"-and so, it is with great pleasure that I announce that Equestria has come to terms and accepted the surrender of the Changeling Hive. Here today to officiate the surrender, is none other than the Queen of the Changelings herself, Queen Chrysalis." Celestia announced before the city hall, to nearly a thousand ponies all crammed within its walls.

Photographers flashed their cameras wildly and reporters stood on their hind legs, all holding out microphones in an effort to hear or question the Changeling Queen as she approached the table with Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Anon. A guard detachment followed her closely, and several ponies in the large crowd pointed out the mana nullification ring on her jagged horn. Though she was unchained and able to walk freely, it was clear to everypony in the room that she was not allowed to leave. If she was uncomfortable with the situation, she gave no indication as she strode over toward the Equestrian rulers.

Chrysalis sat on her seat just beside Anon, and quickly signed the document laying before her. Once she was finished, she passed the parchment over to Anon with her hoof, and he quickly signed as well. He passed it over to Twilight, only to pull it back as she reached out to grab it. The purple alicorn glared daggers at him as he snickered to himself before relinquishing the paper to her. With a huff, Twilight quickly signed and passed it along. Celestia and Luna followed suite, and after just a few moments, the solar princess held up the document for the whole room to see.

"I thought you were terrified of public appearances and yet here you are, making a foal out of yourself in front of a thousand ponies." Twilight muttered, just loud enough for Anon to hear.

"Oh, well I've had time to get over my fears of public speaking, TS. Maybe when you grow up, you'll learn to take a joke." Anon teased, just before Celestia addressed the city hall.

"These articles of surrender, dictate that the changeling hive is to never again threaten, attack, abduct, or impersonate anypony in Equestria from here onward. As per the terms of her surrender, Queen Chrysalis will not only ensure her hive follows these directives, but has also provided information that will prove vital to the protection and security of Equestria, going forward. She has also submitted to conditions of her release, among them being the mana nullification ring atop her horn, as well as personal supervision by none other than Prince Anonymous, himself. This marks a new day in Equestria, and the joining of two species that will bring forth a new era of prosperity and security for the both of us." Celestia announced, before a wave of reporters, nobles, and common ponies all expressed their joy at the news.

A chorus of cheers and excitement rushed through the city hall, and ponies from all social standings stamped their hooves or hollered in approval at the signing of the document and what it meant going forward. Cameras flashed wildly as photographers fought over each other to get pictures of the changeling queen and the Equestrian royalty all together. The many guards in the room struggled to maintain a sense of order as the ponies around them cheered and whooped for the end of one of the greatest threats they'd ever seen.

At the head of the room, Celestia smiled and waved to the photographers while Luna simply nodded approvingly. Anon held a beaming smile on his face and happily waved to the ponies cheering for him and his wives. However, to his left, Chrysalis struggled not to grimace. She held a small frown on her face, her eyes sweeping across the room as flash after flash of cameras threatened to give her a migraine.

Finally, after nearly five minutes of uproarious cheering and merriment, Celestia held her hoof up for silence. The crowd slowly heeded her message and quieted down over the course of a few minutes. Now able to speak and be heard easily, Celestia cleared her throat.

"We have time to answer a few questions, but then we must return to the castle to begin preparations with Queen Chrysalis." She announced.

Again, a cacophony of voices exploded from the crowd as the reporters shouted over one another in a bid to question their rulers. Mares pushed past each other and struggled to crawl over each other in a desperate bid to be one of the lucky few to question the actions they'd only just witnessed.

As the ponies before her fought to ask their questions, Celestia hummed and pointed to a pegasus mare with a red mane.

"You, go ahead." She politely instructed.

The mare quickly thrust her microphone forward as the rest of the crowd begrudgingly quieted down, "Thank you. Princess, what led to this sudden surrender!?" She asked.

Celestia sighed, "The changelings are in dire need of love. They're starving to death and Queen Chrysalis came to us to surrender in a bid to save her hive. It was quite noble of her." She explained, noting how quickly reporters jotted down every word she said.

"Princess, Princess!" Another reporter exclaimed.

