//------------------------------//
// Chapter 22: Royal Meetings 
// Story: Converted 
// by Shaded Changeling 
//------------------------------//

	It is unusual for Celestia to travel outside of Canterlot without a small group of guards accompanying her; however the delicate nature of this meeting required she come alone.
It had been only this morning that she received an urgent letter from Cloudsdale saying that a small group of Changelings had been captured masquerading as members of the court. She had cleared her schedule for the day and took off immediately for the flying city.
She had been sure to hide the capture from media, as she knew of the backlash this would have on not only her relations with her subjects, but with that of the courts. She needed to be sure that these changelings were truly masquerading as members of the court, and were not simply members of the court.
Upon reaching the Weather capital of Equestria, she quickly picked out the only pony she had told of the incident. A dusty pink Pegasus with a short gray mane pinned up into a bun, her brown eyes staring back at the Alicorn.
“You’re late…” The Pegasus said to Celestia as she walked up.
“Well if I was warned of the incident when it happened and not the day after, I could have gotten here quicker,” She replied.
“I don’t blame you.” The Pegasus replied as the two of them began to walk down the streets made of clouds. “You have a kingdom to watch over, and nobles to put in their place.”
Celestia smiled. “Half of that is your job as well.”
“Only when they break the laws set in place by the Legislature,” The Pegasus replied, “or when they make false accusations.”
“You will be happy to know that I prevented this information from getting leaked.”
“Yes… only after five ponies saw the scuffle…” The Pegasus replied. “Tracking down ponies is not supposed to be my job.”
“So you dealt with it then?” Celestia asked.
“Yes. They won’t remember a thing; they believe they saw a drunken brawl. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“That makes one hundred and thirty five ponies this year.” Celestia replied. “You must enjoy that explanation.”
“It is just the easiest to fake…” The Pegasus replied. “Besides, I needed a reason why several ponies attempted to kill each other.”
Celestia looked around at the streets and the flying pegasi above them. “I believe we should make this conversation a little more private.”
The Pegasus nodded. “I believe it is your turn to cast the silence spell.”
Celestia’s horn began to glow bright yellow as a faint yellow bubble surrounded the two of them. “Acari.”
“Princess.” Acari replied. “I do not need to tell you how disappointed I am in my scouts' disability to handle this matter silently.”
“My knowledge of the incident is limited.” Celestia replied. “What happened exactly?”
“I will allow them to tell you.” Acari replied. “They are detained just ahead.”
“By your own guard?”
“You know I trust no one else.” Acari replied. “Especially with the security of my hive. You should know that, Princess. Given what happened nearly eight centuries ago.”
Celestia remembered. She had to allow a nearly full citywide memory wipe to cover up the discovery of a changeling hive underneath Canterlot. She was not pleased by it, however it had been a part of their agreement… up until they managed to remove all Changeling hives from civilization. “I remember…”
“I’m sorry it came to that…” Acari replied genuinely. “If I had known Morphi’s hive was down there I would have cleared them out centuries ago.” She noticed Celestia’s expression. “I’m sorry…for…Starswirl… I realize he was your only friend at that time”
“I’d rather not talk about it.” Celestia replied. “That…was not the best time in my life…”
Acari nodded. “I’m just surprised Chrysalis knew about the old hive… Was that not where she placed the Love Princess?”
“It was…” Celestia replied. “I would not like to talk about Chrysalis until you locate her.”
“Of course, Princess.” Acari replied bowing her head. “Hopefully that day will be soon.” She looked up at Celestia. “But remember Princess, the Monarchy wishes to interrogate her before she is judged by Equestria.”
“I do not intend to back down on our deals. Whether we made them years ago or today.” Celestia replied.
“We’re here,” Acari said as she stopped walking.
Celestia turned to look at the building; it looked to be a run down warehouse, made nearly completely out of clouds. It was boarded up with large planks but seemed to be missing a chain lock that looked as though it was burned off. The building had a sign on it saying: CONDEMED in bright bold letters.
