The Fractured Unity

by Time Reaper

The Lady of the High Chamber

“Are thou sure sister?”

Hearing Luna’s worries didn’t deter Celestia or the certainty behind her claim, because it made too much sense. One thing was for Twilight to come back with a gift like a ring, or a medal, or a book, but to return with a collection of useful spells to hide their changeling features with a radio that allowed her to listen to the changeling society? And a second one that she could ‘give’ to anypony she deemed could need it? And when the newest meeting of the queens were about to begin?

No, those were too many coincidences.

“Yes, sister” -, replied Celestia, - “this is a way for Queen Valeris to communicate with us. Of that, I’m certain.”

“Alright then” -, responded the lunar princess as she was dialing the radio into the proper station that would transmit the queen’s meeting, - “not that We disagree with thee, but the implication of this are worrysome, if true.”

The radio was then tuned and the princesses could hear an interview between the journalist known as Caex interviewing a changeling with a very confident but smug voice, it wasn’t hard to get the context of the interview but, for the way it was moving, the princesses were now wondering how it got to such point.

“And that is why Valeris will never allow the changelings to have open relationships with the ponies.”

As the individual was finishing, Caex decided to ask, with his smooth and neutral tone of voice.

“That is quite insightful mister Faux, but it does bring questions, if Valeris doesn’t intend to open relationships with the ponies, then why would she be the one behind the dialogue with them?”

“That’s because, after Chrysalis’ attack on Canterlot, she needed to make sure the princesses wouldn’t have any reason to open any type of persecution against the changelings, because that would reduce her control over us. In the end, she’s only making a façade to-”

“Is this guy for real!?”

Twilight, on her library, turned to Thunderlane and his glassy blue eyes, who was with the other ponies who were turning into changelings, but Diamantis decided to ask him ‘what did he mean’ so Twilight could focus back on her illusion spell.

“I’ve been hearing that interview for half an hour and this guy is always going between this Queen Valeris being an all-powerful being who has absolute control over the changelings and this same queen being too weak to face even a gust of wind as opposition. That’s too inconsistent to begin with!”

Diamantis thought about it for a while before answering.

“Well, yeah, you’re right. That is why I don’t take him seriously, all he does is to attack Valeris but nothing he says makes sense to begin with.”

“So why must we listen to him?”

Diamantis turned to Rainbow Dash (whose wings looked less ‘feathery’) who was trying to read some books of Daring Do while Cherilee was writing something on a lot of papers she had with her. Next to them was Octavia Melody who, in companionsip of Lyra Heartstring, and her holy horn, was trying to write down a musical score she heard on the radio during the commercials.

And so were many ponies in the Library, waiting for the meeting to begin by doing their daily chores or hobbies as Twilight was preparing the spell to keep the illusion that they were all ponies and not changelings.

“Well -, Diamantis continued, - “that’s because the radio’s director, whoever it is, decides that all the changelings has the right to speak in there.”

“Hold on dear” -, interrupted Rarity, - “if what you say is true, and the directors are put in place by the queens, that implies that-“

“Hoo! I know this one! I know this one!” – Shouted Pinkie Pie. – “It means that the queen in charge of The Union doesn’t like Valeris.”

“But, if that’s true” -, Spike asked aloud, - “then how can Valeris be a tyrant while also inviting the very radio station that is critical of her into the High Chamber?”

“Silence!”

All the ponies turned around to the grey Pegasus with black patches on his body, who looked too angry as he was trying to press his ear to the radio.

“Please! I’m trying to listen to what could possibly change my life as a whole. I know you’re worried, but this is too important for me to ignore. Besides, the interview is over and Caex is explaining a little bit about what we are going to hear.”

All the ponies stopped what they were doing, except Cherilee, Octavia and Twilight, and started to listen to the radio as Caex’s smooth voice was starting to explain a bit about what the High Chamber was.

“When the War of Unification was over and Valeris came out on top of it, thanks to The Great Coalition, it was needed to search for a system that would allow the queens to talk, negotiate and even work among each other, but, since the needs of the Great Queens were different from the needs of the Minor Queens, it was decided to create two chambers where the two classes of queens would manage to talk to each other and solve their own problems.

For Queens like Valeris, who has over 30.000 drones and are deemed as ‘Great Queens’, they work on the High Chamber, where they control key aspects of the changeling society, such as the military, the treasury and, today’s subject to discuss, the policies, both national and foreign, that determine what is to be allowed and what not.”

As Caex was narrating, not only were the ponies listening, but also drones, soldiers, elites and even royal changelings from the east to the west of Equestria were listening. From the stupidly rich of Miria, to the heat stroked of Marabia, to the very drones living among ponies in places like Baltimore, to even Canterlot (whoever was left in there) and from the ones in Cloudsdale, to the ones in exile with Chrysalis and even the very hive ruled by Anidis.

They were all listening, hoping to hear something that could provide them with some sort of understanding of what was going on and what was the direction the Changeling Union was going to take after Chrysalis’ attack on Canterlot.

For a brief time, all of those who were over 15 years old remembered the wars and hoped that this meeting wouldn’t end with a return to those conflicts.

They truly hoped that.

And this was the same feeling for the drone on the High Chamber, preparing himself to transmit the meeting to his radio as soon as the meeting began. He could see, from the upper side of the room, which was reserved for the visitors, how all the 8 Great Queens were already gathered and preparing to talk about the most recent development among the hives.

And Queen Valeris, already in the seat of the Lady of the High Chamber, was more than eager to begin the reunion that would set forth her next step into defending the changelings, both from the equestrians as well as from other changelings, like Anidis.

So, after seeing Queen Luxis on her seat as secretary of the chamber, she ringed her new bell and gave the order.

“The High Chamber opens session, may the secretary begin by reading the points agreed on the last session.”

Luxis, understanding quickly what she had to do; she brought up a paper and started to read:

“On the last meeting, about a month ago, the Great Queens assembled on the High Chamber of the Collective’s Palace and agreed on the following points:

-First Point: The rejection to recognize Anidis as a queen of any kind until a delegation made between the two chamber could go and determine if she has any of the requisites to be part of the changeling society.

-Second Point: To not make a territorial rearrangement on the minor hives belonging to Queen Zirconis along their trade taxes being reduced while the Great Council of the Queen is getting closer.

-Third Point: The recognition of Fortis as the rightful ruler if Hive Castleen and accept as part of the queens for the next Great Council of the Queens.

-Fourth: The agreement of letting Queen Fortis to hold her mother’s position on the parliament until she got crowned, as well as not changing the composition of the committees until the next Great Council of the Queens could be done.

Not too long after that, the High Chamber received the latest decisions done by the Lower Chamber and was asked to ratify it. The High Chamber ruled as follows:

-First Point: It accepted the denial of Anidis as part of the changeling society but rejected the demand for a military move against her.

-Second Point: It ratified the tax alleviation on all the minor hives belonging to Queen Zirconis until the next Great Council of the Hives comes and the territories are redrawn.

-Third Point: It ratified on restricting Queen Chrysalis (and her hive) of any kind of trade with all the hives living in Equestria, including restrictions such as: No longer getting love from any pony settlement belonging to a hive that isn’t hers, trade goods of any kind with equestrians or changelings that aren’t in her territory, be part of the Low Chamber until her ultimate fate can be decided, banned from all hives and their territories as long as she remains queen of her hive and, the High Chamber added, to invade and destroy both her and her family should she try to repeat the deeds she made in the wedding formerly held on Canterlot between Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, of Equestria.”

The Great Queens silently smiled, as they remembered that, and wondered if Chrysalis was listening to Luxis right now, who was about to read the fourth point, made by the Low Chamber, the one that brought up their collective fury.

“-Fourth Point: it rejected the proposal of speeding up the Great Council of the Hives since it lacked the needed votes to be considered a legal resolution and it also contradicted the High Chamber’s previously made resolutions.”

No queen had a single smile in their faces as they remembered Queen Faustis’ attempt to subvert the rulings of the Collective’s Palace, that didn’t stop Luxis from talking neither Valeris from following the due process.

“That is all Lady.”

Valeris then looked to the chamber and continued.

“We are now going to vote whether or not the High Chamber agrees on what is written on this short version of our last meeting.”

All the queens raised their hooves in approval.

“Accepted unanimously” -. She then looked at Luxis and added. – “The secretary will now read the proposals for today’s reunion.”

Queen Luxis grabbed a new piece of paper and started to read out loud.

“First point: to formally send a delegation to Queen Anidis’ location, ensuring that she is following the proper rules among changelings and, then, determine if she fulfills the necessary requirements to enter into the next Great Council of the Queens.

Second point: to discuss the most recent attack by terrorist organizations on changeling work places and settlements.

Third point: to discuss on the encounter between the princesses of Equestria and the changeling queens during the collective’s vacation.”

