//------------------------------// // A Father/Daughter Story // Story: A Look Back // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// King Sleight Gambit, the only known pony ruler of the Changelings, was pacing around the hive's throne room impatiently, waiting for a certain somepony. "Where is she?" He frowned. "She's never this late coming back." "Calm yourself, my love." His wife, Queen Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "I'm sure she's fine." "Seriously?" Sleight shook his head. "What if something happened to her? What if she was attacked by some lowlife?" "She's more than capable of taking care of herself." Chrysalis countered. "If she pushes herself, she can into one of those musclebound minotaurs. That would be enough to fend off most aggressors." "Most, not all." Sleight pointed out. "...Maybe I should go out and look for her." "Look for who?" A gray-coated, light green-maned filly with luminous blue eyes, and a red slipper Cutie Mark entered the room. A flare of green enveloped her as she took on Changeling form. She was Chrysalis' hatchling #32425761, or "Glinda" as she was better known. "Glinda!" Sleight gasped. "Where have you been?" "Sorry I'm a little late." Glinda apologised. "I went out for smoothies with Vito after school. Guess we lost track of time. But V was able to teleport me here, so I wouldn't be any later than I was already." Vito Cross, son of Prince Blueblood and his wife Dusty Napoleon, had entered into a relationship with Glinda a while back, after agreeing to tutor her in magic (not being aware of her Changeling state at the time). Before then, she was usually escorted back to the hive by a couple of soldiers, but Vito usually arranged for a royal carriage to carry her back instead. It was the carriage's absence that had first roused Sleight's worries. "We were worried sick, young lady!" Sleight growled. "He was worried sick." Chrysalis corrected. "I knew you'd make it back safe and sound." "Thanks for the vote of confidence, my Queen." Glinda bowed. "I should have known it was that kid holding you up." Sleight declared. "I know you're into each other and everything, but you can't just lose yourself like that." "I won't." Glinda promised. "And besides, I made it back safe and sound. What's the biggie?" "The 'biggie' is that you shouldn't be gone so long, young lady!" Sleight growled. "I'm not a larva anymore, you know." Glinda pouted. "I can take care of myself. And V was with me, remember?" "Of course I do." Sleight declared. "But the fact remains that you and your coltfriend are just kids. And there's a lot of twisted scum out there who'd love to hurt you if they had the chance." "Bring 'em on." Glinda snorted. "They wouldn't even know what to look for. I was in my pony disguise all day." "But what if some punk had a way to detect Changelings?" Sleight asked. "Think about that, the next time you and your coltfriend go off somewhere alone." "Geez... overreacting much?" Glinda rolled. "Excuse me?!" Sleight growled. "I agree with Glinda." Chrysalis declared. "It's highly doubtful something like that would happen. Not every pony is as anti-Changeling as Red Eclipse, or even as they were back in the old days." "Yeah, but there's always a chance some nutjob will crawl out of the woodwork." Sleight countered. "A slim chance." Chrysalis retorted. "But still a chance." Sleight staid stubbornly. "Now you're just being paranoid." Glinda shook her head. "I'm just looking out for the wellbeing of one of my subjects." Sleight declared. "It comes with being King. And as long as you live in this hive, you will respect that." "Yeah, I guess..." Glinda muttered. "Good." Sleight nodded. "Now go get yourself cleaned up before supper." "Yes, my king." Glinda bowed, a little sullen, before leaving the throne room. "Kids these days..." Sleight sighed. "What are ya gonna do?" He noticed Chrysalis smirking at him. "What?" "Look at you." Chrysalis chuckled. "You're acting like she's your daughter." "Well, technically, she is." Sleight shrugged. "You laid her egg, and I married you, so that makes me her step-father or something, right? Just like all the others." "True, but with her, it's different." Chrysalis declared. "Her, you treat as if she is your actual blood relative." "No I don't." Sleight lied. "Ah, but you do." Chrysalis countered. "And I know why. You made her acquaintance on your very first day here. You watched her grow. You even suggested her as the