11. Mother and Son
Cadence looked sternly down at her son and his friend. Both were downcast and properly staring guiltily at the floor. She had sent the both of them to Reign Cloud’s room, apologizing profusely to the griffon ambassador as she shooed Reign into the hooves of one of the maids. A couple of hours later, she came in, composed, and was now glowering down at him in profound disappointment.
Maggie shuffled a bit closer to the prince, her poofy mane snaking around his shoulders more for self assurance than anything else.
“It was my idea!” she blurted after an agonizing passage of time.
Cadence did not move. Was she even breathing? Maggie wasn’t sure. She had looked up after her outburst to see the princess indeed had not moved an inch. Nor was she looking at the changeling filly. Her eyes were squarely on the colt she regarded as her own foal, her own flesh and blood.
Reign mumbled something. He hoofed at the floor weakly.
Cadence tilted her head to one side slightly, arching a brow. “What was that?” She hated taking this stance against her son. What he had done had embarrassed the crowns of two nations. The ambassador had waved it off, but Cadence knew griffons better. He had noticed the security breach.
The colt drooped his wings from his shoulders, his primaries splaying out on the floor. “You never let me do anything,” he said weakly.
Cadence sighed. “Maggie, I have sent for your mother,” she informed the filly. “You will wait for her in your room.”
Maggie blinked, her eyes going round with shock. “W-why?” she asked, her mane going straight behind her in alarm. “We...we just wanted to have s-s-some fun!” Tears formed in the corner of her eyes.
The princess wanted no more than to sweep the filly up into her hooves and just love her to death, but both children had done something very foolish. They would have to be punished. She was already sensing Reign’s temper beginning to rise. It was in his voice, his posture and how terribly quiet he had become. She did not want Maggie to be here when he did go off. Cadence already had an idea as to why her son had decided to listen in on a private conversation. Celestia was understanding, but it was also curious as to why her aunt had been so quick to out her nephew.
“I do not think you understand the consequences of what you and Reign did,” Cadence said to Maggie. Her attention went back to Reign. “Do as your told. Wilda should be here shortly.” The tone in voice was unmistakable and could not be disobeyed.
Maggie slinked out of the room in shame. “I’ll see you, Reigny,” she squeaked at the colt as she parted from him. A guard awaited her outside the door. She buzzed her insectoid wings nervously the whole way. Once the door was quietly closed behind her by Cadence’s aura, the room became silent for a while.
Cadence hated playing tough on her son. She despised making him feel small. She desperately thought of just smothering him with love and kisses, letting Shining Armor handle the tough love part. But, she needed to show she had to be stern when needed. It was for the best and it was important Reign know she loved him though she had to be hard when necessary. In this instance, she hated herself for having to punish Reign. He was not a bad pony. He was a very good one, but prone to making poor decisions.
She sighed, taking in the pitiful sight of her guilty colt staring at his forehooves, his shoulders and wings slumped. His small form was arched in submission and he was trembling.
Oh dear, she thought. “Reign?”
“Why can’t I have a normal life?” His voice rasped.
It’s beginning…
“Honey, we’ve spoken about this before,” she started, the hardness falling away from her tone. “Your health won’t allow you to—”
“It’s always that excuse!” exploded Reign Cloud, his head snapping up, fangs bared in a snarl. “I’m sick of being like this, Momma! It’s not fair! I can’t even go on carnival rides on my birthday! I can’t go out in public and play with other colts and fillies. It doesn’t matter if they’re ponies or changelings, I’m always too sick make friends! Everywhere I go, I have to have an escort—”
She interrupted him, “I know, Reign! I want what’s best for you. Your father wants what’s best for you. There will be a spell to cure you soon. The other alicorns have been working on it, but you have to give them time. They have the responsibilities of millions of ponies on their shoulders, as well as relationships to keep with other nations. There are researchers looking into your genetic defects—” Cadence stopped and immediately regretted that word, her hooves covering her mouth.
Reign stared at her, his lower lip quivering and eyes filling with tears.
“Oh, honey, I didn’t mean it that way,” she said in a mollifying tone.
“...I’m a defect?” Reign gurgled through a choked sob.
