//------------------------------//
// Love of a Son 
// Story: The Prodigy Emperor 
// by The Toaster 
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The hours passed like the wind, turning into days, and days into months. And Grover grew bigger and bigger, his feathers taking on their coloring. His intelligence and energy grew along with his body.

At the age of two, little Grover did something that shocked his father when he came to say good morning to his son. A normal action before returning to his daily routine in the county and daily chores, when he saw him flying in circles around the room, having knocked over furniture and items.

He would be beyond happy if it weren't for his desperation in trying to catch the unruly child who was flying around the room without any type of control. It took three guards plus the Emperor to catch the boy mid-flight. The Father then went on to lecture his son for almost an hour on how irresponsible he was and made Grover apologize to the staff who then had to go in and fix the room that was destroyed by the little beast.

But this was not the end of the child's antics, it was only the beginning.

All the maids of the palace along with the guards in the following weeks learned a lesson that they would carry with them for the next decade.

To fear the little terror and its destructive power.

The little emperor passed like a hurricane through the corridors of the palace, knocking down and messing up everything he saw in excitement. Flying like there was no tomorrow and laughing all the way, amused to see the desperation of the palace guard who frantically pursued him to prevent the heir to the empire from getting hurt in his rampage of destruction.

The Emperor on the outside showed complete disapproval and at all times tried to teach his son a lesson verbally, but on the inside, he used all his strength not to laugh, and whenever he had the chance he simply disappeared when his son had fun. Why stop? The brat was having fun, he would let it be.

The dreams no longer bothered the child, in fact, they had become something Grover looked forward to every night before he went to sleep. In each dream, he found himself in a different place and with people with different clothes, appearances, and even iron boxes with different wheels. It was an extremely interesting thing to watch.

Day after day he explored every room he could. Saying a happy hello to every guard and every maid. It was a quiet and very good life, everyone he knew there was friendly, he ate all kinds of food and learned a lot from some old priests who were brought by grandpa Eros.

At first, Grover got bored very quickly, and always asked the priests if he could go out to play, which many left him without question.

Learning to read wasn't very difficult, but he couldn't contain his chest from puffing up with pride as he heard the praises of admiration from his teachers when he did. Writing... That was another story.

Each word had different rules. So many letters form a singular word that designated something he wanted to demonstrate, like an object or person. And he needed to piece this together to formulate a complete explanation.

It was very frustrating, but with a little effort and motivation from his elders, he slowly made progress and learned.

He would love to be able to read while walking or going to the garden of the royal palace, but his body and claws still being very tiny from the fact that he was only 2 years old didn't help much.

But that was bothering him now. His age.

Before, he loved all the attention adults gave him and how they marveled at everything he did, but now? It became boring. Yes, he is discovering new things as he grows up, but why do they act that way? All of them can do much more not only better but they basically know everything!

He's still figuring it all out; from letters, words, numbers, and more. The adults already knew all this! They know everything as if it were a part of them! Why was he knowing these things so impressive? He's sure that if he can do it, any other kid his age should be able to do it.

Adults are very strange.

But he pushed those thoughts aside and walked towards his favorite spot since his father had shown him on a tour of the palace.

The garden.

Ever since he was introduced to the Garden he had marveled at everything, gardeners would only laugh when they watched him leaping over the trees, exploring with a curiosity only a child could show. From bush to bush, picking every flower he could and smelling each of their wonderful scents for the first time as a clearly worried father flew after his son.

He laughed a lot when he remembered the chases he and his father had. But the laughter disappeared as quickly as it came.

'It's a lot of fun... But Dad was in a lot of pain afterward...' He thought with a sad expression as he sat down on a branch, ignoring the guards who followed him from a distance.

His Father kneeling beside the tree after the chase, panting and groaning as he pressed one of his hands to his belly. By Boreas how desperate it was for the little one, for a moment he thought his father was hurt and it was his fault.

He hated to think that something like this would happen to someone so incredible. And guilt took over him completely.

Even crying he was comforted by his father, who ignored the pain and patted his head, his claws being gentle with his son's feathers. His beaming smile overshadowed the darkness of fear and dispelled the guilt from his son's body.

This worried him too much. More and more of his father was having a much harder time seeing him, and more and more he spent less time playing with him, choosing to just lie on his side watching him while he played. But he never left Grover's side even with all the pain in his body, and that was enough for the little one not to bother his father too much with his worries. He was very smart and intelligent, he would definitely find a way to be okay.

He looked down at the floor as he sighed, waving his paws in frustration. His father was now in the palace busy with some extremely important event, he didn't know. A place called 'Saquitela' was having a... Rebolution? Retrolution...?

He hit his head with his claws in frustration. He had forgotten the word!

But that bothered him a lot, who would play with him now?

He hated that in the matter of being an emperor, his father didn't have time for almost anything. Isn't he the big boss of everything? He should then tell everyone to stop calling daddy so he can play with him as long as he wants!

