Pony Predators of Equestria

by Pentarctagon

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Luna, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Bat Pony, Comedy, Changelings
Length: 185852

What is a pony? After the Changeling invasion, debates rage across Equestria over that simple question. There is a follow up that nopony thinks to ask, however: what if they weren't the only ones hiding?

Story is currently on Hiatus, pending a partial rewrite due to me becoming a better writer of the course of the almost three years it's been since I first started writing this story.

What is a pony? If asked that question the average citizen of Equestria would probably respond with a confused look and a mention of the three pony tribes. A particularly astute pony might reply with four tribes, remembering to include the Thestrals. A pony of a scholarly disposition may also add a list of characteristics as well - manes, cutie marks, some form of innate magic, hooves, vegetarian diet, etc. This is the answer that would have been received for thousands of years, from before the unification of the three tribes until very recently. Until the failed Changeling invasion. With the reveal of something so foreign, yet at the same time so familiar, what it means to be a pony is no longer quite so clear and obvious. And while professors and philosophers argue, another question is forgotten in the uproar: What if the Changelings weren't the only ones who were hiding?

* Takes place between Equestria Games and Twilight's Kingdom.

* Added Dark tag for certain parts, though this is intended to mainly be a Comedy/Slice of Life.

* Map of Ponyville I use when figuring out where stuff is.
* Map of Equestria (obviously not scale-accurate)

* Always looking for proofreaders if anyone's interested!
Proofreader(s): Icarus_Con_Queso

All feedback/corrections welcome!

Unpublished chapters are not canon, they are simply earlier drafts of finished chapters that I kept around and decided to upload on the off chance someone might find them useful. Links to chapters here.

Published 2015-07-14 11:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-12-08 16:45:45 UTC

Chapter 2 Mystery Illness

"Ughhh," Twilight Sparkle moans as she lets her head fall onto the open book before her with a thump, allowing the point of light tipping her horn to sputter and vanish. Her eyelids sag as the shadows move forward eagerly, no longer to be denied total dominion over her tree house. However despite their calming embrace, her mind refuses to let her body rest, unable to let go and unwilling to admit defeat.

I've been studying Discord's magic for three weeks now, and I've made absolutely no progress. None! Every time I think I've finally understood a tiny piece of it, something else comes up and takes me back to square one. It's like it's part of the nature of his magic to annoy anypony trying to understand it. I suppose that was to be expected, given that he's the "Spirit of Chaos", but still. You can't have magic, much less magic as powerful as his without following-

Her ears twitch as she hears a faint crash, interrupting her musings and bringing her attention back to reality. Owlowiscious takes off from his perch overlooking her desk and flies out the window, only to return a few moments later.

"Hoo."

Twilight yawns, raising her head from her desk, "Not now Owlowiscious, I need to get some sleep. I hate to admit it, but I think I've been staying up too late too often even for me."

"Hoo. Hoo!" Owlowiscious responds, insistently gesturing at the door with his wings.

Twilight shifts her head slightly to look at him, giving him the best sleepy glare she can muster. Unperturbed, Owlowiscious stares unblinkingly back at her.

Twilight groans and stands, reigniting her horn before turning to walk downstairs, "Fine, I'll go take a look. But this had better be important."

No sooner had she spoken than somepony starts knocking on her door.

"Princess Twilight!" shouts the unknown pony, pausing briefly before knocking louder.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Geez."

Spike chuckles.

Twilight freezes, her right eye twitching.

"Stop… tickling me… Discord… " murmurs Spike in his sleep, twisting helplessly in his bed.

Thank goodness that wasn't what it sounded like. He's far too young to know about those types of things.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Twilight continues to the first floor of the library and towards the entrance to her house, stopping with an outstretched hoof as the meaning of Spike's words filter through her tired mind.

Wait. Did he say-

The knocking returns, interrupting her chain of thought. Grinding her teeth, Twilight opens the door and gathers all her sleepy frustration, focusing it into a glare at the knocker.

"WHAT."

The earth pony who had been knocking flinches back at the sight of an angry, sleep-deprived Twilight, "Err, uhh, sorry for bothering you Miss Princess Sparkle Twilight ma'am sir ma'am but uhh… but… "

Twilight closes her eyes, pushes the irritation into the back of her mind, and forces a smile onto her face, "Just Twilight is fine, Caramel. Now, what's the problem?"

"What?" Caramel asks, a blank look on his face for a moment before his eyes light up as he remembers what he came here for. "Oh! Right! The problem. Well, uh, you see, there was an attack just now at the Whooves' house and-"

"An attack?!" Twilight nearly shouts, all tiredness forgotten. "Well why didn't you just say so? Is it the changelings again?"

"Well, no, it's-"

"Discord? I should've known he'd snap eventually, keeping all that chaos bottled up."

"No, it's-"

"Flutterbat?"

"NO! Though actually that's-"

"Well, what's happened then?" Twilight asks, tapping her hoof impatiently, "I need to know which backup plan to tell Spike to get!"

"Seriously Twilight? You're making plans with Caramel at this hour?" Spike looks over as he descends the staircase, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "You know he already has a marefriend, right?"

"I am not 'making plans' with Caramel, Spike," Twilight responds, looking back at him. "There's been an attack!"

"What?! An attack?!" Spike gasps, "Is it the Changelings again? I can take 'em; I've been practicing my fire breath!"

Twilight opens her mouth to reply, but seizing on the momentary silence Caramel shouts, "IT'S NOT THE CHANGELINGS! IT'S VAMPONIES!"

Silence follows as both Twilight and Spike stare at Caramel. Soon the shock of Caramel shouting at her wears off though, and Twilight slumps on the floor, rubbing her temples tiredly. Spike, meanwhile, collapses in a fit of laughter, proceeding to roll the rest of the way down the stairs.

After a moment of serious contemplation on the merits of making Caramel Discord's play-buddy on his next visit to Ponyville, Twilight shelves that thought and looks back up at him.

"You don't believe me," Caramel states flatly.

"Caramel… vamponies don't exist," Twilight explains as patiently as she can. "And while Thestrals may share certain anatomic similarities, they are much more closely related to ponies than any species of bat. In fact, they are most likely just a nocturnal offshoot of the pegasus family that branched off a long time ago."

"I know that, Twilight," Caramel sighs, his patience beginning to wear thin as well. "Half the town could probably tell you that word for word by now."

"Well if you know that, then why are you here telling me about vamponies?!" Twilight asks exasperatedly.

"Because this time it really is a vampony!" Caramel insists, "And you know how I know?"

"By all means, enlighten me," Twilight deadpans.

Caramel gestures at his mouth, "Her teeth. They're all pointy, and she's got two fangs that are bigger and even pointier. And she did something to Derpy," he continues, "we can't get her to wake up. Even with a whole batch of Pinkie-baked muffins!"

Twilight blinks a couple times as she processes Caramel's last sentence, then gives in with another sigh, "…Fine, I'll take a look. But if this turns out to be another Thestral, you're going to be the one babysitting Discord the next time he decides to stop by."

Caramel pales slightly and gulps, but nods, "I'm sure."

"There you are, darling!" a familiar voice calls out as Twilight and Caramel walk towards a large group of ponies standing in the street, "Whatever took you so long to arrive?"

Twilight looks towards to source of the voice, surprise with a hint of frustration playing across her expression, "Rarity?"

"Yes?" Rarity asks as she approaches, frowning slightly as she examines Twilight's bedraggled state, "Is something the matter?"

"No, nothing at all," Twilight replies sarcastically. "At least as long as you don't count getting dragged out in the middle of the night to deal with a supposed 'vampony' again."

"Now Twilight, I know there have been a lot of false alarms recently, but-" Rarity pauses, wincing under Twilight's accusatory glare, "But! This time it's the real deal; you have my word."

"Alright, fine, where is this 'vampony' of yours?"

"Oh, she's not here anymore," Rarity replies as she turns away, looking back after hearing a dull thump to see Twilight facehoofing with the ground. "She's… um, Twilight? What are you doing?"

Twilight mumbles incoherently into the ground while Rarity watches her with a mixture of confusion and concern. Eventually Rarity glances at Caramel, who simply shrugs. After a solid minute, Twilight finally raises her head.

"Anyway, as I was saying," Rarity continues as though there had been no interruption, "the vampony is no longer here. She was rather badly injured, and was taken to the hospital along with Derpy."

Upon hearing this, Twilight's horn begins to glow. A couple seconds and a flash of purple later, the trio stands before the Cloudsdale Hospital; the sudden transition from the more natural browns and greens of Ponyville to the puffy whites and greys of the cloud city jarring two of the three travelers.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHH" Caramel screams as his hooves sink an inch into the clouds beneath his hooves, "HHHHII'm not falling."

Rarity gives him a flat look, "Well of course you're not dear. All the walkways in Cloudsdale are made of cloudcrete; as long as you don't start digging a hole in it, you'll be fine."

"Oh. So… um, Twilight? Why are we here?" Caramel calls out, doing his best to ignore a blush of embarrassment creeping across his face.

"To see the vampony, remember?" Twilight shouts back, not even bothering to turn around. A nearby thestral rolls their eyes at the absentminded princess, pointedly turning their back and flying away. Meanwhile a group of pegasi, one of whom is hovering embedded in a flat cloud with his barrel resting above and his legs – two of which are wrapped in casts – hanging below, look over at Twilight in surprise at her proclamation before unease creeps into their expressions. Muttering quickly breaks out amongst them as they walk, and in one case float, past.

"Did she say there's a vampony here?"

"I think she's joking dear."

"Well she doesn't look like she's joking."

"How could somepony like Princess Twilight Sparkle not be joking about something like that?"

"I dunno, I always thought it was suspicious that there was a book series called 'Twilight' with a bunch of 'Sparkling' vamponies."

"Hey-yeah, maybe the whole series is actually real, like the Daring Do books!"

"Alright, A) the Daring Do books are not real."

"That's not what I heard, I heard-"

"And B) If you ever compare Daring Do to Twilight in any way ever again you'll be needing a lot more than a cloudchair to leave the hospital. Understand?"

"I, uh, yes… "

"I think what he means Twilight," Rarity responds as delicately as she can while forcing down a giggle, "is why are we here. In Cloudsdale."

At that Twilight stops and looks up at the building in front of her, as if finally recognizing it.

"Ah."

After another flash of purple, Twilight vanishes, leaving Rarity and Caramel standing in front of the Cloudsdale Hospital staring at empty space. Caramel looks at Rarity, then back to where Twilight used to be.

"So… she's coming back, right?"

A couple minutes pass. The wind blows. Stars twinkle clearly overhead. Twilight does not reappear. Caramel looks over at Rarity again.

"She left us here, didn't she?"

Rarity grinds her teeth, both eyes spasming.

Not only did one of my best friends leave me stranded in the middle of Cloudsdale at night, but I'm going to miss meeting a real live vampony!

Doing her best to remain calm, Rarity takes a deep breath, then lets it all out.

"TWILIGHT!!!!!"

Meanwhile, Twilight reappears back in Ponyville, this time in front of the correct building. Completely oblivious to the fact that she is now two ponies short, she trots towards Ponyville Hospital; the tired irritation embedded in her eyes broadcasting her intention to put her current problems to bed as quickly as possible, and then to follow them there as well very soon after.

Upon entering the interior of the hospital, Twilight looks around, observing the unusual number of ponies crowding the reception area, many of whom are whispering and casting nervous glances at the double doors leading to the patient rooms. The murmuring ceases for a brief moment as the assembled ponies notice her presence, then continue even more energetically than before.

"Oh, hello Twilight," a soft voice speaks up directly behind her, causing Twilight to jump a bit in surprise. Turning, she sees Fluttershy fidgeting only a few steps behind her.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," the yellow pegasus adds, doing her best to hide behind her pink mane.

Twilight just lets out another large sigh and looks at her friend, "You didn't startle me Fluttershy, I was just… surprised to see you here. Why are you here anyway?"

"Nurse Redheart asked me to help her look at the batpony that was injured," Fluttershy answers, leaving the sanctuary of her mane as she steps forward. "She isn't very knowledgeable about bats, and since I look after regular bats she thought that I might be able to help."

Twilight smiles, relieved, "So you agree that the injured pony is just an ordinary Thestral and not a vampony? You have no idea how good it feels to hear somepony else say that, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy's eyes widen and she scrambles back, bumping into the wall.

"V-V-Vampony? They want me to help treat a vampony? Oh… I don't know Twilight. What if they bite me? I already turned into a vampire fruit bat, I don't want to turn into a vampire pony bat!" Fluttershy cowers against the wall, hooves over her head.

Twilight moves forward and puts a reassuring foreleg around her friend's shoulders, "Come on Fluttershy, do you know how many false alarms there have been about vamponies since Princess Luna returned, and the Thestrals started to reintegrate into pony society?"

Fluttershy nods mutely.

"This is just another false alarm; there's nothing to worry about at all."

"Y-You're sure?" Fluttershy asks nervously.

Twilight smiles, "Positive. Now, let's go take a look at the patient, shall we?"

"O-Okay," Fluttershy replies as she gets back on her hooves, following Twilight over to the receptionist's desk.

The receptionist looks up as Twilight clears her throat, tiredness clearly apparent on her face combined with a spark of interest.

"Head on in," she says, gesturing to the double doors to her left. "Nurse Redheart is with the vamp-I mean patient in room 138."

With a nod and a quiet thanks, the two mares continue into the hospital.

In contrast to the reception area, the interior of the hospital is completely deserted. With the chatter behind them suddenly cut off when the doors close, the hallway takes on something of an eerie quality – the unnatural silence and cleanliness amplified by the bleached white walls and tiled floor. Periodically placed flowers and pieces of art do little to dispel the heavy atmosphere. Fluttershy hesitates for a moment, eyes darting around the empty space while Twilight walks forward, unperturbed by the sound of her echoing hoofsteps and glancing at the room numbers as she goes.

102… 104… 106… 108… she counts off in her head as she moves past the dark and empty rooms.

Approaching room 126 however, she sees light emanating from within. She takes a look inside as she passes, stopping when she recognizes the occupants. Fluttershy, who had been following closely behind her, bumps into Twilight with a surprised squeak.

"Um… Is something wrong Twilight?" Fluttershy asks tentatively as she walks around her friend to look into the room, letting out a soft "oh" when she recognizes them as well.

"You go ahead," Twilight says, her eyes flitting to Fluttershy before looking back into the room. "I'd like to talk with Time Turner about what happened, and see if there's anything I can do to help Derpy."

Fluttershy nods and cautiously continues on, Twilight meanwhile taking a calming breath and entering the room.

Time Turner tenses as he turns towards the Twilight-opened door, his glare fading back into a worried yet hopeful gaze as he relaxes and smiles tiredly.

"Princess Twilight! I wasn't expecting you to be, well, here," he says, gesturing at the room.

Twilight returns the smile, "To be fair, I wasn't expecting to be here either."

They share a small laugh, however their eyes soon wander back to the sleeping mare lying in the room with them.

"So? Do you know what's wrong with her? Do you know how to cure her?" Time Turner asks, cautious optimism tingeing his words.

"I'm sorry," Twilight says, shaking her head, "I don't. I'm still trying to catch up on what exactly is happening. Everypony keeps going on about how 'vamponies are attacking' and other nonsense-"

"It was a vampony," Time Turner interrupts her, surprising Twilight with the surety in which he says it.

"Look, Turner, I know what it might have looked like-" Twilight begins tentatively before getting cut off once more.

"I know what a Thestral looks like, Twilight; and believe me, this wasn't one of them." Seeing Twilight open her mouth again he quickly continues, "And I'm not talking about whatever they're treating down the hall either."

"You're not?" Twilight frowns, confused, "Alright, why don't you just tell me the whole story, so I don't have to keep feeling my way around what's going on like I'm half blind."

Time Turner nods, "I first woke up when I heard a window slam. I thought it had just been left unlocked and the wind had taken it. I heard Derpy get up and close it, and I started dozing back to sleep. Nothing happened for a bit, I was about to fall back asleep, and then I heard a noise from Derpy's room. I got up to see if she was alright, you know how she has a tendency to break things – you remember the Flying Bed incident."

Twilight snorts, "How can I forget? She somehow, while sleepwalking, managed to throw your entire alicorn-sized bed through your window – and a chuck of the wall – then flew down to where it landed in the street and went right back to sleep. Rainbow even spent the next few weeks trying to convince her to hoof-wrestle Bulk Biceps until I convinced her to drop it."

"Heh, yeah, that's why we sleep in different rooms most of the time now too. Anyway," Time Turner continues, "I was honestly more worried about the room than her until I heard what sounded like somepony in pain. I started running, saw that her door was wide open, and heard a crash from inside. Then when I entered I saw him. The one they have here was struggling to stand, looking like she had a broken leg, while he was just standing there opposite me with Derpy in-between us."

Time Turner's eyes grow distant as the memory plays out in his mind, shuddering slightly as he refocuses on the present before speaking again, "I froze, I just… froze. There was just something so wrong about him. I don't know how else to put it. Physically he looked normal enough, right up until you realize ponies don't have glowing red eyes and fangs going down past their chin. Not that that wasn't weird, but he just… it just… it was wrong, very very wrong."

Time Turner stops speaking again, eyes unfocused and panting slightly. Twilight reaches out and puts a hoof on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile, "It's going to be alright. You're both safe, and I'm sure the nurses will be able to wake Derpy up once they've had a little time."

Time Turner nods jerkily, taking a quivering breath and pressing on, "Then that thing hissed at me. I don't know what happened after that. The world just got kind of hazy and the next thing I knew I was standing in front of a broken window, the mare unconscious on the ground outside and the other pony just gone."

He pauses, looking at his wife before staring at the floor, "After that, I went and tried to wake her but… " he gestures helplessly at the mare on the hospital bed, "I couldn't. I tried shaking her, yelling, a kiss… everything. Pinkie even made a fresh batch of banana-strawberry cheesecake muffins, Derpy's favorite, but she didn't even twitch."

Time Turner looks back up at Twilight, his eyes hopeful but also pleading, "You will be able to help her, right? The nurses examined her and are doing some tests and the results aren't back yet but they said they couldn't see anything overtly wrong with her and I just… I don't… " he trails off, blinking rapidly and looking at the floor again.

"Turner, look at me," Twilight states, an unusual air of command in her voice. Time Turner meets her eyes, surprise interrupting his blinking to allow a few stray tears to run down his face.

"Dang it," he mutters, wiping them away before returning his gaze to Twilight.

"We will find out what's wrong with Derpy," Twilight says, keeping her voice firm and level despite the uncertainty swirling in her gut. "You have my word as Princess."

Time Turner's lips wobble slightly and he hugs Twilight tightly, a motion which she returns wholeheartedly.

"S-Sorry," Time Turner stutters, releasing the hug and backing up after a long minute. "I'm probably not supposed to do that, what with you being a princess and all."

"Don't worry about it," Twilight replies, smiling broadly at him. "Honestly I wish ponies would act a bit more at ease around me. I was just an ordinary unicorn until not that long ago after all."

Time Turner snorts at that, Ordinary unicorn my flank

"If you don't mind my asking though," Twilight says, returning to the matter at hoof, "what did you mean earlier when you said the nurses hadn't found anything overtly wrong with her?"

"Oh, well, they found nothing wrong except for what looked like a bite mark on one of her legs, but it was completely healed. If it was venom it would have most likely affected her days ago. It could have infected her with some kind of disease, but 'suddenly puts the victim into a deep sleep and nothing else' isn't like any disease they had ever heard of," Time Turner explains.

Twilight eyes the sleeping mare curiously, "Do you mind if I have a look?"

Time Turner shakes his head and moves to the bed, shifting the blankets off of Derpy's left hind leg.

"It's right here," he says, pointing.

Twilight looks at where he indicates, not seeing anything at first glance. Looking closer though, she sees a pair of spots where the hairs are thinner and shorter, revealing recently healed skin beneath, The nurses were right, it really doesn't look recent. If it hadn't been pointed out to me, I probably would have missed it entirely.

Lowering her horn to the healed wounds, Twilight closes her eyes and focuses, her horn glowing weakly as she casts a magical detection and analysis spell. Nothing. Then, at the edges of her perception, her spell shifts slightly. Not enough to trigger an outright detection, but at the same time not quite nothing either. Twilight scrunches her eyes tighter, trying to bring the faint magical remnant into greater focus, but to no avail. Sighing, she releases the spell and opens her eyes.

"Anything?" Time Turner asks hopefully.

Twilight sits back down and looks over at him, "Yes and no. I was able to detect some kind of magic on the wound, but it was too faint for me to do much of anything besides sense its existence."

Time Turner's expression falls, "Oh."

"I'm sorry, I wish I could say more than that," Twilight apologizes. "Once the tests come back, they should shed some more light on what's going on."

Time Turner nods, anxiety clear on his face again.

"Don't worry," Twilight says, trying to encourage him. "I'll inform the nurses of what I've found, and with the results from the tests we'll have a much clearer picture of what's going on."

With that, Twilight excuses herself, leaving Time Turner and Derpy and continuing her journey to room 138, newfound curiosity quickening her steps.

Chapter 3 Sunshine

Arriving at her destination, Twilight quickly opens the door to room 138 with her magic. In her eagerness she puts a bit too much force into the spell however, and the door hits the wall of the room with a bang.

"eep" *thump*

Looking around as she enters, she sees Fluttershy gingerly picking herself up off the floor beside Nurse Redheart.

"This is a hospital Princess, not a rodeo," Redheart states sternly, fixing Twilight with an irritated stare. "There is no need for such displays of force."

Twilight's eyes drift over to the area of the wall which the door had impacted, blushing at the sight of several cracks and a faint imprint in the wall along with a sizable dent where the doorknob had once been as the door slowly swings shut, "Oh, uh, sorry."

"Anyway, thank you for your assistance Miss Fluttershy," Redheart addresses the newly standing pegasus, "your input on her wing structure was very useful."

Fluttershy smiles nervously, "I'm just glad I could help."

"So, was there something you wanted, Princess?" Nurse Redheart asks, turning away to double check the machines attached to the unconscious pony beside her.

Twilight blinks in surprise, unused to being given so little thought since she received her title, "Well, I was hoping I could run some tests on your patient for a bit. Just for a bit!" she repeats defensively as Nurse Redheart rounds on her, the nurse's expression leaving little to the imagination as to her opinion of Twilight's request. "At the very least I would like to be able to dispel the rumors that she's a vampony and that the vamponies are attacking."

Annoyance flickers across Redheart's face and she shakes her head, "This pony is badly injured, Princess Twilight; I can't allow you to just start running tests on her like she's a new science project of yours – rumors or not."

"I wasn't planning anything like that," Twilight protests.

Nurse Redheart raises an eyebrow, clearly not believing a word of it.

"I wasn't, really!" Twilight insists, "I was just going to run a magical signature analysis to compare her latent magic to the faint traces of magic I detected on Derpy's bite mark. I Pinkie Promise – cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

Nurse Redheart regards Twilight as she goes through the motions before giving her a curt nod, "Very well. Be quick about it though, she's going into surgery in a few minutes. I wouldn't count on being able to disprove the 'vampony' business either."

Twilight frowns, "What do you mean?"

Nurse Redheart sighs as she walks past Twilight, "You'll see when you look at her teeth, and I need to get ready for the operation. Fluttershy, perhaps you could walk Twilight through what we discussed?"

Not waiting for an answer, Nurse Redheart leaves the room and briskly trots down the hall.

After a brief silence following the nurse's sudden departure, Twilight moves forward, standing beside Fluttershy and next to the bed.

"So Fluttershy," Twilight asks curiously, gesturing at the mare laying on the bed, "what did you and Nurse Redheart find out about her?"

"Well… um… " Fluttershy begins hesitantly, "not a whole lot, really. Nurse Redheart did most of the work, I just checked her wings; both are pretty badly bruised and one of them is fractured in a couple places. One of her forelegs is broken too, and she has several fractured or broken ribs along with some internal injuries. And we think… "

Twilight leans forward, but her friend's voice fades into a faint, indecipherable squeak. Fluttershy looks away nervously as Twilight raises an eyebrow at her.

"Fluttershy… " Twilight prods when the yellow pegasus' eyes continue to avoid her.

Gulping audibly, Fluttershy tries again.

"We think… we think… th-that she's a… a… carnivore," she finishes quietly.

"I-I… what?" Twilight stutters, the thought of a pony eating the dead flesh of what had once been another living creature sending shivers down her spine.

Composing herself, she clarifies her statement, "I mean, what makes you say that?"

"Well… " Fluttershy hesitates, then very carefully leans towards the unconscious mare and gently nudges her mouth open, revealing jaws lined with sharp teeth.

"Oh. Ohhhh. Yep, she's – carnivore, yep." Twilight manages, taking a couple steps back and chuckling nervously.

"And… that's what we know so far," Fluttershy finishes somewhat lamely.

"I… see." Twilight mumbles, still not quite recovered. Closing her eyes, she takes a few deep breaths, pressing her right hoof lightly to her chest and then slowly pushing it away as she exhales. Opening her eyes, she steps towards the sleeping mare again with renewed focus, horn glowing softly.

"Twilight?" questions Fluttershy.

"I almost forgot that I came here to test something," Twilight explains. "Derpy had a bite wound, but it was healed and looked like it had happened days ago. However, I was able to detect a very faint magical signature on it. The magic was too weak to determine anything else, which would normally make identifying the caster rather difficult, but it had a very… unique feel to it compared to normal pony magic. So if the signature from the wound matches her latent magical signature," she gestures at the peacefully sleeping carnivore, "then that would mean she's very likely responsible for whatever is wrong with Derpy. Which would mean we can ask her how to fix it once she wakes up."

"Oh… okay," Fluttershy nods as she takes a few steps back to give Twilight some space.

Twilight focuses and touches her horn to the sleeping mare. After several seconds, and several purple pulses from her horn, she breaks contact and ends the spell with a sigh, "Well, it was definitely her."

As if they had been waiting for her to finish, Nurse Redheart re-enters the room with two of her peers as soon as the words leave Twilight's mouth. Seeing Twilight and Fluttershy are still in the room, the trio of nurses quickly shoo them out, reappearing moments later with the hospital bed between them as they wheel it off towards the hospital's operating theater.

Twilight and Fluttershy watch them vanish around a corner before Twilight stretches, letting loose a giant yawn as sleepiness threatens to overtake the excitement of the last half hour.

"Aaand that's my cue to go back to sleep," Twilight remarks, looking over at Fluttershy as her friend stifles a yawn of her own. "Something tells me that tomorrow is going to be a looooong day."

"Me too," Fluttershy responds, smiling sleepily. The pair of mares walk side by side as they make their way out of the hospital, their path's diverging once outside to head their separate ways home.

As soon as she enters her tree house, Twilight begins trudging up the stairs towards her bed, however, when she reaches the top of the stairs a stray thought drifts into her mind, I should probably write to Princess Celestia about what's happened.

Annoyed, she attempts to swat at the thought to force it to go away and let her get to bed, but to no avail.

"Ughhh… " she groans, as she returns to the first floor. Picking up a quill and dipping it into a nearby inkwell, the bleary-eyed purple alicorn pauses, staring blankly at the parchment in front of her.

How does one tell the Princess of the Sun that there's a probably carnivorous – and possibly vampiric – injured pony staying at the local hospital?

Twilight blinks.

Well, I could just say that…

"Dear Princess Celestia… " Twilight mutters as she begins to write.

There was an attack tonight. It did not involve any changelings. Possibly found a new tribe of ponies. Seems to be carnivorous, possibly vampiric. Currently unconscious in the hospital. Tired. Will send more information tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Princess Twilight Sparkle

There, done.

Twilight stretches and yawns, nearly succumbing to sleep where she stands, but she steadies herself.

"SPIKE!!"

A loud thump comes from upstairs, followed by the clicking of claws on wood as an annoyed and very sleepy dragon toddles down the stairs.

"What now, Twilight?" the drake asks grumpily.

Twilight levitates the scroll over to him, "I need you to send this to… " she pauses as a yawn interrupts her, "to Princess Celestia".

Spike grumbles, but takes the scroll hovering in front of him and sends it off with his signature green flame. Not waiting for Twilight to think of something else for him to do, he stumbles back up the stairs and slumps onto his bed once more. Twilight follows on his heels, quickly slipping beneath her blankets and into the welcoming dreamscape.

A swirl of green fire briefly illuminates the dim sleeping quarters of the solar princess, the flash of green light reflecting off the various decorations and ornaments that adorn Celestia's chamber. Then as quickly as it had appeared, it vanishes, leaving behind a scroll which promptly falls onto the sleeping form below it. The figure takes no notice for a long moment before shifting with a groan. Taking it in her magic, Princess Celestia opens one eye groggily and examines the scroll floating in front of her.

Why in the name of me is Twilight sending a scroll at night? I really need to teach Spike how to send these to Luna too…

A yawn punctuates her thoughts and she shifts her head, the motion allowing her to focus her other eye on the rolled up parchment.

I suppose I could just hoof this off to Luna myself tonight. She has been grumbling about not being able to take part in all the crazy events that have occurred the last few years… and she could really use some more hooves-on experience with her subjects still.

As she continues to eye the scroll however, curiosity begins worming its way into her mind.

Well… at the very least it couldn't hurt to take a peek…

And thus begins a great battle within Celestia's mind. The Shamans of Sleep urge her to let it go and continue her slumber, while the Warriors of Curiosity demand she take a look at what could have motivated Twilight to send her a letter this late at night. The battle rages for several minutes as Celestia lays looking at the unopened piece of parchment, neither side able to win out. Then on the 10th minute out of the fog of war rises the Prophet of Patience and he says unto the masses below: 'Let us sleep, for we have great faith in Twilight Sparkle. She shall overcome any challenge that may confront her, and so we may rest for now'. The Warriors, unable to rebuke the truth spoken to them, slowly lower their voices and surrender to the Sleep.

I'll let Twilight handle it for now. Celestia decides, laying the scroll on her nightstand, She's grown so much the last few years, I trust she can handle any issues that arise.

With that finally decided, she lays back down and returns to her rest.
.
.
.
Several hours later, the covers ripple as Celestia moves, arching her back in a luxurious stretch after a good night's sleep. Pushing her sheets aside, she stands and stretches again before approaching her balcony. Focusing the solar magicks granted to her by birthright, she tenderly begins to bring up the sun as she feels Luna gently lowering the moon. As the last light of the moon fades from the sky, the first rays of the sun fall onto the waking world. Celestia pauses and basks in the warmth, savoring it.

Some things never change, she thinks fondly. The feeling does not last long however, as a mental itch makes itself known. The feeling of something forgotten, something important…

Ah, right, the scroll.

Returning to the castle interior, Celestia sits back on her bed, pops open the scroll, and skims the words within, freezing on one in particular: vampiric.

Oh no.

Wasting no time, she leaps from her bed… and flops onto the granite floor with an undignified yelp as she slips on a rogue blanket that had followed her a few feet out of bed. After incinerating the offending sheet with a frustrated thought, she rises to her hooves and vanishes in a flash of white light.

Nurse Redheart takes one last look at the medical machines in the room, their steady, periodic beeps indicating a successful surgery and a stable patient.

My patient…

Her eyes wander back to the mare, a thousand questions making themselves known before she silences them with an annoyed snort.

She is my patient and it's my job to help her get better. Full stop. End of story. To get distracted by pointless questions and random gossip is unprofessional.

With a satisfied nod, she turns to leave, but pauses after only a single step towards the door, her ears flicking towards it as she hears shouting from the lobby followed by a faint tremor. She nervously eyes the walls, but the tremor quickly dissipates and the building ceases moving. Instead the tremors are followed by the loud, echoing hoofsteps of somepony galloping down the hallway.

And now there are crazies breaking into the hospital. Wonderful.

She takes another step towards the door, intending to lock it, but before she can take a second step it's consumed by a golden aura and slams open – deepening the previous impression left by Twilight. Redheart flinches at the force used on the door, then goes slack-jawed as a white Alicorn strides in.

"Stand aside nurse," Princess Celestia commands. Redheart's body automatically begins to comply, however the shock wears off as she raises a hoof to move out of the way, her mental faculties restarting and returning control of her muscles. Hesitating, she looks at Celestia again and breaks into a cold sweat – the normally kind eyes of her daytime ruler now instead glaring down at her like miniature suns while pure white lightning arcs from various points along the length of Celestia's horn and across her mane. Fear shoots through Redheart's body and she stands frozen, the aura of raw power and control radiating from Celestia battling with her sudden realization of what Celestia intends to do.

She's going to kill my patient!

Ignoring every instinct screaming at her to run and hide in the deepest, darkest place she can find; Nurse Redheart instead stiffly moves sideways to more fully place herself between Celestia and the helpless pony behind her.

"No."

Celestia's eyes widen in surprise, the terrible aura fading somewhat before returning anew – now tainted by anger as well.

"Very well," Celestia replies coldly, lifting Redheart bodily with her magic.

"I won't let you kill her!" Nurse Redheart shouts as she flails helplessly in the grasp of her Princess's magic.

"I'm not going to kill her," Celestia answers as she sidesteps the floating nurse, a strange calmness permeating her voice. "She's already dead."

Her horn flares even brighter, the tip shining like a fragment of the sun itself as she prepares to vaporize the pony before her.

"No she's not!" The floating nurse yells while desperately pointing at one of the machines, "Look!"

Celestia's eyes briefly flick to where Nurse Redheart is pointing, after a moment returning her focus to the bed before her. She hesitates. Then looks back at the machine. With her focus ever so slightly broken, she now hears a sound over the hum and crackle of her magic…

...*beep*........*beep*.........*beep*........*beep*...

Her eyes widen as she recognizes the heart monitor, and what the sound means. Celestia allows her magic to fade as she takes her real first look at the dark colored pony. The overpowering aura vanishes. The arcing lightning ceases. Nurse Redheart stops floating.

*thump*

And promptly falls to the floor in a jumble of hooves, quickly staggering upright and focusing a venomous glare at the invading Princess.

"I am truly sorry about this," Celestia apologizes. "Twilight sent a short letter last night about what had happened, and I acted without fully understanding the situation."

Nurse Redheart continues to glare at Celestia and takes a deep breath, "GET OUT!!!"

Princess Celestia takes several steps back, stunned.

The two regard each other for several seconds, neither moving a muscle until Nurse Redheart starts to sway slightly as the magnitude of what had just happened finally sinks in, Oh sweet merciful Celestia! I just defied the Princess! I just yelled at her! I-I-

Giggling like a madmare, the world begins to spin as the weight of her actions, as well as their imagined consequences, bear down on her. Nurse Redheart slumps to the floor as her mind gives out, reality fading away into sweet oblivion. Celestia, unsure how to respond, simply watches the nurse's quick descent into madness. A silence follows, during which the abused door decides to give way and fall to the floor with a bang.

After taking a moment to gather herself, Celestia observes the scene around her, One heavily damaged wall, one destroyed door, one nurse driven crazy, and one unknown pony who slept through the whole thing.

She sighs, I think I've caused enough damage for the time being.

Celestia slowly backs out of the room, trying to be as quiet and non-destructive as possible. Once outside she turns and, gathering as much of her royal grace and poise as she can, quickly strides towards the reception area, possible ways of calming the rest of the terrified staff crowding her mind.

Chapter 4 Entering the Shadows

After giving several apologies, and a pinkie promise that the crown would pay for the damage she'd caused, Celestia exits the hospital and stands in the early morning sunshine bathing the town, fatigue from the hour of desperate teleportation it had taken to reach Ponyville beginning to make itself known.

Once her sun's calming rays have warmed her coat, she heads off with a familiar destination in mind, I think it's about time I heard all the details of this strange little mess.

After walking nearly half the distance, an annoyingly jovial voice speaks above her, "Oh, I'm just so proud of you right now. I knew you had it in you."

Glancing up, Celestia sees Discord hovering above her, his mismatched body looking even odder having been forced into the general shape of an alicorn. Deciding not to dignify his words with a response, Celestia looks stiffly at the road ahead of her and continues striding forward.

"Oh come now Celestia, you should be proud!" Discord continues as he lands and walks beside her, all four of his feet somehow making a clopping sound despite only having a single hoof. "That was a wonderful little display of chaos back there. Why, I'd probably have to think for a few whole minutes before I could come up with something better!"

"Why are you here, Discord?" Celestia asks, still refusing to look over at him.

"Why am I here? Oh Celestia, how could you even ask such a thing?" he replies, swooning in a fair impression of Rarity complete with a couch appearing out of nowhere. "I thought you knew me better than that."

Celestia speeds up slightly as the Golden Oaks Library comes into sight, intently focusing on the library's door rather than the mismatched creature behind her.

Rather than get up to follow her, Discord opts to snap his fingers, a pulse of his magic causing the couch to drag itself along the ground, leaving small ruts in its wake.

"Why, I'm here for the chaos of course!" Discord proclaims with a wave of his forelimbs. On cue, the couch's legs give a mechanical sound and retract, a metallic steering wheel sprouting like a plant from the armrest nearest Celestia. Gunning the nonexistent engine with an invisible clutch, Discord and his chaos-driven couch putter along, matching Celestia's speed, "And of course for one of Fluttershy's wonderful tea parties. It's been far too long since the last one I attended, really."

Celestia smiles faintly, at which Discord rolls his eyes, "Yes, yes, friendship is magic, etc, etc."

"Well, I have something very important to discuss with Twilight," Celestia says, turning to look at Discord for the first time. "So if you'll excuse me."

"Ah yes, the 'vampony' you nearly disintegrated," Discord replies, smiling.

Celestia's eyes narrow in suspicion, "What do you know of them, Discord?"

"Oh, not much more than you, unfortunately. Can you imagine the fun I could have with carnivorous ponies though? I bet could make half the town pass out just by having one walk down main street eating a steak!" Discord cackles maniacally, lightning flashing ominously in the background.

"Discord!" Celestia glares at him reprovingly.

Discord shrugs, "What? Some species eat meat. It's your own fault for keeping your precious ponies so sheltered."

Celestia opens her mouth to retort, but instead hesitates for a second before speaking in a softer tone, "Perhaps you are right."

"I'm – you just admitted I was right?! I don't-" Discord sputters, nearly falling off his floating couch out of utter shock at the admission before regaining his composure with a hearty harrumph. "Well, so much for that book Twilight lent me. It was very clear that the stallion never wins an argument with his marefr-"

"Discord!" Celestia hisses, snapping his mouth shut with her magic.

"Hm?" Discord replies, smiling innocently before pushing off the magical aura holding his mouth shut with a paw. "You know Celestia, if I didn't know better, I'd say you're acting like you're embarrassed by our little relationship."

Celestia glares daggers at him without responding.

The smile vanishes from Discord's face, and he regards Celestia solemnly, "I was being serious earlier, you know. About the whole 'sheltered' thing. And this right here, this is a great example of that."

Celestia looks down, pawing the ground with her hoof, "I know, it's just-"

"It's just what?" Discord asks, his gaze softening. "I know you've been living on a pedestal of purity and power your ponies put you on for a thousand years, but you aren't protecting anyone by staying up there and you can't stay up there forever. Even immortals have feelings Celestia, and its long past time your subjects rediscovered that particular fact about you. Eventually, one way or another, you're going to have to decide whether you'd rather step off your pedestal or be pushed off. And really, what's the worst that can happen? A few generations of ponies not thinking quite as highly of you because you didn't stay within their boring expectations? Who cares! Whatever does happen though, just remember that you aren't the lone ruler of Equestria anymore. Luna, Cadence, Twilight, me – we're here and we're not going anywhere. You got that, Princess?"

Celestia simply nods, eyes glistening as they lean into each other, a minute passing before Discord breaks the silence.

"Wonderful! Now then," Discord stretches as his kooky smile returns and he smacks Celestia's royal rump, "off you go, talk with your newest princess about her newest neighbor or whatever, but know this," he pauses, lowering his voice to a purr, "I'll be waiting for you when you return."

Then with a snap of his fingers, Discord vanishes. Celestia smiles slightly and sniffles, noticing after a few seconds that Discord's magical flying couch hadn't disappeared with him, the draconequus instead leaving a note taped to the steering wheel.

A gift for you, my Princess.

It's engine is your imagination; it will go wherever you believe it can.

~Discord~

A wonderful warmth rivaling even that of the sun radiates through her body as she finishes reading the note and looks at the couch again. Her lips begin to wobble as she tries to suppress a snicker.

I wonder what would happen if I gave this to Pinkie Pie?

A giggle manages to escape her lips before she gathers herself, returning to the issue at hoof. Taking the last few steps, she arrives at Twilight's door.

*knockknockknock*

Celestia waits. Nopony answers. She knocks again, this time waiting longer. However, despite her patience, no sound comes from the other side of the door. She raises her hoof to knock again, but changes her mind prior to doing so – instead choosing to bypass the door and teleport inside. The library is briefly illuminated by the flash of her entry before returning to its previous darkened state, a faint snore emanating from the second floor as Celestia looks around the empty room.

Well, her letter did say she was tired. I suppose I should leave Twilight a note and return later. I do have Day Court to oversee and nobles to endure and paperwork to fill out and… I wonder what kinds of tea Twilight has.

Having rationalized a reason to stay, Celestia clops quietly out of the main library and into the kitchen. Levitating a cup over to the sink, she fills it with water, then heats it with her magic before beginning her search for Twilight's tea. After rummaging through the various cabinets for several minutes, she manages to find a few dusty teabags. She frowns at the meager selection, instead choosing to continue searching. Finding nothing more despite her best efforts, she sighs and selects one, washing the dust off in the sink before lowering it into the heated water to steep. Returning to the main library, Celestia lights several of the lanterns scattered throughout the room, setting down her cup as she peruses the diverse assortment of books lining the library shelves in search of something to occupy herself with. Finding a few that sound at least vaguely interesting, she returns to her tea, sitting down and opening the first book to wait for Twilight to wake up.

Twilight's eyelids slowly open and she blinks, panic gripping her for a moment when she sees what time it is, then calming once she remembers the events of the previous night.

Something tells me I'm going to be glad I got the extra sleep by the time today is over, she thinks as she stretches, only leaving her bed to face what remains of the morning once she can no longer justify remaining beneath its sheets.

First things first though, I should send a follow up letter to Princess Celestia with a more thorough explanation.

She descends the stairs, a yawn forming on her lips until a familiar voice reaches her ears.

"Good morning Twilight. I trust you had a restful night's sleep?"

Twilight's mouth snaps shut with an audible click, eyes wide as she turns her head to see her mentor looking up at her, a book surrounded by a golden glow held in front of Celestia while a cup of tea likewise floats off to her side.

"I-I-yes, of course, Princess Celestia," Twilight stutters. "I'm sorry; I wasn't expecting you to be here."

"It's quite alright, Twilight," Celestia smiles. "I did drop in unannounced after all. However, I have some rather important questions regarding the letter you sent me last night, specifically it's distinct lack of details." She grimaces slightly, "As well as your choice of teas."

"There is nothing wrong with my tea." Twilight huffs, faking offense, then smirks. "You just didn't find where I hid them."

Celestia furrows her brow as she scans her memories, trying to find another place she could have searched. Coming up empty, she looks at Twilight curiously.

Swelling with no small amount of pride, Twilight answers the unspoken question, "A hidden panel under the third cabinet to the left from the door, which I enchanted with a minor illusion spell and an aversion ward. So unless you already knew where to look… "

"…you'd never examine it closely enough to know it was there in the first place," Celestia finishes, smile returning to her face. "Well done. Few enough have managed to stand between me and a good cup of tea. I don't suppose you'd be willing to dip into your stash, so that we might enjoy some of it while we discuss recent events?"

"Not at all." Twilight responds, a spring in her step as she trots into the kitchen, returning several minutes later with a pair of steaming cups. She levitates one of them over to Celestia who sets down her previous cup before taking the new one in her magic, cooling it with a breath and taking a sip.

"One of Zecora's I take it?" Celestia inquires.

"Mhm. Though to this day she still won't tell me the ingredients," Twilight replies. "I've been working on a chemical analysis to try and duplicate it but… it hasn't produced anything particularly edible as of yet."

They both sit quietly and enjoy the relaxing flavor for a time, Twilight eventually breaking the silence as the minutes tick by.

"So… you received my letter, Princess?" Twilight ventures.

Celestia nods, "Yes. Though the lack of information in it caused me to jump to a particularly incorrect conclusion, which resulted in a rather embarrassing confrontation at Ponyville Hospital. So, I would like you to recount in detail what you know about last night's events."

Twilight nods, resisting the urge to ask what happened at the hospital. After taking another sip of tea, she begins recounting the events of the previous night. Celestia remains quiet throughout the entirety of the retelling until Twilight describes the strange stallion Time Turner had bucked out Derpy's window. Upon hearing this, the cup floating next to her shatters into dust, the little remaining tea falling onto the floor.

"Impossible," Celestia murmurs to herself. "There's no way… "

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight asks, startled.

Celestia does not move for several seconds, then lets out a deep sigh, "It is nothing, I'm sure; it's just that your description of the second creature brought back memories of when vamponies did truly tread upon Equestrian soil."

Twilight frowns, perplexed, "Wait, so what Time Turner saw was a vampony? Vamponies do actually exist?"

Celestia stares at Twilight without seeing her for a long moment, her mind clearly elsewhere, before shaking her head, "No. While vamponies did once exist, it is impossible for any to have survived, much less into this era."

"But how have I not seen any mention of them or their magic in any of my books?" Twilight protests, "I've read dozens of books about all sorts of rare and not-so-mythical creatures, and vamponies never even appeared in passing!"

Celestia nods, an uncharacteristically tired expression on her face, "As I intended."

Twilight starts to ask another question, but Celestia silences her with a raised hoof, "It is a very dark story Twilight, one that I had hoped to erase from history so that all knowledge of it would be forgotten."

Celestia moves to take another sip of tea, but instead begins coughing as her head moves into the dusty, hovering remains of her cup. Twilight stands and runs into the kitchen, returning with a glass of water which Celestia downs gratefully.

After the coughing subsides, she begins speaking again, "It all began in the Crystal Empire with a unicorn named Sombra. At the time, he was only a Royal Advisor, neither the wisest nor the kindest nor the most knowledgeable, but still well respected within the empire nonetheless. However, something happened to him, something which changed him from the respected advisor that he had once been into a traitor and a tyrant."

Celestia speaks slower as sadness creeps into her voice, "While what exactly happened to him is unknown to this day, the eventual outcome is accurately recorded in the history books. The events which occurred afterwards, though, are not."

Celestia pauses, and Twilight feels a coldness beginning to creep through her body.

What could be so bad that the Princesses would try to erase it from history? she wonders, focusing on Celestia again as she resumes her story.

"Sombra knew that very soon Luna and I would attempt to remove the empire from his control. He also knew that he was no match for either one of us, much less both. Vamponies were his attempt to… even the odds."

Celestia shivers at this, the colors of her iridescent mane fading along with the intangible wind flowing through it, "A Vampony is essentially a former pony whose body has been turned into an undead golem powered by the enslaved soul of its former owner. It uses the blood of living ponies – who also become similarly bound if the feeding kills them – to… I suppose refuel would be the best way to describe it. The spells and binding rituals he used to create the first vamponies were some of the most objectively evil pieces of magic Luna and I have ever encountered."

"To put it another way," Celestia continues, meeting Twilight's eyes, "I am to the Alicorn Amulet what the Alicorn Amulet is to Sombra's binding rituals."

Twilight stares at her, mouth hanging open slightly in shock, "Oh… oh wow… That's… that's pretty bad."

Celestia nods, "Indeed. We were alerted to this particular activity by a high-ranking official who had somehow managed to smuggle himself out, but by then it was too late. Sombra had already sent a few dozen vamponies to infiltrate Equestria. He gave us an ultimatum: obey his conditions, or he would release his vamponies on Equestrian civilians. Complying with even one of his depraved demands was unthinkable, and any attempt to stall or delay would merely give him time to create more of his vamponies, so we reinforced our cities as best we could before heading North to dethrone him. The battle was over quickly, and we headed home victorious, only to return to utter chaos."

Princess Celestia chuckles mirthlessly as she recalls the memory, "We had hoped that perhaps it would be like cutting the head from a serpent – without Sombra's control, the vamponies would be useless and easily dealt with. Instead it was quite the opposite – without his control they went berserk and simply attacked anypony that breathed. Their ferocity, combined with a golem's strength and immunity to pain, as well as being able to create new vamponies from their victims, meant that the battle was a bloodbath even though they were outnumbered severely."

Her voice cracks and she pauses again, taking several deep breaths to calm herself, "Even after the initial battle was over, some managed to slip away and continued to spread their taint. It was… bad, Twilight. In all my time ruling, both before and since, I have never seen my ponies so twisted by fear and hate as the year following Sombra's attack. Neighbors accusing neighbors of being vamponies, of harboring vamponies, of setting vamponies on them… it would have almost been silly if not for the fact that they would have gladly watched each other burn."

She pauses once more, swallowing a lump in her throat as her eyes start to shine, "It was Luna who suffered most though. Despite the fact that vamponies weren't actually hurt by the sun, my ponies clamored with me for the its protection against the monsters that walked in the night. My sister though… rumors began spreading about how as the Princess of the Night, she obviously had something to do with this waking nightmare, that she was somehow responsible for everything. It became not uncommon for her, a Princess of Equestria, to be harassed in the streets. When she entered ponies' dreams to aid them with their nightmares, they would become more afraid of her than the nightmare. Even her own guards began to fear her, and I… I was too caught up trying to keep Equestria from falling apart to realize how bad it had gotten. So when she came to me seeking solace and understanding, I instead became angry with her for thinking only about herself, for whining about trivialities while Equestria was in crisis, not seeing how much she was hurting. Not until it was too late."

"Nightmare Moon… " Twilight whispers, an awestruck look on her face as she makes the connection.

"Yes, Twilight. That is what truly drove my sister to become Nightmare Moon. Not some stupid fit of jealousy!" Celestia spits the last part venomously, a faint smell of ozone filling the room.

Twilight flinches away at this, not used to seeing her mentor genuinely angry. Noticing the look on Twilight's face, Celestia reigns in her emotions – though with only moderate success.

"I… I see," Twilight responds, still somewhat nervous at Celestia's outburst, "and the whole 'erasing from history' thing?"

Celestia sighs, "Fear has a mind of its own, Twilight, especially when combined with loss. I can't force ponies to think a certain way or believe a certain idea. And once she had all but validated every claim made against her by becoming Nightmare Moon, even as a Princess there was very little I could do to truly convince anypony that she was as worthy of their love as I. So I did the next best thing. I worked to destroy all knowledge of Sombra's dark magic – every book, every note, every scrap of paper. Everything. I then let vamponies fade from truth into rumors, and finally into myth as the centuries passed, so that my sister would not have to return to the same prejudices after a thousand years in exile. It is one of the benefits of agelessness, I suppose."

"And… Nightmare Night?" Twilight asks, still hesitant.

Celestia chuckles, "I had nothing to do with that actually, though I am glad Luna has a holiday of her own now. The festivities are certainly more enjoyable than the mess of bureaucracy and tradition the Summer Sun Celebration has become laden with. I've actually been considering abolishing the whole thing and simply taking the day off instead."

Twilight leans back, her mind slowly processing the story she's been told.

Celestia watches her for a few moments before rising, "I know it's a lot to take in Twilight, and if you have any questions at all I would of course be happy to answer them, but I must return to Canterlot. Vamponies may no longer exist, but the two ponies who snuck into Derpy and Time Turner's house most definitely do, and certain processes must be set in motion in order to accommodate knowledge of a new tribe's existence."

Twilight nods absently, her mind clearly still elsewhere.

Celestia just smiles and raises her horn to teleport back to Canterlot, but looks down again before doing so, "Oh, also, you should expect Luna to arrive in Ponyville by sundown."

"Huh? Why?" Twilight asks, waking from her reverie.

"The pony in the hospital may not be a vampony," Celestia explains, "however she is a creature of the night, and therefore is my sister's responsibility."

"Ah, right. Of course," Twilight replies with a nod and a weary smile.

Raising her horn again, Celestia vanishes in a flash of white light.

As soon as she is gone, Twilight slumps to the floor with a groan, I just woke up and I already feel exhausted again…

Author's Note

Do you want crossovers Celestia? Because that is how you get crossovers.

Nightmare Moon dialogue partially inspired by this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGEf_YxBxZI

Chapter 5 Hunters

*knockknock*

Twilight looks up at the entrance from where she had been sitting since Celestia left, lost in thought over the revelations that had been shared with her. She waits. Nothing happens.

"SPIKE!!!" Twilight shouts, annoyed.

Why is he still asleep? He went right back to bed after Caramel and I left.

She soon hears the telltale sound of claws on wood, Spike himself entering her view soon after as he descends the stairs.

"You called?" the purple dragon asks, yawning.

"Yes," Twilight responds, "can you get the door?"

Spike looks at the door, "This door?"

"Yep."

"The one you're sitting 10 feet away from?"

"Mhm."

"The one you could have opened with your magic?"

"The very same."

Spike gives her a flat look before finishing his descent and walking to the door. Opening it, he sees three familiar filly faces looking back at him.

"Hi Spike!" they greet in unison.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Spike replies, a smile starting to creep onto his face as the fillies' boundless enthusiasm eats away at his sleep-grumpiness.

"Pretty good." Scootaloo answers, "Can we talk to Twilight? Sweetie Belle wants to ask her something before we start crusading today."

"Yeah, sure." Spike opens the door fully and walks towards the kitchen, "You guys want anything?"

"Nah."

"No thanks."

"No thank you."

Spike shrugs indifferently, vanishing into the kitchen as the Cutie Mark Crusaders enter the library.

Meanwhile, Twilight stands, walking over to meet the fillies as they cross the threshold, "Hello girls; I'm guessing you're looking for a book regarding your newest crusade?"

Sweetie Belle shakes her head, "Actually I was just wondering if you'd seen Rarity around anywhere. She wasn't in Carousel Boutique, and nopony we've talked to has seen her since last night."

"Well, the last time I saw her was in… the… " Twilight pauses, confusion taking hold as her memories begin to conflict with themselves. It was just me and Fluttershy in the hospital room and in the hallway. I could have sworn Rarity entered with me though…

Twilight looks around inside her memory of that instance through her mind's eye, however with Rarity nowhere to be found, she continues to backtrack through her memories of the previous night, So she apparently didn't enter the hospital… but I know she was outside with me.

Yet as she examines that memory, she once again finds Rarity to be missing, Wait, if she's not there, then that means…

Going back further to the moment of teleportation, Twilight feels herself surrounded by the warm glow of her magic combined with the enhanced spatial awareness granted by the spell to avoid teleporting inside of other solid objects. And with that awareness, she feels nopony but herself.

…I teleported Rarity to Cloudsdale with me and then left her there. Shoot.

Twilight? Twiliiiight~ Equestria to Twilight!

How can I make this up to her? I just forgot about one of my best friends! Well, I should start by apologizing to her when she gets back. Wait, can she get back? Ugh, now I have to adjust my schedule to make time to find her and teleport her back… though admittedly it's already in shambles anyway…

Nothing. She's just standing there.

Ah hope we didn't break her. It seemed like such a simple question…

Twilight's eyes refocus on reality as her mind returns to the present. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom are looking up at her worriedly, the latter waving a hoof in front of her face. Twilight blinks.

Wait where's-

"TWILIGHT!!!" Scootaloo screams in her ear through a megaphone, having apparently procured one from somewhere nearby.

"GAH!"

Twilight jumps several feet in the air, falling back to the floor in an adrenaline infused heap of hooves and wings.

After a moment, Applebloom nudges the purple pile, "…are you alright Twilight?"

Twilight just groans and mutters something under her breath as she clutches her ringing head with her hooves. Several minutes pass as the Crusaders stand fidgeting nervously while Twilight lays on the floor, waiting for the ringing to slowly fade from her ears. After having recovered sufficiently, she looks up to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders watching her anxiously.

"Why did you do that?" Twilight demands, more than a touch of anger in her voice.

"Uhh… "

"Well… "

"Umm… "

Twilight watches the three fillies from her spot on the floor, switching her gaze between each of them as she waits for an explanation.

"Well, you were just kind of sitting there, and you weren't reacting to anything we said, so we thought that maybe we should… try to snap you out of it?" Sweetie Belle ventures.

"And the solution you came up with was to try and make me deaf?" Twilight deadpans.

"Yeah… uh… maybe not one of our brightest ideas," Scootaloo admits, rubbing the back of her head.

"We're sorry… " they apologize in unison, looking up at her with wide, shimmering eyes.

Twilight tries as best she can to hold her ground against the cuteness overload attack, but despite her efforts she feels her anger draining away, "I forgive you."

The fillies highhoof each other at this.

"But! On the condition you stop and take the time to think through what you're planning to do before actually doing it," she adds pointedly.

"We will!" they promise together.

Twilight nods, "Good. Now, regarding Rarity's whereabouts, she is currently in Cloudsdale."

"Wait, she is?" Sweetie Belle asks, "But she told me yesterday she was going to be working all day on a big order."

"Yes, well, I would say she was rather surprised that she ended up in Cloudsdale too," Twilight replies sheepishly, fidgeting a bit. Her guests fail to notice this though, having already moved on to their next topic.

"Alright, now that we know where Rarity is, it's time to start our next Crusade!" Scootaloo declares as she and her friends walk towards the library entrance.

"Bye Twilight!"

"Bye!"

"See ya!"

Once they're outside, Twilight closes the door with her magic as her headache continues to throb.

I really need to talk with Pinkie about her emergency stashing habits. She's like a manic pink squirrel. First though, I'm going to need some more tea.

Rather than shouting for Spike and making her headache worse, she turns to the kitchen intending to make some tea herself. Spike, however, is already standing there holding a cup. He raises an eyebrow, "Sooo, I see you closed the door with your magic."

Twilight groans, "Please, not now Spike."

Spike chuckles, "Some tea then?"

"That would be wonderful," Twilight replies gratefully, levitating the cup from Spike's claws over to herself. "Thanks Spike."

Spike waves it off as he returns to the kitchen, "Don't mention it. I made some sandwiches too if you want any."

Twilight trots over to join him, And this is why you'll always be my #1 assistant.

Now outside, the Cutie Mark Crusaders turn to face each other, forming a small circle.

"Y'all ready?" Applebloom asks. The two other fillies nod excitedly.

"Alright then. Cutie Mark Crusaders: Vampony Hunters is a go!" Applebloom announces, with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle contributing a 'yay!' at the end.

"And Ah think we'd better work out some sorta plan first, seein' as how we promised Twilight and all," Applebloom adds. She and Scootaloo look over at Sweetie Belle expectantly.

Sweetie Belle stares back at them, "What?"

"Well, we kind of thought that you'd know the most about vamponies since your sister is so obsessed with them," Scootaloo explains.

"She's not obsessed!" Sweetie Belle exclaims exasperatedly, stamping her hoof, "She just really likes those types of stories."

Applebloom and Scootaloo look at each other, an understanding passing between them, then back at Sweetie Belle. After a moment of awkward silence Applebloom speaks up, "You… haven't seen the ceiling in Rarity's room have you?"

Sweetie Belle looks at them confusedly, "No. What would I be looking at her ceiling for?"

Applebloom places a comforting hoof on Sweetie Belle's shoulder, "Next time yer in her room, look at the ceiling. If you can still tell me she's not obsessed with vamponies after that, then Ah'll believe you."

Sweetie Belle opens her mouth to retort, however Applebloom continues before she can get the chance, "But enough about Rarity, we're getting distracted! Do ya know anything about huntin' vamponies?"

"I know a little," Sweetie Belle admits, somewhat miffed at the sudden change in topic. "They get burned in sunlight or with solar water, they don't like the smell of garlic for some reason, and the only way to kill them is with a wooden stake through the heart."

Scootaloo facehoofs with a groan, "That's it? I could have told you that."

Sweetie Belle frowns, "Hey, it's not my fault. Rarity won't even let me see most of her vampony stuff. Apparently it's for 'Adults Only', whatever that's supposed to mean."

The other two shrug, equally unsure as to what Rarity could want to keep hidden.

"We can investigate that tomorrow, Cutie Mark Crusaders Secrets Finders or somethin'. Anyway, it's not like we can actually get any of that besides the stake." Applebloom taps her chin with her hoof thoughtfully, "Although… solar water burns them right? So we could just use acid instead! That burns everything! Though Ah don't know where we'd get any of that either… "

"What about some really hot, hot sauce?" Scootaloo suggests, "That stuff can burn, and Pinkie's always got plenty of it around for her cupcakes."

"I guess that could work," Sweetie Belle concedes, though clearly not very convinced of the potential efficacy of hot sauce on vamponies. "We're going to have to make up for not using solar water though, so we'll need something a lot smellier than garlic."

Applebloom's eyes light up, "What about manure? We got plenty of that back at the farm, and it's one of the smelliest things Ah know of. We can pick up one of the old pieces of wood lyin' around there for a stake too!"

Scootaloo jumps over to her scooter and revs up her wings, "Sounds like a plan! Hop on girls, let's go get that hot sauce!"

Wonderbolt Scootaloo speeds past her competition, weaving around them with practiced ease.

"Hey!"

"Watch it!"

A grin spreads across her face at their helpless squawks as she accelerates towards the finish line, the wind streaming through her mane and caressing her heaving sides as she quickly approaches the only flier still in front of her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

Putting on a final burst of speed, she closes the remaining distance to cross the finish line an instant before the other pegasus, beating her by a mere nose.

Scootaloo and Co crash through the front door of Sugarcube Corner, which had just been nudged opened by a mint green unicorn who had been about to enter as well. The Cutie Mark Crusaders fly off the scooter and attached wagon on impacting the door, skidding along the floor until encountering the counter with a solid 'whump'. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle lay on the floor groaning while Scootaloo immediately leaps back to her hooves and takes a victory pose.

And the crowd goes wild! She continues on a victory lap, even as sweat drips from her face and barrel. Upon reaching the finish line again, she sees Rainbow Dash hovering in front of her. "That was amazing!" Rainbow Dash exclaims, "You might even be as awesome as me now!"

Sweetie Belle bops Scootaloo on the nose, breaking her out of her fantasy. Looking to her left, she sees both her friends glaring at her.

"Don't do that!"

"How're we supposed to be huntin' vamponies if we end up in the hospital?"

Scootaloo taps her hooves while looking back at them guiltily, "Err… sorry about that. I guess I got a bit carried away."

The glaring pair just roll their eyes at this.

"Is it safe to come in?" a nervous voice asks from the doorway.

The fillies look over to see Lyra Heartstrings peeking around the doorframe at them.

"Of course it's safe in here!" a cheerful voice behind them giggles, "Why wouldn't it be?"

Lyra takes another look around before entering, making sure that the Crusaders aren't about to cause any more chaos. Pinkie Pie bounces happily next to the register as Lyra walks over to place her order.

"Hi Pinkie, I'd like a mint-vanilla-swirl cupcake and a slice of double chocolate fudge brownie cake."

Pinkie Pie hops away to retrieve the desired confections, "Coming right up!"

She returns several seconds later, a bag containing the treats bouncing on her back. With a gentle buck, she sends them flying to land on the counter right in front of Lyra, "That'll be 3 bits."

Lyra levitates the bits over to Pinkie and the bag over to herself, "Thanks Pinkie."

"You're welcome!"

Having gotten what she came for, Lyra leaves the shop; the ringing of the doorbell marking her departure.

"So what can I getcha?" Pinkie inquires as she leans over the counter to look at the fillies, "I had an idea for a new type of cupcake if you want to taste test a few for me. I haven't decided what to call them yet though… Do you girls think Volcanic Cupcake or Volcanicake sounds better?"

"Umm… Volcanicakes?" Sweetie Belle offers.

Applebloom looks at Sweetie Belle, then back at Pinkie, "Ah dunno, Ah like Volcanic Cupcakes. It's more straightforward."

All eyes now turn to Scootaloo, awaiting the tie-breaking vote. She puts a hoof to her chin, considering her choices carefully. After a full minute she finally makes up her mind, "I have to go with Volcanicakes. It sounds way cooler."

"Al~right! Volcanicakes it is!" Pinkie declares, hopping high enough in her excitement for her mane to dust the ceiling, "Wait right there, I'll go get some for you to try!"

The Crusaders place their forehooves on the front of the counter, looking over just in time to see Pinkie vanish into the kitchen. A brief cacophony of noise emanates from behind the closed doors, terminated by an ominous rumble. The doors then open very slowly as Pinkie exits the kitchen, doing her best to not disturb the two plates on her back as well as a third balanced precariously on her head. Eventually making her way over to the nearest empty table, she deposits the experimental cupcakes delicately. As soon as the third plate makes its way off her head though, she returns to her happy hopping self.

"Three fresh-baked Volcanicakes ready for testing!"

Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle take a seat around the table, each in front of what may have been the most misshapen cupcake ever purposely made, appearing to have more in common with a mound of cooked dirt than anything particularly edible. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo eye their demented pastry hesitantly, while Applebloom shrugs and leans in to take a bite.

Pinkie Pie instantly tackles Applebloom, a frantic look on her face, "WAIT!!! They're not ready yet!"

"They're not?" comes the muffled question from beneath Pinkie.

"Nope! I said ready for testing, not for eating, silly," Pinkie Pie pops back up off of Applebloom and kicks the table, causing the plates to clatter. The cupcakes respond instantly with a gurgle as the top of the mounds start to crack open, releasing wisps of steam. Streams of molten caramel emerge from the cracks, making their way down the sides and pooling at the base of the sweet volcano.

The fillies watch the display raptly, "Cool~"

Pinkie giggles at their reaction, "Now they're ready. Well maybe not now now. You should probably wait for them to cool off first. So they'll be ready more of a now later."

Hearing the door bell ring, Pinkie leaves the fillies to greet her next customer. Said fillies quickly start blowing on the hot oozing mounds in front of them, eager to be able to dig into Pinkie's amazing treat.

Pinkie Pie hums happily as she trots over to the Cutie Mark Crusaders' table, her smile widening when she sees that their plates have quite literally been licked clean, "Sooo~ anypony want seconds?"

"Can't. Too full," Scootaloo moans. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom groan in agreement, their heads lying face down on the table.

"Alright, but you don't know what you're missing~" Pinkie giggles, "Oh wait, yes you do."

Applebloom raises her head slightly, adjusting her position so that her chin is resting on the table rather than her face before speaking, "We would like a bottle or two of hot sauce though."

"Sure!" Pinkie replies cheerily, "I've got hundreds of them."

Sweetie Belle mumbles something into the table, though the obstructing wood prevents her words from making sense.

Applebloom pokes her, "What'd you say Sweetie Belle?"

"I said, 'What could you possibly need that much hot sauce for?'" Sweetie Belle replies, this time rolling her head to the side before talking.

"For the hot sauce cupcakes of course! Or as I call them, Hotcakes! I had the idea a few years ago after Cheerilee said that my newest creations were 'selling like hotcakes'. But I had no idea what a hotcake even was! So I started thinking 'What is a hotcake?'. Well obviously it has to be a cake and it has to be hot and hot sauce is hot and cupcakes are a type of cake so if you put them together you get: Hotcakes!" Pinkie frowns a bit at this, her mane deflating slightly, "The hotcakes didn't sell like hotcakes though. I still don't know why, I mean they tasted great… "

She looks at the floor forlornly, remembering all the delicious pastries spit out amid cries for water. An awkward silence falls as the Crusaders glance at each other, unsure how to respond.

Eventually Applebloom speaks up, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, Ah thought the Volcanicake was amazin'."

She looks over at Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo who quickly agree.

"Yeah!"

"They were awesome!"

Pinkie Pie looks up at the three of them, her normally cheerful demeanor quickly returning. Dashing around the table in a blur, she gathers her filly friends in a tight hug, "Oh thank you thank you!"

"Pinkie… can't breath… gonna puke… " Applebloom gasps out.

Pinkie immediately releases them, her smile not diminished in the slightest, "Oops, my bad."

While the Crusaders are still recovering from her surprise hug, Pinkie picks up their dirty yet sparkling plates. After depositing the dishes in the kitchen to be washed at an undetermined date in the near future she returns, now bearing their bottle of hot sauce.

"Here you go!"

"Thanks Pinkie," Scootaloo replies. "We're going to stay for a bit longer and… digest. We're heading out to Sweet Apple Acres next, and I don't want to get cramps halfway there, you know?"

Pinkie shrugs, "Not really, but feel free to stay as long as you like!"

With that, Pinkie Pie takes her place behind the counter once again. The Cutie Mark Crusaders meanwhile slump onto the table and begin to doze…

Chapter 6 Apples

Massive clouds of dust and smoke hang in the sky, blocking out much of the sun's light from reaching the desolate and barren landscape below. Queen Sweetie Belle raises her hoof, signaling for silence as she stands atop a large black hill in the middle of this wasteland. The crowd beneath her immediately quiets, all eyes locked on her raised limb. A small, satisfied smile graces her lips as she regards her loyal subjects. With one fluid motion she lowers her hoof, stamping it into the ground.

"LET THERE BE SWEETS!!!" she proclaims to the masses. Cheers go up as the earth shakes and rumbles ominously, the ground buckling beneath her hooves to leave her floating in mid air despite her lack of wings. Cracks shoot out from her position, spreading beneath the celebrating ponies. The revelry is short lived however as again the earth shakes violently, causing many to stumble and some to fall. Liquid caramel hisses angrily as it seeps out of the cracks surrounding the newly silent ponies, their faces now adorned with fear rather than joy. They attempt to back away, but the cracks have spread far and surrounded them all. There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. A grin spreads across Queen Sweetie's face as she watches her subjects with anticipation. Her horn glows and the ground shakes violently once more, forcing the trickling caramel to surge forward. Several ponies start to scream in agony… and then suddenly cease their noisemaking. Nopony moves. Nopony breathes. A hush has fallen over the world.

…

*splat*

"Hey, it doesn't burn!" somepony shouts while rolling in the caramel. A murmur goes through the crowd upon realizing that they, too, are not being cooked alive.

The Queen collapses in a fit of laughter, falling into the pit of caramel beneath her as whatever magic held her aloft gives out. She can faintly hear her ponies partying through the mass of sticky sugar. She focuses and listens, trying to make out their words.

"Hey Sweetie Belle, wake up!"

Sweetie Belle's world rocks again before melting away as her eyelids flutter open.

"huwit?" she mumbles as the noisy, blurry blob nudges her repeatedly. She rubs her eyes and takes another look to find that the blob has now transformed into Applebloom.

"C'mon Sweetie Belle, we're burnin' daylight! We slept for three hours!" Applebloom shouts, frantically shaking her still waking friend.

Sweetie Belle jumps up at this, banging one of her knees on the table. She falls back to the ground clutching her leg as pain lances through it, removing all traces of sleepiness from her mind.

"OW!"

Applebloom, unwilling to wait for Sweetie Belle to recover, jumps over her and begins sliding her along the floor towards the door.

Sweetie Belle raises her head, annoyed, "Hey! I can walk you know!"

Hearing this, Applebloom stops pushing her and runs towards the door, "Then get up and start walkin'!"

Sweetie Belle grumbles, but rises to her hooves and limps towards the door. She waves to Pinkie before leaving, "Bye Pinkie, thanks for the cupcakes!"

Pinkie returns the wave energetically from behind a small line of customers, "You're welcome! Thanks for testing!"

Several pairs of ears perk up at this.

"You made a new cupcake?"

"Can I help test too?"

Scootaloo revs her wings impatiently as Sweetie Belle leaves the shop. As soon as she takes her seat in the wagon attached to the back of Scootaloo's scooter, the trio shoot off. Sweetie Belle holds onto the sides of the wagon as they very nearly fly around a corner, most of the world a bright, multi-colored blur.

How can she go this fast on a scooter, but can't get enough lift to fly? she wonders briefly before another sharp turn banishes the thought in favor of more survival oriented ponderings.

"Head over to the apple fields," Applebloom points once Sweet Apple Acres comes into view. "We keep the manure all way in the back."

Scootaloo and her wagon alter course to follow Applebloom's hoof, slowing down once they reach the orchard so as to avoid the roots and trunks of the apple trees that now surround them. As the minutes pass, Scootaloo's breathing becomes labored, the exertion of her mad dash earlier catching up with her.

"Are we… getting close… yet?" she asks, stopping beneath one of the many apple trees to turn and look back at Applebloom hopefully.

Applebloom sniffs the air, then shakes her head, "Not quite. Believe me, when we're close, you'll know."

Scootaloo slumps over her scooter's handles at this, groaning.

Applebloom rolls her eyes, "Look, if yer tired then we can take a break, no big deal."

"But we slept… for three hours… gotta make up the time… can rest when we… get there… " Scootaloo pants from her handlebars.

Sweetie Belle's eyes widen with a mixture of fear and disgust, "You want to rest right next to a barn full of manure?"

"Well it's not a barn, really," Applebloom corrects her. "More like a large shack."

Sweetie Belle jumps from the wagon and sits, planting her butt on the ground defiantly, "I don't care what it is, I am not going to lay down next to it."

"Fine… if you insist… " Scootaloo replies, trying to sound indifferent as she collapses off her scooter and onto the soft ground. Applebloom snickers before laying down between Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, the shade provided by the tree they had stopped next to a welcome respite from the glare of the sun. Eventually Scootaloo's breathing calms as they relax beneath the trees, surrounded by the scent of nearly ripe apples. She watches the clouds lazily drift across the sky; the wind peacefully rustling the leaves above her. Sighing contentedly, her eyelids begin to droop, mind drifting towards a new awesome dream…

Falling asleep on the job is not awesome, squirt, the voice of Rainbow Dash echoes in her head, a hint of disappointment lacing her words.

Scootaloo bolts upright, her heart hammering in her chest, I almost fell asleep again!

She frantically looks over at her friends, and to her horror she sees them snoozing next to her.

"Guys! Wake up!" Scootaloo shouts while she runs back to her scooter. The pair of sleepers stir at the noise and start to stretch, only to freeze as they realize what had nearly happened. Wasting not a second more, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle scramble to their hooves, quickly following Scootaloo to take their places in the wagon. As soon as their butts touch wood, Scootaloo flaps her wings, the trio continuing their trek deeper into the orchard.

Sweetie Belle sniffs the air, then scrunches her nose in disgust, "Is that what it smells like?"

"That is exactly what it smells like," Applebloom says as she looks around for the source of the odor, after a few seconds pointing off to her right. "Scootaloo, over there."

Scootaloo looks back and adjusts her course according to Applebloom's hoof. Less than half a minute later they arrive in a small clearing with a foul smelling wooden shack in the center. The fillies cover their noses and breath through their mouths in an attempt to lessen the stench, but instead simply trade the much reduced smell for a faint taste of the filth on their tongues. The Crusaders hesitate, not wanting to get any closer to the repulsive building, yet at the same time unwilling to turn away and abandon their mission. Seconds turn into minutes as they slowly edge their way closer to the shack's entrance while trying to breath in as little of the pungent air as possible.

After staring at the door from a few feet away for more than a minute, Scootaloo looks over at her friends, "Girls, we're only making this worse by taking it so slow. We need to just run in there, get the manure, and get out."

Applebloom nods with a resolute look on her face as she eyes the doorway that's now tantalizingly close. Sweetie Belle gulps nervously, but nods as well.

Scootaloo starts drawing in the dirt with her hoof, "Alright, here's the plan: Applebloom and I will get a running start. Sweetie Belle, you'll stay here and open the door with your magic."

Sweetie Belle sighs in relief at the prospect of not needing to get any closer to the shack, Scootaloo ignoring her and continuing her explanation, "Once we're inside, I'll get something to scoop with, and Applebloom, you'll get a bucket. I'll put a few scoops in the bucket, and then we'll carry it out here to the wagon."

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle salute, "Yes, Sir!"

The three fillies face the shack once more, determination etched on their faces as they stare down their current obstacle. Scootaloo raises her hoof in the air, "On go. Three… Two… One… Go!"

Sweetie Belle's horn glows as she focuses her magic and yanks the door open. Scootaloo and Applebloom charge towards the now open doorway. Applejack stumbles as the door she was about to open suddenly glows and swings outwards all on its own. Looking up in surprise, she barely has time to widen her eyes as she sees two filly-sized projectiles closing in.

*Thump*

Despite Applejack's larger size, the momentum of the two fillies carry them through the entrance as they bowl her over. The two buckets of manure Applejack had been carrying, one per side, go flying a short distance before succumbing to gravity, both miraculously landing a few feet away without spilling any of their contents.

"What in tarnation are you two doin' here?" Applejack asks as she gets to her hooves, "And where's Sweetie Belle?"

"I'm out here!" Sweetie Belle calls from outside.

Applejack moves to pick up the two buckets, reattaching them to the hooks on either side of the modified vest she's wearing, "Alright then, why are y'all all th' way out here?"

Applebloom fidgets, avoiding her sister's eyes, "Uhh… well… "

"We're hunting vamponies!" Scootaloo answers enthusiastically, "Cutie Mark Crusaders: Vampony Hunters!"

"Yay!" Sweetie Belle adds, still outside.

Applejack raises an eyebrow, "And why are you huntin' fer vamponies in a shack fulla manure?"

Scootaloo rolls her eyes as though it should be obvious, "We're not hunting vamponies here, we're here getting supplies!"

Applejack opens her mouth, but then closes it and shakes her head.

Ah don't know why they think they need manure fer huntin' vamponies, but Ah don't have th' time to deal with them right now.

"Well, good luck with that Ah guess," she says as she walks towards the door for a second time, stopping in the doorway. "But if word gets back to me that y'all've been dumpin' manure on somepony, there'll be a reckonin', ya hear?"

She looks at Applebloom and Scootaloo expectantly. They look back at her blankly. Applejack narrows her eyes at them.

"Ah said, 'ya hear?'"

Their eyes widen a bit and they start nodding rapidly. Applejack looks outside at Sweetie Belle who starts nodding as well. Satisfied with their responses, Applejack leaves without another word, her mind already refocusing on her current, manure-laden task.

"Huh," Applebloom looks over at Scootaloo. "Ah didn't think she'd be OK with us takin' some manure for a Crusade that easily."

Scootaloo shrugs and picks up a bucket from a shelf, "Who knows. Let's just hurry up and get out of here."

Applebloom sniffs the air as she picks up a scoop, "Ah think Ah'm getting used to it now. It doesn't smell quite so bad anymore."

"That just means we gotta get out of here even faster," Scootaloo jokes as they fill the bucket. "If we stay too much longer you might start to like it!"

"eww!" Sweetie Belle squeals in disgust.

Their task complete, the pair of Crusaders exit the seemingly-no-longer-quite-as-foul-smelling shack.

Applebloom rolls her eyes, "Oh hush Sweetie Belle, that'd never happen."

Sweetie Belle and Applebloom get back in the wagon, placing the smelly bucket next to the bottle of hot sauce. Scootaloo hops onto her scooter and looks back at Applebloom, "So, where to for the stake?"

"Just head over to the main barn, there's some left over fence posts behind it that we can use," Applebloom directs.

The Crusaders ride through the apple orchard in silence, each preoccupied with just how good untainted air smells. The trees quickly give way to open sky as they approach the center of Sweet Apple Acres. The Apple household is deserted save for Granny Smith who's sleeping on the front porch, inching back and forth on her rocking chair.

"Slow down Scoots, we don't want to wake Granny," Applebloom whispers.

Scootaloo slows at this, each drawn out squeak of the wagon all the more nerve wracking as they carefully pass the elder Apple. The Crusaders sigh in relief as soon as Granny Smith is a ways behind them, the ghost of a smile on Granny's lips the only indication of their complete lack of stealth.

With Granny apparently bypassed, the Crusaders eagerly approach the final stage of their preparations – the barn. Scootaloo wheels them around back, and they hop off to begin inspecting the various odds and ends left over from decades of unattended accumulation.

Sweetie Belle looks over the pile of junk critically, "I thought you said that the fence posts were behind the barn."

"They are," Applebloom replies as she starts sifting through the pile. "Lots of other stuff is here too though."

"Ugh, we don't have time for this, it's gonna start getting dark in a few hours!" Scootaloo complains.

"Well we're already here, so unless you'd rather waste more time goin' somewhere else-" Applebloom begins to point out.

"Yeah, yeah, get looking, I got it… " Scootaloo mutters as she starting poking through the debris as well.

Sweetie Belle quickly joins them, using her magic to delve into the remains of the many reconstruction projects the Apple farm had undergone in recent years. Several minutes pass as the trio searches for something stake-like, the pegasus and earth pony stymied by the prevalence of sharp edges and splinters, until a shout from Sweetie Belle signals her success.

"I found our stake!" she states proudly, magically grasping a long, thin, and very sharp wooden rod.

Applebloom and Scootaloo stop their search and look over to examine Sweetie Belle's find.

Applebloom nods, satisfied, "Nice stake."

"Yeah," Scootaloo agrees after inspecting it a few moments longer, "but enough staring at wood, let's go get our Cutie Marks!"

"Yay!"

"Woohoo!"

The three fillies share a highhoof and, not wasting a moment more, immediately set off for Ponyville to begin their hunt.

Chapter 7 Dawn

The Crusaders glide to a halt in the middle of one of Ponyville's many streets after a somewhat longer, yet significantly less terrifying journey back.

Scootaloo turns to look at her friends, panting, but nowhere near keeling over from exhaustion this time around, "So, what now?"

Applebloom opens her mouth to respond, but instead closes it and frowns.

"Ah don't actually know," she admits after some thought. "Any ideas, Sweetie Belle?"

"I think we need to find some vamponies first," Sweetie Belle suggests. "After all, we can't hunt them if we don't know where they are."

Scootaloo nods in agreement, winking and wiping her eye as the motion causes a bead of sweat to blur her vision, "That makes sense. How do we find them though? It's not like they're going to be just walking around."

"By investigating," Sweetie Belle replies. "You know, conducting interviews, gathering clues – like detectives, but we're looking for vamponies instead of normal ponies."

"Sounds like a Twilight-approved plan to me," Scootaloo says she tracks a fast-moving cloud trailing a rainbow, "and I think I know the first pony we should interview."

She waves her hooves at the cloud, "HEY RAINBOW DASH!"

Said cloud stops suddenly, Rainbow Dash's head appearing to one side as she searches for the source of the call. Her scan of the ground below does not last long though, the motion of Scootaloo's flailing hooves quickly drawing her attention. Smiling and returning the wave, Rainbow Dash folds her wings, allowing gravity to take hold and pull her towards the surface world. Flaring her wings an instant before becoming a rainbow pancake, she changes direction, skimming over the ground and in between startled ponies as she hurtles towards the Crusaders. At just the right moment, she plants her hooves in the dirt, wings locking to her sides as she focuses on maintaining her balance while she skids. Coming to a stop in front of the fillies, she strikes a pose, standing proudly with her wings spread wide and a cocky grin on her face. A faint breeze follows her arrival, ruffling their manes. Scootaloo squees.

"That was SO AWESOME!"

Rainbow Dash folds her wings and puffs out her chest a little, "Yeah, I get that a lot. So what's up, little sis?"

A silly grin spreads across Scootaloo's face as a giddy warmth infuses her body, I still can't believe I have an older sister now and she's Rainbow Dash, even if it's not 'official' or whatever yet.

She shuffles her wings, preparing to answer her idol.

Applebloom, however, cuts her off before she even begins to speak, "We were wonderin' if you knew anythin' about the vampony attack last night."

"That? Yeah, everypony's heard about that by now," Rainbow snickers. "I'm surprised I haven't seen Rarity around yet, usually she's all over this kind of thing."

Applebloom shrugs, "We asked Twilight earlier, and she said Rarity went on a surprise trip to Cloudsdale last night."

"Yeah, after she spaced out for like a minute," Scootaloo adds.

Rainbow Dash frowns, faint warning bells going off in the back of her head, "That's… usually not a good sign. Anyway, as for the attack," she shrugs, "there's really not much to tell. Derpy got hurt, so Turner's staying with her in the hospital, and they're keeping the vampony in the hospital too since it also got hurt."

"Wait, that's it?!" Sweetie Belle asks, voice cracking under the weight of her incredulity.

Rainbow Dash nods in agreement, "Yeah, it's pretty underwhelming. I mean, a real live blood-sucker attacks somepony and it's like nopony's even bothered about it. I expected some Guards to show up at least, ya know?"

Scootaloo salutes, followed by Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, "Have no fear Rainbow Dash, the Cutie Mark Crusaders: Vampony Hunters are here!"

"Heck yeah!" Rainbow Dash laughs, raising a hoof, "C'mon, don't leave me hanging."

They all tap hooves and let out a cheer.

Rainbow Dash's smile fades and she sighs, the chains of her responsibilities insistently tugging on her mind, "Too bad I have to get back to work, otherwise I'd totally help you guys out."

"You could skip work and help us out anyway," Scootaloo suggests hopefully.

Rainbow Dash chuckles, "Sorry squirt, no can do. These clouds aren't going to move themselves and I'm not about to abandon my team during a job for anypony, mysterious vamponies included."

Scootaloo lowers her head, ears drooping as she stares at the ground, "Fine… "

Rainbow Dash tousles her mane, "Hey, you can tell me all about your awesome adventure tomorrow, alright?"

Scootaloo perks up at Rainbow's words and she nods excitedly.

Rainbow Dash smiles at her soon-to-be-adopted sister's response, stands, and flexes her wings, "Well, I gotta get back to work. See ya!"

With that she shoots into the air to resume her assignment, trailing her signature array of colors. The Cutie Mark Crusaders watch her speed away before jumping aboard their preferred method of transportation, a new destination in mind.

As soon as the hospital comes into view, Scootaloo abruptly brings her scooter to a stop and jumps into a nearby bush.

Peeking out from beneath her cover, she urgently motions for her passengers to follow, "Girls! Get over here!"

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle look at each other, then over at the rustling bush containing their frantically gesturing friend. Shrugging, they calmly climb out of the wagon and follow her into hiding. Applebloom peers from their shelter, examining the surrounding area in an attempt to find whatever had caused Scootaloo to freak out. Seeing nothing, she glances back at her.

"So why're we in a bush?"

Scootaloo scans the road outside their bush, eying every passing pony suspiciously, "I was thinking about what Rainbow Dash said, about how it's weird that nopony seems to care, and she's right. I mean, some ponies here faint from a rabbit stampede, there should be riots in the streets right about now! Even Twilight's just sitting around in her library doing nothing instead of going nuts about researching like she usually does when new stuff shows up. Something is definitely not right in Ponyville."

*eep*

Both pairs of eyes turn to Sweetie Belle, the filly having somehow managed to become even paler despite her nearly pure white coat.

"You alright?" Applebloom inquires, flicking an ear as a stray breeze causes a branch to poke it.

"Thralls… " Sweetie Belle whispers. "They're all thralls."

Applebloom again looks out at the many ponies beyond the border of their bush, then returns her gaze to Sweetie Belle, "They're what now?"

"They're thralls," she repeats. "Powerful vamponies can take control of the minds of normal ponies by looking into their eyes, enthralling them. Once that happens, they're servants to their vampony master until either the vampony killed, the thrall is purified by solar magic, or the vampony willingly releases them."

Applebloom pats her on the back, "See? This is why you're the vampony expert."

Scootaloo continues watching the ponies outside their bush, "We'll need to sneak into the hospital then. If it already got to Twilight, there's no telling who could be under its control by now."

The trio bide their time until nopony is looking before rushing to the next subshrub, a blur of motion and a faint rustle the only indication of their presence. Peeking from their new hiding place, they wait patiently for the right moment to advance, incrementally approaching their goal over the course of an hour.

Scootaloo examines the final patch of ground separating them from the shrubs lining the west side of the hospital, "Alright, almost there! Ready girls?"

"Ready!" Sweetie Belle and Applebloom reply in unison.

They take one last look around to make sure nopony is watching, then make a break for it.

"We made it!" Sweetie Belle declares happily as she and her friends burst through the leaves. "Now we just need to find out where it's hiding and-"

Sweetie Belle's voice is abruptly cut off as she trips over something lying in the bushes.

"Ow… what was that?"

She looks up to see her friends staring at whatever she had tripped over, eyes wide with fear. Following their gaze, she observes a yellow-brown filly lying next to her. A filly with bat wings, tufted ears, and sharp teeth visible inside her slightly open mouth. Sweetie Belle's eyes widen to match the other Crusaders' as she hastily scrambles away from the little vampony. Said vampony stirs, stretches, and opens her eyes, blearily scanning her surroundings for the source of the commotion. Sweetie Belle desperately searches for the stake they'd taken from the Apple's farm, but finds nothing but air. Scootaloo and Applebloom likewise reach for the manure and hot sauce they'd procured earlier, only to turn up empty hooved. Realization simultaneously strikes the Crusaders like a bolt of chain lightning, three pairs of eyes snapping towards where they'd left the wagon over an hour ago.

"We forgot everything in the wagon!" Sweetie Belle screams, "What do we do?!"

Scootaloo jumps at the waking filly, "Get her!"

Sweetie Belle and Applebloom follow her lead, lunging at the vampony. With a startled hiss, the vampony dodges, spreading her wings and taking off into the sky with a couple quick flaps. Unable to change direction mid air despite their frantic flailing, the Crusaders collide in a disorganized pile of limbs, manes, and tails. Dazed, they hear a screech immediately followed by another impact as the vampony falls on top of them.

*whump*

The Crusaders quickly disentangle themselves, pushing the vampony off in the process. Once again standing, they prepare for battle – only to find their target cowering on the ground with her hooves over her eyes.

"W-Who's there?" she asks, her voice quavers as she speaks.

"We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders: Vampony Hunters!" Scootaloo proclaims proudly, puffing out her chest in an imitation of Rainbow Dash.

The cowering filly starts visibly shaking at this, "V-Vampony h-hunters?"

"Hold on girls, this doesn't feel right," Applebloom says, pointing at the filly before them. "Ah mean look, she's absolutely terrified. Heck, she's even cryin'. Are you sure she's actually a vampony?"

The vampony bristles at this, fear forgotten in the face of righteous indignation, "I AM a vampony and I AM NOT crying! The sun just attacked my eyes causing water to come out."

"So you're crying," Sweetie Belle states flatly.

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

Scootaloo waves her hooves, "Girls! Focus! She just admitted to being a vampony, so we have to get her to de-enthrall everypony, remember?"

"Oh yeah."

"Right!"

Once again united, the three ponies turn to face their vampiric counterpart.

Dawn risks removing her hooves from her stinging eyes to glare at the three ponies opposite her, the shifting speckles of pure sunlight filtering through the imperfect barrier of leaves and branches forcing her to narrow her eyes further.

I am not crying! she thinks angrily, deliberately ignoring the wet lines originating from her eyes.

The red and yellow one takes a step forward, "So are ya gonna free our friends or what?"

Dawn does her best to cast an annoyed look at the pony despite her eyes being almost shut, "What do you mean 'free your friends'?"

The orange pegasus glares back at her, "Don't play dumb with us, we know you've been brainwashing everypony with your vampony mind powers!"

"I-What? But-"

"You heard me," the pegasus cuts her off. "And we also know that you're using the hospital as your base as you slowly take over the town so that… you can… uhh… "

"So that you can turn Ponyville into your own personal feeding ground while you build up your strength and amass an undead army of our friends and family with which to conquer all of Equestria!" the white unicorn finishes with a crescendo.

The other two ponies stare at their friend, stunned.

"Wow Sweetie Belle, that was… dark," the orange one finally remarks.

Dawn stands perfectly still, dumbstruck at the absurdity of the unicorn filly's statement while the earth pony nods in agreement – before her eyes are suddenly tainted by fear as a realization sets in.

"Wait, that's yer plan?!" she looks, horrified, at Dawn then at Sweetie Belle, whom she begins to shake rapidly, "Oh my gosh we're DOOMED! DOOOOMED!!!"

"HOLD I~T!" Dawn yells above the screaming, interrupting the earth pony's panic attack and drawing all eyes to her. She glares back at them, daring any of the fillies to start screaming again.

When they are not forthcoming, she continues, "OK, first off, vamponies do NOT have any weird mind control powers. Second, we can't turn ponies into undead minions. Third, I haven't done anything to your friends. Well, unless you're friends with the muffin one, in which case I drank some of her blood. So I suppose it would be more accurate to say that I haven't hurt any of your friends. Fourth-"

"Hold on a second," the pegasus objects. "How can you drink somepony's blood without hurting them? Doesn't that involve, you know, biting? With fangs? Vamponies do have fangs at least, right?"

Dawn bares her teeth at them in a predatory smile, "Yup."

"Cool… " the orange one murmurs. Her friends appear much less impressed however, flinching away from the razor sharp teeth. Dawn pretends to snap at them, giggling as they scramble backwards.

"'Cool' is not the word Ah would use for that, Scootaloo," the earth pony mutters.

"Yeah, more like 'creepy'. And how can you possibly not hurt anypony when you bite them with teeth like," Sweetie Belle shivers, "those?"

"Well, see," Dawn lifts her upper lip to reveal one of her canines, "these aren't my full grown fangs. They'll be a lot longer when they come in, so I'll be able to feed without taking a chunk out of anypony, but that won't happen until I get my cutie mark."

She looks away sheepishly, scuffing the ground with a hoof, "Which… I don't have. So until then I have to hunt wi-"

"Wait wait wait," Scootaloo interrupts again as she focuses on Dawn's flank. "You don't have your cutie mark?"

Dawn's ears droop dejectedly, "No… "

"Neither do we!" Scootaloo excitedly shows her own blank flank to Dawn, "You should totally become a Cutie Mark Crusader!"

"Now hold on just a minute," the earth filly interjects. "Ya can't just go and invite random ponies without consultin' with the rest of us."

"Oh come on Applebloom, it'll be so awesome!" Scootaloo counters, practically vibrating with excitement.

Applebloom knits her eyebrows, clearly not convinced, "Ah dunno… Ah mean we just met her like five minutes ago."

"So?"

"And she drinks pony's blood."

"Well duh, she's a vampony."

"And she's got teeth like a timberwolf."

"Applebloom. She is a vampony."

"Does none of that bother you at all?"

"Nope!"

"Well… she hasn't tried to attack us or mind control us or turn us into undead abominations, so she's clearly not evil," Sweetie Belle interrupts to inject some of her own reasoning. "So I think we should give her a chance."

"Ah suppose yer right," Applebloom relents, cracking a small smile which quickly grows into a large one. "Everypony deserves a chance, even the creepy bloodsucking ones."

Scootaloo pumps her hoof, "Yes!"

The three fillies face their new potential recruit grinning widely, all fear now long since forgotten.

Scootaloo hops in place, buzzing her wings, "Well? Will you join?"

Dawn eyes the fillies, wary at their sudden shift in demeanor, "Uhm… I'm not saying no, but I mean, what even is a 'Cutie Mark Crusader'?"

"Well, ya see… uh… " Applebloom pauses, perplexion followed by embarrassment. "Ya know, Ah don't think we ever introduced ourselves actually. Ah'm Applebloom."

"I'm Scootaloo."

"I'm Sweetie Belle."

"And we're," they pause for dramatic effect, "THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!! YAY!!!"

Dawn winces at the fresh bout of shouting, a faint headache making itself known, "OK, that's great, but what do you actually do?" She pauses, "Oh, and I'm Dawn."

"We try and help each other to get our cutie marks by doing all kinds of fun activities together to see if we get our cutie marks in them!" Scootaloo answers, still hopping, "We've tried bowling, pillow testing, critter sitting, potion making… all sorts of things!"

Dawn cocks an eyebrow, "Like vampony hunting?"

Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle collectively wince.

"Yeah… about that, we kind of thought that vamponies were evil undead monsters and ya'll were set on takin' over Ponyville," Applebloom admits sheepishly.

"That's ridiculous," Dawn says, rolling her eyes before looking at them hopefully. "Do you really think you can help me get my cutie mark though? I've been trying to find my special talent for ages but nothing ever seems to fit."

"Ah don't know," Applebloom places an encouraging hoof on her shoulder, "but what Ah do know is that it'll be a lot more fun tryin' to find it with some friends."

Dawn nibbles her bottom lip, many long and arduous years of practice allowing her to do so without drawing blood, "I guess that'd be nice. There aren't really a whole lot of other vamponies living around here besides my family, so I've never had any friends my age before."

"It's settled then!" Scootaloo proclaims, "Welcome Dawn, to the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

Chapter 7.5 Teacher's Day Off

Cheerilee's pen lands on the final question of the final math quiz from the previous week, her eyes flicking from the gracefully written solution to her answer key laying beside it. Placing a red check next to the question's number, she quickly tallies up Diamond Tiara's points to a total of 15.5/17, circling her score of 91%, and after a moment's thought drawing a small, smiley sunflower next to it. Then with a happy flourish she flips it onto the pile of papers containing the rest of the quizzes, the satisfying thump of her hoof somewhat muffled by the obstructing sheets.

Leaning back from the table, she stretches, her gaze roaming the inside of her home which is lit by the afternoon sunlight streaming in through a pair of front windows onto a row of appetizing and diversely colored flowering plants sitting atop a row of cabinets. A dimmer beam filters through a smaller circular side window to her right, landing between four shelves attached to the wall at various heights leading towards the front and a dark yet somehow luminous green loveseat ending a few feet from her table. A weak glare reflects off the wall to her left, most of it having been covered with thin-framed photos of the friends she had made in Ponyville. Stray rays diverted by the hanging memories make their way past her through two partially opened doors to the darkened kitchen and bedroom behind her. With a sigh, she sits forward again, tidying up the newly graded pile into a neat stack before turning her attention to all that remains of her collected homework: a short essay.

Wheels: Why They Are Awesome

By: Snails

Her elation at her near completion rapidly dims as she starts to read, lips pursing while she expertly corrects a myriad of errors with surgical precision. However, in the middle of the second page her red pen comes to a halt, her eyes repeatedly scanning a particularly long and utterly confusing sentence. After two minutes tick past, she admits defeat, opting to simply underline the offending words and place a pair of question marks in the margin. Continuing on to the next sentence her pen stops again, the first four words the only ones seeming to make any sense.

As I stated above,

A groan rumbles in her throat as she allows her head to fall to the tabletop, Snails' essay failing to provide any cushioning.

"…oww… "

*knockknockknock*

"It's open!" Cheerilee calls out, her voice muffled by the hard wood of the table.

Her ears prick up as the doorknob turns, familiarly heavy hoofsteps making their way over to her.

"So, how's the gradin' goin'?" a stallion's deep voice asks.

Cheerilee sighs in response, raising her head to look at her visitor only to find her view blocked by Snails' essay sticking to her forehead courtesy of the large, but extremely necessary, amount of red ink added to it.

Big Mac chuckles, "That well huh?"

Cheerilee unsticks the sheet from her face, placing it back on the table, "Do you mind if I finish this up? It's literally the last thing I need to do."

Big Mac shakes his head, setting down his lumpy saddlebags and taking a seat on the couch, "Take yer time. Easier ta have fun when there isn't more work hangin' over yer head fer afterwards."

"Thanks," Cheerilee replies, returning her focus to the essay. A few minutes later she caps her pen and leans back again, holding up the graded essay with mock disappointment. "You need to work on your sentence structure Mister Apple; I could barely read parts of this."

Big Mac lays a hoof on his forehead, swooning at the sight of the red-scarred paper, "Ah'm sorry Miss-whoa!"

Bumping into the far hoofrest he wobbles for a split second before toppling, gravity bringing the back of his head into contact with the floor resulting in a solid *thump*.

Cheerilee exhales sharply, holding back laughter, "Are you alright?"

The rest of Big Mac's body follows his head to the ground, eliciting a second thump, "Eeyup."

Getting to his hooves, he looks at the reddened homework again, "That ain't Applebloom's, is it?"

Cheerilee shakes her head, "No, and it's actually not as bad as it looks. It was submitted early so I could take a look and give some feedback, so I graded a bit harder than I normally do."

Big Mac blinks in surprise, "Huh. Well, it's good to have that kind a' motivation at least, 'specially at their age."

"I agree, though I wish they'd remember half the things I tell them to fix," Cheerilee grumbles. "Anyway… " her eyes cross for a moment as she looks towards the red smudge on her forehead, "I'm going to go clean up before we head out; it should only take a minute."

Big Mac tilts his head thoughtfully, "Ah dunno, Ah think it looks rather nice on you."

"Oh ha ha," Cheerilee says sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she heads into her bedroom.

True to her word, she reappears after one minute; red mark removed, mane combed, and a faint yet sharp scent hanging about her.

Big Mac sniffs the air, "Oranges?"

"Nope!" Cheerilee mimes air quotes, "'Tropical Citrus'!"

Big Mac stares at her blankly, "So… oranges?"

Cheerilee sighs, "Yeah, pretty much."

"Fine then, prove they don't exist," Lyra challenges, narrowing her eyes at the pony sitting beside her.

Bon Bon rubs her temples, "That's not how this works Lyra; you're the one saying something exists, so you're the one that needs to prove it."

Lyra throws her hooves into the air, "But I-"

The hanging door bell at Sugarcube Corner's entrance interrupts her, ringing lightly after getting smacked by the opening door.

Lyra waves one of her raised hooves at the newcomers, "Hi Big Mac! Hi Cheerilee! You're late!"

Bon Bon prods Lyra's side, pointing to the Cutie Mark Crusaders resting at the table next to them, "Shh, do you want to wake them up?"

"I mean, they've slept through everything so far," Fluttershy points out from her place at Lyra's other side. "I doubt talking a little bit louder than normal will wake them up."

"Hi girls," Cheerilee says, her and Big Mac walking from the register towards their table a few bits lighter, but many calories heavier. Setting down their saddlebags next to their spots and their chosen plates of sweets in front of them, they turn to their friends, "Did we miss anything?"

"Yes, you did," Lyra taps the table with a hoof. "Princess Twilight is hiding the existence of humans."

Bon Bon rolls her eyes exasperatedly, "No she's not, Lyra."

"Yes she is!" Lyra insists, "I heard her talking about fingers the other day! Fingers, Bon Bon. And do you know what has fingers?"

"…Minotaurs?" Fluttershy asks hesitantly as Lyra's horn glows to life.

Ignoring Fluttershy's more logical answer, Lyra pulls a large, worn book from one of her saddlebags, flipping it open to a bookmark and pointing, "Humans do! And according to this their hair grants good luck, they can heal any injury with just a touch, and drinking their blood makes the drinker immortal."

"Immortal like, say, an Alicorn," Lyra continues, glancing among her friends conspiratorially. "And do you know where I found this? In Twilight's house."

Lyra folds her forehooves and smiles smugly at her friends, backed up by her gathered evidence.

"So what yer sayin' is: a library has a book on mythical creatures?" Big Mac asks, unimpressed.

Lyra glares at him, "They aren't mythical."

Big Mac shrugs, "Well, maybe they are, maybe they aren't. But this," he pulls a bottle of cider from his saddlebag, "is definitely real."

Lyra hesitates as Big Mac distributes the bottles of cider he brought, however after a few seconds she gives in to temptation and begrudgingly accepts the offered beverage.

Big Mac takes a swig from his bottle, "Though, speakin' a' mythical creatures, Ah heard a bunch a' folks talkin' about vamponies on my way into town."

"That's because there was a vampony attack last night," Fluttershy replies, sipping her cider.

Lyra sullenly stares at the drink in front of her, "Oh fine, humans don't exist, but vamponies? They're totally real."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean – I'm sure humans exist somewhere Lyra," Fluttershy says sympathetically. "It's just that one of the ponies they took to the hospital was definitely a vampony."

Four pairs of ears perk up at her words, Bon Bon and Cheerilee sitting straighter.

"The nurses asked for me to come in since the vampony was injured and I know a lot about bats, and she looked full grown with the wings and teeth and everything," Fluttershy continues after eating a cookie from the plate in front of her. "Actually I was too scared to go in at first, but Twilight showed up a few minutes after I did and we went in together."

Big Mac glances around the shop, then out the front window, "Huh. The town's still in one piece too."

Fluttershy nods, "She took it fairly well."

Lyra places her elbows on the table, hooves coming together in front of her mouth while her eyes stare off into the distance, "Did she now… "

Bon Bon pushes Lyra's hooves back to the table, "Lyra, we've been over this; Twilight isn't a vampony."

"But Bon Bon~" Lyra protests, "her name is Twilight."

"Yes," Bon Bon replies, "a name her parents gave her long before those books were even written."

Lyra folds her forelegs, "But-"

Bon Bon interrupts her, "Does Twilight sparkle?"

"Well I don't know, does Twilight Sparkle what?" Lyra asks, smirking. "That's an incomplete sentence, Bon Bon."

Bon Bon groans, dropping her face into her hooves.

"You did kind of walk right into that one," Fluttershy admits, taking a bite of another cookie.

Lyra giggles, popping one of her donut holes into her mouth. Quick as a snake, Bon Bon's head rises from her hooves and shoots over to her plate, devouring another of Lyra's holes.

"Hey!"

Lyra levitates one of Bon Bon's mini-cupcakes over and licks off the frosting in retaliation, maintaining eye contact while she slowly runs her tongue over the cupcake's now slick surface. Bon Bon narrows her eyes, following Lyra's tongue as it repeatedly flicks over a small bump.

Fluttershy blushes.

Big Mac laughs.

Cheerilee steals a bite of his cheesecake.

Big Mac straightens, deeply offended and staring at Cheerilee with a look of utter shock.

Cheerilee withdraws back to her plate, "Um… sorry?"

Taking advantage of her lowered guard, he swipes some of her fudge. However, before she can launch a counterstrike, Lyra attempts to spear another piece of fudge with a straw, Cheerilee only barely managing to intercept her with a fork.

Fluttershy encircles her plate with her hooves and wings, munching on her cookies warily while watching the pair dual.

"We're really sorry about the mess," Fluttershy apologizes, glancing between the disaster zone left behind from their sugar-fueled battle and Mrs. Cake. Crumbs cover the table and a few feet of the floor surrounding it, a dark smear of fudge drawn one quarter of the way around the table's edge and a thick white line of cheesecake crossing the trail of fudge perpendicularly at one end. A half eaten cookie rests between the somehow still sleeping Cutie Mark Crusaders, a stray crumb from its aerial pass resting atop Scootaloo's mane.

Mrs. Cake smiles patiently, "Believe me dearie, it's fine; Pinkie Pie makes a bigger mess on an almost daily basis. Why just earlier today she managed to coat a quarter of the kitchen in caramel."

"We can help you clean it up," Bon Bon offers. "Our mess, I mean."

Mrs. Cake shakes her head, "Thank you, but there's no need. I'll have it sparkling again in 15 minutes on my own anyway."

"Still," Bon Bon hedges, "if we can help you finish faster… "

Mrs. Cake waves her concern away, "Really, it's fine." She laughs, "Besides, if ponies heard I was making customers clean up their own leftovers, why I'd never make another sale again."

Bon Bon tries to speak once more, but before she can say anything Lyra groans, "By Celestia's beard Bon Bon, she said it's fine. What do you want her to do, buck you out the door?"

Bon Bon embarrassedly lowers her head, "Right, sorry, we'll get out of your mane."

Picking up their saddlebags, the group finally takes their leave, stopping a few feet clear of the entrance.

"Alright, where to now?" Big Mac asks.

Lyra's hoof shoots into the air, "I vote bowling!"

"We could head over to my cottage and play with the animals," Fluttershy suggests hopefully.

"Hmm… " Bon Bon shrugs indifferently, "No preference, I'm up for anything."

"Bowling sounds like fun," Cheerilee says after weighing the options. "It's been a while since I've bowled."

"Me too," Big Mac agrees. "Ah've never actually been bowling before, ta be honest."

"As it has been spoken, so shall it be," Lyra declares solemnly, marching off in the direction of the bowling alley. "Onward my friends!"

Turning the corner from Main Street to Mane Street, Fluttershy spots a familiar pair of ponies across the way dining under an umbrella on the cobblestone patio outside La Prairie.

"I wonder what Rarity and Twilight are doing there," Fluttershy wonders aloud, the rest of her group pausing to look at her other friends as well. "Does anypony mind if we stop and say hello?"

"Ah don't mind," Big Mac replies, "but are you sure that's such a good idea? They seem kinda tense."

As they watch, Twilight nervously takes a sip of her water while Rarity pointedly keeps her eyes on her food.

Fluttershy glances back and forth between the two worriedly, "Oh… I hope everything is alright."

Lyra gasps, "What if they're on a date?"

"I-I don't think they're interested in each other in t-that way," Fluttershy sputters, blushing. "I think I'll um… I'll just go see what's going on."

Engrossed as they are in their own lack of conversation, Twilight and Rarity fail to notice the five approaching ponies, neither looking up until Fluttershy clears her throat, "Hi Twilight, hi Rarity."

Twilight starts, "Oh! Hi Fluttershy. And Cheerilee and Big Mac and Lyra and Bon Bon. I didn't even notice you walk up."

"Yes, we were just so wrapped up in our own little world that we didn't even notice one of our best friends was only a few feet away," Rarity agrees, a cold undercurrent in her tone.

"Ah-haha ha… yeah… " Twilight laughs awkwardly, taking another sip of her drink.

Lyra walks up next to Fluttershy, leaning over the decorative iron fence surrounding the patio, "So, I guess your date isn't going too well then?"

Twilight's eyes widen and she pulls away from her glass, hitting herself in the chest a few times while she coughs to clear her lungs of incorrectly swallowed water.

Rarity glares at Twilight, daintily dabbing a few drops of spittle mixed water from her face.

"Sorry," Twilight apologizes, ears lowers sheepishly.

"Oh my gosh, are you alright?" Fluttershy asks anxiously.

Twilight nods, taking a couple deep breaths, "I'm fine, just went down the wrong pipe."

Reassured of her continued wellbeing, Fluttershy turns to Rarity, "Did something happen? You seem… angry."

"Yes, in fact something did happen. Twilight teleported Caramel and I all the way up to Cloudsdale, and then abandoned us there," Rarity stabs at her mushroom soup with her floating spoon. "I had to sleep on the street and was rudely awoken this morning by some pegasus colts kicking a raincloud over me, which left my mane and tail an absolute mess. And then a Wonderbolt patrol flew by and didn't believe me when I said I was 'the' Rarity, fashionista and Element of Generosity; they thought I was the daughter of some Canterlot noble who had gotten drunk at a party! So not only was I stuck there overnight, but instead of getting to meet the vampony I spent the night sleeping like a hobo and the morning in jail!"

Fluttershy covers her mouth with her hooves, "That sounds awful."

Rarity leans back, tilting her head slightly to the side and raising her hoof to her forehead, "It was an extremely traumatic experience from which I am unsure I shall ever truly recover."

Fluttershy returns her focus to Twilight, "I am just a little bit confused though; why did you go to Cloudsdale? And how did you even know where it was?"

"All the princesses are kept up to date on Cloudsdale's location," Twilight explains. "And I uh… didn't actually mean to end up there at all. Rarity said the vampony was in the hospital and I was really tired, so I accidentally teleported to the Cloudsdale Hospital instead of the Ponyville one. Then she pointed out that we were in the wrong place and I just kind of spaced out and left her there. So back to what Lyra said, this isn't a date so much as it is an apology."

"A very expensive apology," Cheerilee notes, observing the few other occupied tables.

Twilight laughs self-consciously, "Yes, yes it is."

"Especially for three ponies," Bon Bon adds. "All monster hunting, problem solving, and fate of Equestria-ing aside; there are definitely some benefits to being a princess, huh?"

Twilight looks at her uncertainly, "What do you mean 'three ponies'?"

Bon Bon shuffles her hooves, "Well, I mean, Rarity said you teleported both her and Caramel to Cloudsdale, so I assumed he was here somewhere too."

Twilight's eyes glaze over and she stares up at the few fluffy white clouds floating beneath the blue sky overhead.

Rarity's demeanor mellows and she hides a small smile behind a hoof, "Oh Twilight, you didn't."

Twilight groans in response, her face falling to meet her mostly full plate of Appleloosan little bluestem salad. A second groan follows, this one muffled by the food.

The five ponies standing exchange amused looks, Big Mac speaking up, "Sooo, uh, it was nice catchin' up with you both, but it sounds like you've got some things to work out, so we'll get out of your manes."

