A bright flash of light purple illuminates the clutter strewn about Golden Oaks, Twilight appearing just beneath the ceiling. Rather than spread her wings, she gives in to gravity's embrace, quickly falling to land face first into a particularly large pile of books. Burrowing her head further into the mound, she inhales deeply through her nose, the welcome and familiar scent of ink and paper calming her frayed nerves and bringing forth her first peace of mind since falling asleep the previous night. As she lies there the tension throughout her body fades, her physical and mental exhaustion transforming into a thickening fog inside her brain. Soon there is nothing left in the spreading fog but her rapidly dimming consciousness, past and future troubles hidden for the moment as she drifts deeper and deeper into-

*knockknock*

An unwelcome sound ripples through her muddled mind and Twilight cringes away from it, burrowing herself deeper into the piled books.

"Um… Twilight? Are you there? It's ok if you're not since I don't know where you teleported to, but um… w-we need to talk. If that's alright with you that is since I know you're really tired and you seemed really out of it but this is really really important and-"

The shy voice's reverberations thin the fog, drawing Twilight back towards the waking world. Unwilling to leave her newfound peace, Twilight groans loudly, holding a book over each ear with her hooves.

"Oh my gosh! Twilight?! Is something wrong? You didn't teleport into a wall did you? Ohh, what should I do, what should I – calm down, I should calm down and don't worry Twilight, I'm coming!"

*thump*

Twilight raises her head from its resting place, the bags beneath her eyes seeming to grow with each ensuing thump as Fluttershy attempts to ram down her door. With a drawn out sigh her horn flickers to life, turning the doorknob and letting her front door swing inward. Fluttershy's eyes widen as the entrance opens before her and she digs her hooves into the ground, coming to a stop just shy of the doorway.

Peeking inside, she spots Twilight staring at her unamusedly from atop a small hill of books, "Oh thank goodness, you're alright. Um… may I come in?"

Twilight blinks at her slowly and rubs her eyes, "Fluttershy, I am literally at the end of my rope right now, so can it wait? Preferably until after I've gotten at least several hours of sleep?"

Fluttershy lowers her head, taking half a step back, "Well I guess it would be ok, I can only imagine how much stress you've been under and I… "

Steeling her resolve, she shakes her head and steps up to the doorway, "Sorry, but it can't wait."

"Fine, come on in," Twilight sighs, sliding down her books to the floor. "What's happened now? I swear, if Discord decided to show up-"

"Oh, no, nothing's happened," Fluttershy says, pushing the door closed behind her. "I just had a few questions."

Twilight glares at her, annoyance clear on her face, "And they can't wait until tomorrow? …Later today?" She glances at a nearby clock sticking out of a smaller pile besides her, "Yes, later today. They can't wait until later today?"

"They're, uh… important questions," Fluttershy clarifies.

Twilight stretches her front legs, yawning, "Fine, fine… ask away then."

Fluttershy's head drops slightly and she looks up at Twilight nervously, "Do you know what's going to happen to Bon Bon and Cheerilee?"

Twilight shrugs, "That depends on if they're still here in the morning."

"And… you already said what will happen if they aren't, but what if they are?" Fluttershy asks, eyes lowering to stare at the floor beneath her hooves.

"Then they're going to have to answer a whole bunch of questions about, well… " Twilight stands and stretches her back legs, Fluttershy jumping a bit when her tailbone gives a satisfying crack, "pretty much everything. Nopony really knows much of anything about Changelings after all."

"That makes sense I guess… " Fluttershy fidgets, raising her eyes to look at Twilight, "Do you think they're going to be allowed to stay in Ponyville?"

"Look, Fluttershy, I don't-" Twilight sighs again, sitting and doing her best to let her irritation slide away as the cogs in her brain creak back to life, "I just don't know. We need answers first of all, and then after that the other princesses and I need to discuss what course of action to take."

"But just right now though," Fluttershy presses, her voice growing stronger. "If you had to decide, would you let them stay?"

