“Chryssi, wake up.” Jay said softly, nudging the sleeping Queen softly to awaken her. When she merely groaned and pulled the covers tighter around her, he just grinned at her and straightened his back. Sunlight streamed into the room through the windows, bringing light to the otherwise dark room. Even the brightness of Celestia’s sun wasn’t enough to awaken the Changeling, so Jay figured he would make breakfast while he waited for her to wake up and told her the news.

Exiting the room and walking down the hallway, Jay made his way to the kitchen and began cooking breakfast. It was going to be a simple affair, just a large stack of chocolate chip pancakes for her with a cup of liquid love that he would produce for her. Grabbing a skillet from one of the cupboards, he put a bit of butter on it before placing it on the stove and turning the heat up. While that melted, he grabbed some batter, the chocolate chips, and a spatula from around the kitchen as he thought.

The night before, he had been greeted by Luna in his dreams. After relaxing with her on a beach for a while, he brought up something he had been wondering about. He wanted Chrysalis to go visit both Princesses for the day and spend time with them, something Luna had readily agreed to. She, naturally, asked what he planned to do. Jay had told her he would spend some time in the Everfree to prepare for their departure and fight with the caster.

Placing batter into the skillet, the sound and smell of it cooking filled the kitchen as he thought. I’ll need to get quite a few corpses from the Everfree. I want at least two dozen Warpers to go with us when we leave. It’ll take me a day to encase them in the pods and let the Warpers grow from the corpses, so I’ll have to get them later today and they’ll be ready the day after tomorrow.

Fifteen minutes later, he heard a thud coming from his and Chrysalis’ bedroom. His powerful hearing picked up the sound of Chrysalis cursing from down the hallway and the shifting of fabric as she wrestled with the bedsheets. Then he heard their door open as she started walking down the hall, still grumbling to herself. A moment later, she walked into the kitchen and Jay glanced back, seeing her with an irritated look on her face even as her muzzle smiled lightly at the sight of him.

“Breakfast?” Chrysalis asked quietly, a long yawn falling soon after.

“Chocolate pancakes and liquid love.” Jay told her.

“You spoil me.” The chitinous mare said, her smile growing wider as she took a seat at the table. A moment later, Jay grabbed a plate of pancakes and set it on the table, placing a cup of liquid love beside her. Seeing Jay return to the oven, she spoke again. “I’ll wait for you before I eat.”

“You don’t have to do that.” Jay replied. “I know you’re hungry.”

“How do you know that?” Chrysalis asked curiously. She was pretty sure she knew but wanted to make sure.

“The same way I know you almost lost a fight with the bedsheets.” Came the reply. Considering the silence coming from behind him, he assumed she was blushing. A few minutes later, when he took a seat at the table with his own pancakes and orange juice, he grinned at the light green tint still on her cheeks. Leaning forward, he gave her a light kiss before he spoke. “Go ahead and eat. I’m sure you’re especially hungry for the love.”

Chrysalis nodded and the two began eating, though not in silence. “So, Chryssi, I have an idea for something you can do today.”

“What is it?”

“You should head up to Canterlot and visit Celestia and Luna to spend the day with them. You know, get to know them better since they’re your herdmates now.” Jay said.

Chrysalis frowned slightly. “I don’t know. They rule a country, and it’s much more involved than ruling a Hive is. They probably don’t have the time to spare.”

“They do. I talked to Luna last night and she talked to Celestia. They’re actually looking forward to it and made today a day off.” Jay explained.

Seeing Chrysalis still hesitating, he continued. “You don’t have to go, you know. Celestia and Luna understand that you might not want to go so they’re prepared to spend the day with each other.”

That seemed to spur her into making a decision as she shook her head. “No. No! I’ll go! They already put aside time for me. It would be just downright wrong for me to just ignore them because I’m nervous of being around them. What time?”

“Any time after breakfast.” Jay answered.

“What will you be doing?” The Queen asked curiously.

“I’ll be heading into the Everfree to prepare more for our trip to the island in the ocean.” Jay explained. “I want to make a few Warpers to assist us when we go there, so I’ll be gone most of the day.”

Chrysalis nodded and the two finished eating. After they ate, they both stood. “I...guess I’ll be heading to Canterlot?”

