The dark caverns of the Changeling home were damp and deserted. The muted sound of wings buzzing about through many of the internal channels could be heard if one strained to listen hard enough, but Chrysalis paid it no heed as she cautiously made her way through the tunnel that she and her guard currently resided. None spoke as they crept further into the dark, their eyes taking little time to adjust to the changes in light.

Slowly the group entered the main chamber where a dark throne sat in the center, carved from the very rock of the chamber itself. Chrysalis released a slow and shaky breath upon noting that the throne was empty.

'She's not here... then perhaps I may yet save us...' Turning to the nearest guard, she kept her voice low.

"Gather the drones and meet me in the nursery, we've not much time." The guard looked to her in confusion, only to be startled back as she pressed closer to his face, releasing an intimidating hiss.

"Go now!" The drone clicked a response of acknowledgment, before turning to another nearby tunnel and quickly darting into the darkness.

"Let us hurry, we must gather the larvae and eggs if-" A voice as cold as the icy north filled the air and Chrysalis felt chilled to her very core.

"Leaving so soon Chrysalis? If I didn't know any better, I would think that you were trying to avoid me..." Turning shakily, Chrysalis felt her eyes widen at the sight of a dark figure now resting in the once empty throne. The throne that had once belonged to herself and had been sat in by generations of Changeling Queens.

Despite their natural ability to see in the dark, the figure that sat upon the throne before them could not be made out entirely. Her shape was distinctly that of a tall pony, a long waving mane and tail along with a set of great wings that were half spread, but that was as far as they could tell within the darkness that seemed to cling to her as though it were her skin. The only other feature that could clearly be seen, and the most haunting aside from her ice-cold voice, were the four glowing red eyes that watched them in a seething, unadulterated rage.

Moving slowly, Chrysalis dipped her head into a low bow, being cautious to keep herself between the mare and the changelings behind her.

"M-my Queen... H-how long have you been there?" The figure stared back from her shadows.

"I thought we had a deal, Chrysalis." She ignored the changeling's question in favor of her own interrogation. Standing from the throne, she began to make her way down the steps of carved stone. Chrysalis glanced up, sweat dripping down her frame as she fought every instinct to run and to remain prostrate before this being.

"I-I... th-there were... unforeseen circ-" Chrysalis did not get the chance to defend herself as she found the air in her lungs forcibly ejected from the impact of an unseen force. She flew back and collided with the wall of the cavern, before finding herself in a state that reminded her far too much of her time at the wedding in Canterlot. The bindings that held her in place, however, were not strange black tendrils, but rather an ominous red magic. The four eyes of the creature that advanced upon her glowed brighter in the darkness.

"Unforeseen? Did you not place spies within the city and surrounding villages months in advance as I had instructed?" She did not give Chrysalis the chance to answer, however, as she raised a single long leg and slammed her hoof into Chrysalis' throat, causing the changeling to gurgle out a pained and muted scream. She struggled against her bonds to the wall even as the pony pressed harder into her throat, the sound of chitin cracking under extreme pressure echoed throughout the chamber. The changeling guard that had arrived with Chrysalis dared not to make any movements to defend their queen or face the wrath of this faceless mare.

"ANSWER ME, WRETCH!" Chrysalis struggled to answer without breath, the edges of what she could see slowly fading as she struggled to suck in air until finally, she nodded her head. The mare released the pressure on her neck and stepped back, revealing the cracks in the chitin around Chrysalis' neck, green blood dripping slowly from the wound.

"Then there are no excuses." Chrysalis gasped for breath, her chest heaving as she felt the black that had begun to encompass her vision slowly fade. The soft hoofsteps of the one she had bargained with slowly stepped away until they stopped some distance from her.

"After all I have done for you... All I asked was for one thing, Chrysalis, just one. Bring me the Princess... Bring Celestia to me, battered and broken, and you would get everything that you and your kind rightfully deserve." She turned so that two of her eyes bore into Chrysalis' struggling frame.

"Were it not for me, your entire race would be extinct." She growled, before turning to the changeling guards and beginning to advance upon them. The changelings shook in horror as she approached, each of them looking to any of the other tunnels and wondering if they could escape, until a red dome of magic appeared around them, trapping them in place. Seeing the new direction of the pony's ire, Chrysalis struggled even more against the stone she was bound to.

"N-No! No! Please, leave them be!" Tears of panic and pain began to stream from her eyes as she fought to free herself, to save her clutch from the monster that stood before them.

"It is such a waste. I sacrificed much to help your kind, abducting ponies and other creatures from the surrounding nations where you no longer could. Your magic so far gone that your abilities to shapeshift were nothing more than a long-forgotten dream." She spat as she stopped just before the trembling guards, a burning anger within her eyes as she looked back to the distraught changeling queen.

