And Hearts Will Change

More Than Just Food

The changeling queen settled down upon the grassy floor, focusing her efforts on remaining awake. A quick glance around told her that nothing had found her hideaway, but another turning gaze informed her of her proximity to the small pony town. She could still see the lights of the nearest houses and she knew that her current position in the woods would not keep her hidden for much longer. The insectoid pony clenched her jaw and gathered the blankets and bedding she had stolen from the townsponies several weeks ago before flitting off further into the dense foliage.

“These conditions are repulsive. I should not have to be forced to live in this hell they call a forest. I am queen of the changelings and deserve to sleep on a bed, surrounded by slaves that feed me their love!” Her hooves hit the ground with a dull thud and she continued her trip a short distance further on hoof, her wings much too tired to carry her. “I should have chosen another pony to pose as, taken more time to figure out how to get closer to her faster!”

The linens fell to the ground and blew the leaves that had settled upon the forest floor away. “But by then I’d have starved to death. I’m surprised I’m still holding on to life with how little love I’ve been able to devour. Unrefined emotion is just too chaotic to feed off of, too weak to nourish me or my children.” She heaved a forlorn sigh and looked down to her slender black legs, noting the muscle and bone showing in the cavities that had opened as the final stage of starvation set in. “My body had already been devouring itself....”

The changeling queen sat upon the piled cloth and stared towards the sky, waiting for the final rays of sunlight to disappear and blanket the world in darkness, leaving only the moon to illuminate the world. She would not be able to make another visit until the moon had settled higher in the sky, giving her enough time for it to not become suspicious. She didn’t have any actual idea of the palace’s schedule and the princesses’ nightly activities and neither, it seemed, did Twilight, but her short time spying on Canterlot had given her enough insight to know when Celestia retired to her chambers. She assumed that Twilight was privy to such information as well.

Another glance at her decaying carapace summoned a choking sob, reminding her of the brood she had birthed, then led to cannibalism. She did not truly love the swarm, for she never held love for anything, but they were her children. She knew their lives were much shorter than her own, but they were her children. And it was her fault that they had succumbed to their most basic instincts. “I should have come to the ponies sooner.”

So she sat, brooding over her loss, yet eager to begin repopulating. She needed her swarm and they needed her. It was only a matter of time until Twilight fully succumbed to her manipulations and poured her refined, focused love into the changeling. It was only a matter of time before she had an army and could rebuild her empire.

The light of the moon caught her eye and drew her attention to the sky again and she grinned. “Finally, it’s time again.” She stood, making sure to secure her bedding with a group of heavy rocks, and took to the sky, donning her alicorn disguise in a flash of green fire.

Luna glided over the various houses, her hooves barely an inch above the thatched roofs as she quickly approached her destination. Her wings flared, halting her dropping her speed exponentially, until she was drifting slowly enough to land on the library’s balcony. Her nearly silent arrival was welcomed by a familiar magenta glow encompassing the windowed doors leading to the building’s main bedroom. The alicorn stepped through the opened entryway and smiled at the sight of the lavender unicorn waiting inside.

“Hello, Luna! Were you able to figure out a way to avoid the guards’ suspicion?” The princess nodded and plopped gracelessly upon Twilight’s bed, sighing in relief as the mattress provided comfort a bundle of rags never would. “It must be difficult having to sneak out and make excuses all the time. You could just tell Princess Celestia that you wanted to come visit. I don’t think she’d judge you over it.”

“I’ve told you Twilight. It’s a matter of pride. I told her that I was going to do everything on my own and I intend to have her believe it.”

The unicorn rolled her eyes and levitated a tray with tea pre-prepared upon it. “I know, I know. I just find it silly, is all. You’re the princess. You shouldn’t have to sneak out to come visit me if you wanted to.” Her magic carefully manipulated the kettle and cups, pouring each of them a serving before being set back upon her nightstand. “So, is there anything specific that you wanted to do tonight? I made sure to keep my schedule free at nights in case you decided to come by.”

