“Oh, Luna, of all the times for you to be away,” moaned Celestia as she reached for her coffee mug. It was late at night, or perhaps early in the morning, depending on your point of view, and the solar princess was still awake. Situated in front of her were the recent grievances filed against Merry Day as well as a report on what was found at her apartment. If Luna were here, then the two of them could be working together in shifts in order to keep their minds fresh. Also, while it pained Celestia to admit it, something like this was more Luna’s field than hers. Luna could have probed Merry’s subconscious for more information. Then, if she found anything, Luna could have contacted Celestia even in her sleep. What’s more, Luna preferred this sort of thing over the day to day bureaucracy of the courts.

As soon as Celestia took hold of her mug, she felt its lack of weight before turning it upside down. Nothing, not even a drop came out. With a resigned sigh, Celestia’s horn lit up, signaling the palace staff that she was in need of more. She knew that they were still up, helping in whatever little way they could to help bring justice to Merry. It was heartwarming to see so many of her ponies taking up the call all on their own. One of the very few who was not doing so was Kizbit, who still insisted that Celestia should be asleep in bed so that she could be well rested for the coming day. In a strange way, Celestia respected the aged stallion for this. He cared for both his country as well as her health, seeing the big picture and was willing to stand up to her if he felt she was doing something foolish. It was far better than all of the yes ponies who agreed with her no matter what. There were days she considered binding them in logic traps to make them squirm, as well as to teach them a lesson.

As Celestia waited for her hot wake up juice, she stood to stretch. With her arms above her head, Celestia continued to think of the little progress they had had this night. Soon after Celestia had left Merry to the care of the castle doctors she had sent order to the new Captain of the Royal Guard, Ground Siege, that the castle was to be on high alert. Starting with the guards, everypony who worked at the castle was to be checked for any signs of mental manipulation not caused by wives. Siege had acted quickly and after several were cleared for duty, they were sent out to check on Merry’s apartment. According to the report sitting on her desk, they had found several files left there as well as plenty of DNA. While it was a long shot, there was a possibility that the individual who did this to Merry might be in the system.

However, what really worried Celestia were the files. The information within them pertained to several nobles who were under investigation at the moment. In the span of a heartbeat, the princess of the sun came to the conclusion that this must have been an attempt to interfere. Perhaps one of the nobles had paid somepony to deal with the situation, not caring who got hurt in the process. Or perhaps some demon, that…thing, found Merry and used her like a puppet to get what it wanted for both Merry as well as what was in the castle. It made sense. Yet there were still some nagging questions in the back of her mind. If the plan was to steal the files, why use a maid like Merry instead of one of the clerks. Surely using one of them would have been less suspicious than having a maid try to do it. Also, why leave the files? It would be such a simple matter to check their records to find which one, or ones, were missing. After that it would be a simple matter of figuring out who hired the fiend. Celestia just couldn’t help but wonder what she was missing. Or was this just a case of a semi competent heist.

Then, as Celestia began to lean backwards in order to crack her back, an idea appeared in her brain. There was another possibility that she hadn’t considered. What if the true point of all of this was in reality a frame up job? She knew that the nobles were always bickering with one another over various issues as well as trying to secure a high position. If one of them got wind that one or more of the nobles that had slighted him/her was under an investigation, then framing in such a manner would be too good of an opportunity to pass up! Not only would their fall from grace be complete, but their station would be left open for another noble to claim or add to their own. It was the sort of manipulative thing she would expect from some of them. But the problem with this line of thinking didn’t subtract suspects, instead adding more. It would be easier to trace a spider’s web than try to untangle the mess that was the social interactions of the nobility.

