The feelings of anger and fury began to raise in the room again, every changeling within a mile of the castle would have felt it, such was the intensity.

Hope moved fast, she got between the two queen changelings. "Stop, I know those feelings, you have to look past them!" It wasn't working, she wasn't a changeling right now, but she didn't need to be to see when two ponies were about to attack each other. Looking around, she spotted Gel.

Gel was sitting a little stunned as her wife and her sister seemed ready to do battle. Then the pink alicorn between them looked her and beckoned. She had no idea what it was about, but that her mother needed her help.

Beaming in delight, Hope reached out a hoof and both wings to Gel as she got close, pulling her into a tight hug. "I hope this works." She kissed her filly on the top of her head and focused tightly on her love for her foals.

Used to dealing with large outpourings of love, Twisty stood against the wave that hit her well, but her opponent didn't. Eyes wide suddenly, Twilight blinked once, then twice, then giggled. The break in their cross-fueled aggression broken, Twisty could see the horrible thing she had been about to do and looked to the pink alicorn. "Mom?" She rushed forward, her size comparable to the alicorn so that when she met, it jostled Gel as well. "What is wrong with me?"

"You have met another queen before, right?" Hope nuzzled her—admittedly, big—filly on the cheek. "When I came from the pod, you didn't try to taste me?"

"You're my mom, of course I wouldn't!" Twisty froze as a kiss landed on her snout, the wave of love hitting her at the same time realization about the problem did. "You felt that with me?"

"You took my hive, that sort of thinking isn't in memories, it is deeper." Hope kissed Twisty again and saw the queen go cross eyed at the love she was giving off. "I thought it would be fun to dress up as the mare who defeated me, seems it was more helpful than even I thought."

Twilight had to fight the feeling overwhelming her—still unused to changeling emotion-feeding—she had no defense against such an attack of love. Gel saw her wife needed her more than her mother and trotted over to the downed queen. "Twilight?"

"Gel? What was that?" Twilight struggled to get her hooves under herself, without success. "What is going on? I feel so strange." She was caught up by the smaller form of Gel, wrapped in a tight hug. It was more of the sensation that was bothering her, and it let her make the connection. "Love?"

"She overloaded you. Better a drunk-happy changeling queen than a murderous one." Gel kissed Twilight, the touch of affection giving her the spark she needed to try to ignore that torrent of love coming from Hope. "You will feel normal again once your body burns off the excess… and you get away from the source."

Celestia cleared her throat, having observed the resolution of the two queens with interest. "I am glad to see my fellow Princess and my mate are no longer trying to kill each other. Maybe, Twisty-dear, you could… uh…"

Twisty lowered her head. "I didn't mean to-"

"You didn't know." Luna trotted forward, her huge black wings extending to hug the distraught queen. "We are all thankful Hope was here and thinking more clearly than anypony." Luna nuzzled Twisty was trapped in the embrace of two alicorns, one brought the love of a filly for her dam, the other a whole different love. "I need to go, this is Twilight's hive." The moment she said it the queen blushed. "I mean castle!"

"No!" Twilight leaned on Gel, relying on the mare's earth pony strength as she got to shaking hooves. "Twisty…" Twilight focused on the other changeling, felt that anger rise once more and shoved, shoved hard. She pushed all the love she had gotten, all that was still radiating from the scene before her, even what Gel had just given her. She shoved it all down into that anger. Panting hard, she smiled. "Twisty, you are welcome in my castle, and my hive."

The change in Twilight astounded Twisty. She had to blink and try to refocus on the mare. With her own anger suppressed by the love from both her mother and her lover, she found the strength to match what Twilight had managed with raw willpower. "Your Highness." Twisty stepped forward and started to bow. The anger inside her threatened to come free but she snuffed it out with humility and love. Hope's bow halted by the hole-filled hoof of Queen Twilight Sparkle.

"No, no bowing. You are a queen, you stand proud in my castle." Twilight found the fighting easier with love in the air. Another sense of power seemed to infuse her, coming from the walls of the castle itself. "Friendship is worth fighting for."