The changeling queen settled closer to the head of the bed, allowing her companion to lay next to her as they enjoyed their tea together. She could already feel the love trickling into her, but it was not yet enough to provide her any true strength. “I did not have any plans. I figured we could just discuss the previous days that I have been absent. I’m sure there must have been many happenings worth speaking about.”

Twilight smiled and tilted her head back as she recalled the prior days’ activities. “Well, a couple days ago was Fluttershy’s birthday. It was definitely the most exciting thing to happen all week. Pinkie Pie threw a party for her at Sugarcube Corner, like she does for everypony in Ponyville, and invited all of our friends along with a select few other ponies from town.”

“Oh? And how did that turn out?” She leaned closer, eager to feed off the slowly increasing flow of friendly affection and, strangely, to hear what happened more clearly.

“Well, it was certainly interesting. I think Pinkie forgot, or perhaps chose to forget, that Fluttershy doesn’t do too well in crowds. The poor dear was scared stiff for the first portion of the party. From the moment everypony jumped up and yelled surprise, which, now that I think about it, wasn’t a very good idea, to the starting of the games, she couldn’t even bring herself to talk.” Twilight chuckled and scooted closer to Luna, leaning on her slightly.

The midnight mare twitched at the contact, still not used to the familiarity, but did not shy away. It would not do her any good to avoid deepening the friendship between the two and avoiding the contact would only serve to push Twilight away. It’s much more enjoyable than I had thought before, though. “That can’t be all that happened. From what you’ve told me of Fluttershy, that’s much too normal to be worth mentioning.”

Twilight chuckled and nodded. “Of course there’s more. Do you remember how I made you promise not to tell anypony about Fluttershy’s crush?” She waited for the alicorn to respond, beaming when her question was affirmed. “Well, Pinkie invited Nurse Tenderheart to the party. Apparently she told Tender that Fluttershy liked her, so she spent the whole time making passes on Fluttershy.”

The changeling queen laughed, picturing a shy mare cringing under the constant assault of the nurse’s flirting. She smiled as Twilight joined her, their shared mirth strengthening their friendly bond. “Did they admit feelings for one another? If they started dating, then I’d have to admit that your friend Pinkie is a master strategist.”

Luna watched Twilight intently as the young mare spoke, keeping a keen eye on the unicorn’s facial features. She did not have any interest in what her friends were up to, but was fascinated instead by the one telling the stories. She kept her ears trained on Twilight’s words, but allowed her mind to drift back to the previous weeks since she had assumed the lunar princess’ form, recalling the changes in both of their behaviours since then.

Twilight had definitely been nervous around her during the first few meetings, especially when the changeling queen had attempted to bring them closer by way of the dropping of titles and formality. She mentally chuckled, recalling how the unicorn had adamantly refused to speak with familiarity, insisting on calling her princess and bowing whenever she visited. It had taken much persuasion, but with the miniscule amounts of love created from mere respect and duty made the effort worth it. The payoff of friendship was definitely worth the price.

She paused and considered that word for a moment. Friendship. I know she sees me as a friend. I can feel it, taste it, every time we’re together, but do I still only see her as food? Images of their time spent together flashed through her mind as the mare beside her droned on. She briefly recalled their various sessions. The first time Twilight had finally relented and called the alicorn by her false-name came to the forefront of her memories followed by each little victory over the unicorn in rapid succession.

She smiled. Perhaps I do enjoy her presence. It’ll be a shame when she’s dead and I have to move on to my next meal, but that is the price I, and she, must pay. I may as well milk this situation for all that it’s worth and revel in her affection and the company.

“-And then I accidentally turned Spike into a newt, but he got better. It was definitely-”

“So, Twilight.”

The mare stopped mid-sentence and looked up the her guest, blushing lightly. “Oh, I’m sorry Prin- Luna. I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent like that.”

The changeling laughed and shook her head, immediately falling back into her role as the night ruler. “It isn’t a problem, dear Twilight. That little excursion to the market yesterday sounded exciting, so it comes as little surprise that you would wish to explain every happening of the moment.” Her smile grew as the little mare showered her with unbridled affection, then moved to stand. “I was going to ask if you would wish for me to come back again tomorrow. Perhaps some time during the normal ponies’ waking hours so that I might meet your friends and become acquainted with Ponyville society.”

