Queens to Check, Dragon to Mate

by dracone


An Early Gift

It was getting to be Nightmare Night season. Thanks to the efforts Chrysalis, Spike, Twilight and her friends put into everything Focus Crystal was now not overly attached to the closest high magic sources and was now more than willing to let her father hold her and even was willing to actually interact with her sisters. Violet Emerald was being ever more adventurous as she got older, she also somehow managed to develop a friendly attachment to Pinkie's twins.
As per usual Fluttershy was making preparations for when Nightmare Night came. Twilight and Seeker were spending days prior to the event deciding the best outfits for the night, they always started with a debate over a group theme in their outfits or specific individual costumes (which usually somehow managed to drag any unfortunate soul that strayed too close into the debate, it was why Dinky had insisted she get this time off). The Apples were setting up for their various Nightmare Night traditions. Rarity and her family were busy gathering outfit orders so that costumes could be ready in advance, also the constant reminders every few days usually did the trick for the kind that waited 'til the last possible moment to go and get costumes. Rainbow and Rainboom had turned it into a bit of game, certain individuals were the theme of the outfit and all they had to find their target at the fastest possible pace for the costume they wanted while avoiding the ponies that represented the ones they didn't want, Sorin made sure to keep the score sheet and would usually let the rest of the town know who meant what. Pinkie was busy preparing sweets in advance while keeping her foals from gobbling all the sugary delights themselves. Spike and Chrysalis had developed their own traditions for the holiday as well, due to transformational properties that changelings possess they had the girls trying out different transformations for the night (within a set reason, the goal was to intentionally make their transformation look fake, which was actually much harder for changelings than most believed).
Since this season also meant that Novel, Dusk and Satin would be celebrating their birthday the three were also trying to think of what sort of pet they should get, Chrysalis had clearly stated they would all have to agree on one pet and would also be sharing it with the rest of the family. They all had different ideas over what their new pet would be like, but they all did agree it would have to be something they could have below and above ground. Novel was, predictably, going over every text they had on pets while taking notes; Dusk would most likely take a bit more of a unique approach, gathering statements from the other foals about their pets then after she got home cross out all of the pets that didn't meet the requirements for living in the colony's tunnels; chances were Satin would just go and ask Seeker and Fluttershy's family about the pets they had, Satin would probably also try asking about some of the lesser known properties of the pets she was told about. It was two weeks before Nightmare Night, so there were already holiday preparations beginning to be more noticeable.
Chrysalis chuckled to herself as she passed through the tunnels with Crystal and Emerald in tow, her primes were definitely making this out to be an interesting weekend, as what seemed like always Spike was watching over the bulk of the brood. Focus Crystal didn't like being very far from what she sensed as powerful sources of magic, thankfully Chrysalis's idea of having several members of the brood share her bed had made the filly more comfortable around her siblings. Violet Emerald was with Chrysalis due to the fact she always seemed to induce near cardiac problems in her father, it just seemed as time went on the first Dowser filly got even cuter.
Twilight and her friends had varying reactions to both fillies, which had more to do with personalities of the mares than anything else. When it came to Focus Crystal it seemed the one to try and take the most advantage of the situations the filly brought about was Pinkie Pie, to no one's real surprise and Twilight, more out of her interest to see just how far a spell collector changeling's development could be taken. When it came to Violet Emerald the two mares to take the most advantage of the situations she provided were Applejack, to the surprise of many, and Rarity, who would practically fuss over how to make outfits that would allow Emerald herself to take advantage of her natural charms.
Chrysalis, in a rather uncharacteristic move for the day, was in an orange blouse and forest green skirt. Spike had even given a comment about it, she had just hand-waved it away with saying she felt like it this day. She also had a feeling she would be dealing with an issue might have her leaving the tunnels.
Once again Chrysalis found herself staring guests in her library, this time, it was Rainbow Dash and Rainboom. “Is there a reason for you being here,” inquired Chrysalis.
“Yeah, I have the next couple of weeks off and Soarin probably won't be back 'til after Nightmare Night, that means our little group costume plan fell through. I was home with Rainboom and thought she could come see your girls, and maybe make some new friends,” she then turned her attention to the two young foals at Chrysalis's side. Focus Crystal was in a lavender nightgown with an image of a magical beam or ray striking some kind of crystal, Violet Emerald's nightgown was orange with the likeness of her favorite gem (which the changeling filly always seemed to have close at hand with each passing day). “Those two just keep on getting cuter, especially Emerald.” As if on cue Emerald started suckling her gem and stared at the two guests with eyes that were equally cute as they were worried and scared, this caused Rainbow and Rainboom to clutch at their chests to show they were experiencing heart troubles.
