I'm not quite sure what it was about Ponyvile, but it has a much nicer atmosphere than our homeland. Something about the way the sun shines on this place make it seem so much more colorful and appealing to the eye compared to the gray and foggy cities I know. Even the citizens are more colorful in more ways than one. It was a welcome change of scenery.

The merchant I befriended during my walk around the town turned out to be a stagehand for the kingdom's Thespian Committee who volunteered to help with the trade. He wanted to join me to look for a birthday present for his wife, one of the committee's producers. I decided to seek the help of Lady Rarity, whom I met the week prior. From what she told me, she owned a boutique in town that doubled as her home. We found our way there thanks to the help of a lavender Pony; an Alicorn, local librarian, Lady Rarity's friend, and recently crowned princess of Equestria. She was nice enough to escort us  to the Carousel Boutique.

"Thank you so much for helping me with this! I appreciate it a lot." the stagehand said expressing his gratitude to Rarity.

"It's no problem at all. I apologize if the measurements are inaccurate though. I don't have her here in person so I had to improvise a bit. My supply of gems are also dried up because of a previous order too."

"She's not gonna mind. Modest garments are more her style. Spring green is a nice touch as well. You work fast. Impressive."

"With the kind of orders I tend to get, you get used to meeting deadlines."

"You know, the Committee's next project is coming up within the few months. We could use an expert costume designer, would you be interested in contributing? You would be well compensated for your work."

"Really?! Are you sure about that?." To say that Rarity was flattered by the offer would be a massive understatement. Sure, she had filled orders for plays in the past, including when she got her cutie mark and contributed to the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant a few times, but this would have been the first time contributing to a project that big. Her work would appear in big shot theaters and opera houses. Especially considering the committee was looking to set up a branch in Equestria. It was a huge opportunity for her career, one that almost seemed too good to be true.

"My wife is one of the producers of the program. I can put a word in for you. And seeing your work first hoof, It shouldn't be hard to get recognition."

"Oooh that sounds exciting! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU.... Um, I'm sorry I never did get our name."

The stagehand felt a bit dumb when he realized this. "Array."

"Oh Array, thank you!" Just as the stagehand was about to leave with the gift box containing the dress, Rarity had one more thing to say. "Oh and if you see Valour again, please give him my gratitude as well. Had I not met him, I would've never gotten this offer of a life time." Array nodded in acknowledgement and walked out the door, heading back to Sweet Apple Acres.

"Excuse me but do you mind if I ask you something Captain?" the Alicorn bookworm said.

"Shoot."

"This may seem like a weird question but do you mind if I do a survey?"

This peaked Valour's curiosity. "A survey of what exactly?"

"You see, I don't have any books on changeling history or biology. The only thing I know is that they're insectoid ponies and that they feed off love. I would like to record as much information as I can." Twilight said trying to be as inoffensive as possible.

Valour couldn't help but crack a grin. He was actually amused. "You really are Celestia's disciple. Okay, I don't see why not. I'm not a scientist but I'll try to answer your questions the best I can." At this, Twilight reached into her saddlebag and took out a notebook and pencil.

"Now then, first quesiton: I know that changelings feed off love. Do you use other emotions?"

"First off, we technically don't feed off emotion, we harness energy from them. We still need real food to function properly just like any other life form. I suppose we could have a diet of emotional energy if we really wanted to, but doing so would lead to serious malnutrition. Let's see, how should I explain this?" Valour paused for a bit to think of a comparison. "I guess you could say emotion is like fuel for magic while actual food is, well, energy. Does that make sense?"

"I think so." Twilight said writing on her notebook.

"To answer your question, we are not limited to love. Actually, most of us have a preference for what emotion we like, but different emotions give different amounts of fuel. After all, just because somepony doesn't like carrots doesn't mean their any less healthy for you. If you look at it this way, the emotion of love is comparable to broccoli, spinach, salmon, or rich which by the way is a personal favorite. On the other side of the spectrum, the emotion that gives the least amount of fuel would be hate, comparing it to foods with empty calories or high amounts of fat. That said, too much of the fuel causes backlash and negative results when it reacts with some spells. In the case of Queen Chrysalis in the wedding incident, the overflow of love between Shining Armor and Princess Cadance combined with the former's barrier spell caused a reverse magnetism effect which forced them out of Canterlot. Think of it as putting too much air in a balloon: the balloon needs air in order to float but too much causes pressure and it breaks. Same goes with changelings, though they don't die but rather they get sick or disoriented and it's temporary."