The little unicorn gasped and jumped to the floor, rushing over to where Luna now stood. “Really!?” Her eyes widened at the volume of her words and she cast a guilty look towards the basket holding the sleeping Spike. Reassured that her outburst hadn’t woken the baby dragon, Twilight sighed and returned her focus to her guest. “Are you sure? I mean, I’m excited that you’ll be able to meet all my friends, but won’t it be difficult to sneak out during the day?”

“Of course, but isn’t that the fun of it? Unfortunately, I won’t be able to hide my presence from the common ponies, but it’s not like they have any direct correspondence with my sister, right?” The changeling smiled down at the lavender mare, formulating a plan of action for the following day as she spoke. “Besides, it’s not like I could call myself your friend if I don’t take the time to get to know yours. One can only formulate so much of an opinion based on word of mouth alone.”

Twilight beamed and hopped around the royal mare chanting her excitement and drawing a curious glance from her companion. She caught sight of the alicorn’s arched eyebrow and immediately halted, a heavy blush tinting her cheeks. “Hehe.... Sorry, I was just excited. I just know my friends would love to meet you.”

The changeling sighed happily as the sudden influx of emotion filled her with relief. Ohhhh, this love is so sweet, so delicious. I need more. Her horn lit as she focused the majority of magic upon her host, refining the draw of love from the mare, while levitating a book at random from Twilight’s personal shelf, disguising the act as a simple levitation spell. The unicorn gasped and collapsed as a sudden bout of dizziness overcame her, but was quickly righted by the lunar alicorn’s glow. Luna checked Twilight worriedly, making sure the mare was alright before releasing her. That was stupid. I’ve been drawing from her since I arrived. A sudden drain like that could have truly hurt her.

“Wow, that was weird! I don’t know what happened, but thank you. That could have left a bruise.” Twilight smiled, shaking the lingering unbalance from her system before carefully climbing back onto her bed. “I think I’m more tired than I thought.” She opened her mouth in a long, drawn-out yawn and chuckled. “Yup, definitely tired, but if you want to stay a little longer, I won’t mind. I can stay awake as long as you want.”

“No, that is fine. I should have known that keeping you awake till such hours would eventually take a toll on you. I forget that you are just a mortal pony.” Luna smiled and stepped out onto the balcony. She cast one final look back at the reclining pony and nodded. “I shall see you tomorrow.”

Twilight watched the alicorn fly off into the night and trailed her movements through the air with her eyes until she disappeared in the darkness. She shook her head and rubbed the sides of her skull with her hooves. “That was.... That didn’t make any sense. I’m not tired at all and the sudden dizziness. That feeling is so familiar.” Her eyes flashed green momentarily and she replaced her frown with a soft grin. “Oh well. It’s not really important.” An excited giggle escaped her lips as her mind turned to the following day and plans for the princess’ arrival flew through her brain. “I think I can push tomorrow’s schedule off for a day to make room for Luna.”

The young mare climbed under her blankets and snuggled up closer to her pillow, an eager smile plastered upon her face as she drifted off to sleep.

~{A}~{H}~{W}~{C}~

The changeling queen landed in the patch of forest she had claimed for her own, using the remnants of her magic as a beacon to find her place, and shed her disguise. Her carapace gleamed under the moonlight as she strode under the leafy canopy, casting her gaze around the area to ensure there were not any intruders in her temporary lair before spreading her pilfered blankets upon the ground. She dropped to the ground gracelessly, finding a small amount of comfort from the familiarity of her surroundings, yet still longing for the comfort of a bed, or, more specifically, Twilight’s bed.

A pang of guilt nipped at her conscience, but she quickly suppressed it, crushing the feeling under her mental hoof. Am I feeling sorry for what I did? She laughed, the sudden outburst scaring off a small flock of birds that had settled in the boughs of the trees above. Preposterous. She’s my only source of food, so of course I’m worried that I’m feeding too much from her. She is merely entertaining for a host.

