A Queen's Adoption

by Danger A Dragon

Hide and Seek

“Why do you keep shaking me awake?” I mumbled tiredly as I felt myself move from side to side rapidly.

“You’d sleep all day otherwise. Do you have a more preferred method of waking you up?” Luna asked. I cracked an eye open and saw her grinning.

“Depends … what the choices are,” I told her through a yawn before my other eye opened up.

“Well, I could always get Celestia to wake you up,” Luna said with a thoughtful expression. That woke me up. My eyes widened in fear when I remembered her true form and I shot out of bed before nearly running headfirst into a wall. I managed to stop myself and only bumped it slightly before glaring at Luna.

“Why did you have to say that!?” I seethed at her.

“It was the first option I thought of. I’ll have to remember that reaction for when you’re having a hard time getting up,” Luna said with a quiet chuckle as she trotted over to me.

“You’re evil,” I said quickly and panted as my heart rate slowed down.

“And you’re still injured. Breakfast?” Luna wondered with a tilt of her head. I let out an angered breath.

“It’s been a week so you really did a number on me. Breakfast sounds good right now,” I told her and winced when pain bloomed in my chest as my heart rate returned to normal.

“What can I say? You’re really stubborn,” Luna said with a shrug as she lead the way to the dining room. “I think the chefs made some more corn for you after the servants told them how much you seemed to like it.”

“Even after I got butter all over the place?” I asked and began walking towards the dining room. At least my legs don’t wobble anymore. They took at least five days to stop wobbling and a couple more to actually get their strength back. “Oh, I am not stubborn.”

“I think they took that for enthusiasm,” Luna guessed. “And yes, you are.”

“No, I’m not. Being stubborn is when you don’t budge on a topic and I’m certainly not that,” I said in clear denial as I stared straight ahead.

“Uh-huh. What’s the reason for you getting this injured again?” Luna asked with a knowing grin.

“Me not yielding and I only said that because I was mad at you. It. Was. Not. Stubbornness.” I said defiantly and gave a snort.

“And now you’re being stubborn about being stubborn,” Luna said.

“What!?” I gasped and looked at Luna. “I’m not being stubborn about being stubborn! I’m just not stubborn enough to be stubborn!”

“Case in point right there, Chryssie,” Luna replied with a gesture of her wing. I groaned in exasperation and quickened my pace. I ignored whatever Luna spoke about until we got to the dining room where it seemed that the only pony there was Celestia.

“Okay … where’s mom and dad?” I asked slowly when I came to a stop in the doorway.

“I believe they are out surveying the country today,” Celestia replied from her seat. I took my seat opposite her and barely noticed the buttered bread and corn that was laid out.

“‘Surveying the country’? What for?” I asked Celestia.

“Insurrections, areas that need more attention given to them, the tribes clashing, anything that isn’t a regular thing that they can see from the sky,” Celestia explained as Luna sat down next to me.

“I’m going to stop asking questions because ponies are vastly different from changelings,” I muttered to myself. I looked at the food and grabbed a piece of corn with my magic before chewing slowly.

“They’ll be back in the afternoon if you were wanting to talk to them about something,” Celestia supplied as she sipped a cup of tea.

“I expected them to be here like every other day. That’s all,” I told her distractedly as I focused on my chewing.

“You just wanted somepony besides the scary sister and the sister who hurt you so badly to be at breakfast,” Luna whispered as she cut into some pancakes that had been buttered and syrup was dripping off of them. I shook my head through a smile.

“No, I just didn’t realise they actually had duties,” I whispered back and lowered my head when I noticed Celestia’s look.

“I’m not sure what you’re whispering about, but mother and father have left court to me until they return,” Celestia said as she finished her breakfast.

“You want any help?” I asked quietly. I can’t help but feel that she doesn’t like how close Luna and I have gotten in only a week of knowing each other.