Celestia nodded toward the reporter.

"So does that mean that ponies will have to provide love for the changeling hive now as a condition of surrender?" She hastily questioned.

The room went deathly silent as all ponies awaited an answer with bated breath.

Celestia glanced over to Chrysalis, noting the almost imperceptible way she sat up straighter at the question. She felt a small pang of sympathy reach out to her, but the solar princess quickly shook her head and looked at the pony questioning her.

"At the moment, we're considering allowing small amounts of changelings into the city to consume ambient love surrounding ponies. Let me make one thing clear, the changelings will not be allowed to feed off of anypony directly, unless explicitly allowed to do so by a consenting adult pony. Prince Anon can attest to the safety and painlessness of such a transaction, should you be concerned." Celestia replied, before a cacophony of voices shouted forth from the crowd.

"You're feeding us to them!?" A stallion shrieked.

"Wait, wait, they're coming here!? To Canterlot!?" A noblemare exclaimed, before promptly passing out.

"Princess, how could you do this to us!?" Another frantic voice chimed in.

Celestia sighed while Luna glared at the crowd. The solar princess subtly glanced over to the changeling queen, finding that to her surprise, she seemed slightly downtrodden at the reception.

"Prince Anon! Prince Anon! Why did you let Queen Chrysalis feed off of you!?" A stallion quickly shouted, jumping forward from the crowd and barely being held back by the royal guard presence.

The room instantly silenced itself once more as ponies leaned on the edges of their seats, all desperately listening for Anon's answer.

The prince merely shrugged, "Well... it wasn't really a big deal. Queen Chrysalis came to us on the verge of starving to death. Helping her was the right thing to do and I felt fine immediately afterwards." Anon replied.

"Did it hurt?" The stallion asked, nervously glancing over to Chrysalis.

Anon shook his head, "I really don't know what to tell you. It felt strange, sure, but not painful or anything. I've explained this a bunch since yesterday. Either way, it's not like that matters. The changelings we're bringing in are the baby changelings. You know, the foals? They're going to feed off of the ambient love in the air, not from any of you directly. You'll never even notice they're there."

A wave of hushed whispers ran through the crowd, some of them bearing a more open-minded take on the situation, while some doubled down on their fear or aversion. Seizing the lull in conversation, Celestia spoke up.

"That is all we can say on that at the moment. We are still working out all of the finer details, but do expect to see changelings start to appear in the city. I promise you that your safety is still our number one concern, so we will ensure that there is no way for any changeling to hurt anypony in the city." She replied, only for another chorus of voices to call for her attention.

Celestia pointed to another pony in the group of reporters.

"Will Queen Chrysalis be reformed like Princess Twilight did to Discord?" She asked.

Celestia hesitantly shook her head, much to everypony's disbelief, "Discord's reformation is... unique. Comparing what's happening now to that is an apples to oranges comparison. Queen Chrysalis has agreed to peace terms and surrendered to us. As far as I'm concerned, that's a reformation in of itself." She announced, leaving the room silent for a moment.

Nearly all eyes in the city hall darted toward the Changeling Queen. She quickly took the brief silence to take a deep breath. She only had time for half a breath before all of the reporters shouted for answers from her.

"Queen Chrysalis! Queen Chrysalis!" One reporter jumped up and down repeatedly.

"Is this part of a scheme to abduct and feed off of the royal family?!" Another took to the air, only to be swiftly taken back down by the royal guards present.

"Does your kind have any other means of feeding aside from stealing love from unsuspecting ponies?" A mare questioned.

Celestia held up her hoof for silence, but the ponies wouldn't be quieted so quickly. After a few moments of her failed attempt, she glanced over to Captain Valorant and nodded toward the crowd.

Valorant returned the nod before igniting her horn and casting several spells to enhance her voice. All parties at the table including Chrysalis covered their ears just as the Captain spoke.

"ENOUGH! YOUR PRINCESS HAS REQUESTED SILENCE AND YOU WILL COMPLY OR BE REMOVED!!" She shouted, her volume putting even Luna's royal Canterlot voice to shame.