Changeling we would send to Canterlot to learn at Celestia's School. She has always had a special place in your heart." Sleight tried to deny the truth in Chrysalis' words, but he couldn't. There was always a special connection between himself and Glinda. That day, long ago, when he held her larval form in his hooves; He was repulsed at first, but quickly found here to be charm in her little form. After becoming King, he returned to the nursery. After having her pointed out to him by the nurse Dair, he approached her once more... Flashback... Sleight stood in the nursery, right in front of the honeycomb where the larva Glinda resided. Using his magic, he gently eased her out, and into his hooves. "Hey there, little lady." He smiled. "Remember me?" Glinda smiled. "Of course you do." Sleight chuckled. "I'm unforgettable... Anyways, guess what? I'm your new King. Married Chrysalis, and everything. Means I'll be sticking around. Pretty great, huh?" Glinda made a high-pitched clicking sound. "I knew you'd say that." Sleight joked. "And I promise you, little missy, I'm gonna be the best darn King this hive's ever seen... which shouldn't too hard, since I'm actually the first... Glinda squeaked in confusion. "Never mind." Sleight shrugged. "What matters is that I'm here, and I'm gonna be looking out for all Changelings in this hive. Especially the little ones, like you." Glinda smiled. "That's right." Sleight chuckled. "Smile away. You're gonna have plenty to smile about if I can help it..." The present... "Okay, so maybe I did feel a bit of a... connection back then." Sleight shrugged. "So much so that you kept a close eye on her as she grew." Chrysalis recalled. "Well, not that close." Sleight declared. "I was kinda busy with my Kingly duties." "But not too busy to check up on her every once in a while." Chrysalis pointed out. "True..." Sleight admitted. Flashback... A couple of years after becoming King, Sleight was walking through the village when he saw Glinda with her friends. At this point, Glinda had developed her shell and wings, which were buzzing feverishly. "Today's the day, guys." Glinda boasted. "I'm gonna fly!" "Are you nuts?" One of her friends frowned. "You're not old enough yet. None of us are!" "Wanna bet?" Glinda smirked. 'The little ladybug's got spunk, I'll give her that.' Sleight thought. Gritting her teeth, Glinda urged her wings to flap even harder. Slowly but surely, she began to rise off the ground. She hovered about her, her flight unsteady, but solid. "Whoa." The shortest of Glinda's friends gasped. "She's doing it. She's really doing it!" "Yeah, I am!" Glinda boasted. "So much for not being old enough..." Suddenly, Glinda's wings, overtaxed by the exertion, gave up the ghost, and Glinda dropped out of the sky. "Whoaaa!" Glinda yelped. 'Oh, buck!' Sleight cringed. Just before Glinda hit the ground, Sleight caught her in a magic field. "Gotcha!" He smiled. "Oh, wow." Glinda said breathlessly, painfully aware of how close she had just come to going splat. "Thank you, King Sleight." "You're welcome, kiddo." Sleight smiled, as Glinda's friends bowed before him. "But you really shouldn't be trying to fly so early. Those little wings of yours aren't quite ready yet." "How long am I gonna have to wait?" Glinda pouted. "Long enough." Sleight told her. "Just be patient, kiddo." "I hate being patient." Glinda moaned. "I know how you feel." Sleight declared. "Before I came to this hive, I felt like my life was going nowhere. I knew I was destined for bigger things, and I was getting tired of waiting around for those 'bigger things' to happen. But, just when it looked like nothing was ever going to happen, I found this hive, and my destiny. So don't just stand around, hoping for things to happen, Glinda. Just live your life, and before you know it, all that stuff'll be coming to you." "Okay, I guess I can wait a little while longer..." Glinda shrugged. "Thank you, King Sleight." "Anytime, kiddo." Sleight ruffled her mane affectionately. "Now you run along and have fun with your pals. It's a beautiful day, and it'd be a shame to waste it." "Yes, your highness!" The young Changelings chorused, racing off to enjoy themselves. "Ah, kids..." Sleight smiled. The present... "I really was in the advice-giving zone back then, wasn't I?" Sleight smirked. "Don't change the subject." Chrysalis told him. "That was just the start of it. Before long, you were imparting all sorts of pearls of wisdom