9 - Flashback: The Changeling Seasons
The Badlands Hive, Nine Years Ago, Hearth's Warming Eve
“Are you sure about this?” Queen Chrysalis asked, concern evident in her voice. She walked up behind her daughter, who was sitting at the desk in corner of her room, and then looped her forelegs around her in an affectionate manner.
“You have asked me that so many times the past month,” Princess Twilight Sparkle responded with a roll of her eyes. “I’ve told you that I am.”
“But on Hearth's Warming surely you should be with them?”
“I’m going to miss them this Hearth's Warming, but I want to be with you,” Twilight stated, leaning her head back and giving her mother a light nuzzle. “We’ve missed this time together for so long, and I intend to start making up for it right now.” Her voice was sincere, but she still sighed, putting down the photo album she had been examining, a gift full of family photographs from previous Hearth's Warmings. “Still, I wish you didn’t have that meeting with Queen Vulgaris the immediate day after. Maybe next year we can all celebrate it together in Canterlot.”
Chrysalis, just for a moment, had a knowing smirk on her face that she quickly wiped away. “Well, that’s the issue with Vulgaris, she doesn’t celebrate Hearth's Warming.”
“Neither do you,” Twilight jabbed.
Chrysalis chuckled. “I do now. Besides, I bought you those gifts throughout the years, leaving them on your doorstep when the day would come about.” She slipped away and sat down beside her daughter’s seat.
“True,” Twilight mused, “but being with you beats all of that.”
“Well aren’t you sweet,” Chrysalis teased, pulling her into a side hug. “Bet you never thought you would say that directly after the wedding.”
“Oh shush you,” Twilight said, playfully batting Chrysalis away. “Still, this seems to be the year of celebrating Hearth's Warming with long lost family. Applejack and her family are spending this year with the Pies, given that they might be related."
Chrysalis raised an amused eyebrow. “Might? Do I even want to ask?”
“Apparently, it was quite the adventure following the revelation,” Twilight stated with a chuckle. “An adventure with a lot of Pinkie Pie.”
“Then no, I don’t want to ask,” Chrysalis deadpanned.
Twilight laughed, getting up from her seat and moving closer to her mother. She enveloped Chrysalis in a strong loving embrace, one that the Queen returned all too gladly.
“You know,” Twilight began. “I am really glad I’m here, with you.”
Chrysalis smiled lovingly, nuzzling the top of her daughter’s head. “And I’m glad that you’re here too. And, I’ve got something for you.”
Twilight dislodged herself from Chrysalis, giving her a curious look. “And… what might that be?”
Chrysalis smirked, walking towards the doorway while motioning for Twilight to follow. Once they were out in the hallway, the guard outside saluted their Queen and Princess as they went, the two giving respectful nods in return. They proceeded off away from the bedroom, travelling down various hallways passing many changelings as they went. The route they were taking was one Twilight very much recognised, it was the direct route to the throne room.
Twilight was curious as to why they were heading there, but she kept her questions to herself as she followed her mother’s lead. Finally, the two of them found themselves outside the large double doors to the throne room. Chrysalis stopped by the large doorway, and then she motioned for Twilight to open them.
“Um… what?”
“Open them. I said I have something for you, so go look.”
“What is it?”
“Go look.” Chrysalis jabbed her foreleg towards the doors.
Twilight glanced towards the doorway, and then back to Chrysalis. “Not even a hint?”
“Twilight!”
“OK! OK! I’m going!”
Twilight shook her head, grabbing onto the doors with her lavender magic and swinging them open. She barely had time to register anything, to even remotely examine what awaited her before her eardrums were suddenly blown out by an absolutely tremendous shout.
“SURPRISE!”
Twilight was knocked onto her haunches by the joint voices coming from the assembled group. The throne room had been decorated heavily, decorations expertly laid out and a giant Hearth's Warming tree dominating the space. Just in front of the tree was a large group of ponies, changelings and one small baby dragon; this was including Twilight’s pony family, Carduus and his family, and Princess Celestia herself.
“W-what?”
“Surprise,” Chrysalis repeated as she entered the room, though not as loudly as the others.
Twilight’s jaw moved up and down for a few seconds before she finally formed some words. “Mother, what is this?”
“Well, since Vulgaris was keeping me from coming to Canterlot, I decided to bring Canterlot to us, in a manner of speaking.”
“Hey! You didn’t think we were going to miss the chance to see our baby girl on Hearth's Warming, did you?” Twilight Velvet stated, moving forward to give her adoptive daughter a loving nuzzle.
“Plus, it gives us a chance to check out your new place,” Night Light stated. “It’s nice, plenty of nice stallions and mares to choose from.”
