Chrysalis wearily looked back and forth between the Badlands and the Macintosh Hills. The battalion of royal guards surrounding her did little to ease the concern and worry she felt as she was approached by Anon, Celestia, and Javelin. She barely spared them a glance before gazing back over the badlands for any sign of her hive.

"I get the 'why' we can't, but I still think it might have been a better idea to do this under cover of night... or, you know, at least put them in a bunch of different towns closer to the border instead of transporting them all the way over to Canterlot." Javelin said, looking up to Anon.

Anon nodded, "I get you, bro, but if this is gonna take anywhere near as long as Tia thinks it will, we won't get back to Canterlot until nightfall anyway. Plus, Chrysalis said Canterlot is what drew her back to Equestria in the first place. The amount of love there is stronger than anywhere else right now, so they'll get fed the fastest there." He shrugged.

"I guess that's true. I just feel like doing... this in broad daylight is going to bring the same result anyway, or at least a similar one. Equestria is gonna hate this." He replied.

Celestia glanced back over her wither as she approached Chrysalis, "While it would be easier to just distribute the hive among all of the various settlements and cities in Equestria, that would potentially lead to utter chaos on a grand scale. As much as it might upset the city, Canterlot is the best place to take them. If nothing else, they'll be under closer supervision from multiple alicorns, should anything go wrong." She explained, before turning to Chrysalis.

The Changeling Queen paid the solar princess no mind as she gazed out at the emptiness of the badlands before her, a small frown on her face and her ears laying flat against her head.

"Do you think your hive received your letter?" Celestia asked, noting the worried look in the changeling's eyes.

Chrysalis gave an almost imperceptible nod, "I received a response from my top general. My concern is how weak the hive is and the nature of the badlands. The territory is hostile and my changelings are weak. Half of them can barely stand, and the rest are essentially on death's door." She responded.

Celestia felt a frown form on her muzzle as her ears flattened too. She followed Chrysalis's eyes to the badlands, finding nothing but dry, cracked ground and sand as far as they eye could see. Even as the embodiment of light, she felt the sweltering heat on her coat and felt a pang of sympathy. Just as she opened her mouth to say something, however, Twilight teleported in beside her, the bright flash of light and *crack* of sound making her jump, slightly.

"Princess! The scouts have spotted the changeling hive!" Twilight announced, proudly.

"Where!?" Chrysalis immediately exclaimed, completely bypassing Celestia and rushing to Twilight.

"Straight ahead, about 4 thousand hooves. The mirage is obscuring them but they should come into view any second now." Twilight responded, backing up slightly at the changeling Queen's newfound proximity.

"Oh thank Faust." Chrysalis breathed a sigh of relief.

With a supportive smile, Anon placed his hand on her wither and gave a small squeeze, "See? Nothing to worry about. We'll get your 'lings here in one piece." He offered.

Chrysalis gave a grateful smile before looking back to the badlands. Surely enough, after only a few more minutes, an amorphous blob of black slowly came into view in the distance. Chrysalis squinted her eyes as the black blob grew closer and closer, the mirage dissipating from view with each passing second. She felt hope rise in her hearts as the hive approached, and when they were finally close enough for her to see properly, she broke from her position on the hill and trotted toward them.

"Chrysalis!" Twilight exclaimed, only for a large white wing to gently drape itself over her withers. She looked up to Celestia, confusion written on her face.

"She's just going to ensure her foals are alright, Twilight. It's what any mother would do." Celestia explained, watching the changeling rush to her hive.

Chrysalis quickly reached the changelings in front, and received many bows or other gestures of respect. Without hesitation, she pulled the closest changeling into a hug, then the next, and the next. The changelings, if they were surprised by this, did not show it and simply returned the gestures as best they could with excited chirping and dual-tone voices of relief. In their weakened state, they all looked to be at the brink of starving to death. The holes in all of their legs made them look as porous as a sponge, and their bellies were so small that Chrysalis was afraid she might snap them in two, should she hug too tightly.

It only took a few minutes for the gathering of over a hundred royal guards, along with Celestia, Twilight, Anon, and Javelin to walk over to the changeling hive and their queen. Were it not for how concerned she was over her changelings, Chrysalis would have noticed how the tension in the air reached its fever pitch as the Equestrians stopped just a stone's throw away. The drones not being busied by their Queen, felt their attention pulled to the royal guards forming a half circle around them.