As Queen Luxis ended reading the proposed discussion matter, Valeris then looked at the chamber and added: “Does anyone have something to say on the matter?”

As Valeris finished talking, everyone noticed an amber queen rising her hoof up in the air.

“Queen Amaryllis has the right to speak.”

Queen Amaryllis then raised her voice and started to talk in a very high volume, high enough to be picked up by the radio team and to be understood by the other journalist.

“Honorable High Lady, not to consider that the other two points aren’t relevant by any degree, but, due to the high importance, both on a cultural and legal level, of the third point, I would like to ask to move the third point to become the first, for, I’m certain, all the changelings would like to hear on a clear detail all the events related to this.”

Queen Valeris then raised herself from her seat and answered with complete confidence on her voice. Those who knew her well, and were used to her usual speech, noticed how she, this time, sounded more collected but, at the same time, allowing more emotion into her speech than usual, which was very strange from her.

“Honorable Queen Amaryllis, you are correct on your assertion, regarding the third point, but, it was decided that order, not because it was any less relevant. On the contrary, due to the importance it holds and the quantity, as well as quality, of debate it could create, it was deemed necessary to discuss the other points first, to ensure that the High Chamber would be able to do something when it’s coming back from its vacation.”

Seeing that Amaryllis didn’t look too convinced herself, Valeris decided to continue,

“But, since your point still stands, let’s have a vote about it, shall we?”

The journalist and radio listeners never saw, or heard, how Amaryllis’s face was filled with shock, and a bit of bitterness, as Valeris said those words.

“Anyone who agrees with Amaryllis’ proposal of moving the third point of discussion into the first one can raise their hoof.”

After the votes were casted, Queen Luxis announced swiftly.

“The request was denied 5 to 3.”

“So” -, Valeris proceeded, - “anyone else?”

Seeing that no other queen had anything to say about it, and Amaryllis’ scowl on her face left very clear that this was a point that, neither she nor any other queen, could argue about, Valeris then proceeded with the last question before the High Chamber could formerly begin.

“Since there are no more request, does everyone accepts today’s list?”

After seeing the accepting glances of her allies, she ringed the bell and proceeded.

“Now, may the secretary read the first point of discussion for today’s meeting.”

Luxis, her voice showing no emotion, started to read then.

“First Point: to formally send a delegation to Queen Anidis’ location, ensuring that she is following the proper rules among changelings and, then, determine if she fulfills the necessary requirements to enter into the next Great Council of the Queens” -. She then decided to add some context, so anyone who weren’t aware of the situation could have a better understanding of what was going on. – “About two weeks before our last reunion, former member and Great Queen, Queen Zirconis had her hive invaded by the, once thought to be dead, Queen Anidis. Said queen not only invaded and took over Zirconis’ hive, but she also had the queen, as well as all members from her royal family and any other royal that could have inherited her throne, assassinated. Not too long after that, a coalition formed by Queen Valeris, Queen Castis, Queen Lixis, Queen Cerebelis and myself, Queen Luxis, went and attempted to remove Anidis from the hive she usurped but, sadly, the usurper queen managed to resist and defend herself against the coalition’s forces, to the point of defeating Queen Castis and her daughter, Princess Manticoris.

Any attempt to remove her was postponed when, former member of the Lower Chamber and Lower Queen, Queen Chrysalis, invaded Canterlot and caused a great disruption on the changeling system as a whole.

Not too long after this, the latest reunion of both chambers was held, where it was decided to not recognize Queen Anidis as ruler of any hive neither as an actual queen until a delegation could be sent to properly determine if she was following the changeling rule. After said agreement was done, the Lady of the High Chamber sent a letter to Anidis, requesting permission to send said delegation to any territory she have invaded, to make sure that the citizens living in there had their rights protected. Shortly after that, Queen Anidis responded to the letter, agreeing on what was asked.

Now, we are going to discuss the details that should be the focus of the delegation being sent to Anidis. Please, raise your hooves if you want to open the discussion.”

After ending the explanation, and the queens being well aware that Anidis may be listening to them, only three queens raised their hooves.

“Now, in order, Queen Fortis will start the discussion, followed by Queen Gardenis and, finally, Queen Lixis to end the first part of discussions.”

As Luxis ended talking, Queen Fortis prepared herself and, remembering very well who were listening, made her first official speech on the High Chamber as a Great Queen. Meanwhile, in Ponyville, Diamatis was quickly telling the ponies how important this queen was for their survival, while in Canterlot, the two princesses were now eager to listen the bronze queen, which they remembered as the kind one, and what did she has to say about a rogue queen invading them.

“Greetings, all of you, as already said by Queen Luxis, my mother was among the queens who decided to fight Anidis, and she, along my sister, Princess Manticoris, had her life ended at her hands. Usually, a queen would seek for retribution but, knowing well that doing so would put at risk the life of innocent civilians who are forced to work for her, what I recommend is that the delegation should focus on the drones living under her, to ensure that they have been properly fed and that no unfair treatment has been given to them. This includes the search and investigation for any prisoner of high importance that Anidis may be holding, and the procurement that any right they have hasn’t been breached, and for the negotiation needed to allow any changeling wanted to be freed from her to be released.”

While many changelings would find her words to be weirdly phrased, and others (knowing Anidis may be listening) groaned at the queen revealing to the enemy where would ‘make up’ was going to be needed, one changeling princess (and De-Facto Queen) who lived among ponies started to smile at the knowledge that her protector hadn’t forgotten about her mother. But she had to hold any type of tear, to ensure that the ponies surrounding her didn’t suspect of anything.

Meanwhile, after Luxis called for her turn, Queen Gardenis decided to speak, focusing on being short and simple, to ensure that nothing she said could be used against the delegation.

“Now, after all this years of peace, it shouldn’t be surprising that the ghost of the past are back to haunt us for our sins. Indeed, for I still remember how, over 30 years ago, the queens of back then, who were called ‘The Supremes’ were afraid of one queen called Inidis. I remember her, she was a decent ruler with certain quirks, of radicals ideas but of calm nature; some may say that she was skillful on the art of manipulation of others through multiple means and, in some ways, they were right.

But, despite this many flaws, there was one thing Inidis was accused off that was certainly false and this was of being ambitious. But do not be confused, for while it is true that changeling queens are ambitious and always strive for more power, love or growth, of which Inidis was no different from any other queen, she was accused of being so ambitious that she would have put our secrecy in danger.”

Queen Gardenis stood silent for a while, in order to let sink on the changelings, many of them too young to remember or even know, the information she was giving to them, before continuing.

“How many queens has been removed from the face of our history by being accused of something as vile as treason?” – She said in a very sad and melancholic tone, one belonging to those who were witness of close friends being victim of this vile treatment, as she saw some queens with enough life and experience ruling who, probably, understood what she was talking about. In particular, a yellow queen and a rose queen. – “Perhaps some of you know the answer to this question.

Regardless of it, Inidis was accused by ‘The Supremes’ of planning to reveal us to Equestria, in order to gain allies strong enough to upset the balance in her favor, and become a Superior queen that would rule over the Great queens. An outlandish accusation of course, for Inidis had become a Great Queen just 2 years ago and she wasn’t a fan of fighting other queens, even less to lower herself and reveal our identity to the ponies, but that didn’t stop ‘The Supremes’ of making the accusation and sentencing her as guilty without even giving her the chance to defend herself.

And do not think I am making this up, for I was there in that reunion, and many of you (or your mothers) were there, silent, letting the trial to be done without a single word of digression, either for fear of being destroyed by ‘The Supremes’ or for a silent agreement, myself being the former, and only one princess dared to speak up against this vile sin being made against an innocent queen.”

Gardenis then looked at Valeris with a sight of acknowledgement and proceeded.

“Valeris, daughter of Queen Apothesis, one of the supreme queens preparing the invasion itself, was the only one with enough bravery to speak up against ‘The Supremes’ and their wicked ways, and even prophesied what would later be known as ‘The War of the Supremes’ caused by a mere territorial dispute over Inidis’ former territories, among the very invaders who proposed such heinous act.

In the end, it was believed that Inidis’ daughters died during the invasion, despite their bodies never being found, but now, over 30 years after the invasion against Inidis’ hive, we can see now how we are harvesting the results of it, with the return of her first daughter, Anidis, searching for revenge against those who were behind her mother’s assassination; because, make no mistake, Zirconis was one of ‘The Supremes’ who agreed on invading Inidis’ hive and we shouldn’t be surprised that Zirconis resulted with her life being ended. This was the same for Queen Castis, who was also one of ‘The Supremes’ and had her life, as well as her daughter’s (Manticoris) by proxy, removed from the face of this planet. I suppose, in the end, that Queen Valeris did her mother a favor by removing her from the throne so many years ago, for that may have saved her from Anidis’ wrath.”

