Applejack turned toward the first tree of the day, glowering at the sun as it slowly moved toward the midpoint of the sky. She'd woken up too late after too little sleep to really handle the entire field herself, but Big Mac hadn't bothered to return home yesterday. The farmpony could only assume that the creature that replaced her friend had her fangs deep into his neck. Growling softly to herself she spied the spot on the trunk that would result in the perfect displacement of the apples among the limbs. Turning, she cocked her hips and put all her weight on her front legs. Looking back over her shoulder she angled herself until her hind legs were free in the air before unleashing the tension in her limbs and sending her rear hooves hurtling at full strength toward the tree. The image of Twilight smiling apologetically as she told the truth earlier flashed into her mind.

Less than a second later, she found herself flat on the ground, having completely missed the tree. Grumbling, she stood up, repeated the aiming process and sent the full anger she was feeling toward the tree. An image of her brother placing a leg over the former unicorn's shoulders flashed into her mind and she hit the ground again with a loud, "Oof!"

"Consarnit, what the hay is the matter with me?" she muttered as she looked the tree over again, "It's that dang bug! She musta put some spell on me to keep me distracted from mah work!"

Applejack shook her head again and then headbutted the tree a few times, shaking a couple of apples loose. It seemed to help, at least in her mind. She tried to buck again, but was assaulted by the image of Twilight becoming the queen in front of her again before she went sliding across the ground, having put a bit more effort into this particular miss.

"Why? Why can't ah buck this dang tree? What the hay did she do to me..."

"She didn't do nothin' to ya that ya ain't doin' to yerself," came a strong voice from behind her as she lay on the ground.

"Don't you talk to me, Big Mac. Yer under her spell."

"AJ, look at me."

"Nope, yer probably not even really mah brother. Probably one her minions in disguise," she said, standing and starting to walk away, back to the house.

"Jacquelyn Devine Apple! Y'all listen to me!"

The mare winced at the use of her full name. Only family knew it, and they weren't likely to tell anypony, even a changeling, "Fine. Talk," she said, turning around and glaring up at her brother from underneath the brim of her hat.

"Yer 'bout to learn somethin' that most Earth Ponies tend ta ferget. We may not have horns or wings, but we got our own magic, tied to the earth herself. One thing about the earth, it's strong. It can adapt to perty much anythin' you wanna throw at it. So can we. Ya build up a resistance to things that're used on ya. Between that Smartypants incident, the love poison, and all the unicorns ah've had to deal with tryin' to use their mind influencin' spells durin' business negotiations, ah've built up a resistance to mind spells. Her memory wipe spell only barely worked, and that's cause she was a damn powerful unicorn to begin with before she became a changeling queen.

She couldn't make me her willin' slave even if she wanted to, AJ. She doesn't. She actually does love me, in her own weird bookworm queen way. Ah like her too. She's a fine mare and she took on the burden of an entire bucking species so her brother and sister-in-law wouldn't have committed genocide. She did that for family, AJ, somethin' ah thought we Apples understood. She became one of the most feared critters in the world so her family's souls wouldn't have that stain on them. She's still the same Twilight Sparkle, she's just got a different skin. Ah woulda thought you coulda seen that, but yer own prejudice and stubbornness has blinded ya to the fact that she's still yer friend! She told you want she did so she wouldn't have to lie to ya! If she weren't yer friend anymore, she woulda just let you keep thinkin' nothin' were different and then turned ya into one of her minions or kidnapped ya to feed her drones. Hay, she coulda just killed or turned me instead of tryin to make sure Ah'd stay me.

One of these days, AJ, yer gonna need to get the fact that things don't always fit yer narrow view of the world. Mares'll marry mares, colts'll marry colts, friend's'll change, but they're still yer friends, and if ah know your friends only half as well as you do, they'll always be there. Hay, they may as well be family."

Applejack just stared. She'd never heard that many words come out of her brother's mouth at once unless he was really serious. He was right, though. She'd done what she had done for her family, not for power or out of some crazy desire to know more about Changelings. Slowly, the shame washed over her until her head drooped toward the ground and her hat lowered over her face to hide it from her brother. Her lips moved, but her vocal chords only produced the faintest sound.