He crossed his arms in frustration. Yes, they have to help people, but from what he could see from the people around them every day, they were all clean, wore nice clothes, and ate a lot in the restaurants near the palace. Everyone has a good life! They don't need their father anymore!

Seriously because what- "GROOOOOVY!~" He almost lost his balance on the tree he was standing on.

He looked startled from side to side and then down in search of the source of the voice, looking down. Seeing a pink Griffon with blue eyes waving at him with a huge smile.

"hmm? Who are you?" Grover asked with his head turned to the side. The question made her smile immediately drop to an expression of exaggerated sadness as she looked to her side. For another griffon, this time it had black fur, its furless face was gray in color and its left eye was scarred from top to bottom.

"He forgot about me...?? His dear aunt???" She asked dramatically as she shook him, holding him by the armor she wore. "He forgot about me, Gerlach!" She cried sadly in his ear.

"That's what it looks like, Gabriela." He responded by keeping his expression comically serious in the face of the jolts. Something that made Grover chuckle cutely as he flicked his paws on the branch, then looked away in curiosity.

"An aunt? What's that?" That made the pink Griffon stop shaking the other noble, the poor guy having all his feathers messed up and his helmet aside. She looked at the boy and made a friendly smile.

"An aunt... Would be your father's sister..." Ena then paused scratching her head as she realized her mistake. "But I'm actually his cousin... But call me aunt, it's easier!" She ended her failed attempt at explanation with a clap of her palm and grip with her claws, only earning a lost look from Grover and a facepalm from Gerlach.

'What an excellent introduction Gabriela.'

"She's from your father's family." Gerlach oversimplified for Gabriela's happiness, the little heir looked up with an understanding expression and swooped down from the branch, flapping his little wings and gliding in front of them.

"Hello! I'm Grover! Or Junior if you prefer!" He extended hos small arm with a genuine smile out of his beak as he flew up to match the adults' height.

Gerlach surprised Gabriela by returning with a weak smile. Accepting the handshake.





Factories screamed as their machinery worked, troops with their blue eyes that glowed in the dark, their black shells absorbing the light from outside. Giving a demonic and frightening appearance.

Marching in unity, thousands of these beings marched together, the thump of their hooves making a rumble that reverberated through the whole city, or rather the whole hive-city.

In front of kilometers and kilometers of identical and regulated houses, patrolled by constant guards and vehicles. A gigantic palace stood at the center of it all. And at the center of it all, on a throne at the center of the palace stood a gigantic figure compared to her peers, with an even greater power stored within.

Ruler and despot of all Changelings, unifier of the tribes, and conqueror of Vraks; Chrysalis.

Her authority was supreme and unquestioned, her intellect unparalleled and her strength unchallenged.

Even with all those titles and the strength of her armies, she had already been defeated once, a scar that brought her a lot of shame and anger. But revenge would come, with the unification of the tribes. Even while the Throraxians were being found and executed one by one, Thorax himself was still on the run. But in constant flight, he was no real threat.

Sitting on her throne, she thought about her future plans. While even the temptation to expand her power outside its borders was extremely tempting, the country still had too many internal problems for her to think about to really plan territorial expansions. 

For instance, the political crisis was still far from over, if she doesn't end Thorax as soon as possible, it could cause internal conflicts that could bring destruction and economic stagnation. And that she couldn't allow, he's the top priority. Then she thinks about the other minor problems she should solve.

An example would be the armed forces, which have recently abandoned old military tactics and practices. The reforms were still being absorbed by many army veterans and taught to new officers.

In the old days, their race used swarm tactics on enemies, using their numerical advantage and strength of their carapace to completely overwhelm the enemy and destroy their front lines in exchange for massive casualties. But now with the innovation of warfare, these tactics had to change. Tanks, armored cars, and fighter jets were the future. That Hivemarshall Trimmel assured her that this would be the pinnacle of military efficiency and effectiveness. Despite her doubts, she had given him the authority to lead such reforms, even though he was one of the few Oberst who had not failed her miserably in Canterlot.

But from all these internal and external problems. Of all her future plans and ambitions, it wasn't what plagued her mind. And yes, the Attache of the Griffons.

To make their necessary reforms in armored vehicles, they needed to test their efficiency and possible defects in design, but in the internal situation they found themselves, Chrysalis never found a decent solution to all the problems in the country, until a Griffin Empire diplomat walked into her palace.

This gave her an idea, asking and receiving permission to send an Attache to the Griffons. The Agreement was simple. Changelings with their superior technology would help improve the empire's tanks and in return, they would receive feedback and experience. A practical agreement for both sides.

Now, the same diplomat was in the palace again, letter in hand and kneeling before her throne in audience.

With a tight squeeze of her eyes trying to contain her frustration at being interrupted, she motioned with her front hoof for him to proceed without speaking.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." He would thank her as he stood up, pulling a roll of paper from his bag and handing it to the queen, who with her unceremonious magic took it and brought it to her.