Gardenis then eyed one queen in particular, one queen that was known for never revealing her true intentions, one queen that was usually feared by all despite being so weak on workforce; one queen who, despite her confident and smug face, was sweating and had her hooves trembling; one queen who looked directly at Gardenis and, through her eyes, told her “don’t you dare to mention my name”. Gardenis, for a brief moment, wanted to challenge this queen and reveal her involvement to the changelings across the Union, but she feared the potential repercussions of it, both for her and the other queens, although that didn’t mean she couldn’t make a subtle implication.

“And I am aware that some of you, who were in that vile trial and agreed on the invasion, are now here, afraid of Anidis’ wrath and try to act as if you had no involvement on that, hoping to run away from the judgement of your sins. Be warned, because this delegation may not mean the end of Anidis, she can still pass it and follow the next step to become part of our system.

Now, do not misunderstand me and think that all I want to do is to play the blame game, for that would be cruel, my intention is to bring light into the minds of those who weren’t aware of this events, either due to a lack of knowledge or for being too young to know or understand. We are now paying the price of the crimes committed on the past and this delegation shouldn’t be used as an excuse to delay or rekindle it, but rather, as a mean to put an end to this once and for all. The point of this new age of peace, that we’ve built for almost 10 years, is to put away our grudges, in order to work together, for a better future that would benefit us all. Let this moment be an opportunity to end the mistakes of the past and to aid the future generations with the actions of today.”

She then decided to seat on her chair, having finished her piece, making the queens of the Great Coalition to wonder how the equestrian princess, no doubt listening to this, would digest what was revealed to them. In the end, only one queen was left to talk, whose turn was called, Queen Lixis, who was too eager to put her two bits on this matter.

“Greetings, my fellow queens and changelings, I plan to be short on this, for I noticed that it hasn’t been discussed. I personally agree with Queen Fortis’ position of the delegation having to aim at the common drones, and ensure the safety of any important changeling in Anidis’ grasp; I also agree with Queen Gardenis’ position of this delegation having to aim at fixing this problem rather than exacerbating it, but I also want to add something simple that hasn’t been addressed: This delegation must be built of those drones we trust the most, the ones we know for sure that won’t break out their vows to us. That way, we can be sure that, whatever they tell us, it will be the truth and nothing else, ensuring that their testimony hasn’t been disrupted by any lovely contribution given to them on the road back to us. I also think we should send more than one representative from each hive that decides to send delegates. It will help us out a lot in the long run.”

And with that, the first part of the first discussion was finished, which prompted Luxis to talk.

“With the first part of the debate done, may the queens wanting to discuss on the second part of the debate raise their hooves.”

To both her, and Valeris, surprise, not a single hoof was raised, which made Valeris quickly talk.

“If no other queen is going to talk” -, she then ringed her bell, making a very loud ‘ding’ - “this session is now done, may the secretary read the proposals given for the delegation to be sent to Anidis’ taken territory.”

Luxis grabbed her paper and read the proposals loud.

“It must focus mainly on ensuring that the drones, and important changelings, have their rights protected and to ensure that any changeling wanted to leave can leave. It must focus on searching for means to put an end to this long, developed grudge and it must be made of trustworthy drones from the hives willing to send delegates.”

With everything said, Luxis decided to take the next step into the discussion.

“Any queen who agrees with this decision may raise her hoof.”

After seeing all the queens, she said with complete neutrality, although it surprised some of the changelings hearing the transmission.

“Approved unanimously.”

To explain how surprising it was to hear this, we’ll have to focus on a changeling family living in Baltimare, disguised as ponies of course, where the mother almost shouted her surprise.

“Well, I’ll be, with how much the newspapers like to say that the queens only like to bicker and with how Gardenis almost throw dirt to some of them, I thought there would be some queens abstaining from voting.”

Her husband, too tired to even lift himself from his favorite chair, simply replied with a grin.

“I’ve been telling you to stop reading The Change-The Canterlot Times” -, he corrected himself before anypony else could listen to what he was saying, and continued, - “that diary is filled with lies that only serves to spread distrust on our monarchs.”

The ‘foals’, meanwhile, would be focusing on playing tag as the grandfather simply added, in a low tone of voice.

“Be glad you can now read more than one newspaper, or that we’re allowed to live among ponies. Long time ago, we-“

“I know dad” -, responded his son, just as quietly as his father, - “we used to live exclusively on our hives or towns separated from the ponies. I know, we used to live like that, I’ll remind you that your daughter in law used to live under Queen Faustis, in Las Pegasus and that I had to live as a counterspy for years.”

The grandfather simply scoffed, refusing to acknowledge how it was now better for his son to live as a simple infiltrator, and said to no one.

“And this nymphs now wonder why I still support Valeris, she may not be my queen, but she clearly has a very good vision of where must our species move.”

Granted, others, like a pair of changeling infiltrators in Vanhoover, working as police officers who were on a bathroom for their break time, noticed other moves worth pointing out.

“Did you find strange” -, said the first one, a very young male infiltrator starting his job, - “how Queen Amaryllis said nothing of this?”

The other infiltrator, another male, but older and more experience, responded in a low tone of voice.

“Our queen’s mother used to be one of the Supremes. She died during ‘The War of the Supremes’ and Amaryllis had to rule in her stead. I remember that day, I had to ensure the crowning went smoothly, and I’m certain our queen had no interest in adding fuel to the fire” -. He then picked up his shades and moved towards the bathroom’s door. – “Now, let’s move out, our break it’s about to end.”

The other infiltrator, meanwhile, wanted to make a final question, more to himself than his partner, as he also left the bathroom.

“If Valeris really was against the invasion of Inidis’ hive, why she didn’t say anything about it right now? Not even an ‘I told you so’. Just, why the silence?”

Unbeknownst to him, his partner listened and he was wondering just as well about it.

Meanwhile, back in the Collective’s Palace, the High Chamber decided to move to the next point, better explained by Queen Luxis:

“Second Point: to discuss the most recent attack by terrorist organizations on changeling work places and settlements. While it is true that the changeling hives has been at peace among each other for the last nine years, there are still groups of changelings that hasn’t accepted the current order, both for legitimate and illegitimate reasons, but, instead of going through legal means to make their voices heard, they have incurred in illegal methods that could only be classified as terrorism, for they have committed theft, murder and direct attacks to changeling settlements and working areas that, not only, has put our lifestyle in danger, but also, has endangered our secrecy to the rest of the world.

Such attacks have been done in multiple areas, through Equestria, and many are still debating how to deal with these terrorist organizations. Now, who are going to open the debate?”

As the queens raised their hooves, Luxis announced the order of debate.

“The first part of the debate will be held by the queens Fortis, Amaryllis, Cerebelis and Dustis. Queen Fortis can begin now.”

Queen Fortis quickly started to talk.

“I can still remember how, nine years ago, as my mother and the other queens were signing the deal that would ensure our peace, I never gave a thought to the possibility of groups unwilling to let go of their hatred, or ambitions, and would rather start to attack their fellow changeling brothers for pure ideological reasons. Today, not only I have seen this tragedy happening before my eyes, but it saddens me to say that these groups have lost any legitimacy to be seen as honorable figures.

That is not to say that I endorsed them, far from it, but we, as a society, decided to leave behind us the culture of war, the idea of change through force and of might makes right; which is the exact opposite of what groups like the HRF have tried to achieve, with attacks on innocent civilians, like the inhabitants of Visectia, who were victims of a terror attack that ended the life of 35 guards, injured 105 civilians and risked the life of its princess. No matter how much distrust you have on the queens, there’s no justification to attack those who had nothing to do on the conflicts of old.

That is not to mention the victims of the most recent attack in Aquaria, where not only hundreds of thousands of bits worth on love, goods (such as fish) and actual bits were stolen, but 30 guards, who were doing nothing more than their job, ended up with their lives gone, leaving behind families and loved ones. And so on and so forth, I am certain that each one of us has suffered an attack from these terrorist organizations at least once through these last nine years.

Now, I know some of you may disagree with me, but I think the time for patience and negotiations are ending; and the time to end their eras of terror through force are about to begin. All I ask from you is the support to stop accepting and justifying these groups as legitimate voices for the changelings, and to start looking at them for what they truly are, for the voices of the changelings shouldn’t be done through force, coercion or intimidation, but, rather, through dialogue and understanding, which is how we achieved what we have today.”

After getting some support from the queens, and some journalist as well, Queen Luxis announced the turn of Queen Amaryllis, who also had something to say about the most recent attack on Aquaria.