A knock on the door pulled Celestia’s thought’s back to the moment. Expecting a maid with more coffee, she turned her head towards the door and gave permission to enter. The door opened and indeed there was a pony there with more coffee for her. But it wasn’t a maid. Instead Celestia found herself looking at Captain Ground Siege. The earth stallion was admittedly not the type of pony she’d prefer to represent the Royal Guard. In the past she had preferred to appoint stallions and mares who gave off a majestic vibe while appearing regal -- somepony who the common pony would want to approach on the streets -- ideally one that didn’t give poignant reminders that the Royal Guard was a killing machine. If it hadn’t been for the recommendation by Shining Armor as well as support from the other three princesses, Celestia would never have considered him for the job. This stallion, however, looked more like a thug than anything else. The earth pony was powerfully built, his ash grey coat covered with numerous scars with his dark purple mane done in a buzz cut. His face seemed to have a permanent scowl on it.

“Bumped into a maid on the way up,” he said in a voice that was more of a light growl and sounded like the chipped edge of a rusty shamshir being rubbed against a bucket, “Thought I’d save her a trip.”

“How very kind of you,” said Celestia as Siege handed over the coffee. After the mug was safely in her hands the stallion shrugged. Calmly, Celestia took a sip of the drink before looking at the Captain. “But I take it that this was not some random act of kindness. You wanted to speak to me.”

“Wanted to give you an update. As of right now, all of the Guard on the castle grounds has been checked out and given a clean bill of health. Now that I know none of that damn magic is in their heads, we can begin looking at the rest of the staff. I’ve ordered all guards confined to quarters and have forbidden unplanned visits. I’ve ordered all members of the Royal Guard to detain anypony acting off or refusing to submit to an examination. Given the circumstances, I hope you will agree that this is the best course of action.”

“I’d rather not give into paranoia,” commented Celestia before taking another sip of her coffee. “But, as you said, given the circumstances, this is the best course we can take right now. Have you found anything on the DNA?”

Siege shook his head. “Had my stallions working on it as soon as they could. Cast all sorts of spells and all it could tell us was that some of the DNA found belonged to Miss Merry Day. But all this tells us is that whoever did this to her has never been convicted of a felony here in Canterlot. But if he strikes again, we’ll have his DNA on file.”

Celestia set down her mug with enough force that Siege flinched slightly. Honestly, she was surprised the mug didn’t shatter. “That’s not good enough.”

Siege raised an eyebrow. “The fuck you want me to do, your majesty? Line us up shoulder to shoulder and check every pony from Vanhoover to Appleloosa? Order everypony in Canterlot to submit a sample of their DNA for comparison?”

“No,” said Celestia as she began to massage her temples while also taking several deep breaths. “I apologize for that outburst. Clearly I’m not thinking straight. Let’s move onto the files found at the scene. Have you been able to glean any information from them?”

Siege shrugged again. “Not too much from them. We searched our records and, as far as we can tell, those files left at the apartment were the only ones that were taken. Did a magical scan on them and found traces of magic deteriorating on them, but that’s as much as we’re going to get. Could have happened by holding them in a magical grasp for too long or, my personal belief, copying one or more of them.”

“That makes no sense,” muttered Celestia as she moved towards the window. Outside she could see the moon shining overhead. Still she felt like she was in the dark more so than ever before. “I get that somepony would think that stealing those files might hinder an investigation. I could consider that this was a framing operation to help discredit those being investigated. But making copies of them? Why would somepony do that?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” growled Siege. Celestia turned around and saw that he looked a bit more thoughtful, a hand placed under his chin. “Didn’t know if this would help, but I sent word via magical fire to every police station in Equestria in the hopes that they might have seen something similar. So far I’ve gotten a few replies and what they tell is pretty fucked The first comes from Fillydelphia about a single mother of three foals. She…used to work as a secretary for one of the top banks in the city. One day, seemingly out of the blue, she began acting strange. Looked like she was rapidly losing weight, going into places she wasn’t supposed to, her own bank accounts emptied. Some of her friends tried to talk to her, naturally worried, but couldn’t get anything out of her. One morning, clients of the bank suddenly found their accounts empty, their bits sent to a bank within Griffinstone, and the only employee not to show up was the mare. Police went to her place only to find her dead with a bottle of bleach in her hand. They also found copies of all of the clients whose accounts had been emptied. They reasoned she had been on drugs and planned on giving the dealers the information in exchange for more only to get robbed. They guessed she must have had a moment of clarity of how much she fucked her life over that she ended it right then and there.” As soon as she heard this, Celestia’s hands moved to cover her mouth. She felt her white coat becoming paler, if that were possible. It sounded very similar to what had been going on with Merry. Only, there had been no Guard to catch this poor soul at the last moment.

