"Hmm… " Lunar Trail murmurs, his eyes moving from point to point as he stares intently at the top of a heavily water-damaged table, the ancient chess board engraved into the now rotting wood illuminated only by the faint glow of Luna's horn and the fading light of the setting moon shining through the library's fractured roof. Luna meanwhile sits opposite him, her pieces a light blue and constructed of her magic while Lunar considers his mix of white and black marble units. Carefully picking up a white knight in his mouth, Lunar hesitantly moves it two spaces forward and one to the left.

Luna smiles broadly and moves her queen forward four spaces diagonally to the right, "Checkmate."

Lunar blinks, "Huh? But my king can… or… uhm… "

"We know it may seem disheartening, but you have markedly improved since our first match," Luna says eventually, her pieces flickering out of existence to reappear in their starting positions. "Would you like to try for best out of 23?"

Lunar stares at the table for another moment, then lets out a frustrated groan and allows gravity to take over, his helmeted forehead impacting the table with a soft thump to knock a few of his pieces over the edge and onto the floor. After several seconds he senses the presence of something else on the table in front of him, the tips of his ears feeling the heat of its closeness rather than the sound of its approach.

Raising his head, he finds himself staring into Midnight's crimson eyes, her nose millimeters away from his own, "Gah!"

Midnight snickers victoriously as he flinches backwards, his heart racing and lungs heaving from a sudden rush of adrenaline.

"Everypony we could find is here," Midnight says, hopping off the table and looking at Luna. "So, follow me."

Luna nods and stands, her carefree mood quickly replaced by determination and purpose as she levitates Lunar's pieces into a drawer beneath the board and follows Midnight out of the room. Lunar Trail walks alertly beside his princess, scanning the hallway as they move and looking into each abandoned room they pass.

Less than a minute later, Midnight stops at a T intersection, glancing around the floor for a moment before taking two steps to the right and pushing down on a particularly worn piece of stone. With a speed belying its mass, the seemingly solid wall in front of them rapidly rises to reveal another passageway wide enough for two ponies to walk into side by side. Midnight steps through, waiting for Luna and Lunar then flapping her wings and punching one of the stones making up the ceiling to once more close off the corridor. The tip of Luna's horn glows to life as soon as the heavy slab of rock drops back into place, the weak light it provides more than enough for the nocturnal ponies to see by as they continue onward.

Lunar Trail sighs as Midnight grasps a silver candle holder in her mouth, the wall and section of floor they are standing on spinning 180 degrees when she pulls the disguised lever, "So are you leading us through every single trapdoor and secret passageway in the entire castle, or… ?"

Luna laughs, "Believe us, this is merely the 'tip of the iceberg', as they say. My sister and I used to have great fun watching and listening to new servants and visitors attempting to find their way around as well as hiding from particularly irritating nobles. 'Tis one of the few things we find our new castle in Canterlot to be lacking, though Discord and I have been attempting to convince my sister to allow us to rectify the situation."

Lunar Trail nervously glances up at Luna, "As… fun… as that sounds, I think I would prefer it if Discord did not have his paw in those plans."

Without warning the tilted candle holder stretches to bop Lunar on his helmet, morphing into the arm of a lion as Discord phases through the wall bringing with him an intense smell of orange juice, "Well, don't you worry your delightfully fuzzy ears about it my little thestral, I'll be sure to pay extra special attention to the batpony barracks."

Lunar takes a couple fearful steps away from the chaotic god, Midnight crouching and growling at him while Luna facehoofs, "Discord, what are you doing here?"

"Stalking you," Discord replies matter-of-factly.

Luna rolls her eyes, "And why are you stalking us?"

Discord shrugs, "No idea."

"In that case, please go back to wherever it is you were before," Luna says, annoyance creeping into her voice, "else you can continue attempting to convince Celestia to remodel the castle on your own."

"Fine, fine, if that's really what you-" Discord freezes mid-sentence, his head twisting unnaturally to stare straight into the impassive stone wall. Suddenly a wide smile spreads across his face and he claps his mismatched claws gleefully, "It looks like we have a winner!"