“How long have you been operating out of here?” Celestia asked.
“About six hours…” Acari replied. “We would normally use Ovi’s outpost, but she is currently mortally wounded from that blast you used. So her Changelings are in a rather testy mood.”
“More so than usual?” Celestia asked, from what she had been told, Ovi ran almost every one of the more…questionable locations in Equestria, and her Changelings fed off the emotions of the clientele, she would attempt to get rid of them, but the nobles always stood up for the establishments.
“They’ve begun biting the clients.” Acari replied, pushing the broken door off its hinges. “Needless to say, my Enforcers are standing guard at the establishments until Ovi has made a recovery or….” She trailed off. “Let’s hope it does not come to that.”
“Why?” Celestia would rather enjoy that particular hive vanishing all together, but she didn’t want them dead.
“The Changelings would begin going rampant, Ovi never had an heir, so the hive would need to be spread out, or the generals would fight for the right to lead.” She pushed the other door open. “I have an heir, she is currently in a holding chrysalis until she is needed. She knows everything she needs to in order to be a good leader.”
Acari motioned for Celestia to come in, as the Princess walked in, Acari picked up the two sides of the door and placed them back perfectly. A bit further down, two pegasi landed in front of them.
“Identity…” One of them growled.
“Queen Acari of the Just Hive. And Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria.” Acari’s eyes flashed pink. She hissed briefly before the two pegasi bowed.
“Welcome back My Queen.” One of them replied. “They are this way.” The two pegasi led them further into the warehouse, where the boards became heavier and the light stopped shining through and small green crystals dimly glowed through the darkness.
“They are just through here.” The Pegasus replied before flying back to their posts.
Celestia could hear hissing and buzzes coming from the room. Acari pushed open the door and Celestia noticed a single Changeling outside the small cells hissing at a small group of Changelings. All six of them were from Acari’s hive
“And not one of you caught it?” The single changeling asked the others. “It was one scout! How did none of you catch it?”
“Because I do not train my Changelings in combat Sergeant.” Acari replied, changing to her natural form. “Chrysalis does.”
“My Queen. I did not notice you.” He said with a bow. “I am simply trying to figure out how a starved changeling managed to avoid capture.”
“Understandable.” Acari replied. “I have Tornado Dust searching around for any sign of it. He will be returning soon. Tell him to report to me as soon as he can.”
The Sergeant bowed. “These are the four who were discovered. The fifth retained their cover.”
“Good for her.” Acari replied looking at the four changelings. “You will need to handle this issue yourselves. Try and be discreet about it.”
The four of them nodded. “Were there not six of you involved?” Acari asked.
“He’s…unconscious.” The Sergeant replied. “He has been since the attack. His faceplate has been cracked. And his eye has suffered a laceration.”
“I expect him to be moved to the emergency chrysalis as soon as possible.” Acari replied. “I am going to be speaking with Princess Celestia for a bit. Ensure their covers are secure before they leave.”
The Sergeant saluted as both Acari and Celestia moved to the next room.
“Who were they?” Celestia asked she had trouble telling Changelings apart without their covers.
“Just a few minor bailiffs, but the problem is…if the nobles find out about this…they will search the entire court.” Acari had sat down at a small old looking table. “You know how many of my best are in the higher ups.”
Celestia sat across from her. “I cannot guarantee their protection… and if they find out about it… the nobles could believe the court makes laws based around Changeling sentiment.”
Acari gasped. “My subjects would never do that!” While it is true that with Changelings the laws were a bit different, that only applied inside of hives and between changelings. Inside of pony cities or when disguised, they follow the rules of Equestria. “You know they studied law themselves. It is like Cytes’ changelings, they all learn to perform in their field of medicine!”
“Yes…but I believe that Changelings being doctors would be much more difficult to get used to.”
“Why is it so strange?” Acari asked. “You ponies can choose to be whatever you wish. Why is it so strange for a Changeling?”