"No."

Fluttershy flinches at the sudden certainty in her friend's voice, "Oh… um, why not?"

Twilight sighs once more and sits a little straighter, taking a moment to order her thoughts, "Like I've been saying, everything depends on how they answer our questions tomorrow. Without answers to those questions we don't know why they're here, what they've been doing here, how many of them there are, what their queens' intentions are, what abilities they have, side effects of their feeding… we just don't know. Believe me, I would love to put the past behind us, to have them learn about us and us about them so that we can all live together in friendship and harmony… but, I would be neglecting my duty as Princess to blindly allow any creature, changeling or not, whose only interaction with Equestria prior to tonight has been an attempted conquest to stay without learning more."

"I understand," Fluttershy says, glancing down for a few seconds while she scuffs the floor with a hoof. Gathering her courage she looks up again to meet Twilight's eyes, "So, if they're honest, and it… it turns out they're not a threat and really just want to live here like everypony else, then you'd be ok with letting them stay?"

Twilight hesitates, forcing her mind to run through the scenario, "I… suppose… considering they've apparently been in Ponyville for quite a while without causing any problems that we know of, so if it turns out that's really all they've been doing then it wouldn't be fair to run them out of town just for being what they are."

"So… you would be ok with changelings living in Ponyville?" Fluttershy asks hopefully.

Twilight gives her a flat look, "Like I said, if their answers make sense and they follow the rules then they deserve the same chance as anypony else. Of course, that doesn't address citizenship status, whether emotion eating counts as assault, or as an invasion of privacy, or… any of the many, many legal and political issues which would need to be addressed… there is a good reason that, aside from Luna and Cadence, mind magic is all but banned in Equestria, you know. Between that, the shapeshifting, and their, I don't know, domains existing within Equestria and… taxes… we'd have to rewrite half of Equestrian law to accommodate them. I mean, do you know a good way to tell a Changeling Queen 'oh hey you need to start paying taxes now' because I sure don't. Do they even have bits to pay with for that matter? Or any kind of currency? I just… ugh… "

She rubs her temples to help clear her mind of the negative thoughts and giggles, "Buuut those are questions for another time. Probably whenever official negotiations start. If they start."

Fluttershy leans forward slightly, watching Twilight carefully, "But on principle, and under certain conditions, you would be ok with changelings living here?"

"Yes," Twilight confirms.

"Even after what happened at the wedding?" Fluttershy asks intensely.

Twilight freezes for a second, her eyes glazing over as the question drags unpleasant memories to the surface of her consciousness. Blinking them away she refocuses on the present and smiles warmly, "Yes. For a while after the wedding I probably would have said no, and I'd imagine Cadence and Shining Armor might have some objections, but I've seen how Lyra and Bon Bon care for each other. The same with Cheerilee and Big Mac. Answers are still needed, but I'd like to believe that what they have is real."

"What about you though?" Twilight asks, concern replacing her brief bout of sentimentality, "Two of your friends turned out to be changelings, which can't have been an easy thing to learn. Will you be alright if they start living in Ponyville openly? There are obviously certain precautions which would be taken, but even so, changelings can be rather frightening and I wouldn't want you to feel like you couldn't leave your cottage."

Fluttershy's assertiveness vanishes and she takes a step back, hiding behind her mane, "I-I, um… I'm sure they won't be that bad. They're not the ones I'm afraid of anyway."

Twilight tilts her head slightly to the side, her concern growing, "You're going to need to speak up, Fluttershy; I could barely hear what you said, much less understand it."

"I'll be fine," Fluttershy states clearly, shuffling her hooves and wings restlessly and doing her best to stay behind the safety of her mane while she forces herself to ask her next question. "B-But um, hypothetically, w-would it… would it matter, if I was a changeling?"

She swallows and squeezes her eyes shut, "And-would-I-be-allowed-to-stay?"