With a snap of his eagle claw he vanishes in a flash of white light, returning the candle holder to its unwarped state and leaving Midnight to suspiciously examine the wall he had appeared out of.

"Uhh… what did he mean by 'winner'?" Lunar asks.

"That," Luna replies indifferently, "is Celestia's problem. Now, Midnight, if you could continue showing us the way?"

Midnight stares at the wall for a moment more before turning around, pointing to the opposite end of the short hallway at a small, roughly carved granite archway not much taller than the length of Luna's flowing mane, "We're just about here, actually."

Lunar Trail stops as soon as he steps past the archway, Princess Luna and Midnight continuing onward while the sudden change in atmosphere gives him pause. Cracks spiderweb across the entirety of the formerly smooth black granite making up the oblately spherical room, from the path they are walking on cut into the room's side and leading to its center all the way up to its shattered dome ceiling through which several enormous weeping willows hang, the leaves of their tendril branches rustling and swaying in a wind unfelt by those below as they block out even the slightest sliver of the night sky. What light there is instead comes from a number of flowering plants scattered across the floor, dimly glowing moonbloom growing out from the room's larger cracks. As Luna walks further into the room, the moonbloom petals glow brighter, motion near the closest of the plants drawing Lunar Trail's attention to a couple of greyish-green forelegs.

He blinks, for a split-second staring dumbly at the two hooves before following the pair of appendages upwards, finding them connected to an identically colored barrel. Traveling still further up, he finds a neck, a face, and two piercing, red, slitted eyes looking back at him.

He blinks again, his ears standing straight up as he suddenly becomes very aware of the many quiet, familiar sounds being made by leathery wings shifting and hooves lightly tapping on stone emanating from all around him. Scanning the room more slowly this time, he only now sees the vamponies scattered across it, their universally dark-tinted coats helping to camouflage them within the room's many shadows. A few more fade into visibility as he watches, each of them joining one of several small groups and taking a seat on ripples pushing up from the curve of the stone floor, the ripples large enough to form rolling ledges ringing the lower half of the room. A tingle of fear travels up his spine as one of the vamponies to the right eyes him hungrily, licking his lips.

"Lunar Trail."

Lunar's body twitches at the sharpness of Luna's words, his cheeks flushing darker as he canters forward to retake his position at his princess' side, the two of them together walking the last few steps needed to bring them to the center of the room. Midnight meanwhile spreads her wings and flies up to join her family in sitting directly in front of the princess and her guard, the five of them the only ones occupying the topmost ledge-ring.

Dawn waves down to Luna, the action drawing a brief smile to the Princess of the Night's lips before she sits, closes her eyes, and centers herself with a deep breath, eyes reopening to survey the gathered vamponies, "Thank you all for coming here on such short notice. I am Princess Luna of Equestria, and this beside me is my guard, Lunar Trail. The reason I asked to meet with all of you tonight is-"

"You're here because Midnight got discovered," a vampony mare with a greyish-brown coat and a light grey mane and tail to Luna's left interrupts, her nose wrinkling distastefully, "and to tell us that now we're going to need to ask permission from our prey before we feed on them."

"Prey?" Lunar Trail blurts out, regretting his word immediately as everypony in the room focuses on him.

Midnight shrugs, "Well, yeah, technically other ponies are our prey. Changelings are predators of other ponies too – just because we don't kill you and eat you doesn't make you not prey."

"Regardless of what you wish to call us," Luna interjects smoothly, her eyes moving over the assembled vamponies, "that is not why I am here tonight, though you will eventually need to honor a pony's choice to forbid vamponies from feeding on them. Right now we are simply here to learn about your needs, so that a way can be found to meet your dietary requirements while also allowing ponies that choice. To that end, I have some questions I hope you will all be willing to answer."

Her attention returns to the vampony who had spoken, "Also, may we have your name?"

The vampony mare smiles widely, showing off her fangs, "My name is Mothchaser."

