A rush of green fire appeared out of the thin air over Flurry Heart’s desk. By dragon post, a letter arrived that bore her name.
Dear Flurry Heart,
Has Double Time arrived in the palace? She said she needed to go north to see you and Cheval, but she hasn’t been answering any of my messages. I’m starting to get worried.
-Light Step.
Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire woke up in the morning with a yawn. She rolled over to check for Shining, and upon discovering he’d gotten up before her, decided that she could enjoy her rest a few minutes more.
Eventually, she got out of bed, refreshed herself, showered, and brushed her mane. And when she emerged into the dining room, she found her daughter seated at the table. Breakfast was there.
Which is to say, Cheval was there, and Cadence had arrived. Also there was toast and hay and orange juice and such.
“Hey, mom,” Cheval said. “Dad got up super early and took Flurry into the city.”
“Oh.” Cadence hesitated a moment, then sat. “You didn’t want to go with them?”
“I thought we should talk.” She pushed the toast her mother’s way. “You know. About life.”
Cadence eyed her daughter’s leg when she used it to push the toast. Her gaze followed one particular hole. “I guess we should.” She took a piece of toast and applied jam. “I know what those holes mean.”
“I know.” Cheval lowered her head. “I impersonated a few griffons. In public. Or at parties and things. Where they’d get hugs from their significant others.”
“I sent you muffins.”
“I know. I know. I…” She let out a long breath. “I threw them away. Not because of anything you did. Flurry thought, well. Nevermind. I was an idiot. I thought I had to learn to survive on my own. Or that it was in my blood.”
“When you left, you promised you’d eat them.” Cadence lifted a hoof to her face. She shut her eyes, and a faint squeak escaped her.
“I know. I’m…” Cheval drew her mouth into a line. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”
“You’re sorry you hurt me? Cheval, look what you did to yourself.” Cadence gestured at her. At the holes and the black shell and the fangs. “You’re my daughter and I let this happen.” Her voice cracked.
“No, mom, don’t cry.” Cheval reached across the table, resting her hoof over Cadence’s. “I felt you and dad crying last night. I didn’t want to—”
“The changeling ‘old ways’ have taken everything from this family. They attacked our wedding, harassed our marriage, tried to kidnap Flurry Heart, burned our kingdom. And now they’re going to take you away too.” Cadence started to tear up. “You were the only good thing to ever come out of all this suffering.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m not. Mom, I’m not.” Cheval held both of her hooves over Cadence’s. “I made some mistakes. I did some bad things. But I’m not a bad creature. I’m here and I need you.”
“You need me for what?” Cadence choked up, her voice thick. “Lunch?”
“Yes. I’m pregnant and I don’t know how I’m going to keep my children from starving.”
Cadence froze, and into the silence, Cheval went on. “At school, I didn’t know what was happening. I thought I was a drone. I did. I thought sex didn’t mean anything. And then somehow I was always starving. No matter what I got it wasn’t enough. Every griffon had to adore me and I panicked when they didn’t. And I thought it was me. I thought I was a monster.”
“You’re…” Cadence’s glanced at Cheval’s midsection. “You’re pregnant.”
“Yeah. Amaryllis said the first birth is smaller. ‘Only’ a thousand eggs. Double Time said I had to go to Thorax’s hive right away, since they would know the most about caring for them. But I don’t want to run away to the badlands and… and what?”
Cheval let out a breath and looked away. “Abandon them there? Stay in the badlands forever? I don’t know. This was an accident. He was my roommate’s boyfriend and I thought he was cute. And I know I made mistakes. I know I made a lot of mistakes and it’s going to take a long time to redeem myself, but…”
“No. No. You had… bad instincts. Nesting, or something.” Cadence shook her head. “It’s not your fault.”
“Yes, it is.” Cheval smiled. No sooner had she completed the gesture than she froze. A hoof leapt to her face to cover her hideous, monstrous fangs. “Dammit.”
“Dear, it’s not so—”
“Please don’t tell me it’s okay when it’s obviously not.” Cheval snapped. “I did things I can’t get away with. I can’t. Stealing love is not okay. But I need to know.” She tapped her shell. “I need to know how this is going to end.”
“Of course.” Cadence leaned across the table and kissed Cheval’s forehead. “Let’s sit and talk about it, okay?”
“Okay.” Cheval sipped her water.
