(Months later)

Celestia was overseeing the building of the newest capital, the new capital would be called Canterlot, the place for it, the mountainside overseeing most of Equestria's territory. After a few tests, her engineers determined that the plateau was safe enough for construction.

Celestia also made sure that some of her soldiers checked the old entrance by the base of the mountain, a safety check wouldn't hurt. According to their report, the base of the mountain had other landslides that completely covered the entrance. Meaning that entering that place was nigh impossible.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan, except for one small detail. A detail that got on Celestia's nerves, after the fight with her sister, the ponies wouldn't stop worshiping her and praying every time she passed by them. Those gestures only brought her pain, however, she couldn't do anything about it.

Celestia had lost her sister, a companion that had helped her protect her subjects again and again. And now her subjects thought that Nightmare killed Luna and Celestia was the only one protecting their lives. If she was to be swayed or show weakness to them, they could get scared. They could become desperate, and that was something Celestia didn't want.

However, there was one thing that she could always do when the pain became unbearable. The small stone she had acquired from those strange creatures in the forest, that stone would always soothe her mind and made her days more go by more smoothly.

"Princess," One of the engineers working on the city saluted her as he approached with a scroll in his hands. "We are happy to inform that the construction is going ahead of schedule. We should have the city district ready by the beginning of the next year!"

"That is good to hear," Celestia commented as she looked at the report. "Have some of the guards that aren't working on protecting the perimeter or securing our stocks to help out as well. I'll join the construction as soon as I can."

"Your Highness! There is no need for you to bother with such a trivial task!" The engineer spoke positioning himself in front of her. "A Goddess such as yourself-"

"Has a duty to her subjects. And I shall see it through. With my aid, the construction would go much faster," Celestia said turning away from the engineer. "And do not try to talk me out again. I want a copy of the schematics so that I can help."

The engineer bowed down and walked away. 'As if the worshipping wasn't enough...I can help. I want to help. I can't have another pony going through the same thing that Luna went through. If I can help, I'll do it. It doesn't matter who they are!'

With that in mind, Celestia took off and flew to the area where her tent had been set. Once there, Celestia sat comfortably on her bed and pulled out the stone.

'I do not know what you are, but whatever you are, thank you. The weight you lift from my heart is so big. I sat by the moon every night and watched that reminder of my failure as a sister. I should have been there for Luna, I took away the most powerful relics that ever protected our kind and turned them to stone. The only right things I ever did were when I had Luna by my side. I need to be better! I WILL be better!'

(12 Years later, Metamorpha's hive)

"I have to say, finding you was one of the greatest challenges I ever had," Metamorpha said pulling the chain attached to the drone's neck, forcing him to face her. "I hope you are also aware of what your ratting out did to us," She pulled him closer her teeth glistening as she hissed at the drone. "My daughter had her future stolen. With that egg, we could have avoided the other two major hives. And who knows? Maybe might have bee able to even take them."

"I know."

"And yet you told to somepony our affairs. Why?" The drone tried to look away, Metamorpha pulled the chain again forcing him to face her. "WHY?!"

"Because our hive should not have to strike a deal with a weaker and smaller hive! You may have lost your husband, but you should have contacted the other hives! They could bring a better offspring to cross with your daughter! That could have made us stronger!"

The other drones that were watching the entire scene started to whisper amongst themselves, Metamorpha's ears twitched. Her expression grew neutral as she slowly backed away from him. Her heart rate increased as she continued to see the drone rant and rant about the deal.

"You may be our queen. But you are nothing but a failure! A real queen wouldn't have lost her husband the way you did! A real queen wouldn't have to resort to those weaklings hiding under the Equestrian banner! A re-?!"

The drone was stopped midsentence by Metamorpha, she hit him straight in the muzzle. The drone fell on his back and she got on top of him, her eyes locked to his face as her hands breaking through the chitin around his neck. Suddenly, the chitin cracked and her fingers and nails ripped through his flesh.

Metamorpha pulled out the broken chitin and gnawed at his throat and then backed away. The drone was left on the floor gurgling as she walked away, her posture came back. Metamorpha elegantly cleaned her muzzle, calmly rearranged her mane, and then sat back on her throne. A soft and kind smile forme on her muzzle as she sat back down.

"Any of you have anything else you wish to say?" She asked in a calm and loving voice. All of her subjects fell to their knees and then left.

'How dare he...All I did I did to ensure the future of my daughter, and of our hive.'