The changeling sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. I'm not fooling myself. I've let this friendship progress too far. Mother always told me not to play with my food lest I grow attached. Another soft chuckle and the mare rested her head on the rolled bundle at her hooves. It truly is a shame that I won't be able to convert her fully. Such a strong will for a pony so young. I could have kept her around after were it not for that.

Another heavy sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes, finally preparing to rest in preparation for the coming day. I've been sighing a lot recently. It's quite unbecoming of a queen to have to fret so much, but one must do what needs to be done if she wishes to see her children prosper like her foremothers before her.

The queen quickly drifted off to sleep, her mind settled for the evening as her eagerness to feed from and meet with her lavender host gave way to the need of rest.

~{A}~{H}~{W}~{C}~

The sun shone brightly through the glass of the library’s second floor window, it’s aim true as it slowly drifted over the face of the slumbering librarian. She grunted and shifted out of the stray beam before leaning upright against her bed’s headboard so she could rub the post-waking exhaustion from her eyes. As her mind caught up with her body, a faint smile formed on her muzzle and she hopped from her mattress after quickly displacing her sheets to allow free movement. Another use of her magic and the discarded bedclothes were tucked neatly under the mattress, ready for the next upcoming use.

Twilight trotted down the stairs to find her number-one assistant already awake and devouring his portion of the breakfast he had prepared for the two of them. She took her place at the small table, beaming as she joined Spike in the consumption of their food. The baby dragon took note of his caregiver’s unusual mood and paused his fork mid-bite. “Uhm, Twi? Not that it’s a bad thing, but why are you so happy? You’re never this happy in the mornings.”

“Well, we’re going to be having company later and I’m just excited. You should be, too!”

“Company? But I didn’t see anything about any visitors on your schedule. I know. I checked it three times this morning!” He glanced over to the extensive list for the day and cringed at the memory of triple-checking the checklist.

“That’s because it isn’t on the checklist, Spike. It was decided last night and I haven’t had the time to update it.” Twilight, too, snuck a peek at the lengthy piece of parchment and sighed. So much more stuff to do tomorrow, but it’s totally worth it.

“But what about all the stuff we have to do!? We can’t just not do them. You’ll totally flip out and try to go back in time to get them done or something.”

“Oh, Spike. I’d never freak out over anything as silly as an uncompleted task or missing a deadline. Besides, we can just do all of that tomorrow. Considering who’s coming over, it would make sense to make time for her.” She waited a moment to let her words sink in, but frowned when the dragon cast her a confused look.

“Who could be important enough to drop an entire day’s list of chores over? It can’t be Princess Celestia. I’d have known!”

Twilight chuckled and shook her head. “No, Spike. It’s Princess Luna. She came for a visit last night and we decided that we’d meet again today, so she could properly meet the girls. Now, finish eating so we can prepare for her arrival. I suspect she’ll be here pretty soon.”

The unicorn levitated her plate, now devoid of the hunger-abating goodness it had once held, into the kitchen and returned to her room leaving Spike to fully digest her words and remaining food. She busied herself with reorganizing her room, clearing it of the displaced books and sheets of paper strewn about. As she began rolling up the final scroll, the sound of claws scraping across wood caught her attention and she turned to find her assistant standing, arms folded, with a questioning look upon his face.

“Yes, Spike? What’s up?”

“Don’t you think it’s weird?”

Twilight sighed and set the scroll she had been levitating back on her desk. “What’s weird? That Luna’s coming later? She’s the princess, Spike. She’s more than welcome to visit whenever she feels like it.”

“No, not that. That she didn’t just send a letter or have Princess Celestia send a letter! I mean, don’t you think that would be a lot more convenient than coming randomly in the middle of the night herself?”

“Oh, Spike. You’re just overthinking this.” She giggled and patted the dragon on his head. “Besides, she’s visited several times during the past few weeks.”

“What? Why haven’t I noticed? I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen her at all since the summer sun celebration!”

