The rest of the day was a quiet afternoon at the end of summer. And a few hours after dusk, three silhouettes flew across the Badlands sky towards the hive.

Swift, with a mischievous smile on his lips, observed the surroundings while adjusting the saddle on his back before getting closer to Antares. "Is something wrong Cute Bite?" he whispered.

"Cut it out," replied the major between her teeth.

But he couldn't miss such an opportunity. "Are you upset because we had to leave the camp tonight, Cute Bite?"

"I am our queen's aide-de-camp, I obey her horn and wing, you low grade moron," she replied quietly, angry.

He pretended to consider the weight of the basket she was carrying. "Is the basket the matter? Is it too heavy?"

She inhaled through her nostrils, counted up to four, and exhaled through her mouth, trying to stay calm. "It's just food, I could carry much heavier, and you know it."

"Yes, it is true. It should be added that leaving armour and weapons at the camp helps, doesn't it?" he said with a big innocent smile.

She turned her gaze to him with a murderous look. "You're going to suffer so much when we get back." she whispered.

Nightmare Moon turned her head slightly to her left so that her voice would carry backwards. "Enough, you two, we're here." She tolerated these disputes. First of all because she knew that Swift remained alert - having experienced it herself a few times - and would never allow himself this kind of quarrel if he did not think the surroundings were safe. Then because he needed to maintain this stupid attitude for appearances. Especially because it allowed the major to relieve in record time. She sighed inwardly, wondering if she had such a friend a thousand years ago, would she have given in to the torments of her jealousy?

The alicorn landed not far from the entrance of the hive, the bat ponies following it, and those without waiting for the order, undertook to prepare what was meant to be a night picnic. She waited, looking lost in the stars, for her friend to arrive, wondering what she would appreciate in this little mess of food, having brought everything, even meat, a dish she herself loved.

Chrysalis, with Chitin at her side, soon emerged from the tunnel.

Aglowing galloped, passing between their legs, which she pushed with the book and the pencil box. She went to Nightmare Moon, in front of which she stopped, opening the large notebook on the first page to show her the drawing she had made. "Look! Look! I received this gift! So I drew a nice picture of you!"

But Nightmare Moon was not happy to see the drawing, she made a gesture of retreat, spreading her wings. All this time it had not occurred to her to offer a gift as simple as paper and pencils to this child. She was much more concerned about the situation of changelings, taking advantage of every night and even more so of every session to ensure the health and power of these love eaters. She knew that Chrysalis would never ask her for anything, she herself would not have done it if she were in her place. Trust was relative and it was necessary to preserve appearances in order not to appear weak towards each other. However, it was impossible that the reserves would not be empty. She had to find something to feed them without Luna's knowledge. She could not take away ponies by force so that the changelings could feed on their love. And the bat ponies were a race of predators of another kind, her subjects moreover.

The child saw her friend's reaction and lost her smile. And convinced that she knew what was going on in Nightmare Moon's mind, she threw the notebook and pencils to the ground. "I hate this gift!" She shouts before getting closer with a shy little smile. "Please don't be jealous." she begged.

The sudden outburst surprised the audience but neither Chrysalis nor Chitin showed any reaction, digging into the food without asking permission. On her side Antares grabbed Swift by the neck and dragged him further to talk to him separately.

"I'm not jealous!" said the Princess of the Night.

"You seemed scared, now angry, if not jealous, then honesty in words, what is it?" the incredulous child asked, frowning.

They observed each other like earthenware dogs for a brief moment. Nightmare Moon could not help but think that Aglowing Shell's empathy was frightening. Yes, jealousy had made its way into her mind, the idea of losing her friend, bought with gifts. But she couldn't admit it in public. So she diverted the subject from the conversation. "Tell me, since when are you a jealousy expert?"

Antares had finished dragging Swift away from the turmoil and she grabbed his face between her hooves to stick her gaze into his. "Listen to me, if you dare to make the child cry, the punishment of our queen will be nothing compared to what I would do to you, I hope I've made myself clear, Swift." she made it in her most threatening tone, showing her fangs.

