Twilight was deeply rattled. She'd not known Luna for nearly as long as she'd known Celestia, but she'd always felt she had grown to know the night princess quite well. In the few years they had been friends she'd seen Luna exuberant, thoughtful, depressed, pompous, affectionate, even angry, but she'd never seen her as she was seeing her now:  reduced to rage-filled tears.

"Fifteen of them!" She raged. "Fifteen, Tia! An entire garrison's worth of my Children of the Night forswore their oath to me and fled to the arms of this wretch Darth Vulcan--- all because of YOU!" She flung the furled reports against the wall violently. The loose papers fluttered down like leaves in a storm.

"This is not my fault, Luna!" Celestia shouted back angrily.

"Oh, are there MORE lies you would like to add to the list?" Luna seethed. With a pop she summoned a beaker of the alchemist's blood substitute. She bobbled it in the air in front of Celestia's nose. "When I returned, you told me of the ridiculous blood-ban those noisome Lords put on my thestrals. You told me of this, this drek you forced them to drink instead of the fluid of life they need. You swore to me that it was as good as the real thing. You SWORE to me that it would do them no harm!

"And fool that I am, I believed you." Her eyes narrowed to slits. "More the fool I, I never did investigate for myself-- till I heard of my little night ponies abandoning me, in desperation to quench their thirst. Surely it could not be this bad?

"Oh no, it was WORSE. I secured vials of the potion for myself, and tested them. Dost thou know what I found?" The bottle shook in rage. "It was SWILL! Not half of the vital essences of real blood, and mere traces of those... stirred in with a potion to suppress the blood appetite. This, this colored water would not nourish a starving stoat!" The bottle sailed across the room to smash against a hanging tapestry.

Twilight, who had been trying to gather the scattered papers, yelped and dodged the flying glass. "But that can't be true," she protested. "I studied the blood substitute in my alchemy classes. It's made of proteins, vitamins, amino acids..."

"And sawdust," Luna gritted, "Is vegetable fiber." She glared into Twilight's gawping face.

Celestia looked stricken. "Luna, I swear to you I did not know," she began.

Luna whirled on her. "How could you not?" she shouted. "They were under your wing nigh on a century ere I returned! Did you not question why my thestrals seemed so lethargic? So much weaker? Why they left the service for "health reasons,"  near a decade sooner than thine own Solar Guard? Why after returning from exile, they began slowly dying out? Nay, Twilight," she said, tossing an aside to the Princess of Magic. "Malnourished mares cannot bear foals, nor nurse them." Her face crumpled a bit. "To think that the mares, my night ponies came to me on the very eve of my return, querying why they struggled so hard to bear... and I could do nothing but stand there, making promises and platitudes like a fool..." she wiped her eyes. "Well, I kept my promise. I tarried sore, but I have learned why. The question remains, why did not THEE?"

Celestia shook her head. "Luna... Lulu... I never knew the inner workings, the alchemy of your thestrals the way you did. My physicians and alchemists, the best minds swore to me over and over that the synthetic blood was doing them no harm..." She shook her head again. "It was never meant to be a permanent solution-- just a temporary thing, till the ponies were used to them again. I knew the alchemist's blood was a poor substitute, but I felt it was more important to have your faithful followers returned to Equestria, and waiting for you when you returned...."

"Then why did you banish them in the first place?" Luna accused.

"I didn't! The Nobles did!" Celestia turned her gaze away. "Even in my own ears it sounds like blame-shifting," she said ruefully, " but it is the truth. The lords and barons, the knights and generals, they would not heed me. They drove the thestral tribes out, swearing that they would not give Nightmare Moon's loyal minions a chance to take vengeance. Had I resisted, defied them...." she shuddered. "Better exile than outright riot and revolt." She looked pleadingly into Luna's teary eyes. "It took every one of those nine hundred years before ponies had forgotten enough. Even then I had to compromise, accept the Blood Laws--- you have no idea how frightened ponies were of the thestrals, Lulu--"

"Why?" Luna shrieked. "Did you tell everypony that THEY ate foals, too?"

