(So I've decided to post this book here, but once I finish I am going to try and get this published to a few Ebook stores for free somehow. Of course, that's if I don't abandon this.)

            She was young, possibly only three years old. Her fur shone like the moon, pale white against a darker background of the grey and black walls in her room. A golden, spiraled horn protruded from her head, framed by purple strands of a short mane. Her tail stretched out from her rump, lion-like and long. A purple tuft of hair extended from the end. Huge eyes, blood-colored, stared up at a window framing the moon.

            Next to the white filly stood a darker mare. Her fur was navy in color, a splatter of black coating her rump with a white crescent moon in the center. She had a long mane, flowing constellations and stray stars showing within. Unlike the filly’s tail, her own matched that of a normal horse’s but showed the astral projection like her mane. Her eyes were an icy blue color, framed by dark lashes and a navy face. She had a horn that, unlike the filly’s, was long and pointed and straight. On her head, directly behind the horn, sat a small black tiara that matched a black necklace. It was thick and had a crescent moon at the front. Her hooves sat in four light blue metal slippers.

            “The stars?” A small voice came from the white filly, who seemed to have recovered from her awestruck shock. The navy mare nodded and a light blue aura enveloped her horn, her head dipping slightly so she could focus more. With a small amount of strain, the stars began to shift slowly, lighting up to form the shape of a hunter pony holding a bow and levitating a sword.

            “Orion,” the whispered word came from the mare, who suddenly reverted the change when there was a small creak from behind. No one had appeared, but it seemed that the mare was tense. She soon moved to the darkest corner of the room, the one on the right side of the room facing the moon.

            The room was shaped to be a square, with a balcony offset to be on the right side. A large bed, crafted of mahogany wood and shaped like a circle, sat in the corner behind the mare. A carpet laid under the bed, sticking out to show its navy color. The floor was a dark stone, lit to a dull grey by the moon’s light. The walls matched the stone, but on each wall was a torch. The torches looked to have hooves holding them, but they were just carved from stone. The actual wood was enchanted so when lit, it would have flames that would not be harmful or let out any smoke. It would also glow blue, but they were not lit at this time.

            The aura appeared this time, the same blue from before. It enveloped the young filly and lifted her up into the air, gently placing her into a small white bed that had been hidden by the shadows. The filly’s bright eyes drooped to a close, sleep taking her away to a dreamland. The aura shifted to the blanket, pulling it over the sleeping filly and then dissipating.

            The mare smiled and turned, walking back to the balcony to watch as the moon moved and wait until it was time for it to set. She flew up, her wings having stayed camouflaged until they opened, and gently lowered the moon. She felt refreshed, but tired. Walking over to the bed, she kicked her shoes off, then levitated her crown and necklace away. She raised her hooves, pulling the black blanket on her bed back so she could climb under. Curling into the mattress she closed her eyes. Soon she was asleep.

            Fast forward ten years and the white filly was now a young mare. She had her purple mane down and it curled down around her face. She seemed to be the victim of a trend that had just emerged where a pony would style their bangs to fall over their faces, but in all truth she just didn’t care and allowed her mane to fall as it pleased. Her horn had grown longer, and now wings were developed far enough to allow her to fly. She would be laying in front of a book, a pencil in her magical grip.

            The young mare sat up with twitching ears before standing to walk over to a bookshelf. As a purple aura wrapped itself around a book, the door burst open. Golden magic gripped the mare, lifting her up to be face to face with a second mare. The mare was almost ivory in color, but a tinge of pink was added in. She had bright, magenta eyes framed by dark eyelashes. When the young mare looked deeper, though, she could see a green tint. Her tail swished and she allowed the almost-white mare to hold her. She instead focused on the flowing mane so like her mother’s but with cool colors of blue, pink, and green.

            The older mare looked angry, so it was odd to see the younger being so calm. The older said nothing and just teleported into what looked to be a cell. Nearby laid a creature that looked related to a bug. The white mare dropped the filly harshly on the ground and teleported away in a flash of white. The filly sat up and rolled her shoulders, then noticed the creature in the corner. It was a mare around five or ten years older than the white filly.