"Ah didn't hear ya, AJ, ya gotta speak up."

"Ah said ah'm sorry!" She shouted, kicking the ground.

"Ah'm not the one y'all need to apologize to, sis. Twi's meetin' the Princesses fer lunch soon, so get over there quick if ya want to apologize before they get there."

"The Princesses?"

"Ya had Spike send a letter. Ya kinda forced her hand into tellin' Celestia a little earlier than she wanted to. She was hopin' to have the hive hospitable first."

"Ah... don't know what to say to her."

"Tell her yer sorry. Ya made a mistake."

"Ah... ah don't think ah can."

Big Mac sighed and bucked the tree with one easy motion, sending the apples into the basket, "Just say yer sorry. She'll understand. Git, Ah got this field."

"Thanks, Big Mac. If ya see Applebloom, tell her ah went inta town fer a meetin' and ah'll help her with the cider press as soon as ah get back."

The larger pony nodded as his sister walked off toward the house, hoping things went well. His sister could be incredibly stubborn to the point of hurting their business if she set her mind to something, but he could always tell when she was just doing it because she didn't like change. It usually resulted in her not being to be hit the broad side of the barn with her bucks.

Applejack paused at the barn to hose off the dirt and sweat she'd built up from her failed attempts at productivity before heading straight down the path toward Ponyville and an apology she knew she should give, but didn't really want to just yet. There was more here than the fact that her friend had become queen of the Changelings. She'd done it without discussing it with anypony. Admittedly, there probably hadn't been time to convene and discuss it, but she should have at least told somepony right away instead of waiting.

Well, none of that mattered now. The farmer made her way up to the library door and pushed in only to be assaulted by various smells she had no idea could exist in the same place and Rarity's voice nagging mercilessly, "Honestly, Twilight, if you'd stand still for ten seconds I could finish this dress!"

"I can't stand still, I have to finish getting the library ready for the princess' visit!"

"Your guardians are doing just fine, and Spike is managing the kitchen so all you need to do is relax," she said, tightening a band around the queen's barrel, "and let me finish!"

Applejack cleared her throat as she walked in, "Uh, 'scuse me?"

Twilight spun, knocking Rarity over and stumbling herself on the hem of the dress, "Applejack! Hi!"

"Hi, Ah came over cause... Cause ah wanted to apologize fer how Ah reacted the other night. Ah should've listened to the why instead of just freakin' out over you bein' a changeling."

"It's alright, Applejack, I understand. I'm just glad you're here. I didn't want to lose any of my friends over this."

"Well, mah brother helped me understand why y'all did what you did."

Twilight smiled again before wincing as Rarity tightened another band, "Rarity, I think that's tight enough."

"Nonsense, darling, I simply must make sure your figure is shown off to its fullest."

The queen groaned, "Fine, just hurry up, they'll be here any minute!"

"It's going to be at least twenty minutes. Plenty of time to calm yourself now that I'm done." Rarity smiled and stood back to admire her hoofwork.

Even Applejack was amazed at the change a bit of proper clothes could do to an intimidating figure such as a changeling queen. Instead of being a fearsome beast, she looked every bit as regal as the princesses. The seamstress had done a marvelous job.

Shaking the Manehattenite out of her mind, she moved a bit further into the library, "Y'know, Rares, you outdid yerself this time. Even ah can see that she's nothin' to be feared now."

"Good, then my job is done and I can still make my spa date with Fluttershy! Twilight, please don't shapeshift while you're wearing that, I'm not sure if that is actual fire or a visual effect, but I doubt you want to be wearing a pile of flaming silk."

"It's just an effect, but I don't want to be trapped in this as my normal size to begin with."

"Speakin' of, Twi, y'all are a lot taller than ya were when I left."

"Oh, well, my guardians hatched and I fed them some love so I guess that finished the transformation."

"Well, ya still look like you... Kinda... Just taller."

"Oh no," Twilight said, and would have paled if it had been possible, "I hope the Princesses don't notice... I don't want to tell them who I really am just yet!"