Sometimes words can draw more blood than any knife. "Luna..." Celestia said, heartbroken.

Luna didn't care to hear what she had to say. "This folly ends, sister. I will not have my Foals of the Night left half-dead on pills and potions, because your whey-blooded subjects are too full of the faints and the whimpers to see a little blood!" She stamped her hoof so hard the marble cracked. Lightning cracked in reply in the skies outside. "Either end the Blood Laws, or I will end them for you by calling a Wild Hunt!"

Twilight had never seen Celestia's eyes go so round. "Luna, no, you cannot--think of the pony's reactions---"

"I care not!" Luna stamped again. Fangs grew in her mouth. "My thestrals will fly and feed again! It is their birthright, and I will lead them as is mine!"

"NO YOU WILL NOT!" Celestia thundered. Her eyes turned white; her mane and tail turned to a corona of flame. "I FORBID IT, LUNA! I WILL NOT HAVE YOU THROW EQUESTRIA INTO A PANIC IN A FIT OF PIQUE!"

The dark princess... quailed in fear, cringing down before her sister. It was brief, barely a moment, but the effect was instant. Celestia's flames died and her terrible white eyes faded to her own pain-filled lavender ones. "Oh Luna..." she said, holding out a hoof, beseeching.

Luna straightened up, holding herself stiff. "So," she said, her voice trembling ever so slightly. "It is to be thus."

"Luna I am so sorry, I..." The younger sister turned and walked away as if she'd said nothing. "Luna, please, I promise you we will fix this."

Luna looked back over her shoulder. "Your promises would matter to me," she said, her voice wobbling dangerously, "if you ever kept any of them." She looked ahead and continued walking. Her walk turned to a canter, then to a gallop as she raced from the throne room, tears streaking down her midnight face.

Celestia stood in the middle of the room, head hanging low. "Oh, Celestia..." Twilight said, moving to Celestia's side. They stood that way for several minutes, wordless. As the silence stretched, Twilight fished for something, anything to break it.  "...A Wild Hunt?" asked.

Celestia looked to her former student. "A.. feasting hunt, for all the thestrals in Equestria," she explained. "It was a festivity for the entire thestral tribe. They would fly out at night, following my sister, bringing down great beasts together and ending the night in a massive feast." she smiled faintly. "There are far fewer monsters in Equestria today than there would be, thanks to those little hunting jaunts."

"Why haven't I ever heard of this, or seen anything commemorating it?" Twilight asked.

A fleeting look of amusement crossed Celestia's face. "You have. Remember that giant mummified hydra in the Equestrian Natural Museum?"

"Yyyeeeeeeesssss...?"

"It wasn't exactly mummified. It was drained of blood."

"Yeeek," Twilight said faintly.

"It... would have been just the thing needed, back a thousand years," Celestia said. "But if she flew a Wild Hunt now, ponies would panic-- there are already fears, with the news of the thestrals defecting... if ponies see them out  there, hunting and killing and feeding, even just on squirrels or pigeons, there would be riots, violence---"

"I understand," Twilight hastened to say. "Poor Luna. Having her ponies... abandon her... and to join Darth Vulcan of all creatures..." she shivered.

"A drowning pony will grasp at anything, even the point of a sword," Celestia said mournfully.

"Can't we just... revoke those laws?" Twilight asked. "Or issue a decree or something?"

Celestia shook her head. "It was passed by the house of Lords, and written on the books," she said. "I could issue an executive order suspending them, but they could reverse it after mere days.

"And it isn't just the Blood Laws. The average pony in the street doesn't even know that the thestrals aren't strict herbivores; the fears that would arise would have to be dealt with. The medical community has preached for years that the blood hunger is a deviant throwback that needs to be suppressed, rather than a natural appetite that needs to be fed--- we would have to change the minds of nearly every influential doctor in Equestria on the matter. Tartarus, more than a fair share of the thestrals themselves believe that!