to her..." "I wouldn't quite put it like that." Sleight countered. "Well, I would." Chrysalis chuckled. "Honestly though, I rather liked it. You showed the true wisdom of a King during those times. A pity you did not impart that wisdom to more Changelings..." "Most Changelings didn't need it." Sleight shrugged. "They were doing just fine on their own. But Glinda had an... adventurous streak. Remember that time she almost went on a little walkabout?" Flashback... Sleight was just outside Chrysalis' tower, chatting with Sazh. "So, how was your trip to Canterlot?" Sazh asked. "Same old, same old." Sleight shrugged. "We talked about figuring ways to bring our two cultures together. Tossed around some good ideas." "Like what?" Sazh asked. "Like..." Sleight trailed off, as he saw Gilda trying to scale one of the hive's walls. "Hey! Hold it right there!" Sleight charged over. "What do you think you're doing, little missy?" Sleight growled. "I just... wanted to go outside." Glinda pouted. "Oh, no." Sleight declared. "You're not old enough yet, kid." "'Not old enough'." Glinda growled. "That's all I ever hear!" "Yeah, because it's the truth." Sleight declared. "What's so bad about me going out there anyway?" Glinda asked. "You dealt with Red Eclipse, so it's perfectly safe!" "Not exactly." Sleight declared. "Aside from the odd anti-Changeling pony, there are a bunch of wild animals out there who'd just love to chow down on a little Changeling's crunchy shell." "Let them try." Glinda said defiantly. "I've been working on my shapeshifting. I could turn into something big, and scare 'em off!" "Oh, yeah? Prove it." Sleight challenged her. "You got it." Glinda nodded. "Stand back..." Glinda screwed up her face in concentration. Her magic flared up, and she partially changed into something big and scaly... before reverting back to normal. She stumbled back, exhausted by her efforts. "Wow." Sleight said sarcastically. "That was really impressive. Those wild animals are gonna run for cover." "That was just practice." Glinda claimed. "Look kid, you're not going anywhere yet." Sleight said firmly. "Consider that a royal proclamation." "But... I just want to see what's out there." Glinda sighed. "I've been in this hive my whole life. I wanna get out there, see the rest of the world, meet new beings." "I get what you're saying." Sleight admitted. "I used to travel all over before I came to the hive. Every day, I saw new places, met new faces... Quite an experience, it was." "So why can't I go?" Glinda asked. "Like I said, you're not old enough." Sleight declared. "But you will be soon." "I hope so." Glinda declared. "Imagine if I could go to places like Canterlot, or the Crystal Empire..." "Some day, kiddo." Sleight assured her. "Some day..." The present... "Lucky for Glinda, 'someday' was closer than either of us thought." Sleight grinned. "Indeed." Chrysalis nodded. "After our next little meeting with Celestia, we instituted the program to have several of our young Changelings take on pony form and go to schools across Equestria." "The second we started talking about it, I knew which little lady would be at the top of the list." Sleight recalled. Flashback... Glinda marched up to the throne room door. She was nervous, having never been called to the throne room before; She worried that she might be in trouble for something. Tentatively, she knocked on the door. "Enter." Chrysalis' voice called. Glinda nudged the dor open, and entered the throne room, where both Sleight and Chrysalis were waiting for her. "Ah, there you are." Sleight smiled. "A-am I in trouble, or something?" Glinda asked worriedly. "Of course not, dear Glinda." Chrysalis said kindly. "Then... why am I here?" Glinda frowned. "Well, as it stands, we're putting together a little... outreach program." Sleight explained. "Outreach?" Glinda repeated. "Yes." Chrysalis nodded. "In an effort to help our kind connect with those outside the hive, we are arranging for several young students to take on pony form and attend some of their learning establishment, learning not only their skills, but their ways and customs also." "And we were thinking maybe you'd like to be one of those Changelings." Sleight revealed. "There's a spot open over in Canterlot, at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns." "Really?" Glinda gasped. "I'd get to go... to Canterlot? "Indeed you would." Chrysalis nodded. "Just like you always wanted." Sleight added. "So