Finally, after several more minutes of doting and fretting over her drones, Chrysalis realized that the air was silent, and she was the only source of sound at all in the noiseless valley. She released her hold on the grub held gently against her chest and turned around to see the ponies standing behind her, an unmistakable level of tenseness in their eyes as they surveyed her hive.

With the situation now apparent to her, Chrysalis gently placed the grub back on the back of the nursery drone looking after them and turned back to Celestia.

"As you can see, my hive intends no harm. They're on the verge of starvation." Chrysalis announced, loud enough for dozens of ponies to hear her.

Celestia took a step forward, flanked by both Anon and Twilight, "I see that. You really weren't kidding about the state of your hive." She admitted, a look of compassion and sorrow on her muzzle.

Chrysalis's gaze fell to the dirt before her, "Unfortunately, yes. Please... some of them are injured and in need of medical attention."

Celestia nodded toward Anon, "Right... So, uh," He started, quickly pulling out a crumpled up paper from his pocket and skimming through it, "Okay, so we'll do this as organized as we can. Chrysalis, send all of your injured to Lieutenant Plasma all the way to my left." He said, pointing to the Lieutenant with a red cross on her white armor.

Chrysalis turned to her changelings and urged them to follow Anon's instructions. At first, they were very hesitant to step away from their queen, but after several hushed words of comfort and encouragement, a portion of the hive broke off and limped their way over toward the Lieutenant and her platoon. As they arrived, they were swiftly levitated or gently hoof-lifted onto stretchers and carried toward a medical tent just past the hill.

"Any changelings that are too weak to move well on their own, or are too young to do much of anything on their own, along with their caretakers are to go to First Sergeant KnightHawk, all the way to my right." Anon instructed, reading from his paper once more.

Chrysalis again ushered her drones to follow Anon's instructions, finding that the drones responded easier this time. The nursery drones carried the grubs on their backs without complaint, quickly finding themselves surrounded by ponies that quickly escorted them to another processing tent beside a decaying tree just behind the pony lines.

"The rest of the changelings are to come with us to the processing tent directly to my rear, and we'll set about getting every changeling here registered. Twilight will be overseeing that." Anon finished, looking quite pleased with himself.

Chrysalis nodded and led the way for her changelings toward the Sun Princess and her Prince. The ranks behind them parted enough for the drones to walk up to five through at a time, and albeit with a word of assurance from their queen, the strongest of the drones found themselves at the last tent, directly behind the pony lines.

Once inside, the drones walked through a standard processing procedure for all new Equestrian citizens. They passed through a photography stand, stamped their hoof-prints, gave their names and potential skills, as well as their age, or rather, they started to, before they ran into a small hiccup.

"Princess!" A guardsmare called, gaining Twilight's attention as she observed the processing.

"Yes? She asked, making her way over to the mare and the first changeling to enter the tent. She couldn't help but notice that they were only at the first step of the process as she approached.

"Um... I'm not sure what to put on their identification cards for their sex, princess." The guardsmare replied, pursing her lips as she looked at the changeling in front of her.

"What do you mean? Just ask them." Twilight replied, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"I did, your highness. They aren't giving me a straight answer." The guard replied.

Twilight turned to the changeling in question; a moderately sized drone with red frills on their head and making up their tail, along with purple eyes and a violet elytra. Said changeling gave her a lopsided look of confusion as she stepped over to the booth.

"Are you a mare, or a stallion?" Twilight asked.

"Either or, depending on the circumstances." The changeling replied, in a discernably masculine voice.

Twilight tilted her head to the side, "W-we're not asking about if you change your sex when you've pretended to be different ponies, we're asking what you currently are right now." She replied.

"I don't change my sex when I impersonate ponies." The changeling gruffly replied.

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but found that she was coming up blank. Her jaw opened and closed several more times as she tried to process the information she was receiving, but just as she thought she found a reasonable response, Chrysalis and Anon stepped over to her side.

"Pharynx, what is the meaning of this holdup?" Chrysalis questioned, firmly but with an underlining level of concern.

"We got a lot of 'lings to get through, TS." Anon added, tapping his wristwatch in an expectant fashion.

Twilight grit her teeth but said nothing.

"I was informing these ponies of my sex." Pharynx replied, simply.

"More like avoiding informing." The guard rolled her eyes.

Chrysalis frowned, "What did you tell them?"

"That it depends on the circumstances." Pharynx shrugged.

Chrysalis sighed before looking over to Twilight, "I thought you knew this but I suppose I was wrong to assume. Changelings can change their biological sex on a whim. However, every changeling settles into a sex, whether male or female, that they prefer. What Pharynx is trying to say, is that he has changed to female when needed, to lay eggs for the hive, but he spends the rest of his time as male." She explained.