"Then there are those who profit directly from the Blood Laws: the alchemist guilds who make the blood substitute, the few doctors who specialize in "blood addiction therapy..." they would lobby fiercely and donate heavily to keep the Blood Laws on the books. And the scaremongering by the press---" she groaned. "It would be a nightmare."

"But what happens when word leaks out why the Thestrals are abandoning their posts?" Twilight said.

"And there it is," Celestia fretted. "Throw out the laws, cause an anti-thestral panic. But do nothing, and watch an anti-thestral panic unfold anyway...and watch the thestral's loyalties fade away, and rightly so---" She swore suddenly. "DAMN that Darth Vulcan! He's thrown the cat among the pigeons this time..." She rubbed her forehead with a hoof. "Do you suppose he is truly this cunning, or does he just make it up as he goes along??"

Twilight bit her lip and scowled. "There must be some way to turn this to our advantage," she said, brooding. "We have to undo those laws, cut off Darth Vulcan's leverage, and win back the Thestral's loyalty..."  She blinked suddenly; her horn even lit up briefly. "Wait, I think I have it... Celestia, I don't know if I remember correctly, but isn't there something in the law about the disposition of the Guards in time of war...?"

It only took a brief run to the law libraries to find the volume in question. The tome slammed down on the library table, somehow failing to raise the requisite cloud of dust, but raising a stern "SSSHH!" from the attending librarian.

"Sorry," Twilight said, grinning sheepishly. Her purple aura enclosed the book; pages fluttered till she found the section in question. She read aloud as a curious Celestia peered over her shoulder. "In the events of a proclamation of war or indeterminate police action or other yadda yadda yadda.... ah here it is. 'the sovereign of the land shall render final dictate on the provider of all soldier's provisions, chosen from those decreed acceptable for commission for the necessary provender by the government, by issue of a contract form etcetera, etcetera.' Perfect!"

"Twilight, I'm not quite sure where you're going with this," Celestia said. "All this states is that I can pick which government contractor provides supplies and provisions for our troops in time of war."

"Or protracted police action... and seeing as Darth Vulcan has a small army camped out in the middle of the Everfree smack dab in the middle of Equestria, I'd call dealing with him a protracted police action at the least," Twilight said.

"And how does this help us?"

Twilight smirked. "It helps us negotiate."

Flask and Beaker's Alchemaical Goods was about one would expect from an alchemist's lab; dusty, dimly lit by amber lamps, lined with beakers, bottles and tubes and books of recipes. The owner of the shop was likewise predictable; an older, rangy pale green stallion with a grey bottle-broom mustache and a wispy mane that curled around his head like a cloud, and a slightly bemused expression. Of course the slightly bemused expression may have been due to having one of the three reigning princesses of Equestria standing in his office, while several very severe-looking guards stood watch at the doors and windows.

"As I was saying, Mister Flask," the small, purple alicorn was saying cheerfully, "We wished to be the first to congratulate you on your creation of a new, improved formula for the Thestral Vitae Potion. You've made quite the discovery."

"I have?" Flask said.

"Oh indeed. Why it's going to help revolutionize the market." A folder containing a very flamboyantly worded commendation from the Princesses and an extremely obtusely worded "recipe" in alchemic code that was, when translated, the equivalent of 'put the lime in the coconut' materialized on his desk, alongside a small bag of gold bits and gems. "And to think that it has such simple ingredients...." An empty flask, a small bottle of food coloring, and another flask of a dark red liquid the alchemist recognized almost immediately as definitely not being tomato soup, appeared on the desk. The bottles slowly and deliberately levitated and emptied their contents into the empty flask, producing a vibrant reddish-orange liquid that was... still not tomato soup. Another bag of bits and gems appeared to set down beside it.

"It is?" he said.