Jay smiled and kissed her again, feeling her drain a little bit of love from him while she had the chance. “If they offer to let you stay overnight, don’t be afraid to take it. I won’t mind.”

Chrysalis nodded nervously and shifted, green flames surrounding her as she returned to the persona of Snow Flight, then walked out with Jay at her side. Once outside, she flashed him one more nervous smile and took flight, angling for Canterlot as he watched. After she was in the distance, Jay quickly made his way to the edge of the Everfree. Moments later, the ground erupted as tendrils flowed out of the dirt to form into his second form. Arms shifted into blades and claws before the two darted into the Everfree. It would be a long hunt for them.

An hour later, Snow touched down at the castle gate entrance. The two Guards stared at her as she approached them, nervousness leaking through her disguise. “S-Snow Flight to see the Princesses?”

One Guard glanced to the other before they both nodded. “Head toward the throne room. The Princesses will be waiting there for you. I doubt it needs to be said but mind your manners and don’t do anything stupid.”

Snow nodded as she walked inside, quickly making her way toward the throne room. Once there, the Guards posted at the door swung them open for her. Snow walked in and the two doors closed behind her, the ominous boom of the door shutting doing absolutely nothing to help her nervousness. At the end of the hall, standing before their thrones, was Celestia and Luna, both discussing something that didn’t make it to the end of the hall. When the doors shut, they both looked up and smiled at her. “Snow Flight?”

Snow nodded with a quiet swallow. “Y-yes, Your Majesty.”

“You don’t have to be nervous. Why are you nervous?” Celestia asked softly as they both walked over to her. “You’ve fought us before, yet you fear us when we’re offering friendship?”

The disguised Queen sighed. “You are both my herdmates now. I’ve hurt you both in the past, yet now we’re partners. It’s just...what if you still harbor anger for the past? I don’t want to ruin my relationship with Jay and I don’t want to ruin your relationships with Jay.”

Luna stopped at her side and smiled down to her. “We don’t hate you, Chrysalis. You told us why you invaded Equestria. I don’t agree with you doing it, but if we were in your position, we would have done the same. Most importantly, you’ve paid your reparations. You’re atoning for the consequences for what you did. We don’t hate you. I’ll admit, we aren’t very close to you, either.”

“That’s what this day is for.” Celestia chimed from her side. “You said it yourself. We’re herdmates. This day is to get to know you better, and for you to get to know us better. If you’re too nervous to do it, just say so. We’ll reschedule for another day, when you’re more comfortable. Or we’ll schedule for a day when Jay can be with us, so you have him to trust.”

Chrysalis shook her head. “No, I’m not leaving. I told Jay that you set aside an entire day for me and that it’d be incredibly rude to blow you off. I’m not changing my mind.”

Luna draped a wing over her side and the three started walking out of the throne room, heading out through a side door. “That’s the spirit! What do you want to do first? There’s quite a lot of options in Canterlot, you know. We’re thinking that, once the sun sets, we have a picnic on a large ledge further up the side of the mountain. My sister and I go there a lot because the view is wonderful.”

“C-can we go swimming? In hot water?” Chrysalis asked softly. Both Princesses stopped and looked at her in surprise.

“Swimming? Why that, specifically?” Celestia asked curiously. “A lot of ponies can’t swim. Water in our ears, stinging eyes, and heavy fur add up to most ponies not bothering to learn.”

“Changelings love swimming.” Chrysalis replied. “Especially in hot water, which feels great on our chitin. If you don’t like to swim, we can do something else.”

Luna shook her head. “My sister and I do not mind it. We swim sometimes to stay in shape, particularly my sister who has to work off the calories she gains from eating all of her cake. We have a heated pool in a private room. You’ll even be able to shed your disguise there.”

“Thank you.” Chrysalis said with a soft smile as Luna turned them around, heading in the other direction toward the pool. Celestia followed behind at a sedate pace, smiling at her sister who had taken it upon herself to do what she could to make Chrysalis comfortable.

After leading the disguised Queen through the castle for well over twenty minutes, they came across a set of plain marble doors that were unguarded. Luna pushed them open with her magic and the three entered moments after, then she closed the door behind them. From Celestia’s horn burst forth two simple spells, one to lock the doors and one to soundproof the room. Then the Solar Diarch nodded to Chrysalis. “It’s safe.”