Twilight and Anon looked at her as if she'd spoken another language.

"R-really?" Twilight asked in disbelief.

"D-did he say no homo first?" Anon quietly asked.

"Did I what?" Pharynx asked, looking up to Anon.

"Nothing, nothing! Anyway, just put his sex down as male and move on. We've got a lot of changelings to get through, guys." Anon announced, clapping his hands together, before leaning over to Chrysalis, "I thought you laid all the eggs?" He questioned.

Chrysalis shook her head, "I'll explain that later. It's not fairly complicated, but as you said, we have a lot of my hive to process." She acknowledged, receiving a nod of affirmation in response.

The guardsmare nodded and scribbled down her notes before ushering Pharynx along and out of the tent toward further processing. With the new understanding of changeling biology cemented, the line quickly moved along at a nominal pace. Changelings passed through one by one and soon enough, the tension in the air slowly faded, and a more comfortable hustle and bustle filled the air as the line chugged along. Changelings that were previously scared silent, opened up slightly and chittered back and forth in hushed whispers as the ponies around them watched over them, silently observing.

Anon stood beside Chrysalis and Twilight, his hands resting on his hips as he nodded to himself in satisfaction at the progress they were making, until a voice startled him out of his thoughts.

"U-um, excuse me?" A timid sounding, female changeling asked.

Anon looked down at the drone, who barely appeared to be older than a nymph as she looked up to him with large cerulean eyes. Her elytra was almost as lightly colored as her eyes, only a shade darker, and she had soft pink frills running up her head and making up her tail.

"Y-yes?" Anon asked, looking back and forth to see that both Chrysalis and Twilight were preoccupied and didn't hear her.

"I-I was wondering if we would be able to eat soon... it's been three days since I last had any love." She timidly trailed off, shyly rubbing her foreleg as she struggled to meet Anon's gaze.

The difference in height between them became immediately apparent as Anon realized that he absolutely towered over the scrawny drone. With a subtle glance back and forth to Chrysalis and Twilight, he kneeled down to just above eye level with the little drone, a disarming smile finding its way onto his face.

"We'll get you guys sorted, don't worry. Just gotta get through the processing first. It should only take a few hours. " He offered, gently.

The little drone gave a thankful smile, her fangs adorably poking out as she gratefully nodded to the tall man.

"Ocellus! Get back here!" A voice cried out in both alarm and concern.

Anon and the drone he now knew to be named Ocellus turned around to see another, more mature looking, male drone rushing over and grabbing her.

"I-I'm so sorry about her, Prince Anon. She's just barely a drone and gets away to where she shouldn't go sometimes." The new changeling explained, casting a disapproving glance back to Ocellus. She sunk into herself at the gaze while Anon looked the new changeling over.

The changeling's eyes were a turquoise color, and his elytra held a darker, almost prussian blue color. While his tone sounded like that of a concerned parent, his stance and posture made it obvious that he was absolutely terrified as he trembled in place before the human.

Anon gave what he hoped was a disarming grin before holding a hand up, "Hey, it's alright. Is she your... uh... daughter? Hatchling? Broodmate? What's the right term here?" Anon trailed off, rubbing his chin with his thumb and index finger and gazing to the floor.

Before the changeling could answer, Chrysalis noticed the two drones standing before Anon and cut in.

"Thorax, take Ocellus and get back in line." Chrysalis ordered, her tone once again stern but filled with concern.

"Y-yes, my queen." Thorax hastily bowed and scooped Ocellus up in his forelegs before unfurling his wings and buzzing his way back over to his place in line.

Chrysalis sighed as Anon stood back up to his full height, "You know, I used to think changelings were just overgrown mosquitos." He said, crossing his arms.

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at his playful tone, "Oh? And what do you see us as now?" She asked, allowing a thin smile to grace her face.

"Adorable giant mosquitoes." Anon replied, sounding quite pleased with himself.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, "Very funny, Prince Anon. Very funny." She deadpanned, although the tiniest trace of a smile formed at the corner of her mouth.

The day continued on, and with it, relatively little issues arose. There was the occasional bout of confusion at the changeling's unique biology, but the majority of the hive was processed fairly easily. In less than three hours, over two thousand of the hive was already processed and boarded on airships heading to Canterlot.

As she watched the tenth ship take off, Celestia's ear flicked back to the sound of hoofsteps approaching behind her. She glanced back to find Chrysalis walking over to her, Javelin and Anon right behind her.