He didn't expect this, but the threats made him smile. "Come on, Cute Bite, I've known you for twenty-three years. Have I ever made you cry?"

The bat pony didn't like the implication. An unprecedented anger seized her, and without warning, she struck her most violent blow on his head.

He hadn't seen this attack coming, but his head was hard.

And she was not to be outdone. Seeing him half knocked out, she let go so he would collapse to the ground. "Maybe it's time you quit seeing me as a child," she breathed as she turned her back on him to join the queen.

The bat pony sighed, he would have liked to do her that pleasure, but his oath forbade him to do so.

Meanwhile, Aglowing Shell thought back to the unicorn's words. She turned her eyes to her mother and asked her a question in a cackling noise.

Chrysalis, who until then pretended not to exist for the sake of her daughter's well-being, considered for a moment what should not be told to Nightmare Moon. "Under no circumstances, don't tell her about the tree or the fruits, much less about the unicorn that entered the hive." She ordered in a few cackles.

She didn't like it, but her mother said it was for the good of the hive. "A unicorn came to talk to mother, then to talk to me alone. His name is Bitter Truth, and thanks to him, I understood what jealousy is."

Nightmare Moon immediately turned her attention to Chrysalis. "Did you leave your daughter alone with him? Wasn't the Pepper episode enough?"

Chrysalis looked at her from the corner of her eye. "Chitin was ready to act if he made a wrong move," she lied. She had to keep withholding information, otherwise Nightmare Moon would have feared, in this case, that Bitter Truth's love would make her powerful and therefore dangerous again. "But tell me, my darkness, can you explain to me how a second unicorn has passed your siege?" she asked, carefully choosing her words, before eating a pear pie, a mocking smile on the corner of her lips.

Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes before coming back to her. "By the moon, are you trying to make me believe you don't know this Bitter Truth?"

Antares was back by her queen side.

Chitin, who had noted the altercation between the bat ponies while standing by Chrysalis, asked permission to approach the stallion, who was still apart, in a clicking noise.

Amused, Chrysalis turned her head and wished them a good appetite in their own language, before turning to Nightmare Moon. "I can't believe you didn't try to get him on your side from the beginning."

Chitin went to approach Swift, which was not to Antares' taste.

"He is elusive, even his dreams are out of reach. Either he is using the artefact I granted Celestia after my banishment, or he managed to craft his own to protect himself from my intrusions in his dreams."

Aglowing Shell, who listened wisely so as not to disturb the adults' conversation, was suddenly curious about a certain detail. She caught her friend's attention by putting her hoof on top of hers.

Nightmare Moon looked down at her. "What is it?"

She stepped back a few steps. "That Celestia you're talking about. Is she the princess of the sun?"

It didn’t take long for the mare to understand how the child was aware of that fact. "Yes. But tell me, this Bitter Truth, what exactly did he tell you?"

"He... " She hesitated, but it didn't go against her mother's prohibitions. "He said I have a princess heart, and the difference between princesses and queens, so when I said you weren't like the description of the princesses, he had to tell me about your past. Why you became a queen. And also a little about the princess of the sun."

Nightmare Moon could see that the child was uncomfortable. She didn't like that someone else told her about her past, but that wasn't the most important thing right now. "If you have any questions about me, I have nothing to hide from you."

Aglowing looked away, feeling uncomfortable that she couldn't say the same. "No. Nothing comes to mind."

The alicorn used its magic to bring back the notebook previously thrown in front of its owner on the drawing page before offering her a cheek to cheek caress. "I look pretty in this drawing, but I also look so lonely, why don't you draw yourself next to me? I would like this drawing even more that way. In the meantime, I need to talk to your mother about this Bitter Truth."

The hybrid took advantage of the opportunity to jump on Nightmare Moon's face and hold onto her, partly out of jealousy. She looked for an excuse not to be left out. "I drew you, so you should draw me on the drawing instead," she said with a pout.

Nightmare Moon straightened up, but although she was blinded, she remained calm: "I can't believe it. I Nightmare Moon, am the victim of an eternal night perpetrated by a two-year-old child. Who would have thought?"