"Well, ah wouldn't worry. Even if they do spot it, Ahm sure Celestia would understand."

"I hope so."

"Well, ah'll be gettin' outta yer mane too. Good luck with yer meetin', and again, ah'm sorry about... y'know."

"It's okay, AJ, I understand, really. Have a good day, girls."

"Oh, I will, darling," Rarity said with a grin as Applejack just nodded before the two left. Applejack slowly made her way back to her orchard and hopefully some successful bucking.

Twilight paced the library's main room while her guardians finished cleaning and polishing every surface to a mirror shine. Once they were finished, she sent them back to the hive and sat at the kitchen table to wait for the arrival of her mentor and the princess of the night, "Spike? Am I doing the right thing?"

"What do you mean, Twilight?" the dragon said, slipping a roasting pan full of vegetables into the oven.

"Calling a meeting with the Princesses so soon after the attack... Taking over for Chrysalis... everything..."

"Well, I think you're in full crisis management mode. If you don't talk to them now you're going to freak out and we don't need a repeat of the Smartypants incident."

"I... I guess you're right."

"Seriously, Twi, have some tea, take a deep breath, lunch'll be ready by the time they get here and there won't be a problem. Promise," he said with a smile and returned to the giant pot of soup. The subtle garlic aroma and hint of leeks filled the kitchen as his potato leek soup took shape. It was nearly ready just needed a pinch of salt and some gems, well, everything needed gems to him.

He stirred it again and carefully dipped his spoon in to taste it once more. Perfect enough that he could serve it to the princesses when they arrived, "Well, soup's ready. When are they getting here?"

Twilight looked at the clock and then made for the main room, "Any second!" she cried as she stood carefully in the middle of the room, making sure her dress looked immaculate, and trying to adopt a queenly air. She was surprised by two bright flashes of light. The light dissipated as quickly as it came and revealed the Diarchs of Equestria in full regalia, standing confidently with neutral expressions as they took in the area around them. Between them stood a serene looking pegasus, Starcast, recovered from her ordeal as vessel for her majesty.

Celestial had been hoping to see her student before meeting the Queen, who stood in front of them clad in a rather wonderful dress. The magical aura about it screamed Rarity and she wondered if it had been willingly made or not. She hoped for the former if solely because that meant that one of the elements of harmony had not been corrupted. Still, this was a new queen, a new queen with a disturbingly familiar hairstyle that was now bowing slightly.

"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, it is an honor to meet you face to face. Please, follow me to the kitchen, Spike has prepared a wonderful meal for us," Twilight said as regally as she could muster, before turning and moving carefully into the kitchen, levitating the chairs around the table out for everypony to sit on.

Celestia and Luna followed, both slightly on edge, expecting an ambush right up until they took their seats. The solar diarch looked over at the queen and for a nanosecond, her mouth twitched upward in a smile. Luna raised an eyebrow as the changeling levitated over several bowls of steaming soup. She sniffed it curiously, "Potato Leek?"

Spike nodded, "Just finished it too, I've also got some veggies roasting and a nice cheesecake for dessert."

"Thank you, Spike, I look forward to trying it," Celestia said, "So, my faithful student, were you planning on telling me you were the new changeling queen or were you going to pretend I wouldn't recognize your magical signature?"

Twilight spit a spoonful of soup all over the table in front of her and dropped the spoon that she had been holding in her aura to the floor with a clatter. Luna raised her other eyebrow to join the first, "Tia? You cannot be serious."

"I'm completely serious, Luna. Remember how I thought the signature on that spell she used yesterday was familiar? I didn't recognize it completely because it was filtered through distance and a changeling. It's still different, but it is definitely Twilight Sparkle sitting here with us."

"W-well, I guess that about ruins all of my notes... Are you mad at me, Princess?" Twilight asked, looking nervously between her mentor and the princess of the night.

"Why would I be mad at you? Yes, you did lie to me, but it was more of an omission than an outright deception. I'm not mad at you, though I am curious as to why you became a changeling, let alone Queen of the changelings."