Celestia looked at her. “You know what I meant Acari. The ponies of Canterlot are still… jumpy about the whole situation. I’m sure you are familiar with the Changeling discovered in Canterlot.”
Two changelings flew in and placed a tea tray in between the two monarchs. “Yes I am… his name is Shade.” Acari replied taking a sip of tea. “He has been living in Ponyville since the Invasion.”
“Then you should know I had to practically fight off the nobles who told me to kill him.” Celestia said sipping her tea. “For the first few days after his capture became public knowledge, many of them wanted to kill him. At first I thought the nobles had injured him. Until I found out the true reason.”
“That Spine changeling.” Acari said nodding. “That explains the boosted security then.”
“I’m not letting anything get through the city without being checked.” She sighed. “The nobles still are not thrilled with the fact he is in the city, especially in the hospital.”
“Yes… I heard about the incident.” Acari shivered. “Reminds me of those corrupted Changeling stories I heard as a nymph. Red eyes and all.”
“Well…that did not help in convincing them he was not going to harm anypony.”
“He only wishes to…” Acari was cut off by a caretaker flying up to her.
“My queen…the Infiltrator has returned.”
Acari nodded to the caretaker. “Thank you Biome. Tell him I would like to hear of any progress he has made.”
As the caretaker flew off, Celestia raised an eyebrow at Acari. “You have Infiltrators now?”
Acari dismissively waved her hoof. “Adjust to the times Tia. I had to implement changelings into your Royal Guard. Granted they were always changelings from the beginning of their training so they wouldn’t stand out too much.” Acari sipped her tea. “Pupa is much better at raising soldiers than me.”
The door squeaked open. “I’m starting to think this is a lost cause.” Came a voice from behind Celestia. “I’m running out of free days Acari.” Out of her peripheral vision, she saw a flash of green light.
She spun around in her small chair to look towards the source of the green light. She saw another Changeling, not like Acari’s, its eyes were a light blue color while its backplate was a dark blue and its wings were a light shade of green. It didn’t seem to notice Celestia though.
Acari nodded. “Darkblaze, I would like for you to meet an old friend of mine.”
“Hold on…” Darkblaze replied rubbing his thin ears. “I had to check through the Weather facility, a thundercloud went off next to me…”
“This is Celestia.” Upon hearing the name, Darkblaze looked up towards the Alicorn, gave a small uncertain smile, and backed away as quickly as possible while keeping his eyes on her.
“Oh…well I see you’re busy…” He replied nervously, “so I’ll just go and check the Wonderbolt’s Track again and-“
“Darkblaze remain here.” Acari replied. Causing the Changeling to freeze in place. “She is an ally.” Darkblaze still stayed as far away as possible. “Now I understand that you have information on your Hivemate.”
Darkblaze sighed and walked closer to the two Monarchs. Being careful not to remove his eyes from Celestia. “I have discovered it is definitely a female.”
“How?” Celestia asked making the Changeling jump slightly.
“The pheromone trail.” Darkblaze replied. “It coincided with a Caretaker.”
Acari, who had been taking a sip of her tea, placed the cup down. “A caretaker?”
Darkblaze nodded. “They are trained in bloody combat, they are the final defense for the Queen, and so they are the most brutal.” Darkblaze seemed to calm down slightly, but still took periodic glances at Celestia.
“Anything else?” Celestia asked.
“She is injured and starved.” Darkblaze replied. “And…she is without the Queen.”
Acari looked down at him. “She is our best chance to find Chrysalis… Have you figured out any possible locations?”
“With a wounded leg,” Darkblaze replied. “She cannot leave the city, so she must be close to where it occurred… I estimate she cannot be more than a few hundred yards from the conflict.”
Acari sighed. “Are you certain of that distance?”
“Relatively,” Darkblaze replied. “There is only a hoof full of locations remaining.”
“Very well…” Acari replied. “Take a small squad of Changelings, I want her found… I want to know where Chrysalis is.”
“Very well Acari.” Darkblaze said with a bow. “I will return when we find something.” Darkblaze gave a small shiver before walking out of the room.