After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Metamorpha's wings shot open and she took off to her daughter's room. The room had remained unchanged during the years, except for a few new toys and gizmos that she had smuggled into her hive. The egg containing her child was resting on the bed she had made for it, however, now the egg was a mix of black, dark green, and emerald green.

"Don't you worry. I will make sure you'll have the best future possible. I'll make you able to stand against all of the other hives."

(35 Years came to pass)

"You certainly have caught yourself a real unique stone, my Princess," Celestia heard as Starswirl analyzed the stone. "I have seen many artifacts and strange phenomenon. But a stone that invokes happy memories is something entirely new to me!"

"I was afraid you were gonna say that," Celestia said biting her lip as she paced back and forward in her room from where she could watch over the entire city.

The city had its construction finished ten years before, Canterlot, the new capital of Equestria. It also was the safest place known to date, the city had prospered thanks to the protection created by Starswirl. A barrier that recognized the Cutie Marks that were linked to a small rune that was received at the time of birth.

The rune was not visible unless a specific spell was cast. Fillies, colts, and foals that had yet to receive their cutie marks were also marked by a spell matrix he had crafted for registering the current citizens of the town. But instead of their runes being linked to their talent, they were linked to their parent's talent. The rune worked as a sort of identification that allowed to check if the pony in question was a citizen of Equestria.

In the case of other beings, they also received a temporary mark that would disappear if they committed any crime. And that created a homing beacon of sorts that pointed to their location, meaning that it was just a matter of time before the criminal was caught. The same thing happened to bearers of the permanent mark.

The complexity of the rune made it nigh impossible to bypass by any means that were known up to that point. Add that to Celestia's decree ordering that every citizen to undergo the registration, and the crime rate was reduced to practically zero. Up to that point, everything seemed to be in place and Celestia had gained even greater praises from her subjects.

And that resulted in a few things, one of them being the demonization of Nightmare Moon accompanied by Celestia's transformation into a symbol of hope and peace. Hostility towards Nightmare Moon was so severe that entire holidays were created to scare children and make them love Celestia. There were even some rumors of a church being formed to worship Celestia, however, there was no evidence to prove it to be true.

Another thing that happened, was the increased amount time Celestia spent with the stone. The praise and fame she continued to gain due to the mistakes that ended up sealing her sister away and made her lose the elements of harmony only made her suffer and try even harder. There would be days when she would lock herself up in her room for hours and hours to cling to the stone.

After some time, Celestia realized that the stone had to have some other purpose. Strange occurrences started to happen and made her start to worry, which resulted in her asking for Starswirl to come to analyze it. But not before she spent at least seven months weighing the possibilities.

"What is it that worries you? This seems like a regular stone, aside from the memories gimmick," Tha mage said turning to her.

"Hold the stone near your ears," Celestia said with a serious tone, she watched the mage do as she instructed.

His eyes went wide as he held the stone in place. Then Celestia watched him pull the stone away and look at it before holding it to his ears again, the process repeated several times.

"There is a rhythmic sound coming from it!" Celestia looked away from the mage as he continued to hold the stone, she had turned her attention to a clock she had hanging in her wall.

"It's about time, Starswirl. Place it on the floor, please," Celestia asked earning a frown from the wizard, however, he did as she asked. The clock moved again and the stone started to roll towards Celestia, it only stopped once it had hit her leg. "A few months ago, I was sleeping on the bed. There was nothing different or out of place, however, I woke up with something hitting my bed. I woke up and saw the stone hitting my bed's legs."

"That is certainly unique! I've never seen a stone with that sort of behavior. Maybe it isn't a stone, maybe it's a relic!"

"But if it is a relic. What's its purpose? There is no point in a relic that summons good memories. Or that makes a rhythmic sound. Not to mention that the stone itself has changed color! It didn't use to be white, pink, green, and blue!"

"Well, maybe...maybe the memories it is summoning is awakening its purpose? And once it awakens, perhaps its purpose will become clear."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Keep doing what you are doing. I think we may end up discovering what we are dealing with once it awakens."

(41 Years flew by)

"Your Highness! More messengers from the neighboring hives have appeared and disposed of as you instructed."

"Excellent. Any news on the network we were establishing between here and our little bases within equestrian borders?"

"It appears that work is proceeding as expected. They did stumble into a diamond dog's mining system. However, the witnesses were dealt with swiftly."

"That is perfect, make sure that all of our changelings are aware of that location. We can use them as livestock. Anything else to report?"

