//------------------------------//
// Theories and Visions 
// Story: A Queen's Adoption 
// by Danger A Dragon 
//------------------------------//

“How did you learn how to walk into ponies’ dreams?” I asked when I remembered what she did the night before and realized that I didn’t really know how it worked.

“Well, one night I noticed that Celestia was having a nightmare. So, I tried casting a mental calming spell on her, but it didn’t work. So, I tried going into her mind to help her. I ended up in her dreams and was able to interact with her. She wasn’t really happy about it, though,” Luna explained.

“Was it because she was dreaming about cake?” I asked with a giggle.

“Strangely enough, it only had one cake, but it was on fire as a dull yellow Unicorn mare with red and yellow hair glared at her. That mare was with another purple Unicorn and both were bearing down on Celestia. Why Celestia was cowering I don’t know since she could’ve taken both of them easily and then put out the cake,” Luna explained.

“You think that could have been a vision and that’s why she was cowering?” I asked and agreed with Luna about it being a strange dream.

“It’s a possibility. I don’t have enough experience as of yet to say for sure, but it seemed more like a memory dream than a nightmare,” Luna said thoughtfully.

“If it was a memory-dream, then how old did she look? Do you remember?” I questioned.

“Mmm, she was older than she is now and had mom’s ethereal wind blowing mane going on. So, going off of that it had to be a vision. Of what? I can’t say for certain since there were no voices that I could hear,” Luna said as she thought back to that night.

“You couldn’t hear any voices? I thought you were able to hear voices in a dream,” I said confusedly and felt that the best about this was to not tell Celestia that I knew about it.

“I can, but by the time I got close enough to hear they’d stopped talking and were just walking away from Celestia...Wait, they talked to somepony but it was just to get them together before they vanished and the vision ended,” Luna replied.

“Was this mystery fourth pony there, or somewhere completely different?” I asked.

“I assume they were there, but the vision never showed the fourth,” Luna answered.

“So you don’t know what the fourth pony looked like even if they were there,” I said and fell silent for a few moments to think about it.

“Yeah and I wasn’t in the vision. So, something must have happened to me. Then again the room they were in was completely unfamiliar,” Luna said with a thoughtful expression.

“I don’t think you can describe what the fourth pony sounded like but it could have been just a random pony Celestia had a vision of,” I mused.

“I doubt it was a random pony. The fourth knows the two Unicorns and Celestia somehow since the table was set up for tea and there were no guards around,” Luna replied.

“Celestia likes tea?” I asked in disbelief.

“It is another thing that calms her beside cake and it’s healthier so she has tea on a regular basis,” Luna explained.

“Okay, I did not expect that but I suppose it makes sense. So, we know that the fourth pony knows the two Unicorns and Celestia somehow. We know that the two Unicorns called on the fourth pony to make them vanish or something. I’m assuming vision-Celestia expected them so she set up a tea party. Am I missing anything?” I asked.

“Only the fact that the Unicorns didn’t seem to like Celestia since they were glaring at her,” Luna answered.

“Add that onto the rest and we most likely have a family of ponies that hate Celestia. If not, then a very small group of them,” I concluded.

“I’m going to say, group, since neither mare seemed to look anything like each other,” Luna said.

“They didn’t? No hint of resemblance whatsoever other than them being Unicorns?” I asked in surprise.

“Coloration, horn length, manes, tails, and eyes were all different. The only thing similar was their height, but that’s common of all ponies outside of Alicorns and you,” Luna noted.

“That rules the family theory out then,” I said neutrally. “Cutie marks wouldn’t match up anyway. Did you hear what the fourth pony sounded like?”

“Mmm, no...I know you already got mad at me for this, but are there any other hives?” Luna asked hesitantly.

“I’m too wrapped up in this fourth pony to worry about that at the moment,” I said reassuringly. “No, there aren’t. I was speaking the truth about that when you found me. If there were, do you think I would be wandering the forest?”

“Wasn’t sure if the other hives, if they existed, had their own Queens or not,” Luna explained. “The reason I ask is because the mares said ‘let’s get back to the hive’ before they vanished.”

“‘Let’s get back to the hive’? But that’s impossible! There aren’t any other hives out there and mine was the last one to go,” I said in shock.

“Perhaps they found it and are using it as a base of operations?” Luna guessed.

“If they will, then they can have it,” I said with a laugh.

“Um, do any other races have this?” Luna asked and tapped a hoof against a part of my chitin. I glanced at where she touched and thought about it.

“If they did … then they aren’t part of this landmass because as far as I know, mine’s the only race that has this,” I said and gestured to my chitin.

“Okay, the family theory is back in the ring then,” Luna said as we got to my room.

“Why is it back in the ring? I thought we threw it way out of the ring to never be seen again,” I said while I had a sneaking suspicion that Luna was going to say something ridiculous.

“I remembered that the two mares’ images flickered at times and when they did this appeared on their bodies before they flickered back to normal,” Luna said and once more tapped my chitin. I climbed up onto my bed when we got to it and I laid down facing her.

“That sounds like when one of my illusions flickers out when something compromises them,” I said in thought.