“Greetings to you all, fellow changelings on the radio, and I want to thank you, Queen Fortis, for your sympathetic words on what happened at Aquaria, because you are correct, these groups lost legitimacy long ago, all they do is attack peaceful changelings and instill fear of them, to coerce them into submission and to destroy what doesn’t fit into their views. To kill guards because, in their views, they are a representation of the queens they so much despise; to destroy buildings because they represent an age they want to raze to the ground; to even foalnap nymphs and indoctrinate them, so they become into their future, loyal soldiers who will die for an ideal that would only destroy our species as a whole and cause a crisis that will harm the rest of the world. They need to be stopped at all cost, which is why I must ask, not only, for support from the Low Chamber, but we must also ask for our population to stop accepting into their ways, to trust in us and believe in your queens when we say that we have your lives in our best interest. We do care for you, so please, let us help you to stop these criminals from harming you, so you no longer have to fear for the life of your sons and daughters and they can live the life, they truly, deserve.”

As Amaryllis seated down, the other queens gave her their approving stomps, with Gardenis and Cerebelis getting close to her and say words like ‘we know how you feel’ or ‘I wish I could help you more’. In the end, Queen Luxis announced that it was Cerebelis’ turn and, unknown to many queens, half of the changeling world stopped what they were doing, wanting to know what she was going to talk about.

“Truly, moving words have been said here, Queen Fortis, Queen Amaryllis” -, she said as she looked at each queen respectively, and with a cheery tone no less, - “and, truly, all of what you’ve said is correct” -. Her face then turned sour and her voice got an edgy, grave tone as she started to look at the journalist with an almost neutral eye view. – “But, sadly, I must explain to those who are listening, and reading, us, just how grave is our situation with these groups and why is it so hard to fight them.

Starting out, it must first be explained that these groups, despite all of them being terrorist organizations, are different altogether from each other. Sure, we might, from time to time, see groups like the HRF and the RA working together and making us wonder if we are in some strange fanfiction, but, deep down, all of these groups have a very specific mindset that makes them distinct from one another.

We have the already mentioned HRF, who all they want to do is to destroy the society we know and love and try to install one of those nasty, disastrous, republics some foreign nations like to have, despite being all of them a failure of government. They tend to have a very systematic way to foalnap and destroy political targets, all for the sake of influence over the population. This is because, unlike all the groups we know off, the HRF isn’t just a military group with political influence or a bunch of” -, she then breathed in as she remembered she was being watch by journalist, and listened by both changelings and the princesses of Equestria, and watched her language, - “ex-queens who try to revive their now gone days of glory. This is a political group with military power, enough to force queens to bend to their will, or else they could suffer what almost happened to Queen Visis’ daughter, and the only reason why they haven’t extended anymore is because they don’t have enough funds to keep the territory they hold.

Meanwhile, we have the RA, mainly dominated by the queens who lost their hives and still cannot accept that their time is gone. They have strong influence and are capable of forcing civilians to help them, rather than the guards or officers, for, either, fear of reprisal or because these groups are operating in territories belonging to old friends of them. Thankfully, they are weak right now, even if they are getting some finance out of their mafia like system of ‘protection’.

I’ll also add Dionysus into the mix, for he has shown to be skillful in the art of not being destroyed by, either, us or other terrorist groups that, in multiple occasions, have attempted to invade his very small territory.

For the sake of staying short, I won’t add the other, rather small, groups that has managed to be a nuisance on a regional level, as they tend to come and go thanks to the strength of our military and queens, but I do want to focus on the one terrorist organization that has been guilty of many attacks on the last year: The CAHL, not only guilty of the most recent attack on Aquaria, but also of the attacks near Baltimore, Vanhoover, Appleloosa, Trotingham, multiple attacks on Las Pegasus and many frustrated attacks across our union.

They’ve been getting stronger through the year and that is for the other problem I want to address: the way they have been financed.

At the beginning, they were simply using the black market with griffons and other species to trade goods that, both Equestria and the Changeling Union, has banned, but they’ve been getting more power recently, more hives have fell to their control and I have records of families leaving their hives and move towards pony settlements, in the hope of ensuring their nymphs won’t be foalnapped and turned into one of their future soldiers. And all of this is because some queens have been financing them in order to gain political power, enough to set the stage for a future fight with other terrorist groups and even minor queens, all for the sake of more control over our territories.

To those queens, I warn you, we know who you are and the full extent of your influence. Do not try to use them for your own, personal gain, for all they’ll do is to use you and then destroy you once you have lost control over them. Trust me, this is how many Great Queens fell to Middle Queens during the age of wars and the CAHL won’t be an exception, because, remember, they want to return to the days of old but with them as the new power, the new Supremes, the new leaders for the Changelings and they’ll only cause grief and destruction to all of us and any other kingdom near us.

Stop supporting them, for that will certainly mean the doom to all of you.

And, yes, it’s possible they may then start searching for funds from Equestrians, but at least the responsibility behind their sources of income won’t be on you.”

As she sat in her place, her face now looking cheerful and as if she never uttered a single bad word in her whole life, Cerebelis looked at Dustis and waved at her as if wishing ‘good luck’ on her. The gray queen simply waved at her, with a doubtful face, and prepared to make her piece, hoping that Valeris wouldn’t mind what she was about to say.

“My dear queens, I have heard your words and I sympathize with you, as well as I agree with you in many aspects. But, something I’ve failed to notice being mentioned thus far, is the idea of dialogue with them.”

Dustis then looked around, except at Varelis (she was too fearful of her to look at her face), and noticed how all the queens and changelings were now looking at her as if she said some horrible, unspeakable sin. Regardless of all of that, Dustis decided to move forward and keep on her speech, hoping that it would reach some queen that would find some wisdom on her words.

“Now, I understand your feelings, even desires, as of now, but answer me this: during this 9 years of new order, where many things have changed, and some continue to change, since the very moment the first terror groups appeared, when have we ever tried to talk to them? We’ve never give them a chance to talk, to listen, to negotiate with us, the queens who represent the changeling society, for a peaceful way to make their words matter. Now, I’m not saying that we should condone and I curse anyone who dares to twist my words and say we should surrender to them, for I’ve seen many of my subjects cry at the loss of their loved ones, both civilians and military, and one of my own nymphs were taken hostage by the CAHL two years ago, if anyone here remembers, and there is nothing I would love more than seeing them all in jail but, that is the thing, with the current way we are dealing with these terrorist groups, all we do is disintegrate anyone who dares to show up, but the destruction of terrorist guerrillas won’t make it better to the families of the victims, at best, it would be a temporary, gratifying moment but not one that would actually improve our lifestyle in our near future.

This is why I’m asking that, should the opportunity arise, we try to negotiate with them, in the hopes that it will grant us all a new way to fix all of our problems in a more satisfying way in general. That is all.”

Dustis then seated and hoped that her words wouldn’t fall into deaf ears. Luxis, meanwhile, followed the usual protocol she always followed.

“With that, the first part of debates is over, please raise your hooves any queen that want to talk during the second part of the debate.”

Considering the topic at hand, Luxis herself was about to raise her own hoof but, as she watched other queens (such as Gardenis and Lixis) raising their own hooves, suddenly, Luxis noticed how all the queens paled and lowered their hooves as they saw the queen besides Luxis. Queen Luxis then turned and saw how Valeris was raising her own hoof, with a gleeful expression on her face. It was the kind of face a predator gives when it has its prey on the spot and it’s unable to run away from you.

Seeing this, Queen Luxis lowered her hoof and simply said: “Queen Valeris will talk during the second part of the debate.”

And with that, the entire changeling world decided to pay extra attention to the radio, knowing fully well that this queen was the one that had enough power to change their life in any way whatsoever and, after what Queen Dustis said, everyone listening to the radio right now knew, Valeris was going to address her.

“Truer words have never been laid down on this chamber in a long time” –, she said with happiness, confidence and glee dripping on her voice, - “and I have to agree with many of you. The control many of them have over other hives, and how there has been many reasons why the population has been coerced into submission, it has all been a damp into our attempts to bring absolute peace for our species” -. Her face then started to make a predatory smile as she then started to look at the chamber. – “But this is the first time the idea of negotiation has ever been mentioned, which doesn’t sound too impossible considering that groups like the CAHL are no different from a simple changeling hive.”

Valeris’ had to make sure that her face didn’t smile too much at the image the CAHL’s bosses must have, after being compared to a changeling hive, but the diaries’ reactions would suffice for now. Her face then took a serious turn and her voice got void of any happy emotion whatsoever as she continued.

“But at this point, where they have been acting with complete impunity and freedom in so many territories; to ask them for negotiations, no, even a simple dialogue, would be no different from a simple resignation to them” -. Her face then started to take the same, angry expression she always showed when she was planning to kill someone who was too annoying to deal with, like Queen Gracchis. – “Make no mistake, I will negotiate with them, I promise that, but that will be after I have them all surrounded, weak, incapacitated, almost pulverized and with no other mean but to choose between negotiating with me or to be wiped out from the face of this planet. Then, and only then, will I ever negotiate with any of these terrorist organizations.”