Rarity and Twilight, head still smushed into her plate, wave goodbye as the group departs to continue on their crosstown journey.

Reaching the end of the recently renamed Twilight Sparkle Avenue, Cheerilee, Big Mac, Bon Bon, Lyra, and Fluttershy enter an open area containing Boomerang Bowling at its center.

Bon Bon pauses, cocking an ear after only a couple steps, "Does anypony else hear that?"

Lyra continues trotting forward, "Nope!"

"Ah hear somethin'," Big Mac says, stopping to listen as well.

"And now, the Clever and Illusive Trixie requires a volunteer!"

Though shops block her view, Fluttershy looks in the direction of the familiar speaker, "Oh dear."

Quickly making their way towards the source of the voice, they come upon a small crowd one road over. A worn wooden stage rises at its center, Trixie standing proudly next to a nervous Snips.

Trixie looks him in the eye, "Now, Trixie needs you to stand very still."

Snips glances at the crowd, then back to her, "O-Ok."

Strutting to one end of the stage Trixie pirouettes to face him. Rearing, a spark of light begins to travel up the groove of her horn. As soon as it reaches the tip, her hooves slam onto the stage, triggering an ominous rumble of thunder despite the mostly clear sky. Snips takes a step back, eyes widening in shock as three more Trixies gracefully step out of her form.

"We Trixies thought you were told to stand still," the Trixies reprimand him haughtily, speaking in eerie unison.

Snips gulps, "Sorry."

Walking to either side, the Trixies encircle him. Scrunching their faces, they focus intensely, horns lighting up simultaneously to emit a glowing white ball of energy to hover two feet above them. Thin beams of multi-colored light shoot out of the floating orbs in every direction and the Trixies' horns glow brighter. All at once the beams from the four orbs focus themselves on Snips, surrounding him in a brilliant halo for a split second before vanishing in a flash of light.

Snips rubs his eyes along with the rest of the crowd and turns a circle uncertainly, "W-What happened?"

Snails watches his friend in amazement, "Whoa… dude, look at yourself!"

Snips does so, gasping as he sees his sparkling mane and crystalline body, "Dude, I'm a crystal pony!"

The crowd 'oohs' and 'aahs' but after a minute and a half Trixie's magic gives out, the illusion fading first from his hooves then working its way across the rest of his body.

Snips prods his tail to no avail, "Aww… "

Trixie wipes sweat from her forehead, looking out at the muttering crowd anxiously. Behind her, somepony cheers. From that pony approval quickly spreads through all assembled until the entire crowd is stamping their hooves and cheering.

Trixie beams and bows, then bows again, Snips taking the opportunity to hop off the stage and out of the spotlight, "Thank you everypony, and remember to spread word of Trixie's return! Trixie will be performing again this evening at sunset!"

The show now over, the crowd begins to dissipate, ponies chatting happily amongst themselves as they walk away. Looking out at her former audience, Trixie sees one pony winding her way against the tide however, another four following in her wake.

Walking over to the edge of her stage, she looks down at the mare standing below her, "Is there something Trixie can do for you? Trixie will not be performing any more tricks until the next show."

One of the mares standing behind the first waves, "Hi Trixie!"

Trixie blinks and waves awkwardly, "Hello… um… whoever you are."

"Oh yeah, we've never met have we? I'm Lyra," The second mare smiles, pointing to herself and her companions in turn, "and this is Bon Bon, Big Mac, Fluttershy, and Cheerilee."

"I see." Trixie returns her attention to Cheerilee, "So you wished to ask something of the Clever and Illusive Trixie?"

Cheerilee nods, "I was wondering, seeing as you're not demeaning everypony around you or trying to take over the town anymore, would you be willing to perform at the schoolhouse sometime this coming week?"

A faint sneer descends upon Trixie's face, "Are you sure you can afford-"

Trixie cuts herself off with a sigh, "What Trixie meant to say, is that she does not have the spare bits to be performing for free."

Lyra looks around, confused, "Isn't that kind of what you're doing right now though? I mean you're out in the middle of the street and I don't see any place to buy tickets for your next show. Oh! Is this one of those things were you do tricks and we're supposed to put bits in your hat?"

Trixie glares at Lyra, "No, Trixie will have you know she eloquently convinced Mayor Mare to give her another chance. Trixie is not getting paid much, but repairing Trixie's reputation is more than worth it and the bits should be enough for Trixie to get to the next town."

"So our taxes are paying for your performances," Bon Bon deadpans.

"In any case, I wasn't planning on asking you to work for free," Cheerilee says forcefully, smiling. "We were about to head over to the bowling alley; if you like, we can try to work something out over a game or two."

Trixie looks at the five ponies opposite her in surprise, "You… wish for Trixie to join you? And you're all okay with that?"

Big Mac grunts noncommittally.

"I guess… " Fluttershy murmurs quietly.

"It kind of works out, actually," Bon Bon says with a shrug. "Anypony up for some three on three, best out of three?"

Lyra's hoof shoots into the air, "I am~!"

Regaining her confidence, Trixie stands taller and nods, "Very well, Trixie will join you in your game and listen to your proposal."

Immediately after entering the bowling alley, Lyra makes a beeline to the cashier, "Hey Sunny, do you have my thing?"

Sunny Smiles looks up from her game of Sudonkey, "I'm… sorry? You'll have to be a bit more specific."

"My custom bowling ball," Lyra clarifies impatiently. "I ordered it two weeks ago, should be for 'Lyra Heartstrings'."

Sunny stares at the ceiling thoughtfully, "Hmmm… no idea. I'll go check, just a minute."

Lyra prances excitedly in place while Sunny searches under the counter, then the shelves behind her.

"You said 'Lyra Heartstrings'?" Sunny asks.

"Yup," Lyra confirms.

Sunny picks up a bowling ball from the lowest shelf and brings it over the counter, white swirls spread across its dark brown surface as if the craftspony had frozen a sphere of coffee just after adding cream, "Here you go. That'll be 30 bits."

Lyra happily levitates a small bag of bits to Sunny who empties it into the register while Lyra pulls something from her saddlebags.

"Really?" Bon Bon asks as she and the others catch up.

"Yes!" Lyra declares with a grin, adjusting some of the flexible rods on her contraption.

Trixie examines Lyra's device, "Trixie is curious, what is that?"

"It's a hand," Lyra replies, matching up three of her hand's fingers into the holes in her bowling ball with her magic.

Trixie glances from the hand to Lyra, then back at the hand, "Trixie has never heard of such a thing before."

Lyra grips her ball with the hand, swinging them both around experimentally, "Humans have them."

Trixie sighs irritatedly, "Trixie has never heard of a 'human' before either."

Lyra shrugs, "I'm not surprised, they do live in an alternate dimension."

Trixie gives her a flat look, "Trixie suddenly finds herself losing interest in both humans and their hands."

"Nopony ever believes me," Lyra grumbles.

"Stop! No more talking about humans! We're here to bowl." Bon Bon walks up to Sunny Smiles and hoofs over some more bits, "Six players, three games, two lanes."

Sunny drops the additional bits into the register, pushing two buttons beneath the counter and giving them one of her signature smiles, "Alright, you'll be on lanes three and four. Have fun!"

Meeting up at their lanes after choosing their bowling balls, Lyra wraps a leg around Bon Bon, "Dibs!"

Cheerilee giggles, her and Big Mac moving to stand across the return rack opposite the two. Trixie quickly follows her potential employer, leaving Fluttershy to side with Lyra and Bon Bon. Their teams decided, they all glance at the other members of their team, waiting for somepony to go first.

Trixie sighs, stepping forward once it becomes apparent neither Big Mac nor Cheerilee are going to allow themself to go before the other, "Trixie will go first."

Taking her completely red ball from the rack, she tosses it down lane four, hitting exactly half way between pins one and three. As the ball bowls through all obstacles in its path, the pins continue to fall, leaving none standing by the time it smacks into the back of the lane.

"Nice shot," Bon Bon compliments, doing a double take when she looks back at the pins to find them standing again without the help of the pinsetter. She squints at the unperturbed pins, "Wait… what?"

"Trixie realized after her last visit to Ponyville that, on her own, Trixie would never be able to match Twilight Sparkle's raw power. However," Trixie proudly levitates her unthrown bowling ball, "Trixie has been practicing her illusion magic and precision. Trixie has found she is actually quite good at it."

Dropping her bowling ball onto her hoof, she rolls it down the lane again to get another strike. The other five watch the pins expectantly, but this time the pinsetter descends, placing another ten pins on the lane.

"That one was real," Trixie states smugly as she trots over to the scoresheet, adding her name to the paper and placing a big X under the first column.

Big Mac takes his ball from the rack, holding it delicately in his hooves as he looks down the lane.

"You can do it, Big Mac!" Cheerilee calls out behind him.

Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath, reopening them to gaze calmly at the remaining pins.

One down, nine up. Come on now McIntosh Apple, you can do this!

Stepping forward, he takes his second shot, his ball just barely staying out of the gutter to hit the left-most pin.

Cheerilee jumps from her seat to hug him, "I knew you could do it!"

Trixie's right hoof punches the air, "Yes! Trixie wins again!"

She glances around sheepishly, "Trixie means, we win again."

Big Mac adds his final point to the scoresheet, looking down the results.

Bon Bon: 100
HandsLyra: 156
Fluttershy: 10
Total: 266
------
Trixie: 213
Mac: 15
Cheerilee: 39
Total: 267

He chuckles, "Eenope, it was pretty much you."

Lyra waggles a finger in front of Bon Bon's face, "And you thought this was a silly idea."

Bon Bon rolls her eyes and gathers her ball, "It still is a silly idea, it just happened to work."

Dropping their scoresheet in the trash and, with the exception of Lyra, putting their bowling balls back where they found them on their way out, they stop in the open area outside the bowling alley.

Trixie turns to the rest of the group, "Trixie would like to thank you all for inviting Trixie along, and while Trixie has had fun, Trixie needs to get ready for her next show."

"Good luck," Cheerilee replies. "I'll see you at the school on Tuesday?"

"Trixie will be there!" Trixie declares, vanishing in a puff of dense purple smoke.

Once the smoke clears, Lyra, Bon Bon, Big Mac, Cheerilee, and Fluttershy look around, however no trace of Trixie is to be found.

"Huh, she really is getting better," Lyra comments.

Fluttershy glances in the general direction of her cottage, "I need to leave now too. I was supposed to be home half an hour ago to feed the animals and I'm sure they're getting hungry."

Lyra boops Bon Bon's nose with a finger.

"We're heading home too," Bon Bon says, smiling. "This was fun though, we should do it again."

"Eeyup," Big Mac agrees, Cheerilee nodding as well.

The four look at Fluttershy who blinks back at them, "Oh, um, I guess that would be fine… as long as nopony minds me dragging down their score."

Lyra's hand rests on Fluttershy's shoulder, "You weren't that bad – you even got a strike in the last match! You just need to throw the ball hard enough to actually reach the pins more often."

Their desire to bowl once more thus established, they bid each other farewell and head their separate ways, Fluttershy to her cottage, Bon Bon and Lyra to their home in town, and Big Mac and Cheerilee towards Sweet Apple Acres. Reaching the outskirts of Ponyville, they hear a familiar buzzing noise, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom whizzing past.

Cheerilee coughs, covering her nose in an attempt to block out a weak yet decidedly putrid stench wafting about in their wake, "Should I be worried about what that smell is?"

"It's manure," Big Mac states calmly.

Cheerilee looks back at the Crusaders just in time to see them skid around a corner, "Should we go after them?"

Big Mac shakes his head, "Eenope. Applebloom and the rest of 'em aren't foals anymore. If they aren't gonna do anythin' bad with it, then there's no reason to go after 'em, and if are… well they won't learn from their mistakes if we keep them from makin' any."

Cheerilee sends a final concerned look at the corner which the CMC had vanished behind, not quite convinced, but nevertheless turning and trotting a little faster to catch up with Big McIntosh as they continue making their way to the farm.

Upon entering the Apple family home, Big Mac raises a hoof, "Wait here."

Setting herself down by the front door, Cheerilee waits while Big Mac steps into the kitchen, tantalizingly delicious aromas entering the way he left to waft throughout the house. Her ears prick at the sound of whispers from the other room, a loud clang of metal on metal cutting them off followed by equally loud words from Granny Smith.

"Ah don't know what it is yer whisperin' about, but it'll be ready in five minutes so hold yer horses!"

Big Mac's head pokes out from the kitchen.

Cheerilee raises an eyebrow, "Five minutes?"

"Uhh, eeyup," Big Mac replies sheepishly, withdrawing to the other room once more.

Looking around while she waits, Cheerilee's eyes fall on an umbrella leaning against the wall just next to the front door. She slowly tilts her head from side to side, its creased purple canopy seemingly overlaid with a bubble-like sheen which gently swirls as her angle changes.

"Fine piece a' work innit?" Granny Smith asks from beside her, startling Cheerilee out of her hypnosis. "It's one a' the oldest Apple family heirlooms, used to belong to mah great great grandpa Apple Tree. Nopony knows how it's survived this long; some say it's blessed, others say it's haunted, even had a pair a' them Canterlot University thaumo-whatsits come by to take a look at it a couple decades ago, but they couldn't make heads or tails of it neither. But, Ah suppose listenin' to old Apple family mythology ain't the reason yer here."

She winks at Cheerilee, "You can head on in now hun, everythin's ready so long as he ain't runnin' around like a crazed turkey like he was this mornin'."

Cheerilee nods, "Thank you, Miss Smith."

Granny watches her go, turning towards the stairs to the bedrooms with a snort, "Honestly, callin' me 'Miss Smith' all formal-like. She must be just about as nervous as he is."

Cheerilee stops as soon as she sets hoof inside, eyes widening slightly as she sees a yokeless McIntosh sitting at the kitchen table facing her. Shadows cast by a pair of large apple-shaped candles placed between their seats dance across the dimly lit room, none of the sun's evening light able to penetrate the carefully blocked windows. Plates piled high with Granny Smith's best cooking and sprinkled with rose petals create a pair of particularly lumpy silhouettes shifting and stretching in time with the two flickering flames. A light scent of cinnamon permeates the air as she continues inwards, drifting past her spot at the table to cross the candle-demarcated line and stand in front of Big Mac. Placing a hoof on his chest, she reaches up to meet his lips with her own, her tongue flicking forward just short of the heat of his body.

Breaking the kiss after a time, she glances at their meal, then back at him with lidded eyes, "I can only hope the food tastes half as good as that just did."

A deep blush creeps onto Big Mac's face and he smiles warmly, "Eeyup."

Chapter 8 Sister

Dawn ducks her head slightly, glancing at her hooves, then back at her fellow Crusaders, a nervous smile working its way onto her face, "So… uhh… yay?"

Sweetie Belle shakes her head in disappointment at the pathetic display of 'yay'-ness, "Nonono, not like that."

"Yeah, you have to say it with dedication, with passion," Scootaloo chimes in, her wings buzzing with enthusiasm. "For example… "

Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo all take a deep breath, prompting Dawn to preemptively fall to the ground and cover her ears with her hooves.

"YAY!!!"

The shout goes off like a bomb, the branches of the shrub bending from the sheer force of it to momentarily reveal the dimming sky dominated by deep reds and oranges. Beneath the branches, Dawn cringes against the onslaught of sound, her body sliding back several inches across the grass. Fortunately the blast ends as quickly as it began and she stands, shaking her head a bit to clear it before looking up to find her new friends watching her expectantly.

"Alright, now you try," Scootaloo encourages her.

"yay"

"Louder."

"yay!"

"Louder!"

"YAY!"

"Put your back into it!"

Dawn sucks in as much air as her lungs can hold, "Y-*pffhaha*"

An uncontrolled exhalation interrupts Dawn's attempt to improve her shout, leaving her shaking on the ground and struggling for air.

Scootaloo blinks, the unexpected reaction pulling her out of her drill sergeant impression. She glances at her other friends before returning her focus to Dawn, a confused and slightly miffed expression on her face, "Uhh… what's so funny?"

"That doesn't… doesn't make… any sense… " Dawn gasps out between residual giggles.

"Yeah, it really doesn't Scoots," Applebloom agrees. "Ah mean you can put yer back into liftin' things and shiftin' things, but that doesn't really apply to shoutin'."

"Hmm," Sweetie Belle sits and taps her chin thoughtfully, "how about 'Put your lungs into it'?"

"I guess… I don't think it was that funny though." Scootaloo shrugs, quickly losing interest in the topic, "Anyway, you definitely need some practice, buuut I think you're good enough – for now at least."

Applebloom steps forward, helping a mostly recovered Dawn to her hooves, "Yeah, and we've got a whole bunch more important things to do now with you joinin' the Crusaders! We need to get you yer Crusadin' cape, do the induction ceremony, endure Scootaloo's super-long initiation speech – which is the real test if you ask me-"

"Hey, I revised it!" Scootaloo interjects, "It's not that long anymore, less than a page!"

Applebloom fixes her with a flat stare, "Scootaloo, it's on a scroll; the entire thing is one long page."

Sweetie Belle rolls her eyes and sighs, "Can you two stop arguing? It's going to be dark soon, so if we're going to get any of that stuff done before bed, we need to head over to the clubhouse right now."

Scootaloo waves a hoof dismissively, "We don't have to leave right now. The clubhouse isn't that far away."

"It's all the way back at Sweet Apple Acres!" Sweetie Belle exclaims, "And you'd be pulling a third pony!"

"Why would she be doing that?" Applebloom asks, raising an eyebrow, "Dawn can fly, remember? Honestly Ah'm more worried about being able to get through the initiation in time. Ah don't wanna stop halfway through and have ta start again tomorrow."

"Plus we don't even have her cape yet," Scootaloo points out, "so we'd need to somehow make her one before going to the clubhouse. We can't do the initiation without the cape after all, it just wouldn't feel right."

Sweetie Belle smiles, "Actually, I made some extras since they get ripped and dirty all the time, so we'd just have to stop by Rarity's on the way there."

"Hey!" Dawn waves her hooves to get their attention, "I don't have time for any of this stuff, I need to get into the hospital to see if my sister is ok." She squints towards the leaf-obscured sky, "Plus it's still way too bright to be going all the way out to that farm; my eyes would probably shrivel up before we got halfway there."

Applebloom pokes her head out of the shrub, the setting sun casting long shadows across the lawn in front of the hospital, "What're you talkin' about? It's not bright. Heck, the sun's goin' down, it's startin' to get dark."

Scootaloo lets out a long-suffering sigh, "Applebloom… "

"What?"

"She is a vampony."

Applebloom casts a curious look at Dawn, "So yer nocturnal or somethin'?"

Dawn nods, "Yeah. I was sleeping when you found me, actually."

Applebloom frowns, the statement not sitting well with her, "But if yer sister's in the hospital, why're you sleepin' out here?"

Dawn lowers her head, fidgeting nervously, "I was… I was scared, ok? My sister had just been attacked and hurt and she wasn't moving and then she was taken away by some ponies but nopony is supposed to know we even exist and I didn't know what to do. So I thought maybe I could just wait here for it to be night again and then sneak in and rescue her. Or something. I kind of fell asleep halfway through coming up with a plan."

"Well come on then, let's go!" Scootaloo declares as she attempts to push Dawn out of the bush, "No friend of ours is gonna be kept from visiting her injured sister!"

Dawn however resists Scootaloo's shoves by digging her hooves into the ground, though she still slowly inches forward anyway despite her best efforts.

Sweetie Belle blocks their path, placing a hoof on Dawn's chest to stop her movement entirely, "Knock it off Scootaloo, she just said it was too bright out for her. Plus it's not like we could just walk in there anyway, we'd probably cause a panic. Or at least she would."

Scootaloo stops pushing to look around Dawn at Sweetie Belle, "I doubt it. It's not like anypony freaked out about the vampony attack last night, so why would they care about one walking into the hospital?"

"Hey, that wasn't us!" Dawn protests, using the opportunity to sidestep out from between the pair of ponies, "It was the other freaky pony who attacked my sister!"

"Wait, let me get this straight. There was another vampony in the attack?" Applebloom asks apprehensively, "So there's three vamponies in Ponyville and one of them really is evil?"

Dawn shakes her head, "I don't think any other vamponies besides me and my sister would be in Ponyville right now since the sun is still up, and the pony that attacked last night wasn't a vampony either. He was… something else." She shivers.

"And y'all've been runnin' around Ponyville for how long?"

Dawn shrugs, "Well I've been here my whole life, I think the rest of my family has been here longer."

"How the heck have none of you been caught before now?" Applebloom inquires incredulously.

"We're really good at sneaking," Dawn answers with a hint of pride. "Plus, we're awake when you're asleep."

She grins, "And we can do this!"

Dawn closes her eyes and scrunches her face in concentration, her whole body tensing.

"You… can look constipated?" Scootaloo asks hesitantly after nothing happens.

Sweetie Belle facehoofs, "Really Scootaloo?"

"Grrr… it's a lot harder when the sun's out," Dawn growls. She tries again, focusing every fiber of her being into her demonstration. Without warning, her body darkens and fades, vanishing into the ambient shadow cast by the shrubs.

"Whoa~" the three still visible fillies murmur in awe.

The spell doesn't last long though, and after a few seconds Dawn suddenly pops back into existence, panting and sweating as she sinks to the ground, "That's also how I was planning on sneaking into the hospital."

"Not to say that that's not cool and all," Applebloom says, "but Ah can't really imagine you sneakin' anywhere like that. You only lasted for a few seconds."

"If the sun wasn't out it would be a lot easier," Dawn grumbles.

"So we're gonna have to wait until it's night to help you sneak into the hospital?" Scootaloo groans, "There's got to be a better way. Preferably one where we don't have to wait… " she waves her hoof dismissively at the mostly hidden sky, "however long it is we'd have to wait."

Applebloom takes another look outside the shrub, squinting at the slowly lowering sun, "Looks like it's still over an hour till sundown."

"Why don't we go ask Twilight?" Sweetie Belle suggests, "I'm sure she'd be willing to help and it would take a lot less time than waiting here for it to get dark."

Scootaloo nods enthusiastically at the timesaving idea, "All in favor say 'aye'."

"Aye"

"Aye!"

"Aye"

"Uhh… " Dawn shifts back and forth uneasily.

The other Crusaders look at her curiously.

"What's the matter, Dawn?" Sweetie Belle asks.

"It's just… " Dawn pauses for a moment as doubt tries to reassert itself, "it's just that nopony is supposed to know we exist and I'm not sure that telling somepony else about me is going to make things any better."

Scootaloo rolls her eyes, "The whole town already knows about your sister and we know about you."

"And you told us you've got other family around Ponyville too," Applebloom adds.

"Yeah, so it's a bit late to try to keep this a secret," Scootaloo finishes.

"Well when you put it that way… " Dawn nibbles her bottom lip some more. "Are you sure Twilight would be willing to help though?"

The other fillies nod confidently. Dawn shifts restlessly as she thinks, not looking overly convinced.

"I guess… " she sighs, "Alright, aye. So how is this 'Twilight' going to be able to help anyway?"

The three other fillies look at her like she'd just asked why the sun rises every day.

"Be…cause she's a princess?" Sweetie Belle answers hesitantly, thrown off by the sheer oddity of the question.

Dawn tilts her head, "She is? So she's all important and powerful and stuff?"

Applebloom furrows her eyebrows, "Uhh, yeah. Yeah she is. Do you really not know who Twilight is?"

"Umm… no… ?"

"But Ah thought you said you live here! How can you not know who Twilight is?!"

Dawn shakes her head, "I said I live in the Everfree."

"So you know Zecora at least, right?" Scootaloo asks.

"Who?"

Scootaloo sighs in frustration, "She lives in the Everfree too, she's a zebra."

Dawn's face lights up in recognition, "Oooh, I know her. Her rhyming is really annoying."

"So," Applebloom says, catching on, "if Ah said that Twilight is the alicorn that lives in a big tree, would that ring any bells?"

Dawn nods, "She is purple."

"She is lavender," Sweetie Belle corrects primly.

"Look, the point is, you know who we're talkin' about," Applebloom states, "'cause she's the one we're gonna ask for help."

Dawn again looks at them uneasily, "And you're sure she'll be willing to help?"

"She's the Princess of Friendship," Sweetie Belle reassures her, "she'll help anypony as long as they aren't plotting to take over Equestria. And even then all they have to do is apologize."

"Alright, so I'll go get Twilight, bring her back here, and then we can all go in and meet your sister," Scootaloo says as she starts to walk off in the direction where she had left her scooter.

"Wait!" Applebloom calls after her, "Yer goin' on yer own?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo replies from outside the shrub, "I'll be able to get there and back a lot faster if I don't have to pull you and Sweetie Belle along too."

Sweetie Belle's ears perk as she gets an idea, "Oh! And I'll go get a spare Crusader cape from Rarity's. You'll have your cape and you can use it to keep the sun out of your eyes!"

With that, the two fillies run off in different directions, leaving Applebloom and Dawn sitting in the shade of the shrub. An awkward silence falls as nothing is said for a few minutes.

"So… " Applebloom ventures in an attempt to break the silence, "do vamponies like apples?"

"…and that's why Princess Luna is coming to Ponyville tonight," Twilight finishes. "Does anypony have any questions?"

The assembled crowd murmurs as ponies converse with their neighbors, sharing opinions and concerns.

Twilight observes the crowd's reaction, Nervous… annoyed… a lot of indifference… I suppose there's only so many crazy things that can happen before they all start to seem normal.

A hoof goes up in the crowd.

"Yes, Rainbowshine?"

"How many of them are there?"

"I don't know."

Another hoof goes up.

"Yes, Twinkleshine?"

"Are they friendly?"

"I don't know."

A third hoof appears, bouncing up and down with its owner.

Twilight sighs, "No Pinkie, I don't know if they like parties."

Pinkie's hoof stays in the air, "You don't know if they do, or you don't know if they don't?"

"…Yes."

Pinkie sits back down, eyes narrowing as she looks off into the distance, stroking her invisible mustache contemplatively.

Twilight scans the crowd, however no more hooves are raised, "Alright, if there are no more questions, then I hope you all have a pleasant night."

With her speech finished, the crowd begins to quickly disperse, the townsponies heading back to their homes and shops. Twilight steps back from the podium and takes a deep breath, doing her best to calm her frazzled nerves. Spike meanwhile picks up her stack of notecards and begins to retrieve the ones that had dropped, making sure to place them all in the correct order.

"I'd say that went over pretty well, all things considered," Mayor Mare says as she approaches Twilight. "Are you sure we shouldn't make any preparations for Princess Luna's arrival though? I'm sure the whole town would love to help."

Twilight shakes her head, "It's too late to start, and given the current situation it would probably be more of a distraction anyway."

Mayor gives a short nod, "In that case, I'll be off as well. Good luck tonight, Princess."

Once Mayor Mare has left, Twilight leans back, closing her eyes and taking a moment to relax, the silence of the already nearly empty town square a welcome respite after a supremely hectic day. Her ears prick as a faint buzzing invades the calm atmosphere. It quickly grows louder, until it's punctuated by a yell.

"Hey!"

"Sorry~!"

Spike glances over as he picks up the last card, "Hey Twilight, CMC incoming."

Twilight scrunches her eyes tighter, trying to stay in her calm place, It's just my imagination, it's just my imagination, it's just my imagination…

Ignoring her better judgment, Twilight allows one eyelid to partially rise, taking a peak in the direction of the approaching sound only to see Scootaloo bearing down upon her.

Groaning internally, Twilight resigns herself and stands to face Scootaloo who screeches to a halt in front of her.

"Twilight! We need your help!"

Twilight sighs, "Scootaloo, I don't know what you girls are currently crusading about, but I really don't have time to help you with it. Princess Luna will be arriving soon and I need to be present when she does."

Scootaloo looks at Twilight, the filly's normally cheerful face set in an unusually grave expression, "This is way more important than saying 'hello' to Princess Luna."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asks, a dark foreboding feeling building in her chest.

"Well," Scootaloo begins, "me and the girls were going to try and get our cutie marks in vampony hunting-"

"You what?" Twilight half asks, half demands.

"Yeah… uhh… yeah," Scootaloo says avoiding Twilight's eyes. "Anyway, we went to the hospital and found a vampony in one of the bushes and attacked her."

The foreboding feeling in Twilight's chest intensifies at this, Oh sweet, sweet Celestia please tell me they didn't… they wouldn't… I mean they're just fillies…

"But it turns out that she's actually really nice and just wanted to see if her sister was ok, so we became friends. But it was bright out and she was scared after what had happened, and we said that you'd be able to help get her into the hospital since you're a princess."

"Oh thank Celestia," Twilight replies, relief rushing through her as she releases a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

Scootaloo looks at her, confused.

"I mean, of course I'll help," Twilight quickly amends. "What kind of princess would I be if I didn't?"

"Awesome! Hop on!" Scootaloo gestures at the empty wagon trailing her.

Twilight takes a seat in the wagon before turning to her assistant, "Spike, are you coming?"

"Umm… mayyybe I should go back to the library instead? You know, in case Luna arrives before you get back?" Spike asks, nervously eying the rolling safety hazard that Twilight is sitting in.

Twilight smiles appreciatively, "That's a great idea; I'll see you when I get back then."

With that, Scootaloo buzzes her wings, accelerating in the direction she had come from. Spike waves until they are out of sight, wiping some imaginary sweat from his forehead once they are no longer visible.

"Whew, that was a close one."

Chapter 9 Reunion

With the setting sun starting to fall behind the horizon, Scootaloo and Twilight arrive at the vampony-containing shrub beside the hospital. While Scootaloo immediately jumps off the scooter and heads into the shrubbery, Twilight stays put for a moment, swaying slightly.

Why didn't I just teleport? I should have just teleported. Or flown! I could have flown! Or even walked. Urgh…

Once her stomach has mostly settled from its recent ordeal, Twilight steps off the wagon, careful to distribute her weight evenly so it doesn't go flying out from under her. Upon entering the shrub, she pauses, confused, as it contains only Applebloom who is animatedly whispering something to Scootaloo.

Twilight looks at the pair critically, "Well, I'm not seeing any pony else here."

Applebloom's lips wobble with barely contained laughter, "Well, ya see Twilight, that's be-hehe-cause… she's right behind you!"

"Did you really think that I'd-" Twilight starts to ask before freezing as something falls on her back. Not a hair on her body moves as the mystery attacker pulls itself forward towards her head. Hot breath on the back of her neck is followed by a warm, wet feeling on the side of her throat accompanied by a light sucking sensation.

Many sharp points slide across her skin as the vampony detaches and whispers in her ear, "Om nom nom nom."

"AAAAAAAAAHHH!!! Get it off! Get it off!" Twilight screams at the top of her lungs, bucking wildly in an attempt to dislodge her assailant who simply clutches tighter.

As a few of her wits return, Twilight stops and teleports herself, leaving her attacker floating in the air for an instant before falling onto the grass with a soft thump. She pants as she looks around for the vampony, wild-eyed and horn glowing, only to instead see three fillies rolling on the ground laughing.

"S-sorry Twilight," Applebloom apologizes, wiping tears from her eyes, "it was just too temptin'."

Twilight takes several deep breaths to calm herself, the glow surrounding her horn fading away. With a slight grimace of disgust she wipes the residual saliva from her neck, flicking it onto the ground. The fillies are likewise recovering, wide grins frequently interrupted by stray snorts and chuckles as they replay the scene in their heads.

Twilight looks at the fillies again, addressing the unfamiliar face while doing her best to take charge of the situation as though nothing had happened, "So, Scootaloo says that you're the sister of the pony in the hospital?"

"Yup!" Scootaloo jumps forward instead, "Twilight, meet Dawn, local vampony. Dawn, this is Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship!"

Dawn sits up and waves tiredly, her spell as well as the subsequent lack of oxygen due to laughter taking their toll, "H-hi. Um… sorry about… that. It wasn't my idea."

Twilight waves it away, choosing not to correct Scootaloo's use of 'vampony', After all, I don't know what to call them either, and that's really not the important thing right now.

"Believe me, worse and weirder things have happened around here with surprising regularity. In any case, I take it that's a 'yes' to my previous question?"

Dawn nods, her grin sagging as nervousness eats away at her mood.

Twilight smiles gently, "Well I don't know about you, but I can't think of any reason to keep a family apart. We can go in whenever you're ready."

"I'm back!" Sweetie Belle announces, re-entering the increasingly crowded shrub, "Hi Twilight!"

Twilight returns the greeting as Sweetie Belle walks forward, magicking a cape around each member of the CMC.

"And the sun problem is solved!" she declares, flipping the cape forward over Dawn's head with a flourish.

"This is nice. Also sparkly." Dawn raises the cape to look at Twilight, "I think I'm ready now."

"Alright, follow me," Twilight says, exiting the shrub. The Crusaders walk after her, Dawn by watching the hooves of those in front of her from beneath her improvised hood.

Twilight and the four fillies enter the hospital, the front area completely deserted save for the snoozing receptionist.

Approaching the desk, Twilight taps her hoof on the wooden frame, "Excuse me?"

The receptionist, however, doesn't budge; her only response a faint snore. The tip of Twilight's horn pulses, releasing a small spark which floats its way a couple feet above the receptionist's head. Twilight observes the sleeping mare for a moment, then pulses her horn again. The spark detonates with a small bang, six purple streamers splitting off and falling a few inches before vanishing with a series of sparkling crackles.

The receptionist jerks awake, her sudden motion sending pencils, papers, and various other small items flying as she nearly slips off her chair. Catching herself just in time to avoid a complete wipeout, she blushes at the snickers from her audience, "Princess Twilight! I uh – I didn't see you there."

"Don't worry about it," Twilight says, doing her best to keep a straight face. "I have a guest for the patient in room 138?"

"138? But that's… " the recently woken mare's eyes widen as they fall on the strange bat-winged filly with a sparkling gold cape over her head, "I see. Well, uh, go right on in."

Their request granted, the group leaves the flustered receptionist – the mare promptly starting to pick up and reorganize everything which had been knocked astray by her abrupt awakening.

As they enter the inner hallway, Dawn peaks out from under the cape, flipping it over her head to lay across her back when the indoor lights fail to cause any discomfort.

Twilight observes her curiously, "Are your eyes really that sensitive to light?"

"Yeah," Dawn replies, barely paying attention to the question as she anxiously looks at each door they pass. Silence reigns for the remainder of their short journey.

Upon arriving at their destination though, that silence is broken.

Scootaloo pokes her head into room 138, her focus held by the ruined section of wall next to where the door should have been, "Whoa, what happened here?"

"Celestia happened," Nurse Sweetheart answers, suddenly appearing from room 139 across the hall. She half-bows half-nods to Twilight, "If you're looking for the vampony, she has been moved to this room."

Hearing this, the Crusaders immediately make for the door opposite them with Dawn in the lead.

Twilight raps her hoof on the tile floor to get their attention, "Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, Scootaloo – I want you to wait outside for now."

"What?!" Applebloom exclaims, the indignant expressions on Sweetie Belle's and Scootaloo's faces mirroring her own.

Not giving them time to formulate a better argument, Twilight continues, "Their species was just revealed and there are probably some things they'd rather just talk to me, and Princess Luna when she arrives, about. If they're willing, and you girls are still awake, you can ask them any questions you have afterwards – honestly I don't think I could stop you anyway."

And they'd probably somehow manage to coat most of the building in frosting or tree sap attempting to get in if I tried.

After a few moments, the three fillies nod, accepting the current situation though their faces give the appearance of having eaten something sour. With that matter settled, Twilight and Dawn follow the nurse into the dimly lit room.

Once inside, Dawn shoots forward, making a beeline for the bed. Twilight and Nurse Sweetheart hang back, the former directing a mostly transparent beam of purple energy at the door which quickly covers it and the entire room before fading.

"Soundproofing spell," Twilight explains, prompted by an inquisitive look from the latter.

Dawn, meanwhile, stands next to the bed, shaking the pony laying on it, "Midnight! Midnight?"

When her sister doesn't respond, she faces the two adult ponies, her focus flipping between them, "What's wrong with her?"

Nurse Sweetheart joins Dawn by the bedside, "There's nothing horribly wrong with her; she has some injuries, but nothing severe enough to keep her unconscious. We have been keeping her sedated since she came out of surgery as a precaution though, given the circumstances. We didn't want her to wake up and try to escape, which would definitely exacerbate her own condition as well as possibly cause harm to others."

Twilight stands next to the nurse, scrutinizing the sleeping mare, She certainly looks better than when I last saw her. A lot more casts and bandages perhaps, but when you're injured that's probably a good thing.

"I understand. It should be fine now though – with Dawn here she hopefully won't react quite as badly and even if she does I can restrain her with my magic."

The nurse nods, fiddling with the medical equipment before removing the breathing mask from Midnight's muzzle. Dawn maintains her position, watching anxiously for signs of movement from her sister immediately after the mask is removed.

Twilight watches for a moment as well before turning to the nurse, "How long will it take her to wake up?"

"I don't know. It can vary widely by race, gender, weight, build… " Nurse Sweetheart shrugs, "If I had to guess, I'd say she'll be conscious in about 15 minutes, though whether or not she'll be making any sense is another question entirely."

Twilight takes a seat on the floor to wait while Dawn remains with her forehooves on the bed, monitoring Midnight intently.

"You might want to sit down," Twilight suggests to Dawn after a few minutes have passed. "This could take some time, and standing on your hind legs like that can't be comfortable."

Dawn briefly considers ignoring the advice before stiffly sitting as well, her joints thanking her after being in such an unnatural pose for so long.

A hooffull of seconds later though, Midnight stirs, and Dawn jumps back to her previous position. A few minutes more, and Midnight's eyes open.

She looks over at Dawn, blinking asynchronously, "Yerrr a mershmallllow~" she slurs, taking Dawn in a clumsy hug and attempting to drag her onto the bed with her good foreleg. Dawn flails a bit before finding a purchase, proceeding to pull herself the rest of the way up. The 'marshmallow' now secure in her cuddle, Midnight contentedly chews on its mane. The nurse just smiles and Twilight stifles a giggle while Dawn squirms, futilely trying to remove her hair from her sister's mouth.

Several minutes and a thoroughly mangled mouthful of hair later, the chewing stops, Midnight releasing her sister and spitting out her mane with a "pleh". Letting out a displeased groan, she tries to get the hair off of her tongue, first by wiping it on her foreleg and then on the sheet.

Once her mouth has been returned to its normal hair-free state, she licks her lips a few times, finally observing her surroundings, This… isn't the Everfree.

She tries to sit up, but quickly stops after feeling a twinge in her barrel from tensing her muscles. Her eyes roam the room from where she's laying, her apprehension growing as she sees two ponies standing to her right, This is definitely not the Everfree.

Her gaze shifts to the form laying next to her, recognizing her little sister after a moment. She blinks, this time fully in sync, "Where… "

Suddenly the memories of the previous night come flooding back. Adrenaline rushes into her system; her pupils shrinking and heart pounding – a growl rippling from her throat – until it's quashed by Dawn gently snuggling into her side.

"Calm down Midnight, it's fine. Everything's fine."

A long moment passes as Midnight lays completely still, eventually releasing the remainder of her growl quietly as a heavy breath. She closes her eyes, panting, then takes another deep breath and slowly lets it out through her nose.

Opening her eyes again, she observes the two other ponies in the room as best she can from her position lying flat on the bed, her eyes resting on the closer of the pair with the glowing horn.

"Who are you?" she asks warily, "Where am I? What's going on?"

"I'm Twilight Sparkle and this is Nurse Sweetheart," Twilight answers, releasing her grasp on her magic and gesturing at the other mare. "You're at Ponyville Hospital. You were brought here after being found unconscious and injured after an attack on two of the townsponies last night."

"I see," Midnight replies stonily, her guarded expression unchanged. She shifts in her bed, tensing and flexing various muscles, all giving similar results, Everything is sore.

She grits her teeth and tries to sit up again, letting out a hiss of pain as her body protests the action, Yeah, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.

Seeing Midnight's attempt, Nurse Sweetheart moves to her side and raises the back of the bed, "Better?"

Dawn grumbles, rolling onto her back to get comfortable again. Midnight however says nothing, her eyes flicking around the room from her improved vantage point – though never letting the nearby nurse out of her sight for more than an instant.

Satisfied that the room contains no immediate danger, she turns her attention to her dozing sister, "And why are you here? I thought I told you to run."

"Well I did," Dawn mumbles without opening her eyes, "but I got scared about what happened to you. So I followed them taking you here and I was going to sneak in and rescue you but some fillies found me but they were nice and we're friends now and Twilight helped me get in and now I'm here and you're here and everything… everything is going to be OK."

Dawn finishes the explanation with a yawn, stretching contentedly and burrowing her way under the sheet. The show of adorableness cracks Midnight's facade, a small smile tugging at the sides of her mouth.

She returns her softened gaze to the princess and nurse, "I guess I should thank you. For helping us. So… yeah. Thanks."

Nurse Sweetheart smiles warmly, "You're welcome."

She turns to Twilight, "Everything looks fine here, so I'm going to head off. If you need anything, either shout really loudly or hit the buzzer." She points to a lazily blinking red button on the machine closest to the bed.

The instant Nurse Sweetheart opens the door to leave, what appears to be static electricity arcs across the short gap as the soundproofing spell is broken. She jumps in surprise at the noise, but is otherwise able to leave without incident. Before the door is able to close again however, Scootaloo sticks her head through the gap.

"Hey Twilight, can we come in yet?"

"No."

Scootaloo withdraws her head, "Aww… "

Twilight finishes magicking the door shut, quickly recasting the soundproofing spell before returning her focus to Midnight. Another flash of magic, and an inkless quill accompanied by a sizable stack of papers is hovering next to her, "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you some questions."

"About what happened?" Midnight asks.

"Hm?" Twilight shakes her head distractedly as she levitates the stack around her in a whirlwind of paper, "Oh, no not yet. We'll get to that when Princess Luna gets here. Whenever that happens to be. Which is hopefully not too soon. Mmm… "

I need to talk to Spike when I get back, he ordered these according to guidelines 7-E when he clearly should have used 15-H.

A look of satisfaction spreads across Twilight's face as she pulls one sheet out of the maelstrom, "Aha! There you are. So then this goes here and this goes here… "

As quickly as the mini tornado had arrived, it dissipates, somehow reforming into its original neat stack without a single page wrinkled or folded.

Twilight prances in place as she pre-fills the first few sections, "What I want to know about is you, your species, your magic, your habitat… oh this is so exciting! It's not every day I get to be the first to document a brand new tribe of ponies!"

Midnight tilts her head, "Wasn't there that whole Changeling thing recently though?"

The description draws a snort from Twilight, "'Changeling thing'? There was an invasion of at least several hundred Changelings all of which were repulsed, resulting in a grand total of 0 Changelings captured."

Midnight exhales sharply through her nose, "Wait, really? Don't you have guards or soldiers or something to chase them down?"

"Yes, well, given that Equestria has been at peace for a thousand years it's a small miracle they didn't just panic and run away when flaming green bug-ponies started falling from the sky. Now stop distracting me, we've got a lot of questions to get through and not a lot of time. Ok, gender… female. Age… ?" she looks at Midnight questioningly.

"21"

"Species?"

"Vampony."

Twilight opens her mouth to object, but restrains herself.

Focus Twilight, now is not the time.

She blinks.

Wait, what am I thinking, now is exactly the time.

"Look, I know this is probably really scary and weird, but I'd appreciate it if you either answer honestly or just say you don't want to answer."

A pause follows as Midnight's expression morphs into one of confusion and annoyance, "Umm… ok? And I'm not scared by the way."

"So, what species are you?"

"Vampony."

Twilight glares at her in frustration, "No, you're not. Princess Celestia already explained to me what vamponies are, and you're not one of them."

Midnight glares right back, red eyes glowing almost imperceptibly, "You don't get to tell me what species I am."

Twilight fights to hold the stare as the world fades to just the two of them, however a growing part of her mind refuses to obey, desperately seeking to avert her eyes and look at something – anything – else.

After what feels like an eternity, Twilight breaks off the conflict, glancing down and shuffling her hooves uncomfortably.

"Sorry," she mumbles softly.

Bracing herself, she looks back up to find Midnight regarding her calmly, a vaguely victorious glint in her eyes as if she had just proven something to Twilight.

"I am a vampony."

Twilight shivers, though her magic allows her to carefully record Midnight's response, "O-ok."

"Is it alright if I continue?" she asks nervously. A small part of her mind rebels against this question, appalled that it was asked, I am a Princess of Equestria, the embodiment of the Element of Magic, and one of the most powerful ponies to have ever existed. Why do I need to ask her for permission? If she doesn't want to answer that's fine, but I don't need her permission just to continue!

However the echoes of that thought fade to nothing even before leaving her subconscious.

Midnight nods her assent.

"Alright, uh, thanks," Twilight says, clearing her throat in preparation to ask the next question on her list, however a flash of moonlight from across the room grabs her attention.

Princess Luna steps forward from the lingering aura, "Greetings Princess Twilight, we see that you have already begun the interrogation."