"It seems that there have been some sightings of the creature that killed our king. Nothing has been confirmed though," Metamorpha's ears perked up and she stared into space for a moment while biting her lip.

"Do not bring this subject to light unless you have solid confirmation of its sightings. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Your Highness," The drone replied before flying off.

'After all this time...that dirt eater comes out to cause trouble? It wasn't satisfied with my husband's death? Is it coming for me? Or is this something that they did to get me desperate? That blasted snitch is still causing trouble even in death! I wish I could simply hit him again and again until I had my fill. That idiot created more troubles than he was worth.'

Metamorpha then got on her hooves and walked to the edge of her room where a hole opened up and she could see the outside of her hive. On the horizon, only barren lands as long as the eyes could see, except for two lonely peaks that had dark clouds moving around them.

"War again, eh? If I only had acquired that egg from the weaker hive, maybe they would have let us be. A weaker hive is more easily assimilated, the big ones I need to deal with a stronger opposition," She muttered to herself.

Changelings had been at each other's throats since the three major hives had been established. All in an attempt to create a grand empire and guarantee their survival. The issue was that the fight to decide the strongest lineage, and the fact some believed that the supposed superior lineage should have complete control over all the hives.

Metamorpha's hive was the one closest to equestrian borders, separating it from the others and making it harder to attack. Meaning that out of the three, the one in the best condition was her's. However, that also meant that if she were to attack, her troops would have to expend a great amount f energy to cross the land. Not to mention that without cover, they would be sitting ducks for enemy fire.

The queen backed away from the hole and flew back up to her daughter's room. Entering the place, she saw the crystallized substance that was used to produce the cocoons where their children grew up during the larvae phase completely covering the bed she had made for her child. At the center, a dark silhouette twitched and moved within a said perimeter.

'My beautiful daughter, the very thought of having you becoming strong and leading our kingdom fills me with courage. I'll move heaven and earth to ensure that you get your happy ending.'

(Ever as before, 12 years flew by)

As time moved forward, Celestia came to realize that her efforts to fix Equestrian problems resulted in even greater problems for her. The Church of the Eternal Sun was one of them, many ponies donning an accessory with a sun emblazoned on it started to cause problems all over the country. And as an answer to that was the foundation of another religion, the Children of Silver Light.

After about twenty years since the runes started to be effectively used in the country, some ponies managed to figure out a way to bypass the crime detection. And that's when the Church of the Eternal Sun came forth, claiming to be heroes that carried the divine light that Celestia bestowed upon all living beings. And therefore, were blessed with the duty of enforcing her words to all species.

Since they had managed to bypass the crime detection, arrest the ones that took violent actions became harder. And some ponies started to question Celestia's rule, and that's when the rumors about the Children of the Silver Light came forth. They believed that the Mare in the Moon would return and save them from the tyrant that would not punish the wicked ponies that carried her golden sun.

Being forced to act, Celestia began to travel and ask for the citizens to steer clear of both cults for they had only caused suffering and pain to others due to their constant conflicts. Soon these groups seemed to disappear, turning into a subject that was only whispered on the streets. Which meant more physical and mental exhaustion due to the stress and thought every situation started to require from her.

'Why is everything that I've done so far only made things worse? It doesn't matter how much effort I put on my acts...they always backfire,' Celestia thought as she slowly raised the moon while walking through the lonely corridors the cold stone walls echoing the should of her golden horseshoes hit the white stones.

Looking with the corner of her eye, Celestia saw the damned reminder of her mistake. The silhouette of a black mare engraved into the moon, Celestia looked away and crossed her arms almost as if the moon had been looking straight at her and judging her actions so far. Celestia started to run she had to get away from the moon, she had to escape from its gaze.

'Luna...I miss you so much. Our kingdom was flourishing, our foes were defeated one by one, and our ponies were happy. After I lost you...I lost myself as well. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry my sister! I wish I could at the very least do one thing right. Just one small thing would be enough. Luna...if you can somehow hear my thoughts...please forgive me. And please, I beg of you...help me if you can.'

Celestia locked herself in her room and closed all of the curtains, she was now alone. Celestia curled herself into a corner and cried, all the tears she had to keep hidden from her subjects came forth now that she had no one to see her. After several minutes of crying, the tears finally stopped, however, the exhaustion was taking over her.

'If I go to sleep like this...all I'll experience are more nightmares. I don't want to hear HER voice again,' Celestia thought as she remembered the voice that kept calling her in her nightmares. Celestia would always wake up as daybreak came forth on the horizon, something she was grateful for.