Antares no longer knew where to stand, much less what to do in such a situation, convinced that if she had the misfortune to take an initiative, one of the two queens would immediately jump at her throat. Under the influence of doubt, she preferred to wait until her intervention was required.

"I am a queen! And I'm almost three years old." She was not yet ready to use the title of Cæsar, instead, she wanted to do what she wished, like a queen, and at that very moment, she wanted to be with her friend.

Chrysalis was amused. Still on her seat, she used her telekinesis to unhook her daughter and made her levitate until she lodged her in the embrace of her forelegs. "My love, it would be good for you to behave like the queen you claim to be. Why don't you go with Chitin?"

Even if the mother seemed tender on the surface, the child felt that she had no choice. "I'm going, but only because I decided to," she said with a tone and a haughty attitude that made her adorable to the eyes of the two queens. She jumped off her mother's embrace and went to join Chitin.

When the child was close enough, she could hear Chitin, facing Swift, who was making mocking comments. "If you're here, it's because your queen must have great self-confidence, is it my capture the reason, bat pony?"

Swift was not to be outdone. "You have no idea. You are currently looking at the Commander General of the Moon's Undersea Army. But due to a lack of equipment, the bat ponies in my army share masks and snorkels."

Chitin frowned at this casual comeback. For the second time, he made them speechless. They changed their mind, their eyes wrinkled, wondering how to handle him.

"Release Chitin immediately." protested Aglowing Shell.

Only the changeling warrior was surprised by the sudden arrival, Swift having heard her arrive thanks to the echolocation while they were speaking. "But I'm not even holding her," he defended himself after turning to her.

Chitin was about to explain it to the child, but curious to learn more about the bat pony, they let him handle the situation, addressing a mischievous smile at the cornered stallion.

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"She just said you captured her, so you release her right away."

Swift observed Aglowing and Chitin in turn, and realising that Chitin would not explain what it was all about, tried to come up with an idea, which did not take long. "All right, all right, all right! I'm releasing her right now." He turned towards Chitin and pretended to untie a knot around his neck before removing an imaginary rope that he presented to the child. "See?" He pretended to throw the rope to the side. "She's free now."

The young queen tried to understand what had just happened. Unsure, she turned to the changeling in armour. "Are you really free now, Chitin?" she asked perplexed.

The changeling hesitated to answer by the affirmative, but they could not let the misunderstanding get any worse. They bowed to the child. "Thanks to you, my queen." They couldn't help but look at Swift, intrigued, wondering what this clown was doing in an army.

Aglowing Shell sighed with relief. Distrustful, she watched Swift for a moment before going to nestle between Chitin's legs to seek comfort.

"Is something wrong, my queen?" asked the nurse.

"Nothing important. Mother wants to be alone with Nightmare Moon to talk," she replied with a sad face.

"And you, what do you want, Your Highness?" Swift asked with a kind smile, who couldn't help but think back whenever Cute Bite was depressed because Antares couldn't play with her.

Chitin was divided by this initiative. They cared about the child's well-being, but the nerve of this bat pony who dared to interfere with what wasn’t his affairs, annoyed them.

Aglowing was surprised by such a question. She never had a say, despite her status, obeying Chitin because the latter held her orders from Chrysalis. She stared at the stone underneath which the claymore rested, thinking back to Bitter Truth's words. "Mother taught me to survive even without mimicry, but not to fight. I would like to learn. I need it."

Swift considered the details of the situation. "We have nothing for that, but we could make it a game." He observed the child, letting curiosity take over. "Mimicry is that ability you changelings have to take on the appearance of anypony? In my opinion, it is not very useful. This warrior right here, even they do not use it perfectly."

Chitin, who had remained speechless until now, so surprised by the child's desire, almost choked when they were targeted by the bat pony's mockery. In an outburst of anger they whistled at him. "My mimicry is not flawed at all."

"Oh really, Cute Bite?" said the stallion with a big smile on his face.

Chitin took the fly and draped themself in their dignity, turning the head away rather than having to put up with the sight of that smile anymore.