Chapter 10.5 Meeting Zecora [slight gore]

~~~years ago~~~

A nearly full moon shines down upon the Everfree, not even the thinnest wisp of cloud or mist hiding the forest below from its view. Wind whistles between the trees, leaves rustling while wooden limbs creak and bend to cast an ever changing pattern of light and shadow onto the forest floor.

A zebra mare carefully makes her way through the underbrush, eyes peeled and ears on alert for the slightest indication of any of the many monsters known to roam the darkened woods. She braces herself and squints as the wind suddenly shifts, whipping her mane around her face like it's been possessed. The branches overhead groan loudly in the gust; a crack echoing as somewhere nearby a tree loses a limb. The sharp noise draws Zecora's attention and she automatically shifts into a defensive posture, searching for the source of the sound. Instead of a broken branch however, she notices a luminescent light coming to life amid the shifting shadows, its glow waxing and waning in time with it entering and leaving the moon's gaze.

Making her way over the source of the light, she lowers her head to examine her discovery, speaking aloud to herself, "Moonbloom, a rare find indeed. I do believe this is just what I need."

Delicately nipping at the flowers' stems, Zecora removes two of the three blossoms from the plant, leaving the third as she stashes her find into one of the many small pouches hanging from her sides.

Task complete, her eyes wander over the rest of her pouches, the unfamiliar warmth of pride spreading across her chest as she views the many samples of plants taken from her new home – most of which she knew not even the wisest of the tribal shamans from her native land would recognize. For a brief moment, the dark forest fades from her vision, replaced by images in her mind's eye of sweltering desert sparsely populated by cacti, of endless savanna littered with trees and covered by grasses, of refreshing oases ringed by lush green plant life, and finally of her tribe and family who would travel all three together. Shaking herself from her reverie, she quickly surveys her surroundings, letting out a sigh of relief that nothing had decided to take advantage of her lowered guard before continuing onward.

Perhaps I should return to visit when in this land it becomes fall; it has already been nearly a year after all. My family does worry that I am well; though once I tell them where I am living, it may be a tough sell.

Half an hour and several new samples later, Zecora approaches a small clearing. Just before entering though, she pauses, wet squelching sounds making their way to her pricked ears along with indistinct murmuring. Glancing around, she hides beneath the leaves of a large shrub, cautiously peering out from her cover towards the source of the voices.

Illuminated by the clear light of the moon, she sees four pony-like figures tearing into the body of a much larger animal which lays beneath them, unmoving apart from the occasional shake or jiggle caused by the frenzied consumption of its flesh. As she watches, one of the creatures yanks repeatedly on a particularly stubborn piece of the unfortunate beast, each tug lasting longer and becoming more violent than the last as its frustration grows. Unsuccessful in its efforts to remove the unyielding morsel, it plants its hooves and with a faint growl finally manages to tear its prize from the manticore corpse's side, the piece of meat and bone flying from its mouth to land a few feet behind it as it tumbles over backwards from the effort. A split second later several droplets fall from the sky, and while the shrub shields her from most of them, a single drop impacts the side of her muzzle. Zecora freezes, time seeming to slow as well as she feels it dribble down into her slightly open mouth, leaving behind a bitter, metallic taste.

I should leave these monstrous ponies be, or else they may make a meal out of me!

Suppressing the urge to immediately start spitting onto the ground and cleaning off her tongue, she slowly takes a step back.

*snap*

Instantly the sounds from the clearing stop. Her breath catches in her chest, small beads of cold sweat forming across her body as Zecora watches the monsters turn to stare directly at her hiding place.

*squich*

*squelch*

The vampony male sighs through a mouthful of meat and swallows, looking across the corpse of their most recent kill at his young daughter, "Midnight, stop jumping on the intestines."

Mini-Midnight glances up at him, giggling, "But it makes such a funny noise!"

Rearing again, she brings her forehooves down on the abused digestive tunnels once more.

*squaaallch*

The larger vampony closes his eyes and sighs again as the organ finally ruptures from the assault, a small spray of blood and internal slime hiding his sky blue coat and lime green, turquoise striped mane under a thin speckling of red. A piece of intestine slides down his left hind leg and falls to the ground, leaving a semi-transparent trail of residue over his cutie mark – a series of dark red hoofprints traveling diagonally from the lower left of his flank to the upper right.

"Ehehe… sorry~" Midnight apologizes, ears splayed back as she removes her hooves from the dead beast's insides.

Wiping the spray from his eyes, her father blinks several times to clear his vision completely, but before he can say anything else, something warm and wet moves upwards from his jaw and across his cheek.

"Mmmm… tasty~"

He rolls his eyes at the mare next to him, "Don't you start too Eclipse, you're encouraging her."

Eclipse rubs up against her mate, the bloody residue smearing across her pitch black coat, pure white mane, and cutie mark of a shattered vertebra, "Oh lighten up Wisp, you have to admit it was pretty funny."

"I admit nothing," Wisp says, successfully hiding his own amusement by taking another bite from their prey's shoulder.

"I see," Eclipse replies with a knowing smirk. "In that case, what do you think, Dusk?"

The young stallion sitting calmly next to Midnight looks up from his meal, shrugging indifferently before returning to eating, his brown mane, dark red coat, and unobscured cutie mark of a plant sprout giving him the deceptive appearance of being covered in significantly less blood than the rest of his family.

"There, you're overruled two to one: it was funny," Eclipse teases.

Ignoring her clearly flawed interpretation of the vote, Wisp raises an eyebrow at his son, "Having a bit of trouble there?"

Dusk responds with a growl, yanking repeatedly on a particularly stubborn rib. Planting his hooves, he pulls as hard as he can, only to have it detach from the manticore's spine easily with a quiet snap. The rib and attached meat fly from his mouth, landing a few feet behind him as he flails desperately before falling over backwards from the lack of expected resistance.

Grumbling as his family shares a laugh at his expense, Dusk gets to his hooves and turns to retrieve his hard won food.

*snap*

Four pairs of ears perk up at the sound, the entire family turning to stare at its source. For a moment nothing else happens, nopony moving as they watch the shrub the noise came from. Then the shrub rustles, followed by the faint sound of retreating hoofsteps. Eclipse lets out a screech, charging after whatever had been hiding beneath the leaves. Midnight and Dusk follow more slowly in their mother's wake while Wisp takes to the sky, homing in on the piercing shriek coming from their newest prey as it gallops away from his mate under the trees.

With Wisp flying above them, Eclipse allows the chase to stretch on, several times lunging towards her target as if to end it only to instead nip at her fleeing prey's legs or bat at her tail. When her quarry begins to tire and slow however, she sighs in disappointment, surging forward again to grab the striped creature's tail in her mouth and yank backwards.

The attached mare yelps in surprise and aims a panicked kick at Eclipse who dodges the hasty blow easily, though in doing so releases the tail in her mouth. The mare stumbles away as the force holding her back suddenly vanishes, but before she can regain her balance and continue with her escape, Wisp lands heavily in front of her. Ramming into the staggering mare's chest, he flips her over onto her back, knocking the air from her lungs. As the she lays on the ground momentarily stunned, Wisp places a hoof on her chest, leans down, and clamps his teeth around her throat.

He feels his prey stiffen as he does this, though not enough to hide her trembling as she closes her eyes, waiting helplessly for him to kill her. However, after holding her there for a moment, Wisp releases her, lips leaving behind an outline of leftover blood on her coat as well as faint welts from where his teeth had nearly penetrated her skin. He backs away from the captured mare, and after a few seconds she opens her eyes to warily glance first at him, then at Eclipse, then behind them at Midnight and Dusk as they catch up to their parents.

Seeing their quarry laying on the ground, Midnight runs past her mother to rear and stomp the ground, "Raaarr!"

The recently released mare flinches at this, the innate adorableness of the filly overwhelmed by both the situation and the half dried blood from the beast she had been eating matting the hair on the front half of her body.

Wisp looks at his daughter reprovingly, "Stop trying to scare her Midnight; we need to talk with her, not give her a heart attack."

Dusk raises his hoof, "Dibs on first drink."

Wisp gives his son a flat stare, "There will be no 'dibs' on anything."

"But-"

"No."

Dusk rolls his eyes and looks away, quickly losing interest in the situation.

"Sorry about that," Eclipse says, smiling as she takes a step forward, "kids will be kids after all. But that aside, we do have something we need to discuss with you regarding this whole 'knowing we exist' thing."

"I'm Eclipse by the way. That over there is Wisp, Dusk, and Midnight," she continues, pointing to each in turn. An expectant pause follows.

"And you are… ?"

Zecora gulps and rubs her throat before answering, "My name is Zecora, and I seek only to gather some of this forest's flora."

"And we have no problem with that," Wisp replies, "but we can't exactly have you going off to tell the townsponies about us either. Your own reaction to finding us explains 'why' well enough."

"I understand the need for privacy; it is one of the reasons I myself choose to live within the Everfree. However to say that is the only reason I am growing my home here is most untrue, as there is also another reason that I do," Zecora states. "For whenever I draw near, the citizens of Ponyville always run away from me in fear. So no matter what I came to say, they would not listen to my words anyway. Therefore you need not fret, I can and will tell nopony of your secret."

Wisp cocks his head in confusion, "Why would they be scared of you? You're not exactly terrifying. Or intimidating. No offense."

Zecora sits up and shrugs, "I cannot say for sure, since whenever I enter town I try to act most demure. Yet while I wish simply to shop and trade, they avoid me as though a pact with a demon I have made."

"Well… I guess that solves that rather nicely," Wisp says with a reassuring smile, though the intended effect is entirely lost on Zecora. "And… as a bonus for you being so understanding… "

Wisp pauses, sending a questioning look at Eclipse, who hesitates then nods sadly.

"…we won't sneak into your home and drink your blood anymore," he finishes.

Zecora blinks, then narrows her eyes, "By using the word 'anymore', that would imply you have done so before."

"Well yeah, it's a lot easier to fly over to your tree than to sneak into Ponyville," Wisp explains matter-of-factly.

"And the flavor of your blood is just so… exotic," Eclipse adds wistfully. "It was a nice treat every once in a while. Though I suppose nothing lasts forever. Or in this case barely a year."

She sighs dejectedly.

"It's not fair!" Midnight complains, "I never got to taste her!"

Zecora coughs at this, getting to her hooves, "While I do not wish to make light of the flattery you proffer, I will gladly take you up on your offer. But for now I must make haste; the night is not young, and I have little time to waste."

With that, she quickly dips her head, then turns and canters into the forest away from the family of bloodsuckers. After watching her vanish between the trees, the vamponies leave as well, heading back to finish their meal.

As the family re-enters the clearing containing the carcass of their most recent kill, they are greeted by growling from a trio of scavenging timberwolves. Wisp trots towards their meal unperturbed as the timberwolves spread out from the corpse, one flanking him on each side, growling growing louder and eyes tracking him warily as he approaches. Suddenly Eclipse drops from the sky, shattering the middle wolf beneath her hooves. Before the other two can react, she springs back into the air, her shadowmagic not quite compensating for her speed as she flies up and circles around, a nearly invisible dark blur flitting between the stars. Bounding forward as the remaining pair of wolves mistakenly look towards their broken comrade, Wisp bucks one of the remaining wolves to pieces. Suddenly alone, the last of the interlopers takes a few steps back then turns, attempting to flee along with the weakly floating remains of its two comrades. It gets halfway across the clearing before Eclipse descends on it, breaking the wooden wolf apart as the weak magic holding it's form together is easily overwhelmed.

Midnight cheers, running beside her mother to flare her wings and hiss enthusiastically at the retreating remains. Eclipse giggles at the display, tousling her daughter's mane affectionately. After the last of the sticks vanish into the woods, they turn to rejoin Wisp and Dusk at the dead manticore just in time to see Dusk pull out what remains of the liver.

"Hey!" Midnight shouts, running up to her older brother and biting into it as well.

"Mine!" she growls through the chunk of meat, eyes momentarily flashing bright red.

Dusk drops the contested food instinctively, taking a couple steps back while his sister happily scampers away with her prize.

"Midnight… " Wisp says, eyes glowing softly as he draws her attention, "stop intimidating your brother."

Midnight mutinously meets his gaze for several seconds before breaking off the contest and lowering her head.

"Fine… " she grumbles through a mouthful of liver as she retreats further from the group to consume her food in peace.

Eclipse bumps flanks with Wisp, grinning as she watches their daughter lay down to start gnawing on the organ, "Looks like you've got some competition Wispy; she doesn't even know what she's doing and she's already almost matching you."

Wisp's dimly lit eyes meet his mate's, raising an eyebrow as he starts to circle her, "'Almost'? I don't know what you were watching, but that was clearly a complete victory on my part."

Eclipse begins circling as well, eyes glowing to match the pair looking into hers. On the third cycle the pair removes the gap between them, eyes closing simultaneously as their lips meet. After a short while, Eclipse breaks the kiss to nip playfully at Wisp's ear.

Noisily wolfing down a mouthful of liver, Midnight voices her opinion of their actions, "Ewww!"

"'eww'?" Wisp asks, sauntering over to his daughter, "You thought that was gross? Well then, what do you think-"

Without warning he pounces on Midnight, "-about this!"

They roll over several times before coming to a rest with Wisp on his back and Midnight upside-down on his belly, held in place by his legs.

Midnight struggles to free herself from her father's embrace, knowing from past experience what is to come. Wisp slowly spreads his wings, holding Midnight tight as her struggling increases. When his wings reach full extension he suddenly brings them back in, using the claw tipping each wing to mercilessly tickle Midnight's sides.

"Stooo-ooop!" Midnight protests, giggling and wriggling in her father's grasp.

Her father ignores her plea however, continuing his relentless assault. Finally, as Midnight lays exhausted on his belly, gasping for breath while her lungs fight with her laughter for air, the tickling ceases. Before her mind fully registers the missing sensation, Wisp’s legs gather beneath her and he throws her into the air, her wings and limbs flailing wildly until her short flight ends with a squelch as she lands in the remains of the manticore's chest cavity.

Wisp punches his hoof into the air, "YES!"

Dusk spares a glance for his recently airborne sister from the other side of the manticore's ribcage, opting to continue polishing off another rib rather than become involved.

Midnight meanwhile lays unmoving amid the leftover blood and guts except for her heaving chest, rogue giggles exiting her system as she recovers from the ordeal. After more than a minute of recovery, she gets to her hooves and clambers out of the corpse's insides, shaking her body in a vain attempt to remove the coat of red now covering her from head to toe.

Eclipse raises a hoof to shield her eyes from the stray droplets flying off of Midnight, blinking in surprise as from behind her leg she notices the barest hint of dawn tipping the treetops.

Fighting a sudden urge to yawn, she stretches and stands, "Time to head home kids; the sun's going to rise soon and we all need to take a bath. I don't want anypony tracking blood everywhere. Again."

She casts a pointed look at one of her children in particular, "Dusk."

Dusk rolls his eyes before taking off into the night sky. Midnight attempts to follow him, but fails to get more than a few feet into the air, descending back to the ground amid the tired beating of her wings. Her second attempt goes little better, and she kicks a tuft of grass in frustration.

"Dusk!" Wisp calls out, gesturing at Midnight once he has his son's attention, "Make sure your sister gets home safe."

Dusk sighs, "Fiiiine… "

Landing beside his sister, he nudges her out of her wanton assault on the innocent blades of grass, "Alright, c'mon, let's go."

"You know, you don't have to walk me home," Midnight offers once they leave the clearing. "I can totally make it back on my own."

Dusk snorts, "That's funny, coming from the one who was almost tickled to death. Plus if anything happened to you, Mom and Dad would probably kick me out of the cave in the middle of the day or something."

With their kids finally out of earshot, Wisp bounds over to the dead manticore and pulls out the remains of its heart, which despite being nearly half gone is still larger than his hoof.

Switching gears smoothly, he strides confidently over to where Eclipse stands watching with a faintly amused expression and extends his head to offer her a piece of the organ held in his mouth.

Rather than take it however, she just raises an eyebrow quizzically. Undeterred, Wisp shakes the meat then boops her nose with it. Like a waiting trap, Eclipse's jaws snap open and shut on the heart, their noses briefly touching before they both pull apart attempting to split the piece between them.

Damaged as it is, the dense muscle still manages to hold firm for a few seconds, but ultimately gives in to the determined pair. Once separated, Eclipse turns and flicks Wisp with her tail, hips swaying as she takes a few steps before spreading her wings and leaping into the sky, leaving in a distinctly different direction than their children.

Wisp chews for a moment, watching her rise towards the twinkling stars until he takes off as well, following the wingbeats of the one to whom he'd given the other half of his heart.

The door to Zecora's hut slams open, another source of early morning light joining the windows until the one who entered kicks it closed. Zecora sits tiredly on her wooden floor, waiting for her breathing to calm before standing and beginning to remove her pouches. Once they are all laying on the table in front of her, she starts to make her way over to her bed for some well-deserved rest, but pauses as a metallic glint catches her eye. After a moment's thought, she lifts each of the five neck rings lying on the nearby shelf, and with some difficulty slips them on.

While these may be annoying as heck, never again shall they leave my neck.

Chapter 11 Darkness Contained

Luna pats around Midnight's forehead a few more times, finally lowering her hoof when all she feels is smooth skin, "I am not sure what has occurred, but to change a cutie mark is no small matter. Do you have any thoughts on the subject, Twilight?"

She looks away from the healed vampony when a purple glow answers her question rather than words, a translucent beam shooting from the horn of the other alicorn in the room, "Twilight."

Twilight continues to magically scan Midnight, for several seconds giving no indication she had heard other than a twitch of her ears.

"Mhm?"

"While we certainly agree that a thorough examination should be done, we believe it should be done later. By a medical. professional," Luna states in an attempt to tactfully break her fellow princess's concentration, rapping a hoof on the room's tile floor when Twilight's only response is to start taking notes in the margins of her survey.

Twilight's ears twitch again at the sharp sound, this time followed by a blink. Not taking her eyes from the subject of her interest, she smiles and nods, "That sounds like a good idea, Luna; I'll get right on it."

A light giggle echoes in Luna's ears, She really is quite the 'egghead' as they would say today, is she not? Perhaps even more so in the real world than in her dreams.

Luna suppresses the urge to chuckle at the truth of her friend's words, a smile tugging at the sides of her mouth nonetheless.

We should come back and visit once this situation is dealt with. Our sister is much more of a diplomat and philosopher than a researcher, and it would be refreshing to be able to talk with somepony who would truly understand the complexities of our theories.

The voice gives a mental nudge, Maybe even teach her a bit of Dream magic along the way, hm?

Luna fights to keep from snorting, instead turning it into a forceful exhalation, For all our sakes, I think not. I can only imagine what would happen if she were to try to enforce order and categorization onto the Dreamscape. Besides, there is still much work to be done with the thestral reintegration and I don't even want to think about the headache adding vamponies into the mix will cause.

A deep sigh emanates from the companion in her mind, Honestly Lulu, we go crazy with anger and jealousy, return after a thousand years in exile to ponies that, with a bit of coaxing, are actually happy to have us around and what do you do? Bury yourself in work.

A hint of bitterness creeps into the mind mare's voice, Of course, waking up screaming from your own personally inflicted nightmare half the time hardly helps ponies feel at ease around us. The guards might not say anything, but they're getting nervous and it's only a matter of time until rumors start to spread that perhaps Nightmare Moon isn't quite as gone as they've been told – if they haven't already.

Luna's small smile fades into a frown at her words, then a grimace, ENOUGH! As I have told you before, it is penance for the suffering that I caused – that we caused – as Nightmare Moon.

The voice sighs, And as I have said before, tormenting yourself out of guilt is not penance Luna. You need-

With an irritated flick of her ear, Luna blocks out the rest of the disembodied words, instead refocusing on the ponies in front of her to find Midnight watching with a questioning expression. Twilight meanwhile forges ahead with her examination completely unaware of her surroundings – now scanning Midnight's cutie mark intently as Dawn's eyes roam between the trio curiously.

Midnight blinks.

"Don't move," Twilight immediately reprimands without looking away from her scan. "I need you to keep 110 percent still for this."

Luna slowly releases the breath she had been holding throughout her silent argument and with some effort forces a smile back onto her face, "That is quite enough, Twilight Sparkle."

Her horn glows to life with a directed thought, encasing Twilight's in a deep blue aura to disrupt her analysis.

"Hey!" Twilight shakes her head at the unfamiliar sensation, turning to Luna in frustration when her attempt to remove the blocking spell merely causes the tip of her horn to spark.

"Twilight," Luna admonishes as she releases her hold on both their magic, "while I can certainly appreciate your enthusiasm for discovery, I need to ask Midnight a very important question regarding the previous night."

"But-" Twilight starts to object.

"It is also required that she be able to move her mouth to answer said question," Luna interrupts pointedly.

"I suppose… " Twilight acquiesces reluctantly, her ears lowering then perking up again hopefully. "I can keep studying her afterwards though, right?"

Luna shrugs, "I am not the one you should be asking that."

"In any case," she continues, turning back to catch the vampony stretching, "my last question for you, Midnight, is: What happened last night? According to my sister, who spoke with Twilight, who spoke with the husband of the mare whose home you were in, who was half asleep when he walked into the bedroom and emotionally distraught afterwards, there was another vampony in the room with you. I assume that he is the pony who injured you, but we would like to hear your account of what happened first hoof."

"The other pony last night wasn't a vampony," Dawn pipes up instead while her sister completes her stretch. "He was really weird, too."

"I was just there to help Dawn feed," Midnight replies once her stretch ends, sitting on the bed and looking at Luna, "but yeah, he wasn't a vampony – or at least, not a vampony like us. I'm not actually sure what he was, but there was something just really, really wrong about him. I'm not sure how else to put it. He did have huge fangs though – even larger than mine – and he was about to take a bite out of the neck of the pony I had just helped Dawn feed from when I attacked him."

"Wait," Twilight says, surprise partially distracting her from the similarities between Time Turner's description and Midnight's, "you attacked him?"

Midnight nods, "Well, yeah, she wasn't going to wake up and there wasn't anypony else around, so I wasn't about to sit back and watch her get murdered. Besides, she tastes pretty good."

"We thank you for your intervention, Midnight," Luna states, focusing on Midnight as if she were the only other pony in the room, "but is there anything else you can tell us about him?"

"He had a red mane, coat, and eyes," Midnight elaborates, unphased by Luna's attention. "He was red, basically. The really weird part though was his teeth; like I said, his fangs were even larger than mine – they went past his chin – but the rest of his teeth were flat like yours. He didn't have any wings either."

No… the other voice in Luna's head murmurs, that – there's no way.

There shouldn't be, Luna replies, a cold pit forming in her stomach, and yet…

"I see." Luna swallows as her throat dries up, "And his cutie mark?"

"It was… " Midnight hesitates as she recalls the oddity, "Well it was there, but it was really faded. I couldn't tell what it was supposed to be."

Luna loudly sucks in a breath through her nose, staring at Midnight with wide eyes.

Twilight looks over uncertainly at her reaction, "Luna?"

"A cutie mark is a representation of the one thing that most makes a pony special, and as such is intimately linked to one's identity, to one's sense of self," Luna explains tensely. "However, anypony controlled by Sombra's corruption would cease to exist as an independent 'self'. There is no longer anything that makes them special – they are just one more slave to his magic, thus we theorized their cutie mark would slowly fade and perhaps even vanish entirely given enough time. We never saw such fading one thousand years ago since the initial attack occurred too swiftly for it to have been noticeable, and after that, well… "

She sighs, "After that we simply assumed that we had been wrong about cutie mark fading rather than searching for another explanation. But if this pony's cutie mark was truly faded, and the rest of Midnight's description is accurate, then there can be no doubt as to what he is."

"Nopony has died or gone permanently missing in Ponyville since I arrived though," Twilight points out. "If he's existed long enough for his cutie mark to have almost entirely disappeared, what's he been doing all this time?"

Luna straightens, "I cannot say, but if nopony has gone missing then perhaps this attack was in fact the first and there is still time to catch him before he is able to turn anypony."

She clears her throat, "GUARDS!"

Twilight, along with the vamponies and most of the furniture, jump at the sudden use of the restrained Royal Canterlot Voice, "Luna, there's a-"

The doorknob rattles then turns, the door slamming open with a loud bang followed by Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Spike, and three Lunar Guards trying to simultaneously pile into the room.

"sound… proofing… spell… " she finishes lamely amid groans from the mass of ponies stuck partially through the doorway.

Whatever happened to Midnight must have disrupted the spell. Or maybe Luna shouting just rattled the door. I should really make a hardier version that doesn't break so easily, but only after doing a comprehensive examination of Midnight. And writing a paper on my discoveries. And submitting it for review and publishing in the Equestrian Journal of Magic! And… I'll just have Spike put it on my To-do List.

With a grunt, Applejack manages to extricate herself from the pony pile, taking her Stetson from where it had fallen on the floor and returning it to its rightful place on her head, "Hey Twi, Ah think it's about time you filled the rest of us in on what exactly's been goin' on around here."

The rest of her friends voice their agreement as they stand.

"Yeah."

"Yeppers!"

"Quite right."

"As long as it wouldn't be too much of a bother."

Twilight hesitates, glancing at Luna to find her already standing off to the side quietly discussing with her guards.

What do I tell them? Luna hasn't made public what really led her to become Nightmare Moon and Princess Celestia went to great lengths to hide what happened… would they be mad at me for revealing it? How would my friends react? The rest of Ponyville would definitely panic if this got out. And if they panic then word will spread to the nearby towns and they'll panic which will spread to the towns nearby those towns and eventually all of Equestria will be panicking and then civilization will crumble and Celestia and Luna will be angry with me and it will be all my fault because I-

Spike snaps a claw in front of her glazed over eyes, "Twilight! Stop doing that slippery slope thing you told me not to let you do."

Twilight clears her head with a few shakes and smiles weakly at her worried friends, "Thanks Spike. It's just… really… complicated."

"Oh… alright then," Fluttershy replies demurely, turning as if to leave.

Applejack rolls her eyes, raising a hoof to block Fluttershy's retreat, "You ain't gettin' off that easy, sugarcube. If anythin', that's all the more reason for us ta know about it."

Rainbow Dash flaps her wings to hover a few feet off the ground, "What I want to know is: Are there or are there not any vamponies? At first I figured everypony was just freaking out about the attack, but the Crusaders have been saying they found one."

Twilight opens her mouth to respond, then looks around in surprise, "Uhh… yeah, yeah there are. Dawn? Midnight?"

At her words, Dawn fades into view, quickly lowering her head and taking a few nervous steps away from the shocked group of larger ponies staring at her. The faces of the smaller ponies brighten at her appearance though, Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Bell running over to their recently made friend.

"See? Ah told y'all we found a vampony," Applebloom says proudly.

Applejack eyes the fourth filly warily, lingering on her Crusader cape, "Ah suppose you did."

Scootaloo flutters her wings in excitement, "You stayed invisible a lot longer than last time!"

"Well yeah," Dawn replies uneasily, shifting slightly to try and hide behind her friends, "there's no sun in here."

Sweetie Belle spins around, pointing an accusatory hoof at her elders, "Stop staring at her like that, you're scaring her!"

Rarity awkwardly lowers her gaze to watch her fidgeting hooves, Rainbow Dash inspecting a corner of the ceiling while Applejack decides to examine the hospital bed, their uncomfortable apologies jumbling together. Pinkie Pie on the other hoof continues to look at Dawn as though nothing had been said, her head tilted and expression unreadable.

"Um… Twilight… " Fluttershy asks as her eyes nervously comb the room, "Where's the other vampony?"

"Hold i~t!" Pinkie Pie yells, stealing the center of attention as she pounces over to grab Twilight. Locking narrowed eyes with her, Pinkie leans in until they are nose to nose, "Are you telling me that there's not one, but two new ponies in Ponyville?"

"Well… " Twilight answers calmly, by now barely surprised by the party pony's intensity, "technically they aren't new ponies; they've probably been here even longer than you have, Pinkie."

Pinkie Pie stares at her for another moment, gasping in horror as she fully grasps the situation, "This is awful!"

Dropping Twilight like a rock, she dashes over and grabs Dawn, "Quick! What do vamponies do for parties? What do you eat? What do you drink? Wait that's a silly question you're a vampony you drink blood of course. I don't know where I'd get enough on such short notice though so would punch work? It could be cherry punch or strawberry punch or – oh! Do vamponies like cupcakes?"

Pinkie giggles, "What am I saying, of course you like cupcakes everypony likes cupcakes. Maybe I could use blood instead of frosting – ooor I could mix the blood into the frosting. That would be a lot more efficient than having blood drinks so I think I can pull it off. I'll call them 'High Blood Sugar Cupcakes'! Now I just need to find a couple donors… "

Having facehoofed halfway through Pinkie's barrage of words, Twilight raises her head to see Dawn desperately trying to squirm away from the crazy pink pony holding her. However, before she can react, a menacing growl ripples through the room, Luna's guards each drawing a hidden weapon from under their armor only to halt at a sharp word from their princess.

Twilight hastily engulfs Pinkie with her purple magic, levitating her away from Dawn and depositing her near the door, "Sorry about that."

She glances towards to source of the growl, "Midnight, if you could please stop being invisible as well?"

After a short pause, Midnight reappears hanging crouched on the ceiling between her sister and Twilight's friends, eyes locked on the pink pony now sheepishly staring up at her. Relaxing ever so slightly at her appearance, the guards sheath their weapons and return to their discussion with Luna, occasionally pointing or peeking warily at the upside-down vampony.

"Everypony, this is Midnight and Dawn," Twilight says, pointing at each in turn. "Midnight and Dawn, this is Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Spike, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom."

Ignoring the rather muted responses from the other ponies in the room, Pinkie Pie hops over right next to the hanging vampony, the top of her mane periodically flattening against the ceiling, "Hello! Sorry about earlier, I was just so excited to throw a party for two ponies I've never even met before! Not that parties for ponies that I do know aren't exciting too, because they are, but it's just so much fun to learn about new ponies and where they're from and what they like and you're an entirely new species which doubles the fun. Or maybe even triples the fun, I don't know, which is what makes it so great!"

A second softer growl rumbles in Midnight's throat as Pinkie Pie invades her personal space, head bobbing almost imperceptibly as her eyes track each bounce.

Rainbow shoots over at this, positioning herself between Midnight and Pinkie, "Hey! I know Pinkie can be a bit hyper and weird, but you better not hurt her or any of my other friends, ya got that?"

Midnight tenses in surprise at the new intrusion, eyes flicking over the pony in front of her, "Rainbow Dash, right?"

Twilight watches the trio carefully, magical current tingling along the spiral in her horn as she once more prepares to intervene.

"Mhm," Rainbow replies shortly, continuing to hover protectively in front of Pinkie who bounces worriedly behind her.

Midnight's unlit eyes meet Rainbow's, "Twilight mentioned earlier that you like Daring Do."

Annoyance bleeds into Rainbow Dash's determined expression, "Like? Anypony can like Daring Do, but I'm her number one fan! There's a reason she put me on the cover of The Ring of Destiny."

Behind her, five ponies and a dragon simultaneously roll their eyes – Applejack groaning audibly.

The ends of Midnight's mouth curl up in a small, knowing smile, "She also said that you hadn't read the latest book yet, since it had gone missing."

"Yeah," Rainbow grumbles, "some jerk stole it."

"Actually, I borrowed it," Midnight corrects her.

Rainbow Dash's eyes narrow, "Wait. You took it?"

"No, I borrowed it," Midnight repeats, her smile widening into a grin. "I also read it."

She pauses to let her words sink in, her growing grin parting her lips to reveal the tips of her teeth, "Would you like to know how it ends?"

Rainbow Dash's flaps become momentarily uneven as she hovers away from the vampony, "You wouldn't… "

Raising an eyebrow, Midnight slowly draws in a lungful of air – Rainbow wavering for an instant before dashing from the room as fast as her wings can take her.

Midnight cups her hooves around her mouth, allowing gravity to pull her into an upright-side-down position, "AHUIZOTL KILLS DARING DO!!!"

A despairing scream echoes down the hallway, "NNOOOOOoooooooo-"

The faint slamming of a door abruptly cuts off Rainbow's cry, Midnight's last two hooves disconnecting from the ceiling to let her fall to the floor in a heap of laughter.

Nurse Sweetheart leans against the receptionist's desk and rubs her temples, "I'm just saying Holly, what are we supposed to feed her? From the looks of things she'll be here for a couple weeks at least, and it's not like we have dead animals lying around we can just stick on a plate."

Holly Dash sighs from behind her exquisitely organized desk, swiping at a stray tendril of yellow hair hanging in front of her face with a pink hoof, "I don't know; I'm sure Princess Twilight will be able come up with a plan. Maybe she can get a few chickens from Fluttershy or something."

"oooO"

Her ears perk up, "What's that sound?"

Before Nurse Sweetheart can think of any possibilities, the double doors leading to the hospital rooms burst open, a cyan blur shooting across the lobby and out the exit.

*bang*"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"*bang*"ooooo"

The pair stare at the outer doors in shocked silence, sharing a look with each other when they close before returning to watching at the exit.

"Do you think we should see what's going on?" Holly asks more than a minute of wordlessness later, front hooves tapping restlessly, "I could definitely go for a run after sitting here forever."

Nurse Sweetheart rolls her eyes, "You've been here for barely two hours."

Holly stretches her forehooves forlornly across the desk, "Yeah. Forever."

For a while neither speak, the only sound the tapping of Holly's hooves in time with the ticking of the clock behind her.

"Do you really think Fluttershy would give us some of her chickens though?" Sweetheart asks, breaking the silence as it starts to become awkward.

Holly giggles, "No, of course not. Remember when that Saddle Arabian stopped by and she found out their pegasi eat fish? The poor thing would probably keel over just at the suggestion."

Twilight's magic sputters out as she numbly watches Midnight lay laughing on the ground, her fleeing friend's wail echoing in her ears, "Daring… Daring Do… died… ?"

Midnight wipes tears from her eyes and looks at Twilight, still chuckling, "No, of course not. Daring Do is the main character; she'd never die. She and Ahuizotl actually team up to fight the 'vamponies'."

Twilight stares blankly at Midnight for a second before her horn glows to life once more, rolling up a few blank sheets from her unfinished survey into short paper rods.

"I! Said! No! Spoilers!" she half yells, emphasizing each annoyed word with a whack on the head.

Midnight retreats under the assault, however her surprise is rapidly replaced by frustration, "Hey – what the – stop – that!"

Taking the offensive, she jumps forward and bites into one of the rods, tearing it to shreds.

Rarity taps her chin with a hoof as she observes Twilight roll up more rods to replace the ones being ripped apart by Midnight, "I suppose that does explain all the strange Daring Do-Ahuizotl shipping fanfics that came out following the most recent book."

Applejack looks at her, surprised, "You read Daring Do?"

"I do not normally read such stories," Rarity admits, raising a hoof to her mouth to stifle a giggle at the scene unfolding before her. "I much prefer a good romance or drama. Nevertheless, knowing that the novels actually involve real ponies and monsters piqued my interest. The first few books have been quite good I would say, though I haven't been able to devote much time to reading them, what with writing my own story now."

"Huh. Ah wouldn't have pegged you for a writer neither," Applejack comments as Twilight summons another large stack of paper next to herself to weaponize.

"Yes, well, it has been a nice change of pace to try something new," Rarity replies while Pinkie exuberantly enters the growing maelstrom. "Though I'm having the hardest time coming up with a good title. Currently it's 'Forty-Two Bales of Hay', but I don't know, it just sounds… bad."

Applejack chuckles as the Cutie Mark Crusaders enter the fray led by Dawn, mobbing Twilight from behind, "Well Ah'm not really one to be givin' you writin' advise or nothin', but what Ah can say is that as long as you like what you wrote, it's a fine story, regardless of what anypony else may say about it."

Rarity smiles warmly, "Aww, thanks Applejack."

"Don't mention it," Applejack replies, returning the smile. Facing the battling ponies after a moment, she clears her throat loudly, "Twilight!"

Her voice cuts through the melee like a knife through water – all participants pausing to pay attention.

"While Ah hate spoilers as much as the next pony and Ah'm sure what yer doin' now is plenty fun, can you please explain what's been goin' on over the last twenty four hours?"

"Oh. Right. Of course," Twilight replies, carefully levitating the four fillies off of her and unrolling the few rods she has remaining. "Last night – well technically I suppose it was all started a thousand years ago by Sombra – though obviously they existed prior to that so-"

"My apologies for interrupting, Twilight," Luna says as she turns from her guards who salute and quickly canter from the room, "but time is of the essence and since you apparently haven't already explained to them what has occurred, a simplified overview will have to do for now."

"Sorry." Twilight's ears fold in embarrassment, "I got a little distracted."

"So it would seem," Luna deadpans. "Regardless, the situation is that a very dangerous criminal is currently hiding in Ponyville and we require your help to ensure that everypony is safe and unharmed."

"Well, you can certainly count on my assistance in this matter," Rarity says with a toss of her mane.

"M~hm!" Pinkie agrees enthusiastically.

Applejack pushes her Stetson up, "Count me in."

"I'll help. And… um… " Fluttershy glances towards to door, "I'm sure you can count on Rainbow Dash too! You know, wherever she is… "

Apprehension crosses Luna's face at their mostly confident responses, "I must warn you, this pony is nothing like any of the enemies you have faced previously. He will not try to tempt you as I did, nor play with your minds like Discord, nor manipulate you like the Changeling Queen. Mare, stallion, filly, or colt, he will try to kill you – without hesitation."

Fluttershy gulps fearfully, her friends exchanging nervous glances.

Luna pauses for a few seconds to let them digest her words before continuing, "The criminal in question is an earth pony with a red mane and coat along with a faded cutie mark. If you catch even the slightest glimpse of him, do not try to attack or reason with him, just come and alert either Twilight or I. Your job is simply to wake up every pony in town and have them report to the town square so we can make sure nopony is missing."

Applejack frowns, "Hold on, he has a faded cutie mark?"

Luna nods, "Yes. I understand how strange that must sound, and I promise everything will be explained later, but for now we must hurry – lives are in danger every moment we continue to delay."

"Alright girls, let's go wake everypony in town!" Scootaloo declares. "Cutie Mark Crusaders Disaster Alerters is a go!"

With a 'yay' the four fillies run towards the door only to find it blocked by their older sisters.

"Oh no you don't," Applejack says from her place between them and the door. "Wakin' up the town is our job. You three – err, four, are goin' straight to the town square and waitin' for this ta be over, not runnin' around Ponyville while there's a murderer on the loose."

"But-" Applebloom tries to protest.

"Beside, as… interesting… a cutie mark as I'm sure that would be, Ponyville already has an alarm siren for that sort of thing," Rarity points out.

"Had an alarm siren," Sweetie Belle reminds her. "It was never replaced after Spike stole it."

Spike laughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Girls," Twilight says, drawing the fillies' attention, "I know you really want your cutie marks, but right now we all have a job to do and your job is to stay safe. Besides," she adds sneakily, "you'll be the first ones in the town square, so it'll be up to you to keep everypony calm until Luna or I get there. Who knows, maybe you'll get your cutie marks in disaster management."

Applebloom shares a glance with the other Crusaders, "Ah never thought of that."

Rarity and Applejack step aside to let the fillies pass, however Midnight doesn't budge, her eyes locked on her little sister.

"Follow them straight there," she says after making sure she has Dawn's full attention. "No sidetracking and no adventures, got it?"

"Y-yeah, got it," Dawn replies, Midnight's seriousness eating into her brief burst of enthusiasm.

Satisfied, Midnight steps aside as well. With all obstacles now removed, the Crusaders run past their sisters and down the hall, any hesitation promptly lost amid a cry of "Cutie Mark Crusaders Disaster Management Team YAY!"

After exchanging slightly worried looks from the sinking realization that they had put the Cutie Mark Crusaders in charge of managing something they normally create, the older ponies plus Spike quickly leave the room as well.

"Excuse me," Twilight says as they trot past the receptionist's desk. Nurse Sweetheart and Holly Dash stop talking to look at her, a small blush of embarrassment creeping onto the receptionist's face. "Can you both find anypony else that's still in the building and bring them to the town square? It's an emergency and we need everypony there."

"Of course, Princess," Sweetheart replies, looking over at Holly. "I'll get Redheart, and you can tell Tenderheart and Rhyme?"

Holly nods and stands only to trip over her chair and fall to the floor with a crash, once again upsetting her carefully organized desk. Jumping to her hooves in an instant, she dashes off, her face a deep crimson. The nurse ponies alerted, Twilight follows the rest of the group out of the building.

Applejack stops just outside the doors, "Do y'all hear that?"

As everypony listens, the sound of faint sobbing makes its way to down to them, their heads swiveling simultaneously to face a nearby dark grey cloud releasing an occasional drop of water.

Twilight walks below the cloud, "Rainbow?"

"Go away," the cloud containing the sobbing pegasus responds.

Undeterred, she encompasses the cloud in her magic, dragging both it and Rainbow Dash to ground level, "Come on Rainbow, Ponyville is in danger and we need your help."

Rainbow Dash avoids her gaze, eyes red and wet from crying, "B-but Twilight… "

Twilight sighs, "Daring Do isn't dead, Midnight made that up. Besides, how could she have written a book that she died in?"

Rainbow Dash swallows and rubs the remaining tears from her eyes, "O-oh… t-that makes sense, I guess. So, uh, why is Ponyville in danger?"

"Turns out there's some kinda murderer skulkin' around town and we need ta round everypony up and send 'em off to the town square to make sure everypony's still alright," Applejack explains.

Rainbow Dash sniffles and salutes, "Well you can count on me. What's the plan egghead?"

"We will take the south-western part of the Ponyville," Luna states, laying claim to the most densely populated area.

Twilight nods, placing Luna on a mental map of the town, "Alright, in that case… Rarity, you take the immediate area around here. Pinkie, you take the western part of town around Golden Oaks. Applejack, you should go get your family. Rainbow, you take the south-eastern area, I'll take the eastern, and Fluttershy you help Rarity here in the north. Oh and Spike, you're with me."

"So… I should just sit here then?" Midnight asks just before they disperse.

"Oh! Right. Uhh… " Twilight glances questioningly at Luna.

"We think it would be best for you to join my guards and search for the murderer from the sky," Luna suggests. "After all, you are the only pony here to have seen him first hoof. Also we doubt that you would be particularly successful in convincing anypony to leave their home – quite the opposite in fact."

Midnight gives a short nod and disappears into the sky, everyone else quickly heading to their assigned destination as well.

As the Crusaders run towards the town square a voice booms behind them in the distance.

"CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE! ARISE FROM YOUR SLUMBER!"

Glancing over her shoulder in the direction of the voice, Applebloom changes course, breaking away from their path down the street to instead run up to one of the houses and bang on the door with her forehooves, "HEY WAKE UP THERE'S AN EMERGENCY!!!"

"What are you doing?" Dawn shouts back at her wayward friend, stopping along with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo a couple houses away, "We're supposed to be going straight there!"

"Well, we're passing by these houses anyway, so really we're still goin' straight there – we just won't get there quite as fast as we could possibly could," Applebloom reasons, dropping her hooves from the door. "Plus it'd be downright irresponsible of us to not wake them up when we're runnin' right by already. Ah mean what kinda managers would we be if we just let everypony else do all the work?"

"That makes sense," Sweetie Belle concurs, Scootaloo bobbing her head in agreement.

Seeing movement in her peripheral vision, Scootaloo looks down an alley between a pair of houses just in time to see a hoof vanish behind one of them.

"Hey!" she calls down the alley, "Everypony needs to head to the town square, it's an emergency!"

Scootaloo trots over to the gap between the houses, Sweetie Belle and Dawn following her while Applebloom hops off the porch of the house she had been assaulting to join them.

"Didja see somepony down there?" Applebloom asks, scanning the empty alleyway in search of whoever her friend had been yelling at.

"Yeah, he walked away though," Scootaloo confirms, pointing to the corner the hoof had vanished behind.

Applebloom steps into the alley, "Well? What're we waitin' for? Twilight said to get everypony to the town square and there's a pony here that needs to be told that."

Scootaloo joins her, the pair looking back at Sweetie Belle and Dawn once halfway to the corner.

Applebloom raises an eyebrow, "Are you two comin', or are ya just gonna stand there?"

"We're supposed to be going straight to the town square," Dawn reiterates, though less certainly.

Applebloom rolls her eyes, "Fine, it's a slight detour, but it's not like we're runnin' across town or anything."

"But what if it's the pony that attacked Dawn's sister?" Sweetie Belle asks, an edge of fear in her voice. "I mean, think about it. A few fillies walk into a dark alley at night following a mysterious figure only to turn a corner to find the monster standing right there waiting for them; it's the opening to practically every horror story ever!"

Scootaloo takes a turn rolling her eyes, "Yeah, but this is real life, not a story. What are the chances we'd actually run into him? He might not even be in town anymore for all we know."

Sweetie Belle and Dawn share a nervous look, nevertheless reluctantly entering the alley. Reaching an intersection with a second alley running between the twin rows of houses, the four turn left – and come face to face with a red pony grinning maliciously at them, his razor sharp fangs glistening clearly in the dim moonlight. The fillies freeze, time seeming to stop with them until he licks his lips and takes a step forward, the movement setting their world in motion once more.

"I TOLD YOU!" Sweetie Belle screeches as they backpedal frantically across the intersection and down the alley away from the monster – only to hit a solid wall. A quick inspection reveals the dead end for what it is, but before the Crusaders can correct their mistake, the fanged pony crosses the intersection as well, cornering them. A droplet of saliva travels down his left fang, combining with another black fluid gathering at its tip to fall to the ground. Stopping to sniff the air, the monster licks his lips once more, seeming to savor the scent of their fear.

Applebloom smooshes herself into the obstructing wall as if hoping she would somehow magically phase through it, "Uh-oh."

The others bunch around her as the monster starts walking forward again, sliding right along the wall into a corner in an effort to put any additional distance between them.

"Girls," Scootaloo says, the memory of Dawn being pushed back by their YAY earlier flashing through her mind, "I have a crazy idea."

"Awesome! Because I have no ideas at all!" Sweetie Belle says loudly, panic rising in her cracking voice.

Scootaloo lets out a scared laugh, "OK, on the count of three, shout 'yay' as loud as you possibly can."

Applebloom gawks at her incredulously, "That's your-"

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

All four Crusaders simultaneously clench their eyes shut and take a deep breath.

The monstrous pony lunges.

"YAY!!!"

The powerful wave of sound created by the fillies crashes into the charging monster, throwing him back across the intersection head over hooves to glance off the alley wall and land in a crumpled heap. After a tense moment, the Crusaders carefully crack open their eyes to observe their surroundings, caution transforming into awe as they examine the shallow quarter-circle crater they're now standing in, the fresh cracks along the walls emanating from corner they had backed into, and the shattered window half way up the wall to their right.

"Whoa… " Applebloom murmurs, slowly walking a few steps away from their corner as she takes in the destruction.

Sweetie Belle presses a hoof to one of the damaged walls, "I can't believe that actually worked."

Scootaloo grins, "Good job putting your lungs into it, Dawn! We couldn't have done it without you!"

The four gather together again, this time in a group hug. Their celebration is short lived however as the fanged pony gets to his hooves and shakes his head, staggering slightly off-balance. Moonlight reflects weakly off a thin stream of blood trickling out of each ear from an injury otherwise invisible against his similarly colored coat.

"I think we should run now," Dawn suggests emphatically.

Hastily disengaging from their hug, they race towards the intersection, their still dazed attacker stumbling in an attempt to beat them there. They halt only a few steps from safety though as Rainbow Dash lands in the center of the intersection facing their nearly recovered aggressor, putting herself between him and the Crusaders.

She looks over her shoulder, "Are you girls OK?"

"We're fine," Sweetie Belle assures her.

Rainbow flares her wings as she faces the attacker again, "Good. Now get out of here!"

"Already on it!" Scootaloo yells as they run past Rainbow Dash and towards the street.

The red pony hisses angrily at the sight of his escaping victims and gallops at the meddling pegasus. Rainbow Dash simply raises an eyebrow as she watches him run at her, an amused smile playing across her lips. He lunges, but just as his hooves are about to make contact she falls onto her back and kicks up, all four hooves connecting with her attacker's barrel to easily propel him over her and into another wall.

"Is that the best you got?" she taunts, jumping to her hooves.

Her opponent stands as well, unfazed.

Closing the distance once again, he tries a more controlled approach, this time only shooting his head forward in an attempt to chomp on her neck rather than another full body assault. However despite this change in tactics, all he gets between his teeth is air, Rainbow nimbly dodging his attacks and each time landing a solid punch on his jaw after they audibly snap shut. Her fifth blow knocks a tooth loose and she smirks at him, confidence swelling until she takes another step back to dodge his next attack – and slips on her own tail.

With a victorious snarl the fanged pony lunges forward once more at the fallen mare, Rainbow Dash frantically spreading her wings and taking to the air – only to jerk to a stop a couple feet off the ground. Looking below, she sees the fanged pony digging his hooves into the dirt – her traitorous tail gripped in his mouth. Eyes gleaming, he reaches up and grabs her tail with his forehooves, yanking her down towards him. She yelps at her sudden descent, automatically aiming a kick at his muzzle, but he calmly spits out her tail and tilts his head to the side, allowing the limb to shoot past his jaw – and into reach.

Rainbow Dash cries out in pain as his fangs sink into her leg, her wings momentarily faltering then beating even faster than before to no avail. The undead vampony groans passionately at her obvious suffering and closes his eyes, the glow of his irises still visible through his eyelids as the blood flowing across his tongue is replaced by another liquid leaving his fangs. Rainbow yells again, redoubling her efforts to escape though the one drinking her blood barely notices, effortlessly maintaining his grip on her leg as he's dragged across the ground by his struggling victim.

Without warning Midnight drops from the sky onto the oblivious earth pony, the speed of her descent partially stripping away her invisibility and the impact dispelling it completely. A sharp crack echoes down the alley as her forehooves connect with the base of the undead pony's skull, shattering vertebrae and severing his spinal cord. A pair of pops immediately follow as his shoulders dislocate; a series of splintering snaps coming from his barrel a split second later as the momentum from her dive bears his body into the ground.

The grip on her leg and tail vanishing as the vampony's body breaks, Rainbow Dash shoots into the air like a multi-colored spellbolt before bringing herself under control and returning to land on a thatch roof overlooking the alley.

Pushing off from her prey's unmoving form with an unhealthy squelch, Midnight takes to the air as well, landing on the roof opposite the shocked pegasus.

"H-hey!" Rainbow sputters, disbelief of what had happened to her just barely overridden by the shock of seeing the broken form of the pony that had attacked her, "You-you just killed him you-"

She fails to finish her sentence however, the not-dead pony drawing a gurgling breath and staggering to his hooves only to fall down again – his crippled body barely capable of standing let alone walking.

Rainbow's eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets as she gapes at him, closing her mouth just in time to keep her dinner from spilling down the side of the house, and following up with an audible swallow, "-you didn't kill him. Sweet Celestia, how is he still alive!?"

Midnight disregards the exclaimed question, sniffing the air then scrutinizing Rainbow, "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash asks, distracted by the fresh attempt to stand by the pony below, "Yeah yeah I'm fine."

"I smell blood," Midnight states calmly, still watching her.

Rainbow gestures at the crippled pony as he falls once again, "Gee, I wonder why."

Midnight lowers her head towards the alley and sniffs the air again, wrinkling her nose, "It's definitely not his; his smells terrible."

Rainbow glances at her injury and shifts slightly, as if keeping it out of sight would somehow hide the scent, "He got me a bit before you… uhh… " the pony stands again, "broke him."

"I can heal it," Midnight offers, spreading her wings. The pony falls once more.

"No!" Rainbow declines loudly, nerves tingling uncomfortably up her leg as she takes a couple steps away, "I mean, uh, no thanks. He only nicked me and I'm barely bleeding so you can stay. Over there."

Midnight hesitates for a moment, then shrugs and folds her wings, settling down to keep eye on the broken pony.

"ARISE CITIZENS! I REALIZE IT IS LATE, BUT PLEASE HURRY!"

"Princess Luna!"

Looking down, Luna sees the Crusaders waving at her frantically.

Frowning, she descends to the street, "WHY ARE – sorry, why are you not at the town square?"

An indecipherable stream of words answers her inquiry as all four fillies try to speak at once.

Raising a hoof for silence, she points at one of them, "Applebloom, why are you here?"

"We found him!" her chosen one answers immediately.

"Yeah!" Scootaloo adds, "Rainbow Dash held him off so we could escape."

Horror spreads across Luna's face, "Take me to where you found him! NOW!"

The Crusaders flinch at her tone, immediately turning on their hooves and running back the direction they had come, now with Luna flying just behind them.

Sweetie Belle points to the alley they had recently fled from, "Over here!"

Luna lands in front of them just in time for a red pony to stagger and fall to the ground at the mouth of the alley. Her eyes widen in shock at the sight and she freezes, but only for a moment – her horn shining to life to seal the fallen pony inside an iridescent sphere floating a few feet off the ground.

Barely managing to stand on the curved floor of the sphere, the undead pony steadies himself and bucks the barrier with his hind legs. Twin *cracks* sound as his ankles bend at unnatural angles and several small fractures appear on the shield's otherwise smooth surface, the force of his kick propelling him face first into the shield. Luna's horn flares brighter, the damage to the sphere disappearing in seconds while her prisoner's smushed face glares at her malevolently.

The immediate threat contained, Luna scans the alley worriedly, "RAINBOW DASH!"

"Up here, Princess," Rainbow responds as she gingerly walks towards the street across the roof of one of the houses overlooking the alley, Midnight matching Rainbow's movement on the roof of the house making up the alley's other wall.

A sigh of relief builds in Luna's chest at their safety, however before she can release it, a purple flash from a nearby window draws her attention.

"Huh? How did I-"

A piercing scream cuts off the muffled words followed by a series of crashes and ending with Twilight teleporting into the alley.

"Is everypony ok?" she inquires, surveying the area as she levitates the back of a chair from around her neck and brushes a couple chunks of wood from her mane, "I heard screaming."

Rainbow Dash snickers, "Uhh… yeah, we're fine. …Are you alright?"

"Hm?" Twilight's gaze flicks from the captured pony to her amused friend, then back to the sphere, "Yep I'm totally fine, just a small teleportation misunderstanding."

Scootaloo contorts her body, trying to mimic the pose of the pony inside the barrier, "I don't think body parts are supposed to bend that way."

"Midnight, is this the pony that attacked you?" Luna asks, ignoring Scootaloo's observation.

"Yes," Midnight confirms.

Twilight's eyes narrow as she inspects the undead pony, "It seems decidedly not berserk though… "

She squints at his flank, the light from Luna's barrier allowing her to just barely make out the faded image of a stepped pyramid with a bamboo tree on either side, "And based on what's left of his cutie mark, it appears he's from the Tenochtitlan Basin? That's odd."

Rainbow stamps her hoof angrily, doing her best to ignore the shooting pain in her injured leg, "I bet Ahuizotl sent him here to get revenge for when we helped Daring Do."

Twilight's eyes widen at her friend's words, the last pieces of the puzzle falling into place, "Midnight, you said earlier that in the newest Daring Do book, she and Ahuizotl teamed up. Was that really what happened?"

Midnight smirks down at Twilight from her perch, "I thought you didn't want any spoilers."

"Just tell me," Twilight demands.

Midnight rolls her eyes, "Yes, yes, that's really what happened."

"And," Twilight continues, "did they team up because one of Ahuizotl's minions became an undead vampony and started turning his other minions into undead vamponies, so in order to save his remaining minions as well as to have any chance of ever taking full control of the Basin he teamed up with his mortal enemy?"

Midnight opens her mouth to answer, but Twilight cuts her off with a raised a hoof, "And! Was the leader of the undead vamponies described to look like," she points her raised hoof at the sphere, "him?"

Midnight stares at her, perplexed, then at the undead pony. Then back at Twilight, then back to the pony, each time her confusion changing more and more into shock.

"Daring Do is real?!" she half asks half exclaims once her brain starts working again.

Twilight snorts at her expression, "Daring Do is very real. Was my summary accurate?"

Midnight nods mutely, eyes unfocused as she peers off into space.

"Which leaves one explanation for why this undead vampony seems to have intelligence," Twilight concludes. "Well no, there are at least seven other possible explanations, but this one is the most likely."

She faces the undead vampony once more, "Isn't that right, Sombra?"

A cruel smile twists the captured monster's face as he regards the accusing alicorn, lips parting to release a choking, guttural laugh.

Luna stabs her horn towards the heavens at his response, her moon quickly moving across the night sky to reach its zenith before briefly blazing like a second pure white sun. Darkness quickly reclaims the night sky however as the moonlight is focused entirely into a single beam intersecting the barrier she had created. While the magical light from the beam disappears as quickly as it had been summoned, its whiteness does not leave entirely – the intense magical energy having scorched the color from everything beneath and around the now ponyless prison.

Luna's eyes lock onto the one thing remaining inside – a unicorn horn, dark grey at the base transitioning to a bright reddish-orange at the tip. After hovering for a split second, it falls, hitting the bottom of the barrier with a soft yet resounding *clink*.

Chapter 12 Cleansing Corruption

Silence reigns as Luna, Twilight, Midnight, and Rainbow Dash stare at the horn, all of them starting when it emits a sharp snake-like hiss and dissolves into thick black smoke. The dark mass quickly expands to fill the entirety of the shield, tendrils forming to press and prod at various parts of its prison in search of a weakness to exploit.

"Huh. Well that was unexpected," Applebloom comments.

Twilight's ears stand straight up as the voice of the Apple family's youngest member drags her attention from the newly filled barrier to the Crusaders standing just a few steps behind her. Closing her eyes for a moment, she mentally kicks herself, Great, just great, not only was I actually right about Sombra, but I let four fillies watch Luna kill another pony. Or whatever this would count as. Annihilate another pony? End another pony? Well in any case…

"Girls," Twilight says, turning to sternly address the still gawking fillies, "you need to go to the town square right now. And I mean actually go there this time."

While she speaks, magic crackles across Sombra's prison accompanied by an incomprehensible echoing whisper as he continues testing the limits of the spell containing him.

Flinching at her tone as much as the remnants of the deposed tyrant, Scootaloo nervously salutes along with Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, "You got it, Twilight."

The trio starts to run down the street until Applebloom suddenly stops and turns around, "Hey Dawn, you comin'?"

Dawn glances at the waiting fillies, then uncertainly back at her sister.

Midnight gestures with her head to follow them, "Go on."

Casting one last worried look at her sister, Dawn joins her friends and they soon vanish around a corner as they head towards their original destination.

Watching the four complications leave her sight, Twilight closes her eyes and fills her lungs with air, placing a hoof to her chest. After holding that pose for several seconds, she moves her hoof away and slowly exhales, though what little stress the action manages to relieve instantly returns as soon as she reopens her eyes.

"Luna," Twilight says, returning to the matter at hoof, "this whole 'Sombra getting destroyed and transforming into smoke' thing is very similar to what happened last time you and Celestia defeated him, right?"

"It is," Luna confirms.

"And last time, according to Princess Celestia, it caused any remaining undead vamponies to go berserk, right?"

"It… " Luna's eyes widen, "Oh."

As if on cue, her three Lunar Guards land and bow to their princess, "Your Highness, we have found no trace of the pony you described anywhere in Ponyville."

"He is no longer of any concern," Luna replies, waving away their no longer relevant information. "Have you seen any other similarly suspicious characters or activities?"

The lead guard shakes his head, doing his best to keep his eyes on Princess Luna and not the swirling shadow behind her, "We have not. With the exception of one house blasting some sort of strange classical-electronic music, the entire town was completely silent until a couple minutes ago, and this is the last section we have yet to sweep."

Relief washes over Luna at their words and she nods, "Good. Continue searching and report back to me if you find anything."

The guards salute and take to the air once more.

"Rainbow Dash, Midnight." Luna turns to the other fliers, "I want both of you to continue searching as well. You both know this town far better than my guards and may think to look in places they would not."

Midnight sends a concerned glance at Rainbow, but nevertheless jumps into the night sky and vanishes.

Rainbow Dash stands as Midnight takes off, gritting her teeth and shifting her weight onto her good legs to ease the growing pain spreading through her bitten one. Thin arcs of lightning travel across Luna's shield as the smoke once again tries – and fails – to escape, a familiar pair of green eyes with red pupils forming in it after the attempt.

"Twilight," Luna says, breathing heavily from the effort of maintaining her barrier, "we cast this spell quickly in order to contain the undead vampony, but it is highly inefficient and very difficult to maintain, especially against somepony with Sombra's abilities. Therefore we require your assistance in creating a more permanent solution."

As Luna speaks, the pair of floating eyes wander from the two alicorns to settle on Rainbow Dash, the pegasus' leg beginning to pulse with a dull throb in time with her heartbeat.

Rainbow gulps and diverts her gaze from the eyes, "So, uh, Twilight, what was that about the undead? Why is Sombra here? What the hay is going on!?"

"Not now Dash," Twilight replies without even glancing up at her friend. "What did you have in mind Luna?"

Rainbow's vision blurs and she rubs her eyes, "But it's kinda important-"

Twilight sighs in frustration, "Look, I know this seems really strange right now but believe me, everything is going to be fine. Sombra's been captured and he's going to stay captured."

"We were thinking one of Starswirl's ambiance-sustained containment barriers, if you have the materials available," Luna suggests.

Twilight rubs her chin as she mentally runs through her inventory of magical supplies, "Hmm, I should have everything on hoof. If not, I can definitely pull whatever else we need from some of my past experiments."

Rainbow frowns and again opens her mouth to speak, however Twilight vanishes with a purple flash before she can get a word in edgewise.

"Was there something you wished to say?" Luna asks, glancing up at her.

Luna's attention is diverted before Rainbow Dash can answer as Sombra once more strains against his prison, small cracks forming in multiple places on the sphere. Luna grunts, beads of sweat forming on her face while she struggles to keep the shield from shattering. Once Sombra's attack subsides, she sits heavily, her head lowered as she pants from the exertion.

"Uhh… no, it's fine, it can wait until after you and Twilight make that ambi-whatever," Rainbow says uneasily. As soon as she speaks, her vision swims and nausea rises in her stomach, "I think… "

A minute later, Twilight teleports back in another flash of purple with several lumpy bags held in her telekinetic grasp. Rainbow Dash sways, blinking away the lingering afterimage as Twilight places the bags next to Luna and unloads several blank runestones, transparent focus crystals, and deep blue amplification gems.

Luna nods tiredly, "That should suffice. We will need you to take over containing Sombra while I set up."

"Of course," Twilight walks over to stand next to Luna, the shield glowing purple as the pair touch horns.

"Oof, you weren't kidding about it being inefficient," Twilight jokes as they separate. However her attempt at humor is lost on Luna who sighs with relief at the removal of her arcane burden, closing her eyes for several seconds to rest and refocus on her new task.

Levitating four of the runestones to lay on the grass in front of her, she lowers her glowing horn to the closest of the set for several seconds, dim white lines originating from their meeting point to move seemingly at random across its smooth surface. As Luna moves on to the next runestone the white lines fade from the first, a few thin strands of smoke rising from the matching engravings. Once identical runes have been carved onto all four stones, she embeds them in the ground to form a square around Sombra's purple prison. The focus crystals follow, Luna carefully placing them on either side of each runestone one quarter of the way along an arc to form part of a circle. The amplification gems complete the circle, one centered between each pair of focus crystals.

Unnoticed while Twilight concentrates on maintaining the current shield and Luna works to create a new one, Rainbow Dash slumps to the rooftop, the world bending and twisting before her eyes as a haze starts to fill her mind.

After walking a lap around her circle to examine her work, a ball of energy gathers at the tip of Luna's horn and four beams of white light simultaneously shoot out to hit each of the runestones. Tendrils grow like roots from their surfaces to dig into the earth and air before fading from view to leave the runestones thrumming with magical energy. As soon as Luna ceases her magical injection, the air chills, twin beams shooting from each runestone to pass through the focus crystals which narrow the beam and direct it at the amplification gems. The blue gems rise to float just above the ground glowing brightly, an identically colored beam of energy arcing from each to strike the existing barrier containing Sombra. A second layer of magic grows from those four points, quickly merging with each other to complete the new shield.

"You may release your spell now, Twilight," Luna says as the air begins to warm.

Twilight does so immediately, her shoulders sagging tiredly as Luna's original barrier disintegrates. The smoke pushes against its newly constructed prison, but apart from a small drop in temperature nothing happens, the air beginning to warm again as soon as the escape attempt ends.

Luna allows herself a weary but satisfied smile before she starts to walk another lap around her activated spell circle, horn pulsing dimly against the thrumming backdrop of magical current as she probes for any slight defects.

Sighing, Twilight rubs her eyes and looks down the street away from the floating sphere – straight into Pinkie Pie's smiling face.

"Hi Twilight!"

Twilight jumps nearly a foot into the air and her wings snap open, somewhat slowing her short descent. Hearing her heart pounding loudly in her ears, she forces herself to take several long, deep breaths, the mad beating in her chest gradually slowing, "Pinkie! Please don't do that. Tonight of all nights."

"Okie-dokie-loki," Pinkie replies happily as her eyes roam across the scene in front of her, smile shrinking at the sight of Sombra.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Twilight asks quizzically, "You couldn't possibly have woken everypony up yet."

"Weellll… most of the ponies I woke up were pretty annoyed about it, seeing as it's late and all, but once I explained what was going on they were really understanding and some even started helping out! So when the moon suddenly got super bright I told told them to finish up and I'd investigate. So here I am!" Concern replaces Pinkie's smile as her eyes move from Sombra to the adjacent roof, "By the way, what's wrong with Dash?"

Twilight blinks in confusion and finally looks up at her many-colored friend, "What do you mean what's wrong with – Dash!"

"'s fine," Rainbow slurs from her perch, "'m totly fin"

"No you are NOT fine. Now get down here so I can see what's wrong," Twilight demands worriedly, faint warning bells going off in the back of her mind.

When Rainbow's only answer is a gurgling groan, Twilight lifts her friend from the roof with her magic and gently lays the pegasus on the ground. Her jaw drops as she sees jagged black lines of lumpy flesh stretching the length of Rainbow's leg and beginning to spread across her barrel as if fire flowed through her veins instead of blood, burning her from within, "Lunaaa!"

Luna glances up from her examination, "We are standing right here, Twilight; there is no need to yell."

Twilight paws at the ground, "What… does it look like when a pony gets bitten?"

Luna is beside Twilight fast enough to have teleported, the lack of a telltale flash the only indication she hadn't done so. She gasps when she sees Rainbow's injury, "It can appear similar to that."

Twilight backs up a step and turns in a circle as panic sets in, "Nooo nonono, how do we fix her? Cure her?" She looks up hopefully, "Luna?"

Fear twists in Luna's gut, but with a grimace she forces the unhelpful emotion into the background, "I… we do not know. Never before have we seen it behave with such… virulence. In our limited experience with the turning process, it only ever succeeded when the pony bitten was near death already, in which case there was little point in trying to save them and even then the scarring was nowhere near this severe. In a healthy pony it should be almost indistinguishable from a common cold which vanishes on its own after a few days."

Twilight whirls around to glare at Sombra, "What did you do to her?"

The tyrant's shadow merely laughs, Rainbow Dash yelling in pain as the lines of corrupted flesh pulse and spread further across her body. Pinkie watches expressionlessly as her friend slowly relaxes when the pain subsides, her mane flattening to reach her knees.

Luna places a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, "Perhaps the Elements would be of use? They were able to purge me of the corruption which led to my becoming Nightmare Moon after all, and what is happening here is as disharmonious as anything I've ever encountered."

"Twilight!" a familiar voice calls from behind them, "Whatever is making that absolutely awful noise? And where did that disgusting smoke monster come from? Though I suppose that answers my first question, doesn't it?"

Relief rushes through Twilight as she turns to see Rarity and Fluttershy trotting towards her, "Have either of you seen Applejack?"

Rarity shakes her head, "No, we haven't. She ran all the way out to Sweet Apple Acres remember? Is something the matter?" She pauses, "Also, is that thing… staring at me?"

Fluttershy's eyes widen upon seeing Rainbow Dash and she raises a hoof to her mouth, "Oh my… "

Rarity's eyes shift back and forth between the smoke and Rainbow, "Twilight, dear, what's going on?"

Her query bounces impotently off Twilight's stress-muddled mind as she focuses on a different question, How do I find Applejack? How do I find Applejack? How do I-

"Hey girls, Ah came as fast as Ah could. What's goin' on? Why'd the moon get all bright?" Applejack asks, running up to the group from the opposite direction as Fluttershy and Rarity. Her ears lower as she sees Rainbow lying on the ground, "Scratch that, what's wrong with Dash? She don't look right."

A feeling of displacement answers her questions rather than words, Twilight pulling her 5 friends along into a group teleport.

A nervous minute passes as Luna stares at the place they had been, then up to her moon, Good luck, Twilight Sparkle

Unable to sit still any longer, Luna resumes her examination of her circle only for Spike to run up a few minutes later.

"Princess… Luna… have you seen… Twilight?" Spike asks between pants, falling to his hands and knees then onto his side as he gasps for breath.

Luna nods, "I have, they just left in fact. I do not know exactly where to for certain, though I would expect them to be entering the Everfree Forest by now."

Spike groans at the thought, opting to remain on the ground rather than continue his pursuit. The door to one of the houses beside Sombra's prison opens as he lays there, Berryshine peeking out with a fresh chair clutched in her hooves. She jumps at the sight of Luna, dropping her chair and bowing, "P-Princess!"

Spike raises his head and waves, "Hey Berry."

"Since neither of you are doing anything else at the moment, could you both begin waking the ponies on this street and direct them to go to the town square?" Luna requests.

Spike shrugs and gets to his feet, "Sure."

Berryshine rises from her bow, "Of course, Princess."

Sombra struggles to break free once more, dark whispers at his failure finally drawing the attention of Spike and Berryshine. They stare at the shadow. The shadow stares back.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

Chaos explodes through the Golden Oaks Library as soon as Twilight and her friends appear – books, chairs, and all manner of other movable objects flying through the air at random while Twilight frantically darts around her home, skimming through the moving projectiles.

"So Twilight," Applejack ducks, a lamp just barely missing her hat, "are ya gonna explain why we're here? Or what's wrong with Rainbow Dash?"

"Or what that awful smoke creature was?" Fluttershy adds as she pulls a slowly tumbling Owlowiscious from Twilight's magic and into the relative safety of an empty bookshelf.

"Hooo-oo"

Fluttershy smiles, "You're very welcome."

Rarity steps aside to dodge a slow-moving table bearing Pinkie Pie, "Or perhaps you could start with why you're trying to smash us to bits with this maelstrom?"

"QUIET!!!" Twilight shouts, silencing her shocked friends as the floating objects cease their movement. "I need to find where I put the Elements so we can cure Rainbow Dash and all your talking isn't making it any easier!"

Her friends share an uncomfortable look before Pinkie speaks up dully, her mane still flat, "Then why are we here? We gave the Elements back to the Tree of Harmony, remember?"

Twilight's right eye twitches and several tufts of hair pop out from her well-combed mane, everything falling to the floor as her magic cuts out causing several of the more delicate objects to shatter, "But that – but we – we need the Elements to fix Rainbow, and if they aren't here, if they're in the Everfree Forest, teleporting myself that far through so much chaotic magic is already incredibly dangerous and teleporting all six of us is impossible but if we don't get there, if we don't-"

A scream interrupts her, Rainbow Dash's corruption spreading again to reach halfway up her barrel. Twilight's mouth hangs open as she stares at her dying friend, her brain both trying yet unwilling to go any further down that path.

Applejack walks over and snaps Twilight out of her daze with a light punch to her chest, "Hey, now Ah may have absolutely no idea what's goin' on right now, but what Ah do know is that we still represent the Elements even if we don't got those fancy necklaces or crown anymore. So what do we need to do to save Rainbow Dash?"

Twilight swallows and shakes her head as she reorganizes her thoughts, "Right… you're right, Applejack; we do still represent the Elements, so we should be able to channel them at least a little bit. OK, everypony form a circle with Rainbow."

I just hope it'll be enough.

Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity arrange themselves in a circle to include a barely conscious Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie's mane re-poofing determinedly as she reminds herself all the pranks she and Rainbow had pulled together over the course of their friendship. Closing their eyes, each of the five focus on their element and begin to levitate a couple inches off the ground, a light breeze swirling around the half-demolished library as they link to their neighbors with a faint rainbow.

As their connection to their element and each other strengthens, black wisps leech into the air to form a haze around Rainbow Dash, absorbing the rainbow from Twilight and Rarity to prevent it from reaching their friend. The other connecting rainbows begin to flicker at the interruption and after a second the channel abruptly ends, dropping them all back to the floor.

"What happened?" Rarity asks worriedly, "Twilight, why didn't it work?"

"I don't know," Twilight says, feeling herself starting to panic for what seems like the umpteenth time. "It should have worked. The entire purpose of the Elements is to spread harmony, so the only reason I can think of that it wouldn't have worked is it's become too ingrained to be removed without the actual Elements of Harmony."

"So what's gonna happen to RD?" Applejack asks, doing her best to hide her shivering as she shifts shakily from hoof to hoof.

Twilight blinks away tears, "She's going to die."

Well, not quite, a part of herself whispers unbidden from a dark corner of her mind. It's your job to grant her that luxury now.

Taking one last look at her friend, Twilight charges her horn, Rainbow Dash spasming as the corruption spreads again.

"Um… I have an idea… "

Four pairs of eyes meet Fluttershy's.

"Well… I was just thinking… maybe if we tried making a circle around Rainbow Dash instead of with her it might work better, since she'd be connected to all five of us instead of just two?"

Twilight stares at Fluttershy dumbly for a second, then grins widely, gleefully letting the magic leave her horn, "Fluttershy you're a genius!"

Their hope rekindled, Rainbow's five friends gather around her and focus on the elements they embody once more. Levitating a couple inches from the ground, a faint rainbow again passes between Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity – strengthening when the circle is completed. They rise a further few inches as the breeze swirling around them intensifies and they start to glow, Rainbow Dash beginning to be drawn up as well as five rainbows arc down from her friends to struggle against the black haze forming around her. This time however the unity of her friends holds firm, the shadow surrounding her losing ground until one, then two, then all of her friends connect.

A brilliant white cocoon envelopes Rainbow, an eerie screech echoing around Twilight's library as Sombra's poison is purged from her body. Finally free of the corruption, Rainbow Dash rises to join her friends, the light of the cocoon spreading throughout the entire room before the six slowly descend back to the floor.

Author's Note

I seem to have earned that Dark tag more than I ever intended with this chapter…

Also I can neither confirm nor deny forgetting that the Elements were in the tree when I first wrote this out :twilightblush:

Chapter 13 Solve One Problem

As soon as the magic fades, Rainbow Dash crumples to the ground with a soft thump. Groaning contentedly at the sudden lack of pain, she tiredly opens her eyes to observe her surroundings though her head remains on the pleasantly cool wood floor. Her moment of rest does not last long however, Twilight anxiously levitating the weakly protesting pegasus into the air to slowly spin her around in search of any remaining black markings. Finding nothing more than a twisted but perfectly normal scar just beneath her cutie mark, Twilight gently sets Rainbow Dash back on the ground and looks up at the ceiling as waves of happiness wash away her fear.

She's… she's ok. Whatever Sombra did to her, it's gone. She's going to be ok!

Rarity runs her eyes over Rainbow's mostly unmarred body while Twilight cheerfully stares off into space, "Are you alright?"

"What the heck happened to you?" Applejack asks worriedly.

Pinkie Pie rolls onto her back and sticks her legs in the air, "How many hooves am I holding up?"

Fluttershy draws in a lungful of air, "Everypony SHUT UP and BACK UP!"

Obeying her command with looks of mild surprise, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie cease their verbal bombardment and take a step away, Twilight following suit a second later. Moving forward, Fluttershy lowers her head next to Rainbow's, speaking gently, "Is there anything you need?"

"Water," Rainbow rasps softly, a hacking cough following her request.

"On it," Twilight says, darting into her mostly undamaged kitchen and returning with a large glass of water seconds later.

Rainbow Dash snatches the offered glass from Twilight's magic as soon as it comes within reach and eagerly gulps it all down, the cool liquid soothing her parched throat. Lowering the empty cup from her lips, she coughs to scratch the last persistent itch from the back of her throat before glancing around again, panting slightly and swallowing several times to clear accumulated phlegm from her esophagus.

"So… um… if you don't mind me asking, that is, if you're feeling better now, what happened to you?" Fluttershy asks, the uncertainty in her voice wavering close to fear.

"I-" Rainbow swallows once more, "I'm not really sure. I was flying to where Twilight said I should go, but just before I got there I heard the Crusaders shouting. When I found them, they were huddled in a dead end across from some red stallion. He attacked me while the Crusaders escaped, and I was totally kicking his flank until I… uh… tripped. And then the freak bit me, but-"

More coughs interrupt her, prompting Twilight to quickly fetch a refilled glass which Rainbow Dash gratefully drinks from before continuing.

"But then what's-her-name, the vampony, just broke the guy. Not like knocked him out, like, I'm pretty sure she broke his spine. And a bunch of other things. And then she just sniffed the air and could smell the blood from where I'd been bit. It was preeetty creepy. Anyway, me and her watched him stagger around for a while until Princess Luna got there, she hit him with the moon, which somehow made King Sombra's horn appear and… it all gets kinda hazy after that. I think there was an ambivalent something or other?" she shrugs, sipping at her remaining water.

"So Twi," Applejack says, an edge of anger in her voice, "Ah think you owe us all an explanation as ta what's really goin' on here. For example, why King Sombra is in Ponyville."

"Um… well… " Twilight winces at the accusation in Applejack's tone, "I think it would be better to wait until Princess Luna is here. She knows a lot more of the history behind everything and could probably-"

Applejack steps up to Twilight, the pair almost nose to nose, "Ahm sorry, let me restate that. Derpy got sent to the hospital, Midnight got sent to the hospital, mah sister and her friends got attacked, and Rainbow Dash almost died. Start. Explainin'. NOW."

*creeeakkk*

Six pairs of eyes snap towards the door to find Mayor Mare slowly inching her head into the library, nervously scanning the demolished room, "Um… is now a bad time?"

Twilight tries to answer; but before she can get her tongue to cooperate, Applejack glares at the interruption, "Yes. Now is a very bad time."

"Oh. Well, everypony has made it to the town square except for a few stragglers still trickling in, so whenever you're ready, Princess."

Twilight forces a smile onto her face, "Thanks Mayor, we won't keep everypony waiting too long."

Mayor Mare nods and quickly shuts the door, leaving Applejack to return her furious gaze to Twilight.

Twilight retreats a couple steps and takes a deep breath, her friends' stares feeling uncharacteristically heavy, "Alright, explaining, ok… um… I don't know everything, but I based on what I do know, it all really started about one thousand years ago… "

.

.

.

"and that's why we needed to use the Elements to save Rainbow Dash," Twilight finishes, licking her dried lips and glancing around at her friends. The only sound to greet her completed explanation is the quiet ticking of a clock from somewhere beneath the debris scattered about the room. Pinkie Pie opens her mouth to say something; however for perhaps the first time since Twilight had met her, no noise of any kind comes out. After a few seconds she closes her mouth and lowers her eyes to examine her hooves pensively.

"Wow," Rainbow Dash finally speaks up from her spot on the floor, "that's some seriously messed up stuff, Twilight."

"Which you didn't tell us," Applejack states.

Twilight flinches and lowers her head, ears splayed back, the steady calmness in Applejack's voice somehow cutting much deeper than her earlier anger.

"I'm sorry."

A lump gathers in her throat along with tears in her eyes as she stares at the floor, "I-I meant to tell you, really, but then I got distracted and Luna said we needed to get going and I just… but that's no excuse. I didn't tell you and it nearly cost ponies their lives. I failed, both as a princess and as a friend and… and I'm sorry."

The clock takes over the conversation again, the faint ticking echoing loudly through the room.

After a minute, Applejack's stony expression softens and she sighs, "Look, Twi, you screwed up somethin' fierce. There's no nicer way a' sayin' it. But after hearin' everything that happened, Ah can… understand why you did what you did. Ah still think it was a stupid, foal-headed-"

She stops herself and takes a deep breath, "Look, if Rainbow had died, if any of our sisters had died, we'd be havin' a very different conversation right now. One that probably wouldn't involve all that many words. But they didn't; somehow everything managed ta work itself out. Ah'm gonna need some time to get over what happened, we all will Ah think, but Ah also know that you're not the type of pony to do somethin' like this on purpose. So Ah forgive you – on the condition that you never leave us out of the loop like this ever again."

Twilight sniffles and raises her head to meet Applejack's eyes, going through a familiar set of motions, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in both my eyes."

Lowering one hoof from an eye, she uses the other to wipe away a few tears.

"Well, that's good enough for me!" Pinkie declares, a shadow of her usual happiness returning. Trotting over to Twilight she embraces her, "Group hug time!"

"Now that sounds like a wonderful idea," Rarity agrees.

"Mmm-hm," Fluttershy adds wholeheartedly, the pair contributing their hooves to the hug.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash share a smile before joining in as well, the shared heat of the six friends matching the warmth beating in each of their hearts.

Luna's horn pulses one last time at the end of her inspection before winking out, a small, satisfied smile on her face as she raises her head to view the quietly humming beams of energy forming her circle. Seconds later a dim glow appears in her peripheral vision and she frowns, turning to watch it grow in strength then quickly fade into nothing.

That felt like the Elements of Harmony.

Strange… what are they doing in Ponyville?

The pair's ponderings are interrupted by a persistent crackle from their shield while Sombra wastes the next minute desperately struggling to free himself, his eventual failure leaving him no other recourse but to angrily swirl in place.

Luna suppresses a shiver, smirking smugly, "Your plan for Rainbow Dash failed, we assume?"

She feels a slight tickle at the edges of her mind as Sombra meets her eyes, silently staring back at her.

Is he… ?

Her other voice snickers, Indeed he is.

Luna holds the stare for another moment then breaks it with a roll of her eyes, turning her back to him and sitting to watch the last few sleepily unaware ponies stumble past them towards the town square.

"Oh, the horror, the horror!" Roseluck proclaims from the ground, Daisy's leg twitching for added emphasis while Lily Valley lays perfectly still beside them.

Heavy hoofsteps approach the flower ponies, coming to a stop just in front of them. Lily's curiosity grows steadily in the following silence, eventually convincing her to crack open an eye. Nightmare Moon's maliciously grinning face greets her, the intimidating visage mere inches from her own.

"eep!"

Like a vampire fruit bat out of Sweet Apple Acres before Fluttershy came along, Lily races away, Roseluck and Daisy hot on her tail after their own glimpse of Nightmare.

Spike and Berryshine approach Princess Luna as the trio flee, Berry bowing and Spike saluting, "All done, Princess."

Luna nods, shifting back into her usual form, "Good. Berry, was it? Please follow them to the town square as well."

Berryshine rises, quickly cantering away.

"I have another task for you, Spike," Luna says, extending a hoof to block him from leaving with Berryshine. "I must speak to my sister about everything that has happened here tonight, however I cannot leave this monster unattended. Therefore, I will enter into my sister's dream while you remain here." A line of moonlight begins to trace its way along the groove of her horn, "If anything happens, anything at all, wake me by hitting my horn."

Not waiting for him to say a word, the tip of Luna's horn glows and she closes her eyes, a thin strand of magic extending a short distance from her before abruptly fading out of the waking world.

"And how exactly am I supposed to do that?" Spike asks himself aloud, looking up at the alicorn princess towering over him. Glancing around, he walks past Luna to pick up a moon-bleached rock, "Better than trying with my fire I guess."

A nearly inaudible whisper makes its way to his ears and he stiffens, slowly raising his head to look up at the barrier – and straight into Sombra's unblinking eyes, "Whoa! That was… creepy… "

He sways slightly, his attempts to look away becoming increasingly half-hearted as his eyes gradually start to match the pair staring into them.

And why would I want… to look away… such pretty eyes… like emeralds… and… rubies…

Suddenly pain lances through his tail and he staggers back, pulling his left claw away from one of the runestones.

Spike rubs his pounding head, feeling moisture coating his scales, "Ugh… what happened?"

"You weren't answering me, so I bit you," Midnight replies, licking her fangs. "You taste spicy."

Spike winces as he flexes his tail, "Um, thanks?"

"I think I can heal it, if you want," Midnight offers. "Never tried on a dragon before though."

Spike waves her offer away, "I'm fine, it barely even hurts. Though next time maybe try not biting?"

Midnight shrugs, "Well I tried asking you and poking you, which didn't work."

Spike rubs his head again, flicking his wrist to send more of the clear fluid onto the ground.

"And when licking didn't work either, I figured I had to try something more drastic."

Spike freezes at her words, his face morphing with disgust as he slowly removes his claw from his head to stare at it, a strand of saliva stretching between two digits, "Eww, gross!"

Engulfing his hand in a gout of green fire he quickly dries his claw, closing his right eye and cupping both his claws to redirect a second burst of flame at his wet scales.

Midnight meanwhile walks up to Luna, poking a leg experimentally.

"Hey!" Spike shouts, wedging himself between the two mares. "No biting the Princess!"

Midnight looks down at the determined drake, raising an eyebrow. Spike swallows nervously, eyes drawn to her protruding fangs, but he holds his ground.

Turning away with a roll of her eyes, Midnight steps around him to take a seat next to Luna, "I wasn't going to bite her, I was just curious what she was doing."

"Oh," Spike says, sitting and leaning back against Luna's left leg. "She's talking to Princess Celestia in her dreams about all the crazy stuff that's been going on. And she left me in charge of waking her up in case Sombrero over there tries anything."

Midnight frowns, idly batting at a stray lock of Luna's ethereal mane floating tantalizingly over her head, "I thought his name was Sombra."

Spike sighs, "It was a joke. You know, Sombra, sombrero? They sound similar but they're totally different things."

Midnight continues playing with Luna's hair, her motions pulling a few more locks over to her, "What's a sombrero?"

"It's this hat they wear down in Mexicolt. It has a big bump in the middle for your head, the brim comes out really far, and then it curves back up a bit at the edge," Spike describes, his claws following an invisible outline in the air. "Sometimes there's things hanging down off the bottom too."

Midnight pauses mid-rear, her eyes following an imaginary sombrero-topped Sombra floating above Ponyville. She snickers, "You're right, that is pretty funny."

Luna smiles as she steps from the real world into the world of dreams, watching the myriad doors to the nighttime fantasies of her ponies tumble through space seemingly at random against a backdrop of ever-shifting blues, blacks, whites, and purples. Off to her right, two doors collide to temporarily fuse into a natural shared dream, the colors of each bleeding into the frame of the other. A mote of light floats up to her, tittering a question to which she responds in kind, pointing at an ornate doorway of platinum and iron.

I thought you were in a hurry, a familiar voice echoes from out of sight.

Following the words to their source, Luna finds a nondescript wooden doorway marked only by the carving of a sun at the top of the frame. Another alicorn stands next to it, her deep blue coat and eyes shown to not be black only thanks to the undulating void of the mane and tail hugging her form. An all but invisible inky splotch adorns her flank, the gibbous moon in its center completing Luna's crescent.

My thanks, Selena, Luna replies as she approaches.

Selena smiles and bobs her head, transforming into a cloud of dimly sparkling smoke to join with Luna's shadow as she steps through their sister's doorway, the mystic background of the collective dreamscape instantly transforming into a wide open meadow dotted by the occasional tree.

"Princess Celestia, look!" a young Twilight calls out from nearby, eagerly running around a particularly large oak to smash face first into a reclining Celestia's side. A pair of flowers fall to the ground, the sudden impact disrupting the telekinesis keeping them afloat.

Twilight staggers backwards, tripping after a step to fall on her butt. Celestia opens her eyes and smiles back at the small filly looking up at her sheepishly, "Was there something you wanted to show me, Twilight?"

"Oh! Right!" Quickly locating the fallen flowers Twilight levitates them back up, "I-I found these and I thought they would – I mean, you would – n-not that you aren't already-"

Gently taking over for the stammering filly, Celestia winds the stem of one of the flowers into her mane and the other into Twilight's, watching her young student beam happily and hug the other Celestia's leg. Princess Celestia blinks, glancing around in confusion to find her sister standing next to her.

"My apologies for interrupting," Luna says, managing a soft smile as she watches the dream Twilight and Celestia cuddle, "but we must to speak with you regarding the situation in Ponyville."

Celestia watches her other self wistfully for another moment then turns, a dirt path appearing under her hooves as she walks sedately in the opposite direction, "What has happened to prompt this visit? I wasn't expecting to hear from you until tomorrow night, and certainly not in this manner."

"Well… " Luna replies hesitantly, searching for the right words as she matches her sister's measured pace, "to borrow a modern phrase, we have some good news, some bad news, and some worse news."

Celestia sighs, any hope for her next day being a simple one vanishing before her eyes, "I see. Let's start with the good news then."

"As you wish," Luna says. "The good news is that, all things considered, my meeting with what is most certainly a new tribe went fairly well. They appear to physically be similar to our Thestrals in many ways and seem to have a natural affinity for shadowmagic; the two I met were able to rather skillfully use a somewhat basic form to briefly evade detection even by me. I cannot say whether such a talent extends to their entire race, but it seems likely to be a common ability at the very least."

Celestia pauses to rub her chin thoughtfully, "Interesting. Their proficiency with shadowmagic will likely cause some concern among our subjects given the increased suspicion of deceptive magics ever since the Changelings, but the Thestral reintegration has been picking up steam recently so perhaps they can simply follow in the hoofsteps of the gains being made there to some extent."

Luna shakes her head, "We highly doubt that will be possible, unfortunately. While they do share some similarities, there are more than enough differences as well. They make their home within the Everfree for one, which automatically makes any kind of integration or exchange… maybe not impossible, but certainly difficult. Their diet is my main concern however. Twilight's letter to you was correct – they are entirely carnivorous, and while completely unrelated to Sombra, they are vampiric in nature as well, requiring pony blood in order to survive. They even call themselves 'Vamponies' in fact."

Celestia looks at Luna flatly, "So what you are saying is that there is a previously unknown species of carnivorous pony living in the Everfree Forest next to Ponyville and they periodically break into ponies' homes to suck their blood."

"That… is an accurate summary, yes," Luna replies. "Though there are likely more of them in other parts of the Everfree as well."

"I thought this was supposed to be the good news," Celestia says, a note of incredulity in her voice.

"I may have been somewhat generous in my definition of 'good news'," Luna admits.

Celestia's horn glows and she pinches herself several times.

"A valiant effort, but we cannot allow you to wake up just yet," Luna says amusedly.

Defeated, Celestia rubs her temples, "Very well, continue."

Luna nods, bracing herself, "Sombra is in Ponyville."

Celestia's head jerks up, "WHAmmph."

"And he has been dealt with, sister," Luna says, removing her hoof from Celestia's mouth. "I did not come here speaking pleasantries while letting him roam free. Rainbow Dash and one of the vamponies, Midnight, were able to damage the body he was possessing enough to subdue him, and Twilight and I were able to contain him. No lasting harm has been done to Ponyville or any of its inhabitants. He did manage to infect Rainbow Dash, however-" she cuts off another exclamation from Celestia with a look, "however, she has been cured by the Elements. The only problem Sombra still poses is deciding what to do with him now."

Celestia breathes in deeply then exhales slowly, staring up at her dream's sun for a long minute before speaking again, "We need to move him out of Ponyville as soon as possible. I can be there with a platoon of Guards by sunrise and we can move him here to Canterlot to hold him indefinitely beneath the Canterhorn, but something doesn't add up. He should be dead two times over by now, from us the first time and from the Crystal Heart the second."

"Unfortunately we have no more of an idea how he has managed to survive than you," Luna shrugs. "I shall prepare for your arrival though."

Celestia nods, "So, what was the 'bad news'?"

Luna winces, "That was the bad news, actually."

Celestia gapes at her, "Pray tell, dear sister, if Sombra being alive is the bad news, what in Tartaurus is the worse news?"

"Well… " Luna looks down at her fidgeting hooves, "one of the questions that came up when I was speaking with Midnight was how many of them there are, to which she responded that there were only a couple hundred in the entirety of the Everfree since most of them had been killed about one thousand years ago."

Celestia's eyes harden, "Sombra."

Luna's ears lower, her fidgeting intensifying, "That is what we thought at first as well, however Twilight Sparkle made some observations which cast doubt on that assumption. Observations that, in hindsight, seem rather painfully obvious."

Celestia's brow knits at Luna's words, "I don't understand. Who or what else could have done such a thing?"

Luna takes a deep breath, "We could have." When Celestia doesn't respond she continues, "The most damning, and at the same time the most obvious discrepancy is the number of undead vamponies claimed to have been killed versus the number of ponies turned. They do not even remotely match up. Sombra's vamponies could have used these other vamponies as fodder to boost their numbers, but given their ability to remain unseen combined with the undead vamponies' loss of higher mental functions upon Sombra's defeat, such a possibility is exceedingly unlikely. Even less so when you consider that such a massive influx of turned ponies would have inevitably overrun the Guard."

She looks up, a pained expression on her face, "However, if you recall-"

"I try not to," Celestia interrupts tersely.

Luna nods sympathetically, "I know, but you do recall what our ponies were like in the aftermath. Combine that state of mind with the fact that these 'living vamponies' require our blood to survive and therefore would have been forced to sneak into our towns in order to feed… "

Celestia gazes at Luna blankly for a time, her mind slowly processing the implications of her sister's words, "You are saying that we… that we accidentally committed genocide?"

"It is impossible to know for certain anymore as it occurred so long ago," Luna replies sadly. "But, yes. That would seem to be the most likely explanation."

"What – I don't – but – I-" Celestia stares at the dirt beneath her hooves, then plaintively at her sister, "I don't know what to say. What to do. I just – I don't… dealing with Sombra is at least straightforward, but this… what do we do? What can we do?"

Luna sighs, "We do not know. I believe I have made some progress in making amends, but we still know so little about them that any particular plan we could come up with at this point would be mostly guesswork at best."

"Maybe, maybe not," Celestia says hopefully, "how did you start making amends? Perhaps we can build on that."

"We let Midnight drink some of my blood," Luna states matter-of-factly.

Celestia recoils in shock, "You what?"

Luna taps her chin thoughtfully, "It was rather fascinating actually. Alicorn blood, or my blood at least, seems to not only have some sort of powerful healing effect, but apparently altered Midnight's cutie mark as well. Oh! That reminds us, Everfree vamponies are also able to inject a numbing venom through their fangs. It is quite potent too; had I not been able to purge it with magic, even I as an alicorn would have been unconscious in under half a minute."

Celestia's mouth opens and closes several times, no sound coming out. Eventually enough of her wits return and she sighs, rubbing her temples again, "Alright, I'm going to wake up now and head out to Ponyville. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with some kind of plan before I get there."

"Very well," Luna says with a nod, "we will maintain our guard of Sombra while awaiting your arrival."

As her words leave her mouth the dream begins to collapse, the colors and landscape swirling and merging together until they abruptly vanish, leaving Celestia lying in her luxurious bed. Groaning, she rolls to one side, falling onto the floor with a heavy thump.

"Bulwark!"

Immediately the doors to her room slam open, a burly Lunar Guard running to her side, "Are you alright, your Highness? Does it hurt anywhere?"

Celestia fights the urge to roll her eyes, failing magnificently, "I am fine, however I have heard from my sister and the Guard's presence is required in Ponyville. I need you to gather a hundred soldiers, half of them unicorns with at least moderate knowledge of containment spells, and meet me by the chariots. You have half an hour."

Bulwark salutes hastily, "I – yes! Right away!"

Chapter 14 ...and two more take its place

Twilight and her friends scan the dark and empty buildings on either side as they pass them, Ponyville's apparent desertion all the more unnerving after the night's events. Fluttershy shivers, speeding up as her imagination conjures ghostly images of the living dead staring at them with vacant yet hungry eyes from the empty windows and alleys. Battered pegasi prowl the roofs, saliva dripping from their hanging maws while they wait for the opportune moment to pounce. Her hoof hits an unexpected object in front of her and she trips, squeaking all the way down until the ground cuts her off.

Twilight stops to turn and look at her, rubbing the hind leg Fluttershy had stepped on, "Err… Fluttershy? Are you ok?"

"I've been better," Fluttershy admits, determinedly keeping her eyes straight ahead as she gingerly gets to her hooves. "Sorry."

Twilight shakes her head, remorse flashing across her face for an instant, "It's fine."

"Everypony alright?" Applejack asks.

Fluttershy nods, "I just let my imagination get the best of me, that's all."

"Well, try to hold it together a little longer," Applejack says encouragingly. "We're just about there."

Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash trot ahead of the other half of their group as they round the final corner, Ponyville's town square coming into view at last.

"Hey Applebloom, ya here?" Applejack calls out.

Rarity scans the quieting crowd as the approach, "Has anypony seen Sweetie Belle?"

Rainbow cups her hooves, "Scootalooo~, where aaarrre youu~?"

"We're over here!"

Turning around, the two groups of three see Sweetie Belle waving at them from several houses down, Scootaloo and Applebloom beside her.

Applejack narrows her eyes suspiciously at Applebloom as the fillies walk up to them, "Y'all left way before we did, so how'd we beat you here? What've you been up to?"

"Well we couldn't just leave our vampony hunting gear lying around town, so we dropped all of that stuff plus my scooter off at Rarity's," Scootaloo explains.

Applejack exhales sharply, lips wobbling as a grin threatens to take over her face. Steeling her resolve, she waves off curious looks from her friends, "It's nothin', Ah swear."

"Anyway," Sweetie Belle continues, "we thought maybe we could get a treat from Sugarcube Corner since everypony is awake now and especially after Dawn said she hadn't ever had any before; but by the time we got there the Cakes were already gone, so we came here."

Annoyance suppresses Applejack's brief bout of humor and she gives them a flat look, "So it sounds ta me like you only did what we told you to do once you couldn't think of anythin' else to do instead."

The fillies fidget, eyes roaming as they attempt to rationalize their actions.

"I mean, you had already caught the bad guy, so it's not like we were in any danger," Scootaloo states.

"Yeah, and we couldn't just leave litter like that lying around; that would be disgusting!" Sweetie Belle says supportively.

"And honestly, Ah thought we kinda deserved a treat after everythin' we've been through tonight," Applebloom adds.

"Speaking of Dawn, where is she?" Twilight asks, preemptively cutting off Applejack's scolding, "Did she head back to the Everfree?"

Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom blink in unison, glancing at each other then at their surroundings to find no trace of their vampony friend.

Applebloom frowns, "Huh, that's odd. She was just here with us a minute ago."

"Hey Dawn!" Scootaloo shouts, "Where'd you go?"

"I'm up here… " a small voice replies from a nearby tree.

Squinting towards the source of the voice, Scootaloo sees no sign of Dawn – until a tiny movement draws her attention to a dim, filly-sized silhouette hiding amongst the upper branches, "Well come on down! Nopony here bites. Well, except you, but it wouldn't make any sense for you to bite yourself so it's fine!"

"…you're sure?"

Scootaloo sighs, "Yes, I'm sure."

After a moment's hesitation, Dawn walks down the side of the tree, doing her best to stay hidden behind its trunk upon reaching the ground as the last of her shadowmagic dissipates. Taking another moment to gather her courage, she holds her breath and peeks around the tree at the crowd gathering a short distance from her cover. Tens of ponies stare back at her, a few whispering and pointing as nearly a thousand more jostle behind them.

"Great! Now that you're down here we can start introducin' you. Everypony else is already here too, so we can begin with all our classmates for when you show up at school and then the Cakes of course since we need to get you one of their desserts and-" Applebloom pauses as Dawn's head whips back behind the trunk, her ears flat to her skull and pupils like needles as she pushes herself against the tree in an attempt to appear as small as possible, "What's wrong?"

"T-There's s-so many ponies w-w-watching," Dawn pants. Closing her eyes she attempts to disappear into the tree's shadow, the bottom half of her body vanishing before her magic sputters and fails. Looking at her hooves in horror she begins visibly shaking as random parts of her body fade in and out of sight, "I-I can't… I can't-"

She stiffens as a pair of hooves and feathery wings suddenly wrap around her, blocking out the rest of the world.

"Shhh… shhh… it's ok… you're ok… " Fluttershy whispers softly, gently stroking Dawn's mane.

After a few minutes her shivering stops and she pushes away from Fluttershy's embrace, leaving two small wet spots on the pegasus' chest, "I'm… um… I'm good now."

Looking up, Dawn starts at the sight of eight other ponies forming a half-circle around her side of the trunk.

"We're sorry," Scootaloo apologizes. "With all the things we've done to try and get our cutie marks, we end up at the center of attention so much that we didn't think about how you would feel to be put in the same situation."

"Do you… always end up with tons of ponies staring at you after trying to get your cutie marks?" Dawn asks apprehensively, rubbing the last of the excess water from her redder than normal eyes.

"Ummm… " Sweetie Belle stares at the sky, tapping her chin while she mentally runs through their many adventures, "not usually."

"Not as often as we get covered in tree sap," Scootaloo adds, shrugging when Dawn gives her a strange look. "What? It happens more often than you would think."

"We'll try not to do any of that stuff when you're around though," Applebloom says. "The starin' Ah mean. No promises on the tree sap."

Dawn sniffles and swallows, a weak smile spreading across her face, "T-Thanks. I think I'll, uh, stay here for now though."

Her ears twitch and stand taller at the sound of approaching hoofsteps as soon as the words leave her mouth, the rest of the group looking towards the now entirely silent crowd.

Applejack smiles, "Heya Granny, Big Mac, Cheerilee."

"Applejack," Cheerilee replies, returning the smile, "I'm glad you're alright; we woke up to you yelling about a murderer and then you ran out as soon as we came downstairs."

A hint of embarrassment appears on Applejack's face, "Yeah, sorry about that; Ah was in a bit of a rush. Didn't even realize you were over, actually." She raises an eyebrow at her brother, diverting her gaze for an instant to flit over the elder pony leaning into his side, "Ah don't suppose the fact that Applebloom and Ah were out and Granny sleeps like a half-deaf rock had anythin' to do with that, would it?"

Big Mac shakes his head, "Jus' watchin' the moon, Applejack; fell asleep in each others hooves."

He leans over to nuzzle the closer of Cheerilee's ears, forcing a snoring Granny Smith to stand upright sandwiched between them. Cheerilee's ear flicks at his touch and she blushes, "More in your hooves than in mine; but in any case, we're glad you're all safe."

She sends an amused but pointed look at the Cutie Mark Crusaders, "You three especially; I half expected one of your crusades to be mixed up in this somehow. Anyway, I take it you've made a new-"

Cheerilee freezes as she turns her attention to the fourth filly, "Dawn?!"

Dawn waves nervously back at her, "Hi Cheerilee."

Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo glance at each other, then at Dawn.

"Hold on a minute," Sweetie Belle says suspiciously. "You didn't know Zecora's name even though you live in the Everfree with her and you didn't know Twilight's even though she's a princess. So how do you and Miss Cheerilee know each other?"

Dawn's eyes widen, meeting Cheerilee's while she stalls for time, "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh… "

"I-I, uh, stumbled on her feeding a few ni – I mean years – uh a year ago," Cheerilee offers, stumbling over her words as logic struggles to keep up with her mouth.

"Y-Yeah," Dawn confirms.

"That," Applejack says, looking at the two flatly, "is one of the worst lies Ah've ever heard."

Big Mac frowns down at Cheerilee, "Eeyup."

Twilight's eyes glaze over, Cheerilee's stuttering response fading into the background as a million half-baked thoughts ricochet off the walls of her increasingly frazzled brain.

She closes her eyes, drawing a deep breath.

Stop.

Her mind quiets as she allows her lungs to slowly empty.

Start over. OK, now, what do I know?

Fact 0: Nopony knows about vamponies aside from, apparently, Zecora. And thanks to Princess Celestia, what little 'lore' that survived, if it can even be called that, is wildly inaccurate and only covers Sombra's undead.

Fact 1: Cheerilee knows about Dawn, and based on their reaction to each other they are on friendly terms.

Implication: Friendship requires trust, trust takes time, therefore this relationship is not new.

Fact 2: As evidenced by her lie, Cheerilee did not 'stumble on' their existence accidentally.

Implication: If she did not find them accidentally, then she had to have prior knowledge of them from an outside source.

Further Implication: Fact 0 states that no known lore of Everfree vamponies exists, therefore Cheerilee's knowledge couldn't have come from a book. Also, had her knowledge come from a book, she could have simply stated that rather than lying. So there must be others who also know of vamponies.

Conclusion: Fatal conflict exists between known data. Either Fact 0 is incorrect and there are multiple ponies who know about vamponies which, aside from the laughable likelihood of Cheerilee being part of some sort of cabal of vampony sympathizers, simply circles back around to how they would have known about them thereby solving nothing. She herself can't be a vampony in disguise either, since she is quite obviously a pony and vamponies aren't shapeshifters like the Changelings-

Twilight's eyes snap open, not wanting to consider the possibility – yet unable to deny the powerful explanation it provides.

Two species, both of which feed on ponies, both of which are skilled at hiding; it wouldn't be so unusual for them to know of each other…

She resists the urge to stare at Cheerilee, forcing her face to remain impassive.

Well then, let's put that theory to the test.

Doing her best to maintain a neutral expression, Twilight dredges up the worst memories of her brother's wedding, focusing all her feelings of suspicion, anger, and betrayal at her suspect.

For a moment nothing happens. Then suddenly Cheerilee's pupils shrink to pinpricks, her head jerking to look at Twilight.

Twilight ceases her painful recall, allowing a less than pleasant grin to make it's way onto her face.

Gotcha.

Cheerilee starts to back away as Twilight charges her horn, Granny Smith slumping sideways to the ground in her place, "Twilight wait a-"

A wide purple beam engulfs her body, cutting her off. After a second, the beam fades – a dazed changeling with a dull yellow shell dropping to the grass in Cheerilee's stead. Her unperforated, membranous mane limply collects on the ground around her head while her tail rests on the ground behind her like a leaf, both matching her shell's color. Twilight's horn pulses again and a magic barrier engulfs the fallen changeling, lifting her a few feet into the air. Still dazed, the changeling attempts to stand; falling several times as her hooves slide along the perfectly smooth and sharply curved walls of the small sphere until she manages to press her head to its ceiling, using the added friction to stabilize her stance.

Twilight glares up at the trapped changeling, "Alright, where's the real Cheerilee?"

"I am the real Cheerilee!" the changeling protests, delicately shifting two hooves at a time in order to turn to face Twilight.

"Right, and I'm your queen," Twilight replies with a snort. "Now either tell us-"

A hoof lands gently on her shoulder, drawing her attention to the large stallion standing next to her, "Ah'd like ta speak with her Princess Twilight, if that's alright."

Sympathy quickly overwhelms a fleeting moment of irritation at being interrupted and she nods, "Of course, go right ahead."

Big Mac shakes his head, "Ah mean face to face, not with her in some magical ball."

Twilight gives him a hard stare, searching his eyes for any sign of the changeling influence she had noticed on her brother. Finding nothing, she drops her barrier to the ground, the sudden motion causing the changeling to topple once more.

"Alright," Twilight says as the barrier disappears, moving a few steps away to keep both of them easily within her view, "but if either one of you try anything I'm blasting both of you."

The changeling stands, starting to stretch her holeless wings before snapping them to her shell when Twilight's horn begins to glow dangerously. The faintly hopeful expression on her face becomes pained as she turns to Big Mac, the weight of his suspicion forcing her back to the ground.

Several seconds of silence pass between the two, Big Mac finally speaking up, "Where's the real Cheerilee?"

"I-I am the real-" the changeling stammers, her yellow pupilless eyes blinking rapidly to hold back tears.

"Ah see," Big Mac interrupts, his stony expression unchanging. "So then this whole time you've been lyin' ta me, and usin' mah love for those lies as a convenient source of food like some kinda parasite? Is that it? Is that all Ah am to you? Dinner?"

"NO!" she shakes her head, earnestness interweaving with desperation, "I mean sort of, I mean… I-I'm not… "

"Well?" Big Mac takes a heavy step forward, eyes narrowing, "We don't have all night. What do you mean?"

"I… I mean… " Cheerilee gulps loudly, searching the grass stretching between them for any hint to help explain, "I mean I am a changeling, I did eat some of your love, but I'm not a parasite and I never lied about anything! My favorite color really is green, I really do enjoy walking through the orchard at dusk and watching the night sky with you and I think your singing is amazing and," she meets his eyes again, her own glistening, "and I love you. Not just as food, but as a pony, as… as… "

She trails off as Big Mac steps forward again, stopping inches from where she lays to tower over her like an icy mountain – and appearing just as forgiving as the chill winds of his anger wash over her. The changeling shivers and covers her eyes with a whimper, waiting for the blows to start landing. Instead after a moment all she feels is a light touch under her chin, lifting her head from the ground. Before she can react to the unexpected sensation another follows, a familiar pair of lips meeting her own. Her eyes shoot open at this, her tongue automatically flicking forward in search of a familiar taste. For an instant it finds nothing but emptiness, then she moans, deepening the kiss as delicious warmth floods her senses.

After a time, Big Mac breaks the kiss to look up at Twilight, leaving Cheerilee to dazedly stare up at him, "It's her, Twilight."

His words break Cheerilee from her trance. Tears spilling from her eyes at last, she attempts to glomp the larger pony, burying her head in his mane as she tightly wraps her four hooves around his barrel.

Big Mac staggers back a step from the loving assault, a calm smile on his face.

"You do realize that nothing she said actually proves anything, right?" Twilight points out, breaking the couple out of their moment, "She could have just as easily gotten all of that information from brainwashing the real Cheerilee, or even just from stalking you both for a while."

"Ah know, Ah wasn't interested in any a' that." He rolls a shoulder, nudging the mare on his back, "There's a thing she's always done with her tongue when we kiss that ah like; that's what Ah was lookin' for."

His mane emits an embarrassed chirp at his words, Cheerilee's translucent wings rising several inches from her body, "Y-You do? I thought you didn't even notice; you never said anything before."

"Well Ah thought you might get embarrassed about it," Big Mac replies nonchalantly.

Cheerilee withdraws from his mane to smack one of his ears, "You thought I'd get embarrassed, so now you tell the entire town?!"

Big Mac chuckles, "Ah had ta prove to everypony that yer you and hadn't ponynapped the real Cheerilee, didn' Ah? Speakin' a' which… "

He turns to face the rest of the town, his lips bending down into a frown, "ANYPONY THAT'S GOT A PROBLEM WITH CHEERILEE, HAD BETTER BE PREPARED TO GO THROUGH ME!"

His booming declaration reverberates through the silence. A few ponies move as if to take him up on his challenge, though the inertia of their neighbors prevents them from crossing the gap to reach him and they resort to merely glowering angrily.

Twilight exhaustedly stares at the defiant stallion and the changeling still gripping him, her head and shoulders slumping as she turns to face the crowd as well.

I should have just blasted them.

With a regretful sigh, she forces herself to stand taller, "Alright, are there any other changelings here?"

A murmur ripples through the gathered ponies, furtive and not-so-furtive glances cast in all directions.

Twilight languidly raises her head to the night sky, Please nopony answer, please nopony answer, please-

However despite her heartfelt requests, a loud whisper carries over the background hum.

"Hey Bon Bon, I think the Princess is asking for you!"

"Lyra!!"

The ponies surrounding the pair immediately pull away, clearing a path between them and their princess. Lyra happily trots forward through the gap, Bon Bon following just behind her while nervously glancing at their friends and neighbors standing to either side.

Coming to a halt just inside the empty circle surrounding Twilight, Big Mac, and their assorted friends and family, Lyra waves, "Hi Twilight."

"S – oh, uh, hi Lyra," Twilight replies, the minty green unicorn's cheerfulness throwing her off. "So anyway, you're a changeling, Bon Bon?"

Bon Bon nods.

"I see. Could you please take your natural form then?"

Bon Bon hesitates, but after an encouraging nudge from Lyra acquiesces, a flash of green flame washing over her to reveal a changeling with eyes and a shell both the color of dry sand, her mane and tail identical to her eyes in color though similar to Cheerilee in form.

"Thank you." Twilight turns to Lyra, "And you knew she was a changeling?"

"Yep!" Lyra hugs her favorite mare, wrapping her hooves just above Bon Bon's wing joints, "She told me everything after I got back from the wedding since she felt really bad about the whole brainwashing-invading-ponynapping thing. And I kinda freaked out a bit after that, but then I realized that the fact that she risked everything revealing herself to me just goes to show how much she values our friendship."

"Oh for the love of – just call her your marefriend already!" Golden Harvest calls out from the front row of the crowd.

Lyra rolls her eyes, "Well yeah, what kind of friendship did you think I meant? I mean we share a house; hay, we sleep together for pony's sake. Just normal friendly friends don't do those kinds of things with each other."

A green tint appears on Bon Bon's face, her wings snapping open while Golden Harvest gestures helplessly at Lyra's logic.

Spoiled Rich takes the opportunity to step forward, dragging Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara along with her, "Well I for one don't understand why we're even listening to them; they're disgusting bugs that attacked Equestria after having spent their entire lives parasitizing and lying to everypony around them and that one," she points at Bon Bon, "just admitted to brainwashing somepony!"

"Hey, we never attacked anypony," Bon Bon protests, "and I would never brainwash Lyra!"

"It's true, I'm totally not brainwashed anymore," Lyra says supportively.

Applejack rolls her eyes, "A'course you wouldn't know if you were brainwashed, that kinda defeats the whole point of brainwashin' ya. That bein' said," she sends a stern look Spoiled's way, "there's no reason we can't be civil until we know fer sure."

Deigning not to reply to the apple farmer, Spoiled's lip curls derisively.

"Also I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine a swarm of flaming bugacorns falling from the sky," Pinkie adds. She taps her chin, "Though I was surprised they didn't trigger my Pinkie sense."

Rarity shivers, "And who could forget that awful queen ponynapping Princess Cadence, defeating Princess Celestia, and outright mind controlling Twilight brother! That's not the kind of thing one can simply ignore, you know."

*BANG*

The gathered ponies collectively jump into the air at the cannon-like detonation, its shockwave rattling the windows of the surrounding buildings and bouncing increasingly weak echoes across the town square for a couple seconds.

"Wonderful," Twilight says as those near her recover, an overly wide smile stretching her lips. "Now that I have your attention again, perhaps you can clarify something for me. You said that you felt bad about what happened, but if you really did feel bad about it then why did it happen? Do you really expect me to believe that you didn't know your queen was going to lead a full scale invasion of Canterlot?"

"Chrysalis is not my queen!" Bon Bon spits out venomously, the loud noise having barely phased her.

"So you're some kind of renegade?" Rainbow asks, still rubbing her ears. "That's kind of cool."

Bon Bon glares at Rainbow Dash, "No! I'm not some selfish deserter and it wouldn't be 'cool' even if I was!"

"Look, this ain't complicated," Applejack says. "The 'Queen of the Changelings' invaded Canterlot, so either yer loyal to her or yer not."

"That's-" Bon Bon hesitates, looking over to meet Cheerilee's eyes.

Cheerilee hesitates as well, then sighs, "That's because the queen that invaded Canterlot, Queen Chrysalis, isn't the Queen of the Changelings – she's a Queen of the Changelings."

A strong breeze makes its way through the town square in the ensuing silence, loudly rustling the leaves of the trees and bushes as everypony stares at Cheerilee – some with fear, many with uncertainty, and all others with the utter calm which comes from accepting that they no longer have any idea what's going on.

Twilight's eyes both begin spasming while Cheerilee's words bounce around her brain, her mane rapidly turning into a chaotic mess as it responds to the random pulses of magic coming from her sparking horn – sparks that soon become short arcs of purple energy.

"Nope."

Barely managing to pull herself together with the last pieces of her rational mind Twilight giggles, bringing her magic back under control and smoothing her mane, "Nope. Nope, nope, nope!"

She points a hoof at Cheerilee, "You will not tell me that until tomorrow."

Applejack looks at her friend warily, "Um… Twilight, Ah'm not tryin' ta nitpick or anythin', but… how can she not tell you somethin' that she's already told you?"

Twilight neck ticks to the side, not taking her eyes from Cheerilee, "You will not tell me that until tomorrow. Right?"

Cheerilee nods rapidly.

Twilight claps her hooves together, "Wonderful! And if you haven't told me yet, that means it's Future Twilight' problem!"

Without warning she teleports to the platform encircling the railing of the second floor of the town hall, a mote of light drifting from her horn to her throat to amplify her voice for all to hear.

"So! I'm sure everypony is wondering why I called you here tonight. The first reason, and the reason you were all woken up in the middle of the night, is that there was a potential MURDERER on the loose. As it turns out, this pony was in fact KING SOMBRA and-" she giggles, raising a hoof to quiet the townsponies, "and everything is completely fine. Sombra was captured, nopony was permanently hurt, and he is being guarded by Princess Luna; so there is absolutely no reason to panic. And, while everypony's already here, I might as well address the vampony rumors: they are true! Vamponies exist and have apparently been living in the Everfree nearby Ponyville for a long time now. One of them even saved Derpy from Sombra and aided in capturing him, so, you know, they're good ponies and stuff. And lastly, as you may have noticed, Cheerilee and Bon Bon are Changelings and, from the sound of things, they did not replace anypony thereby making them the same ponies you've all known for years."

Twilight licks her dried lips and takes another breath, "Now, I know that's quite a bit to take in and I myself am half a hoof away from LOSING MY MIND, but! So far they seem to be relatively harmless. To ponies at least. Anyway! The point is, I'm here, Princess Luna is here, I would imagine Princess Celestia will be here soon as well, and who knows Princess Cadence may very well come riding in on the Crystal Express in a couple days, so please hold off on judging them until we are able to learn more. I think I speak for all of us when I say we wouldn't want another Zecora incident, now would we?"

"Honestly, getting all worked up over somepony having stripes," she leans back, a second bout of giggling nearly growing into all out laughter until she suddenly cuts herself off. "Oh, also, Cheeriling, Bon Bon, please go to your homes and stay there until I or another princess asks for you. If you're not there when we come to get you, we'll simply assume that you've been lying this whole time and all changelings will be declared enemies of Equestria which, as a Princess of Equestria, I will be able to actually do this time around."

Her eyes roll across the night sky, trying to chase down any stray thoughts, "Nope, that's it, I'm done. Have a good night and pleasant dreams everypony!"

With a wave, Twilight vanishes from the town hall.

Pinkie Pie vaults the railing to take her place after a few seconds, megaphone in hoof, "OK everypony, I don't know about the rest of you but there is no way I'm going back to sleep after everything that's happened. The solution, I think, is obvious: let's have an I-have-absolutely-no-idea-what's-going-on-but-if-I-went-back-to-bed-now-I'd-probably-have-nightmares party!"

The crowd murmurs noncommittally.

Pinkie jumps off the second floor, landing in a bush, "Vinyl and Octavia will be providing the music~"

The murmuring grows louder, a few groans joining in.

Undeterred, Pinkie hops away towards Sugarcube Corner, "There'll be lots of sugar and free~ coffee~"

Author's Note

Inspiration for Twilight's reaction

Chapter 14.25 Would It Matter If I Wrote This Chapter?

A bright flash of light purple illuminates the clutter strewn about Golden Oaks, Twilight appearing just beneath the ceiling. Rather than spread her wings, she gives in to gravity's embrace, quickly falling to land face first into a particularly large pile of books. Burrowing her head further into the mound, she inhales deeply through her nose, the welcome and familiar scent of ink and paper calming her frayed nerves and bringing forth her first peace of mind since falling asleep the previous night. As she lies there the tension throughout her body fades, her physical and mental exhaustion transforming into a thickening fog inside her brain. Soon there is nothing left in the spreading fog but her rapidly dimming consciousness, past and future troubles hidden for the moment as she drifts deeper and deeper into-

*knockknock*

An unwelcome sound ripples through her muddled mind and Twilight cringes away from it, burrowing herself deeper into the piled books.

"Um… Twilight? Are you there? It's ok if you're not since I don't know where you teleported to, but um… w-we need to talk. If that's alright with you that is since I know you're really tired and you seemed really out of it but this is really really important and-"

The shy voice's reverberations thin the fog, drawing Twilight back towards the waking world. Unwilling to leave her newfound peace, Twilight groans loudly, holding a book over each ear with her hooves.

"Oh my gosh! Twilight?! Is something wrong? You didn't teleport into a wall did you? Ohh, what should I do, what should I – calm down, I should calm down and don't worry Twilight, I'm coming!"

*thump*

Twilight raises her head from its resting place, the bags beneath her eyes seeming to grow with each ensuing thump as Fluttershy attempts to ram down her door. With a drawn out sigh her horn flickers to life, turning the doorknob and letting her front door swing inward. Fluttershy's eyes widen as the entrance opens before her and she digs her hooves into the ground, coming to a stop just shy of the doorway.

Peeking inside, she spots Twilight staring at her unamusedly from atop a small hill of books, "Oh thank goodness, you're alright. Um… may I come in?"

Twilight blinks at her slowly and rubs her eyes, "Fluttershy, I am literally at the end of my rope right now, so can it wait? Preferably until after I've gotten at least several hours of sleep?"

Fluttershy lowers her head, taking half a step back, "Well I guess it would be ok, I can only imagine how much stress you've been under and I… "

Steeling her resolve, she shakes her head and steps up to the doorway, "Sorry, but it can't wait."

"Fine, come on in," Twilight sighs, sliding down her books to the floor. "What's happened now? I swear, if Discord decided to show up-"

"Oh, no, nothing's happened," Fluttershy says, pushing the door closed behind her. "I just had a few questions."

Twilight glares at her, annoyance clear on her face, "And they can't wait until tomorrow? …Later today?" She glances at a nearby clock sticking out of a smaller pile besides her, "Yes, later today. They can't wait until later today?"

"They're, uh… important questions," Fluttershy clarifies.

Twilight stretches her front legs, yawning, "Fine, fine… ask away then."

Fluttershy's head drops slightly and she looks up at Twilight nervously, "Do you know what's going to happen to Bon Bon and Cheerilee?"

Twilight shrugs, "That depends on if they're still here in the morning."

"And… you already said what will happen if they aren't, but what if they are?" Fluttershy asks, eyes lowering to stare at the floor beneath her hooves.

"Then they're going to have to answer a whole bunch of questions about, well… " Twilight stands and stretches her back legs, Fluttershy jumping a bit when her tailbone gives a satisfying crack, "pretty much everything. Nopony really knows much of anything about Changelings after all."

"That makes sense I guess… " Fluttershy fidgets, raising her eyes to look at Twilight, "Do you think they're going to be allowed to stay in Ponyville?"

"Look, Fluttershy, I don't-" Twilight sighs again, sitting and doing her best to let her irritation slide away as the cogs in her brain creak back to life, "I just don't know. We need answers first of all, and then after that the other princesses and I need to discuss what course of action to take."

"But just right now though," Fluttershy presses, her voice growing stronger. "If you had to decide, would you let them stay?"

"No."

Fluttershy flinches at the sudden certainty in her friend's voice, "Oh… um, why not?"

Twilight sighs once more and sits a little straighter, taking a moment to order her thoughts, "Like I've been saying, everything depends on how they answer our questions tomorrow. Without answers to those questions we don't know why they're here, what they've been doing here, how many of them there are, what their queens' intentions are, what abilities they have, side effects of their feeding… we just don't know. Believe me, I would love to put the past behind us, to have them learn about us and us about them so that we can all live together in friendship and harmony… but, I would be neglecting my duty as Princess to blindly allow any creature, changeling or not, whose only interaction with Equestria prior to tonight has been an attempted conquest to stay without learning more."

"I understand," Fluttershy says, glancing down for a few seconds while she scuffs the floor with a hoof. Gathering her courage she looks up again to meet Twilight's eyes, "So, if they're honest, and it… it turns out they're not a threat and really just want to live here like everypony else, then you'd be ok with letting them stay?"

Twilight hesitates, forcing her mind to run through the scenario, "I… suppose… considering they've apparently been in Ponyville for quite a while without causing any problems that we know of, so if it turns out that's really all they've been doing then it wouldn't be fair to run them out of town just for being what they are."

"So… you would be ok with changelings living in Ponyville?" Fluttershy asks hopefully.

Twilight gives her a flat look, "Like I said, if their answers make sense and they follow the rules then they deserve the same chance as anypony else. Of course, that doesn't address citizenship status, whether emotion eating counts as assault, or as an invasion of privacy, or… any of the many, many legal and political issues which would need to be addressed… there is a good reason that, aside from Luna and Cadence, mind magic is all but banned in Equestria, you know. Between that, the shapeshifting, and their, I don't know, domains existing within Equestria and… taxes… we'd have to rewrite half of Equestrian law to accommodate them. I mean, do you know a good way to tell a Changeling Queen 'oh hey you need to start paying taxes now' because I sure don't. Do they even have bits to pay with for that matter? Or any kind of currency? I just… ugh… "

She rubs her temples to help clear her mind of the negative thoughts and giggles, "Buuut those are questions for another time. Probably whenever official negotiations start. If they start."

Fluttershy leans forward slightly, watching Twilight carefully, "But on principle, and under certain conditions, you would be ok with changelings living here?"