“Another one was a house keeper to a wealthy stallion living in Los Pegasus. The stallion was a very wealthy plastic surgeon.According to his co-workers, his housekeeper of nine years began acting oddly. She was looking vacant and losing weight, but he assumed that it was because she had started dating again, as she had grown fat after her divorce. Told one of them he had seen her with a stallion on more than one occasion. His co-workers mentioned that, as time went on, he became more and more worried about her. Then one day they found him in dead in the operating room with a variety of missing supplies. Evidence showed that his housekeeper’s hand prints were all over the murder weapon. The police theorized that she tried to rob the place and was caught. That, or she somehow convinced him to operate on her, killed him after the surgery, and then cleaned up the place minus his dead body. Her place was searched and most of the missing supplies were found there. So a warrant was made and four months later they found her body. The coroners ruled that her wounds were self inflicted. Bank account empty. All her possessions sold.

“The third one comes from Horseshoe Bay. According to the police, there a stallion who had made a killing in the stock market began to suspect something was going on with the nanny. At first he thought that she was seeing somepony since she was a young and, by his own description, ‘a mare he’d love to fuck if he wasn’t married’. But as time went on, he began to notice she was losing weight at an unhealthy rate and was going into places she shouldn’t. She was picked up more than once for trespassing. I can requisition records and CCTV recordings. One day he noticed somepony had been rifling through his filing cabinets followed by somepony buying up shares he had planned on or bidding against those he had planned on. He confronted the nanny, offering to get her the help she needed if she came clean the next day. When she didn’t show up for work, the stallion called the police. When they got to her home, they found her in the bathtub with her wrists slit. Evidence at her home pointed that she had been stealing information, but there was no money in any of her accounts. She had withdrawn it the previous day causing the police to suspect that she had planned on running away with this possible stallion. However, since the wounds were again self inflicted and the boyfriend was only speculation, the police concluded that she must have been on drugs and her dealer robbed and killed her after she failed to pay a massive debt. Since her death, they have been on the hunt for said dealer.”

Celestia didn’t know how it happened, but somehow she found herself sitting on her bed clutching the fabric over her heart. She felt like she was both in a daze while also about ready to cry. As she heard Siege beginning to talk about the shocking similarities between these cases and Merry’s, Celestia was only half listening. Three poor souls had been taken by this monster in order for him to get what he wanted while they took the blame. Their names forever ruined due to this sick monster. What made this all the worse is that had it not been for that one pegasus guard, they never would have known. They would have assumed drugs were involved or a gambling debt and would not have looked at the case any closer. Inside of her there was a burning sensation. She wanted to find this creature and destroy him for the way he treated these mares, her subjects. But not with her magic! No, she was to wrap her fingers around his neck and squeeze while she watched the life leave his eyes.

“Given all of this,” continued Siege, “I believe we are dealing with the same pony.”

“This isn’t a pony,” snarled Celestia as her anger showed. “This has to be a Changeling or some other creature. No pony could ever do something like this!”

Siege shook his head. “Princess, ask any of your infantry if they have seen worse in war. All of them have. I have no doubt a pony could do this. I seem to remember a pony who tried to bring about eternal night after she was driven insane.” Celestia glared at him and opened her mouth to speak, but the Captain continued to talk. “There was also the Starlight incident where you lost not only your cutie mark, but also your wings and horn to a mere unicorn. She would have done the same thing to everypony in Equestria had she not been stopped. May I tell you a story?

“You may, Captain.”

