Chapter One

The day I was born was celebrated throughout the Kingdom; the Queen, at last, had an heir to the throne if she were to suddenly disappear. She reared me herself, and hired the occasional Nanny if she were to take a leave of absence. She was everything I wanted to be. Tall, sultry, willowy with a grace envied by swans.

Childhood, to me, was a time to be carefree. I danced in the streets, I played games throughout the halls of my expansive castle, and I hung out in the kitchen for sweet treats by the Chef. Love cake was my favorite.

I never really saw my mother eat, and she was so thin that sometimes, I thought she would break. But never had I seen her falter, and got the notion that maybe she doesn't need to eat, or eats elsewhere when she gets the chance. I began to think that maybe I didn't need to eat either, a thought that quickly came to end when I came down with sickness.

But Mother just shook her head with a gentle smile. "Child, eating is a necessity for all of life…" She murmured to me as I lay in bed. Her holed hoof gently brushed my forelock from my eyes. "Why were you not eating?"

"You never eat…" I whimpered. "I wanna be like you."

My quiet response was met with a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Of course I eat… Maybe I should start taking my supper with you." She started to rise to leave; quickly I held onto her hoof. This was met with another gentle smile. "Do you miss my company?" She watched my head bob up and down. "Then perhaps I will stay a while longer."

My mother was a kind Queen. Her compassion didn't stop at me; many a time I have watched as the people of her Kingdom, weary from hunger, came to her throne practically crawling to preserve what little strength they could possibly possess. They didn't even have the chance to say a single word; food was immediately brought out on the Queen's orders.

"I know there are more of you, hungry out on the streets." My mother would say. "Take this food and pass it equally among the hungry. If you are short, send for me again." And so it was done.

The village Changelings came so often, I began to wonder if there was no longer food to be had. But I was the first to notice, so I kept quiet unless I was wrong in my thoughts. Our own food was growing short from giving it out to the people. After another two weeks, I approached my mother.

She had been affected by the food shortage more than I had. Her willowy mane was dull and did not hold that sheen I so admired. She turned her level, dull eyes to me. "What is it, my dear Chrysalis?"

"Mother…" I began, hopping up onto her throne and making my way into her lap. Being a filly, I was awfully small and could have easily been pushed away, if Mother so wanted. But she did not. "You know how food is running low and stuff?"

"Yes, I do."

"Well…" I stammered. "What… what if the village Changelings are just taking our food and not trying to find their own?" I was almost afraid I was about to be slapped. But the blow never came.

"That is very smart of you, Chrysalis." Queen Papilionem spoke after a few minutes, as if she hadn't thought of this notion before. "You are very conscious of the Kingdom." Her hoof stroked my mane. "You will be a good Queen and lead this Kingdom to greatness."

The next day, two of the village Changelings came again, to ask for food. Queen Papilionem nodded. "Perhaps, today, I will walk the food to you and see for myself how depleted you are of food, if you say you truly are."

This struck a chord of panic in them.

"Oh, no, you needn't bother with us…" The female stuttered.

"We are capable of doing it ourselves." The male added.

"Nonsense," My mother gave her friendliest smile, which often doubles as the most intimidating. "It is a Queen's duty to see to her people, yes?" After listening to their muttered comments, her smile faded away and a stern look plastered itself onto her face. "Or, is it a Queen's duty to cut her own food for her own family to feed her people as they grow fat and lazy because of their Queen's foolishness?"

The village Changelings froze. They were in for it. Silence filled the throne room for a good measure of time, and for all I know it could have been merely thirty seconds before Queen Papilionem spoke again, "I will provide in times of need. But not to a lazy kingdom. You are dismissed."

That was the first night in a long time that I was able to have a full belly. The entire castle ate well, even my mother in her thin grace ate three platefuls of Roasted Distrust, Minced Anger, and a creamy soup of Happiness. Oh, you think those treats have deeper meanings? Absolutely not; Changelings feed on emotions, silly. The Changelings spread throughout the Kingdom with the normal ponies collect the emotions from the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies and bring them back to our Kingdom deep underneath the surface. Our bakers and cooks create new recipes or twists to old ones. That's how they made Love Cake, our dessert that night.

The best thing about emotional food is it never goes bad.