            It seemed to have a grey exoskeleton that shone from a single enchanted torch on the outside of the cell. She had a marking or growth on her sides that seemed to be a shell that was colored bright blue. Green wings buzzed lightly at her sides, so thin and fragile they were breaking at the ends. Large holes were working their way up the mare’s legs, and her front right leg already seemed to be missing. When the filly stepped closer, she saw a stringy, unwashed mane that spread about her like a halo of seaweed. Her large eyes were closed, but the feature that interested the filly the most was the horn on her head.

            The horn was as long as her neck, and looked to be very sharp. It was crooked and looked almost like a sword in the way it would curve back into a hook-like point before stretching up and curving forward just slightly. The filly reached out to touch it.

            As soon as the hoof met the horn, the creature jumped up and let out a hiss, backing away. Her remaining hooves were chained to the wall, so she could only back up a small bit. The filly yelped before noticing that the creature seemed to have a large stomach. She tilted her head in a silent question, looking up into large blue eyes that took up almost all of her face and had pupils like a cat. Next the filly noticed that the mare had thin legs that almost seemed too small to hold her up.

            The mare soon relaxed, “oh, you’re just a filly,” she sighed before sitting back down and glancing to her protruding stomach.

            “I am,” the white filly replied, “who are you? Where are we?”

            “I am Monarch. We are in the dungeon of a tyrant who seems bent on starving me,” Monarch sighed, then looked up to the white filly.

            “But why would my aunt bring me here?” The white filly sat down.

            “I dunno. Your tail?”

            “My tail?” The filly turned to look at the lion-like extension from her rump, then looked back to the creature.

            “Yeah, she seems to hate anyone who isn’t like her. You know, the pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies. She seems to be putting away alicorns though, so maybe she wants to be the most powerful… Oh dear, I’ve been rambling.” Monarch blushed, causing her cheeks to glow pink instead of just tint like a normal pony would.

            “Why would she do this? Who is she anyway?”

            “I have no idea. I can understand why she did it to me, I mean, my kind feed on love. But you’re just a filly,” she shook her head sadly, “who is she? Oh, her name… Her name is Celestia.”

            The filly gasped and stood to back up to the bars. It wasn’t the comment about feeding on love; she already knew about changelings and now noticed that Monarch fit the description of one perfectly. It was the fact that the pony named was her aunt and the one who brought her here. She couldn’t believe it. Her aunt was usually so nice, how could she do something like that? And what about her mother? How could she allow this?

            “Ohh… You’re thinking about somepony you love. That’s the first food I’ve gotten in ages,” she smiled. The filly lowered into a laying position, feeling her energy draining slowly as she was fed off of. Suddenly the changeling let out a loud gasp and her wings buzzed. The filly noticed something wet spilling onto the floor.

            “What the—?” She was cut off by Monarch letting out a loud squeal, her back legs bucking out. The filly backed up and shielded her eyes. After pulling her hoof away, she noticed something coming—wait no that was — oh gross…  The filly sat then her eyes closed and she passed out.

            When the filly woke, it was to Monarch with a smaller stomach, holding two fillies to her. A third one lay behind her, unmoving. She shifted and sat up; wondering why her mouth had a bad taste. She noticed vomit splattered in front of her and grimaced. Reaching over to wipe the gross liquid away, she sighed and stood up.

            “Fillies?” The young mare asked, looking up at Monarch. The Changeling nodded and smiled, nuzzling one closer to her.

            “Yes. They are mine. Your love may have saved them.” She smiled and looked up into the filly’s blood-red eyes.

            “You mean when I was thinking of my mother I fed you and kept them alive?”

            “Well… Only two of them. The third did not survive.” The white female looked to the filly that laid to the side, walking closer. She looked at its black shell, missing in places and showing a dull grey skin underneath. It didn’t seem to have back legs, and its skull was malformed to the point of the filly questioning if it even had a brain.

            She looked to the two fillies at Monarch’s stomach. One had shorter blue hair, with a single long strand falling down her muzzle, and seemed larger and healthier than the other. The smaller filly had a curly, messy, yellow-green mane and tail. She was smaller, scrawnier, and weaker than her sister. As the mare watched, the smaller pony opened her eyes to show soft pink eyes. She wondered how the mother could have blue eyes and the daughter could have pink. Maybe it was the father?