The ponies closest to the Captain were nearly deafened and rubbed their ears to quell the ringing sensation they now felt.

"Go ahead, Princess." Valorant nodded toward the alicorn with a smirk.

"Thank you, Captain." Celestia gratefully nodded, before leveling a glare to the crowd, "I would remind you all that Queen Chrysalis has come to us after losing over half of her hive. She has lost much in the last year, and her decision to come back to us took courage. She has conducted herself with dignity and grace since she arrived, and the goal of these terms is to further both species', not step on one while they're already down." She explained, no small amount of disappointment in her tone.

The reporters quickly quieted down and looked away, shameful expressions riddling all of their muzzles. All except for a small few, who bore looks of revulsion toward the changeling Queen and utter contempt for their princess.

"My husband was abducted by them!" One mare shouted, turning all eyes back to her.

"They attacked our city, destroyed our homes, and nearly made out with hundreds of ponies to feed off of while they rotted away in those pod things!" Another mare exclaimed.

"Why should we help them!? They tried to enslave us!" A stallion jeered.

A group of guardsmares quickly descended on the rambunctious group, hastily escorting them toward the exit while they kicked and screamed the whole way. Unfortunately, the damage was already done, and several more voices of agreement filled the air. Ponies muttered back and forth among themselves, before speaking clearly, only to escalate into yelling and shouting within a matter of seconds. Celestia tried to maintain order again, but the ponies completely ignored her and continued to shout and scream in anger at the situation.

"Well this isn't going well." Luna muttered, blowing a strand of her ethereal mane from her eyes.

"What should we do?" Anon asked, looking back and forth between the angry ponies and Chrysalis.

"We need to calm them down." Twilight asserted, her wings flaring defiantly.

With a single flap, the little purple alicorn jumped up atop the table, waving a hoof for quiet.

"Everypony! Everypony, please! Listen!" Twilight shouted to the crowd.

A few ponies quieted down, but the level of noise stayed much too loud for the rest of them to hear her. Twilight quickly cast a spell to amplify her voice and shouted once more.

"Everypony, please! Quiet down!" She called, this time earning the attention of most of the room.

With almost all eyes finally on her, Twilight cleared her throat, "Now listen, I know that you're all still upset over the changeling invasion last year. You have every right to be, but the circumstances that led to that go much deeper than any of us realized. Chrysalis has come back to us, offering information that will be vital to the security of Equestria, in a desperate bid to save her kind from extinction. Don't forget the tenants of harmony that Equestria was founded on! Friendship, love, acceptance, and yes, even forgiveness! We know it will be hard, but it's what we stand for-" She began, only for a bystander to cut her off.

"Buck that!" The mare exclaimed, hurling a half eaten apple at the changeling Queen.

The apple harmlessly bounced off of the shield surrounding the table, but the effect was instant nonetheless. The gathered ponies broke into full blown anarchy. Mares and stallions shouted over each other, chairs went flying, and the ponies caught in the crossfire, desperately tried to escape out the few doorways leading outside.

Celestia held her head in her hooves while Twilight deflated and sank to her haunches, an aghast look on her muzzle.

"Well... I suppose this was to be expected." Luna rolled her eyes, before turning to Captain Valorant as the guard struggled to contain the angry mob before her.

"Captain, I believe this meeting is finished. We'll be leaving now." Luna announced, getting to her hooves.

"Yes, Princess!" Valorant replied, stepping away from the line of guards she was previously commanding.

"Wait, we're just gonna leave?" Anon asked, getting to his feet.

"There's nothing more we can do aside from making dozens of arrests, honey. It's best to let the guard and ponice handle this while we return to the castle." Celestia responded, walking up to his side.

Anon hesitantly followed his wife, but paused upon seeing the changeling Queen still sitting on her chair. Her head was lowered somewhat, and her mane partially obscured her face from his view. Even so, he could tell that she had a small frown on her muzzle. Glancing back to the crowd for just a moment, he reached over and gently tapped her wither.

The touch instantly startled Chrysalis out of whatever stupor she was stuck in and she whirled around on him so fast that he flinched.