"Of course you don't need to worry about your secrets being revealed," Princess Twilight said. "As the sole alchemic provisioner for the thestral divisions, your, ah, recipe would of course be a protected state secret. And you would of course be subject to a nondisclosure agreement.... For security reasons." Another bag of bits appeared on the table. "As would the names of your suppliers." A list of names floated onto the table. Mister Flask recognized several; none of them were in the alchemy business, but quite a number of them were in the meat packing and pet food processing business that traded with the gryphon kingdoms, or were gryphons themselves.

"They are..." He nodded thoughtfully. He knew that those fellows had trouble disposing of certain byproducts of their trade. It would only be good business relations to provide them with an outlet.

"And the crown will be making a significant advance payment," Twilight said. "After all you will be the sole provider for this particular contract for the foreseeable future, and due to the Darth Vulcan crisis we will be seeing a huge increase for demand of this particular advanced potion. Increased rations, expanded rations for extended family, so on. So you will have to expand your operations quite a bit." A rather LARGE bag thumped down on the desk. "And we are going to make sure the contract is quite generous." A government document popped into existence and fluttered down to land next to the growing pile of coinage.

His eyebrows nearly flew off the top of his head when he saw the figure in the bottom line. But he hesitated, still uncertain. "Oh, I'm always happy to help out Equestria," Flask said. "I'm just concerned that this particular, ah, product, might cause some... misunderstandings. Ponies getting the wrong idea..." the idea of putting him behind bars, for instance, he thought.

A pre-signed Royal Pardon appeared. Heavens, it was almost like magic. "Since it will be a Top Secret project, you will of course have marvelous amounts of leeway," Princess Twilight said. The mare spoke from experience: it was amazing how the words "On a mission from Princess Celestia" removed obstacles. "If anyone has any questions or ah, misunderstandings about your stock, just show them this and refer them to the palace."

Flask considered the proposal before him. The princesses apparently wanted him to use his license as a government contractor alchemist to put fresh blood and food coloring in bottles, label it "Secret Formula X," and then sell it to the Equestrian government as high-octane thestral rations. Frankly, he had no real objections; He'd never bought the "Reefer Madness" hysteria of his colleagues about what would happen if thestrals got real blood. He knew they were part vampire bat, and he darned well knew you couldn't raise a lion to eat straw.

He did wonder though why the Princesses were going to such roundabout lengths of subterfuge. Why not just get the House of Lords to revoke the thestral Blood Laws?.....Then he contemplated the last time he tried to get a new dandruff shampoo recipe approved... "Where do I sign, and when do you want the first shipment, your Highness?"

Princess Twilight pointed to the bottom of the contract with her hoof, and smiled smugly. "It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mister Flask."

"...So for the foreseeable future, all thestrals in the Equestrian Royal Guard will be switching over to these enhanced synthetic blood rations," Celestia concluded. "They will also be given double the normal ration, and the 'family and loved ones' policy will be enlarged and extended as well. It's a necessary move, because of the crisis of the moment--- due to our enemy's tactics of subterfuge and sabotage, the Night Guard will find itself sorely pressed; they will need the extra vitality. We cannot afford to have them weak and sickly for lack of sufficient nourishment."

The circle of physicians seated around the room nodded soberly. Caduceus, the Surgeon General and the most respected medical pony in Equestria, spoke up. "I may be reading between the lines here, Your Highness, but you seem to be implying that the enemy, this Darth Vulcan, has some sort of advantage for which the Night Guard has to compensate."

"Yes," Celestia said, bowing her head. "Our intelligence informs us that Darth Vulcan has gained thestral minions, and he is supplying them with fresh blood."

This revelation was greeted with near-unanimous cries of horror. "This is terrible!" one mare exclaimed. "They'll be practically feral! Savage!"

"I've seen ponies hopped up on rhubarb and jimsonweed," one proclaimed sonorously, shaking his head. "This will be worse. They'll be killing machines... Heaven help the pony that meets them out in the dark!"

Celestia had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes. "Many are given to fear that, yes," she said.

One labcoated pony, to her surprised gratification, blew a raspberry. "Poppycock, you lot," he said. "Ignore their hysterics, Princess. They greatly exaggerate to say the least. That old Blood Frenzy story is just a gross exaggeration."