“When I was a younger lad, there was this one colt in my neighborhood who everypony avoided like a parasprite invasion. Came from a family that was normal as could be. Gave out good candy during Nightmare Night, wished you a good day when they saw you, helped out when help was needed. They were good folks. Their son, on the other hand, was just fucked up. Liked hurting ponies, see. Knew just what to say to dig the knife a bit deeper into your gut when he couldn’t punch the shit out of you. Sometimes a pet would go missing for days only to appear one morning hanging from the owner’s tree. We all knew this shit did it, but never had any proof. Then one day, this mare went missing. Several days passed with everypony getting worried. Only one who wasn’t was that damn fucker. We eventually found her in an old cabin not too far from that damn fucker’s home, gagged and half crazy. The things he did to her just for the fun of it. His silver tongued lawyer tried to defend his miserable life with a psychiatrically evaluation in order to prove he was crazy. Only thing it proved was, as sick as he was, his mind was as normal as anypony there. My point is, your majesty, that true evil is not a far stretch for more of us than we want to believe.”

“I get it,” stated Celestia firmly. “There have been plenty of evil ponies and I shouldn’t rule out the possibility that this might be one of them.”

“As you say your majesty,” grunted Siege. “Now then, based on this latest perversion, I believe that the individual we are looking for has decided to up his game. He’s gone after using a proxy. This time, however, I’m getting the feeling he’s planning on going after one of these nobles. Perhaps all those other mares were more like test runs or he simply wasn’t confident in his abilities prior to now. Or he has gone after other nobles, succeeded, and we just don’t know right now. Until we catch him and an interrogator has several rounds with him spanning months, we will not know. Whatever the reason, he has something planned, and it’s our job to stop him.”

“And we will,” said Celestia as she stood up. Her wings shot open in an impressive display of power. “Right now this fiend thinks he’s gotten away. So we’ll let him continue to think this. Make sure nopony talks about what is going on with Merry outside of the castle. I don’t care if you have to use magic or lock them up, this must not be spread to the public! Next I will send trusted ponies to these nobles to keep an eye on them. If something odd should happen to them or any of their staff, we will send the Guard there at once!”

“As you wish. I will also send word to Princess Twilight asking her to return to Ponyville.”

Celestia blinked at this, her wings lowering slightly. “Princess Twilight is in a delegation with the Yaks.”

“As is Princess Luna, who is more than capable of handling the situation there by herself,” growled Siege. Celestia opened her mouth to argue, but Siege took a massive stride towards her to cut her off. “Like I said, we can’t rule out what this criminal is. He may be a stallion, drunk on whatever special talent he has. It could be a Changeling. It could be some ancient evil from a thousand years ago that has been forgotten. All we do know is that he is powerful and vile enough to make you sick, princess! With that in mind, it would be foolish not to prepare for the worst. We gather the princess and her friends so that they can assist us in this should our troops not be enough.We can’t just keep the nobles treated like prisoners. It may be wise to hold covert meetings with your water engineers and see if they can put anything in the supply that could confer resistance.

Celestia felt her pulse quicken as she listened to the Captain talk. What he was saying made sense. It was the sort of thing that she would have said in the past. In fact, she would have called Twilight down right away to have her and her friends deal with the situation alone. So why…

“I can handle this,” stated the solar princess. “If he is that powerful and our guards not enough, I shall deal with him personally.”

Siege shook his head. “You are the last pony who should do something like that. Imagine if he got his vile magic on you and made you like Merry. You-”

“Is it better that Twilight suffer that fate?!?”

“In this situation: yes,” replied Siege. “If that happened to her, the damage to Equestria would be minimal when compared to what would happen if he got you. She doesn’t make sure we get just the right amount of sun to live.” Celestia gritted her teeth. “This is a judgment call, princess, doesn’t mean either of us has to like it. We have to keep our eyes on the big picture. Princess Twilight holds the least amount of political say or power out of all the princesses and the only official work she has is what you give her.”