She then sat back on her seat and ringed her bell. No changeling, being a drone or a queen, even dared to move or talk as Luxis started to read the first draft of the agreement, the ‘ding’ of the bell still resounding on the chamber as she talked.

“The chamber agrees on searching for new ways to deal with the terrorist organizations that are destroying the changelings while also reinforcing the methods that has been proven as efficient against them. How many of the queens agree?”

The hooves were raised, Dustis never looking up as she did so, and Luxis said the results with an even voice.

“Unanimous support.”

To say that the radio listeners were trying to digest what they just heard would be an understatement. Some weren’t surprised at all, some were face hoofing for their respective queen’s bluntness, and some were starting to earn a great deal of fear at Queen Valeris, including the ponies at Ponyville. But none of them were ready for what was going to happen during the last point to be discussed at the High Chamber today.

“Point three” -. Said Luxis with an even tone as her heart was starting to fill with anxiety, knowing fully well the weight behind this point in particular. – “To debate around the encounter, done between the princesses of Equestria and the changeling queens, during the collective’s vacation as well as the unilateral deal made between them.”

As the changelings, from all the hives, across all Equestria, heard those words, they felt a series of emotions, dread, anxiety, and more, that gripped their bodies with force. None of them were mentally or emotionally ready for this, but none of them stopped listening. They knew that, whatever came from this conversation, would change their lives as a whole and that alone, scared them far more than the very idea of war or Valeris ruling over all the changelings. And yet, they couldn't stop themselves from feeling something strange, like a desire, for something to actually happen here, something at least worth discussing for the following days.

Something similar could be felt by the equestrian princesses. Both Celestia and Luna were well aware, by now, that Valeris was using this radio to talk to them and it would be foolish to think, she, wouldn’t use this moment to deliver her actual plans to everyone. What was she planning? Was the deal fake or just a piece of a bigger plan as a whole?

It wasn’t lost on Princess Celestia that the previous points of discussions were a message, both for her and Luna, as well as Twilight and her friends, to debrief the current state of the changeling world. It was dreadful to say the least, between a vengeful monarch and dissenting groups, Celestia could easily feel the problems that she had to deal after Luna’s banishment, and both sisters had memories of when they had to unify the three pony species on Equestria’s first days.

Perhaps this was a request for help or was it just Valeris’ way to show how she was planning to deal with all of this? Hearing the third debate was the only way to find out.

“A week after the High Chamber entered into its vacations” -, started Queen Luxis to explain, - “around 30 ponies disappeared from the town of Ponyville. After some investigation from Equestrian authorities, around another week later, it was discovered that a changeling queen was behind the disappearances but, to save her from being arrested by the Equestrian authorities, two Great Changeling Queens intervened and, after a brief conversation between them and the equestrian princesses, a deal was made between the two of them. Since the details of the deal haven’t been properly disclosed and changeling laws, made in the Collective’s Palace itself, establishes that any kind of deal or treaty, made by any hive, must be discussed and ratified by the Collective’s Palace to have any type of legal value, the deal must be debated on this chamber to determine its validity, importance and value to all changelings living on Equestrian soil.”

No journalist, or changeling queen, could tell what Queen Luxis felt as she read that paper, but just by looking at the other queens it was clear they were ready to throw their opinions on the matter and were quite eager to discuss it. Which is why it wasn’t so surprising to see so many hooves raised as Luxis said the following words:

“Now, which queens want to start this debate?”

As she saw across the chamber, she could see all the queens raising their hooves. Thankfully, she could remember the order in which they were all raised.

“Queen Fortis will begin the debate, followed by Queen Amaryllis, Dustis, Gardenis and Lixis.”

The journalist were now puzzled, it was no secret among them that Queen Valeris was behind this deal, so why didn’t she rise her hoof? Sure, it could be because she wanted to have the final word, but queens could speak twice on these debates, once for the opening debate, and another for the ending debate, and Valeris could use the opening debate to explain herself. Also, why was Cerebelis so calm and refused to talk on the opening debate? She has, so far, always been on the opening debates, to lay down everything we should know about the topic of discussion. So, considering the importance of this deal, why she didn’t raise her hoof now?

Suffice to say, they were really curious right now.

“Once again” -, started Fortis, this time with a very quiet and shy voice, - “I greet and salute you all, oh Great Queens as well as you, fellow changelings across Equestria. Now, for those unaware, when Anidis resisted the coalition’s efforts to take back the territories she was invading, and during the Collective’s Palace final meeting before the vacations, we got visited by a young princess who managed to run away from the invaders’ wrath. This princess, unable to go back home, brought us a letter from her mother, asking us to help her through the hardships common from the royals needing to create a hive.

After some counseling, and because her mother’s hive was under my protection, she was advised to search for Ponyville as a place to create her new hive. Sadly, I failed to tell her of the proper ways to create a hive, so she, accidentally, foalnapped a sizeable amount of equestrians and attempted to transform them into changelings. She was discovered, though, by the Equestrian authorities and, as a mean to save her life, I, with the aid from Queen Valeris, managed to make a temporary appeasement to salvage the situation.”

It wasn’t missed on Twilight and her friends who was Fortis talking about, they were trying really hard to understand as much as they could, considering they finally were having some details about Diamantis’ past, as well as what was going on among the changelings. But the one thing they found the most interesting was the wording they were using to describe the events transpiring their foalnap, after all, in the words of ponyville’s teacher, “how the buck can you ‘accidentally’ foalnap somepony?”

Regardless, they tried to focus on what Fortis was saying, hoping to get more on how the queens may react to all of this.

“Now” -, continued Queen Fortis, - “When the deal was done, one of the first things that were told to the princesses of Equestria was that this deal wasn’t definitive. It would have to be discussed here, in the High Chamber, before we could even determine on what could be applied or changed to reach an approval. As such, I’m here to, first, explaining what were the points agreed and, secondly, to tell you why this deal could be a benefit for all of us.

Regarding the deal itself, it was decided that the changeling princess would no longer foalnap equestrians anymore to form her hive, that way we would avoid some legal problems with Equestria. I repeat, the princess is no longer allowed to foalnap ponies while the deal is enforced. In exchange, the ponies foalnapped by the new changeling queen will be recognized by Equestria as belonging to her, should these ponies choose to be with her in the first place. Granted, we would have to make some debates regarding our transformation policies, and our identification system as well, but it should be a good first step to keep things under control, for now.”

As they heard this, the princesses groaned as they understood what Fortis meant.

“We only stopped one princess from foalnapping, not the whole species.”

“Secondly” -, Fortis continued, - “it was agreed, and Queen Valeris was behind this idea, that we would allow Princess Celestia’s protégé, Twilight Sparkle, to research our transformation wax and she was allowed to publish anything she could find out about it as long as it doesn’t break our secrecy laws. This was so the equestrians could have an actual choice on, whether or not, they wanted to be part of our world and, should they refuse, to be allowed to go back to the equestrian life they so much adore.

Granted, one of the things Celestia managed to impose on her side was for Twilight to have an open channel with her princess. That means she could tell her whatever she finds out about us and Celestia, quite easily, can later change her mind about this whole deal. Granted, Valeris did warn Celestia that this part was too dangerous and neither her nor I would be responsible, should Twilight reveal something that shouldn’t be revealed.”

Just a simple glance at the queens and journalist, and Fortis could see how they were almost shouting for her head to be boiled in oil.

Nonetheless, she continued.

“And lastly” -, she continued, - “it was agreed that the equestrians’ lives would no longer be threatened by Valeris and, in exchange, Celestia wouldn’t try to hunt down the changelings.

Now, while I do agree that some of these parts agreed upon aren’t so well made, I must say that we should be accepting of this deal, once we arrange it into something more acceptable, because it would help us in the long run to stabilize our union.

No, I’m not exaggerating, just look at what we have now, guerrillas trying to force us back to the era of wars, an invader searching for revenge and now, thanks to Chrysalis, we have the equestrians aware of our existence and they are planning to hunt us out like dangerous animals.”

The ponies flinched as they heard those accusatory words, because, as much as they wanted to deny it, they truly were so scared of them. To the point that, not too long ago, they would have considered to chase down the changelings, had they not been where they are right now.

“This is why” -, Fortis continued, - “I ask you, fellow queens, to hear me out and consider this deal as a new path to solve our current problems. We can improve upon it and later discuss with the princesses for a better deal, all we have to do is to open ourselves to the idea that we must put an complete end to an era that should have been gone a long time ago.”

And with that, Queen Fortis went back to her seat and hoped that the reception wouldn’t be as bad as she hoped. After all, it wouldn’t be fair to have her rule destroyed because of Valeris’ ambitious ideas.

She would soon know, though, as Queen Amaryllis went to the podium and started to say her piece on the deal itself.