"Rubbish,"Caduceus snapped. "The consequences of blood consumption by thestrals is common knowledge!"

Because you repost it in every medical journal on a regular basis, thought Celestia. How strange I went back to look and never found the initial research that proved it. She was steadily growing more angry with herself and with them. These were the ponies whose opinions she'd trusted so much? "Be that as it may," she interrupted. "The ponies in Vulcan's thrall will be refreshed with real blood, which will give them an advantage on the battlefield over their kind. Faster, stronger, more aggressive... We need to be sure that we have counteracted this edge."

"And how can we be of assistance, Your Highness?" Caduceus asked smoothly.

"I will need you and your colleagues to monitor the Night Guard as they are introduced to the new Alchemist's Blood. Strength, stamina, reflexes, mental and emotional state... I need you to thoroughly document everything, and be ready to give a full presentation on any change in their overall health and performance due to the new potion."

"Will all the Night Guard be participating in this?" another pony asked.

"Yes.  You will be monitoring the civilian members of their family too, as they will be partaking of it as well. We could hardly expect them to not share with their mates and families, after all. This is why we went ahead and increased the ration. So effectively all of them, yes." she paused, savoring the dramatic reveal. "Except for one control group, of course."

"That being?"

"My sister Luna's own personal guard, and their immediate families," Celestia said. "They will be provided, under special Royal permission, genuine blood." The uproar at this pronouncement redoubled the first. Celestia merely stood and weathered the gale as hooves, protests, and more than a few clipboards and papers flew up in the air. At least one pony fainted. None of it disturbed her serene smile; nopony was close enough to notice that behind it there was an absolutely wicked glitter in her eye.

"Have you gone mad, Princess?" Caduceus finally spluttered out. "There's no telling what those bat-winged menaces will do if they're hopped up on blood--"

'Bat winged menaces,' hmm? I won't forget that, dear Caduceus, Celestia thought. "--Which is why they are to be monitored, Doctor," She said with the longsuffering air of one explaining to a foal. "We must know how much of an advantage, if any, Darth Vulcan's own blood-fed minions will have. My sister's personal guards are perfect for this; they are the most disciplined soldiers in the ranks of the Night Guard, and known intimately to her, so she will be able to spot any changes in their behavior first. She will control their blood supply, and will be watching them closely herself along with the doctors you assign. We could ask for no safer group of test subjects."

Several of the doctors gathered looked very displeased. Caduceus looked to rebel, but stifled himself and relented. "Very well, Your Highness," he muttered. "But it's hardly any mystery what the results will be. Mark my words, I could write out a forecast of the consequences of the Blood Frenzy  without ever seeing them!"

And you would, Celestia thought, her anger simmering under a heavy lid of guilt and disappointment. Which is precisely the problem. I am ashamed that I put so much blind faith in your words and the words of your predecessors. All that remained was to tell Luna her part in this...  Celestia felt a twinge of regret, but it would work best if Luna did not know the whole truth. Forgive me, Luna, for this little deception, she thought. Go ahead and hate me for a little longer. Just a little longer, and we'll put paid to this.

Her Mona Lisa smile tightened ever so slightly into a vindictive smirk. She was going to relish their expressions when this little experiment was concluded, and they unveiled the results of their testing--- only to have it revealed in turn that the  potion given to the Night Guard regulars and the real blood given to Luna's Guards was the exact same thing. In one stroke the medical establishment's bias would be revealed, the 'Blood Frenzy' myth would be dispelled for good, and the Blood Laws would be rendered null and void.... all while getting Luna's poor thestrals back in the true pink of health along the way.

Ponies often wondered why she only claimed the title Princess. Really though. Crowning herself Queen?

Why would she settle for being a piece on the board, when she could be the Chessmaster instead?

Luna's six personal guards stood outside her chamber door, regarding each other in silent puzzlement. They had been summoned at this hour without warning or explanation, to find themselves waiting with their comrades for her Highness' pleasure.