Twilight’s cheeks puffed up in annoyance. “DAD!”
Night Light chuckled, before innocently saying: “What?”
“Come on dad, give it a rest,” Shining Armor told him. “Just give Twily a moment to process this.”
“Though, she is cute when frazzled,” Princess Cadance added teasingly.
“That she is,” Celestia stated. “And my former student has a history of it.”
“I have so many questions…” Twilight muttered. “For one thing, who decorated the throne room?!”
“That, Twilight, would be Pinkie Pie,” Carduus stated, who was standing over by the tree with Panacea and Iuvenes. “She appeared, personally gave us some invites, decorated and then left.”
“B-but… Pinkie is with her family right now! How?!”
“Twilight Sparkle, are you truly questioning the Element of Laughter?” Celestia asked. “It’s probably for the best you just accept it.”
“She’s right,” Spike added in, the young drake smirking. “Remember when you performed all those tests to try and figure her out?”
Twilight groaned, rubbing her temples. “Ugh, I know. And you, Princess, shouldn’t you be in Canterlot? I mean, you’ve got that speech and a large party to attend!”
Celestia twirled a hoof nonchalantly. “Oh well, I’m sure Luna can hold the fort in my absence. I wasn’t going to miss this for the world.”
“So?” Chrysalis questioned towards Twilight. “Did I do well? Or did I do well?”
Twilight went to answer, but her mouth simply gaped open like a fish for several moments. Her thoughts were swimming as she processed this turn of events and, in the end, she simply elected to laugh heartily.
“It’s perfect,” Twilight stated. “All that is missing is my friends, but they have their own families. For now, there is nowhere else I would rather be.”
“Well then,” Celestia began, before loudly proclaiming in a very un-regal manner: “Let’s get this party started!”
“Presents!” Little Iuvenes shouted out enthusiastically.
“Ponies open them on Hearth's Warming day, dear. Though, I suppose we better start,” the nymph’s mother, Panacea, said with a chuckle. “Before this one explodes.”
And so, that night and the following, Twilight Sparkle spent Hearth's Warming with family and friends. It was all she could have hoped for and more, and the next year they would repeat the festivities, only this time it would be hosted by Night Light and Twilight Velvet in their own home. Princess Twilight’s friends and family; she would never trade any of them for anything, both changeling and pony.
However, when the third year came about there was one notable absence. Princess Twilight Sparkle had become Queen Twilight Sparkle.
It was an absence that would never be filled, but the two Hearth's Warmings she had experienced with them all would be events she would hold close to her heart until the end of her days.
The fire of friendship truly lived in her heart. And as long as it burned, they would never drift apart.
This was the first of only two Hearth's Warmings Twi got to spend with her mother... 
Still, on a happier note, Merry Christmas everpony! 
(As a side note, chapters will continue January 8th)
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Merry Christmas!
Hurrah for the Savior!
And thanks for the chapter
Right in the feels with that last part
Though, that was a good chapter
*pokes a long rotten blob* Huh my feels are still very dead it appears eh not like I used them.
Through what I assume is the magic of timezones, it says that this chapter was released tomorrow.
7815365 I released the chapter the second it became Christmas Eve in the UK
7815450
Awesomesauce
7815450 You are lucky, I've got to wait 19 hours till Christ mas (It's 12 AM, Dec 24th here).
Merry Xmas Everypony.
That was fun, may I have another? Looking forward to more.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.
7833250 Define 'fine'
7833284 mentally herself again and not a dead bug on Twilights cave? XD
But yeah, now I have the feeling, there is only a litttttle hope left they could save her somehow :/
7805244
Please, at least Webster--unlike your Dr Johnson--wasn't so ashamed of his native language that he felt the need to spell it as French as humanly possible.
What the heck?! Why didn't this show up on my feed? Welp, I've got some reading to do.
7845296 I didn't want to be lynched
I love this episode from the authors note and this is also only the second time we see rainbow blitz rainbow dashes father.
I was gonna wait til the 10th chapter to leave a review, but this chapter was so bittersweet. Poor Twilight, time only gave her & Chrysalis 2 years, but they made the most of it.
This is probably gonna sound stupid, but wasnt twilight velvet killed by blueblood?
8726757
Mirror's Image, not Change.
A bittersweet chapter but a nice chapter as well.
loving the story so far. i'm curious will Starlight Glimmer and Sunset Shimmer be introduced into the story at some point or no?
9649297
Not beyond vague references as of where the series is currently at.
Though a variant of Equestria Girls does end up happening, off screen.
Thank you. You just saved both yours, and my, sanity.
Stupid onion-cutting Ninjas