Silence greets her. After several seconds she hesitantly reopens her eyes to find Twilight standing stiffly and staring at her with confusion plain on her face. Twilight's eyes widen in shock as her mind processes the potential implications of the question, then narrow in suspicion at the apparent pegasus standing only a few feet from her.

"Just how… hypothetical is this question?" Twilight asks carefully.

"Um… w-well… I… " Fluttershy gulps, "I asked you first."

Twilight raises an eyebrow, "Really?"

Fluttershy nods shakily, "Y-yes."

Reluctantly acquiescing to Fluttershy's logic, Twilight leans back and allows her mind's eye to wander through the past few years from the moment of their meeting up until the current dilemma; reliving how they freed Luna from the Nightmare, Fluttershy's terror and eventual courage when facing the sleepy dragon, her determination to help Rainbow Dash find a pet, and how she fought alongside them to try and reach the Elements during the wedding. Each additional recalled memory of their adventures and their friendship chips away at her doubt to replace it with trust and certainty. Turning her gaze outward again, she sees her friend watching her anxiously, Fluttershy's front left leg shaking restlessly as she awaits Twilight's decision.

Twilight smiles softly, "Even if you are a Changeling, I would like you to stay."

Fluttershy beams, hopping happily into into the air to hover a few inches from the ground, the breeze from her wings rustling stray paper and parchment scattered around the library.

"So, are you one?"

As quickly as her happiness had appeared it vanishes, Fluttershy immediately dropping to the floor as her wings snap back to her sides.

Her mouth opens and closes as she tries to answer, her third attempt at a reply barely more than a weak stammer, "I-I… "

Even if you are a Changeling, I would like you to stay.

Swallowing her fear, Fluttershy finds her voice, "I am."

"Well… " Twilight says, the light of curiosity flickering to life to bolster her focus as she intently runs her eyes over Fluttershy's form. "I suppose that explains your Stare. Can I see you? The real you, I mean."

"But what if somepony else sees me?" Fluttershy murmurs, glancing around the room at the windows.

With a thought, Twilight draws the curtains over any windows that have them, random debris plastering itself over the couple which don't, "Is that better?"

Fluttershy hesitates as she searches for any gap that could be peered through. Finding none, she takes a deep breath, and as she exhales is engulfed by green flames. The fire fades a moment later to reveal an equine the exact size and shape as Fluttershy, though black chitin covers her body instead of her usual yellow coat and a solid black shell topped by gold protects her barrel along with a golden double band stretching across her midsection. A similarly golden mane and tail take the place of their pony counterparts, differing not only in color but in structure as her mane hangs limp and whole from her head while her stiff, paper-thin, and similarly holeless tail extends from her other end to curve up just before touching the floor. Unperforated wings cling to her shell, creating a quiet papery rustling sound as the muscles keeping them locked down adjust to the strain. One of her holed forehooves scuffs at the wood beneath it as she waits for Twilight to respond.

Twilight sits while she takes in Fluttershy's appearance for the first time, blinking dazedly at the two small fangs pushing down from her friend's upper jaw while waiting for her brain to catch up with her eyes, "Huh."

Fluttershy tries to hide behind her mane again, its slight translucence not quite allowing her total success, "So it doesn't matter that I'm a changeling. Right?"

Twilight's attention lingers on Fluttershy's slightly curved horn, "Hmm… "

"I-I really am the real Fluttershy, if that's what you're thinking, and I haven't been messing with anypony's mind and I really really don't want this to affect our friendship and-"

Twilight waves away her friend's mounting concerns, "No, it's not that; I believe you. I may know nothing about changeling magic, but unless it allows you to copy somepony's soul there's no way you could have embodied your Element to save Rainbow Dash if you weren't really you."

Fluttershy sighs in relief.

"That said," Twilight continues, "this definitely changes things. You're not a pegasus, you're a shapeshifting bugpony emotivore for pony's sake!"