Luna bobs her head, "Thank you, Mothchaser."

Silence falls as Luna again scans the crowd, waiting for any others to speak, however the only thing she receives from the vamponies surrounding her is a multitude of expectant stares.

"My first question then," Luna says, shifting her forehooves and sitting a bit straighter, "if nopony has anything they'd like to say first, is, how much blood does a vampony generally need in order to remain healthy? I have heard from Midnight that how frequently you need to feed depends on your apparent age, and the amount needed also depends on the particular pony whose blood you are drinking, but we would be grateful for more specific information, such as the number of days between feeding as well as a unit of measurement more standardized than a mouthful."

The assembled vamponies glance at each other, for nearly a minute the only sound to be heard the rustling of the willow leaves above them in a persistent breeze.

"The frequency we need to head into town starts at a few days for foals," Eclipse answers eventually, "decreasing as they mature, usually to less than three weeks, then increasing by a day every several decades. Dawn, Wisp, and myself go into Ponyville about every nine days for example, while Midnight and my son Dusk go every 17 days."

Luna nods, "I see. And if, for the sake of simplicity, we assume you fed on the same pony every time, does the amount needed change, or stay constant?"

"It increases until they are mature, then stays constant," Wisp replies.

"I don't suppose anypony has ever measured how much?" Luna queries.

Wisp shrugs, "I haven't."

Luna looks around the room, the other vamponies either shaking their head or averting their eyes, "Very well then, perhaps a more indirect measurement will work. Generally speaking, how many ponies does it take to support a vampony? I am assuming you need enough blood that you can't actually survive on a single pony."

"Three?" An emerald mare with a mane and tail composed of an indistinct mix of greens, blues, purples, and whites pipes up uncertainly, glancing at a cobalt stallion with a greyish-blue mane and tail to her right, "ish? Oh, and I'm Aurora Moon, and this is Blue Moon."

Blue Moon considers the question, "Mmm… I'd say four."

"10," a vampony mare sitting next to two stallions and another mare on the ledge below them answers decisively, this one with a much darker green coat and a coal grey mane and tail streaked with silver.

Blue Moon rolls his eyes, "There is no way you actually need 10, Moon Shadow."

"Hey, variety is important," Moon Shadow replies defensively, looking up at the pair.

"Important doesn't mean necessary though," Dusk states.

Moon Shadow gives Dusk a flat look, "Well of course you'd say that. Do you even go into town anymore? Or do you just drink the zebra?"

A few chuckles follow her words, Dusk's already dark red face turning a deeper shade of crimson, "Just because you don't want to trade with her-"

"Let's just say five to six for now," Eclipse cuts in.

"Thank you," Luna replies. "Also, are there any types or tribes of ponies that you won't or prefer not to feed from?"

"Kids," Midnight says. "Too small."

Moon Shadow makes a face, "And old ponies."

"And changelings and sick ponies," adds a vampony stallion with a dull white coat and slightly darker grey mane and tail, all of which are sprinkled with specks of brown, sitting almost directly behind Luna among a group of five other vamponies. He gulps as the room turns to face him, continuing after a split-second hesitation, "A-And my name's, uh, Dust Storm, by the way."

"And if somepony else drank from them recently," Moon Shadow contributes.

Luna tilts her head curiously, "How can you tell?"

Moon Shadow shrugs, "Just a feeling."

"We can't tell who or when," Midnight clarifies, "just somepony recently."

"Interesting," Luna says, shifting her gaze back to Midnight's brother. "Returning to trading though, I am glad you mentioned the topic, as I was planning to bring it up next."

"We are not implying that trading will be the only way to obtain blood," Luna states forcefully amid assorted groans. "I am simply saying that it will be an option. You can also trade for a multitude of other items and services, should you choose to. There are quite a few highly sought after plants which are only found within the Everfree and have never been successfully grown anywhere else – the flowers in this room, for example, are known as moonbloom and are used in several potions. Another possibility is your venom, as its sedative and anesthetic effects would almost certainly be useful for medical as well as other research purposes."