"Uh, let's get out of here, Chrysalis." Anon offered, nodding toward the exit behind them.

With a slow nod, Chrysalis got out of her chair and followed the royal sisters out of the room, Twilight quickly coming up the rear while Anon lagged behind. His gaze lingered on Chrysalis and the sad look he saw in her eyes. For a creature with such intimidating irises, he found himself utterly fascinated by how vulnerable they looked as the memory seared itself into his mind.

They swiftly found themselves out in the large, mostly empty staging room of the city hall, each struggling to hear their thoughts over the painfully loud shouting just a room over. As Anon closed the door behind him, shutting out some of the noise, Celestia cast a quick spell, and a flash of light traced the contours of the room, before descending it into silence.

"Thank you, sister." Luna gratefully nodded.

"Of course, sister." Celestia returned the nod.

"Well... that could have gone better." Anon admitted, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"I don't... they just... Princess, I don't understand. Usually ponies listen when I remind them of the Tenets of Harmony. They've never just... exploded like that!" Twilight muttered, frantically pacing back and forth by the window.

"It's alright, Twilight. This was your first real trial as a princess in the public eye. You did well, it's just... well the ponies of Canterlot have always been slow to forgive. Most of the ponies present being upper-class nobles probably did not help matters at all." Celestia admitted, stopping her former student with a gentle nuzzle against her cheek.

"Thank you, Princess. I just... I'm still surprised that they wouldn't even hear me out." Twilight mumbled.

"I'm not. Frankly, it's going to be quite some time before we can expect Canterlot to be welcoming and accommodating to changelings, regardless of whether or not that goes against Harmony." Luna sighed.

Anon rolled his tongue in his mouth as he observed the conversation before him. He slowly tore his gaze away from the ponies in the room and over to the lone Changeling Queen, standing a few feet away and looking out the window at the city outside. He hesitantly made his way over to the mare, a pensive look on his face as he stepped over to her side. He couldn't quite see her face as her mane obscured most of her features from him, but he could see her mouth, and the barest hint of a frown tugging at her lips.

"Hey, uh... Chrysalis? You okay?" Anon asked, unsure of himself.

Chrysalis gave a start at the sudden attempt at conversation. She glanced over to Anon before quickly nodding.

"It's as I expected." She replied, flatly.

Anon frowned slightly, "Well... I know this might come as a shock, but ponies weren't exactly too keen on me when I first showed up here either... granted I didn't start an invasion, but that's besides the point. Uh, what I'm getting at here is, just give it some time. I'm sure that once you show the ponies in town that you genuinely want to change, then they'll start to warm up to you." He offered.

Chrysalis scoffed, "Easier said than done. Time is the one thing I don't have at the moment. My changelings need love, and the ponies of Canterlot will only show them hatred and spite. I can't blame them... I can only blame myself." She bitterly responded, her eyes falling to the floor.

Anon bit his lip. For a few moments, he let the silence linger between them, but soon enough, he reached over and gently placed his hand on Chrysalis's wither. The contact did not visually startle her, however, Anon felt her tense under his touch.

"We'll work it all out. I, uh... I promise we'll get this whole thing sorted." He said, giving a small half-smile.

Chrysalis looked down to the point of contact between them, before looking back up to Anon, her brow furrowed in confusion, "Why, out of every creature in Equestria, are you so kind to me?" She asked, genuinely.

Anon hesitantly retracted his hand from her wither and shrugged, "I guess... I get your situation. I have to eat meat to be healthy, and while I would never eat a sapient creature, I have to eat some creatures to survive. After letting you feed off of me... I dunno. It seems like it's not as bad as everyone was making it out to be. I mean, the kidnapping shit has to stop forever, but if you just eat a bit of love from some ponies and they don't even notice it's gone..." He shrugged, "I just don't think you should all starve to death for something you can't help that doesn't really hurt anyone else in the first place."

Chrysalis's jaw hung slightly open as she stared back at Anon. After nearly ten seconds without a response, Anon started to worry he'd said something ridiculous, but the sight of a small, yet grateful smile forming on her muzzle wiped away the fear from his mind.