"How many years of work? Yet your race is still on the verge of dying out. And now that you have failed to do what I have asked, your deaths are all but assured. Since you can't seem to lead your changelings properly, I’ll just have to find a better use for them." Chrysalis thrashed even harder against the magic bindings, her eyes wide and terrified.

"PLEASE NO!! L-LET ME TRY AGAIN!! I'LL SEE IT DONE, I SWEAR!!" The pony's eyes took on something more of a sadistic nature as a haunting and hollow laugh began to escape the shadows of her frame. A dark horn was wrapped in the crimson magic before a single changeling was plucked from the group and dragged forward, it clawed at the ground as it clicked and chittered to its siblings, begging to be spared and pleading for them to save it. They could only clench their eyes closed as they turned their heads away.

"I warned you once before Chrysalis! Now you have left me with no other choice then to do it my way!" The changelings trapped within the dome of red magic backed as far as they could from their captive sibling as it found itself consumed by the red aura before its eyes widened and a pained screech erupted from its fanged maw.

In the darkened tunnel nearby, the guard that had been sent to gather the other drones watched in terror as his sibling was set upon by the mad mare in the shadows, Chrysalis' pleading yells all but drowned under its own screams of pain and the sounds of breaking chitin and tearing flesh. The silhouette of the changeling within the red aura writhed in agony, before parts of it began to stretch and grow, the sickening sound of blood splashing across the cavern floor echoed across the chamber.

Glancing about to make sure that it had not been seen, the lone changeling slowly crept back and away from the main chamber, before turning and quickly making his way back to the entrance of the cave system.

He moved as quietly as he could for what seemed hours until the surface could be seen, the bright midday sun burning his eyes. he ignored the searing pain in favor of his own survival, as he leaped into the air and in a flash of green, the changeling vanished.

A single brown feather drifted to the ground before a dark grey hoof stamped down on it. Four red eyes watching as the creature that the changeling had transformed into raced off into the distance, a grin of jagged teeth upon her face.

“Retrieve him.” She commanded as an unholy screech echoed from the caverns behind her.

"Spike, I went over this with you at least three different times the last time we covered this. How are you still struggling with it?" Spike groaned in defeat as his head was buried in his arms.

"Because Star, last time was like, two years ago? I haven't had to brush up on recent Equestrian history since the Hearth's Warming play! Also, I'm not good at remembering the dates of things!" He threw his claws up in frustration, while Dimmed Star raised an eyebrow at him.

Spike and Dimmed Star sat in the lobby of the library with pillows and cushions surrounding them as Spike tried to finish his assigned homework, while Dimmed Star had been doing some studying of her own. She had still refused to allow the drake to help her in her own studies, but she had stopped secluding herself away in her room after their talk on the previous Saturday.

Scootaloo watched on as the two of them squabbled over the homework as she chewed on the end of her own pencil, a workbook sitting on the cushion before her.

"Dinner is almost ready~!" A cheerful voice echoed from the kitchen echoed across the library, causing the ears of everypony to perk up immediately.

"How is it that you won't let me cook anymore, but you'll let Pinkie come and cook twice in a row? I thought you said that you wanted to learn some responsibility?" Spike asked as he turned to his guardian. Dimmed Star felt her cheeks warm as she looked away from him, before clearing her throat and pointing back to his homework.

"Don't change the subject... besides she fixed the stove... somehow..." Spike and Scootaloo chuckled at her discomfort, before redirecting themselves to their assignments once more.

"Hey Dimmed Star, can you tell me if I'm doing this right?" Scootaloo asked as she went over the math book next to her, trying to compare the equations in it to the one that she was currently struggling with within her own workbook. Dimmed Star looked to the filly with a smile as she lit up her horn, enveloping the workbook in a teal light as she levitated it over for her to scrutinize.

"Hmm." She hummed to herself as she brought about her own quill from her research, making small notes on a fresh sheet of parchment, before sending the workbook and the paper back to the young pegasus' hooves.

"You did great with question twenty, but you should go back to questions seven, eight, and twelve. Those notes will help you find what you did wrong." Scootaloo nodded happily as she began to flip through the pages in her textbook while looking back and forth between the workbook and the parchment that Dimmed Star had given her. Spike grinned as he watched them from the corner of his eye.

"Still struggling with math?" Scootaloo took a brief moment to stick out her tongue at him, before giggling and turning back to her work.

"No more than you are with history." The young drake blushed even as Dimmed Star gave him a devious smirk.

"Looks like the dragon got burned." He could only grumble before turning back to his textbook and continued to read the passage he was on.

"Thanks for letting me come over and helping me with my homework, Dimmed Star." Looking away from the drake, Dimmed Star smiled warmly at the filly who scribbled in her workbook, trying to correct her mistakes.