"Yes," Twilight confirms.

"Even after what happened at the wedding?" Fluttershy asks intensely.

Twilight freezes for a second, her eyes glazing over as the question drags unpleasant memories to the surface of her consciousness. Blinking them away she refocuses on the present and smiles warmly, "Yes. For a while after the wedding I probably would have said no, and I'd imagine Cadence and Shining Armor might have some objections, but I've seen how Lyra and Bon Bon care for each other. The same with Cheerilee and Big Mac. Answers are still needed, but I'd like to believe that what they have is real."

"What about you though?" Twilight asks, concern replacing her brief bout of sentimentality, "Two of your friends turned out to be changelings, which can't have been an easy thing to learn. Will you be alright if they start living in Ponyville openly? There are obviously certain precautions which would be taken, but even so, changelings can be rather frightening and I wouldn't want you to feel like you couldn't leave your cottage."

Fluttershy's assertiveness vanishes and she takes a step back, hiding behind her mane, "I-I, um… I'm sure they won't be that bad. They're not the ones I'm afraid of anyway."

Twilight tilts her head slightly to the side, her concern growing, "You're going to need to speak up, Fluttershy; I could barely hear what you said, much less understand it."

"I'll be fine," Fluttershy states clearly, shuffling her hooves and wings restlessly and doing her best to stay behind the safety of her mane while she forces herself to ask her next question. "B-But um, hypothetically, w-would it… would it matter, if I was a changeling?"

She swallows and squeezes her eyes shut, "And-would-I-be-allowed-to-stay?"

Silence greets her. After several seconds she hesitantly reopens her eyes to find Twilight standing stiffly and staring at her with confusion plain on her face. Twilight's eyes widen in shock as her mind processes the potential implications of the question, then narrow in suspicion at the apparent pegasus standing only a few feet from her.

"Just how… hypothetical is this question?" Twilight asks carefully.

"Um… w-well… I… " Fluttershy gulps, "I asked you first."

Twilight raises an eyebrow, "Really?"

Fluttershy nods shakily, "Y-yes."

Reluctantly acquiescing to Fluttershy's logic, Twilight leans back and allows her mind's eye to wander through the past few years from the moment of their meeting up until the current dilemma; reliving how they freed Luna from the Nightmare, Fluttershy's terror and eventual courage when facing the sleepy dragon, her determination to help Rainbow Dash find a pet, and how she fought alongside them to try and reach the Elements during the wedding. Each additional recalled memory of their adventures and their friendship chips away at her doubt to replace it with trust and certainty. Turning her gaze outward again, she sees her friend watching her anxiously, Fluttershy's front left leg shaking restlessly as she awaits Twilight's decision.

Twilight smiles softly, "Even if you are a Changeling, I would like you to stay."

Fluttershy beams, hopping happily into into the air to hover a few inches from the ground, the breeze from her wings rustling stray paper and parchment scattered around the library.

"So, are you one?"

As quickly as her happiness had appeared it vanishes, Fluttershy immediately dropping to the floor as her wings snap back to her sides.

Her mouth opens and closes as she tries to answer, her third attempt at a reply barely more than a weak stammer, "I-I… "

Even if you are a Changeling, I would like you to stay.

Swallowing her fear, Fluttershy finds her voice, "I am."

"Well… " Twilight says, the light of curiosity flickering to life to bolster her focus as she intently runs her eyes over Fluttershy's form. "I suppose that explains your Stare. Can I see you? The real you, I mean."

"But what if somepony else sees me?" Fluttershy murmurs, glancing around the room at the windows.

With a thought, Twilight draws the curtains over any windows that have them, random debris plastering itself over the couple which don't, "Is that better?"

Fluttershy hesitates as she searches for any gap that could be peered through. Finding none, she takes a deep breath, and as she exhales is engulfed by green flames. The fire fades a moment later to reveal an equine the exact size and shape as Fluttershy, though black chitin covers her body instead of her usual yellow coat and a solid black shell topped by gold protects her barrel along with a golden double band stretching across her midsection. A similarly golden mane and tail take the place of their pony counterparts, differing not only in color but in structure as her mane hangs limp and whole from her head while her stiff, paper-thin, and similarly holeless tail extends from her other end to curve up just before touching the floor. Unperforated wings cling to her shell, creating a quiet papery rustling sound as the muscles keeping them locked down adjust to the strain. One of her holed forehooves scuffs at the wood beneath it as she waits for Twilight to respond.

Twilight sits while she takes in Fluttershy's appearance for the first time, blinking dazedly at the two small fangs pushing down from her friend's upper jaw while waiting for her brain to catch up with her eyes, "Huh."

Fluttershy tries to hide behind her mane again, its slight translucence not quite allowing her total success, "So it doesn't matter that I'm a changeling. Right?"

Twilight's attention lingers on Fluttershy's slightly curved horn, "Hmm… "

"I-I really am the real Fluttershy, if that's what you're thinking, and I haven't been messing with anypony's mind and I really really don't want this to affect our friendship and-"

Twilight waves away her friend's mounting concerns, "No, it's not that; I believe you. I may know nothing about changeling magic, but unless it allows you to copy somepony's soul there's no way you could have embodied your Element to save Rainbow Dash if you weren't really you."

Fluttershy sighs in relief.

"That said," Twilight continues, "this definitely changes things. You're not a pegasus, you're a shapeshifting bugpony emotivore for pony's sake!"

Fluttershy stiffens, "But we're… we're still… "

"We're still friends," Twilight says, smiling.

Fluttershy slumps to the floor, her hard shell hitting the wood with a solid clack, "Oh good. I don't think I could've handled it if you said we weren't. Having to leave would have been awful too, but the thought of losing you as a friend… "

Her wings buzz happily and she grins toothily at Twilight, "Ohh, this went so much better than I thought it would."

Twilight averts her eyes uncomfortably and Fluttershy hides her fangs with her hooves, "Sorry, I know they can be a little intimidating. Every once in a while I wake up like this and scare myself looking in the mirror."

Twilight chuckles, "It's not that; though it is a little weird hearing your voice coming from that mouth. It's just… " She pauses, searching for the right words, "…I don't want you to read more into my wanting you to stay than there actually is."

Fluttershy deflates; her ears lowering, grin fading, and wings descending back to her shell, "But I thought… "

"Nonono, I do want you to stay," Twilight reassures her. "The problem is… I mean… "

Twilight gestures randomly for a few seconds before letting her forelegs fall to her sides with a sigh, "I'm a princess, but I'm not Princess Celestia or Princess Luna or Princess Cadence. I may technically have the same legal authority as they do, but if I were to unilaterally make a decision of this magnitude the first thing most of Equestria will do is look to them for confirmation. Hay, when we went with Rarity to Manehattan for Fashion Week several months ago I couldn't even get her a cab; the chances of anypony outside of Ponyville listening to me on my own regarding something like this is… "

Uncertainty and self-doubt flicker across her face and she pauses for a moment before clearing her throat, "Well, let's just say it isn't very likely. Not to mention that even under the best of circumstances introducing a new tribe has all sorts of complications, and instead of some peaceful delegation saying 'hey we exist' we got an invasion of the capitol during a royal wedding which just makes everything infinitely worse, and then there's a second tribe, and both of you feed on ponies to survive, and to top it all off we're already in the middle of trying to reintegrate the Thestrals. It's just so… so… "

"Complicated?" Fluttershy offers.

"I was trying to think of a better word," Twilight replies tiredly, "but, yes. Of course, a lot of that might not even matter depending on how many changelings there are here in Ponyville and in Equestria in general. The economic impact alone of trying to deport a significant percentage of the population would make such an action untenable."

Fluttershy fidgets worriedly, "I don't know about the rest of Equestria, but Cheerilee, Bon Bon, and I are the only ones still in Ponyville. There were others, but with you being Princess Celestia's personal student and deciding to stay in here, the Elements of Harmony reappearing, and all the random magical craziness most left because it was just too risky to stay. The wedding made it harder for everyling; and then once you became an Alicorn, any of us still here were ordered by our queens to leave right away."

"The three of us refused though," Fluttershy continues. "Bon Bon wouldn't go anywhere without Lyra, Cheerilee didn't want to abandon her students or Big Mac, and I couldn't just disappear on you girls or my animals."

"Huh, so you can-" Twilight starts to ask, cutting herself off with a shake of her head.

Nope, I am not going down that rabbit hole right now.

"Another thing to consider is whether or not you would even want to stay anymore," Twilight says after a moment, looking back at Fluttershy. "The fact that you as a changeling are the bearer of an Element should ideally head off the worst of the political problems, but even if everything magically goes perfectly tomor – later today, there's no way to guarantee the rest of the town will be accepting. And given that you need love to survive, I can't imagine living in a place where almost everypony dislikes you would be very healthy."

Fluttershy smiles faintly, "That's not actually how it works; we can survive on any non-harmful emotion."

Twilight quirks an eyebrow, "And by 'non-harmful' you mean… ?"

"Oh! Right, I forgot that you're not – that you can't – I've never had to explain to anypony who couldn't taste it for themselves," Fluttershy says, her chitinous cheeks tinting faintly green. "There are positive emotions, negative emotions, and harmful emotions. For example, love is delicious, but obsession is rotten. Anger is sort of spicy, but hatred is like poison. That kind of thing. Though if the entire town felt negatively towards us it would be really difficult to live here for a whole bunch of other reasons."

"Fascinating… " Twilight replies, idly scanning the room in search of a quill and inkpot for a few seconds before giving up with a drawn out yawn. "The emotion thing I mean. Normally I'd have a thesis' worth of follow up questions, but… I'm too tired right now, even for science."

"That said," Twilight adds, "I am curious; what does friendship taste like?"

"True friendship tastes like honeyed hazelnuts roasted over an open fire," Fluttershy answers, swallowing a sudden influx of saliva at the sensation's memory and licking her lips.

Twilight gives a sharp bark of laughter, "Wow."

Fluttershy's eyes widen as she realizes her admission and she looks at her hooves, nervously examining the pattern of holes running up her legs as an awkward silence descends between the pair of ponies.

Oh dear, I hope Twilight doesn't think it's creepy that I've been eating our friendship. She did ask what it tasted like so she must have already thought I was, but what if it was a rhetorical question and I wasn't supposed to answer and now she's really freaked out, or maybe it was a trick question and she was trying to get me to admit I was doing it! What if I misinterpreted her 'wow' and she's actually angry with me?

Gathering her courage in preparation for the worst, Fluttershy tentatively samples the ambient emotions in the room – just in time to be impacted by a wonderfully warm soup of caring, concern, and affection.

"Um… Twilight?" Fluttershy asks, hesitantly returning the embrace.

After a few moments, Twilight breaks the hug and takes a step back, "I may not be a changeling and you might not really be a pegasus, but I can still tell when you're starting to worry too much. All I can say is: don't. Whatever happens later today, I'll be here to support you and I'm sure the rest of our friends will be as well."

"Thanks Twilight," Fluttershy says, swallowing a lump in her throat. "Really."

"You're welcome," Twilight replies, covering her mouth and letting loose an enormous yawn. "Right now though… "

"Right now I'll let you get some sleep," Fluttershy finishes, earning a thankful smile from Twilight. "Good night, Twilight."

Turning away, she heads towards the front door of Golden Oaks and reaches for the knob.

"Um… Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy faces Twilight again, "Yes?"

Twilight gives her a once over, "Your disguise?"

Fluttershy blinks, "Oh! Wow, that would have been embarrassing. Thanks."

One puff of green fire later, Fluttershy the Pegasus once again stands in the room, finally taking her leave after checking to make sure her disguise is correctly in place.

As soon as the door clicks shut, Twilight slumps backwards onto her bed of books like a puppet whose strings had been cut, fast asleep before her head hits their covers.

Elsewhere in Ponyville, another door opens, Rarity lighting her horn as she enters a darkened Carousel Boutique, "Opal~ I'm hoo-"

A foul smell makes its way to her nose mid-greeting and she gags, "Sweet Celestia, what is that?"

Stepping forward, her right hoof hits the side of an unexpectedly raised wooden platform, tripping her to fall face first into the source of the putrid stench filling her house: a metal bucket. Jerking her head from the bucket, she violently spits out a small amount of the dark, moist material filling it that had made its way into her mouth and looks down, the disgust twisting her face morphing into abject horror as Applejack's words echo faintly in her ears.

It's nothin', Ah swear.

Letting out a piercing scream, she gallops upstairs, stopping only to thoroughly brush the vile substance from her teeth before throwing herself into the shower. Shivering under the sudden deluge of cold water she immediately gets to work, first scrubbing her tainted muzzle clean then the rest of her body for good measure. The water quickly warms, condensation covering the two glass walls and door of the shower by the time she puts the last bottle of scented shampoo back inside the oversized alcove carved into the wall to her right. Redirecting the shower head towards another wall she waits a few seconds, allowing the water to warm the glass before sitting against it under the relaxing downpour, the mist obscuring her entirely while she ponders plans of sweet revenge.

Chapter 14.50 Trust

Lyra's magic engulfs the doorknob to their house, twisting and pushing to allow her entrance. Happily humming to herself, she flicks the light switch next to the door with her magic, a pair of ceiling lights illuminating the room to reveal a stairway immediately to her right and a collection of photos a little way ahead to her left – each picture showing her and Bon Bon sitting on one of Ponyville's many benches. Her eyes linger on one in particular showing the pair perched on either end of a bench with a game of checkers between them, comical levels of determination etched into their expressions as photo-Lyra calculates equations on a sheet of graph paper while Bon Bon manipulates an abacus balanced on the slatted wooden backrest.

Beyond the photos, a small round table made of rich mahogany sits next to a window looking out into the grassy alley spanning the gap between their neighbor's house and their own, a chair on either side and a single potted orchid placed between them on its sill. The plant's flowers overhang the table by an inch, its light purple petals laced with veins of deeper purple. Trotting onward, she reaches a black granite counter specked with white spanning most of the width of the room, the smooth stone making one right angle turn to follow the alabaster wall to her left and then another to follow the back wall. Walking through a pony-wide gap in the middle of its closest side and into their kitchen area, she scans the row of wooden cabinets now surrounding her upon which the countertop rests, quickly locating the one containing the plates next to a large sink embedded in the stone.

As she pulls out a knife from another cabinet, Bon Bon finally enters as well, stumbling as a hoof catches on the doorframe though she manages to stay upright. Taking a few steps further inside, she sits beside the staircase leading to the second floor, absently magicking the door shut while she stares unseeingly at the room in front of her.

"Hey Bon Bon, do you want a sandwich?" Lyra asks, coming out of the pantry conveniently located in the one wall of the kitchen not lined by the counter and cabinets while levitating a jar of honey and several sealed containers of grass. "Fresh honey and prairie grasses~."

Bon Bon blinks, shivering as Lyra's voice draws her back to the world in front of her, "How… how can you think of food right now?"

"It is kind of early," Lyra admits, pausing with her knife buried in the honey jar as she notices Bon Bon shaking. "What's wrong?"

Bon Bon glares at Lyra, "What's wrong? What's wrong?! You just told the entire town that I'm a changeling and you want to know what's WRONG?! I disobeyed my Queen to reveal myself to you and to stay with you, and I thought you understood how much that meant. How much I trusted you. But apparently I was wrong. Apparently the only reason you haven't gone around shouting my secrets from the rooftops is because nopony happened to ask the right question! Apparently, everything I've risked to keep us together means so little to you that you couldn't be bothered to stop for even a second to think that maybe, just maybe, I wasn't saying anything because I didn't want everypony to know! Imagine that, actually taking the time to think through something that doesn't involve creatures which don't exist; what a novel idea. Then again I don't know what I was expecting, given you're stupid enough to think humans are real."

Bon Bon pauses for a moment, catching her breath while Lyra stares back at her dumbly, "Or, maybe I've been deluding myself this whole time and you just don't care. Is that it? Finally decided you'd had enough of living with a 'cursed parasite of a pony' and you'd rather try to make a show of having me run out of town?"

Bon Bon starts stomping up the stairs, "Well congratulations, I may not be able to leave right now, but as soon as the meeting with the princesses is over tomorrow I'll make sure to never darken your doorstep again."

Lyra watches Bon Bon leave, fumbling over her words as shock numbs her mouth and chills her core, "W-What are you-"

Bon Bon's face warps into a hideous snarl, "Oh for once in your life, just. Shut. UP!"

"Wait, Bonnie-"

Bon Bon cuts her off again, this time baring her fangs with a venomous hiss, Lyra flinching away to bump into the row of cabinets lining the wall behind her. Walking heavily up the rest of the stairs, Bon Bon makes her way to their bedroom and falls limply onto their bed, using her magic to wrap herself in a cocoon of blankets.

For several minutes Lyra simply stares at the stairs, the dissonance between her previously happy mood and Bon Bon's rage eventually giving way to dread as Bon Bon's words finally sink in. Releasing her magical hold on the knife, she glances at the jar of honey, it's sweet scent no longer at all appetizing. Looking at the stairs again, she trots over only to halt at the first step despite her heart screaming at her to follow her marefriend and make things right. Instead, she waits, forcing herself to slowly pace around the edges of the first floor, looking up at a clock hanging on the wall above the sink every time she reaches the front door.

After half an hour passes, Lyra once more stops at the bottom of the stairs for a moment; however this time she begins to ascend, carefully placing each hoof to muffle her steps and avoid known squeaky spots. Hesitating at the doorway to their bedroom, she slowly peeks around the corner, finding her cocooned marefriend lying completely still on their bed. Walking quietly to the foot of the bed, Lyra stands silently for a few seconds before speaking, "…Bon Bon?"

The tip of the cocoon near the pillowed end of the bed moves slightly at the sound of her voice, however no other response is forthcoming. Lyra shifts back and forth on her hooves nervously, taking a deep breath once it becomes apparent that she'll have to do all the talking.

"I'm sorry."

Her ears splay back and she sits heavily, eyes roaming the empty space between the bed frame and the floor, "I shouldn't have done what I did earlier. I shouldn't have forced you to reveal yourself. I didn't mean to hurt you or betray you or-or anything like that and I don't want you gone, I just… "

Lyra swallows, her eyes moistening, "You've been different, ever since the wedding. Not most of the time, but there are little things, like how you lock the door at night every time the Wonderbolts or some Guards are in town, or how you tense up whenever Princess Twilight is nearby, and I-I thought if everypony could see that even though you're a changeling you're still a wonderful mare, then maybe you could stop being scared."

Lyra wipes her eyes and looks at the bed, but the cocoon remains unmoving, silent and impassive. Standing, Lyra backs up a few steps and turns toward the door, "I'll um… leave, then. Sorry."

Beneath her blankets, Bon Bon shifts slightly as she examines the emotions permeating the room, Lyra's sadness, regret, and fear compounding with her own turbulent feelings.

"Wait."

Lyra halts abruptly, looking back to see the wrapped blankets glow with green magic and partially unfurl themselves to reveal Bon Bon's head. Bon Bon sniffles and dries her eyes on the blankets still covering her shoulders. Rolling over to face Lyra, she takes another taste, a faint yet warm ray of hope now cutting through the fog of negative emotions.

"I… may have overreacted a little bit," Bon Bon says, lighting her horn to drive back the room's shadows. "I shouldn't have said some of those things. Or hissed at you."

Lyra shakes her head emphatically, "No, this should have been your decision to make, not mine. I totally deserved it."

"Yes," Bon Bon agrees flatly, "you did. But that doesn't mean I should just go off on you – I know you well enough to know you would never mean to hurt me like that."

Lyra rubs the back of her neck, "Still, I really screwed this up, probably more than I've ever screwed up anything in my entire life. I want to make it up to you, and I have a couple ideas, but… well… none of them are possible at the moment, so!" Lyra throws her hooves wide, "What do you want me to do? Name absolutely anything."

"Hmm… " Bon Bon murmurs thoughtfully, looking at the ceiling while she runs through a steadily growing list of ideas. Out of habit she takes another sample of the room's emotions, the bitter mix from earlier now replaced by a bit of happiness, a lot of relief, and-

"Really, Lyra?"

Lyra blushes, "What?"

Bon Bon looks back at her, amusion mixing with incredulity, "You were thinking about angry makeup sex."

"No I-" Lyra catches herself, "Yes, that is exactly what I was thinking about."

Bon Bon's eyes narrow suspiciously.

Lyra avoids eye contact, tapping her hooves together nervously.

"How about this then," Bon Bon says after a few seconds, "you can start making it up to me by being honest about what you were just thinking about."

Lyra fidgets, "Look, Bon Bon, you know how there are sometimes things that you're better off not knowing?"

Bon Bon stares her down, "Lyraaaa… "

"I – alright, fine," Lyra says with a resigned sigh. "It just kind of popped into my head, but um, seeing as everypony knows you're a changeling now, maybe… we could try to have kids?"

The weight vanishes from Bon Bon's gaze and she simply watches Lyra, only distantly aware of her existence as her mind grinds to a halt.

"I-It really just popped into my head, and you know that's kind of my thing," Lyra says defensively. "Besides, I mean, do you not want a bunch of cute little changelings running around?"

"I – that – you… " Bon Bon takes a deep breath, allowing her mental faculties time to restart, "Just, really? Now of all times?"

"Like I said, it just kind of popped into my head and I couldn't get it out." Lyra blinks and shakes her head, her blush deepening slightly, "Bad thoughts."

"Just… just… get out," Bon Bon says exasperatedly, freeing a hoof to point at the door. "And don't come back until you've made breakfast."

"Yes, ma'am!" Lyra salutes before hastily retreating from the room.

"I have returned!" Lyra proclaims as she re-enters the bedroom a short time later, Bon Bon waking from a light doze as the lights turn on to see Lyra levitating a pair of plates over to her. Waiting while Bon Bon unmakes her cocoon before lying on the bed next to her, Lyra lowers one of the plates to land in front of herself, "A chopped prairie grass sandwich glazed with honey for me." She lands the second plate in front of Bon Bon with a flourish, "And a chopped prairie grass sandwich with extra honey and a surprise on the side for you."

Looking down at her plate curiously, Bon Bon's tubular ears fold back nearly to her skull, her head lowering as she self-consciously glances at Lyra.

"Is something wrong?" Lyra asks, swallowing the first bite of her sandwich noisily.

"No, well, kind of?" Bon Bon replies, holding one of the mini sausage links in front of her, "I didn't know that you knew I had these. You're not – I mean, you're alright if I eat them?"

"Hey, give me some credit," Lyra says, leaning over to nuzzle her marefriend. "I may not think things through as much as I should, but I love you for who you are, not what you eat." She pulls away and takes another bite of her sandwich, "Just, you know, don't expect me to try any."

Bon Bon exhales sharply through her nose and smiles, "Fair enough."

The rest of their meal passes in relative silence, Lyra gobbling down her sandwich while Bon Bon savors her physical meal, mixing it with an occasional sip of the positive energy flowing towards her from Lyra. As she eats however, a steady sense of unease emerges, spiking as she raises up the second to last sausage to her mouth.

Bon Bon sighs, lowering it to her plate, "Lyra, I can not eat these if it makes you uncomfortable."

"Huh? Oh. No, it's not that," Lyra says, glancing at Bon Bon then away nervously. "It's what you said earlier, the 'cursed parasite of a pony' thing. I know I said that when you first showed yourself to me, but… you know I don't actually think you're a parasite, right?"

Bon Bon gently turns Lyra's head back to her with a hoof, booping Lyra's nose with her own to leave behind a smudge of honey, "Lyra, I eat your emotions, I would know if you felt that way about me."

Lyra chuckles, relief seeping through her, "I guess you're right."

Returning to her plate, Bon Bon levitates the sausage to her mouth, shearing off the closer half of it with her sharp incisors. Lyra meanwhile licks at her nose intently, slowly cleaning off the sticky sweetness left behind. After a few more minutes, Bon Bon finishes, taking her plate and Lyra's and levitating them to the nightstand next to her side of the bed.

"What now?" Lyra asks as she removes the last of the honey from her nose.

"Now… " Bon Bon says, her front and back hooves nearly reaching ends of the bed as she stretches luxuriously, "I'd like a massage."

Lyra glances at the bedroom door, then back at Bon Bon, "Uhm… I don't think Lotus and Aloe are open right now."

"Oh I'm sure they're not," Bon Bon replies, looking at Lyra expectantly. "Even if they were though, I don't think they know enough about changelings to give me a massage anyway."

Lyra's ears perk up as she realizes Bon Bon's meaning, "Ah."

Shifting to face Bon Bon's side, Lyra delicately raises the closer of Bon Bon's holeless wings with her magic, slowly moving it in a wide circle while she gently kneads the small bump of muscle and connective tissue at the wing's base. Lowering the wing to Bon Bon's shell after a few minutes, Lyra quickly rises from the bed and switches sides, repeating the process with the other wing. Bon Bon's breathing slows and deepens while Lyra works, her eyelids drooping until they hide her light brown eyes completely. Returning the second wing to its resting place, Lyra moves upward, doing her best to work the tension from Bon Bon's neck, though the chitin's toughness compared to skin does much to stymie her efforts. She perseveres however, her dedication eventually eliciting a soft groan of satisfaction from the mare below her. After continuing for another several minutes, Lyra pulls away and looks over her marefriend's prone form, Bon Bon's shell blocking any further attempts at relaxation. While she thinks, Bon Bon's horn glows to life and she rolls over, grabbing Lyra and pulling her close as their bed's blankets rise together to engulf the pair and reform Bon Bon's cocoon.

Lyra struggles a bit in surprise, but Bon Bon simply holds her tighter, whispering in her ear, "Shh… tonight, you're little spoon."

Suppressing a giggle, Lyra relaxes into Bon Bon's embrace, both drifting off to sleep as the first rays of sunlight begin to paint a beautiful dawn upon the night sky.

Chapter 14.75 Overeating

The door to Cheerilee's home glows green for a moment, swinging open to allow Cheerilee and Big Mac inside. As they walk into the darkened house, Cheerilee's horn glows again from her place on Big Mac's back, first flicking the light switch next to the door to bring visibility to the room around them and then pushing the door closed behind them.

Big Mac stops in the middle of the room, smiling slightly as he turns his head to look at the changeling holding on to him, "So are you gonna get off, or were ya plannin' on ridin' me all the way to yer bed?"

Cheerilee blushes at his words and allows her grip to loosen, sliding down the left side of his barrel to land sprawled on the floor next to him. Big Mac watches her stretch and let loose an enormous yawn from her place on the floor, his amused smile fading into neutrality, the ends of his mouth sloping slightly downwards. Standing, Cheerilee looks over at him, however he averts his eyes uncomfortably, instead looking at the photos adorning the wall to his right.

"Mac?" Cheerilee asks uncertainly, "Is something wrong?"

Big Mac glances down at the floor then back at her, "Ah was just thinkin'. You know, with everything that's happened and how our relationship has been progressin', maybe… maybe it would be a good idea if we took a bit of a break."

Cheerilee's chest tightens, her ears drooping along with her mood, "I-I guess… if that's what you want… " She pokes at the floor, "Do you know how long you'll need before you decide if you-"

"Wait, hold on," Big Mac interrupts embarrassedly, waving his hooves in front of his chest, "that uh… Ah may have chosen mah words poorly." He inhales deeply, then exhales, "What Ah mean is, we've been movin' forward with our relationship and Ah'm fine with that, but things are different now what with you bein' a bugpony and all. And Ah don't mean to say anythin' about that one way or another; what Ah mean to say is that there's a whole 'nother side to you that Ah didn't even know existed, and Ah want to learn about that part a' you before anythin' else happens."

Relieved, Cheerilee smiles and nods, "Alright, what do you want to know?"

Big Mac shrugs exhaustedly, "Ah'm not even sure yet, but what Ah do know is Ah'm dead tired and we're gonna need as much rest as we can get for meetin' with the Princesses. Speakin' a which," he gestures at the green loveseat along the wall behind Cheerilee, "d'ya mind if Ah take over yer couch for the night?"

"Err… why?" Cheerilee asks, her brow attempting to knit in confusion though her chitin mostly prevents it. "I mean, it's not a problem, but wouldn't you rather sleep on your own bed at Sweet Apple Acres?"

Big Mac's eyes harden, "Because Ah saw how some ponies were lookin' at you when we were leavin', and it wasn't too friendly – kinda the opposite in fact."

"I didn't notice," Cheerilee says sadly, glancing out at the town through her front window. "You can use my bed instead of the couch if you want."

Big Mac shakes his head, "No, this is your house; you should sleep in yer own bed."

"I don't actually use it much any more," Cheerilee replies, looking back at him. "Would-um… would you like to see where I really sleep?"

"Well… " Bug Mac yawns and rolls his shoulders, curiosity taking the opportunity to overrule his tiredness. "Sure, why not? Ah figure Ah've got about half an hour before Ah keel over and start snorin' on yer floor, might as well use it."

Cheerilee giggles as she heads towards her bedroom, "It won't take half an hour, I promise."

Following Cheerilee into her sparsely decorated bedroom containing little more than a neatly made bed, a nightstand, and a lamp, Big Mac stands with her in front of her closet. Cheerilee's horn glows green for a few seconds along with the closet door, the two sources of green light vanishing after a heavy clunk signals the closet has been unlocked. The door opens and the pair walk inside; the unusually large closet housing a couple dresses, two sets of three horseshoes, a few pairs of earrings in an open jewelry box, a necklace hanging from a pants hanger, and a tunnel big enough to fit a pony through in the center of it all.

Big Mac blinks, staring down the hole, "Huh."

Cheerilee laughs, "Yeah, not exactly what you were expecting, I'd imagine."

Big Mac chuckles, "Eenope."

"Well come on," Cheerilee says, entering the tunnel with ease.

Following her, Big Mac lowers his head and bends his knees so he can fit, the added friction from the tunnel's crampedness becoming a benefit as his hooves slip on the smooth black material it's made of. Almost immediately after he fully enters the tunnel it turns sharply to the left, sloping steeply down for another 20 feet before turning left again and opening up into a decent sized room made from the same dark material as the tunnel.

Big Mac stands and decompresses himself, his mane rubbing up against the ceiling as he looks around. A weak breeze moves across his body and pushes at his mane, the gently flowing air cool, but not unpleasantly so. Four glowing green globs of goo draw his immediate attention, the luminescent material wedged into the seam between the wall and ceiling to provide the circular room with warmth and a dim light, each one placed an even distance from the two on either side. Against the wall to his right are two plain black jars seemingly made from the same material as the floor, walls, and ceiling, the elongated cubes a little wider than his hoof and nearly as tall as Cheerilee's shoulder. Across the room from him is a small alcove carved into the wall holding several books, a shelf-like table extending from the wall next to it and two smaller glowing green half-spheres fused to the wall about a foot above the table. Between him and the books the floor rises slightly with what appears to be a sliced open pod placed in its center, the hard blackness of the floor covering its outside suddenly changing to an unlit green material on the inside.

"Kinda dark," Big Mac comments. "And… green."

Cheerilee exhales sharply, "Yeah, we can see better in the dark than most ponies, and I was the only one who was ever meant to be down here."

"Interestin'." Big Mac experimentally taps the floor with a hoof, "Did ya make this all yerself?"

Cheerilee shakes her head, "No, I got it as a reward for… uh… " she looks at him hesitantly, "for being a very successful gatherer. B-But I wasn't using you for the reward or anything, e-even in the beginning. We just started seeing each other, a-and that was wonderful, and then the builders just showed up one day and they were half done before I got back from the schoolhouse and-"

Big Mac steps in front of her, raising a hoof to her lips to interrupt her run-on sentence, "Ah understand. Well, kinda. Honestly though, if Ah was gonna be upset about the whole emotion eatin' thing Ah already woulda been." He chuckles, lowering his hoof, "Ah'm a bit flattered, actually. Ah really made so much of a difference that they sent some ponies to dig out this room for ya?"

"Oh, um, yeah," Cheerilee replies, a bit flustered. "We can feed on ambient emotions well enough, but emotions that are specifically directed at us, that are… for us, are much more potent."

Her mouth opens as if to say something else, however after a moment it closes instead and she frowns. Big Mac raises an eyebrow, waiting patiently.

"How are you so… ok… with this?" Cheerilee asks eventually, waving her hoof at the room, "All of this. I mean you've just found out your marefriend is secretly a changeling who's been feeding on your emotions to the point that she even got a whole room built for her as a reward, and you're just so… calm."

"Well," Big Mac says, sitting down, "the way Ah figure it, ever since you came into mah life Ah've felt a lot of things that Ah wouldn't a' felt otherwise, and Ah'm happier for it. Wouldn't trade it fer anythin'. So if you need to take a bit a' that back so you and yer family can survive, then Ah can't rightly think of a reason to object. Ah am-" a yawn breaks into his sentence, and he stretches before continuing, "Ah am a bit disappointed you didn't feel like you could tell me, but-" he hold up a hoof to prevent Cheerilee from speaking, "but we can talk about that another time. Ah may have over-estimated myself when Ah said half an hour."

Cheerilee smiles and nods, "Right."

She walks over to her sleeping pod and turns to Big Mac, "Good night, McIntosh."

"Night Cheerilee," Big Mac replies, bobbing his head before walking into the tunnel.

Stepping into her pod, Cheerilee's hoof sinks into its soft insides, the surface glowing and warming slightly to the pressure. With a sigh she lowers herself into its gentle embrace, pushing her shell into one side while the other holds her hooves snug against her barrel, the soothing heat seeping through her chitin as she drifts off to sleep.

Consciousness returns to Cheerilee seemingly an instant later and she rolls in place onto her back, stretching her legs towards the ceiling and letting out a contented chirp as the cool air passes through the holes in her appendages to quickly bring them to room temperature. After lying there for a few minutes dozing on the edge of sleep, she stands, regretfully leaving the warmth of her pod behind. Heading over to the room's exit, she walks up the tunnel and back towards the surface, her hooves holding onto the smooth, sloped surface easily despite the opposing pull of gravity. Exiting her closet, she cocks her head at the empty bed then rolls her eyes and makes her way into the main room of the house; however she is unable to find Big Mac there either, her couch entirely unoccupied and lacking so much as an indentation to indicate he had ever lain there. Frowning, she leaves her home, squinting in the bright light of the noonday sun.

Desertion greets her, not a soul in sight as she scans the small part of Ponyville in front of her. Tasting the ambient emotions of the town goes no better, an utter void greeting her instead of the usual pleasant background emanations. Desperate to find the slightest hint of leftover feelings, she closes her eyes, her horn glowing ever so slightly green as she attempts to forcibly drain any residual emotions towards her. And yet, she finds nothing. Opening her eyes, she looks around at Ponyville again, shivering as a sense of foreboding settles inside her. The town is empty.

Emotionless.

Dead.

And silent. She stiffens and stands taller, fear coursing through her as she realizes the quiet of her own mind, the constant background hum of her distant brothers and sisters only now unmistakably missing.

Alone.

Suddenly a cloyingly sweet voice calls out from her left, "Hey look, it's the bug!"

Her head jerks towards the source of the voice, and she sees Silver Spoon standing not ten feet from her.

All alone.

The door to her house slams shut behind her and she jumps nearly a foot in the air, whirling around in time to hear it lock with an unusually loud *click*. Trembling, Cheerilee turns back to look at Silver Spoon, only to instead find a large crowd forming a 180 degree arc in front of her. Screeching in surprise she stumbles back, however instead of falling against her sturdy wooden door she passes through empty air. Looking up at where her house should be, she instead finds the other half of the circle, a wall of ponies now surrounding her entirely. Reaching out once more, she attempts to get a sense of the crowd's intent, but again she finds nothing. Then, for the first time, she notices their faces.

Expressions emotionless.

Eyes empty.

In unison they step forward, shrinking the circle as they unblinkingly focus on one thing.

Her.

Cheerilee's breath hitches as she waits for them to advance further, however they simply stand there, as if waiting for something. Without warning a cinder of hatred appears behind her, no more than a spark, yet blazing like a star within the pitch black of an empty universe. She gulps, the sensation of the poison burning at her mind disturbingly pleasant against the backdrop of the void surrounding her. Slowly, she turns around, her eyes resting on its source.

"Hi Cheerilee!" Diamond Tiara greets her, grinning maliciously, "I just thought you'd like to know that the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally got their cutie marks."

Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom fade in from the crowd to flank Diamond Tiara, her grin becoming impossibly wide, "And would you look at that, they fit the situation perfectly."

Cheerilee's eyes slowly move to Applebloom's flank, flicking next to Scootaloo's, then Sweetie Belle's, each one emblazoned with the cutie mark of a pest pony.

The three fillies walk towards her, as emotionless as the rest of the crowd as they pull out their gear – Applebloom a can of bug spray, Scootaloo a bug zapper light, and Sweetie Belle a finely woven net.

Diamond Tiara facehoofs, shaking her head, "No, no, no! That won't do at all!"

The Cutie Mark Crusaders pause at her words as their equipment fades and warps; Applebloom's bug spray turning into a pressurized cannister of acid, Scootaloo's bug zapper transforming into a branding iron, and rusted barbed wire snaking itself into Sweetie Belle's net.

"Much better!" Diamond Tiara says gleefully, clapping her hooves together. She points at Cheerilee, "Get her."

The crowd jerks into motion, closing in on her just behind the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Sorry Miss Cheerilee," Sweetie Belle apologizes.

"Yeah," Applebloom continues, "but unfortunately we can't just let bugs like yerself infest our town."

"But if it makes you feel any better, this will hurt you a lot more than it will hurt us," Scootaloo finishes.

As the words leave Scootaloo's mouth, the situation finally, truly, registers in Cheerilee's brain and she screams. Bending her knees she jumps into the air to fly away, however instead of feeling the wind rushing against her face she crashes to the ground, her wings missing. Switching gears, she tries to transform, focusing with all her might on the form of Rainbow Dash, however the green flames flicker and die rather than consuming her body to leave her crumpled and flightless on the ground. The Crusaders stand impossibly tall above her and raise their weapons, smiles flitting across their faces as they watch Cheerilee's mouth open in a silent scream.

"BE… GONE!!!"

Pure white light blazes across her nightmare, annihilating everything to leave her floating in a sea of ethereal calm. As her awareness fades, she vaguely feels another presence hovering next to her while something else looses a horrible, alien wail, the sound shoving her over the edge and into oblivion.

Cheerilee's eyes snap open and her coiled legs thrash about, popping her out of her pod and onto the floor. Her freed wings automatically buzz to life and she quickly rises into the air – only to smack into the low ceiling, the blow dazing her further and upsetting her already tenuous balance. Swerving to her right she careens straight into the wall, the impact stopping her wings cold and letting her crash back to the floor.

Lying panting on the floor, rationality finally manages to reassert itself and she takes stock of her surroundings, her body giving small involuntarily twitches from the leftover adrenaline coursing through her, the utter calm of her room a welcome change from the nightmarish scene she had just escaped. Listening carefully, she can once more hear the hum of her family as well, their worry obvious. An electric tingle spreads through her body as she feels her queen also take notice.

I am fine, Cheerilee thinks to herself, doing her best to send calmness back across the link.

Her queen's attention lingers, clearly not convinced, but eventually Cheerilee feels her queen's focus shift elsewhere though her confusion remains.

Raising herself into a sitting position, Cheerilee reaches out to sample the emotions in the air, sighing in relief when she feels something instead of nothing. As she sits basking in the wonderfulness of normalcy, another emotion tingles across her senses and she absorbs it greedily, the familiar love a delightful counter to her fading memories of the nightmare.

Standing unsteadily, she follows it up the tunnel, fear pulsing through her as she sees her bed is again empty. However as she continues into the main living area her fear subsides, her eyes resting on Big Mac's softly snoring form on her couch. Buzzing her wings, she rises into the air to hover over him, gently worming her right front and back hoof between him and the couch as she carefully lowers herself. Her cuddling maneuver successful, she rests her head on his neck just above his shoulder and closes her eyes.

One of Big Mac's eyes opens after a minute and he glances back to watch Cheerilee's breathing calm and deepen, a small smile dancing on his lips before his barrel expands in a deep sigh and he shifts slightly, his eye closing as sleep claims him again.

Big Mac's ears twitch, the telltale slap of two thick liquids impacting each other drawing him from his dreamless slumber. His eyelids rise lethargically and he glances around the room, unable to even work up the motivation to raise his head to better survey his surroundings, the grey and washed out colors of the world around him matching his state of mind perfectly. The noise repeats itself, though the spark of curiosity it brings is quickly buried under vague concern as he realizes that dawn has already come and gone. Force of habit alone gets him off the couch, and once standing he pauses before languidly making his way towards the only other place his clouded mind can think to go.

Following the source of the noise to the kitchen, Big Mac's eyes drift over to rest on Cheerilee, disinterestedly observing her head hanging over a black jar identical to the ones from her underground room. Noticing his presence, she attempts to say something, however her body interrupts her and she clutches the jar tighter as more fluid is ejected from her mouth to join her previous upheavals.

Once she finishes with the latest round of vomiting, she rests her head on the rim of the jar, light glinting off fresh tears, "Mac… I'm s-so sorry."

Big Mac frowns at her words and at the scene in front of him, the colors of the room around him seeming to brighten as worry filters through his sluggish mind, "Do you… need anythin'… ?"

"Water," Cheerilee croaks, her throat parched despite liquid having recently passed through it.

Big Mac nods, trudging over to right a large cup lying toppled on the counter beside her from which water drips down the cabinets and onto the floor, refilling it to the brim before offering it to Cheerilee. Unable to maintain enough concentration to hold the cup in her magic, Cheerilee grabs it desperately with her hooves, water sloshing over the sides as it trembles in her grasp followed by even more overflowing from her mouth as she chugs the entire thing. Dropping the cup roughly to the floor, she almost immediately begins puking again, more green slime leaving her to join the rest at the bottom of the jar while Big Mac refills her cup and holds her mane out of the way.

After nearly 20 minutes Cheerilee's symptoms ease and she leans back tiredly, panting and surrounded by puddles of splashed water as she rests against the cabinet, eyes closed. Big Mac sits calmly next to her, exploring his newfound state of emotional numbness with detached interest while he waits for her to speak.

A few minutes later Cheerilee inhales deeply and opens her eyes, the resulting sigh interrupted by a wet cough as she stands and expels strands of green-tinged phlegm into the sink.

Sitting heavily, she turns to Big Mac, guiltily glancing at him then dropping her gaze to the floor, "H-How… how do you feel?"

Big Mac's brow knits as he considers the question, "Ah feel… less. Like a sponge that's been squeezed too many times."

"I-I'm sorry," Cheerilee apologizes, her voice quavering and ears splaying. "I-I didn't – I never m-meant to… "

Big Mac looks at her expectantly, voicing his unasked question when it remains unanswered, "What happened?"

"I had a nightmare. At least, I think I did; it matches what I've read about them but I've never had a dream before, I shouldn't be able to, but I don't know what else it could have been," Cheerilee shivers as bits and pieces filter through her hazy memory.

Big Mac looks at her oddly, "You've never had a dream before? Ever?"

Cheerilee swallows, shaking her head, "I-I – we – that is, Changelings, have a link we share with each other. We can't send words or thoughts or anything like that, but we can always feel what the rest of the hive is feeling, we know that our Queen is watching over us, and when we sleep we kind of… it's like the hive is an ocean, and I'm submerged just below the surface. There's no light though, or sound, or anything, but there's still… something. Something really important. I'm not sure how else to describe it. This though, this was horrible. I thought I had woken up, but the house was empty and the town was empty, and then I realized I couldn't feel the hive anymore and I couldn't feel anypony's emotions either and I was so alone." Tremors wrack Cheerilee's body, tears streaming down her face, "And then ponies started showing up, but I still couldn't feel their emotions and you still weren't there, and then there was… something… hatred… but everything else I-I don't… remember… "

Big Mac attempts to put a leg around her shoulders, but she shrugs him off. He persists however, embracing the smaller pony and pulling her up against his chest while she sobs, the colors of the room around him seeming to warm as he comforts her.

"And then… I woke up," Cheerilee eventually manages to continue. "Really woke up, and I could feel the hive again and I could sense your love and I just wanted to feel something else, anything else. A-And I didn't mean to, but I took more than I should have. More than either of us could handle. I'm sorry."

"So, the way Ah am now, is it permanent?" Big Mac asks after a moment.

"No," Cheerilee replies, sniffling. "It'll get better over time, and strong emotional triggers help. You should be fine after bucking apple trees for a few hours and some sleep."

Big Mac nods and sighs, relieved.

Gently extracting herself from Big Mac's forelegs, Cheerilee returns to the black jar, putting its lid on and shoving it into the cabinet under the sink with a grunt.

Big Mac watches her curiously, "So what're you plannin' on doing with all a' that, anyway?"

"It'll be picked up and sent back to my hive at some point," Cheerilee replies, the cabinet door clicking shut as a pair of magnets, one on the top corner and one on the bottom, pull it out of her hoof and across the last centimeter of space. "In about a week, I think."

Big Mac gestures at the closed cabinet, "So the green stuff you were pukin' up, that was all the emotions you took while Ah was asleep?"

"Well, not all of them," Cheerilee answers, wincing but silently grateful for the lack of accusation in his voice. "It's kind of similar to bees, if that helps. I'm a gatherer, so I eat some of the emotions I collect, but everything extra gets digested and stored in my second stomach. Then every day or so I uh… regurgitate it into one of these jars, which is then picked up and sent back to the hive."

"Huh," Big Mac says simply, after a few seconds giving her a once over then exhaling sharply, smiling.

Cheerilee frowns, "I'm serious, that's what happens."

"Wasn't that," Big Mac replies, shaking his head, "Ah was just thinkin'. So goin' with yer bee analogy, you're the bee."

"Yes," Cheerilee confirms.

"And mah emotions are the nectar."

"Yes."

"Which would make me the flower."

"That's uh… not a word I would usually use to describe you, but I suppose."

A snicker worms its way from Big Mac's mouth, "So, Ah feel Ah have to ask; you aren't plannin' on coverin' yerself in mah 'pollen' and spreadin' it around to other 'flowers', are you?"

Cheerilee slowly blinks once, then again, her entire face lighting up a bright green by the third blink as the pieces of Big Mac's question fall into place. She shakes her head rapidly and crosses her forelegs to form an X in front of her chest, embarrassed chittering making its way out of her mouth instead of intelligible words. Big Mac's laughter meanwhile reverberates through the house, a grin remaining plastered across his face even after it fades to an occasional chuckle.

"The similarities don't go that far," Cheerilee eventually manages once her brain recovers enough to speak Equestrian. Delicately, she absorbs a small amount of his emotional outburst, "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Big Mac responds, wiping leftover tears from his eyes. "Tired, but better. Ah guess laughter sometimes really is the best medicine. Still," his smile fades somewhat, "this isn't somethin' that's gonna keep happening, right?"

Cheerilee straightens, "No! No. Never again. It should never have happened in the first place, for a couple of reasons, but it'll never happen again and I'm really sorry that it happened this time."

"Ah'm glad to hear it," Big Mac says with a nod, his smile growing again. "You can stop apologizing though. We both learned from it, it won't happen again, and honestly it seems like you were worse off than Ah was – Ah just had ta laugh a bit ta get better."

Rather than argue with him, Cheerilee just nods, one of her hooves restlessly tapping the floor, What did I ever do to deserve a stallion like you?

Standing resolutely, Cheerilee lights her horn, a couple cabinets, a drawer, and her refrigerator opening from which she pulls various ingredients and places them on the counter.

"Ah'm not sure what all that's for, but shouldn't we-" Big Mac yawns, "shouldn't we be headin' back to bed? Usually yer not even awake this early."

"You've done more for me in the last 12 hours than I ever expected anypony to do in my entire life," Cheerilee replies determinedly, "so I'm going to do something for you, even if I can't do a whole lot right now. Besides, I have so much energy at the moment I don't think I could lie still long enough to fall asleep anyways."

Choosing not to press the issue, Big Mac watches her fill a mug with milk. Levitating the mug above her, Cheerilee warms it with a small green flame before stirring in a small amount of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, and some sugar. Returning it to the counter, she unwraps several squares of milk chocolate, holding each above the mug one by one and melting them into the spiced milk below, levitating it over to Big Mac once she stirs the thick concoction together.

"Fancy," Big Mac comments, another yawn escaping him as he holds the beverage in his hooves. "Smells nice though." He takes a sip, "Tastes good too."

"Thanks," Cheerilee replies, smiling. As Big Mac takes a second sip of his hot chocolate, Cheerilee looks out the kitchen doorway and through her front windows into the town outside. A group of Royal Guards march past while she watches, their presence reminding her of what difficulties the day ahead still holds. Thoughts of what questions the Princesses might ask and how she should answer them play out in her head, increasing in complexity to form the theoretical basis of entire conversations – all of which she eventually dismisses as unrealistic or unhelpful.

She sighs, I don't… I just don't know. I don't want to get kicked out of Ponyville or put in a dungeon, but… I don't know. Whatever happens though, I know we'll be able to make it work. Somehow.

*snore*

Waking from her internal deliberation, she glances at Big Mac, the stallion leaning lopsidedly to his left as he slumbers, his empty cup of hot chocolate resting on the floor between his hooves.

Opening her mouth to wake him, she pauses, instead gritting her teeth and drawing on her overflowing magical reserves to lift Big Mac a few inches into the air. Moving slowly, she carefully floats him through the kitchen doorway and over to the couch, her horn sparking as she raises him a few more inches then gently lowers him onto the green cushions. Turning, she heads to her bedroom, coming back with a blanket which she draws up over his shoulders and a pillow which she sneaks under his head.

Movement in her peripheral vision catches her attention and she looks up from her sleeping coltfriend to see another group of guards marching past. As she watches, one member of the group glances directly at her and he does a double take, anger and disgust twisted his features. Breaking formation, he begins to walk towards her, but before the guard makes it two steps the rest of the group stops and an older stallion shouts something at him. The younger guard points at her and attempts to say something, only for the older one to talk over him. After a heated, though one-sided, exchange, the younger guard stiffly returns to his position and the group continues towards their original destination. The leader of the unit pauses for a moment – just long enough to shoot Cheerilee a withering glare before turning on his heel as well.

Shakily taking a step away from her front window, Cheerilee releases a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and retreats to her kitchen, her earlier worries revived and now joined by fear.

*knockknockknockknock*

The pounding on the door wakes Big Mac and he stretches, forgetting the fact that he's not in his own bed just long enough for the motion to push him off the couch and onto the floor.

Cheerilee exits the kitchen as Big Mac stands, freezing halfway between the kitchen and the front door as her eyes flick to the windows and then back to the door. She gulps and lights her horn, the door opening to reveal one Royal Guard standing in her doorway – and another ten flanking him. Big Mac is beside her immediately, all sleepiness banished as he watches the guards warily.

"Princesses Celestia and Twilight Sparkle have requested the presence of the Changeling Cheerilee and her… coltfriend… McIntosh Apple," The guard says disdainfully, standing aside curtly. "We will escort you to them. This way."

Chapter 15 Interlude of Food

Twilight awakes in darkness.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she stares at her shadowy surroundings, her focus quickly flicking between each of her windows – every one of them covered by a blackout curtain and faintly ringed by sunlight. Shifting on her bed of books to look behind her, Twilight blinks in surprise at the sight of Luna lying asleep on what appears to be a jumbo version of Rarity's fainting couch, her gently flowing mane and tail casting a dim blue light a few inches in all directions.

For a time, Twilight simple stares, unwilling to look away from the soothing dance of the sparkling pseudo-stars within Luna's mane. However, after several minutes something above her creaks, and she glances up – letting out a shocked yelp as she sees three figures hanging from the ceiling. Covering her mouth with her hooves, she glances around frantically then looks at the figures again, renewed scrutiny revealing them to be the three thestral guards who had accompanied Luna, each of them hanging by their tail from newly embedded hooks in her ceiling. The guard closest to her sways slightly, another creak following as his legs shift beneath the wings wrapping his body.

Panting, Twilight closes her eyes and draws in a deep breath, bringing her right hoof to her chest. After counting to ten she exhales slowly, moving her hoof away as she does so until her leg is fully extended and her lungs are empty.

"Twilight!"

Twilight's ears prick at the sound of Celestia's whispered voice and she opens her eyes, following a thin shaft of light to a gap in the black curtains blockading the entrance to her kitchen. Celestia's head pokes out from between them, and she motions for Twilight to join her before withdrawing from the room.

Squinting and shielding her eyes while she waits for them to adjust to the kitchen's sudden brightness, Twilight makes her way over to her kitchen table, taking a seat at the side to Celestia's left.

"You have noticed your new house guests, I assume?" Celestia asks, a small amused smile on her lips as she sips her tea. Pouring a second cup, she offers it to Twilight, "I dipped into your tea stash; I hope that's alright."

"Uhh, yes, it is; and yes, I have," Twilight replies, carefully lowering her hoof from her eyes and taking the proffered beverage in her magic. "And despite all the weird and crazy things that've happened in the last 48 hours, I still was not expecting to see ponies hanging from hooks on my ceiling."

Celestia giggles, "So I heard."

"The vamponies are in the basement too," Spike adds helpfully over sudden sizzling from his place at the stove.

"Of course they are… " Twilight sighs resignedly, taking a long sip from her cup. "Thank you Spike, that is very good to know."

Note to self, do not go into the basement until the vamponies are awake. Also, find a new hiding place for my tea.

Rubbing her eyes, Twilight yawns, glancing over at Spike, "Please tell me that's breakfast."

"Lunch, actually," Spike replies enthusiastically. "I'm making waffles!"

Twilight glances at the white alicorn sitting at the table with her, pausing as she notices the slight discoloration beneath Celestia's eyes, then back at the draconic cook, "Spike. Princess Celestia is here, and you're making waffles? For lunch?"

Spike rolls his eyes, "Hey, don't look at me; she's the one who requested it."

Twilight returns her bewildered gaze to Celestia, who nods, "And I have to say, they smell delicious Spike."

"Thank you, Princess," Spike replies, removing another waffle from the iron and adding it to the top of a huge interleaved stack of both plain and chocolate chip waffles beside him.

Carefully lifting the large plate upon which the waffles rest, Spike makes his way over to the table and pushes the stack into its center before heading to the pantry and the fridge beside it, "Available toppings include syrup, oats, whipped cream, leftover chocolate chips, strawberries, blueberries, and ground rubies."

"I think I'll pass on the rubies," Twilight says amusedly, levitating the toppings over to the table as Spike pulls them out.

Spike shrugs, walking back to the table and taking his seat, "Eh, figured I'd ask."

With an eagerness unbecoming of a princess, Celestia grabs three of the chocolate chip waffles and thoroughly covers them with whipped cream, the ensuing bombardment of strawberries and even more chocolate chips leaving the white landscape of her plate pockmarked and discolored. Her meal thus prepared, she digs in, Spike snickering at the sight while he uses the last of the whipped cream on his own waffles before covering them in ruby dust. Twilight meanwhile watches the pair decorate their meal, rolling her eyes and opting instead for the simplicity of syrup to cover her own waffles.

Silence envelopes the trio as they all begin to eat in earnest, the tower of waffles quickly falling before them, its only remnants destined to be the crumbs and leftover toppings on each of the eaters' smaller plates. However, as Spike reaches for the fourth to last waffle, a golden shield appears around the plate to block his outstretched claw.

"Sorry Spike," Celestia apologizes, "but we do need to save a few for my sister."

"I guess… " Spike replies regretfully, withdrawing his claw. "Isn't she going to be asleep for, like, the rest of the day though?"

"Normally you would be correct; however, she did not wish to be left out of the discussion regarding the vamponies. She seems quite fascinated by them," Celestia answers, her gaze shifting from Spike to Twilight. "Unfortunately I had to raise the sun mid-trip and have not been able to meet them in person yet, so I am curious as to what your impression of them has been thus far as well, Twilight."

"They're different," Twilight states simply. "Not different like Zecora; I mean really, fundamentally different; but similar, too. They eat meat and drink blood, and yet at the same time one of them has apparently been breaking into Golden Oaks because she wants to read and is even a fan of Daring Do. It's… kind of disconcerting, actually. The same applies to the changelings as well, in a way; neither are at all what I would have expected."

"I'm glad to hear you've found some common ground with the vamponies," Celestia replies, frowning slightly. "The changelings are a different matter, however. Perhaps you could give me a quick summary before we wake Luna? The vamponies and Sombra she was well aware of, but much of the information we received about the two changelings came from rather… caffeinated townsponies, and was somewhat conflicting to say the least."

Twilight's ears perk up and she straightens, "Alright, um… I became suspicious of Cheerilee, Ponyville's schoolteacher, after she and Dawn, one of the vamponies, seemed to know each other really well. So I cast the changeling revealing spell on her, and it turned out she actually was a changeling and I wasn't just being paranoid. Then Big Mac, her coltfriend and Applejack's brother, showed up and they had a big romantic scene where she convinced him, and me, that she actually was Cheerilee and hadn't replaced anypony. I'm not entirely sure how the town is going to react once they realize their kids are being given a basic education by a changeling, buuut… we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, I suppose. Anyway! Then Lyra, Ponyville's… resident lyricist? I think? I'm not actually sure what she does for a living, but regardless, she revealed that her marefriend Bon Bon is also a changeling."

Twilight sighs, "And then Bon Bon mentioned that there are actually multiple changeling queens in Equestria, at which point I was just… I couldn't handle it anymore, so I told the changelings to go home and stay there until one of us called for them and if they didn't do so I'd have all changelings declared enemies of Equestria. After that I teleported here and almost got to sleep, but then a third changeling revealed herself to me. We talked, she left, I slept, I woke, we ate waffles."

"I see. Multiple changeling queens… that is indeed worrisome." Princess Celestia raises an eyebrow, "This third changeling though, who was she pretending to be?"

Twilight frowns, "She wasn't pretending to be anypony; she was, and is, a good friend. Honestly, from what I saw I don't think any of them were pretending to be who they are, just what they are."

Celestia leans down and stares into Twilight's eyes, concern clearly present in her own.

Twilight blinks and leans back a bit, confused, "Is something wrong, Princess?"

Celestia watches her intently for another few seconds, then straightens and sighs, "No, nothing is wrong. I just had to be sure. Still, this third changeling, who is she?"

Twilight shifts uncomfortably, "I'd… rather not say. It's going to be a big change, especially for her but also for everypony around her, and I want to let her reveal herself on her own terms."

"Very well," Celestia replies after a moment, grasping her now empty teacup in her magic and tapping one of the kitchen windows.

Immediately after the third tap, a Royal Guard teleports into the room next to the window with a grey flash and bows, "Princess?"

Celestia places her teacup on the table, "Lieutenant Double Time, please escort the two changelings living in Ponyville here so we may speak with them. Princess Twilight can tell you where they are located."

"They should both be in their homes," Twilight supplies to a stoic Double Time. "If they aren't, then they're probably long gone by now. Assuming they're still here though, one of them lives northeast of the schoolhouse near Quills and Sofas – it's the shop with a sign hanging off it containing the image of a quill, a plus sign, and the image of a sofa – and her name is Cheerilee. The other lives south of Sugarcube Corner on the same street, and her name is Bon Bon. Sugarcube Corner is the giant house which looks like it's made of candy, so one of the pegasus guards should be able to find it pretty easily. Ponyville doesn't have house numbers though, or names on most of their stores, so those are the best directions I can give you; but their neighbors should be able to point you at the right house."

"By your command," Double Time replies, briskly saluting and horn glowing grey as he prepares to leave the way he came.

"Bring the other Elements as well," Twilight adds quickly. "Lyra Heartstrings and McIntosh Apple too. Lyra's a mint green unicorn with a lyre cutie mark, and she lives with Bon Bon. Big Mac is a large red earth pony with a green apple cutie mark and he lives at Sweet Apple Acres, though after what happened he also may have gone with Cheerilee to her home."

"So Lyra Heartstrings and McIntosh Apple, they are involved with the changelings?" Double Time asks, his tone carefully neutral.

"They are romantically involved, yes," Twilight clarifies pointedly.

Double Time nods stiffly, "I understand. Thank you, Princess Twilight."

Princess Celestia stands as the guard disappears in another flash of grey, pouring herself a fresh cup of tea and levitating the plate of four waffles to her side along with the bowl of remaining blueberries before making her way over to the library's shrouded doorway.

Pausing with a hoof raised to the curtains, she glances back at the dragon gathering their dirty plates from the table, "Spike, could you put a pot of coffee on? At this hour I doubt we'll be able to keep Luna awake for long otherwise – don't bother with a cup once it's ready either, just bring the pot. Also a fruit bowl, if possible; from what I hear, Luna's guards have become quite fond of the Apples' apples."

"Of course," Spike replies, offering a quick salute as he carries their plates to the sink.

Celestia smiles, "Thank you, Spike."

Pushing the curtains aside, Celestia enters the main library followed closely by Twilight, the pair waiting for their eyes to adjust to the darkness within.

Walking over to Luna once she can see well enough not to trip over any debris, Celestia nudges her sister gently, "Luna, it is time to wake up."

Princess Luna groans and stretches, her hooves not quite reaching either end of the couch, "…'Tis too early, sister."

"I know, however you were the one who wished to-" Celestia starts to reply, cutting herself off when Luna slips back into sleep. Clearing her throat, she glances at Twilight, "You may wish to cover your ears."

Twilight's eyes widen in understanding and she pulls her ears down, pressing them to her skull with her hooves as Celestia takes a deep breath.

"WAKE UP!"

Triple thumps sound off behind her as Luna's guards drop like rocks from their hooks, a fourth thump following as one of them slips on a stray book while trying to leap to his hooves.

A disgruntled Luna meanwhile rolls over to stare up at a smiling Celestia, the shadows beneath her eyes as prominent as Celestia's despite her darker coat, "You enjoyed that entirely too much."

Celestia giggles, "What goes around, comes around; you have done the same to me often enough. Besides, you were the one who asked me to wake you."

Luna groans again, rolling further until she falls from the couch to lay on the floor, "We demand coffee."

Celestia places the plate and bowl in front of her, "I have waffles and blueberries."

"Coffee," Luna repeats, glaring tiredly up at her sister.

"I asked Spike to make a pot," Celestia says, giving a long suffering sigh. "Though how you can stand to drink the stuff is, as always, beyond me."

Luna snorts, levitating the top waffle from her small stack to take a bite out of it and popping a pair of blueberries into her mouth while she chews, "At least we did not spend the better part of five decades negotiating and renegotiating for trade rights to a few plants from nearly every tribe in the Zebrican Confederation."

"I will have you know, my efforts in those trade agreements covered far more than my tea leaves; and they set the stage for centuries of peaceful relations between our peoples," Celestia sniffs, raising her nose in mock offense.

After several seconds Celestia glances down and meets Luna's eyes, the two Alicorns holding each other's gaze for a split second before dissolving into a fit of giggles.

"Coffee and a bunch of apples, as-" Spike says as he walks in, stopping just inside and glancing around blindly. "Wow, it's really dark in here."

Suddenly the lightly steaming pot of coffee in his left claw glows blue, shooting across the room to stop in front of Princess Luna who immediately drinks from it, not stopping until half the coffee is gone.

"Aaahh~" Luna sighs contentedly, shivering as caffeine begins to enter her system.

"Isn't that hot?" Twilight asks after her momentary shock wears off.

"Extremely," Luna replies, glancing at Twilight.

"Um, your highness," one of the thestral guards says, looking hopefully from Luna to the large bowl of apples, then back to Luna, "may we… ?"

Luna dismisses them with a wave of her hoof, "Consider yourselves off duty until tonight."

The three bow and trot towards Spike, the drake placing the bowl on the floor and carefully making his way over to Twilight.

"Kinda loud, aren't they?" Spike mutters rhetorically as the sound of apples having their vital juices drained fills the room, Twilight giving him a disapproving nudge in response.

A few seconds later, Spike nervously taps her shoulder, "Hey Twilight?"

"Yes, Spike?"

"Has anypony gone into the basement since the vamponies went down there?"

"I don't think so," Twilight answers uncertainly, only now glancing at the ominous gap in the curtains blocking the tunnel to her basement. "Celestia and I didn't at least. Luna?"

Luna shakes her head, "Neither my guards nor I have entered your basement."

The gathered alicorns, guards, and dragon peer around the room, all nervous to varying degrees. Eventually Luna's gaze falls on Twilight, her apprehensive expression fading to be replaced by a mischievous smile.

Twilight looks back at Luna questioningly; however her confusion quickly transforms into terror as a wave of hot, moist air rolls across the left side of her neck.

"GAAAH!!!"

Whirling 180 degrees, Twilight's magic surges into her horn to glow like a beacon in the darkened room. However, as her eyes dart from point to point, her horn's light reveals nothing but shadows cast by the wreckage leftover from the previous night. As she examines the area before her for any sign or discrepancy to indicate the vampony's location, something smacks her tail and she spins around again, only to once more be greeted by empty space. Muffled laughter sounds off vaguely to her right and she automatically glances towards it, instead finding Celestia with a hoof raised to her eyes to block Twilight's hornlight rather than a vampony.

A couple seconds later, the guards squint at something just over her shoulder, the three tensing in unison to prepare for whatever happens next despite the painfully bright purple light. Against her better judgment, Twilight turns around one last time – a mouthful of pointed teeth and fangs a mere inch from her muzzle greeting her while glowing red eyes with slitted pupils stare into her very soul.

"Hi~"

Twilight's breath hitches and she prepares to scream – just in time for a smaller body to impact the base of her neck, small hooves gently wrapping themselves around her throat and a filly's voice whispering in her ear.

"Shhhhh~"

Midnight holds a leg over her eyes and takes a few unsteady steps away from Twilight as the blinding light flickers and fades from the alicorn's horn, her ears splaying back, "Ow-ow-ow-ow… "

"Midnight?" Dawn calls out, slipping off Twilight's barrel with a quiet thud.

"Yeah?"

"I can't see! Everything's green!"

Midnight carefully lowers her leg, blinking rapidly while she waits for her vision to return, "Mhm."

"I think they will make a wonderful addition to Nightmare Night, don't you?" Luna amusedly queries Celestia.

"I… suppose… " Celestia concedes hesitantly. "So the larger one is Midnight?"

"Yes, and the younger one is Dawn," Luna confirms after draining the last of her coffee.

Celestia clears her throat sharply, "Midnight. Dawn. I am not sure what you meant to do to Twilight; but will she be alright?"

"What?" Midnight asks, glancing at Celestia then back to Twilight, narrowing her eyes to peer through the green haze still clouding her sight. "Oh. Yeah, she'll be fine."

Midnight waves a hoof in front of the frozen mare, however her pupils refuse to even twitch. Frowning in annoyance, Midnight boops Twilight's nose.

Yelping, Twilight leaps into the air as though Midnight's touch had opened the pressure release valve in her brain, her limbs flailing randomly as she falls to the floor in a panting heap.

"Don't… do… that… " Twilight gasps, her heart hammering in her chest.

Midnight simply grins, though it fades as she watches Twilight start to shiver, "You are going to be alright, right?"

"Yes, I will be fine," Twilight replies, taking several deep breaths and offering a wan smile. "That was pure nightmare fuel though."

"It was supposed to be fun," Dawn says abashedly.

Midnight nods, "You were supposed to strike back or run around or, you know, do something that involved moving."

"Regardless, if you're quite finished terrifying my former student into a stupor," Celestia says, a hint of acid leaking into her voice, "I managed to obtain some food for you and your sister as well."

Raising her horn, magic surges through it and a brilliant yellow light briefly illuminates the room.

"Seriously, why are we even keeping it so dark in here if everypony is just going to keep making it bright anyway?" Spike asks, rubbing his eyes and watching the blinded batponies stare aimlessly at their surroundings while their vision returns.

"He makes an excellent point," Luna agrees, giving her sister a flat look.

Celestia deigns not to respond, her golden magical aura now casting a relatively dim light as it engulfs the cloche covering a large silver platter. Midnight's and Dawn's ears simultaneously stand straight up the instant Celestia lifts the food cover, both raising their noses to sniff the air then turning towards the platter.

"C-Celestia?" Twilight stammers, "W-Where did you even get all that?!"

Luna raises an eyebrow at Celestia, "Ozymandias?"

Celestia sighs in frustration, "Ozymandias."

"He will probably be angry."

"Probably."

"Maybe even enough to leave?"

Celestia sends a resigned look in Canterlot's direction, "One can only hope… "

"I'm sorry, who?" Twilight squeaks out, her and the thestrals' eyes still locked onto the freshly teleported pile of cooked meat and bone out of morbid curiosity.

"High Lord Ozymandias of Griffonstone, as he likes to call himself," Luna answers derisively. "His people are starving while his city is falling apart around him, yet he still manages to find time to abuse an emergency diplomatic provision in our treaty with the Griffon clans to 'grace the lesser plant-eating species with his presence' as he so succinctly put it. He is an arrogant bastard of a griffon, and the world will be well served by his departure from it."

"Oh," Twilight replies simply, her focus shifting from the full platter to the vamponies now standing in front of it.

Midnight and Dawn lean down and sniff the meat suspiciously, trading each other a confused look before Midnight licks a sausage link experimentally. Instantly her head shoots up and she unsteadily backpedals a few steps, her eyes crossing to stare at her muzzle while her tongue hangs out of her mouth.

Dawn snickers, Midnight glaring at her indignantly and pointing at the offending piece of meat, "You try it then."

Obliging with a roll of her eyes, Dawn sinks her teeth into the sausage only to leap back as if it had bit her instead, narrowing her eyes at it warily from a couple feet away.

"Perhaps it is spoiled?" Luna suggests. "It does not appear so to us, however our knowledge on the subject is quite limited."

"No, I mean it's cooked, which is different, but there's something else there too," Midnight attempts to explain, gesturing at the platter and glancing at Dawn who nods in agreement. "Something sharp, and tingly."

"And hot," Dawn adds.

The herbivores in the room look at each other in confusion until Twilight starts to giggle, apologetically waving away an annoyed glare from Midnight, "Sorry, but what you're saying is it's a little spicy."

Midnight looks at her questioningly, "And that is… normal?"

"I don't know," Twilight replies with a shrug, intentionally focusing on the wall over Midnight's shoulder to keep the pile of flesh at the edge of her peripheral vision, "but spices have been put on literally everything at some point or another; so it isn't too surprising that griffons put it on their food as well."

"Oh," Midnight replies, examining the surrounding food with her nose before beginning to consume the meat clinging to a femur. "Weird."

"Gross, more like," one of Luna's guards mutters disgustedly.

*crack*

The two ends of the bone clatter to the floor, Midnight giving the offending guard a flat look as she pops the center piece from between the sides of her upper jaw with her tongue before inspecting its center.

"Ugh, the marrow's all hard," she grumbles.

"I don't get why you'd cook any of this anyway," Dawn says, gnawing on a rib. "It makes everything so dry."

Two of the guards look away from the flesh devouring vamponies, the closer of them holding a hoof to his mouth as his stomach rumbles ominously, "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Not here you're not!" Twilight shouts, teleporting him away in a dim purple flash, the telltale sound of vomit entering a toilet reaching the group a few seconds later.

"There's already enough stuff on the floor without anypony else adding to it," she mutters.

The third guard stares up at the ceiling towards the source of the sound, then glances first at his nauseated compatriot then again at the vamponies. Shrugging, he picks up another apple in his mouth, puncturing its red skin with his short fangs and draining it dry.

Author's Note

+1 internet points to anyone who saw the Stargate SG-1 reference.

Chapter 16 Information and Revelation

"rrrrrrrrrr~!" Dawn cries out in frustration, her eyes following the tip of the pale yellow tail waggling irritatingly just out of reach. "Get! Back! Here!"

The prehensile tail ignores her demands however, bending and twisting to stay just beyond the grasp of the pouncing vampony filly as the coal-dust grey body of the thestral guard to whom it is attached turns in a slow circle. The others in the room watch the scene play out before them, Spike and the princesses following their antics amusedly while the remaining two guards stand nervously on either side of Luna – though their closeness along with the occasional shiver makes it clear that Luna's protection is not the only motivation for their current position. Midnight meanwhile rests her head on the floor, closely following the movements of her sister and her playmate through eyes lidded by tiredness.

As the guard continues turning, Midnight's gaze shifts to rest on his cutie mark of a single, wavy, almost iridescent white line moving from the upper left of his flank to the lower right, idle curiosity distracting her as Dawn makes a final desperate lunge.

"YESSS!!!" Dawn shouts triumphantly from between her teeth, grinning while the guard's tail wriggles helplessly in her jaws. Smiling mischievously, the guard begins to turn much more quickly, Dawn's eyes widening in surprise as she is dragged forward. Their speed rapidly increases, the centripetal force growing strong enough to lift her from the ground as the thestral whose tail she's biting spins faster and faster. On her fifth cycle their speed peaks and the guard changes the incline of her orbit, for a moment Dawn's side sliding along the floor with all the pressure of a feather before her altered path aims her 45 degrees from the library's floor.

Releasing her hold on his tail, Dawn snaps her wings open and easily gains control of her trajectory, the arc of her flightpath taking her within reach of the library's mostly empty shelves. Her height slowly decreases as she circles overhead for one lap around the room, the second lap cut short as she drops towards her older sister. Midnight raises her head and tenses as she sees Dawn's impending dive bomb, the impact pushing her several inches across the floor away from their platter and forcing a wet burp from her mouth. Panting, Dawn shifts onto her side and closes her eyes, snuggling into Midnight's barrel. With a sigh, Midnight licks her lips and lowers her head back to the floor, extending a wing over Dawn and flapping it gently.

The guard looks at Midnight, smiling as he waggles his tail, "Want to take a turn?"

Midnight blinks, then gives him a flat stare, "I will maul you."

The guard coughs and takes a step back, "Right… uhh… never mind then."

The telltale pop of teleportation sounds from the kitchen, a voice muffled by the thick curtains calling out, "Princess Celestia?"

"We're in here, lieutenant," Celestia responds loudly, turning to look at the curtains blockading the kitchen along with everybody else.

Almost immediately she regrets her decision, nearly closing her eyes as she squints against the shaft of light breaking through the curtains as Double Time enters. The others in the room react similarly, Spike, Twilight, and Luna squinting uncomfortably and looking away while the batponies cover their eyes with their wings, Midnight lowering the one fanning Dawn to shield her as well. Much to the relief of everyone in the room, Double Time quickly slips through the doorway, allowing the curtains to fall back into place.

Staring in the general direction of the princesses while his eyes adjust, Double Time salutes into the darkness, "Your Highnesses, the ponies you requested to be brought here are waiting outside."

"Thank you, lieutenant," Celestia replies with a nod. "Please send them in."

Double Time bows shortly, "At once."

"You are aware that you can use the door," Luna comments dryly as light surrounds his horn in preparation for another teleportation.

"O-Oh, yes, of course. My apologies," Double Time says, the glow of magic fading from his horn as he instead carefully starts making his way towards the front door.

However, after a few steps he freezes as his still adapting vision is able to make out the vamponies – along with the platter of uneaten meat and leftover bones near them. Midnight turns her head, watching the unmoving guard impassively. Suddenly very much aware that all eyes in the room are on him, Double Time swallows and forces himself forward, his pace picking up noticeably once he passes the vamponies. Guided by past experience, everyone in the room looks away as he opens the door and slips outside.

Celestia sighs once the door slams shut, "Was that really necessary, Luna?"

Rather than respond, Luna merely smiles, finishing off her third waffle and dropping the last of the blueberries into her mouth.

Without warning the front door opens wide, bathing the room in the sunlight of early afternoon as an undisguised Cheerilee and Bon Bon enter alongside Big Mac and Lyra in the wake of two Royal Guards, one a pegasus and the other a unicorn.

Spike yelps in pain and falls backwards as the light scalds his retinas, defensively putting his scaled back between him and the door. The thestral guards flinch, each covering their eyes with their hooves and wings. Midnight follows suit, letting out a low growl as Dawn whimpers and pushes her head against Midnight's side to help block out the light.

"CLOSE THAT THRICE DAMNED DOOR!!!" Luna bellows, her voice resonating ominously as she and Celestia also use their wings and hooves to thwart the light's onslaught while Twilight buries her head in a nearby pile of books.

Acting on instinct, the unicorn guard's horn instantly shines to life, slamming the door shut. A chorus of relieved groans and sighs follow his action as the princesses, batponies, and Spike unshield their eyes and look around the room through green tinted vision.

"Um… Your Highness… " the unicorn guard ventures after standing in darkness for several seconds, "may I light my horn?"

"You may not," Celestia replies sharply.

Both guards flinch at her tone and bow, their ears pinned to their head and eyes staring at the floor.

A knock brings the attention of everyone in the room back to the door, Rainbow Dash's voice making its way through the wood, "Hey, uh, can we come in now?"

"Twilight," Celestia says, glancing towards the kitchen, "perhaps you could bring your friends in a bit more discretely?"

Twilight stands and nods, trotting over to the curtained doorway and doing her best to leave the room while permitting the smallest amount of light into the library. Nevertheless, the extra light briefly allows the newcomers' still adapting eyes to clearly make out the leftovers of the vamponies' meal. The Royal Guards' worry for what their punishment might be for causing the princesses pain mixes with confusion as they process the sight – horror replacing both as they realize what they're staring at, the shocked pair shooting a look at Celestia as the light from Twilight's departure vanishes. Big Mac reacts with similar though less obvious discomfort, quickly looking away as he shuffles his hooves uneasily. Lyra and the changelings on the other hoof simply glance unperturbed at the mostly cleared platter for a moment, their focus soon returning to the kitchen doorway.

A loud crack of displaced air follows a few seconds after the quiet pop of Twilight's initial teleportation, the kitchen curtain rippling slightly before being once again pushed aside. Twilight and Fluttershy enter first, the two beginning to fill out the circle by sitting opposite the first group of six and to the left of the vamponies' platter, though making sure to keep a fair sized gap between it and them. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack follow, each pausing at the sight of the vamponies' food just long enough to annoy the pony behind them with the exception of Applejack – her gaze locking onto her brother and Cheerilee as soon as she pushes through the curtains and maintaining it despite the darkness temporarily claiming her vision as she stiffly makes her way over to Celestia's right.

Once everypony has taken a seat in their now complete though somewhat amorphous circle, Celestia glances at her sister, "Given the nature of the discussion we will be having, I think it would be best if our guards left us for the time being."

"Agreed," Luna says with a nod, looking across the room at the only one of her guards not standing beside her. "Lunar Trail; you, Shadow Strike, and Night Glider will wait in the basement until we call for you."

Lunar Trail stands and waits expectantly for his two compatriots, rolling his eyes and turning towards the basement tunnel as Shadow Strike and Night Glider uneasily follow him, the pair making sure to keep a good distance between themselves and a watchful Midnight.

"You two," Celestia says brusquely to her Royal Guards as Luna's thestrals leave, "go back outside; and please, don't throw open the door this time."

"O-Of course," the guards say in unison as they back up, both turning and hastily slipping out the front door.

As soon as the door gently clicks shut, a weak golden aura covers Celestia's horn and rapidly expands to form a thin, nearly transparent bubble around the gathered ponies.

Celestia and Luna trade encouraging looks once the spell is complete; however, before either can speak, Rainbow Dash nervously steps forward, "Hey, uh, Midnight, before we all start talking about all the other things we're here for, I just wanted to say thanks for helping out with Sombra last night; if you hadn't been there, I might've ended up dead. Or worse, apparently. So, you know, if you ever need a uh… a drink, or anything, feel free to drop by."

"Uh… sure," Midnight replies, her tongue fumbling over her words in surprise. "You're welcome. And… uhm… thanks."

Her piece said, Rainbow self-consciously returns to her place in the circle and glances at the shocked expressions of those around her, "What? That's all I had to say."

Celestia clears her throat, drawing everypony's attention back to her, "I would also like to take the opportunity to apologize to you, Midnight, for what happened 1000 years ago. My fellow princesses and I will need some time to think about and discuss how to proceed from here, but rest assured that what occurred then will not reoccur now."

"Indeed," Luna agrees. "Accidental or not, it is a stain upon the history of Equestria, and one which we will do everything in our power to scrub clean."

"And, I mean, that sounds great and all," Midnight says hesitantly, the gravity of the situation finally beginning to weigh on her as her gaze moves from Rainbow to the Two Sisters. "But what does that mean, exactly?"

"It means that we will do whatever we can to make up for what happened," Celestia explains, this time in plainer language. "However… " she pauses, choosing her next words carefully, "in order to be able to do so, we will need to know where to find any other vamponies that are living within the Everfree – or anywhere else, for that matter. Not only to make amends, but because, for better or worse, word of what has happened here with regard to your kind – as well as the changelings, for that matter – will spread throughout Equestria like wildfire, and we need to know which pony or ponies to speak with about the changes that knowledge will bring."

Celestia sighs tiredly, releasing the last of the air in her lungs and drawing a new breath, "That said, my sister has told me that you do not know the location of any vamponies aside from those living near Ponyville. Do you have any way at all to find or communicate with those living in other areas? I realize this is a lot to ask of you, especially given our history, but I strongly believe that it would be better to try and get ahead of this rather than waiting for ponies to go searching for answers on their own."

Midnight blinks slowly, a lost look in her eyes as she digests Celestia's words, "I don't… um, I could ask around and see if anypony else does though. Maybe a place to start looking or something, at least."

"I think I can help with that, actually," Bon Bon says, a cold pit forming in her stomach as the princesses turn to look at her along with everypony else in the room. "It's not really that hard, if uh… i-if you know what to look for."

"You are 'Bon Bon', correct?" Celestia asks, the slightest hint of suspicion in her voice.

Bon Bon bows nervously, "Y-Yes, your highness."

"I see," Celestia replies, dismissing a questioning look from Luna with a nearly imperceptible shake of her head. "That name sounds oddly familiar for some reason; but regardless, please explain what you mean."

Lyra puts a foreleg around Bon Bon's shoulder and pulls her closer, Bon Bon drawing on the stream of protective emotions flowing from Lyra to steady herself, "W-Well, um… it all starts with the Everfree, really, in that despite how nonchalant a lot of ponies here in Ponyville are about living literally right next to it, its reputation for being scary and even deadly are very well earned. Most towns anywhere near the forest have walls with a contingent of guards and-or employ a branch of one of the monster hunter guilds to deal with the occasional creature that wanders out of the forest looking for a meal."

Bon Bon pauses, drawing a deep breath before continuing, "There are a few exceptions to this though. The towns that are closest to the Everfree Forest – like Ponyville, which is practically right on top of it – are safe to the point that here in Ponyville we've had fillies and colts wandering into the Everfree on a, quite frankly, disturbingly frequent basis who have nevertheless always come back out mostly unscathed. We even have a zebra, Zecora, living inside the forest full time, yet if she were to try to live too far in either direction she'd probably be dead in a month or less."

"Those are the towns that vamponies are by," Bon Bon finishes, swallowing and licking her dried lips. "That isn't all vamponies, I mean, but definitely most."

"So what you are saying, is that the vamponies have been protecting Ponyville as well as these other towns?" Luna asks in surprise, looking to Midnight for confirmation.

Midnight's eyes narrow slightly in confusion, "Um. Nooo… ?"

"I could be wrong," Bon Bon says quickly, "so correct me if I am, but it's probably less that they're actively guarding the town and more that they both drink pony blood and also eat a lot of the things that would otherwise like to eat ponies. So rather than trying to walk through miles of vampony territory, attack Ponyville, and then walk back through vampony territory covered in pony blood, other Everfree predators tend to just avoid Ponyville and those other towns altogether."

Midnight nods in agreement, "That makes more sense."

"Hold up just a moment now," Applejack says suddenly. "If that's the case, then why do timberwolves still show up every once in a while?"

"They're plants," Midnight says with a shrug. "You eat them."

Applejack frowns, "That doesn't-"

"Timberwolves aside," Luna interjects, sending Applejack a pointed look before returning her gaze to Midnight, "if that is truly all it takes to locate the other vamponies, then it makes this a great deal easier. I am assuming you and your sister will be returning home once the sun sets, and if it is alright, I would like to accompany you. We still don't know specifically which other towns are likely to be host to vampony populations, and while that will be figured out in the meantime, for now it would be best to gather the vamponies around Ponyville to inform them of what has happened. The sooner we can begin reaching out to the rest of your kind, the better."

"As long as we-" Midnight pauses, glancing down at her sister asleep and snuggled into her side. "As long as I get to go back to sleep before then."

"Fear not," Luna says with a laugh. "Once we are done talking, my thestrals and I will be returning to sleep as well."

Midnight lets out a massive yawn, "Awesome."

Celestia inclines her head slightly towards Midnight, "Thank you for being so understanding, and for helping to keep Ponyville safe, intentionally or not. Now, regarding the changeling presence in Ponyville-"

"Forgive me for interrupting, Tia," Luna says apologetically, "but if you don't mind, there is something that came up during my slumber which I would very much like to understand before we get into all of that."

Celestia sighs, "Very well."

"My thanks," Luna replies, turning towards the changeling to Big Mac's left. "Your name is Cheerilee, I believe?"

Cheerilee bows deeply, "Y-Yes, your highness."

"Unless we are mistaken, I encountered you in a nightmare last night; however almost immediately after I engaged the nightmare, you vanished. It was quite strange – we have never seen anypony disappear from the dreamscape in such a way," Luna says, watching Cheerilee curiously. "Do changelings have any abilities related to the realm of sleep?"

Cheerilee shakes her head, "No, we don't. It's kind of the opposite, actually; we don't dream at all. We have a link to all the others in our hive, and when we sleep that link is strengthened instead. Last night my link was broken somehow though, and maybe that's how I ended up in a dream, but other than that I have no idea. I've never heard of anything like this happening before."

"Interesting… " Luna says, glancing at the floor and tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Then perhaps your vanishing was simply your link reestablishing itself. I wonder if… hm. Regardless, I take it that also means this was the first dream you've ever had?"

Cheerilee shivers and leans into Big Mac, resting her head on the larger stallion's shoulder, "Y-Yeah."

Luna winces, "I see… you have our sympathies. Though I suppose that does explain why we have never found a changeling in the dreamscape before."

"I guess… " Cheerilee glances worriedly up at Big Mac before timidly looking back at Luna, "um… i-if you don't mind me asking, are dreams usually that horrible?"

Luna smiles reassuringly, "Neigh, most dreams are actually quite nice, though often confusing, and even most 'nightmares' are simply manifestations of your own worries or insecurities. However, what you encountered was a true nightmare – a being which feeds on pain, hatred, and despair, and is made of the randomly recombined leftovers from the collapsed dreams of others after they wake. Fortunately such entities are quite rare; until last night, I had not been forced to deal with one since before I was banished."

"The fact that it targeted you is likely an indication of the anger, fear, and uncertainty of the rest of the town; it could just as easily have gone after Bon Bon or perhaps even Midnight or Dawn," Luna adds, sending an unamused look Pinkie's way. "Though the massive intake of sugar and caffeine following such a stressful series of events certainly did not help matters."

"Sorry," Pinkie Pie apologizes, ducking her head embarrassedly for a moment before raising both it and her right hoof high into the air. "I have a question of my own now though. If there are mean, evil dream creatures, does that mean there are nice ones too?"

Celestia lets out a dismissive snort, "Of course not. They are all an insane mess of fractured memories and emotions driven solely by the need to make everypony else they encounter as broken as they are."

"Err… that is not actually the case," Luna corrects as Pinkie's mane deflates, purposely keeping her eyes on Pinkie while she feels the pressure from Celestia's angry gaze boring into the side of her skull. "They are incredibly rare due to the random nature of their creation, but they do exist. I believe the modern term for them is an 'imaginary friend'."

Pinkie grins and squees, her mane poofing back into its regular curly form as she claps her hooves together excitedly. Luna meanwhile risks a look in Celestia's direction to find her glaring at the opposite wall as though trying to light it on fire with the sheer intensity of her stare.

Noting the lack of magic behind Celestia's gaze, Luna allows herself a small sigh, Not exactly how I had hoped to broach the subject with her.

To be fair, we had not planned on telling her at all, Selena replies, a nervous undercurrent in her voice. Twilight's house hasn't lit on fire yet though, so that's a good sign right? Definitely better than when you and her first met, at least.

Luna mentally rolls her eyes, That is hardly saying much.

Twilight glances confusedly between the distracted sisters, though curiosity quickly overcomes her hesitation, "Um, Princess Luna? I really don't mean to derail this further, but if you've never seen a changeling in a dream due to their link to the rest of their hive, why haven't you ever seen a vampony before?"

Luna blinks, Twilight's question pulling her from her internal dialogue, "What? Oh! My apologies Twilight, my mind was elsewhere. In the vamponies' case, the Everfree Forest helped to hide them from us; the chaotic magic present there warps the dreamscape as much as, if not more than, it does the physical world, making navigating it quite treacherous. I also admittedly did not often attempt to look within the forest since, as far as I was aware, nopony had ever lived inside it – Zecora's relatively recent presence being the only exception we know of. Even now it would be quite difficult to find them despite knowing they are there, like trying to search through many miles of rough ocean or dense jungle, so visiting in the real world is still easier for the time being. Here at least I will have a guide."

"Wonderful," Celestia says stiffly, focusing her attention on the pair of undisguised changelings in the room. "Now; Cheerilee, Bon Bon; Luna and I have many questions to ask you, but there is one of particular importance that must be answered first."

Celestia pauses for a second to allow her words to sink in, "Were either of you involved with the army that attacked Canterlot in any way?"

"No," Bon Bon and Cheerilee reply in unison.

Luna raises an eyebrow, "You are both quite sure? It would be far more unfortunate if later we were to find out either one of you had been lying to us."

"Neither of us had anything to do with Queen Chrysalis, her hive, or the invasion," Cheerilee states emphatically. "I didn't even know it had happened until I read about it in the Ponyville Express the next day, and Bon Bon hadn't heard anything until I told her."

"Our shells are the wrong color too," Bon Bon adds. "If we were part of Queen Chrysalis' hive, they'd be dark blue."

"If that is the case, then I take it you two are not from the same hive?" Luna asks, her eyes flicking between Cheerilee's dull yellow shell and Bon Bon's light brown one.

"We aren't," Cheerilee confirms.

"Even so, do you know what happened to this 'Queen Chrysalis' after she was ejected from Canterlot?" Celestia queries. "Or the rest of her army, for that matter."

Bon Bon shakes her head, "I heard all the other queens met to discuss a punishment, but I don't know what they ended up deciding."

"We are, quite literally, far removed from hive politics," Cheerilee adds.

Bon Bon nods, "And honestly it seemed like a topic left well enough alone. If it was something we needed to know, our queens would make sure someling came out to tell us."

"I see," Celestia replies, her tone level, "and how many changeling hives and changeling queens are there in Equestria?"

"There are nine," Cheerilee answers, pausing for a split second. "Hives and queens I mean – you can't have one without the other. Though that includes Queen Chrysalis too, actually, so probably eight now."

"Eight queens… " Celestia says quietly, her eyes glazing over for a few seconds as she recalls what Chrysalis alone was able to accomplish, "that is… more than I was expecting."

Luna frowns, "What do you mean, there are eight now? If your queens met to discuss Chrysalis' punishment, then she must have survived her expulsion from Canterlot."

"Well, I mean, I didn't hear what Chrysalis' punishment was specifically, but… " Cheerilee shivers, Big Mac wrapping a foreleg around her shoulders, "but my queen was so angry when she found out what had happened… I've never felt her get so emotional about anything before. I could barely sleep for over a week, and the whole hive was on edge until she calmed down."

Bon Bon nods in agreement, "My queen reacted similarly. And if the others also reacted the same way… I can't imagine Queen Chrysalis was allowed to live."

"That is a rather disquieting thought," Celestia says pensively after a moment, "though perhaps not unsurprising, given what she did. As for these other queens, and their hives, do you know where in Equestria they are located?"

Bon Bon and Cheerilee shift uncomfortably, several seconds passing before Cheerilee speaks up, "We know the location of our own hive, but it's not… um… that is to say… i-it's not really our place to be telling you or anypony else where it is. I don't even know where Bon Bon's hive is, and I wouldn't expect her to tell me if I asked."

Celestia sighs exasperatedly, "Very well, in that case either you or some… ling else will need to carry the message back themselves, so we will need the names of at least one changeling from all the other hives, as well as your own, if you two aren't volunteering."

"Uh… " Bon Bon glances at Cheerilee, for an instant Cheerilee's eyes flicking worriedly to Fluttershy. "It's not really our place to be outing other changelings, either. Especially from other hives. Also, 'somepony' is fine, if you want; we are technically bugponies."

Celestia rubs her temples, irritation flaring, "That represents something of a problem then. We need to be able to send discrete messages to all of the hives; we can't just make a public announcement asking the eight-or-nine Changeling Queens of Equestria to please get in contact, the nation would panic."

Twilight nudges Fluttershy as Celestia speaks, sending Fluttershy a questioning expression. Fluttershy starts at Twilight's touch, turning her head to look at Twilight uncomprehendingly. Twilight offers a small smile, tilting her head towards the other alicorns and changelings in the room. Fluttershy stiffens as she understands what Twilight is asking, her ears splaying back, however after thinking about it for a moment she gulps and nods. Twilight's smile grows slightly and she bumps shoulders with Fluttershy, doing her best to try and direct feelings of support and encouragement Fluttershy's way.

"I'm sorry," Bon Bon apologizes, "but Cheerilee and I were essentially forced to reveal ourselves, and that's not something I would want anyling else to be put through. You could make an announcement just here in Ponyville asking any other changelings to reveal themselves though. Once they know Bon Bon and I are fine and that nothing will happen to them, they might be willing to come forward."

"Bon Bon and I could also take your message back to our hives and then our queens could send it out to the other hives," Cheerilee suggests. "There aren't changelings from every single hive in Ponyville, so that would have to happen anyway, and that way no other changelings would have to be revealed."

Fluttershy takes a deep breath while Bon Bon and Cheerilee speak, their words not quite reaching her ears as she instead focuses on the emotions emanating from each of her friends. Starting with the pink pony to her left, she pulls back slightly as she samples the aura of giddy happiness surrounding Pinkie Pie, the sugary emotion marred by an secondary undercurrent of bitter fear while also strangely muted as though Pinkie's glee is directed inward. Rarity meanwhile radiates wariness, though even in the second Fluttershy takes to taste her emotions the watery feeling fades, increasingly replaced by a rapidly growing enthusiasm and eagerness. Beside her, Rainbow Dash exudes the usual sourness of her pride, though for the moment nervousness and cloying suspicion mixed with faint hints of curiosity manage to force it into the background. Fluttershy's breath catches in her throat as she examines her final friend's emotional output however, Applejack giving off only fear, anger, and distaste, the three emotions periodically fusing into outright disgust.

Retreating back to the safety of her own mind, Fluttershy does her best to suppress her own spiking fear, drawing on the stream of Twilight's support to fortify herself and to wash out the aftertaste of Applejack.

OK, it's OK, it's… oh, who am I kidding, this is terrible! Applejack is going to hate me and Rainbow will never trust me again and… and… no, it'll be fine. Twilight's here and she can help explain and prove that I'm me a-and it'll all… i-it'll all work out. They're my very best friends, I'm sure they'll understand, eventually. Twilight said they would. I just need to open my mouth and say… something…

Fluttershy swallows, moistening her suddenly dry throat, "um… "

Midnight lets out another huge yawn, sending Cheerilee and Bon Bon a flat, tired stare, "I really don't understand why you're making such a big deal out of this. There's only one other changeling in the entirety of Ponyville."

"You knew?!" Fluttershy blurts out, her jaw instantly snapping shut with an audible clack as soon as the words leave her mouth. Clapping her hooves to her muzzle, she fearfully glances around, everypony else in the room giving her sudden outburst little more than a passing notice.

Everypony, except for Applejack.

"Indeed, you are able to locate changelings?" Luna asks Midnight curiously. "How?"

Heart pounding, Fluttershy forces herself to look away from Applejack and towards Midnight, though she can still feel the former's suspicious stare drilling into her.

"They taste different," Midnight answers, an unpleasant expression crossing her face. "Kinda watery, and… eugh. There used to be a lot more too, but most of them left over the last couple years."

Luna's gaze intensifies at this, "How many are we talking about?"

Midnight looks up at the ceiling, her eyes flicking back and forth slightly as she tries to remember a piece of information once considered rather unimportant, "Seven… ty… ish… ?"

"That you are able to determine this based on their blood tasting different would imply that you have drunk the blood of every pony in Ponyville," Celestia states sharply.

Midnight exhales quickly through her nose, but otherwise doesn't respond.

"I would also like to know if that is true," Luna prompts, raising an eyebrow.

Midnight sighs in annoyance, her body tensing in a suppressed stretch so as to not to disturb Dawn, "I haven't fed on everypony in Ponyville, but we all have our own preferences on who tastes best. Changelings are the exception to that – they taste universally bad, so we share with each other who to avoid. Well, not quite universally bad," Midnight corrects herself after a moment's thought. "There is one guy who likes the flavor, calls it an 'acquired taste'."

Cheerilee, Bon Bon, and Fluttershy shiver at this, Midnight rolling her eyes, "If it makes you feel any better, I think you changelings taste terrible."

"Pardon me for interruptin'," Applejack says before anyone else can speak, her tone tinted by anger and disdain, "but Fluttershy, Ah'm a mite curious as to what you really meant by 'you knew'. And, more importantly, why you shivered along with these other two shapeshifters just now. Is there somethin' yer not tellin' us?"

At Applejack's words, everypony turns to look at Fluttershy; shock, confusion, and suspicion blooming from all of them save for Twilight, Cheerilee, Bon Bon, and Lyra, their eyes instead widening with worry as the others wait for an answer.

"I-I… I… " Fluttershy stammers as she wilts under their combined gaze, the weight of their stares pushing her to the floor. Screwing her eyes shut, she braces herself for the worst, a brief burst of bright green flame consuming her as she returns to her natural form.

Rarity's jaw drops and she stands stock still, staring at the changeling huddled on the floor in her friend's place for a long moment before her eyes glaze over and she slumps limply onto Pinkie Pie's side, unconscious.

"Fluttershy… you're a changeling?" Rainbow Dash asks after another long pause. "Growing up together, and all through flight school, a-and living here in Ponyville… you've been a changeling this whole time?"

Fluttershy ducks her head, her tubular ears laying flat to her skull as she hides behind her now limp mane, "Um… yes?"

Pinkie Pie gasps loudly, startling everypony else in the room with the exception of Rarity, who slides to the floor, "This is the best thing EVER! If you're a changeling, then that means you can taste love and happiness and affection and joy and surprise and-" she gasps again, "Does that mean you can taste jokes?!"

"How do we know if this even is Fluttershy?" Applejack asks heatedly, glowering at the newly revealed changeling as she moves to hide from Applejack's gaze behind Twilight. "She could've replaced the real Fluttershy who knows how long ago just so she could feed on our friendship."

"I take it that this is the changeling who came to see you last night?" Celestia asks Twilight, her voice strained.

"Yes, she is," Twilight answers, frowning first at her former mentor then at Applejack, "and I know she's the real Fluttershy because she was able to embody her Element last night. If she hadn't been the real Fluttershy, the Elements wouldn't have been able to save Rainbow Dash and she'd be – she'd be somewhere else right now."

Twilight stomps the floor in determination, "But they did resonate last night, Rainbow Dash was saved, which means she is Fluttershy and she is our friend – changeling or not."

Applejack takes a small step back and nods stiffly, her anger only dropping to a simmer rather than vanishing entirely. Meanwhile, Big Mac's brow knits as he glances between the three changelings in the room, focusing first on Fluttershy before moving on to Cheerilee and then to Bon Bon. Settling lastly on Lyra, he raises his eyebrows, asking her a wordless question. Lyra simply nods, smiling.

Tentatively, Rainbow steps around Twilight and pushes aside Fluttershy's mane, studying her face.

Fluttershy trembles slightly as she stares up at Rainbow Dash, "U-Um… i-is something wrong?"

"Well… I am kinda mad at you for not telling me you're a changeling even though we've been friends since foalhood." Rainbow's eyes narrow, lingering on Fluttershy's jaw, "What's the deal with your teeth though? The changelings that invaded had this huge, awesome fangs, and yours are like… nubby."

"What? Oh, um… I think they were just for intimidation. You know, being shapeshifters and all," Fluttershy answers, cautiously offering Rainbow her first smile since entering Twilight's library. "Sorry."

"Pssh, don't worry about it. Huge fangs really wouldn't suit you anyway," Rainbow replies, pushing Fluttershy out from behind Twilight and back into the circle before standing next to her. "But c'mon, no more hiding, alright?"

Fluttershy's smile grows, and she nods, "Alright."

"Ooh… oh my… " Rarity murmurs from her spot on the floor, her eyelids fluttering open. Flinching at the sight of the changeling standing between Twilight and Rainbow Dash, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, reopening them a few seconds later to take another look, "…Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy's lips wobble dangerously, but she manages to maintain her smile, "H-Hi Rarity."

"I must say, that was… that was quite a shock," Rarity says as she gets to her hooves, turning her head slightly and raising her eyebrows to send Twilight a silent question.

"She really is Fluttershy," Twilight confirms. "She couldn't have embodied her Element to save Rainbow otherwise."

"I see," Rarity replies, running her eyes across Fluttershy's changeling form. "Well, you certainly look… uh… different. Not to imply that you look bad! I just mean it'll take some… getting used to… hmm… "

A frown forms on Rarity's face as she stares at the golden double band stretching from one side of Fluttershy's shell to the other. Sparing a quick glance at Bon Bon and Cheerilee's black-banded shells, Rarity returns her gaze to Fluttershy, her frown deepening, "Though, if you don't mind me asking, why does your… your shell look different from Cheerilee's and Bon Bon's, what with the gold bands across your barrel? The queen who interrupted Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding had a similar look, though hers were green, I believe." Rarity raises a hoof to her mouth, "Oh dear, you're not related to her are you?"

"No! I-I mean, no, my mom is a different queen. A-And we had nothing to do with the wedding invasion either," Fluttershy adds hastily, shooting Celestia and Luna a fearful look.

"That is good," Celestia states, offering Fluttershy a wooden smile.

"Indeed," Luna concurs.

"Yes, that is certainly a relief," Rarity says, walking over to stand in front of Fluttershy. "Though, since you are the daughter of a queen, that does make you a princess does it not?"

"Um… " Fluttershy braces herself, "Yes?"

"ooooooo~" Rarity squeals as she stamps her hooves excitedly, grinning widely as her exuberance washes over Fluttershy's senses like a wave, "you absolutely must let me make you a dress for when you look like this! I realize you can change to look however you want, but you will, won't you? Ple~ease?"

"I mean, i-if you really want to," Fluttershy replies, a smile reappearing on her face as the warmth of confidence grows in her chest. "I'd be honored."

Rarity's hooves suddenly wrap around Fluttershy, the changeling princess letting out an chirp of surprise before returning the embrace, "Thank you thank you thank you Fluttersh-" Rarity releases Fluttershy from the hug, grinning at her coyly, "though I suppose I should start calling you 'Your Highness' now, shouldn't I?"

Fluttershy shakes her head, "You're not part of my hive, so just Fluttershy is fine. I wouldn't want my friends calling me that anyway." Doubt flickers across Fluttershy's face, and she glances around at Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow, Twilight, and Applejack, "You are all still ok with being friends, right?"

Pinkie Pie suddenly pops into existence between Fluttershy and Rarity, drawing both of them into a tight hug, "Of course we're still friends silly; you're still you and I'm still me and as long as that doesn't change, we're still PFF's!"

"Yeah," Rainbow agrees, adding her hooves to the embrace along with Twilight, "and don't you forget it, Flutters."

Applejack eyes the happy mass of hugging ponies for a second before making her way over as well, begrudgingly joining in after another moment of hesitation.

After a solid minute passes, Luna stamps her right forehoof loudly on the wooden floor, drawing everypony's attention to her, "While I am very happy for all of you that your friendship was able to endure this trial, there is still much we need to discuss."

Celestia nods, "If I am understanding the situation correctly, you three are the only changelings currently present in Ponyville?"

"We are," Fluttershy replies, shuffling to reform the circle along with her fellow former huggers.

"In that case," Celestia says, looking at the three changelings in turn, "are you each willing to return to your hive with a message for your queen from Twilight, Luna, and myself?"

However, before any of the changelings can answer, Big Mac speaks up for the first time since entering the library, "Uhm, yer highnesses?"

All eyes of the circle shift to Big Mac, Luna answering first, "Yes, McIntosh Apple?"

Big Mac's ears flick nervously, and he takes a deep breath before continuing, "Ah was just thinkin'; when Ah was talkin' with Cheerilee last night, she mentioned that the emotions they gather are shipped back to their hive in these jars. Why not send yer message back with whoever picks them up?"

"That could work," Cheerilee says, glancing questioningly at Bon Bon.

Bon Bon gives Lyra a quick nuzzle, "I think I like that idea better, actually." She looks back at Celestia and Luna, "If that's alright with you, your highnesses. It would take a little more time, since we wouldn't be sending it right away."

"We think a slight delay may actually be preferable," Luna replies after considering the idea for a few seconds. "It would allow time for us to wrap up the current situation, as well as to bring Cadence and Shining Armor up to speed on what has happened. What do you think, Tia?"

Celestia bobs her head once in agreement, "I think the idea has merit – I know I would much rather have Sombra safely and far more permanently contained before starting anything else. Cheerilee, Bon Bon, Fluttershy, when will you need our letter by?"

"Nine days at the latest," Cheerilee states.

"Eleven days for me," Bon Bon replies.

"Um… I don't actually gather emotions to send back, so I can't send the message that way," Fluttershy says, fidgeting nervously as the room's focus once more returns to her. "My mom isn't in the hive right now anyway. You could talk to her in person though, if you want."

Celestia's eyes narrow suspiciously, "That… would also work. Where is she?"

Fluttershy looks at her hooves, pawing at the floor worriedly, "Y-You won't throw her in the dungeon, o-or reveal her, or anything, right?"

"That depen-" Celestia starts to say, a swift elbow from Luna cutting her off.

Luna offers a smile, "Of course we won't. Right, Celestia?"

"Of course not," Celestia replies, rubbing the point of impact of her sister's elbow.

Fluttershy takes a deep breath, "She's in Canterlot."

Luna's smile transforms into a frown, Celestia stiffening and standing taller as a spike of fear threatens to break through her mostly calm exterior.

"She not up to anything!" Fluttershy says quickly, waving her hooves in front of herself, "She's just in Canterlot a lot for her job."

"And, pray tell, what is her job?" Celestia asks carefully, her heart beating loudly in her ears, "Who is she?"

"W-Well," Fluttershy replies, resuming her fidgeting, "her real name is Amaranth, but the name of the form you would recognize i-is… it's… Photo Finish."

"WHAAAAT?!"

Ignoring the shock and, in a couple cases, near heart attack her exclamation inflicted on those around her, Rarity grabs Fluttershy's shoulders and jerks the stunned changeling around to face her, "You mean Photo Finish as in the Photo Finish, the famous fashion photographer Photo Finish, the Photo Finish who showed up in Ponyville supposedly to have a photo shoot of my dresses as long as I could find somepony 'shy and graceful' as a model only to immediately lose interest in my work and instead force you into being a fashion model which nearly ruined our friendship?"

Rarity pauses to refill her lungs with air, "That Photo Finish?"

"Um… yes?" Fluttershy gulps, "S-She didn't mean anything by it though! She just thought I wasn't eating enough, and was trying to help in her own way."

Pinkie giggles, "Parents, am I right?"

"Well," Rarity huffs, "did Photo Finish, or Amaranth, or whatever her name is even like the clothes I made in the first place?"

"…She didn't dislike them," Fluttershy replies hesitantly, tapping her hooves together nervously.

Rarity turns back to face the inside of the circle, her nose raised into the air, "Hmph."

Fluttershy looks down at her hooves, "Sorry."

"If you are quite finished, Rarity?" Celestia asks tartly.

Rarity blinks, glancing around sheepishly as she remembers that others are in the room besides her and Fluttershy, "Oh! Yes, yes of course your highness, my apologies."

"Wonderful," Princess Celestia replies, returning her focus to Fluttershy. "I will speak with Queen Amaranth once I return to Canterlot, however, there is something I would like to clarify regarding your previous statements, Fluttershy. You mentioned 'eating'; I am assuming you meant you were feeding off the emotions of the ponies around you, such as those from the crowd you were modeling in front of in that case as well as more commonly from the ponies of Ponyville?"

Fluttershy nods.

"And I assume that doing so requires the use of mind magic, correct?" Celestia asks.

Fluttershy nods again, "It does."

"Would I also be correct in assuming that all changelings need to consume emotions in order to survive?" Celestia queries.

Fluttershy bobs her head once in agreement, "Yes."

Celestia's gaze sharpens along with her tone, "So then it follows that all changelings, yourselves included, are capable of using mind magic, and in fact consistently do so on the ponies around you in order to feed on them."

Luna shoots her sister a warning look, "Tia… "

Celestia ignores Luna, her focus on Fluttershy intensifying, "Answer, please."

"Well… I suppose that's true, in a way… " Fluttershy replies, backing up a step and lowering her head slightly. "But few changelings ever leave the hive, or at most are never farther than a few miles from it, and those of us that do leave are given very strict training on how to feed and gather emotions without harming anypony."

"All three of you have gone through this training then?" Celestia asks, glancing at Bon Bon and Cheerilee before returning to Fluttershy.

"Yup," Bon Bon confirms.

"I have," Cheerilee answers.

"Yes," Fluttershy says.

"I see," Celestia states. "And given that you will be living in disguise among non-changelings, I would assume this training is not simply an ethics course, and also includes other, more advanced, techniques. Using mind magic for offensive purposes, for instance."

"Tia," Luna says again, this time more sharply.

"It is a valid question," Celestia replies, sparing her sister a glance before looking at Fluttershy again. "Answer, please."

Fluttershy takes a couple small, nervous steps away from Celestia, "No, we're only taught how to use it for self-defense."

"Offense and defense are two sides of the same coin; one can easily be repurposed for use as the other," Celestia says, giving a short, dismissive exhalation. "Have any of you ever used mind magic to harm somepony?"

"No!" Fluttershy and Bon Bon both deny vehemently, shaking their heads. "Never."

Cheerilee wilts as Princess Celestia's gaze lands on her, "Uh… well… "

Fluttershy stares at Cheerilee in shock, Bon Bon sharing her expression, "Cheerilee… ?"

"I-It was last night, a-after the nightmare," Cheerilee stammers, doing her best to hide under the large foreleg wrapped protectively around her shoulders. "I was so scared, a-and I fed on Big Mac's love more than I should have. But it wasn't too much more, and he's almost completely fine now!"

Celestia looks down at Cheerilee coldly, however before she can speak, she and Luna are enveloped in the dim light of teleportation, Luna's spell taking several seconds to complete though emitting far less light.

Celestia blinks as soon as the teleportation finishes, her brief moment of surprise quickly replaced by anger as she squints against the sudden glare of sunlight and faces the only other being she can see with her in Twilight's kitchen, "What is the meaning of this, Luna?"

Luna sighs tiredly, raising a foreleg to shield her eyes from the sun's afternoon rays, "Celestia, what are you doing?"

"Discussing the changelings' use of mind magic," Celestia states, her eyes narrowing further in irritation. "Or at least I was."

"Really? 'Discussing'?" Luna asks, giving Celestia a flat look. "It seems to us that 'interrogating' would be a more accurate description."

"Mind magic is extremely dangerous, and changelings are an entire species predicated on its use on unsuspecting ponies," Celestia replies tersely, returning Luna's look with a glare. "I need to know what they can use it for and how much of a threat they pose, especially before meeting with one of their queens. My last such 'meeting' did not go particularly well, if you recall."

Luna stands a little taller, holding Celestia's gaze as her own sharpens, "Mind magic or not, they are a species that has lived peacefully within Equestria for who knows how long, the majority of whom continued to do so even after our nation began demonizing them following Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding. You do not need to be so aggressive with them, especially to Fluttershy of all ponies. Not to mention that terrifying a queen's daughter is hardly a good way to open a dialogue with anypony."

"Living peacefully?" Celestia gives a short, mirthless laugh, "How can you say they are living peacefully when they openly admit to mentally draining those around them every single day? Even with just three of them, one has already admitted to harming the pony she supposedly loves!"

"It was clearly an accident-"

"An accident!?" Celestia demands, now nearly shouting, "She assaulted him!"

"She was traumatized," Luna counters, her own voice rising in response. "She had never dreamed before in her life, and her first experience doing so was of a true nightmare. It would be as if she had never experienced pain before, and the first sensation she ever feels are her legs being chopped off. She was only trying to stem her own suffering."

Celestia snorts, her head jerking to the side to stare out one of the kitchen's windows, "Excuses."

Luna licks her lips, jaw clenching, "Besides, the Apple stallion seems to be perfectly fine; why would you simply assume any kind of permanent harm was done to him?"

Celestia throws up her hooves in exasperation, "Because it's mind magic! It is inherently dangerous; one wrong push and you can turn a pony in a vegetable, or worse!"

"By that logic all magic is inherently dangerous, and yet you do not spend your days interrogating unicorns who have done nothing wrong besides using the gift they were born with," Luna replies.

Celestia gives Luna an annoyed look, "That would be absurd, and you know it."

"Yes," Luna states crisply, "that was my point."

"And then there are the vamponies," Celestia continues after a moment's pause, as if Luna had not spoken. "I saw Midnight use Domination magic on Twilight back there, is that also alright?"

Luna shakes her head, "No, it's not, and we will have to make sure they understand not to use it on non-vamponies, but even so it is simply a part of their species and their culture. They were obviously not intending to bring any harm to Twilight and from the looks of things were merely trying to play with her."

"As a predator would its prey," Celestia says, sneering slightly.

"That is not what I meant, which you know full well," Luna replies, her stony expression belying the frustration in her tone.

Celestia grits her teeth, "How can you keep taking their side in this?! Can't you see how much of a threat they-"

The side of Luna's left hoof interrupts her as it impacts her muzzle, Celestia staggering slightly as the rattled gears in her mind jam and grind to a halt trying to process the fact that Luna had struck her.

"I am 'taking their side', as you put it, because this conversation is reminding us more and more of what you once said of my own talent," Luna states, anger simmering beneath each word as she speaks slowly and precisely.

With a tremendous mental exertion, Celestia manages to regain her balance, raising a hoof to her face as she stares at Luna in shocked silence for several seconds. Opening her mouth as if to say something, she stands there gaping at Luna for another second before closing it and taking a deep breath through her nose.

Lowering her hoof to the floor, Celestia opens her mouth once more, this time managing to speak, "Luna… I didn't mean… you know I haven't thought of you like that since… "

Luna glares at Celestia as she trails off, however eventually she closes her eyes and sighs, her anger gone once she reopens them, "We know you don't, however I know how uncomfortable you are with mind magic, and I also know you've been dodging the issue by telling yourself that even though mind magic is bad you can trust me, or you can trust Cadence, but that isn't going to work anymore. If we are going to be able to officially extend peace and friendship to the vamponies and the changelings, you are going to need to accept that mind magic and its various facets have a role to play in Equestria beyond one or two Alicorn princesses – and in fact have had a role for a very long time now, even if we were not aware of it."

Sympathy enters Luna's voice as she watches Celestia, "Can you do that?"

Celestia's barrel expands as she inhales deeply, slowly letting the air out through her nose, "I can."

"You are sure?" Luna asks softly.

Celestia nods tiredly, "It wasn't just the mind magic; an Element Bearer being a changeling, Equestria playing host to eight or nine changeling queens, and there being at least one queen in Canterlot that I didn't know about… it got to me. I let it get to me. I mean I've met Photo Finish – I've shared meals with her, what with all the parties the nobles throw and events I attend, and to think she's-"

Celestia cuts herself off, swallowing and sighing before a small smile makes its way onto her lips, "Thank you for calling me out though. I can only imagine what they would have ended up telling their queens if you had not, but 'Celestia had her guards create a make-shift dungeon and then imprisoned us there' would probably have come up."

"What are sisters for?" Luna asks rhetorically, returning Celestia's smile with one of her own. "Are you ready to return to the others and wrap this up?"

Celestia points a hoof at Luna, "One last thing. Why haven't you ever told me about these 'nice dream entities' before?"

Luna flinches as her eyes widen and ears fold down, shifting nervously from side to side as she thinks of how to reply, "…We had thought about it, and originally we had intended to tell you, but we were afraid of how you would react, and after a while we stopped feeling like it was worth bringing up at all. However, once Pinkie Pie asked the question, we did not wish to lie about it either."

In the ensuing silence, Celestia tilts her head slightly as she watches Luna, the light of understanding flickering to life in her eyes, "We?"

"I mean-" Luna stops speaking abruptly, after a moment nodding shakily, "Yes. We."

"I… see… " Celestia says slowly, letting out a quick exhalation. "Well then, when you and I are both back in Canterlot, you'll have to introduce us."

Luna stares at Celestia in shock, excitement rapidly replacing her anxiety, "Truly? You wish to meet her?"

"Yes," Celestia replies, smiling warmly, "I would. And then-oof"

"'TIS A JOYOUS DAY!" Luna declares, tackle-hugging Celestia to the floor.

"Luna… hugging… too tight… air… " Celestia gasps from beneath her sister.

"Sorry," Luna quickly apologizes, releasing her grip and taking a step back, her eyes sparkling like her mane.

Celestia coughs, taking a couple deep breaths before finishing her sentence, "And then, both of you can explain everything you've been keeping from me about 'dream entities' and 'imaginary friends' in exchange for all those years I spent referring to myself in plural with your 'royal we' nonsense."

"As you wish," Luna snickers. "We suppose it is only fair."

"Good," Celestia says with a nod. "Now I am ready to go back."

Spheres of light envelope the pair, dim versions of the sun and moon slightly illuminating the kitchen already lit by sunlight for several seconds before vanishing. With their absence, peaceful quiet falls on the kitchen once more, barely a sound to be heard for just over a minute.

*creaaakk*

Wincing at the noise, Spike peers out from within the darkness of the pantry, draconic pupils flicking warily over the now empty room. Relieved to see nopony remaining to notice him, he slips himself an amethyst, the crunching of splintering stone muted somewhat by his cheeks and then entirely as he closes the door to plunge both himself and his ill-gotten dessert into shadow once more.

Reappearing in the darker room, Celestia and Luna wait for their eyes to adjust, each blinking rapidly as the room's occupants come into focus. Glancing around once she can see, Celestia's heart twinges, Cheerilee and Bon Bon looking up at her fearfully while held closely in the forelegs of their special someponies. Rainbow Dash meanwhile stands protectively in front of Fluttershy, glaring back at her defiantly.

Clearing her throat, Celestia inclines her head slightly, "Everypony; Cheerilee, Bon Bon, and Fluttershy especially; I would like to apologize for my behavior before Luna and I left. I allowed past prejudices as well as recent events to cloud my judgment, and I took it out on you three. However, I bear no ill-will towards any of you, and I hope that despite my earlier actions we can continue working together towards establishing a means of communication between the Equestrian government and your hives."

"So… we're not going to get banished or thrown in a dungeon or anything?" Cheerilee asks hesitantly.

Celestia shakes her head, "No, nothing will happen to any of you over what was revealed here. However, with that said," she fixes Cheerilee with an expectant stare, "I would be very unhappy to hear of any recurrences."

"O-Of course!" Cheerilee nods rapidly, "It won't happen again, your highness; I pinkie promise."

"Good." Celestia raises her head and stands taller, "Now, in the meantime, I will be heading back to Canterlot to aid in the transportation and imprisonment of Sombra, after which I will contact Queen Amaranth."

"When you arrive in Canterlot, could you also send an additional 25 Night Guard?" Luna asks. "It would be very beneficial to have more round the clock coverage, in case something else were to occur."

"Of course," Celestia replies with a nod before turning to the Element Bearers. "Twilight, I would like you and your friends – Fluttershy included – to handle the situation here in Ponyville. I don't have any advice for what to tell everypony, since quite frankly I do not know what I would tell them myself; however, I trust you, as does Luna, and we will support you in whatever course of action you decide to take."

"Also, as an addendum to that," Luna states, pausing to make sure she has Pinkie's attention, "there is to be no more caffeine bingeing."

Pinkie frowns, "Aww… "

"Indeed," Celestia says, fighting to keep a straight face. "In fact, let's make that official. I hereby decree that no resident of Ponyville is allowed to consume caffeine in any form for the next 48 hours."

Twilight fidgets nervously, "Don't you think that's a little bit extreme, Princess Celestia?"

"No," Celestia replies, giving Twilight a flat look. "I really don't."

"In the meantime, I will be returning to bed," Luna says, glancing at her sleeping spot, "or in this case couch, I suppose, and leaving for the Everfree with Midnight and Dawn once the sun sets."

Celestia nods, and with a flick of her horn pops of soundproof spell bubble surrounding them before heading towards the door. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack follow in her wake along with Bon Bon, Lyra, Big Mac, and Cheerilee, the group pausing in front of the door as Twilight's friends look back at her.

"Hey Twi, you coming?" Rainbow asks.

Twilight lets out an awkward laugh, "Actually, I was planning on taking a shower first."

"A wise decision," Rarity states, glancing defensively at her other four friends as they turn to look at her incredulously. "What? She does smell a bit sweaty."

"If everypony is ready," Celestia says, pausing for a moment with her magical aura gripping the doorknob before opening the front door.

The ten ponies leaving brace themselves against the onslaught of sunlight, squinting as they quickly exit and close the door behind them. Twilight sighs as soon as the door clicks shut, lowering her foreleg from her eyes and heading towards the stairs to the second floor.

Stopping at the foot of the steps, Twilight turns towards the remaining ponies in her house, "Well, like I said, I'm going to take a shower. I don't know if I'll see either of you before you head into the Everfree Forest, but if not, good luck."

Luna smiles, "And to you, Twilight Sparkle."

"ymphifgr… " Midnight grumbles tiredly, not bothering to open her eyes.

As Twilight clops up the stairs to her shower, Luna stands and makes her way over to the tunnel leading to her host's basement. However, just before she reaches the tunnel's entrance, her three guards step into the room.

"We heard some ponies leaving, so we assumed your meeting with your sister and the others was over, your highness," Shadow Strike states, bowing along with Lunar Trail and Night Glider. "Is there anything we need to know?"

"Indeed there is," Princess Luna replies. "Along with the two changelings you already saw when they entered undisguised, it has come to light that Fluttershy is also a changeling."

The three thestrals trade disquieted looks, Night Glider speaking first, "Just so I'm clear, Princess, you're saying that the Element of Kindness is a changeling?"

"Yes," Luna states succinctly. "Will that be a problem?"

Following the briefest moment of hesitation, the thestrals stand to attention and reply in unison, "No, Princess."

"Good," Luna says. "We have a reasonable degree of certainty that these three changelings are currently the only ones in Ponyville, so if others begin to turn up, that would be a concern. However, for the time being they are not to be considered a threat, and despite their current legal status technically being something of an unknown, they are to be treated as any other member of the town. Also, my sister will be sending an additional 25 Night Guard here once she arrives in Canterlot. You three are to bring them up to speed on what has happened, and to keep watch over the town during the night."

"Will any others be assigned to your protection besides ourselves?" Shadow Strike asks.

"No, and in fact you three will also be guarding Ponyville rather than myself," Luna replies, gesturing at the pair of vamponies lying on the floor. "I will be heading into the Everfree Forest with Midnight and Dawn in order to try and reach out to the other vamponies living within."

Lunar Trail's eyes flick to Midnight, his focus returning to Luna after an instant, "Perhaps at least one of us should accompany you into the forest? I think I speak for all of us when I say it would put us much more at ease to know that one of your own Guard is protecting you, especially in such a place."

Luna raises an eyebrow, "By all accounts, the part of the Everfree Forest surrounding Ponyville is fairly safe, though we suppose it couldn't hurt. I take it you are volunteering?"

"Yes, Princess," Lunar Trail replies, nodding his head a little too rapidly.

Luna exhales sharply, smiling ever so slightly, "Very well, you may join us." She glances at the vamponies, "Unless you have any objections, Midnight?"

Midnight's eyes open, blinking blearily at the Night Princess and her thestrals, "Just him. No others."

"It is settled then," Luna says, returning her gaze to her guards. "Are there any other questions?"

Night Glider glances at Midnight nervously, "So… uh, if we were to encounter any of these other vamponies, what should we do?"

"For the time being, just leave them alone. We currently have no other means in place for them to obtain what they need and I very much doubt any intervention on our part would end at all pleasantly – though given how well they have managed to stay hidden for most of our history, I doubt this will be an issue," Luna answers. "Anything else?"

The guards salute, "No, Princess."

Luna nods, "In that case, I will be going back to bed, as should you. My sister and her day guards will handle the situation until it is time for the moon to rise."

Dropping their salute, the thestrals jump into the air, hovering beneath the ceiling by their chosen hook just long enough to wrap their tail around it before allowing gravity to take over. Luna makes her way over to her couch as her thestrals swing above her from leftover momentum, wedging herself between the cushions below her and the ones making up the couch's back with a contented sigh.

Midnight meanwhile closes her eyes and attempts to finally reach the realm of sleep, however the hair on the back of her neck continues to stand on end, her instincts buzzing warningly at her about the unfamiliar creatures hanging above just loudly enough to keep her awake. After a few minutes she bares her fangs in frustration and lets out a low growl, Dawn also opening her eyes groggily as Midnight stands and turns towards the basement. Latching onto Midnight's tail with her mouth, Dawn slides along the cluttered library floor behind her big sister, silence once more descending on the library once they vanish into the tunnel leading to the basement save for the faint sound of Twilight's shower.