whattaya say, kiddo? Up for a little trip?" "YES!!" Glinda whooped. "Yes-yes-yes-yes-yes!" Catching herself, she bowed respectfully. "I would be honored, my King." "That's the spirit." Sleight chuckled. "We know you'll make us proud, dear Glinda." Chrysalis beamed. It didn't take long for all the preparations to be made. Sleight and Chrysalis escorted Glinda to Canterlot themselves. As they landed not far from the School, Glinda and Chrysalis took on pony form. "So... is it everything you thought it'd be?" Sleight asked. "Even better." Glinda (or "Glenda" as she was known in that form) looked around in awe. "Thank you so much for this." She hugged Sleight. "My pleasure, little missy." Sleight hugged her back. "Good luck, my child." Chrysalis declared. "Have fun out there, kiddo." Sleight added. "I will." Glenda nodded. "See you soon, your highnesses!" The royal pair waved Glenda off as she headed into the school. "Look at how happy you've made her, Sleight." Chrysalis nuzzled him. "You truly are a wonderful King." "If you say so..." Sleight said humbly. The present... "And not long after that, Glinda made the acquaintance of young master Vito." Chrysalis smiled. "Thanks to him, she mastered the art of Unicorn magic." "Yeah, I was so proud of her." Sleight smiled. "Especially when she found love, the way we did..." "She really has grown into a fine young Changeling, hasn't she?" Chrysalis asked. "I guess so." Sleight admitted. "She's sure not the same larva I held in my hooves all those years ago." "So perhaps you should stop treating her like one?" Chrysalis urged. "...Buck, I ran right into that one, didn't I?" Sleight scowled. "Yes, you did." Chrysalis chuckled. "I know you don't want Glinda to get hurt, but we can't always control what happens to others." "What are you trying to say, Chrys?" Sleight asked. "I'm saying you should show the same kind of courage you did when you took on Red Eclipse." Chrysalis declared. "You put your doubts aside to save us all. Now you need to put your doubts aside again, and give Glinda the benefit of the doubt, trust her to make her way in life, without constantly worrying about her safety." "...Okay, I guess I could give it a try." Sleight gave in. "Good thing I have you around to talk some sense into me, huh?" "That's what a loving wife is for, is it not?" Chrysalis grinned, nuzzling him. "Oh, yeah." Sleight chuckled, as they kissed. "Now, I believe there's a certain filly you should be talking to." Chrysalis declared. "Yep." Sleight nodded. "Be right back, darling." Sleight exited the throne room, and head over to the washroom. Glinda was just finishing up. "Hello there, my king." Glinda said flatly. "Come to make sure I don't accidentally drown myself?" "Very funny." Sleight rolled his eyes. "I came to apologise for my outburst back there. You're not a larva anymore, so I shouldn't treat you like one. I just care about you a lot, Glinda. You were the first larva I laid eyes on. You've been like a daughter to me all these years. That's why I'm always so protective." "I know." Glinda nodded. "But I'm also proud of you." Sleight smiled. "Proud of the intelligent, inquisitive, adventurous young lady you're becoming. I couldn't be any prouder of you than if you were my own flesh and blood." "Aw, thanks." Glinda blushed. "And you know, I do appreciate everything you've done for me over the years. Encouraging me, helping my realise my dream... I don't know much about dads, but I'm pretty sure you're the best around." "Thanks, kiddo." Sleight grinned. "Now, how about you get yourself some supper? And maybe later, we can talk about your day. How does that sound?" "It sounds great... dad." Glinda hugged him. "And maybe that coltfriend of yours could drop by sometime." Sleight offered. "I'd really like to get to know him better. Any colt you'd choose to be with must be something special." "You better believe it." Glinda chuckled. "Just one more thing we can talk about after supper." "Looking forward to it." Sleight smiled deeply as Glinda rushed off for her supper. Though he was technically father to all of Chrysalis' offspring, it was Glinda who invoked the most paternal pride within him. Despite his misgivings, he always knew that she would continue to make him proud as she grew. That knowledge had only strengthened after the day's events. Chrysalis had reminded him of why he liked the young Changeling so much, and why he would always be proud of her, no matter what.