"It's no problem Scootaloo and I've told you, Star is fine. You don't need to keep up formalities with me." Scootaloo looked up with a grin at the mare, her wings buzzing briefly before clamping back to her sides.

Glancing over the young pegasus, Dimmed Star looked past her to see the setting sun just outside the window, a touch of concern appearing in her features.

"Although, don't you think you should be heading home soon? It's getting rather late." Scootaloo looked up from her work with a shaky smile, her pencil dropping to rest at her hooves.

'Don't send me away...' A stray thought echoed in the back of Scootaloo's mind.

"Can't I stay for dinner at least? Pinkie Pie said she was gonna make cupcakes..." Giving the best impression of a puppy, the filly made her eyes as big as possible while pouting, however, the power of intense cuteness seemed to have no effect on the grown mare as she only raised an eyebrow at her.

"Scootaloo, you've been coming over every day for the past week, staying until almost sunset at times much like today. I don't mind the company, but you've stuck to us like Spike sticks to his comic books." The aforementioned drake gave an indignant yell, only for Dimmed Star to poke him in the ribs with a hoof and causing him to laugh. Turning back to the young filly with a soft smile, her expression became worried as Scootaloo was no longer looking up at her, but rather her head was bowed and her ears were laid back.

'Please don't make me go...' The filly felt her chest tighten.

"Scootaloo? Is there something wrong?" Scootaloo looked up from the floor, a nervousness in her gaze. She began to rub her left foreleg with her right and bit her lower lip, her wings taught against her sides. After a small silence, she sighed and gave a shaky smile.

"N-no, everything is fine. I just reeeeaaally wanna have one of Pinkie's delicious cupcakes before I go home. I'm sure mom and dad won't mind me being a bit late." Dimmed Star's eyebrows creased in concern at her movements.

'Somethings... not right...' She eyed the young filly carefully, causing her to chuckle nervously and shrink back a bit.

"Dinner's ready~!" Pinkie bounced into the lobby wearing a bright yellow apron with the words, ' Kiss the Cook' embroidered on the front. The jubilant mare made sure to dive into the pile of cushions and pillows, sending white feathers everywhere.

"Gah! Pinkie!" Dimmed Star exclaimed as said mare had latched onto Dimmed Star's side, giggling all the while.

"Come on Dimmy! I worked really hard to come up with a new recipe with the meat in the fridge and I just know you'll love it!" Dimmed Star tried valiantly to pry the mare from her side, only to groan in defeat as she refused to let go.

"Fine... Let's eat then." She shook her head with a soft smile at the mare, who only grinned back. The two of them had spent the entire afternoon the day before spending time together. When Dimmed Star had brought up that she hadn't been able to cook anything properly, the mare had nearly tackled her, begging her to let the pink enigma come over and cook. After much debating and begging, Dimmed Star had only agreed when she had pointed out that it wasn't healthy for Spike to only be eating salad. So for his health, she gave in and allowed Pinkie Pie to come and cook dinner.

It had come as quite a shock however when it came to light that the mare could not only cook, but was handy with tools in the kitchen. She had fixed the stove, the leak in the kitchen drain, the faulty fridge light, and had even cleaned the burn marks from the counter! Dimmed Star couldn't help but feel that she was taking advantage of the mare, a small bit of guilt settling in her stomach.

'Why should I feel guilty? I mean... she's probably just doing all of this to try and make up for what she did at the wedding anyway... so why does it feel wrong?' Dimmed Star pondered as she sighed a defeated breath.

As she made her way towards the kitchen, Spike at her side and Pinkie still with her hooves wrapped around her waist as she dragged along giggling, Scootaloo watched them go with a soft smile.

'Is this what it’s like… to be a real family? … Not like...' The image of a light green hoof flashed across her mind and she flinched instinctively. Taking her hoof from her left leg, she brought it closer and rubbed beneath the surface of her right-wing, a sore spot making her whimper slightly.

"Scootaloo?" Yanking her hoof from her side and snapping her wings closed, she looked to Dimmed Star who watched her curiously.

"Aren't you coming?" Scootaloo's mouth opened in surprise slightly, before she felt herself smile as she nodded rapidly.

"Ye-yea!" Standing to her hooves, she bounded her way across the cushions and up to Dimmed Star's left side, Spike having already taken her right side. Dimmed Star only chuckled as she dragged the limp form of her pink friend back towards the kitchen, Spike and Scootaloo laughing along the way.

Scootaloo sighed dejectedly as she pushed her scooter through the darkening streets of Ponyville proper. She had long left the library after having dinner and finished her homework, but she had made no real attempt to get home before the sun fully set on the horizon. Glancing up from the dirt path, she watched as the clouds rolled past in the cool wind and the pegasi above rushed to keep them in place.