            “What will you name them?” The mare asked, and Monarch looked up for a moment.

            “What is your name?”

            “Andromeda,” she replied. She wondered how they had been in the same cell for what felt like hours and somehow she had not mentioned her name.

            “I think the smaller one, with the pink eyes, will be named… Phoenix.” Andromeda nodded, liking the name, “and the other will be Chrysalis.”

            Suddenly, a flash signaled the arrival of another pony. Andromeda looked up to see her mother, her mane billowing around her in an almost angry whirlpool. She glared around before sighing.

"Andromeda who brought you here?"

"Auntie Celestia," she replied. Luna grimaced and looked over to Monarch.

"Monarch?" She asked, and the changeling smiled weakly. She made a soft 'ssh'ing noise.

"They're sleeping." It seemed that Phoenix had curled up once again and passed out along with her sister. Luna smiled and undid the restraints to Monarch.

"Come on, I’m getting you two to a safe place,” Luna said. She lit her horn and the five appeared outside the castle in front of a chariot. Two bat ponies stood, waiting to be told to fly. Monarch moved to climb in with her children. Luna nudged Andromeda’s rump and the ivory mare looked back into her mother’s eyes. She then stepped in with Monarch and sat down. Luna walked over to the guards; she told them instructions on where to go and sighed.

“I’ll come for you, Andromeda, just give me time.” The filly’s ears drooped and she laid down. Monarch tugged her closer and watched as the four bat ponies began to gallop before pulling into the air.

“Momma knows you?” Andromeda looked up.

“Yes, we became friends a few years after she defeated Discord,” Monarch said. Andromeda looked back and watched her mother turn into a small dot before finally disappearing under a layer of clouds. She looked up to the now clear skies and saw the constellation of her father, Orion.

“Did you know my dad?” She asked.

“Orion?” Monarch asked, “I knew him a few weeks before their wedding. He had to leave to go to his constellation around two days after you were born.” Andromeda scrunched her nose up and she stared at the stars.

“Why did he have to leave?” She asked.

“Because every time a star pony comes to Equestria, they have to leave and recharge,” Monarch said. Her wings buzzed when Chrysalis woke and let out a whine. Andromeda looked over and felt a frown tug at her lips. She hated crying ponies, and this one looked about to cry. Monarch pulled the changeling to her chest, and Andromeda sighed in relief when the tired creature began to suckle. It was then that she noticed Chrysalis had a small protrusion from her head, like a little crown or a plant.

“What’s on her head?”

“She was the first born. All first born changelings have this and are meant to become Queen.” Andromeda tilted her head.

“What if she dies?”

“It is rare for a princess Changeling to die. If she does, then our family will not have a hive until the next changeling has a child.”

“Does Phoenix not get anything?”

“She is the second-born, so no. She will live within the hive Chrysalis creates, but will not get any power over it unless Chrysalis dies with an heir. If she does, then Phoenix will raise the child and serve as a mother to her.”

“Oh,” Andromeda tilted her head. Changelings were weird. Her mother and aunt were sisters, but they both ruled Equestria.

Suddenly a light flashed and a beam shot past the carriage, causing the fliers to start. They sped up and the carriage hit a patch of air that made Phoenix wake and Chrysalis cry out. Soon the cart was holding two crying fillies and a worried mother. Andromeda felt a shudder run through her when a darker beam, blue, crashed into a cloud below. She turned to peek out and saw her aunt flying at them.

Behind the white pony was her mother, flying at a much faster pace than the elder mare. Her horn lit and another beam shot out; it slammed into a cloud nearby, which evaporated into nothing. Celestia made a noise and began to charge a spell. Andromeda recalled her teachings and shut her eyes, forcing magic out to slam into Celestia’s horn, though it instead flew out and into her ivory face. The spell was cut short, and she stalled in her flying. It must have temporarily blinded her, Andromeda thought.

The stall allowed Luna to catch up to Celestia, and she pulled a hilt out of a small pouch on her chest, which lit up and formed a magical sword. She swung, slicing across the white mare’s side and causing a small stream of blood to erupt. Andromeda heard the blind alicorns let out an angry screech and watched as she fell onto a cloud. Her mother finally caught up to them.