Chapter 17 Waking Up and Heading Out

Luna grumbles irritably and rolls onto her back, her slumber faltering for the fourth time in as many hours as vague feelings of worry and doubt force their way into her thoughts, the gentle touch of her petal bedding blending disconcertingly with the plushness of the couch beneath her physical body. The normally calming scent of ink and books takes the opportunity to invade her more aromatic surroundings as well, and a few tosses and turns later she grudgingly allows her eyes to open, the carefully crafted meadow of faintly luminescent blue and purple flowers making up her personal dream realm melting away to reveal the familiar bleeding together of the dreamscape's blues, purples, and whites.

Spreading her wings, she flaps them gently, her own will doing more to propel her forward than the motions of her body. Stray currents of subconscious thought press against her as she floats towards her destination, lightly pushing her mane and tail to and fro like a warm breeze would in the real world, Luna's mind wandering with the sensation to pleasant memories made during the recent summer months. A sudden chill brings her back to the present however, shivering and looking around just in time for a gale to slam into her face. Tumbling head over hooves from the force of the blow, Luna quickly rights herself and backs up, narrowing her eyes at the still-distant source of the disturbance.

The dreamscape of the Everfree resists her glare however, the murky smoke suffusing the place giving an energetic swirl as if amused by her anger. Letting out an annoyed grunt, Luna summons forth a pillow from the ether, setting herself down on the floating cushion to safely observe the chaos of the forest.

Luna stares at the Everfree dreamscape patiently, her eyes locked onto a single point near the border as she waits. Without warning, a form takes shape from the haze, the faint outline of a tree appearing for a few moments before collapsing back into incoherent murk.

And then… now!

Her eyes dart to another point up and to the left, her gaze arriving just in time to see… nothing. However, after watching for a few seconds another form takes shape within the smoke at the edge of her peripheral vision, dissipating the instant she looks at it. Luna's pillow lengthens slightly and she faceplants into it, letting out a frustrated groan.

"You know," an amused voice says from behind her, "while I am glad to see you taking a break from your nightly self-torment sessions, sleep works best if you let your mind rest along with your body."

Luna lifts her head, turning her pillow with a thought and raising an eyebrow as she rotates to face her mental companion, "And yet, you seem to be wide awake as well."

"In my defense, it is rather difficult to find peaceful sleep when one's restless mindmate decides to turn the lights back on," Selena replies wryly. "So. What's bothering you?"

"…I am not so certain that I made the correct decision, to meet with the vamponies so quickly," Luna answers after a moment, glancing down at her pillow. "I know why it can't wait, generally where I need to go, and what I need to say, but how exactly should I go about saying it? I may well only get one chance at this, and if I am not able to make them understand how things will be changing in a way they will accept, then there will inevitably be conflicts, and even though a thousand years have passed it does not sound like they have recovered enough to survive such unrest. The fate of their species could very easily depend on the words I choose to speak later tonight."

"I'm sure everything will turn out alright," Selena says, smiling reassuringly. "Midnight and Dawn seem to trust you, and to understand the necessity of change now that their kind has been revealed."

Luna nibbles the inside of her mouth nervously, "Midnight's reaction is part of what has me so worried. When she realized what had happened a thousand years ago, she was frightened of what I intended to do to her – it was only through giving her my blood that I was able to so quickly allay those fears, and I can hardly do the same for each and every vampony who lives nearby. Not to mention we don't even know what it would do to them; it may have healed Midnight's wounds, but it also altered her cutie mark, which is always an indication of something far more subtle and serious. And we haven't even told Midnight, or Celestia for that matter, specifically what we intend to say needs to change. Celestia I know completely trusts us – well, me, at least – but Midnight… Midnight I am not so sure. This certainly has a much greater impact to her than it does my sister, and if even she ends up refusing to abide by our proposal, then it seems likely that none of the other vamponies will either."

"Well then, the solution seems obvious," Selena states matter-of-factly.

A couple seconds of silence pass, Luna watching Selena expectantly before filling the void of words with a question, "That solution being?"

Selena rolls her eyes, "If you are so worried about what Midnight will think, then ask her. If you are worried about how the other vamponies will react, then ask her that too. And if she thinks your plan won't work, then ask her why and what she thinks should change."

"Oh, right," Luna says, blinking in surprise, then rubbing her temples. "This is why Celestia usually takes charge of politics and diplomacy – it sounds so obvious now that you say it."

Selena bobs her head and floats over to Luna's right, staring at the dreamscape of the Everfree Forest, "So, have you seen anything interesting out there?"

"No," Luna grumbles, turning her pillow towards the forest's murky depths as well, "and at times I am almost certain that it is toying with me."

"The forest does seem to love its secrets… " Selena murmurs, staring pensively out into the undulating black fog.

Luna sighs after a few minutes, giving Selena a flat look, "Do you intend to tell me what's on your mind, or shall I start guessing? Because clearly I am not the only one being bothered by something."

Selena looks away from the forest of smoke, sending Luna a quick glance before dropping her gaze to stare at her hooves, "Celestia."

Luna pulls her front hooves towards her chest, letting her left side push into the pillow slightly as she repositions herself, "Ah."

"What if she doesn't like that I live in your head? What if she wants me to leave your mind?" Selena asks nervously, "What if she just plain doesn't like me? What if she freaks out like she did with the changelings and starts demanding that you choose-"

"Then I will not," Luna interrupts. "You are both important to me."

A smile flickers weakly across Selena's lips and she looks back up at Luna though her head remains lowered, "That… isn't really an answer."

Luna pauses, giving Selena a pointed look, "If anypony tries to force me to choose, then they will have made my choice all the easier."

Selena winces at the implication, her ears drooping, "Sorry."

Luna pushes her pillow away, the imaginary fabric holding it together unwinding into nothingness as she embraces Selena, "But that isn't going to happen; you two are my favorite ponies in the world and you are going to get along fine – there will be no choosing."

"I'm sure you're right," Selena replies, returning Luna's hug before pulling back. "I'm just really nervous about meeting her. I haven't met anypony in person in a really long time, and it's Celestia of all ponies… "

"And it will be fine," Luna reiterates confidently. "And, who knows, depending on how well it goes, perhaps you could even ask her about your idea of having a partial eclipse soon."

Selena giggles, smiling, "Let's not start putting the cart before the pony. Besides, you're the one who controls the moon, not me."

A tingling runs over Luna's body before she can reply, the pair glancing up to find the full moon suddenly shining down upon them as if summoned by their words.

"It's time?" Selena asks.

"It is," Luna says with a nod, the dreamscape dissolving into a wash of colors as she takes her leave of the realm of sleep.

Luna continues lying on her couch after she re-enters the waking world, allowing herself to bask in her body's relaxation for a little while longer before forcing herself into motion. Several wonderful, full body stretches later, she stands beside her couch, levitating the forgotten fourth waffle still resting on her plate to hover next to her as she makes her way up to Twilight's top-most balcony. Sparing a glance for the telescope clamped to the northeast section of the railing encircling the platform as she pushes open the trapdoor, Luna sits on the western side of the balcony, resting her forelegs on the railing while she consumes her now long cold waffle and watches the dimming sunset mark the passing of the day's final moments. However, a split second before the sun vanishes entirely, Luna's ears twitch at the sound of an inaudible voice and she smirks mischievously, a light blue glow pulsing over her horn to push her sister's celestial object into hiding an instant too soon. Almost immediately the sun edges back into the sky, hanging there for a long moment before once more descending out of sight. Snickering, Luna walks over to stand beside Twilight's telescope, the groove of her horn glowing faintly and the air thrumming with focused magical power as she pulls her moon up from behind the eastern horizon and imbues it with enough energy to continue it's trek across the night sky.

"That was so cool!" a colt's voice calls out, drawing Luna's attention to Pipsqueak who waves up at her from between two older ponies. "Hello Princess Luna!"

Both ponies on either side of Pipsqueak precede their own hesitant wave with a quick bow, the stallion's yellow mane and tail complementing his nearly pure white coat, his cutie mark of a train conductor's hat the only other source of color on his body besides the green of his eyes. Meanwhile the mare on Pipsqueak's other side is entirely brown, her cutie mark of a pair of railroads forming an 'X' blending in with the rest of her body.

"Greetings, Pipsqueak," Luna replies, enhancing her volume with the barest amount of the Royal Canterlot Voice to ensure her words carry clearly to the ground. "How are you this fine night?"

"Well, it's my bedtime, so that isn't so great," Pipsqueak answers unhappily. "I want to stay up all night like you do, Princess!"

"Your dedication to our night is admirable, young one," Luna says, a suppressed giggle hidden beneath her false solemnity, "however you should indeed rest – you would not wish to then sleep away the day while your friends are awake to play, would you?"

Pipsqueak pokes at the ground with a hoof, "I guess not… oh! Will you be coming back to Ponyville for the Nightmare Night festival this year? The food and the games and everything are great, but it's just not the same without you!"

"Unfortunately we have already committed to make an appearance in Las Pegasus, and then at the base of Mount Olympony later that same night," Luna replies, letting out an exaggerated sigh of regret and pausing for a few seconds as she watches the hope drain from Pipsqueak's face. "But, I have no such obligations for the year after."

"Really?" Pipsqueak asks, giving a quick rear of excitement, "Yes! Thank you, Princess! It'll be the best Nightmare Night ever; I'll make sure of it!"

"Of that, I have no doubt," Luna states, smiling warmly down at him.

Pipsqueak's mother nudges him forward, "Come on Pip, let's go; I'm sure the Princess has some very important work to do, and like she said, you need your rest."

"Alright… " Pipsqueak says sadly, taking a few steps before waving to Luna again, "Goodnight, Princess Luna!"

Luna returns the wave, "Pleasant dreams, Pipsqueak."

Though as she turns towards the trapdoor to head back inside, she manages to hear one last string of words from the young stallion.

"See? I told you Luna is best princess!"

Spreading her wings to glide down past the ladder leading up to the balcony, Luna makes her way towards the first floor of Twilight's house, a smile stuck on her face and a spring in her step.

As soon as she reaches the stairs to the library, Luna looks towards the ground floor just in time to see Lunar Trail drop skillfully from his hook onto his hooves while Shadow Strike and Night Glider equip the last of their armor, all three of her guards giving her a salute as she descends the flight of stairs.

"At ease," Luna says automatically, the thestrals relaxing at her words.

Shadow Strike steps forward, "Your highness, by your leave, Night Glider and I are ready to begin patrolling the town."

"Of course," Luna replies, dismissing them with a wave of her hoof.

The pair offer a brisk bow before heading towards the front door, both taking a couple apples from a refilled fruit bowl sitting by the doorway and stashing one under each wing as they exit.

Lunar Trail meanwhile rapidly dons his armor as Luna finishes her descent, slipping his hind legs into a pair of obsidian blue greaves. Reaching back, he tightens two woven, pitch black belts connected by a side-release buckle on the top and bottom of both pieces of armor until they are snug with his legs. The greaves for his forelegs follow suit, each of these also bearing a silver engraving of Princess Luna's cutie mark and attached to a sharpened steel hoofshoe by the same woven material as the belts, the shoes slightly smaller than his hoof – though with enough give to allow his foot to be pushed inside and held tightly in place. With one final smooth motion he swings the last piece of his armor over his body and lets it fall into place across his barrel, the helmet connected by scale plates running up the back of his neck dropping neatly onto his head as he clips and tightens the belt beneath his barrel followed by the one under his chin.

"You are ready?" Luna asks as she walks past him.

Using his tail, Lunar Trail slips a trio of of sheaths into hidden slots between his armor and his back, the first two a pair of daggers and the third a shortsword, "Yes, Princess!"

"Good," Luna replies, Lunar Trail cantering to take his place in front of her as she enters the tunnel leading to Twilight's basement. "Let us wake Midnight and Dawn, and then be on our way."

The wood of the tree vanishes after less than a single step into the tunnel, for a short time leaving it made of nothing more than densely packed dirt as the underground path steepens and begins to curve back around to the left, whitish-blue crystal lamps periodically flickering to life as they continue downwards. About 90 degrees into the curve, the tunnel takes on a more ribbed appearance, thick roots periodically wrapping the walls along with a couple punching straight through the ceiling and into the floor. A full minute after leaving the library, the pair finally reach the basement, stepping into a small circular room lined with more roots – and surrounded by five new tunnels, each placed precisely 60 degrees apart from each other.

A weak breeze pushes at their backs as Lunar Trail glances down each of the tunnels, impenetrable darkness consuming all of them after a short distance and two even branching off into additional tunnels of their own, "So… which way do you think they went, Princess Luna?"

Luna points at the closest of the tunnels to the left of the one they entered from, "We are fairly certain they went that way."

"Err… I'm not doubting you, Princess, but what makes you so sure?" Lunar Trail asks, examining the royally chosen tunnel more closely. Luna's hoof drops to point at the floor – a few unlit lamp crystals having been apparently thrown various distances from that particular tunnel.

"Ah," Lunar Trail says, trotting into the darkened tunnel just ahead of Luna as she illuminates the way with a weak blue light emanating from the tip of her horn.

Stone bricks quickly replace the compacted dirt beneath their hooves as they follow the path of crystal-less lamps, the two of them soon reaching the third – and last – room attached to the tunnel, this one particularly large, rectangular, and filled with a diverse collection of scorched, melted, shattered, and otherwise irreparably damaged odds and ends, each meticulously labeled, categorized, and placed on shelves of assorted heights, widths, and depths lining its walls.

Lunar Trail's eyes quickly settle on the pair of vamponies, Dawn curled up in the far left corner along with Midnight, the younger vampony's back pressed to the wall while Midnight's faces them. Lunar lifts a hoof to walk over and wake them, however Luna's magic holds him in place and she shakes her head, instead levitating a partially burnt wooden rod from one of the shelves. Rotating it so the unburnt end is facing Midnight, she prods Midnight's shoulder.

Instantly Midnight's head whips around, the entire length of her fangs on full display as she sinks her carnassial teeth into the piece of wood. A murderous growl rumbles in her throat as she grips the rod, the blue light from Luna's horn glinting off a clear liquid dripping from her fangs as her jaw muscles visibly flex under her cheek to drive her teeth further into the wood.

"Luna's light… " Lunar Trail murmurs, staring at Midnight as images of his leg or neck similarly clamped between her jaws flash before his eyes, though the cold touch of fear is quickly tainted by a much warmer and entirely different, yet not unrelated, sensation spreading through his veins.

Midnight's ears prick at the sound of his words, the muscles of her jaw slowly unclenching as the noise filters through the adrenal haze filling her still waking mind. Blinking, she glances first at Lunar Trail and Luna, then at the piece of wood held between her teeth before reversing course and attempting to open her mouth.

The wood refuses to let go however, leaving her teeth lodged firmly in the rod and her mouth held mostly shut, "Mm."

Frowning, she shifts to a sitting position and tries once more to free herself, this time using her forehooves to yank the rod downwards while jerking her head in the opposite direction. After a second of resistance her mouth pops open, the carnassial attached the upper right of her jaw successfully escaping from the rod's woody grip while the other side of her mouth is less fortunate – a bleeding gap now where the left tooth used to be. Midnight's tongue flicks into the fresh hole in her row of teeth, the bitter taste of her own blood spreading through her mouth as she makes quick work of freeing her lower jaw, allowing the piece of wood to fall to the floor.

"Midnight? Are you alright?" Luna ventures, a still stunned Lunar Trail staring at the tooth lodged in the rod.

Midnight swallows in an attempt to clear the unpleasant taste from her mouth, "Hm? Yeah, I'm fine."

"You're, uh… you're sure?" Lunar Trail manages to ask. "I mean, you just yanked out your own tooth."

Midnight shrugs, "It had started feeling kind of loose while I was eating earlier, so it was probably going to fall out on its own soon anyway."

Luna and Lunar trade confused looks, Midnight glancing between them with equal confusion, "What?"

"Nothing," Luna replies uncertainly, "it's just that you are so calm about this, as if losing a tooth is a completely normal thing to occur, yet you do not seem to be missing any other teeth."

"Well… yeah," Midnight says, "they grow back."

"Your teeth grow back after they fall out?" Lunar Trail asks. "As in, all on their own?"

Midnight tilts her head slightly, "Do yours not?"

"Uhh… " Luna Trail shakes his head, "no, no they do not."

Midnight's brow knits as she considers that fact, "But, what do you do if a tooth gets chipped, or knocked out?"

"We fix it with a potion or with magic," Luna answers simply.

"Or we just deal with having a tooth missing," Lunar Trail adds.

Midnight blinks, "Huh."

A groan suddenly emanates from behind Midnight, Dawn opening her eyes to look at the adult ponies in the room, "So is it time to leave, or can I go back to sleep while you guys talk about teeth and stuff?"

"Nope, time to get up," Midnight replies, poking at the belly of her younger sister.

Dawn curls into a ball to protect herself from her sister's persistent hoof, standing and stretching with a yawn once it is safe. Spreading her wings, she flaps them a couple times then refolds them to her sides, Midnight following suit and spreading her own wings to their fullest before bringing them back to rest against her barrel.

So are you going to ask her or not? Selena prods.

"Actually, Midnight, there is something I would like to hear your opinion on before we depart," Luna says after a moment's hesitation.

Dawns groans again, collapsing back to the floor.

Midnight casts an annoyed glance at Dawn before looking up at Luna curiously, "Um, ok. What?"

"Well… " Luna glances away uncomfortably, "with the existence of your kind now being known, a lot of things are going to be changing, the main… problem, I suppose, being that vamponies are going to have to accept that other ponies have the right to refuse to be fed on – once everything is figured out and agreed upon, you aren't going to be able to continue breaking into ponies' homes at will and drinking their blood. Ponies are going to have to be able to give and take permission, and vamponies are going to need to get permission – something along those lines."

"So," Luna continues, "before we go and meet with all of the vamponies around Ponyville, I am curious as to what you think about this as well as what you think the other vamponies will think about it."

Midnight looks at the floor, deep in thought for several seconds before looking back up, "Do we have a choice?"

"Not… really, no," Luna answers, wincing with discomfort. "Still, I would like to force the issue as little as possible."

"Mmm… " Midnight says, thinking for a little while longer, then shrugging. "I mean, I don't like it, and I don't think anypony else will be happy about it, but at the end of the night I don't think it will be too bad as long as we're not expected to end up as servants in exchange for blood or something." Her expression darkens, "I'm not going to go around begging for blood just so I can survive, and I'm not going to starve myself if nopony wants to 'give permission'."

"I am relieved to hear that the others of your kind should be willing to consider my proposal," Luna replies, cracking a smile. "And rest assured, while I have not worked out the exact details yet, whatever arrangement we come to will not be one of that nature."

"Good," Midnight says with a nod, poking at her little sister's collapsed form. "Hey, we're done talking, get up."

Lunar Trail turns to leave as Dawn gets to her hooves, Luna following behind him while the vamponies walk behind her, the four of them making their way to the library and towards the front door. Lunar Trail pushes the door open, holding it while Luna and Midnight walk out to stand with him beneath the stars. Dawn hesitates however, raising her hoof to step outside only to pull it back, the process repeating itself a couple times until with a gulp she vanishes into the shadows.

"I'm good," Dawn whispers from beside Midnight, her voice barely audible.

With nopony left within Twilight's home, Midnight takes to the sky, Dawn flying close enough to her sister for Midnight to feel the air displaced by Dawn's wingbeats on her own wings. Luna and Lunar Trail follow in their wake, both of them giving Midnight a more normal berth as they allow her to lead them towards her home.

Chapter 18 Meeting the Parents

As they approach the border of the Everfree, Midnight's ears twitch towards the forest and she inhales slowly through her nose, the increasingly familiar scents and sounds of the place a welcome change after spending two full nights among Ponyville's constructed streets and houses. Dawn fades into visibility on her right a few seconds later, giggling as she draws her wings to her sides and executes a quick aileron roll above the rapidly thickening canopy. Luna and Lunar Trail watch the two sisters from a short distance behind them, the thestral stallion waiting another minute before speeding up to fly on Midnight's left.

"Beautiful night tonight," Lunar comments, examining the moon and stars populating the perfectly clear sky.

"Mhm," Midnight replies, sparing a glance for the darkened realm above her then returning her gaze to the forest below.

"I wasn't expecting it to be this peaceful, seeing as pegasi don't control the weather here," Lunar continues. "Is Everfree weather normally this calm?"

Midnight shrugs, "Sometimes."

"I've only heard about how chaotic the Everfree is supposed to be – during training all they said was to avoid flying over it at all costs, period. Isn't it difficult to not know what the weather is going to be like even an hour from now?" Lunar asks.

"It's weather," Midnight states bluntly. "As long as it's not incredibly windy or stormy or cold, it doesn't matter what it's like."

Lunar Trail winces internally, "Ah. Right. Makes sense."

No words are spoken for a few minutes, the increasingly awkward silence broken only by the regular sound of air moving over their wings. Gathering his courage, Lunar risks a glance in Midnight's direction, finding her still staring at the trees passing beneath them.

"Your mane and tail look nice," Lunar Trail says in an attempt to rekindle the conversation.

Midnight looks at him uncertainly, "Um… thanks?"

"How do you clean it?" Lunar queries, "Just swipe somepony's shampoo every once in a while?"

"No," Midnight replies, "we make a paste from a few plants."

"Huh, that's kind of neat," Lunar Trail says.

"It's irritating," Midnight grumbles.

"So it gives you a rash or something?" Lunar Trail asks sympathetically, "I had something like that happen once. That was not a pleasant night."

Midnight rolls her eyes, "I mean making it is irritating. So is talking about it."

"Oh," Lunar replies awkwardly.

Looking again at Midnight, his gaze lingers on the pair of fangs poking out from between her lips as she breathes rhythmically through her mouth, his tongue lightly running over his own smaller set of sharpened canines, "If you don't mind me asking, there is something I am a bit curious about. What does blood taste like to you?"

Midnight's wings freeze for an instant at the peak of her upstroke and she quickly glances at Lunar Trail, "What?"

"Well," Lunar Trail says, smiling as Midnight gives her wings a few rapid beats to regain lost altitude, "I thought you'd rather talk about that than the weather, or your hair. I've also been told that thestrals taste fruit juices differently than other types of ponies, so I'm a little curious if vamponies have something similar with blood."

Midnight simply stares at him, her expression inscrutable.

"Soo… ?" Lunar Trail prompts nervously when the silence starts to become uncomfortable once more.

Midnight sighs, glancing at the forest for a moment, "Vampony blood, whether it's my own or somepony else's, is really bitter. Changeling blood is even worse. Otherwise it depends on the pony."

"Is the taste entirely random?" Lunar Trail asks curiously, "Or is each tribe kind of similar?"

Midnight shrugs, "It can be pretty similar sometimes, but mostly it's just random. Some are more filling than others too; I only need a few mouthfuls of the red apple stallion, for example."

Lunar Trail's smile returns, Midnight's first piece of volunteered information beginning to restore his self-confidence, "Do you have a favorite then?"

"Yep," Midnight replies, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "Luna."

Lunar coughs, his wings momentarily losing sync with each other and throwing him off balance, "But how would – you snuck up to the library while we were sleeping and bit the Princess?!"

"Be at ease," Princess Luna states calmly, closing the gap to fly more closely behind them. "Midnight has done no such thing. I offered her my own blood in the hospital before I called for you."

Lunar Trail looks forward, Luna's explanation not entirely soothing his annoyance at the thought of Midnight biting the princess under his protection, "Oh."

"And it was amazing," Midnight continues dreamily, ignoring the somewhat miffed stallion to her left. "It was like drinking the moon and stars, but also all the blackness between them. I wonder if all alicorns have two flavors."

"Two?" Luna asks quickly, her left ear twitching as she tries to maintain an appearance of idle curiosity.

Midnight nods slowly, still staring off into the distance, "Mhm. I've heard the pink one also has two, but I never tried her. Thought they were just making it up."

Well, that's interesting, Selena comments.

Indeed, Luna replies, her mind beginning to wander after the implications of Midnight's statement. I had suspected they were getting something beyond physical nutrients from feeding, but this certainly confirms that assumption.

Silence again envelopes the trio as they each keep to their own thoughts, though one by one their attention is drawn to Dawn's boredom-fueled and increasingly strange flight patterns.

"So… " Lunar Trail says after a time, his focus drifting from an upside down Dawn back to Midnight, "have you ever had thestral blood?"

Midnight gives him a flat look; however, before she can speak, the leaves of a particularly large oak tree they had passed over mere seconds ago rustle and she looks behind her, eyes widening, "Uh-oh."

Suddenly a shadowy blur slams into Midnight, the translucent and vaguely pony shaped blob of darkness dragging her into the forest below.

"Wait!" Dawn shouts as a second, barely visible shadow wraps around her barrel and pulls her towards the trees as well, "Mmooooommm"

Luna's horn immediately glows to life, encasing her and Lunar Trail in a shell of magic – a third vampony impacting the protective barrier a split second later. The vampony's shadowmagic partially dissipates as he bounces harmlessly off the shield, his wings flapping unevenly for a moment before he once more vanishes from sight, Luna's eyes nevertheless tracking his descent.

Lunar Trail follows Princess Luna's gaze, minutes passing as the pair watch the gently rippling leaves of the trees below them. Glancing at the shield still surrounding them, he slowly sheaths his shortsword, "Uhm… what should we do now, Princess?"

"It would seem that this is something of a family matter," Luna replies delicately, "so we believe it would be best to not intervene for the time being."

Lunar Trail nods, doing his best to hide his relief as he returns to watching the Everfree, "As you say, Princess."

Midnight dislodges her attacker with a kick as they rush towards the ground, flaring her left wing as soon as they separate to flip herself around just in time to land on her hooves, though the layer of moss coating the forest floor fails to offer enough traction to prevent her from skidding into a nearby tree. The other vampony gives her no time to recover, ramming Midnight as she takes a couple dazed steps away from the trunk to knock her on her back. Blinking stars from her eyes, Midnight raises her forelegs to defend herself, baring her fangs as she feels a pair of hooves step on her right wing. Her bravado vanishes as soon as she recognizes the pony next to her however, mouth closing and hooves dropping to her chest as she raises her chin to expose her throat, "H-Hi Dad."

Wisp glares down at his eldest daughter, lowering his head to let his canines lightly touch either side of her windpipe, Midnight holding perfectly still save for the rapid expansion and contraction of her abdomen as she tries to catch her breath.

Wisp's head jerks up as something else crashes through the canopy, Eclipse landing heavily on three hooves with a wriggling Dawn held tightly to her chest by the fourth, "Good, you've got Midnight, now get off her so we can get out of here."

As she speaks, the vampony who had attacked Luna joins the family, Dusk coming to a hovering stop just above the mossy ground before landing with a wince.

"Did you get the alicorn?" Wisps asks.

Dusk shakes his head, rolling his right shoulder uncomfortably, "Shield."

Wisp groans, "OK, then we really need to leave before they-"

"NO!" Dawn shouts, struggling free of Eclipse's hold to stand on her own four hooves.

Wisp's eyes narrow, his irises glowing dimly, "What?"

Dawn backs up a step, ears drooping as she lowers herself to the ground, "The p-princess just wants to talk to us."

Wisp blinks, "What."

"It's true," Midnight adds supportively, "she-"

"Shut up," Wisp says harshly, glaring once more at his still pinned daughter. "You were supposed to help Dawn feed, you had ONE JOB, and instead you both go missing for a night, and then when we go out to look for you we find you, apparently willingly, leading an alicorn right to us! You don't get to speak!"

Eclipse nervously looks up at the leaf obscured sky, "We don't have time for this."

"You're right," Wisp agrees, stepping off of Midnight's wing and spreading his own slightly larger pair.

"Wait," Midnight says, standing and gingerly folding her wings to her sides. "Dawn was telling the truth, they really do just want to talk with us."

Wisp grits his teeth in frustration, "Look, I don't know what lies they told you, but the only reason they'd tolerate your existence is so they could use you to find the rest of us in order to-"

"In order to finish killing us off like they almost did 1000 years ago?" Midnight interrupts.

"…how did you know about that?" Wisp asks quietly.

"Wait, hold on a second, what do you mean 'almost killed us off'?" Dusk demands.

"About 1000 years ago the Equestrians tried to exterminate our entire species," Wisp answers tersely.

Dusk stares at his father, mouth hanging open, "What?! How would – you never – we go into their town about once every couple weeks, why didn't you ever tell us?!"

Eclipse sighs, "Because we didn't want you to grow up terrified of the ponies you depend on to survive."

"And we didn't want to risk any of you being stupid enough to try and get revenge," Wisp adds irritably.

"They do just want to talk though," Midnight says, tenderly rubbing the two hoof-shaped bruises forming on her wing. "They didn't realize we were the ones they were killing back then."

"They didn't know?!" Wisp shouts furiously, "They slaughtered thousands and nearly killed off our entire race, how could they possibly not know?"

"The alicorn gave me her blood," Midnight states simply.

Wisp stares uncomprehendingly at Midnight, her words catching him off guard, "I-I… what?"

Midnight takes a deep breath, "The alicorn, Luna, willingly offered her own blood, which healed the injuries I got from fighting an undead vampony, which is what they thought they were fighting a thousand years ago – they didn't even know we existed until a couple nights ago. And when Dawn and I got separated after I was attacked by the undead vampony, the purple alicorn, Twilight, found her and brought her to where they were keeping me in their hospital. Then last night I helped Luna and Twilight, as well as some of her friends, to take down the undead vampony. And then during the day another alicorn showed up and apologized for at least the fourth time for what they did 1000 years ago, and one of Twilight's friends even offered to let me feed on her."

Midnight's brow creases slightly, "Unn…less she meant 'drink' as in water or something, in which case that's going to be kind of awkward, but regardless." She gestures at her flank, "Drinking Luna's blood also added a moon to my cutie mark."

Wisp stands gaping at Midnight, his eyes slowly traveling from her face to her flank and back again, "An… undead… you can't be serious."

Midnight shrugs, "I don't know about undead, but I do know that he kept moving after I broke his spine, and that his blood smelled… not even just bad, it smelled wrong. I'm not sure how else to describe it. 'Even worse than dried changeling blood' is as close as I can think of."

"And I made friends with some fillies in town who call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders," Dawn chimes in. "They're going to help me get my cutie mark since none of them have their cutie marks yet either."

"Look, I know how crazy this all sounds," Midnight continues as Wisp shifts his stare back and forth between his two daughters, looking utterly lost, "and it's really complicated, but they say they want to help us to live peacefully with the rest of the ponies in Equestria, and I believe them."

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Eclipse nevertheless says, turning from Midnight to look at Wisp, "but I think we should listen to what their Princess Luna has to say."

"Y-You do?" Wisp stammers.

Eclipse nods reluctantly, "As strange as it seems, nothing they've done so far these these past nights sounds like what they would do if they wanted us all dead. At the very least they would have followed Midnight and Dawn into the forest after us, yet they haven't – and they've definitely had enough time to find us if they had wanted to, given how long we've been standing here talking. Cutie marks don't just change without a reason either, and it would be strange for Midnight's cutie mark to gain a moon after drinking the blood of the Moon Princess if said princess wanted to kill every last vampony in existence."

Wisp closes his eyes for several seconds, slowly inhaling and exhaling as he mulls over Eclipse's words, "That makes… sense… OK. So, we'll talk to the princess. Hear what she has to say."

"Midnight, you, and I will hear what she has to say," Eclipse corrects, shifting her gaze to her son. "Dusk, I want you to take Dawn home and wait for us, just in case. If you don't hear from any of us within an hour, spread word to everypony else and then get as far away from here as possible."

Dusk bobs his head once, turning to move deeper into the Everfree, "Come on, Dawn."

"But-" Dawn tries to protest.

"Dawn," Wisp states clearly, pointing at Dusk, "follow your brother."

Dawn's eyes travel between each of her family members before giving in, lowering her muzzle to stare at the ground as she trails after Dusk.

The others watch them go, Wisp sighing after they've been hidden by the surrounding trees for a few minutes, "Midnight, if you could go tell the alicorn-"

"Luna," Midnight corrects.

Wisp gives her an annoyed look, "Go tell Luna that we will speak with her, but if she wants to talk to us, she can come down here."

Midnight acquiesces with a nod, spreading her wings and jumping towards the leaf-obscured sky.

Lunar tenses within Luna's barrier as something breaks through the treetops, his tail's grip on his sheathed shortsword relaxing when he recognizes the incoming object as Midnight.

Stopping in front of Luna's shield, Midnight taps the hollow, glowing sphere twice, "Huh, neat. Anyway, Luna, I told my parents about everything that happened the last couple nights, and they've agreed to hear you out, so… follow me."

Luna touches the inside of her shield with the tip of her horn, the protective barrier popping like a punctured bubble and for an instant leaving behind a nearly transparent afterimage. Lunar Trail's eyes constantly dart in all directions as they fly after Midnight, Luna pushing aside obstructing leaves and branches with her magic as they descend through the canopy. Reaching the ground a short distance from the location of her previous landing, Midnight trots forward, Luna and Lunar touching down as well and walking more slowly in her wake to allow a respectful distance to form between the vamponies and themselves.

Midnight's parents cautiously watch the approaching alicorn and thestral, eyes tracking their every move and frequently flitting up to Luna's horn. A loud *SNAP* echoes through the trees as Luna steps on a particularly large twig, both parents jumping back with fangs bared and half hidden by shadows before realizing the source of the sound. Lunar Trail reacts in kind, a faint white glow outlining his hooves as he leaps in front of Luna with his shortsword drawn to place himself between her and the vamponies. Midnight freezes mid-step, her gaze focused on Lunar while her ears listen for any motions made by her parents.

"Lunar Trail, stand down," Luna says after a long, tense moment as she slowly pushes the now broken twig to the side and out of her path.

"With all due respect Princess, I think it would be best if I stay where I am," Lunar Trail replies under his breath, eying the still hostile stance of the two unknown vamponies. "At least until we know they aren't going to attack you again."

"I am not asking your opinion on the matter," Luna states, her voice edged with authority. "I am telling you what you shall do. Now."

Lunar Trail flinches at her tone, immediately dropping his defensive posture and backing up to stand just in front of Luna.

"At my side," Luna commands coldly.

Lunar Trail slowly moves to Princess Luna's right side, maintaining his focus on Midnight's parents as best he can while nervously splitting his scrutiny between them and the surrounding trees.

"Sheath your weapon."

Lunar Trail hesitates, meeting his Princess' steely gaze for an instant before quickly sheathing his blade, the weak light surrounding his hooves likewise fading.

"Our apologies," Luna says, managing a mostly sincere smile as she turns her attention to the two somewhat hazy forms opposite her and takes a couple more steps forward, Lunar Trail remaining next to her while she moves. "We had hoped our meeting would not begin on such an… aggressive note. But regardless, I am Luna, and this beside me is my guard, Lunar Trail."

A few seconds pass in silence, Midnight's parents trading an uncertain look before relaxing slightly and releasing their shadowmagic. Midnight lets out a sigh of relief and relaxes as well, taking the opportunity to finish walking over to stand beside her mother who steps forward, mouth twitching in a failed attempt to return Luna's smile, "Hello. I am Eclipse, and this is my mate, Wisp."

Wisp nods jerkily, "Our daughter said that you wanted to talk to us?"

"Indeed," Luna replies, doing her best to appear at ease as she sits calmly on the mossy earth. "I need your help to arrange a meeting with all the vamponies who are living in the Everfree around Ponyville."

Wisp's eyes narrow suspiciously, "Why?"

"I suppose I should have started with that, actually," Luna says smoothly, mentally kicking herself. "We are unsure to what level of detail Midnight has told you about the events of these last nights, but the crux of the matter is that the existence and nature of vamponies is now known to all of Ponyville, and will likely soon be known across all of Equestria. What this means, is that you will no longer be able to remain hidden, since now ponies will know how and where to look for you. And while I completely understand any distrust you have of us, we would very much like to prevent some ponies' inevitable distaste over your unique dietary needs from growing into outright conflict. To that end, we would like to meet with the vamponies who live around Ponyville, so that we may begin working towards some kind of agreement or framework which will ultimately allow your race to live alongside the other tribes in harmony. It is also our hope that whatever understanding we come to can then be applied to any other towns which vamponies live close to."

Worry flickers across Luna face, "And, while I truly do not mean for this to come across as a threat, time is very much of the essence if we are to prevent ponies who do not wish to be fed upon from taking matters into their own hooves."

"I don't see why we need to change in order to accommodate their discomfort," Wisp says tersely. "We have already been living peacefully alongside your kind both before and after you nearly wiped us out. We have been living next to Ponyville for centuries, and nopony in the town has even noticed. You are their leader, why don't you just tell them to get over themselves and let things stay the same as they always have been?"

"You are right, I could do that," Luna answers carefully. "But I won't, because the fact of the matter is that things are different now than they were even just a few nights ago. I do not dispute your right to survive, need for blood included, but your right to survive does not extend to forcing an entire town to submit to your needs. Doing so would likely cause many ponies to simply leave, and if too many leave then you will not be able to survive on whomever remains. Should I then force ponies to stay against their will? And if ponies are forced to stay, or simply unwilling or unable to leave, they could resort to other methods to try and prevent vamponies from feeding on them. Should I then enforce punishments harsh enough to make them unwilling to defend their own homes?"

"I… suppose not," Wisp replies, taken aback.

"If they are so averse to us being here, why should we even stay?" Eclipse asks coolly. "There aren't very many of us; we could easily relocate to live close to some other town that wouldn't know to look for us."

"You could move," Luna admits, "however the changelings living in Ponyville, who were also discovered over the course of the last two nights, knew of a way to figure out which towns vamponies are living by."

"And they told you?" Wisp demands.

"Yes," Luna replies, "and-"

"Backstabbing bugs," Wisp hisses angrily.

"And I'm glad they did," Luna states forcefully, "not because it is my intention to use that knowledge to force your hoof, but because it demonstrates how having vamponies nearby is in fact a good thing. By their account, it is due to your presence that many of the Everfree's predators – well, other predators – are kept at bay. Were you to leave, it is all but certain that Ponyville will come under attack from wild manticores, chupacabras, and the like, and they would be after far more than a little blood."

"It is my hope," Luna continues, "that through talking to and learning about each other, this mutually beneficial relationship can be kept intact despite the change in circumstances."

Eclipse raises an eyebrow, disdain dripping from every syllable, "And yet, despite how nicely you have chosen your words, it still sounds like you are saying we need to entrust our future to you since we can't hide and we can't leave. But just because we don't have any particularly good options doesn't automatically make yours a better one, especially with our history, so why should we trust you or believe a single word you're saying?"

Midnight frowns, "Because-"

"Quiet, Midnight," Wisp says loudly, cutting her off.

Luna swallows, anxiety drying her throat, "Well, I… if what Midnight has told you is not enough, and if you are truly still so skeptical of my intentions as to question every word I speak, then there is very little I can do in this moment to prove to you otherwise."

"I see," Wisp replies, a hint of triumph lacing his voice. "So if we refused to find the others and bring them together to speak with you, what would you do?"

"I-I… " Luna stammers, a cold pit forming in her stomach, "I suppose… there would not be anything left for me to do here, so I would return to Ponyville."

Wisp meets Luna's worried gaze, holding it with his own, "Then that is what we choose. Get out of our forest."

His words strike Luna like a blow, a light ringing in her ears dimming all other sounds as they reverberate around her skull along with two of her own.

I failed.

Midnight's head jerks around to stare at her father in shock, "Wait-"

"Shut up," Wisp interrupts without so much as glancing at her.

"Mom, you can't-" Midnight says in an attempted appeal to her other parent, however a glowing-eyed glare from Eclipse cuts her off.

Luna opens her mouth to speak, however no words come out and she instead bows, finding her voice by the time she raises her head, "If that is what you wish."

Taking a hesitant step backwards, Luna pauses for one last hopeful second before turning and walking away, her ears limply folded down as she stares unseeingly at the moist dirt and moss beneath her hooves. Lunar Trail watches the vamponies for a few more seconds, then turns on his heel to follow in Luna's plodding hoofsteps.

Wisp and Eclipse's tense, angry mood lifts as they watch Luna leave, glancing at each other in surprise once she is entirely out of sight.

"Wait!" Wisp calls out, cantering after the retreating alicorn.

Confusion conquers Luna's face as she sees Wisp, Eclipse, and an equally bewildered Midnight approaching, the trio stopping several feet from her and Lunar Trail.

"You're leaving," Wisp states.

"Of course," Luna replies, "that is what you-"

Luna's eyes widen in realization, warm hope rekindling in her chest as she narrows her eyes suspiciously, "You wanted to see if I would actually leave."

Eclipse nods, the ends of her mouth bending up ever so slightly, "If you were here to hunt us down, you would not have left so easily, and you definitely would not have left us alive once you thought you weren't going to be able to convince us to lead you to any other vamponies."

Luna's face splits into a wide smile, "So you are willing to gather the other vamponies around Ponyville, and to discuss how vamponies and non-vamponies can peacefully coexist?"

"We are," Wisp replies impassively, Luna's happiness not reflected in his own neutral expression. "It will take most of the night, and chances are we won't be able to find everypony, but there is a castle nearby you can wait in while we look. Midnight will lead you and your guard there."

Luna bobs her head gratefully, "Thank you for your understanding. I do know the castle you speak of though, so we can make our own way there. We will wait in what remains of the castle's library, if that is acceptable."

"Wherever you choose to wait is fine," Wisp says with a shrug. "We are familiar enough with its layout to be able to find you."

Wasting no more time, Wisp and Eclipse spread their wings and take off to begin their search, the darkened forest quickly hiding them from view.

Midnight watches her parents leave before turning to Luna and Lunar Trail, "Soo… I… guess that went well. Um… see you later then."

After watching Midnight disappear through the leaves overhead, Princess Luna takes to the sky as well, Lunar Trail diligently maintaining his position at her side as they fly towards Luna's former home, the Princess of the Night humming happily to herself the entire way.

Flameless torches burst to life, their light dwarfing the glow of Celestia's horn to reveal a large, dusty room, its only apparent feature a short, but wide, square pedestal whose top has been ground down into the shape of a bowl. A large group of unicorns slowly drain down the stairs into the room's corner after her, forming a circle in front of the room's entrance as they maintain Sombra's current prison between them.

"Stay where you are," Celestia instructs as she makes her way to the pedestal, walking in a circle around it and giving each of its four corners a tap with her horn.

A rune glows to life upon each touch, giving an ominous hiss as the magic held within them burns through the room's thick layer of dust to leave the dull orange symbols clearly visible. As soon as the fourth rune is lit, more runes begin to glow as well, a column of symbols activating beneath each corner to reach the floor in perfect synchrony with another transit of Celestia around the pedestal. Celestia continues her walking, more runes activating to form increasingly complex layers of enchantments as she spirals further and further outward, the hissing becoming louder and the smell of burnt dust more poignant with each step. Coming to a stop in the now rather cramped corner of the room containing Sombra and her mages, Celestia spreads her wings and takes flight, hovering to a stop halfway between the pedestal and the room's corner.

Her horn glows brighter, and her aura surrounds the blue shield containing the former tyrant, "You may release him now."

A unanimous sigh of relief echoes from the unicorns as their horns wink out, several slumping to the cool stone floor, their exhausted groans mixing with the occasional sneeze from the dust disturbed by their sudden motions. Celestia meanwhile carefully levitates Sombra over to the pedestal, sweat beading on her face and sparks of magic popping from her horn by the time he touches down, the curve of the barrier holding him matching the pedestal's perfectly.

As soon as Sombra is in place, the outermost runes shine increasingly brightly, the room's torches flickering and going out as magical power rapidly spirals inward along the runes until it reaches the pedestal. A brief pause follows once all the runes are charged, the room lit almost entirely by their dangerous glow save for the beacon of Celestia's luminous horn as the air thrums with structured magical energy. Suddenly, an orange haze forms around Sombra's blue prison, the haze solidifying into an orange shield an instant later and shattering the blue one to take its place.

Celestia cries out, her mind blanking from the feedback of her overwhelmed barrier and falling towards the rune-laden floor as her wings falter. A hodgepodge of five auras surround her just before she hits the stone, an equal number of unicorns gritting their teeth as they focus what remains of their magic to lift their princess to safety.

Celestia's legs tremble as her mages lower her to the floor between them, though she manages to remain standing. Four of the unicorns who saved her are less fortuitous however, simultaneously collapsing into sweaty heaps as their legs give out. The fifth unicorn gasps, sitting heavily, but with a concerted effort is able to keep his muzzle from hitting the dusty stone beneath his hooves.

"Princess… Celestia," he gasps out between breaths, "if you… don't mind me asking… what is this place? Who made it?"

"I did… some nine and a half centuries ago," Celestia replies between pants as sweat drips down her body, the ends of her mouth twitching in a faint smile as the thought of what the nobles would think if they saw her like this wandering through her tired mind. "You are Solar Flare, correct?"

"I – y-yes," the stallion stammers. "Um… may I ask why?"

Celestia rubs her eyes and sighs, "After my sister… succumbed to dark forces, I feared that one day I would also fall to the same temptations. And if I fell… there were no other alicorns to deal with me, no others able to wield the Elements of Harmony. So I made this place… by tapping into the ley line running beneath Canterhorn Mountain… which is also why I originally decided to have Canterlot built where it is." She laughs tiredly, "Though you will not find that explanation in any history book."

Forcing her hooves into motion, Celestia turns to face Sombra, wisps of magic flickering along her horn to gather at its tip. After half a minute, Celestia lowers her horn to the closest rune, the luminous symbol absorbing her magic instantly. A split second later the entire runic spiral pulses, sending a shockwave of magic deep into the earth. For another half minute, nothing happens.

Then the runes glow red.

Without any further warning, a massive upswell of magic slams into the runes from below, the spiraling engravings blocking and channeling the power into Sombra's new prison, turning it into a blazing inferno of raw elemental energy. The surge peters out after only a few seconds however, the runes returning to their normal orange glow as if nothing had happened.

Solar Flare sits gaping in awe at the display, afterimages of the runes still visible on the inside of his eyelids as he blinks, "Sweet – uh – you. What was that?!"

The other unicorns, tired as they are, nevertheless look up at Celestia in search of an explanation as well, each of them equally awestruck.

"That," Celestia answers, "was a failsafe, in case even these wards were unable to contain me on their own."

Princess Celestia watches carefully as the brilliantly shining orb at the room's center dims, the elemental maelstrom fading until the barrier appears empty of both magic and evil smoke alike. The resulting void is short lived however, her eyes narrowing in irritation as Sombra's telltale smoke reinstantiates.

"Uselessss… " Sombra goads her, laughing.

"Insolent prick," Celestia mutters to herself.

"But… but h-how is he… ?" Solar Flare stammers, flinching and looking away as Sombra's gaze turns to him.

"Both the natural and magical worlds are governed by unbreakable laws, many of which I would hope you are quite familiar with," Celestia says, stifling a yawn. "The more mundane rules such as the various and sundry thauma-to-matter conversion ratios, for example, all the way up to those governing life itself. For him to survive such an assault, it must be that Sombra has found a way to twist himself around one of these laws in order to anchor himself in this world, regardless of how much magic we throw at him. But that-"

Celestia yawns again, turning to send a baleful look up the waiting flight of stairs, the silken promise of her waiting bedsheets dampened by the looming meeting with Fluttershy's mother when she wakes, "-is a problem for another day. He is not going anywhere for a few centuries at the very least."

"If that is your wish, your highness," Solar Flare replies, sending another nervous glance Sombra's way before trailing Celestia up the stairs, the other unicorns dragging themselves to their hooves to follow in his hoofsteps.

Author's Note

The pony~ of shadows~

Chapter 20 Meeting the Town

Lunar Trail stirs, the four bumps beneath the membrane of his enclosing wings shifting as he allows gravity to drag his eyelids partially open. Sighing resignedly, he spreads his wings, a weak shiver traveling through his body as the pocket of warmth held captive around him is freed, the cool air filling the rest of the room quickly taking its place. Releasing his tail's hold on one of the wooden crossbars spread across the ceiling, Lunar drops to the floor of the ancient batpony barracks, flapping his wings once to land lightly amid a wave of scattered dust aimed at the barracks' entrance. Covering his nose with a hoof, Lunar looks towards the other end of the room, time having long since removed any obstacles to his line of sight as for several seconds he watches the steady rising and falling of Princess Luna's barrel. Once satisfied that he had not woken her, Lunar carefully picks up one of his greaves in his mouth and tiptoes out of the barracks to gently deposit it on the hallway's stone floor, a pulse of urgency momentarily drowning out the rest of the world as he notices a deep orange shaft of evening sunlight slicing across an intersection further down the hall.

The rest of his armor soon follows, his heart in his throat as he carries the last piece outside – his barrel armor, along with its sheathed weapons and attached helmet. Placing it silently on the ground, he carefully rolls the armor onto its back and holds himself over it with his belly to the ceiling, slowly lowering himself into the metal's embrace. Fastening the belts across his barrel and under his chin once the maneuver is successful, he gets to his hooves, sucking in his gut just enough to allow room to shift his wings and push them through matching slits in the armor. After snugly fitting each of his greaves to a leg, Lunar peeks into the barracks, Luna's still sleeping form laying against the far wall in the center of a dustless half oval offering a brief respite of relief before he begins the final part of his journey, one meticulously placed, metal-shoed step following another until he stands only a few feet from her. Delicately, he turns around to watch the barracks' only entrance while he waits for his princess to wake.

He does not need to maintain his vigilance for long however, Luna's muzzle scrunching in prelude to a yawn only a few minutes later. Wincing as she attempts to stretch various parts of her body, she licks her dried lips and opens her eyes to find Lunar Trail fully armored and standing at attention in front of her.

Luna rises from the exquisitely clean patch of floor upon which she was sleeping and stretches again, small pops and cracks coming from her joints as she gingerly works the kinks out of her body, "Good evening, Lunar Trail. You slept well, I expect?"

"I slept well enough," Lunar replies, cringing at a particularly loud crack from Luna's neck. "And you, Princess?"

Luna smiles, exhaling sharply through her nose, "Let us simply say that there are times we wish we could sleep hanging from the ceiling as you do."

"Well, if you did start sleeping like us, I'm sure a lot of thestrals would be a lot more excited about it than makes sense," Lunar says, a smile spreading across his own lips at the idea.

"Most likely," Luna laughs, rolling her shoulders one last time and walking towards the exit to the hallway, raising a hoof when Lunar Trail tries to follow her.

"Princess?" Lunar Trail asks, looking up at her uncertainly.

"Please wait here for the time being," Luna answers. "From the looks of it, Midnight's parents are the closest thing to leaders the vamponies have, and I would like to discuss something in private with them."

Lunar salutes, "Of course, Princess."

He holds his salute until Princess Luna leaves the barracks, his hoof returning to the floor as he sits and looks around the mostly barren room, lonely boredom rapidly taking hold.

Lunar Trail's eyes travel along an extensive series of cracks in the barracks floor, the tiny fissures morphing into roads and rivers to his otherwise unengaged mind as he imagines them to be major routes of transportation between each of his imaginary city-states, their borders drawn in the layer of dust by the thumbs of his wings. Carefully controlling his breathing so as to not accidentally destroy the miniature world of his own creation, Lunar observes the fictional residents of his world grow, advance, and compete with one another through the early days of civilization. War breaks out between three of the city-states while he watches, his gaze tracking the movement of troops and supplies as two of the smaller states conspire to steal trade routes and territory from their larger and wealthier neighbor. His wings hover over the world map as the conflict rages, carefully using their tips to smooth and redraw the conflict's shifting borders in the dust.

"Hey Lu-"

Lunar Trail jerks at the unexpected voice near to him, the sharp motion of his wings sending a cascade of air over his fantasy land to instantly erase it and all its inhabitants from existence.

"Seriously?" Midnight asks exasperatedly, "I wasn't even trying to startle you this time. I was visible when I walked in and everything."

"Uhm… yeah, sorry," Lunar apologizes sheepishly. "I was a little distracted."

Midnight glances around the empty room, "If you say so. Anyway, Luna and my parents are done talking about her plan to get us blood and she asked me to come get you. So."

She turns and walks out the door, Lunar Trail speeding up to walk beside her as an inner struggle rages within him, Should I ask her what they were talking about?

His head tilts ever so slightly to the right, No, Princess Luna purposely excluded me from it, and I should respect her decision.

His head tilts to the left, On the other hoof, I really want to know.

No. If I needed to know, the Princess would have included me.

But I really really want to know.

That still doesn't-

Besides, she's going to have to tell everypony what her plan is eventually, right? It's not like this is some sort of secret that only she and a few other ponies are ever going to know. So there's really no harm in me knowing a little bit more just a little bit earlier than everypony else.

Lunar sighs as they round a corner, "So what is the plan?"

Midnight shrugs, yawning, "I don't know. I walked in on them talking about 'taxes' and ended up falling back asleep."

Lunar chuckles, "Yeah, taxes can have that effect on ponies."

"What are taxes anyways?" Midnight queries.

Lunar Trail gapes at Midnight, the question catching him off guard, "Uhh… "

Midnight gives him an irritated look, "What?"

Lunar clears his throat, buying himself a moment to recover, "Nothing. It was just kind of a weird question to me, though I guess it makes sense that you wouldn't have had to deal with taxes before. Taxes are when ponies earn bits through working or investing or – well, let's just leave it at working. So ponies do work for some other pony or group of ponies, and they're given bits in exchange for their work. The Equestrian government then takes some amount of the bits that every individual pony was given, and uses them to do things that benefit everypony but would be too expensive or impossible for most ponies to do on their own. One example is building and fixing all the roads in between cities and towns, so that traveling is safer and faster. Another is enforcing a common set of rules across all of Equestria."

"And now that she found out about us, she wants to tax us too?" Midnight asks, frowning.

Lunar Trail shrugs, "I don't know. I'm not sure if it would even be possible to tax you since, as far as I know, vamponies don't have any bits."

"Mmm… " Midnight murmurs.

The pair walk without speaking for the remainder of the trip, Midnight deep in thought and Lunar opting not to distract her. Midnight does not get long to ponder the possibility of taxation however, the vampony and guard reaching their destination after a few more minutes, both entering a room whose door had long since rotted away to leave only rusted iron hinges hanging tenuously to the stone frame. Lunar Trail immediately trots to Luna's side, Midnight pausing as she scans the room for her parents only to come up empty.

"Your parents left to retrieve the other vamponies who volunteered to return with us," Princess Luna says, answering Midnight's unspoken question from her place at an age-stained stone table fused to the floor at the room's center, light from a freshly risen moon entering through a glassless window on Luna's right to fall across the table.

"Oh. Alright then," Midnight replies, walking over to sit opposite Luna at the table.

Silence falls as the trio waits for the rest of the vamponies to arrive, Luna focusing on the empty doorway behind Midnight, Lunar Trail on the table, and Midnight on the moon.

Luna stands when the rest of the vamponies return several minutes later, Blue Moon freezing for an instant as he steps through the doorway – instincts reacting to Luna and Lunar's presence before his mind can recall last night's events.

"Thank you all for volunteering to come to Ponyville with me," Luna says, her eyes flitting between Moon Shadow, Blue Moon, and Aurora Moon before landing on Wisp and Eclipse. "And thank you for your assistance and cooperation."

"It's not like we have much of a choice," Wisp states bluntly.

"Still, you have my sincere gratitude for making the choices you have," Luna responds, giving Wisp and Eclipse a quick bow then returning her attention to the three volunteers. "Are you ready to head out?"

"Yup!" Moon Shadow says excitedly, Blue Moon and Aurora Moon nodding their assent.

"Wonderful," Luna replies, her horn glowing to surround the table in a light blue aura and push it down. The table's short descent ends with a heavy thunk and is followed by a loud click, a patch of ceiling sliding away to reveal the night sky.

Princess Luna spreads her wings, flying through the opening with Lunar Trail closely following her and the four vamponies one by one trailing after him.

Eclipse watches them exit the room, keeping her eyes on the sky for a few seconds after they leave her sight before turning to look at Wisp, "Did you know the ceiling could do that?"

Wisp shakes his head, "Nope."

Ending his ascent half way between the canopy and the cloud layer, Lunar Trail speeds up just enough to once more bring himself to Princess Luna's side. Catching her eye, Lunar glances behind them, then back at Luna questioningly. Luna nods shortly before returning to watching the world in front of her, smiling to herself as Lunar slows and leaves her peripheral vision.

"So… " Lunar says from Midnight's left as he matches her speed. "Uhm. Hello."

"Hi," Midnight replies.

"I was wondering, regarding what you said last night, about other ponies being prey… " Lunar trails off.

"…Go on," Midnight prods after several seconds.

"Do you think I'm prey?" Lunar Trail asks after another few seconds of uncertainty.

"Yes," Midnight answers without missing a beat.

"And… I guess… " Lunar Trail says hesitantly, "does that mean you think I'm weak?"

"I think you're weaker," Midnight replies. "I'd definitely win if we fought."

"I'm pretty sure I can put up more of a fight than you're giving me credit for," Lunar objects, pride stinging at her bluntness. "I'm not one of Princess Luna's personal guard for nothing, you know."

"When was the last time somepony or something tried to kill you?" Midnight queries casually.

Lunar pauses for a moment as he considers the question, "Equestria has been at peace my whole life except for the changelings, and even they only tried to capture, so I don't think there's ever been anything trying to kill me."

"I figured," Midnight says, scanning the forest below them. "And where do vamponies live?"

Lunar Trail follows Midnight's gaze, then looks back at her, "The… Everfree Forest?"

Midnight nods, "Mhm. And what is the apparently really important thing we do in the Everfree?"

"You… um… you protect Ponyville?" Lunar answers tentatively.

"We hunt," Midnight corrects, Lunar's mouth going dry as she looks at him with a predatory glint in her eyes. "Every week we attack other things, things which would love to eat the rest of you ponies, and we eat them instead. There's no way anypony who's lived their whole life in one of your towns would stand a chance of beating me or any other vampony on their own. Well, adult vampony anyway. You just don't have the same instincts, and the practicing or whatever you do with the rest of your Guard doesn't cut it."

"Oh," Lunar Trail says, swallowing nervously. "S-Still, I think you're underestimating me."

Midnight smirks, "Not to mention that the changelings, who're best at deception, attacked you head on and won. Twilight even said it was 'a small miracle they didn't just panic and run away'."

"Princess Celestia's Royal Guard were the ones that got defeated," Lunar replies testily. "The Night Guard successfully defended our princess – the changelings that invaded didn't even get close enough to wake her, much less harm her."

"All Guards, be they of the Royal Guard, Crystal Guard, or Night Guard – including those whom I have chosen for my Lunar Guard, answer to all princesses," Luna calls out sharply from in front of them. "Not to one princess or another."

"I – y-yes, of course, Princess Luna," Lunar Trail backtracks. "My apologies."

Midnight smiles triumphantly, "Plus, I can just use shadowmagic to turn invisible, bite you, then wait a bit for my venom to work. You'd be unconscious on the ground in under a minute."

"Maybe. I'm pretty good with lunar magic and my tail though," Lunar Trail counters.

Midnight raises an eyebrow, "And lunar magic is… ?"

Lunar Trail grins confidently, "Watch."

Midnight stares at Lunar, her eyes locked pointedly onto his neck. Soon however, her attention begins to drift until she finds herself staring contentedly at the ocean of trees stretching to the horizon behind him. Her eyebrows knit in confusion and she attempts to refocus on Lunar, blinking in surprise when she fails to find him.

"Looking for me?"

Midnight's ears stand straight up and her head whips around towards the sound of Lunar voice, this time successfully locating him on her right side. Her gaze flicks across several points on his body, "How… ?"

"Perception filter," Lunar answers smugly. "It makes me seem uninteresting and very difficult to pay attention to. Also… "

A faint white glow spreads through the bones of his wings and with a powerful flap he shoots forward, quickly passing Luna while leaving a weakly glowing blur in his wake. However, before he travels too far his hooves glow as well and he does a partial roll to point his hooves in their direction of travel, knees bending as he suddenly comes to a complete stop – his hooves releasing a small pulse of white energy as he pushes off of thin air. Shooting back past Luna, Midnight, and the other three vamponies, he repeats the maneuver, his speed returning to normal once he catches up to Midnight.

"Huh," Midnight says, looking at him in surprise as the glow trailing him catches up. "Your name is very literal, isn't it?"

Lunar Trail laughs, "Yeah, it is."

"And I'm just saying that your magic's strength depending on the moon is a significant disadvantage," Midnight points out. "It becomes weaker just by going inside. And as neat as your demonstration was, you did it under a nearly full moon and with the Princess of the Moon right here. What would you do if Luna wasn't here and it was cloudy?"

"Thestral magic isn't entirely dependent on the moon," Lunar counters. "We can use our magic just fine indoors or when it's cloudy. Besides, moonstones can be used to offset the lack of a moon, or even to make it stronger than if the moon was out."

"But on its own, your magic does become weaker without a moon," Midnight reiterates, neither she nor Lunar noticing the Everfree Forest's thinning trees – or the sudden lack of other vamponies behind them.

"No, it just takes a little more effort than if it was done in moonlight," Lunar Trail replies.

Midnight sighs, "Which means you will get tired more quickly, which means it becomes weaker faster and you'll be able to use it less."

"And moonstones are used to counter that problem," Lunar repeats.

Midnight gives him a flat look as she and Lunar Trail descend after Luna towards the ground just outside the Everfree's border, "Then why don't you have any on you right now?"

Lunar shrugs, "Because there weren't supposed to be any evil undead tyrants running around trying to kill everypony, and bringing that kind of item on what was essentially a diplomatic 'first contact' mission could easily have become counterproductive if you thought it was meant as a threat."

Midnight rolls her eyes as she lands, freezing as she finally looks in front of her, slitted pupils as thin as a knife's edge.

Princess Luna glances at Midnight, then at the few hundred strong crowd standing less than 100 feet away, her brow creasing in concern as she returns her attention to the frozen vampony, "Midnight?"

Midnight's ears rotate to face Luna, however she otherwise remains almost completely still, her only other motion the expansion and contraction of her barrel as she breathes.

Lunar looks at the crowd, hesitating before stepping closer to Midnight, turning around to face her, and extending one of his wings to block her view of the gathered townsponies. Midnight exhales loudly through her mouth, panting as she drops her gaze to the ground below Lunar's wing and takes a few small steps backwards.

"Are you alright?" Lunar asks, Midnight's sudden fear weighing on his mind far more than the hundreds of ponies attempting to pierce through his obstructing wing with their eyes.

Midnight nods.

Lunar glances at his wing, then again at a clearly shaken Midnight, "Are you sure?"

Midnight glares at him, a bead of sweat rolling down her temple to hang from her clenched jaw.

"So… should I lower my wing?" Lunar queries.

Midnight nods, planting her hooves firmly to brace herself against the coming onslaught of stares.

"Alright… " Lunar Trail says, folding his wing to his side – and revealing a grinning pink pony.

"Hi Midnight!"

Midnight screeches and leaps several steps away, chest heaving.

Pinkie Pie retreats a step, rubbing the back of her neck, "Whoops, sorry."

Midnight's eyes dart from the apologetic party planner to the five other ponies approaching more slowly behind her.

"Really Pinkie?" Applejack asks, sending an annoyed look Pinkie's way, "What did we literally just say 'bout tryin' not ta startle any vamponies we meet?"

Pinkie Pie ducks her head, "I got too excited, and it slipped my mind."

Luna gives Twilight a quick bow as she, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and a disguised Fluttershy stand beside Pinkie, two Thestral Guards following on the ground and another two in the air, though they keep a respectful distance.

"Twilight Sparkle, you have truly outdone yourself if this is how many of the townsfolk wish to meet the vamponies," Luna says, scanning the assembled ponies.

"I didn't want to reveal too much before you got back, but I did try to make sure everypony knew what was going on and how they were helping Ponyville," Twilight replies. "Though I think most of them were actually worried about you, Luna; you never mentioned any of them would be returning with you, so I didn't think to bring it up as a possibility until a minute ago."

Luna looks at a slowly calming Midnight, noting the small, involuntary twitches of the vampony's muscles, "I see… I thought I had mentioned the idea when we last spoke two days ago, but if I did not then that was an oversight on my part. And while we are flattered that so many are concerned for our wellbeing, that does leave us with something of a problem." Luna taps her chin thoughtfully, "Pinkie Pie, I apologize for the short notice, but perhaps you could arrange a gathering at the town hall? Though let us keep it to only 30 to 40 additional guests, I don't think Midnight or the others would be remotely comfortable with any more than that."

Pinkie salutes, "Aye-aye Princess! One welcome-to-Ponyville-even-though-you've-technically-been-here-a-whole-bunch-of-times-already party coming right up!"

Twilight glances at their surroundings as Pinkie Pie dashes off in a pink blur, "Luna, by 'the others', do you mean that more vamponies have come back with you aside from Midnight?"

"Correct," Luna replies shortly, the approach of one of her airborne guards drawing her attention. "Shadow Strike, do you have anything to report?"

Shadow Strike lands a few steps in front of Luna and salutes, "There have been some overly heated arguments, and a couple ponies whom I don't think were showing Princess Twilight proper respect, but nothing has happened that is worth your attention, Princess Luna."

Luna sighs, "It is a relief to know that Ponyville has stayed mostly calm while I was away."

"Believe me, we are all relieved as well," Shadow Strike agrees, dropping his hoof to the ground. "We've heard stories about the kinds of things that happen in this town. May I ask how your negotiations went?"

Luna smiles, looking at the Everfree, "I would not call them negotiations per se, but I would say they went quite well."

Lunar Trail and Midnight follow her gaze, Shadow Strike, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy searching the border of the forest as well. Silence reigns, a hush falling over even the waiting crowd for nearly a minute before Blue Moon and Aurora Moon cautiously step out from behind a pair of trees. Whispers break out as they approach, the murmuring growing louder as Aurora Moon nudges the air next to her, Moon Shadow fading into visibility a moment later.

"Have there always been this many ponies living here?" Moon Shadow asks quietly once the trio comes to a stop just behind Midnight.

Midnight jerks her shoulders in a quick shrug.

Luna meanwhile turns to face the crowd once more, her guards taking point to help cut a path through the mass of ponies as she confidently strides forward, Twilight and the rest of her friends to Luna's right. Lunar Trail and Midnight follow in their wake, the other three vamponies keeping close on Midnight's heels as they do their best to avoid looking at the ponies surrounding them on all sides.

Shadow Strike and another guard trot ahead of the group as they approach the town hall, each holding open one of the double doors until the last of the vamponies passes through. Lowering their hooves, they allow the doors to swing shut, turning to expressionlessly watch the still hundreds-strong crowd mill restlessly just short of the town hall's steps while the other two guards who at been at Luna's arrival – as well as several more who had joined during their walk across town – take up positions encircling the building's exterior.

"This place looks a lot different with the lights on," Moon Shadow comments as she comes to a halt a few steps inside the large room, her eyes darting nervously between the first and second floors.

Blue Moon nods, glancing among the mostly dessert laden furniture taking up much of the space on the first floor, "And with all those tables."

"And with other ponies around," Aurora Moon adds as she watches Pinkie Pie dart from table to table.

Princess Luna turns her head as the vamponies continue their observations, her gaze tracking Ponyville's resident party planner, "Pinkie Pie, have you decided who will be invited? If you could write down their names when you have a moment, I can give it to my guards, and they can begin retrieving the ponies you have chosen."

Pinkie zooms between Luna and Twilight, "I-already-made-a-list-and-gave-it-to-Mayor-Mare!"

Continuing on her current trajectory, Pinkie comes to a halt beside four lined up party cannons and triggers all of them simultaneously, giggling as she watches the chaotically shot material land in an impossibly orderly way.

However, as she examines her finishing touches, her smile morphs into a frown, "Hey, where'd Midnight and the other vamponies go?"

At her words the non-vamponies present glance around, Midnight reappearing clinging to one of the wooden columns supporting the second floor balconies after a few seconds, studiously avoiding the amused look being sent her way by Lunar Trail as he stands beside Luna. A creak draws everypony's attention to the balcony above her to see Moon Shadow peeking down at them from between the rounded balusters beneath the railing, the rustling of a nearby tablecloth quickly following as Blue Moon and Aurora Moon crawl out from underneath one of the many tables on the first floor.

Twilight gives Pinkie a cross look and opens her mouth, but before she can say anything the town hall doors once more open, Vinyl Scratch entering and waving to Pinkie as she pulls a cart stacked high with speakers as well as other various audio equipment, her head bobbing in time to the beat of the music coming from her headphones.

Pinkie waves back, "Hi Vinyl! You're up front!"

Vinyl stays where she is, her head tilting in confusion.

Pinkie cups her hooves, "VINYL, YOU'RE UP FRONT!"

Twilight sighs, silencing Pinkie with one hoof while using the other to point first at Vinyl, then to the area beneath the balcony at the front of the town hall. Vinyl smiles, a couple more rapid than usual dips of her head indicating her understanding before she begins pulling her cart around the tableless edge of the room.

Midnight climbs down from her column once Vinyl passes below, Moon Shadow landing next to Midnight to join her in watching Vinyl unpack her gear and levitate it into place.

"Pinkie Pie, how much longer will you need to prepare?" Luna queries.

"Oh, I'm-" Pinkie's eyes widen as realization cuts off her sentence. Trotting over to a small, round table at the room's center upon which sits a single plate of red-tinted cupcakes with red frosting, she pulls a marker and a small sign from her mane, quickly scribbling a few words on the sign before placing it next to the plate. Taking a step back, Pinkie sticks the marker in her mane and examines her work through narrowed eyes, reaching out after a couple seconds to shift the sign a fraction of an inch to the left, "There! Now I'm ready."

All the other ponies in the room except for Vinyl look at the completed sign, the letters large enough even for Midnight and Moon Shadow to make out from the room's edge.

FOR VAMPONIES ONLY

Luna smiles, "Wonderful. Now, if I could have everypony's attention, I believe some introductions are in order. You all know Mid-" she pauses, her eyes flicking to an oblivious Vinyl Scratch before thinking better of it and clearing her throat. "You all know Midnight, however as you hopefully noticed, a few more vamponies have returned to Ponyville with us as well. The vampony beside Midnight is Moon Shadow," Luna says, pointing first at her, then at the pair of vamponies still standing next to the table they had hidden under, "and this is Blue Moon and Aurora Moon."

"As for the non-vamponies," Luna continues, her hoof drifting over to point at Twilight. "This is Twilight Sparkle, who is an alicorn and a Princess of Equestria like myself, and her friends Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie."

While the named ponies exchange waves of greeting with varying levels of enthusiasm, the door to the town hall opens again, Derpy and Time Turner walking inside to stand uncertainly a few steps from the entrance.

Pinkie redirects her waves towards the newly arrived couple, "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Whooves! You're the first ones here, so make yourselves at home."

Time Turner Whooves and Derpy Whooves smile and nod, scanning both the food spread across the various tables throughout the room and the ponies standing between them. Midnight is the one who catches Time Turner's attention though, the stallion tapping Derpy on the shoulder and taking the lead as the pair weave their way through the tables towards the watchful vampony.

Derpy smiles at Moon Shadow as they approach, Time Turner giving her a glance of acknowledgement before meeting Midnight's eyes. The two examine each other for a second, Time Turner speaking first, "If I'm not mistaken, you're the vampony who was in our house the other night."

Midnight blinks, "I'm surprised you recognize me."

Time Turner shrugs, "I was able to get a glimpse of you during the fight, and then I saw you later at the hospital while I was waiting for Derpy to wake up from that venom-induced sleep you put her in."

"Ah, that makes sense," Midnight replies, keeping her voice neutral though her eyes narrow ever so slightly.

"So, based on that experience, and what Prin – and what Twilight explained earlier today, " Time Turner continues, "you fed on Derpy, correct?"

"Mmm… " Midnight says, considering the statement. "I bit her, so it was my venom, but it was my little sister who drank her blood since she's too young to feed on her own yet."

"You have a sister?" Derpy asks curiously.

Midnight nods, "Yeah, and an older brother too."

"Well, it's nice of you to help her out like that," Derpy replies, gesturing at the pony beside her. "This is Time Turner by the way. What's your name?"

Midnight looks at the floor, shuffling her hooves uncomfortably, "I'm Midnight. And, uh, I guess I'm supposed to ask you this now that we're all out in the open and everything, but is it ok if I come back every once in a while?"

Time Turner glances at Derpy, "I don't know. I understand that you need blood, and that you help a lot with keeping the Everfree by Ponyville under control, but it's still rather creepy to think that you or another vampony might very well be sneaking into our house as soon as Princess Celestia lowers the sun."

Midnight sighs heavily, "Alright then."

"Well, I'm ok with it," Derpy states cheerfully.

Time Turner and Midnight turn to stare at Derpy, their expressions mirroring each other along with their simultaneously spoken words, "You are?"

"Yeah, I mean, it is kind of weird to think about you creeping around our house while we're asleep," Derpy says, hugging Time Turner, "but it's even worse to think about what might've happened if you weren't there. And it's not like anything bad has happened before, so why not?"

Midnight returns her gaze to Time Turner, eyebrows raised.

"I… " Time Turner looks between the expectant vampony and his still snuggling wife, then sighs. "I'll think about it."

Midnight smiles, "Thank you."

"So what's it like, living in the Everfree Forest?" Derpy asks, detaching herself from her husband.

"It's… well… " Midnight pauses, a dozen differences flashing through her mind. "It's completely different. The Everfree has a lot more sounds and scents and shapes – everything in Ponyville is just a square or a triangle or something. You also have to always be on alert when you're moving around, whereas here there's houses and streets everywhere so you can see and hear pretty much everything, which is… it's just… it's weird, for ponies to be so relaxed outside of their homes."

Derpy frowns, "Does your vampony village not have streets or houses?"

Midnight snorts, shaking her head, "There is no 'vampony village', for the most part each family lives in their own cave."

"You live in a cave," Time Turner states.

"Hey, it's a really nice cave," Midnight replies defensively. "It has a lot more space than any of your houses, and an underground river flows through part of it."

Moon Shadow's eyes wander the room as the conversation turns towards the merits of cave-based living, the sign next to Pinkie's reddish cupcakes eventually capturing her interest. Slipping away from the talking trio unnoticed, she quietly makes her way over to stand in front of the vampony-only cupcakes. Picking one of them up, she sniffs it uncertainly, hesitating for a moment before biting off the tip of the cupcake's swirled frosting.

"What do you think?" Pinkie asks, popping into existence next to her.

Moon Shadow starts in surprise, the cupcake hopping out of her hoof at the sudden motion. Pinkie Pie's hoof shoots forward though, catching the falling cupcake and offering it back to Moon Shadow who accepts it while watching the pink pony warily.

"Well~?" Pinkie queries eagerly.

Moon Shadow looks at the cupcake once more resting on her hoof, slowly leaning down to take a bite of both the frosting and the dough, then pulling her head back to chew. The wrapping around the bottom of the cupcake is not so easily bitten off however, the waxy paper detaching from the carefully crafted treat as she lifts her head – the cupcake proceeding to fall to the floor frosting side down.

Moon Shadow looks at the fallen cupcake, the wrapping still held in her teeth, then at Pinkie Pie, her brow knitting in perplexion.

Pinkie giggles, "You're supposed to unwrap the cupcake, then eat it. I guess I should have mentioned that."

"Oh," Moon Shadow replies, the wrapping dropping to the floor as well the moment she opens her mouth. She glances at the wrapping laying on the floor next to the cupcake, then again at Pinkie.

"Well~~?" Pinkie asks again, hopping in barely contained excitement.

Moon Shadow slowly chews the soft piece of pastry a few times before swallowing, "It's kind of bland."

"WHAT?!" Pinkie shouts, Moon Shadow jumping half an inch into the air and an equal distance away from the source of the sound.

"Pinkie, you really must stop scaring the vamponies," Rarity admonishes as she walks over to join them; Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy likewise drawn by Pinkie's exclamation.

"I wasn't scared," Moon Shadow corrects her. "I was startled."

Rarity waves a hoof dismissively, "Regardless, what seems to be the problem?"

"She said my cupcakes were bland, but that doesn't make any sense," Pinkie Pie answers, examining Moon Shadow's cupcake with a magnifying glass. "All I did was add a little extra 'seasoning', so it should have more flavor, not less."

"Why did you say 'seasoning' like-" Rarity starts to ask, her eyebrows creasing in confusion, then rising in realization as she notices which table they are standing next to. "Ooooooh… "

Moon Shadow leans down and takes another bite from the bottom of the cupcake, "I mean, it's not bad, it's just kinda bland."

"Hmm… I wonder… " Twilight murmurs, curiosity piqued. "Pinkie, do you have any plain sugar?"

"Do I have any sugar," Pinkie laughs, pulling a bag of pure sugar out from under the closest table. "C'mon Twilight, what kind of question is that?"

"One that seems a little silly in hindsight," Twilight replies, tearing open the bag with her magic and levitating an approximately one-eighth mouthful of sugar in front of Moon Shadow. "Here, try this."

Moon Shadow eyes the floating sugar suspiciously, carefully sniffing the tiny, purple-glowing crystals before engulfing them with her mouth.

"What does that taste like to you?" Twilight asks once Moon Shadow swallows the sugar.

Moon Shadow's lips quirk distastefully, "It didn't taste like anything, it just dissolved."

Twilight sighs, "I was afraid of that."

"What do you mean, Twilight?" Pinkie asks fearfully, "What's wrong with her?"

"Hang on a minute Pinkie, more data is needed," Twilight says, raising her voice once she locates the two remaining unoccupied vamponies. "Blue Moon! Aurora Moon! Could you come here for a minute?"

The couple walks over to stand next to Moon Shadow, the former sending the latter a questioning look to which Moon Shadow merely shrugs.

Twilight levitates two tiny piles of sugar in front of Blue Moon and Aurora Moon, "Alright, what does this taste like to you?"

They consume the offered sugar, Aurora Moon answering first, "It doesn't taste like anything."

"The dissolving is neat though," Blue Moon adds.

"Twili~ight, what's going on?" Pinkie Pie asks, worry suffusing her voice.

"Well… Pinkie… they, uh… " Twilight takes a deep breath, offering a quick prayer to Celestia for her friend's sanity, "they can't taste sugar."

Pinkie looks at the vamponies, then back at Twilight, "What?"

"Unlike Griffons and Diamond Dogs, Vamponies are obligate carnivores," Twilight explains, "and studies-"

Rainbow Dash raises a hoof.

"It means they only eat meat," Fluttershy supplies.

Twilight nods, "Right, and studies have shown that many of the animals which fall into this category are not only unable to taste sugar, but in fact lack the ability to taste anything we would call sweet at all."

"Hey Pinkie, you alright?" Applejack asks, tracking her friend's slowly increasing lean.

Pinkie Pie turns to stare at Applejack with vacant eyes, her body gradually tilting further and further to the right until she topples to the floor, limp as a wet noodle.

Rainbow Dash snickers, "I'm gonna have to say that's a 'no', AJ."

Pinkie groans and gets up as Applejack rolls her eyes, her tremulous legs holding her weight just long enough for her to wrap her forelegs around Moon Shadow's neck and shoulders in a hug, "I am so. Sorry."

Moon Shadow stands stock still, eyes wide and ears pinned to her skull.

Twilight facehoofs, the purple glow of her magic surrounding Pinkie Pie to pull her off the frozen vampony and place her next to Fluttershy. Pinkie once more begins to lean as soon as the support of Twilight's magic disappears, Fluttershy embracing Pinkie Pie with a feathered wing to hold her upright and in place. Moon Shadow breathes in deeply once Pinkie is safely away and under Fluttershy's wing, though the opening of the town hall doors interrupts her slow exhalation, any regained calmness vanishing as she turns to see more ponies flowing into the room.

Mayor Mare steps forward as the last of the party invitees pass through the doorway, Luna and Lunar Trail meeting her midway between those who had just entered and those already in the room.

Mayor Mare bows, "Hello, Princess Luna."

"Greetings to you as well, Mayor," Luna replies, smiling as she quickly counts the number of ponies who had entered with Mayor Mare. "I trust everypony is aware of why they were asked to be here?"

Mayor nods amid murmurs of assent from the small crowd behind her, "We are, your highness."

"Good," Luna states. "In that case, I believe there is little more which needs to be said, other than introducing our guests of honor tonight."

"Next to the Element Bearers are Moon Shadow, Blue Moon, and Aurora Moon," she continues. "And over there is Midnight. Despite our differences, and past failings, they volunteered to openly come to Ponyville so that we may be able to better know and understand one another, and they are perhaps the first of their kind to do so in the entire history of our races. It is my hope that we will be able to extend to them the same friendship and respect which we already show each other."

"Now I believe Pinkie Pie has some games and activities planned, which I will allow her to explain to you," Luna states, giving a still somewhat dazed Pinkie Pie an expectant look before returning her attention to Mayor. "Also, Mayor Mare, before you join in the festivities, I would speak with you in private."

"I – yes, of course, Princess Luna," Mayor replies.

Luna turns to head towards one of the town hall's smaller back rooms, Lunar remaining at her side and Mayor Mare following in their wake, only to pause after a few steps as her eyes land on Ponyville's resident princess, "Twilight Sparkle, I believe you should hear what I have to say as well."

Twilight glances between Princess Luna and Mayor Mare, nodding as her face sets in a determined expression.

"By 'private', I also mean just the three of us," Luna says, looking down at Lunar Trail as Twilight walks over to stand on her other side. "Besides, this is a party, and you have performed admirably over these last few days. Stay and have some fun."

Lunar blinks in surprise, then bows, "Thank you, Princess."

Pinkie meanwhile suppresses any lingering existential horror stemming from the recent revelation regarding vampony taste buds and takes Luna's place between the two groups, her usual cheeriness and energy on full display as she surveys the fresh batch of partygoers, "So! As you can all see, there's a ton of food here, so help yourself. That said, caffeine is still banned as per royal decree, so all the coffee is decaf. However! There should be more than enough awesome sugary treats to make up for it and just in case it's somehow not enough, I've hidden a bag of 100% pure sugar under each of the tables. As for the entertainment, Vinyl Scratch is providing the music, so be sure to spend some time dancing to her sick beats! There's also pin the tail on the pony, darts, and bean bag toss set up right now plus a few more things later once I've had a little bit more time to get them ready. And don't forget, have fun!"

As soon as Pinkie's speech ends, Lunar Trail makes a beeline for Midnight as she, Derpy, and Time Turner trot over to the makeshift dance floor in front of Vinyl's unpacked wall of speakers, Midnight awkwardly attempting to mimic the moves of her three fellow dancers once the music starts to play.

Moon Shadow, Blue Moon, and Aurora Moon meanwhile walk over to several townsponies preparing to play pin the tail on the pony, the two groups watching each other and fidgeting nervously.

"So… " Moon Shadow says eventually, "how do we play?"

Luna closes the door after Twilight and Mayor Mare leave to join the party, smiling to herself as the wooden obstruction no longer completely blocks out the growing sounds of the festivities.

Are you ready, Selena?

Selena sighs, I'm as ready as I'll ever be.

Flicking the light switch with her magic, Luna closes her eyes, a single strand of white energy winding its way up her horn.

Chapter 20.5 Clearing the Air

The pervasive yet gentle luminescence of the dreamscape rapidly replaces the darkness beneath Luna's closed eyelids and she blinks a few times, scanning the area for her mental companion as her eyes adjust to the light, "Selena?"

"Over here!" Selena calls out from nowhere nearby, distance quieting her voice and the multitude of hovering doors further obstructing her location.

However, Selena's words are also accompanied by a tug on Luna's consciousness, the pull rotating her like a compass' needle until she faces the direction from which Selena's voice originated. Spreading her wings, Luna pushes against the incorporeal air, flying towards the strengthening pull until Selena comes into view, the dream mare floating beside the familiar wooden door to Celestia's resting mind. Stopping momentarily in front of the door, Luna twists the knob and pushes it open, gravity exerting itself as her body passes through the door frame to hold her to the white marble floor of Canterlot Castle's throne room. Selena follows Luna into the dream, her form dissolving into sparkling smoke as soon as she fully enters, merging seamlessly with Luna's shadow.

Luna does not move further into the dream however, her eyes narrowing as she examines the large, otherwise empty room, "This is not right."

What do you mean? Selena asks, her voice as loud as though she were standing beside Luna rather than hiding below her.

Luna's gaze sweeps the room again before responding, pausing for an instant on each out of place imperfection, "The castle is not this damaged in the real world. Look at the floor; there are cracks everywhere. Some of the columns too, and the right arm of the throne is chipped."

Surprise filters back to Luna as Selena notices the state of the room, suspicion rapidly taking its place, That is a bit more than a chip. And everything just seems… greyer, too. You don't think… ?

"I do not know," Luna replies, turning slowly on her heel and taking a few wary steps towards the throne room's exit, her eyes widening as she sees one of the double doors hanging from the wall by a single bent hinge. "I cannot sense any nightmare, but all the same, we must be on our guard."

An image of Selena nodding determinedly appears in Luna's mind's eye for an instant, Agreed.

Pushing open the undamaged door, the pair leave the room and take a left, their nerves fraying as they wander through the seemingly abandoned castle – multiple times Luna whirling with her horn glowing and lowered towards an unexpected sound only to find it to have been a wind from nowhere pushing on a squeaky door or a piece of rock falling from a freshly formed fracture in the walls or ceiling.

As the pair rounds yet another corner, the sound of a single set of steel-shod hooves marching on stone suddenly cuts through the silence, the sound emanating from a corridor further ahead to their right. A stray spark pops off Luna's horn as she and Selena wait, the aura enveloping her horn pulsing rhythmically as she takes a defensive stance, waiting for whatever approaches. Several seconds later, a Royal Guard exits the corridor, stoically continuing his march despite Luna's threatening posture until he's only a few strides away.

Coming to a halt, he looks up at Luna, meeting her eyes for the first time, "Are you here to see the Princess?"

"We are," Luna replies, keeping her tone carefully neutral.

The guard watches her unblinkingly, nodding after a moment and mechanically turning around to face the way he had come, "Follow me."

Luna hesitates, remaining where she is until the guard stops and looks back at her expectantly. Forcing her hooves into motion, she follows his lead through the crumbling castle, making sure to stay a couple paces behind her guide while keeping her horn lit and at the ready. Eventually the trio arrive at a pair of large metal doors, an image of the sun emblazoned across them, though Luna's gaze is drawn to a large dent marring the door on the right.

Veering away from their destination, the guard takes his place standing next to the dented door and facing them, "You may enter."

His duty done, the guard stares straight ahead, becoming still enough to be mistaken for a statue if not for the slow expansion and contraction of his abdomen.

Walking forward, Luna pushes on the undamaged door, squinting against the onslaught of golden light which pours out to meet her, the light repairing everything it touches to return the entirety of the hallway behind her to its former glory. Taking another step, Luna fully enters the room, the door swinging shut as she does so – the hallway's repairs flickering and fading as soon as the closing door cuts off the light from within.

An inviting warmth surrounds Luna as she stands just inside the room, but she shrugs it off, a quick examination revealing none of the defects plaguing the rest of the castle aside from the dented door – the pleasant glow bathing the room seemingly coming from each of the stones making up the floor, walls, and ceiling rather than any central light source. Looking straight ahead, her gaze lands upon a mass of parchment stacked on – and piled around – an ancient oaken desk, Celestia sitting behind it while a stallion dressed in pre-eminently professional attire sits on a white and black checkered pillow in front of her.

"I understand that, Decimal Place," Celestia says tiredly, Luna's presence not drawing so much as a glance, "but-"

"With all due respect, but nothing, your highness," Decimal Place interrupts tartly. "For better or worse, they are living within Equestria, on Equestrian territory. Thus, they are part of Equestria, and must be subject to its laws. Even the Crystal 'Empire', as a semi-autonomous province, pays their dues to the crown. If you grant the changelings an exception, then the crystal ponies will start to question why they can't have an exception as well, and so on and so forth. And then you must consider those changelings living primarily within non-changeling communities. Would they then be exempt from taxation as well? What about mixed couples, and mixed families? Exceptions will not make sound policy here, Princess."

Celestia sighs, rubbing her eyes, "I know, I know… I am just running out of ideas of how to justify it to them."

Decimal Place glances at Luna, then stands, giving Celestia a brisk bow, "In any case, I will take my leave. I look forward to your decision, your highness."

Stopping in front of Luna, Decimal Place offers her a bow as well before pushing open the doors and exiting into the rest of the castle. Luna walks up to Celestia's desk as the door once more closes, pushing Decimal Place's pillow aside and summoning a larger, entirely blue pillow for herself to sit on while Celestia attempts to organize one of the smaller stacks of paper.

"Where is Twilight when you need her?" Celestia mutters to herself.

Luna glances between her sister and the piles of paper, clearing her throat when Celestia remains oblivious to her existence, "I could attempt to bring her here, if you wish."

"Oh! No, there's no… need… " Celestia blinks owlishly at Luna, groaning as she takes another look at her surroundings. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

"You are," Luna confirms.

Celestia grunts, "And I would seem to be dreaming about taxes."

"So it would seem," Luna agrees.

Celestia glances around the room again, "Well, in that case… "

Celestia's horn flares to life, the mountains of parchment bursting harmlessly into flame – innumerable tax documents incinerated to nothing in mere seconds.

"Better?" Luna asks, the ends of her mouth twitching upwards.

Celestia leans back from her now scorched desk, smiling with satisfaction, "Much."

Luna chuckles, "Though I am loath to bring up another such serious topic, if taxation of the hives is what you are worrying about, can I assume your meeting with Fluttershy's mother went well?"

"The beginning was somewhat rough," Celestia admits, "but once those difficulties were resolved, everything went quite smoothly."

Luna raises an eyebrow, "And by 'rough', you mean… ?"

"Well… " Celestia shuffles her hooves uncomfortably. "She tried to suffocate me."

Luna's other eyebrow shoots up and she stares wide-eyed at her sister, "What?!"

"So then I blasted her into the wall," Celestia adds. "Twice."

"You-you… the queen, you… " Luna sputters, gaping at Celestia as words fail her.

"But, as I said, everything went very well after that," Celestia states defensively. "Queen Amaranth agreed to pass along our letter to the other changeling queens once we write it. Also, it turns out one of Photo Finish's assistants is Fluttershy's other parent, and said parent is a pegasus rather than a changeling. She is an… interesting pony to speak with."

Luna shakes her head, the motion helping to restart her thought processes, "I… see… well then, that is good, we suppose."

Celestia's ears twitch and she narrows her eyes, giving Luna a once-over followed by an increasingly close examination of her dream room.

"Is something the matter?" Luna queries as Celestia's gaze rakes the ceiling.

"You said 'we'," Celestia answers, returning her attention to Luna.

"Ah," Luna says, wincing internally. "So I did."

"She is here then?" Celestia asks, "Your friend?"

"She is," Luna replies, shooting a quick glance at her shadow.

Celestia waits a moment, speaking again when Luna does not elaborate, "May I meet her?"

Luna opens her mouth, hesitating for an instant before replying, "I realize you said you wanted to meet her when I returned to Canterlot, but are you sure you would not rather wait until I have returned to the real Canterlot?"

Celestia shakes her head, "We are all here, we may as well do it now."

Luna glances down again, Selena?

OK, just… g-give me a minute, Selena replies, a slight tremble in her voice.

"She will be out in a minute," Luna states, looking back up at Celestia. "She is just a little nervous."

Celestia nods, but says nothing, her expression inscrutable.

True to Luna's word, a blob of darkness detaches from her shadow after a minute passes, Celestia automatically leaning away as the shadow takes the shape of an alicorn whose deep blue coat and eyes are nearly as dark as the shadow from which she formed, her flowing mane and tail appearing as an ever-shifting window into the void itself. Selena fidgets nervously as the white-coated alicorn examines her, Celestia's eyes widening slightly when they land on Selena's cutie mark of a gibbous moon – none of the three alicorns noticing as a few of the glowing stones from which the room is constructed flicker out, greyness consuming the rectangular rocks while tiny fractures spread across them.

"This," Luna says, breaking the silence, "is Selena."

Celestia smiles courteously in response, "Hello Selena, I'm-"

"Celestia!" Selena blurts out, immediately looking at the floor, her ears pinned down, "Sorry I didn't mean – sorry."

"It's fine," Celestia replies, her smile wobbling ever so slightly. "Don't worry about it."

Silence quickly reclaims the room as Luna glances worriedly between Celestia and Selena, Selena staring determinedly at the floor while Celestia calmly watches her.

"So… " Celestia says as the time between words nears its second minute, "you live in Luna's mind?"

Selena rapidly jerks her head up and down, eyes darting to Celestia for an instant before returning to the floor, "Yes."

"And," Celestia continues once it becomes clear Selena does not plan to say anything else, "since you originate from the dream realm, do you assist Luna with her duties here?"

Selena nods, her head moving a little more slowly this time as she glances over at her host, "I usually just find where Luna needs to go; Luna is the one who confronts a nightmare or gives ponies advice for their problems."

"Do not sell yourself short," Luna adds encouragingly. "I could not cover nearly the ground on my own as we do together, and when it comes down to it you can definitely hold your own against any of the other less-than-savory dream creatures."

Selena ducks her head at the compliment, murmuring something incomprehensible.

Celestia's smile widens and relaxes, the expression no longer originating solely from politeness, "Well, no matter what your role, I am glad that you and Luna are watching over all our dreams."

"Y-You are?" Selena stammers.

"Of course," Celestia replies, "though I am curious; what do you do while Luna is awake? Since as you said you are living within Luna's mind rather than living in the dreamscape and sharing some sort of telepathic connection with her, I would assume that you only have access to the dreamscape when she does."

"Well, that's right, I don't," Selena answers. "Have access to the dreamscape when Luna is awake, I mean. S-So… while Luna's awake, I-I… I usually-"

"She is the peanut gallery," Luna interrupts, grinning.

Selena flushes, a barely reddish tint managing to cover her face, "Lunaaaa."

Luna snickers in response.

Celestia frowns, more thin cracks spidering across the wall to her right, "Then Selena is watching everything you do?"

"I suppose that is true," Luna says with a shrug. "However, she also helps to provide an alternative perspective on many situations, as well as simply being somepony to bounce ideas off of." She bumps Selena's shoulder playfully, "Or somepony to play I Spy or other such games with on the occasion a noble wishes to give a particularly long-winded speech."

Selena looks at Luna, a nervous smile flickering across her face.

"I see," Celestia replies, glancing at the floor for a moment as she considers her next question. "And while I do not mean to offend, I feel I need to ask – is she at all related to the Nightmare Moon entity?"

"That's n-not really-" Selena interrupts herself, swallowing loudly before again attempting to answer. "That's not really a valid question, actually."

Celestia looks to Luna, her brow knit in confusion.

"What she means is that there is no separate 'Nightmare Moon' entity, technically speaking," Luna clarifies.

Additional cracks begin to make their way across the floor from where Celestia is sitting, sneaking from under her luxurious white sitting pillow to make their way beneath the burnt desk in front of her, "What?"

Luna sighs, "Despite how long Selena has been with me, we still tend to look at many things very differently, which allows one of us to reign in the other's more extreme reactions to some situations by providing an alternate point of view. However, that did not happen leading up to our banishment 1000 years ago. During that time we were both displeased with how we were being treated, so instead of helping each other to find balance we ended up reinforcing each other, our mind becoming an echo chamber of our own anger." She pauses, her gaze dropping to the desk between them for a second before continuing, "So, 'Nightmare Moon' is less of an independent entity, and more a figment of our escalating insanity driven by our rage as well as our delving into no small amount of black magic once our hatred began growing out of control."

"So you lied to me about being possessed," Celestia states flatly.

Luna shifts uncomfortably, "It was a lie of omission, perhaps. You were the one who assumed I had been possessed, and looking back on it now, after having been cleansed by the Elements, it does feel as though we had been possessed by something, even if it was only our own madness. However," Luna bows her head and closes her eyes, Selena following suit, "I am sorry for allowing your assumption to go uncorrected, sister."

Celestia inhales deeply, holding it for an instant, then letting out a long, slow exhalation, "I forgive you – both of you – as long as you don't 'omit' things of this magnitude in the future."

"Thanks," Selena says quietly, raising her head.

Luna bobs her head in agreement, looking up as well, "Is there anything else you wish to know?"

"How long have you two known each other?" Celestia asks after a moment of thought, "From the sound of things she has been with you since before the Nightmare Moon incident, and by a fairly significant margin at that."

"Umm… well… " Luna replies, her gaze sliding over to stare at the wall to her right for a few seconds before she sighs and looks back at Celestia. "She has been with me prior to even our meeting."

Celestia's eyes widen, "So she was there during… "

Luna nods, "During our conflict, yes. In fact, we would alternate nights where either I, or her disguised as me, would inflict nightmares on your warriors while the other would watch over our thestrals."

White light covers Selena's body as Luna speaks, the magical glow fading to reveal a perfect copy of Luna standing beside the real one for a couple seconds before Selena returns to her previous form.

"That… does explain a few things, actually," Celestia murmurs. "Still, it has been millennia since that era, and you never once told me about her?"

"It never seemed like a good time," Luna answers matter-of-factly. "The truce we established following our locating the Elements and Discord's subsequent defeat was quite tenuous for many years, during which time keeping her existence a secret from you was a significant tactical advantage to the point that very few thestrals even knew she existed, not to mention that revealing her to you may well have reignited the conflict all on its own. Then once our mutual animosity died down, and friendship began to take its place, it did not seem worth bringing up – there was very little to gain by telling you and quite a bit to lose. By the time that phase passed, and we started to truly and completely trust one another and see the other as a sister, it had been the way it was for so long that the thought of telling you no longer crossed our mind."

"Fair enough, I suppose," Celestia says tiredly. "I still wish you had told me earlier though."

Luna shrugs, a couple small pieces of rubble bouncing off her shoulder as she does so.

Celestia blinks as she notices the falling debris, her ears twitching at the sound of it hitting the floor, "That's odd… "

Luna gives her sister a flat look, "Celestia, what is the matter? Clearly something is bothering you beyond my not telling you about Selena."

"I don't know what you mean," Celestia replies brusquely. "Nothing is wrong."

"This dream is very nearly falling apart," Luna states, pointing to the various cracks marring the room while Selena points at the dent in the room's door, Celestia's eyes widening as she follows their hooves. "That which fell on me is the least of it – the entire rest of the castle outside of this room is in an even worse state of disrepair."

"I don't know. You two are the ones with power over dreams, why don't you tell me why my dream looks like this?" Celestia demands, accusation tainting her tone.

"Tia, you just spoke of how you wished I had been more open and honest with you, and have wasted no opportunity since our return to remind me that you are willing to listen if anything is troubling me," Luna says, her voice gentle. "However, the same also applies to you. If something is troubling you, I would hope you would tell me about it rather than allowing it to fester. We both know all too well what the latter action can lead to."

Celestia's hostility melts away as quickly as it had appeared and she stares at her desk, ears lowering, "It… it's nothing, really… "

Luna waits expectantly, meeting Celestia's eyes and holding her gaze when she looks up.

"There's just been so much changing since your return, and while I do not believe they are related nor would I trade anything for having you with me once again, it seems like it has been disaster after disaster from the more minor ones which afflict Ponyville on a sometimes weekly basis all the way up to Discord trying to reconquer Equestria, Queen Chrysalis trying to conquer Equestria, Sombra getting free from his prison and not only attempting to reconquer the Crystal Empire but then reappearing in Ponyville of all places – the process of recapturing him not only revealing the vamponies and our crimes against them but a whole mess of changeling hives as well! And then it turns out you've had somepony else living in your head the entire time I've known you and you never felt like-" Celestia cuts herself off and closes her eyes, reopening them after her breathing calms just in time to see a couple larger pieces of rock fall to the floor behind Luna. "It can be quite overwhelming at times, to say the least. But, there is no rest for the weary, as they say," she adds wryly, the multiple sets of cracks around the room receding somewhat as she regains her composure. "So, how did your meeting with the vamponies go?"

Luna and Selena trade looks, annoyance crossing Celestia's face as she senses a silent understanding pass between them.

"Do not worry about the vamponies," Luna says, turning back to Celestia, "we can handle that situation on our own. You, on the other hoof, should take a break from all of this for a few days and try to relax."

"Relax?!" Celestia exclaims incredulously, "How can I relax? The vamponies are a predatory powder keg, the changelings… are… changelings, meanwhile Sombra is imprisoned beneath the castle, and on top of all of that the press is going to have an absolute field day with any one of those things once this starts getting out. I can't just drop everything for a few days and take a break; it would be irresponsible of me as a leader to let any of that sit rather than working towards a resolution, much less all of it."

"Just because you are one of Equestria's rulers does not mean you constantly need to have a hoof in everything of any importance going on," Luna replies steadfastly. "You need to be able to trust others to handle the affairs of state from time to time. Besides, finding a way to end Sombra once and for all will undoubtedly take months of research and experimentation, if not more. Adding a few more days to that count will make little difference."

"But-"

"As for the changelings," Luna says, pushing through her sister's attempted protestation effortlessly, "the only next step is to write a letter to the remaining queens, and as said letter will be drafted in cooperation with myself, Cadence, and Twilight, the only possible action you can take is to send a missive requesting Cadence's presence in Canterlot in a few days, at which point I will also have brought Twilight with me from Ponyville. Unless of course you were planning on writing the entire letter yourself, and were then going to present it for tweaking once the rest of us arrived."

Celestia glances away sheepishly, her denial of the charge dying in her throat.

"The vamponies are certainly a more immediate concern due to their location and nature," Luna continues, "however, as I said, Selena and I will handle that situation. And while there are of course the day to day meetings and responsibilities, none of them are so important that you cannot delegate or postpone them for a few days. As for the press… " she grins mischievously, "we suggest directing them to Discord, and giving him mostly free reign over what to do when asked any questions."

"I… I suppose… that could work," Celestia wavers as she processes Luna's suggestion, worry creeping into her voice. "Are you sure you're ready though?"

"Dearest sister," Luna replies, raising her nose in mock offense, "it has been nearly four years since our return, of course we are ready."

Luna lowers her nose after a brief pause, a gentle smile replaces her faked offense, "Besides, you have done so much for Equestria while we were banished, and while we re-acclimated; it is far past time we began pulling our own weight. So please, promise us you will actually take a break. Spend a day or two at the spa, get a few massages, eat some cake, I can raise and lower the sun if you wish to sleep in, or if there is anything else you would like us to do from Ponyville you need only to name it. After all," she adds teasingly, "once our negotiations with the hives begin, we can't have you blasting any more queens into walls now, can we?"

"That was not my fault," Celestia objects, fighting back a giggle. "She started that fight, I merely made sure to finish it."

Luna grins, "In any case, you cannot tell us that all of these recent changes aside from my return are for the worst. Perhaps you should take the opportunity to spend more time with Discord, when he isn't playing with whichever poor fool decided to bother him for answers or a quote."

Celestia's mood collapses at Luna's words and she recoils, "That's not – you know?! For how long?! Does anypony else-"

"Peace, peace," Luna says, quickly moving through the desk separating them as though it were not there to embrace Celestia. "Did you really think that we would not notice how close you and Discord have become? He may, quite literally, be many things, but 'subtle' is not one of them. And while he may not be the very special some…one we would have expected, we are happy as long as he makes you happy. Now, spend some time with him rather than worrying about the vamponies, the changelings, and everything else."

"You didn't say if anypony else knows," Celestia points out after a couple tense seconds.

"Do not worry about it," Luna replies.

Celestia takes a deep breath and allows her mind to empty, "Okay. I'll try."

Luna releases Celestia from her hug and takes a step back, "I am glad to hear it."

"And… I guess… " Celestia says, false reluctance lacing her tone, "if you're really going to force my hoof like this… sleeping in for the first time in over a thousand years does sound nice."

Luna backs up a few more steps to once more stand beside Selena, the latter wasting no time in rejoining the shadow of the former, "Consider it done. However, we have taken more than enough time from your slumber, and will let you return to your dreaming. If there is anything else you would have us do, please do not hesitate to send us a letter via Spike."

Celestia raises a foreleg to shield her eyes against a stinging burst of white light, glancing around in confusion once it dissipates as she finds Luna gone and herself sitting against an oak tree in the middle of a strangely familiar meadow. The feeling of two small hooves wrapped around one of her own makes its way to her mind as she attempts to process the sudden change in scenery, and she glances down to see a filly Twilight with a small flower woven into her mane hugging one of her forelegs, Celestia tentatively raising her other foreleg to feel a similar flower in her own mane. A tugging sensation interrupts her epiphany though, and she looks back at the hoof claimed by Twilight to find it now partially covered in a purple glow, Twilight's telekinesis straining to pull her away from the tree.

"Come on, Princess!" Twilight says urgently, "There's something I need to show you!"

Celestia allows the tiny unicorn to drag her to her hooves, pausing to look up at the sky, her eyes lingering on one of only a few clouds floating high in the otherwise clear blue ocean above her, Thank you.

Letting her lucidity fade, Celestia allows the dream to reclaim her awareness as she follows Twilight, the galloping filly only just able to keep ahead of her mentor's much longer strides.

Luna and Selena observe the dream Twilight lead Celestia towards a small pond from their place atop the largest cloud in the sky, both their heads pushed through the floor of the cloud but covered with its fluffy moisture to leave only their eyes at all visible to those below.

"You know," Selena comments as she continues watching, "if you are going to speak to Celestia about being trusting and open with each other, then you should listen to your own words and tell her about the Tantabus."

"No," Luna replies sharply. "She has more than enough on her mind without me burdening her further with my own problems."

"Maybe," Selena says, raising her head from the cloud, "but she would want to know anyway, Luna. Do you really think she'd-"

The rest of her question never makes it out of her mouth as she turns towards Luna, instead finding an open doorway leading to the rest of the dreamscape. Sighing, she takes one last look at Celestia and Twilight through the pair of holes left in the cloud from their heads, then flies after Luna, the door vanishing as it closes behind her.

Caramel pushes open the door leading to the rear of the town hall, the glow of Vinyl's magic holding it ajar for him as he carefully eases himself through the doorway, simultaneously attempting to not unbalance the pair of folded tables stacked on his back while also keeping them from hitting the door frame. Once fully through, the door ceases glowing and swings shut to block the last dying sounds of the party, leaving Caramel alone with his thoughts.

Trotting down the hallway, he stops in front of one of the rooms, the image of a table carved into the wood of the small square sign on the wall next to it. Gently lowering the tables to the floor, Caramel turns the knob and opens the door, sticking his head inside to look for a doorstop only to be stymied by the complete and utter darkness hiding most of the room. Squinting, he takes a couple steps into the room, freezing as he hears movement to his right. Slowly rotating his head towards the sound, his eyes meet a pair of blood red ones, the slitted pupils contracting against the unwelcome light coming through the doorway. Slowly turning his head to face forward, he scans the rest of the mostly empty room, three more pairs of red eyes opening to squint at him as he does so.

"Sorry," Caramel whispers, silently backing out of the room and closing the door.

Leaving the tables on the floor, Caramel trots back to the main room of the town hall, returning a minute later to hang a sign on the handle of the door to the table-room before lifting the tables to lean them against the wall. Cantering once more to the main room, Caramel opens the door and steps away, holding it for Colgate as she walks past him levitating a mashed together blob of leftover cake.

However, as she walks down the hallway, the sign catches her attention and she pauses to read it.

DO NOT ENTER

Her eyes move from the sign to the doorknob, curiosity urging her to open the door anyway. Tired disinterest eventually wins out though, and she shrugs to herself before continuing on her path to elsewhere.

Author's Note

I realized after a few comments on a recent chapter that I haven't been portraying Celestia in the best of lights, so hopefully this provides something of an explanation for some of her behavior.

Chapter 21 The Plan

Luna stirs and opens her eyes, her back thanking her for sleeping on a cushioned surface as she once more stares up at the darkened ceiling of Twilight Sparkle's library. After taking a moment to stretch her legs towards the wood-blocked sky, Luna rolls straight from the couch onto her hooves, swaying slightly as she yawns and looks around. Night Glider, Shadow Strike, and Lunar Trail salute as her gaze finds them, her scan of the recently cleaned and reshelved room continuing until it lands on a basket full of personal hygiene products tactfully placed partially beneath the armrest at the other end of the couch, the gift decorated so ornately with gems and ribbon as to have only possibly come from one pony.

Selena snickers, How subtle of her.

Rarity does have something of a point though, Luna admits, the feeling of dirt and dust on her coat, leftover from their journey through the Everfree and daytime stay in an abandoned castle, suddenly becoming uncomfortably noticeable.

“Night Glider,” Luna says, returning her attention to the three thestrals standing in the room with her, “are the rest of the Night Guard awake?”

Night Glider shakes his head, “I don’t think so. None of them have come up here, and we haven’t heard any movement from the tunnels.”

Luna nods, “I see. Please wake them and wait for me here.”

“At once, Princess,” Night Glider replies, both he and his fellow guards bowing before turning and disappearing down the tunnel to Twilight’s basement.

Taking her leave of the library as well, Luna walks over to the blackout curtains blocking access to the kitchen, preemptively raising a hoof to shield her eyes before pushing the light-impervious cloth aside with a simple telekinesis spell and walking into the light.

“Good evening, Luna,” Twilight greets through a mouthful of food, looking up from a green bowl filled with her breakfast as Luna lets the curtains fall back into place behind her. Swallowing, Twilight levitates a large box sitting beside her bowl, “Oats?”

Luna lowers her leg, eyes stinging as she squints at the box.

Sweet Oats

Grown and Honeyed Locally!

Luna smiles gratefully, “Thank you, that sounds wonderful.”

Opening one of her cabinets, Twilight levitates another bowl, this one a deep blue, in front of Luna, topping it off with oats before placing the box back on the table.

Luna lowers her nose to just above the recently poured food and inhales deeply, her eyes distant as she devours a mouthful of the oats, “Mmm~… normal food always tastes so much better after having eaten far too many desserts.”

Twilight chuckles, “I know what you mean. I’ll never understand how Pinkie manages to keep enjoying her sweets day after day, regardless of how good they are.”

“'Tis a great mystery indeed,” Luna agrees, snickering. “And yet, it is merely one of many surrounding the most enigmatic of the Pie clan.”

“Twilight, I’m back!” Spike calls out as he walks in through the open door to the outside, stopping to glance between the two giggling mares. “Did I miss something?”

“Not at all, young Spike,” Luna answers cheerfully. “Though, on the topic of food, were you able to procure the apples I requested last morning?”

Spike smiles proudly, “Yup! I just walked here with Big Mac and Cheerilee; they left four bushels of them outside, plus one empty one. Should I bring them in? The apples, I mean. Big Mac and Cheerilee aren’t here anymore; they said they were going to try and get to the town hall before too many other ponies showed up.”

Luna shakes her head, “There is no need.”

Levitating her bowl, Luna walks past Spike to stand partially through the open door, a muted burst of light from beyond the doorway quickly followed by a flurry of muffled hoofsteps and wingbeats from the library.

“We noticed that you obtained a couple gallons of carrot juice as well,” Luna says, looking at Spike as she steps fully back into the kitchen.

Spike shrugs, “As good as the Apple’s apples are, I figured some variety would be nice.”

“Our thanks, the thought is appreciated,” Luna replies, bobbing her head once before returning her gaze to Twilight. “And thanks again to you as well, Twilight, for allowing us and our thestrals to stay here, and on such short notice.”

Twilight waves a hoof dismissively, “What are friends for?”

“Still, we feel we must also apologize for forcing such a drastic change to your sleep schedule,” Luna replies, honoring the question’s rhetorical nature rather than arguing the point. “I know this is not the usual time for you to be eating breakfast.”

Twilight shrugs as she consumes a small mouthful of oats, quickly chewing and swallowing before answering, “It isn’t that different, honestly. I was researching – well, attempting to research – chaos magic before all of this started, so I was already staying up pretty late. Some days I’d eat breakfast only a couple hours earlier than I am now.”

“We are glad to know that our presence has not caused you too much trouble,” Luna says. “And though I am loath to burden your hospitality further, may I make use of your balcony and your bathroom?”

“You may,” Twilight replies, smiling slightly at the correctness of Luna’s request.

Luna gives a nod of thanks, levitating her bowl with her as she walks towards the library, only to pause in front of the curtains and look back at Twilight, “Also, have you had any further thoughts on my proposed plan since last night?”

Twilight shakes her head, “Not really. You have some good points, and logically I think your plan makes a lot of sense, but I just can’t shake the feeling that it still won’t be enough. The changelings I’m not so worried about, especially since Fluttershy agreed to help with the announcement, but also because the worst case scenario for them would be to either move somewhere else and take another form, or to return to their hives. The vamponies don’t have the benefit of any of them embodying an Element of Harmony though, and we don’t have any backup plans besides telling them ‘please go hide by some other town and try not to get caught until we think of something else’, which would then cause a whole bunch of new problems for Ponyville too – assuming they’d even agree to leave.”

Twilight hesitates, looking at Luna uncertainly, “I… suppose we could cite the few existing laws Equestria has regarding endangered species, since vamponies would almost certainly qualify, but at that point we might as well just decree whatever we want for all the good it would do to actually convince anypony.”

“I would be lying if I said we did not share your worries,” Luna says solemnly, though a smile nonetheless manages to make its ways across her lips as she speaks. “But, if last night’s party is anything to go by, then I am also confident that our worries are misplaced.”

Twilight’s lips curve into a small smile as well, and she nods, “I hope so.”

Leaving Twilight to finish her meal, Luna re-enters the library, the smile adorning her muzzle slowly replaced by a frown as she sees all but one of her thestrals gathered around four bushels, each of the wooden containers holding a steadily decreasing supply of apples as the fruits’ shrunken husks are tossed into the fifth bushel. Meanwhile, a lone guard sits a few feet away from her comrades, an amused grin on her face, several drained apples at her side, and a miniature, gallon-sized barrel of carrot juice held in her hooves as she watches the feeding frenzy.

Draining the last few mouthfuls from the undersized barrel, the carrot juice drinking guard places it on the floor next to the remains of the apples she had consumed, lazily sending a glance towards the shaft of light coming from the alicorn-wide gap in the curtains to the kitchen, then returning her gaze to the feasting taking place in front of her. Less than a second later her eyes widen and she jumps to her hooves, sparing enough time to chuck a few apple husks at her fellow guards before standing at attention, the annoyance of those hit by her projectiles lasting only until they look over at what had caused her to throw them.

Once she has the undivided attention of every last one of her guards, Luna steps further into the library, the gap in the curtains closing behind her with an ominous swish.

“We see that you have all donned your full armor,” Luna states disapprovingly.

“Yes, Princess!” several thestrals reply not quite simultaneously, their responses overlapping disharmoniously.

“Including your steel hoofshoes,” Luna adds, her eyes narrowing in the ensuing silence. “Which you are using to walk upon the wooden floor of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s place of residence.”

The thestrals’ eyes widen in horror as they look down to see the nicked up wood beneath their hooves, all 28 of them hastily pulling off their shoes and placing them to the side of the room while Luna walks past.

“If Princess Twilight wishes for the damage to her floor to be repaired, you will all be volunteering to aid her in that task,” Luna says from part way up the stairs to the second floor, Rarity’s gift basket glowing blue and rising to float behind her bowl of oats.

Reaching the highest balcony of Twilight’s tree house, Luna exhales slowly, releasing the annoyance caused by her guards into the evening air. Turning to the west, she munches on her oats as she watches the last minutes of the day pass, gently pushing her sister’s sun beneath the horizon before turning to the east, the moon beginning its ascent under her command and supervision.

Descending the way she had come once her pair of tasks are complete, Luna stops at Twilight’s bathroom, placing the basket as well as the now empty bowl on the floor. Taking a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste from among the many other hygiene-focused products, she begins systematically purging her mouth of plaque, her eyes watering as the minty tasting paste comes into contact with her tongue.

I would have preferred chocolate flavored, personally, Selena comments.

Luna rolls her eyes, Quiet, you.

Placing the toothbrush and paste back into the basket once her teeth are sufficiently clean, she rinses her mouth, levitates a bar of scented soap held snugly in a crystalline container, and turns on the shower. However, instead of standing beneath the cascade of water, she catches the liquid in her magic, the stream of cleansing fluid swirling around the soap before touching her body and returning to fall into the shower drain afterwards – her magic leaving none behind to dampen her coat. Returning the soap to the basket as well, she pulls out a mane brush, eying it dubiously as it floats in front of her.

Selena snickers, Has she not seen your mane?

Luna sighs, nevertheless running the brush through her mane a few times, though it simply flows back into its previous shape, the essence of the night sky contained within moving according to its own whims.

“-and we’re really, really sorry for our thoughtlessness, Princess Twilight,” Luna overhears as she descends the final flight of stairs, looking down at the ground floor once it comes into view to see Twilight resting her face on one of her forehooves while Spike glares at the thestrals, his arms folded across his chest and a look of utter disappointment etched onto his features.

“Are you ready to depart, Twilight?” Luna asks, levitating her gift basket and empty bowl onto the couch as she leaves the last of the stairs behind her.

Twilight sighs, glancing around the floor of her library resignedly, “I… I guess.”

We really must make it up to Twilight for taking over her home

And damaging it, Selena adds helpfully.

Luna groans internally, That too.

Letting none of her mental conversation show on her face, Luna leaves Twilight’s home, Twilight and Spike following to stand beside her. The trio waits a few steps beyond the front door as the Night Guards file out after them, the armored thestrals hastily re-equipping their hoofshoes once outside and forming a protective circle around the pair of princesses and dragon before setting off, Night Glider, Lunar Trail, and Shadow Strike taking point.

The group comes to a stop just outside the circular town square, their path blocked by a herd of ponies nearly a thousand strong packed into the area surrounding the entrance to the town hall. However, the presence of the princesses and their guards quickly draws the attention of those closest to the royal escort and they back away, the resulting gap creating a route to allow the entire formation to march onward unchanged. The crowd continues to part in front of the alicorns, thestrals, and dragon as they walk forward, moving aside like water before the bow of a ship – and closing behind them just as rapidly.

Walking around a podium perched on the topmost step of the stairs leading up to the town hall once they make their way through the crowd, Night Glider and Shadow Strike hold open the double doors to the town hall’s interior. As soon as the two princesses and Spike pass through the doorway, each of them allows their door to close and takes a position to the side of the door they had held open, Lunar Trail standing a few strides in front of the doors while the rest of the Night Guard spread out along the edges of the whispering crowd.

Inside the town hall, Luna and Twilight look over the ponies waiting for them, Luna speaking after a quick check verifies all those needed are present, “We are glad to see that you are all already here.”

Luna’s gaze sweeps the gathered ponies once more, moving from the undisguised Bon Bon and Cheerilee standing beside their special someponies, to the four vampony volunteers, to the rest of the Element bearers and Mayor Mare, “Before we begin, does anypony have last minute questions or concerns they would like to voice now?”

Several ponies glance from side to side as the silence drags past several seconds, Luna nodding after seemingly an eternity, “Very well. In that case, it is time for us to head outside; however, there are particular positions I would like all of us to take. I will be at the center with Twilight on my right and Mayor Mare on my left, both half a step behind me; Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Spike will stand approximately three steps directly behind us; Bon Bon, Lyra, Cheerilee, and McIntosh will be on Mayor’s left and another half step behind her; and Midnight, Moon Shadow, Blue Moon, and Aurora Moon will be on Twilight’s right, also half a step behind her. Are there any objections to that arrangement?”

Everypony present shakes their head, a few giving their quiet verbal acceptance as well.

Luna’s lips twitch in a suppressed smile at their responses and she stands a little taller, pride in her fellow ponies warming her heart as she briskly turns to face the doors, “Then, let us address the town.”

The town hall’s doors glow a translucent blue and swing open, swatting Lunar’s tail and just barely missing his hindquarters. The thestral guard gives a belated hop forward out of the door’s range, then jumps aside as Luna leaves the building, his princess walking past him to stand behind the not quite tall enough podium placed front and center of the crowd. Everyone else follows in her wake and takes their assigned positions, Bon Bon and Cheerilee sticking side-by-side with Lyra and Big Mac while the vamponies move together in one larger, nervous clump with Midnight in the lead.

Slowly turning her head from one side to the other as she looks out across the sea of faces, Luna clears her throat and draws in a deep breath, an enchantment on the podium magnifying her voice so all can hear her clearly, “Greetings, everypony. As I am sure you are all more or less aware of by now, there has been a great deal of unusual activity going on these last few days, perhaps moreso than is normal even by Ponyville’s standards. The end result of all of this being the discovery of two more tribes of pony making their home here, in addition to earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns.” Luna gestures to her right, “Members of one of these tribes, vamponies, were entirely unknown to exist previously, and live nearby within the Everfree Forest,” she gestures to her left, “while the other tribe, changelings, have been living in Ponyville itself as members of your community.”

“Both myself, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and my sister, Princess Celestia, have spent time talking with, and learning about, them, their tribes, and their reasons for being here, as well as their admittedly rather unique needs,” Luna continues, her voice echoing faintly as it bounces off the buildings surrounding the town square. “You were all called here tonight so that everypony will know what we have found out, and so that you will all be aware of the path forward that myself, Twilight Sparkle, and Mayor Mare have decided upon in order to allow the earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi of Ponyville to have the greatest degree of safety and choice possible while also allowing the changelings and vamponies to obtain what they need to survive.”

Luna takes a moment to lick her dried lips, her audience remaining utterly silent, “Of the two tribes, it is the most recently discovered one, the vamponies, which I believe will prove to be the most controversial – but also the most important to Ponyville as a whole, as well as to everypony who lives here in one way or another – and therefore is the topic that shall be covered first.”

Luna pauses, allowing herself a couple deep breaths in preparation for the next leg of her speech, “There have been, I am sure, many rumors swirling and growing to all kinds of proportions about them, so I will get straight to the point. They are called vamponies for a reason. They do require drinking pony blood at regular intervals in order to survive, and they are entirely carnivorous, which is to say they do not eat plants at all, however-”

Luna ceases speaking as fearful whispers erupt from the crowd, her brow knitting in irritation as they quickly grow in volume until they are no longer whispers, “SILENCE!”

A hoof touches her shoulder as she glares angrily out at the now completely quiet crowd, her head jerking to her right to see Twilight standing closer and offering an encouraging smile.

Luna blinks and looks at the floor, taking a few deep, panting breaths as she lets the brief rush of panic-induced adrenaline begin to fade before looking back up at the assembled ponies, “I do realize how that sounds at first; the idea that there are blooddrinking carnivores living close by is, by itself, quite terrifying. However, it is of paramount importance for that information to be put in the proper context. It is true that they eat meat, and it is true that they live very close to Ponyville, but it is in fact their very presence which allows Ponyville to exist as it does, or even, perhaps, to exist at all. I say this because vamponies do not eat other ponies; they instead eat other creatures of the Everfree, many of whom are also predators and would eat a pony, if given the chance. Their presence is what keeps monsters such as manticores and chupacabra at bay; it is what allows the occasional filly or colt to wander into the Everfree and return unharmed; it is largely what has allowed Zecora to live inside the Everfree and survive doing so for as long as she has; and it is what has allowed Ponyville to grow as large as it has while being located right next to the Everfree Forest, yet at the same time only suffering the rarest of attacks from creatures originating from the forest – even then those attacks are almost entirely by timberwolves, which are made of plant material.”