“As you said, ‘ponies are vastly different from changelings.’ So, unless you understand more than you’re letting on then you can continue doing as you’ve done since you’ve gotten here. Mess around with Luna,” Celestia replied with venom in her last sentence as she rose and started walking serenely to one of the doors.

“I wasn’t talking about me. I was talking about Luna. Maybe she can help you,” I told Celestia before she got out of earshot. I looked down at my plate and finished off the piece of corn that was on it.

“She may help if she wishes, but I’m not going to force her,” Celestia called over her shoulder before disappearing around the doorframe. I gave a small sigh as I finished and continued staring at my plate.

“What do you think, Luna? Do you want to help her or ‘mess around with me’?” I asked with a sideways glance.

“With the way Tia is acting I’d rather not be around her right now,” Luna answered as she finished her pancakes and took a sip of her drink.

“So you’d rather mess around with me. What do you want to do then?” I questioned her while I did my best to get Celestia’s venomous voice out of my mind.

“Hmm...how about stealth vs stealth in a game of hide and seek? It’d take awhile if we’re both serious, but we can put some limitations on the use of magic,” Luna suggested.

“It would give me a chance to see how far you’ve progressed … I think it’s a good idea,” I conceded and gave a nod and a smile.

“Okay, so what limitations so we put on? My ability to shadow walk is an obvious one,” Luna said.

“No shadow walking. No silenced hooves and you can teleport but only if necessary,” I suggested and stood up with another piece of corn trailing behind me as I walked out the door. “Oh, no using the trapping piano.”

“The organ can do more than trap ponies, but that is beside the point. Those limitations seem good. Now, what area should we confine ourselves to? Just the castle?” Luna replied as she trotted to catch up with me. I chewed on my corn and gave a nod.

“All over the castle. No going outside, and no going into the outdoor areas inside the castle either,” I replied when I swallowed and slowed down a bit.

“Drat, the atrium was going to be the first place I hid,” Luna said with a disappointed expression.

“Sorry. Too easy to hide outdoors, especially when there’s plenty of places indoors to hide,” I said with a toothy grin which was undermined by the pieces of corn I felt stuck in my fangs.

“This is true. I’ll go hide first since you’re the more experienced in this, Miss Corny,” Luna said with a chuckle before trotting off. I guess I’ll count to ten then. I closed my mouth and immediately felt around my fangs with my tongue to try and get the corn out. One, I slowly trotted down the corridor. Two, I closed my eyes when I got to the intersection. Three, I leaned against the wall and quietly breathed. Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Now to go and find Luna.

I opened up my eyes and immediately turned left at the intersection I was in. Coming upon an open door, I peeked inside and found it to be devoid of any sort of pony. Walking inside, I scanned each nook and every cranny, looking for telltale signs of shimmering forms. They were imperceptible to the regular pony but once you know what you’re looking for, they’re easy to spot. Without any sort of sign that Luna was even here, I left the room and continued on.

Room after room after room was searched until I came upon a rather large one packed with ponies. Thinking this must be the day court, I sped across the gap before looking in at the mass.

“Princess Celestia, what can you tell us of the rumors spreading of your parents adopting a non-pony into your family?” a stallion as from the crowd.

“To choose your next words wisely, sir,” Celestia replied with narrowed eyes.

“V-Very well, Princess. This new sister of yours hasn’t been given authority over things has she?” the stallion asked.

“That is the purview of mother and father. Do you wish to challenge their decision if they have given her authority?” Celestia said as a bit of shimmering could be seen poking out from behind the throne Celestia was sitting on. My mouth fell open when I noticed this and grumbled. Really? She just had to pick the courtroom? Standing back from the doorway and making sure I was hidden, I quickly transformed in a ring of green flames. What emerged was Faucet, a Pegasus pony with green fur, a purple and gray striped mane and tail and a leaky tap for a cutie mark.

Rubbing my eyes, I slowly walked into the courtroom and began carefully making my way to the throne while making excuses every time I bumped into somepony.