“Since when have you been harboring wanted criminals?” Celestia said raising an eyebrow.
Acari sipped her tea. “He is an exile. He has been pardoned for his crimes by me personally.” She refilled her tea. “He has been an ally to Shade for quite some time.”
“Aren’t you worried he will slow down the search?” Celestia replied.
“He has yet to place his loyalty into question.” Acari replied. “He is grateful for the chance at a new life. He has been looking for a way out of the hive for years. I trust him and that is what matters here.” Acari sipped her tea. “Now back to the issue at hoof.”
Celestia nodded. While she wasn’t against Changelings assisting one another, she was not too happy about Acari employing the help of one that was at the invasion. But she had to admit it would be the only way to track down Chrysalis. “Agreed.”
“What do you plan to do with Shade once he has made a recovery?” Acari asked.
“I am not sure…” Celestia admitted. “If what you have told me is true… then the best course of action would be to let him try and find the foal.”
“Understandable.” Acari replied. “Now the situation with the court…”
“The media will catch on eventually.” Celestia replied. “They always do…”
“So I suppose the proper question would be, how do you plan to confront them?”



Sapphire had managed to sneak out of the room before the party commenced, she was never a fan of social interactions, she left that to her Drones, and the pink one made her head hurt far too much.
She walked through the halls to where the elevator was placed; the inside was standard, steel grey, boxed in. But where the floor numbers were located, there was a small hole, which could easily be considered a key hole, were it not for the fact that no keys could operate it. Sapphire pulled a small crystal from her lab coat and placed it into the hole, causing it to glow bright red.
Sapphire touched her horn to the crystal, and it flashed blue before vanishing into the elevator. As it did, the elevator began to move down,
3rd floor, 2nd floor, 1st floor, basement, Under-center.
The elevator slowed to a halt as the crystal removed itself from the hole. The doors slid open, revealing the glowing underground, black Changelings flew around the area, holding clipboards and stethoscopes, all of them busily flying through the small chambers.
Sapphire put the crystal back in her pocket as she walked down the lightly glowing blue hallways, listening to the chatter of the changelings as they flew and ran down the halls. She looked around the halls, looking into the sealed off chambers, a blue membrane blocking out the sound. She could see her sky blue eyed changelings with their dusty purple backplates looking over the various changelings.
Sapphire sighed. They had been doing their best to keep up with both the changeling’s and the ponies' needs, but there have been far too many injuries for them to keep up with, for nearly the first time since she became the Queen, the hive was full. Some patients were outside of the sealed rooms, nursing various degrees of injuries.
Some had lost wings, horns, and even entire pieces of Chitin. The amount of deaths had been climbing for quite a while; Sapphire regretted being one of the smallest hives. If she had just a few more Changelings, then maybe she could save a few more… but the ponies needed help too, and they had not been dying off as quickly.
“My Queen,” One of her Changelings flew up to her, she recognized it as a caretaker, and she had re-employed them to focus on patient emotional needs. “I regret to inform you that we are running out of supplies for Pupa’s soldiers.”
“How much longer until the stores run out?” Sapphire asked.
“A few days at the very most…” the Caretaker replied. “We estimate heavy losses.”
“How many today?” Sapphire asked as they passed by a Changeling getting their leg amputated.
“Thirty-Two,” The caretaker replied, “mostly from Pupa, a few from Acari, and one from Chrysalis.”
Sapphire sighed. “How many of Pupa’s changelings are still ready to collect?”
“Very few of them… They are doing their best to stay discreet, but many of their food sources are wounded.”
Sapphire sighed again. “Has my daughter replied to my requests yet?”
“She has her hooves full dealing with those Changelings that were shot out of the city.” The caretaker looked at Sapphire. “My Queen…she has sent a few Changelings to bring over reserve emotions.”
“How long until they meet up with the main Hive?” Sapphire asked. Celestia had been boosting security around the city, the only way for them to get reserve supplies was from the main hive, but she couldn’t risk sending Changelings out.