Upon opening it, she began to read the message; Right away she could see that the handwriting was decent, but she could point out a few spelling mistakes and a lot of errors in accentuation. It reminded her a lot of the writing of many teenagers. It wasn't even good for a college student and she didn't know how such a level of writing had slipped into such an important document meant for a monarch.

She cast a glance at the diplomat, who still kept his gaze on the floor. Not coming out of your kneeling position.

She swallowed her monumental urge to snap the diplomat right there for such an insult. But her curiosity got the better of her, and she decided to ignore the errors and read the message in full.

"Hello queen of the bug people!-" This made her raise an eyebrow, she would be offended if it came from any other empire, but the Griffons always did everything to give her the due respect she deserved. That was way out of character for Grover to call her that.

"I'm Grover! Sixth to be exact! My daddy's son who's fifth! But you can call me junior, my dad talks a lot about you, so you clearly must be a good person!" That did took her by surprise and back for a second, the sixth? Grover's two-year-old son? Impossible! He should barely know how to walk at such an age, let alone speak. How could the kid already know how to write?

If he were a Changeling it would make a lot more sense, even though queens are a class with extremely long lives, some being able to achieve immortality depending on the amount of love collected in their lifetime. The working class was the exact opposite, having very short lives; between 30 to 40 years.

Even though with nursing technology and healing techniques increased the lifespan of a Changeling to have the same lifespan as a common pony, their short life at first caused them to adapt their race so that offspring were born with considerable intellect and with the ability to absorb very easy teachings.

But that wasn't the same for many other races, Pony's and Griffons, for example, their people had much longer lifespans. As a result, they were born very dependent on their parents and with greater difficulties in teaching and learning, requiring almost 20 years to reach the necessary maturity to reach adulthood and become productive members of society.

Changelings, on the other hand, needed only 5 to 7 years for their offspring to reach maturity and be able to work.

But was it possible? There were prodigies in all species that were born from time to time and showed intellectual levels that completely dominated all their peers. She could perhaps be wrong, even though her pride wouldn't allow her to admit it.

'A good person..? What a lovely boy.' She thought with a light chuckle.

"You really helped my people! So I wanted to show my gratitude by inviting you to my 3rd birthday!" She snickered upon reading this, what an innocent boy. Adorable but a waste of time. Why would she care?

"Of course it would be rude for me to ask a lady for something without giving something in return! Dad says it's common courtesy of a monarch to offer something along with invitations to important events!" This caught her attention.

"I first wanted to give you something to eat, I love to eat! But I didn't know what to give you, but when I asked my father I discovered that you eat love! Very strange but very cool!" That... It wasn't a reaction she would have expected from the boy... But she continued.

"I asked for help from some of the Changelings who are here and when they heard that it was for you, they helped me with great enthusiasm! You must be very loved!" She couldn't help herself in puffing her chest out in pride as she read this. Of course, she was loved, she was Chrysalis! The unifier of the Changelings! How not to love a being as magnificent as her?

"They were very surprised when I volunteered and they were quite annoyed trying to get me to change my mind, but it's my responsibility to please my future allies! It was a really funny feeling and I felt a little down afterward. But as a future Emperor I have to please my allies!" Her eyes widened as she read this, he really meant it. He really wanted to give her love, his love!

"His love...?" She couldn't contain her surprise and exclaimed hesitantly. She would never think that an outsider would think of giving up self-love like that without hesitation.

Almost as if it were a sign. The Diplomat stood up, catching the queen's attention. He again dug his claw into his bag and withdrew something, a franc with a pinkish liquid.

But the color wasn't what caught her eye. It was her glow.

It was so radiant and powerful, so clear and pure. A glow that could overshadow the brightest of days, and when taken out of the bag, it's glow completely dominated the entire room.

She instinctively got up and walked towards the vial, and with her magic, she grabbed it and brought it towards her, then returned to reading.

"I'm solving two problems with one solution! Following the gift-giving tradition, and following my father's advice! 'If you want to invite a beautiful lady, you owe her a great gift'. So I did! I count on your presence!

-Signed by, Grover Von Greifenstein the Sixth." 

It was an obviously poorly made letter, when exchanging messages with another monarch you didn't count every step of your decision-making or your thinking, you were direct and precise. Dictating your intentions and benefits. Still, Chrysalis couldn't get a thing out of her head. Something that couldn't help in making the color change in her now blushing face. 

'Beautiful...Lady...?'

She returned her gaze to the glowing pink bottle. One of the purest and tastiest types of love; family love. Changelings would kill to get even a drop of love with such quality. And the brat had given her a whole bottle.

'Little Bloody flatterer.' She couldn't contain her smile as she tried to hide her flushed face with her hoof. 'Heh, you got a deal kid.'

Her gaze returned to the kneeling diplomat. "Griffon." His eyes left the floor and met those of Chrysalis. "Tell your little emperor I accept the invitation."

'Little Grover, you have my undivided attention.'