Twilight sat up against her bed and smiled. “That’s because you haven’t. She’s been coming during the night and,” she pressed her hoof to Spike’s mouth, halting his words before they could even form, “she’s already explained her reasons. I was curious too, you know, but she’s our princess and has every right to be as secretive as she wants.” She stood and turned away, searching her bookshelves. “So, do you think you could help me prepare? I need my copy of Daily Activities for Friends or Large Groups.”

The baby dragon shook his head in defeat and plucked a book from the bottom shelf of the nearest bookcase. “Here, Twi. Just, if something goes wrong, don’t say I didn’t try to warn you.”

“Hehe. Spike, it’s not like she’ll grow big, sharp, pointy teeth and try to bite our heads off. Trust me, you’ll love her. Now, let’s prepare some food for lunch.”

~{A}~{H}~{W}~{C}~

The sun glinted off the decorative gorget hanging around the moon princess’ neck as she flew under the midday sun. Her lips curved up in a smile as she approached the familiar balcony of the Ponyville library. It’s true. I’m excited to spend the day with my food and not because I’ll be feeding. She pushed the thoughts from her mind and landed gently upon the wooden outcropping, her lithe, changeling body, still disguised as the lunar alicorn’s, allowing a softer arrival.

She pressed open glass doors, conveniently left unlocked for her arrival, and stepped in to see the typically cluttered living space of the lavender unicorn surprisingly tidy. She chuckled, thinking back to her second visit and how the mare had frantically tried to clean her bedroom while keeping her at bay with a locked entryway, much to her ire at the time. She still holds Luna, me, in high regards even after I told her it did not matter.

Her eyes scanned the area for her friend and, having not found her hiding under the bed or in the closet, decided to call out for the librarian. She heard a crash from below her and a muttered curse follow by a cheerful greeting as the purple form of her host rushed up the stairs to greet her.

“Luna! You’re here earlier than I expected! We don’t really have everything prepared yet, but we’ve got most of it done.” She grinned sheepishly and glanced over the balcony to the kitchen archway, taking note of the food splattered just barely in sight. “If you don’t mind missing out on the potato salad, we could go and gather my friends now. Unless there was something that you wanted to do first, of course.”

“No, that is fine. Will Spike be coming with us? I have seen him many times, but I have yet to truly meet him.”

“Of course. He’s just cleaning up a, uhm, mess real quick and then we’ll be ready to go. I figured we would find Rarity first since her house is the closest.” She turned and leaned over the railing looking over the library lobby. “Spike! Are you ready yet? The princess is here!”

The purple dragon in question walked out of the kitchen carrying a large picnic basket, presumably filled with lunch-foods, grumbling grumpily. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t get your mane in a twist, I’m done.”

“Did you make sure to pack some drinks, too?”

“Yes.”

“And the blanket?”

“In the basket.”

“The cutlery for Rarity?”

“Jeez, Twi! Yes!” He set the basket down and folded his arms, glaring at her impatiently. “Do you want me to bring you a shrubbery and chop down the Whitetail Woods with a fish, too?”

The changeling queen blinked at the blatant disrespect the dragon was show, but Twilight just shook her head and took it in stride. If he were one of my minions, he would have been hung up for his display. Why does she not reprimand him?

“That’s just silly. Why would I need a bush or want the woods chopped down? I’m just trying to make sure we don’t leave anything behind. It’s Princess Luna after all and I don’t want to disappoint her.” The lavender mare turned back to her guest and smiled happily before trotting down the stairs to join her young reptilian ward. “Well, let’s get going. Perhaps seeing Rarity will help to improve your mood a bit?”

Spike’s mood visibly bettered at the second mention of the pale unicorn’s name and he followed the mares out the door without any further protests. The trio, led by Twilight, moved briskly under the noonday sun, basking in the warmth balanced by a cool northern breeze. The trip to the fashionista’s boutique and home went by quickly and the group found themselves standing outside the lavish building’s purple door.

Twilight couldn’t see any lights on inside from where she was standing, but she brushed it off without another thought. Her hoof knocked thrice upon the wooden door, the sound reverberating through the wide lobby beyond it. The trio waited for a reply, but none came and, so, the librarian knocked a second time with more force. Again her call went unanswered.