Aglowing, who had not understood anything about the exchange, remained silent all this time, observing the adults with her big curious eyes. A little frightened by Chitin's sudden anger, but not to the point of diverting her from her desire to learn. "So, about this game..." she asked with a blooming impatience.

Swift looked down at the child, realising that he had strayed from the initial conversation. "Oh, yes." He got up and distanced himself from the changelings before facing them, even further away from the entrance of the hive to the east. "Try to touch me with one of your hooves."

She lifted a foreleg, hesitating for a moment before slipping out of Chitin's embrace, who began to walk behind the child without preventing or hindering her movements. Very quickly, she got close to Swift and jumped to touch him with her hoof, but he moved to the side. She looked at him, not understanding.

"Like in a fight, this game involves a lot of movement. I have to avoid your hoof, and you, no matter what happens, must always try to achieve your goals. The game only stops if you win or give up."

These words echoed in the child's mind, a lesson from her mother. Without thinking too much, she concentrated, using her magic to immobilise one of Swift's foreleg on the spot while running to touch him with the hoof, before giving him the same big smile he had given earlier to Chitin.

Swift had tried for a moment to free himself, but realised soon enough that it was a lost cause. He let her win, without hiding his fun. "Well, it seems that the adage 'the end justifies the means' is a well mastered concept for you. It's a combat basic, but it won't help you learn to fight."

"How is this game supposed to teach me how to fight?" asked Aglowing, who released the magic grip.

"If I may, my queen, I think this bat pony thinks he can teach you attack and evasion, which are the basis of an unarmed fight for those who are not capable of magic like him. But this game is far from real warrior training."

Swift smothered a laugh. "Let me guess, your favourite mimicry is the Smarty Pants toy?"

"We cannot take the appearance of an inanimate object," Chitin said before trying to hit him with a direct hit with their right foreleg.

Swift evaded with a big smile. "You didn't touch me with your hoof. Do you want to try your luck again or do you give up?"

Chitin was angry, and returned to a neutral position behind the child.

Once again, Aglowing remained silent in front of the scene, observing in silence. "So if I play this game, I'll learn the attack and dodge it like you just did?"

"Your warrior is right in that it will take a long training, but yes, I am convinced that some games can make training to fight easier. Along with the right equipment such as wooden swords. That would be a minimum." He smiled teasingly. "But above all, using magic to paralyse is still a very good way to gain an advantage in a fight, though." An ultrasound came to his ears, he turned his gaze to the entrance of the hive. "I think I just heard Cute Bite shout, the queenly conversation must be over."

At these words, Aglowing Shell hurried off to the entrance of the hive, leaving Chitin and Swift in a cloud of dust. They followed in her steps at a slower pace.

The changeling dissected what had just happened. They didn't find much to blame him for. "On my own behalf, I would like to thank you for your attitude towards my queen. You were considerate and pati-" A kiss on the cheek froze them on the spot.

Swift took a few steps and turned around, "What? If I'm not mistaken, it's the equivalent of a mango for your kin. And don't tell me you have food to eat since you've been holed up in this hole for months without trying anything funny. By the way, since you're really Cute Bite's twin sister, I'm going to call you Second Bite from now on. Say Second Bite, I was wondering, a wedding, for you, is it the equivalent of an all-you-can-eat buffet? Would you grow so big that you could mimic a rock if you did? No, because if that's really the case, you should think about converting yourself into a wedding caterer, or something like that. Second Bite, do you listen to me when I talk?"

Chitin saw red, under the effect of their anger they began to regret their attempt to show their gratitude to this moron, as they started to chase Swift who fled away, laughing.

Aglowing arrived before the queens, glad to be able to find her friend again. The improvised picnic was well underway, but there was still a little bit of everything. The clues, in the form of crumbs, all led to Chrysalis.

Swift passed by, still being chased by Chitin, pursuing further into the Badlands. "You're not likely to collect moss, see how you roll me afterwards!"

Antares was jaded, head in hooves, swearing that she would kill him at least twice once back at the camp. Chrysalis and Nightmare Moon watched the scene, but since Swift was shrieking with laughter as he was being chased by Chitin, the two queens acted as if they hadn't seen anything worth focusing on. After all, the pony that mattered was already before them.