Luna pauses once more and sighs, taking the opportunity to examine the crowd’s reaction.

They seem more confused than anything now, Selena comments.

Confused is far better than fearful, Luna replies, a random sampling of ponies’ expressions giving a diverse set of results. Though I believe ‘uncertain’ would be a more apt description.

Still, we’re not even close to half way through our announcement.

They’ll have all the time they need to consider what we have said after we have said it, Luna thinks in response, slightly adjusting her footing and position behind the podium.

“Now, that covers part of their diet, the other part then being their need to drink pony blood.” Luna looks out across the entire width and breadth of the crowd in front of her, “And I do mean need. If they do not consume pony blood every one to three weeks, they will eventually die. So, given the benefits of their presence to Ponyville, and the fact that they have been living beside Ponyville without causing any harm to anypony for centuries, we have come up with the following framework – which myself, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Mayor Mare find acceptable and which the vamponies have agreed to follow – in order to allow both them and us to continue peacefully coexisting now that we are aware of their presence.”

“The way things currently work,” Luna continues, “and have very likely worked since nearly the founding of Ponyville, is that at night, if a vampony needs blood, they will come into town, sneak into somepony’s house, bite one of the occupants, drink the blood they need, heal the wound, and then leave. The pony whose blood has been drunk then wakes up the next day unharmed and, as evidenced by how long vamponies have been able to do this without being discovered, none the wiser that anything has even happened. I can also vouch for the harmlessness of this method personally, having voluntarily allowed one of the vamponies standing up here to feed from me while I was conscious. Therefore, we – Mayor Mare, Twilight Sparkle, and I – have decided to follow the tried and true adage ‘if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’; there does not seem to be any compelling reason to force dramatic change on something that has worked well for hundreds of years. This means that vamponies will, by default, be allowed to continue doing what they have been doing as though nothing has changed.”

“However,” Luna says, raising her voice over an outbreak of discontented murmuring, “while by default nothing will be changing from the vampony’s side of things, there will be a small change on the residents of Ponyville’s side, one which I believe most will see as a change for the better, as well as a choice to be made.”

Luna inhales deeply, holds the breath for several seconds, then exhales, making sure her thoughts are gathered and in order before speaking, “Ponyville is a rather unique town for many reasons, one of those being its relative safety despite its proximity to the Everfree Forest. In Ponyville’s case, as has been mentioned, it is the vamponies’ presence which provides this safety. Most towns anywhere near the Everfree do not have such an arrangement however, the result being that those towns are required by necessity to provide for the maintenance of a protective wall or barrier as well as to support a contingent of guards and-or a group of protectors from one of Equestria’s monster hunting agencies. As Ponyville does not have to support that kind of infrastructure due to the vamponies living nearby, it then makes sense to update Ponyville’s tax laws to reflect this much more unique trade-off. What this means in practice, is that everypony who allows things to remain as they are now will be able to deduct roughly five percent from the total of their taxes due to Ponyville. There will, of course, be exceptions for those who are too young, too old… essentially anypony who would not be eligible to donate blood.”

Luna pauses for a few seconds, letting her words sink in before continuing, “And I say ‘allows’ because, as I said, everypony here has a choice to make. You can choose to let things remain as they have been for hundreds of years, and receive a tax reduction for helping those who have, by and large, kept the dangers of the Everfree Forest at bay, or, you can choose not to. For those of you who would prefer to make the second choice… ” Luna levitates a small, wooden sign out from the hollow insides of the podium, the sign featuring a single, red drop of blood carved into the wood overlaid by a black circle with a slash through it, “This sign will be available free of charge for you to hang on your front door, or if some ponies in a household object to assisting the vamponies while other do not, to hang on individual doors within one’s home. You will be able to pick these up after this speech is over, as well as at any time from Mayor Mare’s office in the town hall.”

Luna smiles, her shoulders sagging with relief as she places the sign back inside the podium, “And finally, there will be another, as of yet untested option which will become available in the next weeks for those uncomfortable with the status quo – donating blood at Ponyville’s hospital. Those who opt into this method will receive a flat amount of bits in return based on volume given, as well as a few other factors. Mayor Mare will give more details on the changes supporting that option will require.”

Her speech complete, Princess Luna moves to the left and backs up as Mayor Mare does the opposite, Ponyville’s elected leader taking Luna’s place behind the podium.

“Thank you for that very thorough explanation,” Mayor says, giving Luna a nod of acknowledgement before looking out across the crowd wearing a calm smile. “As Princess Luna said, there will eventually be the option to donate blood through our local hospital as a way to support the vamponies; however, the hospital will need to receive some modifications before that is possible. The first change will be an expansion of the current blood bank maintained by the hospital. This will require new equipment, upgrades to some of our current equipment, as well as additional staff to operate everything along with allowing blood donation on a walk-in basis. So if anypony knows any medically inclined ponies who would be interested, there will be at least a few new positions opening up within the next several weeks.”

Mayor pauses for a second, continuing after shifting from standing to sitting behind the podium, “The second, and more significant, of the changes will be the addition of an entire new wing dedicated to vampony research which will be headed, in part, by our own Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Mayor says, gesturing at Twilight with a raised foreleg. “This will be a much larger project, and will require renovating certain parts of the hospital since, although you can’t tell from the outside, some sections of the original hospital are still present, and as such are over 100 years old. The old operating theater, for example, which was outdated almost as soon as it was built, will be replaced with one, or perhaps even two, proper operating rooms depending on the available space. There are also some rooms that lack basic things like air conditioning, as anypony who has ever been unfortunate enough to have been placed in rooms 131-133 can confirm, which will finally be fixed during the renovations as well.”

“YEAH!” Bulk Biceps shouts amid a smattering of other cheers and stamping of approval.

Mayor Mare raises her other foreleg, this time gesturing at the princess on her other side, “And while this kind of project is quite expensive, Princess Luna has generously promised funding to pay for both these changes in their entirety.”

A significant portion of the crowd voices their approval of this news, Mayor only continuing once the noise dies down, “Now, that covers everything there is to say regarding the vamponies, but as I’m sure you’ve all heard – and can, well, see – vamponies are not the only new tribe of pony to have been discovered living here. A few changelings have been found to be living in Ponyville as well, their presence having quite reasonably sparked some concerns which Princess Twilight will be addressing momentarily.”

Mayor Mare steps back, swapping places with Twilight who scans the crowd now staring at her and smiles nervously, “Hello everypony. As Mayor Mare said, many ponies have voiced their concern over the presence of changelings in Ponyville, most of whom have been willing to do so privately, though a few have felt the need to do so rather, uhm, publicly.”

Twilight swallows, “I-In any case, the first thing that I think needs to be established is that, like the vamponies, changelings living in Ponyville is not actually a new occurrence. Bon Bon has been living here for a few years, Cheerilee has been in Ponyville for even longer, and prior to the invasion of Canterlot and my becoming an alicorn there was what could be considered an entire small changeling community living peacefully within Ponyville for many years. That said, the only changelings living in Ponyville right now are the ones standing up here with me. If they are not up here with me, then they are not possibly a changeling, so please, stop reporting ponies to me as potentially being changelings just because they do something you think is weird – at the rate this is happening, every pony in town will have been reported at least once in another five days or so. Also, on a related note, none of the changelings up here have replaced anypony. There is no ‘real’ Cheerilee or Bon Bon being held in a cocoon in a cave somewhere who needs to be rescued.”

Twilight clears her throat, “Anyway… now that that’s out of the way, it is also very important to note that none of the changelings in Ponyville had anything to do with the invasion of Canterlot. In fact, they aren’t even from the same hive as the one which attacked Canterlot, and learned about what happened at the same time everypony else did. And yes, I did say they are not from the same hive, which does mean that there are other changeling hives within Equestria – several, in fact. As far as those other hives are concerned, Princess Luna and I will be heading to Canterlot in a couple of days to meet with Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence in order to write a letter to be sent to these other hives and their queens. Once that is done, and a lower latency method of communication can be established, there will likely be some form of negotiation between us and them, just as if we had found an independent, hidden enclave of any other sapient species within Equestria for some reason.”

“Now, regarding the fact that changelings feed on emotions – I have not yet been able to gather as much information as I would like on the subject, given how busy Mayor Mare, my friends, and I have been while Princess Luna was in the Everfree,” Twilight continues, her voice strengthening with conviction. “Nevertheless, I can tell you with the utmost confidence that it is almost certainly harmless in all but the most extreme circumstances. The reason I can say this, despite not having all the information I would normally need, is because of the ponies involved.”

Twilight points at the closest of the changelings to her left, “The first of whom, Bon Bon, risked everything to willingly reveal herself to her marefriend, Lyra, after the invasion of Canterlot, despite Lyra having been attacked and brainwashed by the hostile changelings at the wedding, so she would know that not all changelings are bad. Then there’s Cheerilee, who is, based on everything I’ve ever heard from parents and students alike, one of the best teachers Ponyville has ever had – the only real complaints being about a few boring classes or difficult homework assignments, which when you’re dealing with fillies and colts their ages by yourself in a one room schoolhouse is nothing short of amazing. And finally, because of one other pony who you all should know, and who is a very good friend of mine.”

Luna sidesteps away from Twilight, leaving a gap between them as Twilight looks at one of the ponies standing behind them, her voice quiet enough to not be picked up by the magical podium, “Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy twitches at the invitation into the spotlight as though the words had given her whole body a static shock, after a few seconds taking one small, tremulous step forward while staring determinedly at the ground, then another, eventually coming to a stop between Twilight and Luna in front of the once more completely silent crowd. The wooden platform beneath her hooves blurs before her eyes, the frozen pit of anxiety in her gut expanding across her chest and down each of her shaking limbs as she stands in front of the entirety of Ponyville, the collective emotions of the crowd directed at her steadily overwhelming all other senses.

A touch of heat pierces the cold however, the supportive emotions reaching her mind a couple seconds before the feeling of a hoof on her left shoulder manages to travel through her deadened nerves. Soft, feathery warmth spreads across her back a split second later, and she looks up, Luna’s hoof on her shoulder and one of Twilight’s wings covering her back.

“Whenever you’re ready, Fluttershy,” Twilight says gently.

Fluttershy draws a deep, shuddering breath, doing her best to focus on the emotions emanating from those beside and behind her despite the constant, crushing weight of the crowd’s attention.

“You can do it, Flutters!” Rainbow Dash whispers loudly.

“Yeah, go get ‘em, tiger!” Pinkie adds.

“Indeed,” Rarity agrees, “you have our support.”

“Well?” Applejack asks after a long pause, adjusting her Stetson. “Can’t keep ‘em waitin’ forever, sugarcube.”

Fluttershy smiles, their friendship surrounding her like a shield to keep the torrent of emotions from the crowd at bay, and closes her eyes, a swirl of green fire surrounding her as Twilight and Luna return to their previous positions.

“Ponyville’s animal caretaker, bearer of an Element of Harmony, and, as I recently discovered, Changeling Princess, Fluttershy,” Twilight pronounces.

Fluttershy cracks her eyes open, everypony in sight staring back at her, some with their mouth hanging open in shock.

Twilight meanwhile continues speaking, heedless of her audience’s reaction, “From her seasonal help with Winter Wrap Up, to her saving Ponyville and Equestria from being covered in dragon smoke, to her embodying the Element of Kindness in order to both help save Princess Luna and reimprison Discord, you won’t find a pony more willing to help any who need it, even if it involves putting herself in danger. So, while it may be that these three ponies are changelings, none of them would intentionally cause harm to anypony, and I would hope that everypony here is able to look past the surface and accept them for who they are and what they’ve done, even if they’re actually bugponies instead of earth ponies or pegasi.”

After a few more moments of quiet, Luna taps Fluttershy’s shoulder, the changeling princess hopping half an inch off the ground at the unexpected touch on her chitin and looking up at Luna. The eldest of the assembled princesses smiles reassuringly in response, gesturing towards the four other Element bearers with a quick tilt of her head. Fluttershy nods and backs up to rejoin her friends, her knees wobbling more and more with each step until she allows them to give out, sitting heavily between Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.

Luna swaps places with Twilight as soon as Fluttershy’s shell hits the wooden floor, her horn glowing to open the doors of the town hall and levitate two large sets of stacked vampony opt out signs, placing them both side by side to her right at the bottom of the steps leading to the podium, “Anypony who does not wish to aid the vamponies may pick up one of these signs now. Also,” Luna points to her left, “anypony who has questions may begin forming a line to the right of the podium.”

“Excuse me, Princess? Err, Luna,” Applejack clarifies. “Would ya mind much if Ah made a small announcement of mah own?”

Luna moves aside, “Not at all, Applejack.”

Applejack takes a couple steps forward to stand behind the podium, “AH GOT ONE-” she cuts herself off, rubbing her ears as the magical podium amplifies her voice further. “Wow that’s loud. Anyways, as Ah was sayin’, Ah got one last thing to say before y’all get yer signs and whatnot. In order to be more accommodatin’ to all the nocturnal ponies that’re stayin’ in town at the moment, Sweet Apple Acres will be stayin’ open fer a couple hours after sundown for as long as they’re here, or as long as open pickin’ season is goin’ on.”

The ponies on the other side of the podium continue to watch her with bated breath as the echoes of her voice fade away, Applejack giving them a flat look after a long moment of silence, “That’s all Ah got ta say; ya won’t be gettin’ any earth shatterin’ speeches from me.”

A wave of sighs washes over the crowd at her words, scattered chuckles also rippling out from a few places as ponies stand, stretch, and start to move around. Princess Luna carefully observes the gradually dispersing crowd, her amusement at Applejack’s short speech slowly being dampened by the increasing number of ponies attempting to make their way towards the opt out signs. Quickly scanning the crowd, Luna locates the Rich family relatively close to the front, Filthy and Spoiled sitting calmly with their eyes trained on the Lunar Princess while Diamond Tiara impatiently glances at the ponies moving around them. Luna locks eyes with the two parents for an instant, Spoiled standing after a several second delay and taking a few steps towards the opt out signs only for a horrified gasp from her husband to stop her in her tracks.

“Spoiled, dear, where do you think you’re going?” Filthy asks loudly.

Spoiled gives him an annoyed look, “To get one of those horrid looking signs, where else?”

Filthy presses a hoof to his chest, a pained expression on his face, “But why in the name of Celestia would you do that? If we do nothing at all, we’ll get more bits! Princess Luna is literally giving away free bits, and you don’t want to take advantage of that?”

“Well, no, of course I do,” Spoiled answers, shifting uncomfortably, “but it doesn’t quite feel right to give them permission to enter our home whenever they feel like. And besides, what would our friends in Canterlot think if they knew we agreed to this?”

“I suppose it does feel a little strange,” Filthy admits, “but they’ve apparently been doing this for centuries already anyway; and besides, Princess Luna has given her word that it’s safe, which is good enough for me. As for our friends, what could they possibly say about it? This plan has been approved by both Princess Luna and Princess Twilight at the very least, and unless they’re doing all of this without telling Princess Celestia anything at all, then she must at least implicitly approve as well. Princess Luna even gave some blood herself, and if it’s good enough for a Princess of Equestria, then there can hardly be any shame in it for anypony else.”

Spoiled wavers, glancing at the opt out signs, then sighs, “You’re right, of course; I don’t know what came over me.”

“Think nothing of it,” Filthy says, smiling magnanimously. “These are strange times, even for Ponyville, but we must be sure to think things through so that we can make the right decision not only for us, but for all of Ponyville before taking action. Why, if the vamponies were unable to get enough blood and decided to leave, and then one of the monster hunters or Guards who came to protect us in their absence died, I don’t know how I’d be able to sleep at night knowing that they might still be alive had I chosen differently.” He nods at the mass of ponies who had stopped to watch him and Spoiled, “I’m sure many of these fine folks feel the same way as well.”

Luna scans the crowd again, a feeling of relief and satisfaction welling in her chest as she sees a fair number of the ponies who had been heading for the signs hesitate. Some eventually decide to continue onwards, though many instead alter course, either walking to join the line on the other side of the podium or heading off towards their homes.

The Rich’s performance complete, Luna, Twilight, and Mayor Mare take a couple steps back from the podium, all three sighing simultaneously as they sit.

“I’m still not sure that was the right thing to do,” Twilight says after a moment. “It feels like we’re tricking ponies.”

Luna shrugs, “It is politics. Besides, they did not lie; everything they said is completely true.”

Twilight shifts uncomfortably, “Still… ”

Luna puts a hoof on the younger princess’ shoulder, “Believe us, Twilight; in a few centuries, when you have nobles, subjects, and an established domain of your own, you will appreciate when it is better to use a little subterfuge rather than trying to argue with and convince everypony that you are correct.” She raises an eyebrow, “You should recall, for example, when you informed my sister of our imminent return, and she instead dismissed your concerns and sent you here to make some friends?”

“Hrmm… ” Twilight grumbles, Luna’s words clashing with her own deeply ingrained perception of Celestia, yet also unable to refute the description of the events leading to Luna’s return. “Either way, it’s ‘me’ and ‘my’, not ‘us’ and ‘our’.”

Luna huffs belligerently, raising her nose as if offended, “As a Princess of Equestria, I reserve the right to refer to ourselves however we wish to refer to myself.”

Twilight stays all but frozen next to Luna, the only movement the twitching of her right eye as her mind processes Luna’s sentence.

Luna’s expression melts into a playful grin after a few seconds and she laughs, “But enough of this. Come, let us answer our subjects’ questions.”

Twilight brushes aside her damaged train of thought with a well placed massage to her temples and looks down the still growing line, glancing sheepishly at Luna once she notices an unfortunately familiar face, “Actually, there’s one thing I need to take care of first, if that’s alright.”

Luna glances at Mayor, who shrugs, “Very well, but try not to take too long. This will go far faster if we can split the questions three ways rather than two.”

Twilight bobs her head, “Thanks.”

Spreading her wings, Twilight flies next to the line, landing beside one pony in particular, “Hello, Caramel.”

Caramel dips his head respectfully, “Uh, hello, Princess Twilight. Is something wrong?”

Twilight shakes her head, “No, nothing like that. I’ve just been so busy that I never got around to apologizing to you for leaving you in Cloudsdale, and I couldn’t find you when I finally came back to get you either, so you ended up having to make your own way back to Ponyville.”

“Oh yeah, that,” Caramel replies. “You don’t need to apologize, I actually had a pretty good time while I was there.”

Twilight blinks in surprise, “Wait, really?”

Caramel nods, “Yeah, a few minutes after you left Rarity and I there… ”

Author's Note

Summary Thus Far

"vamponies exist"
*~130k words later*
"alright, here's what we're going to do about it"

Chapter 21.5 Caramel's Cloudsdale Adventure

"Twilight!!!!!" Rarity bellows into the night, the exertion of speaking that single, simple name leaving her panting in the middle of the street. Her ears perk as a barely audible whisper penetrates her rage-filled senses and she twists her head around towards its source just in time to watch the nearby group of pegasi make a hasty retreat, the cloud containing their injured member hurriedly pushed along by two of his compatriots.

"Well." Rarity spits the word out like a curse as she turns to her fellow abandonee, face burning with barely suppressed anger, "I don't know about you, but I am going to search for a way to return to Ponyville. You are welcome to join me, if you like, though I must admit I have very little idea how one would go about leaving Cloudsdale at this time of night."

Turning sharply on her heel, she stomps briskly away down the street, her forceful steps leaving tiny, displaced puffs of cloud floating in her wake as she mutters to herself, "Oh-hoho, but when I do get back to Ponyville, THEN… "

Caramel takes a few hesitant steps after the infuriated mare, then pauses as he gives his surroundings a long look, his gaze moving from one of the dark, empty, and unfamiliar buildings lining the street opposite the mostly deserted hospital to the next while the potential danger of ending up on the receiving end of Rarity's ire battles with his growing fear of the unknown. However, prior to either side being able to declare victory, something small, dense, and soft impacts the back of his head and he stumbles diagonally a few steps before his balance gives out, the clouds much softer than solid ground as he falls on his side. Blinking slowly once from his place on the street, he watches Rarity turn a corner and disappear from sight, the fuzzy haze filling his rattled brain preventing any further action. Three more blinks follow in Rarity's absence, the gap between each opening and closing of his eyelids shorter than the last as the the daze fades from his mind, his train of thought restarting just in time for a much heavier, four pronged object to drop onto his side, forcing the air from his lungs along with a pained groan.

"Hey, are you ok?" a colt's voice asks from above him, the four points of pressure on Caramel's barrel shifting as the colt repositions himself, stepping forward to place his forehooves on Caramel's shoulder.

Drawing as deep a breath as he can manage despite the weight pressing down on his barrel, Caramel raises his head to examine whoever is standing on him, his gaze landing on a young thestral colt with a light grey coat and a deep blue mane and tail watching him curiously through slitted pupils surrounded by gold.

Aided by the small pony still standing on him, Caramel exhales loudly, then with some difficulty inhales again, "Yeah, I'm fine. Do you think you could get off me though?"

"Sure!" the colt replies, hopping off to stand next to Caramel's back.

Free of his passenger, Caramel stands, only to be greeted by his previous dilemma as he turns to look at the corner Rarity had vanished behind.

"Wait… " the colt says suspiciously, Caramel wincing as a small hoof pokes him in the side, "you're not a birdpony, you're a… a… a ground pony! Yeah! Let's play!"

The young thestral darts over to where a foam ball shaped like a red apple, and as large as his head, had landed, his eyes shining with enthusiasm as he kicks it in front of Caramel, "Let's play let's play let's play!"

Caramel glances between the colt and the corner, fear of being left behind finally tilting the scales of his internal conflict far enough for him to make up his mind, "Look, uh… what's your name?"

"Blink!" the colt replies, grinning widely enough to just barely reveal his tiny, pointed canines.

"Look, Blink, I'm sure there are a lot of ponies who would love to play with you, but I've really got to get going and I'm sure your parents are wondering where you are, so-" Caramel says, hesitating as Blink's ears droop, his eyes shimmering with rapidly accumulating water as he tugs sharply on Caramel's heartstrings.

"I'm not saying I don't want to play with you," Caramel clarifies as a knot of guilt twists in his chest, the tenuous resolve behind his recently made decision quickly beginning to unravel, "but this really isn't… a good time… "

Tears begin to form in Blink's eyes, his lower lip trembling as utter despair threatens to overwhelm him.

Caramel glances in the direction Rarity had left one last time, opening his mouth to further protest his participation in playing, but the words catch in his throat and after a few seconds he sighs, "Alright, how do we play?"

Blink's sadness vanishes in an instant and he nudges the ball resting at Caramel's forehooves, "Throw it!"

Noticing many pairs of tiny puncture marks scattered randomly across the ball's surface as he picks it up, Caramel tosses it over Blink's head to land a short distance away, returning his attention to the colt after nothing happens for a couple seconds. Empty, thestral-less space greets him instead however, and he blinks in surprise, his eyes flicking to the ball's landing place just in time to see Blink pounce – the colt tumbling head over hooves as he clutches the apple-ball and sinks his tiny fangs into it.

Getting to his hooves after wrestling the fake apple into submission, Blink runs over to Caramel and places the ball in front of him again, backing up with a few small, excited hops, "Again! But farther!"

Blink removes his mouth from the ball to leave behind behind a fresh pair of puncture wounds in the false apple's skin, though he continues to hold it in his hooves as he catches his breath, eventually releasing his captive from his clutches once he has sufficiently recovered. Turning his back to the ball, he grasps it with his tail and begins to spin, adjusting his grip partway through the eighth rotation to fling the ball through the air towards Caramel.

Caramel watches the ball sail through the air nearly straight at him, shifting half a step to the left and tensing his muscles just prior to impact, then wrapping a foreleg around the ball with practiced ease as it hits him square in the chest to keep it firmly in place. The foam ball expands as he relaxes his hold on the now unmoving projectile, though worry squirms more insistently in his belly as he watches a tiring, and slightly dizzy, Blink run in a mostly straight line to stand in front of him once more.

"So, Blink," Caramel queries casually after a quick examination of the surrounding street and sky still reveal no other thestrals in the vicinity, "where are your parents?"

"Dunno!" Blink replies, his eyes still brimming with energy despite his heavy breathing and sagging shoulders, "Throw it!"

Caramel glances at the ball held to his chest and steels his resolve, doing his best to toughen his expression as he returns his attention to the young thestral before him, "Alright, but I'm only going to throw this a couple more times. Then we need to go find your parents, ok?"

"Fine… " Blink pouts, though the attempt to pierce Caramel's emotional armor is quickly replaced by a wide grin as Caramel draws back and launches the ball high into the air. Leaping into the sky after it, Blink intercepts the ball a split second after its peak, somersaulting midair once before spreading his wings and slowly gliding down in a wide, lazy circle. However, as he watches Caramel waiting patiently on the street beneath him, a stray cloud wanders into Blink's path – the colt noticing it just in time to plow his head through the bottom of the cloud face first, the water vapor blinding him while the uneven change in speed flips him over backwards.

Caramel's eyes widen as soon as Blink loses control, the ball still clutched tightly in his hooves despite the flailing of his wings as he tumbles towards the edge of the street. Adrenaline surging, Caramel gallops to the street's edge and leans out as far as he can, just barely managing to bite Blink's tail as he falls past. Caramel sighs, though his relief is short lived, the combined weight and momentum of the colt and his ball lifting Caramel's hind hooves from the street as they tilt forward. A sudden yank on his tail saves them both though, the pull powerful enough to sink Caramel's hind legs knee deep into the clouds.

With a grunt, Caramel pulls Blink the rest of the way up, extracts his hind legs from the street, and takes a few shaky steps backwards before turning around – immediately coming nose to nose with a stone-faced thestral mare, her coat a dull grey while her mane and tail match the feeling with a monotone dark purple.

Uh-oh

"Uhhhhh… " Caramel says, his attempt to explain the situation thwarted by his frozen thought processes, though the act of opening his mouth allows Blink to drop head first onto the street.

The mare's eyes narrow, her lips parting just enough to reveal the tips of her fangs.

Caramel gulps, slowly backing away from the angry mare, "Sorry?"

Closing her mouth and lowering her gaze, the mare stands tall and severe over Blink, "What do you think you're doing all the way over here?"

"I j-just w-wanted to p-play," Blink replies tremulously, tears streaming down his face unimpeded as he holds his ball in a death grip.

Leaning down, the mare tilts Blink's head from side to side as she looks him over, her expression softening, "And, you're not hurt?"

Blink shakes his head, his grip on the ball loosening ever so slightly as a thestral stallion with a light bluish-grey coat and dark grey mane and tail streaked by white lands beside the mare, sparing Caramel a glance before joining her in examining Blink.

"As for you," the mare states harshly, returning her piercing glare to Caramel as soon as she is satisfied of Blink's wellbeing, "what were you doing with our son?"

I wonder if facing an angry Rarity would have actually been preferable, a voice in Caramel's head wonders as he takes another nervous half step away from Blink's mother, feeling the street falling away from the back of his hind hooves. "W-Well, uh, he wanted to play, s-so-"

Blink's father sighs, "Don't be too hard on him, Connie. He did risk his life for our kid just now, and it's hardly his fault we let Blink get away from us again; if anything, we should be thankful that he kept Blink in one place long enough for us to find him."

Connie's angry gaze turns towards her husband, though confusion now dilutes the heated emotion, "What do you mean 'risked his life'? All he had to do was spread his wings and-"

"What wings?" the thestral stallion interrupts, raising an eyebrow inquiringly.

Connie glances at Caramel for an instant, her mouth opening in a retort, then does a double take, speaking after several seconds of silence, "You're an earth pony."

"Uhm, yep, yes I am," Caramel agrees.

Blink's father chuckles, "And Blink, you're alright?"

Blink nods, swallowing and rapidly blinking to fight back any fresh tears, "Mhm. We were just playing, a-and I flew into a cloud."

The stallion returns his attention to Caramel, smiling and raising a hoof, "Well then, it's nice to meet you. I'm Stellar Drift, the angry mare over there is my wife, Constellation-"

Constellation narrows her eyes at her husband, though Stellar Drift pretends not to notice.

"-and you've already met our son, Blink."

Blink sniffles from his place between Caramel and his parents, wiping his eyes and turning around to give Caramel a timid wave.

Caramel bobs his head once, glancing at Blink as he hesitantly sidesteps the younger pony and walks forward to shake Stellar's hoof, "Hi, I'm Caramel."

Looking between Stellar Wind and Constellation once the hoofshake ends, Caramel manages a surreptitious look at their flanks – Constellation's cutie mark made up of 10 white specks connected by thin white lines to form an easily visible five pointed star, while Stellar Wind's cutie mark features a telescope.

"Well, Caramel," Constellation says slowly after a moment of tense silence, "I suppose I should apologize, for immediately assuming the worst about you. So, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Caramel replies, risking a smile. "I should've been trying to find you instead of agreeing to play with him."

"Yes, you should have," Constellation agrees bluntly, Caramel's smile shrinking as she locks eyes with him.

Stellar Drift rolls his eyes as Caramel breaks off Constellation's staring contest to look at the clouds beneath their hooves, "That wouldn't have done any good and you know it, Connie. He would've just run off again, and then we would've spent the next hour or more looking for him."

"Either way," Constellation huffs, "what's an earth pony like you doing up here in Cloudsdale, and awake at this hour?"

Caramel shrugs, "Princess Twilight took me with her when she teleported here, but I'm almost 100 percent sure we ended up at the wrong hospital. Then she left me here when, I assume, she teleported herself back to town, so… I'm not really sure what's going on. I've never been to Cloudsdale before though, and I definitely didn't mean to wind up here tonight."

Constellation's ears prick at the mention of Twilight's name, the remaining hostility in her gaze giving way to curiosity, "You know Princess Twilight?"

"We both live in Ponyville, so I know of her and we've talked a few times," Caramel clarifies, "but I'm pretty sure the only reason she brought me along was because I was the one who reported the attack to her."

"You're from Ponyville?" Stellar asks, his smile widening as he lets out a chuckle, "Well, that explains things then."

Caramel's brow knits in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Even we thestrals have been told of Ponyville's reputation," Stellar Wind explains. "It was one of the few places we weren't allowed to choose to try and move to; between all the stuff we were told went on there and the 'Zecora Incident' in particular, we were told it was too dangerous of a place to try and settle until there had been more success reintegrating with the rest of Equestria first. Honestly I wasn't sure how truthful any of the many crazy stories we heard were, but from the sound of things you're an earth pony who was teleported up to Cloudsdale in the middle of the night by a Princess after an attack put somepony else in the hospital, so maybe the stories weren't so far fetched after all."

"Oh," Caramel replies, frowning. "I didn't know Ponyville was so well known for that."

"In any case," Stellar continues, "is the pony who was hospitalized going to be ok?"

Caramel stifles a yawn, "I don't know. All I know is that we couldn't wake her up, and that the pony who attacked her looked like a vampony."

Stellar's smile immediately falters, Constellation frowning and giving him a hard, flat look while Blink groans as he lets his head fall to rest on the ball still held in his hooves.

"And I know how that sounds," Caramel adds quickly, "but the pony wasn't a thestral either – even Ponyville has had a thestral pass through from time to time, and we've gone through the whole 'Thestrals aren't Vamponies' thing. Princess Twilight even forced the whole town to take an hour-long seminar that she put together after the fourth thestral to land in town still caused a panic."

Constellation sighs, sending an exasperated look up at the moon hovering in the night sky, "But, this time, you're really really sure it's a vampony, I suppose?"

"Yes!" Caramel insists, "I mean, she did have bat wings like yours, and tufted ears, and fangs; but her fangs were a lot larger than yours, and the rest of her teeth were pointy and sharp like a manticore's."

Stellar Drift's eyebrows knit and he opens his mouth, then after a couple seconds hesitation glances at Constellation.

Caramel looks between them, "What?"

"Did the 'vampony' have red eyes?" Constellation queries.

"I don't know," Caramel answers. "She was unconscious. And also taken to the hospital, now that I think about it. Why?"

"We and the other thestrals who came to Cloudsdale all went through the same thing, with some ponies convinced we were vamponies," Stellar says, "but what you described actually sounds similar to an old Thestral legend."

Caramel blinks, "Wait, what? Really?"

Constellation nods, "They are called Shades, and were said to be the restless spirits of thestrals who had met a sudden and violent end. They were also said to have razor sharp teeth, glowing red eyes, and would haunt the shadows of places no sane pony would dare travel. Nowadays they're just a scary story to frighten foals, but at the time they were thought to be omens of grave misfortune, appearing only to those who would eventually join their ranks."

Caramel stares mutely at Constellation, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

Blink's stomach grumbles loudly in the ensuing silence, drawing a laugh from Stellar Drift, "But like Constellation said, they're just foal's tales now, so who knows, maybe you actually found a vampony this time. In any case, we were going to stop at a nearby shop for some fruit before Blink here flew off, so you're more than welcome to join us. The cloudferries don't open until mid-morning anyway."

Caramel scans the now completely empty streets and alleys surrounding them, every shadow suddenly seeming particularly dark and foreboding, "You know, a late night snack does sound pretty good, now that you mention it."

"And then Fluttershy stayed a vampire fruit bat pony, right?" Blink asks excitedly from his place riding on Stellar Drift's back, his ball held securely in place on his own back by his partially raised wings.

Caramel chuckles and shakes his head, "No, Princess Twilight and the rest of her friends were able to trick Fluttershy into staying still using a bunch of mirrors and an apple as big as Princess Celestia, which let Twilight cast another spell to change her back."

Blink's ears, and expression, droop, "Aww… but she sounded so much cooler as a vampire fruit bat pony… "

"Though," Caramel adds mysteriously, pausing for dramatic effect, "apparently, ever since that night, she's been buying quite a few more apples than she used to. And sometimes, just as she's about to eat one of them, you can see the point of a fang pushing out from her teeth." He shrugs dismissively, "Or so I've heard."

Stellar Drift stops as they round a corner, pointing further ahead to a location on the other side of the street, "Well, I don't think Husk's has any apples that big, but they still have a pretty good selection of fruit, especially for a non-thestral store."

Caramel follows Stellar's hoof, his gaze landing on one of the only storefronts still lit on the entirety of the street in either direction, "Husk Family Fruit and Vegetable Emporium?"

Constellation nods as they adjust their heading to walk towards the store's entrance, "Their fruit is decent enough and it's the only place in Cloudsdale that's able to get fruit shipped from our old home in the 'Undiscovered West' as all the maps around here insist on calling it. Though they're probably the only place to have actually tried, either. Convincing anypony to ship from a place that's supposedly 'undiscovered' is almost always an exercise in futility."

"So, I guess, what's the real name of where you lived previously?" Caramel asks awkwardly.

"Princess Twilight didn't cover it during her lecture?" Constellation queries.

Caramel shakes his head, "No, she only went over Thestral biology and appearance; things like thestrals having an almost entirely liquid diet, nearly all thestrals having yellow eyes and slitted pupils – that sort of thing."

"Huh." Constellation shrugs, "In that case, our homeland is called Ælün."

"A-loon?" Caramel attempts to repeat, his tongue fumbling with the unfamiliar word.

Stellar Drift lets out a bark of laughter, "Close enough. The name itself is ancient, even pre-Discord, and has remained the same ever since the Thestral clans first united under Princess Luna thousands of year ago. It means 'of Luna'."

Their conversation pauses as they reach the store's entrance, Blink sliding off Stellar's back while Caramel waits behind them to let his newly made friends enter first. A nearly black lump of cloud stuck to the wall just inside the store draws his attention as they pass through the doorway, the tiny storm cloud giving a quiet roll of thunder to herald their arrival. However, as he steps inside, the clouds give way beneath his hooves, for a split second his entire world reduced to an impenetrable sea of grey before expanding once again, the nighttime world of Equus laid out far below him. His scream of terror dies in his throat as he falls, a strange serenity pushing it to the back of his mind while he observes the calm, darkened world. The sensation of four hooves wrapping around his barrel pulls him out of his peaceful descent though, his suppressed scream finally managing to escape his mouth despite his savior already reversing their direction to carry him back to the safety of the street.

Caramel slumps to the fluffy ground as soon as his hooves touch the relative solidity of the clouds outside the store, his shaking legs unable to hold his weight. Constellation meanwhile lands to his left, looking down at him as Blink and Stellar Drift watch worriedly from just outside the store's entrance, "Are you alright?"

"I-I-I think – I think-" Caramel takes a deep breath, "I think so, yeah."

"Outta my way, outta my way!" a burly yellow pegasus with a plain brown mane and tail shouts as he exits the store, Stellar stepping aside to let him pass.

"I already got him, Corn," Constellation says, shooting the pegasus a pointed smile. "He fell through your floor."

The pegasus trots over to the pair, coming to a stop in front of Caramel, "Oh, you're an earth pony; well that explains it. The heck is an earth pony doing up here?"

"Well whatever," he continues, giving Caramel no time to answer. "I used to have a sign warning about that. Took it down since no earth ponies ever come out this far, they usually stick to the stadium or the weather factory – the more touristy places, ya know? Guess I shoulda kept it up after all." He lifts Caramel to his hooves, "Name's Corn Husk by the way. What's yours?"

Caramel blinks a few times, noticing Corn Husk's cutie mark of a green, unhusked ear of corn as he repositions his legs a little wider than normal to steady himself, "My name's Caramel."

Corn Husk takes a step back, giving Caramel a once over, "And you're okay, Caramel? Didn't catch any electrical discharges on your way down?"

Caramel shakes his head, "No, I'm fine."

Corn Husk smiles widely, "Great, wonderful. Now you stay right here, and I'll be right back with just the thing for you."

Caramel looks over at Constellation, confusion plain on his face as Corn Husk canters into the store.

Constellation snickers, "He's a memorable pony, if nothing else."

True to his word, Corn Husk pushes the store door open less than a minute later and waves to Caramel, "Come on over here. I got a solution to your uh, falling problem."

Walking over to stand next to him just outside the doorway, Caramel finds a thin, dark grey rectangle floating a few inches above the store's floor, a thauma powered fan with a slowly pulsating red crystal sticking out from the base sitting on the far end.

"Tada!" Corn Husk says, gesturing at the rectangle, "One sheet of stratosteel, made from the finest ironcloud in the lightning forges of Pegasopolis!"

"And… I won't fall through that?" Caramel asks, tentatively letting one hoof rest on the rectangular cloud's surface.

"Not a chance," Corn Husk replies, shaking his head. "If the streets can take your weight, then there's no way in Tartaurus that this can't."

Carefully placing another hoof onto it, Caramel pushes down, his end of the cloud dipping slightly, but otherwise remaining as solid and impermeable as a rock. After taking another several seconds to gather his courage, Caramel clambers up onto the cloud entirely, the floating platform lazily shifting with his weight as Caramel moves himself to its center.

Corn Husk claps his hooves together, "Wonderful! Now, I know the fan won't be very fast, but it should at least be enough for you to look around a bit."

"As for you three," he says, turning to the thestral family, "I have your order, but I haven't gotten around to unpacking it yet, so if you'll give me a few moments I'll have it right out for you."

Turning around, Corn Husk spreads his wings, quickly flying through a gap between the ceiling and the shelves separating each aisle.

Caramel meanwhile sits on his cloud, picks up the fan, places it behind him to face the store's entrance, and activates it, the thrust managing to slowly move him out of the doorway to give Stellar Drift, Constellation, and Blink room to enter.

Carefully leaning forward as his cloud's incline changes ever so slightly to match the distribution of his weight, Caramel picks up a golden delicious apple from the selection in front of him with his mouth, slowly leaning back and twisting around to place it beside another golden delicious already held securely against his flank by his tail. After waiting another moment to ensure his cloud's continued stability, he turns, and with the press of a button activates the fan to his right, its thrust slowly accelerating both him and his chosen produce down the aisle.

Deactivating the fan upon exiting the aisle, Caramel moves it to his left and turns it to face the opposite direction, activating it in a few quick, successive bursts to bring himself to a complete stop. Turning it again to point the same direction as he is sitting, he reactivates it just long enough to rotate his floating platform to point at the three increasingly impatient thestrals waiting a ways ahead of him at the register. Returning his fan to its original position, Caramel turns it on once more, beginning his slow journey towards the register as Corn Husk flies overhead carrying a container meticulously sealed shut with copious amounts of tape.

"Sorry about the wait," Corn Husk apologizes, placing the package on the counter next to the register. "I must've moved it at some point earlier and then forgotten that I'd moved it. Anyway, here's your order; and I know how much you like this stuff, but in the name of Celestia, please, don't open this up in here."

Stellar Drift's lips quirk and he raises an eyebrow.

Corn Husk groans, "Fine, fine, in the name of Princess Luna, please drink these somewhere else, anywhere else, just not in here."

"Of course," Stellar Drift replies, smiling and hoofing over several bits.

Caramel watches Corn Husk drop his newly acquired bits into the register, time seeming to slow to a crawl as a fearful chill settles in his stomach, I don't have any bits!

Coming back to himself, Caramel fumbles with the fan, once again switching it to his other side in an attempt to quickly decelerate. The fan proves entirely inadequate for this task however, the thestrals stepping aside as it brings him to a stop right in front of the register – Caramel nervously turning off the fan and directing his attention to Corn Husk.

Corn Husk eyes the two apples riding with Caramel, then smiles, "If that's all you're getting, you can have them for free. Consider it an apology for you almost dying from falling through the floor."

Caramel blinks, "Oh. Uh, thanks."

Corn Husk waves away the offered gratitude, "Don't mention it."

Returning the fan to his right, Caramel activates it with the press of a button to begin his slow voyage towards the store's exit. Stellar Drift trots ahead with Constellation, their recently purchased container held in his tail while Blink enjoys the wind from the fan blowing in his mane as he walks behind Caramel. Waiting just outside, Constellation props the door open with a hoof, Caramel risking a yawn as he dismounts from his cloud and places his apples on his back.

"Come on," Stellar Drift says once Caramel has safely left the store, "there are some tables we can sit at a bit further this way."

Hopping onto and over Caramel's previous means of transportation, Blink canters after the adults, slowing to a trot beside Caramel, "So there are a bunch of other cool things that've happened in Ponyville, right?"

Caramel looks down at Blink, shrugging nonchalantly, "Oh yeah, tons. You want to hear about them?"

Blink hops excitedly, his wings starting to open only to immediately snap back into place to keep hold of his ball, "Yes!"

The colt's infectious enthusiasm draws a smile from Caramel and he stares up at the night sky, What story to tell… there's just so many – Mount Dragonshy, Discord, Trixie…

Glancing back at an eagerly impatient Blink, Caramel's eyes flick to the young thestral's unmarked flank, Hmmm…

"And, here we are," Stellar Drift announces, drawing Caramel out of his contemplation as they head for the closest table. Blink runs off in a different direction however, returning moments later pushing a small lump of cloud over to their table upon which he sits, Stellar Drift meanwhile beginning the task of removing the multitudinous strips of tape from their purchased package.

"Alright, so," Caramel says, his first apple giving a loud crunch as he takes a bite and directs his attention to the now equally tall Blink, "in Ponyville there's a group of fillies called the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Their goal is to help each other get their cutie marks, and they get into all sorts of trouble, but there was one time in partic-"

A weak but pungent aroma wafts over to Caramel as Stellar rips off the last of the tape and pops open the container, his nose wrinkling as the scent derails his train of thought, "What is that?"

"Durian juice," Constellation answers simply, pausing as a mischievous glint appears in her eyes. "Want to try some?"

Stellar Drift sends her a warning look, but she ignores him, maintaining a perfectly neutral expression as she removes a clear bottle filled with an off-white fluid and pushes it over to Caramel, "And it tastes best if you smell it first; just exhale and then take a really deep breath through your nose."

Caramel eyes the bottle warily as he rotates it to bring the label into view, an image of Luna's crown placed behind its text.

Durian Juice

Princess of the Fruit Juices!

Steeling his resolve, he removes the bottle's cap, exhales, places his nose over the opening, and inhales – almost immediately letting out a sharp cough and falling over backwards, eyes watering.

Stellar snorts, a small smile forcing its way onto his face, "Are you alright?"

Caramel grunts in response, hastily pushing himself to his hooves and grabbing his once-bitten apple to place its exposed insides over his nose. Breathing in deeply, he nods, "Yeah, yeah I'll be fine."

"Sorry," Constellation says, grinning widely as she reclaims her bottle. Following her own advice, she inhales a lungful of the juice's scent before taking a swig, staring dreamily off into space, "Couldn't resist."

Stellar meanwhile passes Blink another bottle, the smaller thestral immediately yanking the cap off and chugging half the juice in a single breath.

"So then Applebloom was tap dancing and plate spinning and all sorts of other things through the middle of town," Caramel says, randomly bending and waving his forelegs in a combined approximation of Applebloom's actions, "and she probably would've kept on doing even more stuff until she passed out from exhaustion if Zecora hadn't shown up. She had figured out what Applebloom had done, and said she had a flower that would cure Applebloom, but it would only grow if 'true words' were spoken."

"How does telling the truth make a plant grow?" Blink asks critically.

"I have no idea," Caramel replies, shrugging. "Magic, probably. Anyway, Applebloom eventually admitted what she did, which caused the plant to fully grow and bloom in just a few seconds. She then ate the plant, which cured her and removed all her fake cutie marks, and after a couple minutes everything was back to normal."

Blink narrows his eyes at Caramel, clearly not quite convinced of the veracity of the tale, until a clink draws both their attentions.

"Well Caramel, it was interesting to hear some stories about Ponyville first hoof," Stellar Drift says, the now empty bottles giving another clink as he closes the container.

"And to talk to a non-pegasus for a change," Constellation adds.

Stellar nods, "But we need to head home. The sun will be up in a couple of hours, and there are a few things we need to get done before that happens." He looks pointedly at Blink, "Homework, for example."

Blink groans, faceplanting into the relative softness of the cloudy table.

Caramel bobs his head, "Alright. It was nice to meet you too; I've never talked to a thestral, well, ever. I just have one question before you go, though."

Stellar Drift tilts his head, waiting.

"So uh… where exactly are the cloudferries?" Caramel asks, glancing embarrassedly at the clouds beneath his hooves.

Stellar's mouth hangs open for a split second, a laugh following as he looks at his wife, "Connie, you take Blink home; I'll show Caramel how to get to the ferries, and make sure he doesn't fall to his death along the way."

Caramel shrugs, moving with Twilight as the line shortens, "And then he led me to the cloudferries. I ended up falling asleep on one of the benches; and the next thing I knew, one of the ferryponies was poking me in the side telling me to get up."

"Wow, that was… not at all what I was expecting," Twilight replies, taking a few moments to order her thoughts. "That legend about 'shades' is definitely interesting though. I wonder if there are any other stories or myths, or maybe even recorded, historical claims of sightings-"

"Why Twilight," Luna interrupts coolly from just behind her fellow princess, "how good of you to finally rejoin us."

Twilight glances sheepishly at Luna, then out at the now significantly shorter pair of lines leading to Princess Luna and Mayor Mare, "Right, so, you had a question, Caramel?"

Caramel looks at Twilight blankly for a moment, "Huh? Oh! Right. I was just wondering, what did you mean by 'extreme circumstances' earlier?"

"There was a bit of an incident a couple nights ago, between Cheerilee and Big Mac," Twilight explains. "Cheerilee was attacked by a powerful nightmare, one which required Princess Luna to intervene against. Then when she woke up she was terrified, and accidentally fed on Big Mac's love more than she should have. Big Mac was fully recovered within a few hours however, so even though it was an extreme circumstance, the actual effects were still pretty minor."

"So just walking next to them isn't dangerous or anything?" Caramel asks.

"No, it is not," Twilight states clearly.

"And you are 100 percent sure of that?" Caramel queries.

"Yes," Twilight answers, smiling confidently, "I am."

Caramel sighs, "Well, that's a relief. Thank you, Princess."

Stepping aside, Caramel turns around, trotting past what remains of the line of questioners and towards his home.

Author's Note

Runner up name for the Thestral homeland: link

Also, fimfiction finally added a Batpony character tag!

Chapter 22 False Start

"-unarrr. Luuuunaaaaarr~."

Lunar Trail stirs, wrapping his wings more tightly around himself.

The familiar voice sighs, "Alright, you leave me no choice."

Without further warning, two sharp bursts of air force their way into his ears, Lunar Trail yelping and loosening his wings just enough to reach out to cover his ears with his forehooves.

"What was that for?" Lunar demands, squinting irritably at the upside-down faces of Night Glider and another guard hovering in front of him.

Night Glider smiles innocently, saluting the thestral next to him, "Excellent job, soldier. You are dismissed."

"Thank you, sir," the other guard says, bemusedly returning the salute before descending to the floor.

"Anyway, you know the drill," Night Glider continues, turning back to Lunar. "Wake up, get down, get ready."

Lunar Trail groans, glancing around to see only a few other guards still hanging from the many oak bars attached to the ceiling and walls of the hastily retrofitted barn, two freshly lit candles providing enough light for the entirety of the building, "It's night already?"

"Well, no," Night Glider admits, "but Princess Luna is standing on the roof right now getting ready to raise the moon. So, you know, take your time."

"Horseapples," Lunar curses, spreading his wings and with a few flaps bringing himself parallel to the ground. Releasing his tail's hold on the sleeping bar, he folds his wings to his sides, a soft thump announcing his return to earth a split second later.

Searching the floor in his immediate vicinity, he quickly locates his set of armor, the pieces neatly stacked to his right. However, as he reaches for his first greave the barn door glows, Luna's magic pushing it aside to reveal the Lunar Princess standing in the doorway backed by the recently risen moon. Its gentle, white light floods the makeshift barracks, for a short moment providing the only light from the outside until Princess Luna steps further inside, closing the door behind her. Lunar Trail bows along with most of the assembled Night Guard, those few not yet awake pulled bodily from their sleeping bars by their peers and dropped on the floor.

"Welcome awake, my thestrals," Princess Luna says, scanning the room before giving a single nod. "As you were."

The tension in the room vanishes at her words, some of the gathered guards nevertheless remaining standing and on alert while most shift to a more comfortable sitting position – several covering their mouth with a hoof or wing to block a yawn.

"We are pleased to be able to say that the situation in town has remained calm since our announcement the previous night," Princess Luna continues once the noise from shifting hooves and rustling wings dies down. "So although there will still need to be patrols, at this point your job is simply to make sure the peace is kept. Therefore, given how few of Ponyville's residents remain awake beyond this time, we do not believe it will be necessary for each of you to be on duty every single night we are here, though I trust you will be able to work out the precise patrol schedule and routes amongst yourselves. As for Princess Twilight's floor… " she pauses, her gaze moving from thestral to thestral, each averting their eyes as she does so, "she has opted for the assistance of some local earth ponies to correctly heal and regrow the damage which occurred last night."

Luna smiles, "In the meantime, I will be with Princess Twilight at the local spa, after which we will most likely be spending the remainder of the night at the town hall discussing further details of, and plans for, the long term vampony presence by Ponyville."

A mare to Lunar's left steps forward, "I would like to volunteer to guard you, Princess Luna."

"Hidden Glow, correct? We do not believe I will require any additional protection," Luna replies. "The threat has passed."

"And I do not presume to know better than you, Princess," Hidden states, "but I do believe it is always better to be safe than sorry."

Princess Luna considers the mare, then nods, "Very well."

Hidden Glow stands taller, her face lighting up with a wide grin, though she quickly hides it with a bow, "Thank you, Princess."

A flurry of whispers follows Luna's acceptance, muffled congratulations and a few knowing smiles directed towards Hidden Glow. Narrowing her eyes at the rest of her guards, Luna clears her throat, silence instantly falling over the other occupants of the makeshift barracks, "Moving on, there is not much else which needs to be said regarding the vamponies, other than if anypony happens to see one of them sneaking around town… "

"Leave them alone," 28 voices chorus back at her.

"Correct. Additionally," Luna says, glancing at the barn door, "and entirely unrelated to the vamponies, I was able to come to an agreement with the Apple family to allow all of you to feed on the apples in the surrounding area. The only caveat is that the Apples have also allowed some vampire fruit bats to make their home in this part of the orchard, and while they can be 'irritating little pests', they are not to be antagonized. And lastly, Hidden Glow, the Apples have offered me their hospitality, so I will be having breakfast with them in their home and expect to be departing in half an hour or less. If you are not there when I am ready to leave, then we will be leaving without you."

Hidden Glow salutes, "Understood, Princess!"

Luna's horn glows, a sphere of increasingly bright light engulfing her for several seconds until both she and it disappear, leaving behind a leftover haze of dimly luminescent magic. As soon as Princess Luna disappears from the room, the two thestrals who had been sitting on either side of Hidden Glow swiftly move next to her, the stallion on her left and the mare on her right squishing her between them.

"Uff," Hidden grunts as air is forced from her lungs, the pressure provided by the sandwiching pair pinning her wings and lifting her hooves a couple inches from the ground.

They release her several seconds later, the stallion giving her shoulder a light punch, "So that's why you were so insistent about wanting to come along to Ponyville of all places."

Hidden chuckles, rubbing her shoulder, "What can I say? I saw an opportunity, and I took it."

"Yes, yes, congratulations on Princess Luna saying 'yes'," Shadow Strike says, the attention of everypony in the room switching to him as he sidles up to Hidden, "and on having the guts to actually try that. Now don't buck it up. You won't be getting any second chances after pulling this kind of stunt – either from the Princess, or from me."

The grin plastered across Hidden Glow's face falters and she dips her head, swallowing, "Yes, sir. Thank you for giving me a chance, sir."

Shadow Strike takes a few steps back, Night Glider and Lunar Trail joining him on either side while the remaining Night Guard form a loose circle around them, "Anyway, the rest of us still need to decide who's on patrol while we're here. With the 25 of you, plus Lunar Trail, Night Glider, and I, that gives us 28, minus Hidden Glow gives 27. So here's how this is going to work: there will be 18 of us on patrol each night, split into two shifts of nine each. Each shift will then be split into three squads of three, and given Ponyville's size as well as the fact that we don't have to support any earth ponies, each squad will cover two thirds of the town with every third of the town being covered by two squads. Now," he scans the thestrals surrounding him, "that all comes out to everypony being on duty two nights out of every three, for however long we end up staying in Ponyville. I have final say over who is with whom and when, but if anypony wants to volunteer and save me the effort of figuring out where to put you, I'll let you choose the other two who will be in your squad."

After a few seconds a guard directly in front of Shadow Strike walks forward, "I'll volunteer for first shift tonight and tomorrow night, and to be in a squad with Starry Night and Prairie Crescent."

"Hey!" a guard immediately to the volunteer's right objects, "Wait a minute-"

"You Have Been Chosen," Shadow Strike declares. "Deal with it. Anypony else?"

Another guard to Shadow Strike's left moves forward, his eyes darting to Lunar Trail for an instant, "I'll also volunteer for first shift tonight and tomorrow night, and to be in a squad with Lunar Trail, if that's alright with-"

"Denied," Shadow Strike interrupts. "Lunar Trail has other plans for tonight."

Lunar turns to look at Shadow Strike, his brow knitting, "I do?"

Shadow Strike meets Lunar's eyes, his lips curving in a smirk, "I had assumed you were planning to go meet up with your new marefriend, but if you're not, that's fine too."

Lunar's face heats up, the blush spreading to cover his ears as well, "Wait, I'm not – I mean, I was going to try, but she's not-"

"Well it's about time you got a new marefriend!" a guard to Lunar's left calls out, "I was beginning to think you'd turned asexual or something considering what happened last time."

Lunar Trail stares at his fellow guard, mouth hanging open, "What?"

The guard shrugs unapologetically, "Hey, I'm only telling it like I see it."

"And not just any mare either," Night Glider chimes in, "he's fallen for one of the vampony mares!"

"T-That's not-" Lunar stammers, the insides of his ears turning beet red, "I haven't-"

Night Glider grins, "And yet, you're blushing so much I could probably boil water off your face."

"Though, I gotta be honest," Shadow Strike comments, "I never would have pegged you as somepony who'd be into a shade. I always figured you were waiting for some safe, vanilla relationship to pop up out of nowhere."

"She's not a shade," Lunar manages through the haze of his own embarrassment, fixing Shadow Strike with as much of a glare as he can muster. "She's a vampony."

"And there's nothing wrong with that," a mare standing not quite directly in front of Lunar pipes up. "Vamponies are totally hot after all."

A chorus of sighs meet her words, the stallion next to her facehoofing, "Sweet Luna, Whisper, please don't start with this again."

"What?" Whisper asks, letting her tail lightly brush the chest of the stallion beside her as she starts to circle him, "They are. Just imagine, it's after your date and you're not quite sure if it's time for you to head home or not yet, and she meets your eyes with a familiar need burning in her own. Knowing what she wants, you raise your head to allow her access to your neck – her lips on your throat a moment later, gentle as a kiss, fire spreading across your body as you feel her fangs slowly, lovingly penetrate your-"

"OKBYE!" Lunar Trail shouts, galloping to the barn door, shoving it aside and all but throwing himself through the doorway, then shutting the door behind him forcefully enough to rattle the entire building.

Laughter conquers the barracks in Lunar's absence, Night Glider eventually taking a deep breath and wiping a few tears from his eyes, "Seriously though, Shadow. Is he going to be, you know, safe, going out with a shade or a vampony or whatever?"

Shadow Strike shrugs, "I don't know. It's his choice to make though – it is his neck on the line."

A collective groan follows his statement, a few chuckles reigniting as well.

Night Glider sends a worried look at the door, "I'm not joking, Shadow. I know Princess Luna said the vamponies are good and fine and all, but are they really?"

Shadow Strike sighs, "The Princess has made her position on them very clear, and I see no reason to doubt her judgment."

"And what about Lunar?" Night Glider asks.

Shadow Strike gives him a flat look, "What about him?"

"What do you mean 'what'?" A guard behind Whisper calls out, "He's about to go on a date with a monster!"

"Wow, I didn't know you were a tribalist, Fruity!" Whisper shouts back.

"It's not being a tribalist if it's true," Fruity retorts. "They kill things and eat them!"

"Lunar Trail is free to do whatever he wants," Shadow Strike states sharply. "He's not some colt chasing after his first crush, we're not his parents, and for whatever reason Princess Luna seems to have been encouraging his pursuit of Midnight. I am not going to interfere with that. It is not my job or my place to do so."

"With all due respect, sir," Fruity says carefully, "are you saying we aren't going to do anything at all?"

Shadow Strike narrows his eyes at Fruity, "That is exactly what I am saying. And while I'm at it, I'll go one step further. Nopony had better go off by themselves and start any kind of confrontation on their own. As I said, Princess Luna has made her position clear, and anypony who puts her efforts in jeopardy will have to answer to her exactly why they think they know better than she does. Is that in any way unclear?"

Fruity dips his head, lowering his gaze to the floor, "No, sir."

"Good," Shadow Strike says, returning his attention to the guard who had requested Lunar. "Anyway, we still have a patrol schedule to fill, so who're your next choices?"

Lunar Trail shoves the barn door aside, grabbing onto its handle with his tail as he passes through the doorway and slamming it shut behind him. Slowing to a stop in front of an apple tree a short distance away, Lunar closes his eyes and rests his head against the rough bark of its trunk, the stream of images brought forth by Whisper's teasing stubbornly sustaining the fire of embarrassment and lust heating his face.

The leaves above him rustle, weak vibrations making their way to his forehead through the trunk, "So."

Lunar jumps away from the tree as if it had turned to lava, his wings slowly spreading of their own accord while he stares up at the owner of the voice perched on a branch above him with growing horror, "M-M-Mid-Midn-"

"Midnight," said vampony finishes, her fangs bared as she grins toothily down at him. "And if I overheard all that correctly, you think me biting you is… arousing."

Lunar Trail's blush deepens, his wings burning and face radiating heat like the sun itself as he feels each heartbeat pulse across his body, "I-I-I-I – I d-don't, I mean, u-uh… h-how… how did you even get here? Princess Luna just raised the moon a few minutes ago."

Midnight hops off the branch, landing behind him, "It wasn't that hard. I followed you here after you spent all of last night following Luna around, then I slept on the edge of the Everfree until the sun started getting lower." She prowls forward, taking short, deliberate strides, "And then, once the sun was low enough to be mostly hidden by the trees, I flew over, staying just above the ground. Simple."

Lunar swallows, the tree upon which he has previously planted his face only allowing him to retreat a single step, "O-Oh."

"But, if it makes you feel any better," Midnight continues, now nearly nose to nose with him, "I kinda like the idea that you like being bitten."

Lunar's mouth opens and closes, half formed words and random syllables the only sounds coming out.

Midnight giggles, moving to the side and walking past him, "Anyway, come on, let's go."

Lunar Trail blinks, dislodging a few particularly provocative thoughts with a shake of his head before turning to look at Midnight, "Sorry, what?"

Midnight sighs, "Just follow me."

Lunar Trail hesitates once they reach the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, an expanse of increasingly wild grass separating the neat rows of apple trees from the twisted oaks and chaotic undergrowth of the Everfree, "Um, Midnight?"

Midnight halts a few strides ahead, turning around to look at him, "What?"

"Why are we going into the Everfree Forest?" Lunar asks, glancing between the dark woods and the vampony leading him there.

"Because I like being in the Everfree more than being in Ponyville," Midnight replies. "Everything is way too… open. Also there's a clearing close to the border here where we won't be interrupted by some random pony happening to see what we're doing and getting the wrong idea."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Lunar Trail says, cantering to catch up to Midnight as she continues making her way towards the forest. "What are we going to be doing when we get there?"

Midnight smiles, "When we get there, I'll tell you."

Lunar pauses again upon reaching the Everfree's border, spreading his wings in preparation to take flight only for Midnight to push the closer of his wings back against his barrel, "No flying."

"No flying?"

"No flying."

Lunar eyes the trees in front of him, even the incomplete coverage they provide seeming to absorb more of the moon's light than they should to cast an eerie shroud on everything beneath them, "Why?"

Midnight shrugs, "Because I said so."

"Flying would be safer though," Lunar insists, "and faster too."

"I am here," Midnight states, fixing Lunar Trail with an indignant glare. "Even if there was anything around here that would be interested in attacking you, it wouldn't dare try while you're with me. And flying isn't always safer or faster either, especially once you start going farther in."

Lunar sends a long look at the peaceful, moonlit orchard behind them, then sighs, "Alright, lead the way."

The remainder of their journey passes in silence, Lunar Trail keeping his eyes narrowed and a foreleg raised to protect himself from the leaves, branches, and vines pushed aside by Midnight's passing. Eventually though a break appears in the trees and foliage, a small, perfectly circular area with a completely unobstructed view of the night sky appearing out of nowhere.

Midnight walks into the clearing without hesitation, however Lunar pauses after placing a single hoof inside its border. Looking down, he sees a dense sheet of moss covering the entire clearing, tiny gaps in the moss revealing it to be growing on a single large chunk of stone rather than the dirt of the rest of the forest. Raising his gaze, his eyes land on a waiting Midnight, the vampony standing beside a short stone spire only as tall as her shoulder jutting from the clearing's center. Light from Luna's moon glints off water flowing down the spire's sides from its lopped off tip, the moss covering the surrounding area absorbing and distributing the water like a sponge.

Midnight licks her lips, glancing at the moss covered rock for an instant before returning her attention to Lunar, "I figured it would be better to see it all at once, rather than first seeing it less clearly from the sky and then noticing more stuff as you got closer."

"I'd… have to agree," Lunar Trail says, walking a few steps further into the clearing. "It's beautiful. I wouldn't have thought the Everfree would have any place like this. Thank you for showing it to me."

Midnight nods, her cheeks darkening ever so slightly, "There are a few other places like this. Well, not like this like this, but worth seeing if you know where to look. The next closest is almost two nights away though, and for part of the way there you actually really don't want to fly."

Lunar Trail walks further into the clearing, closing the distance between them, "Well, I definitely don't have enough time to go see that place, but maybe… "

"What?" Midnight asks, tilting her head.

Lunar glances between Midnight and the stone spire, "Where is the water coming from?"

Midnight shrugs, "From the rock."

"But there aren't any holes in the rock," Lunar points out, narrowing his eyes at the spire. "The water is just… appearing on top of it."

Midnight rolls her eyes, "Yes, there is a magic rock inside a magic forest, who'd have thought."

"Right, sorry," Lunar Trail says, smiling apologetically. "Anyway, you said there was something you wanted to do without anypony wandering over and interrupting?"

Midnight bobs her head, squaring her shoulders and standing straighter, "Yes, that. So, I don't know how thestrals usually do this, but when we vamponies are considering another as a potential mate-"

Lunar's eyes nearly bulge out of his head, a fresh blush returning to his face, "Wait wait wait, hold on. Potential mate?"

"W-Well, yeah," Midnight replies, her ears pinning back. "You seemed interested before tonight, and after overhearing you earlier I assumed that, you know, you were."

"I-I mean, yeah. I am. Definitely, uh, interested," Lunar Trail stammers.

"But not as a potential mate?" Midnight asks.

"No, I mean, yeah, I mean, I think so," Lunar backtracks. "It just seems kind of sudden, becoming a potential mate. A lot's happened, but we only met a few nights ago."

Midnight gives him a flat look, "I'm not saying we should mate right now, I'm saying I thought you would be interested in potentially becoming mates at some point. But now you're acting like you're not actually interested in that."

"I am interested in you though," Lunar objects.

Midnight throws her hooves into the air, "Then why did you act all scared when I said I was interested in you too?!"

"Because you said-" Lunar shuts his mouth, closing his eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath, "Okay. When you said 'considering another as a potential mate', what did you mean?"

Midnight glares at him, "We'd do the two things I brought you out here to do, then… if you were a vampony we'd go hunting together or feeding together or… I don't know. I guess we'd just talk to each other?"

Lunar blinks, "You mean sort of like dating?"

Midnight frowns, "What-ing?"

"Dating," Lunar reiterates. "It's where two ponies are interested in each other, so they spend time together to get to know the other better."

Midnight's glare weakens and she shakes her head. "No, that comes after the first two things."

"Oh," Lunar Trail replies. "What are the first two things then?"

"So you are actually interested in potentially becoming mates," Midnight clarifies.

"Yes," Lunar states clearly, nodding for good measure.

"Okay," Midnight inhales deeply, holding the air in her lungs for a couple seconds before exhaling. "Good. So, the first thing we need to do is determine who's the better hunter."

"Uhm… Midnight?" Lunar queries, "You do realize I'm not a vampony, right? I've never hunted anything in my life. I don't even eat meat."

Midnight grins, "That's fine. We're hunting each other, not some random animal."

Lunar gulps, his heart beating faster, "And by 'hunting' you mean… ?"

"I mean we fight each other," Midnight says, snickering. "Whoever gets knocked out or gives up loses."

Lunar lets out an exaggerated sigh, wiping imaginary sweat from his brow, "That's a relief. Plus I'll be able to prove to you that I, and the rest of the Lunar Guard, aren't as weak as you seem to think we are."

"I never said you're weak," Midnight corrects, "I said you're weaker. If I thought you were weak, I wouldn't have bothered bringing you out here. But in any case, the second thing we need to do is to find out which one of us has the strongest will. This is also the more important of the two, since I doubt you're going to go hunting for real any time soon."

"How exactly would that work?" Lunar Trail asks. "Not that I'm doubting you or anything, but I've seen more than a few 'tests' that claim to measure willpower when really they just do things like measure pain tolerance or concentration and then pretend they're the same thing."

"Simple," Midnight answers. "We have a staring contest."

"A staring contest," Lunar repeats.

Midnight raises an eyebrow, her eyes flashing bright red, "Yup! First one to look away or be completely overwhelmed loses."

Lunar Trail glances at the moss beneath his hooves, shifting from side to side, "Is this at all related to what you did to Princess Twilight a few days ago?"

"It's the same idea," Midnight confirms, "but I was only trying to have some fun that time, even if it didn't work out how I wanted. This is actually important though, and you'll get time to prepare yourself before we start. Same thing with the fight – I'm not going to ambush you at random or anything like that."

"But what you used on Princess Twilight, that was mind magic, right?" Lunar asks.

Midnight shrugs, "I guess. Luna called it 'domination magic', if that helps."

"Not really," Lunar replies, bracing himself. "Still, I don't want to do the willpower contest."

Midnight frowns, her mouth opening for a split second before any words come out, "Why?"

"Because it's really dangerous," Lunar Trail says matter-of-factly.

"No it's not," Midnight counters.

"Yes, it is," Lunar insists. "Anything that involves messing with ponies' minds is dangerous – minds are very complicated, they are very easy to damage inadvertently, they are very hard to fix, and changing a pony's mind with magic means you're changing who they are in ways that are barely, if at all, understood."

Midnight glares at him, "That sounds like some list you memorized."

Lunar Trail shrugs, "And? That doesn't make it any less true."

"But it is wrong!" Midnight says loudly, "Me, my family, and all vamponies use it all the time, and not once has anything bad ever happened."

"And that's great for you," Lunar replies, "but I'm still not doing it."

"Luna said she goes into the 'dream realm' or whatever," Midnight points out. "That's mind magic too, isn't it?"

Lunar nods, "Yes, but that's different. Princess Luna is, well, a princess. She knows what she's doing."

"And you don't think I know what I'm doing?" Midnight growls.

"I didn't say that," Lunar Trail states sharply.

"Then why are you making such a big deal about this?" Midnight demands.

Lunar meets Midnight's flickering eyes, glaring back at her, "I told you, because it's dangerous!"

"No it's not!" Midnight shouts, "This is literally how it's always been done!"

"Maybe this is how you've always done it," Lunar replies curtly, "but I'm not a vampony and I'm not going to let you use mind magic on me!"

Midnight stares at Lunar for a moment, then takes a step away, "You're right. You're not. Sorry for the mistake."

Lunar Trail blinks, suddenly aware of the cold, wet moss under his hooves and the weak breeze pushing against his back, "What do you-"

Midnight does not wait for him to finish however, vanishing from sight without another word.

Lunar stares at the spot Midnight had previously occupied, a pair of seconds passing while he processes her disappearance, "Midnight?"

The brush on the opposite side of the clearing rustles, for an instant the moon revealing a translucent, shadowy figure.

Lunar springs to his hooves, galloping across the clearing, "Midnight! Wait a minute!"

Shadow Strike turns his head slowly from left to right, observing the otherwise ponyless landscape in front him. Gore from a multitude of crushed and broken apples lies strewn at random across the grass, red pieces of skin scattered amongst the fruits' pulverized innards as well as stuck to the trunks of trees and the sides of the barn-turned-barracks. Sticky streaks of partially dried juice likewise cover all wooden surfaces, the former liquid having flowed downward along their various curves and imperfections.

Shadow Strike sighs deeply, the action dislodging a seed from his mane, Princess Luna will not be pleased.

The sound of hooves hitting the ground behind him reaches his ears, the heaviness of their landing driving a chill into his stomach. Forcing his expression to remain neutral, he turns sharply on his heel, "Princess, I can – Lunar? What the heck happened to you?"

"Nothing happened," Lunar Trail grunts, keeping his eyes on the ground while he attempts to walk around Shadow Strike.

"Nothing happened to you about as much as nothing happened to Princess Luna before she was possessed by the Nightmare," Shadow Strike replies, moving into Lunar's path, "except instead of turning evil you're covered in mud, bark, and cuts. Did Midnight attack you?"

"No," Lunar states, again trying to sidestep Shadow Strike only to again be blocked.

"Lunar," Shadow Strike says, "as a fellow guard and as a friend, I'm not going to let this go. What happened?"

A tired silence hangs in the air for several seconds before Lunar speaks, never once raising his eyes from the grass, "She was waiting for me when I ran out of the barracks and she led me to a clearing inside the Everfree, which was actually pretty beautiful. We had a bit of a misunderstanding at first, but basically she wanted to start the vampony equivalent of dating. But before they do anything like what we would consider dating, they have a contest to see who's the better fighter, and then another contest to see who has the stronger will. I was okay with the fighting contest, but the willpower one turned out to involve her using mind magic on me. I didn't want to do it, she said we had to, we argued about it, and then she all of a sudden decided to disappear. And then I ran into the Everfree to try to find her."

Shadow Strike stares at Lunar Trail, after a moment placing a comforting hoof on his shoulder, "You made the right choice."

Lunar looks up at Shadow Strike, "I did?"

Shadow Strike snorts, "Running into the Everfree Forest after a pony who can become invisible was incredibly stupid, but as far as the 'refusing to let her use mind magic on you' part goes, yes, you made the right choice. All forms of mind magic outside of what's used by the princesses are either completely illegal or tightly controlled, and to willingly take part in such an activity anyway would be conduct unbefitting of a Lunar Guard. How Changelings and Vamponies are going to fit into this, I have no idea, but that's the way it is right now. Further, as a Lunar Guard, your most important duty is to Princess Luna, and by exposing yourself to such magic you could compromise yourself, those around you, and even the princess herself."

Lunar Trail glances at the ground, "Right, right… that makes sense."

"Glad I could help," Shadow Strike says. "Now you go wash up, and I'll get some bandages. You look like you jumped into a pool of mud filled with thorns and swam around for a while."

Lunar nods, his lips quirking in a wan smile. Stepping around Shadow Strike at long last, Lunar trudges to the back of the barn. A metal pump greets him, the immediate vicinity of the pump mostly clear of apple debris and instead surrounded by wooden buckets as well as a few stray sponges and bars of soap.

His smile slumps as he gathers one of each item however, a single thought slipping to the forefront of his mind, If I made the right choice, then why do I still feel like I made a horrible mistake?

Chapter 23 Gaining Perspective

"Maybe this is how you've always done it," Lunar Trail replies, bristling at Midnight's verbal barrage, "but I'm not a vampony and I'm not going to let you use mind magic on me!"

Midnight leans back, her eyes widening at his retort and her ears drooping ever so slightly, though only for a moment – cold detachment taking over her expression just as quickly.

She moves a step away, her sharp teeth and fangs clearly visible while she speaks, "You're right. You're not. Sorry for the mistake."

"Sir!"

A sudden yank on his tail pulls Lunar out of his reverie and into the real world, revealing an ominously dark grey cloud floating only a few feet in front of him. The night guard behind Lunar releases the tail held in his mouth, retaking his position on Lunar's right while the third member of their squad hovers uncertainly on Lunar's left.

"Is everything alright, sir?" the left guard asks, glancing between Lunar and the lone thundercloud marring the otherwise nearly clear sky. "You've been pretty distracted since last night."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," Lunar replies, a small spark of electricity arcing randomly along the cloud's puffy exterior. A breeze picks up in the ensuing silence, his eyes tracking the cloud as it moves out of their path.

Lunar sighs, "If a mare you liked wanted to use mind magic on you, would you let her?"

Silence reigns once more, the guard on the left glancing over Lunar's back to the guard on his right, though all he receives in response is a bewildered shrug.

The left guard clears his throat, "Were you asking us, sir?"

Lunar looks at the guard, "Is there anypony else up here?"

"N-No, sir," the guard stammers. "I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a rhetorical question before I started, you know, answering. Um. I guess, as for the question, I'd have to say 'definitely no'. My mind is for me, and I don't want anypony else messing with it, mare or otherwise."

Lunar turns his attention to the guard hovering on his right.

"Well… " the other night guard replies, tapping his chin, "I guess it would depend a little. If it was just telepathy, or something like that, then it would be kinda neat to be able to talk with thoughts. Anything more than that seems like it would be pretty dangerous though."

"Hmm… " Lunar murmurs.

The left guard raises a hoof to shield his eyes from the light of the nearly full moon, squinting down at Ponyville, "Huh."

"Is something wrong?" Lunar asks.

"I don't know," the guard replies, pointing at the oddity. "Maybe?"

Lunar follows the outstretched hoof, his gaze landing on another thestral guard perched on the roof of a house a ways in front of them. Noticing their attention, the guard on the roof waves frantically back at the trio, hopping up and down between each wave.

Lunar stares at the roof-bound guard, "Huh."

"So… should we… go see why he's jumping on somepony's roof?" the right guard asks eventually.

"I'll go check what the problem is," Lunar replies. "You two keep patrolling, and I'll catch up with you in a bit."

Both night guards simultaneously salute, "Yes, sir."

Lunar watches them continue on their patrol route, after several seconds adjusting the angle of his wings and giving a few hard flaps as if to follow them – instead keeping his wings spread wide to glide towards the still waving guard.

"Is there a problem?" Lunar asks, landing on the roof next to the guard. "Why aren't you on patrol?"

"My squad and I ran into the Royal Guard lieutenant, sir," the night guard answers. "He ordered me to watch the changeling living in the house opposite this one."

Lunar frowns, glancing across the street at the indicated house, "You mean he ordered you to stop patrolling the town we've been tasked with protecting, to instead keep tabs on one of the changelings who stood with Princess Luna and Princess Twilight not two nights ago? A changeling which Princess Twilight specifically used as an example of why changelings aren't evil?"

"And the stallion who's with her, but yes, sir," the guard confirms. "Also, when I got here, I took over for a pegasus who said my job was to 'make sure those soulless parasites keep hiding in their houses'."

A heavy silence follows the guard's words, Lunar's frown deepening, "He said what?"

"The pegasus was a mare, sir, and those were entirely her words, not mine," the other thestral on the roof replies. "I don't think that was the exact order their lieutenant would have given either, even to another royal guard, but you know as well as I do that the royals are still pissy about getting their flanks handed to them by the changelings a couple years ago. I haven't had much to do with Celestia's guards since I got to Ponyville, thank Luna, but I'd be lying if I said it surprises me that they're taking it out a bit on the changelings here."

"And I assume the other two members of your squad were ordered to watch the other two changelings?" Lunar asks.

"Yes, sir," the night guard answers. "However, I would much prefer to be in the air and on patrol, if that's what you'd rather have me be doing."

"I would," Lunar states. "Go find the rest of your squad, get back on patrol, and let everypony else know that they are not to stop patrolling to sit around watching changelings that the Princesses believe are trustworthy. If the Royal Guard gives anypony any trouble when they wake up, tell them to take it up with me."

The guard salutes, "Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!"

Lunar watches the grinning guard fly away, after a moment spreading his wings as well, though he does not flap them after jumping off the roof – the drag from his wings keeping his fall to a manageable speed despite the weight of his armor. Approaching the formerly surveilled house, he gives its door four hard knocks. For a time, nothing happens. However, just as he raises a hoof to knock again, the door opens.

A large, red stallion fills the doorway, glaring menacingly down at Lunar, "What?"

"Hello," Lunar replies, eyes flicking from a large bruise on Big Mac's left foreleg near his shoulder to a gauze bandage wrapped around his right ear before settling on the taller stallion's face. "You're Macintosh Apple, right?"

"That's me," Big Mac rumbles. "What do ya want this time? Cause Ah ain't lettin' you in either."

A floorboard creaks behind Big Mac, an entirely black pony save for her dull yellow shell and pupil-less eyes freezing in Lunar's peripheral vision.

"I'm not sure I understand," Lunar states, only barely resisting the urge to glance at the changeling attempting to sneak through the home's darkened interior. "Who wanted you to let them in?"

Big Mac smirks, "A coupla' other guards tried to force their way in earlier today. They didn't get too far." He glances at the empty street behind Lunar, "Though Ah gotta admit, Ah was expectin' more a' you the next time y'all showed up, not less."

"Oh," Lunar says with difficulty, his jaw muscles flexing stiffly beneath his cheeks. "Well. I cannot speak for the Royal Guard's actions, and I will not apologize for them, but I will say that the Night Guard and Lunar Guard had no part in their intimidation. In fact, the reason I am here is to let you know that we have no intention of keeping anypony stationed outside your house any longer. As far as I'm concerned, Princess Luna and Princess Twilight vouched for you, and that's good enough for us. I'd also imagine they'd be quite disappointed to know what the Royal Guard has been up to during the day."

"Mac… " Cheerilee murmurs, nudging him to the side just enough to fit in the doorway without looking over his shoulder, "He's telling the truth."

Big Mac glances at Cheerilee, "He is?"

Cheerilee nods, licking her lips, "Y-Yeah. He's angry, but it doesn't feel like it's directed at us or… or me, or anything like that."

Big Mac relaxes at her words, giving Lunar a once over and moving to allow Cheerilee more room in the doorway.

"You can read my emotions that specifically?" Lunar asks.

Cheerilee takes a tiny step sideways, filling the space left by Big Mac, "I'm not sure I'd say 'specifically', but… emotions do have a sort of direction to them, so they're strongest towards the thing the emotion is being felt about. Or where the pony feeling the emotion thinks the thing they're thinking about is. Your anger wasn't directed at us, it was focused more… " she waves a hoof behind Lunar and vaguely to his right, "over there. Somewhere."

"Huh," Lunar replies, glancing over his shoulder. "That's interesting."

"As interestin' as that is," Big Mac interjects, "would ya mind bringing this up with Princess Twilight and Princess Luna? Seein' as how they apparently don't know what all's been goin' on."

"Not at all," Lunar states, giving a single, sharp nod. "Everything I've heard, and seen, in the last five minutes about the Royal Guard's behavior is completely unacceptable, and the very next thing I intend to do once we're done talking is tell the princesses what they've been up to."

Cheerilee smiles, ducking her head slightly, "Thank you, Lunar Trail."

Lunar smiles as well, looking away after a moment and rubbing the back of his neck, "And… letting you know where we thestrals stand was all that I originally came over here to do, but… Cheerilee, given that you're a changeling and all, would you mind if I asked you a few questions about mind magic?"

Big Mac frowns, stepping forward into the doorway to place himself between Lunar and Cheerilee.

"I'm not investigating her," Lunar adds quickly, "or trying to dig up something to use against her, or anything like that. There's just some things I'd really like to know, more for myself than for any 'official' reason."

Cheerilee pushes against Big Mac's shoulder, the stallion begrudgingly giving in to let her stand fully in the doorway, "What do you want to know?"

"What do you know-" Lunar hesitates, glancing at the ground. "Well, do you know anything about Domination magic?"

Cheerilee tilts her head, her pupil-less eyes revealing nothing until she smiles widely, "This is about Midnight, isn't it?"

Lunar blushes, "H-How did – oh, right, never mind."

"Ah feel like Ah missed somethin' just now," Big Mac states plainly, sitting down and leaning over Cheerilee's shoulder as he looks between them.

"He likes one of the vamponies," Cheerilee explains.

"Oh," Big Mac says, both his eyebrows rising. "Well alright then."

"Does that mean you know about Domination magic?" Lunar asks hopefully.

"Sort of," Cheerilee answers.

Lunar's ears droop, "Sort of?"

Cheerilee sits, taking a few seconds to compose herself, "I know about it, but I can't actually use it myself. Most changelings can't. Changeling mind magic generally falls under what's known as 'seduction' type magic – which just means that I can't walk up to somepony, stare into their eyes, and suddenly they're brainwashed. It's sort of like hypnosis, if that helps. It's very delicate and can take a long time to make any progress – i-if that was something I wanted to do, which it's not! And I haven't. Ever, uh, done that. To anypony."

Big Mac lays a comforting hoof across Cheerilee's shoulders, said changeling taking a deep breath and leaning into him, "Brainwashed emotions wouldn't taste this good anyway… "

She blushes a split second later, "A-Anyway, the point is, domination magic is completely the opposite of that. If changeling mind magic is like threading a needle, then vampony mind magic is like a sledgehammer. They can walk up to a pony, stare at them, and almost immediately start influencing their behavior, but it's not at all subtle. Anypony who has domination magic used on them will know it was used on them, and will probably even be able to tell when their actions are being influenced by it, assuming they know what Domination magic is and what signs to to look for. Though whether they can stop themselves is a different question."

"And… how important is Domination magic to them?" Lunar asks, "I don't know if 'culturally' is the right word, but you know what I'm asking, right?"

Cheerilee shrugs the shoulder not pressed to Big Mac's chest, "I don't know. It's not something I ever really cared to ask. That said, I do think it's very much a part of who and what they are. There was a time a couple years ago when they had me teach Midnight's little sister the basics of reading, writing, et cetera, and whoever was with her, usually Midnight, would often use a little Domination magic to make her pay attention and stop trying to sneak off whenever she got bored. It gave me the impression that it's something they use so commonly, and consider so ordinary, that they don't think twice about it."

"Hmm… " Lunar murmurs, resting his chin on his hoof and staring at the ground, "I'm not sure how I feel about using mind magic like that on a filly, but… I suppose it doesn't sound too dangerous, all things considered."

Cheerilee gives another one-shouldered shrug, "For vamponies, maybe not. But for everypony else? I have no idea what side effects it could have. For changelings though, it's very dangerous. We have a sort of passive mental link to every other changeling in our hive, and losing to a vampony's Domination magic can completely sever that changeling's link, to the point that they would have to travel back to the hive to be rejoined by the queen herself. If a queen were to somehow lose… I don't know what would happen, but it would be devastating to the entire hive."

"Mmmmm… " Lunar grumbles, his brow knitting.

"I'm sorry I can't give a more definite answer," Cheerilee apologizes.

"Don't be," Lunar says, shaking his head, "this has been really helpful. Thanks."

Cheerilee's eyes flit to the street, returning to Lunar an instant later, "Would you mind if I asked you a question?"

"Not at all," Lunar replies.

"Are any of – I mean, would you happen to know if any Royal Guards are still awake?" Cheerilee asks.

"I don't," Lunar answers, wincing, "but I doubt it. Most of them usually don't stay out long after the moon rises if we thestrals are around to guard the night."

Cheerilee gently pulls away from the stallion next to her, looking up at him hopefully, "Mac, maybe we could… ?"

"It would be nice to get out a' the house," Big Mac agrees. "No offense to yer house, of course."

"None taken," Cheerilee replies with a giggle, returning her attention to Lunar Trail. "And, thank you."

Lunar smiles, "Don't mention it. You might want to avoid the north part of town for now though, just in case. The Royal Guards are all staying in a couple vacant houses up there."

The couple's levity falters at his words, determination taking its place.

"Thanks fer the warning," Big Mac says. "We'll keep that in mind."

Lunar Trail pushes open the doors to the town hall, shadows and darkness covering nearly the entirety of the now empty first floor save for a weak, yet warm, flickering glow emanating from his left.

Quiet voices murmur incomprehensibly above him from the same direction, and he takes a few steps towards their apparent source, "Princess Luna? Princess Twilight?"

A point of light appears over the railing of one of the circular platforms making up the second floor, for a brief moment illuminating him in and eerie, light blue glow – a pulse of magic tingling over his body an instant later. Lunar blinks, glancing from side to side to find himself standing at a table between Luna and Twilight, Luna sitting back down as the glow fades from her horn. Documents, many only partially completed or with large sections scribbled out, cover the entire table and flow to the floor in a waterfall of parchment, the only exceptions to papery dominance being the space taken up by a teacup near Twilight, a coffee mug near Luna, and several inkpots. A large shaft of moonlight falls across the two beverages as well as most of the cascade of parchment and ink, though its position in the sky and the size of the nearby open window prevents it from covering the entire table – four firefly lanterns placed behind him at even intervals atop the railing overlooking the first floor providing the remaining light needed for reading. Hidden Glow meanwhile keeps watch over the pair of princesses from her position between the other side of their table and the window, her ears perked and on alert as her eyes flick from Lunar to the room around him.

"Princess Luna, Princess Twilight," Lunar says, dipping his head respectfully, "I'm sorry for interrupting your work; however, I have become aware of something which I believe you should know about sooner rather than later."

Luna raises an eyebrow, "Though given your calmness, we assume it is not anything which would pose an immediate danger to Ponyville?"

Lunar shakes his head, "Not immediately and not to Ponyville as a whole, but I am somewhat worried about what might happen after the sun rises tomorrow. While I was on patrol tonight, myself and the two others I was flying with ran into a single Night Guard from another patrol sitting on a roof watching the home of the changeling Cheerilee. He reported that the Royal Guard's lieutenant had ordered his squad to stop patrolling and instead keep watch on the houses of the three changelings currently in Ponyville."

"I see," Luna replies, her eyes narrowing. "I was unaware that the Royal Guard had taken such an endeavor upon themselves. Thank you for bringing this to our attention."

Lunar nods, his eyes flitting to Hidden Glow and then to the window behind her before returning to Luna, "Also, and this is why I decided I needed to bring this to your attention immediately rather than later, the Night Guard who was watching Cheerilee reported the Royal Guard he had replaced as saying their job was to 'make sure those soulless parasites keep hiding in their houses'."

"What?!" Twilight exclaims, her forehooves hitting the table hard enough to rattle her teacup as she stands, glaring at Lunar.

"Indeed," Luna agrees, the shadows surrounding the table no longer moving despite the lazy motions of the fireflies in their lanterns. "That is quite a provocative statement to make after how clear Twilight and I were that they are trustworthy, especially in the case of the Bearer of Kindness."

Lunar suppresses a shiver as he holds Luna's gaze, her eyes piercing through his own to deliver a chill to his core, "I am… simply reporting what I was told, Princess; and while I know that the Lunar and Night Guard frequently do not get along with the Royal Guard, I have no reason to doubt this report. Very much the opposite, in fact."

Luna meets his eyes for a moment longer, then nods, "Continue."

Lunar dips his head in a quick bow, "After ordering the Night Guard to find the other members of his squad and continue with their patrol, I went to speak with Cheerilee to inform her that no thestrals would be watching her or her house anymore. However, Macintosh Apple answered the door instead, and he claimed that a couple of Royal Guards had attempted to force their way into Cheerilee's home during the day. Normally I would not believe such a story, even about the Royal Guard, but he did have a bandage on one of his ears as well as what looked like a fairly recent bruise near one of his shoulders."

Lunar shudders despite his best efforts, a fine mist appearing in front of his face as he exhales.

"L-Luna?" Twilight asks through chattering teeth, "I-Is that y-you?"

Luna closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, the ambient temperature instantly rising, "Yes, our apologies."

Twilight steps down from the table and looks back at Lunar, "And y-you said the other two c-changelings in Ponyville were being watched like this as well?"

"They w-were also certainly being watched," Lunar confirms, "but beyond that, I don't know."

"I hope Fluttershy's ok… " Twilight murmurs, glancing in the direction of the Everfree. "I can't believe the Guard would do something like this."

"Perhaps, if this is how the Royal Guard is going to behave, they should be sent back to Canterlot," Hidden Glow suggests.

"Then I take it that you are volunteering to patrol during the day?" Luna asks pointedly.

Hidden flinches, lowering her head, "No, Princess."

Luna returns her attention to Lunar, "Is there anything else we should know about?"

Lunar shakes his head, "No, that was all I had to say on that."

"'On that'?" Luna asks, raising an eyebrow. "Has there been some other incident?"

"I am not aware of there having been any other incidents, Princess," Lunar answers.

"Then what were you referring to?" Luna presses.

Lunar looks at the floor, shuffling his hooves, "I originally had a more… I guess… personal question, unrelated to all this, which I was going to ask once you and Princess Twilight had finished your work for the night. But-"

"Well, you are already here," Luna interrupts. "What is the question?"

"Oh," Lunar says. "Okay, I mean, in that case, I was just wondering, given that mind magic is mostly illegal, what does that mean for vamponies' domination magic and… and it's use on non-vamponies?"

Luna turns to her other guard, "Hidden Glow."

"Yes, Princess?" Hidden queries.

"Please wait outside the front doors," Luna states. "When Lunar leaves, wait a few more minutes, then return here."

Hidden Glow bows and immediately jumps out the nearest window, spreading her wings before gravity takes over.

"The official, long-term stance has yet to be decided," Luna says, focusing on Lunar after watching the empty window for an extra moment, "and likely will not be completely settled for some time. However, I assume that this is related to Midnight in some way?"

Lunar shifts from side to side, "It is."

Luna nods, "In that case, you need not worry about the legal technicalities. We are also able and willing to remove any lasting effects, should you ever be on the receiving end of her magic."

Lunar blinks, taking an extra pair of seconds to process Luna's response, "You can?"

"Correct," Luna replies. "Were there any other questions you wished to ask?"

"Oh, uh, no, Princess," Lunar replies, bowing. "Thank you for answering the one question I did have. Also, was there anything you wished for me to do regarding the first issue?"

"No," Luna states. "We will handle it. Thank you for bringing it to my attention."

"In that case, I will continue with my patrol," Lunar says, bowing again before trotting behind Twilight and following Hidden Glow out the window.

Luna watches Lunar leave, turning back to Twilight to find the purple alicorn staring at her through narrowed eyes.

"Is something the matter, Twilight?" Luna asks, her lips quirking in a smile.

Twilight stares at Luna a moment more before replying, "You just gave one of your personal guards permission to be subjected to normally illegal mind magic, and even offered to remove its effects. Why?"

Luna levitates her coffee mug over her head, tilting it not quite completely upside down to drip the last of its brown liquid into her mouth.

"Simple," Luna says after she swallows. "Politics."

Twilight groans and slumps to the table, her horn spearing one of the many pieces of paper scattered in front of her, "I knew it."

Luna grins, "But do you know why?"

Twilight raises her head only enough to rest her chin on the table, the pierced parchment remaining stuck to her horn and obscuring most of her face, "Because having them like each other is somehow beneficial to Equestria?"

Luna chuckles, levitating the paper from Twilight's horn, "Indeed it is, however I did not 'have them like each other'. Though we may not be our niece, it is clear to us that their feelings are genuine and entirely their own – I am simply removing certain otherwise troublesome obstacles from their path when the opportunity presents itself."

"And, not that I have anything against them," Twilight says, sighing, "but how does them liking each other benefit Equestria?"

"Lunar Trail answers to me, and Midnight's parents are the closest thing the vamponies around Ponyville have to leaders," Luna replies. "Their relationship therefore provides a means of communication between us and them which does not involve me personally having to go speak with them every time something needs to be said, it also provides a more concrete and longer lasting example of vamponies not being monsters lurking in the Everfree, and it provides an excellent way for us to learn about each other – something it would seem Lunar Trail is already in the midst of doing and which we are sure will make for some very interesting questions to ask him once he returns to Canterlot."

"That's only if your plan works though," Twilight points out. "Otherwise all those things could become even more difficult."

Luna rolls her eyes, "Such could be said of all plans. If one only did things that had no chance of failure, one would do very little at all."

"I suppose I can understand the motivation, and it's hard to argue against helping their relationship in and of itself, but still… " Twilight grumbles, glancing again towards the Everfree. "Anyway, would you mind it if we stop here for tonight? I'd like to check up on Fluttershy and make sure she's alright."

Luna shakes her head, "Not at all. This is as good a time as any for me to give the Royal Guard something of a 'wake up call' as well. We are sure Hidden Glow will enjoy the spectacle, at least."

Twilight nods, disappearing an instant later in a flash of lavender light. Luna meanwhile flips over one of the many pieces of parchment cluttering the table, adding a short note to the parchment's back before walking to the window her two thestrals had left from. Taking to the air with a flutter of her wings, she follows Hidden Glow's flight path towards the town hall's front doors.

Lunar Trail stares out at the Everfree Forest, the air displaced by his wings swirling over the numerous bandages and small cuts scattered across his now unarmored body left over from his previous trek into the Everfree. Light from the moon directly overhead equally illuminates both the untamed forest in front and the civilized landscape behind him – the orderly peace of the orchard offering him one last chance to turn around. Leaning forward, he instead propels himself over the forest's border, allowing a couple miles to pass beneath him before he opens his mouth, releasing the first call of many to disturb the quiet rustling of the trees below, "Midni~ight!"

Chapter 24 First Step, Second Time

One, two, three, four, five, Lunar counts to himself, mouthing the words to the rhythm of his wings. He scans the sea of trees stretching out below him to the horizon in all directions, the dull burn permeating his lungs and the muscles at the base of his wings ever so slightly easing after his brief ascent levels off, and glide…

"Midniiight!"

He glances up towards the star-speckled night sky as he restarts his count, focusing instead on Luna's moon now hovering nearly three quarters of its way to the western horizon rather than the complaints of his tiring body. He swallows, licking his dried lips and looking away, the reminder of the approaching dawn tightening the knot in his gut. Pausing his wings for another short glide, he opens his mouth once more, "Midniiight!"

A small rock whizzes past him without warning, the projectile just barely missing his head though it clips the tuft of fluff tipping his left ear – a voice following in the rock's wake, "Be quiet!"

Lunar instantly comes to a stop, his heart hammering in his chest as he turns around to look over the short stretch of trees behind him, searching for the most likely source of the rock. Settling on a particularly tall tree poking up well above the rest of the Everfree, he dives, slowing only enough to either slip between the thicker branches crowding the forest's dense canopy or else maneuver to push through the thinner, more flexible ones.

He glances from side to side upon landing on the dry, grassless dirt of the forest floor, absently pressing down on a few of the bandages covering cuts earned during the previous night while peering into the darkness surrounding him – what little moonlight which had managed to penetrate this far leaving it dim, even to his eyes, "Hello?"

"Oh for the love of… " a voice hisses softly behind him. "In what world does getting a rock chucked at you and being told to shut up mean 'come down here and keep being loud'?"

Lunar turns sharply on his heel, his eyes landing on the trunk of the tree directly behind him. He blinks, his gaze rising to land first on a ruby-coated vampony mare with a perfectly black mane and tail glowering at him from a branch to his right, then moving to an identically colored stallion standing on another branch of the same tree as he fades into visibility on Lunar's left.

"I'm sorry for the noise," Lunar apologizes, "but have either of you seen Midnight? Or know where I could find her, at least? I've been looking for her for a couple of hours."

"We've heard," the mare mutters, glancing at her partner.

The stallion licks his lips and smiles down at Lunar, his teeth on full display, "Why are you looking for her? Prey like yourself coming this far into the Everfree at all, and especially in search of a vampony, is quite an odd thing to do."

A tingling chill shoots down Lunar's spine, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end, "W-Well, I… she told me something, and I got a bit scared and angry, and I said some things that maybe I shouldn't have. So I wanted to tell her that I'm sorry."

The stallion's smile widens, his irises smoldering with a pulsating light as he keeps his eyes locked on Lunar's, "And if I'm not mistaken, you came out here all by yourself to tell her this, right?"

"Correct," Lunar answers without hesitation.

The stallion breaks eye contact to glance at his partner, a predatory grin spreading across her face as well.

Lunar gasps, lowering his gaze as soon as the stallion's eyes leave his own, the air around him suddenly cooler and lighter, as if an invisible weight pressing down on him from all sides had been lifted. He shakes his head to clear it, warning bells going off as he looks back up at the two vamponies, "Soo… uhm… if you haven't seen Midnight, I'll just be going, then. But I'll, uh, definitely try to be quieter from now on."

The mare and stallion simultaneously turn to him, their eyes glowing brightly amongst the Everfree's shadows.

"No, you won't," the stallion states.

Lunar staggers at the stallion's words, an invisible wave slamming into him to leave nothing more than a high pitched buzz filling his mind. Then, just as quickly as it had hit, the wave returns towards the two vamponies, pulling him along with it to the base of their tree. He stares up at them blankly, "Okay, I won't."

"Don't move," the mare commands.

"Okay," Lunar replies, his mouth moving of its own accord before the meaning of the two words manages to float to the murky surface of his consciousness.

The stallion smirks, "And don't speak."

Lunar nods, a panicked, incoherent voice in the back of his mind growing steadily louder, screaming helplessly at his own body.

The vamponies jump from their perch to land on either side of their incapacitated prey, the mare laughing, "You know, I'm not sure why you bothered with any of the talking; either of us could've overwhelmed him when he first landed without even trying. And this is the pony who the alicorn said was her guard?" She gently pushes Lunar's head from side to side, Lunar obediently keeping his head in the position she leaves it while she traces his jugular with a hoof, "I'm not sure what I expected, but it was definitely better than this. What could Midnight possibly see in him?"

"Who knows and who cares?" the stallion asks, rolling his eyes. "I know what I see in him though."

The mare snickers, lifting the closest of Lunar's forelegs, "Mmm~, me too."

Her eyes flicker faintly as she examines her chosen leg, sinking her teeth into Lunar's flesh after a moment of consideration.

Lunar blinks sluggishly, barely registering so much as a prick of pain from the penetration of her fangs before the spreading venom mutes the sensation. From there the numbness moves up his leg to his chest and across the rest of his body, each fraction of a second seeming like an hour as his world shrinks, impenetrable blackness claiming more and more of his vision – a forceful yank followed by a piercing, furious screech reaching his ears just before the ground rushes up to meet him.

The shadows clinging to Midnight break apart the instant she rams her shoulder into the vampony feeding from Lunar Trail, the force of the impact tearing the ruby mare's fangs from Lunar's leg. Pressing her advantage, Midnight raises her mouth to the other mare's right ear, releasing a deafening screech in the split second before they hit the ground, the two of them tumbling across the forest floor in a hissing mass of wings, hooves, and teeth. Their battle does not last long, however. Mere seconds later Midnight emerges on top while the ruby mare lies groaning beneath her, the back of the mare's head dripping blood onto the hard, gnarled root beneath it while two pairs of holes dribble more blood from her neck.

Wasting no time on her triumph, Midnight leaps aside, the teeth of the ruby mare's partner snapping shut where her neck had been the moment before – his teeth merely yanking out a few strands of hair from her mane rather than slicing into skin and muscle. Flaring her wings, Midnight skitters away from the ruby stallion, a low growl rippling from her throat as she places herself between him and Lunar. The stallion responds in kind, standing over the fallen mare.

After a few seconds, the stallion smirks, taking a step towards Midnight, "And here I was thinking you were trying to ignore that idiot like the rest of us. I guess you really did get to know the prey that was with Luna better than just leading them around our forest, hm? In fact, you must have gotten to know this one particularly well, Midnight, for him to dare to fly over the Everfree for hours, making so much noise trying to find you." He takes another deliberate step forward, Midnight taking a step back and letting out another low growl. The stallion grins, "What? You have to admit it's pretty surprising that you of all ponies would be interested in somepony like him. Your brother at least I would sort of been able to understand, what with how weak willed and submissive he is, and with how much time he already spends with that other prey living in the forest, but I-"

"It's even stranger for somepony like you to talk about somepony else being weak willed," Midnight retorts, "especially after you and your mate over there decided you had to team up to overwhelm Luna's guard."

The stallion stiffens, scowling, "How long were you following him?"

"Does it really matter?" Midnight asks, giving him a toothy grin, "The others may not like the agreement we had to make with their princess, but I bet they'll like it even less that you both decided to risk all our lives by breaking it just to get a quick drink after, what, three nights? Right now, I should be the least of your worries."

The stallion's eyes glow brightly, locking onto Midnight's, "Except you aren't going to tell anypony about this, are you?"

Midnight's lips curl in a silent snarl as her eyes flare to life to match her aggressor's, neither of them moving while the soundless battle rages between them. Eventually though, Midnight stalks forward, each step punctuated by a word, "Yes. I. Will."

The ruby stallion grits his teeth and staggers backwards, his eyes' glow flickering out. He ducks his head, dropping his gaze to the ground, "H-How?"

Midnight closes the remaining distance between them, her own undimmed eyes still shining, "Who knows? Maybe you're not as strong as you think you are. Or maybe, I'm stronger than you now."

"That's not-"

"In any case," Midnight interrupts, her eyes pulsing brighter, "you. Are going to take your mate. And get out of here. Or else I'm going to find out if feeding from another vampony is really as useless as my parents told me."

The stallion shivers, but nods, keeping his head lowered while he backs up one more step to stand over the ruby mare. Wrapping his hooves around her barrel, he takes to the air, leaving behind only a bloodstained root and a small smudge of blood encrusted mud.

Midnight watches them retreat, her smoldering eyes following their weaving path between the trees. She shudders the moment they leave her sight, sitting heavily enough to kick up a puff of dust from the dry earth. Raising a trembling hoof, she wipes away a rivulet of sweat attempting to sneak its way down the side of her neck, feeling the rush of air flowing to and from her starving lungs along with the pulse of her own racing heart. However, as soon as she catches her breath, she stands with a grunt and walks over to Lunar Trail, her eyes drawn to the blood still dripping steadily from the gash in his leg. Sighing, she settles down next to him and begins licking the wound, interspersing every few licks with a long exhalation.

Lunar wakes up with a satisfied groan, pushing his legs out and up in a luxurious stretch, his mind blissfully blank. After a few seconds however, the memory of the ruby vamponies and their glowing, blood red eyes flashes across the insides of his eyelids, drawing a yelp of fear from between his lips. Struggling to his hooves, he stumbles forward a few steps, his head twitching as his attention shifts at random – eventually landing on Midnight still laying on the ground next to where he had fallen.

Midnight looks back at him, eyes cold and expression impassive, "Oh good, you finally woke up."

Lunar's legs tremble under his own weight, the foreleg that had been fed from nearly giving out before he sits, "M-M-Mid… Midnight?"

"That is my name," Midnight confirms.

Lunar closes his eyes and takes several slow, deep breaths, reopening them to more calmly look over the surrounding area, though they still dart nervously from point to point, "What… happened? I-I was… I was looking for you, and… there were these two other vamponies instead, who were there when Princess Luna and I went to meet with the rest of your kind, and… their eyes… " He knits his brow, staring first at the ground, then helplessly at Midnight, "I can't remember. It's all jumbled in my head."

"You were attacked by those two," Midnight answers, pointing at his leg. "They were going to feed on you. I stopped them."

Lunar glances down at the indicated leg, two tiny twin valleys in his flesh marking where he had been bitten, "You saved me?"

"You're welcome," Midnight replies, standing and stretching lazily. "And, now that you're awake, you can go back to-"

"I'm sorry," Lunar blurts out, eyes dropping to the ground.

"What?" Midnight asks, her tone like ice.

"That's why I was looking for you," Lunar says, shivering involuntarily as he forces himself to meet Midnight's gaze. "I wanted to say that I was sorry, and-"

"And what, exactly?" Midnight demands.

"And… a-and… " Lunar takes another deep breath, "and I was wrong to say the things I did. And I don't want – you're strong, and attractive, and interesting, and I'll never find another mare like you in all of Equestria, and I don't want to never see you again because I got scared and reacted badly in the heat of the moment. And honestly I'm still pretty terrified of the domination magic contest, especially after what just happened, but… but you're… you're not them. You're not them, and I trust you, even if I'm still not quite convinced it'll be as harmless to me as you think it will be. So, if you're willing to give me another chance, I'd be okay with doing the contests. Both of them, tonight."

Midnight waits for a few seconds after he finishes speaking, her eyes narrowing, "Is that it? Your plan is to apologize, throw in some flattery, and oh by the way you're now okay with doing the thing you weren't okay with doing a night ago?"

Lunar's ears flatten to his skull, a chill settling over his chest, "W-Well, um, I mean – I had some other things to say, but I didn't have a whole lot of time and I didn't know how else to find you and I wasn't really sure what you'd find meaningful or if maybe I'd end up accidentally making things worse because, well, I don't actually know that much about you. Or vamponies in general. We've known each other for less than a week, and before that I didn't even know vamponies were real, but… that's why I came back out here and why I'm apologizing. Because I want to get to know you better, more than I've wanted almost anything in my whole life. So if there's any sort of vampony custom for apologizing, or you want me to do something in particular, or you want some blood, or anything else at all, just tell me what it is and I'll do it."

Midnight raises an eyebrow, "'Almost anything' in your whole life?"

Lunar flinches, "I, uh, that is to say-" He sighs, "Being Princess Luna's personal guard, and now getting to know you better. The top two things."

Silence falls between them, Lunar waiting while Midnight stares at him, said vampony standing still as a statue save for the motion of her soundless breathing.

After a small eternity, she takes a step towards Lunar, examining him critically, "Are you even able to fight? It looked like you were having some trouble just standing there."

Tingling warmth floods Lunar's body and he pushes himself to his hooves, grinning, "Absolutely. Bring it on."

Midnight vanishes.

Lunar's eyes widen, "Wait wait-"

A single, invisible hoof presses into his barrel, Lunar crumpling to the side a split second later as his legs give out.

"That – I wasn't ready," Lunar protests, raising his head to look at the air next to him.

Midnight reappears, the ends of her mouth quirked upwards in a tiny smile, "Right. And you're willing to do the staring contest too?"

"I… " Lunar hesitates, a cold spike of fear shooting through his veins, but he nods. "Yes. Whenever you want."

"Why?" Midnight asks.

Lunar's mouth opens wordlessly for a moment, his eyebrows knitting together while he processes the question, "Why?"

Midnight sits, watching him intently, "Yes. You didn't wake up tonight and magically decide it wasn't a big deal anymore. So. Why are you okay with it now?"

"Partially," Lunar grunts, rolling to lay on his belly, "because now I've had some time to think it through, but mostly because I asked a few other ponies about domination magic. I was able to talk to Cheerilee about it earlier tonight, for example, and she was particularly helpful in explaining what domination magic even is, what side effects it might have… that sort of thing. And, like I said, it does still kinda terrify me. But, you're nothing like those other two vamponies, and I think you're worth the risk."

Midnight snorts, though her lips curve into a small smile.

"That said," Lunar continues, "this does sort of bring up one of the other things I mentioned I wanted to say. That thing being: neither of us has any idea what the other considers to be normal. A week ago, I didn't know vamponies existed. A night ago, I knew absolutely nothing about domination magic or willpower competitions or any of that. And chances are, if you do decide to give me a second chance, tonight I'll learn about a lot more things that I have no clue about right now. So, I think that, if we do keep going, we should both give each other some sort of heads up rather than jumping right into something the other knows nothing about. That way too, I could've asked you all the questions I had, instead of mostly asking Cheerilee."

"So if I'd done that, you would've said yes?" Midnight queries.

"I don't know if I would've agreed right then and there," Lunar admits, "but I think at the very least we could've definitely avoided getting so angry with each other over it. And this applies to me too – I can think of a few Thestral traditions that would come up at one point or another which you probably wouldn't particularly like, and to you might seem really weird or stupid, but are also really important to me and to my family."

Midnight tilts her head from side to side, eventually giving a single, quick nod, "Alright."

"The first contest then, that's the fighting one, right?" Lunar asks, his heart beating loudly in his chest.

Midnight gives him a once over, ending her observation with a roll of her eyes, "Can you even fly right now?"

Lunar bobs his head once, "Yes."

"You're sure?" Midnight asks.

"Absolutely," Lunar replies.

Midnight raises an eyebrow, "Really."

Lunar hauls himself to his hooves, the determination in his eyes offset by the trembling of his legs, "I'll make it work."

Midnight watches him for another moment, then smiles, "Alright, in that case, I accept. Your. Apology. Let's go."

Lunar's heart flutters as he watches Midnight take off, gritting his teeth and spreading his own tired wings once she vanishes through the branches overhead.

"Are we… almost… there… ?" Lunar gasps, his wings growing heavier with each stroke.

Midnight slows, pointing to a steadily approaching hole in the rippling ocean of leaves and branches below them, "Just about."

"Oh good," Lunar manages, the extra delay between breaths causing the world to swim before his eyes.

Less than a minute later, they descend towards a familiar moss-filled clearing, Midnight landing lightly beside the small spire in its center.

"Whoa-!" *thump*

Turning around, her eyes land on Lunar Trail, the panting thestral lying flat on his back several feet away.

"Were you planning on getting up?" Midnight asks eventually.

"Yeah, yeah," Lunar replies between deep breaths, "just uh… taking in the view."

Midnight rolls her eyes, but says nothing else, instead turning to watch the moonlight shimmer off the thin layer of water flowing down the sides of the spire.

After another minute, Lunar rolls to his belly and stands, water trickling down his barrel, neck, and head, "Alright, I'm ready."

Midnight points to the spire, the side facing Lunar casting a long shadow towards him and away from the setting moon, "First, you need to drink."

Lunar eyes the magical stone creating water from nothing warily, "Is it safe?"

Midnight gives him a flat look, "No, I'm telling you to drink poisoned water."

Lunar coughs, averting his gaze and licking his dried lips, "And, I guess, any side effects I should know about? You know, given what it is and where it's located."

Midnight nods, "It has a mostly good side effect."

"That being… ?" Lunar prompts.

Midnight groans, "It'll give you a bunch of energy for about half an hour, as long as you don't go too far from the moss. Normally we'd both drink before starting, but I think you're at enough of a disadvantage already."

"Oh," Lunar replies. "Alright then."

Walking to the spire, Lunar faces Midnight across it, frowning as he examines the thin coating of water flowing down its sides, "Err… how do I drink from it?"

Midnight sighs, "Wrap your lips around the tip."

"Ah," Lunar says, "of course."

Leaning down, he engulfs the spire's flat tip with his mouth. Chilly water gathers inside his cheeks, each swallow slaking his thirst and delivering the cold liquid to his belly. Releasing his hold on the spire after many gulps, he shivers, the water's chill rapidly spreading across his entire body – soothing his aching muscles, sharpening his senses, and dulling the discomfort of his various cuts and bruises.

Lunar leans forward on his bitten leg, the limb holding his weight with ease, "Wow."

"Ready?" Midnight asks.

Lunar bobs his head once, widening his stance and lowering his center of gravity, "Ready."

Midnight disappears as soon as the word leaves his mouth, Lunar managing only to take a single step backwards before she barrels into him from the side – her teeth around his throat before they hit the ground.

"Hold on!" Lunar calls out, his face burning despite half of it pressing into the wet moss, "I want a do over."

Midnight releases him, her teeth leaving behind red welts on his skin, "There are no 'do overs'. You lost. But, you can rechallenge any time you want."

Lunar rises, waiting while Midnight saunters smugly around the spire before turning back to look at him, "Like right now?"

"Sure," Midnight replies.

Lunar nods, "Alright, I want to challenge you again, right now."

At his words, Midnight again vanishes. This time however, Lunar's hooves glow white and he jumps, glancing down just in time to see a shadowy mass streak through his previous location – the translucent, vaguely pony shaped blob of darkness quickly melts into the night once more.

A small pulse of white light emanates from Lunar's hooves after he pushes off the air in a second jump, the magic fading as he instead spreads his wings to hover several feet above the mossy rock. Knitting his brow, he turns his focus inwards, drawing out his innate magic to hang around his body like an imperceptible veil – everything surrounding him gaining a second, blurry outline, as if the whole world had been overlaid with a duplicate, unfocused, barely offset image of itself.

A split second later, the shadowy mass reappears, streaking by close enough to his side for him to feel the wind from its passing. After another instant, it once again fades away, leaving the clearing seemingly empty.

Lunar scans the expanse of moss below, body tense and muscles coiled, waiting for the shadow to reappear. However, when no further instances of mobile shadows draw his attention, he turns his gaze to the air around and above him, keeping his ears perked for the slightest sound or whisper of wind on wings. A droplet of water whizzes past his nose while he maintains his vigil, Lunar's eyes darting towards its apparent source. No further clue to Midnight's location appears though, and after several seconds he sighs, instead focusing on an increasingly wide area around the droplet's origin.

Without warning, a hail of droplets fly past him from his other side, several of them impacting his barrel. Lunar whirls towards their source, searching for the originator of the small projectiles of water while the droplets make their way down his already wet coat. Finding nothing, he exhales sharply, glancing at the ground beneath him just as a tiny orb of water falls from his underside, glistening in the moon's bright light.

Time seems to slow, Lunar's eyes widening, Uh o-

Another, much larger object impacts him a fraction of a second later, Midnight tearing through his veil of magic to wrap herself around him, pinning his forelegs to his chest and his wings to his sides. Lunar struggles against her grip, but he is unable to break free despite his recent infusion of energy, Midnight's own wings controlling their trajectory only enough to keep him between her and the ground. Their semi-controlled descent ends abruptly a few seconds later, though their motion does not, a gasp of air escaping Lunar's lungs as they skid across the slick moss and rock.

Midnight's teeth clamp around Lunar's neck as soon as they slide to a halt, Lunar grunting, "Looks like you won again."

Midnight lets him go, a spring in her step as she walks away, "Mhm."

"That said, I'm definitely going to challenge you again when half the reason I can still stand isn't because of some magic water," Lunar adds, pushing himself to a sitting position.

"I look forward to it," Midnight replies, facing him. "As glad as I am to get this done, it was way too one sided for my taste."

Lunar touches a hoof to his neck, wincing at the resulting sting and pulling it away, a quick glance revealing a few tiny splotches of red marring the bottom of his hoof, "Now for the staring contest?"

"Yes," Midnight confirms. "Whenever you're ready."

Lunar inhales deeply, then exhales slowly, "Okay. But before we do this, there's one more thing I want to say first."

Midnight's body stills, eyes narrowing ever so slightly, "What?

Lunar takes another deep breath, "This might be a 'contest', but the fighting one at least I could've possibly stood a chance at. This one we both know I'm going to lose. Probably pretty badly. So, afterwards, maybe not tonight, but at some point, I want you to teach me how to defend myself against your staring contests, domination magic, whatever you want to call it. Because even though I did ask some ponies in Ponyville about it, and even though Cheerilee was really helpful, I would much rather learn about it from you, since, well, you can actually use it and probably know more about it than anypony else I could ask. Plus, you know, for my own safety, it seems like something I-"

"Okay," Midnight interrupts.

Lunar blinks, "Okay?"

Midnight nods, "Okay. This could be lesson one, if you want."

"Oh," Lunar replies, "yeah, that'd be great – I mean, if that wouldn't cause any other problems with how this is supposed to work."

Midnight exhales sharply through her nose, "Whatever else you want to get from this, as long as I can say it was done instead of you shouting about how dangerous it is, it'll be fine. Anyway, lesson one, just try to keep your concentration. Ready?"

"I also have one question first," Lunar states.

Midnight groans, her head lowering to hang limply from her slumped shoulders.

"You said before that these two contests are things that have to be done," Lunar says, "and I was just wondering, what makes them so important?"

"Doing both means that we're actually serious about considering each other," Midnight answers, "and it also means that the others have to recognize it too, which should prevent any other-" her eyes pulse red, "interference. Nopony's ever done this with a non-vampony before, but for their sake, they better not think that changes what it means. Beyond that, each one is used to determine which one of us will take the lead in different aspects of the relationship. The one who wins the hunting contest leads when actually out hunting or feeding, and providing protection from anything, or anypony, should it come to it. The winner of the willpower contest takes the lead in other things like when and where to meet up and what to do, or where we'd settle down, if we were to end up becoming mates."

"Huh," Lunar replies, tilting his head. "Then not doing them-"

"Wouldn't work at all," Midnight cuts him off. "They have a purpose, both individually and together, and they both need to be done. So, are you ready now?"

Lunar closes his eyes, shutting out all stray thoughts and sensations. A few seconds later, he reopens them, staring into Midnight's slitted pupils with his own, "Yes."

Midnight meets his gaze, her eyes lighting up a weak, dull red.

Lunar's heart quickens, a pang of fear shooting through him at the sight of glowing, crimson eyes once again boring into his own, the clouded memory of the ruby vamponies doing the same flashing through his mind in a brief moment of clarity. The fear subsides as the contest wears on however, his thoughts becoming increasingly disjointed while the world around Midnight fades further and further into an incoherent blur. He grits his teeth, struggling to maintain his focus against the force slowly fragmenting his consciousness, but to no avail – his efforts merely slowing Midnight's advance. Attempting to look away and break the stare fares no better, the muscles of his neck and eyes remaining locked in place, heedless of his increasingly feeble urging to move. Eventually, his struggles cease, the rhythmic pulsing of Midnight's eyes the only thing left visible to his own.

Lunar gasps and staggers sideways, the world returning to his vision all at once. He shakes his head, looking up at Midnight once his breathing begins to slow, "How'd I do?"

"You lost," Midnight replies.

"I figured," Lunar says, sighing. "It doesn't feel that different though, honestly. Definitely not the same as earlier."

Midnight shrugs, "I'd hope so. I did go easy on you."

Lunar's ears fall, his expression wilting, "You did?"

"Yup," Midnight says with a nod. "Anyway, what's your favorite color?"

"Luna blue," Lunar answers, his mouth moving on its own. His eyes widen, crossing to stare at his muzzle, then back at Midnight.

Midnight grins, taking slow, deliberate steps as she starts to circle him, "Also, I'm curious… what, exactly, do you find attractive about me?"

"I like how confident you are, e…ven when you're doing something you're no…t comfortable with," Lunar replies, brow knitting while he struggles to regain control of his vocal cords. "How you don't seem to do thi…ngs half way. A…nd how ex…otic you are."

Midnight completes her first cycle around him, her eyes again meeting his and pulsing once, "Oh really? You think I'm exotic?"

"Yes," Lunar confirms. "I re…ally like y…our fangs and eyes, and… the thought o…f you feeding from me t… t… turns me on."

Lunar slumps, his head falling forward to hide a deep blush covering his face, though doing nothing to either conceal the embarrassment creeping up his ears or to prevent more words from tumbling out of his mouth, "And it's really cool that you live in the Everfree Forest."

Midnight pauses near the end of her second cycle, stopping shoulder to shoulder with him, "Well, then I imagine you'll like this next part quite a bit."

"What do you-" Lunar attempts to ask, the stinging sensation of Midnight's tongue sliding over the freshly made puncture marks on his neck interrupting him, "What are you doing?"

"Shut up and keep still," Midnight commands.

Lunar's muscles obey, his whole body freezing in place, save for his eyes. Midnight licks Lunar's neck again, this time following it with a breath. Continuing on to her third cycle, she repeats the process on each of the cuts and scrapes breaking his skin, fresh and old alike, pulling off any bandages hiding larger, scabbed over wounds obtained during his previous trek through the Everfree.

"Okay," she says, stopping in front of him, "you can move and speak now."

Lunar immediately feels his neck, his hoof this time coming away clean. Turning to look at his left side, then at his right, Lunar's eyes flick from the several bandages resting on the moss to his now mostly unharmed sides – a few bruises all that remain after his impromptu tongue bath.

"You're welcome," Midnight states, her lips quirking into a smile, "though I can't do much about the bruises."

"O-Oh," Lunar stammers, a fresh blush spreading across his face, "right, uh, thank you."

"Also," Midnight adds, "no touching your nose."

Lunar blinks, "Wait, what?"

Midnight raises an eyebrow, "I'm supposed to be teaching you, right? Consider being able to touch your nose again as homework."

Lunar's mouth wobbles, after a few seconds a suppressed snort forcing its way out, quickly growing into a full blown fit of laughter.

Midnight tilts her head, frowning, "What?"

"Noth… nothing," Lunar answers once his outburst of mirth subsides, gasping for breath, "just… after everything that's happened between last night and tonight to get us to this point, and the contests end with you telling me not to touch my nose."

Midnight chuckles, "Well when you put it that way… "

Lunar sighs, a final laugh escaping, "So. What happens now?"

Midnight glances to her left, "You should probably leave."

Lunar's ears droop, "I… should?"

Midnight points to the sky brightening above the treetops.

Lunar's eyes widen, "Oh. Oh! Right, I should definitely be heading back. I'll… see you soon, though?"

"That depends on how long you're staying, doesn't it?" Midnight replies.

Lunar takes a deep breath, "Yeah, I guess it does. Hopefully I get to stay long enough. Otherwise, I should have time to come back to Ponyville in a few weeks."

Midnight nods, "I'll find you if you're still in Ponyville. Otherwise, come here right after dusk once you're back."

"I'll be there," Lunar says, glancing at the fast approaching dawn. "Alright, I really need to get going. Bye!"

Midnight waves her farewell, sitting once Lunar takes to the air. Her gaze lowers to the mossy rock, a small smile remaining on her lips.

*thud*

Midnight's head jerks up, her eyes landing on Lunar's prone form lying at the edge of the clearing, Oooh riiiiight, the water… whoops.

