone.

Nilan listened closely. She knew this had happened, but she hadn’t even been in a birthing pod yet when it did. It was before the degeneration. She couldn’t help but grin and Twilight told the story, and a few other ones. She had plenty of instinctual knowledge and memory imprints from her queen and siblings, but hearing the stories firsthand was a whole new experience. She even found herself mentally inscribing them into the memory banks, word for word, capturing the whole experience as Twilight told them.

It wasn’t long before there was a knock on the door, and dusk called the newcomers to enter. The room went rather quiet as Shining Armor and Cadence entered. Their smiles dropped to frowns when they saw the two changelings. They both quickly rebuilt their composure. Cadence being the princess of the Crystal Empire and Shining being her prince/ general meant they had to keep up appearances regularly. They knew that changelings weren’t the enemy anymore, but old wounds still ached.

“It’s so good to see both of you again!” Twilight exclaimed happily, standing. It took a good deal of self control not to run over and hug them for fear of their reactions, but she instinctively tried to feed them her love to show them she meant it. It was for naught, of course. At least that’s what Nilan thought. Cadence blinked a few times before a small smile replaced her frown.

“Twilight…” She said softly, carefully opening her arms. Twilight barely needed the implication to register before she was in her old babysitter’s embrace. Cadence twitched again, and Nilan realized that the woman was absorbing some of the love. An almost imperceivable amount, but Nilan noticed it. Worry quickly filled the young lieutenant as she tried to inconspicuously scan and disable any changeling magic on the woman. She found none, and Twilight had noticed. There was no outward reaction, but Nilan could feel the question. She urged twilight to notice what she did, and Twilight did her own scans as well.

“Cadence… why are you feeding off of love?” She asked as the silence became awkward. Everyone gave her a stunned look.

“I-I don’t know… I uh… I felt you guys scanning me… I had hoped you figured it out…” The woman replied softly.

“Wait… what? You’re not…” Shining started, but quickly stopped. He shook the thought of Cadence not being the real cadence from his mind almost immediately. “No, nevermind. Is this something… bad?” He continued to his little sister. Twilight shook her head.

“It appears to be ambient, almost like the harvesters. You’re not a harvester though. Maybe some changeling magic latched onto you during the invasion and unintentionally taught your body to recognize and absorb love…” The queen thought out loud before quickly shaking her head.

“Let’s not get into that right now… All that matters right now is that we’re all together again. I want to spend the day with you, all of you, catch up. Have dinner at the dinner table and everything, it’s been years since we’ve been a proper family.” Twilight said with a bit of determination. Dusk chuckled and put a hand on her shoulder.

“I’d like nothing better.” The man said.

“Same here. Besides, you’ve gotta have some good stories if you’ve got more scars than I do now.” Shining said, lightly punching his sister on the shoulder. Twilight snorted. She’ll happily tell them again.

Author's Notes:

A little on the short side but any more would have been mindless filler.
Enjoy.