“Never in my life, I thought I would hear such treasonous words coming from Castis’ own daughter. To bend herself over the Equestrian princesses and allow them to not only impose their will, but to even demand us to give them such important details of our species” -. She then looked directly at Valeris with no fear on her eyes. – “To think you, Queen Valeris, accepted something like this, with no question whatsoever. Should you be any other queen, I would accuse you of treason” -. For a brief moment, something sparked in Valeris’ eyes and it reminded Amaryllis of who she was talking to, so she decided to stop herself from saying something she would quickly regret. – “But I know you, and you aren’t the kind of queen that accepts this kind of deals so easily, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt until you can explain yourself.

Now, regarding the deal itself, I would say that it can be arranged to be more beneficial to us, like determining how much can this unicorn investigate us. But this doesn’t change the main concern I have with this: why must we reveal the rest of our species when we haven’t shown any need of the Equestrians so far?

Sure, we may live among them and we may need them as a food source, but that doesn’t mean we should increase our dependence over them. It would be better for us to first stabilize our nation before showing ourselves to the rest of the world, that way, we would look powerful and intimidating and, my fellow queens, would help us out far more than this deal ever could.”

Finishing her speech, Amaryllis decided to seat down and wait for the next queen to talk. Meanwhile the changelings were worried for the deal to pass, not only because it sounded bad for them, but also because they were afraid of what the equestrians would do, should they realize how well infiltrated they were among them. But, in the end, the one queen who would make the final call was Valeris and they were all hoping there would be enough queens to make her enter into reason to deny this deal.

As such, Queen Dustis, well aware of what the changelings were expecting of her and, after her latest speech, she really needed to make an argument that could influence Valeris in some way regarding this deal.

“Fellow queens, as I’ve heard of this, I must say that my feelings are conflicted. I did say that we should negotiate with some of the guerilla movements, for they could of help to us, but I never considered to give up so much of our values and rights for the sake of peace, and that is not to say that this deal couldn’t be useful to us, no, what I mean is that this deal with Equestria could affect our livelihoods in unprecedented ways that, if not careful, it could erase all of which we fought so hard to maintain during centuries of civil war: our identity.

We, changelings, have always managed to remain as a civilization, despite the civil wars trying to destroy what little society we could build, because we managed to work together to build and hold our own history, by understanding how we live and what could we do to better ourselves. We even understood that the better the equestrians lived, the better we could live as well.

But right now, when we still need to fix so many problems while we are transitioning from an era of war, to change the process through means that have never been explored, not only could it be dangerous, but even reckless and self-destructive.

Should we try to increase our quality of life through the equestrians? Absolutely. Is this the right moment to search for it? No, not when we still must deal with the groups terrorizing our subjects. The deal, as of now, would only serve to further justify their agenda against us and we, as the leaders carrying our society, must have the foresight to understand when and where we must act.”

She then seated and hoped that her words managed to be understood by the other queens and changelings.

Thankfully for Dustis, Gardenis was thinking on the same line as her and was ready to start from what she just said.

“Fellow Queens, as you can see, we are now at a crossroads as we have to choose between staying isolated, as we’ve been since we can remember, or to go with the equestrians and attempt an alliance whose result cannot be predicted.

Now, to answer Queen Dustis’ worries, we have to first understand our isolation and what could be the consequences of abandoning that.

It is true that no changeling knows for sure when we decided to become an isolated species, we do can understand some of the reasons behind that decision. The first reason is our hunger, which relies on love and isn’t so easy to maintain when we try to satisfy it in large societies. Sure, we can create it on our own, but to depend on love made by ourselves will only lead to a self-destructive cycle where we give more than we can develop, in other words, we need of the ponies to supplement that love we need to subsist (and, as our research teams have discovered, foreign love is far better than the one made by ourselves) but, would they give it to us?

Sure, some of them would, after all, to say that all of them would be afraid of us is as false, as how they are saying now that all of us are predators desiring to foalnap them and feed on their love. No, I’m certain some of them would be accepting, but most of them won’t and I’m not saying this because of an absurd mischaracterization of them, based on our own fears. No, I’m saying this because we’ve seen how they are educated since foalhood and what they are taught is the superiority of their species and to look down on others and this is a mindset that has existed since Equestria’s foundation.

The second reason why we live isolated has been explained, or much rather validated, by Chrysalis and her attempt to invade Equestria. By that, I mean how changeling queens, through history, has tried to use Equestria as a leverage to get more power, sometimes to aid her hive, sometimes to become a queen to rule over queens, and more than once have the changeling queens destroyed anyone who tries to use Equestria as an advantage against other queens.

Now, to be fair, the only distinction I can see this occasion from all the other ones is that, this time, we all have a choice in the matter and we all have a voice as well. We can decide to talk with the Equestrian princesses in order to improve our entire society but, sadly, after what Chrysalis attempted, I see it hard for the Equestrians to desire to talk with us.

After all, with a mentality of segregation like that, fostered for so long, and a fear of being controlled by an species whose first encounter was with an invader, I see it impossible for us to establish an actual relationship with the Equestrians as of now.

I do approve of this, for it would finally eliminate the leverage so many queens have always tried to gain against us through force, but, sadly, I doubt we’ll see any positive result on the short term.”

After hearing that, many changelings were wondering how true those words could be, after all, they all saw benefits from being able to live peacefully with the equestrians, but would the equestrians accept them? They’ve heard enough of what the ponies thought of them to be convinced of a negative answer so far.

It was then when Lixis’ turn to talk came. Her voice, as usual, was calm, sweet, endearing and filled with wisdom that soothes itself into the changelings’ ears, from the common drone to the higher royals, and made their minds lose their worries away.

“To all those listening to me, as everything is being said, if we are going to move around the argument of our isolation, as justification to remain isolated, then we must truly understand how dangerous our isolation can be. Now, please listen to me, as I am the oldest queen among you, despite my young appearance, and I can still remember the day I was crowned.

Even back then, the wars were still destroying our species, but, unlike the wars we know of the most recent decades, with rules and principles being what dominates us; the wars of back then didn’t follow the ideas of honor or respect, not even of domination, for that implies leaving alive the defeated. Those were the times of blood and savagery, where the desire was to destroy any hive we could and erase any record of its existence, the common practice was to reap and loot the love from our own, to cause suffering on the conquered as they had all their love slowly taken away from them.

Of that era, I assure you, the only two hives that remain are Minerum, from Queen Luxis, and my own, Panacitum. All the other hives were burnt down by the fires of war and little to no memory of that era remains, as the practice of complete suppression was followed for centuries. In the end, the only reason why Minerum remained alive was due to its disconnection from the others, while mine survived due to my skill to avoid wars during those dire times.

How is that relevant to this deal? I assure you, one of the main reasons why changelings went to war with one another was because, more often than not, the hives wanted to use Equestria in one way or another and, in my perspective, this deal could bring us a step further away from that era of distrust and greed for Equestria would be helping us all equally.

That is why I approve of this, there is much we could gain from abandoning our secrecy and start to focus our efforts in improving further along. That will help us to ensure our stability and peace in the long run and I know about that, after all, I’ve managed to survive more than any other queen in history.”

As Lixis finished her speech and seated back on her position, all the journalist were already whispering about how the most diplomatic, and eldest, queen decided to accept such a deal so easily. This made two of the five queens in the Great Coalition to agree on something and, if they all agreed, that could mean the Changelings were going to face a new direction that they were all afraid of.

Meanwhile, Luxis was already calling for the second round of debate and there was a clear sign that a decision may have already been chosen, as Luxis soon announced the new order of debate:

“The second round of debates will commence in the following order: myself, Queen Luxis, who will be followed by Queen Cerebelis and, finally, Queen Valeris.”

Hearing that, all living being listening to the radio got increasingly interested on the debate. They knew that all of this would be decided soon and hearing Luxis voice debating only increased their anxiety.

“Now, as I’ve been hearing your concerns, regarding this deal, I’ll quickly admit that I like this deal” -. She would never hear all the gasp made by the changelings listening her speech. – “My reasoning is simple, this deal, if properly drafted, it can benefit my changelings to have more trading partners and to have more freedom when it comes to love collecting. Now, I understand if many of you see this as a potential treason but, culture aside, how can it be treasonous for our government to reveal itself when a lower than low queen already did that to us?” – As some ponies were figuring out Luxis was meaning Chrysalis, most were rather noticing how her voice was turning sourer as she talked about Chrysalis. – “Not only that, but this pretender queen even dared to invade an innocent nation in order to subvert the achievements we have all gained in the last decade and try to impose herself over us as a queen to rule over queens.

Could someone here, please, explain to me how is the idea of us peacefully, and diplomatically, trying to open relationships with the equestrians, in order to avoid a bigger conflict, is treason on the same level as Chrysalis? No, fellow queens, what we are doing isn’t treasonous or evil, in fact, I dare to say, treasonous would be to isolate ourselves for personal pride, even if that means to increase the affliction of our own subjects, who must endure the hardships of living two lives at the same time in order to sustain their families and hives.