“We don’t know if we can cure Merry!” shouted Celestia, stomping a hoof on the ground as she did. “Twilight has given much to Equestria and I REFUSE to repay her or her friends by letting that thing get his hands on them. I will deal with this and, should I fail, they will be the ones to stop me. IS! THAT! CLEAR!” For a moment, Siege stood there with his expression fixed like a statue. Finally, he nodded.

“Let me go!” shouted Dragonfly as she was dragged naked and dripping wet into the living room. Nervously, she looked around to see if anypony else was there. Thankfully, both Ghostly and Erotic were not there, meaning her secret was safe for a bit longer. However the window blinds were wide open! Anypony walking by might see her in her true form! Acting quickly, Dragonfly’s horn lit up brightly before her body was covered in green flames and Succubus released her. When the flames died down, there stood Dragonfly in her normal thestral form except naked and wet.

“Ah, why’d you do that?” whined Succubus as she looked at the disguised mare’s smaller boobs. “You could have at least left them big! They’re your real breasts. You shouldn’t have to hide them at all. Besides, they’re perfect for being a stripper!”

“Let’s get this through your head,” hissed Dragonfly as she pointed a finger in front of Succubus’ face. “I will not lower myself to becoming a stripper. Now, where are the other two you managed to rope into your insanity?”

“You mean Ghostly and Erotic?” Dragonfly fought to keep her eye from twitching, instead nodding quickly. “They’re both at Erotic’s house. Did you know that Erotic has two rooms full of sexy clothing and a stripper pole? We were looking at them while we waited for you to come back. When you didn’t I began to get worried and told the others I’d be back as soon as I found you.” Succubus then folded her arms across her chest while looking thoughtful. “Ghostly wanted to come with me. I think she was nervous about being alone with Erotic. But she’ll have to get used to stallions pawing at her body and seeing her naked so I told her to stay there.”

Hearing this allowed Dragonfly to let out a sigh of relief. Knowing Erotic, it was more than likely that she’d find a way to hide Ghostly’s proper clothes so that she could continue to look at her body in inappropriate ways. Without the proper attire, there was no way any sane mare would leave their house. So for the moment, Dragonfly could count on neither of them bursting through the doors. The last thing she needed was to have anypony come in right now. Knowing her luck right now, if somepony did come in the conversation would somehow end up with Succubus revealing the truth about her. Speaking of which…

“So, why aren’t you more freaked out?” asked Dragonfly, eyeing the thestral carefully. “Are you a Changeling too?”

“Nope!” said Succubus with a grin. “I’m 100% sexy thestral!”

“Then why are you acting like nothing’s wrong?!?”

“Because nothing is wrong as far as I’m concerned,” replied Succubus in a matter of fact tone. “Well, as far you being a Changeling is concerned at least. I’ve never really met a Changeling before, but you don’t seem evil or wicked. The only thing you’re doing wrong is hiding how sexy you really are.”

Dragonfly slapped her forehead at this. “You stupid,” she muttered under her breath. When she spoke again it was far louder while a finger pointed at Succubus as if she were issuing a challenge. “Has it occurred to you that I might have kidnapped the real Dragonfly and have taken her place?”

Succubus shook her head. “Nope! I mean, if you had done something like that, you probably would have tried to stun me as soon as I saw your true sexy body in the shower before doing anything else. That or try to mind control me. Both of those are much more likely to keep me quiet than telling me not to freak out. Also, from what I’ve heard, most Changelings suck at pretending to be ponies. I’m sure your father or sister would have noticed you acting differently. And since I’ve met your sister…” Succubus allowed her words to trail off, causing Dragonfly to look away.

“You have a point,” admitted Dragonfly. Dragon Fang was a member of the local guard, chasing down Changeling sightings more than six times a month. Her super serious big sister would have seen through any changes in behavior.