With another burst of green flames, Snow Flight vanished. Both Alicorns watched her in interest as white fur faded, replaced by black, shiny chitin that gleamed in the magical lighting of the room. She grew taller, soon matching Celestia’s height as holes formed in her legs. Two fangs poked out of her muzzle and her eyes changed color and turned, becoming slitted. When the flames faded, Chrysalis looked over at the two Alicorns, tentatively returning the soft smiles they were giving her. Then Luna gestured with her head. “Come on, the pool is in the next room.”

Celestia and Luna turned and walked through another pair of doors. Chrysalis took a quick moment to look around, noticing that the room she was in was a room meant for ponies to dry off. Towels were folded on a table at the edge of the room and the room itself seemed surprisingly warm, though she wasn’t complaining as she loved the feeling.

Noticing that the two Alicorns had already left the room, she started and quickly made her way into the next room, immediately stopping as a wall of heat hit her. The room was even hotter than the previous one, so much so that she knew somepony not accustomed to the heat would be sweating. The next thing she noticed was the massive pool, easily two hundred feet long and half that wide. It provided more than enough room for the three Alicorn-sized beings to swim around easily. From the steam curling off of the water, there was no doubt that the water was just as hot as the air, if not more so.

Chrysalis yelped out loud as she felt a sudden push from her side, the pressure shoving her into the pool. The Queen hit the water with a large splash, the heat instantly relaxing the muscles that had tensed from her surprise. Even underwater, she could hear two more splashes as both Alicorns joined her in the water. Kicking her hooves in sync, she swam her way up to the surface to be greeted by Luna’s smug grin. The Alicorn’s wings were splayed out, allowing her to float easily without kicking her hooves.

Chrysalis tried to do the same thing. She spread her wings out as far as she could and let them rest on the water. When she stopped kicking her hooves, her body sunk a little before the area of her wings caught her body and held her at the surface, allowing her to float just like Luna was. Once she was floating, Luna spoke. “Is the heat to your liking?”

“Very much so. Thank you.” Chrysalis replied. Soft splashing drug her attention to her side, where she saw Celestia floating just like them. Her hooves were kicking slowly underwater, propelling her large figure over to them. For a moment, it struck Chrysalis just how swan-like she really was, particularly with her floating on top of the water, soaked fur and splayed wings only adding to the illusion.

“Chrysalis, why don’t you tell us some things you enjoy doing?” Celestia asked once she was near. When Chrysalis only raised an eyebrow, she smiled and continued. “This day is meant for us to get to know each other better. If that means asking you cliche questions, so be it.”

Chrysalis just smiled softly and shook her head before answering. “I enjoy reading, but I don’t really have a specific preference on genre. A part of me has always wanted to try painting, but paints aren’t something we have ready access to in the Hives.”

“I suppose you would also enjoy long walks on the beach?” Luna asked in mild amusement.

Chrysalis shot an amused glare in return before replying. “Not quite. I do, however, enjoy sparring. Testing your strength in the fires of combat is rather thrilling. The only downside to real combat is the very real threat of death. What about you?”

“Combat is a shared passion of ours, then.” Luna replied. “I also enjoy stargazing and, most importantly, painting my night sky with stars and constellations. I don’t particularly enjoy painting otherwise. I don’t read particularly often but I do enjoy writing novellas and publishing them under a pseudonym. Celestia?”

“You already know what I enjoy.” Celestia replied, a small grin on her muzzle.

“True, but Chrysalis doesn’t.” Came the retort.

Celestia nodded and continued. “Unlike you two, I don’t particularly enjoy combat. I enjoy testing myself, but the threat of injury doesn’t make combat and spars enjoyable. I am rather skilled at painting, so if you want to learn I could teach you.”

“A writer and a painter? That seems like a good combination.” Chrysalis said.

Celestia nodded. “Jay said almost the same thing when he first learned. We often take inspiration from each other, which is very helpful when we begin to run out of ideas. I’ll paint what Luna writes or she’ll make a story behind what I paint.”

