So this story takes place roughly 15 years after where the series is now. I tried to keep it as close to the canon as possible but it'll probably end up becoming an AU because I guessed something wrong. The main focus will be on Shining Armor and Cadence's family instead of the mane six, just an fyi.

Thanks for reading!


Chapter Two: Welcome

"What? How?" Shining Armor stuttered.

"You?" Cadence gasped. "And….and Chrysalis?! That doesn't even make sense!"

"I….I was conceived when she was disguised as you, Princess," I explained, trying to appear apologetic. Really, I had never thought of her reaction until now. And it was actually kind of funny.

"So you…. And you never told….," Cadence muttered, looking at her husband. "Oh, we are not done talking about this."

Shining Armor gulped and nodded hurriedly before he looked back at the mare claiming to be his daughter. "I don't fully understand."

"Well, after you defeated my mother she realized she was pregnant. She's actually the first changeling to give a natural pony birth. All other changelings are hatched from eggs," I sort of laughed.

"But the reforming. All the changelings are good now. How did you escape?"

"I was very young when Starlight and bunch attacked," I continued. This I knew by heart. Mother loved to rant about this attack, especially when she had just sucked some pony dry and was drunk on love. "During an attack, all the young changelings are kept in the nursery in the lowest level of the hive. Nanny, a changeling, watched over us. After mother was defeated, she snuck us all out and we moved to another hive."

"Another hive?" Shining Armor repeated.

"We have backups all over Equestria," I admitted, squashing the pride I felt at how prepared and organized we had been. "In fact, I can show you where they are, give you the locations."

"So why are you here, Lysandra?" Cadence inquired. "Did Chrysalis send you?"

"No, I swear!" I exclaimed, lying through my teeth. "She hates me. I….I look different than the others. I'm not normal…. No, she would never send me anywhere. So I ran away. And she'd always told me about my dirty rotten father. I wanted to find him, see if she was right about him."

"Won't she notice your absence?" Cadence continued.

I shook my head, my eyes sad. Of course I was faking. Of course Mother would miss me. "Not really. She'll realize I'm gone and probably switch hives for safety reasons but she will not try to get me back. She never cared for me."

Big tears filled my eyes.

Please let this work.


Cadence gestured to Shining Armor and they took a few steps back to talk without Lysandra overhearing.

"Well?" his wife prompted him.

"Well what?"

"What do you think? Come on, Shining, I know you're thinking something."

"She's clearly Chrysalis's daughter."

"And yours," Cadence admitted. "She has your mane."

"Hmph. She still could be lying. Chrysalis could have sent her."

They glanced over at her drying her tears before they continued their conversation. Cadence felt her heart break looking at the young mare. She was so lost and she clearly just needed a little love.

"I don't think so, Shining. Just look at her. And even if she is, isn't it better to keep a dangerous spy close?"

"I suppose. And if she truly can give us information on how to capture Chrysalis….after all these years she could finally come to justice."

"Do you think we should tell anypony else about her?"

"Not yet," Shining Armor advised. "I don't want to spread confusion yet."

"Alright."


Cadence and Shining Armor quickly stopped their whispered conversation. I knew it was about if they wanted to keep me or not. I wasn't stupid.

"Dear, would you like to stay in the palace for a while?" Cadence asked.

"Really?" I gasped, looking up at the princess. I did it! "Really, really?"

"Of course," Cadence laughed. "You are Shining's daughter. And we would love for you to stay."

"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. She bounced on the tips of her hooves, barely able to contain her joy. And it wasn't fake. "Thank you!"

"Shining will take you to your room."

"Cadence….," the stallion whispered to his wife.

He didn't want to spend time with me. His mistake.

"That way he can get to know you better," she finished, smiling. "Now, I'm off. You two have fun!"

Cadence pecked Shining's white cheek, smiled once more, then left, leaving the stallion to stare at me. His daughter. His unwanted child.

"Well….I, uh….," he stuttered.

Odd. He had once been the captain of the Royal Guard. I didn't realize I would be able to rattle him this much. Oh well. Even better for me.

"If you don't mind, you should probably wear your cloak throughout the halls. I don't want you causing a fuss around the empire."

"Oh. Well, will you tell everyone who I am?" I wondered as I used my magic to cover myself with my cloak, pulling the hood far over my face, hiding myself.

"Eventually," Shining Armor promised. "I just need to check a few things."

"Making sure I'm not a spy?" I prompted as he opened the door and we entered the halls. The guards were standing just outside the room but Shining Armor gestured for them to leave. Clearly he did not want to be overheard.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I would have been stupid to think you would just blindly accept me," I chuckled, being very frank with him. "I know it will be a while before you trust me."

"Of course. I'm glad you're so smart."

"Must have got it from you."

I pretended not to notice the way he flinched at the reminder of him being my father. Maybe I could use that.