Twilight sighed and related the tale of how she found Chrysalis in her bedroom and had agreed to take up the mantle so her family wouldn't be the committers of genocide, and everything leading up that moment, minus the sex.

"So there are only you and your guardians?"

"Well, and Pinkie Pie, she really wanted to be a Changeling for some reason, and I gave her all the information I could to dissuade her, but... She's still Pinkie though, she's not a mindless drone."

"That's good to hear, I suppose. I can only hope the Element of Laughter still recognizes her as its wielder," Celestia said, slowly getting lost in thought, "Well, Twilight, or should I call you Queen Neoptera?"

"Uh, when dealing with the changelings, I'm the queen, but I'm still me ninety percent of the time, so, whichever you'd prefer."

"Very well, since this supposed to be a formal alliance, I suppose we should address certain things properly. Queen Neoptera, as I was going to say, Chrysalis has a lot to answer for, and as her successor, you have taken on that burden as well. The costs to repair Canterlot after the attack are staggering and we don't have nearly the ponypower to get it done in a feasible time frame. There's also been a rash of violence against suspected changelings, some of which we've come to discover are changelings! Did members of her original hive survive?"

"Yes and no. Her hive has exiled several... hundred... Changelings. These have been living peacefully among ponies for years, several here in Ponyville in fact. They have no tie to the old hive or my own and are as independent as any other pony. I ask that you leave them in peace and keep their secret. Though I have found that most of them have revealed their true nature to their loved ones at some point before or after the invasion from hearsay and my own scouts. As for the repairs to Canterlot, I perhaps have a solution, though it would require some time to come to fruition.

"I have decided to keep the hive small, since the size of Chrysalis' former hive was the main reason for her desperate attack upon Canterlot. A Changeling drone requires approximately three weeks of growth to fully acclimate to the hive and be useful. I... have a coltfriend who would be willing... and could feasibly spawn anywhere from fifty to three hundred drones by this time next week. I would prefer not to have to handle three hundred, but if that is what you need to assist in the rebuilding of Canterlot..."

"I'd prefer not to have three hundred drones running around Canterlot!" Luna interjected before being silenced by a glance from her sister, "Apologies."

"Three hundred is quite a bit too many. When I said we lacked the ponypower, it was mostly due to a lack of funds. Unfortunately, I doubt Chrysalis left much behind in the ways of a treasury. Additional bodies would be helpful, but only so many as you feel you can handle."

"I think I can feed and control fifty drones rather easily, and the location I have picked for the hive has just enough space. As for the treasury, there actually is some left in the former hive, but I have not had time to retrieve it or take inventory. Chryssy seems to have forgotten most of the details."

"Where did you choose to locate your new hive, if I may ask, Queen Neoptera?"

Luna tilted her head and mouthed, "Chryssy?" to Celestia before Twilight responded.

"Please don't be mad... but I was planning to have it in the old underground cavern below the ruins of your old castle in the everfree."

"That's an odd location, but if it's suitable, I have no issue with it, do you, Luna?"

The night princess shook her head slowly, "I would prefer not to visit that ruin again, so I may have to bow out of further treaty meetings."

"So, the location is fine, but, 'Chryssy?'"

"Oh, um, to keep me from going insane when I took over, she kind of left an imprint of her personality in my head to help filter the memories and information without driving me off the deep end. Surprisingly helpful, if a bit distracting in intimate moments."

"I can imagine," Celestia said with a smirk as her student did her best attempt to blush through a carapace.

"Well, I will send a few guardians to the location of the former hive to take inventory of the treasury. It should take them about three days to get there."

"That sounds agreeable. I hate to press the issue, but you are not planning on betraying us, are you?"

"Of course not! If anything I'd like to be in a full alliance. Chryssy says that the Equestrian army, combined with a swarm of well-fed changelings, could match any force on the planet. We have much to offer you, and all we need is a little love," she said with a shiver. She could feel the motherly love from Celestia washing over her like a wave of perfectly warm water, refreshing her more than the wonderful soup in front of her ever could. It took a lot of effort for Twilight not to moan in pleasure with each pulse of emotion she felt.