“Huh.... That’s strange. Usually she’s at home at this time.” She looked curiously through the window, but the lack of light inside proved such actions fruitless. “I guess we’ll see her in town, then. Let’s go find Fluttershy next.”

The trip to the edge of Ponyville where the shy pegasus’ cottage stood took slightly longer than the walk to the Carousel Boutique, but they crossed the small creek bordering Fluttershy’s property in little time at all. Like the residence before it, the banana-yellow mare’s house was devoid of all lights and life save for the occasional scurrying critter or bird. Sure that the pegasus would be too scared to sit in her house with the lights off for any amount of time, Twilight huffed and pointed to a large formation of clouds above them.

“Well, Fluttershy’s missing too, so we’ll check Rainbow Dash’s cloud-home and AJ’s apple stand, then check Sugarcube Corner. Honestly, where could they all be?”

~{A}~{H}~{W}~{C}~

Luna sighed as they approached the massive gingerbread confectionery shop. She had planned to begin feeding off of Twilight’s friends’ love for her during their get-together in order to spare the unicorn the exhaustive effects of a second day’s meal, but after finding the prismatically maned pegasus and farm worker missing from their typical locations, she feared that this would not likely be the case.

They soon stood outside the bright pink bakery and peered through the windows, but the garish pink curtains inside blocked any form of sight into the shop’s lobby. Twilight reached to open the door, but the changeling halted her with a hoof in her path. “I’ll check. It’s a public shop, so it would not be strange to walk in unannounced.”

The alicorn-disguised mare turned the bakery’s handle and pushed open the door to reveal another large, dark room. Twilight grunted in annoyance at the sight, but followed Luna into the building regardless of the obvious absence of the party pony. “Well, that’s just crazy! Where in Equestria could they have all-”

“SURPRISE!!”

Seemingly out of thin air, Pinkie Pie jumped into view of the trio and tossed confetti into the air which was immediately followed by the flicking of a light switch to reveal the rest of Twilight’s friends plus a few guests.

Startled by the sudden outburst and unaccustomed to the pink mare’s antics, the lunar alicorn dropped into a defensive stance, horn glowing green as she prepared a spell to fight back the impending assault. Which will not come.

Twilight rushed to Luna’s side and rested a hoof on the mare’s shoulders, effectively lowering the mare’s defensive status. “Hey, Twilight! Hey, Spike! Hey, Princess Luna! Did I surprise you? I bet I did! You see, it was the best idea I’ve had so far and I was sure it was going to work and it did! I saw the princess fly off last night and I thought: Hmm. Now, I wonder why she left so early tonight. And then I knew! You were gonna come say hi to everypony finally, so I told all of our friends that you’d be coming for a visit and planned for this surprise party! Isn’t that exciting!?”

The trio gaped at the hyperactive pink pony before Spike recovered. “Wait a second. How did you know that the princess was visiting Twilight when I didn’t even know and I live in the same house!?”

“My Pinkie-sense, silly. Duh. I have a Pinkie-sense for almost anything and it told me last week, through the combination of scratchy ear, wriggly nose, and bouncy knee, that somepony special was coming to Ponyville! And then I saw her land at Twilight’s place!” She grinned from ear-to-ear, proud of her achievement, but instantly dropped her smile to replace it with an inquisitive stare. “Hmmm.... That’s strange, though. Isn’t Princess Luna’s magic supposed to be midnight-blue?”

The changeling stepped back involuntarily, suddenly somewhat intimidated by the mare’s intuitiveness and discovery, but was quickly rescued by her lilac host. “Oh, Pinkie. It’s obviously green. We’ve never seen Luna’s magic color until recently, so I’m not sure where you got the assumption that it would be another color.”

The pink mare kept up her unrelenting stare, eyeing the alicorn’s horn closely. “I dunno, but I’ve never known you to be wrong about magic, so okay!” Her overly-large smile returned in full force and she turned to the other four girls plus two siblings. “Are you girls ready to get this party started!?” With a deft twist of her body and nudge of a hoof, the record player kicked into life and spewed its upbeat sounds into the room, prompting the group to begin their dancing and mingling.