“Halt, nopony is allowed closer than this,” a guard said as he barred my way. My eyes flashed green and I grinned at him as my teeth turned back into fangs.

“You sure I’m not allowed closer?” I whispered to him. The sounds of Celestia and the stallion talking back and forth were but background noise as I confronted the guard.

“You are not part of the royal family and I don’t recognize you as one of their servants. So, no. You aren’t allowed any closer than this,” the guard explained.

“Oh, no? Then who is the ‘non-pony’ that the royal family adopted?” I asked quietly.

“She is a mare named Chrysalis. We have been told a bit about her and I’m unsure whether to call her ‘Princess’ or ‘Queen’ due to her royal status before being adopted, to be honest,” the guard answered. This was surprising but hopefully, this will either get Luna out of hiding, or it will get me into a lot of trouble.

“Why don’t you ask Princess Luna behind the throne to come and see me? She recognises me from a few days ago when she was out walking and I just wanted to thank her for helping me out as she did,” I told him. It may be a fib, but hopefully, this guard is dumb enough to buy it. The guard glanced up to the throne and saw nothing behind it.

“Very funny, young mare. Princess Luna isn’t behind the throne. I’m going to have to ask you to leave, please,” The guard said and gestured toward the double doors I’d come through.

“Sorry. No can do. Princess Luna really is there, she’s just using a concealment spell to hide from me,” I said seriously.

“Then she obviously doesn’t want to see you, does she?” the guard pointed out sternly.

“We’re playing hide and seek,” I said bluntly.

“Heh, she picked the best spot to hide if that’s truly the case. Now, off with you, young mare,” the guard said and made a shooing motion at me. He didn’t sound like he believed me but I complied and headed back out. When I got outside the room, I changed back into my buggy self and looked back in. The shimmering spot was still there so taking a deep breath, I made myself invisible with the spell I taught Luna and teleported behind the throne in a flash of green light. Hopefully, the throne was big enough and far enough away to hide the colourful flash.

“Luna, you really did it this time,” I growled from behind the shimmering spot as I stayed invisible. The shimmering dissipated, revealing an empty space. Damn! I got tricked. How did she even manage to do that!? Quickly looking around for some more shimmering spots, I couldn’t really see any so I teleported back into the corridor and continued walking onwards. Where else could Luna have gotten to? A faint sound of giggling came from behind and above me.

I quickly spun and looked up just in time to see a shimmering spot fly away. I quickly wrapped her in my magic and brought her closer with a mischievous grin.

“Were you hiding behind me the entire time?” I asked.

“Yep, I’ve been flying behind you this entire time while silencing my wingbeats,” Luna said as she revealed herself. She was smiling from ear to ear. That was clever of her.

“You … you’re really something else, you know that?” I said as my magic let her go. “Why did you have me go into the courtroom anyway!?”

“So, you could hear Tia defending you against those stupid nobles,” Luna replied. I went to open my mouth but stayed silent for a moment.

“Right. Okay, I didn’t expect her to defend me after how she spoke to me at breakfast,” I said sheepishly and sat on my haunches.

“You’re family. Only family can talk bad about family with Tia,” Luna explained. I nodded slowly before grinning from ear to ear at Luna. “What are you grinning about? Sister’s kinda messed up logic?”

“It’s my turn to hide,” I laughed before vanishing on the spot.

“Right, you’ve got to the count of ten. One,” Luna said with a smile as she shook her head and closed her eyes.

“You’ll never find me,” I told her before running off. When I turned the corner, I took off and buzzed my wings so fast they stayed silent. Keeping my invisibility charm around me, I zoomed off to where the hot spring and steam room were. Quickly heading inside when I got there, I went into the steam room itself and locked myself in there. Time seemed to slow down as the minutes ticked by with no sign of Luna nearby.

“Chryssie? You in here?” Luna’s voice echoed after what seemed was an hour to me. Despite spending all this time in the steam room, I haven’t felt wet at all. I looked out the window and debated on whether or not to call out before getting an idea. Laying down on the floor, I lit my horn up.