“Reign, no…”
“I’m going to die, Momma. Why are you trying to keep that truth from me?” It was on oddly pathetic sound coming from the colt, half shouting and half crying now as his rage melded with his despair. “I’ve told you how many times my body hurt and you always tell me everything’s going to be all right. Well, it’s not all right, Momma. You keep me in a cage and don’t let me spread my wings. What good are mine if I can’t use them?” He flapped his wings at his mother exaggeratedly, stamping his hooves in anger.
She moved towards him, her resolve gone as all she could see was her foal in pain right before her. “You’re not going to die!” she cried emphatically. Reign backed away, his tail between his legs.
“No!” he cried. “You’re going to lie to me again, like you always lie to me! I’m tired of living like this, Momma! This isn’t living! You don’t hear the other colts and fillies telling their mommas and poppas they hurt every day! I do hurt. I always hurt. I don’t know what it means to not hurt!”
“Come to me, my baby,” Cadence pleaded, her own tears streaking down her cheeks. She hated seeing Reign hurt like this. It had been a very long time since he had been this upset. As the Alicorn of Love, it hurt her on a spiritual level to sense such self-loathing from the Halfling.
“I just want to be normal, Momma!” he screamed. His mixed heritage warbled through a whinny and a hiss through his throat. Reign’s eyes flared with his innate magic and he could see his mother’s emotions flowing from her and towards him. They were colors he could not identify, but there was no other way to see them. It was as though sight had gone beyond the normal spectrum he was used to and instead it perceived in his vision a sort of extension of the spirit.
It was like seeing warmth and imagining the color orange. It confused the colt and stymied his anger. His senses had never done that before. He had always felt emotions, but he had never seen it before. It was as though he was seeing his mother’s soul for the first time. In that moment, he also felt something else through his vision within Cadence. It was smaller and...innocent?
Reign felt his emotions fall away and he simply began to sob, curling up into a ball. His perforated forelegs went over his muzzle as he bawled. He felt Cadence scoop him up and hold him tightly. His body ached and his head throbbed. What was it like to not be weak? What was it like to not feel pain? What was it like to not depend on Zeala and her potion for survival?
Cadence cooed at him with soothing sounds, wrapping her wings snugly around him and rocking back and forth like he was a newborn foal. It was so cruel for him to suffer like this, she thought. Zeala had crafted a trap. Cadence and Shining Armor had led Reign right into it without giving a chance to see if there were other methods of preserving the foal’s health. Their fear of his condition those years ago had led to the quick decision. Even Celestia had thought their action was prudent, given the circumstances.
Time and time again the alicorn had second guessed herself. Shining Armor was no different, as he himself was no stranger to magic. There had been many nights they held each other in bed and worried over Reign. If there had been more knowledge available in regards to Halflings, it had been destroyed long ago. None of the archives in Canterlot yielded more than a passing mention of the half breeds.
The Essence of Emotion had kept her son alive, if it could be called that. Grimly her mind wandered. The years had set within her the notion Zeala indeed had her own agenda. Would Reign’s birth mother have stood for it? As she soothed the colt, Cadence wondered, blinking away her own tears as she sought from within her resolve.
Queen Chrysalis was going to come for Reign Cloud. The ambassador had confirmed Cadence’s worst fears before Reign Cloud and Maggie had popped into existence before Celestia. Whatever civil conflict the changelings had been embroiled in, it had ended. The survivors were shifting their focus and were apparently united under this queen that was supposed to fail. Zeala would need to be warned. The alicorn had already figured out Reign had been dropped off for safe keeping. She had hoped the queen would fail, the darkest recesses within her heart begging faintly for her death.
Such thoughts —miniscule as they were— were abominable in Cadence’s eyes. She was the Alicorn of Love. Love was kindness and generosity. Love was protecting those selflessly and without reservation. Love was a citadel of light against the darkness beyond. Love was a formidable weapon, as strong and unshakable as the most powerful of magics. It was also a double edged sword.
Chrysalis had discovered the wrong side of love. Yet she had borne a son. Cadence had always felt a bit jealous the changeling had been able to provide for Shining Armor what she had yet been able to do herself.
Cadence broke her inner musings, realizing something her son was doing. He was manipulating her. Again. It was always subtle and even more so every time he did it. Most of the time, Reign was not even aware of what he was doing. If his birth mother were here, she more than likely be swelling with pride at this revelation. Still holding him in her grasp, she bent her muzzle to his ear.