"Again, these are merely options for your consideration," Luna backtracks, many of the vamponies glancing at each other uncomfortably and a few baring their fangs.

"What kind of things can we trade for?" asks a ruby stallion to Moon Shadow's left, his mane and tail pitch black.

"You can trade for anything you want, as long as both you and the pony you're trading with have something the other wants," Luna replies. "However, the best option is to trade for bits, which can then be traded much more easily for other items and are accepted no matter where in Equestria you are."

"And what if it's not enough?" queries a mare to the stallion's left, the colors of their mane, coat, and tail matching perfectly, "What if after all this talking and trading and negotiating, the ponies still don't want to give us enough blood to survive?"

"I have a very hard time imagining this would be the case," Luna replies. "There are only 25 of you here now, and since, as far as I am aware, there are not many more vamponies living near Ponyville, you should be able to survive on less than one-fifth of the town's population."

"And that's great, really," the mare says, her eyes narrowing slightly, "but that doesn't answer my question."

Luna hesitates, the rest of the vamponies watching her intently, "Well… I would… hope you would exhaust all available alternatives first, but if the only options are either feeding on somepony who does not wish to be fed upon or starving, I would not expect you to starve yourselves."

The mare smiles.

"I do, however, truly mean for that course of action to be one of last resort," Luna states sharply. "Not as something to be done for simple convenience or preference. I would also expect that if this does become a problem, for it to be brought to my attention so the situation can be remedied."

The mare shrugs, still smiling, "Fine, fine."

"Also," Luna says, her gaze lingering on the mare for a moment longer, "since ponies now know about vamponies, I would ask that if you come across a pony in the Everfree who is lost or in danger, that you aid them in leaving the forest safely."

"Even if they're one of the ones who won't let us feed on them?" the ruby stallion asks.

"Yes," Luna states unequivocally.

The mare frowns, "Why?"

"Because those you help will then be more willing to help you in return," Luna replies, the slightest edge of irritation slipping into her tone.

"Plus if we let them die, then they'll definitely never let us drink them," Moon Shadow adds.

"That is… another way of looking at it, certainly," Luna says. "In any case, that brings me to my last question. Even if it is not quite as true here as it is in most other places, the Everfree Forest has a very well earned reputation for being a dangerous place filled with all kinds of monstrosities, and as you live in the Everfree that reputation is all most ponies currently have to judge you by. However, if vamponies and non-vamponies are to live peacefully with each other, and if the blood you need is to remain available, this perception needs to begin changing as quickly as possible. Therefore, would any of you be willing to return to Ponyville with Lunar Trail and I? It would simply be to introduce yourselves, say hello, perhaps talk a little, that sort of thing; so the townsponies can see that you're not just another creature of the Everfree out to get them."

Midnight raises a hoof, "I'll go."

"I want to go too!" Dawn volunteers, raising her hoof as well.

"No," Wisp says.

"But Da~ad," Dawn pleads, "the Crusaders are in town, and they're going to help me get my cutie mark!"

"I can watch her to make sure nothing happens," Midnight offers.

"No," Wisp repeats, giving Midnight an unamused look.

"Mom?" Dawn asks hopefully.

Eclipse shakes her head, "Nope."

Dawn's ears droop, "Aww… "

Moon Shadow raises her hoof, "I'll go too."

The pair of ruby vamponies sitting next to her turn to look at her incredulously, the stallion speaking after a pregnant pause, "Why?"

Moon Shadow shrugs, grinning, "I've never been able to talk to something I drink before; it's not like I can talk to a spring or a river, right? I'm kinda curious what they have to say."

"We'll come as well," Aurora Moon says, gesturing at Blue Moon with a quick tilt of her head.

Luna gives them a single nod before scanning the rest of the room, standing after nopony else speaks for several seconds, "Very well. Thank you all for coming here, and for hearing me out. However, unless there are any other questions, it will soon be time for me to lower the moon, so we must take our leave for now."

Moon Shadow's cheerful smile shrinks, "We're… not going to be flying during the day, right?"