Fluttershy stiffens, "But we're… we're still… "

"We're still friends," Twilight says, smiling.

Fluttershy slumps to the floor, her hard shell hitting the wood with a solid clack, "Oh good. I don't think I could've handled it if you said we weren't. Having to leave would have been awful too, but the thought of losing you as a friend… "

Her wings buzz happily and she grins toothily at Twilight, "Ohh, this went so much better than I thought it would."

Twilight averts her eyes uncomfortably and Fluttershy hides her fangs with her hooves, "Sorry, I know they can be a little intimidating. Every once in a while I wake up like this and scare myself looking in the mirror."

Twilight chuckles, "It's not that; though it is a little weird hearing your voice coming from that mouth. It's just… " She pauses, searching for the right words, "…I don't want you to read more into my wanting you to stay than there actually is."

Fluttershy deflates; her ears lowering, grin fading, and wings descending back to her shell, "But I thought… "

"Nonono, I do want you to stay," Twilight reassures her. "The problem is… I mean… "

Twilight gestures randomly for a few seconds before letting her forelegs fall to her sides with a sigh, "I'm a princess, but I'm not Princess Celestia or Princess Luna or Princess Cadence. I may technically have the same legal authority as they do, but if I were to unilaterally make a decision of this magnitude the first thing most of Equestria will do is look to them for confirmation. Hay, when we went with Rarity to Manehattan for Fashion Week several months ago I couldn't even get her a cab; the chances of anypony outside of Ponyville listening to me on my own regarding something like this is… "

Uncertainty and self-doubt flicker across her face and she pauses for a moment before clearing her throat, "Well, let's just say it isn't very likely. Not to mention that even under the best of circumstances introducing a new tribe has all sorts of complications, and instead of some peaceful delegation saying 'hey we exist' we got an invasion of the capitol during a royal wedding which just makes everything infinitely worse, and then there's a second tribe, and both of you feed on ponies to survive, and to top it all off we're already in the middle of trying to reintegrate the Thestrals. It's just so… so… "

"Complicated?" Fluttershy offers.

"I was trying to think of a better word," Twilight replies tiredly, "but, yes. Of course, a lot of that might not even matter depending on how many changelings there are here in Ponyville and in Equestria in general. The economic impact alone of trying to deport a significant percentage of the population would make such an action untenable."

Fluttershy fidgets worriedly, "I don't know about the rest of Equestria, but Cheerilee, Bon Bon, and I are the only ones still in Ponyville. There were others, but with you being Princess Celestia's personal student and deciding to stay in here, the Elements of Harmony reappearing, and all the random magical craziness most left because it was just too risky to stay. The wedding made it harder for everyling; and then once you became an Alicorn, any of us still here were ordered by our queens to leave right away."

"The three of us refused though," Fluttershy continues. "Bon Bon wouldn't go anywhere without Lyra, Cheerilee didn't want to abandon her students or Big Mac, and I couldn't just disappear on you girls or my animals."

"Huh, so you can-" Twilight starts to ask, cutting herself off with a shake of her head.

Nope, I am not going down that rabbit hole right now.

"Another thing to consider is whether or not you would even want to stay anymore," Twilight says after a moment, looking back at Fluttershy. "The fact that you as a changeling are the bearer of an Element should ideally head off the worst of the political problems, but even if everything magically goes perfectly tomor – later today, there's no way to guarantee the rest of the town will be accepting. And given that you need love to survive, I can't imagine living in a place where almost everypony dislikes you would be very healthy."

Fluttershy smiles faintly, "That's not actually how it works; we can survive on any non-harmful emotion."

Twilight quirks an eyebrow, "And by 'non-harmful' you mean… ?"

"Oh! Right, I forgot that you're not – that you can't – I've never had to explain to anypony who couldn't taste it for themselves," Fluttershy says, her chitinous cheeks tinting faintly green. "There are positive emotions, negative emotions, and harmful emotions. For example, love is delicious, but obsession is rotten. Anger is sort of spicy, but hatred is like poison. That kind of thing. Though if the entire town felt negatively towards us it would be really difficult to live here for a whole bunch of other reasons."