It wasn’t long at all before the royal mare was assailed by the fashionista she had met just a fortnight ago. “Good afternoon, Princess Luna. I just want to take the time to say that it is a pleasure to actually converse with you. It’s unfortunate that the last time we met you were too busy to speak with anypony. Well, considering the circumstances, it would make sense that you’d be busy.”

The changeling’s response died on her tongue as her mind fully processed the unicorn’s words and came to the one conclusion that almost terrified her. She didn’t know what the mare was talking about. “I’m afraid that I do not recall having met you before.”

Rarity tilted her head, confused. “Whatever do you mean, darling? You’ve met all of us before.” Her confusion disappeared as she came to some sort of realization. “Well, we didn’t really meet for too long. And it was a little more than a year ago without any sort of correspondence.”

Luna’s eyes widened as memories of a year ago came back to her mind. She recalled one of her scouting drones coming with news of Luna’s return and that she had been freed by the assistance of six mares. So these are the mares that defeated Nightmare Moon. “Oh, I apologize. It has been too long if I had forgotten my saviours. I do not recall if I thanked you for redeeming me, but it means a lot to know that I have friends such as you, if you do not mind the presumptuous nature of my calling you as such.”

Rarity beamed. “Oh, that is most wonderful. You know, I would love to make a dress for you. Perhaps sometime later you and Twilight could come by my boutique?”

The changeling made to reply, but her words were cut off by the sudden reappearance of the party’s host. “Hey there! Guess what time it is!” She grinned and bounced in place, waiting eagerly for an answer. Luna and Rarity both prepared to supply the pink mare with a reply when she whipped out a large board with a pony painted onto it. “It’s time for my favoritest game ever! Pin the tail on the pony! Aaaaaaand, since you’re the guest of honor today, you get to go first!”

The changeling stood, momentarily dumbstruck, as Pinkie Pie hung the poster board upon the wall and returned with a dark blue pony tail. “How do I-”

“Well, it’s easy, silly! You just put on a blindfold,” Pinkie forced a black blindfold over Luna’s eyes, “spin around in circles,” and spun her multiple times until the alicorn was practically falling over her own hooves, “and try to pin the tail on the pony!” With that, she pushed the blunted end of the tail’s pin into the false-princess’ mouth and nudged her towards the general area of the target.

The midnight mare wobbled uneasily as she took a tentative step forward, much to the amusement of the other party-goers, but quickly found her footing again as she moved closer to the spot she had been aimed at. What is the point of this game? She listened for the cheering of the group of friends and, more specifically, the soft utterings of directions from the excited ponies before thrusting her muzzle forward and sticking the pin into the cork board. Honestly, this is completely pointless. She inched a part of her blindfold off to examine the results of her pinning, a bored expression on her face. Where is the fun in-

"Haha! I won!" She ripped the remainder of the cloth covering her eyes from her head and jumped with joy, then noticed the laughter coming from around her. The group of ponies gathered closer and congratulated the false-princess on her achievement which resulted in a surge of energy for the changeling as they unwittingly fed her. "I had my doubts about this game, but it I can see the appeal of winning."

Twilight chuckled and shook her head. "Oh, you haven't won yet, but you definitely did better than most of us would."

"I do not understand. My pin is almost perfectly placed. How is this not a victory?"

"Well, sugarcube, that's 'cause Pinkie hasn't gone yet." Applejack patted the alicorn consolingly, and pointed to where the pony in question was blindfolded and ready to go. "We ain't beat her once in the entire time we've known her. She's some kinda pin-the-tail master."

As they spoke, Rarity twirled the party pony faster than Luna thought possible, yet, when she was stopped, Pinkie didn't even seem phased. With inequine precision, she bounced cheerily up the the pin board and stuck the tail perfectly upon the pony's rump, taking the lead from the princess.

The dark queen gaped in amazement at the skill displayed for such a simple act. Pinkie simply trotted up to the runner-up and hugged her. "That was a great try, Lu-lu! Nopony's ever gotten that close to me before! I'm gonna have to keep my eyes on you if I wanna keep my champion title!"