She canters to Lunar's side, prodding him with a hoof.

"zzzzzzzzzzzz… "

Midnight glances from side to side, her head falling and ears drooping as she sighs. Standing above him, she wraps her hooves around his barrel, with a grunt of effort taking to the air, flying low over the trees towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Chapter 24.33 Digging a Hole

Cheerilee's horn glows a deep green, an identically colored aura briefly surrounding her front door to close it after Lunar Trail turns away, leaving the couple in the dimly lit front room of Cheerilee's house – the only illumination provided by what little of the moon's light manages to sneak through the curtain-blocked windows.

"Still strange, seein' you use magic like that," Big Mac says after a moment.

"I could not, if you want," Cheerilee offers, ducking her head. "You've been wonderful these last couple days, but I know it's still a lot to get used to, so I wouldn't mind-"

"If Ah was gonna get all bothered about somethin'," Big Mac interrupts with a chuckle, "you usin' magic to close a door wouldn't be the thing ta do it."

"I know, it's just… you know what they say about straws," Cheerilee replies, a small smile forming on her lips.

Big Mac raises an eyebrow, "Good thing Ah ain't a camel then, huh?"

Cheerilee giggles, "Definitely."

Big Mac glances at a dark green loveseat pushed up against the wall behind them and to their right, a lighter green blanket partially covering it and a pink pillow laying on the closest of its hoofrests, "As far as stretchin' our legs goes… did ya want to wait a bit, or is there anythin' you need to do before we leave, or did you want to head on out right now?"

"I don't think – oh!" Cheerilee replies, her eyes widening, "There is one thing, actually, but it should only take a minute."

Turning, Big Mac follows Cheerilee into her bedroom, the glow of her horn barely providing enough light to see by as a thin, square shaped board floats out from under her untouched bed. She knits her brow, the board tilting sideways just enough to fit through the doorway to her closet before descending to cover the hole leading to her secret underground room. A slightly larger rug follows the board's path from beneath her bed to her closet, Cheerilee carefully adjusting it to hide all of the board's edges.

"In case, you know, somepony were to come in while we're away," Cheerilee explains, closing the closet door.

Big Mac shrugs, "Makes sense. To be honest, Ah'm not real sure it'll do a whole lot a' good in keepin' it hidden if somepony decides to break in and snoop around, but makes sense."

Cheerilee sighs, "Well, either way, that was all I needed to do. So, if you're ready to go, I am too."

Big Mac nods, "Alright then, let's get goin'."

Big Mac kicks the front door shut behind them with a hind leg, both he and Cheerilee taking a deep breath of the fresh night air as a breeze runs over their bodies, wicking away boredom induced fatigue as if it were sweat.

"So, where to?" he asks after a few seconds.

Cheerilee pauses a few seconds more, staring blankly at the house across the street from them, "Uhh… "

They share an uncertain look, turning away from each other as a bout of laughter breaks free.

"How 'bout we go check on Lyra and Bon Bon," Big Mac suggests once the humor works its way out of his system. "They ain't overly far from here, and not to the north either."

Cheerilee sucks in a lungful of air and nods, "That sounds like a good idea."

Moving from the door, Big Mac takes a right, Cheerilee staying to his right to put herself between him and the fronts of their neighbor's houses. Reactions vary as they walk, friendly waves far outnumbered by nervous smiles and averted eyes – a few even going so far as to trot to the other side of the street once they notice the bug pony beside Big Mac.

Upon turning the next corner, Cheerilee's shoulder grazes Big Mac's side, Cheerilee twitching and taking a half step away, "S-Sorry."

Big Mac stops, pulling Cheerilee closer with a foreleg, "We can go back to yer house, if ya want."

Cheerilee shakes her head, tucking a stray tendril of her membranous mane behind an ear, "No. We're already out, and I can't spend the rest of my life hiding in my house. Besides, I'm sure… " she stares at the ground, poking it with a hoof, "I'm sure it's only because ponies aren't used to seeing a changeling walking around town. Once they get used to seeing me like this, I'm sure everything will go back to normal."

Big Mac nods, "Alright, as long as yer sure."

Cheerilee smiles, "I am."

Looking up, she starts, three diminutive figures covered in cobbled together black fabric standing directly in front of them.

"So cute… " the unicorn of the trio sighs.

Cheerilee narrows her eyes at the figures, "Sweetie Belle? Scootaloo? Applebloom?"

"Oh, right," Scootaloo says, pulling off her mask. "Hi, Miss Cheerilee! Hi, Big Mac!"

"Are you two on a date?" Sweetie Belle asks, she and Applebloom likewise revealing their faces.

"Nah," Big Mac answers, "we're just goin' fer a walk. What're you three still doin' out this late? 'Specially you, Applebloom."

"We're seein' if we can get our cutie marks in bein' ninjas!" Applebloom replies, "Cutie Mark Crusaders, ninj… ninja… "

"Ninjutsu," Sweetie Belle provides.

"Yeah, that," Applebloom says. "Cutie Mark Crusaders, Ninjutsu Masters!"

"And we totally snuck up on you, right?" Scootaloo asks, her wings giving an excited flutter despite the fabric covering them.

"You definitely snuck up on us," Cheerilee confirms.

"Yes!" Scootaloo shouts, pumping her hoof once before turning to her two best friends, "And you both thought it would be impossible to sneak up on a changeling."

"But why were we able to?" Sweetie Belle asks, "Cheerilee can sense emotions, so she should have been able to detect us no matter how sneaky we were being."

"Just because I can sense the emotions of everypony around me, doesn't mean I'm always paying attention to them," Cheerilee explains. "Or that I can tell exactly where they're coming from. But back to Big Mac's question, why are you three still awake? Shouldn't you be in bed by now?" Her eyes narrow, "Are you supposed to be in bed right now?"

Applebloom shakes her head, "Nope, Granny said it was fine."

Sweetie Belle nods, "Rarity too."

"No problem for me either," Scootaloo adds. "Plus, it's not like we have school or anything tomorrow."

A pregnant pause follows, Applebloom breaking it with a whack to the back of Scootaloo's head, "Really, Scootaloo?!"

"Sorry about her," Sweetie Belle apologizes. "She's just really tired, since it is pretty late, and isn't thinking clearly."

"Hey!" Scootaloo objects, "I am not tired!"

Cheerilee waves the apology away, forcing a smile onto her face, "No, she's right. School is on hold for the time being, so it makes sense that nopony would have to wake up for it."

The three fillies glance at each other, Applebloom piping up first, "Ah'm sure you'll be able to start teaching again soon though."

"I mean, you have the princesses on your side," Sweetie Belle adds. "The school can't possibly stay closed for that long."

Scootaloo nods, "Yeah!"

Cheerilee sighs deeply, her smile relaxing, "Thank you. It means a lot to me that you'd still want me to be your teacher."

"Of course we do!" Scootaloo replies, "Everypony else we've talked to does too!"

"It's just some a' their parents who're causin' a huge fuss about it," Applebloom says.

"Well… " Sweetie Belle rolls her eyes, "and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon."

"Who cares what they think," Scootaloo scoffs.

Cheerilee's ears pin to her skull, "Well, given that her mother is a member of the school board… "

"In any case," Big Mac interjects, "Applebloom, Ah'm not sure what Granny said, but make sure yer home in an hour."

"Whaaat?!" Applebloom cries out, her eyes widening in utter horror.

Big Mac raises an eyebrow, "Ya may not have school tomorrow, but ya still got yer chores, and there's always more work to be done if school's going ta be closed fer longer'n that. Ah'm sure Applejack would much appreciate yer help too, seein' as how Ah've been busy recently."

Applebloom's ears droop, "Aww horseapples… alright."

Scootaloo prances as though the grass is made of fire, taking a few steps away from her friends and down the street, "C'mon girls! We gotta hurry if Applebloom's only got an hour left!"

Applebloom gives her friend a flat look, "You make it sound like Ah'm dyin' or somethin'."

"And you're forgetting why we were looking for Miss Cheerilee in the first place," Sweetie Belle points out.

"Oh yeah," Scootaloo says, her hooves calming as she again focuses on her teacher. "Cheerilee, we were wondering if you would be able get a message to Dawn from us, since it looked like you two knew each other pretty well right before Twilight revealed you were a changeling, and we have no idea how to get to where she lives."

Cheerilee shakes her head, "I'm sorry, girls, I can't – whenever I saw Dawn, she and somepony from her family came to me. I don't know where in the Everfree they live, or anything like that." She pauses, "Although… I do know somepony who might be able to help, depending on how the rest of the night goes."

The Cutie Mark Crusaders glance at each other, grinning.

"Well?" Applebloom asks after a moment, "Who is it?"

Cheerilee smiles, "Sorry, that's a secret. Don't worry about it though; I'll ask as soon as I get the chance and let you three know what they say."

"And no runnin' off into the Everfree to look fer her in the mean time," Big Mac adds, "vamponies keepin' it mostly safe or not."

"Fiiine… " Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle groan in unison. "Thanks, Miss Cheerilee."

Cheerilee giggles, "You're very welcome."

Scootaloo trots past the two adults, her friends beside her, "Alright, what else should we try to get our cutie marks in until we hear from Dawn?"

Cheerilee and Big Mac meanwhile meet each other's eyes, sharing a quiet laugh before continuing onwards.

*knockknockknock*

Lowering his hoof from the door, Big Mac stares at it expectantly, glancing at Cheerilee after several seconds of complete silence from within the house. She shrugs, the two of them directing their attention to the curtains drawn over the home's darkened front window. Eventually however, the door's knob glows and turns, the door cracking open to reveal a narrowed, light orange eye glaring out.

Cheerilee waves, "Hello, Lyra!"

Lyra's eye widens, the door swinging open, "Hi, Cheer-"

With a thump, the door stops half way, Lyra's ears folding down, "Whoops."

"Lyra why?" a muffled voice asks from behind the door.

Lyra grins sheepishly, a green glow engulfing the door to complete its opening and reveal Bon Bon, the changeling tenderly rubbing her nose, "Hello, Cheerilee. Hi, Big Mac."

"It's good to see you, Bon Bon," Cheerilee replies, her eyes drawn to the floating hand balled into a fist hovering near the ceiling a few feet behind Lyra.

Big Mac nods, "Eeyup. You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Bon Bon says, lowering her bloodless hoof from her nose and shooting Lyra a glare. "It just hurts."

Lyra rubs the back of her neck, staring at the floor beneath her marefriend's hooves, "Sorry."

Bon Bon's gaze sweeps the street and rooftops behind Cheerilee and Big Mac, returning to them after finding nothing of interest, "What're you guys doing here anyway?"

"Well, we'd been stuck inside for a while, probably like both of you have been," Cheerilee answers. "And we wanted to stretch our legs a bit, so we decided to walk over and see how you two were doing."

"And, I guess, it's safe?" Bon Bon queries, "There's been one guard or another watching our house up until a little bit ago, and a couple of them-"

"-tried ta force their way in?" Big Mac finishes.

Bon Bon blinks, "Yeah. How'd you know?"

Big Mac tilts his head at Lyra's fist, "One of 'em already had a black eye."

"They tried to do the same thing to you two too?" Lyra asks.

Big Mac nods, grinning, "Eeyup. Ah definitely gave 'em more'n a black eye before they backed off though."

Lyra's hand flies forward, fingers unclenching to form a flat surface, "High five!"

Big Mac looks at the hand, then back at Lyra, "Uhm… what?"

Lyra sighs, "Hit it with your hoof."

Big Mac hesitantly raises a hoof, tapping the hand lightly.

Lyra pumps her right hoof, the hand reforming into a fist and mirroring the motion, "Yes!"

Bon Bon groans, resting her forehead on a hoof for a moment, though a smile remains on her face when she raises her head.

"Anyway," Cheerilee says, stifling a giggle, "one of the thestral guards stopped by to talk to us a little while ago. Apparently neither he nor the princesses knew this was happening, so he's going to tell them what's going on."

Lyra stares up at the night sky, an evil grin spreading across her face, "Serves them right. If only I could be there to watch… "

"Heh, if only," Bon Bon agrees, grinning as well. "Either way, I'm glad you're both okay too." She glances at Big Mac's bruised leg and bandaged ear, "Err… mostly okay. Were you planning on going somewhere else next? Or were you going to head back home after checking on us?"

Cheerilee sends Big Mac an uncertain look, "We, uh, hadn't thought that far ahead yet, actually. The thestral guard we talked to suggested avoiding the northern part of town, since that's where the Royal Guards are staying, but we hadn't really come up with anything beyond that."

"Well… there is that park pretty close by… " Lyra suggests. "There probably won't be anypony around at the moment either, and the sky is definitely clear enough to see the moon and stars."

"Laying back and doing some stargazing does sound pretty relaxing," Cheerilee admits.

Big Mac nods, "Eeyup."

Lyra meets Bon Bon's eyes, her own shimmering pleadingly.

Bon Bon exhales sharply. "If that's where you're going, I don't suppose you'd mind if we joined you?"

Cheerilee shakes her head, "Not at all."

Lyra flops onto her back in the middle of a small expanse of grass, well grown bushes combining together to form a leafy wall, blocking any outsiders walking by from looking in. Letting out a luxurious sigh, she stretches on the ankle length, dark green grass of the park, finishing the motion by rolling onto her side to languidly observe the remaining members of the group – her hand resting on the ground above her horn.

Big Mac chuckles, "Ah take it the grass is real comfortable then?"

"Mhm," Lyra replies, letting out a contented yawn. "Nothing on our bed, but sometimes it's nice to change things up, you know?"

Bon Bon gives Lyra a flat look, laying down on her belly beside her marefriend, "Just because everypony knows we're changelings now, doesn't mean you can start randomly making change-based puns."

"Ah don't see why not," Big Mac says, shrugging. "It'd sure make for a nice change of pace."

"I… agree," Cheerilee states, glancing between the three pairs of eyes staring at her before sitting, her ears drooping. "I couldn't think of anything."

Big Mac lays down next to her, nudging her leg, "That's alright. As long as you have somethin' by the next time we need ta annoy Bon Bon."

"Such wonderful friends I have," Bon Bon grumbles, smiling despite her words.

Lyra points a hoof at Cheerilee, "But if you don't, we'll need to take drastic measures."

Cheerilee giggles, laying down as well and leaning into Big Mac's side, "What did you have in mind?"

"Should you fail to think of a joke to annoy Bon Bon with," Lyra pronounces, "your punishment shall be to attend a lecture by Twilight on the history of jokes all the way from ancient times through to the present!"

Big Mac's head rises slightly, his eyes widening, "Ah dunno, Lyra… Ah'm not sure we need ta go that far."

Lyra shakes her head resolutely, "Unfortunately, we do. Like I said, drastic measures will most certainly be needed."

A pause follows Lyra's words, Bon Bon eventually looking up at the sky, her gaze following a trio of armored thestrals flying overhead before focusing on the mostly full moon lighting up the night, "Either way, this is definitely a lot nicer than sitting around inside all day."

"Eeyup," Big Mac agrees, observing the three thestrals hover midair for several seconds before continuing on their way – one splitting off from the other two as he watches.

"Mhm," Cheerilee says absently, her eyes tracing shapes in the stars above. "After these last few days, laying here like this feels a little like when I first saw the sky."

"Ah take it you didn't get ta go outside very much back at yer, uh, yer hive?" Big Mac asks.

Cheerilee shakes her head, "Other than gatherers, the soldiers guarding the entrance, and the patrols, almost noling does. The hive has everything we need, and it's more or less in the middle of nowhere, so a lot of changelings have never left the hive at all. But I overheard a couple other changelings talking about it, and I got curious, so I decided I needed to see it for myself. I managed to sneak out, after a few tries, and when I saw it… there are no words to describe what it felt like, to suddenly have absolutely nothing above your head for the first time. So I sat there for a while, staring up at the stars, until another changeling found me and brought me back inside. The hive never seemed quite the same after that. It was still home, and I liked it there, but… I wanted to be outside."

Big Mac nuzzles the closer of Cheerilee's ears, "Hard to imagine how differently things woulda turned out if you'd hadn't gotten curious."

Cheerilee blushes, her ear flicking, "Y-Yeah."

Lyra wraps her hooves around Bon Bon, pulling herself closer, "What happened when you first saw the sky, Bon Bon?"

Bon Bon snorts, "Well, it was nothing so dram-"

Suddenly, her body twitches, head turning to scan a section of sky to their left – Cheerilee looking towards the same location a split second later.

"Is something wrong?" Lyra asks, following their gaze to examine the apparently empty air.

"No, it's nothing," Bon Bon replies. "Though… I guess there's no reason not to tell you anymore."

Big Mac glances between the two changelings, "Tell us what?"

"A vampony just flew by," Cheerilee answers simply.

Big Mac blinks, turning his head to watch the same area of sky, "Ya mean, right now?"

"Yes," Cheerilee confirms. "They kept going and they're gone now, but they were there a little bit ago."

"Huh," Big Mac replies, his attention drawn to the lone pegasus within his line of sight before looking down at Cheerilee a couple seconds later. "And you could tell it was a vampony just by sensing their emotions?"

"I suppose… " Cheerilee answers slowly. "Though really what I sensed was that there was probably only one pony somewhere generally over there. I assumed they were flying because they were above the ground and moving pretty fast, and the only reason I could tell it was a vampony was because a vampony looking to feed has a very-"

"Very," Bon Bon interjects.

"-different feel to them than anypony else I've ever felt," Cheerilee continues. "I'm not sure if it's technically correct to call hunger an emotion per se, but if it is, then that's exactly what it feels like. It's something you learn to watch out for and avoid whenever possible, to say the least."

"Hmm… " Big Mac murmurs.

"Pinkie Pie is also pretty easy to tell apart," Bon Bon adds. "Twilight too, sometimes. And definitely Princess Luna."

Cheerilee's eyes widen, "You felt that too?"

Bon Bon nods, "Yeah, it's like… "

"She was two ponies?" Cheerilee asks.

"Yeah," Bon Bon confirms. "Or, one and a half, maybe? I dunno, it was almost like they were overlapping somehow. It was really weird."

Big Mac glances between them, "Ya lost me."

"Sorry," Cheerilee replies. "Princess Luna's emotions are just… strange. Anyway, as I was saying, all we can really sense is 'somepony is over there in that general direction', and vamponies sometimes feel things that non-vamponies never do."

Lyra taps her chin, "Do you know if either of us have been fed on?"

Bon Bon shrugs, "Everypony who's been here for a few years has probably been fed on at least once. I'm pretty sure they know we can sense them though, and I haven't noticed anything since you moved in."

Lyra holds Bon Bon tighter, "Aww~"

"Of course, there's apparently some vampony that likes feeding on changelings, and there's only three of us left in Ponyville, so who knows how much that actually means," Bon Bon grumbles, giving the grass in front of her a hard look.

"What about me?" Big Mac asks.

Cheerilee and Bon Bon glance at each other.

"Uhm… "

"Welll… "

Big Mac gives them a flat look, "Ah take it that's a yes?"

"You remember Midnight?" Cheerilee asks.

Big Mac nods, "Eeyup."

"Well, she really likes you – your taste, I mean," a green tint spreads across Cheerilee's cheeks, "the taste of your blood."

"Hm," Big Mac grunts, frowning.

"I did manage to get her to stop – mostly, at least – by offering to teach her little sister the basics of reading, writing, et cetera. Not that she really cared at first, but I think her parents liked the idea," Cheerilee says, her blush deepening. "I also wasn't sure what would happen if both of us were feeding on you and, w-well, I didn't want to share."

A small smile replaces Big Mac's frown and he gives the changeling leaning into him a gentle nudge, "Ah'm still not sure how Ah feel about the vamponies. Ah get why it's important they're here, and Ah guess it's pretty easy ta just ignore it and pretend nothing has changed, but hearin' they've definitely been drinkin' mah blood and probably still are every once in a while… either way, thanks fer lookin' out for me."

"You're welcome," Cheerilee replies, resting her head against the side of his neck. "And… don't worry about the vamponies too much. They're different, and may need blood, but they're similar in a lot of ways too, and can be pretty friendly in their own way once you get to know them. I'd definitely want Midnight or one of the other vamponies around if I ever decided to go into the Everfree for some reason."

Big Mac's shoulders tense in the beginnings of a shrug, relaxing after a pause and instead releasing a long sigh, "Ah'll take yer word for it."

Cheerilee smiles and closes her eyes, a comfortable quiet falling between the two cuddling couples.

The sound of multiple sets of hooves on the grass behind them shoves aside their peace mere moments later, a mocking voice drowning out the soft rustling of the bushes surrounding them, "Well. Well. Well."

In an instant, Big Mac is on his hooves as well, Cheerilee sluggishly pushing herself upright as he turns to face the speaker only to stop cold – five fully armored Royal Guards, three earth ponies and two unicorns, standing several steps away while an armorless pegasus guard beside them hovers a few inches above the ground.

The nearest of the newcomers, an earth pony with the Royal Guard's standard white coat and dark blue tail split by a single light blue stripe running down the center takes another step closer, smiling malevolently despite his black eye, scabbed lip, and a pair of dents in the right side of his golden armor, "Isn't that sweet? Parasites and traitors, having such a wonderful time in each other's company."

"If we're the traitors, why're you the ones who keep ignoring what the princesses said?" Lyra retorts, clustering just behind Big Mac along with Bon Bon and Cheerilee, her hand again clenched into a fist and floating above her head.

The lead guard glares at them, his neck and jaw muscles bulging, "Our loyalty may be to the princesses, but our duty is to protect Equestria. We are not going to stand idly by while they put the entire country at risk by allowing your kind to walk around freely, doing whatever you want after what happened in Canterlot."

"But we had nothing to do with the Canterlot invasion!" Cheerilee squeaks.

"And we believe you!" Another guard calls out, "Just come over here, and we'll show you how much!"

The lead guard smirks, those behind him laughing at the suggestion.

"And how's a bunch a' you beatin' up on three mares and a farmer protectin' anypony?" Big Mac asks.

The lead guard snorts, "As if they count as mares."

Big Mac grits his teeth, "How 'bout you come a little closer, then say that again. Ah'll give you a matchin' pair a' dents on the other side a' yer armor."

Bon Bon shivers, words tumbling from her mouth, "Do you really think Princess Luna or Princess Twilight is going to just suddenly be okay with you doing this?"

"Maybe. Maybe not," the lead guard replies, taking a swaggering step forward followed by the other two earth ponies and the pegasus, the unicorns lighting their horns. "But if not, Princess Celestia will. She was there, stuffed into a cocoon by their wretched queen-"

"She wasn't our queen!" Cheerilee and Bon Bon shout together.

The lead guard glowers at them, stopping only a couple steps away, "Princess Celestia will understand, even if we're the only ponies in this insane town who are taking the danger you pose seriously. We're only doing what needs to be done and what should have been done the moment you were revealed."

"And what, exactly, would that be?" a nearby voice from nowhere queries – two thestral guards shimmering into existence to the left of closest of the Royal Guards, the speaker mere inches away.

The lead Royal Guard's eyes widen, only to narrow an instant later, "What do you want, bat?"

"For you to answer my question," said thestral replies.

The lead Royal Guard sneers, "I don't answer to you, even if you are a Lunar Guard. The lieutenant-"

"-can go jump off a cliff for all I care," the Lunar Guard interrupts. "Now, are you going to answer my question, or-"

"Or. What?" the lead Royal Guard demands, their noses nearly touching as he fully turns to face the Lunar Guard.

"Or you'll just keep making things worse for yourselves," the Lunar Guard replies, unperturbed.

The lead Royal Guard snorts, "Is that a threat?"

"No, it's-" A white flash above cuts him off and illuminates the park, the corners of the Lunar Guard's mouth lifting in the barest hint of a smile, "Well, I guess you'll find out."

The lead Royal Guard steps away, head lowering as Luna and a third, panting thestral land behind the two thestrals already in the park, "Princess Luna, we were-"

"Digging yourselves an even deeper hole than we had feared," Luna interrupts sharply. "Yes, I can see that very clearly."

Another pulse of light fills the park, six fewer ponies remaining once it fades.

"Macintosh Apple, Cheerilee, Bon Bon, Lyra, you are all unhurt?" Luna asks.

Big Mac lets out a deep breath, but nods, "Eeyup."

"Good," Luna replies, turning to the Lunar Guard. "And thank you, Shadow Strike, for informing me of this situation and for preventing harm from befalling anypony here."

Shadow Strike bows, "Your timing was very fortunate as well, Princess. Had you arrived much later, I doubt this would have ended as well as it did."

Luna gives a single nod in response, disappearing in third flash of light.

Silence engulfs the remaining ponies – Lyra breaking it after only a few seconds, "So, I may not be a changeling, but I'm pretty sure Princess Luna was really really mad."

Bon Bon turns to stare at her marefriend, mouth opening and closing once before she finds her voice, "Lyra… just… seriously?"

*CRACK*

Hidden Glow rubs her ears, the small shock wave of Luna's reappearance beside her leaving her eardrums ringing along with rattling the windows of the rectangular room. Royal Guards stand only a few feet from them, the guards packed into the room at random amid two otherwise orderly rows of sleeping bags.

"Lieutenant Double Time, I believe this is everypony?" Luna asks.

"It is, Princess Luna," Double Time confirms, stepping forward to stand directly in front of her, "though I still do not understand why you have gathered us all here. Has something happened?"

"I suppose that is one way of describing the situation, yes," Luna replies, raising a hoof to point at the recently teleported guards. "Those six were caught threatening two of Ponyville's changeling residents along with the two non-changelings who were with them. In addition, they were apparently more than willing to drag members of the Lunar Guard and Night Guard into their misguided attempts to deal with the changelings, both in using them to continue surveilling the changelings as well as including them in their threats not two minutes ago. Based on what else we have heard, it also sounds as though they may have been acting under your orders. So, explain to me what, exactly, is going on here, including why members of the Royal Guard under your command seem to have reneged on their oath to protect all Equestrian citizens along with the more recent order to specifically aid in the protection of Ponyville and its citizens."

Double Time meets Luna's eyes calmly, "I gave the order for tabs to be kept on all changelings in Ponyville to ensure that they would not pose a threat or attempt to further undermine the town, preferably by having them remain in their homes for the time being. If anypony became overly enthusiastic in enforcing that order, then I apologize. I was also unaware that any changeling in Equestria could possibly be a citizen, as obtaining or claiming citizenship under false pretenses is a crime."

"That is your answer then? Complimenting the perpetrators as simply being 'enthusiastic', and deflecting with a technicality?" Luna asks, her eyes narrowing

Double Time shakes his head, "No, Princess. They did definitely go above and beyond what they should have done. However, I find it difficult to fault their reasoning for doing so. The changelings are a threat, and until absolutely proven otherwise, need to be contained."

"I see," Luna says. "And we suppose you therefore believe the vamponies should be treated similarly?"

Double Time shrugs, "Not especially. The vamponies, from what I understand, do not spend the vast majority of their time in Ponyville; they do not answer to the princesses, which isn't ideal, but they also do not answer to any other leader either; and their presence provides a tangible benefit, whereas the only real difference between any of the changelings here and replacing them with ponies of similar skills is that the changelings also drain other's emotions."

"Including Fluttershy?" Luna asks, her voice dripping with sarcasm and irritation, "Who is, in case you have forgotten, the Element of Kindness and savior of Equestria many times over."

Double Time hesitates, "She is… a special case, obviously."

Luna exhales sharply through her nose, "Obviously. And when you decided to order those under your command to contain Ponyville's changelings, why did you not inform anypony outside of the Royal Guard? Such as myself or Princess Twilight, for example, or if you thought us too busy, then any of the Lunar Guard. Surely if they are such a threat, you would want to cooperate with everypony available in order to best contain said threat, especially if the diplomatic fallout from such an action is to be kept to a minimum. If, or I suppose when the queens find out that their changelings have been persecuted simply because they are changelings despite Princess Twilight's and my own declarations, and by members of the Guard no less, any negotiations that begin will now start with us at a disadvantage."

Double Time frowns, "Why would we negotiate with them? They are parasites who have been infiltrating Equestria for who knows how long. They should first and foremost be removed from Equestria, by force if necessary."

"An interesting idea," Luna states, raising an eyebrow. "You would propose to start a war against a pony tribe of whom we still understand very little, where the consequences of their loss is very likely mass starvation, despite the Royal Guard's own severely lacking performance against a much smaller number of the same opponents in a location where you should have held nearly every advantage?"

Double Time grits his teeth, "Princess Luna-"

"But in any case, your delusional statement does not answer my question," Luna says, cutting him off. "Why did you not tell anypony outside of the Royal Guard of your intentions?"

Double Time takes a deep breath, "Because the Lunar and Night Guard answer to you, and now more than ever, I do not believe you truly understand the danger that changelings pose to all of Equestria, especially if there are as many queens as they say."

Luna stares at him, after a moment closing her eyes and sighing, "We suspected it might be something of that nature."

Double Time's brow knits, confusion clear on his face as he opens his mouth to speak.

"Be Silent," Luna orders, the house creaking under the force of her words. "The nation of Equestria was founded on the ideals of friendship, tolerance, and compromise; first amongst the pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns, and later the thestrals as well. Following these principles is what has led Equestria to become as prosperous as it is today, and what has kept Equestria at peace for so long, both before the Canterlot invasion and after. We understand better than most how easy it can be to let anger and fear rule one's judgment, but if we were to follow your path, and not even attempt to seek peace and understanding with those who have lived among us for so long… by the time the dust settled, Equestria would be gone, even if a nation using that name still survived."

"…it must be so easy for you to say that, after having slept through the entire invasion," Double Time replies quietly, his voice rising with each word. "If you had been at Princess Cadence and Captain Shining Armor's wedding, if you had seen the changelings capturing ponies to use them as food, if you had seen Princess Celestia imprisoned in a cocoon, you would not have given your trust to any changeling so easily, or allowed them to roam Ponyville freely! If Princess Celestia were here, she'd-"

"YOU WOULD DARE PRESUME TO TELL US WHAT OUR SISTER WOULD OR WOULD NOT DO?" Luna bellows.

Double Time staggers backwards, "I-I-"

Luna closes the distance between them in two long strides, a patch of frost growing from each place her hooves touch as she stands over him, "You, and every Royal Guard here, will be out of Ponyville by morning. You will return to Canterlot and report to our sister, whom we will have informed of your insubordination. And, since you seem so convinced that Celestia will see the situation differently than I, she will be the one to decide your punishments. Am I understood?"

Double Time nods.

Without another word, Luna turns on her heel, her magic enveloping the door blocking her path and throwing it open – the wood beneath its hinges groaning in protest. Hidden Glow peers wide-eyed after Luna, sparing the assembled Royal Guards a glance before cantering outside after her.

Hidden Glow slows to a halt beside Luna a short distance from the Royal Guards' house-turned-barracks, glancing up at her after a couple seconds of silence, "Are you alright, Princess?"

Luna releases a deep sigh, continuing to stare up at her night sky, "Yes, we are fine. I had merely expected better of my sister's – of the Royal Guard."

Hidden Glow raises her gaze to the heavens the alicorn beside her had crafted, eyes moving from star to star to trace familiar constellations, "Mmm… "

"Um, Princess Luna?" a voice asks from behind them.

Luna turns her head barely enough for one eye to land on the speaker, a single earth pony Royal Guard shifting from side to side as he looks up at her, "Yes?"

The guard's eyes dart between Luna's nose, ears, and mouth, meeting her eyes only for the briefest instant, "I-I just wanted to, uh, to s-say, that… that-"

The shuffle of hooves behind him silences his stammering attempt to speak, eight more ponies trickling out of the house to stand beside him, "Um, w-well, I guess, we are very sorry about what happened. We all have great respect for the lieutenant, and honestly I don't completely disagree with everything he said back there, b-but… " the guard takes a breath, "but I also don't think that all changelings are our enemy, and no matter what, what he said was out of line."

"Way waaaaaaaaaaay out of line," another guard adds.

The first guard nods, "Yeah-"

"Perpendicular, even," a different guard interjects.

Luna gives them a flat look, her lips curving downward into a frown.

The first guard clears his throat, "Right, sorry. Anyway, what I mean to say is, if Equestria's princesses believe that we should be protecting the changelings here in Ponyville, then it's our job to do that, not to be second guessing and disobeying you behind your back if we disagree. And even if we weren't a part of it, we should have come to you ourselves and told you what was going on."

As one, the guards kneel, their heads bowed.

Luna considers the group of guards, half a minute ticking by before she speaks, "What is your name?"

The first guard raises his head and stands, the others around him following suit, "Shield Bash, your highness."

"There is nothing wrong with thinking for yourself about what you have been told to do, Shield Bash, and we would welcome you to voice your concerns to us. But, not doing so and instead disobeying our commands is unacceptable," Luna states, scanning the assembled Royal Guards. "Will you nine obey my orders?"

The guards salute, replying in unison, "Yes, ma'am!"

"Very well," Luna says with a nod. "You will remain here while the others return to Canterlot. However. Should any of you be lying to me, so that you may yet have the chance to enact your own misguided vengeance, know this: Tartaurus will be pleasant in comparison to the punishment I will inflict upon anypony who should perform such a deception."

Shield Bash gulps, but bobs his head once, "We understand, Princess."

Luna's eyes narrow, "And after Princess Twilight and I return to Canterlot ourselves in a couple nights, you will answer to the Lunar Guard remaining behind, as will the Night Guard I am leaving stationed in Ponyville."

Shield Bash hesitates, but dips his head, "Yes, Princess, of course."

Luna watches him for a moment more, then looks away, her attention returning to the starry sky above her, "Then leave us and return to sleep. You will need your rest for your patrols tomorrow."

Shield Bash smiles weakly, his lips wobbling as he bows again, "Thank you, Princess Luna."

Chapter 24.66 Order, Chaos, and a Changeling

A flash of purple light illuminates the greenery covered roof of Fluttershy's cottage, the faint pop of displaced air further heralding Twilight's arrival. Surveying her surroundings, Twilight frowns, disappearing a moment later in another teleportation attempt – this time reappearing atop the final fence post of the path leading up to Fluttershy's home. Groaning, she hops to the ground, crossing the final few feet to Fluttershy's front door and knocking three times, "Fluttershy! Are you there?"

A few seconds later, the door opens to reveal Discord attired in a formal black jacket over a white collared shirt, a matching pair of pants, and a brown tie speckled with pink polka dots, "What business might you have here, hm?"

"Not now, Discord. I'm here to see Fluttershy," Twilight replies tersely, pushing her way past him into the inky blackness of the cottage.

Discord grabs her tail with his own, his expression remaining unchanged as he unceremoniously yanks her backwards, "Unfortunately, my lady is currently asleep. I strongly suggest you come back at a later time."

"Discord-!" Twilight shouts, though her anger is distracted by four dim, white balls of light appearing near the cottage's floor.

"Discord, let her in, please," Fluttershy's voice requests from within.

Discord spares Twilight a sour glance, then looks back into the house, "Please forgive me, my lady, but are you sure you wish to grant this one an audience? She would appear to my eyes to be quite an impudent scoundrel of an alicorn. It might be best for you not to associate with such a disreputable character, especially at this late hour."

Twilight glares at him, "Hey, I'm right here."

"Discord," Fluttershy replies, her words laden with disappointment, "you know that isn't very nice."

Discord's butler outfit vanishes and he leans backwards, turning on the room's lights with a snap of his claws as he slithers through the air away from the door, "Very well, my lady, if you insist… "

A golden-eyed changeling with a similarly colored mane meets Twilight's eyes, a pair of golden bands stretching across her barrel to connect either side of her gold-topped shell. A pure white glow-in-the-dark bunny slipper adorns each of her hooves, providing a stark contrast to the black chitin of her legs while a teddy bear rests draped across her back on top of her wings, "Sorry about that, Twilight, come on in."

Twilight steps inside, Discord immediately appearing beside her, "And welcome, to the royal residence of her royal highness, Princess Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy blushes and yawns, covering her mouth with a hoof, though a couple flat molars in the back of her mouth remain visible through one of the holes dotting her leg.

Twilight sighs, rolling her eyes, "I know who Fluttershy is, Discord."

"I know you do," Discord replies, grinning, "but it does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Princess Fluttershy."

Twilight gives him a flat look, "And let me guess, you knew she was a changeling all along."

Discord chuckles, "Oh no, I didn't have the slightest idea; even if I had suspected something was amiss, I would never have guessed that my friend Fluttershy was a princess of an undiscovered race of shape shifting bugponies. I definitely would've tried to use that against her while you were all busy 'reforming' me. Why, I don't think I've been so surprised about something since Celly and Luna decided to intentionally free me from my stony prison. Or at least since the vamponies were discovered." He sighs, "So many surprises, so little time, am I right?"

Twilight wrinkles her nose, a weak yet malodorous scent wafting over from the draconequus next to her, "Right, sure… what's that smell?"

"I was wondering if you'd notice!" Discord exclaims, coiling around Twilight's barrel, "Do you find it… alluring?"

Twilight teleports out of his grip, reappearing beside Fluttershy, "No, I find it confusing. Why do you smell like stale orange juice?"

Giving his lion paw a wave, Discord summons an inflatable pool filled to the brim with orange juice, falling into it while neither creating a splash nor displacing any of the juice, "Well, you see, I was getting bored one day, and decided that a little bit of chaos was just what the doctor ordered. So, I transformed all the water in the North Luna Ocean around Vanhoover into orange juice, and-"

"You what?!" Twilight demands.

Discord groans, "Now now, before you go getting your tail in a twist, I'll have you know that I did get Celly's approval prior to doing this. Anyway, as I was saying," he pulls a fish-shaped orange from the pool, the fruit struggling weakly in his claws, "I then decided to host a fishing contest – whoever caught the biggest orangefish would be the winner, and would get three wishes granted by yours truly!"

Discord pulls an oil lamp from the pool's depths, a stream of orange juice shooting from its elongated nozzle as he rubs its side, "And I must say, I was quite impressed by the winners. They somehow caught a whalorange! I hadn't even realized I'd created any of those, and I'm still not quite sure how they managed to catch it with that dinky boat of theirs either."

"You transformed Vanhoover's port into an orange juice sea for a couple days," Twilight states monotonously, staring off into space.

Discord shrugs, "That is what I said, yes, though calling it a 'sea' may be a bit overly dramatic. But I did also freeze it off from the rest of the ocean first, and I even changed everything back afterwards too, so really there's nothing for you to worry about."

Twilight slowly blinks a few times, raising her hooves to rub her temples, "So… you got Princess Celestia's-"

"Celly's," Discord corrects.

Twilight's entire body freezes, her hooves resuming their massaging motions several seconds later, "You got Princess Celestia's permission first, isolated the port so you wouldn't acidify the rest of the ocean, and then you turned everything back to normal when you were done?"

Discord raises an eyebrow, the tuft of hair continuing to rise above his head until it phases through the ceiling, "You sound surprised."

"First," Twilight states, her eyes narrowing, "that sounds suspiciously like you coming up with an actual plan. And second-"

"Now hold on there just a moment," Discord interrupts. "I've come up with plans before. Remember when I separated you and your friends in that maze, and forced you all to act the opposite of your true selves so you wouldn't be able to use the Elements? Or when I planted those plunderseeds in order to capture Celly and Luna? I am the God of Chaos you know, not the God of Anarchy."

Twilight frowns, her eyes narrowing further.

Discord brings a tea cup into existence resting on the side of the pool with a snap of his claws, filling it to the brim with apple juice from his oil lamp and taking a sip before speaking, "Oh, my apologies, did you not like those examples?"

"Anyways," Twilight says after another long pause, "secondly, why in Equestria would Princess Celestia approve of you doing something like that?"

Discord removes his errant eyebrow from his cup, returning it to its rightful place on his face, "Because the world has become frustratingly boring during all those years my body was turned to stone, and somebody needs to help true harmony flourish, because goodness knows nopony in Equestria is going to do a decent job of it."

"Nopony in Equestria-" Twilight sputters, "My friends and I are bearers for the Elements of Harmony; we've done nothing but promote harmony, unlike you."

Discord chuckles, "My dear Twilight, I thought you were so much smarter than this. Petrifying me indefinitely for what ended up being millenia and imprisoning Luna in her own moon for a thousand years – do those sound like particularly 'harmonious' actions to you? Because they sure don't to me."

"My friends and I also used them to save Princess Luna," Twilight counters.

"Yes, the second time around," Discord replies, waving a claw dismissively. "And from what I hear, you did it by forcibly purging her of nearly all her magic. A few more fractions of a percent, and she would have been left a magic-less, cutie mark-less pegacorn for the rest of her very-few-by-comparison days."

Twilight stares at him, her mouth hanging open, "W-What? That's not-"

Discord sighs, "Must I really spell it out for you? Your Elements don't promote harmony, they enforce order, which is a very different thing despite everypony's propensity for confusing the two. You alicorns are lesser manifestations of that same concept. Your power, authority, and very magic bring order to the world around you as naturally as plants grow in the sunlight." He takes another sip of apple juice, "Temporary bouts of insanity or neuroticism aside, of course."

Twilight continues staring at him, gears turning in her head until eventually her eyes narrow, "I don't believe you."

Discord shrugs, "Then ask Sunbutt or Moonbutt about what happened the last time they tried to push too much order onto the world. Heartbutt might know as well, I suppose."

Twilight glares at him.

Discord smiles innocently, "Problem, Sparklebutt?"

Fluttershy clears her throat, "Discord, please give Twilight and I some time alone."

Discord glances between them, then bows without moving from his pool, "As you wish, my lady. But when you should wish for my return, you need only say my name backwards three times in front of an upside-down mirror."

Twilight continues to stare at the empty space previously occupied by Discord and his pool, a slight crease forming between her eyebrows.

Fluttershy raises a hoof, hesitating for a moment before tapping her friend on the shoulder, "Twilight? Are you okay?"

Twilight closes her eyes, taking a slow, deep breath before reopening them and turning to the changeling next to her, "Yes. Yes, I'm fine. Sorry about getting distracted by Discord; I meant to come here to see if you were alright, not to argue with a living, breathing incarnation of chaos."

She sighs, skimming her eyes over Fluttershy's body, "You are alright, right? Cheerilee and Big Mac said there were some Royal Guards who came to their house and harassed them, and might've even attacked them, although I'm really hoping that it turns out there was some sort of miscommunication about the attacking part. Not that harassing is fine either! Just, you know, outright attacking would be a lot more problematic."

"A couple of guards did show up, actually," Fluttershy says, "but Discord teleported them to his realm, so I was fine."

Twilight's jaw drops, "He did WHAT?!"

"He didn't keep them there very long," Fluttershy adds quickly. "Just for a few minutes, and then they ran away as soon as he brought them back."

"Oh," Twilight replies, taking several more calming breaths. "Okay. That's good. Well, better, at least. Having anypony stuck in Discord's dimensional pocket would just make everything so soooo much worse. The mailpony at least seems to be finally, sort of, getting the hang of it, but I can't tell you how often Princess Celestia, or Luna, or I have had to go rescue him after he's been missing for a couple days. The guards would never have been able to find their way out on their own."

Fluttershy giggles, "As long as Discord is around, I think I'm more worried for anypony who tries to do something than about anything bad happening to me."

"Yeah, I think I am too," Twilight agrees, smiling weakly. "Still, I don't understand why any of this is happening. Lieutenant Double Time is a good pony – he was even one of the ponies Shining Armor was considering as his replacement." She lets out another sigh, "But anyways, I'm guessing you've been staying here in your cottage since the announcement then?"

Fluttershy nods, "Mhm. Not because of any of the guards though. I just wanted to… you know… not be constantly stared at by everypony around me."

Twilight sits, glancing around at the rest of the room as various small animals begin poking their heads out from their hiding places, "And, I guess, are you hungry at all? Since you've stayed away from other ponies for close to 48 hours now, I mean. Unless you can feed on your animals' emotions?" She shivers, "Or Discord's?"

Fluttershy shakes her head, "After standing in front of all of Ponyville like that, I should be fine for a few more days, even if the emotions didn't taste very good. Eating any of the Discord's ambient emotions makes my head feel a little fuzzy though, so I've never dared to try feeding on him directly. He would probably have detected me doing that too. As for the animals I take care of, I can, but it takes more effort and doesn't really provide much energy."

Twilight's head tilts ever so slightly to the right, her gaze flitting from point to point over Fluttershy's horn while her mind's eye paints an entirely different picture, "Hm… "

Fluttershy smiles, the familiar tingle of Twilight's curiosity washing over her, "My mother explained it to me a couple times, and based on what she said, it's because even though squirrels and bears and all my animal friends can be fairly intelligent, they just don't have the same level of sapience that we do. Other truly sapient races, like griffons and minotaurs, are okay, but other ponies are a lot better and easier to feed from by a long shot. It has a lot to do with Theory of Mind, mental magic, and those sorts of things, which I'm not sure how I would explain since you can't sense the same things we can. You could always ask her when we go to Canterlot, I suppose, though I don't know how much she'd be willing to tell you."

Twilight's smile fades, the curve of her mouth flattening to form a straight line, "I see."

Fluttershy's ears droop, her friend's curiosity dampened by a wave of chalky, bland apprehension, "She really is a nice pony, and you don't have to worry about her doing anything bad."

Twilight blinks, "Fluttershy, I don't mean – I mean, I didn't say-" She pauses, inhaling deeply, "I'm sure she is, Fluttershy, and I don't mean for it to feel like I don't trust you, but I still can't help worrying. Whether about this, or just in general about how she's going to respond to whatever proposal we come up with to try to officially establish peace and integrate changelings with the rest of Equestria."

"Well, if it helps, I don't think she'll be too keen on integration," Fluttershy offers. "She'll definitely want peace though, and we are already kind of at peace, aren't we?"

Twilight chuckles, "If only it were that simple, but yes, I suppose that's true. Why wouldn't she want to integrate her hive with Equestria though? It has to happen at least to some extent, given the situation."

Fluttershy yawns, "I'm just pretty sure she won't agree to something that says all changelings outside the hive have to reveal themselves, or anything like that."

Twilight taps her chin, "Hmm, I guess I can understand that. But, that's a problem for another day. Or night. Either way, before we head off to Canterlot in a couple days to get started on all that, would it be alright if I asked the rest of the girls about coming over? It's been a while since we spent some time just having fun together, since, well… "

"Vamponies, changelings, and thestrals, oh my?" Fluttershy suggests.

Twilight exhales sharply, grinning, "Something like that. I'm sure Rarity is dying to get some good measurements of your changeling form for the dress you said she could make for you, and Pinkie probably has at least five different potential parties planned out by now."

Fluttershy giggles, "That sounds wonderful."

Twilight bobs her head, "Great. In that case, I'll-"

Fluttershy stifles another yawn.

"-I'll let you get back to sleep," Twilight finishes, glancing at a cuckoo clock hanging on the wall to her left. "I've gotten used to staying up the whole night, since that's what I've ended up doing ever since Luna and the vamponies showed up, but you were actually asleep when I got here."

Fluttershy nods, giving Twilight a tired smile, "Good night, Twilight."

Twilight stands, turning towards the cottage's front door, "Good night, Fluttershy."

Chapter 24.99 Punishment

Shifting on her throne ever so slightly, Celestia glances between the two stallions standing in front of her, "Then you both find that solution to be acceptable?"

Fancy Pants dips his head, "I do, your highness. Thank you for taking this time out of your busy schedule to provide your wisdom and insight on our disagreement."

Prince Blueblood sends Fancy Pants a sour look, but nods nevertheless, "I have no further objections."

"In that case, since there are no other petitioners and it is nearly noon, I declare today's Day Court to be complete," Celestia says, striking her throne with a forehoof, the sharp sound of her golden shoe on the stone of the throne reverberating throughout the room as if her shoe were instead a tuning fork.

Both stallions bow deeply, Blueblood the first to rise – in one smooth motion raising his head, turning on his hoof, and walking away towards the throne room's pair of open doors. Fancy Pants meanwhile finishes his bow before turning, allowing himself a small, satisfied smile as he sedately makes his way to the exit, trailing behind Blueblood. Neither pay any attention to the sole other pony remaining in the room with Princess Celestia during their stately departure, the doors to the throne room closing after them with a low, ominous boom, like a distant roll of thunder.

As soon as the larger, main doors close, a smaller, hidden one opens in the left corner of the room behind the throne, an earth pony maid walking to Celestia's side carrying a cup of tea on her back. Celestia lifts the cup with her magic, giving the tea deliverer a smile and nod of thanks. The maid replies with a curtsy, retreating from the throne to leave via the same door through which she had entered.

Once the door clicks shuts behind the maid, Celestia closes her eyes, indulging in a long sip from the freshly brewed cup. Letting out a contented sigh, she forces her eyelids to rise, simultaneously allowing the cup to descend to the throne beside her with a muted clink. The corners of her lips almost immediately sag into a frown however, her gaze falling onto the only other pony still in the room with her, "Lieutenant Double Time, step forward."

Double Time shivers beneath the unfamiliar weight of the command, but obeys, the words of his princess echoing in the otherwise empty, silent room.

"I suppose I should apologize," Celestia says after a moment's pause, "for having you wait through the entirety of Day Court. I know you had a long flight yesterday, and I hope that then being here so early was not too tiring or boring for you."

Double Time's ears flick and he shakes his head, his eyes lowering to the floor, "I am fine, your highness. It is your right as Princess to order me to be here, if and when you wish it."

"Yes," Celestia states coldly. "It is."

Double Time looks up, his throat dry, however Celestia says no more for nearly a minute – instead holding his gaze with a piercing stare of her own, as if attempting to see into the innermost reaches of his soul.

Eventually though, she looks away, levitating her cup to take a small sip before speaking, "My sister has already informed me of what has happened in Ponyville, largely as a result of your own actions, whether directly or indirectly. I trust her word, as I trust I do not need to explain to you why you have been called here, and as such I have no interest in getting bogged down by inane details and nitpicking over exact specifics." She places her cup beside her on the throne, "What I want to know, is why?"

Double Time straightens, taking a deep breath, "Because the changelings are known enemies of Equestria, having already attempted an outright invasion once, and according to recent statements have infiltrated Equestria en masse. The threat they pose to Equestria cannot be understated, and by allowing them to continue to freely roam Ponyville, Princess Luna was ignoring that threat, rather than addressing it."

Celestia watches him for a few seconds more, "Go on."

Double Time blinks, "I… don't have anything else to add, your highness."

Celestia sighs, "Lieutenant, you have been in the Royal Guard for 38 years, I believe?"

"I have, your highness," Double Time answers, dipping his head. "I joined as soon as I was allowed to."

Celestia nods, "And in all that time, through everything that's happened, every threat or problem, whether it affected all of Equestria or just a particular street of Canterlot, you have done an exemplary job. You were even one of only a few ponies that Prince Shining Armor recommended to me as a potential replacement for himself as Captain of the Royal Guard. For you to now, in this instance, act in this way – persecution of another pony tribe, against the explicit wishes of both my sister and Princess Twilight, and therefore simultaneously insubordination – is so unlike you that one of my first thoughts was to consider whether or not you yourself had been replaced by a changeling of a hive wishing to intentionally sabotage the situation."

"Princess Celestia, I-"

"Suffice it to say," Celestia continues, speaking over him, "I do not believe for a single moment that the sole reason you decided to completely and utterly not just ignore, but actively go against, royal authority in this case and in such a manner was because you saw a problem that you believed wasn't being properly addressed." She leans forward, the weight of her attention falling on Double Time's shoulders, "Perhaps you do not believe my sister is as worthy of your loyalty and respect as I am? Perhaps you think Princess Twilight is too young a princess to be worth listening to on such matters, or even that I erred in assisting and guiding her ascension to become an alicorn and princess entirely? Or perhaps it is simply that I so completely misjudged you, that I did not foresee the possibility of you using this mission as an opportunity to enact some form of cheap revenge for what happened during the invasion of Canterlot?"

"N-No, princess," Double Time stammers, "I don't – none of that-"

"Then I ask you again," Celestia says, towering over him from her seat on the throne. "Why? I cannot believe that you, of all ponies, would have acted in this way, and would have expected this to end in any other way, were your judgment not somehow clouded."

Double Time licks his dried lips and takes a shaky breath, "Princess, it's nothing like any of that. Despite how this may look, I do respect you, and Princess Luna and Princess Twilight and Princess Cadence. That said, if I were to have the opportunity to do it all over again, while I would make a few adjustments, I still would not choose to follow Princess Luna's orders on this. Not when it is my belief that doing so would only increase the risk Equestria faces from the Changelings. I know of more than one of my fellow guards who's marefriend or coltfriend turned out to be one of the invaders, and helped to subdue their supposed 'special somepony' during the attack before being blown away by the love blast. I'd met some of them before all that happened, in fact – they had seemed like nice ponies at the time. As such, I am at a loss as to what possible benefits their continued presence in Equestria could bring, that would rise above the natural ability of their entire race to be manipulative and deceptive. And especially given your treatment at the hooves of the queen who attacked you after impersonating Princess Cadence and mind controlling Prince Shining Armor, I myself cannot understand how you do not feel the same way."

"I see," Celestia replies, leaning back and letting out a deep sigh. "That is disappointing, in large part because the answer is so simple. Lieutenant, we cannot know what benefits the Changelings could provide, or have already provided during their long history of living among us, if we now blindly push them away. Likewise, although it is all but certain that the hives have acted in ways which were detrimental to Equestria in order to benefit themselves, making enemies of them will neither allow us to learn of those past instances nor enable us to find mutually beneficial solutions in the future. Regardless, it would appear there is little point in talking about this any further. Despite your intention to aid in Equestria's protection, you have created what will undoubtedly become an immense diplomatic headache for myself and the other princesses, been insubordinate against Equestria's highest authority, and failed to uphold the ideals you have sworn to protect. That can't be left unanswered for."

Double Time lowers his head, his breath catching in his throat.

"All those whom my sister sent back with you will be stripped of their rank, any medals they have been awarded, as well as any commendations or other forms of recognition they have been given," Celestia pronounces. "They will then be sent back to basic training, to start their career in the Royal Guard anew, with a clean slate. You, out of respect for your years of service, will receive the same punishment. Should you refuse to accept this punishment, you will be dishonorably discharged from the Royal Guard."

Double Time bows, "I… understand, your highness."

"Good," Celestia says with a nod. "Then you are dismissed."

Double Time stands, raising his eyes to Celestia only for an instance before taking his leave. Celestia watches him, her eyes lowering to stare pensively at her empty cup once he is out of sight. After a few minutes, she looks up at one of the several floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows lining the room's walls, the colored shards of glass combining to depict Cadence and Shining Armor's victory over Queen Chrysalis and her hive – the latter only present as few particularly small pieces of black glass near the window's stone frame.

"Such a waste."

Chapter 25 History Lesson

A purple glow surrounds a fresh set of quills lying next to a trio of apples on the floor of the Golden Oak Library, Twilight enclosing the quills in a protective wooden case before slipping them into her bulging left saddlebag, "Extra quills… "

"Check," Spike replies.

Twilight levitates the apples into her equally stuffed right saddlebag, each fruit adding an additional bulge to the already strained fabric, "And a snack for the flight."

Spike looks up from the bottom of a list several times longer than he is tall, his own quill hovering just over the parchment, "Three apples?"

"Mm-hm," Twilight answers, closing both bags and buckling them shut – the effort drawing a stray spark from her horn.

Spike marks off the final box with a flourish, "Aaand… that's everything!"

Twilight scans the library's now empty floor, mentally rechecking every single item she had packed with their previous location, "You're sure?"

Spike glances at the scroll containing the completed checklist lying piled in front of him, then back to Twilight, "Yep, pretty sure."

"Maybe I should unpack, and we can go through everything again," Twilight wonders aloud, eying her overpacked saddlebags. "Just in case we missed something."

Spike gives her a flat look, "Twilight, unless you made a whole new list in the last few minutes while I wasn't looking, we definitely covered everything you put on this list. That's the whole reason for putting a checkbox on each line, right? And we already quadruple checked to make sure this list wasn't missing anything."

Twilight takes a deep breath, levitating her packed bags onto her back and turning to face the library's front door, "Right… you're right, Spike, I'm just-"

"Nervous about being involved in writing a letter that could decide the fate of both Equestria as well as all the changeling hives, especially given how they might react after what the Royal Guard did?" Spike queries.

Twilight's stomach lurches at the sound of a hoof knocking impatiently on her front door, but she manages a weak smile, "Y-Yeah, that sounds about right."

Spike shrugs, walking over to the door, "Then you've got absolutely nothing to worry about! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have negotiated tons of treaties; they probably just want you there so you can watch and learn how they do it."

Twilight quirks an eyebrow, "Gee, thanks, Spike."

"Any time," Spike replies, pulling the door open. "Now come on, they're waiting for you."

Shadow Strike moves aside as Twilight pauses in her doorway, a frown creasing her brow. A Royal Guard chariot rests on the grass no more than 20 feet in front of her – its normally golden color hastily painted over by a dark bluish grey while Hidden Glow and Night Glider stand strapped into its two harnesses rather than the usual pegasi guards. Her friends turn from the commandeered chariot; Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, and Applejack standing in front of it while Luna and Fluttershy the pegasus sit within.

Luna grins at Twilight's appearance, waving a silver-shoed hoof from her place in the chariot, "Good lunar morning, Twilight Sparkle!"

Twilight pauses, her own hoof half-raised, "Good morn – er, night, I mean – uh… hello, everypony."

A collective giggle follows her stammering reply, Fluttershy waving from her seat beside Luna, "Hi, Twilight."

Luna glances to Twilight's saddlebags, "We take it you are ready to depart for Canterlot?"

Twilight nods, "I am."

Applejack takes a half step towards her, "And yer sure ya don't want the rest of us ta come along?"

Twilight shakes her head, "I'm sure. Given everything that's happened, I'd much rather have all of you here in Ponyville to help keep an eye on things; and Spike so that if something does happen, you can get a letter to the other princesses and I about it quickly."

Pinkie hops excitedly, nearly clearing the top of the chariot, "You can count on us, Twilight."

"Indeed," Rarity agrees.

Spike gives a quick salute, "Definitely."

Rainbow Dash flaps her wings to hover a few inches off the ground, crossing her forelegs, "Yeah, we're not gonna sit back and let any more jerks like them cause trouble in Ponyville!"

"Alright," Applejack says, frowning. "If that's what you think is best."

Twilight sighs, sending Applejack a smile, "Thanks. There really wouldn't be much for anybody to do even if you did come – I'll only be gone a few days at most, and it's just going to be me, Luna, Cadence, Celestia, and my brother sitting in a room writing a letter."

"That reminds me," Luna interjects, looking up at the roof of a neighboring house, "Lunar Trail!"

Lunar Trail trots to the edge of the roof, a bandage covering his nose, "Yes, Princess Luna?"

"As the pony I am leaving in charge of Ponyville's guards, including those remaining from the Royal Guard, this responsibility falls especially on your shoulders," Luna says, giving the four ponies standing between her chariot and Twilight a nod. "Should anything at all happen, we expect to be informed about it promptly."

Lunar salutes, "I understand, princess."

Suddenly, Discord's head sprouts from the ground directly in front of Twilight, stray leaves growing from his horns and ears, "Oh good, you're all still here."

His lion paw breaks through the soil as well, with a snap of his claws Twilight replacing Fluttershy in the chariot and winged pigs replacing the Lunar Guards pulling it – Hidden Glow and Night Glider reappearing a foot in front of their previous position while Discord and Fluttershy pop into existence atop the pigs.

A whip appears in his claws, and he cracks it in the air above the pigs, "Away! To Canterlooooot!"

Lunar Trail watches Discord and the princesses fly into the night sky towards Canterlot's general location, Hidden Glow, Night Glider, and Shadow Strike quickly catching up to take a triangle formation surrounding them. His shoulder tingles a few moments later, a touch like a feather drawing his attention.

Midnight meets his eyes, raising an eyebrow as she surveys his face, "So, it sounds like you're staying."

Lunar nods, "Yup, sounds that way."

"How long?" Midnight asks.

Lunar shrugs, "Princess Luna didn't say."

"Mmm… " Midnight murmurs, sniffing his nose. "You did understand that you were supposed to touch your nose, not punch yourself in the face, right?"

"Y-Yeah, well, uh… " Lunar clears his throat, his face and ears burning, "What matters is that I succeeded."

Midnight gives him a predatory grin, her eyes flickering faintly, "Then, you're ready for lesson two?"

"Bring it on," Lunar answers without missing a beat. "Just… uh… maybe later? Princess Luna put me in charge of all of Ponyville's guards, and there's some stuff related to that which I really need to get out of the way first."

Midnight considers him, settling herself on the roof after a few seconds and disappearing from sight – her voice muffled as if speaking from the other side of a thick cloth, "Fine. I'll be here when you're done."

Wind streams across Twilight's face and through her mane as she glances towards the fast approaching landing area, her lip receiving a nervous nibble before she returns her attention to the travel chess board hovering in front of her, Luna's magic keeping it aloft. After a few more moments, she groans and lowers her head in defeat, a purple glow engulfing a carved, wooden, stylized, and pure white figurine of Celestia to tip it over, "You win."

Luna smiles from behind a similarly carved, dark blue figurine of herself, the magnetized bottoms of the few remaining chess pieces along with her magic keeping them attached as the chariot touches down with a bump and rolls to a stop, "Well played, Twilight Sparkle. Though you may have lost all three in the end, the amount of time and number of rounds you forced each game to take is quite an accomplishment against somepony of my experience."

Twilight steps off of the chariot, letting out a contented sigh as she stretches, "Thanks… aaah, Luna."

Luna glances to Shadow Strike, meeting his eyes, "You are dismissed."

Shadow Strike, Night Glider, and Hidden Glow salute, the sound of approaching hoofsteps drawing the attention of all but Fluttershy as the trio of guards take to the air.

"I assume you all had an enjoyable ride here?" Celestia asks, stopping in front of Twilight to run her eyes over both the remains of their final game as well as the flying pigs pulling their chariot.

"Indeed," Luna answers. "Your former student is quite skilled. Another few centuries of practice, and she will be a truly formidable opponent."

Discord scoops a still waking Fluttershy up in one arm, dismissing his flying pigs with a wave of the other, "Fluttershy and I also enjoyed our own little game of Checkers: Chaos Edition. A much more interesting game with far more depth than mere chess, in my humble opinion."

Luna and Twilight groan in unison, "We know."

Fluttershy yawns, blinking away her tiredness, "Um… Discord?"

"Yes, Fluttershy?" Discord queries.

"Could you put me down, please?" Fluttershy requests.

Discord strokes his goatee, "Hmm… "

Celestia tilts her head towards another pony standing in the entrance to a hallway aways off to her right, "Discord."

Following her gesture, Discord's eyes fall on a glasses-less Photo Finish – the chill in her stare enough to freeze lesser beings in place, "Ah. Well, I suppose I should at least try not to anger mama bug."

Placing Fluttershy on the ground, he pats her on the head, "Alright, off you go then."

Fluttershy offers him a thankful smile before trotting over to her mother – the mare giving Celestia a nod and shooting Discord one last sour look. Turning on her heel, she walks deeper into the castle, Fluttershy following her out of sight.

Celestia takes a step after the disguised changelings, "Shall we head inside?"

Discord taps his chin, tilting his head until he's examining Celestia upside down, "You seem different."

Celestia raises an eyebrow in reply, waiting for him to speak.

He snaps his claws, "You went to the spa, didn't you? I love what they did with your mane."

"In fact I did, under Luna's advisement, actually," Celestia says, giggling. "I don't think I've felt so relaxed in centuries."

Discord folds his arms, his head still upside down, "I've been telling you the same thing for months, but you didn't listen to me."

Celestia laughs, "And my answer is still the same. As pleasant or enjoyable as your ideas may be, relaxing they are not."

Discord harumphs, a jetpack folding out from his back, "Well, you princesses do whatever princess things you need to do before tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm going to get a snack."

With a roar, his jetpack's engines engage, Discord pulling a pair of goggles over his eyes at the last second before spiraling away into the night sky.

"So then I asked him why he thought he didn't have to follow the same rules as everypony else," Celestia says as the trio make their way down one of the castle's many hallways, grinning broadly, "and he goes into the usual 'I am of a noble house, why should I have to follow the rules made for common ponies' rambling, which wouldn't be so funny, except I think he actually believed it, instead of using it as a last ditch effort to get out of trouble like most do."

Luna inhales deeply, looking out over the hallway. Baskets of lavender flowers hang from the top of the arch of each window lining the corridor, the air suffuse with their calming scent. The moon's position in the sky leaves the windows darkened however – the hallway's light instead emanating from spherical crystals hovering above the flower baskets, each like a tiny version of Luna's celestial body, bathing the area around them in a gentle, white luminescence.

"Truly, time changes many things," she observes stoically, a smile nevertheless slowly spreading across her face, "but the attitude of nobles may never be one of them."

Celestia exhales sharply, "Anyway, that was the highlight of my day yesterday. As far as later today goes, Cadence responded, and she should be here by the evening so we should be able to work on the letter, as long as you and Twilight can wake up a couple hours before dusk." She glances at Twilight, "Your brother is, of course, coming as well, though a little bit later. Something about the Crystal Guard going on a literal witch hunt."

Twilight blinks, looking up at Celestia, "Hm? Oh. Okay, I'll… yeah, it'll be good to see him again, definitely."

Celestia pauses, examining her former student more closely, "Is something wrong, Twilight? I thought you'd be happier about seeing your brother again so soon."

Twilight shakes her head, "No, I am, I was just… remembering something Discord said last night. To ask you and Luna, actually."

The royal trio turn a corner, a thestral stallion hovering on the other side of the hall tending a flower basket along with a mare examining the faintly flickering crystal floating above it both offering a hasty mid-air bow as they pass – Luna giving them a smile and nod of acknowledgment.

"What did he tell you to ask us?" Celestia queries.

"Well, when I went to check on Fluttershy last night, because of the whole Royal Guard… incident that happened, he was there too," Twilight explains, "and we got into an argument."

"Surprising nopony," Luna snickers.

"I guess," Twilight admits. "Anyway, it ended up with him saying that the Elements of Harmony actually promote order, and when I said I didn't believe him, he said to ask you about the last time you tried to 'push too much order onto the world'."

Celestia and Luna come to an abrupt halt, Luna giving Twilight a strange look, "…Did he now?"

Celestia groans, "And of course he'd bring that up now of all times… getting a snack my flank."

Twilight opens her mouth to speak, however, Celestia's horn glows before a single word passes her lips – the three of them reappearing in a pitch black room. A fireplace roars to life an instant later, several yellow-orange crystals embedded in small alcoves spread across the room's white marble walls also glowing at their presence to drive away the darkness. Scrolls, books, and pillows of various sizes lay scattered at random throughout, Celestia levitating a few pieces of reading material from a large pillow near the fireplace to drop them beside an old pot of tea on a nearby table before laying on it. Luna follows suit, though she keeps her pillow further from the fire.

Twilight mimics their actions in a daze, letting her saddlebags fall to the floor before claiming her own pillow roughly between them while far enough away to be able to see them both, "…Celestia? Luna?"

Twilight shivers as Celestia meets her gaze, the solar alicorn's expression solemn, and her normally kind eyes now exuding the weight of the many years of her life.

"We had not planned on telling you this for some time," Celestia says after a moment. "Ideally, we would have preferred for you to have been able to live out a full lifetime with your friends and family before needing to consider or know about some of these aspects of Equestria's history as well as your own ascension to alicornhood."

"But," Luna continues, "being the type of pony you are, now that you have been told, it is unlikely that you will simply forget about this and let it go, even if we were to tell you to. And Discord, being the insufferable irritation that he is, will almost certainly find ways to keep bringing it up."

"I don't understand," Twilight replies, glancing between them. "Was Discord telling the truth?"

Luna shakes her head, "To put it shortly, no, he was only explaining the Elements as he himself sees them. And, given his bias against those artifacts which have twice defeated and imprisoned him, he happens to see them wrongly."

Celestia sighs, a soft smile replacing her solemnity, "However, we know very well that your curiousity will not be satisfied by such a short, simple statement. So to truly provide a proper context and answer to what Discord told you to ask of us, we must start at the beginning – the very beginning – before either Luna or I had ever stepped hoof on Equus."

Twilight stares wide-eyed from one fellow princess to the other, her breath catching in her throat, "Oh my gosh… you're aliens?!" She glances at herself, "Wait – does that mean – am I-?"

Celestia and Luna stare dumbly at Twilight, Luna eventually turning her gaze to Celestia, "You really could have worded that better, sister."

Celestia chuckles, "Perhaps. But putting that aside, this is why subjects such as this need to be fully explained before anypony starts jumping to conclusions." She clears her throat, "Regardless, neither of us were born on Equus' surface, though we do not consider ourselves to be 'aliens' either. And in fact, neither of us were born at all, in the normal sense."

Twilight's brow knits, her mental struggles making themselves known on her face, "You weren't… then how… ?"

"We simply… came to be," Luna replies, answering Twilight's half-asked question. "One moment we did not exist, and the next, we 'woke up' upon the solid surface of our respective celestial body – our own newly formed bodies saturated in their arcane energies. As a result, neither of us know who came into existence first – or who came to Equus first for that matter."

Celestia nods, "Truth be told, we did not know the other's celestial body even existed until we were on Equus, as previously we had always remained on opposite sides of the planet. Even all these years later, I can still remember how terrifying it was to experience my first night."

Luna smiles, "And I how painful it was to look upon the sun for the first time. Still, no matter who came to Equus before the other, it was Celestia who eventually became curious about the giant green and blue ball she was orbiting and decided she wanted to visit it. I was less interested, and quite happy to remain where I was, however one… I suppose it would have technically been 'night', my dreams were visited by another." She glances at Celestia, "Her name was Selena, and it was through her that I came to know both of my talent with dream magic, as well as the existence of ponies below. She was also the one who suggested to me my name, Luna, as that was what the thestrals had already taken to calling my moon. Looking back, it was not the most imaginative way to choose a name, but I liked it at the time, and still do. In any case, it was she who guided me to the thestrals after I landed, though… 'landed' is perhaps too graceful a term to be accurate."

Celestia lets out a bark of laughter, "Yes, I do recall leaving something of a crater behind."

Twilight frowns, "Wait, so… you didn't have names?"

Celestia shakes her head, still smiling broadly, "We hadn't even thought of the concept of names, until then. We were alone, so there was us; there was that on which we walked, which was somehow related to us; and then there was everything else our eyes could see, all of which was quite far away."

"So then, where did you get your name, Celestia?" Twilight queries.

"I did not have the benefit of a dream to guide me, so for a short while I wandered, until one day I stumbled into a clan of unicorns," Celestia replies. "Their elder had apparently seen my descent and put two and two together, so they decided to call me 'Celestia', as I had come from the heavens. I had no objections and did now need a name, so it has been what I have gone by ever since. It was also from these unicorns that I learned of earth ponies and pegasi, all of whom united beneath me, the Goddess of the Sun, as their leader."

Luna nods, "Likewise, the thestral clans decided to unite under me as their leader, many worshiping me as the Goddess of the Moon. It is what happened between our introduction to other ponies and becoming their de facto leaders that truly earned us those titles, however. You see, after a time, the ponies we had joined realized that the cycles of the sun and moon were changing – in general speeding up and passing more quickly, but also becoming more unstable and erratic, with both the sun and moon growing larger in the sky. It would frequently happen that both would be in the sky at the same time, then later, neither would be. Tia, at the unicorns' suggestion, attempted to push her sun farther out to put it back to its proper orbit," she glares at Celestia, "and nearly rammed it into my moon instead."

Celestia groans, "Oh for – let it go, Luna. That happened literally ages ago, and I have already apologized for it many times over."

Luna snorts, "Fortunately, I had been watching my moon at the time, and in a panic managed to move it out of the way before they collided."

"And that is how we first realized the other existed," Celestia finishes. "Not that I knew any more than 'somepony else out there is controlling the moon', or that Luna knew more than there was somepony else moving the sun."

Luna takes a deep breath, her gaze relaxing as she returns her attention to Twilight, "To make a much longer story short, we soon realized that neither of us was yet skilled enough to actually move the other's orbiting body – though we could sense when the other tried. Fortunately, despite what had happened and not being able to speak to each other, we were able to eventually settle on a stable and equitable day-night cycle, which we have maintained ever since."

Celestia nods, "Also fortunately, the ensuing centuries were far calmer than that near disaster. We were, of course, curious about whoever was controlling the other object in the sky, but the world was still a wild, uncharted place, and we had no way to find each other. That detail aside, it was in the aftermath of us taking control of the sun and moon, and returning day and night to their rightful lengths, that the unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi united under me, and the thestrals under Luna, to form our first nations."

"Though," Luna adds, "they were quite primitive, compared to most nations today. In modern terms, they were really closer to a united group of a few city-states."

"Hold on," Twilight objects, pointing a hoof at Luna. "Couldn't you have contacted Celestia through her dreams?"

Luna shakes her head, "No. Even today, with the spread of civilization and the whole world now being more or less explored, trying to find a specific pony when all I know of them is that they exist would be immensely difficult. Back then, it would have been impossible – we simply did not have the knowledge or skill to accomplish such a task, not to mention that the dream realm itself was fragmented due to neither us nor our ponies having so much as seen each other."

Celestia lifts her pillow with her magic, inching herself closer to the fireplace while rotating so as to face Twilight rather than the fire, "In the mean time, we both sent out explorers in all directions to see what they could find, each of our fledgling nations growing and expanding in their wake. Existing holdouts were brought into the fold, brand new settlements were founded, maps were made, and eventually we did come into contact with one another, though again not under particularly ideal circumstances. In this case, it was a pegasus explorer who stumbled upon a shrine the thestrals had built to Luna. But, being a pegasus, he did so during the day, when it was empty. And, since it was empty, and since he was an explorer, he allowed his wandering hooves to lay claim to a few of the 'abandoned' shrine's 'artifacts'."

Luna rolls her eyes, "Needless to say, my thestrals did not take kindly to his intrusion when they awoke, and he was treated rather more roughly than I would have liked. Ultimately though, he was brought before me to decide what his fate would be, as no thestral had ever seen a pony like him. It was here that he, as the first one to have ever lain eyes on both Celestia and myself, realized that I must be the one who controlled the moon. After telling us of Celestia's existence and location, he was released – sent straight back to Celestia to inform her of what, and whom, he had found, along with an amulet we had enchanted with our magic as proof."

"His return was a watershed moment," Celestia states, levitating a fresh log onto the merrily crackling fire. "He brought word not only of a new type of pony, and a nocturnal one at that, but also of another alicorn – who by her control of the moon could be said to be my equal. That bit of logic ruffled quite a few feathers to say the least, but nevertheless, a delegation was sent out as quickly as possible to arrange a meeting between us and our ponies."

Luna raises an eyebrow, "Yes, which, as we recall, proved to be quite a learning experience for us both."

"Very true," Celestia laughs. "For you see, Twilight, neither of us had previously encountered such a different type of pony from ourselves, nor had we yet come into contact with the griffons or the minotaurs or any of the other intelligent races. We had negotiated amongst ourselves to a degree, but this level of diplomacy was something entirely new to us, and so it ended up taking years of back and forth before we came to an agreement on such things as location, time, meeting duration, food, guards, and all manner of other details – many of which we were so accustomed to not needing to consider that we found our assumptions to be false only at random, often as the result of an offhoof comment or remark. Thestrals' exclusively liquid diet, for example."

Luna snickers, "Explaining that thestrals slept hanging upside down likewise took some time to get across. We actually had to bypass the official intermediary and go to her assistant, as she was entirely unable to wrap her head around the concept."

Celestia nods, "But, eventually, we were able to get everything we could possibly think of sorted out. The meeting thus began… and was a complete and utter disaster. No ostensibly diplomatic meeting has gone so poorly with the exception of, perhaps, the lone time the dragons and the yaks met. Suspicion was rampant outside of the relative few who had already spent those years negotiating the meeting's details – among my ponies, rumors had grown of what horrific things had supposedly been done to the explorer who had stumbled upon the thestrals, while many thestrals came neither knowing much more, nor particularly caring, about what had happened other than a pegasus of mine had been caught stealing from a shrine to Luna. Tensions were high, and rising, before either Luna or myself had even arrived."

"Not that our arrival helped matters," Luna comments.

Celestia sighs, "No, and in fact we made things much worse. You see, although we were both beyond excited at the prospect of meeting another like ourselves, we were still very naive. Neither did it help that Luna came bearing a grudge and seeking an apology for my causing the near miss between the sun and the moon. She and her thestrals also had no love for the sun itself – they found it to be a glaring nuisance compared to Luna's moon, its light piercing, painful, and the cause of many headaches for those who were not used to its brightness."

Luna matches her sister's sigh with one of her own, "Celestia, for her part, came to the meeting with an admittedly more open mind. However that changed very quickly after I demonstrated my dream walking talent to her, and she became fearful of our ability to enter into the minds of the sleeping at will. After that, tension gave way to harsh words and accusations, tempers flared, and by the second dawn a battle had broken out. Neither of us won so easily, obviously, both of us instead retreating to recover and plan how we wished to execute the next phase of our conflict. For me and my thestrals, that often meant I would use my dream magic to inflict nightmares on Celestia's warriors either in the lead up to a night raid, or defensively when they approached a town. For Celestia and her ponies, it generally meant marching straight at a town during broad daylight."

"And it… it was… " Celestia takes a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. "And it was a 'conflict', rather than a 'war', at least in comparison to what a war would look like today, were we to need to defend ourselves against another nation rather than a lone villain or surprise attack. Nor was it anything compared to the assault Sombra's monsters unleashed when we first defeated him, for that matter. Today it would probably be likened to merely a series of minor armed skirmishes. Our nations were smaller, our numbers fewer, and our technology simpler. The bow and arrow was considered to be advanced weaponry at the time, though the earth ponies did manage to invent the first catapult a few years after the conflict ended. Our knowledge of magic was also much more primitive, with most unicorns scarcely able to perform any spell not related to their special talent, which left nearly all unable to cast any sort of specifically offensive spell."

"In any case," Luna says, sending Celestia a sorrowful smile, "despite the relative size of our conflict, leading our ponies into battle and experiencing the aftermath was easily the worst thing either of us had ever gone through. It also did not help that we ourselves were the cause of the majority of the casualties on both sides, as while we were far more powerful than any other pony, our knowledge of such magic was hardly more advanced, and it came down to us effectively lobbing massive amounts of magical energy at each other's general location. As a result, although we both hated the other's existence with a passion, after several such battles we were more than willing to agree to a truce and to leave a healthy distance between each other and our nations."

A heavy silence hangs over the room following Luna's words save for the crackling of the fire, Twilight staring wide eyed at her until Celestia eventually clears her throat, "Following that, we then proceeded to not so much as speak to each other for over 800 years, during which time we did our best to pretend that the other did not exist at all. It is, perhaps, somewhat ironic then that it was a griffon who was the first to be able to get us into a room together. Not that he actually told us we would be in a room together or had any interest in healing our longstanding feud; he was far more concerned with trying to establish a trade route that would be allowed to pass straight through both our countries without either my ponies or Luna's thestrals tearing it apart searching for contraband. But, an offhoof comment about his rather repugnant behavior led to more words spoken between us, and then, begrudgingly, to a full blown conversation. It was at this point we realized that we did not find each other's company quite as repulsive as we once had."

"Indeed," Luna agrees, her smile's edge of sadness melting away. "In fact we found it to be quite refreshing to speak to the sole being on the planet who was most like myself. The only one who seemed to be equally long lived, as well. We discovered that we had quite a few things in common with one another, many of which could never truly be shared with anybody else simply because, at the end of the night or day, there were certain ways in which we were different from everybody else we had ever come across."

"The trade route talks eventually fell through," Celestia continues, "though not because of either of us – that griffon was easily one of the dirtiest, greediest, most conniving members of his species I've ever had the displeasure of speaking to. Luna and I, however, decided to meet again, just the two of us, and… talk about anything we happened to feel like talking about. It also helped that she had long since accepted the necessity of my sun, as plants would not be able to grow by the light of her moon alone. And for my part, I was interested to learn that she was able to protect her thestrals from naturally occurring nightmare creatures, which despite my best efforts creating primitive dreamcatchers and the like, had become something of an endemic problem – complete with the occasional disease-like outbreaks."

Luna nods, "So, we decided to keep meeting with each other, still without any of our ponies around. Which, to be blunt, was in large part due to the fact that it was one of them who had ignited our conflict, though for fairly obvious reasons we were never able to obtain an unbiased account of who, or even who's side, struck the first blow. Regardless, we continued to speak with each other, to learn more about each other, until eventually I showed Celestia how I moved the moon, and she the sun to me. It was at that point we came to the realization that we had become friends. It was quite a shock to us both, truth be told."

Celestia exhales sharply, "The understatement of an era right there."

"Indeed," Luna laughs. "But, friends we were, and we decided it was therefore time to try to get those who followed us on speaking terms as well. It did, admittedly, take a few generations before any real progress was made on that front, despite our generally still being revered as goddesses. Though honestly this was still far faster than either of us had expected, given that for the previous eight centuries we had been promoting the opposite view. We persevered however, despite the negative reaction it initially created amongst both our subjects, and once we each managed to get a trickle of our ponies who were willing to travel to and visit the neighboring pony nation on their own, it quickly grew into river driven by untapped trade opportunities as well as newfound curiosity. With that established, our ponies were, for the most part, able to leave behind their distrust and distaste for each other, and in a mere 200 years it was as if Celestia and I had not attempted to murder each other on more than one occasion."

Celestia sighs, smiling widely, "Truly, there is nothing quite like remembering how things once were in the past, then looking out at the world in front of you and being able to so clearly see how peace and understanding have taken hold to give rise to prosperity. And in the ensuing few centuries, our nations continued to grow closer still – as did we. We began to see each other as more than friends, recognizing each other as a sort of kindred spirit, and perhaps the closest thing to family that we may ever have."

"Though we did eventually discover that we were, in fact, capable of bearing children," Luna interjects. "With a little bit of magical assistance."

Twilight's ears perk at this, "…Wait, you can-? You have? Even though you're not – I mean you are, but I thought – assumed, that is, since… uh… " She closes her eyes, taking a slow, steadying breath before reopening them, "So Prince Blueblood, does that mean he's actually… ?"

"Related to one of us?" Luna queries amusedly.

Twilight's eyes dart to the floor, "Yes?"

"He is a descendant of mine," Celestia answers, sighing heavily. "For better or worse. As is Cadence, though that has definitely been for the better. But we still have much to cover, and that is a topic for another time."

Luna meets Celestia's eyes, both pausing as a wordless understanding passes between them.

Luna clears her throat an instant later, bobbing her head ever so slightly before offering Twilight a smile, "And should you have any questions regarding that which we do speak of now, we will of course be happy to discuss them in more depth at a later date as well."

Celestia nods, "So, as I was saying, we began to see each other as possibly the closest thing to family either of us would ever have. During this same period of time, our ponies and nations continued to grow closer together, to the point that at towns along the border it was becoming more and more difficult to tell where one ended and the other began. This continued until, eventually, we decided we should officially unite ourselves and our nations, both as a symbolic gesture and as a practical one. To that end, we 'adopted' each other as sisters, as well as declared ourselves to now be co-rulers of the united pony tribes and a single nation called Equestria."

Twilight frowns, sitting up on her pillow, "Hold on-"

"We can assure you," Luna interrupts, "that much planning went into this decision. We did not simply announce this out of the blue one evening."

Twilight shakes her head, "No, not that. I meant the country – Equestria? I thought Equestria was founded in the aftermath of the windigos."

"Ah," Luna replies. "No, that was, or I suppose is, the second iteration of Equestria. This was the first time Equestria was established as a nation, which did fall apart rather quickly before being much more successfully re-established."

Twilight gapes at Luna, "Fell apart-"

"We are getting ahead of ourselves," Celestia states calmly, speaking over her former student. "I assure you, it will make sense once we get there."

Twilight hesitates, after a moment settling back onto her pillow, "Right, sorry."

"It is also worth mentioning," Celestia continues, "that this first instance of Equestria was nowhere near as large as modern day Equestria. Luna and the thestrals' homeland, Ælün, extended from the western land bridge to approximately where the Smokey Mountains and Whitetail Woods are today. The nation of me and my ponies, previously known as Solara, then extended from there to border on the San Palomino Desert to what is now Appleloosa in the south, the Everfree in the east, and the southern edge of the Unicorn Mountain Range in the north. The lands directly to the south, meanwhile, were controlled by dragons at the time; the southeast was occupied primarily by Diamond Dogs, who had come from even farther south; and to the north, as well as to the east beyond the Everfree, were griffons, who had crossed what would eventually come to be called the Celestial Sea-"

Luna smirks, "She was jealous that I had two oceans named after me."

Celestia glares at her sister, "-and had effectively colonized everything east and north of this first incarnation of Equestria, from approximately Baltimare to the Everfree, and then everything north of our borders, all the way up to the Crystal Mountains. There was a not insignificant amount of time during which one could trot from the Celestial Sea all the way across the continent to the North Luna Ocean without once leaving griffon controlled territory. Not that they were at all unified, of course – there were dozens of small nations, city states, and even individual clans constantly squabbling amongst themselves, to the point that it was many ponies' full time job just to at least attempt to keep track of their endlessly changing borders, alliances, and conflicts. The diamond dogs, on the other hoof, mostly kept to themselves, preferring to mine their precious gems and occasionally use their hoards to ally with the dragons when the need arose."

Luna nods, "Solara and Ælün, and then Equestria even moreso, were large enough compared to any… territorial unit, let us call them, that the griffons were ever able to form that they were rarely foolish enough to actually attack us, though the mere memories of the hoops we needed to jump through to keep ourselves extricated from their endless backstabbing and infighting are still enough to give us headaches. But regardless, ancient regional politics aside, it is what happened after this point that Discord was referring to when he mentioned we 'pushed order too far', which I assume is what you are particularly interested in."

Twilight's ears perk at this, and she adjusts her position on her pillow, "I was, well, I am, but honestly it's hard to say I'm particularly interested in just that anymore since this has all been pretty mind blowing so far."

Luna laughs, "'Tis a fair sentiment."

Celestia smiles, "In any case, with ourselves and our ponies now officially united and our knowledge of magic having advanced by leaps and bounds since we first met, we decided the time was ripe for a show of unity to dispel any remaining objections held by those who still clung to the wish of our two nations remaining separate. The target of this campaign, who's removal we believed would benefit everypony greatly, was the entirety of the Everfree Forest."

Twilight coughs, sputtering, "Remove the – but you can't – that's not-"

Luna releases a deep sigh, "And therein lies the catch. Were it only a question of clearing out all of the Everfree's particularly aggressive flora and fauna, it would absolutely be possible. Costly, difficult, and time consuming, but possible. That is, after all, in part why we chose it as the first task of any real significance for us to accomplish together – a sort of national team building exercise, if you will. The Everfree was also far more dangerous then, and its location on our eastern border something of a perpetual headache due to the frequent incursions of its wildlife… not to mention the rather tantalizing thought of what we would be able to do with such a massive amount of essentially brand new territory under our control, all without having to declare war on any of our griffon neighbors. What we did not know, and what we failed to realize, is that there is far more behind the Everfree's existence and the seemingly warped nature of its inhabitants than a mere quirk of nature combined with the random chance that such a forest happened to be located next to us."

"You see, Twilight," Celestia continues, "there is an overarching balance to the world between ambient magic that is by nature orderly, and magic that is naturally wild and chaotic. Today, as it has been for a long time now with only a few notable exceptions, the strength of this magical field is mostly uniform throughout Equestria. And, as we now know in this day and age, the strength or weakness of this field can have a profound effect on the stability of casting any particular spell. Further, Luna and I, as stewards of the constant cycle of the sun and moon as well as due to our direct access to the massive amounts of magic they contain, are effectively minor wells of power for this orderly form of magic."

Twilight's brow creases, Celestia and Luna sharing a glance while they wait for the inevitable question.

"So… " Twilight says slowly, "that means then, that ponies' magic will be more powerful whenever you or Luna are nearby?"

Celestia smiles, "To a degree, yes, though not to the extent that it is immediately or obviously noticeable."

"It is a few percentage points, at most," Luna chimes in. "We expect that you and Cadence will also begin to exhibit this latent ability, as you grow both older and as alicorns."

Celestia nods, "Prior to the spread of civilization, these two fundamental fields of magic were intermixed mostly evenly across the entire world. However, as cities arose and nations formed, as the untamed wilds were claimed and brought under control, this balance was broken. Orderly magic flourished, while chaotic magic was suppressed. In Equestria in particular, a land led by Luna and I, and in which our ponies take an active hoof in managing and controlling all manner of natural forces, creatures, and events, very nearly all of the chaotic magic was removed." She sighs, "Removed, but far from gone."

"Rather," Luna continues, "it was 'pushed out', and as we and the other races the world over took control of more and more land, this displaced chaos magic became more and more focused – eventually forming into multiple massive, incredibly dense clumps of chaotic magic, one of which is centered in what came to be known as the Everfree Forest. Unfortunately, we knew none of this at the time. We naively assumed the forest was only there by happenstance, and if we gave it a good, persistent effort, we could remove it from the map entirely, thereby claiming it for Equestria."

Celestia grimaces, "The forest was calm for the first tens of miles we advanced, but beyond that point, it was as if the Everfree itself had noticed our intrusion and was actively fighting our presence. Wildlife attacks increased manyfold, trees we had felled and plants we had cleared over the course of weeks would regrow behind us seemingly whenever nopony was looking, and even Luna's and my own magic began to weaken amidst the constant struggle. We were forced to construct what amounted to makeshift fortifications as we moved farther in, while also laying down a thicket of sealing wards in our wake to ensure our progress was kept."

Luna's expression darkens, a chill spreading through the air around her, "Knowing what we do now, and given the benefit of hindsight, after these first tens of miles was where we should have stopped. Retreated and waited, until we knew more. Instead, we decided we'd committed too many resources to this effort to so easily back down. So we called in some researchers to study this strange phenomenon, while in the mean time we continued our purge of the Everfree."

"Indeed," Celestia agrees. "And as a result of that choice, what we had initially thought would be a difficult few years at most turned into a grinding, back and forth battle of attrition lasting more than two decades. The griffons barely even factored into our problems, outside of a few snide comments during the rare occasion we were required to meet with them concerning other matters. But despite everything, we did manage to continue making slow progress, doggedly clearing mile after mile of forest and sealing it behind us as we went while also eventually managing to completely encircle all that remained of the Everfree. However, the more we cleared, the more dangerous it became. Predators grew larger and plants that were once relatively benign began to inflict all manner of strange and never before seen maladies and illnesses, not to mention what happened to those that were poisonous to begin with."

She turns to stare into the fire, her eyes distant, "Towards the final days, when we had reduced the entirety of the Everfree to less than a hundred square miles, it was as if the forest itself had gained a level of intelligence. Squads of massive timberwolves would appear out of nowhere, charging us in formation, and other such anomalies. By now, of course, we had a fair idea of what was causing these things to happen, and again, was a point at which we should have realized how foolish our pursuit was. Yet still, we pressed on, convinced that after all we had gone through and after how far we had come, we would be able to persevere through anything the Everfree could throw at us. It was then, just before we were about to begin our final push, that it spawned… Discord."

Twilight blinks, "…Wait, what?"

Discord appears in a burst of confetti, "Tadaaa!"

A golden aura surrounds him, lifting the draconequus and slamming him face first into the wall beside the fireplace with enough force to create a spiderweb of cracks in the white marble.

"With a wave of his claws," Celestia continues, her eyes never straying from the fire, "he punched a hole straight through all the wards and fortifications we had built to keep the Everfree in check as we advanced. Within minutes of his appearance, the forest had re-expanded miles in every direction – nearly all of even our magic outright nullified in the outpouring vortices of chaos, our wards overwhelmed, and any structures we had built torn to shreds and completely destroyed. Thousands of our soldiers, and many more civilians who had been supporting the effort, were engulfed by the forest, almost all of whom were never seen or heard from again."

Luna casts a sidelong look at the draconequus pinned to the wall, "Discord then went on a rampage across the entirety of the continent, though to our knowledge he rarely went farther south than the Badlands. And as he was far more powerful than any other being we had ever encountered – ourselves included – we were unable to stop him, or even do much to slow him down. Within a matter of weeks, the more than 20 years of sweat, blood, and magic that we had spent to remove the Everfree Forest was lost. Equestria and the rest of the continent under his 'rule', if it can truly be called such, became a random, dangerous, and utterly chaotic place. We did what we could, of course, to help our ponies maintain some semblance of stability, but… it was a losing battle."

Celestia closes her eyes and lowers her head, after a few seconds returning her attention to Twilight, "It was also during this time that all the other races fled. The griffons returned across the sea to their homeland, though such a massive influx of refugees ended up causing them almost as many problems as Discord would have; the diamond dogs, as well as some of the dragons, retreated far enough to the south that Discord did not frequently bother them; while the rest of the dragons went further, flying away to eventually settle in what is now the Dragon Lands. All brought stories of Discord's power and random destructiveness which, along with his occasional appearance in their respective homelands, kept everyone except the most adventurous from attempting to return and effectively stopped anybody from traveling to our part of the continent. We, on the other hoof, had nowhere we could so easily flee to."

Luna meets Celestia's eyes, offering her a weak smile, "After we had endured a few decades of his mad reign however, Discord's games, and out of control use of his own magic, finally pushed the balance of things too far in chaos' favor. And so, within the Everfree itself, the Tree of Harmony began to grow, shrinking the forest while also drawing in much of the rogue chaotic magic that Discord had unleashed. Then, once the Elements of Harmony were complete within its branches, it appeared to me in a dream vision."

Celestia sighs, "We were both skeptical of such an easy solution falling into our hooves like this, I much more than Luna since I had not had this vision – to me it seemed far more likely that Discord had somehow found a way into the dreamscape, and this vision was merely another trick of his. Still, we had long since run out of other options, and we certainly had nothing left to lose, so we followed the images and hints Luna recalled from her dream. The vision, it turned out, was real, as was the Tree and its Elements. The Elements of Magic, Kindness, and Generosity bound themselves to me, while the Elements of Loyalty, Honesty, and Laughter bound themselves to Luna, and with them we were finally able to put a stop to Discord. Then once he was imprisoned in stone, the Tree continued shrinking the Everfree until it was more or less the same size as it had been before our misguided attempt to remove it, and to this day acts as a soft counter to prevent the worst of the Everfree's magics from escaping its borders."

Luna shoots a glare at the back of Discord's head, "As well as keeping a lid on any remnants of Discord's magic from that era, it would seem."

Discord phases into wall, leaving behind a draconequus shaped outline in Celestia's telekinetic aura and reappearing fused to the ceiling above the three alicorns, "And there you have it, Twilight, straight from the Royal Sisters themselves! The Elements were used against me, and the Tree against the Everfree, to bring chaos under control and order to an entire continent."

"And, as per usual," Luna replies, rolling her eyes, "you misunderstand their purpose. It is not that they, in and of themselves, spread order. It is that they are the final counterbalance against otherwise overwhelming forces of chaos and disorder. They bring order to chaos only so much as they return things to their previous state of being, so as to maintain the overall balance."

"Yes," Celestia agrees. "You were a somewhat special case since, until you understood the value of friendship, your actions were so utterly chaotic that turning you to stone was the only option. My banishing Luna to the moon is also not an ideal example, since I was forced to use half of the Elements while they were still bound to her, and I was not able to exercise any particular degree of finesse or control while doing so. A thousand years later however, Twilight and her friends' true embodiment of each of the Elements' virtues was what allowed them to be used to return Luna to her previous self. The Elements also played a role in Twilight's ascension – which happened very soon after you had been freed. It was also the Elements themselves that freed you the second time, I might add."

Luna nods, "Additionally, in the human world, Twilight reported that the Element of Magic was used to transform both another of my sister's pupils as well as a couple other humans into 'demons', and then to change them back when they went out of control. Your plundervines as well – they were spreading chaos across much of Equestria, and the Elements, or rather, the Tree, purged them to return all affected parts of Equestria mostly back to how they were prior to the vines' invasion."

"And while that is an impressive list of examples," Discord replies, examining his claws, "all I'm hearing are more reasons that I'm right. Returning something to the way it was before chaos started affecting it is quite an orderly thing to do."

"Again, no," Celestia states. "They are used in the face of overwhelming chaos to bring balance and harmony. Were their purpose solely to promote order, the Tree of Harmony would have done far more to the Everfree than merely return it to the same state it was in before we invaded it."

Twilight glances between the arguing deities, "So… it sounds like nobody really understands for sure how the Elements or the Tree work."

"I do," Celestia and Discord reply simultaneously, both blinking in surprise, then narrowing their eyes at each other.

Luna raises her hoof, "We vote in favor of Celestia's interpretation."

Discord folds his arms, sending Luna a flat look, "You do realize this isn't a democracy, right?"

Luna blows him a raspberry in response.

Celestia smirks, victory gleaming in her eyes, "Discord, if the Elements are truly only for enforcing 'order', then explain how Pinkie Pie is a bearer."

"I knew you were going to bring her up," Discord grumbles.

"Hold on, why Pinkie?" Twilight asks, "Rather than any of my other friends, I mean."

Celestia's smile softens, "Your friend Pinkie has a natural affinity for chaos magic – in fact, most 'party ponies' have some level of natural ability using Discord's form of magic. It is the source of the various and sundry abilities you have described her as having in many of your letters, and which she has demonstrated with ease on the occasion she and I have been in the same room." She shoots Discord another victorious smirk, "Which would also preclude her from bearing an Element, were your interpretation correct."

Twilight stares blankly at her former mentor, "Pinkie can use-"

"Well of course," Discord replies, waving a claw. "You didn't seriously think 'because she’s Pinkie Pie' was really the entire explanation, did you?" He sends Celestia a sidelong look, "And no, I don't know how she's able to be a Bearer, but that doesn't change what the Elements have actually been used for or what the Tree has actually done."

"But-but… " Twilight stammers, "but how can she be using it? I've been trying to study chaos magic for weeks – it was what I was doing the night that Midnight was found and brought to Ponyville's hospital – and I've made literally no progress on using it or understanding it or anything at all!"

Discord sighs, "Twilight, what allows unicorns to cast spells?"

"Our horns," Twilight answers automatically, "it-"

Discord holds up a claw, interrupting her, "Their horns, my young alicorn. It is what allows the unicorn tribe to control their magical abilities to such an extent, compared to the other, hornless tribes. Now, tell me, what do you think happens to chaos magic when you try to tightly control it?"

Twilight glances at the floor, her eyes darting back and forth, "I don't know, I never got it to work. I guess it would probably… unless… " Her head jerks up, eyes wide, "It wouldn't be chaos magic anymore! So that would mean… unicorns can't use chaos magic? At all?"

"Correct!" Discord says, waving a pair of sparklers from which confetti showers onto Twilight, "Alicorns either, for that matter. And probably changelings too, now that I think about it."

Twilight frowns, "But if you don't control it, how do you make it do what you want?"

Discord raises an eyebrow, "You seem to be under the mistaken impression that I actually know precisely what will happen when I use my magic, or how the end result will be accomplished."

"No matter how Discord's magic works," Celestia interjects, "we are getting off topic, and there are still a few remaining points regarding Equestria's history I would like to cover."

"…Alright," Twilight acquiesces, glancing between the solar alicorn beside her and the draconequus still stuck part way in the ceiling. "But I have a lot of questions."

Luna giggles, "We are not sure we would have believed you, had you told us otherwise. Regardless, after we turned Discord to stone, we continued to rule over Equestria for a time. We even managed to reclaim our castle, which we had built within the Everfree's original borders in an attempt to boost morale, but we dared not push our luck, or the Everfree Forest, any further. After all, who knew what manner of monstrosity it might spawn next?"

Discord folds his arms, "I'm right here, you know."

"However," Luna continues unperturbed, "guilt followed us for our actions – for our ignorance that led us to believe we should pursue such a goal in the first place, as well as for our bullheaded arrogance and stubbornness that led us to refuse to back down even once it became beyond obvious that leaving the Everfree be was the correct course of action. As such, we oversaw the creation of a fully unified government consisting of ponies from our four tribes. Then, after teaching the unicorns a group spell to enable them to move the sun and moon in our stead, making sure that the necessary protections against nightmare creature incursions were widespread, and appointing a governing council to rule in our place, we stepped down to let our ponies lead themselves."

"Of course, we did not leave entirely," Celestia adds. "We were simply very difficult to get ahold of, instead using our time to gain a better understanding of ourselves and of our world."

Luna snorts, "Not that this decision turned out any better. In fact, it was a terrible idea. In well under a century, the earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi had reached such an impasse that they split into their own tribes, sectioning Equestria off into their own smaller nations. Our thestrals, meanwhile, withdrew to Ælün, having absolutely no interest in individually dealing with each of the feuding day pony tribes, especially now that I was no longer around the push the issue. So, they closed their borders, and for the most part ignored what was going on in the rest of former Equestria."

"It was also this infighting that eventually drew the Windigos," Celestia explains, "and those events are, for the most part, accurately portrayed by the Hearth's Warming play. The earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi left their old homes, migrated to another location, drew the Windigos there as well, but were ultimately able to unite to drive them off. It was at this point that Luna and I returned to lead the newly reformed Equestria, at their request."

Luna snickers, "By which my sister means we returned to the lands of the original Equestria only to find it to be a frozen wasteland, as well as our castle in the Everfree abandoned and overgrown, though Discord thankfully still imprisoned. Our thestrals were able to direct us towards the general location the other tribes had traveled to, and when we arrived at their newly founded Equestria, in former Diamond Dog territory I might add, they quite literally begged us to reassume control of the sun and moon as well as to rule as princesses once again. Though exactly how each of the three tribes managed to both migrate from their frozen homes and then lay claim to the exact same location at almost the exact same time without once running into one of the other two tribes along the way remains a mystery to this day – for the pegasi in particular. Disregarding that particular oddity, it was with our return that I was also able to convince the thestrals to rejoin our newly reformed Equestria, but not to resettle to where the day ponies had moved – not that I really tried to convince them of the latter."

"We then continued to rule together," Celestia says, sending her sister a disapproving look, "and with us ponies now the only remaining intelligent inhabitants of the entire continent ranging from the Macintosh Hills in the south to the Crystal Mountains in the north, and with the tribes now united under the banner of peace, friendship, and unity in a way that they had never been before, Equestria entered something of a golden age. We expanded rapidly into the surrounding lands, Equestria's borders very quickly growing to reclaim all of our old territory – reconnecting our borders to those of the thestrals' in the process – and further laying claim to all of what could now be recognized as the borders of modern Equestria."

Luna grins widely, "The griffons, of course, were quite upset to learn that we had taken over all of 'their' lands, once they finally worked up the courage to return after a few centuries. We, however, refused to give up anything to them, and they were not in a position to be able to force the issue. Though, we would also be lying if we said we hadn't been hurrying to claim as much of their former territory as we could in their absence. The diamond dogs and dragons have never since returned in any numbers worth mentioning on the other hoof, and our thestrals' stubborn refusal to move from Ælün has for the most part kept any races from that side of the world, such as the minotaurs, from coming over and trying to claim anything. It was also during this period of time that we first discovered the Crystal Empire, after the aurora of the Crystal Heart was first seen in the sky emanating from the far north beyond even the Crystal Mountains, but for the longest time they refused to have any diplomatic contact whatsoever. We also, again, reclaimed our castle in the Everfree during this era of expansion."

Celestia nods, "That is, until Sombra came to power, in the eventual aftermath of which I was forced to use the Elements to banish Luna for a thousand years – though in my defense, the length of the banishment was not intentional, nor did I even mean to banish her at all. The thestrals did not believe me when I said as much, suffice it to say, and they withdrew from nearly all contact with Equestria only a few months after she was banished. Many refused to even acknowledge my existence after what had happened, much less my right to rule, both out of anger at what I had done as well as their own shame at having abandoned Luna when she needed them most. It was during this time, with the country in shambles and Luna gone, that I allowed the Everfree to once again reclaim that castle, instead constructing a new one here on the Canterhorn Mountain, beneath which Sombra is now imprisoned."

"And now that Luna is back," Twilight finishes, "the thestrals are returning as well."

"Well, somewhat returning," Luna corrects. "They have spent a thousand years largely separate from Equestria, and many still refuse to acknowledge Celestia as a princess in the now long held belief that trying to be loyal to both of us is what caused their ancestors to forsake me in my time of need. Progress is being made, of course, but… "

Celestia shrugs, "It is not really that important, in the grand scheme of things. We have gone through this situation before, and one of the great benefits of being as long lived as we are is that we can much more easily plan for things that will take decades or centuries to fully accomplish. But in any case, with that, then, we arrive at the present day. We did skip significant amounts of time between Equestria's expansion, the discovery of the Crystal Empire, and Sombra's first attack, but to be blunt nothing of any comparative importance happened during those periods – some wars, a lot of treaties and negotiations, et cetera, et cetera."

Twilight stretches on her pillow, taking a deep breath and smiling wearily, "Wow, that's… a lot. I'd never even thought… or imagined… well, most of it. Hmm… "

She glances from one royal sister to the other, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly, "How come so much of this also isn't in any history books I've read? Sombra I can understand, sort of, but I'd only heard bits and pieces of everything that happened before the windigos."

Celestia laughs, "I can assure you, Twilight, there was no such intent to rewrite history involved in this case. In fact, much of what we have told you here tonight along with many many more additional details was compiled and written into a book by Luna and I at one point. However, at that time, books were still a somewhat new invention – most writing that was done still being on scrolls – nor was the creation of books yet automated, nor were there anywhere near as many ponies who were literate then as there are now. So, in this case, the cause is simply that very few copies were ever made, all of which were eventually lost to time, theft, Nightmare Moon, and you."

Twilight stares blankly at Celestia, "M-Me?"

Celestia nods sagely, "Indeed. The final remaining copy that I was aware of was destroyed in that library fire you started when you were nine. And, given that this is the case, Luna and I will, of course, answer any questions you may have. After all, I may not have intended," she glares at Discord, "to drop all of this on you at this time, but it is still something you would have needed to know eventually, and some parts do directly affect you. For now though, you should rest. I am sure you'll find all of this to be much more manageable to think about once you have slept on it, and regardless, we do still need to write what amounts to a 'first contact' letter for the changeling queens tomorrow evening."

"O-Oh," Twilight stammers. "I-I… I guess… I'll do that, then. Um… good… morning? Or something?"

Standing awkwardly, she turns to the room's door, her gait stiff and mechanical as she disappears into the hallway, staring a thousand yards into the distance.

Luna looks to Celestia once the sound of hoofsteps fade to nothing, "Did Twilight Sparkle truly destroy the last of our tomes on Equestria's ancient history? We rather clearly recall having placed several protective spells on it."

Celestia sighs, "She did, unfortunately. Our spells did not age as well as I had expected, combined with her accidentally using fire shards as lighting crystals inside 'Fort Book: Volume 12'… well, you can imagine how that turned out."

Luna winces, "I see. Our apologies. We can only imagine how distraught she must have been, even without realizing she had destroyed something of such value."

"This is also something I had intended to ask you about, actually," Celestia says. "The thestrals have always taken great care to preserve anything which you personally had a hoof in, even more so while you were banished. Would, perhaps, the Ælün archives still have a copy? If so, it is long past time that we had more created."

Luna bobs her head once, "I will send an inquiry to see if one can be located."

"Thank you," Celestia replies, smiling knowingly. "Though, keep in mind that we have said we will answer all of her questions, and seeing as you've apparently managed to turn Twilight nocturnal in the just over a week since this all began… "

Luna's eyes widen and she leaps to her hooves, "We will send our missive at once!"

Celestia watches her sister gallop from the room, after another moment turning her attention to the draconequus quietly watching from above, "And don't you go giving her any more 'answers' in the mean time either."

"My lips are sealed," Discord replies, falling from the ceiling to land face first on a magically summoned seal plushie.

Chapter 26 Writing A Letter

Twilight squeezes her eyes shut, shielding them from the stinging heat and smoke – an afterimage of the flaming ruins of Fort Book nevertheless remaining seared into her mind's eye along with the pyre of collapsed bookshelves surrounding it. A hacking cough escapes her throat, the motion dislodging one of several large, partially scorched books piled on top of her. Another cough racks her tiny frame as soon as she inhales again, the smoke growing thicker, and the heat stronger, as the blaze spreads towards her. Barely managing to force herself to her hooves, she turns from the source of the stench of burning knowledge, stumbling blindly away before collapsing again after only a few steps. A firepony picks her up seemingly a split second later, blaring sirens and incomprehensible, shouting voices on all sides giving way to complete silence…

Pulling herself from her memory, Twilight wipes streaks of tears from her cheeks, sniffling and lifting her head to look over an old, now dusty, brass memorial to the books lost in the fire. Approaching hoofsteps reach her ears before a fresh wave of guilt manages to submerge her in another memory however, her heart clenching at the steps' familiar weight and cadence.

"I thought I might find you here," Celestia says, walking up from behind Twilight to stand beside her. "You haven't been sitting here all day, I hope."

"No, not that long. Just… since a little bit ago, since I woke up," Twilight replies, her eyes dropping to the floor. "Princess Celestia, I-I didn't even realize… and I'm really really sorry-"

"Twilight," Celestia states gently, interrupting her former student's apology.

Twilight hesitantly raises her eyes, redness surrounding them.

Celestia sits next to Twilight, laying a warm wing across Twilight's shoulders and smiling down at her, "You could have burnt down the entire library, and no matter what books were destroyed in the process, what would have always mattered most to me would be that you were safe. I already knew the book Luna and I had written was destroyed when I last told you that, and even if I hadn't yet realized it was gone, it would not have changed anything. While it was disappointing to me at the time that it had happened, there is no book in here, or anywhere else, that is more important to me than you are."

Twilight leans into Celestia's embrace, speaking again after a minute passes, "A-And Luna?"

Celestia places a hoof under Twilight's chin, lifting her head so she can meet Twilight's eyes, "Feels the same. And is waiting for us outside, along with Cadence, whenever you are ready."

Twilight swallows, sniffling again, "Cadence is here?"

"Indeed," Celestia replies, "and though I have kept her in the loop via messenger regarding most of what has happened, she is quite eager to see that you are safe herself, and to hear from you firsthoof what fresh insanity Ponyville has now managed to draw upon itself."

Twilight giggles, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes as a smile flickers across her face, "I can imagine, but… maybe a few more minutes?"

Celestia's billowing tail shifts to flow around Twilight, covering anything below Twilight's head not already hidden by her wing, "Of course."

Twilight sighs, allowing her eyes to close once more, this time nothing reaching her senses other than Celestia's encompassing presence. After a time however, she stands, Celestia rising as well and following her out of the library.

"Twilight!" Cadence calls out, quickly crossing the few steps separating them as soon as said alicorn exits the castle library, "Are you alright?"

Twilight meets Cadence's eyes, concern written into every bend and crease of the latter's frowning expression.

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake," Twilight chants after a moment, prancing in place before laying on the ground with her hooves over her eyes.

"Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Cadence continues, a relieved smile spreading across her face as she joins in the second half of their customary greeting, the pair of them tapping each other's hooves and wiggling their hindquarters at each other.

Taking a deep breath once their greeting is complete, Cadence lets out a long sigh, "I assume you're fine then? Aunt Celestia has been keeping me up to date as far as what's been going on in Ponyville, but with vamponies and changelings and Sombra all showing up at once and Rainbow almost dying, I was still worried… "

"I am completely fine," Twilight confirms. "More than fine, in fact. Between the vamponies, the changelings, and a whole bunch of stuff Celestia and Luna told me about alicorns and the Everfree Forest earlier today, I can't wait to be able to get back and do some research! I haven't had this many new ideas and theories to investigate since… well… I don't know, actually, but it's been a long time."

Cadence glances to Celestia, the solar alicorn standing behind Twilight, "You gave her the Everfree Speech, it sounds like?"

Twilight's brow knits, "The 'Everfree Speech'?"

Celestia nods, "We did, yes."

Cadence quirks an eyebrow, "That's definitely a lot earlier than you told me."

Luna snorts, "It was not entirely by our own choice. For whatever reason, Discord decided that the night before Twilight came with me to Canterlot was a good time to prime her curiosity on the matter."

Discord weaves his way out of the library and across the floor like a snake, wrapping himself around Celestia's barrel, "And I'll have you know, I had a very good reason for bringing that up."

"That reason being… ?" Luna queries.

"No," Discord replies.

Luna blinks.

Discord waves his response aside, "Oh, sorry, I was expecting you to ask using different words, like 'and were you planning on telling us, or… ?'. So, no, I'm not. But I'm sure one of you will figure it out soon enough on your own. After all, it only took me a few days to realize it."

Celestia sighs, resting her face on a forehoof for several seconds before speaking, "In any case… although I know you would like to catch up with Twilight on everything that has occurred, Cadence, perhaps that can happen on the way to our destination?"

"Of course," Cadence replies, dipping her head. "After you, Auntie."

"And Fluttershy," Cadence asks, "I heard that she's actually a changeling?"

Twilight nods, beaming, "Yup! And not just any changeling either – she's a changeling princess!"

"And you're… okay with that?" Cadence queries.

Twilight shrugs, "I mean, I was a little miffed at first, but she's my friend because of who she is, no matter what she is. The emotion eating thing is still a little weird to think about, but… she obviously hasn't been hurting me or anypony else, and from the sound of things has mostly just been feeding on 'ambient' emotions, rather than directly draining emotions, which can definitely be harmful."

"Because of what happened to Big McIntosh," Cadence interjects.

"Well… yes," Twilight replies, faltering for an instant before her train of thought picks back up. "Though apparently, according to Fluttershy, friendship tastes like 'honeyed hazelnuts roasted over an open fire', which is both pretty awesome and utterly fascinating. She described other emotions in terms of food too, so I've been theorizing that maybe changelings have a sort of natural synesthesia whereby their emotion feeding triggers the same pathways as regular physical food does. Of course, it's also possible that she was just trying to draw a comparison that I'd be able to understand since their emotional perception is an entire sense that no other pony tribe has. It's at the top of my list of questions to ask her about." She giggles, "It's a very long list. Also included, whether or not love tastes like chocolate."

"Uh huh," Cadence replies, her smile strained. "Well… I'm… glad you're safe, at least."

In front of them, Celestia and Luna slow to a halt, Discord still coiled around Celestia's barrel as she turns to look at her younger peers, "And, not to interrupt, but we have arrived."

Stepping to the side, Luna lowers her horn, pushing it into a nondescript hole in the wall next to a wooden door – the door itself indistinguishable from any of the other doors throughout most of the castle, with the exception of its lack of a knob. Luna's magic pulses, after several seconds a deep clunk sounding from the door, faint vibrations from its unlocking able to be felt even through the castle's stone floor.

Utterly silently, the door swings inward, Celestia moving aside as well and raising a hoof, "Welcome… to our treaty room."

Cadence and Twilight walk past their elders, Cadence continuing inward while Twilight stops a few steps inside, her eyes wide, "Wow… "

White marble makes up the entirety of the room, the walls, floor, and ceiling seemingly sculpted out of a single enormous block of the stone, leaving not a single seam or crack visible anywhere. Water meanwhile flows out of a small, circular hole on either side of the doorway, a moon carved above one while a sun is carved above the other, their water following a path carved into the wall to the floor and then out across the room. Each tiny stream makes a 90 degree turn away from the other after crossing a quarter of the room's length, both continuing to the left and right for several feet before then returning to their previous direction of travel – continuing across the next half of the room prior to making another 90 degree turn, this time towards each other. The two streams then combine, together flowing across the remainder of the room and into a grated hole in front of a pair of glass doors leading to a balcony, curving floral patterns carved into the glass itself.

Within the rectangle outlined by this flowing water sits a table fit for a legend, its originally smooth, deep brown surface a few inches thick and now marred by numerous dents and stains. Figures carved into the edge facing Twilight depict the rise and fall of the Sirens, and the table itself is supported by a single foot thick enough to be a column in its own right. A ballpoint pen sits in the center of the table, below it several sheets of pristine paper along with a set of envelopes to the right and an official wax seal stamp to the left. Above the table and its letter writing supplies, a domed ceiling rises, a small, circular window to the outside carved into the dome every 45 degrees and labeled with the corresponding direction, small tick marks in the stone between each window completing a giant compass rose. Maps meanwhile take up much of the space on the walls at eye level, some showing high level views of an entire region while many more cover a much smaller region in much greater detail – several yellowed and falling apart from age, though most are new enough to have been freshly printed.

A chandelier hangs from the center of the domed ceiling, each of its many arms taking the form of a dragon's neck and head, magical fire held in each of the dragon's mouths providing all of the room's light save for what little the rays of the dying sunset manage to provide.

Celestia and Luna pause on either side of Twilight, Celestia chuckling, "It is, perhaps, a bit much, but I have found it works wonders for keeping my sanity while working through some of the more infuriating and-or inane requests from nobles and foreign dignitaries."

"By which my sister mostly means the griffons," Luna adds. "By which I mean one griffon in particular. One whom we very dearly hope is no longer wandering our castle."

Celestia shakes her head, "He is not. I tossed Ozymandias out a couple days ago. Not literally, of course, but I may end up needing to ship a few of his things back to him."

Discord's coils shift, the draconequus following the curve of Celestia's neck to rest his chin on her head, "I did offer to do it instead, but Celly refused, even though she could've told everyone it was just 'Discord being Discord' and no one would've doubted her… "

Luna rolls her eyes, "A shame you did not take Discord up on his proposal."

"You wanted to replace his wings with chicken wings and throw him out of the highest window of the tallest tower," Celestia deadpans, giving her passenger a flat look.

"The proper term is 'defenestrate'," Discord corrects, lifting his head and crossing his arms, "and it's not like I would've let him actually hit the ground. He would’ve landed safe and sound in a giant cube of jello, or maybe the world’s largest bowl of spinach."

Luna smirks, "Truly then, 'tis a shame you did not take him up on his proposal. But, lost opportunities aside, I believe it is time, Tia."

Celestia exhales sharply, but nods, "Indeed."

The Royal Sisters briskly cross to the other side of the room, both exiting through the glass doors to stand on the balcony – Celestia turning left to face west towards the setting sun while Luna faces east towards the deepening purple of the opposite horizon. A moment later, their horns glow, the air around Cadence and Twilight thrumming faintly with the magical power of their elders.

"No matter how many times you see it, it never really gets old, does it?" Cadence comments.

Twilight shakes her head, "No, it doesn't. Though it does feel a little strange now, watching them while knowing they actually came from the sun and moon. Like I wasn't quite seeing them clearly before, and now I am."

Cadence smiles, "I had the same reaction too, at first, when Celestia told me that part about herself and her sister. Though… she did leave out the part about Sombra and his undead vamponies, and Luna was still on the moon at the time. Just remember that they're still the same two ponies you've always known them to be, even if they did somehow pop into existence out of nowhere thousands of years ago on massive, orbiting balls of solid arcane energy."

Twilight laughs, "Well, when you put it like that… "

Luna pushes the balcony door open, stepping inside along with Celestia, "Did we miss something?"

"Nothing much," Cadence replies, shrugging.

Uncoiling himself from Celestia's body like a wet noodle slipping from a fork, Discord slithers to the head of the table like a snake, popping back above it wielding a gavel and wearing a judge's wig. A sounding block appears on the table, Discord solemnly whacking it with his gavel three times, "Order in the room! This letter writing session is now in… uh… session."

All four alicorn princesses gather at the table, Cadence sitting on one of the table's long sides opposite Celestia and closer to Discord while Twilight sits to her left and opposite Luna. Once seated, they turn to Discord, waiting expectantly.

Discord glances at the pen and paper in the table's center, after a split second tossing the gavel behind him, "Well, I'm bored."

Snapping his claws, he vanishes from the room, Twilight groaning and Luna rolling her eyes while Celestia giggles.

"Also," Discord says, popping into existence behind Celestia still wearing the wig, "unrelatedly, I have need of your tail."

"You know the rules of exchange," Celestia replies, smiling coyly.

Discord sighs, grabbing both of his horns and popping them off his head as though they were attached with suction cups, dropping them on the table in front of Celestia, "Yes, yes, here you go. You and your rules."

Reaching down, he effortlessly pulls Celestia's tail from her body, reattaching its base between his shoulder blades and pressing the flowing, ethereal material making up the rest of the tail along either side out to his shoulders. His preparations complete, Discord salutes, his cape billowing behind him as he disappears with another snap of his claws.

Twilight glances between Celestia and the empty space Discord used to occupy, the crease between her eyebrows slowly becoming more and more pronounced, "…what just happened?"

Celestia blushes.

"Our sister can update you on the nature of her relationship with Discord later, if she so chooses," Luna interjects smoothly. "For now though, we must focus our attention on the letter we must write to the changeling queens. We do not have the luxury of delaying it any longer."

Celestia clears her throat, pulling the writing materials towards herself with her magic, "Indeed, thank you, Luna. I believe we should start with the standard diplomatic greeting, despite the circumstances. Does anypony have any objections?"

Putting her pen to paper when none present voice their opposition, she speaks in time with her writing, "Unto her Majesty, Queen of the Hive, Our Royal Highnesses Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, and Princess Twilight Sparkle send greetings and salutations on behalf of the nation of Equestria."