“Very clever, Reign,” she murmured. The alicorn pulled back as the colt jolted. He craned his neck to look up at her. Sure enough, there was the faint telltale glow of his eyes. “How many times have I told you to control yourself?” The princess broke the hug, levitating her son with her magic and plopping him on his bed.
He looked away from her, ashamed.
“You have just made your punishment worse,” she went on, rising to her hooves. Flaring her wings, Cadence adjusted and settled them to her sides. The stern demeanor had returned, this time with more conviction. “I do not know if it’s instinct, but that should not matter. Perhaps I should schedule some lessons with Zeala for you on self control.”
Reign’s eyes snapped up and he stared at Cadence in undisguised horror. “No!”
“How many times have you tried to manipulate either myself or your father? Hmm? How many times have I explicitly told you good colts do not try to bend the wills of others to their whims? Not only do you defy social decorum by listening in on private conversations, but I just now have my own son trying to divert my mind from the fact he is in a lot of trouble and is trying to avoid punishment?” She strode towards Reign, her tone never rising. Cadence was angry, but she was firmly in control of herself and the situation. The unhappiness flowed from her words. Upon those words rode profound disappointment. With her chastisement followed the expectation of being a good pony.
Princess Celestia had taught her well.
One look and she knew what was thought to be crocodile tears had been replaced by real ones. Oh, he had a grim resolve about him, Cadence noted, fighting to keep a small smile at bay. Keeping her emotions in check around Reign was becoming more and more difficult these days with him growing into his heritage. Deciding her assessment was too stern, the princess thought her initial assessment genuine emotions and inadvertent manipulation.
“No crocodile tears,” she said to herself. Reign was looking up at her with trepidation. To him, she said with a sigh, “Honey, you are right. Your father and I both place a lot of restrictions upon you. They are necessary.” Cadence sat on the bed next to him. Her voice was slow and steady as she attempted to soothe her agitated colt.
Reign scootched away from her, refusing to meet her gaze. The colt sniffled miserably.
Figuring out Reign Cloud has become increasingly more and more difficult with each passing year, Cadence thought as she gave him a moment to get used to her sitting next to him. Then, she scooted closer. He curled up into a sitting ball of fluff and chitin, his perforated legs curling under him in a loafing position. Reign still refused to look at his mother, even going so far as to lean away from her.
She sighed. At least he wasn’t jumping out of the bed and telling her to stay away from him. “Honey, I am going to sit down with your father and I am going to talk to him about your punishment. You do know you are not where you need to be, right?”
Reign Cloud still refused to look at her.
“Look at me.”
He curled himself into a tighter ball. Tears were still streaming down his face, though nowhere near the torrent from moments ago. An ear had swiveled and was fixed on her voice, so he was listening.
“You are grounded.”
“Momma!” he blurted, whipping his head around and splaying his ears back.
“Do not interrupt,” she scolded. Cadence took her left wing and swung in out in front of her, taking one of her primaries and grasping Reign’s chin. Turning his face to meet hers, her hold was soft, yet firm. She avoided using her magic specifically for the sake of physical contact. Reign needed to know he was in trouble, but she still loved him. As went through the motion with her wing, she sidled next to her son and before he knew it, had her other wing over his back, pulling him close. She had already assumed a maternal formalness in her voice.
“Now, you will be confined to your room for a month.”
The colt mumbled something, snorting.
“What was that?”
“It’s not much different than how I live now, Mother.”
It is just the anger. It is just the anger. Let it go. Let it go. The princess gave herself a half a breath. “I’m not finished. I am going to ask Wilda if she and her family can take you in for that month.”
Reign swung his head and peered at her with wild hope in his eyes.
“But!” Cadence held up a hoof. “You will be watched. You will be guarded. If you so much as sneeze or sniffle or even complain, you will be brought back here.”
“You mean it?” Reign squeaked.
“Do not be so eager, my son,” she told him, shifting into princess mode usually reserved for when she gave out a decision during Day Court. “Wilda is a stern mistress in her house. You will work. You will earn your keep. You might even make friends with her brood. There are many, if you remember.” A flicker of a smile touched the corners of her mouth.