The three drifted in the water for some time, a silence descending over them as they simple relaxed and enjoyed the heat, and each other’s company. For Celestia and Luna, this was the chance to step back from the throne, relax, and spend a day relieving the stress they have accumulated. For Chrysalis, it was a time to calm down and relax in their presence, to accept that she was no longer their enemy but rather their herdmate. Truthfully, it amazed how much effort they were putting into getting to know her better. They set aside their country for a day for her, are willing to accept their old enemy into their herd, and are willing to possibly love her in the future just like they love Jay, or each other.

As she thought, her mind slowly drifted to Jay and what he might be doing. He had said he was wanting to create Warpers and that he was going into the Everfree to prepare, but she wasn’t quite sure what it entailed exactly. The Queen knew that Jay needed a body in order to make one of the creatures he could design, something about needing an intact brain because he didn’t understand them enough to create one. She was pretty sure he was going hunting and was going to be returning the corpses to his cave, where he would turn them into Warpers.

What she wasn’t sure about was what other ‘preparations’ Jay was going to be doing, and how he was going to turn the dead animals into Warpers. That was a process she had never asked the specifics of. She just understood that he could create plants and materials from scratch, but needed a template to create life, and he couldn’t create sentient life, either. Deep in her thoughts as she was, she barely noticed the soft, wet wing drape over her back from her side. Turning her head, her eyes met Celestia’s magenta ones as the Alicorn spoke. “What are you thinking about?”

“Jay.” Chrysalis replied.

“Oh?”

“Just curious about what kind of preparations he’s making.” The Changeling explained.

“He is just being incredibly careful.” Came Luna’s reply. “I do not blame him. We aren’t quite sure what kind of abilities the caster has, nor what traps may lay in wait in the old ruins. He simply wants to ensure that you two will get out of there safe.”

“I swear to the Mother if he gets himself trapped because he was so focused on saving us.” Chrysalis grumbled to herself.

“From what I understand, he can’t really be in any danger. The caster would have an easier time slaying a mountain than killing Jay. At least a mountain can’t really fight back.” The Night Maiden said. “Things will turn out okay, and with the caster gone, Trotsdale will be avenged.”

“‘Gone?” Chrysalis asked, a curious frown overtaking her muzzle. “Not ‘arrested?’”

Both Alicorns shook their heads sadly, but it was Celestia who replied. “No. The crimes that the caster is responsible for are too great. A single murder is life in prison, but there were hundreds of ponies in Trotsdale, close to a thousand. No, the caster won’t be returning with us.”

Chrysalis nodded, understanding the feeling entirely. She still remembered how she felt the day, decades ago, when well over a hundred of her subjects abandoned her Hive to join the Emerald Hive. When well over a hundred of her subjects rejected her as their leader and mother-figure for a life of death and evil. She understood the feeling of seeing those you lead falling too far to be redeemed. With Celestia’s wing still over her side, she leaned her head over and gently nuzzled Celestia, who smiled at the chitinous mare who was trying to comfort her.

“You know, we’ve come here to swim and have done very little swimming.” Celestia said in slight amusement.

“We’ve really come here to get to know each other, and we’ve done that. We know each other a little better now.” Chrysalis gently retorted. “If you want to get out of the water, we can easily do something else.”

Celestia sighed softly, before a small smile overcame her muzzle as she looked at the Changeling out of the corner of her eye. Chrysalis gained a confused look at the smile, unsure where the sudden change in emotion came from. A split second after she realized that Celestia was looking behind her, not at her, she felt something heavy land on her back and push her underwater. The panicked mare flailed around for a just a short moment before the weight immediately let off, allowing her to surface mere seconds after she was pushed underwater. Once her ears were above the water, she was greeted to the sound of one mare laughing and another mare giggling. Leveling a slight glare at Luna, she only received the sight of a mare giggling behind her hoof as she gazed at Chrysalis.

“What else was I to do? You both were far too sullen for a day such as this.” Luna said once she had calmed and quieted. “You really didn’t expect me to just let you two get sad, now did you?”

With a sudden smile, Chrysalis’ horn lit up and wrapped around Luna’s legs before pulling down, instantly submerging the mare followed by a large splash. The Changeling let go instantly only to join Celestia in laughing when Luna resurfaced with a gasp and a splutter. The Changeling, with a smug smile, spoke. “You didn’t really expect me to just let you get away with such a grievous trespass go?”