“So how about you turn back into your real sexy body?” asked Succubus as she moved closer to Dragonfly. She was looking at the disguised thestral with a sultry look while swaying her hips with every step. Dragonfly sputtered for a moment before Succubus was standing before her. She felt the busty thestral beginning to touch her softly, a gentle caress on her thigh while her other hand was landed gracefully on her left breast. Dragonfly could feel her cheeks beginning to warm up as her breathing quickened slightly. When Succubus spoke next it was in a tone more akin to a purr. “Sleek and smooth, I bet every good stallion and naughty colt would just love you if you decided to strip. You could change into any dream, any fantasy they could want. It could be anything from a pop star diva to an old school crush or even a princess. Many would cream their pants at the chance to see their dream mare dancing just for them while removing their clothes until nothing was left.” Succubus then began to slowly move the hand on her breast downwards, down her stomach before moving it to the small of her back. “But then again, you could also easily charm them with your true form. With a body like that there’s no need to be anypony else. Just think of every good stallion and naughty colt seated all around you, their eyes glued to your large rack and perfect body. All of them waiting to see what you take off next as you buzz around the room.”

“NO!” shouted Dragonfly as she pushed Succubus away. The Changeling took several more steps back, her cheeks slightly red as she looked into Succubus’ confused expression. “I can’t let anypony know I’m a Changeling you idiot! Don’t you know what will happen to me or papa if they ever found out? I’d be killed on sight and papa would be taken to jail for protecting me! Besides, this is who I am! I’m Dragonfly the thestral! It’s how I was raised!”

“How you were raised?” echoed Succubus. “Didn’t the Changelings raise you at all?”

Dragonfly looked away. “I suppose they did for a while. Not that I can remember any of that. My earliest memories are a bit of a blur. I remember feeling fear all around me and the smell of smoke. Then I was being carried into the air followed by falling down to the ground. After that, everything becomes clearer. I spent hours in the forest around Hollow Shades, too afraid to move because of the creatures I saw in the woods. I did my best not to make a sound, to stay hidden for as long as possible. There was a noise coming closer to me and I thought it must have been one of wolf spiders come to eat me. But it was papa. He was holding a blade in his hand while covered in Changeling blood. For the longest time he just stood there, staring at me as I laid there helplessly. When he finally moved closer to me, I closed my eyes believing that this was it. I remember hearing a loud thud and when I opened my eyes a tiny bit papa was on his knees with the sword lying next to him.”

Dragonfly sat down on one of the kitchen chairs before turning her head to look at the picture of her and her family. “I found out many years later that papa had lost his wife and birth daughter to a Diamond Dog raid the previous year. Seeing me like that, he couldn’t bring himself to kill a helpless child who was so close in age to the daughter he had lost. Instead, he told me to turn into a thestral before taking me back to the others. Several of them were treating Dragon Fang who had lost an eye from the whole ordeal. That night, papa took us both home with him. Ever since then, I’ve lived here like any other true thestral while hiding this…this stupid body from everypony else.” She turned her head to look at Succubus. “That’s why I get freaked out and scared whenever I hear of a Changeling sighting. They might be looking for me or could see through my disguise and ruin everything!”

“Then maybe you should leave,” said Succubus as she walked over to the chair closest to Dragonfly and sat down. “This place is crawling with Changeling sightings and Diamond Dog attacks. Wouldn’t it be better if you left and found a place where you could be you without anypony judging? Where you wouldn’t need to live in fear? You could have that in Ponyville, stripping for bits and sending the money home to help out your family!”

Dragonfly turned her head so she wouldn’t have to see the other mare, a frown on her face. “I’m sure that’s the life papa wants for me. Dancing around like an idiot just to help support him and my sister. He’d die of shame before the first bit fell into his palm.”

“But-”

“SHUT UP!” screamed Dragonfly as she stood up, knocking the chair she was sitting on back. “I don’t want to hear anymore of this nonsense! I’m not going to leave and break papa’s heart after everything he’s done for me. I’m not some shameless, heartless creature like you!”

“What’s that suppose to mean?” demanded Succubus as she stood up, her eyes blazing with anger.