“What’s the gestation period?” Mirroring the gesture, Cadence took a bite of her toast. “How long do we have?”
For over an hour, they talked about raising children. The eggs would have to go to Thorax’s hive, but Cadence could visit regularly. Once the Empire was no longer under her control, she might be able to move there entirely. When the eggs turned into grubs, they could be sent across Equestria to loving families.
“I’m sure,” Cadence said, stifling a yawn, “Celestia would love to adopt one. She’s been eager for a new apprentice ever since Twilight moved further from Canterlot.”
“Maybe. But I think what really matters is that you’re there. You’re their grandmother.” Cheval smiled again. She didn’t cover it. “Well, their real grandmother. Their technical, biological grandmother gets no visitation rights.”
“She can keep the kingdom. I’ll steal her grandchildren.” Cadence started a laugh, only to yawn again. “I am really tired this morning.”
“You can go back to sleep if you want. I’ll be here all morning.”
“Don’t be silly. I just got up.” Cadence tried to stand, but found that her legs weren’t responding. Lifting a forehoof into her vision, she struggled to focus on it, shaking her head twice in failed attempts to clear it. “What’s… that’s not right.”
“Mom, whatever else happens? I want you to know. I love you and I always will.” Cheval swallowed. “And I’m sorry.”
Cadence’s eyes darted from Cheval to the food on the table. She leapt to her hooves in a rush of adrenaline-fueled energy and tried to light a shield spell off her horn. But the spell flickered out, and her knees buckled.
Her body fell limp on the floor.
“Sorry, mom,” Cheval said to her unconscious body. Then she called, “Guards!”
From the servant’s entrances and side doors, crystal pony guards emerged. Some were so beguiled they shuffled like zombies. Others had required very little nudging to betray their princess, and moved with their natural wits. “Tie her up. Load her onto the train at the palace station.”
Cheval was just starting to leave, when she noticed an additional figure in the crowd of guards. Flurry Heart was there, wings and horn and all, dressed in the battle-armor Shining had made for her.
“You.” Cheval took a half-step back. “What are you doing here?”
“Overthrowing mom. Wasn’t that the plan?”
“I didn’t think…” Cheval tilted her head, her stance that of an alert predator.
“I would do it? If you think I’m weak you shouldn’t be trying to put me on the throne.” Flurry forcefully pushed one of the guards aside so she could step up to to her mother’s body. “Is she dead?”
“No!” Cheval pulled back, her tone aghast. “No, I’m not… I’m not like that. She’s just asleep. I was going to take her with me.”
“Her and the Crystal Heart, right? So your new changeling hive has the power to create and store love?” Flurry checked. “Amaryllis’s plan from the first war.”
“It’s still a good plan,” Cheval said, wary.
“It is a good plan.” Flurry looked down at her mother and sighed. “Light Step warned me that Double was acting strange. I found her, removed the enchantments from her mind, and she told me everything. And I thought about warning mom and dad.”
Cheval stared at her sister for a long few seconds. Finally she asked: “Why didn’t you?”
“I was prepared to sacrifice the kingdom so our family wouldn’t be hurt. But at this point, our family is going to be hurt either way. And if it has to happen, better our subjects are protected.”
“Oh. Good.” Cheval paused. She stomped a hoof. “Good. I didn’t think you’d see that way.”
“I didn’t, at first. But you taught me something.” Flurry ruffled her wings, taking a moment to gather her words. “When she had to choose between love and power, mom chose love. And as a result she lost both. She has a good heart, but a pony needs more than that to rule. A great pony would resist you to their last breath. But she’s weak.”
Flurry glanced at the guards behind them, and added as an afterthought: “She’ll forgive you, when she wakes up in your new hive. She’ll find something in you to love, and she’ll love you, and feed your children, and your hive will prosper.”
Silence hung between them. They both watched their mother’s shallow breaths. Then Cheval asked. “I don’t want to beguile her. You really think she’ll forgive me?”
Flurry let out a faint breath and lowered her head. “You won’t have to do anything to her mind. She’ll forgive you. She really will.”
“Good.”
Then Flurry said: “I won’t.”
From inside her armor, she produced a small glass orb. Before Cheval had time to react, Flurry hurled it at her sister. Shattering on impact, it exploded into a cloud of green mist.
When the mist cleared, Cheval had turned to stone.