Her wings were beating furiously, almost sounding like distant thunder, while heavy breaths escaped the Princess of the Night. She flew forward and quickly levitated Andromeda up.

“You’re… Okay…?” words escaped between heavy pants and wheezes.

“Yes, mother. Why was she coming after us like that?” Andromeda asked, being lowered back into her seat as her mother flew alongside them.

“It… Is very hard to explain. I will tell you once we are safe. I’m taking you somewhere where you will not be hurt,” Luna said, her aura enveloping the vehicle and the guards flying it, who had slowed to a pace only fast enough for them to stay lifted. Suddenly a light flashed and they were back at the castle, on the balcony to Luna’s room. The Princess collapsed and continued to struggle for air.

“I haven’t flown like that in forever,” she grunted. Her horn lit once again, and Monarch fluttered out with her daughters on her back. Andromeda watched as slowly a hole began to form in the wall. It started out looking like a whirlpool, and then opened up to reveal a glimmering surface like that of water. It did not reflect them, instead an image of grass and the night sky appeared. Monarch moved first and stepped through the image, through the portal.

“Come on,” Luna urged Andromeda forward, and the alicorn stepped through behind her. The five were in a field, a large one, right at the edge of a forest. The grass that swayed with the breeze was a light silver color. The moon was high in the sky, where it had been hours ago in Equestria.

“Where are we?” Andromeda asked.

“We are in the Nightmare Realm, a world I made for myself before I had you.” Luna sighed and trotted forward, “sadly Celestia knows how to get here and has been ‘banishing’ ponies from Equestria to here.”

“Why?”

“I do not know,” she closed the portal behind her. “She was never like this before we rose to power; she actually loved other ponies. Her favorite were the harmonics.” Andromeda remembered the harmonics. They were tall ponies, usually Pegasus or Earth Pony, with beautiful voices. They had voices that resembled a choir singing a cord, and were always rather nice and graceful. On their chests were gems of some shape, with two large ribbon-like extensions that were used to sense vibrations in the air; these also helped them sense emotions of others, making them natural empaths.

 “Hello, Luna. Friends, oh is this your daughter?” A voice asked. Andromeda looked up to see the torso of a pony. One of its hooves was placed on a tree branch, high up above Luna’s head. The pony stepped forward to reveal a Drider Pony. Drider ponies had a torso and head of a pony, but the abdomen and eight legs of a spider. This one was female, and she had a small tuft of silver fur coming off of her head. Eight eyes stared at them, and small fangs protruded from the Drider’s mouth. Her abdomen was mainly yellow, though from Andromeda’s view there seemed to be black stripes. Her legs were black, but there was a slight tint of brown.

“She is,” Luna smiled, “could you take us to the village?” Andromeda watched the Drider closely. She had only seen them in books, they were such a new and rare kind of pony. The pony nodded and lowered herself.

“Here, climb onto my abdomen. It will be faster with the children.” Luna nodded and levitated her daughter up, flying up to land and helping Monarch with her newborn changelings. The Drider stood and began to weave her way through the forest.

“Her name is Charlotte—”

“Like the book?”

“Yes, exactly. Her kind is also called Writing Spiders.” Andromeda looked down, the stripes connected up Charlotte’s back, making an interesting diamond-like shape with some spots of white-yellow. “But they’re Yellow and Black Garden spiders.”

“Argiope aurantia,” Charlotte chimed in. Andromeda nodded, yawning and closing her eyes. She must have been in that cell for a while, it had gotten dark by the time they got back to the portal. And now the moon sat high in the sky as if it was midnight. Her eyes closed, her mother as saying something about venom and webs and spinnerets, whatever those were. She fell asleep.

It was so dark in the Nightmare Realm. Why didn’t the moon ever move? Chrysalis, elder sister, laid against her mother staring up at the huge full moon overhead. What had been with all that commotion? Why was her mother unable to feed both her and her siblings? She thought she would like that other one, the dead one. Maybe she could imagine her into existence. She could hear her mother and the two other funny looking ponies talking. They mentioned something about the princess of an empire, her name was Cadenza.

Cadenza was pretty, but how about…. How about Cadence? She smiled and rolled into her sister’s side, nuzzling closer for warmth. Yes. Cadence was nice.