“Yeah, that's kind of why Spike doesn't want to be left alone with her,” said Chrysalis, “we're still working on the looks they want for Nightmare Night, these two are just barely three months old.” Focus crystal gave the two pegasi an inquisitive look, “Looks like you got Crystal thinking about something.”
“Do you really let her go off with Twilight when it comes time to take your girls to school,” inquired Rainbow.
“Yes, they both seem to enjoy it, I think Crystal more than Twilight.”
Rainbow gave a snicker before saying, “An egghead teaching an egghead.” Focus Crystal gave Rainbow an incredulous look, which was much cuter than any of Rarity's uses, for a moment before sticking her tongue out in the cutest display of disgust Rainbow had ever seen.
“I think mom just made Crystal, not like her,” said Rainboom.
“No, just thinks Rainbow insulted her and Twilight, it'll be a while before she picks up on playful banter and sarcasm. Truth be told, changelings usually have trouble picking up on that sort of thing too.”
“You're fine with it,” said Rainbow.
“Well, I've had a few decades to pick up on that sort of thing, and one of Spike's personality traits that crossed over to me is his sense of playful banter and understanding of snarking. The girls aren't quite old enough to be able to understand subtlety like we do.”
The two changeling foals blinked at their mother in confusion, Emerald had returned to sucking on her gem and Crystal was now clutching at her mother's clothing. “I guess you're right,” said Rainbow, “but why do all the cute ones have to be so clueless? It doesn't make sense.”
“That's just way things are,” said Chrysalis, “they'll pick up on the subtlety and nuance of things when they're older, but for for now they're just naively innocent fillies.”
“Shouldn't they already, I mean considering what they are.”
“If they were developing at the normal rate for changelings they'd have already fully developed and be able to pick up a bunch of nuances, but since they seem to be maturing at a rate closer to ponies it's a little different.”
“Oh,” said Rainboom, “mom said she and dad are working on giving me a new sibling, I'm excited.”
“You know what that means right,” said Chrysalis.
“Mom's going to look like she's taking on weight,” said Rainboom, who earned prompt head slap from her mother, “I deserved that.”
“Yes you did,” said Rainbow, “ So, Chrysalis, how are the girls?”
“Same as always,” said Chrysalis, “with their birthday coming up soon they've really dived into thinking about the pet they want, last I checked those three were working on lists of aspects they want in their pet.”
“Yeah, well Rainboom seems to really like Tank,” said Rainbow, “I'm actually discussing having another foal with Soarin, but we're still a bit unsure. So, Rainboom, if it does happen you might end up with a little brother or sister.”
“Let me guess,” said Chrysalis, “you made an agreement with your husband that will mean he comes up with the name when the baby comes along. That's all nice, Rainbow, but what is your reason visiting us at this time?”
“Oh, um, Rainboom was the first to spot the prize in our race this year, the target she spotted we designated as meaning a Leviathan Toad, and since you're the only one we know who's actually seen one
“I get it,” said Chrysalis, “will Soarin be in for the festivities this year?”
“Uh, yeah, we both made sure to get time off for Nightmare this year, why ya ask?”
“Because you're going need him to pull it off. A young Leviathan Toad is around the size of Rainboom standing on top of you while you're standing on top of Soarin while he's on all fours.”
“I'm starting to like this already,” said Rainbow with a grin.
“That said, I'm not sharing any information about them for your costume this year, in case you forgot those things happen to be a natural predator of my kind. That means if you make it too realistic you could end up scaring my babies more than you intend, it is a very good thing those creatures need a large body of water with a low salt content, around these parts I'm pretty sure there isn't anywhere moist enough to sustain them even there were a location large enough to sustain the eggs and tadpoles.”
“I get ya, well it's a good thing she said she spotted an alternate just in case this one didn't pan out. What did you say you found as the second marker, Rainboom?”
Rainboom looked at her mother and looked like she was thinking hard, Violet Emerald just slightly cocked her head and blinked. “Royal guard,” said Rainboom.”
“Oh,” said Rainbow, “Twilight had that outfit for Nightmare Night a few years before you were born, maybe she can tell us the best places to get materials for the outfits,” she turned her attention to Chrysalis, “sorry for the inconvenience.”
“No problem,” said Chrysalis, “give my regards to your friends if you see them before I do, and please let Fluttershy know that the girls and I will be dropping by soon to pick out a family pet.”
“Will do,” said Rainbow as she and Rainboom headed on out.
Once Rainbow and her daughter were gone Chrysalis turned to her two daughters and said, “Did you enjoy their visit?”
Focus Crystal looked like she was thinking it over for a few seconds before just nodding her head. Violet Emerald just continued to interact with her personal gem and blinked a few times at her mother.
“You two are so quiet, we really need to work on that. Some ponies might find it a little off-putting. Also, your father and I really want to hear your cute little voices more.”