"And Prince Shining Armor," Cadence adds.

Celestia nods, inserting Shining Armor's name after his wife's, "Ah, right, of course."

"We would also like my name to be written first this time," Luna says, "as nearly always yours is written before mine."

Celestia sends Luna a flat look.

Luna folds her forelegs, "Of Equestrian royalty, we are also the one who has had the least personal contact with any changelings, and the only one who has had no previous negative contact with them. Putting my name first will set a more open and conciliatory tone, especially given the actions of our thestrals in Ponyville a couple of nights ago compared to those of the Royal Guard."

Celestia hesitates, then sighs, crossing our their names and writing them again with Luna's first, "Fair enough."

Twilight glances between the Royal Sisters, tapping her hooves together nervously, "Also, shouldn't it be 'a hive' rather than 'the hive'? There is more than one hive in Equestria, after all."

Celestia shakes her head, "That is true, but we are only addressing one queen per letter, so it is 'the hive' as in 'the hive you lead', since we don't have any more specific information available to us."

"Alright," Twilight says, glancing between them, "then should it be 'Equestrian hive' rather than just 'hive'?"

Celestia smiles, again shaking her head, "While that would be more accurate geographically speaking, we don't yet know if they think of themselves that way, or if they instead think of themselves as wholly independent and separate entities from our country. That is, of course, what we are going to require they accept during the negotiations themselves, but effectively stating as much on this letter's first line could be taken as us already assuming such acceptance is a given and further as us attempting to assert our control over them."

Luna nods, "This needs to come across as a request for an open discussion of what we want the outcome to be, not as a demand to meet so they can officially surrender their autonomy to us."

"Right, sorry," Twilight replies, wilting.

"There is nothing to apologize for," Celestia says, placing her pen on the table beside the draft of the letter. "You are learning this kind of thing for the very first time, and I am glad that you are putting enough thought into it to have suggestions of your own, rather than just waiting and watching what we do." She passes the draft to Luna, "For now, though, everypony is alright with the greeting?"

Luna reads the letter, passing it on to Twilight after several seconds, "We have no objections."

Twilight follows suit, reading the couple lines currently written and passing it on to Cadence, Cadence likewise reading it before passing it back to Celestia.

Levitating her pen, Celestia continues speaking aloud, "While you may already be aware of some or all of what has happened to prompt our writing of this letter, our current understanding of the preceding situation, as well as other, less recent events, is as follows." She pauses, glancing among the other princesses, "To the best of our knowledge, changelings are not new arrivals to Equestria. Either you, or your ancestors, have had a presence among the rest of us ponies for a very long time – since at least before the windigos appeared. However-"

"Hold on a minute," Cadence interrupts. "Since when have we known this? Nopony told me about this."

Celestia blinks, "Did I not? I could have sworn I included it in one of the messages I sent to you a couple of days ago… well, no matter. Queen Amaranth mentioned this, Cadence, stating that the windigos' invasion resulted in the loss of many of their hives as well as much of their history before that time."

"And you believed her?!" Cadence demands, aghast, "Just like that?"

"I did," Celestia replies, her expression unchanged. "Everything I have seen and heard so far indicates that Queen Chrysalis acted alone. The other queens, and their changelings, have been living among us peacefully; Fluttershy, whose accomplishments are well known; Cheerilee, who, according to everything I've ever heard about her, is one of the best teachers Ponyville has ever had; and Bon Bon, whose marefriend stayed with her, still loves her, and kept her secret even after finding out she was a changeling in the wake of the Invasion of Canterlot – a fact Bon Bon revealed out of guilt over what had happened. One of Fluttershy's parents is even a pegasus."

"As far as you know and according only to them," Cadence retorts. "No new information they've brought up, at least as far as I recall being been told, can be or has been independently verified as being true. We have only their word on all of this, and that isn't good enough for me."

Celestia frowns, "I realize that such a small sample may not be indicative of their wider activities or intentions, and that you in particular have an especially negative history with changelings, but the fact of the matter is that there has not yet been anything apparent to me that would imply any of the changelings we have spoken to were lying. If nothing else, Fluttershy is a bearer for the Element of Kindness, which should-"

"As you yourself told me, Auntie," Cadence interrupts, "the Elements promote 'harmony'. There is no reason to believe that Equestria will always be on the benefiting end of that magic, or that the changelings either haven't or won't find a way to co-opt them for their own benefit in the future. In fact, maybe they already have – one of Equestria's greatest means of defense is already dependent upon a member of changeling royalty. Not to mention that their entire species is fundamentally dedicated to mental manipulation and deception-"

"Cadence," Celestia says calmly, her words cutting through her niece's outrage with ease despite the volume of her voice remaining unchanged. "Luna and I are in agreement that this letter will state our desire to meet with the changeling queens in order to negotiate their official inclusion in Equestria as a member of one of its tribes, just as the earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns are, as the thestrals and crystal ponies are in the process of becoming, and as we hope we can one day also offer to the vamponies. So while we do very much want your input on this letter, that does not extend to changing its tone from being conciliatory to being overtly hostile. Will you be able to sign your name to such a letter?"

Cadence glares at Celestia for a long moment, abruptly turning to the remaining princess in the room, "Twilight, what do you think?"

"O-Oh," Twilight stammers, "uhhhhh… I think… um, wellll… Whether we like it or not, we don't have anything that implies they are lying either. At least, I don't think we do. So, I don't think anypony being openly hostile does any of us any good. Plus, if they did want to do something to hurt us or Equestria, they've definitely had both the time and the opportunity, especially given that at least one of their queens is disguised as somepony who is frequently in Canterlot and as part of her job would have been given access to all sorts of nobles, parts of the castle, and even all of us without any questions being asked."

Luna smiles, "Well said. We would also like to further point out that this is not a blind display of trust. If the information Queen Amaranth gave us is true, then the other queens will know there are one or more changelings already providing us with information, and as such will be less likely to attempt to deceive us themselves. Or if, on the other hoof, the information she gave us should prove false, it will at least provide us with additional leverage to have caught them in such a lie."

Cadence glances between the other princesses, leaning back after a moment, "Fine."

Celestia sighs, "Cadence, I don't want you to say you support this only because-"

"I said I am fine with it, Celestia," Cadence states curtly. "However, please change my name on the greeting to Mi Amore Cadenza."

Celestia winces, but nods, "Very well. In that case, continuing from where we left off… However, just over a week ago as of this writing, we discovered another tribe of pony whom you may be familiar with – the vamponies. Simultaneously, King Sombra was found in Ponyville, somehow still alive despite our best efforts. During the events surrounding both of these occurrences, one of Ponyville's changelings was discovered by Princess Twilight. Another was soon revealed, and later that same night a third willingly revealed herself to Princess Twilight."

She pauses, pen hovering over the letter as she looks around the table, "It was at this time that we first learned that Queen Chrysalis is not 'The' Queen of the Changelings, but rather, 'A' Queen of the Changelings, and that there are in fact eight other changeling queens, each with their own independent hive. It is our understanding that she acted alone, without the support of any other hive. It is also our understanding that these hives reside within what is recognized as Equestrian territory."

Luna leans forward, resting her elbows on the table, "We would suggest adding that Sombra has once again been dealt with, this time via imprisonment. Though that this has been done via a barrier capable of containing even one of us is perhaps best left out."

"Good idea," Celestia replies, scanning the letter and quickly jotting down the change. "Another was soon revealed following Sombra once again being defeated and imprisoned."

Ending her edit with a flourish, Celestia passes the draft of the letter on to Luna, her sister nodding once and passing it to Twilight.

Twilight reads through the draft, passing it to Cadence once finished, "You wrote, 'a queen of the changlings', rather than 'changelings'."

"Ah, good catch," Celestia replies, ignoring a snicker from her sister. "Cadence?"

Cadence skims the draft, levitating it back to Celestia after several seconds, "I have nothing to add."

"Alright," Celestia says, taking the letter in her magic and placing it in front of herself once more. "Continuing on then… While we respect that the changeling hives have not caused any trouble that we are aware of for thousands of years, and while we are also grateful for any assistance the hives may have given Equestria during that time, we do not view the current situation as a tenable one. The attempted invasion and conquest of Equestria by Queen Chrysalis demonstrates all too well why the current relationship between Equestria and the changeling hives, specifically the lack-"

"The lack of any official relationship," Cadence interjects brusquely. "Otherwise I'm sure they'll be quick to point out all sorts of instances that have been going on without us knowing it was them."

"Thank you, Cadence," Celestia states, inserting the word. "The attempted invasion and conquest of Equestria by Queen Chrysalis demonstrates all too well why the current official relationship between Equestria and the changeling hives, specifically the lack of any such relationship, is no longer acceptable, if it could ever have truly been considered acceptable in the first place. More generally, the simple fact is that we do not consider having what amounts to several completely independent, and militarily active, micronations operating within our nation of Equestria to be an acceptable state of affairs. As such, though we have no ill intentions toward any changeling and understand that Queen Chrysalis acted alone, a meeting between us and all hive queens is required in order to come to an official agreement that will be beneficial to both Equestria and the hives it hosts."

She glances at Cadence, "Objections?"

Cadence shrugs, "I am not sure saying we have no ill intentions towards any changeling is consistent with then saying we understand Chrysalis acted alone."

Celestia nods, scribbling in a few more words, "…have no ill intentions towards any changelings not involved in the Invasion of Canterlot."

"And the kidnapping of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and the brainwashing of Prince Shining Armor," Cadence adds.

Celestia looks up from the letter draft, "That is rather strongly implied by 'the Invasion of Canterlot'."

"I want it stated explicitly," Cadence states, maintaining eye contact.

After a moment, Celestia relents, inserting the additional text, "Anything else?"

Twilight raises a hoof, "It should be 'or', not 'and'."

Celestia and Cadence turn to stare at Twilight.

Twilight blinks, "What?"

Celestia scratches out and replaces the incorrect logical operators, tapping her chin with the inkless end of the pen, "Alright then… hm… "

Luna's magic surrounds the pen's tip, "May we?"

Celestia leans away from the table, her magical aura disappearing from the rest of the pen, "By all means."

Luna's magic envelopes the pen and paper, moving both to be in front of her, "In order to more quickly facilitate setting up this meeting, we would like to establish an official communication channel between ourselves and each queen, whether it be through messengers, magically directed correspondence, or any other method in which responses can be sent and received both consistently and within a reasonable time frame. Please reply to this letter via the method you would prefer to use."

Celestia's magic retakes control of the pen and paper as Luna passes them back to her, again glancing around the table, "Is there anything else anypony would like to add?"

Silence answers her question, Celestia returning her attention to the letter after several seconds, "In that case… 'Awaiting your response' for the valediction, and then our signatures."

Her horn pulses, the magical aura around the letter growing brighter as the letter's ink flows together in tiny rivulets connecting each individual character, like the letter had been written with a brush of watercolor paint rather than a pen. Words grow and shrink as the ink adjusts itself, additions growing larger and shifting to fit into the line they had been added to while anything that had been crossed out disappears entirely.

Celestia passes the letter to Luna once more after a minute of concentration, the letter now looking as though it had been cleanly written in a single pass, "So, here is the full text of the letter, and the last chance for anypony to make any suggestions."

Unto Her Majesty, Queen of the Hive,

Our Royal Highnesses, Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Prince Shining Armor, and Princess Twilight Sparkle send greetings and salutations on behalf of the nation of Equestria,

While you may already be aware of some or all of what has happened to prompt our writing of this letter, our current understanding of the preceding situation, as well as other, less recent events, is as follows.

To the best of our knowledge, changelings are not new arrivals to Equestria. Either you, or your ancestors, have had a presence among the rest of us ponies for a very long time – since at least before the windigos appeared. However, just over a week ago as of this writing, we discovered another tribe of pony whom you may be familiar with – the vamponies. Simultaneously, King Sombra was found in Ponyville, somehow still alive despite our best efforts. During the events surrounding both of these occurrences, one of Ponyville's changelings was discovered by Princess Twilight. Another was soon revealed following Sombra once again being defeated and imprisoned, and later that same night a third willingly revealed herself to Princess Twilight.

It was at this time that we first learned that Queen Chrysalis is not 'The' Queen of the
Changelings, but rather, 'A' Queen of the Changelings, and that there are in fact eight other changeling queens, each with their own independent hive. It is our understanding that she acted alone, without the support of any other hive. It is also our understanding that these hives reside within what is recognized as Equestrian territory.

While we respect that the changeling hives have not caused any trouble that we are aware of for thousands of years, and while we are also grateful for any assistance the hives may have given Equestria during that time, we do not view the current situation as a tenable one. The attempted invasion and conquest of Equestria by Queen Chrysalis demonstrates all too well why the current official relationship between Equestria and the changeling hives, specifically the lack of any such relationship, is no longer acceptable if it could ever have truly been considered acceptable in the first place. More generally, the simple fact is that we do not consider having what amounts to several completely independent, and militarily active, micronations operating within our nation of Equestria to be an acceptable state of affairs. As such, while we have no ill intentions toward any changeling not involved in the Invasion of Canterlot or the kidnapping of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza or the brainwashing of Prince Shining Armor and understand that Queen Chrysalis acted alone, a meeting between us and all hive queens is required in order to come to an official agreement that will be beneficial to both Equestria and the hives it hosts.

In order to more quickly facilitate setting up this meeting, we would like to establish an official communication channel between ourselves and each queen, whether it be through messengers, magically directed correspondence, or any other method in which responses can be sent and received both consistently and within a reasonable time frame. Please reply to this letter via the method you would prefer to use.

Awaiting your response,

Luna reads through the letter slowly, passing it on to Twilight with a nod once complete – Twilight doing the same, though her eyes narrow as she rereads the final paragraph a second time before levitating it over to Cadence. For her part, Cadence skims through the letter, pausing for a long moment at the end, though ultimately she releases a weary sigh and nods, passing the letter to Celestia.

Celestia smiles, spreading eight of the extra sheets of paper out in front of her while lifting the draft with her magic to hover over the empty sheets. Her horn pulses again, this time the text of the letter sinking through the paper to hang suspended in the air an inch beneath it, the floating sentences duplicating themselves seven times after another pulse to create eight identical copies, each slowly descending to merge with one of the waiting blank sheets below. The original draft sparks into flame an instant later, disintegrating to leave not even ash behind.

"And there we have it," Celestia says. "Now if only Shining Armor were here, we could complete the signing. I had expected him to be here by now, to be honest, especially seeing as we started much later than I originally intended."

*knockknockknock*

Luna giggles, "It would seem he is still as prompt to answer your summons as when he served in your guard, sister."

Celestia rolls her eyes, turning to the door, "Open!"

Permission given, the door noiselessly follows her command, Shining Armor stepping into the room, "Hello, everypony. I'm not too late, am I?"

Celestia shakes her head, "In fact we just finished. All that's left is for each of us to sign each copy of the letter."

Shining Armor freezes mid step, his eyes glued to Celestia's tailless hindquarters. Closing his eyes in a slow blink, he turns his focus instead to the princesses on the opposite side of the table, trotting over to stand between his wife and his sister – giving the former a nuzzle, "Awesome. It took a bit longer to wrap things up than I expected, so I was worried you were going to have completely finished before I even got here."

He turns to Twilight, "And I'm sure Cadence asked you this already, but you're okay? I know Ponyville has had tons of crazy things happen, but from what I've been hearing, what's going on now is still out of the ordinary. Changelings, vamponies, Sombra… "

Twilight embraces her brother in a quick hug, beaming when she steps away, "She did, and I'm fine. Rainbow Dash was actually the one in the most danger out of all of us, but she's fine, I'm fine, and honestly everything is going pretty well now overall."

Cadence peers over Shining's shoulder, "She's very excited about the research prospects."

"I'm sure," Shining Armor laughs. "Just… keep your guard up, alright? Sombra may be imprisoned, but the vamponies sound like they could be really dangerous if they wanted to be, and the changelings… well… "

Twilight's mood falters, her levity replaced with reproachfulness, "Shining… "

Shining Armor sighs, "I know you've known the ponies who turned out to be changelings for a few years now, and I know you probably think Cadence and I are biased, but please just keep an eye out, okay? Those three changelings may all be very nice ponies, but the rest of their hives, and their queens, may not be, and the last thing I want to get is a letter from Celestia saying you've been kidnapped and replaced."

Twilight nods, "I promise, BBBFF."

Shining Armor grins, "Thanks, LSBFF."

Luna clears her throat, "Forgive us for interrupting, but we were informed there was a 'witch hunt' in the Crystal Empire, and we are curious what has happened. Though we assume that whatever it was, it was not in keeping with its original definition in ancient times regarding the persecution of unicorns?"

Cadence rolls her eyes, Shining Armor letting out a derisive snort, "Not even close. There was an accident in an apothecary's shop, which resulted in them inhaling a bunch of fumes they really shouldn't have, and they promptly went utterly insane, deciding they were actually Sombra's reincarnation whose sole purpose was to bring misery to the whole world – starting with the crystal ponies. The rest of the crystal ponies heard 'Sombra' and immediately panicked, quickly forming a mob – torches, pitchforks, the works – meanwhile the apothecary'd been running around the city chucking potions at random, causing all sorts of other problems. Long story short, the crystal ponies are calming down, the apothecary was captured and is safely coming down off of whatever cocktail of drugs she inhaled, and the city should be cleaned up in a couple of days."

Silence engulfs the room, Twilight the first to break it, "…what?"

Luna's composure gives out a split second later, the Alicorn of the Night falling to her side in a fit of laughter.

"W-Well," Celestia states, her lips wobbling dangerously, "that is… unexpected, to… t-to… " She purses her lips, swallowing, "That is not at all what I was expecting you to say."

Shining Armor raises an eyebrow, "I was expecting you'd say that."

Cadence groans, Celestia giving him a flat look.

Shining Armor glances over the table at each of the completed letters, "Anyway, you said you've finished writing the letters?"

Celestia picks up one of Discord's horns, prodding her still gasping sister, "We have."

Shining Armor levitates one of the copies over to himself, reading through it then glancing at his wife, "And you're okay with this, Cadence?"

Cadence hesitates, then shrugs, "It is not what I would have written, were I to do it alone, but I would still rather have my name on it than not."

"Hm… " Shining Armor murmurs, considering the text before him. "Well, I guess I'm okay with it too then." He glances at the still apparently empty spot opposite Twilight, "Though I think Luna needs to be the first to sign these, seeing as her name is first on the greeting."

Celestia levitates Discord's other horn as well, both poking at Luna's exposed underbelly.

"Enough, enough," Luna protests, hauling herself to a sitting position – her breath still not fully caught as her magical aura surrounds each of the eight letters. "You shall cease poking us with Discord's horns, Tia!"

Quickly signing her name to each of the letters in an elegant, flowing script, Luna passes the small stack of paper onward, each member of the assembled royalty signing their name in the order they appear in the greeting – Celestia matching Luna's graceful signature while Cadence, Shining Armor, and Twilight use a simpler cursive. Once Twilight signs her name to the final letter, Celestia levitates the stack to herself, folding each into an envelope and stamping it shut with the Equestrian seal before sending two off in puffs of magical smoke.

"And now," she says, "to give the rest of these to our resident changeling queen."

Chapter 27 Princesses of Ponyville

Cadence stands, giving her wings a quick fluff then tensing her muscles in a restrained stretch, raising a hoof to block a subsequent yawn, "Shining Armor and I will leave that to you, Aunt Celestia. We are both very tired from our journey here, as well as from dealing with that crazed apothecary, and I fear we would not be able to give the best first impression to any changeling queens we may happen to encounter."

She steps away from the table and moves towards the door, pausing to glance back at her husband, "Shining? Are you coming?"

Shining Armor jumps to his hooves, letting out a yawn of his own, "Right, sorry Cadey, I just zoned out a little bit. Good night, everypony."

The remaining princesses watch the royal couple take their leave, Celestia sighing once the room's heavy door swings shut, "Even though it's not particularly surprising, it is still disappointing. I had held out some hope that she would at least have been willing to give Queen Amaranth a chance."

"Indeed," Luna agrees. "We can understand that she does not like changelings, but we also do not understand what she hopes to accomplish by not joining us tonight to meet only Queen Amaranth. She must know that she will have to be present when the full negotiations between all of Equestria's queens eventually begins. If her idea of a solution truly is to simply avoid them, however… "

"Then that represents a very serious problem for us," Celestia finishes. "Semi-autonomous or not, what remains of the Crystal Empire is now part of Equestria, and holds claim to a fairly significant amount of land, even if it is in the Frozen North."

"Not to mention the Crystal Heart, which they will undoubtedly want access to," Luna adds. "Admittedly, there probably are already changelings taking up residence in the Crystal Empire for that very reason, but we can't afford for Cadence to begin trying to cut them off regardless."

Celestia chuckles wearily, "It would have been nice if the changeling side had remained our only cause for concern."

"Truer words have rarely been spoken," Luna laughs. "That said, perhaps it would be best for you to also get some sleep. Then at least we can somewhat believably state that it is a diurnal versus nocturnal issue, rather than trying to come up with some excuse as for why they are not with us. After all, given their history, we cannot think of anything else Queen Amaranth would read into only Cadence and Shining Armor not being present, no matter what we tell her."

"I believe you are correct, unfortunately," Celestia acknowledges. "Though it would have been much more beneficial for the both of us to be present to speak with Queen Amaranth."

"It would have been ideal for all five of us to be present," Luna states flatly.

"Yes, it would have been, and it is something we should discuss further tomorrow evening, assuming nothing else comes up in the meantime," Celestia replies, standing and turning towards the door. "But for now, stay safe, Luna."

She glances to her former student, "You as well, Twilight, and you are of course welcome to join us tomorrow."

"O-Oh," Twilight stammers. "I'll uh, definitely be there."

"So… " Twilight says, looking to Luna once Celestia leaves, "I guess it's just going to be us delivering these letters to Fluttershy's mom?"

"We will be delivering them to Queen Amaranth, yes," Luna corrects. "Addressing important figures whom you are not very familiar with by their titles, even in private, is a good habit to get into, so that you do not accidentally refer them incorrectly in person. Our sister has also informed us that Fluttershy's other parent is in fact a female pegasus, therefore you do need to be more specific than merely saying 'Fluttershy's mom' regardless."

Twilight blinks, "Huh. Well, that's another question to add to the list, I suppose."

"Additionally," Luna continues, "we will not be traveling to her by hoof or by wing. Rather, we will be traveling via a set of shorter teleportations, which will allow us to arrive much more quickly and discretely."

Twilight frowns, "Why do we need to be discrete? Nopony else knows that Photo Finish is a changeling, and there's nothing particularly unusual about a couple of princesses going to visit Canterlot's best photographer."

"Nopony knows yet," Luna explains, a ghost of a smile flickering across her muzzle, "but somepony will likely find out at some point, and there will be enough complexities going on once any negotiations start without them questioning what we were doing entering a changeling queen's home on our own tonight. Such a visit could easily be used in an attempt to sow public distrust, depending on who is doing the asking, and I can guarantee that here in Canterlot especially there will be many who take offense to us not immediately evicting all changelings whom we know of – queen or not – up to and including some in the nobility."

"Mm… " Twilight murmurs, her frown deepening. "I guess that makes sense. I'd like to say I think you're wrong about that, and that everything will work out in the end, but after what happened with the Royal Guard… "

Luna shrugs, "The behavior of the Royal Guard was particularly galling, but it is the way divisive issues like this usually go. There will not be any way for us to make everypony happy with whatever ultimately ends up happening, especially since there will have to be compromises involved on things nopony really wants to compromise on, so the best thing we can do right now is tread carefully."

Twilight sighs, glancing up at the chandelier hanging from the room's ceiling, "Alright. I don't know where Photo Finish lives though, so I'll need you to teleport me as well."

"Of course," Luna says, her horn glowing. "Let us be off, then."

The brilliant blue light of Luna's magic consumes Twilight's vision, an instant later the two of them reappearing side by side in the air several hundred feet above Canterlot Castle. Twilight's eyes widen, a panoramic view opening up before her – a few thin tendrils of cloud passing over the moon to cast slow moving blobs of deeper shadow onto the moonlit city and mountainside below, the constant presence of pegasi over Canterlot during the daytime now mostly replaced by darker colored thestrals flitting through the night. Her expansive view of the city is abruptly cut off just as gravity takes notice of their existence however, Luna's magic again obscuring her vision for a moment before they appear in front of a modest cloud home floating above a small mansion whose grounds extend right up to the side of the mountain, the house anchored to the mansion's roof by a pair of cables. Luna's third teleportation brings them to the mansion's front door, her fourth completing their journey to leave the two princesses standing in the mansion's foyer.

The construction of the hall matches that of Canterlot Castle, the style of its walls, ceiling, and even the color and pattern of the stone making up the floor a near perfect copy. A few seconds later, a unicorn butler enters into view and strides towards them, his pale white coat, wispy mane, and many wrinkles belying the precision and confidence with which he moves.

Stopping a few feet away, the butler bows deeply, his expression remaining carefully blank, "Princess Luna, Princess Twilight, it is an honor to be in your presence. If you will allow me a moment, I will inform Queen Amaranth of your arrival. She has been expecting you."

"Please do," Luna replies without missing a beat, no hint of emotion escaping from behind her neutral facade.

The butler bows again and turns on his heel, an earth pony maid carrying a pair of large pillows on her back entering the room immediately after he leaves.

"Your highnesses, is there anything else I can bring you?" the maid asks while placing the pillows in front of them, "Tea, fruit, cake-"

Luna raises a hoof, cutting her off, "This will be fine, thank you."

The maid bows, her head nearly touching the floor, "As you wish, Princess Luna."

Luna's magic surrounds their pillows as soon as the maid leaves the room, only stepping onto her own pillow once the spell completes.

Looking to her right, she gestures for Twilight to sit as well, "It is safe."

Luna's words interrupt Twilight's rapt examination of the completely ordinary hall, the younger alicorn blinking before stepping onto the other pillow, "Oh, uh, right."

A minute passes in silence as Twilight's gaze continues to dart around the foyer, no other pony to be seen nor any noise made aside from their own breathing.

"Were you expecting to find something?" Luna asks once Twilight sighs and finally lowers her hindquarters to the soft cushion provided for her.

Twilight shrugs, "I don't know… sort of? I guess I was kind of expecting that it wouldn't look quite so much like every other noble's mansion, given that it's inhabited by a changeling queen. Like there would be some sort of slight-but-important difference that I would be able to see now that I know to look for it. But it looks almost exactly like Canterlot Castle, and therefore like almost every other mansion in Canterlot. The cloud home is a notable difference, but there's another explanation for why that's there."

"We have been here a couple of times before, but it is almost too ordinary, now that you mention it," Luna observes, glancing around the foyer as well.

"But what does 'too ordinary' mean?" Twilight asks, wrinkling her muzzle in distaste, "If I'm expecting something abnormal, then even just regular ordinary could seem too ordinary only because of my own biases."

Luna chuckles, "Perhaps you were really expecting something different not due to her being a changeling, but because of the eccentricities of Photo Finish's normal behavior?"

"I guess that could be it too," Twilight giggles. "It's just… plain, I guess. There aren't any plants or art or statues or even any of her own photos on display."

"Queen Amaranth prefers it this way," the butler answers from several steps to their right.

Luna and Twilight both start at his words, the butler bowing but otherwise remaining impassive, "My apologies, I did not mean to startle you."

Twilight takes a deep breath, her heart still pounding in her chest, "No, it's fine, we should have been paying more attention. What did you mean that she prefers it this way though?"

"She finds it inspirational," the butler states, casting his eyes over the hall. "'A blank canvas is the one with the most possibilities', to quote her. I do not pretend to understand what she sees in it, but I believe the quality of her work speaks for itself."

Luna relaxes, leaning back a fraction of an inch to look past Twilight's obstructing horn, "We see. And since you have returned, we assume Queen Amaranth is ready to meet with us?"

The butler dips his head, "She is, if there are no other questions I can help answer."

Luna stands, Twilight following her lead, "We appreciate your assistance, however we would much prefer to speak to Queen Amaranth as soon as possible."

The butler dips his head again, "In that case, please follow me."

"Queen Amaranth."

Amaranth looks up, she and Fluttershy each sitting on a faintly luminous mat of dense green gel – strands of Fluttershy's limp, membranous mane held in her magic, "Yes?"

The butler lowers his head, the old unicorn standing in an arched doorway completely devoid of decoration, as if someone had one day decided to do nothing more than carve out a section of the wall, "Princesses Luna and Twilight are waiting in the hallway behind me and are ready to speak with you."

"Very well," Amaranth replies, dropping Fluttershy's mane and shifting to face the doorway. "Send them in."

The butler backs out of the doorway and out of sight, Luna and Twilight entering a moment later – Luna meeting and holding Amaranth's gaze as soon as she steps into the room, though she continues moving until she stands only a few steps away from the queen and her daughter. Fluttershy and Twilight meanwhile trade smiles, both then turning their attention to the taller of the ponies opposite them. The earth pony maid canters in after several seconds, hastily placing Luna's and Twilight's pillows just behind them before leaving the room as well.

"While I do not wish to diminish my appreciation for both of you being here," Amaranth says once Luna and Twilight sit, "I feel it would be imprudent of me not to ask. Will Princess Celestia, Princess Cadence, and Prince Shining Armor be joining us?"

Luna shakes her head, "They will not. Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor were exhausted due to their journey from the Crystal Empire after dealing with an issue that arose there, and my sister likewise had a particularly long and tiring day dealing with various problems that arose. As such, they were not able to make it here tonight. However I am pleased to say that Princess Twilight has joined me in staying awake during the night ever since the vamponies were discovered in Ponyville, and so was able to accompany us."

Lifting a wing, Luna levitates the letters into the air between herself and Amaranth, "As I am sure you are able to guess, these are the letters we have agreed upon, and would ask that you distribute them to the other changeling queens within Equestria."

Amaranth takes the letters in her magic, a faint frown creasing the chitin of her forehead, "There are only six?"

Luna nods, "Yes. Two of them we have already sent ahead to the two other changelings who were found in Ponyville, so they can deliver them to their queens directly. These six are then for yourself as well as the other queens, since it seemed safe to assume that we need not create a copy for Queen Chrysalis."

"A very safe assumption indeed," Amaranth replies, clicking her tongue. "Would I also be equally safe in assuming that these letters are backed by all of Equestria's royalty?"

"You would," Luna answers, "as long as you do not mean to include Prince Blueblood with that statement."

Amaranth lets out a sharp exhalation through her nose, though her voice remains steady, "Very well. In that case, thank you for bringing these letters to me. I hope we can continue to build upon our current degree of cooperation as the future unfolds, for all our subjects' benefit."

"As do we," Luna replies, smiling. "And while we are glad to have been able to meet and speak with you in this form, I am not able to stay for much longer, as I still have our regular duties to attend to."

Amaranth allows herself a small smile as well, "Yet I also get the feeling there is something you would like to ask me."

Luna blinks, her mouth opening for a split second before words come out, "You are able to sense that?"

Amaranth's smile grows, the changeling queen shifting on her cushion of gel, "You did a much better job of hiding it than most, but I still got the slight impression that there was something in particular which occurred to you when you walked in."

"We see," Luna states, regaining her composure. "In that case, I suppose I may as well ask. What is the significance of the color of a changeling's shell, mane, and tail? We have seen that the two other changelings in Ponyville each have a different color, as does your daughter, yet you and Fluttershy have the same color. It was also mentioned when we spoke with them in Ponyville that color can be used to differentiate between changelings of different hives, but is this always the case? Particularly since, as your daughter and a princess, it sounds as though Fluttershy would one day lead her own hive."

"In my daughter's case, there is a process she will eventually go through which will result in her becoming a fully fledged queen. At that point her colors will change," Amaranth answers. "Otherwise, it can as long as we are untransformed. However… "

Fire engulfs Amaranth three times in quick succession, her shell, mane, and tail changing to orange the first time followed by the same purple as Twilight's coat the second, her mane turning red the third time while her shell returns to its original gold and her tail becomes as black as her chitin, "Our colors can be altered in any way we wish."

"You are able to change into other changelings?" Luna queries.

"Correct," Amaranth confirms.

"Additionally… " Luna says, pausing to weigh her words, "since we are asking questions, there is another topic that we are quite curious about. What is the relationship between the changeling hivelink and our dreamscape, and why have we almost never encountered a changeling in the dream realm?"

Amaranth frowns, "The workings of our hivelink are not something I am comfortable discussing at this time. That said… what do you mean 'almost never'?"

"During the recent events in Ponyville, one of the other changelings was attacked by a nightmare," Luna explains. "It was able to somehow reach her and pull her into its own corner of the dreamscape, and from there we were able to reach them both. However, as soon as the nightmare focused on me, she disappeared completely, and I have not been able to reach her again nor have I since been able to figure out how the nightmare was able to bring her into the dream realm in the first place."

Amaranth stares at Luna, several seconds passing in silence, "…and this nightmare, it is… ?"

Luna smiles, "Destroyed, utterly and completely."

Amaranth closes her eyes and sighs, her entire body relaxing, "That is good."

"Indeed," Luna agrees. "It was easily one of the more vile nightmare creatures we have encountered, especially since our return. But, as I said earlier, I have my regular duties that I must attend to, and in recent nights I have already not spent as much time as we usually do patrolling the dream realm."

Amaranth nods, "I understand; there are preparations I must make in order to deliver these letters as well."

Amaranth and Luna stand, Fluttershy and Twilight following their lead.

Luna lowers her head a fraction of an inch, "In that case, we will take our leave, and I hope for our next meeting to also be this amicable."

Amaranth mirrors Luna's motion, "Likewise."

Fluttershy pokes at her gel cushion with a hoof, her eyes darting from Twilight to Luna to the floor as an incomprehensible murmur escapes her lips. A green blush spreads across her cheeks and she takes a tiny step backwards, her tube-like ears pinning to her skull.

Twilight sends Fluttershy a small smile, attempting to direct some encouragement towards her flustered friend as well, "Sorry, Fluttershy, what was that? You spoke so quietly I couldn't hear anything you said."

Fluttershy swallows, after a moment opening her mouth to try again, "I-I was just wondering, since I don't… I don't have any duties or-or anything I need to do right now, would you, maybe, want to hang out? With me? I-If you wanted to, I mean, and I could maybe… s-show you around a bit?"

Twilight's ears prick, a grin lighting up her face, "I would love to! I don't think I have anything I need to do right now either, and I still have so many questions-"

Luna's wing shoots out, blocking Twilight from view, "Please give us a moment."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Amaranth replies, turning to Fluttershy.

Luna's wing sweeps Twilight backwards as the elder alicorn turns to face away from the pair of changelings, Amaranth and Fluttershy likewise turning their backs to her and Luna, "Luna – hey – what's going on?"

Luna leans closer, her voice low, "Twilight, we understand that Fluttershy is one of your best friends, but we would also like to remind you of what you promised your brother not half an hour ago."

Twilight frowns, her brow furrowing, "I promised that I would keep an eye out, not that I would start refusing contact with any of my friends. And we have my changeling revealing spell, so it's not as if they'd actually be able to get away with replacing me."

"That is an abomination of spell you developed on the fly nearly two years ago by haphazardly combining nearly a dozen anti-illusion and counter-transformation spells," Luna points out. "Which they could very well have found a way to counter by now, and even if it did work, by that point you would have already been captured at least a few hours ago."

"Fluttershy is a princess of this hive," Twilight retorts, "so short of Queen Amaranth ordering her changelings to do something, I don't have anything to worry about. And also, it seems to me that refusing an invitation from the queen's daughter would look especially bad, diplomatically speaking."

"Unlikely, since it is quite obvious that Queen Amaranth has similar concerns," Luna counters. "And even if that were true, we are not willing to risk your safety over appearances."

Twilight glares at Luna, "Princess Fluttershy has also offered to 'show me around', which will be an excellent time for me, and therefore us, to learn more about them. The less we know about them, the harder it's going to be to convince anypony else to trust them, which will make future negotiations much more difficult." She glances at the floor, her outrage faltering, "A-And, I mean, for Cadence and Shining Armor especially, too, you know? Cadence didn't want to trust them at all, so maybe if it goes well, I'll be able to learn something she can verify herself, and it'll convince her to give them a chance. Or to give Fluttershy a chance, at least."

You did yourself just recently talk about Cadence being a problem, Selena comments.

But are you sure Twilight will be safe here? Luna asks, her eyes drifting down to focus on her nose as her conversation shifts inwards, As much as we are willing to give Amaranth the benefit of the doubt in order to ease the diplomatic process as well as based on what we can reasonably infer as true from what we already know, we do still barely know Amaranth herself or the rest of her hive at all.

Real trust has to start somewhere, Selena replies, and what better place than between two ponies who are already friends? Besides, we can at least be fairly confident that changelings are not automatons who mindlessly obey their queen, so I do definitely believe that Fluttershy wouldn't allow Twilight to come to harm even if Amaranth were plotting something nefarious.

Luna hesitates, then lets out a long sigh, "Very well."

Twilight's ears perk up, a fresh grin spreading across her muzzle.

Luna raises a hoof, "Just remember – friends or not, you are still a Princess of Equestria, and every single thing you do here will reflect on us all."

Twilight's leg muscles clench, only barely managing to keep herself from hopping in place, "I won't let you down, Luna."

Luna nods, turning back to the changelings while Twilight walks a few steps past her. At this, Amaranth and Fluttershy move apart as well, Fluttershy taking a step towards Twilight.

"I will be leaving Princess Twilight here with you, if there are no issues with that," Luna states.

Amaranth shakes her head, "There are none; we are happy for her to be here. I, however, will not be present for her visit, as I will need to leave for a few days to make sure all of these letters are delivered properly – one of them in particular." She moves towards the door Luna and Twilight had entered through, "That said, I can at the very least accompany you to the door, Princess Luna, so that we may have a few additional minutes to converse."

Luna steps aside, allowing Amaranth to walk between her and Twilight, "All opportunities for us to speak to one another are more than welcome."

Amaranth waits for Luna once she exits the room, the two of them continuing on side by side.

Fluttershy meanwhile walks the rest of the way over to Twilight, a broad smile flashing across her muzzle when their eyes meet, though she quickly lowers her gaze and raises a hoof to her mouth to hide one of her small fangs, "Um… how are you doing, Twilight?"

"I'm doing fine," Twilight replies. "Had a bit of a rough start to the night, but everything's fine now."

She glances after Amaranth and Luna, her left foreleg rising to rest against her right, "So… uh… is your mom, I mean, Queen Amaranth, actually okay with me being here?"

Fluttershy nods, "She is. She just wanted to know what I had in mind and wanted to make sure I understood that even though we're friends, we are also still royalty for Equestria and a changeling hive."

Twilight lets out a short laugh, rubbing the back of her neck and glancing at the floor, "Yeah, Luna had some similar concerns."

An empty silence flows into the mostly barren room, filling the void in their conversation.

"Sorry," Fluttershy mumbles, shifting into her pegasus form in a puff of green fire.

Twilight's eyes widen and she shakes her head vigorously, "No, Fluttershy, you don't need to do that."

Fluttershy looks away, her ears drooping, "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"It doesn't matter if I'm not completely comfortable," Twilight states resolutely, lightly stomping a hoof on the stone floor. "You're my friend, and I want you to be comfortable looking like yourself when I'm around. Yes, I am still adjusting to the the fact that you're not a pegasus, and that will probably take some more time given that I only found out about a week ago, but that's something I need to get used to – fangs, chitin, and all."

"I… " Fluttershy takes a deep breath and returns to her changeling form in another burst of magical fire, smiling wide enough to bare her fangs, "Thanks, Twilight, really. I don't know what I'd do without friends like you and the rest of the girls." Her smile wavers, "Though… I-I do probably need to talk to Applejack about me being a changeling."

Twilight's brows knit, "What do you mean?"

Fluttershy glances at the doorway behind Twilight, her hoof tapping at the floor, "Well, Rarity mostly stopped caring once she, uh, realized I was royalty, but also once she came to terms with this being the real me; Rainbow Dash was fine with it once she accepted I really was the same pony she had known since flight school, and only my appearance was different, not anything else about me; and I don't think Pinkie was ever bothered by any of it in the first place. For Applejack though, I've just noticed… well, sensed, I guess, that she's really not comfortable around me anymore. At all. N-Not hate, I mean, or even really dislike! Just… I think I make her nervous now. M-Maybe even a little grossed out. And t-there's a little bit of anger mixed in there too… "

"I can understand that," Twilight replies, sighing. "Applejack is as stubborn as they come, about as traditional as they come, and the Element of Honesty." Her lips twitch in a small smile, "Honestly, I was surprised that she seemed to be taking it as well as she was, but I guess it's a lot harder to hide that sort of thing from somepony with an empathic sense."

"Y-Yeah," Fluttershy agrees. "I'm mostly just a little scared she's going to think that I've been lying to her for years."

Twilight coughs, clearing her throat, "Well… you kind of have been. Nitpicking aside, lying by omission is a thing."

Fluttershy wilts.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean it like that, but… I think we both can guess how Applejack sees it," Twilight says, sighing again. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Fluttershy shakes her head, "No, this is something I need to do myself. I just need to work up the courage to actually do it."

Twilight places a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, "Just remember, she is still your friend. And if she's angry because she feels like you've been lying to her, then the best thing you can do is explain why you didn't tell her and be honest with her now. Because no matter what, I don't think she wants to lose you as a friend either."

Fluttershy dips her head, a fresh smile spreading across her muzzle, "Thanks, Twilight."

Twilight smiles as well, after a few moments lowering her hoof and once more looking in the direction their elders had left, "And, I don't mean to change the subject, but-"

Fluttershy giggles, "I did say I'd show you around, didn't I?"

Twilight bobs her head rapidly, eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Alright then… " Fluttershy says, "Um, follow me."

Chapter 27.33 A Book's Cover

Twilight bounces next to Fluttershy as they walk down the sparsely decorated hallway, enough of a spring in her step to let her see clear over Fluttershy's head, "So, my first question is – is everypony else here a changeling? Or are there a mix of changelings and non-changelings working here, and the non-changelings just don't know they're working with changelings for a changeling queen? Oh! Also, is this like an outpost for your hive?" She pauses, giving Fluttershy a suspicious look, "This isn't your actual hive, is it? Because if it is, then your hive is in Canterlot, which represents kind of a big problem."

"The main hive isn't in Canterlot, though I'm definitely not allowed to say where it is," Fluttershy answers. "I suppose you could consider this as being a second home, of sorts, rather than an 'outpost' or anything like that. As for everypony else here, aside from my pony mom who's a pegasus, the only other non-changeling is the butler who led you and Princess Luna to us, and he does know that everypony else is a changeling and that he works for a changeling queen."

Twilight freezes mid-hop, stumbling when she lands, "Hold on, what? He knows he's working for changelings, and he hasn't told anypony about it?"

Fluttershy nods, "Mhm. He eventually figured it out on his own, and then my changeling mom figured out that he knew, but he had kept our secret and was perfectly happy to continue keeping it as long as we didn't mean any harm to Equestria. He was a 'consummate professional' about it, to quote my mother. He also takes quite a bit of pride in knowing that he's the sole pony working here who's not part of the hive."

"But what about the invasion?" Twilight inquires, her eyes narrowing, "Why didn't he say anything after that?"

"During the invasion, a bunch of Chrysalis' changelings attacked our house, and he saw us – I mean, changelings from our hives – fighting each other," Fluttershy replies, avoiding Twilight's gaze. "So he knew we weren't involved in the invasion, and agreed to stay quiet about us afterwards."

Twilight blinks a couple times, then sighs, "Alright, uh… I guess, how long has he known?"

Fluttershy shrugs, "I don't know, to be honest. He somehow managed to impress my changeling mom enough for her to overlook that he wasn't a member of her hive, but she's never told me how. I do know it happened a long time before I hatched though – he's been with us for over 40 years now."

"And, a little bit tangential, but since you said 'before I hatched', I assume that means changelings do hatch from eggs, rather than being birthed live like other ponies?" Twilight queries.

"It does," Fluttershy confirms, a faint blush tinting her cheeks.

Twilight taps her chin absently as they pass the doorway to another room, her attention momentarily drawn to the curtains blocking every single window, "Fascinating… also, I'm assuming that since you weren't affected by Cadence and Shining Armor's love blast, noling else from your hive was either, since at the very least somepony would have noticed the holes left behind if all the other ponies working in Photo Finish's house got flung out of Canterlot."

"That's correct… " Fluttershy replies hesitantly, "but… I can't tell you anything about why."

Twilight frowns.

"Not because I don't want to tell you," Fluttershy adds quickly, "but that involves a lot of stuff related to Queen Chrysalis and the things she did leading up to the invasion, and I'm really really not supposed to talk about any of that with anypony outside the hive yet."

"Mmm… " Twilight grumbles, glancing at the wall beside her before taking a deep breath, "Alright, well, let's change the topic a little then. The butler mentioned to Luna and I that the reason everything is so spartan is because Queen Amaranth finds it inspiring. Do you know what he meant by that?"

Fluttershy visibly relaxes, her ears perking slightly, "I do. For her, it's easier to imagine what she needs to do to make-"

Photo Finish appears in a burst of green flame, "Da magicks!"

"-if she doesn't have to start by imagining away whatever else is already there," Fluttershy continues, another small column of fire consuming her to return her to her changeling form. "Usually every few weeks or so when she's here, she gets inspired, and the whole house gets redecorated multiple times in just a couple days, during which everyling gets involved in taking different forms to help with her photo shoots. 'Photo Finish' is really just a persona she gets into so she can fit into the artistic-nobility scene more easily, and so ponies are less likely to question her if she does something they think is strange, but she does really enjoy photography too. That part isn't made up."

Twilight raises an eyebrow, "And I'm guessing one of the things the Photo Finish persona helps explain is why all of the windows in all of the rooms we've passed so far have been blocked by really thick, overlapping curtains with what would appear to be bottom weighted, metallic trim?"

Fluttershy giggles, "Of course. It's definitely not because there's anything suspicious going on, and especially not so everyling can walk around without needing a disguise when there aren't any guests."

She takes Photo Finish's form once more, "My work requires my undivided attention, and I absolutely will not allow the world see my greatest masterpieces before I, Photo Finish, am ready to reveal them!"

Twilight exhales sharply through her nose, "Fair enough."

Fluttershy changes back, glancing at Twilight, "Um, do you mind if I ask you a question too?"

Twilight shakes her head, "Not at all. Ask away."

"Okay," Fluttershy says, taking a deep breath. "I was just wondering, since Princess Luna said you had 'joined her in staying awake during the night', are you planning on being nocturnal from now on?"

"You know, I'm really not sure," Twilight replies, letting out a sigh. "I've always had a habit of staying up late reading, or researching especially, but going all the way like this has just seemed… right, somehow. I still love the daytime and the sun and I want to be awake at least for part of it so I can spend time with the rest of you girls, but the night also seems serene and beautiful in a way I hadn't noticed before."

Fluttershy nods, "So you're saying you'd be awake during the 'twilight hours', mostly?"

Twilight groans, massaging the bridge of her nose while pointedly ignoring her broadly grinning friend, "Yes, Fluttershy, I suppose you could say that. Anyways… one thing I'm particularly curious about is the spell Queen Chrysalis used to transport me to the caves beneath Canterlot. I didn't get a good look at it then for obvious reasons, but it seemed to be some sort of flame portal magic. Do you know anything about that spell? I've tried a few times to replicate it, but without more data I have almost nothing to go off of and have gotten nowhere with it other than burning off chunks of my mane."

Fluttershy hesitates, "I… do… but… well, changeling magic is another thing I can't answer any questions about yet."

Twilight's ears droop, "I see."

"Sorry," Fluttershy apologizes, looking away from her friend to instead stare at the floor passing beneath her hooves.

Twilight shakes her head, "No, it's okay. I mean, it is irritating that there are topics you can't tell me anything about yet, and not being able to learn about changeling magic is especially disappointing, but I can at least understand why you wouldn't be able to answer every single question I have." She chuckles, "I think I'm more disappointed in myself for not considering the possibility that I'd need something to write with than anything. Usually Spike is around and he would've thought to bring some supplies along, even if staying here later than Luna wasn't the original plan, so I'd still be able to take notes on the questions you can answer."

Fluttershy glances at Twilight, brushing a stray tendril of her mane back behind an ear, "Well, that isn't a question, but if you want something to write on then I can definitely help with that."

Trotting ahead, Fluttershy pushes open one of the doors on their right, Twilight following her inside. A moderately sized storage room greets them, the room packed to bursting with furniture along with a multitude of both cardboard and wooden boxes of varying sizes, all meticulously stacked and organized into aisles just barely wide enough to walk into.

Clearing her throat, Fluttershy lets out a loud, trilling chirp. A few seconds later, a pair of undisguised changelings step out of the aisles – both with the same golden shell as Fluttershy and Queen Amaranth, though one also has a similarly colored mane and tail while the other instead has a black, stubby tail as well as a thin black fin running from the back of their head down their neck in place of a mane.

Both freeze mid-step as soon as they notice Twilight, the closer of the two looking to Fluttershy and releasing a series of chirps and chitters.

Fluttershy clears her throat again and smiles, "No, it's fine. I'm showing Princess Twilight around a bit, which Queen Amaranth already knows about."

The two changelings glance at Twilight once more, the finned changeling clearing their throat as well, "I see. In that case, what do you need us to do, princess?"

"Princess Twilight would like something to write on," Fluttershy states. "I need you to bring us a ball-point pen, some paper, and a clipboard."

The changelings bow, speaking in unison, "At once, princess."

"Huh," Twilight comments, watching the changelings scurry back into the tightly packed aisles.

"Hm?" Fluttershy asks.

"Nothing," Twilight replies. "I guess to go along with your same voice coming from your changeling form, it's also kind of weird to see other ponies bowing to you and you ordering them to do something like that."

Fluttershy shrugs, "All of us are part of my mother's hive, and I am a princess here."

Twilight nods, "Yeah, I know. It's still a bit strange seeing you being assertive in that way though. That aside, the changeling with the fin, are they… ?"

"He is male," Fluttershy confirms. "Also yes, that's what the fin means."

"…And, as far as me being more assertive here, there is a bit more to it than that," Fluttershy adds after a moment's pause, the pace of her words picking up as she speaks. "Everyling here is connected through the hivelink, so they're familiar, even if we've never met. But any other pony or changeling is foreign, in a way. An unknown. I-I don't think I could walk up to anypony outside the hive and start trying to order them around."

"So there's an innate line drawn between those who are part of a particular hive, and those who aren't?" Twilight asks.

"Definitely," Fluttershy agrees, her eyes widening as soon as the word leaves her mouth. "N-Not that I think any less of you or anypony else because of that! I-It's just that-"

"It's a lot easier to trust and relate to somepony you share a empathic connection with," Twilight finishes.

Fluttershy nods, "Yeah. Especially when I was younger, I used to have a really hard time even just talking to anypony outside the hive. That was actually why my parents enrolled me in the Cloudsdale flight school, which was where my pony mom had gone to school when she was a filly, so I'd have to get used to interacting with other ponies."

"And that's where you met Rainbow Dash," Twilight supplies.

Fluttershy smiles, "Mhm. For the most part the rest of the class either ignored me or pushed me around, but Rainbow Dash was really nice and helped me get past the worst of my fears, even though she probably never realized it."

"Princess Twilight."

Twilight's whole body twitches, her hooves leaving the floor entirely for a split second as she hops a fraction of an inch towards Fluttershy. Looking towards the source of the voice, she sees the two other changelings watching her patiently – the female levitating a small stack of paper while the male holds a clipboard and pen in his magic.

Twilight breathes in deeply, taking control of the floating writing supplies after exhaling, "Thank you."

Both changelings turn to Fluttershy, the closer of the two speaking, "Is there anything else we can do for you, princess?"

Fluttershy shakes her head, "No, that was all I needed. Please continue with what you were doing before."

The changelings bow once more, wordlessly disappearing into the aisles of furniture and boxes.

Turning on her heel and taking a step towards the door, Fluttershy looks towards her friend, "Twilight?"

The sound of a pen madly scribbling on paper answers her, Twilight already nearing the bottom of the first sheet, "Just… give me… a minute… don't want to forget anything… "

Twilight points her newly acquired pen at Fluttershy, "Also, what were those sort of chittering, trilling noises you and the other changelings made before you started talking in Equestrian?"

Fluttershy blinks, "Oh, right, um, we can't actually speak Equestrian without changing our vocal cords, so that was our language. In Equestrian we call it Vespid."

"And from the sound of it, I assume other ponies can't speak Vespid?" Twilight queries, her rapid writing resuming.

"Mhm," Fluttershy confirms, "and for more reasons that just the sounds you have to be able to make. Tone, and certain meanings, are difficult or impossible to get across entirely verbally, so 'speaking' Vespid also involves the hivelink when talking to other changelings in the same hive and our empathic sense when talking to outside changelings."

Twilight's pen pauses, though only long enough for her the flip over her current sheet, "Which I assume additionally means that non-changelings aren't capable of understanding Vespid either."

Fluttershy nods, "Yeah. You could probably learn a lot of it, but there would always be pieces you'd be missing."

After another minute, Twilight relaxes and raises her pen, the entire back of the first page now filled to the brim with words along with the front half of the second sheet, "Alright, I think that's everything."

Fluttershy bobs her head once, "In that case, let's keep going – we're almost there."

Twilight's brow knits, "Almost – actually, where are we going?"

Fluttershy giggles, walking out of the room, "You'll see~"

"I'm also curious," Twilight says as they enter a much larger, and otherwise completely empty, room, "when you were describing emotions after you revealed yourself to me, you always related them to flavors and foods, like 'spicy' or 'hazelnuts'. So, do emotions actually share tastes with physical food? Or were you just describing it to me in a way I'd be able to more easily understand? And, if they do share tastes, what does love taste like to you? Chocolate?"

"Yes they do, and no, not at all," Fluttershy replies, her gaze drifting as they walk towards the room's far wall. "It's… true love is… way better, like… like… I don't even know how to describe it. Like… eating a cloud, made of the most perfect cotton candy ever spun, that lifts you up to float among the sun and stars."

Twilight cocks an eyebrow, "Uhm, Fluttershy, you're drooling."

Said changeling princess quickly wipes the trail of saliva from her chin, her cheeks burning bright green as a look of abject horror flashes across her face. Whirling towards the doorway they had just entered through, she raises a foreleg, "Ohmygosh! Look over there!"

Twilight's heart races and she likewise spins around, her gaze following Fluttershy's outstretched hoof to land on the completely empty and uninteresting doorway they had just walked through.

She blinks, then facehoofs, rolling her eyes as she turns back to Fluttershy, "Haha, very funny, Flutter-"

An even emptier room than a few seconds ago greets her, no other pony seemingly present besides herself, "-shy?"

Turning around more slowly, Twilight scans the room, eventually coming full circle to face the wall she and Fluttershy had been walking towards – a black, holey hoof poking out to wave at her.

Twilight stiffens, Wait, what?

Fluttershy's head passes through the wall as well, a mischievous grin plastered across her face, "Over here, Twilight."

Twilight snickers, trotting over to stand in front of Fluttershy, "You know that's one of the oldest tricks in the book, right?"

"But it still worked, didn't it?" Fluttershy replies, giggling. "Anyway, come on."

As soon as Fluttershy withdraws her head and hoof, Twilight walks forward. The false wall remains as solid as it appears however, her face instead impacting its flat surface – said wall as hard and cool to the touch as actual stone.

Twilight staggers backwards a step, a green aura enveloping her before she can take another and levitating her through the section of wall along with her writing supplies.

"I am so sorry!" Fluttershy exclaims, gently lowering Twilight to the floor in front of her, "I-I completely forgot – t-there's a uh, the barrier, it's-"

"Selectively permeable?" Twilight asks, gently rubbing her nose, "And I'm guessing it only allows changeling magic through?"

Fluttershy nods, her ears lowered and a fresh blush on her face, "Y-Yeah. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Twilight replies. She glances at her surroundings, the two of them standing in an alcove large enough for half a dozen ponies to move about easily, the walls, floor, and ceiling constructed from a sleek material as black as Fluttershy's chitin. Above her, a green orb hangs from the ceiling like a droplet of water about to fall, its light more than enough to see by though not nearly as bright as the rest of the house.

She taps the floor with a hoof, "What is all this anyways? It's not stone, I don't think."

Fluttershy shakes her head, "Oh, no, it's-"

Without warning, one of Twilight's forelegs slips out from under her, her other legs rapidly losing traction as well under the sudden shift in weight.

Twilight gives Fluttershy a flat look from her new spot on the floor, her legs splayed, "Slippery?"

Fluttershy frowns, dragging a hoof across the floor's surface, "Um. Not… really? Though… that does explain why my pony mom always wore boots whenever she came down here."

Twilight groans, carefully getting back to her hooves, "Well, this is going to be interesting. So what's this stuff called?"

"It's called clod," Fluttershy answers. "It's sort of our version of cement, and it's… not our only building material, but we use it pretty much everywhere."

Twilight looks behind Fluttershy, a tunnel not quite tall enough to accommodate her horn but wide enough for three ponies to comfortably walk side-by-side sloping steeply downward and out of sight, the passageway dimly lit by smaller green blobs embedded at random in its walls and ceiling, "That's… going to be a problem, seeing as non-changelings apparently can't grip it very well."

"I could, uh… levitate you again," Fluttershy offers, glancing at the tunnel. "If that's okay with you, that is. I don't think there's enough room for you to fly."

Twilight sighs, "Yeah, it's fine. It's definitely better than sliding down."

Fluttershy's horn glows, a green aura again enveloping Twilight to lift her off the ground.

Twilight chuckles, pulling her legs up against her barrel, "You know, if anypony had told me that one day – er, night – you'd be using your own magic to levitate me down a tunnel constructed by changelings, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have believed them."

Fluttershy walks forward into the tunnel, Twilight floating beside her, "Yeah, me neither."

Chapter 1 Uninvited Guests

The moon shines brightly over Ponyville. The trees sway slightly in the breeze. A wind chime sings it's lonely tune into an empty night amidst the whispering of rustling bushes, for nopony still walks among the waking to hear it. Well, almost nopony…

"Could you please hurry up?" comes a voice from thin air.

"Hey," replies a second, higher pitched voice, "climbing is hard."

"No! It's not hard! You literally just have to stick your hooves to the side of the house and start walking," fumes the first speaker. A couple tense minutes pass, barely audible taps nearing the roof as the owner of the second voice continues climbing.

"By the light of the Moon, finally. Could you possibly have been any slower?"

After a pause, a slight scraping sound comes from the side of the house as the invisible climber slowly begins to descend.

"Nononono… " a faint, hazy shadow forms in the air as the owner of the first voice quickly leans over the edge, at long last dragging their intransigent companion onto the roof.

"There we go," the shadow sighs, its shroud of darkness falling away to reveal a batpony mare with a midnight blue coat, a dark grey mane striped with various shades of lighter grey, and a cutie mark showing tendrils of light blue mist. Blood red irises surround her slitted pupils rather than a thestral's telltale yellow however, her slightly larger ears moving independently of each other to track the nighttime sounds around her as she opens her mouth to speak once more, the brightness of the moon enough to make the pointed teeth lining her upper and lower jaw easily visible. "Come on Dawn, let's get this over with."

The shadows dissipate from the second figure, revealing a smaller not-quite-batpony filly with an off-white mane highlighted by pink and a coat the color of evenly roasted marshmallows, "You know Midnight, you don't have to babysit me. I'm old enough to hunt on my own!"

"You'd be a lot more convincing if I hadn't just waited half an hour for you to get up here. Besides, you're not even venomous yet. What are you gonna do, take a bite and hope they don't feel anything?"

Dawn pouts, "Fine… I was just trying to help, since I know you'd rather be nibbling on your coltfriend… "

"C-coltfriend?!" Midnight sputters, an invisible blush spreading across her face. "He's not-"

"Aww, really? But you just spend so much time together~" Dawn teases.

"He doesn't even know I exist! He doesn't even know our species exists! How could he possibly be-" Midnight closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Look, are you hungry or not? Because if you're not, then I have other things I'd much rather be doing."

"Like nibbling on your-"

"No! Like… uh… reading. Or throwing rocks at a hydra. Or… uh… " Midnight's mind races, frantically trying to come up with some other activity to add to her list, "you know… other things."

I really need to find another hobby

"But you can't! Mom and Dad said so after you almost got those mares killed last time-"

Midnight puts a hoof on her sister's mouth, cutting her off, "I'm going inside now. If you want to drink, you can stop talking and follow me."

Without waiting for a reply, Midnight turns on her heel and walks several steps across the roof to a closed window. Looking through it she sees a darkened room, though her eyes can still discern every detail clearly. It is full of nothing but boxes.

Perfect. Now, let's see…

She grabs one of the window's horizontal crossbars in her mouth, pulling outward lightly, then harder as it starts to give. With a small amount of effort, the window swings wide open.

Midnight smiles in satisfaction, I love it when ponies don't lock up at night. It makes this so much easier.

Donning the shadows once more, Midnight steps inside, Dawn following closely behind. Her ears twitch as she moves forward cautiously, examining the room more closely to make sure that there is truly nopony within. Satisfied, she looks towards the door leading further into the house just as a sudden gust of wind slams shut the window they had entered through. Dawn lets out a startled yelp and stumbles forward into the back of her sister's legs.

"Yeah, you are so ready to hunt on your own, getting scared by windows," Midnight snickers, then pauses as her ears once again swivel towards the door. Dawn opens her mouth to respond, but before she can do so, her sister shushes her.

"Sh! Somepony's coming!"

Dawn hides behind one of the larger boxes while Midnight quickly scales the wall, crouching upside-down on the ceiling with her eyes locked on the door. A grey pegasus with crossed golden eyes enters the room yawning. Her eyes more or less fall on the now slightly ajar window, having bounced open again from the force of the impact. Starting forward, the half-asleep pegasus navigates between the boxes like a pinball, only changing directions after bumping into an obstacle.

Upon reaching the window, she grabs the handle with her mouth, closing and locking it before letting her forehead rest against the cool glass with a sigh, a soft snore emanating from the mare mere moments later. Midnight snorts and silently sneaks across the ceiling until she is right above the snoring pony. Detaching her forehooves from the ceiling, she carefully stretches down and bops the mare on the head.

Jerking awake with a yell of "Muffins!" the pegasus rubs her head, looking at the ceiling angrily. Midnight stares back, a thrill of power rushing through her as the pony stares straight into her eyes, yet sees nothing. Said pony, seeing only moon-cast shadows, turns and eventually finds her way out of the room – though not before fishing a muffin from one of the many boxes. Midnight listens intently, several tense minutes passing until a door is heard closing elsewhere in the house.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Midnight climbs down from the ceiling while Dawn comes out from behind her box. Both standing in front of the now open door, they move forward, following in the hoofsteps of their oblivious prey.

The two sisters silently move through the darkened home, pausing frequently to listen to the quiet creaks from the house shifting in the wind to be sure that it isn't somepony moving around instead. Midnight's heart beats faster as they continue making their way deeper into the home, the sensation from the muffin storage room returning ten-fold as she moves through the lightless hallways, the thrill of the hunt sharpening her senses and keeping her body pleasantly on edge. She smiles darkly, licking her lips in anticipation of what is soon to come – then pauses, taking a moment to focus as they approach their first target.

Maintain control. Let your instincts guide you but not control you. Losing control leads to… bad things.

Now somewhat calmer, Midnight lets her breath out slowly and moves to a door that's not quite closed all the way. Putting her ear to the crack between it and the floor, she hears faint snoring from somepony inside. She smiles.

Jackpot

Turning the knob all the way to the left and holding it there, she quietly pushes the door further open. Once clear of the frame, she slowly lets the knob return to its resting position and continues to open the door. Midnight's smile widens as it makes no sound at all.

Unlocked windows, well greased doors… this is just too easy. Maybe I should feed here more often.

After they enter the room, Midnight closes the door, turning the knob before the latch hits the doorframe and then slowly releasing it when the door is flush with the wall.

Not exactly hi-tech, but least we'll hear the door opening first.

Turning, Midnight and Dawn observe the pegasus laying spread-eagled on the bed before them. Moonlight shines through the window of her room brightly enough that even a normal pony wouldn't have much trouble seeing, giving the space an ethereal quality – though the effect is somewhat lost due to the many images of muffins covering not only her blanket and pillowcase, but also nearly everything else in the room

Midnight glances at a lamp with a muffin as a base and an upside-down muffin wrapper as the lampshade sitting on the nightstand next to the bed, chuckling inwardly as she and Dawn stand silently watching the pegasus for several minutes, making sure she is really asleep rather than just dozing. Once it is clear the pony is completely asleep, the sisters let their shadows fall away. Midnight approaches the bed with Dawn following close on her heels and begins to search for a good place to bite.

"Let's see here… " Midnight murmurs to herself as she carefully inspects the closer of the mare's hind legs, her eyes glowing a soft red to reveal the bloody, pulsing lanes within – crisscrossing, merging, and splitting randomly like a Discordian super-highway.

Picking the right location is very important after all. Pick too small a vessel and my venom wouldn't spread fast enough. Pick too large of one and the pony might die, not to mention the mess blood spurting everywhere would cause.

And unlike those silly novels, killing this kind of prey unnecessarily is really stupid. It'd be like… like… harvesting apples by chopping down the tree. It just doesn't make any sense to waste a perfectly good tree like that.

Midnight rolls her eyes and cuts off the internal chatter, having found the perfect place. Tapping Dawn on the shoulder to get her attention; she bares her fangs and sinks them into the sleeping pony, sweet warmth flowing into her mouth as another warmth exits her two fangs into the appendage held by her jaws.

The mare gasps slightly at the pain before it gets numbed by the venom and stirs, adrenaline from the brief unpleasant sensation warring with the rapidly spreading numbness. However, after several moments of semi-conscious movement, she fades back to sleep mumbling, "Chocolate muffins… aren't supposed to bite… "

Feeling Dawn pressing up to her side, Midnight carefully removes her fangs from the wound while making sure to keep her lips sealed around it to prevent any blood from leaking onto the sheets. She pauses, and then quickly releases her hold and moves out of the way. Dawn instantly latches onto the wound, letting no blood go to waste. Her task complete for the moment, Midnight sits back and savors the taste, though she is far from sated.

Well, at least two ponies live here, she thinks as an anticipatory grin spreads across her face. I'll have my fill off this one's mate soon enough

Dawn taps Midnight on the chest once she finishes feeding, Midnight leaning back over to the wound as Dawn detaches herself from the mare. Her red eyes glowing slightly, Midnight lets out a deep breath on the wound, the blood the coagulating and hardening almost immediately. As she finishes her breath, the newly formed scab begins to flake off, revealing nothing but two small points of fresh skin.

"Good," Midnight says as she looks over at Dawn, "now go back home, I still need to-"

She stops mid sentence, her ears swiveling towards the door and twitching slightly. Dawn opens her mouth to ask, but a glare from Midnight quiets her. Silence.

Then comes an almost inaudible *clop* from the top of the stairs at the end of the hallway.

Quickly turning back to Dawn, she motions for her to hide underneath the bed, then once again fades into the darkness as she scales the wall and takes up a position crouching on the ceiling. The hoofsteps grow closer until whoever's outside is standing right in front of the door. Midnight tenses as the doorknob turns, and the door opens.

A stallion walks in and a shiver goes down her spine as she automatically starts to take a step away before catching herself, scowling.

What was that? I'm the predator here!

Nevertheless, her instincts insistently whisper that there is something very wrong with this newcomer. She eyes him from her place on the ceiling, examining him closely as he takes another step into the room while doing her best to silence the irritating uneasiness that his presence brings.

Earth pony, dull red coat and mane, cutie mark is a…

She squints at his flank, trying to make it out, but it's faded like chalk that's been through a storm – unrecognizable. He takes another step, licking his lips as he sees the mare out cold on the bed. The motion draws Midnight's focus to his mouth, and her eyes widen in shock.

Why does he have fangs? Is he a vampony too?

Her eyes skim his sides, but find nothing.

He can't be, he has no wings. And the rest of his teeth are flat. Is he some kind of mutant? His ears are wrong too, they're normal pony ears. What's going on here?

The not-pony takes the remaining steps necessary to bring him next to the bed while Midnight attempts to unravel the mystery, his eyes focused on a single point as a trail of saliva trickles over his chin, a droplet falling onto the blankets. Midnight stares at him, dumbfounded.

Please tell me he's not planning on…

The stallion bares his fangs with a growl and descends towards the sleeping pony's neck.

Shit!

Midnight releases her grip on the ceiling while unfurling her wings. Then with one powerful flap she rams into the creepy pony. His mouth snaps shut from the impact, barely missing the fortunate mare and instead piercing her muffin-y blanket. Falling on the other side of the bed, Midnight quickly jumps to her hooves and skitters away from the stallion. He spits out the blanket from his mouth and hisses at her before getting to his feet as well.

Midnight glares at him, wings still flared, "What do you think you're doing?! You were going to kill her you-"

The rest of her exclamation dies in her throat however, the pony across from her staring back with eyes brightly pulsating a dark, sickly shade of red.

A male voice calls out sleepily from somewhere else in the house, "Derpy? Are you alright?"

Midnight looks away, distracted by the voice, and with another hiss the stallion lunges at her.

"Midnight!" Dawn screams as she watches from under the bed.

With no time to dodge, Midnight braces herself and raises her forelegs in an attempt to block the other pony's attack. The attempted defense proves useless however, and a solid crack resounds through the room as his hoof connects with her left foreleg, breaking it easily. Midnight chokes back a scream as she staggers, accidentally putting weight on her now broken limb.

Panicked hoofsteps of the house's only other occupant sound from near the now open the door to the room, "Derpy! What's going on?!"

Panting from the pain, Midnight looks back at her attacker just in time to see him preparing to buck her in the side.

"Oh" is all she manages to get out before his hooves impact her, sending her flying across the room into a dresser, wings falling limply beside her. A half eaten muffin falls on her, the pain caused even by that reinforcing the fact that at least several of her ribs are broken now too. Looking over towards the bed, she sees Dawn cowering underneath, seemingly unable to process what's going on.

"Dawn!" Midnight yells as loud as she can, though the pain from her broken ribs makes it difficult and she fades out half way through. "What are you doing?! Run!"

Dawn's eyes refocus on her sister and she hesitantly starts moving towards the door.

"NOW!"

Dawn jumps a bit, startled, but then draws the shadows around her and dashes out the door into the hallway. Midnight coughs from the exertion, a few specks of blood hitting the floor.

That can't be good. I need to get out of here or else I'm gonna… I'm really gonna…

She swallows hard, cutting off that train of thought and struggles to her hooves, doing her best to ignore the pain from her broken bones and bruised wings.

The window's my best bet. I don't care what that other thing is, it doesn't have wings. It can't fly.

A split-second after Dawn escapes, another stallion enters to room, a worried expression on his face.

"Derpy, you didn't break the floor again… did you… " he trails off as he takes in the scene before him – an unknown pony limping, another unknown pony baring giant fangs at him, and his wife out cold between him and said fanged pony. He pauses, his mouth hanging open slightly as the cogs in his brain creak back to life, discarding all extraneous information being presented by his eyes in light of one simple fact. Letting out a roar that would've done a dragon proud, he charges the strange pony opposite him, doing a half spin as he passes over his wife, plants his front hooves as he lands, and bucks the fanged pony in the chest with all the strength he can muster.

Limping as quickly as she can while the two stallions stare at each other, Midnight approaches the window.

Alright, step one: get to window: check. Step two: break window…

WHAM

A body collides with hers, breaking through the window and sending them both tumbling down into the street below. Her ears ring loudly and her vision goes completely white from the pain upon impacting the ground, before blissfully fading away into unconsciousness.

Chapter 10 Accidents

Princess Twilight smiles, inclining her head slightly, "It's good to see you, Princess Luna. This isn't an interrogation though, this is… uh… a survey."

Her smile fades as she shoots a nervous glance at Midnight who's watching the newcomer cautiously, "Also, the correct pronoun is 'I', not 'we'."

"Ou-My apologies, Princess Twilight," Princess Luna corrects herself with a hint of embarrassment. "W-I should have chosen my words more carefully."

"And there's no need to call me 'princess'," Twilight replies, her smile returning. "We're friends; you don't have to be so formal."

Luna nods, adopting a small smile of her own, "We accept your proposal Twilight Sparkle, but only if you extend the same favor to us as well."

Twilight facehoofs with an exaggerated groan of frustration at the fresh pronoun errors, shaking her head in mock disappointment.

A purple blush spreads across Luna's face, "And by 'us' we meant 'me'. 'I', we mean 'I'. I mean… "

Twilight lowers her hoof, chuckling, "Don't worry about it Luna; as much as I hate to admit it, we do have more important issues than correct grammar at the moment."

Luna stomps carefully on the tile floor, mindful not to make the crown liable for any further damage, "Tarts! One day I will get used to speaking like this."

"Er, 'tarts'?" Twilight asks uncertainly.

Luna pauses at the unexpected question, then grins widely, pride at being able to instruct Twilight on any aspect of modern Equestria sending a tingling thrill across her skin, "Indeed! Our sister informed us that it is the common term for 'Tartaurus', which has occasionally led to some unfortunate situations when confused with the pastry. She has thus far refused to elaborate on what those situations were, however."

"Your hair is amazing~," Midnight murmurs, catching the distracted pair of alicorns by surprise as she stares, mesmerized, at Luna's ethereal mane.

"Right. So." Twilight shuffles her wings uneasily, "This is Midnight, who I'm sure Princess Celestia has told you about, and her little sister Dawn, who was found earlier today by the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

Luna turns, focusing on the reason for her arrival in Ponyville for the first time, "We thank you for the compliment, Midnight."

Her attention, however, is quickly drawn from the vampony and back to the alicorn fidgeting in her peripheral vision. Striding across the room, she lowers her head to Twilight's level, their eyes only inches apart. Twilight pulls back slightly at the sudden invasion of personal space, but otherwise remains still as Luna searches for something within her eyeballs.

"Hmm… "

Raising her head slightly, a blue spark arcs between the tips of their horns. Twilight's irises briefly tint the color of the night sky and she jerks back, her papers and quill falling to the floor as she stumbles clumsily into a sitting position.

She blinks rapidly as a weight is lifted from her mind, glancing around the room then up at Luna, "What… what was that?"

Rather than answer, Luna stares crossly at Midnight, "I may not know anything about your people, but in Equestrian society at least, it is considered both highly rude and highly criminal to cast Domination magic on others."

Midnight points at Twilight, "She started it."

Twilight glares indignantly at her accuser, "I did not! I was just trying to get you to tell me the name of your species!"

"I did tell you, and then you called me a liar!"

"That's because you did lie! And that doesn't give you the right to mind control me regardless!"

"Alright, alright, calm down children… " Luna says placatingly. "What seems to be the problem?"

She snickers as both Midnight and Twilight direct their glares at her.

Midnight opens her mouth to respond, however Twilight manages to speak first, "I was trying to find out what her species is called, but she keeps saying she's a vampony. Except she can't be a vampony because according to Celestia, vamponies are undead abominations spawned of dark magic and Midnight is very definitely alive."

Luna raises an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by the argument, "So what you are saying is that there are both living vamponies and undead vamponies?"

"Well I suppose, but-"

"Then I am afraid we do not see the issue. It is not up to us to decide what they can and cannot call themselves."

Midnight sticks her tongue out at Twilight who grumbles discontentedly at Luna's decision.

"In any case, there are more important questions right now," Luna continues, addressing Midnight. "For example, where do you and your sister live? You certainly do not reside in Ponyville."

Midnight tilts her head from side to side, considering whether or not to answer the question for several seconds, "…We live in the Everfree, though we usually stay a few miles in."

"Twilight, there is a friend of yours who makes her home within the Everfree as well, correct?" Luna asks. "Would she not have encountered them?"

Twilight shrugs, "You'd have to ask her. I don't know how far into the forest she goes, but it's the Everfree; it's more than possible they never crossed paths."

"If you're talking about the striped one-" Midnight begins.

"Her name is Zecora," Twilight interrupts.

Midnight's brow creases slightly in annoyance, "Yeah, that sounds right. Anyway, she's known about us basically since she moved in." She laughs, "You should've heard her screaming when she stumbled on us eating the first time; you wouldn't think somepony with such a low voice could make such a high pitched sound."

"Wait what?!" Twilight exclaims, "If she knew, why didn't she tell anypony?"

"Well, she ran off," Midnight says with an amused snort, "but after we caught her, my parents offered her a deal – as long as she didn't tell anypony about our existence, she stayed off the menu."

"You eat other ponies?" Luna asks sharply, Twilight shuddering at the thought.

Midnight's eyes widen in shock, "What? No! We're not cannibals! If we were, we would've eaten her there and been done with it. I just meant we wouldn't sneak into her tree-hut-thing and feed off of her. We only eat snakes, bears, cockatrice, manticores, the odd chimera or cragadile… took down a hydra once."

She licks her lips, "That was a good week."

Luna's nose wrinkles slightly, but otherwise she appears unfazed, "So, from the sound of it, you only eat meat?"

Midnight nods, "Yup. I tried a few leaves once, didn't really see the appeal."

"You mean besides not killing other living things?" Twilight mutters to herself loudly enough for everypony in the room to hear.

Midnight shoots her another glare, "Well excuuuuse me, princess."

"Would I be correct in assuming that there are more vamponies around then?" Luna cuts in before a new argument can escalate. "Unless you want us to believe that only a few of you were able to take down a hydra."

Midnight pauses before answering hesitantly, "There… are. Dawn wasn't involved, but the rest of my family plus the other clans from around here all came together for that hunt."

"So nearby Ponyville, how many vamponies are there?" Luna queries.

"Thirty… ish? I think? Once in a while another will wander through, but for the most part we all stick to our own territory." Midnight smiles smugly, "We have the territory closest to town though. Everypony else's is around ours."

"Perhaps it would be a good idea to be writing this information down?" Luna suggests pointedly to Twilight.

Twilight rolls her eyes, letting out an irritated grunt as she nonetheless levitates her quill and scattered stack of papers to form a thin, purple-glowing wall between herself and the other ponies in the room while she fills out multiple hovering pages.

Luna sends a reproving glance at the floating barrier before returning her gaze to the subject of her questions, "You also mentioned feeding, that is, you all drink pony blood?"

"Yep," Midnight confirms.

Luna's eyebrows knit together, her eyes lingering on the pair of protruding fangs, "Why?"

"Well, if we don't, we age through our entire lifespan over the course of a couple months," Midnight replies, shrugging nonchalantly. "Or at least that's what my parents say happens. I've never actually tested that out or anything, but I did put off feeding for an extra night once, and it was… not fun. Felt like there was a dull, throbbing ache coming from everywhere and constantly getting worse."

"I see," Luna states carefully, keeping her tone neutral. "And if you do drink pony blood regularly, then it prevents this rapid aging and you live for a normal lifespan?"

"I'm pretty sure we live for longer, but that would depend on what you mean by a 'normal lifespan'," Midnight answers.

"Unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies who die of natural causes generally live between 100 and 150 years," Twilight recites monotonously from behind her floating pages. "Unicorns are usually closer to 150 while earth ponies tend towards 100, with pegasi in the middle but closer to earth ponies than unicorns – though occasionally an earth pony can live to be multiple centuries old. Insufficient recent and reliable data exists for thestrals and crystal ponies."

Midnight blinks in surprise, "Oh. Then yeah, we live for a lot longer. Or we can at least, it's… well it's a bit complicated."

She looks at the ceiling, eyes flicking back and forth as she draws a mental image for herself, "OK, imagine there's this jug. When we feed, blood goes in the jug and as long as the jug isn't empty we don't really age. Whenever it does get empty though, even if only for a second, it starts to crack and fall apart and we start aging rapidly. Our physical 'age', and how long we can go between feeding, is based on how damaged the jug happens to be."

"Fascinating," Twilight murmurs, her curiosity finally eating its way through her outrage at being subjected to Domination magic. A small hole appears in her paper wall through which she stares at Midnight intently, "So the age you appear to be is completely unrelated to your actual age and technically, assuming a perfect feeding schedule, vamponies are ageless?"

"Mostly, and I don't know," Midnight answers hesitantly. "Maybe? Nopony's ever perfect though, so what really ends up happening is that damage from the jug being empty for seconds or minutes accumulates over the years until it becomes too damaged and we die. And unlike in a lot of those books, we don't magically 'un-age' after feeding either. Any damage caused by not feeding is permanent."

"'those books'?," Twilight asks, a hint of surprise in her voice. "You can read?"

"Yes, I can read," Midnight replies exasperatedly.

"Sorry," Twilight apologizes, "I didn't mean to imply that you were stupid. It's just, well, you live in the Everfree Forest. Where exactly do you get books from?"

Midnight doesn't respond, her gaze sliding off to the right.

Twilight sighs, "You take them from Golden Oaks, don't you?"

"I might," Midnight hedges.

"How many?"

"…Seven recently. Currently only have five though."

Twilight raises an eyebrow, "What happened to the other two?"

Midnight stifles a chuckle, "A dragon ate them."

"Ate them? As in… ?"

"Swallowed them whole."

Twilight sits back on her haunches, "Huh."

"Yeah… "

"So I'm guessing you're a Daring Do fan too, based on some of the books that've gone missing," Twilight comments after a short mental eulogy for the books that had been digested.

"Meh," Midnight says noncommittally. "They're alright. Eternal City and Ruby Chalice were really good, but I've been having a hard time getting through Shadow Veil. Her portrayal of vamponies is just so… so… inaccurate. There's all these scenes that are supposed to be serious or ominous and I just end up laughing. Like in Chapter 7-"

"Aht!" Twilight interrupts, raising a hoof, "No spoilers. You somehow managed to get to the book I ordered before either me or Rainbow Dash, and everywhere I've looked is sold out for at least another month."

Luna clears her throat, "While I am happy that you two have overcome your initial enmity and found some common ground, perhaps we should return to more relevant questions."

"Speaking of which, why are you answering our questions?" Twilight asks. "I was expecting you to be a lot more secretive, seeing as your species entire existence has been kept, well, a secret, until now."

"You found me at the scene of an attack and brought me to a hospital, you found my sister and brought her back to me," Midnight says, looking tenderly at her sleeping sibling, "you're taking the whole 'blood-sucking carnivore' thing really well, and at this point there's no way for us to keep hiding anymore… "

She looks back up, meeting Twilight's eyes then Luna's, "You could have done a lot of things, and you chose to help us. I trust you."

Luna smiles, "We are glad that you trust us, and we will do our best to be worthy of that trust."

"How did you manage to stay hidden for so long anyway?" Twilight queries. "You're not exactly inconspicuous, especially since Thestrals all but vanished for the last thousand years, and I can't imagine everypony just 'didn't notice' you guys flying around breaking into pony's homes to suck their blood."

"Well, we can use shadowmagic," Midnight demonstrates, raising her unbroken foreleg. She focuses, and after a moment the leg fades into the dim light of the room. "Plus there's really-"

"Hold on, hold on," Twilight interrupts, scribbling madly. More than a minute ticks by, the only sound in the room the scratching of quill on paper.

Finishing with a flourish, Twilight looks up from her notes, "Alright, go on."

"As I was going to say," Midnight continues, "there's also just not that many of us to find in the first place. I've lived in the Everfree Forest my whole life, and besides my family, I've only ever met ponies from around here plus a couple wanderers who passed through. My parents say there's actually a couple hundred of us around the Everfree, but it's a big place and there never seemed to be any point to run around trying to find them all."

Twilight frowns, "That doesn't make any sense. The Everfree is teeming with creatures you can hunt, plus there are several thousand ponies living in the various towns along the border of the forest to fulfill your… other needs; and even if in reality you aren't ageless, you are still apparently very long-lived by comparison. There should be a lot more of you than a couple hundred."

"I don't know," Midnight replies, shrugging, "my parents just said we were almost wiped out about a thousand years ago. Other than that, I have no idea."

"It would seem that Sombra's abominations caused a great deal of suffering for your people as well," Luna says, sadness tingeing her words. "Even more than they caused the ponies of Equestria, by the sound of it."

Twilight's frown deepens at this, "That makes even less sense."

Luna looks at Twilight curiously, "What do you mean?"

"It's something that's been bothering me ever since Celestia told me what really happened," Twilight explains. "The vamponies were under Sombra's control, and when he died they went berserk. But she also said that some escaped and continued to hide, killing and turning ponies."

Luna raises an eyebrow, "And? We do not see the issue."

"If the undead vamponies went berserk, they wouldn't have had the presence of mind to flee, much less hide and plan well enough to take almost a year to finish off," Twilight clarifies. "That's kind of the opposite of what it means to go berserk."

Luna sighs, "We can assure you Twilight Sparkle, some did escape. While my sister and I had to govern Equestria and did not participate directly in this phase, the Guard alone hunted down and ended nearly two thousand vampony spawn. Many cities and towns also formed their own militias to deal with the threat."

She smiles wryly, "My sister tells me it was quite an achievement convincing them to disarm afterwards."

"Two thousand?!" Twilight exclaims, "There's no way there were that many!"

Luna eyes narrow slightly in irritation and she stands a little taller, "As I said Twilight Sparkle, we can assure-"

"So two thousand ponies died the following year from vampony attacks?"

"Well… no, but-"

"Then how did the Guard hunt down and end two thousand undead ponies, if that many ponies didn't die first?" Twilight demands, stamping a hoof. Luna jumps slightly at the sharp sound.

"They may have been able to bolster their numbers by going after the living vamponies, but assuming that Sombra even knew they existed, and that he told the undead vamponies about them, and that once the undead ones went berserk they had enough intelligence left to flee as well as make long term strategic plans, AND that they would have been able to find any of the living vamponies given their apparent proficiency with shadowmagic, according to Celestia the Guard had trouble dealing with just a few dozen of the undead ones."

Twilight takes a deep breath and swallows, moistening her dry throat before continuing more quietly, "To reach two thousand in a year, over five ponies would have to be turned every single day on average. If that is what actually happened, the Guard would have been annihilated."

A heavy silence fills the room. Luna gulps audibly, then speaks softly, "What are you suggesting?"

"Celestia said that after the initial attack, the entire nation was in a panic," Twilight states slowly. "Assuming the rest of Equestrian history is correct, this would have been the first attack on Equestria for centuries. Ponies who had known only peace their entire lives would have woken up to find blood in the streets and corpses walking. They were terrified, neighbors were turning on neighbors, friends on friends… "

"You said that the Guard hunted down the ones that escaped, but are you sure… " her voice wavers, "are you sure they were hunting the undead vamponies? Or did they just look for them in the shadows, and start attacking the first thing they found?"

Luna jerks back as if struck by an electric shock, "No! No we would have known! There may be some similarities between them, but we… but… "

"But after what happened, did anypony bother to look?" Twilight asks gently. "Did you?"

Luna raises her head and stares at the ceiling, her eyes distant, "I… No. We didn't. As we said before, the Guard was doing the hunting and standard procedure was to destroy the bodies of both Guards and vamponies alike with magical fire. Not even bones remained to examine afterwards."

The two alicorns face the injured vampony, pained expressions on their faces. Midnight stares back at them blankly, "So… wait. What you're saying is… you… you killed us all off… you… "

Her eyes widen as the statement sinks in, her breathing rapidly degenerating into ragged pants, And I just told them about our home, our feeding, our magic… I told them everything. Oh shit. Oooh shit shit shit.

Luna starts to take a step forward, then halts, her eyes shifting back and forth as if having an internal debate. Coming to a decision, she walks over to the vampony's bedside and stops, looking down at her stoically. Midnight looks back up, doing her best to suppress the shivers running through her body.

Luna extends a leg, "You trusted us, now I am going to trust you. Here."

Midnight glances at the offered leg, then back at Luna, "I don't… what?"

Despite the situation, Luna manages a small smile, "You said you drink blood, correct?"

A bolt of lightning couldn't have caused a more dramatic response, Twilight's jaw dropping along with her papers and quill as her mind locks up, unable to maintain the necessary processing power even for a basic levitation spell. Midnight's eyes become as large as saucers, her gaze drifting down until it settles on Luna's leg. Luna simply smiles, waiting.

Midnight licks her lips and, following a moment's hesitation, leans forward, ignoring the pain in her abdomen as her eyes glow a faint crimson. After a brief examination she opens her mouth – and bites.

She grunts in surprise as Luna's blood enters her mouth, her taste buds registering twin flavors – the first a soft spiciness which calls forth images of the full moon nestled between the winking stars; the second a calming sweetness dimming the moon and blotting out the stars to bring near total darkness. The two currents dance across her tongue, their strength waxing and waning with the other in perfect harmony.

After half a minute of eternity, Midnight withdraws her fangs, lapping up a rivulet of blood that had escaped, then healing the wound.

She licks her lips and swallows one last time, "You taste delicious."

Luna blushes, pulling her limp leg off the bed to hang below her.

Twilight eyes Luna's leg nervously, "Are you alright Luna?"

Luna's horn glows, moonlight encasing her leg and part of her torso for a moment. After it fades, she lifts her leg and flexes it experimentally, "It was just a little venom Twilight Sparkle, we are fine."

"V-Venom?!"

Midnight shifts uncomfortably, "I feel odd… "

Suddenly she stiffens, slowly levitating as first her eyes, then the rest of her body are consumed by an expanding sphere of darkness that seems to drain the light from the room. Dawn wakes and jumps out of bed with a yelp, scrambling away from her sister with a mixture of fear and awe on her face. Luna also steps back, watching the sphere tensely while staying just outside its surface.

Within the total blackness a dim light flashes, then grows, consuming the darkness entirely and shining like a miniature moon for a split second before vanishing, leaving only a fading translucent haze behind.

Midnight falls to the bed and lands on her hooves, casts and bandages gone, eyes wide as she glances around the room then back at herself. She bounces experimentally, stretches, then vanishes – reappearing on the ceiling moments later. Releasing her hold on the ceiling, she twists like a cat, landing on her hooves, "I feel awesome!"

She fully spreads her wings and flaps experimentally a few times, sending a weak breeze across the room.

Twilight merely stares, speechless once again.

Dawn's eyes latch onto her big sister's flank, "Your cutie mark… "

Midnight twists her head around and blinks in surprise at the new addition – a full moon now illuminating the blue mist of her original cutie mark.

Luna raises her hoof to feel Midnight's forehead. Finding nothing, she sighs with relief, "For a moment w-I thought I'd created another alicorn."

Chapter 19 Meeting the Neighbors, Meeting a Queen

"Hmm… " Lunar Trail murmurs, his eyes moving from point to point as he stares intently at the top of a heavily water-damaged table, the ancient chess board engraved into the now rotting wood illuminated only by the faint glow of Luna's horn and the fading light of the setting moon shining through the library's fractured roof. Luna meanwhile sits opposite him, her pieces a light blue and constructed of her magic while Lunar considers his mix of white and black marble units. Carefully picking up a white knight in his mouth, Lunar hesitantly moves it two spaces forward and one to the left.

Luna smiles broadly and moves her queen forward four spaces diagonally to the right, "Checkmate."

Lunar blinks, "Huh? But my king can… or… uhm… "

"We know it may seem disheartening, but you have markedly improved since our first match," Luna says eventually, her pieces flickering out of existence to reappear in their starting positions. "Would you like to try for best out of 23?"

Lunar stares at the table for another moment, then lets out a frustrated groan and allows gravity to take over, his helmeted forehead impacting the table with a soft thump to knock a few of his pieces over the edge and onto the floor. After several seconds he senses the presence of something else on the table in front of him, the tips of his ears feeling the heat of its closeness rather than the sound of its approach.

Raising his head, he finds himself staring into Midnight's crimson eyes, her nose millimeters away from his own, "Gah!"

Midnight snickers victoriously as he flinches backwards, his heart racing and lungs heaving from a sudden rush of adrenaline.

"Everypony we could find is here," Midnight says, hopping off the table and looking at Luna. "So, follow me."

Luna nods and stands, her carefree mood quickly replaced by determination and purpose as she levitates Lunar's pieces into a drawer beneath the board and follows Midnight out of the room. Lunar Trail walks alertly beside his princess, scanning the hallway as they move and looking into each abandoned room they pass.

Less than a minute later, Midnight stops at a T intersection, glancing around the floor for a moment before taking two steps to the right and pushing down on a particularly worn piece of stone. With a speed belying its mass, the seemingly solid wall in front of them rapidly rises to reveal another passageway wide enough for two ponies to walk into side by side. Midnight steps through, waiting for Luna and Lunar then flapping her wings and punching one of the stones making up the ceiling to once more close off the corridor. The tip of Luna's horn glows to life as soon as the heavy slab of rock drops back into place, the weak light it provides more than enough for the nocturnal ponies to see by as they continue onward.

Lunar Trail sighs as Midnight grasps a silver candle holder in her mouth, the wall and section of floor they are standing on spinning 180 degrees when she pulls the disguised lever, "So are you leading us through every single trapdoor and secret passageway in the entire castle, or… ?"

Luna laughs, "Believe us, this is merely the 'tip of the iceberg', as they say. My sister and I used to have great fun watching and listening to new servants and visitors attempting to find their way around as well as hiding from particularly irritating nobles. 'Tis one of the few things we find our new castle in Canterlot to be lacking, though Discord and I have been attempting to convince my sister to allow us to rectify the situation."

Lunar Trail nervously glances up at Luna, "As… fun… as that sounds, I think I would prefer it if Discord did not have his paw in those plans."

Without warning the tilted candle holder stretches to bop Lunar on his helmet, morphing into the arm of a lion as Discord phases through the wall bringing with him an intense smell of orange juice, "Well, don't you worry your delightfully fuzzy ears about it my little thestral, I'll be sure to pay extra special attention to the batpony barracks."

Lunar takes a couple fearful steps away from the chaotic god, Midnight crouching and growling at him while Luna facehoofs, "Discord, what are you doing here?"

"Stalking you," Discord replies matter-of-factly.

Luna rolls her eyes, "And why are you stalking us?"

Discord shrugs, "No idea."

"In that case, please go back to wherever it is you were before," Luna says, annoyance creeping into her voice, "else you can continue attempting to convince Celestia to remodel the castle on your own."

"Fine, fine, if that's really what you-" Discord freezes mid-sentence, his head twisting unnaturally to stare straight into the impassive stone wall. Suddenly a wide smile spreads across his face and he claps his mismatched claws gleefully, "It looks like we have a winner!"

With a snap of his eagle claw he vanishes in a flash of white light, returning the candle holder to its unwarped state and leaving Midnight to suspiciously examine the wall he had appeared out of.

"Uhh… what did he mean by 'winner'?" Lunar asks.

"That," Luna replies indifferently, "is Celestia's problem. Now, Midnight, if you could continue showing us the way?"

Midnight stares at the wall for a moment more before turning around, pointing to the opposite end of the short hallway at a small, roughly carved granite archway not much taller than the length of Luna's flowing mane, "We're just about here, actually."

Lunar Trail stops as soon as he steps past the archway, Princess Luna and Midnight continuing onward while the sudden change in atmosphere gives him pause. Cracks spiderweb across the entirety of the formerly smooth black granite making up the oblately spherical room, from the path they are walking on cut into the room's side and leading to its center all the way up to its shattered dome ceiling through which several enormous weeping willows hang, the leaves of their tendril branches rustling and swaying in a wind unfelt by those below as they block out even the slightest sliver of the night sky. What light there is instead comes from a number of flowering plants scattered across the floor, dimly glowing moonbloom growing out from the room's larger cracks. As Luna walks further into the room, the moonbloom petals glow brighter, motion near the closest of the plants drawing Lunar Trail's attention to a couple of greyish-green forelegs.

He blinks, for a split-second staring dumbly at the two hooves before following the pair of appendages upwards, finding them connected to an identically colored barrel. Traveling still further up, he finds a neck, a face, and two piercing, red, slitted eyes looking back at him.

He blinks again, his ears standing straight up as he suddenly becomes very aware of the many quiet, familiar sounds being made by leathery wings shifting and hooves lightly tapping on stone emanating from all around him. Scanning the room more slowly this time, he only now sees the vamponies scattered across it, their universally dark-tinted coats helping to camouflage them within the room's many shadows. A few more fade into visibility as he watches, each of them joining one of several small groups and taking a seat on ripples pushing up from the curve of the stone floor, the ripples large enough to form rolling ledges ringing the lower half of the room. A tingle of fear travels up his spine as one of the vamponies to the right eyes him hungrily, licking his lips.

"Lunar Trail."

Lunar's body twitches at the sharpness of Luna's words, his cheeks flushing darker as he canters forward to retake his position at his princess' side, the two of them together walking the last few steps needed to bring them to the center of the room. Midnight meanwhile spreads her wings and flies up to join her family in sitting directly in front of the princess and her guard, the five of them the only ones occupying the topmost ledge-ring.

Dawn waves down to Luna, the action drawing a brief smile to the Princess of the Night's lips before she sits, closes her eyes, and centers herself with a deep breath, eyes reopening to survey the gathered vamponies, "Thank you all for coming here on such short notice. I am Princess Luna of Equestria, and this beside me is my guard, Lunar Trail. The reason I asked to meet with all of you tonight is-"

"You're here because Midnight got discovered," a vampony mare with a greyish-brown coat and a light grey mane and tail to Luna's left interrupts, her nose wrinkling distastefully, "and to tell us that now we're going to need to ask permission from our prey before we feed on them."

"Prey?" Lunar Trail blurts out, regretting his word immediately as everypony in the room focuses on him.

Midnight shrugs, "Well, yeah, technically other ponies are our prey. Changelings are predators of other ponies too – just because we don't kill you and eat you doesn't make you not prey."

"Regardless of what you wish to call us," Luna interjects smoothly, her eyes moving over the assembled vamponies, "that is not why I am here tonight, though you will eventually need to honor a pony's choice to forbid vamponies from feeding on them. Right now we are simply here to learn about your needs, so that a way can be found to meet your dietary requirements while also allowing ponies that choice. To that end, I have some questions I hope you will all be willing to answer."

Her attention returns to the vampony who had spoken, "Also, may we have your name?"

The vampony mare smiles widely, showing off her fangs, "My name is Mothchaser."

Luna bobs her head, "Thank you, Mothchaser."

Silence falls as Luna again scans the crowd, waiting for any others to speak, however the only thing she receives from the vamponies surrounding her is a multitude of expectant stares.

"My first question then," Luna says, shifting her forehooves and sitting a bit straighter, "if nopony has anything they'd like to say first, is, how much blood does a vampony generally need in order to remain healthy? I have heard from Midnight that how frequently you need to feed depends on your apparent age, and the amount needed also depends on the particular pony whose blood you are drinking, but we would be grateful for more specific information, such as the number of days between feeding as well as a unit of measurement more standardized than a mouthful."

The assembled vamponies glance at each other, for nearly a minute the only sound to be heard the rustling of the willow leaves above them in a persistent breeze.

"The frequency we need to head into town starts at a few days for foals," Eclipse answers eventually, "decreasing as they mature, usually to less than three weeks, then increasing by a day every several decades. Dawn, Wisp, and myself go into Ponyville about every nine days for example, while Midnight and my son Dusk go every 17 days."

Luna nods, "I see. And if, for the sake of simplicity, we assume you fed on the same pony every time, does the amount needed change, or stay constant?"

"It increases until they are mature, then stays constant," Wisp replies.

"I don't suppose anypony has ever measured how much?" Luna queries.

Wisp shrugs, "I haven't."

Luna looks around the room, the other vamponies either shaking their head or averting their eyes, "Very well then, perhaps a more indirect measurement will work. Generally speaking, how many ponies does it take to support a vampony? I am assuming you need enough blood that you can't actually survive on a single pony."

"Three?" An emerald mare with a mane and tail composed of an indistinct mix of greens, blues, purples, and whites pipes up uncertainly, glancing at a cobalt stallion with a greyish-blue mane and tail to her right, "ish? Oh, and I'm Aurora Moon, and this is Blue Moon."

Blue Moon considers the question, "Mmm… I'd say four."

"10," a vampony mare sitting next to two stallions and another mare on the ledge below them answers decisively, this one with a much darker green coat and a coal grey mane and tail streaked with silver.

Blue Moon rolls his eyes, "There is no way you actually need 10, Moon Shadow."

"Hey, variety is important," Moon Shadow replies defensively, looking up at the pair.

"Important doesn't mean necessary though," Dusk states.

Moon Shadow gives Dusk a flat look, "Well of course you'd say that. Do you even go into town anymore? Or do you just drink the zebra?"

A few chuckles follow her words, Dusk's already dark red face turning a deeper shade of crimson, "Just because you don't want to trade with her-"

"Let's just say five to six for now," Eclipse cuts in.

"Thank you," Luna replies. "Also, are there any types or tribes of ponies that you won't or prefer not to feed from?"

"Kids," Midnight says. "Too small."

Moon Shadow makes a face, "And old ponies."

"And changelings and sick ponies," adds a vampony stallion with a dull white coat and slightly darker grey mane and tail, all of which are sprinkled with specks of brown, sitting almost directly behind Luna among a group of five other vamponies. He gulps as the room turns to face him, continuing after a split-second hesitation, "A-And my name's, uh, Dust Storm, by the way."

"And if somepony else drank from them recently," Moon Shadow contributes.

Luna tilts her head curiously, "How can you tell?"

Moon Shadow shrugs, "Just a feeling."

"We can't tell who or when," Midnight clarifies, "just somepony recently."

"Interesting," Luna says, shifting her gaze back to Midnight's brother. "Returning to trading though, I am glad you mentioned the topic, as I was planning to bring it up next."

"We are not implying that trading will be the only way to obtain blood," Luna states forcefully amid assorted groans. "I am simply saying that it will be an option. You can also trade for a multitude of other items and services, should you choose to. There are quite a few highly sought after plants which are only found within the Everfree and have never been successfully grown anywhere else – the flowers in this room, for example, are known as moonbloom and are used in several potions. Another possibility is your venom, as its sedative and anesthetic effects would almost certainly be useful for medical as well as other research purposes."

"Again, these are merely options for your consideration," Luna backtracks, many of the vamponies glancing at each other uncomfortably and a few baring their fangs.

"What kind of things can we trade for?" asks a ruby stallion to Moon Shadow's left, his mane and tail pitch black.

"You can trade for anything you want, as long as both you and the pony you're trading with have something the other wants," Luna replies. "However, the best option is to trade for bits, which can then be traded much more easily for other items and are accepted no matter where in Equestria you are."

"And what if it's not enough?" queries a mare to the stallion's left, the colors of their mane, coat, and tail matching perfectly, "What if after all this talking and trading and negotiating, the ponies still don't want to give us enough blood to survive?"

"I have a very hard time imagining this would be the case," Luna replies. "There are only 25 of you here now, and since, as far as I am aware, there are not many more vamponies living near Ponyville, you should be able to survive on less than one-fifth of the town's population."

"And that's great, really," the mare says, her eyes narrowing slightly, "but that doesn't answer my question."

Luna hesitates, the rest of the vamponies watching her intently, "Well… I would… hope you would exhaust all available alternatives first, but if the only options are either feeding on somepony who does not wish to be fed upon or starving, I would not expect you to starve yourselves."

The mare smiles.

"I do, however, truly mean for that course of action to be one of last resort," Luna states sharply. "Not as something to be done for simple convenience or preference. I would also expect that if this does become a problem, for it to be brought to my attention so the situation can be remedied."

The mare shrugs, still smiling, "Fine, fine."

"Also," Luna says, her gaze lingering on the mare for a moment longer, "since ponies now know about vamponies, I would ask that if you come across a pony in the Everfree who is lost or in danger, that you aid them in leaving the forest safely."

"Even if they're one of the ones who won't let us feed on them?" the ruby stallion asks.

"Yes," Luna states unequivocally.

The mare frowns, "Why?"

"Because those you help will then be more willing to help you in return," Luna replies, the slightest edge of irritation slipping into her tone.

"Plus if we let them die, then they'll definitely never let us drink them," Moon Shadow adds.

"That is… another way of looking at it, certainly," Luna says. "In any case, that brings me to my last question. Even if it is not quite as true here as it is in most other places, the Everfree Forest has a very well earned reputation for being a dangerous place filled with all kinds of monstrosities, and as you live in the Everfree that reputation is all most ponies currently have to judge you by. However, if vamponies and non-vamponies are to live peacefully with each other, and if the blood you need is to remain available, this perception needs to begin changing as quickly as possible. Therefore, would any of you be willing to return to Ponyville with Lunar Trail and I? It would simply be to introduce yourselves, say hello, perhaps talk a little, that sort of thing; so the townsponies can see that you're not just another creature of the Everfree out to get them."

Midnight raises a hoof, "I'll go."

"I want to go too!" Dawn volunteers, raising her hoof as well.

"No," Wisp says.

"But Da~ad," Dawn pleads, "the Crusaders are in town, and they're going to help me get my cutie mark!"

"I can watch her to make sure nothing happens," Midnight offers.

"No," Wisp repeats, giving Midnight an unamused look.

"Mom?" Dawn asks hopefully.

Eclipse shakes her head, "Nope."

Dawn's ears droop, "Aww… "

Moon Shadow raises her hoof, "I'll go too."

The pair of ruby vamponies sitting next to her turn to look at her incredulously, the stallion speaking after a pregnant pause, "Why?"

Moon Shadow shrugs, grinning, "I've never been able to talk to something I drink before; it's not like I can talk to a spring or a river, right? I'm kinda curious what they have to say."

"We'll come as well," Aurora Moon says, gesturing at Blue Moon with a quick tilt of her head.

Luna gives them a single nod before scanning the rest of the room, standing after nopony else speaks for several seconds, "Very well. Thank you all for coming here, and for hearing me out. However, unless there are any other questions, it will soon be time for me to lower the moon, so we must take our leave for now."

Moon Shadow's cheerful smile shrinks, "We're… not going to be flying during the day, right?"

Luna shakes her head, "No. Originally we had planned to both speak with you and return to Ponyville tonight, however there is no longer enough time left before dawn to make that journey. Therefore, Lunar Trail and I will be staying the day here, and then we can all leave at dusk."

Dawn raises her hoof again, "Can I watch you lower the moon?"

Luna smiles warmly, "Of course."

At her words, Dawn eagerly hops from ledge to ledge to join her at the center of the room only for Luna and Lunar Trail to take flight as soon as she reaches the bottom, Luna's horn glowing as she forces an opening in the dense covering of branches obstructing her path.

Luna looks down at the confused filly, raising an eyebrow, "Are you coming?"

Confusion transforms into determination as Dawn stares up at Luna and she jumps into the air, quickly ascending past the hovering princess to disappear into the leafy tunnel. The rest of her family soon follows, a few other curious vamponies taking the opportunity to join as well. Lunar Trail enters the passage behind them with Luna bringing up the rear once the room below is empty, the magic holding the branches apart fading as she flies between them towards the brightening night sky.

Princess Celestia walks slowly through one of Canterlot Castle's many hallways, the light of the early morning sun pouring through each of the windows she passes. A door looms large in front of her as she approaches her destination and she stops for a moment, her aura engulfing the handle, though rather than turning it she closes her eyes and takes a deep, calming breath, letting all emotions drift from her mind. Opening her eyes again, she twists the doorknob and pushes, the door swinging open to reveal Photo Finish along with a posse of five assistants sitting less than patiently within, Photo Finish stiffly sitting alone on a couch against the wall to Celestia's right while three unicorns, a pegasus, and an earth pony are gathered around two tables separated from the white marble floor by a pitch black rug in the room's center.

Photo Finish stands, turns to Celestia, and gives a small, deferential bow, the light of the recently risen sun filling the room giving her a long shadow, "Good morning, Princess Celestia."

Celestia forces a smile onto her face, bobbing her head in return, "Good morning to you as well Photo Finish; I am glad you were able to make it."

"Yes, well, one can hardly refuse a meeting demanded by royalty, regardless of any previously and extensively planned obligations," Photo Finish replies tartly.

"And I do apologize for the short notice, however the reason I requested this meeting is far too important to delay," Celestia says, glancing at Photo Finish's assistants. "I would also prefer to speak with you alone."

Photo Finish walks a few steps over to the tables, shooing away her assistants impatiently, "Out, out!"

Celestia pushes the door shut with her magic once the final assistant is in the hallway, "My thanks."

"Yes yes, you are welcome," Photo Finish replies irritably, placing her signature purple-tinted sunglasses on the nearest table. "Now, what is so important that I must cancel on the Wonderbolts less than half an hour before the shoot was supposed to begin?"

"Well… " Celestia shifts her eyes to the couch for a few seconds, considering her next words carefully, "I returned from Ponyville just this morning after a… series of unexpected events occurred there. Again. However, one of these events led to the discovery of three changelings living as residents of the town."

"Congratulations, you finally managed to capture a few changelings. I do not see how this is any concern of mine, unless you are suggesting I should take their mugshots instead of your guards-" Photo Finish pauses, for an instant her eyes going distant as her brain returns with related information. "You said three changelings, in Ponyville?"

Celestia nods once, "Yes, specifically I am here because one of them, Fluttershy, claims-"

Without warning a ball of green fire engulfs Photo Finish, an acidic aura lifting Celestia into the air and constricting her as the flames fade to reveal a changeling queen, her resonant voice reminiscent of Chrysalis' while the golden color of her mane, tail, and shell match Fluttershy's exactly, "What did you do to my daughter?!"

"The only reason – I 'lost' to Chrysalis – was because she had drained both Cadence – and Shining Armor nearly dry," Celestia replies, taking short, quick breaths as she looks back at the changeling queen in annoyance, "and a fight between us – would have leveled most of Canterlot – first. So unless you gorged – yourself on the Crystal Heart – before coming here, you will – Put. Me. Down."

Amaranth's eyes narrow, her magic's hold on Celestia tightening, "Where. Is. Fluttershy?"

Celestia sighs with what air is left in her lungs, a pinprick of white magic appearing at the tip of her horn to eat through the green aura surrounding her almost instantly, her knees bending slightly as she lands on her hooves. Amaranth hisses in response, a bolt of magic shooting from her gnarled horn towards Celestia's head. Celestia deftly deflects the attack with a partial shield, the shot ricocheting harmlessly into the ceiling while her horn glows brighter, a beam of solar magic lancing from her horn to hit Amaranth in her chest and throw her backwards into the wall behind her.

Amaranth blinks, dazed, as Celestia closes the distance between them, "I have done nothing to Fluttershy, other than-"

The door to the room slams open before she can finish her sentence, Photo Finish's helpers standing stock still as they see Celestia standing over their queen. Their hesitation lasts for only a split second however, the unicorn and three earth ponies shifting back to their changeling forms as all five rush into the room. Two of the changelings hang back once inside, firing identical bolts of green magic at Celestia while the pegasus and remaining two changelings continue their charge.

Princess Celestia rolls her eyes, summoning a rectangular shield to deflect their attacks, once more closing the door to the room, then pushes the shield at them, widening it as it moves. Her barrier catches the four changelings, their wings unable to move them out of the way in time, pinning them to the wall along with the couch and two tables. The pegasus rises much more quickly however, executing an aileron roll to just barely avoid the barrier though it still grazes her shoulders, pushing her mane and tail out of the way as it passes.

Surprise slows Celestia's reaction as the pegasus lets out a war cry and dives at her, a detached part of her mind noting the pegasus as a mare just before she slams into her. The blow knocks Celestia off her hooves and she slides on her back several feet away from Amaranth, the pegasus mare landing a couple punches on Celestia's face while the shield pinning the four changelings to the wall vanishes along with Celestia's concentration. The changelings land on their hooves and immediately charge at Celestia again, Amaranth likewise getting to her hooves with a snarl.

However, as the pegasus mare throws her third punch, a yellow aura stops her hoof less than an inch from Celestia's jaw, the aura quickly expanding to cover the entire pegasus and hold her in the air a few inches from the ground.

"ENOUGH!"

A massive wave of energy emanates from Celestia, throwing the changelings, pegasus, and rug into the walls as well as shattering the windows on the far side of the room. Muted shouting penetrates the door as Celestia stands, two guards shoving the door open and charging in.

Their eyes go wide as they take in the scene in front of them, the one on Celestia's left recovering first, "Change-!"

A bolt of yellow energy hits him before he can finish the word, throwing him into the wall next to the door where he slumps to the ground, unconscious. The second guard looks at the spot his comrade had been just a moment ago, the click of the door he had run through closing the last thing his mind registers before a second bolt slams him into the wall as well.

Panting and rolling her jaw, Celestia again walks over to stand above Amaranth, "Hello, I am Princess Celestia. I spoke with your daughter, who is completely unharmed, after Ponyville things happened in Ponyville. So, if you and your changelings are quite finished assaulting me, there are some things we need to discuss."

Celestia raises a cup of tea to her lips, inhaling deeply to allow its sweet fragrance to saturate her nostrils and relax her body, the leftover discomfort from the pair of forming bruises on her face fading to an afterthought as she takes a single long, slow sip – continuing until the cup floats empty in front of her. The pair of guards, now awake, flank Celestia, watching those opposite them keenly and tracking every movement they make no matter how small, though taking care to avoid meeting their eyes. The four smaller changelings likewise observe Celestia and her guards, one standing on their queen's right and another standing behind her and just far enough to her left to be able to see Princess Celestia. The remaining two take a similar position around the pegasus mare, one to her left and another behind her and slightly to her right, the four combined forming an isosceles trapezoid around their queen and the pegasus.

"The tea is really good," the pegasus mare comments after a few quiet minutes, taking another sip as she carefully balances the cup in her hooves. "Where did you get it from? We don't have anything like it in the hive."

"It contains both Zebrican and Equestrian leaves, the combination of which I came up with myself and have been refining for the last three centuries… err… " A look of puzzlement crosses Celestia's muzzle, "My apologies, but I just realized I don't know your name."

The pegasus smiles, "My name is Rolling Fog, your highness."

Celestia runs her eyes over Rolling's body, the mare's hazy grey cutie mark almost invisible against her slightly darker grey coat and wavy, lighter grey mane and tail.

How fitting.

The guard to Celestia's right shuffles his hooves, the action bringing him a fraction of an inch closer to the changeling side. The changeling to Rolling's left matches the movement, shifting an equal distance forward and to the right.

Celestia glances from the recently moved changeling to Rolling Fog, over the Amaranth, then back to Rolling, "If you don't mind me asking, Rolling Fog, why are you still disguised?"

Rolling shrugs, "I'm not."

Celestia blinks in surprise, "So… you are actually a pegasus?"

Rolling tilts her cup back to drain the last of her tea and nods cheerfully, "Yup."

"And she is not being mind controlled," Queen Amaranth adds forcefully.

"Well, not right now~" Rolling says, grinning mischievously.

Celestia glances between the pegasus and the queen warily, "What?"

"Nothing!" Amaranth replies hastily, the faintest hint of green tinting her face. "She just means-"

"We use it during role play sometimes," Rolling Fog interjects cleanly.

"I see," Celestia states, doing her best to hide her discomfort at the idea. "So during Oubliettes and Ogres, or something like that?"

"Yes! Exactly like that!" Amaranth says quickly, "And only once in a while, and it's completely consensual-"

"I mean during sex," Rolling Fog clarifies.

Celestia's teacup shatters, her eyes vacant as a multitude of unwanted images parade through her mind.

Queen Amaranth says nothing, her entire face a bright green.

Rolling Fog giggles, the changeling on her left not quite succeeding in stifling a chuckle of their own. Amaranth's head whips around to glare at both of them, the offending changeling sinking to the floor under the weight of their queen's gaze while Rolling Fog gently places her cup on the floor and continues smiling as though she were not being stared down by a changeling queen.

"S-So, you are, uhm, Fluttershy's other parent, I take it?" Celestia asks, taking a deep breath and lowering the remains of her cup to the floor.

Rolling Fog nods, "Yup! I carried her egg for 10 months."

"Carried her egg?" Celestia repeats, her mind failing to process the statement.

"Yeah," Rolling Fog grumbles, "though it sat there not doing anything for almost three whole months before it got fertilized, which was kinda-"

Amaranth's horn glows to life, a green aura momentarily surrounding Rolling Fog's mouth to leave behind a gooey binding, "Enough. I am sure Princess Celestia did not come here with the intention of learning about the life cycle of changeling queens."

Rolling Fog shrugs, "Mm mm-mm mmm."

"I did not, no," Celestia replies, clearing her head with a small shake. "What I came here to speak with you about was the current relationship between Equestria and the hives it hosts, or perhaps more accurately, the lack of any such relationship."

Amaranth pauses and examines Celestia, noting her tenser posture as well as a faint hint of caution and distaste leaking from behind her otherwise calm veneer, "You are displeased by our presence within your nation."

"I am… amenable to your presence here," Celestia says, choosing her words carefully, "especially considering the alternative. I am just having some difficulty reconciling the fact that I have been entirely unaware of your existence given how many changelings there would seem to be, and for how long that likely means your tribe has been living among us."

"We have been living alongside the rest of the pony tribes for millenia," Amaranth supplies. "Since before the windigos, at least. Many of our hives were lost during that period, as was most of our history from before the time your tribes moved here and united to form Equestria, so I cannot say much about the time before that with any certainty. I am glad to hear that you are willing to allow us to remain here though – ponies are much more emotional, and innately magical, than most other creatures. It is, as I'm sure you're aware, why other species have mere relics and locations of power, while ponies have you alicorns as living embodiments of that strength. As such, leaving to find another species to feed off of is not a path any hive would be willing or able to take."

Celestia gives a slow nod, "I am relieved to know we have that much common ground at least, but regardless of how I may feel about the situation and of any history we have unknowingly shared with you, the fact of the matter is that having what amounts to several city-states operating entirely independently within Equestrian territory is not an acceptable state of affairs, even before considering Chrysalis' failed invasion."

"And that is the true reason you arranged this meeting," Amaranth states flatly.

"No, actually," Celestia says. "When I spoke with your daughter and the two other changelings in Ponyville, they said they were each from a different hive, and that beyond their hives there were also another five or six hives within Equestria, depending on Chrysalis' fate. They each also agreed to send a letter back to their queen, or in Fluttershy's case told us about you, however their only suggestion for contacting the other hives was to have a queen essentially forward the letter to the other queens since the location of one's hive is kept secret from all other hives. The reason I arranged this meeting, then, is to request your assistance in contacting these other queens."

"While the locations of our hives are kept secret from one another, there are prearranged areas where messages can be left," Amaranth replies. "Though how frequently they are checked is another matter entirely; so while I can pass your letter along, I cannot guarantee when it will actually be picked up."

"And are there five or six additional queens?" Celestia queries.

"There are… six, technically," Amaranth answers hesitantly.

"So Chrysalis is still alive?" Celestia asks, her gaze intensifying.

Amaranth sighs, "Yes. Though a queen in name and biology only now. There is also another queen who lives on the border of the Badlands, though her hive is so small as to be irrelevant and she very much prefers to be left alone – I can't speak for the other queens, but I haven't communicated with her in nearly 600 years, since… well, since she moved there. Which I suppose is a little bit ironic, seeing as she is the only one I know of who can be contacted directly."

"Regardless, I would like the letter to reach all queens within Equestria," Celestia states.

"As you wish," Amaranth replies. "Though as I said, it may take some time for them to find it."

A small, and this time genuine, smile curves Celestia's lips, "Thank you. I am not particularly worried about when they receive the letter, just that they do receive it. Of course, all that said, the letter has not been written yet, though I do plan to draft it with the other Princesses and have it ready within a week."

"I see," Amaranth says cautiously, gesturing at herself and her changelings. "And, do you intend to reveal us?"

Celestia closes her eyes for a moment, giving a tired sigh, "You have been in Canterlot for quite some time, and in that time the only thing I am aware of you doing is providing an excellent photography service. As such, there does not seem to be any pressing need to do so."

Silence falls between the two monarchs, Amaranth tilting her head in confusion after a minute passes, "Was there anything else you wished to speak to me about?"

Princess Celestia shakes her head, "I would prefer to discuss anything else regarding the changeling presence in Equestria once all changeling queens are present."

"Very well. In that case," Queen Amaranth stands with a flourish, green fire consuming her as she changes back to the more familiar form of Photo Finish, "I go!"

The four changelings shift back into their pony forms as well, one taking a moment to dissolve the goo binding Rolling Fog's mouth before all five follow Photo Finish out of the room.

Princess Celestia waits until she can no longer hear the sound of their hoofsteps, then leans back and sighs again, looking down at the guard to her left, "Please inform the court that I will be delayed for a while."

Her gaze shifts to the orange guard on her right, "Bring me a cake. Something really chocolaty."

The guards salute, pausing near the door as Celestia calls out, "And not a word of what was spoken in this room to anyone, or I'll have both of you sent off to a changeling hive to clean whatever their equivalent of a latrine is. Am I clear?"

"Yes, your highness!" Both of the guards replies in unison, saluting again.

Celestia's eyes shift to the cake-fetching guard, "Also, Flash Sentry, I fear I may not have been entirely clear earlier. When I said to bring me a cake, I did not mean for you to bring me a slice of cake, I meant for you to bring the whole cake."

"Of course, your highness," Flash Sentry says, giving a quick bow before following his fellow guard into the hallway.

Author's Note

Aileron Roll