Luna shakes her head, "No. Originally we had planned to both speak with you and return to Ponyville tonight, however there is no longer enough time left before dawn to make that journey. Therefore, Lunar Trail and I will be staying the day here, and then we can all leave at dusk."

Dawn raises her hoof again, "Can I watch you lower the moon?"

Luna smiles warmly, "Of course."

At her words, Dawn eagerly hops from ledge to ledge to join her at the center of the room only for Luna and Lunar Trail to take flight as soon as she reaches the bottom, Luna's horn glowing as she forces an opening in the dense covering of branches obstructing her path.

Luna looks down at the confused filly, raising an eyebrow, "Are you coming?"

Confusion transforms into determination as Dawn stares up at Luna and she jumps into the air, quickly ascending past the hovering princess to disappear into the leafy tunnel. The rest of her family soon follows, a few other curious vamponies taking the opportunity to join as well. Lunar Trail enters the passage behind them with Luna bringing up the rear once the room below is empty, the magic holding the branches apart fading as she flies between them towards the brightening night sky.

Princess Celestia walks slowly through one of Canterlot Castle's many hallways, the light of the early morning sun pouring through each of the windows she passes. A door looms large in front of her as she approaches her destination and she stops for a moment, her aura engulfing the handle, though rather than turning it she closes her eyes and takes a deep, calming breath, letting all emotions drift from her mind. Opening her eyes again, she twists the doorknob and pushes, the door swinging open to reveal Photo Finish along with a posse of five assistants sitting less than patiently within, Photo Finish stiffly sitting alone on a couch against the wall to Celestia's right while three unicorns, a pegasus, and an earth pony are gathered around two tables separated from the white marble floor by a pitch black rug in the room's center.

Photo Finish stands, turns to Celestia, and gives a small, deferential bow, the light of the recently risen sun filling the room giving her a long shadow, "Good morning, Princess Celestia."

Celestia forces a smile onto her face, bobbing her head in return, "Good morning to you as well Photo Finish; I am glad you were able to make it."

"Yes, well, one can hardly refuse a meeting demanded by royalty, regardless of any previously and extensively planned obligations," Photo Finish replies tartly.

"And I do apologize for the short notice, however the reason I requested this meeting is far too important to delay," Celestia says, glancing at Photo Finish's assistants. "I would also prefer to speak with you alone."

Photo Finish walks a few steps over to the tables, shooing away her assistants impatiently, "Out, out!"

Celestia pushes the door shut with her magic once the final assistant is in the hallway, "My thanks."

"Yes yes, you are welcome," Photo Finish replies irritably, placing her signature purple-tinted sunglasses on the nearest table. "Now, what is so important that I must cancel on the Wonderbolts less than half an hour before the shoot was supposed to begin?"

"Well… " Celestia shifts her eyes to the couch for a few seconds, considering her next words carefully, "I returned from Ponyville just this morning after a… series of unexpected events occurred there. Again. However, one of these events led to the discovery of three changelings living as residents of the town."

"Congratulations, you finally managed to capture a few changelings. I do not see how this is any concern of mine, unless you are suggesting I should take their mugshots instead of your guards-" Photo Finish pauses, for an instant her eyes going distant as her brain returns with related information. "You said three changelings, in Ponyville?"

Celestia nods once, "Yes, specifically I am here because one of them, Fluttershy, claims-"

Without warning a ball of green fire engulfs Photo Finish, an acidic aura lifting Celestia into the air and constricting her as the flames fade to reveal a changeling queen, her resonant voice reminiscent of Chrysalis' while the golden color of her mane, tail, and shell match Fluttershy's exactly, "What did you do to my daughter?!"

"The only reason – I 'lost' to Chrysalis – was because she had drained both Cadence – and Shining Armor nearly dry," Celestia replies, taking short, quick breaths as she looks back at the changeling queen in annoyance, "and a fight between us – would have leveled most of Canterlot – first. So unless you gorged – yourself on the Crystal Heart – before coming here, you will – Put. Me. Down."