“They should arrive before midday tomorrow.”
“Not enough time…” Sapphire replied. “We won’t be able to get it here in time…” It took at least a day to manage to get the emotions in a high enough concentration to be shipped safely. Then it was up to the delivery service.
“How are we on Lust supplies?” Sapphire asked, passing by one of Ovi’s orange eyed Changelings, missing both wings and having a severed horn.
“They are at a constant rate,” the Caretaker replied. “Ovi’s hive has been doing the best they can for their Queen… but it doesn’t help the others.”
“Attempt to reassign them.” Sapphire replied. “They will try and fight it, but we need the other emotions, I do not want more deaths than we already have.”
“Of course my Queen.” The Caretaker flew off up one of the tunnels. Sapphire continued to walk down the halls, stopping at a single room, in which a group of at least fifteen changelings were crowding around a single patient.
Sapphire walked through the membrane sealing off the room. “Every one out.” She said as she walked in. “I need to be alone with Ovi.” There was hissing and a very angry caretaker, until Sapphire transformed back to her natural form.
“Out. Now.” She said. “I will allow the caretaker. Drones, go and gather.”
There were a few hisses towards Cytes. “Ovi placed me in charge of you until she has recovered. What we need is more energy for Pupa’s changelings. Otherwise they will die.” Some of the Changelings were still less than pleased.
“Drones…” Ovi groan, currently she was disguised as a black unicorn with bright orange eyes. “Obey…”
“But Queen-?”
“Now…”
The Drones bowed to her before they exited the chamber, leaving only two other changelings.
“How is she holding up?” Cytes asked her Changeling writing on a clipboard.
“Not too well.” He replied. “She is determined to help her Changelings before herself. She isn’t accepting any food we try to give her.”
“She doesn’t want your help!” The Caretaker replied. “She would rather die than-”
“Care…Do me….a favor… and shut up…” Ovi groaned every word physically hurting.
“Ovi…” Cytes walked up to the Queen. “You can’t just starve yourself.”
“And why…not?”
“You must take care of yourself.” Cytes always admired her resilience to protect her hive, but often it turned into a weakness. “Your Drones wouldn’t want you to die.”
“They…will understand…”
“Who will lead if you fall?”
Ovi smiled at Cytes. “We both…know the answer.”
Cytes understood, Ovi had no heir, but if she would die, she wanted Cytes to use her hive for the best. But even if it did come to that, Cytes would only let them follow until they decided on their next Queen.
“How is…Selena…?” Ovi named her Changelings, at least…those she admired. Most were merely numbered Drones, but some who had an identity beyond pleasing the client were given names.
“She is bad… we lost her wings and her horn is shattered.” Cytes replied.
“She…would make…a good…Queen.” Ovi replied her eyes beginning to close.
“Cytes…she’s crashing.”
“Help her!” The caretaker replied, looking panicked.
“GET A REVIVER TO OVI!” Cytes announced through the hive. “NOW!”
A changeling rushed through the membrane, horn alight with electricity.
“My Queen…” The caretaker said shaking the unicorn. “My Queen. Please. Say something!”
Cytes reached up and grabbed the caretaker, turning her away from her Queen. “It’s alright…”
“But she’s…” The Caretaker tried to look as her Queen was shocked by the Changeling.
“Don’t look…” Cytes replied. “Shhh….she’ll be fine.”
“My Queen…” The Caretaker looked away as Cytes carried her out of the room.
“There’s nothing you can do for her now…” Cytes said in an attempt to calm the Changeling.
“Will she be alright?” The caretaker asked, looking back through the membrane.
“I don’t know…” Cytes told her. “All we can do is hope…”



Acari had frozen suddenly, a feeling of dread rushed through her.
“Is something wrong?” Celestia asked, noticing Acari’s expression.
“Ovi…” She replied. “Something terrible has happened.” Acari placed down her cup, staring off towards the direction of Canterlot.
“She isn’t-?”