“She has a point, Luna.” Celestia chimed in. A split-second later, she sunk beneath the water at the behest of Chrysalis’ magic as well, surfacing again a moment later to smile at Chrysalis’ amused frown.

“And you let her! I saw that smile you made!”

“I deserved that.” Celestia retorted, her horn suddenly encased in magic. “Just as you deserve this!”

Drip.

Drip, drop.

Drip, drop, drip, drop.

“Stop dripping on the marble floors!” Chrysalis laughed with amusement. “You’re going to make the maids who clean this place slip!”

“Well, if you hadn’t tried to drown me, this wouldn’t be a problem, now would it?” Luna asked, her fur entirely sleek and soaked, water sporadically running down her legs and dripping off of her mane, muzzle, and belly.

“You did shove her underwater first, Luna.” Celestia chimed in. “Perhaps if you hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t all be soaked.”

Like her sister, Celestia’s fur was entirely smoothed over from the water and appeared a darker shade of white rather than alabaster. She, also like Luna, was leaving a small puddle of water with every step. Luna huffed. “That doesn’t mean we had to start a war in the pool.”

“Actually, it did.” Chrysalis said with a wry smile. Unlike the two Alicorns, she was mostly dry. The only parts of her body still wet were her mane, tail, and small collections of moisture in the holes in her legs. Unlike the furred ponies, water would just roll right off of her chitin and keep her mostly dry, though her chitin was shinier than usual. “A Princess of Equestria attacked a Changeling Queen. War was bound to start. Thankfully, it ended with nothing more than a lot of water puddles.”

“Come, let’s discuss the terms of your surrender over dinner on the mountainside.” Luna replied.

“My surrender? You two are the ones who are soaking wet!” Chrysalis retorted. “We’ll discuss the surrender of Equestria!”

“I don’t know what you are saying. I’m dry.” Luna said simply, her horn flaring to life for a moment. All the water coating Luna’s fur vanished, leaving her perfectly dry. A split second later, there was a loud pomf as her fur puffed around around her neck and hooves, with the rest of her fur just looking incredibly fluffy. Chrysalis and Celestia both dissolved into a mess of giggles as the Night Maiden pouted at them, doing nothing but making her look entirely adorable.

“Looks like, heh, you’re still a casualty.” Chrysalis said between breaths.

Luna just let out a long-suffering sigh. “I suppose so. Terms of my surrender, I guess?”

“Hmm. What to make you two do?” Chrysalis asked herself rhetorically, including Celestia into it on a whim. To her surprise, the sun Alicorn didn’t contradict her and just let her think. After a few moments of silent contemplation as the Alicorns dried off properly, with towels, and Luna tried to get her fur under control, she spoke. “I’ll reserve it for a later date since I can’t think of anything that’s fair. Deal?”

Both mares nodded but Celestia was the only one to speak. “Deal. I’m going to teleport us to the mountain ledge, but don’t worry about shifting. I’ve already cast a ‘Don’t Notice Me’ spell over the ledge so nopony will see you.”

When the Changeling nodded, Celestia’s horn lit up and the three vanished, reappearing some several hundred feet further up the mountainside. When the blinding light faded, Chrysalis took the chance to look around and examine the area. The first thing she spotted was the faint golden shimmer around the entire ledge, the boundaries of the spell. Then she noticed the classic red-and-white checkered blanket covered a rather large portion of the ledge, which she saw jutted about thirty feet off the mountain side. Set across the picnic blanket was several baskets, no doubt filled with various foods. She also noticed quite a number of drinks, both in bottles and in jugs. Glancing to her right for a moment, she saw that the sun was near the horizon, which surprised her. She didn’t think they had been relaxing in the pool for quite that long, though she’d be lying if she said she didn’t have fun.

With a wing, Celestia urged Chrysalis toward the blanket before they both walked over and sat, Luna joining them mere moments after. Without a single word, both of their horns lit up in unadulterated power, their magical auras encasing the two celestial bodies that orbited the planet. With utmost gentle care, the two satellites began to switch places, the sun sinking below the horizon while the moon rose. The pinks and reds of the setting sun gradually faded as the stars peaked out, the warm colors of day slowly replaced by the cool colors of night. Throughout the entire process, which took about five minutes, Chrysalis watched with an awed gaze, raw magic flickering over her chitin and tingling the flesh beneath. In that moment, seeing two facts of life move through the sky at the behest of two ponies, the Queen felt very much like a small Changeling Princess standing next to her mother.