Dragonfly rolled her eyes in annoyance as she crossed her arms over her bare chest. “Just what I said. You don’t care who you hurt as long as you can have fun and enjoy life on your terms. Must make thing easy when you don’t have to see the damage you leave behind. Like, I don’t know, a little sister that misses you.” At that Succubus averted her eyes. “I bet she would be so proud to know that her beloved older sister prances around naked for the enjoyment of others. Bet she’ll really like that when she finds out that’s what you’ve been doing while she’s been worried about you. How about the rest of your family? Just going to let their legacy, every bit of good they’ve done for the thestral tribe be undone so you can continue to have fun?”

“You don’t know what it was like,” snapped Succubus as she looked at Dragonfly in the eyes. “I was locked in one cage before being given to another. You may like hiding who you are, pretending to be something you’re not to make other ponies happy but that’s not me! I just couldn’t keep hiding who I was or marry somepony I don’t even know!”

Dragonfly rolled her eyes. “Boohoo,” she mocked. “Do you really think you’re the only thestral who is unhappy that they didn’t get to pick who they would spend the rest of their live with? Half the ponies in the Shades are in arranged marriages and all of those in the Hanging City go through the same thing. It’s a part of our culture.”

“A culture that is crumbling,” remarked Succubus.

“Yeah and it’s going faster thanks to you,” replied Dragonfly with no small about of bite. “If you hadn’t run away, then none of this would be happening. We have to live with the consequences of your actions! If that mining system goes than that’s it,” Dragonfly held out her hand and snapped her fingers in front of Succubus, “we’re history. The ponies in Canterlot will do everything in their power to take it from us and your brother is doing everything he can to save it! And it’s not like you care. All you’ve done since you got here is try to get as many of us to leave and become strippers. You’ve already made up your mind on what will happen if your family loses everything. Just go back to your life without a care in the world.”

“I-I can’t go back there,” stammered Succubus.

“No, you can. You just won’t do it. That’s the difference between you and me. I’m going to do everything in my power to give this place as much time as possible. There have been far too many days when I’ve gone to bed hungry, making sure that we’ve all had enough to keep us alive then to let this all be for nothing. I have humiliated myself for the tourists countless times in the hopes that it won’t be in vain. I’m not giving up and going somewhere just because it’s easier or nicer. Hollow Shades and the Hanging City will continue to stand no matter what the cost because we have given too much already for it to all go to waste. And if I can see papa make blades the way he once did then everything will be worth it.” Then without giving Succubus a chance to say anything more, Dragonfly pushed past her and walked towards the bathroom to put her clothing back on.

Blueblood yawned as he made his way down the hallway towards his Aunt Celestia’s room. Despite the late hour, Blueblood was dressed in one of his finest blue tux. His mane sparkled with a brilliant shine to show everypony around him that it was freshly washed. Even his facial features looked immaculate without a single trace of fatigue present. If anypony, mare and stallion alike saw him, they would see what he wanted them to see: an elite among ponies. True, his Aunt had summoned him to her bed chambers with what sounded like great urgency; however Blueblood was not the type to allow something like that to derail him from always looking his best. After all, if the common pony ever saw him at less than his best it would be an utter disaster!

Yet as he walked, he could feel something…off in the air around him. Something had happened, that much he knew just from his summons. His Aunt had never summoned him to her bedchamber this late before without any prior warning. Nor had her message felt so rushed and secretive. It was because of that that he had not whined within his chambers as he got dressed. Beyond that, there was a feeling of tension in the air that could be cut with his horn. The Guards all seemed stiffer than normal and the maids looked besides themselves with grief. More than once he spotted a mare about to burst into tears, running down the hallways towards the nearest washroom. Seeing all of this almost caused Blueblood to allow worry to appear on his face. He managed to prevent this from happening though. If they saw him or any of the other members of the royal family worried than it would be like announcing to all that they were doomed! He had to maintain the air of confidence to show that everything was all right and that they were in control.