Princess Luna's voice finally came from behind the double doors. "Enter," she said. The doors opened on a wisp of magic; the six thestrals stepped into Luna's quarters. They found her seated in the middle of the room, next to a table. On the table sat a pitcher filled with dark liquid, and seven glasses.

"There are things ahoof these nights," Luna said. "My little ponies, I..." she closed her eyes briefly as if in pain, then opened them again. "I have just this past night learned of a wrong done against you. I have sought to undo that wrong.

"But once again, I have failed you. Once again, my sister has denied me the right to act. Once again I have been forced to bend the knee before her--"  

She stopped and bit her lip; her hoof stamped as she struggled to herself. After a moment she went on. "But what little I can do for you, what little she has not denied me, that I will do.

"Be seated," she told them. Obediently, the six stallions sat at the table, one to a glass. With careful, deliberate movements, Luna levitated the pitcher and slowly filled each glass. Nostrils flared as they caught a whiff of what was in the glass; slit pupils dilated till their eyes were almost solid jet. "Is this...?" the first one asked, shocked.

"Yes," Luna said. Distressed, several of them moved, as if to get up and leave the table and get away from the dark temptation. "SIT!" ordered Luna. Obediently, silently, they sat. "I know what nonsense they have taught thee, my Children of the Night," she went on, gently. "I know that they have shamed thee, and lied to thee, about thy hunger. That they have made thee quell it with potions and philtres, to thine own hurt. And to the hurt of thy loved ones," she added with dark emphasis.

Her guards started at this emphasis. Then their eyes narrowed as the gears behind them started to turn. She took the pitcher again and finished pouring. The liquid was dark red and warm and fresh, preserved by magic on the pitcher. "This is part of thy heritage," Luna said. "There is no shame in it. Thou. Art. Thestrals. My Children of the Night. And fie on those who would quaver and whimper at it." She set the pitcher down... and to their ever growing shock, picked up her own glass of crimson. "Now," she said. "Drink with me." ... And she tipped the glass back and drained it in one go.

One by one, they took up their glasses in wingtip and joined her. Several of them had to struggle to swallow, and one even sputtered and choked. But once the flavor hit their tongues, instinct and appetite took over. They sat back, their glasses drained, their pupils dilated wide. "Your Highness?" one said, his voice giddy and alarmed, his breath panting. "Th-this... my heart is racing--"

"No, my loyal guard," Luna said sadly. "It is merely truly beating for the first time."  She motioned for them to remain seated. "Gently now. Take time to get used to the rush." She watched as they looked at one another, their wings fluttering, their eyes brightening as the drink spread its nourishment through their suddenly revitalized bodies. She got to her feet and walked to the balcony. "Accompany me." With a flap she took to the night air.

A heartbeat later her guards were alongside her. The change was startling beyond measure; She knew their senses were far sharper now, too, their eyes clearer, their ears undulled. The grins on their faces told her all she needed to know about how they were feeling. Till now it had been common wisdom that thestrals were weaker fliers than regular pegasi. But already their wingbeats were stronger, their flight more steady.

She reflected on her previous ignorance and lamented. To think she had once cruelly chided them for having become so weak in her absence...!

The castle had its own small stockyard, where chickens and cows were kept for milk and eggs for the castle kitchens. Luna had already made arrangements with the keeper. A dozen or so hens had been turned out into the yard; they were milling about, clucking idly. She swooped down on the chicken yard, landing lightly in the fenced in area. Her guards landed around her.

This would be hard for some of them.

"Stand here," she said quietly. Her guardponies fell still as shadows. She trotted to the center of the chicken yard, the pullets clucking and pecking all around her. She drew a blade from the aether and flourished it around her head. When she was certain her thestrals' full attention was on her, she picked out a pullet from the group-- and lunged.