“I do.” Tears had been forgotten now. A sense of hope had sparked.
“She is considered a queen, Reign. The other changelings in the city love and revere her. She likes her common station. She likes her status. She has worked very hard to be respected among her peers. Wilda is hard and she is fair. You have met her enough to know the sort of changeling she is.” Cadence stroked her son with her wing, feeling his tension fade from his little form.
“Why the change?” Reign asked her. “I thought you were going to punish me.”
Cadence laughed lightly. “Oh, Reign! Honey, I understand I have been restrictive. Your father is paranoid about your safety. As much as I hate going behind his back, I have had to compromise with him. I do not want my son to resent his parents. I love you and your father loves you. We want you to understand that.”
“What if Wilda says no?”
Cadence hummed thoughtfully. “Well, if she does deny my request to board you, then I suppose I might have to send you to Canterlot and stay with...Prince Blueblood. He is my distant cousin, if you recall.”
“Momma! He hates me!”
“Well, you had better hope Wilda accepts having you under her roof then, should you not?” Cadence allowed herself a smirk, having reversed the manipulation.
“What do you want me to do?”
The Alicorn of Love rolled her eyes thoughtfully to the ceiling. “Well, for starters, I want you to apologize to the ambassador. Then I want you to apologize to your aunts. After that, I want you to apologize to your father for making him take up the duties I specifically asked you to attend to on this day. You were supposed to be greeting the colts and fillies tonight, were you not? The party is going to continue for another three hours. Your father is not entirely a happy stallion at the moment.”
Mutely, Reign nodded in shame.
“I also want you to apologize to all the colts and fillies who came to wish you a happy birthday and to thank you for throwing a party for them. That was quite rude and perhaps the one thing I am most disappointed in you about. Not because of the severity, but because you promised me you would stay until the end of the public greetings with them and their families. Some came up from Equestria with the hopes of meeting a prince their age.”
“I’m sorry,” he croaked, fresh tears forming. “Can we talk about something else? I feel bad.”
“Will you apologize to everypony you offended?” Cadence nuzzled him as she spoke.
“Yeah.”
“Have I been spending enough time with you?” she asked, shifting the topic as he wanted. Her nuzzling had not subsided.
Reign was, for the most part, an honest colt. He had been raised to be so. However, tact was not one of his strong points. “No,” he sniffed, wiping a hoof over his now runny nose.
Cadence thought he looked adorable at that moment. Oh, she could tell him so, but the colt would be seriously offended. Instead, she squee’d and hugged him tightly. “I want to gobble you up!”
Distractions made her terrible at sticking to disciplining her colt. Shining Armor’s job as father entailed him to also be the enforcer of punishments levied against Reign.
Reign Cloud felt the crush of his mother’s love and went with it with an “urk!”. He was already gorging on this sudden influx from Cadence and it was making him feel wonderfully light headed. He hoped she was distracted enough to escape doing anything other than apologize. Being told of living for a month at Maggie’s house was completely unexpected! A thought occurred to him.
“Momma?” he managed through her Hug of Motherly Death.
She nuzzled him some more. “Yes?”
“Am I going to be grounded in a room of Wilda’s choosing?”
“Yes. Yes you are, my intelligent little colt.”
“What if it is a broom closet?”
“Then I suppose you’ll know you will be expected to clean every day, Reign.” Cadence began to rock him back and forth, humming tunelessly.
He frowned at that idea. “Is Wilda going to enforce my punishment?”
“I’ll point her in the right direction, but yes. I think you have been neglecting your changeling heritage. It will be good for you to experience certain other aspects of your uniqueness.” Cadence resumed her humming. There was several seconds of nothing but her humming. Then, she noted, “You should learn how a changeling household is run. It will be a wonderful experience for you.”
Reign again found himself frowning in his mother’s hug. He liked Wilda, but she was never around long enough for him to really get to know her. Maggie insisted the giant changeling was very nice and was always teaching her brothers and sisters how to be good changelings. She was as charismatic as Zeala, but far less creepy. Wilda was big, he noted, bigger than his mother. She was probably even bigger than Aunt Celestia. Her fangs were impressive and she always was looking around with a certain predatory glint in her eyes that made Reign feel safe around her. His main concern was the few times some of her brood was with her, their movements reminded the Halfling of a small army heeding the commands of a general who took backtalk as an act of treason.