"Changelings need a balance of fuel and nutrition to operate correctly: we need the fuel to carry out body functions, like say digestion, and we need the nutrition to gather and use said fuel. To forego one deprives us of the other. You can make a similar comparison with food and water."

"Hm. Interesting." Twilight said trying to write faster. Valour took a minute to let her catch up. "While we're on the subject of food, are changelings primarily herbivores or carnivores? And in the case of the latter, what is the primary source of food?"

"Both actually. Plants are harder to digest for us though, so our main diet consists of the meat and protein group, which tends to be mostly of fish and poultry since those types of animals are fairly easy to find. Beef and lamb is uncommon, but not unheard of; because of how scarce they are back home, they're considered a delicacy. A popular choice recently seems to be nuts. Bread is another one since it's a very filling food. For the fruit and vegetable group, we use lot of apples and corn. Like I said, we all have our preferences."

"So omnivores leaning towards the carnivorous side?"

"Eeyup."

Twilight felt her stomach growl. All this talk about food reminded her that she missed breakfast. "Uh, do you think we could continue this survey another time? I've got a gotta get some lunch." she said blushing.

"I understand. I should probably check back in with the caravan anyway."

One month went by as a steady trade system was set into place between both nations. The changeling kingdom used their surplus of funds to pay for Equestria's flourishing supply of food. The day of the official treaty hearing was approaching and the leaders of both sides were fairly confident of the outcome. However, a certain prime minister was reviewing his relationship with his sister. After hours of thinking, he got up and headed to the queen's chamber.

"Chrissy, I implore you, think about the situation. Our kingdom is prospering thanks to their help." Vigour said opening the door. Chrysalis was standing by the window watching the rain outside.

The changeling queen turned back to look and sighed. "Little brother? I suppose I can't deny that. Yes, you were right. Your plan was better. My logic was flawed."

Vigour was taken aback. Normally, his sister wasn't this humble. He wasn't complaining but he wasn't prepared for it. After nearly a decade of arguing every time they crossed paths, he was ready for another falling out.

"I've been thinking. You've done more for this nation in the past 60 days than I have in my entire reign. You've succeeded where I previously failed. When I started, I didn't know what to do. But instead of acting on impulse, you did research. You evaluated the problem and rose up to the challenge with glee. Me? Most of them just think I'm arrogant and incompetent; and they'd be right." she quickly looked back at the window to hide her face, but Vigour could see her reflection from where he was standing. She was starting to cry.

The prime minister moved closer to his sister. "Chrissy, are... are you okay?"

She wiped away her tears. "I'm sorry Vigour. I'm feeling low. Why did I have to be the older sibling? Why did I have to be the one to take father's place? I'm just... I don't deserve the crown. I think I'm going to-" But before she could finish, her little brother put his hoof on her shoulder.

"Sister, I'm not going to lie, I don't approve of your past actions. Many of us don't even now. But we know you had the welfare of this kingdom in mind. Incompetent? Perhaps. But arrogant? Come on! We don't really think that. Just look at how many loyal subjects you have."

"But-"

"If you still question the loyalty of our subjects, just think about this: many of them were doubtful your invasion plan would succeed. I should know, I talked with a lot of them. And yet on that day, many of them could have deserted if they wanted to. But they didn't. Even after the failed invasion and you were left to recover, they stuck with you. What do you think that says about you?"

"I see your point but I still don't know. I still made you mad with our arguments."

"Oh please! THAT was just us being siblings. We've always been close sister, no amount of arguments can make me look up to you any less." That really touched her heart. She started crying again

"Chrysalis. If there's one thing you have over me, it would be charisma. I operate on the logical and reasonable side of the government. You operate on emotion and enthusiasm. I make actions based on what they need. You make actions based on what they want. If we start working together like we did when we were foals, than we stand to gain much more. What do you say Chrissy?"

The older queen wiped away another tear then smiled. "Yeah. Yeah I'd like that a lot." The two embraced each other in a hug.

"I love you, big sister."

"I love you a slightly larger amount, little brother."