******************************

It was the day before their birthday and Chrysalis's eldest were at Fluttershy's, along with their mother and Violet Emerald. They were all wearing complimentary autumn themed outfits. Thankfully Focus Crystal was secure enough around her father to no longer require her mother as buffer for when she started to feel uneasy. Fluttershy's cottage had grown, by quite a lot, over the years to account for her growing family and business. Among some of the new yard décor was what looked like a set of small stones that interconnected to form some kind of simple maze.
“Hello to all of you,” said Forest Flower as she came out of the tree cottage, she was in a black dress with fluffy looking ears, “mom should be out shortly, she's just preoccupied with health checks for for some of the birds right now. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“We're here to get a new family pet,” said Chrysalis, “I promised the girls they could pick one out for their birthday if they were well behaved, and they've been so good I thought we could do so a little early.”
“Do they know what they want?”
“They wrote up their own lists of what properties they want their pet to have. They insist the only one allowed to see the list is Fluttershy, I haven't seen a single letter of what's on their lists.”
“And they'll only show their lists to mom?”
“That is correct,” said Chrysalis.
“I Think that's really sweet, who's the tag along?”
“One of my newer hatched daughters, this is Violet Emerald,” she gave a bit of a grand gesture. Said filly was suckling her gem when introduced, Forest Flower found the filly to be quite adorable even when you took the gem out of the equation.
“She's very cute! I'm using all of my willpower to not break down into a gushing mess.”
“Why? There's no real need,” said Novel, “all the adults have pretty much done that already, also the main reason she's with us is because dad's heart stand the cuteness for long.”
“Yes, well,” Chrysalis gave a polite cough, “Rarity seems to enjoy quality time with her, and her daughter seems like she enjoyed Emerald's company on our last visit to the boutique.”
“Then again,” said Satin, “Ms Rarity seems to delight in dressing Violet up whenever she can, she also likes to gush about how she'll make a wonderful model some day.”
“Satin,” said Chrysalis, “just because your sisters have certain abilities doesn't mean they can't do things outside their specialization.”
“We know mom,” said Novel, “but she used to say the same thing about us when were her age, she just didn't gush as much as she does over Vi.”
“That's a new nickname for her,” said Chrysalis, “who called her that?”
“Last time we saw Rainboom she called Emerald that,” said Dusk, “and last week we heard Cherri call her Em.”
“Both are very cute nicknames,” came Fluttershy's voice, coming into view she said, “It's so nice to see you all again,” the three changeling fillies handed her their lists, which happened to be in old-fashioned envelopes with wax as their sealing implement, “Oh, it looks like you three have put some thought into what you want for a pet.”
“More of a case of them writing up lists of properties they want their pet to have,” said Chrysalis, “we're only getting one pet, so the girls need to agree on their pet.”
“They wouldn't let missus Chrysalis read their lists,” said Flower, “they were insistent that only you read them, I think it's pretty cute that they would do that.”
“Oh, let's go inside so I can look them over without something interrupting,” said Fluttershy. They all headed into the residence that Fluttershy shared with her family and animals. A few minutes everyone was sitting around the living room as Fluttershy looked through the three sealed notes. “Goodness, these are all so precious. Novel's writing is beautiful, Satin's is practically overflowing with care, and Dusk's is full of caution. I also like how Dusk broke it all down into parts, especially the section for bonus information. Looking over everything the girls have written, I'm going to be framing these and hanging them on the wall, there's only one creature that meets most of your criteria. Follow me.”
Fluttershy got up, in doing so leaving the notes on the table, and Chrysalis and her girls outside. Forest Flower took the opportunity to read the notes while they were all out. Once the two mares and three fillies were outside Fluttershy lead them over to a section of the stone tunnels. “I was wondering about this little tunnel maze,” said Chrysalis, “care to explain it?”