"Well, I must admit, for being so last minute, things are going quite swimmingly. Wouldn't you agree, Chrysalis?" Celestia asked.

Chrysalis bowed her head briefly, "Indeed. Thank you, for this. I... I can't tell you how much I appreciate it." She managed to say.

Celestia smiled, "While it may be the start of quite a bit of chaos and concern for the foreseeable future, I think this is also the start of a good future for both our species."

Chrysalis nodded, but slowly cast a glance back at her hive as they were led to their respective airships in several long lines. A frown of concern formed on her muzzle as she looked back to Celestia.

"A-are you sure the mana blocker rings are absolutely necessary? I understand for me, but for the rest of the hive... most of the nymphs and grubs are barely able to transform at all as it is. This will only hinder their development and stunt their growth." She reasoned.

Celestia let out a long, sad sigh, "I am sorry, Chrysalis. Truly, I am, but this is the best I can do. Canterlot may be overflowing with love due to my and Luna's pregnancies, but if the ponies see unchained, uninhibited changelings freely roaming around the city, there's a good chance that all that love could turn to hate and fear. Then it won't matter whether your changelings are wearing rings or not, ponies won't be willing to share love, and I can't condone allowing Changelings to steal it by force either." She explained.

Chrysalis's gaze fell to the floor, but she gave a nod of acknowledgement, "I... suppose that's to be expected. I'll just have to earn more goodwill with the ponies in Canterlot then."

Anon patted her back, making her jump, slightly, "That's the spirit! I've already got a few ideas brewing in my head that could get you into a positive light with the ponies in town." He announced, a prideful smile on his face.

Celestia cocked an eyebrow back while Chrysalis tilted her head to the side, "Oh? And just what ideas might those be?" The solar princess questioned.

Anon grinned, "Check it, we've got a Wonderbolts derby coming up in a few days that'll have literally thousands of ponies present, all of them eager to watch something exciting, right? Well... what if we show up to said show with our little bug queen here beside us? Think about it, there'll be tens of thousands of eyes on you, honey, cause you're gorgeous-" He said, matter-of-factly, "-and then there'll be hundreds of thousands of eyes on Chryssi over here cause everyone's gonna be thinking 'woah, is that the changeling queen? I thought she was so evil but here she is, just enjoying a Wonderbolts show. Then, we have her holding and playing with a puppy. Boom, nobody evil could ever like a puppy. Ponies will start to think, 'Maybe she's not so evil after all?'." He finished, in a strange mix of an Italian and French accent.

"Chryssi?" Chrysalis raised her eyebrows and gave Anon a look of bafflement.

"Hun," Celestia barely managed to suppress a chuckle, "While that's not a bad idea, I can also see how that would attract a hostile reaction. Not to mention, I can't make the Wonderbolts derby. I have a meeting with the merchant's guild that afternoon." She replied.

Anon's excitement faltered, "Oh shit, yeah I forgot about that." He admitted, rubbing his chin in thought.

"So am I not going to get an answer for that pet name, or?" Chrysalis trailed off, looking back and forth to Anon and Celestia.

"What about Luna?" Anon asked.

"You know that she doesn't like Wonderbolt's shows. She's a ShadowBolts fan." Celestia scoffed.

"I guess not." Chrysalis sighed.

"Damn Shadowbolts. What do they have that the Wonderbolts don't?" Anon muttered.

"Didn't you say you wanted to spend this weekend with Sergeant Javelin for some much needed 'best-bro bonding time', as you put it, the other night?" Celestia questioned, playfully raising an eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure that's a euphemism for sex." Chrysalis muttered.

Anon dramatically gasped, "Oh my GOD, you're right! I almost forgot! Jav!" He exclaimed, turning to his guard, "I drink this weekend!"

Javelin smirked, "I drink this weekend."

"You drink with me?" Anon replied gesturing between himself and his guard.

"I drink with you." Javelin nodded.

"We drink this weekend." Anon returned the nod, before holding his fist out for Javelin to bump.

Chrysalis watched the exchange with her head tilting further and further to the side until it was almost completely sideways, "I... w-wha?" She managed, before Celestia patted her wither.

"Anon gets like this with Sergeant Javelin. They haven't been able to spend much time together in quite a while due to their duties and schedules clashing." Celestia explained.

Chrysalis nodded, her head still sideways, "I... can certainly sense quite a bit of love between the two of them. They must be very good friends."

Celestia chuckled, "Quite. Sergeant Javelin was Anon's first friend in Equestria. They're both very close."