That, and more, is why I accept this deal. It’s the best choice we can have for our survival and it will ensure our existence as a nation instead of a scavenger species that lives as a parasite from other nations.”

As Queen Luxis seated down, the other queens reflecting on her words, Cerebelis’ turn was quickly announced and she started to speak before any queen had enough time to even digest Luxis’ words.

“It’s nice to see us all gathered here, once more, to deliberate on such important issues. I can still remember how so many years ago we had so much opposition to this project, we were told that peace wouldn’t last even a year, that we would have a new civil war in less than 6 months even” -. As she was talking, Cerebelis’ face started to grin with satisfaction, as if she knew who were listening her. – “Then, the predictionist started to claim that peace wouldn’t last two years, then three, then they started to say that Valeris wouldn’t be reelected, they then started to say that Valeris would doom our economy, our society, our secrecy, even that she would betray us for the invader. But look at us here, almost ten years later of peace, a strong economy, a society capable of adapting beyond measure, a queen holding her oath to protect us and, my personal favorite” -, she said with complete pleasure as she wanted to put the salt on the wound, - “the one queen these predictionist were claiming as the one who would save us from catastrophe, ended up being the one revealing us to the outside world. My, isn’t irony one of the greatest joys in life?”

As Twilight was hearing her, she couldn’t stop herself from feeling worries and nerves of how, from a radio, she could imagine Cerebelis’ grin as she playfully teased all the figures that criticized her alliance with Valeris, and with such pleasure. She had to wonder what was Cerebelis capable of, for Valeris to have such queen on her side.

“And here we are” -, Cerebelis continued, - “Debating on a deal that had to be done in order to save our species from potential persecution. I have to say, while it is interesting to see Queen Valeris plans on saving us from being assimilated by ponies, I would like to focus more on the finer details, like how we can use this as a mean to properly see if equestrians are financing our terrorist” -. At this, many of the queens, as well some citizens, blink and almost gasped at the realization of this. Something that both Valeris and Cerebelis took notice of. – “More than once” -, Cerebelis continued, - “have our attempts to purge this groups been squashed due to how easy it can be for a changeling to transform into somepony else. Sure, we can improve our intelligence system, but there’s so much we can do on our own. With the help of the equestrians, though, all of this can change, we can finally have a partner that can help us find where our enemies are hiding and that’s not all, we can even have a much easier time improving our defensive systems if we can properly open a diplomatic channel with the equestrians.

Overall, I consider this encounter to be very beneficial for us, which is why I’ll accept this deal. All we need to do is to iron out some details, like how to share data and how we should treat the ponies living under the sisters’ rule but decides to become part of our society.”

And with all of that said, Cerebelis sit down on her seat, leaving many queens wondering how many of their enemies they could find with this deal. Sure, it required more time to properly do it but, if done correctly, this deal could help them to catch the criminals that have eluded them for so long.

“Now” -, continued Luxis, - “to end this debate, Queen Valeris can now begin.”

Anyone listening to the debate on the radio felt into absolute silence, as the Lady of the High Chamber rose from her seat and started to talk with an imposing voice that resonated in the building, it echoed on the room and it became unforgettable on the radio. From the hidden changelings in Canterlot, to the rich elites of Miria, to the poor drones in Las Pegasus, to the exiled queen, to the invader queen, to the throne in Canterlot, to the library in Ponyville, everyone were listening and nobody was ready for the speech Queen Valeris had prepared for them.

“Dear changeling citizens” -, she said as she started out with a relaxed and warm tone of voice, - “As you have heard today, there are multiple issues with the deal done with Celestia. It endangers our secrecy, our way of life, even what little sovereignty we can hold as our own but its biggest problem is, no doubt, how unilateral it was and how it diminish or even ignores the needs and problems of other hives across this land, which is why I agree on the idea of this deal being bad for all of us.”

If the princesses of Equestria were able to go beyond the shock they were having right now, the first words coming out of their mouths would be something close to ‘what?’

“But!” – The blue queen continued while putting some energy into her voice. – “The reality is that, without that deal, we would also be in danger, as the princesses now have a reason to go after all of us, with the foalnap of the equestrians and the invasion attempt done by a treasonous queen. All in all, it’s just a matter of time before Princess Celestia decides to go after all of us or try to declare an open war on us.”

To say the equestrians at Ponyville were feeling offended by Valeris’ statements was a simple understatement. Some, like Octavia, Fluttershy, Twilight and Rarity, were collected enough to remain calm and wait until the queen ended her speech, but the other ponies weren’t as patient and were already showing signs of rage at the accusation of their princess, Celestia, being even hint as somepony that would persecute a whole species because it was different to them. To say that Diamantis wanted to turn herself invisible was another understatement.

“Sadly” -, Valeris continued as her tone of voice changed to be more melancholic, trying to bring some emotions out of the changeling speakers, - “it also isn’t as if a simple deal could be accepted, even if it were a single queen, for this deal goes against almost all the laws made by us in these decade of peace” -. Her voice then shifted back to have energy and her melancholy was completely removed by absolute confidence. – “Which is why, after taking in some consideration, after hearing many of your worries and advice through this current debate, the following proposal has been made, one that, I hope, some of you may find good enough for us, both in the short term and in the long term.

The idea is simple: Since we cannot eliminate the laws or reject the deal done with Celestia, and the other queens deserve to have a voice in how this new opening for diplomacy with the outside world should be handled, I recommend that we, through decree, temporarily suspend some of the laws until a more proper deal can be done with the equestrians.”

As Valeris said this, the journalist would never forget how all the other queens had their mouths open in shock, unable to even process what was being asked from them. Not that Valeris was planning on letting them understand her tactic.

“I will clarify some of your potential worries. I’m not saying that the laws would no longer be enforceable or that they are no longer useful, I’m saying that the laws would have to be enforced only on the local levels (to make sure the citizenry stills follows it) while the national scale starts to determine what can be modified, in order to adapt to the new relationship we would have with the equestrians. Once we have the new laws made, we would then enforce them as the new laws, which would be on par with the new and improved deal done with the Equestrians, one that would allow us to have a better lifestyle for all of us.

And I know that it would be quite contradictory of me to change the very laws I made and wrote, which were ratified by this chamber, as well as the Lower Chamber, but the reality we are living today is far away from the reality we were living back when the laws were made.

Back then, we needed to unify our society, to make a system that would allow us to stabilize our lives and depart from the time of wars and, in many regards, we did. But now, just look: the Equestrians know about us, we are being invaded by another queen and many changelings have found problems when dealing with the equestrians. Not only that but the crime and instability is now being brought by criminals and terrorist, terrorist who think they can bend our will to impose themselves while using the equestrians to hide from us. Simply put, an improved deal could help us to go after all the groups that have been trying to destroy us, both from the inside as well as the outside. All of that while we secure a better future for our own species.

Which is why, again, I bring my proposal to you: by suspending the laws on a national level, in order to uphold the current deal, we can now prepare to reform them, as well to improve the deal so all the hives among the changelings can properly benefit from this. Thank you all for listening.”

And as she finished her speech, she rang her bell and ended the debate.

“With the debate now over, please, can the secretary read the proposals done so the High Chamber can determine to approve them or not?”

Luxis quickly read the paper with complete confidence while giving off a sense of neutrality.

“Proposals done by Queen Valeris: To suspend the laws that interfere with the deal, such as The Silent Law, The Transformation Law and The Science Code while the Intelligence Law and Police Law will be analyzed for a potential reform. Meanwhile, the deal between Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Queen Valeris and Queen Fortis would be temporarily approved while all the queens prepare themselves to add their voice into this, so said deal can be properly remade and improved.”

Luxis looked around the queens and journalist, still shocked, as she said the words that would change everything she knew and would bury the last remnants of the old age of wars.

“How many queens approve this?”

As the queens realized it was their time to vote, queens like Amaryllis and Gardenia planned to reject the proposal, and then ask to postpone it so they could better think about it. But they then saw Queen Fortis, Luxis, Lixis and Cerebelis raising their hooves and approving the proposal. As they saw this, they looked at Valeris and how she was looking back with the same eyes she had that day, during the Unification War, when she asked all the queens surrounding her if they were going to follow her, or not, on her idea of unifying all the changeling hives in order to put an end to the wars. It became clear then, Valeris was planning to go ahead with this idea, no matter who sided with her or not, and all she needed to know is who would support her.

For a queen like Dustis, she would rather join the group than falling behind, so she approved.

For a queen like Gardenis, she knew that there would be consequences for this, but to remain on the status quo when the world was demanding her to change, that was simple suicide. So she approved.