"You surprise me, it seemed I still had a lot to learn about being a queen." Twisty stood a little back at first, but she saw the hug coming and had no clue how to stop it. Twilight's legs pulled around her, tugging her into a tight embrace. She tasted Twilight, and Twilight her.

Gel tilted her head as she watched the scene, smiling a little as her wife broke the tableau and tradition both. Warmth pressed in beside her, a wing draping over her back. She had to look, unable to rely on tasting emotions to confirm it was Applejack. "How are the girls and little ones doing?"

"Each's helpin' the other. Bloom an' her friends are takin' care of our foals. Their friendship and happiness keeps the little-uns fed." Applejack gave her wife a squeeze with that wing. "What about you, sugarcube?"

"I feel so small." Gel huddled under her wife's wing. "I can't feel anypony properly, I can't even look my wives in the eye." Then something hit Gel in the head, metaphorically. "And now I sound like a spoiled filly. I am sorry, Applejack."

"Glad ya saw that yerself." It was hard for AJ to hold anything against her wife, not when she was so adorable. "Ah got an idea for tonight, if'n you wanted to feel more like yer old self."

Gel perked up at the words. "Go on." She smiled, her emotions buoyed by Applejack's words. "I like where this is going."

"Well, first, let's get ya some proof that earth ponies are every bit the equal of a unicorn, pegasus, or changelin'."

Celestia looked at her former student with a little self-loathing. "I did this?" Sunset nodded, making Celestia's hoof waver on her jaw. "I am so sorry, I was about to jump in and stop something and…"

"It's okay, Your-" Sunset gulped, the look of worry on Celestia's face had turned quickly to a knowing squint, "Celestia." The look of worry returned to the white alicorn. "It was only a minor burn, and look, it is healing already." Sunset tried to feel cheerful about it all. "Besides, it gives me more reason to use my shadow magic."

"I got the first book." Celestia found the topic-shift much more enjoyable. "I really had no idea you could balance the two magics so completely. A copy of the book is in the hooves of my school, they are trying to work out how to put this into the curriculum."

Sunset's eyes widened hugely and she blinked. "But… it is shadow magic, I thought it was bad?" A tap on her flank from Maddie reminded her that she was still working. "Uh, I need to keep up with this, would you mind chatting while I work?" The moment she had asked, she realized to whom she was speaking and how it might sound.

"Not at all! I hired Mademoiselle many years ago now, for my own kitchen. She is the princess of this room." Celestia looked over and caught a wink from Maddie. "As for the magic, it would be better to teach those with an affinity for it, than to let them find it on their own and fall afoul of it."

"A foal should not have to make all their mistakes themselves. Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it." Mademoiselle found herself talking before she realized it and closed her mouth again with a bit of a snap. "Sorry."

"Don't be, wise advice is never tiring to hear." Celestia followed Sunset over to the bench she had been working on. She watched the mare start working a knife, cutting things up and then mixing them in various ways. "Even your normal gripping magic is colored with shadows."

Sunset blushed and nodded. "I do it so I am in the habit of drawing it together. I would rather not accidentally only draw one or the other when time is tense." She finished filling a pot with stock and floated it over to Maddie. Celestia noted that either they had been working very closely lately, or more than regular pony senses were involved.

"You are training her, but not just in cooking." Celestia fished for answers, betting on the latter. She saw the briefest of nods from Mademoiselle. "A good plan, and I think for the same reasons you gave me."

Now Maddie turned her head to the side, showing the smile she was wearing. "I am glad to have the chance to be allowed to teach, let alone work. This place…" Mademoiselle felt almost like a giddy filly again. "It is amazing. When we arrived, there were windows here, in the dining room too. I thought the Princess was doing it at first, but then I saw a wall move myself."

A pony—bright, happy, and wearing a maid outfit—pranced up the stairway from below. Sunny ignored the two alicorns in the room and moved in beside Maddie.