Celestia could tell that her student was flustered, "What's wrong, Twilight? Are you alright?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine, Princess. It's just... well... I can feel how you feel about me and it's quite... invigorating. I never knew you felt that way."

It was the solar princess' turn to blush, "What way would that be?" she asked, eyes shifting back and forth as Luna smirked.

"Like... Like I was your daughter."

Luna smiled and made a soft d'aww noise. Celestia seemed visibly relieved and Twilight was just smiling contentedly, "Well, Queen Neoptera, I believe we have an accord, at least temporarily."

"I'm glad to hear that, Princess. I'll have those drones as soon as I can get Big Mac away from the farm."

"You are courting the one called Big Mac? He is a wonderous stallion. We had thought creatures of his stature had been bred out over the centuries."

"Luna, just because most of the nobles are small and squishy doesn't mean that strong stallions died out completely."

"I hate to interrupt, ladies, but the main course has arrived," Spike interjected, having plated and readied some wonderfully roast vegetables for the trio while they finished their soup.

Celestia smiled and gave the young dragon a kiss on the forehead, "Thank you, Spike. A gracious host as always."

"A-always a pleasure, Princess," he said with a grin before leaving the table. The meal continued with a rather easy pace as more details were hammered out as far as the relationship between the Everfree Hive as it was to be known and Equestria. For now, the relationship would remain secret, and Twilight would continue to live as Twilight full time unless she was needed in her role as Queen of the Changelings. The exiles that were living among ponies would be left alone, or allowed to join the new hive if they so desired once word got to them. Once the cheesecake had been served and consumed, the princesses took their leave after exchanging hugs with Twilight.

"Do write more often, Twilight Sparkle. I enjoy reading your letters as much as my sister does," Luna said with a smile.

"I'll try to keep it up, but being a Queen is a busy job!"

"Busy as a bee, I'd think," joked Celestia only to receive a hoof to the rib from her sister, "Oof!"

"Even I know that joke is in poor taste, sister."

Twilight was giggling, "It's alright, really. I'll see you both again soon, and thanks for taking care of Starcast."

"It was no trouble, she was quite well behaved."

"I'm glad to hear that. Thought I knew that anyway. Being part of a hive mind is interesting. Well, I should get out of this dress and get some errands done before it gets too late."

"We should get back to Canterlot, I've delayed court far too long and the nobles will be antsy."

"We will persevere, sister," Luna said before turning back to Twilight and smiling before vanishing in a flash of light.

"Twilight... I'm proud of you... Please don't make me regret that."

"I won't, Princess, I promise. I've already... if anything goes wrong, it will be taken care of."

Celestia winced slightly, "Well, planning as always. I hope it won't come to that. Hmm, I may have you cover for me so I can sneak away on vacation sometime soon!" she added with a grin to lighten the mood.

"I think the nobles would eat me alive."

"Oh, they're not that bad, usually. Be glad it won't be tax week."

Twilight shuddered, remembering the one time she had sat in on a session of tax law debates. She hugged Celestia again and then watched as her mentor vanished in a flash of light. Sighing, Twilight removed her dress and disguised herself as her normal unicorn form, flopping onto a cushion. She had been so nervous the entire time, but the motherly love from the princess had kept her going.

"Spike, take a letter please."

"Sure, Twilight, whenever you're ready."

Dear Princess Celestia,

Sometimes, you have to take big chances in life in order to move forward. In taking those chances, you can risk everything you have, including your life. However, true friends will stick by you, no matter what, and some will make the plunge with you. You might even find a few new friends along the way.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

Author's Note

No, this is not the end, just a good spot for a chapter break. After all, we still have a whole bunch of things I need to do with this particular universe, though I may jump ahead a bit in time. I might also change the tags a bit since this isn't really a romantic comedy anymore... Unless you guys want me to stick to Big Mac and Twilight... but I was thinking of a little adventure with the changelings in the wastes getting the treasure, maybe some Pinkie Pie shenanigans.

This story could go a lot of directions, but I'm going to keep it light-hearted. About the darkest I'm going is that one little reference in this chapter to Twilight's planning for if she turns into Chrysalis...

Anyway, here's the way future chapters will look, lots of words!