“She has been dying for a chance to have you,” Cadence went on, breaking the hug and allowing Reign to breathe.
This was true. Wilda had motherly eyes for Reign. He had asked Maggie about it and she told him her mother was like that with any colt or filly, be they foal or nymph. She was an indiscriminate mother.
“I’ll run it by your father. He will agree. I’ll make sure of that,” Cadence said impishly. “Wilda will jump at the idea. We have discussed it many times before. There will need to be arrangements made.” She was thoughtful, her grip on her colt loosening. “Now, I’d imagine the real reason why you wanted to listen in on a private conversation is still foremost in your mind, hmm?”
“You mean...you’ll tell me?” Reign Cloud thought Cadence was going to avoid the subject.
She shrugged. “I don’t see why not. It was bound to happen eventually. Your father and I are convinced she will come for you.”
The colt jolted in her hooves. “What?” A thousand questions filled his mind. He became fearful. “Why?”
“I don’t know,” Cadence admitted. “My best guess is she wants her foal back.”
Reign blinked incredulously. “Why? What is she to me? You’re my mother.”
Cadence beamed at him, shifting from princess mother mode to simply mom. “And you’re my colt. What do you want to know about your birth mother? No matter what you think of her, she did give birth to you and she did bring you to me.”
Technically this was not true. The changeling queen had left Reign as a foal in the care of the clergy. No doubt she expected Shining Armor to take charge of his son. Cadence would not admit it openly to anypony other than her aunts or her husband, but she was terrified the queen would forcibly take Reign Cloud. It also gave her pause in her decision to put her son in Wilda’s hooves.
“I don’t want to go with her. She sounds like a monster,” Reign said plainly to her, shivering at the thought. “I heard what the ambassador said. She sounds scary.”
The alicorn lit up her horn. A dossier appeared in front of her nose. “The ambassador gave me this. It’s your mother’s file.”
Reign scrutinized it. “It’s not very thick,” he noted dejectedly. His ears betrayed his eagerness to see what lay within.
Cadence allowed herself a wry grin. “Oh, there’s more here than you think. The ambassador does have a name, dear. You might need to remember it when you also apologize for biting him.”
The colt’s ears splayed back and in shame. “He scared me,” he muttered defensively.
“Well dear, Ambassador Seeadler wanted to have a good look at you. Griffons have terrible near vision unless they have special eyeglasses. Their eyes are best at long distance. He also wanted to become familiar with your scent. Some griffons have a tremendous sense of smell. Your sudden appearance thanks to Aunt Celestia made him instantly very curious about you.” She waved the folder in front of him and added, “Seeadler was very eager to see if you would be interested once he found out our ‘Chrysalis’ was the same queen who bought his emperor. So…” She gave him a knowing look. “Curious?”
“Shouldn’t Poppa be here?”
Cadence nudged the base of his ear with her chin softly. “Oh, this is for you, dear. You have a right to know. Shining would love to be here, but he already knows what’s going on. Don’t worry! He’ll hold down the fort for a little bit longer. I think a lot of your actions are due in part to me not spending a lot of time with you.”
Reign felt better and squirmed as he giggled from his mother’s touch. Instinctively he snuggled up against her side and under a wing, his punishment for the moment forgotten. Memories of biting Ambassador Seeadler on the beak was still fresh in his mind. His fangs still had a dull ache to them. The griffon had a very heavy beak.
“Now, let’s discover what the griffons know about ‘Chrysalis’, “ Cadence announced to her Halfling son. She pried open the document with her magic and began removing the pages within.There were copies of the photographs from earlier, plus a few others and maybe fifteen pages of written documentation to go with it.
As she sorted through them to a semblance of order she thought easiest, Reign cocked his head to one side, regarding her as she worked with swift diligence. “Are you still afraid of her, Momma?”
Cadence slowed and gave him a smile and a glance before resuming. “Maybe a bit more than I would like to admit. It was a long time ago and she did catch me completely by surprise. You’ve heard the story.”
“So...this is just as much for yourself as it is for me?” Reign guessed.
She gave him a look that spoke volumes. “Sometimes I wonder if you picked up more of your aunt’s traits than your father’s,” she mused.