Amaranth's eyes narrow, her magic's hold on Celestia tightening, "Where. Is. Fluttershy?"

Celestia sighs with what air is left in her lungs, a pinprick of white magic appearing at the tip of her horn to eat through the green aura surrounding her almost instantly, her knees bending slightly as she lands on her hooves. Amaranth hisses in response, a bolt of magic shooting from her gnarled horn towards Celestia's head. Celestia deftly deflects the attack with a partial shield, the shot ricocheting harmlessly into the ceiling while her horn glows brighter, a beam of solar magic lancing from her horn to hit Amaranth in her chest and throw her backwards into the wall behind her.

Amaranth blinks, dazed, as Celestia closes the distance between them, "I have done nothing to Fluttershy, other than-"

The door to the room slams open before she can finish her sentence, Photo Finish's helpers standing stock still as they see Celestia standing over their queen. Their hesitation lasts for only a split second however, the unicorn and three earth ponies shifting back to their changeling forms as all five rush into the room. Two of the changelings hang back once inside, firing identical bolts of green magic at Celestia while the pegasus and remaining two changelings continue their charge.

Princess Celestia rolls her eyes, summoning a rectangular shield to deflect their attacks, once more closing the door to the room, then pushes the shield at them, widening it as it moves. Her barrier catches the four changelings, their wings unable to move them out of the way in time, pinning them to the wall along with the couch and two tables. The pegasus rises much more quickly however, executing an aileron roll to just barely avoid the barrier though it still grazes her shoulders, pushing her mane and tail out of the way as it passes.

Surprise slows Celestia's reaction as the pegasus lets out a war cry and dives at her, a detached part of her mind noting the pegasus as a mare just before she slams into her. The blow knocks Celestia off her hooves and she slides on her back several feet away from Amaranth, the pegasus mare landing a couple punches on Celestia's face while the shield pinning the four changelings to the wall vanishes along with Celestia's concentration. The changelings land on their hooves and immediately charge at Celestia again, Amaranth likewise getting to her hooves with a snarl.

However, as the pegasus mare throws her third punch, a yellow aura stops her hoof less than an inch from Celestia's jaw, the aura quickly expanding to cover the entire pegasus and hold her in the air a few inches from the ground.

"ENOUGH!"

A massive wave of energy emanates from Celestia, throwing the changelings, pegasus, and rug into the walls as well as shattering the windows on the far side of the room. Muted shouting penetrates the door as Celestia stands, two guards shoving the door open and charging in.

Their eyes go wide as they take in the scene in front of them, the one on Celestia's left recovering first, "Change-!"

A bolt of yellow energy hits him before he can finish the word, throwing him into the wall next to the door where he slumps to the ground, unconscious. The second guard looks at the spot his comrade had been just a moment ago, the click of the door he had run through closing the last thing his mind registers before a second bolt slams him into the wall as well.

Panting and rolling her jaw, Celestia again walks over to stand above Amaranth, "Hello, I am Princess Celestia. I spoke with your daughter, who is completely unharmed, after Ponyville things happened in Ponyville. So, if you and your changelings are quite finished assaulting me, there are some things we need to discuss."

Celestia raises a cup of tea to her lips, inhaling deeply to allow its sweet fragrance to saturate her nostrils and relax her body, the leftover discomfort from the pair of forming bruises on her face fading to an afterthought as she takes a single long, slow sip – continuing until the cup floats empty in front of her. The pair of guards, now awake, flank Celestia, watching those opposite them keenly and tracking every movement they make no matter how small, though taking care to avoid meeting their eyes. The four smaller changelings likewise observe Celestia and her guards, one standing on their queen's right and another standing behind her and just far enough to her left to be able to see Princess Celestia. The remaining two take a similar position around the pegasus mare, one to her left and another behind her and slightly to her right, the four combined forming an isosceles trapezoid around their queen and the pegasus.

"The tea is really good," the pegasus mare comments after a few quiet minutes, taking another sip as she carefully balances the cup in her hooves. "Where did you get it from? We don't have anything like it in the hive."