“An utter outrage!” shouted a voice behind the prince. Blueblood turned his head calmly to look behind him. There, storming in his direction in his nightgown was what looked like a younger version of him. The only difference was that unlike Blueblood’s mane which was blond this eighteen year old had a mane of crimson. This younger stallion marched forwards with his fists clenched tightly, irritation clear on his face as well as the heavy bags under his eyes.

“A good evening to you as well, little brother,” remarked Blueblood with a smirk.

“Stuff it!” barked the younger brother as he stormed past Blueblood. “What does she think she’s playing at, summoning us at this unnatural hour? Only Aunt Luna and her diseased ridden thestrals would be up at this unholy hour. Is she not aware that some of us have to get our sleep? I have a meeting at ten in need to be prepared for to discuss the recent rise in metals of all things! This is the last time I do her a favor!”

“Oh?” remarked Blueblood with no small amount of satisfaction at seeing his younger brother so worked up. It made him look all the better. “I thought you were doing it because Aunt Celestia said she would no longer pay for your little excursions unless you pulled your weight.” This caused the younger brother to pause in his steps before turning around to look at Blueblood with utter hatred. “If you want to keep traveling around Equestria and beyond, having your kind of fun then I suggest you not cause our dear Aunt to lose faith in you. I would oh so hate to see you reduced to the pay level of janitor. What an embarrassment it would be for the family.”

“The only embarrassment to the family is you Blueblood,” spat the younger. “I’ve heard you’ve been heading down to Ponyville to attend, of all things, a strip club! It’s pathetic. At least hire a whore that you can take away from the public eye.”

To this, Blueblood allowed the simplest of shrugs as he continued his walk. It was true that ever since his first time at the Treasure Chest he had gone back more than a few times. The establishment had truly surprised him with the quality of, well, everything minus the restrooms. Blueblood felt like the bartender kept the finest drink just for him so that lesser fare would never touch his tongue. It made the experience more elegant and put the prince more at ease. Then there were the mares. By far, Succubus was the best out of all of them. He didn’t care how long he had to wait in order to see on stage again or to get one of the private dances. While he waited, the other dancers were there to fill that time. His second favorite was that slender zebra mare who danced with plenty of energy that caused him to dream of what she would be like in bed. Would she be as bombastic there as she was on stage? A stallion could only hope. Then there was that crystal mare who did a mix of a strip and belly dance. In his opinion it was a true visual treat. Then there were the times when they would just sit with him and talk to him. Now, Blueblood held no delusion that they were interested in him beyond his wallet or that that had actual feelings for him. They were paid mares keeping him company in the hopes that he would ask them for a private dance. That said, it felt rather freeing to let out some of the stresses from his day.

In an odd way he was thankful towards the modest strip club. Prior to his first visit, Blueblood had been what many would consider a purist. The idea of mating with a pony other than a unicorn was a notion that made his skin crawl. That was until he saw Succubus dance for the first time. In that moment a whole new world opened up for him. He began to see the appeal of mares beyond unicorns much to the dismay of those he worked with. Even griffons began to have a sexual appeal despite not even being part pony. Would his fellow nobles agree with this? Most assuredly not. Far too many of them, including himself until recently, were fixated on the idea of keeping the nobility purely unicorn. In fact, many of them were still furious at Princess Luna for wedding an earth pony of all things. If they ever found out that Blueblood fancied the idea of courting somepony of a different tribe they would do everything in their power to end it.

Soon enough, both brothers stood before the door leading into their aunt’s bed chambers. Blueblood raised a hand to lightly knock on it, but his younger brother opened it without waiting for permission. All of the heads inside the room turned to look at the two while Blueblood gave them an apologetic look. Gathered around his Aunt Celestia were notable ponies like Fancy Pants looking rather tired and dressed slightly less proper than his younger sibling.

“Ah, Blueblood and Charming,” said Celestia in a tired voice. “We can finally get started.”

Author's Note

Thanks to kalash93 and Koekelbag for all their help