Chrysalis finally untilted her head just as Anon turned back toward her and Celestia.

"Javelin, Chrysalis, and I drink this weekend." Anon announced, stoically.

Celestia chuckled as she nodded, "Yes, honey, you and Javelin can drink this week- wait, did you say Chrysalis?" She asked, doing a double take.

"I'm sorry, what?" Chrysalis asked.

"I, uh... are you sure?" Javelin asked, looking up to Anon with a puzzled expression.

"I just... you want Chrysalis to go drinking with you?" Celestia questioned, her expression mirroring Javelin's.

"I do. I seem to recall accepting responsibility for Chrysalis until we determine that she can have her mana ring removed." Anon smirked.

Celestia made her way to Anon, unfurling her wing to give them a moment of privacy, "Honey, are you sure about this? There's still much to do with regards to her hive and I don't think Canterlot is ready to see Chrysalis bar hopping with you and Javelin." She quietly said.

"I get that, I do. Here me out though. She's been starving, dealing with her hive starving, and dealing with everything else that comes with just trying to stay alive. This would be a good chance to get her mind off of it, and you heard Cadence. Getting her to integrate is the way we make sure she stays good forever. Hanging out with the boys, showing Canterlot that she's just as normal to be around as anypony else would really help with that, don't you think?" Anon replied, equally quietly.

Celestia pondered Anon's response for several seconds, her tongue rolling in her mouth as Anon fixed her with an expectant look.

"If this is about my safety, you and Luna just gave me that badass ring, Dusk doesn't really drink, and we're gonna have two more night guards for protection. It'll be fine, honey. I promise." Anon offered, gently cupping his wife's cheek.

Celestia met Anon's gaze for several seconds as he rubbed her cheek. Eventually, she quietly sighed and nodded, her wing returning to its place at her barrel as she turned to Chrysalis and Javelin.

"I think that it would be a wonderful idea for Chrysalis to go with you two for your weekend." She announced.

"Princess, I-I can't leave my hive when they're just getting introduced to Canterlot. There are hundreds of potential risks I have to assess and I need to ensure no changeling or pony gets into a fight or misunderstanding." Chrysalis protested.

"Your hive is going to be housed in underground housing for the foreseeable future, Chrysalis. They'll be allowed to feed from the ambient love in Canterlot, but at least until we can smooth this over with the city, they won't be allowed to run around town or get into trouble. They'll be safe and secure. Trust me at least as much as I've trusted you by even allowing this in the first place?" She offered, receiving a very hesitant nod from the Changeling Queen, "Thank you. Now, you are Anon's responsibility, so he must take you with him wherever he goes. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll all have a fun time." Celestia smiled.

Anon beamed while Javelin gave the sun princess a resigned stare. Chrysalis glanced back and forth between the three of them, a hesitant look of acceptance forming on her muzzle as well.

"I... suppose I don't have much of a choice then. I'll try to be as discreet as possible, Prince Anon." Chrysalis reluctantly responded, turning to Anon.

Anon instantly shook his head, "No, no, it's gonna be great. You'll see. You're gonna have a great time. We'll all have a great time... even if the weekend was supposed to be for the boys." He chuckled.

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, "Well... if you'll permit me to take this ring off for a moment, I can change into a male form. That way, it is still technically 'the boys'." She offered.

Anon pursed his lips in thought before pulling Javelin into a huddle. They whispered to each other for a few moments while quickly casting glances back at the Changeling Queen. After nearly a minute, they both shared a nod and turned around to face her and Celestia.

"We will need to discuss this matter with the rest of the boys. If they agree, then I will allow it." Anon announced.

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow again, "The... rest of the boys?" She questioned.

Celestia sighed, "Honey, are you even sure Dusk and Echo want to drink with you? Did you even ask them?" She asked, in a last ditch effort to halt the weekend plans.

"Of course I have... thought of it, that is. I'm gonna ask them when we get back." Anon admitted.

Celestia facehoofed, "With your charm, I'm sure they'll say yes in a heartbeat." She playfully rolled her eyes.

Anon placed his hands on his hips and nodded, pointedly ignoring his wife's sass, "It's gonna be all the boys and possibly Chrysalis as a boy. God, I can't wait." He smiled.

Chrysalis simply looked as if every word she'd heard was spoken in several different languages.

"I, um... o-okay?"

Whew. That was a lot of development, wasn't it? Had a lot of fun with this chapter so hopefully you guys liked it as well. Now how about those weekend plans, huh? Who's excited for all that stuff?