'I guess that I better pay it a visit. all these troubles have been taxing and...I just need some good memories right now,' Celestia thought as she pulled out a specific book from her shelf, revealing the room she added to the castle by herself.

A long time had passed between the last visit Celestia had made a visit to the stone. After a few years, the habit of rolling towards her stopped and the stone had attached itself to the pedestal where Celestia hid it. The stone oozed a colorful liquid that solidified itself a few seconds after touching a surface that wasn't part of the stone. In a particularly dark day, Celestia felt the need to once again come to the stone.

The thick colorful substance now covered the secret room Celestia had prepared for the stone, the stone used to be at the center of it. However, now there was only a cracked area on the center. No signs of forced entry, or that anypony but Celestia had entered the room.

'What happened here?' Celestia thought as she carefully walked towards the center. Celestia poked her head over the crack and saw a creature climb out of the cracks interior. Some sort of white larva, it didn't seem to have eyes or a mouth.

'What is this...wait...' Celestia looked into the hole and saw the colorful stone that she had placed there. 'It wasn't a stone...an egg...I took it from a female looking...Oh, no...did I kill a mother?'

Celestia looked at the fragile looking creature that tried to climb down the solid looking stones, she had once again made a mistake. She had once more hurt somepony and caused others to suffer because of it, she made that small creature an orphan. Celestia's heart started to race, her mind was taken over by the memories of the female creature trying to save the egg.

'I killed its mother! I killed its mother! Oh, no! What am I supposed to do now?! I don't know what it is! I don't know what it does!' Celestia panicked as he backed away from the egg and the creature. A squishy sound echoed as the creature tumbled out of the egg and fell to the ground.

Then Celestia watched the small creature crawl up to her, she slowly backed away. Suddenly a strong wind burst the window open causing a very loud noise, the small white creature stopped in its tracks and curled up into a ball. Celestia looked behind her and saw the full moon once again gazing at her.

The black figure on the moon had its sight set on the place, the silver light that came from the astral body was the only thing illuminating the room. Celestia looked back to the creature, it was completely curled up behind her shadow, completely still.

It looked so fragile, so defenseless, so...alone. Celestia tried to walk up to it, but her legs wouldn't move. Something was holding her back, Celestia turned back to the window and looked back at the moon.

'What's going on? Why can't I move? Luna...' Celestia thought before she realized something. The loud wind had stopped, the silence made Celestia feel uncomfortable. Then a single small sound made her look back on the creature, it sounded like a whimpering of sorts.

'Is it...crying?' Celestia thought as she moved towards it without realizing. That was the moment when she remembered the behavior the egg had during the century she had it under her protection. 'It rolled to me every night, almost as if it was scared of the darkness. After it hatched it came for me, like I was...its mother. WAIT! If Starswirl was right about the memories being used to awaken its true disposition...and it was a baby...I nurtured it every time I touched it!'

Celestia's mind was in a complete blur, the thoughts of what she had done, of what it meant to that little creature made her go back into her panic state. She was so lost in her panic that she didn't even realize that she had reached out for the creature. It responded to her approach by raising its body so that it could touch Celestia's hand.

The panicked feeling started to be replaced by the memories of how peaceful she would feel every time she came in contact with the egg, with the memories of Luna, with the conversations with Starswirl. The sensation of something cold and soft moving through her arm was completely ignored as Celestia allowed the memories to take over. Eventually, she felt the back of her neck be enveloped by that soft and cold touch.

That was when Celestia stood up and looked at the mirror in her room. Then her eyes saw the small critter quietly resting on her shoulders. However, all her mind managed to process was the following thought:

'I brought this child into the world,' Celestia kept her gaze locked at the small creature that accommodated itself on her shoulders. 'I BROUGHT THIS CHILD INTO THE WORLD!'

Celestia's eyes widened, her mouth was held wide open. Her brain finally making the connection as her mouth tried to verbalize her realization.

"I-I brought this child into the world," Celestia finally managed to mumble to herself as to confirm she was still in control, that was when she finally managed to connect the dots so that she could say out loud the phrase that showed how much responsibility she would have to shoulder now more than ever.

"I-I..." The words were stuck to her throat, the creature on her shoulders was light, but now was starting to become heavier with every passing second. "I-I am a mother," She finally spoke as her vision blurred and she blacked out.

I guess that this is the next one, please let me know your thoughts on this! Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Also, feel free to try to guess the story's progression.

Thank you for reading! See ya soon!