They all watched the princess as she stared at her situational better, unsure of how she would react. The alicorn herself wasn't sure if she should be angry or impressed and her face reflected the conflicting thoughts writhing inside her mind. She scanned the other ponies, taking note of their unease, before returning to Pinkie Pie whose smile had drooped just slightly.

Luna burst with laughter. “Incredible! I've never heard of an earth pony with such precision! Are you certain you're not a unicorn without a horn?" She smiled, reveling in the emotions given freely to her. So amazing. Who'd have thought simple acts such as this could generate so much emotion from so many subjects? She turned to the purple mare at her side and her grin widened. All animosity she had felt at any point towards the unicorn, the pony that had helped her arrive at this point no matter how unwittingly, vanished as she was invigorated with the flood of love from the group.

A spike of regret tugged at her heart, the heart that had never cared for anything more than motherly love for her children, as she recalled how she had gotten this far. It was because I played her into feeding me, blinded her with magic and disguises. She sighed softly, an act that didn't go unheeded by her host who now watched her with worry upon her face. It is fine. She will not find out as long as I don't tell her. It's come too far for anything to go wrong.

Twilight nudged the queen, her concern only slightly masked so that her friends wouldn't catch on. "Is something wrong, Luna? You seemed kind of distressed."

The midnight blue mare shook her head and smiled, giving the unicorn a small amount of the love she had received back, even if she couldn't feel or truly appreciate it. Just this once. "No, everything's fine. In fact, I think everything's going to be perfect."

~{A}~{H}~{W}~{C}~

The changeling queen hovered above the clouds, staring down at the illuminated window of the treehome down below. Or, more specifically, the lavender mare sitting on the wooden balcony and staring out towards the towering mountain that held Canterlot City. She settled softly upon a cloud, her eyes never leaving the forlorn unicorn below her, and rested upon her hole-ridden legs. It had been a little less than a week since she had been to visit Twilight last and almost three since the failed get together and impromptu party honoring ‘her’ first public visit and she longed to spend time with her friends and, especially, Twilight.

But that was where the problem lay. Her mind played over each visit since that party, recalling the events that had led up to her current predicament. It had been fine after the party. We went back to her library and talked until I left to ‘raise the moon’. But it hadn’t. I returned some of her love.... Well, that isn’t too much of an issue. A queen mustn't exhaust her main food source if she wishes to draw from those around her. I came back a few days after that and nothing seemed too different. We talked about trivial topics and she read for us. Two days after that, I came back during the day and we had the picnic that had been reneged. Just her and I. I remember her feeding me more than usual, nothing further than pure friendship, but I had given back almost as much in fear of her health.

The insectoid mare bit her bottom lip, being careful not to let her fangs pierce the chitinous skin and shook her head. That wasn’t too much of a set-back and couldn’t have been abnormal. I returned it willingly. Then... there was our last meeting. It was a normal night like any of our previous get-togethers. We stayed up later than usual due to the most interesting book.... No, it wasn’t the book.... It was her.

Her gaze traced over Twilight’s body as the mare gazed longingly at the horizon, yawning occasionally as the moon continued on its descent across the sky. The book was absolutely boring, but she was captivating. She fell asleep and I remember watching her like I am now. Then it happened....

~{A}~{H}~{W}~{C}~

Author’s Notes: Wellp, here you gaiz go. Another chapter of AHWC that only took much longer than I wanted it to. You can all thank Jeky-poo again for kicking my ass to keep it going and can blame the internet (along with some of you) for keeping me from writing. Much thanks to Jekyll for his assistance and, once again, see if you can spot the references (if you can’t I’ll have to murder you all.). Anyhoof, I’mma be finishing this up before getting back to ND and ATFN, so expect at least two more chapters of this in the near future (hopefully within a couple weeks). Wellp, that be all, so.... Peppy out~!

Editor’s Notes: Another Peppy cliffhanger for ya. Well, was fun and stuff, but I just woke up and my head itches like mad so I’ll end it here. Ciao!