For a queen like Amaryllis, this was another moment in her life when she had to consider how to adapt and kept her hive alive, as well as the ones under her protection, alive and, right now, being the only one rejecting this proposal would only lead to utter failure. So she approved, besides, she could get something good out of it.

“Unanimous approval.”

And with Luxis announcing all the queens in the High Chamber approving the proposal, the final parts of the meeting were done.

“Now” -, Valeris said with optimism on her voice, - “with that said, The Silent Law, The Transformation Law and The Science Code are all suspended until they’ve been reformed, the Committee of Defense will analyze The Intelligence Law and The Police Law to see what could be reformed, meanwhile, the Political Affairs Committee will analyze the deal between Equestria, and the Changelings, and see what the other queens among the Changeling Union have to say about it.”

She then relaxed as Luxis prepared to say the final part of today’s meeting.

“After today’s debate, the High Chamber has agreed in:

First Point: To create a commission that will investigate the situation for the changelings living under Anidis’ controlled hive.

Second Point: To reform our system to fight crime and terrorism.

Third Point: Decree the suspension of certain laws while the deal between Equestria and the Changelings is also reformed to be more suitable to us in general.

Is that alright?”

All the queens raised their hooves in an approval manner. Valeris then rang her bell and said the magic words the tired queens were now wanting to hear.

“With that, today’s debate is over and all the points debated will be sent to the Lower Chamber to be properly debated. The next meeting will be next week, in order to give enough time to the committees to work, as well to allow the Lower Chamber to debate and determine their voice on what was discussed today. You’re all dismissed.”

All the queens were preparing themselves to leave but the journalist decided to move close to them and ask them about what was recently debated. In the case of Queen Valeris, the journalist from The Union decided to ask her about the last point debated.

“Queen Valeris, I’m from The Union, what can you tell us about this deal? Do you think the equestrians will do the same as you did today to improve on our mutual relationships?”

Queen Valeris smiled with glee as she made her answer.

“Well, I think they have a parliament of sorts, so I think they must be preparing themselves to debate over this deal as well. I personally hope the equestrians are as willing as us to make this work out, after all, those laws being suspended weren’t small ones and they were suspended out of good will to them, hopefully, they’ll follow suit in some way or another.”

The journalist got confused as he heard this and asked once more.

“But, they cannot hear us, how can you hope that they would act the same way we did?”

“Well, is not as much as they heard us, but rather than we can now see just how farsighted and wise can the equestrian nobility and law makers be, in order to search for potential peace.”

Before the journalist could even say his name or make another question, Queen Valeris left the chamber, leaving a very confused journalist, a very shocked and worried society, a lot of fuming queens, a couple of worried princesses and a group of ponies who were demanding their future queen to explain what just happened.

Author's Note:

1.- I would like to apology for taking so long writing this chapter. It took a while to set the mood, another while to find the time to write and another while to stop getting distracted with Girls' Frontline, Singularity took more out of me than I anticipated, and other anime like Panty & Stocking. What helped me the most in the end was listening to this beautiful piece of music

2.- While I cannot promise to improve on my writing, I can promise that I'll try to keep this story updated. This was very hard to write but I'm feeling quite satisfied with how it turned out (what do you think BTW?) and now that this has been made, I can properly move towards the next arc in the story: The Crystal Empire.

If you like this and you want to support me, you can do it through my Ko-Fi. Feel free to check it out.

Comments

[Edguy0009]

“It’s nice to see us all gathered here, once more, to deliberate on such important issues. I can still remember how so many years ago we had so much opposition to this project, we were told that peace wouldn’t last even a year, that we would have a new civil war in less than 6 months even” -. As she was talking, Cerebelis’ face started to grin with satisfaction, as if she knew who were listening to her. – “Then, the predictionist started to claim that peace wouldn’t last two years, then three, then they started to say that Valeris wouldn’t be reelected, they then started to say that Valeris would doom our economy, our society, our secrecy, even that she would betray us for the invader. But look at us here, almost ten years later of peace, a strong economy, a society capable of adapting beyond measure, a queen holding her oath to protect us and, my personal favorite” -, she said with complete pleasure as she wanted to put the salt on the wound, - “the one queen these predictionist were claiming as the one who would save us from catastrophe, ended up being the one revealing us to the outside world. My, isn’t irony one of the greatest joys in life?”

BURNED!!!!

[swarm chaser]

The story is supposed to be told from two points of view but it's very heavy on the changelings side and very light on the ponies side.
The changelings convert 30 ponies but ignoring that the mane 6 were among the 30 converted they were rescued but the transformation had already begun and continues outside of the cocoon.
It can be stopped (they are told it can't) but it can't be reversed (twi could find a way but practically that almost never happens in these fics) and they must be under this queen that transformed them they have a choice of some kind but IIUC it's just stay under the queen that kidnapped them or die as such celestia has convinced them to agree to these terms.
The terms include that they won't kidnap any more ponies and we find out later that they have rules against forcible conversion but it didn't come up in the initial agreement and that seems like one of the very first things that should have been discussed, like a step above the kidnapping. Their conversion can't be stopped? Well then it better not happen to any more ever again (without permission) non-negotiable.
The changeling never appears to show any remorse for what was done to them not even the violation of the changelings own laws, passing it of that she wasn't informed the proper way to do it. It's actually much more believable that this is a much larger plot and this was all completely intentional and it was going to come up later in the story than for her to just think all of that was ok for her to do.
A lot of that bothers me because things weren't even considered like celestia could have at least considered refusing to allow the changeling to keep her subjects and them just handled their conversion as equestrian citizens.
As even in limbo without the protection of a hive they are still equestrian citizens that should be her responsibility even if they are no longer ponies.
There does not appear to be any hive mind or anything that would justify them being permanently bound to the queen. I understand celestia views this as an opportunity but like others have already mentioned it feels like she just sold them out without much consideration.
Likewise the converted ponies themselves are entirely too accepting of this all happening to them it's not just that they are slowly transforming into changelings it's that they are transforming into changelings and have been told oh yeah you serve your kidnapper now, forever and their just like ok.
The ponies don't get enough screen time like analyzing the transformative wax should have been a high priority for the twilight and the diarchs yet by the point the story was abandoned she hadn't even started on it yet.

[Time Reaper]

10606490

The story hasn't been abandoned. This just has been a very harsh year for me.

Yes, I know the story is very sided with the changelings, I was planning to get into the ponies after this arc was done (technically, the official finale of the first arc was Fortis' coronation, and this meeting with the High Queens is just a transition for the next arc, which should start to get more ponies involved) and, to get you an idea of how it would go, if you read the end part of the two chapters of the negotiations between Valeris and Celestia, it describes the next main arcs from the two sides' perspectives, it's just that, again, I had to deal with the coronation and the deal itself.

The other reason why I wasn't showing the ponies' perspectives yet, was because of the models I was using as templates for this world. While the changeling government form was based around a sort of Republic (two legislatives, no official ruler) the Ponies is more based on the British style of government (Parliamentary Monarchy) which I wasn't so familiar with when I started to write this story. I kinda am more familiar with it now, but I still have to write the chapters involving the ponies.

Other plot points being mentioned, such as:

It can be stopped (they are told it can't) but it can't be reversed (twi could find a way but practically that almost never happens in these fics) and they must be under this queen that transformed them they have a choice of some kind but IIUC it's just stay under the queen that kidnapped them or die as such celestia has convinced them to agree to these terms.

we find out later that they have rules against forcible conversion but it didn't come up in the initial agreement and that seems like one of the very first things that should have been discussed, like a step above the kidnapping.

A lot of that bothers me because things weren't even considered like celestia could have at least considered refusing to allow the changeling to keep her subjects and them just handled their conversion as equestrian citizens.
As even in limbo without the protection of a hive they are still equestrian citizens that should be her responsibility even if they are no longer ponies.

There does not appear to be any hive mind or anything that would justify them being permanently bound to the queen.

Likewise the converted ponies themselves are entirely too accepting of this all happening to them it's not just that they are slowly transforming into changelings it's that they are transforming into changelings and have been told oh yeah you serve your kidnapper now, forever and their just like ok.

Are spoilers, especially the hive mind, the legal limbo and the conversion wax. Again, I had to familiarize more with the British government system before getting on it first.

Thanks for much of the criticism and pointing out some of the issues with the story, like the first draft of the deal between Celestia and Valeris (again, this deal isn't even official, since it hasn't been ratified by any government, just a thing made to keep both sides with somethign to work at) and the "she didn't know" vs "in reality it was a long term plan" because, if I have to explain this kind of stuff in the comment section, then I did a poor writing on the story.

I'll take this into consideration when writing the next chapters.

As I see what I have to cover, the longer this story is looking like. And to think I was planning to finish this in 20 chapters, more or less. Now it looks like I'm not even close to the midpoint of this story, heck, not even the official next arc.