The child walked on the tablecloth, amidst the variety of food. Frosting spread over the child's face as she bit into the cake, while a small glimmer of malice appeared in Chrysalis's gaze as she turned to the Queen of the Moon. "But now that I think about it, you have not touched a single item from this buffet," she said accusingly, playing pretend to trigger the evening's tussle.

The Princess of the Night rolled her eyes. "My body does not feed on terrestrial food."

"And what is your lackey's excuse in this case?" replied Chrysalis. "She does not fit into her armour anymore, so she's on diet?" she mocked. "Months staying there watching us, wallowing in your opulent Equestria, and you come throwing us your leftovers," she said as she got up, pretending to be angry.

But before Nightmare Moon had time to answer, a plate flew between them. Antares had the reflex to stand up to defend her queen, but the latter put her hoof upon the guard's shoulder to silently order her to return to her place. Once assured of being obeyed, she turned her gaze towards the child as well.

This one was in an aggressive posture, the look filled with anger. She refused to spend so little time with her friend tonight. She also wanted to play. She wanted to demonstrate her feelings in a way acceptable to the monster she was. The words of Bitter Truth echoed in her mind. "You will not face Nightmare Moon tonight, mother. This evening, I will have that privilege."

The queens exchanged gazes at these words. It was Nightmare Moon who spoke as she turned back to the child. "Aglowing Shell, my dear friend, playing to fight is not the kind of game for someone your age. When you become as tall as us, it'll be another story."

The child exhaled by the nostrils, into her mind, frustration mingled with jealousy, her horn crackled with energy. Looking at the queens, she let her emotions take precedence over the rest. When will she be as tall as them? She did not want to wait that long. To be as tall as they were was the only condition? It was not a problem, she knew exactly how to achieve her goals. She closed her eyes, and concentrating, driven by this hunger for friendship, she recalled the lessons. Her mind visualised what she needed: on the tablecloth, a circle of green flames began to dance around her. "Tall. As tall as they are!" Thanks to her reflection in the mirror, she had a clear image of herself. Mimicry operated. In a sheaf of green flames, she adopted an adult appearance, just as tall as they were. She watched herself for a moment, making sure that she had not missed a detail, then turned her gaze to Nightmare Moon. "Am I tall enough now?" Without waiting for an answer, she got up, and went to the rock.

Speechless, the alicorn watched her walk away before turning to Chrysalis.

She was delighted at the sight of what her child accomplished, when she caught the look of Nightmare Moon out of the corner of her eye, the smile of wonder turned into something more mischievous. She turned her head towards the mare, tilting it slightly towards the right. "What did you expect? First, monsters do not take a no for an acceptable answer, as you and I know well. And secondly, when she will be as tall as we are? Really, could you not choose your words better? "She rolled her eyes, a little sigh of happiness betraying her true state of mind as she picked up a coffee flavoured mini-eclair. Her only daughter, who wasn't fully a Changeling, had finally managed a Mimicry. And a perfect one no less! Too bad it was for a friendship problem, and not in order to harvest some love. But still, Chrysalis felt such pride. "Make sure you do not hurt her, otherwise I'll scream everywhere that Celestia is dead, that you've killed her, and that you're pretending to be Luna."

Nightmare Moon shot a glare at this threat, then got up and went to join Aglowing.

This one was in a state of unprecedented nervousness, a hoof on the rock. She looked at the moon, remembering the advice. She noticed that Nightmare Moon was approaching, and she leaned her head towards the rock. "Bitter Truth asked me to always keep the moon on my left, so it would be nice if you could face me."

The queen obeyed, however curious. "Did he say anything else?" She asked once in front of her.

Aglowing pushed the rock to the side, taking the claymore with her telekinesis. Once the sword came out of its sheath, she observed it in the moonlight, seemingly much smaller now. She didn't know if she could make good use of it, but she had to try. "Yes. Many other things."

Nightmare Moon was shocked at the sight of the weapon. "What is my claymore doing here?"