“I hope not…”
The Changeling Queens are not often connected, they prefer to govern their own hives, however whenever an entire hive exhibits a feeling of such intensity, the Queens can feel it. It was never a good sign.
A small blue flame appeared on the center of the table, condensing into a letter. Acari picked it up. The letter appeared to have been written quickly, given the sloppy work of the writer.
	Acari,
An urgent matter has arisen that requires your aid. While I understand that you are currently handling a situation in Cloudsdale, and are meeting with Celestia, this matter is important for the safety of the hives.
Enclosed are two crystals, these will allow you to quickly transport here and back. I beg of you Acari, come quick, I cannot handle this situation on my own.
~Cytes
Acari read through the letter and found the two crystals curled up in the parchment, they were small blue shards, Acari looked at them in loathing.
“What is it Acari?” Celestia said, looking at the two crystals.
“I have been called by Cytes.” Acari replied. “It is urgent…”
“What is the problem?” Celestia asked, looking over the letter.
“Whatever it is, Cytes is worried.” Acari replied picking up one of the crystals. “She did say you would be allowed to enter. If only for the fact it is Canterlot.”
Celestia nodded. “Do you believe your soldiers can handle the situation here?”
“Darkblaze understands the situation, he will lead them.” Acari replied. “Now come close, the crystal must touch your horn.”



Cytes paced nervously inside of her throne room, fidgeting with her glasses. It was one of the few times she wished she had a caretaker to speak with. Along the walls, designs of medical doctrines were etched in, along with some of the more famous Changelings. Cytes used to find solace in gazing at the portraits of her ancestors, but now…they only made her more nervous.
“Acari… Come on…” Cytes had never been this nervous before, at least not since the first time she took her Medical Exam. Only this time, it was not something she could try again, if something went wrong here, it could mean the end of their race.
When the door opened Cytes almost jumped as a Drone rushed up to her. “My Queen” he said bowing. “Sorry for disturbing you. But we have managed to clear out Queen Ovi’s chamber.”
“Thank you…” She replied, continuing to pace the room. “I expect her to be ready to move as soon as possible.”
“Of course Queen Cytes.” The drone replied before rushing out of the room.
“Acari…hurry…” Cytes was worried, Acari didn’t often hold a conference with Celestia, usually only during rough times for the hives, and often they could not contact her. So Cytes was hoping that the letter got through.
When a blue flash appeared in the middle of the room, Cytes let out a very heavy breath. “Acari I am so glad that you…”
She noticed that Acari was not the only one, as Celestia was there as well. So on instinct, Cytes turned back into Sapphire. “Celestia?”
Both Acari and Celestia were rubbing their heads. “I understand why you hate those now…”
“Acari…” Sapphire said. “Not to sound rude. But why is Celestia here?”
“I decided it would be her place to decide, seeing how it is on her land.”
“I can understand that but…” Sapphire was about to begin arguing about this but decided to focus on the problem at hoof. “Ovi just got worse.”
“How much?” Acari asked.
“Follow me…I need your help to deal with this issue.” Sapphire replied, walking out of the door, Celestia and Acari were quick to follow.
Celestia couldn’t help but be impressed with the Hive, how well it was laid out to be almost identical to the hospital above, how it handled the added third dimension of flight. How quickly the Changelings managed to rush from room to room. She stopped for a moment when she saw a few of Chrysalis’ changelings behind one of the blue membranes.
“So how many hostile changelings are still in Canterlot?” Celestia asked motioning to the changelings. “And be honest with me.”
“There are only around ten.” Sapphire replied. “Each of them have suffered some kind of mortal injury. They’ve been dying slowly one at a time. We can’t get any of them to come out of a comatose state.”
Sapphire continued to walk as a group of orange eyed changelings flew up to her.
“What’s wrong with the Queen?”
“Is there any way for us to help?”
“Will she be alright?”