"Fascinating… " Twilight replies, idly scanning the room in search of a quill and inkpot for a few seconds before giving up with a drawn out yawn. "The emotion thing I mean. Normally I'd have a thesis' worth of follow up questions, but… I'm too tired right now, even for science."

"That said," Twilight adds, "I am curious; what does friendship taste like?"

"True friendship tastes like honeyed hazelnuts roasted over an open fire," Fluttershy answers, swallowing a sudden influx of saliva at the sensation's memory and licking her lips.

Twilight gives a sharp bark of laughter, "Wow."

Fluttershy's eyes widen as she realizes her admission and she looks at her hooves, nervously examining the pattern of holes running up her legs as an awkward silence descends between the pair of ponies.

Oh dear, I hope Twilight doesn't think it's creepy that I've been eating our friendship. She did ask what it tasted like so she must have already thought I was, but what if it was a rhetorical question and I wasn't supposed to answer and now she's really freaked out, or maybe it was a trick question and she was trying to get me to admit I was doing it! What if I misinterpreted her 'wow' and she's actually angry with me?

Gathering her courage in preparation for the worst, Fluttershy tentatively samples the ambient emotions in the room – just in time to be impacted by a wonderfully warm soup of caring, concern, and affection.

"Um… Twilight?" Fluttershy asks, hesitantly returning the embrace.

After a few moments, Twilight breaks the hug and takes a step back, "I may not be a changeling and you might not really be a pegasus, but I can still tell when you're starting to worry too much. All I can say is: don't. Whatever happens later today, I'll be here to support you and I'm sure the rest of our friends will be as well."

"Thanks Twilight," Fluttershy says, swallowing a lump in her throat. "Really."

"You're welcome," Twilight replies, covering her mouth and letting loose an enormous yawn. "Right now though… "

"Right now I'll let you get some sleep," Fluttershy finishes, earning a thankful smile from Twilight. "Good night, Twilight."

Turning away, she heads towards the front door of Golden Oaks and reaches for the knob.

"Um… Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy faces Twilight again, "Yes?"

Twilight gives her a once over, "Your disguise?"

Fluttershy blinks, "Oh! Wow, that would have been embarrassing. Thanks."

One puff of green fire later, Fluttershy the Pegasus once again stands in the room, finally taking her leave after checking to make sure her disguise is correctly in place.

As soon as the door clicks shut, Twilight slumps backwards onto her bed of books like a puppet whose strings had been cut, fast asleep before her head hits their covers.

Elsewhere in Ponyville, another door opens, Rarity lighting her horn as she enters a darkened Carousel Boutique, "Opal~ I'm hoo-"

A foul smell makes its way to her nose mid-greeting and she gags, "Sweet Celestia, what is that?"

Stepping forward, her right hoof hits the side of an unexpectedly raised wooden platform, tripping her to fall face first into the source of the putrid stench filling her house: a metal bucket. Jerking her head from the bucket, she violently spits out a small amount of the dark, moist material filling it that had made its way into her mouth and looks down, the disgust twisting her face morphing into abject horror as Applejack's words echo faintly in her ears.

It's nothin', Ah swear.

Letting out a piercing scream, she gallops upstairs, stopping only to thoroughly brush the vile substance from her teeth before throwing herself into the shower. Shivering under the sudden deluge of cold water she immediately gets to work, first scrubbing her tainted muzzle clean then the rest of her body for good measure. The water quickly warms, condensation covering the two glass walls and door of the shower by the time she puts the last bottle of scented shampoo back inside the oversized alcove carved into the wall to her right. Redirecting the shower head towards another wall she waits a few seconds, allowing the water to warm the glass before sitting against it under the relaxing downpour, the mist obscuring her entirely while she ponders plans of sweet revenge.