She had so little control over her emotions, that magic completely covered the blade, giving it an incandescent glow. "It's mine. A gift from the Princess of the Sun, from Princess to Cæsar. To defend those I love! And to fight you!" At these words, she charged at Nightmare Moon, raising the sword high before slamming it down beside the alicorn.

So many unexpected developments occurred so quickly, that the queen lost track of them. As she saw the heavily infused magic attack coming, she preferred to dodge it and assumed the ether form of Tantabus, and her intuition was correct. When the child in a magic adult form struck nearly where she was standing a second before, the impact exploded the ground, projecting rubble and dust cloud around.

Aglowing was frightened by the effect of her attack, a chill running down the spine, she observed the hole she had just created. She turned her gaze to Nightmare Moon.

The queen stood upright, her two straight hoofs floating in the void dug by the attack, she looked back, her eyes as two galaxies turned calmly in their sockets.

"Aren't you supposed to attack me too?" At these words she resumed the assault, frustrated in her heart of this unilateral fight, the advice to act as dangerous as possible in mind, the following blow scarifying the badlands with a larger crater.

Nightmare contented herself with dodging again, for fear of hurting the child, she refused to go to the counterattack.

Knowing how each of her attacks would look like, Aglowing focused on the fight. Her only fear was her inability to make her take a more active role. Frustration gave way to fear. She clenched her teeth, to remain strong, not to be weak. "What am I doing wrong? Why do you refuse to fight with me? Tell me. Tell me!" she shrieked the plea before her third assault. The power behind it gouged a hole in the earth, which swallowed up the previous evidence of her attacks into a deafening crash.

Nightmare Moon took a position on the other side of the crevasse before assuming back a physical form. "It is not that I refuse to fight with you. Simply put, I do not want to take the risk of hurting you that is all. "

Her efforts remained in vain, she turned her head away, her heart caught in a vice. "Taking the risk of hurting mother does not bother you though."

Nightmare Moon watched her, she proudly refused to ask the reason behind this behaviour, wanting to understand the substance of the problem by herself. "I do not specifically try to hurt your mother. She knows how to fight, but you still have a lot to learn, you are only a child after all."

These words echoed in the mind of the hybrid, drunk with rising anger, she glared furiously at the alicorn. "I am a Cæsar!" Following this correction, she dropped her sword, concentrated the sum of all the feelings in her heart to launch a magical attack. A sphere began to grow at the tip of the horn until it reached the size of a mandarin orange. But when the attack was released, slow at first, the sphere grew as it gained speed and its destructive power amplified, leaving a furrow in its path before exploding against the eastern side of the Badlands’s mountains.

Nightmare Moon, having resumed the form of the Tantabus for safety, was just as impressed as frightened by the scale of this attack. If Tantabus was not a creation from the world of dreams, and therefore insensitive to material attacks, it was certain that it would not have emerged unscathed. She turned to Aglowing Shell to contemplate a show of a different kind.

The anger completely consummated by this attack left a vacant place in the terror that slowly closed on the child's mind, her jealousy becoming so unbearable that she began to weep with rage. "Why do you not fight me? What do I do wrong for you to prefer to fight with my mother over me?!" she asked with a broken voice.

At the sight of that gaze she knew only too well, having seen it many times in the reflection of a mirror during the banishment, Nightmare Moon realised what was at stake. In a short gallop she threw herself on Aglowing, regaining a physical form to embrace her affectionately in her forelegs, spreading her wings to cover her back. "Quiet and calm. I'm here, look, I'm here. Everything is fine. Please calm down."

The bubble of jealousy burst, she lost all her strength at once, and wept with tears. "I am scared. I'm so afraid of losing you," she stammered between sobs.

Nightmare Moon was beginning to understand, the clues finally fitting into each other. "Jealousy is a terrible poison. Do not be afraid, no one will be able to get in the way of our friendship."

"You promise?" The child asked, frowning out of a painful relief brought by her words, her eyes filled with tears.

One last surprise that snatched a smile from Nightmare Moon, who tightened her embrace tenderly.

"Yes, Little Cæsar, I promise you. Our friendship will last forever. "