“I think that the event Celestia saw has two versions to it. One where they have the black armor and one where they don’t,” Luna said.

“So if those two Unicorns have black chitinous armor, then that means they could be siblings, right? If they don’t, then what would that mean?” I asked.

“They could be siblings which is why the family theory is back in the ring. If they don’t then… who knows,” Luna said with a shrug.

“Since we’ve come to a stop on the second theory, maybe the fourth pony was a parent or something,” I suggested with a shrug.

“Perhaps, but the only one I know of with chitinous armor is, well, you. So, unless there’s another changeling out there somewhere that’d mean you’re the parent of the armored version of the mares at the very least,” Luna reasoned.

“That … um … that sounds possible but there’s never been a pony/changeling hybrid before. I only just met you two anyway so how could I be the parent?” I asked.

“Can you change into a stallion and impregnate ponies that way?” Luna wondered.

“Theoretically, I can … but it’d be just so weird to be one that I’d never even bother using it,” I said with an involuntary shudder.

“Then it seems you’d become pregnant during a heat cycle by some stallion when you can’t control yourself properly,” Luna replied with a shrug of her wings as she laid down on the floor. I looked at my bed to see how big it was and realized that it was big enough to fit two ponies relatively comfortably.

“Why don’t you lie down up here? It’s big enough for both of us,” I suggested.

“I didn’t want to accidentally bump you. So, I laid down here,” Luna replied as she stood and gingerly got onto the bed and laid down next to me. “So, you get rutted by a stallion during heat, twice, and have those two mares with chitin armor unless there’s another changeling out there that you don’t know of and aren’t connected to.”

“Let me tell you something about changeling heat. For the duration, and for whatever reason, the heat locks us in whichever form we happen to be in,” I said and looked at her. “It could happen but I highly doubt there’s another changeling out there.”

“So is you having the first two pony/changeling hybrids, but that seems highly unlikely right now as well,” Luna pointed out.

“True. Then again, you did say that Celestia had a mane like mom’s, so, this could happen many years down the track,” I said with a wave of my hoof.

“Yeah, it probably will since the room they were in isn’t in this castle,” Luna replied.

“Since that’s the most likely case, we don’t need to worry about it even though it’s an extremely scary thought to have,” I told her with a nod.

“The only real part I’m worried about is what happened to me since I wasn’t in it and I can’t see Celestia having tea in that kind of setting without me. I’d say ‘us’, but you’re already there theoretically,” Luna said.

“If I am there, then what happened to make Celestia and I hate each other? Or at least make me hate her?” I asked.

“Well, I can think of one way she’d start hating you,” Luna said with a grin.

“Me teasing her too much about her liking cake?” I guessed.

“And the illusions from earlier,” Luna added.

“But that would theoretically cause her to hate me, and not me to hate her,” I pointed out before resting my head on my crossed forelegs.

“If you get her to hate you then she’ll most likely do something to make you hate her. It’s the vicious cycle of revenge that never ends unless the parties involved sit down and work things out,” Luna said.

“Answer me this one then. Why would I get my theoretical foals to hate Celestia as much as I do? It wouldn’t make sense,” I said.

“You were still in the revenge cycle and they grew to hate her because you already hated her and foals take on characteristics of their parents whether it’s odd habits or how the parent thinks about things. So long as it happens or is voiced around the foals they can copy it until they figure out their own likes and dislikes,” Luna explained.

“So I corrupt my own hypothetical foals without meaning to. Great,” I groaned and smushed my face into the bed covers.

“It could also be something that Celestia herself did to make them hate her, but this is all theoreticals anyway,” Luna said.

“Theories and hypotheses aren’t anything to sneeze at,” I told her. “Still, they should be taken with a grain of salt because they are just theories after all.”

“If this is a future event, and we’ve decided it is, then it might not even happen and those two mares might not even be born,” Luna pointed out.

“That is certainly true as well,” I said with a small yawn. “Um … you probably don’t want to … but … can you … sleep with me tonight?”

“Hmm, sleep by myself or have a sleepover with my new sister. Hmm, that’s a tough one,” Luna said with a smile. “Well, I thought long and hard about it and I’ll sleep here tonight.”

“Th-Thanks. I’m not … exactly used to … sleeping by myself,” I replied nervously.

“Ah, you’re the type who always has a stallion to sleep with,” Luna said with a giggle. What!? Why would she think that!?

“No … I’m just used to the hive in my head and now that they’re gone, it’s just really lonely,” I clarified with a look of horror.

“Sorry, I know I said I wouldn’t try to joke with you, but I couldn’t help that one. I figured you meant that,” Luna said as she rubbed the back of her neck ashamedly. I sighed and repositioned myself so I was on one side of the bed with the covers over me.

“I know, but that was just a terrible joke,” I remarked.

“Yeah, sorry,” Luna said as she got herself comfortable before lighting her horn and looking towards the sky.

“What are you doing?” I wondered when I noticed this if she was actually raising the moon like she said she did.

“Raising the moon and creating the night sky,” Luna answered and let her horn die out after a few moments. I was too tired to respond so I just nodded and brushed one of her wings with my magic before falling asleep.