"It contains both Zebrican and Equestrian leaves, the combination of which I came up with myself and have been refining for the last three centuries… err… " A look of puzzlement crosses Celestia's muzzle, "My apologies, but I just realized I don't know your name."

The pegasus smiles, "My name is Rolling Fog, your highness."

Celestia runs her eyes over Rolling's body, the mare's hazy grey cutie mark almost invisible against her slightly darker grey coat and wavy, lighter grey mane and tail.

How fitting.

The guard to Celestia's right shuffles his hooves, the action bringing him a fraction of an inch closer to the changeling side. The changeling to Rolling's left matches the movement, shifting an equal distance forward and to the right.

Celestia glances from the recently moved changeling to Rolling Fog, over the Amaranth, then back to Rolling, "If you don't mind me asking, Rolling Fog, why are you still disguised?"

Rolling shrugs, "I'm not."

Celestia blinks in surprise, "So… you are actually a pegasus?"

Rolling tilts her cup back to drain the last of her tea and nods cheerfully, "Yup."

"And she is not being mind controlled," Queen Amaranth adds forcefully.

"Well, not right now~" Rolling says, grinning mischievously.

Celestia glances between the pegasus and the queen warily, "What?"

"Nothing!" Amaranth replies hastily, the faintest hint of green tinting her face. "She just means-"

"We use it during role play sometimes," Rolling Fog interjects cleanly.

"I see," Celestia states, doing her best to hide her discomfort at the idea. "So during Oubliettes and Ogres, or something like that?"

"Yes! Exactly like that!" Amaranth says quickly, "And only once in a while, and it's completely consensual-"

"I mean during sex," Rolling Fog clarifies.

Celestia's teacup shatters, her eyes vacant as a multitude of unwanted images parade through her mind.

Queen Amaranth says nothing, her entire face a bright green.

Rolling Fog giggles, the changeling on her left not quite succeeding in stifling a chuckle of their own. Amaranth's head whips around to glare at both of them, the offending changeling sinking to the floor under the weight of their queen's gaze while Rolling Fog gently places her cup on the floor and continues smiling as though she were not being stared down by a changeling queen.

"S-So, you are, uhm, Fluttershy's other parent, I take it?" Celestia asks, taking a deep breath and lowering the remains of her cup to the floor.

Rolling Fog nods, "Yup! I carried her egg for 10 months."

"Carried her egg?" Celestia repeats, her mind failing to process the statement.

"Yeah," Rolling Fog grumbles, "though it sat there not doing anything for almost three whole months before it got fertilized, which was kinda-"

Amaranth's horn glows to life, a green aura momentarily surrounding Rolling Fog's mouth to leave behind a gooey binding, "Enough. I am sure Princess Celestia did not come here with the intention of learning about the life cycle of changeling queens."

Rolling Fog shrugs, "Mm mm-mm mmm."

"I did not, no," Celestia replies, clearing her head with a small shake. "What I came here to speak with you about was the current relationship between Equestria and the hives it hosts, or perhaps more accurately, the lack of any such relationship."

Amaranth pauses and examines Celestia, noting her tenser posture as well as a faint hint of caution and distaste leaking from behind her otherwise calm veneer, "You are displeased by our presence within your nation."

"I am… amenable to your presence here," Celestia says, choosing her words carefully, "especially considering the alternative. I am just having some difficulty reconciling the fact that I have been entirely unaware of your existence given how many changelings there would seem to be, and for how long that likely means your tribe has been living among us."

"We have been living alongside the rest of the pony tribes for millenia," Amaranth supplies. "Since before the windigos, at least. Many of our hives were lost during that period, as was most of our history from before the time your tribes moved here and united to form Equestria, so I cannot say much about the time before that with any certainty. I am glad to hear that you are willing to allow us to remain here though – ponies are much more emotional, and innately magical, than most other creatures. It is, as I'm sure you're aware, why other species have mere relics and locations of power, while ponies have you alicorns as living embodiments of that strength. As such, leaving to find another species to feed off of is not a path any hive would be willing or able to take."