Eventually, the two mares turned their attention back to her and the Changeling felt a spark of adrenaline run down her spine, entirely unable to react as the two goddesses turned their attention to her. Chrysalis had met Celestia already- fought her, beat her, even, but that was different. Celestia had only said a few sentences and casted a single spell, just a beam of concentrated energy that she overpowered with her love-charged magic. If Chrysalis had seen Celestia and Luna move the sun and moon, objects hundreds of thousands of miles away and weighing millions of tons, she wasn’t sure she would have ever gathered up the courage to invade. Sure, she had always known that they moved the sun and moon, but to see it, to feel the intense magic point-blank, it wasn’t something she could ever describe in words.

Celestia, seeing the look of raw nervousness and excitement on Chrysalis’ face, just giggled before leaning in and gently nuzzling her. The Queen tensed, then relaxed a moment later, prompting the Alicorn to speak. “Did you enjoy the show?”

“It...I...That...I have...no words.” Chrysalis eventually forced out breathlessly. “There’s nothing I can say to describe that, no praise powerful enough to be adequate.”

Luna just smiled. “Jay thought much the same when we first showed him, though we also showed him something else at the same time. Should we grow closer to you, we will one day share it with you as well.”

Chrysalis blinked once before slowly shaking her head, then returned Luna’s smile with an honest one. “Thank you for showing me something so beautiful.”

Both Alicorns just draped a wing over her back, though Luna had to stretch a little to make it happen. “What did you think? Try your best to describe it.”

“Why?” Chrysalis asked curiously. “No matter how eloquent I may be with words, there’s nothing that’s sufficient to describe what I just saw.”

“My sister is just curious. The ponies who have seen us move our charges are many, but few are the number have seen us when we pour our heart into it. Of those few, my student and Jay make up half of them.” Celestia replied.

“Of the few who have seen it when we pour our soul into it, Jay alone makes up half the number.” Luna added. “Each other being the other half.”

“That’s the part that I didn’t see, isn’t it? When you put your very souls into your work?” Chrysalis asked quietly.

“Yes.” Luna said simply, then flicked her wing at the Queen. “Now, begin your description.”

The Queen took a long moment to compose her moments, the food spread out entirely forgotten. After several minutes of silence, she started speaking, beginning with a simple statement of fact. “I felt small.”

“Small?” Luna asked.

She nodded. “Small. Diminutive. Tiny. However you want to say it. I could feel the raw power flickering across my chitin, tendrils of solid yet invisible magic caressing me as your both worked your spells. I could almost feel the love and care you felt for your charges, for the objects that you guard and, in turn, guard all life on this world. It was awe-inspiring, yet also a little scary. Thousands of poems could be written on the beauty of the subject, but for every hundred praising the majesty of it, there would be one fearing the sheer power you wield.”

Chrysalis fell silent and lied down, her soft underbelly resting on the blanket as she stared up at the stars, thinking of the feeling they inspired within her. Celestia and Luna were silent, too, and joined her. Two wings settled over her back again, both Alicorns just lying with her as all three stared at Luna’s stars, admiring her night. Long minutes passed in a silence that slowly faded from slightly tense to wholly comfortable. Eventually, Chrysalis felt a muzzle gently position itself against her neck on her left side, then a full body slowly pressing against her right as both mares scooted a little closer to her. Resting her head on her hooves, Chrysalis didn’t mind the idea of spending the entire night like this. In fact, the idea rather appealed to her.

And around the three immortals, the faint golden shield continued to flicker, ensuring that they would remain uninterrupted for as long as they desired. Food forgotten, sleep unneeded, and time unheeded, the three simply enjoyed the company of one another until the sun rose.

Author's Notes:

I've been working on this chapter for a few weeks, in between chapters for Imperial Hunter and an as-of-yet unpublished story that should be showing up within the next few weeks. As always, feel free to leave your opinion in the comments!