“No, I’m here,” I said from behind Luna. Illusions are fun to use, especially when they’re not part of the restrictions we set for each other.

“Hmm, you’re better than I thought since I’d been looking behind me thinking that you’d give me a taste of my own medicine,” Luna said.

“I actually didn’t think of that but I did find a spot where you won’t be able to find me,” I told her with a grin as the illusion flickered for a bit before settling back into its proper shape.

“Ah, using illusions are we?” Luna said and a light permeated the area and into my hiding spot.

“You tracked where I was casting the illusion from, huh?” I asked, still wearing that grin before fading away.

“No, detect life spell,” Luna said as her hoof steps approached the steam room.

“There’s nothing in here but us steam!” I called out jokingly while simultaneously hitting my face with a hoof. Two things about that detect life spell. I need to learn it, and I need to figure out how to counteract it.

“Then let me in so I can enjoy the steam’s company,” Luna said with a giggle as she knocked on the door. Keeping myself veiled, I nudged the door open with a hoof. Luna looked in and grinned.

“Well, Chryssie must have teleported away,” Luna said in mock shock as she stepped in and closed the door behind her. “Guess it’s just me and the steam then.”

I made myself as small as possible while trying to stifle a giggle.

“Tell me, steam. Do you enjoy yourself?” Luna asked with a grin as she looked around the room.

“Of course, I enjoy making ponies manes wet,” I replied, making my voice echo around the small space so Luna wouldn’t pinpoint my location so easily.

“Just their manes? That’s an interesting fetish you have, steam,” Luna said with a chuckle. I blinked and was glad that my blush wouldn’t show.

“N-No … I also enjoy …. Dammnit!” I shouted, unintentionally cancelling the spell as I was at a loss for words.

“Enjoy what, Chryssie?” Luna wondered as she got up and then sat down next to me with a grin on her muzzle. I unveiled myself and huffed. I looked at her and noticed that her mane, coat, and tail was slightly damp.

“Playing pranks … but you look wet,” I smiled.

“Pranks are fun so long as nopony actually gets hurt. Well, hurt too badly. There are times when a bit of pain is unavoidable,” Luna grinned. “A bit of steam isn’t going to hurt. How long do you think you’ve been in here?”

“I’d say half an hour but my mane is still dry and my chitin doesn’t feel the least bit wet either,” I replied with a sigh as I dangled my front legs over the edge of the wooden bench.

“It has been about half an hour since your turn began,” Luna confirmed with a nod. “Any idea why you aren’t anywhere near as wet as you should be?”

“Not a clue,” I said with a shake of my head and traced the grains of the wooden floor with my eyes. “Do you have any ideas?”

“Hmm...Not to sound rude, but aren’t there some insects that are fairly waterproof due to living in or near water their entire lives?” Luna asked.

“There probably are but I know that changelings don’t have any sort of ‘waterproofing’ DNA in them,” I said confidently.

“Well, there goes that idea then,” Luna replied before gaining a thoughtful expression. I looked at her sideways before turning back to my study of wood grain.

“What are you thinking about now, wet mane?” I asked because by now, her mane was thoroughly wet with her coat and tail no doubt following suit soon after.

“Any other way for you to be as dry as you are after a half hour in here,” Luna replied.

“Not that I know of. I’m not casting any spells. There isn’t any ‘waterproof’ DNA in me. Either it’s something I’m unintentionally doing or a phenomenon that’s happening for this moment only,” I told her.

“Have you ever tried casting a water spell?” Luna asked as she held up a hoof as though she’d just come up with something.

“No, I never needed to and I don’t know any water spells either,” I said with a raised brow.

“Well, try to cast one later. There’s a possibility that you have an affinity with them and your body is casting a spell without you knowing it right now,” Luna theorized.