Reign said nothing, but wondered if he would be punished further if he admitted there were hidden places in the castle where he had heard her speaking her concerns to Shining Armor some nights. There had been more than one conversation in regards to the changeling queen. It usually happened after meeting Zeala. The priestess really was capable of making the two ponies recall the disastrous wedding. It was the only time he would ever hear them arguing and the only time he had ever heard his mother cry. There were still scars that refused to heal.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized, curling into a ball.
Cadence sighed. “Don’t apologize for being observant, Reign. You’re a good pony.” She smirked and added ruefully, “Most of the time.”
The colt sighed, turning his attention to the information on his birth mother. His curiosity was aroused. Cadence hoofed the photographs down to him on the bed. With an excited gasp, his eyes hungrily went over them, holding the stack before his muzzle. Reign froze as though time had given him a reprieve, the only movement his eyes as they slowly walked up and down the first photo.
His birth mother was savage grace in predatory form. The photo was almost a decade old, but the black and white image was clear and full of exquisite detail. She stood tall and proud as she greeted the griffon emperor as an equal, as tall as Celestia and just as imposing. Her crooked horn stood out from the center of her forehead, looking like a dagger with round gouges carved out of it. Her wispy mane was long and straight, caught in the gentle breeze of that day. Her perforated legs were eye magnets. Her form was haughty, proud. Reign thought there was scarring on her belly just in front of her right hind leg, as well as several lesser injuries on her chitin. Her smile was formal, barely enough for show, but her fangs gleamed. It was as though the lighting had been just perfect, catching one of them in a glint that reflected off the camera lens. Her large eyes were heavy lidded, as though she knew she had the upper hoof. She was looking into the unflinching eyes of the griffon emperor. The changeling queen made the griffon look small, though she was easily half the massive lion bird’s size. He was cowed by her!
As he began going through the pictures, Cadence took a moment to glare at the drawn curtains in the room. There was supposed to be light in here! Reign was always shunning the sunlight. With a flick of her horn, she drew them all open at once, letting in the late afternoon light flood the room with its amber hue.
“Momma!” protested Reign, looking up in consternation from his perusing.
“You need sunlight!” she said, indifferent to his protests. “Growing colts need sunshine.”
He snorted. “I’m not a tree!” Reign went back to the photos, already losing interest in the topic. His blue eyes assumed a look of curious wonder. His hooves shuffled to the next photo.
Cadence read through the intelligence gathered on Chrysalis. There were several names they had for her: The Iron Maiden. Die schwarze Königin; the Black Queen. Goldene Stimme; the Golden Voice. Different griffon lords and generals had offered up their own assessment of the changeling queen. All of them were deathly afraid of her. Cadence suspected a lot of suggestion magic had been used. Changelings were not, to her knowledge, prone to direct confrontations with other species. Griffons were a fierce race. It made even less sense to provoke them. Yet…
The alicorn raised an eyebrow as she read of the fears. There were too many questions. Where did the queen get the gold to buy off the Empire? She had next to nothing, barely a kingdom at the time. Even that had crumbled and was being fought over by other queens. The only thing she could think of to supply an undocumented amount of gold would be a dragon horde.
Would a changeling queen challenge a dragon for its horde? Or would she sneak up on it and catch it unawares? Given that tactic was used, how would a creature one one hundredth the size of a full-grown dragon slay it for its treasure? Adult dragons were nigh invulnerable to anything save other dragons. It would be impossible to think even a changeling queen at full power could do much more than annoy one of the great wyrms.
Unless the excuse given by Ambassador Seeadler was not in itself the truth to begin with. What if there was something else agreed to in this unlikely pact? Ten years was a long time for a nation to seal its borders and keep all but heavily watched trade routes blocked. How was such a thing possible? How was it nothing had gotten out? No law could bind all griffons.
Cadence thought to ask Twilight her opinion on the matter. Right now she had not enough information and nothing but wild speculation on partial information that was sparse at best. Perhaps a word with her aunts before they headed home tomorrow night might shed some light. The alicorn thought it was very likely there would never be a complete answer. Griffons were a secretive lot and kept to themselves for the most part. Being predators naturally made other sapient species suspicious of them. So long as there was no hunting of sapient beings, few were even bothered to poke their noses in griffon affairs and politics.