"Thank you. As an emotivore, I can sense emotions from creatures around me. All I've tasted since coming her was distrust, hate, and revulsion. You're the only creature to exude compassion or concern. Even more so than Princess Celestia or Twilight Sparkle." Chrysalis replied.

"What about Luna?" Anon asked, tilting his head to the side.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, "It doesn't take an emotivore to tell she distrusts me. As does all of Canterlot, I suppose... and rightfully so." She sighed.

Anon scratched the back of his head, "Well... I've been meaning to ask you about that," He started, getting an inquisitive look from the Changeling Queen, "I mean... why did you come to Canterlot, out of all of Equestria? You could've surrendered at any town or city or even just at the border and you probably would've received a much better reception than here. Why come back to the place that hates you most?" He asked, curiously.

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, "Isn't it obvious?" She asked.

Anon simply shook his head, prompting Chrysalis to roll her eyes and point at Celestia and Luna with her hoof.

"Celestia and Luna?" Anon questioned.

"Do you not see your handiwork on their bellies?" Chrysalis deadpanned.

Anon pursed his lips, "You mean 'cause they're pregnant?"

"Yes, because they're pregnant," Chrysalis replied, resisting the urge to facehoof, "Do you have any idea when the last alicorn pregnancy was, Prince Anon?"

Anon shook his head again.

"Never. It has never happened. You've somehow managed to impregnate not one, but two alicorns, resulting in the most aggressive spike in love in Equestrian history. Possibly in the history of the entire world. This city- Hay- this whole region is being bathed in more love than the entire Crystal Empire during the last Crystalling, right now. Even as a non-changeling, surely you feel the love in the air? Haven't you seen more ponies cheerily galivanting around, singing and dancing, and throwing parties just for the heck of it?" Chrysalis asserted.

"Oh my God, you've seen it too! I asked Javelin about the ponies just randomly breaking into song before and he said it doesn't happen. Now I know for sure he was just gaslighting me! That shit has happened like, eight times now and I keep getting caught in the crossfire! Two times! Two times now, they've all looked at me like I'm supposed to finish the verse or something and I have no idea what the lyrics even are!" Anon exclaimed, earing the attention of everyone else in the room.

"I've never seen that before. I just mean general merriment." Chrysalis clarified, immediately taking the wind out of Anon's sails.

"What are you talking about, Nonny?" Celestia asked, cutely tilting her head to the side.

"The random singing that happens all the time around here!" Anon exasperatedly shouted.

"What random singing? We haven't seen any random ponies singing around Canterlot." Celestia responded, making Anon facepalm.

"Alright, anyways, since apparently I'm the only one that can see it, we'll just move on. What's the plan going forward?" Anon pressed, much to the Changeling Queen's amusement.

"Well, for starters, we'll have to work on Chrysalis's public image. That's going to be a massive roadblock unless we can manage to win over the ponies in the city. Secondly, we'll have to address this 'Storm King' and his actions in the badlands. His commander being a pony is quite alarming, to say the least..." Celestia mused.

"What about... my hive? You saw how they reacted to me. The larvae won't receive any love if you bring them out to your ponies as they are, and we don't have much time." Chrysalis asserted, a pleading tone in her voice as she stepped toward Celestia and Luna.

"Well... I suppose if we keep them out of sight and out of mind, that might suffice for now. The mana nullification rings and guard escorts are non-negotiable." Luna replied, sternly.

Chrysalis's gaze fell to the floor as a frown appeared on her muzzle and her ears splayed back.

"If we can get ponies to look at Chrysalis and her hive as something more than an invading force, then we can surely win some hearts and minds. Then, the ponies of Canterlot won't be quite so opposed to seeing changeling larvae in the streets, soaking up ambient love." Twilight reasoned.

Chrysalis glanced over to Twilight for a few moments, before standing tall once more. She gave a resolute nod, "Very well then. If winning over the ponies of Canterlot is what I must do, then how do I do it?"

Progress, progress. How will Chrysalis get the ponies to trust her? We'll have to find out, won't we?