“Oh, yes,” said Fluttershy, “I worked with Twilight on these stone tunnels after one of my new arrivals a few months ago, half the tunnels are kept at a temperature that is a bit on the high side of warm, the other half are subject the basic warming and cooling trends of day to day life around here. The reason for this is because the creature I'm actually going to be showing you doesn't like a cool or cold environment.”
“That's good,” said Chrysalis, “our colony tunnels are always at warm or hot temperature, by pony standards, I'm sure you know why.”
“Oh, right, traditional changelings don't like the cold, it doesn't get along with their physiology all that well, the only time changelings can usually handle cold is when they're properly protected.”
“Yup,” said Chrysalis, “glad to see you were paying attention when we shared that little tidbit with you and the others.”
“Anyway, the little sweetheart I'm going be showing you tends to make its home in active or semi-active volcanoes, their bodies aren't designed to handle cooler temperatures all that well, so you're going to have to keep her warm on the trip home,” she gave a few gentle taps on one of the entrances to the stone maze and a salamander-like lizard with ashy white skin and literal burning patterns of fire that was of various colors (orange, green and blue to be precise) across its back poked half its body outside the tunnels. “This, is a salamandra, they're actually reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaly hard to find, this little girl somehow ended up on one of Ponyville's trade roads a few months ago and was very close to not making it when it was brought to me, thankfully Twilight was with me at the time and we were able to work fast in creating a place she could feel comfortable. Salamandra tend to eat volcanic plants as a primary source of food, but they've also been known to eat volcanic rock from time to time. While they do tend to spend a lot of time around lava, especially pools, they can only handle being in it for a few minutes and they never drink that sort of thing. All the moisture they need they get from the plants they feed on. In fact they have a terrible fear of water, I found that out the first time I tried to feed the poor thing, she ran away from the bowl of water I had prepared for her, but the partially dried plant leaves I laid out for her were a decent substitute until I could get something more authentic to her diet.”
“Well,” said Chrysalis, “looks like we'll be sending off some notes on where to get seeds for growing some of those plants back home, it should be a simple matter to renovate one of our unused chambers for that purpose, one of our warmer ones anyway. Spike did say some of the warmer chambers were starting to feel more like the inside of a volcano, which is a bit odd. Maybe the heat regulation spells woven into the colony grounds have been trying to compensate for the fact a live dragon is roaming the tunnels for a few years now, some dragons have been known to seek out hot places in order to feel more comfortable.”
“Have you told Twilight about this? I think she deserves to know,” said Fluttershy.
“Actually, yes,” said Chrysalis, “she was actually over last week to study it all, I had to teach her how to find the heat regulation spells though. What do you think of her, girls?”
“She's exactly what we were looking for,” said all three simultaneously.
“She'll need name,” said Chrysalis as she lowered her hand and brought the small creature into her clothing, “I am really happy that Rarity takes the time to put a fireproofing spell on all our clothing right now,” she could feel the tiny creature snuggling up to her bosom, and in doing so crossed across the body of a sleeping Violet Emerald in way that caused the filly to giggle a bit, “let's get going girls, you can think of names for her on the way home.” With that, they all departed.

*********************************

After the trip home Chrysalis, and putting Violet to bed, decided let the Salamandra out in one of the warmer chambers, it gave a gecko-like bark of happiness and started wandering around the room. “So,” said Chrysalis, “have you three come up with a name for her?”
The three looked at each other and nodded, “We believe so,” said Novel, “we've decided to call her Naga Spark.”