No, those were questions to ask at another time. Right now, it was quite possible Chrysalis was already in the Crystal City, plotting to steal Cadence’s little treasure. After so many years, they would inevitably meet again. Of this, the Alicorn of Love was certain.
She was determined to turn the tables on the queen this time.
However, there was the matter of Priestess Zeala. The thin changeling rarely emerged from her completed temple these days. She ventured out on changeling religious festivals and blessed changeling marriages. Besides the additional monthly visits to give Reign Cloud his medicine, she was more or less a recluse. This struck Cadence as odd. Religious leaders, she thought, were supposed to be seen in public often. They were supposed to be leaders anyling could turn to for guidance or advice. Her acolytes filled the roles of doting shepherds over their flocks, but Zeala was said to confine herself within the doors of her chambers. Igor, her most faithful servant, always growled she was always there and would see no one without an appointment.
Cadence suspected the changeling was up to something. Zeala did send her missives, letting the princess know what it was she was doing. The priestess claimed she was bent towards gathering those changelings who found themselves without homes and enticing them to join the splinter colony existing peacefully within the Crystal Empire. With the alicorn’s blessing, Zeala insisted upon giving despondent changelings a chance to live out from under the shadows of warlike queens and bask in the glory of peace and harmony.
The princess hoped Zeala was doing just that, as the priestess had done nothing to suggest otherwise. In all honesty, she had done nothing to make Cadence suspicious. She respected Reign’s dislike for her and did nothing to try and swing his opinion of her to something more favorable.
Breaking from her thoughts, Cadence set aside the papers and smiled at her son. “Shall we have dinner in here?” she asked Reign. “What do you feel like?”
He looked up at her, smiling hugely. “Can we have macaroni and cheese?”
“Why, I believe we can have macaroni and cheese!”
Precious mother and son time! Lots of reveals! Lots of wat! (how'd that get in there?)
Thanks to Magic Man for helping me spot the tpyos!
If you spot any, blame him. 
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I believe this is what is called "The Calm Before The Storm" but I wonder if it will be a mere storm, or perhaps a hurricane?
Hey Cadence you dick how about leave the biological mother who almost died to save her son have him? You have no right to keep him should she choose to!
5245490 So far as Cadence is concerned, she raised Reign and is therefore his true mother. Give her credit for not denying Reign the opportunity to get to know something about Chrysalis, even if the information is limited. What kind of mother would willingly give up her child even if that child did not come from her womb?
5245339 mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw9188-shitstorm.gif
...I just can't say when...yet...
5246050 It played a part in inspiring the horrible thing I wrote up.
I fell behind for a bit, but catching up has been nice. Reign is an interesting character. I didn't like him at first, but he's grown on me.
Maggie is great, Wilda is Wilda, and I'm hoping to see Chrysalis make her grand entrance soon here.
5245552 Dude i get it i really do. I've seen countless plays shows and series that play on that thing. But what i see here is a "mother" emotionally anchoring on her child.That's the worst thing that could happen to a child(emotional blackmail) and i speak from personal experience when i say that tugging on a child's heartstrings or clinging upon it and restraining it is the absolute worst thing Cadence could do right now. Not to mention that her own secret hopes of Chrysalis being dead or dying are making me say "Cadence!?! How can you even do that? She's your "son's" true mother! She fuckin went through hell just to have him!" You know for an alicorn of love she lets her emotions affect her way more than a changeling would.
Seeing how sickly Reign always is made me wonder why he hasn't got siblings yet. Good thing the story acknowledged it, even if without an explanation.
continue the story DONT LET HIM DIE
5247718 The reason he has no siblings will be answered.
At least Cadence has the decency to hate herself for having hoped that Chryssie died, since if she did, the only hope of fixing Reign would've died with her. Plus, she clearly cared for him if she went out of her way to secure a future for him.
I'm kinda going that she makes peace and they both act as his mothers.
I don't understand it. What felt he?
7064592 could be that she is carrying a foal? Never know. n.nn
Wasn't that because he was sick.
He's been grounded his entire life, Cadence. What are you possibly going to do to him that's worse than how he already lives?
HAH! THAT'S WHAT I SAID!
Time with some other lings. Sounds like a great learning experience, assuming no changeling queens kidnap him.