Her eyes darted to and fro, hoping to catch the sight of her idol in the mass of working weather ponies, but it was not to be. She slumped her shoulders and leaned down, resting her chin on the bar of her scooter while her back leg pushed her ever forwards.

'When is Rainbow Dash gonna hang out with me again?' She wondered idly, the cool air on her face making her muzzle itch a tiny bit. Reaching forward to rub it and relieve the light irritation, she took the momentary pause to yawn as well. A full belly had always had the effect of making her more tired than usual, and Pinkie's cooking was always the best. She smiled at the memory of the spread that the baker had set out for Dimmed Star, Spike and herself. She hadn't tasted an onion and garlic stew that good since... since…

'Since before mom started gambling...' Her eyes drifted back to the road below and she felt herself trembling lightly. The creaking of the wheels on her scooter did little to soothe the young filly of her hardships, even less so when she found herself coming to stop as she bumped into the gate of an old fence. Looking up from the ground, she found herself sitting just outside her home, the old picket fence was broken and falling to pieces. The bright purple paint having aged long ago and chipped from its surface. Beyond that sat an untrimmed yard that looked more like it belonged on the edge of the Everfree, with the exception that it was littered with trash and old junk. She grimaced at the sight, no matter how many times she tried to clean it up, her father still managed to mess it up again.

The sounds of yelling drew her attention to the small two-story home itself. The white paint had seen better days much like the fence, the roof being the only part of the home that looked mostly intact. She could see light coming from the windows on the left that lead into the living room, the shadows of two figures reminiscent of ponies could be seen as they yelled and argued at one another.

'Again...' Scootaloo gripped the handlebar of her scooter tighter as she felt anxiety build up rapidly in her chest, her frame trembling even more.

Stepping quietly from the scooter, she pushed the gate open as she pushed it along through the tall grass until she stood next to the front door and leaned it against the wall of the home. She sat in the yard and quietly rubbed at her foreleg with her hoof as the yelling continued, her ears pressed back as she fought to block them out. She couldn't entirely make out what the argument was about, but she could guess.

"Mom must have lost more money..." She mumbled as she clenched the fur on her leg tightly. It wasn't always like this. There was a time once when Scootaloo would come home and her adoptive parents would be in the yard to greet her with bright smiles. Glancing to the small trashed garden to her right, she pictured the many roses and daffodils that her father had been growing at one time. But now only twigs and dead bushes rested against the house.

The sound of glass breaking and a scream caused her to jerk her head in the direction of the window, her anxiety climbing as she watched the two ponies continue to yell at one another. Clenching her eyes shut, she fought back the tears that threatened to fall just as the door in front of her swung open, flooding the doorstep in light.

"What the fuck are you doing home so late!?" The voice of the gruff stallion before her demanded as he glared down at her, causing Scootaloo to flinch back from him.

"Get in the damn kitchen! Dinner's been ready for over an hour!" She nodded rapidly, daring not to speak as she rushed past him and towards the kitchen where a cold meal waited. Despite having already eaten, she knew better than to try and say anything on the matter.

"Tartarus damned brat." Brutus Meadow grumbled as he slammed the door shut, the force causing the frame to shake and sending Scootaloo's beloved scooter to the dirt where it would lay for the rest of the night.

Author's Notes:

Shaded: * is laying in a hospital bed* Y-You finally… made it...

Kuunlehti: Why are you in a hospital?

Shaded: It's a l-long story…

Twilight: * sips tea nearby* One that he'll keep to himself if he knows what's good for him.

Shaded: *Whimpers*

Kuunlehti: * Inner Voice: Oh but this is getting more and more interesting by the second.* Shush now, if he can't tell it, don't push it.

Dimmed Star: * Raises eyebrow* Who is the new guy talking to?

Twilight: No idea, but at this point as long as he does the disclaimer, I don't think I care. * sips more tea*

Kuunlehti: I mean, if we- uhh I have to, I guess then. * krhm* Shaded Blood does not own MLP: FIM or the Equinox Ponies. Please support him by joining the Discord Server for faster updates, blogs and announcements! Link to the Discord is here --> Link!!
Oh, and thank the wonderful me for proofreading this chapter

Shaded: Th-thanks bro…

Dimmed Star: …. Soooo… Can I eat him?

Kuunlehti: Me? No! Who do you have then to keep Shaded on schedule?

Twilight: I don't know, I've heard tale that even you have a hard time keeping up with proofreading… perhaps you could do with some… persuasion…

Dimmed Star: * Begins to advance on Kuunlehti with a grin*

Kuunlehti: I think it's time for me to leave! I'm sure you will have plenty of time to try to kill me later, not that you will ever succeed! * teleports away in a dim gray flash*

Dimmed Star: Did he just?

Twilight: Challenge us yes… *sigh* time to break in the newbie. * Teleports away in a purple flash, a manic grin on her face*

Shaded: That poor bastard...