Celestia gives a slow nod, "I am relieved to know we have that much common ground at least, but regardless of how I may feel about the situation and of any history we have unknowingly shared with you, the fact of the matter is that having what amounts to several city-states operating entirely independently within Equestrian territory is not an acceptable state of affairs, even before considering Chrysalis' failed invasion."

"And that is the true reason you arranged this meeting," Amaranth states flatly.

"No, actually," Celestia says. "When I spoke with your daughter and the two other changelings in Ponyville, they said they were each from a different hive, and that beyond their hives there were also another five or six hives within Equestria, depending on Chrysalis' fate. They each also agreed to send a letter back to their queen, or in Fluttershy's case told us about you, however their only suggestion for contacting the other hives was to have a queen essentially forward the letter to the other queens since the location of one's hive is kept secret from all other hives. The reason I arranged this meeting, then, is to request your assistance in contacting these other queens."

"While the locations of our hives are kept secret from one another, there are prearranged areas where messages can be left," Amaranth replies. "Though how frequently they are checked is another matter entirely; so while I can pass your letter along, I cannot guarantee when it will actually be picked up."

"And are there five or six additional queens?" Celestia queries.

"There are… six, technically," Amaranth answers hesitantly.

"So Chrysalis is still alive?" Celestia asks, her gaze intensifying.

Amaranth sighs, "Yes. Though a queen in name and biology only now. There is also another queen who lives on the border of the Badlands, though her hive is so small as to be irrelevant and she very much prefers to be left alone – I can't speak for the other queens, but I haven't communicated with her in nearly 600 years, since… well, since she moved there. Which I suppose is a little bit ironic, seeing as she is the only one I know of who can be contacted directly."

"Regardless, I would like the letter to reach all queens within Equestria," Celestia states.

"As you wish," Amaranth replies. "Though as I said, it may take some time for them to find it."

A small, and this time genuine, smile curves Celestia's lips, "Thank you. I am not particularly worried about when they receive the letter, just that they do receive it. Of course, all that said, the letter has not been written yet, though I do plan to draft it with the other Princesses and have it ready within a week."

"I see," Amaranth says cautiously, gesturing at herself and her changelings. "And, do you intend to reveal us?"

Celestia closes her eyes for a moment, giving a tired sigh, "You have been in Canterlot for quite some time, and in that time the only thing I am aware of you doing is providing an excellent photography service. As such, there does not seem to be any pressing need to do so."

Silence falls between the two monarchs, Amaranth tilting her head in confusion after a minute passes, "Was there anything else you wished to speak to me about?"

Princess Celestia shakes her head, "I would prefer to discuss anything else regarding the changeling presence in Equestria once all changeling queens are present."

"Very well. In that case," Queen Amaranth stands with a flourish, green fire consuming her as she changes back to the more familiar form of Photo Finish, "I go!"

The four changelings shift back into their pony forms as well, one taking a moment to dissolve the goo binding Rolling Fog's mouth before all five follow Photo Finish out of the room.

Princess Celestia waits until she can no longer hear the sound of their hoofsteps, then leans back and sighs again, looking down at the guard to her left, "Please inform the court that I will be delayed for a while."

Her gaze shifts to the orange guard on her right, "Bring me a cake. Something really chocolaty."

The guards salute, pausing near the door as Celestia calls out, "And not a word of what was spoken in this room to anyone, or I'll have both of you sent off to a changeling hive to clean whatever their equivalent of a latrine is. Am I clear?"

"Yes, your highness!" Both of the guards replies in unison, saluting again.

Celestia's eyes shift to the cake-fetching guard, "Also, Flash Sentry, I fear I may not have been entirely clear earlier. When I said to bring me a cake, I did not mean for you to bring me a slice of cake, I meant for you to bring the whole cake."

"Of course, your highness," Flash Sentry says, giving a quick bow before following his fellow guard into the hallway.

Author's Notes:

Aileron Roll