The guards watched in horror as their beloved Princess seized the struggling, headless bird in her magic by the severed neck, pinching off the spurting blood, and lifted it up. "This, too, is part of thy heritage," she said. She banished her killing blade and summoned a crystal flask in its place, and began draining the blood of the dead pullet into it. "Though thou art ponies, thou'rt not like others. The blood of the bat-- the night hunter, the predator-- runs in thy veins as well. To hunt, to kill-- not merely to defend, but to feed and survive-- is the bat pony's legacy. Thy ancestors knew this; thou shalt have to learn it anew."   She stoppered the bottle and held it out. "Shadow Storm? How fares thy wife?"

"Moon Mist? She does...fine, your Highness," Shadow Storm said, his face lighting up briefly. "We're both hopeful. Of course pregnancy is never easy, but she's much further along--- this time..." the pain in his voice was fleeting, but nopony could help but catch it.

Luna felt her anger flare. Celestia, you feckless foal, this is more heartbreak you have to answer for. She held out the flask to him. "I give you more than hope," she said. "Bring this to thy bride, let her drink her fill. When it is empty bring it back, and we shall refill it, as often as needed Do not spare it, let her drain every drop as oft as she craves it, till the child is born. And then bring her more, till thy foal is weaned." She smiled briefly. "Do this, and thy wife and thy foal shall be hale and strong."

Shadow Storm took the bottle. "But... But the blood potions--"

"Are nearly worthless," Luna said. Her inward seething bubbled to the surface. "They malnourish thee, even in surfeit."

Shadow Storm was not a stupid pony; he quickly made the connection. "You mean," he said, his voice shaking, his hoof holding the bottle shaking, "That all this time.... all Moon Mist needed was..." He sat down. He couldn't speak, choking as he looked down at the crimson bottle clutched in his forelegs. Cold, burning anger filled the eyes of his comrades.

"I learned of this myself only within this past day. Tis a chain of folly and incompetence and willful lies forged link by link, yard by yard, decades in the making... all because ponies feared panic, should it be known that thestrals needed blood." Her sneer was more of a snarl. "Even now my sister claims to have "corrected" the error, that a proper blood potion hath been fabricated. She moves to use my Children of the Night as a proving ground for this new noxious philtre.... save for thee."

"Save for us? Why?" The guard who asked looked confused.

"Why, dear sister has given us gracious permission to let thee, and thee alone, feed as thou should," she said, her voice mocking. "So that her leeches might poke and prod thee and see what changes thy filthy, barbaric habits have on thee." Her guards stiffened angrily. The injury was grievous; the insult, insurmountable.

Shadow Storm's voice was cold. "What do you intend, your Highness?" he said. He felt the warm blood glowing in his belly, his own hot blood singing in his veins.

Luna looked away. This part was the bitterest pill. "For now, nothing." Six pairs of bat wings mantled in astonishment. Six pairs of wounded, betrayed eyes looked on her. She could not meet their gaze. "Our Twilight Princess has pleaded with us," she said. " She begs us to make no rash move.... She swears to us that Celestia has a plan in motion. One that will come to full fruition by this year's Summer Sun Celebration, that our injuries will be recompensed." She lowered her gaze and scowled.Damn my sister's never-ending Clever Plans, she thought. "I... gave my word to her. I will upset no apple carts, rock no boats. I will bide my time for now."  She turned her gaze, stern and demanding, on them. "I would have you do the same. Take no action, make no rash move. Let my sister's cunning plot play out; a few months more will not worsen the damage." She forced a smile. "For now, e'en if you have no faith in my sister-- have faith in Twilight Sparkle.  Princess Twilight has never led us astray, I will give her my faith at least this far."

"What do we do for now?" Shadow Storm asked.

"For the nonce--- we do as asked. We submit meekly to their tests and prodding, as the price to pay for giving succor to thy family and loved ones." She summoned the killing blade and another bottle. "Feed, and grow strong. Take the surfeit home, share with thy parents and siblings and wives and children, that they may grow strong. And bide our time.

"One way or the other....Come the Summer Sun Celebration, there will be a reckoning."

The killing blade flashed.