“That could be what’s happening but I’ve never needed to be in contact with water at all,” I told myself. “If that possibility is true, then what do you think that means?”

“That if you studied water magic that you’d get it easily and be able to use it more efficiently and with more power than the average water mage,” Luna explained. “Celestia has an affinity with heat and fire spells and I have an affinity with shadow and ice. We’re both already more powerful than average mages, but we can use the spells without expending as much magic as the average as well.”

“That’s a scary thought,” I muttered.

“You’d be able to counter Celestia if this is true. Well, so long as she doesn’t heat up too much,” Luna pointed out.

“True, I could,” I nodded my head thoughtfully and when I looked back to Luna, her coat and tail looked like a soggy mess. “You’re really wet now.”

“Yes, but I enjoy talking to you like this and this will help keep my coat, mane, and tail supple and soft,” Luna said with a smile. I stared unblinkingly and my eyes roved over her mane, tail, and coat.

“But they’re just so wet,” I blustered. Luna looked at herself and then grinned mischievously before hugging and nuzzling me.

“And so are you now unless that phenomenon works on more than just steam,” Luna said with a giggle. I couldn’t help myself. I giggled uncontrollably and when Luna let go, my mane stayed wet as well as half my face. “Well, now that we’re both wet, somewhat for you at least. How about we go dry off and take this talk to either your room or mine?”

“Sounds … good,” I said with a wince as I stood up and gingerly rubbed my hoof against my bound torso when pain flared up in it. “I think my room would be better. In case I fall asleep or something.”

“Afraid of falling asleep in my bed, Chryssie?” Luna asked with a grin before looking at my wound. “We should stop by the infirmary first, though. All this steam has soaked your bandages and I’m not sure your injury likes the steam either.”

I looked down at myself and groaned in despair when I found blood smeared over half the bandages. “I’m just glad my … legs work fine now,” I said with another wince and stepped off the bench. “Oh, I was afraid of what Celestia would think if she found us sleeping together, is all.”

“Well, either location is fine with me. So, let’s get you treated again,” Luna said and teleported us into the infirmary. “A fresh set of bandages, please. We spent a little too long in the steam room.” A nearby nurse nodded and rolled her eyes a bit with a grin before trotting off to fetch the necessary bandages.

“I think your room would be better,” I said finally and watched the nurse trot back and begin to take off my bandages. When that was done, I hissed at whatever she had used to clean the wound and reapplied the fresh bandages.

“Alright, my room it is then,” Luna said with a sympathetic expression. I simply smiled and teleported us both to Luna’s room so we could continue our talk from the steam room.

Comments

[PonyPawz]

Huh...the spell or coming off pretty cool and adorable time in.

[Danger A Dragon]

7414218 Sorry for the late reply, but let me clarify something. When they go into heat, they get really horny. They can choose their partner, choose to abstain, choose to be tied up with a pleasure-inducing device. So, no, they don't have to and probably won't just bang the first guy they see.

[Texus]

7455976

They can choose their partner, choose to abstain, choose to be tied up with a pleasure-inducing device. So, no, they don't have to and probably won't just bang the first guy they see.

I guess I got the downvotes on my comment, from some people because they either don't now why I said that, or they are totally into that stuff, but I answer on your comment now.

That is what I like to believe too, but in some storys, and I have read at least two, there it definitly looks, like they would catch themself the first suitable stallion they can find. In a certain story, which to be honest was supposed to look like that, Twilight would even go to Spike just to get over with it.
I guess some authors probably think like you and me, but they still manage to make it look like they would take everyone. That's why I wanted to say something before it is to late.
I guess that some of the characters are doing stuff like one-night stands doesn't help either. I mean there is probably nothing wrong with it, if everyone knows from the start that there is not supposed to be anything more than the sex, but mostly it just looks like everyone could get happy.

Thank you for the fact that you are not going to do it in that certain way.

[Razzy]

Hmm, shouldn't Chryssie be able to track others via emotions?

Adorable chapter again.