We turned a corner and found ourselves walking across a crystal bridge over a large foyer.

"This is way to all the chambers in the palace," Shining Armor explained, gesturing with one of his front hooves. "You can stay in the largest guest room. I'm sure Cadence will help you make it feel like home."

"To do that she'd need to get rid of all the light and make it as small as a postage stamp," I muttered. My room back home had been so small. But at least I had my own, unlike the barracks where all the drones slept together.

"Daddy!" a shrill voice suddenly cried out.

Both Shining Armor and I turned around to see a tall pale pink mare running towards them, her purple curls streaked with blue hanging down over her shoulders and down the ground behind her. Her crystal blue eyes were light and glowing and she wore a silver tiara studded with purple gems. Her horn was tall and her wings were tucked against her back, the long feather contained. She also wore a front piece of armor, silver, with matching shoes. Her cutie mark was a glittering silver snowflake with a purple heart-shaped gem in the center. She was young but about old enough to be considered an adult.

"Daddy," she gasped when she reached him. "The new recruits for the guard are warmed up and waiting for their training."

"Oh," Shining Armor said, suddenly remembering. "I completely forgot. Thank you for the reminder, Flurry dear."

"Of course, Daddy," the pretty mare replied. She glanced behind her father and noticed me. I felt my hooves take a step back, unsure about this air-headed pony. "Who's this?"

"Uh, this is….a visiting dignitary!" Shining Armor exclaimed. "Yes, she's visiting from a really really far away kingdom."

"You look a little young to be a dignitary," the mare said, scratching her chin. Maybe not so air-headed after all.

"Where I come from we respect power, not age," I explained. And it was true. "Shining Armor was just showing me to my room."

"Yes, but I forgot about the recruits. Flurry, could you-?"

"Start the newbies training until you're done?" she finished. "Definitely. I know it like the back of my hoof."

"Uh…."

Clearly he wanted to pass me off to this giggly mare and run to his new recruits, far away from me. I had expected this. But it still hurt.

"Don't worry, Daddy. I'll have them totally exhausted by the time you get there," she assured him and kissed his cheek quick, mirroring Cadence, before she trotted away.

"You're other daughter?" I asked casually, knowing I was right, causing Shining Armor to wince at the word 'other'. "Princess Flurry Heart?"

"Yes," he agreed and turned back. "This way."

We pranced along in silence until they reached a green door tucked in the back of a hall.

"This is the Emerald Room," Shining Armor explained, pushing open the door. "I hope you'll be comfortable."

Inside was a small seating area first, all the couches and chairs covered with green cushions. Pressed against the pale blue walls was a wooden vanity studded with emeralds. A small stool sat in front of it and the top was covered with boxes and vials of powders and makeup. In another corner there were three mirrors propped up, shined to perfection. Another green door was cracked open, revealing a huge closet with more than enough dresses for a year. There was another door next to it which Lysandra assumed was the bathroom. And sitting in the middle of the room was a huge bed with a dark green canopy and over twenty pillows. A thick blanket draped over the huge mattress, making anypony want to jump right in.

I spun around, my hooves pressed into the green rug that covered the floor of the sitting area.

"It's amazing," I gasped, eyes wide and mouth open. And to think I thought I'd hate this place. It was so beautiful.

"I'm glad you like it," Shining Armor said and started to back up. "Now, uh, if you'll excuse me."

"Have fun!" I called after him as the door shut with a loud thud. "Daddy."

Completely alone, I walked around my new room, examining everything. The glimmer of the mirrors caught my eye and I frowned when I saw my reflection captured in their glass. Mother had always told me I wasn't pleasant looking and I agreed with her.

I had a pearly white coat that ended in four black hooves with the fur falling over them. It was probably my best feature. My mane and tail were streaked with varying shades of blue, both very thin and cobwebby. Less appealing, but still decent when styled.

Everything else was awful, though. My eyes were the palest, foggiest, blue with slit black pupils, like a bug's, and my horn looked like a crooked white tree branch. As I stood before the mirrors, I unfurled my wings. The tops had white feathers but the rest of the wing was made of a sheer material, like an insect's, and punctured with holes. My cutie mark, something no other changeling had (Mother was very surprised when I got one) was a dark green jeweled heart, flanked by two black gems.

Different. Odd. And ugly.

My magic moving fast, I dragged one of the blankets from the bed over to the mirrors and draped it over them, hiding them from view.

"Much better," I muttered as the image of me disappeared behind silk and I turned to look at her room once again. "Oh Mother….if only you could see this. It's amazing….."

I clopped over to her bed and fell into the fluffy mattress. Everything Mother had ever told me, every little thing that had been drilled into me, resounded in my head. I could not fail.

"Don't worry, Mother," I told the canopy above her head. "I will succeed."