The slender white hoof stepped delicately onto the platform, and Celestia sighed in relief for solid ground. The monarch glanced appreciatively at the quaint town bustling with activity. Far off in the distance, a palace made of a beautiful lustred substance glimmered. In a newspaper stand nearby, the Princess saw headlines outlining the peace treaty between the two continents. On the front page was her face. Her eyebrows rose in speculation.
"Wow! Your mane is so pretty!" said a little filly, catching Celestia's attention by gathering up a bunch of the flowing stuff in her hooves. The filly squealed in utter delight as she nuzzled the soft mane in her front hooves.
"Caramel!" cried the flustered father, tugging his daughter's hooves away. The stallion sighed and rolled his eyes as the young filly started pulling on his mane. He smiled at the Princess.
"We're very sorry, Princess. Caramel, well...." the mother smiled ruefully, bowing her head in respect.
"Oh, but it's fine, I assure you! Your filly has a beautiful personality." Celestia smiled.
One of her guards tapped her on her back. "The chariot is ready, my Princess." he informed gruffly.
"Well then, I will be taking my leave." the Princess smiled at the family once again before following the stocky guard to where her golden chariot stood. Two of her strongest pegasi were harnessed to the chariot, and they bowed to the Princess as she approached. Celestia nodded back as she climbed onto her waiting chariot, leaning back into the soft cushions.
"To the palace, if you please."
Sour Orange rushed into the throne room, expertly balancing two goblets in her sunset-colored aura. "The Princess of Equestria has arrived, majesties!" she panted, out of breath. Sweet Spell's emerald eyes sparkled, her mouth stretched into a tight smile.
"I presume that is the love concoction?" she enquired, nudging her sister.
"But of course, Queen Sweet Spell!" Sour Orange said.
"Ooh, it smells divine!" Swift Wings said, tossing her scroll aside.
Sweet Spell caressed the goblets in her own magic, looked at the liquid adoringly, and beckoned for Sour Orange to leave.
"Thank you, Sour. We shall send for you if need be."
The servant left. Sweet Spell waved the goblet under her sister's muzzle, who took it in her own magic. Grinning, they daintily sniffed the cups, ensuring there was no suspicious magic or poisons, and drained the goblets of their contents. The taste of sweet raspberries delighted their taste buds. As the delightful flavor slowly faded away, the two queens stepped away from their shadowed thrones, revealing two tall changeling royals. Sweet Spell grinned, flicking strands of her pink-tipped coral mane out of her eyes. Her wings buzzed in delight. Beside her, Swift Wings stretched her dark grey limbs, tossing her cyan mane from side to side.
"Now, where are those crowns?" Sweet Spell mused, transforming, with a green flash, into her disguised self, a white coated alicorn. Besides her now fluffy coat, every one of her original features remained, from the coral red mane to the gradient purple hooves. Swift Wings held them up, still in her changeling form. The intricate bands settled snugly on the rulers' heads, studded with priceless jewels.
"Do transform, Celestia should be here at any minute." Swift Wings shrugged, a pool of blue flames starting to lick at her skin. In mere seconds, where the changeling stood was replaced instead with a near- identical copy of the elder, save the cyan mane and green gradient hooves.
"Nothing out of place?" she asked, baring her teeth, sweeping her pink tongue to check if her fangs had remained.
"None." her older sister replied, satisfied.
Sweet Spell slightly adjusted her sister's tiara for her before adding, "Let's go over the backup plan. If she catches you?"
"Erase her memory at once."
"Good. If she asks something about our heritage?"
"Our parents were Queen Sweet Sugar and King Iron Hoof."
"Excellent. When did we take over the throne?"
"Five years ago."
"Someone's been working hard. Mother would've been proud."
"....."
Sweet Spell glanced at the doors of the throne room before she flexed her strong, disguised wings. "I hear a chariot. Let's fly."
They both flapped their feathery wings, soaring gracefully towards the entrance of their majestic castle. With a swift glance at each other's faces, they both opened the doors. Princess Celestia smiled, reaching out a hoof to shake first Sweet Spell's hoof, then Swift Wing's.
"Greetings, Queen Sweet Spell and Queen Swift Wings!"
"We meet at last, Princess Celestia."