“Please…” Sapphire said to the Changelings. “If you want to help, go out and gather more energy for Pupa and Chrysalis’ changelings. We don’t want more deaths. And please… inform your Swarm that if they have any more questions, to leave a message with Callsign, I will get back to them as soon as I am able. Now please leave me alone.”
The group of Changelings caught sight of Celestia and hissed at her.
“Go.” Sapphire replied, her eyes flashing blue. “NOW!”
The Changelings flew off, leaving the hallway clear aside from the few that were next to others suffering.
“Queen Cytes!” Another Changeling called.
“What in Celestia’s mane is it?”
She recognized the changeling as Ovi’s caretaker. “I-I wanted to ask…if it was possible for me to…”
“You want to stay by her side?” Sapphire asked, looking the Changeling in the eyes. She could tell it was worried.
It nodded. “I-I want to stay by her side till the end.”
“Of course…” Sapphire replied. “If I may ask…do you have a name?”
“Carrie.” She replied. “The Queen is my birth mother.”
Acari looked surprised. “Yet you are not her heir?”
Carrie shook her head. “I was not brought up to be her successor.” She replied landing. “I merely watch over her.”
Sapphire nodded. “If it is what you wish. I will allow it.” She bowed her head slightly. “Princess…”
Carrie blushed, though it was hard to tell through the chitin. The four of them continued until they reached the chamber where Ovi was being held, her black unicorn disguise had fallen away to reveal her natural form, her eyes were closed, though her mane was allowed to hang loose against her carapace. If it were not for the different colors, one could easily mistake her for Chrysalis.
“What happened?” Acari replied, stepping through the blue membrane.
“She has refused to take care of herself before her changelings.” Sapphire explained. “She would not take any treatment until her Changelings were all recovered.”
Carrie had flown over to where her Queen lay. “Mother…please…”
“She’s catatonic; we can’t manage to get any kind of reaction from her.” Sapphire took off her glasses and placed them on the side table. “That’s why I needed your help.”
Acari looked at her for a moment. “Cytes…you know I cannot use healing magic as you can.”
“Even if you could, it wouldn’t help,” Sapphire replied. “I need the machines in the main hospital…the only problem is…”
“Managing to get a Changeling Queen there without anypony noticing.” Celestia replied. Having a Changeling Queen in Canterlot would open up a can of worms that Celestia didn’t want opened. The Nobles would be seeking redemption for the Invasion.
“Exactly…” Sapphire replied. “I need a powerful illusion spell to make her look disguised.”
Acari shook her head. “Cytes…I would love to help…but I cannot keep that kind of enchantment up for very long, at least not constantly. I can keep it up for a few hours…but the spell will break.”
“What if I gave you some of my power?” Celestia asked.
“Even then…the spell would break eventually. It may extend its life for a few days…”
“That is all we need.” Sapphire replied. “A few days is more than enough time to get her back to health.” Sapphire grabbed her glasses. “Or at least enough time to get her back to consciousness.”
“Alright…” Acari replied. “Then I suppose it is what we must do. Are you prepared Celestia?”
Celestia nodded.
“Very well, I will warn you, you will feel light headed after this.”
“I understand. Do what you have to.” Celestia prepared herself, but wasn’t expecting it to happen so quickly, as soon as Acari’s horn began to glow, Celestia felt winded. It didn’t take very long for her to gain a headache from the drain.
“You should sit down Princess.” Sapphire said pulling up one of the chairs brought down from the main hospital.
Celestia found it, but her vision was oddly blurry. “You haven’t had to do that in centuries…” She said as she managed to sit down.
“And I hope I do not need to again.” Acari replied. Celestia saw a bright pink light, and Acari began breathing heavily.
“It…Is…Done…” Acari replied before wobbling slightly. “I’m fine…I just…give me a minute…” Acari found another chair and sat in it, still breathing heavy.
“Where is she going?” Carrie asked Sapphire.
“Well…” Sapphire replied. “There is only one room in this hospital that has both a free spot, and an occupant who wouldn’t try to kill her.”
Carrie looked up from the black unicorn in front of her. “Who?”