Sunset blushed and looked away from her mentor and her mentor's sweetheart, as they embraced and shared their love. "If I was a changeling I would be drunk." Sunset started work carefully separating eggs.

Celestia had nothing but happy feelings, that two of her ponies had found each other. "What are you making now?" She watched as Sunset cracked the eggs, dumping the yolks in one bowl and moving the whites to another.

"Somepony told me that a princess was coming who liked deserts. Maddie gave me a recipe for something called a pavlova…" The moment Sunset had mentioned the name of the desert, she could see Celestia's avarice grow.

"Tell me more…" Celestia had to suck and slurp a moment, her mouth suddenly watering.

Rarity padded from her room—primping twigs and branches had seemed impossible at first, but with effort it was possible. "Finally!" Sweetie Belle, looking every bit like Countess Coloratura, flashed a smile at her big sister. "Things got all sorts of crazy, there are alicorns everywhere!"

This gave Rarity pause, she blinked. "Just how many alicorns?" She started walking down the hall of the castle again, making her way slowly toward the dining room.

"Lots! There is two Princess Celestias, two Princess Cadances, Nightmare Moon, and Applejack is an alicorn too!" Sweetie took well to a prancing gait, keeping pace with the big timber wolf at her side.

"No." Rarity froze completely. "No, I simply can't go before so much royalty like this. I need a bath, and some trimming."

Sweetie stopped, turning to look at her sister. "Let's go to the spa, then. They have a tub big enough for you." She smiled at her sister, the two in unfamiliar bodies, but still bound together by blood.

"When did you get so clever?" Rarity giggled, the sound quite odd coming from a timber wolf. "Come on then, jump up." At her sister's wide eyed and confused look, Rarity barked another laugh and dove her head down, scooping Sweetie onto her back. Big paws and a loping gait made quick work of the castle hallways and dashing past the dining room and out the front door, the pair were in high spirits.

"Faster!" Sweetie Belle had lost her normal worry about speed—it helped that it wasn't Scootaloo "driving"—and egged her sister into a sprint that soon had them at the doors to the boutique. "I'll go see if Miss. Rarity is in." Sweetie hopped down, landing easily on her hooves and opening the door.

"I am sorry, we are closed today." Mirror Rarity looked on the odd pony, admiring the fashion choices but there really was nothing for it. "The owner will be back-"

"It's me, Miss. Rarity." Sweetie giggled and trotted in. "All sorts of craziness happened, you weren't dressed up last night?"

"I was working on something…" Mirror Rarity blushed. "Who, may I ask, is 'me'?"

"Sweetie Belle, and my sister is just outside. She got bigger, it all got crazy. We are going to the spa and were wondering if you would like to come?" Sweetie looked around for what she was after, and grinned grabbing up her sunglasses and slipping them on.

"The spa sounds lovely, actually." Mirror Rarity stretched, working a kink out of her neck, although not completely. "Indeed, come darling, let's go." With no further words she trotted out the door and froze at the sight of the big predator there.

"Please relax, it is me." Rarity looked down at the unicorn—she was suddenly glad she didn't go to breakfast in the castle, she would have to explain things over again anyway.

Author's Note

The dark and imposing shape of the only stallion to crown himself king, walked out onto the stage. Black shadow-magic started to swirl around his eyes; pulling an item out from under his cloak, the figure rams it down onto his impressive horn. "Of course it has the same colors, silly." Lyra swung her head around a little so the rubber phallus did circles. Of course, just like always, the press-fit let go at the wrong moment and the dong flew off into the air—straight up—only to come down and dong the stallion on the nose.

"I don't suppose I could..." Nuzzles looked up at the imposing figure before getting back into character and diving under the shape of Sombra. Those dark-rimmed eyes suddenly crossed and Lyra flopped down, giggling at the unseen shape between his back legs.

So I do this "Ask x" thing, x can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and ~~I~~ they will definitely hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories and of course, ~~I~~ They will answer the best question(s) in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer, try and keep it to one answer per post! ~~I~~ They will pick one question per chapter.

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